[AD&D Gamebook] The Sorcerer's Crown (Kingdom of Sorcery, book 2 of 3)

[Joshua Randall]

No. We got exactly no new information.

I was being semi sarcastic about what you mentioned later, which is that at least we know what won’t work: the all-powerful Sceptre of Bhukod, because Pazuzu brings the psionics cheat code.

We, the AD&D players, also learn enough about Arno to make some deductions.

On the path we chose in which we wisely use a defensive spell, we are never explicitly told what spell Arno casts against us.

On the failure path, in which we chose an offensive spell, we would learn the hard way that Arno’s attack spell is Forget, a 2nd level magic-user spell that in the AD&D rules wipes out 1 minute of memory, but in this gamebook is basically 2nd level Feeblemind, which is totally ridiculous for a 2nd level spell, and yet another example of — ehem. The point being: it’s 2nd level.

Then we escape and bar the door with Wizard Lock, which Arno is unable to bypass. As previously noted, a magic-user of 4+ levels higher than the caster of Wizard Lock can automagically bypass it, so Arno must be at maximum 3 levels higher than Carr. And if we stick with our previous deduction that Carr is 6th level, that would make Arno 9th level at maximum.

There is still a huge qualitative difference in spell power between Carr’s 3rd (spell) level magic-user arsenal and Arno’s 5th (spell) level magic-user arsenal. But what we-the-players have learned is that Arno does not completely outclass us: he was not the one who cast Permanency everywhere, and he is not going to toss off Limited Wishes nor the like.

Unfortunately that still leaves Pazuzu, and it does totally outclass Carr’s 3rd (spell) level magic-user arsenal. As well as negates the sceptre.

The only new information we got is that he can spank us whenever he wants

Ideally in front of a group of paladins. Yowza!

In case Oram was the only one not to have heard of Pazuzu, Arno has the honesty to call him Lord of the Lower Aerial Kingdom

The question remains: how much do the characters know about demonic titles, vs. the players / readers? Because given how dumb everyone is in the gamebook, I’m sure Arno (or Pazuzu) could pass off the “Lower Aerial Kingdoms” as, y’know, the bottom part of the heavy cloud layer where goodly astral messengers humbly dwell, the Upper Aerial Kingdoms being reserved only for such majestic beings as Blessed Dyan Himself.

Sounds like there is a One True Path in the book.

Sounds like it.

Landor, who spoke to the undead sorcerer-kings, got legally adopted […]

Or Landor claimed to be the heir of the sorcerer-kings of Old Bukhod in a metaphorical manner, […]

The impossibility of knowing what is omniscient authorial fact, what is metaphor, and what is the characters’ speculation is the fuel for many of my rants.

Both of those statements about Landor are possibly true. Or simultaneously true. Or both true and untrue at the same time as we have seen with previous mutually exclusive sets of facts. And we will never be able to determine anything definitively. Hence my repeated SAN loss from closely reading these books!

 

[Joshua Randall]

192

[I will quote this section in full because of how important it is to our knowledge, or anti-knowledge, of Pazuzu.]

"I have no idea what that thing was, nor how Arno managed to summon it from its statue," you tell Garn. "you're right, though, about the level of magic which would be required if it were a demon. I'm sure that neither Arno nor I have enough knowledge to control a real demon, or even to summon one from its natural plane."

"Perhaps Arno didn't actually summon it, and isn't controlling it either," Dalris suggests.

"What do you mean?" asks the paladin.

"I mean simply that the demon -- if that's what this 'Pazuzu' is -- may have summoned himself for some reason, and may be controlling Arno rather than the opposite."

Dalris's idea makes excellent sense, and you chastise yourself silently for not thinking of it first. "That's a brilliant idea," you congratulate the bard. "But it'd make Arno just the stooge of an evil entity so powerful that nothing could stop it. I need to talk to some of my father's closest friends and fellow wizards at College Arcane. They might know of a way to stop Pazuzu, whoever or whatever it is."

"Then you should leave at once for Seagate Island," urges Garn. "The sooner we know how to fight this menace, the better." Turn to 98.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

What? Does Carr really thinks that Beldon kept the closest friends of Landor within the College after killing him, despite them never making contact with them? Was the 15-years long quest to find him as easy as just sending a message to the former associate of Landor and ask about his family? Wasn't Beldon wise enough to purge any opposition among Landor's friend? Why wasn't he sheltered by his numerous father's friends at the College after the mysterious disappearance of his Uncle Beldon?

No, there is NO possibility a Landor's friend is still at the College... Gaaaaah....


Also, there is no way we could ever overpower six gnolls.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Commentary:

Regarding Pazuzu and Arno, the gamebook tries to have its cake and eat it too.

1. Pazuzu either is or is not a demon.
2. Pazuzu either was or was not summoned.
3. Pazuzu either is or is not using Arno as a stooge.

Let's take these point by point.

---

1. Pazuzu either is or is not a demon.

The first time we hear Pazuzu's name (on OUR Carr Delling's path, anyway) is from Garn when he tells his story in the tavern. Garn's exact words are as follows:

This 'Arno' has become Oram's constant companion and advisor. It was he who introduced the cult of Pazuzu among the Knights of Blessed Dyan -- the cult which now threatens to destroy all that is good in Tikandia. Even now, my former colleagues are gathering in the cathedral to honor this demon in another unholy ritual.

Later in that same conversation, Garn says:

My erstwhile comrades have switched their allegiances from Blessed Dyan to the demon Pazuzu and his evil stooge, Arno.

(We’ll come back to the word 'stooge' later.)

From what Garn says, Pazuzu is a demon: in the first quote, Pazuzu == 'this demon' and in the second quote, it is 'the demon Pazuzu'.

It is possible that Garn didn't know what Pazuzu was until he witnessed the ritual. At that point he may have recognized its physical form or Detected Evil and made a deduction. It is also possible that Garn is mistaken and only thinks Pazuzu is a demon.

But if we go down the path that what allied characters tell us is factually wrong, then all certainty evaporates and nothing means anything. Which admittedly would be business as usual for this gamebook series with its Schrödinger's Scepter, quantum Landor, and Arno in two places at once.

---

Our next evidence that Pazuzu is a demon comes from the ritual itself. The triple chant of its name is exactly as specified in the AD&D Monster Manual II entry for the demon Pazuzu.

However…

The gamebook's author is extremely cagey when describing Pazuzu during the cathedral scenes. Across several sections it is described as follows.

• (134) when in statue form: 'an incredible winged creature' … 'an avian monster' … 'the figure's crested head, cruel beak, and taloned feet' …
• (210) as the statue comes to life: 'a horrible apparition emerges from the statue' … 'the winged thing hops from the carved pedestal' … 'the creature' [commands the paladins to listen]... 'the strange creature's announcement' …
• (199) when we get ready confront Arno and Pazuzu: 'The sight of the monstrous wooden idol coming to life' … 'that creature' … '[Arno's] ugly friend' … 'that creature' … 'such a terrible enemy' …
• (34) when we cast our spell: '[Arno's] terrible companion' … 'the hideous creature' … 'the monster called Pazuzu' … 'Fiend!' [shouted by Garn]
• (29) when Garn slaps Dalris: ‘the monster’s mental control’ …
• (112) if we take the Sceptre of Bhukod to face Pazuzu: 'that creature' … 'the winged creature' … 'the monster's bright yellow eyes' … 'the being called "Pazuzu"' …
• (153) when we survive Pazuzu's psionic attack: 'the crested monster's mental power' … 'the monster' …

Even on paths we didn’t take, the word ‘demon’ still isn’t used by the author.

If we foolishly cast Hold Portal instead of Wizard Lock, then at (40), ‘The creature called Pazuzu’ smashes through our weaker spell. ‘The creature’ then taunts us, referring to itself in third person: “Did you think such childish magic would stop Pazuzu, Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms, whose allies include the mightiest dukes and daemons of Hell?”

(‘Daemons’ are the 1e term for yuguloths, the not-devils-not-demons created to fill the Neutral Evil niche.)

The authorial voice refers to Pazuzu as ‘creature’ or ‘monster’ or etc. -- but NEVER as 'demon'. Only the CHARACTERS use the word 'demon', and then only in a few places: once when Garn tells his story about Arno and Pazuzu, and a second time when Carr and Dalris speculate that if Pazuzu is a demon, it would be too powerful for Arno to control.

Going back to passage (40) above: ‘Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms’ is the title for Pazuzu the Demon in the Monster Manual II, and the line about its allies is taken directly from that rulebook. But still the authorial voice will not use the word 'demon', even when quoting directly from an entry in the MM2 that is under the heading DEMON.

---

In this gamebook, is Pazuzu a demon or not? I say ‘yes’.

Pazuzu has the title (Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms), the rituals (name chanted three times; loves to corrupt paladins), and the allies (daemons and dukes of Hell) that match its writeup in the relevant AD&D gamebook.

I am not sure why Morris Simon is so careful never to use the word 'demon'. He is too good a writer for this to be an accident. I may complain about his wishy-washy language and about some of his moon-logic plots, but at the individual word level, him write goodly. Dr. Simon's use of terms like 'creature' or 'monster' -- instead of 'demon' -- is certainly intentional. But I don't know to what purpose.

---

2. Pazuzu either was or was not summoned.

To get all Clintonian, it depends on your definition of the word 'summoned'.

In the gamebook at (134), when Arno shifts his ritual from whatever he was doing before to the PAZUZU! PAZUZU! PAZUZU! chant, we get this line: "Arno's chant is bringing the statue to life!" Bringing a statue to life is not "summoning" in the AD&D sense.

In the next section (210), "You and Dalris stare wide-eyed through the narrow slit as a horrible apparition emerges from the statue at Arno's command." Again: an apparition that emerges from a statue is not being "summoned" in the AD&D sense; that sounds more like one of the various ghostly entities that infest monster manuals.

When we confront Arno and Pazuzu at (199), "The sight of the monstrous wooden idol coming to life on the altar was terrifying…." Now we're neither summoning nor bringing forth a creature from a statue; now we're seeing the statue itself come to life, like an Animate Object spell.

And if we have the Sceptre of Bhukod during that confrontation, then at (112), "You glance from the dark wizard to the creature he summoned from the heart of a wooden idol." Back to bringing Pazuzu out of the wooden idol (or statue) itself.

So that's four sections in which the word 'summoned' doesn't seem to apply in its typical AD&D game sense.

But let's go back to the beginning of the story, when Thayne tells us about how bad things have become in section (68): "Judging by the great evil that has befallen us in recent months, I think [Haslum] may have used a Gate spell to summon a demon." Later in that same conversation, Thayne says that "The evil that Arno has summoned to Seagate is more powerful than Archcleric Oram's gods."

That's two instances of the word 'summon' in the AD&D appropriate manner.

(I will pause here to note that the Law of Conservation of ~~Demons~~ Plot Elements makes it improbable that both Haslum and Arno separately 'summoned' separate demons. If Haslum’s scroll of Gate and Arno’s statue both summon Pazuzu, that raises a whole host of other problems, so I'm going to pretend that these are vicious lies spread about Haslum by Arno before Arno killed Haslum -- blaming the dead guy for your own misdeeds is a classic villain behavior. Or more likely, it's a sign that the story was rewritten at some point to shift the 'summoning' from something that Haslum did by mistake or in desperation to something that Arno did on purpose.)

Much later we reach section (192) -- the section that spawned this extremely lengthy discourse -- in which Carr himself says "I have no idea what that thing was, nor how Arno managed to summon it from its statue." I'm not sure whether to count this use of 'summon' as pro- or anti- AD&D proper summon terminology given the clause ‘from its statue’. Let's call it half pro- and half anti-.

Dalris then suggests that Pazuzu "may have summoned himself". Which is sort of what happens when you do the triple name chant referred to in the AD&D MM2: that chant functions as "the summons" that causes Pazuzu to appear. Although here the word ‘summons’ is being used in the legal meaning, a call to appear at a place.

---

In this game, was Pazuzu summoned or not? I say 'no'. Not in the AD&D rules sense.

Haslum's use of the Gate scroll makes no sense whatsoever: it's out of character for what we know of Haslum and it is redundant with Arno as demon ‘summon’-er. I agree with Dalris that Pazuzu 'summoned' itself: it came in response to the PAZUZU! PAZUZU! PAZUZU! chant. That's what it does in the AD&D MM2 which Morris Simon follows extremely closely in regards to Pazuzu the Demon.

All the stuff about the statue coming the life, the 'apparition', and so forth -- I chalk up to poetic license.

---

And finally,

3. Pazuzu either is or is not using Arno as a stooge.

The first use of the word 'stooge' is at (154) when Garn tells his story. At that point it is presented as a matter of fact: "My erstwhile comrades have switched their allegiances from Blessed Dyan to the demon Pazuzu and his evil stooge, Arno."

The next use of the word 'stooge' is when Dalris speculates that Pazuzu 'summoned' itself and is controlling Arno rather than vice versa. Carr then says that would "make Arno just the stooge of an evil entity so powerful that nothing could stop it."

The definitive statement comes from Pazuzu itself. In section (40) where Carr foolishly casts Hold Portal instead of Wizard Lock, Pazuzu says: "Do you believe that you can best my loyal servant, Arno, who wears the [REDACTED] crown?"

If you are the loyal servant of a demon lord, you are indeed that demon's stooge. So congratulations, Arno!

---

To sum up, in my opinion:

1. Pazuzu either is or is not a demon. → It is.
2. Pazuzu either was or was not summoned. → No. It appeared of its own volition.
3. Pazuzu either is or is not using Arno as a stooge. → Arno is in fact a stooge.

---

Now that we have that sorted out (heh), where were we?

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

I was being semi sarcastic about what you mentioned later,

Oops, missed it. Makes sense!

The question remains: how much do the characters know about demonic titles, vs. the players / readers? Because given how dumb everyone is in the gamebook, I’m sure Arno (or Pazuzu) could pass off the “Lower Aerial Kingdoms” as, y’know, the bottom part of the heavy cloud layer where goodly astral messengers humbly dwell, the Upper Aerial Kingdoms being reserved only for such majestic beings as Blessed Dyan Himself.

It's indeed possible. However, we know that three out of three adventurers with character class levels (Garrrrn, Carr, Dalrrrris) immediately recognize the name as a demon. The Paladin didn't think it was necessary to explain. So, we can guess that your average adventurer nows that "Pazuzu is a demon lord".

But, it is difficult to imagine the entire extent of their knowledge fits in "Pazuzu is a demon lord". If you know about someone by name, at least there is a good chance you know a few tidbits about him, like many knowing that Baal-zebub is the Lord of Flies, or that hum Bastet is que goddess of cats. We don't just know she's "some kind of Egyptian Goddess". I'd say it's quite uncommon to have knowledge about somone being limited to... its name.

Also, Archcleric Osram might not be the brightest lightulb around, but his job is certainly involving studying this. It would be akin to quote in front of the pope the name of Moscatel, archangel overseeing of the Lord's winery. He might ask questions or even be suspicious. Especially if getting a confirmation is just a casting of Augury away... "Dear Blessed Dyan, can you confirm it's wise to follow Pazuzu? Please answer by weal or woe..."

 

[Joshua Randall]

there is NO possibility a Landor's friend is still at the College

Consider also what Carr said:

“[If Pazuzu ‘summoned itself’ that would] make Arno just the stooge of an evil entity so powerful that nothing could stop it. I need to talk to some of my father's closest friends and fellow wizards at College Arcane. They might know of a way to stop Pazuzu, whoever or whatever it is."

We go from “nothing can stop Pazuzu” to “my dad’s old buddies might know a way to stop it”, within three sentences.

This is one case where the first sentence needs more wishy-washy language. If Carr had said, “an evil entity so powerful that almost nothing could stop it” — then it would be reasonable a few sentences later to speculate that someone might know how to stop it.

Although as you wrote, it’s beyond belief that Landor’s friends would still be at College Arcane after all that has happened.

 

[Joshua Randall]

"You should leave at once for Seagate Island," urges Garn. "The sooner we know how to fight this menace, the better." Turn to 98.

---

98

Garn promises that he will valiantly lead a resistance movement on the mainland.

“There aren’t many of us Holy Guardsmen who challenged the archcleric’s edict, but the ones of us who did are dedicated to the overthrow of this foreign menace. I know how to contact most of them, and we shall organize to fight Arno and his legion of corrupt paladins.”

Dalris jumps in to offer Wealwood as a base of operations and the Kandians as staunch allies.

Garn says he will go there at once, but before he does [so, not really ‘at once’], he’ll arrange with a friend in the marines to sail us across Pirates’ Alley to Seagate Island “if you wish”.

We must then turn to (79) if Garn hid the Sceptre of Bhukod for us earlier [which he did on our main path] or turn to (106) if not.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Commentary:

“I know how to contact most of them”…

Of course Garrrrrn only knows how to contact ‘most’ of the pure paladins. It would be too much for this book to allow any definitive statements about anything.

Dalris jumps in to offer Wealwood as a base of operations and the Kandians as staunch allies.
Garn says he will go there at once….

Dalris doesn’t give Garn any token nor letter nor secret handshake to prove that he’s on Team Good Guys. Apparently anyone can show up in Wealwood, claim to know Dalris, and join the resistance (that the people of Wealwood don’t even know exists yet).

WIS 3 at work.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Dalris doesn’t give Garn any token nor letter nor secret handshake to prove that he’s on Team Good Guys. Apparently anyone can show up in Wealwood, claim to know Dalris, and join the resistance (that the people of Wealwood don’t even know exists yet).

WIS 3 at work.

In a normal WIS world...

Action: A group of heavily armed Paladin of Holy Dyan, an order known to engage in forced conversion under duress of locals, march toward Wealwood, where the highest-ranking druid of the opposite faith resides, soon after they had a change of strategy and enlisted the help of the evil creatures like gnolls that they previously guarded, and just after said highest-ranking druid daughter embarked on a mission to strike the Paladins' highest public figure.

Reaction: the group of Paladin is ambushed and eliminated, forced to retreat into a nearby swamp (the one next to the barren wasteland) where they drown under the weight of their heavy armor, before they have the opportunity to explain their intent.

 

[Joshua Randall]

79

We “suddenly” remember that Garn warned us about the strength of our sceptre. “If” he’s correct, then the corrupt “senior paladins” have “somehow” retained their clerical magic and “may” detect the sceptre “if” we encounter more of them.

(156) We can ask Garn to take the sceptre to Perth at Wealwood, where it will be safe and won’t endanger our mission.

(55) Or we can take the sceptre with us to Seagate Island, “risking discovery”, so we’ll have it to use against any “evil magic” we discover.

---

156

We ask Garn to take the hollyphant-hide wrapped parcel to Archdruid Perth. We tell him that we didn’t know him well enough before to be honest, but now that we’ve spent a couple hours with him, we’ll trust him with the knowledge that inside the skin-sheathe of the intelligent lawful good creature we presumably brutally murdered is the bulbous-ended Sceptre of Bhukod. Said sceptre “may” be Tikandia’s only hope to defeat Arno and Pazuzu, and we don’t want to risk it falling into enemy hands if one of the corrupted paladins senses its dweomer.

Garn reaches out and clasps our arm tightly. He thanks us for entrusting him with “such a powerful treasure” and says he will defend it to the death.

Dalris is too impatient for this male bonding ritual. She paces the floor and frets that we’ll be hard pressed to reach the island before daylight.

We note on our Stats Card that we are not carrying the Sceptre of Bhukod and then turn to (106).