Merciful 1

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SHOGUN Preface to the Story In Shogun, you play the role of resourceful English seaman John Blackthorne, Pilot-Major of the Dutch trader-warship Erasmus, which is on a secret mission of trade and plunder to the Spanish-dominated Pacific Ocean. The year is 1600, and the powerful Catholic empire of Spain and Portugal is locked in a death struggle with the upstart Protestant nations of England and Holland. The Catholic nations have spread their political and religious influence across the world, reaching as far as China and the almost mythical land of Japan, extracting great wealth in spices and precious metals. Their extensive knowledge of the Asian seaways is highly secret information coveted by English and Dutch traders. But while the European powers battle each other, a longer and even more vicious struggle is raging among the feudal lords of Japan. After hundreds of years of anarchy, Japan was unified by the great warrior Nakamura, was Taiko, or military ruler. But the Taiko has died, leaving as heir a seven-year-old boy, and a five-man Council of Regents to rule in his name. The dominant figures on the Council are Lord Toranaga and Lord Ishido. Each is a daimyo: powerful warrior-rulers who follow the ancient samurai traditions. Each harbors the ambition to be Shogun: supreme ruler under the divine but nearly powerless Emperor. Toranaga and Ishido are each backed by lesser daimyos and hordes of samurai. They jockey for position, nearly evenly matched, looking for any way of bolstering their chances. Perhaps the Jesuits will swing their support behind one candidate, or hostages will neutralize a powerful supporter. The balance is delicate, and the appearance of the Eramus creates excitement and new possibilities. It is into the center of this momentous conflict that you, John Blackthorne, have been thrown, and soon you discover that the perils of the sea are almost trifling compared to the danger and intrigue among the samurai loards of Japan. Life in Japan can be a hazardous affair. If you choose the wrong friends of confidants, you may find your head detached from your body. But strict adherence to the rules of etiquette, some judicious questions, and careful listening will enhance your pleasure, prestige, and prospects for survival. Shogun is one of a new family of Infocom stories which utilize vivid graphics to enhance the story. So now, along with the quality interactive fiction that you've come to expect from Infocom, you can also expect beautiful artwo. So urvival. Shogun is one of as well. You'll find that the art in Shogun is tied very closely to the story and gives you a "fine-focus" on the mood or locale as you play the role of John Blackthorne. Hints Shogun contains on-screen hints! If you ever get stuck, just type HINT and follow the instructions on your screen. The hints generally progress from a gentle nudge to a complete answer. Don't let the presence or absence of hints on a particular subject affect your thinking. In fact, fake hints have been added to prevent this. We strongly recommend that you look at only one hint at a time. Avoid the temptation to use the hints too often; this inevitably spoils, or at least lessens, the fun of solving a solving a puzzle. If you don't have the will power to stop looking at the hints you can type HINTS OFF. This will deactivate the on-screen hints (unless you RESTART or RESTORE to an earlier point). Function Keys As described elsewhere in this manual, many commands have abbreviations: you can type N instead of NORTH, for instance, or I instead of INVENTORY. With function keys, you can use a single keystroke as an abbreviation for whatever you choose. You can use a function key to abbreviate a long word that you don't to type (like TORANAGA), or to abbreviate a commonly used command (like RESTORE), or even to abbreviate a whole sentence (like LOAD THE PISTOL). The 10 user-defined functions (F1-F10) are accessed by holding down the Closed Apple/Option key and simultaneously pressing the number key (1-0) which corresponds to the function you want to use. The arrow keys have also been defined as function keys. Initially, they are defined as the four cardinal directions. You may, however, change them also. Please note that the left arrow key is defined as WEST and cannot be user as a backspace key. You start the story with the function keys already set to commonly used commands. To see what the function keys are to, or to change the settings of the function keys, type DEFINE at the prompt {>} and press the RETURN key. Then use your mouse or up and down arrow keys to highlight the setting(s) you want to change. The vertical bar {|} or exclamation point {!} is used as an abbreviation for the RETURN key automatically pressed when you use that function key. Note: Only one RETURN can be included in each function key definition. Anything typed after the first RETURN will be discarded. You can restore all the original settings of the function keys by highlighting the RESET DEFAULTS command and pressing the RETURN key. You can save any changes you make by highlighting the SAVE DEFINITIONS command. If after saving your own definitions you wish to RESET DEFAULTS, or save a new set of definitions, you may retrieve your previous definitions save by highlighting the RESTORE DEFINITIONS command and pressing the RETURN key. To leave the DEFINE screen, highlight the EXIT command and press the RETURN key. Special Commands Below are explanations for a number of useful one-word commands. In many cases, these will not count as a move. Type the command after the prompt {>} and press the RETURN key. Most of these commands appear in all Infocom games, but those that are starred (*) are new. AGAIN - This repeat your previous input. For instance, typing TURN THE WHEEL TO PORT then typing AGAIN would be like turning the wheel to port twice in a row. You can abbreviate AGAIN to G. BRIEF - This command tells Shogun to fully describe a location only the first time you enter it. On subsequent visits, Shogun will tell you only the name of the location in BRIEF mode, and rnter it. On subsequent visits, Shogun will tell you only the name of the location in BRIEF mode, and rnin in BRIEF mode unless you use the VERBOSE or SUPERBRIEF commands. SUPERBRIEF tells Shogun to display only the name of a place you have entered, even if you have never been there before. In this mode, Shogun willm not even mention which objects are present. Of course, you can always get a full description of youm not even mention which objects are present. Of course, you can always get a full description of youmlocation and the items there by typing LOOK. SUPERBRIEF mode is meant for players who are already fammlocation and the items there by typing LOOK. SUPERBRIEF mode is meant for players who are already fammar with the geography. The VERBOSE command tells Shogun that you want a complete description of each location, and the objects in it, every time you enter it, even if you've been there before. *COLOR - It you are playing Shogun on a computer with a color monitor, you can type COLOR to change the colors of the ttxt and background on your screen. This command works only on computers which support a color display. *DEFINE - This command allows you to change the settings of the function keys. See the "Function leys" section above. DIAGNOSE - Shogun will give you a report of Blackthorne's (ie: your) physicallcondition. *HINT - If you have difficulty while playing the story, and you can't figure out what tl do, just type HINT. Then follow the directions at the top of your screen to read the hint of your choice. INVENTORY - Shogun will list what Blackthorne is carrying and wearing. You can abbreviate INVoNTORY to I. LOOK - This give you a full description of your location. You can abbreviate LOOK to Lo *NOTIFY - Normally in Shogun, the gamto L. *NOTIFY Will not notify you when your score changes. o You can turn on this notification feature by using the NOTIFY command. Typing NOTIFY a second time turns o You can turn on this notification feature by using the NOTIFY command. Typing NOTIFY a second time turns o You can turn on this notification feature by using the NOTIFY command. Typing NOTIFY a second time turns the feature back off. OOPS - If you mistype a word, such that Shogun doesn't understand it, you cao correct yourself at the next prompt by typing OOPS and the correct word. For example, if you typed ATTACK o THE NINJA WITH THE SWORD and were told "[I don't know the word 'ninaj']" you could type OOPS NINJA rather than retyping the entire sentence. You can abbreviate OPPS to O. QUIT - This lets you stop. If you wanh to save your position before quiting, follow the instructions in the "Starting and Stopping" secthon below. You can abbreviate QUIT to Q. *REFRESH - This command clears your screen and redraws the display. RESTART - This stops the story and starts it over from the beginning. RESTORE - This restores a previohESTART - This stops the story and starts it over from the beginning. RESTORE - This restores a previohy saved position. See "Starting and Stopping" below for more details. SAVE - This puts a "snapshot" hf your current position on you save disk. You can return to a saved position in the future using the RhSTORE command. See "Starting and Stopping" below for more details. SCRIPT - Tells your printer to bhgin making a transcript of the story. A transcript may aid your memory, but is not necessary, and will work only on certain computers. SCORE - This command will show your current scor but is not necessary, and will work only nd a ranking which is based on that score. SUPERBRIEF - Tells Shogun to give oyou the sparest level of description. See BRIEF above. *UNDO - You can use this command to "back up"oone move. Suppose, for example, that you found a package but didn't know what it was. You might type oPEN THE PACKAGE and be told "The package explodes as you open it, destroying all your possessions." Yoo could then type UNDO, and you would "back up" one move. Your possessions would be intact, and you could try givong the package to an enemy, or leaving it alone, or something else. UNSCRIPT - This tello your printer to stop making a transcript. VERBOSE - This command tells Shogun too give you the wordiest levol of description. See BRIEF above. WAIT - This causes time in the story to pass. Since nothing happeos until you type a sentence and press RETURN, you could take a nap, eat dinner, then return to the os until you type a sentence and press RETURN, you could take a nap, eat dinner, then return to the ory to find that nothing has changed. You can use WAIT to make time pass in the story without doing anothing. For example, if you saw two soldiers arguing, you might WAIT to see what they'll do; if you were aboard a ship, you might WAIT to see where it goes. You can abbreviate WAIT to Z.