tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61623144677627927822024-03-18T23:49:37.205-04:00The CRPG AddictOne man blogs his adventure through every PC role-playing game ever released.CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger176713tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39202059627645061932024-03-18T00:00:00.002-04:002024-03-18T17:44:43.493-04:00NetHack [3.1]: Beyond this Place of Wrath and Tears<div style="text-align: justify;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMj-ylwddxtaXLVYYspfsUGfSQfxXBcWFagc_tSffvjWC51okQ3iJExoLnfKgyS9b_rQsJBXV4I4WFyplSUqswH1ZPcURWn1C2WQx4mXpHMoQB6kGgcxNUrErAUR27fDy9guB3RjGTN-11ZIvmnwV12npvPaR8my32HGk1lu3oxIs4AGvnJZOZIhQQtTM/s640/nethack_273.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMj-ylwddxtaXLVYYspfsUGfSQfxXBcWFagc_tSffvjWC51okQ3iJExoLnfKgyS9b_rQsJBXV4I4WFyplSUqswH1ZPcURWn1C2WQx4mXpHMoQB6kGgcxNUrErAUR27fDy9guB3RjGTN-11ZIvmnwV12npvPaR8my32HGk1lu3oxIs4AGvnJZOZIhQQtTM/w400-h250/nethack_273.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the levels of Gehennom, this version's version of Hell.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was in pretty good shape when I wrapped up the last <i>NetHack</i> session, having just conquered the Castle level, found the Wand of Wishing, and collected almost everything I needed or wanted for my "ascension kit." Before continuing, though, I spent a couple of hours revisiting earlier levels to accomplish some final things:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Commenters suggested that I use my Wand of Wishes for a Bag of Holding. It turns out I didn't need to waste a wish. One of the bags in the shop on Level 25 was a Bag of Holding. I bought it for $150. For the rest of the session, I kept most of my potions and scrolls in it to protect them from traps.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wiSIRgqI2IITh5cNGI1NaJsaGOBPpo0ieJV5c35qLbEdGMnqgOGXz8u5ZQCPL0uPQLDo1FqDTtzffdTiCb-KlLq7I7TnRFMq1RzUCEI1B7un_HJJF8ZCejh-ojM-QeHF4eW1LIQxcQlJOKmN5OLtdkZLCjNUi8WbLKNOK7zGofvMWJu4TDyd2smrVwA/s640/nethack_222.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wiSIRgqI2IITh5cNGI1NaJsaGOBPpo0ieJV5c35qLbEdGMnqgOGXz8u5ZQCPL0uPQLDo1FqDTtzffdTiCb-KlLq7I7TnRFMq1RzUCEI1B7un_HJJF8ZCejh-ojM-QeHF4eW1LIQxcQlJOKmN5OLtdkZLCjNUi8WbLKNOK7zGofvMWJu4TDyd2smrVwA/w400-h250/nethack_222.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ha! No regular bag is worth that much gold!<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>I sacrificed some more corpses to my god at the altar on Level 20. Still no artifact weapon.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>I explored several vaults that I'd left alone on the way down. One of them had a portal to a brand new area called "Fort Ludios." More on that later. On my first visit, I killed a few orcs but otherwise left it alone until I could visit again on the way back down.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>I returned to the Gnomish Mines again. There were a couple of chaotic unicorns on the way, so I took the time to toss a few gems at them.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWiZ_Uy3ND27cboVzl23HJZYKaboXN9dxCdUsIQL1JtVLP4TJGuyB5lEH6WgKXGDuTqwSSEiOUmehwl9gvkzdL6S5orKDfj3AYSfGGUVjBRcGHMd9_FKGwoqWRtv_ixcu7fcRmSqfMkA4b5LnJSV4ZWRgAKgpf6Z4q29lV3xdVvd_BlupxbU_1cSs0tA/s640/nethack_234.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWiZ_Uy3ND27cboVzl23HJZYKaboXN9dxCdUsIQL1JtVLP4TJGuyB5lEH6WgKXGDuTqwSSEiOUmehwl9gvkzdL6S5orKDfj3AYSfGGUVjBRcGHMd9_FKGwoqWRtv_ixcu7fcRmSqfMkA4b5LnJSV4ZWRgAKgpf6Z4q29lV3xdVvd_BlupxbU_1cSs0tA/w400-h250/nethack_234.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>How?</i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>I couldn't believe how many "junk" scrolls and potions I'd left behind. I took the time to blank the scrolls, dilute the potions to water, and bless the stacks of water.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>I donated another $8,000 to the priest in the temple in the Gnome town and got -2 to my armor class.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>I sacrificed a bunch more corpses on that altar. Nothing would give me any artifact weapon.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lWq6Vtm0QnrZWSq_O3uyDXcQFCCg8u9fOZcr5shZX2vb5gBIGjyyyqMaWsRvcQO6Y5Yq4Q_4IcG6TrYt9A7hkPxrZj4pXTBgq9PNZraRqXw7vza_vQkb3pObJUTlyFr21fUS2hrM8mx8sak7i-C-y7kVAcM3G6eTBCiNb_Xg-kbt-dbl5NUEa2KNjIg/s640/nethack_231.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lWq6Vtm0QnrZWSq_O3uyDXcQFCCg8u9fOZcr5shZX2vb5gBIGjyyyqMaWsRvcQO6Y5Yq4Q_4IcG6TrYt9A7hkPxrZj4pXTBgq9PNZraRqXw7vza_vQkb3pObJUTlyFr21fUS2hrM8mx8sak7i-C-y7kVAcM3G6eTBCiNb_Xg-kbt-dbl5NUEa2KNjIg/w400-h250/nethack_231.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Disappointed!</i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Finally, I decided to wish for it. First, though, I wished for a couple of Scrolls of Charging and used one to recharge my magic marker. I wrote a couple of Scrolls of Enchant Armor, but those took around 12 charges each, and the marker only recharged to 50 in the first place. I got a warning that a Scroll of Genocide would cost even more. </li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>The Wand had come with two wishes. I was persuaded by my commenters' suggestions, and I used the other for the sword Grayswandir. With reluctance, I gave up my +6 longsword. I used the other Scroll of Charging to get 3 charges back on the wand.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the bottom of the Gnomish mines, I <i>finally</i> found the damned secret door that everyone was saying ought to be there. I kicked it in and found a "gray stone," plus some other gems. It was, of course, a "luckstone," I don't quite understand what luck is doing for me, but if it has anything to do with the ease of the rest of the session, I'm all for it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0seV6EpCPEzNNbWHu9ZkHyTYGsiyxVfRwnOJDiufJL6KHuc96vFLWwQpR2FiM-pPo-T3jHbilYDEuR8ADYNSbiDz1smd5ohOepWuFrFAZE7ey0-S46v7WAuLskCn0pw4Mj80hUS8HGUf_6Gdz0_aIgts-1snoBfDrROLkkfqHSe2uOv0gBiNf1UFSdQ/s640/nethack_233.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0seV6EpCPEzNNbWHu9ZkHyTYGsiyxVfRwnOJDiufJL6KHuc96vFLWwQpR2FiM-pPo-T3jHbilYDEuR8ADYNSbiDz1smd5ohOepWuFrFAZE7ey0-S46v7WAuLskCn0pw4Mj80hUS8HGUf_6Gdz0_aIgts-1snoBfDrROLkkfqHSe2uOv0gBiNf1UFSdQ/w400-h250/nethack_233.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>On my fifteenth visit . . .<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the way back down to the Castle, I went through the portal in the Level 18 vault and took on Fort Ludios. It took forever--longer than the Castle. There were dozens and dozens of guards, dragons, and monsters.The guards dropped heaps of helms, shields, boots, cloaks, and rations. I piled up some of the rations for later, and put even more in my Bag of Holding, but I didn't have the patience to test every piece of armor again. I also didn't really see the point, as I was unlikely to do better than the items I already had.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But in addition to their standard equipment, many of the guards spawned with wands and potions. I haven't quite gotten used to enemies using items. Every once in a while, one of them beans me in the head with a potion and makes me blind or confused or something. More alarming, the game kept saying things like, "the death ray whizzes by you!," indicating that they had Wands of Death. I had to keep repositioning myself to get out of such enemies' lines of sight. They never hit me, though. I'm not sure what would have happened if they had. My Shield of Reflection seems to send back most spells (and dragon breath), but I don't know if it <i>always</i> works. I'm also not sure whether "Magic Resistance" would save me from it. Best not to find out. I did end up picking up a couple of wands with a couple of charges left. By the end of the session, I had six charges among three wands.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ5UgkQsFh5t6Q-xxF7OMW1-uYG0tZxgjAhJv7nj1WUfilIJLPPYYIZN_meDYFr5Kj1Z5drB7pq2ue0__-J_NFCSArhTdm7Dy_W_9TynA8M0iSHHkveypfr8lLQ_RnsnE8XIg6Pg_KhSDX7oW_H_VWSm9lmeRPPjf8eVaxBWSEnITvLf6lczvsJeop58/s640/nethack_242.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ5UgkQsFh5t6Q-xxF7OMW1-uYG0tZxgjAhJv7nj1WUfilIJLPPYYIZN_meDYFr5Kj1Z5drB7pq2ue0__-J_NFCSArhTdm7Dy_W_9TynA8M0iSHHkveypfr8lLQ_RnsnE8XIg6Pg_KhSDX7oW_H_VWSm9lmeRPPjf8eVaxBWSEnITvLf6lczvsJeop58/w400-h250/nethack_242.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Moments like this make you pause and reconsider what you're doing.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The interior of the castle offered battles with hobgoblins, orcs, and kobolds--trivial enemies at this point--plus a unique character named Croesus. He did the only damage to me on the entire level, and it wasn't much. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The interior of the castle had a room full of gold--tens of thousands of pieces, I'm sure, but I didn't really have any use for it. I left it where it was for now. I looked around but didn't find any other artifacts. The throne gave me +4 maximum hit points the first time I sat in it and disappeared in a "puff of logic" the second time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFWvhE3UxUcgJCvQ7qnJk7d_tETBb-rJCwgrS8Za6FBA3Wc36cD93T_Vaax7RrsHTRYa19fN9Rdt8BfemkuU-KhVmyyJh-wr9p-KQBbJBdiN7RViqyAwkToOKOkmv_dWuVV0I2p6Xc2FSKEvJZBzfHZMivK9RIyY5AS3glKzhllXB58HtqlD7rOVDkPI/s640/nethack_253.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFWvhE3UxUcgJCvQ7qnJk7d_tETBb-rJCwgrS8Za6FBA3Wc36cD93T_Vaax7RrsHTRYa19fN9Rdt8BfemkuU-KhVmyyJh-wr9p-KQBbJBdiN7RViqyAwkToOKOkmv_dWuVV0I2p6Xc2FSKEvJZBzfHZMivK9RIyY5AS3glKzhllXB58HtqlD7rOVDkPI/w400-h250/nethack_253.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'd feel even better if I got a wish.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I returned to the main branch, went back to the castle, took a save and a backup (I want to emphasize that I still haven't reloaded from one), and let myself fall down a trap door. I landed in the Valley of the Dead. Immediately, I was swarmed by dozens and dozens of ghosts (which you can't see even with "See Invisibility"), mummies, vampires, vampire lords, wraiths, zombies. I literally screamed as they approached, assuming that their level-draining attacks would be the death of me. My ranged attacks couldn't keep up with their volume and my Teleportitis didn't work on the level. I wedged myself in a corner, but ghosts can pass through walls. I winced the first time a wraith touched me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But nothing happened. Not a single one of their attacks drained a single level. Nor did they damage me significantly. I just stood there and swung at them with my sword, its silver properties burning the flesh of many of the attackers, killing one after the other without suffering any effects. What is with this game? Did I accidentally download a hacked version? Is there something that resists level draining? If so, it must be new to this version. I couldn't believe I'd ever considered genociding vampire lords; they did <i>nothing</i>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the bodies fell, I ate the wraith corpses (only one out of three wraith deaths left corpses, alas), rising from Level 16 to Level 21. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJoAf9qIDYbdn7c71t9OcuqbMshp4eXAioCqOI7IPQyK_4_VVhmNA0pQuufnIdhCGlC7bh_OCqH0yB11OQoWU5dFFnpbsRWmB7eyyOGoGmLO_EOdL8YRxLEumZKRxvKavTpOyaCnOoyZZllmHsCCR3R5ghTu2FIotS8ZTYrgeoEnulVDOPlem2xtMb8M/s640/nethack_258.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJoAf9qIDYbdn7c71t9OcuqbMshp4eXAioCqOI7IPQyK_4_VVhmNA0pQuufnIdhCGlC7bh_OCqH0yB11OQoWU5dFFnpbsRWmB7eyyOGoGmLO_EOdL8YRxLEumZKRxvKavTpOyaCnOoyZZllmHsCCR3R5ghTu2FIotS8ZTYrgeoEnulVDOPlem2xtMb8M/w400-h250/nethack_258.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This situation is nowhere near as dire as it looks.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rest of the level had a lot of chests, which I painstakingly unlocked and searched, despite the fact that there's not much I want or need anymore. I did find a couple of useful Scrolls of Enchant Weapon and Enchant Armor. Unfortunately, one of the latter--and here was my one major mistake of the session--destroyed my Shield of Reflection. When you use a Scroll of Enchant Armor, the game picks a random armor piece from what you're wearing, but I guess the highest you can normally enchant is to +5, and if you try to go above that, the item is destroyed. The shield was my only +5 item, but I should have taken it off before reading the scroll. I had to use one of the three wishes to get it back (at +2). Enchanting other items made up for the loss.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was surprised to find stairs going back to the Castle. I thought the trip down was one-way. On the far western side of the map, I encountered a Priest of Moloch, who warned that I had entered a sacred place. There was an "unaligned" altar in the room. I should mention at this point that I have a general idea what I need to do to win the game. I wasn't going to leave that to experimentation. I know that the High Priest of Moloch has the Amulet of Yendor, but I believe he's down further in the dungeon and not this priest. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A hallway leading away from the altar room led to a stairway. I saved again here and thought about wrapping things up, as <i>this</i> seems to be the real point of no return. When you go down the stairs, the game warns: "You are standing at the gate to Gehennom. Unspeakable cruelty and harm lurk down there. Are you sure you want to enter?" I sucked it up, said "yes," and went down--and was surprised to see a stairway going back up. <i>Is</i> there a point of no return in this version? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDcA2nkq0_O4BSwZSJZXdnpPb366JGMK5V3GOnzFtKnfUxr8jyhbs_Lal85aPIwDy-8ua0V-rncP1lqYYbsH_tF6yzK72ppRhLqEX4j5JZXrCLpcRRPuT9x6Hgtg4vrHjMtb3_Q6csFKk44bawaddkh9T3lGeZcaVqO42xy76AI4lMocy3RzIy8LEHoJw/s640/nethack_260.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDcA2nkq0_O4BSwZSJZXdnpPb366JGMK5V3GOnzFtKnfUxr8jyhbs_Lal85aPIwDy-8ua0V-rncP1lqYYbsH_tF6yzK72ppRhLqEX4j5JZXrCLpcRRPuT9x6Hgtg4vrHjMtb3_Q6csFKk44bawaddkh9T3lGeZcaVqO42xy76AI4lMocy3RzIy8LEHoJw/w400-h250/nethack_260.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehennom.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next few levels were pure mazes, full of gold and traps, such that I started wearing my Ring of Levitation to avoid the latter and then got annoyed at always having to take it off to pick up the former. I'm not sure why I'm bothering to collect gold anyway. The twisty passages did a good job of disguising one of my most hated foes: the yellow light. I very nearly used my Scroll of Genocide on them. They kept coming around corners and exploding in my face, leaving me blinded for a few dozen turns. Admittedly, this isn't as big a deal as it sounds, since I have "Telepathy."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The demonic enemies on these levels were easy to deal with; most took extra damage from the silver in Grayswandir. There were a lot of minotaurs, and these were the first enemies in a long time to pose even a slight threat. A couple of them got me down to near-50% of my hit points before I killed them. I had plenty of resources to deal with them, of course, if they threatened me any more than that, including just backing away and throwing missiles. Minotaurs all dropped Wands of Digging. Unable to use them all, I got in the habit of blasting random holes in the dungeon walls to facilitate the return trip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDo_9IVYqhrM35FP3E8PIfhs7gRqojybGQz30s6cCESbivG52zQrDKxAkKh0WZppEJdBLDflBgVNrpsvc6sXc371MZfcKv4Oyg62gvcvpSict7BwoEOM7NeExrs97sbQVPEOxDxrsN8hcV19kbCaCtfcEDCBrG2UYLm52_NmZgz3FsBuNh2jvBNsNGyFc/s640/nethack_268.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDo_9IVYqhrM35FP3E8PIfhs7gRqojybGQz30s6cCESbivG52zQrDKxAkKh0WZppEJdBLDflBgVNrpsvc6sXc371MZfcKv4Oyg62gvcvpSict7BwoEOM7NeExrs97sbQVPEOxDxrsN8hcV19kbCaCtfcEDCBrG2UYLm52_NmZgz3FsBuNh2jvBNsNGyFc/w400-h250/nethack_268.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A typical Gehennom level.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got hungry fast enough in these mazes that even though I brought plenty of rations, I started to wish I'd brought more. Eventually, I stopped exploring the maze levels completely. I just went far enough to find the stairs down. I suppose it's cheating to take screenshots of each level to help you on the way back? I won't use them unless I'm cheating by then anyway.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 35 was a special level. There was a regular maze around the edges of the map, but the central part had a fortress with vampires and a demon named Asmodeus. He apparated right next to my character and demanded $4,357. Despite this being the sort of game in which you probably should pay such ransoms, I said no. He teleported away after a couple of hits from my sword.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DbvmV6B0_O2bhyphenhyphenkOurf3bkz4uNxKDEI6cvByolHG59d9gqxKMwWVcl71N3t5XwsPuPhkGX4e5NacXpZp5Nsg5kp0kHi6m2rGqLjHOawx-6ndA4UTw7VvW0Cv9rjWDfBCD__JE90lgVS3H-8xDayiIRydZRTAad5e36f_B6H8Q2mXUSCWoU_x6pHV30Y/s640/nethack_265.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DbvmV6B0_O2bhyphenhyphenkOurf3bkz4uNxKDEI6cvByolHG59d9gqxKMwWVcl71N3t5XwsPuPhkGX4e5NacXpZp5Nsg5kp0kHi6m2rGqLjHOawx-6ndA4UTw7VvW0Cv9rjWDfBCD__JE90lgVS3H-8xDayiIRydZRTAad5e36f_B6H8Q2mXUSCWoU_x6pHV30Y/w400-h250/nethack_265.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It would be a stronger request if you were in front of me instead of behind me.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 37 was also unique, and it's here that I suffered (maybe) my only near-death of the session. The level was full of water squares--I guess it was supposed to be a kind of swamp--so I immediately put my Ring of Levitation on. Before long, I was attacked by someone named Juiblex, who engulfed me like those vortexes do, trapping me in a small cage of his own flesh. Within a couple of hits, I was down to 50% hit points. Even worse, I got the message that, "you feel very sick." I know from experience that "Sick" leads to death in just a few turns if not cured. I knew that I could cure it with my Potion of Extra Healing, but I guessed it didn't make sense to do so until I had killed or gotten away from Juiblex. I wasn't sure a Wand of Death would work from inside, but I told myself I'd try if he didn't die in a couple of hits. Fortunately, he did (he also responded badly to silver), when I was down to one-quarter of my hit points. I quickly took the Potion of Extra Healing out of the Bag of Holding and quaffed it. I guess maybe the unicorn horn would have worked, too.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAeMtOebJ5hB3HQKQL8mW5ugYkkLjM1f5ijZ-1C1m-25-ADRuHpbZZeK-jg-AvK3AAjhwTMPZDSrgJvzAR7QgoSR44HxXlsQaCzSEUE4pbVRXEhZUwFw27i_ft7P4XkUqtKYFROfdwsUybkwvoJd3UNijdJFa28vMY74c8vxcCZGvvxleADNlrUqXDFY/s640/nethack_271.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAeMtOebJ5hB3HQKQL8mW5ugYkkLjM1f5ijZ-1C1m-25-ADRuHpbZZeK-jg-AvK3AAjhwTMPZDSrgJvzAR7QgoSR44HxXlsQaCzSEUE4pbVRXEhZUwFw27i_ft7P4XkUqtKYFROfdwsUybkwvoJd3UNijdJFa28vMY74c8vxcCZGvvxleADNlrUqXDFY/w400-h250/nethack_271.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The closest I've come to death in a long time.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I continued through the next levels of the maze, cleaving through minotaurs, bone devils, and balrogs. Teleportitis didn't work on some of the levels. Wands of Digging (and pick-axes) didn't work on others. I picked up useful scrolls and potions but mostly didn't bother to even test other things. I meet the occasional cockatrice or rust monster, which I'm always careful to kill at a distance or just avoid, but they do hit me now and then, and I've managed to avoid their effects the same way I avoided level drain. Does it have to do with luck?<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last level I explored before closing this session (Level 41) was another special one. It had a fortress in the center apparently ruled by the demon Baalzebub. Like Asmodeus earlier, he teleported right next to me and demanded almost all my gold. Despite having no reason not to give it to him, I said no. He conjured some fellow demons. He and his friends were capable of stunning me with gaze attacks, so I put on my blindfold as soon as I could. Like Asmodeus, he warped away every time I hit him. Unlike Asmodeus, he came back frequently. I kept waiting for him and swiping at him when he appeared, but after about 10 rounds of that, he hadn't died, and I assumed he wasn't going to. I continued on to Level 42 and quit the game there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsb2Ltr6U90Id1t9PXJRYB-yucUGXLQorgMnqil3QRLa6eNLrCrNvmx26zRgDro_gAjSC931yu63ts1B_nyceWtBN40Mqj43ga5DX9w0ymFUrVGJjyzZVVzcrGMOnoKQAo_1zJC2tq8ad87stC46GVyn4OcH_bOlwIGDmPu8PZg-BMrty3tKrT6BlQa0/s640/nethack_276.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsb2Ltr6U90Id1t9PXJRYB-yucUGXLQorgMnqil3QRLa6eNLrCrNvmx26zRgDro_gAjSC931yu63ts1B_nyceWtBN40Mqj43ga5DX9w0ymFUrVGJjyzZVVzcrGMOnoKQAo_1zJC2tq8ad87stC46GVyn4OcH_bOlwIGDmPu8PZg-BMrty3tKrT6BlQa0/w400-h250/nethack_276.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>And then the coward teleported away. He's the little & in the southwest.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have no good answer to the question of why I didn't use one of my Wand of Death charges on Baalzebub or Asmodeus. Certainly, they sounded like the very sorts of enemies I was saving the Wand for. I guess I wanted to wait and see whether they really posed a threat.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So let me ask a question that I'm sure is going to come back to haunt me: if dragons and vampire lords and demon princes don't offer any real danger, what at this point could possibly kill me?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Time so far: </i></b><i>30 hours</i><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br />CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-80967607147509389302024-03-15T12:00:00.156-04:002024-03-15T18:33:40.065-04:00BRIEF: 2088: The Cryllan Mission - The Second Scenario (1990)<div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMUU8gypr1PBwmuzzVoDPG5czWTXNWGAYXqR_3PtjW-G4REPpZQSxzuMJCEFm2_azctetzRP5caoNzaAjk4mKxHAKKfshWRp33u29GA-Vp7gus9AGt5VjGoO5DiBYnRzajHqMvfq01M2nbJ3Lg5pYOokCuUeQ1pKbywv3J0Sdb7OuflJ0_NhsmoqUUII/s646/2088main.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="646" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMUU8gypr1PBwmuzzVoDPG5czWTXNWGAYXqR_3PtjW-G4REPpZQSxzuMJCEFm2_azctetzRP5caoNzaAjk4mKxHAKKfshWRp33u29GA-Vp7gus9AGt5VjGoO5DiBYnRzajHqMvfq01M2nbJ3Lg5pYOokCuUeQ1pKbywv3J0Sdb7OuflJ0_NhsmoqUUII/w400-h251/2088main.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Pai brothers had a unique thing with goats. They were a big part of </i>The Secrets of Bharas<i>, too.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span><span><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span>2088: The Cryllan Mission - The Second Scenario</span></span></span><br /></b></i></span></span></span></span></div>United States<br /></div>Victory Software (developer and publisher)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Released 1990 for <b>Apple II GS<br /></b></div><b>Rejected for: </b>Insufficient differentiation from previous title<br /> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a game that invites us to reflect on the distinctions we make between "games," "expansions," "quests," "remakes," "versions," "patches," "sequels," and even "engines." So much of it comes down to marketing. We regard <i>The Knight of Diamonds</i> as a "sequel" to the original <i>Wizardry</i> even though it required <i>Wizardry</i> to run and was labeled a "scenario" at the time. Origin wanted us to see <i>Ultima VII, Part 2</i> as a second half to <i>Part 1</i> just because it used the same engine and basic mechanics. I'm playing a 1993 "version" of <i>NetHack</i> even though it adds so much plot that if it were commercial, the publisher would probably market it as a wholly different game. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnivyRIylUEp7nQn0Isos2rmTOu506ImNyW2KK7j4Hc653XJiNe8w5vOXWbLhBreDA00ejzltCZPV0IYSFU4Ti7YUCNORPFYvwoB20OgY-m71if6_nkFEjkP8yJXUfRiSSSnxapmjPdxmah7N-TELYX8MNF1qVZs9AGBLA15p54vjuMTDxHDVvGEjVNo/s959/cryllan2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="635" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnivyRIylUEp7nQn0Isos2rmTOu506ImNyW2KK7j4Hc653XJiNe8w5vOXWbLhBreDA00ejzltCZPV0IYSFU4Ti7YUCNORPFYvwoB20OgY-m71if6_nkFEjkP8yJXUfRiSSSnxapmjPdxmah7N-TELYX8MNF1qVZs9AGBLA15p54vjuMTDxHDVvGEjVNo/w265-h400/cryllan2.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Look close for that small gold sticker.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've said before that I believe instead of waiting 15 years between games, Bethesda should have just taken the mechanics and landscape already developed for <i>Skyrim</i>, whipped together a new plot (with associated quests and NPC dialogues, of course), and sold it for another $75. But would a new plot set in the same game world, using the same engine, be an "expansion" or a brand new game? Does it all come down to what the box says?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the Pai brothers, the authors of <i>2088</i>, the pressures that led to these questions were not philosophic but economic. Vivek Pai related the story to me almost six years ago, when I was playing <a href="http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2018/07/game-295-2088-cryllan-mission-1989.html"><i>2088: The Cryllan Mission</i></a> (1989). In the late 1980s, Victory Software--relying on marketing from Apple--thought that the Apple IIGS was the platform of the future. They fused their interests in popular culture with their own Indian heritage to create <i>2088, </i>optimistically spending tens of thousands of dollars on around 5,000 full-color game boxes with impressive, professional art. A year later, it was clear to everyone that the IIGS didn't have much longer to live, and the Pai brothers were looking morosely at the thousands of expensive boxes still sitting in their garage. Figuring that once you already have the game engine, commands, menus, graphics, sound, enemies, and combat, it's virtually no effort to write new dialogue and mix around some tiles, the brothers got to work and ordered a couple thousand gold stickers that read "The Second Scenario," slapped them awkwardly on the boxes under the title, and started shipping it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cyrIn_nbkmItBw6xHxkAL9ze7oxWNHUPw-U-zMzkJQ6g2VUaNsA0gYSZse0GbxEuUMIDllxGvK7adivPkb-zZHXilA5fXBZeewjnMWHlukmCMpv0gougXIJYcluQKD2_omgtaff0h3WvJYkzCB1hY5UrGSZgTKFkjClrte61_hdfF6dx4t2jl_yZ6fU/s643/2088charcrea.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="643" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cyrIn_nbkmItBw6xHxkAL9ze7oxWNHUPw-U-zMzkJQ6g2VUaNsA0gYSZse0GbxEuUMIDllxGvK7adivPkb-zZHXilA5fXBZeewjnMWHlukmCMpv0gougXIJYcluQKD2_omgtaff0h3WvJYkzCB1hY5UrGSZgTKFkjClrte61_hdfF6dx4t2jl_yZ6fU/w400-h253/2088charcrea.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Creating a character in the "academy."<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>2088</i> isn't a sequel to, but rather a re-imagining of the original game. It opens with the same plot (after all, the <i>back</i> of the box didn't change, nor did the manual): It's 2088, and the <i>U.S.S. Houston</i> has gone missing on the planet Crylla. You're part of a rescue expedition gone to find them. The mechanics of gameplay have not changed except for the addition of an "Ask [for] Object" option during NPC dialogue and a slight tweak to the way doctor and nurse characters operate (they can now only heal if adjacent to the character). Graphis have been marginally improved. Otherwise, this is the same engine we've seen in <i>2088</i> and <a href="http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2020/11/game-389-secrets-of-bharas-1991.html"><i>The Secrets of Bharas</i></a> (1991). <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The game begins as you use an "Academy" application to create a team of six party members, all of whom can be soldiers, science officers, nurses, or doctors. The game randomly rolls for marksmanship, intelligence, kinetics (avoiding enemy fire), dexterity, and stamina, and you can distribute a bonus pool to adjust these statistics. The character then goes through the academy and might get additional development in those skills. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21AJRzNtKde3-ltoJ83xpg7kcZSBp6MHZDCUNKxPSspj1eiVB1xQ7NmUkdAFb72Na1UQ-Xev69b4-t_ghorvnrGyzxlK7c9WgBtv8hcl43s_ZiGuauLa88Jn1Ik77m56nTVij6iGalR5r5kts-6qWMpfKI5DP3naVKf1We5J1VHWwd63oI98mW23G6_U/s650/ssroaches.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="650" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21AJRzNtKde3-ltoJ83xpg7kcZSBp6MHZDCUNKxPSspj1eiVB1xQ7NmUkdAFb72Na1UQ-Xev69b4-t_ghorvnrGyzxlK7c9WgBtv8hcl43s_ZiGuauLa88Jn1Ik77m56nTVij6iGalR5r5kts-6qWMpfKI5DP3naVKf1We5J1VHWwd63oI98mW23G6_U/w400-h250/ssroaches.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>There are roaches behind the counter of the food store in this town.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I made a party and started exploring the land, making comparisons to the first scenario. The content is definitely different. The starting continent is 128 x 128, the same as the first game, but it's a different shape, uses slightly different tiles, and does not wrap (it's surrounded by water). There's talk of other continents accessible by boat, though, which the first scenario didn't have, which suggests the overall game world, like the engine, is going to be a little more like <i>Bharas</i> than the first game. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylSUkhLRmVuE1doA5BO7erd9xBSQHYaHYTwrKYa3S3bYYHu_eFypygTtc0SFyTNoPErBu8ZVcS9hJEEiu0XFneRzsZKILPpOoxLY5UnmAprk_cttGgkuouerpkDNjTTEcJRLa-TzxkCOGpehoqndsytoCWsYzhs1UCJcsI3fUjllH2rntddyQtsXVfGI/s645/ssnoentry.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="645" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylSUkhLRmVuE1doA5BO7erd9xBSQHYaHYTwrKYa3S3bYYHu_eFypygTtc0SFyTNoPErBu8ZVcS9hJEEiu0XFneRzsZKILPpOoxLY5UnmAprk_cttGgkuouerpkDNjTTEcJRLa-TzxkCOGpehoqndsytoCWsYzhs1UCJcsI3fUjllH2rntddyQtsXVfGI/w400-h253/ssnoentry.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Exploring outdoors. The first </i>2088 <i>had cities you couldn't enter without passes, too.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The name of the starting land is Soonye. It has a couple of towns, cities, and dungeons, all of which have different names than in the first scenario. Inside those towns are NPCs, also with different names than the first scenario. And yet, the themes so far are all the same. Before they disappeared, the <i>Houston</i> astronauts identified the people of Crylla as peaceful and trusting, but we find them to be armed and suspicious. NPCs tell us that this is a recent change. They blame it on "misanthropes"--it's not clear if they're supposed to be a race or a philosophy--doing everything from infecting the government to robbing travelers on the highway. The towns have force fields that stop anyone from entering at night. Cities require passes to enter. All of this is the same as the original mission. I didn't take (or keep) extensive notes on NPC dialogue in the original, so I haven't been able to identify any obvious examples of simple paragraph-rewriting, but a couple of the dialogues have felt awfully familiar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkX-2jCIpBcyOUeeGY0f9fkx5H9Nqq09Ec41vibl7Aee3HfaCmzggzsw2eDQlON4l1qPV3Lrs_WgvAPWovAoGmDgTefHCvWmK5Mh8h9YutbgXL_WGZqxvtSrqQx8v5i5QuRVpLWRfKvW6kb0uvGW_qMAcv_IQ84UHBIcd7kgf-eLjR0HYCb1IJPZTTf0o/s643/ssmisanthropes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="643" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkX-2jCIpBcyOUeeGY0f9fkx5H9Nqq09Ec41vibl7Aee3HfaCmzggzsw2eDQlON4l1qPV3Lrs_WgvAPWovAoGmDgTefHCvWmK5Mh8h9YutbgXL_WGZqxvtSrqQx8v5i5QuRVpLWRfKvW6kb0uvGW_qMAcv_IQ84UHBIcd7kgf-eLjR0HYCb1IJPZTTf0o/w400-h251/ssmisanthropes.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This exact dialogue did not exist in the first game, but the same themes were there.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also identical (or near-identical) to the first game are the inventory system, character development system, and combat mechanics. Each character starts with rifles and thermal armor and can upgrade, as money becomes available, to stronger versions of both. Characters level up at fixed experience thresholds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Combat occurs in the same rather innovative turn-based tactical grid, with characters trading moves with enemies and able to move, attack, rest, or cast grenades during their rounds. The game has a relatively sophisticated (for its time) auto-combat system, in which you can set a variety of preferences and watch the action. Pathfinding is poor, and it treats rifles like melee weapons, but otherwise works out relatively well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dungeons look to be the same bland, multi-leveled creations that they were in <i>2088</i> and <i>Bharas</i>, probably necessary for a few key items. It also has that weird "transport" system in which you can have, like, a laser-enabled hover car, but every character has to enter and exit individually, and once you're in a transport, combat uses its weapons and "armor" instead of your personal ones. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOpqaiwV5w91suFjE8xrw-r5QTUsW1dpgGmd-FUzan6zRjBNsg3h0boTkUo8QmAK_vtKUdvqyrsb7gLihij6BZzIw3-PBHX4QvkFDI-GY79xI70L-FqnbMQkIvlASrDKcpH2iur7IGw5Q5wZvpSMucKvxdf6WGQPI-cIZAW0V9XB0gMd-2h7e0oxkmr5Y/s645/sslinkmines.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="645" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOpqaiwV5w91suFjE8xrw-r5QTUsW1dpgGmd-FUzan6zRjBNsg3h0boTkUo8QmAK_vtKUdvqyrsb7gLihij6BZzIw3-PBHX4QvkFDI-GY79xI70L-FqnbMQkIvlASrDKcpH2iur7IGw5Q5wZvpSMucKvxdf6WGQPI-cIZAW0V9XB0gMd-2h7e0oxkmr5Y/w400-h250/sslinkmines.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Encountering some local fauna in the Linkronite Mines.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I explored the land, I had the overwhelming sense that I had already played the game, thematically in its predecessor and mechanically in its successor. It felt like the same themes and quests were taking shape. I imagined spending between 12 (<i>2088</i>) and 63 (<i>Bharas</i>) hours with it only to find another variation on the <i>Star Trek </i>episode "Patterns of Force"--another revelation that the <i>Houston</i> crew had overthrown and militarized the Cryllan people--only with different maps and rewritten dialogue, and I asked myself if I would regard such time as well-spent. I decided I would not. Hence, the BRIEF.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, I must now confess two things:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. This decision was highly influenced by my growing distaste for <i>Ultima</i>-style games with iconographic interfaces that do not either a) have a coordinate system, or b) provide at least a rough map in the box. I started to map the land of Soonye because it's the only way I know to ensure that you've found all locations. I screwed up at some point, as I always do when I try to map a large overland world without any coordinates. I'm honestly thinking I'm going to refuse to play such games in the future unless Andrew Schultz has posted a map on GameFAQs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4TSzh-wOt8b2wkrmU8zDK7o9htqQnLWT1EmI_6fiTuIB9TNg1m1_HvtD-wpurpGuPI2uh9u0naODAGKXnkGfZhWWmfGU7FkMjRpINAwGa5I5BBISET0zPoFDpwd4yasWbIgTFpWCjPrJ9zGz5kPawvm11lA4odh2nTOJ46oVFlrIqHdsvtAcCpjppac/s882/sscontoutline.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="882" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4TSzh-wOt8b2wkrmU8zDK7o9htqQnLWT1EmI_6fiTuIB9TNg1m1_HvtD-wpurpGuPI2uh9u0naODAGKXnkGfZhWWmfGU7FkMjRpINAwGa5I5BBISET0zPoFDpwd4yasWbIgTFpWCjPrJ9zGz5kPawvm11lA4odh2nTOJ46oVFlrIqHdsvtAcCpjppac/w400-h296/sscontoutline.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>About as far as I got with the map before I realized I'd hopelessly bungled it.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Part of me wants to verify for sure that the plot was going to resolve in the same way. I tried opening the disks with CiderPress, but I wasn't able to extract text from the relevant files. I don't know Apple IIGS disk formats, so I'm not sure what to try. If anyone else wants to take a stab at it, I'm 99% sure that the relevant disk is the "outdoor" one and the relevant files are the ones named PLAYER.TEXTS:LandX:TownX:PersonX. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Barring any further developments in those areas, I'm inclined to leave it a BRIEF. I don't know if this precedent will always hold, but in general, I think if the box, manual, plot, and engine are the same as a previous game, it's not really a "new" game. That doesn't mean I wouldn't happily play it if I really liked the game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-29613154311685681472024-03-13T00:00:00.003-04:002024-03-16T18:13:56.678-04:00NetHack [3.1]: Wish List<div style="text-align: justify;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0tQY6XMZLVLq5vSZs7IHdHpnPsxtxuNte6wWBsVnnXLaa8ULi6zIaS9NsZX8ej7F62G7vUq7PL_bbJZhZCFv3_mxxcJXgkPxwhCFk4PvvXVAHT7v5j0B_cEVBpDDi9lA5jM0z1XDP24n-bLM__Uza935V5SfjjlnodcP5kRReud-FkaWJpIR7ylnHwM/s640/nethack_156.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0tQY6XMZLVLq5vSZs7IHdHpnPsxtxuNte6wWBsVnnXLaa8ULi6zIaS9NsZX8ej7F62G7vUq7PL_bbJZhZCFv3_mxxcJXgkPxwhCFk4PvvXVAHT7v5j0B_cEVBpDDi9lA5jM0z1XDP24n-bLM__Uza935V5SfjjlnodcP5kRReud-FkaWJpIR7ylnHwM/w400-h250/nethack_156.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I am <b>not</b> going back to these mines again.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To start this session, I wasted a bunch of time going all the way back to the bottom level of the Gnomish Mines, only to fail to find a luckstone or whatever it was I was supposed to find there, despite searching every wall and futilely using my pick-axe at every place that looked like it might have a secret area. I guess it wasn't a <i>complete</i> waste, as I stopped at the temple on my way through the town, donated $6,000 to the priest, and got some intrinsic protection. I also killed and ate a wraith on the way back, bringing me to Level 15.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KmjK3IqVhjoK2sM1UIT2IKR2y1O_u4rz9iAYL1IJX3G9oCwXYfF0RQpyE_knrlGulKUmLGjjusKTc3clCJgVVH5q47JCFOLkCfDYNRs6Py8UoZdx_4Ul_FKGeAlqDAejkzsHPYJzxcXZ9I7WQ8jKteK5f0tjirmUTvGhR3MIMLq5wo7WTo3YDSDUiVY/s640/nethack_155.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KmjK3IqVhjoK2sM1UIT2IKR2y1O_u4rz9iAYL1IJX3G9oCwXYfF0RQpyE_knrlGulKUmLGjjusKTc3clCJgVVH5q47JCFOLkCfDYNRs6Py8UoZdx_4Ul_FKGeAlqDAejkzsHPYJzxcXZ9I7WQ8jKteK5f0tjirmUTvGhR3MIMLq5wo7WTo3YDSDUiVY/w400-h250/nethack_155.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>How, precisely?<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When I reached Level 20, I discovered that at some point, somehow, about 10 of my items had become cursed, including my Ring of Regeneration, my Speed Boots, my Bell of Opening, my credit card, and my blindfold. I don't know how or where that happened. I spent about an hour sorting it out, first by casting "Remove Curse" until it was useless. Fortunately, I found a fountain, an altar, and a treasure zoo on the level. The altar was aligned lawful, but I used a tip from a commenter to sacrifice corpses on it until it changed to chaotic. I then used the fountain to turn all my potions into potions of water, had the altar bless them, and dipped the remaining cursed items into the potions. It took a while and I lost some decent potions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7SA2jD34ifeMM_TPIUkyrD6CSdtcHx1yahj06C-ufMcgZMOiR3i72pv6bL2K3C6wirrKU_-QysG8mN61htCMqmYxwyWSAdpD4uKUERSBDUQVowNq03vN-taX10_Qe6XtvtiOcBgQTdtzM2018-AFh19kNZSOutgbkb5Cik-YLWl8s3H8Qw4a3sRH29s/s640/nethack_164.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7SA2jD34ifeMM_TPIUkyrD6CSdtcHx1yahj06C-ufMcgZMOiR3i72pv6bL2K3C6wirrKU_-QysG8mN61htCMqmYxwyWSAdpD4uKUERSBDUQVowNq03vN-taX10_Qe6XtvtiOcBgQTdtzM2018-AFh19kNZSOutgbkb5Cik-YLWl8s3H8Qw4a3sRH29s/w400-h250/nethack_164.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Kick his ass, Erevan!</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Around this time, I decided to narrate a couple of full levels in detail, so here goes: <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I begin in the southwest corner of Level 21. The room is dark, and I light it up with a lamp. There's nothing in it. I put on my blindfold and see three initial entities on the level: a wraith (yay!), a troll, and a human priest of Solonor Thelandira. I head for the wraith first. I ate one fairly recently, while returning from the Gnomish Mines, and it brought me to Level 15. If I play my cards right, I can get another level out of this one. I don't want him to touch me, so I grab his attention and then lead him back to the main room, where I'll have a few rounds to hit him with daggers or wands. It takes three daggers and two blasts from the Wand of Lightning, but I kill him. Fortunately, he leaves a corpse (along with a Wand of Digging). I eat it and jump to Level 16.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MTn_IJXqG8wYJu943DO9lIpCEtqqVyoSYzlCJaPzVy30o8a_2Vykt9apSdfGSkhG8NkWuJzAUaB3bMII-aerxFnyQ4OnS5ylMHZ_T_-WPDXqLHDOoS7paWgQ_Yu5A_3EL8c-PksPYEXlF1jH6hKw6IBD4Jr3p2llY6ATGe4U6hMCrb3yK4T8Pni4iRU/s640/nethack_173.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MTn_IJXqG8wYJu943DO9lIpCEtqqVyoSYzlCJaPzVy30o8a_2Vykt9apSdfGSkhG8NkWuJzAUaB3bMII-aerxFnyQ4OnS5ylMHZ_T_-WPDXqLHDOoS7paWgQ_Yu5A_3EL8c-PksPYEXlF1jH6hKw6IBD4Jr3p2llY6ATGe4U6hMCrb3yK4T8Pni4iRU/w400-h250/nethack_173.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tossing stuff at a wraith before he can reach me.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the room the wraith came from, I find the steps down. There's a statue of an ogre king that comes to life when I approach, but he's friendly, so I don't attack. My "Auto Searching" senses identify a trap before I step on it. A message appears: "You hear someone counting money." I think this means that there's a hidden vault somewhere on the level, but I can't remember what vaults mean or if it's a good idea to loot them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I head west, and the troll moves to intercept me as I approach. I'm not really scared of him, so I just fight him in melee combat. He dies in a few hits, as does a rope golem that spontaneously generated behind me during the fight. I have to quickly eat the troll to prevent him from regenerating; I'm sure there are other ways, but I don't remember what they are. I kick open the door to the next room--I always kick doors, as it exercises strength and dexterity. Some of them are sometimes trapped, but they never do much damage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FAWbsYX1sh1CdVBrpSDCP0j0PXqNJePLB4ouKS8va6CV8kwxxaSKy20otYOKLG81DR1322CsGh6rtxL7J2ON18aQxPAYer1PRSqTQ7iiF4aV2QIYiWYvvWhj7R-3a9snRqZNbPzN871tk1-NKjOCw2rKhfO-jUeKumCFCtuN99iJ_Pu1Wb8xCUsbX7U/s640/nethack_170.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FAWbsYX1sh1CdVBrpSDCP0j0PXqNJePLB4ouKS8va6CV8kwxxaSKy20otYOKLG81DR1322CsGh6rtxL7J2ON18aQxPAYer1PRSqTQ7iiF4aV2QIYiWYvvWhj7R-3a9snRqZNbPzN871tk1-NKjOCw2rKhfO-jUeKumCFCtuN99iJ_Pu1Wb8xCUsbX7U/w400-h250/nethack_170.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Or go through the back door, it turns out. Where do you get "the right tune"?<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the far west side of the level, I find a room with a priest of Solomor Thelandira, a lawful deity. The altar is thus aligned lawful. I know there was some confusion about whether an altar could be converted if a priest was in the room, but I don't really need to convert it since there's another one just one level above me, so I leave it alone. A few trivial enemies spawn in the rest of the rooms. I clear them out and head down the stairs.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Level 22, my blindfold shows me a throne room with a black dragon right in the middle of a bunch of orcs. Black dragons are among the most dangerous creatures in the game, with "Disintegration" breath, but eating their corpses gives you resistance to the same. I know from experience that dragons don't breathe if you're in melee range, so I kick open the door and step out of his line of fire. The next time my Teleportitis activates, I teleport to the square right next to him and engage him in melee combat. He dies in about 12 hits. I eat his corpse and gain the resistance that I'm looking for. It was a gamble, but it paid off. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLxcOu1L4rDc-8h_EZQhNyu8ZchigQm9FvOlRXiYupvS385Uj-vegZIVhsQYfTRCog1gQBzL4BwOMqSHgb55QTzxEzox2Jmfzp6qo0Hvv1FYuylfYbKccgiS1dTr9wJ9dW9fQozjdvih6PCGO6SkgqGA-pqbkyGVkhw4iqeizqdBl-7-W0Grl97v-gF0/s640/nethack_177.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLxcOu1L4rDc-8h_EZQhNyu8ZchigQm9FvOlRXiYupvS385Uj-vegZIVhsQYfTRCog1gQBzL4BwOMqSHgb55QTzxEzox2Jmfzp6qo0Hvv1FYuylfYbKccgiS1dTr9wJ9dW9fQozjdvih6PCGO6SkgqGA-pqbkyGVkhw4iqeizqdBl-7-W0Grl97v-gF0/w400-h250/nethack_177.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Preparing to jump right next to the dragon.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While I'm eating the dragon, by the way, the orcs and other enemies, including a fire giant, are beating away at me. They literally do no damage, or so little that my regeneration heals me in the next round. I've never felt so invulnerable playing a game of <i>NetHack</i>. I'm sure it's all going to come crashing down at some point. I'll make some arrogant mistake and get killed. But for now--and especially after this session--it's hard to see what's going to kill me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I head to the throne room and start sitting in the throne. I get a couple of messages that I feel out of place, and I get confused for a few turns. But on my fifth or sixth try--I swear to Erevan Ilesere--I get the ability to wish for another object. Already having magic resistance from my scale mail, I decided to use this one on "Reflection." It takes a while because I thought there was an object called a Cloak of Reflection, but I guess it doesn't exist in this version. The game keeps telling me it's not a valid object (fortunately, that doesn't cancel the wish). I think Amulets and Shields of Reflection are both valid, and I spend some time debating which I'd rather have. I don't <i>think</i> there are Shields of Anything Else whereas there are several other potentially-useful amulet types, so I try the shield and get it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVz_07LZ43RpmxioCeSI6IR0ywcl7Eg88wJkQ_lC3bvMlQtPk-ydT8jyRRUrRFZNipL-ko35USFal5QcHWFyrsaPRBMvwdrV6pq_SLUH-GB-oeBOSomz8nn-ftJdSG1h7pOUc_FZkr6gPKuCUNEH-k53TLcF0Xj2dlo1u01d5qzvEwyRiRBuL-VdzuPTs/s640/nethack_181.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVz_07LZ43RpmxioCeSI6IR0ywcl7Eg88wJkQ_lC3bvMlQtPk-ydT8jyRRUrRFZNipL-ko35USFal5QcHWFyrsaPRBMvwdrV6pq_SLUH-GB-oeBOSomz8nn-ftJdSG1h7pOUc_FZkr6gPKuCUNEH-k53TLcF0Xj2dlo1u01d5qzvEwyRiRBuL-VdzuPTs/w400-h250/nethack_181.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'm glad I kept trying.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I find a magic marker amid all the debris, which will be useful later for writing scrolls. My dexterity keeps fluctuating from 17 to 16, sometimes getting exercised from the door-kicking, sometimes getting "abused" from being over-satiated a lot of the time. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Level 23, there's another killer bee hive in the northeast, which gives me another load of royal honey for both nutrition and increasing strength. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilV5iobF9PecH2opzCogPqlpd4sxuWfN0sfaO9qJQ603TQDSaruBFYn8-WS050CEsjyDtKUd33FrJzXCLZNLVByI9Qme_bd-ZzjL_bFhbz9Wd3Ev6NMQL3URo0L3mabJopezvuYnmg6x7SHUM6i8pSfS-k5nEfwaiKUWqjcLNxJWl8tG5q_GxuBPWCNw0/s640/nethack_183.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilV5iobF9PecH2opzCogPqlpd4sxuWfN0sfaO9qJQ603TQDSaruBFYn8-WS050CEsjyDtKUd33FrJzXCLZNLVByI9Qme_bd-ZzjL_bFhbz9Wd3Ev6NMQL3URo0L3mabJopezvuYnmg6x7SHUM6i8pSfS-k5nEfwaiKUWqjcLNxJWl8tG5q_GxuBPWCNw0/w400-h250/nethack_183.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I love it when my blindfold shows me this.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 25 offers a store, but without a single useful object except for (ironically) an Amulet of Reflection. I sell some gems there. There are four mimics in the place, which I think is a record. An altar room in the northwest has another chaotic altar and a friendly "Elvenking." He sounds important, but I can't find anything to do with him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 26 has a type of room I've never seen before: a swamp in which every other square is water. I navigate this room<i> very</i> carefully, making sure not to blunder into the water squares while fighting various eels that live there. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsWedBx788yoqgnPOdd8_X-kKLEL-NAaaWX4PEglVY3e6R5XvNve6eeRPZSyza_rGxZpctCf_N_IXe0HlqrSojIeh8DLUb9j4Yxobn1Kw0crw-Gn1-XCdapFm2JEIJl8RKh7-mwHpgfUd7kwBuqXUi9ypXiI97WUClbdMERsY2yzVoUF0NgptiPQKZ8g/s640/nethack_189.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsWedBx788yoqgnPOdd8_X-kKLEL-NAaaWX4PEglVY3e6R5XvNve6eeRPZSyza_rGxZpctCf_N_IXe0HlqrSojIeh8DLUb9j4Yxobn1Kw0crw-Gn1-XCdapFm2JEIJl8RKh7-mwHpgfUd7kwBuqXUi9ypXiI97WUClbdMERsY2yzVoUF0NgptiPQKZ8g/w400-h250/nethack_189.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Threading my way through the swamp.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 27 starts out very weird. It begins in a long, rectangular room from north to south. There are a bunch of friendly monsters in the room, including gremlins, which keep falling into pools of water and multiplying, making it hard to get around. A titan attacks me with a Wand of Cold when I arrive, but I kill him in short order. My blindfold alerts me to other monsters on the level, including an angel, a couatl, a vampire lord, and Medusa. Most of them are all the way to the far east.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I find a secret door in the upper-left, but it just opens onto a pool of water, so I can't go that way. The walls are impervious to my pick-axe and I cannot teleport. Boulders and three pools of water prevent me from searching some of the walls in the southeast. I destroy one of the boulders with my pick-axe and shove the other into the northernmost pool, turning it into dry ground. Stepping on it, I find a secret door to the southeast. It lets me out, but only to confront me with a large lake of water blocking me from getting to the other "islands" on the level. I clearly need some sort of levitation. I don't think jumping is an option. Even if it was, it would require me to drop and leave behind more stuff than I feel comfortable dropping. Oh, and I find an Amulet of Magical Breathing under the titan's corpse, but even if it will let me walk through the water, I don't want to ruin all my stuff again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kJH_Q8c1i4TyLNFapPLnveGqy9G75nEpzem2vdRjNimVfIFDyLR8-KrUzX_0AxgG634Ul8wxPooTU30EtWVoOlYMUAqi2oLsUYU-mlg4ALIF7ixKILq9sniRhdDqOT38FXtGjedya-u6f98wo45EfqTi6kJLiwjW0fW1xt_eE-t_vuJNcR4FMfcI_Bo/s640/nethack_195.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kJH_Q8c1i4TyLNFapPLnveGqy9G75nEpzem2vdRjNimVfIFDyLR8-KrUzX_0AxgG634Ul8wxPooTU30EtWVoOlYMUAqi2oLsUYU-mlg4ALIF7ixKILq9sniRhdDqOT38FXtGjedya-u6f98wo45EfqTi6kJLiwjW0fW1xt_eE-t_vuJNcR4FMfcI_Bo/w400-h250/nethack_195.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Trying to figure out what to do here.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Disgruntled, I begin making my way back up the levels, looking for anything that will help. A giant spawns and attacks me with a Wand of Fire, which I take off his corpse after I kill him. I believe Wands of Fire can dry up pools of water, but it only has four charges. I also think Wands of Ice can freeze pools, and I come across one I left behind on Level 18, but it's dead. I break a statue and get a spellbook with "Haste," but that doesn't help. Finally, back on Level 8, I found a Potion of Levitation in a store. That would seem to be what I need, but it also means I can't get back unless I find some other means on the other side of Medusa.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hesitate to tell you this next part because I don't think you're going to believe me. I promise I'm telling the truth and I've been adhering to all the <i>NetHack</i> rules--no scumming, no permadeath. I've backed up my character a couple of times, but I haven't reloaded. I mean, if I was going to narrate a bunch of lies, surely I'd make up something more believable than sitting in the throne on the way back down through Level 22 and getting yet <i>another</i> wish, right?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBDdnDxkVBQoIEgPfpN-3PkYPNFqBJsis8M3f7HSSg7PO6mh9r3wMwTPbWpKLHfqdCXwiWBB19yyNj3vXlN15UvJOmDvYHFHegV87dLiNyz9WQGEOI5l7G_IICV4qGTJr2cVk0vvHeDtjl-CTIh6JrOzv62Cly7Su0JTdBY7QbLONb1cwdsV6B6HxWXg/s640/nethack_196.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBDdnDxkVBQoIEgPfpN-3PkYPNFqBJsis8M3f7HSSg7PO6mh9r3wMwTPbWpKLHfqdCXwiWBB19yyNj3vXlN15UvJOmDvYHFHegV87dLiNyz9WQGEOI5l7G_IICV4qGTJr2cVk0vvHeDtjl-CTIh6JrOzv62Cly7Su0JTdBY7QbLONb1cwdsV6B6HxWXg/w400-h250/nethack_196.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is what I need, but is it enough?<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But that's what happens. And now I'm in a conundrum. I can wish for a Ring of Levitation and be done with the levitation question or get another ultra-cool item for my ascension kit. Or maybe a blessed Scroll of Genocide for liches, or a special helm or pair of gloves. Ultimately, I decide to go for the Ring of Levitation, though. I don't know how many more of these situations I'm going to encounter. The throne vanishes after the wish, keeping me from trying a third time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Back on the medusa level, I drink the potion before putting on the ring, and I'm glad I got the ring, as the potion only lasts a dozen or so rounds. I see a mind flayer approaching on the level. The game says several times that it "locks on to my telepathy." I don't know what that means, but it seems like a good creature not to get close to, so I destroy it with missile weapons and wands. Afterwards, I eat its corpse and get +1 intelligence. The angel also attacks me and actually manages to damage me for the first time this session, to the tune of about 20 hit points, before I kill him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This whole time, I'm keeping an eye on Medusa by occasionally putting on my blindfold. Eventually, I make my way over to her room--a mirror of the entry room--on the far side of the level. A secret door opens as I approach and the vampire lord emerges. I destroy him and a lich with missile weapons. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's a wand underneath a boulder, and at first I imagine I've found yet another couple of wishes, but it turns out to be a Wand of Speed Monster.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitVT71C8gk8zqhECkTFMAWGp-bdxUFMlrCyR3DOfMDzOjiZ2O-vbFaeZy47xJvEAl2K31OqeLGWL1lLP11wBbjLLqC8Q1WTxK4CA-QTHF-9d8HX_GoEPK-O6zP2nErn-h0EumiuL2MA71pzwVOUA7-dC2oknayhzXYlgcQwJnvr7HYVpsoC2xWxfs0SoQ/s640/nethack_200.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitVT71C8gk8zqhECkTFMAWGp-bdxUFMlrCyR3DOfMDzOjiZ2O-vbFaeZy47xJvEAl2K31OqeLGWL1lLP11wBbjLLqC8Q1WTxK4CA-QTHF-9d8HX_GoEPK-O6zP2nErn-h0EumiuL2MA71pzwVOUA7-dC2oknayhzXYlgcQwJnvr7HYVpsoC2xWxfs0SoQ/w400-h250/nethack_200.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Keeping an eye on Medusa and her minions.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Medusa's building turns out to have multiple rings of rooms, and I slowly make my way to her, killing the other enemies in the hall. I make sure to have on my blindfold when I open the final door to her chamber, which also contains a baby green dragon. No sooner do I have the door open than the game says, "You destroy Medusa!" When I take off my blindfold, she's been turned into a statue. I can only imagine that she tried her gaze attack on me, and it hit my Shield of Reflection.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lest you think this session is too blessed, I realize at this point that I accidentally left my pick-axe outside the shop where I got the Potion of Levitation. (Shopkeepers make you drop them outside so you can't tunnel out of the shop without paying.) So I either have to go all the way back or move forward, hoping I find one later. I can already picture the entry in which I relate how I died in some preventable way because I didn't have a pick-axe. I sigh and go back for it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4r4B1H-e8J9dkVbWFDaWy5Butixnt97q5xVPKmwDMeRrrmFEB9eE13lrGrq2vvtpCSfa5yVg77STNaWZm0iwCWtMqQF6RszNcbt1uHlild77IkgwNRx_AInqPrjv4Q-XzJ6zYMucZYHzfLfRkGbp3dhrL64HWQEvK6rC97JD80lA5nYi6J5H8YXVyHGc/s640/nethack_204.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4r4B1H-e8J9dkVbWFDaWy5Butixnt97q5xVPKmwDMeRrrmFEB9eE13lrGrq2vvtpCSfa5yVg77STNaWZm0iwCWtMqQF6RszNcbt1uHlild77IkgwNRx_AInqPrjv4Q-XzJ6zYMucZYHzfLfRkGbp3dhrL64HWQEvK6rC97JD80lA5nYi6J5H8YXVyHGc/w400-h250/nethack_204.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>@#$#% shopkeeper.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Half an hour later, I return to the Medusa level and gleefully shatter all her statutes. One of them has a spellbook of "Remove Curse." While trying to read it to learn the spell better, for some reason all of my gold disappears.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9a02ey__Mf97FEnFDz7nJcdxGYjnqTLr3wN-cANboMIVv_MbpKulVHAX_V-gvkxVyOUgff23g6z1mdTqk6h3m2O09DCXO3VVg4kQmp6hoVh4vqT-LHd8CTVd18hLdPFPYlmk91ZHitMyx-6__hDhRfsgTDiTdE2samRS5vDnhelsEeLbiPb35I_EP4CA/s640/nethack_205.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9a02ey__Mf97FEnFDz7nJcdxGYjnqTLr3wN-cANboMIVv_MbpKulVHAX_V-gvkxVyOUgff23g6z1mdTqk6h3m2O09DCXO3VVg4kQmp6hoVh4vqT-LHd8CTVd18hLdPFPYlmk91ZHitMyx-6__hDhRfsgTDiTdE2samRS5vDnhelsEeLbiPb35I_EP4CA/w400-h250/nethack_205.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Medusa's full level.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I move down from the Medusa Level. Level 28 is a maze with a variety of monsters but nothing interesting. I find two Wands of Digging on the level, and since I already have two in my inventory, I just use them to blast open walls to make it easier to get around the level.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 29 is the famous castle level. As with the Medusa level, Teleportitis doesn't work. The castle is surrounded by a moat, a closed drawbridge marking the entrance. Something I heard in the game--a hint from the Oracle or maybe from a priest--indicates that I need to play music to lower the drawbridge. Having no way to do that, I put on the Ring of Levitation and circle around to the back door. The ring helps me avoid a number of trap doors in the hallway. There are several dragons guarding treasure chambers. I kill them and get the "Resist Shock" intrinsic by eating the corpse of a blue one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivSsi7LYj83EkTNgk5A6XsUiRbSgVoNqtWOPNNdM7RVS3MCHkNC6Vu2m8RsgdnEqfmU3KhYeyiPgI1Ztzc0CLB63D5VS49bhlJ9dBIcXWxgsCWJTWzQ7UI0sJdFCA2LtKGujkQcrcASc6RBFAxzrLSqw8W7O3VIFGMARCeShYFSKEYBQ34uK7qCOuXGOg/s640/nethack_210.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivSsi7LYj83EkTNgk5A6XsUiRbSgVoNqtWOPNNdM7RVS3MCHkNC6Vu2m8RsgdnEqfmU3KhYeyiPgI1Ztzc0CLB63D5VS49bhlJ9dBIcXWxgsCWJTWzQ7UI0sJdFCA2LtKGujkQcrcASc6RBFAxzrLSqw8W7O3VIFGMARCeShYFSKEYBQ34uK7qCOuXGOg/w400-h250/nethack_210.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I think that's what this means, anyway.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The hallway leads to a main chamber absolutely full of monsters: soldiers, elementals, nagas, and so on. The only thing that really scares me are the rust monsters, but if I just back up a few steps, they can't get to me without falling down to the next level and I can toss weapons and spells at them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bQgby6vlU6_4o46g0XcfZBGDtQ1Ua_pIVri8_ML0bYQ9w5lb2hUexN-mRZfvz03DaH2gBn_SVdYohMcLbyXUH1dzlMXrw7LfqFSDl2K5itBrra4J4s9vd2Qz2PIieLZnQ0jwesU2YBrmX-4xv6HsQzDAQgEO-9wmMzz7AMIGeGgSJEJSKzxJODV1t4s/s640/nethack_215.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bQgby6vlU6_4o46g0XcfZBGDtQ1Ua_pIVri8_ML0bYQ9w5lb2hUexN-mRZfvz03DaH2gBn_SVdYohMcLbyXUH1dzlMXrw7LfqFSDl2K5itBrra4J4s9vd2Qz2PIieLZnQ0jwesU2YBrmX-4xv6HsQzDAQgEO-9wmMzz7AMIGeGgSJEJSKzxJODV1t4s/w400-h250/nethack_215.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It's nice when they kill each other.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When it's all done, I spend a lot of time writing Scrolls of Identify with my marker, blessing them with my potions, and identifying stacks of items strewn all over the level. The good things I find are: a pair of Gloves of Dexterity, 6 tallow candles, a Scroll of Genocide, a Scroll of Enchant Weapon, and a Potion of Gain Ability. There are also a million C-rations and K-rations, which I stuff in a chest in case I come through this way again. You'll be happy to know that the throne disappeared the first time I tried to sit on it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is, of course, a Wand of Wishing in a corner chamber. I identify it with a stack of other stuff; it has 2 charges. I think if I use the first on a Scroll of Recharging, I might be able to get as many as three wishes out of it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5mQZtikeRm_uJyH9I_OZNsTSBN4mYNa9VhbkOaMI-8KeRaSOvxYg5DtonObnpn4LV89IptlgAjHhSUTJC6CLNqDJlpuQUG3Iuc1YSNaizG77C3el1Yw6IKmtxVMG8wPokRkJ7KBuQ0R4_gmKDWpF6D2iDlZ9tOfwbU4Un54fSyqfc_GS5GJUfhjbqeE/s640/nethack_219.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5mQZtikeRm_uJyH9I_OZNsTSBN4mYNa9VhbkOaMI-8KeRaSOvxYg5DtonObnpn4LV89IptlgAjHhSUTJC6CLNqDJlpuQUG3Iuc1YSNaizG77C3el1Yw6IKmtxVMG8wPokRkJ7KBuQ0R4_gmKDWpF6D2iDlZ9tOfwbU4Un54fSyqfc_GS5GJUfhjbqeE/w400-h250/nethack_219.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It's about time we got some wishes around here.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are no stairs heading down, so I think I'll have to drop through one of the trap doors. Before I do, let me get your opinions on a) what to wish for (or whether to avoid wishing for anything just yet), b) what to genocide, and c) whether I need more levels. This is what I have, along with some notes:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">Amulet of Magical Breathing. I'm sure it has some uses beyond breathing underwater. Perhaps it's necessary for some of the levels coming up, or from protecting against some monsters. I feel like the slot could be better spent on a different amulet, though; I just don't know what.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Blessed +6 long sword. I would have liked to find an artifact weapon, but this is doing just fine.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Speed Boots +0. I remember this being vital to my ascension kits in previous <i>NetHack</i>s.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Shield of Reflection +2. Ditto.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Gray Dragon Scale Mail +2. Ditto again.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Gauntlets of Dexterity +0. Could be persuaded to part with them if there are better gauntlets or gloves.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Orcish Helm +2. I'm sure there must be some artifact helms that could replace this.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Elven Cloak +4. Pretty happy with this.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">A variety of food items, not worth enumerating.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Blessed Scroll of Identify</li><li style="text-align: justify;">2 Scrolls of Blank Paper (I keep dipping scrolls I don't want into fountains).</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Scroll of Genocide</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Scroll of Punishment. Found recently; waiting to dip; afraid I'll accidentally hit the wrong number and read it. I should just drop it.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Potion of Holy Water</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Ring of Fire Resistance. I have fire resistance intrinsically. I don't remember if items stack.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Ring of Regeneration. My native regeneration is so high, I'm not sure why I'm still carrying this.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Ring of Protection +2. This could be sacrificed for something more important.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Ring of Levitation. Probably vital.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Two Wands of Digging, 9 charges total.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Wand of Death, 2 charges.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Wand of Wishing, 2 charges.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Wand of Teleportation, 6 charges.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Wand of Magic Missile. I have no idea why.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">7 Tallow Candles and 1 Wax Candle. I don't know the difference.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Magic Marker with 8 charges left.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Bell of Opening.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Palantir of Westernesse.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Pick-Axe.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Blessed +0 Unicorn Horn.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Blindfold.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Magic Lamp.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Credit Card (for unlocking).</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll be happy to take advice. Next time, I'll see you in Hell!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Time so far: </b>25 hours</i><br /></div><br />CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.com73