THE STAFF OF KARNATH (c) 1984 Ultimate Play The Game (Ashby Computers & Graphics Limited) Many millions of years ago before man and his descendants, there lived a very different kind of creature. These creatures were known as Sarnathians, originating from a long dead planet and coming to Earth, when their planet was on the verge of destruction. They were an evil race, feasting on the torture and destruction of other creatures opposed to their rule. Their aim was the domination of the Universe through the use of a powerful orb of light, the very embodiment of evil, which was created from an unknown material when their planet was destroyed. Over the thousands of years of their terrifying rule, the Orb became too powerful even for them and eventually caused a tear in the inter-dimensional fabric of the Realm of Reality and the Realm of Unreality. This tear caused the Orb to lose all but a fraction of its power, but in doing so sent every living creature on the Earth into the alternate dimension of Unreality. The orb itself was buried deep in the ground for millions of years, until in the age of man, it was discoverd by Karnath, an evil sorceror. Karnath, on finding the Orb, fused it into his own magical staff and on doing so, learned of the secrets and destruction of beings that existed before man. He became obsessed with the Orb and the task of releasing these beings from the Realm of Unreality to do their terrible bidding once more on the Earth. After many years of isolation in his castle, as his own death was drawing near, Karnath was finally able to cast a powerful spell over his staff. This spell was designed such that when the Orb once more reached its most powerful state, it would cause a tear in the inter-dimensional fabric and bring forth those creatures imprisoned therein. The staff was then hidden deep underground inside an ancient obelisk enscripted with powerful magical symbols to protect it. The only way the obelisk could be opened was by a special key, in the form of a pentagram. Before he died, Karnath broke the key into sixteen pieces and hid them throughout his castle. He then brought into being many mythical creatures and demons to protect with reverence, the locations of the pieces. Centuries later, the time of the Orb's most powerful state draws near and on Walpurgis Night (May Eve) at 12.00 midnight, this time will come. It is 6 o' clock on the very same day and your task, as Sir Arthur Pendragon, ace adventurer and researcher into ancient legends and sorcery, is to find the sixteen pieces of the pentagram, open the obelisk and destroy the Staff of Karnath before 12 o' clock. The quest of the Staff of Karnath begins... GAME OBJECTIVE THe object of the game is to find 16 pieces of a key, which when connected, form the shape of a pentacle. Each of these pieces is hidden throughout Karnath's castle, and each is protected by creatures conjured up by Karnath just before his death. However, you have in your posession a magical ring from which you can use numerous spells. Each of these spells can be used against the creatures and will have different effects, but only one spell will have any effect on the particular creature you have encountered. As each piece of the pentacle is found you must take that piece and position it in the ancient stone obelisk located somewhere in the lower levels of the castle, using the "Baracta" spell. Once all the pieces have been found and a pentacle is formed you will be able to establish the whereabouts of the Staff of Karnath itself which when located, can be destroyed. But beware, should you choose the wrong spell to destroy the Staff of Karnath, then the Staff would surely destroy you. If your explorer is hit by any of the creatures in the castle, he will lose energy, or in some cases time. YOur energy reading will start at 100% and the time at 6.00p.m. You have until midnight, to recover and destroy the Staff of Karnath. CONTROLLING SIR ARTHUR PENDRAGON Joystick controls Sir Arthur Pendragon can be fully controlled by using your joystick [port 2]. Shoot/use spell Sir Arthur will shoot or use the spell under his control at that time, by pressing the JOYSTICK fire button. [Here is the list of spells: AEOLUS BARACATA FORTHRIN IBRAHIM KNOSSOS MENHIR OMPHALOS STOLY YEROBAS You will have to discover which spell needs to be used in each situation.] Pause The game can be paused by pressing the F7 key. [Restart The game can be restarted by pressing the F1 key.] Change spell You can change magical spells by pressing ANY OTHER key [I suggest the Space Bar for ease of use]. Sir Arthur will automatically pick up any useful objects by passing over them. FEATURES Cartoon quality, Fine Scrolling, 3-Dimensional Scenario, Status Line, Incredible Sound Effects, Amazing Animation, Full Joystick Control, Explosions, De/materialisation, Poison Darts, Axes, Scimitars, Arrows, Ogres, Ghosts, Demons, Bats, Spiders, Treasure Chests, Snakes, Skulls, Hooded Monks, Magical Bolts, Spells, Vampires, Flying Carpets, Crosses, Secret Compartments, Working Doors, Torches, Shields, Furniture, Suits of Armour, Falcons, Electric Shocks, Automatic Collection, Superb Graphcis, % Magical Energy Display, Pieces of Pentacle, Candles, Dungeons, Swords, Gargoyles, Fires, Skeletons, Witches, Giant Toads, Room Display, Trolls, Real Time Clock, Continuous Pause Typed in by Andrew Fisher (Merman/People of Liberty/ROLE) Extra comments in [ ] are additional to the original text and are based on the unofficial text for this title (old version from Project 64). See http://project64.c64.org for more details 1st September 2003