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.
Many legends and rumors circulate about the Amulets, the most notable being that they were created by the Gods themselves, and that they can only be truly found by the Contestant. 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 Blood counter increased by +2, Cyanide poisoning requires 5 more turns before causing death.
- Amulet of the East: Strength increase x2, Pain sensitivity decrease x2.
- Amulet of the West: +5 maximum HP 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.
