Achieving Avatarhood

When I was a teenager, my parents were somewhat suspicious of computer games. Puzzle games were viewed positively for their virtues in exercising the mind. Of course one of the main reasons my parents yielded to getting a computer was so we could learn useful skills such as programming (in my case Basic) and using spreadsheets (in this case Dbase). That was how we ended up with an Apple II clone named "Dolfin" - its displayed name upon bootup. My brother and I were careful to not mention certain things about our games. Quoting the line from Ultima III Exodus, "from the depths of hell he comes for vengeance" would probably have banned us from certain types of games, as things related to Dungeons & Dragons magic and witchcraft were looked upon as corrupting influences. Learning mantras, meditating at shrines, and becoming an Avatar, might result in the same fate. We were careful not to mention these things.

At present however, I am ready to achieve avatarhood after virtuously destroying the skull of Mondain and getting my party seriously injured in the process. Nothing that LB couldn't take care of with his miraculous and "free" healing powers! I first sailed to the shrine of compassion, chanted the mantra for three cycles, and was rewarded with partial avatarhood and a vision. A moongate journey later, we traveled to the shrine of sacrifice and repeated the process (with a different mantra of course!) This was our last "eighth" of Avatarhood. The vision was similar. Now I am a full avatar, as indicated by the "full ankh" between the numerical values of my party's food and gold. I also took the opportunity to search for more nightshade and mandrake root.

It was time to go back to Paws and chat up Sir Simon and Lady Tessa because now I could honestly say I was an avatar, and they would tell me where to find mystic armor and weapons. I will need to make a trip to Empath Abbey and another to Serpent Castle to pick up the requisite items. I also still need to journey down the dungeons to obtain the three-part key. I have not decided on the best route yet. After that, I just need to get more gold for two more magic bows and the party will be ready to enter the Great Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom - two other things we were careful not to mention in our younger days.

40977 moves. Cumulative playing time = 22 hours.