Hillsfar Table of Contents INTRODUCTION TO HILLSFAR...........................................1 GETTING SET UP.....................................................1 Commodore 64/128...........................................1 IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2, Tandy................................1 If you have a hard drive...................................2 STARTING PLAY......................................................2 CREATING A CHARACTER...............................................2 1. Selecting your character's race.........................2 2. Selecting your character's gender.......................3 3. Selecting your character's class........................3 4. Choosing an alignment...................................3 5. Your character's ability scores.........................3 6. Selecting a name........................................4 RIDING A HORSE.....................................................4 ADVENTURING IN HILLSFAR............................................5 Additional commands........................................5 TANNA'S TARGET RANGE...............................................5 THE ARENA..........................................................6 LOCK PICKING.......................................................7 OPENING DOORS AND CHESTS...........................................8 Options....................................................8 BUILDINGS AND MAZES................................................8 Hours special buildings are open...........................9 A SHORT HISTORY OF HILLSFAR AND THE ELVEN COURT....................9 AFTER LEAVING HILLSFAR, BEWARE OF THE CURSE OF THE AZURE BONDS.....10 INTRODUCTION TO HILLSFAR After weeks of hard campaigning, your supplies and rations are all but exhausted. Your party set up camp just outside of Hillsfar. You had thought to make a quick stop at the city to gather supplies, maybe drop into your guild to see what things are like. You had no idea what you were getting into as you stepped through the gates... No weapons allowed inside the gates! Magic? Only his Excellency the First Lord's magic is allowed in Hillsfar. Also his Excellency does not allowed training up levels within Hillsfar. The dreaded Red Plumes see all and tolerate no threat to the enforced law and order of the region! Welcome to Hillsfar! A FORGOTTEN REALMS game adventure, and part of TSR's latest ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS gaming system. Hillsfar promises adventure and intrigue that will challenge any potential hero. There are several different quests to complete for each of the four character classes. Hillsfar was the most open city on the Moonsea until the council was overthrown. The merchant-mage Maalthiir, self proclaimed First Lord of Hillsfar, now rules the region with an iron fist. Shrewd, ruthless, and independent, he hasn't made many allies, and Hillsfar struggles to hold its own against the surrounding power lords who eye the wealthy port city with greed interest. Law and order are maintained by the dreaded Red Plumes, Maalthiir's mercenary guard, who stalks the city night and day, watching all. Ah! But a city under tight control is a city of opportunity to any worthwhile adventurer. With no weapons and little magic, your wits and agility are your best chance to overcome the puzzles and mysteries surrounding Hillsfar. Your welfare will depend on how well you can figure out mazes, pick a lock, ride a horse (and not get thrown), squeeze information from the pub, and overcome the countless obstacles yet to be unearthed. Despite the recent revolution, Hillsfar remains the Jewel of Moonsea. Wealth and adventure await you in the city pubs, the guilds for each class, the cemetery, the archery range, the sewers, the haunted mansion, the magic user's tower. Maalthiir's castle, and most of all, the Arena. If you're lucky, you'll only be roughed up for crossing a Plume. If not, you'll be thrown into the Arena, fighting for your life and for Maalthiir's amusement. With staves and poles, you must rely on ingenuity and quick reflexes to get you out of this mess. Have you the right tools to pick that complicated lock? Think you can hold your own in the Arena? Glancing up at the scowling Red Plumes guarding the gate, you certainly hope so. No one ever said that adventuring was easy, and stepping through gates to enter Hillsfar, you begin to realize why. GETTING SET UP For the Commodore 64/128: 1. Set up your Commodore 64/128 computer as shown in the owner's manual. 2. Plug your joystick into Port #2. 3. Turn the disk drive on first, then turn on your computer. 4. Insert your HILLSFAR disk into the disk drive with the label facing up. 5. Type LOAD"*",8,1 and press the return key. For the IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2, Tandy: 1. Set up your IBM PC or compatible computer as shown in the user's manual. 2. Turn on your computer. 3. Boot your copy of DOS (2.1 or greater). 4. Format a blank disk on which to save your progress. Label this: "HILLSFAR Save Game Disk" 5. Insert Disk #1 into drive A, label side up. 6. Set your disk drive to drive A by typing A: and pressing the enter key. 7. Type HILLSFAR and press the enter key. 8. You will be asked to choose a graphics mode. Choose your mode by typing the number associated with it. If you are unsure which mode you have, consult your hardware documentation. Tandy mode is for Tandy 1000 series computers. Note: The numeric keypad may be used instead of the arrow keys. In this manual, whenever you are referred to the return key, use the enter key. 1 If you have a Hard Drive: 1. Insert Disk #1 into drive A, label side up. 2. Set your disk drive to drive A by tying A: and pressing the enter key. 3. Type "INSTALLH" (without the quotes) and press enter. 4. You will be asked to type the letter of the hard drive you wish to use; for example C, D, E, etc. 5. All of the files will be copied from drive A to the drive you specified in a sub directory called HILLSFAR. After all files have been copied, if you are copying 5-1/4" disks you will be asked to insert Disk #2 and press enter. All of the files from this disk will be copied as well. 6. To play on the hard drive, type the letter of the drive you specified (C, D, E, etc) followed by a colon and press enter. Then type CD HILLSFAR and press enter. Don't forget to put a space between CD and HILLSFAR. Then type HILLSFAR and press enter. Your game will now be running. STARTING PLAY When the HILLSFAR title screen appears, press the return key. The Camp Options screen will appear next. To make a selection, use the up and down arrow keys or the joystick until the option you desire is highlighted, then press the return key. Load a character to ride to HILLSFAR: You'll be asked to put your save game disk into the drive and then press the return key. You can use the joystick or arrow keys to highlight the character you wish to take into Hillsfar. Press the return key or select exit to return to the camp options. Once you have made your selection, you will find yourself on a horse riding toward the city of Hillsfar. You will encounter many obstacles along the way. For more information on horsemanship, read the section RIDING A HORSE. Create a HILLSFAR character: Use this option to make a new character. For more information on this option, read the section CREATING A CHARACTER. Save your current HILLSFAR character: It is a good idea to save your character's status frequently. If your character dies, you may load him back into the game by selecting the "Load a character to ride to Hillsfar" option. Remove a HILLSFAR character from disk: Use this command to remove any undesirable characters. Remember, once you remove these characters they are gone forever! Transfer a character: You may be able to use this option to transfer characters from some of SSI's other AD&D computer products like POOL OF RADIANCE. Characters may be transferred from POOL OF RADIANCE to HILLSFAR, but may not be transferred from HILLSFAR to POOL OF RADIANCE. Characters may be transferred back and forth between HILLSFAR and CURSE OF THE AZURE BONDS fantasy role-playing game. Note: Certain items such as the list of magic spells gained within POOL OF RADIANCE or CURSE OF THE AZURE BONDS will not be transferred or used in HILLSFAR. In order to transfer these unused items along with your improved HILLSFAR character into a CURSE OF THE AZURE BONDS game, you must also keep the POOL OF RADIANCE of CURSE OF THE AZURE BONDS character which you previously loaded into HILLSFAR. These two different saved characters may exist on one save game disk. Make a HILLSFAR save game disk: Using this option you may make a save game disk. Any information that is on the disk will be destroyed. Label the disk "HILLSFAR Save Game Disk" when the process is completed. CREATING A CHARACTER You must create a character to seek adventure and accomplish quests in Hillsfar. Characters are differentiated by their race, ability scores, and class. 1. Selecting you character's race A list of races will appear. Use the joystick or arrow keys to highlight your choice and then press the space bar or fire button to make your selection. Dwarf - This is a cunning race of sturdy workers and craftsmen. They can be fighters and thieves at the same time. 2 Elf - As tall as humans but slimmer, they can be fighters, magic-users, thieves, fighter/magic-users, fighter/thieves, magic-users/thieves, and fighter/magic-user/thieves. Elves also have a better chance of finding hidden objects. Gnome - Members of this race are shorter and slimmer than their cousins the dwarves. They can be fighters, thieves, or fighter/thieves. Half-Elf - These hybrids have many of the virtues of both humans and elves. Like elves, they can be more than one class at once. Halfing - These folk are about half the size of a human, hence their name. They have little ability with magic, but are resistant to its influences. They can be fighters, magic-users, clerics, and thieves. Humans - This is the most common player race in the Forgotten Realms. They have unlimited progression as fighters, magic-users, clerics, and thieves. 2. Selecting your character's gender You will have to select whether your character will be male or female. As the race selection, highlight your choice and press the space bar or fire button when ready. 3. Selecting you character's class A description of the classes is listed below. Do not be alarmed if all of the classes listed below do not appear on your screen. Some races cannot be certain classes. A human adventurer can only be one class while non-humans can combine classes. A character with combined classes has more options, but he advances more slowly. Highlight the desired class and press the space or fire button to continue. Cleric - The cleric is a holy crusader whop fights for the causes of his religion. Due to religious restrictions, he cannot use a cutting weapon that draws blood. such as a sword or an arrow, but can use any form of armor and use crushing weapons, such as a mace. Fighter - The fighter can use any form of armor or weapon including magic ones, but most other magical items, and all magical spells, are beyond him. Magic-User - The magic-user is potentially the most powerful character class, but he starts out weak. Initially, he has very few Hit Points. In addition, he cannot memorize many spells, and must carefully husband his few spells until he gains more through advancement in level. Magic-Users cannot use any form of armor or any weapon other than a dagger, dart of staff. However, there are magic items only a magic-user can use. Thief - The thief uses trickery and misdirection-instead of brute force-to win his objective. This is only the profession in which demihumans may climb as far as any human. Indeed, halfings and elves are especially adept in this craft. To be a proficient thief a character must have high dexterity. Thieves must stick to leather-based armor and have restricted lists of weapons. Multiple Classes - Non human races can sometimes be a combination of classes. When a character is more than one class, his Hit Points per level are averaged among the classes involved. However, his experience is split between the two classes even when he cannot advance further in one of them. He gains all the benefits of both classes in regard to weapons and equipment. 4. Choosing an alignment Alignment is the philosophy a character lives by. While the actions of a character are under your control, the character's alignment can affect how NPCs in the game view him. The computer will provide all the possible alignments for you to choose from. 5. Your character's ability scores After you have selected your character's gender, the computer will automatically generate the ability scores that every adventurer has. Ability scores are base on a range from 3 (low) to 19 (high). You have the option of re-rolling your character's scores or keeping them. Keep re-rolling your character until you have the ability scores you desire. A description of the ability scores follows: Strength (Str). This is the measure of how much a character can carry and how much damage he can do in a fight. Strength is a fighter's most important attribute. 3 Intelligence (Int). This is the measure of how much a character can ultimately memorize. Intelligence is a magic-user's most important attribute. Wisdom (Wis). This is the measure of a character's ability to understand the ways of the world and interact with it. Wisdom is a celeric's most important attribute. Dexterity (Dex). This is the measure of the manual dexterity and agility of the character. Dexterity is a thief's most important attribute. Constitution (Con). This is the measure of the overall health of a character. It has a major effect on how many hit points a character receives. Charisma (Cha). This is the measure of how well the character interacts with other characters. It is sometimes a factor when a character has an encounter with a Non-Player Character, usually called an NPC. 6. Selecting a Name This is the last step in creating your character. Your character's name may have up to 15 letters in it. You will not be able to change your character's name, so choose it wisely. Press return once you have entered a name and a summary screen will appear. This screen contains all of the information about your character. Examine this information closely and decide whether you wish to save your character. Two additional character attributes which will appear in the summary screen are explained below: Hit Points (hp). This attribute is derived from a character's constitution, his level, and his character class (see below). Every time a character is hit he loses Hit Points. A character with many Hit Points can survive longer than one with few Hit Points. When a character reaches 0 Hit Points he is dead. Experience Points (EX). As a character adventures and accumulates treasure, he gains Experience Points. The more experience points, the more proficient the character is in his class. RIDING A HORSE From the camp you will be given a horse to ride to Hillsfar and other points of interest outside the city. A map of the outskirts of the city is used for selection of your destination. You may highlight the possible routes to travel by pressing the arrow keys. Press the space bar to ride on the path you selected. From certain points, like the camp, your selection may be limited to only one path. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- C-64 Joystick: Up Jump | ____________ Activate Rod of Blasting ( ) --|-O | Left --- | __ | --- Right Slow Down | (__) | Speed Up | | (____________) | Duck Down ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Occasionally, a question mark will appear where your horse is. When this happens, you will have the option of attempting to ride on a forgotten trail. If you wish to try an unmarked trail, press the space bar when the question mark appears. It has been said that some of these trails lead to fame, fortune and danger. The horse and rider are controlled as shown above. Move the joystick or arrow keys right to speed up and left to slow down. Moving the joystick up or hitting the up arrow key commands the horse to jump, and down on the joystick or arrow keys will cause the rider to duck flying birds or arrows. If you find a Rod of Blasting, you may use it to destroy obstacles on the riding path. To use the Rod of Blasting, press the fire button on the joystick or press the space bar. All Rods have a specified number of charges and when used up, they will disappear. 4 Beware! The footpaths and roads are treacherous indeed! You will have to jump and duck obstacles along these paths lest you be thrown from your horse. Some of the objects you will have to avoid includes bales of hay, ditches and holes, puddles, fences, bushes, and tree stumps. Every time you misjudge an obstacle, you will run the risk of losing your horse. Although certain horses are more loyal than others, any horse will abandon its owner when pushed to its limits. If this happens, a list of options will appear: Walk on ahead: This option may let you walk to the destination you selected. Look for a horse: Search for a horse. If you find one, you will continue onward. Wait for passerby: Wait for someone to pass by who will take you to the trading post. Start walking back: This option returns you to your starting location. Keep in mind that whenever your steed gallops away, you will be in danger of being robbed or worse. ADVENTURING IN HILLSFAR Once you have successfully reached Hillsfar, you will find yourself in the upper tight-hand corner of the city, represented by a flashing arrow. This is where the stables are and where you must go in order to leave the city. On the left side of the screen, you will see a 3-D view of buildings in front of you. To turn, use the left and right arrow keys. To move forward use the up arrow. To turn around 180 degrees, use the down arrow. Move the joystick in the same directions to move forward right, left and to turn 180 degrees. On the lower left side of the screen you will see the status of your character and what he is carrying. Always watch your character's Hit Points. If you run out of these, your character will die. Also displayed are the number of knock rings and healing potions in your possession. Depending on your character's class, you will want to find a pub or guild. Take time and become acquainted with the city. You will notice that the message window will move between two positions on the screen. When you are in the northern part of the city, the message window will be on the bottom half of the screen. When you are in the southern part of the city, the message window will be one the top half of the screen. Many times in the game you will be given clues and quests. In some areas of the city you may need to look for items, clues or people. To examine an area closely press the space or fire button. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- C-64 Joystick: Up Forward | ____________ Search area ( ) --|-O | Left --- | __ | --- Right Turn Left | (__) | Turn Right | | (____________) | Duck 180 degree Turn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Additional Commands: R - Recall the last clue given. S - Toggle the sound on or off. P - Use a healing potion <-- or ESC - Pause the game. TANNA'S TARGET RANGE For practice or for gold you can set your sights at Tanna's Target Range. For a small fee, Tanna will allow you to compete against other marksmen for fame and gold. Upon entering the range, you will see a list of scores and the amount of the purse you will receive if you exceed them. You will be told the entrance fee and asked if you wish to participate. If you want to participate, you will be asked if you want to practice first. The only differences 5 between practice and competition is that you are not charged for practice, and you cannot collect any awards or have your score added to the list. Once you have made your choice, you will be asked to choose the weapon you wish to rent. You may rent a sling, daggers, darts, or a bow and some arrows. Sling - the only weapon that is usable by a cleric. Dagger - the heaviest weapon available. Darts - faster and lighter than daggers. Arrow - the fastest weapon. Wand - for mages only. Once you have selected a weapon. it will be time to show what you're made of. The targets will vary in value depending on their difficulty. The joystick or keypad controls the motion of the cross hairs. Use the space bar or button to fire. You will notice as you aim your weapon that seems to drift. The higher the dexterity you have, the less drift there will be. Keep your eye on the windmill. It will tell you how fast the wind is blowing. To make an accurate shot, you must adjust for windage. The lighter the weapon is, the more it will be affected by the wind. Be accurate! You have only ten shots to beat the scores on the list. Once you have fired your last shot of ammunition, you will be given your rating and awarded any prizes you may have won. Don't be discouraged if you don't do well in the first few rounds; even William Tell had to practice. THE ARENA In the course of your travels in Hillsfar, you will sooner or later end up at the arena. In the arena you may fight for wealth, fame, honor, or perhaps pay for a crime you've committed. While the arena is generally favored by fighters, anyone is allowed to compete. Most arena battles are fought until one of the fighters is knocked senseless. When fighting as a result of serious crimes, death becomes a distinct possibility. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IBM Keypad: Special Block ________ ________ ________ ( 7 ) ( 8 ) ( 9 ) | Block | | ^ | | Block | | Left | | | | | Right | (________) (________) (________) ________ ________ ________ ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) | | | | | | Attack Left | <---- | | | | ----> | Attack Right (________) (________) (________) ________ ________ ________ ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) | | | | | | | | | | \|/ | | | (________) (________) (________) Special Attack ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- C-64 Keyboard: ________ ________ ________ ( U ) ( I ) ( O ) | | |Special | | | | | | Block | | | (________) (________) (________) ________ ________ ________ ________ ( H ) ( J ) ( K ) ( L ) | Attack | | Block | | Block | | Attack | | Left | | Left | | Right | | Right | (________) (________) (________) (________) ________ ________ ________ ( N ) ( M ) ( < ) | | |Special | | | | | |Attack | | | (________) (________) (________) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- C-64 Joystick: Up Special Block | ____________ Button ( ) --|-O | Left --- | __ | --- Right Block Left | (__) | Block Right | | W/Button (____________) W/Button Attack Left Attack Right | Down Special Attack ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- continued.... 6 Each opponent you meet in the arena will have his own fighting style. To defeat your opponent study his fighting style. Exploit his weaknesses; beware of his strengths. When you fight in the arena, you will be armed with a staff. The first person to knock his opponent unconscious is the victor. The illustration on the previous page is a sample battle screen. The left bar represents the percentage of Hit Points you have remaining. The right bar represents your opponent's Hit Points. For example, when you have only half your Hit Points left, the bar will be colored halfway. Until you hit your opponent a few times, you may not be able to accurately gauge how strong he is. The left-hand window features an ongoing commentary of your match. Be careful not to pay too much attention to what the critics are saying-after all, your battle is not with them. The illustration shows the different techniques you can use during combat. If you do not block your opponent's attacks, you will take damage. Remember, practice makes perfect. Since most battles are not to the death, there may ba a chance for a rematch. LOCK PICKING Whether you are a thief or not, there will come a time when someone has locked up something you want. If you're not a thief, you may resort to bashing down a door, or smashing a treasure chest. But if you are a thief, or you have hired an NPC thief and you have a set of picks, other options may be open to you. When come upon a locked door or chest with your trusty set of picks in hand, you will be asked if you want to pick the lock. If you do, the lock picking screen, shown in the next column on this page, will be displayed. Locks must be picked one tumbler at a time, from left to right. To pick the lock, use the arrow keys or the joystick to select the pick which matches the tumbler. Use the fire button or the space bar to flip the pick over if necessary. Hit the return key to try it on the tumbler. If you choose the wrong pick or the wrong end of the pick, you might break it. Sometimes you may not have all the picks necessary to open a lock. When this happens, press the 'E' key before trying any picks and you will leave the lock. It is possible that a tumbler may be jammed. You will have to stick the pick in more than once to force a jammed tumbler down. Note: There is a greater chance of breaking a pick when trying to force a jammed tumbler. Keep in mind that while broken picks are displayed, they cannot be used until you have them fixed. Some locks are tougher than other locks and some locks are trapped. Putting the wrong pick into a trap is almost certain to set it off. If you're successful put the correct pick into the lock, the tumbler will fall, giving you access to the next one. When you pick the last tumbler, the chest or door will open. You will only have a short amount of time in which to pick a lock. Should you fail to pick the lock within the time limit, any traps it has are almost certain to go off. Once you become familiar with your picks, you should have no trouble opening any lock as long as you have the right picks. If you have trouble picking a lock, you may used the "F" key to attempt to force the lock or the "Z" key to use a knock ring (if you have one). 7 OPENING DOORS AND CHESTS If you're not a thief and don't have a thief NPC with you, or if you don't have a set of lock picks, you can still open the locks. When you find a lock door or chest, you will be asked if you want to open it. If you do, you will be provided with the list of options below. Some of the options may not be available. Options: LEAVE! DO NOT TRY THIS LOCK: This option will only be available until you attempt some other form of opening the lock. USE PHYSICAL STRENGTH TO FORCE IT: Attempt to use brute force to open the lock. Be careful, if the lock is trapped you may set it off. PICK THE LOCK WITH A SMALL OBJECT: By using this option, you will be attempting to pick the lock with a small stick or a straight piece of metal. Be careful, if the lock is trapped you may set it off. USING A KNOCK RING: If you have a knock ring, you may use it to attempt to open a lock. Knock rings are available to all character classes within Hillsfar. Knock rings will open one lock per ring because a knock ring is consumed by the energy required to unlock the lock. USE THE CHIME OF OPENING: This is a magical item that can be used to force all of the tumblers down. Of course, you have to find the chime of opening first... You will only have a short period of time to open the lock and when the time runs out, you are returned to where you came from. BUILDINGS AND MAZES As part of the adventuring in Hillsfar, you will have many opportunities to enter the buildings in the city, as well as sewers, hedge mazes and other labyrinths. It is important that you investigate many of these thoroughly. Valuable items, information, and gold can be found in these places. Be warned, many of these places are protected by guardians or the Red Plume Guards themselves. In many cases, you will only have ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IBM Keypad: Move Up ________ ________ ________ ( 7 ) ( 8 ) ( 9 ) | Up | | ^ | | Up | | Left | | | | | Right | (________) (________) (________) ________ ________ ________ ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) | | | | | | Move Left | <---- | | | | ----> | Move Right (________) (________) (________) ________ ________ ________ ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) | Down | | | | | Down | | Left | | \|/ | | Right | (________) (________) (________) Move Down ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- C-64 Keyboard: ________ ________ ________ ( U ) ( I ) ( O ) | Up | | Move | | Up | | Left | | Up | | Right | (________) (________) (________) ________ ________ ________ ________ ( H ) ( J ) ( K ) ( L ) | | | Move | | Move | | | | | | Left | | Right | | | (________) (________) (________) (________) ________ ________ ________ ( N ) ( M ) ( < ) | Down | | Move | | Down | | Left | | Down | | Right | (________) (________) (________) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- a limited amount of time to collect whatever you can. In most cases you will want to collect as much as you can and then find the exit, which appears as a stairway leading down, before the guards find you. Everytime a guard or guardian touches you, the total time remaining, which is displayed at the top of the screen, will decrease. Once there is no time remaining, the first guard who touches you will capture you. If this happens, you will lose all the items you have collected, and possibly be sentenced to a fight to the death in the arena. If you are caught within the castle, you will always wind up in the arena. Moving through the maze is accomplished by using the arrow keys or the joystick. Move as quickly as you can and be wary of traps. 8 Hours special buildings are open: Building Hours -------------------------------------------- 1) Arena........................8 am - 11 pm 2) Archery......................8 am - 3 pm 3) Bank.........................8 am - 3 pm 4) Book Store...................8 am - 3 pm 5) Castle.......................Never Open 6) cemetery.....................12 am - 7 am 7) Temple of Tempus.............Always open 8) Stables......................Always open 9) Fighter's Guild..............Always open 10) Haunted Mansion.............Never open 11) Healer shops................8 am - 3 pm 12) Jail........................Never open 13) Mages' Guild................Always open 14) Mages' shops................8 am - 3 pm 15) Mages' Tower................8 am - 3 pm 16) Pubs........................5 pm - 7 am 17) Sewers......................Always open 18) Rogue's Guild...............Always open Note: The guilds are always open to their class, and always closed to all other classes. A SHORT HISTORY OF HILLSFAR AND THE ELVEN COURT Hillsfar is one of the great walled cities ringing the Moonsea. Its history concerns both humans and elves and its condition reflects the trust and betrayal of both races. 1357 years ago humans moving north encountered the Elven Court, a huge outcropping of forest just south of the Moonsea. These humans sought and received permission to settle the dates around the forest. Thus, the various Dalelands were born. The Standing Stone was erected to commemorate the occasion. To the south and east of the Elven Court lay the expansionist human kingdom of Sembia. The Sembians cut at the forest to make planks for their ships. The elves put a stop to this by crushing the sembians at the battle of Singing Arrows, 473 years ago. After the battle the Sembians and the elves made an agreement to trade instead of fight. The agreement allowed the humans to push a road from Sembia in the south, through the Elven Court, to the Moonsea in the north. The elves retained control of the route of the road, and made sure the road passed directly by the Standing Stone. That way, humans would be reminded of their earlier, less hostile dealings with the elves. At the northern end of the road the elves built a trading center on the shores of the Moonsea. Human and elves traded in the bazaar. Human and elves learned of each others ways in the taverns and training halls. Humans and elves even shared in the administration of the trading center. This trading center expanded into a town, then into a walled city, and then into a city state. This city state is now known as Hillsfar. Hillsfar prospered in spite of competition from other major cities around the Moonsea. Phlan and Zhentil Keep rose to power and fell from grace, while Hillsfar prospered by trading between the Moonsea reaches and the Elven Court. But, the battle of Singing Arrows and the road from Sembia to Hillsfar started a great debate among the elves. Could elves and humans live side by side, or was human expansion a threat to the lifestyle of the Elven Court? For a hundred years the elves secretly debated among themselves. Scant years ago they made their decision. The elves began The Retreat. The Retreat caught the humans around the Elven Court by surprise. Almost overnight, the inhabitants of the court and the magnificent city of Myth Dannor seemed to disappear. Once the elves decided to leave, the left swiftly. Some elves living in the communities outside the Elven Court, but others stayed in their new homes. The Retreat left a huge area empty. Evil forces quickly took advantage of the power vacuum. The bright elven forests quickly became dark and foreboding. The fabled city of Myth Drannor fell into ruins and was overrun by evil creatures. And the road from Sembia to Hillsfar was no longer a safe trek for prosperous merchants, but a dangerous gauntlet for the adventurous traveler. The Retreat hit Hillsfar hard. The Council of Hillsfar became corrupt and self serving. The openness of the city allowed foreign enemies 9 free access into the corridors of power. Then, with the bickering council at its weakest, the government was overthrown by Maalthiir, a powerful merchant and mage. Hillsfar has changed under Maalthiir's administration. On one hand, his rule has brought order to a chaotic and corrupt city. On the other, he has destroyed the elven heritage that made Hillsfar a special place. Maalthiir multiplied the army by expanding the merciless Red Plume mercenaries. He used the Red Plumes in campaigns against Zhentil Keep. He raised new trading ships to travel the Moonsea and new war shipt to protect the trade. With Maalthiir at the helm, Hillsfar has become more human, more repressive, and more expansionist. It has now but an unfortunate mirror of its ancient rivals that also ring the Moonsea. AFTER LEAVING HILLSFAR, BEWARE OF THE CURSE OF THE AZURE BONDS Overheard from a cavern guide who was in a tavern just outside Hillsfar. "Hillsfar isn't real civilization, lad. Cormyr, that's a real civilized kingdom. It's far top the south and west, but the trip is worth every step. "There are two main routes to civilization, the southern route and the western route. Both are perilous. You need powerful friends if you want to make a trip like that. Powerful friends, or a knowledgeable guide. "On the southern route the traveler must move through the forests of the Elven Court down the long road to the Standing Stone. The stone was a monument to the cooperation of elves and men. Now it's just a warning that you're too near the ruined remains of Myth Drannor. "Once Myth Drannor was a beautiful elven city; now it's nothing but crumbling ruins that 10 are overrun with unspeakable beasties. We can be thankful that the Knights of Myth Drannor guard the remains of the city. "Once past the Standing Stone, and outside the forests of the Elven Court, things get easier. The tilled fields of Mistledale and the open town of Ashabenford are a welcome relief from the cold and weary road. From Mistledale the road winds through the hills at Tilver's Gap and on to the gateway of civilization, to Tilverton, the northermost city of the great kingdom of Cormyr. "Travelers who do not want to brave the dark forests of the Elven Court can take the west road out of Hillsfar. This leads to the ruined city of Yulash, where the troops of Zhentil Keep battle Hillsfar's Red Plume mercenaries. The smart traveler will slip around the southern side of Yulash, avoiding both armies. This also avoid the cities of Zhentil Keep and Teshwave. "After slipping south around Yulash, the traveler will gain the road leading southeast from Yulash to Voonlar and then south from Voonlar to Shadowdale. Many adventurers make Shadowdale their home, and the town is friendly to those hearty souls who engage in brave deeds. "Shadowdale is also the home of the renowned save Elminster. But don't try to see him, this man will give you nothing but the run around. Elminster is said to be a member of that mysterious group, the Harpers. Many powerful beings are said to belong to the Harpers. I'd sure like to have a group like that on my side the next time I'm in trouble. "The road south from Shadowdale is well traveled and leads through the Shadow Gap to Tilverton. Careful travelers will not a path leading northwest towards Daggerdale and Dagger Falls. Avoid this path; the inhabitants of Daggerdale are not at all friendly to outsiders. "Once the traveler crossed Shadow Gap the road leads directly to Tilverton. All the civilized services are available in Tilverton, though these services demand civilized prices. From Tilverton all of Cormyr opens up to the south. "If you're traveling to Tilverton you may be interested in this story. King Azoun's youngest daughter, the Princess Nacadia, ran away from the royal household almost a year ago. Rumor has it she fled an arranged marriage and ran off with a cleric from Tilverton. Word has it that Nacacia and the cleric have had a falling out and that she's been seen near Tilverton recently. The king has a large reward out for her return. A smart group of adventurers could do very well for themselves if they found the princess and returned her to the king. "Good luck lad, no matter which way you travel. And you have fun in the civilized southlands." 11 HILLSFAR Data Card - Amiga IMPORTANT: You must make a backup of your Hillsfar Amiga game disk and play from your backup disk. You do not need a separate save game disk! All save games should be put on the copy of the game disk. TO PLAY HILLSFAR (Amiga 500, 1000, 2000): 1. Set up your Amiga as shown in the user's manual. 2. Turn on your computer. 3. If you do not have KickStart 1.2 or greater in ROM, then insert your KickStart disk in drive DF0: (this applies to 1000 owners). 4. When requested to enter your Workbench disk, please insert your Hillsfar Amiga game disk in drive DF0: TO PLAY HILLSFAR FROM WORKBENCH (AMIGA 500, 1000, 2000): NOTE: You may run Hillsfar from Workbench 1.2 or greater if you have at least 1 Megabyte of RAM. 1. After Workbench 1.2 or greater has been loaded, insert your Hillsfar Amiga game disk in any drive. 2. Double-click on the Hillsfar Amiga game disk icon. 3. Then double-click on the Chest icon to run Hillsfar. PLAY OPTIONS: 1. Use CONTROL-S key combination to toggle the sound on and off. 2. The joystick instructions in the rulebook work as described with the following clarification: when picking locks (as described on page 7 of the rulebook), hitting the spacebar flips the pick over and hitting the joystick button or RETURN key will try the pick on the tumbler. TO INSTALL HILLSFAR ON A HARD DRIVE: 1. Boot your computer and bring up a CLI window. 2. Insert your Hillsfar Amiga game disk in drive DF0:. 3. Make a Hillsfar directory on your Hard Drive by typing: MAKEDIR DH0:Hillsfar 4. Type: COPY DF0: DH0:Hillsfar ALL in order to copy all of the Hillsfar files to your Hard Drive. 5. Change your current directory to the Hillsfar directory by typing: CD DH0:Hillsfar 6. To run Hillsfar type: Hillsfar ============================================================================ DOCS PROVIDED BY -+*+-THE SOUTHERN STAR-+*+- for M.A.A.D. ============================================================================