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HOTT 52 - It's All About The Lines And Remembering The Rules Correctly!

I took a quick moment to knock out another game of HOTT over Friday night/Saturday morning. It was a quick game, as I'm starting to remember how things flow and the combat factors/modifiers. I did have one unique situation come up that I'm going to ask the "experts" on.<br /><br />I have a whole gaggle of elements for orcs, goblins and humans. From these many stands, I can generate quite a few armies, so I have tables that I roll against. The biggest determining factor is if the army is mostly militia, mostly regular/professional (trained) or a mix of the two. 1d6 tells me who fights who! I also found that the "random" generation of terrain once again was lumping it into one side of the board, but I went with it. I am working on flatter replacements for HOTT.<br /><br />So... how did this battle go?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbv1NgfVMryb-fObLTzbO4aa3J6rw4mTtuXfHzj-s33OUtjd2OUt8GeDzIWXRt_YHubVoANJ0tG64fIBT5KSMrS9Hos8F7EfUWA12xtg-f1BFHgfOJ-j047-qEq_0pERnd6Uol3QI5TUC/s1600/IMG_20200118_210207.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbv1NgfVMryb-fObLTzbO4aa3J6rw4mTtuXfHzj-s33OUtjd2OUt8GeDzIWXRt_YHubVoANJ0tG64fIBT5KSMrS9Hos8F7EfUWA12xtg-f1BFHgfOJ-j047-qEq_0pERnd6Uol3QI5TUC/s320/IMG_20200118_210207.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />Once again, a Human army was defending their stronghold against a force of Orcs and Goblins. The human commander sent their knights dashing to the left around the woods, in hopes to threaten the Bestial's right flank and peel off some of the elements from their long line.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirdvvl-q6tm22vQ2v2vNtYwmHAr7VXsZVtIJY2_olmLbqtkNvSv8LRcbAxq-vIZZABTLs5duiCqC_97Jm3xhdyQRrEGC_kprrNQnzKZxm-fkDTr327UaQJ2nuFPS1dnkXjK0BbhSJdbUnq/s1600/IMG_20200118_210515.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirdvvl-q6tm22vQ2v2vNtYwmHAr7VXsZVtIJY2_olmLbqtkNvSv8LRcbAxq-vIZZABTLs5duiCqC_97Jm3xhdyQRrEGC_kprrNQnzKZxm-fkDTr327UaQJ2nuFPS1dnkXjK0BbhSJdbUnq/s320/IMG_20200118_210515.jpg" width="240" /></a><br /><br />The Orc Warchief had a similar idea and sent his goblin wolf riders dashing past the humans and the rough terrain that was ill suited for the woods-friendly goblins. They had an excellent view of the human stronghold and the human commander themselves!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZBFPkEm3LxFelqF_ShKLxzfSJv9UR_Hceo24hDpgWTL9-zMawvzZD7LMU1lOCBt6axpmeYdVZC7A1HAEfzQKnEhxrHMGxvsN79ms9gmzEFigQkusVdZ17K_YJFlakjbfLlV4-2_g_lT9/s1600/IMG_20200118_211400.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZBFPkEm3LxFelqF_ShKLxzfSJv9UR_Hceo24hDpgWTL9-zMawvzZD7LMU1lOCBt6axpmeYdVZC7A1HAEfzQKnEhxrHMGxvsN79ms9gmzEFigQkusVdZ17K_YJFlakjbfLlV4-2_g_lT9/s320/IMG_20200118_211400.jpg" width="320" /></a>  <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLgqzEuo-EhVxjU3l_2CdcYewQIbtpa78q4dL0eitr6NVNqI_bAqG5rr0gnD39tmXd7btARnaHLbIHVEoCHvIbgkYhcN7vVk1Tanfpre-PZfZoLvzrX7kRD_FXUIktG8cra8YRgH012VZ/s1600/IMG_20200118_211745.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLgqzEuo-EhVxjU3l_2CdcYewQIbtpa78q4dL0eitr6NVNqI_bAqG5rr0gnD39tmXd7btARnaHLbIHVEoCHvIbgkYhcN7vVk1Tanfpre-PZfZoLvzrX7kRD_FXUIktG8cra8YRgH012VZ/s320/IMG_20200118_211745.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />The Orc Warchief details two elements of blades to confront the flanking knights. They are evenly matched and the Warchief prays to Moloch that his "Bloody Fangs" will rend human flesh! Meanwhile, the orc line starts to shift and expand, to hopefully overlap the humans!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipERmYEzwq134Of162kPZrupCo1wYwqAjD-FIWEoXyCCzQeLjEgruhCmyEnXRnuWP2woWy_-55-LhdLdyGVQ1nUlMPNuXXOX1uw0rEw5d4Jv-T02BnFWNt7e_JMv1EOglAi29hv868XslF/s1600/IMG_20200118_212504.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipERmYEzwq134Of162kPZrupCo1wYwqAjD-FIWEoXyCCzQeLjEgruhCmyEnXRnuWP2woWy_-55-LhdLdyGVQ1nUlMPNuXXOX1uw0rEw5d4Jv-T02BnFWNt7e_JMv1EOglAi29hv868XslF/s320/IMG_20200118_212504.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />The Warchief's prayers to Moloch fall on deaf ears, or the foul God was unimpressed, as the orc Blades fall to the human knights! Meanwhile, the orc line marches towards the humans and falls under their missile fire. Several units recoil from the casualties and the advance is blunted a bit.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAWrQX4ibdQkFj6RThF-pvZF_QM8mtyXto96C0g4IblLpsKHUQXAepDR7jzk8oLBFg1a69ej0I3_oecvyTj6TLzEfohccrTv5XuA4zxX51DWiBNa97LQRHFHL2V1hGzyv1dbR-f43DFIUs/s1600/IMG_20200118_213401.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAWrQX4ibdQkFj6RThF-pvZF_QM8mtyXto96C0g4IblLpsKHUQXAepDR7jzk8oLBFg1a69ej0I3_oecvyTj6TLzEfohccrTv5XuA4zxX51DWiBNa97LQRHFHL2V1hGzyv1dbR-f43DFIUs/s320/IMG_20200118_213401.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />Desiring to retake the initiative, the Warchief orders his troops to close to attack! The human commander decides to detail a warband to confront the flanking wolf-riders.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJB1zDcbGh9DbEVHsDLHp2DjpZQ5FrN02E6pebiiG30ComYXbpKjvDHIBJu7GOqfrV64KVcAm1beWT3WmyXSHGbmFkAe_O2eSLE2p-kYbf-xACcjp5jbp3a7LUrAcjetr5gudeYDQXKjD7/s1600/IMG_20200118_220532.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJB1zDcbGh9DbEVHsDLHp2DjpZQ5FrN02E6pebiiG30ComYXbpKjvDHIBJu7GOqfrV64KVcAm1beWT3WmyXSHGbmFkAe_O2eSLE2p-kYbf-xACcjp5jbp3a7LUrAcjetr5gudeYDQXKjD7/s320/IMG_20200118_220532.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />The battle goes badly for the attacking bestials! Orcs fall to the spears and blades of the defending humans and the warband destroys an element of the goblin riders! The goblin warband manages to turn to flank the human line, but the brave archers from a nearby village manage to hold them off! Desperate to regain some initiative, the Orc Warchief closes to give battle to the Knights, only to see his personal bodyguard driven back!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOacUaKxQs-phmM4YvEKU4-79pWKTSAqotRFHpZtTZD8thdo6ZWfswll2qoZ3fPCSa9y0acc9jsnV0ATvcsFM5WuuZc5Hx3Mo7cvjXKLWAOSWkVGmF0BIM0MrjvAmmeNHStHMVYOHiB_U1/s1600/IMG_20200118_220631.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOacUaKxQs-phmM4YvEKU4-79pWKTSAqotRFHpZtTZD8thdo6ZWfswll2qoZ3fPCSa9y0acc9jsnV0ATvcsFM5WuuZc5Hx3Mo7cvjXKLWAOSWkVGmF0BIM0MrjvAmmeNHStHMVYOHiB_U1/s320/IMG_20200118_220631.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />The casualties mount for the Bestials and the Warchief reluctantly orders the withdrawal of his forces from the field of battle. The humans cheer in victory - their losses were light and they'd given the Orcs a Bloody Nose instead of facing Bloody Fangs!<br /><br /><hr />The dice told the story of this battle as well. The Orcs/Goblins lost 12 AP and the humans only lost 2 - a resounding victory! I expected the long line of the orcs would come into play, but the knights flanking and some timely shooting that resulted in the orc line splintering really set the tone of the final outcome.<br /><br />That is something I like about HOTT, getting to the meat of the meal quickly!<br /><br />My only question was regarding this one situation.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEZFq8STeyn7TsJLqJa2PWIVLMmDXNB4lhbHIE0FRUZVYyGU3m5xIwpvr5KO6Fv9i-8ryPrTWSQ3CjqLlP2cu1RYcEYjEw7OOJ0rWwQ6NbxtETU5K8_TmyFHluIgZGQVWfptauzcK6WXJ/s1600/IMG_20200118_214528.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEZFq8STeyn7TsJLqJa2PWIVLMmDXNB4lhbHIE0FRUZVYyGU3m5xIwpvr5KO6Fv9i-8ryPrTWSQ3CjqLlP2cu1RYcEYjEw7OOJ0rWwQ6NbxtETU5K8_TmyFHluIgZGQVWfptauzcK6WXJ/s320/IMG_20200118_214528.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />The humans attacked the Orc Blades (outlined in red) in a front/close the door flank attack. The orcs scored VERY well and forced the frontal human spear to recoil.<br /><br />Now, at this point, I had forgotten about a rule in HOTT which I **JUST** remembered and confirmed right now...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xT5-1oPHotxsCwJBDrVjiSQV6z6L8KKSi7DMwEMIFI7eNPKQR8hXJW3dP2I3gCyhWxTHXEtRNXg6Hp-FAIKauE0CsDSEzm7MM02H17FdthGS-Bpsjg-wQZ4gweUkqV14JVQUxplJ1PhL/s1600/HOTT-flankers-recoil.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="1600" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xT5-1oPHotxsCwJBDrVjiSQV6z6L8KKSi7DMwEMIFI7eNPKQR8hXJW3dP2I3gCyhWxTHXEtRNXg6Hp-FAIKauE0CsDSEzm7MM02H17FdthGS-Bpsjg-wQZ4gweUkqV14JVQUxplJ1PhL/s640/HOTT-flankers-recoil.png" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><b>So both the frontal and flanker should have recoiled</b>, but I didn't recoil the flanker!<br /><br />Instead, I became concerned as to whether the blades should turn to confront the flankers, or proceed forward towards the frontal spears. I made a dice roll and they turned to face the flankers. Who ended up destroying them anyway. So I guess I just answered my own question of which was the right choice in my own blog post.. NEITHER were the right choice. Duh.<i> (smacks my forehead)</i>.<br /><br />This is one of the reasons I'm not throwing in a lot of extra elements like magic, gods and the like for now... I just need to get the basic rules down!<br /><br />I did get my 15mm Saxons for my human warband elements, to fill those empty Wb stands; they are jumping to the front of the painting line. I do need to buy a 15mm human mage, priest, and make some orc/goblin/human hero elements. THEN move on to more land elf, sea elf, chaos humans, kobold, halfling elements...<br /><br />It never ends, does it. The madness. The obsession... *happy sigh*

HOTT 52 - It's All About The Lines And Remembering The Rules Correctly!

I took a quick moment to knock out another game of HOTT over Friday night/Saturday morning. It was a quick game, as I'm starting to reme...

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Ragnarok: Gods And Giants

<div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOCfTr_WVgNHZun6aXWE2znunDBZ8XejmwRgJA9Kj0HIIFMLM64Z2HcB-UpHTr7KiKd-6qCvClmW1abyC5gcXSmi7fc3BKqz4T7xhChtC_OoJUWsEWuO5lYRgjduSKxFNtwu2I5edH1g/s1600/ragnarok_075.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOCfTr_WVgNHZun6aXWE2znunDBZ8XejmwRgJA9Kj0HIIFMLM64Z2HcB-UpHTr7KiKd-6qCvClmW1abyC5gcXSmi7fc3BKqz4T7xhChtC_OoJUWsEWuO5lYRgjduSKxFNtwu2I5edH1g/s400/ragnarok_075.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>About how it goes every time I face a new monster.</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;">            </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Playing <i>Ragnarok</i> is a process of repeatedly convincing yourself that your character is getting stronger and you're getting better and then suddenly getting torn apart--quite literally--by the next level of foe. That's not <i>quite</i> a complaint, but it's inescapable that while the main game is about as difficult as <i>NetHack</i>, its worst foes would have the Wizard of Yendor for lunch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I spent the bulk of this last session finishing up the dungeon beneath the opening forest. The dungeon consisted of 3 levels and 27 screens, and the key <i>plot</i> reason to be there was to obtain Odin's spear, Gungnir, from Vidur. As I closed my last session, I was having no luck even scratching Vidur let alone killing him. I tried it hastened with Potions of Speed; I tried it invisible; I tried it under the influence of a Potion of Phasing, which doubles your armor class. He still kept killing me in one round.<br />          <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyhLyaejzDAidr4f53aluAKvdgI4tx85U4dSJIkllQ4HRudn-8KQ4RM-T-sAWhDtvJnH-HbozfIncGrshK5X7aJad3ML_SAXISgGFbYT-ijo5LBg20c35tHf7oa7NOyiKxXchBnVhoNE/s1600/ragnarok_010.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyhLyaejzDAidr4f53aluAKvdgI4tx85U4dSJIkllQ4HRudn-8KQ4RM-T-sAWhDtvJnH-HbozfIncGrshK5X7aJad3ML_SAXISgGFbYT-ijo5LBg20c35tHf7oa7NOyiKxXchBnVhoNE/s400/ragnarok_010.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Maybe don't eat random mushrooms.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>        </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I took time to explore the rest of the dungeon to strengthen my character and hopefully find more valuable items. Some notes from that process:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>The levels aren't all randomly generated. Even when they are, there are rules set on some of them to avoid exits on certain sides of the map. The Temple of Vidur on Level 3 is only supposed to be accessible from a hole on Level 2, not any of the other Level 3 maps. However, a Wand of Tunneling or a pick-axe can undo such intentions--sometimes.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>More intrinsics: fire dragons confer fire resistance; "blurs" make you faster (although I think just temporarily); wraiths give you level increases, although at a certain point they stopped working. Through other means that I didn't fully note, I have also acquired resistances to petrification and death rays.</li></ul>         <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGiX5BCnDdPQACcM2nqLM9LYbftyicUWlzVDDCegqufs14pXUwsBsBhNv7SVri4kkZKIpPHqi7I2PpJinr1S_bTJW0oiSyxRe_b_kWMeJL8Mn40hHZSlfce8kJ_4CK0qT6tIZhuBuL54/s1600/ragnarok_031.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGiX5BCnDdPQACcM2nqLM9LYbftyicUWlzVDDCegqufs14pXUwsBsBhNv7SVri4kkZKIpPHqi7I2PpJinr1S_bTJW0oiSyxRe_b_kWMeJL8Mn40hHZSlfce8kJ_4CK0qT6tIZhuBuL54/s400/ragnarok_031.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This sounds so unappealing.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>        </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>There's one mushroom that fills you up when you eat it. The others are not worth experimenting with.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Kalvins are horrid, hateful monsters who swipe one of your eyes out with every hit. It turns out that a blessed potion of curing will regrow an eye, but I was so traumatized by my temporary blindness that the next time I found a Scroll of Extinction, I used it on Kalvins.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Worse that Kalvins are Zardons. They can send out a piercing wail that hits you for about 50 hit points at a time from anywhere within the dungeon level. Guess what else soon went extinct? </li></ul>            <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRkjqG24YwdatAQGszxmsNgRrihMiRgQED0m8eGgSFY1YpNFz-W6XCJUGAH-Bo3-ah7XuV0Tvtm5wiV9FOuApJQqqA8n56A4UFJV1mrsdB0ANXJt8dXgzvl_GZ0C2DPm5ZEcyvUHA5kk/s1600/ragnarok_025.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRkjqG24YwdatAQGszxmsNgRrihMiRgQED0m8eGgSFY1YpNFz-W6XCJUGAH-Bo3-ah7XuV0Tvtm5wiV9FOuApJQqqA8n56A4UFJV1mrsdB0ANXJt8dXgzvl_GZ0C2DPm5ZEcyvUHA5kk/s400/ragnarok_025.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'm not sure I should have this kind of power.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>         <br /><ul><li>One damned hit from a werewolf is enough to give you lycanthropy, which requires a blessed Potion of Curing to cure. Scrolls of Blessing aren't so common that I like wasting them on this.</li></ul><ul><li>On the matter of Scrolls of Extinction, I can't be the only roguelike player who has secretly thought that if I just find enough of them, I can genocide every monster in the game. </li></ul><ul><li>I keep finding Amulets of Quickening, which double my speed and are thus incredibly useful. But they have limited duration, and then they run out, they turn into something called "Eyes of Sertrud." I have no idea if they do anything in their "Sertrud" form.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>A couple of enemy types are capable of reproducing faster than you can kill them. One is these little tiny things called "secitts." The second are tree creatures called "faleryns." I had to abandon a dungeon level to the latter creature when they wouldn't stop multiplying, but I gained about 15 levels trying to kill them all. If I need to grind, I'm going back there.</li></ul>         <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibc2stjucZSIUuDv5uRw78F4NJLJsNyfCf9PGs0ZEsUGiLOQ1NkpmnyIVPwFerGxKZKNeB-k_oV3apYn87GukmHyDrUzRMTkRV6OQNLsItgNlestYED9VyZh68vgQRl2QtWmitV4S0Kxo/s1600/ragnarok_021.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibc2stjucZSIUuDv5uRw78F4NJLJsNyfCf9PGs0ZEsUGiLOQ1NkpmnyIVPwFerGxKZKNeB-k_oV3apYn87GukmHyDrUzRMTkRV6OQNLsItgNlestYED9VyZh68vgQRl2QtWmitV4S0Kxo/s400/ragnarok_021.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You guys can have this dungeon level. I'm just trying to get to the stairs.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>         </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>The best spell scroll combination I've found is a Scroll of Blessing with a Scroll of Enhancement. Use the former on the latter and then the latter on a piece of armor or a weapon, and you soon have a +13 (or higher) item. I'm carrying a +14 mirror shield and a +13 silver sword because of that combination.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Some of the scrolls are "diaries," which give you hints. </li></ul>          <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZDlRnGmQr2H-eASISR828OQqVPbBEvv7ScNqgLoZzrONYR9HSdhBFCoRwWTAAQbGc3GdS5d5aEtHhon26WaMI3y4hX9iBq7rrXVoMBnCtFJRUpPVSEUNdqzjzc9aPxl7XYt5fjBdoZY/s1600/ragnarok_028.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZDlRnGmQr2H-eASISR828OQqVPbBEvv7ScNqgLoZzrONYR9HSdhBFCoRwWTAAQbGc3GdS5d5aEtHhon26WaMI3y4hX9iBq7rrXVoMBnCtFJRUpPVSEUNdqzjzc9aPxl7XYt5fjBdoZY/s400/ragnarok_028.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Glad I got this hint because I would have thought this was bad.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>          </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Something weird happened with my strength. For a long time, it was stuck at 18.99, and I figured that was the highest, but at some point it rolled over to 19-something and has been continuing to grow towards 20 ever since.</li></ul><ul><li>At some point, I acquired the "Psi Blast" power. I have no idea when it happened or why. It doesn't seem to do very much damage. </li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;">             </div><div style="text-align: justify;">When I hit Level 20, I got the "Fletching" skill, which allows me to  make arrows out of woods. Since "Terraforming" allows me to turn any  square into woods, I basically have all the arrows I want. Anyway, I  took the game's offer to change classes and changed to a conjurer. I  spent 20 levels as a conjurer, skipping the first offer to change,  because I hardly gained any spells. Even after 20 levels, I can only  cast "Set Recall" (which only helps if you have a Scroll of Recall),  "Reflect," "Draw Life," and "Illusory Self."<br />         <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMPbyIS8m2JkxSLzIIDxzgEp81p3tQqUd0-JCHjmEQ9NPDE4fFonwnT6vcvJtk9vd-kyDMSJV-BJZL5ucHBjf1xYKUZ9Xq7naBxjF8G-daNnq8PyMyXnk_9H24ckY8j-PX7mbUQ761Og/s1600/ragnarok_060.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMPbyIS8m2JkxSLzIIDxzgEp81p3tQqUd0-JCHjmEQ9NPDE4fFonwnT6vcvJtk9vd-kyDMSJV-BJZL5ucHBjf1xYKUZ9Xq7naBxjF8G-daNnq8PyMyXnk_9H24ckY8j-PX7mbUQ761Og/s400/ragnarok_060.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Casting spells. I thought I'd have cooler spells.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>         </div><div style="text-align: justify;">At Level 40, I changed to a blacksmith. Somewhere along the way, I read a couple of Scrolls of Knowledge and obtained the "Fennling" skill, an extremely useful skill that lets you combine the charges of two wands of the same type. I also got "Relocation," which lets me teleport on demand, "Ironworking," and "Taming." I haven't really experimented yet with the latter two. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When I was done exploring, I went back to the Temple of Vidur. He still killed me instantly, but this time I had one new item: a Wand of Death. It only had two charges, but one of them took care of Vidur nicely (unfortunately, not before he killed my new companion, whose release so enraged Vidur in the first place). Gungnir was on his body, and apparently I'm too weak to wield it.<br />          <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnD62vkFR6H8RuI0ZRSoUEvNyEf4gAhqFxzwuF-Vcqt6P5a7P9wkVFH1wjZ1zR5ygy_wYnWQpcoG2CpGu7BRfpCH42UtOskJBm4gbQD5V-HMGtQ3X_Hlk8qaAjpxmnVtriWQ4GvBfXbE/s1600/ragnarok_033.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnD62vkFR6H8RuI0ZRSoUEvNyEf4gAhqFxzwuF-Vcqt6P5a7P9wkVFH1wjZ1zR5ygy_wYnWQpcoG2CpGu7BRfpCH42UtOskJBm4gbQD5V-HMGtQ3X_Hlk8qaAjpxmnVtriWQ4GvBfXbE/s400/ragnarok_033.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The first god falls.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>        </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I headed back to the surface and found the forest absolutely swarming with monsters. They're low level, and no danger, but they're so thick that I can barely move. Thankfully, my teleportation abilities get me through. They seem to respawn as fast as I kill them. I wondered if Ragnarok had started while I was in the dungeon or whether carrying Gungnir brings the to me.<br />             <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KDmqDj5GuFxFi078mCUBnWftrgpxlYfBDeC3A-SuxWcIJ0z2NW10PqTZjcRBj3BilpS4CM0pAYVObSrLR81_t59ZfTLQ_GIwG5D6l3g7gIFzCb4_8Pee1UKZxOZTelmBC-T6Nryp-QE/s1600/ragnarok_042.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KDmqDj5GuFxFi078mCUBnWftrgpxlYfBDeC3A-SuxWcIJ0z2NW10PqTZjcRBj3BilpS4CM0pAYVObSrLR81_t59ZfTLQ_GIwG5D6l3g7gIFzCb4_8Pee1UKZxOZTelmBC-T6Nryp-QE/s400/ragnarok_042.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My reputation must have taken a hit while I was underground.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>           </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While I was in the forest, I happened to note an icon I hadn't seen before. I (L)ooked at it and the game told me it was Thokk, the giantess who refused to cry for Baldur, meaning I'd have to bring her soul to Hela to get Baldur out of hell. I slipped on my Ring of Soul Trapping and killed her with a single blow. I made the mistake of not taking off the ring afterwards, and her soul was immediately replaced by the new slain enemies'. That required me to reload a significantly older game and replay Vidur's temple again. The second time, I found Thokk in the same area and took off the ring after capturing her soul.<br />         <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGVnFpvG36np9kQXusucobileAC_g2Qs3aPggy9kRczcGiv946xFqY0d0cVzjBB3twJrX5GSUg83Hqxc4lOtJFaS-uXqaH6BnNkYcbDVNjmce2bo0ydPLZtviGaLZ3J-8kYCnBVKt1Cc/s1600/ragnarok_038.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGVnFpvG36np9kQXusucobileAC_g2Qs3aPggy9kRczcGiv946xFqY0d0cVzjBB3twJrX5GSUg83Hqxc4lOtJFaS-uXqaH6BnNkYcbDVNjmce2bo0ydPLZtviGaLZ3J-8kYCnBVKt1Cc/s400/ragnarok_038.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Part of one quest down!</i></td></tr></tbody></table>         </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lacking guidance on exactly where to go, I escaped the monster hoard by jumping through a portal. It took me to Slaeter's Sea and some other outdoor maps that kind of wrap around the opening forest, including the River Vid and the River Gioll. I can just stroll across the water because I have Skidbladnir (the magic boat) in my pocket.<br />            <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfaM4-552ZyKrJZiFGipEkOxG1c4j7t4D3vTzAFK38IvsMeaAjXRK6ABMrKsKBthGDndg5ZnvgDCrB1_OgglZHGg6jBkcyuZqudj4-rfoyG8aAnaiOE34IPXXvwkTgSK6IjJIbvmw4NI/s1600/ragnarok_050.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfaM4-552ZyKrJZiFGipEkOxG1c4j7t4D3vTzAFK38IvsMeaAjXRK6ABMrKsKBthGDndg5ZnvgDCrB1_OgglZHGg6jBkcyuZqudj4-rfoyG8aAnaiOE34IPXXvwkTgSK6IjJIbvmw4NI/s400/ragnarok_050.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The River Vid is mostly water.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>         <br />I soon found out that if you go the wrong way out of these areas, you wind up in the open ocean and you immediately get attacked by Jormungand. The first time I found him, he damaged me for -60302 hit points. (I had a maximum of 452 at the time.) I tried the Wand of Death on him but it didn't work. He's also inescapable. I suspect you're just not meant to go into these areas.<br />           <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMk2DMP34kbCnsM5s43PZ-Uyrb6R1LVpwHLzsAX3VqELyKKyCB8m0IeQMYjHlU-rTujnUOrZBuO7QD6nR4lu0M0P0PyAOfNg_didjoGC1KEqjv8FyKKAVaAgu5U4QMycSYZ5yj_-8I0Yc/s1600/ragnarok_047.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMk2DMP34kbCnsM5s43PZ-Uyrb6R1LVpwHLzsAX3VqELyKKyCB8m0IeQMYjHlU-rTujnUOrZBuO7QD6nR4lu0M0P0PyAOfNg_didjoGC1KEqjv8FyKKAVaAgu5U4QMycSYZ5yj_-8I0Yc/s400/ragnarok_047.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I suppose if I could kill Jormungand, I wouldn't need to do anything else.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>         <br />But there's an enemy that roams the rivers and lakes of this "outer rim" that's almost as deadly as Jormungand: the lorkesth. He gets like 5 attacks per round and does massive damage. He's the reason I can't just blithely stroll through the areas (the other enemies are relatively easy at my level). I have to watch very carefully for their appearance and use my teleportation ability to get to a safe square of land. There's no outrunning them, since they can move three times for every move I make. If I stand one square away from the water, I can defeat them with throwing weapons and wands, but like any monster they may auto-generate at any time. If I get another Scroll of Extinction, they're going to be strong candidates.<br />          <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-Tslbtgm-IQbDntahsco6CSXYEhTsccfOnyw8IQeyiY3XCiE8IM8WZIM5Q6E6fI_YENDs-wGtU6lGmZ_8QePcrO1YK1BPm-gxv25_RDnsJJz1bCRumU7dJ7jhAOu3IGilNXVP10fSyA/s1600/ragnarok_052.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-Tslbtgm-IQbDntahsco6CSXYEhTsccfOnyw8IQeyiY3XCiE8IM8WZIM5Q6E6fI_YENDs-wGtU6lGmZ_8QePcrO1YK1BPm-gxv25_RDnsJJz1bCRumU7dJ7jhAOu3IGilNXVP10fSyA/s400/ragnarok_052.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I like to think I'm skipping these shurikens along the water.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>           <br />To the west, the world ended at the Bifrost. (Which I have been unable to take seriously since I discovered it's properly pronounced "beef roast," although I think it's cool that the Norse conceived it as a rainbow. So many things in mythology are dark and dreary.) I figured it was too soon to go to Asgard, so I went the other way. Mapping in this game is complicated; I'll explain more thoroughly in my next entry. Suffice to say that the particular section of maps I was in ended to the west at the Bifrost and east at the River Gioll. The Gioll map had some patches covered in fog and a river swarming with lorkesths, but oddly no other enemies or items on the map. For some reason, my Ring of Locus Mastery doesn't work, meaning when I teleport, I just teleport to a random place. Something is also causing me to teleport frequently even if I take off my Ring of Relocation.<br /><br />In the middle of a patch of fog on the east side, I ran into a character named Harbard. He was rooted in place and didn't pursue me, but if I walked up to him, he killed me in a couple of blows. So I stood a couple squares away from him and hit him with the second and last charge in my Wand of Death. His body disappeared in the fog, but when I walked and stood upon it, the game told me that there was a staircase. Taking it led me to Niflheim.<br />           <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOEdrD-LFp7ALfzAOxfaBUT2RVD4hboczxpmkRoubaortxJnUM6pXlyke1zhHKwokETVvkeszmBCfh7fTJajZMRnlMaZ0GnB98XSQHMeh6J97MOyuT82TM5gxW5LbV6X6PhtRMiTxamLo/s1600/ragnarok_055.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOEdrD-LFp7ALfzAOxfaBUT2RVD4hboczxpmkRoubaortxJnUM6pXlyke1zhHKwokETVvkeszmBCfh7fTJajZMRnlMaZ0GnB98XSQHMeh6J97MOyuT82TM5gxW5LbV6X6PhtRMiTxamLo/s400/ragnarok_055.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hell looks a lot like Maine in April.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>          <br />I immediately had one of those moments that I described in the opening. I had been killing fire dragons and frost dragons in single blows, so I wasn't bothered by the "hel dragon" heading in my direction--not, at least, before he killed me in one attack that left me with -1,006 hit points.<br />              <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSSsI3cDXLIG7sVWoc_990yyTnRk7lMRBNbXiKISzD56UMZpNk8vXBFstzeL8K3I_zoXcv2wTsC2DjQBtrLfkKG3nwnnMavpgsYoPsax7A_6KCuoy55ntwzhHfeSiMRaYLfWfpp7FzIk/s1600/ragnarok_059.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSSsI3cDXLIG7sVWoc_990yyTnRk7lMRBNbXiKISzD56UMZpNk8vXBFstzeL8K3I_zoXcv2wTsC2DjQBtrLfkKG3nwnnMavpgsYoPsax7A_6KCuoy55ntwzhHfeSiMRaYLfWfpp7FzIk/s400/ragnarok_059.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My brief foray into hell.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>          <br />Upon reloading, I tried again, taking pains to avoid the dragon, and I did come across some luck when I stumbled on a Wand of Wishing with three charges. I immediately wished for another Wand of Death, and while it worked fine against the next hel dragon, it did nothing against the unique enemies of the area, including Konr Rig and Plog. I reluctantly returned to the surface and decided to try again when I was stronger, although given the fact that I've already maxed in most of the game's classes and I have incredibly powerful equipment and near-max strength (I assume, since it's now going up by decimals instead of integers), I don't know what "stronger" is going to look like.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Still, I moved north from the River Gioll to what turned out to be the mountainous realm of Jotenheim. I expected to meet a lot of giants but mostly found the same creatures from previous areas, including a lot of faleryns, who fortunately didn't seem to be as interested as replicating as they were in the dungeon. Teleport control still doesn't work, which makes it hard to explore systematically.<br />         <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYCAIqX3upuwqaI8hdwLxXcJU_noGWxu24Su_d-ao13_JbJImRFgcRczySTO7-e3nez3BOK5kb4xl3jRT31Qb36hTMwFPVsXbCuvLsxckYYu8FaXnVJIEv9yGc7fOGsFQAz9jJbchbYY/s1600/ragnarok_061.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYCAIqX3upuwqaI8hdwLxXcJU_noGWxu24Su_d-ao13_JbJImRFgcRczySTO7-e3nez3BOK5kb4xl3jRT31Qb36hTMwFPVsXbCuvLsxckYYu8FaXnVJIEv9yGc7fOGsFQAz9jJbchbYY/s400/ragnarok_061.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The transition to Jotenheim.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>        <br />After I cleared most of the map, there remained an impenetrable rectangle of mountains and trees. Figuring it must hold something interesting, I used my "Terraforming" ability to change a tree into regular ground. Inside the rectangle was a small building populated by a large foe named Gymir. He had the decency not to kill me in a single blow, but his attacks were capable of doing more than 100 damage each. I quaffed a Potion of Speed and a Potion of Curing and proceeded to kill him in legitimate combat. He left behind Mimming, Freyr's sword. I'm too weak to wield it.<br />           <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig31dAwBpK9ZytDz9kLkjC51phpRcGpFRnYscLpdmButoly_CqRXjVzFLWWiBni-f_pYbm_6az6h6-GctlxzSV9atXj94sLlMdt_BwkYjgq67SA_s-Js8yjaDZY6kyrkgS2CZfJelf8l0/s1600/ragnarok_063.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig31dAwBpK9ZytDz9kLkjC51phpRcGpFRnYscLpdmButoly_CqRXjVzFLWWiBni-f_pYbm_6az6h6-GctlxzSV9atXj94sLlMdt_BwkYjgq67SA_s-Js8yjaDZY6kyrkgS2CZfJelf8l0/s400/ragnarok_063.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My character doesn't just chop down trees; he changes the very nature of the landscape.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>           <br />Jotenheim continued for two maps to the north. To the north of <i>that</i> was "Mimer's Realm," a map of mountains, lava pools, and fog. A new monster called "iridorns" were introduced. They can kill in a single hit by ripping off your head, although they die pretty easily if you can strike them first.<br />           <br />With Mimer's Realm, I found Mimer's Well, mentioned in the backstory as the residence of the serpent Aspenth, the transformed version of Gjall, Heimdall's horn. But I need the "Swimming" ability to navigate there and I don't have it yet.<br />            <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsyVrXbgFsDOgMmcQg6GAhafUzjqh4oAFFcNPw98RJvSfcr7eUt7sdzqaTNS1QxRgzbUh4cstFwqW2WSK7irO7S3S4Q75sXlIoqdTQZVC61eYXQX0XQTxi5TrEr3bmkIf5rxhQkwGSv6I/s1600/ragnarok_077.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsyVrXbgFsDOgMmcQg6GAhafUzjqh4oAFFcNPw98RJvSfcr7eUt7sdzqaTNS1QxRgzbUh4cstFwqW2WSK7irO7S3S4Q75sXlIoqdTQZVC61eYXQX0XQTxi5TrEr3bmkIf5rxhQkwGSv6I/s400/ragnarok_077.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My character at the end of this session.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>           <br />At some point, while exploring Jotenheim, Heimdall's voice bellowed from the sky:<br />               <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">O great heroes of the world! I must have Gjall to rally the forces of good. Time begins to grow short. The sea rages with the anger of Jormungand. The earth quakes mightily. Loki seems ready to burst his bonds. The moon and sun shall soon be swallowed by the mighty wolves Fenrir and Garm. Surtr is honing his sword of destruction. The evil ones are gathering their forces.<br /><br />To speed you in your quest, I will use my powers over nature. The lesser creatures of the realm shall grow weary and despair. They shall no longer wish to battle against your might.</blockquote>               <br />This announcement suggests the game has a time limit (and also that Heimdall just removed my ability to easily grind). I'm going to explore to the north a little further, but if nothing pans out, I'll use my Wand of Wishes for Scrolls of Knowledge and see if I can pick up the swimming ability. At this point, I have three of the six quest items. If I can get one more, it might be worth heading to Asgard.</div><br /><br /><i><b>Time so far: </b>15 hours</i><br /><br /><i>*****</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>B.A.T. II: The Koshan Conspiracy </i>was going to be next, but I'm not sure how it got on my list in the first place. None of my sources call it an RPG, not even a hybrid. I can't find evidence that any commenter defended it as an RPG. I'm dumping it unless someone can make a persuasive case. The Adventure Gamer <a href="https://advgamer.blogspot.com/2018/05/game-96-bat-ii-koshan-conspiracy-1992.html">already covered it</a> if you really need to read about it.<br /><br />That means we get to our first random roll for the next game on the list! Pulling up the list, adding a "Random" column, filtering out games I've already played or rejected, we get . . . <i>Xenus II: White Gold</i> (2008). But of course I'm not going to play a game before its predecessor, which in this case is <i>Boiling Point: Road to Hell</i> (2005). That's also the first game on my list from Ukraine. I can't find mention of any other necessary precursors. But I'm just kidding because I'm not going to let myself jump <i>that</i> far ahead in one go. The actual next game needs to be in the next year I have not yet played, and a random selection from that year brings us to <i>Shadowkeep 1: The Search</i> by the same author as the <i>Bandor</i> series. Meanwhile, <i>Planet's Edge</i> gets moved up a notch to Game 358, but I'm having trouble with that one. DOSBox crashes every time I try to leave the intro screen. So the real next game might be <i>Ishar</i> while I try to solve that problem.</div>

Ragnarok: Gods And Giants

About how it goes every time I face a new monster. Playing Ragnarok is a process of repeatedly convincing yourself that your ch...

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Steak, Not Hamburger

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZ2HGjMU9-oI-TgjpWjI6Ds8SAonpoFrV5GSfFMnmdtJAO9t9Zx8mJvBmKdZHjOcd5fFa3KEQOPy8YiSR_Xw40nkXVcUyAXDDGRlM8qS9RpyNUz3JRb1d9eb_m6IxvHNGpWCmHRB6z_F6/s1600/Picasso+-+still-life.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZ2HGjMU9-oI-TgjpWjI6Ds8SAonpoFrV5GSfFMnmdtJAO9t9Zx8mJvBmKdZHjOcd5fFa3KEQOPy8YiSR_Xw40nkXVcUyAXDDGRlM8qS9RpyNUz3JRb1d9eb_m6IxvHNGpWCmHRB6z_F6/s400/Picasso+-+still-life.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Still Life - 1901" by Pablo Picasso. Art used for criticism under "Fair Use."</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br />I've been told that the image of an average American in Spain is of someone at a baseball game with a hot dog in one hand and a Coke in the other. If this is the case, then I'm no an average American. Hot dogs taste about as terrible as they look, like boiled phalluses (circumcised, clearly). Now, now, I certainly give credit to the, uh, "genius" who figured out how to sell unwanted animal parts by wrapping them up into something Linda Lovelace would swallow. Just forgive me if I resist the impulse to deep-throat wieners every summer. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, resembles battery acid in both appearance as well as tooth decay. The taste is hardly worth getting excited about as far as sodas go. More or less Pepsi under another name. Perhaps if they put the cocaine back in, I'd be more inclined to hold a favorable opinion. Some might argue that this first paragraph could disqualify me from American citizenship. Though I'd argue that it would disqualify me from most Memorial Day barbecues.<br /><br /><a name="more"></a><br />It should come as no surprise that I don't have much a taste for hamburgers. It seems that the only American meats my stomach can stomach are steak, pork, and chicken (though even <i>the chicken</i> can elicit occasional bouts of diarrhea). So it goes without saying that hamburgers were among the last things I expected to eat in Spain. Imagine my surprise, then, when I heartily chowed one down for lunch and begged my host mother for seconds.<br /><br />Truth be told, I didn't know it was a hamburger at first. I often didn't know what kinds of meats went into my sandwiches. Being that I would be living in someone else's home for two months, I avoided being picky about the food. I didn't expect to run into <i>too</i> much trouble here, since I'm an American, and Americans can eat just about anything provided it's properly salted. The Spanish sandwiches I had been used to thus far were either ham, turkey, egg, or pig liver. The latter being among my favorites, if not a tad oily. The hamburger smelled like steak, and tasted about the same, too. When I lauded my host mother for her cooking skills, she revealed the secret identity of my meal. Morgan Le Fey seduced King Arthur by disguising herself as Guinevere, and so too did my nemesis, the hamburger, trick me with false vestments. I'm not an expert on meats, so I couldn't tell you if burgers are prepared differently in Spain than in the United States. I just know that it tasted a hell of a lot better. Speaking of hamburgers, I went to a Spanish McDonald's. To my disappointment, it tasted <i>exactly</i> the same as its American counterpart. Probably about as unhealthy, too.<br /><br />My host mother was a very skilled cook, I daresay she rivaled my own mother. (And that's <i>saying</i> something!) She made delectable fried potatoes, green peas with ham, <i>tomate y pan</i>, cream of zucchini, fresh clams with rice, and that cold tomato soup, <i>gazpacho</i>. I noticed that the Spanish diet includes a lot of eggs, for every meal and in every dish. Nowhere is this better seen than with the Spanish tortilla. In America, the popular conception of a "tortilla" comes from Mexico, which is a flatbread of ground wheat flour. In Spain, the "tortilla" is a bit closer to an omelet, with some major exceptions. The Spanish tortilla can be produced in any frying pan, it requires a mix of eggs, potatoes, onions, and oil. One can add vegetables or meats at their own pleasure. The closest thing I had had to a Spanish tortilla in the States is quiche. Though I'd venture that the tortilla tastes plenty better, especially with ketchup or salsa.<br /><br />I also tried my tongue on the foods outside of my home, of course. During a brief festival in Santander, I had the good fortune of eating <i>chorizo</i> and <i>paella.</i> As I write this, I am learning that chorizo is a type of sausage, but it certainly didn't taste like one. (Tongue is not as reliable as I once believed it to be.) The chorizo meat was chopped up and mixed with fries and an egg sunny-side up. Quite spicy, though an attractive snack. Paella, on the other hand, was a savory display of Santander's seafood. Being that the city was by the sea, I'm surprised I didn't come across more seafood, but I won't linger on that. Paella is primarily a rice dish, but mixed in with whatever else is available. I can recall fish and shrimp in the paella I had, but beyond that, it's a blur.<br /><br />When going to another country, it's a cardinal sin not to try the ice cream. As expected, they have all the common flavors, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc. I first tried out <i>turron</i>, a flavor exclusive to Spain, since it is based on a treat they have during Christmastime. I'll admit, I've never had turron before, but I found that the novelty of turron ice cream wore off and devolved into blandness. I fell in love with lemon, being partial to lemon flavored everything since birth. Though pineapple comes in a close second, it doesn't quite melt into the tongue the way that lemon can. I also got a chance to try out Italian gellato at a shop adorned with photos of my high school muse, Audrey Hepburn (fresh off of the film <i>Roman Holiday</i>). You could have two flavors on your cone, I chose chocolate chip mint and some coffee variant. Then there was the frozen yogurt, which was beyond any cream I had ever tasted in my life. This may sound contradictory, but it had a sourful-sweetness to it.<br /><br />In Spain, the laws surrounding alcohol are far more lax than those in the States. People under twenty-one can drink their fill and without the pestering need to reveal their ID. There are probably cultural differences to these matters, as Spaniards drink alongside their meals and for social relaxation. Americans drink to get drunk. Though these are crude generalizations, as I'm sure there's many a drunkard in Spain as there is a connoisseur in the States. Yet in Spain, one can sense that society feels a touch more comfortable with alcohol in the streets. I literally drank all night with some friends outside of a church. I think that this comfort can be attributable, in part, to the decreased emphasis on driving in Spain. Most folks in the Iberian Peninsula take buses, ride bicycles, or walk. So there's less a fear of drunk drivers causing mayhem on the roads, and I should add that drunk driving accidents are still a leading killer in the States. I've long bemoaned to myself that the American "drink-until-you-get-wasted" ethic, has spoiled many an opportunity to craft a better relationship with alcohol. <br /><br />While not exactly a drinker, I wasn't exactly a greenhorn, either. I had tasted wine before in my childhood as a Catholic. We took of it during the communion ritual, in which we believed that during "transubstantiation", the wine was briefly transformed into the literal "blood of Christ." An odd, and frankly, unnerving practice when one really thinks about it. One that veers a tad too close to the dietary habits of one Count Dracula. It reminds me of a humorous scene in David Attenborough's <i>Gandhi</i>. While riding on a crowded train with the young Mahatma, Rev. Charlie Andrews encounters a Hindu who tells him that he knows a Christian woman who drinks blood every Sunday. Andrews appears rather disturbed to hear this, until the Hindu adds that this is the "blood of Christ." This detail relieves him slightly, though the initial shock of the conversation does not seem to have left him. Heavy stuff, too heavy for me. So I started off simple. I drank beer.<br /><br />Beer was the blood of Homer Simpson, the quintessential American beverage. You'd be forgiven for assuming that I'd fall into it naturally. You'd be forgiven, until seeing my track record with hamburgers and hot dogs. So it goes that America's favorite drink will garner no favor of mine. Beer certainly had an attractive smell, as does vanilla extract, but both are about as flavorless as the underside of my refrigerator. In a word, beer didn't cut it for me. There are variants of cat piss which would make more of an impression. So, seeking a more heightened experience, I went for the heavy stuff. The blood of Christ. <br /><br />I can't put my tongue on it exactly, but red wine, or <i>vino rioja</i>, has a warm place in my heart. It seems that, like a good woman, red wine fills the body with warm elation, and daresay, presents a brief clarity of the mind. The blood of Christ. I can personally attest to these effects, having read the works of Haruki Murakami and Pope Francis while drinking the elixir in some bars and cafes. Murakami, I will say, felt a bit more of a comfortable choice to be reading in these places. His strange narratives often feature jazz bars of a sort. A motif that, no doubt, came from his experiences running the jazz bar, Peter Cat. The wine helped be absorb them. With each sip, my brain became more receptive to the words on the page, indeed, they flowed through me. Upon returning to the States, I have found this effect to be just as potent. Further, it not only made reading more enjoyable, but film and music as well. Of course, there were other drinks I had that are worth note: strawberry daiquiri, sangria, <i>tinto de verano</i>, and moscato. I have a little anecdote about old moscato. When in the Cafe Alaska, I ordered the moscato in Spanish, though the bartender seemed unfamiliar with it, so I repeated it again and again, but to no avail. It turns out that I had been saying the word <i>mascota</i>, which means<i> pet</i>. I half-expected Alf to come in as a waiter with a cat sandwich. We both had a good laugh after that.<br /><br />And then I got drunk.<br /><br />American poet, Ogden Nash, once said, "Candy is dandy, Liquor is quicker." It sure is. In my drunkenness I remembered the Porter from <i>Macbeth </i>who called alcohol a provoker of "nose-painting, sleep, and urine." Further, there was <i>lechery</i>, the Porter adds, "it provokes and unprovokes: it provokes the desire but takes away the performance. Therefore, drink may be said to be an equivocator of lechery: it makes him and mars him; it sets him on and takes him off; it persuades him and disheartens him, makes him stand to and not stand to, in conclusion, equivocates him in a sleep and, giving him the lie, leaves him." Forgive me, I quoted the passage in full, though the first sentence would've sufficed. In my defense, I just wanted to give the reader a colorful illustration of the contradictory and confusing nature of alcohol, though many are already well familiar. In my case, drunkenness was hardly an aphrodisiac, nor did it make my nose red, or my bladder go wild. It succeeded in, for good or for ill, liberating my id from the constraints of my superego. I grew less inclined to think before acting. There was something quite freeing in that, although it made keeping your balance tricky.<br /><br />It was not my intention to get drunk, but then, that's what they all say, isn't it? I was fresh off of completing Bertrand Russell's <i>Wisdom of the West</i>, in which he spoke fondly of Socrates' self-control, "In all he did he was moderate and has amazing control over his body. Though he rarely took wine, when the occasion arose he could drink all his companions under the table without getting tipsy," (65). I thought at the time, perhaps out of sheer hubris, that I could exercise a similar restraint. I had also determined not to live up to American stereotypes, but rather, model an American founder, one Benjamin Franklin. In his <i>Autobiography</i>, Franklin has a list of thirteen virtues that essentially compromised his philosophical outlook. All the precepts are worth following, but what stuck out to me most was the first one, "Temperance", which states, "Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation," (104). I tried to follow this edict, and for the most part I was able to, but somewhere along the way, I fell through. I'll try to be more careful with my liquor in the future, though these matters aren't always easy to anticipate. I don't expect them to be.<br /><br />In my favorite anime, <i>Neon Genesis</i> <i>Evangelion</i>, one of the leading voice actors goes by the name of Spike Spencer. In addition to being an excellent voice actor, Spike is also an expert in dating and travel. While eating in Spain, I often thought back to something he a said about getting a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLwL9oD1Zek" target="_blank">"taste of culture"</a>,<br /><br /><i>"When you're goin' to different places, different countries, and tryin' different foods, that is the best! I always say that is where you taste, when you eat the local food of a place, you're tasting the soul of that place. Because if you think about this: when we move, when we populate an area, why do we populate that area, at any given time? Because that's where you can make food! You know, so whatever's there, in Japan and Asia there's so much rice, because that's kind of there. You don't see a lot of wheat fields. They have a lot of rice. What do we have? We have lots of fields, so we own wheat. So we own a lot of bread and stuff. And, I mean it's that kind of idea, I think food is such a great connector of people. I think it gets down to the very base level. So when you're sharing food with somebody, that you made for them, that's pretty sweet. It shows that you care a little bit more,"</i> (YouTube).<br /><br />I had the privilege of tasting Spanish food, and so, a part of the Spanish soul. It is an opportunity that many do not have, including some who live on the Spanish soil itself. For in Spain, I saw poverty face-to-face. Homeless people sat on the sidewalks, some with small bowls out for collecting coins. I tried to give them what little change I had whenever I could. Though I couldn't always. What shocked me, however, is that whenever I gave, no matter how small the amount, these poor showed <i>immense</i> gratitude. They knew, more than I, what it was like to live without. They knew, better than I, the value of every euro. The euro is not <i>simply</i> a form of currency in the European Union, but a symbol of solidarity and prosperity. Ideals that were put into question by the ongoing economic crisis in Greece. Do these ideals still mean anything to the poor? I can't say.<br /><br />The shame of inequality is what kept us in different steps of the economic ladder. I began to realize how much of what I am today can be attributed to my wealth. Being a college student, I clearly don't have much of it, but I have far more than they. It's an unfair circumstance, I know, and I have no answers on how to fix it. With what little change I gave, I knew I wouldn't heal their long-term poverty. Yet they still they were hungry. Hunger was an impulse that couldn't wait for economic reforms. My host mother packed me lunches. I gave them half. In the long run, it's a small token, but it beats an empty stomach. I don't where these poor people are today, or if their situations will ever improve. We were strangers then and we are strangers still, yet through the sharing of food, we connected, however briefly.<br /><br />Through the sharing of food, I showed them, that I cared a little bit more.<br /><br /><br /><u><b>Further Reading</b></u><br /><br />"A Fear Of Flying They Call It." <a href="http://sansuthecat.blogspot.com/2015/09/a-fear-of-flying-they-call-it.html" target="_blank">http://sansuthecat.blogspot.com/2015/09/a-fear-of-flying-they-call-it.html</a><br /><br /><br /><u><b>Bibliography</b></u><br /><br />Franklin, Benjamin. <i>The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin</i>. Barnes & Noble Books: New York, 1994. p104. Print.<br /><br />Russell, Bertrand. <i>Wisdom of the West</i>. Rathbone Books, Ltd: London, 1959. p65. Print.<br /><br />Spencer, Spike. "A Taste Of Culture." <i>YouTube</i>. Web. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLwL9oD1Zek" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLwL9oD1Zek</a><br /><br /><br /><br />

Steak, Not Hamburger

"Still Life - 1901" by Pablo Picasso. Art used for criticism under "Fair Use." I've been told that the image of an a...

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Results Of MSSA's 10Th Annual Online Championships For High Schools

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHCXQZaMxFgUzReuD3BGrizartWQSfDXE4MpTQRHhSLvs5eo0xYupgTv560v4xqJacW5dBuaTfZ3oKCB0jMgqBAKUzRHvkmPnEYlASWtgWlYocSaqsnZVmDOE_SIvi_DNl8H8Z0eTjZs/s1600/20200208_113303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHCXQZaMxFgUzReuD3BGrizartWQSfDXE4MpTQRHhSLvs5eo0xYupgTv560v4xqJacW5dBuaTfZ3oKCB0jMgqBAKUzRHvkmPnEYlASWtgWlYocSaqsnZVmDOE_SIvi_DNl8H8Z0eTjZs/s640/20200208_113303.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northcliff High School grabbed the 'lion's share' of titles at MSSA's 10th Annual Online Championships for High Schools.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) held its 10th Annual Online Championships for High Schools on 8 February 2020.<br /><br />Teams from aroundd the country gathered at schools, or at previously approved locations, to fight for glory and honour.<br /><br />Judging by the winners  of each gamee title, it is becoming clear that certain schools are beginning to take ownership of the title. The schools are blessed with hard-working and dedicated educators who give up their own time to ensure the success of the school and the learner.<br /><br />It is interesting that with the educator moving from SAHETI to Redhill, success has followed the educator, which further re-inforces the belief that without proper management, the team has even greater odds to overcome.<br /><br />Another encouraging feature is that more provinces saw teams being awarded High School Provincial Colours. With five (5) provinces seeing colours being awarded, it is clear that Gauteng and Western Cape provinces no longer totally dominate esports in South Africa and that there is a more general standard of excellence than ever before.<br /><br />It should be noted that Provincial High School Colours are awarded immediately to the members of the team who win each and every game that they play in such 10th Annual Online Championships for High Schools.<br /><br />The members of the teams that have finished in the top three also immediatel qualify for 2020 National Team Trials. It is at such National Team Trials that MSSA shall select its team to attend International Esports Federation's (IESF) 12th World Championships - Eilat.<br /><br />The winners of MSSA's 10th Annual Online Championships for High Schools are:</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 0px;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><colgroup><col width="148"></col><col width="22"></col><col width="158"></col><col width="193"></col><col width="258"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Title"}" rowspan="1" style="background-color: #d9d9d9; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Title</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Team name"}" style="background-color: #d9d9d9; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Team name</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Club"}" style="background-color: #d9d9d9; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Club</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Colours"}" style="background-color: #d9d9d9; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Colours</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Clash Royale (Male)"}" rowspan="1" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Clash Royale (Male)</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Dale Spolander"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Dale Spolander</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Northcliff High School"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Northcliff High School</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Gauteng High School Provincial"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Gauteng High School Provincial</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Clash Royale (Female)"}" rowspan="1" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Clash Royale (Female)</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Suene du Toit"}" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Suene du Toit</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Northcliff High School"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Northcliff High School</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Gauteng High School Provincial"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Gauteng High School Provincial</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"CounterStrike: GO"}" rowspan="1" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">CounterStrike: GO</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"HBS"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">HBS</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Redhill High School"}" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Redhill High School</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Gauteng High School Provincial"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Gauteng High School Provincial</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"DotA 2"}" rowspan="1" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">DotA 2</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Pr0NHS"}" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Pr0NHS</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Northcliff High School"}" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Northcliff High School</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Gauteng High School Provincial"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Gauteng High School Provincial</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"FIFA'20 (PC)"}" rowspan="1" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">FIFA'20 (PC)</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Andreas Photiou"}" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Andreas Photiou</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Sasolburg High School"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Sasolburg High School</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Free State High School Provincial"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Free State High School Provincial</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"FIFA'20 (PS4)"}" rowspan="1" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">FIFA'20 (PS4)</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Blake Govender"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Blake Govender</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Oakhill School"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Oakhill School</span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"League of Legends"}" rowspan="1" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">League of Legends</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Team GLC"}" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Team GLC</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Curro Grantleigh"}" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Curro Grantleigh</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"KwaZulu Natal High School Provincial"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">KwaZulu Natal High School Provincial</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Street Fighter V - Male"}" rowspan="1" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Street Fighter V - Male</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Theunis van der Merwe"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Theunis van der Merwe</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hoërskool Klerksdorp"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Hoërskool Klerksdorp</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"North West High School Provincial"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">North West High School Provincial</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hearthstone"}" rowspan="1" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Hearthstone</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Gray Craven"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Gray Craven</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Curro Aurora"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Curro Aurora</span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Paladins"}" rowspan="1" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Paladins</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"FiB Dragons JNR"}" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">FiB Dragons JNR</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Monument Park High School"}" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Monument Park High School</span></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Western Cape High School Provincial"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Western Cape High School Provincial</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also read:</span><br /><ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2018/11/ensuring-gender-equity-in-esports.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ensuring gender equity in esports.</span></span></a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2019/03/mssa-celebrates-its-women-who-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">MSSA celebrates its women who have earned Protea Colours.</span></span></a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2018/12/why-schools-and-universities-should.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">Why schools and universities should invest in esports</a>.</span></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2019/09/entry-fees-for-provincial-and-national.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Entry fees for Provincial and National Championships</span></span></a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: -15px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-school-club-affiliates-for-2020.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How school clubs affiliate for the 2020 season.</span></span></a></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2019/10/2020-calendar-of-events.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2020 Calendar of Events</span></span></a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-various-events-held-by-mind-sports.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The various events held by Mind Sports South Africa.</span></span></a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2018/12/why-schools-and-universities-should.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why schools and universities should invest in esports</span></span></a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-new-national-team-selection-criteria.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">New National Team Selection Criteria</span></span></a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2019/12/selecting-national-protea-teams-for.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Selecting the national Protea teams for Mind Sports South Africa.</span></span></a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; text-indent: -15px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-road-to-eilat.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The road to Eilat</span></a></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/2018/11/mssa-to-nominate-candidates-for-iesfs.html" style="color: #33aaff; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">MSSA to nominate candidates for IESF's International Referee Workshop.</span></a></li></ul>

Results Of MSSA's 10Th Annual Online Championships For High Schools

Northcliff High School grabbed the 'lion's share' of titles at MSSA's 10th Annual Online Championships for High Schools. Min...

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Ragnarok: Temple Of Doom

<div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8hQP3LvCCQijrCeo0FzPjMHua-7NOCzBy31UbwPzlwbH5lKCj7T2VEyxhH2yY2VWpUs9lJa2RJjRR1QGO5nziUvIYqiTK-2ULeg4nVyGYWpwVvKRZhpKrI-MdTxzN9TOIu-MyBBe7cc/s1600/ragnarok_075.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8hQP3LvCCQijrCeo0FzPjMHua-7NOCzBy31UbwPzlwbH5lKCj7T2VEyxhH2yY2VWpUs9lJa2RJjRR1QGO5nziUvIYqiTK-2ULeg4nVyGYWpwVvKRZhpKrI-MdTxzN9TOIu-MyBBe7cc/s400/ragnarok_075.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You win some, you lose some.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>            </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ah, roguelikes. There's no other sub-genre in which this kind of narrative makes any sense:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">            </div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: justify;">When I walked into the room, I saw a deadly asp on the other side of it. I didn't want him to get too close, so I killed him with my shurikens. I wanted to eat his corpse to get intrinsic poison resistance, but I didn't have any artificial resistance, so I knew trying would kill me. I had three unidentified rings, one of which might have been a Ring of Immunity, which would have protected me from poison while I ate him, but I only had one Scroll of Identification, and I was hoping to hold onto until I found a Scroll of Blessing because blessed Scrolls of Identification identify everything in your pack. I tried one of the rings blind, but it turned out to be a Ring of Relocation, and it teleported me to another part of the dungeon. While I was trying to make it back, I stepped in quicksand and started to drown. The only thing I could think to do was drink an unidentified potion, hoping it was a Potion of Phasing, but it turned out to be a Potion of Lycanthropy, and my character dropped all his stuff when he changed into a werewolf, then ran around the dungeon killing everything he encountered for a few minutes. Eventually, he turned back into a man, but I got killed by another deadly asp before I could get back to my equipment. <i>C'est la vie</i>.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">                 </div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's so much to learn, and enough that works differently from <i>NetHack</i> that I'm not sure if my previous <i>NetHack</i> knowledge is a blessing or a curse--an apropos phrase, as I spent forever trying to figure out how to use Holy Water to remove curses and/or bless things before coming to the conclusion that it simply doesn't work that way in this game. As far as I can tell, Holy Water just increases your luck. You have to find Scrolls of Dispel Hex and Blessing to do the other things. But if you do find a Scroll of Blessing, a good use for it is to bless your Scroll of Identification, because blessed Scrolls of Identification identify all your items, not just several as in <i>NetHack</i>. To find monsters on the level, I don't want a Potion of Monster Detection; I want a Potion of Depredation, which sounds like a bad thing. If you do find any "bad" potions, don't save them to throw at enemies because that doesn't work here.<br />           <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8iZxtRKVOGoBy5x5N0pk1bViuZjAPrN5JMH8sn-xxQ7az1CQFUA_6a0RwwigmHHq7wibekn9djdpQYR_-eeRnlHiaShsPJPsGOlVsQbo_XQBOLtWZUNMBqMhVTNbldENgUov5sWXrs4/s1600/ragnarok_039.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8iZxtRKVOGoBy5x5N0pk1bViuZjAPrN5JMH8sn-xxQ7az1CQFUA_6a0RwwigmHHq7wibekn9djdpQYR_-eeRnlHiaShsPJPsGOlVsQbo_XQBOLtWZUNMBqMhVTNbldENgUov5sWXrs4/s400/ragnarok_039.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>And maybe stay away from mushrooms entirely.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>             </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The worst part is the monsters. While <i>NetHack</i> and <i>Ragnarok</i> have a lot of overlaps in terms of equipment, the bestiary is almost entirely new. It makes good use of Norse mythology, yay, but I've got to learn every enemy's special attacks and weaknesses again. I started keeping a list of enemies to particularly avoid, but it ended up including almost all enemies. Jacchuses give you a disease that prevents you from healing. Kalvins pluck your eyes out. Pale Mosses destroy your brain tissue, which causes you to forget potions, scrolls, and such that you've already identified. Ramapiths toss fireballs. Red oozes devour your weapons and can't even be killed by regular weapons. Ulls disorient you; Predens give you fevers; Retchweed makes you hungry; Gas balls deafen you; Pelgrats suck charges from wands that you carry. I've barely gotten started.<br />            <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLWzMXtFr11BDoU24LE4dcMglczQZwPz9X-KAoj7a-ZVICp3yn0QwKjqeokWnM3jy312fQVfm12ye4rvuPV_ALGzRuWQgzu30Rl8H6HugNu1N5-JVIMAaQtVc8cUmLBZg9Bu7z147Sd8/s1600/ragnarok_047.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLWzMXtFr11BDoU24LE4dcMglczQZwPz9X-KAoj7a-ZVICp3yn0QwKjqeokWnM3jy312fQVfm12ye4rvuPV_ALGzRuWQgzu30Rl8H6HugNu1N5-JVIMAaQtVc8cUmLBZg9Bu7z147Sd8/s400/ragnarok_047.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I had lycanthropy for a while. It was worse for the other creatures in the dungeon.</i><br /><i></i></td></tr></tbody></table>           </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've spent a lot of time debating whether to try to eat slain enemies or not. <i>Ragnarok</i> doesn't seem to have as many enemies whose corpses give intrinsic protection, but they're definitely there. The aforementioned asps will give you poison resistance if you can survive eating them. Fire dragons confer fire resistance. I haven't found much else. What I can tell you is that troll corpses do <i>not</i> confer regeneration, wight corpses do not give you experience, and giants do not give you strength.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Ragnarok</i> seems to offer more items and monsters that rearrange the physical environment than other roguelikes. In <i>NetHack, </i>you could take a pick-axe to just about every solid part of a level, and you can do that here, too, but there are also traps that fill rooms with water or lava, cause the ceiling to collapse, or replace all the external walls with monsters. There's a scroll that summons lava, and another that randomly plants trees wherever you are. There's an artifact called a "disruption horn" that you can use in the doorway of a room to cause the ceiling to cave in, killing whatever monsters are there (you get the experience!). A creature called a "mudman" leaves gobs of mud everywhere. There's a wand that just blasts the hell out of everything you point it at, including floors, walls, and anything in between.<br />           <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhkokvjD2wsmF1wTvOs5UtOQWqa4JMjmagXacuf0VDqGVU4Hntah1Zk9DRVychLOC3nX-H0S_9ipfnITi-Bw4HkuV2Up2f7bpkDo3pmcEqrZeidmONRqF7xRl7G2tvs-jxuOjW6aow3A/s1600/ragnarok_057.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhkokvjD2wsmF1wTvOs5UtOQWqa4JMjmagXacuf0VDqGVU4Hntah1Zk9DRVychLOC3nX-H0S_9ipfnITi-Bw4HkuV2Up2f7bpkDo3pmcEqrZeidmONRqF7xRl7G2tvs-jxuOjW6aow3A/s400/ragnarok_057.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Using my horn to collapse the ceiling on a roomful of deadly moss.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>            </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I spent seven hours exploring the dungeon beneath the forest, and I have nothing at all to show for it yet. It's three levels with nine maps per level--as big as <i>Rogue</i> by itself. Commenters were right: the game got a <i>lot</i> harder once I left the forest. I've been trying not to abuse the backup system too much, but thank the gods it's there. Some of my more amusing deaths include:<br /><br /><ul><li>I stepped on a mist trap, which confused me. Confused characters in this game sometimes randomly use their items, and in this case, I ate a mushroom that turned the whole world hallucinogenic before killing me.</li></ul><ul><li>I ate some creature that turned out to be made of lava.</li></ul><ul><li>I stepped on a trap that turned all the surrounding walls into wizards, who quickly surrounded and killed me.</li></ul>            <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFpkPOMPPq2s8upQgb9wpIv_jxHyl_quM8uyv6zYtmQWefT2EmzI-ELO8iwsowzPtso3k47OYEzk8Wy8MSG43lqcQLxI0iL8OxUWNIK4cSDa2PP9fcjARz9CakK1i6ia_Q5wronwx_RY/s1600/ragnarok_050.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFpkPOMPPq2s8upQgb9wpIv_jxHyl_quM8uyv6zYtmQWefT2EmzI-ELO8iwsowzPtso3k47OYEzk8Wy8MSG43lqcQLxI0iL8OxUWNIK4cSDa2PP9fcjARz9CakK1i6ia_Q5wronwx_RY/s400/ragnarok_050.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>At least the hill giant probably won't make it out, either.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>          <br /><ul><li>The one below didn't kill me, but it made life hard enough that I reloaded.</li></ul>          <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9lm0wFhdc2GHPLfZVBC-JPTY8O3HIiPBDMLWMDJbcZYDlNZYNW2ZzEh2yadJ0qTJBDmq0vxAmrfSj2I1jrVQXTgWedPSN0WO8p9mPY6kXWUFwZRCM31VNmrvR_53tXK2_N0BsgbCCvk/s1600/ragnarok_058.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9lm0wFhdc2GHPLfZVBC-JPTY8O3HIiPBDMLWMDJbcZYDlNZYNW2ZzEh2yadJ0qTJBDmq0vxAmrfSj2I1jrVQXTgWedPSN0WO8p9mPY6kXWUFwZRCM31VNmrvR_53tXK2_N0BsgbCCvk/s400/ragnarok_058.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What kind of potion was that!?</i></td></tr></tbody></table>          <br />One of my most heartbreaking deaths came late in this session, when I had just come across a Wand of Wishing. These are as useful here as they are in <i>NetHack</i> except I don't really know the specific names of the best equipment to wish for. Since I'd already activated the first wish by using it at all, I wished for one of the only high-level items whose name I reliably knew: Mjollnir. For some reason, I got a sword instead. Before I even had a chance to investigate it, a bartok came wandering into the room and killed me with a sonic wail. My previous save was well before this area was seeded with equipment. Lesson learned: save after you find Wands of Wishing.<br />            <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEimVXcuJPFfhyphenhyphenpCmIWyJYOOh82fx635WwmS5ec37Z4sEfKWeapmxohCixdm0Uj40KPC4UB4OUlzpvC1_UVc_9Q_naM819vxMFoupyYfZwyXEeleozsdRFxmV-S0Z-OA5OcnXG8Wwu1k/s1600/ragnarok_059.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEimVXcuJPFfhyphenhyphenpCmIWyJYOOh82fx635WwmS5ec37Z4sEfKWeapmxohCixdm0Uj40KPC4UB4OUlzpvC1_UVc_9Q_naM819vxMFoupyYfZwyXEeleozsdRFxmV-S0Z-OA5OcnXG8Wwu1k/s400/ragnarok_059.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>In retrospect, the best answer would have been: "I wish I wasn't so excited about having found a Wand of Washing that I'm failing to notice the dude coming up from the southeast."</i></td></tr></tbody></table>        <br />A lot of my woes are equipment-related. I'm constantly over-encumbered, made worse by the fact that I don't understand how a lot of stuff works. But there are good things to report. I have a full set of armor, including a "holocaust cloak," which protects against fire and I think is an homage to <i>The Princess Bride</i>. I have both a Ring of Locus Mastery and a Ring of Relocation. This means that every 12-100 rounds, I get teleported, but I can direct my destination location. It gets me out of a lot of fights and traps, and if I don't want to move, I can just specify the next square I was going to walk into anyway. It would be nicer to have these powers as intrinsics, but with the ability to equip 8 rings, you don't feel like you're wasting a slot as much as you do in <i>NetHack</i>.<br />            <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvfYxkI0LZpdCPL4itWcjZnsbFBkcqgyHoupqU0ev5poB6DZeaGc-A2aK7V1TjzE3hrGu8qQ_XePDNC1SG-02VDj6PwdY0jZCjOKb_BnGRMd9D1ta1QkWRnpUE2jerwDVb5feSugZXATw/s1600/ragnarok_063.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvfYxkI0LZpdCPL4itWcjZnsbFBkcqgyHoupqU0ev5poB6DZeaGc-A2aK7V1TjzE3hrGu8qQ_XePDNC1SG-02VDj6PwdY0jZCjOKb_BnGRMd9D1ta1QkWRnpUE2jerwDVb5feSugZXATw/s400/ragnarok_063.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thankfully, my Ring of Translocation will eventually get me out of here.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>          <br />In other good news, a blessed Scroll of Enhancement empowered my silver sword up to +9. In bad news, a red slime then ate the sword. Then I found another blessed Scroll of Enhancement and got a spear up to +15. You have to roll with the punches in roguelikes.<br /><br />Two Scrolls of Knowledge bestowed my character with the "Terraforming" and "Identification" abilities. I haven't tried the former yet, but the latter seems to render Scrolls of Identification moot. I wish I'd known to wish for Scrolls of Knowledge back when I had that Wand of Wishing.<br />            <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtoEt4US5tbkxK2E97ny1CG41bUQZih9vNQltKqbvPg-kXT2SU7STnURFpY9sy9GsBm6sREle_DAmXSQF0X8KKD5dVXgK_ZEkTurGriSaHecD9_bNGTCzTTwmrcyt9gfNLmUxGnLlvzs/s1600/ragnarok_069.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtoEt4US5tbkxK2E97ny1CG41bUQZih9vNQltKqbvPg-kXT2SU7STnURFpY9sy9GsBm6sREle_DAmXSQF0X8KKD5dVXgK_ZEkTurGriSaHecD9_bNGTCzTTwmrcyt9gfNLmUxGnLlvzs/s400/ragnarok_069.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>That's one logistical concern I no longer have to deal with.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>            <br />On Level 2, I found an enemy named Scyld, who was so powerful that I assumed he must be some kind of "level boss" and likely in possession of one of the quest items. I reloaded half a dozen times before I finally killed him, but it turns out he didn't have anything special.<br />             <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELXlIE9fRb_fUrjrCTKsQG35dnGWLXqFunTdU3QMTad76iKGUuEN9cw43tusODOQDqTiRXh0O9h6gzRgaafrA_IiLAiga3Yk5L_N7pA36ofuHHhE4hDcNcvJiR7J_nYRPrv9IP9qbtc4/s1600/ragnarok_067.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELXlIE9fRb_fUrjrCTKsQG35dnGWLXqFunTdU3QMTad76iKGUuEN9cw43tusODOQDqTiRXh0O9h6gzRgaafrA_IiLAiga3Yk5L_N7pA36ofuHHhE4hDcNcvJiR7J_nYRPrv9IP9qbtc4/s400/ragnarok_067.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This seemed like a unique enemy, so I thought there would be more to him.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>           <br />The real conclusion of the dungeon came via a hole I found on Level 2, which led to some kind of temple, preceded by a title screen. The game strikes a good balance between random level generation and some fixed level content, as this particular level shows. Its enemies are chiefly "guardians," who root in place unless you walk next to them, at which point they become hostile and generally kill me in two or three blows. My teleportation abilities plus careful navigating led me to avoid most of them.<br />           <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMVdPawg6hDn7QuTF2-zADMpAcUuNHR3wkx2ADQDrLcbf4NJv9F5Vuif48M-_NHRm6qlRg9ncVbGNdJ44MNlubK3wi_6HHTfvWqKqXyfdXyuWyQUGB0_-FD-Cw3XG6Rs-52UviFhaNJA/s1600/ragnarok_070.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMVdPawg6hDn7QuTF2-zADMpAcUuNHR3wkx2ADQDrLcbf4NJv9F5Vuif48M-_NHRm6qlRg9ncVbGNdJ44MNlubK3wi_6HHTfvWqKqXyfdXyuWyQUGB0_-FD-Cw3XG6Rs-52UviFhaNJA/s400/ragnarok_070.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Entering the temple. These special screens help create an atmosphere lacking in a lot of roguelikes.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>             <br />I soon encountered a warrior named Hrethel, standing on a stump with a noose around his neck. He pleaded for freedom, but I had options to kick out the stump and do nothing instead of setting him free. (Note that the developers, finding no good way to operate this encounter with the usual game commands, just provided a special options menu. In both this and the graphics, the authors of <i>Ragnarok</i> show more flexibility than a lot of roguelike authors.) Of course, I chose to free him. The grateful Hrethel joined my character, but before I had a chance to figure out what that really <i>meant</i>, the god Vidur attacked and killed me instantly.<br />            <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLucKpZNH3eUHS2xr0xaKWbJvEvB-PIOm_yMoTNJOYJEHzXiVY3L6Ai-s-CXy2sQT-6Hch8-b5lHQPRAFOfYHDBZxA6HBXhw8k2FKiZPBGJssanAGy9E592nt2kaISvoGWCO0DbN5vvQ/s1600/ragnarok_074.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLucKpZNH3eUHS2xr0xaKWbJvEvB-PIOm_yMoTNJOYJEHzXiVY3L6Ai-s-CXy2sQT-6Hch8-b5lHQPRAFOfYHDBZxA6HBXhw8k2FKiZPBGJssanAGy9E592nt2kaISvoGWCO0DbN5vvQ/s400/ragnarok_074.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I like that the game supports these special options in addition to the usual plethora of roguelike commands.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>            <br />In subsequent trials, I learned that Vidur always gets angry and appears if you rescue any of the three captives on the level. If I chug a Potion of Speed, I can act as often as Vidur and can wound him, but he always pounds away my hit points in two or three turns. My Orb of Imprisonment doesn't work on him. Neither (it seems) do several wands. He has no special attacks (so far), but his physical attacks are devastating. I'm going to roam around the dungeon some more and try to build my resources before giving him another run, as I have several unexplored screens on Level 3.<br /><br />I'm still enjoying <i>Ragnarok</i>, but I have a feeling it's going to be way too long. I also forgot how <i>exhausting</i> roguelikes are. You have to watch every step, pay attention to every message, and stop and think before every combat. Life and death can hinge upon whether you take a beat before entering a room, or whether you take a corner using a diagonal movement key or two lateral movement keys. <i>NetHack</i> taught me to stop, pause, and think between moves, which serves me well here, but it also means that it seems to take forever to get through a level and yet you still have to pay rapt attention.<br /><br />The lack of permadeath helps, of course. I'm quite careful to save every 200 turns and usually glad that I did. It means that I have a reasonable chance of getting through the game without having to look at spoilers, since underestimating an enemy or misdiagnosing a piece of equipment doesn't mean that I'm starting over from scratch. But 200 turns are more to make up than they sound, and it's especially jarring when, thanks to the nature of randomization, the same stuff doesn't happen the second time.<br /><br />Because of reader comments, I never did switch to the <i>Valhalla</i> version of the game. It's a more apt name, since far more of my characters will have ended up there than at Ragnarok.<br /><br /><b><i>Time so far: </i></b><i>10 hours</i></div>

Ragnarok: Temple Of Doom

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