Wizardry IV, a tale of an amulet that has captivated countless mages and thieves, drawing them into its mysterious legends. Despite the numerous attempts to claim its power, all have met with failure. As the era’s most formidable wizard, Werdna, I too was fascinated by the tales of the amulet’s wonders. However, wisdom dictated caution, preventing me from rashly venturing into the Temple without understanding the necessary safeguards—a mystery that remained unsolved as no one had deciphered the nature of these protections or why every attempt to penetrate the eldritch vale ended in catastrophe.
The narrative took an intriguing turn when I encountered a merchant of questionable repute, offering a scroll among less valuable items, claiming it to be over a millennium old. Despite his exorbitant initial price of 500 g.p., my negotiation skills secured it for a mere 80 g.p. To my surprise, upon opening, I discovered the scroll had been tampered with, hinting at a deceitful act by the merchant. Nevertheless, my focus shifted to the scroll’s contents, which, after extensive magical and scholarly efforts, revealed it to be the account of an apprentice to a wizard of ancient times, deeply affected by his experiences. His ramblings about the “glowing eye of THE GOD,” presumed to reference the amulet, and the loss of the Mythril Gauntlets, piqued my interest, suggesting they were key to safely handling the amulet.
Fuelled by the potential to harness the amulet’s power, I embarked on a quest to locate the Mythril Gauntlets, a journey that yielded only one of the pair. Despite this partial success, I ventured into the misty vale, only to discover the amulet had been taken by others. Utilizing my scrying mirror, I glimpsed the culprits, noting one possessed a gauntlet similar to mine. The revelation that the merchant had distributed copies of the scroll led me to the Mad Overlord, Trebor, who also sought the amulet’s power. A strategic assault on Trebor’s castle allowed me to claim the amulet, experiencing its immense power firsthand.
At last, the amulet was mine!!! The power of a universe was at my disposal. Ah, so drunk was I with visions of great and terrible deeds. What to do first? My tower seemed unfitting for a would-be god. Something more splendid, more spacious. Perhaps a split level…no, many levels…ten levels, that’s it! Where to put this magnificent edifice? Well, it should be somewhere away from prying eyes and possible thieves, yet not too far from a food source for my hungry pets. Aha, I’ll put it under Trebor’s nose, literally. I’ll build it under his poor excuse for a Castle!
The very next day I started the major invocation. Everything went smoothly until I keyed into the amulet. I only opened a tiny conduit to it to provide more power for my conjuring. What I got was a blast of raw energy that almost vaporized me on the spot. It was a good thing that I had been working behind a shield. The ground beneath the Castle was melted, churned, and twisted out like pulled taffy.
When everything cooled, I indeed had my ten-level underground fortress maze, although it was much wilder than I had envisioned. That was good, for the backlash of that awesome force had completely obliterated my tower! More than somewhat shaken, I Malored down to my new abode. I had barely tapped whatever lay within the amulet, yet it had almost destroyed me. I vowed never to invoke it again until I could discover how to channel its power.
Five years passed without the amulet yielding up any of its secrets. Oh, I did discover a few small details, like why a gauntlet was necessary. One evening I was preoccupied with my studies, and I asked one of my many minions to fetch the amulet from behind its darkly smoked glass case so I could examine it. Suddenly, I heard a pop and a thud of the amulet dropping to the floor. My servant had failed to put on the gauntlet. When it touched the amulet, the creature had just vanished. That could have been me! After that, I kept the gauntlet on the case, so I wouldn’t forget again.
Finally, tragedy did strike, but in a different form. I was entertaining a Vampire Lord and several of his liegemen when the door to my study was kicked open and in burst a wild-eyed team of adventurers bent on my destruction. Too far away from the amulet to reach it in time, and my pentagram for summoning monster allies was on the other side of the room, options were few.
I quickly gathered up my energy and began to cast the awesome Tiltowait spell, while my guests rushed forward to my defense. Just as I unleashed that hellish fireball, I saw the Vampire Lord dissolved by a Zilwan spell! So, they had a high mage also. What! They still stood! That’s one very tough team. Another Tiltowait should finish them, though. Before I could cast it, the leader of the team stepped in under my outstretched arms and delivered a critical hit to me.
As my consciousness faded, I heard one of his men say, “Hawkwind, I have the amulet! Trebor will be pleased.” I cursed Trebor with my last breath that he might endure endless torment. My final view was of their black banner bearing both a gold and a silver dragon in bend, and of the amulet dangling from the end of a sword. The darkness claimed me and I slept as unto death.
Learn More: Wiz4 Party Planning
How to obtain a copy of this game:
eBay link – Ultimate Wizardry Archives PC CD-ROM version (1998), includes Wizardry 1-7