RISEN

RPG by Piranha-Bytes

A solution by Lu Richardson

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The Product:

Fans of Gothic and Gothic 2 who were hugely disappointed with Gothic 3 can console themselves with Risen, produced by the same people who created those unique gems. Though not as gentle and beautifully simple as the Gothics, this game is still great fun.

Unfortunately, it has the odd flaw. It is almost always dark to the point that, in deep places, you can't see at all. Torches only make things worse. I don't understand it: why create a beautifully detailed world and then proceed to make it impossible to see and enjoy? Now, why?

Venturing out at night is a recipe for disaster. And don't think that sleeping till morning will let you see clearly - it is either foggy or raining cats and dogs and pitch dark, of course. I really don't see the point of unnecessary "weather effects" which obfuscate your view and slow down the game.

Another flaw is that my computer has specifications well above the maximum requirements yet movement is jerky. You only have to come close to any flames (torches, fires) and the character has trouble moving forward.

Yet another is the fact that you can play as three different classes and that's the reason you find yourself completing quests meant for another one - something which is very confusing, particularly when you are trying to make sense of the game not just for yourself but for others who are equally lost.

There are also the, it seems, inevitable bugs: but all in all, not a bad effort.

General Tips:

I have already mentioned the darkness, which is going to be a very annoying problem when you are trying to get to grips with a world new to you: in very dark places, just turn the Brightness to maximum and Contrast a little bit. It's not pretty but at least you will be able to see where you are going (indeed, I didn't need torches or light spells after that). You can return Brightness to normal once you are outside.

By the way, if you put Vegetation Details to "Off" with the Performance option this will help no end. Not only does the game run faster but also you can see valuable herbs and beasts can't hide to ambush you so effectively.

Combat is so complicated that you'll have to work it out for yourselves. Just make sure you cover your back and fight from narrow spaces... if you can. Avoid fighting near cliff edges - you might lose your prey, or worse, you might fall to your death. As to those annoying creatures who keep backing off while you hit fresh air, manoeuvre them against a tree or a wall and keep bashing them.

As ever in these games, you will need things later on which you haven't bothered to collect and keep because you didn't know you'd need them. Some of these are: 10 healing herbs, 5 healing plants, two healing roots; 5 boar skins and 5 wolf skins; 1 bone and 6 wings; 2 weed reefers; 2 rum. And, of course, you must always carry a shovel and a pickaxe. If you find Weeds, keep them for a specific buyer, they fetch a good price... and you are going to need loads of cash right till the end.

Keep Berry plants, Druid's hemlock, Hero's crown, Wanderlust, Pixie Hats and Ogreroot. Keep all water, vials, wine. Later, with these you will be able to make potions which will enhance your attributes permanently by + 5. Hero's crown is as scarce as horse feathers, so don't pass up on any chance to get it. Collect apples and eggs: eating 10 of each will increase some attributes and the eggs additionally give you XP.

I will take it for granted that you will save often, take your time exploring around (not forgetting climbing up and dropping down to ledges), loot everything you kill, look out for water barrels and keep a sharp eye for herbs, particularly the ones that improve your stats permanently. Examine everything you get the first time you get it. Consult your map often to see where things are, you might need to find them again.

As to learning points, you must decide very carefully what you really want. For instance, it is better to go for a particular type of weapon and stick to it. I found the best to be swords because whereas axes do more damage they are slower (though bear in mind that the last battle is fought with an axe, not that it will make that much difference). Ranged weapons were really rather useless though you should always carry one with you together with the ammo. I'll tell you how I used my LP and let you make up your own minds.

The spells you are going to need most are Telekinesis, Levitation and Nautilus Transformation, so get them as soon as you can and never be without them.

If you are going to steal in crowded places, always sleep till midnight and make sure no one can see you.

What follows is a solution playing as a Bandit (only because there is no such class as a Nosey-Parker). Things can be done practically in any order at any time but I've tried to keep to a logical sequence of events for the sake of this solution. How and when you do the quests is up to you.

The Prologue:

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I know the manual takes you through this, but here is a more detailed form.

As soon as you are able click on the two bodies in front of you and loot them, but leave Sara for the moment. Get the club under the fallen tree, equip it and go to your right, collecting everything you can find. Don't miss out on the mussels, sometimes they contain pearls - click on them to see.

At the other end of the beach you'll find a body with a better weapon - equip it. Go to the other end of the beach collecting stuff. There you'll find a nasty feeding on a corpse, so kill it and also its friend, who will appear shortly. Having looted the body, follow the cliff away from the sea.

You'll find a cave on your left, save before you enter and have a crack at the gnomes. If you do all right, go on searching to the other end of the cave and then come back and exit where you went it. Explore thoroughly, you need everything you can lay your hands on.

Strictly speaking you should have woken up Sara right at the beginning. Since she is no fighter and not much use, try following the path behind her all the way to a house (don't go in yet) clearing it of nasties, then go and fetch her and lead her to it.

When she arrives she asks you to have a look around - do so and note the chest. Go back outside and she'll tell you to look for the key. Go back in and find it by the left side of the bed, pick up everything, open the chest and get the contents. When you speak to Sara again she will suggest you cook some meat (there is another piece to the right of the door). You can cook all the other food but cook only one piece of meat for her because presently you will need all the raw meat you've collected so far. OK, so give her the meat. When you talk again, tell her you'll come back.

CHAPTER 1

Before you go rushing off, you could go into the house, out at the back and to your left to kill a wolf. As you come out the front, go to your right to find a chest. When you've finished exploring, face the house and follow the path to the right, around the back.

As you come around a bend you will see a temple. Follow the rise on your right to go around it - you'll find some useful stuff as well as some nasties. Finally, tackle the grave moth by the entrance of the temple and go in.

You will soon fall through the floor (that's alright, you have to) but be sure you are prepared for a fight. Loot the chests, pull the lever to get out and leave the temple avoiding the trap. Continue up the path.

You will come to another house, trot around it picking up herbs then enter it. You meet Jan. Loot the house, get the key from the cupboard and open the chest upstairs. Equip the sword and talk to Jan. Tell him about Sara and then carry on talking until the only choices are for him to take you to Harbour Town or the Camp. End the conversation here, go talk to Sara and use the bed to sleep till morning.

Back to Jan, ask him to take you to the camp. Follow him there.

The Camp

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The first person you'll come to is Doug. Have a chat with him using the first line to begin with. Talk about everything but leave your offer of helping with the worm to the end. Trade. Sell your surplus but remember to keep the items I mention above. Now offer to help and follow him, lending a hand. Talk to him afterwards.

Continue along the walkway and talk to Ricardo until you get a quest. Talk to Domingo and then to Sam. At the end, ask him to train you in sneaking and gutting animals. Move on to Brogar, the next person along. He'll give you a task.

At the foot of the ramp you should meet Craig. Have him train you in strength (10 LP). Inquire about the arena fights and place a bet to beat Ricardo. Now speak to Rachel who will be at the stove or the cauldron. Give her the meat (you should have 10 by now, if not you'll have to go kill something). Exhaust all options but not yet "By the way...". You'll get a quest.

Continue towards the temple and talk to Beppo. You get another quest. Take the opportunity to walk along in front of the entrance to the Temple and get the three beers on the crates.

Back to where Rachel is, this time talk to Oscar and find out about a broken blade. Go give the meat (don't *ever* say "get it yourself"!) to Brogar, ask for proper work, you get another job. Now go and challenge Ricardo to a fight and beat him. While you are at the arena, walk around it to talk to Brenon and offer to kill the insects. Go to Craig to collect your winnings and bet on Lorenzo - talk to him but don't use the line "You just...", challenge him and beat him at the arena. Collect your winnings from Craig.

(Eventually you'll have to fight Domingo the same way (he'll want a beer), Craig and later Brogar; do so when you are ready. Save and try and, if you can't beat them, try later.)

Talk to Lorenzo again using the line "You just..." agree to help out and you'll find he just wants to give you a pasting. Fight him and talk to him again.

You should know not to barge into other people's huts, but the one left of Lorenzo with the bath tub in it seems to be free; you can sleep there and help yourself to the contents of the chest and even store things in it if you wish.

Moving on, go past Lorenzo, around the huts and talk to Hawkins. Agree to get his men working. Continue along the shore to a group of men - don't talk to Dwight yet, but talk to Clay. You can pay him or beat him up to get him back work, whichever you prefer.

Get the beer on the crate and empty the chest you'll find here. Grab the pickaxe and the spade. Look at the spot on the ground that looks different, click on it to dig up some treasure.

Go to Hawkins, turn your back on him and advance to the small island. Kill the insects and collect everything you can; in a chest you'll find a fragment of the sword, in another a quite useful useless amulet. Find the right spot on the ground and dig up another treasure.

Go to Brogar and talk to him till he gives you another quest. Talk to Ricardo and to Brenon.

Go up the slope where Lorenzo took you until you meet some wolves, kill them with the aid of the guys and, skirting the water, go to your right to talk to Rhobart who will buy your Weed for a good price and will ask you to deliver some beer - he can teach you the first level of alchemy but you have more important things to learn right now. Look around the platform and you'll find some beer. Look towards the waterfall and you'll see some nasties - stay away. On the other side of the house there are a couple of rotworms. They'll keep.

Go to Rachel the way you came and just before you round the corner to leave you'll see Obel, talk to him and trade if you want. Having delivered the beer (you can take 50 or 100 gp for it, up to you) to Rachel, return the money to Rhobart. Tackle the rotworms if you can and collect Weed to sell. That's done, back to the camp.

From the island on which you killed the insects, head roughly SW and find Enrico up a slope, talk to him and give him the useless amulet to persuade him to go to work. Back to the same island and this time head S to a fire to dig up a treasure. From here go NE to the next fire and talk to Louis: two beers will buy you another fragment of the sword. Ask about Dorgan.

Head S and find the entrance to the cave (the three spiny creatures near by were meant, I think, for Branon˙s quest but kill them anyway), kill the insects by drawing them to the narrow entrance. Hugging the left wall, you will find Dorgan's body. Loot it and examine what you've got. Don't attempt moving further into the cave and don't fall down a hole; just leave the way you came and show the suspicious list to Sam and Rachel when you talk to them - you needn't blow the whistle on Craig, by the way.

Now talk to Brogar and give him the list (or not, it doesn't seem to matter). He'll tell you to collect the protection money; agree. Using the quest map, locate the victims and collect their money. The first one should be Dwight, who can be sent to work - tell him you are the one asking him, then collect the protection money. Report to Beppo and also to Hawkins because you've now completed their quests; don't buy the workman's clothes, they are far too expensive and you'll be getting something better soon.

When you go to collect from Rhobart, he'll ask you to deal with the bog bodies by the waterfall. Approach the first one cautiously and when he catches sight of you try to draw him back towards Clay. When you have dealt with all three bog bodies, talk to Rhobart. Don't forget Obel.

If you have collected all the money, go and talk to Rachel. Now is the time to bite the bullet, bet and fight Domingo and Craig (rob him while he's out, you'll get another fragment). You'll need help in fighting Brogar, so talk to Sam who will send you to Rhobart for a protection scroll.

Finally, bet with Craig you will beat Brogar, go to him and tell him you are going to keep the protection money and challenge him to a fight in the arena. While he is out for the count, rob him of his fragment. Tell him so when he wakes up.

Talk to Sam and to Rachel. Rachel wants you to talk to Brogar, do so. Talk to Sam to free him from his work. Talk to Craig to collect your winnings and ask to place a bet - this completes this particular quest.

Give the fragments to Oscar and he makes the golden sword - you could keep it but it is better to return it and buy it from him. Otherwise, nothing will induce him to talk to you ever again.

Talk to Rachel and the fact that you have the sword will persuade her to let you see Don Esteban.

Before you go in, keeping your eye on the map and within it's confines, mop up collecting things and killing creatures. When you've been right around the map, talk to Phil (where you found Clay fast asleep by the fire) and learn two points of the open locks skill and, if you have the necessary LP, learn pickpocketing.

Go into the temple and though you'll be challenged you'll be allowed in. Talk to Don Esteban, don't offer him the sword for the moment (keep it till you get a better weapon) and use the line "You expect me...". Eventually he will give you a quest. Keep Brogar's secret.

Talk to Cormac but don't learn alchemy yet. Use both Bookstands. There is a recipe near Cormac but don't pinch it while he can see you.

Talk to Fincher; agree to help but let him lead the attack (unless you particularly want to).

Leave and speak to Rachel. Talk to Brogar and tell him his hut is now yours. Go in, empty the chest (you can also use it to keep things in, if you want) and sleep till morning.

Trade with Doug all the junk you don't need to get more money. Join Fincher at the end of the walkway. Follow him to the temple near by and have a nice fight. When everyone is dead talk to Fincher and suggest Hawkins sees to the crates. Loot everything and everyone. By the way, to the NE of this site there is a clearing with several boars - since you are going to need the skins pretty soon, you might like to have a bash. In any case you need the XP.

And now for the temple. Go in, kill the two moths and grab the telekinesis scroll on your right; look up at the ceiling between the two broken columns and you will see a switch. Cast the spell on it and the door will open so that you can do a spot of looting. You will see your first magic crystal - use it to cast telekinesis on the same switch as before to open the outer door.

Go back to the camp, unload your surplus on Doug, go to speak to the Don and then to Fincher who gives you a better map and bids you find another temple in the east. Invest 10 LP on strength with him (if you have them) so that you can use the gold sword; should you have 20, invest in sword + 1. Go out and buy all the lockpicks that Oscar has. Talk to Hawkins.

The World

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If you have finished here go to Jan and ask him to take you to Harbour Town. Actually, he will leave you at a farm. Talk to Tristan, then to Tellur, then to Thomas (help him gather his grain) and then to Hanson. He asks you to clear a cave of wolves; do that and, as soon as you've killed the last one, turn back. He will tell you to hide in the barn, so sneak around the building on your left, enter the barn, loot the chest and sleep till next morning. Talk to Hanson again.

Trot around the farm collecting eggs, herbs and boar skins. Talk to Tristan and then to Tellur, who will take you to...

Harbour Town

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Before you talk to Leto, who is standing by the gate, have a good look around to see what you can pick up; there are also lots of easy fights and you need all the XP you can get. If you are satisfied you've cleared the whole area around here, talk to Leto. Get all the info and pay him 100 gp to get in.

Have a look at the map before you do anything else. OK, go down the slope - to your right a couple of cows, one of them called Berta. To your left the guard post. Move on and on your right you'll meet Arno - give him some money and get some information. On: to the left, meet Delgado. Talk to him and take on a job (he can teach you lockpicking if you haven't it learned yet). As you head down the stairs Sebastian talks to you. You must not offer to help him since you are with the Don.

Talk to Fuller on the right and invite him to fight. Let him draw first and knock him out (you can empty his chest without penalty), talk to him. Now turn your attention to Costa. Talk to him and provoke him into attacking you, knock him out, rob him. Talk to him again and you'll be good pals. Trade with him if you want (you can get a uniform from him if you are so inclined) and note that you can go up the stairs of this building to sleep, paying up in the morning.

Talk to Elias and get a lot of info, buy his apples and eggs out of charity. Go back to Delgado and hand over the gold. He tells you about Josh. Move on and, before you reach the end of the street you will see a locked door to your right. Stride ahead and talk to Philus who wants to sell his stand. Offer to help.

It is worth mentioning that a cooked shark steak gives you + 15 experience amongst other things, so you might wish to invest in this if you have the cash.

Turn left and go down the stairs. On your left the cartographer's house. On your right, Cid. Talk to him and offer to help. Kayleigh may be here also, but leave her for now. Go down the stairs on your left and turn right to talk to Rodriguez: offer to help and get all the info. Tell Cid.

Using the Quest Map, pinpoint the three guys you need to speak to and do so; you can let Baxter test you for XP, the answer being (as if you didn't know) 238. The guy in common is Doyle, and you'll find him upstairs at Costa's. Talk to him and ask him to disappear. If it is getting dark, sleep yourself and don't forget to pay Costa for the bed in the morning.

Saving first, pickpocket Kayleigh for Nelson's ring then buy all her lockpicks. Take the ring to Nelson and he'll let you keep it which means you don't have to learn Acrobatics, you just equip the ring if you want to leap about.

Talk to Cid and you'll get another job. Go into the building Rodriguez is guarding and talk to Dargel, just inside the door. Provoke him into fighting but he still won't pay. Tell Cid and he asks that you empty Dargel's chest.

For now, go downstairs and to the left into the pub - don't steal here, not even the coins on the floor, or you'll be attacked. Talk to everyone. Dytar will sell you a bowl. Nico (wants rum) is willing to buy Philus' stall for 300 g, but you have to buy a ring from him. Do it. Finally, talk to Patty and say you'll help her find her father and get her out of town. Leave the pub and talk to Vasili. Go to the fishmonger to give him the good news.

This time turn to your right and go along here. Talk to Finn. Move on and talk to Belshwur - you get a job. Go up the stairs to your right and talk to Hugh. Go into the room and give Cole a potion. You will notice you cannot open the chest here and that's because you need one more level in open locks.

Again, using the quest map, find all the people who need a potion. Arno will ask you to find a bed for his wife, so talk to Costa and pay for it, go back to Arno to tell him and talk to his wife to get a recipe. To get to Josh, go down the stairs to the left of Belshwur and enter the pub. Talk to him about the Delgado business and agree to a tipoff rather than the money. Listen attentively. Give him the potion. Talk to Dirk and you'll find out about his brother Olf. Buy his bowl. Go outside and talk to Cutter.

At some point somebody will ask you to go to the Commandant. Take no notice for now, you are with the Don.

Once you've given a potion to Finn you can talk to Belshwur again for your reward. If Flavio didn't give you a job before, talk to him now. Go to Baxter and give him the skins, he will give you some meat to take to Belshwur, so take it to him. Job done.

Now go past Rodriguez and up the stairs by Lilly to enter the brothel. Note Erikson right in front. Talk to Sonya and pay for information but don't ask for a recommendation yet. Turn around and enter the bathrooms and talk to Gwen, she'll tell you about Erikson. Start asking him questions and he'll attack you. As you rob him you'll see he has a key; when he comes to question him about the shack and finally give him the message to leave town.

Talk to Sonya to get a reward and ask for a recommendation for 50 gp, then talk to Gwen and finally talk to Olga to get her services and XP. Leave the brothel and turn right. Go along here and talk to Edgar on your right, he can train you. Go on and talk to Weasel, also on your right.

He wants you to follow Garth from a distance so do so; unfortunately as you pass the brothel Lilly chooses to talk to you - if you lose Garth don't worry, he is going to meet Cutter. Catch them red-handed, talk to Garth and they both attack - knock out Garth first and concentrate on Cutter. Be sure to rob him while he's out and get his shield. Talk to them both. Back to Weasel, give him the packages; he will give you two names, Alvaro and Konrad.

First, go into the alchemist to your left and talk to him. He needs some herbs, which I hope you've kept - give them to him and you get a potion plus XP. Leave the shop and turn left and go along here till you find Walter. Talk to him (say you'll get him some metal, outside town) and learn about Alvaro, go into the shop and talk to him. Offer to find help for Walter. Out, right, up the stairs, left, talk to the guy and offer him work. Down the stairs, turn left, down the stairs, turn right, out, talk to the guy sweeping by the gate and offer him work. Talk to Walter and to Alvaro. Consult Weasel and he'll tell you what to do.

Turn left and follow the path till you see Toni sitting on a bench. Talk to him and tell him you'll get the amulet. Go to his right and talk to the woman sweeping (Tilda), ask her about Konrad and about her sons. Go into the house and talk to Konrad, consult Weasel.

Talk to Hernandez (keep Toni out of it) and use all the other options, walk into the house. Don't touch anything, guards everywhere with eyes on the back of their heads. Turn right, enter the throne room and walk to the painting, "use" it and a panel opens on your left. The amulet is in the cupboard.

Go upstairs an talk to Olf. Use all the options and pay up 200 gp. You can learn prospecting from him.

Leave the house and give the amulet to Toni. Now we are in for a lot of thieving. Go down the path to the Lighthouse, go up the stairs and talk to Jack, give him some rum and purchase from him a Telekinesis scroll plus his lockpicks (you can never get enough of those). Down the stairs, around the left down some more stairs and enter the basement of the lighthouse. The key is behind the post in front of you and to the left. Armed with this, go up again and sneak in unseen. Open Jack's chest and get the contents. Look up and cast Telekinesis on the bowl to get it. Leave.

Go to the locked door near the fishmonger and enter. Open the chest and examine what you get. Use one of the beds to sleep till midnight. Leave and go all the way up to where you entered the town. Talk to the farmer, kill poor Berta and get her head - of course, you get attacked by the farmer and also (may be) by a guard, so knock them out and leg it down the stairs.

Enter the house behind Rodriguez, sneak upstairs and empty Dargel's chest. Sneak out and head for Alvaro's place. Sneak in through the back (i.e., were the forge is), find the door to the basement and open the chest (RLRLLR). Now for Konrad: sneak behind Tilda, go softly upstairs and use Konrad's bed to place Berta's head on it. Escape via the balcony.

Talk to Weasel, who advises you to go to Sonya. Do so and ask to see Scordo, she'll tell you how. Enter the room where you met Gwen, turn to your right and use the painting. Go through the hidden door and find Scordo, have a chat with him and, amongst other things, he'll tell you he wants three bowls. Give them to him. At the end of the talk, walk past him down the tunnel and open the door to the outside. Come back to Sonya's exploring as you go. A flight of stairs with a switch at the top will let you into the Don's house, but you've already been there.

OK, you can do a number of things here. May be it's early hours, but people are still about. Go to Patty's, turn right and go along the quay, past Anika, to the guard. Talk to him and ask to talk to Romanov but he wants entertainment; off to Sonya's, pay for a girl, speak to Anika and follow her to the guard. Marek disappears around the back, go to him and ask for the key. Go in the cell and talk to Romanov. Leave and talk to Duram if you meet him along the way.

Now you could sneak behind Carasco and empty all the chests, though there is nothing very special in them. What you really have to do is to go past him and up a little cobbled path on your right. You'll see an ogre in front of a door. Run into it, up the stairs and all the way up the ramp - you will be chased but once out of the window you are free. Walk along the planks to another window, drop in and empty all the chests, including Romanov's. Jump out here as safely as you can and take the chest to Romanov (don't bother to try to open it). Talk to him and leave.

On the way to Patty's speak to Lukor and follow him. He'll give you a job. You can easily pickpocket Vasili and Ingvar to get what you need but you'll have to talk to Duram and cough up 200 gp for his key. Go to the entrance of the warehouse you rushed (you can even talk to Ukkos the ogre if you want), up the stairs and into Duram's room, get the contents of the chest and speak to Lukor to finish this quest. The locked door by Duram's cannot be opened yet.

Talk to Patty, refuse her gold and exhaust all the questions. At the end, she will go off to Sonya's. Tell Romanov about it.

Talk to Cid and you will now be able to get the last point in the skill of open lock. Turn to your left, down the stairs and go along the central pier: at the end, turn left and you will see a chest (LRLRLLRR). Might as well go empty the one by Hugh (LRLRRLLR); don˙t forget the door by Duram˙s.

To finish off, go to Josh and tell him about Jack's chest. Ask Dirk to go to the meeting point. Do the same with Dytar at Patty's. Go sell the staff you stole to Alvaro (don't get greedy), cast a Joke spell on Konrad and collect, report to Weasel. Go to the brothel and, facing it, go up the stairs on the right all the way to Carlos - the guard will have to let you in. Inside, Felipe can train you in staff fighting if you really want to. Carlos will be dismayed at your choice of the Don but you get 100 XP just by talking to him.

Finally, talk to Hernandez and he will release Olf, talk to him when he comes out and he will tell you to clear the path to the outside. So go past Scordo all the way out and sort out the beach. Come back and tell Patty the way is clear. Now you can unload all your stuff on Costa, get Edgar to train you in sword fighting (one point) and strength (10 LP), you might even spend 10 LP learning the first two points of Alchemy (Garth/Leonard), which is what I did.

Talk to Olf, join him at Scordo's and tell him the way is clear. Go outside, everybody will be sitting around the fire on the beach.

The World

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Look at the map and see where you are because you'll be coming back here. You need to get to the Camp, of course, but look for gnomes to beat up on the way. You need the tool bags they are carrying.

Go to Esteban, he'll give you your new orders - which are to visit the Inquisitor. If you have a better weapon (may be you've bought a bastard sword), give him the gold sword; buy armour for 1000 gp. Talk to Fincher.

Talk to Beppo for the Tilda quest. Do whatever you need to do here, then head out. Because you'll need LP at the Monastery, let's get the Tilda quest out of the way.

Look at the map: first we are going to Olf then we'll look for Leon where the roads form a small circle, roughly half-way between the Monastery and Harbour Town. Let's go.

After you've spoken to Olf tell Scordo you delivered the package, use the available lines.

Off to the small circle I mentioned, the house you are looking for is to the E of it. Tell Leon about Tilda. Keep prodding him till he tells you what ails him. Head northwards, and when you come to the bridge which leads to the tower, go to your right to a house full of gnomes. Get their tool bags, rest if you need to and get back to the bridge.

As soon as you cross you'll be in trouble with a bunch of skeletons, so entice them onto the bridge and fight them there. To the left of the bridge there are some more gnomes. Enter the tower and you'll find a helmet in the first chest. Go up the tower and kill the undead lord to get his vassal ring. Report to Leon.

Have you got 10 LP? No? Then head towards the Monastery in the north and kill enough creatures on the way to get them and don't go in until you do.

On the road N you'll pass a farm on your left (ignore it) and some gnomes round a fire (ignore them, they are a quest for another class), keep going up and, when it gets really steep you'll pass more gnomes on your left (ignore them). When you get to Bryn talk to him and now you can go back and slaughter this last batch of gnomes and return to him. Continue.

The Monastery

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At the door Santiago will challenge you and you'll find yourself inside but with the door firmly shut behind you. As you approach Pallas he'll tell you what is what. First go to the right to the Bookstand then to the left and talk to Kalib.

Go up the stairs and you'll come out at the centre courtyard. Find William amongst the recruits and finish Tilda's quest (well, until you speak to her). Go back to where you started in the courtyard and keep left. Go through an archway and talk to Tucker. Back to the courtyard, trade with Karlsen if you like, go past him and around the corner and you'll meet Yoki.

Ask to go into the cemetery and offer him two reefers, he'll let you through. In a corner to the south you can dig up some treasure. Enter the crypt and loot it. You'll come across Berengir's chest (Berengir's skeleton, also around here, has the key) but leave it for now. You'll also find your first stone plate (always look at them straight away). Out.

Next left turn, trade with Casper (blank scrolls specially) - we'll be coming back here later. Back to the courtyard, talk to Vitus. He tells you to stay out of the dorms. Oh, yes. As you go along the corridor you will see some pigs to the right, inside that space is Dalman who has the key to the wine cellar. Frankly, it's not worth the trouble to knock him out for it, but it's up to you. Again, there is a door here and you can go in and empty the cupboard but there isn't much in it.

Go back to the corridor, up the stairs and Vince will speak to you. At the top, Enzo has nothing to say. Enter the room to the right and talk to Cyrus for some fun and also you can buy some good stuff from him, namely some runes you could be using presently. If he was at the Bookcase, wait till he moves away, nick the storeroom keys and use the Bookcase. Don't attempt to loot the storeroom till night time.

Out, enter the room opposite and talk to Jarvis, give him what he wants if you have it. Read the Bookcases, talk to Illumar and then Erlan. Go to Caspar and ask for a quill. You need some wings so, without him seeing you, enter the dorms and loot the rooms until you have six. Hand them over and you'll get a quill.

Back to Illumar, invest 5 LP in creating scrolls and he'll give you a rune. Consult his list to see what you need in the way of ingredients. If you have any for the scrolls you want to create, use one of the writing desks.

Out, talk to Ignatius about the gate, go down to the left. Ash doesn't have much to say, go to the end of the corridor and enter the room. Use the Bookcase and find Rufus, who is looking for a book. Don't even think of having a go at the treasure chest (it contains nothing special, anyway). Instead, go back to the cemetery and open Berengir's chest, which contains the book Rufus wants. Take it to him.

The Library

-----------

And now for some fun. Look to the right of Rufus and you will see two rings on the wall. Pull the one to the right, go down the stairs and to the right. Go through the door on your left, get the key, use the Bookstand and generally have a look around. Out, turn left, open the door. From this point I won't repeat the instruction "Use the Bookstand", I'm sure you will see them and use them.

In this room there is a door you cannot open, remember where it is (look at the map), pick up a book (look at it) and move on to the next room. Use the Levitation crystal to levitate to the room below. Look around, use the crystal and open the door. Ahead of you there is a magic field but the spell for this has not yet become available; go right and pull the ring on your left, turn right and enter the next room - fight the skeleton and you know the rest. Out, ahead you will see some stairs, go touch the open lock crystal and run up the stairs to the door I told you to remember. Open it. Before you go in there is another room you can enter as a Nautilus but if you only have one spell for this wait till you have some more. Go in and turn into a Nautilus to go through the hole in the wall. Open the last door and talk to Abrax. Learn the last level of alchemy, which will allow you to make potions for permanent increases in your stats (you'll need recipes). Pull the lever to get out.

If it is night time, you can go and clear the storeroom plus any chests which may be unsupervised. When you are ready go to the big room behind Ignatius (the Holy Hall to you) and talk to the Inquisitor. After a long conversation he'll ask you to follow him; do so and at the end, when you reach the gates, pump him for info. You can go to the Holy Hall, down the stairs to the right as you come in, to sleep in the Inquisitor's room and even clear out his chest (LLLLRRRR).

When you are ready to leave, talk to Ignatius and then to Pallas and the gates will be open.

The World

---------

Mendoza gave you a teleport stone to the Monastery and now we also have to look for lizardmen carrying teleport stones, great.

Go down the road to the farm we ignored earlier. Talk to Severin and in the middle of it all you get attacked by gnomes. When it's over, Severin tells you about someone called Gyrger and asks you to go after him.

Before you go anywhere you can dig up a treasure at the back of the barn here. You could also get the thieving gnomes and there is also a temple near by - don't go in.

If you follow the road SE you'll come to another temple you might like to investigate. Talk to Stan first, if you like. Go in, down the stairs, turn around, pull the ring to the left to disable a trap, go to the other door and cast Telekinesis at the switch above, go in, kill the cricket, get the ring and empty the chest.

From here, cut straight east across country and be sure to visit the temple Fincher told you about: if you look at the map, you will see the long bridge that leads to the peninsula Severin mentioned. You will also see a three-peaked mountain W of the bridge. The Temple is E of that mountain. Find it and enter.

The Eastern Temple

------------------

Talk to Maliko, drop down the trap, find Dirk and hear his story. Move on and go through a hole in the wall on your right, just before the gate. In there you'll find a ghoul amongst other things. Go through the archway and at the end of the corridor turn left to pull a lever and open the gate; Dirk is to your left through the open gate, but go to the right, find the winch and open the big gate; now go and collect Dirk who gives you an old bust. Follow him out and go back into the Temple.

Maliko will speak to you. This time, avoiding the trap, go to your right down the tunnel the only way you can go. You'll find Adan and Dytar, talk to them. At the other end of the room you'll find a gate and an altar. Turn your back on them, move forward and go through the gap on your right. Before you go along the ramp check out the sarcophagi on your left. The first one contains a skeleton and the other one a very good sword. Go on the ramp and empty the chest on the right, carry on and you'll find two ghouls, a dead Danilo and a sarcophagus. Loot them all.

Exit through the other tunnel and meet another ghoul. Kill it and pull the lever, go through the gate and talk to Olf - he has another old bust and tries to sell it to you but in the end he hands it over. Before you follow Olf out up the tunnel go through the gap on the right and find another stone tablet.

Talk to Dytar and go place one of the busts on the altar by the gate. Do the same with the next two altars. You'll find a Nautilus Transform scroll on the ground and that's because you are going to need it. When you are through, don't go right because there is a trap so go left instead to the bright crystal, cast the Nautilus spell and go through the gap below the crystal.

In the other room the first sarcophagus contains a skeleton but the other two just items. Go the only way you can go, i.e., drop down the ledge and you will come to another sarcophagus. Mantle up to the left of it, go along and drop safely down from ledge to ledge until you end up in a room with a sort of bed and a difficult cupboard, go down the stairs and you'll end up in a room with three skeletons.

From the door, to the right a room with a sarcophagus which contains a skeleton and further on a broken bridge. Go up the stairs straight ahead to kill a Lizard Priest carrying one of the disks and a teleporter to the Eastern Temple. You can climb over the rocks to the left to get to a not very interesting sarcophagus and you can levitate over the broken bridge to see what's on the other side.

But really you just need to use the teleporter to the eastern temple to find yourself outside it. Go in to talk to Maliko and then talk to the guys around the fire.

The World

---------

You need to get to the Camp, so teleport to the Monastery and travel from there. Remember to seek out gnomes and lizardmen. If at first you skirt the volcano (look at your map) you will find the northern temple to the W of the Monastery plus an obliging lizardman with the correct teleporter (be sure to pick up a lizard sword and show it to Oscar). Don't enter the temple yet.

As soon as you enter the temple in the Camp Balturo approaches and tells you to go to Patty. Why argue? Say you will. Report to the Don and he'll ask you to bring the discs to him. Report to Fincher and he'll give you a teleporter to the camp. Have him train you in sword and strength.

Do what you need to do and teleport to the southeast coast, we are going to the big bridge. If you look at your map you will see that a road disappears under the mountains and comes out the other end. Use this road and you will be attacked by skeletons. You will see some sort of entrance on your left, but don't go in yet, just remember it. (As soon as you finish the Leon quest come back here and bash the undead lord - it's a quest I wasn˙t given but he does have a formidable shield. Don't forget.) For now, carry on along the subterranean road. Towards the end of this passage you'll find three ghouls and a chest (RLRRRLLL).

Turn your back on the chest and advance and you'll see the exit on your left and an archway on your right. Through this last one you can levitate to a chest with good stuff and levitate back. At any rate, come out of the passage, consult your map and go to the bridge.

The Gyrger

----------

There you'll find Henrik sitting by the fire, ask him what he's doing there and join him to fight the Gyrger. Lead across the bridge and fight all the gnomes. At some point Henrik tells you to take the northern path rather than the eastern one. Do so and you will finally come to a stone archway. Go through and keep left. At a door Henrik will tell you that the tracks lead here, so go in.

At the bottom of the stairs, turn around and pull the ring on the right. Search everything and go through the other door, turn right, go along to the next door on your left, go in and investigate, out, left along the corridor and you'll come out in a room with a gnome turn around and pull the ring on the right at the end of the corridor. Turn around and enter the room on your left, open the chest (RLRLRRLL) and Henrik will tell you to hurry up. Leave the room and go across to the stairs and down. Go left, enter the room and fight the two gnomes (with a bit of luck one of them has the open lock rune), push ahead to meet the Gyrger - between the two of you it's an easy kill. Get the disc off him. Henrik leaves and you can explore in peace. At the back of the room turn around and pull the ring on your left. Search the secret room (chest LLLLRRRR) and the other room with the gravestone (chest LLLRLRRR). Carry on exploring. On the left of the stairs another ring to pull, another secret room. Go up the stairs and when outside, go to your left and down some steps, through a door and more steps turn around and pull the ring on the left, the new secret room contains a skeleton. Go down the stairs on your left to some sort of crypt. Keep left so you don't miss anything (chest LRLLRLRR) you'll also meet another undead lord with a vassal ring (Leon's quest). In another chest you'll find one half of a sword. If you are sure you've been everywhere in the crypt leave, and still going left, you could go up the tower but there are only two gnomes up there.

The World

---------

Explore the whole peninsula. When this is over, teleport to the Monastery and, if you were lucky enough to find the open locks rune, write a whole bunch of scrolls, they'll make your life a lot easier.

Cyrus is late

-------------

Press L and get the quest map and click on "Cyrus is late", so that you know where to go next. Teleport to the SE coast if you can, pick up the underground road again only this time follow it north. You will pass a house on your right, ignore it for now.

If you were to take a detour up a path which goes all the way to the north of the map you'll find two ogres and a piece of another sword. Thought you'd like to know. Oh, and don't venture further north into the East Volcano Cave because it is way too tough.

Get back to where Cyrus is but scout around a bit to find more gnomes. You should be able to find the rest of the tool bags around here. Talk to Cyrus and he'll tell you to search the hut, do so to find a sleeve, tell Cyrus. Go to the house you passed coming up and talk to Jasmin, hire the wolf by buying her furs, click on Rufo to give him raw meat and click on him again to hold out the sleeve. Follow him around. First he takes you to Eldric's hut, then to a strange altar, next to a black rock where I picked up his staff (I never was given the quest) and finally across the river to a temple, where he leaves you.

Try to go in and you can't, click on the magic barrier. Go tell Cyrus and bring him here, talk to him twice and cast the spell. Now you can tell Cyrus to split up, come with you or wait. Up to you. In, keep left, start exploring. When you get to the room with the broken bridge, turn your back on it and go into the first opening on your left. A Watchman has a key. Once you have it go up the stairs and unlock the last room to meet Dork, talk to him and free him. Out.

Keep going left till you find a winch, use it to open the big gate, go in and at the foot of the stairs, on your right, pull the ring. Enter the room which opened behind you, kill the priest, loot the place and pull the lever to free Eldric, talk to him and give him his staff. Leave and, still keeping left so that you miss nothing, make your way to the entrance and ask Cyrus for the disk. He will give it to you. Go back to Eldric, talk to him and follow him to his hut. Some more talk follows and he asks for a crystal; if you don't have it he'll give you the key to his chest, get it and hand it over, then follow him to the altar (keep your distance) and he'll mend the disk, giving it to you.

The World

---------

If you have all the tool bags, get yourself to the back entrance to town and take them to Walter, show him the lizard sword and make what you like of what he says. Scordo might have a teleport stone, if not try the mage. Tell Tilda about her sons, visit Leonard to see if he has any interesting recipes, have Edgar teach you. Finally, go talk to Patty.

Follow her until you end up in a graveyard in the NW. Dig the grave in front of her and give her the casket. You get a job. We are going to have to do this NW corner very thoroughly not only because there is one of the graves here but also two towers for Leon's quest.

(On your way to this section you could find Vasili near the start of the squiggly road . he˙ll stay with you until you dig up the grave.)

In the northernmost tower there are no secret rooms, nothing apart from a chest. The undead lord is waiting outside with his ring. Head south for the next one. Again, nothing special, run around the ruins and when you go downstairs you'll find the undead lord, no problem. Exit the ruins through an eastern arch walk to the rockface, turn left and there is the grave you were looking for.

At this point I determined to finish Leon's quest so I went to the ruin practically opposite the island with the grave in the south. The only warning worth giving about the ruins is that the steps of the tower are over a great hight and therefore you should entice the skeletons to you were you cannot fall off. Before you go to Leon to finish the quest visit the island.

You need to be on the road parallel to the one you are on now and you can just wade to the island. Waiting on the shore is Erikson, talk to him. You'll find the grave on the west, on a ledge you have to jump to. The island is worth exploring for rare herbs and also a cave (on the right of the grave, hidden under vegetation) leads to a chest with another fragment of one of the swords you found.

Before we move on it might be worth your while to go to the Monastery and use one of the spells Cyrus gave you to dispel the magic barrier in the library. Inside, amongst other things, there is a recipe to use wanderlust to make experience potions.

Take the six vassal rings to Leon to complete his quest, then leave his patch, turn left and hug the rock till you come to the next grave. Look at your map and head for the secret entrance of town. As you approach the downwards slope to the beach, keep to the right and you'll find another grave.

Teleport to the northern temple and go to your right, to the cliff edge. The last grave is below you and you might try to drop carefully from rocky ledge to rocky ledge till you reach the ground or levitate down.

Having dug the last grave go to the cemetery where you left Patty. Instead, you'll find Eronga. Follow him to Romanov and cooperate to save Patty. Go into the caves: I learned this the hard way but you don't have to. Don't attempt to dig any of the graves, find Dillinger's and dig it up. Get the treasure and talk to Romanov. As soon as he gives you the key and tells you where Patty is, engage him in conversation while his men go down the path. At the end of the conversation you will be alone; attack him immediately and take back the map.

Incidently, if you look at the map and follow the path right down to the beach you will find to your right a chest with a piece of sword. And now to rescue Patty. Back to the ruins, follow the path south until you go through a stone archway, left, down some stairs, right, down some more stairs which appear to lead nowhere, turn left and you'll find a door. Inside, Patty; talk to her, she'll go back to her tavern.

Now you have the pieces for two or three broken swords, you might want to learn the smithing skill to level 3 and have a bash at mending them to see what they look like. Save. Go to Walter and learn it. Buy a smith's hammer from Alvaro. Go round the back of the shop and use the forge, then the anvil, then the trough and finally the whetstone (wait your turn). You'll find that Souldrinker does 75 damage, the others are no big deal. If you think the effort is worth it, go for it; personally, I found the two-hander too slow, I got along a lot better with a bastard sword and you can also use a shield.

In any case, teleport to the Camp and talk to the Don. You can buy a fighter's armour for 2000 gp. When you've done here teleport to the Volcano and speak to Mendoza. The door opens and lizardmen come out.

CHAPTER 3

After the fight talk to Mendoza again. Follow him in and into another fight. Speaking to him will send you north. After some crickets you will think you've come to a dead end. Mantle up the ledges and follow the last one to where there are a couple of Nautilus, hint, hint. Turn into one and go through the small gap. On the other side, go the only way you can, kill the ghouls and pull the ring between the two doorways. Go through, climb the large slab, turn around and mantle to the floor above.

As you go along here you'll see two rings on your left and as you turn the corner another one ahead of you; stop here and turn left. There is a trap in the floor you'll fall through. If you can see a lizardman ahead of you through the doorway, you can shoot at him. You'll have to save and use acrobatics or levitation to avoid the trap; at the other end, another lizardman. Around the corner is another trap and I couldn't find a way of disarming it so try acrobatics again or levitation. Finally, there is no other way than dropping through the floor trap but equip your weapon before you do, there are two beasts down there. Go up the stairs, kill two lizardmen, use the winch, go through the other doorway, press the switch and then levitate down to the locked gate. Talk to Mendoza.

This time go south. Follow the path to where it takes you - on the right you will see a scorpion, kill it and search a small alcove for a stone plate, turn around and keep going right, into the arms of a ghoul. At the end of the path you will see some columns and you'll have to levitate there. Don't be tempted to shoot at the lizardmen before you do, the priest will fry you. Levitate pressing Space to gain height, kill everybody and search the Watchman for an old bust. You'll find a dead Rufus here, too. Turn into the first doorway and pull the lever. Last time I played the door was blocked and I had to take my pickaxe to it. Go through the other doorway and click on the blocked door on your right, in, kill the lizardman, pull the lever and walk out through the door he was guarding. In the last room, fight the two lizardmen, one is a Watchman and carries the other old bust. Use them on the altars to get through to the winch and levitate down to the gate.

Talk to Mendoza and use the column for some info. Now don't go rushing in through the open gate; use telekinesis on the lever to the left and then everyone will enter. Follow and join in the fight. Mendoza will ask you to find a way of lowering the drawbridge. Go back to the gate without going through and turn your back on it. The path to the right leads to a beast and a dead end, enter both chambers to your left and right, go forward to the edge where Mendoza is, use the column to the left. Go down to the right till you get to the drawbridge. Cast telekinesis on the winch and the bridge will come down. Go over it and meet Brent, pump him for info.

Take the path on his left down to the swamp and keep left (you'll find a nice bastard sword called Runesword near the ghoul), find Jorgensen. You have a mushroomy conversation with him, continue left and up the rocky path. On the left, at the top, there is a room with a brontok and a stone plate, on to the cave, mix it with the hunters, warriors and Watchman (he has a key). To the left of the exit a room with a stone plate, to the right a cell. Unlock it and talk to Dork, free him and he will fight with you if you want. Once outside look at the map because you have to come back here.

Cross the bridge and follow the trail of live and dead hunters until you meet up with Eldric, who'll tell you the hunting party is at the house where you met Jasmin and her wolf. Go over there, kill the lizardmen and find the map on the Leader. Talk to Jasmin and Henrik and now go all the way back to the exit you used from the volcano.

Take the map to Mendoza, follow him and he'll ask you to fetch Ethan. No such person - if you look at the quest map you'll be pointed to Vince, so talk to him and follow him back to Mendoza. Tell him Ethan a.k.a Vince is doing his stuff and he'll ask you to follow him again. He'll give you an old bust to place on the altar and when the door opens be right there to kill everything that comes out. Follow some more, use the column, follow again to Vince/Ethan. Talk to Vince then to Mendoza and he'll tell you to transform into a Nautilus and get into the crypt. Do so.

Clear this section and enter the rooms that can be entered. Amongst others you'll kill a Gatekeeper who has a key. Find the stairs up and do the same thing, find the winch and use it, back down the stairs, you'll see everyone run to the SW, get yourself over there, talk to Mendoza, unlock the door behind you, go in and meet Ursegor. You've got yourself another job. Talk to Mendoza, follow him and talk to him again. Take the lizard bust and go out, turn left and open the first locked door on your left with the bust - kill Zul Utur, empty his pockets. Out, collect the bust and move on to your left to the next locked gate. You've got the idea, so carry on. The last guy has a Titan sword, grab it.

Go to Ursegor and talk to him. At the end, open the sarcophagus and grab the skull. Go across the way and place the skulls on the altars, left to right, in the following order: beast, priest, guardian, Ursegor. The door will open and you'll have a conversation with Mendoza. He flips and you say you'll have to stop him, upon which he takes the huff and disappears behind the gate - two of the guys attack you, you'll have to kill them. Talk to Ursegor.

CHAPTER 4

Take the rune from the sarcophagus. Have a look at the quest map. First things first. Teleport to the Monastery, it has been overrun. Fight your way to Ignatius and talk to him, he'll ask you to send everyone to the Holy Hall. Find Illumar, ask him to write you some scrolls, send him to the Hall. Move on to the courtyard and Vitus will tell you the big boss is in the crypt, so go there and knock the stuffing out of him. As you trot around looking for lizardmen you'll meet Abrax, who will ask you to clear the library of intruders. Get yourself over there. When you've killed everyone go to the Holy Hall and talk to Abrax, Vitus and Ignatius, who asks you to talk to Carlos.

Teleport to the NE temple and talk to Eldric. Teleport to the Camp and talk to Esteban - he also sends you to Carlos. Get to town and speak to him for both men. Teleport to the Camp and talk to Fincher (he'll give you the run of the gold heap). Teleport to town and talk to Esteban - if you have the cash you can buy another armour. Teleport to Ignatius to tell him what happened.

Now, I don't suppose it matters in which order you collect the Titan armour, but here is how I did it for no reason at all other, if anything, than geographical proximity - but you do your own thing.

The Camp Temple

---------------

Back to the camp, talk to Cormac and prepare to go into the Temple. First go to the right of the gold heap, if you want, and the Watchman will have to let you in - loot all the chests. Next, go through the gap to the left of the gold heap.

Go the only way you can, kill the ghouls and destroying the magic barrier with the scroll Illumar gave you. Push ahead, kill the two skeletons and when you get to the big room, use the usual doorway tactics to get rid of the opposition.

Search this room - to the far end, two of those wretched altars. Turn your back on them and mantle up to the right. Here you'll find three blocked doors. The one on the right can be pickaxed but only contains a skeleton. The one on the left can also be pickaxed and it contains a switch. Use it to open the middle door. Don't rush in. Watch for a while the pattern of the spikes raising. Try this: imagine ahead of you a grid marked along the top A, B, C and 1, 2, 3, 4 along the side. Step on A4, A3, B3, B2, C1 and I hope you make it safely to the other side. Use the lever on your right, click on the sarcophagus and kill the skeleton to get a bust. Leave and drop down to the big room. Go to the heap on your right and mantle up to the very top then levitate to the other level on the side. This time the switch is in the middle door, and it opens the door on the right. The door on the left just contains a skeleton.

Go through the door on the right. There are five sarcophagi, and the ones you want are the centre one at the top (good stuff) and the one next to this one on the right, which has the bust you want. The rest contains skeletons.

Right, off we go to the altars to place the busts. In, fight the beasts from the doorway and get rid of them. You cannot kill the shadow lord, you can only hope to destroy him by pressing the switches and enticing him on to the flames. Just keep running between the one on the left and the one on the right dodging his blows and avoiding the flames. Because he follows you he eventually gets fried and you get your first Titan item. Teleport to the Camp to sort yourself out.

Teleport to the western ruins and start working your way N to the red dot to the W of the Camp. On the way, as well as hordes of lizardmen, you'll meet Patty (at the start of the squiggly path N and she will join you if you want). Follow this path and then the next NE, and when it turns NW go into the waterfall on your right and clamber up to get in.

The Tomb Behind the Waterfall

-----------------------------

Stay on the upper ledge and you will eventually reach a circular dead end with some stingrats, climb a couple more ledges. On your left, a dead end; on your right an ashbeast. After you've killed it follow the path to the right and you'll see a sort of boulder ahead of you. Ignore the path to the left and mantle on the boulder and again to reach the floor above. Three ghouls will give you a lot of grief, keep well away from the hole lest you fall. If you search this room you'll find a Beserker sword, try it out if you like.

Destroy the barrier and go in. Save. Careful here, there is a gap and you'll have to levitate across and over the next spike trap, too. Or try a double acrobatic jump. When you deal with the next two guys avoid falling through the floor trap. You'll see two levers on the far wall, the one on the left opens the gate and lets you get a peek of what there is below: you could do an acrobatic jump to the gate ahead of you to get at the chest and open the gate with the switch, but it isn't worth doing right now; try later if you really want to. The lever on the right will allow you through the first falling gate, only to find another falling gate - cast telekinesis on the lever to the left and you'll be able to get through.

The first sarcophagus contains a skeleton and the other one some indifferent items. There is a treasure chest here. Move on, jump over the small gap to reach the undead warriors and follow the path. An undead beast, next. Finally you'll come to a closed gate which opens from the other side, this being the gate you saw from above on the other side.

Go back to the drop trap and drop down. To your right is a gate that allows you to climb back up. Go straight ahead. You'll come to two sarcophagi, the one on the left contains a skeleton and the other one some items. Move on to a room full of brontoks; also here there is a Map Column, and much good may it do you. You will see a huge gate on the left wall.

Go through the doorway on your left and levitate over the traps (there is a light crossbow and a bolt here), pull the lever to disable them and turn the winch. Back to the main room, pickaxe the middle door and press the button once, out, go to your right and along and you'll see a drawbridge. Back to the switch and press it again, out, this time go to your left and the door will be open, sneak on the beast and give it what for. Go up the stairs, fight the warrior and turn the winch. Downstairs, turn right, go to the edge of the lava and shoot the winch in the distance: you'll see the drawbridge drop.

Turn around, transform into a Nautilus and go through the hole. The chest here contains a Titan bow, the sarcophagus just some items. If you go to your right, the two levers open exits to already visited rooms. You need to go to the drawbridge.

Cross it, go to your left, pull the ring on the wall, turn left and jump the gap, enter the room on your right and loot it, out, turn right and up the stairs, turn the winch, pull the lever and get out. The huge gate will now be open so go through it: in a chest up these stairs there is another piece of Titan armour. You can turn your back on the chest, pickaxe the door on your right, go along and pull a lever and you'll find yourself in a visited room. But really, you are finished here.

Teleport to the Camp for a breather. I'm going to go to the tomb to the E of the Camp. Head as if you were going to Rhobart's but go to the N instead. You'll see the next tomb ahead of you.

The Tomb to the East

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Go in, take either path around the central rock studded with crystals and you will meet Brogar - you'll have to kill him. Levitate across, get rid of the brontoks and go along the only path to the left. Keep following it till you are in front of a ruin. You'll have to levitate to the lower doorway.

Break the magic field and don't rush in. Right in front of you there is a square you'll recognise as a spike trap. Run around it and hope that the warriors take a short cut across it. At any rate get rid of them. Ok, stay just inside door through which you entered. With your back to it, there is a doorway to your right and two gates, one open to your left and one closed to your right. Go into the left one and have a look around, step outside the gate and cast telekinesis on the bust to get it; the gate will, of course, close. Turn right and you'll see a closed door and two altars.

Now take the doorway by the entry point and fight everyone. Go back to the entrance to this room, hug the left wall and find a gap, turn into a Nautilus and go through. You'll find yourself in the same room as Mortares (whoever he is) and he'll attack you as soon as you return to normal, kill him, place his bust on the altar, go through the gate, turn around and cast telekinesis on the bust to retrieve it. Place the two busts on the altars and the main door will open.

Inside, two priests (one of them carrying a teleport stone - it appears we are in the Western Volcano Cave) and a helmet hanging in mid-air, grab it and teleport out of here. Go to the Camp and talk to Sam, sitting by Louis. Look at the map, to the E: that's the Eastern Volcano Cave I warned you about earlier. Well, you are in for it now. Get yourself over there.

Eastern Volcano Cave

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Take the left hand-side upward slope and if you keep to your left you will see that this cave links with the western one; but you want the next turning where you'll se an ashbeast and the magic barrier. Enter it the usual way and after you've fought look around the room and you'll find the two altars and closed door. Go up the stairs through the lit doorway; ahead of you a closed gate which can be opened with a lever. Too easy. Look at the floor to see a drop trap. For some reason you cannot get the bust with telekinesis so levitate to get it and levitate out.

Turn left and you'll see a spike trap. Again levitate (pressing Space like mad) to the other side, pull the ring on the left to disarm it. Go through the doorway. To your left, a blocked door and a sarcophagus which contains a skeleton, to your right two sarcophagi with items (behind the one on the right there is a gap in the wall). Going on ahead, hug the wall by the grate on the floor. The next room contains a couple of items and a sarcophagus with a skeleton. Go through the gap in your Nautilus disguise.

Follow the path to the right. You will notice a blocked doorway on your left, but if you carry on you'll get to a watery place (this is where you would have fallen trying to take the bust). The warrior carries good stuff and in the NE corner you can dig up a treasure. Going up the stairs here will take you out to a visited area, so go back to the blocked door and pickaxe it.

Go in and to your left and use telekinesis on the lever to stop the falling door then levitate across the lava. In front of you a gap in the wall, so it's Nautilus time. Go through, kill the warrior, grab the bust, empty the sarcophagus, pull the lever and get out. Go around to the other door, pull the lever and you'll be through to the two altars. Place the busts on them and go in to kill the warriors and get the shield. Teleport to the Monastery, go to the temple N of Severin's farm.

The Plains Temple

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Go in, kill the scorpions, go through the doorway and cast telekinesis on the lever to stop the falling gate, go on in. On your right, the magic barrier. Destroy it and go through, on, another door to pickaxe, advance to the altar, turn around and cast telekinesis on the bust, place it on the altar and a door will open on your right. Go in, open the sarcophagus and get the armour. I can't believe how easy that was. Of course if you want more excitement go towards the entrance, turn left when you see a brightly lit gap. You just jump across and clamber up until you meet with a priest and find a sarcophagus which contains a skeleton and the few items here don't really merit the effort.

The End Game

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Teleport to the northeastern temple and go to Eldric. He'll take you to the altar and recharge the armour - wear it all and teleport to the Monastery. Enter the volcano and seek Ursegor. Talk to him then face Mendoza. Kill him and empty his pockets. Wear the ocular and place the skull on the altar. The gate opens. Save and go in.

From this moment on you are on your own. Watch where you step: the floor keeps disappearing. You see runes on the ground, move away. The idea is to reflect the Titan's spells back to him with your shield and, while he is briefly stunned, to whack him. OK? Well, get on with it. I have to confess I have yet to beat this fellow, I keep falling into the lava. But I'm sure you will.

In any case it's all over. Well, sort of. Because you can do a lot more exploring and you can play the whole thing again twice as the other classes. The basic game will be the same, there'll just be other quests.

The Other Classes

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I played the game through as a Warrior of the Order and started as a Mage, and I can tell you that, in both cases, you begin by going to the Camp doing exactly as above only you don˙t talk to Fincher when you get through to the Don . nor do you agree to do anything for the Don, you just pump him for info.

In Harbour Town you don˙t talk to the Don˙s men but rather to the named Warriors and follow their instructions, going always ´For the Order�. In other words, you do the Don˙s men˙s quests as instructed but give the spoils to the Warriors. The aim is to rid the town of the thieves. You also do the Belshwur˙s quests as you did before, and the rest is the same (triplets, Patty, etc.). Of course, in the case of Romanov you give his casket to Sergio. You visit Carlos the moment he summons you and when you˙ve completed all the quests you talk to him again to get a recommendation. The bad news is that you don˙t get the third level of open lock since you shopped Cid, and you˙ll have to wait to get the rune to open the difficult locks here. By the way, when you are after a teleport stone for the town you˙ll get it from Carlos.

As soon as you enter the Monastery and before you talk to Pallas save a special game so you can try being a Warrior or a Mage. As a Warrior you go to your left and talk to Kalib, as a Mage you go to your right instead.

In either case you are taken to your room and Mendoza tells you to solve a murder. You collect all the evidence from the room (where you will be sleeping) and with the help of Caspar you talk to all the named recruits as well as the cook and the smith, time and again plus you report to Vitus.

First, though, as a Warrior you have to complete your basic training fighting Tucker, William and Kato, and finally Aric (by the way, you must have a novice˙s staff in your inventory but you can fight with whatever you want). Then you go to Pallas for a list of the people allowed out and you start questioning everyone (don˙t forget Dalman with the pigs).

Eventually Caspar suggests you offer reefers to everyone (save the Masters, of course), so you do that and you offer some to Aric as well . he˙ll warn you to be careful. Once you˙ve done that Casper suggests you go to the washroom. Get into a bath and wait for the murderer (I won˙t tell you who it is).

OK, you also have to do tests for the Masters. Vitus˙s has to do with the book Rufus wants from the cementery. Ignatius sends you to find Nathan in a Temple and get his crystal. Abrax wants some herbs and his servants . Sirius is sitting by a fire in Severin˙s farm and Krayban you˙ll find by turning left from Sirius and searching around here till you find him at the foot of a mini cliff, stone dead.

That˙s about it, really. Once you˙ve found the murderer and done the tests, you go to Ignatius who takes you to Mendoza. From there on it˙s just as before. The Don will hand over his disk like a lamb, though.

Given that the Mage has to solve the murder also, I doubt if there are mamy more additional quests for that character as opposed to the Warrior.

At any rate, won˙t it be fun to find out?