Once a Necro, Not Anymore

(Ice Palace Review)

So, you're wandering around The Land, looking for an adventure, and all of a sudden you find one. There's a mysterious white hole, which has appeared in the cottage's hall cupboard. It's a temptation, it's a risk, but that's why we're here, so through you go. Beyond it, not much seems to have changed, since you've arrived in the dense forest. But no! There's a sweet nightingale, and following a small path, we come to a clearing. There lies a dead unicorn, its horn savagely sawn off. Who could have performed this barbaric act? The adventure begins ...

East of the forest, there's a grassy plain, windswept and barren, except for a small windmill. The miller and his family have gone, but a few of their possessions remain, and perhaps some of their produce too. It's easy to dismiss this area, but the remnants have uses which only experiment can prove. North and upwards lies a watchtower, protecting a single path east. Killing the watchmen seems a tad cruel at first, (they're only doing their job!) but when they start beating you up, you'll have no sympathy for them. Cleaning this place out of its objects is worthwhile; again, they often have unexpected uses. Follow the path and brave the freezing snow field with its snowy inhabitants, and there, before you, is a palace carved from ice! It shimmers magnificently, cold and regal, giving away nothing about the horrors within. First test: can you get in?

(The Ice Palace loves me. It really does. If it didn't, would it kill me so often? A word to the small: there are some tough creatures wandering those "chilsome" halls. Sentries, guards, guardians, they're valuable if you can kill them, or at least get past them. Take a friend, if you're scared. Or, better yet, take two.)

Once you're in, take some time to familiarise yourself with the layout. Exploring the ground floor doesn't yield much on first inspection, but there are clues, and some small treasures to procure. If you can reach the tops of the towers, there'll be much more.

But ultimately, you're looking for the horn from that poor dead creature in the woods. (Nevermind that if it were a living mobile, you'd just kill it anyway.) If you search long and hard enough, if you're brave and true, and if you've got tough mates aplenty (or, well, one), there's no reason why you shouldn't find and slay the evil ice princess and restore the horn to its rightful owner. (Truth be told, I'm assuming that's what you do with it - we ran out of reset before we could experiment. The ice princess is a mean old thing.)

So, the keys to this quest are: persistance, imagination and strength. While there is stuff for a meandering lowlife to do (play with the faeries!), it's much more fulfilling to treat it as a puzzle, work with cleverer people and generally put your heart into it. If you do that, it's a game of skill, and there are points in abundance for the all-conquering champions (or sorcerers. Or necromancers. Or ... yes, you get the picture).