When last we left off our intrepid band was still exploring the fourth level of the dungeon complex. I must say, where level design is concerned, I was very impressed by how the fourth and second dungeon levels are intertwined. Some great dungeon design there. I’ve made a lot of progress since my last post. First off, I mistakenly thought that I had made a thorough inspection of the second dungeon level.
I had missed a secret door in the northern section of the map while exploring the grand wizard Pol’s opulent surroundings. I then found myself in pitched combat with grand wizard Pol himself and his undead minions. Once I defeated Pol I found a mysterious Amulet. I’ve yet to get it identified but I believe it to be important and to likely be useful later.
So on the second dungeon level there are two quest items to find that seem to be of importance: The Staff of the Earth and this mysterious Amulet.
I returned to the fourth dungeon level and continued to map out the rest of the level. I outlined how I had found the Crystal of Evil on this level in my last post but I discovered one other very interesting item on this level and that is the Ship in the Bottle. If you look at the map there are areas in the southeast quadrant that are shaded in gray. These areas contain pressure plates and when you step on them a message of ‘Look Out!’ appears. Each time you step on a pressure plate and then make a move in any direction a random encounter will occur. More often than not; one of the items that you will be granted after one of these encounters is a mysterious bottle. You will soon discover that this magical item is actually a Ship in a Bottle and it allows you to move across the small lake located on the first dungeon level. This is a convenience because it affords you a very quick way to access stairs to the fifth dungeon level.
This installment of Wizardry is eccentric because in order to complete your quest you have to play the part of both good and evil. Good aligned characters are not allowed to access Dungeon Levels three or five. Evil aligned characters are not allowed to access Dungeon Levels two or four. So you have to switch alignments in this game. Now that I had the first, second, and fourth dungeon levels all mapped out, it was time to get my evil on. I started small. I began by pinching the bottom of every barmaid back at the local tavern and escalated to kicking small Golden Retriever puppies that I passed in the street. It became much more insidious when I made my way back into the first dungeon level. Each time I encountered a Friendly group of creatures; instead of leaving them alone; I chose to fight them. I kept this up over and over again until my entire party was despicably evil. Now we walked around with perpetual sneers on our faces. We would continuously shout out spoiler alerts to everyone’s newest TV binge when we passed them by. Soon we were perpetually greeted with nothing but hisses and boos. It is then that we were finally allowed access to the stairs to Dungeon Level three which are found on the first level.
I did not enjoy the third dungeon level. It was an absolute nightmare to map out. Even though the map is on a 20 x 20 grid, if you look around the edges of the map you’ll see that in many places the edges of the map join together continuously. This requires very careful mapping and constant use of the Wizard’s spell DUMAPIC. You can very easily walk right off the eastern edge of the map and suddenly find yourself on the far west side of the map if you’re not careful. It can be very disorienting. Then there is the central area of this dungeon level. It is a pure nightmare to navigate. The best way to describe it is to imagine wading into a fast flowing river. You’re likely just to get swept along. This is what happens when you first enter the middle area. Each step sweeps you both north and east. Mapping is crucial here because it is in this middle area that you encounter the ancient Monk.
I wasn’t too keen on exchanging my soul for what was in the chest. It sounded like the worst game of Let’s Make A Deal ever played. In all honesty I almost replied NO because I thought the consequences of saying yes were probably dire. I chose YES and instead of my soul he took the broadsword from one of my characters. It was unexpected but I would gladly trade a broadsword for what’s in the chest rather than my soul. In exchange for the broadsword the monk gave one of the party members a medallion.
This medallion becomes crucial as you continue exploring this dungeon level. To the north is a battle and a mysterious pool. When you search the pool you suddenly lose the medallion but are given a vial of holy water. I thoroughly search and mapped out this area ( which took FOREVER ! ) and did not find anything else of interest except for a staircase to the fifth dungeon level. I and my evil companions are now boldly striking out to search the fifth dungeon level. Being thoroughly evil, I can’t help but have thoughts of stabbing the person in front of me in the back and taking their share of the loot. Switching alignments is extremely tiring and likely hazardous to your health.
I would say at this point I’m likely 70% done with the game and it is my hope that when I report back to you I will have completed the quest and the last two dungeon levels. I am really enjoying the game which reinforces that the Wizardry series is still my favorite series to date and secondly that I just love a good dungeon crawler. It would seem to be my favorite genre so far.