Awesome thread!
Thank you Ellis for that wonderful walkthrough and hilarious commentary, stuff like that makes all the hard work definitely worthwhile.
Since we've clearly gone beyond "spoiler alert" in this thread, I figure it's safe to point out a few side quests (or easter eggs) that are also in the game:
* Try camping a few times on forest terrain -- the Avatar has a little campfire accident.
* The Iolo/Gwenno quest can be carried a little further; snoop around in Paws for clues.
* I don't know what it is about the Avatar's companions always cockblocking, but it was a tradition I felt important to maintain. There is, however, a 2nd chance available if you find the "hot coffee" in Empath Abbey. (Grand Theft Auto reference - not 80's, but included anyway)
* If you visit the inn room in Skara Brae (the one where you talked to the ghost in Ultima IV) you'll meet Pac Man again (he's there to eat the ghost)
* It's worth it to die at least once, to see the death-and-resurrection cutscene.
A few translations of some of the more obscure references:
* The store in the dungeons is a reference to "Tunnels of Doom", a very early RPG for the TI 99/4a computer.
* Mesron (in Moonglow) is from the Questron series of games. (Early Ultima clone, from around the same period as Ultima I)
* The whole bit with the robots is from "Impossible Mission" for the Commodore 64.
* Indiana Jones showing up in Yew looking for Short Round is making fun of Short Round running around in Ultima IV looking for Jones. (The stuff he says is largely copied from that)
* Buccaneer's Den is taken straight from "Pirates!" for the Commodore 64.
* The idea for the shotgun (if you examine it, I believe it's even more obvious) and some of the endgame dialogue are from the movie "Army of Darkness".
* All of the shops in Skara Brae are lifted from the Skara Brae in "Bard's Tale".
* The crazy Magincia quest is a play on the similar quest in Ultima VI, where you have to find the most humble guy and of course it's the guy who says he's not.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch. Anyway, thank you very much for the great thread!
- Chris