Ultima 4: The Quest of the Avatar Walkthrough



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Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
The Somewhat Complete Guidebook
ver 1.2 (6-3-99)

Created by two orcs hitting each other on the head,
      with a little help from Dan Simpson (manymoose@hotmail.com)

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - N  O  T  E  S - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ultima IV is such a great game that it has been recognized as one of the best
and most groundbreaking games of all time.  Of course that doesn't help you if
you didn't manage to buy it when it first came out, and you missed it again when
the Ultima Collection came out.  Well, fear not!  Origin has provided the game
free of charge!

Ultima 4 is currently being sold in the Ultima Collection pack, but you can also
download a copy of it completely free! (and completely legal!):

  http://members.tripod.com/~hardwire1/ultima4.zip

So download it and play the legendary game!  Unless you already have it, in 
which case you should skip down to the FAQ itself.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Contents:
  i.    Introduction
  ii.   Keyboard Commands
  iii.  Creating a new Character
  iv.   Items
  v.    Virtues
  vi.   General Strategies
  vii.  Shrines, Runes, and Mantras
  viii. Magic Spheres

Walkthrough:
  1.    Part One, The Avatar
     a. Lord British's Castle
     b. Britain
     c. Paws
     d. Trinsic
     e. Minoc
     f. Skara Brae
     g. Jhelom
     h. Vesper
     i. Yew
     j. Empath Abbey
     k. Moonglow
     l. Lycaeum
     m. Serpent's Hold and Surrounding Areas
     n. Magincia
     o. Cove
     p. Other Things to Do

  2.    Part Two, Dungeon Hopping

Appendices:
  A.    Moongates
  B.    Upgrades


+=================+
| i. Introduction |
+=================+
Ultima 4 is unlike every other RPG ever made.  A bold statement.  Instead of
questing to remove some all-powerful evil, you are questing toward self-
improvement to become an Avatar.  Sure there are battles along the way, but the
true test of your courage is whether you can follow the Virtues, and eventually
brave the foul Stygian Abyss and view the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom.

In the game you have to follow the Virtues.  What does this mean, exactly?  No
stealing, attacking innocent people (and creatures), talking with pride, etc.
Plus you have to _increase_ your amount of Virtue by doing good deeds.  Giving
money to beggars (no matter how much you give, they'll never stop begging),
meditating at the 8 Shrines of Virtue.


+=======================+
| ii. Keyboard Commands |
+=======================+

Standard Commands:
------------------
A - Attack                    N - New Order
B - Board                     O - Open Door
C - Cast                      P - Peer at Gem
D - Descend                   Q - Quit and Save
E - Enter                     R - Ready Weapon
F - Fire                      S - Search
G - Get Chest                 T - Talk
H - Hole up and Camp          U - Use
I - Ignite Torch              V - Volume
J - Jimmy Lock                W - Wear Armor
K - Klimb                     X - Exit
L - Locate Position           Y - Yell
M - Mix Reagants              Z - Stats

Spells: 
-------
A - Awaken        - GR, GN      | N - Negate      - MR, GR, SA
B - Blink         - SS, BM      | O - Open        - SA, BM
C - Cure          - GR, GN      | P - Protection  - SA, GN, GR
D - Dispel        - BP, SA, GR  | Q - Quickness   - SA, GN, BM
E - Energy Field  - SA, SS, BP  | R - Resurrect   - SA, GN, GR, SS, BM, MR
F - Fireball      - BP, SA      | S - Sleep       - SS, GN
G - Gate Travel   - SA, BP, MR  | T - Tremor      - SA, BM, MR
H - Heal          - GN, SS      | U - Undead      - SA, GR
I - Iceball       - BP, MR      | V - View        - NS, MR
J - Jinx          - BP, NS, MR  | W - Wind Change - SA, BM
K - Kill          - NS, BP      | X - Exit        - BM, SS, SA
L - Light         - SA          | Y - Up          - BM, SS
M - Magic Missile - SA, BP      | Z - Down        - BM, SS

reagants- GR: Garlic, GN: Ginseng, SS: Spider Silk, BM: Blood Moss, NS: Night-
          shade, SA: Sulfurous Ash, BP: Black Pearl, MR: Mandrake Root

Note: using "Q" won't actually quit the game.  In Win95 use ALT-ESC to minimize
      the window, then right click, and close (after saving it with "Q" of 
      course)


+===============================+
| iii. Creating a New Character |
+===============================+
At the very beginning of the game you will be asked 7 questions by a gypsy
woman.  Depending on your final answer will be the type of character you are in
the game, and where you start the game.

    Virtue:         Class:      Town:
    -------         ------      -----
    Compassion    - Bard      - Britain
    Honesty       - Mage      - Moonglow
    Honor         - Paladin   - Trinsic
    Humility      - Shepherd  - New Magincia
    Justice       - Druid     - Yew
    Sacrifice     - Tinker    - Minoc
    Spirituality  - Ranger    - Skara Brae
    Valor         - Fighter   - Jhelom

Don't just take class into consideration while choosing your virtue, also
consider where you start and how hard it will be to get around.


+===========+
| iv. Items |
+===========+

Reagants: (BD - Buccaneer's Den, P - Paws, SB - Skara Brae, MG - Moonglow)
---------
Black Pearl         BD - 1   P - 7    SB - 8   MG - 9
Blood Moss          SB - 4   P - 6    MG - 6   BD - 9
Garlic              P - 2    MG - 6   BD - 9   SB - 9
Ginseng             P - 4    MG - 5   SB - 6   BD - 7
Spider Silk         MG - 3   SB - 6   P - 9    BD - 9
Sulfurous Ash       MG - 2   SB - 2   P - 3    BD - 6
*Nightshade         search during 2 new moons search at JF CO
*Mandrake Root      search during 2 new moons search at DC LC

* - indicates that these reagants MUST be found

Weapons: (as sorted from BEST to WORST)
--------
    Name:         Where:                     Who Can Equip:     Cost:
    -----         ------                     --------------     -----
O - Magic Wand  - Buccaneer's Den          - MBD               - 5000 gold
N - Magic Bow   - Buccaneer's Den          - BDTPR             - 2000 
M - Magic Sword - Minoc                    - FTPR              - 2500 
L - Magic Axe   - Minoc                    - TP                - 1500
K - Halberd     - Minoc, Jhelom            - FTP               -  350
J - Flaming Oil - Vesper, Buccaneer's Den  - MBFDPTRS          -    5 (1 use)
I - Crossbows   - Jhelom, Buccaneer's Den  - BFDPTR            -  600
H - Bow         - Trinsic, Vesper          - BFDPTR            -  250
G - Sword       - Britain, Trinsic, Jhelom - BFPTR             -  300
F - Axe         - Trinsic, Jhelom          - BFPTR             -  225
E - Mace        - Minoc, Trinsic           - BFDPTRS           -  100
D - Sling       - Britain, Vesper          - MBFDPTRS          -   25
C - Dagger      - Britain, Vesper          - MBFDPTRS          -    2
B - Staff       - Britain                  - MBFDPTRS          -   20

Armor: (as sorted from BEST to WORST)
------            
    Name:         Where:                          Who Can Equip:    Cost:
    -----         ------                          --------------    -----
G - Magic Plate - Jhelom                           - P            - 7000 gold
F - Magic Chain - Trinsic, Jhelom                  - FP           - 4000
E - Plate Mail  - Jhelom                           - FTP          - 2000
D - Chain Mail  - Britain, Trinsic, Jhelom, B. Den - FTP          -  600
C - Leather     - Britain, Paws, Buccaneer's Den   - BFDPTRS      -  200
B - Cloth       - Britain, Paws, Trinsic, B. Den   - MBFDPTRS     -   50

(M - Mage, B - Bard, F - Fighter, D - Druid, P - Paladin, T - Tinker,
 R - Ranger, S - Shepherd)

Items: (all of these are in Vesper or Buccaneer's Den)
------
A - Torches     - 50 gold (5 torches in a bunch)
B - Magic Gems  - 60 (5)
C - Magic Keys  - 60 (6)
D - Sextants    - 900 (technically not on the menu, but you can still buy it)

Note: the best place to get Rations is Britain


+============+
| v. Virtues |
+============+
Here is a list of things that increases and decreases your Virtues.

Compassion:   
----------   
+2 ... giving to beggar
+2 ... fleeing from Non-evil enemy
+1 ... letting Non-evil creatures flee
-5 ... attacking non-evil creatures

Justice:
--------
+2 ... being honest to herbs (reagants) woman
+2 ... fleeing from non-evil creature
+1 ... letting non-evil creatures flee
-1 ... stealing a chest
-3 ... attacking non-evil creatures
-10... cheating herbs (reagants) woman

Honor:
------
+5 ... solving quests (finding items)
+3 ... giving to a beggar
+2 ... being honest to herbs (reagants) woman
-1 ... stealing a chest
-3 ... attacking non-evil creatures
-10... cheating herbs (reagants) woman

Valor:
------
+0/1 (random)... killing an enemy (evil)
-2 ... fleeing from enemy

Sacrifice:
----------
+5 ... giving blood at the healer
+1 ... getting killed
-2 ... fleeing from enemy
-5 ... not giving blood at the healer

Honesty:
--------
+2 ... being honest to herbs (reagants) woman (it is also rumored that if you
       overpay that you will get even more points)
-1 ... stealing a chest
-10... cheating herbs (reagants) woman

Spirituality:
-------------
+(3 * cycle) ... meditating at a shrine
+3 ... talking the Hawkwind the Seer
-3 ... using wrong mantra at a shrine

Humility:
---------
+10... Talking unproud (humble)
-5 ... Talking proud

All Virtues:
------------
+10... Throwing the skull of Mondain into the Abyss
-5 ... Using the skull of Mondain

Note: Non-evil creatures are: spiders, insects, rats, bats, snakes and 
      seahorses.


+========================+
| vi. General Strategies |
+========================+

The Fine Art of Talking to people:
----------------------------------
Use "T" to talk to someone.
The Britannians have a great deal of information for you, all you need to do
is learn how to ask them for it.  So here's a little guide to help explain how
to learn what you need to know from NPC's.

Common Words to Say:
  "Name" - they'll tell you their name
  "Job"  - they'll tell you their job, quest, etc.
  "Health" - they will tell you their health, if someone isn't well find out
             why and try to help them! (beggars...)
  "join" - asks the person to join your party
  "Bye" - Ends the conversation


+==================================+
| vii. Shrines, Runes, and Mantras |
+==================================+

Compassion: (FM IA)
  Rune: In Britain's Inn at the End of the Hall (search)
  Mantra: MU
  Stone: Yellow, in Despise

Honor: (MP FB)
  Rune: In Trinsic SW corner by a Mage (search)
  Mantra: SUMM
  Stone: Purple, in Shame

Spirituality: (enter the Minoc moongate at 2 full moons, BD KG)
  Rune: Lord British's treasure room
  Mantra: OM
  Stone: White, on Serpent's Spine (balloon)

Justice: (AL EJ)
  Rune: In cell in Yew
  Mantra: BEH
  Stone: Green, in Wrong

Valor: (OF CE)
  Rune: In the secret passage around the city (SE tower)
  Mantra: RA
  Stone: Red, in Destard

Sacrifice: (CN MN)
  Rune: In the forge in Minoc
  Mantra: CAH
  Stone: Orange, in Covetous

Humility: (NI OH)
  Rune: In the mountains in Paws (SE)
  Mantra: LUM
  Stone: Black, double New Moon Moongate (Moonglow)

Honesty: (EC OJ)
  Rune: In Moonglow around Mariah's treasures (don't take those either)
  Mantra: AHM
  Stone: Blue, Deceit


+=====================+
| viii. Magic Spheres |
+=====================+

In the dungeons you will find little magic spheres which will raise your stats,
but at the price of hitpoints.

Where:            Levels:           Stats:          Damage:
------            -------           ------          -------
Covetous          3, 6              STR, DEX           400
Deceit            3, 5, 6           IQ                 200
Despise           4, 8              DEX                200
Destard           3, 6              STR                200
Hythloth*         5, 3, 1           STR, DEX, IQ       800
Shame             1, 4, 8           STR, IQ            400
Wrong             2, 6, 7           DEX, IQ            400

* the spheres in Hythloth do not appear until you have gone to the eighth level,
  and are on the way out.


+==============+
| Walkthrough: |
+==============+
+=========================+
| 1. Part One, The Avatar |
+=========================+
This game isn't all that complicated, so the walkthrough isn't all that long or
complicated either.

You need to become an Avatar first off.  This is best done alone (no party
members slowing you down, you'll need them later, but not now).  What we want
to do is to gather up the 8 runes, and learn the 8 mantras.  Plus, of course,
get all the other quest items.

The following can be done in any order you want.  All you have to do to become
an avatar is to go to each place and do good deeds (see the v. virtues section
above).  Talk to the Seer to find out when you have mastered a certain virtue
(called Partial Avatarhood), then go to that shrine and meditate for 3 cycles.
Master all 8 to become the Avatar.  Don't forget to go to the shrines!  They
aren't listed in the walkthrough, but you must get to all 8 eventually!

a. Lord British's Castle (GL FG)
------------------------
  - Make sure to talk to Lord British and accept the Quest of the Avatar (other-
    wise this will be a very short game!)
  - On the first floor, go into the room with all the guards, and in the NE
    corner of the room on the east wall is a secret wall, go in and search for
    the Rune of Spirituality (don't take the treasure).
  - Give blood here to improve your virtues.
  - Also any time you find yourself back at the castle, talk to Hawkwind, the 
    Seer who will not only tell you how close you are to Partial Avatarhoods, 
    but will also increase your spirtuality.

b. Britain (GK FC)
----------
  - Iolo, a bard, will join you here.
  - At the end of the hallway in the Inn is the Rune of Compassion.
  - Talk to cricket about the MANTRA to get the Mantra for Compassion: MU.
  - Give money to the beggar Sprite to increase your Compassion.
  - Shapero tells you that the Shrine of Compassion is East 2 Bridges.
  - Sebastian (injured man) tells you that Mondain's Skull is still around.

c. Paws (JB GC)
-------
  - In the south part of town are some mountains, in a nook find the Rune of
    Humility.
  - Find the Magic Shop (secret wall in Armory East) and buy reagants, pay the
    right amount to increase virtue.  (you are given to option to pay whatever
    you want, and the blind person accepts anything, just be honest!)

d. Trinsic (LI GK)
----------
  - Dupre, a paladin, will join you here.
  - Talk to Terrin in the SE corner of town to learn that the Rune of Honor is
    in the SW corner of town. (It is found by Virgil the Wizard)
  - Kline knows the mantra: SUMM (in the tavern)

e. Minoc (BE JP)
--------
  - Julia, a tinker, will join you here. (in the poorhouse)
  - Also in the poorhouse are a lot of beggars... Give to them to increase your
    virtues!
  - Talk to Mischief of the Rune to learn it is in the forge, go in and get it.
  - Singsong the bard mentions the mantra: CAH
  - Alkerion tells of the Stone of Sacrifice

f. Skara Brae (IA BG)
-------------
  - Shamino, a ranger, will join you here.
  - Mitre knows of the White Stone and tells you to ask about it in the Pub in
    Trinsic.
  - Barren (kid) knows the mantra: OM
  - Talk to the Ankh to learn that the Rune is in Lord B.'s castle, and to get
    to the Shrine of Spirituality you must enter a moongate at 2 full moons.
    (this only works at the Minoc moongate!)
  - If you feel up to the challenge, stay at the haunted inn to get some info
    on the White Stone.

g. Jhelom (NC CE)
---------
  - Geoffrey, a fighter, will join you here.  (in the Inn)
  - Aesop knows the mantra: RA
  - You want to get into the walls to get the Rune.  To get in, go to the inn
    and unlock the door (with a Key) to Lord Robert's room, search it for the
    passage.  The Rune is found in the SE Tower.

h. Vesper (DL MJ)
---------
  - If you don't have a sextant, buy one here at the Guild (option D, even 
    though you can't see it, it's there) for 900 gold

i. Yew (CL DK)
------
  - Jaana, a druid, will join you here.
  - The Rune of Justice is in a cell with a criminal.  To get into the cell, go
    up to the Ruler of the Castle, and talk to him.  Tell him that you aren't
    perfect, and serve your penance.
  - You will also learn that the Green Stone of Justice is in Dungeon Wrong
  - Some chanting druids (by a fire and with Jaana) are chanting: BEH

j. Empath Abbey (DC BM)
---------------
  - Lord Robert will tell you a word: AMO

k. Moonglow (IH OI)
-------------------
  - Mariah, a mage, will join you here.
  - The rune is in the room with Mariah, by her gold.
  - Cromwell the Paladin knows the mantra: AHM

l. Lycaeum (GL NK)
----------
  - Search the library (in the 't' section, for truth) for the Book of Truth.
  - Frasier tells you that part of the WORD is VER

m. Serpent's Hold and surrounding Area (PB JC)
--------------------------------------
  - Talk to Sentri to get the Word: COR

n. Magincia (KJ LL)
-----------
  - Katrina, a shepherd, will join you here.  Goodie.
  - Since pride destroyed Magincia, and Humility is the opposite of pride, and
    pride's mantra is 'mul' then humility's mantra is: LUM
  - You need to pick up the Silver Horn to drive the demons around the shrine
    away, it is at KN CN

o. Cove (FK II)
-------
  - To get to Cove you either need to find and capture a Pirate Ship on Locke 
    Lake, or go through the Whirlpool.
  - Search near the Ankh to find the Candle of Love.

p. Other things to do:
----------------------
  Get the Bell of Courage at: NA LA
  Get the Skull of Mondain at: PF MF (double new moons only)
  Get a Magic Wheel (to improve your ship) at: NH GA
  A Telescope is at: AC BG
  After Becoming a full Avatar you can get these:
    Also be sure to get the Mystic Armor at Empath Abbey (in the grotto): AE BG
    And the Mystic Weapon at Serpent's Hold (on the mat): AP AI
    Trick: If you need money, you can sell these, then go back and get them
           again.

When you become a partial avatar in each virtue you will be given a letter,
all the letters add up to INFINITY.


+==============================+
| 2. Part Two, Dungeon Hopping |
+==============================+
This won't walk you through the dungeons, but merely give you clues that you
will need to get all 8 stones, the 3 part key, and conquer the Sygian Abyss.
For this part you should have all 8 people in your party (you are considered
one of the 8), be well equipped, have lots of reagants, and a good supply of
items.

Stones:
-------
  White:  On top of serpent's spine, can only be reached via balloon (which can
          be found outside Hythloth)
  Black:  Search the Moonglow Moongate during a double new moon
  Blue:   Seventh Level of Deceit
  Yellow: Fifth Level of Despise
  Red:    Seventh Level of Destard
  Green:  Eighth Level of Wrong
  Orange: Seventh Level of Covetous
  Purple: Second Level of Shame

Once you have the stones you must use them in the 3 rooms of principles to get
the 3 part key.  These rooms are located at the bottom of dungeons.  Once in
each room you need to use the stone on the altar, the following is a list of
which stones go in which rooms:

Rooms:
------
  Truth:      Blue   Green   Purple   White
  Courage:    Red    Orange  Purple   White
  Love:       Yellow Orange  Green    White


Stygian Abyss:
--------------
You should now have all 8 stones, the 3 part key, the Skull of Mondain, and the 
3 artifacts of Principle (Bell of Courage, Candle of Love, Book of Truth).  Also
be sure to bring as many reagants as you can buy.  You'll have to figure out
where to go on your own, but at the end of each level in the Abyss there is a
question to get to the next level:

  1.  Honesty, Blue
  2.  Compassion, Yellow
  3.  Valor, Red
  4.  Justice, Green
  5.  Sacrifice, Orange
  6.  Honor, Purple
  7.  Spirituality, White
  8.  Humility, Black

You will now be at the final destination in your quest.  You will now be asked
a series of questions, the answers are:

  VERAMOCOR (the 3 part word)
  Honesty
  Compassion
  Valor
  Justice
  Sacrifice
  Honor
  Spirituality
  Humility
  Truth
  Love
  Courage
  Infinity

Wow, what a great Avatar you are!  You won Ultima IV!


+=============+
| Appendices: |
+=============+
+==============+
| A. Moongates |
+==============+
There are 8 locations of moongates, one for each town of virtue in the game.
Based on the phase of the first moon, is when a moongate will open, and the 2nd
moon's phase tells you where it will take you.  For example, when the first moon
first turns to the New Moon, a moongate will open at Moonglow and its 
destination will be Moonglow, when the 2nd moon changes phase it will take you
to Britain, another 2nd moon phase change and it will take you to Jhelom.  Then
the moongate will close.

   Phase                Location      Destinations
   -----                --------      ------------
1. New Moon             Moonglow      Moonglow      Britain     Jhelom
2. Crescent Waxing      Britain       Yew           Minoc       Trinsic
3. First Quarter        Jhelom        Skara Brae    Magincia    Moonglow
4. Gibbous Waxing       Yew           Britain       Jhelom      Yew
5. Full Moon            Minoc         Spirituality  Trinsic     Skara Brae
6. Gibbous Waning       Trinsic       Magincia      Moonglow    Britain
7. Last Quarter         Skara Brae    Jhelom        Yew         Minoc
8. Crescent Waning      Magincia      Trinsic       Skara Brae  Magincia


+=============+
| B. Upgrades |
+=============+
Note: These are all non-Origin upgrades, so use at your own risk!

Graphics Update:
----------------
There is a slight improvement to Ultima 4 that you can download, a completely
new graphics tileset!  Wow!

"http://copland.udel.edu/~avatar/u4graph.html"

It's not that great of an improvement, but any improvement is a good one, so
it is a recommended download.  It also includes some other things with it.

Sound Update:
-------------
Another upgrade is one to add music to U4:

"http://weber.u.washington.edu/~draug/u4music.zip"

Unzip it into your Ultima 4 directory and run "setup.bat", and then from then
on to play Ultima 4 with sound you have to use the u4.bat


Both of these upgrades include Mo'Slo and the sound updates u4.bat includes a
moslo line in it already (at 25% speed).



Shameless Self Promotion:
  I have also written faq's for:
    NES:   The Legend of Zelda
           Disney Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
    SNES:  Utopia: Creation of a Nation
    PC:    Ultima 4
           Ultima 7
           Ultima 7 Part 2: Serpent Isle
           Ultima Underworld -- Keyboard Commands
           Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
           Rollercoaster Tycoon
           Colonization -- the Single Colony Strategy Guide
                        -- Guide to Cheating in Colonization
  All can be found at:
    http://www.gamefaqs.com/


Questions?  Comments?  Mistakes?  Email me about it!  manymoose@hotmail.com

Version Changes:
----------------
Original Version (3-4-99, 20k)
Changes in 1.1:  (3-16-99, 21k)
  Realized that I had left out the Magical Spheres, that was corrected
  New ASCII art!
  Added reagants for Resurrect and Undead spells
Changes in 1.2:  (6-3-99, 24k)
  Cleaned things up a bit
  Added Shameless Self-Promotion
  Small Changes and Additions


ASCII Art created using SigZag by James Dill:   (freeware!)
  http://www.geocities.com/southbeach/marina/4942/sigzag.htm

This Document is Copyright 1999 by Dan Simpson

Thanks to Revolution reader Dan Simpson!

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