Belgian Amiga Club - ADF Collection/BS1 part 60.zip/BS1 part 60/Rygar Doxdisk 16.adf/ShadowlandsDOCS/ShadowlandsDOCS

Text File | 1992-04-26 | 47KB | 969 lines

                                Shadowlands


Typed by Keith The Lamer.
Greetings to Peter Perfect & Maid Marian of C.K.C.


Shadowlands: The Fall Of Koranos
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Deep in the heart of the Shadowlands, wrapped in dungeons and bathed in
temples, sat the Overlord, and all the land that his dark eyes surveyed
belonged to him. From the melancholy orchards at Randril to the grand mazes
of Sunassi, this was the realm of the Overlord. From the point where the sky
meets the sea to the tips of the Gurangas mountains, he was lord of all. The
dark lord surveyed his realm, and he hungered for more.

 Tianna awoke at eight, and, surfacing from her dreams, she turned her head
on her pillow to gaze upon the sleeping body of Vashnar. His smooth breath
and calm face pleased her. Vashnar had been despondent of late, and when he
was angry he was so much more a warrior, and so much less a prince.

 Rumours had reached the palace of great movements beyond the mountains, in
the sombre realms. Some of the more foolhardy adventurers of the village had
talked of venturing north through the mountain paths, into the Shadowlands,
to investigate, but Vashnar had forbidden any to venture there, and none
doubted the wisdom of Vashnar.

 Tianna looked from the windows to the river of Caval, the river of
eternity, whose song played through the village, and whose waters, it was
said, gave energy to the strong of heart. Her gaze turned up from the river,
to the giant form of Holias, largest of the Gurangas mountains, and there
she saw a sight that chilled her. An army, a mass, a deluge of people,
moving slowly down the mountain like a black stain. She took a trembling
breath, and turned to wake the warrior prince.

 Fortimer had also seen the dark army. From his farm at the foot of the
mountains it now seemed awesome to him, immense and unending, wrapping the
landscape like a wave of death. His daughter came to him as he sat at the
edge of his farm and watched them.

 Sapphire was eleven years old and already had all her mother's wisdom
weaved into her face. She spoke little, preferring to observe, and on the
rare occasions she did speak, her voice was small and light, like birdsong.
Fortimer looked at her - his child, his line, his blood - and pride welled
within him with every breath she took. She spoke to him, and her words cut
him in twain.

 "Daddy, are they going to hurt us!"

 Fortimer felt tears well up in his eyes. An hour later he and his family
were slain. They were the first victims in the fall of Koranos.


From Vashnar's Address To The Army Of Koranos:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 "This day sees Koranos face its bitterest test. The dark hand of the
Overlord extends its grasp in our direction, and we in turn must face
ourselves, and the courage that makes us men. Many of you have fought with
me before, at the fields of Magellin, and at the Llinor Pass: on those days
we did not fail - though the enemy seemed more mighty than the gods - and
thus shall it be today.

 "I do not attempt to mislead you, my people. There will be much bloodshed
in our lands today. But by the spirit which guides the Caval we shall be
sure none of our deaths shall be without purpose, and none of us shall
battle without honour.

 "We ride to the defence of Koranos, which has fed us and housed us for five
generations. We ride so that this city may host many hundreds of generations
for all of time. We ride with our hearts held high, and we ride with right
on our side, so we cannot fail."

 As the army moved out of the main square, smoke was seen on the horizon.
Vashnar cursed under his breath, for he knew that the fire was Fortimer's
farm, and he knew that for all his fine words, he was still mortal, and his
life was as temporary as a harvest fire, and as transient as the beauty of a
rose.

 Battle was joined five miles after the army crossed the Caval. From nowhere
they seemed to come, as if dropped from the sky by some mighty fist. The
Annubi, the Valkyrie, the Minotaurs, and the Undead. All these were in the
first rank of the Overlord's armies, and though the men of Koranos fought
well, they were crushed by the size of the dark one's hoards. Vashnar saw
his cousin, Ulun, gorged on the horns of a minotaur, his quartered body
thrown to the Hell Hounds who ripped the still screaming tongue from his
mouth. Durranon, the captain of the guard, was consumed in one of the hail
of fireballs poured upon the armies. Through the smoke and heat Vashnar made
out the form of Keenan, his bravest Paladin, approaching him.

 "Vashnar, warrior prince, you must flee this place. We are defeated. You
must not die: you must go, and take the name of Koranos with you. Maybe one
day it will be safe to return here and make Koranos anew. Return to your
palace, take Tianna and head south, away from the Shadowlands. Do not let
our deaths be for naught my prince."

 Vashnar turned and drove his horse west, back across the Caval, to the
village. Keenan rode back into the fray, to die in defence of his lord.

 Rats and scorpions ran through the streets of the village, snakes climbed
the walls of every house. The stench of burning flesh hung in the air, and
though he could not yet see it, Vashnar knew that the palace was the same.

 Tianna lay naked on the floor of the bedroom, clutching her stomach and
sobbing. As he turned her over Vashnar could see that she had been violated
and branded by one of the Incendera, the "burning men" of legend who lived
in the Shadowlands. He wrapped her in sheets and carried her in his arms to
his horse. As they rode south, to follow the river, the blood from her
wounds stained the sheets. By the time they reached the banks of the Caval,
she was dead.

 Vashnar dismounted, and lay Tianna's body on the ground. He knelt over the
body and began to weep.

 "A curse on you Overlord. By all that is good and pure in this woman i
swear i shall not rest until i have revenge on you."

 Vashnar lit the sheets that wrapped his lover, and stood silently by her
flames. For what seemed like days he watched her body give its spirit to the
skies and the land. Then he turned, and headed northwards, following the
river. And his eyes were like pinpricks in steel, and his frown was as stern
as the clouds.

 Three miles Vashnar travelled before he saw three horsemen approach from
the north. His heart froze as he saw that they were servants of the
Overlord, dark knights on skeletal steeds. The undead come in many forms,
but surely the most terrible is that of a skeleton, a rotted human corpse,
with its flesh long since consumed and two empty bottomless holes for eyes.
The fixed grin of the jawbone presented a bitter irony to the warrior. He
smiled and dismounted.

 "Who dares to stand before us!", said a cold voice from deep within the
lead skeleton's robes.

 "Who asks!", replied Vashnar.

 "I am Cthul Tol Anuin. Overlord of the Shadowlands. Keeper of the Grim Mask
of Gythdor. Your new lord and master."

 "And i am Vashnar Herenil, son of King Herenil of the Harbour Lands, bearer
of the Staff of Remiros. I challenge your leadership, Cthul Tol. I have
cursed you on the banks of the River Caval, and i shall destroy you."

 "I laugh at your curse, warrior prince, and at your sacred river. Your
river flows northwards into my realm son of Kings, and it is there that your
bones shall rot when you die."

 "I am not afraid of you."

 "Then we are well matched, Prince Vashnar, for i am not afraid of you. I am
not afraid of you at all."

 A shooting pain ran up Vashnar's left side, and he felt the warm ooze of
his own blood on his thigh. He looked down to his side to see the end of a
spear jutting from the right side of his stomach. Then the pain began.
Immeasurable pain, as his kidneys and intestines and skin and bones and
blood all screamed for help to his mind. And the scream of his body passed
from his brain to his mouth. And Vashnar screamed, a primal scream, and
through the layers of pain Vashnar was aware that the spear was being
twisted and moved, gouging up through his back, and then, finally,
withdrawn.

 He stumbled back, clutching his stomach, and saw the standing form of a
skeleton, the spear still in its hand. The grin of the jaw-bone smiled down
at him, and the empty eyes called to him, and Vashnar saw himself on the
ground with the skeleton standing beside him, and as he began to rise
further and further upwards, he saw the skeleton kick his lifeless body into
the River Caval. He turned away, towards the sky, where the arms of the
earth mother offered to wrap him up and hold him, and he smiled.

 "That's the dream!, said Nanock.

 "The same every night for the past four days", replied Helver.

 "Strange."

 They were sitting in one of the many taverns in the City of Aquanor,
capital of the Harbour Lands. The tavern was small but friendly, and many
adventurers came to swap stories and drink ale. Tonight the tavern was
packed, and all the talk was of Helver's dream, of the fall of Koranos, of
the death of Prince Vashnar, and of why nearly a third of the adventuring
community had experienced the very same dream every night for the past four
days.

 "It has to be a call for help. It has to be," proclaimed Rathor, a powerful
cleric whose experience demanded that his words be taken seriously. "You
want my guess, the prince is dead and the palace hasn't told the people
yet."

 "Maybe the palace doesn't know yet", interjected Helver. "It's fourteen
days' ride to Koranos, and what if he only died four days ago! That would
seem likely. Surely we should seek an audience with the King, even if only
to warn him about the dream."

 "If the dream has affected so many of us, i should imagine there are many
in the King's direct service who have also received it. The King already
knows: if he didn't, he wouldn't be King."

 "Then what do we do, pack our bags and ride north for sixteen days on the
strength of a shared dream! It could be a trap. Stranger things have been
known."

 "I would like to speak please", came a soft voice from the back, and when
the adventurers turned they beheld a bright white light, and in the centre
of that light was the spirit of a small girl, who bore infinite wisdom in
her face. The room parted and slowly she moved, silently, suspended in the
air, to the front of the room. And then she spoke, and her voice was like
birdsong:

 "I am Sapphire of Koranos, brought here by the power of the River Caval, to
summon you to the aid of Vashnar Herenil, slain by the Overlord of the
Shadowlands, and who lives yet in spirit. Through the power of the River
Caval, the River of Eternity, and through the power of a curse, made by
Vashnar at the side of his lover, his spirit shall not rest until the
Overlord is slain."

 "That could take a long time", whispered Nanock to Helver. The light moved
towards him.

 "That, Nanock of Duannar, is why the curser is often the cursed. Many of
you will have already received messages telling of the fall of Koranos, and
of the death of Vashnar. Vashnar asks four of the noblest warriors to become
bearers for his spirit and guidance, and to venture into the Shadowlands to
retrieve his bones, and to exact his vengeance on Cthul Tol Anuin. Do you
accept!"

 "And what about afterwards!", asked Rathor, "When this task is done! How
are we to be rewarded! How is the spirit of Vashnar to leave our bodies and
reward us!"

 "In the inner sanctum of the Shadowlands", the spirit whispered, "past the
dungeons and temples, past the undead and the dogs of hell, beyond the mazes
and the pyramids, lies the Overlord's dark temple, and in this temple there
is an altar of regeneration. It is thus that the Overlord has held his reign
for so long. Place the bones of Vashnar upon the altar, take the key held by
the Overlord, and return Vashnar to life. Then you will see reward from this
warrior prince. Reward such as you have never known."

 "I'm convinced", said Nanock. "How will we know if we've been chosen!"

 "You will know", breathed Sapphire, and vanished as silently as she had
arrived.

  The banks of the river Caval were lined from the entrance into the
Shadowlands to the burned out husk that was once Koranos. Many people
ventured to the Caval that day, some out of loyalty to the once and future
warrior prince, some out of more material motives, and many out of
curiosity, but none expected the events of the afternoon.

 As the sun began to be eclipsed by Holias, largest of the Gurangas
mountains, the sky began to darken and a rumbling began from deep in the
earth. The River Caval began to moan, and its moans were the cries of loss,
the moans of those whose lives are taken as they follow their hearts, and
the tears of those who mourn the loss of an innocent. And the river began to
flow faster, and began to foam and wave, and burst its banks, and all those
who were touched by the waters were frozen. And those who tried to flee were
also caught by the waters, and soon, all stood silent and frozen.

 Nanock felt a presence deep within him, searching him, sensing everything
about him, and then, as quickly as the sensation had appeared, it vanished,
and the waters began to recede to the river, and the sky began to grow
lighter, and the people began to move.

 And everyone who was present left the place immediately, and in silence.
When asked afterwards no-one could report why they had left so quickly.
Roaming homewards, to new adventures, to lovers, battles or children and
families, all left the banks of the River Caval. All, that is, except four
adventurers, chosen by Vashnar Herenil, Warrior Prince of Koranos, to be his
avengers, and his deliverers.



Amiga & Atari ST
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Switch the computer on and insert disk 1 in the internal drive.
 The game will boot automatically and you will be prompted when to insert
 disk 2.
 Dual disk drive owners may utilise both drives.
 NOTE: To save a game, a blank unformatted disk is required to be inserted
 in any drive.


Entering The Shadowlands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Shadowlands is a challenging and absorbing RPG (Role Playing Game) but
thanks to its advanced interface design it's extremely easy to play. The
quest may take you months, but the controls will be at your fingertips after
only a few minutes.
   Shadowlands is choc-a-bloc with traps, adversaries and conundrums. Your
objective is to guide your Four Warriors through these obstacles to confront
The Keeper - the Undead Guardian of Your Physical Self. Defeat him and you
can undergo the process of reintegration, uniting your physical and
spiritual selves in the process of Self Realisation.
   Remember: the Spirit may be Willing, but the Flesh is Extremely Weak!


A. Starting Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   When first starting the game you are presented with three options -
GENERATE CHARACTERS, QUICK START or LOAD A SAVED GAME.

1. GENERATE CHARACTERS
   When you begin Shadowland for the first time, you will need to create
your party of warriors. These four physical beings will be your eyes, ears,
hands and feet - they are the means by which your Spiritual Self can
interact with the Physical World and, by eventually retrieving your body
from the Undead, complete the game.
   Clicking on the (1) icon will invoke the Generate Characters screen.
Along the bottom of the display are four character portraits and you use
these to determine the appearance and characteristics of your Warriors.
Initially, the left hand character is highlighted (with a border around its
portrait), ready for you to edit. You can edit any of the characters at any
time on this screen by first clicking on one of these portraits.

A) CHANGE CHARACTER APPEARANCE
   The currently selected character's face is copied to the larger portrait
window at the left of the screen. To the right of this portrait are four
small icons for hair, eyes, nose and mouth. Successively clicking on any one
of these small icons will cycle through the available features for that
character. You can customise any of the characters in this fashion.

B) CHANGE CHARACTER NAME
   You can also name the currently selected character - the cursor can be
seen in the panel beneath the four bar charts at the top right of the
display. Type the desired name for your character and press RETURN. The name
will appear beneath the portrait of the character at the bottom of the
screen.

C) CHANGE CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES
   In common with other Role Playing Games, each Warrior has a set of
attributes that determine how he or she performs during the game. In
Shadowlands, characters start with a certain amount of points relating to
their STRENGTH, COMBAT ability, MAGIK level, and HEALTH.
   The program automatically assigns initial values for these attributes for
each character, indicated by the length of the bars beside each attribute -
the longer the bar, the more points the character has. However, you can
alter these if you want to adjust the balance of skills within your party.
It would be too easy, however, if you could simply make one character
extremely strong and another a powerful magician from the beginning.
Instead, you click on the CHANCE CARD (labelled with a ? at the top of the
screen) to reshuffle the attribute values for each character until you are
satisfied.
   When you're happy with a character's appearance, name and attributes,
just move on to the next one by clicking on its portrait at the bottom of
the screen. When you've edited all the Warriors, click on the ENTER THE
SHADOWLANDS swords icon to begin the game. You will be prompted to enter the
Shadowlands data disk.

?) INFORMATION
   Don't forget that a character's attributes will change during the game as
he or she grows in experience.

!) WARNING
   You are advised to save your game when you first enter the Shadowlands.
If you die without previously saving your characters, you will need to
re-edit your party before restarting.

2. QUICK START
   You don't have to create a party of characters yourself: the program will
do it for you if you prefer - just select this option. However, you are
advised to create your own team if you are seriously committed to completing
the game as the automatic team selection may not come up with a set of
characters ideally balanced for your playing style.

3. LOAD SAVED GAME
   If you have already played the game on a previous occasion and wish to
recommence from the position you saved, select this option. You will find
yourself where you left off, with the characters in the same status.



B. Playing The Game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Once you have entered the game, you will receive a reminder to save your
characters if they are newly created. You are strongly advised to do so, as
new characters are particularly vulnerable and cannot be resurrected except
by use of the LOAD SAVED GAME option.
   The screen is your window onto the gameworld, presenting your environment
in isometric 3D style. Portraits of the Four Warriors are overlaid on it
along the bottom of the display.
   The game is mouse operated and you use the portraits of your Warriors to
issue commands which they will then carry out within the gameworld. In
general, these commands are issued by using the left mouse button to click
upon a part of one of the portraits location in the gameworld. Full details
of the command sequences are given below.
   Note that each warrior can only carry out a command involving objects or
destinations that he can actually see - that is, objects or destinations
that are within his RANGE OF VISION. This range is dependent on distance and
intervening obstacles (e.g. walls).
   The range of vision of a character is indicated for you by the mouse
pointer. When an action has been selected, the pointer shows as a POINTING
HAND icon when you are within the character's range of vision and as an
ARROWHEAD when it is outside this range. The arrowhead can only be used on
the portraits.
   For example, click on the Red Warrior's {extreme left portrait) LEFT leg
- which is the extended leg on the RIGHT when viewed from your position.
This invokes the 'walk to' command. Now move the mouse pointer across the
screen and select a location where the mouse pointer icon shows as a
pointing hand. Click the left mouse button again and the Warrior will walk
to that location.
   All actions in the game can be accomplished in this manner. In addition,
the portraits also give access to information (INVENTORY) screens about each
warrior - move the mouse pointer over another portrait and click the RIGHT
mouse button. The inventory screen for that character will now be displayed
(but note that game time continues to pass in this mode - important to
remember if you're involved in combat). The inventory screen is described
elsewhere in this manual. To return to the action screen, just click again
on the right hand mouse button.

!) WARNING
   In this manual whenever we refer to the RIGHT or LEFT part of a
portrait, we are referring to it from YOUR point of view, NOT the
character's.

?) INFORMATION
   Using The Mouse - The mouse is used in two ways in Shadowlands: to select
icons/objects by clicking on them, and for certain other actions by
'dragging':

   SELECTING ICONS/OBJECTS - To select an icon or object, move the mouse
                             pointer so that it is positioned over the icon
                             or object and click (depress and release) the
                             left mouse button.

   DRAGGING - Some more advanced control techniques involve 'dragging' -
              place the mouse pointer over the location you want, press and
              hold the left mouse button. Now slowly move the mouse in the
              required direction, whilst still holding the left mouse button
              down.

   BUTTONS - The left mouse button is used to select actions, icons, objects
             and locations. The right mouse button in Shadowlands is used to
             switch between the game screen and the inventory screen whilst
             the pointer is over the required character's portrait, and
             alternatively to centre on the current character if the pointer
             is away from the portaits.


1. THE PORTRAITS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   These represent your four warriors and are colour coded to help you match
each portrait with the warrior on-screen it refers to. The portraits serve
two principal functions:
   First, they enable you to issue commands to the warriors. Commands are
issued to one character at a time by clicking on a part of the character's
anatomy. Full instructions on this are given later...
   Secondly, they give you information about the Four Warriors, in
particular their health and their position in the gameworld. The position is
indicated by the appearance of the portrait (see USING THE PORTRAITS below).
The health status of a character is indicated by a horizontal bar graph at
the base of each portrait.

?) INFORMATION
   The layout of the portraits may be changed by means of the LAYOUT control
(the ESCAPE key).

A) USING THE PORTRAITS
   At any one time, the portraits may be in one of four conditions:

1) Action Portrait - In this mode, the character is shown as an outline of
                     his body, split into arms, legs and head. If he is
                     carrying an object in his right hand, this is shown
                     also. This mode is used for issuing commands to the
                     relevant warrior.

2) Facial Portrait - When you see only a warrior's face, that means he or
                     she is currently out of the visible range of the
                     currently selected character. For example, when you
                     begin the game, click on the left hand (red) warrior's
                     right leg and continuously walk him diagonally down the
                     road to the left. As each of the other characters in
                     turn falls out of the red character's range of vision,
                     his portrait icon will be replaced with a facial
                     representation.

3) Reversed Portrait - If a character has his/her back to you, that means
                       he/she is not only out of sight of the currently
                       selected character, but is on another level of the
                       game.

4) Skull - SKULLS commemorate those Warriors who are no longer with us.

?) INFORMATION
   Clicking on a SKULL portrait of a dead Warrior will show the location of
the body (this may be carried by another character). You cannot issue
commands to a dead Warrior!


2. ISSUING COMMANDS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Commands may be issued to one character at a time, although other
characters may still be engaged in tasks from earlier commands, providing a
"multitasking" command structure.
   To issue a command to a warrior you must first click on their portrait -
the screen will move to their current location, and their portrait will
become an ACTION PORTRAIT (if it is not already).
   The state of the other character portraits may change at this time,
showing their position relative to the current character. Warriors within
visible range of the current character will have their ACTION PORTRAITS
displayed; out of visible range characters will have FACIAL PORTRAITS, or
they will have REVERSED PORTRAITS if they are on a different level
altogether.
   Actually issuing commands is simple. All you have to do is click on the
appropriate part of the body to perform the action. There are five body
areas available for this purpose and, as you will see, the control
possibilities are quite logical. The head controls eating and reading, the
feet control the two types of walking and so on...

A) ACTION HAND
   This is always the LEFT hand, I.E. It is actually on the left side as you
look at the Action Portrait and could therefore be said to be the Warrior's
right hand. The action hand is used for hand to hand combat. Additionally,
if an object is held in this hand, the action hand is selected to USE it.
Arrows that appear above and below the object enable other objects in the
character's inventory to be cycled through, placing each in turn in the hand
without having to use the inventory screen.

B) TRANSIT HAND
   This is always the RIGHT hand as viewed from your point of view. This
hand is used for COLLECTING, DROPPING, THROWING, and OPERATING. Note that
the Transit hand always remains free of objects, even if you have just used
it to pick something up (see collecting objects in the COMMAND SEQUENCES
section below). Objects picked up are immediately transferred to the Action
Hand. The only objects related to the Transit hand are SHIELDS - these are
worn on the Transit ARM and are accessed only on the inventory screen.

C) WALK LEG
   This is always the RIGHT leg. I.E. On the right side as you look at the
Action Portrait. It's only use is to walk the character from one position to
another.

D) LEAD LEG
   This is always the LEFT leg as you look at the Action Portrait. This leg
has the same function as the WALK leg, except that when selected it cause's
other characters in the selected warrior's range of vision to follow him
wherever he goes. This command is therefore used to form a SQUAD and a
formation that the characters involved adopt is dictated by the SQUAD
FORMATION option, which is discussed in the INVENTORY SCREEN section.

E) HEAD
   There's only one of these for each character! It's used for READING and
EATING.

?) INFORMATION
   There are more complex operations possible that may involve your warriors
in interaction with other objects or characters. These are accomplished by a
mixture of commands - throwing an object, for example, requires that you
click on the object,both hands, and the destination.


3. COMMAND SEQUENCES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A) WALKING
   Select the portrait of the character you wish to command. Click on the
Walk leg. Click on the screen position you wish him to walk to, within his
visible range (i.e. with HAND pointer). Dragging the pointer will cause the
character to follow.

B) LEAD SQUAD
   Select the portrait of the character you wish to command. Click on the
Lead leg. Click on the screen position you wish him to lead to.
   The character will walk to the position, with other members of his squad
accompanying him in the currently selected formation, dictated by the Chess
Boards (see the INVENTORY SCREEN section). Characters out of visible range
will not join the squad.

C) EATING AND DRINKING
   Each character will require food and water as time progresses. To
replenish these:

a) Select the portrait of the character you wish to command.
b) Click on his Head icon.
c) Move the HAND POINTER (which means that food must be in visible range)
   over the food item you wish to consume until it flashes, then click on
   it.

   The character will walk over, collect and eat this item. Drinking
   directly from fountains is achieved the same way.

   To consume items already held,

a) Select the portrait of the character you wish to command.
b) Place the food item in the Action hand (using scroll arrows if
   necessary).
c) Click on the food item.
d) Click on the head icon.

   The character will eat the item he is holding. Drinking from containers
is achieved the same way. Filling these objects is simply a case of USING
them on the fountain. (Additionally, food and drink items may be consumed by
use of the mouth icon on the inventory screen).

D) READING
   To read a message,

a) Select the portrait of the character you wish to command.
b) Select the head icon.
c) Highlight the notice you wish him to read with the HAND POINTER and
   select it (must be within visible range).

   The character will walk over and the message will be read. Click Left
mouse button to clear the message. Note that it is impossible to read signs
in the dark.

E) COLLECTING
   To collect an object within range of the character,

a) Select the portrait of the character you wish to command.
b) Select the Transit hand.
c) Highlight and select the object in the game world.

   The character will walk over and pick-up the object. It will be placed in
his Action hand and will occupy one slot in his inventory.
   If the character already has a full inventory, he will swap the item with
whichever item was already in his Action hand.

F) DROPPING AND THROWING
   To drop an item,

a) Select the portrait of the character you wish to command.
b) Place the item to be dropped in the Action hand by use of scroll arrows
   if necessary.
c) Select the item.
d) Select the Transit hand.
e) Select the position where you wish him to drop the item using the HAND
   POINTER.

   If the position is very close to the character, he will simply walk over
and drop the item. If the position is further, he will throw the item. Note
that a Warrior will always attempt to throw an object to the exact position
you indicate; however if he is too weak or the object is too heavy, it may
not quite reach.

G) OPERATING
   To operate switches and buttons,

a) Select the portrait of the character you wish to command.
b) Select the Transit hand.
c) Highlight and select the desired object.

   The character will walk over and operate the device, i.e. push button,
pull lever.
   Some devices are operated by means of weight on floor switches; others
are operated by light, darkness or other factors. You will have to
experiment!

H) USING OBJECTS
   Any object currently held in the ACTION hand can be used on another
object by first clicking on the object held and then on the second object.
Most objects have specific uses, and may only be effective if used in the
correct way and as a general rule the game will make it apparent which uses
an object has.

   For Example

1) KEYS
   These only work in locks - if you have selected the key for use, you will
only be able to operate it on locks. If the key is still held after
performing this action, then the key does not fit that particular lock.

2) COINS
   These operate coin slots. Several coins may be required. If the wrong
type of coin is being used and does not fit, then the coin will remain in
the character's hand.

3) FLASKS
   Flasks work on fountains - they will fill.

?) INFORMATION
   If you attempt a nonsense use, e.g. USE key on FOUNTAIN, you will find it
impossible to highlight the fountain whilst trying to use the key.


4. INVENTORY SCREEN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Clicking the right mouse button on a portrait will switch the view to
that character's inventory screen.
   This screen is divided into 5 areas.

A) BACKPACK ITEMS
   These are 16 slots in the top left hand area of the screen. Each slot may
contain a representation of a single object in your inventory (i.e. carried
by the warrior). Objects may be picked up and placed into other empty slots
by clicking them, or exchanged by clicking over another item. You may
sometimes wish to do this so that certain objects are placed in sequence in
the action hand during play.
   The item currently held in the character's Action hand is in a special
slot to the right below the scales, where additional information about the
item is displayed and access to the magik system (see the section on MAGIK)
is allowed.

B) CHARACTER STATISTICS
   In the centre of the screen, below the panel showing the currently held
object (if any) you will see a list of five attribute values followed by
three bar charts. Here you can check up on your character's status.

   COMBAT LEVEL - This will grow with experience. Characters generally start
                  at level one or two.

   MAGIK LEVEL - As Combat above but related to Magik power.

   STRENGTH - The first figure indicates your current rating; the second
              indicates the maximum rating potential for the character.

   HEALTH - If a character's health reaches zero, he will die. His health
            suffers if he is thirsty, starving, injured or overburdened with
            items. The second figure indicates the maximum rating potential
            for that character.

   ARMOUR - Indicates the degree of protection currently enjoyed by the
            character.

   FOOD (barchart) - You should keep a careful eye on this. Once a
                     character's food level becomes critical he will starve
                     and his health will deteriorate.

   WATER (barchart) - As for food, but replenished through drinking.

   FORCE (barchart) - Particularly important for Magik and in particular the
                      charging of spells. See the MAGIK section for more
                      information.

C) CHARACTER PORTRAITS
   On the right of the screen, these allow you to examine other characters'
inventories without returning to the main screen. Clicking on the name of
the appropriate portrait will display the relevant screen.
   If characters are standing close to each other, then it is possible to
"hand" items between them on this screen - you must be able to access their
slots (i.e. their boxes must be highlighted and showing the figure rather
than the face only) in order to do this, therefore the characters must be
standing quite close to each other. The arrows allow you to cycle through
the objects in characters' inventories. To move an object from one character
to another, 'pick up' the object by clicking on it, move it over the
inventory slot of the other character then 'drop it' by clicking on the left
hand mouse button.
   Additionally, the Transit arm of the character in each portrait has a
special inventory slot which may be given a shield type when collected. This
will provide limited damage protection and may only be done on the inventory
screen.

D) THE CHESS BOARDS
   Shadowlands offers a party of four characters and each character can
either operate alone or as a SQUAD in the company of others. Furthermore,
your party can split into two squads with each one led by a different
character.
   A squad will form whenever you use the LEAD command (see the COMMANDS
section) - who joins it and what formation they take up is determined by
using the chessboards on the Inventory screen.
   You can store up to five squad formations and setups using the function
(Formation) keys 1 to 5. They come with default settings: to edit them,
simply click on the required Formation number above the chess boards and
proceed as follows:
   To create a single squad with all four players, use the left hand chess
board. Click on any of the pawns (each of which represents one of the
warriors - the colour codes used are the same as elsewhere) and move it to
the desired square on the board. Repeat this process with all four
characters until the pawns are in the correct positions relative to each
other for your desired squad formation. Now, whenever you use the Lead
command and this Formation number is selected, the warriors will take up the
positions as indicated.
   To split the party into two squads, proceed as above but choose which
warriors you wish to work together and then transfer them to the right hand
chessboard, leaving the other(s) behind to form the alternative squad. For
example, if you place the red and green warriors in the right hand
chessboard, then subsequently invoking the LEAD command on either of these
will cause the other to join him (assuming they are in sight of each other)
and take up the appropriate position relative to his companion. You can of
course alter the relative positions during play using the function keys.

E) SLEEP, EAT, SAVE
   In the centre of the screen at the bottom are icons for Sleeping (an
eye), Eating (a mouth) and Save or Load Game (a disk).

1) SLEEP
   Click on the eye icon to send that particular character to sleep. His
energies will replenish much faster whilst sleeping, although he will be
prone to being attacked. To wake-up a character, simply issue a new command
from his action portrait on the main game screen.

2) EAT
   Getting a character to eat may be done in several different ways:

a) On the main game screen, click on the head of the character and then on
   the food item in the game world (the item will flash when the hand
   pointer is correctly positioned over it).
b) Click on the food item when it is being held, then on the head icon.
c) Carry the item from a character's inventory slot on the inventory screen
   and drop it onto the mouth icon.

3) SAVE GAME
   Click on the disk and then follow the instructions. You may format a
blank disk from here if you do not have one prepared.

!) WARNING
   DO NOT SAVE OR FORMAT ONTO YOUR GAME DISKS, ALWAYS HAVE A FRESH DISK
READY.


5. LIGHT
~~~~~~~~
   Shadowlands features PHOTOSCAPE, a new realtime system which
realistically light all areas of the game world, casting shadows and
creating an unparalleled sense of atmosphere. The lighting in the game is of
importance for several reasons. Many objects, traps and adversaries are
difficult to see without proper illumination - as in real life, you will
miss important details or make mistakes if you cannot see properly.
   In addition, light plays an active role in many of the areas that you
will find yourself in - it may affect the behaviour of traps and of
creatures. Used wisely, however, it can be turned to your advantage. Many
objects and events create light - torches, explosions, magikal items, spells
and even some creatures.

a) USING TORCHES
   Torches vary in their power and will gradually burn down. If you find a
lit torch which you wish to keep for later use, extinguish it and place it
in a backpack.
   You can also place a lit torch in your backpack (where it will be held in
a special carrier outside the pack, designed especially for this purpose).
This has the advantage of generating light but freeing the Action Hand for
other uses. Used in this way, the torch will occupy a normal inventory slot
on the inventory screen.
   Any character generating light either from a torch or through the use of
magik has a flame icon in the top right corner of his Action Portrait,
informing you at a glance who in a party is responsible for the current
illumination.

1) Placing A Torch On A Wall
   It is possible to place torches on walls - DROP the torch on the wall
position whilst standing very close.

2) Lighting Torches
   Select the portrait of the character you wish to control. Place the unlit
torch in his Action hand. Click and HOLD on the torch for 2 seconds. It will
burst into flame.

3) Extinguishing Torches
   This is done in exactly the same way as lighting torches: place the torch
in the Action hand, click and hold on the torch for 2 seconds, and it will
go out.


6. WEAPONS
~~~~~~~~~~
   There are a variety of weapons in SHADOWLANDS and there are two ways of
using them: GENERAL and SPECIFIC. With the general method, you select a
weapon and destination (see below). Anyone who comes between your warrior
and that destination is liable to get attacked. On the other hand, specific
use involves targetting a particular ADVERSARY, following which your warrior
will concentrate on that enemy, fighting to the death (or until called off).

a) GENERAL USE OF A WEAPON
   Select the portrait of the character you wish to command. Select the
weapon. Select the position in the game world where you wish the weapon to
be used (within visible range).
   If the weapon is a hand weapon (e.g. axe, sword) the character will walk
over to that position and use the weapon on any enemy who obstructs him.
This is particularly good in a "free-for-all" fight - the weapon will be
used on anybody getting in the way. It is also good when trying to escape
from adversaries and clear your way to an exit.
   In the case of a launched weapon (e.g. bow), the character will fire off
one round at the target location.

b) SPECIFIC USE OF A WEAPON
   Select the portrait of the character you wish to command. Select the
weapon. Highlight and select the base of the adversary in the game world on
which you wish the weapon to be used (within visible range).
   If the object is a held weapon, the character will pursue the adversary
and will fight to the death (unless ordered away).
   If the object is a launched weapon, he will fire off a stream of attacks
until the weapon is depleted or the target is dead.

?) INFORMATION
   Any combination of weapons and modes of use are allowed - three
characters could be firing SPECIFIC aimed weapons at one adversay, whilst
another uses a GENERAL held weapon on the same (or different) adversary.


7. MAGIK
~~~~~~~~
   Spells are found as parchments around the Shadowlands and may have
various effects and alignments. When a spell is used, the parchment's MAGIK
FORCE is drained to a certain degree and ultimately can become depleted.
   You can also find spellbooks within the Shadowlands. Each of these
contains room for six spell pages and parchments may be placed and carried
in these books. If a book is used rather than an individual parchment, then
the spells contained within the book will be cast one after the other in
page order. Combine and order your spells for maximum effect - a good
sequence of offensive spells can subdue even the most powerful opponent.

a) USING SPELLS
   To use a spell, hold the spell parchment in the Action hand, select it,
then highlight the target for the spell in the game world using the hand
pointer. Some spells (e.g. Light) need to be targetted on a member of your
team.

b) RECHARGING SPELLS
   Many objects in the SHADOWLANDS world have a level of enchantment or
MAGIKFORCE. This force is an energy contained within them, which controls
how effective an object is - a sword with a MAGIKFORCE of 67 is more
effective than one with an MF of 12. An apple with an MF of 34 is more
nutritious than one with an MF of 4.
   Your characters will have varying degrees of skill at absorbing MF energy
from objects. This energy is absorbed into their bodies (the amount is
indicated by the FORCE bar on the inventory screen) and may then be
transferred into magik spells to recharge them.
   The Laws of Enchantment state that this energy can only be absorbed from
objects (not charged into them) and only put into spells (not absorbed from
them). This means that objects from which the MF has been absorbed will
become less effective and cannot be recharged. It also means that, as spells
are used throughout the game, the total Magik Force in the Shadowlands
becomes dissipated and material objects will gradually become more and more
useless as they are drained of their MF.
   To transfer MF from an object to a spell or spellbook, go to the
inventory screen. Place an enchanted object (i.e. one with a Magik Force
value, e.g. bread) in the "held" inventory slot (below the scales). You will
see below how much magik force it contains. Click on the scales and absorb
as much energy as required. Remove the object and place the spell or
spellbook in the "held" slot. Click on the scales to charge the spell up as
required. If a book is charged, then the MF is equally distributed among the
pages.

?) INFORMATION
   More advanced magik users will be able to use the transfer process more
efficiently than novices.


8. TEN GAMEPLAY TIPS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0) Conserve light power, it is a valuable commodity.
1) Keep an eye on food and water levels.
2) Read all the signs.
3) Pick group formations appropriate for the characters and conditions - do
   not place poorly shielded characters right at the forefront of the action,
   and keep characters with launched weapons away so that they may be used
   most effectively.
4) In combat try to "gang-up" on particularly powerful adversaries - they
   will be less efficient when fighting several attacking characters at
   once. Then move on as a group to the next adversary - "one-on-one" combat
   may be fairer, but not nearly as effective!
5) Place spells in books in strategic order, so that they will work in
   conjunction with each other for maximum effect. Also organise books with
   certain spell types - place healing spells together in one volume, and
   give this to your best Priest as a "First-Aid" kit if required.
6) Beware of adversaries who have magik spells of their own.
7) Study the game world carefully - you may be able to spot valuable clues
   in adjacent areas you have not yet encountered. Forewarned is forearmed.
8) Watch out for objects which are enchanted with magikforce - they are
   sources of pure magik power for your spells.
9) Take nothing for granted.


9. CONTROL SUMMARY SHEET:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   LEFT MOUSE BUTTON - Used to select an icon, object or position.

   RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON - Used to switch between the game world and warrior
                        inventory screens. Can also be used to centre the
                        game world display on the current earrior.

   FUNCTION KEYS 1-5 - Used to select formations 1 to 5.

   ESCAPE KEY - Used to change the layout of your warriors' portraits.

   PAUSE/UNPAUSE GAME - Depress H.