R H Y G A R     P A R T    O N E: The Search

by John Thornton for EleKtroSOFT Interactive


"For time flows like a river.... and history repeats..."
					-Secret Of Mana

The Story

	As Court Historian to the Regent-Baron of Dock (a largely ceremonial title, no one in my position has studied history for over 500 years), I have been able to ferret out much of the history behind what has happened recently in our lands, during my time in fact. However, I am over 90 now, and that time is growing short. To this end, I have decided to chronicle my inovlvement in what many are calling "The Serpent War". This involvement goes very little into the actual events, rather it stems mainly from the fact that I had contact with the "pivotal player", shall we say, in these events... a young man named Rhygar. I met him on his journeys, and I'd like to think that I even helped him out a bit, although whether history will notice me remains to be seen.

	His story is one of tragedy and sorrow, but it is also of a true love that remained steadfast. It is one of great evil and maliciousness, but it is also of heroism and courage that knew no bounds. What began on an island in Serpentsway and ended when.... but I digress, I do tend to get ahead of myself. Whatever may remain to be told in the future, I truly doubt that any human events could ever equal the majesty of this tale.

						I remain,
						Elminster

Playing Instructions

Rhygar has three distinct modes of play: Close-Up, Map, and RPG Battle. 

Close Up: Where almost all of the game's action takes place. Rhygar fights, talks, explores and wins treasure in this mode. The battle interface is different in this game than in others, since Rhygar fights with a sword rather than projectile weapons. Enemies change their character from time to time, meaning that when their appearance alters, Rhygar should not attack!
These are the enemies you'll face....

Lawless: Brigands, hooligans, thieves... these guys are nonetheless terrible swordsmen. Take 'em down easily.

Orcs: These guys generally hate sunlight, and lurk in the dark. There are two varieties... Cave Orcs are speedier and fight with hand axes and bows, while Mountain Orcs are slow, but fight with huge battleaxes and more accurate bows. 

Snakes: Serpents have always had a bad reputation in Fabuliana, but these guys can poison you, draining away your health. They're also incredibly fast!

Serpent Troops: These guys can be deadly. They're trained in the use of steel swords and crossbows, and use both with proficiency. They're also amazingly fast.

Skull Men: ? ? ?
Map: Here, a large overview of the land is shown, allowing you to traverse long distances. Places marked with a box are inacsessible to entry at the current time, while passages marked with an "X" show the points where you should enter to advance the story. Caution should be taken in these, though... explore everywhere around these places first, you may not be able to return!

RPG Mode: One of the features that put The Search on the map. This fighting mode is in the same style as Final Fantasy and such games, but is also the rarest mode you'll see. Generally, there'll be an icon set up to run the RPG fight when it's pressed, with Objects representing all of the characters in the game. If anyone but Rhygar falls, they'll be "temporarily knocked out", and won't participate in the fight for a while. If Rhygar falls, the game's up!

There are three sword slashes you can learn...

Slash: Two quick strikes. Does minimal damage, but is reliable.
Swipe: A half-circle cut. Does more damage, but can fail you.
Aeroslash: A devastating blade spin, but a tricky one. It does random damage. Must be learned!

Registering:

Despite this game's rerelease, the original registration standards apply. 

In case you forgot, here they are....

* The Fabulian Companion.... a txt. file of all things Fabuliana!
* The Making of Rhygar...... a txt. file telling about the development of the plot for Rhygar.
* BongoSoft ZZT Catalog..... a zzt. file telling all about the great stuff you can get from Bongosoft.
* Rhygar 2! Yes, you get it in the demo form long before normal folk. Enjoy!
* The Map of Fabulina....... a bmp. of this great world.
* The Rhygar Strategy Guide. a txt. of hints for Rhygar!
* City Of The Stupid Off-Yellow Edition... a specially STK'ed version of this classic humor game not found anywhere else!

And here's the best part... it only takes an e-mail! Just send it to Bongo79@aol.com to grab all this!

Upgrade Info: Differences from v. 1.1

v. 2.0 is mainly different because of a minor retooling of some scenes (to improve plotting better) and also to make note of the fact that Rhygar is now coming out under the ESI label. All refrences to Bongosoft have been strategically removed in this version (but not in the registered stuff.)

So, at any rate... hope you enjoy this! And be on the lookout for...

Rhygar: Leaps of Faith

	If you expect plot info here, let me just remind you that you probably haven't tried this game yet! However, it will include....

* Even more incredible graphics!
* More plot convolutions!
* Amazing music by Cliff Hensley!
* Improved RPG fighting!
* More enemies!
* Double the world size!
* A continuation of the Gem Dungeon! Up to level 5!

And that's it for now.






















Rhygar and all related stuff are c. 1997 ESI and John Thornton. Remember, if you swipe any boards or characters (as we had one ugly incident of) death will come with SHARP POINTY TEETH.