Theldrow is a turn-based computer role-playing game, written in 1989 by Glenn Andreas for the Apple Macintosh. The game featured a turn-based first person perspective

First person (video games)

In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...

 interface

User interface

The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...

 similar to early Might and Magic

Might and Magic

Might and Magic is a series of role-playing video games from New World Computing, which in 1996 became a subsidiary of The 3DO Company...

 games, pixel art

Pixel art

Pixel art is a form of digital art, created through the use of raster graphics software, where images are edited on the pixel level. Graphics in most old computer and video games, graphing calculator games, and many mobile phone games are mostly pixel art.- History :The term pixel art was first...

 (originally black-and-white

Black-and-white

Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

), and a very original fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 setting. It is a very difficult game.

The story

The protagonist (the player chooses his name) is a 17-year-old boy, searching for his father who left when the protagonist was a child. His father should have returned ten years ago in the game, but he never did. The protagonist sets off towards the city of Boden with only a dagger and a small sack of gold. From there, he starts exploring the hostile forest, basements, and dungeons of the abandoned castle Cravenshaw, which lies just across the river.

Movement

The player controls the protagonist by clicking different points on a 3D-like first person perspective landscape consisting of several 2D bitmaps. The world is turn based and grid based, and you can see 3 spaces into the horizon.

Combat

Hostile creatures cannot be seen on the landscape, so they are invisible until they attack. The player performs attacks by selecting the creature to attack by clicking on its icon on the combat screen and then choosing a command from the menu bar. This could be attacking the creature by hand, or casting a spell. When all creatures from the encounter are defeated, the player will eventually receive treasures.

Magic

Spells can be cast wherever they are needed. There are two types of spells: Magic and Cleric. Magic spells cost the player spell points, and after casting cleric spells, the player has to spend time in a temple by praying or offering gold. Some spells require material components, which can be obtained by killing certain creatures. For example, spider glands can be found by defeating giant spiders.

Items

There are 12 item slots in the player's inventory, plus 3 slots for wielding items: The left hand, the right hand, and the body. In the hands, swords, shields and magic rings are wielded. Spell scrolls must also be wielded here before they're cast. On the body, suits of armor is placed.

Shops

Items can be sold and bought at shops. The prices go down if the player negotiates successfully or purchases fairly. But they go up if negotiation fails or the player gets caught of theft.

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• Might and Magic
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• Wizardry
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  Wizardry is a series of computer role-playing games, developed by Sir-Tech, which were highly influential in the development of modern console and computer role playing games. The original Wizardry was a significant influence to early console RPGs, such as Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. ...
  
  
• Bard's Tale
  Bard's Tale
  Bard's Tale may refer to:* The Bard's Tale , a video game created by Michael Cranford and Interplay Productions in 1985*more generally, the entire Bard's Tale trilogy started by the aforementioned game and continued with The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight and The Bard's Tale III: Thief of...
  
  

External links

• Home page
• [ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/mac/games/theldrow.sit Theldrow] as a StuffIt
  StuffIt
  StuffIt is a family of computer software utilities for archiving and compressing files on the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows platforms: it was originally produced for the Macintosh. An old version for Linux and Sun Solaris 2.7 or later is also available...
  
   archive in FUNET
  FUNET
  FUNET is the Finnish University and Research Network, a backbone network providing Internet connections for Finnish universities and polytechnics as well as other research facilities. It is governed by the state-owned CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd. The FUNET project started in December 1983 and...
  
  's FTP archive of old Macintosh games