Times of Lore

role playing game for Commodore 64, 1988

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After a short wait, the Times of Lore
title screen and opening menu will
appear.
When you are ready to begin play, use
the joystick to move the pointer to
START NEW GAME and press the button to
step into the Kingdom of Albareth!

Read the story carefully and follow the
directions at the end to choose your
character in the game.
If you choose the Knight, your shining
armour of polished steel plate will keep
you strong and mighty in battle.
Or if the Valkyrie's life appeals to you
quickness and agility will keep your
foes dodging for their lives.
Though the Barbarian's loin cloth is not
the most impenetrable of armour his
sheer brute strength will ensure that
the protection of more conventional
apparel is never missed.

In future playing sessions, you can skip
the introductory story and character
selection by choosing RETURN TO TIMES OF
LORE at the opening menu.

PLAYING TIMES OF LORE
---------------------

The top half of the game screen is the
view window, and your character is
always shown in the center of this
window.
Movement to the north, south, east and
west is accomplished by simply moving
the joystick in the direction you wish
to go.

When you press the space bar you'll see
a glowing hand appear in the lower
screen window. Use the joystick to move
the hand to point to any of the command
options. People will stop moving once
you enter this command mode (although
monsters suffer no such restriction).
You can then move the hand to the symbol
for the action you wish to perform and
press the joystick button to execute the
command. Or you can press the space bar
again to abort your action and go back
to the normal movement mode.

Starting from the leftmost symbol, the
commands represented by the different
icons are as follows:

TALK - Use the mouth icon to strike up a
conversation with another character in
the game. The person you wish to talk to
must either be right next to you or very
close by; shouting in public places is
considered rude. See CONVERSATION for
more information.

EXAMINE - Occasionally you will want to
examine a nearby object to identity it
or perhaps take a closer look at
something you're carrying.
The eye works on special items such as
scrolls, potions, and one-of-a-kind
artifacts and it also enables you to
search nearby for things not immediately
visible.

INVENTORY - The pouch displays a list of
the items you're carrying as well as how
much money and food you have.

DROP - You can only carry a limited
number of objects. If your pouch is full
you will need to drop things that are no
longer useful before you can acquire new
items and treasures.

TAKE - Use this command to pick up gold,
food, treasure, and other assorted items
that may be found after battles or
encountered while exploring cities and
dungeons.

USE - This command allows you to drink a
potion, cast a spell from a scroll or
otherwise make use of something you are
carrying.

OFFER - Attempt to hand an object to a
nearby person. If the person has no use
for that particular item, he or she will
probably accept it anyway as a token of
good will.

GAME OPTIONS
------------

This command gives you the following
options:

SCORE - allows you to see your current
score, which is increased by killing
monsters and solving quests.

LOAD GAME - allows you to restore the
previously saved game (see CONVERSATION
for more information).

PAUSE GAME - allows you to pause the
game until the joystick button is
pressed.

Some commands in the game may ask you to
choose which object or person you wish
to deal with.
For instance, if you activate the DROP
command, a list of your DROPable items
will appear, along with a cursor bar at
the top. Now you can either press the
space bar to abort the command, or use
the joystick-controlled cursor to select
an item to be dropped.

CONVERSATION
------------

Many of the inhabitants of Albareth's
towns and cities can offer you advice or
assistance in your travels, and some may
even send you on great quests of valour
and fortune.
To speak with a villager press the space
bar and select the TALK symbol with the
joystick and button.
A menu of conversation options will
appear.
Characters may initiate conversation
with you as well. When someone asks you
a question, the TALK command will be
activated in anticipation of your reply.
It is the established custom in the
Kingdom of Albareth to greet one's
acquaintances with a cheery "Nice
weather we're having!" or perhaps,
"I hope all is well with you."
To hail a wayfarer in such a manner
choose the START CHITCHAT option.
Before long you will  notice that such a
casual greeting is likely to set the
mood for the exchange of a word or two
of friendly gossip or even the imparting
of vital knowledge.

ASK QUESTION, the second choice on the
menu, allows you to pose a specific
question to your acquaintance.
After selecting this option, the desired
question must be chosen from a list of
subjects that your currently "know
about" in the game.
You can always ask about RUMOURS, but
the person you are talking to may or may
not be able to answer your query
meaningfully.
The list of other subjects you may ask
about is made up of important "key
words" from prior conversations.
Whenever a person mentions a matter of
obvious weight a soft bell will sound
and that subject will be added to your
characters list of "known" question
topics.
Some people, depending on the situation,
may have additional options in their
conversation menus.
Innkeepers, for example, have much more
to offer than the standard fare of
pleasantries. If you have the money to
spend, they will give you a chance to
replenish your provisions or check into
their hostel fora good night's rest.
When you ask for lodging at an inn, your
character's current position and status
in the game is saved to disk.
The next time you boot up the game, you
will begin play in that same inn with
all your possessions and "key words"
intact. It is usually a good idea to
check into an inn at the end of a long
journey or after you've accomplished a
difficult or dangerous task.
During game play you may revert to your
last saved position by activating the
GAME OPTIONS icon and selecting the
Load game option.

You should make a habit of chatting with
everyone you meet in the cities and
outposts of Albareth, king and knave
alike. Subtle, but important, events in
the game can be triggered by talking
with some major figures, and vital key
words may be lost by neglecting to save
the game before ending a session of play

All conversation and other game messages
will appear in the message window near
the bottom of the screen.
When the lower-right corner of this
window appears to fold up, this means
there is more text for you to read.
Press the joystick button to continue
reading.

COMBAT
------

To attack, move your character to face a
nearby enemy and press the joystick
button.
During the daylight hours in fortified
towns and most of the more civilized
villages, you will rarely encounter any
of the wandering monsters that plague
the countryside.
Until you are certain of an approaching
person's intent, stay your arms.
Besides, attempting to take over cities
by slaughtering the peasants is one sure
way to be ostracized from society.
When you venture out into the world,
though, it's a different story.
Creatures ranging from ordinary brigands
to supernatural specters will confront
you, turning a simple journey from one
town to the next into a deadly
challenge. Don't hesitate to attack.

The following is a list of the
characters you are likely to encounter
in Albareth:

GUARD - The Guards in castles and larger
cities are brawny sorts, armed to the
teeth. You'll have no trouble with these
mercenaries, as long as you stay on
their good side.

PEASANT - Albareth's humble, cheerful
peasants are the lifeblood of the
kingdom's towns and cities.
Talk to everyone you meet - the common
folk usually welcome the chance to share
their folklore and companionship.

INNKEEPER - The inn-keepers of Albareth
can be very accommodating, especially
when you're in need of a stiff drink or
a quick game-save.

ROGUE - Archers of lethal skill, these
cloaked highwaymen are the nightmare of
every tradesman and caravan leader.
Beware, for in these troubled times many
strong men have joined their ranks.

ORC - In the not-too-distant past, these
unwashed, pig-visaged barbarians were
seldom encountered outside their
territories in the northern mountains,
but in recent times, the hated Orcs hav
 begun to invade Albareth's forests.
They have since become the nightmare of
every traveller and caravan scout.

SKELETON - The living Skeletons that
haunt the land, viciously hurling their
daggers at wayfarers, are said to be
magically animated by malevolent wizards
to seek to spread disorder and evil
throughout the kingdom.
Skeletons are formidable opponents in
battle, for they feel neither pain nor
mercy.

GHOST - Shades of evil men and monsters
once slain in battle, Ghosts can be the
most difficult to overcome of all dark
creatures ... they have more to prove!

SLIME - No one knows the origin of this
hideous creature. Though unarmed, this
creeping fungus can still pose a deadly
threat to careless adventurers.
A Slime creeps along dungeon walls
toward its enemies secreting a corrosive
fluid that turns swords and daggers into
tasty hors d'oeuvres.
Then it goes after its main course.

CLERIC - The good Clerics of Albareth
are renowned for their devotion to the
preservation and sanctity of life, while
the evil ones tend to attack first and
ask for donations later.

SURVIVAL
--------

Be sure to keep an eye on the candle in
the lower right part of your screen.
The candle will burn down as you grow
weak from battle wounds or lack of food.
If the flame ever goes out, your
character will die, and you will have to
start over from your last saved
position.

Sleeping at an inn will restore your
health. Standing still to rest in a safe
place will also restore your strength,
although it will be long in returning.
Certain magical items can help as well.

Don't be afraid to experiment with the
effects of various potions.

TREASURE
--------

Monsters sometimes carry assorted and
sundry treasures, which they'll readily
give to you as long as you kill them
first. Gold, food, magic potions, and
scrolls may be found lying about in the
bloody aftermath of a battle.
A peculiar property of magical treasures
is that only one scroll or potion of
each kind can be carried at a time.
This means that if you are carrying a
blue potion you won't run across any
more blue potions until after you drink
the one you have got.
Some of these arcane items are very hard
to come by so you should always use
discretion when employing their effects.

LEAVING HOME
------------

In your first glimpse of the rich and
vast kingdom of Albareth, your character
is standing in an upper-story guest
chamber of Eralan's renowned frothing
Slosh Tavern. For now, try taking the
stairs down to the tavern's common room.
Walk over to the counter between the
barkeep's ale kegs and the massive stone
fireplace. Is someone talking to you?
Take the time to chat with everyone in
sight and be patient.
Often, a person who has something
interesting to say may prefer not to
share it all with you at once.
Even in the mornings the Frothing Slosh
is a busy place, and who knows?
One of the motley crowd of customers
might just have some business for a
young and enterprising adventurer such
as yourself!

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Some useful keyboard shortcuts
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       [PAUSE] - stop/continue game
          [F9] - quick load game state
         [F12] - quick save game state (still stored after leaving the site)
         [F11] - toggle fullscreen mode
  [ScrollLock] - quick switch control ports
    [PageDown] - make a screenshot (320x200)