' . STRATEGIC SIMULATIO- . .,,. INC ~ : !fil!ll'"' + __...... ·. ~+ ·. • •• . + .+· : : :,__......+ • + . ·+· .. • . .·~ •••• .. :+ ii~iil-=·+~..~-~· ~·~- 2 ~ . CREDITS n TABLE Of CONTENTS Written by Introduction ... ............... .... ... ... ..... ........... ... .. .. ..... ...... .. .... ... .. ... ......... ... 1 Dave Shelley, Rhonda Gilbert. Gettinq Help ... ............ .......... .... ... .. ............ ... .... .. .. ....... .... ..... ... ....... ..... 1 Ken Humphries & Ken Eklund Cast of Characters ... .... ........... .... ........ ........ ............. ... .... ................... 2 Space ... .. ........ ..... ... .. ....... ..... ....... ... .. ....... ... ... .......................... .. ... ....... ...4 Art. Graphic Design and Deslltop Publishing The Story .... .......... .. ............. .. ................................ ...... .... .. ..... ...... ... ..... 5 S~lls ... ............................ ..... .... ................... ...... ............ .. .... ... .... .. .. .. .. .... 7 Loms SAEKOW DESIGN: Peter Gascoyne Maps ....... .. ....... .... ........ ....... .. ........ ....... .. ... ................... ..... .. ..... .. ... ....... .. .8 A. Chicaqorq ... ....... .. ............... .. ........... ..... ..... ........ .... ... ........ .... .... ...9 Printing Salvation .................. ... .. ......... ..... ... .... ........... .. .. .... ..... ........... .... .. .... 10 B. Spyship ... ... ..................................... ............ .. ..... .... ..................... 11 A&a Printers and Lithographers C. Asteroid Base Level One ........... ............ ... ......... .. .. .... ......... .. 15 D. Asteroid Base Level Two ... ................. ....... ....... ... .. .... ...... ..... 17 E. Pirate Ship ............ ........... .. ....... .. .......... ...... .. .... ....... ... ....... .. ...... 19 F. Mars Wilderness ..... .... ... ............................... ....... .............. ... ... 23 G. Desert Runner Villaqe ........ ............................. ..... ....... .. ........ 24 H. Mars Base Gradivus Mons .......... ..... .... ........................ ...... .. 25 I. Venus Wilderness ......... ...... ....... ........ ..................... ............ .. ... 27 J. Lowlander Villaqe ... ..... ....................... ..... ... .. .. ........ .. ..... .. ..... ... 28 K. Venusian Space Elevator Ruins .......... ............ .. ..... ....... ... ..30 L. Venus RAMBase ......... .. .. ... ... ............... .. ........... ...... .... ....... ......31 M. Mercury Merchant's Area .......... ......................... ..... .......... .. 34 N. Mariposa Core ..... .......................... .. .......... ..... ... ............. ... ... .. .35 Strategic Simulations, Inc. reserves the right to make improvements in the product described in this cl ue book at any­ 0. Mercurian Finale ... .............. ............... .. ..... ..................... .. ......38 time and without notice. Monsters: How to Deal with Them .. .............. ..... ..... .. ........ .........41 Strategic Simulations, Inc. makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to this clue book, its quality, mer­ Ship Combat Tactics .. ... ...... ...... .. ............................... .. ....... ..... ..... .43 chantability or fitness for any particular purpo se. This clue book is provided "as is." Tactical Combat Tactics .... ........... .... .. .... ... .. ...... .................. .. ..... ...43 BUCK ROGERS and XXVc are trademarks used under license from The Dille Family Trust. Loq Entries: True or False? .......... ............ .............................. .. ..... 43 The TSR logo is a trademark owned by and used under license from TSR, Inc., Lake Geneva, WI, USA. Copyright 1990 The Dille Family Trust. Copyright 1990 TSR, Inc. Copyright 1990 Strategic Simulations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This clue book is copyrighted and includes proprietary information belonging to TSR, Inc. and Strategic Simulations, Inc. No one is permitted to sell copies of this clue book to any person or institution except as provided for by written agreement with Strategic Simulations, Inc. and TSR, Inc. No one may copy, photocopy, reproduce, translate, or reduce to machine readable form th is clue book without the prior written consent of TSR, Inc. Arrt persons reproducing any portion of this clue book for any reason, in arrt media, shall be guilty of copyright viola­ tion and subject to the appropriate civil or criminal action at the discretion of the copyright holder(s). CAST OF CHARACTERS BucKROGERS WILMA DEERING CARLTON TURABIAN Hero of the 20th and Another of NEO's top The team's command­ 25th century, and top aqents. and a close ing officer in NEO. aqent of the New Earth friend of BucR Roqers. Organization (NEO). INTRODUCTION GETTING HELP Scor. Dos TUSKON ATHA COUNTDOWN TO DOOMSDAY is Strat~ic The section Enemies: How to Deal with A digital personality A desert runner tribal TusRon's wife. Simulations, lnc.'s first BUCK ROGERS~ Them contains techniques for defeating all who defected from leader; Tusron shares XXVc~ computer role-playing game. RAM of your opponents in the game. The Story RAM. and provides the team's desire to (Russo-American Mercantile) is building a gives a brief overview of the game and how device that will sterilize the Earth. Your immeasurable aid to fight RAM. to proceed. Following the story are maps the team. characters must locate and destroy the and detailed descriptions of the encoun­ device before it can be unleashed against ters. These include specific suggestions on Earth. the best way to get throuqh difficult por­ tions of the game. NOTE: If you find corn bat encounters too difficult or too easy, you can adjust them by using the LEVEL command (play level) found under the CHANGE menu. DR. WILLIAMS A RAM scientist destroyed by his own creations. ~r ,~ ~ . + + • • • + ••• _.... .+ . •. + + • • • + •• '// . .., +. • +· . + •• + • • ••• + + . +· . ~LII . _)~ ACID FROG LEANDER ZANE Semi-intelliqent crea­ A Lowlander warrior A Lowlander child tures who will protect whose people have looRinQ for his father. the team if befriended. been murdered by RAM . Mars: The harsh desert worfd is home to TALON TERRINE WARRIOR SUN KING SPACE NEO"s enemy, RAM . A r~ue pirate some­ DanQerous RAM The demented ruler of When travellinQ throuQh space. be sure to times employed by aQents dedicated to the Mercurian have a Rocl~et JocR with Qood Pilot RocRet Ceres: LarQest of the asteroids. RAM's aster­ RAM. the destruction of Mariposa III. SRill and an EnQineer with all the Repair oid base is focated nearby. NEO. SRills. If the team's ship has been damaQed. try to flee any new space combats. See the Thule: The asteroids' prison. NEO sympa­ section Ship Combat Tactics for hints on thizers are occasionalfy condemned to how to defeat enemy ships. imprisonment here. MaRe a point of travellinQ to, and explorinQ, Aurora: The QamblinQ planetoid. Talon is each of the outposts, located on every rumored to have a secret base nearby. planet and asteroid. A number of small Hygeia: A minor asteroid. RAM may have a adventures can be found by visitinQ all the surveilfance base nearby. areas in each outpost. Some of these events will lead to valuable items. Juno: UnremarRabfe. except for the exis­ tence of a traininQ center. Mercury: The Mercurians derive their wealth from these solar collectinQ satellites Psyche: A major shipyard. Rnown as Mariposas. STAGE II llRSADDER DOOMSDAY WER Pallas: An isolationist planetoid. Many smalf EXPERIMENTAL The swamps of Venus \fenus: The thicR acid junQles of Venus mininq concerns dot the nearby asteroids. COMBAT GENNIE The team's deadliest house many mysteri­ enemy is not a livinQ maRe survival an open question. Fortuna: A planetoid rumored to sell valu­ One of Dr. Williams' ous creatures. creature. deadly experiments. Earth: The birthplace of heroes and the abfe weaponry. sofar system's shining jewel. 1 ~r • • 1 .: · . + • • . • • · _...... • + • + • . • · • . · • • II . +. • +· .. ·. .. ·. + . .+ . IIL S . • . • • .J.: On board is evidence of a terrible battle. Laser. The team finds out that a nearby While the characters are explorinQ the Desert Runner villaqe is about to be derelict. their ship is destroyed by an auto­ attacRed by RAM . The laser has already matic weapon system. trappinQ them. The annihilated several villaqes, and RAM team meets Scot.dos. a RAM scientific pro­ intends to leave no witnesses. qram. Scot.dos developed ethical problems with RAM's policies and wants to defect to The Desert Runner leader, TusRon. joins the NEO. Scot.dos 'joins' the team as an advisor. team and the characters help the Desert Runners evacuate the villaqe before RAM The crew of the ship was Rilled by ECGs arrives. Tusron then leads them to the RAM (Experimental Combat Gennies). which base where the test laser is housed. They mature into steadily more danqerous fiqht their way to the top of the base. and staqes. The ECGs are quicR!y developinq destroy the test laser. In the base the char­ into their third staqe, when they will be acters find out that RAM is worRinQ on capable of terrorizinq the Earth. The team Venus to create a lens for the full - sized discovers that the qennies were qenetically Doomsday Laser. They also find a set of enqineered to be susceptible to arQOn . blue RAM TechniRi passes. The team locates some arqon canisters and hooRs them into the ventilation system In the Venusian acid swamp the team to poison the ECGs. Scot.dos tells the meets a qroup of Lowlanders who say that The events in COUNTDOWN