THE BARD'S LORE The Warrior & The Dragon Copyright (c) John H Wigforss. All Rights Reserved. Constructed between December 1997 and January 1998. ----------> >>>>>>UPDATE TEXT AT END OF THIS FILE !!!<<<< <<<<<<<< ----------> I N T R O D U C T I O N ------------------------- Welcome to the mystic world of THE BARD'S LORE. Deriving from the Bard's Tale series, it takes you into the limit of adventuring. If you can beat Grendel, you will truly prove yourself to be a worthy adventurer! But there are some major monsters out there, just waiting to take a bite out of you...you must use all your cunning and wits to solve this one. I N S T A L L I N G T H E G A M E --------------------------------------- Make sure all the unzipped files reside in the same directory. Simply run INSTALL.BAT and the game will make itself at home in the BARDLORE directory. Then go there and run BARDLORE.EXE. That's it. P L A Y I N G T H E G A M E --------------------------------- SCROLLSPEED -Use the + and - buttons to adjust the scrolling speed of the text in the textwindow. The Adventurers Guild - In the GUILD OF LORE you have the following options: Add Member - Add a member to join the quest Remove Member - Remove a member from the quest and save him to disk Create Member - Create a new member for the Guild. Save Party - Save the current quest members as a party with all the current settings. I urge you to use this option often, since you will lose all you have gained if your party dies. Quit - Exit the game Exit Guild - Leave the Guild to the map where it is located. Disk Options: Delete Member - Delete member permanently from Guild. Rename Member - Rename a Guild member. REVIEW BOARD ------------ At the Review Board you can have each party member reviewed to see if advancement is appropriate. You will first be asked to see who wants to be reviewed. After selecting a character you have the following choices: (A)dvancement - if the character has gained enough experience points he will be raised a level. (S)pell Acquiring - Magic Users can check to see if they are able to advance to the next magic level and if allowed can pay a large sum of gold to gain that level. (C)lass Change - Magic Users can change classes. However, once you leave a magic user type you will not be allowed to return to that type. But you will keep all your spells. OUTSIDE WORLD ------------- Outside of the Guild you can move around with the arrow keys or the mouse. To move... up arrow - go forward down arrow - turn around left arrow - turn counter clockwise right arrow - turn clockwise Other commands outside of the Guild are as follows: (B)ard song - Have a Bard play a Bard song. (C)ast spell - Have a magic user cast a spell. (N)ew Party Order - Rearrange the party's marching order. (P)arty attack - Initiate intra-party combat (Q)uit - Leave the game without saving at the Guild. (U)se item - Have any member use an item from his inventory. (V)olume on/off - Toggle to turn the music on and off. (?) - Print current time HOME - Pauses the game. Keys 1-7 will initiate viewmode on that character. During viewmode: d - drop item (not available during combat) e - equip item/unequip item p - pool gold (not available during combat) n - new order (not available during combat) t - trade item (not available during combat) or will quit viewmode Combat -------- Once an encounter has taken place you have the option to attempt to: (A)dvance (if the monster(s) are farther than 10 feet away) (R)un away, or (M)elee with the monsters (if they are within 10 feet) If you Advance, you will move ahead 10 feet. If you Run Away, your party leader will be checked and if he passes the combat will be terminated. If you decide to Melee you have the following options: (A)ttack - First four party members only use equipped hand weapons or bard hands. (P)arty attack - Attack a member in the party. (D)efend - Defend from monsters attacks at improved rating. (C)ast spell - Magic users can attempt to cast a spell. (U)se item - Use an item from inventory. (B)ard Song - Bards only can sing a bard sing. (H)ide in shadows - thieves only can attempt to hide from combat and possibly achieve a critical hit. During combat: v - volume (sound on/off toggle) ? - print current time HOME - pause the game keys 1-7 will initiate viewmode on that character BARD SONGS ---------- 1. Safety Song -Sets up an anti-monster aura, so foes won't randomly attack you. Relives insanity & possession in combat. 2. Sanctuary Score -Lowers the party's armor class level and Trap Zaps. 3. Bringaround Ballad -In non-combat situations, this rejuvenates the Bard's hit points. During combat this song will affect everyone. 4. Rhyme of Duotime -In non-combat situations, this regenerates the mage's spell points. During combat, it gives an extra attack. 5. Marcela's Melody -Illuminates the immediate area. 6. Kiel's Overture -In non-combat situations, this calls up a compass so you can get your bearings. Offensive during combat. 7. Cain's Carrack -Little is known about this mystic song... SPELLS ------ You will need the SPELLBOOK for a complete list of available spells. ITEMS ----- There are a lot of items out there that you need to find. Some of them quite trivial, others most important. F R E E W A R E ! ------------------------- THE BARD'S LORE is now completely freeware, as of this date (Mars 2002) I am releasing it as is. These files are now included: 1) THE BARD'S LORE CLUEBOOK -If you get stuck somewhere in the game you will need this. 2) THE BARD'S LORE SPELLBOOK -There are over 70 spells for your magicians to learn. 3) THE BARD'S LORE MAPBOOK -Detailed maps covering all the dungeons and areas in the game. 4) THE BARD'S LORE II -The sequel game included. NOTE: The above files will not be installed in the game map as you install the game with install.bat. But dont worry, the files are there, where you originally unzipped this file. =) If you really like the game, you can of course deposit the former amount at $10 to my bank account. 1 dollar would be great but thanks to banking fees I cant go any lower.. =/ So if you feel up to it (i.e you liked the game enough to contribute to the maker) here it is; Swift#: SWEDSESS (tells your bank it's my bank we are talking about=) Clearing account: 8327-9 account: 993 449 453-6 name: John H Wigforss (yes it's me, I assure you=) Hope you have fun with the game, and look out for those wolfes in the beginning! (I know I made them a bit hard to beat...sy, but you will be kickin their buts once you level up=) //JHW Mars 2002 DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES -------------------------- This software is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the program is with You. Should the program prove defectiv, You (and not I) assume the entire cost of necessary servicing, repair, or correction.