SKID ROW presents ELVIRA: MISTRESS OF THE DARK HORROR GUIDE Table of Contents Introduction ................................................. 1 Welcome To My Nightmare ...................................... 6 The Main Screen ......................................... 7 Main Window ............................................. 7 Lower Window ............................................ 9 Inventories ............................................. 9 Handling Objects & Weapons ............................. 11 Command Menu ........................................... 13 Combat ...................................................... 14 About the Weapons ...................................... 14 Practice ............................................... 15 Fighting ............................................... 15 The Combat Window ...................................... 15 Magic .................................................. 17 Running Away ........................................... 17 Monsters ............................................... 17 Saving & Restoring the Game ................................. 18 Pause/Quit ............................................. 18 Save ................................................... 19 Restore ................................................ 19 Spellcrafting ............................................... 20 Page 1 follows: KILLBRAGANT England September 21 Dear Diary, That creepy portrait in the castle's front hallway should have tipped me off right away. I mean, I'm not used to running into people who look exactly like me - especially people who've been dead over 100 years. So my First Encounter with Lady Emelda of Killbragant was definitely of the Weird Kind. Maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised. According to the papers from the attorneys (Dybbuk, Doppelganger, Wraith, and Eldritch), the resemblance isn't just coinci- dence: it turns out Lady Emelda was also my Great-Great Grandmama Emelda. It also turns out that, with the demise of my evil Uncle Elmo, I now own this place - lock, stock, and dungeon. Apart from the striking family resemblance, I've got to admire Emelda's taste in clothes: she sure gets a lot of mileage out of that little black number she's barely wearing in her portrait. Too bad I can't say the same for this rockpile's decor: pretty dusty and musty, but nothing that can't be fixed with some neon lighting, a couple of Naugahyde couches, and a few movie posters alongside those strange paintings with the shifty eyeballs. I'd like to turn this place into sort of a macabre bed-and- breakfast - the kind of place you visit if your idea of "bed" includes marble slabs, and "breakfast" is blood sausage and Killer Tomatoes. After all, there's a hedge maze in the garden, a kitchen that's better equipped than Dr. Franken- stein's lab, enough bedrooms upstairs to hold all of Them, and some great views of the northern English moors from the roof - so Killbragant should be a wicked place to enter- tain a few tourists when I get it cleaned up. Page 2 follows: October 9 My redecorating project is coming along: we may even get the place open for the Halloween season. But these days life is getting stranger than "The head with two things"... Uh, I mean "The thing with two heads!" This afternoon, while crawling through a heap of legal papers big enough to hide Rodan, I found an old clipping from the local paper that may explain why the place has been deserted since the Bloody Mary days. They ran it as a Halloween gag, but it reads more like a late-night horror movie. It seems that Great-Great Grandmama Emelda was married to this kinda boring dude. Sir Eric, who spent a lot of time on the road managing the family affairs in India. He left time with nobody but a few bats to keep her company - until this guy Lord Beremnd showed up one day, and started a little family affair of his own. Beremond was some sort of evil wizard who had a readl way with women. He sure had a way with Grandmama, because she invited the creep to move in with her. They wrere a real fun couple: when they weren't upstairs doing nasty things to each other, they were downstairs doing nasty things to the terrorized locals ... or down in the catacombs conjuring even more nasty things from the Realms Beyond. Apparently, Beremond thought he was Evil Incarnate, and everyone else was inclined to agree, mainly because he made the entire county worship him (kinda like some Hollywood producers I've known) on pain of violent death. Before long, the entire neighbor- hood looked like a permanent Night of the Living Dead. Page 3 follows: So, anyway, Beremond and Emelda were the original grue- some twosome ... until the day Beremond was hit by a stray arrow during a hunting trip, which punched his one-way ticket to Goonland. Emelda took over the operation, with the help of some unearthly beasties, a handful of ghoulish Handmaidens, and an army of Palace Guards From Hell. Of course, the next time Sir Elric checked in, he wasn't exactly thrilled. The crops were dead, the tenant farmers had been massacred, a gang of goblins was gyrating in his foyer, and his wife had obviously been getting beauty tips from the Bride of Frankenstein. Not that he was around long enough to gripe about it: shortly after he got home, Emelda seduced him, suckered him into a compromising position, and ran him through with the old family sword. End of problem - except for Elric's little revenge, who was born nine months later and grew up to be my great grandpa. Understandably, the kid left home as soon as he was old enough to be allowed ouside alone after dark. Emelda died many years later, (much to her own surprise: she was sure that Satan was going to make her immortal, which is a line that anyone who's done time in Hollywood would never fall for). Instead, she had to settle for resurrec- tion sometime in the far-off future (a sort of diabolical don't-call-us-we'll-call-you). The directions for starting (and stopping) her resurrection are supposed to be somewhere here in the castle - part of "The Scroll of Spiritual Mastery" hidden in an old chest. The chest takes six keys to unlock. She gave the keys to her loyal flunkies, and told them that if they held onto them, they could come back with her the second time around - and this time, they'd rule the world. The neighbors believe that her gang of ghosts and ghouls still haunt this place. In fact, the vicar and some of the town honchos took me to tea this afternoon - nice folks, though a little eccentric - and were emphatic that the place will need "a thorough cleaning out" before it's safe to inhabit. I don't think they mean mopping down the staircase with Mr. Clean. Page 4 follows: Do I believe them? I'm not sure - the story's weird, but I'm in show business, and I've heard weirder. I'm definitely putting it in the castle's tourist brochure, though: it's bound to attract the right kind of people. And as far as my own safety is concerned, it seems stupid to rent a hotel room in town when I've got my own castle to stay in. I'd write more, but it's getting dark out, and there's a lot to get done around here. Also, I think I hear someone walking around downstairs, so I'm gonna go check it out. Later - Halloween Eve That little fable about Grandmama Emelda was a cute story - but not that cute. When I decided to open the place up for "Elvira's Horror Weekends," I hoped the place would be full from basement to battlements by Halloween. It is - but this isn't quite the kind of company I had in mind. For one thing, these guests aren't paying. For another, they're not even alive. None of this, of course, has stopped them from taking over the place, like they owned it or something. It started out a few weeks back, when a few odd monks started wandering around downstairs in the middle of the night. I enjoy meeting men of the cloth, and figured I'd be friendly with them, until I realized that there was nothing under the cloth. I'm talking incorporeal. (And I don't know what incorporeal means!) The monks turned out to be the advance men for a growing army of creepy critters - gremlins who like to play hide- and-seek in the hedge maze, soldiers guarding the bed- rooms, skeletons doing Grateful Dead impersonations in the catacombs downstairs - and busloads of more beasties arriving every day. Page 5 follows: Worst of all (at least of all the ones I know about) is the incorporeal corporal who's manning th gatehouse out front 24 hours a day ... sort of Gomer Pyle meets the Marquis de Sade. Because of him, I can't get out of here - and if I could, I wouldn't get back in alive. In fact, with all the traffic in the hallways. I'm sort of stuck in the kitchen with nothing but a few cookbooks to keep me company. It's clear to me now that this little creature convention has been called in my honor. Seems that in the course of the restoration, I've also revived Emelda's memory - along with several hundred of her closest freinds. The sordid little legend of Emelda the Evil is becoming more real every day. And if things continue, I may soon get to meet her face-to- fangs - not my idea of a warm family reunion. I've got to shake down my houseguests until I find those six keys, get my hands on Emelda's chest, and find out how to put a stop to Grandmama's imminent return. But I may not have to do it all alone. Help should be arriv- ing any minute. The last time I ventured out of Killbragant, I picked up a copy of "Broomsticks Weekly" and got in touch with one of the freelance ghostbusters who advertise in the back pages. They agreed to come over today and give me an estimate. If they're smart enough to let themselves into the castle - and avoid the Freddy Krueger clone at the gatehouse - we have a slim chance of stopping Emelda's return, and reclaiming Killbragant (and maybe the whole world) for the living. I just might be in business after all. Page 6 follows: WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE Nice-looking castle, isn't it? Almost sorta sweet, with the little gate out front, and the flowers on the front lawn. You'd hardly guess that I'm going to have to go on the warpath against about 999 Goons from the Seventh Dimen- sion to reclaim what's mine in the first place - the right to a decent night's sleep in my own house. Anyway, I'm glad that somebody was interested enough to answer my ad and help me out. I was kinda hoping for someone a little taller, maybe with armor and a sword. Instead, I get a computer freak who keeps trying to tell me that swords and spells are no match for a trusty two-button mouse. I'll believe that when I see it. In the meantime, let me show you around the place, and tell you how things work. Page 7 follows: The Main Screen Everything that happens at Killbragant happens on the Main Screen, which consists of the following: Inventories Main Window Command Menu Directional Arrows Exit Commands Stats Bard Lower Window What do you mean, "I don't get it!??" The Adventurers' Union said that you were an experienced castle-cleaner, a real fantasy-games stud. And now you want me to explain a simple computer interface. This does wonders for my confidence. Oh, all right. Here's how it works: Main Window This is where all the action occurs: exploration, mystery, plunder, carnage, and a little cooking on the side. The Main Window represents your point of view. Although most movements is accomplished by clicking on the direc- tional arrows at the left of the screen, there are special instances when clicking directly on objects in the Main Window will get you closer to your goal. Doors As you explore the castle and its surroundings, you'll come across many closed doors. Click on a door to open it. But be wary! You never know who or what might be lurking behind the doors in this place. Page 8 follows: Objects, Etc. You'll also discover lots of important objects, weapons, notes, portraits, etc. as you walk around the castle. By clicking on the object in the Main Window, you'll get the name of the object. To get a description of the object, click on the object and then click on EXAMINE in the right-hand Command Menu. The Red "R" Occasionally, you'll get an "up-close & personal" look at some item when you click on an object or location on the screen. These can be deliciously gruesome - bodies with their throats torn out, that sort of thing. There might be objects you want in these close-ups. Pick them up as explained (see Collecting Things just below). You'll also see a large red "R" in the lower right hand corner of the Main Window. Click on the red "R" to return to a regular perspective view. Collecting Things if an object looks interesting or important, pick it up. Sim- ply click & hold on the object, then drag the cursor to the inventory icon at the upper left of the screen. Release the mouse button, and the object will disappear from the screen and appear in your inventory. For more on Inventories and Handling Objects & Weapons, read on. Page 9 follows: Lower Window The Lower Window does several things. Depending on your situation, it may: o Display the items in your personal inventory or weapons inventory. o Show which items in a room are removable. o Give specific information on individual items and entities you encounter in the game. o Serve as a dialog box. Inventories The three inventory commands in the upper left corner give you control over all movable objects in the game. (To manipulate the objects, see Handling Objects & Weapons on page 11.) ROOM When you click this command once with the left mouse button, all movable objects in the room that you have clicked on (in the Main Window) appear in the Lower Window. o If there are many objects available, red scroll arrows appear at the right side of the Lower Window. Click on the arrows to scroll through all of the movable objects in the room. o Double-click on any objects to get a description of that object. Click on the Lower Window one more time to clear the description and return to the Inventory Window. Page 10 follows: INV Click on this command with the left mouse button to view all the items you are carrying. Your personal inventory changes instantly as you pick up or drop items. If you're hauling a lot of stuff, red scroll arrows appear at the right of the Lower Window. To scroll through the inventory, click on the arrows. Note: Any weapon you pick up will appear in your personal inventory. But hand-to-hand combat weapons will also appear in your Weapons Inventory. How Much Stuff Can I Carry? You can carry an amazing amount of stuff, so don't be shy. help yourself to anything in the castle that isn't staked down. On the other hand, greed does have its price ... a price paid in strength. If you're an incurable collector, you'd better hope you don't run into one of Emelda's extra-power- ful goons. Dropping Objects If you find yourself overburdened with goodies, you can drop some. Simply click on the item in your inventory and drag the cursor onto the Main Window. Release the mouse button and the item will be dropped into the room where you're currently standing. You may place your hand onto INVENTORY and drag it to ROOM and clear out your entire inventory. Note: It might be a good idea to make a note of where you leave items. They will stay where you drop them, and you can always come back and pick them up later. WEAPONS This works just like the personal inventory (see INV above), but it only shows the hand-to-hand combat weapons you're carrying: Swords, daggers, etc. Remember, these weapons also appear in your personal inventory. Page 11 follows: Handling Objects & Weapons This is not rocket science - in fact, it's probably even less complicated than most things. Bust just to make sure, I'll explain it. The directions below apply to weapons and anything else you may find. To Examine an Object There are two ways to do it: 1 Click on the object on the Main Screen. Click EXAMINE on the Command Menu. 2 Double-click on the object in the Main Window. Either way, a description appears in the Lower Window. To Pick Up an Object Put the arrow cursor on the object, and hold down the left mouse button. The arrow turns into a hand. Drag the hand to one of the inventory commands - INV or WEAPONS to pick up objects. ROOM to drop objects. To Use an Object Click on the object you want to use. The item can be in either the Main Window or the Lower Window. Move to the Command Menu, and click USE. This is important for selecting and using weapons. The weapon, or shield you USE will be the active one. (Like any other command, the USE command must be highlighted in white before you can invoke it.) To Look In an Object Some objects in the game can be opened and looked into (some can just be looked into). When you click on an ob- ject, if you can look into it, the LOOK IN Command will be highlighted. Click on that command and a description of what is inside the object (if anything) will appear in the Lower Window. Page 12 follows: To Drop an Object Click either INV or WEAPONS in the upper left corner of the screen to bring up the inventory you're cleaning out. Move the cursor to the Lower Window, which now displays all the items in that inventory. Click & hold on the item you want to drop. Drag it up to the Main Window, and release the mouse button. The item stays where you drop it until you move it again. (You think I don't have better things to do than pick up after you?) Direction Arrows The direction arrows located below the inventory commands let you move through the castle. The directions currently available to you are highlighted in red. To move, simply click on the arrow that represents the direction you want to go. Note that the up/down arrows are highlighted whenever you are near a stairway and can go up or down. Clever, isn't it? To go up or down, click on the appropriate arrow and be whisked to another level ... or maybe into the Unknown. (It's kind of hard to keep track of where all these steps go.) The Stats Bar The horizontal bar that runs across the middle of the Main Window displays your current stats. At the beginning of the adventure, you start out at a predetermined (wimpy) level. Exploring and discovering items increases your experience. STR - Strength This is the stat that separates Rambo from The Incredible Mr. Lipet. There are only wo things you need to know about it: o Using magic can make you stronger. o Getting beat up can make you weaker. Your strength also affects how much damage you can do to an opponent in combat. Also, the higher your strength, the more items you can carry without beeing adversely affected. Page 13 follows: RES - Resilience This stat determines the amount of damage you can take. DEX - Dexterity i run with a fast crowd, and you'd better be able to keep up. Thi stat measures your agility - and your ability to gain the advantage at the start of a fight. See me for a spell that can make you faster than the proverbial speeding bullet. SKI - Skill Your base skill level is displayed when you are not carrying any weapons. When you pickup a weapon your skill level shows how good you are with whatever weapon you've got in your hand. Your skill level increases with each successful battle using a particular weapon. To find out more about combat, read the Combat section beginning on page 14. Skill will vary as you change weapons. LIF - Life As in "Life Force." A high number here means you're defi- nitely alive. A lower number means it's getting to be zombie time. If it goes to zero, you're dead, the game's over, and I'm in the markt for a new castle-cleaner. EXP - Experience Like I always say, experience counts. This stat is a percent- age that reflects how much of the game you've solved. It tlls you how far you've come. Command Menu Page 14 follows: Command Menu (continued) The list on the right side of the Main Screen shows your action options. The options are constantly changing, depending on where you are and what you're doing, but the currently active options are highlighted in white. To carry out an action, simply click the word with the left mouse button. The options are: OPEN CLOSE UNLOCK LOOK IN EXAMINE MIX CONSUME USE THROW Other Helpful Commands There are a few keyboard commands that you may find helpful: M Press the M key to toggle the music on and off. Spacebar Press the spacebar before you enter the castle to bypass the opening sequence. COMBAT i hate to be th one to tell you this - but there's going to be blood. And we're not talking about a few spots of catsup artistically arranged here and there by a prop manager. No, we're talking about industrial-sized buckets of blood. The question is: Will it be theirs (yes indeedy, these beasties do bleed) - or yours? About the Weapons Emelda kept quite an arsenal at Killbragant, and it's all there for you to use ... once you 1) find the weapons, and 2) learn how to use them. With a little practice, you'll soon discover that each weapon has its advantages and disadvan- tages. And the more you use a specific weapon, the more effective you'll become with it. Page 15 follows: Practice OK. There's good news and bad news. The good news is that you can practice your archery skills. All you have to do is figure out where. Archery is a nice skill to have ... because with a bow you can dispatch the castle's creatures at sev- eral paces. The bad news is that archery's the only thing you can prac- tice. With all other weapons, it's strictly on-the-job training. Fighting During a fight, you're either on offense or defense. When you're in offensive mode, the cursor becomes a sword. In defense, the cursor becomes a shield. The comouter automatically switches between the two modes based on how well you or your nemesis has aimed his/her/its last thrust and how effective the hit was. You will almost always get an attack turn after you successfully fend off an enemy's attack. To fight, you can use the Combat Buttons (see page 16). But you can also wage combat by clicking directly on the picture of your opponent in the Main Window. When the LUNGE/HACK windows appear, click on the left side of the character to initiate a LUNGE, and on the right side to HACK the creep. When the BLOCK/PARRY windows appear, click on the left side of your opponent to BLOCK a coming blow, and on the right side to PARRY an insidious advance. THE COMBAT WINDOW This window contains combat information. Page 16 follows: The Combat Window (continued) The Combat Window magically appears on the right edge of the Main Screen whenever you find yourself in a confronta- tion with an unfriendly entity. It tells you a few things about the battle you're in. Combat Buttons Click the two large red-and-white rectangles to take action during a fight. o When you're on the offense (and, from what I've seen so far, you're probably offensive most of the time), click the LUNGE and HACK buttons to slash the intruder into submission. o When you've lost the upper hand, your defensive op- tions are to BLOCK and PARRY. When you've lost it completely, the only option is DEATH. Numbers The numbers at the top and bottom of the Combat Informa- tion area indicate the values, based on hit points, of the damage being inflicted with each move. o The number at the bottom describes the damage you're doing unto them. o The number at the top is the damage that's being done unto you. The Eyes In the lower left and right corner of the Main Screen are "eyes." Whenever you use magic, in or out of combat, num- bers appear in this area to let you know how you're doing: o Left corner - assesses the damage done to you by others' magic. o Right corner - shows what your hexes are doing to them. Page 17 follows: Magic You can and should use whatever magic you've got before engaging in combat. Just choose a spell or potion from your personal inventory and click the appropriate command on the Command Menu at the right side of the screen. For more information on magic, see the Spellcrafting section beginning on page 20. Running Away It's often true that "He who fights and runs away may live to fight another day." Continuing with the cliches, it's also true that discretion is the better part of valor ... and sometimes the better part of survival, too. All the creeps who've occupied Killbragant have staked out their own little territories (they're practicing dividing up the world after Emelda's imminent return). This gives you a decided advantage. You can get away from the latest nui- sance simply by getting off his turf. In other words, you can take off, beat it, scram, run away. Before combat begins, you can run by turning around and moving away. But make sure you move far enough away, or the beast will follow you and beat you up from behind. Keep this in mind: If you're hurt, or loaded down with stuff, you might not get away so easily. Also note: If you encoun- ter an Unfriendly and opt to run, the Eye in the lower left will show the hit points for damage you sustain while being hit from behind. Monsters You'll run into lots of bizarre characters as you explore the castle and its grounds. Here's a little guide to the things that go bump on your head or slash on your throat. You'll find that some of the monsters look alike, but dress a little differently. For example, you might find a soldier with a blue tunic or a green tunic. The difference between these Page 18 follows: Monsters (continued) guys isn't just one of taste. Different colors represent differ- ent levels of expertise and power. So the blue soldier is harder to defeat than the green soldier. This is consistent through all levels of creatures. Some special creatures also appear. And regardless of the color they're wearing, they are tough. Be prepared. Be brave. Be ready to run or bleed. Below is a list of some of the creatures you'll encounter. Also listed are some of their stats: Skill Des Str Res Lif Monks 20-45 50-60 20-40 5-10 60-90 Soldiers 25-50 50-60 30-60 30-50 60-110 Archers 30 55 35 30 65 Knight 50 60 100 50 * Skeletons 25-50 50-65 35-65 35-55 70-120 Water Beast 40 50 35 40 150 Captain 80 70 80 70 150 * The Knight is invincible in hand-to-hand combat. SAVING & RESTORING THE GAME Pause/Quit If you want to stop the adventure momentarily - say, to get a bite to eat, or maybe catch the end of It Came From Outer Space - click PAUSE once. A scroll will open on the Main Window. Click on CONTINUE to return to where you left off in the game. If you want to leave the program, and exit back to the operat- ing system - click on PAUSE once. A scroll will open on the Main Window. Click on QUIT to exit the game. You will then be asked if you are sure. Click on YES to exit to the operating system. If you really don't want to leave the Page 19 follows: game, click on NO and you will be returned to the Pause Window. From here you can click on CONTINUE and return to the game in progress. Save Click on SAVE to save the current adventure. A scroll will open the Main Window asking you to insert a savegame data disk. Playing From Floppies on the Amiga or Atari ST If you are playing from floppies on an ST or an Amiga, insert a formatted disk into the drive. Then type in the name for the saved game (no more than 12 characters) and press Enter. The current game will be saved to your formatted disk. Playing From Hard Disk on PC/Tandy, Amiga or Atari ST If you are playing from a hard drive, type in a name for the saved game (no more than 12 characters) and press Enter. The current game will be saved to your hard drive. Restore This command retreives a game saved to a savegame floppy or to your hard drive. Playing From Floppies on the Amiga or Atari ST Click once on the Restore command. A scroll will open asking you to insert your savegame disk into the disk drive. Do so and type in the file name for the game you wish to restore. Then press Enter. The saved game will be restored and you can continue from that point. Playing From Hard Disk on PC/Tandy, Amiga or Atari ST Click once on the Restore command. A scroll will open asking you to insert your savegame disk into the disk drive and to type in the file name for the game you wish to re- store. Simply type the name of the game you wish to restore and press Enter. Note: In order to make sure you can restore the game you want, it will be helpful to keep a list of the names you have given to games you've stored. Page 20 follows: SPELLCRAFTING Just because I made my reputation as "B" movie queen, people think that my idea of haute cuisine is stale popcorn, flat cola, ad rock-hard jujubes. But I'm actually a pretty decent cook. Really. If you don't believe me, just meet me in the kitchen, and let's see what we can conjure up together. In fact, you can't get much done at Killbragant without my culinary expertise. The kitchen is where I whip up all the magical spells you need to get through. (If uo need any- thing else whipped up, I'll catch you in the dungeon later, and we can discuss it.) Here's how the magic works: To Create a Spell The ingredients for each spell can be collected throughout the castle, and on the grounds outside. Since I learned to cook from my Auntie Virus, who was really crummy with numbers, the amount of stuff you need to make a spell isn't real specific - though, after some trial and error (and you should have some of the errors!) I discovered that it seems to work out like this: A cupful is about the same as a handful. 3 handfuls - 1 saucepan 4 handfuls - 1 basketfull 6 glasses - 1 bottle All the spells, along with their ingredients, are listed in the spellbook. Hold the enclosed magic lens (the red acetate strip) over spells to read them. 1 Bring your ingredients to the kitchen (I'll be waiting), click on me and then choose the MIX command from the command display. 2 If you habe a copy of the spell book, it will be diplayed in the Main Window. All of the spells will be listed. Click on the Up or Down Arrows to scroll through the list to find the spell you want. Then click on the Spell Name in the list. 3 When you have selected the spell you want me to mix, all of the magic ingredients you have collected will be displayed on the right hand page of the spell book. Pick the objects you want me to use for the spell by clicking on them and dragging each one over to the left hand page. When you have selected all of the ingredients for the spell, click on the Mix icon on the lower right hand page. If you've given me the right stuff, I can create your vile concoction right away - and put it into your inventory, where it appears as a potion bottle or a scroll. If you goof, and hand me something that's not on the menu, or find yourself coming up short, so to speak ... well, I'll be sure to let you know. To Use a Spell 1 Just select the scroll or bottle from the inventory list. The actions you can take with the spell - usually CONSUME or USE - are highlighted in the command window. 2 Select the action you want, and watch things start to happen. All good things must come to an end sooner or later. That includes my spells too. When you've exhausted the power of a given spell, it simply disappears from your inventory list. Without so much as a decent goodbye. SKID ROW --------------------------------------------------------------------- SKID ROW presents EMELDA'S RECEIPTS & SPELLES FOR YE OF MAGICKAL ARTES NOTA BENE Here is the distillation of my life work in the ancient & arcane magickal art. By reading this work thou art become my successor. BE WARNED .... Use only the ingredients listed. The spelles & receipts within offer grate power but their use is fraught with grate danger. Heed my words ... for this is ye magickal ART. Some of the necessary elementes are common and can be easily found. Others, however, will require diligent searching before they are uncovered. Be cautious in their use. Endeavor not to waste anything as some items, despite their rarity, are needed by more than one receipt. Naught is certain so caution is vital or thou wilt pay with thy body & immortal soul. _______________________________________________________________ WARNING: Please note the Recipes contained in this book are for use within the game Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Any attempt to mix and use the Recipes in real life could result in serious consequences. _______________________________________________________________ Page 1 follows: HERBAL HONEY Required elementes: Honey and Hay Make a decoction with 2 handfuls of hay. Boyle for 20 minutes in water and pour liquid into bowl. Stir in jar of honey until dissolved and allow to cool before transferring to suitable container. Allow 30 minutes for completion of this delicious elixir. Imbibe to become one with the vitae naturae and gain knowl- edge of the true names of all plants. ALPHABET SOUP Required elementes: Dandelyons, Elderberries & Rose petals Crush a handful of Elderberries and save the extract. Steep the petals frpm 1 rose in water for 1 hour. Cut the stem from a dandelyonand allow the white sape tp drip into the elderberrie extract. Remove rose petals from liquid & discard. Add rose water to elderberrie and dandelyon, heate to 62 degrees and stir in dandelyon flowers. Turn heate off, allow to stand for 20 minutes and strain into container. Allow 90 minutes to prepare this potion. Essential before understanding of Runes can be gained. Page 2 follows: BRAIN ACHE Required elementes: Poppys, mushrooms and one maggot Choppe 1 large maggot into small pieces. Boyle 2 handfuls of fresh mushrooms until reduced to a mushe and mix in the seeds from 5 poppys then add the maggot pieces to the result- ing dough. Place in a baking tray and cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden browne. Allow 30 minutes for preparation. Consuming this cake allows you to cast Brain Ache spelles to the confusion of your foes. MIND LOCKE Required elementes: Poppys, one maggot and Bloode Root Choppe 1 large maggot into small pieces and sautee until brown. Add sliced bloode root and continue on heate until soft. Grinde up seeds from 5 poppys ans sprinkle on surface and allow to cool. Grinde mixture into fine paste, make into small balles and allow to harden. Eating these balles allows you to cast Mind Locke spelles to freeze your enemies. This takes one hour to prepare. Page 3 follows: SPAGETTY CONFUSION Require elementes: Belladonna, Parsley, White Wine & Witch Hazel Dry one cup of witch hazel leaves until dry and crisp then crush to produce a powder. Add a belladonna flower and a pinch of parsley to the powder, mixing them together well. Heate a bottle of white wine to boyling and stirr in the powdered mixture while continuing to boyle until the mixture turns into spagetty-like strings which should be formed into patties and baked for five minutes in a hot oven. This should take about an hour. When eaten, the user gains the Tangled Mind spelle. SIZZLING EGGES Required elementes: Bird's egge, Hellebore, Firethorn & Water Lily Boyle a large lily leaf in water for 15 minutes, add a cupfull of firethorn petals and a hellebore flower. Add the white of a smalle egge and stirr thoroly for 10 minutes before allowing to cool. Drain remaining liquid into suitable container. This takes about one hour to make a will give user a real knockout spelle. Page 4 follows: CLOTTED SURPRISE Required elementes: Spyder's web, Hawthorn & Mosse Peel a saucepan full of hawthorn berries. Take great care to remove all trace of outside skins. Crushe the berries to pro- duce a fine puree which should be put to one side. Wash three handfuls of common mosse, to remove any dirte and then boyle in water to cleanse. The mosse will break down into a green and slimy substance to which the pureed hawthorn should be added. Mix thoroly into a homogenus paste. This paste should be liberally spread over a bandage made from spyder's web. The bandage thus encrusted should be applied to any cut area which requires healing. This poultice takes twenty five minutes to prepare and will restore your strength and ability. To use apply to injured area. For many minor injuries. Page 5 follows: ICED MAGICK Required elementes: Hawthorn, Thistle and Bloode Lily Remove all of the petals from a bloode lily flower and discarde them. Remove the seed pod and place over a low heate to encourage it to open up. When it does so, remove all of the seeds. Boyle two handfuls of hawthorn berries for twenty minutes and drain off the liquid to use. Discard the boyled hawthorn pulpe. Remove the thistle down from one thistle and add to the liquid from the hawthorns together with the bloode lily seeds. Take resulting mixture and place it in freezer for one hour. Pour off liquid into suitable container. To be drunk as required with this recipe providing sufficient for two portions. Will take one and three quarters hours to prepare. The decoc- tion should be used for more serious injuries than the previous poultice. Page 6 follows: WOODEN HEART in ALGAE SAUCE Required elementes: Dogwood, Algae, Bleeding heart and Honey. Bake 6 handfuls of dogwood barke for two hours in a hot oven. Whilst the bark is baking, prepare the sauce as follows: Disolve a jar of honey in warm water, add a pint of Pond algae and one chopped bleeding heart flower. Simmer for one hour and pour over the dogwood when baked. It sets into a hard jelly and provides enough for three helpings. Taking two hours to make, each helping is a powerful restor- ative and healing agent. PAINFREE Required elementes: White Wine, Black lotus & Laudnum Take the flower of a black lotus and remove its petal. Care- fully extract the pollen from the remainder of the flower and mix the pollen into the tincture of laudnum. Warm a glass of white wine and mix in the combined black lotus pollen and laudnum. This should be stored in a suitable container until needed. It takes about half an hour to prepare and will take all pain away for three hours. Page 7 follows: FIRE SPONGE Required elementes: Plantain, Flame flower & Moss Add water to 2 handfuls of moss and knead to form a sticky, dough like paste. Remove seed heads from 2 handfuls of Plantain, add to mixture and set aside for 15 minutes. The seeds act as a speedy yeast. Grate a whole flame flower plant including leaves, flower & root and add to the moss dough, after the plantain seeds have done their work. Ensure an even dispersal. Place in baking tray and cook in a warm oven for 15 minutes. When cool, slice and serve. This receipt make sufficient for six slices. It takes 35 min- utes to prepare and eating a slice allows the casting of a 10 second Fire Wall. ICE SPONGE Required elementes: Plantain, Hawthorn & Moss Follow instructions for making Fire Sponge but substitute 2 handfuls of grated hawthorn berries for flame flowers. It takes the same tyme to prepare but allows the casting of a 20 second Ice Wall. Page 8 follows: MAIDENS TURNOVER Required elementes: Maidenhair, Fern, 3 Spyder's webs & Honey Take two handfuls of leaves from the Maiden's Tree and choppe them finely. Boyle the finely chopped leaves until totally dissolved into the water to leave a dirty brown liquid. Blend into this liquid one jar of honey which acts as both a sweetener and thickening agent. Shred a handful of fern sprigs and stir into the mixture which then forms a thick dough-like paste. Shape this paste into small packets and wrap each one in a spyder web. There is enough of the mix- ture to make three packets. The receipt takes twenty minutes to prepare. Eating a packet causes an increase in skin toughness as tho wearing armor. It has no effect on magick and provides no protection against spelles. MANTICORE FLIP Required elementes: Maidenhair, Fern, 3 pieces of Manticore hide & Honey. Prepare as Maiden's Turnover but wrap each packet in a piece of Manticore hide. Causes greater increase in skin toughness. Page 9 follows: KNIGHTYME PLEASURE Required elementes: Bird Feather, Deadly Nightshade and beetles Crush two handfuls of Knightshade berries to extract their juice. Mix juice with the bloode sucked from five live beetles. Stir the mixture widdershins with the tail feather of a bird and recite my name backwards. Store drink in a bottle untill required. As the ingredients for this receipt are difficult to obtain at the same tyme, it is unlikely that more than one portion of this poyion can be prepared in any one year. Should you be fortu- nate enough to obtain the necessary for more than one portion then a second batch should be stored as though it were fine wine. It only takes fifteen minutes to prepare but is most powerful in its effects. When consmed it offers total protection to all non-contact magick weapons and substantial protection from any other weapone for a considerable tyme. It should not be used lightly but saved until needed. Page 10 follows: LUCKY SURPRISE Required elementes: Nettles & one Four Leaf Clover Boyle a saucepan full of fresh nettles in water for twenty minutes. Add a sprig of four leaf clover and continue to boyle for a further five minutes. Strain off the liquid, bottle it and allow to cool whereupon it may be consumed. This potion should be used judiciously as excessive consumption will cause drowsiness and lethargy. It takes thirty minutes to prepare. Use of this portion will make you react quicker unless taken to excess when it will tend to cause the opposite effect. PROPITIOUS SURPRISE Required elementes: Aconite, Nettles & one Four Leaf Clover This mixture should be prepared as Lucky Surprise but after straining off the liquid, add three drops of aconite extract to the decoction and stir for five minutes before bottling. It takes forty minutes to prepare. This potion has the advantage of not causing drowsiness but otherwise acts as a Lucky Sur- prise. The addition of Aconite must be at the tyme of prepara- tion. Later addition makes a deadly poison. Page 11 follows: MONSTERA PIE Required elementes: Monstera, Parsley & Ivy Line a medium sized baking dish with Ivy leaves. Clean and separate a 2 cm. basketful of Monstera petals and slice into thumb joint sized strips. Place the strips into a baking dish, add the parsley and cover the contents with another layer of Ivy leaves. Place the baking dish in a hot oven and cook for twenty minutes. This receipt should provide enough for five portions and takes thirty minutes to prepare. Eating a slice of this pie will make the eater stronger but slightly slow down the eater's reactions. This slowing is cummulative for each slice eaten before a previously consumed slice is fully digested. Only the foolhardy shude try eating the whole pie at one sitting because of this side effect. Used with due care, consuming a slice of pie will give the eater a useful boost in strength when it is needed. Page 12 follows: GLOWING PRIDE Required elementes: Thistle, Dandelyon & Flame flower Remove the petals from one Flamed flower and press them to remove the oil of which they contain. Take one Dandelyon and split its stem. Allow the milky liquid contained therein to drip into the previously extracted oil and mix thoroughly. Pull the down from one Thistle and drop into the oil mixture so that the down soaks up the mixture. Roll the down into a ball. Thro' practice, tis possible to increase the oil yield from each flower. This should take fifteen minutes. Store the soaked down in darkness. As soon as a prepared ball of down is removed from complete darkness, it will begin to glow. The length of tyme that each ball will glow for, is directly proportional to the user's experience. If the user is twice as experienced the second tyme that this magic is used then the light will last for twice as long. Useful in those unexpected dark places when there is no normal light available. Page 13 follows: MUSHROOM TENDERNESS Required elementes: Hellebore, Elderberry & Mushroom Slice up one bucket of mushrooms and then boyle them untill reduced to a thick mush. Crush two handfuls of elderberries to extract their juice and add the juice to the boyled mush- rooms. Choppe up one Hellebore leaf and add to the mixture. Pour into an appropriate container and drink when required. Preparation takes 25 minutes and produces enough mixture for four doses. Drinking this potion will infuse the user with superhuman strength for a short period of time. THORNY SPLINTER Required elementes: Firethorn & Nettles Boyle four handfuls of nettles for ten minutes and strain off the liquid, discarding the nettles. Add thorns from the Firethorn bush and allow to brew for one hour. Bottle & drink as soon as cool. Takes one and a half hours to prepare. Drinking this potion will arm the drinkers with Fire Dagger spelles. Page 14 follows: FINGERLIGHT Required elementes: Earwigges, Deadly Knightshade and Belladonna Extract the juice from a saucepan full of Nightshade berries, add five earwigges and one chopped belladonna leaf to the juice and allow to stand for twenty minutes. Drain the liquid into a bottle and drink immediately. Preparation takes twenty five minutes. When drunk this potion imbues the user with the ability to cast Fingerlight spelles (lightning boltes). PALMLIGHT Required elementes: Centipedes, Mistletoe, Belladonna & Absinthe Extract the juice from a saucepan full of Mistletoe berries, add five centipedes, one chopped belladonna leaf & two spoonfulls of Absinthe to the juice and allow to stand for twenty minutes. Drain the liquid into a bottle and drink immediately. Preparation takes forty five minutes. When drunk this potion imbues the user with the ability to cast Palmlight spelles (lightning ball). Page 15 follows: CAT & DOG BROTH Required elementes: Spyder, Horse hair, Lily flower and Witch Hazel Take a large lily and finely choppe it. Add the chopped lily to a basketful of Witch hazel leaves and simmer over a gentle heate for one hour. Drain off the resultant liquid into a saucepan and discard the remains of the flower & leaves. Remove the skins from ten common spyders and throw them away. Crush the spyders to release their bloode and add to the liquid in the saucepan. Stir the mixture thoroughly and then add a tuft of Horse hair. Raise the liquid to boyling point and simmer for twenty minutes or until it thickens. Pour into a suitable container. It may be eaten either hot or cold. This recipe takes an hour and forty minutes to prepare. When eaten, this powerful mixture has two effects. The minor result of its use, is a boost to strength and general health but the major effect provides the eater with a large number of Tunderflash Spelles which can inflict serious damage on the enemy. Page 16 follows: DEMONS BREW Required elementes: Vampire dust, Dragon's bloode & Deadly Nightshade Extract the juice from a saucepan full of Deadly Knightshade berries and discard the pulp. Add this juice to one pint of Dragon's bloode. Put the Vampire dust in this liquid and allow it to stand for five minutes. Drain the mixture through a muslin cloth to remove all of the sediment and bottle the resultant liquid. It is absolutely essential to discard the sediment on consecrated ground, failing to do so will cause you moste serious regrets. This decoction takes twenty five minutes to prepare and equips anyone who drinks it with a terrible weapon. For this reason and because of the ingredients, this is a rare decoction that you are likely to make only once in a lifetime. Careless- ness in making it can also ensure that you only get to make it once in a lifetime. Drinking the decoction will provide the drinker with a large number of Fearful Spelles that do an amazing amount of damage to any normal creature. Page 17 follows: POSTSCRIPTUM Brain Ache: When this spelle is cast upon an opponent, it reduces dexterity by a random amount for the duration of the fight. It may be used only once in any single confrontation. Fearful: This awesome spelle does terrible damage to any standard opponent upon whom it is cast. Fingerlight: This more potent fight spelle casts a fork of lightning at an opponent causing damage when it hits. Fire Dagger: This spelle appears and acts like a flaming, thrown dagger but doing three times the damage of a dagger unless the target is immune to fire. Used against a mummy, there is a chance of it catching fire. Fire Wall: Lasting for 10 seconds each time it is used, this spelle stops an opponent attacking and allows the caster to use a ranged weapone or run away. It also destroys any ice-based weapon as well as severely damaging any wooden weapones but these effects also apply to the caster's weapons. Page 18 follows: Ice Wall: The ice version of Fire Wall, it lasts twice as long but is almost instantly destroyed by fire-based weapones and only allows the caster to use ice spelles for its duration. Identify Plant: This magickal ability is essential to allow identification of the many plant ingredients used in the magickal arts. It is gained by consuming Herbal Honey. Knightyme Pleasure: This is the greatest defensive spelle in that it eliminates all effects from magickal ranged weapones and halves the effect of any other weapone. Lucky Surprise: This potion increases the imbiber's dexterity by one tenth for each swig but if more than one swig is taken before an earlier one wears off this is partially negated by becoming drowsy. Maiden's Turnover: This causes a magickal hardening of the eater's skin which effectively halves sword damage for a tyme. Page 19 follows: Manticore Flip: Similar to Maiden's Turnover but reduces sword damage to one tenth for a much longer tyme. Mind Locke: This spelle is similar to Tangled Mind but of even greater intensity. Palmlight: A more powerful version of Fingerlight that casts ball light- ning at an opponent for even greater damage. Propitious Surprise: Similar effect to Lucky Surprise but without the drowsiness disadvantage for multiple swigs. Runic Reading: This is the ability to read and understand runic writing which is necessary to understanding and can be obtained by drinking Alphabet Soup. Sizzling Egges: This gives an offensive spelle equivalent to hitting an oppo- nent somewhat harder than the deadliest concussive weapon. Page 20 follows: Tangled Mind: Similar to Brain Ache but reduces dexterity by a greater amount. Thunderflash: When cast at an opponent this spelle acts as a percussion weapon which inflicts extensive damage. SKID ROW ------------------------------------------------------------------- SKID ROW presents ELVIRA: MISTRESS OF THE DARK INSTRUCTION CARD FOR AMIGA Note: This following are installation and loading instructions specifically for the Amiga. The enclosed manual should be referred to for all game play issues (including saving games). Back Up Your Game Disks! Before you go any further, it is highly recommended that you make back- ups of your game disks. The program comes without on-disk protection, so doing so is simple. Make sure to store the originals in a safe place, and use the copies when playing or installing the game. Refer to your Amiga manual on how to copy disks. Note: Make sure to rename the copies so that they are the same as the originals. For example, after copying Disk 1, rename the copy from "copy of DISK 1" to "DISK 1". Do the same for the remaining disks. System Requirements To play Elvira, you will need the following: o Amiga 500, 1000 or 2000 o 1 megabyte of memory. o If loading from a hard drive, you will need 740K of free RAM after Workbench is loaded. o A blank formatted disk to save games (if playing from floppy disks). Hard Drive Installation To install Elvira onto your hard drive, do the following: 1 Enter the CLI or SHELL. 2 Place Elvira disk 1 in df0:. 3 Type cd df0: and press Return. 4 Type HDINSTALL DHx: (where x indicates the hard drive, i.e., dh0:, dh1:, etc.) and press Return. 5 Insert disks 2 through 5 when prompted. 6 To run the game from workbench, double-click on the Mistress folder, then double click on the Elvira icon. 7 To run the game from CLI or SHELL, change to the Elvira subdirectory and type RUNIT and then press enter. Playing from Floppy Disk 1 With your computer off, insert Elvira Disk 1 into df0: (internal disk drive). 2 Turn on the computer. The program will load automatically. 3 When prompted, insert the proper disk into df0:. Note: Be sure you are inserting the correct disks when prompted.