RUNE-GOLD
Table of Contents
Introduction
Required System
Recommended System
Installation Instructions
Beginning the Adventure
The Main Menu
The way of the Viking
HUD
Weapons
Shields
Food and Drink
Other Objects
Gifts from the Gods
Runestones
Rune powers
Games of Valhalla
Multiplayer Mode
Finding other Players
Multiplayer Games
Deathmatch
Team Deathmatch
Arena
Headball
The Way of the Gods
Troubleshooting and Support
Runegame.com
Tech Support
Human Head Studios
Credits
Limited Software Warranty and License Agreement
Long ago, in the time of gods and
myth . . .
The old man and the girl moved slowly up the narrow
and rocky pass under the watchful eyes of the sentries. “You see,
child,” the man murmured, “even here one can sense the coming
darkness. They cannot see the armies, but they watch the birds
fleeing the northern forests. They do not hear the horns, but they
listen to the crash of thunder from beyond the mountains.”
A viking clad in war leathers stepped forward to block
their path, axe held at the ready. “Who comes?” he demanded.
Behind him, another warrior wielding a short sword lifted a torch,
casting flickering shadows across the stones.
The girl stepped between the old man and the vikings.
“He is Bragi,” she said, hands on her hips. “Storyteller to king’s
stronghold and village longhouse alike, singer of the Saga of
Andhrimnir-”
The old man laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder and she
fell silent. “You must pardon Jun, warrior. She is young and prone
to youth’s impertinence. I am indeed a skald traveling the land,
and we seek only shelter from the night and its dangers.”
For a long moment, the viking stared at the pair from under a
knitted brow. Finally he stood aside. “Well met, then. Welcome to
Wotankeld.” As they passed, he brandished his axe and growled,
“No trouble, hear?” Jun glowered at the warrior, but the old man
simply smiled, nodded, and moved up the pass.
As they continued around the bend, Jun kicked at a
loose stone. Slipping into the shadows, it broke with a crack
against the walls of the pass. “Why do you let him speak to
you like that?” she complained. “And why are we here? The
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eddas will be told of great battles and terrible bloodshed, not
inconsequential villages! ‘Learn the craft,’ you said. ‘Seek out the
legends!’ “
The old man smiled. “Your place for now is to watch, and
to listen. In doing so, you will come to understand our purpose.”
Wotankeld was larger than most viking villages, built in a rift
between the high cliffs that surrounded it. Enormous longhouses
sat side-by-side along the streets that took Jun and the old man
toward its center. The entire town seemed on edge. A woman
passed carrying a bucket of water, but refused to meet their eyes.
When a small boy ran up to them shouting a greeting, he was
quickly pulled away by his older sister.
They wandered through the settlement until a sudden
burst of laughter erupted from between two longhouses. “Finally,
something interesting,” Jun muttered. Following the noise, she
found a crowd of viking warriors who cheered and bellowed as
they watched two men circle in the center of the group. The first
was nearly twice Jun’s height and moved with the strange grace
born only in battle-experience further betrayed by the scars on
the mail that protected him. He wielded an enormous broadsword
pointed unwaveringly toward his opponent, a younger man wear-
ing only a quilted tunic and carrying a short sword in one hand
while a small wooden shield covered his other arm.
As Jun watched, the young man-really little more than
a boy-slid to one side then the other, weapon at the ready, then
darted in to strike. The combatants traded a flurry of blows,
until the larger man’s broadsword came around in a sweeping
arc that cracked the boy’s shield and knocked him off his feet.
The collected vikings roared with approving laughter, and Jun
watched as the boy slowly sat up.
She shook her head and walked back to where the old
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man was waiting. “They may know that the darkness is coming,
but if he’s defending the village it’ll be in deep, deep trouble.”
The skald smiled again. “Perhaps,” he said, scratching his chin
thoughtfully. “Though all too soon that boy will be the one
defending not this village, but all of Midgard. . .”
REQUIRED SYSTEM
OS Windows 95/98/ME, NT (with Service Pack 3 or
higher), 2000
CPU AMD K6-2/3 or Intel Pentiu m II, or Celeron 300Mhz
or higher
RAM 64MB
Video Direct X Compatible Video Card with at least 8MB
of Video Memory
(3D Accelerator STRONGLY recommended- see supported modes below)
Sound Any Direct X Compatible Sound Card
Hard Dr ive Space 88MB Free Hard Drive Space
CD-ROM 4X
Inter net Play Halls of Valhalla is an online multiplayer game, and a
TCP/IP connection is required to play.
Video Modes Supported
Direct 3D, Glide, OpenGL, MeTal, Software
(Note that only OpenGL, Glide and Software Render
ing supported on Windows NT)
RECOMMENDED SYSTEM
OS WIN DOWS 95/98/ ME, NT (with Service Pack 3 or
higher), 2000
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CPU AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium III 450Mhz or higher
RAM 128MB
Video Nvidia TNT Series/GeForce Series, ATI Rage
128/Radeon, 3dfx Voodoo5, Matrox G400
Sound DirectX Compatible Sound Card
Disk Space 650MB Free Hard Drive Space
CD-ROM 8X
Inter net Play Halls of Valhalla is an online multiplayer game, and a
TCP/IP connection is required to play.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
Insert the RUNE CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. Follow the onscreen
instructions to install the game to your hard drive. Full installation is
recommended and will improve overall performance. Installation is a one-
time process that will only take a few minutes.
If for some reason the installation screen doesn’t appear, or if you
have CD/CD-ROM Autoplay disabled, double-click on “My Computer”,
then locate and double-click on the icon for your CD-ROM dr ive. Locate
the RUNE directory on the CD-ROM and double-click on “SETUP.EXE” to
begin the installation process.
PART I
“Him? ” Jun said incredulously.
“His name is Ragnar,” said the old man. “And he has
only begun his walk down the path of destiny.” The pair turned
to look back at the young warrior.
Grunting as he climbed to his feet, Ragnar retrieved his
sword and threw aside his splintered shield. “Sigard!” he yelled,
and his massive opponent turned from where he was being
congratulated. “Again! ” said Ragnar. The larger man shrugged
and collected his broadsword from a friend. Shouting their
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approval, the assembled vikings crowded closer. Jun climbed
atop a nearby barrel for a better view.
The combat had already begun, Ragnar and Sigard
circling warily. Suddenly Ragnar rushed forward and brought his
blade up in a violent swing easily parried by his opponent. Ragnar
attacked again, only to be blocked by Sigard’s shield.
As Ragnar leapt back, Sigard used the flat of his blade
to clout the young warrior on his sword arm. Clutching his
forearm to his chest, Ragnar spun-and suddenly came back, his
sword arcing under Sigard’s shield and into a gap in the mail on
his side. The larger man grunted in pain, and Jun heard a cheer
from somewhere in the crowd.
Ragnar closed with a flurry of blows as Sigard kept his
shield clutched tight over his wound. Sigard finally managed to
bring his broadsword around in a clumsy one-handed swing, and
Ragnar dived under the blade and away.
Roaring with rage, Sigard threw his shield aside and
rushed forward. For the next few moments, Jun watched Ragnar
do his best to stave off a rain of hacking blows that visibly
chipped the edges of his sword.
Finally Ragnar rolled to one side and leapt to his feet.
Once again he and Sigard squared off, circling inside the ring
of vikings. Suddenly Ragnar stopped and threw his sword aside.
Sigard stood straight and grinned at the crowd. “He yields!” he
shouted-as Ragnar stepped forward drove his fist directly into
Sigard’s jaw. The massive viking’s head snapped back, and he
wobbled for a moment as his broadsword fell from his hand.
Then his eyes rolled and he slumped to the ground.
The assembled vikings fell silent as Ragnar retrieved his
short sword and wiped it clean on his leather leggings. He turned
to the crowd before speaking: “I am a viking warrior. I will never
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yield.” Jun joined the crowd as it erupted in cheers, the vikings
raising their weapons in salute.
A warrior clad in both leather and mail stepped for-
ward, longsword and dagger strapped to his hips and an enor-
mous axe slung behind him. Boiled and stretched leather had
been formed into guards that were strapped over his shoulders
and reached almost to the edges of his helm. He raised his
hands and waited for the cheers to calm. Finally he put his hand
on Ragnar’s shoulder and spoke. “As speaker for the thane, I
declare the holmgang at an end. Ragnar has proven himself
through combat, and will be recompensed with three silver
marks. . .once his opponent awakens. With that, the closing of
this matter shall be recognized by both gods and men. So say
the Laws of Odin.”
“I thank you, Gudrek, and I thank the gods,” said
Ragnar, nodding his head solemnly.
“But there is one more matter,” said the thanesman,
and Ragnar looked up, puzzled. Reaching into a pouch on his
belt, Gudrek withdrew a medallion, a silver disk engraved with
crossed sword and hammer inside a ring of runes. Jun noticed
that both Gudrek and Sigard wore similar medallions, as did
others in the crowd. “Ragnar’s show of courage and ability
against this village’s most skilled warrior has this day earned
him the greatest honor we can bestow.” Ragnar bowed his head
and Gudrek hung the medallion around his neck. “Today he
takes his place among the greatest warriors of this tribe. Today
he joins the Odinsblade!” As the assembled Vikings cheered
again, Jun watched Sigard rise to his feet and angrily push his
way into the crowd.
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BEGINNING THE ADVENTURE
The Main Menu
Each time you launch RUNE, you’ll be presented with the Main Menu
screen. To return to this screen at any time while playing the game, press
the Esc key. The Main Menu offers you the following options:
New Game
Begin a new adventure. You will be asked to select a level of difculty-
Easy, Medium, or Hard-before the game begins.
Load Game
View games that have been previously saved. Select a game and click on
Load to return to an adventure in progress.
Save Game
Save your game in progress. Choose an empty slot or an existing slot that
you wish to over write. Name the slot, then click Save.
Multiplayer
Host, join, or observe a multiplayer game. For more information, see page
20.
Options
Change your settings to adjust and customize gameplay:
Video/Audio:
Set your video and audio preferences to adjust game perfor mance.
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Game:
Set options that will customize the game environment.
Controls:
Customize how the game controls map to your keyboard, mouse, and
joystick.
Input:
Select your input devices, such as joysticks, mice, or keyboards.
Exit:
Lay down your weapons and leave RUNE.
PART II
Only the warriors had been allowed in the ceremony, so Jun and
Bragi resumed their wandering through Wotankeld. “I suppose
it’s not such a bad place,” Jun said. “Nice, in it’s own way.” It
certainly had a beautiful stave church, and as they studied its
many carvings of gods and creatures, Bragi told Jun the stories
and legends behind each of them.
They were just making their way back into the village
when they heard the faint peal of a war horn. It was quickly
joined by others, and Jun saw Gudrek step from a nearby
longhouse. “To the pass! ” he bellowed, and Viking warriors
spilled from alleys and longhouses and made their way towards
the gates.
The horns built and echoed off the peaks above
the village as Jun and Bragi followed behind, and when they
reached the mouth of the pass they found the warriors gathered
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