Credits
The Black Land
Black Land - The Game:
Walking and other actions
Combat
The Great Connections
Specials
Appendices
Black Land - a role playing game by the Swabian coding team Bollaware, consisting of:
Roland Barthel - Code
Sigurd Fauser - Graphics
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the old-established firm
Raithle Schleiftechnik, which generously supplied us with note paper and
copying facilities (I don't think I have to add that a small monetary
contribution would not have been without use to us... oh well.)
Additional thanks to:
Andreas "Raithlibär" Raithle for playtesting and motivation during long days
full of work.
If you have questions about Black Land, feel free to contact
DocBartoc@4u.net
Manual translation and port to HTML by Ulrich Schreitmüller
"For thus did the Fres speak unto mankind: One of your own shall come, and he shall bring great wrong upon you, and I shall not hold him back, for he will be of your blood. But harken unto my words: There shall be among you four, whom I shall choose to stop the one. Four they shall be as there are elements, and verily, I say unto you, if they shall forsake you, then I also shall forsake you, and you shall live in suffering for evermore."
From "Songs of a wandering minstrel"
Lazily, he sat in the midday sun and dozed. It was very quiet around this time, since all the villagers had assembled on the village green to determine the village's best bowman. But the young man, leaning solitarily against a barn and listening to the wind whispering in the trees, was not particularly interested in this contest, not at all, to be precise.
Let those yokels try their luck - in any case the victor would be the flame-haired girl that, like him, inhabited this farm. His adopted sister, one might say. He spat on the ground. The daughter of his foster parents. Not that they liked him especially well... but at any rate more than the other villagers. He had still been a baby when the sea flushed him onto the shores of this island. That had been nineteen years ago, but still they were frightened of his red eyes... Eyes in which no pupils were visible... only red, nothing but red. And yet they had been too cowardly to let him die alone like that, back then. They had feared the anger of some monstrous sea gods. Again he spat out. Sea gods!! What rubbish. At any rate these people had taken him in back then, the blacksmith and his wife. Nice people, basically, but unfortunately just as dimwitted as the other villagers. The blacksmith's wife had had another child to care for anyway, a girl with fiery red hair, her daughter. And so the head of the village had decided that she would just have to care for two children from now on. Well, they were simple and honest people, and they gave him the name "Goromon", which roughly meant "Redeye" in the Elven language. The girl they called "Vanessa", meaning "Sunrise".
The old blacksmith would surely have liked
to see Goromon take over the smithy some day, but the boy did not
show much passion for this work, just as he did not have much love for
other mundane activities. Instead he would stroll through the forest,
loaf about in the shadows of high trees and ponder his life, the
universe, and nature.
Humourlessly he grinned to himself - those
bumpkins really had thought they could pick on him just because he
couldn't handle weapons too well. They had ambushed him, wanting to
give him a thrashing, to beat him up because he was different from them.
But they had underestimated him... they had no idea that he was playing
with powers beyond their grasp. Perhaps he had overdone it a little...
one of them had almost died. Again he spat on the ground, closely
missing the stone for which he had been aiming. Well, no one would
have mourned for that idiot anyway.
At any rate he was only avoided all the more after that. Only Vanessa, grown up to be a woman by now, always took his side. Women... he just didn't understand them. It was Vanessa who had always surpassed him at handling weapons, at speed and skill. But he cared little about that. Carefully he opened his mind, letting the energy that he had already felt as a child and later learned to use flow inside him. He bathed his spirit in this power, drowned in it, absorbed it into himself. Then he was saturated, felt how the energy continued to fill him, shaped it. He looked around. Nearby, meatflies buzzed around an old piece of horse-dung. Meatflies. And he HATED insects. With a contemptuous grin he threw a ball of pure energy in their direction. Bow and arrows, eh? Well, he had his own weapons. And he could feel that he had not plumbed the depths of his powers yet. Not by a long shot.
Then - a whipping twang, a short brush of air at his cheek, and an arrow with multicoloured feathers sticks in the barn's wooden wall, vibrating, inches away from his head.
Slowly he turns his head in the direction
the arrow came from. "You can't think of anything new, either", he growls, unimpressed.
"Hi, lazybones!!!" On the path leading to the city stands a woman, about as
old as Goromon himself, and her long red hair blows in the wind
while she surveys him, grinning. "A pity you weren't there. It went
down pretty well." Laughing, she points at the wreath of flowers in her
tangled hair. She has won the contest. Of course. No one handles bow
and arrows like her.
"Greetings, victress of this farmer's
contest. I very much hope you embarrassed as many of these bumpkins as
possible."
With a grin she approaches. "Don't be like that", she reprimands him.
"I remember only too well what a variety of targets your arrows found
when you tried it last summer. And - by the way - with your sword you
shouldn't pick on anyone older than five years of age, either."
There it was again. Women. All the time
she picks on him, but when there are problems, she sticks by him. He
just can't make any sense of her.
She sits down beside him. "Hey now, don't mope, Redeye..." she begins,
but he interrupts her. "Don't call me Redeye", he hisses, "...Flamehair!!!"
She only laughs. "Stay calm, Goromon. Don't let me tease you all the
time. You know I don't mean any harm..."
"I know bugger all."
"Well, anyway, here's something to cheer you up; look, a messenger gave
me this earlier. He says it's from the Fres itself, imagine that!!!"
He only grunts indignantly. "The Fres... nursery stories. Next you'll
be getting mail from the Bogeyman. Or from the old Star Fairy, who
pulls her cloak over the sky at night..."
And again he spits on the floor. Disgusted, Vanessa wrinkles her nose.
"Stop spitting, that's gross. And now read this before you complain... it
sounds quite interesting..."
Reluctantly he unfolds the paper and reads...
"To the flame-haired amazon called Vanessa, resident of an unworthy hamlet on Shepherdsjoy Island, west of Nowhere.
Hear... um, no, Read what the Fres, undisputed ruler over the inhabitants of Earth, the Universe and so on, has to tell you:
You have been chosen to be one of the persons who hold the fate of this world in their hands!!! It is imperative that you come to me so that I may familiarize you with your task and unite you with the others. Four are chosen, and as Fate and I would have it, two of them are to be found on Shepherdsjoy Island. However, since you appear to me to be the more sensible of the two, I hereby charge you to bring along the Redeye when you seek out my hut a few miles east of Akral. I shall be expecting you.Signed, FRES"
"My name is not Redeye...", Goromon
snarls, regardless of those utterly fascinating prospects, "and I do not
believe that this letter comes from the Fres itself. Hogwash."
"Well, anyway, the messenger gave me a bag of gold for the travel expenses,
and you know what they say..."
"...Don't look a gift bass in the... well,
nowhere, I suppose. You know, I actually think we should go... the thought alone
of leaving this boring island fills me with joy..."
"So you're coming?? Wonderful!"
And with these words, Vanessa plants a big kiss on Goromon's cheek,
who, once more at a loss on how to react, simply mumbles: "Women..."
He was on his way, on his own. He had been on his own all his life, and he was certain that he would manage to end it on his own as well. This end, however, seemed pretty close at the moment - grizzlebears didn't put up with any nonsense around this time of year, and this ten-foot specimen visiting him here by his campfire seemed eager to stick to this rule. It wasn't as if the warrior we are watching here hadn't killed any grizzlebears before... To tell the truth, he'd had to quarrel with these creatures far too often. And he had always proven himself magnificently.
But this time, things were a little
different... He had not expected wild animals in this remote part of
the forest, and so was carrying only his hunting knife with him. The
heavy axe, which would have made for an altogether more pleasant fight,
was hanging out of reach on the saddle of his panic-stricken mount.
"Heaven and Hell," he snarled, "Come on then you old bugger, I've got sharp
claws as well!!!" And almost as if it had understood him, the giant animal
really lumbered closer, and with a deep growl exposed two rows of razor-sharp
fangs from which venom was dripping in long strings.
With unexpected speed the sturdy barbarian jumps forward, there is a short flash of the hunting knife, and deep crimsom bear's blood is dripping from the sharpened blade. Yet for the monstrous beast this is but a scratch, and as it howls loudly, there is more fury than real pain. Still, this cut was supposed to cause nothing more than that, for only when a grizzlebear becomes angry and careless does it expose its round, bladder-like larynx, its most vulnerable spot, especially if one has only a hunting knife at one's disposal.
Yet a maddened grizzlebear also has distinct disadvantages, as the barbarian must learn now... For even an openly exposed larynx is hard to hit if it hovers about ten feet above oneself and one has to take extreme caution not to be mauled by giant paws. And so it is no wonder that our brave fighter soon finds himself being forced onto the defensive. Of course he manages to inflict the occasional cut on the bear, whose grey fur now shows some red stripes where the blood is dripping from a number of small wounds. But the Hillander, too, must suffer injuries, which will form further souvenirs on his already scarred skin. And he feels his immense powers weaken. One more time he stakes everything on one chance.
Fast as lightning, he jumps at the bear, claws into its fur with his left and pulls himself up on it. Before the beast can shake him off, the warrior has reached the enormous skull, but the bear quick-wittedly ducks its head and the vulnerable larynx disappears into an almost impenetrable fold of skin. But the barbarian does not lose his calm that easily, and so he changes his strategy in the speed of a thought and rams his knife right into the creature's eye. Now the bear is really roaring with pain, but the warrior has no time to gloat over his success. A mighty swipe of the paw hits him and throws him several feet away. He lands in some shrubberies which soften his fall, and in no time picks himself up out of them, only to realise with horror that his knife is still stuck in the monster's eye. The bear now roars with all its might and lumbers clumsily but highly erect towards the Hillander who caused it this pain. Its remaining eye flashes with rage, its step becomes more confident. By now it is running so fast that escape is out of the question. But the barbarian would not have fled anyway. Standing upright, he awaits his opponent, ready to lay down his life in a final battle, so that he may earn himself a place at the table of Taurus the war god in the afterlife.
His eyes half screwed up, he stands there, every muscle, every sinew, every fibre of his body tightened. His last stand shall be a great one. The bear is now so close that the Hillander can feel the floor vibrate with every one of its steps. Its breath smells of death, yet the knife in its eye is a sign that a human defied it.
Then it stops suddenly. Once more it rears itself up to its full height, roars... And then at last the warrior notices the arrow with multicoloured feathers sticking in the bear's remaining eye. The loud roar echoes through the forest and then dies abruptly as a second arrow burrows itself into the monster's larynx. With a gurgling noise the bear collapses, a final twitch, then it lies quiet.
Without showing any interest as to who fired the arrows, the barbarian steps towards the grizzlebear's carcass, and with almost loving motions pulls the weapons from the animal's eyes and closes the lids over the empty sockets - a final tribute to a good warrior.
Then he turns around and sees a shapely woman with incredibly red hair enter the clearing he has selected for this rest. The way she carries her bow shows that she knows to use it well. The arrows were probably fired by her. A young man in a black cloak follows her, looking bored. He is unarmed, but one look at his red eyes almost convinces the Hillander that this one does not need any weapons to defend himself.
"I thank you, stranger, even if your help was
unnecessary. I would have..."
"...you would certainly have killed it, with your hands, sure. Are you
men all the same?" The woman sighs, then she continues: "By the way,
my name is Vanessa, and this here is Redeye."
"I am not Redeye."
"All right, he is called Goromon, and we're on our way to see the..."
"...on our way to Akral, is what she means," the red-eyed one interrupts
her for the second time. Then he spits on the ground. "And who are you,
suicidal one?"
"They call me Bartoc, which means Bull in our language. Come and join me for the night if you wish. We Hillanders value hospitality highly, so you may trust me. Sit by the fire, and I'll see if I can't prepare a tasty meal from this bear... I suppose I owe you at least that much." And, having spoken, he turns back to the dead bear and begins to disembowel it.
Later that evening the three are sitting
around the fire, enjoying the pleasant feeling of a full stomach. This
Bartoc had not just been making empty promises - the bear had tasted
delicious.
"You're not from around here, are you? I've never heard your dialect
before..." Bartoc now enquires curiously.
"Verily, we have travelled far, coming from the western islands, over
the sea by ferry, then on foot and by coach through forests, valleys,
meadows and fields. Many things have we seen that did not exist on
the island. And we have heard many rumours also. Pray, what can you
tell us about the Black Land? We have heard so much about it that only
half of it would make a fearsome tale of the highest quality..."
"Well now, I don't know exactly myself," the Hillander carefully begins,
"but many of my tribe have seen it, and I know they'd never lie. They
say it's spreading. The ground blackens, the trees are dying. And
there are creatures like you'd hardly believe: Walking corpses,
rattling skeletons, giant flying skulls and more vermin like that.
They say that in the centre of this rotted land there stands a pyramid,
built from blackest stone, and lightning flashes across the land, the
wind blows icily, and all the time you think you can hear the dead
whispering, calling. Only few have seen the pyramid and lived long
enough to tell about it."
And the warrior, who has proven himself
worthy and fearless in innumerable battles, shivers upon imagining
this cursed place. Goromon seems impressed as well, even if he
tries to conceal it. Casually he spits into the campfire. Vanessa, too,
sits in awkward silence.
Then she adresses the mountain-dweller: "And you, what are you doing
here, far from your home? You come from the mountains, don't you?"
"Well spotted. Aye, the wild world of the mountains is my home, my
native country, which I intend to see again as soon as I have met...
um... as soon as I have been to... er... Akral to do some... uh...
shopping for my... sick old mother." Uneasily he glances at all sides.
The grins of the other two show clearly how much they believe in his
heart-wrenching story. Silently he curses to himself.
"Women..." he grumbles and spits into the fire.
"I like that man," Goromon mumbles, grinning. "I might just get used
to him."
"You will, for I think he will accompany us to Akral... perhaps even
a little further" Vanessa mutters, and she shoots a sharp glance at
Bartoc. "Perhaps even a little further..."
Days later, about a mile from Akral. Three travellers are putting in a rest to discuss the further course of their travels.
"Well, this is where our ways part, isn't it?" It is Vanessa who poses this
question to Bartoc the Hillander.
He winces, looks around himself suspiciously once again, coughs and,
with an uneasy voice, asks: "How did you know that Akral was not my
actual destination?"
"Well, until now we only knew that Akral was not our actual
destination. Well, which way now, young man?" This time it is
Goromon, speaking in a mocking voice. "To see the Sandman? The
Bogeyman? The Fres, perchance?"
"Do not mock, red-eyed one!!! The Fres is real!! And it will yet curb that
loose tongue of yours!" Bartoc, who has almost screamed those last
words, takes a deep breath, sniffles audibly and spits on the ground.
"Stay calm, mountain-dweller. Since you have obviously been called to
the Fres as well, let us look for its hut together, for we are also on
our way there." Vanessa intervenes soothingly.
"You... you too have received a letter? From IT? From the Fres, I mean?"
"Well spotted, hill-dwarf. You certainly took your time, if I may be allowed
to offer this little bit of criticism."
Those words, of course, have come from Goromon's mouth. But Bartoc
stays calm. "Well, what can I say... Let's go!!!" he shouts without
acknowledging the insult, and rides off. Shrugging, Goromon follows
him, with a laughing Vanessa in the rearguard.
Hidden between high trees, situated in idyllic solitude not far from the capital city of Akral, the hut of the Fres is nestled quaintly into the surrounding nature. Although it is a rather plain building it magically attracts the eyes of the three arrivals, for it radiates an inner beauty that is to be grasped rather with the heart than with the mind. But soon awe is replaced once more by curiosity, and Vanessa knocks gingerly on the massive ebony door.
"Come in, come in, my dears!!! It's about time!!" a guttural voice, which almost exactly fulfills the expectations the tree travellers have harboured of a living legend, resonates from within.
Carefully, Vanessa opens the door, expecting a hero to approach them, to welcome them and offer them a place at his table. But an empty corridor lies in front of her. Not entirely empty... a few benches, torches on the walls... but not a human soul. The next room, too, is entirely devoid of human content. But behind the door they hear quiet voices, one of them the one that has told them to enter. Bartoc feels a slight tingling sensation in the pit of his stomach as Vanessa lets him go ahead. His hand, moist with sweat, grips the handle and warily pushes it down. He opens the door... it turns easily in its hinges and squeaks only ever so slightly.
Bartoc's prying eye spots a giant of a man, leaning against the wall and surveying him with a mocking grin. No, this isn't the Fres, Bartoc thinks. He is strapping, certainly, and apparently a well-versed fighter. Worthy of a hero in any case, but... a fighter. The Fres, however, has no need to fight, as absurd as this notion seems to him as member of a warlike mountain-people. He pushes the door completely open, and beholds the Fres...
Majestically the Fres sits on its throne, its rosy skin gleaming in the light of the fires which burn under pots of delicious-smelling stew. One after the other, each of the visitors is scrutinized closely by the Fres' alert piggy eyes, then the enormous mouth below the quivering pink snout opens, and the already familiar voice booms: "Have you never seen a pig before in all your miserable lives?? What's more, you're extremely rude, gaping at me with your gobs wide open like that!"
Three mouths snap shut audibly.
"Think nothing of it. I too was - to put it mildly - surprised. But this porcine here doesn't bear a grudge and is very amusing." The Fres grunts quietly but audibly, and the sturdy warrior continues: "But enough of that. I am Orcus, and the call of the Fres reached me at a faraway place, beyond the sea. And now, as we finally appear to be complete, I am dying to know why I was called here."
Goromon, still a little confused by the sight of the Fres, turns his head to one side and spits casually. But the drop of saliva does not reach the ground... in mid-air it returns, and flies right back into the mouth of the red-eyed one.
"Please, not here in the house," the Fres grumbles, and Vanessa bursts out in a bright laugh. Even Bartoc and Orcus fail to hide a grin.
"Just you wait, I'll learn to master that
as well, and quicker than you think," Goromon mutters, but he is
grinning as well. The initial tension is broken, but now the Fres
raises its arms, calling for silence.
"The time has come for you to learn a few things..."
And so the Fres begins to speak...
This product is a role playing game, which means that we have tried to represent the game's world as realistic as possible. There is a change of day and night, the characters learn from experience, they have to eat and sleep, they are capable of walking, fighting, talking... and dying. Of course there have been close restraints in this respect, considering for a start the computer system, and of course the playability has to be right. We have tried to reduce all this to a common denominator while keeping it as entertaining and as much fun as possible. Because we wanted to grant ourselves a wish. And because we wanted to show that this is possible on a computer declared dead. I hope we have succeeded in doing so. No... I believe in it.
Follow me now into the world of Goromon, Bartoc and Vanessa... it is a fantastical world which offers many possibilities, but although the controls have been kept as simple as possible, you will not succeed in so complex a game without some training. Don't be afraid, however, the following chapters will answer most questions quite clearly...
Black Land basically works in two modes:
In Walk Mode no pointer is visible, you steer the current character through the area with the joystick. Complex actions are not possible here (however also see Options: Modes).
Pointer Mode can be reached from Walk Mode by pressing the fire button (keep it pressed down for a while!!), and with an acoustic signal a pointer in the shape of a hand will appear. Time (game time, that is) will stand still, and you can select and perform different actions like picking up or using items, resting your party, using levers, restoring and saving your game etc. by clicking the respective icons. By clicking right into the displayed room, you will return to Walk Mode.
The Pointer Mode is clearly the more difficult of the two, and so we shall go into more detail on that one and explain all the icons separately, but first something basic:
In order for the program to know who is picking something up, dropping it etc., one of the character is always defined as the Leader. It is also this character who takes the lead in walk mode. The party leader is marked by a bright frame around his character's portrait. To change the leader, simply click (in Pointer Mode) on the portrait of the one you want to be the new leader.
The Icons in Pointer Mode
Part 1: The main icons on the lower right
The Party Icon, with which the line-up of the
party can be defined: The leader can expel the party member standing
before him in his line of sight. This way, you are able to create up
to four single groups from the original four party members. The same
technique is used to reintegrate a character into the party.
The Inventory Icon, with which the inventory menu is opened.
Here you can put on or take off weapons or armour, change them, use
magic, and access further data on party members. (...see
The Inventory Menu)
The Rest Icon, with which single party members or even the whole
party can be laid down to sleep. When sleeping, a character regenerates
his life force, his exhaustion is decreased. If a single character is
resting, he is separated from the party. You can wake him by declaring
him the leader.
The Map Icon, with which a map containing all previously entered
rooms can be displayed. (...see The Map)
Part 2: The verb bar at the top of the screen
Examine - only valid for the leader. He will examine the ground below him and the ground or the item directly in front of him. If he finds anything, a list of the found items will appear. From this list you can now select what to pick up - simply click on the desired item, and it will be marked. Click OKAY to acknowledge, and the leader will take anything he can carry. Clicking STOP will cancel the action at any time.
Use - if the leader is standing in front of a lever, it will be pulled, otherwise a list of the items the leader is carrying will pop up, and the desired items may be clicked. When using keys or similar, the leader has to stand directly in front of the door, potions and food may of course be consumed at any time.
Take - Similar to Examine, but this command
affects only items which lie around openly.
Example: A dead body lies on the floor. With Examine, the leader will take
all the items the body is carrying, with Pick up, the leader will take the
body itself.
Drop - Probably needs no further explanation.
Give - The leader gives items from his inventory to the person standing immediately in front of him in the direction of his view. This is also the only way to transfer items within the party.
Talk - The leader will begin a (trading) discussion with the person standing directly in front of him.
Disc - A sub-menu pops up in which games can be restored or saved. It is possible to save four games, which will be stored on side B of the game. You can input a long name for every save game.
Option - Here you have access to a few special functions:
The Map
As already mentioned, the map is activated by clicking on the map icon. A window with a bar at the top and a big viewing area below will appear.
All the places already visited are visible, marked with a
dark colour. Walls are drawn in white, closed doors a little darker. Open passages will
be black. The blinking dots indicate the current positions of your party members.
With the help of the two arrows the floor displayed can be changed.
By clicking on the name of the floor it is possible to switch into a special mode in
which the map section may be scrolled in all directions. Leave this mode by pressing
the Fire button.
The Quit icon is used to leave the map.
The Inventory Menu
The inventory menu is activated by clicking on the inventory icon.
Here you can have a look at a variety of data, mainly those which are also visible on the main screen next to the character's portrait - a great opportunity to explain both displays in one go.
The data next to the portraits
Important data such as remaining energy, degree of exhaustion and hunger, and value of weapons and armour are visible on the screen at all times.
Below you will find a few explanations - for the sake of clarity the data in the inventory screen are identical with those in the detail from the main screen; this should make it easier to spot the abbreviations used, since they sometimes vary from each other for reasons of space.
Data in the inventory screen
(Compare the counterparts present in the main display for all underlined data)
We shall take a closer look at weapons, armour, magic, experience and moves later on.
Icons available in the inventory
The inventory menu is not just for information - you may also make adjustments such as changing weapons and armour here. If a value or a sign is available as an icon, it will be inverted when the pointer moves over it.
Available are:
The Magic Menu
Here, general spells may be cast directly and combat spells preset for cases of emergency. First a list with all avaiable spells appears. Click the spell you want to edit. In this list you see how many magic points and moves per round you need to execute the spell. This list will also appear during combat. If an 'M' appears in front of the moves per round this means that you can't input more moves after this spell. Again, several areas may be clicked like icons.
The remaining displays
Apart from the displays next to the character's portraits already mentioned, the main screen offers three more sources of information:
But enough peaceful behaviour for now, after all there are tons of monsters just waiting to be molested by battle-hungry protagonists. Time to tackle the violent side of this game...
In Black Land, combat is based on
strategy and tactics rather than fast action. You move in turns, and
at each turn a certain number of moves can be used for such actions
as walking, fleeing and of course fighting.
Here you have the possibility to make complex plans which will then be
put into action on the screen in one go. You enter the moves
for each character, and then their actions are performed simultaneously,
therefore you should take care that the characters do not needlessly
obstruct one another. But first things first...
First, choose the character whose moves you want to enter. Most of the time you will not have that much of a choice, because usually only your leader will be standing in a newly entered room. Note here that the other party members can only move in after him if the square in front of the door is empty - so it might be useful to take a step to the front or the side first in order to make room for reinforcements.
Don't worry, all this sounds more complicated
than it really is. You will see that after a few battles you will find
using the controls as easy as pie.
But first, a few more basics...
Combat Icons
In order to translate the moves per turn into actions after having
selected your character, use the combat icons which will be displayed on the
lower right corner instead of the main icons, which cannot be used in combat.
Different actions require a different amount of moves, since a 90-degree turn is
probably quicker to perform than using a long-range weapon, and a step
forward is done quicker that a step to the side.
Here are all the possibilities, including their duration (in moves), starting with the icons on the left:
Which leaves two possibilities from the menu for the selected character:
Note: The entered moves will be displayed in the room overview right away to help you keep track of things. After you entered all moves and clicked on 'Nobody' your moves will be executed. Next all enemies will make their moves. If you hit an enemy or an enemy hits you the numbers in brackets tell you the remaining hit points.
In Black Land there are several interactions to bring the characters closer to realistic life. Why eat if hunger has no effect, why sleep if the character shows no signs of exhaustion?! And so we have thought of some connections in order to enrich the semi-lives of the characters with a little colour:
A word about weapon force and armour:
Each party member has basic values for
close-range weapon, long-range weapon and one class of armour. Those will be
added to the weapon and armour values.
Magical attacks will be offset against magic armour, normal attacks against normal armour.
When weapons, shields and armour are used, their durability decreases.
Here are some special functions - they may be less significant to the normal course of the game... but they can make some things easier for you.
The Inventory
If the inventory is activated, be it to examine something, pick it up, give it to someone, use it, change weapons (in combat) or from the inventory menu, the following icons are available at the top:
Furthermore, a special function can be accessed by pressing the second fire button (Joy 1: ESC, Joy 2: SPACE) in order to view information about the currently selected item: Value, durability, weight, weapon- or armour value...
The Bestiary
It can be left by pressing Fire 2 (ESC/SPACE); after you have viewed it, the monsters that are still stored in the RAM will be marked with a tick and may be inspected again without having to load them from disc.
Poisoning
If a character has been poisoned, the degree of the poisoning can be viewed in the corresponding display (see Appendix A) - as a rule, the brighter the bar, the stronger the poisoning.
A poisoned character will continually lose energy in brief intervals of time - the stronger the poisoning, the greater the loss.
The state of being poisoned will last until the character is cured by a healer, an antidote poison or an antidote spell. The poison will also weaken with time passing by.
Levitation
After imbibing a levitation potion or casting a levitation spell, a character will raise about one foot up from the floor - he can now walk over water and burning ground without taking damage, and he is immune to enemies' earthquake spells.
A display on the main screen (see Appendix A) will inform you about the remaining time for levitation: The longer and brighter the bar, the more time in the air remains.
The Main Screen
01. .................................. Portraits
02. ......................... Levitation display
03. ............................. Character data
04. .......................... Poisoning display
05. ................................... Verb bar
06. .............................. Room overview
07. ................................ Text window
08. ................................... Date bar
09. Stun display (works like levitation display)
10. .................................. Inventory
11. ................................. Main icons
12. ........................................ Map
The Magic Spells
Annoy .............. (Level 12) ...................... Makes the monster aggressive
Clone .............. (Level 39) ......... Clones the monster in front of the caster
Conjuration ........ (Level 22) .......................... A friendly demon appears
Cure Injury ........ (Level 07) .................................. Increases Energy
Cure Paralysis ..... (Level 26) ......................... Fallen, and can't get up?
Cure Poison ........ (Level 25) .................... Removes poison without a trace
Dazzle ............. (Level 29) ..................... Hinders, weakens and confuses
Distance Flame ..... (Level 32) ..................... Like Flames, but bowling-like
Durability ......... (Level 35) ......................... Use on weapons and armour
Earthquake ......... (Level 41) .................. Damages all monsters in the room
Fighting Skills .... (Level 08) ..................... Increases natural weapon blow
Flame .............. (Level 30) ... Sets the squares surrounding the caster on fire
Frost .............. (Level 34) ........................ Magical close-range attack
Gild ............... (Level 09) ...................................... Good as gold
Hammer ............. (Level 38) ............. Kills on the spot when used correctly
Hover .............. (Level 33) .................. Greetings to the Montgolfiers...
Invisibility ....... (Level 35) ......................... A blessing in disguise...
Irritate ........... (Level 21) .............................. Confusing, isn't it?
Jump ............... (Level 18) ....... Teleportation in combat; random destination
Light .............. (Level 10) ................................ Why waste torches?
Lull to Sleep ...... (Level 15) ............ Careful: Monster awakens when attacked
Magic Arrow ........ (Level 17) ..................... Non-magical long-range attack
Magic Attack ....... (Level 04) ........................ Magical close-range attack
Magic Flash ........ (Level 05) ......................... Magical long-range attack
Magic Storm ........ (Level 23) ...................... Dispersing far-range missile
Move Object ........ (Level 30) ........................ Moved any furniture today?
Paralyse ........... (Level 27) .................................... Stuns opponent
Perfect Protection . (Level 33) ............. Protection against any kind of attack
Protection ......... (Level 06) ......................... Increases value of armour
Refresh ............ (Level 31) .............................. Decreases exhaustion
Rise Dead .......... (Level 34) .................................. Hades hates this
Room-Teleport ...... (Level 36) ...................... Peaceful long-range teleport
Saturate ........... (Level 24) .................................. Decreases hunger
Scare .............. (Level 13) .......................... Makes opponent defensive
Slow Down .......... (Level 20) ................................ Slows monster down
Sympathy ........... (Level 40) ................... Careful: Disappears upon attack
Teleport ........... (Level 28) ................. Aimed Jump for humans and animals
Vampire ............ (Level 32) ......................... Borrow some life force...
Velocity ........... (Level 11) ................ More moves during a turn of combat
Weaken ............. (Level 16) ................ Weakens force of opponent's weapon
Controls
Joystick 1
TAB
Z
X
CAPS
Fire 1: COPY
Fire 2: ESC
Joystick 2
Up Arrow
Left ArrowRight Arrow
Down Arrow
Fire 1: ENTER
Fire 2: SPACE BAR
Additional keys in Pointer Mode
E ................ Examine
U .................... Use
K ................... Take
P ................... Drop
V ................... Give
S ................... Talk
D ................... Disc
O ................. Option
1-4 . Choose character 1-4
F2 .................. Rest
F3 ................... Map
F5 ..... Expel/Reintegrate
F6 ............. Inventory
Weapon Range
Most hand-to-hand combat weapons only affect the square directly in front of the fighter.
The only exception to this are whips: They have a range of two squares. The way should be clear however - pillars and similar obstacles will handicap even the most practiced whiplashers.
Long-range weapons are usable from a distance of two squares on or more, but here as well a clear firing range is recommended - some items are hardly an obstacle at all (small barrels), some are more so (trees), and some obstruct the way completely (pillars).
By the way: For bow and arrows or crossbow, the force of the weapon can be calculated by adding the force of the bow to the force of the arrow.
Two-Player Mode
Two-player mode can be activated in the Options menu; here a second player may control a second "leader" with joystick 2 or the cursor keys. However, only one of them can be the current leader at a time, namely the one who last was in pointer mode. Only the current leader is able to leave the room in walk mode via a door or an open wall.
Both players are always able to leave walk mode and thus access the more complex functions - in this case, as already mentioned, this player becomes the current leader and the one able to control the pointer. He may also transfer this "privilege" directly by clicking the portrait of the other active character.
Ram Extension / Two CPCs
It is possible to use a 512K Ram Extension to store all files from Side C and D of the game in the memory. Loading will be faster during game and you don't have to switch disc sides any more. The only disc operations are to load and save games from Side B (the save disc).
But all data in the ram extension will be lost. If you own a akku-buffered ram extension the game data will stay in memory if you turn your computer off. That's the best way to play Black Land.
The Bollaware disc operating system (BDOS) also supports double-sided floppy drives. So you can insert Side C/D in your double-sided floppy drive and insert Side B in the other drive.
You also can use two CPCs to play Black Land. The first CPC will be used as data server for Side C and Side D. You have to link the CPCs with a wire between the printer ports. Then you first start Black Land at the server CPC (Ram CPC). Choose options 'Use CPC as RAM-CPC' in the title screen menu. If the Ram CPC is ready you start Black Land on the other CPC. The link connection will be detected automatically now.
You need a shielded wire with two lines. Connect pin 11 (Busy) on one side with pin 2 (Data 0) on the other side and vice versa. You also should connect the shield to pin 9 (ground).
First Steps...
The conversation with the Fres is over, Orcus is gone and you have a new friend - a spider called Frederick. Now you can walk around and examine some objects. If you leave the room trough the door next to the Fres, the picture will stay dark. There is no light in the cellar. So you have to go back and find some torches first. Aahh - next to the Fres there is one. Take it! You didn't get it? The Fres said something to you and put some torches in front of it on the floor. Take these torches.
To light a torch you must enter The Inventory Menu. Move the cursor down on the weapon values. Click there and a window with all items of the character will appear. Now click at one of the torches. You can enter the cellar finally. The character with the torch should go first. If you examine the cellar, you'll find some useful items. You also can activate the Automatic Inquiry mode. If you enter the door next to the stairs, the first enemy will await you. Time to prepare for Combat!
The best way to fight is to let Bartoc - the warrior - stay in the front and to shoot arrows with Vanessa from behind. Goromon the magician should cast a useful spell. Did you already preset the spells in The Magic Menu? Now you should enter the moves for your fighters. First walk in front of the enemy and attack then. With Vanessa you should be at one line with the enemy. Now you can fire an arrow. During the fight you shoudl always watch the hitpoints of your characters. Don't let 'em die! If you activate Show HP of Enemies Mode, it is easier for you to see, when an enemy will die and how often you have to attack the enemy.
The enemy is killed and you should examine, what you can find at the body. Maybe you want to rest some hours? Finally you should save your game from time to time. If your party is fit again you can go back into the first cellar room and enter the other unlocked door. You'll find a trap door on the ground. Just go down there. And watch out that you don't walk into the water down there!