THE SPECTRUM GAME DATABASE
VALHALLA
PUBLISHER
Legend
AUTHOR
Legend
YEAR
1983
DESCRIPTION
An adventure roleplaying game.
INSTRUCTIONS
Please see the inlay card text.
CHEATS
SEQUELS/PREQUELS
None.
INLAY CARD TEXT
VALHALLA
A LEGEND PRODUCTION (c) 1983
Production team - Graham Asher, Richard Edwards, Charles Goodwin,
James Learmont, Jan Ostler, Andrew Owen, John Peel.
THE SCREEN
Think of the screen as three windows.
The top window is the picture. The middle window, which has a
white background is the information window. The bottom window,
which has a black background and a flashing white cursor is where
you type in your commands.
THE KEYBOARD
If you are not familiar with the Spectrum keyboard, consult
Chapter 2, page 8 of the Spectrum introduction manual.
You communicate with the game and with the characters using the
keyboard to type in your commands. Your own actions are also
typed in as commands
Having typed in a command you must always press ENTER.
Examples - get food ENTER
Thor get axe ENTER
where ENTER
jump ENTER
Note - There will sometimes be a delay of several seconds after
you press ENTER before your command is interpreted. This is
because, as a character in VALHALLA, you have to take your turn
along with all the other characters. This means that if Loki has
just attacked Thor, you will have to wait until the fight is over
before your command is carried out.
Typing a command can be done in any combination of capitals and
lower case letters. Punctuation is optional. The easiest way of
entering a command is therefore to use lower case letters and no
punctuation.
For example - get sword.
You can edit text, as you type it, using the Spectrum edit
commands. CAPS SHIFT 5, 6, 7, 8, move the flashing cursor in the
direction printed above the keys, and CAPS SHIFT 0 deletes the
character to the left of the cursor. For further information see
page 8 of your Spectrum Introduction manual. CAPS SHIFT 1 will
delete anything you have typed into the bottom black window. CAPS
SHIFT 2 is used to pull you last entry back into the black input
window.
Spelling mistakes are dealt with in two ways. If you make a minor
mistake or miss out a letter - for example 'ge sord' instead of
'get sword' - it will automatically be corrected. Sometimes the
command system will approximate or try to guess what you mean,
but it might not be exactly what you intended.
There may be times when the command system is completely unable
to understand what you have entered. The part that is causing
problems will be highlighted in red and you can edit in the usual
way and press ENTER.
Note - The command system has three ways of dealing with things
ENTERed that it cannot understand - by printing 'This doesn't
make sense or what?,' or by totally ignoring your entry. However
none of this happens if you enter commands accurately.
THE QUESTS
As you will discover, you can have great fun simple watching
VALHALLA and issuing commands to the characters. However, there
are six adventures awaiting you in VALHALLA. Each of these
adventures is a quest for a special object hidden somewhere in
the game world.
The six special objects can only be discovered in order -
Ofnir (key) cannot be used as an ordinary key
Drapnir (ring) cannot be used as an ordinary ring
Skornir (shield)
Skalir (sword)
Felstrong (axe)
Grimnir (helmet)
Before you can seriously start on even the first quest, you will
need to do two things - equip yourself with basic useful items
such as helmet, weapon, food, key and ring; and familiarise
yourself with the layout of VALHALLA's world. The best way of
doing this is to start to make a map. Even though some locations
may look similar, each is unique.
There will be occasions when having, or not having a certain
object or character with you, will allow you access to a
location. You could try using 'where' or 'help' if you need
inspiration, but don't be surprised if you're not told all you
need to know...
CLUES
Ofnir - Darkness in Midgard.
Drapnir - So many choices - you could sink into the pits of
despair.
Skornir - A peculiar start - a difficult decision - the bald man
needs defence.
Note - If you are serious about solving the entire sequence of
quests, it is essential that you plan what you are going to do
with the quest objects once you obtained them. Remember that when
you die, Ofnir and Drapnir will be taken from you - and of course
you cannot carry Felstrong at the same time as Skalir.
Note - When you die, the objects that are taken from you are
randomly distributed throughout the game world. This means that
if you are unfortunate enough to die with Ofnir or Drapnir
amongst your possessions, you will have to reload the program and
start the entire sequence of quests from the beginning.
If you die from hunger or fighting you reappear in an area of
hell. You will lose all your possessions except for your helmet,
sword or axe, and money, if you had them when you died. You will
keep any special objects that you had, except for Ofnir and
Drapnir which you will lose.
When any other character dies, from hunger or fighting, they will
also lose all of their possessions including Ofnir and Drapnir,
but again excluding their weapons.
You can only have one helmet and one shield at any time, and can
only carry one sword or one axe but not both. This, of course,
means that you cannot carry the quest objects Felstrong (the axe)
and Skalir (the sword) at the same time.
Felstrong, Skalir, Skornir (the shield) and Grimnir (the helmet)
can all be used in the same way and with the same effect as any
other axe, sword, shield and helmet. However, the quest objects
weigh more than ordinary objects. This means that you will get
weaker when you carry these objects and will therefore need to
eat and drink more.
Ofnir and Drapnir are purely ceremonial which means that you will
need to carry an ordinary key to uses chests and cupboards and
an ordinary ring to use ringways.
Having died and reappeared in hell, you will find, using the
'how' command that you are very strong.
PLAYING THE GAME
Don't be afraid to experiment.
Expect to be frustrated - the game has been designed to present
a series of increasingly difficult challenges.
If you become seriously involved in pursuing the six VALHALLA
quests and find you need further information on playing adventure
games, most of the popular computing magazines provide help
corners for keen adventurers and there are now magazines being
published devoted entirely to adventure games.
GOING PLACES
Moving in your present location
There are very few occasions when you will need to use a command
simply to move. Most commands like 'attack' and 'get'
automatically carry out any necessary movement and movement for
no specific reason will drain your strength unnecessarily.
The 'l' and 'r' keys will move you slightly left and right
respectively. Alternatively you can use 'go,' or 'go to' the
object or person. For example, 'go to Odin' and 'go to the axe.'
Equally, if you prefer short commands, 'go Odin' and 'go axe'
will have the same effect.
Moving to a new location
To go to a new location, apart from when you jump using ringways,
you always use go followed by a direction. For example, 'go
north' or 'go southeast.'
Note - You can also use abbreviations such as 'go n' or 'go se.'
Most locations will offer you a choice of directions in which you
can go. Hardly any will offer you the choice of all eight
directions and one or two locations will have no exists other
than ringways.
There are occasions when having, or not having a certain object
or character with you, will allow you access to a location. You
could try using 'where' or 'help' if you need inspiration, but
don't be surprised if you're not told all you need to know...
Note - The faster you move through locations the harder it is
for other characters to keep up with you.
Note - You can only move by directions and not by using place
names. For example, 'go to VALHALLA' will not work.
Note - You cannot use the word 'enter' in order to get into a
building. Remember you are always facing North which means that
if you see a castle in the background, you enter it with 'go
north'.
You cannot enter huts.
RINGS AND RINGWAYS
Some locations have ringways which allow you to jump to another
location in then game. You are not, however, told where you will
end up before you jump. Your only chance of finding out is if the
'help' command is being co-operative...
To use a ringway you need a ring. As with keys, the only times
you lose possession of a ring is when you die or if you sell it,
drop it or give it away.
Note - Drapnir is a ceremonial ring and cannot be used to jump.
EATING AND DRINKING
Your strength is affected by everything you do, even standing
still. This means that carrying three objects will leave you
weaker than carrying one light object. This also means that
traveling to a new location and fighting reduces your strength.
The only way to increase your strength is by eating and drinking.
Note - Food will do you more good than wine...
In some locations you will find food and/or wine conveniently
lying around. You can eat or drink or simply get the food or wine
for future use. However, if other characters are around, they may
well have the same idea - so decide and act quickly.
In some locations you will find food and/or wine in a locked
cupboard or chest. If, however, you are already weak, you may
well find yourself unable to unlock the cupboard or chest. You
will then need to use your powers of persuasion to get another
character to do it for you.
At the start of the game, many of the characters are carrying
food and/or wine. Any of the characters in the game may eat and
drink from time to time. They will tend to pick up food and wine
that is lying around, exchange food and wine among themselves and
the more stupid characters may even drop food and wine as they
move around.
If you are weak and there is no obvious source of food and wine,
you can try asking another character to either sell or give you
some.
You have a fixed maximum potential strength, so there is no point
in eating or drinking for the sake of it. In fact, there is a
fixed amount of found and drink in the universe, so the more that
you consume, the less there is left for you when you really need
it. It makes more sense to get the food and/or wine and carry it
with you or store it in a chest or a cupboard.
FIGHTING
There is no way to stop any fight once it has started. You can,
however, type in your next command while the fight is taking
place.
Only two characters can fight at any one time.
Fights are either won, lost or drawn.
When other characters die they leave the screen to reappear
elsewhere, but not necessarily in hell. This means that sometimes
a character who has just died, will return quite quickly to your
present location.
The outcome of any fight is determined by the strength of the
characters involved and the weapons that they are carrying.
Note - A helmet and a shield are purely defensive. Your
attacking strength is determined by your having, or not having,
a sword or an axe. A sword will always be stronger than an axe,
except when thrown.
There is also a small random "luck" factor, although this will
hardly ever dramatically affect the outcome of a fight.
Fights can be started in various ways -
You, or any character, can simply decide to attack any other
character.
You can ask one character to attack another on your behalf.
Whether they do, or not, depends on how they feel about you at
the time.
Equally, other characters, particularly the more intelligent
ones, will often ask other characters to do their fighting for
them.
Letting other characters fight on your behalf is obviously
attractive but you will need to do a certain amount of attacking
and fighting yourself.
The extent to which other characters like you, give you things,
fight on your behalf, open containers for you and generally help
you is determined by the characters that you choose to attack.
For example, if you attack Hel and Gripe (baddies), Odin (goodie)
will be more co-operative than Loki (baddie). Likewise, if you
attack Odin the chances are that Loki will be co-operative.
Even when your strength is at its maximum, you will not be strong
enough to overcome the strongest characters, good and bad alike.
It is unlikely, however, that even the strongest characters would
kill you in a single bout of fighting, provided that you are
reasonably well armed and have kept your strength up by eating
and drinking.
Any character, including you, can start a fight by throwing any
object you posses, except money, at any other character.
The effect of throwing objects varies according to what has been
thrown. For example, a bottle may not cause much damage whereas
a fireball or lightning may actually kill you or any character,
when you or they are at their weakest.
Note - When thrown, an axe is stronger than a sword.
GETTING THINGS
If you want to get any object it must be lying on the ground or
in an open chest or cupboard.
Simply type 'get' followed by the name of the object.
For example - get axe
get lightning
Note - You can always check what items are present and in open
containers by using the 'what' command and pressing
ENTER.
Getting things from containers is under the heading chests,
cupboards and keys.
Note - 'Take' has exactly the same effect as 'get'. It does not
matter which word you use.
Dropping things
An obvious way to get something from a character is by making
them drop it and then you get it.
For example - Thor drop the axe
and if he does, followed by:
get axe
This is however far from ideal as any other character can also
get it. There is also the risk of Klepto turning up...
Note - Once you have dropped an object it is no longer yours.
This means that any other character could take it, and if you
have had second thoughts about dropping it, you might not be able
to get it back.
You can drop any object in your possession at any time. This can
be useful when you are weak and you want to lighten your load.
You can only drop things to the ground and except for fireballs
and lightning, which are invisible, you will see the object
appear on the ground.
Other characters, especially the weak and stupid ones, might drop
things as they move around.
If you drop an object and it is still there when you leave the
location, you can always try to return to your previous location
and attempt to get it before another character...
Giving things
You simply type in 'give' followed by the name of the object and
the name of the character you are giving it to.
For example - give axe to Thor
give Thor the axe
give axe Thor
Equally you can ask any character to give an object to any other
character.
For example - Odin give Thor axe
Odin give the axe to Thor
Odin give me the axe
Odin give me your axe
Note - You cannot force characters to give objects to you.
Whether or not they agree depends on how well disposed towards
you they are at the time...
BUYING AND SELLING
Buying things
There are three ways to start the process of buying, using the
commands 'buy,' 'offer' and 'sell.'
For example - buy axe from Thor for 20 crowns
offer 20 crowns to Thor for axe
Thor sell me your axe for 20 crowns
The character concerned will then either accept or reject your
bid depending upon the situation.
If the offer is refused, you can make another offer by typing
'offer 30 crowns to Thor for axe' or by editing the previous
input.
Note - You need to find out for yourself how much, or how
little, you should ask or offer for an object.
Note - Other characters will not themselves start the buying and
selling process.
Selling things
The only reason you would want to sell an object is to raise
money. You can use the words 'buy' or 'sell' to start the
process.
For example - sell axe to Thor for 20 crowns
or
Thor buy axe from me for 20 crowns
The character concerned will then either accept or reject you
proposal depending upon the situation.
If the offer is rejected you can edit your previous input to try
again.
i.e. sell axe to Thor for 10 crowns
Note - Providing you have not entered anything else, you can use
CAPS SHIFT 2 to pull your last entry back into the text window.
You can then simply edit the number of crowns.
Note - You start the game with 200 crowns and you can only add
to that by selling an object or asking another character to give
you money. You can find out how much you have by typing 'list.'
CHESTS, CUPBOARDS AND KEYS
In some locations you will find chests and cupboards. On the
screen, a cupboard looks like a small door. All chests and
cupboards can be used as containers for any object that you can
carry.
If a cupboard or chest is closed, it is automatically locked and
a key is needed to open it. The same key opens all chests and
cupboards and the only times you lose possession of a key is when
you die or if you sell it, drop it or give it away.
Different cupboards and chests require varying amounts of
strength to open them, so that having a key does not necessarily
mean that you can open the container. There may be some
containers that, even at your strongest, you are unable to open.
You then need to rely on the goodwill of another character to
open them for you.
Note - Any container is automatically closed and therefore
locked when you leave a location. You do not need a key to lock
a container.
It is important to note that other characters will not open
containers, unless persuaded by you to do so. However, if a
container is open they will take things from it and put things
in it.
There are certain rules which determine how many items you can
put into and take out of a chest or cupboard. You will need to
discover these as you play VALHALLA. However, watch out for
Klepto...
Note - Ofnir is a ceremonial key and will not open chests and
cupboards.
SUMMONING CHARACTERS
There will be times when you want a particular character on
screen with you, either to do something, like open a chest, or
because they have something you need. You simply use 'summon'
followed by a character name.
For example - summon Odin
Note - 'Summon' can only be used with a character name.
You can summon any character, even if they have just died.
However sometimes, as with help, the characters do not co-operate
and 'sorry...' appears on the screen. You can always try
repeating your request.
If you summon a character who is already on screen, your command
will be ignored.
GETTING CHARACTERS TO DO THINGS FOR YOU
There will be times when it will be necessary or desirable to get
another character to do something for you. You can ask any
character to do almost anything you yourself can do, but of
course, they may refuse.
Some examples - Odin get the ring
Loki go northeast
Thor attack Krank
Saga eat the food
Boldir open the chest
Odin put ring in chest
Note - Other characters cannot buy and sell for you.
WHAT, WHERE AND WHO
Typing 'what' and pressing ENTER will tell you what objects are
present on the screen. This will include the contents of any open
chest or cupboard.
Typing 'where' and pressing ENTER will tell you where you are and
what directions you can go in.
There are, however, occasions when you need to have, or have not,
an object or a certain character with you in order to go in a
certain direction. Even if the character or object is present on
screen, 'where' will not tell you about these extra directions.
In these instances you need to use the 'help' command or, in the
absence of help, simple trial and error.
'Where' will also tell you if there is a ringway present, but
will not tell you where it leads to. You can always try 'help...'
Typing 'who' and pressing ENTER will tell you the names of the
characters currently on the screen.
HOW AND LIST
Typing 'how' and pressing ENTER will give you a report on your
current strength.
For example - You are feeling very strong.
Typing 'list' and pressing ENTER provides you with a list of
everything you are carrying and the amount of money (crowns) you
possess.
HELP
As you play VALHALLA you will find that there will be times when
you need some guidance. This applies especially if you are
seriously pursuing the quest objects.
'Help' can give you three kinds of information. It will tell you
directions in which you can go if you have, or don't have an
object or a particular character with you.
It may also randomly select one of the other characters on screen
and tell you which objects he or she is carrying and how much
money they possess.
Finally, it may also tell you the destination of a ringway, if
there is one.
Note - Help does not always tell the "whole truth," but will not
actually lie. Sometimes help will not co-operate at all,
returning with 'sorry...' However repeating it may get
results.
PAUSE
If for any reason you want to freeze VALHALLA, for any length of
time, simply type 'pause' and press ENTER. Any action that has
started before you pressed ENTER will be completed. To restart,
type in any command and press ENTER.
SAVE AND LOAD
At any time you can save the current game position onto tape, so
that you can resume playing the game from the exact point at
which you left it.
Do not attempt to save and load VALHALLA until you have read this
chapter. VALHALLA's 'save' and 'load' commands work in an
entirely different way to the Spectrum's usual 'save' and 'load'
commands.
To save, type 'save', then start your cassette recorder and then
press ENTER. Do not press ENTER before you have started your
cassette recorder. If you are not sure about recording from your
Spectrum to your cassette recorder, refer to Chapter 6, page 21
of your Spectrum Introduction manual.
Note - Do not use "" or a file name - simply type 'save' and
press ENTER.
You cannot stop 'save' or 'load' once you have pressed ENTER. Do
not attempt to stop either process by using the break key.
Saving takes approx 30 seconds to complete and you should note
that although the game position is exactly preserved, any
container that was open will have closed.
VALHALLA does not have a 'verify' command. This means that if you
have not already tried saving on you cassette recorder you should
do so using the Spectrum's verify command. This way you will know
that you cassette recorder will save and load with your Spectrum.
Refer to Chapter 6, page 23 of the Spectrum Introduction manual.
Note - As saving only takes 30 seconds, you can always play safe
and record your game twice in succession.
To load a previously saved game, you must first load VALHALLA
itself if it is not already running. Type 'load,' press ENTER and
then start the cassette recorder. As with saving, do not use ""
or a file name and not press the break key.
Note - If you type 'load' and PRESS enter and do not mean to
load a previously saved game position, the only way out is to
turn the machine off. You then have to turn it on and reload
VALHALLA.
PRINT, NOPRINT AND COPY
If you have a ZX printer, you can use it with VALHALLA. Follow
the instructions supplied with your printer. Do not attempt to
connect your printer when the Spectrum is turned on and VALHALLA
is running.
Print - As events are reported in the white text window, they
are also printed.
Noprint - Turns 'print' off.
Copy - Copies the complete screen, graphics and text.
The quality of the printouts does not compare with the actual
screen graphics and is only of limited use. Of course, it does
provide proof that you have been to a certain location or
obtained one or more of the quest objects.
THE CHARACTERS
You will find the qualities that a character possesses alongside
the illustration of the character. All of the characters in the
game behave according to the qualities they possess. Hence Thor
is good, brave and strong but does some pretty stupid things.
Krank is bad news and Saga is good, bright and reliable.
There is one situation that arises where you will probably think
that all of the characters are being stupid. That is where they
die of hunger when there is food lying around. In fact it often
gets them out of a location or a tricky situation, so that they
can immediately return with their full strength.
Name sort badness goodness charisma strength bravery brains
----- ---- ------- -------- -------- -------- ------- ------
Gore wolf 4 - 2 3 3 2
Gastro wolf 5 - 2 3 4 4
Frantic wolf 3 - 1 4 5 4
Skadi dragon - 3 5 4 3 1
Nasher dragon 5 - 1 2 1 1
Nidhog dragon 3 - 2 4 4 2
Grunt giant 2 - 4 4 5 3
Rankle giant 4 - 1 4 4 4
Krank giant 4 - 1 4 5 5
Thudd giant 2 - 2 2 4 3
Gripe giant 3 - 4 4 3 2
Tyr god - 2 3 4 4 1
Heimdal god - 2 4 3 2 3
Idun goddess - 5 2 2 2 2
Boldir god - 5 5 4 4 3
Kir god - 4 5 3 4 3
Bragi god - 3 2 2 3 3
Kon dwarf 4 - 4 3 1 4
Mary dwarf - 3 1 1 1 3
Klepto dwarf 1 - 4 2 3 5
Alvin dwarf - 2 4 2 1 2
Boogi dwarf 1 - 4 1 1 1
Bug dwarf - 2 3 3 3 2
Leer dwarf 3 - 2 3 3 3
Snor giant - 1 3 3 1 1
Glut giant - 1 2 3 2 2
Klout giant - 3 2 4 4 2
Drudge giant - 2 1 3 2 1
Odin god - 3 5 4 4 5
Saga goddess - 4 5 3 4 5
Loki god 5 - 5 4 4 5
Hel goddess 5 - 3 4 4 5
Thor god - 5 4 5 5 2
Talis goddess - 2 5 3 3 4
Od god - 4 3 1 1 5
Mistra goddess - 1 5 3 3 3
SUMMARY
command example
------- -------
Attack attack Odin with axe
Buy buy axe from Thor for 20 crowns
Close close chest
Copy
Drink drink wine
Drop drop lightning
Eat eat food
Get get axe
Give give axe to Thor
Go go north, go to axe, go se
Help
How
Jump travel by ringways using ring
Kill kill Odin
L moves you to the left
List
Load
Lock
Noprint
Offer offer 10 crowns to Odin for axe
Open open chest
Pause
Print
Put put ring in chest
R moves you to the right
Save
Sell sell axe to Loki for 30 crowns
Shut shut chest
Summon summon Thor
Take take axe
Throw throw fireball at Loki
Unlock unlock chest
What
Where
Who
You must press the ENTER key after every command.
DO NOT PRESS THE BREAK KEY
To ask a character to do something type character's name followed
by command and ENTER - e.g. 'Thor get axe.'
To enter a building - 'go north.' You cannot enter a hut.
CAPS SHIFT 1 deletes your entire input line. CAPS SHIFT 2 pulls
your last entry back into the black input window, so that you can
repeat the entry or edit it.
SYMBOL SHIFT Q, A, Z are used for scrolling the white text window
over the twenty line text area.
CAPS SHIFT 5, 6, 7, 8 and DELETE (0) provide normal editing
facilities.
CHARACTERS
Alvin Boldir Boogi Bragi Bug Drudge Frantic Gastro
Glut Gore Gripe Grunt Heimdal Hel Idun Kir
Klepto Klout Kon Krank Leer Loki Mary Mistra
Nasher Nidhog Od Odin Rankle Saga Skadi Snor
Talis Thor Thudd Tyr
OBJECTS
Axe Chest
Crowns Cupboard
Drapnir (ring) Felstrong (axe)
Fireball (invisible) Food
Grimnir (helmet) Helmet
Jewel Key
Lightning (invisible) Ofnir (key)
Ring Rock
Shield Skalir (sword)
Skornir (shield) Sword
Wine
SCORES RECEIVED
URL
ftp://ftp.dcc.uchile.cl/pub/OS/sinclair/snapshots/v/valhalla.zip
GENERAL FACTS
NOTES