WARLOCK
by Pennsoft
Published by The Edge
in the All-Stars Compilation

THE STORY SO FAR...

As the Doomlord of the fallen world, you had had it pretty comfortable for an aeon or two. Then, from nowhere, it seemed, there suddenly arose one day a new ruler of the forces of Good. Simply called "The White Wizard", your new adversary had decided to storm your castle, Doomrock.

Not only had they successfully broken into your castle and overrun it with an army of the Light, but they had also successfully converted a few of your staff (a demon, a few ghouls, to name but some). Now it seemed they were all out to get you, and banish the Darkness from the Land for ever.

Not to be outdone, you set off on your task of taking on the hordes of Good all on your own. Well, that's not strictly true, though. Luckily, just before they arrived, fearing that something was brewing, you managed to place a few magical Changeling Posts around your castle. These allow you to change into your Goblin form, your Troll form, or back again into the Warlock. Depending on who you come up against, this could prove a handy thing: in your Goblin form your magic is somewhat cruder, but you do have a whole lot more strength; and, as a Troll, you become almost all-powerful strengthwise, but a bit lacking in any real magical abilities.

Now all you have to do is remember where you last put the "Orb of Power", and, having found it, confront the White Wizard, who should then be putty in your hands in that final conflict that you'll undoubtedly have to have with him.

PLAYING
As the Doomlord, you begin the game in Warlock form. You can change into a Goblin or a Troll by touching the Posts. All the time the forces of Good will be after you, materialising from special Portals in the floor. A blast of Magic while you are in Warlock form is enough to kill a goody; as a Goblin your first blast freezes the enemy, and it takes a second blast to kill him; while as a Troll your best bet is to barge into them and kill them with brute strength.

The Portals fom which the goodies appear can be blasted, but it takes a good few shots to destroy one - and even then they may regenerate themselves.

Scattered around the castle are other objects - keys will open locked doors (but doors sometimes have a habit of locking themselves again afterwards). Various items will restore your Magic level, and others your Might level. But other items may drain your Magic or Might.

Also scattered around are special Candles. Collecting one of these gives you a Zap Spell - useful in emergencies. A Zap Spell used while you are Warlock will destroy all enemies in the room, plus the Portals from which they appear. Used while Goblin, it will destroy the goodies, but not the Portals. And used while Troll, it will give you the power to leap forwards to get past obstacles.

Apart from the Portals, the floor of the castle has Trap Doors - which take you down to the level below, and Pentagrams - which transport you upwards to the level above.

CONTROLS
Controls are by Joystick or keyboard. These are the keyboard controls...

UP LEFT - Q to T
UP RIGHT - Y to P
DOWN LEFT - H to L
DOWN RIGHT - A to G
FIRE - SPACE
USE ZAP SPELL - ENTER
PAUSE - CAPS SHIFT