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Hero's Quest I: So You Want to Be a Hero
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written by Johnny Vogler
[email protected]
18 Jan 2002
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(It was later renamed "Quest for Glory I" because of a board game called
"Hero Quest," which, I might point out, I've played, and it's quite a
fun game. This solution was created using the old edition of the game,
but there are only a few slight differences to the two editions.)
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The Basic Run-Down:
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You really need to do one thing to beat the game, and that is to rescue
the Baron's daughter Elsa. But there are several other things that you
should do to really establish yourself as a hero, two big ones among
them. I would recommend beginning by talking to the people in town
("ask about...") and then exploring the valley. Go to every screen and
see what is there. You will find many things that you need to take to
other places. See if you can find the Healer's ring, which will give
you a nice start with 6 gold and 2 healing potions. Go to the Baron's
castle ("open gate") and meet the swordmaster. Meanwhile, or
afterwards, it might be a good idea to build up your character,
especially if you chose to be a fighter. If you chose to be a thief,
then go rob a few people. If you chose to be a magic-user, then make
sure you find all the spells. And then you have three main tasks to
accomplish. First, you should rescue the Baron's son, the Baronet
Barnard. Then you need to penetrate the brigands' fortress and learn
the identity of their leader. Optionally, you can either end the game
right there or continue with your final task, which is to rid the valley
of the evil witch Baba Yaga.
If you haven't played the game yet, then I would recommend that you go
play it now and see what puzzles you can solve, since that's most of the
fun of the game. If you got stuck or just want to see if you missed
anything, then read on. There are also a few cheats, but my personal
opinion is that it takes the fun out of the game to cheat. On the
second edition of the game (the VGA edition, Quest for Glory I; not the
EGA edition, Hero's Quest I), there is a way to cheat for gold using
mushrooms. On either edition, there is a code used by the developers to
let them do, basically, whatever they wanted, and that really takes the
fun out of the game because you can go wherever or get whatever you
want.
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Tips for Building your Character
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The one way to build up your skills is to practice them. You can build
up each skill to a maximum of 100. I find that the abilities (the ones
on the left in the Ctrl-S screen) are best built by building up the
skills (the ones on the right). For example, intelligence is best built
by using magic (and less so by using the other skills). Vitality,
agility, and strength are built by doing nearly anything; vitality is
even built by resting. Any practice will drain some vigor points, but a
"rest" command will gain back 2 or 3 vigor points as well as 2 magic
points (and sometimes a health point). You can always rest if your
vigor points are no higher than half full, and otherwise you can rest
about once per time of day (i.e. about once every three hours, though I
haven't confirmed this).
Fighting the weapon master is a good way to build up fighting skill,
especially when your fighting skill is low, since it gives you a chance
to practice either weapon use (attack), parry, or dodge without risking
getting hurt or killed. Have your vigor points full to get your money's
worth, since you fight until you run out of vigor points (or you or he
wins by pushing the other to the edge of the screen). Thus it is
convenient to fight him when you first wake up in the morning (if you
had a night's sleep), or perhaps after working in the barn (which,
surprisingly, doesn't take any vigor points). It can, however, be
easier to work up your skills with real monsters. It's cheaper that
way, and so it is worth doing when you only have half of your vigor
points (i.e. after resting). So you may want to fight the weapon master
a few times until you can fight a goblin without much trouble (or just
bring along some healing potions), and then fight a goblin to work up
your dodge and parry skill. Hit the goblin until he's almost beaten,
and then just keep dodging or parrying until you run out of vigor. Make
the fatal blow, take his money, and rest. Find another goblin. I find
the screen with the goblin ambush ideal for this. Building your weapon
use is a little harder, since you have to keep looking for more
monsters. But after building lots of other skills, when you have a lot
of agility and vitality (i.e. a lot of vigor points), you can get a lot
of weapon use skill from the weapon master (again).
A great place to build up your stealth is to try to sneak in the cave
where the kobold is. The first time you go there, sneak until you
crouch. Then walk and do it again. When your stealth is built up
enough that you always sneak on the first try, you can still build it up
by typing "sneak" and "walk" alternately, repeatedly. You don't build
up your sneak skill very fast by walking around while sneaking
(surprisingly).
You can practice picking locks inside the town at night, but a better
place is at the Healer's house. No one will come and take you away from
there. You'll never get in, but it builds up your skill quite fast.
Alternately, after your skill is fairly high, you can actually build it
up by picking your nose. I'm serious! Type "pick nose," and it builds
up your lock-picking skill. Don't try that when you're a novice,
though, or it'll kill you.
The place where I usually build my climbing skill is at the target. You
can only climb over the wall at night, but it's a great place to climb
over and over, back and forth. In fact, even if you want to sleep in
the inn, you can climb back and forth while "the night is still young,"
and then go into the inn before it closes right at midnight.
The target is, of course, the obvious place to practice your throwing
skill. It's less monotonous if you have several daggers (like 5 or 10,
depending on your preference). Throw them all, and then take them
again. (When throwing daggers at monsters, make sure to pick them up
again after you kill the monster. Another trick to throwing daggers at
monsters is to "escape," get to the edge of the screen, and then throw a
dagger. If you have enough time to hit him with it - some monsters run
very fast - then escape again and repeat until you run out of daggers or
kill the monster. If you don't have a sword, stop before throwing your
last dagger.) I find this a less-effective way to build throwing skill,
just due to the scarcity of magic points, but casting a flame dart
actually builds up your throwing skill rather noticeably.
Finally, your magic skill is best built by building your skill in
individual spells (which you see on the Ctrl-I screen), and you build
skill in each spell simply by casting them. You don't even need to cast
them with any use. Just keep casting open or detect or dart or whatever
until you run out of magic.
Generally, one practices a skill until he runs out of vigor points, and
then rests as much as he can and repeats. Meanwhile, the resting also
restores your magic points, so you cast spells amid your practicing
other skills so that you never get all of your magic points back. You
can get into a routine of this. For example, the (game) days just fly
by if you sleep in the inn, work at the stable, practice with the weapon
master, cast spells and rest, cast spells and practice picking locks at
the Healer's, or throwing daggers at the target, resting and casting
spells as you can, and then climbing over the city wall repeatedly when
night falls, and returning to the inn just before midnight. The final
section gives an alternate method if you want to try to do it all in
little game time.
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A More Detailed Run-Down:
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Here I will describe several of the things that you can or should do in
the game, with the intent to describe all ways at a problem (usually
there are several, but I might have missed a few).
Look around the town
You automatically get 1 puzzle point when you start the game, apparently
for walking into the town. You'll get another for talking to the
sheriff. (For example, he knows the Baron's name, and you may need that
bit of information later.) A good place to go next is to the
Adventurer's Guild to the left. Read the book. Sign the book. (Then
you can read it again if you like.) Look at the board to see what
adventures are awaiting you. Wake up and talk to the guildmaster (ask
about the various adventures, for example, or the heads on the walls).
Go to the magic shop and talk to Zara, the shopkeeper. Go to the food
stand and talk to the centaur, Hilde. Eventually, you'll need 50 apples
from her (she sells them 10 at a time). Talk to the man in the dry
goods shop. There's not much in the tavern, but you'll find it has more
significance later. (Also, if you saw the signs on the doors of the
barber, the baker, and the butcher, then you'll enjoy finding all three
of them in the tavern.)
In the alley next to the bar, there is a beggar. Give him a coin and
talk to him. At night, you will find not a beggar but two thieves, and
a thief (or anyone with lock-picking ability) would do well to make
himself known to them. Show them the thieves' sign and get the
password. (The password is not the same every time you play the game.)
They'll tell you whom to tell the password. (He's the goon in the
tavern.) At the inn, you'll get points for eating a meal and spending a
night. In the evening, you'll find the merchant Abdulla at the table,
and you should talk to him. In fact, you should buy him dinner.
Outside of town, to the north, you'll find another centaur, Hilde's
father. Talk to him. Specifically, he knows something interesting
about the brigands which will come to make more sense later. Go to the
castle north of the Healer's house, and talk to the guard, Karl. (He
knows about the Baron's family, for example.) Ask him to open the gate,
and he will oblige you. Inside, there are two important things. You
can work at the stable (which the beggar in town will tell you about;
ask about work), and this will get you a few points. Also, sometimes
the swordmaster will appear in the center square. Anyone should at
least talk to him. A fighter should practice with him. Eventually, the
fighter should try to beat him. But anyone, for a price, can gain a lot
of fighting skill without risking life (or health points) by practicing
with him. Remember that the more vigor points you have when you
practice, the longer your practice will be, and the more beneficial.
Finally, there is Bruno. Sometimes Bruno will stand just outside the
town gate. He can be a mine of information, but the information is
costly, and some of it is faulty. You won't get points immediately for
talking to him, but if you get one bit of (paid) information, then
you'll get points when you leave the screen. He will play another role
later in the game. For now, the most important thing he can tell you is
how to get into Baba Yaga's hut.
The Healer's ring
The board in the adventurer's guild says that the Healer lost her ring
and is offering a reward for its return. When you meet the Healer and
leave her house, she tells you the same thing. So you look for the
ring. If you ask about her pet bird, you find that he has a girlfriend
outside the Healer's house. You can see the girlfriend bird in its nest
in the tree. The big secret is that the ring is embedded in the nest.
There are three ways to get it (that I know of). If you throw a rock at
the nest and hit it, you can knock it out of the tree and get the ring
that way. If you climb the tree, you can pull the ring right out of the
nest. Finally, if you cast the "Fetch" spell, you can reach the ring by
magic. However you get it, you'll get 3 points for acquiring the ring
and 10 more for returning it to the Healer.
'Enry the 'Ermit
Henry is not vital to the success of the game, though you should talk to
him (for a few puzzle points) and he has a spell for those with magical
ability. You'll find him by the waterfall, Flying Falls. First you
have to reach his door. With enough climbing skill, you can climb up
the wall to the platform where his door is, but there is an easier way.
If you pick up some rocks, you can throw them at his door. Three
knocks, and he will come out and show you how to climb up (even for
those with no climbing ability), because there is an invisible ladder
against the wall. Alternately, if you've already found the Detect Magic
spell, then you can detect the ladder yourself. Once on the platform,
you'll get a point for knocking on the door, but walk out of the way
when he tells you or you'll get knocked off. Then you get 5 points for
walking inside and 2 more for talking to him. And, as I've mentioned,
he has a spell for those with magical ability. He'll also invite you to
spend the night for a ration, if you care to.
Erasmus
North-east of town, you'll find a house on a precarious peak, with signs
marking it as "Magic Mountain" (in various languages). Climb up the
path (you'll be sick at the top if you don't have enough vigor points)
and you'll find a gargoyle who reminds you of the keeper of the bridge
on Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. "What is your name?" he
will ask. Of course, you chose that at the beginning of the game. He
then might ask, "What is your quest?" (to become a hero, of course, and
"hero" is a sufficient answer) or "What is your favorite color?" (and
we'll hope it matches that of the decorator of the house) or "Whose
spell protects the town?" (which Zara in the magic shop knows, for
example) or "What is the Baron's first name?" (which the sheriff knows)
or "Whom do you seek here?" (and it had better be the owner of the
house). He might even ask you what the thieves' password is, but he
really doesn't want to hear it.
You get 3 points for entering Erasmus' house, but then you really should
bide the gargoyle's instructions to go right up the stairs to the tower.
You'll find that Erasmus was watching you in that room. Erasmus is
quite a character. Talk to him (for a point). If you have magical
ability, then when you have enough spells (open, fetch, flame dart, and
trigger, Erasmus will explain) and enough magical ability, Erasmus would
love to play a game with you. The reward is another spell, dazzle, and
some puzzle points if you are a magic-user.
Erana's Peace
Due north of the healer (though you can't get there by going due north)
is the famous and peaceful Erana's Peace. Zara and Erasmus will tell
you about the good magic-user Erana and her spell of protection over the
town (though Erasmus will criticize the spell). The Healer asks you to
bring her flowers from Erana's Peace. (She needs 15 of them, and you
pick 5 at a time.) You should eat some fruit from the tree. If you
have magical ability, then an open spell will yield the calm spell. If
you are a magic-user, then you'll get some points for spending the night
in Erana's Peace. (I.e. sleep there.)
The Fox
Three screens due east of the town, along the path, a fox may appear in
a trap. He's not always there, but he will speak to you if you find
him, begging for your help. Free the poor fox, and he will give you a
bit of advice. He will tell you of the Dryad.
The Dryad
South-west of the town, you can find a white stag. He will leap away,
heading west. Follow, and he will do it again. Follow, and you will
find him in the realm of the Dryad. Approach the tree and the Dryad
will speak to you. She will ask for a seed from the Spore-Spitting
Spirea to the north, in exchange for which she will give you the formula
for a dispel potion that you will need to save Elsa (according to what
the fox tells you, and the fox is right).
The Spore-Spitting Spirea
North and slightly west of the town, you can find some plants apparently
playing catch with a seed. It seems that it is one of their own seeds,
and the Dryad wants one. There are several ways to get the seed. You
can cast fetch. You can climb up to a plant and catch the seed when
they spit it your way. Or you can pick up some rocks, throw them at the
seed, and literally knock it out of the air. Nice trick!
The Meeps' Peep
The meeps are a funny race of small, furry animals that live due west of
the town. Talk to them. Their spokesman is a green meep. He can give
you two things. In case you have magical ability, he has a spell scroll
for you with the spell detect magic on it. But the Dryad told you to
get green fur. "Fur?" says the meep, "it keeps us warm!" Yes, yes.
But ask about green fur, and he will give you some.
The Mushroom Circle
Near the Meep's Peep and the Dryad, slightly east of both, is a circle
of mushrooms. It is one of two places to find the mushrooms that the
Healer needs for her potions. (She needs 9 of them, and you pick 3 at a
time.) More importantly, the Healer will tell you that fairies come out
by circles of mushrooms at night. Go to the circle at night and you
will see the fairies. They are an interesting group and will remind you
of a bunch of giggly girls. Oblige them, and they will be kind enough
to give you the fairy dust that the Dryad has sent you to get. But make
sure you have an empty flask handy when you do, because you can't carry
the dust in your hands.
Flying Falls
You've been here before. This is where the hermit lives. The hermit
will tell you about the Flying Falls (and add that he's had some flying
falls himself). You might take a hint and suspect that flying water can
be found at the Flying Falls, and you would be right. Have an empty
flask handy and get some water. "Clever!" the Healer will call you.
When you bring all of the ingredients to the Healer, she will tell you
to come back later. The next time you enter her house, she will have
the dispel potion ready for you.
Mirror Lake (a.k.a. Spiegelsee)
Just south-west of the Flying Falls is Mirror Lake. There isn't much
here, but you get a point just for looking. You can see your reflection
in the lake. More interestingly, sometimes (at night, I believe), you
can catch a submarine heading into the lake and running into the side.
Look at the submarine before it submerges again, just for fun.
Brauggi
One screen north of the path, east of the town, you will find a big man
with an ax. He wants fruit. More specifically, he wants 50 apples,
which you can buy in the city. Give him the apples, and he will give
you a glowing gem in exchange. You'll need this gem if you want to see
Baba Yaga.
Baba Yaga
North-west of the town, you'll find a fence topped with skulls and a
house on chicken legs behind it. The skull on the gate will tell you
that he wants glowing eyes like the other skulls, and he will befriend
you if you acquire a glowing gem for him. Give him the gem, and he will
let you in. Say the magic phrase (taught to you by Bruno outside the
town gate), and the house will sit down, allowing you in.
Unfortunately, the inside isn't especially friendly, as the witch turns
you immediately into a frog. But she lets to go with a promise to find
her a mandrake root by the next morning. The Healer knows where to find
a mandrake root. Talk to her. When you bring the root back, Baba Yaga
will take the root from you and then, mercifully, if reluctantly, oblige
her pets by rewarding you with your life. She'll let you go with a
warning never to return. You leave, but you will have one more chance
to return at the very end of the game. (If you don't see Baba Yaga
until after you find Elsa, then you won't be able to get all the points;
she won't ask you for the mandrake or take it from you.)
The Graveyard
The Healer will tell you that mandrake root can only be picked at
midnight. You can find a mandrake root in the graveyard, and if you try
to pick it at any other time, it will crumble to dust in your hands.
When the time (Ctrl-T) is "The middle of the night," then the mandrake
root will not crumble to dust. Unfortunately, when you enter the
graveyard at this time, the ghosts attack you and kill you. What can
you possibly do? Well, you buy undead unguent from the Healer and apply
it ("use unguent") before entering the graveyard. The ghosts will leave
you be, and you can take the mandrake root. Bring it to Baba Yaga.
The Bear
Immediately south-east of Erana's Peace, you will find an ogre guarding
a cave. He's a push-over for someone who doesn't want to fight him,
because he runs so pathetically slow. You can easily just run around
him. Alternately, you can run circles around him throwing daggers
and/or casting flame darts at him. With enough throwing skill, enough
daggers, enough flame dart and magic skill, and enough magic points, you
can easily kill him without even engaging in hand-to-hand combat. But,
if you'd like, you can just run right up to him and fight him like a
man. A fighter gets points for killing him (however he kills him). He
carries a treasure chest with money.
Behind the ogre is a cave. Enter the cave and you will find a bear. He
is shackled, but still dangerous. Don't approach the bear without
taking precautions. Specifically, you can either give him some food or
you can cast a calm spell. This will appease the bear for now, and you
can walk by him. When you come back the same way, you'll have to
appease him again. As you walk by, you might want to try to free him,
but you cannot pick the lock on the shackles, and you will need to
acquire a magic key.
Behind the bear is another room with three things inside. Most obvious
of the three is a kobold sitting cross-legged and asleep in a corner.
He has a key around his neck. You can guess what the key unlocks.
There are several ways to get the key. A fighter and a magic-user get
points for killing the kobold, so they should try that. The thief
doesn't and may prefer an alternate method. If you want to kill the
kobold, then you can either do it up close or from a distance. Take a
step, cast a spell, make any move, and the kobold will awake, tell you
to leave, and attack you with magical spells. If you "fight kobold,"
then you will enter a fighting mode similar to that with the
swordmaster. He's pretty tough, but he can be killed with sword or
dagger. He will teleport behind you a few times, but you'll turn
automatically to face him again. Alternately, since he's throwing magic
spells at you, you can either throw daggers or flame darts back at him.
As before, he's tough, but he can be killed by either way (or the
combination of both). (After he dies, you can still get your daggers
back.) You needn't kill him, however, to get the key. If you have
stealth, then you can sneak. The game may tell you that you cannot,
that you need more practice, but you get practice just for trying. So
try, try again until you crouch, and then walk up to the kobold and take
the key right off his neck. Alternately, someone with magical ability
can cast fetch to get the key and then simply run away. Any way you do
it, you'll get 7 points for getting the key and 25 more for freeing the
bear back in the first room.
Meanwhile, there is also a table full of mushrooms. This the second
place where you can find mushrooms for the Healer. If you got 9 of them
at the circle, though, then you won't need these. Lastly, walking to
the south or bottom-left end of the room will run you into an invisible
chest. Alternately, a detect magic spell will reveal it to you. A good
open spell or a good lock-picking skill will be needed to get this chest
open without setting off its trap. A fighter might prefer to simply
smash the chest ("break chest"), but he'll have to bear the brunt of the
trap. It will get you 5 points, however, and a good deal of money.
After you free the bear, a walk back to the castle of the Baron will be
rewarded by a hero's welcome, 10 puzzle points, 50 gold coins, a
personal audience with the Baron (talk to him for 3 more points), and an
(obligatory) free night's stay in the castle.
Bruno and Brutus
Once you've freed the bear (whether or not you've returned to the
castle), a few things happen. If you go to the tavern at this time,
then you may have to be pretty perceptive to notice a note under the
barstool. But take the note and you'll see it's about you, from "B."
and written to "B." Hmm.
Now go to the target immediately south of the town, but make sure you
enter it from the east, and you will catch two people talking. One is
Bruno, the man at the entrance to the town who charges so much for
information. The other is obviously a brigand, and his name is Brutus.
They are talking about the brigands and they let drop some important
information. They speak of a back entrance to the brigands' lair and
how to get "Fred" to let you by. Bruno makes certain that Brutus still
has his key, and then he walks off.
You get 12 points for listening to this conversation, but be careful how
you move afterwards. If you move when Bruno is still there, he'll kill
you with two poisoned daggers. If you move south, you'll see him
walking away, and he'll kill you there too. You can, however, move
south and immediately turn around and re-enter the screen with the
target before he sees you. This gives you three options on how to treat
Brutus. You can just leave the way you came and let him be. You get no
extra points for killing Brutus. But you can kill him, and you will
find his key. You can throw daggers or flame darts at him as soon as
Bruno is gone (be warned: you can't get these daggers back), and he will
throw daggers back at you. If you go south and re-enter the screen, he
will call you a spy and attack you face-to-face. (He's just a brigand,
but he's a tough one.) If you kill him in either way, then you can take
his key. (He has no money, though.)
The Brigands' Lair
When you paid him for the information, Bruno told you where to go to
find the front door to the brigands' lair. That way is guarded by
brigands with arrows and brigands with swords, so make sure you're up to
it. When you get an arrow in the head, it may seem that it is
impassable, but you can go through the front door. You'll be hit less
if you run through the pass, and then immediately jump over the log to
attack the brigands on the other side. Kill them, and you're through.
Alternately, Bruno and Brutus told you how to go in through the back.
By the Antwerp is the back door they referred to. If you took Brutus'
key, then you can simply unlock the door. If not, a weak open spell
will unlock on the door and a strong one will open it. A bit of lock-
picking ability will also unlock the door, and a bit of strength and a
good push will open it. After you've opened the door, if you walk in,
you'll immediately be attacked by Fred, who is a rather powerful troll.
If, instead, you give the password that Bruno and Brutus told you before
you enter the door, then Fred will not be there. Note also that you'll
get the most points by entering the brigands' lair through the back door
and giving the password. Brute force earns you less points. Inside the
secret entrance is a cave. Below you is the exit, which will leave you
just past the brigands guarding the front entrance. To the left is the
back of the cave, where a pile of junk yields some money, but Fred won't
let you at it with just the password. So if you really want to kill the
troll, then go for the money and fight down Fred.
When you exit the cave, you'll find yourself hidden behind a bush which
rattles when you move. You have to go through the cave if you want to
take the thief's solution, but the front entrance will work just as well
for the fighter's or the magic-user's solutions. There is a minotaur
guarding the main gate. He grumbles about guard duty. Later, you'll
learn that his name is "Toro," and he is a friend of Elsa.
Nevertheless, the fighter will earn 5 points for killing him. A hero
coming out of the cave can sneak, and Toro will never notice him. A
hero with magical abitily can put him to sleep with a calm spell. A
more forthright hero, however, will simply attack. He's a tough
opponent, but he can be killed.
Then there is the door. Knocking or ringing the bell, of course, is not
a wise way to approach the door. A cautious hero will climb the wall on
the right. One with magical ability can cast an open spell. And a
fighter can actually break down the door and storm in, making me wonder
why that's any more discreet than knocking. Oh well.
The next screen is full of traps. The sign on the carpet should not be
heeded. Go around it, but be cautious, for one side is guarded by a
trip wire. Look for it. Not to be alarmed, however, because "step" or
"jump" will get you over it without trouble. The sign on the bridge
should be heeded. The unmarked bridge will dump you. Beyond that,
there is another trip wire, and you must go over this one (by stepping
or jumping over it).
It will lead you to the mess hall. This is a room with great adventure.
Brigands come in the way you came. They come in from the door on the
right. You can't stop them from the door on the left, and you must fool
them. Your goal is to leave out the door at the top. Close the door
behind you. Block the door to the right ("push chair"). Brigands will
come out from the left, but they look somehow familiar. Aha! They're
the Three Stooges! Knock down the candelabra ("push candle") to block
their way. "A wise guy!" Wait until they walk back a bit or they'll
catch you when you do this, but you'll want to climb on the table and
swing on the rope ("climb table" or "get rope," for example, will do
this last step). Watch the action. Watch them get caught. Doesn't
that just look like something the Three Stooges would do? Don't walk
away from the door or more brigands will come out. Walk out the door to
the north.
You'll enter the warlock's maze. You'll recall that there is a price on
the warlock's head, 30 gold, in fact. He declares himself as "Me," and
invites you to state your case. You can speak only until you start to
move, but he doesn't seem to give a lot of information. He guards the
way to the brigand leader. But perhaps something he said cues you off,
or perhaps it was what the centaur said about the brigand leader. You
ask him about the right people, and you'll find that he's a friend. If
you don't, he'll assume you're an enemy and throw things at you while
you try to solve the maze. If you do, he'll leave to prepare your way
ahead of you, but you still have to solve the maze. There's really only
one thing you can do at each step. Several panel will dump you, and
you'll find yourself falling out of a door and down another pit, and
back again. It hurts and will eventually kill you, but you can stop
yourself and stand up after you come out of the door. Pull the chain to
open a door and go through it before it closes again. Open the door
drawn on the wall, but move out of the way before it falls on you. Walk
through it to enter the office of the brigand leader.
The leader will attack you, but you are no match and will die trying to
fight. Dispel the curse, as the warlock suggested, and you have just
about won the game already. The leader and the warlock will speak to
you, offer you 2 healing potions, tell you to take the magic mirror if
you want to beat the enchantress, and direct you to the secret exit. If
you delay too long in the room, brigands will enter and kill you. If
you don't take the magic mirror, the game will end when you leave the
screen. If you take the mirror, you will walk out by the antwerp and
you will have a chance to go find Baba Yaga and turn her magic against
her (which, of course, will earn you more points).
-------------------------------
Tasks specific to one character
-------------------------------
There are 450 puzzle points to be earned by any character. The
remaining 50 points are different, according to which character class
you choose when you start the game. The following things can be done by
any hero with the appropriate skills but earn puzzle points for the hero
of the appropriate type.
Thieving
A thief should definitely enroll at the thieves' guild and go steal some
things. Anyone with lock-picking ability can earn a lot of money doing
the same (the worth of 352 silver, I believe, minus 25 silver for
membership, and 15 and/or 100 silver if you buy a lock pick and/or a
toolkit). I've mentioned the thieves in the alley at night who will
tell you the password that will let you into the Thieves' Guild. You
need to be a member of the guild (25 silver) to talk to the head thief,
buy a pick or toolkit, pawn off anything you steal, or play the head
thief a game of darts.
There are two houses you can rob. One is the house of the lady who
sleeps outside in the day. Pick the lock and walk in. You can sneak if
you'd like, but it's not necessary. Take the silver candlesticks.
Search the sewing basket. Search the couch and the hand bag. Open the
desk drawer at the left. Meanwhile, the cat will become friendly. Show
it you're its friend by petting it. Be careful about the bird in its
cage. Then leave.
Next to the dry goods shop is the sheriff's house. Pick the lock.
Inside, take the music box. Take the candelabra. Open the drawer.
Take the vase. Move the picture to expose a safe. Crack the safe and
take the bag of money inside. You can close the safe and replace the
picture, but it's not necessary.
Take the stolen items to the thieves' guild to sell them back. If
you're a thief, you'll also want to play a game of darts (for 3 points
to play and 5 points to win). In any case, if you get the hang of the
game, you can earn a lot of money. Just be careful not to win too often
or they'll get upset.
Fighting
A fighter should practice with the weapon master, and, when he is good
enough, should beat him. He is beaten when you push him back against
his side of the screen. A fighter should definitely buy the chain mail.
It's heavy, but it's good protection for any hero, and it earns points
for the fighter. The fighter also gets points for the first killing of
each of various types of monsters: a goblin, a saurus, a saurus rex, a
brigand, a manta ray, a cheetaur, a troll, the ogre, the kobold, the
minotaur.
Magic
The magic-user gets points for each spell that he acquires, for sleeping
at Erana's Peace, for playing and winning at Erasmus' game, and, of all
things, for killing the kobold.
--------------------------
Playing in Short Game Time
--------------------------
I think the Baron won't notice, but, in reality, a hero who comes to
town one day, saves the Baron's 5-year-lost son the same day, beats the
brigands and then saves his 10-year-lost daughter two days later, along
with defeating the witch, would be quite impressive! That would
certainly get you a name in the land. In fact, it really isn't that
hard to do. After you've already beaten the game once, it makes for a
fun second quest. The trick is never to rest.
The big secret to never resting is that the only time it really hurts
you to have no vigor points is when you're fighting. So you can pick
locks, climb trees or walls, and throw daggers until your skills are
perfect (or nearly perfect), right there on the first day. It takes
very little time if you never rest. The hard part is practicing magic
and fighting skills without resting.
On the first day, you can go around the town and solve most of the
quests. You can do just about everything short of the brigands except
for the fairy dust, the mandrake root (and thus Baba Yaga), and robbing.
You can rescue the Baronet on the first day with no problem. You can
even catch Bruno and Brutus before you go back to the castle. Do these
things and then build up your lock-picking, climbing, and/or throwing
skills until night is about to fall. You may also practice some
fighting skills (more anon). Only then enter the castle on that first
night and spend your obligatory night there.
In the morning, you'll have lots of money. Buy the undead unguent. You
can either buy the chain mail or buy a pile of vigor potions and
possibly healing potions in order to practice your fighting skills,
and/or a pile of magic potions in order to build your magical skills.
Since you can't rest, you'll have to drink a lot of vigor potions
between battles when you try to build your fighting skills. While
you're weak, you'll probably have to drink a lot of healing potions too.
Also, the magic potion is just about the only way to get your magic
back, since waiting restores it so slowly. That makes it very quick but
very expensive to build up your magical ability. You might want to
limit the amount that you do this if you want to finish the game in just
a few days, though you'll have to do some if you want to beat Erasmus at
his game.
That second night, go see the fairies, and then, at midnight, go get the
mandrake root. While waiting for midnight and afterwards, you may
practice your climbing skill at the town wall, and then you should do
all of your thieving, all in one night. Find the thieves in the alley,
rob the old lady and the sheriff, and then go to the thieves' guild (you
don't have to go to the guild before morning; and you may want to play
darts for a while to earn some money). The night can also be a great
time to go fighting exotic monsters if you've built up your fighting
skill sufficiently. The fighter needs to kill several types of monsters
to get all of his points, and everyone needs to kill a troll and a
cheetaur to give the beard and claws to the Healer for those points.
Also, killing cheetaurs and trolls can be financially rewarding.
In the morning, go see Baba Yaga. If you're a magic-user, you might
want to wait one more night to sleep at Erana's Peace. If not, head for
the brigands' lair, and then defeat Baba Yaga. It can all be done in
just about two days (i.e. finish in the morning of the third day).
Of course, if you wanted, you could always skip the return trip to the
castle, get the fairy dust on the first night, and save Elsa the next
morning, but this won't get you all 500 points.
