BARBARIAN THE GAME

Can you become Hegor the Barbarian?
Are you the warrior who can enter the fearful realms of 
the underground world of Durgan, a world terrorized by 
the evil Necron?
Your quest; to destroy the lair of the accursed Necron. 
Your prize; the kingdom's crown.
Your task is awesome! You must live on your wits, 
conquer your innermost fears, use every skill and 
weapon available to you.
Hideous perils await. Can you survive?..

HEGOR THE BARBARIAN

As everyone knows, Hegor was the most famous dragon-
slayer of them all.

From an early age Hegor was schooled in the use of 
several weapons by his father Thoron, a revered and 
respected hunter. Each day, before most of the other 
villagers were awake, Hegor and his father would go off 
into the woods that surrounded the little village of 
Thelston. Here, under Thoron's tuition, Hegor first 
learned how to use a spear, as he grew older and 
stronger, a bow and arrow and finally, a sword. Whilst 
teaching his son, Thoron would tell stories of his 
adventures when he was a young man. Hegor was 
fascinated by these tales and longed to go off on an 
adventure himself. In his early teens Hegor's life was 
changed dramatically by a quite unexpected event. One 
day, when he was returning home Hegor was startled by 
a great commotion on the outskirts of the village; people 
were running around screaming and shouting, a huge 
dragon was attacking the village, a man was trying to 
fend it away with a sword, Hegor froze. . .It was his 
father.

Hegor watched the entire episode as Thoron fought 
desperately, but in vain, against the huge fire-breathing 
monster. Wielding his mighty sword, Thoron had 
managed to force the dragon away from the village but 
the great beast in a frenzied retreat lashed out its 
enormous tail, there was an almighty crack as the tail 
smashed into Thoron's head, breaking his neck and 
killing him instantly. Having mutilated its victim, the 
dragon ripped the head from the lifeless corpse and 
devoured it, then picking up the body in its mouth it 
disappeared back into the woods.

Thoron had sacrificed his own life to save the village and 
Hegor had been robbed of his only remaining family. In 
the wake of this gruesome scenario, holding his father's 
sword on the spot where the body had lain, Hegor made a 
vow; some day he would avenge his father's brutal death 
and destroy the evil dragon.

If he was to fulfil this impossible pledge, Hegor knew that 
he must leave Thelston and travel away in search of 
adventure. He knew that he would have to survive many 
adventures and learn many secrets, before he would ever 
be ready to take on the beast that had so easily defeated 
his father.

For three years, Hegor travelled the land in search of evil, 
never shirking the duty he had bestowed upon himself.
He forged quite a reputation for himself throughout the 
kingdom; people would travel from all around to ask for 
his help to save their villages from all kinds of strange 
monsters and evil characters. Hegor had become the 
most famous dragon-slayer in the land.

It was at about this time, in the small rural village of Egdon 
that Hegor came across an ageing dragon-slayer by the 
name of Commat, who told stories of his conquests, the 
places he had visited and the horrendous injuries he had 
endured.

Listening to these stories reminded Hegor, of when he 
used to sit with his father as he recounted the tales of his 
own adventures.

In truth, Commat had only ever killed one dragon and that 
was a blind and decrepit old beast that had been drugged 
senseless by an ancient druid potion. Commat had 
however spent several years travelling round with a 
renowned hunter called Raiph, who was eventually killed 
by bandits in an ambush. It was after this that Commat 
began taking the credit for many of Raiph's conquests, 
telling of their adventures with him as the hero and Raiph 
as the coward.

Now there was one particular story that really fascinated 
Hegor; Commat would tell how he and Raiph had 
stumbled upon an underground kingdom completely by 
accident. This was a kingdom ruled by the sinister 
Necron, an incredibly evil being of awesome power and 
influence over his devilish band of guardians and 
subordinates. Commat described how he had been forced 
to venture into the dark caves alone because Raiph had 
been too afraid. The story continued that they both had to 
run for their lives, chased by a gang of hideous dog-like 
creatures, the number of which would increase each time 
he told the story.

The part that intrigued Hegor about Necron; he was sure 
that his father had mentioned that name, he seemed to 
recall something about the underground world that 
Commat spoke of and was always pestering Commat to 
tell the story again. Commat was however, unable to 
elaborate further as he had not been there at all, having in 
truth heard the story form a drunk in a tavern, but he still 
managed to add new details himself each time he told the 
tale.

Commat's favourite place for telling these stories was the 
tavern at Egdon, the Druid Inn. Before long, Hegor began 
to develop a taste for the frothy ale served up by big 
Rosie, the landlady. By now Hegor was spending as much 
time as Commat in the tavern, listening to his stories for 
hours on end, the ale and the damp smoky atmosphere all 
adding to the intrigue and fascination. All was well until 
one night Hegor had got so drunk that he had fallen 
asleep in the tavern, awakening to find himself alone in 
the tavern with big Rosie.

That morning inspired by this experience in the tavern, 
Hegor went out and killed a dragon he had been hunting 
for several weeks. From that day forward, Hegor would 
celebrate each of his conquests for at least a week, 
drinking copious amounts of ale and leaving no woman in 
the surrounding area safe. Thus Hegor's reputation 
spread not only for being the most famous dragon-slayer 
but also the most famous drinker and womaniser in the 
kingdom.

Several years on Hegor was still roaming the land seeking 
adventure, slaying evil-doers and dragons; all the time 
celebrating his victories in a way that only he could. But 
this was not to last, as he travelled from town to town, 
Hegor began to hear rumours of strange happenings at his 
home village of Thelston; at first the rumours were of 
complete fields of crops being totally destroyed in a 
single night, then of livestock going missing, of 
children being stolen from their beds and finally houses 
being burnt as the occupants slept. Stories travelled 
throughout the land, of werewolves and ape-like men, 
controlled by some immense power, terrorizing other 
villages in the area. As the rumour and the accompanying 
fear spread so did the desolation, before long the whole 
kingdom was in turmoil. The King called together elders 
from all over the land. . . After three days of talking 
the King finally sent out his decree: "Whosoever could 
put a stop to this destruction and remove the evil 
power behind it, would be entitled to claim the kingdom's 
crown and all its riches." The King knew that if something 
was not done soon, his subjects would be devastated by 
famine and poverty.


Hearing of the decree, Hegor knew immediately that only he 
could destroy this evil force and save the kingdom. The trouble 
had started near Thelston, so he set off immediately, after all 
these years he was going home.

Hegor had been walking for two whole days before the 
surroundings began to look familiar, he was close now, a 
strange sense of foreboding filled his mind and the warm 
afternoon sun offered no comfort from the cold sweat that had 
broken out over his body. He didn't know why he felt like this but 
he did know he was part of it, as if the terror and suffering was 
for some reason directed at him.

As he approached he could see wisps of smoke rising above 
the treetops, coming to the woods where he had played as a 
child he thought of the happier days when his father had taught 
him to fight and of when they had sat together against a tree 
whilst Thoron told the stories of his great adventures. Hegor 
found the old path that led through the woods to the village, a 
little overgrown now but still discernable.

Coming through the trees, Hegor caught his first glimpse of the 
village, it seemed to be deserted, but then he caught sight of 
two old men sitting on a bench outside a dilapidated old house 
on the outskirts of the village. The thatched roof was threadbare 
and the stone walls bore the scars of many ancient repairs 
which were now crumbling again.

As he passed the two men were talking, seemingly oblivious of 
his presence. It occurred to him that there must have been 
many young men passing through the village recently, all 
wishing to claim the crown for themselves. Approaching the 
centre of the village, Hegor was amazed at the state of 
disrepair, many of the houses had obviously been empty for 
some time and were decaying rapidly. An old woman was 
fetching water from the well, bent forward, she stumbled several 
times under the weight of the pail, an old man dozed in the 
warmth of the afternoon sun. . . All the people were old. Hegor 
remembered the dozens of children playing around the houses 
and in the woods, where were they all?

Hegor returned to the house where the two old men had been 
sitting, one had already gone, the other was lifting himself stiffly 
from his chair.

"Hey! Old man." Shouted Hegor as he approached. The old 
man, now standing with the aid of a stick, slowly turned his 
head to face Hegor. . . he said nothing. Hegor came closer.

"Where is everyone? The children, the families where are they?"

"Gone," said the old man "All gone. All trying to escape the evil 
powers of Necron."

Hegor froze, recalling Commat's story and the name he had 
heard his father mention as a child. The old man began to 
speak again, Hegor noticed the empty bottle of spirit by his 
chair, he was drunk.

"No one can escape Necron, he has destroyed Thelston and 
many other villages nearby, soon he will destroy the whole 
kingdom. Like yourself, many young men have come here trying 
to destroy him and his underground kingdom, none have 
returned, not even the great Thoron could survive the wrath of 
Necron. "

"Thoron you say? I am Hegor, Thoron was my father. "

"Hegor!... You should not have returned here."

"Tell me old man, the great beast that killed my father, was it 
sent by this Necron?"

"It was indeed. The beast "Vulcuran" is his guardian. Only once 
has the dragon left the underground kingdom of Durgan, to kill 
Thoron and put a stop to the almighty feud that existed between 
your father and Necron. That would have been the end of it, but 
for you Hegor, when your father was killed you vowed to avenge 
his death, now Necron sees you as a threat to his power:
Hegor remembered how he had felt as he approached Thelston 
earlier that day, how he had felt in some way part of all this, he 
also remembered the story his father had told him; of his friend 
Necron, who had turned to the ways of evil.

"But my father told me that he had killed Necron, that they had 
been friends until Necron turned evil and how he had been 
forced to kill him with this very sword. "

"What you say is true Hegor, Thoron did kill Necron and with 
that sword, but Necron has strange powers; the powers of 
darkness and evil. He can only be destroyed by a being who 
commands equal power: the power of good. Your father had 
that power but he was weary and became careless, he allowed 
Necron's soul to live because they had been friends. Now the 
evil one lives on in a decaying body, after all these years his 
revenge is almost complete, he has destroyed Thoron and all 
that remains is for him to kill you, cutting Thoron's last blood 
line. You are the last remaining threat to his power and now you 
must also die, completing his plan, a plan that through a trail of 
destruction has drawn you into his web."

For the first time in his life Hegor felt fear, but his need for 
revenge suppressed the fear and replaced it with the 
anger that had been pent up inside him ever since his 
father's death.

"Why does Necron not send the great beast to kill me?"

"The great beast cannot leave Durgan. After so many 
years, it has grown fat from eating human flesh and is 
now too big to leave the caves which lead to Necron's 
temple. Instead, Necron sends out his evil followers to 
take children from their beds at night, to feed the 
monster."

"Then I must destroy Necron and his underground 
kingdom."

"First Hegor, you must know the story of Thoron and 
Necron." At that, the old man hobbled into the house, 
beckoning Hegor to follow.

Inside, the old man motioned Hegor to sit at the table in 
the corner. He then produced a bottle of spirit and two 
metal cups and struggled into the seat opposite Hegor.
Hegor drank thirstily after his long journey, the spirit had 
no obvious effect. The old man was stunned at how 
Hegor drank, for this was his oldest bottle and as strong 
as any drink in the kingdom. He refilled
Hegor's cup and began the story. . .

The tale began with Thoron and Necron as children. The 
old man revealed that they were not in fact friends, as he 
had said before, but brothers, twins in fact, and how they 
had always been very close and went everywhere 
together.

One day when they had been playing in the woods, they 
had come across an old man who had fallen down, 
fascinated by his long white beard and flowing hair, they 
had helped him to his feet. The old man had scurried 
away without a word. The next day, the boys saw the man 
again, waiting for them, near to where he had fallen; the 
man thanked them for their help and told them he was a 
Druid and thus normally forbidden to speak, but as they 
had been so kind he promised to repay them.

Each day afterwards the boys met the Druid in the woods, 
at first he would just tell them stories, each one about a 
good man and an evil man, and at the end of each story 
he would always say: "And good finally triumphed over 
evil" and the two boys would clap and cheer. One 
afternoon, after some weeks, the boys turned up as usual, 
to find the old Druid waiting for them, only this time he had 
some weapons with him; a spear, a bow and arrow and a 
sword.

For a year the Druid taught the boys how to use each of 
the weapons. At the end of every lesson, the old man 
would take the weapons away with him and forbid the two 
boys from saying anything to anyone, about their 
meetings. As the boys were starting home after one of the 
lessons, the Druid shouted after them to come early the 
next day.

When they arrived they were surprised to see that he only 
carried the sword and the bow with him. He asked the 
boys to close their eyes, as they did so they both felt a 
strange sensation pass over their bodies. The old man 
then told Necron to think of fire, at that instant bolts of 
flames flew from the boy's hands and destroyed the 
nearest tree. Whilst they were still in a state of shock, the 
Druid told Thoron to think of good and as he did, he 
experienced a warmth envelop his whole body and an immense power 
in his hands. Necron was told that he must never use the 
fire against Thoron, for Thoron's power was equal to his 
and just by holding up his hands, Thoron could reflect the 
fire back at Necron and kill him.

The Druid then sat the boys down and began one of his 
stories. As usual, the tale told was of good triumphing 
over evil, concluding as always with the destruction of the 
evil man's body and soul.

The Druid continued, telling the twins that the story was 
really about them and that how Necron would become 
evil, using his special powers to destroy and corrupt. He 
also told of how Thoron would become the embodiment of 
all that was good and of how he would use his powers to 
suppress and stamp out evil.

With the story told the old Druid handed the sparkling 
sword to Thoron, the very same sword that Hegor now 
held, and the beautiful bow to Necron, without uttering 
another word, he then walked behind a tree and vanished 
never to be seen again.

The two boys did not understand what the Druid had told 
them and they soon forgot about their strange powers and 
the Druid's riddle about their future. The sword and the 
bow, however, remained very precious to the twins and 
they treasured them always.

Many years later when the twins had grown up and gone 
their separate ways, Thoron, on one of his many 
adventures came across a large town ruled by a much 
despised, rich and evil man. When Thoron asked why the 
townspeople did not throw him out of the town, they said it 
was impossible, that he was the very devil himself, that 
fire came from his hands and that with his bow he could 
shoot an arrow through the eye of a bird perched in the 
highest tree.

Thoron was stunned, it had to be Necron. The old Druid's 
tale had come true.

He went to see Necron in his huge house, at the centre of 
the town. Necron welcomed his brother with such open 
arms and hospitality, that Thoron could not believe that 
his brother had done the terrible things that the townsfolk 
spoke of; burning down houses and executing entire 
families for not paying their taxes.

This belief was short lived, the following morning Necron 
showed Thoron all his riches, a whole room of his house 
was filled with precious things. Necron then offered to 
share his riches with his brother, saying that they could 
take over the neighbouring town and double their wealth. 
Thoron went wild at the thought that Necron felt he could 
so easily be corrupted, and a fierce fight ensued.

The two brothers knowing that their powers were useless 
against each other, began fighting hand to hand. They 
fought like wild animals for hour after hour but as dusk 
drew in Thoron eventually managed to overpower Necron 
and in an endeavour to rid the town of this terrible evil 
drew his sword and with one mighty blow severed 
Necron's head from his body.

Standing over the body, exhausted, Thoron watched it 
change into a gleaming crystal, the very symbol of evil, 
he uttered the words of the old Druid, "Good finally 
triumphs over evil."

Thoron knew that the crystal could only be destroyed by 
the burning heat of the Earth's very bowels, but was 
unable to bring himself to burn his own brother's soul. 
Feeling safe in the knowledge that Necron could never 
again walk the earth, Thoron turned away. . .
Suddenly the crystal began to glow and with a blinding 
flash vanished, taking the Druid's bow with it. . . unknown 
to Thoron, Necron's evil lived on! Thoron was hailed a 
hero among the townspeople but despite their pleading, 
would not stay and become their leader, for he was too 
ashamed at the suffering his brother had brought them. 
Instead, he settled in the nearby village of Thelston and 
married, his wife soon bearing a son.

Necron's soul was banished to the worlds of darkness, 
never to walk the Earth again. So, he created the 
underground world of Durgan and in it he lived with his 
hideous band of followers and Vulcuran his guardian.
The old man continued the story passing through time 
and unimportant events finally reaching the point of the 
death of Hegor's mother, Naylar. Hegor knew most of it 
but he did not know that her death had been caused by 
Necron and his pack of evil hell-hounds.

It was at this time that Thoron had realised Necron was 
still alive and sought revenge, not just on him, but also on 
his family. This explained why Thoron had never taken 
another wife, choosing to raise his child alone, and also 
why he had taught Hegor to fight, as he had been taught, 
by the old Druid.

So when the great dragon came to Thelston, Thoron was 
expecting it. He knew that he would need a bow, the like 
of Necron's, to kill this beast and that a single arrow would 
be a mere pin-prick to such a huge monster. But with time 
and the mourning for his lost wife he had grown weary of 
fighting and, satisfied that Hegor was ready to take up the 
battle with Necron, he merely ensured that the dragon did 
not reach the village, before giving himself up to the 
beast.

At this point, the old man paused to refill Hegor's cup 
before continuing "Now Hegor, it is up to you but 
remember the world of Durgan is filled with evil creatures 
and there is Vulcuran guarding the passage which leads 
to Necron's temple. Necron himself possesses great 
powers, magic powers, of which you must beware. Only 
an equal power can destroy him. You Hegor, do not have 
the physical powers of Necron or your father, but with the 
knowledge that Thoron has passed on to you, you can 
destroy the soul of Necron and the world of Durgan. 
Remember that Necron's fire was useless against Thoron. 
Find a means to reflect his bolts of fire and you can kill 
him, it is your destiny. Then Hegor, you shall become 
King."

The two men continued talking and drinking bottles of the 
old man's spirit which he kept producing from a dark 
alcove in another corner of the room, into the early hours 
of the morning. . .

Hegor awoke with a start, for a moment he didn't know 
where he was. He felt a sharp jab to his side and turned to 
see the old man lowering his stick. "Come Hegor, the sun 
is almost up, you have work to do, today you shall 
become King."

Hegor went to the doorway, stepping out, he breathed in 
the cold morning air. Thelston looked, somehow different 
in the half light of dawn, and he could almost hear the 
children's laughter as if they were playing in the 
village.

"You must not forget this Hegor," said the old man 
handing Hegor his sword.

The old man led the way, the pace was slow and the old 
man leant heavily on his stick, but he did not complain. 
They came to the woods, beyond the farthest end of the 
village. Hegor stopped momentarily, the horrific memories 
of his father's body, hanging from the dragon's mouth, 
all those years ago, flooded back.

Deep into the forest now, Hegor was becoming 
impatient at the old man's slowness.

"Anyway old man, how do you know so much about my 
father and Necron?"

As he finished speaking, there was a low whistle in the 
air, at the same moment Hegor heard a great thud and 
the familiar sound of bones smashing. He ducked 
instinctively, and there was silence. Turning quickly, 
Hegor gasped. The old man had been thrown back and 
lay slumped against a tree, an arrow protruding 
grotesquely from his right eye, blood began to trickle 
down the side of his face. The old man's stick lay forlorn 
on the spot where he had stood just a moment before.

Hegor walked towards the body. He froze. The old man's 
face was changing. It became the face of Thoron, the 
arrow had gone, he spoke "Today, my son, you shall 
avenge my death and become King."

"Father!" Shouted Hegor.

As he shouted there was another whistle, Hegor dropped 
like a stone, to the ground. But this was a different sound, 
he looked up and stared in disbelief. The body was gone, 
only the stick remained.

Suddenly, the trees began to shake and the leaves on the 
ground were whipped up, swirling in the air, as his father's 
voice echoed in the wind. "Good will triumph over evil."
Hegor turned and started running, in the direction the old 
man had shown him. Gasping for breath, Hegor kept 
running, the undergrowth was thick here, but he was 
totally oblivious to the brambles and branches tearing at 
his flesh, as if in a desperate attempt to stop him. His 
father's words filled his mind. Nothing could stop him now. 
Finally, after years of torment he was about to avenge the 
death of his beloved father.

Hegor came hurtling through the trees and stopped dead 
in his tracks. A vast marshland lay before him...

BARBARIANS - SPECTRUM/AMSTRAD 
INSTRUCTIONS

Welcome to the world of Barbarian.

In this world you control our hero "Hegor". Once the game 
has started you will see him standing in the marsh. Using 
the joystick or keyboard (or both simultaneously) you 
issue commands that control his actions. Thus enabling 
you to explore the world of Durgan.

You should always remember that Barbarian features 
context sensitive animation which allows the same 
commands to do different things depending on the 
situation Hegor is involved in.

In order to complete the game you must locate and 
destroy the crystal which is the source of the evil power of 
Necron. Once the crystal has been destroyed the volcano 
in which Durgan is located will start to erupt making it 
imperative that you reach the surface again before it 
blows.

The time that it took you to destroy the crystal is not only 
your score for the game but it is also the time which you 
have to get back to the starting point in the marsh. This 
'about to erupt' phase of game play is indicated by your 
score timer now counting backwards.

The game may be controlled from the keyboard or by a 
joystick in any combination. Whilst you are playing 
Barbarian you will see a strip of icons at the bottom of the 
screen. To choose the Icon you wish to use, move the 
joystick UP and DOWN. or use the O and P keys. The 
Icon you wish to use will be highlighted. To flip between 
the two Icon bars press FIRE. To choose a highlighted 
Icon press FIRE

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

Controls
Q = Move Man Left 
W = Move Man Right 
O = Move Icon Left 
P = Move Icon Right 
M = Select Icon 
Space = Flip Icon Bar

Joystick (Kempston or SincIair) 

Joy Left = Move Man Left  
Joy Right = Move Man Right  
Joy Up = Move Icon Right 
Joy Down = Move Icon Left 
Fire	= Select Icon 
Space	= Flip Icon

LOADING INSTRUCTIONS

48k  - LOAD "" 
128k - Use Tape Loader Option 
