This room was used at the start of every quest in series 3, replacing the wheel of fortune/wheel of fate used in series 2. The dungeoneer rolls the die, a giant 'virtual' die appears and three doors are revealed. The team must choose a door to take, although there was often a symbol above one of the doors.

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From TES issue 47 (September 2007)

Series 3. Level 1.
ROLL THE BONES

Upon first entering the Dungeon in series 3, all twelve dungeoneers arrived in a green room with no exits. The only thing in the room was a green table, with raised sides on all but the edge closest to the dungeoneer, containing a large six-sided die. With prompting from Treguard, the advisors would direct the dungeoneer to pick up the die and roll it, thus causing a very large computer-generated die to fly into the room (with appropriate sound effects) and open up to reveal three doors, one of which the dungeoneer would then use to progress further into their quest.

Like the Wheel of Fate in the previous series, this was a very simple starter that demanded no luck, skill or thought, but was simply a chance for the production team to show off some of their impressive, groundbreaking graphics. It did, however, serve as a calm, hazard-free introduction to the quest, which went some way towards putting the teams at their ease.

For the watchers at home, this was an eye-catching, impressive piece of computer wizardry, epitomic of what made Knightmare such an enthralling, surprising programme. Although the sequence was enjoyable to watch for the first few quests, however, by the time Chris II got round to rolling the die in episode fifteen of the series, everyone knew what was coming, and took it in its stride.

After the first few teams had decided to take their dungeoneers out through the right-hand exit, quest object symbols started to be added over the left-hand or middle door in order to provide a bit of variety. However, this did not add any threat or challenge to the room at all, for the quest would still ultimately be awarded by the wall monster (Golgarach or Brangwen) even if the dungeoneer had not exited under the symbol.

And that really is all there was to this room. Some advisors had trouble accepting how easy the challenge was, but it was nice little starter, and a memorable part of the programme.

Difficulty: 1 Anyone can roll a die!
Killer Instinct: 0 That would have been embarrassing!
Gore Factor: 0 It would have been boring as well!
Fairness: 10 An interesting and memorable start to the quest.

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The dice room seen in Knightmare Series 3 also featured in the French version of Knightmare, Le Chevalier Du Labyrinthe. Referred to as La Salle De Dés, the doors were blocked by portcullises soon after appearing, but one would be raised at Le Maître du Château's command.

[Previous version: 2010-10-30 17:36:15]

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