LOTHLORIEN MASTERS OF SEREBAL LOADING:- See details on cassette shell COMPUTER:- See details on cassette shell A. Background In the beginning the land was bare, still and lifeless. No creature made a mark on its peaceful, undisturbed surface. As the aeons passed, this remained so until, slowly and inexorably the land began to draw breath, its heart began to beat, its muscles flexed. The long slumber was over, the land was alive and with its awakening there came the eleven races of the Earth. Each separate unto itself, each satisfied, peaceful and content. The ages passed, the nations grew, the conflict began. The Earth screamed as its heart cried out for the souls of its lost children, and despair entered the very fabric of the land itself. A darkness descended upon the people of the Earth, and with it disease, famine and floods abounded where there was once light, peace and tranquility. As the land fell deeper into despair, the plight of the people increased, and evil reigned supreme. With the land in chaos, and its people nearing extinction, a return to lifeless slumber was nigh. Only the Serebal Masters stood in opposition to the corruption and ultimate death of the land. The greatest of these was named Tolidar, of the human race, who called together the First Serebal Council. Eleven minds from eleven races together as one and at one with the land, they struggled to save the Earth. Time stood still for the Council, but slowly the land began to heal, as light banished darkness, good replaced evil and life once again took precedence over death. The Serebal Masters had eased the land back from the brink and in doing so had restored it to its former glory, but their work was not yet complete. The Second Serebal Council was called to keep the forces of evil at bay for ever. The Eleven Scrolls of Law were drawn up, and one entrusted to the safe keeping of each of the eleven races. The Scrolls embodied all that was good in the land, and together their power was abhorrent to the forces of evil which clawed interminably at the fringes of the Earth. The land was the Law, the Law was the Scrolls and to each a Serebal Master, to each a Guardian Warrior. As years passed, the Masters died, to be replaced by their sons; the Guardians died, to be replaced by their sons in turn. The power of the Scrolls was upheld, the Law was strong and the Land flourished. The year is 5016 PT, Tolidar has been dead some 5000 years. The power of the Scrolls is dwindling and darkness once again threatens destruction of the land. Evil abounds, barbarism and degeneracy have taken hold. Most of the eleven races have disappeared, to be replaced by cross-breeds and mutant species. Indeed, the races of the Earth now number 400 and more. The ways of the Masters are almost forgotten, and the care of the Scrolls neglected. Of all the races of the Earth, only man has remained true to their race, and true to the ideals of the First Council. Only man has used and protected the Scrolls entrusted to them. It is now the duty of man to find the lost Scrolls, bring them together and once more restore order, peace and Law to the land. For over 5000 years the mantle of Serebal Master was passed from father to son; the honour now rests with Altaborn, direct descendant of Tolidar. Likewise, did the Guardian Warriors train their sons to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. You are a Warrior Son ... The time has come to put to use the training you have received since birth. Altaborn calls, you must go. B. Game Objectives The main objective of the game is to recover the 10 lost Scrolls of Law. Each scroll contains a clue to the whereabouts of the next, although the clues can only be deciphered by the Serebal Master, Altaborn. The first scroll is held by Altaborn, and you must first travel along the Great Eastern Road towards the capital, Parasik, close to where Altaborn's castle lies. All the hidden scrolls are located in underground caverns. C. The Status Area On the right-hand side of the screen is the status area, which depicts from top to bottom your stamina, provisions (food and drink), gold, gems, armour, healing potions and scrolls collected. Each yellow block indicates one unit, and each magenta block a unit of ten. Stamina: When this reaches zero you will die. Stamina may be reduced in a number of ways; eg. ill health, through losing combat, movement (if no provisions remaining) and also through various types of encounters. Stamina may be restored to its original level by drinking a healing potion, or resting (when resting two units of provisions will be consumed for every point of stamina restored). Stamina increases with level and your age. Provisions: As you travel across the Land, varying quantities of provisions will be consumed, depending on the type of terrain. Provisions (as well as armour and potions) may be purchased at any village, town or occasionally from wandering merchants. You may not carry more provisions than you have points of stamina remaining. Gold: Used to purchase provisions, et cetera. Gems: Each gem is worth 100 in gold, and is used as for gold. Armour: Armour gives you protection during combat. The better your armour, the better your protection. Together with stamina, armour is used to determine the number of "hits" you may sustain before becoming unconscious during combat. Armour may be purchased as provisions above. Potions: Healing potions are very expensive. They are also very powerful, in being able to restore your stamina to its original level. Each bottle contains only one draught, and should be used only as a last resort. Scrolls: You start with none; your objective is to collect all eleven. D. Combat All combat is highly stylised and conforms to the strict Law imposed by the Scrolls. All creatures employ the same weapon, a three-pronged throwing weapon, known as a triorang. Its use rarely kills, but it is quite capable of rendering its victim unconscious. As is the Law, the victor of any combat is entitled to take his "prize" from the defeated. (This usually consists of a small amount of gold, food, etc.) Being a throwing weapon, the triorang cannot be used at close quarters. Indeed, this feature has been the object of much tactical discussion over the centuries among the Warrior Sons. A word of warning - beware the carnivorous plants - don't bump into them! E. The Underground Caverns The underground caverns may only be entered if you have found the location of one of the entrances. Each of the caverns contains not only passages, creatures and a scroll, but also two secret doors. F. Control Keys The game provides the facility for using either the keyboard or a Kempston joystick. Map/Cavern Movement: joystick or cursor keys (5,6,7,8) Combat: joystick or A - up Z - down Enter - right L - left Symbol Shift - fire Other Control Keys: b - buy provisions, armour, potions at villages, city, etc. d - drink healing potion g - see monster guide (20 pages containing 400 creatures) m - enter underground cavern f - leave underground cavern c - see scroll clue r - rest to regain stamina by using provisions t - key to terrain features s - save game facility G. Loading Follow the instructions in the relevant user's manual for your machine, always ensuring that the cassette recorder head is clean and the volume control and leads are correctly adjusted. H. Copyright Copyright of this cassette software and self-explanatory notes resides in M.C.Lothlorien and it is illegal to copy the programme for disposal to a 3rd party. Similarly the cassette must not be hired to any 3rd party without the express written consent of M.C.Lothlorien and no parts may be used in any other programmes. It is also sold subject to our standard terms and conditions of trading, copies of which are available on request. (c) Copyright 1984 M.C.LOTHLORIEN M.C.LOTHLORIEN 56A Park Lane, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1RE Tel: (0625) 876642