Loom manual
- Loom
- manual
Loom Manual
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INTRODUCTION - You do not need the audio tape included with the
packaging. It merely tells you the history of your character,
Bobbin Threadbare. Seems that sometime in the future, the world is
divided up into Guilds, i.e. Blacksmiths, crystal makers, etc. The
Weaving Guild lives on an island and keeps very much to themselves.
The patterns they weave out of thread can form spells and these
spells have a musical value.
All children born within the Guild die at birth, but your mother is
smart. She asks the Guild Elders to weave their threads so you can
live when you are born. The Elders are afraid to do this so your
mother weaves a pattern herself that allows you to live. You are
born FROM THE FABRIC THAT YOUR MOTHER WEAVES BUT YOU ARE NOT TOLD
ABOUT IT. The Elders do not like this so your mother is banished to
be a Swan forever.
You are born and are raised by an old lady who teaches you "drafts"
which are groups of 4 notes that will produce a spell. As you grow
up, each year your nanny takes you to the top of a mountain on your
birthday to look down and to see a beautiful Swan fly by once a
year. You are not told who the swan is.
When you are 17 years old and your nanny has trained you to sing
these "drafts" you go to the top of the mountain alone.....and the
story begins.
ABOUT LOOM
You can never be stranded nor will you be in a situation where you
cannot escape. You must find the "distaff" in the beginning of the
story in order to get the note (drafts) to appear at the bottom of
the screen. Of course, at the beginning you only know one draft
and that is E C E D which is the "Open" draft. As you go along you
will learn more notes and be able to cast more spells. IN SOME
CASES YOU MAY HAVE TO PLAY THE NOTES BACKWARDS....NOT TOO OFTEN
THOUGH.
MODES
Standard Mode - a segment of the distaff will glow whenever you
hear or spin a musical thread. Use this if you are already
familiar with Loom or other computer adventure games.
Practice Mode - a small box appears beneath the musical staff
whenever a thread is heard or spun. This box "records" upto four
notes and displays their corresponding letters for your convenience.
Expert Mode - the distaff does not glow in response to musicalÔ
threads except the ones you spin yourself. Also there is no
musical staff to help you identify the threads you hear. You
literally have to play the game by ear! If you use this there is
a reward scene near the end of the story.
SPINNING A DRAFT - Point and click on each note on the distaff in
the proper sequence. As you gain experience, you will gain more
notes and they will light up on the distaff. When something new
appears, you will see new notes appear ....write these down in the
blanks below.
CUT SCENES - you can exit the cutscenes by hitting ESC
SAVE GAME - You can save with F5
OPENING - This fundamental draft is traditionally the first one
taught to novice spellweavers. Once mastered, it may be spun into
tarpaulins, theater curtains or any covering that must be whisked
aside on command.
DYEING - This draft was perfected by the dye chemists of the
Woonsocket Chapter, who slaved for hours over steaming pots to
satisfy the Clerics' appetite for colorful vestures. Orginally
woven into all types of fabric, the applicability of the Dyeing
draft has diminished over the course of centuries. Now it works
only on wool.
SUMMONING - Chiefly spun by the Eleders in those rare instances
when a member's physical presence is required in the Santuary. The
fraft may be perceived by its recipient in many different ways. It
most often takes the form of a small, luminous spheroid, referred
to in children's stories as a "messenger nymph".
TONGUES - The Pattern of Tongues was first spun into the dinner
placemats at the 423rd Conclave of the Guilds, held at Elstree in
7610. For the first time, the Guild delegates could understand
each other's speeches. This innnovation was widely praised util
an Undertaker was overheard insulting a Florist. Both Guilds were
plunged into a bloddy war lasting five hundred years.
STRAW INTO GOLD - When times are lean, the Elders may invoke this
draft to generate extra revenue. Its use is strictly regulated by
the Treasurer of the Guild to prevent inflation. Other Guilds,
ignorant in the ways of spellweaving, have concocted a variety of
outlandish fairy tales involving this rather elementary weav.
TEMBLOR - Temblor was discovered by a reckless ( and now very dead)
spellweaver who directed the threads of Rending upon a thought to
be dormant volcano. Eagerly sought after by the Guild of
Seismologists, this extremely dangerous draft is included here only
for reference; its spinning has been forbidden by the Guild.
RENDING - The inventors of this innocent draft could not have
imagined how badly it would be abused. The Guild of Embalmers
orginally licensed the draft for tearing rags into long strips.
Then the Embalmers were disbanded in 6529 a legal battle awarded
the rights to the Guild of Career Politicians, who employed it to
shred documents. The secret wandered from one unscrupulous Guild
to another until it ended up among the Assassins, whose uses for
Rending are too horrible to decsribe.
HEALING - IN Volume 19 of her Brief History of the Guild of
Weavers, Third Elder Lazykate documents the way bandages were
treated with Healing as early as 1716. The four threads have
evolved far beyond their orginal form. They can now be spun into
virtually anything which needs rejuvenation, with the notable
exception of the spellweaver's own body.
NIGHTVISION - The threads of this distinctive and beautiful draft
are extrapolated from the song of nocturnal birds. At one time,
Night Vision was prized by the Guild of Miners, whose legendary
underground realm was chiefly illuminated by luminous tapestries,
bearing our Seal. Tragically, demand fell off after the Great
Earthquake of 7331.
SHRINKAGE - Many simple fabrics contact when exposed to moisture or
heat. In studying this phenomenon, the ancient Weavers isolated
the threads that cause this natural Shrinkage, and soon developed
a draft to weave the effect into any material object. Be wary in
its use! Once spun, the Shrinkage threads can never be unwoven.
DESIRE - The draft of Desire has its orgins in the primitive days
of our community when it was used to lure unsuspecting passersby
into Guild shops. When spun upon a creature or person, it warps
the threads around the spellweaver so that he or she resembles
whatever thing the victim desires most. The illusion is quite
fragile and impossible to maintain for more than a few moments.
WATERPROOFING - The 5992 expedition of Fifth Elder Spindleshank to
the rain forests of Lesser Uxbridge yealded this very practical
draft, which shields any fabric from the effects of moisture. The
Poison Galoshes Panic of 6003 almost resulted in a permanent ban on
Waterproofing, until it was revealed that magazine test reports had
been rigged by the Guild of Umbrella Openers.
REFLECTION - This draft was commissioned by the GUild of Dancers to
expidite costume changes for their 500th anniversary performance of
the classic ballet Olema. When properly invoked, the spellweaver
immediately assumes the appearance of the being the draft is spun
upon, and vice versa. The four threads are based upon the mating
grunt of the slitİthroated chameleon.
TERROR - This draft reweaves the spellweaver's appearance into a
form from the deepest anxieties of the being the threads are spun
upon. In effect, it turns you into the thing the reciepient fears
most. Terror works only on sentient beings, but its potency more
than makes up for this limitation. It is approved for limited
therapeutic use by the guild of Psychotherapists.
FOLDING - Archaeological evidence suggests that Folding was never
supposed to be spun upon the fabric of space. INstead, its
inventors seem to have been more concerned with the management of
laundry! No faster or more convenient way has been found to move
a spellweaver from one place to another. Caution must be exercised
when Folding a section of space already Folded by another
spellweaver. Careless spinning can create an uninhabitable
"wrinkle" zone, such as the Gainsborough Blind Spot.
INVISIBILITY - When spun upon a person or group, Invisibility
frays the focus of their vision, rendering the spellweaver quite
difficult to see. The provenance of this draft is uncertain. It
seems to have been acquired (under questionable circumstances) from
the Guild of Shepherds, whose genius in the art of stealth is
probably unrivaled.
TWISTING - The orgins of this ancient draft are lost in history.
The earliest references to it are woven into the foremost hem of
the Long Tapestry, beside threads depicting the manipulation of
flax and yarn by hand. Tradition has it that the four notes were
derived from the rhythmic squeak of First Elder Swellflax's own
spindle.
CONFUSION - The reason why this unusual draft was first developed
is lost in time. Revisionists claim that it was spun into the
cheaper fabrics sold at Guild shops in an attempt to undermine the
confidence of bargain hunters. Whatever its orgin, Confusion's
potency has not diminished over time. One spin leaves a victim
helplessly bewildered until the spellweaver is safely out of sight.
SHAPING - Only a handful of Weavers possess the concentration
necessary to Shape a material substance. The threads of the draft
must be spun with unusual singleİmindedness before the Pattern will
yeald. Even then, a successfully Shaped object may revert to its
orginal form if the draft is not rewoven periodically.
WARMTH - What Weaver has never been wrapped in the cozy threads of
a Warmth draft? Second only to Aphrodesia in popularity ( they are
often sold together). Warmth has been a staple of our Guild for
much of our recorded history. Even a thin qauze coverlet feels as
substantial as a Penumbrian quilt after a single application.
APHRODESIA - The Guild's quick rise to prosperity and influence was
due in a very large part to the success of this bestİseller.
Fabrics woven with threads of Aphrodesia are guaranteed to soften
the heart of even the most indifferent love interest. Only the
Elders are privileged to know the true orgin of the draft. Rumors
of a secret affair between Second Elder Twillfast and a member of
the Guild of Organists are malicious and completely unfounded.
SLEEP - It would be difficult to find a pillow, baby bonnet or
sleeping bag that has not been imbued with the soothing properties
of this popular draft. The Guild of Nannies requires its use in
all household fabrics, and the Anesthesiologists have approved an
industrial strength version as an alternative to chloroform.
SILENCE - Silence was hailed as a welcome relief for firstİtime
parents and dwellers in college dormitories. Unfortunately, our
Guildmembers are too often hired to spin these threads in
situations of doubtful appropriateness. The worst offender is the
Guild of Conductors, whose members frequently impose a draft of
Silence over their audience before a concert.
EMPTYING - The contents of almost any filled container may be
instantly unravelled with this handy draft. Before its development
c. 4200, the streams of Woonsocket ran green with the discarded
dyes of the chemists. Avoid the temptation to spin Emptying upon
lakes or clouds; its range is deliberately limited to prevent
catastrophies such as the Double Deluge of 4202 (for which the
Guild admits no responsibility).
UNMAKING - Novices are often impatient to acquire the undeniably
dramatic ability to Unmake physical objects. Luckily, these
volatile threads lie well beyond the grasp of all but the most
mature spellweavers. Entire armies can and have been disembodied
by the transawesome power of Unmaking. Let us hope we are never
again called upon to demonstrate our craft in this manner.
EXTINGUISHING - Open flames are easily smothered with the draft of
Extinguishing. It untangles the threads of oxygen and fuel within
a conflagration almost instantly, with few if any side effects and
very little smoke. The Guild of Firefighters awarded us with their
6222 Plaque of Distinction for the development of this safe,
fastacting treatment.
SHARPENING - Sicissors, pins and knitting needles are the usual
benefactors of this simple draft. IN acient times, however,
warriors often submitted their blades to our Guildmembers for
treatment. A formal protest by the Blacksmiths resulted in the
Whetstone Bridge Treaty of 7550, which specifically prohibits the
use of the Sharpening draft on weapons of war.
BLESSING - also known as "casion's Bane". Blessed items acquire a
charmed state of probability which manifests itself as "good luck"
to laymen. Use of this draft outside the Guild is restricted by
the Emerick Agreement of 5858, which coincidentally supplies our
treasury with an ample endowment from the Order of Statisticians.
TRANSCENDENCE - Few indeed are the Weavers who have successfully
spun this, the most subtle and mysterious expression of our art.
Transcendence dissolves the ties that bind our threads into the
Pattern, elevating mind and body to an undefined state of
existence. Transcended beings are said to assume from the form of
birds, constellations, or even sunspots. Because corporal
punishment is forbidden in our Guild, Transcendence is occasionally
used as a means of humane banishment, but only for the most
unforgivable infractions of the rules.
