Realms of Darkness: The Other Side of the Mountain

 

Between these two Darkness games, I live in a state of constant terror.

     

In the last session, we learned that to solve the next quest, we would have to take a dungeon passage to another part of the game world (I've been wondering what this second adventure disk is for). As this session began, I over-optimistically said farewell to the city of Grail and headed across the river with packs full of food and torches.

    

Little did I know that I would be back at Grail a lot—almost immediately, in fact, as I got attacked by a party of "executioners" on the way to the dungeon. This happened a lot. The dungeon is only about 12 moves from Grail, but it was rare that I could make it without a battle. Of course, when you're about to explore a dungeon of gods'-know-how-many levels, you don't want to be wounded before you even begin. So every battle had me scuttling back to Grail to restore my health and spells. (In case it hasn't been clear from my earlier entries, resting in the inn in Grail is so far the only way to reset spellcasters' abilities.) I also returned quite a few times while exploring the dungeon. Annoyingly, my Sword of Escape ran out of charges, so I have no quick way out of dungeons anymore.

    

Here's a breakdown of the dungeon:

 

Level 1

 

The level was a standard 16 x 16, with the party starting in the southwest corner and having to work their way to the northeast. Early in the level is a lady in a booth who opens a door if the party has the ticket from Stealth the Thief. There were just a few encounters on the level:

   

• A message carved into the wall: "ELF ISLAND." I have no idea what it means except that it sounds like a Middle Earth reality TV series.

    

You mean Valinor?

      

• A sign on the wall: "SAW DROPS." Still no idea.

• Luke the Locksmith wanted 100 silver pieces to unlock a door. We gave it to him, he hustled out and came back, claiming it was easy. I have no idea what door he unlocked. Maybe it was a scam.

• A "lost buckler." I'm not sure who lost it, but I picked it up.

• A message on a wall: "KILROY WAS HERE."

• A man levitating in the air wanted "the password." I tried all the messages on the walls and got it with KILROY WAS HERE. He gave me a magic carpet.

   

I'm not sure that I faced any new enemies on the level, but the game is starting to reuse a lot of graphics, so I get enemies of similar types confused. I am definitely facing a lot more enemies—that is, larger parties. I've been trying to run less, but resurrection is so expensive that I don't want to risk even a fully-healthy party against 11 trolls and 9 minotaurs.

     

This one is going to hurt.

    

The level continued the authors' fetish for one-way doors and walls, as you can see by all the arrows on the map. 

  

Level 1 of this dungeon.

      

Level 2

   

This level was a bit infuriating. The level is 16 x 24, but in two parts. While the parts fit together perfectly, the way they fit together doesn't make any sense, and hence I mapped them separately. The two halves are connected by an outdoor area. You enter it by going south from the first part of the dungeon and exit by going west into the second part of the dungeon. But the only way the map makes sense is if you were to exit the first part east or west or enter the second part north or south. Also, the exit from the first part and the entrance to the second part are on opposite sides of the combined levels. 

   

The 2 parts of Level 2. You can see how they fit together if you rotate the first one counter-clockwise or the second one clockwise. But then the two doors heading to the outdoor area are on opposite ends of the dungeon.

     

This whole thing illustrates one of my annoyances with the game: a lack of coordinates and directionality. There are a few times that an encounter makes reference to a cardinal direction, usually after you've mapped most of the level the wrong way. There is no coordinate system—no equivalent to Wizardry's DUMAPIC spell. I think gridded games should be required by law to offer an in-game way of determining the party's present coordinates.

   

The first part of the level:

   

• A pit dropped us down to a small area where we found a bone. When the game drops you down a pit, a "friendly elf" always appears to offer to help you out—for half your silver! Fortunately, the "Neutralize Gravity" spell or a set of Ropes and Hooks means that you can say "hell, no" to the price-gouger.

   

Joke's on you. I only have like 10 silver.

    

• A guy in a booth with a sign that said, "Cash your checks here." When I talked to him, he said, "You better check something out." Later, after I found a check, I gave it to him and he gave me a balloon.

• A golf club in a random square.

   

The need for the golf club became clear when we went through a door and found ourselves in another outdoor area within the dungeon, using the moving conventions of the overland map. It was only a couple of squares. The center square had a golf ball on a tee. PLAY GOLF caused Cadoc to swat the ball off the tee and into a western wall, which immediately crumbled, showing the path to the other part of the level. It annoys me how goofy the game has become, although I suspect in response to that statement, someone will come along and say that golf was played in fifth-century Scotland.

    

I must have really swatted that one.

    

As we were wrapping up the first part of the level, my characters unexpectedly started to level up at 24,000 experience points. So it seems that LanHawk's supposition is correct: the game does not continue to double the number of points needed for the next level. I guess at 32,000, we'll see if 8,000 is the cap.

    

In the level's second half:

   

• A three-headed dog blocking passage. THROW BONE caused him to chip his tooth on it and retaliate by biting Cadoc in the leg. Later, when I found the second bone, he bit it and exploded, opening the way forward.

   

I'm not sure this makes much sense.

     

• Written on the wall in green blood: "Who knows what lurks behind the door?" 

• A teleporter at the end of the hallway teleported the party back a square every time it got near a door.

• A check guarded by 4 enchantrixes, 1 apparition, 1 grand master, 1 slayer and 1 great wizard.  Apparitions are capable of draining levels, which you then have to get restored. Enchantresses can only be damaged by magic weapons and spells. It wasn't a fun battle.

      

I think "enchantrixes" are what's depicted here.

       

• Another bone. 

• There's a mysterious area in what I mapped as the north of the level, where two parallel hallways have a different number of tiles. Specifically, one is one tile shorter than the other. There's no teleportation going on. I can't explain what's happening.

     

One new enemy on Level 2 had the banal name of "corpse." But he was completely immune to regular attacks and could only be defeated with spells and dispelling undead. Later, there was an enemy called a "rocky," also immune to regular weapons. I feel like I got sold a bill of goods with my friar; the manual promised she'd be as effective unarmed as other classes are armed. But there's an increasing number of enemies she can't damage at all.

     

I'm glad that we highly amused the corpse. It probably doesn't have much to laugh about these days.

    

The second half of Level 2 culminated in a chasm that I had to find a way to cross. The obvious solution was the magic carpet, but the game said it wouldn't support all of us. I had to use the B)reak up and R)egroup commands to ferry everyone over in two groups.

    

I wonder if the game will eventually do something more interesting with the party-splitting options.

     

When I found a way out of here, it was surprisingly not down, but up. Unfortunately, my Rope and Hooks and "Neutralize Gravity" spell failed to get us through the hole in the ceiling. I figured the answer had something to do with the balloon, but I)nvoking it did nothing; neither did typing BLOW INTO BALLOON. After wasting time searching for an alternative, I tried INFLATE BALLOON, and it worked, lifting us all through the ceiling. 

      

The term "facepalm" was made for such moments.

      

Level 3—or, I guess, a second Level 1

     

A large 19 x 16 level. I was in pretty good shape the first time I arrived here, and I hoped to complete it all in one go, but that led me to overextend myself and suffer a full-party death. On a reload of the adventure disk (which is technically cheating, but this game is long enough), I had to take it in two expeditions, and even then I barely made it.

   

• A trophy case with a note: "Find my trophies and put them in this case." It was signed "Mr. Bass." I soon found a Bass Shield on the ground. 

    

The game suddenly becomes Zork.

      

• A Book of Clouds. If I read it, it causes the party to become ethereal for a few minutes.

• A dead end with a crack in the wall. Reading the Book of Clouds got us through. 

    

But how do we move?

     

• A sign on a doorway: "Rogue Alliance membership meeting in progress." A battle with 4 warlords, 4 grand masters, 4 mystics, and 1 great wizard followed. They guarded a suit of Bass Armor. This is where the full-party death occurred, incidentally.

     

These guys don't sound much like "rogues."

    

• A Magic Meter. I picked it up but have not found any use for it.

• In the corner of a large room, a pedestal with a tome and a quill. "Sign in please," a sign read. When I signed in, a secret door appeared.

• A stairway down. Is it a shortcut back to Level 2, or does it lead to a brand new area? I have no idea; I did not test it this session.

• Another door: "Rogue Alliance new recruits training center." Beyond was a battle with 5 berserkers, 5 swordsmen, 1 necromancer, 1 great wizard. They guarded a Bass Sword.

   

Returning the three Bass items to the trophy case caused a ladder to appear, heading upward. I gratefully took it and found myself in an outdoor area. I wandered around for a while until I found the City of Baddel. There, I soon found an inn and ended the session.

       

Maybe it'll have some better weapons.

    

I haven't taken a deep dive into the combat system since the first entry, and since I didn't make a lot of physical progress in the last few days, I thought I could fill out this entry with a close look at a battle. In this particular example, my party was pretty beat up, heading for the exit, when we were attacked by 2 necromancers and 4 great wizards. My party members had half their health and only a few spells.

   

Combat blends elements of Wizardry and Phantasie. In the beginning phase, your options are to fight, have "everyone fight" (an autocombat option in which no one uses spells), flee, "act friendly," bribe the enemies with silver or food, or surrender. In my experience, running works about 2/3 of the time, but when it fails, it's just as if you had selected "fight," so there's no real penalty. Similarly, "Act Friendly" only works about 15% of the time, but when it fails, you just enter combat normally. I have not tried bribing even once, as I need my food and my silver for food. The one time I tried to "surrender," the enemies took all my money and then attacked anyway.

     

The composition of this battle.

     

Once you've chosen "fight," each character goes in an initiative order that depends partly on attributes, partly on luck. Combat options for each character include fight, pass, change equipment, dispel undead (it only works with priests), use ("invoke") an item, and call upon that character's special abilities. The thief often gets to go first, which is ironic, as in most dungeon combats (including this one), there's absolutely nothing he can do. Eventually, he's supposed to get a hide-and-backstab option, but it hasn't come yet.

     

My next character to go is Faerish, the friar. He has a "flying kick" option that can only be used once per battle, but there's no reason not to use it in the first round. He also has a "stun" option, but I'll save that for the second round, since "flying kick" usually kills outright. He's been gaining priest spells lately, but I've already used his two Level 1 slots for "Heal." I'd love to be able to target the necromancers specifically, but this game doesn't let you choose the enemy you're targeting, unlike its two source games. Thus, his "flying kick" ends up killing a great wizard.

   

Presstra, one of my priests, is next. She has slots in four spell levels, but at this point, I only have two Level 2 slots left. Her Level 2 spells include "Tower of Protection" (protects the priests), "Confuse," "Trap Detection," "Gnihton Spell" (makes us "feel invincible" but probably does nothing), "Blind," and "Instant Lantern." One casting of the latter usually lasts for an expedition. "Blind" and "Confuse" are good options for large enemy parties. I try "Blind" but "no monsters are affected." Rats.

  

Kastillia, my knight, is fourth. She also has a couple of priest spell levels, but there's nothing in there that would be a better use of her round than simply attacking. She kills a great wizard.

  

Palliata, my other priest, is fifth. She's one level below Presstra, so she doesn't have Level 4 spells yet. Her two Level 3 spells are "Chameleon" and "Heal Wounds." "Chameleon" increases the armor class for the caster, and I can't imagine any situation in which it's a better option than the large healing boost that the other spell offers. She has the same Level 2 options as Presstra, and I try "Confuse." Again, no monsters are affected.

   

The game's most hateful message.

   

The two necromancers get to go next; they both try physical attacks and miss. But then a great wizard goes and casts "Sleep," putting Timid, Presstra, Sarogoth and Bilge to sleep. This is too bad, as Bilge's turn was next, and being asleep, he can't do anything except "pass." Sarogoth also doesn't get his turn.

   

Cadoc goes last. As my champion, he's usually effective when attacking, but he also has a couple levels of wizard spells. With four enemies still on the board, I decide to try "Fireball," which often kills multiple enemies at once. Here, it just kills one wizard.

   

Round two begins with half my characters asleep (Sarogoth woke up) against two great wizards and a necromancer. We haven't taken much damage yet, which is my primary concern. Cadoc goes first and hits a necromancer for 8 damage—pretty pathetic. Sarogoth goes next, and I try "Frost Byte," a Level 2 mass-damage spell, but again no one is affected. A necromancer then goes, casts "arcane magic," and blasts Presstra down to 4 hit points.

  

I kill the rest of the enemies in the next few attacks. Only my characters who are awake get to share in the experience and gold.

   

This is a little less than the average experience reward lately.

   

So that battle left me a bit weaker. I exhaust the rest of my healing spells fixing the damage and then head for the exit.

    

I have a whole new world to explore next time. I think maybe it's time to add another game to the rotation so I don't get burned out with this one.

    

Time so far: 27 hours