Velnor's Lair

The Black Wizard Velnor has gone into hiding in the Goblin Labyrinth of Mt. Elk.
  The reason is now plainly clear.  After centuries of searching he has finally
discovered the ancient tomb of Grako and is now about to realise his ghastly
ambition, to become a true demon on earth!  Time is too short to mass an Army
against Velnor.  There is only one hope for mankind; that one brave adventurer
may be able to penetrate Velnor's defences, defeating his guards, avoiding the
traps and surprising Velnor before the metamorphosis is complete.  You are that
chosen person, but beware, not only does Velnor empploy the most ghastly of
creatures as guards, he is also a master of illusion.

In this D&D style adventure you may be a Wizard, Warrior, or Priest.  As a
Warrior, you are best suited to battle, but how will you cope with the fiendish
spells of Velnor?  As a Wizard your spells are devastating, but beware, your
magic is limited and armed combat doesn't come easy!  As a Priest you may
protect yourself with the divine powers and you have no fear of the undead, but
how will you handle the ghastly Trolls?

The adventure will require ingenuity and careful planning.  Combat takes the
form of D&D style scenarios where instant death is rare, but beware, wounds are
cumulative and strategy is of the utmost importance.


CHARACTER CLASSES


CLASSES AVAILABLE ARE AS FOLLOWS


WARRIOR

The Warrior is the best suited to physical combat, he is the hardest to hit, can
take the greatest punishment before being killed and does much greater damage to
his foes in combat.

He has no spell casting ability but like the Wizard and the Priest, he can use
all the magic items found during the Adventure.


WIZARD

The Wizard is poorly suited to physical combat, he is an easy target, taking
only minimal punishment before being killed. However, his powerful magic
compensates for his lack of physical strength.

The Wizard begins with a spell strength of 10 and each spell cast drains this
strength by a number shown in brackets alongside each spell.

Polymorph (1) This spell can polymorph any non-magical living creature, and all
that it carries, into a harmless frog. The success rate is normally 50 per cent
and is usually used during combat.

Fire ball (5) This spell has effect over the whole of the location and will
automatically kill all creatures without magical protection within that
location. For obvious reasons, this spell must be used from a distance [i.e.
outside of an inhabited cave]. It cannot be used during combat.

Teleport (3) This spell will teleport you and all that you are carrying, from
any location to the cave entrance. It can be used during combat and hence it is
a life saver.


PRIEST

The Priest's abilities in combat lie between that of the Wizard and the Warrior.
He has a selection of spells which are mainly defensive. Like the Wizard, the
number of spells he can cast are limited. He begins with a spell strength of 10
and each spell used reduces his strength by a number shown in brackets alongside
each spell.

Shield (3) This spell decreases your vulnerability to injury during combat. It
works by giving the Priest better odds during combat, no physical device is
created. The spell makes the Priest as hard to hit as the Warrior; it can only
be used once.

Heal (4) This spell totally heals all of the Priest's injuries.

Dispel Undead (3) This spell will totally and irrevocably dispel any undead
creature from earth to its Plane of Origin.


COMMANDS

Most commands are entered as two words, a verb followed by a noun. There are
however, a few exceptions which are entered as single words.

Moving Directions of movement are given by a single word which can be
abbreviated to a single letter, eg., Down or D. North or N. etc.

Inventory This lists all of the items which you are carrying and can be
abbreviated to INV.

Spells Enter name of spell to be cast, eg., Fireball.

Fight This indicates that you wish to enter into or sustain physical combat, it
can be abbreviated to F. Do not enter use Club, etc.

Save This allows the game to be saved for playing at a later date.
Apart from these exceptions all commands are entered Verb then Noun, eg., Light
Torch: Extinguish Torch: Feed Lion, etc.

Other important commands are: - Use: Take: Drop: Search: Examine. There are of
course, many other Verbs which the computer understands, but listing them would
spoil the game.


COMBAT

Combat takes place in rounds where each creature involved is allowed one action.
The action of Hostile Creatures will generally be to attack you. You have option
of:
1. Continuing to fight, command fight or F.
2. Running away, enter direction in which you wish to move. Often there won't be
   enough room to escape but keep trying.
3. Spell casting, only if you are a spell user of course. The command is the
   spell name.
4. Any normal action, Take: Drop: Use: Examine, etc.


STATE OF HEALTH

During combat you are informed about the severity of your injuries after each
hit you sustain. Comments range from slightly injured, to critically injured.
Your condition is also indicated by the Border Colour. When uninjured the Border
is white, as injuries are sustained. The Border changes colour passing through
the spectrum to black. When black you are dead, so watch the Border!


HELPFUL HINTS

It is recommended that you draw a map right from the start, the Labyrinth is
long and complex and without a map you are sure to become lost.

Only go into combat when necessary and try to avoid it in the early stages of
the game. If you do accidentally enter into a combat situation, don't forget
that you can always run. If you fail to escape at your first attempt, keep
trying.

GOOD LUCK!
