~11 minute readScorpion's Tale
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
WARNING! This article contains spoilers. Avert your eyes!
Warning: Although "The Scorpion's Tale" is a warm and comfortable tavern of the mind with a nice cozy fire of vibrant images, our resident storyteller conjures up illuminating hints about games. If the gentle reader eschews hints, let him beware!
Ahhh, autumn again! One of my favorite times of year (actually, any season except summer is ok with me . . . grin). Fred is back from the Grues Convention and ready to serve your favorite beverage. We have a special on ale this month (for those of drinking age), to get you in the mood for a little trip through Merrie Old England during the time of knights and chivalry.
"Arthur" is based on the King Arthur and the Round Table legends, of course. As you might expect, the game deals with his getting Excalibur from the stone to prove his right to rule England. Since, in legend, Arthur simply walked up and pulled the sword from the stone, a few (well, more than a few) changes needed to be made.
The game has online hints, but the best way to play is with them off. However, you should bring them up, at least once, to read the notes. They provide some interesting background information to the game.
Basically, Arthur must prove he has what it takes to be King. This involves solving a lot of puzzles and accumulating a whole bunch of points: quest points, experience points, wisdom points, and chivalry points. When he has a high enough score in each category, he can pull the sword free and be acclaimed King.
It all starts in a churchyard where Arthur first tries, unsuccessfully, to pull the sword out. Merlin appears and gives him a pep talk, then vanishes. Soon after, the soldiers of the evil King Lot arrive on the scene. As there's a curfew on these days, Arthur needs to get out of sight, fast . . . or the game will be a short one.
Arthur watches while Lot has his soldiers cart off the stone, sword and all. Obviously, Lot is up to no good here. The next morning, Lot appears on the churchyard steps, apparently wielding Excalibur. After giving a hyped-up talk to the assembled peasantry (the man definitely has a way with words), he says he will have himself crowned on Christmas Day at noon. That's only three days off, so Arthur doesn't have much time.
Once the churchyard is deserted again, Arthur can start moving around. The first place he should move to is Merlin's cave outside the town (Merlin told him to, anyway). However, he has to watch out for the Invisible Knight. Any time Arthur steps into the Meadow, the Knight comes along and snarfs anything Arthur is carrying.
Yes, it's that tired old thief routine that went out (or should have) with Zork I. Unfortunately, you'll have to put up with it here, at least until Arthur finds the means of thwarting the thefts. Until then, Arthur should avoid going into the meadow carrying anything of importance as much as possible. So, Arthur should drop what he's carrying before leaving town (you have to go to the Meadow to reach Merlin).
At the cave, Merlin gives Arthur the ability to change into five animal forms: badger, owl, salamander, turtle, and eel. Each of these forms will be necessary to solving all the puzzles in the game. The owl, in some ways, is the best, since as a bird you can fly almost anywhere, including places you might not be able to reach in your human form without great difficulty. It is also a fast way of travelling from place to place.
The only drawback is that you can't carry anything as an owl (or as most other creatures). Ergo, the owl form is good for scouting and some other purposes, but it's not an easy way to get around obstacles that must be passed by solving puzzles.
After visiting Merlin (don't forget the bag!), Arthur should explore the environs past the Meadow, where he will soon come across the Red Knight. The Knight guards the entrance to a causeway that leads to an island in the middle of a lake. In order to get past the Knight, Arthur must give him four special objects: a golden fleece, the hair of a dragon, the tusk of a boar, and the egg of a raven. Obtaining these items forms the bulk of the game and the trials Arthur must pass to prove himself worthy of Excalibur (Arthur can reach the island in animal form, but it won't do him much good).
At this point, doing some exploring (as a human and otherwise) is a good idea. The game has an auto-mapping feature (with separate maps for human and animal forms, by the way) but it is something of a pain to use on the Apple (more on that later), so you may want to make your own as you go along.
Once you have a fair idea of what's where, Arthur can get down to the serious business of proving himself the stuff of Kings. A visit to the tavern in the town is certainly in order. Arthur should pick up some information here as well as an item or two. Don't worry about being kicked out; only one visit is necessary (provided you get what you need).
Moving right along to the badger hole (could anything be more blatant?) by the smithy, a trip inside is definitely in order. Interestingly enough, the badger den is right next to the castle prison. Inside the prison (the means of entry is rather obvious), is a prisoner of great importance. Arthur is going to have to get the man out of the castle. It's the chivalrous thing to do, after all, and besides, he'll tell Arthur where to find something he needs.
Of course, there's a guard to dispose of first. Arthur will have to be a bit physical here. Then, there's the matter of leaving the castle. Arthur, of course, could just fly off as an owl, but that doesn't help the other man much. However, poking around passageways and listening in the right place should provide the means of leaving, although a visit to the armory should be made before bidding a fond farewell to the castle for now.
Also in the badger hole, just a quick jaunt south of the den, is the badger maze, full of twisty little passages, all alike. Yes, you do have to go through it. Sigh. Since you can't carry anything to drop, you'll have to think of another way to keep your place, so to speak. I wonder if being in this place makes you feel itchy?
Somewhere along the line, you'll look in at the cottage on the moor. The poor peasant inside appears to be in bad shape. Then again, that's not surprising. It's not too warm in here, after all. Well, don't just stand there gawking, Arthur, help the poor man, for peat's sake!
And let's not overlook the Kraken in the lake (even if you'd prefer to). Examine him carefully (just don't get too close). How pretty! Wouldn't you just love to have that little bauble? Too bad you can't carry a weapon underwater. That would help a lot. What can you do about this? (Ever play Zork II? Remember the dragon?).
By this time, you'll probably want to do something about the Invisible Knight. So, a trip to the ivory tower is in order. Of course, if you joust had a key to open the door, it might be easier to get inside (hehe).
Inside the tower, be sure to explore everywhere. Arthur has to answer a riddle (the name of the old man in the tower) and the clues are all there. Still, it won't be all that easy, as the name is somewhat concealed. I hope Arthur knows his alphabet well.
Once that's taken care of, Arthur can pay a visit to the Invisible Knight and get back anything that might have been stolen (and the knight won't steal anything again). The knight also has an item that Arthur can use, but first . . . another riddle (riddling was a big pastime in those days). This one is a little easier, actually, and I know I can count on you to solve it pretty quickly. Arthur is now able to get the first of the four objects he needs for the Red Knight.
Which object should be next? Well, the boar is not too difficult. As a matter of fact, Arthur doesn't even have to fight him (it would be a pretty uneven fight). A boar, you know, is a sort of wild pig. Think about a whole roast pig for a moment, and you'll get the idea.
You may be wondering about the Black Knight. Arthur does have to defeat him in combat. It's the only way to get across the river with items in hand (animal forms can, of course, do it easily, but they can't carry anything). However, it's not something to try too early in the game, as Arthur will do better should he have a fair amount of experience under his belt. Save the game before making the attempt. If it's clear that Arthur isn't going to win, try again later.
Beyond the river, as you probably knew before this, is the dragon (yes, the one with the hair). Dealing with him is rather simple, provided you've done the right things at the glade in the forest. Then, it's into the cave for some real fun.
Spooks! All sorts of ghosts (including those of things you may have killed up to this point) start popping out of the woodwork, so to speak. Feeling scared? There's no need. After all, ghosts are immaterial.
Past the ghosts, you will find two rooms (in different directions). One is the Cold Room. Brr, is it cold in here! How cold is it? Cold enough to make your very words freeze (now, THAT'S cold!). Too bad Arthur doesn't have a parka (this isn't a place to linger).
The other room has an occupant. The occupant is a basilisk. Basilisks are relatives of Medusa: one look and you're stoned . . . literally. So, you better not look, at least not straight on.
There's another room after that one. It's the Hot Room. Whew, it's hot in here! How hot is it? Hot enough to dry up your throat and tongue (now, THAT'S hot!). Arthur wouldn't want to stay in here too long, either. Now, if he could just say the magic word that would open the door, he'd be ok.
And in that last room is . . . a pretty young girl? Sure about that, Arthur? I wouldn't be, if I were you. It's really the demon trying to fake you out. That's about all he can do, since he happens to be chained (the chains aren't fake) to the chair. He also happens to be sitting on the fleece.
But has he got a deal for you! Just open the manacles, and you can have the fleece. Easy, eh? Of course, demons aren't known for their trustworthiness. On the other hand, Arthur can't just pull the fleece out from under him. Looks like Arthur will have to accept the demon's offer.
However . . . there's a trick involved here. If Arthur is really clever, he can avoid freeing the demon while still obtaining the fleece. The demon really is bound by the contract between him and Arthur, so it's very important to notice exactly what he says.
So, at last, Arthur has everything and can go running off to give them to the Red Knight. There is, though, the little matter of waking the Lady in The Lake. For that, you should pay close attention to the poem on the inside cover of the manual (the manual, not the book of hours). Be aware also that you'll have to wait a bit before the event. It won't happen at midnight, but quite some time after.
Once she's been awakened, you'll have what you need to challenge King Lot to a duel. The only problem with the duel is that, after all this business about being brave and chivalrous, you win by what is essentially a cheap trick, rather than by skill or force of arms. This takes the edge off the victory.
Anyway, once you've put Lot out of the picture (no, you don't kill him), you can finally pull out Excalibur and be proclaimed King of England.
Before closing the Tale for this issue, however, I must mention some problems. Arthur is Infocom's most poorly produced game ever. The number of disk swaps and disk flippings (the game comes on three double-sided disks on the Apple) is simply outrageous, even in all-text mode. When you have to change disks because part of a paragraph is on one, and the rest on another, you know something is wrong with the design. This is also sometimes necessary with a single sentence.
The auto-mapping, while very nice, suffers from the same flaw. As you get further into the game, the map naturally becomes more detailed, and a lot of disk swapping is required as the map is re-drawn.
The Apple II graphics are mediocre at best and are slow to come on. On the other hand, the basic Macintosh graphics are industry standard and the Mac II graphics look very nice.
Disk access is generally slow. Your best bet is to forego pictures and map in order to play in all-text mode. It will speed things up a little, at least.
Speaking of disk access, the Apple II version is not very bright in some circumstances. For example, it tells you to put, say, Side 2 in Drive One. Then it goes looking for the disk in Drive Two first. Why? I have no idea, but that's what it does. Also, you have to be careful when restoring a position. If you put the wrong disk in the drive by mistake, or if you type in the save name wrong, the game will buzz between the drives for awhile, then tell you the save failed, and you'll have to do it over again. If you have a hard drive, I recommend using it; your life may be a little easier.
Well, that's it for this time. Remember if you need help with an adventure game, you can reach me in the following ways:
On Delphi: Visit the GameSIG (under the Groups and Clubs menu). On GEnie: Stop by the Games Roundtable (type: Scorpia to reach the Games RT). By US Mail (enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope if you live in the Unites States): Scorpia, PO Box 338, Gracie Station, New York, NY 10028.
Until next time, happy adventuring!
Copyright 1989 by Scorpia, all rights reserved.
This article appeared in
Computer Gaming World
Sep 1989
These historical, out-of-print articles and literary works have been GNUSTOed onto InvisiClues.org for academic and research purposes.
