The Sorcerer's Cave
Encyclopedia
The Sorcerer's Cave, a game of exploration, magic, and adventure is a fantasy
board game
designed by Terence Peter Donnelly and first published in 1978
. It was inspired by the fantasy role-playing game
Dungeons & Dragons
. The players take the parts of members of a group of adventurers who enter a randomly generated maze, fight monsters, meet allies, find treasure and ultimately escape with their riches or find their doom.
, differentiated by their Strength and Magic abilities to join their party based on a points system. Once selected, a marker is placed on the central "Gateway" tile. The party then explores the cave by drawing cave tiles. If the tile is a chamber, the player then draws a number of smaller 'encounter' cards depending on the cave level they are on, and encounter the cards there.
The encounters can range from treasure and artifacts (which may help the player defeat monsters) to monsters themselves. In the case of strangers, they are first tested for a reaction, which may be friendly – in which case they join the party; indifferent – in which case they do nothing; or hostile – in which case they attack. Combat is resolved by rolling a normal six-sided die and adding the number to the parties total strength or magic characteristic depending on the nature of the creature. Multiple enemies are dealt with by splitting the party as the player sees fit to fight the monsters simultaneously.
The winning player is the one who escapes the cave with the most treasure.
Rules for both solo play and competitive play are given, with several variations, based on The Lord of the Rings
and the Greek myth Orpheus
, which have appropriate victory conditions.
creator Bob Harris wrote that, after being introduced to Dungeons & Dragons, he "had it in mind to come up with a way we could have all the excitement of a role-playing adventure without all the hard work of creating characters and drawing maps.")
said of the Sorcerer's Cave "As a family game, for the hour or two playing with the kids type market The Sorcerer's Cave works, and works well, but real Fantasy buffs will be disappointed by its simplicity when compared to D&D and the like."
computers, which is available from his website. The ZX Spectrum
computer game, Goblin Mountain, by Martin Page (from Sinclair User 63 - Jun.1987) also has clear similarities (especially the Friendly/Indifferent/Hostile reactions by strangers).
. Mystic Wood, another somewhat different randomly-generated maze game designed by Donnelly, is a spiritual successor to Sorcerer's Cave set in a forest with each player having their own specific quest.
Games designer David Whiteland has developed an unpublished open-ended game called "Caverns" based on childhood memories of Donnellys original.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
designed by Terence Peter Donnelly and first published in 1978
1978 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1978. For video and console games, see 1978 in video gaming....
. It was inspired by the fantasy role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
. The players take the parts of members of a group of adventurers who enter a randomly generated maze, fight monsters, meet allies, find treasure and ultimately escape with their riches or find their doom.
Playing
The players start by choosing several generic character types, such as Man, Woman, Dwarf or GiantGiant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
, differentiated by their Strength and Magic abilities to join their party based on a points system. Once selected, a marker is placed on the central "Gateway" tile. The party then explores the cave by drawing cave tiles. If the tile is a chamber, the player then draws a number of smaller 'encounter' cards depending on the cave level they are on, and encounter the cards there.
The encounters can range from treasure and artifacts (which may help the player defeat monsters) to monsters themselves. In the case of strangers, they are first tested for a reaction, which may be friendly – in which case they join the party; indifferent – in which case they do nothing; or hostile – in which case they attack. Combat is resolved by rolling a normal six-sided die and adding the number to the parties total strength or magic characteristic depending on the nature of the creature. Multiple enemies are dealt with by splitting the party as the player sees fit to fight the monsters simultaneously.
The winning player is the one who escapes the cave with the most treasure.
Rules for both solo play and competitive play are given, with several variations, based on The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
and the Greek myth Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
, which have appropriate victory conditions.
Inspiration and intentions
Donnelly wrote that, after trying Dungeons & Dragons, that "while I had enjoyed being a participant in a fantasy role-playing adventure, I wasn't ready to do the work needed to set one up... if only the concept could be translated into a format that would require no laborious set-up and no referee—a game that could be taken out of the box and played instantly, yet be different every time." (similarly, TalismanTalisman (board game)
Talisman: The Magical Quest Game is a fantasy themed adventure board game for two to six players, originally designed and produced by Games Workshop and now published by Fantasy Flight Games. The game was first released in 1983 and has gone through several revisions...
creator Bob Harris wrote that, after being introduced to Dungeons & Dragons, he "had it in mind to come up with a way we could have all the excitement of a role-playing adventure without all the hard work of creating characters and drawing maps.")
Critical reaction
Ian LivingstoneIan Livingstone
Ian Livingstone OBE is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. He is a co-writer of the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and co-founder of Games Workshop....
said of the Sorcerer's Cave "As a family game, for the hour or two playing with the kids type market The Sorcerer's Cave works, and works well, but real Fantasy buffs will be disappointed by its simplicity when compared to D&D and the like."
Computer versions
Donnelly has created a version of The Sorcerer's Cave for Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
computers, which is available from his website. The ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
computer game, Goblin Mountain, by Martin Page (from Sinclair User 63 - Jun.1987) also has clear similarities (especially the Friendly/Indifferent/Hostile reactions by strangers).
Legacy
An expansion set called The Sorcerer's Cave Extension Kit, containing 30 extra cave tiles and additional cards, was published in 19801980 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1980. For video and console games, see 1980 in video gaming.-Significant games-related events of 1980:...
. Mystic Wood, another somewhat different randomly-generated maze game designed by Donnelly, is a spiritual successor to Sorcerer's Cave set in a forest with each player having their own specific quest.
Games designer David Whiteland has developed an unpublished open-ended game called "Caverns" based on childhood memories of Donnellys original.
External links
- Computer version of the game created by the author
- The Type Fantastic page with download of Goblin Mountain