The CRPG Addict Heathkit DND Retrospective

The CRPG Addict has penned a very thorough and interesting retrospective of 1981’s Dungeons and Dragons, better known as “Heathkit DND” for being originally created for Heath DOS, the OS of the Heathkit line of computers. I’ll freely admit I’m not as well-versed as I’d like when it comes to the history of CRPGs in the late 70s and the 80s, so I’m going to limit myself to quote a passage I found particularly interesting:

The curious thing about this game is that it seems like an early variant of Telengard. Telengard isn’t a lot different from other games in the line, but it does have some similarities that it shares only with Dungeons and Dragons. For instance, when you’re at the stairway below the inn, both games mention that “you see light above,” with the word “light” bolded or highlighted. Both offer similar timing in their rounds, and write “stay” if you don’t offer any input in a couple of seconds. Both have a death message that says “another not so mighty [class] bites the dust.” The types of magic items and special encounters that you find are nearly identical, and the list of spells–36 spanning 6 levels–is 100% identical.

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While Telengard is clearly later–the graphics are more complex, among other things–it’s notable that Dungeons and Dragons has a main quest and Telengard doesn’t. Moreover, this main quest is unique to this particular game: find the “Heathkit Vault” and defeat the “Lord Master of the Heathkit Dungeon” inside. As the game progresses, you slowly (as random encounters) find pieces of paper that reveal the combination to the dungeon as well as a special password that’s supposed to protect you from its various ills.

The dungeon is 50 procedurally-generated levels that change between characters, or even between visits for the same character. “Misty cubes” and a high-level “Teleport” spell can help you move around, but for the most part, you don’t have to go anywhere. Stand at any fixed point in the game, and a never-ending succession of monsters, gold, and treasure comes to you. You only need to explore to find staircases and, ultimately, the vaults that either contain magic items or the final encounter with the Lord Master of the Dungeon.

The hardest part about this version, much like Telengard, is surviving to Level 2. You start with no equipment except a Ring of Regeneration that restores 1 point per round. The moment you enter the dungeon, you start getting assaulted by Level 2 vampires and Level 3 fighters and whatnot. They’re almost all capable of killing you in one blow. When you finally get a character that takes hold, gains levels, and starts finding some of the other types of magic gear, survival becomes much easier as long as you don’t descend too quickly (the game recommends that you keep the dungeon level within +/- 3 of your character level). Eventually, you start finding swords +10 and elven cloaks +20 and Rings of Regeneration +30, after which survival becomes a combat-by-combat thing.

I also recommend reading the comment thread appended to the article on CRPG Addict’s blog, as it delves into alternate possibilities for the genesis of this title and the plagiarism controversies surrounding this spiritual “line” of games.