Note: This
is the 1985 game by Electronic Arts, not to be confused with the 2005
game by InXile Entertainment.
Unlimited
gold: Enter the statistics screen for the first character and pool the
gold from the entire party to this individual. Remove this character from
the party, then load him again. Pool all of the gold to the next character
in the party. Repeat this procedure for all party members, then turn off the
computer without saving the game. When the game is reloaded, every character
will have an amount of gold equal to that previously pooled by the entire
party.
Part 1
The game begins in the town of
Skara Brae, where the evil wizard Mangar the Dark has isolated the town from
all help by casting a spell of eternal winter on the surrounding
countryside. Mangar has defeated all the good wizards and warriors of note
in the town and has infested the town with his evil minions. The task now
before you as junior magic casters and warriors is to defeat Mangar and
restore Skara Brae to its rightful inhabitants. Oh yes, you should bring a
bard along to record your deeds. He will sing your praises if you succeed,
or croon a dirge at your funerals.
The magic system used in the
game is rich in diversity. A magic user must start out as either a magician,
specializing in casting magical effects on non-magical objects, or a
conjurer, who deals with the instantaneous creation of objects and effects
through magic. After learning at least 3 spell levels in a magic art, a
magic user can change from one class to another. But do not be too hasty:
after leaving one class you can never go back to it.
Once a magic user becomes
proficient in at least one art, he can then become a sorcerer. Sorcery deals
with the magic of illusion and magical perception. If a magic user becomes
proficient in at least two of the arts, he can then become a wizard.
Wizardry deals with the summoning and control of supernatural creatures. The
experience points required to advance a level as a wizard are much higher
than the other magic classes. It is best to let your magic user advance all
the way to level 7 in whichever art he is in before changing classes. But be
sure to change class after he has attained level 7 of the art. In the
dungeons there are many traps for the unwary; you never know who will be
killed and what spells are required to save your party from extinction.
There are several different
fighter classes available in the game: monks, paladins, hunters, warriors
and rogues. All have different strengths and weaknesses. During combat only
the first three members of your party can physically fight or be attacked;
the last three can cast spells. It pays early in the game to have three
fighters of some type to protect your magic users from physical combat and
free them to concentrate on a magical attack.
The bard is a unique individual
who can fight, albeit poorly, and cast six magical spells by playing an
instrument. You must have one along, as this is the Bard's Tale.
Part 2
Obviously, the first thing you
must do is assemble your party. There is a beginning party (supplied with
the game) already equipped with a basic level of armor, instruments, etc. A
much better and unique option is to transfer characters over from either
WIZARDRY or ULTIMA III. These characters come over as fairly senior level
characters and make the beginning of this game much easier. This is a highly
desirable alternative.
If you create your own
characters -- which you must do for your bard -- pay special attention to
the dexterity attribute. This attribute determines who strikes first in
combat, and can be the difference between an easy encounter and one which is
a struggle. Magic users should have a high IQ, while fighter classes should
have a high strength. I recommend a monk as one of your fighters. Their
armor class drops as their level rises. Mine eventually had an armor class
of LO wearing only a robe. They also can do the most damage unarmed in
actual combat.
My starting party consisted of
a monk, two paladins, a bard, a magician and a conjurer. At higher levels of
the game, you will want to trade in one of your paladins and develop another
magic user.
When you first leave the
Adventurer's Guild, explore the city. Visit Garth's Armory, and find the
Review Board (located next to the inn on Trumpet Street). Don't wander too
far until you get a feel for how you can survive. To restore hit points
after fighting, visit a temple. There all ills -- including death -- can be
cured for a price. After a fight, you will quite frequently find objects of
some type. Keep them all. If you don't need them, go to Garth's and sell
them for gold -- you will need it.
Visit Roscoe's Energy emporium
located off the Gran Plaz on the corner of Grey Knife Street. There you will
get an idea what it costs to restore spell points.
Early on, when you are still
short of gold, the best way to restore spell points is to go into the
Adventurer's Guild and just wait. This game is in real time, and spell
points are restored as you just sit there. If you wait on the street or in a
house, you will almost certainly be attacked.
When you find an object after a
fight or in a chest in the dungeons, experiment with it to find out what it
is. There are no cursed items. Quite a few objects have magical properties
that are not readily apparent. Here are a few of the objects that I found
most useful, even though you won't run into these until later in the game:
Kael's Axe seemed to be the best weapon, causing the most damage for my
Paladins; a frost horn for your Bard, when used in combat, causes 40-70 hit
points of damage to a group of monsters; a mage staff for your magic users
allows them to regain spell points even in a dungeon (this is incredibly
useful). I will leave it up to you to discover the usefulness of the other
items found during the game.
After learning the game play by
wandering around the city and being able to survive, it is time to visit the
dungeons. This is where the battle with Mangar will be won or lost.
Part 3
There are five dungeons in the
game that must be explored in the following order: Wine Cellar and Sewers,
The Catacombs, Harkyn's Castle, Kylearan's Tower, and Mangar's Tower. Each
contains something that will help in the subsequent stages of the game.
Wine Cellar and Sewers
The easiest dungeon of them all
is reached from the inn on Rakhir Street. Enter the inn, ask to order a
drink, then select wine. You will then be ushered into the Wine Cellar. I
cannot overstress the importance of mapping in this game. Whenever possible,
have the MALE spell in operation. This will help you avoid some of the traps
that are lying around. When you have an encounter and find a chest, always
cast a TRZP spell to disarm any traps that may be guarding the chest.
Located in the Wine Cellar are
the stairs down to the Sewers. The first level of the Sewers contains almost
nothing of interest. So locate the stairs to the second level of the sewers
as quickly as possible and get down there. The second level contains one
very important bit of information that you will need to enter the Catacombs:
the name of the Mad God. There are also two hints to questions that will be
asked in other dungeons. Explore this level fully to find all the hints and
the Mad God's name. The lowest level of the Sewers is next and contains one
item of importance for later in the game. Locate and take the stairs exiting
from this level. Make sure you know where the stairs lead exactly. After
this (I hope you have been visiting the Review Board regularly to advance
levels and learn new spells), you are ready for the Catacombs.
The Catacombs
The Catacombs are reached from
one of the Mad God's Temples, located on the east side of the Gran Plaz.
After entering the Temple, ask to speak to the priest, then give him the Mad
God's name: TARJAN.
The first level of the
Catacombs is just a survival test at this stage. Once you can survive there
fairly easily, head for the second level of the Catacombs. The second level
has a clue in it about the Mad God. It also contains a very nasty creature
called a Soul Sucker that lurks in the southwest corner of the second level.
If you decide to go in there and try him out, make sure you have your
character disk backed up. You will not be able to defeat him at this stage
of your development, but fortunately you don't have to.
The lowest level of the
Catacombs contains something you will need later. Once you have reached the
third level of the Catacombs, you must use a teleport square to enter the
Wizard's Realm. The teleport is located in the southeast corner of the
dungeon. Once you are in the Wizard's Realm, you must defeat him to gain the
Eye. After you have this item, you are ready to tackle Harkyn's Castle.
Harkyn's Castle
Harkyn's Castle is located in
the northeast corner of Skara Brae. At this point in time, it becomes very
important for you to have filled your special slot with the most powerful
character your magic users can summon. If you are in the process of
developing a wizard, a lesser demon is best.
The first level of Harkyn's
Castle contains one item of importance: the Crystal Sword from the southeast
corner of this level. You will now begin to find some of the more powerful
objects to experiment with during your encounters. After obtaining the
crystal sword, head for the second level of the Castle. The stairs are
located in the northeast corner of the first level.
The second level of the Castle
has a couple of interesting things. If you answer the riddle correctly
("SHIELDS") you get a magic mouth which can be used to cast the
SOSI spell. You must also obtain the silver square from the southwest corner
of the dungeon. The access to this is from a teleport located towards the
middle of the northern section of the dungeon. The portal to the third level
is located in the northeast section of this level.
The third level of the Castle
contains the entrance to Kylearan's Tower and some interesting
opportunities. The answer to the Old Man's question is "SKULL
TAVERN." When you encounter the berserkers located at 12E 5N of this
level, take advantage. They can be fairly easily defeated with the right
magic spells. You should have at least two sorcerers capable of casting the
MIBL spell. It also helps if your bard has a frost or fire horn to aid the
others along. When you can defeat these guys easily, it is time to make
another magic user. You can teleport from the Castle entrance, fight the
berserkers, teleport back to the entrance, exit the castle, then do it again
and again until your spells run low. At 60,000 experience points a crack, it
doesn't take long to develop a decent magic user. After this, it is time to
attempt Kylearan's Castle. When you approach, and fight the statue of a Mad
God located in the southeast corner of this level, you will be teleported
inside the gates of Kylearan's Tower.
Kylearan's Tower
After the battle with the Mad
God and your subsequent teleport (you did have the eye in your possession),
go one step forward, turn right, then kick the door down. You will then be
entering one of the two most difficult mazes in the game. Most of it is in
the dark and there are riddles that must be answered. Backup your character
disk before entering this maze. Once you are in, watch carefully for
teleports: they are everywhere. It is extremely important that you map this
maze very carefully. After you have reached the antimagic square from
wandering in a very small section of the dark, the next step forward is a
teleport to 11E 12N. Explore until you find a magic mouth that asks you to
"Name the one of cold, foretold twofold," The answer to this one
is "STONE GOLEM." You will then be teleported again. After this,
you will enter a very large, dark area. In order to get out of this, you
must answer the question posed at 12E 2N which says, "Name the Endless
Byway and your path will be guaranteed." The answer to this is the only
street in Skara Brae with no end, Sinister. You then can map your way
through a lighted section to another dark area. From this dark area you must
obtain the Silver Triangle, located at the very north of the dark area. You
can then exit the dark area, going south from 1E 6N. After this, you will
face the Crystal Golem (did you bring the Crystal Sword?). You can defeat
him with conventional weapons and spells, but somebody has to have the
crystal sword or he will reappear to block your exit.
At this point, you can exit the
tower to refresh your players or continue on. If you exit, when you reenter
you must again answer the endless byway question to continue. Upon reaching
the end of the snaky road on the east side of the maze, don't go through the
south door. Take the door that goes west. You will then enter several rooms
with spinners and teleports that make finding your way almost impossible.
The way past these is southwest. When you make it, you will be teleported to
14E 1N. It is then an easy stroll to meet Kylearan himself. He turns out to
be the friendly wizard and gives you a key that allows you to get into
Mangar's Tower. He then teleports you to the stairs exiting his tower. You
no longer need the crystal sword or the eye, and you are now ready for
Mangar himself.
Mangar's Tower
If you paid heed and followed
the stairs from the bottom level of the Sewers, you will know how to get
inside Mangar's walls. If not, go to the Wine Cellar, teleport your party
17E 16N 3D, and take the stairs up. Then turn right and kick the door in.
You should be at the entrance to Mangar's Tower.
Level one of Mangar's is fairly
easy to find your way around in. Follow the teleports and walk around until
you reach the magic mouth on the east side of the maze. What is tricky is
that after leaving the magic mouth, you are now on level 2 of the tower. So
be careful in mapping.
Level two of Mangar's is again
fairly easy (not even a warmup for level 3). From this level you must answer
the question located at 4E 15N to obtain the silver circle. The answer to
the question is "CIRCLE." You must then make your way to the
stairs located in the middle of the southern side of the maze.
Level three is the hardest maze
of all, but by this time you must be getting really proficient at mapping.
You must wander around this level and obtain quite a number of items. First
of all, you sh}uld get the master key, for 50,000 gold pieces, from 19E 12N.
This key allows you to enter Mangar's through the front gate, instead of
from the Sewers. You musthhDen find the clues to the seven words needed to
access the fourth level of Mangar's. Gratefully, you can teleport into and
out of this level of the Tower. After finding the clues, you can then speak
the seven words to the magic mouth located at 10E 4N. They must be entered
one at a time. The words are, "LIE WITH PASSION AND BE FOREVER
DAMNED." Stairs will then appear at 3E 9N. This is the only way to
obtain entrance to the upper reaches of Mangar's.
The fourth level of Mangar's
has only one tricky part. When you first arrive, you have a limited number
of ways you can go. After reaching a certain point, located in the northeast
corner of the level, doors appear everywhere. Don't be confused. Everything
maps the same, it's just that doors are everywhere. Eventually you will find
the portal to level five in the southwest corner of this level.
Level five is the home stretch.
This easy maze leads you to the lava pit in the middle of the eastern side
of the maze. There you dive in and are teleported to 10E 6N. You will then
find the march up the hall of harm to be fruitless if you didn't bring the
three silver items along. If you have the silver triangle, silver square,
and silver circle, a door will appear directly north of you. After passing
through this door, cast your REST spell to restore everybody to health and
proceed directly north to the final battle with Mangar.
The final battle itself is a
large disappointment as it is fairly easy to defeat Mangar and his vampires,
and meet Kylearan again, who gives you 300,000 bonus experience points.
After defeating Mangar, you can then proceed one more square north for the
last question of the game. The answer is "SPECTRE SNARE," which
you then receive (it is good for binding to your party any of your opponents
in battle).
Please
select the first letter of the game's title below. If the word
"The" appears at the start of a title, ignore it and search for
the second word in the title:
