I’m not sure if anyone’s ever heard of this before, but there was an ANSI graphics BBS game that existed years ago that I cannot remember the name of. Here’s a few clues and maybe someone will be able to figure out out:
[ul]
[li]It was an adventure/RPG with graphical room maps[/li][li]Your character was represented by a π (pi) symbol[/li][li]The game had random encounters. If you hit one, the next screen would be this square arena-type room where you could either move, or if you were adjacent to your opponent, attack by moving into him[/li][li]In addition to normal equipment, you could find gloves and boots that were either blessed or cursed. You never knew which it was unless you had them appraised, which was very expensive. I seem to remember one pair of gloves being called “Xplendid gloves”[/li][li]The game was pretty damn hard, and I died a lot[/li][/ul]
I don’t know the specific game, but I’m pretty sure you’re describing some Roguelike. If you’re unfamiliar with it, you might want to check out Nethack as it’s probably similar though likely more basic. And I’d imagine at least equally hard.
So I punched into Google the terms “roguelike” and “Xplendid gloves”, assuming that the specific equipment would help narrow the search. I got nothing but this thread.
Scuba Ben, killed by a collapsing ceiling (pointed a wand of digging straight up).
I remember playing that, or a variation of it. BBS games were copied and changed by the admins so much that I have no doubt there are countless titles that meet your description.
I miss the days of BBSes. We had a free one run by the local newspaper that had 9 telephone lines and a chat program. My friends and I abused the hell out of that BBS. I feel sorry for the lone admin who was likely doing it with no extra pay and as a fun side project. JStiltson, if you’re out there, I’m sorry for all the hell I put you through.