[megaten] Sorcerer's Cave

[Bugamn]

Hello, I have been trying to remember a game that I used to play and I thought I would ask for your help.

It was a Windows 3.1 game (might have been 95, but I'm fairly sure it was 3.1) about a party of adventurers going on a dungeon to kill a wizard. I remember that you had points to build your party and it could have many different team members, even a dog if I remember well. The kind of members have different characteristics, such as a loyalty to the party, and attributes.
During exploration a member of party could decide to give up and run away with part of the loot. Graphically the game was rather simple. The dungeon was a made of squares that were revealed as you walked, each square could have passages in up to four directions (up, down, left, right) and they might also have stairs symbols, for going up or down. Some events could cause cave-ins and close a path.
Combat was turn based, but I don't remember much of it. I feel you could negotiate with certain monster, I remember them being able to join your party. You would also need to worry about supplies that were spent with each step, but I don't remember those details clearly. I know it was a problem for my younger self.

I haven't tried searching for it on the web because I don't know which keywords would help in this case, but I'm sure that the game came in a cd with 400 games for windows.

[Tom Henrik]

The way you describe the graphics, it kinda sounds like it would be a Roguelike.

Like ADOM, for instance.
http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/181465-ancient-domains-of-mystery-dos-screenshot-entering-a-food.png

Or did it have actual graphics?

[Tom Henrik]

However, if there was graphic in the game, I think it might be one of the Exile games.

Exile: Escape from the Pit (http://www.mobygames.com/game/win3x/exile-escape-from-the-pit)
Exile II: Crystal Souls (http://www.mobygames.com/game/win3x/exile-ii-crystal-souls)
Exile III: Ruined World (http://www.mobygames.com/game/win3x/exile-iii-ruined-world)
Blades of Exile (http://www.mobygames.com/game/win3x/blades-of-exile)

[Bugamn]

Sorry, I wasn't clear with graphics, it had graphics. Each class had a illustration. They weren't very good but they were functional. The map was made of tiles which were "brown with one or more openings". It's kinda hard to describe outside of drawing and I can't draw it right now. The tile that you occupied had some kind of stickman inside. It worked a bit like Dungeonquest (https://boardgamegeek.com/image/2311514/dungeonquest-revised-edition) you walk and open a tile that can lead to other tiles. It isn't any of the titles that you showed, sorry.

EDIT: The tiles looked like the ones in the bottom (https://boardgamegeek.com/image/2363465/dungeonquest-revised-edition), but without details.

[Tom Henrik]

So, is the graphic more or less advanced than this?

http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/623100-castle-of-the-winds-windows-3-x-screenshot-the-village-of.png

[Smiling Spectre]

Tsk. :D Actually, Castle of the Winds, Exile, Mordor, Nahlakh and Natuk was my only bets here. :D You are too fast for me, Tom! :)

Also, I got your description, Bugamn, but I cannot remember anything exactly like your game (even if Mordor is closest bet). What other features was here? 3D-view? Character windows? Inventory? Was monsters visible before fight, or it's strictly "enter room, have encounter" thing?

[Bugamn]

Not Castle of the Winds, I'm familiar with that one, it's a good game :smile2:
The graphics were less advanced. I mean, same technological level, but simpler. The portraits were more detailed, but still 2D. They seemed hand-drawn, not high-quality.

The game I'm looking for doesn't really fit with those roguelikes. I am not sure whether monsters were visible on the map before an encounter. I feel that Dungeonquest is the closest comparison I can make right now with regards to movement. Fighting was through a separate screen in which you chose actions, but I can't remember much of it. I think there was an option to talk. I don't remember an inventory, but I think there was loot, and when someone deserted they could take part of the loot.

[Megaten]

You forgot the crucial detail...the "Tarot-like significance" of the encounters.

Kidding aside, this is Sorcerer's Cave:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130212054455/http://www.download-central.ws/Win16/Games/S/Sorcerers-Cave/

That's where I first heard about it, but I recommend a Google search - it started out as a board game, and there's been a number of physical and digital implementations over the years. Look like there's even one on Steam!

[Bugamn]

Thanks, that's exactly the game I was looking for!