Games PC SHADOWCASTER User Manual
PLAYER’S GUIDE
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An Electronic Arts® Company
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CONTENTS
History .............................................................................4
Starting the Game.............................................................8
Option Screen..............................................................8
Tutorial Walkthrough......................................................10
Main Game Screen.....................................................10
Movement..................................................................11
Combat......................................................................12
Life Bar......................................................................13
Power Bar..................................................................13
Picking Things Up .....................................................14
Putting Things Down ................................................14
Using Things..............................................................15
Eating and Drinking................................................15
Morphing...................................................................16
Abilities.....................................................................17
Option Screen............................................................18
Inventory Overview ...................................................18
Automap Screen.........................................................19
View Window Size.....................................................20
Opening and Closing.................................................20
Cursors......................................................................21
Continuing to Play.....................................................21
Death .........................................................................21
Your Character...........................................................21
Different Forms
Kirt............................................................................22
Maorin.......................................................................23
Caun..........................................................................24
Opsis..........................................................................25
Kahpa ........................................................................26
Ssair...........................................................................27
Grost..........................................................................28
Credits............................................................................30
Online Services, Bulletin Boards and Hint Line................32
HISTORY
Kirt is a descendent of a magical race which calls itself
The People. The People enjoyed a special relationship
with both the gods and the dwellers of other planes;
they were permitted to take the shapes of these distant
beings for short durations, as they permitted the others
to take on human form.
This exchange worked for the benefit of both The
People and the fantastic creatures from the other
planes. The People used it to accomplish tasks that
were otherwise beyond their powers, while the fantastic creatures used it to do things only the human form
permitted and to use one shape’s strengths to compensate for another’s weaknesses.
The gods gave the gift of morphing to the most worthy
of The People. Enjoying as they did the gods’ favor and
the special powers this entailed, The People built a
magnificent civilization and enjoyed a great and
peaceful time under their rulers. Trusting the wisdom
of the gods to select the most worthy individuals, those
who had the greatest morphing abilities were chosen to
lead The People.
Not all of The People appreciated this arrangement.
Most notable among these were those to whom the gods
had declined to give the gift of morphing in any form.
These formed a subcaste and were generally regarded
(and treated) as less than People.
To these, Malkor, the outcast god, appeared and
promised power and riches if they would worship him
and follow his ways. Members of the subcaste eagerly
followed Malkor, who provided a different and evil
variation on the gift of morphing.
4
Followers of Malkor would capture animals, People,
and the fantastic creatures and slay them in horrific,
painful rites. Through these rites, they acquired the
power to change into the shape of those they destroyed.
Flaunting their new powers, the most powerful of
Malkor’s minions were given positions of power over
The People. The manner of the gods’ choosing had
always been a private affair — the fact someone had
been deemed worthy was evidenced by the shapes they
received and not any divine announcement. As the Evil
One’s followers grew in number and power, slowly The
People came under the control of their least worthy
and most evil members.
At a great feast to honor the gods, Riodn, the great
holy man, revealed the practice of the evil rites — and
named the ones who were following Malkor. At this
feast, Veste, leader of the evil People, killed Riodn, and
the Kin Murders began.
In the course of the civil wars that followed, the morphing powers were used to destroy The People, their
city and the civilization they had created. In the final
battle, the followers of Good drove Veste and his servants into a temple some distance from the city. There
Veste mocked them and vowed to return to bring final
doom to The People. He then closed the temple doors
so that none could enter.
The forces of Good had won, but at what cost? The
People were virtually destroyed and their great city
turned into a haunted ruin. The gods, appalled by the
slaughter, turned their backs on The People. The gift of
morphing was intended to be used for the benefit of all,
but The People had instead used it to establish a class
of rulers and servants. In this, they had gone against
the will of the gods.
5
One god, Tovason, did not entirely abandon The People.
If they kept watch against evil, he promised, they would
eventually return to their former greatness. The People
built a village around the temple and kept guard
against Veste’s return. Through the years they mingled
with other tribes and the gift of morphing slowly faded
away. Eventually, only two of The People carried this
gift. They were wed and bore a child they named Kirt.
At his birth, the old gods gathered. Malkor had been
growing in power, and down every path the gods could
see lay their ruin and destruction — Malkor triumphant and all the lands enslaved. But, down the path
Kirt would travel, the gods could see nothing. It was as
if he cast a shadow over the future of the worlds.
Kirt was given the name Shadowcaster. In him resided
the hope of The People and the ancient gods. But
Malkor and his followers learned of this hope. One
moonless night the doors of the temple flew open and
Veste, somehow alive centuries after he had fled, raided the village. He attacked the house where Kirt lay
sleeping and slew his mother and father.
But Tovason had been watching the child. Just before
Veste and his beasts entered the child’s room, Kirt,
under the care of the last Holy One, was sent to a faraway land where magic was little known and less
respected. There Kirt grew into maturity under the
guidance of a man he called Grandfather.
Grandfather kept close watch over Kirt, for he knew
the Evil Ones were searching everywhere for him. One
night a storm arose in which Grandfather recognized
the power of Malkor. On that night, Grandfather told
Kirt of his heritage and sent him back to The People,
just ahead of the rending claws of Malkor’s slaves.
6
Kirt, with little knowledge of this new world, acquires
the power to change shape by touching an obelisk that
puts him in contact with the gods. He fights his way
through the ruined, cursed city of The People to
cleanse it of a great evil, and discovers a way to the
temple at the center of The People’s village.
By the time he gets there, Veste, warned of Kirt’s escape
from the world Earth, has struck again. He has carried
off the last remaining People, and has left Kirt a trail
to follow through a series of dangerous worlds where
evil creatures wait to destroy him.
The trail is clear, but can Kirt defeat the successively
more powerful servants of Malkor — and defeat Veste
in a showdown of Virtue versus Despair to restore The
People to the favor of the gods?
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STARTING THE GAME
1. First, install Shadowcaster on your hard disk. If you haven’t already done
this, refer to the Install Guide included in this package for instructions.
2. Select the drive on which the game is installed. (For example, if you
installed the game on your C drive, type C:
3. Select your Shadowcaster directory. (If you used our default directory,
type CD\SHADOW e.)
4. Start the game (by typing SHADOW e).
An introductory sequence begins with ORIGIN PRESENTS — RAVEN SOFTWARE
GAME. If you haven’t played the game before (or have never “saved” your pre-
vious adventures), the game proceeds to the Introduction. This provides
background information you need to complete your adventure. If you have
not already saved a game, immediately following the Introduction you begin
a new game. (If you have already seen the Introduction, you can press
z or q to bring on the following screen.)
OPTION SCREEN
The left side of the screen holds up to four small Saved Game View Windows
for saved games. The middle of the screen holds the options. The upper right
of the screen holds a larger View Window for the current game or the currently selected saved game. Below this is a Score Bar that contains your total current score, and below the Score Bar is the Text Box. The Text Box holds text
showing either the first line for each saved game (when no saved game has
been selected), or the text you entered for the currently selected saved game
when you saved it. The lower right of the screen contains the Text Bar. When
you select OPTIONS, prompts may appear here to tell you what to do next.
e.)
NEW. Starts over at the beginning of a game.
QUIT. Returns you to DOS without saving your current game.
RETURN. Sends you back to the game you were playing when you chose to
enter the Option Screen. (This option is grayed out and cannot be selected
when you do not enter the Option Screen from a game in progress.)
LOAD. Returns you to a previously saved game:
Select a saved game by clicking on its Saved Game View Window. This
causes a larger version of this View Window to appear in the top right of
the screen and the additional information you entered about the game to
appear in the Text Box at the bottom right. Once you have selected the
game you want to load, click on LOAD.
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SAVE. Stores the current game. Select SAVE, choose a Saved Game View
Window by clicking on it, and enter up to eight lines of text (Save Info Text)
about the game being saved. When you have finished entering this information, press q to complete the save. The Save Info Text helps identify the
saved game. You may then click on RETURN to continue.
After saving a game, one of the four boxes on the left of the screen displays
a small View Window for that game, and the first line of each Save Info Text
is shown in the Text Box. (The save option is grayed out and cannot be
selected when you do not enter the Option Screen from a game in progress.)
SOUND. (Speakers Icon) Toggles sound effects off and on. When sound is on,
the icon has a red border.
MUSIC. (Musical Notes Icon) Toggles music off and on. When music is on,
the icon has a red border.
DIFFICULTY. (Weight Lifter Icon) Adjusts the difficulty of the game. There are
five different difficulty levels; the game is preset to the third level. When you
select this option, a screen appears that allows you to set the difficulty level
from wimp (easiest) to hero (hardest). The amount of points you are awarded is tied to the difficulty level. The game is much easier to get through at
the wimp level than at the hero level, but if you can make it through the
game at hero, your score is much higher.
You select an option by moving the cursor over it and left-clicking.
Saved Game
View Windows
Sound
Difficulty
Music
Score Bar
Text Bar
Text Box
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TUTORIAL WALKTHROUGH
NOTE: This tutorial walks you through the beginning of your adventure. If you
would like to use keyboard commands to supplement the mouse commands we give
here, see your Reference Card. The first time you play the game you are placed in
the situation described below (after the Introduction).
Since the game starts with you being attacked by a slobbering beast, you may
want to read the Main Game Screen, Movement and Combat sections of
this tutorial before you actually begin play.
View WindowAltitude Bar Score Bar
Compass Life Bar Size GemsPower Bar
Options Automap Ability Icons
Text Bar
Ability Icons
Portrait Panel
Altitude Gem
Selection Bar
Inventory Overview Button
Inventory Boxes
MAIN GAME SCREEN
The game begins in Normal Mode — the screen you see most of the time. In
the upper left is the View Window — the world as you see it. Look below
the View Window to see the six icons of the Selection Bar. To the right of
the View Window you find the Portrait Panel. Your Portrait is at the top of
this panel, and to either side of it are purple Size Gems to control the size of
the View Window. (We’ll discuss Size Gems later, on p.20.) Look below the
Portrait — the horizontal gray bar is the Score Bar. Eight Inventory Boxes
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