Draft:Amulet of the Planes
| & | |
| Type | Artifact |
|---|---|
| Base value (Au) | 1000 |
| Item level | 10 |
| Weight | 10 |
| Unidentified appearance | Octagonal Copper Amulet |
| Cursed name | Amulet of the Planes |
The Amulet of the Planes is the Demon Emperor's travel artifact. It opens a choice of fourteen fixed destinations in LOCUS, including Rampart, every village, the six main temples and HellWell Volcano. It needs at least 1 mana and spends up to 100 per attempt, but cannot take you out of the Astral Plane or the Circle's demesne in normal play.[1]
Generation
The Emperor is placed on the bottom level of HellWell Volcano and receives the Amulet as a fixed possession while its taken-state permits it. A normal kill drops his possessions and produces his Regalia as a separate set of remains. The Legion wants the Regalia for succession; owning the Amulet does not satisfy that quest.[2]
Demonblade banishes the Emperor rather than following his normal death procedure, so it forfeits the normal dropped Amulet and Regalia. Other methods that use normal death can preserve those rewards. Pickpocketing is another way to take a carried object if its ordinary check succeeds; the Emperor's theft immunity does not enter that particular command's check, though approaching him and spending the action remain dangerous.[3]
The Emperor can also carry random treasure ahead of the Amulet in his inventory. Theft takes the first possession, so a successful attempt can yield ordinary loot instead.[4]
The Amulet is initially excluded from ordinary random-object generation and normal acquirement. Once a normal copy has been acquired, new Emperor constructions no longer receive it through the fixed-possession branch. A later Emperor encounter is therefore not a promise of another Amulet.[5]
Activation
Put the Amulet in accessible inventory and use A → a. It does not require identification, equipment in a special amulet slot or a positive blessing. Curse status does not reverse its travel effect. There is no daily recharge limit or per-use consumption of the Amulet.[6]
| Mana before activation | Mana afterward | Destination menu |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | Not opened |
| 1 through 100 | 0 | Opened unless the environment blocks travel |
| Above 100 | Previous mana minus 100 | Opened unless the environment blocks travel |
Mana is spent before the environment check and destination choice. Cancelling the destination menu, or attempting escape from the Astral Plane or Circle's demesne, does not refund it. Cancellation at the earlier activation or item-selection prompt occurs before this effect.[7]
Destinations
Arrival is on the named destination's world-map cell, not inside its local map. Enter the village, temple or dungeon afterward. The menu labels for temples differ from their deity-based article titles.[8]
| Choice | Menu destination | Location | World coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | Rampart | Rampart | (27, 19) |
| b | Village of Star View | Star View | (56, 5) |
| c | Village of Woodmere | Woodmere | (35, 11) |
| d | Village of Stormwatch | Stormwatch | (10, 40) |
| e | Village of Thaumaris | Thaumaris | (7, 6) |
| f | Village of Skorch | Skorch | (41, 43) |
| g | Village of Whorfen | Whorfen | (20, 41) |
| h | Temple of the Noose | Temple of Odin | (22, 30) |
| i | The Parthenon | Temple of Athena | (51, 11) |
| j | Temple of the Black Hand | Temple of Set | (45, 45) |
| k | Temple of the Hidden Moon | Temple of Hecate | (19, 46) |
| l | WoodHenge | Temple of Druidism | (32, 5) |
| m | Temple of Destiny | Temple of Destiny | (49, 59) |
| n | HellWell Volcano | HellWell Volcano | (30, 58) |
Star Peak, Archmage's Castle, Dragon's Lair, Magic Isle and the Goblin Caves are not menu destinations. The Amulet does not let a normal character choose arbitrary coordinates.[9]
Strategy
The Amulet connects distant temples and villages to Rampart without retracing the overland route. Its low weight makes it useful to keep accessible as an escape from ordinary dangerous locations. Retain a little mana for it: having only 1 point is enough, although arriving with no mana can leave you unable to cast a second spell immediately.
Use the nearest listed settlement for an unlisted objective: Thaumaris provides an approach to the Archmage's Castle, and Star View lies southwest of Star Peak. The Sceptre offers a direct court portal after it is obtained; the Star Gem supplies the return from the Astral route. These travel powers have different destinations and restrictions.[10]
Acquiring the Amulet by theft can provide travel without the Emperor's death, but it does not produce the Regalia or record volcano completion for the Oracle. Choose that approach according to the quest you actually need, and account for the Emperor's invisibility, attacks and life drain rather than treating a theft attempt as a safe conversation.[11]
References
- ↑ iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 434; minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 295; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 8–20; effect3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 574–711.
- ↑ gen2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 435–445; minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 295; lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 376–381; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 134–203; guild1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 85–117.
- ↑ itemf2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 237–282; mmove.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 228–241; command3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 774–825.
- ↑ lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 376–393; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 87–95; command3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 774–825.
- ↑ item.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 7–41; effect1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 763–769; inv.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 636–640; lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 376–381.
- ↑ command2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 100–128; inv.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 548–608; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 8–20.
- ↑ itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 8–20; effect3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 574–624; command2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 100–128.
- ↑ effect3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 600–711.
- ↑ effect3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 600–698.
- ↑ effect3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 600–691; lib/country.dat in Omega 0.90.4; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 23–91.
- ↑ command3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 774–825; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 344–354; minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 295; mmelee.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 124–129.