The Power Stones of Ard: The Quest for the Spirit Stone

The Power Stones of Ard: The Quest for the Spirit Stone is an RPG for the TRS-80 CoCo.

A long time ago, a group of powerful wizards gathered in a fortress with the intent of combining their powers to rid the world of evil. From the very core of their magic emerged three small stones of incredible power. These stones took the name of the fortress where they were created, the Power Stones of Ard. The wizards, now armed with the stones nearly rid the world of all evil, but in a movement of weakness, the remaining wizards chose to keep the stones for themselves. These wizards eventually fell, and the Power Stones of Ard became the property of the forces of evil. Your goal as an adventurer is to find the first Power Stone, the Spirit Stone.

In character creation, the player chooses a race and sex. They are then given several possible statistics to choose from. The player's statistics are shown on the screen at all times as well as inventory. The player's location is shown as a small picture at the bottom right of the screen. When exploring outside of town, the player can load up a larger map of the nearby area. When exploring town, the player can level up at the guild hall. They can purchase arms, armor, healing, and equipment at stores, as well as enter buildings to talk to the residents. In combat, the player and a single enemy take turns exchanging blows. If the player's hit points or any other statistic goes to 0, they are are killed. The game can be saved by exiting the main gate of town.