Pagan: The Necromancer's Apprentice

So is anyone going to come along and move him?

       

The Guardian has marooned the Avatar on the world of Pagan, which is dominated by four titans, each with its own school of magic. The Avatar has learned that if he wants to escape, he's going to have to master the different magical systems. Let's get that organized:

       

Realm	Titan	Magic  School	Founder	Current Rep
Earth	Lithos	Necromancy	Moriens: Made a deal with Lithos to stop earthquakes in exchange for Pagans serving Lithos in death.	Lothian/Vividos
Water	Hydros	Tempestry	Kalen, a Necromancer: Imprisoned Hydros when the titan would not return his dead girlfriend, stole water magic from Hyrdos.	Mordea
Air	Stratos	Theurgy	Stellos: Caused the titan to breathe life into Kalen's beloved, lost his sight as a result.	????
Fire	Pyros	Sorcery	Four unnamed theurgists who used blackrock to imprison Pyros and thus stop a volcano from destroying the world.	????
????	None	Thaumaturgy	Unknown.	Mythran

     

The backstory of the game has a Guardian whispering dissent to the old followers (Zealans) of the three emotional gods, turning them to the worship of elemental titans as a way to defend against a coming Destroyer. A suggestion has been made in the comments that the Guardian (the evil being) was both the Guardian and Destroyer of Pagan and essentially the creator of the elemental titans. (Joshua's rot-13'd comment in that thread is worth reading.) It's an inspired idea, that the Guardian is uniquely good at identifying a world's weaknesses and exploiting them, much as he did with the Fellowship on Britannia—and that he has done so across multiple worlds (we have hints of a few other cases in Ultima Underworld II). I can't help but lament what could have been if someone had Origin had ever created some kind of governing document for the entire Ultima universe, outlining the true nature of these multiple worlds, the true nature of the Guardian, and the reason that magic works differently from place to place. This is exactly the sort of thing that Brandon Sanderson would do with his Cosmere in another decade.

       

The magical assignments seem a bit dubious to me. The link between water and tempestry is the most solid, but I believe that the term was invented for this game. As for the others . . . I don't see why necromancy should be concerned primarily with earth (yes, yes, interment, but still) or healing with air. "Pyromancy" would make sense with fire, but "sorcery" in general? The Ultima series likes to create neat little packages of its themes (8 virtues, 8 classes, 8 towns), but they don't always hold together well. The associations between elements and magic are, to me, the "bards = compassion" of Pagan.

      

I take some time to finally organize my backpack.

                

(You didn't ask, but writing "tempestry" several times made me think of Shakespeare's The Tempest, which I think is his most autobiographical play and thus one of the most interesting to study, but it's my least favorite to see performed. There's virtually no conflict in it at all.) 

       

But back to the present game. The Avatar has agreed to be the apprentice for Vividos, the new Necromancer Supreme, which of course begins with a fetch quest. I have to head to Western Tenebrae for some "fallen sticks from the place where spirits roam." This would be a good time to introduce the map I've been working on for the world as a whole:

     

I haven't visited much so far.

           

I'm not sure whether "West Tenebrae" means the area I've already explored (and found no sticks) or the map even further west than that, which I have not yet visited.

     

I know where there are spirits in West Tenebrae, though I don't remember any sticks there. I revisit just to be sure. I kill the ghost and his ghouls again, and yes, there are a couple of poles on the ground, but I don't think that's what Vividos was talking about. I'm just about to leave the area when I click on some sticks that look like a part of the background texture, and it turns out that they're what I'm looking for: Dead Man's Elbow.

    

The "elbows" are the items to the left and right of the tree in the upper-left corner.

       

I'm a bit disappointed because I was hoping to explore the area west of West Tenebrae. Even though I have only a Willie Suttonesque reason for doing so, I decide to go there before heading back to Vividos. While trying to find the western exit, I accidentally jump into the river and thus have to repeat everything from the beginning.

         

I end up calling the area "West Valley." It's a truncated map, about as long as a regular map north-south but only about as third as wide east-west. Encounters:

    

• A guardhouse. Inside a barrel, I find an abacus, which automatically counts up my various piles of obsidian pieces. Barrels on the roof include a hallucinogenic mushroom (the screen changes colors for a few seconds) and a hurricane, which does indeed seem to be the New Orleans drink, as after I drink it, the Avatar starts moving around in random directions. Hurricanes suck, by the way. Be a man and order a Sazerac.

    

Of course, just clicking on the pile of obsidian pieces accomplishes the same thing.

         

• There's a waterfall at the north end of the map with some nice water effects. 

     

Contrasting with the absolutely banal depiction of water immediately to the right.

      

• A cave that I nearly miss behind a tree is occupied by a kith. I kill it. Among the skeletons in the cave, I find half a dozen obsidian coins, some spell reagents, and a Scroll of Trap Destruction.

      

It's hard to take screenshots while moving. All my screenshots look like the Avatar is just standing around.

           

• A shack on the western edge is occupied by a woman and a little girl. The woman yells at me to go away, and the girl has the same dialogue options as the inquisitive little girl in Eastern Tenebrae. 

• A house with a roof deck has another one of these girls. They're annoying because you have to go through the whole dialogue before you can move on. 

    

Argh. Not again.

       

• There are a couple of large houses side by side in the southwestern part of the area. One seems to be a store, but nobody is manning the counter. I wait through several time periods.

• The other house is occupied by a fisherwoman named Kilandra. She stays away from town because Mordea "is a selfish, black-hearted woman." She recounts how she brought her sick daughter, Elaina, to the palace steps for healing, but Salkind (the seneschal) insisted that Mordea was taking a bath and couldn't be disturbed, "especially to help a filthy gutter snipe." The girl later died. The name seems familiar, and a quick search reveals she's the author of What the Fish Tell Me, a silly poem for children.

     

Kilandra, this world isn't big enough to have dialects.

        

• A ghost and a pack of ghouls.

• An unoccupied hut. There's a kith in a fenced-in back yard, but I can't figure out how to get to it.

• A changeling. A mandril.

• A dead fisherman on a bedroll next to his rope and basket.

     

Not a bad way to go in this world.

        

• A two-story stone house. It is well-kept and fairly opulent, but no one is living there. It does contribute the humorous My Rival, My Love to the "Books of Pagan" entry. 

        

Does no one live here?

       

That is all I can find, so I gird myself for the long walk back to Vividos. (Couldn't he have invested in a teleportation pad?) A guard stops me as I enter the Eastern Shore area and demands to know what I know of the scholar Bentic. I refuse to answer his questions, so he attacks me, and I actually manage to kill him. A nearby guard says "no fighting" but otherwise doesn't seem perturbed that I've just murdered his compatriot.

   

I decide I'd better see what this is about, so I reload and say, "We have spoken." The guard says that Mordea has executed Bentic for "conducting forbidden research." He then asks about the fisherman, Devon, who of course I also know. He has been arrested and imprisoned. Man, Mordea really has to go.

     

Can't you just say "killed"?

       

I teleport back to the palace. Just for fun, I try to kill Mordea, but the game isn't having it. With the first blow, a sorcerer appears and executes me. Actually, the sorcerer appears, and while Mordea is explaining to him what crime I've committed, she executes me.

      

Down in the dusty basement I previously visited, I find Devon in a locked room. I'm able to speak to him through the door. He asks me to help figure out what is happening and suggests I talk to Salkind. (In any conversation with Mordea, she asks where I'm from and refuses to talk anymore after I give the answer.) I find him in the throne room at mid-day. He is unapologetic about Bentic's execution (though he won't tell me what constitutes "forbidden research") and he says that Devon will be executed soon.

          

At least they gave you a decent bed.

     

Salkind mentions his logbook of executions a couple of times, which is back at his house in East Tenebrae. I head there, and sure enough, it has been updated to include Bentic's execution. It notes that: "The confiscated research is secured in the dungeon evidence chamber for further review to determine the presence of additional conspirators." Does the game really want me to find out the specific reason Bentic was executed? It strikes me that Mordea and Salkind aren't above just executing people on any old trumped-up charge.

     

I find a book in his desk that I missed the first time (or else it wasn't there before). It's called "Enemies of Tenebrae" and lists nearly everyone in Tenebrae.

      

These people seem more like victims of Tenebrae.

      

I toss the place, looking for a key to the dungeon. I'm almost surprised when I find a key under a pot. I find another one under a cloth in his bedroom. Unfortunately, they seem to open a door and chest within his house. The chest has several scrolls and 300 obsidian coins.

       

Damn. I really do need to move everything in this game, don't I?

          

I return to the dungeon and verify that the keys have nothing to do with those doors. I waste a lot of time tossing the dungeon and the palace, looking for the appropriate key. I do find the key to the armory (under a pillow in the barracks), but there's nothing I really want there. I wish I had found it earlier.

         

I think I prefer when the Avatar spoke in keywords rather than questions.

       

Determined to accomplish something this session, I return to Vividos. (Lothian's body is still just lying on the altar.) "I have found your reagents," I say. Vividos praises me and gives me the "Key of the Caretaker." which despite its name is a fairly large staff. He says my next task is to visit the Catacombs, which will require the "Open Rock" spell, cast on the rock face to the north of the Tomb of Moriens. He outlines the process for casting spells as such:

      

You must place the proper reagents in a bag, close the bag, and then invoke the power of the Key [of the Caretaker] on the closed bag. When you open the bag, you will find a magic talisman within. When you invoke the magic of the talisman, you cast the spell.

       

That's a little convoluted, and it requires a free bag. I had hoped to just keep all my reagents in one bag, but I guess that's not going to be possible. "Open Ground" requires Blood and Blackmoor, according to Earthen Magic, and I have both from Vividos's own office. I empty out one of my bags, give it a try, and soon I have an "Open Ground" talisman. Now I want to know whether the system really requires a bag, or whether any container works. In a pinch, could I just hold the reagents in my hand and use the Key on it?

      

Casting the spell on the reagent bag.

      

Vividos also says that I'll need to learn from the ancient necromancers buried in the Catacombs, and for this, I'll need "Death Speak," which requires Blood and Bone. I have two vials of Blood and two piles of Bone shards, but I suspect I'll need more. Hoping I'll find more in the Catacombs themselves (which in retrospect is probably stupid), I move on.

       

North of the Tomb of Moriens, I thought a ghost was blocking the exit to a new area. I see now that he's just blocking the gate to a building. I manage to kill the ghost this time; my strength and dexterity both hit their max of 25 during this battle. 

   

I enter the building and use the talisman on the stone wall, which opens to reveal a cavernous entrance.

        

I guess I should have assumed it would open at the end of the middle path flanked by busts of Lithos.

        

I start exploring the Catacombs. Encounters:

   

• Skeletons and ghouls. The skeletons are remarkably persistent here, following me from room to room, and rising even if I'm nowhere near their corpses. It would be nice if I were taught some kind of spell to kill them permanently.  

     

Slain by the undead.

       

• Holes in the walls shooting fireballs.

• Levers that open gates.

• A lever that flips the entire world upside down; I consider playing like this for as long as it will let me, but it gets annoying fast.

     

I need to test the limits of this.

       

• Pits that suddenly open up in the floor, requiring me to climb out. Some of these open into pools of lava or acid or something, which means I'm trying to climb out, which is hard enough, while taking damage. I die repeatedly from these.

      

I think I like it better in here.

         

• Gates that shoot electricity between them.

• An enormous pile of skeletons, not to mention all the ones in loculi on the walls. None of them seem to have anything. Eventually, I stop checking.

• I bypass a closed gate by climbing over a pillar.  

      

I just realized I probably could have jumped up on that roof from here. I'll have to go back and try it.

       

• I reach a plaque that reads "Hegland Hegwood." I think this might be one of the ancient necromancers, but when I cast "Death Speak" on any of the bodies in the area, nothing happens. Ditto with "John of Garland."

• A plaque reads, "Danger, do not enter." I enter anyway. The room beyond has "strange holes" in the floor that spout jets of flame if I get too close. I skirt them and grab a bag from the floor, which I really need.

• A two-story building has a chest on the top. Getting up there takes some real effort (I have to climb some nearby ruins). It has a Scroll of Trap Detection and several fire gems. I still don't really know whether they're spell reagents or valuables. I have a lot.

     

A great leap forward.

       

I really wanted to finish the Catacombs before posting, but alas, I ran out of time, and I wanted to keep my normal schedule. If I break the pattern, before you know it, I'll be on "hiatus." Thus, we'll have to resolve these plot points next time. 

    

I did find myself enjoying the game a bit more this time around. In my most recent entry on Ravenloft, VK noted some similarities between it and Pagan. It's an apt comparison. Both feature depopulated, depressing worlds run by tyrants and full of undead. Both have vacant houses and a general sense that the world's best days are behind them. I think the problem that I have with Pagan is that I've lost faith in the development team when it comes to the integrity of their storytelling. I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to regard all the empty mansions as a sign of a society that keeps executing its citizens or whether I'm to regard them as a sign that Origin ran out of time before it fully populated the world with NPCs.

      

This session, I had more fun as I realized I was giving Origin the benefit of the doubt. It does make sense if you compare Salkind's execution logbook with the vacant manors, for instance. It would just make more sense if more NPCs seemed to realize that their society is past the point of recovery. Anyway, I'll try to keep on in this more positive vein.

   

Time so far: 18 hours

   

****

   

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   09/08/2026