The ZX Files 1/ZX Files 1.adf/CHEATS/15

Text File | 1992-03-06 | 13.7 KB | 244 lines

                            BARDS TALE SOLUTION

Part 1

Obviously, the first thing you must  do  is assemble your party. There
is a beginning party (supplied with  the game) already equipped with a
basic level of   armour,   instruments,   etc.   A   much   better and
unique option is to transfer characters  over  from either WIZARDRY or
ULTIMA III.  These  characters  come  over  as   fairly  senior  level
characters and make  the   beginning   of   this   game  much  easier.
This  is  a highly  desirable  alternative.  If  you  create your  own
characters -- which you  must  do  for   your   bard  --  pay  special
attention  to the dexterity  attribute.  This attribute determines who
strikes first in combat, and can  be  the difference between  an  easy
encounter  and one which is  a  struggle.  Magic users should  have  a
high  IQ, while fighter  classes  should  have  a   high  strength.  I
recommend  a  monk  as  one  of  your fighters.  Their  armour   class
drops    as   their    level   rises.  Mine  eventually  had an armour
class of  LO  wearing  only a robe.  They  also can do the most damage
unarmed in actual  combat.  When  you  first  leave  the  Adventurer's
Guild, explore the city. Visit  Garth's  Armoury,  and find the Review
Board   (located next to the inn  on Trumpet Street). Don't wander too
far until you get a feel for  how you can  survive.  To  restore   hit
points   after   fighting,   visit   a  temple.  There  all  ills   --
including  death  --   can  be cured  for  a price. After a fight, you
will  quite  frequently  find objects of  some type. Keep them all. If
you don't need them, go to Garth's and  sell them for gold -- you will
need it.

Visit Roscoe's Energy emporium located off the Gran Plaz on the corner
of Grey Knife Street. There  you  will  get  an  idea what it costs to
restore spell points.

Early on, when you are still  short  of  gold, the best way to restore
spell points is to  go  into  the  Adventurer's  Guild  and just wait.
This game is in real  time,  and   spell   points  are restored as you
just sit there. If you wait on  the   street  or  in a house, you will
almost certainly be attacked.

When you find an object after a  fight  or in a chest in the dungeons,
experiment with it  to  find  out  what  it  is.  There  are no cursed
items. Quite a  few  objects  have  magical  properties  that  are not
readily apparent. Here are a  few  of  the  objects  that I found most
useful, even though you won't  run  into  these   until  later  in the
game: Kael's Axe seemed to be the best weapon, causing the most damage
for my Paladins; a frost  horn  for  your  Bard,  when used in combat,
causes 40-70 hit points of damage  to  a  group of  monsters;  a  mage
staff for your magic  users  allows  them   to   regain  spell  points
even  in  a  dungeon  (this is incredibly useful).  I  will  leave  it
up  to  you  to   discover  the  usefulness  of  the other items found
during the game.

After learning  the  game  play  by  wandering  around  the  city  and
being able to survive, it  is  time  to   visit  the dungeons. This is
where the battle with Mangar will be won or lost.

Part 2

There are five dungeons  in  the  game  that  must  be explored in the
following order:  Wine  Cellar  and  Sewers,  The  Catacombs, Harkyn's
Castle, Kylearan's Tower, and Mangar's  Tower. Each contains something
that will help in the subsequent  stages  of the game. Wine Cellar and
Sewers. The easiest dungeon of  them  all  is  reached from the inn on
Rakhir Street. Enter the inn, ask to  order a drink, then select wine.
You will then be ushered into  the  Wine  Cellar. I cannot over stress

the importance of mapping in this   game.  Whenever possible, have the
MALE spell in operation. This will help  you  avoid  some of the traps
that are lying around. When you  have  an  encounter and find a chest,
always cast a TRZP spell to disarm  any traps that may be guarding the
chest. Located in the  Wine  Cellar   are  the   stairs   down  to the
Sewers. The first level of the   Sewers  contains  almost  nothing  of
interest. So locate the stairs to  the  second  level  of  the  sewers
as quickly as  possible  and  get   down   there.   The  second  level
contains  one very important   bit   of   information  that  you  will
need  to  enter  the Catacombs:  the  name  of   the  Mad  God.  There
are  also  two hints  to  questions  that  will  be   asked  in  other
dungeons. Explore this level fully to find all the hints and  the  Mad
God's name. The lowest level of  the  Sewers  is next and contains one
item of importance for later in the game. Locate and take  the  stairs
exiting  from this level. Make  sure  you  know where the stairs  lead
exactly.  After this (I hope you  have been visiting the Review  Board
regularly  to advance levels and  learn new spells), you are ready for
the Catacombs.

The Catacombs

The Catacombs are reached from one of the Mad God's Temples,located on
the east side of  the Temple,  ask  to  speak to the priest, then give
him the Mad God's name: TARJAN.  The  first  level of the Catacombs is
just a survival test at this stage.  Once you can survive there fairly
easily, head for the second level  of  the Catacombs. The second level
has a clue in it about  the  Mad  God.  It  also contains a very nasty
creature called a Soul Sucker  that  lurks  in the southwest corner of
the second level. If you decide to  go  in there and try him out, make
sure you have your character disk backed  up.  You will not be able to
defeat him at this  stage  of  your  development,  but fortunately you
don't  have  to.  The  lowest   level  of   the   Catacombs   contains
something you will  need  later.  Once  you  have  reached  the  third
level  of the Catacombs, you must use a teleport square to  enter  the
Wizard's Realm. The teleport is located in the southeast corner of the
dungeon. Once you are in the  Wizard's  Realm, you must defeat him  to
gain  the Eye. After  you  have  this  item,  you  are ready to tackle
Harkyn's Castle.

Part 3

Harkyn's Castle

Harkyn's Castle is located  in  the  northeast  corner  of Skara Brae.
Atthis point in time, it becomes very important for you to have filled
your special slot with the  most  powerful  character your magic users
can summon. If you are in the process of developing a wizard, a lesser
demon is best.

The first level of Harkyn's  Castle  contains  one item of importance:
the Crystal Sword from the  southeast  corner  of this level. You will
now begin to find some of the more powerful objects to experiment with
during your encounters. After  obtaining  the  crystal sword, head for
the second  level  of  the  Castle.  The  stairs  are  located  in the
northeast corner of the first level.

The second level of the  Castle  has  a  couple of interesting things.
If you answer the  riddle  correctly   ("SHIELDS")   you   get a magic
mouth which can be used  to  cast   the   SOSI   spell.  You must also
obtain the silver square from  the  southwest  corner  of the dungeon.
The access to this is from  a  teleport  located towards the middle of
the northern section of the dungeon. The  portal to the third level is
located in the northeast section of this level.

The  third  level  of    the    Castle    contains   the  entrance  to
Kylearan'sTower and some  interesting  opportunities.  The  answer  to
the  Old Man's question  is  "SKULL  TAVERN."  When  you encounter the
berserkers located at 12E 5N of  this  level, take advantage. They can
be fairly easily defeated with the right magic spells. You should have
at least two sorcerers  capable  of  casting  the  MIBL spell. It also
helps if your bard has a frost  or  fire horn to aid the others along.
When you can defeat these  guys  easily,  it  is time to make  another
magic user. You  can  teleport  from  the  Castle  entrance, fight the
berserkers, teleport back to the entrance, exit the castle, then do it
again and again until your spells run low. At 60,000 experience points
a crack, it doesn't take long  to  develop a decent magic user.  After
this,   it   is   time   to   attempt  Kylearan's  Castle.   When  you
approach, and fight the statue of  a  Mad God located in the southeast
corner of this  level,  you  will   be  teleported inside the gates of
Kylearan's Tower.

Kylearan's Tower

After the battle with the Mad   God  and your subsequent teleport (you
did have the eye in  your   possession),   go  one  step forward, turn
right, then kick the door down. You  will  then be entering one of the
two most difficult mazes in the game.  Most  of  it is in the dark and
there are riddles that must  be  answered.  Backup your character disk
before entering this maze.  Once  you   are   in,  watch carefully for
teleports: they are everywhere. It is extremely important that you map
this maze very carefully. After you have reached  the antimagic square
from wandering in a very  small  section  of  the dark,  the next step
forward is a teleport to  11E  12N.  Explore  until  you find a  magic
mouth that asks you to "Name the one of cold, foretold  twofold,"  The
answer  to  this  one is  "STONE  GOLEM."  You will then be teleported
again. After this, you will enter a very large, dark area. In order to
get out of this, you must  answer  the  question posed at 12E 2N which
says, "Name the Endless Byway and  your  path will be guaranteed." The
answer  to  this  is  the  only  street  in  Skara  Brae  with no end,
Sinister.  You  then  can  map  your  way through a lighted section to
another dark area. From  this  dark  area  you  must obtain the Silver
Triangle, located at the very  north  of  the  dark area. You can then
exit the dark area, going south from  1E 6N. After this, you will face
the Crystal Golem (did you bring  the  Crystal Sword?). You can defeat
him with conventional weapons and spells, but somebody has to have the
crystal sword or he will reappear to  block your exit.  At this point,
you can exit the tower to refresh  your players or continue on. If you
exit, when you  re-enter  you  must  again  answer  the  endless byway
question to continue. Upon reaching the  end  of the snaky road on the
east side of  the  maze,  don't  go  through  the south door. Take the
door that  goes  west.   You   will   then   enter  several rooms with
spinners  and  teleports  that   make   finding    your   way   almost
impossible. The way past these is  southwest.  When you make  it,  you
will be teleported to  14E  1N.  It  is  then  an  easy stroll to meet
Kylearan himself. He turns out to be the friendly wizard and gives you
a key that allows you to  get  into  Mangar's Tower. He then teleports
you to the stairs exiting his  tower.  You  no longer need the crystal
sword or the eye, and you are now ready for Mangar himself.

Mangar's Tower

If you paid heed and followed the  stairs from the bottom level of the
Sewers, you will know how to get  inside Mangar's walls. If not, go to
the Wine Cellar, teleport your party  17E  16N 3D, and take the stairs
up. Then turn right  and  kick  the  door  in.  You  should  be at the
entrance to Mangar's Tower.

Level one of Mangar's is  fairly  easy   to  find  your way around in.
Follow the teleports and walk around  until  you reach the magic mouth
on the east side of the maze. What is tricky is that after leaving the
magic mouth, you are now on  level  2  of  the tower. So be careful in
mapping.

Level two of Mangar's is  again    fairly    easy  (not even a warm-up
for level 3). From this level you  must answer the question located at
4E 15N to obtain the  silver  circle.  The  answer  to the question is
"CIRCLE." You must then make  your  way  to  the stairs located in the
middle of the southern side of the maze.

Level three is the hardest maze of  all,  but by this time you must be
getting really proficient  at  mapping.  You  must  wander around this
level and obtain quite a number of items. First of all, you should get
the master key, for 50,000 gold pieces, from  19E 12N. This key allows
you to enter Mangar's  through  the  front  gate,  instead of from the
Sewers. You must then find the   clues   to  the  seven  words  needed
to access the fourth level  of  Mangar's. Gratefully, you can teleport
into and out of this level of  the Tower. After finding the clues, you
can then speak the seven words to  the  magic mouth located at 10E 4N.
They must be entered one  at  a   time.   The  words  are,  "LIE  WITH
PASSION  AND BE FOREVER DAMNED."  Stairs  will  then  appear at 3E 9N.
This is the only  way  to  obtain  entrance  to  the  upper reaches of
Mangar's.

The fourth level of Mangar's  has   only   one  tricky part. When  you
first arrive, you have a  limited  number  of  ways  you can go. After
reaching a certain  point,  located  in  the  northeast  corner of the
level, doors appear everywhere. Don't be confused. Everything maps the
same, it's just that doors  are  everywhere.  Eventually you will find
the portal to level five in the southwest corner of this level.

Level five is the home stretch. This  easy  maze leads you to the lava
pit in the middle of the eastern  side  of the maze. There you dive in
and are teleported to 10E 6N. You will then find the march up the hall
of harm to be fruitless  if  you  didn't  bring the three silver items
along. If you have  the  silver  triangle,  silver  square, and silver
circle, a door will appear  directly   north   of  you.  After passing
through this door, cast your  REST   spell  to  restore  everybody  to
health  and proceed directly north to the final battle with Mangar.

The final battle itself is  a  large  disappointment  as it is fairly
easy to defeat Mangar and his  vampires,  and meet Kylearan again, who
givesyou 300,000 bonus experience points.  After defeating Mangar, you
can then proceed one more square  north  for  the last question of the
game.The answer is "SPECTRE SNARE," which you then receive (it is good
for binding to your party any of your opponents in battle).

end.