BLOOD VALLEY ============ Archveult the hideous and mighty leader of thi Firedrake has decreed that you must be hunted down like an animal and brought to sentence. Your only chance of survival is to escape the valley. Do you have the will and resourcefulness to succeed not only against your opponent, but the creatures and eerie beings of the fantasy world of Orb as well? INTRODUCTION This game is based on the Duelmaster fighting fantasy adventure books - BLOOD VALLEY. The scenario places you in the evil and sinister Valley of Gad; a harsh land inhabited by Vampires, Trolls, robbers, demons and worst of all, the tyrannous oppressor of the valley - the ARCHVEULT and his deadly henchmen. The game revolves around the annual contest held in the valley - THE HUNT. This is the Archveult's favourite sport, whereby a slave is released and hunted down like an animal by the evil ruler and his allies. If the slave is captured he faces a hideous death. His only hope of survival is to find an exit from the Valley of Gad and escape to freedom. Blood Valley is a true two player game with a solo option. In the dual player scenario, one player takes the role of the HUNTER - the bloodthirsty ARCHVEULT; the other plays the role of the QUARRY - the slave fleeing for his life. THE CHARACTERS In Blood Valley, the main characters are the HUNTER and the QUARRY. THE HUNTER The ARCHVEULT is from the reptilian race of Firedrakes, and for years he has tyrannized the Valley of Gad with the assistance of his Primary Allies: KA-RIIM A deadly assassin. KRITOS BLOODHEART A merciless warrior, Captain of the Archveults Guard. THE DEMIVEULT The Archveult's grotesque reptilian son. Prior to the Hunt, the Archveult deploys each of his Primary Allies at locations within the Valley which he thinks the Quarry may attempt to make his escape. Each of the Primary Allies have areas with which they patrol and are familiar. KA-RIIM The City of Askelon The Monastery of Eo The Volcano The Forest of the Living Dead KRITOS BLOODHEART The Barrow Weald The Jungle The Moorland Wizard Callisto's Tower The Wall at Gap Town THE DEMIVEULT The Mountain Pass The Icy Wastes The Plains The Volcano To give the Quarry a sporting chance, the Archveult can only place one of his Primary Allies in any one location. THE QUARRY As the QUARRY, you may select to play the role of one of the three following slaves; each one has certain quests/objectives that they must attempt to fulfil in addition to escaping from the Valley. THE PRIEST THE BARBARIAN THE THIEF THE PRIEST To defeat the Archveult To destroy Malefice, Prince of Vampires To destroy the Undead Warrior, Lord Tobias To slay the Demiveult THE BARBARIAN To defeat the Flame of Acheron To slay Kritos Bloodheart To slay Ka-riim THE THIEF To defeat the Archveult To steal the Serpentine Cross from the Monastery To steal the Golden Idol of the Flame of Acheron To defeat the Flame of Acheron To steal the Golden Crown from Lord Tobias, Guardian of the Barrow Weald GAMEPLAY NOTES Load the game as detailed in the loading instructions for your particular computer. When the ONE PLAYER/TWO PLAYER screen is displayed use the SPACE BAR to alternate between One/Two Players and press RETURN to select your option (or where appropriate defaults are set use the joystick). ONE FLAYER GAME Make the appropriate decisions in the preference screen that follows (where appropriate) i.e. JOYSTICK/KEYBOARD etc. You play the role of the QUARRY. Select the character that you wish to play: THIEF - BARBARIAN - PRIEST The lower section of the screen displays the quests that your character has to try to fulfil. In addition to this you must try to escape from the HUNTER, his allies, and the other hostile inhabitants of Gad and also, you must try to locate one of the exits from the valley. As you travel around the valley there are magical potions, treasure and food and other items to be collected. This is achieved by placing the character over the object and pressing the joystick (or appropriate key) in the DOWN direction. The object is then added to your inventory. At certain points in the game you can invoke the role playing elements of Blood Valley. These can only be utilised when there are no other creatures visible in your current location. This is achieved by pressing the joystick (or appropriate key) in the UP direction. A list of options available is then displayed; these options include: INV - Inventory USE - Use an item that you are carrying, remember different objects are of different use in different locations. QUIT - return to playing the game. In addition to using magical potions etc., combinations of pressing the FIRE BUTTON and different joystick movements enables your character to perform different combat sequences, e.g. LUNGE FORWARD, SWEEPING CHOP with a sword etc. At this point your attention should be brought to the small scroll at the right hand side of the screen. The sword icon represents your present energy level, which, when diminished must be replenished by eating food - otherwise you die. Also displayed on the scroll is a day/hour counter indicating the time you have spent in the Valley, and also the distance that you have travelled and the number of different parts of the Valley that you have passed through. The bottom most section of this scroll is the power indicator of the HUNTER. TWO PLAYER GAME Make the appropriate decisions in the preference screen that follows (where appropriate) i.e. JOYSTICK/KEYBOARD etc. PLAYER ONE Player 1 plays the role of the HUNTER - the ARCHVEULT - and as such, you are not involved in a deployment sequence prior to the HUNT. (You should not allow your QUARRY to watch where you deploy your allies). The purpose of this section is to deploy your primary allies: KARIIM KRITOS BLOODHEART THE DEMIVEULT at locations in the valley that you think your QUARRY will pass through. The introduction explains which area each creature can be assigned to patrol. The allies are positioned by selecting them one by one, positioning the cross-system over a suitable position on the map of the Valley (which is indicated by the cross-system changing colour at valid locations). At the suitable location, press the FIRE BUTTON or appropriate key to position your ally there. The primary allies play a very important role in the Two Player game. As you will see, the screen is divided into two main windows: the upper window displays the QUARRY and its current location; the lower window displays your current position. If the QUARRY ventures into the vicinty of one of your primary allies, that particular ally appears in the Quarry's window. At this point, your current position freezes and you take telepathic control of your ally to do battle with the QUARRY in the upper window. Should the QUARRY defeat your ally, you once again control your own reptilian form in the lower window and continue your pursuit. At the extreme bottom of the smaller scroll, on the right hand side of the screen, there is a Day/Night indicator. As you are of the race of FIREDRAKES your energy levels are fully replensihed every 24 hours. Remember you only have 5 days in which to catch and slay the QUARRY and time passes very quickly when you are enjoying yourself in the VALLEY OF GAD. PLAYER TWO Player 2 takes the role of the QUARRY. This is the same gameplay as in the One Player game - the only difference being the appearance of the display screen. HOW TO MOVE Commodore 64/128 Both players use joystick in the relevant port. Amstrad One Player - Use joystick or keyboard (user defined keys). Two Players - If you have an adaptor to use two joysticks then player two can also play using a joystick, player 2 must use keyboard. Spectrum One Player - Select between Keyboard (user defined keys), Kempston or Sinclair joystick. Two Players - If player 1 has selected joystick then player 2 must use the keyboard unless you have a Spectrum +2 or dual port interface when two joysticks can be used. Atari ST One Player - Use joystick in port one. Two Players - Use joystick in port 0. Or Keyboard Cursor Control - UP Cursor Control - DOWN Cursor Control - LEFT Cursor Control - RIGHT Right Hand Shift - FIRE Amiga One Player - Use joystick in port two. Two Players - Use joystick in port 1. Or Keyboard Cursor Control - UP Cursor Control - DOWN Cursor Control - LEFT Cursor Control - RIGHT Right Hand Shift - FIRE LOADING INSTRUCTIONS SPECTRUM 48K Type LOAD"" and press ENTER. Start the tape. The program will load and run automatically. SPECTRUM 128K/+2 Use the TAPE LOADER as normal. SPECTRUM +3 Use the DISK LOADER as normal. CBM 64/128K CASSETTE: Press SHIFT and RUN/STOP keys together. Start tape. The program will load and run automatically. DISK: Insert disk into disk drive. Type LOAD "*",8,1 and press RETURN. The program will load and run automatically. AMSTRAD CASSETTE: Insert cassette into cassette unit. Press CONTROL (CTRL) and the small ENTER keys simultaneously. Press PLAY on the cassette unit and then any key. The program will load and run automatically. Disk: Type RUN"BLOOD" and press RETURN. The program will load and run automatically. ATARI ST & CBM AMIGA Place disk in drive. The program will autoboot and load on power-up. DUELMASTER - THE STORY Before you lies a complete fantasy adventure in which you will strive against your opponent as well as the creatures and strange characters of the fantasy world of Orb. Tread carefully. In Blood Valley YOU are invited to take part in the annual hunt organised by the Firedrake, ruler of the Valley of Gad. Each year a slave is set free at an ancient circle of standing stones and hunted down like an animal by the cruel Firedrake. The only chance of survival for the slave is to escape the valley. Will you choose to be the Firedrake, hated by all his subjects and desperate to avoid the humiliation of defeat? He will go to any lengths to prevent the slave from escaping from the valley. Or will you choose to be the quarry - the liberated slave who has been specially selected as a good sport but who is armed only with resourcefulness and a strong will to live? The Hunter or The Quarry. THE VALLEY OF GAD The Hunter You have chosen to be the Archveult, lord of the Valley of Gad. As you sit in the topmost turret of your castle which has been your home for three hundred years, you survey your kingdom secure in the knowledge that your sovereignty is unchallenged. You chose this valley carefully as a great ring of mountains separates it from the rest of Orb where other powerful men might have confronted you. When you began your reign of terror after slaying the old king, your people renamed your home Castle Remorse. They fear and hate your evil ways. Your appearance alone is enough to terrify even the stoutest of heart. You are a Firedrake, one of the elder races of Orb that live north and east of the Mountains of Undying Solitude. But you are no ordinary Firedrake. You stand eight feet tall and your fierce head is topped by a bony spiked carapace like that of an ancient giant reptile. Your eyes are smouldering pits of fire. When you are angered they ignite, burning with a deep red flame that also bursts out over the blue scales of your body. You have large blue wings but unlike our own son, the Demiveult, you cannot fly. You are more powerful than he, however, for you are an Archveult, a rare thing even amongst the powerful race of Firedrakes. The Firedrakes are a naturally cruel race but you have taken their lust for cruelty to the greatest lengths and are never happier than when demonstrating your superiority over your pathetic human subjects. THE HUNT It is spring and the month of Weir has just begun. At this time of year you indulge yourself in your favourite pastime, the annual hunt. Each year a slave is set free from the standing stones near the castle and hunted down like an animal. If found, the slave is torn to pieces by your Hounds of Hell, giant dogs with flaming breath which are from the nether planes and were a gift from a Demonlord. If the slave can escape the valley, you will have been cheated of your prey. But the slaves seldom escape. This year you have bidden Kritos Bloodheart your ally and only human friend to spare no effort in acquiring strong slaves who will run fast and far, giving good sport. He has scoured the slave pits of Upanishad for your prey and has brought three slaves back to the valley. You will mercilessly hunt down one of these slaves until at last, exhausted and broken he (or she) will beg you to put an end to his wretched life. Turning from the window you see Kritos giving the order to present the slaves. THE ARCHVEULT'S ALLIES You have three allies or henchmen: Kritos Bloodheart, the Captain of your guard, a pleasantly evil and bloodthirsty warrior; Ka-riim, the Hashishin, your chief assassin; the Demiveult, a large winged reptile which some say is a Firedrake in its larval form, while others believe it is a product of your genetic experiments. He is actually your son but can never become a fully-fledged Archveult due to a druid's curse. As soon as you start this game you will be given the opportunity to place these three allies in certain areas of the valley to wait in ambush, should the quarry pass that way. You can communicate with your allies through a crystal ball, which enables them to tell you when they have found the quarry. THE VALLEY OF GAD The Quarry You have chosen to be a prisoner owned by the Archveult. You know almost nothing of the Valley of Gad save that it is ruled by the Archveult and has a city called Askelon. You know that it is ringed by mountains but that there is a way out of the valley at the western end, at the town of Gap. There are rumours of other less well guarded ways out of the valley but you know nothing of them as yet. THE HUNT It is spring. The month of Weir has just begun but you feel little joy for as a slave you have been taken to a place that is infamous throughout Orb as a hell as bad as any in the lower planes. The man who led the caravan in which you were but a piece of helpless baggage, a harsh warrior named Kritos Bloodheart, revelled in telling you your coming fate. At this time of the year the ruler of the valley indulges himself in his favourite pastime, the annual hunt. One slave is set free from the standing stones near the castle and hunted down like an animal. If found, the slave is torn to pieces by the Archveults Hounds of Hell, giant dogs with flaming breath, which came from the nether planes, and were a gift from a Demonlord. If the slave escapes the valley he will go free. But the slaves seldom escape. Bloodheart has scoured the slave pits of the Upanishad for slaves and has brought three back to the valley of Gad. The Archveult will mercilessly hunt down one of these slaves, until at last, exhausted and broken, the slave will beg him to end his wretched life. The doors to your cell are opened: it is Bloodheart and his guards. You are chosen to be the one taken before the ruler of the valley. SLAVES You must choose which of the three types of quarry you wish to be: priest, barbarian or thief. As you have been bought as a slave by the Archveult, you must tell him your choice. THE PRIEST Languishing in your dank cell, you rue the day that you - an intelligent young priest of the Temple to Avatar in Pokeel - decided to travel to Segesvar. You went in search of a sage who knew of an ancient prayer, most used there in times past, to find the favour of Avatar but while you were there, an innkeeper drugged your ale. A good and zealous man, you were ill-prepared for life in the slave caravan that took you to the market of faraway Upanishad. You vowed the innkeeper who duped you will pay, should you escape the valley. Kritos Bloodheart paid a high price for you in the slave pens for he knew you would give the Archveult good sport. Dressed only in your torn white robe and manacled, you are dragged by the castle guards into the Archveult's presence. Flame plays over his blue-scaled body and his voice is deep and resonant. 'He looks weak', he complains. You try to talk but have been gagged, lest you cast a spell. All that comes out is a muffled gurgle. Kritos cuffs you into silence. 'He is a priest, magnificence, he knows spells. He almost escaped on the road from Upanishad. He speaks the Words of Helpless Palsy and has the Touch of Harm, and', he chuckles, 'he has Avatar the One on his side.' There is a gale of laughter as he says this. 'Oh, Avatar where are you now, free thy servant from this evil place of torment!' the Firedrake mocks. There is silence in the chamber. 'You god has deserted you,' he cries and with that he claps his hands and you are dragged away, head held high and contempt in your eye for the cruel Archveult. THE BARBARIAN Almost a year go you left your home near the city of Strand in the Great Valley Reaches. Like many northern barbarians before, you found that your strength and ferocity were highly valued in the softer southern lands. But your dreams of becoming a captain of the army of one of the manmarcher cities was shattered when you were tricked into becoming a gladiator. You have won all your contests but your success only makes you the more highly prized. You fled the manmarch but were tricked again by a beautiful courtezan whose kisses sent you into a deep slumber. When you awoke you were destined for the Arena of Death in Mortavalon, but Kritos Bloodheart has met your price and now you are the Archveult's slave. When you are led before the ruler who owns you, your arms are tied to a yoke as if you were being prepared for crucifixion. You are stripped to your loincloth revealing your bruises you gained whilst struggling to escape. 'I had to pay a small fortune for this one, magnificence,' says Kritos. 'He was to be sent back north to become a gladiator in the Arena of Death at Mortavalon. He is the strongest man I have ever met, and still barely more than a boy'. You growl a curse at the Firedrake, overcoming your fear, but at a sign from Kritos, pressure is applied to the yoke and you are slowly forced to your knees grunting all the while with the effort of trying to avoid abasing yourself before him. He claps his hands and you are taken away. The Firedrake does not even deign to address you. Soon you are sweating with rage in the dank claminess of your cell once more. THE THIEF The cold damp of your cell reminds you of your folly. Three tendays since, you were striving for control of a chapter of the Thieves' Guild of Upanishad but you had made too many enemies. When Kritos Bloodheart came to the city and let it be known that he was interested in unusual slaves your enemies leaped at the chance to remove you from the city. You were knocked unconcious and sold to Bloodheart, then kept bound hand and foot during the long journey to the Valley of Gad. At last Kritos Bloodheart comes to take you from the cell. Before the leg irons are struck off, you are chained to two hulking guards who stand on either side of you. Then you are taken into the presence of the ruler who now owns you. 'I have saved the fairest till last, magnificence,' says Kritos. There is a murmur of appreciation from the guards. 'Its a woman,' the Firedrake exclaims, 'they are weaker than men'. Kritos does not look unduly troubled by his master's displeasure. 'Not this one, magnificence. She is a skilled swordswoman and, until she was delivered into our hands, was a master in the Thieves' Guild of Upanishad.' You note every detail of your surroundings, hoping for a chance of escape, but Kritos has ensured there is none. The guards force you to your knees and invite you to beg for mercy but you reply, 'It is you who will beg for mercy out in the wilderness, Firedrake'. He smiles and orders you taken back to the dungeons, confident that he will force you to change your tune. Based on the DUELMASTER series by Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson, published by Armada, part of Collins Publishing Group. © 1988. All rights reserved. Unauthorised copying, lending or re-sale by any means strictly prohibited. Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd., Alpha House, 10 Carver Street, Sheffield S1 4FS. Tel: (0742) 753423.