Temple of Apshai Trilogy Maps

[MarcoC]

I have skipped ahead to level 8 of Hellfire Warrior. This game has one of the most anticlimactic endings ever. It gives you absolutely no acknowledgement that you've rescued the maiden from the evil demon. Mapping the fiery plain on level 8 is going to be almost impossible without that hack you posted elsewhere for displaying room numbers on level 6 and 8. The plain is not a simple grid: back tracking doesn't always take you through the same areas.

 

The clue in the manual tells you to look for the orichalcum ring (treasure #13) on the plain, then head due west until you reach the pyrohydra-guarded gate to the demon's sanctum. Finding the ring isn't always easy, however. In the Apple version, these directions consistently get me to the ring:

 

From the entrance of the level, head east until you reach the wall. You will suddenly be able to see treasure #5. The entrance area appears to be one big room with the dungeon entrance on the west and a corridor north. However, the two halves of the area are separate "rooms". Since you can't see a treasure until you are standing in the same room with it, this was a clever little trick by the programmers to hide the treasure essentially in plain sight. Most people would just head straight to the north exit and miss the fact that eastern part of the area is a separate room. Treasure #5 is critical -- you get 3 javelins that kill any enemy with one hit. Save them for Death and the Bridge of Ice (listed as a trap, but in the game functions as a really nasty monster). The 3rd javelin can be used for either the Demon or the Pyrohydra (I would suggest the Pyrohydra, since I don't think the Demon is that tough).

 

After getting the javelins, head north to the next large chamber. There is a passage east, which is always guarded by a Behemoth. Beyond this passage is the huge plain. After reaching the plain, follow these directions:

 

North 1 screen. There is another passage west that heads back to the entrance complex of chambers.

 

North 1 screen. This area has treasure #8 (3 nectars). Save all your nectars, as they will become critical later.

 

East 1 screen. This area has treasure #3. Pick it up or leave it.

 

East 1 screen. 8 Imps attack you back-to-back. No treasure.

 

East 1 screen. Treasure #13 is here. It isn't worth anything, so you can just drop it after confirming that you're on the right track.

 

Turn around and go west 1 screen. 2 Hellfire "monsters" attack you back-to-back. Treasure #2 is here, with a trap that spawns another Hellfire.

 

West 1 screen. I always find a Lost Soul here. No treasures, but there is another Hellfire trap.

 

West 1 screen. There is a wall to the west with an opening leading to the Pyrohydra's lair. In front of the opening is treasure #1. You will also meet 3 Shades back-to-back. Close to the treasure is yet another Hellfire trap.

 

Before entering the Pyrohydra's lair, go south 1 screen. You will find treasure #9, the magic boots. This will make your life MUCH easier. Then go back north and you can tackle the Pyrohydra, the Demon, and the rest.

 

Marco.

[ballyalley]

This game has one of the most anticlimactic endings ever. It gives you absolutely no acknowledgement that you've rescued the maiden from the evil demon.

I'm not surprised to hear that the ending of "Hellfire Warrior" is anticlimactic. Nothing happens at the end of "Cursa of Ra" either. Collecting all of the treasures in "Ra" is supposed to break the curse... but there is nothing that lets you know that you have accomplished this goal. When I post the map for "Curse of Ra's" Level 4, "Temple of Ra", I'm going to write and post a proper ending for the game. It won't be part of the Apshai's official canon, but it will give some much-needed closure to the trilogy. A player who has worked his way through all twelve levels of the Temple of Apshai Trilogy deserves a special ending-- and a link that brings the game around to "Hellfire Warriror" (or other game's in the series).

 

Mapping the fiery plain on level 8 is going to be almost impossible without that hack you posted elsewhere for displaying room numbers on level 6 and 8.

 

I'm pretty sure that the "Hellfire Warrior" "hack" created to display the (otherwise unknown) room numbers was researched especially for Level 8 ("The Plains of Hell"). The "hack" is also useful for Level 6 ("The Labyrinth"), but I mapped most of that level without knowing the room numbers. It was simply a matter of assigning each room a number based on when I encountered it. Then, when I labeled my own map of Level 6, I just used those numbers that I'd created myself. I did eventually use the "hack" to see the true room numbers, but my map was perfectly navigable without them.

 

The plain is not a simple grid: back tracking doesn't always take you through the same areas.

 

The first game in the Dunjonquest series (that I know of) that has rooms that don't lead back from where you came from is "Upper Reaches of Apshai." On Level 2, "Merlis' Cottage," the magician's house (cottage) is a bit confusing to navigate, especially if you're not paying attention to the room numbers (because some different rooms look identical). After some thought, I was able to come up with a way to map those levels, but it did take some practice and quite a bit of trial and error on my part to make maps that would be usable for other players. My success or failure with the mapping method that I used to distinguish difficult-to-follow areas can be judged here:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/183584-temple-of-apshai-trilogy-maps/page-2?do=findComment&comment=3033108

 

If I had used maps like the ones I created for the Apshai series when I first played that Trilogy on my C64 in the mid-80s, it would have ruined the fun (which, for me, is the exploration and discovering of each room and monster in the different levels). This doesn't mean that the maps shouldn't be used by players who've never played the game before, it just wouldn't work for me. Which I why I chose only to skim the directions that "Marco" created to consistently get him to the Orichalcum Ring in the Apple II version of "Hellfire Warrior's" Level 8. His directions are detailed and are an excellent reference. When I play the game, I hope to be able to figure-out how to finish "The Plains of Hell" on my own. Afterward, I'll read Marco's directions to see how close he and I came to using the same method to finish the game.

 

Other levels of the Dunjonquest series (written released prior to "Hellfire Warrior) continued to use rooms that couldn't be traced backward: a player couldn't walk back into the room from which they had just exited. I've read that "The Plains of Hell" uses this to an extreme. Marco, does this make Level 8 too difficult to play, or is it difficult, but fair, to the player?

[MarcoC]

I'm pretty sure that the "Hellfire Warrior" "hack" created to display the (otherwise unknown) room numbers was researched especially for Level 8 ("The Plains of Hell"). The "hack" is also useful for Level 6 ("The Labyrinth"), but I mapped most of that level without knowing the room numbers. It was simply a matter of assigning each room a number based on when I encountered it. Then, when I labeled my own map of Level 6, I just used those numbers that I'd created myself. I did eventually use the "hack" to see the true room numbers, but my map was perfectly navigable without them.

 

My memory of level 6 is that it was pretty straightforward. Just a bit on the monotonous side, because you couldn't read along with any room descriptions. I never played level 6 much -- I have never been fond of mazes in games, not since the grandfather of them all, the "maze of twisty little passages, all alike."

 

 

 

The first game in the Dunjonquest series (that I know of) that has rooms that don't lead back from where you came from is "Upper Reaches of Apshai." On Level 2, "Merlis' Cottage," the magician's house (cottage) is a bit confusing to navigate, especially if you're not paying attention to the room numbers (because some different rooms look identical). After some thought, I was able to come up with a way to map those levels, but it did take some practice and quite a bit of trial and error on my part to make maps that would be usable for other players.

 

I never had Upper Reaches until I bought the Trilogy version for the Apple IIgs much later. So when I was going through Merlis' Cottage, I immediately recognized what was going on because of my prior experience with Hellfire Warrior. I think your way of laying out the map makes it fairly clear. I am very interested in seeing what you do with level 8 when you get to it. I am actually toying with the idea of writing some appropriate room descriptions, if you include the hidden room numbers.

 

 

Other levels of the Dunjonquest series (written released prior to "Hellfire Warrior) continued to use rooms that couldn't be traced backward: a player couldn't walk back into the room from which they had just exited. I've read that "The Plains of Hell" uses this to an extreme. Marco, does this make Level 8 too difficult to play, or is it difficult, but fair, to the player?

 

"...to an extreme" is an understatement. The section of the level on the plain is ridiculous. Without the hack we were previously referring to, I think mapping the plain is almost impossible. It could probably be done by dropping unique treasures here and there to use as markers, but it would take a LONG time. Definitely, the level was never meant to be mapped. As far as how fair it is, this is difficult for me to answer. I had deciphered the clue in the manual long ago, and it isn't very hard once you know that clue. Before I had spent a number of sessions methodically going back and forth on the plains looking for the the Pyrohydra gate and never found it. From what I have seen you would have to be fairly lucky to stumble across it by accident, but probably you would get to it eventually.

 

(spoilers, if anyone is keen on finding out all this on your own)

 

Even after you find the elusive gate, Hellfire Warrior is still hard to survive. I have gotten killed before completing it even when using a buffed up character (all 18s, magic equipment, 60 magic arrows, lots of salves and elixirs). This is because the developers cleverly take advantage of the game mechanics to increase the challenge. Treasure #10 (Brynhild) weighs something like 150 lbs. On top of that, the Shades and Lost Souls you find all over the place chill you, causing drops in your strength and other stats, which further weakens you. And on top of that the Bridge of Ice does the same thing, but even more so. By the time you reach Death, you can barely take a few steps before your fatigue drops in the negatives, and then you're helpless. Ordinarily, you would just run past him. I spent levels 5-7 in Hellfire Warrior wondering why they bothered including nectars in the game, and then on level 8 they suddenly become one of your most critical resources. The magic boots are also extremely helpful. Once you know this, and once you know where the javelins are hidden, a lot of the challenge is eliminated. I was able to do it without these treasures, but just barely.

 

Marco.

Edited December 25, 2015 by MarcoC

[MarcoC]

I struggled with it for a couple of hours, but I was finally able to hack the Apple version of Hellfire Warrior to get it to display room numbers on level 6 and 8. I realize this is an Atari forum, but I'll go ahead and post it here anyway.

 

I was hoping it would be something easy, such as renaming the files DATA8 and SHAPE8 to DATA5 and SHAPE5. This way, when you enter level 5, the program actually loads level 8. This does in fact work, but the room numbers still don't display. So I realized that I would have to somehow LIST the BASIC code for the DM program and try to find the statements that obscured the room numbers. After level 8 has been loaded, you can do a soft reset to get to the BASIC prompt. The problem is that Hellfire Warrior uses a trick to prevent listing of their programs by messing with the RUN flag at a particular memory location. If you manage to interrupt the program, anything you type will cause it to simply RUN again. Setting the RUN flag back to normal is actually very easy in the AppleWin emulator because it has a handy debug mode that lets you examine and change the virtual computer's memory. You just have to know where the RUN flag is. Unfortunately, they also messed up something else which prevents you from being able to LIST the program, and I didn't know how to fix that. Here is where I got lucky and found that if I switched to and from the system monitor from the BASIC prompt (by typing CALL -151 then 3D0G repeatedly), for some reason this reset whatever it was that was interfering with the LIST command. I was subsequently able to go through enough of the listing to find a very interesting statement that read:

 

IF PEEK (KA%) = 6 OR PEEK (KA%) = 8 THEN ...........

 

.....and that was the dead giveaway. Levels 6 and 8 are the two levels in Hellfire Warrior that don't display room numbers. Therefore, the variable KA% is the memory location of the current level you're on. You just insert a statement that POKES the number 5 into this location, and all room numbers will now show up. Unfortunately, they also found a way to mess with the DOS commands, so I can't save the program again after hacking it. You have to do the following exercise each time you want to play Hellfire Warrior while displaying room numbers. It's a bit of a pain. BTW, I've only tried it with level 8, but I assume it also works for level 6, and likewise for the relevant levels in Keys of Acheron (and Danger in Drindisti, if an Apple II disk image ever crops up).

 

1) Enter the level. Hit CONTROL-RESET to get to a BASIC prompt. Do not type anything at the prompt or the program will just RUN again.

 

2) Hit F7. This puts you into the AppleWin debug mode. There should be a '>' prompt at the bottom of the screen with a cursor.

 

3) Type

 

D6:00

 

D6 is the location of the RUN flag -- normally it is 00. If it is set to 80 or greater in hexadecimal (128 or more in decimal) then anything you do at the BASIC prompt will RUN the program in the memory.

 

4) Hit F7 again. This puts you back at the DOS prompt. The RUN flag is now normal, though LIST still doesn't work. However, it doesn't matter, because you can still modify or add lines to the program.

 

5) Type

 

8 POKE KA%,5

 

This adds a statement that fools the game into thinking you're on level 5. Now, if you hit RUN, you'll start in the entrance room with your character, but now with all the room numbers displayed.

 

KA% is assigned a value at the very beginning of the program. My line is inserted close to the beginning of the program, but after KA% is assigned its value. I don't know if the variable KA% changes (ie, the level number might be stored in other memory addresses). It seems unlikely that they would waste memory on redundant information, though I didn't get through very much of the listing to be sure.

 

Marco.

Edited December 27, 2015 by MarcoC

[ballyalley]

I was finally able to hack the Apple version of Hellfire Warrior to get it to display room numbers on level 6 and 8. I realize this is an Atari forum, but I'll go ahead and post it here anyway.

 

Thanks for posting the details on how you got the room numbers to display in the Apple II version of "Hellfire Warrior." It seems that the BASIC program works completely differently than the Atari version of the game.

 

When I was playing "Hellfire Warrior" on my Atari back in November of 2015. I realized that the tip on the "Lemurian Congress" website from the article "Hack Your Dunjonquest" (from June of 2010) didn't work right with my version of the game. I posted the link to that article in this thread several years ago. In case you missed it, here it is again:

 

http://dangermuffy.blogspot.com/2010/06/hack-your-dunjonquest.html

 

In the comments section of the above article, I posted how I had to make the room numbers appear on the Atari version of my "Hellfire Warrior" disk image. The tip from the "Hack Your Dunjonquest" article works well, but the BASIC line number that needs to be changed (at least in the version of the ATR disk image that I downloaded from atarimania.com) is not the following:

 

65 POSITION LS,U4:? "ROOM NO.:";

 

It is line 95 instead. So it should read:

 

95 POSITION LS,U4:? "ROOM NO.:";

 

This is a great hint and it makes mapping the labyrinth much easier to do.

 

I find it interesting to note how different from each other the two BASIC lines are on the Apple II and the Atari 8-Bit. I thought the BASIC code was pretty-much the same across all versions of the game.

 

 

 

[ballyalley]

Added Newly Created Apshai Links to First Post in Apshai Map Thread

 

I've been feeling the urge again to play The Temple of Apshai. In particular, I want to try to make some videos that show how this game is played. Before I do that though, I want to post the final two maps for The Temple of Apshai Trilogy:

Curse of Ra, Level 3, The Pyramid
Curse of Ra, Level 4, Temple of Ra

And yet... before I even do that, I wanted to re-read this entire thread to get myself back into the "feel" of the Apshai series. Well, my goodness, there is a lot of material here-- far more than I even remember! I really got engrossed in this game series. I'd somehow forgotten the level of detail that I want into here in the forums.

To make using this thread easier for me (and everyone), I've edited the first post in this thread to have links to the posts that contain important information. For instance, now the first thread has direct links to all of the maps, as well as some of the more interesting posts that have been made. Here is a link to the first posting in this thread, where you'll find all of the new links have been attended to as best as I could make them:

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/183584-temple-of-apshai-trilogy-maps/?do=findComment&comment=2305009

To view the new list of links, scroll down the original post to the section called Links to All Maps and Interesting Posts Added Here. This is the new part of the thread. Hopefully, this list of links will be helpful to both new and old Apshai fan alike

Adam

[ballyalley]

I have begun mapping Dunjonquest: The Datestones of Ryn. If I thought that the map was complete, then I would post it here, but I feel like I must be missing something, because right now my map only has nine rooms-- can that be right? I have started a thread where I am seeking help from others to check my map to see if I missed anything. You can see that thread here:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/267210-dunjonquest-datestones-of-ryn-check-map/

 

If you'd be willing to play The Datestones of Ryn and double-check my map, then please head over to the above link and lend me a hand.

 

Thanks to anyone who is willing to lend this weary adventurer a hand (Brain Hammerhand thanks you too)!

 

Adam

[ballyalley]

Temple of Apshai Trilogy: Curse of Ra
Level 3 - "The Pyramid"

About 2 1/2 years ago, on January 18, 2015, I posted the Curse of Ra level 2 map, "The Sphinx," that was created from screenshots. I played and mapped the third level of Curse of Ra around that time too. A common theme of this thread is that I get burned-out when I'm creating the finalized map. The handmade maps are easy to make, but creating the finished map takes much more time. Also, creating my own background story for the games has been a time consuming (but fun) task. Hopefully, I'll post the map for the fourth level much sooner than this third level!

I have finished creating the map of the third level of the Curse of Ra. All sixty rooms have been numbered and accounted for on the map. All treasures and traps are marked on the map too. As with my previous maps, there is no way to distinguish between doors and secret doors, since they look the same once found.

This map of level 3, "The Pyramid," is for the Atari 8-Bit Temple of Apshai Trilogy version of the game. Other computer systems can use this map too; the room layouts will be the same (or similar), but some treasures and traps may be in different areas.


More or Less-- It's Still an Apshai Story

As was the case with Curse of Ra's level 1 ("Well of Forever") and level 2 ("The Sphinx"), there is no context provided for level 3, "The Pyramid," in either the original Dunjonquest: Curse or Ra or the Temple of Apshai Trilogy. As I did for "The Sphinx," I wrote a background story based on the previous Apshai games. This "Background Chronicle" is not canon; I created it myself. Writing it helped me to enjoy the game more; I hope that it allows other people to find and have more fun as they prepare to explore The Pyramid.

The reason that posting the maps for Curse of Ra has taken me so long to do is because of the background chronicle that I wrote to accompany the map. It took me quite some time (months) to think about what to write, but the actual writing process itself only took a few hours. In the next entry, when I post the map of level 4, I will cover more about the Curse of Ra and how it can be broken, as well as more background material like I wrote for Level 2 and 3.


Dunjonquest/Temple of Apshai/Hellfire Warrior Fan Fiction

As far as I can tell, there is no fan fiction for these Dunjonquest games. I've loved writing these backstories for the Curse of Ra, as well as adding some more detail here and there to the other games in the Trilogy. I wonder, Apshai fans, are any of you interested in writing Apshai-related fan fiction? If so, let's talk about it in this thread.


Curse of Ra, Level 3, "The Pyramid:" Background Chronicle

Here is my continued story of William Nailfoot, adventurer extraordinaire. Remember, I wrote all of this background-- you won't find this in any Apsahi or Dunjonquest manual.


William was exhausted and heavily burdened with his treasures that he had unearthed in The Sphinx (he had spent the entire day inside). He was relieved to see that the sandstorm had come and gone while he searched for an exit after becoming trapped in the Sphinx. The sandstorm had kept William inside, but now he could see that the storm wasn't nearly as bad as he'd thought that it was.

As William made his way around to the entrance of the Sphinx, still somewhat covered deeply in sand, he saw several would-be adventures loitering around digging into the sand near the entrance. He was glad that he'd already safely stashed his treasures, as he had many of them and there would have been no way to hide them from these desert dwellers.

William had left his camel near the entrance, but it was gone now. He eyed the strangers with suspicion. Surely they had taken his only means out of the desert. As tired as he was, he could see that he might have a fight on his hands. He was contemplating any possible advantages that he might have when one of the heavily-robed strangers spoke to him.

"Ah-ha, William, I suppose! The Junkman sent us after you when the storm kicked up. My name is Jacobson. These two fine fellows, despite their ugly appearance," Jacobson laughed heartily here, "are my friends Jered and Jeb. We were just beginning to dig you out, but it's clear that you have found some other exit from the cursed Sphinx. We found your camel a short time ago and have stowed him safely not far from here. You're lucky that it survived out here in the open desert."

The three men step forward, with hands outstretched. William notices immediately that each man has a group of three small circle-shaped tattoos on their left wrist. This is the same set of tattoos that Nikolas had told him to be on the look-out for from future friends. A strong sense of relief passes over William, for he was not looking for a confrontation. He is glad that these men were sent by Nikolas, the Junkman.

Jacobson speaks again, "You look absolutely exhausted. Is there anything that we can do for you?"

William asks for some water and a chance to rest. The four men walk away from the Sphinx together, toward town. On their way, not far from the Sphinx, is a small collection of tents where several camels and supplies have been stored. With the sun setting, the four new acquaintances make a fire and cook some food. William begins to tell a little about his experience inside the Sphinx, but before he gets a chance to explain much, he falls into a restful sleep.

The next morning, the four men, now rested, eat snacks together and make small talk. The same feeling of trust that William got from Nikolas pervades his interaction with these three men. He decides to reveal the location of the cached treasures to them. They gather them up, store them equally among the camels and make their way for town.

Once in town, William returns to his room to store his belongings. He then heads over to the bazaar and finds Nikolas selling his wears at a table. It's hard to believe that only two days ago he met Nikolas, and only yesterday morning said goodbye to him as he made his way to the Sphinx. William feels as though he has lived a lifetime in the past twenty-four hours.

Nikolas spies William heading toward his deserted table and waves him over. "I saw you pass into town earlier. I'm glad to see that our mutual friends seem to have been of some benefit to you. Once I saw that storm kick up yesterday, I knew The Curse of Ra was at work against you. I sent those men out to give you a hand, but I'm afraid it took me longer to gather them together than I expected. From the load that you brought back, I expect that everything went well for you."

William nods his head in thanks for Nikolas' help that he sent along. Over the next ten minutes, they make arrangements to meet later in the evening at the inn to talk about William's adventure and what he plans to do next. William leaves Nikolas to his work when a customer comes along.

As the evening sets in, William heads downstairs from his room to meet Nikolas, who has already beat him to a table where he is drinking a dark-looking and dank-smelling beverage. Maybe it's a beer, or maybe it's-- well, William would rather not think about it. They greet each other with pleasantries and order some food. William makes a point to keep away from whatever it is that Nikolas is drinking. It doesn't take long for William to explain all of his exploits inside of the Sphinx.

Nikolas listens carefully to William and nods his head with approval as the story unfolds. Finally, when William is finished, he smiles and says, "It seems that you're well on your way to accomplishing your goal to break the Curse that has lain over this land for so very long. Do you know where you will be going next?"

William explains that he has heard that the Pyramid, two days' journey into the desert in the opposite direction of the Sphinx, holds the last key that will help lift the curse.

"You have heard correctly, for it is in The Pyramid that the Crystal, the third legendary treasure, was set to rest long ago. The crystal is said to look beautiful, but to hold little value to anyone but the person who can lift the Curse. I suspect that when you find this treasure, you may be surprised by the way it reacts to your presence."

William tells Nikolas that he has heard of this crystal, and even suspects that he knows where it is located. William explains about a creature he encountered in the Sphinx: a gryphon, a beast with the head of an eagle and torso of a lion. Acting upon folktales that he had heard his entire life, that a gryphon would rather speak than fight, he attempted to talk to the legendary creature. The gryphon truly lived up to its reputation, telling a tale of a magician who practiced his arts deep within a pyramid. The magic user regularly animated statues, and he saved the most powerful one to protect the hidden entrance to his secret chamber. It is in this chamber that he stored a crystal that can lead to the gryphon's freedom, and help release the desert from the Curse of Ra.

The waitress returns to the table to clear it of the empty plates. She hangs around a moment longer than is probably necessary and seems to be debating with herself. In a moment she says, "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation." Nikolas eyes the woman with dismay, but William seems to take the comment in stride, after all, they are talking in a public place. "I'll be right back. I want to get someone from the back to talk to you." She leaves the table in a moment, taking the plates with her.

She returns before too long with a man who has a patch over one eye and is severely scarred on his face and forearms. His hulking body can't conceal the muscle that this older man still has running over his entire body. Nikolas nods to the man and greets him with a smile, "My-- look who we have here! Why, if it isn't the owner of this quality establishment, Mister Raven. What brings you to the front of the house?"

Mister Raven looks at William and introduces himself, "My name is John Raven. I own this inn and eating establishment. I'm pleased to meet you." He pauses for a second, says a few words to the waitress, who then walks away from the table. Pointing to your waitress, John continues, "Megan told me there was some talk going on out here about the Pyramid." He looks directly at William and says, "I've heard about your earlier exploits, and believe that just this morning you arrived back from the Sphinx." William nods in acknowledgement.

"Having visited the Well of Forever and the Sphinx, I expect that you hope to find your way into the Pyramid. If you're trying to break the Curse, don't bother. You're neither the first nor the last person who struggles in vain to collect the legendary treasures. I believe one of them is supposed to be in the Pyramid. I looked for one in the pyramid myself."

Nikolas eyes him with a hint of suspicion. "You went to the Pyramid, did you?"

John points to his missing eye and the scars on his arms and says, "I didn't just visit it, I found my way in... and barely escaped with my life. I was younger than, but I suspect that the tales are still true. The Pyramid is truly a place of death. Many find the Pyramid, and nearly as many never find a way to enter the place. Those few who do find their way inside, normally don't come back to talk about it. I'm one of the few who has been inside and still lives. On some days, I wish that I had never left that place, for I still have nightmares about my brief journey within that ancient place."

William's interest in the conversation takes full hold of him. He listens to every word John says with great care, trying not to miss anything. He asks John if there is anything that he can tell him that will help him, for instance, the way inside the pyramid.

John considers these words for a few moments before he responds. "Telling you how to get inside the wretched place would be as good as stabbing you through the heart. I can do no such thing. I truly hope you don't find your way inside."

William tells him how he hopes to break the Curse of Ra, to which John Raven only nods and adds with reluctance, "I fear that despite me telling you to give up on your quest, you'll do no such thing. Instead, I'll tell you of the devilish priest who charmed many, many cobras to stay in one room beneath the entrance of the pyramid. He knew full well that nobody would risk staying in that room for long unless there was a prize. He thrust a magical sword into the sand to lure would-be thieves to their death before they even reached the first proper room inside of the pyramid. Well, I'm one of those men who made it inside, came across the snake pit, which is protecting a brilliant sword, encountered a monster and left without even trying to make my way deeper into the pyramid. For my trouble, I nearly died. I suspect it will go much the same way for you!"

Mr. Raven closes his one eye and says in a weary voice, "William, I've told my story to many men like you. People who either truly want to help by breaking the Curse or to enrich themselves by finding some of the treasures which are hidden within the place. I've seen these men ride off to find the Pyramid, but none have returned here, and the Curse has never been broken. I can't know for certain, but in my mind I'm sure that all these people died. They met their end either (most likely) in the Great Desert or inside the pyramid."

William thanks John for the warning, but insists that nothing can persuade him from pursuing his goal. John leaves the table, mumbling something under his breath about youth.

"John is a good man," says Nikolas, "but I fear he has probably enlivened his story of his lost eye for your benefit. Though I've heard him tell his tale a few times, I doubt he ever entered the pyramid (though, certainly, I know he did try to visit the place). That isn't to say that what he says may not be true. I've also heard talk about the pyramid being home to a snake pit, but that hardly lends credence to John's account of how he lost is eye and gained those scars."

William and Nikolas' conversation continues for another few hours. During that time, many people join the table to hear William talk about what he saw in and about the Sphinx. His glass is never dry, as he is bought drink after drink by friendly individuals who want nothing more than to be close to this man who is on a quest to lift the Curse. By late evening, the bar is nearly empty, save for the two gentlemen: The Junkman and The Hero.

John says to William, "The evening has grown late, I'm afraid it's time for me to be heading home. Rest up for a few days; you need it. I can arrange for you to meet Jacobson and his two men who will be part of a small caravan. They can take you to within a few miles of the pyramid. From there, you'll have to make the rest of the short journey on your own, as people despise being too near the pyramid."

William smiles and thanks Nikolas for the information. He is a bit drunk, both from the alcohol and nearly as much from the talk and banter about his adventures in the Great Desert thus far. As they depart the table, Nikolas reaches over and puts a hand onto William's shoulder, "There is one last story of the pyramid I have to say, though I'm not sure it will help you. If the story is true, then I'm not sure how it made its way outside the pyramid. You see, for anyone to have told this story, it seems that they would have had to enter the pyramid and also have escaped it. I pass this onto you only because it seems unreasonable not to allow you to judge this information for yourself."

Nikolas tells William of an undead mummy that supposedly inhabits an embalming room. The story that Nikolas heard is that it was animated to protect a secret room which holds an altar. The mummy was used by a priest to protect valuable gems that he had stolen from a magician. If someone was able to evade the mummy's dusty grip, then the priest had dug a well-hidden, deep pit in the chamber and filled it with spikes at the bottom.

With his story concluded, Nikolas leaves the bar. William wanders up to his room and falls asleep within moments. The next several days pass quickly as William spends his time resting from his exploration of the Sphinx and gathering together the tools, weapons, and provisions that he will need for both his two-day journey to the pyramid and his investigation of it.

Within a few days, Jacobson and his two men, Jared and Jeb, help William load his equipment onto the caravan that will be passing close (but not too close) to the pyramid. The journey is quiet and nothing unexpected happens along the way. After two days, toward the middle of the afternoon, William departs the caravan and makes his way toward the huge pyramid that protrudes starkly against the sands of the Great Desert.

Within a couple of hours, as the sun begins to mercifully pass from directly overhead, William finds himself staring at the pyramid. What will he find within it? There is both excitement and dread flowing through the mind of William as he sets up a tent on the south-west corner of the pyramid. In the morning he will begin searching for the hidden entrance to the pyramid; it will not be long before his next adventure begins!


The Map of the Pyramid

The map of the Pyramid includes all of the room numbers, secret doors, entrances and exits. In addition, all of the treasures and traps in the level are marked among the 60 rooms.

The pyramid needs a little explanation about the special layout of some of the rooms. All of the rooms are the correct size. Rooms 23 and 26 occupy the same physical space in the game because they are the same room. The game has been made a little more difficult to map (unless you're reading the room descriptions-- which you should always do when first exploring each level). Each "room" has some different entrances and exits. Room 23 has no traps, while Room 26 has a trap as marked on the map.

The arrows on the map are explained in the Map Key for Level 3, "The Pyramid:"

A - Downward Tunnel - One-way
From Room 23 to 24
B - Upward Tunnel - One-way
From Room 24 to 26
C - Downward Tunnel - One-way
From Room 27 to 23
D - Upward Tunnel - One-way
From Room 26 to 27
E - Pyramid Exit - One-way
From Room 26 to 9
F - Pyramid Exit - One-way
From Room 33 to Inn


On the map is a list of the twenty treasures available in the Pyramid. Next to each treasure, I have listed its location, value in silver pieces (SP) and any magical effect that will raise a character's attribute.


General Room Descriptions

As I was mapping the Pyramid, I made notes to give me an idea of the contents of each room. I found the notes useful when I was re-exploring the Pyramid to map it completely. Here is a general description of each room:

Rooms 1-22 - Outside pyramid
Room 23 - Entrance to pyramid / Tunnel down
Room 24 - Downward tunnel from pyramid entrance
Room 25 - Snake pit
Room 26 - Entrance to pyramid / Tunnel down
Room 27 - Upper-tunnel from pyramid entrance
Room 28 - Room with hieroglyphs
Room 29 - Room with murals of Osiris
Room 30 - Long hallway with murals
Room 31 - Hallway
Room 32 - Hallway with large hieroglyphs
Room 33 - Breezy hallway with weapons rack
Room 34 - Small Hall
Room 35 - Room with Murals of Ra
Room 36 - Room with magic talisman
Room 37 - Room with bed and cushions
Room 38 - Hallway with murals
Room 39 - Room with shelves and spectacles
Room 40 - Room with glasswork
Room 41 - Room with magic statue
Room 42 - Embalming room with sarcophagus
Room 43 - Room with alter
Room 44 - Descending hallway with cryptic writing
Room 45 - Room with broken armor and weapons
Room 46 - Room with statues
Room 47 - Sandy Room
Room 48 - Sandy Room
Room 49 - Room with magic statue
Room 50 - Magician's chamber with Legendary Treasure, the magic crystal
Room 51 - Small room
Room 52 - Room with odds and ends
Room 53 - Sandy hallway with gold nuggets
Room 54 - Sandy hallway with gold nuggets
Room 55 - Hallway with tapestries
Room 56 - Hallway with gold nuggets
Room 57 - Large room with huge statue
Room 58 - Room with skull ring
Room 59 - Room with furniture and weapon's rack
Room 60 - Room with magic sword

Monster Listing

Despite the Pyramid being so large (60 rooms), there are only six different Monsters that you will encounter in level 3. I took screenshots of the Monsters that I encountered during the level and compiled a short bestiary, which can be seen here:



These descriptions are from the Dunjonquest: Curse of Ra manual. These same descriptions are also contained in the "Trilogy" manual.

1) Cobra - This large, green or black snake flattens its head when angry. Its venomous bite can kill a man instantly.

2) Jackal - This ferocious, dog-like creature scavenges the desert in search of dead or dying flesh to rip apart for its ravenous appetite.

3) Magical Statue - As you approach this large stone statue, it comes to life and begins to attack you. It cannot move but can wreak havoc with anything that comes within reach, instilling more than the usual wounds.

4) Mummy - The sarcophagus springs open to reveal the most dreaded of the undead. This once-man is now only a dusty, cloth-enwrapped incarnation of its former self, but it is powerful beyond reason, relentless and ferociously attacking any who dare disturb its evil tomb.

5) Scorpions - Relatively large arachnids with nasty stinging tails, scorpions crawl upon the victim they are attacking and deliver many injurious blows.

6) Tarantula - This hairy spider is found in dank passages. Its sting is not deadly but should nevertheless be avoided.

 

 

Treasures

There are twenty unique treasures (T01-T20). These are found in twenty-eight different Rooms in the Pyramid. Here is a picture of the screen after I've collected all of them and then returned to the inn:

 

The abundance of the Treasures is balanced by the sheer amount of valueless Treasures in this level (12 of the 20 Treasures have no monetary value). This is made up for by the total worth of the haul when it's computed at the Inn. The eight treasures that do have value are worth 22,500sp separately. If the twice-repeated T18 (6 gold Nuggets) is counted, then the complete worth of all the Treasures in the complete level is 22,800sp all-together. This doesn't count the Beautiful Crystal (T16), which is a Legendary Treasure that disappears in your hands when it is collected. Nor does it consider the magical items, which all have no monetary value all.

Here are the Curse of Ra manual's descriptions of all the treasures found in "The Pyramid:"

T01 - Magic Arrows (0sp)(Rooms 32, 33 and 59) - Some magical arrows lay in a cabinet near the wall.

T02 - Magic Sword (0sp)(Rooms 25 and 60) - A shiny and finely forged sword is thrust into the floor at your feet. [To check the randomness of the magical sword, I picked it up nine times. It's effects range from -2 to +3.]

T03 - Elixirs (0sp)(Rooms 12 and 37) - These are powerful healing elixirs.

T04 - Arrows (0sp)(Room 10) - Some arrows in a small quiver outside the tent.

T05 - Skull Ring (0sp)(Rooms 29 and 58) - You recognize this to be a skull ring, having certain powers over the undead.

T06 - 3 Red Rubies (9,000sp)(Room 43) - On the altar there are three large rubies! They are worth nine thousand silver pieces!

T07 - 40 Diamonds (4,000sp)(Room 41) - In the chest you find 40 small diamonds.

T08 - Talisman (0sp)(Room 36) - This magic talisman gives you great powers to see and hear.

T09 - Necklace (1000sp)(Room 42) - Inside the sarcophagus, you find a diamond necklace.

T10 - 12 Gems (2,300sp)(Room 49) - In the corner of the room you find five small emeralds, five small diamonds, and two small rubies.

T11 - Scrolls (0sp)(Room 38) - Several scrolls are in this room. Since they seem to be in familiar characters, you try to read them. You fail, but feel truly enlightened just looking at them. [Note: These scrolls are magical! They permanently raise your intelligence attribute by one.]

T12 - Spectacles (0sp)(Room 39) - These are a large pair of spectacles. You try them on and somehow or another your range of vision seems to have increased. [Note: These spectacles are magical! They permanently raise your intuition attribute by one.]

T13 - Mirror (0sp)(Room 40) - Gazing into this fine mirror, you feel better about yourself, so you continue to explore the pyramid. [Note: This mirror is magical! It permanently raises your ego attribute by one.]

T14 - Felt (0sp)(Room 51) - This fine felt feels good around you, so you decide to wear it. Odd... your burden somehow feels lighter... [Note: The felt is magical! It permanently raises your strength attribute by one.]

T15 - Snake Potion (0sp)(Rooms 46, 47, 48) - You recognize this potion as the milk of certain snakes. It is used to increase a man's ability to endure. You drink it. [Note: The snake potion is magical! It permanently raises your constitution attribute by one.]

T16 - Crystal (0sp)(Room 50) - This is a beautiful crystal. Although it is only worth a few silvers, you decide to take it along anyway. As you pick it up, it dissolves in your hands, leaving you nothing but a tingly sensation. [This is one of the four Legendary Treasures required to lift the Curse of Ra. Also, the crystal is magical! It permanently raises your dexterity attribute by one.]

T17 - 6 Gold Nuggets (300sp)(Rooms 53 and 55) - You notice six gold nuggets in the sand.

T18 - 8 Gold Nuggets (400sp)(Room 52) - You see eight gold nuggets on the ground.

T19 - 10 Gold Nuggets (500sp)(Room 56) - You really struck it rich on this one! There are ten gold nuggets lying in front of you.

T20 - Gold Statue (5,000sp)(Room 57) - A beautiful solid gold statue.

For those who would rather not look at the description-filled treasure list, here is concise listing of the treasures in Level 3, "The Pyramid:"

Treasure Overview (Listed by Treasure Type)

Item Value Room(s)

T01 - Magic Arrows 0sp Rooms 32, 33, 59
T02 - Magic Sword 0sp Rooms 25, 60
T03 - Elixirs 0sp Room 12, 37
T04 - Arrows 0sp Room 10
T05 - Skull Ring 0sp Rooms 29, 58
T06 - 3 Red Rubies 9,000sp Room 43
T07 - 40 Diamonds 4,000sp Room 41
T08 - Talisman 0sp Room 36
T09 - Necklace 1,000sp Room 42
T10 - 12 Gems 2,300sp Room 49
T11 - Scrolls 0sp Room 38
T11 raises Intelligence +1
T12 - Spectacles 0sp Room 39
T12 raises Intuition +1
T13 - Mirror 0sp Room 40
T13 raises Ego +1
T14 - Felt 0sp Room 51
T14 raises Strength +1
T15 - Snake Potion 0sp Rooms 46, 47, 48
T15 raises Constitution +1
T16 - Beautiful Crystal 0sp Room 50
(Legendary Treasure)
T16 raises Dexterity +1
T17 - 6 Gold Nuggets 300sp Rooms 53, 55
T18 - 8 Gold Nuggets 400sp Room 52
T19 - 10 Gold Nuggets 500sp Room 56
T20 - Gold Statue 5,000sp Room 57

Treasure Overview (Listed by Room Order)

Room 10 - T04 - Arrows 0sp
Room 12 - T03 - Elixirs 0sp
Room 25 - T02 - Magic Sword 0sp
Room 29 - T05 - Skull Ring 0sp
Room 32 - T01 - Magic Arrows 0sp
Room 33 - T01 - Magic Arrows 0sp
Room 36 - T08 - Talisman 0sp
Room 37 - T03 - Elixirs 0sp
Room 38 - T11 - Scrolls 0sp
Room 39 - T12 - Spectacles 0sp
Room 40 - T13 - Mirror 0sp
Room 41 - T07 - 40 Diamonds 4,000sp
Room 42 - T09 - Necklace 1,000sp
Room 43 - T06 - 3 Red Rubies 9,000sp
Room 46 - T15 - Snake Potion 0sp
Room 47 - T15 - Snake Potion 0sp
Room 48 - T15 - Snake Potion 0sp
Room 49 - T10 - 12 Gems 2,300sp
Room 50 - T16 - Beautiful Crystal 0sp - Legendary Treasure
Room 51 - T14 - Felt 0sp
Room 52 - T18 - 8 Gold Nuggets 400sp
Room 53 - T17 - 6 Gold Nuggets 300sp
Room 55 - T17 - 6 Gold Nuggets 300sp
Room 56 - T19 - 10 Gold Nuggets 500sp
Room 57 - T20 - Gold Statue 5,000sp
Room 58 - T05 - Skull Ring 0sp
Room 59 - T01 - Magic Arrows 0sp
Room 60 - T02 - Magic Sword 0sp
--------
22,800sp Total

When you are carrying everything, then your weight increases by 672.


Collect Treasures to Raise Attributes

You can raise each of your six attributes by collecting six different treasures in the Pyramid. Each of the attributes below is permanently raised by one point by the Treasure that follows the attribute's name:

Intelligence: T11 - Scrolls
Ego: T13 - Mirror
Constitution: T15 - Snake Potion
Intuition: T12 - Spectacles
Strength: T14 - Felt
Dexterity: T16 - Beautiful Crystal (Legendary Treasure)

There are Snake Potions in three different rooms of the Pyramid. If you collect all three of them, then when you leave the Pyramid your Constitution will be raised by three points. That's quite nice!

Don't forget that there is nothing in the Curse of Ra's rules that prevents you from exiting the Pyramid with the above treasures, raising your attributes, and then re-entering the pyramid to do it again. That's not cheating if the game lets you do it, right? Technically, I suppose that this would be called an exploitation of the game's rules.


Important or Magical Treasures

The most important Treasure in the Pyramid is the Beautiful Crystal (Treasure 16). It is this Legendary Treasure that you've been searching the pyramid for during your adventures in the desert. You originally heard of it first in the book The Secrets of St. Gulik, (originally this was Treasure 16 in the Upper Reaches of Apshai, Level 4, in "Benedic's Monastery"). This Crystal is somehow required to break the Curse of Ra.

I've picked up Magic Swords from Rooms 25 and 60 nine different times to check the magical properties of the Treasure. The swords can be either blessed or cursed, so picking one up is always a gamble. Once you pick up your sword, you cannot reclaim your old one. Also, you can't tell a sword's properties until you get back to the Inn. If your new sword is cursed, then you'll be stuck using it until you get another weapon (buying or finding one). Are you willing to bet that the new sword you're exchanging is better than the magic one you might already have? The magical properties have been random with these two swords, just like all the other magical swords I've found in the previous Apshai games. The range of randomness with these two swords was -2 to +3. To be more exact, the exact properties of each of the swords that I have checked in the Pyramid was: +1, -1, +2, +2, +2, -2, +4, +1 and +3.

The Dunjonquest games don't show you any changes that happen to your character (except changed attributes). You're never given a character level, nor can you tell if an item's magical properties help you (or not). This sometimes makes it difficult to understand what use an item may have for your character. Besides the six Treasures that raise your character's attributes (discussed above), I wonder what the following two treasures do, if anything at all:

The Skull ring (Treasure 5) has "certain powers over the undead." Does this affect gameplay? Does it give an advantage when attacking the Mummy (Room 42)?

The proper name of the Talisman (Treasure 8 ) is the Magic Talisman, leaving no doubt that it's a magical item. It gives "great powers to see and hear." Does this mean it increases the character's Query abilities (listening for enemies in the next room)? When you first start playing a new character, Query is a useful command to use. The Talisman might prove useful, if say, it can make a Query work every time (usually there is only a percentage chance to hear a monster, if it's even there). If the Talisman doesn't change the Query ability, then what is its purpose?


Traps

There are ten unique traps located across thirteen different rooms. The scorpion and spider traps had no descriptions; I added my own.

1) Cave-in Trap (Rooms 26, 57) - A weak portion of the ceiling gives way and many huge stones fall toward you.

2) Ceiling Trap (Room 29) - A very sharp sword was hanging, blade down, by a thread on the ceiling high above you. The thread breaks!

3) Crossbow Trap (Room 33) - A huge crossbow comes down from the ceiling and fires a magic arrow at you.

4) Dust Trap (Room 10) - The desert winds blow up a biting dust that stings the skin, burns the eyes and makes breathing difficult.

5) Flame Trap (Room 35) - The picture of the Sun God seems to glare at you for an instant. Suddenly the room fills with flames! There are no more pictures.

6) Needle Trap (Room 36) - There is a tiny needle in the talisman which contains a mild poison.

7) Pit Trap (Room 42) - A fifteen foot pit with a bed of steel spikes opens beneath your feet.

8 ) Spear Trap (Room 28) - As you approach the door, it opens just wide enough to allow a spear to fly through and then quickly closes.

9) Scorpions "Trap" (Rooms 12 and 41) - Most of the floor and walls are covered with scorpions. They look quite upset with you and their tales are poised to sting. Watch your step!

10) Tarantula "Trap" (Rooms 59 and 60) - You've seen some giant spiders before, but this one tarantula seems to have had a special home built for it. There have probably been generations of tarantulas breeding here over the centuries, with each generation of spider poised to bite the unwary adventurer.

Trap (Listed by Location)

Room Description

Room 10 Dust Trap
Room 12 Scorpions Trap
Room 26 Cave-in Trap
Room 28 Spear Trap
Room 29 Ceiling Trap
Room 33 Crossbow Trap
Room 35 Flame Trap
Room 36 Needle Trap
Room 41 Scorpions Trap
Room 42 Pit Trap
Room 57 Cave-in Trap
Room 59 Tarantula "Trap"
Room 60 Tarantula "Trap"

Looking Deeper at the Traps

Your small tent (Room 12) in the desert near the pyramid contains your supply of healing elixirs. Apparently before you left the tent, you set your pack down onto a group of scorpions. Why were you so clumsy? The game criticizes this choice of supply placement with one of the few traps in the game that seems unfairly placed. You aren't even given time to search for traps before the scorpions are upon you. Granted, the scorpions can be quickly crunched beneath your boots, so the unfairness is not fatal. Hopefully the game has taught you a lesson. Always watch where your place your belongings in all arid regions!

There is a second floor chamber in the pyramid with hieroglyphs and the scent of death (Room 29). This room is the only one that has the ceiling trap (a sword that falls from the ceiling onto you). I found the hazard when I searched for traps, but it took dozens of passes over the trap before it would be set off. I'm not sure if this is because my character has gained a high level, or the trap is old (and therefore is meant to be hard to spring). The difficulty in setting off the trap off-sets the damage it does. I've only been able to release the sword twice, but each time it brought my character from 100% health to 0% health. This actually didn't kill me, but it's as close to being at death's door as you can get without succumbing to your mortality.

The large Room a low ceiling and the huge statue that comes to life (Room 57) has another trap that is difficult to spring. The northeast corner of the room has a solid gold statue (Treasure 20). There is a Ceiling Trap that is clearly alluded to in the room's description of the prized statue that sits beneath a "cracking ceiling." Searching for traps unmistakably shows the trap is right next to the Treasure. However, I've only been able to set the trap off twice, and only after repeatedly passing over the trap again and again. The ceiling may be cracking, but it doesn't actually fall onto you until you cause it to collapse. I can only surmise this happens because you become bored from pacing back and forth in the same place that you begin to hum, off key, so loudly that the screeching, constant vibrations cause the ceiling to commit suicide, triggering it to fall on top of you.


The Journey Ahead

You have acquired the Magic Crystal in your recent quest inside the Pyramid. Having gained three of the four Legendary Treasures, you're nearly ready to break the Curse that hangs so heavily over the Great Desert. You must now find the Altar of Ra. This last of the Legendary Treasures is made of platinum and is rumored to be in the Shrine of the Sun God, a huge statue that is hidden in a small canyon.

Your final journey in the Great Desert creeps towards its end. Next you must acquire the Altar of Ra and learn to harness the powers of the four Legendary Treasures to break the Curse and then... what? Well, if the rumors you've been hearing are true, than after your mission in the Great Desert is over, you may be back to some familiar territory. You've heard that explorers, adventures and plunderers have recently discovered deeper dungeons below The Temple of Apshai. People have begun calling this area the Lower Reaches of Apshai. You feel a strong pull to move in that direction... but first you must conquer the Temple of Ra!

 

Adventures Yet to Come

Have fun using this Curse of Ra map that I've made of The Pyramid. It, along with all of the other information that I've posted here, should allow you to easily conquer the many denizens of the Apshai dungeons. I'll see you when you make your way back to town (let's meet with Nikolas at the inn). We can then discuss your journey to the Temple-- and all else that is ahead in your... dunjonquest.

Adam

[Goochman]

Fantastic work - thanks!

[Gatherer of Data]

I just stumbled over another version of the original Apshai game, maybe this is also interesting to people here - take a look at what's at place 5 of the bestselling games:.

 

 

 

It's from Computer News (1985 June Issue), which was for HP personal. You can get those over at the HP museum site.

The HP 150 was a computer with a touch screen, googling around I found one person stating that Apshai was indeed touch enabled.

Unfortunately this version doesn't seem to have been preserved. I don't know of an emulator either.

 

Another version I haven't seen mentioned here but is out there and playable via emulator is the one for the French Thomson computers though:

http://dcmoto.free.fr/programmes/la-trilogie-du-temple-d-apshai/index.html

Edited July 7, 2017 by Gatherer of Data

[ballyalley]

I just stumbled over another version of the original Apshai game [... for the] HP 150 [,] a computer with a touch screen

 

First, this is a cool find-- thanks for posting the information here.

 

I had never heard of the HP 150 computer before. It seems to have been released in 1983 and used MS-DOS. The February 20, 1984 issue of Infoworld says, "Three games are available for the HP-150, all of which use HP Touch: Temple of Apshai and Ricochet, both from Epyx and Type Attack from Sirius Software." You can read that here:

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=hS4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=hp+touchscreen+150+apshai&source=bl&ots=DLt7cqoJV-&sig=acF7N4I1DVwdQth7mbepQdE-Ro4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7wPD0lPjUAhVj7oMKHXanCFcQ6AEIODAD#v=onepage&q=hp%20touchscreen%20150%20apshai&f=false

 

This HP-150 version of "Apshai" pre-dates the Temple of Apshai Trilogy release in 1985. While looking up information on the HP-150, I learned that it was the first computer in America to have 3 1/2 disk drives. I presume that this means that the original Temple of Apshai game is among the first games ever released on 3 1/2 floppy disks. Plus, it also now seems to be among the first games to use a touch screen. I wonder how well that worked?

 

Another version I haven't seen mentioned here but is out there and playable via emulator is the one for the French Thomson computers though:

 

Until reading this post, I had never heard of the Thomson computers. I was surprised to learn that this series of microcomputers uses the Motorola 6809 CPU. I figured that it must use the the Z80 CPU. I made this incorrect conclusion because d3m Software is the same company that made the Thomson version of La Trilogie Du Temple D'Apshai for the Amstrad CPC. I figured it was ported because the CPU on these two computers were the same, but that's not true.

 

I played the 1987 French release of Temple of Apshai in post #42 of this thread. You can read about that version of the game and see pictures of it here:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/183584-temple-of-apshai-trilogy-maps/page-2?do=findComment&comment=3040319

 

The Temple of Apshai games were ported to so many different computers, but I don't think any computer has the entire Dunjonquest series of games. Maybe the Apple II has them all, but I'm not sure. I know that the Atari 8-Bit has nearly all of them, only missing 1981's Sorcerer of Siva. I know that the Atari is still missing a proper archived version of Dunjonquest: Morloc's Tower. That game is available on AtariMania (and many other places), but the game doesn't work properly at all. "KBRpilot" brought this up in a post here,

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/243239-dunjonquest-morlocs-tower/

 

Unfortunately, no one with an original disk of Morloc's Tower has come forward to dump this game.

 

Thanks for bringing up a couple of version of the Temple of Apshai that I never knew existed before today. Just when I'm beginning to think I know that about this series of games pretty well, up pops another version of it. A friend of mine asked me yesterday if The Temple of Apshai was ever released on any console. Besides Gateway to Apshai, no "proper" Dunjonquest game ever was released on the a game console, right?

 

Man, it would be so cool if someone started a Dunjonquest/Apshai podcast. Talk about a podcast that would fill a very tiny niche!

 

Adam

[Gatherer of Data]

 

 

This HP-150 version of "Apshai" pre-dates the Temple of Apshai Trilogy release in 1985. While looking up information on the HP-150, I learned that it was the first computer in America to have 3 1/2 disk drives. I presume that this means that the original Temple of Apshai game is among the first games ever released on 3 1/2 floppy disks. Plus, it also now seems to be among the first games to use a touch screen. I wonder how well that worked?

 

I think Sony's SMC-70 may predate it when it comes to 3,5 inch drives, there's at least an Infoworld review of it here.

 

I forgot to mention, the original Apshai has been ported by Jim Gerrie to the Tandy MC-10 . Based on the TRS-80 version.

He may have also made Dragon and CoCo versions available, though those are probably not upgraded.

Edited July 8, 2017 by Gatherer of Data

[Ward Shrake]

Pretty cool stuff, guys! Good work -- (as always) -- Mister Adam!

[Bill Lange]

There is a books worth of material in this thread!

[Lord Thag]

Ok, see, I randomly clicked on this thread on break today... and it's inspired me to finally give these games a go. I remember reading an extensive article on Hellfire Warrior back in the day that made me want to get the game, but I was years away from owning and Atari, and when I did finally get one, I never did find a copy of any of the games in this series. By the time emulators and whatnot made it available, I had played Ultima, Wizardry etc. and never really looked past the awkward interface.

 

Well, until now. I have downloaded the entire series off Atarimania and fired up the Trilogy for, if not the first time, then the first time I had a serious intention of playing it. I tried both versions of the Trilogy, but only the later one with joystick control seems to allow saving, so I am rolling with that one, though I kinda prefer the original retro graphics.

 

I have to say, this game is ... much better than my previous cursory glances gave it credit for. The room descriptions add a surprising ambiance to the dungeon crawling, and if anything, it reminds me of a more atmospheric Rogue. After several forays into Level one of the Temple, I have a pretty well kitted out character who has explored the farther edges of the first level, which proved to be full of some pretty clever traps (screw you, spiders) and lots of secrets.

 

It's funny how a clumsy old interface is a problem until a game grabs you and suddenly it doesn't matter. I'm hooked. I am gonna see this Temple through to the end, I think.

 

This thread is a serious gold mine of information, so thanks for that. You should seriously collect this all into a single pdf 'Tome of Apshai' guide thing. It's given me an unexpectedly rich window into the dawn of CRPGs that were well ahead of their time.

[Stormtrooper of Death]

 

I think Sony's SMC-70 may predate it when it comes to 3,5 inch drives, there's at least an Infoworld review of it here.

 

I forgot to mention, the original Apshai has been ported by Jim Gerrie to the Tandy MC-10 . Based on the TRS-80 version.

He may have also made Dragon and CoCo versions available, though those are probably not upgraded.

I spoke with Jim Gerrie about porting Apshai to the MC-10. But he was faster than me. No problem with it.

[ballyalley]

[...] this thread [...] inspired me to finally give these [Apshai] games a go.

 

I'm glad that you've decided to play these games, as they're quite fun. The Dunjonquest games are rather primitive, even by 8-bit standards. Yes, this fan of the Apshai series, especially the original games before they were made part of the "Trilogy" re-release, are quite bare-bones. The AtariBASIC remakes of the original TRS-80 games look far better (even though they don't look nearly as good as the machine language "Trilogy"), but there is still a lot that the player must take care of on their own. For instance, in the original games, you must take care of certain stats, like your amount of silver pieces. This allowed you, if you cheated (and there was nothing to stop you), to have as much money as you wanted. Also, the original game's fatigue levels are terrible; you get worn-out far too quickly. One or two swings of your sword makes you get tired. Maybe that's more realistic, but it's certainly not fun. The "Trilogy" fixes this fatigue issue.

 

I tried both versions of the Trilogy, but only the later one with joystick control seems to allow saving, so I am rolling with that one, though I kinda prefer the original retro graphics.

 

I don't recall that the original games archived on AtariMania don't work properly; you can save to disk with them. I know that there are some issues with one or two of the archived "Hellfire" games, but none of the games that later make up the "Trilogy" have any save issues.

 

I advise against playing this game with the joystick control. It does work, but using the joystick makes playing the game (this might seem counter-intuitive) harder to play. For example, you can only move one step at a time using the joystick. Sure, you can still use the keyboard, but why switch between the two interfaces? When I walk around the levels, I always move full-speed ahead: 9 steps at a time. This would have worn your character out very quickly in the original game, which is why I prefer the re-released games from 1985.

 

The room descriptions add a surprising ambiance to the dungeon crawling, and if anything, it reminds me of a more atmospheric Rogue.

 

The room descriptions are what make this game so enjoyable to me. It's also the reason I write my own back story for the later games that really don't have one. Without these descriptions, the Apshai series would be much less fun. I'd go so far as to say that they would be no more than a curiosity today if not for the books that accompany the games. Luckily, these books have all been scanned and are available in pdf format. If you plan to play all the games, then I suggest you print them out for easier use.

 

After several forays into Level one of the Temple, I have a pretty well kitted out character who has explored the farther edges of the first level, which proved to be full of some pretty clever traps (screw you, spiders) and lots of secrets.

 

One thing about the Apshai series that has always bothered me, even when I played it back in the 1980s, is how easy it is to get maxed-out (or near maxed-out) with your statistics, equipment, armor and weapons. Unless you enjoy exploring the game, then you might get bored of it easily. That's another reason the that room descriptions are essential. If you want to get the most out of the games in the Apshai series, then don't use the maps that I made. Sure, they're tempting, but if you make your own maps, then you'll enjoy the game more while you're playing it. If you have trouble finding an area of a dungeon (or if you're a completest, like me), finding a treasure, only then should you resort to using the maps that I made that are posted in this thread.

 

It's funny how a clumsy old interface is a problem until a game grabs you and suddenly it doesn't matter. I'm hooked. I am gonna see this Temple through to the end, I think.

 

I'm not surprised to hear that you're hooked on the The Temple of Apshai. I don't consider the game's interface clumsy, but it certainly is a product of its time. Remember that is not really a game from the 1980s, but the late 1970s. Like many games, if you can see through the game's graphics and interface, then you'll see a game that really pushes the computers of the late 1970s. Sure, the Apshai games got a facelift in the 1980s, but the game's essential play elements and style (for better or worse) stayed the same. Like many classic-era games, it might be hard for modern game players to look past the "simplicity" of the game, but I'm certain that anyone who enjoys games of the the late 70s and 1980s can certainly find great fun in the main Apshai games that make up the "Trilogy," and also the other games in the Dunjonquest series.

 

This thread is a serious gold mine of information, so thanks for that. You should seriously collect this all into a single pdf 'Tome of Apshai' guide thing. It's given me an unexpectedly rich window into the dawn of CRPGs that were well ahead of their time.

 

I'm glad that you have enjoyed reading this Apshai map thread. This thread has become much more than I first imagined.

 

I've been asked on quite a few occasions to put all of this information into one place, like a book or a pdf. First, it already is in one place (this thread), but also that's not possible because this thread is still a work-in-progress. I have one more map to add to this thread (level four of The Curse of Ra) before even the "Trilogy" is completely mapped. After that, I plan to play and map the other games in the Dunjonquest series. The Hellfire Warrior games have some issues with saving, but they can be worked around in some ways (mostly via emulation). Plus, there are a couple of Dunjonquest games that were either never ported to the Atari, or the Atari archived disks are defective and don't work properly. If I continue to play this game series and post maps at the same rate, then I figure that in twenty years I'll be done. After that, then I'll consider compiling all of this into a book called, for want of a better name about a CRPG series that no one will remember in 2037: Apshai: What the Hell is That?!?

 

Enjoy storming the Temple of Apshai, "Lord Thag." Be careful out there-- and if you decide that your character's story is worth telling, then please share some Apshia/Dunjonquest fan fiction here. Certainly, I can't be the only person who has been inspired to write works that center around the Dunjonquest series. Have fun with the games, but even more so, let them inspire you to explore beyond them!

 

Adam

[Lord Thag]

 

 

I don't recall that the original games archived on AtariMania don't work properly; you can save to disk with them. I know that there are some issues with one or two of the archived "Hellfire" games, but none of the games that later make up the "Trilogy" have any save issues.

 

There seems to be two versions of the atari 'Trilogy' port, the normal hi-res one with savings and one (styled 'retro) in the Atarimania download. The latter has no option to save one's game that I can see, it just dumps you in the dungeon with a typed in or fresh rolled character. I am guessing it was a Cassette version that did not have disk save access?

 

 

 

The room descriptions are what make this game so enjoyable to me. It's also the reason I write my own back story for the later games that really don't have one. Without these descriptions, the Apshai series would be much less fun. I'd go so far as to say that they would be no more than a curiosity today if not for the books that accompany the games. Luckily, these books have all been scanned and are available in pdf format. If you plan to play all the games, then I suggest you print them out for easier use.

 

Yeah, same here. A lot of the older RPGs leave more room for the imagination, due to the simple graphics. I have a very vivid impression of the first tow levels of the temple now. I actually find the gameplay fun too, even without the descriptions, but then I can play Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup in text mode all day, so that's probably just me.

 

 

 

If you have trouble finding an area of a dungeon (or if you're a completest, like me), finding a treasure, only then should you resort to using the maps that I made that are posted in this thread.

 

Oh yeah, I'm not using them at all. Half the fun of these games is figuring it out on your own. I just think it's cool that you made the maps and done so much research. One of my favorite aspects of retrogaming is how much time so many of us put into preserving, documenting and expanding on these old games. I was just reading the crpg addicts blog and stumbled on his Apshai playthrough, which (after googling) led me to this thread.

 

 

 

Enjoy storming the Temple of Apshai, "Lord Thag." Be careful out there-- and if you decide that your character's story is worth telling, then please share some Apshia/Dunjonquest fan fiction here. Certainly, I can't be the only person who has been inspired to write works that center around the Dunjonquest series. Have fun with the games, but even more so, let them inspire you to explore beyond them!

 

Gladly, it's only fair after all, since you've put so much time into these maps. I actually do quite a bit of writing anyway, and the more people who contribute, the better Apshai: WTF is That Old Thing and Why Wont Grandpa Stop Talking About It (The Definitive Edition) will be in 20 years when we all read it from our rest homes.

 

Here's the (dramatized) most exciting bit from last night's session, and the moment the game got me hooked:

 

The walls leered at him with a strange, alien hunger. The angles, even where the slime covered them were... wrong somehow, as if molded by minds cold and distant from the cultured familiarity of human civilization. This place... disturbed his guts like sour milk. Had he been a more inclined to deep thought, it might have gnawed at him further, eaten away at his fears, but he was not the sort to think deeply when a stout blade would do the thinking for him. Like the one he held now, worn and pitted and stained with the blue-black ichor of the damnable ant devils that lurked like spiders in every dark shadow. And Geb be damned if he'd ever again be able to abide the smell of vanilla.

 

He leaned against the wall, mindless of the ant-slime, his chest heaving, blood trickling from a dozen small wounds that, collectively, would have felled a lesser fighting man. Almost spent, though. Not long now, he thought. He'd never been one to avoid the truth of a matter. This place would be his grave. He'd hewed and hacked his way deep into the recesses of the Temple's main floor, through swaths of undead, rats, and the chittering, sickeningly-sweet horror of the endless ant men, hidden away for centuries down here, buried along with the alien, mind-cracking terror of the ant-god Apshai. Damn the fool priest and all his followers, buried is where they should have stayed. Maybe then Athor would have stayed home. Well, maybe not. Athor never did listen, even when they were kids.

 

It had all started well enough. A lost temple discovered, riches, the wealth of antiquity waiting only for the brave or the foolhardy to venture into the black halls of a dead temple. The tale had only grown in the telling, until the wealth of a kingdom was to be had for the taking down here. Fools, drunkards with more mead than sense. But the seed was planted, and they came, from every corner of the kingdom to test blade against foe for the riches of fabled antiquity. Athor left seeking those riches. He'd never returned.

 

And so they came, the adventurers. In droves, and the town above flourished. For awhile.

 

Until they died. Alone. And now there was but a shell above, and the darkness below. The darkness that moved and chittered the seven unholy names of a forgotten ant-god.

 

He signed, resigned to his fate. He'd never find Athor down here, he knew that now. Athor was food for ants. As was he, shortly, but he'd make sure it was a meal that carried a high price. Steadying himself, he shook the gore off his notched blade. It was too far back the way he'd came. He'd bleed out first. There was one corridor, branching right, he hadn't tried. Maybe there would be a door, a hidden one, that led out. What had he to lose? He ducked down the slick, ant-ichor covered passage. Behind him, beyond the darkness lay a room with a mountain of dead ant-men. They had come out of the walls like cockroaches, chittering and leering. And he had roared, and hewed and hacked until the floors ran black, but each had taken their toll, and now he was almost spent.

 

Left it was. For awhile, it was quiet, but he heard them before they saw him, up ahead past the torchlight, too far to run back now. He spied a room off to the left side of the tunnel branch. Better he ambush them than the reverse. Without thinking, he darted into the room. They'd not surprise him.

 

Unless they did. Not ants, this time, giant bugs, massive, scaly, and many-legged. Three of them.

 

He swore. Geb's hairy balls, but these things were bigger than the damnable ants! So be it. Dropping his sword, his bow swept up and drawn in the speace of a breath, an arrow knocked fast against his cheek. And they came.

 

One. The bow sang, and the scaly thing screamed and fell to the ground twitching as the arrow sank home, as the other two closed the distance, fast as hounds.

 

Two. The second arrow streaked through the air and buried itself in they eye of the second chittering beast, which went limp instantly, landing against the floor with a wet smack. The other was almost upon him.

 

Three. The last arrow flew home, impossibly, the foul beast mere feet from him. It died, still reaching with iron claws hungry for his life. H laughed, a short bark,. Geb and stone, he'd taste life awhile longer yet.

 

His eye caught the gleam from across the room. That was bright metal, not some rusted relic, or he was a fool. He limped over to the body. The man still held it to his chest, this sword, probably a relic of this place, which glowed eerily blue in the darkness. Magic and untainted. A godsdamned magic sword, just like the stories old grandmam had read to them both.

 

It was him, after all.

 

He recognized the tunic. 'Even in death, you are there for me, brother' he smiled, taking the glowing glaive in his hand, and reverently placing his notched sword in the hands of his dead kin. He'd not die now. Vengeance was calling.

 

He smiled grimly. Even in this hell-blasted temple of the ant-god Apshai, the tomb of fools and the bane of the greedy, there was still one man who thirsted for ant-blood, and for vengeance.

 

No, not an easy meal, after all.

 

That do? Enjoy

 

-Jon

Edited September 8, 2017 by Lord Thag

[leech]

I apologize if this was answered earlier in this thread; But I'm curious about something.

 

I know that the Temple of Apshai Trilogy was released for most systems out there 8 and 16bit. But what about the rest of them? If I recall correctly, at least Hellfire Warrior was written in BASIC, anyone try to port that to a 16biit system? I would absolutely love to see/play it on the ST or something.

 

Honestly until I'd seen this thread, I had thought Temple of Apshai Trilogy was just based on Hellfire Warrior and not several games from the same series. Though I was aware of Dunjon Quest games, I didn't think Hellfire Warrior was one of them, but it makes sense since it played exactly the same way as Temple / Gateway did.

 

Growing up, I only had Hellfire Warrior and Gateway to Apshai on the 8bit. Memory is a little fuzzy and I may have played the Trilogy there too, but I know I had that on the ST and loved it.

 

Kind of makes me wonder if I could recreate them within RPG maker or something....

[ballyalley]

If I recall correctly, at least Hellfire Warrior was written in BASIC, anyone try to port that to a 16biit system? I would absolutely love to see/play it on the ST or something.

Hellfire Warrior was written in BASIC for the TRS-80 and then ported to the Apple II and Atari 8-bit. I've also read that it was ported to the Commodore PET, but if so, then I've never seen it on that system. I've never heard of a modern-day port of any of the Dunjonquest games to 16-bit systems, such as the Atari ST or Amiga (not counting the "Trilogy," of course).

 

It would also be cool to see any of the Dunjonquest games ported to some 16-bit consoles like the Sega Genesis or the SNES. I suppose that the Amiga and ST versions of the Temple of Apshai Trilogy were written in C and compiled to 68000 machine code. Maybe it's possible to port those "easily" to the Sega Genesis or the Atari Jaguar. There have been some pretty magical ports of games from the ST that have made their way to the Jaguar. I've tried a few of them on CD, and I've been very impressed.

 

Growing up, I only had Hellfire Warrior and Gateway to Apshai on the 8bit.

 

One of the first games that I bought for my Commodore 64 (in about 1984) was Jumpman, which was released by Epyx. That game came with a catalog of games, including those by the Automated Simulations (which was Epyx's original company name). At the time, I played TSR's Dungeons and Dragons and a little bit of Star Frontiers (though it was hard to find anyone who owned, let alone played, this sci-fi role-playing game). This made me really want the Dunjonquest and the Star Quest games that were advertised. This was before the "Apshai" games were re-released in the "Trilogy." Even in 1984/1985, this series of Automated Simulation games were hard to find-- at least locally in small-town Connecticut to a 12 or 13 year old kid like me.

 

I didn't get any of the "Apshai" games until they were heavily discounted in the late 80s. I bought the "Apshai Trilogy" for my Commodore 64 for about $8 at the mall. I played it nearly every day over Christmas break in about 1988 or 1989. It was the maps that I made for the game at that time that made me revisit the game in 1994 for my newsletter OC&GS.

 

It was while re-visiting my original re-visitation of the game (can you follow that?) that I started this "Apshai" mapping thread. I'm glad that I did, as over the years, it seems to have got some people interested in the games that are part of the Dunjonquest series. It has also allowed me to talk to some people (both in this thread and privately) who are fans of the games. Not only that, but I didn't know that the "Apshai" games had their own universe in the Dunjonquest series. Finally, it was while researching the games that I discovered, much to my pleasure, that The Temple of Apshai Trilogy's manual removed some material (mostly background stories) that were contained in the original release of the manuals in the early 1980s.

 

Memory is a little fuzzy and I may have played the Trilogy there too, but I know I had that on the ST and loved it.

 

I've played the Apshai games on every platform on which they were released (except on the PET). I've even played some foreign-only releases. The Atari ST and Amiga versions are identical, right down the sprites that are used. Out of all the versions that I've played, the Atari 8-bit versions play best. The Atari version doesn't have the best graphics or sound (the Commodore 64 version easily beats the Atari version on both counts), but there is just something special about the Atari games in the Dunjonquest series that I prefer over all the others. I wish that I could say what I like best about it, but I can't.

 

My least favorite versions of the "Trilogy" are the 16-bit versions. If you're going to play the "Trilogy" then play it on an 8-bit computer. I'm not saying that because I'm some sort of 16-bit snob, as I'm not (the Amiga is one of my two all-time favorite systems-- and it was my main computer for many years). For some reason, the 16-bit ports of the "Trilogy" lost something in the translation. They're by no means bad; I just don't prefer them. Though, I must admit, if you've never played any version of the "Apshai" games and are also unfamiliar with 8-bit systems, then I'd point a new user to the Amiga or Atari ST versions first. I'd do this, mostly, because the graphics look better, they can also be played without the manual (as the room descriptions are built into both games) and you can use a mouse (although that actually makes the game more difficult to play).

 

Kind of makes me wonder if I could recreate them within RPG maker or something....

 

I wasn't familiar with RPG Maker, so I looked it up. I'm a little confused about all of the different versions of this game. If you tried to remake, say, level 1 of The Temple of Apshai, then which version of RPG Maker would you use?

 

As an aside, yesterday, I bought a sack of green chili. While I was waiting for it to be roased, I wandered into a nearby store that sells used videogames and other collectable items. I was looking around, not expecting to buy anything; I was just browsing. The man behind the counter asked if there was anything I was looking for, which there wasn't. However, before long, I did come up with an answer to his question. I asked, "Do you have Dragon Warrior VII for the Playstation?" Unfortunately for me, the store did have one copy. "Uh-oh," my brain said to me, "now you have to buy it!" I walked out of the story with a complete version of that game and about $35 less in my back account. I'll play this 32-bit game starting next week. While it was nice to pick up this "semi-modern" Dragon Warror game, wouldn't it have been nice to be able to ask, "Do you have Dunjonquest: A Return to the Temple of Apshai for the Playstation 2?

Adam

[ballyalley]

That do? Enjoy

 

Did I enjoy your writing? Well, uh, yeah, Jon-- that's one mighty freaking awesome piece of work that you've created there! By Geb's Beard, it's this sort original "Apshai" fan, fiction filled with thick-laced, Robert E. Howard dripping, Gygax inspired, grab-the-baddies-by-the-throat (with a hint of Lovecraftian strange, abnormal angles) that I've hoped someone would contribute here. Thanks for creating that original piece of fiction-- great, stuff, man!

 

Jon, you seemed inspired: you were able to writing that quite quickly. What other fiction do you write? Thanks for contributing to this thread. I hope your continued exploration of the Apshai region or the desert of Ra proves to be just as motivating for you.

 

Damn, now I've got to write something too. I'll see what I can do about this next week.

 

Adam

[ballyalley]

There seems to be two versions of the atari 'Trilogy' port, the normal hi-res one with savings and one (styled 'retro) in the Atarimania download.

Could you please send me links to the "retro" version? I'd like to try saving with it.

 

I can play Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup in text mode all day, so that's probably just me.

I'd never heard this "stone soup" saying" before now. I wanted a definition of it, so I looked it up. I was quite surprised that this is the title of a game. The game seems to have graphics, but there is a text-only version? Does it play like a cross between an Infocom game and, uh, I don't know what else?

 

Oh yeah, I'm not using [the maps] at all. Half the fun of these games is figuring it out on your own.

I'm glad you feel that way too; exploration of the levels is half of the fun of this game (the other half is reading the backstory and room descriptions). Originally, I only made the maps for myself. In the beginning they were drawn by hand. Then, In 1994, they were re-drawn using the Amiga version of Pagestream 2.2 (a desktop publishing programs very ill-suited to creating maps!). Later, of course, I made the Apshai maps using screenshots taken with the Altirra Atari emulator and stitched together by hand using Photoshop CS and CS2.

 

One of my favorite aspects of retrogaming is how much time so many of us put into preserving, documenting and expanding on these old games.

I've never thought of it that way before, but you're quite right: the expansion of old games by retrogamers keeps them alive. To me, as long as a game can be played and discussed, then it's still alive in some way. Once a game can't really be shared with peers anymore, then it sort of loses its life. That's not to say that a game can't be fun for just a handful of people, but if no one else "gets it," then it has moved from a game with life that breaths to a game that might have entered a time of stasis.

 

Here's the (dramatized) most exciting bit from last night's session, and the moment the game got me hooked

If what you describe in your (only slightly) dramatized version of your adventures in The Temple of Apshai last night, also happened to me, then I probably would have run away screaming from my little Atari. Or, more likely, I would have set myself firmly into the story and said to myself, "It's only deeper into the dungeon for me now; let's go!"

 

Adam

[Lord Thag]

Could you please send me links to the "retro" version? I'd like to try saving with it.

 

 

Attached below. I probably just didn't take enough time. It doesn't have an obvious save menu like the Trilogy does.

 

 

 

I'd never heard this "stone soup" saying" before now. I wanted a definition of it, so I looked it up. I was quite surprised that this is the title of a game. The game seems to have graphics, but there is a text-only version? Does it play like a cross between an Infocom game and, uh, I don't know what else?

 

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. It's a tile or character based roguelike dungeon crawler. THE roguelike dungeon crawler, as in the best one of all time, in my book. I've put hundreds of hours into it and haven't scratched the surface. Watch a youtuber called 'zoopyjoobles' for some let's plays. Seriously, given your liking Apshai (which reminds me of DCSS), you will likely love this game. It's free too, and you will never, ever find everything there is to find:

 

http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/

 

 

 

I've never thought of it that way before, but you're quite right: the expansion of old games by retrogamers keeps them alive. To me, as long as a game can be played and discussed, then it's still alive in some way. Once a game can't really be shared with peers anymore, then it sort of loses its life. That's not to say that a game can't be fun for just a handful of people, but if no one else "gets it," then it has moved from a game with life that breaths to a game that might have entered a time of stasis.

 

Exactly. Us pointing the spotlight on these old gems gets them played again. Getting them played again gets them noticed. 'Noticed' goften gets a hobbyist or indie dev to make a similar tribute game, and then if the market is right, we get the rebirth of a genre. Take roguelikes. 10 years ago, no one but a few dungeon crawl and nethack diehards even knew what a roguelike was. It was a dead genre. Then youtubers made a few videos, and a guy on newgrounds made a little game called "The Binding of Isaac" and everyone lost their minds. Now, we've gone from a new game a decade to so many I can't even keep track anymore. That's why I love seeing things like this Apshai thread. It's a spark. And a spark, if you are lucky, turns into a fire with the right fuel.

 

 

 

Did I enjoy your writing? Well, uh, yeah, Jon-- that's one mighty freaking awesome piece of work that you've created there! By Geb's Beard, it's this sort original "Apshai" fan, fiction filled with thick-laced, Robert E. Howard dripping, Gygax inspired, grab-the-baddies-by-the-throat (with a hint of Lovecraftian strange, abnormal angles) that I've hoped someone would contribute here. Thanks for creating that original piece of fiction-- great, stuff, man!

 

Ha! Thanks for the complement, glad you liked it. You're welcome. We obviously read the same authors. That's the exact tone I was aiming for. 80s fantasy has to sound a bit like Howard (who was also inspired by Lovecraft) to sound right. Sword and Sorcery really IS Howard, the way Tolkien dominates high fantasy. I like his stuff a lot, and while Lovecraft was not the best person in the world, I'll be damned if he didn't write some of the best horror ever penned. The two flavors go together like ice cream and cake.

 

 

 

Jon, you seemed inspired: you were able to writing that quite quickly. What other fiction do you write? Thanks for contributing to this thread. I hope your continued exploration of the Apshai region or the desert of Ra proves to be just as motivating for you.

 

I write all kinds of stuff, everything from fantasy and sci fi to poetry. Never been published though.

 

Speaking of which, here's some more adventures of our nameless protagonist, this time in the depths of Level 3, which I greatly enjoyed playing last night:

 

The tavern was loud, despite being half empty. Consistently so, he’d noticed. Men tended to be over-brash when drowning their fears, and fear was a palpable, living thing here. You could sense it like a lover in the dark, hot and close. They all knew it. The Temple below was ...awake. It was something that had best been left sleeping and forgotten, and now, thanks to the arrogance of a dead priest… the darkness no longer slumbered. It stirred. And so the men and women of this boom town drank and reveled... and waited for fate to play it's hand.

 

The big man across from him took a long pull at his flask. ‘Hammer-hand’, they called him, and he was no fool, despite the preposterous title, not at all like the rest of these fat-headed adventurers that boasted loudly over the watered-down ale behind him. He’d heard of the man, of course, who hadn’t? What with that business with the mage’s tower and the stones, his name had become attached to the ant-god’s domain below like fleas on a dog.

 

And Geb be damned if he hadn’t lived up to the stories though. The Hammer-hand was no braggart, nor a fool. He knew a good blade when he saw one, and he damn well knew how to swing one too. They’d hit it off immediately, with the unspoken mutual respect of one real fighting man who knew his craft for another. Not like these gold-addled tosspots looking for riches, who bragged loudly, and vanished in the dark, or worse, crawled back with madness in their eyes, screaming like the bloodworms were at their guts.

Not that he hadn’t almost bought it himself. He’d crawled out of the bowels of the ant-god's demense with a magic sword and the blood of a hundred dead things on him, and by the damned bug-diety's hairless ass, that had been damned close call. It’d been two weeks before he was well enough to lift a blade again, and a month before he felt himself, but he’d watched, and learned. And then he’d struck back into the darkness, and this time, the darkness gave way.

 

He'd found his way through the entry floor, and on past the stairs to the under level, a place of gears and levels, the home of strange machines that clanked and churned and whispered like the damned, and for Geb-only-knew what alien purpose. The ants had been there too, in numbers, as had the reanimated remnants of the fools who ventured down that far in quest of riches, but he knew them now. Knew their tricks, and their traps. This time, it was the ants who hid, bloodied and wary.

 

A good fighting man was more like a blacksmith than the 'heroes' you hear of in tales. Methodical, disciplined, not given to displays of emotion. He'd honed his craft, and took his time. Struck when the time to strike was upon him, and he held his hand still when it wasn’t. Bravery and bravado were for fools. So he watched and he learned. And the alien halls of the ant temple slowly began to reveal their secrets. This weird angle meant a door, and a door meant an ambush. This smell meant giant bloodsucking bats, that sound meant the carrion eaters were hungry.

 

So then, the hunted became a hunter.

 

"So, you gonna tell me what you found or not?" rumbled the big man across from him, cocking an amused eyed. Hammer-hand found his reticence amusing. Reminded him a bit of Athor. He'd always been a talker too.

 

He'd made it through the machines, and even found the secret door that led into the prisons of the ant-men, where the gnawed bones of the damned hungered for living flesh, but bones were bones, and they broke when you hewed them. And so he'd gone past, into the secret chamber between the prison cells, and on into the level below. What Hammer-hand called the ant-mines.

 

Down there, far below ground, the ant-men swarmed. Three of them waited for him at the entrance, armed with long staves. Bigger, more dangerous than the ant-men above, these were trained fighters. They had not reckoned on him though, nor the cold light of purpose in his eyes, nor his brother's glowing sword, 'Chitter-bane', the folks up here called it now. A stupid but (he had to grudgingly admit) apt, name. The blade sang, and the ants fell before him like wheat to a farmer's scythe. He had brought their own bloody harvest back to them, in the name of Athor his brother.

 

He'd pressed deeper into the mines. The second level, had he been less wary, might have lulled him into a false sense of security. Down here, three or four times the number of foes lurked around every corner. So he went carefully, slowly. He followed the trails they left, and knew when to avoid them. His caution had made him rich too, though riches had never been his purpose. But he'd have his own warband when this was through, if he survived.

 

It was on the last visit that he'd found it. Off to the side of a big cavern he'd tread past several times. Something caught his eye. The shadows on the south wall were ... wrong. He'd learn to trust such hunches. The ant-god was fond, it seemed, of secrets in the dark. It had been a door, but this one, unlike all the others, opened on something far worse than an ambush or secret store-room.

 

His torch threw wavering wan light upon them, and his blood, hot though it was, froze like a pond on a dark winter's night. Statues, a dozen of them in rows, leering and unspeakably bestial, the stuff of fevered minds and hell's own capriciousness, towering in the dark, becoming ever more depraved the farther into the chamber they went. Things of vast and unknowable evil, carved by hands driven mad with the lust for them. And beyond them, three alcoves covered with runes which, shrouded by ancient black veils,hid the gleam of gold.

 

Behind him, the secret door clicked shut, and a breeze like an exhaled breath, cold and icy, caressed him. The shrouds across the alcoves rustled in the dead, icy air... and then, impossibly, they moved. Blue-white hellfire outlined them in the dark, their ghostly, nightmarish bestial forms coalescing into shapes too mad for a sane man to hold in the mind. Dark, skittering, mocking shapes to whom life was a vast and alien thing to be hacked and sucked at and eaten raw.

 

And then they moved. Slowly, with graceful, almost gentle purpose, they came for him, unhurried, and utterly inevitable.

 

His mind froze, but his hands did not. His fighting man's reflexes moving even before his brain had recognized the horror. Arrow after arrow sang through the air. Again and again, they found their mark in the lead wraith... and vanished, utterly without effect. Swallowed by the horror of the blue-white lich-fire that formed the fiends.

 

'Gods!' exclaimed the big fighter, refilling his tankard. 'Wraiths! By the god's gray heart, you must have the luck of a satyr! How did you escape them?' He took a pull at the flagon. It had been, as it so often was in a fight, a bit of luck that saved him. Inexperienced fools said skill was what won a fight, and that was true to a point, but a real fighting man would rather have a lucky man than a skilled one at his back in a fight.

 

Back on the first floor, he'd found a bundle of arrows among several others. These were blue, made of some strange wood, intricately carved. And they were all he had left. The wraiths closed on him, beckoning the way a lover might, with hellish laughter in their blazing eyes. The bow twanged again, and the blue shaft slammed into the lead wraith.

 

And it screamed.

 

Gods, even now the hair on the back of his neck stood like a cat at the sound of thunder. What bottomless pit that noise came from, he couldn't say. Never again did he wish to hear such a noise, but it galvanized him. If they could scream, then by the gods, they could damn well die.

 

His arms moved. A second blue shaft sped fast into the lead wraith, and this time, with a sound like a thunderclap, the lead wraith burned white hot like a flame for one mad moment.. and was gone. The other two increased their pace, they were not laughing now, but he was. A grim snarl burst across his lips as a third and a fourth arrow flew home, and the second wraith burned and screamed and died.

 

And then there were no more arrows. Only him, his glowing blade, and a thing from hell. And truth be told, he couldn't say how he'd done it. He had called upon the gods and roared, charging the horror, resigned to his certain doom... and the he'd awoken on the floor, next to an empty fragment of black cloth, moth eaten and cold, beneath the leering stares of the stone statues that lined this hall of horrors. Nothing left but the cloth and a cold numbness in his arm. Well, that and about ten thousand guilders worth of gold and jewels. So there was that.

 

Hammer-hand shook his head, and drained the last of his grog. "The devil's own luck, my boy. You've the ant devil's own luck.'

Edited September 9, 2017 by Lord Thag

[ballyalley]

Speaking of which, here's some more adventures of our nameless protagonist, this time in the depths of Level 3, which I greatly enjoyed playing last night:

 

[...] Hammer-hand shook his head, and drained the last of his grog. "The devil's own luck, my boy. You've the ant devil's own luck.'

 

I printed this story out a month ago. I only just read it this morning. I enjoyed it very much. Are you still exploring the Temple?

 

Adam

[Bill Lange]

I need to start playing this!