Dungeons and How to Enter them

Axil the Able stood in three inches of stagnant water and

surveyed one of the most dismal dungeons he had ever
been thrown into ...

30 second earlier. he was sitting in front of the ox-roast

in that famed haunt of the Occult. The Golden Thurible.
engaged in hl favourite pastime of Wizard-Balling. His
target for the night was one MasterTherion. he of the bald
head and piercing eyes. said to be the cleverest Magician
in the lcemark. !Tnot all Graumerphy.

And what a good story Axll was telling - a new one about
Therion . a certain Moon creature and a rather gullible
Elf - really. the sudden silence of his audience should
have warned him .

The crowd pan d a Therion trode across the floor.

dangerou in all his 10 degrees! Standing squarely in
front of Axil. and shrouded by the names of the ox-roast.
he began talkmg in that dry-leave voice he normally
reserved for Elementals. ll was a long and complicated
speech. touching lingeringly on Axirs parents.
upbringing and eating nabits. When . after a while he
began to sfow down. fherion raised a dismissive twlg-
ilke index finger and flung a bemused Axil several
hundred leagues across Graumerphy. into lhe dungeon
beneath the dreary castle called Collodon's Pile.

In the dank twliighL. Axil tutted - and then took stock.

He was. at least. clothed: he carried a large leather pouch.
and. on a nearby table, there wa a book.

The title read as follows:

.. The Net ofGugamon -a Grimclre: wherein ls contained
the proper rites for the Convocation of various Demonly
Princes. the procurement oflessersptrits. together with
sundry workings. conjurations. manifestations. Symbols
relating to all manner of Astral Phenomena . ."
and so on for several more pages. tn the rather turgid tyle
thought necessary for such book 's.
Unfortunately. apart from the title. there seemed to be Note. however. that Saving a game will deplete your
little more Lhan a raLher Lallered contents page. But. Stamina. s6 !:hat a Save cannot be used as an ea y way
since Axil thought of himself as a fairly accomplished of getting round difficult choices!
magician (actually. he barely scraped by at Lhe grade of Saving and Restoring AxU allows you to save Axil's
eophyte). he felt that simply possessing such a book c urrent experience and Grade. as well as (some) items
ought so be useful - they didn't call him Axil the Able for that he Is carrying. and pass them across to future
nothing! (Indeed. many didn't call him Axil the Able at modules or new adventures. While this is an option that
all. but struck for the more picturesque Axil the Awfully could be utilised in this game (to take advantage of the
Adequate or AxU the Absolutely Average ... ) benefit of hindsight?). its true application is Somewhere
in the Future!
So. with a flourish. one very strange book. and a hope that Communication
Mistress Luck would favour him for once. he marched Communicating with Lhe program is all done Lhrough
from the room In search ofa Way Out! Window 2 (the middle window). and is dealt with fully
In the next room was a Sign .. . in the ection on Merphlsh .
Status
Dungeons and How to Survive them Your Stamina. Skill and Luck are a reflection of your
Since Dungeons in general are fairly unhealthy places. c urrent abilities. If you run out ofStan1ina. you Die: your
and this one Is no exception. the best way to survive them Stamina and Skill together affect the outcome of
is to Get Out! In fact. there are three separate exits (all confilcts: your Luck will influence virtually all your
of which may lead Somewhere in the Future). To help you actions.
locate them you have a book of Spells (which you can add Combat will reduce your Stamina a lot. most oLher
to) and your not insubstantial Wits: to hinder you there actions will reduce it a little. but Laklng food or drink may
are Wandering Monsters. Demons. 1)-aps. 11-icks and well increase It: other special objects will enhance your
Puzzles. Skill and Luck.
In the main. comporting yourself in a Dungeon is Experience
something you just have to learn by experience- but. As you progress through the adventure you will gain in
generously. here are a few general tips. ex perience: this will not only enhance your status
characteristics. but. exceptionally. advance your Magical
S tarting Up grade. which will allow you access Lo items and
When the Option Screen is displayed. select option l and l<nowledge not available to the lower grades.
Away You Go! You may have noticed that the program Combat
had already generated values for Stamina. Skllf and All combat Is Magical-physical encounters with other
Luck. While you can't alter. the values themselves. you creatures are often fatal. If you decide to engage in a
can re-allocate them -select option 6 and the values w!Il macho bout of Blasting. check your own and the
be realigned. It depends on whether you think Skill monster's status before each round-it may be capable
counts for more than Stamina. or perhaps you just feel of hurting you more than you can hurt it!
Lucky!
But Blasting Is not the only way out of a tight situation.
Whe n Saving or Restoring a game. you will be asked for Some monsters. and all Demons. may have inforrnaUon
a Version letter-this is to ensure that the right game is on objects which may prove useful. and often Lhe status
restored . o keep a note of Version letters. of a creature will give you a clue of how to deal with It.
Unlocking ole that the program will check for syntax errors. bul
Most locks that you might encounter are Magical locks will auempl lo make some sense of all accepted !npul-
and therefore are opened Magically by Magical keys! Lhis often has interesting results. For instance. lo
aluraliy. they might not immediately be recognised as examine a bolUe it is not necessary to first posilion Axil
keys but they need only be dropped by a lock to be
effective. Other locks can be opened by Magical
passwords: Speak clearly and firmly to the locked object.
1 next to a bottle-when he receives the command. he will
go to and examine the bottle nearest to him in that
room - if there i one.
as Dungeons are a major cause of Deafness.
·1 There follows a list of Merph!sh Keywords:
Stuck? N North NE North-east NW North-west
if you're really stuck. ask Apex-or try Examine S South SE South-east SW South-west
OBJECT E East W West L-Left R-Rlght
H -Halt: this will abandon the command being actioned
MERPHISH and how to Speak it and the rest of any outstanding command string.
All input is in Merphish. a language similar lo English
z - a special function to swap the information in
but somewhat more compacL. lf not terse. Window 1.
0-return to Option Screen.
X -(Object) Examine the named object.
Ail commands take the form · P-(Object) Pick up the named object.
Keyword (Object) followed by a Return/Enter D-(Object) Drop the named object.
Spaces are unnecessary and are ignored. Spells:
1-(0bjecl) Invoke the named Demon.
Keywords are entered as just the first letter (occasionally B-(Object) Blast the named object or monster.
two letters as in North-East etc) and are expanded on F - (Object) Freeze the named object or monster.
output: the names of both animate and inanimate

J
Objects must be entered in full . Unrecognised keywords Fuller details of spells can be found ln the section on the
will be queried. Grimo!re. but you might try experimentation-it will
often be deadly. Other spells may become available to you
Commands can also be entered as a string. with each as you progress. but these you can work out for yourself.
command separated by a comma. and the final
command followed by a Return - none of the commands Here are a few Merphish object names:
in the string will be actioned unlll the Return is entered. ASMODEE ASTAROT AXIL BELEZBAR BOOK
BOX BOTTLE LOAF CANDLE CHAIR
A single delete will cause lhe command back to the DEMON MAGOT OBJECT TABLE WALL
previous comma of Return lO be "forgotten': a comma MONSTER SWORD ROCK SIGN RUBY
or Return is considered lo confirm a command.
(However. see Hall below). ThJking to Other Denizens of the Dungeon is possible. be
they Demon. Monster or Thin!(. but the conversational
Outpul caused by a command being aclioned is put to form is typical of the partan Merphish language (you
a new line and indented: any command or command might suspect that some members of the early Merph
string being input will be interrupted and lost. cultures had a strictly limited attention span).
Conversation is carried out as follows: BELEZBAR - the Master of Flie . who Nature Is Deceit
" name. object" a nd reveal all Deceit: whose number is 20. in the
(the leading quote marks are mandatory. the final quotes Firmament of Stars: who reveres the Amaranth a nd
are oplional). Musk and al l manner of Locust: who bows to stanling
Where name is the name of the Demon. Monster or Thing Turqoise.
that you are addressing: object is the name of the Demon. MAGOT - the Diviner. who knoweth the si tuation of
Monster or Thing that you wish to be attacked or about Hidden 1reasures: whose aspect is that of a Baboon:
w h!ch you require tnformalion or that you wish to locate whose colour is Ye llow and whose number is 443."in the
etc .. depending on the nature of the creature that you are Realm of Air: who craves the e nt of Galban um and
addressing. As you might discern. conversalion is a bows w secret Topaz a nd Chalcedony.
pastime not to be undertaken l!ghliy. since the
opponun!lies for misunderstanding are many! And the number of Magtck is 11 : but the num ber of the
The Net, being the Grimoire of Great Aby Is 24 ..."
Gugamon the1'1age And here the book is rent and tattered and contains no
It has been stated elsewhere that the book found by Axil more. unless you can add to it yourse lf.
consisted of the Title. a contents page and little else.
That " little else" is laid out below. restored and Somewhere in the Future
interpreted from the Original and Ancient Merphish . it! the Intention that. Somewhere in the ot=Ibo-Di tant
"Be Thou warned -attempt no conjuration except that Future. new adventures for Axil will appear.
Ye possess the right Thlisman: neither approach nor These will take two forms:
touch a Spirit. for the Demonic folk are quic k to c ut - Heavy on the Magtck modules. which will
Monal!ty to the bone. Instead. place Ye the talisman on Interface with the current adventures directly: i.e.
the ground and proceed with thy !nvocalion from a they will be the continualion of the adventure
distance: but. let it be known to the Wise. that the from eac h of the three exits from the current
presence of such Things that are comfortable to thy game.
Chosen Spirit. will ease the lhmslatlon of such
Knowledge as may be imparied. - new Graumerphy adventures. featuring other
And here. for those with eyes to see and Wit to lo at!on a nd characters of the enc hanted and
understand. are the Names and Natures of the Princes .. . whimsical land ofGraumerphy.
ASMODEE-the Great Destroyer: whose number is 122 Both adventures a nd modules will be capable of
tn the House of Mars: whose aspect Is that of the Basilisk: accepling saved Axils. together with any terrifical ly
whose colour is Green and whose plant is the Nettle and useful objects. from other adventures.
who bows to all Gems Red .
ASTAROT- the Spirit of Assemblage: whose number is It is anticipated that new modules will only be available
1376 in the Sign of Gemini: whose appearance ls Legion. direct from Gargoyle. while complete new a dve ntures
who moveth through Rock Solid: whose pantacle is a wlll be available from honest retailers everywhere.!
Flaming Sword: whose perfume is Wormwood and in add ition. it is also hoped tha t a small book wlll be
favours the Orchid and the Magpie and bows before the produced giving more inforrnalion on Graumerphy and
Lustre of Tuurmal!ne. its inhabitants.
Future Productions
Heavy on the Magick Modules: Collodon's Pil e- the
castle above the Dungeons.
The Tumbs of Thro-a strange and terrifying catacomb
adjacent to the dungeons.
Paradise Reglossed-ln which things are nol as heavenly
as thev seem.
Complete Adventures
The 1lials ofTherion- what happened when Axil returned 1
Booklet: The Magicians Guide to Graumerphy!
ole! Send no money until you see announcements in
the press!
Hints and Help
Fora complete hint sheet for Heavy on the Magick . send
an envelope. 220mm x l lOmm. bearing your name and
address. together with a first class stamp to
HOTM Hints. Gargoyle Games Ltd .. 74. Klng Street.
Dudley. West Midlands DY2 8QB.
Acknowledgements
The SystemsofMagick described in this game is derived
from the We tern Occult 1Tadition: those who wish to
read further on the Malter. might study the following·
The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie.
Magick in Theory and Practise by A. Crowley.
The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra Melin the Mage.
For those who relished the flavour of the Land of
Graumerphy. the Dying Earth series by Jack Vance. and
the Myth books by Robert Aspirin will afford enjoyment.
The cover artwork was specially commissioned from S.B.
Graphics of Birmingham.
Heavy on the Magick is manufactured by Gargoyle Garnes
Ltd .. 74 King Street. Dudley. West Midland DY2 8QB.
Heavy on the Maglck . t986 CARTER FOLLIS SOFTWARE All
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