Times of Lore - General Comments

            Played by Dave Barker on the Amiga

The Game Map.
     The original packing of this title contains a fold-out map
of the land of Albareth. Whilst this map does contain a few minor
errors of misplacement it is essential as a reference to the land
and playing without it could prove very frustrating.

Combat.
    It is possible to supplement your weaponry, there is a dagger
in the woodsman's hut in the Dark Forest to the north of Eralan.
It is used as a missile weapon but must be retrieved after each
throw, and it is easily forgotten and lost. For 95 gold pieces
you can buy a magic axe from a serf who lives in a house in the
northwest corner of Lankwell. This is a must! Once you have it
you can use it as it doubles as a thrown weapon that returns 
after being tossed. [Beware, although the magic axe will act like
a boomerang and return to you when it is thrown it is possible to
lose it especially if you run off around a corner and it can't
find its way back to you.] Only orcs and robed thieves carry
food, gold, scrolls and potions, so kill them whenever you can.
Avoid skeletons and ghosts, if possible, as they carry nothing.

Never kill civilians in the villages since everyone will then
attack you for the rest of the game. Also you will not be able
to converse with people as they will ignore you. As the game
progresses your foes will become increasingly bolder and enter
the villages. Combat in the villages should be avoided
especially if innocent villagers are around. It is very easy
for a passing villager to get hit and killed, and you will be
blamed. Potions and scrolls can be used to affect the enemy or
restore strength quickly. Should you find yourself out in the
open with your candle dangerously low and no buildings to hide
in or potions or scrolls to help you, try to find a place to
hide. In the forest this is easy as the forest paths have less
frequent encounters, but in the open you are always at risk.

Travel.
    Your initial walking pace is tediously slow. Boots of Speed,
which double your speed, can be purchased for 75 gold pieces from
the serf who frequents the Green Oak Tavern in Treela. Once you
have the boots use them and you not only reduce your travelling
time but you can outrun all your foes should you wish to. It is
a good idea to rest at every opportunity that you have until you
can buy the boots. Following the roads and using the map when
travelling between towns is a good idea. However because of the
small graphic window it is possible to miss a building that is
off to one side of the road or path. Travelling is not as
difficult as it first appears as most paths are one way with
almost all side paths being very short dead ends.

Try to save your game as often as your gold allows, ideally as
soon as you enter a village and/or before you leave it depending
if you have just successfully completed an encounter. However
before you commit a save to the game disk stand still in the
village to see if any of the village folk attack you. If they do

it may be best to restore from your saved position. Should you
have previously saved your position as a killer of innocent
villagers you may have to start all over again.

Potions and Scrolls.
    Unfortunately you can only hold one each of these items
at a time. Once a particular potion or scroll is an object
within the game another of the same type will only be created
once you have used the first one.

     Green potion - complete energy top-up.
     White potion - random energy top-up.

     Brown scroll - kills all foes on screen.
     Green scroll - teleport, two uses.
     White scroll - freezes all foes for a limited time.

@~Next issue, Dave's Walkthrough to Times of Lore.