Faralas:
Oops, it should have been a pool not a fountain. I found this out of an online walkthrough of Wiz IV:
"The Maze of Wandering - Level 4
This level is probably one of the most fiendish to map in computer gaming history. The place is jam-packed with one-way passages, cages, and rotating rooms. One-way passages ought to be self-explanatory. Cages are 1X1 rooms constructed so that a one-way passage enters or that a rotating room (see below) drains into the room. Then it closes on you and you're trapped. You can only escape by casting a Malor (by a spell, a Diadem, or the Cape of Hide) way back to the Catacombs (teleporting higher at this point results in deflection); or you can use the GetOutOfJailFree card (unidentified, 'A Yellow Card') held by a guardian on this level. (Using the card gets you out in a random direction.) Rotating rooms have walls, or one-way passages, on two or three sides. If you enter them, or if you camp in one, the room will rotate in a preset direction (for a particular room the direction is constant, but two different rooms may go different ways). Saving and reloading rotates all rooms like this. (Note that this construct allows two adjacent rotating rooms to have a shared wall; the wall in common may "move around" in both rooms.)
Go 1E, and 1E through a one-way passage. Go 2N into a rotator. Go east through the provided exit into another rotator. Go 2N and hit yet another rotator. Exit and reenter until the rotator faces north, then go 1N and 2W to Pentagram 7. (South of this pentagram there are one-way passages that can trap you in such a way that the only escape is by Malor, and also makes the game impossible to solve though it's not immediately obvious; be careful not to enter that area.)
Summon some monsters (suggested: Wights, Priests of Fung, and Evil Eyes; the Pentagram 7 monsters are relatively weak, so you may want to experiment a little). This pentagram is at (1E, 7N); others may be found at (12E, 0N) and (16E, 16N). As for encounters, they are quite a bit rarer on this level. Dorion's Grays is hard; Dorion has enough hit points to survive a Tiltowait and casts a Tiltowait himself. Khan's Kosmic Killers has no fighter-types (Fighter, Samurai, Lord, Ninja) at all, and its 2 thieves and 4 spell-casters shouldn't hurt badly if you use your Oxygen Mask. Many members of both of these teams can be killed by a Lakanito; those who aren't killed should be finished with a Tiltowait.
2E, 1S back into the rotator. Exit and re-enter until it faces south. Head straight south into a rotator. Exit east. Nearby, at (6E, 6N), there is a rotator. Look around to find the entrance. (If there isn't, save and reload, and one should appear.) Enter and exit south. Ron Wartow Memorial Pool (This is not necessary if you are seeking one of three Evil alignment endings.) Take a dip. Your alignment will change to Neutral. Exit south through a one-way passage. DON'T STRAY from here on; there are many one way passages here that will force you to backtrack. 1E, 1N, 3E, 3N, then 5W through a one-way passage at the end. 1N through a one-way passage. 2N through a one-way passage. 3N. Visit the Witch. You already have the Tannic Acid (the Witching Rod; remember, it came from the wood of the trees, and the trees leaked the pool of acid whence the rod came), the Fe-S-Sub-2 (that is, the Golden Pyrite; a molecule of pyrite is composed of one iron and two sulfur atoms -- Starcross and Stationfall aren't the only games where a little outside chemistry knowledge comes in handy), and the Furred Cone (Magician's Hat). The Blender is a Blade Cusinart' (check out its picture on the copy protection booklet), the Spanish Unguent is the Cleansing Oil (Oil of Ole! get it?), and the Camphor is the Aromatic Ball (all found later). 2S, 1W, 3N, 13E. (There is a pentagram near here if you need it.) 1N, 2E, then 3N to the upper-right hand corner. 6N, 2W, 1N, 2W, 1N, 1W, 2N. Take a Marble (the Aromatic Ball), invoke it once, and keep it safe in the Box. Camp and teleport to (10D, 11E, 19N) if you lost the Black Candle. Then teleport to (9D, 9E, 5N). (Until later in the game you cannot cast Malor to anywhere other than 10 Down and 9 Down.)"
Ring any bells? And, when's the last time you even said "Tiltowait".
The name was always Sir-Tech. It was a corruption of a family of businessmen's name (Sirotek), mainly construction, who knew Robert Woodhead one of the 2 creators of the Wiz series. They supplied the startup funds.
The Original Adventure hooked me, then I was absolutely hooked playing Zork I on an Atari 800 with a cassette tape drive. The first 3 Zorks and Enchanter, considered Zork IV, are unforgettable. I remember getting goosebumps whenever the disk drive whirred, and I knew my answer to a puzzle was correct. Also, remember the big debate about text vs. graphic adventures? What about the spate of graphic adventures, like Sherwood Forest, Brian Fargo (former prez of Interplay) Demon Forge, the original Roberta Williams Sierra stuff, like Mystery House, and my favorite of hers, the most expensive game of alltime until Steel Battalion, Time Zone, $99!!!!!!
I just write reviews for JustRPG (just-rpg.com). Other than working for Sir-Tech, I never worked for the industry, other than writing a first draft of a manual for a New World Computing game. My real industry writing is 15 published strat guides for Sybex, Prima, Brady, etc., mainly on RPG's. (My favorites are the official Daggerfall strat guide, official Xenogears strat guide, and 2 Final Fantasy VII books. But, I haven't written a book in 5 years.
I completely agree about this discussion. I see lots of kindred spirits, who remembered when gaming began, and, in my opinion, topped out. This current emphasis on graphics, sound is beyond me.
Fuff (My favorite character rpg name. I started to use it when someone couldn't pronounce my last name, for some reason, and called me Mr. Fuff.)
