LORD OF THE RINGS INTRODUCTION In the LORD OF THE RINGS adventure game, you will be able to play the role of one of the four Hobbits: FRODO, SAM, MERRY and PIPPIN, FRODO bears a magic ring of power, a ring which, in the hands of the DARK LORD, could cause the destruction of all that you hold dear. You will need all of the cunning and luck at your disposal to complete your quest and survive. In playing this adventure game, you in effect assume the role of the characters from J.R.R. Tolkiens's fantasy world. You must detail out the actions that you perform, your reactions and movements, and the computer will perform them accordingly. Best of luck my furry-footed friend. The fate of the entire world of Middle Earth rests upon you alone, but don't let that pressure you.... TABLE OF CONTENTS 1) Bringing Tolkien to the Computer 2) A Background to the Ring Wars 3) Getting Started 4) Communicating with the Computer 5) The Screen Display 6) Interacting With The Other Characters 7) General Rules in Middle Earth 8) Special Adventure Commands 9) Playing With Friends 10) The Second Adventure 11) Beginner's Introduction 12) Creatures of Middle Earth 13) Hints On Play 14) An Abbreviated Vocabulary (1) BRINGING TOLKIEN TO THE COMPUTER In producing the computer game Lord of the Rings, it has been necessary to expand beyond the scope of the original book of The Fellowship of the Ring. If it was not possible for the player to make alternate decisions to those that were made in the books, or indeed even tread paths that the characters in Professor Tolkien's novels never walked, then there would be little point in playing the game: You could simply read the books and save yourself a great deal of trouble. As it is, the player in Lord of the Rings will be faced with situations with which he will be entirely unfamiliar, even if he is deeply versed in Tolkien's world created by Tolkien. Even familiar situations can prove to be dangerous and challenging. Fans of the books might be in for a nasty surprise if they confidently plough into the depths of dire (but expected) encounters, secure in the knowledge that simply knowing the books is enough to ensure easy victory. To those unfamiliar with Professor Tolkien's works, the game is readily playable. At no point of the game is a knowledge of the books assumed, although it is recommended that the book should be read, if for no other purpose than to become more familiar with the world of Middle Earth and its inhabitants. For those new to Tolkien's material, computer adventures, or who just simply want to experience the game mechanics under gentler conditions, there is a beginner's game included, which should prove useful in learning the game. So, play well, have fun, and if the wargs get you, just remember: you knew the job was dangerous when you took it! (2) A BACKGROUND TO THE RING WARS Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark lord on his dark throne In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them In the land of Mordor, where the Shadows lie. In the middle years of the second age of Middle Earth, Sauron the Great, master of the evil realm of Mordor, beguiled the great Elven smith Celebrimor of Eregion to teach him the craft of making rings of power. Three rings were made to grant the Elf lords their powers of wisdom and magic. Then Sauron and Celebrimor laboured together to create the seven and the nine, which were gifted to the great lords of Middle Earth. Unknown to Celebrimor, Sauron had betrayed him. Deep within the bowels of Mount Doom, he constructed the ruling ring, a ring which could enslave the wearers of the other rings to him forever. So powerful was the spell that Sauron bound much of his power into it, forever linking his fate with that of the ring. When Celebrimor realised that Sauron had betrayed him, he hid the three elven rings from him. The Dwarven rings were mostly destroyed by dragons over the ages, but their wearers were even so brought into an all consuming greed and folly before they fell. The nine mortal lords faded and became the nine ring-wraiths, forever enslaved to Sauron's will. A bitter war took place, with the prize being the fate of Middle Earth. At last Sauron was overthrown, and the ring was cut from his finger by the Human King Isuldur. Isuldur was in turn slain by ores in an ambush many years later, the ring slipping from his finger as he tried to swim across a river to safety. Several millenia later, the ring was plucked from the river by Degol, who was immediately attacked by Gollum, a skulking character, who saw the ring and coveted it. Gollum then fled with his prize to the heart of the Misty Mountains, where he hid himself in the darkness. The ring sustained his life force for many dark centuries before it sensed its master stirring once again. Many years ago, Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, found the ring in a Goblin's den, where it lay after falling from Gollum's finger. After many adventures, Bilbo returned at last to his home in the Shire. Much of this material is covered in the book THE HOBBIT. The ring has now passed on to Frodo Baggins, Bilbo Baggins' heir, Bilbo has long since retired and moved to Rivendell. In recent times, Gandalf the wizard (an old and trusted friend) has told you of the ring's dark history. The servants of the enemy even now are seeking the ring, and the hobbit "Baggins" that possesses it. Gandalf tells you to take the ring to Rivendell, far to the east, and there to seek Elrond, who will advise you on what to do with the now dangerous treasure. As the enemy are watching the likely roads for you, he advises you to travel by circuitous routes, and to adopt a pseudonym for the time being. To aid you in your quest, you have three companions: MERRY, SAM and PIPPIN, all of whom are hobbits. Sam and Pippin start the game with Frodo at Bag End. Frodo's comfortable home in Hobbiton. Merry awaits the party at the house in Crickhollow to the east of Hobbiton by the western bank of the Brandywine river. A quality inherent in the ring is that it makes the wearer invisible to all but the most powerful of creatures. Gandalf has warned you not to make use of the ring yourself, lest you also fade and become a ring-wraith. Gandalf will aid you as much as he can, but he has many tasks to perform to make the passage to Rivendell as safe as possible for you. For all intents and purposes, you are on your own. (3) GETTING STARTED The LORD OF THE RINGS adventure comes on two sides of the cassette - The first side contains the beginner's adventure and the second side contains the part 1 game followed by part 2. You will have to stop the tape after part 1 in order to load part 2 as a separate game. If you are not familiar with adventure games, or have difficulty with the adventure, it is recommended that you start with the beginner's level adventure. There is more information in the section on the beginner's adventure on what additional facilities are available in this game, including extensive HINT messages. For more information on how to load the cassette into your computer, refer to the reference section for your computer. Once the game has been loaded, you will find you are being asked the question WHICH HOBBIT CHARACTERS DO YOU WISH TO PLAY: Frodo, Merry, Pippin or Sam? If you are playing this adventure for the first time, it is recommended that you choose to play only the role of Frodo. It is possible, as is explained later in this booklet, to choose for you and your friends to play even all four characters. If you select none, the computer will assume you wish to play the role of Frodo. Note that if you choose more than one character, the first name given is the character you start off with. Once you have selected your character, you must then instruct him on what you would like to do. (4) COMMUNICATING WITH THE COMPUTER The LORD OF THE RINGS program includes a very sophisticated program, INGLISH, which can understand your instructions in everyday language. More details are given later in this booklet about the power of INGLISH, but the important thing is that you can enter your commands freely and the computer will then react according to your requests. The computer program LORD OF THE RINGS has a very large vocabulary, so you should not have any difficulty in expressing your ideas and commands. Your commands will usually take the form of actions, and at the back of this booklet you will find an abbreviated list of the actions you can carry out. The power of INGLISH together with the very large vocabulary of over 800 words makes this one of the easiest and friendliest adventure games ever published on micro-computers. Moreover, if the computer is not sure of something that you mean, or if you are ambiguous in any way it will ask you for clarification. The computer is also your source of information on what is happening to you, where you are and the character around you. Some things may not be readily apparent to you, and thus can prove dangerous to the unwary player. PERFORMING ACTIONS ------------------ INGLISH is one of the most sophisticated language-recognition programs ever developed for micro-computers. It allows you to communicate with the program in a language and structure that is familiar to you. The rules fo INGLISH are simple. The main thing to keep in mind is that each instruction must be in the form of "verb-then-noun", where the noun (or pronoun) can also be implied. Each sentence must have a verb. The following examples in this instruction booklet are a guide to the way INGLISH sentences can be constructed. Note however that the specific examples shown may not be valid in this adventure. When an action does not directly concern any object, only a verb is necessary, i.e. WAIT RUN This is also the case if you simply wish to travel in some direction, i.e. SOUTH EAST If the action concerns an object or a person, this must be identified by a noun, English grammar applies, and the order of the different parts of the sentences is usually not critical. i.e. WEAR THE RING GO THROUGH THE DOOR DROP THE ROPE ONTO THE TABLE Adjectives that describe nouns must come before the noun. If it sounds right in English, it is probably valid in INGLISH, i.e. THROW THE HEAVY AXE AT THE HORRIBLE ORC LIGHT THE WOODEN PIPE WITH THE MATCH Terms used when making an instruction to the computer must be free from ambiguity. If there were two doors in a room, one red and one green, and you were to say GO THROUGH THE DOOR then the computer is placed in a quandary as to which door to put you through. In such situations, the program will put you through the first door it finds, which may not be the direction you intended. In case, it would be better to specify exactly what you mean GO THROUGH THE GREEN DOOR PREPOSITIONS ------------ The meaning of many verbs can be altered by the use of prepositions, such as ON, OFF, ONTO and so on. Examples of INGLISH sentences using prepositions are: ATTACK WITH THE SWORD PICK UP THE RING Prepositions in INGLISH usually go before the noun, but in some cases it sounds more natural to have them after the noun, such as TURN THE LIGHT ON PICK THE GOLD UP Prepositions can also be used to specify the position of an object, or where you which an action to be performed, such as PUT THE GOLD INTO THE BAG TAKE THE PIPE FROM THE BOX USE OF "AND" ------------ You can use the word AND in all its normal meaning in INGLISH. This means, among other things, that you can enter more than one sentence or perform more than one action at a time. TAKE THE LAMP AND THE MATCH FROM THE CUPBOARD DROP THE SHORT AND THE LONG SWORDS TAKE THE GOLD AND RUN PUNCTUATION ----------- Sentences can be separated by the use of punctuation. You can use commas and full stops as you normally would. The only limitation the program places on your commands is that your command should not be more than 128 characters long. CONVERSING WITH OTHER CHARACTERS -------------------------------- The LORD OF THE RINGS adventure also allows you to talk and converse with the characters you meet on your journey, you may wish to speak to them. The general form is SAY TO (name) "(sentence)" i.e. SAY TO GANDALF "HELLO" This is usually sufficient to draw most characters into conversation. You can ask the characters within earshot to do specific commands that are of use to you, such as: SAY TO TOM "KILL THE ORC WITH THE SWORD" SAY TO PIPPIN "TAKE THE GOLD FROM THE ORC" Of course, because all the other characters have an independence of their own, there is no guarantee that they will do what you ask of them. Their decision will be based on a number of factors, including their allegiance to you, what they are currently doing, and so on. Some characters that you encounter will have messages for you that they will deliver only when you identify yourself, or ask them certain questions. In order to solve the LORD OF THE RINGS adventure, it will be necessary for you to become familiar with the SAY TO command. This is because some of the problems you face can only be solved by cooperating with the other members of the party. Each character also has his own limitations, such as strength and so on. Be warned that sometimes a certain character will be required in order to succeed with a certain action. Thus it will be necessary to become familiar with the varied talents of your party members. ABBREVIATION OF COMMANDS ------------------------ The abbreviation of your commands is quite permissible. For instance, if you wish to attack a green knight, you might say; KILL GREEN WITH SWORD The computer will see that "Green" corresponds with the green knight. Note also that the definite article "THE" can be omitted at will. In most circumstances, the computer will understand exactly what you mean. Unfortunately, if the Knight stood before a green door, then "green" no longer serves to identify the Knight only, in which case you could write: KILL KNIGHT WITH SWORD Multiple entries are easily effected simply by placing a comma between your instructions: i.e. OPEN BOX, TAKE AXE, GIVE AXE TO SAM. Each of the commands in the sentence will be dealt with by the computer in order. (5) THE SCREEN DISPLAY On your screen will appear (in normal script), the adventure description - the text which describes your surroundings, and the happenings around you. Upon entering a new location, the computer will give you a full description of the area, and the objects that are in plain sight. You will be given a list of the exits that you can currently see. The second time that you enter a location, the computer will only give you a brief description of where you are. If you wish to obtain a more complete description, you can simply enter the command LOOK, and the computer will repeat the length text. Below the adventure script, an arrow indicates your "instruction window"; the space in which you will type in the actions that you wish your characters to perform. This will appear on the screen in capital letters. Once you have typed in your commands and hit the "RETURN/ENTER" key, the computer will either acknowledge your action, or inform you that it does not understand you for some reason. Once the computer has acknowledged any entry, it will print any new text which results from your actions, and them indicate that it is ready to receive a new instruction. (6) INTERACTING WITH THE OTHER CHARACTERS The LORD OF THE RINGS adventure requires that you lead a group of hobbits through various situations. As a result, it its sometimes necessary to tell other characters, including members of your own group, what you would like them to do. Since you will often be in a group of people, it is comforting to know that it is not necessary to instruct each and every character on what it should be doing at every moment. Most will follow your lead without any prompting on your behalf. It is also possible to instruct characters to perform actions that will exclude the rest of the party, i.e. SAY TO SAM "CLIMB TREE" This instruction will not result in a massed exodus by all members of your party within earshot to the tree tops. Sam will climb the tree by himself. If you leave and Sam can still see you, he will follow you, and perhaps eventually catch up with you. Any character can simply be spoken to, and asked to perform an action, i.e. SAY TO PIPPIN "GIVE ROPE TO FRODO" Members for your party and friends are more likely to respond favourably than the strangers and followers of Sauron. But even friends may say no from time to time. As well as following your lead, most members of your party will come to your defence if you are attacked by any enemies. There is no cosmic law which stops you from ruthlessly attacking a member of your own party. Do not be too surprised however if the other members of the party should be a little cooler towards you afterwards. You can talk to yourself, but the result is not going to be very impressive. Suicide is quite possible, as long as you name the character as in any other attack, i.e. KILL FRODO WITH AXE In all probability, the result will be something like: "you attack you with the axe. With one well placed blow you split your skull." If you find this attractive, then by all means, be my guest... The LORD OF THE RINGS allows you another method of instructing the hobbits in your party on what to do. This is done by taking over their character for the time being, using the BECOME command. (It is recommended that you should be familiar with the adventure from a single player point of view before tackling the multi-character game.) i.e. BECOME PIPPIN (Note that you can only become one of the four hobbit characters you have selected at the beginning of the game. For example, if you enter FRODO, you can only become FRODO. If you enter FRODO, SAM, MERRY, then you cannot become PIPPIN. More information about changing characters is given later in this instruction booklet.) This technique can be used whenever the player wishes to detail out complex actions to a character, or wishes to react to ongoing situations that will confront the character. This is a useful means of conducting operation without endangering the ring, or for controlling the party if you wish the Hobbits to split up and go separate ways. (7) GENERAL RULES IN MIDDLE EARTH GENERAL ------- A Map of the immediate area of "The Shire" can be found at the start of chapter one of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, and may prove to be of some help. A map of the western section of Middle Earth is printed in each book of the LORD OF THE RINGS, in the inside rear cover (map one). During the adventure, you will encounter many objects. Some are usable as weapons, other are intended as food or drink, still others are used as containers in which to carry other things. Liquids behave as such: They cannot be carried about without a container. You cannot lift too heavy an object, or carry too great a load. Most containers must be opened in order to reach their contents. Once a container is open you may look into them or take the objects that are held within. Once the objects inside a container have been exposed, they may be used. Some containers may be transparent, allowing you to see their contents without opening the container itself. Some doors are locked, this means that either the proper key is required to unlock them, or that someone on the other side of the door must open the door for you. FINDING YOUR WAY ---------------- SPECIFYING DIRECTION There are assumed to be ten possible directions of travel: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, NORTHEAST, SOUTHEAST, NORTHWEST, SOUTHWEST, UP and DOWN. It is possible to abbreviate the words used to describe directions down to a single letter for each word, i.e. NORTHEAST NE Are both valid entries for movement instruction. PASSING THROUGH PORTALS: If you want to go through an entrance, such as a door or window, it is quite possible to say so, i.e. GO THROUGH THE GREEN DOOR FOLLOWING OTHER PEOPLE ---------------------- If a person that you have an interest in leaves an area, you may wish to follow them. For instance, if Strider suddenly said that he was now going to leave the current area, you might decide to FOLLOW STRIDER LIGHT AND DARK -------------- In some areas, there will be no natural light. Unless you have the means to create light - such as matches and a candle - you will receive no description of the area that is in darkness. Once a light has been struck, you will be able to see the area in question. If you choose to travel in darkness, you may avoid meeting some unwanted characters. Remember, however, that orcs can see perfectly well in the dark... MAPPING ------- It is suggested that you keep a map of your travels to assist you in finding your way. Be warned! Maps cannot be entirely relied upon. COMBAT ------ Hobbits are poor fighters, but brave. It is not possible to attack any inanimate objects. These must instead be BROKEN. A weapon is required on order to attack any enemy. To attack your opponent, you must tell the computer that you wish to kill the creature with a specific weapon, i.e. KILL WOLF WITH SWORD No matter how well you arm them, be wary of throwing Hobbits into the midst of gory battle. Being furry footed little runts, they have a tendency to die with spectacular suddenness. Persistance in combat is rewarded, but be careful. Most opponents hit back, and an already wounded character is much more susceptible to being killed than a healthy one. Some weapons (like axes) can be thrown at an opponent. This removes the weapon from your character, and drops it into the area in which you stand. If the weapon that you threw was your only armament, then tough luck. CARRYING ITEMS -------------- During the course of play, it will become necessary to pick up and carry inanimate objects. Once you have found an item, you need simply take the item in order to pick it up and carry, i.e. TAKE ROPE To check on the equipment that you are already carrying, simply make an inventory of your character, i.e. INVENTORY To rid yourself of an item, you need merely drop it, i.e. DROP ROPE As an alternative, you may give the item to another member of the party, i.e. GIVE ROPE TO SAM In addition to adding weight to your burden, some objects increase your effective size. This can be troublesome if you intend to go through a small door or tunnel, so beware of adopting the pack-rat syndrome. FATIGUE, WOUNDS AND EATING -------------------------- All characters are rated for their strength and stamina. During the game these characteristics may suffer from combat, or simple weariness. As a character takes wounds, its strength becomes lower, and its hold on life more tenuous. As time passes, character become more and more tired as their energy is used up. Highly strenuous activities, such as combat, may exhaust you even more. The best remedy for a lowered strength or stamina is a good meal and some rest. In your travels, you may encounter skilled healer and magical herbs which cure fatigue and damage. Needless to say, these items are rare. INTERACTING WITH OTHER CHARACTERS --------------------------------- There are a variety of characters in Middle Earth that a wandering party might encounter. Some are friends, and some are foes, but many simply EXIST. Such characters live lives of their own, travelling about the lands or attending to their own affairs. If a person that you meet does not fall over himself to help you, try being patient. Just say HELLO, or try waiting until he notices you. (8) SPECIAL ADVENTURE COMMANDS As well as the extensive INGLISH vocabulary, there are a few commands which are specific to the LORD OF THE RINGS adventure, and which are used to help you control the game. The following is a list of these special commands: LOOK (can be abbreviated to L): Describes where you are, what you can see, and all possible exits. This command should also be used after you take over the role of another character (using the "become" command) who is at another location. INVENTORY (CAN BE ABBREVIATED TO I): Describes all your inventory that you are currently holding or carrying. EXAMINE: Although this is a standard INGLISH word, special mention of it is made here because this command is very useful in trying to obtain more information about your surroundings in Middle Earth. Examining objects often reveals information about those objects that is not readily apparent from a cursory look. SAVE: This command allows you to save the game for play at a later time. After entering the command, the program will prompt you for your tape or disk for saving the game. The saved game has all details of what is happening throughout Middle Earth, including all the other characters and locations. After you have saved the game, play will continue normally. This command is especially useful before embarking on a dangerous course of action. A saved game from part 1 cannot be loaded into part 2, when you complete part 1 the program will automatically save a special file for loading into part 2. LOAD: Loads a previously saved game. Once again the program will prompt you for your tape or disk. After loading, play continues from the point where the game was saved. SCORE: Tells you what your percentage is so far. This command only works in the beginner's game. HINT: Gives you hints and suggestions on what to do. This command only applies to the Beginner's game. PAUSE: Suspends the game until another key is pressed. PRINT: Allows the text of the adventure to be sent to your printer (if connected), as well as to the screen. (PRINT and NOPRINT may not be available in all versions. Check the reference section for your computer at the back of this instruction booklet. QUIT: Stops the game and returns to the beginning. Because of memory limitations the information about Middle Earth at the beginning of the game is not stored in memory, but needs to be loaded in. Following this command, the computer will prompt you for the tape or disk; if the tape is requested, rewind the game tape and place in the cassette recorder in the normal way. (9) PLAYING WITH FRIENDS As mentioned briefly previously in this booklet, the LORD OF THE RINGS adventure allows you to control not just one character but up to four of the Hobbit characters. This will enable you to play the game on many different levels, and to play either on your own or with a group of friends. When you choose to play just one character, the computer will take control of the other three characters and ensure that their action are in keeping with their personalities. It also means that whenever you wish these characters to perform specific actions for you, you will need to instruct them by talking to them, using the SAY TO command. When you play more than one character, the computer will still look after the characters you are not controlling, or when the entire party move somewhere else, for example. This means that you will need to instruct each character much more carefully than when playing the one player game. The easiest way to play with more than one character is with another friend, each of you controlling one of the Hobbits. In this way you can discuss things and help each other most easily. The command to change from one Hobbit character to another is BECOME (Name) such as BECOME PIPPIN. Note that you can only BECOME one of the Hobbit characters you have specified at the beginning of the game. An alternative to the BECOME command is the I AM command, which works in the same way and has the same effect: I AM PIPPIN Alternately, both commands can be omitted, and just the name of the character you wish to become entered: PIPPIN Note that you should use the LOOK command where the character you become is in a different location from the one you were previously. (10) THE SECOND ADVENTURE As mentioned earlier in this booklet, the LORD OF THE RINGS: GAME ONE adventure comes in two parts. The story and action in J.R.R. Tolkien's novel THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING was just too much to be able to fit into a single adventure game. Each adventure is totally independent, and there is no need to have completed the first adventure before attempting the second, although there would be definite advantages in doing so. Once you have completed the first adventure, the computer will prompt you to save the game at that stage for loading into the second adventure game. By doing so, you will ensure that each member of the party who is with you at the end of the first part will venture with you into the second adventure. As well, many of the objects you carry will be transported to the second adventure. You may of course attempt the second adventure without completing the first adventure. This will make your task considerably harder, as you will not have your friends with you to help you and some of the important objects from the first adventure will also be missing. It is however not impossible to solve the second adventure in this way and advanced adventurers may wish to solve the game in this way. (11) BEGINNER'S INTRODUCTION For any player unfamiliar with adventure games, or simply if you find difficulties in playing the main adventure game, you will find included in the LORD OF THE RINGS a special beginner's adventure game. This game is closely modelled on part of the main adventure, so you will quickly become familiar with the setting and characters of the main game. All of the commands available in the main game are available in this beginner's adventure, except for the BECOME command. As it is recommended that you become familiar with the one player game before attempting the multi-character mode, it was not felt suitable to include this in the beginner's adventure game. Many of the problems have been simplified in this adventure, while others have been removed altogether. This means that solving this beginner's adventure will in no way detract from your enjoyment of the main adventure. If you find yourself in difficulties at any point an additional command not available in the main adventure can be used. This is the HINT command, and is used without any object: HINT The computer will then make suggestions as to way to overcome the difficulties you face, starting with hints and suggestions. If these are not sufficient to help you solve the problems, further recourse to the HINT command will usually give you a more detailed hint. (12) CREATURES OF WESTERN MIDDLE EARTH: ELVES: An ancient and noble race of immortal folk. Elves are fair to the eye, and wise beyond human understanding. They are peerless interior decorators. DWARVES: A long lived race of doughty (if short) warrior/craftsmen. Dwarves and Elves harbour a deep and abiding dislike of one another, due to an unfortunate history of mutual competition and mistrust. HOBBITS: A race of cheerful, strong willed folk who chiefly inhabit THE SHIRE. Shorter than Dwarves, and lacking the latter's over developed musculature, Hobbits are quite nimble and dexterous. Most Hobbits cannot swim (Merry is an exception). Of all the party, PIPPIN is the most agile, SAM the most sturdy, and FRODO the smartest. Sam, being Frodo's devoted friend and retainer, will always attempt to stay near him. MEN: Many different nations of Men inhabit Middle Earth. Some, such as Rohan and Gondor, are the implacable foes of the Dark Lord. Others, such as Umbar and Hara, aid Sauron with troops, war elephants and gold. ORCS: Orcs (or Goblins, as Hobbits call them) are the soldiery of the Dark Lord. They are powerful, stooped and twisted creatures, with long arms, hairy knuckles and muzzles crammed with far too many teeth. Orcs hate sunlight, except for Uruk-Hai, a new more powerful breed recently spawned in the pits of Mordor. TROLLS: Trolls are huge, flinty creatures with lumpen minds and brutal instincts who serve the cause of evil. Trolls turn to stone when struck by daylight. In recent years, Olog-Hai (Olog = Troll, Hai = MkII) have appeared - a wittier, more agile version of the Troll which can withstand sunlight. Observers report that these creatures look similar to enormous, black orcs of unusual ugliness. WARGS AND WOLVES: The wolves of the wildlands are particularly large and ferocious, and are frequently misnamed "Wargs". Wargs are proper werewolves-phantasms that only assume real (and deadly) shapes after darkness has fallen. Sunlight nullifies their power. WIZARDS: A mysterious race of magic users, who first appeared in Middle Earth several millenia ago. (13) LEGENDS AND COMMON KNOWLEDGE For those new to Tolkien's Middle Earth mythos, we provide the following information on items, people and places that were either legendary, common knowledge, or were know to antiquarians such as Bilbo and Frodo. ANGMAR: "Iron Home", a long dead evil realm which fell to the armies of the last alliance of Men and Elves many millenia ago. The king of the realm was a victim of the One Ring, and later became the chief of Sauron's Ring-wraiths. ARNOR: In ancient times, Arnor was the northern most realm of the men of Numenor, which fell before the onslaught of Angmar in the second age of the earth. The ruins which dot the trollshaws, and old sites such as weathertop are all relics of ancient Arnor. BAG-END: The ancestral home of the well to do Hobbit family of BAGGINS (not to be confused with their cousins the Sackville-Bagginses). BALROG: An evil spirit raised from hell during the great wars which rocked the first age of the earth. At least one has survived to the period of our adventure by hiding in the roots of the Misty Mountains, where it was responsible for the destruction of Moria several centuries ago. BARROW DOWNS: A source of dread legends within the Shire. It is a place of ancient burial mounds, and hostile spirits. BLACK RIDER: Ring-wraiths or Nazgul. The Dark Lord's most loyal and trusted servants. The nine Black Riders are forever enslaved to the Ring of Power. BREE: A small town at the edge of the wilds. It has a mixed population of Men and Hobbits. ELROND: Elrond the Half-Elven, lord of Rivendell is an ancient and learned figure who has dwelt in Middle Earth since time immemorial. His wisdom is without question. GANDALF: Gandalf the Grey is the second most powerful Wizard in Middle Earth. He is an old friend of Bilbo and Frodo. HOLLIN: An ancient, long vanished kingdom of the Elves. MORIA: A deep labyrinth beneath the Misty Mountains. Called in the Dwarven tongue "Khazad-Dum", Moria was once the most fabled and powerful of the Dwarven kingdoms of Middle Earth. It was here that mithril silver was mined, the basic material of magical swords, runes and armour. The inhabitants were mostly slain by the BALROG many centuries ago, and now orcs infest its dark halls. RADAGAST: Radagast the Brown is a Wizard learned in ancient lore. Radagast has many special skills and responsibilities concerning beasts and birds. RIVENDELL: The dwelling of the Elrond the Half Elven, called the last homely house east of the sea. Rivendell is not a fortress, nor a city, but a place of learning, healing and merriment. The wisdom of the ages can be found within its walls. SARUMAN: Saruman the White is the chief of the order of wizards, and the most accomplished of Middle Earth's wizards. He presides over the White Council, the defence committee of the forces of good. SAURON: The Dark Lord, Sauron is the embodiment of evil in Middle Earth. Once thought to have been destroyed during the wars against him in the second age, Sauron has risen again, and seeks to recover his Ring of Power, which will give him the ability to vanquish the weakened forces of good, and enslave right thinking people everywhere. SHIRE: The Shire is the area between the Brandywine river and the Tower hills that the Hobbits have made their own. It is a peaceful land of small rivers, gentle woodlands and well tended fields. (14) HINTS ON PLAY The best hints for playing the LORD OF THE RINGS can be gained through reading the books. The only real hints that can be given are these: Be careful. If you race through the game, you will both limit the enjoyment that you get from it, and you will fail to pick up valuable details that might come in use later on in the game. Be smart. Hobbits are neither wise, strong nor magical. If you are going to get anywhere, you will have to use your wits. Don't be scared to try risky actions. If you take no risks, you will find no rewards. In other words, "Be bloody, bold and resolute", and keep a good pair of running shoes handy. (15) ABBREVIATED VOCABULARY We include here a list of actions that will be of general use when playing the LORD OF THE RINGS. Please note that this does not include "magic words", or special verbs used for actions that are only permissible in certain areas at certain times: Finding out what these words are, and how to use them is all part of the fun of the game. MOVEMENTS: DOWN, EAST, NORTH, NORTHEAST, NORTHWEST, SOUTH, SOUTHEAST, SOUTHWEST, UP, WEST These can be abbreviated to the first letters, such as D,E,N,NE, and so on. ACTION VERBS: ATTACK, BREAK, BLOW, BUY, CARRY, CLIMB, CLOSE, CROSS, DRINK, DROP, EAT, EMPTY, EXAMINE, FILL, FOLLOW, GET, GIVE TO, GO THROUGH, HELLO, KILL, KNOCK ON, LIFT, LIGHT, LOCK, OPEN, PAY, PICK UP, PULL, PUT ON, PUT OUT, READ, RUN, SAY TO, SHATTER, SLASH, SLICE, SMASH, SMOKE, STRANGLE, STRIKE, SWIM, TAKE, THANK, THROW, TURN, UNLOCK, UNROLL, WAIT, WEAR. SPECIAL VERBS: BECOME, HELP, INVENTORY, LOAD, LOOK, PRINT, NOPRINT, QUIT, SAVE, SCORE. Not all words are available in each part, if you cannot use a word in one part, you may still be able to use it in another part.

LORD OF THE RINGS ──────── GAME ONE ──────── Introduction Welcome! You are about to enter one of the most famous and well loved fantasy worlds in the annals of fantasy fiction: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Melbourne House, in association with the Tolkien estate, are proud to present the Lord of the Rings adventure game. The background to the Lord of the Rings includes some events with which a player of the game The Hobbit will be familiar. This is the first game in a series of three, which deals with the material found in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Subsequent games will deal with the stories covered in the next two volumes in the series, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. In the Lord of the Rings adventure game, you will be able to play the role of one of the four Hobbits: FRODO, SAM, MERRY and PIPPIN. FRODO bears a magic ring of power, a ring which, in the hands of the DARK LORD, could cause the destruction of all that you hold dear. You will need all of the cunning and luck at your disposal to complete your quest and survive. In playing this adventure game, you in effect assume the role of the characters from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world. You must detail out the actions that you will perform, your reactions and movements, and the computer will perform them accordingly. Best of luck my furry-footed friend. The fate of the entire world of Middle Earth rests upon you alone, but don’t let that pressure you . . . Table of Contents Bringing Tolkien to the Computer . . . Page 2 A Background to the Ring Wars . . . Page 3 Getting Started . . . Page 5 Communicating with the Computer . . . Page 6 The Screen Display . . . Page 10 Interacting With The Other Characters . . . Page 11 General Rules in Middle Earth . . . Page 13 Special Adventure Commands . . . Page 16 Playing With Friends . . . Page 18 The Second Adventure . . . Page 19 Beginner’s Introduction . . . Page 20 Creatures of Middle Earth . . . Page 21 Hints On Play . . . Page 24 An Abbreviated Vocabulary . . . Page 25 Credits . . . Page 26 1 Bringing Tolkien to the Computer In producing the computer game Lord of the Rings, it has been necessary to expand beyond the scope of the original book of The Fellowship of the Ring. If it was not possible for the player to make alternate decisions to those that were made in the books, or indeed even tread paths that the characters in Professor Tolkien’s novels never walked, then there would be little point in playing the game: You could simply read the books and save yourself a great deal of trouble. As it is, the player in Lord of the Rings will be faced with situations with which he will be entirely unfamiliar, even if he is deeply versed in Tolkien’s world, but which are totally in keeping with the fantasy world created by Tolkien. Even familiar situations can prove to be dangerous and challenging. Fans of the books might be in for a nasty surprise if they confidently plough into the depths of dire (but expected) encounters, secure in the knowledge that simply knowing the books is enough to ensure easy victory. To those unfamiliar with Professor Tolkien’s works, the game is readily playable. At no point of the game is a knowledge of the books assumed, although it is recommended that the book should be read, if for no other purpose than to become more familiar with the world of Middle Earth and its inhabitants. For those new to Tolkien’s material, computer adventures, or who just simply want to experience the game mechanics under gentler conditions, there is a beginner’s game included, which should prove useful in learning the game. So, play well, have fun, and if the wargs get you, just remember: you knew the job was dangerous when you took it! 2 A Background to the Ring Wars Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark lord on his dark throne In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them In the land of Mordor, where the Shadows lie. In the middle years of the second age of Middle Earth, Sauron the Great, master of the evil realm of Mordor, beguiled the great Elven smith Celebrimor of Eregion to teach him the craft of making rings of power. Three rings were made to grant the Elf lords their powers of wisdom and magic. Then Sauron and Celebrimor laboured together to create the seven and the nine, which were gifted to the great lords of Middle Earth. Unknown to Celebrimor, Sauron had betrayed him. Deep within the bowels of Mount Doom, he constructed the ruling ring, a ring which could enslave the wearers of the other rings to him forever. So powerful was the spell that Sauron bound much of his power into it, forever linking his fate with that of the ring. When Celebrimor realised that Sauron had betrayed him, he hid the three elven rings from him. The Dwarven rings were mostly destroyed by dragons over the ages, but their wearers were even so brought into an all consuming greed and folly before they fell. The nine mortal lords faded and became the nine ring-wraiths, forever enslaved to Sauron’s will. A bitter war took place, with the prize being the fate of Middle Earth. At last Sauron was overthrown, and the ring was cut from his finger by the Human King Isuldur. Isuldur was in turn slain by orcs in an ambush many years later, the ring slipping from his finger as he tried to swim across a river to safety. Several millenia later, the ring was plucked from the river by Degol, who was immediately attacked by Gollum, a skulking character, who saw the ring and coveted it. Gollum then fled with his prize to the heart of the Misty Mountains, where he hid himself in the darkness. The ring sustained his life force for many dark centuries before it sensed its master stirring once again. Many years ago, Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, found the ring in a Goblin’s den, where it lay after falling from Gollum’s finger. After many adventures, Bilbo returned at last to his home in the Shire. 3 Much of this material is covered in the book The Hobbit, and you can enjoy playing this as an adventure game from Melbourne House. ● ● ● ● ● The ring has now passed on to Frodo Baggins, Bilbo Baggins’ heir, Bilbo has long since retired and moved to Rivendell. In recent times, Gandalf the wizard (an old and trusted friend) has told you of the ring’s dark history. The servants of the enemy even now are seeking the ring, and the hobbit “Baggins” that possesses it. Gandalf tells you to take the ring to Rivendell, far to the east, and there to seek Elrond, who will advise you on what to do with the now dangerous treasure. As the enemy are watching the likely roads for you, he advises you to travel by circuitous routes, and to adopt a pseudonym for the time being. To aid you in your quest, you have three companions: MERRY, SAM and PIPPIN, all of whom are hobbits. Sam and Pippin start the game with Frodo at Bag End, Frodo’s comfortable home in Hobbiton. Merry awaits the party at the house in Crickhollow to the east of Hobbiton by the western bank of the Brandywine river. A quality inherent in the ring is that it makes the wearer invisible to all but the most powerful of creatures. Gandalf has warned you not to make use of the ring yourself, lest you also fade and become a ring-wraith. Gandalf will aid you as much as he can, but he has many tasks to perform to make the passage to Rivendell as safe as possible for you. For all intents and purposes, you are on your own. 4 Getting Started The Lord of the Rings adventure comes in two parts — each containing a full sized adventure — as well as a beginner’s level version of the first adventure. If you are not familiar with adventure games, or have difficulty with the adventure, it is recommended that you start with the beginner’s level adventure. There is more information in the section on the beginner’s adventure on what additional facilities are available in this game, including extensive HELP messages. Once the game has been loaded, you will find you are being asked the question WHICH HOBBIT CHARACTERS DO YOU WISH TO PLAY: Frodo, Merry, Pippin or Sam? If you are playing this adventure for the first time, it is recommended that you choose to play only the role of Frodo. It is possible, as is explained later in this booklet, to choose for you and your friends to play even all four characters. If you select none, the computer will assume you wish to play the role of Frodo. Note that if you choose more than one character, the first name given is the character you start off with. Once you have selected your character, you must then instruct him on what you would like to do. 5 Communicating with the Computer The Lord of the Rings program includes a very sophisticated program, INGLISH, which can understand your instructions in everyday language. More details are given later in this booklet about the power of INGLISH, but the important thing is that you can enter your commands freely and the computer will then react according to your requests. The computer program Lord of the Rings has a very large vocabulary, so you should not have any difficulty in expressing your ideas and commands. Your commands will usually take the form of actions, and at the back of this booklet you will find an abbreviated list of the actions you can carry out. The power of INGLISH together with the very large vocabulary of over 800 words makes this one of the easiest and friendliest adventure games ever published on micro-computers. Moreover, if the computer is not sure of something that you mean, or if you are ambiguous in any way, it will ask you for clarification. The computer is also your source of information on what is happening to you, where you are and the characters around you. Some things may not be readily apparent to you, and thus can prove dangerous to the unwary player. Performing Actions INGLISH is one of the most sophisticated language-recognition programs ever developed for micro-computers. It allows you to communicate with the program in a language and structure that is familiar to you. The rules of INGLISH are simple. The main thing to keep in mind is that each instruction must be in the form of “verb-then-noun”, where the noun (or pronoun) can also be implied. Each sentence must have a verb. The following examples in this instruction booklet are a guide to the way INGLISH sentences can be constructed. Note however that the specific examples shown may not be valid in this adventure. 6 When an action does not directly concern any object, only a verb is necessary, i.e. WAIT RUN This is also the case if you simply wish to travel in some direction, i.e. SOUTH EAST If the action concerns an object or a person, this must be identified by a noun, English grammar applies, and the order of the different parts of the sentences is usually not critical. i.e. WEAR THE RING GO THROUGH THE DOOR DROP THE ROPE ONTO THE TABLE Adjectives that describe nouns must come before the noun. If it sounds right in English, it is probably valid in INGLISH, i.e. THROW THE HEAVY AXE AT THE HORRIBLE ORC LIGHT THE WOODEN PIPE WITH THE MATCH Terms used when making an instruction to the computer must be free from ambiguity. If there were two doors in a room, one red and one green, and you were to say GO THROUGH THE DOOR then the computer is placed in a quandary as to which door to put you through. In such situations, the program will put you through the first door it finds, which may not be the direction you intended. In case, it would be better to specify exactly what you mean GO THROUGH THE GREEN DOOR Prepositions The meaning of many verbs can be altered by the use of prepositions, such as ON, OFF, ONTO, and so on. Examples of INGLISH sentences using prepositions are: ATTACK WITH THE SWORD PICK UP THE RING Prepositions in INGLISH usually go before the noun, but in some cases it sounds more natural to have them after the noun, such as TURN THE LIGHT ON PICK THE GOLD UP Prepositions can also be used to specify the position of an object, or where you which an action to be performed, such as PUT THE GOLD INTO THE BAG TAKE THE PIPE FROM THE BOX 7 Use of “AND” You can use the word AND in all its normal meaning in INGLISH. This means, among other things, that you can enter more than one sentence or perform more than one action at a time. TAKE THE LAMP AND THE MATCH FROM THE CUPBOARD DROP THE SHORT AND THE LONG SWORDS TAKE THE GOLD AND RUN Punctuation Sentences can be separated by the use of punctuation. You can use commas and full stops as you normally would. The only limitation the program places on your commands is that your command should not be more than 128 characters long. Conversing With Other Characters The Lord of the Rings adventure also allows you to talk and converse with the characters you meet on your journey. On encountering a person on your journey, you may wish to speak to them. The general form is SAY TO (name) “(sentence)” i.e. SAY TO GANDALF “HELLO” This is usually sufficient to draw most characters into conversation. You can ask the characters within earshot to do specific commands that are of use to you, such as: SAY TO TOM “KILL THE ORC WITH THE SWORD” SAY TO PIPPIN “TAKE THE GOLD FROM THE ORC” It is not necessary to use the full form of SAY TO (name). An abbreviation is allowed whereby you can specify whom you wish to speak to, followed by the message, such as PIPPIN “GIVE THE GOLD TO ME” Of course, because all the other characters have an independence of their own, there is no guarantee that they will do what you ask of them. Their decision will be based on a number of factors, including their allegiance to you, what they are currently doing, and so on. Some characters that you encounter will have messages for you that they will deliver only when you identify yourself, or ask them certain questions. 8 In order to solve the Lord of the Rings adventure, it will be necessary for you to become familiar with the SAY TO command. This is because some of the problems you face can only be solved by cooperating with the other members of the party. Each character also has his own limitations, such as strength and so on. Be warned that sometimes a certain character will be required in order to succeed with a certain action. Thus it will be necessary to become familiar with the varied talents of your party members. Abbreviation of Commands The abbreviation of your commands is quite permissible. For instance, if you wish to attack a green knight, you might say; KILL GREEN WITH SWORD The computer will see that “Green” corresponds with the green knight. Note also that the definite article “THE” can be omitted at will. In most circumstances, the computer will understand exactly what you mean. Unfortunately, if the Knight stood before a green door, then “green” no longer serves to identify the Knight only, in which case you could write: KILL KNIGHT WITH SWORD Multiple entries are easily effected simply by placing a comma between your instructions: i.e. OPEN BOX, TAKE AXE, GIVE AXE TO SAM. Each of the commands in the sentence will be dealt with by the computer in order. 9 The Screen Display On your screen will appear (in normal script), the adventure description — the text which describes your surroundings, and the happenings around you. Upon entering a new location, the computer will give you a full description of the area, and the objects that are in plain sight. You will be given a list of the exits that you can currently see. The second time that you enter a location, the computer will only give you a brief description of where you are. If you wish to obtain a more complete description, you can simply enter the command LOOK, and the computer will repeat the lengthy text. Below the adventure script, an arrow indicates your “instruction window”; the space in which you will type in the actions that you wish your characters to perform. This will appear on the screen in capital letters. Once you have typed in your commands and hit the “RETURN/ENTER” key, the computer will either acknowledge your action, or inform you that it does not understand you for some reason. Once the computer has acknowledged an entry, it will print any new text which results from your actions, and then indicate that it is ready to receive a new instruction. 10 Interacting With The Other Characters The Lord of the Rings adventure requires that you lead a group of hobbits through various situations. As a result, it is sometimes necessary to tell other characters, including members of your own group, what you would like them to do. Since you will often be in a group of people, it is comforting to know that it is not necessary to instruct each and every character on what it should be doing at every moment. Most will follow your lead without any prompting on your behalf. It is also possible to instruct characters to perform actions that will exclude the rest of the party, i.e. SAY TO SAM “CLIMB TREE” This instruction will not result in a massed exodus by all members of your party within earshot to the tree tops. Sam will climb the tree by himself. If you leave and Sam can still see you, he will follow you, and perhaps eventually catch up with you. Any character can simply be spoken to, and asked to perform an action, i.e. SAY TO PIPPIN “GIVE ROPE TO FRODO” Members for your party and friends are more likely to respond favourably than the strangers and followers of Sauron. But even friends may say no from time to time. As well as following your lead, most members of your party will come to your defence if you are attacked by any enemies. There is no cosmic law which stops you from ruthlessly attacking a member of your own party. Do not be too surprised however if the other members of the party should be a little cooler towards you afterwards. You can talk to yourself, but the result is not going to be very impressive. Suicide is quite possible, as long as you name the character as in any other attack, i.e. KILL FRODO WITH AXE In all probability, the result will be something like: “you attack you with the axe. With one well placed blow you split your skull.” If you find this attractive, then by all means, be my guest . . . 11 The Lord of the Rings allows you another method of instruction the hobbits in your party on what to do. This is done by taking over their character for the time being, using the BECOME command. (It is recommended that you should be familiar with the adventure from a single player point of view before tackling the multi-character game.) i.e. BECOME PIPPIN (Note that you can only become one of the four hobbit characters you have selected at the beginning of the game. For example, if you enter FRODO, you can only become FRODO. If you enter FRODO, SAM, MERRY, then you cannot become PIPPIN. More information about changing characters is given later in this instruction booklet.) This technique can be used whenever the player wishes to detail out complex actions to a character, or wishes to react to ongoing situations that will confront the character. This is a useful means of conducting operations without endangering the ring, or for controlling the party if you wish the Hobbits to split up and go separate ways. 12 General Rules in Middle Earth General • A map of the immediate area of “The Shire” can be found at the start of chapter one of The Fellowship of the Ring, and may prove to be of some help. • A map of the western section of Middle Earth is printed in each book of the Lord of the Rings, in the inside rear cover (map one). • During the adventure, you will encounter many objects. Some are usable as weapons, others are intended as food or drink, still others are used as containers in which to carry other things. Liquids behave as such: They cannot be carried about without a container. You cannot lift too heavy an object, or carry too great a load. • Most containers must be opened in order to reach their contents. Once a container is open you may look into them or take the objects that are held within. Once the objects inside a container have been exposed, they may be used. Some containers may be transparent, allowing you to see their contents without opening the container itself. • Some doors are locked, this means that either the proper key is required to unlock them, or that someone on the other side of the door must open the door for you. Finding Your Way SPECIFYING DIRECTION: There are assumed to be ten possible directions of travel: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, NORTH EAST, SOUTH EAST, NORTH WEST, SOUTH WEST, UP and DOWN. It is possible to abbreviate the words used to describe directions down to a single letter for each word, i.e. NORTH EAST NE Are both valid entries for movement instruction. PASSING THROUGH PORTALS: If you want to go through an entrance, such as a door or window, it is quite possible to say so, i.e. GO THROUGH THE GREEN DOOR 13 FOLLOWING OTHER PEOPLE If a person that you have an interest in leaves an area, you may wish to follow them. For instance, if Strider suddenly said that he was now going to leave the current area, you might decide to FOLLOW STRIDER LIGHT AND DARK In some areas, there will be no natural light. Unless you have the means to create light — such as matches and a candle — you will receive no description of the area that is in darkness. Once a light has been struck, you will be able to see the area in question. If you choose to travel in darkness, you may avoid meeting some unwanted characters. Remember, however, that orcs can see perfectly well in the dark . . . MAPPING It is suggested that you keep a map of your travels to assist you in finding your way. Be warned! Maps cannot be entirely relied upon. Combat Hobbits are poor fighters, but brave. It is not possible to attack any inanimate objects. These must instead be BROKEN. A weapon is required on order to attack any enemy. To attack your opponent, you must tell the computer that you wish to kill the creature with a specific weapon, i.e. KILL WOLF WITH SWORD No matter how well you arm them, be wary of throwing Hobbits into the midst of gory battle. Being furry footed little runts, they have a tendency to die with spectacular suddenness. Persistance in combat is rewarded, but be careful. Most opponents hit back, and an already wounded character is much more susceptible to being killed than a healthy one. Some weapons (like axes) can be thrown at an opponent. This removes the weapon from your character, and drops it into the area in which you stand. If the weapon that you threw was your only armament, then tough luck. 14 CARRYING ITEMS During the course of play, it will become necessary to pick up and carry inanimate objects. Once you have found an item, you need simply take the item in order to pick it up and carry, i.e. TAKE ROPE To check on the equipment that you are already carrying, simply make an inventory of your character, i.e. INVENTORY To rid yourself of an item, you need merely drop it, i.e. DROP ROPE As an alternative, you may give the item to another member of the party, i.e. GIVE ROPE TO SAM In addition to adding weight to your burden, some objects increase your effective size. This can be troublesome if you intend to go through a small door or tunnel, so beware of adopting the pack-rat syndrome. Fatigue, Wounds and Eating All characters are rated for their strength and stamina. During the game these characteristics may suffer from combat, or simple weariness. As a character takes wounds, its strength becomes lower, and its hold on life more tenuous. As time passes, characters become more and more tired as their energy is used up. Highly strenuous activities, such as combat, may exhaust you even more. The best remedy for a lowered strength or stamina is a good meal and some rest. In your travels, you may encounter skilled healers and magical herbs which cure fatigue and damage. Needless to say, these items are rare. Interacting with other Characters There are a variety of characters in Middle Earth that a wandering party might encounter. Some are friends, and some are foes, but many simply ARE. Such characters live lives of their own, travelling about the lands or attending to their own affairs. If a person that you meet does not fall over himself to help you, try being patient. Just say HELLO, or try waiting until he notices you. 15 Special Adventure Commands As well as the extensive INGLISH vocabulary, there are a few commands which are specific to the Lord of the Rings adventure, and which are used to help you control the game. The following is a list of these special commands: LOOK (can be abbreviated to L): Describes where you are, what you can see, and all possible exits. This command should also be used after you take over the role of another character (using the “become” command) who is at another location. INVENTORY (can be abbreviated to I): Describes all your inventory that you are currently holding or carrying. EXAMINE: Although this is a standard INGLISH word, special mention of it is made here because this command is very useful in trying to obtain more information about your surroundings in Middle Earth. Examining objects often reveals information about those objects that is not readily apparent from a cursory look. SAVE: This command allows you to save the game for play at a later time. After entering the command, the program will prompt you for your tape or disk for saving the game. The saved game has all details of what is happening throughout Middle Earth, including all the other characters and locations. After you have saved the game, play will continue normally. This command is especially useful before embarking on a dangerous course of action. LOAD: Loads a previously saved game. Once again the program will prompt you for your tape or disk. After loading, play continues from the point where the game was saved. SCORE: Tells you what your percentage is so far. HINT: Gives you hints and suggestions on what to do. This command only applies to the Beginner’s game. PAUSE: Suspends the game until another key is pressed. PRINT: Allows the text of the adventure to be sent to your printer (if connected), as well as to the screen. (PRINT and NOPRINT may not be available in all versions. Check the reference section for your computer at the back of this instruction booklet. 16 QUIT: Stops the game and returns to the beginning. Because of memory limitations the information about Middle Earth at the beginning of the game is not stored in memory, but needs to be loaded in. Following this command, the computer will prompt you for the tape or disk; if the tape is requested, rewind the game tape and place in the cassette recorder in the normal way. 17 Playing with Friends As mentioned briefly previously in this booklet, the Lord of the Rings adventure allows you to control not just one character but up to four of the Hobbit characters. This will enable you to play the game on many different levels, and to play either on your own or with a group of friends. When you choose to play just one character, the computer will take control of the other three characters and ensure that their actions are in keeping with their personalities. It also means that whenever you wish these characters to perform specific actions for you, you will need to instruct them by talking to them, using the SAY TO command. When you play more than one character, the computer will still look after the characters you are not controlling at the moment, or when the entire party move somewhere else, for example. This means that you will need to instruct each character much more carefully than when playing the one player game. The easiest way to play with more than one character is with another friend, each of you controlling one of the Hobbits. In this way you can discuss things and help each other most easily. The command to change from one Hobbit character to another is BECOME (Name) such as BECOME PIPPIN. Note that you can only BECOME one of the Hobbit characters you have specified at the beginning of the game. An alternative to the BECOME command is the I AM command, which works in the same way and has the same effect: I AM PIPPIN Alternately, both commands can be omitted, and just the name of the character you wish to become entered: PIPPIN Note that you should use the LOOK command where the character you become is in a different location from the one you were previously. 18 The Second Adventure As mentioned earlier in this booklet, the Lord of the Rings: Game One adventure comes in two parts. The story and action in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Fellowship of the Ring was just too much to be able to fit into a single adventure game. Each adventure is totally independent, and there is no need to have completed the first adventure before attempting the second, although there would be definite advantages in doing so. Once you have completed the first adventure, the computer will prompt you to save the game at that stage for loading into the second adventure game. By doing so, you will ensure that each member of the party who is with you at the end of the first part will venture with you into the second adventure. As well, many of the objects you carry will be transported to the second adventure as well. You may of course attempt the second adventure without completing the first adventure. This will make your task considerably harder, as you will not have your friends with you to help you and some of the important objects from the first adventure will also be missing. It is however not impossible to solve the second adventure in this way, and advanced adventurers may wish to solve the game in this way. 19 Beginner’s Introduction For any player unfamiliar with adventure games, or simply if you find difficulties in playing the main adventure game, you will find included in the Lord of the Rings a special beginner’s adventure game. This game is closely modelled on part of the main adventure, so you will quickly become familiar with the setting and characters of the main game. All of the commands available in the main game are available in this beginner’s adventure, except for the BECOME command. As it is recommended that you become familiar with the one player game before attempting the multi-character mode, it was not felt suitable to include this in the beginner’s adventure game. Many of the problems have been simplified in this adventure, while others have been removed altogether. This means that solving this beginner’s adventure will in no way detract from your enjoyment of the main adventure. If you find yourself in difficulties at any point an additional command not available in the main adventure can be used. This is the HINT command, and is used without any object: HINT The computer will then make suggestions as to ways to overcome the difficulties you face, starting with hints and suggestions. If these are not sufficient to help you solve the problems, further recourse to the HINT command will usually give you a more detailed hint. 20 Creatures of Western Middle Earth: An Observer’s Guide ELVES: An ancient and noble race of immortal folk. Elves are fair to the eye, and wise beyond human understanding. They are peerless interior decorators. DWARVES: A long lived race of doughty (if short) warrior/craftsmen. Dwarves and Elves harbour a deep and abiding dislike of one another, due to an unfortunate history of mutual competition and mistrust. HOBBITS: A race of cheerful, strong willed folk who chiefly inhabit THE SHIRE. Shorter than Dwarves, and lacking the latter’s over developed musculature, Hobbits are quite nimble and dexterous. Most Hobbits cannot swim (Merry is an exception). Of all the party, PIPPIN is the most agile, SAM the most sturdy, and FRODO the smartest. Sam, being Frodo’s devoted friend and retainer, will always attempt to stay near him. MEN: Many different nations of Men inhabit Middle Earth. Some, such as Rohan and Gondor, are the implacable foes of the Dark Lord. Others, such as Umbar and Hara, aid Sauron with troops, war elephants and gold. ORCS: Orcs (or Goblins, as Hobbits call them) are the soldiery of the Dark Lord. They are powerful, stooped and twisted creatures, with long arms, hairy knuckles and muzzles crammed with far too many teeth. Orcs hate sunlight, except for Uruk-Hai, a new, more powerful breed recently spawned in the pits of Mordor. TROLLS: Trolls are huge, flinty creatures with lumpen minds and brutal instincts who serve the cause of evil. Trolls turn to stone when struck by daylight. In recent years, Olog-Hai (Olog = Troll, Hai = Mk II) have appeared — a wittier, more agile version of the Troll which can withstand sunlight. Observers report that these creatures look similar to enormous, black orcs of unusual ugliness. WARGS AND WOLVES: The wolves of the wildlands are particularly large and ferocious, and are frequently misnamed “Wargs”. Wargs are proper werewolves-phantasms that only assume real (and deadly) shapes after darkness has fallen. Sunlight nullifies their power. WIZARDS: A mysterious race of magic users, who first appeared in Middle Earth several millenia ago. 21 Legends and Common Knowledge For those new to Tolkien’s Middle Earth mythos, we provide the following information on items, people and places that were either legendary, common knowledge, or were known to antiquarians such as Bilbo and Frodo. ANGMAR: “Iron Home”, a long dead evil realm which fell to the armies of the last alliance of Men and Elves many millenia ago. The king of the realm was a victim of the One Ring, and later became the chief of Saurons’ Ring-wraiths. ARNOR: In ancient times, Arnor was the northern most realm of the men of Numenor, which fell before the onslaught of Angmar in the second age of the earth. The ruins which dot the trollshaws, and old sites such as weathertop are all relics of ancient Arnor. BAG-END: The ancestral home of the well to do Hobbit family of BAGGINS (not to be confused with their cousins the Sackville-Bagginses). BALROG: An evil spirit raised from hell during the great wars which rocked the first age of the earth. At least one has survived to the period of our adventure by hiding in the roots of the Misty Mountains, where it was responsible for the destruction of Moria several centuries ago. BARROW DOWNS: A source of dread legends within the Shire. It is a place of ancient burial mounds, and hostile spirits. BLACK RIDER: Ring-wraiths or Nazgul. The Dark Lords’ most loyal and trusted servants. The nine Black Riders are forever enslaved to the Ring of Power. BREE: A small town at the edge of the wilds. It has a mixed population of Men and Hobbits. ELROND: Elrond the Half-Elven, lord of Rivendell is an ancient and learned figure who has dwelt in Middle Earth since time immemorial. His wisdom is without question. GANDALF: Gandalf the Grey is the second most powerful Wizard in Middle Earth. He is an old friend of Bilbo and Frodo. HOLLIN: An ancient, long vanished kingdom of the Elves. MORIA: A deep labyrinth beneath the Misty Mountains. Called in the Dwarven tongue “Khazad-Dum”, Moria was once the most fabled and powerful of the Dwarven kingdoms of Middle Earth. It was here that mithril silver was mined, the basic material of magical swords, runes and armour. The inhabitants were mostly slain by the BALROG many centuries ago, and now orcs infest its dark halls. 22 RADAGAST: Radagast the Brown is a Wizard learned in ancient lore. Radagast has many special skills and responsibilities concerning beasts and birds. RIVENDELL: The dwelling of the Elrond the Half Elven, called the last homely house east of the sea. Rivendell is not a fortress, nor a city, but a place of learning, healing and merriment. The wisdom of the ages can be found within its walls. SARUMAN: Saruman the White is the chief of the order of wizards, and the most accomplished of Middle Earth’s wizards. He presides over the White Council, the defense committee of the forces of good. SAURON: The Dark Lord, Sauron is the embodiment of evil in Middle Earth. Once thought to have been destroyed during the wars against him in the second age, Sauron has risen again, and seeks to recover his Ring of Power, which will give him the ability to vanquish the weakened forces of good, and enslave right thinking people everywhere. SHIRE: The Shire is the area between the Brandywine river and the Tower hills that the Hobbits have made their own. It is a peaceful land of small rivers, gentle woodlands and well tended fields. 23 Hints on Play The best hints for playing the Lord of the Rings can be gained through reading the books. The first book in the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, is supplied with the adventure. The only real hints that can be given are these: Be careful. If you race through the game, you will both limit the enjoyment that you get from it, and you will fail to pick up valuable details that might come in use later on in the game. Be smart. Hobbits are neither wise, strong nor magical. If you are going to get anywhere, you will have to use your wits. Don’t be scared to try risky actions. If you take no risks, you will find no rewards. In other words, “Be bloody, bold and resolute”, and keep a good pair of running shoes handy. 24 An Abbreviated Vocabulary We include here a list of actions that will be of general use when playing the Lord of the Rings. Please note that this does not include “magic words”, or special verbs used for actions that are only permissible in certain areas at certain times: Finding out what these words are, and how to use them is all part of the fun of the game. Movements: DOWN, EAST, NORTH, NORTHEAST, NORTHWEST, SOUTH, SOUTHEAST, SOUTHWEST, UP, WEST These can be abbreviated to the first letters, such as D, E, N, NE, and so on. Action Verbs: ATTACK, BREAK, BLOW, BUY, CARRY, CLIMB, CLOSE, CROSS, DRINK, DROP, EAT, EMPTY, EXAMINE, FILL, FOLLOW, GET, GIVE TO, GO THROUGH, HELLO, KILL, KNOCK ON, LIFT, LIGHT, LOCK, OPEN, PAY, PICK UP, PULL, PUT ON, PUT OUT, READ, RUN, SAY TO, SHATTER, SLASH, SLICE, SMASH, SMOKE, STRANGLE, STRIKE, SWIM, TAKE, THANK, THROW, TURN, UNLOCK, UNROLL, WAIT, WEAR. Special Verbs: BECOME, HINT, INVENTORY, LOAD, LOOK, PRINT, NOPRINT, QUIT, SAVE, SCORE. 25 Credits The Lord of the Rings was a major effort by the programming team at Beam Software. The project was the work of many people and took over 15 months to complete. Program Copyright © 1985 by Beam Software This program is published with the cooperation of the Tolkien Estate and their publishers, George Allen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd. The plot of Lord of the Rings, the characters of the Hobbits, and the other characters from the Lord of the Rings are copyright © George Allen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd 1966, 1974, 1979, 1981. Group leader and chief programmer Philip Mitchell Storyline development Michael O’Rourke Paul Kidd LynC Programming Danny Davis LynC Stephen Taylor Doug Palmer Louis Madon Graphics Greg Holland Russel Comte Script development Geoff Halprin Danny Davis Paul Kidd Richard Woolcock Graham Stretton Paul Mitchell Cover illustration Ian McCausland 26 From the team who brought you the incredible HOBBIT program now comes LORD OF THE RINGS — GAME ONE — based on the first of J.R.R. Tolkien’s brilliant fantasy trilogy FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. Live out your wildest fantasies in the mysterious and enchanted world of Middle Earth — a world of boundless imagination where nothing is certain and anything is possible. You and your fearless band of Hobbits may not be blessed with any super powers or magic, but there are plenty of others who are. Stay close to them because your quest is daunting and your adversaries are ominous and evil. But courage, perseverance and imagination (with a little help from your friends) are enough to destroy even the evil Sauron’s insidious control over your world. Published by Melbourne House (Publishers) Ltd. Castle Yard House, Castle Yard, Richmond TW10 6TF, United Kingdom. 70 Park Street, South Melbourne, 3205, Australia.