ToME Wiki
Background
- Otherwise known as the Maeglin Quest, this is a difficult one to complete, as the danger level of 80 suggests. The quest is gained automatically when the player reaches character level 45. A messenger arrives, asking you to go to Gondolin with him (yellow writing). If you do not go, Gondolin is destroyed. Upon accepting the quest, you are immediately teleported to Gondolin, and spoken to by Turgon, giving you the details of the quest. It should be noted that you need not do the quest straight away, but can go away and prepare until you think you are ready.
The Quest
- As Turgon tells you, Gondolin is being invaded by an army led by "Maeglin, the Traitor of Gondolin", and you must not let him get to the stairs. Upon entering the quest (the yellow stairs at the entrance to Gondolin), you find yourself in the bottom left corner of the level. The level is medium-small in size, and composed of a number of passages between standard granite walls, with a few small room-like areas at the corners.
Monsters
- Maeglin starts off in the top right corner. He is the most vital creature to keep track of. He is already awake, and will start tunneling through the rock directly towards the stairs. DO NOT LET HIM GET THERE!
- Other monsters include some nasty summoners (mindcrafters, and some Balrogs) as well as orcs, trolls, and some ancient dragons. Some of the orcs are snaga sappers, who blow up when you kill them, doing some damage.
Tactics
- Probably the best, and most used tactic is simply not to move from the stairs you came down from. Wait for him to come to you, as he cannot move onto the stairs if you are already there.
- The other thing you must bear in mind are the summoners. It is best to stay out of their line of sight, or kill them quickly. Genociding 'p' and 'U' will get rid of all summoners except Maeglin himself.
- Once you have killed him, the quest is complete, so you may leave without killing the other creatures, but you may wish to do so. In that case, the best advice is to beware of allowing summoning to get out of control. If you genocided the mindcrafters and balrogs and killed Maeglin, everything that is left should be easy to kill.
For a detailed account of how NOT to do the quest, and the techniques of "anti-preparation" see this page by SimonSorc
Ending the Quest
- If Maeglin makes it to the stairs, or if you leave without killing Maeglin, Gondolin will be destroyed, and you'll lose everything in your house there. When you leave the quest having killed Maeglin Turgon will immediately reward you with +150 max HP (Having skill in sorcery, of course, would lessen the amount you get, and having +% HP equipment will make it appear to be more).