INSTRUCTIONS Welcome to the world of Legend! You are about to enter the fantasy world of Drenai - a world of danger and high adventure - the world of LEGEND. LEGEND is a high quality computer game created for your enjoyment by a professional team of writers, games concep- tualizers and micro-programmers. You will be challenged by a sophisticated role-playing game, a strategy game and action skills. EQUIPMENT REQUIRED Included in the package with this documentation are LEGEND (a paperback book ), a map of Drenai, a cassette tape and a template, which you should place over keys 1-6 of the keyboard. You will need a 48K Spectrum connected to a TV (preferably colour) and a cassette recorder. HOW TO LOAD THE GAMES Instructions for loading the game programs are given on the cassette label. The first program that you load holds the role-playing game and action skills, the second contains the strategy game. These are very large machine code games and despite the use of compression (a new language had to be invented to control the role-playing game) each program will take some time to load. THE STORYLINE LEGEND - the game is not "based on" or "inspired by" LEGEND - the book; it is the world of LEGEND brought to life. You are strongly advised to read the book before playing. However, a slavish adherence to the plot of the book will just get you killed. It is the world of Drenai where you play the reluctant hero Rek and you create the story and the ending. PART ONE THE MENU Pressing the CAPS/SHIFT and EDIT keys puts a menu onto the screen. Menu 1 can be called up when the LEGEND sign is flashing after the game has been loaded. It allows the action skill games to be practised independently of the role playing game. Menu 2 can be called up whenever you are asked to press a key - for example when the screen gives you the option of moving to another city; eg. "Do you wish to go to Graven Forest (F) Glendrin (G) Cerfak (C) Lentrum (L)? Press appropriate key". The Menu has 5 options: SAVE - which allows you to save the game to a blank tape to continue playing at another time. You will return to the beginning of your last location. LOAD - which allows you to load such a previously saved game. CONTINUE - which continues the game you are playing. SIEGE - which jumps to the end of Part One of the game to allow you to play the Siege game. ABANDON - which abandons your present game and takes you back to the start of Part One. THE ROLE-PLAYING GAME As Rek you have to recruit leaders and regiments to defend Dros Delnoch against the Nadir Hordes. There are also magic weapons which lie hidden but they can be found by following the trails of clues. Remember you have only 3 months (give or take a few days) to complete your task. To remind you, time passing is recorded on the top left of the screen. You are expected to use your wits and knowledge of the world of LEGEND to survive and complete your mission. This is not an animated crossword so you have to select the right action not the right word. Multi-choice questions are used extensively but where a free choice is used the computer will accept a variety of words with the right meaning (there is no need to be verbose). The prompt > indicates that a letter is required; < indicates a word or phrase. In certain circumstances you can choose from a variety of general responses to a situation using the ACTION KEYS (see template). These are: 1 ATTACK - You attack the characters confronting you (see DUEL) 2 RETREAT - You retrace your steps or run for your life as appropriate. 3 NEGOTIATE - You have something to offer the charac- ters confronting you in exchange for something they have. 4 WAIT AND SEE - You do nothing and await developments. 5 SEARCH - You hope to find something not immediately obvious. 6 TALK - You chat to the characters confronting you. To fulfil your destiny you will need to move around the map - as a guide it takes 2 days to move by land from place to place and 1 day to travel by sea from any port to any other port. Beware, travel is dangerous. RIVERSIDE Shown on the sketch is a cross-section through the river banks at Riverside indicating the three levels at which it is possible to build a bridge; A-B = 40 ft, C-D = 30 ft, E-F - 15 ft. DUEL This is the first computer game to incorporate the tension and skills of a role-playing combat game. If you attack a computer-controlled character then you will see the character displayed before you on the screen. You strike the first blow against the character and if you penetrate his defence you will see his endurance fall, as indicated on the screen. He then attacks you, swinging his sword. The position of the sword when it stops indicates the type of attack. The Spectrum beeps and the bar across the top of the screen is red. You then have a split second to choose an appropriate defence position - if the attack penetrates your defence your endurance falls. The Spectrum will then beep if you press a defence key or when you run out of time. The bar across the top of the screen turns to green when it's your turn to attack. If you wait too long, the bar will return to red, and the character on the screen will attack you again, and so on. A combatant is killed when his endurance falls to zero and this usually ends the duel. The cycle of attack/defence continues until the duel ends. If a computer character attacks you then he gets first attack. The attack keys are indicated on the template, along with a description of the attack. Keys 1-5 are also used for defence according to the description shown below (not on the template). Players should memorise these before attempting to duel. 1 High defence 2 Centre defence 3 Low defence 4 Left defence 5 Right defence 6 - (not used) - Note that computer characters differ in strength, speed, the sort of attack they favour and their vulnerability to different attacks - so be flexible and remember the book. If you win but are wounded you may lose time while you recover. CAVE OF DOOM Before the Armour of Egel is within Rek's grasp, he must run the length of the Cave of Doom through a flight of arrows. Each time an arrow hits it causes wounds according to the severity of the strike - shown by a line of asterisks on the screen. When the line stretches from one side of the screen to the other, Rek is dead. This arcade game can be practised independently of the main role-playing game by calling up Menu 1 (press the CAPS/SHIFT key after LEGEND Part One has been loaded and the LEGEND title is flashing on the screen). MEASURE OF EFFICIENCY At the end of Part One, the computer will give you a percentage measure of your efficiency in recruiting forces to defend Dros Delnoch against the Nadir barbarians. PART TWO You will be given the option of loading regiments recruited from Part One of the game. You will be asked to select a complexity level of 1-3 (higher is more complex). The game is played in game turns each of which represents the passage of a day/ The Nadir do not fight at night and will retreat off a wall at dusk if they have not secured at least half of it. SIEGE GAME This game recreates the final battle at Dros Delnoch between the Drenai and the Nadir. It can be played independently of the role-playing game or forces recruited from the latter can be saved onto tape and loaded into the siege game. The player has to withstand an attack by an effectively infinite number of tribesmen until relieved. There are 6 defensive walls, one behind the other. The player starts by defending the first (outermost) wall and will be pushed back by the Nadir wall by wall. Should the last wall fall then the game is lost. The morale of the army falls every time a wall is lost; conversely it rises whenever a wall is held against attack. Morale is critical to your army's combat performance, indeed your army will disintegrate if morale drops too low. At the start of each day the leaders and regiments with their current strengths are displayed on the screen. Then the wall currently under attack is displayed and regiments and leaders are listed one at a time for allocation to a wall section (or reserve). The Nadir will launch 3 attacks per day. Attacks are resolved as follows. Firstly, melees between attackers and defenders occupying the same section (or reserve) take place. The Nadir will spread into other areas if they sweep the defenders aside. Nadir outside the wall will then attack the wall and try to get more men on top. After each attack the player can order a fighting retreat back to the next wall; but be warned, this is a dangerous tactical manoeuvre, especially if Nadir have got behind you into the reserve section. Finally, after each attack the player may move up to six regiments and any leaders to a new section (or reserve). Once again the player is warned that withdrawing units that are already engaged is hazardous. When dusk falls the player may choose to retreat safely under cover of darkness (if the Nadir occupy a substantial part of the wall retreat is mandatory). DISPLAY Drenai are indicated by blue figures and Nadir by red. Flashing figures indicate that combat is taking place while a flashing ladder symbol indicates an attack against a wall section. Combat strengths within each section are also displayed, Drenai in blue and Nadir in red. INTERRUPT KEYS In the siege game the number keys (1 to 0) and the R key stop the game. They also cause a more detailed breakdown of the contents of the wall section corresponding to the key pressed (NB. 0 = section ten and R = reserve). Note that the number of wall sections changes from wall to wall. LEADERS Leaders are distinguished by the code letter L. Some leaders are more powerful if they occupy the same section as regiments personally loyal to them: Joachim - Sathuli or Faithful; Bowman - Archers; Gan - Kernak; Hogan - Legion. Virae is more powerful if she accompanies Rek. If Rek found the Armour of Bronze in the role-playing game then he is called Earl and is stronger. HINTS Leaders are powerful units in the game, not least because they never weaken, they just get killed. Players must maintain an adequate combat strength in each wall section to prevent too many Nadir scaling the wall but beware of relying on regiments that have suffered heavy losses - they can crack without warning, Central to the game is knowing when to fight and when to retreat - too early and morale will suffer, too late and your army will be chewed up. Good Luck!