BLOODWYCH
(c) Mirrorsoft 1990 HOW TO PLAY You are one of the Bloodwych. You must take on the persona of one of the last sixteen champions of Trazere. You must first explore Treidwyl, recruiting more champions, and gathering items to aid your task. Once you are prepared, you must get the four crystals of storing from the towers. Take them to the fifth tower and there destroy Zendik, and banish the Lord of Entropy to the realm of chaos. To do this you will have to defeat the agents of Zendik. The Lord of Entropy has transformed many of the citizens of Trazere into weird monsters, and twisted the minds of many into those of psychotic killers. Some of these citizens may aid you, but many will try to destroy you. Good luck in your mission, and remember the spirit of the Bloodwych is always with you. Bloodwych is played using the joystick, although you can use the keyboard and redefine the keys if you wish. Most of the functions of Bloodwych are activated by using the Fire button to activate ther icon. Player one's pointer is blue and player two's pointer is red. ABOUT CHARACTERS The character selection page (Figure 1) shows the sixteen available champions. To inspect a champion, click on the shield representing that character. The champion will appear in one of the player boxes to the right of the screen, together with his or her attributes displayed in the character scroll. Click on the bag icon to view the character's inventory. The bag icon will now become a book icon. Click on this to view the character's spell book. The book icon will become a scroll icon. Click on this to return to the character scroll. See the section on spells and the inventory for an explanation of these displays. If you now wish to view another champion you can do so by clicking on the appropriate shield. You may view as many champions as you wish in this way. When you have chosen all your champions, click on the suit icon (the playing cards) to confirm your choice. When both players (in a two player game) have selected their champions the game will begin. All other characters desired by either player will have to be recruited, as described in the communication section. PSYCHE TYPES There are four psyche types, each indicated by a different suit of cards. Each psyche type has different strengths and weaknesses. The types are: Spades Fighters, good in combat Clubs Mages, excellent at casting spells Hearts Adventurers, all-rounders and diplomats Diamonds Archers, assassins FIGURE 1 - SELECTING A CHAMPION |---------------------------------------------------------------| | Champion's shields | | |-----| |-----| |-----| |-----| | | | | | | | | | | |---- Selected champions | | \ / \ / \ / \ / | | | | \---/ \---/ \---/ \---/ | | | | |--| |--| |--------------| | | |-----| |-----| |-----| |-----| |--| |--| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Scroll/ | | | \ / \ / \ / \ / |--| |--| | inventory/ | | | \---/ \---/ \---/ \---/ |--| |--| | spell book | | | | | | | |-----| |-----| |-----| |-----| |--| |--| | | | | | | | | | | | | |--| |--| |--------------| | | \ / \ / \ / \ / --|---|------------------- | | \---/ \---/ \---/ \---/ | Champion's name | | --|---|------------------- | | |-----| |-----| |-----| |-----| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Champion's suit | | \ / \ / \ / \ / | | | \---/ \---/ \---/ \---/ Bag/book/scroll icon | | | |---------------------------------------------------------------| Any psyche type can attempt and perform actions normally associated with another type. However, they may not be very adept at it. CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES Clicking on the scroll icon (Figure 2) will call up the character scroll for the currently selected leader. This shows the following character attributes: LEVEL: This is an indication of your character's experience. This affects your basic skills and speciality skills. The higher your level is, the more competent you are at everything. STRENGTH (ST): This affects how easily you hit during combat and how much damage you will inflict on your opponent. AGILITY (AG): This also affects your skill in combat, as well as your ability to dodge attacks. INTELLIGENCE (IN): This limits the number of spell points you have. CHARISMA (CH): This is an indication of how much influence you have over other characters. HIT POINTS (HP): This shows how much damage you can take before dying. Hit points can be restored with appropriate potions, spells, or by resting. The first figure shows your current hit points, while the second shows the maximum number of hit points you can reach. VITALITY (VI): This is an indication of how much energy you have. If your vitality drops to zero you will start to take damage. Potions and spells may be used to assist in recovering your vitality. As with hit points, the first figure shows your current vitality, the second shows maximum vitality. FOOD: This bar shows how well fed a character is. If the bar is short, the character is hungary and will require food soon. The food level influences the speed at which vitality is recovered. The important attributes for the current leader are also displayed in the statistics box situated to the right of the leader icon (shown at the top left of the screen in Figure 2). The three bars in this box show, from top to bottom, hit points (green), vitality (red), and spell points (light blue). If you click on the leader icon, the statistics box changes to four bars (green, light blue, yellow and red) showing the strength of the four characters. FIGURE 2 - THE MAIN SCREEN |---------------------------------------------------------------| | Leader icon | | ----|---Statistics------------------------------------------- | | | box | | |-----||--------| |---------------------| |----------------| | | | ||STATS | | | | | | | | ||--------| | | | | | | | ||--------| | 3D perspective | | Control | | | |-----||--------| | view | | display | | | |----||----||----| | | | (see Figure 3) | | | | || || | | | | | | | \ /\ /\ / |---------------------| | | | | \--/ \--/ \--/ ------------------ | | Party shields | |---------------------------------------------------------------| MOVING CHARACTERS When moving or perfoming any other significant action in Bloodwych, it is the currently selected party leader who performs the action. The other members of the party respond on their own initative. The current leader is indicated by a box around his or her suit icon. To change the leader, simply click twice on the appropriate suit icon. Note that the leader does not have to be at the front of the party. It is possible at any stage to change the marching order of the party. To do this, simply click once on a member's suit icon. This will now become grey. Now click once on the new position and the marching order will change appropriately. Movement is achieved by clicking on the appropriate movement icon (Figure 3). Note that the 'turn left' and 'turn right' icons make your character turn through ninety degrees on the spot, whereas the 'step left' and 'step right' icons make your character move left or right without facing in that direction. FIGURE 3 - CONTROL DISPLAY -------------------------------- Character's name -------------------------------- |-----|-----| \----\ ----------- | | | | | |---| \---/ | | | | | |---| |\_/| Book Scroll Door Bag | | | | | |---| | | icon icon icon icon |-----------| /----/ |---| |---| ----------- -TL---SF---TR- |---| |---| |---| Movement |-- /\ --| | | | | | | TL: Turn left Strike |/ /__\ \| |---| |---| |---| SF: Step forwards icon Party TR: Turn right suit /| \--/ |\ |---| |---| |---| SL: Step left Defend icons \| \/ |/ | | | | | | SB: Step backwards icon -SL---SB---SR- |---| |---| |---| SR: Step right -------------------------------- STAIRWAYS To ascend or descend a stairway, merely step on to it. It is not necessary to be facing the stairway to do this. If you turn on a stairway you will move up or down depending on whether you were initially at the top or bottom. DOORS Doors can be opened or closed by clicking on the door icon (Figure 3), or by clicking on the door in the 3D display. If you have previously cast a continuous spell, or there is a spell waiting to be cast then the door icon will be concealed by the spell icon. In order to use the door icon, it is necessary to first cancel the spell. Attempting to open the door will result in the phrase "THE DOOR IS LOCKED" appearing. Locked doors can be unlocked with an appropriate key or spell. SPELLS Clicking on the book icon balls up the spell book (Figure 4). Clicking on the arrows above the book will turn the pages of the book forward or backward. Clicking on the central double arrow will close the book and return to the main control display. FIGURE 4 - THE SPELL BOOK Turn Turn page Close book page <---- |----> <----| ----> |------------|------------| | . . . . . | . . . . . | | @ % & $ | * ( @ ! | | ! ) $ } | % - } { ---- Runes | / ? @ ! | # & # @ | | & { ] % | \ $ % < | | . . . . . | . . . . . | |------------|------------| \|/ Spell name \|/ + Increase cost -*- COST + 04 - -*- - Decrease cost /|\ SP.PTS 06/06 /|\ | | |--------------------------- Star icons PREPARING SPELLS To prepare a spell you must first click on one of the four runes on each page. Only known spells may be selected, and these are coloured after their magical alignments (green, blue, red or yellow). A spell not yet known will be in grey and cannot be selected. The currently selected spell is identified below the spell book by its name, colour, and present cost. If no spell is currently prepared, the area below the book will have grey stars and there will be no spell there. The cost of the spell selected may be altered by clicking on the arrows on either side of the current value. Raising the cost of a spell will improve its power and cast percentage. Your current maximum spell points are shown beneath the spell. Successful use of a spell will increase your proficiency at that spell which will make the spell cheaper and/or more powerful for future casts. A spell which has been prepared will remain so until it is cast or another spell is selected or the party sleeps. CASTING SPELLS A spell is cast by clicking on the star icons ether side of the spell name. If the spell book is closed before a prepared spell is cast then the door icon will be replaced by a star icon, which may also be used to cast the spell. If a character has a spell prepared when entering combat, then the spell will automatically be cast first. It is not possible for a character to cast a spell which requires more spell points than he or she currently has available. A spell with a low cast percentage may fail and this will be indicated by the message "SPELL FAILED". After casting a spell, the caster will endure a temporary penalty on all spells while he recovers from the efforts of casting. This recovery time is longer for higher level spells. SPELL EFFECT All spells have a variable effect which is a combination of your ability as a magic user, the energy you expend on a spell, your experience in the spell being cast, and luck. the cast percentage bar gives a clear indication of whether you are likely to cast the spell successfully. Once your ability to cast the spell reaches 100% the effects of the spell begin to grow stronger. CONTINUING SPELLS Some spell have a continuing effect. When these are cast, an icon, representing the spell, replaces the door icon. The spell can be cancelled by clicking on this icon. No other spells can be cast while a continuous spell is in use. If another spell is cast from the spell book while a continuous spell is in use, then this will also cancel the continuous spell. You may have another spell prepared while a continuous spell is running. The prepared spell may either be cast from the spell book, or by cancelling the continuous spell to reveal the star icon on the main panel. SPECIALISATION All characters are specialised in one of the colours of magic according to their alignment. This is indicated by the colour of the suit icon on their shield. Spells of natural colour are easier to cast, easier to develop proficiency in, and more effective than the spells of another colour. Each colour of magic represents a different sphere of influence: Green Serpent Magic Represents the physical Blue Moon Magic Represents the mind and illusion Red Dragon Magic Is the use of fire and energy Yellow Chaos Magic Affects the very nature of magic and life SPELL ACQUISITION Characters who belong to the Spades and Diamonds psyche types will receive a new spell every second level. Hearts will receive one each level, and Clubs two per level. New spells are learned during sleep, and when a character may be visited by the Spell Faeries. They will only sell spells to those who are ready to receive them. THE INVENTORY AND MANIPULATING OBJECTS Clicking on the inventory icon (Figure 3) will call up the inventory display (Figure 5). The inventory for each cheracter shows twelve item slots. The first four of these are for an item held in the left hand, an item held in the right hand, armour worn, and shield. Characters who belong to the Clubs and Diamonds psyche types may only use small shields. FIGURE 5 - THE INVENTORY DISPLAY ----------------------------------- Character's name ----------------------------------- \\\ | | /// |-v-| |---| \---/ \---/ Left Right Backpack \\\| |/// |___| | | |\_/| |\_/| hand hand Armour Shield slots \ | | / \_/ \___/ |---| |---| \---/ \---/ \---/ \---/ \---/ \---/ Backpack |\_/| |\_/| |\_/| |\_/| |\_/| |\_/| slots |---| |---| |---| |---| |---| |---| <| ARMOUR: +05 |> Armour rating |---| |---| |---| |---| \---/ |--\ | | | | | | | | |\_/| | > |---| |---| |---| |---| |---| |--/ | | | | |-----------------| | ------ Exit to control Party suit icons Object to use display The remaining eight are backpack slots. Below these slots is the characters current armour rating. This indicates how effective the character's armour is at absorbing blows. OTHER OPTIONS Clicking on the the statistics box or the party shields (Figure 2) brings up another selection of icons where you can perform a variety of actions, such as pausing the game, saving and loading your positions, sleeping, and buying, selling and exchanging items. PAUSING THE GAME Click on the hourglass icon to pause the game. The border will turn blue. Clicking anywhere on the screen returns you to the game. SAVING AND LOADING Clicking on the floppy disc icon to save, load and quit the game. Press S to save your current position to floppy disc, and L to load a previously saved position (you can also do this from the main menu). Note that you must use a vendor formatted disc to save your position, and that your position will be saved to the first track (track 0) of the disc! You are only allowed to save one game position on a disc. The Bloodwych disc image BLOODWYC.DSK should be a vendor format disc and you can use it to save your position - this will not overwrite the other files on the Bloodwych disc. You can also press SPACE to return to the game without saving or loading. SLEEPING Click on the Z icon to make your characters sleep. This allows you to regain strength, gain a level, and buy new spells for certain characters. When buying spells from the Spell Faeries, you are asked to choose which colour of spell you wish to buy. You then choose one of two spells of that colour. You will be shown the level of the spell and its cost before you decide whether to buy it or not. Click on the star icon to BUYING, SELLING AND EXCHANGING You can also buy, sell and exchange items with any other character by clicking on the appropriate icons when you meet them. When they ask you a question, click on the YES or NO icon to answer. You can sell items you have picked up and don't really need to enemy characters, although they may attack you afterwards! |