Author: professor6153

Rich visuals and audio really made The Bard’s Tale stand out in 1985. The game’s colorful, detailed graphics were a leap forward for the era, especially on the Apple II and the Commodore 64. Animated enemy sprites and varied environments like the city, sewers, catacombs, and castles created more of an immersive world. The bard’s songs, while not fully voiced, were accompanied by text descriptions and sound effects that enhanced the atmosphere of the game and added a new mechanic, a rarity for the time.

The Bard’s Tale comes off as more approachable than Wizardry and even Ultima IV which were released that same year. Ultima IV emphasized open-world exploration and moral choices, The Bard’s Tale focused on linear dungeon crawling and tactical combat, appealing to players who preferred structured adventures. It’s balance of accessibility and depth made it a commercial hit, selling over 400,000 copies by 1990.

The Bard’s Tale spawned two sequels (The Destiny Knight in 1986 and Thief of Fate in 1988), each refining the formula with larger worlds and new mechanics. The series would inspire later RPGs, including Interplay’s own Dragon Wars in 1989 and BioWare’s Baldur’s Gate in 1998. In 2018 a fourth installment, Bard’s Tale IV: Barrow’s Deep, was released. The original game was released during a golden age of computer role-playing games and remains a touchstone for CRPG fans who are now enjoying remastered versions on modern platforms.

We had created and equipped our party in our last post and we are finally ready to set out and explore our environs. One of the things that really made The Bard’s Tale stand out was its focus on exploration of the city, Skara Brae. Skara Brae felt vibrant and alive and very much like an important personality in the game. There is a lot to explore and a lot of mysteries to uncover within the city itself. There are statues that come to life to protect key areas, a casino, a bank, The Adventurer’s Guild (where we created our party), The Review Board (where you go to advance in levels and acquire new spells), Garth’s Shoppe, Roscoe’s Energy Emporium (where the mana points of your spell casters can be regenerated for a fee), Harkyn’s Castle, Kylearan’s Tower, Mangar’s Tower, Inns, Taverns, and Temples.

Each and every building in the city can be entered and explored. Some are empty while others may spawn an encounter. Early on in the game, this is a great way to build experience. In many of the buildings you find scraps of parchment which act as tutorials and provide excellent tips to help you succeed.

The Bard’s Tale is an extremely difficult game. It is especially brutal in the very beginning and extremely tough to survive. The difficulty curve in even finding the first dungeon is a steep one. It will require you to do a thorough search of the city. I remember the first time that I played Bard’s Tale being stuck for an extremely long period of time until I finally happened upon it.

The first dungeon level is a Wine Cellar which eventually leads down into the sewers.

There isn’t anything relevant in this first dungeon level but the creatures that you encounter in the wine cellar help with your level advancement.

I spent a large portion of my time in the sewers. There are three levels to the sewers and all of them are difficult to map. You are introduced to teleports, dark areas, smoke, and spinners. Some of the combat encounters are extremely difficult at lower levels so you’ll want to take your time in the sewers and return to the city to rest, sell equipment, and level up often. Many spots in the dungeon held special descriptions or inscriptions.

There are two large, dark areas in the second level of the sewers. When you hit these areas, it douses all torches and lamps and also causes your spells to fizzle out. When you try to cast a light spell in these areas it will not work.

There is a crucial piece of information that you find on the second sewer level.

The third level of the sewers was a brutal grind and merely serves to strengthen your characters. There are a lot of Black Widows and Spinners encountered on this level and your party is frequently dealing with poison.

Having completely mapped out the Wine Cellar and all three of the Sewer Levels I made my way to the Temple District of Skara Brae and the Mad God’s Temple. I am currently exploring the catacombs found underneath the temple.

I had been exploring the first level of the catacombs when I made my first Bard’s Tale post, and my characters were all 11th level.

The graphics on the remastered trilogy are extremely impressive as are the music and sound effects. It is quite a treat for those who remember the game with fondness.

Since my last post I am now exploring the second level of the catacombs underneath the Mad God’s Temple. I took my own advice, and I removed my thief, Markus, from the party and created a Monk named Nomad to take his place. Things are progressing smoothly but slowly. I have about 12.2 hours invested in the game to this point.

My next post will cover my adventures inside the catacombs underneath the Mad God’s Temple. Until next time……

The Bard’s Tale was originally released 40 years ago in 1985 by Interplay Productions and published by Electronic Arts. The game was developed by Michael Cranford, and it stood out because it leveraged the graphical and processing capabilities of 8-bit and early 16-bit systems. The game showcased detailed visuals and complex mechanics that pushed hardware systems.

The Bard’s Tale features a party-based system where players can create a group of up to six characters. The versatility of party creation is a big part of the game and it’s where we’re going to spend most of our focus in this first post. The first thing I wanted to do was create my party.

There are five stats in the game, each with their own uses.

Strength: A high strength score will increase the damage that you do per hit which does not include ranged or magical attacks.

Dexterity: A high dexterity reduces your AC, the lower the AC (Armor Class) the better. In addition, dexterity figures into your turn order, the higher your dexterity the better odds that you’ll go first.

Constitution: Higher constitution scores give better hit points on average when you level up. As you progress in the game, you’ll encounter enemies that cause ranged attacks, so you’ll even want your casters in the back to have higher constitution scores.

Intelligence: A higher intelligence score factors into your magic points per level gained calculations. Any spell caster wants to make this stat a priority.

Luck: This stat is allegedly tied into saving throws against magic and traps.

Now that we have the stats out of the way let’s take a look at the race options. Each race has their own minimum and maximum potential for each stat. You have seven different racial options to choose from: human, elf, dwarf, hobbit, half-elf, half-orc, and gnome.

Fighter: Can wear heavy armor and equip powerful weapons. They get a bonus attack every four levels. Suggested races: Half-Orc with Human and Dwarf as runners-up.

Paladin: Has an increased chance to resist magic but doesn’t have the attack progression that the fighter does. Useful in the later part of the game where spellcasters become more frequent and your casters are doing the lion’s share of the damage output. Suggested races: Humans and Dwarves. The Half-Orc and Half-Elf cannot be Paladins.

Hunter: This class has the advantage of possibly landing a critical blow, melee or with the bow, instantly slaying the foe. However, he can’t wear the same gear that Fighter’s and Paladins can, so his defenses are thus lacking. Suggested races: Half-Orcs or Humans. A Half-Elf cannot be a hunter, and because of their equipment hindrance, you don’t want a Dwarf’s low dexterity weighing you down even further.

Rogue: This class was useful early in the game to save my Conjurer’s magic points, but at higher levels now I am finding this class almost useless. Suggested races: Human, Half-Elf, or Half-Orc.

Monk: A powerhouse in melee. They can wear armor, and their AC is reduced as their level goes up so they can very quickly hit low armor class scores. Their unarmed damage scales very rapidly. By level 3 or 4 they should be unarmed and then remain that way. I will likely soon be dropping my Rogue and adding a Monk to the party. Suggested Races: Human, Half-Elf, or Dwarf.

Bard: You’re going to want one in your party. Their songs are extremely useful when used correctly and this is their tale after all. The bard class, central to the game’s identity, can cast spells through songs, which added a novel gameplay element. Suggested races: Human, Half-Elf, or Dwarf.

Conjurer: The first of the two entry-level magic users. Conjurers focus on utility magic. There is the very important Trap Zap spell, Lesser and Greater Revelation for lighting dark dungeons and discovering secret doors, and so much more. They are also your main healer. A must have in your party. Suggested races: Elf or Hal-Elf.

Magician: This magic user focuses more on combat magic. They have some of the better early access damage spells. In the new version of this game available on Steam, there is a spell entitled Quick Fix which was not available in the original game. It allows you to heal exactly 8 points of damage to a character for only three mana points which is invaluable during the early part of the game. Suggested races: Elf or Half-Ef.

This was one of the very few games that I actually beat and played all the way to the end when it first came out. I had been a huge Wizardry fan and was captivated with The Bard’s Tale which seemed to improve upon the Wizardry dynamic in every way. I can’t remember what my party composition was when I beat the game the first time, and I can’t yet attest that my current party composition is a great winning combination but here is my current party composition:

Paladin: Fost Longstrider

Warrior: Conan

Bard: Markus

Rogue: Shadowspawn

Conjurer: Kellory

Magician: Raistlin

The Rogue seems to me to be a weak point in my party composition, and I may drop Markus and add a Monk to the party. Each of my party members are already 11th level however so I need to think on this further. I am finding the Rogue to be almost useless here.

Once your party is finally completed you have to equip them. When you exit the Adventurer’s Guild you will find yourself on Main Street. If you turn left, you will find Garth’s Shoppe up ahead on your right and this is where you can buy and sell equipment. The town that you are exploring is Skara Brae and the new version of the classic game comes with an automapper of both town and dungeon. You can open your Journal by clicking the J key and this gives you the layout of where you have been and what you have seen.

In my next post I’ll detail my adventures in the sewers underneath Skara Brae and update you on my progress.

Until next time…..

My last post on this blog was over a year ago. I had taken on the monumental task of attempting to complete Tyrann, the first role-playing game that had been produced in France. The game itself is entirely in French. I was not about to let a little thing like a language barrier get in the way of my success and so I set out to complete the game. I was actually doing very well and close to completing the game…when life got in the way. I’m not going to inundate you with details but suffice to say that I had to put my gaming hobby on hold. Weeks and months went by, and then to compound the issue, I woke up one morning to find that my computer had passed away. I had lost all of my progress and saved material on Tyrann. I did not have the heart to start over, and being the completionist that I am (no accusations of OCD please), I found myself paralyzed and unable to continue.

More time passed. Some of the issues that were preventing me from continuing my hobby then resolved themselves, and I made an executive decision. Tyrann had required a large amount of time, and I just couldn’t bring myself to jump back into the hobby by starting the game all over again. So, while I may come back to Tyrann one day, I am putting it on the back burner for now and moving on. We can mark ir as not completed or as a failure for the time being. I’ve also decided to move ahead now from 1984 to the year 1985 where a virtual treasure trove of games await me. In between playing various 1985 games, I will of course continue to go back through the timeline and pick up the games that I’ve not yet played.

The complete list of 1985 role-playing games can be seen above, and I’ve decided to start with The Bard’s Tale.

My next post will detail my start of the game and as of this writing I am about 10 hours into the game and making good progress. I mainly wanted to dispel rumors of my demise and let you know that I am back and eager to continue. Until next time…

Tyrann is the first French RPG and it’s not just the language barrier that makes it a time-consuming experience. Each of the dungeon levels are comprised of a 24 x 24 grid and populated with fixed encounters which are both deadly and difficult.

Tyrann provides a rather unique take on the dungeon crawling experience. In my experience with dungeon crawlers thus far, you map and explore each dungeon level, gaining experience as you do so, and you descend deeper into the dungeon, or ascend a tower as in the case of Shadowkeep, by finding a stairway or entrance. Each level then usually unveils secrets and presents a fresh set of challenges. In Tyrann, there are thus far no secrets to uncover. The challenge of each level exists in the combat experience. The monsters are difficult, and they can paralyze and poison your characters. The difficulty quotient in staying alive here is about on par with the Wizardry I experience. There are, like previous dungeon crawlers, stairways to find which will lead you deeper into the labyrinth. Where this game becomes unique is in its save feature. When you save your party and then load for another foray into the dungeon the game scans your party’s average experience points total and then determines which dungeon level you’re going to begin the game on. For example, once you have been grinding for a while and gaining levels, the next time you load the game, it will inform you that when you descend the stairs from the village you will begin on level 3.

There is nothing in the manual or in the game itself that explains your reason for venturing into the dungeon other than that there is a mystery to be solved there. I can’t help but feel that each dungeon level thus far is merely a “training mission” setting you up for something much larger. The third dungeon level introduced traps. They can cause a lot of damage and even death. Once you dispose of a trap you don’t have to worry about it again unless you save your party and then load again. When you load a saved party, it resets all of the fixed encounters on each level. This is somewhat necessary in order to help you gain the experience needed for the next level.

The magic system is quite different from anything that I’ve experience from these early games as well. In Wizardry and other similar dungeon crawlers, as your spell casters gain in levels, they acquire spell slots which are specific in number. When spell casters gain a new level in Tyrann, they acquire new spells as well which is nothing unique. What IS unique is that the number of spells your able to cast randomly changes from day to day. Once a spell caster’s spells are depleted, he or she must rest and then after waking up they have to read their spell book. Once you read your spell book the game then tells you how many spells you are allotted. This number is different each time. For example, currently I find myself mapping out the fifth dungeon level. My magic user currently has a sleep spell, a location spell, a fireball spell, and lastly a fear spell. Each time my spell caster sleeps and then reads his spell book my allocation for each respective spell might be: 6, 2, 2, 2. Or it could be: 1, 5, 3, 2, 3. The randomness is all over the place.

The fourth dungeon level was a bit of a conundrum. I never did find the stairway going down to the fifth level nor did I find any secret doors. Each of the levels thus far have fit to a 24 x 24 grid whereas the fourth level is much smaller. I feel like I’ve missed something, but I was able to finally gain enough experience where the game merely started me on the fifth level, but for a time I was trapped on the fourth dungeon level.

I am currently mapping out the fifth dungeon level. Each level has taken me roughly 2 to 3 hours to completely map out. There are many more traps on the fifth dungeon level which has made exploration extremely difficult and tedious. I’ll hopefully have more to report to you in my next update. Wish me luck.

Until next time…

Tryann has the distinction of being the first role-playing game produced in France. The game is entirely in French, and not letting a little old thing like language barriers stand in the way of progress, I resolutely pulled up a language translator and went to work.

Tyrann was developed by Norsoft and published by No Man’s Land in 1984 for the Tangerine Oric, the Thomson MO5, and Amstrad CPC. The game was written by R. Gosselin and M. Wystrach. An interesting sidenote, while both were in their 60’s, they decided in 2015 to completely update the game for Android smartphones and tablet computers.

I am playing the Amstrad CPC version on an emulator but I’m running into tape problems and thus worried about my ability to be able to finish this game. I’ve reached out for some help on this issue, but I have a nagging suspicion I’m going to run into a brick wall soon.

Tyrann is a first-person dungeon crawler, which happens to be my favorite type of game. I had been complaining how there was a lack of them produced in 1984 and now I’ve been able to play both Shadowkeep and now Tyrann back-to-back.

There is an English version of the game manual available, but it is of little value.

It does not provide any information on what your objective or quest might be but constantly alludes to the “mystery” of your mission.

Tyrann does it’s best to be a Wizardry clone. Your party can consist of six members and classes available to choose from are warrior, magician, and thief. Your attributes are strength, intelligence, vitality and agility. These are rolled randomly between the values of 7 and 12. Once you accept the character you can then add 5 bonus points to any one attribute.

Once you create your party you begin play in the village where you can buy and sell gear, inspect characters, and see an alchemist where you can be healed and/or resurrected. It is from here that you also enter the dungeon, so it is very similar to Wizardry in this regard.

I chose to play the game using two warriors, a thief, a magic user, and two druids.

The combat system is turn based and much like Wizardry except that there are no graphics depicting the monsters. The spell system is a bit different as well. Spellcasters must purchase a spell book and read it before they can cast spells. My magic user began the game with a YPAFET spell which is a SLEEP spell. He has recently advanced to 2nd level and acquired a KADEO spell or a Know Location spell as well. My druids were each bestowed a ASEKO spell or HEAL spell at first level and have recently gained an OKOY spell at 2nd level which is a PETRIFICATION spell.

I still haven’t quite ascertained how the leveling system works. The amount needed for each level might be randomized. When you acquire a new level, you start over with 0 experience points and then work to make another level. You gain experience points and gold by defeating enemies.

I have completed the first dungeon level which seems to be on a 24 x 24 grid. The encounters, represented by the letter E on the map, appear to be set encounters. I encountered 14 different types of creatures on the first dungeon level, and they are listed up above to the left of the map. Shadows, Spectres, Giant Spiders, and Zombies are the toughest opponents because they can poison and paralyze. The witch is dangerous too because she can cast spells.

There are no special encounters, nor are there any special traps or special locations as of yet. I have not encountered any pits, spinners, or teleports so mapping thus far is a simple affair. Much like Wizardry, the combat in this game is extremely hard. Be prepared to die often. You can be resurrected in the village for the right price, and thus far I do not see any sort of negative repercussions from being resurrected. I do not notice a dip in attributes or any other negative signs. So you’ll find yourself making many returns back to the village.

When you advance a level, you are given 2 to 3 attribute points to apply to one of your attributes.

I have no idea how many levels comprise this dungeon nor do I have any idea what my goal for entering the dungeon is. I am hoping that I will discover clues as to the “mystery” of the dungeon.

Wish me luck as I begin to explore and map out the 2nd dungeon level.

It was growing late the other evening, the clock had just struck midnight, when I pumped a fist into the air like my team had just scored a touchdown. I finally found myself victorious over the dread demon Dal’ Brad. Shadowkeep, the ambitious dungeon crawler released in 1984, took me over 22 hours to beat. I played Shadowkeep on an Apple emulator.

The secret to beating Shadowkeep’s big bad is hinted at in the Book of Shadows. It’s also in the game’s manual in the Clues section. How did I arrive at this final confrontation?

I first had to complete my exploration of the 7th tower level. There are two very important items that you’ll need to find on this level. The most important is the Staff of Rogarth because you need this item in order to reach the end of the game. The staff is guarded by a giant slug-like creature which is one of the only fixed combats in the entire game.

Once you defeat the guardian then the staff is yours to take.

The other area of interest on the 7th level was yet another vault. This vault door was hot to the touch and when you try to open the vault you get badly burned. This is where the Gloves of Cold come in to play that you found on the 4th dungeon level. Once you don the Gloves of Cold you can then open the vault door. Inside the vault you will find 32,000 goldens and the Book of Darkness. I already owned every magic item that money could buy and thus I ignored the giant pile of gold.

Reaching the 8th tower level proved to be difficult. The 9th tower level, which proved to be the very top of the tower, was easily accessible via the proper password and the entire level contained a whole lot of nothing other than difficult combat encounters. Remember that most of the levels contain a podium with a shallow depression. These are teleport devices. Early on we discovered that if you place the funny rock on the podium’s depression you will be teleported to the 4th dungeon level. These teleport devices can transport you to different dungeon levels based on the type of gem that you place in the depression. On two different dungeon levels you were given the hint: “Gems of distant lands can often bridge far distances.” When you place the Gem of Change, that you discovered on the 6th tower level, on the depression you are transported to the 8th tower level. To my knowledge, this is the only way to access the 8th level.

The combat encounters on the 8th tower level are very difficult. I had several random encounters on this level and then encountered a crystal pillar. One of your characters has to put on the Silver Helm found on the 5th level and equip the Staff of Rogarth that was uncovered from the 7th level. Once this has been accomplished the character has to touch the staff to the crystal pillar which will release the wizard that was imprisoned inside by the demon. The wizard, as a token of gratitude, gives you the Devil’s Gem and beseeches you to continue your quest and slay the demon.

The encounter with the demon was not too far away from the room with the crystal pillar. This is how I arrived at the final confrontation with Dal’Brad. Once you encounter Dal’Brad nothing that you do seems to affect him. No weapon or spell can touch him. The only way to defeat the demon is to smash the Devil’s Gem that the wizard gave to you. Once you smash the gem then Dal’Brad shatters as well.

Shadowkeep was certainly an ambitious dungeon crawler. It had graphics, sound, recognized an incredible vocabulary, a lot of equipment and magic items to manage, and a pretty decent story. I enjoyed the game and I certainly recognize the attempts that the programmers made towards greatness. The speed of play and the mechanics however were so slow and cumbersome that it makes the game a pale comparison to say a Wizardry I: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. If the speed of play had been much faster, and if the designers had instead went the way of experience point progression, then I would have rated the game even higher.

Next up on the docket is another dungeon crawler entitled Tyrann. The wrinkle with Tyrann is that it was produced in France and entirely in French! Wish me luck!

Until next time…

A few blog posts ago I was lamenting about the fact that there were not many grid-based dungeon crawlers that were released in 1984. Then Shadowkeep came along and basically said; “Hold my beer.”

I still can’t get over how ambitious this game is. The going is slow, but I am appreciating the experience so far. Now that I have dungeon levels 4, 5, and 6 mapped out the plot and quest are starting to present themselves better.

When you leave the inn and enter the keep, each of the dungeon levels can be accessed from the stairway. Levels 1 – 4 can be easily accessed but each successive dungeon level requires a password in order to access. The password for each dungeon level can be found as clues on the different levels. When you encounter a Rune of Death hanging up on the wall, you can cast Perceive or use the Eldritch Staff to receive a clue. For example, the clue on the 4th dungeon level was; “PASS uttered with determination allows passage into the sixth door of death. “

Another clue that I discovered on the 4th level was: “A helping hand can be found in the strangest places.” This must have been referring to a desk that I found on the 4th level. Searching the desk revealed Gloves of Cold.

The fifth level was more enjoyable to map out and seemed to be less maze-like than the previous levels. On this level there was a throne room, I discovered a tiny sword, a silver rose, and a silver helm. The helm was behind a hidden panel and seems very important.

There were two clues that I also discovered on this level. The first clue read: “with the word FRIEND pass beyond the 7th door if you dare.” In the throne room I had one of my characters sit on the throne and I was suddenly thrown to the floor and writhing in pain. The second clue reads; “The wizards helm allows the wearer to accomplish much that no mortal could.” It just now registered with me that I should have one of my wizards don the silver helm and then sit upon the throne to see what happens. I am currently exploring the 7th dungeon level so this is still easily done.

The sixth dungeon level was much more difficult to map out than the previous level. I again found a Rune of Death and received another password to access a new dungeon level. On this level I encountered a huge vault, and I could not open the door no matter what I tried. In a room nearby the entire floor resembled a chessboard with a giant Rook standing by itself. When I slid the Rook across the floor, I heard a massive THUNK in the distance. When I returned to the vault it was open!

The vault contained silver armor, a Gem of Change, and a Book of Notes. When I read the Book of Notes, I discovered the following useful information:

So, it would appear that this is a game where I need to find several items in order to complete my quest. I already have the silver helm which is mentioned above, it looks like I need to find the Book of Darkness and the Staff of Rogarth still and then search for a crystal pillar. I still am not quite sure how many levels make up the dungeon.

I am currently exploring and mapping out level 7 and the battles are much harder and far more deadly. I am hoping that my next post is one which details my final victory.

Until next time…

Shadowkeep is an ambitious dungeon crawler. Your party size can consist of 9 different characters which breaks the traditional mold of this time period. There is your traditional warrior but there are also four different types of spellcasters to choose from, all with their own unique spells. This creates a lot to keep track of. The game boasts an amazing vocabulary as well as animated graphics for every single creature you encounter. It’s all pretty impressive. The unfortunate downside to all of these bells and whistles is that nothing is done quickly. Exploration is slow and combat has the feel of being mired in quicksand. You can either choose to allow the slow pace to frustrate you or you can allow yourself to go along for the ride and enjoy yourself. I’ve chosen the latter.

Spinnaker, the publisher, came up with the idea of adapting the game into a book. Alan Dean Foster, famous for media tie-in novels like The Black Hole, Clash of the Titans, The Last Starfighter, was given design documents and a copy of the source code and hired to write the novel. I purchased the book and will be starting it soon. I always feel like there is a contract of reciprocity between the player and the game and I do my best to try to immerse myself with whatever the game provides.

I spent a week in Florida on vacation and when I returned I spent the next two weeks mapping out levels 2 & 3.

The second level was a labyrinthine exercise in mapping. Many encounters later I discovered there was nothing of import on the second level. The monsters that I encountered were more difficult on this level because of the introduction of Barghests and Gargoyles. These monsters can cast spells that can decimate your weaker spellcasters.

One of the magical objects that you can purchase is an Eldritch Staff which when used allows you to cast the Perceive spell. I discovered that using the staff on each level will reward you with a clue. The clue from the 2nd level was: “Hide not from the foe; or escape will never be found.” The clue from the 3rd level was more mysterious: “Walk softly where lies the sleeping king” I’m guessing the latter is hinting that in some area of the dungeon we’ll have to move secretly or silently – we’ll see.

There were a couple of interesting areas that I found on the 3rd dungeon level. One room held an empty sword case sitting upon a shelf. I tried experimenting with it by placing our various swords in the case, closing it, then opening it again, but nothing seems to happen. I’ll have to revisit this area. The other area was a dead-end hallway with a room ensconced upon the wall. One of my Rune Mages identified it as the Rune of Death. When this particular mage cast Perceive I was awarded with the following clue: “At the second portal the phrase SAFETY will not lead you to such” So it looks as if I was given a password there.

I currently find myself exploring and mapping the 4th dungeon level. I do not know how many dungeon levels there are.

One very interesting feature of this game can occur during combat. The party can sometimes be surprised and when the party IS surprised it might happen from the rear or the side. When this is the case my party of nine pivots to face the threat. What this does from a tactical standpoint is completely change the order of my characters. You see, only the first three characters in the marching order can enter melee combat. So depending on the direction of the threat, I may find that three of my spellcasters are suddenly imperiled. This can make combat a very tricky and suspenseful affair. Once combat is over, assuming my entire party has survived, I then have to reorder the party into their proper formation.

I am going to continue to map and explore the 4th dungeon level and then the 5th level, assuming there is one, and I will again check back in.

Until next time…

I have been slowly chipping away at the 1984 CRPG list and I came to the realization that there are very few dungeon crawlers that are represented there. In 1984 we are seeing three themes that figure prominently. The first theme is the rise of the JRPG in the form of a new action RPG subgenre. We have the American Sword of Kadash but also out of Japan you have the popular Courageous Perseus, Dragon Slayer, Hydlide and the Tower of Druaga. So there are five games from the list that are very “arcade-like”. The second theme that emerges in 1984 is the fascination with converting popular role-playing books into computer games. There are four such offerings on the list: Citadel of Chaos and Forest of Doom, from the mind of Ian Livingston, and Lone Wolf: Flight From the Dark and Lone Wolf: Fire on the Water from Joe Dever. The two Lone Wolf games I yet to play. The third theme contains games that emphasize outdoor exploration or work from a central map. These hex crawls include: Xyphus, Pendragon: Water of Life, Lords of Midnight, Fortress of the Witch King, and Fame Quest. Many of the other selections seem to be experimenting with the medium except for Questron which more of a traditional RPG experience. Caverns of Zoarre was a top-down dungeon experience but did require a lot of mapping. Thus far, The Black Onyx has been the only first-person dungeon crawler that I’ve been able to play in 1984. The dungeon crawler is probably my favorite subgenre so imagine my elation when I learned that Shadowkeep is a first-person dungeon crawler.

Shadowkeep may not be based on a book, but it does feature a novel written by Alan Dean Foster which was a licensing tie-in. I have not yet read the book, but I did order a copy and it is on its way.

The documentation which comes with the game is nicely done. There is quite a bit of information contained within. It goes over the plot, character creation, lists all of the weapons and armor along with offensive and defensive values, lists all of the spells, magic items you might find or purchase, and the enemies that you’ll face.

The plot is fairly standard RPG material. Shadowkeep is the home of a powerful wizard known as Nacomedon. A demon, Dal’Brad, has imprisoned Nacomedon in a crystal and held him captive deep in the tower. The demon than began to reap evil and madness which began to spread out from the tower to the surrounding countryside. A few brave adventurers were sent forth to try and put a stop to the evil.

Character creation is a lengthy process because you can have up to 9 characters in your party. You can be male or female and then have the option of four different races to choose from: Humans, Roos, Thalidars, and Zhis’tra. Once you’ve decided upon sex and race you then have five different classes to choose from: warriors, monks, necromancers, runemages, and shadowmages. Each of the different spellcaster classes have their own spells as well. It took me about 45 minutes to merely create a party of 9 characters. The size of your party is quite large which matches the aspirations of the game.

Shadowkeep is huge in size and scope compared to other games that we’ve played up to this point. It has four game disks, a large party size, a huge dungeon consisting of 9 or 10 levels, original races, original classes, and original monsters. The publisher, Trillium, also hired Alan Dean Foster to write a novelization. This is an attempt to offer quite the epic experience for a player. The game boasts that it has amazing graphics as well. Even though the game is a first person dungeon crawler, in many instances it looks like a graphic adventure when you encounter a room or object of interest on a particular level. The game also boasts an amazing vocabulary and parser and you can type your actions in complete sentences. I have found that almost all of my sentences have been recognized and carried out so far. Here is just one page of the game’s vocabulary:

Each time you encounter a foe they charge at you via animation. Now all of this sound absolutely amazing on paper, but the reality is that what it has created is a ponderous game. It’s enjoyable, just slow. You don’t do anything fast in this game. There is a lot to it.

If you’re going to play this game and see it through to the end, it is going to require quite a time commitment. I wonder what percentage of players have actually finished this game.

For the party make-up, I decided to go with three warriors, two monks, two runemages, a shadowmage, and lastly a necromancer. The innkeeper can sell equipment to you, heal you, and raise the dead. Once you’re ready to purchase items to equip yourself the innkeeper suddenly transforms into a tentacled monstrosity.

You take each of the nine characters through the equipment process. This is why it was a good 45 minutes to an hour before I even ventured into the dungeon.

You can also purchase magic items from Raddath.

Each character begins the game with a random number of goldens ranging anywhere from 25 – 100.

Once you enter the dungeon you’ll see where the parser really comes into play. The game responds: “I hope that somebody remembered to bring a torch” Assuming that someone did indeed purchase torches you then need to type in; LIGHT TORCH. Everything about the game is impressive thus far, just very slow.

Movement about the dungeon is much like any first-person dungeon crawler. Combat is quite the ordeal as there are several options and you have a party of 9 to manage.

There are three different attack and defend options to choose from and your different spell casters all have different spell lists to navigate. All of the spells are outlined in the game’s documentation. When you first begin the game, your chances of hitting your opponent are very slim but that improves with use of your weapon or skill. This is where character improvement is unique. There are no experience points or levels to be gained in this game. You will find that your chances to hit improve the more that you use a weapon, and the same formula applies to skills such as searching and opening.

This character snapshot was taken after I had completed most of the 1st dungeon level. You can see that Attack, Parry, Magic, Search, and Open are five areas that can all be advanced or improved over time. You also increase your power by purchasing and/or finding better armor, shields, and weapons.

There are a couple of interesting puzzles found on the first dungeon level. The first and most intuitive is that you find an anvil and a hammer in one room. Experimenting doesn’t do much until you place a sword on the anvil and strike it with the hammer. There is a flash of light (via animation) and you then get the following message:

When you then check your inventory, any sword that you’ve taken through this process will have an * next to it. So, I think you are imbuing the weapons with energy or magic by doing this. Each time I upgraded my sword type I would enter this room, place the sword on the anvil, and then strike it with the hammer.

The second unique room on the first level held a pedestal. When you examine the pedestal, you are informed that there is a small circular depression on top of the pedestal. My mind jumped to the idea that the game wants you to set something on top of the pedestal. I didn’t find any other objects on the 1st dungeon level other than some soggy sticks. I did remember however that the innkeeper had a black crystal for sale and a funny rock for sale. I did some grinding until I could afford both objects and then I went back to the room. It seems that if you place either object on the pedestal there is a flash of light, and you are then teleported to a different level. I restored my game and I have not yet pursued this line of investigation and am instead choosing to map and complete the levels in order.

Shadowkeep is like a tower and so far, each level can be accessed off of a central spiral staircase. I have successfully mapped out the entire 1st dungeon level thus far and I am making my way through the 2nd dungeon level.

Monsters that I have encountered thus far on the 1st dungeon level are trolls, goblins, dark knights, and deathsheep. The trolls are the toughest opponent on the 1st level.

I am enjoying the game thus far and am amazed at its attempt to be so epic in scale. The going is slow and so I’ll be checking back in sporadically and updating you on my progress. We are heading out of town tomorrow take a much-needed weeklong vacation and then I’ll be back next week grinding away.

Until next time…

Fortress of the Witch King was developed and published by Avalon Hill and released in 1983 for the Apple II and then in 1984 for the Commodore 64 and PC-88. Your goal here in this game is to explore the realm of the Witch King, find him, and then slay him, thus gaining the orb, scepter and crown, and releasing the land from his thrall.

The game can be played with up to four players. You choose the game difficulty on a scale of 1-4 and then the map difficulty as well on a scale from 1-20. Higher map difficulty includes more mountains and less sanctuaries. Once you’ve customized the kind of game that you want to play you are ready to begin.

You start with a small band of scouts and warriors with which to explore a 40 x 40 map which consists of forests, mountains, towns, sanctuaries, and then the witch king’s fortress hidden somewhere on the map. The map is randomized with each new game.

You move your small band across the map in the hope of finding aid to help you in your quest to defeat the witch king. Aid comes in a variety of forms – enlisting warriors, scouts, and clerics requires gold. You acquire gold by defeating opponents and then you can spend that gold in towns by recruiting new players. The bigger your band of merry men becomes, the more rations you will need to buy.

From the main menu you can choose to look at the map of the surrounding area but it will only show you areas where you have been. The rest of the map is blacked out and awaiting exploration. You can also choose to look at your Inventory which will display all of your belongings, including the amount of each item.

When the game began, I started with 2 Clerics, 3 Scouts, and 50 Warriors. Scouts are used to search the surrounding area of your map. For every two scouts in your inventory, you increase your range on the map by 1 square. The purpose of your warriors are to fight your battles for you. If you are wiped out, you can pray for more warriors and there is a good chance you will be given 15-25 warriors. If you do not have enough rations your warriors can die of starvation. You can obtain warriors than three different ways: 1) through prayer 2) in the marketplace, and 3) through parleying. Clerics are important because you can use them to pray for more warriors when wiped out and they can heal some of your troop after a big battle. In the absence of clerics, you will suffer more casualties.

You can also purchase a wizard in the marketplace though the opportunity to do so is rare. They are also very expensive to acquire. A wizard can aid you a great deal in combat. He adds a 20% bonus to your strength and damage done to the enemy is increased by 25%. There is also a chance that the wizard will cast a spell against monsters in combat, resulting in additional damage. A fireball and/or lightning bolt goes a long way. Lastly you can also purchase raiders whose sole purpose is to raid enemy camps. The more raiders you have the more loot you can steal from enemy camps.

While you’re exploring the map you may come across bands of elves, dwarves, or warriors and you may be given the opportunity to parley. If you decide to parley, the chance that they join your troop is based on how many rations and gold pieces you have. Late in the game I came across huge bands of dwarves and elves who then joined my party. This aided me a great deal and helped me find the fortress of the Witch King.

The larger your troop is, the greater the number of enemies you’ll face. The computer seems to match encounters to your current strength. Enemies that may encounter include goblins, orcs, trolls, giants, hydras, and dragons. Once you choose to fight the computer automatically generates the outcome of the battle for you.

Scattered about the map are four very special magic items that you’ll want to find before entering the fortress of the Witch King. Each of these items are guarded by a dragon. It is the only time in the game that you’ll encounter the dreaded beast. I found each of these four items in mountain locations where random encounters are not only more numerous but more difficult.

Horn of Opening: gives you a 75% chance of entering the fortress. Without the horn, your percentage chance equals the number of scouts in your party.

Boots of Stealth: adds one to your movement factor. Without the boots, all encounters in the fortress will be against a double-strength opponent.

Armor of Defense: reduces your opponents attack factor within the fortress by one-third.

Sword of Strength: multiplies your attacks by 1.85

There are a couple of minor magical items which can aid you as well in your travels. The Hammer of Thor which adds a 15% bonus to your combat strength and the Talisman of Speed which gives you an additional movement factor each turn.

There are three different spells too that you can acquire as treasure items. Once you use the spell then the scroll disappears. A Teleport spell allows you to teleport to anywhere on the map. These become very useful late in the game. A spell of seeing allows you to see the entire 40 x 40 world map, regardless of whether you’ve explored the space or not. This spell helped me find the fortress of the Witch King. The most value of these spells is the Spell of Seeking. This spell, when cast, displays the location of the four special magic items that you want to find.

Once you enter the fortress, you’ll lose your entire troop, and you’ll suddenly find yourself alone in the fortress. The gameplay changes gears here and plays much like an interactive text adventure as you explore the fortress. There is a combat situation with every move you take so survival in the fortress is difficult. Once you find the witch king you have to fight him and killing him is very difficult.

I really enjoyed playing this game. The game took me about five hours to complete which was the perfect amount of time for a game like this. I liked the idea of searching the map for four unique magic items to help me in storming the Fortress of the Witch King. I also liked how it was very difficult for you to die and you got to avoid starting the game over time and again. Even in the darkest of times, if your entire troop was wiped out, you could pray for more warriors and then limp your way back to the nearest town to purchase more.

Fortress of the Witch King seems more of a strategy game with RPG elements than an actual RPG, however many places had it listed as a role-playing game. In the past I’ve found that strategy games can sometimes fail to hold my attention but there was such an old school RPG feel to this game that I stuck with it. Many of these games you have to get into them to see whether or not they really do fit that role-playing game rubric. I found the game to be entertaining so I saw it all the way through to the end. You have to give Avalon Hill a couple of extra points for the title as well. Fortress of the Witch King has such a cool ring to it.

Next up on the docket is Shadowkeep.

Until next time…