` AMBERSTAR - Thalion ` Playguide by Brian Burke Part 1 - Introduction, General Information and Hints ~Introduction. Amberstar is a large, colourful and enjoyable RPG. The programmers' objective was to out-Ultima the guys at Origin. Having never played an Ultima game whether they've succeeded or not I don't know. What I can say is that the control system is excellent once you've sussed out that the manual, though seemingly comprehensive, does not provide all the answers to which icon does what. You can't beat a bit of hands-on experience. I understand that folks trying to play off floppies on the Amiga have had a problem but the guy I spoke to at Thalion in Germany seemed to think all was OK now. Playing off a hard drive with only 1 meg you'll need to use Control-D to cut out Workbench loading. The task is to find 13 parts of the Amberstar and join them in a special place to allow the party access to the Fortress of Godsbane and thus smite down the nasties. Piece of cake! The Graphic presentations come in four types of display. The opening scene finds your character in Twinlake Graveyard in an Ultima style scene. Some interior scenes replicate this such as in a house, a Guild or an Inn. Scrolling is a joy throughout. Entering a town or a cellar etc brings up a scene that's a cross between SSI and Dungeon Master. Until a Compass or the Staff of Direction is obtained the only way to tell which is North or South is to use the auto-mapping facility. In Cellars and underground locations the auto-mapping will not work unless a Torch is activated. Leaving a Town, Cave or Tower brings an overhead view reminiscent of Faery Tale. The game map is very large and whether your Party is walking, riding, sailing or flying you will encounter dawn, day, evening and night changes. This is reflected by the amount of map that you can see on screen. Time can be accelerated by use of the "Zzz" icon. The final scenario is the Battle mode. The less active amongst us will be delighted to know that this is not realtime. Actions, such as fight or cast magic spells and movement can be planned on a character by character basis and a single icon press will carry out those instructions. You just sit back and drink your coffee whilst the hapless protagonists slug it out crying such encouragement out as "Hit him, you twit" and so on. ~Character Set-Up. Although the game starts with a single character who becomes your alter-ego you do need, in time, to fill all six character slots up with a selected group. The character stats need to be created prior to starting the game proper. Be patient and keep the dice rolling until you are satisfied with the figures. Subsequent promotions will enable such attributes like Strength, Attack and Parry prowess, Read and Use Magic scrolls, Swimming, Pick Locks, Find and Disarm Traps to be increased. ~Movement over the Map. At an early stage it is advisable to buy a horse from the Stables in Twinlake. This means that you only lay out 150 gold for your single character. Subsequent additions to the Party all clamber upon the back of this poor creature without detriment to its performance! If you've two characters when you buy a horse then it's 300 Gold and so on. Having a horse means that Rivers can be crossed without losing Life Points by not having sufficient swimming skills. You'll also not be allowed to enter Lakes or the Sea. To enter Woods and Forests though you must be on foot so will have to park Dobbin in a place where you can find him (her) again. Think I'm joking? - this is a BIG game. Twinlake offers Rafts for sale but two of these are to be found for free. One at the end of a jetty on the western shore line and another in the north west of the map. A Boat, on the other hand, you have to buy at some point. As these cost 5000 Gold it'll be a little time before you acquire one. Whilst this sum of money can be found in Crystal I recommend that you use that to fund other purposes first. Boats can be bought in Crystal or from an extremely remote island in the north west. Later in the game a "Blue Disc" can replace the horse and best of all the ultimate way to travel is via your own tame Eagle - shades of Questron (no gambling in this game though). Finally there's a method known as "The Windgates". These are croquet type hoops that transport the Party, from a central island to the south of Twinlake, to locations that are close to points of interest. Before the Windgates can be used the artefact that enables them must be obtained. There are two of these to be found. ~Fighting & Character Promotion. As usual sending the baddies to their version of Valhalla is the only way to gain Experience. Entering each relevant Guild gives your character information as to how many points are required to reach the next level. Each promotion costs so have your purse available. Some classes cost more than others. At each promotion you are invited to allocate points to the disciplines I described above. Briefly these should initially be - Warriors - Attack/Parry skills Thief - Pick Locks Paladin - Read and Use Scrolls OR Attack/Parry Wizards - Read and Use Scrolls There are also Monk and Ranger classes which I did not employ but who are available in the game. Misreading the manual I mistakenly thought my Human character could enter a multitude of classes so when I'd acquired 30 experience points I beetled into the Warrior Guild for my extra skill points and to receive my extra Life Points. When I then tried to enter another class and was turned away I was inconsolable. In the event I was well pleased as I set up my Battle formation with a Warrior at either side of the first row with all four weaker characters on the back row. The Warriors cannot advance beyond the second row of the grid. The enemy come down the screen towards your team and can only be hit by the front men if they are adjacent or directly in front of your characters. Black Wizards are the guys with offensive spells. They can cast spells on any retreating baddies in individual or group mode dependent on the type of spell. White Wizards are the Clerics and Grey Wizards cast defensive spells. ~Healing and Defence. It's as well to cast Anti-Magic spells as soon as you enter battle and follow that up with Armour Protection and Weapon Power in subsequent turns. Healing your folks when they are poisoned, go mad, blinded, stunned or made ill is a pain and expensive. Some of those ailments take your character out of a battle scenario so be warned. Herbs can be bought that offer an "on-line" cure mode. There's a shop in the north west of Illien, the Elf Village that sells - Dolden - use to heal Poisoning. Blueplant - use to cure Madness. Redplant - reverses Ageing. Drelben - cures Paralysis (stun). Packets of Herbs - cure Sickness (disease). Using these is much cheaper than the Temple healers. Potions are also available that do the same job. Again there's a shop in Illien to the south of the Herb shop and the Monks Guild also stock a good many. I can't replicate all the Potion symbols due to the limitations of my keyboard but hopefully you'll recognise which is representative of what from those below - M = Healing 5 potion. This is the preferred one. N = healing D = cure Poisoning 1X1 = replace spell points _ X = Replace Spell Points This is the preferred one < = cure Blindness The same with an additional half a chevron = cure Disease(sickness). P = cure Paralysis (stun) There's also one for "Treat Weapon with Balsam". Go on - get the edge. ~Weapons and Special Objects. As your Party root and loot their way through dusty crevices and rusty Chests they come across all manner of goodies. Practically everything is worth taking as this is the way to fill your purse with Gold. The bad news is that you are limited by the strength of each character as to just how much weight each can carry. There is an on-screen statistic that will tell you this. The Shops in Illien, Twinlake, Gemstone, Crystal and Snakesign all do reasonable second hand deals so these are the places to bring your Treasures and turn 'em into cash. The Shop in Crystal is run by an enterprising fellow who's open all day, every day. The others have homes to go to and their opening hours can be read outside each shop. Frankly, apart from Torches and empty Flasks you can find most of the armour and weapons as you go. Torches are essential to progress in the Sewers and Cellars. Unless they're lit the Automap facility will not register and you simply can't see. Once an area has been mapped then by all means save your stock and alternate between map and direction arrow mode as you retreat or re-enter a previously mapped level. The weight problem and the sheer number of objects, potions and scrolls you find will have you scuttling through areas more than once. For this reason it's as well to have a manual version of the on-screen map to hand. The fact that an object is "special" will become apparent by virtue of its resale price. In Twinlake and Snakesign are Wise Men who will identify those items. Beware as once identified they won't look at that item again so to quote Terry Wogan "Write it down". Each object costs 250 Gold so best to save outside the shop and restore when you've submitted those objects you want Identifying. I won't claim this list as exhaustive by any means but here are some notes I made - ~Armour - `Object _____________ Attribute ____________ Class `Metal Helmet .. Shield 6 Warriors & Paladines `Horn Helmet .. 3 + Damage 2 War / Pal / Ranger/ Thief `Iron Ring .. 1 All `Brooch of Gala.. 1 All `Hat .. 1 All `Armour of Geb.. 10 + Strength 15 Warrior / Paladine `Chainmail .. 8 Warrior / Paladine `Banded Mail .. 10 Warrior / Paladine `Mithral Mail .. 12 All `Girdle of Thieves .. 9 Thief `Robe .. 2 All `Robe of Nut .. 5 Wizards `Robe of Nickademeus .. Wizards `Necklace of Bala .. 2 + Damage 2 Thief / Ranger `Silver Ring Picklock Skills `Dagger Damage 4 All `Assassins Blade.. 18 + 10 Speed + 15 Attack - Thief `Shortsword .. 8 War / Pal / Ranger / Thief `Morning Star .. 14 War / Pal / Ranger `Firebasher .. 15 Warrior `Icebiter.. 20 War / Pal / Ranger `Two Handed Sword.. 20 Warrior / Paladine `Simitar .. 25 All except Wizards `Sickle of Returning 20 Thief/ Monk / Wiz / Ranger `BucklerShield .. 2 + Damage 2 War / Paladine / Ranger `Tower Shield .. 12 + Life Points 5 + White Magic ` + Reincarnation 5 Paladine / W.Wizard Wand of Winds - creates STORM damage - All Globe of Harachte - creates LIGHT 3 spell- All Pipe of Levitation - levitates Party - All Orb of Magic - creates a Magic Sphere x 5 - All Wand of Light - guess! One to avoid even picking up is the "Coat of Moira" - there are two of these and they are cursed. Not only that but they weigh a ton too. A "Remove Curse" spell is the only way to lose them once in your inventory. There are other special objects that you will find on your travels and others that you will be rewarded with in return for completing sub-quests for characters in the game. Once these items are in your Inventory clicking the Action Icon on them will make them fulfil a purpose. Some, like the flute you receive for destroying an evil Dragon and is subsequently used to summon an Eagle, remain as part of your luggage. Whilst others, such as the Compass and Clock, are transported to a grey display window on the right of the screen. ~Character Interaction. You can only learn about your quest(s) from "Talking" to the other characters in the game (They all look like they're exercising on a pogo stick). Some of these will be able to join your party if you have room. It's possible to be ruthless and drop a character, pick up another one, filch all their goodies, then go back and have the other guy join up again. Once a character has been dropped they can be found again in the place that you first met them. Only those characters who speak the same language as the individual you're trying to converse with will get any sense out of them. Otherwise you receive a negative message so be sure your leading character is the appropriate one. >From memory I believe the only words present in your on-screen vocabulary at the start are "Hello" and "Key". Either keep a pencil and paper record of these words or develop a good memory as key words are added to this list each time you talk. For example talking to the little girl outside your parents home in Twinlake brings out keywords such as "Felix" (her cat) and so on. For this reason and the fact that some dialogue responses contain keywords required later in the game it is important to take a note of all conversations. Not verbatim but certainly noting keywords and names. The same is true for pictures on the wall of some rooms. ~Saved Game, Life & Death. The bad news about Amberstar is that there is only ONE saved game. Yes, just the one. Mistakes you don't make in this game. It's true to say that you can die once and then be resurrected. Should this fate befall the Party your dead bodies are transported to a helpful Wizard, name of Shandra, who lives in Twinlake. He then tells you that's your lot or that he can only help once more. The trick is to retreat when the odds are against you and to keep at least one character's Life Points up all the time. This should preferably be a Paladin or a White Wizard. Keep the Rod of Resurrection handy once you've found it. Emerging from a Battle licking your wounds you ponder how to regain your health. Resting is the answer, but you must have Rations to consume in order to restore Spell and Life Points. Rations are obtainable from Twinlake - cost 15 gold, Crystal - cost 12, Gemstone - cost 10, Snakesign - cost 10 or Manyeye Cave Village - cost 30 gold. An alternative to spending money on Rations, but effective for Life Points only, is to bathe in the Healing Pools found in the Crypt which is located in Twinlake Cemetery. ~Building a Party. There are a number of characters in the game who are willing to help you solve your quest. Frankly you'll get absolutely nowhere without them. Here is a list for your recruitment campaign - Character ____ Class ____ Where Found Drobonir - Warrior - Gemstone Inn Trasric - Black Wizard - Crystal - Jewel Inn Grylan - Paladine - Crystal - unclassified & weak at first Silk - Thief - Twinlake - Dragon Inn Satine - Grey Wizard - Tower of White Wizard Guild Boldina - Thief - Dragon Keep - Castle of Gelinda Melchlor - Monk - Snakesign Village Crag - White Wizard - Tower of White Wizard Guild Sheba - Ranger - Cave of Manyeye village - in her house Spike the Dog - Animal - Twinlake - in the kitchen of your home Shir'kar the cat - Mera's House - garden You certainly need Black Wizard skills. A Thief is essential. Characters with Grey & White Wizard ability are also vital. I'd suggest that the Warrior is your number one recruit. Build your initial Experience points by walking over or sailing under bridges. Make sure the Warrior and Black Wizard are with you. This way you fight single Bridge Trolls on a random basis. Fighting the first Rats in Twinlake Sewers is also good preparation for your characters' first promotions. It's important to get Life Points under your belt to eliminate the frustration of early deaths. ~General Hints. It took me ages to realise that, although I could click the mouse button on Clothes and Weapons to take them from the Inventory and place them on the Figure, in order to action say, a torch, I had first to click on the Hand icon in the lower right of the Monitor screen and then on the Inventory item I wanted to action. The game isn't exactly linear BUT it is true to say that some places are easier than others. My explanatory is in the order in which I tackled the game which isn't necessarily the easiest path but I do know and will advise which areas were hard. There were two scenarios where doors closed behind the Party irrevocably. This is no fun when there's only one saved game and it's midnight and you know that it'll take ages and three days to get out in one piece. Not only that but you don't know if you've enough Life Points and equipment to stay the course! The two places are - Pharaoh's Tomb and The Cave under the Whirlpool. This latter area should be left till last as it's quite (British understatement) tough. You will need to leave areas from time to time in order to unload your Inventory. Keeping a note of your characters' Experience Points will enable you to see just when they can gain those vital additional Life Points and Spell Casting & Learning Points. All this takes time. Until you acquire the Map Locator in the Swampstation to facilitate this activity it's a task that you have to live with. When learning scrolls it's best to save the game first as a degree of "SSI type" dice rolling takes place. One time you fail and the next it's OK. Watch the words as the scroll turns to dust whether successful or not. For this reason SAVE between scrolls as well. Read signs and Signposts as these will give you trigger words in your speech Inventory. ~TWINLAKE. Map Reference x axis first then y - 210/215 Town area can be mapped on a 32 (horizontal) x 28 (vertical) grid. Your start point is in Twinlake graveyard standing close to the grave of your parents. Use the "Eye" icon to look around and head northeast to find the Crypt. Use the "Zzz" icon to advance time and stop when Gwendoline appears. Read the notice outside the Crypt first and make a point of reading these and the signs outside Shops and guilds as you come across them. They give you keywords also and thus facilitate conversation. Hang around till midday to meet Gwendoline. She's pretty distraught. Say "Hello" and watch the keywords for further conversation. She requests that you obtain the Flower (Rose) of Sadness which is to be found in the Halls of Peace. She doesn't know where this is but if you talk to Olfin, who's to be found in the Jewel Inn in Crystal, he'll be only too pleased to tell you that this is a cave entrance located northeast of Crystal in a rocky but desert area. Staying in the Crypt note the two Healing Pools and advance time to midnight in order to meet Sir Marrilion, Gwendoline's better half. Speak to him of Gwendoline to obtain the Key to the Tomb. In here find a Sword, Armour and 589 Gold. Both Sword and Armour can only be used by a Paladin so it's best just to take the cash for now and return later for the other stuff. There's a little guy in Crystal who's dying to get his hands on these things. More of him later. Leave the Crypt and head for the Cemetery exit in the southwest. The only other thing of interest here is a statue in the southeast of the graveyard. Entering the town brings up a different perspective and enables the Auto Mapping facility. Click on the icon to see where you've been. A super assistance to manual mapping. The first place to head for is your parents' home. This is located down a passageway which is off the lane opposite the Shop and past the Food Shop. You will meet Sunni, a small girl, in this area. Say "Hello" etc to learn that she has lost her pet cat Felix. Whilst she makes reference to the Cemetery the poor feline is actually held prisoner in the Sewers. The reward when you return Felix is that the lead character in your Party at the time learns the gift of talking to animals. She also offers to sell you Hats at a price of 3 Gold. But before you enter the Sewers you have lots to do first. Use the Key on the Lock of your parents' home. Enter. In the Dining Room find a Magic Picture in an alcove to the right behind the table, use the "Eye" icon. Actioning this transfers the picture to the large grey area in the mid-right of the screen and enables you to see if it's night or day. In the Kitchen you meet Spike the Dog. When you have the gift of talking to animals he can join your Party. He's great at Rat eating but I never found anywhere that enabled Animals to be promoted so his Life Points always stayed at 40. Better really to develop another class of character but useful in a battle until you fill up all six slots. At the end of the long corridor in the northeast find a Chest with a small Key and an old Robe. Use the key in the Bedroom to the east and find a Wardrobe stuffed with 487 Gold, Armour, weapons, a potion and Boots. Leave the house and head south to find the Dancing Dragon Inn. Talk to everyone in here. One guy is an old friend and refers you to Jonathan's House (note the spelling) which is located to the nor' nor' east of Twinlake - tucked just in the trees. The key to the house is in a bush at the side of the path to the house before you enter the trees. Jonathan's house is an entire separate area and should not be entered until you have found the crowbar which is to be found in a barrel. The barrel is located near the top of the steps which lead down into the cellar. Again the cellar is a completely separate area which, in time and the right key, links up with Jonathan's house. More of that later. In the Kitchen meet the Cook and say "Quest". He wants you to find his ring. Recovering it from the Sewers means that he gives you a Crystal Ball in exchange. This should be actioned when your Party is trekking through the woods and you're hopelessly lost. It provides an aerial view of the surrounding countryside, just enough to get your bearings. It does have a limited usage so I'd suggest saving the game prior to use then restoring and heading off in the right direction. In the area to the north of the Dining room meet Breth, who's mine host. In the cellar you'll find an old Wine Bottle for which he'll pay you 100 gold. Accompanying him will be Silk. He's a Thief and well worth recruiting. He's carrying three lockpicks for a start. Only use these if he fails to open chests or locks by hand. Ensure that you develop his Lockpick skills up to 95% before any other skill then concentrate on Search. Also in the Inn is Cyrlis the Cat. When you've acquired the gift of speaking to Animals she'll tell you where to find the hidden door to the Thieves' Guild. It's really not worthwhile staying in an Inn as it only costs money and you can rest just as effectively outside the city or in your parents' home. Time now to visit Shandra. His house is located in the east of the town, just past the entrance to the Lord Chancellor's quarters. Shandra's appearance is time related so hang around in his bedroom till he shows if he's not elsewhere in his house. Say "Hello" to obtain the key to his Laboratory. In the chest in here are lots of goodies. Just note them for now as you won't have room to store them all and it would be tragic to have to sell the Potions and Scrolls just to make room in your Inventory. Come back when your Party is larger and you have the appropriate Wizards. Shandra tells you of a female Wizard waiting in the Grey Wizard Tower. This Tower is located on an island off the northeast shoreline and can be reached by either raft or boat. If swimming skills are good I guess you could goose grease yourself and strike out that way. The Map picture on the wall in Shandra's house serves no purpose so ditch it if you've picked it up. If you say "Potion" to Shandra and give him an empty flask he'll mix you a Healing 5 potion, very useful in the early stages when you're trying to build experience stats. In order to start acquiring those vital points head south from Shandra to visit Karwain, the Lord Chancellor. Say "Hello: Quest: Sewers: Key" to obtain the key to the Sewers. You'll have passed this door en-route from the cemetery. The Shops in Twinlake sell Rations and Arms. In the Armoury shop is also an item called a "Bernstein". This is a translation error from the original German as in English it means "Amber" which you need when you enter the Swampstation area. In summery we've now identified the following sub-plots/quests: 1. The Sewers 2. Dragon Inn Cellar 3. Jonathan's House 4. Halls of Peace 5. Tower of Grey Wizards. I've listed the above in terms of difficulty. Presuming that you're still alone, now is the time to recruit some assistance. A Warrior and a Black Wizard are necessary for sure so I recommend that Gemstone and Crystal are visited, in that order, before coming back to Twinlake. As stated earlier this is a big map so it'll take a couple of game days to find Gemstone. ~GEMSTONE. Map reference 129/369 Map on a 19 x 19 grid. Entrance door is in the south. Located in the southwest, tucked between two mountain ranges. Not a great deal to find here. There are a couple of specialist Shops. One, in the east, sells Tools and for sure you need a Pickaxe. The crowbar you should already have from the Dragon Inn in Twinlake. In northwest of the town is a Jewel shop. It can be useful to convert your excess Gold into gems. Obviously the Shopkeeper takes his cut, and how, when these transactions occur. Drobonir, the Warrior, is waiting in the Inn. The counter clerk, Andamael, is useless for now but does come into play later in the game. Take Drobonir and together head northeast to Crystal. ~CRYSTAL. Map reference 235/120. Map on a 28 x 28 grid. The entrance gate is in the south. Located in a bay on the mid east of the island. A much more interesting place than Gemstone, there's a fair bit to do in Crystal. Take the right fork as you enter and find the entrance to the Jewel Tavern. Standing in the entrance hall is Captain Brix. He's looking for Orlando, the Landlord who's hovering outside the Wine Cellar which is to be found south of the kitchen area. Inside you meet two potential recruits. Grylan is hanging around one of the corridors. He is a wannabe Paladin. Make his day by taking him on but beware that initially he's as weak as you are. Like your character he needs experience points. Of far more use is Trasric, the Black Wizard, he's to be found through a couple of bedrooms near where Grylan is. He tells you where his Guild is which is only accessible by boat. More of the Tower of Black Wizards later. In one of the rooms you meet Thonion. As you admire the pictures on his wall he tells you of the White Gates and how one is able to Teleport around the island provided one has the appropriate artefact. The necklace, for that is the artefact, is to be found in the Temple of Sansri. However the Temple is on the small island off the south coast and is only accessible in two ways. Firstly by air, you need to have access to the Eagle. Secondly by fulfilling the quest set by Gwendoline whereby the Rose of Peace is returned to her in Twinlake Crypt. In return she gives you a Teleport spell that takes you right into the heart of Sansri's Temple. Be warned that it's tough getting out again though. Another option is to sell the Rose to Olfin who tells you about "the Flower". He'll pay you around 5500 Gold for it which is just about the right amount to buy a Boat. There's an old man looking for Kevin, the Bard. Kevin's drowning his sorrows in a bar in Illien, the Elven Village, and he can wait for now. In the garden find a pond. Making sure that you don't lose Life Points by staying in the water too long, hop over to the tree to find 5000 Gold and a Parchment. This, I think, refers to The Sphere of Opening which is hidden in a Plant Pot in the room with many Plants. Go south and east in this room to find the Sphere. It is this that will open the circle of rocks guarding the Black Wizard Tower. In the kitchen meet Erek the cook and the Landlady who directs you outside to meet Orlando. He's a bit busy right now but will help you once you present him with a Golden Wine Goblet. The Goblet is hidden in his Cellar. In return he presents you with an Old Key which will open up the keyhole in the wall which is en-route to the Paladin Guild in Crystal. Before you go charging off into the cellar your Party needs to obtain a few promotions first so keep exploring the rest of Crystal for now. Leaving the Tavern head north and east to find a Shop. In the shop is an old woman and the shopkeeper behind the counter. The woman warns of the dire consequences of visiting Dreblin, the Lord Chancellor. Don't be tempted, as I was, to waste your precious lockpicks on either the door to his room or the Chest in the room. In the Chest is a sarky message that says the equivalent of "Yah, Boo, Sucks". This shop is open all day every day and you and the sarky shopkeeper will do good business together. Head east to find the Market area. To the lower east here find the Ration Shop. A place you will visit frequently as it's easier to find Crystal then Gemstone and the price difference is only 2 gold. To the northeast of the Market down a passage meet Firlas. Poor fellow has lost his Bone of Wisdom in Twinlake. Your reward for safely returning it is a Runic message and more importantly a Piece of Amberstar. But first you must complete Twinlake Sewers, return Felix the Cat to Sunni who gives you the gift of talking to animals and then recruit Spike the Dog from your parents' kitchen. A healing Temple is around here and right in the north is the Boatyard where you can spend the 5000 gold you've just acquired. My recommendation is that you save this money for Rations and suitable armour and weaponry. The Black Wizard Tower is by far too tough a place for the Party right now. Moving west you'll see the Lord Chancellor's House in the southwest. By all means walk in and have a look round. Talk to his wife, crying in the kitchen, and his son, cowering in the Bedroom. You won't be able to enter the cellar area yet as the Seal on Dreblin's Signet Ring is required as a pass key. The ring is deep within Jonathan's House. Make a note of the four portraits on the wall in the entrance hall. You need this information later on inside Dreblin's Cellar area. Upstairs is dangerous as monsters are lurking in a room there. Use the Retreat option to escape or at least SAVE before taking them on. When you "eye" the Globe up here the message is "Mortals, Look deep into my eyes and see the pain my Prince is preparing for you. No-one can stop the plans of Prince Bralkur. He will suck your soul from your body the way you suck an egg." Fighting talk indeed. The Teleport in the Bedroom takes you downstairs to just outside the Cellar. To the north on the western side you'll eventually find the Paladins' Guild. In here you can buy White Magic scrolls. A thorough exploration of the Paladin area will have revealed a Keyhole in the wall. The key for this is obtainable from Orlando once you've given him the Golden Wine Goblet from his cellar. In the chest that is then revealed find 657 Gold and another Piece of Amberstar. So after exploring Crystal so far there are a few more sub-quests: 1. Twinlake Sewers 2. Jewel Tavern Wine Cellar 3. Halls of Peace (to find Rose) 4. Jonathan's House 5. Black Wizard Tower 6. Dreblin's Cellar * 7. Temple of Sansri ~*DREBLIN'S CELLAR This is a tough area and should only be tackled after a few class promotions. The cellar is an area that does not auto-map. It contains lots of monsters which need clearing before you find Dreblin. Mummies and Skeletons are occupying the Crypt where you will find a key with which to release the imprisoned Dreblin. The strategy for the cellar should be to take one monster on at a time and then nip upstairs to recover, Save, and clear the next one and so on. In one section you'll come across three graves, one of these conceals two Blue Mushrooms. These aren't for eating, they enhance your attributes when administered to you by Mera the Witch. Keep the mushrooms in your Inventory until you find her house which is to the west. Find the jetty on the western shore and go southeast to discover her house and hand her the Mushrooms. Red ones enhance your Speed and Blue your Strength. Having noted the portraits in Dreblin's entrance hall is necessary to complete the Cellar. In the final section Puzzlemouths will ask you who is - The Rooster = Calwell The Pirate = Maltor Mourner= Fenora Blue Pearl = Leonore You will go through several doors till the Party comes across a large Water tank. Defeating the Demon here gives you a cage key with which to release Dreblin from his prison. Wait for the wooden Bridge to fall into place before entering. Talk to him to receive a reward for rescuing him. In his chest are loads of useful things. A clock that you can "action" which will then show the time in the large grey window on your Monitor screen. A Girdle of Thieves which considerably aids the picklock ability of your thief. 1584 Gold. An Iron ring that gives Shield assistance. Two Swords that'll help attack skills. And of course a Piece of Amberstar. ----------------------- My suggestion now is that you either head west and explore Illien or return to Twinlake and, with your new recruits, explore the Sewers. To build up some points before going down the Sewers try crossing Bridges to fight the Trolls that then appear. Should you head north of Crystal on the paths you will find the Orcs too tough for an embryo Party. ~TWINLAKE SEWERS Located in the northwest area of the town. Map on a 14 x 14 grid. Prior to climbing down the ladder search to find 3 torches under some rubbish by the barrels. Ensure that you have a few torches in your Inventory. The auto-map will show where you've been if your light goes out but won't record any fresh territory. The first brush with Rats is just along the initial passage. Choose the attack icon to ensure that your Party get the first hits in, otherwise the baddies bash you instead. Explore every nook and cranny. Select a Lead Character who has good Search Stats otherwise you may miss something. In the south east find a dead body, goodies here include 3 precious lockpicks. In the centre west find the Cook's Old Ring. Returning it in exchange for the Crystal Ball. In the very centre is a major battle. Defeat the Rat King to rescue Felix the Cat and pick up the Rat King's Head. Hand the head to Lord Karwain to receive 600 Gold reward and hear about Firlas. Searching the east side of the Lair after the fight you discover the Soldiers who failed in their mission. Return Felix back to Sunni to receive the gift of talking to animals. You can now nip home and recruit Spike the Dog. Guess who's got Firlas's bone buried in the Garden! Yup. Next time you're through Crystal drop in on Firlas to return the bone and receive a Piece of Amberstar as a reward. The Runes on the scroll read "Oh Talmit, Goddess of the future! Let me look deep into your eyes - Find 13 parts - go to the clearing where many rivers wind. Altar in Forest of Unity - Thank you, Talmit, for letting me see" After, or indeed during, completion of the Sewers sell your excess Inventory. Keep the good stuff, buy some more rations, tour the appropriate Guilds for promotion and head to the next location. Practically wherever you go now (in an area) you'll need either Light Spells or Torches so stay well equipped. The next 3 areas are all much of a muchness in terms of difficulty. It may be better to go to the Cellar areas before taking on the Orcs in Jonathan's House so you can build up Life Points etc. ~JONATHAN BURGAND'S HOUSE. Map reference 232/196 Map first level on a 13 x 13 grid. Map second level on a 23 x 23 grid. Map third level A on a 8 x 13 grid. Map third level B on a ........... this level is long, long, very long. It actually connects up with the Dragon Inn Cellar level two. Up to the point that these meet it can be mapped on an 8 x 80 grid. Located to the northeast of Twinlake. The key referred to in the Dragon Inn is hidden in a bush. The bush is just off a corner of the path before entering the trees to enter the house proper. Don't go near the house if you haven't already found or bought a crowbar. You can buy one in Gemstone or find one near the entrance to the cellar (in a barrel) in the Dragon Inn. As you approach the house the Party falls into the southeast area of the cellar (within level 2). Use the crowbar on the door to explore the cellar. In the northeast find 26 Gold and some torches. In the southwest are clothes to be found. The exit stairs up to Level 1 are in the west. Entry to Level 1 is in the southeast corner. Four Orc battles to go through in this level. The good news is that the door to the outside world is in the centre south and you can come and go at will. You'll need to do this to offload your excess baggage and to buy rations so you can recover Spell and Life Points. Don't forget to use the Crypt pools in Twinlake Cemetery as you're so close. These only replace Life and not Spell points though. You need Orc communication skills to pass the time of day with the guy in the northern room. As I didn't have that we'll carry on! A door in the northwest has a trap that could blind your leader so if the screen goes black the game's not crashed, it's just that you can't see. I had to wait a long time to develop sufficient picklock skills to enter here but try your luck with the Thief anyway. The chest beyond has loads of Scrolls, 325 Gold, a good sword, good helmet and other useful treasure. The stairs down to the rest of Level 2 are located in the northeast. Entry point is north just right of centre. Search to flush out more Orcs. Round a winding passage to find a door to your left. Break this down with a crowbar but don't enter the Teleport in the south just yet. ~THE LOST ISLAND. The reason why is that you Teleport to a "Lost Island". The only way back from here is via another Teleport that is concealed behind a locked door. This door is resistant to lockpicks and can only be opened by means of a key obtainable from the Castle of Gelinda on the Dragon Island. The bad news is that the Dragon is sitting on the wretched thing. On the Lost Island is the body of Olgur, the missing Orc, there's a few bits to pick up before entering the House. In the house the southeastern room contains a Chest with 1248 Gold, 5 Potions and 2 Scrolls and a vital Piece of Amberstar. Then use the key on the western room to access the Teleport back. I guess that having a Teleport Scroll could be an alternative option? Go right and north instead to find a door south halfway along this corridor. There are then three doors off each side of this long passage south. The first door west, the second door east and both third doors, west and east, conceal Orcs so expect trouble. Just keep popping out as before to recharge your attributes. Through the door south there is another Orc battle. Going left or right in the corridor beyond takes the Party to two different areas. The eastern stairs lead to the long, long, long passage that eventually links up to the Dragon Inn (Area B) whist the western stairs lead to Jonathan's Laboratory (Area A). Let's go to the smaller section first. Down the stairs to see a Puzzlemouth. Naturally the answer is "Jonathan". Watch the spelling. The passage then opens up the rest of the area. Beware of three spinners in the room beyond. Use the auto-map feature to see which in direction you are headed. There is a door in the southeast of this room that leads to a room with Teleports. Your objective is to reach the door in the southwest of this area. Behind the door is the Laboratory. ~Teleport System ~--------------- ` Door ` 7 Teleports to 2 ` 1 2 3 4 3 .. 9 ` 1.. 2 ` 5 6 Pillar 7 6..13 ` 12.. 4 ` 8 9 10 11 12 13 16..11 ` 10.. 5 ` 14 15 16 14..15 ` 18..17 ` Lab Door 17 18 8.. 4 Look in the Barrels to find a Parchment. There are more Diary entries on the Tables. The Signet Ring that'll allow entry to Dreblin's Cellar in Crystal is here. In the Chest are a few Treasures including a Tunnel Key that is the means of opening up the passage from Area B to the Dragon Inn. If your Thief isn't up to opening the Chest then you'll have to return when his skills are improved. The Diary entries are significant as they lead you to other areas. The Blue Disc device is a travelling bubble that enables the Party to move over land or shallow seas. It is located in Pharaoh's Tomb. The entrance to the tomb is in the southeast of the island near rocks in a Desert area. The Locator Device gives you grid map references and is very useful for finding your way around. The device is deep within the Swampstation. The reference to "Water" in the Diary entry is the means by which you flush out the blockage in the sewerage system. More of that later. The Swampstation is located in the southwest. Now return and head down the other set of stairs to enter the long, long.. you know the rest.. passage. This heads north. Fight Rats about a third of the way up. Beyond the point where the passage takes a left is a door that leads south. Take this route before heading north. The passage winds its way right down to a square room with a Chest. On the way meet two sets of Rats before encountering another set in the room itself. The chest is booby trapped so have someone qualified disarm the thing. Inside are goodies and Black Wizard scrolls. Somewhere in this area is more Treasure in another Chest. My records have a note of what you find but not where. In this chest is a Compass which you should "Action". Direction notes then appear in the Grey Window on the right of your screen. Haul the Party back to head north. Firstly on the east side to find and fight Rats through the second door east. Then north up the western side. Keep west through a door to fight more Rats and discover a Chest with Scrolls and other Treasures. The Silver Ring will give the Thief additional Lockpick skills. Advancing up the other passage brings you to a Keyhole in the wall. Use the Tunnel key here to enter the Dragon Inn - Level Two. Keep north and east to find an empty Flask, Healing Scrolls and other treasure. You can continue if you wish through the Cellars to exit eventually in the Dragon Inn but I'll do that section as if you've entered from the Inn. New Quests discovered - 1. Swampstation 2. Pharoah's Tomb ~DRAGON INN CELLARS Dragon Inn located in Twinlake. Map Level One on an 18 x 23 Grid. Map Level Two on an 8 x 8 Grid (before it connects with Jonathan's Cellar) The entry point is in the mid-north. Turning right follow the passage north to find a Flask. Then south to a room where there are doors to the west and east. Explore the eastern door first. Initially heading south then north to find another Flask and then south to use a crowbar on a door south. The door west here leads to a battle with Rats then west again to go north to fight a Wine Slime. After disposing of this green mucus you find a few goodies. Head to the small room beyond to pick up an Old Flask of Wine that Breth, the Innkeeper, will pay 100 Gold for. Return to the room where the door led west and use crowbar again. Then north before heading south through a south door to fight more Rats. East of this point find another Flask down a passage. Then south again through a door to fight Rats. Go east down a long passage to enter a false wall and descend stairs to Level Two. At the end of level 2, which is pretty small find the Keyhole in the Wall that needs the Tunnel Key from Jonathan's Laboratory to open up the route into his cellars. ~JEWEL INN CELLARS The Jewel Inn is to be found in Crystal. Map Level One on a 23 x 23 Grid. Map Level Two on another long long etc grid - 88 x 5. Entry Point is is the northwest corner heading east. After passing through the first door find a door to the south heading east. This is the way to go. There is another door south round the corner but there's nothing and no-one in the rooms beyond. Through the door east head either north or south. The doors south along the northern passage lead to another barren area. Go to the southern passage and use your crowbar on the wall south (about 5 squares in from the eastern corner). You'll pass two drunken Goblins before fighting Goblins through a door south. Find a door west and then travel south and west to fight more Goblins at the end of a passage. Back to go north and west through a door, round a couple of corners and another Goblin battle. South and head west to bash another set of Goblins. Go north from here round yet more bends, keep west and south to finally discover a Chest containing Flasks and a Golden Wine Goblet. Give this goblet to Orlando who'll reward you with the Old Key. This key then fits the Keyhole in the Wall in the area south of the Paladins' Guild in Crystal. The wall opens up and leads to a Chest containing 657 Gold and a vital Piece of Amberstar. The stairs down to level two are nearby, go west and south. Down a passage with three doors off. Behind each door are Goblins to be fought. Again the door east conceals Goblins. Explore and keep heading east. One of the small rooms has a Chest. In the chest is a message and 1296 Gold. The parchment reads "I would remind you again that you must be more careful! We don't want that old fool Orlando to notice that we are selling him his own Wine!" signed Captain B. Much to my disappointment showing this to Orlando or Captain Brix produced no response. You will fight another five sets of Goblins before emerging on an Island. Beware for there are more Goblins on the Jetty and in the surrounding landscape. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Time now to tackle the Wizard Towers. Each of the Towers has a fast track route to the Guild contained within. It's tempting to enter the password straight off BUT in doing so you won't gain the experience that builds your Party's statistics. The Puzzlemouths ask for the name of the Guild's founder and of course this is the last Puzzle you solve. I'll provide the solution but only at the point that the puzzle appears. In terms of easiest first - ~WHITE WIZARD TOWER. Map reference 280/168. Located southeast of Crystal. Map on a 23 x 23 Grid. Entry point is in the mid east heading west. The Puzzlemouth is before you. Head north and then south to enter a room with loads of Teleports. ` 1 2 3 ` 4 5 6 All but 5, 7 & 10 take you back ` 7 8 into the passage north ` 9 10 11 5 takes you back to the entrance ` 12 13 14 Access 7 and enter 10. The correct Teleport takes you north. Head round a bend or three to find stairs leading to a small passage. There are three of these. Beware the spinner in the third one. Going south you enter a large room. Walking only on the bones make your way to the door in the southeast corner. Through the door and go west ignoring the Teleport to the east. Half way along the passage is a false wall to the south. You may have to trigger this by visiting the Statue at the end of the passage who has the message "There is no way past me". Twice through the false wall. Going west at the end of the passage south leads to a barrel containing eight torches. Head east through a couple of doors to find and fight Skeletons. The lower ones in the three rooms are an illusion. Round and round the passages to find the Statue of the Founder whose name is "Kasimir". Back and north to find the Guild entrance and meet Crag, a level six White Wizard inside. Crag has a useful staff should you choose to recruit. Head east from the guild to use the password on the Puzzlemouth. ~TOWER OF GREY WIZARDS. Map reference 090/138 Located on an island off the northeast coast. Map on a 28 x 28 Grid. Entry point is in the mid south. At the intersection to the north the Puzzlemouth is to the north. Go west through two doors and north through the second door to find two Flasks at the end of the passage. Head south to find two Mushrooms in one alcove and three Flasks in another. Shandra, the Wizard in Twinlake, will place Healing 5 Potions in your Flasks if you say "Potions" to him and Mera will convert the Mushrooms to Strength or Speed enhancements. Go north but beware the spinner in the narrow section. There are three more Mushrooms to be found in a corner to the northwest. Travelling east then north you discover a passage with five Teleports. Each one takes you to an independent area in the northern area of your map. Taking the most western Teleport first will take you to the mid north. From your arrival point go north and through a door east to fight Orcs. Return to the Teleport which takes you back to the intersection below the Puzzlemouth. Unfortunately this happens each time so you have to traipse all the way back through the dreaded spinner to the Teleport passage. Next Teleport in from the west takes you east of the area you've just been to. Follow the passage round to meet Orcs and Goblins through the door and enter the Teleport in the north. The centre Teleport lands you in an area to the extreme northwest of the map. Go north to obtain some valuable treasures. In the Chest are Wands of Light and Fireballs; also here is a Staff of Direction and most vital of all a Staff of Resurrection. Return then to the Teleport. The Teleport second in from the east goes to the extreme northeast of the map. Fight Orcs in the east and Teleport back from the opposite corner. The final eastern Teleport takes you into the remaining northern slot where you dispose of more Orcs before Teleporting back to the intersection. >From the intersection now go east. Travel round the walls to avoid a spinner in the next two room east. The doors north and south in the first room lead to empty areas but head north in the second room. Go west and north to encounter Mummies. North again then west to find a door west. Search the passage south before going through the door to discover 359 Gold and a Torch. Through the door search the barrels in the centre of the room to find useful Herbs and four Torches. The Herbs will cure sickness etc that the Mummies cast on you. See the Introductory notes in an earlier part of this playguide to see which Herb cures what. Along the passage west to have a tough battle with more Mummies. The Staff of Resurrection will probably come into its own now. Follow the passage round and round till you arrive at a locked door. Use the Thief to pick the lock and find the Guild entrance in the southern passage. Inside the Guild the Party meets Satine, a level six Grey Wizard, who will be a great asset to your Party. To the north of the Guild find the Statue of the Founder "Landonis" at the end of a short passage. Back to the southern passage and enter the password in the Puzzlemouth. ~BLACK WIZARD TOWER. Map reference 266/306. Located at the end of a rocky section that can only be accessed by sea or air. To gain entrance to the Tower you must first have obtained the Sphere of Opening from the Plant Room in the Jewel Inn in Crystal. Use this on the altar and the circle of rocks will open. Map Entrance Level on a 33 x 33 Grid Map Level One on a 23 x 23 Grid Map Level Two on a 13 x 13 Grid Entry point is in the mid south. The Passage turns east at the Puzzlemouth and stairs lead to the next Level. >From the stairs head southeast to find a Pit halfway down a corridor. If you have a Rope now is the time to use it otherwise just drop down and take the Hit Points. The next few battles are tough. I suggest that you SAVE before dropping down just in case the Party is still too weak to take on the three sets of Skeletons that guard this room. Head east when the Skeletons are done with and find a door north. There are more Skeletons through the door and beyond them find 238 Gold and three Torches. Exit the room and head south to a room with loads of false walls. Cross the room to exit into a corridor in the northwest corner of this room. ` E W E ` E W E W E X E X E X E Door ` KEY - E = Empty Space ` X E X E W E W E W E W ` W = Wall ` E W E X E W E X E X E ` X = False Wall ` E W W E X E X E W E W ` T = Teleport ` T W E X E W E W E X E The Teleport sends the Party west into a corridor where Skeletons are waiting for you. There's another set round the corner to the north. Follow the passage east and explore north before entering the door east. Find a bit of Gold and three Scrolls in the alcove. Through the door and into an area with 14, yes fourteen Teleports. Thirteen you can see and one you can't. Naturally it's the one you can't see that is the correct one. All the others send you back to rooms earlier in the level so you have the pain of finding your way back again. The real Teleport is accessed from the north of the central pillar. Enter the false wall to be sent into an alcove. >From the alcove find Skeletons waiting to the north. Zap them and enter the door north and fight another set of Skeletons. The rooms beyond have doors galore. Not only that but there are three spinners along the central corridor. More Skeletons lurk in the room to the extreme west. Make your way east to exit this area to the north. You now follow passages in an anti-clockwise route. At the extreme northwest is a door behind which is 198 Gold and a good Helmet. Go south to find more Skeletons with another lot much further on. Finally enter a door to find a Teleport which takes you to the bottom of a long corridor north. Up the corridor to enter a door to the south and Teleport again into a small room in the east of the map. Through the door and round to fight Skeletons in the south. Enter another room to Teleport again to the east. South through the door and head north fighting Skeletons as you enter another room in the northeast and Teleport again. Head south from the next room and head west to dispose of yet more Skeletons. Just look at your experience statistics now! Retrace steps and go north then east at the crossroads and yes, Teleport again. From the room in the northern area go south to Teleport for the last time on this level. South through the door and fight Skeletons en-route to the Stairs which lead to Level One. Your entry point is just mid east in the centre of the map. Go north meeting Skeletons just before a door north. Up and round and fight two more sets of Skeletons in the northern passage. As you head south peek into the room east to find three robes. Continue south through the door and wend a torturous route to the south west corner of the map to enter a door north. Bash the Skeletons within and find Two Lockpicks, a Dagger and 99 Gold east of here. North and east to discover Stairs up to Level Two. Entry point is in the mid south. Go north and fight Skeletons in the western passage. Again in the north corridor before entering a door south. Just west through the door are two Flasks and a smidgen of Gold. South round the houses to find the Statue of the Founder in a southern alcove, "Nicademus". The Guild entrance is to the left and stairs down on the right through level one and down again to the Puzzlemouth on the entrance level. Enter the password and out into the light of day. In the Guild look in the Barrels to find Dried Herbs and Three Blue Mushrooms. ~Continues in second part...