This is a brilliant effort, a cross between Castle Wolfstein and
Ultima Underworld but, to my mind, even better - because the
interface and graphics are nearly as good as Wolfstein and the story
and puzzles more entertaining even than Underworld.
Deceptively, this game appears to be very easy and even repetitive.
At first I thought I would tire of it after a couple of hours - not
so; the possibilities are immense, and the desire to know whether
you are on the right track keeps you glued to your PC. Expect lots
of late nights.
This is a product that can be played by two people, one moving the
character with the keyboard, taking notes and keeping track of
locations, the other one at the mouse, doing all the actions and
watching the inventory and the bars. The combined brainpower of
both players is a real boon, because the tasks you have to carry out
are not as simple as they seem.
Here, to help you get started and savour this brilliant game, are
some hints.
General strategy
----------------
Although this game can be played anyway you like and in any order
you like, certain things apply throughout.
Just walking about:
First, as you walk about doing this and that, remember you can catch
horrible diseases from other people, particularly at night. You
will also sustain injuries and get hungry and thirsty. So keep an
eye at all times on these bars and make sure you don't go to sleep
and wake up dead. Once you have joined a Temple, you can get cured
cheaper there than elsewhere.
Remember well where all the Inns are, you can only save your games
there. Timing can be important - run out of time in carrying out a
task and you've had it. Some people may prefer to do a "dry run",
taking their time about it, and then reloading and doing it for real.
Also, if, after completing a task, you are broke and pretty
low, don't enrol for the next one until you've got yourself in peak
condition, so that you don't waste a lot of the time alloted to it
just sorting yourself out.
Inventory:
You will find items laying around, but not very many. Take anything
that is not nailed to the floor. For instance, rocks can be used as
weapons and can also fetch a pretty price at some shops. All the
same, always keep one of your "pockets" empty for items essential to
the tasks you have to perform. It is a good idea to carry two
weapons and one eatable and one drinkable at all times. Another
vital thing you must get as soon as possible is an hourglass - one
will be on sale at the Customs House at the beginning or soon
afterwards.
Wealth:
Money makes the world go around and you are going to need it in this
game. There is only one way to make it - relieve the citizens of
the town of their goods. Since pickpocketing is well-nigh
impossible, unless you are the Master of the Thieves Guild, you have
to get tough with people. Fighting them and killing them is one way
of transferring their wealth into your pockets, but this is costly
in terms of injury. Far better instead to find a long stretch of
road, follow your victims closely and throw a stone, axe or any
other weapon at them to kill them. It might take a couple of goes,
but this way you can get rich without getting hurt. As soon as you
have collected a reasonable amount of goods, find a shop and sell
them.
Sleeping:
Renting a room in a B&B is very expensive, but if you go to sleep in
a pub you might be robbed blind. I am afraid the only thing to do
is to save at a pub, try to sleep there and, if you are robbed,
reload and try again. If you have the cash, rent a room just before
you go for the last task in one of the classes, then you get it
rent-free as soon as you achieve the highest rank.
Dangers to avoid:
At night, vampires and werewolves are out in force. Avoid them if
you can and refrain from talking to them. Guards are another
problem, so avoid them and do not approach them, or let them
approach you, face on. If you dodge them, you can get away from
them. When going underground you will find very powerful monsters.
Keep your distance and kill them throwing weapons at them, or get
behind them and kill them before they can turn around to face you.
Look before you move - green or black patches on the floor are pits
which will drop you underground, where you can find yourself
surrounded by very bad-tempered monsters.
Talking to people:
The only way you are going to get anywhere is by asking questions.
Say you are asked to fetch a grumphlinck from Peer's Point, you will
have to find out, first, what is a grumphlinck and then, where is
Peer's Point. Some people will be helpful and some not, but keep
asking and you'll get there.
Mapping:
Devise your own method of recording where everything is. Some
places you will have to visit more than once. Be aware that the map
you get on the screen does not reflect the true situation - certain
walls and blockages are not depicted. The most difficult thing
about this game is finding where you are supposed to go, and
anything that makes this easier will be a great help.
Notices:
Whenever you are near shop or a pub, pop in, even if you don't need
anything, and check the notices. They give invaluable clues. If
there is a "wanted" poster of you, take even more care than usual at
dodging the guards.
Right, here we go. To make it easier for you to consult the bits in
which you are stuck, I have divided these tips into convenient
chunks. But, of course, you might choose to do something entirely
different and, if so, you are on your own! I just didn't have the
time to try EVERYTHING.
From the gates
--------------
At the start, you will be approached by a character who advises you
to visit the Custom House. It is in the grey stone building you
will see in front of you, to the left. Before you go in, turn to
your left and go in the first door you find. Look in this room and
you will find a pair of boots on a table. Bump into it and the
boots will appear in the box to the bottom left of the screen.
Click here and the boots will automatically be transferred to one of
the three boxes to the left of the main window.
Go back to the gates and go into the Customs House. Bump into the
counter (i.e., the wall with the bottles, sacks, barrels, etc.) and
you will open a dialogue with the shopkeeper. First see if you are
carrying any goods for sale by clicking on each square and reading
the screen. Then see if there is anything for sale you might want
in the four squares to the right. Remember that an hourglass is
essential, so if there is one for sale, get it. To sell items you
are carrying, click on one of the four boxes, provided it is empty.
Then read the notices. You can get some work by clicking on the
symbol to the right, but getting money this way is a long and
tedious method and I don't recommend it. Click on the information
symbol and you will see, amongst other interesting posters, a letter
from your cousin Sven asking you to go to the Hanged Man. You can
now exit from the shop.
Head towards the NW and ask people where the pub is. You will be
directed to it. When you get there check the notices and you get
another message. Keep going to where you are sent and, after
visiting the Troll's Arms to the NW, the Casino to the SW, Jug of
Ale to the E and SW to the Seahorse Tavern, you will learn that you
must become High Priest and Master of a Guild. No need to go back
to the Customs House.
(By the way, while in the vicinity of the Troll's Arms, which is near
the Castle Wall, check out the Armoury, which is a square building
between the Castle and the Stone Circle. In one of the rooms
upstairs there is a pair of Power Gloves.)
You can join any Temple and any Guild, but I chose the Temple of
Aegir because it was central. You must join a Temple first.
Temple of Aegir
---------------
ONE
This is due S of the Stone Circle. Find the counter and bump
into it. Click on Business and join. The first task is dead
simple, all you have to do is to collect the scroll of Ran from the
Shrine of Njord, which is right at the bottom edge of the map, in
the centre. Just go and fetch it. You can read it by placing in in
the box to the bottom right of the screen and clicking on it. Take
it to the Temple and, making sure that the scroll is in the box to
the bottom right of the screen, bump into the counter and click on
Business. If you are not carrying the scroll in this box, or indeed
any of the items you will have to get later on, you will be ignored.
TWO
Before you ask for promotion and the next task, decide whether you
need a little time to get yourself into shape. At any rate, the
next task will be to bring proof of Hoder's death. Ask around and
you will find that you need to get yourself arrested. That is
fairly simple. Just go around looking for guards; if all else
fails, try to pick someone's pocket. You will end up in jail soon
enough. Sleep 24 hours until your sentence is up. Leave the cell
and look out for a guard who volunteers information on Hoder. Go to
the Charnel House, where you will find a scroll. Armed with this,
return to the Temple.
THREE
You will be quite broke, so before you seek further promotion, go
out and do a spot of murder and pillage. When you are ready, you
will get your next orders, which are to bring the spirit of Skoll.
Go out and ask what it is and where it is. First, you must find an
empty bottle, so pop into a pub and check the notices. You will
learn that empties are to be found at Drysdale's Salvage. This is
to the North, inside the castle grounds. It is an ordinary
dwelling, to the left of the entrance. Go in and up the stairs and
you will find a bottle on a table. Next, you will have to wait
till night, find a werewolf and kill it. This will yield the
spirit diviner. Use it and follow the direction of the pointer;
when it starts going around in circles, you will have found the
spirit. Of course, it is invisible. With the bottle in your right
hand box, click on the seemingly empty left hand box and you will
see that the bottle now contains something green. This is it. Just
take it to the Temple.
FOUR
Your next task is to find a scroll, act on it, and return it to the
Temple. So ask around and find out what and where is the Council of
5. Check the notices in the pubs. Eventually, you will find your
way to a house to the NW. Enter it after dark and you will see the
five in the room. Ask around and find out who is the rep (i.e.,
check his religion) and where he lives. Go to this house and get
the scroll. Read it and act on it (i.e., go back to the Council and
dispatch the traitor, all you have to do is talk to the guys to find
out which one to kill) and then take the scroll back to the Temple.
This may vary, but in my case the scroll was in the Barnhouse to the
S and the traitor was Cabdy the Needy, one of the guys to the right.
Return the scroll but, before you engage in the final test, be aware
that all your cash will be taken from you as payment. Perhaps it
would be a good idea to go to a shop and invest in, say, gems. They
can be turned back into cash later on. If you are only carrying a
little cash, that's all that will be taken from you.
FIVE
The final task is to join the Institute of Zoolatry, which is just
north of the Temple. Go into a pub and read the notices. You will
find that you need a lizardman's egg. Ask around and you will
realise that you need to find the Boatyard to the SE of town.
Before you attempt the deed, save at the nearest pub (the Mermaid's).
Once in the Boatyard, find your way underground. Kill the lizardmen
from a distance if you can, and bump into the waterfalls to find
secret passages. The egg is roughly N of the bottom of the stairs.
Grab it and get the heck out of there. Take it to the Institute and
a guy there will accept you and take the egg. He will impose on you
an initiation test which will consist on sending you to a specific
pub where you must drink at least 4 g&t and then find somebody of a
certain religion and dispatch that person, returning to the
Institute while still drunk. Because this is rather a random thing,
save when you get to the pub and before you get drunk. Do so, and
you will find great difficulty in managing yourself and even greater
difficulty in finding the right person, so keep trying until you
make it. When you manage to return to the IoZ, still drunk, follow
the guy's instructions.
You will return to the Temple in triumph, carrying the necessary
papers. You will become a High Priest and have access to the
previously locked doors in the Temple. In one of the rooms, the
High Priest's Chambers, you will find a skull and scroll. You can
leave them there but read the scroll. You will be able to sleep
safely here. Also, you can now cast all the spells. If you click
on the Ankh symbol on the screen you will see what is available.
Note that if you click on the necklace symbol, a necklace will
appear in the remaining box to the left of the main window. You can
create food and drink and, most important of all, clicking on the
ankh symbol on the spell book will always teleport you back to the
Temple, wherever you are.
So - number one objective accomplished, now you have to become
Master of a Guild. Since now we know we will have to join four
groups, one of each kind, the obvious choice seems to be the Guild
of Thieves. Besides, this way you learn the useful skill of lock
picking.
The Guild of Thieves
--------------------
Go S, to right to the bottom of the map and enter the house at the
back of the Snakes Inn. Find your way downstairs and follow
the tunnel keeping to the right. You will enter a room in which
there is a fountain on a wall. Bump into it and find the secret
passage. At the end of it, you will enter the Guild.
ONE
Join in the usual way and you will get the task of pinching the
donations bowl from the Temple of Set. Nothing could be easier.
Just go to this Temple, which is right to the NE, and get the bowl
and bring it back.
TWO
For the next task, stealing a day's taxes from the autorities, go to
any pub and read the notices. Go to the right pub and a guy will
tell you he has cut the strings of the tax collector's purse. Go
into the room and find the purse on the floor. Get it and take it
to the Guild.
THREE
Next job: steal some plans from the Architect. Find out where he
lives (in fact, next door to the Armoury). Save at the nearest pub
(the Troll's Arms). You will find that the front door is secure and
that if you go in through the back door, you get immediately
arrested. Although this is tricky, it can be done. Go through the
first back door and, when you go through the next, veer left to
avoid the guard, turn around to face the other door to the right
and, if a guard starts coming towards you, throw something at him to
kill him. You have to be very quick. If no guard appears, go
through the door and turn left. Dodge or kill the guards quickly
and advance through here and up the stairs. Find the plans by a
lamp and teleport to the Temple. Take the plans to the Guild. I
ought to mention that there are other ways of doing this. I give
the simplest.
FOUR
You next have to go to the Hanged Man and meet Greyfell, making sure
you enter the pub at midnight. No great difficulties here, just
follow his instructions: find the urn and put it on the table at
the Arena. While here, you might like to improve your fighting
skills at the Mercenaries' Guild, which is through the (previously
locked) door. See what I mean about the advantages of being able to
pick locks? Although getting to the highest level of fighting skill
is expensive, it makes you practically invulnerable in combat.
Next get the seal of approval and leg it to the Guild.
FIVE
The final task is to find the Forbidden City, steal the jewelled
rock and figure out the secret exit. Ask around and you will hear
that a guy (Choker Bloodaxe) has a map. Find him and kill him to
get a parchment. Use the parchment and you will see that you must
go to the Castle, in fact to the same house where you got the empty
bottle. Find the stairs down and, guiding yourself with the map on
the screen and the parchment, go to the Forbidden City. At the
crucial turn to the W, go through the waterfall.
If you don't know what you are doing, this bit can be very
frustrating. As soon as you come up to the surface, bring up the
map and note well where you are. Don't be tempted to wander around
- go to the next building to the W and into the shop. Buy the Exit
Visa and read it. Go to the next building to the W, but only to the
top bit. Here, in the Hall of Stones, you will find the jewelled
rock. Now go back to the house in which you came up - the tree is
to the SW of it. Get yourself between the tree and the window and,
clicking first on the ankh symbol, cast the first spell. You go
through the wall and out of the door.
All you have to do is to find your way to the Guild, hand the rock
in and be made Master, or rather, Godfather. You will find another
skull and scroll as you wander around the building. Teleport with
them to the Temple and leave them with the others for now.
The next thing you will have to do is to join the Fellowship of
Asegeir, near the Troll's Arms.
The Fellowship of Asegeir
-------------------------
ONE
Your first taks is to get the Potion of Judgement. Ask around and
you will find out that you must go to the Asylum. You will be
directed to it and it is quite easy to locate. It is not so easy to
realise that there are three other solitary cells outside the main
building, to the S. In one of them you will find the potion. Take
it to Asegeir.
TWO
The next thing is to find Forseti and the scroll of truth. Go to
the Halls of Justice, which are to the E of here and slightly S, a
guy will volunteer the information that Forseti is at the Casino,
and also his own name. Go to the Casino and read the notices, and
you will know where to find the scroll - namely, downstairs in the
Halls of Justice!
THREE
For your next trick, you have to get a mystic tablet from the
Mummy's Tomb. Go to the building in the SW corner of the Circle of
Stones and go underground. Mind the grislies. You will come to
two secure doors and a key in the middle. With the key in the box
at the bottom right of the screen, go through the door to the
right. Scout around here till you find a little guy - talk to him
and he will tell you that you need two pyramids, but you only have
one. Get the one there is and make your way to the nearest pub.
Read the notices. Go to the Guild of Thieves, holding the pyramid
in the usual box, and it will be copied for you. Just take a nap
while you wait. You will find the two pyramids in front of the
counter. Back to the Mummy's Pit. Put one pyramid at each side of
the door and go in. The place is crawling with mummies, but you can
always hope to dodge them and get the tablet and run.
FOUR
Once you have handed it in, the next job is to get a bucket of pitch
and defile the Inner Sanctum of Loki. If you ask around about the
pitch you will be told that it is used for sealing ships. Go to the
Boatyard shop, to the W of the Mermaid's, and buy a bucket of the
stuff. The Brotherhood of Loki is NW of the Mermaid's. Since you
can pick locks, you will easily find your way upstairs and to the
Sanctum. With the bucket in the business box, use it and the floor
will be dirtied. Make your way back to the Fellowship with the empty
bucket.
Before you attempt the final task, make sure you have plenty of cash
and book a room in a convenient hostel. Once you have a room, you
receive a storage container - which you are going to need as you
will see later on.
FIVE
OK, ready? You are told to go upstairs and touch a goblet. The
lamp is going to help you and you must bring it back. So, go
upstairs and get the lamp. Use it and a genie tells you to go kill
a bat. Taking the lamp with you, the nearest place in which you
will find one is back at old Drysdale's Salvage. Go underground and
kill the thing, taking what you get. Consult the genie again and
you will know where to go next. Incidentally, you might get sealed
in underground, so just cast a spell to get back to the Temple.
Make your way to the Snakes, right to the SW. Near there, to the W,
you'll find the twin oaks, so go S into the Derelict Storehouse.
Scout around until you find the staircase that leads underground and
into the sealed-off area of the map. You will see a door with a
table in front. Bump into the door and look. Put the bat snack on
the table and bump into the door again. You will see the sea
monster and the colour of his eye. You can go back to the
fellowship and touch the yellow cup. Take the lamp to the counter
to get promoted. Search the house to find the skull, take it with
you and read the scroll. So far, we need four skulls, the orb of
vision (underground at the Jewellers) and the book of summoning (at
the Scriptorium, opposite the Troll's Arms, but we'll worry about
that later).
The important thing is that you now have to join the Mercenaries
Guild to get the last skull and you can't do so while you belong to
the Temple of Aegir. So, teleport there, collect the two skulls you
left. Have one final check to see that you are healthy and then
resign. Go to the room you have rented at the hostel and store your
skulls there. Sort yourself out before you start on the next lot of
tasks.
The Guild of Mercenaries
------------------------
ONE
The first task, as ever, is terribly easy. You just have to fetch
the wages from the S.E. Billet, which is up against the E wall, SE
of the Temple of Aegir.
TWO
The next one is to find the Eye of Surt. If you go to Odin's Temple
and if you ask around, some guy will volunteer the information that
you ought to try the Jug of Ale. So go NE of here to the pub.
Gamble until you win, then turn around and you will see the eye on
one of the tables. That's it. Take it to the Guild and you'll get
promoted, also your next task.
THREE
Now you have to find Eivak the Goblin, kill him and bring back his
helmet. I found this rather confusing because, if you ask around,
you are directed to the Courthouse, and I couldn't find it! It
turned out to be instead the Halls of Justice, so go there and get
underground. So will soon find Eivak's Camp. Kill everyone in
sight and eventually you'll hit the right guy and get the helmet.
Take it back to the Guild.
FOUR
For the next task you have to pick up the feather on the table to
the right, go to the Armoury and pick up the crossbow, also handily
on a table, and just go to the Guild of Men at Arms (by the town
gates, where you started) and find the wardroom. Leave the feather
there and take back the crossbow to the Guild. Not much to that!
FIVE
For the final task you will need a lot of money and to be in top
condition, because this is the most difficult job you have yet
done. So, before you ask for promotion, get yourself sorted out.
It will cost you 190 gp, and you will learn that you have to get the
standard of Nighud. Ask around; what you have to do is find the Brig
(to the NW of the Mermaid) and go underground. You should find your
way to the dragon quite easily - go through a fountain, find 3 keys
for secure doors and up and down some stairs. The dragon is behind
the door to the left. Pause before you go in and have a rest. When
you are ready, don't dash in. Stop and see the fireballs cruising
past. Veer left and get between the wall and the post to get at the
dragon - it is shooting fireballs in the wrong direction. Get close
to it and kill it. You get the head, and that is the key which
opens the secure door. Behind it, you'll find the standard. Pick
it up and teleport to the Stone Circle and, from there, go to
the Guild. Here you will get promoted and then you can search the
building for the last skull. Also, you get a scroll depicting the
Royal Crypt, or rather the entrance to it, and a map.
The Four Skulls
---------------
So now all you have to do is to go to the Jewellers to get the orb
(use it) and then to the Scriptorium to get the book (read it).
The best way of doing this is to take the four skulls to the Crypt
first. Where is the Crypt? If you stand in the centre of the Stone
Circle and keep turning you will recognise the building from the
scroll. In fact, it is the same one we visited when we went to the
Mummy's Tomb. Do you remember two doors with a key between them?
This time it is the door to the left, which will no longer be secure
but will be open. Just go through here and on until you come to the
inner crypt. Here, just put the right skull on the right mound, i.
e. skull of the north to the north, etc. You will meet some nasties
on the way, but no big deal.
Then you go back and collect the orb, the book and the hourglass.
Go to the Royal Crypt and, before you enter the place with the
skulls, cast the necklace spell. Make sure it is midnight. Enter
the room, go in the middle and use the book of summoning. Watch.
You get a key and are told to release Old Wilf from his underground
sanctuary. All you have to do is find him. A piece of cake.
