THE WRATH OF SONA
an interactive rpg
from Lost socK software
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The concept of greed has long plagued humanity. In this world Greed and Chaos
have great influence over mortals, along with their ally, Power. Chaos Defined
is the driving force behind all evil in this land. Of the followers of Chaos,
one stands out among them. Sona, sorceress of Kurai Energy.

Once mortal, Sona is herself a spirit. Defeated at the hands of mortals three
thousand years ago, Sona lives again to seek revenge against all humanity.

From "the other side" comes Jareth Stone, a powerful mage and bladesman. His
master was slain during a battle with the evil sorceress, and he tracks her
down all over the known world in an attempt to stop the wrath of Sona.

"...for vengeance blackens the soul, and you must never become what you fight
against..."
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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

-80386 or better processor
-About 520KB free base RAM (550KB for music, plus 4MB of EMS)
-MS-DOS 5.0 or higher, Win9x
-ISA MCGA display (uses mode 13h)

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM

-Pentium 100
-550-600KB free base RAM
-MS-DOS 6.22 or Win9x running no applications
-16MB of EMS
-Soundcard (several supported)
-High-speed video display (VESA bus or better)

BUILT WITH

-Pentium 200MHz
-Windows 95 running no applications
-568KB free base memory, 16MB EMS under Windows 95 (64MB total RAM)
-64-bit PCI 4MB S3 Virge-DX graphics card
-Built-in wave device (SBPro mode)
This game works exceptionally well with our system at all available scroll
speeds and sound mixing levels.
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-THE CONCEPT-
This game is a True-Style Role Playing Game for diehard fans of the style
only! Many people used to more active games will find WoS very difficult,
while a master of TSRPGs will be right at home. WoS is modelled after several
PC and console RPGs, so no matter what, there's bound to be a familiar element
somewhere.

The nature of the TSRPG forces logical thinking over quick reflexes. You don't
have to have thumbs of steel to survive. You will, however, be required to
solve many puzzles and mysteries.

As with all TSRPGs, knowing all of your options is vital to your success.
Until you are totally aware of your abilities, this game will be hard. When
you have mastered your options, look out bad guys!
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-THE GAME-
The game itself is divided into two major parts-adventure and battle. During
adventure play, you explore the lands of Moltar in search of information and
other such activities. During the frightening battle scenes, you conquer evil
creatures of hatred and destruction.

-ADVENTURE-
During adventure, you will explore Moltar. Walk around, talk to people, find
hidden treasures, visit shops and inns, and gain knowledge of everything.

CONTROLS...
Use the cursor keys to walk around. The ENTER key brings up the subscreen.
The SPACEBAR allows conversation with residents. The ESC key brings up the
exit box and also serves as the cancel key. Press ~ to take a snapshot of the
game in action. The controller is no longer supported at all. If you press
ESC and go to Options, you can set the game options including scroll speed,
animation speed, text speed, and more.

-BATTLE-
During battle, you confront a dizzying array of evil monsters and henchmen.
Step up to the bad guys and cut them down with mighty blades or stand back and
let mystic magic do the work for you. Either way, victory in battle will
decide the fate of these lands!

CONTROLS...
The battle controls are similar to the Adventure controls. Use the cursor keys
to move cursors. ENTER confirms selections while ESC cancels them. ~ takes a
screenshot. 1 thru 8 have no effect during battle.

ATTACK...
When a character attacks a monster, the character faces it directly unless the
attacking weapon is long-range. You can attack without a weapon.

MAGIC...
Magical forces in Moltar are strong due to the constant fluctuation of astral
balance and continual magical warfare. Every character has some kind of access
to the mystic forces. Singular magics are common. However, due to the great
turmoil of the astral plane, occasionally certain incantations will mutate and
merge with another, forming a triply powerful mutation spell. These mutations
are very dramatic and highly treasured. The most powerful of archwizards have
discovered a way to fully manipulate these mutations and form super-powerful
spells using multiple incantations at once. When combined, these forces join
energy patterns and construct the mutation. They are most commonly called
Astral Mutations.

ITEMS...
There are many items scattered about the lands of Moltar, some of which will
be absolutely vital to your survival. Most of these can be used within the
combat scenes. Certain items require a recipient, some don't.

POWERS...
Magically enchanted armors, swords, staves, the list goes on...use the powers
of your equipment against the evil forces! Sometimes a piece of equipment will
contain the name of its power, so maybe you'll understand its power before you
attempt to use it...

ESCAPE...
When all hope seems lost, run for your life. When confronting normal denziens,
escape is easy and usually painless. When opposed by a powerful ruler, there
is no escape. As such, never face one of the dark lords unless you are certain
you will be victorious.

DEFEAT...
If you are defeated in battle, the game ends instantly. You may continue from
the last point in which you saved your game. You may continue an unlimited
number of times.

VICTORY...
When all the followers of darkness who face you are slain, you have won. You
will acquire experience points based upon the monsters slain and the number of
surviving characters.
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-VARIOUS NOTES-
THE EXPERIENCE SYSTEM
The Experience System is a numerical power system that controls the rate of
character power increase. Many attributes are put into this system to build
the characters, like hit points, attack strength, and more. Experience Points
are acquired in battle, and when a predetermined amount is achieved, the
character will increase in Experience Level. This brings an increase in all
statistics, and heightens your chance of survival in this war-torn world.

THE HIT POINT SYSTEM
This system works well with the Experience System in determining the physycal
life in a character. The system is based on an abstract strength theory, and
is simple to implement, yet very effective.

THE MAGIC POINT SYSTEM
Similar to the Hit Point System. Instead of using the Spell Level System,
which is more difficult to implement and control, the Magic Point System is
simple to implement and use. The drawbacks are that the MP System tends to
make the game a little easier, whereas the Spell Level System makes the game
a bit harder. Using spell levels seems to be a bit more realistic, but this is
a game, not real life. Besides, the MP system is a bit more fun.

THE INITIATIVE-DRIVEN ATTACK-INTERLACED SYSTEM
That's a mouthful just to say it! The IDAL system is the most powerful battle
system available, but it is VERY difficult to implement. Most novice RPG
programmers settle for a simple engine, which greatly deteriorates the game as
a whole. As such, many modern QBRPGs have only one character available to play
as! Also, these engines only allow a single monster at a time. The IDAL system
implemented in WoS allows for up to eight units at a time (four characters,
four monsters). All sides determine their moves, then the order is determined
using the Agility ratings and a little randomization. The pattern is sorted
and the round takes place, fastest character first. Combine this with good
graphical representation of actions (also devoid from most QBRPGs) and you
have an effective, professional battle engine, which also adds to the fun of
the game as a whole.
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SOME HELPFUL HINTS-

-Things aren't always what they look like. Use anything useful to your
        advantage while playing.
-It can be easy to get lost. Bring a map.
-Shifting loyalties are common in this world.
-The most expensive weapons aren't always the best ones.
-Powerful magics are never as strong as lesser magics that combine to form
        Astral Mutations. Learn your options quickly.
-Certain demons can only be destroyed with Astral Mutations!
-Think through a battle, and you'll be victorious.

Have fun in the realm of Moltar. See you on the other side!
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