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Let's Play Ultima: From Akalabeth to Ascension! (Now on VII)

Silellak

Cipher
Joined
Aug 19, 2008
Messages
3,198
Location
Tucson, AZ
Page 3 yet?

EDIT: Yes, apparently.
 

Elzair

Cipher
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
2,254
Ultima III Part 1

Ultima III: Exodus

u3box.jpg


Part 1

Alright, I have finally made it to Ultima III: Exodus! This game certainly seems to be a step-up in quality from the previous games. This was also the first Ultima game to be developed by more than one person. While Richard Garriott did most of the work, Kenneth Arnold produced some EXCELLENT music for the game. Maybe it is just some oddities of my system's audio playback, but I think Ultima III might have the best music of the series. and that is saying something! Listen to them for yourself here. I don't usually describe music this way, but the town theme is hauntingly beautiful. That is the best way I can describe it.

Anyway, either this (or Ultima IV) marks the beginning of the "classic" Ultima games. The main difference (apart from the inclusion of music) between Ultima III and what came before is that I now control four characters instead of one. Unlike later games, I create all the characters in my party. This makes Ultima III the closest game to the other classic RPG series, such as Wizardry and Might & Magic, etc. Also, combat now takes place on a specific battle map. These mechanics will remain mostly unchanged until Ultima VI.

From what I can tell, the world is a lot smaller than in Ultima II, but it seems much more detailed. Also, it seems that all the sci-fi elements have been stripped from the game, but the Tolkien-esque races are still present.

NOTE: Like last time, I am playing with the upgrade because it makes it look nicer, adds music, and disables the annoying autosave.

Anyway, enough with the intro, let's fire it up!

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I forgot to capture this, but after a little animated fight, the dragon's fire breath engulfs the party.

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I bet that hurt!

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Here is the animated demo. I just press <Space>.

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Here is the main menu. Since I don't have a ready party, I need to create one.

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All of these options are pretty obvious. Let's look at the Registry.

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Just as I thought, it is empty. I need to fill it.

Here are two tables; the first one lists all the races and their maximum attribute scores; the second lists all the classes, the best weapon and armor they can equip, what type of magic they can cast, and what attributes determine their Magic Points. Ultima III uses a mana system and has a distinction between Cleric spells and Wizard spells.

TABLE 1: Maximum attainable attributes for each race
Race Str Dex Int Wis
Human 75 75 75 75
Elf 75 99 75 50
Dwarf 99 75 50 75
Bobbit 75 50 75 99
Fuzzy 25 99 99 75

TABLE 2: Characteristics of each Profession
Class Weapons Armour Spells Mana
Fighter All All None None
Cleric Mace Chain Prayers Wisdom
Wizard Dagger Cloth Sorcery Intelligence
Thief Sword Leather None Steal and Disarm Traps
Paladin All Plate Prayers Half Wisdom
Barbarian All Leather None Some Steal and Disarm
Lark All Cloth Sorcery Half Intelligence
^Illus Mace Leather Prayers Half Wisdom, Some S&D
Druid Mace Cloth Both Greater of Both Halfs*
^Alchem Dagger Cloth Sorcery Half Int., some S&D
Ranger +2 Sword +2 Plate Both Lesser of Both Halfs, Some Steal & Disarm
*Druids regain their magic points faster than other characters.
^Short for Illusionist and Alchemist

Since I heard this was a hard game with a lot of grind (just like last time), I decided to ease my initial pains by abusing the character creation system. Like in Wasteland, I can create four throw-away characters (Female Fuzzy Fighters were popular), put them in a party, start the game, Join all their gold to the first player, quit the game, disband the party, terminate the three characters, create three new characters, and repeat the process until I have several thousand gold. This will buy me some decent equipment and enough food to last 30 minutes. :)

Anyway, here is my real party. Apparently magic is a whole hell of a lot more useful in this game than previous games (at least according to some), so I

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Since Garriott seems to be trying his best to rip-off Tolkien in this game, I may as well oblige him.

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Since I need a Dwarf, I choose Gimli.

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What the hell!

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Since no LP is complete without a furry, I add one. I assume that a Fuzzy is just a proto-furry anyway. BTW, did you notice the gender? Ultima III is probably the first RPG to include trannies; this makes it a very progressive game, indeed.

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I now add all of my newly created characters to the party.

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It is time to begin the game.

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Here is the overworld. It looks the same as always. However, the status bar has moved from the bottom of the screen to the right-hand side. It will remain like this through the next two games.

I now head for Lord British's castle.

BTW, all characters start the game with no equipment, so I have to equip the Dagger and Cloth Armor that each character initially has.

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Here is Chuckles, LB's favorite jester. We will see more of him in later games.

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Here are some random conversations. One really annoying thing is that, for any action I take even talking to random people, the game will ask me which character should perform the action. Since characters have separate inventories, separate stores of food and even separate pools of gold, I guess it makes sense, but it is still tedious. Since a character's stats do not affect conversations, there is no reason for me to care which character talks to random townsfolk! Fortunately, the later games fix some of these issues.

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If I try to pass through that yellow stuff on the right, it will incapacitate some of my characters.

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I guess I need to level-up before I talk to him.

I now head for Britain, the town.

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Here is a clue.

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Here is Dupre. He will become my companion in later games. Right now, he is just a drunkard.

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If I tip the bartender, he will give me some hints.

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Since my characters are chewing through food, I need to buy some more. Rations are incredibly expensive!

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I don't know what this guy is talking about.

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Since I have enough gold, I buy Plate Mail for Gimli and Leather Armor for Frodo. The other two are stuck with their Cloth Armor.

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Aww yeah!

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I then head to the weapon merchant and buy a Mace for Frodo and two Bows for Samwise and Gimli; there are more powerful weapons, but bows have the advantage of range (thereby keeping enemies away from the party). Fuzzy is stuck with its Dagger.

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Here is another clue.

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Alright, we can now explore! I make sure to save and then head east into a mountain pass and then north.

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I now arrive at a dungeon. I am so unprepared, but let's go in anyway.

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It sure is dark down here! I look at my spell chart and find that Frodo has enough MP to cast Luminae.

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Now THAT is more like it!

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Apparently, I am in the Perinian Depths.

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OH GODAMNIT!! That spell lasted for six fucking steps! WHAT THE FUCK!!

I guess I need some torches. Where do I find them, anyway?

Stay tuned for another exciting update. Next time, we will hopefully get to some combat.
 

Elzair

Cipher
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
2,254
I need to play a bit more. This is how far I have gotten. It is nice to have finally caught up, though.
 

Elzair

Cipher
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
2,254
Does the hivemind have any recommendations about where to go next?
 

Luzur

Good Sir
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
41,392
Location
Swedish Empire
if i remember correctly you need about 500 XP to talk to British, so walk around outside and kill.

also, equip all of your party with bows as soon as possible.
 

Elzair

Cipher
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
2,254
Ultima III Part 2

Ultima III: Exodus

Part 2

Welcome back to another exciting update of my runthrough of the classic Ultima series! In this update, we will visit many of the towns, finally see some combat, explore a dungeon for real this time, find a mark, and find a good place to grind for gold and XP.

First, here is a map of the world (stolen from GameFAQs, of course).

ultima_iii_sosaria_map.png


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From LB's castle, I head due west and encounter a semicircle of rock. I circle around and enter it from the west. Also, notice that Ultima III implements a crude line-of-sight system where the characters will only be able to see the things they should be able to see. Since forest trees limit visibility, I cannot see very far into it.

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Inside I come across a hidden city.

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Since it is Yew, I expect to find a bunch of hippies.

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I was right!

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Heading south, I find more hippies by a cross.

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To the east I find a temple. Instead of being some stupid pun, rogation means "a solemn supplication ceremony prescribed by the church."

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Due east I find the Circle of Light. I have to be careful not to touch the fires, or all my characters will take 50 HP damage.

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Since I am in hippy-ville, I might as well stand in the circle and pray.

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Huh?! I bet this is something important.

gimli.jpg
I've had as much of this place as I can stand.

sam.jpg
I agree. What do you think, Master Frodo?

frodo.jpg
Well, I don't see any guards around, so ... okay.

furry.jpg
Does anyone care what I think?

gimli.jpg
No.

furry.jpg
*mumbles*

Anyway, I attack one of the druids.

u3ega_048.png


Here is the combat screen. Each character gets one action (move or attack/cast/etc.); my characters seem to always go first, and then the opponents get a turn. I have no idea why Samwise is not showing up.

sam.jpg
It's because I put on the ring.

frodo.jpg
Hey! Give that back!

THERE ARE NO ONE RINGS IN ULTIMA!!!!

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We win, and a chest appears on the map.

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Chests usually contain some gold and possibly an item or two. Chests can also be trapped. You will see all of those eventually.

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Here is another battle. All of the party members show up this time.

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Samwise shoots an arrow across the screen.

sam.jpg
Yeah, get that druid!

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After killing a few druids, my guys don't have much health, so I retreat to heal. Frodo is currently the only party member than has enough MP to cast Sanctu, so I just have him cast it twice and then wait until he has 10 MP, cast Sanctu again, and repeat until everyone is healed. Characters regain 1 MP every turn on the world map instead of every few turns in a town or dungeon. Of course, my food supply diminishes faster on the world map as well.

u3ega_054.png


Now it is Furry's time to get some MP.

furry.jpg
Finally!

The best way to do this is to line him up with the enemy and cast Mittar.

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Apparently, the Yewites have a healer.

gimli.jpg
They will need one after we are through with them.

Since I am too cheap to get my characters fully healed for 200 gold apiece, I just make a note of it.

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Since we are here, we might as well kill the two druids on the side.

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Here is a screenshot of Furry casting Mittar.

After slaughtering druids for a while, I get bored and decide to head back to LB's.

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On the way, I am attacked by a bunch of brigands. They go down quickly.

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I head west and come across a new city.

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Garriott can give his towns some funky names!

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Due south of the entrance I come across two daemons. Disregarding their threat, they are not hostile.

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Don't you mean the Shrine of Honesty? Wait ... we're not playing Ultima IV. What the hell are the Shrines of Truth?

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Here is another hint. I get the feeling he is talking about a place.

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Anyway, I head north-west and end up on the south-east corner of the map.

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Guess what the town to the west is called? Anyway, here are some of the important conversation we can have.

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Alright, let's get out of here.

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A short distance to the south-east, I find a moongate. I enter it to see where it goes.

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I am now on some island with nowhere to go but into that dungeon.

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It is dark too!

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Fuzzy casts Luminae to light up the place.

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What a weird clue!

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I then find a fountain in the dungeon. Drinking from it does nothing, though. Since I don't have much light, I head out and take the moongate when it appears.

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Whoah! Something tells me this is where Exodus is! Since I can't get to the castle, I have nowhere to go. Rather than waiting for the moongate, I reload.

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I then head around the lakes to the other city.

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Who woulda thunk?! Anyway, here is what the various townsfolk have to say.

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Ahh! Here is our old ... er ... new friend, Sentri.

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Will you bite my legs off?

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Shamino makes an appearance again.

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Anyway, we are low on food, so I buy each party member fifty more rations.

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We are now attacked by some undead on the overland map.

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The one zombie goes down easily.

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Here is a group of skeletons. They go down easy too. Frodo tries using Pontori all throughout the battle, but it never seems to work.

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Since I was in the vicinity, I paid LB another visit.

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What I did not notice before is that my old ... er ... new friends, Iolo and Gwenno (Gwino here) were LB's court jesters.

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I then head for the city of Grey in the southwest part of the map.

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sam.jpg
Not really.

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Since you are already a jester.

sam.jpg
Shut up!

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Grey is, apparently, a pirate town. It must be the inspiration for Buccaneer's Den.

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Finally, we find a Guild shop. Keys are used to unlock doors; torches provide light in dungeons for a lot longer than the Luminae spell; gems are used to give a temporary map of the area; I do not know what powder does yet.

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Nope, but I guess they are important.

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In the southeast corner of town is a house with a bunch of treasure chests.

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The occupant attacks us on sight, but he is not too hard.

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I then loot the place, but the guards attack me which forces me to reload.

Since I now have some keys, I want to check out LB's palace more.

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I Unlock the door to the right of LB's throne room.

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This must be the jester in the fire that I heard about earlier. Each step takes off 50 HP from all party members.

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So that is how to get to Dawn, eh? Since I am dead meat if I try to take another step, I reload again. Haha!

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Anyway, I go to the coordinates specified and wait until the moon phases at the top of the screen read 0, 0. Then, a city appears. I think this place has better weapons and armor than can be found elsewhere. Here is what some of the inhabitants have to say.

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Are you outta your fuckin' mind?! Waitaminute! Is that a door around back?

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I think it is!

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I have to dispatch the horse merchants, though. Now the guards will be after me.

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Here is an example of a bomb trap. It damages everyone. I then steal a horse and ride it to the southeast corner of town.

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That is certainly some helpful information. I will have to Dig up exotic weapons and armor.

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'Kay! It looks like I have to kill one of these guys to talk to the third one.

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So I have to dig for exotics on islands.

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Uh oh! The pigs are after me. I dodge around the fountain and lose them.

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You'll never catch me, coppers!

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I have almost made it!

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Home free!

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Anyway, I head back to Britain and buy 100 rations for each player.

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Here are some goblins that attack me.

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I head back to that first dungeon, the Perinian Depths.

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Torches make life so much easier!

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Here is a pack of zombies that attacks me.

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In the southeast corner of the first level, I find a furnace. I make all my characters touch it.

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It leaves a mark, the Mark of Kings, on all of them. Apparently, characters need this mark to go past the 5th level.

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I head back to LB, and he has a surprise level-up for Samwise. Characters gain a level with each additional 100 xp they earn. Unfortunately, characters only earn xp from killing monsters, which means my cleric, Frodo, is seriously underleveled since he does not (yet) have any decent offensive magic and cannot wield range weapons. How have others dealt with this situation?

Anyway, that is all for now!
 
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
180
Location
CT USA
Im enjoying your playthrough as well.
My last time through U3 was using this program: http://www.lairware.com/ultima3/
Its actually got the best graphics/interface for U3, but only for us Mac schmucks.
I'm not sure why anyone would want to, but you can even play using ugly ass Apple 2 graphics.

4286845453_ee39429f03_b.jpg


Here I am using the game's default tileset. (Also available: NES, Apple 2, PC CGA, EGA, VGA, Commodore 64 IIRC.) I'm using an Ultima font I think I grabbed from someplace, one of the default character pictures, and my gang has completed the game. Paladin, Ranger, Cleric, Wizard.
 

oldmanpaco

Master of Siestas
Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Messages
13,609
Location
Winter
Unfortunately, characters only earn xp from killing monsters, which means my cleric, Frodo, is seriously underleveled since he does not (yet) have any decent offensive magic and cannot wield range weapons. How have others dealt with this situation?

Clerics have that mass kill undead spell. Pass all other characters and repeatedly use that when fighting skeletons and other dead types.

Edit - Looked it up - its the first spell.
 

Elzair

Cipher
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
2,254
I am working on the next update now. Can you give this shit a bump?
 

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