C I T A D E L of V R A S -------------------------- by Sarv. Engelhardt Released by MYSTIX Near the outer rim of the Galaxy, at the fringe of the Galactic Federation of Planets, the legendary planet of Vras and its companion moon Nigris circle a faint red star. According to ancient space-lore there existed in bygone millenia a race of beings, the Old Ones, who had left their physical bodies in order to join forever the all-pervading cosmic intelligence. Before they did so, they left behind a way for others to follow them, a talisman of immense power hidden somewhere amongst the ruins of their civilization. A vast structure on Vras known as the Citadel is rumoured to house the Talisman of Truth, as it came to be known. For thousands of years the Talisman has attracted adventurers from all parts of the galaxy. Many intelligent life-forms, driven by greed or lust for power, still roam the endless passages of the Citadel, hoping to discover the treasured Talisman. Lately it is said that the infamous space-pirate Sarkov and his band of evil Graids from the planet Salutè have taken over the Citadel. They have set up an impenetrable force-field around Vras, barring entry to all space craft. Your mission starts on Nigris, the large moon orbiting Vras, where you will assemble a group of dedicated adventurers pledged to keep the Talisman from falling into evil hands. And, of course, to find out the Truth for themselves! Getting Started --------------- You must create five adventurers, choosing from the six types: 1 Jedi Knight 2 Arcturian Giant 3 Horb Ant-Warrior 4 Denk Mentat 5 Lamian Elfin 6 Sirian Lizard-Man Up to 15 characters can be created (and saved when the game is saved), but only the first five can be active. The rest are kept in 'storage' and can be retrieved if needed. Each type has its own special attributes, a combination of physical and psychic factors. Study the table of Psychic Powers available to the various types. There are five basic qualities:- Weapon Skill, Intelligence, Dexterity, Constitution, and Luck, which are set at the time of creating the character. In addition, the characters life force (hit-points) and psychic energy (p.e. points) depend on the type and level of advancement. A character needs to gain a certain amount of experience points by combat before being eligible for advancement and training in higher psychic powers. You must find the Bureau of Advancement on Nigris, located near the Spaceport. Jedis are natural leaders, combining good fighting skill with strong psychic powers, especially at higher levels. It is essential to have a Jedi in your party, as you will need his abilities to get through some parts of the game. Arcturians and Ant-Warriors are great fighters, with high weapon skills and good constitutions. Their powers develop slowly with experience. The Mentat is highly intelligent and psychic, but weak in weapon skills. His psychic powers amply compensate for this, however. A tough little character, not to be taken lightly. Lamian Elfins are fragile, highly psychic creatures, famed through- out the galaxy for their healing powers. A must for your mission. The Sirian Lizard packs quite a charge in his electrical cells! A good fighter with many psychic powers. Very handy. As characters are advanced they gain points in some qualities, and may strengthen any weaknesses they may have started with. Also their abilities to use certain weapons may change as their experience increases. During the game you may find many items, either won in combat or otherwise, which you can use or sell. A weapon or shield is not useful until it is "equipped" by the character. The same is true for spacesuits, always necessary because the atmospheres on Nigris and Vras are unbreathable by all members of the party. Only one weapon and one shield can be equipped at a given time. Certain special weapons can only be used (equipped) by the right character type, for example the light-sabre by the Jedi Knight. Combats ------- You will encounter many different kinds of creatures in your travels. Some can be greeted, with a good chance of avoiding combat. Others are too hostile or evil or mad and never respond to a greeting. Some will attack you first without warning or provocation, although not predictably. Certain beings attack physically or with weapons, others blast you with psychic forces. As you advance in the game the beings you will meet get more powerful and numerous and you will need careful strategies to overcome them. If you decide to attack there are three options - physical attack with weapons, using a power, or defend. The 'defend' option is very useful to protect a weak character, since it greatly reduces the severity of damage from an opponent's hit. It also becomes more effective as the level of the character increases. When one of your characters uses a power it becomes active immediately and cannot be revoked. Only the first three characters can be attacked physically, but should one of them die the next one down becomes vulnerable. All characters are susceptible to psychic attack at all times. Powers that shield last throughout the whole encounter. If you meet an unknown group of creatures its a good idea to use a gut-wrench or psychic-shield before they hit you. Note that many of the powers become stronger as the character's level increases, although this is compensated by the more powerful enemies you encounter. Each power uses up a certain amount of the character's psychic energy (p.e. in table). Hit points and p.e. points are regenerated with time, at a rate determined by the character's constitution and intelligence, respectively. This rate may be increased if the character possesses certain objects to be found in the Citadel. Hitting an opponent creature depends on weapon skill, dexterity, and luck, but beyond a certain skill level luck and dexterity are no longer needed. Finding objects depends on intelligence and luck. General Hints ------------- There are nine mazes in Citadel of Vras, each is 20 x 20 squares in extent. You need to search every room to find all the clues and items necessary to complete the game. Items can be bought and sold at the Spacefarer's Store on Nigris, located not far from the Spaceport. When certain items or powers are in use you will be notified by small icons appearing between the text and graphic windows. Fleeing from an encounter has a better than even chance of succeeding. It will always succeed when you are invisible or have put the foes to sleep! Fighting a large group of monsters requires careful strategy, using the available powers and weapons in the most advantageous way. A wrong move here can easily get your party wiped out! Getting back to Nigris to advance your characters can be a problem - remember there's always a reasonably short route, you only need to find it! Playing Instructions -------------------- The "Citadel of Vras" diskette must be in df0:. This will load and start the game automatically. To restart the program after quitting, enter from CLI :- makedir ram:bobs Citadel The game can be controlled from mouse and/or keyboard. The cursor keys control movement :- /|\ move forwards. | --> turn right. <-- turn left. | \|/ turn around. Options available only at Nigris Spaceport are:- C create a character. N rename a character. O order the party. A add a character to party from storage. R remove a character to storage. D delete a character. Options available at all times are:- Q quit the game. S save the game to disk (any formatted disk in df0:) L load a saved game. 1-5 view character 1 to 5 (or click on character table) Options available only outside Nigris Spaceport are:- P pool credits. Z use a power. I use/equip/drop/trade an item. T set text scroll speed for combats (must be set before combat starts). When the option "Continue" appears throughout the game, press the space-bar or click left mouse-button on the word. At the beginning of the game you will be prompted to load the graphics into ram: disk. This speeds up the game but requires an extra 200 K available memory. THE POWERS ---------- Character Type Power Level P.E. Description ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jedi Knight Panic Fear 2 3 Good chance of causing 1-8 creatures to run away. Freeze Foes 2 5 Paralyses a group of foes, causing them to miss one round of combat. Invisibility 3 10 The party becomes invisible for a number of combat rounds and cannot be attacked. Gut Wrench 3 7 The attackers are weakened for the duration of combat. Levitation 4 8 Levitates the party for one move. Healing IV 5 18 Restores one character's hit points to full value. Also cures poisoning. Glance of Death 6 24 Instantly kills one opponent. Resurrection 7 30 Restores one Character to life with 1 hit point. Psychic Shield 8 14 Reduces severity of psychic attack by a factor of ten. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Denk Mentat Illusions 1 2 The attackers become befuddled and miss one combat round. Mind Mash 1 3 Delivers a psychic blow of 10-30 pts on one foe. Sleep 2 8 Sends a group of creatures to sleep for a number of rounds. Location 3 2 Gives the party's location in terms of coordinates. Madness 3 5 Excellent chance of a group 1-8 foes to flee in terror. E.S.P. 4 5 Extra Sensory Perception of unusual objects or dangers. Mind Blast 4 8 Blasts a group of creatures for over 70*level points. Levitation 5 10 Levitates the party for 1 move. Brain Block 6 20 Kills one opponent instantly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lamian Elfin Healing I 1 3 Restores 5 points to one Chr. Healing II 2 5 Restores 15 points Healing III 3 8 Restores 30 points and cures poisoning. Suspend Breath 3 5 Protects in case of loss of spacesuit for about 20 moves. Healing IV 4 12 Restores full hit points to one Character and cures poisoning. Energy Drain 4 8 Drains a creature and weakens it. Resurrection 5 20 Brings one Character to life with one hit point. Blindness 6 8 Afflicts a group of creatures, causing them to miss a number of combat rounds. Heal All 7 30 Restores all Characters to full strength and cures all afflictions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arcturian Giant Pulverize 5 10 Smashes up to 600 points of damage to one creature. E.S.P. 6 14 See Mentat's powers. Levitation 7 18 See Jedi's powers. Brain Wash 8 20 Numbs a group of creatures for over 70*level points. Suicidal Gloom 9 30 Fatal depression for one foe. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Horb Ant Warrior Poison Strike 5 10 Over 400 points damage to one creature plus drains a level. Blindness 6 14 See Lamian's powers. Location 7 10 See Mentat's powers. Paralysis 8 24 Halts a group of creatures for several combat rounds, regardless of their strength. Sting of Horb 9 30 Kills one opponent instantly. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sirian Lizard Nerve Pulse 2 3 Inflicts 10-30 damage points to one opponent. Inner Fire 3 6 Roasts one foe for up to 220 damage points. Lightning 4 15 Blasts one opponent for up to 600 damage points. Location 5 12 See Mentat's powers. Electrocution 6 20 Kills one foe instantly. Shock treatment 7 25 Shocks a group of creatures for over 70*level damage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------