This is more in keeping with the theory that Beldon was actually very low level. Knowing the power of the scepter, he'd boast about fireball (he can't cast them anyway) but avoids any offensive spell that would be absorbed/reflected by the Sceptre, so he cast Armour with the intend of bashing his nephew's skull open. Too bad he didn't now about the pseudodragon familiar.
[AD&D Gamebook] Sceptre of Power (Kingdom of Sorcery, book 1 of 3)
- Thread starter Joshua Randall
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This is more in keeping with the theory that Beldon was actually very low level. Knowing the power of the scepter, he'd boast about fireball (he can't cast them anyway) but avoids any offensive spell that would be absorbed/reflected by the Sceptre, so he cast Armour with the intend of bashing his nephew's skull open. Too bad he didn't now about the pseudodragon familiar.
Joshua Randall
Legend
Yowza!
Take a shot! Of knock-off whiskey, I guess.
After the big deal this book makes about how lethal the sceptre can be to anyone not named Delling… that Chekhov’s Gun never fires.
In this book.
I still have two more books to get through, but I can see I’ll need some new material.
Pretty much! (Although count me as one of the people who thought burning Darklord Haakon from the face of Magnamund with no roll needed at the end of Fire On The Water was juuuuust fine.)
The subsequent books have some interesting ways to deal with the OP magic item; we’ll get to judge (and rant) about how successful it is.
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The illustration was... very satisfying.
Nitpick: it was Darklord Zagarna you burn in Fire On The Water. You fight Haakon in the desert tomb where you recover the Book of Magnakai. I probably read those book too many times.
For those who missed this awesome book ending, you get to use your OP sword's full power for the first time in centuries and it had been building quite a punch...
That's more an orbital bombardment than a sword fight.
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Joshua Randall
Legend
244
The crypt thing is pleased at this entertainment and invites us to return in another couple of centuries to relieve its boredom.
[Why does it have to stay here? There is no longer anything for it to guard.]
We ask if Landor is entombed here alongside other "wizards" of Bhukod. The crypt thing replies that Landor "lives on as an ethereal being" who "remains as undead as I, yet without anything you would recognize as substance or energy."
That's clear as mud. We ask if Landor could return to the material plane. The crypt thing doesn't know: "Such questions range far beyond the talents of a simple cemetery watchman."
Rufyl mentally warns us that the crypt thing grows bored with our presence, so we say our farewell and ask the guardian to teleport us and our new familiar back to the surface world. Which it does, just like that.
But in our hearts we feel sure we haven't seen the last of the "evil, magical forces that permeate College Arcane."
THE END.
Final Death Count: 3.
The crypt thing is pleased at this entertainment and invites us to return in another couple of centuries to relieve its boredom.
[Why does it have to stay here? There is no longer anything for it to guard.]
We ask if Landor is entombed here alongside other "wizards" of Bhukod. The crypt thing replies that Landor "lives on as an ethereal being" who "remains as undead as I, yet without anything you would recognize as substance or energy."
That's clear as mud. We ask if Landor could return to the material plane. The crypt thing doesn't know: "Such questions range far beyond the talents of a simple cemetery watchman."
Rufyl mentally warns us that the crypt thing grows bored with our presence, so we say our farewell and ask the guardian to teleport us and our new familiar back to the surface world. Which it does, just like that.
But in our hearts we feel sure we haven't seen the last of the "evil, magical forces that permeate College Arcane."
THE END.
Final Death Count: 3.
Joshua Randall
Legend
Commentary:
I guess Dalris handles the entire rest of the college by herself, because she shows up in the next book none the worse for wear.
---
Earlier @Jfdlsjfd joked that Dalris is too old to be a Disney princess. Age aside, Dalris is a princess, which is just one of the similarities between Sceptre of Power and a certain highly influential space opera movie. Consider:
There are places where the correspondence isn't exact:
---
The cover art by Keith Parkinson depicts a snarling wizard doing a ritual in front of the crypt thing, who's wearing a purple robe (like royalty, instead of the brown robe described in the book) and holding the sceptre on its lap.
The way the WIZARD is depicted screams "evil!" to me, which would mean it's Beldon, but that doesn't make any sense because no such scene ever happens in the book.
The way the SCENE is depicted, it could show Landor binding the crypt thing. Landor's robe should be the pure white of an archmage, not off-white with a blue cape, but that could be artistic license.
Regardless: it's Keith Parkinson, so of course it's great.
---
Overall I enjoyed this book despite my numerous rants along the way. The plot is full of more holes than Swiss (goat) cheese, but the written words themselves are of high quality, the characters are well drawn, and the number of arbitrary unavoidable deaths is on the low end for CYOAs.
Speaking of deaths: I am reasonably confident it is impossible to die from HP loss in this gamebook, even if you start with the minimum 9. There simply aren't enough passages that force you to lose HP for it ever to be a concern.
Credit for the writing and the cool details goes to author Morris Simon. I dug up a little information on him from a genealogy site where he had posted his own mini-biography. He has a doctorate in anthropology and taught at the university level from the 1970s until he retired in 2006. He has six children and a passel of grand- and great-grandchildren.
You can sense the anthropological nuance in the text. I mocked some of it as it relates to Bhukod / Kandia, but without Dr. Simon's knowledge of anthropology, there wouldn't be anything TO mock.
You can also sense the half-bitter, half-amused self deprecation of the university environment
I guess Dalris handles the entire rest of the college by herself, because she shows up in the next book none the worse for wear.
---
Earlier @Jfdlsjfd joked that Dalris is too old to be a Disney princess. Age aside, Dalris is a princess, which is just one of the similarities between Sceptre of Power and a certain highly influential space opera movie. Consider:
- The protagonist is a naive boy who grew up in a rural area.
- A mighty teacher of mystical power was betrayed by his own student.
- The protagonist longs to wield the same mystical power as his father.
- The protagonist leaves home after his family dies. He seeks out someone to teach him the mystical power.
- Along his journey, the protagonist meets a rogue and a princess.
- The protagonist makes an enemy of a dark figure.
- The protagonist takes up his father's weapon and uses it against his enemy.
There are places where the correspondence isn't exact:
- Han (and Chewie) join Luke on his adventure while Thayne doesn't join Carr (at least, not in THIS book);
- Luke rescues Princess Leia, while in this book instead Dalris arguably rescues Carr;
- Luke doesn't kill Vader, while Carr does kill Beldon;
- Vader is Luke's father, while Beldon is Carr's uncle. (And also… Beldon isn't Vader… but to say more would be a spoiler.)
---
The cover art by Keith Parkinson depicts a snarling wizard doing a ritual in front of the crypt thing, who's wearing a purple robe (like royalty, instead of the brown robe described in the book) and holding the sceptre on its lap.
The way the WIZARD is depicted screams "evil!" to me, which would mean it's Beldon, but that doesn't make any sense because no such scene ever happens in the book.
The way the SCENE is depicted, it could show Landor binding the crypt thing. Landor's robe should be the pure white of an archmage, not off-white with a blue cape, but that could be artistic license.
Regardless: it's Keith Parkinson, so of course it's great.
---
Overall I enjoyed this book despite my numerous rants along the way. The plot is full of more holes than Swiss (goat) cheese, but the written words themselves are of high quality, the characters are well drawn, and the number of arbitrary unavoidable deaths is on the low end for CYOAs.
Speaking of deaths: I am reasonably confident it is impossible to die from HP loss in this gamebook, even if you start with the minimum 9. There simply aren't enough passages that force you to lose HP for it ever to be a concern.
Credit for the writing and the cool details goes to author Morris Simon. I dug up a little information on him from a genealogy site where he had posted his own mini-biography. He has a doctorate in anthropology and taught at the university level from the 1970s until he retired in 2006. He has six children and a passel of grand- and great-grandchildren.
You can sense the anthropological nuance in the text. I mocked some of it as it relates to Bhukod / Kandia, but without Dr. Simon's knowledge of anthropology, there wouldn't be anything TO mock.
You can also sense the half-bitter, half-amused self deprecation of the university environment
Why would the rest of the academy mind her? Sure, she's trespassing. But:
1. It's a university building, not a high security prison. "What are you doing here?" "I came to enroll, I guess I made a wrong turn, can you point me to the administration bulding?" "Yeah, sure, take the stairs down until you arrive to a fifteen feet wide landing, then make a right." "Thank you!" She's certainly able to cast a cantrip to show she has promising, if druidish, magical power, if needed.
2. None of the College Arcane's personel seems to be aware that Beldon is evil, nor can they know that Beldon is dead right now.
3. Last we saw Dalris, she was behind a door that kill everyone who opens it. She probably has enough time to abscond by the window to the main gate, especially with everyone running up the stairs. And given their lack of CON stat, they'll probably make a few stops to recover their strength.
And you did a ogod job making this reading entertaining to follow!
Joshua Randall
Legend
Thanks! It’s been a fun nostalgia trip. And we’re not done yet.
—
Sceptre of Power has three significant branching choices, which gives it ample replay value:
---
Let's begin our alternate history with a return to (81), when Beldon first shows us Landor's door.
81, redux and reduced text
Beldon leads us up a circular staircase to Landor's door.
"ONLY FOR THE ONE WHO WOULD FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF LANDOR," Beldon translates.
The door is trapped with powerful magic and all who have attempted to open it have died. Beldon thinks the inscription is meant for us alone as Landor's sole heir.
We are torn between…
(160) open the door now, or
(143) wait until we know enough magic to protect ourselves.
---
160
Carr is a hot-headed teeanger with WIS 3. Being practically dared to open the door is irresistible.
Beldon steps back as we reach for the door. [Hahahahaha! Beldon is no idiot.]
There's a flash of energy and we feel like we're melting into the door, as though our body and the wooden fibers have blended together. [This is a subtly different description from what happens when Carr opens the door with Dalris, which is interesting.]
We find ourselves inside the dark chamber where "the only light is the pale gray glow from the dawn sun outside the filthy windows." [Argh! The windows!]
Beldon pounds on the door and tells us to let him in so he can protect us from our father's powers.
(52) to let Beldon in;
~~(241)~~ (105) to explore the quarters alone.
[The printed book has an error here. Fortunately we have Demian's Gamebook Web Page (Item - Sceptre of Power - Demian's Gamebook Web Page) with errata. In 1986, I had to thumb through the entire book to find the section that made sense.]
—
Sceptre of Power has three significant branching choices, which gives it ample replay value:
- Do you seek out Beldon at the College Arcane or do you go with Thayne to learn magic?
- When Beldon shows you Landor's quarters, do you immediately try the door, or do you wait?
- Assuming you train at the College Arcane, which set of spells do you choose to learn?
---
Let's begin our alternate history with a return to (81), when Beldon first shows us Landor's door.
81, redux and reduced text
Beldon leads us up a circular staircase to Landor's door.
"ONLY FOR THE ONE WHO WOULD FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF LANDOR," Beldon translates.
The door is trapped with powerful magic and all who have attempted to open it have died. Beldon thinks the inscription is meant for us alone as Landor's sole heir.
We are torn between…
(160) open the door now, or
(143) wait until we know enough magic to protect ourselves.
---
160
Carr is a hot-headed teeanger with WIS 3. Being practically dared to open the door is irresistible.
Beldon steps back as we reach for the door. [Hahahahaha! Beldon is no idiot.]
There's a flash of energy and we feel like we're melting into the door, as though our body and the wooden fibers have blended together. [This is a subtly different description from what happens when Carr opens the door with Dalris, which is interesting.]
We find ourselves inside the dark chamber where "the only light is the pale gray glow from the dawn sun outside the filthy windows." [Argh! The windows!]
Beldon pounds on the door and tells us to let him in so he can protect us from our father's powers.
(52) to let Beldon in;
~~(241)~~ (105) to explore the quarters alone.
[The printed book has an error here. Fortunately we have Demian's Gamebook Web Page (Item - Sceptre of Power - Demian's Gamebook Web Page) with errata. In 1986, I had to thumb through the entire book to find the section that made sense.]
Joshua Randall
Legend
If we let Beldon in, various paths lead to unavoidable death via Landor's trapped scrolls. In my memory, even as a 13-year-old, I wasn't naïve enough to open the door for Beldon. So we go to…
105
We ignore Beldon as he continues to pound on "the wizard locked door". We search the room and notice…
"Landor's desk is set against a curved wall below a set of large windows that would be flooding the room with daylight if they weren't so filthy."
[Argh! The windows are explicitly not arrow slits nor embrasures which might plausibly block entrance to the room from the outside. They are "large windows" that, if not so dirty, would "flood" the room with light. Anyone with a Fly spell and a rock could have broken in a long time ago.]
Anyway, we search the room and find the mysterious crystal cube with the three scrolls inside. This time we don't drop one to the floor.
Beldon continues pounding and tells us we're in grave danger.
(229) to accept his help;
(32) to open the parchments.
105
We ignore Beldon as he continues to pound on "the wizard locked door". We search the room and notice…
"Landor's desk is set against a curved wall below a set of large windows that would be flooding the room with daylight if they weren't so filthy."
[Argh! The windows are explicitly not arrow slits nor embrasures which might plausibly block entrance to the room from the outside. They are "large windows" that, if not so dirty, would "flood" the room with light. Anyone with a Fly spell and a rock could have broken in a long time ago.]
Anyway, we search the room and find the mysterious crystal cube with the three scrolls inside. This time we don't drop one to the floor.
Beldon continues pounding and tells us we're in grave danger.
(229) to accept his help;
(32) to open the parchments.
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Or a Ladder. I am still not convinced that Beldon is more than a 1st-level magic-user. We've seen 19 years-old chicks claiming to be bards, or that writing with a crayon on Landor's spellbooks was "training with Landor". Thayne also sounded he was embellishing thing. This world might be full of delusional people, and Beldon could very well be a 1st-level "archmage". Even then he could have reached the door.
What could possibly go wrong while reading magical scrolls with exactly NO magical training?
Joshua Randall
Legend
When we fall to our deaths it is from a height of 50 feet, and we weren't at the top yet, so the tower is pretty damn tall. You'd need a long ladder. I think such marvels of engineering are beyond the capabilities of the mental defectives who populate this book.
In a path we didn't take -- if we don't follow the fence -- Beldon has to rescue us from some meenlocks (another Fiend Folio monster! I wonder if Morris Simon was ordered to cross-promote that book?), which he does by casting Magic Missile (1st level) and web (2nd level), with a Fly spell (3rd level) thrown in for gratuitous movement. Then there's the Death Spell (6th level) at the end of the book. A magic-user's level in AD&D can be deduced as [highest spell level he can cast X 2] - 1, so as soon as Beldon shows off Web we know he must be at least 3rd level; Fly makes him at least 5th level; and Death Spell makes him at least 11th level.
Dammit! You've guessed the plot twist. At the end of book three, we're going to find out the entire story was something a happily married normal couple named Marla and Landor told their son Carr to amuse him.
In this book when Carr is a sub-1st-level novice? Reading scrolls is perfectly safe.
In later books when Carr is an experienced magic-user? Well....
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