HEROES OF KARN -------------- A graphics adventure for advanced players Interceptor Software (1984) In the hall of His Majesty Callastheon, Emperor of the Seven Lands, Lord of Karn, the feasting was over. On fur-draped benches around the roaring fire the nobles of Karn awaited the entertainers. Daeron the Wise, minstrel of Karn, walked slowly across the hall. Today, Karn was the hub of a rich and mighty empire, but, Callastheon recalled, it had not always been so. For long ago, in the days before the Cyrennic dynasty came to power, the forces of good and evil fought in Karn, and the deeds of that time were still remembered at the Feast of the Midwinter Moon. Daeron entered the firelight and began his tale - a tale of deeds great and terrible, of battle and victory, conquest and defeat - the story of the Heroes of Karn. "Your Majesty, my Lords, citizens of Karn." "Long ago, in the reign of Beren, last of the Mountain Kings of Karn, there came from the distant north a horde of fell creatures, borne on the wings of Darkness. Dragons there were, and Vampires, and weavers of Enchantment, and nameless things from the deep places of the world. They swept down as a dark gale on the Halls of the Mountain King, and terrible was the slaughter of men. From the Gates of Karn escaped but those few of greatest might. Four was their number, and these were their names: "Beren the Mighty, last King of Karn, master of all birds, swordsman unsurpassed." "Istar the Wise, lore-master of great wisdom and still greater powers of magic." "Haldir the Elf-lord, from the northern woods, greatest of minstrels." "Khadim the Dwarf, carver of stone, of small stature, yet great in renown." "These men were the Heroes of Karn, and mighty they were. Yet not mighty enough, for one by one they fell, captives bound with iron and stone and magic spells. And Darkness fell on the land. Darkness unbroken - until one day there came to Karn a Stranger, from a strange land where men could fly and machines could think. And the Stranger went forth into the wilderness and fought with the Powers of Night and released the Heroes, and with them removed the Shadow from the land of Karn for ever. Then the Stranger departed, and none know to where. "Nor do any know with certainty how he found the Heroes, for they would not tell. Thus the tale I now unfold may be fact or legend - who knows? Only the Stranger - and he is gone." The Halls of Callastheon are dust and ruins. Daeron passed long ago to the halls of his ancestors, and even the legend he once told is forgotten. Who knows the true story of the Heroes of Karn? Only the Stranger - wherever he may be. COMMAND SYNTAX -------------- Full use of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions is allowed (and often necessary), where relevant to the game, as in standard English usage, but note the following: 1. If you make a mistake in the command line, before you press Enter you can delete part or all of the line using Shift-Delete. 2. The command decoder will understand simple noun and verb commands if you wish, but you will have to be specific if the omission of an adjective would be ambiguous. 3. Your are allowed to omit the word 'the' if you wish. ATTACKING ADVERSARIES --------------------- Use the construct: KILL (or ATTACK) WITH object TALKING TO OTHERS ----------------- It may be necessary to get other characters to perform some actions for you, especially if they are specialists in that action, or in some other way more suitable than you to perform that task. To do this, use the construct: Character, Command. GIVING TO OTHERS ---------------- Use the construct: GIVE object TO character SPECIAL COMMANDS ---------------- In addition to the words in the adventure vocabulary, there are some special commands which can be used on their own; these are as follows: 1. HELP or H This will give a help message where appropriate. 2. INVENTORY or I This will give a list of objects you are carrying. 3. LOOK or L The location description & picture will be displayed. 4. DIRECTIONS can be given in full or abbreviated to the first letter. 5. SAVE Saves your current position and status to tape. 6. LOAD Restores your previous position and status from tape. 7. QUIT Used if you've had enough; you will be asked to save. 8. SCORE To see how well you are doing. GRAPHICS -------- Many of the locations that you visit have pictures associated with them. On your first visit to the location the picture will be displayed, together with the location description; to continue, press any key. If you have already visited the location no picture will appear unless you use the 'Look' command.