ULTIMA III STRATEGY Lord British's "Ultima III: Exodus" is the third, and most ambitious, offering in an outstanding fantasy role-playing series. Every aspect of this game, from the documentation to the computer graphics, is a logical, yet enhanced, extension of the earlier two chapters of the "Ultima" saga. In "Exodus," however, there is a fundamental new twist: No longer must a solitary character strive to overcome the evil abroad in the land; a party of up to four players may join the quest. The strategy tips in this file should aid your party during its perilous adventure. I.CREATING A PARTY Start out by thoroughly studying the four booklets that come with the game: The Book of Play, the Ancient Liturgy of Truth, the Book of Amber Runes, and the Player Reference Card. You must then form a party by designating race and profession and by allocating 50 points among four attributes. Each profession has different valuable characteristics, and part of this game's flexibility is that you may try various combinations. Perhaps the best initial party will be composed of an elf thief, a dwarf fighter, a bobbit cleric, and a fuzzy wizard. A dwarf or bobbit paladin, or a human ranger, may easily be substituted for the dwarf fighter. It is certainly desirable to include both a cleric and a wizard in your group because only they have the capacity to develope advanced spell-casting powers. In combat situations, each party member takes a turn in order. Therefore, it is important to position the characters in such a way as to take advantage of their particular abilities. Generally, characters who have more weapon/armour options should be in first and second place; the spell casters should be in the next rank. I had very good luck with "Snatch" (elf thief) and "Devo" (dwarf fighter) in the front, with "Wanda" (fuzzy wizard) and "Clarissa" (bobbit cleric) in the rear. Since combat may seem too fast and confusing at first, it may help you to give your characters mnemonic names. II.JOURNEYING ONWARD Your little band begins its adventure near the castle and city of Lord British on the grassy plains of the continent of Sosaria. Immediately equip your characters with daggers and cloth armour. Then, save the game. Frequent "saves" will help you to avoid getting stuck with a group of dead bodies on your hands; if disaster seems imminent, you can turn off your machine and restore your previous game position. Enter the town, where it is safe. Examining the player roster, you will see that each party member possesses 150 gold pieces and 150 items of food. You should transfer extra gold to one character, preferably a fighter type, so that he may purchase a bow. Long-range weapons such as bows and slings are vital to surviving combat. Of course, daggers may be thrown, but they are then lost; it is useful to obtain an abundant supply. Remember to re-ready and/or re-equip a player who transacts with merchants or you might find a character with a bow and leather armour in her inventory standing naked and empty-handed against eight Ttitans! It goes without saying that your group must have adequate supplies of food. Any player may attempt to steal from the gold-laden chests that are located in weapons and armour shops; however, thieves have the most success. Lower level characters haven't a prayer against guards, so larceny is a risky endavour. It is not possible to steal food in this game; however, chests occasionally contain a valuable weapon or item of armour. If you wish to steal with impunity, you can bribe guards. Greasing guards' palms causes them to instantly disappear. Gold, money, crass lucre: You will need copious amounts to advance in "Ultima III." Sometimes you'll think it's money that makes Sosaria go 'round! Although many of the clues vital to winning the game may be freely obtained by transacting with people in towns and castles, gold is needed to purchase not only important information from barkeeps and oracles, but is also necessary in order to raise your players' attributes, equip them with better weapons and armour, and bribe guards. You may wish to create several "sacrificial" characters whose sole purpose is to transfer all their gold, weapons, food, and armour to one of your "real" party members. Using this admittedly opportunistic technique, your "real" party can become well-equipped even before its first foray. A note about "roll over": Lord British has almost completely corrected the problem (from "Ultima II") of players' "numbers" rolling over to zero after 99 or 9999. Now, if you inadvertently purchase more than 99 daggers, only 99 will show up (not 0) on the status report. The same holds true for other equipment and players' attributes. However, a bug remains in the food counter. Be careful not to exceed 9999 items of food or very strange things will happen to your players' names and armour. [Note: Rollover still occurs in some versions.]. III.THE INHABITANTS OF SOSARIA. Within the towns or Lord British's castle, you will encounter guards, merchants, barkeeps, jesters, oracles, or healers as well as any of the regular player types such as fighters, thieves, clerics and wizards. You must transact with almost everyone you meet in order to learn the clues which are vital to winning this game. Carefully explore every inch of every town; you can locate informative individuals behind shops, within wooded areas, or on the other side of locked doors. [See the "Layout" and "Clues" files for more specific details.] IV.COMBAT Much of your time, especially in the beginning stages of the game, will be devoted to slaying monsters. On land, in the sea, and deep within the dungeons of Sosaria your party will engage in combat with more than two dozen species of monsters as well as renegade player types. Examine your Book of Play for the descriptions of these creatures. Some monsters (orcs, goblins, and trolls) may be dispelled by your wizard's "Repond." The undead creatures (skeletons, ghouls, zombies) are turned by your cleric's "Pontori." When your cleric or mage reaches his or her full potential, he or she (or "O"!) can cast helpful (transport, light, heal, cure, map, resurrect) or devastating (wound, negate time, destroy) spells. However, since spell casting temporarily drains magic points, most combat involves the use of weapons. Be aware that a cleric's use of the "P" (Resurrect from Ashes) spell drains wisdom points. The weapons available range from daggers to +4 bows (6550 g.p.) to the mysterious "exotics." Naturally, as your players gain strength, one arrow may be all that is needed to dispatch the dread balron. Long-range weapons should, therefore, be obtained as soon as possible. Since your party always gets to fire the first shot in a combat situation, slings or bows can mean the difference between life and death. Hand-to-hand weapons are relatively ineffective because your players have to waste turns moving toward the enemy and taking hits instead of fighting. Since daggers may be thrown, they are more versatile than maces. The same is true regarding the use of bows as opposed to swords. The ranger I created was more successful and efficient with his simple bow than a +2 sword. Armour is, of course, vital in protecting your players from injury. Depending on their professions, characters may wear anything from cloth to +2 plate (8250 g.p.). Try to obtain leather armour, at least, for those players who may wear it; they will survive more easily and will rapidly advance in experience levels. Players' hit points are directly related to their experience. Each character begins with 150 hit points at level one. As the game proceeds and your players slay numerous monsters, their experience points will increase. Remember, however, that only the character striking the death blow wins experience points! As additional levels are reached, the party should visit Lord British who will see that his wizard raises the characters' hit points. However, after level five, the Lord will refuse to raise the hit maximum. Instead, he says: "Seek ye the Mark of Kings." Once your group obtains this mark (one of four available -- each with a different purpose), Lord British will raise your characters' hit points, according to his or her experience level, to the absolute maximum of 2550. If you want to build up backward players' hit points, you must position them so that they may inflict the fatal blows. This may even involve passing over (by hitting the space bar) a couple of players in favour of your "slower" ones. After your players reach level five or so, and have purchased decent weapons, armour and, hopefully, a few powders (to negate time), they may use the following procedure to rapidly build up more experience points: Enter a town that has only two sets of guards stationed at the entrance; attack and kill the guards; immediately leave the town and save the game. Guards are worth 15 experience points each, and, although they are extremely powerful, they don't throw fireballs or poisoned bolts at your group. While your party is still relatively inexperienced, try to avoid sea serpents, men-o-war, and pirates. You can usually see these opponents approaching, and can detour around them. Do not descend below level four or so in any dungeon until your party is quite strong; otherwise, the manes, devils, and wyverns, among others, will surely decimate your group. Several monsters not only wound your players, but poison them. However, when your party is healthy and well-equipped, it can win thousands of experience points and gold pieces by slaying these creatures. In the case of pirates, your group can also commandeer a frigate; no experience points or treasure is gained if the ship's cannons are used in battle. Before your group obtains long-range weapons, try to avoid thieves, cutpurses, and brigands. These characters love to steal the weapons or armour that are not currently in use by players. Within dungeons, the invisible gremlins like to steal food. Be sure to carry plenty of rations or your band might starve to death! Here is a list of various opponents and the experience points received by players when they defeat these creatures: Merchants = 1 Jesters and Grasss = 2 Goblins, Trolls, Orcs, and Floors = 3 Skeletons, Zombies, and Ghouls = 4 Cutpurses, Brigands, and Thieves = 5 Golems, Giants, Titans, and Horses = 6 Fighters, Manes, Gargoyles, and Daemons = 8 Wizards, Pincers, and Bradles = 10 Serpents, Dragons, Griffons, Wyverns, and Guards = 15 Men-O-War, Orcuss, Devils, and Balrons = 20. The tougher the enemy, the more experience points gained by your players. Note: Do not try to engage Lord British in battle; he is invincible. He will allow you to take the chests behind the force field, but will attack if you initiate violence within his domain. V.HEALING The natural result of all this fighting is injured, or even deceased, party members. Be sure that you carefully map Sosaria, pinpointing the locations of healing kiosks. Your group will have to visit the healers frequently, especially if a character is poisoned. As always, gold works wonders. Of course, clerics as well as advanced wizards may cast healing spells. Use their powers with discrimination since every spell drains magic points which may be needed for an unexpected battle. Healing fountains are located inside dungeons. A drink from one will restore your players' lost hit points. You cannot tell whether a fountain is healthy or poisoned without testing it. There are four types of fountains: good, innocuous, harmful, and poisonous. Save your game before descending into a dungeon and be careful! VI.TRANSPORTATION There are three modes of transportation in this game: foot, horse, and frigate. Most of the time, your players will be on foot and their food supplies will diminish rapidly as they explore Sosaria. Obtaining a horse not only slows the decrease in food, but allows your party to out run monsters. There are only two places where horses may be purchased or stolen: in the City of Dawn or the City of Devil Guard. [Check the "Layout" file for the locations of these cities.] Horses may be ridden through moon gates. Frigates may be commandeered by defeating a pirate crew. Once you have a frigate, your party may then traverse the seas, visiting important islands and learning the secret of the whirlpool. The whirlpool is both beneficial and harmful. It may destroy ships that are docked and empty. Yet, by sailing into the whirlpool, your party will be transported to the Lost Continent of Ambrosia where the players will be able to raise their attributes and obtain the four cards needed to destroy Exodus. VII.ITEMS There are four valuable items which your players must purchase in order to win the game. These are: torches, keys, gems, and powders. Only in thieves' guilds can your party buy these special items [check the "Layout" file for locations]. Torches, of course, are needed for light while the party explores dungeons. Because of the prevalence of "strange wind" throughout all of the dungeons, numerous torches should be carried. Keys are used to unlock doors. They are particularly useful in Lord British's Castle, the City of Montor West, and Ambrosia. Gems give you a bird's eye view of your current location. Buy as many gems as possible; you can use them to map dungeons, explore the nooks and crannies of cities, and proceed effortlessly through mazes. Powders are, perhaps, the most valuable objects of all: They stop time. Use powders frequently during fierce battles, especially in the Castle of Death [Note: This may not work in some versions]. The incessant fireballs, though, are not affected by powders. VIII.DUNGEONS Unlike in "Ultima II," your group must explore all the dungeons in order to win this game. Four "marks" must be obtained by each party member. Marks are usually located in a wall on the 8th level of a dungeon. The Mark of Kings is needed before Lord British will raise the characters' hit maximum above 550; the Mark of Force is used to pass uninjured through force fields; the Mark of Fire allows the party to walk through fire; the Mark of the Snake is needed to bypass the Silver Snake which guards the Castle of Death. The best dungeon strategy is to use plenty of gems to locate ladders and/or cast ladder up and ladder down spells. It is not wise to linger on the upper levels if your group is simply looking for marks. Enter the dungeon and descend, as quickly as possible, to level 8. Then, obtain the mark and exit the dungeon. Of course, it is helpful to explore all levels of all dungeons, but this can be fatal if your party is weak. IX.MOON GATES Ah, these mysterious and ephemeral portals! What is their secret? By stepping into a moon gate, your group will be transported to various locations, some of which are inaccessible by any other means. There are eight moon gates, and the most important is, perhaps, the one that delivers your players to the dungeon of the Time Lord. Experiment with different gates and note their locations, the timing of their appearances, and their destinations. An understanding of the cycles of the two moons of Sosaria, displayed on the cloth map and constantly counted on your screen, is vital in your search for the legendary City of Dawn. [See the "Layout" file for more details.] X.DEFEATING EXODUS Who or what is Exodus? The product of an unholy alliance between Mondain and Minax, Exodus is more machine than monster. Could he or it be a computer? Perhaps so: Exodus' powers are legion and he is "turned off" by inserting four cards, in proper order, into slots in his "body." The Time Lord, if he will, can tell your party the proper order of the cards. Do not attempt to destroy Exodus until your party is extremely strong. Located within the aptly named Castle of Death, Exodus is protected by an army of fiends as well as a continuous stream of fireballs. Further, the usual weapons are ineffectual against monsters in this castle; your group must be equipped with "exotic arms" in order to slay these creatures in hand-to-hand combat. After your little band battles its way to Exodus, it must conquer the strange and invisible floors. The floors repeatedly attack until they have been completely destroyed. The best strategy against the floors is to have your cleric cast his "O" spell and/or your wizard cast her "P" spell. Then, move forward step-by-step, attacking in all directions. The floors are difficult, but certainly not impossible to overcome. A final note: If you try to leave the Castle of Death without destroying Exodus, or if you linger near the entrance, your players will have to battle the grasss. The same strategy should be used against grasss as is used in combat with floors. [See the "Layout" file and the "Clues" file for additional information.]