Doom Cavern and Sorcerer’s Challenge are a series of two fantasy-themed games released together for the Apple II.
Doom Cavern is am incomplete RPG, where the player must explore the dungeons beneath the Norwegian kingdom of Hammardoom. An evil necromancer has imprisoned the prince of Hammardoom and the court wizard deep underground, and threatens to kill them on the next full moon. The game promised further levels, which never materialized, and the quest can not be completed. The player starts off by rolling 3 separate characters, who can choose from either mage, fighter, or cleric. Mages gain the ability to either put enemies to sleep, read all languages, or read magic spells. Dungeons are explored from an overhead perspective, and players are warned as they near special encounters on the map. There are no random encounters nor battles. Combat is text-based, where the party takes turns exchanging blows with the enemy party. The party can exit the dungeon to roll new characters or heal the party. Special encounters, including rescuing captured damsels, encountering soothsayers, and coming upon frost giants are fraught with varying risks and rewards. At the end of the first level, the player is presented with a promise for further levels to be forthcoming.
Sorcerer’s Challenge is a 2-player or 1-player versus computer fantasy-themed strategy game played via paddles. A new, young, powerful magician from the lands to the east has come to Thessalona, and challenged the reigning magician for supremacy over the kingdom. They have agreed to hold their combat on an uninhabited island. Due to powerful magic spells, the mages can not be attacked directly, but instead must trap each other within powerful environmental spells. The two wizards take turns moving and casting spells, and a wizard is destroyed if they are entirely surrounded by spells. Each spell is of limited duration, but the goal is to trap the enemy magician before spells resolve
