Synopsis

Prologue

Joe and Gareth meet at Joe’s house. Tara comes in and all three are put into the game after a freak accident in a thunderstorm. Mia is introduced, and there are hints of other missing teenagers, the significance of Yendor and all three playing ‘together’, and a few other minor things.

Unto the Dungeon

Joe, Gareth and Tara find themselves in the Nethack game. This is an introductory chapter, with a few minor adventures and explorations. At the end they discover escape is impossible, and resolve to visit the Oracle of Delphi for some answers.

The Others

Joe, Gareth and Tara go down into dungeon levels three and four. The pet dog dies. There are a few incidents hinting at other people being present in the dungeon, but nothing to obvious. First hint of Joe’s blood lust. They find a large general store on DL3, and the shopkeeper tells them about the Wizard of Yendor taxing the stores and controlling, mentioning that he is called by his name. Gareth is separated, and upon going downstairs knocked out. After a minor fight or two Joe goes down, and meet Angelo, who is holding Gareth hostage for all their gold and items.

Allies and Enemies

Joe and agrees to hand over all their stuff, but Angelo does not release Gareth. Gareth is saved however by Mathew (not revealed). Tara escapes from above level by stealing from a shop, flooding the level with Kops. Angelo is angry, and with their own items fights them. A massive fight ensues over DL4-5, with Mathew helping slightly. More information is known about Angelo, and he lets it slip that others are also in the game. Near the end Tara is ‘killed’ in a chain-explosion with gas-spores, and Joe and Gareth are forced to abandon their quest to the oracle and flee into the mines, almost un-armed.

Excavations and Explorations

Joe and Gareth explore the lower mines, and see the first glance of Steven, wiping out almost all gnomes. Some strong monsters are still around, and with only two people it gets tougher. Marmalade is killed. Various minor adventures ensue, including Gareth learning several more minor spells. Another hint of Joe’s blood lust. Near mine-town the two are saved from a spider web/ floating eye incident by Markus, who joins them. They reach minetown. Hint about plans starting and finally being ready are given.

Civilization

Information about missing people is shown outside of Nethack, plus first mention of an escaped criminal not being re-captured due to massive power. Meanwhile in mine town, Izchak (sp?) is met, who gives hints about the Wizard of Yendor controlling the dungeon.  Joe, Gareth and Markus have issues involving gods (with the altar), and Juiblex (sp?) is summoned. He is killed quickly (wand of digging), but the town becomes hostile after an accident due to spell/wand miss. Water demon mishap and multiply occurs. The three are wounded badly and plunge into the lower mine, with no hope of survival if returning, and little stuff left (left near altar).

Danger in the Dungeon

Joe, Gareth and Markus are separated in the mines and have difficulty coping with more difficult monsters. Joe’s blood lust is hinted at more strongly. Ronald is met and ends up fighting Joe over an honour issue. Gareth ends up at mine-end with Markus (catacombs end). A polymorph trap does really, really bad and the two end up against such foes as a black dragon and titan. Joe ends up trapped with no escape due to scroll of earth accident.

Unnamed

Joe and Ronald end up having a cease-fire, and the two becoming sort-of friends. Joe pays Ronald to help him out, and Joe ends up down the bottom level after protecting Ronald. Gareth ends up almost dead, and gets poly-ed in desperation. He turns into a powerful monster (dragon probably), and uses amulet of unchanging to stay that way. Markus ends up using some items, plus valuable long-range weaponry and great tactics and item usage to kick some major ass (but only just). Bill the pony dies. Joe ends up riding Gareth into battle, saving Markus and clearing the level. More blood lust hints. Steven appears again, killing very tough monsters. Gareth learns some new spells, but Ronald ends up betraying the others to get the jewels and luck stone, causing Markus to end up with a load stone (can’t carry jack all ammo for burden).

Unnamed

Joe, Garth and Markus gather much items etc and attempt to retake mine town. HUGE battle ensues, involving a lot of item usage, lucky escapes and clever tactics. They end up clearing most of the level, and using scrolls of taming to tame the shopkeepers again. Using corpses they get on the good side of they’re gods and get an artefact of some sort.

Questions Unanswered

 In ‘real world’ information is given about the escaped guy doing many evil crimes, and the first info about a new evil cult. Meanwhile, Joe, Gareth and Markus leave the mines (with few items left from last battle) back on their journey to the oracle. On the way Angelo appears again, but with they’re extra experience they manage to defeat him, but he flees. The three get to the oracle and are surprised to Tara alive! She had escaped after taking Gareth’s cursed teleport ring when he discarded it, and got lucky in escaping, then taking refuge there. The oracle hints at disruption in the real world, the breaking of rules, and the power of Yendor. The oracle is then killed by Mathew, who doesn’t think it would help the ‘party’ to know about it.

Bad Boys Go To Hell

Due to a major food shortage, the party enter sokoban. They find much interesting stuff to replace what they used earlier, and find the puzzles harder in 3D. After they screw up on one level, Markus tries to cheat, cursing the Wizard of Yendor (?), and is cast via strange magic portal into Gehennom where is he mocked by Yendor. Markus is stubborn and defies his power. Yendor is angry but doesn’t kill him, instead sending him back. Among this hinting off what is happening in the real world. Bob’s corpse is found and stored in an icebox. Much discussion follows about escaping and stuff.

Unnamed

More stuff about ‘real world’ Evil cult worships a ‘Yendor’ devil, and begin to reck the city. Marth is introduced as someone in the centre of chaos yet somehow unaffected. Escapee joins and leads. Meanwhile: The party, after much difficulty and some fights, solve the sokoban and reach the top. A medium fight follows (more Joe blood-lust hints), and a bag of holding is found. The party uses a wand of undead turning to revive Bob. (three charges left). Bob tells of seeing destruction in the real world, of chaos but being able to do nothing (like a ghost). The party continue onwards.

Unnamed

The party (and Bob) go downwards and have a minor adventure with a throne room (Mathew is seen again). Below that is a graveyard level with Tricinta there. When she hears they want to leave she gets angry and fights, but is overwhelmed by numbers and flees downwards. The graveyard predicts their death. The party go down, into the big room. They see Steven killing many monsters, seeing him properly for the first time. He talks to them for a bit and leaves.

Dark Rituals

The party go down, finding Tricinta at and altar. Tricinta ends up accidentally summoning Yenghu (sp?). A big fight happens, and Tricinta and Bob end up dead. The others get very hurt. Steven passes through unscathed, and does not help them at all. It is defeat after a large struggle. Tricinta and Bob are revived via wand (one charge left). Tricinta is sorry and helps the party a bit, but prefers to go her own way. Bob feels very sad stuff was wasted on him. Meanwhile in the real world Marth does learns of Nethack, and sees Yendor through escapee. He tries to find a way to enter Nethack but fails.

Flashbacks

The party makes a base at the altar, and some a lot of conversations are had (about what has happened), as well as trivial details such as item distribution. Some party members leave to do minor things (*ahem*sink kicking). After a bit the party leaves to go downwards, Bob staying behind to guard the base. The party find the rogue level, and has some minor adventures there. Steven is seen again, and Mathew is there too, injured. The group finally see Mathew properly and he tells them his reasons for stuff. They help him back to base to rest.

Watching, Waiting

Outside the game, things are getting worse. Marth finds the machine that Joe used, and looks at what is happening. In the game, Mathew talks about escaping the game and Yendor. He feels Marth watching and they talk about that. Marth is found by the evil group and taken hostage, which he does not resist. The computer is smashed. Meanwhile the group descend past the rogue level. Joe, Gareth and Tara begin to feel weak and start fading. Mathew feels something has happened.

Many a Quest

The party reaches the Quest level. Joe finds the portal, and opens it. To his surprise only he can go through. As he does so he find himself not in his Quest, but back in the ‘real world’, where monsters from Nethack are appearing. Joe learns of the evil gang and escaped criminal. He fixes the computer and puts his Nethack on a floppy. He is captured and meets the criminal, in which Yendor lies. “Sometimes Joe, sometimes monsters are real.”. Gareth and Tara disappear, and the others panic. Markus tries to get through, and comes face to face with Yendor a second time. Some mention about a third time being last? Joe meets Marth in cell.

Unnamed

The group inside Nethack meet Cat and Kat, who listen to what has happened. Since they are twins, for one reason or another one managed to go through to the real world. Cat saves some people. Marth manages to free Joe, talking about his importance. Joe tries to do something (?) but Yendor sends him back into Nethack, using his blood lust to turn him semi-evil. However due to the bond Cat and Kat have, the connection remains. Cat sets out to stop Yendor. Marth manages to restore Joe’s computer, serving as a connection that still binds them to reality (?). Gareth and Tara are seen in a strange void, but return to the dungeon.

Sacrifices

In the dungeon the group meet Sarah. The Darker Joe takes over and tries to kill her in cold blood. He splits into two, the good him and bad, which fight. His good side wins, but his bad side kills Sarah. The party revive her, finishing the wand. The dark side then just inhabits Sarah.. The criminal guy is killed by Cat, but Cat is wounded. Kat follows the connection and goes to Cat to help, but the connection is lost, sealing the part in Nethack once again. They try and fight, but Sarah keeps getting healed by Yendor’s power. Mathew comes and sacrifices himself, blocking Yendor’s power. The group manage to stop Sarah and lock her up.

Armies

The party try to descend further, but are stopped by an army of orcs, lead by Angelo. Angelo and his orcs invade the party’s base, raiding and stealing stuff. The party are angry and fight. A mass war follows, and the party’s base is ruined. In the real world events are mirrored as the army is raided and bases destroyed. Yendor ends up controlling more people as an army.

Revenge

The party manage to sneak into Angelo’s base after many fights and end up killing Angelo after a long battle (Tara delivers the final blow). The orcs all flee. In the real world the army invades the evil group and they scatter, but Yendor escapes. Things begin to look up.

Unnamed

The party, with barely any supplies left run out of food. They are on the brink of starving when Steven appears and offers them a deal: He can open a portal to return them to the real world if they pay him a lot. Them party reluctantly agree, and decide to storm Ludios for cash. A few minor adventures later they find the portal, but when they enter it are transported into trap. It’s in the real world, but the rest of the evil group’s troops are waiting, and it turns out Steven is working for Yendor, as well as the revived Angelo (which Yendor is inhabiting). By opening the large portal more enemies appear in the real world.

Marth

Marth appears unplanned and sees Yendor for the first time. He explains about him being the unexpected variable (or similar). He does little but saves the whole lot. Yendor is wounded but not killed, all his troops gone. He escapes. The party realise that in order to truly defeat him they must get the AoY, and return to Nethack. They do so, and Steven also goes in. Bob stays behind. The party then continue down to Medusa level, and all of them end up stoned.

Storming the Castle

The party is saved by Tricinta with a wand. Tricinta joins them for a short while to storm the castle. After a massive fight scene, Ronald appears with the wand of wishing, refusing to hand it over. Gareth ends up dumped in Valley of Undead with nothing but equipment.

An Old Friend

Ronald eventually gives the wand of wishing away for free when he hears about what is happening. The party use wishes to finish their Ascension Kit, and genocide Master Mind flayers and all Liches. Down below Gareth is saved in the nick of time from a lich by this. The party descends down, with Tricinta still following. They end up just saving Gareth in time. Sarah is met again, under control of Yendor still. She attacks but can’t do jack all. Tricinta stays behind to slay some nasty monsters and the others go on to find Mia. Mia goes up and heals Sarah, but she commits suicide because of what she did.

Demon-slaying

The party goes down further with few problems, and end up killing two named demons, and find the empty levels of the two already dead. Demons get nice big fight scenes. The party reach Vlad’s tower and find Vlad already slayed, the candelabrum gone.

The Depths of Hell

The party go downwards some more. They end up having an argument about whether to go the Wizard of Yendor first or not. The argument escalates and the party splits and end up fighting each other. It look like a few people will die, but Mia appears again and stops them. They agree to go downwards and see Steven opening the portal to the final level, and all hell brakes loose.

Phobia

The huge portal allow demons and such to pour into the real world and vice-versa. The two combine sort of, with stuff from both worlds in each other. The party are separated and must face that which they fear most by Yendor. Yendor fails to break them and they find themselves flung into the final chamber between the worlds, face to face with the true form Wizard of Yendor at last.

Yendor

The party fight the Wizard but get bashed up a lot. They fight Steven too. It looks like they are well and truly screwed, until two people appear: Marth and Bob, having faced their fears. Bob is far more powerful now, and saves the party (but doesn’t actually kill anyone). Marth ends up stealing the amulet. Joe faces the Wizard with the amulet, but still can’t defeat him (stalemate). The party leave the chamber, sealing the Wizard in it with Marth (who sacrifices himself).

Ascension

The party emerge into the chaos of the worlds. The whole chapter is them going upwards through the dungeon, seeing again all the things and people that has happened. At the end the party reach the stair upwards, and use the amulet’s power to break the barrier and go up.

The Apocalypse

The party go though the four planes relatively easy and reach the astral plane. Steven is there and fights them, with Pestilence and Famine as pets. A massive fight happens and Joe ends up conquering him. Steven ends up being killed by death. Joe offers the amulet, and it is gone. The party is thrown into the real world, and Yendor appears once again with all the power of the amulet.

The Grand Finale

Joe and the party fight the Wizard with all his true power. Demons and monsters are everywhere. Everyone (Ronald, Tricinta, Mia, Bob as well) fight, and many are killed. In the end only Joe, Gareth and Tara are left. After a whole chapter of big fighting. The wizard is defeated, and the portal closes. All the Nethack monsters, items, powers etc. disappear.

Epilogue

Joe, Gareth and Tara end up finding Joe’s computer again from where Marth hid it. They use a back-up of the computer and the amulet of Yendor (which the wizard left when killed) to restore the world back to before. Then they delete Nethack and destroy the amulet. Marth, though, is never seen again.