

                          DOCS FOR LOOM




  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.
