THE SPECTRUM GAME DATABASE THE PAWN PUBLISHER Rainbird AUTHORS Magnetic Scrolls (Scenario and Design by Rob Steggles; Programming by Ken Gordon and Hugh Steers; Development System and Parser Design by Ken Gordon, Anita Sinclair and Hugh Steers; Spectrum Conversion by Richard Huddy and Bob Coles) YEAR 1986 DESCRIPTION Text adventure with a very advanced parser and world modelling. CONTROLS Commands are entered using the keyboard. INSTRUCTIONS Set in the mythical world of Kerovnia, this amusing and complex tale is subtle enough to appeal to the beginner and hardened adventurer alike. A revolutionary text-handling system allows input of complicated sentences and complete interaction with characters (including some very intelligent animals!). The Pawn represents all its characters and objects as if they existed in a real world, storing complex information about their attributes and properties linked to their particular position or context in the game. Your objectives are manyfold: The simplest is to escape from Kerovnia, but you will find others as you wander about the land and communicate with the characters you meet. The Pawn combines a rich text adventure, with stunning colour graphics [not in the Spectrum version], and a language parser that will set the standards for years to come. Introduction: The Pawn is an adventure game set in the magical world of Kerovnia during a period of tremendous social upheaval. Recently, King Erik, the present ruler of the land, has started to lose his hold on the Kerovnian peoples and can no longer rely on their loyalty and supreme devotion to support him through times of war, famine and personal bankruptcy. Many political commentators have attributed this decline in popularity to Erik's steadfast refusal to reinstate the citizenship of the Roobikyoub dwarfs who were banished en masse soon after the assassination of the beloved Queen Jendah II and have never since returned. The dwarfs were thought to be the sole instigators of the assassination plot but the real facts were kept well behind closed (and locked) doors. Needless to say the dwarfs were of immense economic importance to Kerovnia with their relentless efforts to produce the smoothest, strongest malt whisky this side of the Obakanga valley and they are sorely missed in these days of economic gloom (not least for the quality of their whisky). In the absence of the dwarfs, the drinks market has been dominated by the Farthington Real Ale Company (which has had some rather dodgy dealings with Boris Grunchkev O.K.B.) and by the Romni gnomes who produce a refreshing spring water. Neither of these two influential groups wish to see the dwarfs come back on the scene to take a large slice of the market but the people of Kerovnia, many of whom are beginning to suspect that the dwarfs were completely innocent of the assassination, vehemently disagree. Standing in the middle of all this is King Erik who becomes more and more unpopular the longer he leaves his decision, and, to top it all, there is a general election on the horizon. At this point, you arrive on the scene. You will be the principal player in the game and the story unfolds according to your decisions and actions. The program will describe where you are, who (or what) is there with you and what they are doing. It is then up to you to choose what you wish to do and tell the program in plain English (well almost!). You'll have to discover the goal of the game and the best way to achieve it by utilizing the items you find on your travels, conversing with characters and exercising your imagination. Some example sentences from the manual: EXIT NORTH QUIETLY WALK NORTH ENTER THE FURNITURE SHOP SIT ON THE COMFORTABLE LEATHER COUCH GET UP OFF THE COUCH ENTER DOOR PICK UP PAPER, PEN AND INK BOTTLE GET ALL FROM THE SCHOOL BAG EXCEPT THE ERASER GET ALL EXCEPT THE CASES BUT NOT THE VIOLIN CASE THEN KILL THE MAN EATING SHREW WITH THE CONTENTS OF THE VIOLIN CASE. REMOVE THE SHREW'S TAIL AND USE IT TO TIE THE POLE AND THE NOOSE TOGETHER. GET THE KEYS EXCEPT THE SHINY ONE LOOK AT THE KEY THAT IS IN MY POCKET PUT THE KEY IN THE BAG IN MY POCKET Abbreviations: DROP DR GET G INVENTORY IN NORTH N SOUTH S EAST E WEST W NORTHEAST NE NORTHWEST NW SOUTHEAST SE SOUTHWEST SW UP U DOWN D OUT O LOOK L PRONOUNS PN WITH WI FROM F Conversation: I) ASK someone ABOUT something e.g. ASK THE ALIEN ABOUT THE SPACESHIP II) ASK someone "something" e.g. ASK THE ALIEN "WHO AM I?" III) SAY TO someone "something" e.g. SAY TO ALIEN "HELLO" IV) SAY "something" e.g. SAY "HOW CAN I WIN THIS GAME?" V) someone, something e.g. ALIEN, PHONE HOME Special Commands: INVENTORY AGAIN EXITS SCORE BRIEF VERBOSE NORMAL QUIT RESTART PASSWORDS The Pawn is password-protected (although the game manual forgets to mention it). After 100 turns in the game (or after restoring a saved game, whichever comes first), the player is asked to type in a word from the novel "A Tale of Kerovnia" (written by G. Sinclair, edited by C. Gale) which is included in the game box. If the password is wrong, the game quits. The following is a list of 475 tried and tested passwords (there are probably more, so make a snapshot before your 100th turn!). They work with version 2.3 of the game, on all platforms (IBM, Amiga, Spectrum, C-64). page line word ---------------------- 1 2 6 coin 1 3 4 erik 1 4 10 kerovnia 1 8 10 kerovnia 1 9 2 close 1 9 8 gnomes 2 1 11 red 2 4 2 erik 2 5 12 gnomes 2 8 7 maze 2 10 5 run 2 16 6 kerovnia 2 17 11 wilderness 2 21 1 cross 2 21 4 rabbit 2 23 11 rabbit 2 26 13 burn 2 28 9 erik 3 2 10 light 3 4 3 gnomes 3 5 8 erik 3 6 2 gringo 3 9 6 kerovnia 3 13 7 take 3 23 8 high 3 27 9 throne 4 1 6 hit 4 2 8 run 4 2 10 gringo 4 4 1 princess 4 5 4 kerovnia 4 7 1 erik 4 8 10 take 4 9 8 gringo 4 16 3 kerovnia 4 18 5 eyes 4 21 12 palace 4 22 5 rose 4 23 6 eyes 4 26 10 princess 4 27 12 erik 5 1 3 erik 5 2 4 room 5 3 2 green 5 6 1 erik 5 6 4 head 5 9 0 kerovnia [actually 5-8-16; 5-9-0 doesn't exist] 5 11 11 erik 5 13 4 room 5 13 6 empty 5 13 7 erik 5 18 6 white 6 7 3 erik 6 7 8 use 6 8 3 palace 6 9 5 magician 6 11 6 magician 6 14 8 green 6 14 10 hat 7 8 1 turn 7 9 12 erik 7 10 10 palace 7 11 8 heads 7 12 9 damage 7 12 13 life 7 13 3 palace 7 13 12 palace 7 14 9 gardens 7 15 14 box 7 16 9 horse 7 22 7 fight 7 24 12 fill 8 2 6 gardens 8 8 5 kerovnia 8 11 11 gringo 8 12 2 gringo 8 12 9 kerovnia 8 14 12 gringo 8 17 5 throw 8 26 1 gringo 9 4 7 gringo 9 5 2 head 9 7 8 gringo 9 14 2 fight 9 15 4 read 9 15 9 palace 10 2 12 princess 10 4 5 room 10 5 6 palace 10 6 6 stone 10 7 1 windows 10 8 10 window 10 11 4 eyes 10 20 4 palace 11 1 1 erik 11 11 3 erik 11 12 2 princess 11 17 4 eyes 11 18 1 room 11 20 4 windows 11 21 12 room 11 22 9 blue 11 23 6 arms 11 27 11 blue 11 28 13 table 11 29 1 erik 11 30 2 guards 12 3 8 symbols 12 4 12 table 12 7 12 gold 12 7 14 dress 12 12 4 arms 12 13 6 eyes 12 13 10 take 12 16 5 hide 12 20 3 kerovnia 12 27 11 kerovnia 12 29 7 gold 13 2 6 chest 13 2 11 good 13 6 4 eyes 13 6 12 princess 13 7 5 room 13 11 3 green 13 15 6 take 13 17 7 eyes 13 18 11 eyes 13 20 8 hand 13 23 10 voice 13 24 8 kerovnia 14 2 10 red 14 9 7 voice 14 13 1 kerovnia 14 18 1 eyes 15 2 6 rose 15 7 1 kerovnia 16 2 7 take 16 2 9 leave 16 2 15 eyes 16 5 6 head 16 6 2 chest 16 11 4 dragon 16 12 14 dragon 16 14 11 cave 16 16 9 green 16 17 3 red 16 20 4 look 16 22 1 jump 16 23 4 dragon 17 7 8 take 17 7 14 potion 17 8 9 fire 17 10 3 take 17 10 8 potion 17 11 4 fog 17 11 9 kerovnia 17 12 4 hand 17 15 10 gold 17 16 2 fog 17 18 12 potion 17 19 11 blue 17 22 2 palace 17 22 10 foothills 17 23 1 potion 17 24 3 table 17 24 9 room 17 28 6 gringo 17 29 2 dragon 18 2 10 gringo [actually 18-2-9; 18-2-10 is "and"] 18 5 8 take 18 5 10 kerovnia 18 8 9 gringo 18 8 10 person 18 10 1 kerovnia 18 13 4 run 18 15 11 hills 18 18 9 potion 18 21 2 high 18 21 10 potion 18 26 8 gringo 18 28 8 dragon 19 1 12 stone 19 2 5 blue 19 2 7 gold 19 4 3 entrance 19 4 12 hat 19 6 4 go 19 6 10 go 19 7 6 go 19 14 8 cave 19 17 8 feet 19 18 10 staircase 19 19 1 use 19 19 7 dragon 19 21 2 slope 19 22 5 gringo 19 27 6 hills 20 3 11 gringo 20 4 2 stone 20 9 7 gold 20 20 1 green 20 21 4 steal 20 22 10 wand 20 23 5 pocket 20 23 13 hand 20 24 8 use 20 25 3 windows 20 26 7 desk 21 1 1 dragon 21 1 8 window 21 2 1 gringo 21 3 3 eyes 21 5 9 wand 21 6 1 hand 21 7 11 magician 21 8 2 go 21 9 1 put 21 10 4 get 21 11 7 gringo 21 14 1 gold 21 15 3 gringo 21 15 7 room 21 16 8 room 21 17 3 dragon 21 20 3 whisky 21 24 5 white 21 24 12 pour 21 27 11 room 21 27 12 gringo 22 2 3 feet 22 4 6 potion 22 4 8 mix 22 4 12 dragon 22 6 1 gringo 22 6 6 dragon 22 8 2 fog 22 9 1 palace 22 13 9 red 22 17 4 ??? [22-17-4 is "say"] 22 17 7 magician 22 24 1 gringo 22 24 11 wand 22 25 1 pocket 23 1 2 get 23 2 6 kerovnia 23 6 10 room 23 8 3 gringo 23 9 2 empty 23 10 2 get 23 10 14 hell 23 13 12 dragon 24 4 13 erik 24 6 8 palace 24 12 3 use 24 22 6 trees 25 1 12 white 25 2 10 palace [actually 25-2-9; 25-2-10 is "where"] 25 4 8 tower [actually 25-4-7; 25-4-8 doesn't exist] 25 6 12 arms 25 7 9 fit 25 8 3 white 25 9 7 person 25 13 4 palace 25 15 1 lift 25 16 2 gardens 25 18 3 white 26 6 8 kerovnia 26 12 1 hand 26 14 11 take 26 17 2 erik 26 20 13 pot 26 20 14 erik 26 20 15 gringo 26 23 7 water 26 23 11 pool 26 26 8 life 27 5 10 water 27 6 6 pool 27 8 7 put 27 8 9 hand 27 14 2 pool 27 15 9 princess 27 19 4 rose 27 23 4 pool 27 24 3 water 27 25 1 high 27 26 4 ??? [27-26-4 is "say"] 28 1 3 read 28 4 11 get 28 6 12 hit 28 8 2 blow 28 8 11 water 28 10 7 water 28 13 9 pool 28 13 12 room 28 16 9 bushes 28 20 12 erik 28 26 1 high 28 27 2 use 29 2 7 palace 29 4 7 princess 29 5 4 palace 29 12 5 green 30 4 4 gringo 30 4 7 trees 30 9 4 person 30 10 9 empty 30 13 10 life 30 14 13 kerovnia 30 15 5 feet 30 19 5 hand 30 20 7 erik 30 21 10 office 30 22 4 potion 31 4 6 potion 31 4 14 room 31 7 7 read 31 8 3 gringo 31 10 5 water 31 12 13 fit 31 15 5 hand 31 19 10 gringo 31 23 8 blue 31 28 2 person 31 28 7 gringo 32 2 12 gringo 32 4 11 kerovnia 32 11 6 palace 32 12 7 gringo 32 14 6 take 32 24 6 erik 32 24 12 kerovnia 32 29 12 kerovnia 33 2 5 remove 33 2 10 office 33 8 9 put 33 9 2 chest 33 9 7 bed 33 11 10 chest 33 14 1 princess 33 16 10 eyes 33 17 13 use 33 19 4 look 33 23 8 princess 33 26 9 take 33 29 14 head 34 4 11 gringo 34 5 2 feet 34 5 5 hand 34 6 11 kerovnia 34 12 1 chamber 34 13 1 erik 34 15 12 voice 34 20 5 feet 34 21 3 take 34 23 3 gringo 34 25 12 throne 34 26 2 gringo 35 1 11 palace 35 5 8 magician 35 7 6 princess 35 8 1 kerovnia 35 10 4 gringo 35 15 5 doors 35 15 11 fire 35 19 12 room 35 20 12 fire 35 22 1 gringo 35 22 11 light 35 23 12 go 35 24 1 gringo 35 27 2 red 35 27 3 fire 36 1 4 fire 36 1 10 gringo 36 3 4 hat 36 8 6 erik 36 8 8 put 36 8 10 bed 36 9 3 gringo 37 2 1 gringo 37 9 9 princess 37 13 11 boxes 37 15 9 kerovnia 37 15 11 boxes 37 18 10 turn 37 21 1 erik 37 21 7 attack 37 22 13 horse 37 23 12 gold 38 5 1 erik 38 6 4 wear 38 8 10 head 38 9 8 join 38 10 9 leave 38 10 11 palace 38 12 9 join 38 15 7 red 38 15 9 gold 38 17 6 red 38 17 13 head 38 24 6 rose 38 26 13 green 38 27 5 high 38 28 4 eyes 38 29 9 head 39 1 2 guards 39 3 6 blue 39 3 9 stone 39 8 4 kerovnia 39 10 2 head 39 14 4 take 39 18 2 take 39 18 13 green 39 19 6 erik 39 19 10 kerovnia 39 21 9 person 39 26 3 princess 40 1 1 pool 40 3 5 palace 40 4 7 blue 40 4 9 light 40 4 11 rose 40 9 5 blue 40 9 8 voice 40 9 12 water 40 12 2 rose 40 12 5 feet 40 14 1 princess 40 14 13 life 40 15 8 red 40 17 3 leave 40 23 3 leave 40 25 10 go 40 27 8 erik 41 2 5 kerovnia 41 5 3 cry 41 7 6 erik 41 9 3 kerovnia 41 16 1 erik 41 16 7 leave 41 16 9 room 41 18 11 rose 41 18 14 feet 41 19 4 cloak 42 3 11 leave 42 4 7 go 42 5 1 scrape 42 6 3 gringo 42 13 4 princess 42 13 9 palace 42 14 1 erik 42 16 2 princess 42 17 10 ??? [42-17-10 is "cloud"] 42 17 12 dust 42 19 2 run 43 4 2 princess 43 9 7 life 43 9 11 take 43 10 7 head 43 12 4 princess 43 13 3 bed 43 13 8 kerovnia 43 20 6 life 43 20 7 tree 43 21 4 trees 43 23 8 princess 43 24 5 erik 44 3 4 snow 44 7 12 foothills 44 10 5 snowman 44 10 8 feet 44 12 3 look 44 13 4 eyes 44 20 4 snowman HINTS Version II of the game manual came with a number of encoded hints ("cypheric help section") which could be decoded from within the game using the HINT command. Here are the hints (already decoded): How do I cross the Red Line? > Drop the Lot > Sure you're not carrying something? > And what about the wristband? Why is the guru laughing? > Ask him, not me > Pity you can't drop that wristband yet > Try stopping him from seeing it How do I drop the wristband? > Hard, isn't it? > Damn, I'd forgotten just how hard this one was... > Try asking someone to do it for you How do I get into the shed? > This one's really obvious > Where do you normally leave your key > Try your pocket. Really! What does the guru want? > No, it's not a Keema Nan > The answer is elementary, my dear Adventurer > Not the bubbly sort How do I get past the guards? > Give them something > Perhaps if they knew what you wanted... > What else would you do with a demand for ransom? What do I do with the note? > Try reading it? > On second thoughts, don't try reading it! > Better do as Kronos asked How do I buy things? > You'll need something of value > People round here are pretty careless with money > Search the dwarves' furniture carefully How do I get the lead? > It's embedded in the rock > Use any sharp tool How do I read the tomes? > Cast a spell - Like it says > This game is a parody, after all. Try 'Cast Spell' > There is no third clue - bet you're sorry you typed it in now How do I use the aerosoul? > No, it's not a spelling mistake, smart-arse! > You need to kill someone first > ... And they must be freshly dead > Press nozzle How do I kill Kronos? > Whole list of tedious clues coming up > You'll need help from another source > You must kill him in his lair > Throw the potion bottle at him > You don't get long to do it > You could try the thermonuclear device Where's the thermonuclear device? > Try a completely different adventure. 'Lord of the Reagans', perhaps.. How do I use the platform? > Pretend you're Kronos > The platform has only one way of telling if you're Kronos > Think of it as a large weighing machine What can I do with the devil? > Try doing what he asks How do I get past the cream doors? > Knock (Are you sure you're into adventures?) > Check you haven't got the wristband How do I work the lift? > Summon it > Wait for it... > It's just like a real lift > And it has sliding doors How do I vote? > You need a ballot paper - Are you an anarchist or something? > Try looking under the rug > The safe is not as empty as it first appears > Being ideologically unsound will cost you points How do I kill the adventurer? > I'm not sure I can condone this kind of thing.. > Well, if you must... Only Kronos can help How do I get past the dragon? > The dragon is very short-sighted > He is also very hungry > Try showing him something else to eat > He needs to have them illuminated as well How do I move the wheelbarrow? > The wheelbarrow is very heavy > The wheelbarrow is not designed to be moved - bet you're sorry you asked now... How do I get through the double doors? > Be polite > Many times > And tip the porter > Otherwise you'll scotch your chances How do I get past the paper wall room? > Paper can be torn > You look in the cupboard > You need a rope I've won but not with a full score. Why? > I'm 25, but I haven't got a proper job, why? I don't know, these things just happen, that's all... > Did you cheat? > You need to buy drinks for 2 people > Whether you enjoyed his music or not - buy him one > Have you found the Pot Plant? > Try potting it properly > Use the right sort of implement > Oh well, who wants perfection... Make do with the score you've got! What about the alchemists? > I don't know, what about them? > Their idea of food isn't quite haute cuisine > The guru had some food, remember...? > You'll never get the gold. Lead into gold can't be done! Where do I find some light? > You need to give the guru what he wants. Then listen to him > Now search the clearing > Elementary Physics - Red+Green+Blue=? > Mix them How do I get into the tree? > Unlock the door - Must I tell you everything? > Try the wooden one > The cat sat on the mat Floorboards - How do I move them? > They move very easily > Were you born in a barn? > Then shut the door, OK? How do I get past the boulders? > Find a lever? > ... Or two > Now fix them together URL ftp://akira.uc3m.es/pub/sinclair/games/p/pawn.zip NOTES Originally released as a text-only game for the Sinclair QL (in 1985). Later versions (Atari ST, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, IBM PC) had excellent bitmap graphics. The Spectrum version, although requiring 128k, doesn't have any graphics due to space limitations.