Dungeon Master Encyclopaedia

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Chaos Comes Calling

The night screamed in a frenzy of dark Magik. Rain pummeled the ancient stones of the Grey Lord's castle like the blows of banshees' fists. The waters of Lake Viborg, swirling in the moat, rose and smashed together in giant waves.

Thunderbolts crackled against the gates, illuminating the grim faces of the Grey Lord's four champions as they strode over the lowered drawbridge. Water from the moat splashed over their boots. It was a fearsome night for man, beast, or even High Lord, but nothing on earth could stop the four from answering their liege Lord's summons.

Another flash of lightning, another, and another. A tree beside the keep burst into flame. Thunder rumbled like hungry dragons as the champions stopped at the arched entry door carved with magikal symbols. One of the champions knocked, armoured fist ringing against the stone.

The door flew open, revealing Theron, Arch Master of All the Arts.

"By the balance, I'm glad you've come," he said, clasping each of his visitors. He seemed a different person, a man now, and not the boy they had last seen thirteen moons before. "And just in time, for I fear there's been a change for the worse."

The four followed him into the castle. Theron's assured movements were those of a full Arch Master. A cloak of brilliants had replaced the course-woven tunic and those of his apprenticeship to the Grey Lord. His forehead was clasped by a diadem of emeralds.

Fulcrum, the Grey Lord's raven, fluttered from the shadows above and landed on Theron's shoulder. He cawed softly into Theron's ear.

"Aye," Theron replied, and held his torch high as he opened a second door.

The champions gasped in unison at the sight revealed by the flames. The Grey Lord sat slumped in his huge chair, his face mottled and bruised. Blood caked the corners of his mouth. His face was wizened, and his head, once covered with a mane thick and silvery grey, was bald, save for a few strands of papery, white hair.

"Harmony in all you do, he rasped, intoning the blessing. He raised his hand in benediction.

A crash of thunder rocked the room. Theron frowned; his master saw and shook his head. "I remain in command, Master Theron. Thus far."

The Grey Lord turned his attention to his Champions, who knelt on one knee to show their fealty.

"My brave friends," the Grey Lord said, "you don't know how it saddens me to call you here. After your journey into my old dungeon thirteen moons ago, I had hoped to leave you in peace, to your adventures. You vanquished my enemy and restored Theron to his corporeal state." He dipped his head in Theron's direction.

"Since his initiation into the High Secrets, Theron has provided all the aid I needed in my quest to protect and nurture our fair world. I had never thought to trouble you further, but I must." His face changed, hardened. "He calls out for blood, not only mine and Theron's, but yours, because you are my heroes. He thinks it is such a sport, the evil game he plays. But we're not defeated yet."

The wizard's eyes narrowed and began to glow. As he widened them, they burned bright blue. The power of his gaze ripped through those who stood there, causing one or two to step backward. The others stood resolute.

Then his lids flickered. He took a deep breath that caught in his chest and quavered like a death rattle. Theron leaned forward, waving his hands over the struggling wizard, and whispered, "Master, thou art health embodied. I decree a balance in all your humors."

With difficulty, the Grey Lord lifted his chin. "He comes, Theron. Soon. I feel him. Ah, if only I possessed the means to end it!"

Theron passed more Magik over his master's body. The Grey Lord's breathing steadied. Then he straightened and spread his arms.

"I must speak quickly. I don't know how long I can combat him. Listen to me, and carefully. Lord Chaos lives. "He raised his voice over the disbelieving murmurs of the Champions. "Aye, and Lord Order, too. Within me, and yet, without me."

He held out his fist, steadier now. Fulcrum cawed and alighted upon it. "I have seen Lord Chaos in vision dreams. Nightmares, more like. At first, he was unaware that I was with him, that I was him, for as you know, he and Lord Order are the separate halves of my being. Apart, each brings destruction. Together, under my guidance, they are one and at peace."

"Chaos foresaw his defeat at your hands," Theron told the Champions as he poured them mulled wine from a flagon beside the Grey Lord's chair. "Preparing for this, he built himself a secret dungeon before you succeeded in fusing him. He also created a Forge of Fulya - surely you know of the seething, black flame, and of the poison it creates?"

"And also destroys," the Grey Lord cut in. "Chaos mined Corbum in the Forge. Four large chunks, enough to accomplish what he wished. I've dreamed of a Death Square, surrounded by seas of pits, and in that square, he has hidden the chunks."

"It is that ore which shakes this castle," Theron added, as he offered a goblet of wine to the Grey Lord. The wizard waved it away. "As you know, Corbum ore draws Mana from the world."

The Grey Lord nodded. "Aye, and he's using it to part himself from me permanently. Once he's accomplished that, he intends to rule - or misrule - this world and all others. I don't need to tell you what that would be like."

No one spoke.

"No power can defeat him once the corbum ore has done its work. But I'm not certain he knows he must destroy the ore afterward. If he doesn't, he will have no universe to rule."

The chamber boomed as with cannon fire. Fulcrum screamed. The floor shuddered beneath their feet. Wine sloshed over the rims of the goblets.

"It comes stronger," the Grey Lord murmured as the noise lessened. He touched the corner of his mouth, where flesh blood trickled like crimson teardrops. "You must destroy that ore. For shortly after it draws sufficient Mana to free Chaos and Order, it will shatter the universe like a fragile looking glass."

He gazed at Theron. "Show them the map. Make haste. They must be off."

Theron performed Magikal gestures at the glass case which once had held the wondrous Firestaff.

"Would that I hadn't destroyed the Firestaff," the Grey Lord said regretfully. "I thought it was too powerful to keep, so that means of defeating him is no longer available to you."

The glass case opened and a parchment scroll floated toward Theron. He caught it and opened it.

"My master has made some notes. It seems Chaos hid the Death Square. It is a pillar of stone, with the ore of Corbum planted one piece to a side. And each of these sides is the ending point for a long and vicious maze, making four mazes in all."

The Grey Lord indicated the symbols on the scroll. "I've discovered that each of the mazes is based on one of the four ways, Warrior, Ninja, Wizard, and Priest. Together, they form harmony, as you know. I believe he seeks to mock our reverence for balance by designing his dungeon in such an ordered manner."

"The coin," Theron said in a low voice, and he and the Grey Lord traded dark, uneasy looks.

"Aye, the coin. Note it well, Champions." The Grey Lord made gestures toward the glass case. A gold coin rose from the bottom of the case and spun toward him.

"I awoke this morning with this in my hand. I know whose coin it is. Do you see also?"

[ Note: In the box of Chaos Strikes Back game, there was a little copper coin with a picture of Chaos's face on one side and the words: "Danger thus reveals it's face" on the other. This is why he says: "Do you see also?" ]

He balled his fists, then threw them open in the direction of the farthest wall. Blue light smashed against the stone, sparking in the shadow. All drew back, even the Grey Lord, as they gazed upon the face of Lord Chaos. His horned head; his mad, sightless eyes; the rictus-smile none there had ever forgotten, not even in the most serene movements of the dawn.

"Danger Thus Reveals Its Face," the Grey Lord said. "That is written on the reverse side of the coin." He set his jaw. "This is a warning, to me and all who stand by me. If ever you see this face, chiseled in stone or carved into wood, take great heed."

The floor shook again, more violently. Fulcrum cawed and shot into the air, flying in circles. The walls vibrated.

"Ah, no" the Grey Lord said softly. "No."

The room spun like a boulder rolling down a hill. Tables and goblets whirled in a vortex, catching Fulcrum in the center. The glass case shattered. Shards sliced like arrows through the air. "He comes!" the Grey Lord cried, grabbing his face. "Hold master!" Theron threw his arms around his master. "Fight it!"

"No!" the Grey Lord cried. "No, I abjure thee! I forbid thee!"

"Forbid?" thundered a voice. "Forbid?"

The wizard screamed, and what all saw next caused their hearts to stop: The Grey Lord's face was gone. In it's place, glowing with evil, red light, the face of Lord Chaos opened its crazed eyes and laughed.

"Away, boy." He turned his horned head in Theron's direction and hurtled him across the room. Fulcrum cawed and dove toward his hand. Lord Chaos caught the bird by his neck and shook it hard. Fulcrum squaked and struggled, but it was helpless.

"What sport! Ah, yes, I was wise, wise to foresee my own destruction!." His voice rose to a wail. Laughter filled the room, the laughter of madness, of misrule, of frenzy. "The four ways. I have used his knowledge of me against him!"

He threw back his head. Light streamed from his mouth and eyes. Fulcrum struggled in his grasp.

"And you, Champions. You who follow the false doctrine of Harmony. How sweet it has been, devising a mockery of your sacred Balance. I almost hoped you would defeat me last time, so I could show you just how much like me you really are. When I come into my kingdom, I shall not forget the imbalance of my subjects."

The room spun faster and faster; the wind howled and the air jittered with Magik. Crying out, the Champions were thrown upon the floor.

"Yes, grovel! See how the worlds shall orbit, after I am ruler! No laws of nature. No laws! No Laws!

"I am the master. Yes, I am He who shall destroy all order. I hate you for escaping my mirrors, for daring to think you could obliterate me."

He smiled, and it was a fearsome thing. "But I shall not take you now. It would prove too easy. Provide me with some sport. Take up this challenge: meet me in the secret dungeon, and prepare to die!"

Stones crashed to the floor. Jagged blocks pushed upward like icebergs. Energy crackled yellow and orange and white, like the Ore of Corbum.

"You cannot even touch me!" he exulted. "I am invincible!" Fulcrum screeched desperately as Lord Chaos raised him above his head and clasped him with both hands. The Mad One opened his mouth and plunged the raven toward it.

"So shall you all die! So shall you-"

The chamber flooded with blue light. It emanated from Theron, who lay sprawled upon the floor with a Wand of Magik in his hand, and he shouted Magik words none of the Champions had ever heard before.

"No!" Chaos shrieked.

And then the lights, and the rumbling, and the spinning ceased. The chamber blackened. There was silence.

"Oh, by the balance," the Grey Lord gasped. Theron's torch relit. He held it over the Grey Lord, who was himself again, though his features were swollen and his forehead was bruised. Blood streamed from his nose. Theron stopped it with a short incantation.

Fulcrum fell into the Grey Lord's lap and huddled under his arm. Absently, the wizard stroked him.

"There, there Fulcrum. It's all right." He murmured Magik words. "So, he has shown himself at last. You see what we face. The Corbum ore is building power."

He turned to the Champions. "Days, perhaps hours, stand between us and the final catastrophe. You must go now."

"Nay, friend Theron," the Grey Lord remonstrated. "They must be asked. They must go willingly."

He rose from his chair. "I cannot send Theron with you this time, my brave ones. He's the only weapon I have to battle Chaos here on out plane. You must go alone, the four of you, and you must face death yet again.

"And so I ask you, Champions: knowing this, do you dare to enter Lord Chaos's secret dungeon? Will you help me save the universe, one more time?"

Chaos Strikes Back

Make haste now, for the diabolical plan hatched by Chaos has already been set in motion. Unless you can recover and destroy the Corbums very quickly, they will absorb enough Mana to become unstable. Viborg and the entire valley it rests in will be destroyed should they explode.

To prepare for your quest, you should have progressed far enough in Dungeon Master that you are confident of your abilities. Be careful, for your champions will enter the new dungeon Chaos has built with nothing but their skills and attributes to defend them. Once inside, they must travel as Fighter, Ninja, Wizard and Priest to recover the corbums hidden on the Ways. Each Corbum they find must be thrown into the FUL YA pit to be safely consumed. The journey is long and dangerous, so your champions will be truly tested. Only when the last Corbum is safely destroyed will the danger be no more than a memory.

Two disks are provided with Chaos Strikes Back, the Utility Disk and the Game Disk. The Chaos Strikes Back Game Disk works very much like the original Dungeon Master disk. You should refer to the original Dungeon Master manual if you have questions about the game disk. The utility disk includes many new features and is essential to starting the new adventure.

Two additional disks are needed to create a new adventure. You must have either a Dungeon Master saved game or a saved game from the Chaos Strikes Back "Prison." Later, you will need a blank disk to save your new adventure on.

There are two ways to get a saved game. The easiest way is to start the Game disk and choose the "Prison" button outside the dungeon entrance. This allows you to enter the dungeon and select up to four champions from the life-trapping mirrors hung there. After choosing your adventurers, save the game as you did while playing Dungeon Master (See the Dungeon Master manual for an explanation of this process).

The second source of a saved game is to play Dungeon Master. Any Dungeon Master saved game can be used. But be forewarned: it will not be easy to survive the challenges in Chaos Strikes Back, so it is suggested that you use a saved game in which the characters have fought deep enough in Dungeon Master to have seen Chaos himself (In other words, you should have a few 1st level wizards and fighters).

Once you have a saved game and one blank disk handy, you are ready to make your new adventure. Insert the Utility Disk into the startup drive and turn the computer on. A blue tablet will appear with four options on it. Use the mouse pointer to point to one of the options and then "select" it by pressing the mouse button. The options are explained below.

Introduction To Chaos Strikes Back

A vision spell is cast and Chaos is caught plotting. (Translated, this means a nice graphic introduction)

Make New Adventure Or Edit Champion Pictures

This option is the essential to begin the new adventure (Yes I know that sentence didn't make sense but that's what it's got in the book... I'll leave it to your amazing powers of deduction to work out what it means) It also allows you to change your champions' portraits.

Consult The Hint Oracle

Select this when you need help with the game.

Restart System

This will exit the Utility Disk and restart the system.

Make New Adventure

From the blue tablet of the Utility Disk, select the Make New Adventure option. You will be asked for your saved game disk. The champions on the saved game will be read in and their portraits displayed across the top. One of these champions will already be selected for editing. That champion's full name, a framed hall of champions mirror, and a triple-size version of their portrait will be shown.

If you wish to take your champions into Chaos Strikes Back just as they appear, select the option "MAKE NEW ADVENTURE." The Utility Disk will ask for a blank disk to be put in either the startup or second drive. If the blank disk used is not formatted, choose FORMAT first. FORMAT will erase everything on the disk, so be careful not to use your Dungeon Master saved game. When the disk has finished formatting, or if it was already formatted, choose "MAKE NEW ADVENTURE" in the center box. When the program is done making the new adventure (bad English there), remove the disk and label it "Chaos Strikes Back saved game." This disk can now be played using the Chaos Strikes Back Game Disk.

Resume

After you have created the Chaos Strikes Back saved game you are ready to start the new adventure. To play, insert the Chaos Strikes Back Game Disk in the startup drive and turn the computer on. When you see the dungeon entrance push the gem next to RESUME. When Chaos Strikes Back asks you for the saved game, use the new Chaos Strikes Back saved game disk instead of a Dungeon Master saved game disk. Chaos Strikes Back will only work with a saved game created using "MAKE NEW ADVENTURE." It is important to note that during the transition from either of the saved game sources to the "New Adventure," your champions were stripped of all their possessions. They will enter the new game with nothing but their skills and attributes to defend them. Be ready when the game starts because Chaos has been preparing for your arrival.

The Portrait Painter

A special feature included with the Chaos Strikes Back Utility disk is the ability to edit the portraits and names of the champions brought in from a Dungeon Master saved game. Now you can personalize your champions to reflect the way you see them. In addition, any portraits you create can be saved to an unused disk and later loaded in for further editing or for use in other saved games. To use the portrait painter, select "Make New Adventure or Edit Champions" and the editor will appear. Use the pointer to select the champion you wish to edit. Choose from the champions shown at the top of the screen.

Load Champion

When the Chaos Strikes Back Utility Disk is first started, it will request a Dungeon Master saved game. When loaded, the champions in that saved game appear across the top of the screen. The portraits of these champions can now be changed. If you wish to work on a different saved game, or change portraits that have been saved separately, use the "LOAD CHAMPIONS" button. This will give you a choice of loading either a Dungeon Master saved game or a portrait. Portraits are created by saving a finished champion portrait with the "SAVE CHAMPION" button. Be careful when loading portraits, because the current portrait being edited will be lost. Loading a different saved game will erase ALL the champion portraits on the screen.

If you want to change your champion's first name, use the mouse pointer to point to it, then press the mouse button. The name can be changed when the vertical bar appears inside the box. Use the BACKSPACE and letter keys to edit the name. The first name is important because it is the name that a portrait will be saved as. IMPORTANT: If you want to keep the original version of a portrait you have been working on, be sure to change the first name of the new portrait so you won't erase the old one.

This is the champion's title. It can be changed with the BACKSPACE and letter keys, the same way that the first name can.

The triple-size version of the champion's portrait is where you change your champion's appearance. The sixteen colors in the tall box at the right edge of the screen are the available colors. When you select one of these colors, a white box will appear around it. You can paint with this color using the mouse pointer. If you wish to change a large area of one color to the selected color, place the arrow somewhere in this area and double-click or use the right mouse button to "fill" this area with the new color.

Revert

If you have made many changes, but wish to return to the original, press the REVERT button and the entire portrait will appear as it was when first loaded from the disk. If REVERT was a mistake, try UNDO.

Save Champion

After you are satisfied with the name and portrait you have created, select "SAVE CHAMPION" at the bottom of the screen. This allows you to save a portrait to an unused disk. Saved portraits can be further using "LOAD CHAMPIONS," then selecting "PORTRAITS".

The portrait in the frame shows the character as they would appear in one of the Hall of Champions mirrors. Note that medium dark gray is transparent when the portrait is shown here, so the color of the mirror shows through wherever it is used. This does not affect most places a champion is currently shown, but it may be important in future quests, so be aware of this.

If you do not wish to paint portraits but still want to change your champions' appearance to reflect their higher levels, "enhanced" champion portraits have been provided. All twenty-four Dungeon Master champions have a new portrait on the Chaos Strikes Back Utility Disk. These can be loaded and used through the "LOAD CHAMPIONS" option as described above.

Hint Oracle

Sometimes it may seem that there is little you can do to defeat Chaos' sinister traps and relentless minions. But a new power is yours for the journey into his dungeon. A power Chaos has not yet seen before: the power of the Hint Oracle. A being of awesome ability, the Oracle can reach into a Chaos Strikes Back saved game and learn where the champions are. It can then tell you what it knows about the dungeon near the champion, including information about monsters and puzzles. Although it will rarely give exact solutions, it can give useful hints and enough information to help you solve a problem. This can prove invaluable at times when the puzzles seem too difficult or the monsters too powerful.

The Hint Oracle only works in the Chaos Strikes Back dungeon. To consult the Hint Oracle you must travel to a point close to the part of the dungeon you wish to learn more about. Save the game there and quit. Turn off the computer, insert the Utility Disk in the startup drive, and turn the computer back on. When the blue tablet appears, select "Consult the Hint Oracle." After the lair of the Hint Oracle appears, insert the saved game disk in the drive indicated on the screen, and choose LOAD.

When the oracle has learned where the champions are in the dungeon, it will show a list of clues it can give about that location. These appear in the Hint Oracle's lair as glowing buttons with a short title written on them. If any of the clue titles seem like they might have a hint that can help answer your question, then use the mouse pointer to select it. A press of the mouse button, and the first level of hint will appear. There may be more detailed levels of hints for any clue button. If there are more levels in a hint, you can see them by choosing NEXT at the bottom of the screen. If you wish to reread a previous level of a hint, choose LAST to back up one level. If you are in a clue and you wish to try different clue, choose DONE to return to the initial list of clues.
When you have finished with the Hint Oracle, return to the initial list of clues by choosing DONE. Choose EXIT from there to return to the blue tablet. If you wish to continue the adventure place the Game Disk in the startup drive and choose the restart option.