Lately I've been feeling like playing an RPG series that's totally old-school all the way, Might and Magic.
Not -heroes- of Might and Magic, but just Might and Magic. Most recently, I played through the original title: "Secret of the Inner Sanctum".
And now I feel like playing the direct sequel. Might and Magic 2: Gates to Another World.
Published 1988 by New World Computing. Developed by an actual crew this time and not just by John Van Caneghem.
Chapter 1: Character Creation
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Many millenia ago, the Ancients took a keen interest in the formation of life and of new worlds. From across the galaxies--they reached and nurtured. And where they could not nurture, they -grew- from seed. For the Ancients wielded the power of Creation.
Where there were no worlds, they constructed them. And researched. And constructed. And researched.
The building blocks of these artificial worlds are the VARNs. Vehicular Astropod Research Nacelles. Large, flat ships--some of immense sizes spanning thousands of miles. Others of more measured length large enough to house several thousand lives. All of them wondrous in their own right. From each of these, the Ancients researched, and built--ever wary of the looming threat of their nemeses, the dreaded Kreegan.
When the Ancients finished building a new world out of its constituent VARNs, they often took care to leave behind a Guardian to ensure the future growth and prosperity of these unsuspecting worlds. An emissary of sorts. To guide and safeguard the denizens of these worlds as they evolved and developed. To serve as great sages, keeping peacefully out of view until such time as they are needed.
The C.O.R.A.K. line was the old faithful and proven workhorse of such endeavors. Cybernetic Operators for Research and Knowledge. Sturdy, resilient, compassionate, and ever-faithful to the whims of the Ancients. Like guardian angels, many of them were seeded with the worlds and grew with them.
One fateful day, the Ancients finished the completion of a new world. A cluster of aquatic and technical VARNs were successfully seeded on a barren planet--turning what was once a dead world into the watery giant, Terra. All it awaited were the topographical VARNs to come and seed it. To turn it into a lush and thriving world filled with new lives.
On this new planet--a new Guardian prototype was debuted. Dubbed; The Special Heuristically-Enhanced Lifeform Tasked for Environmental Management, or SHELTEM.
Sheltem was a next-generation android prototype--designed with advanced heuristics to operate for extended periods with no input from the Ancients themselves. Capable of making it's own judgements and decisions. As the Ancients expanded further and further into the vastness of space, they needed a servant capable of recognizing and detecting the hated Kreegan and responding accordingly should they be found.
Thus, charged with the task of guarding Terra from all outside influence, Sheltem was deployed.
Immediately, Sheltem dubbed the Ancients an outside influence and went on a rampage, using all of Terra's resources to chase the Ancients' research vessels from that quadrant of space.
In response, a group of Coraks were recalled from nearby worlds and tasked with subduing and returning Sheltem to the ancients for study to find out where they had gone wrong.
In the destruction that followed, a single Corak from a nearby CRON managed to be the sole survivor, successful in bringing Sheltem into custody aboard his shuttle and had begun his long trek back to return Sheltem to the Ancients.
However, Sheltem could not stay subdued for long. Overpowering his bounds, Sheltem steered the shuttle off-course and caused he and his attendant Corak to crashland onto a lone VARN.
Although they both survived the crash, Sheltem recovered from the wreckage first, fleeing immediately toward civilization, where he would waste no time in deposing the king and taking his place as an imposter. From this position of authority, he had all the seclusion and power he needed to begin the slow process of repairing himself and plotting his schemes against the Ancients.
Corak, meanwhile--recovered from the wreckage and went on a long crusade throughout Varn as a wise and great sage and explorer--who traveled far and wide through Varn before--faced with the conclusion that his prisoner was either destroyed or had fled, he returned to CRON to resume his duties as Guardian and see that the Seeding went forth on schedule.
Little did he know that Sheltem was in fact still on Varn. And it wasn't until six adventurers unraveled the mystery and deposed him that Sheltem fled yet again, through the same world-gates Corak had left pre-set for CRON. It was there that Sheltem fled--and there that four of those adventurers followed.
Or, would have followed. For an unforeseen complication happened. Unable to handle four individuals at once, the power necessary for the worldgate surged slightly, sending two of them off into reaches unknown. In the end, it was only the remaining two who travelled all the way through--materializing on CRON in Middlegate. The nexus town that lied in the topographical center.
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I'm not quite as strong perhaps as some of the other halforcs are, but I pride myself on my accuracy. When I hit you, it's always precisely where I want it to hurt the most.
I had a brother who adventured with me on Varn named Faulkner. He was the only person in this world I implicitly trusted and I feel somewhat lost without him. From the day we were thrown out of our mother's house we always had each other's backs--me with my sword and armor and he with his knack for smooth-talking favors out of the Almighties.
I don't know where he is, but I'm confident I will see him again. In our journey through Varn--getting trapped in Soul Mazes and finding Inner Sanctums, I learned much more about the nature of our universe than I thought possible. Wherever Faulkner is, I know he arrived in one piece. Perhaps on another world, just like this one.
There was a time when I considered myself quite evil. I firmly believed that the only law of the world was the survival of the fittest. That if somebody defeated me, it made them better than I. And that in turn, if I was strong enough to take what I wanted from another that it was proof that I was better.
Adventuring for a long time with Sam has changed my outlook about this slightly. I saw him go out of his way a lot to help innocent people and other party members just out of some kind of strange higher calling. It made me wonder. And in a way, perhaps it made me wish a little that someone like Sam had been there early on when Faulkner and I were just starting to make our way alone in that world.
It didn't truly hit home until one day, he went out of his way to save -me-. I'd fallen afoul of a nasty trap and been blasted into nothing. It was Sam who gathered up every last bit of my ashes and taken all the gold he could forcibly extort from the rest of our group and paid the temple to revive me. Since then--I've been wondering if I had it all wrong. That maybe there is a little wiggle-room in the world for peace and good intentions.
He's missing someone, too. His consort, Alicia--journeyed with us through the Gates. And, like Faulkner, she was torn from us and disappeared from sight. I wonder if wherever those two wound up--if they went together.
Sam's got a little more in the people-skills department than I do and, when we learned more about the situation here on Cron, he wasted no time in trolling through the tavern in Middlegate, seeking more talent to add to our ranks. The folks we found aren't quite as seasoned as Sam and I, but it's nothing a little on-the-job training won't cure.
When I think "Dwarf" I don't normally associate "Archer" right away. But Deanna knew her way around a crossbow like a natural and wanted to upgrade to a longbow as soon as possible. Like most dwarves--her aspirations were fairly material. She had a special interest in gems and wanted to corner the market on them--and she felt like coming with us was a safer alternative than striking out on her own in the volcanic mines.
Ninji were a new concept to me, as there are none of these such warriors on VARN-4. Although Sofia did not have much practical experience, we could tell right away that she was extremely disciplined--fast, strong, precise, and enduring. In combat prowess, they are much more skilled than a simple Robber. However, as Ninja must maintain practice among many disciplines, they aren't quite as proficient at handling locks and traps. No matter. With a little practice, she would rival our old adventuring buddy Finn on Varn I'm sure.
Ruce was the only cleric available for hire in Middlegate. He was a little old for a novice, but assured us he was not afraid of danger. He did not seem to have a particular stake to gain in our adventure other than personal growth.
Sam and I believe from our adventures on Varn that a wizard who drinks too deeply into sorcerous power is inevitably driven mad. And Lucreto was only a novice and looked to be halfway there. Thin, wiry, shifty in ways that made even Sofia look sluggish. He made no effort to hide that was he desired most out of this adventure was the power. The chance to learn new spells and become a sorceror to rival Corak himself.
Sam urged me not to worry about taking Lucreto into our group. He sensed that the elf posed no danger to anyone. That his bark was worse than his bite. Besides--he said, having an elf in your party was good luck.
I'm sure memory of his lost Alicia was in mind when he said it.
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