Let's Play - Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar

[YellowCrow]

First, A Note:
As you will probably be able to immediately tell, this account is brand goddamn new. I am originally an NMA (No Mutants Allowed) poster, and posted this still in-progress LP there. Though I love NMA, it has a terrible problem with inactivity. So, a poster that I'm irl friends with of both forums, told me to drop by and post my dumbass attempt at a Let's Play here, at the Codex. Understand that I've never once posted here, my only interactions with the Codex have been ghosting the forums since 2011-2012ish. The Let's Play is not that far along, only one post more exists thus far after this one. Hopefully my shitty, overly long wall of text Let's Play will entertain someone here though. So kids, here ya go:

☥ Introduction ☥​

This is going to be a Let's Play, done in classic forum style, for one of my favorite games of one of my favorite series of all time, Ultima. Whenever people ask me "what Ultima should I start with?", I always, always tell them to start at Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. This is for a variety of reasons, and the reason that we are starting our Let's Play series (well, it may become a series depending on success/interest in the forums) here. One of these is most definitely: age and user accessibility. Now, anyone who knows me knows I am not shy to playing older computer games, I grew up with them in the 90's - an age where if you didn't read the manual you weren't going to have any idea what you were doing.

Ultima I through III aren't just dated though. In my opinion (please don't strike me down for blasphemy, Garriott), they are also very, very bland. It would be like if your friend told you he had this new badass old game he wanted to play, hyped it up to you, and then when the two of you finally got together he just pulled up an emulator and loaded in Space Invaders... not to knock on Space Invaders, but yeah, you catch my drift. Ultima I through III are incredibly bland games with bland gameplay - in the early 80's when they were released they were hotshit and at the forefront of computer role-playing games, but these days there is really no reason to play them besides being able to say that you've experienced them.

Not only is the gameplay of the first three rather bland (and very grindy), but so is the world and storytelling. Ultima I for example was a very, very simple "go save some princesses and kill the big bad evil guy" setting... y'know, Mario-level of story telling. Furthermore, the world, lore, and fluff of Ultima (arguably one of the things that make people love these games) had not yet been been created or fleshed out. Ultima I and III had entirely different maps and took place in a world named Sosaria, and Ultima II mainly took place on Earth (but also the other planets of the solar system) and had time travel fuckery. You might think that sounds fun, but the core of the gameplay is very simplistic, very bland constant grinding and the story is... well it might as well be non-existent.

That's another reason we are starting with IV, because IV was the first game to actually create the world of Britannia, and create fluff and lore for it, the first three games almost don't even matter. I think Richard Garriott realized this when creating Ultima IV and had a "oh shit" moment, asking himself if his new game could really be an Ultima game if it was all entirely new and had nothing to do with the last three - and so in response he made an attempt to first simplify the batshit crazy plots of I - III, and then weave them together into something that vaguely resembled a connected lore, if you were looking at it from 300 hundred yards away, squinting with the sun in that direction, after just having been pepper sprayed.

The point is, I-III don't matter really, there's only a few quick things to note that you need to know which we will go over in lore section, and there's only one name you really need to remember to follow along and that's Mondain.

☥ Let's Play Style ☥​

Ultima IV is an excellent game and I always whole heartedly recommend it to people asking, not just as a RPG in general but as a "where to start" in the series.

Despite it being fun to play, I had a thought while comprehending whether this Let's Play was doable or not... it's fun to play, but is an old late 80's cRPG really fun to watch someone play? So, I came to the conclusion that, doing a bland Let's Play where I simply just describe to you what is happening in the game would be incredibly boring, especially considering the visuals (even with the fan community upgraded sprites we'll be using) aren't much to look at.

So, we will be making a slight change to my original Let's Play process. We're going to be doing a lot of roleplaying, and I mean a lot of it. I want people to be able to experience this game as I did the first time, and so I won't just be providing gameplay, but will also be providing a narrated roleplay on what is happening. Just walking up to a guard and typing "job", "name", etc. isn't very fulfilling to watch, so I'll be narrating/roleplaying it as an actual conversation that happened. We're even going to be creating lore/moments to enrich the world and story (though I promise it won't go too far off track). I suppose the best way to describe this is, imagine a narrative interactive book written about Ultima IV.

As I would also come to find, it turns out that Richard Garriott himself whole heartedly encourages this. He's told several people that roleplaying is essential to playing Ultima, and back in the 90's he also had a type of "super guide" made for the games Ultima IV - VI (even Garriott himself started at IV lol), and the guide basically reads like a role-playing Let's Play for all the games, it's actually pretty fresh.

☥ Our Character ☥​

Now, there is some debate in the Ultima community about whether the person from the first three Ultima games is the Avatar, the person from IV - onwards. A lot of the community like to say yes and that's sort of been accepted as the standard, but I personally believe no, and I further believe even Garriott himself originally held that notion when developing Ultima IV. Here's why;

In the beginning, your character has no idea what a moon gate is (a sort of portal in the Ultima universe), and he's extremely caught off guard when he's sent to Britannia, acting bewildered and as if he has no idea where he is. For someone who's been teleported here twice before, and would be considered a monster slaying badass by this point, that would be incredibly out of character for him. Did he get amnesia or suffer head trauma at the end or after Ultima III? Why would he not know what a moon gate is despite having used them multiple times beforehand? Answer: two entirely different people. It's not unusual for people from Earth to end up on Britannia either, as you will meet several people throughout the series who actually originally come from Earth just like the Avatar. Lord British actually being one of them.

That is exactly how we are going to be roleplaying it. Our character is just an ordinary guy, he's never embarked on any crazy adventures, or witnessed anything extraordinary or spectacular. Because many games in the Ultima series will be implementing a class system, we will be playing as a Paladin. Now, obviously John isn't a Paladin naturally, so there will be a explanation for this as part of the Let's Play.

* * * * *

The year is 1993.

Our character's name is John - Johnathan Gray. An unassuming name for an unassuming man. John is 21 years old and lives in New York City, having moved there at the age of 19 from his hometown of Reno, Nevada, wishing to get away from the rather terrible childhood he experienced there after his father died at the age of 14, and start again somewhere new. Today he works for a company named Intratech, a massive designer and manufacturer of computer chips that almost every home and business PC uses, with lucrative contracts from Microsoft, Apple, IBM, and many more.

John is one amongst an army of company data analysts. He works for the financial department, on the 51st floor of the Intratech building in New York, in the fifth cubicle grouping, in the 9th row, 4th cubicle. Inside his cramped cubicle, he works 8 hours a day with two fifteen minute breaks and a one hour lunch from 8am to 5pm, taking a 12 minute long subway ride followed by a 18 minute long walk to and from work, Monday through Friday and occasionally Saturday's as well when he among many others are asked to cover for call ins. In his cubicle, on his HP computer running Windows NT 3.1, he sorts through, analyzes, and catalogues thousands of financial documents in a similar and brain frying repeat of process, over and over for the entirety of his eight hour work day.

John is... disenfranchised. He thought escaping to the big apple would lead to a better life from the terrible one he escaped in Reno, and while yes - theoretically his life and living conditions have improved by much, he has endured the utter monotony of his current life in New York for two and a half straight years. He doesn't have any friends outside the office, and those he has at work, never actually get together to do anything. He works, he sleeps, and works some more, and on weekends he watches television, reads, or just stares at the ceiling as the entire apartment shakes yet again when the tram runs through his neighborhood. Finally, on a calm Saturday afternoon these thoughts creep up yet again and - suddenly, he can't breathe. He can't breathe, but he is antsy at the same time, feeling as if he can't stay still. A fear washes over him as he suddenly starts to feel like his heart is going to collapse. John gives in, in defeat, picking up the phone from the landline and dialing 911.

Turns out, he had a panic attack. The doctor in the ER, obviously tired and overworked, spends little time tending to John, prescribing him anti-anxiety medication, recommending taking some time off of work and giving him a doctor's order to do so, before sending him on his way and quickly moving to the next patient in the over crowded ER. Looking down on his note, John contemplates the advice of the doctor, wondering whether he should take time away from work, or simply crumble the doctor's order and throw it in the trash. While picking up his medication at a pharmacy, his mind can't help but turn how much he dreads having to return to work Monday. Getting home, there's one single, solitary message on his answering machine, and he knows exactly who it is. The only reason he ever gets a call from anyone. They want him to work tomorrow, on a Sunday. John removes the doctor's note from his pocket, seeing the doctor was generous enough to date it for a week. At this point, whether he should return to work isn't even a question in his mind anymore.

...

On his vacation, John decides to rent a car and take a drive throughout New York state, getting away and out of the city, away from everything, in order to truly spend some time by himself and collect his thoughts. While driving in the New York wilderness, he finds a peculiar looking woodland trail. He can't explain it, but something draws him to this trail, almost as if something is calling for him. A almost irresistible urge forces him the car over to the side of the road.

He steps out, and takes a deep breath, looking down the trail. The beauty and natural quality of the forest acts as a sharp contrast to the brickwork and concrete towers of New York City, which stretch so high into the sky as to blot out the sun. There are no sounds of traffic, no constant footfall, no smell of smog and exhaust in the air. Only the natural world itself in it's most primal form, and John can't help but notice the beauty of it all. The nature here, everything is peaceful, serene. But that's not quite all, there's something at the back of his mind he can't quite place his finger on. It's not just peaceful here... the sense of tranquility is also foreboding. He almost feels as if... he should be here, like pieces are falling into place. Like this isn't just a mere road for John in the physical sense, but also metaphorically as well.

The wind picks up slightly, the colorful autumn leaves dancing harmonically along it's drafts as if welcoming him home. Well... it couldn't hurt to stretch his legs and enjoy the beauty of nature while he's at it, right?

John picks up his feet, and embarks down the trail...

*Ultima IV Let's Play Coming Soon to a message board near y-... actually, it's just this one.*

 

[Bruma Hobo]

This is going to be terrible.

 

[YellowCrow]

Asked a friend about you, and who is who on this site. Apparently you're a nobody (their words mind you, not mine). Anyways continuing on, I needed a spacer to prevent a double post, so moving forward:

-------

☥ Act 0: Absolution ☥​

Walking down the trail, Gray became awash with a feeling of contentment. The wind blew ever so lightly yet was a comfortable breeze keeping the latent remnants of the summer heat in early autumn at bay. As his feet carried him down the path, subtle signs revealed themselves to show the true age of the ancient trail he was walking. Nature undisturbed, there became a realization that the likelihood that this history of this path stretches even further back than European settlers in North America became apparent - a path which was carved by the inhabitants of olde of these lands, and maintained by nature. Yet a sad, strangely sorrowful fact was that this path had not seen a traveller in many years. Who could say just how many, but even a place such as this where the wind blows in off directions and time itself seems to be still, nature will eventually too- reclaim it as her own.

Further down the path this becomes more apparent, as the dirt trail carved by the passage of thousands of feet and animal hooves alike through the years begins to instead give way to grass, and shubbery. Just when it seems as if the path is done and the way has come to it's end, at the end of the trail two trees stand on either side with overgrown branches and leaves concealing not an ending, but rather an entrance. Breaking through the overgrowth at the end of the path, Gray comes to a large clearing of forest, where the grass is verdant green and a strange pecuilar circle of stones sits in the center next to a crystal blue stream of water running through the clearing. The area is entirely clear of trees all but one, an tall elder willow tree sits atop a small hillcrest on it's ancient vigil over the clearing.

Upon stepping through the two trees and into the clearing Gray immediately notices a new feeling overtake him and sit upon his skin like a second layer of clothes. Though words could not truly describe it, he feels as though he's entered into some place... new. One of a few rare and special places that exist on the Earth that are *of* the Earth, but not wholly *in* the Earth. Like a point in space and time that has the wholly unique properties to somehow bridge a connection between two very distant places, though how he knows this, he knows not.

Looking at the cheap watch laden upon his wrist, it appears as if time ebbs and flows in strange ways here as well, as the second hand has begun to skip, only changing tick once every five seconds. Passing this off as a simple manufacturing issue of a cheaply bought piece of equipment, Gray steps further into the clearing.

Nearing the giant willow tree, it looms in size over him - yet it's demeanor is not that of being fearsome, but rather an ancient and elder guardian calmly standing watch over this grove. It seems as if his quest for some sense of inner peace is suddenly over, as approaching the willow tree he only becomes more awash in a state of tranquility. No problem of life seems too insurmountable here, and it is as if time itself welcomes him to spend as much as he needs.

Suddenly, the hairs of his arms and back stand straight as a sharp sound whistles and chimes through the air. It is a high pitched cascading sound, and just as Gray turns around to the circle of stones he witnesses a shimmering door of radiant blue rise from the emerald grass within the stone circle, emanating to coalesce into a portal before his very eyes.

The portal is almost difficult to look at, yet it's deep blue is mesmerizing to watch as Gray stands enthralled by what is before him. Light bends and distorts around it while the sound of the whistling air around it grows to a crescendo. The portal sits there for a moment before, with the rush of an imploding background, suddenly collapses and sinks back into the ground sending a weightful burst of air in all directions around it.

The portal gone, something hangs in the air, suspended in time and gravity for just a moment. As if the physical laws of the world were racing to catch up with it, it suddenly falls downward to the ground landing with a heavy thud.

A multitude of thoughts race through Gray's mind. He can't even be sure if what he witnessed really happened. Is he going insane? Was he just the victim of a hallucination, the byproduct of the insomnia he had been experiencing lately. Unsure of what happened, with trembling hands he reaches into his pocket and reveals a prescription bottle of anti-anxiety medication, plopping one bar like pill into his hand and swallowing it.

Shaking off the strange feeling like a dog shaking off water, he looks to the ground to find the objects which... somehow just suddenly showed up. Walking towards the circle of stones, noticing the air still slightly shimmering and dancing around the light of the sun, he sees two objects, something wrapped in cloth and what appears to be a necklace. The necklace is a small cross with a loop at the top - an Ankh, the sacred symbol of life and rebirth. Going to pick up the item wrapped in cloth, Gray accidentally unravels it causing two books to fall out of the cloth as he goes to grab it. Noticing imagery and embroidery on the cloth, Gray fans it out to see that it is actually a map. Being fairly learned when it comes to geography, he notes that the landmass on the map does not resemble any country or place he's ever seen. Possibly an island? There's no cartographical symbols to denote how large it is, and the writing on the map is all entirely done in runic font.

Gray then grabs the two books lying at his feet, carrying them back to the willow tree and sitting beneath it's branch to take advantage of it's gracious shade. Looking at the Ankh, he feels a strange pull to put it on. It looks almost organically made, the string being traditional cordage and the Ankh looking as if personally shaped by a blacksmithing enthusiast. Putting it on, he peruses the two books he picked up that were wrapped inside of the cloth map. The books are both bound in what feels to be authentic leather, and the paper also feels old, cut slightly thicker than anything you would see in the modern day. The first book is a written in English, and though it uses sayings and colloquialisms that you would find more common to a Shakespearean playwright, or even the Bible, it is still indeed understandable. The second book however, is written entirely in the runic font of the map that it came in.

Seeing that he has time, and that he wouldn't mind for anything to take his mind off of... whatever it was that just happened, he puts the cloth map and the runic-written book in his pack and begins to read the book written in English - "The History of Britannia - As Told by Kyle the Younger". Time passes as he reads through it, though being somewhat of a history buff himself Gray is able to immediately note that this is indeed not the history of Britain, or any other country for that matter. It reads more like a fantastical tall tale that Geoffrey of Monmouth could have written, a fictional piece of literature. The "History of Britannia" goes on to talk about a splintered land named Sosaria made up of a multitude of Kingdoms, which a man named 'Lord British' later united into the nation of Britannia. The land was plagued by an evil wizard known as Mondain, until a hero known only as 'the Stranger' appeared to slay him and destroy him gem of immortality.

Time passes as Gray finishes what was honestly a ludicrous 'history section' that has nothing to do with the actual history of Britain, and just as he is about to get into the next section of the book regarding the geography of Britannia and it's various towns and landmarks, distant music is carried towards him along the currents of the wind.

The music is almost sorrowful, yet strangely also rings and weaves a tune of hope into it's somber melody.

Putting the book in his pack, Gray gets to his feet and decides to climb the hills at the edge of the clearing in which the direction of the music is coming from. Getting to the top of the hill, Gray finds himself overlooking yet another large clearing, however this one is filled with tents and people appearing to be a fair of some sort. Finding it odd he wasn't able to hear them set up, or any sort of commotion at all until the music suddenly appeared, Gray simply shrugged his shoulders and continued down the hill - deciding that the entire day itself has been beyond strange.

Closing in on the entrance of the fair, Gray arrives at a booth manned by a ticket keeper. The ticket keeper smiles lightly and asks for a simple ten dollar admission fee, however as Gray moves to dig in his pocket for his wallet, the keeper spots the Ankh he is wearing around his neck and instead waves him in for free. "Welcome, friend. Enter in peace and find your path." Unsure what that was about yet not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, Gray continues onward into the fair.

Walking through the grounds it becomes immediately evident that this is a Renaissance fair, however being quite keen on history Gray notes that it is not quite like any Renaissance fair he has ever heard of. First off, Gray realizes he himself sticks out like a sore thumb as he is the only person there not wearing era-accurate traditional garb, and the clothing the fair goers are wearing is indeed extremely accurate to the 16th century. Furthermore, the people are all speaking accurate late period Middle English as if everyone there just so happened to be a linguistics buff.

The music continues to pull Gray forward as he walks past various merchants, vendors, and the occasionally jester performing some sort of act or trick. The people here all seem to be happy and at peace, as if an inner light glows within them. Several are wearing a necklace with an Ankh that appears much like Gray's. Dusk is beginning to set upon the Earth, but following the music as it grows louder Gray finally finds his way past the various tents and stalls towards the end of the fair, where a lone wagon sits in front of a row of trees within thick forest. The music almost beckons him towards and into the wagon, and before any sort of thought could be had, Gray finds himself approaching.

Coming to the small stairs leading up into the wagon from which the music seems to be emanating from, Gray can hear the voice of an elder woman call out, 'You may approach, O' seeker'.

Pushing the red curtains aside, ducking his head and entering the wagon, the first thing that hits Gray is the thick incense permeating the air. The music, while still present, suddenly sounds distant again. A table lines the middle of the wagon draped in a deep green velvet cloth, and an old gypsy woman wearing an ankh sits at the opposite end of that table, beckoning out towards Gray to sit with her. For whatever reason, the atmosphere and the incense almost clouds the thoughts of Gray's mind, and makes him predispositioned towards listening to the woman without thinking otherwise about it.

As he sits, she immediately notices the ankh around Gray's neck, smiling and warning him never to lose or leave it anywhere. "We have been waiting such a long time," the woman says to an almost dazed Gray. "But at last you have come. Sit, and I shall read the path of your future," she continues as she takes out an abacus and what appears to be a deck of tarot cards. "Let us begin the casting."

The woman places two cards down on the table, they are the cards of Justice and Sacrifice. She says, "Consider this: During a pitched battle, thou dost see a fellow desert his post, endangering many. As he flees, he is set upon by several enemies. Dost thou A) Justly let him fight alone, or B) Risk sacrificing thine own life to aid him?" Despite his mind being muddled, Gray thinks on the question, before finally lifting his hand to tap the 'Sacrifice' card.

This routine continues onwards for several more questions, with the woman adding beads to abacus with each answer. For whatever reason, it's as if some outside force is compelling him to go along with everything, and pushing him towards answering each question provided honestly. Finally, the questions seem to come to a close. With the final question answered and the final choice made, the incense seems to swell up around Gray, clouding both mind and vision alike. The gypsy begins to speak as if from a great distance and of a chorus consisting of multiple voices in one, her voice growing fainter with each passing word:
"So be it! Thy path is chosen!"

Suddenly, the fog within Gray's mind clears as he feels his body suddenly zip forward at the speed of light shined across a thousand miles, then a thousand worlds, and a thousand star systems. Floating along the black void feels strange, as if he has fallen into an ocean yet cannot control his own movement. In a moment that simultaneously seems to last the span of a second and the span of a lifetime, Gray feels pushed forward and incomprehensible speeds until finally, his vision gives way and he feels himself falling from a low height, landing on the moist earth and wet grass with a thud.

Gray slowly picks himself up, and opens his eyes in disbelief to find an entirely new world before them.

 

[Andnjord]

It's been too long we didn't have a prestigious game being LPed here, carry on my good sir. I played Ultima V about a decade ago, but never could quite summon the courage to play the fourth one. Good luck though, you're gonna need it if you want to sustain this style for the entire game.

 

[Catacombs]

Asked a friend about you, and who is who on this site. Apparently you're a nobody (their words mind you, not mine)

lol

 

[YellowCrow]

It's been too long we didn't have a prestigious game being LPed her.e, carry on my good sir. I played Ultima V about a decade ago, but never could quite summon the courage to play the fourth one. Good luck though, you're gonna need it if you want to sustain this style for the entire game.

Thanks man, I first played through Ultima IV sometime in the early 2000's. I believe it was after having a discussion online of where to start. Somebody told me Ultima IV, and then from there the conversation spiraled into "you're not a real fan of RPG's if you haven't played X". So, I started with Ultima IV, ended up carrying on through to Ultima VIII and ended up loving the series much more than I thought I would. But honestly, I think it was when GOG gave it to everyone for free, and I was reading through the manuals - the manuals were written so goddamn well they ended up hyping me up for the game, lol.

That being said, I afterward tried to go back and play the first three. It was when I was watching YouTube Let's Plays, "yeah, fuck - no, this isn't going to work for me". I don't know, maybe if it had that same pull as the games set in Britannia (and yeh, I know Sosaria technically is the same world as Britannia), then at least for that reason it might have been enough for me to endure all the bullshit.

Anywho, actually working on the next piece now, though do to the in depth RP and writing, it does end up taking awhile.