Apeomancer's Topical Quest Collective - Part 5Hi all! Apeomancer here, home for Easter, with another quest review, this time of the Ice Palace Quest that's been on MUD a lot lately. Only a 4 month wait for it this time - I'm improving! NB - 'Realism rating' refers to how many bugs, tricks and errors I find in the quest and how real the place feels to me. The main Land, tested to destruction and continuously improved over 20 years, is considered to be 10/10.
The Ice Palace Quest
Analysis: A medium sized quest, with an icy, arctic theme for most of it - the bulk of it is set in a glittering ice palace, though it also features a forest, a grassy plain, a snow field (with a yeti wandering around!), some treacherous mountains, a watch tower and a windmill. Although this last doesn't especially fit in with the frozen theme, it's an interesting, unusual choice for a building. It's also got some nice easy t in there, if you can work out how to get it out! The first major task you will encounter is that of getting the ice palace's drawbridge open. Once you've achieved this, you then have to go up against the denizens of the ice palace, which include the palace guardsmen and jailer, delicate little ice faeries, a polar bear and the dread sentinels of the towers of darkness and light, while you try to solve the puzzle of how to awaken the frozen Ice Princess. One of the most notable things about this quest is the extent to which co-operation is required - it would take a very cunning plan to complete this quest alone (though I think I can think of one way of doing it, at least as far into it as I got ...). The mobiles also seem to be designed to be more challenging to single players than to teams - they were rather threatening the first time I saw this quest (as a superhero with the LS and a regain stamina vial) but with the help of Afro and Julia (thanks for your help on this quest guys!) they were quite easy. The quest is not lacking in weapons (as the guardsmen all carry axes), healing items (there are a few wafers lying about) or treasure. This last varies from homely easy t in the windmill, which put me in mind of Il Castellare's treasure, to the more valuable statues (including one of ice), paintings, gems and ducats (coins, carried by the faeries) found in the ice palace. However, since this quest really requires partners to do, bear in mind you'll be sharing all that T - though I haven't got as far as seeing the big stuff you'll get at the end of the quest yet ... The one slight complaint I have with the quest is that it was a bit linear - although you have some freedom in your movements, the landscape tends to direct you quite strongly toward the ice palace, and once in there most of the areas are one-room-at-a-time towers. However, the descriptions of the quest do a good job of communicating the glitteringly enchanting but chilly atmosphere of the ice palace. Overall, the quest is a very enjoyable way to spend a set or two of MUD, and I highly recommend you seek it out - preferably with another player or two for company. Have fun! Apeomancer (aka Maxmage) P.S. You never know, might get some more quest reviews done soon, so you might see 'em in the next issue of MT! ... click here to return to the category list.
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