_____________
              NECROMANCER
             _____________
  You play the part of a sorcerer or Druid, and your task is to grow an army
of trees in an enchanted forest, then march with those trees through spider
infested vaults to finally confront the Necromancer in his foul lair. The
game is divided into three distinct parts.

 ACT I
 -----
  An army of trees must be planted, grown, and protected against prowling
ogres. These ogres stomp down young trees while a deadly forest spider
poisons adult trees and drains your Druid's strength if touched. Your Druid
stands in the centre and from him emanates a joystick-controlled Wisp. This
magical Wisp has a store of seeds from which you can plant trees; it also
kills ogres and spiders on contact. Hitting a dancing Eye Pod gives you an
additional one or more seeds. Faces appear on the poisoned trees and they
scream for help as they struggle to survive. The wizard's strength ebbs with
each kill, spider bite, or poisoned tree that has been cured until eventually
Act One ends. The number of trees that survive determines your difficulty
level and strength during the remainder of the game.

ACT TWO
-------
  Strange and original music sets the mood in this act. There are five levels
to the vaults, each containing eight spider larvae.  Each vault is sealed,
but the roots of your enchanted trees break through the concrete and smash
the larvae as they fall into the open pit. Hitting them again at the base
with your Wisp will return them to the tree bin. Meanwhile, your Druid can
either move about by holding down the joystick button, or use his Wisp to
animate the trees. As the Druid or trees move about on the levels, Hands of
Fate rhythmically descend from the ceiling lowering question mark (?) prizes.
If you manage to get one, ladders may descend to the next level. Then again,
the prize might even raise the ladders. If the Hands of Fate grab you, they
will pull you screaming to the ceiling, minus some strength. If this happens
to a tree, it is lost for good. The Hands of Fate move faster and faster in
each of the lower levels. The frenzy of moving hands is so intense on the
lowest level that it is virtually impossible to reach the question mark
prizes needed to lower the ladders. Here, it is best to concentrate on
killing the remaining spider larvae before it's too late.

ACT III
-------
  The Necromancer's Lair in this act is filled with gravestones upon which
the Necromancer himself appears and disappears, leaving a little trail of
flame behind as he goes. Killing the Necromancer with your Wisp gives you
strength, but Evil One soon reincarnates in to another headstone. You can
remove the gravestones by walking over them, but you must be careful not to
touch him. Hopefully, you killed all of those spider larvae on your journey
to the lair. If not, they reappear here as deadly Zombie Spiders. They appear
at the end of the flames and suck your strength away until you either kill
them or escape. If you kill them with your Wisp, the Necromancer can bring
them back to life again and again.  Finally, when you have all thirteen
gravestones, the Evil One has nowhere to go. You then advance a level and
eventually, upon completing level five, win the game.
___________________