Dunjonquest: Temple of Apshai

"Dunjonquest: Temple of Apshai is a dungeon-crawl role-playing game set in a sprawling underground complex."

Automated Simulations·Epyx· August 1, 1979· Main Game

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Dunjonquest: Temple of Apshai is a dungeon-crawl role-playing game set in a sprawling underground complex. Create an adventurer, equip them at the inn, and explore more than 200 rooms filled with monsters, traps, and treasure. It is considered one of the first graphical role-playing games for home computers. It was an enormous success for its era, selling 30,000 copies by 1982 and remaining a best-seller for at least four years.

Released 1 August 1979 for Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore C64/128/MAX and Commodore PET by Automated Simulations, published by Epyx. About 16 hours to beat.

Story

You are Brian Hammerhand, having just arrived by ship in a small, nameless coastal town. After a quick brawl in the Wallowing Whale Tavern, and nearly penniless, you set out to explore the town. A boy you meet leads you to the house of Merlis the Mage.

There, you learn about the legend of Apshai. Apshai is the ancient god of insects, and it is said that his priests, though very knowledgeable, meddled in dark rites. The followers of the earth god Geb drove the Apshaians away, and they eventually found a new home in an underground cave, which they relentlessly expanded over time. They built a huge temple in tribute to the god Apshai and prospered immensely in the years that followed. Then, one day, there was a great roar, the earth shook, and the temple, along with the village of the Apshaians, was utterly destroyed. They fled their home, never to return.

In the years that followed, expeditions occasionally sought the riches and secrets buried in the Apshaians' underground settlement. But hardly any of those who ventured there ever returned. Can you, Brian Hammerhand, solve the mysteries of the Temple of Apshai and return safely with riches beyond imagination?