Amiga Collections: The Best of Public Domain/Best of Public Domain, The Nr.37 (19xx)(Garfield, Andi)(DE).zip/Best of Public Domain, The Nr.37 (19xx)(Garfield, Andi)(DE).adf/docn

Text File | 1989-11-20 | 32KB | 702 lines

                          B L O O D W Y C H
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



An Introduction

Bloodwych is a sophisticated role playing adventure game which utilises
all the advanced features of your computer. A lot of time and effort
has gone into making BLOODWYCH a unique experience in computer
adventure games.


          THE LEGEND OF THE BLOODWYCH....

 It has long been the custom among the people of Trazere to tell the
most ancient of legends; that of the Bloodwych, secret order of phychic
mages. It is said that many eons ago The Bloodwych ruled over the
ancient and powerful city of Treihadwyl. There they secretly presided
over the affairs of the land of Trazere, meting out punishment and
reward to its citizens, and communing with the elements on their
behalf. For many centuries the people of Trazere lived in respectful
awe of the Bloodwych, but while they ruled the land was safe. Safe,
that is, until one black morn long before your grandfather's great
grandfather was conceived.

 For there was among the Bloowych one Zendick, second in power and
mystic arts to the Grand Dragon alone. But for all his power and
wisdom, Zendick was a creature driven by greed and ambition. He was
no longer satisfied with living in the shadow of the master mage, so he
rejected the ways of the Bloodwych and courted black and evil arts.
After many years devious plotting Zendick was finally ready to deal the
blow he had long dreamt of, and that very day he called the powers of
darkness to him and destroyed the Grand Dungeon, leader of the
Bloodwych.

 His Bloodwych brothers were unprepared for this onslaught, and thus
were unable to resist Zendick before he banished them forever to the
astral plane. It is said that Zendick's evil laughter could be heard
resounding across the whole land on that morn. All day and all night
was his laughter heard, and on the following day the skies darkened,
and rained blood, and the land opened up and many good citizens of
Trazere were heard of no more.

 It is then told how in the many moons that followed Zendick called to
Treihadwyl many creatures of the night, and the goodly folk of the land
dared not walk forth after sunset. And slowly the city of mages was
transformed. There appeared above its ramparts forbidding towers and
within them lay great crystals of storing, slowly sucking energy and
life from the land. With this energy Zendick intended to summon a lord
of entropy, incarnation of pure chaos, who would dissolve the fabric of
the universe into the elements from which it was forged. Then, Zendick
alone would be free torecreate the world in his own image. He was, of
course, quite mad. Chaos would leave nothing but the crystals from
which it was born.

 With each passing year the land about Treidhadwyl became bleaker and
colder. The city itself seemed to radiate evil, infecting all who
strayed within its influence. Trazere and its people became but a
shadow of all they had been before,and the birth of each child, and the
harvesting of the crops became times for weeping, not rejoicing. Once
a great mob, armed with little more than their wits, marched on the
city, determined to end the blight that had ruined their lives. Only
one man returned, half-starved, his flesh scorched and bare. He barely
had time to utter the horrors he had seen before his final breath
shuddered through his body and his soul mercifully joined those of his
fallen comrades.

 Now, as I write this infernal record, there seems little more to live
for. Disease and despair pervade the land, and the lust for life our
forefathers had, will never be enjoyed by their children. All that
remains is to pray. Pray that someday The Bloodwych will return and
avenge us.

        Helveth Sharpquill, Scribe.
    Written by his own hand this 13th day of Seth, in the
      four thousand and eightyfirst year of the dark.


....somewhere, deep in the realm of souls, a mind was reaching out,
calling its compainions toward it. Unseen like the wind, the spirits of
many came together. Formless though they were, each mind linked,
sharing its thoughts with others. No word was uttered, no sound made,
but within the astral void a thought took shape.

 "Bloodwych are we, immortal mages,seekers of light. We must not be
defeated brothers. The black art of Zendick has arrived for too long.
He must be destroyed, and the right time is now. Zendick's influence is
grown too strong. The Lord of Entropy is gathering his power, and will
soon begin his plague of destruction. If we do not banish him to the
realm of chaos then all will be lost...."

 "Saldar and Vestryl, you are charged with the most important task any
of the Bloodwych have ever undertaken. You must find the last sixteen
champions of Trazere, and link your minds with the worthiest two.
Then, if the universe is to be saved, you must lead them into the heart
of Treihadwyl, and once there, find and destroy the crystals of
storing. Go now, and may the spirit of the Bloodwych be with you...."

 Murlock Darkheart awoke to find himself in the gloom of a cold stone
passageway. He groaned as he sat up, his eyes misting over with pain.
Immediately he remembered the previous night. Strange that so many fine
adventures should have arrived at the same lonely tavern in one
evening. That, he promised himself,would be the very last time that a
drop of mead passed his lips. How was it possible taht a powerful and
dignified mage like himself could have ended up carousing with common
fighters. He would never again be able to look his fellow spell-casters
in the eye.

 Right now though his main concern was getting out of the filthy hole
he had wandered into his drunken stupor. As he walked on Murlocks heart
began to sink. The corridors seemed to go on for ever, winding about
each other like an enormous maze. He was beginning to wonder if he was
destined to become rat fodder in this godless place, when he thought he
caught a glimpse of something moving ahead of him. And surely enough,
as he rounded a corner he saw a figure heading off into the darkness.
If his eyes did not mistake him, it was one of the adventures he had
encountered in the tavern the night before.

 Darkheart was about to give chase when a sudden nausea came over him
and he fell to the ground retching. His head seemed about to explode,
and he became confused by strange visions of things unknown to him.
But his pain was not long-lived. The sickness soon subsided and was
replaced by a comforting presence. As he recovered, Darkheart realised
that something very strange had happened to him, but he was not afraid
....the Bloodwych were with him.



          HOW TO PLAY BLOODWYCH

 You are one of the Bloodwych. You must take on the persona of one of
the last sixteen champions of Trazere. You must first explore
Treihadwyl, recruiting more champions, and gathering items to aid you
in your task. Once you are prepared you must get the four crystals of
storing from the towers. Take them to the fifth tower and there destroy
Zendick, and banish the Lord of Entropy to the realm of chaos. To do
this you will have to defeat the agents of Zendick. The Lord of Entropy
has transformed many of citizens of Trazere into weird monsters, and
twisted the minds of many into those of phychpotic killers. Some of
these citizens may aid you, but many will try to destroy you. Good luck
in your mission, and remember. the spirit of the Bloodwych is always
with you.

 BLOODWYCH is played using one or two joysticks which mimic the
functions of your computer's mouse controller. Most of the functions of
BLOODWYCH are activated by using the joystick to move a pointer (in the
shape of a small arrow) over an icon and then pressing the fire button
to activate that icon. Player one's pointer is blue, and player two's
pointer is red.



          ABOUT CHARACTERS

 The character selection page shows the sixteen available champions. To
inspect a champion click on the Shield representing that character. The
champion will then appear in one of the Player Boxes to the right of
the screen, together with his or her attributes displayed in the
Character Scroll. Click on the Bag icon to view the character's
inventory. The Bag icon will now become a book icon. Click on this to
view the character's Spell Book. The Book icon will become a Scroll
icon. Click on this to return the Character Scroll. See sections on
spells and the inventory for an explanation of these displays.

 If you now wish to view another champion you can do so by clicking on
the appropriate Shield. You may view as many champions as you wish in
the way. When you have chosen a suitable champion click on the Suit
icon (the playing cards) to confirm your choice. When both players
(in a two player game) have selected their champions the game will
begin. All other characters desired by either player will have to be
returned, as described in the communication section.

Psyche Types
 There are four psyche types, each indicated by a indicated by a
different suit of cards. Each psyche type has different strenghts and
weaknesses. The types are:


Fighters, good in combat                    Spades
Mages, excellent at casting spells          Clubs
Adventures, all-rounders and diplomats      Hearts
Archers/Assassins                           Diamonds



 Any psyche type can attempt and perform actions normally associated
with another type. They may, however, not be very adept at it.

Character Attributes
 Clicking on the Scroll icon will call up the Character Scroll for the
currently selected leader. This shows the following character
attributes:

 LEVEL:        This is an indication of your character's experience.
               This affects all of your basic skills and speciality
               skills. The higher your level is, the more competent
               you are at  everything.

 STRENGTH:     This affects how easily you hit during combat and how
               much damage you will inflict on your opponent.

 AGILITY:      This also affects your akill in combat, as well as your
           ability to dodge attacks.

 INTELLIGENCE: This limits the number of spell points you have.

 CHARISMA:     This is an indication of how much influence you have
           over other characters.

 HIT POINT:    This shows how much damage you can take before dying.
           Hit points can be restored with appropriate potions,
           spells, or by resting. The first figure shows your
           current hit points, while the second figure shows the
           maximum number of hit point you can reach.

 VITALITY:     This is an indication of how much energy you have. If
               your vitality drops to zero you will start to take
               damage. Potions and spells may be used to assist in
               recovering your vitality. As with hit points, the first
               figure shows your currently vitality while the second
               shows your maximum vitality.

 FOOD:         This bar shows how well-fed a charaxter is. If the bar
               is short, a character is hungry and will soon require
               food. The food level influences the speed at which
               vitality is recovered.

 Click once anywhere on the screen to revert to the main control
display. The important attributes for the current leader are also
displayed in statistics box situated to the right of the leader icon.
The three bars in this box show, from top to bottom: hit points;
vitality; and spell points.



          MOVING CHARACTERS

 When moving or performing any other significant action in BLOODWYCH it
is the currently selected party leader who performs the action. The
other members of the party respond on their own initiative. The current
leader is indicated by a box around his or her Suit icon. To change the
current leader simply click twice on the apropriate Suit icon. Note
that the leader does not necessarily have to be at the front of the
party.

 It is possible at any stage to change the marching order of the party.
to do this simply click once on a member's Suit icon. This will now
become grey. Now click once on the new position and the marching order
will change appropriately.

 Movement is achieved by clicking on the appropriate movement icon.
Note that Turn Left or Right makes your character turn through ninety
degrees on the spot, whereas Step Left or Right makes your character
move left or right without facing in that direction.



 The following key combinations can also be used to achieve movement:

                  Player One    Player Two


Step Forward      Up Arrow      W
Step Back         Down Arrow    S
Turn Left         Delete        Q
Turn Right        Help          E
Step Left         Left Arrow    A
Step Right        Right Arrow   D

 When a movement icon is activated it will flash briefly and your
character will move appropriately. If you attempt to move into a space
that is already occupied, by a pillar or another character for
instance, the icon will flash but no movement will occur.

Stairways
 To ascend or descend a stairway merely step onto it. It is not
necessary to be facing the stairway to do this. If you turn on a
stairway you will move up or down depending on whether you were
initially at the top or the buttom.

Doors
 Doors can be opened or closed by clicking on the Door icon, or by
clicking on the door in the 3D display. If you have previously cast a
continuous spell, or there is a spell waiting to be cast, then the Door
icon will be concealed by the spell icon. In order to use the Door icon
it is necessary to first cancel the spell. Attempting to open a locked
door will result in the word "LOCKED" appearing. Locked doors can be
unlocked with an appropriate key or spell. See the sections on spells
and the inventory for an explanation of how to do this.


          SPELLS

 Clicking on the Book icon calls up the Spell Book display. Clicking on
the arrows above the book will turn the pages of the book forward or
backward. Clicking on the central double arrow will close the book and
return the main control display.

Preparing Spells
 To prepare a spell you must first click on one of the four runes on
each page. Only known spells may be selected, and these are coloured
after their magical alignments (green, blue, red, or yellow). A spell
not yet known will be in grey and cannot be selected. The currently
selected spell is identified blow the spell book by its name, colour,
and present cost. If no spell is currently prepared the area below the
book will have grey stars and there will be no spell named there. The
cost of the spell selected may be altered by clicking on the arrows
either side of the current value. Raising the cost of a spell will
improve its power and cast percentage, but also the size of the drain
on your spell points, lowering the cost of the spell will make it use
less spell points but will decrease its power or cast percentage. Your
current and maximum spell points are shown beneath the spell.
Successful use of a spell will increase your proficiency at that spell
which will make the spell cheaper and/or more pwoerful for future
casts. A spell which has been prepared will remain so until it is cast
or another spell is selected or the party sleeps.

Castings Spells
 A spell is cast by clicking on the star icons either side of the spell
name. If the spell book is closed before a prepared spell is cast then
the door icon will be replaced by  a star icon, which may also be used
to cast the spell. If a character has a spell prepared when entering
combat, then the spell will automatically be cast first. It is not
possible for a character to cast a spell which requires more apell
points than he or she currently has available. A spell with a low cast
percentage may fail and this will be indicated by an appropriate
message. After casting a spell the caster will endure a temporary
penalty on all spells while he recovers from the effort of casting.
This recovery time is longer for higher level spells.

Spell Effect
 All spells have a variable effect which is a combination of your
ability as a magic user, the energy you expend on a spell, your
experience in the spell being cast, and luck. The cast percentage bar
gives a clear indication of whether you are likely to cast the spell
being cast, and luck. The cast percentage bar gives a clear indication
of whether you are likely to cast the spell successfully. Once youe
ability to cast a spell reaches 100% the effect of the spell begins to
grow stronger.

Continuing Spells
 Some spells have a continuing effect. When these are cast an icon,
representing the spell, replaces the Door icon. The spell can be
cancelled by clicking on this icon. No other spells can be cast while a
continuous spell is in use. If another spell is cast from the spell
book while a continuous spell is in use, then this will also cancel the
continuous spell. You may have another spell prepared while a
continuous spell is running. The prepared spell may either be cast from
the spell book, or by cancelling the continuous spell to reveal the star
icon on the main panel.

Specialisation
 All characters are specialised in one of the the colours of magic
according to their alignment. This is indicated by the colour of the
Suit icon and Shield. Spells of your natural colour are easier to cast,
easier to develop proficiency in, and more effective than spells of
another colour. Each colour of magic represents a different sphere of
influence:

    Green    Serpent Magic   represents the physical
    Blue     Moon Magic      represents the mind and illusion
    Red      Dragon Magic    is the use of fire and energy
    Yellow   Chaos Magic     effects the very nature of magic and life

Spell Acquisition
 Spades and Diamonds will recieve a new spell every second level.
Hearts will receive one each level, and Clubs two per level. Now spells
are learned during sleep, when a character may be visited by the Spell
Faeries. They will only sell spells to those ready to receive them.




          THE INVENTORY AND MANIPULATING OBJECTS

 Clicking on the inventory icon will call up the the inventory display.
The inventory for each character shows twelve items slots. The first
four of these are for an item held in the left hand, an item held in
the right hand, armour wor, and shield. The classes of Clubs and
Diamonds may only use small shields. The remaining eight are backpack
slots. Below these slots is the characters current armour rating. This
indicates how effective the character's armour is at absorbing blows.
The lower this number is, the more effective your armour isw. Below
this are the party's Suit icons. The character whose inventory is
currently displayed is highlighted with a box. The final two icons are
the transfer/use slot and the exit icon. Clicking on this last icon
will revent to the main control display.

Selecting an Inventory
 To select a character's inventory for display, simply click on the
appropriateSuit icon. The character's name will be shown at the top of
the display and their inventory will be revealed.

Using the Transfer Slot
 Clicking on any item in the inventory will cause that item to move
into the transfer slot where it can be easily manipulated. Similarly
clicking on an empty slot in the inventory will cause any item
currently in the transfer slot to move into the empty slot. Hand slots
are for anything, but weapons, rings, wands, and staves are only useful
when placed there. The armour slot is for worn items, the Shield slot
is for shields, and the backpackslots are for anything.

 To swap an item in the inventory with an item in the transfer slots,
simply click on the item in the inventory and they will be swapped.

 To drop an item in the transfer slot simply click on the place in the
3D display where you wish to leave it. Similarly to pick up an object
click on the object and it will be moved to the transfer slot. If there
is already something in the transferslot it will be dropped.

Arrows, Common Keys and Coins
 These object are shown with a number which indicates how many there
are. One click will move one object to the transfer slot. If you then
make subsequent clicks on the transfer slot you will move more.

Moving items between characters
 To transfer items from one character to another, move the item to the
transfer slot then select the receiving character and move the item to
an empty space on his or her inventory.

Using an item
 To use an item, like food, drink, or potions, put the item in the
transfer slot and then click on it. They will be consumed by the
character whose inventory is currently being viewed. When a food or
drink item is in the transfer slot the current food levelof the
character is displayed in the message window underneath the 3D display
for easy reference.

 Swords and other weaponry must be carried by a character in a hand
slot if they are to be used. This is also true of staves wands and
rings. An item can be in either hand slot but it both hand slots
contain melee weapons the one in the left hand will be used. If a
character wishes to use a bow in combat both the bow and arrows must be
in the hand slots.

Rifling dead characters
 If a party member is with the party at the time of his or her death,
then his or her inventory will still be available for access. If the
party member was away from the  party at the time of death then the
body must first be retrieved before the inventory can be accessed. You
may not access the inventory of dead character who were not members of
your party.

Tapestries
 Some tapestries can be examined by clicking in the centre of the 3D
display while standing directly in front of the tapestry. This action
will reveal a message if the correct type of tapestry was examined.




                COMBAT

 Combat occurs either when your party encounters a hostile creature, or
when your party initiates an attack on a creature. In combat you can of
six possible courses of action:

 1. DO NOTHING:    (this is not recommended).

 2. RETREAT:       by moving rapidly away from your adversary.

 3. ATTACK:        by clicking on the strike icon.

 4. DEFEND:       by clicking on the defend icon (this is useful if
                   you need to perform an action such as rearranging
           marching order).
 5. CAST SPELL:    (See section on SPELLS).

 6. FIRE A MISSILE:by clicking on the strike icon while you have bow
           and arrows in your hands.

 During combat characters will follow the lead of your combat
instruction and generally act on their own initiative. You then have
control only over the inventories and spell books of your party's
characters. The party leader will not participate in the attack while
you are examining an inventory or selecting a spell. You may change the
party leader and marching order at will during combat, and you can
always try to run away. The party will continue to fight until either
all your characters die, or your foes die or flee. During melee missile
weapons can only be shot by characters who occupy the rear two marching
positions. Blows can only be landed by characters who occupy the front
two marching positions. Spell can be cast from any position.

Combat status display
 At any time that the partysuffers damage the damage done is flashed
across the hit character's Shield icon, and the status display will
become a set of vertical colour coded bars showing the current hit
point level of each member of the party. This display can also be seen
at any time during play by clicking on the party leader's image.

 The damage inflicted by the party is shown in the two message windows
along with a miniature suit icon to aid identification. The damage done
by the partyleaderis shown in the small message window beneath the 3D
display.



             COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER CHARACTERS

 Clicking on the status panel will call up the communicate options. The
seven options are:

COMMUNICATE:     Providing that there is a character in front of you,
         clicking on this option will call up a talk menu.
         There are two pages in this menu. You can flip between
         the two by clicking on the swap icon, which appears
         above the menu. Each option generates an appropriate
         phrase which is displayed at the top of your display.
         Any reply will be displayed shortly afterwards in red.
         The possible options are:

PAGE ONE

RECRUIT:     Invite a character to join your party. This is the
         only way to gain new members, and only the initail 16
         champions can be recruited.

IDENTIFY:        This calls up a sub-menu in which the option are:WHO
         GOES?, THY TRADE?, NAME SELF, REVEAL SELF.

INQUIRY:     This calls up a sub-menu of subjects you may inquire
         about.

WHEREABOUTS:     Ask where something is.

PAGE TWO

TRADING:     This calls up a further sub-menu:

OFFER:         Offer an object in the transfer slot that you wish to
         exchange or sell. This is also used to offer gold
         during a purchase. The command may be used more than
         once during any given transaction.
         For example: if a monster says no to your offer of
         gold,than you may offer it more or less. This also
         works with trading object where you may offer a
         different object.
         If you are not currently buying, selling or trading
         anything then the offered object is presented as a
         gift.

PURCHASE:     Enquire whether a monster or character has anything
         for sale.

EXCHANGE:     Used to determine what object is being carried by a
         monster or character, and whether or not they wish to
         trade.

SELL:         Offer item in your transfer slot for sale.

SMALLTALK:     This calls up a sub-menu of options to emotionally
         influence a character. Insults are particularly good
         fun!

YES & NO:     These icons are used t0o respond to questions.

BRIBE:         This is used to get passage past a monster by
         bestowing objects or gold which can then be offered
         using the Offer command.

THREAT:         This can be used to instil mortal fear in an opponent,
         but might not always work.

COMMEND:     Clicking on this icon allows you to commend a
         character, which will increase that character's
         initiative and make him or her more likely to do
         something useful.

CORRECT:     This will decrease a character's initiative, thus
         making him or her more retrained, and less likely to
         initiate an action of their own.

VIEW:         This change the 3D display to show the scene through
         the eyes of any waithing character.

WAIT:         Clickingm on this option will allow you to command a
         character to stay behind. There must be free space in
         front of the party in order to do this.

DISMISS:     Permanently dismiss a member of the party. This will
         allow you to recruit another character. There must be
         free space in front of the party in order to do this.

CALL:         Call out to a waiting character. If they are within
         earshot, they will return.


          MISCELLANEOUS COMMANDS

 These are accessed, at the same time as the communicate menus, by
clicking on the status panel.

   Exit
 The exit icon is used to exit from the current communication menu.

   Disc Operations
 If the disc icon is clicked by both players (in a two player game), the
current game can be saved or an old game restored.

   Pause
 Clicking the pause icon will cause the game to be suspended for both
players until either of the pause icons is clicked again.

   Sleep
 Clicking on the sleep icon makes the party sleep. This speeds up the
party's recovery of hit points, vitality and spell points. Improved
sleep can come from facing a bed before clicking on the icon. Sleep is
very important. Characters will only gain experience levels during
sleep and will only gain new spells while asleep. it is generally a
good idea to sleep after a battle.




          HINTS AND TIPS

 Starting Up
 * When you first play BLOODWYCH take time to experiment with the games
controls. Try using the various icons and menus, and see what effect
different spells have. If you spend some time getting to know the more
advanced features of BOOLDWYCH you will find it easier to progress when
you play the game in earnest.

 * Always make a map. You will get hopelessly lost without one.
Indicate doors and rooms on it. If you leave an object or character
behind, mark the place on your map. It is also a good idea to mark the
position of any pits or traps you come across so that you can avoid
them in future.

Combat
 * Keep a close eye on the hit point of your party members and be ready
to move someone to the back of the party or run away to recover. It is
often agoodidea to have your main spellcaster as party leader during
combat, and have him or her at the rear of the party. In this way he or
she can be casting spells while the foeward characters do the fighting.
Have some appropriate spells prepared before combat begins because your
characters first action will be to cast any spells they have prepared.

Magic
 * Try to have a good balance of colour in your party. As a character
will be much better at casting spells of their own alignment get weaker
spellcasters (like Spades and Diamonds) to learn spells in their own
colour first. Some particularly useful spells should be learned by
everybody. Do not be afraid of using magic - you can only get better.

Party Management
 * Commend and Correct will directly affect how a party member will
behave during combat. If you have a particular funciton for a character
ensure that you Commend or Correct them appropriately before engaging
in combat as it is not possible to do so during melee.

Character Psyche Types
 * Spades are the warriors of BLOODWYCH. They can use any weapon,
armour or shield. They usually have more hit points and strngth than
other characters, but do not make very good magic users.

 * Clubs are the mages of BLOODWYCH. Although weak at low levels, they
quickly become powerful as they learn spells and gain experience. A
high level clubs character makes a formidable adversary.

 * Hearts are competent in all skills. They are the Jack-of-all-trades.
They also have much nicer personalities than the other psyche types,
thus making them far better negotiators.

 * The abilities of Diamonds lie in the areas of stealth, archery and
observation. If they attack a foe from behind they will inflict great
damage, providing that they are using a suitable assassin's weapon. You
will often notice things that would otherwise be overlooked if your
current party leader is a Diamond.

General
 * Do not be too eager to discard an item that is no longer required as
most things can be sold or traded.

 * Located within the halls are Regeneration Chambers. These magical
locations will restore to life a dead character. Try to find these
quickly and remember where they are.

 * Do not eager to kill things - it's not easy being a monster you
know!

 * When trading you will find it necessary to have the inventory
displayed.

 * try not to be too greedy in a two palyer game. If you do argue about
some aspect of play try to resolve it before you end up killing each
other!

 * BLOODWYCH is a large and sophisticated adventure. You will almost
certainly not complete it in one session. You can easily save your
position in the game by clicking on the disc icon. The next time you
load BLOODWYCH you will be able to restore your saved position and
continue play from that point. You will also find it useful to save the
game at regular intervals while you are playing. In this way you will
not get caught out by any unforeseen disaster like your whole party
being slaughtered or a power cut!