Eamon (video game)

"Far away, at the dead center of the Milky Way, is the planet of Eamon. It doesn't orbit any suns--all of the suns orbit it. The shifting pulls of all of these great bodies bring strange forces to bear upon this planet; twisting light, tides, even the laws of science itself! Strange things happen there, and the citizens of Eamon must always be adaptable, for things are rarely what they seem, and even more rarely what they were yesterday!"

Eamon was a series (over 200 entries!) of RPG Interactive Fiction started in the 80s on the Apple II; set in a very nebulously changing landscape that includes many references to The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and more. Many of the games contradicted themselves, and this was accepted as not only inevitable, but part of the fun.

What interconnected all of these was that you rolled up a character in the "Main Hall" diskette; with Character Customization, money, and a weapon or spell or two. Then you go out on an adventure via one of the other disks. If you die -- unless it's Final Death -- you go back to the Main Hall with a loss of equipment and money. If you survive, you can carry up to 4 weapons, your money, spells and sometimes stat increases to another of the adventures.

Check out the unofficial website here.

There is no standard background in the Eamon world. One game may involve fighting dragons and orcs with swords and magic. Another may be a Science Fiction adventure with space ships and blazing laser guns. Since each disk was its own story; there's probably an example of every trope on the list; but here are some:


 * Breakable Weapons: Sometimes in a Critical Failure.
 * Critical Failure: And how! If the dice are bad enough; anyone can break their weapon. Whether it's that Infinity+1 Sword the Valar gave you for killing Morgoth; or Darth Vader tripping and breaking his light sabre.
 * Guide Dang It: There are some walkthroughs still around. Good luck playing some adventures; because you will not find anyone who can tell you how to get past certain things.
 * Hopeless Boss Fight: A few.
 * Old Save Bonus: One of the primary features of the series; you can take your same character from one adventure to the next.
 * One-Time Dungeon: The Beginner's Cave (which was on the game's Main Hall disk) could only be gone through once. The game checked when you tried to access it: only a true beginning character was allowed to enter, and once you had gone through it you were no longer a beginner.
 * Shout-Out: Too many to list. Let's start by saying that the chief of the Adventurer Guild who starts you have bids you farewell with "Live Long and Prosper.