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W R A I T H
'The Devil's Demise'
For a long while all was peaceful on the island of Araithia. Your duties as
protector of the temple of Metiria at Tarot were simple and uneventful. Recently
things have changed. An unknown influence has caused the once devout followers
of the true god Metiria to waver in their faith.
Corruption has spread through the island, with whispers of an undead being of
great might granting power to those who would serve. The lords of the realms
fell to him one by one, and monsters now roam the land. The temple at Tarot is
the last outpost of true faith, and you may be Arathia's last hope for
redemption.
Last night, as you prayed for strength and guidance, Metiria came to you in a
vision, bestowing upon you the quest to destroy the Wraith. She spoke solemnly,
alerting you to the dangers which lay ahead. The only way to reach the hell that
the Wraith rules from is by way of an interplanar gate somewhere in Castle
Strafire, stronghold of his most powerful earthly minions.
Although the castle is only a short distance away from Tarot, on an island to the
northeast, a terrible reef prevents it from being reached by conventional means.
You only know that monsters have come from the castle and turned up on the
mainland. Remember, although many have been seduced by the power of the Wraith,
greed still rules their hearts, and some may even aid your quest if paid enough
gold. As the vision fades, Metiria smiles and says, "Fear not, brave one, my
blessing is upon you."
You have begun preparing yourself for your quest, but even the townspeople seem
unwilling to help you. They insist on gold for equipment and spells. Gold you
do not have. Gold that the servants of the Wraith DO have...
GETTING STARTED
Choosing the (D)emonstration option will have the computer play the game by
itself for a short time, showing most of the commands in action.
The (C)reate a new character option will allow you to start a new game. A
maximum of 3 player games can be created on the Wraith disk at one time.
Selecting the number of the character displayed (1,2,3) will allow you to return
to your last game in the same position you (Q)uit.
PLAYING THE GAME
The upper right corner of the screen shows the current status of your character.
The BODY line shows what condition your character is in. The left figure shows
your maximum health, which will increase with time, while the second figure will
reflect any combat damage you have suffered. The level shown is a measure of
your character's experience in fighting monsters. A higher level character will
have more body points and will be more effective in combat. XP (experience
points) shows how close you are to advancing a level. XP are gained by defeating
monsters.
The weapon, armor, missile weapon, and item (if you have one) that you have ready
are shown below your gold. The bottom line shows how many of each type of spell
(magic missile, scare, lightning bolt, fireball, and recall) that you have.
Your character's location and status is saved every time you move to a new map,
so if you happen to trip over the power cord or somehow manage to accidentally
hit reset, your character will be at the stairs or entrance to the current map
when you restart the game.
The game will wait for your input, so don't worry about hitting the keys too
slowly. Do pay attention to the text window so you don't hit a key at an
inappropriate time.
Once you are in control of your character the following commands are used to
control your actions in the towns, castles, dungeons, and wilderness:
I J L or the arrow keys will move you around. These keys are K placed so you
can move your character around quickly using the first three fingers of your
right hand.
C Climb up or down stairs to another level in dungeons and some castles.
E Enter a castle, dungeon, or town from the wilderness.
O Open a treasure chest and take the gold. You must be standing on the chest
figure.
P Drink a healing potion to cure some battle wounds. When the BODY line is
highlighted in white, you are in bad shape. Best not to let it get that far.
Q Quit the game and save your position so you can restart later at the same
place.
R Ready a magic item. Items are of a passive nature, they may protect you
from things or allow you access to special areas when they are readied. You can
have several, but only one will be active. At the start of the game you have no
items and the item line is blank. When you find your first item be sure to ready
it so it is useful.
F Fight a monster that is one square away with your sword or dagger. All
monsters within range will have a letter put in their upper left corner for you
to select from.
S Shoot a monster that is more than one square away with your sling or bow.
The monsters will be labeled as in the fight option.
M Cast a magic spell. Even though you are a formidable warrior, perhaps your
most valuable ability is your training in the casting of magic spells. You still
need an experienced wizard to prepare the components of the spells, which is
rather expensive, but the effects of magic are usually worth it. The spells you
can cast (once you have paid a wizard for the components) are...
[M]agic missile spells produce a small bolt of energy which will fly at the
creature of your choice, automatically hitting and doing more damage than most
arrows.
[S]care spells cause most monsters to flee from you in terror. Certain monsters,
such as skeletons and ghosts, are immune to the effects, and all creatures have a
chance of resisting it, but the spell usually works. If you attack a fleeing
monster the effects of the spell are broken.
[L]ightning bolts are powerful attack spells that will do considerable damage to
every monster that is hit. The bolt will travel in a straight line from you to
the monster you chose as the target, so if there are two or more monsters in a
row, target the spell at the farthest one.
[F]ireball spells cause a large explosion centered on the selected monster. The
damage is not as high as from lightning bolts, but you can usually hit quite a
few monsters at a time if you wait for the proper moment. You can also damage
yourself if you cast it too close!
[R]ecall will instantly teleport you from your current location to the city of
Catalian, where the spell came from. If you are getting massacred by a lot of
monsters, or are hopelessly lost, this is the spell to cast.
T Talk with a merchant to purchase something. They will always be standing
still and will be separated from you by a counter or sign. If they have
something to sell, they will tell you how much gold they want, then ask if you
want to pay.
CTRL-S Pressing the Control key at the same time as the S key will turn the
sound on or off.
? While playing Wraith, this command will bring a short list of all the
commands available.
TOWNS
The three towns of Tarot, Mylbere, and Catalian are the only areas where you are
welcomed peacefully. The different towns sell different weapons, armor, bows,
and spells. You will find most of the shops if you follow the paths through the
towns, but some shops are difficult to find or even hidden by secret doors. The
towns are basically divided into quarters, so if you remember which section a
shop is in it will be easier to find later. There are bad sections of the towns
where hostile monsters stay, but if you choose to fight anything, make sure there
are not any town guards around, because they will attack you in the interest of
keeping the peace.
Don't let anyone you don't plan to kill see you attack anything. If you kill a
shop keeper you will never be able to buy anything there again (VERY serious if
you kill the temple priest!). It really is best not to fight in towns unless you
are attacked.
Just in case you get badly wounded before you can explore the towns, after you
enter Tarot (the town you start out by) the first path to the north takes you to
the temple (where you buy healing potions), and the first path to the south takes
you to the hotel where you can rest.
CASTLES
Castle Kiosk and Castle Stratford are the strongholds of the once benevolent
barons of Araithia. You enter castles near the middle of the south wall, so you
can usually find your way out by just heading south as far as you can and moving
around until you find the exit. Asharak Strafire's island fortress is a far more
elaborate structure, with two floors plus underground areas.
DUNGEONS
The Well of Souls and The Ancient Mines are underground labyrinths infested with
hundreds of evil monsters. When you enter a dungeon you will be near the center,
so finding your way out is more difficult than in a castle. Dungeons have two or
more levels connected by stairs, with the lower levels generally having tougher
monsters.
MONSTERS
Destroying evil monsters is how your character gains experience points (XP), and
is the principle means of getting gold. For the most part, the tougher the
monster the more XP and gold you will get for killing it, but some monsters do
not carry gold at all.
The monsters you meet will react in different ways. Some monsters are always
hostile, while some will only attack if they see you attacking, and some will
even run away from you! When they do decide to attack you, some move slower than
others, and have different attacks. Most monsters only have a short range
attack, but some have missile attacks, and a few can even cast spells at you.
When a monster has been badly wounded, it may flee. You can shoot it down or let
it get away (Metiria does not look down on slaughtering evil creatures).
Merchants are generally peaceful townspeople. DON'T KILL THEM!
Kobolds are small dog-like humanoids. One good hit is all it usually takes to
kill one.
Goblins and Orcs are relatively weak minions of the Wraith. They only attack at
close range and move somewhat slowly.
Brigands are petty thieves that roam the island looting and pillaging. They
throw knives from long range.
Fighters can be good or evil. In towns they are rarely hostile, but some serve
the Wraith. They use swords and bows in combat.
Skeletons and Zombies are slow moving corpses animated by evil priests.
Ogres are powerful but slow club wielding creatures that can give and receive
quite a bit of damage.
Giants are huge humans. In addition to their great strength, giants throw
boulders, and some have spell casting abilities.
Cyclops are one eyed giants. Their sight is not good enough to throw rocks.
Wights and Ghosts are undead creatures that will momentarily paralyze you when
they hit.
Ettins are vicious two headed giants.
Monks and Novices are humans trained in the martial arts. At close range they do
considerable damage and are very quick.
Wizards and Initiates are spell casters. Initiates are not very effective, but
Wizards can cast lightning bolts and fireballs.
Golems are magical constructs of either flesh, stone, or iron. They are slow
moving, but difficult to kill. They will usually stay motionless unless
attacked.
Beholders are carnivorous floating spheres with very powerful magical missile
attacks. It is best to fight (well, best not to fight) them at close range.
Demons and Devils are powerful creatures summoned from another plane by powerful
magic.
Rust monsters are exotic creatures that live by eating iron and steel. They rust
metal by touch, including your expensive armor!
There are dozens of other beasties, but you will have to find out about them
yourself...
PLAY HINTS
The wilderness is less dangerous than the castles, which are less dangerous than
the dungeons. Although you may be able to run into a tough dungeon and make it
out early in your quest, it is generally a good idea to gain experience and get
more powerful equipment before trying the harder areas. A good order of
exploration is: Castle Kiosk, the Well of Souls dungeon, Castle Stratford, and
the Ancient Mines. From there, you are on your own!
Always try to have several healing potions on hand in case you find yourself
badly wounded and far away from a town. Whenever possible, though, try to stay
at a hotel to heal your battle wounds. It is a lot cheaper than using potions,
and you need to save gold for equipment.
The more expensive weapons and armor that are available in the towns will improve
your fighting ability considerably. It is up to you to either save up and get
the best or buy a slightly better item quickly.
Get extra spells as quickly as you can! You start the game with three of each,
but you will probably use them up before you can afford new ones. Nothing takes
care of a room full of monsters like a couple of fireballs, and recall spells can
be real life savers.
Some items are not necessary, but you absolutely need some to complete your
quest. Most are expensive, so choose your purchases wisely. The bartenders at
the town taverns have heard all sorts of information from the low-lifes that come
for drinks, and are good places to find hints to item locations.
Most special locations are hidden behind secret doors. They look almost exactly
like a normal wall, but you can walk through them. You can usually see a slight
difference in a long wall with a secret door as you walk by if you look closely.
There is also a magical way to see secret doors...
Explore every map, even the towns, as thoroughly as possible. A small room can
be very important. Go through every door and passage and keep your eyes open for
secret doors. Try to keep a good idea of your location as you move around. You
may be able to notice walled-off areas that have a secret entrance. Try and keep
track of the way out, so you don't have to use a recall spell (or get killed) to
get back to a town.
COMBAT HINTS
The best strategy for fighting normal monsters is to get them as far away from
you as you can, and start shooting them with your bow or sling. They will have
to get close to you to attack, so you get several free shots. You may even be
able to back away from slow monsters and get even more attacks. Be careful
though, monsters with missile or spell attacks may wind up giving more than they
get with this strategy.
If you are badly wounded it is sometimes better to run away from monsters,
especially if there are other creatures that could see you attacking it.
Discretion may be the better part of valor! If one monster is doing a lot of
damage, and there are other non-hostiles around that you don't want to attack,
you might want to try a scare spell.
Lightning bolts do the most damage of any spell, and they will do damage to any
creature in their path. It is easy to tell where horizontal and vertical bolts
will go, but other angles will take some experience.
Fireballs can hit several creatures at once and do good damage, but it takes
practice to know when to use them to best effect (and not fry yourself in the
bargain). Some monsters are immune to certain spells.
Don't get in too deep! It is better to get back to a town while you still have
some hit points left than fight till your last breath, only to find a couple of
monsters hanging around the exit.
If you just go around shooting everything you see, you stand a chance of shooting
the person that could get you a vital item. If they are behind a counter, don't
do anything rash.
ENJOY YOURSELF!