Oubliette: Defeat.

It's time to call it a day for Oubliette. This is something I need to do for my own sanity, because I very nearly decided to persevere with it and try to map all ten dungeon levels. I could probably do it if I applied for a few more cyber1 log-ins and used them to create multiple characters. It would take a long time, though, and it would also be setting a dangerous precedent for multiplayer games. I may have decided differently if the game had an end goal, but as far as I'm aware there's nothing to achieve in it beyond obtaining loot and more loot. So this is me dusting my hands of Oubliette, and PLATO in general for the time being, albeit reluctantly.

I had set myself two realistic goals when I started the game: try every character class, and map the first level. I managed to do both, so here's a map of Oubliette dungeon level 1.

Oubliette dungeon level 1

As you can see (and as I've mentioned before) this game pioneered a lot of the tricks that Wizardry and Bard's Tale (among others) will put to irritating use in the years to come. There are plenty of secret doors, which can only be found by bumping into walls (or using a light spell if you have one). There are pits, which damage you with no warning and no way to avoid them even if you know they are there (although there is a levitation spell for mages that I never got to try out, and a detect traps spell for clerics that might work). The teleporters move you to another location on the same level, and with no way to display your coordinates, mapping is the only method of figuring out where you are. Thankfully each teleporter sends you to a fixed location, so once you've worked out where they send you they become less of a nuisance; some of them are even helpful for getting quickly back to the castle. The darkness squares extinguish your light source, or blind you temporarily if you have infravision. Finally, the spinners turn you in a random direction when you enter the square, and are a nightmare for accurate mapping; the game doesn't display your coordinates or provide a means of telling what direction you're facing, so I only discovered some of the spinners when it became obvious that my map was incorrect.

I found the stairs to level 2, and did quite a bit of exploration there as well. Not only are the monsters stronger, but the pits are deeper as well. On level 1 the pits dealt roughly between 3 and 12 points of damage, whereas those on level 2 were routinely doing 20 points. My character at the time only had about 50 hit points, so my mapping of level 2 involved a lot of returning to Ligne Castle for healing. Some of the pits were positioned so that the area beyond was a dead end, leaving me with no choice but to suck up the damage on the way back as well. There's a level of deviousness to the dungeon designs that hasn't been seen in any CRPGs before this one.

I died before I was able to map the entirety of level 2 (poisoned by giant centipedes), but I found a fan-site that has all of the maps, and a lot of other useful information. This is their map of level 2.

Pits! Chutes! Stairs! Improbable Architecture!

This level presents another first: walls that spell out words when the level is fully mapped. The other levels all have interesting and varied designs, some with lots of tiny rooms, and some with long winding passages. Level 4 is arranged similarly to a noughts-and-crosses board. Level 8 has a room that looks suspiciously like a hand giving the middle finger. They're easily the best level designs to this point, and I was really enjoying the process of mapping them until my character's unceremonious death.

I don't have many images in this post, so here's one of a random tunnel.

I probably ran through about 50 character, most with terribly short lifespans. There are fifteen classes in Oubliette, but playing them all was more difficult than you would think, because a good number of them have strict requirements based on ability scores, race and gender. Before I get into all of the classes, I need to mention something that I forgot in my last post: this is the first CRPG to fully implement a class system. Most of the previous PLATO games started you as a hybrid warrior/spellcaster (pedit5, dnd, Orthanc) or allowed you to join a guild (Moria). This is the first that lets you choose a class at the beginning, and it's a massive leap forward for character customisation.

I'm going to run through every class in the game below, and relay my meager experiences with them. There were a bunch that I was only able to play for about a minute, so I may not have much to say that's useful.

Peasant: This is the baseline class of the game: it has no requirements whatsoever, so it's a kind of fall-back option for when you roll terrible stats and can't be bothered re-rolling. They don't have any spells or special skills, and don't get many hit points. I think their only benefit is that they gain levels faster than any other class, but it hardly seems worth it. The only peasants I played never survived beyond their first battle.

Cleric: Clerics need a Wisdom of 12, and have to be of Lawful alignment. (I'm not sure what effect alignment has on the game, but I suspect that it might determine what other characters you can team up with.) They can cast spells, dispel the undead, and the best weapon they can use is a mace. It's all very Dungeons & Dragons. The clerics I played did quite well, although I never did advance one to 2nd level.  I made a lot of use of their light spell (MORPIC), as it has a permanent duration and reveals secret doors.  I tried to dispel some undead - skeletons and zombies, mostly - but never had any success.

Demondim: This class was no doubt inspired by The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant novel series, in which the demondim were an ancient race that spawned various nasties in that world. In Oubliette, they're exactly like Clerics, except that they are restricted to Chaotic alignment.  It seems that the creators of Oubliette just took the name, and nothing else. (I wouldn't be surprised if this class was a later addition to the game; the first Thomas Covenant book was published in 1978, and it should always be remembered that PLATO games were in constant development. The game that I'm playing is probably not the same as it was when first developed.)

Courtesan: Courtesans need a really high Charisma (19+), can't be Lawful, and must be female. I found the class reasonably easy to qualify for as an Elf, but I didn't survive long once I'd done so; they can't wear armour better than leather, and don't get many hit points. They can disarm the traps found on chests, but their main ability seems to be that they can "seduce" their foes. The documentation is unclear what this achieves, and the few times I tried it it didn't work.

Hirebrand: Your basic fighter, and the only class that I had any success with. My best character (the unoriginally named "Habgab", who succeeded his brothers Hobgob and Hubgub) was a 6th level Hobgoblin Hirebrand. They don't get any special abilities, but they get loads of hit points and can use the best weapons and armour.  I managed to advance two Hirebrand characters to 6th level, but both died from poison.

Mage: They have low hit points, but can cast magic spells. I tried a couple of mages, but the sleep spells I cast (NARGOR) were ineffective. Needless to say, these characters died quickly.

Minstrel: Minstrels have requirements in every ability score, and it took me about half an hour of rerolling to qualify for the class. They can cast mage spells and wear chain mail armour, and they also have the ability to charm enemies with their music. Alas, as with many other classes in this game, I never got this ability to work, and I died quickly. I probably spent ten times as long rolling the character as I did playing him.

Ninja: Man, I was excited to play a Ninja, and it took me a looooong time to meet the requirements - every stat except for Charisma needs to be high. They can disarm traps and are immune to poison, but unfortunately they're not that strong in combat. My Elf Ninja, despite sounding like a super-badass thing to play, was not long for the world.

Paladin: Paladins are super-difficult to qualify for: they must be Lawful, they must be male, and they require high scores in every stat except Dexterity. They can dispel undead like Clerics, and cast Cleric spells once they hit 9th level; they also get to use the best weapons and armour. My Paladin lasted a little while, but he didn't have enough hit points to survive for long.

Ranger: I was stoked to try the Ranger, as they can cast both Cleric and Mage spells. I spent a good hour trying to qualify for the class, a task made more difficult by the requirement that they must be Human. Of course, what I didn't realise was that Rangers don't get spells until they're 7th level, so I kind of wasted all that time. Do I even need to say that my Elf Ranger died quickly?

Raver: In the Thomas Covenant books, the Ravers are a trio of evil entities that can take possession of any creature. In Oubliette, they're Paladins with a Chaotic alignment. This may be significant, because evil Paladins weren't introduced to D&D until 1980. There's always the caveat that PLATO games were in constant development, but it's possible that the concept was introduced here first.

Thief: Thieves can disarm traps, and they can hide in combat. What they can't do is fight very well, so my thief didn't last long. I got through one fight by hiding while the Ninja companion I bought from the store killed everything, but in the next fight my hide skill failed and I was slaughtered by Undead Bears.

Sage: Sages are super-cool, in that they're not all that hard to qualify for and they can cast both Mage spells and Cleric spells. I suspect that a high-level one would be really good to have in a party, but the one I created wasn't viable as a solo adventurer. He died.

Samurai: Although this class is called a Samurai, it's more like the traditional Monk class that you'll find in later games: it can't wear armour or use weapons, but its Armour Class drops every level, and its bare-handed damage is better than that of other classes. The best thing about them is that they get two attacks per round; killing two monsters at once is very satisfying whenever it happens. The class is hard to qualify for though, so I only played one. I enjoyed it for the short time the character was alive, though.

Valkyrie: Super-difficult to qualify for, with high stat restrictions and a requirement to be female (your gender is randomly determined along with your stats, which makes it even harder). They have good fighting ability, can cast Cleric spells at high level, and also get the same "seduce" ability of courtesans. It's weird enough that the two female-only classes have seduction as a special ability, but the best armour that a Valkyrie can wear is a breast plate - let's just say that the CRPG scene in the early days was not exactly the most mature. Anyway, the Valkyrie that I played lived for about five minutes, so I can't say much else about it.

As you can see above, survival in this game is far from assured. I found that the best bet was to create a character with a high Constitution and Dexterity, and choose the Hirebrand class. A lot of hit points are essential, as is a high Dexterity for avoiding surprise. I liked to play as Hobgoblins; they had a high bonus to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution, as well as the ability to see in the dark.

Perhaps this character would be best served by returning to his farm.

Reading over the documentation (and some other notes on the fan-site I mentioned above) I've come across a bunch of other interesting things about the game that I never got to experience first-hand. I'll run through some of them below, as well as some things I noticed myself while playing.

• Apparently when you form a party your arrangement of characters makes a big difference, as only the first three characters can fight in melee. Monsters can even attack from the rear, which makes things potentially deadly for any mages and thieves in the back rank. It's suggested that large parties have fighters at the front and back, which is a level of tactics far in excess of anything in CRPGs prior to this.
• If you buy a companion that is a Mage or a Cleric, said companion will cast spells in battle. Apparently some Mage spells can catch you in their area of effect, so those companions aren't really recommended.
• I didn't mention it above, but the last character I played was killed when an enemy hit him with a sleep spell. This was the point when I realised that there was nothing I could do to guarantee survival for a solo character, and quit the game for good.
• The Patriarch's Temple in Ligne Castle can be used to remove curses or identify magic items, but it requires a hefty donation before the Patriarch will see you. I tried it once, donating 12,000 gold pieces, and the bugger was still "too busy" to grant an audience. It didn't stop the temple from pocketing my gold, though.
• Higher-level characters spend a lot of time resting in hotels to regain hit points and spells. You can restore hit points at the House of Healing, but it costs a lot of gold. It wasn't unusual for my 6th-level character to rest for over 200 days between dungeon forays. Characters in Oubliette age as well, and can presumably die when they get old enough. (And yes, different races have differing lifespans. This game thinks of everything.)
• When you die, you can opt to either abandon your character or leave its body in the dungeon for others to find. You can pick those bodies up and return them to the Castle, or loot their gear, but I never found any. I suspect that, if there are any still there, they'll be on the lower dungeon levels.
• There is a large variety of magic items to be found in the dungeon, or bought at the magic shop. I found a scroll and a sword, but wasn't able to identify either. The sword must have been cursed, because my character died as soon as I equipped it.
• The dungeons don't have any fixed encounters as such, but every level has a special room where the fights are tougher and the rewards greater. I found one of these on Level 1; that's where I got the scroll mentioned above.

I feel like I've only scratched the surface of this game; there's obviously much more to it than I've experienced. As such, I'm not entirely comfortable giving it a Final Rating, because there's no way that I can do so accurately. Still, in the interests of comprehensiveness I'll do so, and note that my experience of the game was incomplete.

FINAL RATING:

Story & Setting: Oubliette has no story, beyond the presence of the dungeon and your character's desire to loot it for treasure. Like most other PLATO games, it takes place entirely inside the dungeon, but I'm tempted to mark this higher because the levels are well-designed and full of tricks and traps. The lack of special encounters hurts it though, as does the absence of backstory. Rating: 1 out of 7.

Characters & Monsters: There are no NPCs in the game, although I suspect that lack was made up for by interacting with the other players. The monsters, on the other hand, are numerous, with a wide array of special abilities. Yes, they're plucked straight out of the AD&D Monster Manual, but they're well implemented, with lots of different weaknesses, resistances and special abilities. I'm disappointed that I never got to encounter more, but the ones I did find were consistent with their D&D counterparts: mages cast spells, centipedes can poison you, shadows are immune to normal weapons, etc. There's no doubt that the monster selection and variety here is better than anything in any other PLATO CRPG. Rating: 4 out of 7.

Aesthetics: Oubliette's dungeon is depicted from a first-person perspective, with wireframe walls and doors. The viewing window is - as it was in Moria - ridiculously small. The screen isn't cluttered with character info like it was in Moria though, and the expanses of black on the screen make it feel suitably claustrophobic. And I do love that PLATO orange... Rating: 2 out of 7.

Mechanics: This might be the hardest category for me judge fairly. On the one hand there's just so much stuff in the game: loads of monsters, an extensive selection of spells, tricks, traps, guilds, multiplayer options, the list goes on and I only saw a fraction of it. On the other hand, I found a lot of it frustratingly opaque. Combat was especially irritating, because the messages flash by almost too quickly to read. There were a number of occasions in which I died while just walking around, with no indication of what killed me. (Pits, as I later discovered.) So there's a lot in the game, and much of it is well implemented, but there are things about it that annoyed me a lot. I'm going to split the middle here. Rating: 4 out of 7.

Challenge: This game is lethal to the point of unplayability, but then again I wasn't playing it as intended by the creators. If it were a solo game I'd give it the minimum rating and leave it at that, but I'm going to bump it up a point in acknowledgement that it's really a multiplayer game. Rating: 2 out of 7.

Innovation & Influence: The number of things appearing for the first time in a CRPG is staggering, and it would be impossible for me to name them all. There's a definite debt that the game owes to Moria, but there's plenty of originality on display as well. Oubliette was also massively influential on Wizardry, to the point where some have called Wizardry a rip-off. I wouldn't go that far, but that's a debate for another time. Wizardry is an influential CRPG in its own right, which makes Oubliette one of the most important games of the PLATO era. Rating: 7 out of 7.

Fun: This is the most purely subjective category in my rating system, and unfortunately, despite all of the innovative things about Oubliette, I didn't have a great time with it. Most of the enjoyment I derived came from mapping. This would be a far different score if I'd been able to survive with any reliability, but as it is I have to mark the game low even though I know it's probably unfair. Rating: 1 out of 7.

I'm going to award the bonus point to Oubliette, both because I recognise that I should have played it with other people, and because I'd like to go back to it at some point. The score above totals 22, which doubled gives a Final Rating of 44. That's a respectable total, and puts it just below pedit5 and Orthanc, and well above Moria. I've no doubt it would have scored higher had I been able to experience more of it.

ADDENDUM:

Somewhat later in this blog I made the decision to overhaul my Final Rating system, so I'm going back through and fixing all of the games I've already played as of March 2020.  I've ditched the Innovation and Influence category, and replaced it for CRPGs with a category for Combat.  I've also changed the purpose of the bonus points, saving them for games that are important, innovative, influential, or have features that are otherwise not covered by my other categories.

Also, the Final Rating is a boring name.  The CRPG Addict has his GIMLET.  The Adventure Gamers have their PISSED rating.  Data Driven Gamer has his harpoons.  So I'm ditching the generic name and calling my new system the RADNESS Index: the Righteous Admirability Designation, Numerically Estimating Seven Scores. It's a pretentious mouthful, but I'm going with it.

Combat: The many character class abilities and spells give this game a wealth of options, and the monster special abilities mean that different tactics may be required.  Unfortunately, I never really got to experience this game to its fullest, but from what I did see I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.  Rating: 3 out of 7.

Bonus Points: 2. Oubliette is the primary influence behind Wizardry, one of the most important games in the genre. It also seems to have been the PLATO game that did the most with its multiplayer functionality (not that I got to see any of it).

Oubliette's RADNESS Index is 36. It's in equal 7th place with The Dungeon (pedit5), but with a proper community in place I'm sure it would have scored much higher.  In terms of CRPGs it's equal 4th out of nine.

NEXT: It's on to Aldebaran III (more well-known by its filename of A3 to those who know it at all), a text adventure created using the Wander system by the system's originator Peter Langston. Langston's first effort, Castle, involved the exploration of a castle, the rescuing of a prince and princess, and an awkwardly sexual ending. A3 is a sci-fi game, and from what I've played it really ups the ante as far as story-telling in adventures games goes. It's also going to be a welcome change of pace to play something that's not a stupidly large mainframe CRPG; I'm looking forward to it.

Oubliette: Blessedly Difficult

I've been playing Oubliette here and there, between Moria and various and sundry console games, and I have good news to report: it's too damned hard, so I won't be getting bogged down in it for any great length of time. Difficult games don't normally bother me, and I think that the solid year I spent trying to finish The Game of Dungeons v8 is a testament to that. I have to make a rule for games that are primarily intended for multiplayer, though. For those games, if the difficulty is too steep, I'll play them for a bit and move on.  My list is long enough, and I need to draw a line somewhere.

(As a general preference, I prefer single-player games anyway.  That's not to say I don't like multiplayer; some of the most fun I've ever had gaming has been with friends.  I'm not a big fan of on-line multiplayer, though.  If I'm playing with other people, I want them in the room, if only so that I may witness the breaking of their spirits in person.  On-line multiplayer doesn't do a lot for me, for which I'm grateful; MMORPGs are a rabbit-hole that I'm glad to have avoided.)

There's no doubt in my mind that Oubliette is balanced for multiplayer, and is nigh-impossible to survive for any significant length of time with just one character. I suppose that I could get another cyber1 sign-on and test it out, but multiplayer games ain't what I'm here for. My current plan is to map level 1 of the dungeon, testing the various classes as I do so, and after that to move on.  The level is large enough that exploring it fully should give me a decent chance to try out the game's many options.

I see this a lot.

I've lost track of how many characters I've sent to their deaths in this game. Of the classes that I've tried, Hirebrands and Clerics seem to last the longest. I haven't tested all of the classes yet, because the list you get to pick from is dependent on race, gender and statistics, and it's hard to know exactly what's needed for the more exotic types. Hirebrands, Thieves, Clerics and Mages aren't difficult to qualify for, and pretty much anybody can be a Peasant (though I'm not sure why you would want to be).  Your class determines which weapons and armour you can use, and what spells you have available; I'm sure there are other differences that aren't so obvious, but I'm yet to figure those out (and I doubt that I will in the time I'll be playing the game).

As far as statistics go, a high Constitution is a must (for hit points), and a high Dexterity also seems to be important, as it determines how easy it is for monsters to surprise you, as well as how often you are able to act in battle. It's not uncommon for beginning characters to be surprised and killed without ever getting a chance to react, so obviously a high Dex is crucial.

I've developed a routine for new characters. My first destination is Corwin's General Store, where I supply them with whatever arms and armour I can.  Most new character start with something in the vicinity of 60 gold pieces, which is enough to buy a weapon and maybe some armour. The choice of weapons is limited (daggers, maces, short swords, axes, hammers,clubs, and the legendary pointed stick) and there are three types of armour: leather, chain and plate.  In addition you can buy shields and helmets, as well as an array of random gear ranging from cloaks to boot to the intriguing Golden Diaper +3. Normally I can afford one weapon (usually the mace or short sword depending on my class) and maybe a shield. Treasure is plentiful in the dungeon, and it only takes one successful foray before I can return and purchase some plate mail and a helmet.

What is that mystery item at the end for 1 gold?

Once I have a weapon and some armour, I'll buy torches if I need to.  The dungeon is dark, and impossible to navigate without a light source of some sort.  Some races have Infravision, the ability to see in the dark: dwarves, orcs, hobgoblins, and presumably a number of others I've not played yet. These races have been my favourites to play so far, because not only is it nice to not have to worry about torches, but Infravision lets you see one square ahead, whereas torches only illuminate the square you're standing in. Mapping with torches is a pain. Magical light is even better than torches, but I'll write more about spells lower down.

After buying equipment I head to the On the House Used Monster Shop, where a follower can be obtained for free. I normally go for a Stone Giant or a Pyrohydra, for maximum hit points and killing power. I tried getting a high-level cleric, hoping that I'd be able to use his spells, but either it's not possible or I wasn't able to figure out how. A follower is necessary for any kind of survival, and meat shields are nice, but I'd really like to have a healer. I still feel like there's a catch to using this store, though. Why would they be giving me monsters for free? It seems to good to be true, and I'm sure that I'm missing something.

After that, I head into the dungeon to start mapping. The first-person 3D view is very reminiscent of Moria, but the view is larger.  The dungeon levels are 29x29 squares, which isn't excessively large, but it is big enough to make the process time-consuming. At first my maps showed that there would be plenty of unused space, but eventually I found some secret doors (by walking into walls) and it became apparent that every square would be used. There are pits scattered around that deal roughly 1-10 points of damage. There are also a number of navigational tricks introduced here for the first time in CRPGs that will go on to plague gamers in the 1980s: teleporters, squares that extinguish your light sources, and "spinners" (squares that randomly change the direction you're facing). It reminds me very much of Bard's Tale and Wizardry, and there's more to come on that.  (Given this game's obvious influence on Wizardry and Wizardry's influence on CRPGs in general - particularly those from Japan - it wouldn't be a stretch to say that Oubliette is the most influential of all the PLATO CRPGs.)

Combat is plentiful and quick. I've been fighting a who's who of the AD&D Monster Manual - goblins, orcs, giant centipedes, skeletons, and even some low-level fighters, clerics, thieves and magic-users. It's a large variety of monsters, rivalled only by Moria so far, but I suspect that the monsters in Oubliette offer more in the way of special abilities. Already I've been poisoned by a giant centipede (which drained 1 hit point per step), and come up against some Shadows which I was unable to hit with regular weapons.  (This is consistent with AD&D.)  Some monsters are found in small groups, and others - such as goblins - might be found in packs of 15.

The main problem with combat is that, unless you're playing a spellcaster, your options are limited: you can Fight, Hide or Evade.  (You can also scream for help, but that's not very useful without other players around.) Hiding doesn't always work, but when it does it allows you to avoid being attacked by enemies and let your companions finish them off; it's probably great as part of a group, especially for Thieves. Evade lets you run away, but most of the time I haven't been able to do so successfully. Fight is your basic melee attack, and most battles are spent pressing F over and over as you trade blows. Your Dexterity determines how quickly you get to act in relation to your enemies: I had one character who was attacking three or four times before the other side got their turn. It also seems to me that the monsters only attack you one at a time, perhaps due to narrow tunnels or some such justification. Whatever it is, it makes the game at least vaguely survivable.

Getting the drop on two kobolds (which are depicted with an 
icon straight out of Moria).

With those limited options, though, Oubliette is pretty much nothing but a game of chance for a solo character. You might survive for a while with a suitably strong character (one with a lot of hit points and a high Dex), but eventually it will go against you. And that's just on dungeon level 1, with basic monsters; I imagine things get even hairier on the lower levels. Spells might make a difference, but most of the spellcasting classes don't begin with enough hit points to survive for long, so I haven't had much of a chance to experiment. Taking a look at the Help file, I think I need to try out the Ranger class, as it has good fighting ability and can cast both Magic-User and Cleric spells. It's difficult to qualify for, but it looks to be worth it.

Magic is another part of the game that is reminiscent of Wizardry in particular.  The spell selection is pure AD&D, but every spell has it's own name derived from a consistent set of syllables each with their own meaning.  The sleep spell, for example, is called NARGOR (meaning not-thought) , fireball is FIEMINAT (meaning fire-opening), cure light wounds is KOMINAH (meaning close-opening), and so on  And if you doubt the influence this game had on Wizardry, the light spell is named DUMAPIC, just like the location spell in that game.  Spells are split into separate lists for Clerics and Magic-Users (with the Cleric list focused on healing and the magic-user list on offense), and the spells are also organised by level, with the least powerful spells at first level and the most at level 7.  Every time you cast a spell in Oubliette you need to type in the full name, which can get a bit irritating, especially in combat. It's necessary, at least when starting out, to have a cheat sheet with the spell names written down on it for reference. The only one I've used with any regularity is MORPIC, the Cleric's light spell, which has greater range than a regular torch and Infravision, and also reveals secret doors.

Uhhh, in English please?

Sometimes after combat you will find a treasure chest, and can inspect it for traps, which can THEN be disarmed. As with spell-casting, you need to type in the complete name of the trap to be disarmed, and even if you get it right there's no guarantee you'll be successful. I've encountered Sprinklers (which put out your light source), Teleporters, Poison-Needles, Stunners, and a bunch of others I'm forgetting.  Apparently there's even a trap that changes your gender, which is Gary Gygax as hell. Again, this is exactly like Bard's Tale (and possibly Wizardry, which I'm not as familiar with). The similarities are inescapable.

So far, I've only had one character that survived for more than about 15 minutes - a Hobgoblin hirebrand named Hobgob (I'm expending minimum effort on names, due to the game's high mortality rate).  I'm not sure what level I reached with him (as I can't find where the game displays character level), but I estimate that I was level 5 or 6, as I had 59 hit points.  I spent a long time angsting about not being able to figure out how to level up, only for the game to do it for me automatically when I returned to the Castle. (Or perhaps it was when I returned to my guild, I'm not sure.)  I had become virtually immune to combat by the time I had 40 hit points, aside from the aforementioned Shadows which I had to run away from. Traps were my biggest worry, especially pit traps - those are often strategically placed to be unavoidable, and I never figured out a way to cross them without taking damage. In the end I was killed by a Poison-Needle trap on a chest; most chests on dungeon level 1 aren't trapped at all, but this one got me, and I wasn't able to make it back to the castle before I died.

Oh, he was level 6, it says it right there.

To be honest, I was relieved when Hobgob died, as I was starting to believe that, with enough grinding, I'd have a decent chance of survival. Perhaps that's still the case, but I don't aim to find out. I'm going to finish my level 1 map, and get the hell out. I don't even have to feel that guilty about it, because the single-player version for Commodore 64 will come up on my list eventually. When it does, I'll tackle that game with greater diligence. As for the PLATO version of Oubliette, I'll be happy to leave it in the dust after another post or two.

Game 17: Oubliette (1977)

After far too long, I'm starting another game for the blog.  That doesn't mean that I'm done with Moria. Far from it; I'll still be plugging away at that monstrosity in the background, but there's little more that I can say about it.  It'll get another post once I'm finished with it, and in the mean-time I'll be pushing ahead and playing more games from 1977 and 1978.

There's always a sense of excitement that comes with starting a new game, but this time around it's mixed with quite a bit of trepidation.  Oubliette is another PLATO RPG, and as readers of the blog will know the last few of those have consumed my life.  I really don't want to get bogged down in another one, and I really don't want to be bogged down in two at the same time.  The good news is that Oubliette is nowhere near as large as Moria. (At 240-odd large dungeon levels, few games are.)

 

Castles seem to be the standard thing to put on your PLATO title screen

Oubliette was created primarily by Jim Schwaiger, and released on PLATO in November 1977. Like most PLATO games it was in continuous development for a number of years, with changes being made to it up through 1982. I have no idea what differences there might be between the game as it was in 1977, and the 1982 version. Presumably the one on cyber1 - which is the one I'm playing - is the version from 1982.  The game was later released on home computers, and even on iphone (as the title screen above indicates). I'll cover the home computer release when I get to it in the timeline, but needless to say I'll probably never get to the iphone version.

Oubliette is a dungeon exploration game that is viewed from a first-person perspective. The game is intended for multiple players, who each control a single character and interact within a shared environment. It can be played as a single-player game, but survival is difficult, and the intention is that characters will band together to form parties before braving the depths. As far as I can tell, there's no goal to be achieved in Oubliette: characters simply band together to explore the dungeon for treasure, and presumably the multiplayer interaction and competition was incentive enough to keep people interested. It's a relief, to be honest; I can drop this game at any time without feeling like I've missed something.

Beginning the game, with my character standing on the stairs to the dungeon.

Character creation is more complex than anything that's been seen to this point.  The first step is to choose from one of 15 races.  The standard D&D races are there, along with some from Tolkien (Uruk-Hai, Eldar), some monsters (Ogre, Pixie, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobold), and one pulled from Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series (Ur-Vile), which is surprising considering that the first book of that series had only been released a year prior.

Following that your attributes are determined, and they're the standard six from Dungeons & Dragons: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, Constitution, and Dexterity. The race you chose earlier determines the range for each of these attributes.  Your gender is also randomly determined here, which seems an odd thing to leave to chance. You can reroll as many times as you like until you get a character that you like.

Once you've accepted your attributes, you choose an Alignment from one of three: Lawful, Neutral or Chaotic. Some races will have restrictions here (for example, I created an Orc character that could not choose Lawful). I'm not sure what effect this has on the game at this point, except to affect what class you can choose in the next step.

Choosing a class comes next, and there are fifteen in the game: cleric, demondim (another one from Thomas Covenant), courtesan, hirebrand, mage, minstrel, ninja, paladin, peasant, ranger, raver (Covenant again), thief, sage, samurai, and valkyrie. The classes available to you are determined by race, class, and alignment. The unusual classes are harder to qualify for, whereas pretty much anyone can be a peasant.

Creating a character. Even with good stats like these, I only 
have a few classes to choose from.

Once a class is chosen, you get the option of starting in the castle or the dungeon. I always opt for the castle, and I'm not sure why you'd choose differently; starting in the dungeon with no gear or followers is basically suicide.

LIGNE Castle is the hub of the game, where characters can stock up on supplies, form parties, and do all sorts of other cool stuff. It's big - 29x29 squares - and there are tons of things to do. I'll hit some highlights below:

• There's a separate guild for every class, and you need to join one in order to level up.  You can increase your guild rank by making donations, but there's no indication of how much is needed. I donated about 1,000 gold pieces with my first character, and my rank was still 0.  Once you have a ranking of 1 you can hire a companion that will follow you free of charge, but should that companion die your rank drops by one.
• There are shops where you can buy charmed monsters, ranging from lowly kobolds right up to Orcus himself. There's even a shop where you can get these monsters for free, though I suspect that there's a catch with this that I haven't twigged to yet. These monsters stay with you until you rest, but you can get around that by selling them back to the shop then buying them back later on.

Obtaining a charmed monster for free.

• Hotels where you can rest and recover lost hit points. You can rest anywhere in the castle, but it's quicker to do so in a hotel (and I'm pretty sure that character's age in this game, so time is a factor).
• Taverns, which are the place where you go to join up with other adventurers and form parties. (Because even this far back, it was understood that all adventures begin in a tavern.)
• Corwin's General Store, where you buy weapons, armour, torches and holy water.  Torches are valuable, because you need them to see in the dungeon unless you choose a race that can see in the dark. This is the main reason that I chose a dwarf as my initial character.
• Merlin's Magic Shoppe, where you can buy and sell magic items. Items to buy are listed by category. You type in the category you want, and you get a list of available items with nothing to differentiate them but price. What you're buying is a mystery; presumably the more expensive the better, but I haven't bought anything yet so it's impossible to say.
• There's a Jail where you can look for character's by name. It's not clear how you end up in jail, or what you can do should you find the character you're looking for.
• Hidden in an out-of-the-way spot is the Patriarch's Temple, but said Patriarch will only see you if you make a donation. According to the documentation he can help identify magic items, but I haven't tested this out yet (nor have I actually found any magic items).
• The Morgue is another place where you can search for character's by name. I understand that you can find the corpses of dead characters in the dungeon and return them to the city; this is probably where they go if you don't have the gold or the desire to resurrect them.
• You can visit Kesim's Casino and gamble on blackjack, craps or cockroach racing. These Are the first gambling mini-games in CRPGs to my knowledge, and the cockroach racing is delightfully odd. It's a good place to build up your gold before buying weapons, I've found.

Winning money on the roaches.

• Brand's Potion Shop, where you can buy various potions and scrolls. When your basic healing potion costs around 70,000gp, though, the prices are probably too high.
• Honest John's Bank and Trust. I haven't done anything here yet, but I can only assume that you can deposit and withdraw gold here. (I can't check right now, because cyber1 is down for backups.) I need to come back here to check if I'm able to rob the bank.
• Ghenghis' Army Recruiter, which is a mystery. There's a sign that says it's closed due to budget cuts, and there's nothing else that can be done here.

With the city mapped, monster companion recruited (a pyrohydra), and armaments purchased, it was time for me to take Axebeard the Dwarf into the dungeon.   I did quite well for a while, surviving a number of battles and forays.  The monsters that I encountered were the usual array of low-level D&D types: rats, goblins, kobolds, etc, in groups of about 6.  My character gained about 3,000 experience points, but I couldn't figure out how to level up, or even if I had enough xp to do so.  It's supposed to be done at the guild, but the option never appeared for me.

In the end, I was killed by a band of 7 kobolds.  It happened very suddenly: one second I was at full hit points, the next I was dead.  Combat was a little hard to fathom.  The word 'Options' appears under the name of the enemy, and you have a limited time to input your command (F for fight, in most cases).  A message would come up telling me if I killed an enemy (and if my charmed monster did so), then a message would flash telling me what the monsters did.  That message was very quick, and I never did get a good look at what it said.  At the moment, the combat workings are a bit of a mystery to me.

Deciding whether to delete my character or wait for someone else 
to retrieve his body. Odds seem slim for the latter in 2017.

The influences here are strong, and obvious.  The first is, of course, Dungeons & Dragons. More specifically, the original pre-AD&D version of the game.  The monster list makes it obvious that they're working from the AD&D Monster Manual, but there are enough references and bits of terminology that I'm confident in saying that the rest of Oubliette is based on the original D&D rules. More than any other game previous, this game emulates D&D, right down to the way that early campaigns were played.  The first D&D campaigns were run by a single referee in a single, huge dungeon, with a rotating pool of players that all explored the same location.  Oubliette emulates that exactly, and copies over a lot of the rules and monsters as well. The main deviation is in the number of races and classes, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if Jim Schwaiger and his players had homebrewed all of the new types for their own campaign. It's how things were done in those days.

The other influence is Moria, which was also a first-person dungeon exploration game where you could join up with other characters. It had a large city, shops with loads of stuff to buy, guilds, characters that age, and a bunch of other similarities to Oubliette.  As far as I can tell, Oubliette takes those ideas and expands on them, providing a more varied and interesting game experience.That's my first impression, anyway; we'll see if it holds up.

I'm not setting myself any goals for Oubliette just yet; I've learned my lesson with Moria.  There aren't any goals I can set really; the game itself doesn't provide any.  It will all depend on how difficult it is.  If I find that I can survive on my own, I'll try to map out the 10-level dungeon.  If it proves to be too deadly, I'll play it for a few weeks and then move on.