Wizardry Series Part I: The Legacy of the Series
Wizardry Series Part II: Character Generation
I can still remember my sense of wonder while exploring the very first dungeon level in Wizardry I. I was in awe that my new Apple IIC was host to such a technological marvel. There are enough special encounters sprinkled throughout the dungeon that you find yourself thirsting for more. The excitement of the unknown and questions like ‘What the hell is down here?’ were running through my teenage brain. Many of the rooms on each level are non-descript rooms filled with encounters. However there was just enough text and special encounters to keep you exploring each level for more.
There are 10 such dungeon levels in Wizardry I. Each level is unique and offers it’s own set of challenges. Each level is progressively harder than the first. An intrepid party that tries to tackle a deeper level too soon will find themselves completely wiped out. You must take your time exploring each level and build up enough experience to increase your abilities before venturing on ahead. Wizardry is one of the very first home computer games that introduced the player to the concept of grinding. The word is evocative of a treadmill because you are killing the same set of opponents over and over again in order to gain experience points or gold. The gaining of this experience and gold then allows you to increase your abilities or “level up”. Many games require some grinding but CRPGs are notorious for requiring this kind of time investment from players. It most certainly IS a time investment.
Each of the 10 dungeon levels are sized to a 20 x 20 grid. This information is provided to players through the excellent documentation which comes packaged with the game. The knowledge of such a rubric makes it easy for the player to map out each level. It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY that you map each dungeon level. There are secrets, special encounters, secret doors, traps, stairs, and elevators to find or avoid and this would be virtually impossible without a detailed map of some kind. There are squares that also have spinners and teleporters to confound you.
There are many different ways one can choose to map out dungeon levels in computer role-playing games. Auto mapping features in games would not come about until a few years later. I love getting a sheet of graph paper and a sharpened pencil and doing it myself by hand. There are some gamers who dread this but I have always loved this part of the computer role playing game experience. So the levels that I am presenting to you were mapped by hand using good old-fashioned graph paper and a #2 pencil. An eraser is a must.
The first dungeon level is a lesson in grinding. You may find yourself going through several characters until you’re able to string some successful encounters together and gain some progression. There are two hidden keys to find on the first level as well as an elevator that will take you to levels 1-4. A favorite grinding trick for experienced players of this game is to keep going back to the Murphy’s Ghost encountered on this level. Slaying the Murphy’s Ghost provides a lot of experience points and it is not a difficult encounter. You can keep doing this over and over again and amass a lot of experience in the process.
The second level of the dungeon is harder than the first and on this level you need to find a hidden frog statue and a gold key. You should not proceed further from this level until you feel confident in your ability to handle encounters because the third level ratchets up the difficulty factor. The third level opponents are dangerous and many of the monsters have a poisonous bite while others cause paralysis. There are five different pit traps on this level as well and they can be deadly. Once you know where they are located however they are easy to avoid in future dungeon delves.
The fourth level marks a major turning point in the game. There are several special encounters on this level such as the Monster Allocation center and your very first major battle is also on this level. This can be a very difficult challenge for many and I am sure this is the spot of many TPKs (which stands for TOTAL PARTY KILLS). If you should prevail and win the big battle there are two major things that happen:
- you obtain a blue ribbon which allows you to operate the express elevator found on this level. This elevator can be used to quickly access levels 4-9.
- your quest and overall plot of the game are finally revealed here on this level
If we’re being honest, dungeon levels 5-9 don’t contain any special encounters or hidden items necessary to win the game. Each level gets progressively harder than the last and they are there for you to grind through so that you can build up enough experience in order to tackle Werdna, the big bad on dungeon level 10.
Dungeon levels 5 & 6 are great for gaining experience because the mapping of each of the levels is pretty straightforward and there are no traps to worry about. The 7th dungeon level might be a level you want to avoid for one very important reason: none of your spells will work on this level. If you’re a completionist like myself you’re going to steadfastly want to map it out anyway but you’ve been warned.
The 8th dungeon level has a very unique layout. If you look closely you can see one of the author’s initials within the labyrinth: there is an R and a J surrounded by a much larger W.
The 8th dungeon level is not one to skip in my opinion because this level has it’s own version of the Murphy’s Ghost. If you keep revisiting this level you will encounter Earth Giants as random encounters. They are not difficult to beat in combat compared to many other foes on this level and for some reason you receive an obnoxious amount of experience points for beating them. This is a great level to push your characters from 10th level to 11th or 12th level so take advantage of the encounters here.
The express elevator that you found on the 4th dungeon level only takes you down to level 9. The only way to reach Werdna’s lair on level 10 is by way of a chute located on the 9th dungeon level.
Werdna’s lair on the 10th level is setup like a gauntlet. There are a series of teleporters that you have to find and six different groups of guardians that you have to beat before you encounter the evil wizard himself. There is a square at the beginning of the gauntlet that will teleport you back to the castle if you step on it. You can backtrack to that spot and always escape Werdna’s lair if things are going badly for you. Once you teleport past the sixth group of guardians however there is no going back.
The battle with Werdna is extremely difficult. It usually involves Werdna, a Vampire Lord or two, and lastly one to three groups of Vampires. You want to hope that you gain surprise when this battle begins. You also want to hope that Werdna chooses not to unleash a magical blast on his very first turn. Things can go badly for you very quickly in this fight. You want to make sure one of your spellcasters is holding back at least two Zilwan spells to quickly take care of the Vampire Lords. Werdna’s vampire minions can very quickly decimate the entire party. You will find as you play this game that there is a specific strategy you can use with the higher level opponents that increases your odds of success. If you merely walk around like a bull in a china shop you’re likely not going to survive to the end.
This is the 3rd time I’ve beaten Wizardry I: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. I knew I was in for the fight of my life on level 4 so this time I was prepared for it however my entire party was destroyed in Werdna’s Lair – TWICE – and I had to start all over so I’ve been playing this game straight for three to four weeks. You want to talk about frustration? The second time my party was wiped out in Werdna’s Lair, I had actually defeated Werdna. I equipped his amulet and then I couldn’t figure out how to get back to the castle. I invoked the power of the amulet and Werdna appeared again with more minions and utterly destroyed me. The key to ending the game is to equip the amulet and wander around that small area of the dungeon until you have a random encounter. If you USE the amulet during the encounter you will be teleported to somewhere on the 1st level of the dungeon and you can then make your way out.
My original goal as I had outlined in a previous post was to change classes to a Lord and a Ninja as my characters progressed. However a glitch in the Wizardry Archives version causes your stats to decrease over time, not increase. I then had to throw that plan out the window and so I won the game with 2 fighters, a samurai, a priest, a bishop, and a wizard. If I were to start again, now that I am aware of the Wizardry Archives problem, I would form a party of 2 fighters, a samurai, a priest, and 2 wizards. If you’re not going to play with a thief then you don’t really need the bishop’s identify ability. I skipped every single chest I came across, obtained no magic items at all, and still won the game.
This is the game that still really does it for me. It is an instant classic in my opinion and a MUST PLAY game if you’re interested in the history of CRPGs. It was the home computer game that was responsible for a whole slew of FIRSTS as I outlined in my first blog post. Wizardry would lay the groundwork for all future multi-party dungeon crawls. In my mind it is the granddaddy, the king, the progenitor of all the others that would follow. Long live the king!