THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE HEAVY ON THE MAGICK PUBLISHER Gargoyle AUTHOR YEAR 1986 CATEGORY Adventure CONTROLS Keyboard only. The game works using a keyword system rather similar to that used in 48K BASIC - press the initial key and the whole word appears: Left - L Right - R (within current room) North - N North-east - NE North-west - NW South - S South-east - SE South-west - SW East - E West - W Halt - H (abandons current command/string of commands) Swap - Z (swaps window 1 information) Options - O (returns to option screen) Examine - X object (examine named object) Pick up - P object (pick up named object) Drop - D object (drop named object) Invoke - I demon (invoke named demon) Blast - B object (blast named object or monster) Freeze - F object (freeze named object or monster) You can talk to creatures with the formula "name, object" (the quote marks are necessary too). For instance, "Magot, help" will ask the demon Magot (if he's present) to help you. INSTRUCTIONS Insulting a high-level wizard is not a good idea, as Axil the Able has just discovered. He's been teleported from his favourite pub, the Golden Thurible, straight into the dank and dangerous dungeon of Collodon's Pile. It would be a good idea to find a way out... Starting the game on the option screen, Axil's vital statistics - Stamina, Skill and Luck - are automatically generated by the program. You can't alter these but you can re-allocate them (option 6, Realign Status). This way, you can get a satisfactory combination of starting values. If you run out of Stamina, you'll die; your Stamina and Skill together affect the outcome of conflicts; your Luck influences virtually everything you do. Stamina is sapped by conflicts but can be regained by taking food or drink, while Skill and Luck can be enhanced by using other special objects. Having entered the game, you'll notice that Axil is a mere Neophyte (hence his alternative nickname, Axil the Barely Adequate). As you progress through the game, though, he'll gain experience and hopefully advance some grades. At the bottom of the screen are three information windows. Window 1, the left-handed one, gives miscellaneous information such as your current inventory; you can cycle through its screens by pressing Z. Window 2, the middle one, gives current information and is the one on which you enter your commands. The third window, on the right, shows your current status. Wandering around the caverns of Collodon's Pile (see KEYS, below), you'll sooner or later run into a hostile monster such as a Wyvern or Ghost. This means combat, which is entirely magically-based (Axil being a total physical coward). You are armed with a Blast spell which, if you are lucky, will kill the creature. Be aware though that some monsters can hurt you more than you can hurt them! Some creatures, however, can be helpful. Look out for Apex the Ogre - recognisable by his dumb grin - who can be of help to you. Other inanimate objects can be of help too. Look out for the spellbook in the starting room. There are also a number of magical keys around, to open magical doors; they may not look like keys, but they only need be dropped by a lock to be effective. Other locks can be opened by magical passwords; say "Door, [password]" and they will open. Finding the necessary password may not be so easy, though... Also in the starting room is a tattered copy of a magical volume entitled "The Net, being the Grimoire of Gugamon the Mage". The little that remains of this ancient work is reprinted below: "Be Thou warned - attempt no conjuration except that Ye possess the right Talisman; neither approach nor touch a Spirit... Place Ye the talisman on the ground and proceed with thy invocation from a distance; but, let it be known to the Wise, that the presence of such Things that are comfortable to thy Chosen Spirit, will ease the Translation of such knowledge as may be imparted. "And here, for those with eyes to see and Wit to understand, are the Names and Natures of the Princes... "ASMODEE, the Great Destroyer, whose number is 122 in the House of Mars, whose aspect is that of the Basilisk; whose colour is Green and whose plant is the Nettle and who bows to all Gems Red. "ASTAROT, the Spirit of Assemblage, whose number is 1376 in the Sign of Gemini, whose appearance is Legion, who moves through Rock Solid; whose pantacle is a Flaming Sword, whose perfume is Wormwood and favours the Orchid and the Magpie and bows before the Lustre of Tourmaline. "BELEZBAR, the Master of Flies, whose nature is Deceit and reveals all Deceit, whose number is 20, in the Firmament of Stars; who reveres the Amaranth and Musk and all manner of Locust; who bows to startling Turquoise. "MAGOT, the Diviner, who knoweth the situation of Hidden Treasures, whose aspect is that of a Baboon; whose colour is Yellow and whose number is 443, in the Realm of Air, who craves the scent of Galbanum and bows to secret Topaz and Chalcedony. "And the number of Magick is 11; but the number of the Great Abyss is 24..." CHEATS (Gargoyle/July 1986) Totally novel and brilliant interactive graphic adventure. To reach the Collodon's Pile exit, perform the following 45 steps... 1 Get Grimoire 2 E,N,N,E,E,E 3 "DOOR, SILENCE' 4 N (You will now be granted the Magick Grade of Zelator!) 5 S,W,W,W,N,E 6 BLAST, BLAST, BLAST (or as many as it takes) 7 N, NE 8 PICK UP NOUGAT 9 SE,S,S,SW,SE 10 BLAST, BLAST, BLAST (or as many as it takes) 11 PICK UP SCROLL, TRANSFUSION, TRANSFUSION. 12 NW,NE,N,N,NW,SW,S,W,W 13 BLAST, BLAST, BLAST (or as many as it takes) 14 PICK UP CLASP (this enables you to walk through the fire) 15 E, S, S, E, E, E 16 PICK UP SCROLL 17 W,W,W,N,N,E,N,NE,SE,N,S,W,SW,SE 18 EXAMINE TABLE. 19 PICK UP NUGGET, DROP NOUGAT (geddit? groan!) (you can now destroy werewolves just by walking through them) 20 NW,NE,W,N,SW,SW,E,S,S,NW 21 "DOOR, WOLF" (the door opens) 22 N,NW,W,W,S,E,E 23 PICK UP GARLIC, PICK UP BAG 24 W,W,N,E,NE,SE,NE,SE,SW,E,blast?,NE,E,S,S 25 PICK UP LOAF, W 26 "DOOR, LUNACY" (the door opens) 27 N, DROP CLASP, PICK UP KEY 28 SW, W, SW, S, S, NW 29 EXAMINE TABLE, DROP KEY (the door opens) 30 N, W, EXAMINE TABLE, DROP BAG (the door opens) 31 N,SW,SE,SW,E 32 EXAMINE CHEST, PICK UP SLAT 33 W,NE,W,N,N,PICKUPKEY,E,S,e,s,SE,NE 34 DROP SLAT 35 SW,N,N,NE,E,NE,S,E,N,N,W,SW,W,NE, NW, SW, NW, W 36 PICK UP KEY 37 E,SE,Ne,SE,SW,E,NE,E,S,S,W,"door,lunacy",N,SW,W,SW,S,S,NE 38 EXAMINE TABLE, DROP KEY 39 SW, NW, N, W, PICK UP BAG 40 E,S,SE,NE 41 DROP NUGGET, DROP GARLIC, pick up slat 42 n,SE,E,RIGHT,DROPBAG,N,SE,S,S,W (the slat kills the Cyclops) 43 W, W, LEFT, DROP KEY (the door opens) 44 N, SW, W 45 "DOOR, ELEVEN", N Made it! You're now at the exit to Collodon's pile! ..or you can try the following.. 1. Get Grimoire 2. E,N,NW 3. "Door,Wolf 4. N,NW 5. Invoke Astarot 6. "Astarot, Pilefoot 7. W 8. "Door,Eleven SCORES RECEIVED Crash: "An original, animated adventure". RATING : 9/10 (CRASH #29, June 1986) GENERAL FACTS NOTES HEAVY ON THE MAGICK DOC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TYPED BY VAXALON 1993 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Axil the Able stood in three inches of stagnant water and surveyed one of the most dismal dungeons he had ever been thrown into...30 seconds earlier, he was sitting in front of the ox-roast in that famed haunt of the Occult. The Golden Thurible engaged in his favourate pastime of Wizard-Baiting. What a good story Axil was telling - a new one about Therion, a certain moon creature and a rather gullible Elf - really, the sudden silence of his audience should have warned him. The crowd parted as Therion strode across the floor, dangerous in all his 10 degrees. Therion raised a twig-like index finger and flung Axil several hundred leagues across Graumerphy, into the dungeons beneath the dreary castle called Collodon's Pile. In the dark twilight, Axil tutted - and then took stock. He was, at least, clothed : he carried a large leather pouch, and on a nearby table, there was a book. The title read as follows:- The Net of Gugamon - a grimoire : wherein is contained the proper rites for the Convocation of various Demonly Princes, the procurement of lesser spirits, together with sundry workings, conjurations, manifestations, symbols relating to all manner of Astral Phenomena : and so on for several more pages, in the rather turgid style thought necessary for such books. Unfortunately, apart from the title, there seemed to be little more than a rather tattered contents page. But they did'nt call him Axil the Able for nothing. So, with a flourish, he marched for the door in search of a way out. DUNGEONS AND HOW TO SURVIVE THEM Dungeons are fairly unhealthy places, the best way to survive, is to Get Out. There are three seperate exits. To help you locate them you have a book of spells (which you add to) and your wits, to hinder you there are Wandering Monsters, Demons, Traps, Tricks and puzzles. STARTING UP You may have noticed that the program has already generated values for stamina, skill and luck. While you can't alter the values themselves you can re-locate them - select option 6 and the values will be re-aligned. It depends if you think skill counts for more than stamina. When saving of restoring a game, you will be asked for a version letter, so keep a note of version letters. NOTE : However, that saving a game will deplete your stamina, so that save cannot be used as an easy way of getting around difficult choices, saving and restoring. Axil allows you to save Axil's current experience and Grade, and some items. COMMUNICATIONS Communicating with the program is done through window 2 (the middle window) in the section of Merphish. STATUS If you run out of stamina, you Die : your stamina and skill together affect the outcome of conflicts : your Luck will influence virtually all your actions. Combat will reduce your Stamina a lot, most other actions will reduce it a little, but taking food or drink may well increse it: the other objects will enhance your Skill and Luck. EXPERIENCE As you play, you wil gain experience : this will enhance your status, advance your Magical grade, which will allow you access to items and knowledge not available to the lower grades. COMBAT All combat is magical - physical encounters with other creatures are often fatal. If you decide to engage in combat, check your own, and the monsters' status before each round. Some Monsters and all Demons, may have information which may prove useful, and often the status of a creature will give you a clue of how to deal with it. UNLOCKING Most locks that yoy encounter are Magical Locks and need Magical keys, They might not be recognised as Keys but they need to be dropped by a lock to be effective. Other locks are be opened by Magical Passwords. STUCK ? If your really stuck, ask Apex - or try examine OBJECT. MERPHISH AND HOW TO SPEAK IT All input is in Merphish. All commands take the form: Keyword (Object) followed by Return/Enter. Keywords are entered as just the first letter (occasionally two letters as in North-East etc.) the names of objects must be entered in full. Unrecognized keywords will be queried. Commands can also be entered as a string, with each seperated by a comma, and a final Return. A single delete will cause the command back to the previous comma of Return to be "forgotten". There follows a list of Merphish Keywords: N.North N.E.North-east N.W.North-west S.South S.E.South-east S.W.South-west E.East W.West L.Left R.Right H.Halt, this will abandon the command being actioned and the rest of any outstanding command string. Z - a special function to swap the information in Window 1. O - to return to Option Screen. X - (Object) Examine the named object. P - (Object) Pick up the named object. D - (Object) Drop the named object. Spells. I - (Object) Invoke the named Demon. B - (Object) Blast the named object or Monster. F - (Object) Freeze the named object or Monster Here are some Merphish names: ASMODEE ASTAROT AXIL BELEZBAR BOOK BOX BOTTLE LOAF CANDLE CHAIR DEMON MAGOT OBJECT TABLE WALL MONSTER SWORD ROCK SIGN RUBY Conversation is carried out as follows - "name.object" (the leading quote marks are necessary, the final quotes are optional) Where name is the name of a Demon, Monster or Thing that you are addressing object is the name of the Demon Monster or Thing that you wish to be attacked or about which you require information or that you wish to locate etc, depending on the nature of the creature you are addressing. ASMODEE - The great Destroyer whose number is 122 ASTAROT - The spirit of Assemblage whose number is 1376 BELEZBAR - The Master of Flies whose number is 20 MAGOT - The diviner whose number is 443 And the number of Magick is 11, but the number of the Great Abyss is 24. "BE THOU WARNED - ATTEMPT NO CONJURATION EXCEPT THAT YE POSSESS THE TALISMAN, NEITHER APPROACH NOR TOUCH A SPIRIT, FOR THE DEMONIC FOLK ARE QUICK TO CUT MORTALITY TO THE BONE...." HEAVY ON THE MAGIK - TIPS - TYPED BY VAXALON - 1994 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To pass the Vampires you need the Garlic. To pass the slugs you need a Pellet. To pass the werewolfs you need a Nugget. To pass the Hydras you need a Snake. To get the Pellet swap it for a Ball. To get the nugget swap it for the Nougat. To get past Rabak say Water. To get past Water say Fall. To get past the fire you need the salamander charm. DOOR PASSWORDS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DOOR, SORONOROS DOOR, LONG DOOR, LAZA DOOR, SILENCE DOOR, WOLF DOOR, ELEVEN DOOR, LUNACY WHICH KEY FOR WHICH DOOR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DOOR AT FLOX - ARIES KEY DOOR AT HORNS - TAURUS KEY DOOR AT TURO - GEMINI KEY DOOR AT PURITY - VIRGO KEY DOOR AT STINGS - SCORPIO KEY DOOR AT ARROWS - SAGITTARIUS KEY DOOR AT NANI - CAPRICORN KEY DOOR AT RAINS - AQUARIUS KEY DOOR AT ICHTHYS - PISCES KEY TO RESURRECT AI ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First you need the cauldron, then go and collect the ulna, the thigh and the skull (the skull behind the wraith) and drop them in the cauldron. (You'll have to take out the scroll first). Then say "CAULDRON, ACHAD". TO RAISE PHOENIX ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In one room there is a fire and nothing beyond it. In the fire is a nest. Get the Shell and swap it for the egg. Go to the nest (while carrying the salamander charm) and drop the egg in it. Stand well back (to the right hand side) and say "NEST, PHOENIX". THE DEMONS AND THEIR CHARMS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAGOT - SUNFLOWER BELEZBAR - MANTIS ASTAROT - SWORD ASMODEE - ERLSTONE MIXED TIPS ~~~~~~~~~~ Naturally the first thing you must do is take your grimoire or spell-book, this will increase your skill a bit and will let you cast the spells BLAST, INVOKE and FREEZE. BLAST is the one for magickly destroying any nasties that get in your way (although most monster can be avoided by not wasting time or going to pointless places). When you enter a room with a monster that you wish to kill, just press B (for BLAST) and enter it a dozen times or so. When the creature dies, press H (for HALT) and enter to stop the mindless BLASTing. INVOKE call the demons Magot, Astarot, Asmodee and Belezbar. FREEZE suspends and item/monster so that you can walk past without harm. It won't work on everything, wastes stamina points, and lasts for a very short time so it should be used as a last resort. Apart from the Grimoire, the most useful thing in the game is your good friend Apex the Ogre. Be careful you do not annoy him by BLASTing or bumping into him as you may well be killed. But, if treated with respect and caution Apex will give you clues that are vital to solving the puzzles. Locked doors with tables by them need keys. Locked doors with ornate pillars need passwords. For a door with a toll sign by it (ask apex) a bag of gold is the key (put it on the table).