Quest Adventure

QUEST ADVENTURE



OBJECT

The object of QUEST ADVENTURE is to find a map, hidden in a

world inhabited by gruesome monsters guarding their territory

and various pieces of treasure. On the way, you must also

locate an ancient scroll which will provide you with a valuable

clue.



CHARACTERS

You may play the role of one of five characters, each with its

own advantages and disadvantages. Each character has five

attributes which vary throughout the game. These are:

Strength

Luck

Dexterity

Constitution

Charm



The Spectrum determines the initial value of each attribute by

rolling three imaginary dice and adding the results. The machine

also holds a number, known as the Combat Adds, which is used

when fighting. This is calculated by adding one point for each

point by which each of the first four attributes exceeds 12, and

deducting one for each point by which each attribute is less

than 9.



Should any attribute other than charm fall bellow zero, your

character dies and you must start the adventure again.



Each character has a maximum value assigned for each

attribute. These are as follows:



Character Max Luck Dexterity Constit- Charm

strength ution



Wizard 25 25 25 30 30

Cleric 25 20 20 30 30

Rogue 30 20 15 50 20

Fighter 50 20 10 50 10

Simpleton 40 15 10 40 40



COMBAT

When your chosen character engages in combat on your

behalf, you must name a weapon and an opponent. Once you

have done so, the computer remembers them, even if they

cease to exist. Thus you start off by saying, for example,

"fight the hobbit with the sword"

which initiates a round of combat. To initiate the next round

with the same opponent using the same weapon, you may say,

"fight"

If you wish to change weapons to the broadsword for example,

you may say,

"fight with the broadsword"

Similarly you can change opponents by saying,

"fight the dwarf"

For each round of combat, the computer calculates and compares

the combat hits for each side. For the player, the combat hits

are calculated by adding together the combat adds of the

character, the weapon and the total thrown on the number of

dice assigned to the weapon.



The combat hits for your opponent is the sum of his combat

adds and the total thrown on the number of dice assigned to

him. The difference between the combat hits is applied to the

combatant who scores the lower number of combat hits. In the

case of the player, the difference is subtracted from his

constitution, although this may be reduced if a shield is being

carried. In the case of your opponent the number of dice

thrown and the combat adds for the next round are reduced. If

the combat adds fall below zero, your opponent dies.



For example, suppose the hobbit has 3 dice and a combat adds

of 4, whilst your character has his own combat adds of 2 and a

sword with 3 dice and combat adds of 4. In addition, he is

carrying a 3 point shield. His constitution is 4 points.



Suppose the result of all the dice throws is:



Hobbit dice total (3 dice) = 15

Player dice total (3 dice) = 8

Thus the hobbit has 15 (dice total) + 4 (combat adds) @ 19

points. Your character has 8 (dice total) + 4 + 2 (combat adds) =

14 points.



Thus the hobbit wins, and your character has 5 points against

him. However, his shield takes 3 points, so only 2 points are

deducted leaving him with a constitution of 2. He would be well

advised to run away!



Of course, monsters do not wait for you to start fighting! If they

take you by surprise, you get nothing credited for your weapon.

In the above example, had the hobbit attacked first, your

character would score only 3 points to the hobbit's 15. The

character's constitution would fall below zero and hence it

would die.



You can find out how many dice and adds an object or

opponent has by typing 'help'.



e.g. 'help sword'

'help hobbit'



Wizards can use their magic powers in combat, as we shall see

later.



LANGUAGE

A string of up to 32 characters can be typed in at any time when

the flashing cursor appears on the top line of the screen. This

string can consist of one or more commands separated by

'and', '.' or ';'. Each instruction must start with a command. As

soon as the machine loses track of what you are trying to say it

gives up and will not look at any unused commands e.g. if you

type 'get the sword and fight with it'

and there is no sword, the 'fight' clause will be ignored.



Only lower-case characters are recognised.



A list of the main commands is given later. It is not a complete

list - you will need to find the others by experiment.



PLACES AND OBJECTS

The locations and their contents are always the same at the

start of each game. In general you may collect objects and

carry them around or put them down as often as you like. In

most cases, things will stay where you leave them.



You move from place to place by specifying the direction in

which you wish to move. Not all directions are possible in some

places, and sometimes routes are blocked by obstructions

(doors or monsters). you have to remove them.



MAGIC

All the characters can perform a certain amount of wizardry,

although of course the wizard is the most able to do this. If you

want to use a spell, you must first buy the ability to learn it,

which you need do only once. Having done this, you can cast

the spell when required, but each has a minimum required

dexterity, and costs strength points. The strength used to cast

a spell is restored at the rate of one point per minute.



The following spells are available:



1. Magicglow - acts as a lamp for the blink of an eyelid

2. Dooropen - unlocks most (but not all) locked doors

3. Magiczap - hits a monster with points equal to your

dexterity. The monster does not get any hit points.

4. Longlight - turns an oil-less lamp on for three minutes

5. Healme - increases constitution by one point

6. Firebolt - hits a monster with a firebolt of strength

(combat adds + 1 dice)

7. Iceblast - hits a monster with an icesheet of strength

(combat adds + 2 dice)

8. Enchantshield - trebles the number of hits taken by a

shield.

9. Stoneit - turns a monster to stone

10. Zaphim - destroys a monster outright

11. Superstrength - hits monster with sum of attributes +

25

12. Stealer - increases player's constitution by one point

and reduces fighting ability of monster.



The cost, minimum required dexterity and strength of each

spell are as follows:



Spell Cost Min. Dext Strength

(gold pieces) used



Magicglow 2 8 1

Dooropen 2 8 5

Magiczap 2 7 10

Longlight 2 9 7

Healme 3 9 2

Firebolt 3 10 15

Iceblast 3 10 18

Enchantshield 3 15 20

Stoneit 4 20 20

Zaphim 4 16 25

Superstrength 4 20 20

Stealer 4 20 5



Each character can learn a subset of the full repertoire of

spells:



Wizard - All spells

Cleric - All except stoneit, zaphim,

superstrength and stealer

Rogue - Magicglow, healme,

dooropen

Fighter - Magicglow, healme

Simpleton - Magicglow, dooropen





SUPPLIES

There are a small number of objects which you can buy for cash

at any time. These are:-

a rapier 5 gold pieces

a shield 5 gold pieces

bread 1 gold piece

a stake 5 gold pieces

a maze 9 gold pieces



SAVINGS GAME

Games can be saved at any point simply by typing 'save'. The

machine prompts you as required. You can resume a saved

game by typing 'load'. Note that you should not press the

SPACE key whilst the tape recorder is being used.



COMMANDS

The main commands are as follows:-



north (or n) drop look (or l)

south (or s) eat status

east (or e) light inventory (or inve or i)

west (or w) buy ready

up (or u) fight load

down (or d) quit save

leave score copy (enable printer

output)

go help nocopy (disable printer

output)

open hint spells

get cast wait (suspend until a

key is pressed)



HINTS

To get you started, there is a lamp in the hut. You will be able to

see better with it switched on.



Bear in mind that most of the creatures you will meet are

distinctly unfriendly, although there are a few dwarves who will

give you useful information from time to time. Above all,

remember that things are not always as they seem!







SALES OFFICE

60A, St. Mary's Street, Wallingford,

Oxfordshire OX10 OEL.

Telephone: (0491) 36307.



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Re-edited Juan F. Ramirez's work to fix typographical and minor errors

by Frode Tennebø, 20090108.