Blood Feud

Blood Feud
◄Eamon adventure #94►
Author	Rick Krebs
Created	1984
Released	May 1985
Revised	27 July 1989
EAG number	94
EDX number	15-03
EDX set	Classic Eamon Adventures, Vol. 3
Native format	Apple DOS 3.3

Blood Feud is an Eamon adventure written by professional game designer Rick Krebs, one of two he authored that were introduced in the May 1985 issue of the Eamon Adventurer's Log.

Background

In correspondence with Huw Williams in 2021, Krebs recalls that a friend of his had talked in the early 1980s with Donald Brown about the possibility of taking over management of the Eamon library and finding ways to build it into a money-making enterprise. The friend asked Krebs to build a couple of adventures as a way of evaluating the system, and Krebs, an avid role-playing gamer and fan of computer games like Wizardy and Ultima, happily obliged. The proposed project never materialized and Krebs later shared the adventures with the newly-formed National Eamon User's Club.

The first adventure Krebs created was the Monty Python-themed Flying Circus and the second was Blood Feud, both of which he completed in 1984. He writes, "Blood Feud was my effort to allow characters to gain levels." A third adventure was planned but never completed.

Premise

From the game's introduction:

While sitting at the bar at the local pub, you are approached by a gnome wearing a blue wool hat, glasses and smoking a cigarette.

He says, "Ah, here you are! So you're the brave warrior who has volunteered for this hazardous job? I've been told to fill you in on Blood Feud Castle and the rivalry between the Pozzis and Spanners."

Three (3) hours later he concludes his history of Blood Feud, the Pozzis and the Spanner.

He now gets to his point. "The evil Suedo Guru has stolen the Rod of Stupidity from the royal depository and he has taken up residence at Blood Feud Castle. Should you succeed in recovering the rod you will be given the title of Knight of the Realm, and all will call you 'Sir'. You may keep all the possessions you find, and that includes an amulet that has the power of increasing all your attributes!! Since this mission is quite difficult you will have the advantage of leaving the castle and returning to the Main Hall to heal, without disturbing the castle."

The gnome says, "Good luck!" and disappears into a cloud of smoke.

Walkthrough

A map of Blood Feud Castle

Blood Feud Castle is a roughly symmetrical structure, each side consisting of a set of interconnected rooms mostly arranged around a long, east/west corridor that ends in a three-level tower. The west half of the castle is the territory of the Pozzis and the east that of the Spanners, but though the dwarf makes point of explaining the rivalry between the two groups in the introduction, it doesn't have any bearing on completing the game.

This walkthrough describes a route through the castle that lets you collect important items in a logical order and gather all possible allies, but it doesn't include every room or enemy encounter. If you wish to completely clear out the adventure, the accompanying map shows the locations of all monsters and artifacts.

You begin on a cobblestone path leading north to the castle: step inside, defeat the guard, then go north into the castle's Great Hall where you can collect some valuable metal plates. Return to the entrance.

West wing

Begin with the west wing (the territory of the Pozzis).

1. From the entrance, go west and fight Guard #2, then continue west three more times.
2. Go south into the blue room and befriend French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal.
3. Return to the corridor and follow it west until you reach the base of the tower stairs. (If you're looking for added combat, enter the west room to fight the dreaded Killer Duck of Denver.)
4. Take the stairs up to the top level.
5. Go north and fight the pirate Captain Madman. Once defeated, collect his wooden leg and open it to reveal the magic amulet hidden inside. Also open the chest to get a wooden key.
6. Return to the entrance.

East wing

Next explore the east wing (Spanner territory).

"Sitting in a chair is Margaret Thatcher knitting a Union Jack."

1. Go east and fight Guard #3.
2. Go north and you'll be in the library where you'll meet film star Victor Mature and can gather up some leather-bound books.
3. Return to the corridor and go east twice.
4. Go north into the Spanners' sleeping area, then east where you'll startle a thief. Open the chest to find an iron key.
5. Return to the corridor an go east twice. An iron door leads south; if you're looking for combat, you may use your iron key to unlock the door and battle the panzer ants that wait behind it.
6. Go east until you reach the base of the tower stairs.
7. Enter the east storage room, kill the spider, and get the sword.
8. Climb the stairs to the top level and explore the side rooms, collecting all the items you find. (To the south lives British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; to the east is a telescope and some chips; to the north is a storeroom with a lantern and a length of rope.)
9. Return to the entrance.
10. Go north through the Great Hall and into the kitchen where you'll battle an animated cookie.
11. Go west into the pantry where a door leads north. Use your wooden key to unlock it and step out.

Garden and tunnels

You're now outside behind Blood Feud Castle.

1. Follow the cobblestone path north and fight the statue.
2. Enter the garden and go east to tangle with the aggressive Gopher of Gallipoli.
3. Go north and you'll find an abandoned well. Trying to descend into the well immediately is fatal, but if you first USE ROPE you'll be able to safely make your way down into the tunnels below.
4. Follow the tunnels south, west twice, then north.
5. Go west and you'll be in the secret chambers of the villainous Suedo Guru, accompanied by three of his guards. Once defeated, the Guru will drop the artifact you're seeking: the Rod of Stupidity. Pick up the rod to end the adventure and receive your title of Knight of the Realm.

Trivia

• The names "Pozzis" and "Spanners" are drawn from a comic book that Krebs wrote based on people who frequented his game store, and come from terminology used with firefighting equipment: "PSI pressure" and "spanner".
• The poster at the entrance to the east tower is an advertisement for the real-world roleplaying game Gangbusters, created by Krebs and published by TSR in 1982.
• The book in the library is a copy of The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan-Doyle.
• Margaret Thatcher's room has a map of the Falkland Islands on the wall; Thatcher led Britain to victory in the Falklands War two years before the adventure was written.
• The deadly "Killer Duck of Denver" and "Gopher of Gallipoli" may have been inspired by the "Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog" from the 1975 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

External links

• Eamon Adventurer's Guild Library Master List
• The Interactive Fiction Database: Blood Feud
• Interactive Fiction Reviews: Blood Feud