Sinbad! The Seven Legendary Voyages of the Sailor Supreme.
A map for Heroes of Might and Magic II (R) New World Computing
Version 1.01
Charles E. Watkins
Size: XL
Players: 1
Difficulty: Hard
Objective: Defeat All Five Allied Opponents
Loss Condition: Loss of Hero 'Caralynn'
DESCRIPTION
In this micro-campaign you play the role of Sinbad and his allies as they complete seven legendary voyages. Initially, the heroes are separated. Sinbad is washed up alone on the shore near home. His squire Excelsior and the fighting Corsairs are stranded on a desert island. Lady Caralynn is trapped by the evil Malacet and her serpents. What's worse, your starting resources and your castle have been swept away in a mysterious Calamity.
For at least the first half of the game, only those three heroes will be available--and they cannot be replaced. Since losing Caralynn leads to an immediate loss, you will want to take extra care to protect her. There are only three castles in this world. One belongs to Sargon's ally Nimrod. One belongs to the sinister Shadowcaster. And the other was Baghdad, whose fate you will soon see. Since castle building is not a major factor in the game, it pays to explore other ways of gathering armies.
If Sinbad can make it back to Baghdad in time to bind his wounds, he will learn something of his father, Sargon, who is believed dead after failing to return from his final quest. In the course of the game, Sinbad will unravel the fate of Sargon and prepare to take his place as Lord of Baghdad. In addition to Excelsior and the Lady Caralynn, Sinbad will be aided by his Vizier and whatever allies he can make along the way.
The order of the voyages is essentially linear, enforced by the Sphinxes who set the missions and dispense the rewards. Trying to take things out of order may spoil the game entirely, so it's important to visit the sphinxes. However, in addition to the main voyages, there are numerous smaller islands and side quests to explore. These you can do (or not) in any order, as long as you have enough Might and Magic.
HINTS FOR PLAYERS (NO SPOILERS)
1. Though it is possible for both Excelsior and Caralynn to escape their predicaments on their own, there is really little to be gained over waiting for Sinbad to rescue them. Since you will be taking the voyages in sequence, you may wish to keep your heroes together in a group, perhaps occasionally using Excelsior to bring up reinforcements.
2. Don't be afraid of the Sphinxes, at least in the first half of the game. Each one is going to request a password, but if you take the logical path and remember the clues you are given, you should be able to give the proper reply. If you are worried about making a typing or spelling error, it would not be cheating to save the game before you enter the sphinx. (A real sphinx would not be running a spell checker.) Later in the game, the sphinxes get a little trickier, so don't enter unprepared.
3. Beware of Pirates! Some of them are pretty tough, but a superior sailor like Sinbad should be able to outrun them--just be sure to save some movement points. On the other hand, pirates are known for hidden treasure. In this game, there aren't many artifacts just lying around for the taking. You'll have to fight for them. Treasures are often placed out of sight or in guarded troves, but they are definitely there to be found. The only random treasures are those in sea chests, campfires, and such.
4. Don't spend a lot of effort working on the Ultimate Artifact puzzle. You won't be able to get it until the end game, though you may find the map itself to be interesting. Also don't worry about getting into the area on the right side of the map. You will have to teleport in, although a master sailor like Sinbad may be able to find a way to sail out.
5. There's no time limit on the game, so you can take your time and "see the world". Enemies do not gain strength as fast as you will, so if you come up against a powerful opponent, you might want to wait for reinforcements. For the Final Voyage, you would like to start with about a dozen Red Dragons (from the Dragon Cities), two dozen roc or geniis, and a good force of master swords, rogues, and nomads. Whether you choose to dabble in Black Arts is up to you, but Bone Dragons might come in handy if your morale can stand it.
DESIGN NOTES (SPOILERS ABOUND!)
1. This map was originally intended for Phil McCrum's summer contest, but I decided to release it ahead of time so I could help with the judging. It generally adheres to the requirements of the contest, though I admit to stretching the rules in several places. (For instance using "ice skimmers" instead of boats to negotiate part of the maze of ice an snow.)
2. The linearity of the voyages is enforced by the Sphinxes. Instead of a riddle, the sphinx demands a password which the player must discover. The sphinx then sends the player off to the next location, often with the password for the next sphinx. The sphinxes also dispense major artifacts. It would be easy to cheat, but I see no way to avoid that. The final encounter with the sphinxes employs the old liar/truth-teller puzzle.
3. As in 'Illuminati' I have blocked off a portion of the map to use for special locations--in this case the Arena, the Cloud Island, and the End of the World. The Arena is somewhat disappointing since the heroes there aren't always interested in a fight. Unless the computer player is a Warrior, the human may have to initiate the conflict. The Cloud Island is my attempt to use the "white" terrain type to create a cloud-like environment as a counterpoint to the ocean below. (One of the rules for the contest was only six castles, but I wanted to have seven voyages, so in this voyage Xanadu takes the place of a castle.)
4. The End of the World consists of three possible fates for Baghdad castle and the surrounding area. These are decay, scourge, and corruption and each is represented by a different terrain. The three are linked by an interesting teleport arrangement where one of the teleports has been "floated" using a technique I learned from Grayson. You need a boat to enter this teleport, but you can't bring it back, so there a limit on the number of visits you can make (unless you can manage to summon a boat.)
5. Excelsior is trapped on a desert island without a boat, but there are two ways off. Easiest is to wait for Sinbad to arrive. By then, Sinbad will have had several opportunities to learn 2nd level spells and has a good chance of knowing Summon Boat. After clearing the island, Excelsior can board Sinbad's boat and Sinbad can summon another one. The hard way is to lure a pirate to the island and use the Corsairs to take their boat. The game is set up so that a nearby Pirate will visit the island on the second turn to pick up a treasure on the beach. On the first turn, Excelsior can easily defeat the trolls by splitting the Corsiars into two groups of 20 master master swords and charging straight ahead. On the second turn there is time (if not gold) to hire some nomads to help defeat the pirate. Of course, Excelsior should wait for the pirate to land on the beach so the boat is not destroyed in the fight.
6. Caralynn (a tribute to the lovely Carolyn Munro from the Sinbad movies that inspired this map) must get past Malacet to gain her freedom. This is possible if the computer player is not a Warrior. When Malacet stops next to the obelisk, Caralynn can make a dash for daylight, moving as far to the East as she can. Builder and Explorers sometimes get distracted by the mines and shrines and don't attack.
7. In positioning the computer's heroes I noticed something odd: heroes placed in the "normal" starting spot get relocated to the door of the town or castle, one square above where you put them. What's more, even if you specify that they stand still (no radius), they can still enter the castle! I had to redo all the heroes and castles in the end game because of this.
8. I also encountered the vanishing ship bug. It seems there is a limit to the number of boats on the board, but the editor allows you to place as many as you like. When the game starts, the extra ones just vanish! This resulted in some pirates being stranded in the first version of the game.
