#and also the primary enemies in the wanderer's palace (hard)

[icedfairy]

Fate / Touhou Servants Assassin Post

Meiling Hong, Grand Master of Dim Mak Primary Class : Assassin Strength : B Endurance : B Agility : C Magic : D Luck : C

Skills : Mind's Eye (True) : A Thousands of years of experience allows Meiling to analyze and comprehend her foe's abilities even when in mortal danger.  Every plan of escape and attack are measured for efficiency. Sphere Boundary : B Similar to Presence Concealment, this is the martial arts technique of manipulating chi to bring harmony with the world.  Using it practitioners can become near invisible, in addition to hiding their presence as a servant.  Preparing an attack reduces the concealment several ranks. Magic Resistance : D Cancels Single-Action spells. Magic Resistance of the same degree of an amulet that rejects magical energy.  A product of her chi mastery and meditation. Chi Mastery : A+ By manipulating her internal chi Meiling can both heal herself, enhance her strength, and perform limited manipulations of external chi.  These allow her to attack at range, though at reduced strength.  She mostly uses it to combat enemy ranged attacks. Iron Breaking Fist : B Meling's strikes can shatter any earthly material by hitting miniscule weak points, or striking directly with chi.  However the damage is limited to the material being destroyed.  This gives foes with armor protection against her first attack. Noble Phantasm: Death Touch : - Similar to Tsubame Gaeshi, this isn't a true Noble Phantasm, but a mastery of technique that exceeds a Noble Phantasm.  By understanding and mastering chi to an unparalleled extent, she can disrupt the paths within a foe's body to deadly effect.  However she must land a solid blow to use this attack.

In a sense this is the inverse of Tsubame Gaeshi.  Kojirou's attack is inescapable when used correctly, but does not guarantee death.  Meiling's attack is not unavoidable, but it's certain death if she hits.

Hong Meiling is a distant figure, but with the revival of the Dim Mak school her story is becoming more well known.   Unfortunately with such a long lived youkai it's hard to tell which stories are real, which are exaggerated, and which are about other wandering martial artists.  It’s pretty certain is that she’s wiped out a few martial arts schools and youkai races along the way.

Researchers suggest Meiling would actually be a very friendly and relaxed servant. Especially for an assassin.  However once battle starts she becomes a deadly opponent.  She’ll use her chi abilities to move in close then strike the vital points for an instant kill.

Sakuya Izayoi, the Perfect Maid

Primary Class : Assassin

Strength : D

Endurance : C

Agility : C

Magic : EX

Luck : B

Skills :

Presence Concealment : E

Sakuya can only hide the fact that she personally is a Servant, not even that a Servant is present.  She does not do this to hide, but to maintain the facade that she's a simple maid.

Deathwish : C

No matter how dangerous the situation, Sakuya is uninterested in analyzing and considering her opponent's abilities.  Her moves are careless and whimsical.

Mental Pollution : C

Comes from her Deathwish. Provides a moderate probability that mental interference magecraft will be rendered ineffective.  Sakuya’s mental pollution is odd, in that she can reach an understanding with people, but she still refuses to change her outlook.

Projectile (Daggers) : A

Her knives combine the the physical power of a gunshot and the magical power of a Gandr shot.  In addition due to her abilities she has a limitless number of knives.

Noble Phantasm :

Sakuya's World : EX (Anti Self)

Total control over time space.  Investigations if this is a True Magic are still underway.  Even if it is a weaker power it is still near unbeatable.  There is no limit to how long Sakuya can stay outside of time, or the distance she can tweak.  However as a Servant her abuse of this ability is likely to drain her Master.  Especially because her time stopping skills are the heart of her abilities.

A terrifying servant within the assassin class, Sakuya's Noble Phantasm is a unstoppable power.  However her attacks past that are limited to her tiny amount of attack magic and her silver weapons.  It would take a very powerful master to survive summoning her for long given how often she’ll use her power.

Sakuya has no interest in good and evil, or right and wrong, as befitting the Scarlet Devil's first maid.  She will serve as maid and assassin happily, right up until the moment she cuts your throat for offending her sensibilities.

Mystia Lorelei, the Song of Vengeance Primary Class : Assassin Strength : C Endurance : C Agility : A+ Magic : D Luck : B

Skills : Deaf to All But The Song : A Mystia's song blinds and disorients opponents at night.  The darkness becomes deeper, while lights have a horrible glare.  In addition her song surrounds the listeners making it difficult to determine her direction from the sound.  Unlike most Assassins Mystia has no Presence Concealment.  Singing is innate to her, and that's very bad at hiding one's presence. Executioner : A A Skill that increases damage towards those of the Evil alignment, coming from her legend. Also, a Servant will also become a target if his/her actions are regarded as evil. Severing evil by means of evil; the ultimate judgement. Hunting Spirit : C The manifestation of a youkai's desire to hunt and eat humans.  This grant Mystia a bonus to tracking and killing humans.  (Also cooking them.) Battle Continuation : C+ She can fight even if seriously injured, and can keep singing even if injured unto death. Noble Phantasm : The Wind Calls For Justice : E-A+++ (Anti Person) By focusing on the grudges surrounding a foe, Mystia can sense their crimes.  This is, in some cases, more effective than True Name Revelation to learn about enemy servants.  In addition the hatred and dark spirits are awakened by Mystia's song, granting their power to her strikes.  The more slain by the target, and the more hated her victim is for their killings the stronger her blows become.  However those who didn't kill anyone, or whose victims forgave them are almost immune. The Night Sparrow famed for her defense of the human village, viewing her through the grail has shown a number of inconsistencies.  For example, her disdain for humans is much stronger than previously considered, and honestly most of her abilities come purely from her legend.   Anyone who summons her is likely to be put off by her brashness, and freedom loving nature.

However her unique assassin abilities grant both knowledge and a very strong attack to anyone who calls on her.  One might call her an assassin strong against servants, as heroic spirits often have huge body counts.

Medicine Melancholy, Forgotten Doll Primary Class : Assassin Strength : D Endurance : C Agility : C Magic : B Luck : D Skills : Presence Concealment : C+ Hides one’s presence as a Servant. Suitable for spying. The rank of Presence Concealment drops considerably when preparing to attack. For Medicine however, this attack condition does not apply to poison attacks. Doll Body : C As a living doll, Medicine lacks vital points, and has a resistance to physical damage.  An arrow through the chest won’t affect her much, but shattering an arm would be as effective as on a human. Mental Pollution : A Medicine views dolls the same as humans, and tools to be almost human.  This distorted view grants her great resistance to mental attacks and possession, but makes it painfully difficult to come to an understanding with her. Noble Phantasm : A Medicine for Melancholy : EX (Anti Army) Medicine’s understanding of existence is centered around poison.  After all poison is the heart of her existence.  As such she views the world as conflicting poisons.  And so was born the reality marble within her, a swirling world of poison and death.  Medicine can create any poison in any dose and release it into the area around her.   In addition she’s immune to all poisons, accepting them into her body.  Given how loose the definition of poison is, and Medicine can perform a number of incredible feats, ranging from killing armies to healing diseases. The famed poison doll, Medicine is possibly the most deadly assassin in history.  Not in single combat, but in the ability to murder thousands with her poisons.  Still she’s no slouch in single combat either, as her actions in the Lunar War show.  Her prefered tactic is to linger near a foe, suffusing the air with odorless toxins until they collapse and die. Medicine is a surprisingly childish servant.  Stories about her don’t mention how innocent she is, when not killing people.  She also has an insane love of other dolls, so Masters will have a hard time with her.  In fact humans and youkai in general will have difficulty with medicine.  Only tsukumogami really can work with her easily.

Yuyuko Saigonji, Princess of the Netherworld Primary Class : Assassin Strength : D Endurance : EX Agility : D Magic : A Luck : E Skills : Ghostly body : A Due to the alterations in reality (and in the grail system) Yuyuko can actually be summoned in her position as Princess of the Netherworld instead of her living self.  As a ghost she is purely composed of spiritual energy and ignores physical items whenever she desires to.  In addition her Endurance is actually determined by her Magic statistic. Spirit Mastery : A Yuyuko can control all ghosts and spirits.  Non intelligent spirits can’t resist, intelligent spirits can, at best hold themselves motionless, effectively paralyzing themselves to resist. Presence Concealment : C- Suitable for spying, the rank decreases greatly when an attack is prepared.  In addition, the chill of death surrounds the area, making people jumpy and suspicious. Mana Blast : A While similar to Mana Burst and Mana Defense, Yuyuko doesn’t need an object to channel the mana into.   Instead she can simply fire pure energy blasts and shield herself with raw power, ignoring the need for magecraft. Noble Phantasm : Invitation to the Jade Palace : EX Yuyuko separates someone’s soul from their body, killing them instantly.  This ability can’t be avoided or resisted.  Only an immunity to death, or being dead already can avoid it.  Yuyuko will never willingly use this ability, though she can be ordered to with a command seal. The ability to summon the princess of the netherworld is strange, but makes a little more sense now that youkai have become part of the populace instead of merely conceptual monsters.  Still, Yuyuko fares poorly due to the class system of the grail.  She’s pushed into the Assassin class, limiting her magical abilities.  With her reluctance to use her trump card she has little to offer in a Grail War.  In addition her wish almost certainly is to create life somehow, which runs against the rules of the universe.  Probably the reason for her poor luck.

Yuyuko plays the role of a vapid glutton, casually lazing about.  However she’s very intelligent, and she’ll often just happen to wander out and end up in the right place at the right time.  Or to use the perfect tactic.   No matter what though she’ll be a frustrating servant to handle.

Koishi Komeiji, the Wanderer Primary Class : Assassin Strength : C Endurance : C Agility : B Magic : B Luck : C Skills : Presence Concealment : EX Koishi’s stealth is based on how much she’s letting her conscious mind act.   When acting unconsciously even attacks won’t decrease her stealth.   However when acting consciously her stealth drops more and more ranks. Eye of the Heart : Nil - B When Koishi is using her unconscious powers, she can’t access this ability. However when her heart opens and she starts acting consciously, she regains the ability to read hearts. Mental Pollution : EX It might be better to say humanity has the mental pollution here.  The more in tune Koishi is with her unconscious, the harder it is to affect her, and the more difficult it is to come to an understanding with her. Ancestors Standing Around Your Bed : A Being around Koishi is unnerving.  The Crimson Nightmare Witch said it was like being judged by your family all the time.  All abilities caused by Mental strength are lowered.  She can focus this power to also spark paranoia and even hallucinations in a victim. Noble Phantasm : Unconscious Shutdown : A (Anti Person) It’s hard to say if Koishi has ever used this power, or if it’s merely something people are afraid of.  With the grail however that issue is moot.  Koishi can shut down someone’s unconscious mind.  The victim’s heart, breathing, and instincts all shut down.  Death usually follows. Koishi Komeiji appears in spots on the records of history.  Sometimes a hero, sometimes a villain, sometimes just there.  Her interactions with Kokoro, her sister, and of course the famed Marisa Kirisame grant some body to our understanding of her.  But the very idea of someone who’s in tune with the subconscious is strange.

As an assassin she has perhaps the best presence concealment in existence.  At the cost of forgetting what she’s doing.  As such controlling her will be difficult.  Especially since she might not appear for her master.  At least it will be nearly impossible to track her back to her lair.

[updcbc]

June 16, 2019 - “Breaking the Curse of Darkness: The Triumph of the Jews” Esther 9:1-17

Click READ MORE to read the full sermon.

Introduction

Amidst the sinful darkness we stand on our moral ground to rekindle the glorious light of God. Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor, received the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He gave this revealing word.

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political views, that place must—become the center of the universe.”

This was the outcry of Mordecai when Haman decreed the ancient holocaust for the Jewish people in the Persian Empire. Queen Esther defied death and pleaded before King Xerxes. The king recalled the patriotism of Mordecai and he honored him. The king discovered the evil plot of Haman and he was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai. The king elevated Mordecai as the prime minister in place of Haman. For the second time Esther placed her life at stake when she pleaded on behalf of her people. The king authorized Mordecai to make a new decree and entrusted him his signet ring. The new decree was written and administered by Mordecai. All Jews throughout the empire were given the right to defend themselves against their enemies who would attack them. Because of the fear of Mordecai, the Jews took the upper hand of power in the empire (9:1-4). On the day of reckoning the Jews were triumphant (9:5-17).  Our sovereign God works in wonders.

A.  The Overturning of Power (9:1-4)

Haman issued his decree on the 13th day of the first month of Nisan. The decree of Haman spelled a curse on the Jews. Their doom was sealed for there was no room to arm themselves for self defense. Their enemies were emboldened to destroy them as a people. Things changed when Haman was executed and Mordecai took his place. Mordecai issued his decree on 23rd day of the third month of Sivan. The decree of Mordecai empowered the Jews to defend themselves and destroy those who would attack them. Many of their potential enemies were unsettled.

 1. The Jews Got the Upper Hand

A reversal of power took its side on the Jews.

“On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them.” (9:1)

Haman was dead. Mordecai took his royal place. A great transition of power in the empire destabilized the plot of genocide against the Jews.

 2. The Jews Armed Themselves

The Jews were prepared for the day of battle.

“The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those seeking their destruction. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them.” (9:2)

The Jews armed and prepared themselves for warfare in nine months. Mordecai, the prime minister of the empire, served as their military general. The fear of the Jews gripped many nationalities in the empire.

 3. The Jews Gained Support

The royal authorities supported the Jews.

“And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king's administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.” (9:3-4) 

Mordecai established his power in the royal palace and throughout the empire. The dread of Mordecai fell among the royal officials in all the provinces and they rallied behind the Jews.

 B.  The Victory of the Jews (9:5-17)

The political and military reinforcement for the Jews established their foothold for the war. The Jews pleaded to the LORD their God to give them victory over the decree of holocaust. And the day of battle came.

 1. The Compelling Triumph of the Jews

The Jews were triumphant.

“The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.” (9:5)

The hard core enemies of the Jews did not change their mind to annihilate the Jews as decreed by Haman beyond his grave. They too, like Haman who was the primary enemy of the Jews, were determined to destroy the Jews. The enemies of the Jews prepared for the war to attack the Israelites. On the day of battle the Hebrews defeated their enemies.

2. The Triumph in the Citadel of Susa

The Jews were triumphant in the citadel of Susa. The day of their victory on the 13th day of the month of Adar was extended to the 14th when Queen Esther pleaded before the king to ensure the destruction of all the enemies of the Jews within the capital of the empire.

a.    The Report to the King

King Xerxes was well informed about the war.

“In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder. The number of those slain in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day.” (9:6-11)

Five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman within the citadel alone was a staggering number determined to destroy the Jews. They were subdued by the Jews. The queen gave the information to the king.

 b.    The King Asked the Petition of Esther

And the king made an unexpected move.

“The king said to Queen Esther, ‘The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted.’” (9:12)

It was indeed a great surprise on the part of the queen for the king to have inquired of her petition. It only showed his great delight on Esther and affirmed his imperial support for her cause on behalf of her people. 

 c.    The Petition of Esther

Queen Esther declared her petition to the king.

“If it pleases the king,” Esther answered, “give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day's edict tomorrow also, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on gallows.” (9:13)

The petition of Esther was not a simple matter. She pleaded for the king to issue a decree for two reasons. First was an extension of the battle for a day. It appeared that Esther knew of the remaining enemies within the city. She asked that the Jews would be given the authority not merely to defend themselves but an opportunity to attack and destroy them. This would definitely ensure the safety of the Jews and the stability of the empire. Second was the public hanging in the gallows of the ten sons of Haman. This would give a clear message of the total collapse of the power of Haman within the empire and of dread to anyone who would intend to destroy the Jews.

 d.    The Edict of the King in Susa

King Xerxes issued the decree as pleaded by Queen Esther.

“So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman. The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.” (9:14-15) 

As decreed by the king, the ten sons of Haman were hanged in the gallows. And three hundred more men were killed by the Jews. Such alarming number of enemies to have had remained alive in the citadel of Susa was indeed a great threat to the Jews and to the royal palace. The war ended on the 14th day of the twelfth month of Adar.

 3. The Triumph in the Provinces

The Jews were triumphant in the whole empire.

“Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.” (9:16-17) 

Seventy-five thousand was a dreadful number. These enemies had only one agenda. They were determined to deliver the irreversible decree of holocaust conceived by Haman the enemy of the Jews. The Jews killed their enemies who attacked them. The Jews did not lay a hand on the plunder over their enemies. It was clear that the Jews primarily defended themselves with no intention to exploit their enemies. The bloodshed in the empire was staggering. The Jews did not plan nor desire for such bloody warfare. An irreversible decree of Haman was meant for the destruction of the Jews. Another decree was made by Mordecai for their survival. The war ended. And the Jewish people rested and celebrated.

Conclusion

It is a great wonder how the Jews were preserved as a people even this very day. Throughout biblical history the Jewish people were on the brink of extinction. They survived an oppressive slavery from Egypt for four hundred years. They survived when they wandered in wilderness for forty years. They survived from the hands of the pagan nations when they entered the Promised Land. They survived when they were conquered by the Assyrians. They survived when they were conquered by the Babylonians. And they survived from an irreversible decree of the ancient holocaust in the Medo-Persian Empire. In the book of Esther the name of God could not be read but his sovereign movement was at work beyond our human grasp. We give a careful thought on our view of God.

God is sovereign over the affairs of humankind. Absolute authority rests alone in God. The God of the Jews is the LORD of heaven and earth. Heaven is his seat of throne and the earth is his footstool. The LORD is the God of Israel and the God of all nations. Anything under the sun is under his control. Even here and now the LORD is present and at work.

God is faithful to his promise of blessing to Abraham. God is not a man who should lie or a son of man who should change his mind. Why the Jews remain to this day as a people despite all their unfaithfulness is because God is true to himself and trustworthy to his word.

God works in mysterious ways on behalf of his covenant people. God moved King Xerxes and raised Esther as queen and Mordecai as prime minister in a pagan empire. Israel survived the irreversible decree of holocaust. We rejoice for all the Jewish survivors in Persia. Yet in our generation we grieve with every survivor of the modern holocaust.

Alexander Kimel (1920-2018), a Polish Jewish survivor, wrote a creed about the dreadful holocaust. We enter into their world of grief.

I Cannot Forget

Do I want to remember? The peaceful ghetto, before the raid: Children shaking like leaves in the wind Mothers searching for piece of bread Shadows, on swollen legs, moving with fear No, I don’t want to remember, but how can I forget? 

Do I want to remember, the creation of hell? The shouts of the Raiders, enjoying the hunt Cries of the wounded, begging for life Faces of mothers carved with pain Hiding children, dripping with fear No, I don’t want to remember, but how can I forget? 

Do I want to remember, my fearful return? Families vanished in the midst of the day The mass grave steaming with vapor of blood Mothers searching for children in vain The pain of the ghetto, cuts like a knife No, I don’t want to remember, but how can I forget?

Do I want to remember, the wailing of the night? The doors kicked ajar, ripped feathers floating the air The night scented with snow-melting blood While the compassionate moon, is showing the way For the faceless shadows, searching for kin No, I don’t want to remember, but I cannot forget. 

Do I want to remember this world upside down? Where the departed are blessed with an instant death While the living condemned to a short wretched life And a long tortuous journey into unnamed place Converting living souls into ashes and gas No. I have to remember and never let you forget.

[ciathyzareposts]

Game 29: Lords of Karma – Victory!

Having spent most of my last post on mapping and exploring, I decided it was time to dig into this game and start solving some quests. The most obvious goal was to earn enough karma to enter Heaven, but there were a number of other quests in the game as well. Laying out my goals was helped by the discovery of a book on a mountain top, which purports to hold the wisdom of someone called Maharathi. Continuously reading the book gives a number of hints:

CHAPTER I. Putting the Torch to Cobwebs

CHAPTER II. I Give a Beggar a Silver Dollar

CHAPTER III. A Cooling Egg

CHAPTER IV. Secrets Found in a Crystal Ball

CHAPTER V. An Idol Destroyed.

This was a pretty good set of quests to go on. In addition, I had been asked to rescue a princess from a knave and return her to the palace.  Tackling all of these took me the better part of an afternoon, which was time I could have better spent watching hard Japanese wrestlers batter the hell out of each other (it’s G1 Climax season once again!). Still, I’ve had worse weekends, and played worse games.

Rescuing the princess turned out to be not difficult at all. Her and the knave are always found somewhere in the Oak Forest to the west of the city of Golconda. The last time I tried to fight him he killed me, but this time I battered him to death with a lit torch. Combat is very swingy in this game; you can kill a Troll with your bare hands, then lose a fight to a bat when armed with a sword. It’s very much just a case of luck, though it seems that the knave is one of the game’s weaker enemies.

The princess then started following me, demanding to be returned to the palace. I returned her to her father, who rewarded me with a diamond before taking his daughter on a vacation. From that point on I was able to enter the palace without fear of being thrown in the dungeons, although there’s not really much reason to do so.

Reuniting the royal family.

It was time to get to the clues in the book, and I started with the beggar. The silver dollar is usually found somewhere in the Oak Forest to the east of Golconda (the locations of items and creatures is randomised, although they usually pop up in the same general area). The beggar is easy to find as well, as he’s always on the road either north or south of the city. I gave him the dollar and he rewarded me with a lamp that never runs out. This game involves a fair bit of stumbling around in the dark, so it comes in handy.

The next easiest clue to solve was the one about torching cobwebs. I’d found some cobwebs in the Cyprus Swamp, so I went there armed with a lit torch and tried to burn them. None of the commands I tried worked, so I explored a bit and was soon attacked by a giant spider. The spider kept firing webs at me, but with my torch I was able to burn them away and thus avoid being killed. Eventually I struck a killing blow, although it was a long, laborious process of typing KILL over and over again. Searching the swamp afterwards I found a sword, which soon became my primary weapon.

I had no idea about the egg, but after an hour of fruitless exploring, monster killing, and treasure-finding, I decided to try talking to everyone I met. Most of them just attack, but I was quite pleased to note that every creature I tried to talk to had some sort of response.  Success came when I talked to the giant who lives in the Redwood Forest to the south-west. He told me that humans aren’t welcome in his forest, but I could win his trust by bringing him a sapling.

I’d found a sapling in the swamp during an earlier game, so I wandered around (and killed a crocodile) until I found it again. The sapling is heavy, so I had to drop everything from my inventory to even move. Then I couldn’t get back out of the swamp the way I came, because the sapling was too big to fit through a crack in a wall. I was forced to find another path east and north of Golconda, but I was eventually able to circle around and take the sapling to the giant.

I hope those are some REALLY big leaves.

He rewarded me with an egg. I suspect there’s a way to hatch it, but I never did figure it out. The “cooling egg” in the clue had me trying to light it on fire, which I couldn’t get to work. So I’m not convinced that I solved everything here, but finding the egg is good enough for me to consider the third clue dealt with.

The other two clues took quite a bit longer to deal with, because they both involve exploring underground. There are a number of underground areas in the game: the sewers beneath Golconda, the tunnels under the mountains, more tunnels accessed through holes in the swamp. The most extensive of these seems to be the caves under the southern Promontory. It’s hard to tell, because there are secret doors all over these areas. Sometimes they appear when you LOOK, and other times they don’t, so fully exploring these places is a matter of luck and patience. I’m still not sure I got everything.

There are monsters underground, and all of them can kill you: the worm and the vampire bat are the weakest. There’s an axe-wielding goblin, a mace-wielding troll, and a shimmering wizard who will happily roast you with a fireball from his staff when he sees you. The idol mentioned in the clues is also underground, in the caves below the Promontory, past a maze of stalactites and stalagmites. The troll always guards the areas leading up to it, and he can be tough to kill even when you’re well-armed.

The idol is dedicated to Baal, and when you examine it you’re asked to make an offering. I knew it would be a bad idea, but I had to try it at least once.

Whoever the god of this world is, he punishes you worse for this than for murder.

Yes, I got blasted for idolatry and took a massive karma hit. Needless to say, I restarted.

With idol located I needed a way to destroy it. I had earlier found a bomb lying in the Aspen Forest to the north-west, and I figured this was the way to do it. Sure enough, I took the bomb to the idol, lit a match, lit the fuse, and moved away. The bomb exploded, reducing the idol to rubble, and I got a big karma boost. (What I didn’t get was a screen shot, because my torch had run out while I was waiting for the bomb to go off.)

My final goal was obtaining the crystal ball, which I knew was being held by a friendly wizard who roams about the wilderness. When you talk to him, he asks you to bring him the staff of the shimmering wizard. Which I then tried to do. Many, many, many times. That guy is tough.  In the end I resorted to praying at the temple, which sometimes results in you grabbing a torch and wandering into the underground tunnels, and is probably the quickest way of finding the wizard. So I just kept on praying, fighting him when I found him, and returning to pray after he killed me. It probably took me thirty tries to beat him (with a lot of fruitless underground journeys when praying sent me to the wrong area).  When I took his staff to the good wizard, he rewarded me with the crystal ball, which I discovered could be used to see secret doors. I considered using it to map out the whole game accurately, but even I have my limits (I would have totally done it if this was an RPG though).

Say “appear” one more time…

Last of all, it was time to earn enough karma to make my way into heaven. If I’m being honest though, I accomplished this one way before destroying the idol and obtaining the crystal ball. The number of points required to ascend to heaven is randomised with every game; in some games I’ve ascended with only 24 points, and in others it’s taken me over 300. So as you can see, the game can vary greatly in difficulty.

There are three ways to earn karma: solving quests, donating treasure, and killing monsters. The first of these I’ve covered pretty comprehensively above.  Donating treasure simply involves taking any treasure you’ve found to the temple and using the DONATE or GIVE command. A sign tells you that “contributions will be gratefully accepted”, so it’s not all that obscure, but it did take me a few tries to hit on the right command. Despite this game’s premise supposedly being to do good deeds, it still ultimately boils down to finding treasures and returning them to a single location. We haven’t escaped the influence of Colossal Cave Adventure just yet.

Killing monsters is a little more interesting, because doing so can earn you karma as well as lose it. I think it has something to do with the weapon you’re using.  When you examine a weapon it tells you where it was made. Some are forged in Valhalla, some in Hades, and some are made by “Knave Armaments, Inc.”  I’m pretty sure that you get points when using weapons from Valhalla, and lose them when using weapons from Hades. I found a ring from Hades that shot lightning bolts, and while it was powerful I lost karma every time I used it.  As for the Knave Armaments weapons, I’m not sure, but I think you lose karma from those as well. I just tried to test it and got killed by a vampire bat, so it’ll have to remain a mystery.  Oh, and of course killing friendly characters always loses you karma.

So I amassed a couple hundred karma, went to the temple, prayed, and got the following victory screen.

After this it dumped me to the OS prompt, so I guess heaven is using a TRS-80 you guys.

So that’s Lords of Karma done, dusted, and off the books. After a couple of games that I feel like I didn’t properly beat, it’s a relief to notch up another win. All that’s left is a quick Final Rating and I can move on to something else.

FINAL RATING

Story & Setting: The set-up for Lords of Karma promised more than the usual late-70s adventure fare, but in the end it wasn’t much more than another treasure hunt. It perhaps deserves some props for being one of the first game adventure games that has a number of sub-quests, and multiple paths to victory. It’s possible to win without donating any treasure at all, by completing the quests instead. The setting doesn’t have a lot of personality, and I’m tempted to dock it for mixing mythologies with Hades and Valhalla. Rating: 2 out of 7.

Characters & Monsters: The characters are simple quest-givers, but they do all respond when spoken to, and have a minimal amount of personality. The selection of monsters is decent, although combat is too random to differentiate them all that much. It’s a slight cut above the other adventure games available on home computers at the time in this regard, though. Rating: 2 out of 7.

Aesthetics: As with so many of its kind, it’s a text adventure with very sparse descriptions. Rating: 1 out of 7.

Mechanics: The parser is very simple (I doubt it knows more than about a dozen commands), but it gets the job done. Once you know how to GET, DROP, GIVE, TALK, PRAY, LIGHT and KILL you’re pretty much good to go, and the games does what it’s supposed to do. Combat is very random though, and there are no tactics that can mitigate this swinginess. Rating: 3 out of 7.

Challenge: In terms of puzzle solving this game has very little in the way of difficulty, and gives a decent amount of hints as to what you need to do. Earning karma is also not that hard, especially once you know how to avoid losing it. The game even resurrects you when you die, with no loss of karma at all. The most challenging thing is combat, but even that’s a minor setback in terms of the goal of ascending to heaven. It’s probably about the right amount of challenge for the size of the game, if not a little too easy. The randomisation gives it some small replay value, though. Rating: 4 out of 7.

Innovation & Influence: It doesn’t seem as though this game had much of an impact, but it does feature some minor innovations. It might be the first adventure game to explicitly have “doing good” as a goal, and it might also be the first to feature elements of Eastern philosophy and religion (albeit in a minor way). Rating: 3 out of 7.

Fun: I only had three sessions on this game, perhaps five hours in total, but I found myself enjoying it while it lasted. There’s just enough to see and do in the game to make it worth exploring for a short while, although the combat can be very frustrating. Rating: 2 out of 7.

No bonus point for Lords of Karma; I doubt I’ll revisit it.  The above scores add up to 17, which doubled gives a Final Rating of 34. That puts it equal 14th overall, and 8th on the chart for adventure games. That’s right in the middle, equal with Pirate Adventure, and among the highest-rated adventure games for home computers.

NEXT: It looks like I have tracked down a copy of Quest after all, so I’ll be looking at that if I can get it to work. If not, it’s either Swords & Sorcery (a minor PLATO RPG) or Daniel Lawrence’s DND (which I doubt I’ll be able to get running but you never know). The end of 1978 is finally in sight!

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-29-lords-of-karma-victory/