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Guide To Play
Map of Midnight |
Guide To Play
Based on
the Lords of Midnight Manual, by Mike Singleton
Starting Off
WOTS
has a facility which enables you to SAVE the game you are playing at any stage. When
loading is complete, you will be asked whether you want to start a NEW CAMPAIGN or
continue an EXISTING CAMPAIGN: If you enter a new campaign ID and press NEW CAMPAIGN a
screen depicting the situation of Luxor the Moonprince will appear and your quest will
begin on the day of the Solstice itself. The campaign ID is used as the basis for the save
game files which will be generated throughout the campaign. A database is also created for
storing campaign data.
If you press EXISTING CAMPAIGN a screen will appear from where you can select a saved game
file to load. Once the data has been loaded back into your computer, the last screen of
the game you saved will appear and you can continue your quest
Saving a Game in Progress
The
data for WOTS can be saved at any stage of the game. To save a game in progress, you must
use the menu function SCENARIO->SAVE SCENARIO DATA. This function can be usede SAVE key
should only be pressed at a time when the computer is waiting for you to press an option
key: if it is doing something else, it will simply ignore your key-stroke.
When you use this function, a saved game file will be automatically generated, using the
campaign ID as the basis for the filename, together with the day of the war appended as a
number to the end of the filename. That means you can see instantly which day of the war a
particular campaign was saved on.
Abandoning
a game
The data for the current campaign is saved automatically when you press the NIGHT key. The
data is saved BEFORE any computer movements or battles are calculated for that night.
The
role you play
You, the player, take the role of Luxor the Moonprince, Lord of the Free. By virtue of the
Moon Ring, which lends you the Power of Vision and the Power of Command, you can control
other characters that are loyal to you, move them through the landscape of Midnight and
look through their eyes. Some of these characters are simply individuals, others are
commanders at the head of whole armies: when you move a commander, his army moves with
him.
The computer plays the part of Doomdark, the Witchking of Midnight and controls the
characters and armies loyal to him. In addition, the computer also governs the actions of
the independent characters and forces in the land of Midnight
A choice of games
There are two distinct ways of winning a victory over Doomdark. The first is by war, by
sending armies north to the Plains of Despair and seizing the Citadel of Ushgarak from
whence Doomdark commands his foul hordes. In such a strategy, Luxor himself will play a
major part as a commander in the field.
A
choice of games
The second way of winning is by quest, by guiding Morkin, Luxor's son, to the Tower of
Doom to destroy the Ice Crown, the source of Doomdark's power. Morkin can have no army to
help him on his journey, for the Ice Crown sends forth the ice-fear which withers men's
minds. By virtue of his birth, half-human, half-fey, only Morkin can resist the utter
coldness of the Ice Crown's power.
If you prefer a pure adventure just concentrate on the quest of Morkin. The armies of
Doomdark will still march south to conquer Midnight but the armies of the Free will defend
themselves without your guidance, even though they will not make any counter-moves.
If you prefer a pure war game, ignore the quest of Morkin and concentrate on the assault
of Ushgarak.
To play the complete epic, however, you should place equal importance on the war that
Luxor directs and the quest that Morkin journeys on. Naturally enough, the complete epic
takes the longest to play. Of the other options, you will find the quest the quicker game.
There are no keys to press to choose which sort of game you play - you simply choose,
move-by-move, which characters you want to guide. At any stage, you can alter the balance
at will, abandon the quest and take up war, or admit defeat on the battlefield and try to
seek the Ice Crown.
If you want to play WOTS with your family or friends, we suggest that each player is given
control over a particular character or group of characters, and that you play as a team
against the evil Doomdark. WOTS also allows for one player to control the commands given
to Doomdark’s forces, opening up head-to-head options in terms of gameplay.
Victory for Doomdark
Victory
for Doomdark
To win, Doomdark (or the computer, if you prefer) must achieve two objectives. First, he
must eliminate Morkin: as long as Morkin is alive, the game will continue. Second, he must
subdue the armies of the Free. This can be done in two ways, either by eliminating Luxor
the Moonprince who is their commander or by taking the Citadel of Xajorkith in the land of
Corelay, the home of all their hopes.
If Luxor is killed, you, the player, lose all control over the other characters in the
game except for Morkin, his son. If, by any chance, Morkin manages to find the Moon Ring
that Luxor wore and which was the source of Luxor's Powers of Vision and Command, he can
put it on and you will regain control over those characters still loyal to the Free.
However, once he does this, Morkin will immediately become known to Doomdark and his quest
to seize the Ice Crown will become almost impossible.
If Xajorkith is taken by Doomdark but Morkin is still alive. Luxor can continue the armed
struggle against the Witchking. For Doomdark to win, Xajorkith must be Doomdark's and
Morkin must be dead, OR both Luxor and Morkin must be dead.
The Ice-Fear and the Moon Ring
The
Ice-Fear and the Moon Ring
The ice-fear is Doomdark's greatest weapon, sapping men's courage and reducing armies to
rabble. If strong enough, it may even cause characters once loyal to Luxor and the Free to
desert to Doomdark's control. He can use it either as a general effect, spread equally
over the lands of Midnight or concentrate it in particular places.
The only shield against it is the Moon Ring that Luxor wears: this radiates the strength
and warmth of his mind. The closer a character or Army is to Luxor, the less will be the
demoralising effect of the ice-fear. The same applies if Morkin is the wearer of the Moon
Ring. There is one drawback: the Witchking can sense the warmth of the Moon Ring and so,
at any stage of the game, he knows the precise whereabouts of its wearer.
The strength of the ice-fear also depends on Doomdark's confidence. As the Witchking takes
citadel after citadel of the Free so does the ice-fear grow. but where he suffers defeat
or doubt the ice-fear dwindles. The Ice Crown has a cold intelligence of its own and as
Morkin comes closer towards it. it will feel the approaching danger and bend a greater and
greater part of its force towards its own protection. So, as Morkin approaches the Ice
Crown, more and more of the ice-fear will be directed at him alone but it will not affect
him. Instead, the burden of its terror will begin to lift from the armies and commanders
of the Free.
Controlling
a Character
WOTS
is not a standard adventure game and controlling the characters does not require you to
guess at the right phrase of command. Instead, you have four basic options, each available
at the press of a single key:
1) Look
On screen will appear a landscape corresponding to the view that
the character sees in the direction he is looking at the time. There are also a few lines
of text, giving details of where he stands as well as an heraldic shield which identifies
him. During the LOOK option, you can turn the character to look in another direction by
pressing one of the right compass keys: NORTH. NORTH-EAST, SOUTH-EAST, SOUTH, SOUTH-WEST,
WEST and NORTH-WEST.
2) Move
The
character will move forward in the same direction he was last looking. When he reaches his
next location, he will continue looking in that direction and the LOOK option will
reappear with a new landscape.
3) Think
When the character is
told to Think, you are given more details regarding the character, any army he controls
and the place he is in, than could be included in the short text of the LOOK screen.
4) Choose
You are presented also
with a list of special options in addition to the basic LOOK and MOVE options.
What special options
are open will depend upon the situation the character finds himself in but will include
such choices as searching, hiding, attacking an enemy, repairing defences and so on.
The list of options
available will also reflect the personality of the particular character. All the choices
you are presented with are only those the character would be likely to choose by himself.
So, the choices open to a cowardly character will seldom include brave deeds, the choices
open to a greedy character will seldom include acts of generosity.
You can press the LOOK,
MOVE, THINK and CHOOSE keys at any stage during any of the four basic options and the new
screen will appear at once.
Selecting a Character
At the beginning of the game, you have four characters under your
control. These are LUXOR the Moonprince, MORKIN his son, CORLETH the Fey and RORTHRON the
Wise. You can select any of these by pressing the key marked with their name. When
selected, the display will switch immediately to the LOOK option for that character. To
select others characters (which you must recruit to your cause during the course of the
game), you must press the SELECT key. When you do this, a list of the other characters you
control will appear. Select one of these and the display will switch immediately to the
LOOK option for that character. Once you have selected a character, your control will
remain with that character until you select another. Selection can be done at any stage of
the LOOK, MOVE, THINK and CHOOSE options.
How
the game works
The
game begins on the day of the Winter Solstice. Initially, you control Luxor the
Moonprince, Morkin, Corleth the Fey and Rorthron the Wise. These characters all start the
game at the Tower of the Moon in the Forest of Shadows. The game proceeds by day and by
night.
During
the day, you can move any or all of the characters you control and any armies that are
with them. The distance a character can move in one day depends on the difficulty of the
terrain and whether he is walking or riding as well as his state of health. You must learn
by experience precisely how far you can travel under given circumstances. However, there
is one important thing to remember: when you travel directly north, south, east or west
you are moving just one league at a time: when you move north-east, north-west, south-east
or south-west you are moving along the diagonal of a square one league by one league, a
distance of approximately 1.4 leagues. Therefore, this will take you longer and leave less
hours of daylight for the rest of your journey.
When
a character has exhausted his hours of daylight, night will fall for him, and. unless
there are exceptional circumstances (the THINK screen will tell you if there are), he will
not be able to do any more until the following day. You can still, however, move other
characters under your control.
Once
you have moved all the characters you wish to, you must press the NIGHT key. This
lets night fall everywhere and signals the start of activities for the forces of Doomdark.
During the night, Doomdark will move his characters and armies across Midnight and there
will be a pause as he "thinks". Soon, however, a new day will dawn and you can
command your characters afresh.
DO
NOT FORGET TO PRESS THE NIGHT KEY WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED YOUR DAY'S MOVEMENT AND ACTION.
IF YOU DO NOT PRESS THE NIGHT KEY NOTHING FURTHER WILL HAPPEN AT ALL!
Engaging
in battle
Minor
skirmishes involving individual characters and small war-bands are quick affairs and can
take place at any stage throughout the day. Battles between armies, however, that will not
be decided until the day is over.
Because
a battle between armies is such a major event, you will not be able to move an army to the
same location as an enemy army by using the simple MOVE option. Such a move is always one
of the special actions you can opt for when the situation arises. Some of the commanders
you control may be so afraid that the choice to move them into battle does not even appear
as one of the possibilities.
During
the course of the day, you can move as many armies into battle as you wish. If you move
more than one army into the same battle, the program will keep track of their times of
arrival (which may influence the outcome of the contest). However, once an army or a
character has been moved into a battle, it will not be able to move again until the
following day.
At
dawn on the following day, the outcome will be known to your commanders. If the enemy has
lost, his armies will have been destroyed in the night or have fled, leaving your armies
and characters free to move. If the enemy has not lost, you have the choice of retreating
with what is left of your armies or continuing the struggle for another day, possibly
throwing in more forces. If, however, the enemy has won a decisive victory, when dawn
breaks you will find your armies destroyed and your surviving commanders scattered: the
enemy forces may have advanced far beyond the battlefield.
Many
things will influence the outcome of a battle: the number of troops, the type of terrain.
the quality of the commanders and, of course, the strength of the ice-fear. But, as any
warrior must, you must learn by experience.
The
map of Midnight
The map of Midnight depicts the major features of the geography of
Midnight. but like any map it does not show every single detail. You will find surprises
where ever you roam. It will serve well, however, as a guide to your journeys through
Midnight and be a good helper when you become lost. But do not forget that the landscape
has its own secrets!
The
free and the foul
On
the day of the Solstice, at the start of the game, Doomdark's forces hold the north whilst
the Free hold the South. Few of Doomdark's armies will be found south of the Mountains of
Ithril and the Plains of Valethor. Of the major citadels, Doomdark holds Ushgarak, Grarg,
Vorgath and Kor. The only armies of the Free to be found north of the Mountains of Ithril
and the Plains of Valethor are in Ithrorn and the Plains of Ithril. Of the major citadels,
the Free still hold Ithrorn, Kumar, Marakith, Shimeril, Grad and Xajorkith. In the east,
the barbarian tribes of the Targ remain independent of both Doomdark and the Moonprince.
In the west, save for the Citadel of Grad, the lands lie mostly empty and under no one's
sway.
The
Fey are in loose alliance with the Free. They do not seek war but neither do they relish
the thought of Doomdark overrunning Midnight. Their part in the War of the Solstice will
be mostly passive. Their homes are the forests of Midnight and Doomdark's armies will not
willingly be allowed passage through these. Corleth the Fey, however. should be able to
rally enough of his people to his banner to form one army.
The
Wise have isolated themselves from the world and live like hermits in their tall towers.
Doomdark will not bother them so long as they remain withdrawn from the affairs of Men and
most certainly, they will not aid him. In the right circumstances, it may be possible to
seek their help and be granted it. Rorthron the Wise could prove a useful ally in this.
The
Utarg of Utarg may be persuaded to bring the Targ into the war against Doomdark,
especially if the armies of the Witchking are tempted or forced to trespass on his lands.
If the ice-fear grows too strong, however, he may lend his loyalty to Doomdark. Of
the Free themselves, there are many Lords. Luxor should first set himself the task of
seeking their loyalty, thus gaining control of many armies. Most powerful are the Lord
Marshals of the great Citadels but the Moonprince will find other Lords who will also bow
to his command. He should not, however, waste too much time seeking out allies; there are
others who will make fine ambassadors.
Looking
around
During your travels through Midnight, you will see many different
scenes. This is a traveller's guide to some of the things you will see. All of these
features of Midnight's geography may offer cover to an army.
Mountain |
|
|
Moving across a
mountain will take many hours of travel and leave you exhausted at the end of your
journey. |
Citadel |
|
|
A strongly
fortified city which may harbour enemy forces or offer shelter to a friendly army.
Storming a citadel will be a hard task. |
Forest |
|
|
Movement through a
forest will not be swift. The minions of Doomdark, however. will find it doubly difficult
for forests are the homes of the magical Fey who hold no love for the foul creatures of
the Witchking. |
Tower |
|
|
The refuges of the
Wise, the Towers of Midnight are almost impregnable from attack but help may be sought at
one of these. It may not always be granted. |
Henge |
|
|
Built in the dawn
of the world, these ancient temples have strange powers, not always benign. |
Village |
|
|
A village can offer
warmth and shelter to the lonely traveller if its people prove friendly. |
Downs |
|
|
Gently rolling
hills, the downs slow a traveller only slightly but they may hide unseen dangers. |
Keep |
|
|
The fortress of a
minor Lord, a keep will offer protection against occasional raids but will not withstand a
determined assault for long. |
Snowhall |
|
|
Built by the
wandering peoples of Midnight during the long winter, snowhalls are quite large structures
which can offer shelter to many hundreds if need be. |
Lake |
|
|
The remaining lakes
of Midnight are fed by warm springs. They have powers to revive and heal those who oppose
Doomdark and the forces of cold. |
Frozen Waste |
|
|
Surrounding the
land of Midnight are the Frozen Wastes. They cannot be entered by any. Free, Foul or Fey. |
Ruin |
|
|
Abandoned
fortresses of former wars, ruins may harbour dark and dangerous things but may, in times
of need, offer some protection against attack. |
Lith |
|
|
These ancient
standing stones often have magical powers. |
Cavern |
|
|
A cavern can
provide shelter and a hiding place but it may already have done so for fouler creatures! |
As well as these features, you will also see the flat expanses of
the Plains of Midnight. It is only on the plains that you will actually see the banners
and ranks of the armies that march across the land.
Army |
|
|
A friendly army
offers no hindrance to the traveller. But an attempt to go through the midst of an enemy
army offers the gravest of peril, by day or by night. Armies in mountains, forests or any
of the other places to be found will hide themselves well and not be seen. |
As you look around during your travels, large figures may appear in
the foreground of each panorama you see. These are the warriors, characters or creatures
that lie immediately ahead of you on the borders of the next domain. You do not always,
however, see all that lies ahead. The wise travellers must be both bold and wary.
Appendices
The Keyboard Overlay
The original Lords of
Midnight used a keyboard overlay for the Spectrum keyboard input. I decided to keep this
original layout and have therefore included a list of the keys.
Keys:
Character
Selection
C - Luxor
V - Morkin
B - Corleth
N - Rorthron
Compass
Direction Keys
1 - North
2 - North-East
3 - East
4 - South-East
5 - South
6 - South-West
7 - West
8 - North-West
General Options
Q - Move
E - Look
R - Think
T - Choose
U - Night
A - New Game
D - Old Game
G - Yes
J - No
M - Select
Alternative
Movement Controls
CURSOR UP - Move
Forwards
CURSOR DOWN - Move Backwards
CURSOR LEFT - Look Left
CURSOR RIGHT - Look Right
|
