Cardinal Amulet (no ontology)
From Mazeworld
A Cardinal Amulet is a holy item forged by the Cardinal Gods. There are four of them in Mazeworld, each representing each of the Gods themselves. Collecting all four Amulets is the ultimate goal of a contestant to attain endgame.
The four Amulets are named after cardinal directions: North, East, West and South, the same way each Cardinal God is associated to each of those directions.
The Amulets have been forged by the ancestors of the Cardinal Shrine Maidens, at the Gods' request, with the Game Masters' benediction, and in their image. They are not only symbolic representations of the deities, but they are also magical artifacts infused with their powers.
Many legends and rumors circulate about the Amulets, but they can only be truly found by the Contestant, remaining objects of legend to the Mazes' inhabitants (with very few exceptions). When all four have been found and gathered together by the Contestant, they fuse into one and grant access to the elusive White Area.
In gameplay terms, the Amulets are the player's ticket to the endgame. Collecting the Amulets is the principal objective in MazeWorld, and punctuates the progress of every contestant throughout their journey. Obtaining all four and gaining access to the endgame is required to complete a run.
When a Contestant has obtained all four Amulets, he/she must invoke the Gods in order to be transported to endgame; the process is not automatic. On a gameplay point of view, this is so players can choose to continue their progress instead of leaving immediately.
Overview
- The Amulet of the North is black and has the Japanese kanji for "North" (北, pronounced Kita) engraved on it.
- The Amulet of the East is blue and has the Japanese kanji for "East" (東, pronounced Tou) engraved on it.
- The Amulet of the West is white and has the Japanese kanji for "West" (西, pronounced Sei) engraved on it.
- The Amulet of the South is red and has the Japanese kanji for "South" (南, pronounced Nan) engraved on it.
Effects
Each Amulet, because of the representation of their respective Gods, grant different effects, all of which beneficial to the contestant.
- Amulet of the North: Maximum Pain threshold increased by +10%, Maximum Bleeding counter increased by +2, Maximum Poison counter increased by +2.
- Amulet of the East: Strength increase x2, Pain sensitivity decrease x2.
- Amulet of the West: +5 maximum health points for all limbs.
- Amulet of the South: Max damage counter +1 on all clothing and armor worn/spared until leaving equipment or backpack of the contestant. (Clothes with less than 1 unit will be destroyed in this case)
When all four amulets have been gathered and the Gods invoked, they fuse into a single Fused Amulet and teleport the contestant (and his/her ally, if applicable) inside the White Area. The benefits that each individual amulet previously provided will be then provided by the Fused Amulet.
After the endgame period is completed and the contestant chose his/her fate, the fused amulet is destroyed, turning to dust, and the original four Amulets reappear in the Mazes, their effects disappearing along the way.
- The Fused Amulet is silver, has all four kanji in their respective positions, around a fifth: 中 (Naka), meaning center.
Amulets and Soldiers
Amulets are especially important for Soldiers to recognize a contestant, because this is the visual cue they will use to tell them apart from normal residents of the Mazes. Typically, an Amulet will remain in plain view and will evade any attempts to be placed in the backpack or otherwise be hidden. However, if the contestant has a proper disguise, the Soldiers will not be alerted.
