Scenery

Floors

Most squares on the board will be Floor squares. Floors come in a variety of patterns. There are no hidden traps in Infinity Quest II, but there is one type of invisible monster (the Invisible Mage) and there are invisible walls, so what looks like a floor may not always be a floor.

Walls

Most other squares will be Wall squares. Walls exist in many varieties. From one level to the other, walls may well look different. There are 7 different wall designs in Infinity Quest II.

Normal walls are big blocks of stone. You cannot move or damage them (except with a Passwall wand, which will destroy one wall). You may not move or fight diagonally around a wall square, although you may shoot.

Some walls are damaged or crumbling. Those may be hit with sword or arrow (they have 2 “Life” points at each step) and will eventually crumble to nothing.

Some walls are damageable; these appear normal, but if you hit them, they turn into damaged walls.

Another type of wall is the trapped wall. When a trap (see below) is set off, all trapped walls connected to it will disappear. There are eight normal types of traps and of trapped walls. In addition, there are type 0 trapped walls, which will always vanish regardless of which trap type is set off. Trapped walls appear just like normal walls.

Moveable Walls allow you to move and shoot diagonally across them. If you place yourself adjacent to a moving wall, and move in its direction, you will push it forward by one square. Some moveable walls are unstable and will change, after either 1 or 2 pushes, into normal walls.

Some walls are breakable: when a breakable wall is shot, it instantly disappears. What’s more, any breakable walls to its left and right also disappear, and the effect propagates. Some breakable walls act vertically rather than horizontally. A horizontal breakable wall doesn’t affect vertical breakable walls, and vice versa. Breakable walls appear as normal walls.

Fading walls behave oddly: they vanish as soon as you get within 3 squares of them. Of course, they appear as normal walls.

Exploding walls, when they are struck by a sword (NOT arrows), explode. The explosion will set off any adjacent exploding walls. This can mean a very big chain reaction. Monsters next to an exploding wall take 3 points of bombing damage.

Illusory walls look like normal walls, but can be passed and shot through freely. Monsters never pass through these walls, but they may shoot through them.

Some walls may be invisible walls: these are the same as regular walls, except that they may not be seen (unless an Amulet of Sight is being worn). When an invisible wall blocks your way, a message to that effect will appear (note that an invisible wall may block you either by occupying your intended destination, or by preventing diagonal movement, as a regular wall does).

Phasing walls are magical walls which may exist in either of two states: in-phase, or out-of-phase. Out-of-phase walls may be passed or shot through. In-phase walls act like normal walls. There are several ways of changing the phase of a phasing wall; they are detailed further on.

Moving walls are animated scenery: a moving wall moves by itself (it may NOT be pushed). Every turn, it has a 50% chance of trying to move in one direction (always straight up, down or sideways, never diagonally).

Pillars are like walls, except that they allow moving diagonally around them. Broken Pillars are like Pillars, except that you may shoot through them (over the broken-off stump of column).

The last type of wall is the sealing wall. Those are the walls that seal off the level from the surrounding void. They are actually Void squares, but they appear as (indestructible) walls. Those walls may not be destroyed or altered in any way. A sealing wall may be found within a level as well, and will serve to block Specters and Imps.

Doors

Doors are of several types. Normal doors open and close when you walk onto them and walk out. Doors with a diagonal band are locked, and require a key to be unlocked, after which they become normal doors. Locked disappearing doors vanish after they’re unlocked. One-way doors may only be entered and exited from the correct directions. This does not apply to fighting or shooting.

Metal doors are a special case: these portals will not open except when they are set off by a corresponding metal door trigger. Each trigger is linked to a particular square on the level. If there is a metal door there, activating the trigger (which is done by hitting it from any adjacent square—shooting it will not work) will make the door open (i.e. vanish). If there isn’t a metal door on that square, activating the trigger will make the door close. Whatever is on that square will be obliterated by the metal door…

Finally, portcullises are another special form of door. In their closed state, portcullises may be opened by using a key. Once you have passed through an open portcullis, the portcullis will close.

Traps

There are many varieties of traps. Wall traps (usually called just “traps”) make trapped walls (see above) disappear; they come in eight types, none of which is distinguishable from the others. When a type x trap is stepped on, all traps of that type and all trapped walls of type x will vanish. In addition, any trapped walls of type 0 will vanish.

A ninth type of wall trap is the master trap (type 0). When a master trap is stepped upon, all trapped walls in the level vanish. Master traps appears as do the other types of traps.

Damage-causing traps inflict 5 points of damage every time you walk on them. Once you have moved onto one, you will not take further damage unless you leave and come back.

Variable-damage traps inflict from 1 to 10 points of damage when you step on them. They vanish after inflicting the damage.

Paralysis traps paralyze you, confusion traps cause confusion, and weakness traps make you weak (see “The basics—States of being”). All these traps remain in place.

Dimness traps cause the light intensity of the level to decrease by 1. Darkness traps cause the light intensity to drop instantly to 1 (i.e. you can only see the 8 adjacent squares on the board). These types of traps disappear once they’ve been set off.

Phase traps make all phasing walls on the level change phase: out of phase walls get in-phase, in-phase walls go out of phase. Phase traps disappear once they’ve been triggered.

Anti-magic traps disenchant you: if you are benefiting from a potion of speed, a cloak of invisibility, a passwall amulet, an amulet of sight, an amulet of invulnerability, or an amulet of poisonous touch, the object’s spell will instantly wear off. If you are under more than one effect, one of the effects (chosen at random) will disappear. Anti-magic traps do not disappear.

When you step on a rotation trap, a surrounding section of the level (3, 5 or 7 squares in diameter) is rotated 90 degrees, clockwise or counterclockwise. A given trap always works the same way. Rotation traps never disappear.

A wall-making trap activates once you step off it. As soon as you've moved away, the trap creates a (normal) wall.

Finally, arrow traps magically stop your arrows’ flight through their square. They do not otherwise impede your movement, and monsters may shoot through the traps. Arrow traps never disappear.

Teleporters and gates

When you move onto a teleporter, it will move you to a random square adjacent to the closest teleporter. If there is more than one teleporter at the same distance, one is chosen at random. You will not be transported onto an object, but you may appear in the same square as a monster. This will cause it to be destroyed. Note that teleporters block diagonal actions, in the same way as walls.

Controllable teleporters allow you to choose your destination, which may be any square in sight that is an empty floor.

Gates send you to a predefined destination, which may be in a part of the level you can’t see from your current position. You may arrive on top of an object or monster when using a gate: unlike what happens with teleporters, the object or monster is NOT destroyed, but will reappear once you move off its square.

Random Gates send you to a square chosen at random within a certain radius of the gate. This radius changes from gate to gate and may be from 1 to 6.

One-shot gates function as gates do, but they vanish after they’ve been used once.

Fountains

There are three different types of fountains. Normal fountains are surrounded by a mist that neutralizes the poison in the air: as long as Prince Argonn stands next to a normal fountain, he will take no damage from the poisonous air (he will take full damage if he is caught within a cloud of poison gas released from a poison jar or a gas bomb). 

Poisonous fountains are the opposite: they are surrounded by a cloud of especially poisonous air. Every turn Prince Argonn remains adjacent to a poisonous fountain, he takes 2 extra points of damage.

Fire fountains, instead of spraying water, jet a ball of flame into the air. Such fountains are not dangerous: indeed, the light from the ball of flame illuminates the 8 surrounding squares (which is useful when the level is dim). If a fire fountain is somehow destroyed, its light will of course go out.

Exits

There are several types of exits. Normal exits move you to the next level. False exits appear exactly like normal exits, but lead nowhere. Special exits lead to a specific level (you can tell which one by identifying the special exit; the window will say “An exit to level 5”, for example). Moveable exits will close after a certain number of turns, then a dormant exit will open and turn into a moveable exit. Taking a moveable exit will lead you to next level. Moveable exits are organized in a chain, each one opening in turn. If this chain is a loop (which is normally the case), then a moveable exit that becomes dormant will eventually reopen. Dormant exits act like floors until they open.

Magical barriers and generators

Magical barriers are energy fields that bar your way. They are always impassable; any attempt to cross a magical barrier will cause 5 points of damage. Barriers may exist on their own, but they usually emanate from magical barrier generators. When a generator is hit or shot, it is deactivated and all barriers emanating from it disappear. A barrier that emanates from a generator must be composed of properly-oriented segments of barrier that form a continuous line leading from the generator. 7 turns after a generator has been deactivated, it will generate barriers again, as long as there is another generator in a straight line with the first, within 6 squares. Any form of scenery or object breaks the line and prevents the barrier from being generated, but monsters do not. Any monsters that are caught by the reforming barrier are disintegrated. If Prince Argonn is caught in the barrier, he suffers a mere 5 points of damage.

Wall generators

These exist in 4 varieties, one for each direction. When a wall generator is hit or shot, it creates a line of normal walls in the appropriate direction. The line continues to form until it meets with an obstacle (any square that isn’t empty floor). When the line is complete, the wall generator turns into a normal wall.

Miscellaneous scenery

The Void is cosmic emptiness. You will usually see it surrounding a level, but there may be enclaves of Void within a given level. It is impossible to move onto the Void, and the Void blocks the shots of Imps as well as the teleporting abilities of Specters. Void never nakedly contacts an area of floor. Sealing walls always surround any patch of Void (see above). An isolated square of Void on the level will thus appear as a sealing wall. It will act as a Void, however; in particular, it will not be subject to a Passwall wand.

Crevasses are cracks into the floor, leading to the depths of Hell. They cannot be crossed, though arrows can be shot over them, and monsters can shoot over them as well. Crevasses may not be bridged (though a Wand of Annihilation will make one disappear).

Webs are huge spiderwebs that fill a given square of the level. If Prince Argonn steps into a web he will be paralyzed (for the usual 2 turns) as the strands impede his movements. The web disappears afterwards (Prince Argonn has torn it into shreds with his sword). Webs can be created by Giant Spiders or wands of webs. They can be destroyed by wands of flame.

Phase wall triggers can be activated either by being hit with your sword or by being shot with an arrow. When a trigger is activated, every phasing wall on the level switches phase: out of phase walls become in-phase, in-phase walls go out of phase.

Magic mirrors are weird sorcerous devices. Whenever Prince Argonn sees himself reflected in one of these, a Doppelganger will be created by the mirror on the adjacent square facing Prince Argonn (only if this square is an empty floor). This Doppelganger will have from 1 to 6 Life points. A clear line of sight to a mirror exists if the squares between Prince Argonn and the mirror are empty floors, exits, crevasses, or any and all forms of traps. A mirror will not function from more than 5 squares away, and it will not function if Prince Argonn is next to it. If a mirror is in darkness, Prince Argonn obviously cannot see his reflection in it and it will fail to function.
If a mirror is shot it will smash and disappear. However, if Prince Argonn makes his way next to a mirror and actually moves onto it, the mirror will act as a controllable teleporter and allow Prince Argonn to teleport to any empty floor in range. However, passing through the mirror-world leaves Prince Argonn confused for the usual 5-10 turns.