Manuals are the remains of ancient history, left behind by their
creators as a legacy to the world. Most have long since been
lost and destroyed, but a rare few still appear on various
creatures. When a creature has one, it will carry it in hand,
and the only way of locating it is by looking at the being in
question and see it first hand--location of these special manuals
is not possible through normal mortal spells.
The read command is used when holding a manual, prayer book, tome or
libram which contains special knowledge. When used, the reader will
attempt to gain knowledge from the source, and if successful some
affect will be bestowed upon the person.
Many manuals exist, and their affects range from boosting health
to granting new abilities such as new assassin techniques and
spell improvements. Most manuals are specific to a limited
number of classes, sometimes just one class, and only those classes
will gain from reading it.
Almost every manual is destroyed on reading, even if the user
gains nothing from it.
HINT: "look" at a manual before you try to "read" it, this will
give an indication of who would benefit from reading.