How to Play

Game objective

The player must liberate the lands of Belorn and destroy the armies of Acamantor. The lands are grouped into five stages. In each stage the player may complete any land in any order they wish, but cannot progress to the next stage until all the lands in that stage are 'liberated'. As you progress further, light fades and you will face new and more dangerous enemies. Your experience and enlightenment in both combat and spell casting will also craft you stronger spells and weapons to create, your ultimate weapon is a crusading army of Golems.

Liberating a land

To liberate a land you must 'de-possess' all the dwellings within it. A land is lost if Acamantor's demons take control of all the dwellings.

A possessed dwelling becomes a portal from the underworld, opening a gateway for Acamantor's evil army troops. Some directly spawn from the dwelling, while Acamantor's plague infects the land, in an increasing concentration as the player approaches the possessed dwelling. Most of these 'nasties' will attack the Druid or Golems, while few will head for free dwellings in order to conquer them. When a sufficient number are hammering on the dwelling, occupants are ejected, and the hut becomes another hellfire burning stronghold, spawning more evil.

You can reclaim a possessed dwelling by taking combat Golems to directly attack it, till it is freed with an enlightened white/blue flame.

So to successfully liberate a land you must :-

• Protect currently free dwellings.
• Liberate possessed dwellings.
• Stop nasties possessing free dwellings.

It is all about the Golems

The player takes the role of Hasrinaxx the Druid, who cannot liberate a dwelling alone. He can, however, cast spells, one of which to summon a Golem, made of clay, mud, water or sand. These elemental Golems, while tougher than Hasrinaxx are still not strong enough to free a dwelling. What is required are combat Golems, made of stone, wood or hardier materials. These Golems need to be made by the elemental Golems, who must not only build them, but mine the raw materials for their construction.

The player's role is to control a group of elemental Golems to create combat Golems, build an army and then send them on a crusade to de-possess dwellings across the land.

Golem subclasses

Builder Golem

Clay Golems. Create these by casting a Golem spell on clay soil, which is always found around the huts. These are the only Golems that can enter huts and use the furnace to build.

Mining Golems

Mud, Sand, Water Golems. Create by casting a Golem spell on grass, sand or watery areas. These Golems are used to collect raw materials such as wood and stone and bring it back to a dwelling for Clay Golems to use. They can act as bodyguards for the Druid, as they can be made on demand (if you have the right spell available) and fast enough to keep up with the Druid.

Combat Golems

Wood, Granite and Marble. These are built by Clay Golems in dwellings. They are stronger and more resilient than other Golems, but move slower.

As players progress, Golems can be enchanted by newly crafted spells creating new Golem variations.

Ordering Golems

Golems are ordered by selecting the object on which you wish them to act and clicking the right mouse button. The possible commands then appear. Left click on one of these to issue the order. The nearest suitable Golem will respond. If the command can be repeated, because say more than one Golem is available to respond, the command menu will reappear so you can quickly issue the command again.

Player Control

Moving the Druid

To guide the Druid move the cursor around him, and press the left mouse button. The Druid will move in that direction. Note, due to the ups and downs of the terrain, the red cursor is not necessarily the target position but specifying a direction to move in. The larger shadowy image is the actual position, and you will see this move up and down with the terrain. You can use this to aim the weapon more accurately, which also hugs the terrain. The difference between the two arrows indicates inclines and descents.

To cast a Spell you simply drag a spell disc from the left tray and place it where allowed in the game area. Some spells work directly on a selected Golem, using the command system. The next page lists the spells. Before you can cast any spells you must find the required herb or mineral within the land. The essential Golem creation herb, Magoem, can usually be found on the sand or the clay soil around dwelling.

Shoot First, ask Questions later

Your first responsibility should be to protect Hasrinaxx and any of your Golems using the plasma bolt weapon.

Tapping the space bar (or fire button) fires Hasrinaxx's arcane plasma bolt. This causes damage to any nasties it hits. Plasma bolts can be deflected off of solid objects like a dwelling, tree, or even a Golem. You can power up this bolt by holding the space bar (or fire button) down, then releasing a larger more powerful bolt outward, this not only damages enemies but pushes them away. If Hasrinaxx is face to face with an enemy the fire button automatically switches to make use of his fists.

Hints and Tips

Keep Golems in groups, or else they will get picked off. It's about teamwork and watching each others back. This includes the Druid who should stay in the protection of the pack, but at the same time help stranded Golems. Using a powered up Plasma bolt is good for enemy crowd control or for a single large enemy, but make sure you have time to charge power needed for this weapon. Make sure you know where the healing power crystal is (it is marked on the map). Setting up teleports to get there quickly will help when wounded. Do not overstay in Henges, you will find it hard to escape if enemies outside are allowed to amass. Beware most things have pros and cons. For example, making Golems invisible can be used to hide them from attack, but that means the enemy will go after what is visible, i.e. the Druid. Learn where to find the herbs for spells. Build your army fast, then go out on the crusade.