Wizard's Crown
Encyclopedia
Wizard's Crown is a 1985 top-down computer role-playing game published
by Strategic Simulations, Inc.
(SSI). It was released for the Atari 8-bit
, Atari ST
, IBM PC
, Apple II and Commodore 64
. Its sequel, The Eternal Dagger
, was released in 1987.
al crown
from Tarmon, a wizard who sealed himself and the crown in his laboratory
500 years previous.
The game design
and programming
was done by Paul Murray and Keith Brors, game development
by Chuck Kroegel
and Jeff Johnson, and the rulebook created by Leona Billings.
Wizard's Crown features a detailed tactical combat system, which influenced SSI's design of the subsequent, highly successful AD&D Gold Box series. For instance, shields block attacks only from the front and left (shielded) side, and not from the rear and right (unshielded side). Spears can attack two squares away, Flails ignore the defender's shields, and Axes have a chance of breaking shields.
There is an option for 'quick combat', with regular combat taking anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes (or more) per encounter.
The class system is based on a point buy system, with the unique feature of 'buying' classes and skills using Intelligence points. The classes are Thief, Ranger, Fighter, Priest and Sorcerer, each possessing a distinct set of skills and any of which can be combined together into a single character. Up to eight characters could be created in a single party.
Experience is spent directly on skills, attributes and life points. When a skill level is very low each fraction of experience spent developing it can result in a rise from 1 up to 8 skill points; this upper limit gradually lowers until it's very hard to get any increase at all past the 100-skill points mark. The maximum skill level is 250.
The game is also memorable for its magic weapons, for example, the Storm Longsword or Doom Battleaxe. They are three special series of weapons which can be enchanted to become progressively more powerful:
The 'Magic' series of weapons does pure magical damage ("injuries") and progresses under the names of 'Magic, Frost, Flaming, Lightning and Storm'.
The 'Plus' series of weapons cause extra bleeding, which would cause an opponent to pass out ("The opponent lies unmoving") but not die outright. For example, if all player characters pass out from excessive bleeding in a battle, you lose the battle, but are given a chance to heal them up in camp afterwards. These weapons are designated with "+1, +2, +3, +4, +5".
The 'Life Blast' series of weapons are the most powerful in the game. They do direct damage to life points, and a character who is taken out by these weapons is killed; you cannot revive them except with a resurrection spell. These weapons progress with the names 'Dark, Doom, Soul, Demon and Death'.
admired the game's use of injuries and bleeding in simulating combat. However, the review also felt there was far too much emphasis on hack and slash
, with only a few trivial puzzles and almost no interaction between the party and anyone else beyond buying, selling, and killing.
The game was reviewed in 1986 in Dragon
#114 by Hartley and Pattie Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers "recommend this offering as one that truly presents a most positive view of fantasy role-playing as played on a computer system." In a subsequent column, the reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Strategic Simulations, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit since its founding in 1979. It was especially noted for its numerous wargames, its official computer game adaptations of Dungeons & Dragons, and for the groundbreaking Panzer General...
(SSI). It was released for the Atari 8-bit
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
, Apple II and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
. Its sequel, The Eternal Dagger
The Eternal Dagger
The Eternal Dagger is a 1987 top-down computer role-playing game published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. as a sequel to Wizard's Crown, which was released in 1985...
, was released in 1987.
Gameplay
Wizard's Crown is a detailed game for its age. While the graphics are typical for games of the era, the extensive combat, injury, character advancement, and magical equipment systems rival those of games made ten years later. The object of the game is to rescue a magicMagic (gaming)
Some role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the paranormal sense. These rules simulate the effects that magic would have within the game context, according to how the game designer intended the magic to be portrayed...
al crown
Crown (headgear)
A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...
from Tarmon, a wizard who sealed himself and the crown in his laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
500 years previous.
The game design
Game design
Game design, a subset of game development, is the process of designing the content and rules of a game in the pre-production stage and design of gameplay, environment, storyline, and characters during production stage. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in a game as...
and programming
Game programming
Game programming, a subset of game development, is the programming of computer, console or arcade games. Though often engaged in by professional game programmers, many novices may program games as a hobby...
was done by Paul Murray and Keith Brors, game development
Game development
Game development is the software development process by which a video game is developed. Development is undertaken by a game developer, which may range from a single person to a large business. Mainstream games are normally funded by a publisher and take several years to develop. Indie games can...
by Chuck Kroegel
Chuck Kroegel
Chuck Kroegel is an American computer game designer. He was an executive for many years with SSI, and played a role in developing their position as an industry leader in war games and role-playing games...
and Jeff Johnson, and the rulebook created by Leona Billings.
Wizard's Crown features a detailed tactical combat system, which influenced SSI's design of the subsequent, highly successful AD&D Gold Box series. For instance, shields block attacks only from the front and left (shielded) side, and not from the rear and right (unshielded side). Spears can attack two squares away, Flails ignore the defender's shields, and Axes have a chance of breaking shields.
There is an option for 'quick combat', with regular combat taking anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes (or more) per encounter.
The class system is based on a point buy system, with the unique feature of 'buying' classes and skills using Intelligence points. The classes are Thief, Ranger, Fighter, Priest and Sorcerer, each possessing a distinct set of skills and any of which can be combined together into a single character. Up to eight characters could be created in a single party.
Experience is spent directly on skills, attributes and life points. When a skill level is very low each fraction of experience spent developing it can result in a rise from 1 up to 8 skill points; this upper limit gradually lowers until it's very hard to get any increase at all past the 100-skill points mark. The maximum skill level is 250.
The game is also memorable for its magic weapons, for example, the Storm Longsword or Doom Battleaxe. They are three special series of weapons which can be enchanted to become progressively more powerful:
The 'Magic' series of weapons does pure magical damage ("injuries") and progresses under the names of 'Magic, Frost, Flaming, Lightning and Storm'.
The 'Plus' series of weapons cause extra bleeding, which would cause an opponent to pass out ("The opponent lies unmoving") but not die outright. For example, if all player characters pass out from excessive bleeding in a battle, you lose the battle, but are given a chance to heal them up in camp afterwards. These weapons are designated with "+1, +2, +3, +4, +5".
The 'Life Blast' series of weapons are the most powerful in the game. They do direct damage to life points, and a character who is taken out by these weapons is killed; you cannot revive them except with a resurrection spell. These weapons progress with the names 'Dark, Doom, Soul, Demon and Death'.
Reception
A review in Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
admired the game's use of injuries and bleeding in simulating combat. However, the review also felt there was far too much emphasis on hack and slash
Hack and slash
Hack and slash or hack and slay, abbreviated H&S or HnS, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat. "Hack and slash" was originally used to describe an aspect of pen-and-paper role-playing games , carrying over from there to MUDs, MMORPGs, and video games in general...
, with only a few trivial puzzles and almost no interaction between the party and anyone else beyond buying, selling, and killing.
The game was reviewed in 1986 in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#114 by Hartley and Pattie Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers "recommend this offering as one that truly presents a most positive view of fantasy role-playing as played on a computer system." In a subsequent column, the reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.