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The Racketeers Present
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- Archon II: -
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- A D E P T -
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- Cracked By: -
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- The Warezird -
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- Thanks To: -
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- The Time Lord -
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The Manual
Long, long had the Master of Order struggled with the Mistress of Chaos. Ancient as time, changeless as death was their conflict-waged in mundane realms by magically potent Adepts. No more. The old, secure wellsprings of magical energy are failing. To control the new sources, the Adepts are bringing forth new armies of reluctant Demons and Elementals long unsummoned. Change is at hand and the battle would find an end.
This is that battle. The ending is yours.
The Two Screens
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The game is played on two screens. On one-the main board-you and your opponent (human or computer) take turns maneuvering your pieces (called icons) into favorable positions.
When you move to a space already occupied by one of your opponent's icons, the game shifts to the second display, the battleground. There you must fight a fast-action battle to dmtermine which icon will return to the board in possession of the disputed position.
The Moves
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You begin the game with 4 Adepts on a side. On each turn you may use whatever magical energy you have left to: 1) move an Adept or 2) use an Adept to cast a spell (including Summon which lets you bring new icons into the game) or 3) move an icon conjured up (with a Summon spmll) on a previous turn.
Winning
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You win if you occupy all six power points at once or if you triumph in the Apocalypse (evocable with a special spell). You also win if your opponent runs out of magical energy or icons.
The Board
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The main board is composed or four bands representing the classical elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Additionally there are four squares which are not part of any band. Two are black, neutral squares representing the Void. The others are citadels, the home squares of Order and Chaos. While the Void squares can be occupied by icons just like any position in the four bands, the citadels remain empty throughout the game.
There are 6 flashing power points. Two are the Void squares. The other 4 move from turn to turn through the outermost corners of each of the four elements. occupation of the 6 power points is the major goal of the game. If the hollow square (or "frame") is on your side, it's your turn. Use your joystick to move the frame atop the icon you want, and push the button. Next, use the joystick to move the icon (or the frame, in the case of Adepts) to your intended destination and press the button again. (If you accidentally press the button over an icon you don't want to move, press the button again without moving your stick to cancel the selection and start over. Once you've moved an icon at all, you cannot cancel you selection. NOTE: The rule for cancelling an Adept move i different. See Magic Spells below.)
Elementals and Demons (conjured up with the Summon spell) slide freely along the element they are on. You may slide them as far as you like with two restrictions: they cannot pass another icon and they cannot end their move atop a "friendly" icon. Alternately, you may jump them from one element to an adjacent one on a turn. No icon may slide and jump on the same turn.
Adepts can teleport anywhere on the board, but it costs them a bit of magical energy to teleport from one element to another.
Magic Spells
Instead of a move, on any turn an Adept can cast any spell it has enough energy for. Simply select the Adept with the frame, press the button, and then press the button again. instead of canceling your Adept's move, this action produces the message "SELECT YOUR SPELL".
Move the joystick forward and backward to produce the different choices described on the next page Press the button to select the one you want. If you change your mind and decide you would rather move the Adept (or another icon) instead, select "CANCEL SPELL". To cancel a spell after you've already selected it with a button push, move the frame over your citadel and press the button again.
Magic lies at the heart of the action-and so does the fact that it costs. The amount of magical energy you have (shown by a vertical bar next to the board when it's your turn) varies throughout the game. You gain energy from each power point you occupy and-for the first few turns only-from your home citadel.
Moving icons is mostly free, but it takes magical energy to maintain each Demon and Elemental on your side and substantial amounts to cast spells. The cost of different actions is shown by the mark which appears next to the energy bar as you explore your options. You will not be allowed to take actions you do not have enough energy for.
The effects of spells are limited to the element the conjuring Adept is on. Adepts cannot cast spells from a Void square and Adepts are immune to all spells except Heal.
Summon-This is far and away the spell you will use most often. When you select it you may choose among 4 Elementals and 4 Demons by moving the frame from monster to monster. The cost in energy goes up as you move up the column of choices.
Remember, Adept magic works only within the element of the conjuring Adept. An Adept in Fire cannot, for instance, summon an icon to the band of Earth.
You may summon an icon and directly attack an opposing icon, but it takes extra magical energy to do so. And Adepts are immune from such attacks. For them, you must use icons already on the board.
HEAL-This spell cures half of an icon's wounds and all paralysis.
WEAKEN-Use this to cut an enemy icon's current lifespan in half.
IMPRISON-Cast this spell and the imprisoned icon cannot be moved. The cost of maintaining imprisoned icons falls on the imprisoner and not the original conjurer.
RELEASE-Use this when you can no longer afford to keep an icon imprisoned-or no longer need to.
Banish-Very expensive to cast. On the other hand, an icon you can't defeat can be very expensive to try to live with. And occupied power points on elements without Adepts make very tempting targets.
APOCALYPSE-This spell begins a battle that ends the game. In that apolcalyptic battle, your icon's lifespan, missile power, and missile speed depend on your magical energy icons remaining, and Adepts left, respectively. Use to put a hopelessly overwhelmed enemy out of his or her misery or as an act of suicidal desperation.
ATTACK METHODS-On the battleground, icons hurl, hammer, flame, sing, fling, stare and otherwise harass the enemy in whatever direction you move the joystick while simultaneously pressing the button. (See the hints under Attack Styles below for some exceptions and variations.) The lifelines at either end of the arena indicate the current lifespan (health/strength) of the two battling icons. When an icon is wounded, its matching lifeline is reduced. When its lifeline is gone, the icon is dead, the battle over. IMPORTANT: Except for the juggernaut and the Wraith, you cannot move icons while pressing the joystick button.
THE ATTACK INTERVAL-Combat is fast but you can't just fire away as rapidly as your joystick button can launch another attack, the computer rings a bell-a high note for Order, a lower one for Chaos.
ATTACK STYLES-Each icon is most effective when it is used in friendly-or at least neutral-elements and when its special strengths and weaknesses are understood and exploited. You will mostly learn what you need to know painfully, on the battleground. The hints below are intended only to help you begin thinking about how to use the 6 icons which have the most unusual attack styles.
1. Adept missiles can be steered as long as you hold the button down. Of course, Adepts cannot move as long as the button is down. Nothing comes free.
2. The Gorgon does not wound; it paralyzes. After every hit from a Gorgon's eye beam, an icon moves more slowly. When it can no longer move, it dies.
3. Wraiths are not nice. They are invisible except when they're trying to hurt you (and to "reload"). They can move even while they attack. Their circular attack aura steals the life force from all caught in it. Wraiths can leave battles stronger than they entered them. They can be devastating in the hands of the skillfull.
4. When the Firebird explodes it cannot be hurt nor can it move. But unlike Archon's Phoenix, you can end the explosion early by releasing the button.
5. Sirens don't have to aim. Press the button and they start singing and their opponents start dying. If you're attacked by one, don't waste time wondering what to do or the problem will be solved for you.
6. Juggernauts are in effect their own missiles. In "missile" mode, they only travel in straight lines and they are invulnerable-except to the song of the Siren.
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