MERLIN #20
NOVEMBER 1986
Farewell Merlin, greetings Pendragon
Time has flown, 18 months in fact, since I started helping adventurers through these pages and I now have to return to the fountain of youth for a spot of rejuvenation.
One of the young sprogs who has been apprenticed to me has shown a lot of promise and from now on he, Pendragon, will be running this column. He has some really superb ideas to help you in your adventuring, and I wish him every success.
The last two years have seen a massive resurgence in interest in the Electron and this has also been true of adventures.
The appearance of the Epic games heralded a new era.
Later adventures, notably from Robico and Magus, have shown that no longer do we stand in the shadow of the BBC Micro.
Many readers have asked me what my favourite adventures are, and for the first time I have listed the 10 I like the most. Remember, it's purely a personal opinion.
Another question that also arises regularly is what is my real name. For those of you who haven't become friends through correspondence with this column, I am Paul Gardener.
I have had a great deal of fun writing this column and have made many friends. Thank you all for your support - which I hope will continue when Pendragon takes over.
MERLIN'S FAVOURITE ADVENTURES
1: Wheel of Fortune (Epic)
2: Rick Hanson (Robico)
3: What's Eeyore's (Magus)
4: Locks of Luck (Magus)
5: Quest for the Holy Grail (Epic)
6: Woodbury End (Shards)
7: Rick Hanson II (Robico)
8: Kingdom of Klein (Epic)
9: Castle Frankenstein (Epic)
10: Myorem (Robico)
HALL OF FAME
Robin of Sherwood (continued) - Martin Hanson
Time to do a bit of bargaining! Go to the templar's camp and DROP CREST. You mustn't return to this location or you will be attacked. Now go to Belleme's castle and CLIMB STATUE. If you now examine the head you will get a very subtle clue. Now EXAMINE EYES.
Go to Gregory's route and WAIT for a couple of turns. Examine his cart and you will see some sacks. Examine them and you will have enough gold to be able to do a swap with the nun. Go to Kirkless Abbey and knock on the door and then drop all your coins.
By now you should have stored five of the touchstones. To store the last one and complete the game go to Rhiannon's circle and drop the silver arrow.
Sphinx Adventure (continued) - M. Alexander
E - S - D - N - E - CROSS BRIDGE - E - U - DIAXOS - U - TAKE GOLD - TAKE PLATINUM - D - D - S - S - CROSS BRIDGE - E - U - S - TAKE SPICES - N - E - S - KILL DRAGON - YES - TAKE TEETH - D - W - TAKE DIAMOND - E - U - N - W - D - N - E - N - OPEN CLAM - TAKE PEARLS - D - CROSS BRIDGE - TAKE RUG - TAKE COINS - TAKE OPALS - TAKE SILVER - TAKE BOTTLE - W - DROP JACK - W - THROW TEETH - W - OPEN CHEST - DROP KEYS - TAKE SCEPTER - TAKE RUBIES - N - E - N - S - E - W - E - S - N - S - E - W - E - S - N - S - E - W - E - S - N - DROP RUG - DROP GOLD - DROP SILVER - DROP BOTTLE - DROP SPICES - DROP OPALS - DROP PLATINUM - DROP COINS - DROP RUBIES - DROP PEARLS - DROP DIAMOND - DROP SAPPHIRES - DROP SCEPTER - RUB RING - E - S - D - N - E - CROSS BRIDGE - E - S - S - CROSS BRIDGE - E - N - E - N - D - CROSS BRIDGE - TAKE EMERALD - TAKE BOOKS - TAKE CARROT - TAKE CUSHION - W - W - D - N - W - TAKE STILTON - W - S - E - S - D - N - U - TAKE BRACELET - E - S - U - N - W - U - E - E - E - S - CROSS BRIDGE - U - S - W - S - W - W - S -S - S - N - E - W - S - D - D - U - W - U - OPEN CASKET - KILLVAMPIRE - NO - STAKE - N - W - N - TAKE AMETHYST - D - S - D - D - FEED MOUSE - U - W - W - D - E - TAKE BOAT - RUB RING - E - S - D - N - E - CROSS BRIDGE - E - S - S - CROSS BRIDGE - E - N - E - N - D - CROSS BRIDGE - U - N - E - DROP MOUSE - N - U - E - N - TAKE MATCHES - RUB RING - E - S - D - W - CROSS LAKE - LIGHT MATCHES - D - DIAXOS - TAKE CROWN - RUB RING - E - S - D - N - E - CROSS BRIDGE - E - S - S - CROSS BRIDGE - E - N - E - N - D - CROSS BRIDGE - W - W - W - N - E - N - S - E - W - E - S - N - S - E - W - E - S - N - S - E - W - E - S - N - DROP EMERALD - DROP CUSHION - DROP BRACELET - DROP BOOKS - DROP CROWN - DROP AMETHYST - DROP CARROT - DROP RING - DROP LAMP - KNEEL - WAVE WAND.
Countdown to Doom (continued) - Craig Romans
Now you must drop the discs in the order in which they appeared in the niches. If you have done it right, GET CONDUCTOR and then go down. Go through the exits in the order of the shapes, that is, in the same order as you dropped the discs. Now go NE and you are outside again.
Catch the blob to go back in time and get the navigator box, spacesuit, spices and lastly the crystals. JUMP in the desert. Wear the goggles to cross the swamp and get to the island. From the landing area go W - NW - NW - NW - G ET GOGGLES - E - N - E. Throw the can to neutralise the alkali in the pit south of the city. You cannot enter the surface sewer.
Wear the spacesuit to enter the
swamp. Go in any direction and then go N - N - GET LIFE SUPPORT
- S - N - SE. If you get the medikit you will be cured of radiation
sickness. Go up in to the machine room. Depending on the number
of beeps the machine emits choose one of the following directions:
12=north, 9=west, 6=south and 3=east. Then U - SW - D - W - N.
YOU CAD doesn't mean a thing as you should not kill the rat.
PRESS BUTTON to
start your ship and finish the game.
PROBLEM CORNER
Castle of Riddles has prompted Ben Wilson, Mark Noble and Dean Duncombe to write in for help. To get down from the pinnacle you must hangglide or drop the cushion before re-entering the castle.
As I remember there are two high points to get down from, and this last answer will enable you to get down from both. To get out of the black maze wave the rod and a coloured smoke will appear. The colours change in different locations, and you must make a map based on the colours.
When you have your map use the colours of the rainbow as a route to the giant's shooting gallery. This route has been published before so, as a last resort, look at the February 1986 issue of Electron User.
To save yourself from drowning you must first take the bucket. If at first you don't succeed ...
Then bail out the boat. I thought the cushion was in the boat, but I must be wrong. Does anyone know where the cushion is?
Dean Duncombe is also having problems with Philosopher's Quest. There isn't a way of recharging the lamp, but it has enough power in it for you to finish the adventure.
One way of conserving its energy is to turn it off when it's not needed.
Chris Lowe writes to say that there seems to be a bug in Kingdom of Klein.
When you have the miniature witch's hat and type PUT ON HAT, the hat appears on the voodoo doll even if you aren't carrying it.
Is this a bug or some subtlety on Epic's part?
Peter Armstrong has written in with help for Luke Robertson's problems with Silver Mountain. To get past the hound, give it a bone. The path between the row of casks and the shady hollow can only be descended.
The only way out of the goblin's graveyard is by retracing your steps and giving the pony another apple. Does anyone else know differently? Peter is stuck himself in this program and would like to know how to get the poison to Ogban.
LORDS OF ADVENTURE
These readers have written in offering their services to frustrated adventurers. Write to them if you need help, but please remember to enclose a stamped addressed envelope.
Les Shipton <address removed> offers help with Arrow of Death Pt 1/2, Castle of Riddles, Classic Adventure, Crown Jewels, Dracula Island, Eye of Zolton, Escape from Pulsar 7, The Ferryman Awaits, Five Stones of Anadon, Greedy Dwarf, Galadriel in Distress, The Incredible Hulk, Kingdom of Klein, Mystery Fun House, Perseus and Andromeda, Pettigrew's Diary, Ring of Time, Revenge of Zor, Sphinx Adventure, Sadim Castle, Super Agent Flint, Time Machine, The Count, Ten Little Indians, Twin Kingdom Valley, Woodbury End, Wheel of Fortune, Java Star and The Wizard of Akyrz.
Chris Lowe <address removed> offers help with Sphinx Adventure, The Wizard of Akyrz, Adventureland, Pirate Adventure, Stranded and the Kingdom of Klein.
Tony Haynes <address removed> offers help with Adventureland, Pirate Adventure, Voodoo Castle, The Count, Strange Odyssey, Mystery Fun House, Pyramid of Doom, Ghost Town, Golden Baton, Arrow of Death Pt 1, Time Machine, Circus, Quest for the Holy Grail, Castle Frankenstein, Kingdom of Klein, Wheel of Fortune, Ring of Time, Super Agent Flint, Galadriel in Distress, Staff of Law, Sphinx Adventure, Stranded and Crown Jewels.
Martyn Amos <address removed> offers help with Sphinx Adventure, Classic Adventure, Terrormolinos, Quest for the Holy Grail, Escape from Pulsar 7, Pettigrew's Diary, Secret Mission, Adventureland, Pirate Adventure and Gremlins.
A. Mayze <address removed> offers help with Circus.
Tariq Kard <address removed> offers help with Citadel, Crown Jewels, The Incredible Hulk, Sphinx Adventure, Gremlins.
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This article appeared in the November 1986 edition of the "Electron User", published by Database Publications.
Scanned in by dllm@usa.net
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