Author: professor6153

THE largest dungeon crawler I have ever experienced

Moria was my 4th challenge or game since beginning my RPG and adventure gaming chronicles. I began playing Moria on May 15th, 2020 and have just completed the game on Sunday, August 31st more than three months later. I did not keep a perfect timer on myself (this is something I will strive to do better) but I would hazard that I spent roughly around 300 hours with this game. You could make the argument that it took up 25% of my gaming year.

The deeper I delved into the game the more I became convinced that it was unbeatable and that I would likely be playing it forever. My obstinacy with the game was juxtaposed with my desire to create consistent blog posts on a regular basis.

If you have a passion for old school pen and paper dungeon crawls then this is the grandfather of them all. In the 300 hours spent playing this game, I mapped out by hand 171 different dungeon levels. The dungeon levels were enormous too and below you can see an example of one of the levels I mapped by hand.

It was on the 57th level of the Mountain Dungeon level that I found and encountered the Guardians of the Ring.

They were extremely difficult to beat however I proved victorious. No sooner did I have my hands on the Reaper’s Ring then it worked it’s magic and teleported to an even deeper level in one of the five dungeons found in the game. Cave, Desert, Forest, Mountain, and Ocean make up the five dungeons found in Moria. I had completely searched both the Forest and Cave dungeons before finally finding success in the Mountain dungeon. I could have conceivably been playing this game much longer had I struck out in the Mountain complex as I would have then had to map out the Desert and Ocean levels. While it does not advertise this fact, there is indeed an Ocean dungeon in the game and it is a hidden dungeon. You will also need to find the Magic Gills in one of the dungeons in order to survive the Ocean dungeon or you will slowly drown.

Here is proof that I am now one of the Finders of the Ring

In addition to completing the ultimate quest of finding the Reaper’s Ring I found myself becoming the Master of the Circle of Wizards as well. I have the highest Wizardry score in the game among all players who have played which makes me master of the guild. I also find myself near the top of the all time leader board in points which you acquire from battling monsters and acquiring treasure.

Lastly below you can see the info and stats on my character and what was necessary to win my way to finding the Reaper’s Ring.

Character Info on Khelben Blackstaff

One could certainly argue the merits of trying to achieve so much or allowing a game to take up so much of your time. I believe that it all boils down to whether or not you’re still enjoying yourself. I do love a good dungeon crawl, love mapping out levels by hand, and I have yet to encounter a game larger than this one in those two regards.

Permanently dying from an encounter constantly hung over my head like a dark cloud and thus provided a constant level of anxiety. The more time I spent searching for the ring, the more dungeon levels I had mapped out (the stack of dungeon levels piled together looks like the volume of a good book) the more my anxiety increased at the thought of dying and having to start over. I had resigned myself to the fact that I had spent enough time with the game and if I were to perish then I was going to do a final write up and move on. It is therefore immensely gratifying to have encountered the Guardian of the Ring at last.

I find it absolutely amazing that Moria was created in 1975. In 1975 the top song was Love Will Keep Us Together by The Captain and Tennille and the top movie was Jaws and a gallon of gas was only 44 cents. However in Moria we saw many of the things that we would later see in the Wizardry series and many other early dungeon crawlers. The number of items and magic items that you could find in the game was astounding. There were many more armor and weapon offerings and magic items to find than in the previous early games I’ve played (Dungeon, Game of Dungeons, and Orthanc).

I found this game to be extremely challenging. The difficulty level was very hard and it took me roughly 300 hours to find the Reaper’s Ring. It was a real treat to see the progression from Dungeon, Game of Dungeons, Orthanc, and now Moria and how they served as a template for what we would come to know as the Wizardry series and other early dungeon crawlers.

Next up in my quest will be the original version of Adventure, the first ever text adventure game.

I wanted to provide a brief update to what is quite possibly the largest dungeon crawler in existence.

I finished a thorough search of Level 56 in the Cave Complex and came up empty. I have now moved on to the Mountain Dungeon. I am currently on Level 13 in search of the Reaper’s Ring.

I have, to this date, mapped out 127 dungeon levels. Many of those levels are enormous. If you love old school pencil and paper dungeon mapping this is the ultimate dungeon crawler for you.

The Mountain Dungeon is unique in that all of the walls have a blue hue or cast to them compared to the previous dungeons. The denizens found in the Mountain Dungeon differ from those previously found in other dungeons. There are now Titans, Earth Elementals, Fritz’s, and other wandering monsters which are only native to the Mountains.

The goal here now is to continue to make my way to Level 56 without perishing and search for the Reaper’s Ring there. I am hopeful that my quest for the ring will soon be over and that it will be found here in the Misty Mountains. If I am unsuccessful in finding it than I am going to make my way to the Desert and start my search anew there. Wish me luck!

I was handed a bitter disappointment this past week playing this game. Let me refresh your memory. There are several ways in which a player or character is honored in this game.

Characters can earn score points for fighting monsters and finding treasure and that score can earn them a place in the Hall of Fame. I am sitting on top of the Leaderboard for the month and I am 6th on the overall list of lifetime achievement as a result of trying to survive long enough to find the Reaper’s Ring.

• Another goal, which is more difficult to achieve, is to become master of a guild. To do this a character must improve the guild’s key attribute until it is the highest in the guild. I have successfully accomplished this. I am Master of the Wizard’s Guild and I have the highest attribute score in the guild.
• What I have NOT been able to do thus far is accomplish the last and most dangerous goal in the game: finding the Reaper’s Ring. The ring starts on level 1 and moves down a level each time it is found. It may be found in any one of the four dungeons: Forest, Cave, Mountain, and Desert. It is guarded by the Guardian of the Ring who you will have to fight along with his minions in order to obtain the ring. I happen to know from reading the Finders of the Ring page that it was last discovered on Level 55. So that means the Reaper’s Ring now resides on Level 56 of one of the four dungeons. Mapping and making your way all the way down to Level 56 is no easy task.

I was able to make my way down to Level 56 of the Forest level and I meticulously mapped the entire level out with pencil and paper (the levels are huge). Alas there was no ring to be found. I realize I only had a 25% chance of guessing right; but I was still crushed as this constituted a tremendous amount of time and work.

I decided to tackle the Cave complex next and I am currently on Level 19 in the Caves. There are a few differences to note between the Forest Dungeon and the Cave Complex. The first noticeable difference is the color of the dungeon. Everything is outlined in a blue hue while in the Forest Dungeon it is outlined in a green hue. Some of the creatures that you find in the cave complex are completely different than the creatures you encounter in the Forest Dungeon. The Cave Complex has the following unique creatures I’ve encountered so far: Medusa, Ancient Mystic, Hortas, Ghosts, Vampires, Spectres, Earth Elementals (rather than Fire & Water found in the Forest Dungeon) to name a few. You also sometimes would find Magic Apples in the Forest which would raise or lower your stats randomly if you decided to pick one up. I avoided them. In the Cave Complex rather than Magic Apples you find a Crystal Crocus here and there at random which have the same affects.

I am going to continue my foray into the Cave Complex and hope that I can eventually reach level 56 and then begin a meticulous search of the Reaper’s Ring. My chances of finding it improve from 25% to 33.3%. This is an extremely challenging game; some might almost say unbeatable as permadeath is very real and constantly hangs over your head like a dark cloud. There is a certain amount of dogged perseverance that is needed in order to be successful in a game such as this. I believe retrogame enthusiasts encounter this issue often when playing an adventure or role playing game. The older RPGs felt it necessary to have you “grind” or earn experience during the course of play in order for you to increase in power. There were no automapping features in these older games as well requiring you to spend hours mapping out the numerous dungeons found in these games. Throwing mazes at you and difficult encounters also served to increase the playing time in these games. The more hours required to beat a particular RPG seemed to be a badge of honor for many early developers.

Is there a game that you played which required this same type of dogged perseverance and dedication? I am very interested to read which game consumed hours and hours of your time; becoming your obsession in your attempt to get to the end and accomplish the goals laid out for you.

There are quite a few magic items that you can find in this rogue-like dungeon crawler.

A few of these magic items that I discovered on the lower levels have really made an impact on game play. The Magic Canteen is invaluable. It supplies you with never ending water so that you never have to worry about dying from thirst again nor needing to seek out water holes. The Map of Stairs is another invaluable aid. When you enter a new 6×6 grid area in the dungeon (the program considers each 6×6 area a “room”) it will notify you if stairs are present. This is extremely valuable when you have dungeons containing 60 levels and you are constantly searching for a set of stairs leading down. The Power Ring has been another huge boon. It is basically much like a Ring of Regeneration. During combat you’ll find that you regain vitality back much quicker than you normally would. This is important because in the deeper levels the combat can become quite intense as the number of your enemies increase. The Gold Bar is great early on as it ensures that you receive maximum amounts of treasure after each encounter. I have reached a point in the game however where I have achieved the highest status that I can in my guild and there are no magic items that I require so at this point money is now meaningless.

I currently find myself now on level 56 of the Forest Dungeon. If the Ring is to be found in the Forest Dungeon it will be found on this particular level. I have about 75% of the level mapped out and still no luck. If the Ring is not located in this dungeon I have 3 more dungeons that I still have to search. I am hoping that I still find it here in this particular dungeon but my odds of doing so are only at 25%. Wish me luck.

I started to cascade into a series of failures; which in this game means death. Each and every time I got past the 11th level of the Forest Dungeon I would meet my doom at the hands of some fell creature. When I wanted to run from an encounter I would fail in the attempt each time which inevitably led to my death and it was only then that I had what you might call an “aha experience” with the game.

In my last Moria update I had felt that joining the Wizards Guild would be a better choice. The benefit of joining this guild is that you are suddenly granted a spell that allows you to teleport back to the city from anywhere within a dungeon. This is a very valuable spell. I was not wrong; I still feel that this benefit is too good to pass up. The mistake I have made with Moria is in my character development.

There are four character attributes in this game: cunning, piety, wizardry, and valor. I was focusing all of my attention on valor and wizardry (the more you use an attribute the higher your attribute score increases). I was focusing on valor because it allows you to hit creatures easier and do more damage. I felt the higher the valor the better right? My wizardry attribute would naturally increase quite a bit because I was and am constantly using a Passwall spell to help aid in the mapping of the dungeon. There are 4 major dungeons in Moria with 60 levels in each dungeon. I was not interested in Tricking the monsters using my cunning ability nor was I interested in Praying for Minor Miracles using my piety attribute. Boy was I wrong!

In Moria your combat choices are: F which stands for Fight. This used to be my go to choice in combat and it is self explanatory. In your quest to find the ring in Moria you may also find magic weapons such as the Sword of Death or a Staff of Power. Who wouldn’t feel more invincible with a Sword of Death? Your other combat option is T which allows you to trick the monsters into allowing you to kill them. On paper this seemed rather stupid to me and I didn’t try it very often. As a game mechanic however when you choose T for trick it can automatically kill your opponent. This seems to happen 50% of the time too which suddenly makes it a more powerful option than fighting. The more you trick your opponents too the higher your cunning attribute becomes. The higher your cunning attribute becomes it gives you a greater chance of success when you choose R for Run. When you choose this option you simply get to run away from the fight. The monsters will still remain there however so that perhaps the next time you take them on in that particular square you’ll have greater success. Now that the Run option works so well; every time my Vitality moves below 50 now I generally choose to Run as an option and come back later.

Your other options in combat are C for Cast Spell or P for Pray. In a future Moria update I’ll delve more into the spells available in the game but I want to use this blog post to concentrate on the one aspect of the game that I had ignored before, much to my detriment. When you choose P for Pray, one of the spells you can choose to Pray for and cast is Holy Word. Holy Word will destroy or completely obliterate one of your enemies. So much like tricking your opponent, this seems to work half the time and is an extremely powerful spell.

Armed with this information on game mechanics; my approach to character development has completely changed and I am seeing the benefits of that now in the game. Que the Rocky music. Khelben is my newest character incarnation named after Khelben Blackstaff from the AD&D Forgotten Realms setting. I have been purposefully trying to build up all of my character attributes equally. I then use fight, trick, cast, or pray depending upon the opponent I am facing and I now suddenly find myself on Level 22 of the Forest Dungeon. This is the deepest I have ever been in the dungeon thus far and it surpasses any previous success I have had in the game. I am hoping that I have now turned a corner using this strategy and that I can continue to grind out levels. My ultimate goal is to get to level 56 and look for the ring which may be hidden there.

I have the Rocky theme song playing in the background, I’m doing pushups , and I am eating a Quest Bar. Wish me luck as I once more venture into the unknown. Below you can see the progress of my character as I slog through the dungeon levels.

Two years ago I decided to build a gaming room. We had taken a trip to Las Vegas and I was inspired to do so after taking a tour of the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor. It was a quite a rabbit hole that I decided to go down. Several months later I have collected and put together various systems; new and old; and have amassed quite a collection.

I find myself recently enamored with the Nintendo Switch. Fancying myself a collector, I purchased the Dragon Quest XI Switch Edition and it is a thing of beauty.

I believe that you can classify gamers into different types:

1. the casual gamer – these types of gamers are into all types of games whether it is a simple mobile game or a complex real time strategy game. They are easy going about playing them when they have nothing better to do. They rarely make schedules or plan their gaming in advance and do not spend more than an hour or two playing games. They rarely ever finish a game.

2. the hardcore gamer – this type of gamer eats, sleeps, and breathe video games. The stereotype of the overweight individual covered in Cheeto dust sitting in a dark lit room surrounded by empty Mountain Dew cans is not far from the truth. They are dedicated, spend hours glued to their TV or computer screens, and plan their schedule around their video games.

3. the midcore gamer – a hybrid of the previous two types this type of gamer probably includes the majority of gamers out there. They love gaming and the gaming industry, thoroughly enjoy playing video games but are not as single minded as the hardcore gamers. They might plan a gaming session somewhere in their day but not at the cost of other social activities. They might indeed spend hours on a game but only if they have the time to do so. They know when to tap out so to speak and focus on other priorities other than video games.

4. the old school gamer – fans of old console and arcade games and tend to dislike new games made today. They may own old consoles and have a vast collection of games that they play using MAME32 and other emulators. Many tend to be set in their ways and uninterested in trying new things. (while I certainly am a fanboy of the old consoles and arcade games and possess many of the characteristics of this category; I DO APPRECIATE and like the newer games and devices)

You may find, with the exception of possibly the casual gamer; that many of the gamers in these categories are also avid collectors. They pride themselves on their gaming collections and it is a very passionate hobby for these enthusiasts.

Here are my questions that I pose to you:

1) What is your favorite gaming platform? The PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, etc. There are many different types of consoles and computers and I would be interested to hear from you if you have an absolute favorite. And then WHY is this platform your absolute favorite? Is it the exclusive titles that come with the system or is it something about the technology compared to other devices?

2) Secondly, are you a collector, and if so what do you like to collect? If you want to share images of the shining jewels of your collection or your entire collection please feel free to do so.

I look forward to reading your responses.

How many of you have found yourself in a rogue-like game or dungeon crawler, permadeath hanging over your head like an ominous storm cloud, hours invested, continuing to grind away, when suddenly you meet an untimely death? It can be almost paralyzing. The sudden realization that all of the time and the hours that you’ve put into the game have been thrown to the curb like the weekly trash.

I had been on Level 21 of the Forest Dungeon in Moria, thinking to myself that things were going incredibly well, when things suddenly began to spiral out of control and I ended up starving to death from lack of food. Moria was the first game, to my knowledge, that has you keep track of your food and water in order to survive.

I had just increased my status in the Brotherhood of Knights to Journeyman as well. This is the part of the game mechanic that I am going to try a different approach with. Rather than join the Brotherhood of Knights, I created the new character known as Temar. I slowly built Temar up until he was able to join the Wizards Guild. Why the Wizards Guild? An extremely interesting benefit of belonging to the Wizards Guild is that you now possess a spell which allows you to instantly teleport to the city from anywhere within the dungeon. In my mind this a tremendous boon and it will prevent me from ever dying of hunger or thirst again.

One of the most tedious facets of the Moria game is being forced to leave a Dungeon, from say Level 21, and make your way back up to the surface level by level. Once you’ve arrived at the surface you then have to trek to the nearest city. I have now removed this tedium by obtaining the ability to teleport to the city whenever I like. Once in the city, another guild benefit, is that from within your guild you can teleport or transport yourself back to your camp within the dungeon. So if you take the time to establish a camp on whatever level you want to resume at, you can easily teleport from that particular spot to the city and then back again.

This does not simply erase all of the previous hours I’ve put into the game already, nor does it make things completely right; as I still have a lot of grinding to do before Temar is as strong as my previous character was, but it does go a long way in aiding me to continue to strive and grind to make further progress in this game. I will keep you updated on my exploits.

Welcome to Retrogamestrove.com! I hope you like the new look; I added a fresh coat of paint. The site will serve a number of purposes. I want it to be a nostalgic trip down memory lane for all of you. A journey through history as you can see how gaming and games have evolved over time across different platforms. I also want it to be a definitive place for the serious collector and gamer to visit. A database, a homage, a shrine for all games. All collectibles and special editions will be highlighted in addition to a game’s regular release edition.

This is an arduous task and a constant work in progress and I will be relying on you, the fan, to help out with collection details when needed. I envision a community of passionate gamers and collectors orbiting this database and playing a part in its growth. I want to include interesting trivia with each game when applicable, cover art, promo ads, screenshots, reviews, short videos of game play and high scores when applicable. I want to include who is the particular high score champion of games where it is applicable so others in the community have a known goal to reach in an attempt to dethrone that champion.

I am sure that as things are added the site will continue to grow, evolve, and change to suit the needs and desires of passionate gamers, collectors, and gaming historians.

I will also include a blog area on the site entitled: Quest of the Grey Wizard and you’ll see I already have a number of posts there that you can read through. I have set a challenge to myself to play all role playing and adventure games in chronological order of the year in which they were introduced. A pretty daunting task. If you join me in my quest you’ll see that I started in 1975 with the game entitled Dungeon. I will use the blog to write about my experience with these games and comment on how the game may have impacted game development going forward overall. You can read about the premise of this in more detail in my very first blog post. I will also use the blog at times for interviews, historical perspectives and concentrated looks at gaming collections or gaming swag and even opinion pieces.

I invite all comments and I hope that you will join me in my journey and that this place will earn a bookmark and join your list of favorites to visit. I also encourage you to take a stake in the growth and development of the site when and where applicable. Perhaps there is something very interesting I’ve missed or should add to an entry that you are able to provide.

I learned a valuable lesson while continuing my foray into Moira’s Forest dungeons. I was dutifully mapping the 1oth level of the Forest dungeon when I realized that my 10th level map was now complete. One problem: I had not found the stairs leading down to level 11. I shrugged my shoulders in disappointment and concluded that I must have merely missed them the first time around. I started to backtrack through the corridors and rooms when I made a startling discovery. My previous maps look a little like this:

When I had mapped these prior levels out, understand that I painstakingly went around each of the walls testing for a secret door and found none. So I then shaded those areas in as you can see in the picture above.

What I discovered on Level 10 is that even if you find no secret doors after searching; you can still cast Passwall. This spell allows you to move through the wall. I was surprised to discover that there really are no dead areas in each 6′ x 6′ area. Every spot on the map is utilized as shown below:

I did end up finding the hidden staircase on Level 10 but I had to cast Passwall in order to do so. So not only are there 60 levels in this Forest dungeon but it appears that some stairways leading to the next lower level can only be found with a Passwall spell.

Most people at this stage would go into their room, lower the blinds, turn on some emo music, and then cry softly into their pillow.

Me? I’ve sharpened my pencil, grabbed yet another sheet of graph paper, and am waiting to see what lies around the next bend. Wait! What was that sound…?