The Story So Far

Swordbane pulled his cloak tightly around him and watched the shore receding into the distant early morning mist. His mission was entering its final stage. Somewhere up ahead was a small island, where the Oracle had said he would find the great wizard Bellatrix. Only Bellatrix had the power to save his small village from the dark sorcery of the evil Druids.

He was the finest warrior that his village had ever produced, and had been granted the title of Swordbane, and as the Swordbane, it had fallen on him to undertake this mission.

The sun was now dissipating the mist, and looming ahead of him, Swordbane could see the "City of Death", its harbour lined with cannons and a castle dominating the harbour, and on the hill overlooking the harbour, a place surmounted by a grinning skull. The city was indeed aptly named.....

The Game

City Of Death is an adventure game that takes place in an old city inhabited by some very unusual people. Strangers are avoided by the populace, and hunted down and jailed or killed by the mercenary guards of the city. Far more dangerous still are the soul-looters, who in their bright red garb roam the streets, terrorising the inhabitants.

You start the game on the jetty of the harbour where your ship has docked. All you know about the city has been gleaned from whispered rumours. Your objective is to fine the wizard Bellatrix.

You will need whatever money you can get hold of, as information does not come cheap. You can enter houses, steal, request information, fight surrender, or buy weapons, food and spells.

Many of the guards that you will meet have superior combat skills to yourself, and you will need to improve your combat skill when at all possible. This can be done by purchasing superior weapons and armour at the Armoury, or by purchasing magical abilities at the Wizard's Villa. Stamina can be increased by the purchase of food at one of the several taverns in the city. The purchase of magical abilities also buys an increase in stamina.

Fight Or Flight

When confronted by a guard, you will be asked if you wish to surrender. Should you be running short of stamina points, or if you feel that you are unlikely to win, it may be wise to surrender.

When you enter into combat, attack options are displayed (Head, Chest, Body, Legs and Arms), in order of difficulty of hitting that location and the damage inflicted by a successful hit. So a head blow is more tricky but scores greater damage if successful. However, you can choose to aim 'Blind', which gives you a better chance of a hit, but the computer randomly selects the location of inflicted damage. The severity of a wound inflicted on you is displayed in "damage points".

Houses

When entering a house, you are given the option of either searching the house with a view to stealing anything of value, or of asking the inhabitants (if any) the direction of Bellatrix's house. However, in a city where greed plays an overwhelming part, you will find that you need to bribe them for an answer. False clues can be given, but a false clue will never be given twice, whilst genuine clues can appear again and again.

Status

Displayed in the top-right hand corner is your current status. This shows you: your current skill level; your stamina; your current wealth (in coins); and how many moves you have taken so far.

Game Controls

A - North, Z - South, X - West, C - East

These movement keys are displayed on-screen in the yellow box for quick reference.

Displayed on the screen in the blue box are a list of all of the options available and the single-key entries for each option. Not all of the options can be used at any time: for example, you can only buy food from a Tavern.