Pendragon: Water of Life was released in 1984 by Abacus Software for the Dragon 32/64. It was written by David Jenkins and it seems this is his only credit.
I looked far and wide and could find no documentation for the game. This was unfortunate because the player has the ability to cast spells but when you choose this option the game wants you to type in and provide the name of the spell. Since I was unable to do so I always resorted to physical combat. The lack of documentation will also prove a problem at the very end of the game; more on this later.
I played this game on an emulator, and it took me roughly 4 hours to finish. It is not too terribly difficult, but it is not easy either. The world that you’re exploring is slowly being overtaken by the forces of evil, led by the Warlocks of the Eye. You can elect to move about the map using the four cardinal directions. You can review your status as well as the map of the land you’re exploring.
You can also review your statistics at any time from the main screen.
You gain experience by battling the different creatures that you encounter in the game. These include: the living dead, a mercenary, a hunter, Warlocks of the Eye, a troll, dark birds, a giant spider, and a few others. Your health and strength are easily depleted through combat. There are two ways to regenerate these attributes: by finding food and water as you explore the map, and by choosing to rest. For some odd reason, regardless of what terrain you are in, you can only rest if you have gold in your possession. The objects that you find in your travels are not fixed but are completely random from one game to the next. Finding gold, food, and water is very rare which makes survival difficult. I probably played close to 30 games before I was able to reach the end of the game because of this random factor. Whether or not you reach the end of the game is NOT based on any skill though there is a strategy involved.
The map is a very simple affair but traveling across it is not. The random encounters are quite numerous, and combat is an odd affair. When choosing to attack the game will quickly, in the corner of the screen, flash a number from 0-9. You have to very quickly react and hit the key. For example, if the number flashed is a 5 you have to press 5 as quickly as you can. If you are quick, then you deal a Mighty Blow. If you’re able to respond in a timely manner than it is a Swift Blow. If you hesitate slightly or hit the wrong key, you are informed that you are Too Slow and you then suffer an injury and take damage. When you defeat an opponent, you gain experience and your health and strength increase based on your experience. When you move across the map however it constantly depletes your health and strength requiring you to constantly rest. If I cannot randomly find food, water, or gold (the latter allows me to rest) then you will die, and your game will end.
The objects that you can find are found on the inventory screen up above. A rope, lamp, boat are the common items that you can find. They are necessary in order to access various locations on the map. You need the lamp to enter the Caverns of Doom. Inside the Caverns of Doom, you’ll find the Ring of Power. You’ll need the boat to reach the Island of Chaos which hides the Shield of Life. You’ll need the rope to climb the Wizard’s Tower which contains the Necromancer’s Map. Your wandering across the map will hopefully allow you to randomly find a Cloak of Invisibility. You will need the Ring of Power, Necromancer’s Map, and Cloak of Invisibility to access the Castle. The Castle harbors the Water of Life which completes your quest. The Shield of Life allows your character to be resurrected, if killed, while keeping the items in your inventory.
So, there is a bit of strategy involved. I found that you have to hope that you can find a boat to reach the island so that you have a means of resurrecting yourself. Getting to the island should be your first order of business. Then you have to hope that you find the lamp and rope so that you can obtain the other items that you need. You also have to randomly discover the Cloak of Invisibility in your travels. While all this questing is transpiring, you’re besieged with random encounters. Even when those encounters go well, your attributes are constantly being drained due to travel AND said combat, so if you’re not finding gold, food, or water, you DIE!
Once you’re able to storm the castle you find the Water of Life, however you need to cast a particular spell in order to be awarded the prize. This is the equivalent of entering a password. I mentioned up above that I could find no documentation for the game, so I was not able to cast spells during combat, which is an option always presented to you, and so as a result I was not able to provide the password at the end of the game. The game afforded me six guesses before kicking me out of the castle.
I wasn’t able to provide the password due to the lack of documentation, but I WAS able to finally reach the castle after obtaining all of the quest items. I am thus going to chalk this up as a win and declare that I’ve finished this particular entry. If anyone reading this reached the end years ago, and you can remember the name of the spell which awards you the Water of Life, I’d love to hear from you, just to satisfy my curiosity.
Next up on the docket is Lords of Midnight and this will be the first game that I tackle in 2024 as our year draws to a close.
Until next time…