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Therefore if you read this document or use the information herein you do so at your own risk. ********* The Project 64 etext of the ~Age of Adventure manual~, typed up by Jeff Lodoen , retrieved from Morbid Guy's Atari 8-bit Manual Archive http://www.best.com/~morbid/manuals/ ageofad1.txt. AGOAD110.TXT, September 1997, etext #300# ********* AGE OF ADVENTURE Heroic Deeds in Not-So-Ancient Lands... Throughout the ages tales of heroes have been passed from generation to generation, first through the epic poems of the bards, later in written form, and now on floppy disks. The latter medium has one advantage: it allows you to become the hero. You can take on the role of Heracles, the legendary strongman -- or that of scores of other ancient Greek heroes, heroines, or mythical creatures -- as you endeavor to complete twelve tasks assigned by Zeus. Or, as Ali Baba you can wander through a labyrinth of passageways as you search for treasures and a kidnapped princess. The Return of Heracles and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, two classic adventure games, will let you spend hours in heroic pursuits without the inconvenience of travelling to distant lands, smelling the breath of wandering monsters, or telling a Demigod he's standing on your foot. The Manual Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves THE STORY OF ALI BABA Red shone the dawning sun over the terrorized dominion of Sultan Shahriar. Led by the cunning cutthroat Cogia Houssain, a merciless band of thieves had stolen much of the land's wealth. They had become especially daring of late, emboldened by the discovery of a secret cave which they had converted into their stronghold. Ali Baba arose from a restless sleep and peered through the tent flap at the glowing orange sun. A dream of a mountain within a mountain and a beautiful princess faded quickly from his memory, leaving him with an empty, uneasy feeling. The hot yellow sun baked the dusty road as Ali Baba emerged from his humble tent. As he started jogging toward the palace, Ali could not help thinking how glorious it would be to own fine weapons and serve in the Sultan's militia instead of serving as the Sultan's messenger. Maybe one day his chance would come. When Ali arrived at the palace, the Sultan was shouting in agitation, "May Allah have mecy on this wretched father, there are traitors in my midst. The Princess Buddir al-Buddoor has been kidnapped! Tell the elite corps immediately!" Ali Baba ran to do the Shahriar's bidding. After spreading the sad news, he struck out on his own courageous search for the fair princess. Sometimes waiting in the safety of the green vegetation for danger to pass, sometimes running for his life, Ali survived numerous perils and found his way into the depths of the mountain. He entered a chamber pursued by a vicious beast, and dodged into a blind alley. Barely evading the beast's ravenous jaws, he scurried into another chamber, where, to his surprise, he found himselff in the company of the princess. Her grateful embrace renewed his flagging spirits. Ali and the princess raced through the dimly lit passageways, pursued by thieves who had crept unnoticed into the chamber. The sky was still blue as they burst into the outer world and the tunnel collapsed behind them. As the sun began to set, Ali Baba remembered in vivid detail what the Sultan had done with another messenger who had spent a night with the princess' younger sister. The atmosphere turned a brooding indigo as they raced for home. From the deepening shadows came the distant cries of creatures of the night. Deep violet clouds concealed their approach to town. Fearing the Sultan's cry of `traitor,' Ali Baba hid the princess in his tent. But when the Sultan was told of the daring rescue, he richly rewared Ali Baba for his great courage and wisdom. INTRODUCTION Can you do as well as Ali Baba did? He rescued the princess without harming a living thing (or allowing the princess to do so) and with no one else to help him. This is a very difficult way to win the game. If you succeed, you will receive the author's "personal congratulations." It is easier to win if Ali Baba and those he rescues are permitted to fight during their search for Princess Buddir. If you choose this strategy, Ali Baba would do well to purchase good weapons as soon as possible. Ali Baba may also recruit additional characters to help him. In fact, he can even retire from the game himself, leaving the others to rescue the princess. You and your friends control the characters that are added, and if you wish you can reincarnate any characters that don't survive an encounter. Even a large group will find it challenging to rescue the princess. Initially, you will probably want to add only a few characters and explore Ali Baba's world in search of wealth, weaponry, and knowledge. OPTIONS Input method When you insert the Ali Baba diskette, an option screen lets you choose between using the joystick or keyboard to play the game. (Consult your Reference Card for specific instructions.) If you select the keyboard, commands are issued by pressing a single key; there is no need to press Return. (You will, however, occasionally be asked to press the space bar when paging through long runes -- text screens that provide hints or describe events.) After you select the joystick or keyboard option, messages at the bottom of the screen will explain the appropriate rules. You can also page through long runes by using the joystick button rather than the space bar. Starting or resuming a game Once you select an input device, you will be asked whether you wish to Begin New Game or Continue a Previous Game. In either case, follow the instructions displayed on your screen. Moving, resting, defending, attacking, seeing your lot, and other options The first option screen appears as you press the Joystick Button or SpaceBar to start your adventure. The first option screen always appears at the beginning of your turn. Like Ali Baba's mountain within a mountain, the game provides options within options. The Move option, available in most menus, returns your character to normal movement modes when you are using one of the other option menus. You can select Attack or Defend at any time during the first half of your move. You may Attack in one of four directions. Choosing the Attack option disables the Move option and presents four attack directions and an option to defend. Choose the direction of the opponent you want to attack. If you select Defend, your character will adopt a defensive position, which reduces a character's chances of being struck by an enemy. As soon as a character moves half of the distance allotted to him, the Attack and Defend options are no longer available. The option to Rest is presented only if your character is wounded and is not too close to a dangerous foe. A character has a fifty-fifty chance of recuperating after a rest. A character who is severely wounded must rest several times to regain full strength. See Your Lot displays the current character's life force, wealth, armor, strength, speed, dexterity, and weapon capability. Pressing any key allows you to exit the display and select your move. Other Options moves to the next set of menu options. Dropping gold, dropping armor, retiring, or adding players Drop Gold and Drop Armor increases your character's dexterity. Dropped armor cannot be recovered. You must specify how much gold a character will drop; dropped gold can often be picked up later. The Retire option removes a character from the game, but doesn't save or end the game. You may later reinstate the character if you wish. Selecting Add Player brings up a submenu that allows you to add a character to Ali Baba's entourage. Select the character's name to be added, or select the up or down arrow to scroll through the other characters. You can also select where the character will be added by toggling between Add to This Room, and Ali Baba's Home. Dead characters can be resurrected in this manner. You may play as many characters as you wish at one time and the game will not end until all characters in a party are killed. Select the Other Options menu to move to the next option screen. Changing difficulty, toggling sound, and saving game Change Danger and Game Speed if you want to make the game either harder or easier. The higher the Danger value, the more enemies you will encounter. The higher the Speed value, the faster the game will respond and more skill will be required in controlling your characters. If you want to play the game in silence, select Sound is On. After turning off the sound, the option changes to read Sound is Off. Selecting the option again would now turn the sound back on. Select Save Game to save the current game. A further menu will appear asking you to select one of 16 game Slots in which to save the game. You will need a blank disk to use as a Scenario Disk; the Ali Baba program will format the disk for you. You can exit the save procedure by selecting Move from the save menu, or Cancel Request from the Format menu. (See your Reference Card for details on saving a game). Select Move from the last option menu to return to the first. MOVEMENT When you are moving a character, you may continue moving until you do one of the following: 1. Move onto any object, such as a wall, for example (but not an illusion). 2. Move out of a room. 3. Move to any position where your neighboring enemies' strength exceeds half your own. A nearby enemy that is down on the ground will not stop you. 4. Move onto any conscious enemy. 5. Move the number of spaces that is your full running speed. 6. Select the Stop option. Each character has his own running speed. However, if you are in hand-to-hand combat with an enemy (that is, your character and the enemy occupy the same spot), you will only be able to move one space at most. Your opponent may prevent you from moving at all. If you are next to enemies of sufficient strength to stop your movement, they will also prevent you from retreating more than one space. You can only attack or defend if you move half of a character's normal running distance or less. If you move more than half your character's running speed, the game will assume you are running and will not allow you to attack or defend. FIGHTING Whenever one character attacks another, the game will figure out whether the opponents miss or strike their target and display the result at the bottom of the screen. If you're wrestling with an enemy, your relative strength is important. An unconscious foe is much easier to hit than one who is dodging blows. Large, slow beasts are easier targets than small, fast ones. The force of a blow depends on your weapon's power, your strength, and luck. Never hesitate to run away if it appears you'll be the loser in a fight. Dropping gold will sometimes help you make your getaway. TRADING When you locate and move into a trading outpost, you will be given an opportunity to purchase new weapons or armor. Each character carries two weapons, a dagger or similar weapon for hand-to-hand combat, and a sword, club, or axe for combat with a neighboring enemy (called melee combat). Each character has at most one suit of armor, which will protect against attacks but will reduce the character's dexterity. Making purchases You will occasionally have the opportunity to purchase weapons or armor. Select Pay (price) for (weapon/armor) if you wish to purchase the indicated object. If you have enough gold, the object will be sold to you. Your purchase will replace your current armor or weapon. Select Buy Something Else to see what else the trader has for sale, or No Sale if your purchases are completed. The World of Ali Baba Dearest adventurer, let me tell you what I know of Ali Baba's world. -- The Friendly Mage. THINGS First, I will give you a gift of limited vision. When you enter a new area of Ali Baba's world, you will know the name of the place. A bright halo will illuminate the things around you as you look in their direction, and the names given to those things will appear before you. Mark them well, for once you have seen them several times I will point them out no more. You will encounter foes and traps. They are relatively harmless as long as you are careful and do not enter the mountain. When you enter the cavernous depths, you will perceive new colors warning you of your increased danger. Do not try to cross the borders of the land. The Sultan has built strong walls and the mountain rooms are hewn from granite. You can only hurt yourself hitting a solid wall. Watch for the speckled walls, however! Some of these are weak and can be destroyed by running into them repeatedly or attacking them. Draw a map always, that you might see the order and pattern of this world and learn from it. You will see rounded passages with strong oak timbers in a `Z'-shaped construction. These doors must be bashed open. The stronger you are, the easier this will be. An open door looks like a rounded passage or a gap in the wall. Move through to the other side. You may not always be able to return the way you came, so plan to return by a different route if the need arises. Doors may slam shut after being opened. I have heard tales of invisible doors, too. Treasure is usually guarded by monsters or traps, but you can buy valuable weapons and armor with it. Heavy loads of gold will slow you down. I have heard rumors of a magic pool from which you can drink to increase your strength and dexterity. I suggest you read all of the runes you find. Their advice is usually worth the risk. Enchanted runes may disappear after you read them, sometimes with a dangerous fiery flash. Look out for statues. Some are too solid to destroy but others can be toppled and smashed to bits by charging into them or attacking them. A few creatures can stand perfectly still and look just like statues. And as if that weren't enough, there are illusions to confuse you. You can walk through any illusion without damage or hindrance. Many illusions will dissolve into mist as soon as they are touched. A favorite trick of magicians is to hide valuables beneath an illusion of empty space. For example, I know of one illusion of a statue concealing a treasure. You can grab the treasure by running through the statue and then back to claim the treasure now visible through the dispelled illusion's mist. PLAYERS You must know about the Sultan's elite corps of warriors. They are a courageous but varied bunch. There are 16 members of the elite corps and Ali Baba himself to help. Humans The humans have a good overall dexterity and strength. Their average running speed is 8. Most humans are well trained in the use of the scimitar and wreak great damage with it, but they are less powerful using their dagger in hand-to-hand combat. Thieves have had extensive training with their daggers and are usually more lethal with them than they are with their swords. Abou Hassan is the only human who chooses to wear armor. He is considerably more dangerous with his sword than with his dagger. The armor slows him down to a dwarf's speed and hampers his dexterity, but the armor absorbs two points from each blow. Bairam Medio is as average as any human can be. With no special talents, Bairam is well-balanced and generally a good man to have around. Haroud El-Large is the strongest human. His sheer bulk slows him down and he is a bit clumsy. Although his sword is far deadlier than his dagger, he is known to often favor wrestling his foe. His strength makes up for his lack of dexterity in hand-to-hand battles with weaker opponents. Scheherazade is extremely skilled, and can outrun any other human. She can often flee successfully from foes. However, her weakness makes it difficult for her to open locked doors, and a single strong blow can prematurely end her play. If forced to fight, she should avoid a wrestling match and hope to destroy her foe before an unlucky blow strikes her. Elves Elves have an average speed of 10. They are generally weaker but more skilled than humans. With their lithe movements, they have an uncanny ability to dodge attacks. Most elves prefer the use of a rapier, with which they can strike a foe frequently. However, the rapier does less damage than the scimitar. The elves have an intimate knowledge of anatomy which permits them to be more devastating with their carefully placed dagger blows than with their rapiers. However, wise elves will avoid wrestling with a strong opponent because their frailty hampers hand-to-hand fighting with all but the weakest foes. As partial compensation for their lack of strength, elvish artisans have developed a lightweight armor made of rithmil, which offers some protection without hampering movement. Celegorm is the prototype of a well-rounded elf, average in all characteristics, including the usual elves' light rithmil armor. Curufin has elected to use heavy elvish chain mail. It slows him down to a human's speed but absorbs 3 points of damage from each blow. Curufin is an otherwise average elf, with slightly lessened dexterity because of his armor. Huan is the largest of the elves. He is slower and clumsier than others of his race. However, he wears light rithmil armor and is difficult to hit. His dagger is even more dangerous than his lethal rapier, and his strength adds to his skill in hand-to-hand battle. Luthien is fast even for an elf, and can easily outdistance any other member of the elite corps. She is very dextrous but quite weak. Her strategy must depend on escape and luck more than on battle. She is a hard target to hit, like all elves, and wears light rithmil armor. Halflings Halflings are small but hardy creatures. They are difficult for foes to strike and their usual constitution permits them to endure many hard blows before they become weak. Once weakened, however, they never can be fully healed. They can easily keep up with the longer-legged humans. Although not terribly damaging with either a short sword or dagger, halflings handle both with great skill. Their relative weakness usually advises against hand-to-hand combat. Halflings would do well to purchase better weapons as soon as possible. Cinder is moderately skillful, even with her two-point armor, although she is as slow as a dwarf. She is strong for a halfling and does well-remembered damage with her weapons. Eldo is extremely dextrous but very weak, even for a halfling. With no armor, he depends heavily on his small size to avoid blows. A weak fighter, Eldo is often relegated to such chores as exploring unknown territory or drawing villains away from the main party. Merrywater has average skill and strength for a halfling. She wears no armor and can keep up with an average human. Because of her low strength, she is usually most useful attacking a neighboring enemy who is wrestling with one of her friends. Stilbo wears light armor, which makes him clumsy for a halfling, although still more skillful than an average human. He is stronger than other halflings and can deal some powerful blows with his weapons. Dwarves Dwarves are short, stocky, powerful creatures, but are not quick-moving. Their dexterity is generally low and their average running speed is only 6. Their expertise with the dwarvish war hammer makes them the most lethal of the elite corps when they do connect a blow. They do considerably less damage with their dagger blows, but will sometimes leap into a wrestling bout anyway because their great strength often gives them an edge in hand-to-hand combat. Their hardy constitutions make them even harder to kill than their strength would suggest, although resting cannot fully restore their health. Jatte is the Sultan's strongest warrior. Only a few denizens of the mountain can outwrestle him. He does more damage with a blow from his war hammer than does any other member of the elite corps. Alas, his low dexterity makes such blows infrequent. His strength makes him a fearful hand-to-hand fighter, although his dagger does no more damage than those of the stronger halflings. Standing with friends, he can often repulse the advance of opponents and can usually leap onto any foe at will. His bulk makes him a slower-than-average dwarf. Og is of average strength and skill for a dwarf. He wears medium-strength armor which slows him down slightly. Although not a very powerful dagger man, fair skill permits him to land some hefty hammer blows. Thora moves at standard dwarf speed, even with her light armor. She is quite strong and not too uncoordinated. Like all dwarves, Thora prefers to attack a foe when he's down. It greatly improves her moderate chance of connecting a solid blow with her war hammer. Ulva wears heavy armor to protect herself. She is the slowest of the elite corps, but can land ferocious blows. She is relatively skillful for a dwarf, and is very willing to wrestle with weak foes. Other Humans There are some other humans, not members of the Sultan's elite corps, you may need to know about. Abdalla is not a very powerful human and not too skilled. Having flunked training as a Sultan's guard, he is a much better fighter than Ali Baba, but is no more damaging than a weak halfling. He went off in search of his master Cassim, but has failed to return. If the thieves have not yet finished him off, he will gratefully help anyone who can rescue him. Ali Baba is very dextrous, moderately strong, wears no armor, and moves at normal human speed. He is untrained in the martial arts and carries no effective weapons. There are legends suggesting that he will someday rescue a princess without ever attacking a statue or living thing, nor accepting help from one who would. Morgiana is a very effective fighter. She is more skilled than any warrior of the elite corps. She is so agile that she is as difficult to hit as an elf or a halfling. Her strength is nothing to brag about and the force of her sword is moderate. In a wrestling match, she can find her opponent's weakest spots with a sly flick of the wrist. Sometimes a strong opponents can hold her off for a turn or two, but her dagger attack is devastating. She is being held prisoner in the mountain and will gratefully serve her rescuers. Princess Buddir Al-Buddoor is the beautiful daughter of the Sultan. She is quite agile but frail. Please protect her from all attacks. She will fight for herself if forced to do so, but can do no more than scratch an enemy with her fingernails. Against even a lightly armored foe, she is totally harmless. She is well hidden in the mountain. If rescued she will follow your guidance to safety. Monsters You will see a wide variety of creatures. Some are friendly and will fight your enemies for you. Others have been imprisoned and will thank you for rescuing them if you can find them. They will do whatever you wish thereafter. Some creatures do not want to fight and will run for the nearest door. Most creatures are protecting their territory and will fight anybody nearby who is not of their own species. I will give you from my private library this Bestiary of the World. Bear -- Bears are awesomely strong and cannot be easily killed. Their blows are powerful, especially in hand-to-paw combat. Luckily, they are generally clumsy and slow. It is best to avoid them, and never advisable to allow yourself to be tackled by one. They are most diagreeable creatures. Bull -- Bulls are strong, especially ones with the Minotaur's blood in them, and are definitely unfriendly. They are best battled with a sword or avoided altogether. Finding the secret passage around the Minotaur will avoid bloodshed. Crab -- I know of a crab who pines for the seashore, and is likely to blame anyone it spots for its imprisonment. Although the crab is not especially powerful or damaging, its strong shell is very effective armor. The crab waddles slowly sideways. Dragon -- Dragons are very powerful beasts and are uncommon. Their fighting effectiveness increases greatly with age. Although they will never serve another creature, not all dragons are interested in attacking adventurers from the surface. They may be an invaluable aid to you. Felines -- Tigers, lions, and jackals are fast and dextrous. Their speed generally makes them difficult to hit, except for the larger lion. The tiger is the most skillful of the bunch, but the lion is the most damaging when it attacks. They owe an allegiance only to other felines and consider most other creatures part of their diets. Greasies -- Amond the world's greasies are the Blob, the Slime, and the dreaded Oozing Stenchbeast. These are generally large and powerful occupants of the underground, known for their indiscriminate destruction of other creatures and their slow, messy propulsion. All of them are more dangerous when directly on top of you, and will attempt to engulf you as soon as possible. Owl -- Owls really have no desire to lose their lives in senseless battles, and will flee for the nearest exit whenever they see a warrior. Most owls are poor fighters, and are not very strong. They are acquainted with all secret passages and may show you the way through illusions to an invisible door. Ram -- There is an enchanted ram, made powerful and dangerous by the magic of the Sultan's late astrologer. His horns are more dangerous than the trampling of his hooves. Rat -- Rats are an all-too-common sight. The disgusting creatures are generally weak, slow, and not too dangerous. However, some rats are worse than others, especially the ones that dwell deeper in the mountain. Because of their small size, they are difficult to hit. Their weakness makes them fairly easy to dispose of if you are able to tackle them. Scorpion -- Scorpions are generally slow, but their poison can be deadly. They have only fair strength and dexterity and can often be eliminated before they are able to strike successfully. Their tough skins offer them some protection. Statue -- Statues come in many forms. Some just sit where they are and never do anything. Some will attack anything in range, and a few will attack your enemies and let you pass unharmed. The only thing common to all statues is that they never move. Succubus -- A succubus is a very attractive spirit who will attempt to get very close to you. In close contact, her touch is deadly. Not especially strong nor fast, she will try to lure you close with sly offers of treasure. Sword -- The enchanted swords you may see cannot be directly controlled. They act on their own, usually guarding special entrances or treasure. Most are ineffective at very short range, and can be destroyed if you are able to get on top of them. The Bane of Thieves is a sword specifically enchanted by the late astrologer to protect his personal hideout from the numerous thieves and other beasts that plagued him. On the astrologer's death, the Bane of Thieves mysteriously disappeared. Rumor has it that it will return only when a pure-hearted adventurer is in dire need. It is the only sword capable of movement on its own. Unicorn -- The unicorn is a highly magical beast, friendly to the forces of good, and always ready to rid the world of evil. Never tameable, the powerful unicorns are extremely skilled and magically difficult to hit. Wanderer -- The wanderers are a series of semi-intelligent machines designed by Herr Grendel, a foreign inventor currying favor with the Sultan. They were meant to attack thieves and rid the Sultan's domain of villains. Unfortunately, the wanderers simply moved about aimlessly, attacking anything within reach. Grendel came up with three models, Sun Wanderer, Earth Wanderer, attacking Sky Wanderer, but he was only able to increase their speed, not their intelligence. When Sky Wanderer attacked the Sultan during a demonstration, Grendel and his wanderers were buried in an old mineshaft. Their current whereabouts are unknown. Their metal cases protect them somewhat against attack. Wolf -- A fast skillful fighter, the wolf is no friend of other creatures. Zombie -- A zombie is an undead corpse, animated by a necromancer, usually to guard a treasure. They are very slow and clumsy, but can be deadly if they are lucky enough to hit anyone. They are not known for their intelligence. Physically, they resemble the humans they once were. ********* End Project 64 etext Age of Adventure manual. *********