Date: August 23, 2001 Version: Final E-mail:
[email protected]
********* ******* ******** *** *** *****************
********* ********* ********* *** *** *****************
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
*** *** *** *** *** ****** *** *** ***
*** *** *** ********* ***** *** *** ***
*** *** *** ******** ***** *** *** ***
*** *** *** *** *** ****** *** *** ***
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
********* ********* *** *** *** *** *****************
********* ******* *** *** *** *** *****************
"It all comes down to this."
Complete walkthrough written by Darrell Wong (DKW 001).
=============================================================================
OBLIGATORY BORING DISCLAIMERS -
I wrote this walkthrough as a service to fellow gamers who need help with this
game. I gave this FAQ to GameFAQs and nowhere else, and everything on their
site is free for the viewing. So if anyone tries to sell you this walkthrough,
don't pay a cent. And DEFINITELY never never ever try to claim it as your own
and sell it. That's plagiarism, you can get into serious trouble for it, and
the risk of that is definitely not worth whatever laughable pittance you could
get for my works.
The Zork trilogy and everything related to it is copyrighted by Infocom. All
rights reserved.
WHERE TO GET THIS GAME -
This game is "abandonware", meaning that it is no longer commercially produced.
You can download it freely from www.gamingdepot.com. (There are other sites,
but I think this one's the most reliable.) You'll also want the instructions,
which are available at Infodoc.plover.net/manuals/index.html.
INTRODUCTION -
I never got anywhere with this game. I remember playing this on an old
portable PC. It wasn't easy under the best of circumstances, but not knowing
what to do was killer. I never even saw about a quarter of the game (which is
astonishing when you consider how small an area it is). Etc., etc...well,
can't think of anything more to add. Enjoy the walkthrough! :-)
OBJECTIVE -
After a long tumble down the Endless Stairs, you arrive at the final part of
your adventure. You've made it to the deepest, most mysterious part of the
Great Underground Empire, where no adventurer has ever set foot before. This
is the domain of the Dungeon Master, a much more crafty and subtle adversary
than the thief or wizard. While he won't reveal himself to you, he will test
you several times during your explorations...perhaps without you even realizing
it. You will need a sound mind as well as a strong body to meet his
challenges. Prove yourself worthy, and a wondrous reward awaits you at the
end. Fail, and you may never again see the light of day...
This game is quite different from the previous two. Collecting treasures and
defeating a persistent enemy are *not* your main tasks. In fact, you will
collect only one treasure in the entire game. As you progress through the
Dungeon Master's land, he will give you various tests. He won't tell you when;
part of the challenge is realizing when this is happening. As you complete
these tests, you'll gradually accumulate items which serve as proof of your
worthiness. You must get them all, then confront the Dungeon Master at his
inner sanctum. There, the final test awaits. At least one of your tests is
nearly impossible, so be prepared.
There are only 7 points to earn this time (and no ranks), and you will reach
that plateau long before finishing the game. So don't worry about your
score...only your ultimate success or failure matters.
GENERAL TIPS -
Death is a much lesser threat in this game than it was in the last two, but
it's still a good idea to save at least once in a while. There are quite a few
areas where doing the wrong thing will make the game impossible to finish, and
you probably won't even know until much later. In fact, if you're new to this
game, it's probably advisable to have several save games, so if you
inadvertently save *after* blundering...believe me, it happens... you can go
back to an earlier point.
Darkness isn't a problem at all in this game...if you follow the walkthrough.
As always, spend no more than one move in darkness and you'll stay out the
grues' clutches.
Don't worry about being weighed down. All of the items are quite light, and a
few of them are wearable (and thus don't count against your eight-item limit).
You will almost never have to drop anything.
That's pretty much it. Again, this is a *much* different game than the last
two, so the best advice is to just follow the walkthrough. Really.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMPLETE WALKTHROUGH -
[Notes: For convenience, I use abbreviations for all directions, including up
(U) and down (D). I've included location notes so you know where you're
supposed to be. As with most text adventures of the Infocom era, many commands
have to be typed in precisely to work (one of the main raps against the genre).
This is especially true for enter/exit commands and using items. My
walkthrough is designed to minimize the dangers and get all the tasks
accomplished as quickly and smoothly as possible. There aren't that many areas
to visit and a few tasks have to be done in a certain order anyway, so you may
as well stick with it. As always, feel free to look around, although there
isn't really all that much to see here that isn't vital to your quest.]
As the game begins, you receive visions about the events leading up to your
tumble down the Endless Stairs and the challenges that lie ahead of you. You
then receive a short greeting from a mysterious old man. This is, of course,
the Dungeon Master, and it looks like he just threw down the gauntlet. With
that, the final stage of your grand adventure begins. You begin at the foot of
the endless stairs, where, once again, that good 'ol brass lantern has somehow
found its way to you. GET LANTERN. TURN ON LANTERN. S. S. S. S. ENTER
LAKE. Cold...so cold, in fact, that you drop the lantern! Don't worry,
though; another light source is coming right up. W. S (Scenic Vista). GET
TORCH. This torch, like the ivory torch in Zork 1, never stops burning.
Unless, of course, you foolishly drop it into the lake. Stay here and wait
until the indicator says "II". (Go ahead and L AT TABLE in the meantime to get
an idea of what it's actually for.) TOUCH TABLE. You're instantly zipped to
another room...from Zork II! Room 8, to be exact, west of the Carousel Room,
and the location of a can of grue repellent, which was pretty useless then.
You need it now, though, so GET CAN. Z. You're zipped back to the Scenic
Vista as quickly as you left. Z. The indicator will change to "III". TOUCH
TABLE. And this, of course, is a different part of Zork III, which you'll
arrive at normally later. DROP TORCH. Wait until you return again. ("I"
leads to the mine in Zork I, but there's nothing there that you need, and
*never* touch the table when it shows "IV"!) You're done here, so return N.
Now things get a little tricky. You have to take the southern path from the
lake with the grue repellent *and* something from the bottom of the lake.
You'll drop the can as soon as you enter, so you'll have to dive to get it.
Unfortunately, the cold doesn't do wonders for your grip and it may take you
more than one try to get both items. Worse, you can only stay underwater for
so long. Plus there's a hungry fish lurking underwater, and sometimes a roc
comes by and snatches you when you enter from the west bank...anyway, *save
your game*, as if you haven't figured it out by now. ENTER LAKE. D. You see
the grue repellent, the lantern...and a shiny object. GET CAN AND OBJECT. If
you don't get both the first time, try again. Once you have them, U and S.
You can finally put the lake behind you(whew!). By the way, leave the
lantern...it's dead for good. That's right, you only needed it to get to the
lake. (Told ya this game was different!) Well, it gets dark up ahead, and
you're without a light source; that's why you have that grue repellent. SPRAY
GRUE REPELLENT ON SELF. S. S. E. Salvation! And you've also found an item
you'll need later...much later. DROP CAN. GET KEY. By now the repellent will
have worn off. Since you can't go back...OPEN COVER. D (Aqueduct). What do
you know, this entire area is lit from an unknown source. N. N. N (Damp
Passage). This is the room you dropped the torch in, and here it is. GET
TORCH. W. W. SW. Save here. There's nothing of note in the Land of
Shadow...except for a sinister figure that's going to confront you and attack.
Wander around (or just wait) until he does. The sword from the junction will
instantly appear in your hand. Waste no time using it: ATTACK FIGURE WITH
SWORD and repeat. You'll almost certainly take some damage here, but attack
relentlessly and you should disable the figure before he kills you. If not,
restore. Keep attacking until he's "badly hurt and defenseless". *Do not*
finish him off; instead, GET HOOD. Oh my god, it's...the Dungeon Master, as it
turns out. After you unmask him, he acknowledges defeat and vanishes, leaving
the cloak behind. Needless to say, you don't want to kill him; you can't
confront him at the end if you do. GET CLOAK. You're done here, so make your
way back to the Junction, then go W twice to the Cliff. Hang onto that sword,
by the way. GET BREAD. D. Ah, a treasure chest. But it's locked, and your
key won't work for some reason (try it!). Never fear, though; sit tight and
wait, and help will show up. It's a fellow adventurer, and he claims that he
can open the chest. Well, you obviously can't, so you may as well trust him.
TIE CHEST TO ROPE. Wait until he returns, then GRAB ROPE. Unfortunately, it
seems that your trust was misplaced, as he keeps all the valuables from the
chest. Fortunately, it *wasn't*: he also gives you a staff, which is the ONLY
thing you need from the chest. No kidding; you'll find out why later. At any
rate, you're done here. D. D. S (Flathead Ocean). Save, then wait until a
ship shows up. SAY "HELLO SAILOR". This is just what the sailor wanted to
hear, and he shows his gratitude by tossing you a vial. It *looks* empty, but
actually contains an invisible liquid (which should give you a hint as to its
purpose). You must have this vial, and you only have one chance to call out to
the sailor before he leaves, so restore if you mess up. GET VIAL. N. NE. SE
(Barren Area). By this time an earthquake should have struck; if not, wait
until it does. E. S (Creepy Crawl). E. E. S. S (Great Door). The door is
unopenable, but the earthquake created a new way in. E. N. PUSH GOLD MACHINE
S. (Nothing else in this room is of any use.) OPEN STONE DOOR. PUSH MACHINE
E. Here lie the crown jewels, just out of reach. You will need to obtain
*one* of them with the help of the machine (the sole treasure mentioned
earlier). TURN DIAL TO 776. ENTER MACHINE. PUSH BUTTON. You're instantly
blasted back in time to the year 776...and everything you're carrying, as well
as the machine, vanishes! You'll also notice that you're not alone, so stay
put. GET RING and wait until the guards leave. Again, *do not* take the
scepter or dagger. OPEN DOOR. W. OPEN WOODEN DOOR. N. The time machine is
here, allowing you to return to the present with the ring...with one slight
precaution. PUT RING UNDER SEAT. This prevents it from vanishing. Neither of
the other crown jewels will fit, and they also do weird things to the time
machine, which is why you can't take them. TURN DIAL TO 948. ENTER GOLD
MACHINE. PUSH BUTTON. You're back, and this time the machine doesn't vanish.
GET OUT. LOOK UNDER SEAT. There's the ring; now to get everything else back.
OPEN DOOR. S. OPEN STONE DOOR. E. GET ALL. You'll notice that the other
crown jewels have vanished, and I'll leave it to you to ponder why.
Incidentally, if you want to play around with the time machine, go ahead. Most
of the years will just get you killed, however, and it's easy to permanently
zap something you don't want to (including the machine itself), so save
beforehand. Okay, there's one more item you need, and getting it is a beast.
W. S. *Save*, then go D into the Royal Puzzle. This puzzle is right up there
with the marble board in Riven for absolute, utter unsolvability. There's
exactly one solution, and if you make ONE wrong move, you'll never succeed. I
mean, it's just flat-out impossible. I don't see how anyone can solve it
without knowing the exact solution beforehand. Well, now that you know the bad
news, here's the solution: PUSH S WALL. E. S. E 2 times. PUSH S WALL. GET
BOOK. PUSH S WALL. PUSH W WALL 2 times. E. S. PUSH E WALL. N 5 times.
PUSH E WALL. W. S 4 times. E 2 times. N 3 times. PUSH W WALL. E. S 3
times. W 4 times. N 3 times. W. N. PUSH E WALL 3 times. W 2 times. S 2
times. E 2 times. S. PUSH E WALL. W 3 times. N 3 times. E 2 times. PUSH
S WALL 2 times. W. S 2 times. E 2 times. N. PUSH W WALL 2 times. S. W.
PUSH N WALL 3 times. W. N. There's the ladder, right beneath the hole, and
you can now *leave* the Royal Puzzle with the book! U. Congratulations,
you've just completed what's undoubtedly the most absolutely impossible task in
the entire Zork trilogy! (Oh yeah, save save save.) By now there's just one
part of ZORK III where you haven't been yet; not coincidentally, that's where
you have to go now. N. W. N. N. W. W. N (Junction). E. NE. An old man
should be here. If not, leave the room and return. When you see him, WAKE
MAN, then GIVE BREAD. He immediately jumps to life, pointing out a secret door
before leaving. Before you go further, check to see that you have each of the
following: book, vial, staff, cloak, hood, sword, torch, key, amulet, ring.
(If you don't, well, you screwed up; nothing you can do but restart from the
beginning.) Hmm...notice anything interesting about that particular list of
items? OPEN DOOR. N. N. PUT SWORD IN BEAM. S. PUSH BUTTON. N. N. A
mirror bars your way, but your bit of swordsmanship (beamsmanship?) has opened
up a panel below it. N. Hoo boy...here we see the biggest limitation of the
text adventure. I have no idea what this room even looks like. Anyway, what
you need to do is get the compass rose pointed south, then open up the panel in
the back, which will allow you to exit to the north. RAISE SHORT POLE. PUSH
WHITE PANEL. G. PUSH PINE PANEL. That's all there is to it; the pine panel
opens and you may proceed. N. You have to get past the guardians, and they
have other ideas. No problem; OPEN VIAL. DRINK LIQUID. Not only is this an
invisible potion...it's an *invisibility* potion! Clever, huh? N. N. N.
The moment of truth; you are just oustide the Dungeon Master's inner sanctum.
KNOCK ON DOOR. The DM answers the door and explains everything that led up to
this moment. In a nutshell, he was testing your strength (fighting the
figure), compassion (not killing the figure after he was helpless), trust
(following the friendly adventurer's instructions), unselfishness (not
begrudging the adventurer the treasures in the chest), intelligence (figuring
out how to recover the ring), temperance (not trying to take all the crown
jewels) persistence (the Royal Puzzle), and generosity (giving the bread).
You've proven yourself worthy in every test and may now begin the final one,
which the Dungeon Master himself will assist you with. And with that, he lets
you in. N. E or W. N. N (Parapet). TURN DIAL TO 4. PUSH BUTTON. S. OPEN
DOOR. S. Pushing the button with the dial at 4 has caused a brass door to
appear (otherwise the back wall will be empty), which you must unlock with the
key that you've been carrying all this time...which you can't do just yet. For
the final part, you'll need the DM's help. DUNGEON MASTER, GO TO PARAPET.
DUNGEON MASTER, TURN DIAL TO 1 (or any other number except 4; they all work).
DUNGEON MASTER, PUSH BUTTON. UNLOCK BRONZE DOOR WITH KEY. OPEN BRONZE DOOR.
Save your game for posterity if you want to before going S.
Congratulations! Your final task is complete, and all the wealth, knowledge,
and magic of the Great Underground Empire is now yours! In recognition of your
triumph, the Dungeon Master also annoints you his successor. The GUE is now
your dominion, to use and develop as you see fit. Perhaps someday you will
create your own tests, tricks, and puzzles for the next adventurer who arrives
at that ordinary-looking white house in the middle of the forest, imagining
what might lie below...
=============================================================================
END NOTES -
I would like to thank GameFAQs for being so kind as to put up my walkthroughs.
I know text adventures aren't exactly en vogue right now, but I *also* know
that there are plenty of gamers out there who grew up on them and were sad to
see them leave the mainstream. At GameFAQs, there is no such thing as dead,
obsolete, or out of date; without them, I would not have even considered
writing walkthroughs in the first place.
Zork is a, well-written, well-programmed, thoroughly entertaining trilogy, and
it's unfortunate that I'm only now able to appreciate it for what it is. I
have Gaming Depot to thank for having the chance to play these classics again
and the Infocom Documentation Project for reprinting the original instructions.
Abandonware is a wonderful development in computer gaming, one which I
wholeheartedly endorse.
My website is home.hawaii.rr.com/dkwff.
