from TrueSite
@ the Shadowvale CSR
by Author
FILE.
OUTDOORS
Q) What secrets and specials can be found outdoors?
A) There are three outdoor encounters and three outdoor stores. Some are hidden. All are useful, but none are necessary. In addition, the Goblin Forest is a hidden level found with a map in Elyssia's Chambers.
MOON POINT
Q) Are there any major secrets here?
A) Two hidden staircases: one in Elyssia's bedroom, and one in Wanda's room.
Q) How is the door in Elyssia's Bedroom opened?
A) Two conditions must be met: Azad is dead and Elyssia is alive. Look at the door and it will then open. If they are both alive, looking will prompt a message. If Elyssia is dead, something interesting happens.
Q) How do I kill Elyssia?
A) Get the Magebane (name borrowed from Ultima VII) in the Furnace. Free Sss-Sslyss in the Cells of Torment. (She can be killed without doing either, but it's very hard.)
UNDER MOON POINT
Q) How do I leave the Tome Room?
A) Search the NE. Don't take the visible teleporter--look for another.
GOBLIN FOREST
Q) How do I reach this place?
A) Get the map from Elyssia's shelves.
Q) How do I reach the Warlord?
A) Search for secrets in the Chamber of Magical Trickery.
PRISON (GROUND FLOOR)
Q) What's with the strange evil priest in the SE?
A) Johns, the priest, wants to discourage you from entering because he fears you will discover his cult, hidden deep in a cave connected to the prison.
DEPTHS OF DESPAIR
Q) The Stairs to the Cells of Torment keep killing me! What gives?
A) Talk to the prisoners in the Depths of Despair. That should clue you in.
Q) What do I need in the Divine Maze?
A) Nothing, but the Divining Rod, found in the Control Tower, helps a lot.
CELLS OF TORMENT
Q)How is the "Phoenix" riddle solved?
A) The number sequence looks somewhat random; all you can tell from first glance is that they keep getting bigger. The trick, however, is finding the pattern. The first number is 1. The next is 3. The next, 8. Observe that 2 comes directly after 1. 5 comes two spots after 3. So, the way it works is, for whichever number you're looking at, go that many spaces to the right and add. (For example, 19 is the fourth number. Go four spaces to the right to get 23. Add 19 and 23. Voila, the answer is 42!) Thus, 375 is the eighth number. 8 spaces to the right is 383. Add the two to get 758. The rest is easy. The riddle tells you to take the last digit (8). 8 converted to letters is "H". Since "Phoenix" starts at the north, H is the teleporter one step southwest of the northernmost one.
CONTROL TOWER
Q) I found the LifeChamber but can't get in! How do I open the door?
A) You need Glyn's notes, found in the west of the Depths of Despair.
Q) What's the answer to the ghost's riddle?
A) Wind. The clue is the word "Br eeze."
TOWER ROOF
Q) How do I get to this board?
A) Solve the LifeChamber. Keep in mind that you may only get one chance on the roof. If the ghost in the LifeChamber dies, you won't be able to return.
Q) How do I reach the rest of the board (outside of the statues)?
A) Some statues can be walked through.
THE FURNACE
Q) What's the point of this level?
A) Get the Magebane. Learn more about Azad and Elyssia. This level is not necessary for scenario completion, but it helps, and enhances the plot. This board is also my homage to modern hard rock band Buckcherry.
ALI-AZAD'S LAIR
Q) The door to the Kwikblayd won't open. Why?
A) Search the room to reveal the right door.
Q) Why is the Kwikblayd cursed and valueless?
A) It's priceless, not valueless. I didn't want anyone to sell it. I think it would be lame to complete my scenario and just cash in the prize for some gold. Plus, I wanted it to always bear Azad's mark...sort
of like evil radiation.
Q) First I had to fight Azad, now I have to fight two huge demons! In quickfire, no less! Isn't this a bit hard?
A) There is a way to avoid the demons. It's still somewhat tough, and gross, but definitely your best option. First you'll need to visit the Endless Cave and defeat the Divine Armada. Then, go to the Kwikchamber. Before getting the sword, search for a hidden hall. Use your key from the Armada to open the door and throw the lever. Only then should you get the Kwikblayd. Then, escape west.
Q) So I don't really NEED to visit and defeat the Armada, do I?
A) True. All their key does is open the escape passage. However, in all my beta testing, I always got my butt kicked trying to fight the demons in the quickfire.
Q) Why is the Kwikblayd called "Enilno?"
A) This is another homage to the Ultima series. In Ultima II, the best weapon was the Quicksword "Enilno." (How Origin got the name I have no idea!)
ENDLESS CAVE
Q) How do I get here?
A) This board can be reached from either the east or the west of the Cells of Torment.
Q) What do I do at first?
A) Look for secret passageways in the middle north of the board.
Q) How do I enter the Temple of the Divine Armada?
A) Keep stepping on the corners until the number four appears. Then, kill the demon. (The exact order of stepping is NE, SW, NW, SE.)
Q) Entering and leaving doesn't make sense. No matter which direction you go, you end in the Cells of Torment. Why?
A) The magic of the cave suspends the laws of geography.
Q) What's this business of the "Papacy" of the Divine Armada?
A) Foreshadowing to a scenario I may or may not make.
Q) I found the Wicked Bishop's bedroom, and a strange pool puzzle near it. How is it solved?
A) The clue is "Boreas," Greek for the North Wind. The clue tells you to go across from Boreas, thus drinking from t he south pool.
Q) In the Wicked Bishop's bedroom there's a passage that reads, "The Empire probably never knew about this cave." How can that be when there's a ledge leading right to it?
A) The underground river could have reshaped the caves and created the ledge recently.
Q) Is the second key to the Kwikchamber here? If so, where?
A) Yes, it's hidden under the throne in the altar room.
MISCELLANEOUS
Q) How come a fair amount of this scenario is only loosely related, or unrelated altogether to the Elyssia-Azad main plot?
A) Technically the main plot is Elyssia-Azad, although I consider the total plot to be the prison itself: its history, mystery, battles, and secrets. When viewed that way, nearly everything in the scenario, with the exception of perhaps the Goblin Forest, is relevant to the plot.
Q) Don't you think there are too many custom items?
A) No. While there are probably 25 or 30 custom items, I feel none are overly easy-to-get, and they are all useful. As long as gameplay is good and risk/reward is well-balanced, then I say the more custom items the merrier.
Q) What's the correct way to win the scenario?
A) There is no "correct" way. You could argue that Elyssia is more evil, and serves an evil regime, and that Azad was simply driven mad by captivity. Still, Azad has committed many atrocities too. Also, keep in mind that freeing Azad could have grave ramifications on the Empire's wellbeing, and would probably cause lots of innocent death. Perhaps the best solution is to kill them both, although this requires you kill Azad first (he leaves if Elyssia is killed first). It's up to you to decide what is right.
***NOWHERE NEAR ALL THE SECRETS OF THE SCENARIO ARE REVEALED IN THIS FILE.
LOOK AROUND! USE MAGIC MAP!***