Well of the Great Ones
| Well of the Great Ones | |
|---|---|
| ◄Eamon adventure #230► | |
 | |
| Author | Mike Ellis |
| Released | March 1995 |
| Revised | 28 December 1994 |
| EAG number | 230 |
| EDX number | 17-17 |
| EDX set | Classic Eamon Adventures, Vol. 5 |
| Native format | Apple DOS 3.3 |
Well of the Great Ones is an Eamon adventure written by Mike Ellis.
Background
Well of the Great Ones was sent to Tom Zuchowski by Pat Hurst in an unfinished form. Zuchowski relates in the notes on the disk that Mike Ellis entered the data on a borrowed Apple II and hadn't tested the adventure before it was submitted. Zuchowski's correspondence with Hurst and Ellis subsided and—absent input from the author—Zuchowski opted to debug and finish the adventure himself, releasing it in 1994.
The adventure features encounters with malevolent deities associated with the "Cthulhu Mythos" of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft (though none of these "Old Ones" featured in the adventure actually originated from Lovecraft's work). It is one of two Eamon adventures to focus upon Lovecraft's pulp mythology; the other is Robert Romanchuk's The Tomb of Y'Golonac which features a similar story. The creature Y'Golonac makes a return appearance in Well of the Great Ones.
Premise
The opening screens of the adventure describe the player drinking with Moloch, an emissary from a foreign court. Moloch describes that ominous happenings have been witnessed at the Arcosian Swamp, including the sighting of a two-headed snake and the walking about of a resident's dead son. Moreover, a plague of rats has emerged from the swamp, threatening to overrun the Main Hall.
Moloch describes a temple dedicated to malevolent and ancient deities in the middle of the swamp he believes to be central to the strange phenomena. The emissary implores the player to assist by venturing into the swamp's depths and dropping a magical amulet into the eponymous well, thereby neutralizing the malevolent force.
Reviews
Tom Zuchowski awarded the adventure a review of 5/10 and a difficulty of 6/10, noting that although some portions of the adventure were "masterful," its unfinished state led him to reduce the rating.
Location
This adventure, like Pat Hurst's Buccaneer! and The Dark Brotherhood, is set outside the city of Evenhold. In the Hurst adventures, the Main Hall is on the southern coast with the Malphigian Sea to the south and the Arcosian Swamp to the north.
The story of the adventure also features an emissary from the court of Tanjid, suggesting that this name denotes a nation or kingdom on the planet Eamon.
External links
- Eamon Adventurer's Guild Library Master List
- The Interactive Fiction Database: Well of the Great Ones
- Interactive Fiction Reviews: Well of the Great Ones
