They are so potent that possession of all three bestows ultimate power. Briefly it's all to do with three powerful artefacts: The Astral Dominae, The Destinae Dominus and The Chaos Moliri that were fashioned by the Cosmic Lords and used to create the Wizardry World. In any event you'll get plenty of background as you progress. Don't panic, you don't have to have played that game as the story is pretty much self-contained in this one. The story of Wizardry 8 follows on from Wizardry Gold/Crusaders of the Dark Savant, the last Wizardry episode. It's very easy to over indulge because there's so much to do, including attending minutely to your party, chatting with other characters, making friends (or foes), completing quests, going shopping, exploring the wilderness and, last but not least, dealing with all the assorted denizens that are out to make your life (and your game) very brief. Wizardry 8 continues the tradition of mixing fantasy with a slice of science fiction and serving up a very deep and satisfying roleplaying feast. I think I've played the last four Wizardry games and I've been thoroughly absorbed by every one of them. Alas, now we are in trouble again for a slight misdemeanour, so this is a good place to stop and take stock of our progress.

We got sprung once and it spoiled our plans so we did some backtracking to repair the damage. With the very best of intentions, of course, we've been playing a game of high diplomacy, attempting to maintain an alliance with both sides. We've also met up with the T'Rang at Marten's Bluff and paid a visit to the Umpani encampment and these two archenemies still don't like each other much. Thus far we've scrounged around the dingy tunnels of the monastery we've wondered at the marvellous sights of the city of Arnika, cleared some of the riff-raff from the streets and highways we've helped the Trynnie in the tree top world of Trynton, braved the swamps, found the graveyard and indulged in extensive speleology and underwater exploration.Īnd that's just the start. Luckily there's usually been someone else around to fill their shoes because we like to keep our party at the maximum of eight. Each of them has had a dislike for some place or other and opted to take leave when the rest of us pushed on with our business. Sometimes another one or two travellers have joined us to help out but they have turned out to be fickle friends. Review by Rosemary Young (December, 2001) My carefully crafted team of six has been on the road for a couple of weeks now we haven't had such an adventure in a long while.

Wizardry 8 world map