This program was written in THINK Pascal, and as such, may include libraries copyright by Symantec Corporation. All other portions of this program and associated data files are Copyright © 1988, 1989, 1992 by Glenn Andreas.
Terms of the copyright (since some people had problems understanding this before):
This program is free for coping & distribution. You don't own me a cent for it.
You may not sell or otherwise charge for this program and associated data files, except as stated below:
• Shareware Authors, Inc. has exclusive rights for distribution via CD-ROM or any other high capacity meduim.
• If you are an individual, you may give copies to everyone you know, but you may not charge for it. You may also upload it to other BBS that do not have it (this includes anonymous ftp archives). You may not submit it to a for-profit organization for distribution.
• If you are a non-profit organization or user group, you may include it on 800k or 1.4mb disks of your software that you sell to either recoup copying costs or as a fund raiser, or give away.
• You may electronically distribute this all you want. This includes BBS that charge for connection time.
• If you are a for-profit organization, you may not distribute this in any way. This includes (but is not limited to) organizations such as Educorp.
All copies must retain this copyright notice. When you make a copy, include all the files that you got when you got your copy.
All other rights worldwide are retained by the author.
Welcome to Theldrow
Theldrow is a world of adventure and magic. Unlike many public domain games of this genre, you don't just wander around, kill things, and then go down to the next level - for me at least, this gets boring fast. Then there's games like Wizardry. Nice, but this is a Mac - we want graphics - not just simple lines! (Might & Magic was better, but too modal in many places, and there was no real perspective in the pictures - doors seemed to get smaller as they got closer!)
So, after playing around with different ideas, I came up with this one. Play with this one, see what you think. I will be adding new scenarios and features to the game - all allowing you to keep your character that you've built up - and building up a character can take a while! I may even polish up the development system and release that. So, send me ideas and suggestion.
My Address:
Not Today Bots!
(His old contacts are in the game, but you can find his current info at gandreas.com)
Your character has six characteristics: strength, for fighting; intelligence, for magic spells; wisdom, for cleric spells; dexterity, for thieving and to a lesser extent, fighting; constitution, which mainly determines how much abuse you can withstand; and charisma, which helps haggle down prices with merchants. All characteristics are inter-related in determining your health, fatigue, and power.
You change these numbers by clicking on the + and - buttons next to them. On the bottom is how many character building points you have left. Getting a higher stat costs more than lower ones, so play around for a while to design just the character you want. Don't worry if you don't use all your points, the left-overs are turned into gold when you start playing.
You also choose the god that you worship in the beginning. This may change later in the game. See the section "Gods" for more details.
Finally, if you want to be left-handed, check the left-handed box. This will make your left hand your dominant hand, which is important for how you arm yourself and when casting certain spells.
Your inventory window is where you will access all of your stuff. There are places for 12 item, as well as your armor and whatever you may have in your hands at the moment. To rearrange things, just drag the icon from one spot to another. For example, if you want to use a sword, drag it to the appropriate hand. If something is already there, it will be replaced.
If you simply click on something (and not move it) this means that you are trying to use it. Some things, such as weapons, must be in your hand for you to use. Other things can be used wherever they are. A special note about rings: to use a ring, drag it to you hand, and then click on it again. You will now see the icon of the hand, but instead of being empty, it will have a ring on. Clicking on this be-ringed icon will remove the ring. This also means that you can only have on at most two rings - one on the left and the other on the right hand.
In this window is also bars indicating your health, fatigue, power, and load. You want to keep these things as far to the right as possible at all times. Combat will often lower these, and resting will raise them back up again. Casting magic spells will also lower power. Your load will go up and down as you pick up and drop things, or spent money. It will also fluctuate with your fatigue, since if you are tired, you can not carry as much. If it goes all the way to the left, you can't pick up any goodies you might happen to find - and remember while it is nice and secure to wrap yourself up in plate mail, that stuff is much heavier than a simple leather jerkin (almost 6 times as much)!
You will also notice that in the corner of the window is your holy symbol. This symbol will be different, depending on what deity you choose when you create your character. You may later find temples for other gods, and you can change your religion then, but sometimes at a cost. See the section on "Gods" for more information.
You move around in the world by clicking in the "View" window. If you have this window active, you will notice that the cursor will change shape, allowing you to turn left or right, go straight, up or down. For the most part, simply by looking at what the view window show will tell you where you can move and how. Be careful, though.
You can also use keys to move around. They are:
U - Use Left Hand Item
O - Use Right Hand Item
J - Turn Left
L - Turn Right
K - Move Forward
I - Go Up
, - Go Down
(these are stored in MENU #200, for those that want to change them. Note: due to a minor problem with Suitcase using command-K, I had to put this menu onto the menu bar. If you don't use Suitcase, or have changed the command key, you can get rid of this menu from the menu bar using ResEdit as follows:
Open MBAR #128 Resource
Remove menu #200 from the list
Create a new MBAR resource #129
Put menu #200 into that list (it will be the only
thing in the list)
Close and Save Theldrow.
You may not distribute this modified version in any manner)
It may be a good idea to map out where you are on some graph paper - especially if you enter twisty and confusing caves!
These spells are all cast using your own personal power, which is initially based on your beginning stats. This power goes down by casting spells, and up by sleeping, or a potion of power. You know how to cast any spell from the very beginning, but you often don't either have the power, or you don't have the experience required to cast it correctly. Some spells also require special material components to be able to cast them.
Read Magic
This spell will let you find out the contents of a scroll without having to use it. Make sure you hold the scroll in your dominant hand, or it won't work.
Detect Magic
This spell will determine if armor or weapons are magic. You must hold the item in your dominant hand. It only tells you if the item is magic, not if it is good magic or bad, however. If the item is magical, the item will have a '+' after the name there after.
Sleep
This spell will put your opponents to sleep. They will wake up if you attack them, or they can wake up on their own. This spell requires Lotus Petals to cast
Levitate
This spell will help protect you from potential deadly pits that are found in your adventuring. Once cast, it will remain latent until needed, and at the instant that the floor opens up underneath you, it will activate, leaving you floating in mid-air, safe. This spell requires a Griffin Feather to cast. If you cast more that one of these spells, they can build up, protecting you from several pits (although there is a chance of the second negating the first, there is a better chance that they will pile up even better than you expected).
Knock
This spell, provided it works, will open most locked doors.
Magic Missile
This spell shoots out a small magically ball of energy out of your finger tips, hitting your current target. It will do more damage the more powerful you are, but some creatures are immune to magic - if they shake off the effect of your spell, you'll know why!
Charm
This spell causes people to like you more. You can cast it in a shop, for example, when you aren't interacting with the shopkeeper. When you next talk to him, he should give you better deals. You can use this on other people you happen to run into as well. This spell requires a Crystal Prism to cast.
Scare
This spell send fear into the hearts of your opponents, causing them to avoid attacking you unless absolutely needed, at which time they attack at a disadvantage. This spell requires a bone of an Undead creature to cast.
Fireball
This spell shoots out a magically ball of fire that engulves all of your opponents. Some creatures are immune to magic, and other are immune to damage by fire.
Lightning Bolt
This spell shoots a lightning bolt from your fingertips to your current target. If it is not immune to magic or electricity, and it doesn't duck out of the way, it will take substantial damage.
Web
This spell entagles the immediate area around your current target with silken webs, entangling them. This spell requires the glands of a giant spider to cast.
Haste
This spell lets you move twice as fast. This spell can be repeatedly applied, making you a human dervish.
Cone of Cold
This spell sends for a cone of frost, centered around your current target. This cause a great deal of damage.
Magic Chest
This spell summons up a special magical container, where you can place your valuables. It can be summoned up when ever you can have complete concentration (i.e., when you aren't in combat, dealing with a shopkeeper, etc...), provided you have the power. Items in the magic chest don't count as part of your load, but are as safe as if you had them in your inventory.
Cloudkill
This spell sends out a cloud of poisonous vapors that engulves your opponents. So long as they aren't immune to magic or poison (or don't need to breathe) this will either kill them outright or severely hurt them.
Hold
This spell prevents a your current target from moving, including fighting. It lasts until they break free.
Beserker Rage
This spell turns you into a human killing machine. You attack better, take less damage, and do more damage when you hit.
Nullify
This spell will cancel special abilities of you current target. This includes preventing them from casting spell, summoning other creatures, posioning you, etc…
Destroy
This spell will totally destroy any creature not immune to magic
The Void
This is the most dangerous spell a mage knows, but it is dangerous for the caster! This spell opens a channel between you and the Void beyond the Outer Sphere. Assuming you survive the encounter, a wide variety of things can happen, all of which can effect you permanently.
Cleric spells are different from magic spells. Where the latter are cast using personal power, these are cast by the power of your deity. You are given a quota of spells as various powers that you can cast, and once cast, unless your deity is in a kindly mood, you can not cast more. You will have spend a night of prayer and devotion to regain the favor of your deity, which effectively means that you have to find a nice place to sleep, such as an inn.
Cleric spells come in five different levels, those being: Novitiate, Initiate, Acolyte, Heirophant, and Priest. If you look at your holy symbol in the player window, you can tell roughly how many spells you have left to cast by length of the radiating lines from the symbol, with different lines attuned to different levels of spells.
Some cleric spells require material components, much like magic spells.
-----Novitiate Level Spells-----
Turn Undead
This spell invokes the divine powers of your deity to damage, if not destroy, undead creatures, sending them back to death, where they belong. The more powerful you are with regards to the opponents, the better this spell works. This spell also works for all undead in your opponents, not just the current target.
Prayer
This spell invokes the power of your deity to make you harder to be hit.
Cure Light Wounds
This spell cures light wounds.
Meditate
This spell lets you reflect on the nature of your being. It will let you find out how good of a fighter (relatively) you are, as well as your magical powers. It does this by telling you that you have the fighting (or magic) skills of some title that a fighter (magician) would have. These titles, (in order of weakest to strongest) are, for the fighter: Novice, Guardsman, Man-at-Arms, Veteran, Warrior, Guardian, Swordsman, Hero, Swashbuckler, Champion, Weapons Master, and Lord; for magic: Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Conjurer, Magician, Enchanter, Warlock, Sorceror, Necromancer, Wizard, Mage, and Arch-Mage. It will also let you know what level cleric spells you are capable of casting, as well.
Detect Trap
This spell mimics your "Find/Remove Traps" ability, but this one always detects the trap, but it does nothing about removing them. You just simply know that there is a trap here, but you have no idea about where the mechanism is, etc…
Comprehension
This spell lets you translate and restore old parchments, so you can read them completely at a later time. This spell requires a Blue Sapphire to cast.
-----Initiate Level Spells-----
Identify
This spell uses the power of your deity to identify special properties of what you are holding in your dominant hand, similar in many respects to the magic spell "Detect Magic". However, this works with rings and potions, and it can not distinguish between cursed rings and non-cursed rings that effect similar abilities.
Blessing
This spell is similar to Prayer, but instead of making you harder to hit, it causes blows that hit not to cause as much damage.
Cure Serious Wounds
This spell cures more damage than Cure Light Wounds, but otherwise they are the same.
Augury
This spell will let you find out some information about your current target. You quickly find out how it compares to you in total health, fighting ability, etc…
Power
This spell will let you translate the power that you have been given by your deity to cast a spell into your personal power that you use to cast magical spells.
-----Acolyte Level Spells-----
Remove Curse
Every once and a while, you find a ring that you can not remove from you hand. This is because it is cursed - and is causing you harm in some manner as long as you are wearing it. You need this spell to remove the ring. If you have a cursed ring on both hands, it removes the ring on your dominant hand first.
Neutralize Poison
This spell will nullify any poison that you have in your system. This does not protect you against any future ingestions, however.
Sanctuary
This spell will wrap you in the protective aura of your deity. You enter a "cocoon" in Godshome where you get the equivalence of a days rest, complete with the restoration of your spells. This spell requires a White Agate to cast.
Cure Disease
Sometimes you will fight creatures with no concept of sanitation, an they can inflict diseases on you, which leave you feeling run down. You can either spend lots of time sleeping in a nice safe place, or you can cast this spell for a complete recovery.
-----Heirophant Level Spells-----
Heal
This spell attempts to heal all damage done to you.
Word of Recall
This is an emergency exit spell. If you are in a completely hopeless situation, this spell (if it works) will teleport you back to the spot you started the game at. Powerful characters can also use this spell when they are too lazy to walk back.
Exorcise
This spell works similar to the Novitiate spell "Turn Undead," but is much more effective.
-----Priest Level Spells-----
Divine Intervention
This spell has you calling on the direct intervention of your deity to get you out of a tight spot. It will instantly destroy all your opponents, provided that you have been pious enough. And the Gods know everything you do…
Improvement
This spell is similar to the magic spell "The Void", but it has none of the risk that that spell does. Unfortunately, it requires you to sacrifice a black diamond to cast the spell.
This menu lists all of the material components that you might need in casting a spell, as well as how many of them you have. If before the item name is a '~' then you have none of them, and if it is a '+', then you have more than 9 of them. Selecting one of the items will tell you how many you have, as well as showing you a picture of it.
This menu has a list of other things that you can do.
Pick Lock
If you find a locked door, you can try picking the lock. This may work, but if it doesn't, wait until you are more experienced to try it again. There are other ways to get past a locked door anyway.
Detect Traps
Some room and chests have special and strange traps in them that are set off when you move or open a chest. This will allow you to see if you can detect such traps, and if you do, you can then try to remove them. Note that if you fail, you will be hurt (since you set it off on purpose). You might be better off just going on, and hoping that you can react quick enough to get out the way of the trap, if this is possible. Then again, traps don't always go off like they are suppose to…
Pilfer
This will let you try to shoplift from some poor shopkeeper. Note that if you get caught in the act, the shopkeeper will be quite upset, and you will not be welcome back into the shop (although he may be in a good mood at the time, and let you in anyway - but you won't be getting any good deals).
Search Area
This lets you search the immediate area for a secret door or passage. If there is one, and you find it, it will not be shown on the screen (since it is still concealed), but you will be able to go in that direction anyway. From then on, if you search there again, you will always find the same door.
Bash Door
If you can't pick a locked door, and you don't want to waste your magic power on it, you can always force it open. The only problem with this is that you often end up hurting yourself a bit, but sooner or later, you should be able to get the door open.
There are a wide variety of items that you can find in Theldrow, be it in a shop or in a dungeon. For those of you not familiar with what certain things are, below is a simple list of some of the more common things.
Armor
There are five common types of armor. These are, ordered from the least amount of protection offered to the most: Leather, Ringmail, Scalemail, Chainmail, and Platemail. This also reflects their prices and (usually) their weights.
There are also two different shields, normal and large. The large, of course, provides more protection.
Weapons
There are ten different basic weapons. By damage inflicted, they are: Dagger, Club, Short Sword, Quarterstaff, Mace, Broad Sword, Axe, Long Sword, Pole Arm, and Great Sword. You can also do some damage with your bare hands. This also roughly is the list of fastest to slowest weapons. So, fast weapons do little damage, and heavy weapons are slow to use.
Magic Items
There are a wide variety of magically items that can also be found. These include wands (which have effects similar to spells), scrolls (which have actual spells on them), rings (of various sorts, including ones that are cursed and you are unable to remove), and potions. There are other items as well, but they are left up for you to discover.
There are a large number of deities that exert their influence on the world of Theldrow, but based on your character's background, you are only exposed to a few of these, and initially you can only pick from three, though you may be able to change your patron deity later. Below is a quick list of some of the dieties, including what their holy symbol looks like, basic ethos, as well as rival and friendly dieties. There are many more deities than this, but this is a quick introduction to six of them. For more information, see the Teach Text file "Mythology of Theldrow".
Berabaku - God of Light
Symbol: Black Cross
Allies: Ipeke, Gefga
Rivals: Waban
Berabaku is the force of all that is good and right, but often taken to an extreme. He is not very tolerant of any who believe exactly as he does, but is rarely beligerent. His followers have a very large and highly structured church, centered in the city of Ceth.
Ipeke - Goddess of the Wind
Symbol: Anhk
Allies: Berabaku
Rivals: Suzes
Ipeke is the goddess of wind and weather, but not storms. She is believes that goodness is more important than anything else.
Suzes - Goddess of Lightning and Music
Symbol: Lyre
Allies: Waban
Rivals: Ipeke
Suzes is the the goddess of lightning, and as such, often puts here in direct conflict with Ipeke. She is also one of the few deities that gets along with Waban (as witnessed by lightning strikes starting fires).
Gefga - Goddess of Organized Soldiers
Symbol: Omega
Allies: Berabaku
Rivals: Waban
Gefga is the goddes of the organized militia, and as such, is quite popular, especially in the Great Empire. She and Waban greatly detest each other. She will lends her support to Berabaku if he asks her, though he rarely does.
Lim - God of Balance and Judgement
Symbol: Scales
Allies: none
Rivals: none
Lim is the god of the balance. He believes that every believe and behavior has its place, so long as no one belief becomes too strong. He has no real allies or rivals (though he isn't extremely fond of Waban, and there is a minor deity that he clashes with occasionally), holding everyone equal. If any force or power becomes too great, he would ally himself with the underdog, but this is extremely rare. Because of his neutrality, he is often called upon to settle disputes between the gods.
Waban - God of Mischief and Fire
Symbol: Chaos Arrows
Allies: Suzes
Rivals: Gefga, Berabaku
Waban has no churh, and no heirarchy of worshippers, just individuals. He is a favorite god of rogues and theives. While his actions and beliefs are not actually evil, they are not really good either. He has no love for Berabaku or Gefga (due to a certain trick that once got out of hand), or many of the other deities, though he is relatively friendly with Suzes (though he finds her flightly at times).
It sure has been a while since this all got started. And there is some good news and some bad news regarding future versions. First the bad news. Due to a number of reasons, this is probably the last version of Theldrow. No future scenarios, no future versions, no game editor (one of the only reasons I've done a 2.3 is because of "fan support", as well as to work on code to be used in, oops, I'm getting ahead of myself). As for what was to come after the end of the game (after discovering the entrance to the UnderCity), I'm not telling.
Now the good news. I have several new games planned - well, actually, it is actualy just one big "meta-game". There will be a general shell with a number of "views" that will be added over time. The key feature is that adventures can then mix these various views as needed (for example, the 3D view of Theldrow doesn't work well for outdoor movement, and an overhead iconic view isn't the best for underground tunnels, and neither work for a detailed room where you need to put the fire opal in the gold box and then pull the lever).
The first view adds a new twist on a standard overhead iconic view. There are plans for a view such as is used for Theldrow, (and perhaps a similar view where you aren't constrained to 90° turns and being in the center of a square) as well as a number of others, (including those used by just about every kind of fantasy adventure/role playing point of view on the market).
The views will all be a part of a common user as well as game interface. Character classes, weapons, armor, spells, potions, etc… will be shared by all. And of course, what game would be complete without color, sound, and auto-mapping.
Finally, there will be a scenario editor to support all these formats, so you can make your own adventures.
This is all pretty ambitious, but what it really amounts to is taking all the half-done projects sitting on my hard disk and adding them, one step at a time, to a common shell. Expect to start hearing more by the last quarter of 92. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions as to what you would like to see, write me at one of addresses given in the first section (America Online and USENET being the best bet, especially if you want a response in a reasonable amount of time - and no, I'm not looking for beta testers).
Release History:
0.1 - First test release
0.2 - Fixed Divine Favors
Fixed Dropping bug
Added Encumbrance & Load Bar
Redid Pricing Methods
Reordered player/scenario files
Added Pilfering
Changed Shopkeepers
Rearranged some menus
Ignored spelling mistakes
0.3 - Bug in load caused crash
Ran this through a spell checker
More "depth" to monsters
1.0 - First major release
Gratuitous Icons
Shopkeeper reactions
Lots of little bug fixes
Even more "depth" to monsters
Finished Boden Scenario
Released to the world!
1.1 - Minor bug fix release
Got rid of Litter Imp - added piles
2.0 - Clerical Holy Symbols
Modified drawing for less restrictions
Directional descriptions
Faster! Faster! Faster!
Hack for 0-price bug.
Key commands supported
Approximate Numbers
Spells! Spells! Spells!
Interpreted Code
2.1 - Added and expand many minor things
Sound
Temples
2.2 - Second major release
Fancy beginning screen
More little details
Conversational queries
Better use of interpreted code
More forms of attack by monsters
Removed snds - too many problems
2.3 - Third major release
Color!!!
Redone art work
Faster drawing routines
New Help System
Dragging Items
Monster attack animation
Put back sound
Fix Temple bug, etc…
Some internal reorganization
General Background
The known history of Theldrow stretches back to the beginning of the Age of Magic, starting after what is commonly called the Devastation. No one really knows exactly what cataclysmic event took place then, other than the name. All that is know is that two centuries of darkness followed this event. From that world sprang a new one, one rich in magic. Though the Age of Magic is long since past, (it too ended cataclysmically in the Battle of Kah), another age, the present one, has since arose from the dust (though some speculate that this age is approaching an end as well).
Of the Age of Magic, much is known, but of the Age before it, little is know. It was referred to as the Age of Might, and it ended very abruptly. Some speculate that Good and Evil sought control and the result was the terrible waste of a world. There are a few other, however, that suggest that this was not the case. They suggest that some other force was to blame, and that Good and Evil joined forces to stop this force, and in the end decided that the world would be better to perish rather than succumb to this unknown power. All this is a matter for speculation, for almost nothing remains of that age long ago.
Player Background
You remember little of your father, the scholar Leoric, mostly just that he was often up late at night scouring through ancient books. You remember his telling your mother that he would be off, researching a lead, and would be home in a few days. You were seven then. You are now seventeen. He has never returned.
Some time after this, you and your mother had to leave your family house, and live in a monastery. There you learned the ways of the gods and goddesses that interact with the affairs of mortals on Theldrow.
Recently, your mother passed away and, you choose to find out what happened to your father. From the few books of his that remain, you know that he was researching remnant from the Age of Might, and found a lead. In the ten years since he left, time has been hard on those old books of his, and about the only things that you can figure out from them are the word 'portal', and a reference to 'Cravenshaw overlooking Boden'.
So you have sought the help of sages and ancient records, in an attempt to find information on Boden. From those sources, you have managed to put together a rough map of the area. Boden is a trading city, giving it's name to the rivers that meet there (the North Boden and the South Boden, although the South Boden approaches Boden from the west), far from your farm, in the Duchy of Arapos. It has two entrances, one to the east, the other to the south. For some reason, however, the entrance to the south has long since been abandoned. The town has seen better days, especially since the southern trade route that leads there is now abandoned, what with the recent problems down south and all. No longer do merchants travel the South Boden River, coming from Dragonia, to trade wares with merchants from the north and west. Perhaps this is why the southern entrance has been abandoned. Perhaps there are other reasons…
Of Cravenshaw you know nothing, although you seem to remember that "Crav" means castle, and there is an old castle, south across the river from Boden - certainly this is Cravenshaw? The old castle has three parts: a main inner building, a smaller building attached to the walls in the south west, and a tower in the south east. You will have to explore it to gain further information.
You have left the monastery, and learned the ways of combat and magic since then. With you, you have an old dagger, a family heirloom, and a small sack of gold. You have set out to find what happened to your father, and so have arrived on the trail to the northwest of Boden (top left corner of the map). Your adventure begins…
