the game's publisher beyond software offered a prize—models of the major characters in an icemark setting—to the first player who revealed the "watchwords of midnight", an inscription on luxor's moon ring that would be shown upon ultimate victory. the conditions for this to happen was if the player could bring all the major characters including morkin to the gate of varenorn and eliminate shareth. the first to do so was then-15-year-old richard harris from lowestoft in november 1984. harris, however, had to wait for the models for 14 months—until january 1986—because the publisher had not expected anyone to "finish the game so quickly".