Memorable Moments...

[THE Materializer]

Moment 1 -

My dad and I were in a computer store, and they had DM up on one of the computers. We played around with it for a bit, chose a character or two and decended down to level 2. We didn't know anything about needing the torch or light spell to see, so it was pretty spooky. Once we encountered the mummy, I was scared out of my wits (was probably about four or five at the time). Of course the mummy killed us, and we walked out of the store with that game!


Moment 2 -

Getting all the way down to level 14, and hearing a sound I had never heard before. *CLIP-CLOP*. *CLIP-CLOP*. Then I was fried with a giant fireball. After restarting from my save spot I went back and managed to catch a glimpse of one of my favorite dungeon creatures, the Red Dragon.

[zzbrowdyzz]

[quote="Ameena"]
- did you always take a party of four? I never consider not taking a party of four till I'd been on this forum a while and heard people talking about it and then thought "Hmm, I never thought of trying that!". Now I take a party of two, Re-Incarnated. I think we always used to Resurrect, back on the Atari.quote]

Ohh. just going to start my first game from years ago, can't remember what the difference is re the above?
can you shed any light?
Is it worth taking 2 or 4 or why re-incarnate?

[Jan]

Usually I prefer playing DM with only ONE champion - it's more fun, and you can create a real superhero. And I always reincarnate him/her. (well, in CSB it's much more challenging with only one character, I have to admit)

"Reincarnating a champion slightly improves statistics and removes all skill levels. Reincarnation is better than resurrection in the long term, because champions will progress quickly and gain more points in statistics." (http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/199) - that's it.

[beowuuf]

Two people consolodate your experience gain and reduce your food consumption, while still allowing you to have two attacks in combat. You are reduced in raw mana, but then that is a trade off. Note that with two characters, you can spin on the spot in combat with spell slingers to completely avoid missiles - quite a neat trick

Levelling up takes twice as much experience for each level, but gives you the same stats each level. If you re-incarnate, then there are no negative stat effects, so you get to boost your stats much quicker and ultimately gain more than if you take resurrected characters. The only down-side is you are temporarily less able to fight and weild magic in the early levels

This is not the case in CSB - in CSB, reincarnation drastically reduces your stats aswell as remove your levels, so you are drastically reduced

[Banky]

Yesterday I talked to a friend with whom I played DM about 18 years ago
The first thing we both mentioned was training in the screamer chamber. It will always be the most memorable moment in DM for me because you usually spend most time of the game casting spells, hitting walls, etc in the screamer chamber on level 4.

We would usually meet on the school yard and exchange hints and clues, since there were no such things as internet walkthroughs.
Glory old days.

[Trantor]

Cool, a new member, and from Berlin and liking Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!

It's kind of funny that everyone trained at the Screamer room though the Rat chamber on level 9 would give you much more experience. But people didn't know about the experience multiplier back then, and the rats probably scared more than a few players... I know I had a hell of a lot of respect for them when I first played DM!

[Sealtiel]

Admittedly, my first DM experience was on the SNES. I can't remember how old I was at the time, but I just sat in awe watching my dad play this game. He actually sucked at it, so he never got terribly far; then he gave up on it entirely.

I refused to let this game go unbeaten so I picked it up & started over. Haha, every little thing about the game scared me all over again when I realized I was the one in control. The first few levels I got through from remembering what my dad had done, then came level 4.

Oh. my. god. Level 4. The rock piles I can handle, but then that door: "Don't let a closed door stop you". It took me a few minutes to get the courage to bash through that door, since I just knew something awful was on the other side. No monsters, just that quick button-press puzzle to get through the grate. I was so relieved that there wasn't any monsters that I let my guard down, just in time to run face-first into something that still gives me chills to think about. The ghost.

No seriously, the SNES ghost looks creepy. Very creepy. At that age I wasn't deaf yet, so I was treated to that horrible raspy sound he made as he did some enormous amount of hurt to my poor Halk in the front row. I ran away from him after realizing that my weapons weren't gonna do the trick, and after failing to smash him in a door for painfully obvious reasons.

Many things stand out about the game, but nothing quite does it like the ghosts. I was so happy to get past that one that I guess I just thought they'd only put 1 in the game. Imagine my surprise on level 8, where they travel in gaggles. Yes, ghosts travel in gaggles; similar to how girls seem to do in public when one has to go to the restroom. That's a gaggle. Now imagine ghosts doing that. Oddly enough, it's still scary.

On a side note, a buddy of mine tells me that the little thief dwarf guy in DM2 yells "Mine!" when he steals stuff and it's really creepy sounding. Can I get affirmation that it's creepier than the ghosts attack sound?

[Jan]

It's kind of funny that everyone trained at the Screamer room though the Rat chamber on level 9 would give you much more experience. But people didn't know about the experience multiplier back then, and the rats probably scared more than a few players... I know I had a hell of a lot of respect for them when I first played DM!

Yeah, Trantor, the rat chamber on level 8 is fine both for training and for obtaining drumsticks (since a water fountain and the central stairway are very close).

But, you forgot to mention training on level 9 in the scorpion regeneration section (close to the end of the level) - it's much more fun, isn't it? Well, I usually don't spend much time with training here (especially when playing with one champion only)... somehow, I'm always in a hurry there...

[Trantor]

On a side note, a buddy of mine tells me that the little thief dwarf guy in DM2 yells "Mine!" when he steals stuff and it's really creepy sounding. Can I get affirmation that it's creepier than the ghosts attack sound?

Yes Sealtiel, it's true that the thieves in DM2 yell "Mine!", but it's not creepy to me at all. But since I never liked DM2 that much, I might just be biased towards everything that comes out of that game.

[Broken_Paladin]

Dm2 thieves yelling mine isnt creepy at all, I just get mad and go what did that lil dork steal from me, then i have to chase him down and teach him its not nice to steal from me.

[Ameena]

Personally the noises that freak me out the most are the Dragon/Rat/Hellhound noise (mainly because of Dragons - you just know that three seconds after you hear that sound in the distance, you're gonna get smacked upside the head with a Fireball no matter which way you step ), and the Scorpion noise, /shudder...
I never found the Ghost noise scary. It's the same as the Mummy one, after all. And they don't really look that scary either. That said, any mob can make you jump if it suddenly takes a swipe at you from the side when you're not looking and not expecting it...

[Sealtiel]

I notice a lot of people seem bothered by the Scorpion noise. I can't really remember what it sounded like, but I know that it didn't bother me; even as a small child. When they hit me and deal 31793284712938 damage to me, that bothers me; but not the noise.

Same pretty much went for the dragon, he didn't bother me that much. The look of him was much worse than the noise. Although I can remember being caught off guard by the rat when it bit at me making a weird, guttural growl noise that I didn't expect.

Perhaps it was just because it was level 8, and I was extremely on-edge; but I also remember the Gigglers messing with me. The rapid footsteps that I knew I couldn't keep up with, followed by that ridiculous laugh; and suddenly Elija (in the back row, mind you) has somehow had the top half of his robe stolen...

Heh, I actually forgot about the myriad ghosts flying around the level for long enough to wonder if the bottom part of his robe was just levitating around his waist or what?

[beowuuf]

I think the dame and noise become linked in the mind

[Banky]

Cool, a new member, and from Berlin and liking Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!

It's kind of funny that everyone trained at the Screamer room though the Rat chamber on level 9 would give you much more experience.

Hey Trantor, good to see another old school Power Play enthusiast around here

I've just finished my first Solo Run (Boris) and while the endgame monsters were pretty easy there's no way I could have tanked a rat longer than a couple of seconds.
Even when I returned to the rat chamber at the end of the game with Darc Armor and Shield they still bit my butt off.
I was able to make one Ninja and one Priest level but I had to make tons of Vi Potions and the whole session wasn't at all as chilly as training with Screamers.
Maybe Boris isn't just made for tanking giant rats

[Jan]

Yeah. If Boris was made for tanking giant rats, then I am Mickey Mouse.

[Trantor]

Hey Banky, so Heini was your favourite writer for the Power Play, too? Also cool to see that Boris seems to be your favourite DM character, too. Or maybe just Doc Bobo is the connection - it all fits together (Trantor - Doc Bobo - Boris Schneider - Boris from DM - the German translation of the old Lucasfilm Games...)

While it's true that Boris isn't exactly the best tank, I think DM isn't the game for tanking anyway. It's much easier to dodge and sneakily move around the monsters. Maybe some monsters should have been given higher speed values, so dancing around them wouldn't have been as effective. Hey, that's actually a smart idea for my custom dungeon...

[Sealtiel]

That's not a bad idea at all, Trantor. The battle-dance (my loving name for our favorite cheesy tactic) makes the games generally far too easy. Gigglers can, and do, keep up with it; but they don't hurt you anyways.

I have no idea what all you can edit when creating a custom dungeon, but I think some fast moving but less damaging stone golems would really throw a lot of people off. Or just put a ton of narrow hallways in there, that works too. If you're doing narrow hallways, try to avoid things like the demons or other fireball-launching monsters. Fireball is just horribly crippling, in both raw damage and injury-inducing side effects.

[Ameena]

And of course there's Beholders with their Lightning Bolts and Spell Vines with all the stuff they chuck at you. And Lord Chaos. Booo...
Actually, in original DM, these days I find the Beholders are probably the biggest pain. Maybe it's 'cause I'm neglecting whichever skill it is that gives you whatever kind of resistance it is that helps against lightning, but they always seem to really hurt. Well, that said, so do Fireballs from, say, Demons, but I suppose they're easier to avoid since you seldom meet one of those in a narrow corridor or get blasted upside the head by one you can't even see because it's about ten steps away from you .
Restarted DM a couple of months back just 'cause I felt like it, and am still currently saved at the beginning of level 10 'cause the bastard Beholders kept just killing me while I was trying to do the "...Deceiver, the Snake" bit .

[Sealtiel]

Despite having nothing at all to do with Ameena's post, I remembered this while reading it.

Another part of original DM I distinctly remember wanting to tear my hair out over was that lvl (11 or 12, maybe?) where you come down the stairs and end up in a room that likes to teleport you around the same room. I remember a message on the wall saying "Clockwise" and still taking forever to do that puzzle. The puzzle itself was pretty neat, but once the wasps come out & start abusing the teleporters; it kinda sucks. I remember never using a fireball at that part because I didn't want it to hit all the teleporters & smack me in the face after a few seconds.

Also, Ameena mentioned something else to fear: Materializers. Ack, I hate those things. "Here, have a series of massively powerful fireballs that we'll just repeat every few seconds" in addition to: "What? Des Ew? Haha, nice try. As if you could harm us with a *Harm Non-Material Beings* spell while we're busy being *Non-Material*, what were you thinking"? Please don't put those in narrow hallways, ever.

[Trantor]

Ameena, the reason you are finding any spell-casting monsters the most difficult is RTC's misbehaviour. Beholders, Swamp Slimes, Materializers and also Vexirks do more damage in RTC than they should - especially if they fire Poison Bolts. I remember a solo game in RTC with Boris, just ended level 4 with the Big Worm Battle (TM) and headed down the stairs. I turned around, saw the Swamp Slime - and was dead. Despite having way over 100 HP. Just dead. Poison Bolt currently is WAY overpowered in RTC and probably the best attack spell (yes, better than Fireball - unless you face monsters that are immune to DES VEN, but not to FUL IR).
That said, monsters that shoot Lightning Bolts or Fireballs also do hit too hard, even if the spells themselves aren't overpowered like Poison Bolt. Add in the fact that RTC generally injures you quicker than original DM, and you are looking towards mixing lots of VI potions...

[Jan]

The funny thing about Beholders is that they can close a door - so that you're standing in an open door, fighting them, and suddenly you find yourself in a door-trap... but, except this, I think they can be killed pretty easily.

[Ameena]

Oh they can be killed easily enough...it's just that if they get off one Lightning Bolt I've usually had it. Well, maybe two. Poison Bolts I don't really have much trouble with, but then, I don't think I get hit by them very often. I think I have such trouble with Beholders because of all the spellcasting mobs, they seem to be the ones I encounter in narrow spaces the most, therefore they're the ones who get the most free shots at me (ie lobbing a spell before I have any clue they're even there) and therefore hit me the most. Things like Spell Vines and Vexirks are usually encountered in slightly more open spaces or I find it easier to remember where they are.
I think the other thing that makes them (Beholders) such bastards is that they seem to just keep respawning so no matter how many I kill, there's always at least two more waiting for me when I've healed up from the previous sneak attack and am trying to make my way forward again. Even though I'm not going through the dungeon particularly slowly or bothering to train hugely, I'm sure I should be able to survive better than this. Still, if it's the damage settings of RTC that are the culprit then well, at least I know I've somehow not become suddenly crap at playing .

[Erik Bauer]

Hi all,

I've been lurking on this site on and off for the past year and I'm amazed at how popular this game still is, so I decided to register and ask a question...

I wanted to know what was the part of Dungeon Master / CSB that stays most vividly in your mind? I haven't touched DM for over 10 years but the part I recall with the most fondness is Level 3 - all the rooms especially Time is of the Essence, which took me a couple of days to work out. I'm impressed with myself that after all this time I can name all the rooms without breaking a sweat (won't do it though - you know them as well as I do).

So, if anyone would like to share their fondest or most memorable moments of DM, it'd be welcome.

Thank you and Hello!

Mostly vivid Dungeon Master moments, places in my mind (5 years I do not play it).

- Entrance Door
- Put the gem back room (Do not know why but it's one of my favourite places)
- Meeting the first rock monster and thinking "Hell! That is umbeatable!"
- Me, 15yo, telling to my dad: "Hey, I tried that Dungen Master and it seems to have some potential. Would you like to play it with me?" Instantly became our favourite, both could not stop playing until end.
- Hand drawn mapping on millimiter paper. That were days! The good thing is that right now I still have some form of instint level orienteering sense in closedoors, both for videogames and rel life situations.
- My first Lo-Ful-Ir spell. I was "WOOW! Now we can fry that rock monsters!"

[Marco]

My most memorable moment:

I had just figured out how to cast Ful Ir. I was cruising around the 4th level, and I saw a couple worms down the hall. I immediately unleashed the strongest Ful Ir I could manage, then proceeded to charge down the hall full tilt on the tail of the raging ball of fire, screaming a bloodthirsty war cry, preparing to maul what was left of the smoldering worm remains. Abruptly I paused.......why the heck did my fire ball just disapp---- BOOOOOOOM

At that point, the worms screamed a bloodthirsty war cry, and proceeded to maul what was left of my smoldering party.

Embarrassing. And I loved the game all the more for it.

Marco.

[MasterWuuf]

My most memorable moment:

I had just figured out how to cast Ful Ir. I was cruising around the 4th level, and I saw a couple worms down the hall. I immediately unleashed the strongest Ful Ir I could manage, then proceeded to charge down the hall full tilt on the tail of the raging ball of fire, screaming a bloodthirsty war cry, preparing to maul what was left of the smoldering worm remains. Abruptly I paused.......why the heck did my fire ball just disapp---- BOOOOOOOM

At that point, the worms screamed a bloodthirsty war cry, and proceeded to maul what was left of my smoldering party.

Embarrassing. And I loved the game all the more for it.

Marco.

Oh I liked this one. Thanks for taking the time to share it.
I've heard others talk about this happening (advancing too fast and getting blasted by your own spell), but I don't recall it ever happening to me. Every time I've thought of it, I forgot about it before getting the opportunity to try doing it. (Now, why on earth would I want to try that???)

[MasterWuuf]

I remember the first time I used a 'freeze life' on a scorpion, then walked all the way around him.
That was neat. I always thought the scorpions were one of the most picturesque of the creatures in DM.
And the colors were very vivid, in my mind.

I have to admit that I was disappointed with the dragon;
both the T-Rex look as well as the sound (like he had infected tonsils) he made.

Plus, he was always so easy to kill, if a person was patient.

[Ameena]

I've done that too! It's bloody annoying, lol, and I'm sure I never managed to do this on the Atari (when I was about six and we played using only the mouse). I've done it several times on RC though - lob Fireball, charge forward, kaboom...ouch...

[ian_scho]

With the dragon I recall the first time I (it was a we, actually) met him. The column near the bottom of the stairs was a great relief to hide behind while we gathered our thoughts as the dragaon in his domain looked terrifying.

"Fireballs!" was our answer, and 4 of the highest grade were prepared as we danced in opposing sides of the column to our foe.

We stepped out from the safety of the brick wall while the dragon's back was turned.

1... 2... 3...

... His menacing jawls faced our direction and we stared into it's eyes for truly the first time.

Eeek! Siiide steeeep!

...4 BOOOM.

We ate the last of our own MON fireballs hurled into the column wall that had appeared directly in front of us.

[MasterWuuf]

I think I must have done that. I surely did every 'bonehead' thing imaginable.
Odd isn't it, that we end up intentionally jumping down every pit, just to say we did it?

[MasterWuuf]

Woah! I just jumped to Artisan. Watch out Beowuuf. I'm getting ready to challenge your post count. Right.