Dungeons & Dragons Games Vol. 31: Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon (MS-DOS) - Part 2

Hi, this is still Super Adventures, and I'm still playing Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon.

This is part two of four, and you can jump back to PART ONE by clicking the bold text.

The game is a part two as well, as it has a "II" in the title. I'm bringing this up because I don't think I've come across a numbered sequel yet while playing these Dungeons & Dragons games. They like to say things like "A Legend Series Fantasy Role-Playing Saga, Vol. II", but this was the first to put a number in the actual name. And then Eye of the Beholder III was the last, until the Baldur's Gate games seven years later.

Here's some more trivia for you: the Steam launcher suddenly stopped launching for me! I tried installing the game to a different PC and it ran on that just fine, so after trying a bunch of troubleshooting I just reinstalled Steam to skip to the part where it works again. That's proper old school difficulty.

There may be SPOILERS below, though that depends if you think it has enough of a story to be spoiled.

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Previously, in Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon:

My imported party of four over-powered adventurers have been sent by their friend Khelben on a mission to investigate Darkmoon Temple and find his missing scout Amber. We ran into a warrior at the entrance who's looking for her sister Calandra, so we're keeping an eye out for her as well. Lots of people are going missing lately, and some have been ending up in shallow graves.

The priests in the temple seemed friendly at first, but they really don't like intruders so I ended up having to kill a few of them. And then I killed some of their guards in the catacombs below. It turns out that they had a dwarf cleric called Shorn locked up in a cell, so I freed him and he decided to join my team. Now I'm going to see what else they've got hidden down here they don't want anyone to know about.

And now, the continuation:

Damn, the enemies aren't messing around on the second level of the catacombs. There are packs of Skeleton warriors with Darkmoon priests giving magic support and every time I think I'm done with them there's another set behind them. They look really cool though.

Oh crap, I tried to back away but there's a second group blocking the passage! They got me penned in on two sides. Okay now I am actually in trouble.

I could do with having with the ability to issue commands while paused, so I could tell my cleric to heal my fighter and my mage to start firing off any offensive spells she still has left. Shorn's going to have to sit this out as I haven't found his cleric symbol yet and he can't attack from his position, even though my well-defended back row looks more like the unprotected side row from the perspective of the second enemy group.

It took all my healing spells, but I survived long enough to defeat the group in front and open up an escape route. Then I just ran for it.

I'm where the green arrow is, and the enemies keep coming from that room at the top. I was going to lure them into a fireball trap I passed a while back, but they never follow me far enough and there'd just be another group to replace them by the time I got back anyway. It's like those respawning birdmen in Eye of the Beholder all over again.

My current tactic is to lure them into this small 3x3 square, so I can continually back up in a circle and get a free attack on them whenever they follow me around the corner. Though I have to be quick about it.

I stuck with my plan, killing enemy after enemy until their room was clear enough for me to dart inside and grab the loot.

There's an axe here called "The Bait"! So the room was a bloody trap designed to lure in greedy idiots who had no clue just how many skeletons were waiting around the corner.

Sad thing is, I don't really have a use for a +2 axe, as only the characters at the front can do any melee combat and they're both loaded up with EotB 1 endgame gear. Though that short sword could be useful for their off-hand.

It doesn't seem like there's anything left for me to do on this floor. I got The Bait, I recruited Shorn, I found the bones of a mage, and now I'm hitting dead ends. I'll go back upstairs to the top floor of the catacombs and see if there's anything up there I can get open now. And I suppose I'll release Insal the crappy recruitable NPC while I'm there... though he's not joining the team.

CATACOMBS, FLOOR 1

Oh no, I've reached somewhere new but this isn't what I wanted to find up here. Not giant poisonous spiders again! So this is what the potions of cure poison I found were foreshadowing.

Actually it seems to be fairly spider-free at the moment down here; whatever made the webs must have scurried off somewhere.

Also I found a map! Well, some of a map. 

It's showing me two secret areas I've already found (my characters told me about them as I walked past), so it's not all that much use to me at the moment, but I'll hold onto it in case it's useful later.

Well I've ran out of doors to try up here as well, plus I've already explored the temple's entrance and the woods outside. I'm a bit stuck actually. Wait, there were two staircases in the entrance hall! I decided come down here into the catacombs but there was another set of stairs leading up. Plus there was a secret button on the wall as well, I just remembered.

Okay I'm going back to the ground floor to press the mysterious button.

DARKMOON TEMPLE, LEVEL 1

Turns out that the secret was a teleporter that brought me to this massive ankh. It's all gone a bit Ultima.

The ankh has the ability to bring back the dead and I just happen to have the bones of a mage in my backpack. Though it shall only grant three resurrections, so bringing back San-Raal may bite me in the ass later when I need someone else saved.

I decided to perform the resurrection and it was very anti-climatic. 

Eye of the Beholder (MS-DOS)

When I resurrected Tyrra in the first game, she appeared on screen and whined about it for a bit (especially when I didn't add her to the party), but San-Raal didn't even introduce himself. The dude's a drow, a dark elf from the Underdark, you'd think he'd have something interesting to say.

Man, these classic RPGs really don't care much about your characters.

Alright, now I need to find him a spell book, as without it all he's good for is carrying my stash of rocks (which is still an important task to be fair). Maybe I'll find one upstairs... a book I mean, though another rock could come in handy too.

DARKMOON TEMPLE, LEVEL 2

Damn, that was almost a jump scare. Especially with that moustache. "You are startled" it says, like I need to be told. Though angry priest seems unaware of the carnage going on downstairs and just wants us to leave. So I did!

I went back downstairs and had a nap to get my spells and health back. Though there really isn't much to do in this game if you obey the priests, so I came back and let him start the fight. Turns out that his moustache gave him no tactical advantage.

There are more priests on this floor and they're the spellcasting type, but that's actually worked out for me as I found a spell book for San-Raal! Even better, he's got the 'improved identify' spell, so I can actually find out what all my mysterious magical gear is. I wish I had this back in Eye of the Beholder, as I didn't get that game's item identification shelf working until I was nearly at the end.

Oh, I've hit another dead end. I wish some of these enemies would drop the keys I need! Well if the keys aren't here, they must be somewhere else, so all I can do is go check the catacombs. Again.

CATACOMBS, FLOOR 1

Hey, I've found a thing on the ground in the guard barracks! The game is good at making me feel like I've gotten stuck, but then just as I'm about to lose all hope I get another door open and start building momentum again.

By the way, check out this room. It could be straight out of the first game, it's even using the same tiles pretty much. Just another one of the countless identical rooms. Except there is one difference: they've dressed it up with furniture. They've put beds and a sink in here. This small touch goes a long way to making it feel like a place people live in instead of an abstract video game dungeon. It's like going from Doom to Duke Nukem 3D.

Alright, what have I found here and does it open locked doors?

Oh, turns out I've got a magic trumpet called the 'north wind' and it's part of a set. Together they can break the seal, apparently. Maybe they mean that wall upstairs with a picture on it.

I don't actually know why that was the first thing that jumped into my mind. Maybe because it's got a bit of a 'wind' theme to it, or maybe because it's the only wall like that in the game so far. Anyway when I find all the horns I'll bring them there and give them a try, assuming I don't come across a really obvious seal along the way.

CATACOMBS, FLOOR 2

Oh damn, it's Calandra! I wish I could go tell her sister that we've found her but she's long gone. Closure denied.

Calandra's really laying a guilt trip on me here, saying that she doesn't want to be left to die, but I don't have the room to take her with us. Well, I suppose I could drop Shorn, but I just found a holy symbol for him, so he can cast his cleric spells now.

The situation would've been different if I'd somehow made it this far with a group of fragile mages and thieves, as a tough fighter for the front row would've been exactly what I needed. But I've got two fighters, so she's no use to me.

I'm sure she'll be fine though! I've already cleaned out this floor, mostly, and she'll be pretty high level.

Wow, I wasn't expecting a call from my buddy Khelben using the magic communication coin. He just wanted a status report though.

Incidentally, I appreciate how much animation the game has. It really feels like a ton of work went into it and it's by far the most impressive Dungeons & Dragons game I've played so far when it comes to visuals.

LATER

Okay, I'm 100% certain that I need to smash through this wall. The characters say it can be broken, the walkthrough says it can be broken, but it's not working. I'm clicking swords, throwing daggers, firing spells, and nothing's working.

Wait, I just noticed I've got new dialogue. "This is going nowhere. Let's try another wall". Make up your damn mind guys!

Oh, it turns out that even though "this wall will not support itself for long", the bit of wall one tile to the right "looks exceptionally frail". I was attacking the wrong wall! Well now I'm finally making progress again, though there's a warning here saying that there's no turning back. I'm a bit concerned!

CATACOMBS, FLOOR 3

Dammit, this slime monster just paralysed my best fighter. I need her to do the fighting!

It could've been worse though. These gelatinous cubes are apparently like the rust monster in EotB 1 as they can destroy your equipment. Permanently.

Speaking of EotB 1, the sequel's been less sneaky with spinner tiles and teleports, but this third floor is feeling mischievous. It'd be nice if the compass was animated so it was more obvious that I'd gotten turned around, but I can see it on the automap so it's fine.

Alright I'm going to go find somewhere to camp and rest. I need a fresh set of spells, plus it'll cure Eleanor's paralysis. 

Uh, what? 

I can't sleep on this floor! Does this confirm that mages learn new spells in their sleep? Either way I can't do it until I get out of here.

Okay, I may be in trouble. I'm going to have to use my emergency stash of 'cure light wounds' spells. I almost never cast it because it's terrible, but every bit of health helps.

These imp things look cool, very 3D. I'm not keen on the way they just surprised me with an ambush though, that was a bit mean.

I shouldn't be casting my last 'Melf's acid arrow' spell on these semi-easy enemies, but I'm really keen on surviving this ambush and getting out with the loot. You can tell by the yellow boxes around the characters that I've been casting buffs as well. Oh, I know what spell would be useful here: ice storm! 

Oops, it turns out that ice storm is a spell you want to cast from a distance, as it just killed my whole team. It's fine, it hasn't been long since I saved. I've also got a save from before I passed the point of no return if I need it, but hopefully it won't come to that.

Alright, I've found a spider key, so I'll go open a locked door and see what's behind it. Hopefully something good!

CATACOMBS, FLOOR 4

It was ants!

I assumed the spider door would either lead to freedom or spiders, but nope, the game's gone all It Came From the Desert on me. This place is a maze filled with giant ants and mysterious loot I can't identify because I used up my spells and it won't let me rest. Can't sleep, ants will eat me.

You know what I miss? Level ups. I know my imported heroes started off at a higher level than a new team, but with all these ants and imps I'm fighting you'd think I would've levelled up by now.

Okay I've grabbed another magic horn and I'm getting out of here the same way I came in. Back to the gelatinous cube floor.

CATACOMBS, FLOOR 3

Damn, I forgot about the food meter. I can't create food without spells, so my heroes are going to starve if they stay trapped here for much longer.

I don't get this puzzle though. There are 9 pressure plates in front of the sealed door and the clue is "You must leave many things behind". The thing is, I already did that! I know the drill and I brought enough rocks to drop on all of them. I guess I'm only supposed to activate some of the switches, but there has to be hundreds of possible combinations, so I won't be solving this through trial and error. 

Okay, I looked it up and the answer is to put items on each of the corner switches and then step in the middle to form an X shape. Either there was another clue around that I missed or this puzzle is ridiculous.

Oh man, the game's just tormenting me now. This is a portal, I've seen them before in the first game, so I finally have a way out of this no-sleep nightmare. Trouble is that I need one of the items etched into the frame as a key, so it's useless to me right now.

Just let me out, I've had enough!

Well I'm out of ideas. There is another locked door on this floor, but I don't have the key. Wait, yes I do! I must have picked it up somewhere without realising. Alright, time to finally escape this trap.

The locked door had another locked door behind it. The game hates me and wants to crush my spirit entirely.

At least I don't have a time limit to worry about... well except for the hunger meter. Cluebook, I give up, tell me what I'm missing here.

Oh, some of the walls in those corridors at the bottom of the map are fake. I can just walk through and get everything I need... including a stone gem to activate the portal! Alright now I have two objectives: 1. record a nice GIF of the portal opening, 2. get somewhere else and rest. I've haven't been able to recover health or spells or food for two whole floors and my fighters are about ready to collapse.

Oh bloody hell, I was not expecting a priest to be waiting for me! You can see my actual surprise in the GIF, as I freeze for a second before I realise I need to put the stone gem away before I can fight back.

But now that I'm out and the room is clear I can finally get some sleep. It's such a relief to finally be done with that place. The cubes and ants are welcome to it.

Well okay, I'm not really done with it, as there's that locked door I didn't get open. But now that I have the portal key I can drop by for a visit and escape any time I need to.

DARKMOON TEMPLE, LEVEL 2

I'm using this portal room as a home base, dropping off the gear I (probably) don't need. It helps that I found an 'improved identify' scroll to add to my other mage's spell book, so I can identify twice as much magical loot before resting.

Unfortunately the item has to be in the mage's hand for them to identify it, which tripped me up when I managed to put cursed items in both of their hands. Cursed gear can't be unequipped until you cast 'remove curse' from the spell book, and they need to have the spell book ready in one of their hands before you can open it to cast spells!

Fortunately I'd already opened the book and it had stayed open when I took it out of their hand, that's how I was still identifying things. I was also lucky that I had a cast of 'remove curse' memorised.

Alright I've cleared out my inventory and gotten some sleep, now I'm ready to head out of the door and find out where I even am right now.

Damn, that scared me. A giant talking mouth is not what I expected to see as I walk down these polished temple hallways.

Okay, so this is a barrier, but I need the Mark of Darkmoon to get past it, not the four horns. I'll add that to my mental list of things to look out for.

There's an absolute ton of clerics wandering around this place right now and it's a real shame they all have to die. Mostly because killing them takes time and it's rare that they drop anything worth having. Plus I have to keep picking up Tahani's throwing dagger every time I use it on them.

DARKMOON TEMPLE, LEVEL 1

I was able to collect the last couple of horns from the catacombs and now I'm ready to break the seal!

I'm still not keen on this "find all the horns and use them on this specific stone carving at the temple entrance" puzzle, even if I somehow solved it instantly. I just don't think there's anything about this wall that makes it look like a seal, and it's really easy to walk past it without ever knowing it was there. 

Anyway, I have broken the seal with the four winds, revealed the hidden staircase, and now I'm... somewhere else.

SILVER TOWER, LEVEL 1

Whoa, this place looks a lot more sci-fi than I expected. Though something tells me that those blinking light-up tiles are going to be bad for me.

A ghostly figure with a bald head and a grey beard at least a foot long appeared and spoke to us:

"Welcome children of Darkmoon. This is the test of faith. You must not be afraid. Here you will only be able to trust that which you truly know... yourself!"

He thinks we're new recruits, here to become evil priests! Man, he's going to be shocked when we totally pass all of his tests. If we have to join the Darkmoon priests to get the Mark of Darkmoon then that's what we're doing. I really don't like the look of those blinking tiles though...

TO BE CONTINUED

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This is usually the point where you could stop reading about this game and make a guess at what the next game will be, but you can't this time, sorry. I mean you can stop reading if you want, but you can't guess the game, as it's just more Eye of the Beholder II.

Don't let that stop you leaving a comment though.