In BAD BLOOD, you have the choice of playing the game as one of three
characters: Dekker (a normal male human) armed with a knife; Jakka (a
female mutant who looks human), who has an eyeblast; or Varigg (a huge,
green-skinned mutant), who possesses incredible strength.
BAD BLOOD is rich with its own vocabulary (described in the game's
documentation), and the playing area is huge. Game play is linear, but
interaction with non-player characters (NPCs) is required, as well as some
mapping, especially in the endgame sequence.
Three saved-game positions and two difficulty levels are available for use.
Game play is identical for all three players, except for one sequence when
playing as Varigg, which I will mention at a later point.
TROUBLESHOOTING
There are some problems I (and others) have encountered. The following
should be helpful if you run into any of them:
1. Not enough memory: Get rid of all your memory-resident programs, and/or
use a DOS version lower than 4.01.
2. Games not saved: Usually, this occurs after you pick a game-save
position, but do not rename it. If you do rename it, the problem is solved.
3. Character won't move: I have noticed that sometimes if a game is saved
with an NPC in the room with me, and I restart the game, my character
cannot move. Simply save your games well away from NPCs.
PARTING WORDS
The other human city, Xantinium, is found at 768/146 by crossing the river
at 762/310. Unfortunately, I was never able to enter the city, but it's
probably a red herring.
A CD player (!) can be found at 528/504 by killing the lupuses keeping an
old man in a building (I was never able to find a use for the CD player).
The ammo cave full of goodies is found at 462/34. Just for your information,
mutant villages are found at the following locations: Mardok, 751/398;
Nivvik, 339/189; Okkarn, 329/424; and Kitrum, 540/751.
STARTING OUT
Talk to any NPC who will listen about all the topics you can. Hit points
can be restored by eating fresh or dried "turkel" hearts; fresh hearts
restore all your hit points, and dried ones only restore half of them.
Weapons can be obtained by killing the bad guys who attack you. Human
slavers and Kejek snakemen will always attack you, so be ready to fight!
Explore as much of the landscape as you can: Caches of ammunition can also
be found scattered about, and there is an ammunition cave northwest of
Mardok near lake Acrus.
Food is gathered by killing the mutant creatures that inhabit the landscape.
RESCUING THE SHAMAN
After the introductory sequence has played (where the story background is
given) and you have chosen a character to play as, the game begins in
Mardok. You should enter every building and pick up whatever is available
for the taking. Make sure you go upstairs in buildings with more than one
floor.
The villagers don't seem to mind you taking their belongings, but they _do_
mind you killing them, or even hurting them. If you hit them accidentally,
they will attack you. If you kill someone, everyone in the village will
attack you until you leave and come back the next day. This is similar to
the situations in other Origin games (e.g., TIMES OF LORE, ULTIMA VI, etc.).
My suggestion is to be careful!
In Mardok (and in every village you visit), talk to the Himmuk, the Shaman,
and the Firetender. The Himmuk in Mardok suggests that you visit the Oracle,
who can tell you how to stop the impending war. He doesn't know where the
Oracle is, but he suggests that you find the Shaman in Nivvik who does. Get
all you can in Mardok, then it's off to Nivvik to talk to the Shaman there.
When you get to Nivvik, you find out from the Himmuk that the Shaman has
been kidnapped by Kejeks. While to are in Nivvik, make sure you pick up the
satscan, which will give you map coordinates when you use it. As usual, get
everything you can grab, and move south to Okkarn.
Okkarn isn't a very friendly place, and it will become downright unfriendly
later on. Grab what you can now, especially the vibrablade. "Ammunition"
for the vibrablade (batteries) is hard to come by, except in the human
cities, so don't use it unless you have to. Don't free the prisoner yet;
you will have to kill the guards to do it. Continue south to Kitrum and get
what you can.
Cross the river at 233/406 or 265/696, and proceed to the Kejek village at
62/970. The Shaman is in the south hut, but since you have to kill the
guards to rescue him, it's better to get as much as you can while you are
here. Use a shotgun or a bow and arrows to do the job. Talk to the Shaman
of Nivvik. He tells you that the Oracle is across the lake and can be
reached only by boat. The fisherman at Nivvik can lend you one.
VISITING THE ORACLE
There is no way to tell you exactly how to find the Oracle. There are many
false trails, and you will have to backtrack several times. Start at the
trail that opens near the point where you can't go south on the west shore
of the lake. The Oracle's cave is found at 34/118. The Oracle will insist
you prove your worthiness by bringing him an example of the Ancients'
technology. What might that be, you ask? Why, an Apple, of course!
Go to Zero Town and get the Apple at 840/896. Be ready to fight the
cultists when you do. They use knives and eyeblasts as their weapons. While
you are here, get the bazooka from the merchant at 961/746. Then, head back
to the Oracle.
After you return to the Oracle and give him the Apple, he will tell you of
a prisoner in Okkarn to whom you must talk. Now, it's off to Okkarn to free
Artis.
Artis can be freed by killing his guards. I used the vibrablade here with
excellent results, but make sure you don't kill Artis accidentally! Talk to
Artis to learn about Lord Dominix's plan and the kidnapping of Equitus.
At this point you may return to the Oracle once more. He suggests that you
enter the city of Yrvium. He also tells you about a collar which you can
learn more about from the ex-slave who is now a hunter in Kitrum (talk to
the villagers to locate him). It is not necessary to do this, but you may
want to play this part through in order to enrich the storyline. If you
want to bypass this part, you may proceed directly to the city of Yrvium.
YRVIUM AND FREEING BESSEK
Yrvium is located at 78/626. You may cross the river at 233/406, 265/696,
or use your boat. If you are playing as Varigg, you must first get a slave
collar. Obtain a collar from the group of slavers who are to the east of
Yrvium in the afternoon. The time of day is important: after noon, and
before evening. Be ready to fight with your bow and arrow because there is
a large group of slavers with shotguns. One of them that you kill should
drop a slave collar. Varigg should get the collar and use it to disguise
himself as a slave so the guards will let him in the city. Dekker or Jakka
can simply walk in (and out). Be advised that while playing as Varigg, the
human residents of Yrvium do not like mutants, and they will throw things
at you while you are there.
Your first stop should be the building to the left of the gate. This is the
slave quarters, and in here is a blue female blarg who will tell you of
Bessek, the mutant prisoner. Bessek is being held in the middle cage (with
the guard) in the arena in the northeast corner of the city. Kill the guard
and enter the cage to speak with Bessek. Bessek will tell you an amazing
thing about Lord Dominix; also make sure you ask him about Equitus. He
tells you to go and find the Subs, and gives you a password.
If you are playing as Varigg, there is one more thing you must do before
you can leave the city. Although humans (like Dekker and Jakka) are allowed
free passage in and out of Yrvium, mutants are allowed out only to gather
food and water. Find a mutant slave wandering around the city and talk to
him. He should tell you about gathering water. Talk to the guards at the
gate about water, and they should let you out of the gate.
THE SUBS AND KILLING THE URSE
It's back to Zero Town again, this time to find the Subs. Before you go,
though, make sure you have found three tokens. The entrance to the Subs is
930/887. Give the guards the password, hit the red button on the wall to
reveal the ladder, and climb down.
Although it looks like a maze, the Subway isn't: It's got only one false
trail (to the north). Go south from the ladder, and use a token to go
through the turnstiles. Continue south, and use a second token. The railway
tunnels are all blocked off. Your goal is to locate the Himmuk of the Subs
(found at the southwest corner), who will tell you of the city below, and
Theodus, Dominix's captain. While you are here, make sure that you pick up
a fourth token; you will need it to get out.
The Urse (a _huge_ mutant bear) can be found wandering the landscape south
of Kitrum. I used four or five bazooka shots to kill the Urse, but I think
anything would work if you can shoot it from a distance. The Urse's cave is
found at 357/903. Inside, you will find a handy weapon, but it is not
critical to finish the game. Now head back to Yrvium for the endgame.
THE CITY BELOW AND THE ENDGAME
In Yrvium, there are just a few more people to talk to before you head down
below. You may speak with the teacher (midwest of the city) and the
wellkeeper (top middle), who will tell you a bit about the city below. The
person you really want to talk to is the rogue, Philo, who will tell you
how to get to the city below, and who will sell you a means of getting
there. He hangs out in the tavern in the afternoon and evening. The
tavernkeeper is also an important fellow -- he provides food for Theodus --
and will ask you to take Theodus's dinner to him if you talk to him about
Theodus. Theodus's quarters are just to the left of the guards' barracks.
Tell the guard at the door about his dinner. You must kill Theodus to get
his keys. Now, head for the well (everyone will want your blood again).
Use the rope to enter the city below, but watch out for the rats! From this
point to the endgame you must negotiate a maze. I am planning to upload a
map to The Gamers' Forum's CRPGs Library, but I will try to describe what
must be done. You must press buttons to open the doors to get from one
place to the next. Go to the northeast corner of the room, where it is
blocked by lasers. Hit the button on the wall to turn them off. Continue
along the wall and press the button on the right. This will open the door
in the southeast corner of the room through which you just came. Go through
this door and hit the button on the left. Go south, then east, and hit both
buttons. Backtrack and hit the button on the right (if the door is closed).
Backtrack some more, and you will return to the room with the rope. In the
south of this room should be an open door. Go south, west, and north
through another open door. Turn right, and you will find another set of
lasers, and two buttons which you should push. Go through a long east
corridor and hit the button at the little dogleg to open the third set of
lasers a little farther on.
At the corner, hit the button to open the door to the south, and go on
through. Directly around the corner, hit the button to bring up the
elevator. Eventually, you will need to go through the door to the south,
but you must go to a different part of the maze to open it. The door
directly to the north should already be open (from a previous button); go
through the door, and east. Hit the button on the north wall of the room
you enter. Go through the door to the south, go around the corner, and
press the button. Backtrack, enter the corridor to the west (the beams
should be off), and hit the button there. Now, go east, south, then around
the corner again to find that the high voltage has been turned off.
Continue south to a four-way intersection. Take the corridor to the west
and hit both buttons. Head back east, then take the south corridor (the
door should be open). This corridor turns east (hit the button here), then
cross over the elevator (it should be closed). Press the button just around
the corner to open that door I described at the beginning of this paragraph.
Now, backtrack up to that door on the south wall of the big room.
The door in the south wall of the big room should now be open, and the
elevator should be closed. Go to the west after passing the elevator, and
press both buttons on the north wall. Go south, then west after you enter
the big room. Take the north corridor (the door should be open), then take
the west corridor. Hit this button and the high voltage in the northbound
corridor will turn off, as will the lasers in the southwest corner of the
big room. Since you are here, visit the hermit in the room to the north
(you won't need a key), because he adds to the flavor of the story. After
you talk to the hermit, head south again, and enter the corridor in the
southwest corner of the big room.
You are almost done! Proceed west through a long hallway (the lasers should
be off), and go to the north wall of the room you enter. Hit the button
there to turn off the lasers in the big room you were in before, then
backtrack to that room. This time, enter the corridor in the southeast
corner of the room. Press the button on the wall next to where the lasers
are off, follow this hallway east, then south, through the open doors, and
around to where you will see some barbed wire. Whip out your vibrablade,
cut the wire, and enter the gaps. Kill the guards in the hallway, then use
your key to enter the third door from the east. Here you will find Equitus,
and the endgame sequence will take over. Congratulations!
BAD BLOOD is published and distributed by Origin Systems.
