Merlin the Master Sorcerer

General

• Area: Knights of the Round
• Status: Non-Aggressive
• Mob Alignment: Devout

Equipment

• the Sun, Moon and Stars
• the Silver Crescent
• a pearl-hilted dagger
• visions descending (pop)
• one of a Warrior's potion, a Fighter's potion, a Knight's potion

Notes

In battle, Merlin shape shifts back and forth between various shapes. If a person manages to kill Merlin, that person (i.e. the one who gets the kill blow) has their mental state pumped way up, and they start to hallucinate. In battle, Merlin picks up any items off the ground and dumps them in a room called "The Ethereal Plane", which noone has ever managed to find (but the spirit of Sir Gawain drops an item, guiding light, whose long description claims that it guides the way there). Bede claimed at one point that Merlin is supposed to return items thus confiscated when he dies, and hinted at a connection between this, Merlin's Bag of Tricks, and the Silver Crescent-- but Merlin does not return them, and Bede claims this is an accident (but by the time it was discovered, Bede was no longer an immortal).

The Early Explorers

When Knights of the Round first came to the Realms (Early 1999, See CoD back issue #2 for an interview with Bede regarding it.), Merlin was considered one of the most exclusive secrets. The original explorers into the foray were the Ascendere lead by Rathain, Daishan and Nitsuj. Concentrating all their efforts on the area they had the secrets cracked relatively quickly fueling the unfounded speculations that Bede had in some ways helped them. Ascendere maintained the secrets of Merlin for a good few months before a group from Inconnu managed to find their way in. Between the two orders the secret was closely guarded and it took some time before it became common knowledge on how to get to Merlin. Ascendere could get to him. At length, Dragonslayers also started running, but at that point they were practically an Ascendere satellite, so hardly really counted as a distinct run group.

At the time of the shattering some of the changes that Bede had originally made to the area but were never ported finally came across. These changes reduced the firepower required to kill merlin but added in a new unique challenge before him Quantumus. Also numerous items were upgraded or changed in the area including a pearl-hilted dagger, Tornado and the Silver Crescent.

A non order-affiliated group won great fame for finding the way to Merlin shortly thereafter (in 1999 or 2000); this group consisted of Mephie, Kestal, Erdos, Majius, Ihl, and Pheayre.

Log of Bugged Pop

Merlin once popped a single Merlin's Bag of Tricks, but only because of a bug (he killed himself with a magic missile and so his death program didn't trigger; the death prog normally purges the bag).

<1303/1399hp 14/1372ma 708mv E 950> Merlin the Master Sorcerer DYING
Heineken takes a heal potion from an ethereal rift.
Heineken quaffs a heal potion.
Ytteau utters the words, 'quantum spike'.
Ytteau's Quantum Spike wounds Merlin the Master Sorcerer!
Merlin the Master Sorcerer releases his magic missile at Merlin the Master Sorcerer.
Merlin the Master Sorcerer is DEAD!!
Merlin the Master Sorcerer catches his guts in his hands as they pour through his fatal wound!