THE SPECTRUM GAME DATABASE



VALHALLA



PUBLISHER

Legend



AUTHOR

Legend



YEAR

1983



DESCRIPTION

An adventure roleplaying game.



INSTRUCTIONS

Please see the inlay card text.



CHEATS



SEQUELS/PREQUELS

None.



INLAY CARD TEXT



VALHALLA



A LEGEND PRODUCTION (c) 1983



Production team - Graham Asher, Richard Edwards, Charles Goodwin,

James Learmont, Jan Ostler, Andrew Owen, John Peel.





THE SCREEN



Think of the screen as three windows.



The top window is the picture. The middle window, which has a

white background is the information window. The bottom window,

which has a black background and a flashing white cursor is where

you type in your commands.





THE KEYBOARD

If you are not familiar with the Spectrum keyboard, consult

Chapter 2, page 8 of the Spectrum introduction manual.



You communicate with the game and with the characters using the

keyboard to type in your commands. Your own actions are also

typed in as commands



Having typed in a command you must always press ENTER.



Examples - get food ENTER

           Thor get axe ENTER

           where ENTER

           jump ENTER



Note -  There will sometimes be a delay of several seconds after

you press ENTER before your command is interpreted. This is

because, as a character in VALHALLA, you have to take your turn

along with all the other characters. This means that if Loki has

just attacked Thor, you will have to wait until the fight is over

before your command is carried out.



Typing a command can be done in any combination of capitals and

lower case letters. Punctuation is optional. The easiest way of

entering a command is therefore to use lower case letters and no

punctuation.



For example - get sword.



You can edit text, as you type it, using the Spectrum edit

commands. CAPS SHIFT 5, 6, 7, 8, move the flashing cursor in the

direction printed above the keys, and CAPS SHIFT 0 deletes the

character to the left of the cursor. For further information see

page 8 of your Spectrum Introduction manual. CAPS SHIFT 1 will

delete anything you have typed into the bottom black window. CAPS

SHIFT 2 is used to pull you last entry back into the black input

window.



Spelling mistakes are dealt with in two ways. If you make a minor

mistake or miss out a letter - for example 'ge sord' instead of

'get sword' - it will automatically be corrected. Sometimes the

command system will approximate or try to guess what you mean,

but it might not be exactly what you intended.



There may be times when the command system is completely unable

to understand what you have entered. The part that is causing

problems will be highlighted in red and you can edit in the usual

way and press ENTER.



Note -  The command system has three ways of dealing with things

ENTERed that it cannot understand - by printing 'This doesn't

make sense or what?,' or by totally ignoring your entry. However

none of this happens if you enter commands accurately.





THE QUESTS



As you will discover, you can have great fun simple watching

VALHALLA and issuing commands to the characters. However, there

are six adventures awaiting you in VALHALLA. Each of these

adventures is a quest for a special object hidden somewhere in

the game world.



The six special objects can only be discovered in order -



        Ofnir (key)       cannot be used as an ordinary key

        Drapnir (ring)    cannot be used as an ordinary ring

        Skornir (shield)

        Skalir (sword)

        Felstrong (axe)

        Grimnir (helmet)



Before you can seriously start on even the first quest, you will

need to do two things - equip yourself with basic useful items

such as helmet, weapon, food, key and ring; and familiarise

yourself with the layout of VALHALLA's world. The best way of

doing this is to start to make a map. Even though some locations

may look similar, each is unique.



There will be occasions when having, or not having a certain

object or character with you, will allow you access to a

location. You could try using 'where' or 'help' if you need

inspiration, but don't be surprised if you're not told all you

need to know...





CLUES



Ofnir -   Darkness in Midgard.

Drapnir - So many choices - you could sink into the pits of

despair.

Skornir - A peculiar start - a difficult decision - the bald man

needs defence.



Note -  If you are serious about solving the entire sequence of

quests, it is essential that you plan what you are going to do

with the quest objects once you obtained them. Remember that when

you die, Ofnir and Drapnir will be taken from you - and of course

you cannot carry Felstrong at the same time as Skalir.



Note -  When you die, the objects that are taken from you are

randomly distributed throughout the game world. This means that

if you are unfortunate enough to die with Ofnir or Drapnir

amongst your possessions, you will have to reload the program and

start the entire sequence of quests from the beginning.



If you die from hunger or fighting you reappear in an area of

hell. You will lose all your possessions except for your helmet,

sword or axe, and money, if you had them when you died. You will

keep any special objects that you had, except for Ofnir and

Drapnir which you will lose.



When any other character dies, from hunger or fighting, they will

also lose all of their possessions including Ofnir and Drapnir,

but again excluding their weapons.



You can only have one helmet and one shield at any time, and can

only carry one sword or one axe but not both. This, of course,

means that you cannot carry the quest objects Felstrong (the axe)

and Skalir (the sword) at the same time.



Felstrong, Skalir, Skornir (the shield) and Grimnir (the helmet)

can all be used in the same way and with the same effect as any

other axe, sword, shield and helmet. However, the quest objects

weigh more than ordinary objects. This means that you will get

weaker when you carry these objects and will therefore need to

eat and drink more.



Ofnir and Drapnir are purely ceremonial which means that you will

need to carry an ordinary key to uses chests and cupboards and

an ordinary ring to use ringways.



Having died and reappeared in hell, you will find, using the

'how' command that you are very strong.





PLAYING THE GAME



Don't be afraid to experiment.



Expect to be frustrated - the game has been designed to present

a series of increasingly difficult challenges.



If you become seriously involved in pursuing the six VALHALLA

quests and find you need further information on playing adventure

games, most of the popular computing magazines provide help

corners for keen adventurers and there are now magazines being

published devoted entirely to adventure games.





GOING PLACES



Moving in your present location



There are very few occasions when you will need to use a command

simply to move. Most commands like 'attack' and 'get'

automatically carry out any necessary movement and movement for

no specific reason will drain your strength unnecessarily.



The 'l' and 'r' keys will move you slightly left and right

respectively. Alternatively you can use 'go,' or 'go to' the

object or person. For example, 'go to Odin' and 'go to the axe.'

Equally, if you prefer short commands, 'go Odin' and 'go axe'

will have the same effect.



Moving to a new location



To go to a new location, apart from when you jump using ringways,

you always use go followed by a direction. For example, 'go

north' or 'go southeast.'



Note -  You can also use abbreviations such as 'go n' or 'go se.'



Most locations will offer you a choice of directions in which you

can go. Hardly any will offer you the choice of all eight

directions and one or two locations will have no exists other

than ringways.



There are occasions when having, or not having a certain object

or character with you, will allow you access to a location. You

could try using 'where' or 'help' if you need inspiration, but

don't be surprised if you're not told all you need to know...



Note -  The faster you move through locations the harder it is

for other characters to keep up with you.



Note -  You can only move by directions and not by using place

names. For example, 'go to VALHALLA' will not work.



Note -  You cannot use the word 'enter' in order to get into a

building. Remember you are always facing North which means that

if you see a castle in the background, you enter it with 'go

north'.



You cannot enter huts.





RINGS AND RINGWAYS



Some locations have ringways which allow you to jump to another

location in then game. You are not, however, told where you will

end up before you jump. Your only chance of finding out is if the

'help' command is being co-operative...



To use a ringway you need a ring. As with keys, the only times

you lose possession of a ring is when you die or if you sell it,

drop it or give it away.



Note -  Drapnir is a ceremonial ring and cannot be used to jump.





EATING AND DRINKING



Your strength is affected by everything you do, even standing

still. This means that carrying three objects will leave you

weaker than carrying one light object. This also means that

traveling to a new location and fighting reduces your strength.

The only way to increase your strength is by eating and drinking.



Note -  Food will do you more good than wine...



In some locations you will find food and/or wine conveniently

lying around. You can eat or drink or simply get the food or wine

for future use. However, if other characters are around, they may

well have the same idea - so decide and act quickly.



In some locations you will find food and/or wine in a locked

cupboard or chest. If, however, you are already weak, you may

well find yourself unable to unlock the cupboard or chest. You

will then need to use your powers of persuasion to get another

character to do it for you.



At the start of the game, many of the characters are carrying

food and/or wine. Any of the characters in the game may eat and

drink from time to time. They will tend to pick up food and wine

that is lying around, exchange food and wine among themselves and

the more stupid characters may even drop food and wine as they

move around.



If you are weak and there is no obvious source of food and wine,

you can try asking another character to either sell or give you

some.



You have a fixed maximum potential strength, so there is no point

in eating or drinking for the sake of it. In fact, there is a

fixed amount of found and drink in the universe, so the more that

you consume, the less there is left for you when you really need

it. It makes more sense to get the food and/or wine and carry it

with you or store it in a chest or a cupboard.





FIGHTING



There is no way to stop any fight once it has started. You can,

however, type in your next command while the fight is taking

place.



Only two characters can fight at any one time.



Fights are either won, lost or drawn.



When other characters die they leave the screen to reappear

elsewhere, but not necessarily in hell. This means that sometimes

a character who has just died, will return quite quickly to your

present location.



The outcome of any fight is determined by the strength of the

characters involved and the weapons that they are carrying.



Note -  A helmet and a shield are purely defensive. Your

attacking strength is determined by your having, or not having,

a sword or an axe. A sword will always be stronger than an axe,

except when thrown.



There is also a small random "luck" factor, although this will

hardly ever dramatically affect the outcome of a fight.



Fights can be started in various ways -



You, or any character, can simply decide to attack any other

character.



You can ask one character to attack another on your behalf.

Whether they do, or not, depends on how they feel about you at

the time.



Equally, other characters, particularly the more intelligent

ones, will often ask other characters to do their fighting for

them.



Letting other characters fight on your behalf is obviously

attractive but you will need to do a certain amount of attacking

and fighting yourself.



The extent to which other characters like you, give you things,

fight on your behalf, open containers for you and generally help

you is determined by the characters that you choose to attack.

For example, if you attack Hel and Gripe (baddies), Odin (goodie)

will be more co-operative than Loki (baddie). Likewise, if you

attack Odin the chances are that Loki will be co-operative.



Even when your strength is at its maximum, you will not be strong

enough to overcome the strongest characters, good and bad alike.

It is unlikely, however, that even the strongest characters would

kill you in a single bout of fighting, provided that you are

reasonably well armed and have kept your strength up by eating

and drinking.



Any character, including you, can start a fight by throwing any

object you posses, except money, at any other character.



The effect of throwing objects varies according to what has been

thrown. For example, a bottle may not cause much damage whereas

a fireball or lightning may actually kill you or any character,

when you or they are at their weakest.



Note -  When thrown, an axe is stronger than a sword.





GETTING THINGS



If you want to get any object it must be lying on the ground or

in an open chest or cupboard.



Simply type 'get' followed by the name of the object.



For example -   get axe

                get lightning



Note -  You can always check what items are present and in open

        containers by using the 'what' command and pressing

        ENTER.



Getting things from containers is under the heading chests,

cupboards and keys.



Note -  'Take' has exactly the same effect as 'get'. It does not

matter which word you use.



Dropping things



An obvious way to get something from a character is by making

them drop it and then you get it.



For example -   Thor drop the axe

                and if he does, followed by:

                get axe



This is however far from ideal as any other character can also

get it. There is also the risk of Klepto turning up...



Note -  Once you have dropped an object it is no longer yours.

This means that any other character could take it, and if you

have had second thoughts about dropping it, you might not be able

to get it back.



You can drop any object in your possession at any time. This can

be useful when you are weak and you want to lighten your load.

You can only drop things to the ground and except for fireballs

and lightning, which are invisible, you will see the object

appear on the ground.



Other characters, especially the weak and stupid ones, might drop

things as they move around.



If you drop an object and it is still there when you leave the

location, you can always try to return to your previous location

and attempt to get it before another character...



Giving things



You simply type in 'give' followed by the name of the object and

the name of the character you are giving it to.



For example -   give axe to Thor

                give Thor the axe

                give axe Thor



Equally you can ask any character to give an object to any other

character.



For example -   Odin give Thor axe

                Odin give the axe to Thor

                Odin give me the axe

                Odin give me your axe



Note -  You cannot force characters to give objects to you.

Whether or not they agree depends on how well disposed towards

you they are at the time...





BUYING AND SELLING



Buying things



There are three ways to start the process of buying, using the

commands 'buy,' 'offer' and 'sell.'



For example -   buy axe from Thor for 20 crowns

                offer 20 crowns to Thor for axe

                Thor sell me your axe for 20 crowns



The character concerned will then either accept or reject your

bid depending upon the situation.



If the offer is refused, you can make another offer by typing

'offer 30 crowns to Thor for axe' or by editing the previous

input.



Note -  You need to find out for yourself how much, or how

little, you should ask or offer for an object.



Note -  Other characters will not themselves start the buying and

selling process.



Selling things



The only reason you would want to sell an object is to raise

money. You can use the words 'buy' or 'sell' to start the

process.



For example -   sell axe to Thor for 20 crowns

                or

                Thor buy axe from me for 20 crowns



The character concerned will then either accept or reject you

proposal depending upon the situation.



If the offer is rejected you can edit your previous input to try

again.



i.e. sell axe to Thor for 10 crowns



Note -  Providing you have not entered anything else, you can use

CAPS SHIFT 2 to pull your last entry back into the text window.

You can then simply edit the number of crowns.



Note -  You start the game with 200 crowns and you can only add

to that by selling an object or asking another character to give

you money. You can find out how much you have by typing 'list.'





CHESTS, CUPBOARDS AND KEYS



In some locations you will find chests and cupboards. On the

screen, a cupboard looks like a small door. All chests and

cupboards can be used as containers for any object that you can

carry.



If a cupboard or chest is closed, it is automatically locked and

a key is needed to open it. The same key opens all chests and

cupboards and the only times you lose possession of a key is when

you die or if you sell it, drop it or give it away.



Different cupboards and chests require varying amounts of

strength to open them, so that having a key does not necessarily

mean that you can open the container. There may be some

containers that, even at your strongest, you are unable to open.

You then need to rely on the goodwill of another character to

open them for you.



Note -  Any container is automatically closed and therefore

locked when you leave a location. You do not need a key to lock

a container.



It is important to note that other characters will not open

containers, unless persuaded by you to do so. However, if a

container is open they will take things from it and put things

in it.



There are certain rules which determine how many items you can

put into and take out of a chest or cupboard. You will need to

discover these as you play VALHALLA. However, watch out for

Klepto...



Note -  Ofnir is a ceremonial key and will not open chests and

        cupboards.





SUMMONING CHARACTERS



There will be times when you want a particular character on

screen with you, either to do something, like open a chest, or

because they have something you need. You simply use 'summon'

followed by a character name.



For example -   summon Odin



Note -  'Summon' can only be used with a character name.



You can summon any character, even if they have just died. 

However sometimes, as with help, the characters do not co-operate

and 'sorry...' appears on the screen. You can always try

repeating your request.



If you summon a character who is already on screen, your command

will be ignored.





GETTING CHARACTERS TO DO THINGS FOR YOU



There will be times when it will be necessary or desirable to get

another character to do something for you. You can ask any

character to do almost anything you yourself can do, but of

course, they may refuse.



Some examples - Odin get the ring

                Loki go northeast

                Thor attack Krank

                Saga eat the food

                Boldir open the chest

                Odin put ring in chest



Note -  Other characters cannot buy and sell for you.





WHAT, WHERE AND WHO



Typing 'what' and pressing ENTER will tell you what objects are

present on the screen. This will include the contents of any open

chest or cupboard.



Typing 'where' and pressing ENTER will tell you where you are and

what directions you can go in.



There are, however, occasions when you need to have, or have not,

an object or a certain character with you in order to go in a

certain direction. Even if the character or object is present on

screen, 'where' will not tell you about these extra directions.

In these instances you need to use the 'help' command or, in the

absence of help, simple trial and error.



'Where' will also tell you if there is a ringway present, but

will not tell you where it leads to. You can always try 'help...'



Typing 'who' and pressing ENTER will tell you the names of the

characters currently on the screen.





HOW AND LIST



Typing 'how' and pressing ENTER will give you a report on your

current strength.



For example -   You are feeling very strong.



Typing 'list' and pressing ENTER provides you with a list of

everything you are carrying and the amount of money (crowns) you

possess.





HELP



As you play VALHALLA you will find that there will be times when

you need some guidance. This applies especially if you are

seriously pursuing the quest objects.



'Help' can give you three kinds of information. It will tell you

directions in which you can go if you have, or don't have an

object or a particular character with you.



It may also randomly select one of the other characters on screen

and tell you which objects he or she is carrying and how much

money they possess.



Finally, it may also tell you the destination of a ringway, if

there is one.



Note -  Help does not always tell the "whole truth," but will not

        actually lie. Sometimes help will not co-operate at all,

        returning with 'sorry...' However repeating it may get

        results.





PAUSE



If for any reason you want to freeze VALHALLA, for any length of

time, simply type 'pause' and press ENTER. Any action that has

started before you pressed ENTER will be completed. To restart,

type in any command and press ENTER.





SAVE AND LOAD



At any time you can save the current game position onto tape, so

that you can resume playing the game from the exact point at

which you left it.



Do not attempt to save and load VALHALLA until you have read this

chapter. VALHALLA's 'save' and 'load' commands work in an

entirely different way to the Spectrum's usual 'save' and 'load'

commands.



To save, type 'save', then start your cassette recorder and then

press ENTER. Do not press ENTER before you have started your

cassette recorder. If you are not sure about recording from your

Spectrum to your cassette recorder, refer to Chapter 6, page 21

of your Spectrum Introduction manual.



Note -  Do not use "" or a file name - simply type 'save' and

press ENTER.



You cannot stop 'save' or 'load' once you have pressed ENTER. Do

not attempt to stop either process by using the break key.



Saving takes approx 30 seconds to complete and you should note

that although the game position is exactly preserved, any

container that was open will have closed.



VALHALLA does not have a 'verify' command. This means that if you

have not already tried saving on you cassette recorder you should

do so using the Spectrum's verify command. This way you will know

that you cassette recorder will save and load with your Spectrum.

Refer to Chapter 6, page 23 of the Spectrum Introduction manual.



Note -  As saving only takes 30 seconds, you can always play safe

and record your game twice in succession.



To load a previously saved game, you must first load VALHALLA

itself if it is not already running. Type 'load,' press ENTER and

then start the cassette recorder. As with saving, do not use ""

or a file name and not press the break key.



Note -  If you type 'load' and PRESS enter and do not mean to

load a previously saved game position, the only way out is to

turn the machine off. You then have to turn it on and reload

VALHALLA.



PRINT, NOPRINT AND COPY



If you have a ZX printer, you can use it with VALHALLA. Follow

the instructions supplied with your printer. Do not attempt to

connect your printer when the Spectrum is turned on and VALHALLA

is running.



Print - As events are reported in the white text window, they 

are also printed.



Noprint - Turns 'print' off.



Copy - Copies the complete screen, graphics and text.



The quality of the printouts does not compare with the actual

screen graphics and is only of limited use. Of course, it does

provide proof that you have been to a certain location or

obtained one or more of the quest objects.





THE CHARACTERS



You will find the qualities that a character possesses alongside

the illustration of the character. All of the characters in the

game behave according to the qualities they possess. Hence Thor

is good, brave and strong but does some pretty stupid things.

Krank is bad news and Saga is good, bright and reliable.



There is one situation that arises where you will probably think

that all of the characters are being stupid. That is where they

die of hunger when there is food lying around. In fact it often

gets them out of a location or a tricky situation, so that they

can immediately return with their full strength.



Name    sort    badness goodness charisma strength bravery brains

-----   ----    ------- -------- -------- -------- ------- ------

Gore    wolf    4       -        2        3        3       2

Gastro  wolf    5       -        2        3        4       4

Frantic wolf    3       -        1        4        5       4

Skadi   dragon  -       3        5        4        3       1

Nasher  dragon  5       -        1        2        1       1

Nidhog  dragon  3       -        2        4        4       2

Grunt   giant   2       -        4        4        5       3

Rankle  giant   4       -        1        4        4       4

Krank   giant   4       -        1        4        5       5

Thudd   giant   2       -        2        2        4       3

Gripe   giant   3       -        4        4        3       2

Tyr     god     -       2        3        4        4       1

Heimdal god     -       2        4        3        2       3

Idun    goddess -       5        2        2        2       2

Boldir  god     -       5        5        4        4       3

Kir     god     -       4        5        3        4       3

Bragi   god     -       3        2        2        3       3

Kon     dwarf   4       -        4        3        1       4

Mary    dwarf   -       3        1        1        1       3

Klepto  dwarf   1       -        4        2        3       5

Alvin   dwarf   -       2        4        2        1       2

Boogi   dwarf   1       -        4        1        1       1

Bug     dwarf   -       2        3        3        3       2

Leer    dwarf   3       -        2        3        3       3

Snor    giant   -       1        3        3        1       1

Glut    giant   -       1        2        3        2       2

Klout   giant   -       3        2        4        4       2

Drudge  giant   -       2        1        3        2       1

Odin    god     -       3        5        4        4       5

Saga    goddess -       4        5        3        4       5

Loki    god     5       -        5        4        4       5

Hel     goddess 5       -        3        4        4       5

Thor    god     -       5        4        5        5       2

Talis   goddess -       2        5        3        3       4

Od      god     -       4        3        1        1       5

Mistra  goddess -       1        5        3        3       3





SUMMARY



command example

------- -------

Attack  attack Odin with axe

Buy     buy axe from Thor for 20 crowns

Close   close chest

Copy

Drink   drink wine

Drop    drop lightning

Eat     eat food

Get     get axe

Give    give axe to Thor

Go      go north, go to axe, go se

Help

How

Jump    travel by ringways using ring

Kill    kill Odin

L       moves you to the left

List

Load

Lock

Noprint

Offer   offer 10 crowns to Odin for axe

Open    open chest

Pause

Print

Put     put ring in chest

R       moves you to the right

Save

Sell    sell axe to Loki for 30 crowns

Shut    shut chest

Summon  summon Thor

Take    take axe

Throw   throw fireball at Loki

Unlock  unlock chest

What

Where

Who



You must press the ENTER key after every command.



DO NOT PRESS THE BREAK KEY



To ask a character to do something type character's name followed

by command and ENTER - e.g. 'Thor get axe.'



To enter a building - 'go north.' You cannot enter a hut.



CAPS SHIFT 1 deletes your entire input line. CAPS SHIFT 2 pulls

your last entry back into the black input window, so that you can

repeat the entry or edit it.



SYMBOL SHIFT Q, A, Z are used for scrolling the white text window

over the twenty line text area.



CAPS SHIFT 5, 6, 7, 8 and DELETE (0) provide normal editing

facilities.



CHARACTERS



Alvin   Boldir  Boogi   Bragi   Bug     Drudge  Frantic Gastro 

Glut    Gore    Gripe   Grunt   Heimdal Hel     Idun    Kir    

Klepto  Klout   Kon     Krank   Leer    Loki    Mary    Mistra 

Nasher  Nidhog  Od      Odin    Rankle  Saga    Skadi   Snor   

Talis   Thor    Thudd   Tyr



OBJECTS



Axe                     Chest

Crowns                  Cupboard

Drapnir (ring)          Felstrong (axe)

Fireball (invisible)    Food

Grimnir (helmet)        Helmet

Jewel                   Key

Lightning (invisible)   Ofnir (key)

Ring                    Rock

Shield                  Skalir (sword)

Skornir (shield)        Sword

Wine





SCORES RECEIVED

"An excellent program all round." 81.5% (CRASH #1, April 1984)



URL

ftp://ftp.dcc.uchile.cl/pub/OS/sinclair/snapshots/v/valhalla.zip



GENERAL FACTS



NOTES

