                                 KARKOTH'S KEEP

                           Created by INDECS SERVICES
                               (c) Copyright 1983
                               ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


                       Portions of the software contained
                       herein is owned and copyrighted by
                       IBM Corporation and redistributed 
                       under license agreement with Indecs
                       Services.                         




Indecs Services
9 Pinecrest Drive
Taunton, MA 02780
1-617-822-3173



                                 KARKOTH'S KEEP
                                  Documentation

    The Battle of the Long Defeat has been legend for many centuries.  Quilan 
II, the Miningol, last King of Isgalduin, fought and lost the Battle of the 
Long Defeat.  The evil witch king Karkoth led his hordes of mindless slaves and 
fell creatures over the northern border of Isgalduin, and in three years of 
slaughter and destruction, reduced the kingdom to ruin.

    In the last stand, Quilan and the few remaining warriors left alive held 
out for weeks, defending the massive stone keep built by Quilan's namesake, 
Quilan Miningol I, seventeen generations before.  Before the dragons finally 
drove in the defenders and the ogres plundered the halls, Quilan, alone, 
descended into the huge dungeon that lay under his keep.  Only the kings of 
Isgalduin knew the secrets of the dungeon.  With him, Quilan carried all of the 
precious relics and heirlooms of his family.  Rings there were, magic and 
potent, and weapons: swords and armour, each with its own powers.  The dungeon 
spread out far beyond keep and delved deep into the rock.  Ten levels the 
dungeon descended from keep to secret vaults.

    Quilan was never seen again, and when Karkoth searched the dead the body 
could not be found.  Some said that Quilan lived and escaped through some 
underground way, but that is only legend.

    Or is it?  You have discovered a parchment hidden among the remains of a 
man that you found in a secret burial tomb high in the western mountains.  The 
language is the high royal tongue used in ancient Isgalduin and the sign at its 
base is that of Quilan II, its last king.  Here in the hand of that long dead 
king you read:

              I, Quilan, the second, called the Miningol, last king and ruler 
         in Isgalduin, leave this writing in the hope that in days to come a 
         scion of my house will find these words.  Only a true descendent of 
         the house of Quilan may pass the portals of this tomb, though they may 
         not know of their royal blood.
         
              You who read this script, only you can end the evil realm of 
         Karkoth.  Deep under the keep is hidden the great sword Ramdahl, 
         Wizard's Bane.  Only Ramdahl can harm and defeat the undead king, 
         Karkoth.  The great sword is hidden within the dungeons I know not 
         where.  I tried to find the sword during the last stand and failed.  
         It was hidden by a traitor.  I searched all areas near the Endless 
         Staircase that connects all of the levels of the dungeon.  I know the 
         Sword is not near the Staircase.  I failed in my search.  I pray that 
         you do not fail and that you return the House of Quilan to the people 
         of Isgalduin.

    You must be the royal descendant of Quilan II.  It is now up to you to find 
the fabled sword, Ramdahl, and save the realm.

    So begins the mighty adventure.  Good luck to all those who pass down those 
steps and brave the terrors of KARKOTH'S KEEP.



    Before starting the quest, make sure to backup the software.


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    To start the Quest, type   KEEP

    The program will initialize and then ask if your player character exists.  
If it does, simply enter Y and when asked, enter the character name.  If you 
are starting for the first time, or need to create a new character enter N and 
you will be shown ten sets of numbers, one at a time, that represent the 
qualities of your new character.  You may select select from any one of ten 
sets of numbers.  You may not return to an earlier set of numbers once they 
have been rejected.  Each quality gives special capabilities to certain player 
types.  The quality quality bonuses are determined by comparing your quality 
value to 15.  The range of values for any quality is 3-24.  Your bonus is the 
difference between your quality value and 15, modified for your choice of race 
and player type.  For example, a player with a 17 strength would have a +2 
advantage over someone with a 15 strength.  Negative differences are also 
possible, but the limit is -1 for any given quality.  The bonuses associated 
with each quality are:

Strength -    Affects the ability to hit and damage opponents.  Each bonus 
              point increases the chance of hitting by 5% and increases damage 
              by 1 point.

Intelligence- Determines the number of spells that a magic-using player may 
              have. (One additional spell point per level for each bonus 
              point.)  Intelligence also affects the probability that certain 
              spells work.

Wisdom -      Modifies the number of spells a Cleric may have.  (One additional 
              spell point for each bonus point.) Wisdom also affects the 
              probability that certain spells will work.

Constitution- Increases the number of hit points that a character may take 
              before being killed. (One additional hit point per level for each 
              bonus point.)

Dexterity -   Makes it harder for an opponent to hit the character. (Increases 
              difficulty for opponent to strike character by 5% for each 
              point.) 

Charm -       Affects the way in which charm spells affect monsters.  Only 
              helps characters that have charm spells.  Increases the chance of 
              charming monsters by 5% for each bonus point.
              

The player may be any of the following recial types.

    Greyelf, Dwarf, Human, Halfelf, or Highelf

The special abilities and restriction associated with each race are as follows:

Race     Special Abilities                Restrictions
------------------------------------------------------
Greyelf  Can see 60 feet in the dark,     Cannot be a Monk 
         receives a +2 on Wisdom,
         

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         +1 on Constitution, +1 on
         Dexterity, and +1 on Charm
         
Dwarf    Can see 60 feet in the dark,     Cannot be a Cleric,Ranger or Monk.
         receives +2 on Constitution,
         and a -1 on Charm and Wisdom.

Human    Receives a +2 on Intelligence    None.
         +1 on Wisdom and +2 on Charm.
         Sees 40 feet in the dark.

Halfelf  Receives a +1 on everything.     Cannot be a monk
         Sees 60 feet in the dark.

Highelf  Receives a +1 on Strength, a     Can only be a Gedi or Magic User
         +2 on Intelligence, +2 on 
         Wisdom, +1 on Dexterity, is
         impossible to surprise.  Can
         see 80 feet in the dark.

    Players, depending upon which race they choose, can be one of the following 
professional types:

    Ranger, Fighter, Cleric, Magic-User, Gedi, or Monk

    The abilities associated with these professions are:
Ranger -      May use sword, shields, and armour.  Also uses some spells ( see 
              spell table.)  Rangers receive the following bonuses: +1 on 
              Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Constitution.  Receives +2 on 
              Charm.

Fighter -     May use any weapon, shield, and armor.  May not use spells but 
              can, as all players can, use scrolls.  Fighters receive the 
              following bonuses: +3 on Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity.

Cleric -      May use shields, armour, and maces.  Has the ability to use 
              spells as well as weapons.  Clerical spells are primarily defense 
              spells.  Can turn undead automatically in some cases depending 
              upon the cleric's level.  Clerics recieve the following bonuses: 
              +3 on Intelligence, +1 on Constitution, and Charm.

Magic-User    May only use daggers.  Has many offensive and defensive spells.  
              (See spell table.)  Magic Users receive the following bonuses: +3 
              on Intelligence and +1 on Charm.

Gedi -        May use swords, shields and armour.  Has limited spell 
              abilities.  Player must have a combined Intelligence, Wisdom, and 
              Charm of 45 points to be a Gedi.  Gedi have the following 
              bonuses: +2 on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charm. +1 on Dexterity.

Monk -        May use swords, maces, daggers, and some spells.  A player must 
              have a combined Intelligence and Dexterity score of at least 32 
              points to be a Monk.  Monks do considerable damage with their 
              hands.  Monks have the following bonuses:  +1 on Strength, 

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              Intelligence, and Wisdom, +2 on Constitution, and +3 on 
              Dexterity.

The list of available spells and their users is:

Spell Name        Cleric  Magic  Gedi  Monk  Ranger
---------------------------------------------------
Detect Invisible  no      yes    yes   yes   no
Detect Magic      no      yes    yes   no    no
Fireball          no      yes    no    no    no
Lightning Bolt    yes     yes    yes   no    no
Cure Light Wound  yes     no     yes   yes   yes
Charm Monster     yes     yes    yes   no    yes
Teleport          no      yes    yes   no    no
Invoke Deity      yes     no     no    no    no
Sleep             no      yes    yes   yes   yes
Magic Missle      no      yes    no    no    no
Go Invisible      no      yes    no    yes   no

Spell Explanations and Uses
---------------------------

Detect Invisible - Allows player to see the hidden teleportation locations in 
the dungeon.  The hidden teleporter shows up as a small square of dots when 
this spell is used.  Otherwise the teleporters are not visible on the computer 
screen. (Costs 1 spell point)

Detect Magic - Allows player to detect magical hidden traps associated with 
treasure chests.  If a trap is successfully detected then there is only a 25% 
chance that the trap will explode. (Costs 2 spell points)

Fireball - An offensive spell that does variable damage depending on the 
players level. (Costs 3 spell points)

Lightning Bolt - An offensive spell that does variable damage depending upon 
the players level. (Costs 5 spell points)

Cure Light Wound - Heals partially or totally a player and returns lost hit 
points (Costs 2 spell points)

Charm Monster - When successful this spell places a monster totally under the 
player's control.  The player receives the same experience points for charming 
a monster as for slaying a monster.  The success of the spell depends upon both 
the player's level and the monster's level. (Costs 3 spell points)

Teleport - This spell moves the player to some location in the dungeon that can 
be on any chosen level.  Note - if you are carrying the magic sword Ramdahl 
(also called The Sword of Karkoth or Karkoth's Bane), then a Teleport spell 
will only move you one level at a time, but not above the 8th level.  If you 
are above the 8th level and have the Sword, casting a teleport spell will send 
you to the 8th level or below. (Costs 4 spell points)



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Invoke - This spell, when successful,will invoke the local deity and, if in a 
good mood, the deity will move the player to one of the entrances to the 
Laughing Elf Inn. (Costs 6 spell points)

Turn Undead - This spell will, when successful, destroy undead creatures such 
as Vampires, Spectres, Wraiths and Ghosts, but not Zombies or Liches. (Costs 3 
spell points)

Sleep - When successful, this spell puts a monster to sleep.  The player 
receives the experience points for the monster as in the Charm Monster spell.  
Success depends upon the player's level and the level of the monster. (Costs 4 
spell points)

Magic Missle - An offensive spell that does variable points of damage depending 
upon the player's level. (Costs 1 spell point)

Go Invisible - Makes it impossible for a character to be hit by a surprise 
attack.  Always gives the character the choice of hiving the first swing in a 
fight or to run away.  Also, because the character is invisible, it allows the 
character to see invisible objects like teleporters.  Characters are harder to 
hit and damage when invisible. (Costs 2 spell points)

*** Note *** - The number of spell points in parentheses represents the cost in 
spell points to use that spell.

Starting the Game
-----------------
    New players always come into the game from the Town of Nosar.  There is an 
entrance to the Keep somewhere in the town.  To find it the player must move 
around the town and talk to the residents.  Also, it is a good idea to find out 
where the hospital is, as that is the only place to be healed.  (Hospital fees 
are steep!)  Also, buy some food before you go into the Keep.  Some players 
have been known to starve to death in there.  You're on your own now.  Remember 
to use your head!

Once in the Keep, a player may reenter Nosar at any location marked * on the 
first level.  A player need only to move onto the * to return to the entrance 
tunnel.  You can get your spell points back by just returning as far as the 
tunnel, you need not go into Nosar.

The movement commands are:
    N - move North (up screen) one space.
    
    S - move South one space.
    
    E,E1,E2 or E3 - Move East a number of spaces equal to the number.
    
    W,W1,W2 or W3 - Move West one to three spaces.
    
    < - Move down the down staircase.  The staircase  looks like this symbol 
    with a line under it.  You must move onto the down stair symbol and type 
    the < command to move down the stairs.
    
    

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    > - move up stairs. Similar to the down stair command except that the 
    upstair symbol in the dungeon is a > with a line under it.
    
There are other commands that the player may use at any time (except Quit 
during a fight.)  They are:

    Q or Quit - After saving the character data this command stops the game.
    
    SC or Scroll - Allows the player to use any of the scrolls that the player 
    has found.
    
    M or Magic - Allows the player to use any magic spell available to the 
    character.
    
    ? or Help - Gives you a list of all available commands.
    
    C or Center - Allows you to center the screen around the character.  This 
    is useful when you are near the edge of the screen, for example.
    
    Wa or Wait - Allows you to stay in one spot without doing anything.  You 
    will heal, if needed, your food will be consumed, and monsters may show up.
    
    
Magic Scrolls
-------------
    There are 6 types of magic scrolls.  Scrolls may be used by any character 
at any time.  The scrolls are:

    Cure Serious - Similar to a Cure Light Wound spell except that it may 
    restore more hit points.
    
    Levitate - When used this scroll stops characters from being teleported by 
    an invisible teleporter.
    
    Invisibility - Makes it impossible for a character to be hit by a surprise 
    attack.  Always gives the character the choice of having the first swing in 
    a fight or to run away.  Also, because the character is invisible, it 
    allows the character to see invisible objects like teleporters.  Characters 
    are harder to hit and damage when invisible.
    
    Strength - Adds +4 to the character's hitting and damage capabilities.
    
    Turn Undead - Similar to Turn Undead spell, except that the scroll never 
    fails.
    
    Transport - Similar to an Invoke spell except that the scroll never fails.  
    The transport scroll has a hard time transporting gold, so some of the 
    character's gold will be lost whenever this scroll is used.  Note - the 
    Transport Scroll's functions are limited to levels 8-10 if you are carrying 
    the Sword of Karkoth.
    
    


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    General comments about scrolls and spells.  Certain scrolls and spells are 
duration oriented.  That is, once invoked they last for some indefinite period 
of time.  During play a list is maintained on the right-hand side of the screen 
of all weapons, spell points, hit points, scrolls, and other player data.  For 
any of the duration spells and scrolls, the name will be black on a white 
background, rather than the typical white on black.  Thus, you will always know 
if a spell or scroll is still in effect.

    Fighting
    --------
    Fights occur whenever the character encounters a wandering or fixed 
monster.  Sometimes the monster will surprise the character and therefore will 
have the first attack.  Once a fight has started you have four choices of 
action.
         1. Fight - in which case both you and the monster make attacks on each 
    other.
         2. Run - in which case the character dodges in some direction for some 
    indefinite distance hoping to escape the monster.
         3. Magic - Allows the character to use a spell.
         4. Scroll - Allows the character to use a scroll.
    
    During a fight, certain monsters can do additional damage besides what they 
do with tooth or claw.  These other abilities are:

         Sticky pudding, Salamander, Snake, Spider, Quivering Jelly, Basilisk, 
         Naga and Crawler - may also poison character for various points of 
         damage.
         
         Spectre, Vampire, Wraith, or Ghost - may reduce the character's level 
         by one.  For a 1st level character this results in death.
         
         Gazer, Fire Devil, Demons, Spell Lizard, Wyvern, Dragons (6 types), 
         Lich or Evil Magic User - can use fireballs, Lightnng Bolts, or Hold 
         Person spell.  Hold person spell stops a character in his or her 
         tracks and prevents the character from running.  Any of the above 
         thirteen monsters may be able to paralyze a character and keep them 
         from running away.
         
Treasure
--------

    Treasure comes in various forms:

    Gold and Gems - stored as gold points.
    
    Scrolls - a tally is kept of the type and number.
    
    Weapons & Armor - Aplayer is given the choice of taking a magic weapon when 
    found if that type of weapon may be used by the players profession.  If the 
    weapon cannot be used, then its value is converted into gold points.  Same 
    for armour.  If it can be used and you want it, then the object is listed 
    and any existing weapon or armor currently held is exchanged for gold 
    points.  Magic weapons & armour increase the ability to do and take damage 

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    respectively.  If your character can take more than one type of weapon, 
    damage will be done by the most powerful weapon.
    
    Ring of Regeneration - They may be used by all characters. The ring adds 
    hit points back to a character, if any have been lost, at the rate of the 
    ring per turn, except during fights.
    
    Sword of Karkoth (Karkoth's Bane, Ramdahl) The Sword can only be found on 
    the lower four levels of the dungeon and not near the Endless Staircase.
    
    
Character Levels and Experience Points

    All characters go up in levels as they play.  Experience points are given 
for all monsters killed.  Experience points are also given on a one-for-one 
basis for gold points when the character enters the Laughing Elf Inn.  All 
characters increase their level at the same rate.  The required points for any 
level can be found from this progression:

Level      Required Experience points
-------------------------------------
  1                   0
  2                2000
  3                4000
  4                8000
  5               16000
  6               32000
  7               64000
  8              128000
  9              256000
etc.               etc.

There is no limit to levels.


To WIN
------
    To win you must find the Sword of Karkoth and successfully bring it back to 
the City of Nosar where you began.  When you find the Sword strange things 
happen.  You seem to attract more and bigger monsters, and Transport Scrolls 
and Teleport Spells are limited.  When you bring the Sword to Nosar you receive 
additional experience points and come face to face with the Lord of the Keep.  
You have several choices when you face the Lord of the Keep.  First, surrender 
the sword to the Lord (and whatever else the Lord decides to ask for), (2) 
Fight the present Lord and if you win you become the Lord of the Keep; if you 
lose, your character may die.  If you become Lord of the Keep then you must 
fight whichever character next finds the Sword and comes to challenge you.

If you are KILLED
-----------------
    If your character is killed, then the disk file for that character is 
erased.  Threfore, you cannot use a character over once it has been killed - 
there are no second chances!



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The Endless Staircase
---------------------
    Somewhere in the dungeon is an alternating series of up and down staircases 
that connect all ten levels of the dungeon.  The staircase may be entered or 
exited from any level in the dungeon.  It is the fastest way to walk up from 
the lower dungeons.

Opening Doors
-------------
    The doors in the dungeon are old and often have rusty hinges.  Therefore, 
sometimes you must try many times to open a door.  The number of times it takes 
to open a door depends upon your strength.  If you are told that DOOR DOES NOT 
OPEN you may retry opening it.  Eventually it will open.  (Note - the exception 
to this is the character without food.  This character's strength will 
eventually deteriorate to the point he cannot open any door, but it rarely 
matters since such fools feed the lesser dungeon creatures!

Mapping
-------
    It is a good idea to map the dungeon as you progrss further and further 
into it.  The location of staircases, teleport platforms, and tavern entrances 
may be of vital interest to a wounded, or dying character.  The features of the 
dungeon are displayed on the screen as you move around.  The amount or distance 
that you can see depends upon your character type.  The walls of the dungeon 
are seen as lines.  Doorways are displayed as an '\' or backslash character.  
You may not pass through a wall but you may pass through any door.  Note 
however, that doors may not always open on the first or even the third try.  
The ease of opening doors depends upon your strength.
