Nolm, is a god of greatness. He rules this world named DOLTATE' with much intellect. The world, a small but
lively one, was a battleground for great warriors who sought out to be DOMINARI (The Master.) These warriors
fought with great courage and skill. Most Dominaris would only last a few days before they were knocked off by another warrior. Deaths were expected in these
fights. But Nolm, who got tired of this after centuries of tradition, would not let this be allowed again.
One day, before a test of skill was to begin. Nolm came down from the sky as a apparatus and told the the crowd the conclusions of his thoughts. though the
people were disappointed at the gods demands. It managed to last for
four years. A growing debate about the traditions of the world exploded when two men tested their skill on each other, breaking the gods rule. But this did not
last long. The two men were immediately struck by the hand of Nolm and were thereafter frozen solid, and left there like stone art to remind the people this
was not allowed.
'This is not going to keep these people from pursuing the ultimate goal of Dominari' thought nolm Then the idea came upon him. He would create an almost
real illusionistic game to determine the Dominari who would govern the world. No one would die. They would progress each time they survived the
game. It would be a test of skill, intelligence, courage, and luck.
As of now, fifty seven Dominaris have come and gone. Vile, a powerful wizard, is the present and fifty eighth Dominari. But he is old and not likely to stay
in power long.
LOADING GAME:
To load game, place game disk in drive #8 and print 'LOAD "*",8' and press <<RETURN>>. When the computer prints 'READY,' Print 'RUN' and press <RETURN>>. Have
your joystick plugged into port two and you are ready to
play.
BEGINNING GAME:
When the game prompts you with a menu, select A>> or B>>. If you select A>> you will begin a new game. The game will then ask for the number of players. So
select a number between 1 and 8. NOTE: If there is an old game on disk. The game must erase it before it continues. This takes a few minutes.
A character file exists in the game to keep track of up to 26 characters. To begin, there are none. So select all NEW characters. The next screen will ask
for a name and then place a list of weapons to choose from below it. You have a beginning total of 250 gold to buy your weapons with. Choose them wisely. The
maximum damage and cost is
displayed with the list. You must pick weapons until you have not got enough gold to buy any more.
NOTE: These new characters will not
be added to the character file
until they have survived their
first game.
After all players have been selected, the game will then prompt you to choose a level of play. The four levels of play are: EASY, MODERATE, DIFFICULT, and
IMPOSSIBLE. Take these levels LITERALLY!!! These levels will determine the number of monsters you will encounter and how many bonus
points you will receive at the end. But, most of all, the levels of play will set your reaction time. This
reaction time is used when you are in combat. The higher the level, the less time you have allotted yourself to react to selections in the combat mode.
THE GAME SCREEN:
The game screen is divided into four parts. The top left box is for monster types and their numbers. This box is
also used to display weapons and spells you find in the dungeon. The top right box is for displaying room layouts and doors. The bottom box is some of the
common input inquiries, and the middle box is for character displays. This will show all points, abilities, and weapons.
THE JOYSTICK:
Dominari offers a unique way to control the game. The game may be played with a joystick. A few exceptions do exist. The process goes like this; When, on
the screen, you have a number in brackets like this <5>, it represents a position on the joystick. For example, if you had <3> on the screen for your selection
or choice. you would pull down on the stick. That joystick position is the number three.
MOVING AROUND:
To move around the rooms and floors of the dungeon, use the joystick. UP [position 1] for north. LEFT [position 2] for west. DOWN [position 3] for south,
and RIGHT [position 4] for east. North is always up in the dungeon. [position 5] for up stairs & [position 7] for down stairs. The doors are marked in the
middle of the walls in light blue, except the door you came in, that one is in white. To pause the
game, press <<P>> when it is lit in the bottom box. Hit the <<RUN/STOP>> key to resume play.
COMBAT:
When monsters are found the game will award initiative. If you win, the <1>CHANGE and <3>RUN slots will light in the bottom box. If you wish to change your
weapons, then push forward on the stick. If you wish to run from the monsters then pull back on the stick when they are lit. If you wish to use the weapons you
have previously selected, do nothing while they are lit. The game will now light <2>WEAPON and <4>SPELL in the bottom box. To choose weapons, go left on the
stick. To choose spells, go right on the stick. The characters weapons or spells will pop up in the middle box. To choose the weapon or spell of your choice,
move the joystick to that corresponding position. That is, if you
wish selection #3, then pull back on the stick. If you wish #5, then push the button and push up.
NOTE: You can only use spells once,
except for two. The STAFF OF
MARA and the MAGIC MISSILE.
You could still lose these if
you like to use them a lot, so
be careful!
NOTE: The STAFF OF MARA is a special
weapon. It contains four
spells in one. To select one
of these, go through just like
before and choose the STAFF.
You will then be asked to
choose one of the four spells
that exist in the STAFF. This
process is just like
selecting any weapon or spell.
After you have selected a characters weapon, you will select the monster you wish that character to strike at. If there is only one monster left, the
character automatically strikes at that monster.
NOTE: The first time you run into
monsters, you will have to
select weapons regardless of
input.
After combat you might want to rest. This will increase your abilities a bit. To do this.....just do nothing.
TREASURE:
Before leaving any room or hallway, you should check it. You might find gold and more! When you check, if the
characters flip through, you have found gold. Finding any weapons or spells will be displayed in top left box. To
select an item, move stick to [position 3.] The characters weapons or spells will automatically show in there proper
space when you select a character. To select a character, move stick to [position 2.] To get an item for the character you wish to move to [position 5.] When
you have selected all weapons or spells, the game will allow you to move again. If you wish not to select all the weapons, push <<Q>> for quit.
All items you decide not to take are forever lost!
THE OBJECTIVE OF DOMINARI:
Up to now, you have been subjected to the operating procedures for Dominari. Now comes the real meat!! Your main objective of this game is to become
DOMINARI (The Master.) But to do this, it means to go through a dungeon
several times and defeating a wizard every time. You must score as many points as you can. Now, there are two ways of defeating this wizard. The hard way, and
the easy way of course. The hard way is simple, you just duke it out just like he's someone else...right!? Or you could grab his powerful gem and have the
ability to strike him dead in one blow. "What's this stone?" you ask. Well, that will
be explained later. If you begin to wounder why these meaningless messages flash on your screen (bottom of middle
box,) just remember this when you have entered the Gem Room!
'A white dove is a symbol of
goodness. A black cat is symbol of
bad luck. And the -STONE OF POWER-
is all evil.'
NOTE: The gem room is unlike all
others. You are viewing this
room from the side instead of
from above. Two symbols are
upon the wall, and two marble
stands sit in the middle of
the room. A bright diamond
shaped stone on top of each.
Use the scrolls that appear to
help in the selection. Go
right on the joystick to
select the right one, and left
to select the left one.
Well now you think you have the game licked. "All to easy" you say. Not so maestro. You must also find and destroy all of the wizards legion
commanders...The Royal Black Knights.
To tell if there are any left: If you have destroyed the wizard and have or have not killed a black knight, and you
are still playing the game. There is at least one more left!
HINTS FROM THE MASTER:
The following hints were provided to you by the author to make Dominari easier to play.
*In selecting characters in the beginning. If you select 5 characters to go into the dungeon. You will have to complete the sequence of assigning a name a
picking weapons for each one before continuing to the next step. If you pick any OLD characters, their names and weapons are stored. So you will not have to
pick new weapons for them.
*The joystick is only used while you are in the dungeon!! All other times, you are using the keyboard! This means that while you are setting up your
characters, selecting levels. Or while you are examining the scoreboard and picking weather to continue or not. You are using the keyboard.
*I suggest to you, to start out on the EASY mode until you have mastered the joystick. Then start playing at harder levels. REMEMBER that a <3> on the
screen means position three (Firebutton not-pushed and down on the stick) on the joystick.
*The dungeon has ten levels with 10-24 rooms on each level. The wizard you must kill is on the 10th level down! Make sure you search the rooms to find gold
and weapons. The Black Knights you are to kill could be as high as the 6th floor down! If you are playing EASY mode. There should be only one of these.
*The Sith (A bigfoot type of monster with frosty hair) uses the freeze spell to kill his prey. This spell is an instantaneous killer if one is hit with it.
So be careful.
*The small scrolls you receive during the game are very important. With the scrolls you may decide which Gem is the real one. The scrolls like the hint
above about the dove and the black cat, are riddles to solve. Decide wether the scroll suggests that dark colors are evil or light colors are evil. Then pick
the appropriate colored Gem.
*The scoring of this game is the key to your success. Every time you find gold, you gain points. Every time you hit a monster, you gain the equivalent
number of points that you took off of his hitpoints. That is, if you hit a skeletal with 5 points in damage. You have just gained 5 points. When someone kills
a monster. Every body in the group will gain the bonus points that exist for that monster. The harder the monster, the more bonus points you get.
*Another scoring point is this. The way the DOMINARI is chosen is this. The game will compute the number of points you have received and divide that by the
number of games you have played. The highest average is selected for Dominari. The second highest is then chosen as the king. And so on. But the real trick is
to decide who shall play each time. Since you get bonus points for each level (0 for Easy, 500 for Moderate, 1000 for Difficult, and 1500 for Impossible.) This
become a strategy game as well as a tactical one.
*If you want a lot more hints along with the complete manual which includes all the art!! Send $15.00 to:
Michael J. Feldhake
P.O. Box 47054
Indianapolis, IN 76247-0054
A FINAL WORD:
Finally, let me warn you, that Dominari is a challenging game that is meant to be difficult to win at times. The combat phase will be new and frustrating at
first, but when you get used to it, you will do fine. You might never reach the goal of Dominari. You might reach it quite quickly. But even if you do, the
game will continue as before. You might have a harder time keeping the position of Dominari then
gaining it! A little hint. Leave the impossible mode alone. And of course.....good luck my dear chap!
