The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight is a computer fantasy role-playing game created by Interplay Productions in 1986. It is the first sequel to The Bard's Tale. It was designed and programmed by Michael Cranford, and won the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1986.
This dungeon crawl game features several improvements over its predecessor:
- A measure of distance during battle, which allowed the addition of archery and ranged weapons and spells.
- Considerably more plentiful and harder puzzles.
- Real-time dungeon puzzles (called "snares").
- A new spellcaster character class (archmage).
- The ability for multiple summoned creatures to join the party.
- The ability for summoned creatures to be included in saved games.
- Banks (unlike money being carried, money stored there would not be lost if the party was defeated).
- Casinos (where one could play blackjack).
- A wilderness area containing six cities and 25 dungeon levels.
THE BARD'S TALE II ==================== INTRODUCTION -------------- Every game that sells well deserves a sequel, and here it is -- THE BARD'S TALE II: THE DESTINY KNIGHT. Might is not always right, but in this game it sure doesn't hurt to have some on your side. It seems that lawless mercenaries (with a bit of help from the evil Archmage known as Lagoth Zanta) have taken the Destiny Wand. The Destiny Wand has maintained peace and prosperity in the Realm for 700 years (impressive, isn't it?). You and the characters you create must find and reforge the Destiny Wand! You must then use the wand to destroy Lagoth Zanta. The wand has been separated into seven pieces. Each piece is located in a dungeon protected by a snare. Before you can begin your quest to find the Wand, you need characters to hunt for it. You can select from seven races (Human, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, and Gnome) and ten classes (Warrior, Paladin, Rogue, Bard, Hunter, Monk, Conjurer, Magician, Sorcerer, Wizard, and Archmage). Some classes are not available to beginning characters. You can port characters over from the last BARD'S TALE or use your ULTIMA or WIZARDRY characters. Special characters can also be introduced into your party (illusions and monsters count as special characters). Your magic users have a total of 79 spells at their disposal, and your bard has a total of seven songs that can cause strange things to happen. With this arsenal of characters and magic you will venture out into the realm of The Destiny Knight to discover cities, special buildings, casinos, banks, taverns, temples, and the ever popular dungeon! So, buy your bard a drink, cast a Batchspell and prepare to destroy Lagoth Zanta before he destroys you! Oh, yes: Don't forget your Archmage! STARTER DUNGEON ----------------- Well, are you ready to find all the segments of the Destiny Wand and destroy Lagoth Zanta? I will try and keep this as short as possible. If you are just starting, you will be located in the city of Tangramayne. If your party is very weak, you will want an easy dungeon to build up its strength. Thankfully, there is a very easy dungeon located in the city. The dungeon is located on Claymore Street. (Make sure you have an empty slot so monsters can join your party.) Just go to the far east side of the city and check the buildings to the east. In a building located in the centre of the row you will find a magician. He informs you of a noble quest that he has for you to undertake and commences to explain the details. Within his description you will notice the words "additional experience." This should be cause enough to want to find the princess. If your party is fairly strong, I would advise you to go for the harder dungeons. This one will be a waste of time. The first level of The Dark Domain has nothing of value. Proceed to the exit. It is located at 21N 15E. If you get in a room adjacent to the one with the stairs, try a Phase Door. Head on down to the second level. (As I said before, I never found anything valuable on level 1.) There are quite a few monsters on level 2, so look out! On this level if you happen to be in the room filled with darkness try not to go to the centre. A monster is located there. I can't remember what it was. I think quite a few experience points will be bestowed upon the fortunate adventurer who kills it. The next location to visit is 5N 12E. There you will find a winged monster that is necessary for you to rescue the princess. "Sure join the party!" Take the monster with you. There may be other ways down, but I can't see them on my map. There is a portal in the northeast corner of the dungeon (21N 21E, for you laypeople). Don't forget to cast a levitation spell. Now you should be on the 3rd level. If you can't find a way out, just look around. You should stumble into a teleport (21N 20E) if my maps are correct. The teleport should send you to 10N 10E. Watch out for traps in this next room. I think the trap zap spell will disarm them. Make sure you move to the east. I think that walls will appear behind you blocking your retreat. There are a few wrap-around features in this dungeon: Check your location! I don't know if this is necessary to the quest, but there is a magic mouth at 3N 14E. The answer to the riddle it poses is "Mangar." Now, proceed to the stairs located at 6N 21E. There is a magic mouth here, too. The answer is "Pass." If stairs don't appear, then it may be necessary to answer the first riddle. (My maps and notes are old, so forgive me.) Once the stairs appear, go down to level 4. There are plenty traps on this level: Be careful! There is plenty darkness, too, but never fear: This is the last level! Go to the northeast corner once again (21N 21E). There you will find a teleport that will take you to 3N 11E. Now go north. Keep going north through the doors. Ah! A hole, pit, chasm -- whatever you want to call it -- will block your way unless you have the winged monster with you. Keep going north until you reach the double doors. I think your bard will have to play a tune -- the Watchwood Melody, if I remember correctly -- before the doors will open. Now, go through the doors. "Argh," or some other sound is now appropriate because you have found the Dark Lord in this room! After (hopefully) defeating him, you will find the princess in another room located here (21N 11E, I believe). You have the princess! Proceed east and a teleport should put you near the stairs. I leave it up to you to get out! THE TOMBS AND FANSKAR'S CASTLE -------------------------------- Are you ready for some real fun? You might want to call this a "challenge." I have arranged these dungeons in the order in which the segments of the Wand will be found. So, it is now time to go after the first segment. At this point you can go to the Sage and spend some money on some clues, or you can come with me and get the clues for free. The first segment is located in the Tombs. The entrance to the Tombs is located in the centre of the city of Ephesus. When you find the entrance, enter! There may be other ways of getting through this level, but this is the only one I came across. I first found a teleporter at 12N 12E. This should put you at 13N 0E. From here go north through the door, then head to the east. Keep going east until you reach a dark room. This room is full of traps. Try this: Head east until you hit the east wall; turn south and proceed until you make it to the next wall; turn west and keep going until you hit that wall. Now turn south and go through the door. I will leave it up to you to make your way through this stuff. The next place to go is 2N 11E. There is another teleport here that will take you to 18N 16E. From here you go to 20N 19E. Ah, no stairs...what is this? A teleport perhaps? Correct! You are now on level two at 21N 0E. At least, I think that's where you are -- this jelly stain on my map doesn't help. Hopefully, this is the right place. From here, you need to go north to 16N 0E. Now I know where we are. Keep going north, and go through the door at the end. From here turn east and follow the hall until you get to the Keymaster. Buy the key from him, go back to 11N 2E, and face north. The stairs are to the north at 16N 10E. Now you should be on the last level of the Tombs at 16N 10E. Head north and enter the maze. From 18N 10E follow these directions: West, north four times, east twice, south, east, and north twice. There should be a magician here playing with some fireballs. The answer to his question is "Old." Go to the door in the northeast corner and enter this room. You will now find your party at 3N 14E. From here you need to travel west to 3N 0E. The only way you can go is west and north, so you should be able to find it. From the looks of this map, there is a secret door here. The door is on the west wall. Go through it and keep heading west through two more doors. Now go north using the door at 3N 16E. Follow the hallway to the end. The teleport at the end of this hall will put you at 10N 3E. Congratulations! You are in the first Snare. This is an easy one. Head east until you get to 9N 9E. There is a spinner in the centre of this room. (A Nospen ring will be handy here.) Avoid the spinner. (They always confuse me.) Go to the small alcove located in the north of the room (11N 10E). Here you will find an old man who will want to join your party. Let him join and lead the party. Now head for the alcove in the east wall (9N 12E). Have each member of your party drink from the water. Don't heal anyone. Head for the alcove in the south wall (7N 10E). Kill the toxic giant. Now, heal your party members, if necessary. Look through the equipment your characters are carrying. There should be a torch there; give it to the old man. Now go back to where you came in (10N 3E). The first segment of the Destiny Wand can be found at 10N 8E. This segment has the ability to cast the Wizard Wall spell. Well, so much for the first segment: Prepare for the next! (Oh, you can leave the dungeon now.) Fanskar's Castle is a really nice place. It isn't too hard, and it only has one level; so, it should be fun (easy). You do not need to go to the Sage unless you really want to meet him. Fanskar's Castle is located in the wilderness. I never noticed this until I started writing this walkthru but the SCSI spell works fine in the wilderness. Look at the map that came with the game, and you can see Fanskar's Castle in the centre of the map (25N 17E). You might want to make a map of the wilderness so you won't have to bungle around like I did. From the entry stairs go north until you get to 14N 0E. Go east and enter the door you see at 14N 4E. Follow the hall to the end and go through the door. Now, go west through the door and take the second door you find (20N 3E). Go north through both of these rooms and head east through the last door. Go to the end of this L-shaped room, and a teleport will take you to 17N 7E. Leave this room and start heading east. The exit is in the northeast corner of the room. Look down this long hall (south). Go down the hall until you get to the door on the east side (the only door on this end of the hall). Go east until you get to 16N 13E. (Do not take the next door!) Then, go to the hall on the right side (starting at 15N 15E). Follow this hall to the end and go through the door at 15N 19E that heads east. Once in this room, head north through the door at 16N 21E. Now take the door to your left, head up the hall, and enter the door that heads east (21N 19E). It's Fanskar -- kill him! (STTO will probably work the best.) After he's dead, continue going east. There is a teleport in the next room that will take you to 9N 11E. Look to the east. You will see three doors. Take the one to your left. This takes you to 5N 13E. Go west and you will discover the second segment of the Wand. This segment will lower the armour class of whoever equips it. Wasn't that fun? Ok, so it was simple; however, wait till you see what's next! DARGOTH'S TOWER ----------------- Time to find the next segment, which is located in Dargoth's Tower: Five levels -- this should be great! The first thing is to tell you where Dargoth's Tower is: It's located in Philippi. Philippi should be on the map that came with your game. A nice spell to have access to is the Dream Spell. In the game you won't find the code for the spell until you go after the last segment. I will give you the code now: ZZGO. The spell allows your party -- under normal conditions -- to teleport to every dungeon. When you cast the spell you will see the numbers 1 through 7. Each number stands for a segment of the Wand. For instance, if you hit the "1," you will be in the dungeon where segment one is. This is why my knowledge of the outside world is rather vague. I used this spell all of the time. It also has nice benefits in combat. Try it. After locating Dargoth's Tower and entering it, you will find teleport traps all about. This dungeon is fairly easy to find your way around in, though. The first place to go is 13N 16E. To get there you need to go north from the entry stairs until you get to 8N 0E. From here turn east. Keep going east until you reach 8N 12E. If magic points are not a problem, you might be able to teleport around and save some time. Anyway, you will see a door to the north. Go in this room; I think it's one of those places of darkness. In the northeast corner of this room (13N 16E) there is a magic mouth. The answer to its question is "Burn." (I think the answer to this is necessary for the stairs to appear.) From here find the stairs leading up. They are located at 4N 12E, just across the hall from your present location. There is a hidden door at 8N 16E on the south wall that lets you enter the room. Here are some quick instructions on how to get there: From the entry (7N 16E) go south through the door, then go through the door that leads west. From this room take the door located on the north wall and enter the next room. Now, you should see a door on the west wall. Go through this door and through the door on the south wall. The stairs should be right in front of you. Level 2 is rather crazy. I hope I can guide you through this! From the entry head west until you hit a wall. This should put you at 18N 15E. Now, go south until you hit the next wall, which should be close by -- a single step away, I think. Now you should be at 17N 15E. Go west (watch for spinners; make sure you're going west, and don't get turned around!) until you reach 17N 3E. This is 12 steps to the west from where you were. Now go south for 5 steps and you should be at 12N 3E. Go east one step. Well, you can light up now. You should be located at 12N 4E. Do not move from here! Whether you have guessed this or not, you are now situated in a very nice maze. From the entry at 12N 4E follow these steps closely: North, east twice, north twice, west, north, east three times, and south four times (you should be at 12N 8E). Now go west, south, east three times, south, east, south twice, and east (8N 12E); north three times, east twice, north three times, west, south, and west. You should find yourself in a room with seven statues. Examine the statues, kill them all, then exit the room. Upon exiting the room, you should be at 13N 13E. The steps to take from here are as follows: North, east, south three times, west twice, and south three times (8N 12E again); south, east, south twice, east, north, east twice, and south. You are now out of the maze. From here (1N 14E) head west through all four doors until you get to 1N 7E. This will teleport you to 18N 7E. From here go east through the two doors. Once you are in the room (18N 9E), head for the door on the east wall, and go through it. From this room keep going straight east to the next door (19N 13E). Go through the door on the north wall, then go west where you will find the stairs! I can truly say I am glad this is finished, but there are more levels ahead. There is nothing of importance on level 3, so it should go by quickly. From the stairs head through the door on the south wall, then go west until you reach 18N 4E. Turn south, go down to the door on the east wall, and go through it. Turn south, and go down the hall that leads westward. Follow the hall until you get to 10N 1E. From here go south until you reach the intersection (5N 1E). Turn east, go forward, and take the first door on your left (5N 4E). Your party should be at 6N 4E. Head west through the wall. You will now be met by another magic mouth. The answers are: "Earth," "Compassed," and "Fountain." By answering this you have gained access to the next level. Go back through the wall, and go to the upper northwest corner of the room (7N 2E). Go through the north wall. There will be a portal leading upward ahead of you at 9N 2E. Take it to level 4. Once you enter this level, head west. The hall will turn north, and then east. Follow it until you find the northern opening. Once through this go back west to the end. When you go north, you will enter some maze-like passages. Walls will tend to form behind you. Make your way east until you find the dark area and the exit. By the way, there is a secret door at 14N 11E that will help you. The stairs are at 19N 18E (you may be able to teleport and save time). Time for the final level. Make sure each member of your party has room for new items. You should be in an area of darkness. The exit is on the south wall at 17N 20E. Teleport and phase door spells will not work on this level. You need to find 12N 9E which will teleport you to 5N 20E. You will (if memory serves me correctly) have to answer a riddle. The answers are water, lie, slave, gold, hate, rooster, large, early, bard, and women. Enter the answers in this order. Go through the door at 6N 21E that leads to the east. Go to the end of the hall, then go back out the door. Do this a total of five times, and you should get this message: "Turn right at the joke, then right, then ahead, then left twice, ahead twice, right, and left. Drop all your items, or you are lost. Cry Havok, and let slip the dogs of war. Kill off your spell casters, and you'll be saved." Make sure you go to the end of the hall each time. I don't know if this is required to finish the level. After you receive the message, go to 3N 0E. You can get there by going through the door at 5N 20E and then going through the door at 3N 21E. This is where the message's directions start. Follow them (except for the part about killing your spell casters). The directions should lead your party to 0N 1E. You will find a statue that will come to life. Answer it with "Havok!" The statue will give everyone a dagger. Now, take the door north, and you will be teleported to 5N 21E. See the door at 6N 20E that leads west? Go through it. Go to the southwest corner of the room, and you will get the message: "Look at the wall!" There should be a door there on the west part of the wall. Head through this door, and you will find the next segment of the Wand. This segment casts the spell, Wizard War. MAZE OF DREAD --------------- The Maze of Dread is located in Thessalonica. Once on level one proceed to 1N 21E. Here is an elevator that will take you to the next levels. Press "2." On level 2 there is a riddle located at 15N 10E. When answered correctly, you will be given the Sword of Zar. The answer is "Der." I don't know if this is necessary to complete the snare. The sword is nice to have, though: It doesn't have to be equipped, and you can throw it at your enemies, doing some nice damage. Head back to the elevator located at 1N 21E and press "3." You are now on the final level. There isn't much to do here except to go to the snare and get the Wand segment. There is a teleport located at 8N 17E that will let you enter the snare. It will teleport you to 16N 4E (this will be real fun!). Go to the door at 21N 4E. Follow the corridor until you reach the end. (You will get something the first time through.) Go back, go through the door at 20N 6E, and from here find 17N 7E, where you will receive another message. Retrace your steps back to the end of the corridor where you received the vial. Do this a total of ten times (go back and forth), then go to the small room located at 19N 2E. (I don't know if this part is necessary, since I will be giving you the answer.) Go back to 17N 7E and answer "endurable." Finally enter the little room at 19N 7E (right across from the last room), and that's it! You should now get another segment of the Wand. This segment can cast the Wind Mage spell. OSCON'S FORTRESS ------------------ Before you go looking for this place, you must find Kazdek. He has something you need. He is located in the wilderness between Thessalonica and Colosse. The fortress is located in Corinth. No need to do much of anything on the first level. Just go north through the door (from the entry stairs), and keep going until you get to 7N 0E. Turn east and PHDO through this wall. Go forward, and enter the room you see at 7N 4E. Answer "Fire," "Krill," and "Silence." Exit the room, turn west, go to the wall; then, turn north, and go forward until you reach 8N 1E. This will teleport you to 18N 1E. From this location head south until you get to 13N 1E; turn east, and go through the door that you will come across after about three steps east. After going through this door, turn north, go one step, then go through the door located to the west. Head north, and go through this door. From here (16N 4E) head east until you get to the wall; then, go south until you reach 12N, turn east, and go forward. There are stairs at 12N 10E leading down to the next level. On level 2 go north through the door at the end of the hall. You will find yourself in a room filled with doors. Take the door to the north (2N 11E). At 3N 11E go north, east twice, and north. Turn east, and find the east wall. Follow the east wall north to the door at 11N 14E. Go through this door, then through the door on the north wall (12N 14E). Go through the door on the west wall, head north through this door, then east through the next door. Whew! You should be at 16N 13E. Go through the door on the north wall, then through the (secret?) door on the west wall located at 19N 13E. After going through this door, go north, then start going east. Keep going east until you go through the door at 21N 18E. There is a secret door on the east wall at 20N 19E. Go through this door, and enter the small room at 20N 21E. The answer to the riddle is "Dervak." Retrace your steps all the way back to 11N 14E. Some fun, huh? Now, head west. There are spinners and traps all around here. The stairs down are located at 21N 0E (yes, another level). This one is easy. From the entry go south. Keep going until you get down to 0N 0E. Now go east to 0N 10E, then go north to 2N 10E. Turn east, go through the door, turn south, and go through the door. Follow the hall to the end, and go through the door on the east wall at 3N 13E. Go south until you reach 0N 14E, then turn east. Keep going east until you reach 0N 21E, then start heading north until you get to 10N 21E. Go through the secret door located on the west wall. After going through the door, go west all the way to 10N 1E. Move north to 12N, turn east, and enter the room at 12N 2E. The answer is "Still." Exit the room, find 13N 12E, and go through the door that leads north. The stairs down are to the west. Just keep going west; you'll find them at 14N 1E. You may find some secret doors on the walls. On this last level, go through the door leading west. Once in the hall (I don't know if it is necessary to kill Oscon), turn south, and follow the hallway to its end (2N 0E). Enter the north door. There is a series of secret doors which will lead you to Oscon (5N 20E). From your present location, Oscon is located to the east. Just find the secret doors in each room and head east. After Oscon is destroyed (I'm sure you will kill him!), go back to 14N 21E. }From here go north, and follow the hallway to its end (18N 20E). You will find several spinners as you travel down this corridor. A nospen ring will come in handy! After you reach the end, enter the door on the south wall, and head south until you reach the wall. From here (7N 20E) head west until you hit the west wall, then head north to 8N 14E. Go west through this door and the next. Keep going west to 8N 6E, then turn north, and go through this door. Go to the end of the hall (10N 10E). You are in the snare. (Is this a walkthru or what? On most of this you don't even have to make a map!) Oh, back to business.... Go straight south, and enter the alcove. From the alcove (14N 11E) go south through the door, and enter the alcove in front of you. The answer to the question is "Rock." Exit the alcove, turn east, and keep going until you get to the alcove at 14N 14E. Enter this alcove, answer "Scissor," exit, and start north. Don't enter the next alcove (17N 11E); keep going until you reach the one at 14N 8E. Enter this one and answer "Paper." Arrange you party so that Rock is first, then Paper, then Scissor. Go back to the alcove at 17N 11E and enter it. The answer to this riddle is Rock; so, head back to the place where you found the Rock statue, and there should be a door located there. In the room beyond you will find another segment of the Wand. This one can cast Batchspell. THE GREY CRYPT ---------------- The Grey Crypt is located between Tangramayne and Ephesus. I am afraid that magic will not work here. Only the SCSI spell will function. As soon as you enter level one, start exploring. The only way out of the current section is 3N 20E. I think there is only one secret door in this area. This entire level is broken down into three big rooms that wrap around, and three sections that have maze-like qualities. After you find 3N 20E, leave the area by going through the door on the north wall. Find your way to 5N 3E. This will teleport you to 13N 3E. From here go to 14N 11E and take the door north. Now you must find a second teleport located at 15N 21E. (Notice that I am not leading you through the maze as I was earlier. You should map a bit, you know.) Anyway, once you find the teleport, it will take you to 11N 21E. Follow the hall until you get to the door at 10N 0E. Once you go through this door, you will find a series of doors. Go through the door, and keep heading east until you reach the wall at 10N 21E. Go through the door leading south, then go west until you reach 9N 4E. Turn south and go through the secret door. Turn east and keep going until you reach 8N 12E. Turn south and go through this secret door. }From here (7N 12E) go west all the way to 7N 2E. You should run into the Sphinx here. The answer is "Wize One." After answering the riddle, go back west, and keep going until you hit the wall. Turn south, and go through the door. I thought I would help you through this part because I remembered how difficult is was to map. From this point (6N 14E) find the teleport at 5N 3E. Once you have been teleported, go back to the door at 14N 11E and go through it. The stairs down are located to the west at 18N 0E. You should be on level two at 18N 0E. This is the last level of the Grey Crypt. (Since you can't use any magic, it's a good thing, too!) Should I guide you through this or let you map? Okay, I'll guide you through. It's not too difficult. From the entry turn west and go through the secret door at 19N 21E, and keep going west. There is another secret door at 19N 19E; go through this one as well. Keep on going west until you hit the wall, then turn south and go through the secret door at 17N 17E. Turn west and go through this secret door, then turn south again and head through this door also. You should be at 16N 16E. Go west to 16N 12E then north until you hit the wall at 21N 12E. Turn west and go to 8E. Now turn north and go up to 2N. There will be a secret door on the west wall; go through it. Now you can get to the teleport that will lead you to the snare at 6N 0E. Just keep heading north and west from where you are, and you will find it. There are several secret doors leading to the teleport, so kick the walls. Oh, and watch out for the Vampire Dragon. (He's a wimp anyway.) You should be in the area of the snare (8N 11E). The first thing to do that will make life easier in the snare is to disarm the spinner in the centre of the snare. The trigger to disarm it is located at 0N 13E (south of where you are now). Let me try and explain this snare. I had more trouble with this one than any other. There are two small rooms located on the east and west walls. Each of these rooms contains a mage. There are four rooms in the centre of the snare. Each one is 3x3. What happens is when you go into each of the small rooms, a different set of doors opens to the 3x3 rooms in the snare. The object of the snare is to open the door to one of the 3x3 rooms, go to the centre of the room, and head back to one of the small rooms to trigger the door to the next 3x3 room. Understand? Well, it took me awhile to get this one, too, so let's try it. First head to the room located at 4N 21E. This room contains the Grey mage. Go in the room to make sure the doors are open to the first 3x3 room you need to visit. Now it is time to start the cycle: Blue Mage (4N 11E); Grey Mage (4N 21E). Go to the first room. The entry is at 4N 14E, and the door should be on the south wall. Enter the room and go to the centre of the room. You will get a message that confirms what you are doing. Now visit the Blue Mage. Go to the second room. The door is at 6N 16E on the west wall. Go to the centre of this room where you will receive another message. Go back to the Grey Mage. It's time to visit the third room now. The door is at 2N 16E on the east wall. Go to the centre of the room, then go visit the Blue Mage. Go to the fourth room. The door is at 4N 18E on the north wall. Go to the centre of the room. Visit the Grey Mage, and start all over again with the first room. Do this a total of three times; when you get to the fourth room on the third cycle, you should get the next Wand segment. THE DESTINY STONE ------------------- Could it be? The last segment? Yes! It's time to go get the last one. Ready? Of course you are! The Destiny Stone is located in Colosse. The first thing you need to find is location 20N 6E. It is north of the entrance. Just head north. There are no secret doors, so it should not be hard to find. After finding this location, you will be teleported to 20N 10E. Go south until you reach a solid wall, then go west until you hit a wall (17N 8E). Now, just follow the corridor north. Walls will close in behind you as you start down the hall heading east. The corridor will take you to 16N 8E. Here you will have to answer a question. The answer is "Near." After answering the question, you will be teleported to 13N 8E. This is a large room. The exit to the next level is at 3N 17E. Level two is very easy. You should find yourself in a small room at 3N 17E. Go to the northeast corner of the room (4N 18E), and kill the statue. Go to the smaller room at 3N 18E. This will teleport you to the next level. This is it: The last level! The first place you need to find is 17N 18E. There is a secret door on the south wall. Go through it and turn east. Go through this secret door, too. Location 16N 19E will teleport you inside the snare (4N 9E). Since it will be very hard to navigate, you should map this area! From 4N 9E turn west, go to the west wall, then go north until you hit the wall. From this point (9N 8E) go north one space, then start heading northwest to 13N 1E. Here you will be posed with a riddle. Don't worry about answering it just yet. Just answer with anything, and you will be teleported to 12N 9E. From 12N 9E go south two steps, then turn west and go through the door. The answer is "Zen Master." Let him lead the party. Go straight east to 10N 13E, which should teleport you to 10N 14E. To exit this room go south, then go to 12N 18E, which is in the northeast corner. The answer is "Gale." Give what you receive to the Zen Master, go down to 8N 18E, and zip through the secret door to the south. You should be at 7N 18E. Have you ever wondered what those arrows in back of your BARD'S TALE II manual were for? Well, you're about to find out. Follow the first set of arrows, and they should put you before a door to the north. Go through the door, and you will be teleported back to 4N 9E (this is where you entered the snare). Now find 13N 1E (the riddle I told you to answer wrong) and give the answer "Storm Fists." This will teleport you to 8N 14E. From here go back to the start of the maze at 7N 18E. (Note: I think you start using the arrows at 7N 18E, but it may be at 8N 18E. If it doesn't work the first time, this is the case.) Now, use the second set of arrows, and answer the riddle again (same answer). Keep going through the maze until you've used all the sets of the arrows. After the last set is used, you will be teleported to 11N 16E. Go north, then take the door leading west at 13N 16E. The answer is "Arkast." Go north one. You get a message telling you where Lagoth Zanta is. You should also get the last Wand segment. This segment casts the Brothers Kringle spell. After you leave the dungeon, head for the Temple of Narn. It's the building to the east of Corinth and the Sage. When you get here, give your Archmage all the segments, then forge the Wand. Now kill Lagoth Zanta! Your party is now strong enough to rise to the challenge set forth in the final confrontation: THE BARD'S TALE III: THE THIEF OF FATE! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= THE BARD'S TALE II ==================== MONSTER REFERENCE -------------------- This monster reference will try to help you identify most of the monsters you will encounter. This reference tries to show all the monsters you will encounter in the realm. The first number will tell you how dangerous the monster is. The second number warns you about the monsters special powers, so always refer to this chart. 1st Number 2nd Number 1 = Easy 0 = Regular Attack 5 = Drain Level 2 = Medium 1 = Cast Spells 6 = Cause Nut/ins. 3 = Hard 2 = Breath Fire/frost 7 = Possessed 4 = Very Hard 3 = Phaze Spell Point 8 = Critical Hit 5 = Dangerous 4 = Poison 9 = Turn To Stone Words Of Wisdom Near Earth Endurable Compassed Death Sword Fountain Kazdek Mangar Dervak Pass Wise One Wise Fred Staff of War Havoc Zen Master Still Staff of Old Arkast Gale Storm Fist Aram Freeze Please MONSTER REFERENCE ABYSSIANS.....3 0 DRAGON MALAR...5 23 GUARDS...........3 0 ARAGADOOM.....3 4 DRAGON MAZE....5 2 HAWKINS..........3 0 ARCHERS.......3 0 DRAGON TOY.....5 2 HAZER............3 3 ARN WRAITH....5 15 DRAGON VOOR....5 2 HEAD BANGER......3 0 ASSAIANS......2 0 DRAGON VREN....5 2 HOUND SPRITES....4 1 ASTRAL GUARDS.2 0 DRAGON WEB.....5 24 HOWLER...........3 0 AXEMEN........2 0 DRAGON ZONE....5 2 HUNTER...........3 8 BANDER........3 1 DREADNOUGHTS...3 2 ICEHOLES.........3 1 BARBARIAN.....2 0 DRENS..........2 0 ICHORS FIENDS....4 1 BASALICK......5 9 DUST SOLDIERS..3 0 INGROID..........4 4 BATTLE LORD...2 0 DUST SAMURAI...3 0 JACK OF DIAMOND..4 1 BE FAR WIZARD.2 0 DUST WIZARD....3 1 JACK OF HEARTS...4 1 BERSERKER.....2 0 ENFORCER.......3 0 JACK OF SPADES...4 1 BLACK SKULL...3 4 EVIL DOERS.....3 1 JACK OF SPADES...4 1 BLOOD SUCKER..5 15 FAR ARCHERS....3 0 KINSTRALS........3 1 BLOOD WRAITH..5 15 FAZERS.........3 1 KNIFEMAN.........3 0 BLOODMEN......5 5 FIRE GUARDS....3 2 KNIFEMEN.........3 0 BLUE GHOST....5 5 FIRE MASTER....3 2 KOBOLDS..........3 0 BOGSTER.......4 6 FLAME GUARD....3 2 KWI CHANG........3 0 BONEMEN.......3 1 FLAME MAGE.....3 2 LARRY............3 0 BRAGART.......2 0 FLAME MASTER...3 2 LEAPER...........3 0 BROCKTER......2 0 FLAME SCION....3 2 LICHES...........4 14 BRUTES........3 0 FLAME SPRITES..3 2 LIVING DEAD......3 0 BUGGER........2 0 FLAYER.........2 0 LIZARD MEN.......3 0 CANNIBALS.....2 0 FLESH EATER....2 0 MAD MAGES........4 1 CARBONITE.....4 9 FRACTER........3 9 MADCO MAGE.......3 1 CENTRON.......2 0 FRED...........3 0 MAGE OF ALK......4 1 CHAMPION......2 0 FRIGHTS........3 0 MAJOR DOMOS......3 0 CLOUDMEN......2 0 GARSLAYER......3 8 MAKER............3 1 COOL DUDES....2 0 GHAST..........5 5 MAKRONS..........3 0 CORPES........3 0 GHOST FORCE....5 5 MAN MASHER.......4 0 CRAMBOS.......2 0 GHOST GORE.....5 15 MANTISE..........3 4 CRYPT KILLER..3 0 GHOST MAUL.....5 15 MANWALL..........4 15 CRYPT KNIGHT..3 0 GHOUL MAUL.....5 15 MASTER MAGE......3 1 CRYSLAR.......3 0 GIANT BLACK....3 0 MASTER SWORD.....3 0 CYCLONE.......3 0 GIANT BOSCO....4 9 MATT DOP.........3 0 DARK ACOLUTE..3 1 GIANT DEATH....4 0 MAZE LIZARD......3 0 DARK MAGES....3 0 GIANT FAR......4 0 MEDARRCH.........3 12 DARK VAMPIRE..5 15 GIANT JAG......4 4 MEDUSA...........5 9 DAZZLER.......3 0 GIANT MIST.....3 0 MICRO MAGE.......4 1 DEAD KING.....4 15 GIANT POISON...4 1 MIND MIMICS......3 0 DEATH DEALER..3 1 FIANT POWER....4 0 MINZU DIALS......4 4 DEATH GHOUL...3 1 GIANT PUMEL....3 4 MONGREL..........3 0 DEATH REAPER..3 0 GIANT ROCK.....4 9 MONK MELEE.......3 0 DEATH SWORD...3 0 GIANT WAR......3 0 MONK MENZO.......3 0 DENIZEN POIS..4 4 GIANT ZADO.....4 4 MUTI MAGE........3 1 DESICATOR.....3 14 GIANT ZAG......4 4 NINJA GREY.......3 8 DEVIL DOGS....2 0 GIANT ZONE.....4 0 NINJA............3 8 DEVOURERS.....2 0 GIANTS CAVE....2 0 NITE DWELLER.....3 0 DIMOND DOGS...2 0 GIANTS.........4 1 OFFICER..........3 0 DOPPLEGANGER..4 7 GNOLLS.........3 1 OGRE HERO........3 1 DRAGON BLUE...5 2 GOLEM MIKE.....5 9 OGRE.............3 1 DRAGON BRASS..5 12 GOLEM RACK.....4 9 ORC WARRIORS.....3 0 DRAGON DEATH..5 28 GOLEM STONE....4 9 ORCS.............3 0 DRAGON DRAIN..5 25 GOZEM..........3 0 PHAZ-MONSTER.....3 3 DRAGON GARD...5 4 GREKLIN........3 1 PICKPOCKET.......3 0 DRAGON GRIN...5 2 GREY ACOLYTES..4 1 PIT SKRULL.......4 2 DRAGON GRIND..5 2 GROPER.........4 5 POGO MEN.........3 4 DRAGON KEEL...5 2 GUARDIANS......4 9 POLTERGEIST......3 0 DRAGON KRAE...5 2 GUARDS MEN.....4 0 PYROS............3 1 RACKNID MEN...3 4 SLARGGOTH......3 0 TITAN AIR........3 0 RAK MONGER....3 1 SLAYER LORD....3 8 TITAN LAND.......3 0 RANGER........2 0 SLAYER.........3 8 TOMB GUARDS......3 0 ROCK BLOCK....3 0 SLIMER.........3 0 TRANSLYAN........5 5 SAHARA GUARDS.3 1 SORCERER.......3 1 TROGLODYTES......3 4 SAMURAI.......3 0 SORON..........3 1 TROLL MASTER.....3 1 SANCRILAR.....3 12 SOUL SUCKER....3 1 TROLL............3 1 SARGON........3 1 SPECTERES......3 1 TROY DOP.........3 1 SCARBLADER....5 12 SPELL CASTER...3 1 UNDEAD FRED......3 1 SHADOW LORD...3 1 STALKER........3 0 VAMPIRE LORD.....5 15 SHADOW........3 1 STATUE.........3 0 VAMPIRE..........5 5 SINISTERS.....3 1 STEELFIST......3 0 VIKINGS..........3 0 SINSTRIKE.....3 1 STONE ELEMENTAL3 49 VOIDE SHADE......3 0 SKELEMEN......3 1 SUNNONER.......3 1 WARLOCK..........3 1 SKULL WARDEN..3 0 SWORDMEN.......3 0 WIGHT............3 4 SLAGOTHS......3 1 TANDERCLAW.....3 46 WILLO WISP.......4 1 THRASHER.......3 0 ZOMBIE KING......3 14 _______________________________________________________________________________
Bard's Tale 2(Apple) FAQ/Walkthrough version 1.0.1 copyright 2007 by Andrew Schultz schultz.andrew@sbcglobal.net Please do not reproduce for profit without my consent. You won't be getting much profit anyway, but that's not the point. This took time and effort, and I just wanted to save a memory of an old game and the odd solutions any way I could. Please send me an email referring to me and this guide by name if you'd like to post it on your site. I have maps for the outside and the dungeons at gamefaqs.com which should be used as reference as you go through this FAQ. I think the big barrier to playing this game is knowing when you can level up, and I will assume through most of this game that you are comfortable navigating 16x16 mazes. If you're not, you probably will be. ================================ OUTLINE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. CONTROLS, CREATION AND STARTING 2-1. CONTROLS 2-2. CREATION 2-3. STARTING 2-4. GOOD SPELLS 3. THE DARK DOMAIN 3-1. BUILDING UP 3-2. LEVEL 2 3-3. LEVEL 3 3-4. LEVEL 4 3-5. REPRISE 4. THE TOMBS 4-1. TOMBS LEVEL 1 4-2. TOMBS LEVEL 2 4-3. TOMBS LEVEL 3 4-4. TOMBS DEATH SNARE 5. FANSKAR'S CASTLE 5-1. FANSKAR'S CASTLE LEVEL 1 6. DARGOTH'S TOWER 6-1. DARGOTH'S TOWER LEVEL 1 6-2. DARGOTH'S TOWER LEVEL 2 6-3. DARGOTH'S TOWER LEVEL 3 6-4. DARGOTH'S TOWER LEVEL 4 6-5. DARGOTH'S TOWER LEVEL 5 7. MAZE OF DREAD 7-1. MAZE OF DREAD LEVEL 1 7-2. MAZE OF DREAD LEVEL 2 7-3. MAZE OF DREAD LEVEL 3 8. OSCON'S FORTRESS 8-1. OSCON'S FORTRESS LEVEL 1 8-2. OSCON'S FORTRESS LEVEL 2 8-3. OSCON'S FORTRESS LEVEL 3 8-4. OSCON'S FORTRESS LEVEL 4 9. GREY CRYPT 9-1. GREY CRYPT LEVEL 1 9-2. GREY CRYPT LEVEL 2 10. THE DESTINY STONE 10-1. THE DESTINY STONE LEVEL 1 10-2. THE DESTINY STONE LEVEL 2 10-3. THE DESTINY STONE LEVEL 3 11. THE WAND AND LAGOTH 12. SAGE QUOTES 13. VERSIONS 14. CREDITS ================================ 1. INTRODUCTION Bard's Tale 2 brings back great memories for me. On replay, it's not perfect, but it is a lot of fun. It and Ultima IV were the two big games I'd grown to love when a friend showed them to me on his Commodore 64. I spent far too much of the summer playing both of them. I got good characters but had no clue about the actual puzzles, which rely on tooth grinding interpretations of middling poetry. In retrospect there are only a few things you CAN do, but I was just so amazed at all BT2 could do that I figured you had to do all sorts of crazy things. And ironically the part I enjoyed most, leveling up, was the most tedious on replay. Several things made Bard's Tale 2 so cool. First, the structured class change, versus Wizardry's haphazard stuff. Five spellcaster classes you could weave between. The cool spell names. The bard, who had songs he could sing to give his party bonuses. And the seven dungeons--each with a timed puzzle called a snare, which forced you to think based on clues you'd previously found in the dungeon. The snares became more abstract and less verbal as you went along and, oh yeah, the monster names were cool too. Sadly by the end you either had to cast the super-whammy spell to beat them or you had little chance. That doesn't matter. The game had many mapping puzzles and items and even a mysterious sage who helped you along and the occasional humor, too. (APAR after rescuing the Princess, for instance.) BT2 was rather hard for its time and while Boris(the commodore guy) and Dave(an apple guy) got exasperated with me for asking for hints, I think they must have asked around, too. Boris in particular claimed use of the Dreamspell but he forgot how he got into the Destiny Stone in the first place! I found the words three years after solving it, from someone far more annoying than Boris. I vowed I'd sit down and play the game through the right way, but I got sick of things and cast the dreamspell working my guys up to Archmage. I did however remember certain experience boosting tricks...and I found some items I'd laughed at were quite useful. Then when Bard's Tale 3 and Ultima V came out a year later, my Apple friends and I made fun of my Commodore friend because the games weren't on the C64 yet! I'd gotten good enough, too, that people were asking ME for help in these games. Crazy days. Hoo boy. You can find Bard's Tale II at ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/rpg/bards_tale_II/ and AppleWin is easy to find on google. Just one thing you should beware of: save states can zap NPCs needed for the first dungeon! Relying on them can also zap your inventory too even on reload. This is because the game reads from disk a lot and not always from the save state. So save your game the right way--remove your characters at the inn then get them back. Note however that you can reverse this too--if you lose a lot of spell points/hit points going through a level, you can save and reload to be good as new. This file should work for the PC too except for possibly how many levels you need to be invincible. The PC version also chucks out fewer monsters according to Stephen Lee's guide 2. CONTROLS, CREATION AND STARTING 2-1. CONTROLS JL turn left/right, I goes forward, and K kicks down a door. You can push 0-6 to see each character and I always got fooled thinking it'd start at 1. A good way to find fights early is to push K E K E K E between two unoccupied buildings. You can also hold down K to move ahead til you hit a wall. The sound from hitting a wall can direct you to when to turn if you know where you need to go but are in the dark. Most spells are pretty self explanatory. However, a few could use clarification. WAST seems to work from 30' not 20' which is handy. APAR in the outside world sends you to a different city's guild. Be warned that you should cast this before BASP. Cities for APAR: 1 tangramayne(Dark Domain) 2 ephesus(dungeon 1) 3 philippi(dungeon 3) 4 colosse(dungeon 7) 5 corinth(dungeon 5) 6 thessalonica(dungeon 4) The dreamspell sends you to dungeons 1-7. Whichever you choose has part X of the Destiny Wand when you solve the snare. On the Apple monster HP are not tracked individually. Instead the damage you do is compared to average HP for a monster and kill probability is based on that ratio. 2-2. CREATION For BT2 the tough part is getting started. I go with a paladin, hunter, bard and monk long term. Your bard will be lame early on, but that is why you start out with a warrior for a few levels. The first thing you want to do is to know what to create races with, and what stats are most important early on. It's best to give everyone 10+ hit points and your front line should have 15 dexterity and good constitution. Nothing else is terribly important. The weapon you have is more important than strength. Human-Paladin Human-Monk Human-Hunter Human-Warrior(you'll get rid of this guy but he is a good front man and useful if someone gets killed or until you get L3) Human-Bard Elf-Magician 17/18 intelligence(and don't worry about other stuff unless it's really lousy. Spell points are a big concern, and these guys shouldn't be in the front lines. The spellcasters will gain levels much more quickly than the others because changing classes will leave them with fewer experience points to the next level.) Elf-Magician 17/18 intelligence(see above. Put this guy in slot 5 since he has healing spells, and if he dies, you're in big trouble.) I should mention here an obvious cheat of creating new characters, pooling their gold to a main character, and deleting them. Doing this can help get you cool items at the beginning of the game and it can also pay for resurrections down the line. You can also just reboot if you mess up, but in that case be sure you've saved lately. 2-3. STARTING First stop, the armor store. To buy at Garth's(assuming no cheats): Helms for those who can Tower shields/bucklers Gauntlets/gloves Broadswords Chain or worse with what's left I started with: Pa Tower Shield Chain Helm Gauntlets Broadsword Wa Tower Shield Helm Gauntlets Broadsword Mo Buckler Helm Leather Gloves Hu Gauntlets Tower Shield Helm Broadsword Ba Mandolin (If you cheat gold up, get plate and halberds and give your bard stuff too.) You should have enough gold for this, but if not, the leather gloves and chain can go. Assuming nobody gets killed, you want to continue to pump these guys up. First the armor--get the AC down so if you can't flee in the first round, you can do so in the second with minimal damage. Armor may be the one item that gives the best AC boost, but it costs most per point. Since some classes have limits on what armor you can use, buying chain first is worthwhile. You usually win $150+ per fight. If you get $300, definitely go in for chain. Give your warriors the best armor. Eventually the hand me downs will help your party to get its best stuff. Then the weapons--halberds for paladin, warrior and hunter. This ensures a hit kills an enemy. If anyone gets killed in the front line, give his stuff to the bard and continue. Also, to save up for weapons, have your guys stand around in the sunlight and cast heal spells so they recharge SP then HP. Once your front four are fortified you can arm your bard and, then, your mages(robes, leather gloves and staff) which is pretty cheap, but they won't see much action. It's useful to have 5 guys armed eventually in case someone dies, but at the start you need to cover the front line. You'll also waste a bit of money selling things back when you get rid of the warrior, but it is that or paying for resurrections. Use the guild(or any building when it's light) to recharge SP's and play bard song #3 at all times for a point off your armor class. If you're feeling brave, you can play bard song 3 on level 2 of the Dark Domain for an extra point off. This can be handy though the song doesn't last quite as long. Refill on drinks a lot early on too so the bard song is always playing. It's well worth it. There is a chance you will run into tough monsters you can't flee from. They may kill enough of your party to make you want to start again. There's no law against looting your old characters(you can loot before the fact too--just create and delete pals and take their gold--though this may cross the line for how you want to cheat,) but picking the fights best for you should let you level up pretty quickly. Also remember that once you are at level 3 you should be able to win most fights with little or no chance of dying(the big money drain--900 points per level) as long as you are healed. Which enemies to avoid: Colossus, Forest Giants, Wolves, Conjurers because they summon wolves. But you can tackle 1 of pretty much any other enemy, though 5+ is pushing it. Wood Sprites are very tricky as at L1 they hit your party for damage, to. Avoid 2+ of Lizard Man, Warrior, Ogre and Wolf Man at level 1. Which enemies to fight: Wander Mages, Mercenaries, Rangers, Sorcerers(their spells fizzle most of the time, but if they create a wall, you may have to flee,) Goblins, Bug Man, Arrchers. Use ARFI whenever possible and take the time to recharge without having to go to Roscoe's. You can just view a character to pass the time. Go to the guild when it gets dark and then exit. Go to a bar when your bard's song ends to refill. Level 2 is the toughest to get because your characters can die so many ways. Once you've got it, level 3 requires the same experience but your characters are twice as good and can probably fend off bigger groups of enemies. So that will go smoothly. Once you get to level 3 you can dump the warrior. For the rest of the game you will need this spot for puzzle-critical NPCs. I didn't find any other NPCs to be very useful. The experience lost retaining him til now is <1000. That's good value for the insurance he provided. WOHL is a very good spell to know if you have the money, but I'd rather get my characters in the front line built up so they don't need heal spells. Gold may be a bit of a problem now but even if you are sloppy and get your enemies killed, it won't be in the future. Kick around houses a lot(you should be able to beat anyone, but be careful with conjurers as Wolves can do a lot of damage) and then build up to level 5. This is not so bad because L4/L5 require 3000 experience points each. You will want L3 spells before moving to a new area, which you finally can. Starflare(magician) is awesome. WAST(conjurer) is also good. You can now look forward to large groups of enemies as one spell can take them out and get big experience. You have the option of edging into the wilderness or going into the Dark Domain, behind a house on the east edge of Tangramayne. The first choice recharges SP and may fight multiple groups of monsters. The second is where the big prizes are, including 400000 experience for solving a quest, so let's go there. In any case, just keep track of your total spell points. Have at least 10 left with your conjurer for getting back--don't even TRZP after a fight. But that's a new section, with new challenges. As for other trivia, here is what you need to advance a player(in thousands/millions, F=fighter): 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 F 2 4 7 10 15 20 30 50 80 110 150 200 C 2 4 6 10 14 19 29 50 90 120 170 230 M 2 4 6 10 14 19 29 50 90 120 170 230 S 7 14 25 40 60 80 100 130 170 220 300 400 W 20 50 80 120 160 200 250 300 400 600 900 1.3 A 100 220 400 600 800 1.1 1.4 1.8 2.2 2.6 3.0 4.0 All levels above 13 are, as for other classes, 200k. Note Wizard level 7 spells are not really useful, so you may wish to skip them in order to get what is in effect 300k experience points extra for the same number of levels. But don't skimp on the sorcerer spells(dreamspell) or the conjurer/mage as they take less than 200k anyway per level, below the long term needed between levels. 2-4. GOOD SPELLS Ignored spells below are(IMHO) useless spells. First the protective spell progress: C1/M1: MAFL C2/M2: MAFL/MACO C3/M3: LERE/LEVI/MYSH/MACO C5/M5: GRRE/LEVI/MYSH/MACO C6/M6: GRRE/MALE/YMCA/MACO With both guys switched to sorcerer... S1: LOTR/GRRE/MALE/YMCA/MACO S3: SESI/GRRE/MALE/YMCA/MACO S4: SESI/GRRE/MALE/YMCA/MACO S6: SOSI/GRRE/MALE/YMCA/MACO A2: BASP Now my preferred offensive spells: C1/M1: ARFI C3/M3: WAST/STFL C4/M4: WAST/DRBR C5/M5: SHSP/STFL S1: MIJA against individuals S5: MIBL preempts all other spells S7: the dreamspell, if you want to use it W7: WIZW A4: NILA good to target specific groups MAFL(C1) is okay early on but it's probably better to buy light. TRZP(C1) is good early on but at level 20+ your guys can survive traps easily. Before that it's dedly. ARFI(C1) and QUFI(M1) are important to start out with. You will need immediate offensive and defensive production from your mages. FRFO(C2) may be useful. MACO(C2) is incredibly handy. WOHL(C2) is better than QUFI in combat but as good outside. AREN(M2) is sort of useful if you get lost, but there are better spells later. LERE(C3) works well until you get GRRE. LEVI(C3) helps avoid traps early on and lessen damage going down a portal. WAST(C3) is not too bad for starters as an offensive group spell. MYSH(M3) should be on at all times once you get it. -2 AC to all. Cast it(and other spells like it) before entering Roscoe's. STFL(M3) is your first wide-range spell at 40'. FLRE(C4) works well against tougher monsters in combat. Note it cures 25/6 HP per spell vs 5 for WOHL/QUFI so the other two are more efficient spell point wise. This will help you not go crazy casting heal spells. SPTO(M4) can be good to take out annoying spellcasters in the distance, and DRBR(M4) is good though only with a range of 30'. GRRE(C5) is super handy. SHSP(C5) is okay but not great for range damage. ANMA(M5) is useful for only a short time and probably only for the Dark Lord battle. Once you get good enough, spells don't affect you. MALE(C6) works much better than LEVI. PHDO(M6) is never usable when you REALLY need it, but it is nice in a pinch. YMCA(M6) can replace MYSH once you get it. APAR(C7) is very handy if you need to leave a dungeon or are too bored to navigate the wilderness. Its downside is that if you cast it outdoors, you go to a guild and your protective spells disappear. Also in the upper dungeon levels it is unusable. FLAN(C7) is not as handy as REST(M7) but better than nothing. INSL(C7) works better against you than enemies. REST(M7) is very handy. It is a big heal spell and very efficient for its price. SASP(M7) wipes all your gold but gets you to the Tangramayne guild. Okay if there is no other way but I find 1) SCSI and 2) APAR works better. MIJA(S1) is handy for offense. But not just when you start out. You only do 2-8 damage since you were kicked down a level. LOTR(S1) is nice to have but if you levitate, you don't really need it. SESI(S3) is better than LOTR and detects stuff you want, too--ie special events. CAEY(S4) may be okay. I don't know if it shows secret doors as GRRE does. DIIL(S5) is critical for fighting doppelgangers. MIBL(S5) is the super duper-est spell to nail enemies. It says 30' but they go down at 40'. SOSI(S6) is SESI, permanently. WIMA(S7) and WIHE(S7) are great when enemies cst them. MAGM(S7) is not so useful but maybe worth a try. ****(S7) the Dreamspell. Teleports you to dungeon X if you're not in combat(you choose) and casts MAMA and HEAL(130 spell point value for the price of 100) and gives bonus to hit in combat. To find it, search for !*!. FOFO(W1) is moderately useful. DISP(W3) can be handy if you have to fight the wrong monsters. SPBI(W5) is fun to play with. BEDE(W6) is useful in tandem with REST. WIZW(W7) is a cool group spell. HERB(W7) is annoying against you. These guys are tough to beat and Dale Haessel pointed out you can bring them along in Oscon's and chuck them. MEME(A1) is useful against powerful cowardly spellcasters. BASP(A2) is an efficient time saving protection spell. NILA(A4) is handy if you want to pick off some groups and disbelieve what the others summon. HEAL(A5) is very handy if you get in a disaster. MAMA(A7) is very powerful but draining. 3. THE DARK DOMAIN 3-1. BUILDING UP You aren't good enough to go to the bottom yet, so first let's level up. I would advise keeping inventory clear except for necessary armor and one guy who has 5 lamps. The lamps will save you spell points which are precious at first. The empty spaces may help you find stuff like Mythril armor and weapons, which are a bit better than what you have. Also, cast MYSH before visiting Roscoe's so that you have extra armor enhancement. It's worth the 90 gold. Note you can trash all the monsters on level 1 and they don't give much experience. Level 1 doesn't have many useful clues, either. So, 8N and all the way east, 2N E and all the way N gets you to level 2. Now to the west is a long corridor with a lot of squares that have a good chance of fights. You may not be able to make it all the way down at first. That's okay. A good fight or two should do the trick. If there are 30 screamers then get your faster mage to use STFL or WAST on them, and they'll go down quickly. It's not important how close to the next level you are when you leave. Turn and head for the exits when your spell points are around 20. You may be able to get one more fight in, but why risk it? You should be able to build your party up after a few trips. If you don't meet enough monsters, go up and down the level 1/level 2 ladders to recharge the encounter squares. Getting to L4 spells gets DRBR for a magician and FLRE for the conjuror. You also may find helpful items like the Litewand(get rid of lamps) and a Cold Horn(replace the mandolin as the bard's instrument and it attacks a group within 10'.) If these items run low, sell them to Garth and buy them back to recharge. Continuing to build your party to level 9 should not be too bad. GRRE and SHSP are good for your Conjurer but the Magician still gets shafted. Nevertheless you have enough strength to start really exploring. You should be able to flee most fights, but you need a just in case buffer, and there is one big fight to win below to rescue the princess. Still, flee fights as you will get hit with anti-magic which will require you to re-cast some protective spells. I recommend just using a Litewand/LERE when going down, or fighting til you get a litewand. Don't improve your party above level 11 though as you may not get the bonus for saving the Princess. You'll want to have a good deal of gold saved(60000) to buy spells. If not, you'll need to level build after winning this quest before changing your mage classes. 3-2. LEVEL 2 The stairs down are just east of the stairs up(you may want to cast LEVI to avoid traps in general and the damage from going to level 3,) but actually there's something important to do off to the side. E* S* E* S* W to the door, 3S 3W S* W* S* E* S 2E N W N W* N 3E 3N E* N E to the spinner. Just move forward and turn left and right. Make sure you're not looking at a dead end. Then look at the direction the compass is. If it is not east, turn right twice and go back in the spinner and try again. E*-1 3S E 2N 2E S E leads you to a Winged Creature. A pretty good fighter, so put him ahead of your bard. You may wish to take him back to the inn, because he will be tough to get back if you get killed. And if you bring him straight down, you can recharge before continuing, and you may have to afer hitting the anti magic zones. Plus you may be able to find a hole in the game detecting if you deserve 400K experience. Now retreat so you can go down the stairs--past the anti magic square, then 3E 2S 4E 2N and down the portal. 3-3. LEVEL 3 More small mapping puzzles. You must go west, teleporting you to a center room. Turn in the spinner til you face east. There'll be a door to the right. Go E S 2E N E* and you will hit an anti-magic zone. S 3E N* E N*-1 W 5U and head west til you have a narrow passage north. 2N E* S. "Mangar" is the answer--not the sorcerer spells MIBL and MIJA, which are good, but you can't use them yet. This opens the stairs to the next level. N 5W 2S 7W S* W S E S W and a magic mouth asks for the word. The letters are in the four corners, from a clue above, and if you mapped this or see the map, they spell out "PASS." If you count the one way walls as being in only one corner. 3-4. LEVEL 4 There's a spinner under the stairs. When you see no wall to the immediate left but more on the far left, you are facing east. Go that way and keep spinning until there is a long wall on the left again. 2E S* E 2S E hits a teleport. You are in darkness and this is tricky to map with 1-way doors, but what you want is in the NE. Cast MACO if you need your bearings, then S E* 2N. Zap, to a new place. 3N 2W 2N and you see a chasm. Keep going north and the beast will jump over two of them. Past the next doors you have another set of double doors. Just before them, play bard song 7. Break through and change the bard song. Either to #3 for -4 AC bonus or #2(spellsong) so you're not affected by spells. Also, cast a levitation spell before moving on because if your conjurer gets it, you're stuck. Use all the spells you need to--DRBR for the demons, ARFI for the Dark Lord. If your bard has a cold horn, use it on the Dark Lord. After winning, drop the Winged Beast, which probably got killed anyway, and get the Princess. She is really not very good to fight with, so avoid fights. A teleport is ahead. It kicks you to the NW. Then S E 2N 3W 2S. Look for the view with no left wall just ahead and go that way. Stairs back up. The retreat should cause no major problems. 2E N W N E 2N 3W 3S 2E 2N gets you back to the stairs, then 3S 4W 2N 3W to L1, and you know how to get back from there. Bingo! 400000 experience! Be sure to pay for all spell levels before changing classes. It's best to change both your guys to sorcerers. I didn't even worry about going to the Tombs at first. I just built my mages up to level 13 sorcerer. They level up pretty quickly. You need 400000 experience for the both of them. Maybe it's possible to game the system by advancing them to a new class and not touching your warriors and solving the quest again, but I didn't try it. It might also be possible to build up levels without advancing anyone, but that could get tedious after a bit. Your party's improvement is catalyzed most by the new spells your mages get and the items you find, mostly from fights where your mages slaughtered tough opponents, so get the mages rolling. 3-5. REPRISE I've tried various tricks to cheat up on the experience such as not advancing characters before going down again. Maybe if you add different characters to the party and advance the mages to their new class--after getting level 7 spells--you can rejig it, but it's too tricky. You should always have the following spells cast from now on: YMCA/GRRE/LOTR(or later SESI)/MACO/MALE. This will protect you against damage. Later when you get level 2 archmages, they can cast BASP. Keep going down to level 2 and beating up enemies--play bard song 3 there for a little bonus. The difference now is that you should be able to do it for longer. Once you get to level 5 spells, you can use Mangar's Mind Blade(MIBL) to really chop up enemies in a hurry. That makes the last few levels go more quickly. You may also wish to go to the Tombs or, better yet, Dargoth's Tower if you can get the Master Key--the second because of a mage trick that allows you to get lots of experience at a low risk. Then you get to change over to new classes again. Complete the conjurer/magician circuit for those who don't have the spells. This will take even less time as your guys need 230000 for the whole deal and they will probably pile up 10-20K in the first time down. After they advance, of course, they will have more spell points and can stay down even longer. This is much less risky than the Tombs and it also gives you something to do while waiting for your fighters to improve. However you may wish to shift gears to the tombs when you get MIBL. The Tombs have better items. I spent a bit more time building up my guys as wizards--up to level 5(L3 spells) so that they wouldn't be hit by spells. One weakness of changing classes is despite all that advancement your back rank is vulnerable to spells. This is even worse when they become Archmages and you probably have better places to fight. Anyway, when you get bored of the Dark Domain, move to the Tombs in Ephesus. I'll refer you to the maps for how to get there, or you can cast APAR to a town when outside. Ephesus is #2. 4. THE TOMBS The Tombs are conveniently located across from a Roscoe's. You'll be giving this place good business. I think it's best to bang around and get a few items before exploring the lower levels. This is a pretty straightforward walkthrough if you have mapping skills, but if not, it can be painful. The Dark Domain introduced you to the concept of spinners, but the Tombs expand on that a bit. Note that monsters can infiltrate your party--the best bet here is to summon an INOG and kill it so there are no party slots open. You'll need one to complete the snare, but delay removing the dead ogre until you get there. That way you don't lose experience either. Neutralizing dopplegangers lets you win a lot more fights a lot more quickly. If one gets in your party, have each of your guys attack the other and see who gets hit. If it's a spellcaster you can MIJA him either way to reveal who's who. Items like shield rings, elf cloaks and bracers[6] are plentiful here. Giving them to everyone may pack your inventory too much, but these items can help you avoid attacks. (Note long term that you can ditch your monk's stuff as I don't think L+ can really be hit.) You also can fight multimages on level 1. They don't give the massive experience later illusion summoners do, but they'll help you get started. 4-1. TOMBS LEVEL 1 For a few quick fights, you can go through the east doors and MIBL your heart out(you could say, do it mindlessly, haha,) go up and down the stairs and keep trying. You can also turn right at the end of the hall and APAR/PHDO through a row of doors to move around. You can even, before you have MIJA, unload SHSP and DRBR because Roscoe's is just outside the exit. Don't get stuck with <20 SP though--you could get trapped for good. The short way throgh level 1 is to go south and west and cast a PHDO and go into the firt room on the left. The magic mouth there will kick you to the next level. But the "proper" way is to go N then E. There's a room of spinners. Slink along the top left edge, always making sure a wall is to your left. Well, you could go along the bottom, but it doesn't make any difference. A one-way door leads you to a teleport, which leads you to a room where you go N E through a series of doors. Turn right at the darkness and go 4S. Make more light. Head E E S S through rooms and bang! An anti-magic square. To the south you have some Burma Shave style clues and 5W S 2E S 2E 2S 34W leads to a room with a clue(S 4W S W) and a telepoter to the top(S 2W S E). The teleporter is the room in the NE. Avoid: Will o wisps and (with 6 party members) doppelgangers 4-2. TOMBS LEVEL 2 Monsters to avoid: Ancient enemy, Spectre age you which is annoying but getting hit isn't a big deal. Go N W* for a clue and the portal back to L1. Or you can go S at the door instead, then 2W 4S to a tricky room. Head E 2S into the spinner and with the wall on the left, go S. E* S W* gets you to a guy who sells you the Master Key for 50000 gold. Buy it. You should be loaded with gold. Give your monk they key and have him hold on to it. Retreat. You can go W S*-1 4W and work through the clues(something in the center, then find a teleport 3L and repeat) or you can just E N 5E N 2E N E N E N W to level 3. 4-3. TOMBS LEVEL 3 Monsters to avoid: Vampires(Drain) This is a very nasty level for finding clues. Go 2N to reach the maze of clues and you have a 22x4 rectangle of a door maze that gives clues to what to do in the snare. The easy way out is W 3N 2E S E 2N E. "Old" is the answer to the puzzle, and you learn to ask about Fanskar. E N teleports and now follow the only passage there is. With a choice between doors take the north one, then N W N* E 2S E* 3S 2E 3N W 2N E 2N W 2N E N 2E S* E N* E S* E N* E S* for the snare. 4-4. TOMBS DEATH SNARE The snare is not difficult if you've read the clues and focus on that there are only so many things to do. Make sure someone has an item space free. In the main room to the right, avoid the spinner in the center. 1. have everyone drink and get poisoned (right of main room) 2. fight the toxic giant(south of center of main room) 2a. On some versions maybe the giant reappears. Then get the warrior and try again. 3. get the old warrior(north of room center) 4. Put the warrior at #1. See who has the "Torch!" and give that to the warrior. 5. Go back to the start. You will solve the snare. The way out is in the NW of the main room. Drop the old warrior and make sure you still have that empty space. Get the wand segment. You may wish to give all segments to your Warrior. The spells cast are only moderately useful. 5. FANSKAR'S CASTLE Fanskar's is in the wilderness. Turn right on exiting Tangramayne. Go north. Run east detouring around a tree. You'll hit a wall. S E gets you to Fanskar's. It's only one level, so it's not that bad. But you have a few more mapping puzzles to deal with, and you have a fight you need to win. By the way, if you want to skip ahead, you can take a look at the Maze of Dread which has information on fights you can win to pump characters up fast. Until then, though, you may just want to work through Fanskar's. You can level up a lot here, casting MIBL continually in the opening part before the dark. You will cut down a lot of enemies and fights can be 10000+ a pop. So you may be able to sit here and work your way up the million experience points needed to get to level 7 Wizard. Even after defeating the snare you can come back to pump your archmages up to level 5 or 7 or so. That is all you really need, to be able to cast Fanskar's Night Lance(NILA) which is a good surgical offensive spell. Fanskar's is a good place to hang around, as you may be able to find a Conjurstaff and/or a Mage Staff after fights. These cut spell costs in half and recharge spell points(including 1 per round.) Note if you have, say, 10 points and try to cast a 15 point spell, the conjurstaff won't work. I'd say a conjurstaff is more valuable than armor because your guys in back don't get attacked much. You have lots of fight squares before going into the darkness, then you can exit and return. MIBL should still chop enemies, which are plentiful, up. 5-1. FANSKAR'S CASTLE LEVEL 1 No teleporting allowed, sadly. Go forward, 4E, turn right and hit the door. If you miss it, just turn right, go forward and turn left and go forward. Cast GRRE to work your way to the first teleport--W* N* E* S 2W S* E* N. S 2W N E and a minefield of spell point drains followed by traps, so cast MALE before going on. 4N 2E 5S 2E N 2E S 4E 4N 3W N W 3S E N 3E 2S. Now your magic may've been cancelled, but wait around here and you will regenerate spell points. Go back WNS and cast the protection spells. S E* N* E S* E* 2N 2W N* E and heeeere's Fanskar. Gun him down with whatever you have, then enter the snare ahead. Cliff's Notes version N 2E and spin til you face the door, then E. Detailed version white says black tells truth but a clue says white lies. Another says "far right and left are hazardous" but that seems to imply, based on the right answer, that it is a risk and not absolute. So when black says choose the right, you had better not. Choose the left. This is one of the puzzles involving more parsing of deliberately obscure poetry than necessary, but the worst case is you get killed and pay easily to resurrect your guys with the gold you've piled up. 6. DARGOTH'S TOWER Dargoth's is in Philippi. From the entry 3N to the guild, and from the guild N 3E N 3E 3S. The review board is 4N of Dargoth's, which is handy. Thankfully you can skip the first three levels of Dargoth's Tower with a simple APAR. 6N 2E 2U. If you want the Sword of Zar for later, which may be a good idea for a Grey Crypt fight, 13N 12E 1U and fight everyone there. But for those of you who want to be hard core, I put in walkthroughs for the first three levels. 6-1. DARGOTH'S TOWER LEVEL 1 North to the intersection, north(go 1 square from the spinner and turn around--if facing south, flip back north, otherwise go back into the spinner) and east through two intersections. Take the door before the last intersection to go 3S 2W 2N 2W 3S. Then 1N to the next level. Monsters to avoid: Kargans level drain. Monsters to fight: Sorcerors, as they stay back 90' and produce illusions you can disbelieve or a lot of experience. You can probably just use MIJA on the rest of the enemies and advance on the sorcerors and wait around. Repeat as long as you'd like. 6-2. DARGOTH'S TOWER LEVEL 2 From the entry, go S 18W(or hit the west wall and 3E--easier to count that way). Use SCSI to make sure you're in the right place. 5S E leads you to a room with light. N 2E 2N W N 3E 4S W S 3E S E 4S E N and now you can sidetrack to the battletest if you want: (4N 2E 3N W S W) Or you can continue: E 2S E N 2E S hits a teleport. W* and then 3E N 4E N W Monsters to fight: Miracle Mages cast only illusions. Battletest monsters: Blockhead The Block Jock Dick the Brick Golem Man-Rock Rock n' Roller Stonefist Monsters to avoid: Vampires level drain. Intramages cast WZWA. 6-3. DARGOTH'S TOWER LEVEL 3 This is a pretty straightforward level too. Go south first of all and along the corridor for a cool recharge to the left. If you want, you can go to the end and north into the darkness. If you want to skip to the end, search for the next *. 3E N nets you a clue. Then go backwards and go north through the door above. There'll be several 10x5 rooms where you find a clue and can move on to the next one, eventually kicking you below the big long recharge hallway. 2N 6E 3N(teleport 1) 2S (4W 2N 2S 4E for clue) S 2W(Teleport 2) 2E N (2E N W E S 2W for clue) 3N 3W S E(teleport 3) W N E N 5E 3N W* etc. * S* at end of zigzag E S W* 3S E 5S 3E N 3W and answer EARTH COMPASSED FOUNTAIN Then the stairs are E N W 2N. Monsters to avoid: Grey Ghosts level drain. 6-4. DARGOTH'S TOWER LEVEL 4 This level contains some mapping puzzles including one for a clue at the very end. There is nothng in the bottom, although there is a clue E* S W*. However, you need to get beyond a spinner to the east to see this clue(though you don't need to see this clue with a walkthrough.) This presents a new sort of mapping/map walking puzzle. It took me a while to be relatively sure of how to find clue #5 and I think the solution is neat, though there is still some randomness injected into it. Old solution: go 1 beyond and turn left/right to make sure you are still facing east. If not, enter the spinner again and move forward. New solution: you can detect which way you're facing by if there is a trap ahead, if you have SESI. Be sure you have SESI running when you start level 4, along with MALE. There is a trap to the west. So, you know you are facing east when there is no trap. You can use similar logic to know when you are going back west. W* N E= and N at the first turn. W* 2N E N 2E S E S gets a clue. 2E N E(note S forces you to APAR out of here) N 2E N(another clue) 2E S and now a detour E N*-1 2W N W S 3W N 2W and E 2S 2E S E N E* S E 4S W, then 2S E and silence and darkness. There is only one way through to get near the stairs where you will eventually have to go on the spinners. My map has the details but basically when you hit the silent spot, go 3E 2N 2E 3N E and face north. Go north and spin until you see stairs near. Go that way. Now, you don't need to know what's below, but I wanted to spell it out so you knew they didn't want to put you through a total crapshoot. Or at least no more than usual dealing with spinners. That is how to get to the stairs. However there are two other clue areas. A single room to the right and a semi-clue to the NW. For the semi-clue 3E 2N 2E 3N and go north onto the spinners. Spin til you see something special, then go that way. You need to just walk your way out at random. Similarly the room holds a key to one of the ten riddles. 3E 2N 2E S and when you see a trap ahead, walk into it. Then when something special is ahead, that is a teleporter. Go towards it--it's on the other side of the darkness. Then move towards the trap. You may move north once so SCSI after you move. Keep moving towards the trap til you are in the DR corner. Now we come to a bit of a random place. Make 1 safe move and see where you wind up. If you are 20E of the stairs, turn back into the corner until you go north. From there it is just a matter of not seeing a trap ahead and going north. Then you can just keep looking for something special and going that way. 2W you have the room with a clue. It is tricky to get out because of the spinners, but you will eventually. Remember that you can look for traps to get your bearings. There are a few of them and after a few random moves, one will probably be in your sights, and you can reason from there to get back on the main path. Monsters to avoid: Zone Dragons level drain. 6-5. DARGOTH'S TOWER LEVEL 5 2E 3S to leave the darkness and now you have a little puzzle to avoid draining magic. There's a clue S E that drains magic, so then W N gets you back, but to avoid things zigzag S 2W N 2W S 2W. The passage down leads to another clue. Later I'm afraid you'll have to hit an anti-magic zone to do things properly. S* of where you started, then W* S* W*-1 S* 3E 2N gets you another clue. From west of the magic point drains, go N* W*-1 S* E S W (detour to beat up Dargoth 2W 2N W N S E 2S 2E) S 3E 3S W S and the quiz for the snare is 4E. Beyond it 4E 3N W N is a pair of clues, the final ones for the snare. BARD LIE MONEY SLAVE HATE ROOSTER EARLY LARGE BARD WOMEN Boom! You're in the snare. This requires the answer to just one puzzle, but to put the pieces together is tricky. First, be sure everyone has an inventory spot open. Short version: From the start of the snare go 2S 2E(yes, there are spinners-- keep the wall on the left) and now S W S E S E(the easy way through the 1-way and teleport maze) and answer HAVOK then go up. Everyone gets a dagger. N to the teleport. 2N and then W S W(spinners again, but have a wall to the left.) Boom, snare #3 solved. You can drop the daggers now--you need one slot for the wand, or you'll have to do it all over again--and go west to get the wand segment #3. Long version: N E* W* E* etc. to get all the clues. Two of them are bad as the room to the north tells you the 3rd and 5th clues are especially valuable. See short version. To get out: N 3E and you are in a magic zone. You can cast a spell to APAR down. In the worst case you can just go visit Dargoth in the UL and get your butt kicked. But maybe you have a conjurstaff/mage staff by now to help regenerate SP and not have to use so much. Monsters to avoid: Transylvans level drain. 7. MAZE OF DREAD The Maze of Dread is in Thessalonica, W N 5E 2N 3E 3N W and you can guess the answer to the puzzle to enter. The Maze is E 3N 5E etc of the guild. The review board is in the SW as well. You'll be using it a lot. In some ways, the Maze of Dread is very easy. In other ways, it's impossible. It's a good place to build up experience and win fights for the maximum 65280. You need great armor class not to get hit a ton and you need some patience with encounters, too. But really, despite this being a 3-level maze, you only really need to explore level 3. See my map for how to find fights and even a SP recharge square(E* 2N E of the stairs.) You can also use the elevator to recharge encounter squares. You can teleport freely between levels 1 and 2, but as for 3--forget it. That ruins the challenge of the final maze. 7-1. MAZE OF DREAD LEVEL 1 In this level there are many fights nearby and a few clues stating different colors. All but one of them are mentioned in the Sword of Zar puzzle in level 2. That is the one you want to tell the riddler. But other than that there is a lot of wandering. To get to L2 honestly, N* 2E N 2E 3N E 4N W 3N 5E S E N E N E N E S E N E S E 2S E 2N E 2N E N 2E and down. Otherwise you will have that trick with the Dream Mages you probably know about and don't need me to tell you. But perhaps you don't know about the details--you get dream mages on their own and that's an easy fight, but of course dream mages + weak monsters are good too. Just avoid bog wraiths(level drain) and few other monsters can hit you. Blast them with a big spell. MIJA may take a while to affect enemies. Monsters to avoid: Bog Wraiths level drain. 7-2. MAZE OF DREAD LEVEL 2 The Sword of Zar is on this level and not much else. If you didn't pass the Battletest on Dargoth's L2, you may need to, but on the Apple I didn't seem to have to. The Sword is a pretty good range weapon useful for picking off one-man groups that annoy you. Without the teleport and from the stairs, N W* 2N W 2S 2W 3S E S 2W 2N W S W S W S E S W S E 2S W S 3W N E N and there's a spinner, and you just have to go forward and back til you get the puzzle. The guy wants the color backwards, so "DER" is the right answer. Monsters to avoid: Bloodthieves level drain. 7-3. MAZE OF DREAD LEVEL 3 10W S* W 4S W 2S W* S* 2E 3S E* N*-1 2E N 3E S E 4S E N* E S* W* hits the snare. The quick way through is to go 4N 4E 3S W. "ENDURABLE" is the answer. The long way is to go N* and W* around the loop clockwise, then talk to the mouth, then come back. This can drain HP. But eventually you'll learn the value of rote actions is Endurable. Kind of disappointing, but there you go. Monsters to avoid: pretty much everything as many have critical hit capabilities. 8. OSCON'S FORTRESS See the note at the bottom of this for a spoiler about what you need to do for the snares. The game takes a turning here. You probably won't fight many monsters after this point. So be sure to poke around previous dungeons if you want to level build. The monsters simply have too many hit points to make for easy fights. You'll have a few forced combats but nothing extraordinary. The snares take on a different tone, too. The clues are more logical now and not riddles so much. I think it works out better. I know I had more trouble with #1-4 versus #5-7. Many levels in Oscon's Fortress ping you around with teleports. In fact level 1 is the only one where you can use APAR. There's a warning about traps but I never got killed by waiting near them. "Mages beware" is not strictly true either--your mages just get zapped for spell points. Oh and you need the Item of K to enter. To get it, APAR to Thessalonica, where you may already be after solving the Maze of Dread. N* W N*. APAR to Corinth and Oscon's is behind a gate. I hope you still have the Master Key? N* E 2N E 2N E 3N W 3N to Oscon's from the entr--or N 2E from the guild, then 2N E etc. ****IMPORTANT NOTE**** To run through Oscon's Fortress only once, you need 3 free slots for the snares. Clues in Oscon's alert you to the nature of the snare, but you can prepare before you even see them. 8-1. OSCON'S FORTRESS LEVEL 1 The quick way through is teleport 7N 3E, answer FIRE/KRILL/SILENCE then APAR 5N 7E. The slow way is to go north through the spinner when you can. Then hit the teleport, S E N, another teleport, S 2W 2N E for a clue, W 4S E S W and around the horn to another teleport at the end, E 3N W 2N W 2N 2W N W and make sure you leave this spinner W. W S 5W S 2W N for the puzzle. Then S 2W 2N. Teleport. 4S 4E N W 2N 3E 4S 3E and you find the stairs. Other clues are to the E/W of the spinners. One is right along the path before teleport 3 on my map. From teleport 1 on my map go to the NE to locate a teleport to the NE, from which you can leave to the main corridors to the S. Monsters to fight: Brockters again cast illusory spells. But everyone has so many hit points here the dreamspell is the best bet, or NILA failing that. Brockters have 600+ hit points. Monsters to avoid: Bloodmen level drain. 8-2. OSCON'S FORTRESS LEVEL 2 Here you have a necessary fight with a fellow called Fred the Dop. He will infiltrate the party--be sure to have Bard Song 3 playing as you can just MIJA him after you DIIL and it'll all be okay. So N* past the door, E N*(fighting Fred along the way) 2E N gets you to the dark. Now E* N*-1 2W 2N 2E 3N W N 2E N E* S E N E S gets you to the puzzle where you can answer "Dervak," win the fight, retreat into the darkness and go W* N* 2W 3S 2W 3N 3W. The last bit is to avoid spinners. You can also get clues in the solitary room in the darkness and 1S of the first teleport that kicks you through 6 rooms of size 7x6. Each one has a clue in the right 3x4 area, and each has a teleport somewhere else, until #6. You also can learn the order of these clues before solving the NE puzzle. 8-3. OSCON'S FORTRESS LEVEL 3 S*. Well E 2S W 2S E 2S W S* works too. Here you start really losing spell points to drains. E* at the bottom keeping the wall to the right. Two clues in the rooms ahead on the left, but 2N E S 2E(another spinner--keep wall left) 2N E 3S E* and cast GRRE to see the door on the left. You can go S from there to a series of weird teleports. There's also a clue nearby, but other than that, it's just pretending like there are portals all over the place and there aren't. 1N W* N E and the word, from level 1, is STILL. W N 11E N(you can feel your way along the north wall in the dark) W* N W* S W* N W S W. Monsters to avoid: Blue Ghost drains levels. 8-4. OSCON'S FORTRESS LEVEL 4 A real mapping mess here. You can fight Oscon but it's not worth it. W* and now oscon is S along the passage that winds and winds and winds, with a clue for the snare that's not worth it. Oh yes, your spell points will get drained well before you get to Oscon. Going north instead leads you to a passage. There are a lot of spinners. You have two options. 1. just plow through to the west and see if you make it to the other side, holding down K. 2. after each spinner, detect the way you went. It turns out 1 is really more time efficient! You have a 1/3 chance of making it to the end of the hallway since there are 2 spinners. So just check your direction at the end and see if you'll be going south at the next turn. For a mathematical proof of having a 1/3 chance, just because(it's a standard problem in elementary statistics/geometric sums:) You can go W or E from a spinner with equal probability. Ways through = WW 1/4 WEWW 1/16 WEWEWW 1/64 ... etc This is a geometric sequence that converges to 1/3= (1/4)/ (1- 1/4) For X spinners in general you have P(make it west between spinner Y and Y+1 of X)=1/2 P(Y+1) + 1/2 P(Y) and thus you can establish the P(Y) are an arithmetic sequence, assuming the ends of the corridor are spinner 0 and spinner X+1, so P(0)=1/(X+1) and P(Y) = Y/(X+1). Seeing as how you probably wanted to plow through if you read this, you probably don't want the long rigorous version of the proof. It uses induction. I probably taught you more than you wanted about non-game stuff, so let's move on. Keep bashing away til you see a door to the right. There are a few HP drains but keep it simple. S* N W to light. Cast GRRE. N W* S W N 2W N 2E and now you can cast SESI for this spinner to see when you see something special--in this case it will be a teleport to the snare. The snare is a funny one and you should see quickly that it involves the game of Rock Paper Scissors. 2S (2W 2S E is what the clue says but you hit a teleport) 2E N E gets you Scissor. W 2S 2W S gets you Rock, since east always bested west. Then Paper is N 2E 4N 4W 2S W. E 2N 2E and rearrange your party. Rock Paper Scissor Go N and you win again! There's no clue that conclusively shows this but there are only six possibilities to shuffle around, so it is not so bad. S 2E 4S 2W 2S gets a piece of the wand--get it from Rock Paper or Scissor if necessary then drop them. Wait to get enough spell points to cast SCSI/APAR then do so and get out of this mess. 9. GREY CRYPT Despite this being anti-magic you can pretty much run from any fight. The big problem is needing Bard Song 7 to see where you're going. That means you are in trouble if you have to flee a fight. Make sure someone has Speed Boots. 9-1. GREY CRYPT LEVEL 1 How to run through the rooms: N E S E N E E S E E E N E S E E N N gets you to the first area. N 5E rips one teleport. Then N 8E gets you to another mazy area. Through the next rooms--E N SE E N SE N N. Though you can go right to the teleport--SWSE. But for the hint, 6W N to avoid hit point loss then S 6E S to get back. W* S E* S W* 4E S and 2W has a clue about the next dungeon. 8E S W* leads to a sphinx. WIZE ONE opens a passage to level 2. DEATH SWORD lets you exit. E* 2S 11W(cast SCSI to be sure you hit the teleport) N 8E N 3W N W* S W N W 2N 2W to the stairs. 9-2. GREY CRYPT LEVEL 2 N 5W(E N W N E for a valuable clue) ) 2S W S and clues littered around tell you the snare is a fixed sequence. 4W 2S E N E S for one clue, then N W 2S and a detour 2E S E* 2S and back for another. 5W 3S E S til a door is on the right(a door on the left before reveals--sort of--the pattern, "as the clock ticks,") take it, 4W S W 2N 2W N and play bard song 3 and go north. Fight the vampire dragon--you can flee after a few rounds--and go forward again. You may have to chip away with the Sword of Zar. W N and back to tune 7. Time for the snare, where you repeat a pattern 3 times. First thing to do is go E*-1 S* W* and then you'll disable the central snare. Now go E*-1 5N E S and that opens up the bottom doors(W and S from the center.) Go W from the center and into the center of that room. Go W* S W N and now N and E of the start are opened. Go N of the center, then E, visiting the room centers. Go to the mage on the right and S of the center intersection. Repeat twice and you are done. I neglected the one hint about the clock ticking, but I knew to start in the SW. Even without that it is pretty easy to guess the sequence. You have at most 3 wrong guesses for the first, 2 for the second, and 1 for the third assuming you go to all 4 rooms. Then you won't miss anything the second time around. The snare gives more than enough time to goof up. Monsters to avoid: Vampire Lord drains levels. Monsters to sort-of avoid: Vampire Dragon (just run from him. You can in the Apple version.) 10. THE DESTINY STONE This is a cool dungeon in that it brings together a lot of guys spells are named after and it also has some wicked mapping puzzles. The snare is also funny. To get here you need to remember the clues from the Tombs. You can actually enter here well before the other dungeons, you can't expect to win any fights without the dreamspell you learn here, and the dreamspell is the only way out besides the Return Spell. Still, it's pretty climactic. The Destiny Stone is in Colosse(E* 2N W 2N E 2N W* N 2W S W* of guild, which is E of the entry in a marketplace) and the code words are found in the Tombs. Load up with torches and lamps when you want to solve the snare in earnest, though learning the dreamspell and mining for cool items is also fun. You probably need a conjurstaff to explore here for any appreciable amount of time since you almost need the dreamspell. **** Spoiler stuff below. Here is the reasoning for the words to enter the Destiny Stone: 1. Trachaem's task was always reversed. This is the paradox. 2. He was told to burn, and in that paradox knew a multitude of solutions. (paradox means at the end of things) The great T had, at the end of things, to beg, with a kind word. (kind word that rhymes with the opposite of burn) 3. The strange mage wants two words: What Tr. did, in answer to the paradox, and what word he said at the end of things. The words to split the rock are FREEZE then PLEASE. 10-1. THE DESTINY STONE LEVEL 1 3N 4W N W N 2W 2N 2E N 3E S* for a hint then N*. 3W 4N 2E 2N hits a teleporter. S* W* N* E* S* W* N* W* and the plain is "near" kicks you to the DR, a monstrously big room. If you have a nospin ring it's not terrible. Otherwise: E 2S 3E 3S and now bite the bullet and go E past the one room, then N W. !*! ZZGO !*! E 3S his a spinner BUT you can go S when you see someting special. Then 2W and 2S when you see the stairs. There are other ways through but this gets the clues. You can also go, at the end, S W 2S W S 3W for a hint that doesn't help much. Unless you're into completeness. Monsters to avoid: Jack of Spades drains levels 10-2. THE DESTINY STONE LEVEL 2 No hints here--there are antimagic rooms to teleport around, some pockets of useless clues, and an easy way up to the next level. N E and fight D'artagnon(sic) and just bombard him with a ZZGO and then attacks. Hey, handy, you can HIT enemies now! W S E and you're ported to level 3. Monsters to avoid: Demi Lich, Life Force, Deathadren all level drain 10-3. THE DESTINY STONE LEVEL 3 Go S to 0,17. 4W S E leads you to the snare. That's the easy part. The hard part is stumbling around in the dark once you lose your light. Because there are no bard songs on this level and you will probably run out of torches/lamps sooner or later. W 5N 3W N W N 2W N 3W N. You don't techncally know the answer to this puzzle yet, but it is STORM FISTS. Can't answer it yet though as you need to go into the darkness. Head E 2S 2W to read a poem that tells you a few important clues. The answer is ZEN MASTER. Then 2E S 3E N and you need to say GALE. Give the Zen Master the ring. You're on the east side now. Make sure you have an open space. E 2N 2E 2N E "gale" then W 4S E and below is a maze you will run 7 times. It works differently each time. Use sound to figure how far you've gone though SCSI can help if you're lost. You can skip to the end for the answer if you want, but this is a cool puzzle. 1st time through: 4S W N 4N 3E 3N Back to the left, go to the mouth and answer "Storm Fists" then...E 2N 2E 2S E to a new maze. 2nd time through: 4S 6W 2N W N 2E 2S 2E 2N E 2N Storm fists, E 2N 2E 2S E etc. 3rd time through: S W S E 2S W* N* 3E 2S 3E(4E is 1 way door) 3N 4th time through: S W S 2W N E 2N. Why can't they all be this easy? 5th time through: 4S 5N 3E N 4W N 4E 2N 6th time through: 4S W 2N W 2S 4W N 3E 2N E 2N 7th time through: 2S 6W 2S 2W 3N E* 2N Now from the start you can go W 3N W and down the loop to get a clue. Well, actually, you don't need to. You can go through the maze once again and give the name ARKAST and bingo, the 7th piece. Be sure you have an inventory spot open--you probably do if you burned lamps. Thankfully you go back to the entrance once you win. Monsters to avoid: Lifesucker drains levels 11. THE WAND AND LAGOTH The Temple of Narn is your next stop after the Corinth guild where your warrior thankfully hyperspaces over(well, you could just APAR to avoid inconsistencies.) If you shunted the wand segments on your warrior, get them from him and give everything to one archmage. Distribute his other possessions for later. From Corinth it's easy to get to the temple. 3E 2N 2E S*. Let your archmage approach. Give him his items back and equip the scepter. You may want to pump everyone up to L40(fighters at least) before attacking Lagoth, or you can exploit a cheat in the code. E 2S W* N 2W S 2W N 3W S and OH MY GOODNESS THE SAGE IS LAGOTH ZANTA!!!! Fight Lagoth Zanta. Have both mages cast ZZGO. Even if the Balder Guards breathed them to death, they resuscitate. Keep casting ZZGO til all Balder Guards are gone, then advance and take out Lagoth. Hooray. You win. There's a note about the Castle of Candarr in the end bit, but that doesn't exist in BT3. 12. SAGE QUOTES THE TOMBS"Hidden beneath the city of Ephesus, the Tombs have been closed for centuries. Seek the entrance at the Temple of Darkness, in the city's center." FANSKAR(5500): "Fanskar is a deadly warrior-mage who tried once to claim the title of Destiny Knight and failed. His castle is a well-guarded fortress, located south-west of Colosse." DARGOTH(10000): "Dargoth is a creature more animal than man, whose tower is hidden in the city of Philippi. Take care, friends, for he is death itself." MAZE OF DREAD(48000): "The Maze is said to be the home of the Graphnar Fist, a group of elite mercenaries who kill for both gold and pleasure. The Maze itself exists from ancient times. Seek it in Thessalonica." OSCON(120000): "In the city of Corinth is the Fortress of the mage Oscon, whose strength is legendary and whose skill surpasses even Mangar's. Only an item of Kazdek will gain you entrance." KAZDEK(5000): "Ah, yes, Kazdek. The immortal one, as he is called, he is in fact a living statue. Seek him between Thessalonica and Colosse, with the word of his name." GREY CRYPT(125000): "Take care, my friends. None has left the Grey Crypt alive. Know you, however, that no magical spells will work therein." DESTINY STONE(230000): "A rock it is, in fact, yet much more. Ponder this, my friends: Never find and never fool, the last one drinks the poison pool, the first one reads the ancient tome,the third one breaks the double dome." LAGOTH ZANTA(1000): "An evil genius is Lagoth, else he'd not have posed the threat to the Land that he has. Yet, an enemy to be respected, I think. His whereabouts are unknown, but I'd not be surprised to find him near." Pay 500 to ID any of the items below. (Learn this from the barkeep) ELF BOOTS/LUCKSHIELD: "Ah, that one makes you lucky at avoiding bad spells, thrown weapons, and dragon breath." DEATH STARS: "A ninja weapon, they do 16-64 damage and have a range of 60 feet." MAGE STAFF: "The Mage Staff regenerates spell points and boosts the AC by 2." THIEF DAGGER: "A thief with that has an increased chance of hiding in shadows." KATO'S BRACER: "An ingenious device! If given to a monster ally, he is not likely to turn on you." AG'S ARROWS: "Ag's arrows do 24 to 96 in damage and have a range of 90 feet." RING OF RETURN: "That ring does a Safety Spell when you use it. Careful of that!" BREATHRING: "That ring protects the wearer from breath attacks. Most useful!" WIZHELM: "Ah, that one casts a Wizard War when you use it." SPEEDBOOTS: "Those boots aid you in running from fights. Not a manly item..." ZEN ARROWS: "Zen Arrows...oh yes. They do 40-160 in damage, to a range of 70 feet." DRUMS OF DEATH: "The Drums of Death cast a Deathstrike spell on an opponent." SONG AXE: "The Song Axe is a wonderous item which always returns to the thrower, and does 64-256 hits at a range of 80 feet." TRICK BRICK: "That one makes a Wizardwall appear." ARAM'S KNIFE: "Aram's Knife? Oh yes. 128-512 points of damage, thrown at any range. Not too shabby." ANGRA'S EYE: "The Eye does Batchspells, as needed." THOR'S HAMMER: "Thor's Hammer does 32 to 128 hits at a range of 70 feet, and it always returns." SWORD OF ZAR: "The Sword is rarely spoken of, but it is said to be throwable, up to 80 feet for 96-384 hits." NOSPIN RING: "The Nospin...oh yes. It deactivates all spinners in dungeons. A handy item." ================================ 13. VERSIONS 1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 8/13/2007, complete. 1.0.1: sent to GameFAQs 8/27/2007. Added details including spells. 14. CREDITS ftp.apple.asimov.net for having the disk image of this old fun game. Stephen S Lee for the monster lists to verify who (not) to fight and HP ranges. honestgamer and odino for the chats that led to this FAQ Thanks to the usual GameFAQs gang, current and emeritus. They know who they are, and you should, too, because they get/got some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer, falsehead, Sashanan, Masters, Retro, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, War Doc, Brian Sulpher, AdamL, odino, JDog, honestgamer and others I forgot. OK, even Hydrophant in his current not-yet- banned message board incarnation. I am not part of his gang, but I want him to be part of mine. Thanks to Dale Haessel for pointing out a few holes in my walkthroughs-- entering the Destiny Stone and what to do so you don't get trapped in Oscon's Fortress.
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