My return to Ultima IV started with a trip to Britain, helpfully right next door to Lord British's castle. Here I learned:
- Some artifact of Mondain (from Ultima I) still exists in the world. Presumably it's his skull, since I must ask about the "skull" at the pub in Buccaneer's Den.
- I can boost my compassion by giving money to beggars. Britain helpfully supplies one: a beggar named Sprite, who in return for 5 gold pieces told me to ask Pepper of the rune.
- The yellow stone is in the dungeon Despise
- Magincia was destroyed by daemons for its pride (always a bit of a mystery; who sent them, and why did they care that the city was proud?)
- The mantra for the Shrine of Compassion is MU
- The rune of compassion is at the end of a hallway (this from a "spicy woman" named Pepper)
I also picked up good ol' Iolo, who was playing a mandolin for some children while his wife, Gweno, danced. Of course, Ultima IV doesn't tell you that they're married (you learn that in V or VI, I think), nor even that Iolo is a male (as a young Ultima IV player, I was confused about this for years).
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| I feel really bad for killing these two in Ultima I and Ultima II. |
After Britain, I returned to Lord British's castle for some healing and both Americus and Shamino leveled. I forgot that Lord British did that for you. I was thinking you had to hole up and camp and he would appear in your dreams to level you, but now I'm thinking that's Ultima V.
Yes, this short posting represents only about 20 minutes of playing time, but I am back and I'll post longer tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for hanging in there, and I hope I can recapture your regular readership.
Although it's never explicitly stated, I always figured that Magincia was destroyed when some proud and arrogant sorcerers went overboard on their demonic summoning and conjured up more than they could handle. The Daemons then ran amok and leveled the town and only humble Katrina, who lived out in the fields tending her flock, was able to escape...
ReplyDeleteQuipworthy, that's a pretty good explanation. I'm going to go with it.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first early CRPG that you've blogged about that I am definitely going to play at some point -- it looks like it has loads of features that I'd love.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I just bought a Mondain Ring in FFIX -- reference?
I can't imagine that it's anything BUT a reference. Although "mondain" is also a French term meaning "a man who moves in fashionable society" or "characteristic of fashionable society; worldly." So I suppose it depends on what the ring does. If it levels cities with columns of fire, it's an Ultima reference; if it increases your charisma, maybe it's just adapting the French word.
ReplyDeleteI think the docs for Ultima IV state the Gods sent the daemons to destroy Magincia.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to look it up, but in any event it's not a great explanation given that there are no other "gods" explicitly referenced in any of the Ultima games; in fact, in Ultima IV, Britannia has effectively SUPPLANTED religious worship with virtue worship. That's why your character is the Avatar of Virtue, an abstract concept, rather than the avatar of some higher being.
ReplyDeleteI always thought the Gods are "The Guardians" or something. With the one in U7 & U8 turning rogue.
ReplyDeleteRe Iolo being male - it's shown on the Z-stats screen, as a symbol in the upper left corner.
ReplyDelete