Shadowforge

Shadowforge is a video game in the role-playing (rpg) genre developed by John Carmack and published by Nite Owl Productions originally released in 1990. It is currently playable on Apple II.

Released a few years after its original creation, the first game written by John Carmack is a fantasy RPG somewhat inspired by the early Ultima games. The story takes you to the peaceful city of Jaterus, about to become much less peaceful thanks to a certain Greymere. This evil archmage has taken up residence in a three-level dungeon, conveniently located just outside the city walls. More alarmingly, he has built the Shadowforge, a potent magical artifact that has increased his power and ambition for conquest; Jaterus is at the top of his list. Your job is to nullify his aspirations by finding and destroying the artifact.

The town of Jaterus is your base of operations, and its main attractions are the weapon and armor stores, the inn (where you can recuperate after a stay in the dungeon), the temple (where health potions are sold) and the tavern (which, in addition to refreshments, offers conversations, some of them useful). However, the various random NPCs do not communicate.

The dungeon is populated by Greymere's minions; some are randomly placed, some are not, and all must be defeated in turn-based combat; the deeper you go, the tougher the bad guys get. Combat involves both melee and ranged attacks, and defeated monsters will give you gold and experience. Leveling up will increase your maximum hit points, but no other stats are recorded. There are also some secrets waiting to be revealed along the way.

It is possible that we have multiple downloads available when different versions exist.