The Temple of Dread
| The Temple of Dread | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Author | Frank Black |
| Released | 1993 |
| Revised | February 1994 |
| Native format | Apple ProDOS |
| File | The Temple of Dread.dsk |
The Temple of Dread is an independent adventure written by Frank Black and first published in Softdisk 150.
Background
In correspondence with Huw Williams in 2022, Black recalls that he wrote the first version of The Temple of Dread while he was in junior high school and before he knew about Eamon. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was a significant influence for the adventure, as were the first three games in the Ultima series which Black used as the pattern for the adventure's original interface.
When he was 17 Black sold The Temple of Dread to Softdisk for $500 and it was published in issue #150. By the time of its publication Black had rewritten and revised the adventure nearly 30 times, including reworking the interface to be more Eamon-like at manager Lee Golden's request. Though Black found the revision process annoying, he was happy to have it published. He writes, "I really enjoy it now and am actually proud of it."
Premise
The game's introduction takes the form of a short letter to the adventurer describing the mission:
"Welcome, brave adventurer. Our village of Griffinville has suffered many a blow from robbers and bandits. The situation has grown dire. Only a small handful of food and supplies has been able to reach us.
"It is said that the bandits are led by a mysterious Wizard and that his armies dwell within a ruined temple five days to the north.
"Our finest fighters, led by a strong Swordsman named Thanos, set out to explore this temple and never returned...
"We have heard of your heroic deeds and now that you have arrived we once again have hope. Every day the situation grows worse.
"Go to Blackhawk's and buy supplies. We will give you 450 coins and tomorrow our guides will take you to the temple to begin your quest. Farewell, and the best of luck."
—J. Houston
Mayor of Griffinville—Doctor Sax
Ruler of Saxavania
Walkthrough
Preliminaries
Before embarking on the adventure, be sure to visit Blackhawke's Armoury to buy weapons, armor, and supplies. Having a torch and/or lantern is vital, as is a tinderbox to light them with, and the mirror will serve a specific purpose.
Also be sure to familiarize yourself with the game's commands. Like those in most Eamon adventures they may be abbreviated, and if you enter a command the game doesn't understand it will list them all for you. Black describes the commands in detail in his documentation, but briefly they are:
AttackBreak doorClimb stairsDdropEastGet
IgniteLookSearchNorthPick lockSouth
TalkUnlightViewwaitWestYell
SaveResumeUpdateQuit
Doors and items are sometimes hidden but searching a room will reveal them. Many doors in the temple and dungeons are also locked, but every one is passable either by picking the lock or just breaking it down. Being able to successfully pick a lock comes only with experience, so in most cases it's simplest just to smash your way through wherever possible.
The adventure is laid out in three distinct areas: the temple where you begin and two sprawling dungeons below.
The main level
You begin at the temple's main entrance with heavy doors east and west.
- Break down the west door and enter the temple kitchen.
- Go north into the old pantry and uncover a secret door leading north.
- Go north into a secret passageway that leads to an old store room; collect the sack and scroll.
- Go east into the small chambers and search to discover a cloak that grants you a bonus to your dexterity.
- Return to the main entrance.
- Break down the east door and enter the water room.
- Go north into the stairwell and climb up.
The temple
- Go south from the stairway and meet the thief Rebbatskcab. As implied by his name (a semordnilap of "backstabber") he is not to be trusted and will kill and rob you if you befriend him, so immediately attack and kill him.
- Go west into the temple's sleeping room, and west again into the priest's chambers.
- Go north into the high priest's room, kill the goblins, and search for a secret exit.
- Take the secret passage east into the treasure room and locate a cursed golden box. You may take it with you, but note that it magically lowers your strength and once collected cannot be dropped.
- Continue east along the secret passage and emerge back at the stairway.
- Climb down to the main level, then down again to enter the dungeons. (Once you enter the dungeons the game won't allow you to climb back up, so be sure you've collected everything first.)
The first dungeon
- Exit south from the stairway into a chamber with doors leading east and west.
- Break down the west door and kill the giant spider waiting behind it. A secret exit south will be revealed.
- Take the passageway south and east to reach the library where another secret exit leads south.
- Go south into a chamber with a human skeleton and exits in all directions. Search to find a staff.
- Go east into a corridor, then follow it north and east to reach a lair where you'll tangle with some bandits.
- Go east again and you'll be in the bandits' treasure room where you can collect a valuable gold chalice, and where a young cleric is being held in a cell.
TALKto her and tell her you're a friend; she'll tell you her name is Tiffany and will offer to accompany you. - Return to the room where you found the staff.
- Take the west exit to reach a four-way crossroads, then go west again.
- Follow the corridor south and enter the first room to the west where a ghoul awaits. Dispatch the ghoul and search the room to find a +1 sword.
- Take the corridor south twice more and find another room to the west, this one occupied by a troll. Kill it and recover some magic armor.
- From the troll chamber, go east, then east again to enter a circular room where an old mage named Oremm is chained. As you did with Tiffany,
TALKto him and he'll offer to join your party. - If you're equipped with a mirror, go north and encounter a basilisk; its gaze is fatal, but upon seeing its reflection in the mirror it will turn itself to stone.
- From the basilisk chamber, go south, west, and south to reach a "wide chamber".
- Exit northeast and you'll be in a corridor; follow it north to where an exit leads west.
- Enter the cell to the west where a young man is being held prisoner. Talk to him; he'll tell you he's Thanos, the fighter originally sent by the villagers, and he'll agree to join your party.
- Go east twice and search the corridor to find a secret door leading east: it opens onto the den of the mage Oremm, who'll be so happy you found it that he rewards you by letting you have a potion from his potion room (to the south). The potion boosts your strength.
- Return to the corridor and go north to where doors lead east and west.
- Take the east door and fight a vampire, then collect the Boots of Speed.
- Take the west door and do battle with some zombies. Search the room to uncover a secret exit north.
- Go north to reach a chamber inhabited by a mummy. If you talk to it, it will utter an incantation that magically teleports you away, so best to attack it immediately. Once it's defeated, search to find a +5 sword.
- Return to the wide chamber (from the mummy room it's S, S, E, S, W, S, S), then go west into a corridor.
- Once in the corridor, step east, then enter the door to the south.
- Take the stairway down.
The second dungeon
- Exit the stairway and follow the corridor, which leads east and north to a guard room full of goblins.
- Continue following the corridor north, then east to an intersection (marked by an old rotting boot).
- Go north into the empty storage room, then southwest into a corridor.
- Follow the corridor to its west end, then go north into an abandoned armory.
- Exit southwest and you'll be in a different corridor.
- Go east, then east again to battle goblins in the dungeon's torture chamber.
- Exit the torture chamber and go south, then step west. Gandor, the evil wizard you seek, is addressing a gathering of monsters, but when you appear he'll quickly slip out a hidden exit and leave you to battle his ogre bodyguard.
- Return to the corridor and go south to the mess hall.
- Go west into a storage room, then north into a small secret side-chamber.
- Take the secret exit west and follow the corridor south until you reach an escape tunnel.
- Follow the tunnel east, then climb the stairs for your final confrontation with Gandor.
Epilogue
The game's epilogue varies depending on the companions who are with you at the end. Though Oremm accompanies you as a friend, he remains loyal to Gandor and during the final encounter will kill Tiffany (if present) and attempt to kill you, forcing you to strike him down. If he's absent, Tiffany survives and returns with you to Griffinville. Thanos if present will be struck by the wizard's magic missile but will also survive and return with you.
| Epilogue |
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As you reach the top of the stairs, you come face to face with Gandor! "Die!" Thanos yells, running towards Gandor with his sword drawn. Gandor waves his hand and hits Thanos with a magic missile! The fighter falls to the ground clutching his chest! Gandor begins to cast a spell on you but you run at him and drive your weapon into his heart. Gandor falls to the ground and you jab him in the throat, ending his reign of terror forever... You help Thanos to his feet and he thanks you, telling you that you are a fine warrior and that you will meet again someday... You bid Tiffany and Thanos farewell... You march back to town with Gandor's body in hand. The town cheers for you! *** Congratulations *** |
Trivia
- Doctor Sax is a reference to the dark, caped character in the fantastical world of Lowell in Jack Kerouac's 1959 novel Doctor Sax.
- Griffinville is named for J. Houston Griffin, Black's best friend since 9th grade; Tiffany is named for Tiffany McKenzie, a girl Black had a crush on in school.
- Thanos is named for the character from Marvel Comics. "I just liked the name," recalls Black.
- Black originally drew the game's splash screen on pieces of graph paper taped together, then wrote Applesoft programs to convert the coordinates to hires artwork. Softdisk modified the artwork in version they published, but Black's version of the adventure features his original splash screen, colorized using SoftPaint.
See also
External links
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