Barbarian

BARBARIAN THE GAME



Can you become Hegor the Barbarian?

Are you the warrior who can enter the fearful realms of

the underground world of Durgan, a world terrorized by

the evil Necron?

Your quest; to destroy the lair of the accursed Necron.

Your prize; the kingdom's crown.

Your task is awesome! You must live on your wits,

conquer your innermost fears, use every skill and

weapon available to you.

Hideous perils await. Can you survive?..



HEGOR THE BARBARIAN



As everyone knows, Hegor was the most famous dragon-

slayer of them all.



From an early age Hegor was schooled in the use of

several weapons by his father Thoron, a revered and

respected hunter. Each day, before most of the other

villagers were awake, Hegor and his father would go off

into the woods that surrounded the little village of

Thelston. Here, under Thoron's tuition, Hegor first

learned how to use a spear, as he grew older and

stronger, a bow and arrow and finally, a sword. Whilst

teaching his son, Thoron would tell stories of his

adventures when he was a young man. Hegor was

fascinated by these tales and longed to go off on an

adventure himself. In his early teens Hegor's life was

changed dramatically by a quite unexpected event. One

day, when he was returning home Hegor was startled by

a great commotion on the outskirts of the village; people

were running around screaming and shouting, a huge

dragon was attacking the village, a man was trying to

fend it away with a sword, Hegor froze. . .It was his

father.



Hegor watched the entire episode as Thoron fought

desperately, but in vain, against the huge fire-breathing

monster. Wielding his mighty sword, Thoron had

managed to force the dragon away from the village but

the great beast in a frenzied retreat lashed out its

enormous tail, there was an almighty crack as the tail

smashed into Thoron's head, breaking his neck and

killing him instantly. Having mutilated its victim, the

dragon ripped the head from the lifeless corpse and

devoured it, then picking up the body in its mouth it

disappeared back into the woods.



Thoron had sacrificed his own life to save the village and

Hegor had been robbed of his only remaining family. In

the wake of this gruesome scenario, holding his father's

sword on the spot where the body had lain, Hegor made a

vow; some day he would avenge his father's brutal death

and destroy the evil dragon.



If he was to fulfil this impossible pledge, Hegor knew that

he must leave Thelston and travel away in search of

adventure. He knew that he would have to survive many

adventures and learn many secrets, before he would ever

be ready to take on the beast that had so easily defeated

his father.



For three years, Hegor travelled the land in search of evil,

never shirking the duty he had bestowed upon himself.

He forged quite a reputation for himself throughout the

kingdom; people would travel from all around to ask for

his help to save their villages from all kinds of strange

monsters and evil characters. Hegor had become the

most famous dragon-slayer in the land.



It was at about this time, in the small rural village of Egdon

that Hegor came across an ageing dragon-slayer by the

name of Commat, who told stories of his conquests, the

places he had visited and the horrendous injuries he had

endured.



Listening to these stories reminded Hegor, of when he

used to sit with his father as he recounted the tales of his

own adventures.



In truth, Commat had only ever killed one dragon and that

was a blind and decrepit old beast that had been drugged

senseless by an ancient druid potion. Commat had

however spent several years travelling round with a

renowned hunter called Raiph, who was eventually killed

by bandits in an ambush. It was after this that Commat

began taking the credit for many of Raiph's conquests,

telling of their adventures with him as the hero and Raiph

as the coward.



Now there was one particular story that really fascinated

Hegor; Commat would tell how he and Raiph had

stumbled upon an underground kingdom completely by

accident. This was a kingdom ruled by the sinister

Necron, an incredibly evil being of awesome power and

influence over his devilish band of guardians and

subordinates. Commat described how he had been forced

to venture into the dark caves alone because Raiph had

been too afraid. The story continued that they both had to

run for their lives, chased by a gang of hideous dog-like

creatures, the number of which would increase each time

he told the story.



The part that intrigued Hegor about Necron; he was sure

that his father had mentioned that name, he seemed to

recall something about the underground world that

Commat spoke of and was always pestering Commat to

tell the story again. Commat was however, unable to

elaborate further as he had not been there at all, having in

truth heard the story form a drunk in a tavern, but he still

managed to add new details himself each time he told the

tale.



Commat's favourite place for telling these stories was the

tavern at Egdon, the Druid Inn. Before long, Hegor began

to develop a taste for the frothy ale served up by big

Rosie, the landlady. By now Hegor was spending as much

time as Commat in the tavern, listening to his stories for

hours on end, the ale and the damp smoky atmosphere all

adding to the intrigue and fascination. All was well until

one night Hegor had got so drunk that he had fallen

asleep in the tavern, awakening to find himself alone in

the tavern with big Rosie.



That morning inspired by this experience in the tavern,

Hegor went out and killed a dragon he had been hunting

for several weeks. From that day forward, Hegor would

celebrate each of his conquests for at least a week,

drinking copious amounts of ale and leaving no woman in

the surrounding area safe. Thus Hegor's reputation

spread not only for being the most famous dragon-slayer

but also the most famous drinker and womaniser in the

kingdom.



Several years on Hegor was still roaming the land seeking

adventure, slaying evil-doers and dragons; all the time

celebrating his victories in a way that only he could. But

this was not to last, as he travelled from town to town,

Hegor began to hear rumours of strange happenings at his

home village of Thelston; at first the rumours were of

complete fields of crops being totally destroyed in a

single night, then of livestock going missing, of

children being stolen from their beds and finally houses

being burnt as the occupants slept. Stories travelled

throughout the land, of werewolves and ape-like men,

controlled by some immense power, terrorizing other

villages in the area. As the rumour and the accompanying

fear spread so did the desolation, before long the whole

kingdom was in turmoil. The King called together elders

from all over the land. . . After three days of talking

the King finally sent out his decree: "Whosoever could

put a stop to this destruction and remove the evil

power behind it, would be entitled to claim the kingdom's

crown and all its riches." The King knew that if something

was not done soon, his subjects would be devastated by

famine and poverty.





Hearing of the decree, Hegor knew immediately that only he

could destroy this evil force and save the kingdom. The trouble

had started near Thelston, so he set off immediately, after all

these years he was going home.



Hegor had been walking for two whole days before the

surroundings began to look familiar, he was close now, a

strange sense of foreboding filled his mind and the warm

afternoon sun offered no comfort from the cold sweat that had

broken out over his body. He didn't know why he felt like this but

he did know he was part of it, as if the terror and suffering was

for some reason directed at him.



As he approached he could see wisps of smoke rising above

the treetops, coming to the woods where he had played as a

child he thought of the happier days when his father had taught

him to fight and of when they had sat together against a tree

whilst Thoron told the stories of his great adventures. Hegor

found the old path that led through the woods to the village, a

little overgrown now but still discernable.



Coming through the trees, Hegor caught his first glimpse of the

village, it seemed to be deserted, but then he caught sight of

two old men sitting on a bench outside a dilapidated old house

on the outskirts of the village. The thatched roof was threadbare

and the stone walls bore the scars of many ancient repairs

which were now crumbling again.



As he passed the two men were talking, seemingly oblivious of

his presence. It occurred to him that there must have been

many young men passing through the village recently, all

wishing to claim the crown for themselves. Approaching the

centre of the village, Hegor was amazed at the state of

disrepair, many of the houses had obviously been empty for

some time and were decaying rapidly. An old woman was

fetching water from the well, bent forward, she stumbled several

times under the weight of the pail, an old man dozed in the

warmth of the afternoon sun. . . All the people were old. Hegor

remembered the dozens of children playing around the houses

and in the woods, where were they all?



Hegor returned to the house where the two old men had been

sitting, one had already gone, the other was lifting himself stiffly

from his chair.



"Hey! Old man." Shouted Hegor as he approached. The old

man, now standing with the aid of a stick, slowly turned his

head to face Hegor. . . he said nothing. Hegor came closer.



"Where is everyone? The children, the families where are they?"



"Gone," said the old man "All gone. All trying to escape the evil

powers of Necron."



Hegor froze, recalling Commat's story and the name he had

heard his father mention as a child. The old man began to

speak again, Hegor noticed the empty bottle of spirit by his

chair, he was drunk.



"No one can escape Necron, he has destroyed Thelston and

many other villages nearby, soon he will destroy the whole

kingdom. Like yourself, many young men have come here trying

to destroy him and his underground kingdom, none have

returned, not even the great Thoron could survive the wrath of

Necron. "



"Thoron you say? I am Hegor, Thoron was my father. "



"Hegor!... You should not have returned here."



"Tell me old man, the great beast that killed my father, was it

sent by this Necron?"



"It was indeed. The beast "Vulcuran" is his guardian. Only once

has the dragon left the underground kingdom of Durgan, to kill

Thoron and put a stop to the almighty feud that existed between

your father and Necron. That would have been the end of it, but

for you Hegor, when your father was killed you vowed to avenge

his death, now Necron sees you as a threat to his power:

Hegor remembered how he had felt as he approached Thelston

earlier that day, how he had felt in some way part of all this, he

also remembered the story his father had told him; of his friend

Necron, who had turned to the ways of evil.



"But my father told me that he had killed Necron, that they had

been friends until Necron turned evil and how he had been

forced to kill him with this very sword. "



"What you say is true Hegor, Thoron did kill Necron and with

that sword, but Necron has strange powers; the powers of

darkness and evil. He can only be destroyed by a being who

commands equal power: the power of good. Your father had

that power but he was weary and became careless, he allowed

Necron's soul to live because they had been friends. Now the

evil one lives on in a decaying body, after all these years his

revenge is almost complete, he has destroyed Thoron and all

that remains is for him to kill you, cutting Thoron's last blood

line. You are the last remaining threat to his power and now you

must also die, completing his plan, a plan that through a trail of

destruction has drawn you into his web."



For the first time in his life Hegor felt fear, but his need for

revenge suppressed the fear and replaced it with the

anger that had been pent up inside him ever since his

father's death.



"Why does Necron not send the great beast to kill me?"



"The great beast cannot leave Durgan. After so many

years, it has grown fat from eating human flesh and is

now too big to leave the caves which lead to Necron's

temple. Instead, Necron sends out his evil followers to

take children from their beds at night, to feed the

monster."



"Then I must destroy Necron and his underground

kingdom."



"First Hegor, you must know the story of Thoron and

Necron." At that, the old man hobbled into the house,

beckoning Hegor to follow.



Inside, the old man motioned Hegor to sit at the table in

the corner. He then produced a bottle of spirit and two

metal cups and struggled into the seat opposite Hegor.

Hegor drank thirstily after his long journey, the spirit had

no obvious effect. The old man was stunned at how

Hegor drank, for this was his oldest bottle and as strong

as any drink in the kingdom. He refilled

Hegor's cup and began the story. . .



The tale began with Thoron and Necron as children. The

old man revealed that they were not in fact friends, as he

had said before, but brothers, twins in fact, and how they

had always been very close and went everywhere

together.



One day when they had been playing in the woods, they

had come across an old man who had fallen down,

fascinated by his long white beard and flowing hair, they

had helped him to his feet. The old man had scurried

away without a word. The next day, the boys saw the man

again, waiting for them, near to where he had fallen; the

man thanked them for their help and told them he was a

Druid and thus normally forbidden to speak, but as they

had been so kind he promised to repay them.



Each day afterwards the boys met the Druid in the woods,

at first he would just tell them stories, each one about a

good man and an evil man, and at the end of each story

he would always say: "And good finally triumphed over

evil" and the two boys would clap and cheer. One

afternoon, after some weeks, the boys turned up as usual,

to find the old Druid waiting for them, only this time he had

some weapons with him; a spear, a bow and arrow and a

sword.



For a year the Druid taught the boys how to use each of

the weapons. At the end of every lesson, the old man

would take the weapons away with him and forbid the two

boys from saying anything to anyone, about their

meetings. As the boys were starting home after one of the

lessons, the Druid shouted after them to come early the

next day.



When they arrived they were surprised to see that he only

carried the sword and the bow with him. He asked the

boys to close their eyes, as they did so they both felt a

strange sensation pass over their bodies. The old man

then told Necron to think of fire, at that instant bolts of

flames flew from the boy's hands and destroyed the

nearest tree. Whilst they were still in a state of shock, the

Druid told Thoron to think of good and as he did, he

experienced a warmth envelop his whole body and an immense power

in his hands. Necron was told that he must never use the

fire against Thoron, for Thoron's power was equal to his

and just by holding up his hands, Thoron could reflect the

fire back at Necron and kill him.



The Druid then sat the boys down and began one of his

stories. As usual, the tale told was of good triumphing

over evil, concluding as always with the destruction of the

evil man's body and soul.



The Druid continued, telling the twins that the story was

really about them and that how Necron would become

evil, using his special powers to destroy and corrupt. He

also told of how Thoron would become the embodiment of

all that was good and of how he would use his powers to

suppress and stamp out evil.



With the story told the old Druid handed the sparkling

sword to Thoron, the very same sword that Hegor now

held, and the beautiful bow to Necron, without uttering

another word, he then walked behind a tree and vanished

never to be seen again.



The two boys did not understand what the Druid had told

them and they soon forgot about their strange powers and

the Druid's riddle about their future. The sword and the

bow, however, remained very precious to the twins and

they treasured them always.



Many years later when the twins had grown up and gone

their separate ways, Thoron, on one of his many

adventures came across a large town ruled by a much

despised, rich and evil man. When Thoron asked why the

townspeople did not throw him out of the town, they said it

was impossible, that he was the very devil himself, that

fire came from his hands and that with his bow he could

shoot an arrow through the eye of a bird perched in the

highest tree.



Thoron was stunned, it had to be Necron. The old Druid's

tale had come true.



He went to see Necron in his huge house, at the centre of

the town. Necron welcomed his brother with such open

arms and hospitality, that Thoron could not believe that

his brother had done the terrible things that the townsfolk

spoke of; burning down houses and executing entire

families for not paying their taxes.



This belief was short lived, the following morning Necron

showed Thoron all his riches, a whole room of his house

was filled with precious things. Necron then offered to

share his riches with his brother, saying that they could

take over the neighbouring town and double their wealth.

Thoron went wild at the thought that Necron felt he could

so easily be corrupted, and a fierce fight ensued.



The two brothers knowing that their powers were useless

against each other, began fighting hand to hand. They

fought like wild animals for hour after hour but as dusk

drew in Thoron eventually managed to overpower Necron

and in an endeavour to rid the town of this terrible evil

drew his sword and with one mighty blow severed

Necron's head from his body.



Standing over the body, exhausted, Thoron watched it

change into a gleaming crystal, the very symbol of evil,

he uttered the words of the old Druid, "Good finally

triumphs over evil."



Thoron knew that the crystal could only be destroyed by

the burning heat of the Earth's very bowels, but was

unable to bring himself to burn his own brother's soul.

Feeling safe in the knowledge that Necron could never

again walk the earth, Thoron turned away. . .

Suddenly the crystal began to glow and with a blinding

flash vanished, taking the Druid's bow with it. . . unknown

to Thoron, Necron's evil lived on! Thoron was hailed a

hero among the townspeople but despite their pleading,

would not stay and become their leader, for he was too

ashamed at the suffering his brother had brought them.

Instead, he settled in the nearby village of Thelston and

married, his wife soon bearing a son.



Necron's soul was banished to the worlds of darkness,

never to walk the Earth again. So, he created the

underground world of Durgan and in it he lived with his

hideous band of followers and Vulcuran his guardian.

The old man continued the story passing through time

and unimportant events finally reaching the point of the

death of Hegor's mother, Naylar. Hegor knew most of it

but he did not know that her death had been caused by

Necron and his pack of evil hell-hounds.



It was at this time that Thoron had realised Necron was

still alive and sought revenge, not just on him, but also on

his family. This explained why Thoron had never taken

another wife, choosing to raise his child alone, and also

why he had taught Hegor to fight, as he had been taught,

by the old Druid.



So when the great dragon came to Thelston, Thoron was

expecting it. He knew that he would need a bow, the like

of Necron's, to kill this beast and that a single arrow would

be a mere pin-prick to such a huge monster. But with time

and the mourning for his lost wife he had grown weary of

fighting and, satisfied that Hegor was ready to take up the

battle with Necron, he merely ensured that the dragon did

not reach the village, before giving himself up to the

beast.



At this point, the old man paused to refill Hegor's cup

before continuing "Now Hegor, it is up to you but

remember the world of Durgan is filled with evil creatures

and there is Vulcuran guarding the passage which leads

to Necron's temple. Necron himself possesses great

powers, magic powers, of which you must beware. Only

an equal power can destroy him. You Hegor, do not have

the physical powers of Necron or your father, but with the

knowledge that Thoron has passed on to you, you can

destroy the soul of Necron and the world of Durgan.

Remember that Necron's fire was useless against Thoron.

Find a means to reflect his bolts of fire and you can kill

him, it is your destiny. Then Hegor, you shall become

King."



The two men continued talking and drinking bottles of the

old man's spirit which he kept producing from a dark

alcove in another corner of the room, into the early hours

of the morning. . .



Hegor awoke with a start, for a moment he didn't know

where he was. He felt a sharp jab to his side and turned to

see the old man lowering his stick. "Come Hegor, the sun

is almost up, you have work to do, today you shall

become King."



Hegor went to the doorway, stepping out, he breathed in

the cold morning air. Thelston looked, somehow different

in the half light of dawn, and he could almost hear the

children's laughter as if they were playing in the

village.



"You must not forget this Hegor," said the old man

handing Hegor his sword.



The old man led the way, the pace was slow and the old

man leant heavily on his stick, but he did not complain.

They came to the woods, beyond the farthest end of the

village. Hegor stopped momentarily, the horrific memories

of his father's body, hanging from the dragon's mouth,

all those years ago, flooded back.



Deep into the forest now, Hegor was becoming

impatient at the old man's slowness.



"Anyway old man, how do you know so much about my

father and Necron?"



As he finished speaking, there was a low whistle in the

air, at the same moment Hegor heard a great thud and

the familiar sound of bones smashing. He ducked

instinctively, and there was silence. Turning quickly,

Hegor gasped. The old man had been thrown back and

lay slumped against a tree, an arrow protruding

grotesquely from his right eye, blood began to trickle

down the side of his face. The old man's stick lay forlorn

on the spot where he had stood just a moment before.



Hegor walked towards the body. He froze. The old man's

face was changing. It became the face of Thoron, the

arrow had gone, he spoke "Today, my son, you shall

avenge my death and become King."



"Father!" Shouted Hegor.



As he shouted there was another whistle, Hegor dropped

like a stone, to the ground. But this was a different sound,

he looked up and stared in disbelief. The body was gone,

only the stick remained.



Suddenly, the trees began to shake and the leaves on the

ground were whipped up, swirling in the air, as his father's

voice echoed in the wind. "Good will triumph over evil."

Hegor turned and started running, in the direction the old

man had shown him. Gasping for breath, Hegor kept

running, the undergrowth was thick here, but he was

totally oblivious to the brambles and branches tearing at

his flesh, as if in a desperate attempt to stop him. His

father's words filled his mind. Nothing could stop him now.

Finally, after years of torment he was about to avenge the

death of his beloved father.



Hegor came hurtling through the trees and stopped dead

in his tracks. A vast marshland lay before him...



BARBARIANS - SPECTRUM/AMSTRAD

INSTRUCTIONS



Welcome to the world of Barbarian.



In this world you control our hero "Hegor". Once the game

has started you will see him standing in the marsh. Using

the joystick or keyboard (or both simultaneously) you

issue commands that control his actions. Thus enabling

you to explore the world of Durgan.



You should always remember that Barbarian features

context sensitive animation which allows the same

commands to do different things depending on the

situation Hegor is involved in.



In order to complete the game you must locate and

destroy the crystal which is the source of the evil power of

Necron. Once the crystal has been destroyed the volcano

in which Durgan is located will start to erupt making it

imperative that you reach the surface again before it

blows.



The time that it took you to destroy the crystal is not only

your score for the game but it is also the time which you

have to get back to the starting point in the marsh. This

'about to erupt' phase of game play is indicated by your

score timer now counting backwards.



The game may be controlled from the keyboard or by a

joystick in any combination. Whilst you are playing

Barbarian you will see a strip of icons at the bottom of the

screen. To choose the Icon you wish to use, move the

joystick UP and DOWN. or use the O and P keys. The

Icon you wish to use will be highlighted. To flip between

the two Icon bars press FIRE. To choose a highlighted

Icon press FIRE



OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS



Controls

Q = Move Man Left

W = Move Man Right

O = Move Icon Left

P = Move Icon Right

M = Select Icon

Space = Flip Icon Bar



Joystick (Kempston or SincIair)



Joy Left = Move Man Left

Joy Right = Move Man Right

Joy Up = Move Icon Right

Joy Down = Move Icon Left

Fire = Select Icon

Space = Flip Icon



LOADING INSTRUCTIONS



48k - LOAD ""

128k - Use Tape Loader Option