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Bard's Tale TALES OF THE UNKNOWN "THEY DISBELIEVED MY WIND DRAGON...THEY POSSESSED MY GREATER DEMON...NOW IT'S UP TO THE BARD AND HIS MAGIC FIRE HORN..." First you explored the city. Then the cellars and sewers below. Now you're trapped in Harkyn's Castle. 7 levels conquered and still 9 to go...Command 4 different classes of Magic User: Conjurer, Magician, Sorceror and Wizard, each with unique spells. And the Bard who makes magic with his music. 85 spells in all. But choose well â€ô the wrong spell and you're history...Pushes the power of your computer to its limits. So it's fast. It's big. And there's plenty of power for 3-D scrolling, full colour mazes, amazing sound effects and animated colour monsters. Excellent game design. Each level is demanding â€ô and different. There are more monsters, mazes, "specials," logic puzzles & magic items than you've ever seen in a game like this before. THE LEGEND OF SKARA BRAE Long ago, when magic still prevailed, the evil wizard Mangar the Dark threatened a small but harmonious country town called Skara Brae. Evil creatures oozed into Skara Brae and joined his shadow domain. Mangar froze the surrounding lands with a spell of Eternal Winter, totally isolating Skara Brae from any possible help. Then, one night the town militiamen all disappeared. The future of Skara Brae hung in the balance. And who was left to resist? Only a handful of unproven young Warriors, junior Magic Users, a couple of Bards barely old enough to drink, and some out of work Rogues. You are there. You are the leader of this ragtag group of freedom fighters. Luckily you have a Bard with you to sing your glories, if you survive. For this is the stuff of legends. And so the story begins... MICHAEL CRANFORD of Interplay Productions has an elegant programmer's touch. You can't see it in this picture of him, but you can see it in The Bard's Tale. He previously programmed the Apple version of Donkey Kong and the Commodore 64 version of Super Zaxxon. Original Game Concept, Design and Program: Michael Cranford. Scenario Design: Michael Cranford, Brian Fargo. Additional Design: Roe Adams III. Graphics: David Lowery. C64 Music: Lawrence Holland. Producer: Joe Ybarra. Package Design: Grapplegroup Ltd. Cover Painting: Eric Joyner. Map Art: Don Carson. C64 Programming: Michael Cranford Amiga Programming: Troy Worrell IBM Programming: Mike Quarles Amstrad Programmng by SYSTEM C64 Cassette Programming by SYSTEM Spectrum Programming by SYSTEM Music: Dave Warhol Data Compression: Jay Patel Additional Testing: Tom Norwood Tales of the Unknown, The Bard's Tale and Electronic Arts are trademarks of Electronic Arts. Package design ® 1987, 1988 Electronic Arts. Software ® 1985 Interplay Productions. Amiga is a registered trademark of Commodore-Amiga Inc. and C64 is a registered trademark of Commodore Electronics Ltd. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines. Limited Warranty âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ Electronic Arts warrants to the original purchaser of this computer software product that the recording media on which the software programs are recorded will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for 90 days from the date of purchase. During such period defective media will be replaced if the original product is returned to Electronic Arts at the address below, together with a proof of purchase, a statement describing the defects, and your return address. This warranty does not apply to the software programs themselves, which are provided "as is", nor does it apply to media which has been subject to misuse, damage or excessive wear. This warranty is in addition to, and does not affect your statutory rights in any way. Media Replacement âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ Electronic Arts will replace user damaged media if the original media is returned with a Eurocheque payable to Electronic Arts Ltd. for £5.75 (inc. VAT) for disk or £3.45 (inc. VAT) for cassette. Electronic Arts Ltd., 11/49 Station Road, Langley, Berks SL3 8YN, England. âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ ELECTRONIC ARTSâ„¢ The Bard's Tale Amstrad CPC GETTING STARTED First switch on your machine, then follow the tape or disk instructions as appropriate. TAPE: Fully rewind the tape and insert boot side up, then press the CTRL and small Enter keys together, press play on your tape recorder and the program will load and then run. DISK: Insert the disk in your drive boot side up, Type Run "boot" and then press Return, the program will now load and run. The ATEAM are a good beginning party of adventurers who are equipped and ready to do battle, they are the starting party automatically loaded in to the character slots. Type E to E(xit) the Guild and enter the town of Skara Brae. To learn how to create your own adventurers, form your own parties, remove characters or rearrange their order, see the end of these instructions. Hint: The first dungeon is the wine cellar of the only tavern in town which serves wine. It's on Rakhir street. SAFETY AND DEATH Let's face it, the sort of streets where you are ambushed by Kobolds, Orcs and Zombies are dangerous and the streets of Skara Brae are especially dangerous at night. Beginning parties, therefore, should not be shy about spending the night in the Adventurer's Guild. When you enter the Adventurer's Guild, you are assumed to have stayed for the night and you will always leave early the next morning. Don't despair if you lose a favourite party member, you can either pay to have that character resurrected at a temple or reload the party from your most recently saved version (This will mean that you will lose any experience, gold and items which you have accumulated since you last saved the party). You could also save the party with the dead member, then use the EDITOR (loading and using the Editor is explained elsewhere in these instructions) to remove the dead member from the party and replace just that character from a previously saved party and then resave the party. (this method means that only the dead character will lose experience points though you will have to leave the game to use the EDITOR) MOVING ABOUT I -move forward J - turn left K - kick a door open L - turn right VIEWING CHARACTERS Press the number (1-6) of the character whose statistics you want to view. (you cannot view the creature in the special slot). In the view character mode, you have the following options: E (quip) a character with an item. You will be prompted for the item number (1-8). Press 0 to unequip all of a character's items. T (rade) an item. Type the item number at the prompt, then type the number of the character you want to give the item to. To trade gold, type G. Then type the number of the character you want to give the gold to and how much gold you want to give to that character. D (rop) an item. Type the item number at the prompt P (ool) all gold. This gives all of the party's gold to the character being viewed. Press the ESC key to leave the view character mode. COMBAT COMMANDS If monsters attack, press F to F(ight) or R to R(un). (Note: you do not always get to run just because you want to, though nimble high level characters will usually get away) Pressing P will initiate a P(arty attack) at any time, which voluntarily enters intra-party combat. In combat you have the following options: A (ttack) monsters in the first two ranks, hand-to-hand. This command is available only to the first three party members. D (efend)lessens the chances of being hit by a monster for that combat round. U (se) a magical item. The Character must be equipped with an item to use it. B (ard) song. Available only to Bards. Sing one of the 6 bard tunes for one combat round only. C (ast) a spell. Available to magic users. Type in the code letters for the spell at the prompt. H (ide) in shadows, Available only to Rouges. OTHER ADVENTURING COMMANDS C (ast) a spell when not in combat. At the prompt, type in the number of the character who will cast the spell, then type in the code for the spell. P (arty) attack will start intra-party combat at any time. B (ard) song. Available only to Bards, sings one of the 6 bard tunes while wandering. N (ew) order for the party. At the prompt, type the numbers of the members in the order you want them to march. U (se) an item. Some items like torches, must be activated with this command in order to work. Type the number of the character who has the item, then pick the item (by typing its number) from that character's equipment list. Some items run out of power after only one use. E (levate) to go up a portal. This command only works in dungeons and the party must have a levitation spell in operation. D (own) to go down a portal. This command only works in dungeons. The right cursor key will increase the speed of the scrolling text in combat. The left cursor key will decrease the speed of the scrolling text in combat . Press the ESC key to pause and any other key to resume. HOW TO FORM NEW PARTIES AND CREATE NEW CHARACTERS Characters can be created and parties formed only in the Adventurer's Guild. While in the Guild, you have the following commands available: C (reate) a new character. Select the race and class for the character as prompted, then type in a character name up to 15 letters and spaces. Press Return to enter the name and add the character to the party. R (emove) a character from the party. Type in the name of the character you wish to remove from the party and press return. Make sure that if you want to make use of the character at a later date, that a party containing that character has been previously saved to tape or disk, as removing a character wipes him/her from the memory without saving that character. L (oad) a party. You will be prompted to type in the name of a previously saved party. Tape users then insert your party tape and use rewind/fastforward to position the tape. Then press play on your recorder to load in the party. Disk users insert your party disk and press return. You can abort a load by pressing the ESC key. S (ave) a party. You will be prompted for a name to save the party under. Tape users insert your party tape and use rewind/fastforward to position the tape. Then press play and record on your recorder. The screen will blank and you should then press any key to start the save. Disk users insert your party disk and press return. (Note to tape users: Save each party under a different name and make a note of it. Save a party two or three times in succession under the same name just in case you get a bad load. Do not repeatedly save over the top of your old parties, as if you make a mistake, you will have erased all your hard work!) Q (uit) the game. This will end your current game and return you to Basic. E (xit) the guild. Your party will leave the guild and enter the streets of Skara Brae. EDITOR The Editor program allows you to transfer party members between different party's. To use the editor you must first exit from the game (remembering to save the party first) and then load the editor separately. The Editor is loaded by typing Run "editor" and then pressing Return for disk users. Tape users can find the Editor directly after the main program on the boot side of tape 1. Press the Ctrl and the small Enter keys followed by play on the tape recorder, the Program will now load and run. (Note : It is necessary to save the party from the editor program and then reload the Bard's Tale and then reload the party.) CASSETTE COUNTER POSITIONS You should find it useful to write down the tape counter position of the various multi-load sections so that you can fast forward to them easily: Tape position Section Tape 1: ____________ Editor ____________ City Map ____________ Sewers Tape 2: ____________ Mad God's Catacombs ____________ Harkyn's Castle ____________ Kylearan's Amber Tower ____________ Mangar's Tower ELECTRONIC ARTS® Home Computer Software E01022EY ELECTRONIC ARTS LIMITED 11/49 STATION ROAD, LANGLEY, BERKS SL3 8YN, ENGLAND âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ ELECTRONIC ARTSâ„¢ The Bard's Tale I Party Merger program TO LOAD (Disk): AMSTRAD: Type RUN "Editor" then press Return or Enter SPECTRUM +3: Insert side 2 of the disk and use the LOADER menu option by resetting your machine and pressing enter. CASSETTE âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ The merger program is held at the very end of side one of the BOOT and GAME cassette and is called MERGER. You can find the tape counter position easily by setting the counter to Zero and then loading the Bard's Tale game as usual and noting down the tape counter position once the game has started and the default party is in the Guild. Merger will be just a little further on. Amstrad: Type RUN "Merger" and press ENTER Commodore: Type Load "Edit" press RETURN, Type RUN press RETURN Spectrum: Enter Load "Merger" and press the ENTER key. Once the Party Merger program has loaded, you will be in the main menu and faced with 5 options. Select an option by pressing the indicated key in brackets. ie Press the L key to select the Load party option. MAIN MENU âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ (L)oad Party: You will be prompted for the name of a previously saved party, either from this program or the Bard's Tale game itself. Once the party has been located on tape or disk, the members of that party will be added to the Character list. The Character list appears at the top left of the screen and can contain up to 114 different characters. (S)ave Party: This saves the party currently in the Members List ready to use in the game. (C)haracter Menu: This takes you to the Character sub menu which has the following options: CHARACTER MENU âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ (D)elete Char.: This deletes the highlighted character from the Character list. Use the up and down cursor keys to move the highlight throught the character list. (S)ee Character: This shows the highlighted character's statistics in the same way as the view character mode in the main game. Press the space key to exit this option. The Pool gold option does not work in the See character option and you can only trade items or gold with characters in the Members list. Equip and drop item work normally. (C)hoose Char.: This will add the highlighted character to the next vacant slot in the Members list if there is such a slot. (R)ename Char.: Allows you to input a new name for the highlighted character. (B)ack to main Menu: returns you to the opening menu. (M)ember Menu: This takes you to the Member sub menu which has the following options: MEMBERS MENU âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ (1-6) See Member: This shows the selected character's statistics in the same way as the view character mode in the main game. Press the space key to exit this option. Pool gold, Trade, Equip and Drop item work as in the game and only affect the characters in the Members menu. (R)emove Member: At the prompt, type the number of the character you wish to remove from the Members list and replace in the Character list. (N)ew Order: At the prompt, type the numbers of the members in the order you want them to march. (B)ack to main Menu: Returns you to the opening menu. (Q)uit Program: Leave the program and go back to BASIC. ELECTRONIC ARTS® E0100EK Home Computer Software ELECTRONIC ARTS LIMITED 11/49 STATION ROAD, LANGLEY, BERKS SL3 8YN, ENGLAND âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ THE BARD'S TALE âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ The Bard's Tale is the first in a series of Tales of the Unknown, set in the city of Skara Brae which is threatened by an evil mage called Mangar. OBJECTIVE âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ Your most important goal is to find Mangar and "persuade" him to release the once harmonious city from his evil control. Your second goal is to develop characters who are capable of surviving the layers of obstacles mazes and evil henchmen who protect Mangar. Your third goal is to explore the entire world of The Bard's Tale. There are numerous goodies, puzzles and special places in the city such as the legendary catacombs or the walled off towers. HOW TO CREATE A CHARACTER âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ 1. While in the Adventurer's guild, select a race. 2. Character attribute numbers are displayed. 3. If you are satisfied with the "roll of the dice", choose a character class, then name this character. If you are not satisfied "re-roll the dice". 4. After being named, the character will be saved to disc or tape, ready to adventure. USING THE PRE-BUILT PARTY For your convenience, you will find a pre-built party already waiting for you when you enter the Guild for the first time. The party is called *A Team. They are even outfitted with weapons and armour. CHARACTERS âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ RACES There are 7 different races which a character can be: HUMAN: While being of hardier stock, this character is nonetheless like you or me. ELF: The elf is slight of build, though taller than a human and very inclined to magic. DWARF: Short, stout, very strong and healthy though not too intelligent, they make superb fighters. HOBBIT: Being nimble and dexterous and smaller than dwarves, they make excellent rouges. HALF-ELF: Slightly bigger and stronger than an elf, though not as magical, makes half-elves good all rounders. HALF-ORC: Although not as despicable as his orc parent, this large strong goblin like creature, is no beauty. GNOME: These short tempered creatures are similar to dwarves, though more inclined to magic. CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ Each character you create hes 5 attributes which define his physical and mental prowess. These attributes are assigned a random value from 1 to 18 (18 being the best). For each race there is a lowest possible number for each attribute and high attribute scores will give characters an edge. STRENGTH (ST): Affects the amount of damage a character does in hand to hand combat. INTELLIGENCE (IQ): A high IQ gives Mages bonus spell points. DEXTERITY (DX): A high DX makes characters harder to hit and helps them strike the first blow in combat. CONSTITUTION (CN): A very healthy character (i.e. high CN) gets bonus hit points and thus is harder to kill. LUCK (LK): A lucky character will be more likely to avoid nasty traps, evil magic and the like. OTHER CHARACTER STATISTICS âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ ARMOUR CLASS (AC): Gives the level of protection a character has from physical attack and ranges from 10 (totally unprotected) to -10 (called LO). HIT POINTS (HITS): Measures how much damage a character can take before he dies. CONDITION (COND): Shows the character's present number of hit points. SPELL POINTS (SpPt) Shows current spell point status. A character's maximum spell points are listed in his view character mode. EXPERIENCE POINTS: Measures how much experience a character has gained in his profession. The higher the number the better the character. GOLD: The unit of currency in this world. The more you have, the better. LEVEL (LV 1): A measure of achievement within a character's class. LV 1 is a novice and LV 13 would be a master. New levels are awarded by the review board based on a character's experience points and new levels generally mean increased attribute scores, hit points, spell points among others. SPELL LEVELS: (e.g. MAGI 3) Shows the highest level spells a character can cast (There are 7 levels of magic spells for each of the 4 mage classes). A new spell level is awarded every other experience level. i.e. LV 1 Magician has MAGI 1, at LV 3 he has MAGI 2 until at LV 13 he has MAGI 7 and can go no further. ITEMS: These fall into 10 categories: Weapons; shields; armour; helms; gloves; musical instruments; figurines; rings; wands and miscellaneous. Only 1 item of each type can be equipped at one time. CHARACTER CLASSES âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ There are 10 different character classes, but only the first 8 can be selected for a newly generated character. WARRIOR: Can use nearly every weapon there is and for every for levels of experience after the 1st they get an extra attack in combat. PALADIN: Fighters sworn to fight evil and to uphold honour and purity, they can use most weapons even some that no other fighters can. They get multiple attacks at higher levels and have an increased resistance to evil magic. ROGUE: A professional thief who can search for traps and disarm them. He is only so so in combat and prefers to hide in shadows. HUNTER: Can use most weapons and has the unique ability (which grows with experience) to strike a critical hit, instantly killing an opponent. MONK: Trained to fight without weapons of armour, is an almost inhuman fighting machine at higher levels. BARD: Bards were once warriors now turned wandering minstrel, although they can still use most weapons, they do not get multiple attacks. Bards have 6 magical tunes which can be long lasting and continue to play even if other songs were played during combat. Or the songs can be abbreviated for use in combat and thus have different effects than the longer versions. These short songs will only last for one round of fighting. Only one song can be played at a time (by any bard) and if a second is played, the first will end. A bard can play as many songs as he has experience levels before his throat becomes dry. Then it's off to a tavern for a drink to rejuvenate his voice. CONJURER: Deals in the physical creation of real things like fire, light or healing. MAGICIAN: Deals with magic as it affects physical objects like enchanting a sword or making armour stronger. SORCERER: Deals with the creation and manipulation of illusion. This class is unavailable to newly created characters. WIZARD: Deals with the summoning and control of supernatural creatures from the negative plane. This class is unavailable to newly created characters. THE COMBAT SYSTEM âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ The Bard's Tale is a game of fighting, it's the only way to build experience. Fortunately, Mangar and his minions are very evil, so kill them if you can. At the outset of combat a list of foes is given broken down into the number of foes in each group. The maximum is four groups with 99 monsters per group. Combat is divided into a series of rounds. At the start of each round, each character decides what action he will undertake, unless, of course, your party runs away. These options are as follows: ATTACK FOES: To physically assault foes in the first of second group of monsters. PARTY ATTACK: Assault another member of the party, including special members. DEFEND: Do not attack which reduces the chance of being hit. USE AN ITEM: uses an item held in the character's inventory and currently equipped. BARD SONG: Bards can play a short song to aid the party during this combat. CAST A SPELL: The spell code must be entered and a target identified. HIDE IN SHADOWS: A rouge can try to avoid combat altogether by hiding. The first 3 characters in your party can be attacked physically by monsters and can attack back. The last 3 can only be struck by magic and can only attack back with magic. The first 2 groups of monsters are the only monsters who can attack or be attacked physically. The most dexterous characters or monsters usually make the first strike, but luck, character level and character class also affect this. At the end of a combat round, dead monsters are removed and dead characters are shuffled to the back of your party. Treasure and experience points are split equally among the battle's survivors once all your foes are defeated. SPECIAL MEMBERS âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ The special slot (marked S) is for monsters who can join your party either by introducing themselves to the party or by being created/summoned by magic. Specials cannot be controlled, but they will fight for you until killed (or disbelieved if an illusion). PLACES âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ Use your map to guide you around Skara Brae. UNMARKED BUILDINGS Most buildings are unmarked, but some of them are inhabited by evil creatures. So kick in a few doors and find them. When you exit a building, it will be directly behind you. THE ADVENTURER'S GUILD The Guild is where all adventures begin and where you form a party. GARTH'S EQUIPMENT SHOPPE Is where characters can buy, sell or identify items and pool all the gold to buy expensive items. Unique items,found in dungeons,remain in Garth's inventory only until they are sold unlike other items of which he has an unlimited supply. THE REVIEW BOARD Upon your request in person, the board will determine whether that character has enough experience points for advancement to higher levels. The Board teaches new spells to mages who qualify for higher spell levels, but charges for this training. You will have to do a bit of exploring to find the Review Board, and it's closed at night. TAVERNS These are the Bard's favorite place for gossip and refreshment. There's even a tavern named after him. ROSCOE'S ENERGY EMPORIUM If you need your spell points in a hurry, see Roscoe. But be prepared for electrifyingly high fees. TEMPLES Temples are divine places of complete healing and resurrection but only at a price. DUNGEON DELVING 'Dungeon' refers to any indoor labyrinth from towers to catacombs with a varied number of levels for each. You can go up or down to levels via stairways, portals and teleportation. Stairways are not visible from a distance unlike portals (which are holes in the floor or ceiling). You will not fall through a portal by standing on it, you must command a character to do so. If he jumps down a portal he will take damage unless he is using a levitation spell. The only way to go up through a portal is by levitation. The locations of dungeon entrances are well kept secrets, but there are plenty of hints in Skara Brae. THE MAGIC SYSTEM âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ Magic is power, though it is not always necessary or wise to rely on magic, because magic is by no means foolproof. There are some places where magic never functions, and some monsters who are highly resistant to spells. If your party has wandered into an anti-magic Zone, all residual spells, except light spells, are cancelled. Residual spells keep working for more than just an instant and most cause a graphic symbol to appear on the screen, to keep the player aware that the duration has yet to expire. All spells have a point cost and the mage casting them expends some of his internal energy. This energy is replenished in direct sunlight and may be regenerated at Roscoe's Energy Emporium or in special regeneration zones. To cast a spell, type in the 4-letter code which is a rough abbreviation of the spell name. There are magical items hidden in the dungeons and carried by the monsters of The Bard's Tale and the most powerful are secreted in the most challenging dungeons and are guarded by ferocious monsters. When you win one, you should be very proud. CHANGING CLASS âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ Mages who have attained at least the third level in one mage class, may then change to another. If a mage changes class, his experience points are reset to zero, but he retains all his hit points, spell points and magic knowledge. He can no longer progress in the old mage class nor may he rejoin it. A mage can become a Conjurer, Magician or Sorcerer as a second class and he can become anything as a third class. A mage who has knowledge of all 7 spell levels in all four classes is called an Archmage. The most powerful being in the world of The Bard's Tale. BARD SONGS âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ 1. FALKENTYNE'S FURY Increases the damage your party will do in combat. 2. THE SEEKER'S BALLAD Produces light when exploring. Increases the party's chance of hitting a foe with a weapon during combat. 3. WAYLAND'S WATCH Calms your foes, making them do less damage in combat. 4. BADH'R KILNFEST Heals the Bard's wounds while traveling. Heals the party's wounds during combat. 5. THE TRAVELLER'S TUNE Makes the party more dexterous thus more difficult to hit. 6. LUCKLARAN Sets up a partial anti-magic field, giving the party better protection against spells. CONJURER SPELLS âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ Level 1: MAFL 2 VIEW MEDIUM MAGE FLAME - A small, mobile "torch" will appear and float above the spell caster as he travels. ARFI 3 1 Foe --- ARC FIRE - A fan of blue flames jets from the caster's fingers, doing 1-4 hits of damage, times the caster's level, to a selected opponent. SOSH 3 SELF COMBAT SORCERER SHIELD - The mage is protected by an invisible "shield", turning aside many blows that would otherwise hit him. TRZP 2 30' --- TRAP ZAP - Disarms any trap, including traps on chests, within 30 feet, in the direction the mage is facing. LEVEL 2: FRFO 3 GROUP COMBAT FREEZE FOES - Binds your enemies in magical force, slowing them down and making them easier to hit. MACO 3 --- MEDIUM KIEL'S MAGIC COMPASS - A compass of shimmering magelight appears above the party and shows the direction they face. BASK 4 CHAR COMBAT BATTLESKILL - Increases one of your party member's skill with weapons, increasing the accuracy and ferocity of his attacks. WOHL 4 CHAR --- WORD OF HEALING - With the utterance of a single word, the mage cures a party member of minor wounds, healing 2-8 points of damage. LEVEL 3: MAST 5 GROUP --- ARCYNE'S MAGESTAR - A bright flare ignites in front of a group of your enemies, temporarily blinding them and causing them to miss the next combat round. LERE 5 VIEW LONG LESSER REVELATION - An extended "Mage Flame" spell that also reveals secret doors. LEVI 4 PARTY SHORT LEVITATION - Partially nullifies gravity causing the party to float over traps, or up or down through portals. WAST 5 GROUP --- WARSTRIKE - A spray of energy springs from the mage's extended finger, sizzling a group of opponents for 4-16 hits of damage. LEVEL 4: INWO 6 SPECIAL --- ELIK'S INSTANT WOLF - Summons a giant, extremely fierce wolf to join your party. FLRE 6 CHAR --- FLESH RESTORE - This powerful healing spell restores 6-24 hit points to a party member and cures poisoning and insanity. POST 6 FOE --- POISON STRIKE - Hurls sharp needles from the mage's finger into a selected monster, poisoning it. LEVEL 5: GRRE 7 VIEW LONG GREATER REVELATION - functions like Lesser Revelation only it illuminates a wider area. WROV 7 CHAR COMBAT WRATH OF VALHALLA - Makes a member of your party fight with the strength and accuracy of ancient Norse heroes for the entire combat. SHSP 7 GROUP --- SHOCK-SPHERE - A large globe of intense electrical energy envelops a group of enemies, doing 8-32 hits of damage. LEVEL 6: INOG 9 SPECIAL --- ELIK'S INSTANT OGRE - Materializes the biggest, meanest ogre you've ever met to ally with your party. MALE 8 PARTY INDEF. MAJOR LEVITATION - Levitates the party like the level 3 spell, but its effects last until dispelled. LEVEL 7: FLAN 12 PARTY --- FLESH ANEW - Operates like Flesh Restore, but affects every member of the party. APAR 15 PARTY --- APPORT ARCANE - Allows the party to teleport anywhere within a dungeon, except for places protected by teleportation shields. MAGICIAN SPELLS âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ LEVEL 1: VOPL 3 CHAR COMBAT VORPAL PLATING - Causes the weapon (or hands) of a party member to emit a magic field that inflicts 2-8 points of additional damage. AIAR 3 SELF COMBAT AIR ARMOUR - Makes the air around the mage bind itself into a weightless suit of 'armour'. STLI 2 VIEW SHORT SABHAR'S STEELIGHT - Causes all metal near the party to glow with a magical light, illuminating the surrounding area. SCSI 2 PARTY --- SCRY SIGHT - Reveals to the mage his location in a dungeon. LEVEL 2: HOWA 4 1 FOE --- HOLY WATER - Holy water sprays from the mage's fingers, doing 6-24 points of damage to any undead foe. WIST 5 1 FOE --- WITHER STRIKE - Causes a selected foe to be turned old, reducing his ability to attack and defend in combat. MAGA 5 CHAR COMBAT MAGE GAUNTLETS - The hands (or weapon) of a party member more deadly, adding 4-16 points of damage to every wound he inflicts. AREN 5 30' SHORT AREA ENCHANT - Causes the dungeon walls within 30 feet of a stairway to call out if the party is headed toward the stairs LEVEL 3: MYSH 6 PARTY MEDIUM YBARRA'S MYSTIC SHIELD - The air in front of the party forms a shield, as hard as metal, which precedes the party as they move. OGST 6 CHAR COMBAT OSCON'S OGRESTRENGTH - Gives a selected party member the massive strength of an ogre. MIMI 7 PARTY COMBAT MITHRIL MIGHT - every member of the party has their armour's natural strength magically enhanced. STFL 6 GROUP --- STARFLARE - Ignites the air around a group of enemies, searing them for 6-24 damage points. LEVEL 4: SPTO 8 1 FOE --- SPECTRE TOUCH - Drains a single enemy of 12-48 points of damage, like a touch from death itself. DRBR 7 GROUP --- DRAGON BREATH - The mage breaths magical fire at a group of foes, inflicting 8-32 points of damage to each. STSI 7 VIEW MEDIUM SABHAR'S STONELIGHT SPELL - All stone and earth within range of the party glows with magical light, revealing even secret doors. LEVEL 5: ANMA 8 PARTY COMBAT ANTI-MAGIC - Causes the ground to absorb a portion of the spells cast at the party. Often allowing the party to escape unharmed. Also aids in disbelieving illusions and in turning back magical fire like a dragons breath. ANSW 8 SPEC COMBAT AKER'S ANIMATED SWORD - A magical sword will appear and fight, like a summoned monster, in defense of the party. STTO 8 1 FOE --- STONE TOUCH - Usually turns a foe to stone, or a stone monster from living stone to dead stone. LEVEL 6: PHDO 9 1 WALL 1 MOVE PHASE DOOR - turns almost any wall to air for one move. YMCA 10 PARTY INDEF YBARRA'S MYSTICAL COAT OF ARMOUR - works like "Air Armour" but covers all party members and lasts indefinitely. LEVEL 7: REST 12 PARTY --- RESTORATION - regenerates the bodies of every party member to perfect condition, even curing poisoning or insanity. DEST 14 1 FOE --- DEATH STRIKE - very likely to instantly kill one selected enemy. SORCERER SPELLS âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ LEVEL 1: MIJA 3 1 FOE --- MANGAR'S MIND JAB - Casts a concentrated blast of energy at one opponent doing 2-8 hits of damage for each experience level of the mage. PHBL 2 PARTY COMBAT PHASE BLUR - Causes the whole party to waver and blur in the sight of the enemy, making your party difficult to strike. LOTR 2 30' SHORT LOCATE TRAPS - In a state of magically heightened awareness, the mage will be able to sense a trap within 30 feet if he faces it. HYIM 3 GROUP --- HYPNOTIC IMAGE - Makes a group of enemies miss the following combat round. LEVEL 2: DISB 4 PARTY --- DISBELIEVE - reveals the true nature of ant attacking illusion, causing it to vanish. TADU 4 SPEC COMBAT TARGET DUMMY - A magical illusion appears in the party's special slot. Unable to attack, it draws enemy attacks. MIFI 4 1 FOE --- MANGAR'S MIND FIST - A more powerful form of "Mind Jab" doing 3-12 hits of damage, times the mage's level. FEAR 4 GROUP COMBAT WORD OF FEAR - Causes a group of your enemies to quake in fear, reducing their ability to attack and do damage. LEVEL 3: WIWO 5 SPEC --- WIND WOLF - Creates an illusionary wolf to join the party. The wolf will fight until defeated or disbelieved. VANI 6 SELF COMBAT KYLEARAN'S VANISHING SPELL - Turns the mage nearly invisible in the eyes of his enemies, who will have great difficulty in striking him. SESI 6 30' MEDIUM SECOND SIGHT - The mage will experience heightened awareness and be able to sense stairways, special encounters, spell negation zones and other unusual occurrences. CURS 5 GROUP COMBAT CURSE - Causes a group of your enemies to be cursed, lessening their moral and their ability to hit and damage you. LEVEL 4: CAEY 7 VIEW INDEF CAT EYES - The mage's party will all receive perfect night vision, lasting indefinitely. WIWA 6 SPEC --- WIND WARRIOR - An illusionary battle ready warrior joins your party. INVI 7 PARTY COMBAT KYLEARAN'S INVISIBILITY SPELL - Performs a vanishing spell on the entire party LEVEL 5: WIOG 7 PARTY --- WIND OGRE - An illusionary ogre joins your party. DIIL 8 PARTY COMBAT DISRUPT ILLUSION - Destroys any illusions fighting the party and prevents new ones appearing. It will also point out any dopplegangers in the party. MIBL 8 ALL FOES --- MANGAR'S MIND BLADE - An explosion of energy which inflicts 10-40 hits of damage to every opposing foe LEVEL 6: WIDR 10 SPEC --- WIND DRAGON - An illusionary red dragon joins your party. MIWP 9 CHAR --- MIND WARP - Drives a member of your party totally insane. Useful for possessions. LEVEL 7: WIGI 12 SPEC --- WIND GIANT - An illusionary storm giant joins your party. SOSI 11 30' INDEF SORCERER SIGHT - Operates like the Second Sight spell but lasts indefinitely. WIZARD SPELLS âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ LEVEL 1: SUDE 6 SPEC --- SUMMON DEAD - Gates in a zombie or skeleton to fight for the party. REDE 4 GROUP --- REPEL DEAD - Will inflict 16-80 points of damage to a group of undead monsters. LEVEL 2: LESU 8 SPEC --- LESSER SUMMONING - Gates in a lower elemental or demon who will ,under protest, join the party. DEBA 8 1 FOE --- DEMON BANE - Inflicts 32-128 points of damage to one demon. LEVEL 3: SUPH 10 SPEC --- SUMMON PHANTOM - Gates in a medium level undead creature into the party. DISP 10 CHAR --- DISPOSSESS - Makes a possessed party member return to his normal state. LEVEL 4: PRSU 12 SPEC --- PRIME SUMMONING - Gates in a medium level elemental or demon into the party. ANDE 11 CHAR --- ANIMATE DEAD - reanimates a dead character with undead strength, making him attack your enemies as if truly alive. LEVEL 5: SPBI 14 1 FOE --- BAYLOR'S SPELL BIND - Usually possesses the mind of any enemy, forcing it to join the party and fight for it. DMST 14 GROUP --- DEMON STRIKE - Works like Demon Bane but affects an entire group of demons. LEVEL 6: SPSP 15 SPEC --- SPELL SPRITE - Gates in a high level undead creature into the party. BEDE 18 CHAR --- BEYOND DEATH - restores life and one hit point to a dead character. LEVEL 7: GRSU 22 SPEC --- GREATER SUMMONING - Gates in a greater demon and binds him to the party. ITEMS âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ Torch For light in Dungeons Lamp Longer duration than torch Broadsword Most damaging non-magic sword Short Sword A lighter sword Dagger Usable by all, not too effective War Axe A heavy damaging weapon Halberd The most damaging non-magic weapon Mace Most powerful weapon for a Rouge Staff A simple cudgel Buckler Small round shield Tower Shield A large shield Leather Armour The lightest armour Chain Light mesh armour Scale Medium weight armour Plate The strongest non-magical armour Robes Will dull old knives! Helm Saves the head being caved in Leather gloves Some protection for the hands Gauntlets Metal gloves Mandolin Musical instruments for Bards only. Harp & Flute Item Abbreviations FGN = Figurine, a magical statue which can come to life. MTHR = Mithril, an elven metal with magical qualities ADMT = Adamant, another magical metal DMND = Diamond, the hardest substance known to elf. TIPS FROM THE UNDERGROUND âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€âö€ * Each of the 16 mazes is set up on a 22 by 22 grid. * Explore every square as there are plenty of specials. * Explore the sewers, Catacombs and Castle in that order! You should be 9th level before entering the catacombs * Nighttime is especially nasty. Rookies stay indoors! * Minimize damage by killing off all but one monster in either of the first two attacking groups * Fill the special slot and take some heat off the party. * Monsters will usually attack your most vulnerable characters first, unless one of the party represents a significant threat.* * Attributes of 17 and 18 can make a big difference to a character's abilities * Develop a Sorcerer, Wizard and Archmage fast. * Beware the Doppelganger. It enters your party and looks just like one of your members. * Make sure some of the party carry less than 8 eight items, otherwise you will be unable to pick up any new magical items in the dungeons. * There are no cursed items. And the more it costs, the better it works (usually) * Locate traps, second sight and sorcerer sight all identify traps within 30 feet. Trapzap disarms all traps within 30 feet. * Cast a long lasting bard spell before entering a tavern. It's like getting a free spell. MANUAL ® 1988 ELECTRONIC ARTS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED E01002EM ELECTRONIC ARTS® Home Computer Software ELECTRONIC ARTS LIMITED 11/49 STATION ROAD, LANGLEY, BERKS SL3 8YN, ENGLAND |