Eamon remains a very unique game and a stand out in this early era of home computing. It is a computer role-playing game (CRPG) presented to the user as a text adventure. You saved your character in the Main Hall and you could go on numerous adventures as they were published. Certain items in the form of weapons were able to be retained and used in subsequent adventures. The more that you use an item your ability score with that item increases and thus you become more proficient with it. There were also four different spells that you could learn over time once you had enough gold to pay for them. It was absolutely revolutionary in this period. There was a massive fascination with the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons and it was taking the world by storm.
Many of these early CRPG authors were Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts and we’re doing their best to attempt to recreate that tabletop role-playing experience. The Eamon system and it’s scenarios come very close to recreating the feeling of sitting down across from a Gamemaster. There is a thrill to return to the Main Hall victorious with yet another adventure under your belt. The quest to constantly try and improve your character AND experience new adventures with the same character is both addicting and extremely fun.
I find the games to still be addictive even to this day. Yes the adventures are a bit uneven from one adventure to the next but this is to be expected given the numerous different contributors on this shareware stage. Amazingly there are 279 different adventures that exist and are available to play even today.
Now let’s take a look at the character of Fost Longstrider.
This is what Fost looked like when he was a green-eyed adventurer thirsting for his first adventure.
Fost and I are now veterans of a series of adventures thus far:
My experience with each of the scenarios can be read in the links provided above. Fost can now be considered a campaign veteran and his statistics now look like this:
You can see his proficiency with the sword has increased dramatically and that he now knows all four of the available spells: blast, heal, speed, and power.
The Blast spell sends a magical blast at your opponent. Armor will absorb the damage from it, but if the spell is successfully cast it will always hit its target, regardless of the range. The blast will do 1d6 worth of damage
The Heal spell removes hits from the body of the person casting it. It will cure up to 10 hit points, up to but never beyond perfect health.
Speed will double the character’s agility for a random number of turns. You will know when you have cast the spell successfully, however you will not be told when it wears off. You cannot stack speed bonuses by casting the spell numerous times on yourself. All it does is reset the random time period. When you cast Speed your chance of hitting goes up accordingly.
The Power spell is the most powerful spell available. It is also the most uncertain. It has no set effect but is a call to the Gods saying “Hey, do something!” What they will do certainly differs from adventure to adventure and author to author. It could kill all of your enemies, teleport you randomly somewhere else, cause an earthquake in an area you’re exploring and kill you, or do other unpredictable things. Power is a last resort kind of spell to be used when all else fails.
Eamon #6: The Death Star
This particular scenario was another written by Donald Brown the esteemed creator of Eamon. He wrote the Beginner’s Cave, Lair of the Minotaur, and Castle of Doom which we previously played.
The scenario begins with this description:
As you left the Main Hall, you suddenly felt a queer wrench in your stomach, as if you had been turned inside-out, then right again. When things became clear again, you found yourself at the helm of a spaceship! You realize that you have gone through a reality shift!
This scenario differs from the others in that anything that you find and pick up you cannot take back with you because you HAVE gone through a reality shift. It is unfortunate because I really would have liked to experience other adventures wielding a light-sabre! You don’t get to take the light-sabre with you however you’ll find your sword proficiency does go up a bit for having used it in this alternate reality. One other downside is that none of your spells will function in this scenario. Not having your HEAL spell makes survival in this one a bit difficult.
Nearly every single room in this scenario had from 1 to 10 soldiers who had to be killed. This made the game quite long and it became rather tedious to have to deal with each new group as you moved from room to room.
There were also four different instant death traps that you could wander into.
Some of the members of the cast of Star Wars can be found throughout the scenario. You’ll have the opportunity to rescue Leia, Chewie, C3PO, and R2D2. Unfortunately Leia and both ‘droids were slain and destroyed in my attempt to destroy and escape from the Death Star.
I was able to kill Darth Vader and find and destroy the necessary equipment.
Once I destroyed the equipment producing the tractor beam I was able to escape with Chewie in the Millenium Falcon.
Once I escaped the Death Star I was returned back to my own reality and the Main Hall.
Eamon #7: The Devil’s Tomb
The Devil’s Tomb was written by Jim Jacobson. Jacobson was the author of Cave of the Mind and the Zyphur Riverventure which we previously played.
The scenario begins with:
Sure you’re trying to escape hell but the map is actually small and pretty easy to navigate.
There were a couple of very tough puzzles in this particular scenario. One of the toughest puzzles in an Eamon adventure to date involved the start of this scenario. You begin the scenario locked in a cell with only your sword. No matter what you try you are unable to open the door and there is nothing in the cell to assist you. The only way out of this cell is to cast the Power spell. If it fails the first time you’re going to have to keep casting it until the door vanishes! If your character does not have the Power spell you will not be able to progress any further into this particular adventure.
The second puzzle involved a door as well and you’re going to need a lot of strength to open this door. If you find you cannot open the door try dropping all of your items and this should allow you to open the door. You can then retrieve your items before venturing through.
There were several different instant death traps scattered about the tomb so beware!
One very unique feature was the existence of a casino where you could water a portion of your Hardiness, Agility, and Charisma on the spin of a wheel. If you had the daring you could attempt to build up a super character here however you can easily kill yourself in the attempt. I was able to build up my Hardiness ; almost killed myself losing most of my Agility and then luckily got it back. I decided to then quit while I was still ahead.
There is also a unique spell that you find called TREZORE. I experimented with it twice and it killed me both times so I am not sure if there was any benefit to the spell at all. If you do decide to cast the spell and try it yourself be aware of the high risk.
There were some very interesting opponents that I encountered in this scenario. I encountered a zombie, a blob, a wildman, a torturer, an infant, a tiger, and a witch doctor. In a final knock down drag out confrontation near the exit I had to battle a red gargoyle, a blue gargoyle, a green demon, and an orange demon.
Once you defeat these opponents you can then leave through the exit which gets you back to the Main Hall.
Now let’s take a look at the character of Fost again after having completed both The Death Star & The Devil’s Tomb.
Note the significant increase in Hardiness after having spent some time in the casino within the Devil’s Tomb. I’ve upgraded the four weapons that I’m now carrying. You can only carry four weapons at a time in Eamon. I now have Robin Hood’s Magic Bow and a large Magic Club as well as a new Headsman’s Axe. I am still carrying Trollsfire which I “acquired” from the pirate on the beach of Beginner’s Cave. I am equipped with Plate and Shield and now have over 5,000 in gold on hand which I will deposit in the bank.
I am still greatly enjoy these Eamon adventures to this day. I suspect that many ended their experience with the game after playing Beginner’s Cave and Lair of the Minotaur.
Next up on the docket will be my coverage of Ring of Darkness. I was able to finish the game after 25 hours of play. I admittedly probably spent too much time with the game but I was really enjoying myself. I’ve finished the game but not the write up and I’ll get that out to you this week. I am currently struggling with Dungeons of Daggorath in the background. Until next time…