DDST - William Miller (PD)

RPGs are getting far more common on the ST. Whether this increase
in popularity is due to the fact that adventurers now prefer RPGs
to traditional adventures or whether it's because the software
houses think it's what we want is a moot point.  Regardless of
the reasons, it is somewhat surprising that there have been very
few RPGs available in the Public Domain, as far as I know just
Hack!, Larn and, now, DDST.

Hack! and Larn both have black and white medium res displays with
very primitive graphics. DDST, which was originally an online
game for Bulletin Boards, takes the game one step further by
having coloured graphics, more along the lines of the SSI RPGS,
though, obviously, not as detailed.

After the credits and an impressive screen showing a
fire-breathing dragon spitting a column of flame, you have
several options before you start the game proper. Choosing to
begin the adventure, you must first select your character from a

few already on the disk or create your own. Use a back-up disk,
invent a suitably tacky name and the program will set up the
attributes for your new character, who will start the adventure
at the level of "twit"! The instructions given with the game
suggest you get a character with good dexterity but other than
that, you are left to your own devices.

The purpose of the game is to defeat the evil Black Lord,
Asmodeus. As with all RPGs, your character will gain gold and
experience as he/she plays. The land of Eridor in which the game
is set, has been all but destroyed by Asmodeus and his minions
but you are told that there are some ruined cities in the area
which contain artifacts that will be useful in your quest.

There are also several towns in the region where you can seek
help from the Oracle (there is a different one in each location).
Each will give you a scroll containing information you may find
useful. The drawback is that they are written in a foreign

language that you can't understand so you will need gold to get
them translated.

As well as getting gold through successful encounters as you
roam the land, you can get a job in the inn in each town where
you will be offered a random amount of gold for a day's work as a
handyman. Once you have enough gold you can visit the blacksmith
and buy new armour and weaponry to replace the rags and pocket
knife you start out with. You can also buy and sell equipment and
weapons, gained through successful encounters, in the
marketplace.

The screen display is pretty good, though it only uses four
colours (black, white, blue, green), as each different type of
terrain uses a block of one or more colours so you can
distinguish between mountains, grassland, marsh, water, forest
etc. Rivers can only be crossed using a bridge.

Once you feel strong enough (or just fancy a challenge!) you can
enter one of the dungeons. One, the Fortress of Isengard, is

reached through a pass which is protected by a magical barrier so
this area is not easily accessible at the start. The nearby
dungeons below the ruins of Mangrave and Angband can be entered
at any time but the monsters in those are generally far harder to
beat than those found outside. Ever met a 9-headed hydra? I
wouldn't recommend it!

When you enter a new dungeon, only the area in your immediate
vicinity is illuminated, the rest is gradually revealed as you
explore, much in the style of Phantasie 1, which creates an
ominous feel as you don't know what is round the corner.
According to your abilities to detect traps, hear monsters and so
forth, you may be warned before something nasty happens. Failure
to detect a trap will result in your sustaining some nasty
injuries but, fortunately, there are healing potions hidden in the
dungeons so you will not have to beat a hasty retreat to an inn
to recover. Impressive weapons are also hidden in the dungeons
and secret rooms and passages abound.

I found this game very enjoyable to play. Not unexpectedly, it is
nowhere near as complicated or large as commercial RPGs but there
is still plenty to keep your interest. I didn't complete the game
in the time I had available to play it for review but I would
estimate it could take a fair time to finish.

                                           Sue

@~DDST is available on SynTax PD disk 37 at œ2.50