It is a time of change. The old overlords have lost 
control over the land, and the people live in fear. Magical
creatures and evil forces are everywhere.

It is told that in a far region there is a source of power
so strong that anyone who could reach it would be 
able to dominate the land.

Many adventurers have tried to find this legendary 
place; but the perils are many and few have returned
alive. Those that have all speak of the same thing - that
the place cannot be found without the TALISMAN.

Playing TALISMAN
1) LOADING
   Load either side of the cassette.
   LOAD""

2) CHARACTER SELECTION
   Up to four characters can be in the game; they
   can all be computer controlled (independent) or
   controlled by real players.
   
   You will be asked "ARE THERE TO BE NEW
   PLAYERS?" Answer Y (for Yes) or N (for No)
   
   Answer Yes if you have just loaded the game, or 
   if you have restarted the game and want to select
   new players.
   
   Answer No if you are restarting (eg. because you
   have just been killed) but want to keep the same 
   characters.
   
   You will be asked "HOW MANY CHARACTERS
   ARE THERE?" Enter 1-4 (you can make the
   quest without competition if you want - in which
   case press 1. Remember that the other three
   characters can be computer controlled though).
   
   Select the characters by using the up and down
   direction keys - 6 & 7. 0 selects the Character.
   You can give characters a name up to 10 letters
   long.
   
   The different characters have slightly different
   initial strengths and craft values:
   
   The Elf          3 strength   4 craft
   The Priest       3 strength   4 craft
   The Assassin     3 strength   3 craft
   The Warrior      5 strength   3 craft
   The Ghoul        4 strength   4 craft
   The Thief        3 strength   4 craft
   The Wizard       3 strength   5 craft
   The Sorceress    3 strength   5 craft
   The Druid        3 strength   5 craft
   The Troll        5 strength   3 craft
   
   After selecting each character, you will be asked,
   "INDEPENDENT CHARACTER?". Answer Y
   for computer controlled, or N for not.
   When all characters have been selected, you will
   be asked "LAID BACK, MODERATE OR
   SPEEDY?" (Enter L, M, or S). This refers to the
   speed the game plays at. Start on LAID BACK!
   
3) PLAYING THE GAME
   Move left or right with the arrow keys (5 & 8).
   Occasionally you will need to select which location
   you move into (eg. N or W). Watch the screen for
   reports. The top part of the screen will show you 
   what objects (magic and ordinary) are in the
   location. The middle section shows a picture of 
   the character, and its strength, craft, lives, gold,
   and spells (if any). There is an hourglass on the
   right. The bottom section shows you the ordinary
   objects in detail and any followers that are there.
   To pick up the objects and followers you must
   stop in the location (press ENTER). Various
   events will happen when you stop. You might be
   attacked by a monster, in which case you will
   have to defeat it in order to gain the objects and
   followers. A monster may attack with strength or
   craft; when it appears on the screen, its value will 
   be shown alongside yours. At this point you can 
   run away if you're quick! Once you are fighting,
   pressing any key will add a random value between
   one and six to both sides. Whoever has the greater
   total value will then win.
   
   Many other events besides monsters can and do
   occur; most locations have random events. If you
   do not stop anywhere, when your hourglass time-
   limit is up, you will stop where you are.
   Remember that there are events which can
   increase and decrease all of your values - for
   example, it is possible to get lost lives 'healed' at
   a castle if you have a prince or princess following
   you.
   
   Pressing P in your turn gives you your player
   information.
   Pressing SPACE allows you to:
   a) Press 1, 2, 3, or 4 which gives you the other
   players' information, but ends your turn.
   b) Press C to continue with the next player 
   (without an event happening to you).
   c) Press R to restart the game.
   
   You may need to fight another player (e.g. if you
   kill one, it will lose all its objects). To do so, 
   position your character over your target and press:
   2 to fight with strength
   1 to fight with craft
   
   Pressing CAPS SHIFT ends your turn (after you
   have stopped). If you see "CONTINUING" at the
   bottom of the screen, your turn has also ended, so
   press CAPS SHIFT. Sometimes you may have to
   miss a turn - although you cannot do anything,
   you will still need to press CAPS SHIFT.
   
4) SPELLS
   During the game you will acquire spells. These
   can be used at any time during your go. They are
   shown in the spell section of the screen (below the
   gold) as letters, and can be cast by pressing that
   letter.
   They are:
   A - STAY ALIVE - No lives can be lost in this 
   turn by monster attack.
   B - PSIONIC BLAST - Concentrates your alpha
   waves into an unstoppable energy beam. Kills.
   C - MAGIC CLOAK - Protects player from
   attacks by other players for that round.
   D - TIME DILATION - All other players miss a 
   turn.
   E - EVADE - Monsters cannot attack you this 
   turn.
   F - FREEZE - Cast on another player. He misses
   a turn.
   G - GOLD DIVINING - Gain 3 gold.
   H - HEALING - Heale up to 4 lives.
   I - ALIGNMENT CHANGE - Random change.
   J - TELEPORT JUMP - Random teleport to 
   another location.
   K - SCARE - Frightens all followers away from
   another player.
   L - LOSE ALL - Cast on another player. He loses
   all his magic objects.
   M - MEGASTRENGTH - Adds 6 extra strength in
   combat.

5) ALIGNMENT
   You might be good, neutral or evil. It may be
   important.

6) OBJECTS & FOLLOWERS
   There are 7 ordinary objects, 8 magic objects,
   and 8 followers. Most of these add to your
   strength and craft, and some have very specific
   uses. Watch out for the Gremlin; it may be
   necessary to lose him!

      Objects      Magic Objects      Followers
     Talisman        Rune Sword         Maiden
    Water bottle   Soloman's Crown      Prince
       Sword         Magic Belt         Princess
        Axe          Holy Grail         Pixie
      Helmet        Magic Potion        Unicorn
      Shield         Holy Lance         Gnome
      Armour           Cross            Guide
                       Ring             Gremlin

7) In the event of a broken program. Run will restart.

------------------------------------------------------

                CREDITS

TALISMAN was written and programmed by SLUG
from an original boardgame by Robert Harris.

    Cover Artwork by Chris Achiellos
       Photographs by Nic Grecas
   Production Artwork by Brian Cumming
        Produce by Angus Ryall
     (c) Games Workshop Ltd 1985

Copyright 1985 Games Workshop Ltd. This program is sold
subject to the terms of trade and the conditions of sale of the
publishers, copies of which are available on request. The 
contents are not to be copied, hired re-sold, publicly performed
or broadcast without the publisher's written consent.

Games Workshop Ltd. 27/29 Sunbeam Rd. London NW10 6JP.
          TELEX:8951 1182 GECOMS G
