Throne of Fire

T H R O N E O F
F I R E

Within the Burning Citadel, high above the desolate plains of Carakesh, the
Throne of Fire stands empty. Three princes, sons of the late King Atherik,
prepare to do battle against each other and seize the throne.
The eldest of the three is Alorn the Lion Prince, strong and good-hearted,
but weak of mind. Next is Cordrin the Sun Prince, fair and straight and just.
And the youngest is Karag the Wolf Prince, cunning and envious of his brothers.
Each must strive to seize the throne and eliminate his rivals, for only when
one prince is King, and both others dead, will the battle have been won.
Each prince has a band of loyal men-at-arms, and in addition to these three
main forces is a fourth, impartial, force -- the King's Guard, whose duty it is
to protect the Throne of Fire.

HOW TO PLAY

One-player game

In a one-player game the human player can control his characters by either a
joystick or the keyboard. At the start of play he chooses the prince he wishes
to control. The computer will then take on the roles of the remaining two
princes, controlling each independently. One half of the screen display will be
used by the human player, and the other by one of the computer-controlled
forces.

Two-player game

In a two-player game, both human players may use joysticks or the keyboard. At
the start of play each human player chooses the prince he wishes to control.
The computer will then take on the role of the remaining prince. One half of
the screen display will be used by each human player. Should one human player
be eliminated during the course of the game, his half of the screen will then
be taken over by the computer-controlled force until the game is over.

Loading Instructions

Spectrum 48/128K
Type the command LOAD"" and then press the ENTER key, or use the Tape Loader
option on the 128.
Amstrad CPC
Press the CONTROL key and the small ENTER key simultaneously.
Start the tape deck and the game will now load automatically.

THE BURNING CITADEL

The action of the game, all movement and combat, takes place within the many
rooms of the Burning Citadel, the royal fortress of the Sorcerer Kings of
Carakesh, which is built around the rim of a smouldering volcano. The Citadel
is completely circular, the outside wall looking out over the plains of
Carakesh, and the inside wall looking down into the volcanic crater itself. It
is possible for a player to do a round tour of the Citadel and arrive back at
his starting point - if he manages to survive that long.

The Citadel Display

The scrolling Citadel display at the bottom of each player's screen area
depicts the inner wall of the Citadel, silhouetted blackly against the deep
blue of the night sky. The windows of all occupied rooms are lit in different
colours, according to the allegiance of the occupant. If a window flickers
between two colours, there are two members of opposing forces in that room, who
may be engaged in combat.

The colours are:
Prince Alorn and his men-at-arms - RED
Prince Cordrin and his men-at-arms - YELLOW
Prince Karag and his men-at-arms - PURPLE
The men of the King's Guard - GREEN

The windows of unoccupied rooms are unlit, and consequently merge invisibly
into the black wall of the Citadel. While the scrolling display gives essential
information about the deployment of all forces, it does not reveal the
structure of the Citadel, the connecting stairways, nor the contents of the
rooms. These can only be discovered by exploration.

Individual Room Display

The main, large display which occupies most of each player's screen area
depicts the actions of the character who is currently under direct control, as
he travels from room to room or is engaged in combat.

Each room is shown in perspective, and doors on the left and right lead
directly to other rooms on the same level. Doors at the back lead to stairways
ascending or descending to other levels.

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CONTROLLlNG THE CHARACTERS

At the start of play, there are 10 men under the control of each player - a
prince, and nine men-at-arms. During play, however, the number of men-at-arms
will vary greatly, as some are killed, and reinforcements arrive. All
characters on the same side can be identified by the helmets which they wear.
The prince can be identified by his coronet.

Though a player has many men under his command, he can only directly control
one at a time. The actions of this directly controlled character are depicted
in the large individual room display, in either Movement mode or Combat mode.

To switch control to another character, a player must enter Selection mode,
which allows him to access the scrolling Citadel display at the bottom of the
screen. Using a cursor, the player can scan the Citadel wall and select a room
which is occupied by one of his men. This room will then appear in the
individual room display above, and the character depicted within it will be
under the player's direct control.

Characters who are not currently under the player's direct control cannot move
from room to room of their own accord, but they will defend themselves if
attacked. However, they will not be able to fight very well. To get the best
from his men, a player should, whenever possible, directly control them in
Combat mode.

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GATE ROOMS & REINFORCEMENTS

Within the Citadel are a number of Gate Rooms. These rooms have only two doors,
one which leads into the Citadel, and one which leads to the outside world. The
latter cannot be used by any of the players.

From time to time new men-at-arms will enter Gate Rooms lit from the outside.
They will only enter empty rooms, and they will join the side of the last
player to have visited that room. If the room has yet to be visited by any
player, then the new men will instead join the ranks of the King's Guard.

THE THRONE ROOM

The Throne Room is the ultimate objective of all players, as it contains the
Throne of Fire. To seize the throne, a player must visit the Throne Room with
his prince, and his visit must be unopposed. No other characters belonging to
the other players or to the King's Guard can be in the room.

On gaining the Throne, that prince becomes King, and in addition to his
men-at-arms, now takes control of the King's Guard. At the same time, the other
players lose the ability to directly control their men-at-arms, who now stay
rooted to the spot, seeking only to defend themselves against attack.

Should the new King die, the King's Guard becomes neutral once again, and the
surviving players regain control of their men-at-arms. They can now once more
attempt to seize the Throne.

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WEAPONS

There are many different weapons, each with its own particular strengths and
weaknesses. Men of the King's Guard only carry one weapon each, but all other
characters can carry up to three different weapons. Weapons can be picked up
and carried by using the Movement mode.

STRENGTH

Strength alone affects a character's abilities, and the strength of the
character currently under a player's direct control is shown in the form of a
beating heart at the top of the screen. The faster the heart-beat, the stronger
the character, and the faster his movements and reactions will be.

Characters can regain strength by resting and doing nothing. The occasional
magical object may also increase - or decrease - strength. Strength is also
gained by visiting the Throne Room or Gate Rooms.

If the beating heart stops, that character dies.

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JOYSTICK CONTROLS

The following applies to joysticks. If a player has opted for keyboard
controls, then the appropriate keys can be substituted for the joystick
directions and fire button.

Selection Mode

During selection mode the joystick controls the cursor which moves over the
scrolling Citadel display. Pressing FIRE selects the character within the
window where the cursor is positioned.

If the cursor is not positioned over a window of the correct colour, the
previous man-at-arms or prince is re-selected.

Movement Mode

During movement, the joystick directly controls the actions of your on-screen
character.

LEFT Moves character to the left
RIGHT Moves character to the right
UP Moves character through stairway door if he is standing over one;
or character picks up weapon if standing by one;
or character picks up bottle if standing by one
DOWN Switches to Selection mode, leaving character standing where he is
FIRE Switches to Combat mode.

Combat Mode

During combat, the joystick directly controls the fighting actions of your
on-screen character. Unlike other combat games, a joystick position does not
cause a particular action, but it is the route from one joystick position to
another which triggers a variety of thrusts and parries. Players will discover
combat movements through experience, and it will be found that joystick
movements correspond quite closely to weapon movements.

FIRE Selects next weapon which the character is carrying;
or switches to Movement mode if all weapons have been selected. This
allows players to retreat, or to select another character. Combat
mode can be reselected from Movement mode by pressing FIRE

ON-SCREEN INFORMATION

Name of prince Identifying helmet of
Name of player | player's men-at-arms
------\-----|----------------/---------------------------
| V DAVE | / JIM V | Heartbeat
| Alorn @ @ Cordrin |
|---------------------------+---------------------------|
| | |
| | |
Individual | | | Individual
room | | | room
display | | | display
(Throne | | | (Gate
Room) | | | Room)
| | |
| | |
|---------------------------+---------------------------|
|--------------------------- ---------------------------|
Citadel || | | ||
display ||| |--------| |--| |-----| |---| |----||
|||---| |- -| | | | |----| | | /||
|| | | | | | | | | |||
|--------------------------- ---------------------------|
| 08 MEN AT ARMS 09 MEN AT ARMS |
| /MOVEMENT MODE MOVEMENT MODE |
----/-------------------------------------\--------------
/ \
Number of men-at-arms Current mode

CREDITS

Game design (c) 1986 Mike Singleton
Programming, graphics and music by Consult Computer Systems
Cover illustration by David Rowe
Instruction booklet produced and designed by Serpentine Design

Published by
Melbourne House (Publishers) Limited
8-10 Paul Street
London EC2

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