POOL OF RADIANCE (NES) Walkthrough by Overdrive
Version 1.0
For questions, comments, etc. : email me at [email protected] or
[email protected]
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Copyright Notice
3. Version History
4. Important NES/Computer Differences
5. Tips/Hints/Stuff You Need To Know
6. NPCs That May Join You to Fight
7. Walkthrough
  a. The Beginning/New Phlan
  b. Slums
  c. KutoÕs Well/Catacombs/Podol Plaza
  d. Sokal Keep
  e. Kovel Mansion
  f. Textile House
  g. Wilderness Overview/Silver Dragon Cave/Nomad Camp
  h. MendorÕs Library
  i. Kobald Cave/Textile House (revisited)
  j. YarashÕs Pyramid/Lizardman Keep
  k. Buccaneer Base
  l. Zhentil Keep
  m. Stojanow Gate
  n. Wealthy Area/Temple of Bane
  o. Valhingen Graveyard
  p. Three Optional Quests
  q. TyranthraxusÕ Final Day
8. Monster Compendium
9. Commission Quick-Reference List
10. Stuff I HavenÕt Proven
11. Credits

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1. INTRODUCTION
Pool of Radiance is the only one of the classic SSI turn-based strategy
RPGs based on the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons world to make it to the
NES. My guess is that they may have originally planned to release Curse of
the Azure Bonds (the second in the four-game series), because when you
complete the game, there are passwords available for all your characters.
However, that never happened, sadly.

While this game is simplified/altered a bit from the computer version, it
is still one of the greatest games ever for the NES (in my opinion). You
have a lot of latitude in your decision-making; there are many dungeons,
caves, buildings, etc. to explore -- and multiple ways to do a lot of
them; all-in-all, this is as open-ended of a game as youÕll get on the
old NES.

Since a lot of people have been asking for a QUALITY FAQ on this game that
actually caters to the NES crowd, I figured I do it. Gives me another
reason to play the game again.

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2. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
This guide is copyrighted 2003-04 by Overdrive/Rob Hamilton. You may
read and copy this guide for your personal use. You may use it for your
website if you email me and ask for permission. You may not take this
guide and post it wherever you want just because you feel like it. A lot
of time is going into playing this game and writing the guide for it and I
would appreciate it if you respect that. Believe me, I have no problems in
letting anyone use this guide as long as I get proper credit.

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3. VERSION HISTORY
1.0 (4/26/04) -- Took care of the entire walkthrough. Pretty much a done
                deal except for the stats for a number of monsters, which
                will be included whenever I get through the computer version
                of the game (unless someone knows something I donÕt). With
                all the options you have here, itÕs all too possible I
                missed something. Also, I may proofread this work a bit
                more carefully in the future and re-send it (probably when
                I get the remaining monster stats).

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4. IMPORTANT NES/COMPUTER DIFFERENCES

a. In the computer version, you get something for every battle -- usually
  the armor/weapons the enemies were wearing. Actually, itÕs somewhat of
  a positive that this was not implemented, as when your party is all
  decked out with magical items, it gets rather tiresome to say no to the
  generic crap those pesky Kobald-type wimps drop on a regular basis.

b. You can have six PC/recruited characters and two storyline NPCs in your
  party at any one time in the computer version. Here itÕs five and one.

c. Conversely, a number of battles are much larger and/or tougher in the
  computer version. You have more characters --- enemy forces also are
  much larger. Nothing like fighting 20-25 Orcs at one time. LetÕs just
  say, you better be loaded on Sleep spells.

d. In the computer version, there are a number of secret lairs that contain
  monsters and treasure in the Wilderness that may be found in random
  spots if you have the ÒsearchÓ function on. So far, no one has found any
  of those in the NES version (used to be a hot topic on the boards). One
  reason for this may be the fact that you are unable to use the ÒsearchÓ
  function outdoors...

e. In the computer version, any time you either entered a period of
  extended dialogue or heard a tavern rumor, you were directed to read
  the appropriate paragraph of a book that came with the game. Some
  entries in the book were false, so you couldnÕt read everything and
  know all the secrets in the game -- but youÕd sure have a good idea.
  In the NES version, all the dialogue, rumors, etc. are in the actual
  hardware and will be displayed on screen.

f. Money is a bit more complicated in the computer version. All the AD&D
  currency is there. Not only do you have gold pieces, you also have the
  more valuable platinum pieces and the less valuable electrum, silver
  and copper.

g. In the NES game, you have an unlimited amount of arrows, sling stones,
  etc. In the computer version, you have to continue purchasing them or
  youÕll run out.

h. HereÕs a funny one. Spell names with religious meanings were altered.
  For example Bless is now ÒEmpowerÓ and Prayer is ÒMediationÓ. Thanks,
  Nintendo for saving us from the horrors of religious words while
  putting us players in a world in which we have to kill most every life
  form out there in order to succeed.

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5. TIPS/HINTS/STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW

PART ONE:
Okay, the first thing I want to make clear is that this is simply a guide
to THIS GAME. IÕm not going to rehash every AD&D rule, describe every single
spell, explain the meaning of every stat, playing class, etc. If you go the
the PC FAQ section for this game, youÕll find a well-written AD&D Rules FAQ
by DSimpson that should help you figure out whatÕs what. However, I will
mention a few stats/classes in particular that are of the utmost importance.

a. Armor Class/Movement -- The lower the number, the better. You start out
with an armor class of 10 (minus any possible bonus for class/dexterity) and
lower it by buying/equipping armor. Characters like Fighters and Clerics can
equip stronger armor, so they should be toward the front. Thieves and
Magic-users should be in the back, as they only get weak armor (although the
right Bracer can do wonder for a Magic-UserÕs AC. Now, one thing to take into
consideration is that the heavier the armor you have, the more restricted in
movement youÕll be. A Fighter with Plate Mail equipped can move six squares
per turn. When fighting enemies with distance attacks (arrows, spells, etc.)
that start battle far away from you, that can be troublesome. So, there
always is the potential Òmobility vs. protectionÓ conflict for you to think
about.

b. THAC0 -- This number determines your proficiency in combat. It stands
for ÒTo Hit Armor Class 0Ó. LetÕs say it is 20. That means whenever you
try to attack an enemy, the computer rolls an imaginary 20-sided die. If
the enemy had an AC of 0, youÕd have to get a 20 to hit it. If the
computer had an AC of 10, youÕd get a hit on a roll of 11 to 20. This
may lower when you go up in level. Fighters get their THAC0 lowered each
time they go up in level. Other classes get a bonus less frequently, as
their primary focus isnÕt brute power. Needless to say, the lower you get
this number, the more likely you are to consistently hit enemies in battle.
As a side note, no matter how low or high your THAC0 is, there always will
be a five percent chance that youÕll either hit or miss. Example, you have
a THAC0 of 20 and try to hit an enemy with an AC of -3. While it would seem
that you have no mathematical chance of hitting this enemy, if the computer
ÒrollsÓ a 20, you will connect.

c. Magical Weapons/Armor -- So you have a few weapons and armor with +1 or +2
in front of them? ThatÕs good, because magical pieces of equipment are about
the only way to improve THAC0 and AC easily. A Long Sword +1 will improve
your THAC0 by one as long as you have it equipped AND add one point to the
amount of damage you cause with a hit. A Chain Mail +1 improves your Armor
Class by one more point than regular Chain Mail would. There are two ways to
find out if something is magical. First, cast ÒDetect MagicÓ on it. Second
(and more efficient), go to a store and act like youÕre selling it. If it is
dirt cheap, itÕs a regular old piece of equipment. But if the store offers a
ton of $$$ for it, itÕs magical. Now cast ÒDetect MagicÓ (or if you have
enough cash, just pay the storekeeper to identify it). This way, youÕre not
cluttering up your limited active spell selection with a bunch of spells that
have no in-combat purpose.

d. Spells -- When you start out, you have next to no spell-casting ability
for your Clerics and Magic-Users. They might have 2-3 casts of a Level 1
spell, after which they must rest to re-memorize their spells. For this
reason, whenever you set off for hostile territory, you have to be careful in
allocating spells to characters. Early on, IÕd advise giving your Clerics
nothing but Cure Light Wounds (so you donÕt have to run to town every time
someone takes a hit). Magic-Users should have mainly Sleep (to incapacitate
foes for easy kills) and maybe a Magic Missile (to cause a bit of damage).
When a Cleric goes to memorize spells, they can choose between all spells
of any level theyÕve obtained knowledge of. When a M-U goes to memorize
spells, they can choose between whatever spells they have chosen to learn
of any level theyÕve obtained knowledge of. When a M-U goes up in level,
they get to choose a new spell(s) to learn. Picking the right spell is an
important thing to do. Some are game-savers (Fireball and Hold Person), some
are pretty limited/useless (Knock and Cure Blindness).

The healing spells Clerics get are the most useful spells in the game, as
they are the only cheap and easy way to regain lost hit points. Basically,
the only quick way to regain HP is to go to an inn/safe point, have your
Cleric used all their Cure Wounds spells, rest (to regain magic) and repeat
until everyone is healthy. Characters do regain HP on their own, but itÕs
something pathetically slow, like one per 24 hours. A more advanced Cleric
should invest in Hold Person, as that spell will work on humanoid enemies a
bit too powerful for the Magic-UserÕs Sleep spell.

Magic-Users also have some crucial spells. Early in the game, you get
access to two of them (Sleep and Magic Missile). Sleep is a lifesaver early
in the game, as it effectively turns weak enemies into helpless practice
dummies. Magic Missile is a good way for a M-U to attack, as it is 100
percent effective. Later, they will get Fireball, an area-attack spell that
can devastate an enemy squad (or you, if youÕre not careful -- make sure
none of your characters are within its sphere of influence).

PART TWO:
And now, letÕs just go into a few other useful tidbits.

1. Save often. As in constantly. You never know when a group of enemies
might gang up on your Magic-User. You never know when your weak party that
has been struggling to overcome Kobalds and Orcs will run into Trolls.
Quite frankly, you never know... (well, this guide will give you some damn
good hints, but there always is the element of the unknown while in
battle).

2. The Council gives out quests. By doing them roughly in the order given,
you wonÕt get overwhelmed. One exception -- save the cleansing of the local
graveyard for immediately before the final assault on Tyranthraxis. It is
brutal and you want to be as strong as possible before facing all the
legions of the hatefully strong undead. And I wouldnÕt be running to MendorÕs
Library as often as the game seems to prompt you to do so, as it will be a
very humbling experience early in a partyÕs career.

3. Clerics have the ability to ÒTurn UndeadÓ. This is really useful since
(as long as it works), some number of undead enemies will be forced to
attempt to escape the battle -- meaning they wonÕt be attacking your party
unless they get caught in a corner. Since a number of these guys (Wights,
Wraiths, Spectres, Vampires) can steal experience levels and others (Mummies
- disease, Skeletons - sharp weapons do half damage) have other unpleasant
abilities, a high-level Cleric is important to have.

4. Speaking of experience, you can only advance so far in this game. Each
of the SSI AD&D games has a level cap for characters. In the computer
version, you could just train immediately in the second game, Curse of the
Azure Bonds to gain more levels -- here, regardless of how many experience
points you have, after a certain point you wonÕt be going up anymore.
For the NES version, the best thing to do is have a couple of characters
divide their experience between multiple classes. Not only does this make
your party more diverse, but it also ensures that you wonÕt have everyone
maxed out long before the end of the game.

One thing I am going to do is include an experience chart for the various
classes. This is because you have to train after reaching the experience
requirements for any given level and the game itself wonÕt tell you itÕs
training time. If you have the instruction book, youÕre cool. If not,
youÕll be in the dark. To read the chart, the number on the left is the
level number and the numbers under the class names tell how many XP are
needed to obtain that level. All created characters start at Level 1 and
have no experience.

     CLERIC          FIGHTER           THIEF          MAGIC-USER
2       1501             2001            1251                2501
3       3001             4001            2501                5001
4       6001             8001            5001               10001
5      13001            18001           10001               22501
6      27501 - MAX LVL  35001           20001               40001
7                       70001           42501
8                      125001           70001
9                                      110001


5. Most importantly -- when you are rolling your character stats, do not be
in a hurry. Re-roll and re-roll until you get great stats for everyone. For
the most part, youÕre stuck with what you get, so donÕt short-chance
yourself. The score of 18 is the maximum you get get, with the exception
of a FighterÕs Strength. If you get an 18 here, then you also will get
random number between 01 and (1)00. This gives Fighters the potential to
get far better bonuses in this category than anyone else.
Here are some rolling guidelines:

Everyone -- High Constitution (a high score in this gives you HP bonuses
           for each level gained -- 16-18 is good).
Fighter -- 18+ Strength (the bigger THAC0/damage bonus, the better).
Cleric -- 16 Strength or better, 17-18 Wisdom. High wisdom affects spells.
         Since they are the next best attack units after Fighters, you
         want them able to cause some sort of damage on at least a semi-
         consistent basis.
Thief -- IÕm not sure that anyone has ever found much of a use for these
        guys (in one or two areas, having one makes things easier, but
        overall they are inferior to all other classes). If you have one,
        give them good strength and dexterity. Dexterity improves their
        shoddy defense if high enough and may improve their trap-finding
        abilities. It also works to improve their THAC0 with missile
        weapons, which is important because you donÕt want these guys
        getting carved up in hand-to-hand combat.
Magic-User -- Intelligence 17-18 for more spells. Dexterity also should be
             high so they not only can dodge attacks here and there, but
             also can move earlier in rounds to cast spells before the
             enemies attack.

6. Treasure gained may be somewhat random. I had originally started this
game and then started over for the FAQ since some of my notes and maps
were a bit vague. The treasure I got from OhloÕs quest was different both
times. The first time, I got an awesome 2285XP, Bracers AC2, three potions,
a scroll with three Cleric spells and a Necklace of Missile. The second
time, it was a comparatively poor 425XP, three potions, two scrolls, but
NO bracers. Basically, if you get XP or treasure I didnÕt get or I got
something you donÕt get -- thatÕs life. Apparently, there are some
variations in what you may get and those variations can make a pretty big
difference in things.

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6. NPCs THAT MAY JOIN YOU TO FIGHT
Note: NPC characters move and act on the direction of the computer. You
have no real interaction with them, except to improve their equipment.
However, you canÕt take anything from them, so donÕt hand them anything
expensive unless theyÕll be with you long enough to make it worth your
while. Of course, if you follow my walkthrough, the only NPC that will be
with you for any time is Dirten, and he comes into your party with some good
equipment.

a. Dirten --- L5 Human Cleric
  HP: 26   10STR 15INT 16WIS 10DEX  9CON 15CHA
  Once you accept BracchioÕs quest (which is early in the game), this
  fellow joins you. Is he a wonderful character? No, but he gives you
  extra heal spells, so heÕs worth keeping around as long as possible.
  Note: In the NES version of the game, Dirten is NOT as good of a
  character as he is in the PC version. Why? Because of horrible AI. In
  this game, heÕs very fond of repeatedly healing himself -- even if heÕs
  at full HP -- and casting other spells at strange times, such as Hold
  Person against animals or undead. IÕd still keep him around simply to have
  a sixth character in your party for as long as possible (he is a decent
  melee Cleric and youÕll have more Cure Light Wounds spells for after
  battles -- but prepare to be frustrated by his frequent bouts of
  ineptitude.

b. Genheris --- L7 Human Magic-User
  HP: 22   10STR 18INT 10WIS 10DEX 10CON 10CHA
  WhoÕd have thought that a Magic-User would be such a good NPC, given their
  horrid AI in battles? While youÕll likely only have this traitor to the
  Tyranthraxus cause on your side for two battles, he can make a big impact,
  as heÕll actually use his spells in your favor. In the final battle of the
  game, he hit Tyranthraxus with two Magic Missiles that caused nearly half
  the damage needed to kill the brute. Just be careful --- heÕs not overly
  cautious about who he hits with his Fireball spell.

c. Mad Man --- L1 Human Fighter
  HP: 07   17STR 10INT 10WIS 10DEX 10CON 10CHA
  The most useless NPC in the game and not just because of his low
  starting level and his poor stats. This clown also has absolutely no
  courage. As a test, I kept him around for the two big fights in MendorÕs
  Library (where you find him) in the computer version. He ran from the
  Basilisk and surrendered to the Spectre. After that, I dumped him.

d. Magician --- L6 Human Magic-User
  HP: 23   10STR 15INT 10WIS 10DEX 10CON 10CHA
  Two reasons why this graveyard spelunker is on the same level as Mad Man.
  First, heÕs a Magic-User and the NES version of this game really struggles
  with the AI of this class. Second, heÕs actually a servant of the Vampire
  that runs this block. When you reach the Vampire, heÕll betray you. So,
  just kill him on sight, so you donÕt have the hassle later.

e. Princess Fatima --- L4 Human Fighter
  HP: 33   18/01STR 14INT 10WIS 18DEX 16CON 15CHA
  The Princess is a good member, but you only have her for a short time.
  You pick her up in the Kobald Cave and she will leave you the second you
  exit that place. But she is handy for the brief moment you spend on her
  side.

f. Skullcrusher --- L4 Human Fighter
  HP: 39   18/81STR 10INT 8WIS 16DEX 18CON 12CHA
  CadornaÕs servant will be found prisoner in the Textile House. If you
  free him, heÕll join you until you completed the quest that brought you
  to this region. He comes unequipped, but since heÕs only going to be
  with you for a little while, only equip him with weapons and armor
  dropped by the local monsters. He is a powerhouse and will help you out
  in whatever battles heÕs around for.

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7. WALKTHROUGH
Note: For this walkthrough, I used a Dwarf Fighter, Human Fighter, Human
     Cleric, Half-Elf Cleric/M-U and Elf Thief/MU. Just wanted a combo I
     didnÕt think IÕd used before.

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a. The Beginning/New Phlan
  Common Monsters: See below.

After creating your party, you begin in New Phlan. The basic plot is that
you are a group of adventurers looking for wealth and glory. New Phlan is
in need of adventurers, as their formerly huge city has been gradually
taken over by the forces of evil. Currently they are crammed into one
little section of the actual city and are in dire need of help before they
become victims of the monsters.

IÕll be giving coordinates to describe most of the points of interest here
and everywhere else in the game. Here is a crude example of a level (not
drawn to scale -- most are 16 by 16 squares)

(0,15)  (15,15)
   ______
   |    |
   |    |
   |    |
   ÑÑÑÑÑÑ
(0,0)   (15,0)

Because I have no skill creating computer maps, IÕm just putting in the
coordinates. Besides, IÕve always felt, itÕs better for the player to make
their own map in a game like this --- that way you gain a more intimate
knowledge of your surroundings. To help you, through the menus, you can
access a vague map of your immediate surroundings. YouÕll have to fill in
doors, points of interest and such, but youÕll be able to sketch in the
walls and corridors.

Anyhow, in Phlan, there are a ton of places to go. You have stores, inns,
temples, a training ground, taverns, a dock. Yes, this is civilization. So,
letÕs first look at the generic shops. All stores in a class are identical.

At (2,1), (4,3) and (6,2), youÕll find Inns. These are the only places in
town that you may rest without being disturbed by the city guards -- and
you only have to pay a tiny fee of 5G. While resting, you may cast spells
to heal party members, re-memorize spells, sleep, cast them again, etc.
until you are completely healed. YouÕll be coming here often.

At (8,2), (8,4), (9,2), (11,3) and (13,7) are Armories. These places are
great early on, as you can buy any non-magical type of weapon or armor.
However, as you find GOOD stuff in battles or in hidden caches, these
stores become obsolete -- only good for selling off old items.

Taverns are at (8,6), (10,7), (15,1) and (15,5). You can get rumors here,
but the act of snooping for information can set off a drunken brawl. The
encounters can range from easy (L1 Thieves) to not-so-easy (mid-level
Fighters).

At (9,5) and (12,5) are Jewelers. While exploring, youÕll find several gems
and jewelry. Turn them to gold or vice-versa here.

Silver Shops are at (10,2) and (11,5). You can get a couple silver weapons
(stronger vs. undead) here.

And at (9,4), (11,4) and (15,7), youÕll find Item Shops that contain a few
assorted things that may or may not ever come in useful.

There are a large number of other places that will be of great interest to
you. The town has three Shrines dedicated to different Gods. The Shrine of
Tempus entrances are at (1,12) and (3,14). The Shrine of Sune entrances are
at (0,3) and (2,3). The Shrine of Tyr entrances are at (8,9), (8,11) and
(11,12). At Shrines, you can have a number of healing services provided and
you may purchase various healing/restoring items. As a side note, Bishop
Bracchio of the Shrine of Tyr is located at (10,10). He will eventually
give you a quest, so keep his location in mind. As you get a surplus of gold,
Temples will be your favorite place to visit in Phlan, as paying to get
healed takes a lot less time and is far less tedious than going to an inn (or
other safe resting spot) and repeatedly casting and re-memorizing Cure Light
Wounds until everyone is healthy).

The party can do plenty of things at the Training Hall, located at (6,13).
Most importantly, this is where you go after someone has gained the
experience to go up in level. For a fee, that character will gain their
new level. Also, you may compete in one-on-one arena battles (very little
purpose to this) and hire replacement base party members (something IÕve
never done -- if someone dies, IÕve always reset).

Since youÕll likely want to know what youÕre supposed to be doing, go to
the City Hall entrance at (4,11) and enter the ClerkÕs office at (5,10).
She will hand out quests for you and give you rewards upon the completion
of them. You start out with three quests and will get one new one for each
one you complete until youÕve depleted the supply. Sometimes, a different
member of PhlanÕs Council will have a quest for you. Usually this is the
only time you may enter their office without resistance from the guards.
Including among these people are Cadorna (6,10) and Bracchio (10,10).
The first three missions that youÕll get involve cleaning out the Slums,
investigating Sokal Keep and finding history books concerning the history
of Phlan.

To leave the civilized part of town, you have two options. To go to the
Slums, leave at (0,11). To go to Sokal Keep, go to the docks at (15,14).
After you clear Sokal Keep, when you go to the docks, youÕll be able to
sail to a variety of destinations, giving you easy passage to the outside
world and to some harder-to-reach areas of Phlan. The Slums will be your
first destination after leaving town.

WHAT TO DO IN PHLAN EARLY ON?
Simple. After creating your party, go to an armory and buy everything you
can. Odds are that you wonÕt be able to buy the best equipment for everyone
at this point (Plate Mail is too expensive), so just make sure everyone has
something to aid them in the Slums. YouÕll be running back and forth
between the two places quite often for some time, so it wonÕt be too long
before you will be able to upgrade your characters dramatically, as far as
equipment. DonÕt forget to stop by the ClerkÕs office to start getting
commissions.

FIGHTING IN FRIENDLY TERRITORY?
Yep, even in your only true safe zone (at least until you clear out other
sections of town), you can get into trouble, but you never are forced to
fight -- itÕs purely free-will combat. So, how do you get into battles?
Three ways.

1. The arena in the Training Hall. Pick a character and they fight a solo
  battle for fun and (minor) experience. Personally, I feel this is a
  waste of time.

2. Taverns. By asking for information in Taverns, you may cause a fight to
  break out. Because of this, itÕs not good to go to Taverns until youÕve
  gained a couple of levels, as the power of the opposition is randomly
  determined.

3. Antagonizing the guards. There are a number of things you may do to
  get the attention of the town guards. To name a few: trying to ÒrestÓ on
  the street, being in a Tavern brawl and going in unauthorized doors in
  City Hall. Young parties or those not looking for trouble should comply
  with the guards. However, you can fight them and go up against a large
  group of Aides that are accompanied by a few high-level Fighters and a
  couple Sixth Level Magic-Users. In other words, this is a rough brawl.
  YouÕll want to incapacitate/kill as many Aides as possible quickly
  (Sleep, Fireball, Stinking Cloud, etc.) and also wear down the Fighters
  before they can get their hands on you. IÕll put a bit more detail on this
  battle later in the walkthrough.

  Now this opens up a whole new can of worms. By slaughtering the city
  guards, you will alienate the townfolk and you wonÕt be able to use most
  (if not all) of the services available to you. The only way to get back on
  everyoneÕs good side is by going to City Hall after completing a quest.
  Apparently the knowledge that youÕre still working to save Phlan causes
  the people to forgive your evil, bloodthirsty ways.

  So why would you ever want to kill the guards? The first time I played,
  I found this out by accident. By killing the guards, you unlock a very
  tough battle that gives a HUGE experience reward (perfect for getting
  that final level for a multi-class character before finishing the game).
  IÕll go into more detail about this encounter toward the end of the
  walkthrough (after IÕve done it again for the fun of it), but here is
  a brief synopsis. It is triggered by entering the Temple of Sune after
  killing some guards. Most Temples, stores, etc. simply refuse to serve
  you. In this one, there is a horde of Clerics and Fighters just waiting
  for the chance to ambush you. Good luck!!!

-----------
But all that is only possible in the distant future. Try to attack a legion
of guards now and your party will be wiped out with brutality. So, why not
take a trip to the Slums to start the long quest to become powerful enough
to eliminate guards (or beat the game....which is what your actual goal
is).

---------------------------------
b. The Slums
  Common/Set Enemies: Gnoll, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobald, Ogre, Orc, Troll.
  Goal to Clear: Win each and every ÒsetÓ battle.
  Reward for Clearing: 500XP and 500G

For the most part, this level has easy encounters. The problem is that you
are so weak when you enter here that those ÒeasyÓ encounters can be
anything but an assured win. What looks to be a simple conflict with four
Goblins and two Goblin Leaders can become quite an ordeal when your guys
in the front line are whiffing with every swing and getting cut to shreds
by the arrows fired by the Leaders.

Speaking of Leader-class enemies, youÕll start meeting them here. They are
just like their normal brethren (bit different color), but have a little
more HP, a little better AC and possibly a new trick. For example, regular
weak humanoid monsters (Kobalds, Orcs, etc.) use hand-to-hand combat. The
Leaders of these classes have bows and attack from a distance while youÕre
distracted with the others.

Throughout the game, but especially in the early areas, keep a constant eye
on your charactersÕ XP. The game does not tell you when youÕve earned
enough to go up in level, so it is your job to watch and IMMEDIATELY train
when youÕve reached the mark to be promoted. Early in the game, one level
will make a mammoth difference. A character can double his hit points, get
one or two more casts of a crucial spell, get a five percent better chance
of hitting any monster, etc.

When it comes to major battles, IÕll denote them with common RPG terms like
boss, sub-boss, etc. While this game has few encounters that are actual
boss fights, that is the easiest way to do things.

When you first enter the Slums (at 15,11), youÕll want to stay close to the
entrance, as your characters wonÕt be able to take too much damage. When
participating in any set battle, use a Sleep spell as soon as possible.
These encounters are tougher than random battles, so youÕll want want your
beginning-level characters with store-bought (i.e. non-magical) weapons
and armor to have any advantage possible. For random battles, just choose
advance until youÕre close before starting to fight. That way, your melee
characters wonÕt have to advance and you wonÕt have to worry about enemy
leader-class monsters shooting arrows.

Most random encounters involve weak humanoid monsters such as Kobalds,
Goblins and Orcs. Very rarely, a Bugbear will enter the fray -- but that
is more of a fluke than anything, since they are not really seen with any
frequency until you are near the end of the game.

There are a few lairs close to you, so clear them out first. At (13,14),
youÕll find two Orcs guarding a scroll with two Cleric spells.

A squad of Goblins will be found at (10,14). This battle was a bit
difficult, as they have an Leader (archer) to go with four normals and you
start some distance away from them. The best way to handle this is to use a
Sleep spell to knock out a couple of the regular Goblins. This way, not
only are they automatic one-hit kills, but you can rush the Leader before
he gets the chance to do any real damage with his bow. They guard a Leather
Armor +1.

If you want to pick up your first treasure cache, head west to (6,13). When
you enter this room, use the ÒsearchÓ option and youÕll find a leather bag
containing 100G, 2 gems and a Short Bow +1. Oh, and your party also will
split 950XP.

A bit north of here (7,15) is a squad of Kobalds (five normal, one leader)
guarding a Bracers AC6. This will likely help out your Magic-UserÕs AC, so
equip it immediately. You also share 1262XP for the win and treasure.

Close to the Kobalds, there is a building (2,14). If you go there and pass
through the wall (secret door) that blocks you at (1,15), youÕll find a
secret treasure room. Party members will share 2700XP and youÕll get 350G,
eight gems and another Short Bow +1. Skip the room at (0,13) for now. You
can fight the Hobgoblins there after getting a level under your partyÕs
belt.

A very helpful battle is just west of the cache at (6,13). At (3,12), there
is another band of Orcs. Defeating these guys will deliver a bounty of
magical weapons unto you and 1468XP to share. YouÕll get three Long Swords
+1, a Flail +1 (nice for Clerics) and Chain Mail +1. This will improve your
fighting prowess nicely, as when you have horrible THAC0, any improvement
is key to extended survival.

By the Orcs, there is a Fortuneteller (7,10), who gives a vague prophesy.
You can kill her, but I donÕt know that it has any affect (the game gives
a line about how you feel you made a big mistake, but IÕve never checked
to see if that means anything down the road).

Now, donÕt get the idea that you should be trying to do all this in one
swoop. To assure that your party has at least a good chance of survival,
you should be returning back to New Phlan often to heal and re-memorize
spells after every one or two set battles (depending on how many random
battles you fought and how many curing spells you had to use). Save after
every battle, regardless of how easily you won. And, when youÕre going
after some of the lairs in the west part of the Slums, it never hurts to
try to Parlay out of random battles. If it works, thatÕs one less
opportunity for enemies to wear down your young party.

After youÕve done the early lairs, it is time to help out someone for some
hefty rewards. Head down to (13,5) to visit the mage Ohlo. If youÕre polite
to him, he commissions you to get a potion for him from a store farther
south in the Slums. Since this game does offer a good amount of freedom,
you also have to option to let Ohlo know who rules this city --- with a
large dose of cold steel. This is a big mistake. YouÕll soon find out that
Ohlo is not alone and the combination of he and his cronies are more than
enough to put you in a world of hurt at this point. Fighting him might be
viable if you ignore his room until youÕre strong, but the experience you
get from helping him is pretty important at this stage of the game, so this
walkthrough assumes you help him. In case you do want to tussle, here is
what youÕll be going against: Ohlo, two Ogres, five Hobgoblins and two
Hobgoblin Leaders --- pretty painful stuff there.

To get to his potion, youÕll first have to find the entrance to the Rope
Guild (6,5). The game warns of potential danger here...and theyÕre right.
If you donÕt know where youÕre going, there is a 50% chance that youÕll
find the Trolls instead of the shop. To avoid that danger, head east (on
the map) and meander through the maze until you get to (15,3).

In the shop, if you drop OhloÕs name, you get the potion with no trouble.
Or you can choose the hostile route and get thrown into combat with the
storekeeperÕs collection of four Ogre bodyguards. While this battle may be
a bit easier than OhloÕs, it still likely is too tough for a Level 1 party.
You can always try it and you might win, but itÕs more trouble than itÕs
worth.

After you procure the potion, head back to Ohlo and give it to him. Not
only will your party share some amount of experience (I did it twice and
got two dramatically different totals), but the grateful mage will also
hand out potions, scrolls and (not every time) Bracers AC 2, which is an
awesome reward by itself, since it gives one of your weak Magic-Users good
armor. Both times, I did get a Necklace of Missile, though. This is a very
useful item for several tough battles in the near future, as it casts the
Fireball spell.

The next place to go is back in the western area of the Slums. Meander west
to (4,7) first. Going into this room will take you to a Òmonster meeting
placeÓ. You can hide and get info here (such as Thieves living in the
catacombs and that the shrine across the river is held by elite Orcs).

Take the south exit and go east now. Go through the door and youÕll meet
an Ogre, an Goblin Leader and five Goblins at (3,4). Put as many Goblins
to sleep as you can and focus on the Ogre until heÕs dead. If you can take
him out quickly, this is an easy fight. If not, he may create a bunch of
trouble for you. For winning, I got 6443XP to split, 11G, 23 gems and a
Leather Armor +3.

Go into the next room. The message you get when you enter (4,5) should be
a good warning to use the ÒsearchÓ command. Do so and find a loose floor
board nearby with 1000G and 2 gems (amounting to a total of 1800XP to
split). I also got a Shield +1 and scroll.

Now, itÕs time to take out the Hobgoblins in the northwest corner (just to
be complete). Go to (0,13) and fight four of them for some goodies. Kill
them and youÕll also get some treasure. I picked up Chain Mail +1 and a
Mace +1.

That should have been the last preliminary battle (not counting the
Trolls), so itÕs now time to take out the leaders. YouÕll have to handle
two back-to-back battles to do this, so when youÕre ready, take the west
exit from the Òmonster meeting placeÓ and head north. At (0,8), youÕll meet
the guards -- an Ogre, two Orc Leaders and five Orcs. This is just a bit
tougher variation of the Ogre-Goblin battle you did a bit ago. Orcs are
slightly tougher than Goblins and youÕll be starting at a distance, giving
the enemy time to mobilize and cause some damage before you can start
casting Sleep.

After winning, go through the door to (1,10) to meet the leaders. Note: if
you are weak, go back to Phlan. You donÕt have to fight the leaders at this
point in time --- theyÕre very patient and wonÕt be going anywhere.

-----------
BOSS: Enemy Leaders
You have to contend with the elite class of the Slums here. There is one
Ogre Leader, one Gnoll and one Hobgoblin Leader. If you have a Sleep spell
left, take out the Gnoll and Hobgoblin Leader with it and pound everyone
down. Just donÕt let the Ogre Leader bludgeon you down and youÕll win.

-----------
After I won, I did get a Dagger +1. Now, leave and go back to Phlan to rest
up. Just killing the leaders isnÕt enough to get your commission, though.
In the computer version, the Troll battle doesnÕt have anything to do with
clearing the area, but it does here (of course, itÕs also an easier fight
in the NES version).

The battle consists of two Trolls behind four Kobalds. If you have a
Necklace of Missile, just soften the Trolls up with one or (preferably) two
Fireballs and (if necessary) finish the job with your melee troops. If you
donÕt, things get more complicated. The best thing to do is go to the store
and buy bows for your Fighters (or equip any +1 bows youÕve found, but
havenÕt sold, on them). Have your Magic-Users cast Sleep on the Kobalds to
form a wall between you and the Trolls (or try to simply move four party
members up and hope that the Kobalds stay in their original formation).
Either way, with the Trolls unable to reach you, gang up on one at a time
with as many projectile attacks as possible.

Winning netted me a total of 2862XP, a Broad Sword +3 and a Ring of Fire
Resistance. It also gave me the right to collect my 500XP and 500GP from
the clerk, who also will give a quest involving getting info on an auction
to be held at Podol Plaza.

---------------------------------
c. KutoÕs Well/Catacombs/Podol Plaza
  Common/Set Enemies: KW/C -- Gnoll, Kobald, Lizardman.
                      PP -- Ogres, most small humanoids
  Goal to Clear: KW/C -- Kill Norris the Gray
                 PP -- Get info at auction
  Reward for Clearing: KW/C -- 1250XP, 1250G
                       PP -- 1250XP, 1250G

Note: It really doesnÕt matter if you do Kuto/Podol or if you do Sokal Keep
first. KutoÕs has tougher random encounters, but Sokal has a tougher major
(boss) fight. In my computer walkthrough, I completed Sokal first -- so I
figured IÕd do KutoÕs and Podol first here.

You were commissioned to go to Podol, so you might think that KutoÕs Well
is just some unimportant little area to sap your HP through random
encounters. Nope. If you go down the well, youÕll be in a Catacomb region.
Beat the boss of the tunnels (Norris the Gray) and youÕll get rewarded for
clearing this area -- even though the Clerk never hands out a quest for it.

While the random encounters here can get a little rough, it is worth it in
the end. Lizardmen are the most dangerous random encounters, as they can
attack multiple times per round and are generally a lot more vicious than
other humanoids. You also fight bands of Gnolls and Kobalds (but in larger
groups than in the Slums).

So what is there to do in scenic KutoÕs Well? Well, in the overworld part,
not much at all. If you go into the room at (11,10/8), youÕll get to fight
two back-to-back battles with Kobalds (both are six leaders with two
regulars. The well/entrance to Catacombs is at (7,8).

The only important thing to do here (besides entering the Catacombs)
involves entering the door at (7,5). This puts you into the base of
operations for the Phlan branch of the Lizardmen. When you try to open the
door at (7,2), youÕll face an attack from three Giant Lizards and three
Lizardmen. Try to put as many enemies to Sleep as you can (these folks are
somewhat resistant to that kind of thing, so it may not work as well as it
did against Kobalds and the like -- but anything that knocks out some
amount of these enemies is good).

Finish off the battle and pry open the door to meet a woman who tells you
that Òa wicked one has come out of the PoolÓ and that you wonÕt be able to
recognize him easily. Far more importantly, there is treasure here if you
ÒsearchÓ on (7,1), which is the square which you entered the room on. I got
2300XP total, Banded Mail +1, Bracers AC4 and a Quarterstaff +1.

After doing all that, itÕs time to wipe out Norris. Enter the Catacombs and
go one space south to (7,7). YouÕll have an arrow shot at you by an unseen
assailant who will then disappear. From here, there are three ways to get
to Norris. If you go through the door at (5,4), youÕll reach him eventually,
but two more unseen enemies will get free arrow shots on you. Taking either
the door at (7,6) or (7,4) will also get you there without getting shot at
and a secret door at (5,7) will accomplish the same. No matter where you
go, it will be only a matter of time before you are forced into a battle
with Norris and his merry men.

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Norris the Gray, Ogre and five Goblin Guards.
If you have any Sleep spells left (may be determined by whether you came
here directly after the Lizardman compound or if you went back to Phlan or
the cleared Slums to rest), use those to knock out some enemies. No matter
what, Norris and the Ogre are the main obstacles to victory, but if youÕve
gotten any sort of quality weapons and armor and gone up a level or two by
now, this will be an easy fight.
-----------

Victory yields a Long Sword +1 and letter in which ÒThe BossÓ commands
Norris to follow some Ogres to Sokal Keep and Norris refuses unless he
leads. You also are told that youÕll be rewarded upon returning to Phlan
and that the Catacombs is a safe place to rest, now.

Before resting, travel to (13,14) for the bandit treasure. I got 10300XP
to split up, as well as 300G, 30 gems and a Manual of B(odily) Health. This
item is weird. In the world of AD&D (I checked), itÕs supposed to raise
a characterÕs Constitution by one point permanently if you read it.
However, I tried it on every character in my party and nothing happened
(and two of them were below 18 in this category). So, either my game
glitched on this OR the makers didnÕt include the use of this item in the
programming. If it doesnÕt work for you, sell it for the money. If it does,
congratulations. Now rest and go back to Phlan to get your reward of 1250XP
and 1250G as well as any possible level-ups. Now itÕs time to go to Podol.

Podol Plaza is located directly west of KutoÕs Well. When you get to the
border between the two areas, youÕll be asked what to do. For the purposes
of this quest, disguise yourselves to reduce the possibility of hostile
action being taken against you. If you stride boldly, odds are youÕll be
besieged by Ogres and smaller humanoids quite regularly. Of course, if you
are discovered by the opposition and donÕt want to fight, you can always
Parley with a ÒslyÓ tone, which will lead them to think youÕre one of their
leaderÕs human employees.

By exploring, youÕll get to wonder who proofread the game (Òa naben doned
houseÓ -- I didnÕt realized ÒabandonedÓ was such a toughy), as well as find
a couple of interesting places, but for now, just go to the auction place.

YouÕll find it at (7,9) and get there just in time. If a monster has blown
your cover, donÕt try to sneak in closer or a battle will ensue. All you
have to do is stay where you are, watch and wait. When the auction is done,
head back to Phlan to get a 1250XP and 1250G reward. Your next commission
will be from Councilman Cadorna, who will tell you to get his treasure
from the Textile House. Do that later (as well as fully exploring Podol
Plaza). For now, itÕs time to take care of business at Sokal Keep.

---------------------------------
d. Sokal Keep
  Common/Set Enemies: Ogre, Orc, Poisonous Frog, Scorpion, Skeleton,
                      Zombie.
  Goal to Clear: Tell ghost of Ferran Martinez the truth.
  Reward for Clearing: 5000XP, 1250G, 15 gems and the right to sail to
                       places NOT named Sokal Keep.

Go to the Phlan docks and set sail toward Sokal Keep. Getting to the final
battle is supremely easy, as long as you take the proper steps. You start
out in an entryway. Go to (6,2) and search the skeleton to get a scroll
with some words on it. This is your ticket to getting through most of the
Keep unscathed. Whenever you encounter wandering undead patrols in the
Keep, you can use the words on this scroll to avoid a fight. Since you get
very little XP for killing Skeletons and Zombies, but you can take damage,
using the scroll is a very good idea.

If you go west to (2,4), you can fight three Large Scorpions and a Huge
Scorpion (Huge are tougher). There are three good reasons to avoid
exploring this half of the Keep. First, the Scorpions are the only object
of note here. Second, they have the ability to take out a party member with
their poison. Third, you DONÕT have to come here. ItÕs not like the XP
makes it worth it.

Instead, go in the door at (12,8) and fight the four Poisonous Frogs. After
the easy kills, you get find a Hammer +1 at (15,9). Then, go north and find
the secret door at (15,13). Go to the northwest corner of the room (12,15)
and youÕll find some secret treasure. I picked up 1250XP, a Shield +1, a
Long Sword +1 and a Mace +2. After this, enter the center area through
(6,10) or (9,10). You can also enter through (9,13), but I believe you
start farther from the enemy.

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Ogre-led onslaught
You have two Ogres, four Hobgoblins, three Orc Leaders and seven Orcs to
contend with. Sleep spells work great here and if youÕre having trouble,
donÕt hesitate to use a Fireball from the Necklace of Missile (if you have
it) to thin out the enemy ranks. Basically, if you play smart, this is a
pretty easy battle.
-----------

For winning, I got over 4000XP, a Mace +1 and a Composite Bow +1. You also
find a note that says that ÒThe BossÓ sanctioned the attack on Sokal Keep.
Now, there are two rooms off this one to explore. First, go through the
door at (7,13). Walk around in this room until you find ghosts and parley
with them. The end result will be 1250XP, five gems and Ferran MartinezÕ
diary, which describes the monster invasion.

Now, go south from the main central room through one of the doors at
(7/8, 9) to the KeepÕs shrine. At the far south of the shrine is the ghost
of Ferran. Parley with him (have to choose ÒAdvanceÓ this time) and tell
him the truth. He gives the names of Tyranthraxus, Edranka and Torath as
those who destroyed Phlan searching for the Pool and notes the information
about them is in MendorÕs Library, but that place is overrun by monsters.

Note: If you want, you can fight Ferran Martinez, but that is not the best
of choices. My guess is that for all intents and purposes, he is a Spectre,
which means that successful hits drain levels. YouÕll get plenty of chances
to fight Spectres down the road, so donÕt whack the friendly one.

After talking to Martinez, you may leave the premises and return to Phlan.
YouÕll get a great reward for your victory. Not only did I get 5000XP,
1250G and 15 gems, but you also have the freedom to sail to many points
in the general area, now.

I got quests to talk to Bracchio (clean out Bane Temple -- get Dirten the
Cleric), to remove Thieves from Kovel Mansion and to prevent Nomads from
joining the enemy. The Clerk also mentioned removing Valhingen GraveyardÕs
undead population for a reward. So what do you do next?

Well, Valhingen is out of the question, as itÕs too tough. Besides, if you
wait awhile, the Clerk will sweeten the pot with some nice items. You could
clear out the Bane Temple, but when you do, Dirten leaves. You want to keep
him around for a little while, as heÕs the only NPC that you really have
control over the duration of his stay. IÕd recommend saving the Library for
a little while longer, as you have to fight two tough monsters there.

That leaves the Textile House, Kovel Mansion and the Nomads. IÕd save the
Nomad quest for last --- use it as a tune-up for the tougher Wilderness
quests. And IÕd wait a bit to do the Textile House, as there are some tough
wandering monsters there. While Kovel Mansion does have the potential for
a couple of tough fights, the amount of experience you get for all the
treasure you may find ought to help at least a couple of characters level
up.

---------------------------------
e. Kovel Mansion
  Common/Set Enemies: 1st Level Thief, 6th Level Thief
  Goal to Clear: Wipe out the thieves.
  Reward for Clearing: 1150XP, 400G, 3 gems.

Since youÕve cleared Sokal Keep, youÕve noticed that you have a few options
when you go to the Phlan Docks (for a cost of 5G). Well, letÕs use those
options to pay a visit to one of the more remote parts of the city ---
Kovel Mansion.

Pay the money and choose to go north. When given the option to enter the
northern part of the city or Valhingen Graveyard, pick the city and youÕll
be at northern reaches of Kovel Mansion. If you exit from the south, youÕll
be in the Wealthy district, which you have to go through on your way to
the Temple youÕre helping Dirten to take back from the forces of Bane. By
exiting to the east, youÕll be able to go back to Phlan or to the Wealthy
district. Also, whenever you leave the Phlan walls and get the option to
go to various parts of Phlan, choosing the option ÒleaveÓ (if available)
allows you to travel into the wilderness.

As to Kovel Mansion, itself. While outside the actual mansion walls, there
are no encounters. The only way in are the double doors at (9/10, 14).
There are three doors on the west side, but they all are dead ends. Once
in the mansion, until you get to the main battle, youÕll mainly have
skirmishes with solo 6th Level Thieves, who arenÕt tough to kill. However,
there still is a high possibility of damage here because the thieves have
trapped virtually everything. Unless luck is with you, the traps will cause
enough damage to make up for anything the thieves are unable to do. If you
cast a Find Traps spell on the assorted treasure in the area, youÕll be
able to detect the traps, but that doesnÕt assure that youÕll be able to
disarm them. Prepare to cast healing magic and potentially make at least
one trip back to Phlan for a stay at an inn (you canÕt rest at Kovel until
the area has been cleared).

For the most part (with a few exceptions), the encounters with thieves go
the same way. Upon entering many rooms, a thief will try to sneak up on
you, placing your party in an easy fight with one 6th Level Thief. Good
fun, that. Of course, that thief may damage one character with his sneak
attack, so this isnÕt just a walk in the park. Like I said before, while
the enemies here arenÕt that tough -- there are other ways the game will
find to deplete your HP.

There are a number of traps at the entrance to certain rooms. They are
present at: (4,13), (5,9), (3,4), (11,5), (12,2) and (13,4).

Most trapped rooms have treasure in them. Here is a rundown of all the
treasure caches and what they consist of:

At (3,11) is a pile of weapons. The trap protecting them is the most
dangerous of all in the mansion. If youÕre unable to successfully disarm
it, gas will stun you and five 6th Level Thieves and 10 1st Level Thieves
will assault you. Hopefully you can disarm the trap, because this is one
tough fight. The 6th Level Thieves are all in the front row, they all get
a free shot in on you and they are immune to Sleep spells. For simply
disarming the trap (no fighting), I got 2400XP, Short Sword +1, Hammer +2,
Halberd +1, Mace +1, Battle Axe +1, Chain Mail +1 and Shield +1.

At (4,10) is a piece of paper telling you that Giants are stupid and will
say anything when flattered.

A table with four trapped caskets is at (6,8). The first one has 12 gems
(worth 3000XP), the second has seven gems worth 1750XP, the third has three
gems worth 750XP and the fourth has 20 gems worth 5000XP.

At (3,2) is a cabinet with six scrolls, Scale Mail +3 and a Shield +3.
Go to (5,1) to find a piece of paper warning not to steal the treasure in
the Shrine of Bane, as they will hunt robbers mercilessly.

The thievesÕ ÒbootyÓ is at (10,6). I got 1662XP, Short Sword +3, Leather
Armor +4, Silver Mirror, Silver Scarab, Short Sword +1 and two Daggers +1.
At (14,1), I picked up two fine tapestries and Splint Mail +2.

Three trapped wooden cabinets are at (14,5). The first has documents noting
the thieves have been spying on important people in Phlan, the second has a
whopping 43G and the third has 1800G, which gives a total of 1800XP.

There also are a couple other encounters with thieves other than the
standard attempt to sneak attack you.

First, at (6,10), two thieves fail to sneak up on you and run away. You
have the option to follow them and if you do, youÕll have the option of
which one to chase after they split up. If you follow the one that runs to
the south, youÕll be ambushed by the bulk of the gang (5 6th Level and 15
1st Level thieves). If you follow the thief that goes east, youÕll corner
him and heÕll beg for mercy. If you give it to him, heÕll taunt you and
leave. Otherwise, kill him -- heÕs only a 1st Level Thief. So, either donÕt
chase them or chase the one that goes east. DonÕt go after the one that
goes south --- you want to wait before fighting the main group, as
collecting all the treasure could mean a couple of characters will level
up.

If you take the south door at (11,4), youÕll be in a room converted to a
jail cell. Ten 1st Level Thieves are beating an older thief to death, but
take a break for you. Slaughter them and the old thief gives you a note
before dying. The note says the boss may be a dragon and that youÕll need
a code word when you pass a gate of the castle.

After completely exploring the mansion, enter the gangÕs room through
either the door at (6,1) or the south door at (8,3). ItÕs time for a big
confrontation, as theyÕll be waiting for you -- meaning itÕs ambush time!
Note: There seems to be no way to avoid being ambushed. Even if you make a
beeline to this room, they still will be waiting for you. Well, anyway, time
to fight!

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Five 6th Level Thieves and 15 1st Level Thieves
First off, four of the 6th Level Thieves are in the front row, so youÕll
have the toughest part of the fight first. IÕd cast a Sleep spell or two
on the rows of 1st Level Thieves, so you have a very easy time after
getting past the front ranks of combatants. After winning, youÕll get a
total of 2500XP.
-----------

At (8,1) in the headquarters is a piece of paper saying that when the Boss
conquers Phlan, all important members of the town must be slain --- except
Cadorna. Looks like our beloved councilman isnÕt so nice after all. Wonder
how we can repay him? I know! LetÕs go to the Textile House, find his
treasure and steal it!

Before doing that, make your way back to town to get rewarded for this job.
YouÕll get a total of 1150XP, 400G and 3 gems. The Clerk will then ask you
to take the Valhingen Graveyard quest and reward you for saying yes (420XP,
2-handed Sword +1, +3 vs. Undead, Scroll w/ 2 Restoration spells). You also
be given the commission to prevent a large group of Kobalds from joining
the enemy.

But before any of those quests, itÕs off to Podol Plaza and the Textile
House.

---------------------------------
f. Textile House
  Common/Set Enemies: Ghoul, Grishnak, Hobgoblin, Ogre, Poisonous Frog,
                      Scorpion, Wight.
  Goal to Clear: Retrieve CadornaÕs treasure.
  Reward for Clearing: Giving box back to Cadorna -- 5000XP, 20 gems

Before actually entering the Textile House, letÕs clear out a couple of
places in Podol Plaza. While you have to fight a number of random battles
to officially clear this block, you can explore all the buildings to get
some goods and experience. To avoid random battles (unless you want to
fight tons of humanoid creatures), simply parley ÒslyÓ to them and theyÕll
think youÕre new recruits of the Boss. That tactic has not failed once for
me.

At (14,7) is a tiny Shrine to Bane. If you parley with the Orc Cleric on
hand, heÕll offer to let you meet Mace, the primary Bane Cleric for this
area in order so that you may ÒworkÓ at the Shrine across the river IF
you come back in two hours. Agree to this, return in two hours and get
assaulted by eight Orcs, three Ogres and an Orc Leader. Oh, and you donÕt
get your hands on Mace, either.

Instead, take the path of least resistance and simply attack the Orc. One
very quick battle against one overmatched Orc Leader and youÕve cleaned
out this little cesspool of sin. There is nothing of interest here, but
the Orc.

The Pit, a local tavern is at (4,7). The minute you enter, you anger a
rowdy Buccaneer, who challenges you to a duel. While you could honor his
wishes and fight him one-on-one with a party member, itÕs more fun to
simply attack as a group. YouÕll be in a huge brawl. The Buccaneer (4th
Level Fighter) has a crew of eight Hobgoblins and one Hobgoblin Leader on
his side, but you have the assistance (whatever it may be) of eight Goblin
Guards. Nothing like good olÕ fashioned drunken monster brawling fun to
liven up a quest. You donÕt get any actual reward for smashing up the Pit,
but itÕs a fun liÕl thing to do.

Most importantly, a secret Temple for you is at (2,0) or (1,2), depending
on which door you took. You can heal and rest here -- which is good because
100 percent safe spots in the Textile House arenÕt exactly present at this
time. In the NES version, you get an added bonus -- you donÕt need to have
memorized the Knock spell to get in, meaning you donÕt have to waste a
spell slot with a generally worthless spell at this time.

After those mini-adventures, take of the southern doors from Podol
(preferably the one to the west) to go to the Textile House. Why should
you pick the west-most door? Because, if you have a thief, you can take
a shortcut here, which will cut down on the chances of you having an
unfortunate encounter with a Wight or Scorpion.

Speaking of Wights and Scorpions, while there are a number of monsters you
may meet in random encounters, those are the two to worry about. Wights
drain levels (something you see a lot of down the road) and Scorpions kill
with their poison. Fortunately, both reloading or using freeze states (if
playing on a computer) can take the severity of both situations away, but
it still is annoying, to say the least.

If you donÕt have a Thief, you have to walk through the north half of the
block to the southern half. If you have one, go to (0,12) and pick your
Thief to go down the well. That character will meet Restal, who (if you
agree with him) will take you to (5,4), which is the heart of the enemy
headquarters. He also lets you know to come back to the well if you want to
see him again.

Now, go due north through the door at (5,5) to get to a barracks. Fight
eight Hobgoblins and two Hobgoblin Leaders. Beat them for some treasure.
I got a cursed Necklace, a Potion and two Scrolls.

Head through the door at (4,4) to meet the Hobgoblin Grishnak and his
cronies in what seems to be a makeshift shrine.

-----------
SUB-BOSS FIGHT: GrishnakÕs Hobgoblin Paradise
Grishnak looks like a Hobgoblin Leader, but has about four times
the HP. In the computer version, he also could cast Cleric spells, but
either he canÕt in the NES version or he decided to spend two turns running
up to one of my Fighters in order to attack him physically. He is with two
Hobgoblin Leaders and eight regular Hobs. One Sleep spell should thin the
ranks a bit, making this an easy fight.
-----------

For winning, youÕll get a Brass Key and some minor treasure (scroll and
potion). Go south with this stuff to (2,0). Note: in the room located at
(2/3, 1) youÕll be attacked by a squad of Hobgoblins. If youÕve taken
damage from the previous fights, you may need to use some spells to get
through this battle.

At (2,0), youÕll find CadornaÕs servant, a cheerful chap named
Skullcrusher. With the Brass Key, you can free him. If you donÕt already
have an NPC in your party, you can get him to join. While he is a VERY
strong Fighter, he will only be in your party until youÕve retrieved
CadornaÕs Box and returned to New Phlan. Regardless of whether he joins you
or not, you will get some information from a piece of paper. To paraphrase
the note: Giants and Trolls are entering the castle, Bugbears and Ettins
are guarding the gate, smugglers have been able to sneak supplies through
the gate.

Before taking on the Boss of the area, there are a few other points of
interest to explore.

At (2,7) is another set battle with Hobgoblins. Same strategy as the rest.

At (1,7) is a piece of paper from the diary of a follower of The Boss. It
says that The Boss is angry because of the amount of undead at Valhingen
Graveyard and that the writer guesses the reason is the influence of a
Vampire or another powerful monster.

There will be little messages from Skullcrusher (basically his name and
possibly a Hobgoblin corpse) at (9,6) and (6,1).

After looking around, itÕs time to take out the boss of this area and get
your hands on CadornaÕs treasure. Go to (11,1) and go east through the
secret door that is here (I believe that if you accept Skullcrusher into
your party, he alludes to this door -- but if you donÕt have him, youÕll
have no way of knowing about it without either this guide or by being very
diligent in exploring the place).

In this new room, youÕll be accosted by a huge Ogre, which leads to...

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Ogre and Hobgoblins
YouÕll have the standard eight normal Hobs and two Hob Leaders that you
should be used to from other battles. The only addition is that of an Ogre.
If you want to put some of the Hobgoblins to sleep, itÕll reduce their
numbers, so you donÕt have to worry about your fighters being ganged up on.
However, this is a very easy battle (more so than a good number of the
possible random encounters in this block).
-----------

Win the battle to get CadornaÕs box. The game mentions that YOU can open it
at the expense of permanently damaging the seal. DonÕt do that -- instead
pay a visit to Restal who will open it and give you half the treasure...
and then forge the seal, so it looks like it never was opened. My party
got 8500XP, 1000G and 30 gems.

With the empty box, run back to Phlan. As you enter town, the guards will
take the box from you and tell you to travel to City Hall to get your
reward (fortunately, Cadorna apparently has no interest in actually taking
a peek at his ever-so-valuable treasure --- donÕt you just LOVE people who
unquestioningly trust you). Your reward is 5000XP and 20 gems.

I didnÕt get any new commissions from the Clerk, but that wasnÕt a
surprise, since IÕd gotten two the last time (graveyard, Kobalds) and the
one I just completed hadnÕt been given by her anyway.

So, letÕs look at the Wilderness now (yes, IÕm still putting off MendorÕs
Library -- I hate that Spectre!) and visit the Nomads --- with one small
stop first.

Note: You are likely not completely done with the Textile House. If you
fight enough random encounters, they will eventually dry up and you can
earn another reward from the Clerk. YouÕll never get commissioned to do
this, so just go there whenever you feel like killing some time in battle.

---------------------------------
g. Wilderness Overview/Silver Dragon Cave/Nomad Camp
  Common/Set Enemies: Wilderness -- just about everything.
                      Nomad Camp -- Kobald.
  Goal to Clear: Protect Nomad tribe from invading Kobalds.
  Reward for Clearing: From Nomads -- 8900XP, 5000GP, items.
                       From Clerk -- 4000XP, 16 gems.

Take the boat out of Phlan to the north (without going into Kovel Mansion
or Valhingen Graveyard) and youÕll pretty much be due south of the Silver
DragonÕs cave (donÕt worry -- you donÕt have to fight it). Before
exploring, though, there are some things you should know about the
Wilderness.

1. While some monster encounters are relatively easy, others can be pretty
  tough. In other words, be prepared for anything and donÕt go outdoors
  until you have a reasonably strong party.
2. There are a number of places to go outdoors. However, you wonÕt be able
  to access many of them until youÕve been commissioned to do so.
3. Unlike the computer versions, the NES version does not give outdoor
  coordinates. This means that my directions to places will be a little
  more rough and vague -- and will be contained in the actual walkthrough
  section pertaining to the quest they are a part of (in my computer FAQ,
  I have a separate section telling the coordinates of every single place
  of importance outdoors).
4. One thing IÕve noticed is that if you know what sort of monster resides in
  a hidden outdoor dungeon, it can be easier to find if you pay attention to
  the sort of random encounter you run into. In the general area of Zhentil
  Keep, you may run into Guards (Corporals). The same holds true for other
  areas. Kobalds, Lizardmen and Buccaneers all can be found in the general
  area of their respective dwellings.

To get to the Dragon cave, head north from the area you land when choosing
to sail north from Phlan and follow the river. The Cave is located right
where that body of water ends. Enter and play nice. When he (Diogenes) asks
you to tell your intent, say you came for advice (unless you want to set
a chain of events in place that COULD result in Mr. Dragon blasting you
with a wicked Fireball attack). Diogenes will tell you that in the Kobald
lair to the east, there is a bottle containing an Efreet that you will
need. Note: You also could offer the dragon a gift. He says you have
nothing he wants and tells you about the bottle in the Kobald lair anyway.

The best way to find the invisible Nomad Camp is to go due north of Phlan
until you find a Pyramid surrounded by water (weÕll be there later!). Walk
in the area northeast of this Pyramid and youÕll find the camp. YouÕll know
youÕre close if the game tells you that youÕve found a recently abandoned
camp.

Enter the camp and head north --- only to trip over a wire and get the
attention of everyone present. While things look pretty grim at the moment,
the Nomads are not an enemy. Simply ÒadvanceÓ and ÒparleyÓ to get the Chief
to come out. HeÕll treat you like honored guests and you get to be their
guest of honor. Sounds too good to be true? YouÕre right, but play along
with them -- youÕll find the catch soon enough.

YouÕll be led to a tent, so heal any wounds you suffered in the Wilderness.
Upon waking up, youÕll be led away to drink ÒciderÓ for 18 hours or so
(really, that is NOT an exaggeration -- the on-screen clock does rapidly
scroll through that many hours). Hassad (the chief) will talk about dangers
and wickedness in the Pyramid, the eastern marshes and the castle to the
west....and then mention that Kobalds will attack his camp. So basically,
you were treated like an honored guest as a bribe to ensure your
willingness to help them. But since you are being commissioned to make sure
they donÕt join the side of evil, it just might be a good idea to help out
a bit. YouÕre given a night to think about it and then Hassad comes in to
ask for your answer. Accept and then simply rest until you hear the sounds
of battle. You will automatically leave your dwelling and run around to
find a fight.

-----------
BOSS ENCOUNTER: Kobald Horde
This will be an easy warm-up for a few tough encounters youÕll face later
in the game --- multiple-wave battles. You will fight three battles with
Kobalds here with the help of some Nomads. While everything is very easy
here, in future multiple-wave battles, youÕll have to use a good deal of
strategy to come out on top.
Wave 1: 12 Kobalds and 3 Kobald Leaders. You have the help of 5 Nomads.
       If you even break a sweat here, you are FAR too weak to be outside
       PhlanÕs city walls. After the battle, walk around until the second
       encounter happens (like I said, this is an easy multiple-wave
       confrontation.
Wave 2: Same as Wave 1. Walk around more after this fight and the third
       band will come up to you. The chief pleads with you to finish off
       the Kobalds, so agree with him.
Wave 3: 10 Kobalds and 5 Kobald Leaders. You still have 5 Nomads, but they
       are much better this time around (4th Lvl Fighters and the powerful
       Hassad join you, making this encounter even easier than the past
       two).
-----------

After wiping out the Kobalds, Hassad rewards you with 8900XP, 5000GP, a
Two-Handed Sword +2 and a Wand of Magic Missiles. As they escort you out of
their camp, they promise to not join the Boss, meaning youÕve completed
another quest. Good job -- now back to Phlan with you. Note: While the
Nomad Camp is now visible on the map, you are barred from entering it. Go
figure, when you need to be there, you have to step right on itÕs square to
find it --- now that itÕs useless, youÕd have to be blind to not see it...
The Clerk gives you 4000XP and 16 gems for your hard work in resolving this
matter. Your new mission is to find out what is contaminating Stojanow
River and put an end to it (hint, hint -- Pyramid). Determining where to
go next can be a bit troublesome. The two main choices are the Library and
Kobald Cave. Both have a few tough battles, though. Might as well handle
the library now. ItÕs as good of time as any.

---------------------------------
h. MendorÕs Library
  Common/Set Enemies: Basilisk, Kobald, Spectre.
  Goal to Clear: Get the ancient books and kill the monsters.
  Reward for Clearing: 1500XP and 1500G for killing the monsters; total of
                       1100XP and 1100G for finding four books (may vary).

There really is very little in the way of opposition here. However, two
encounters are very difficult and can have disastrous consequences, so it
is never a good idea to come into this block thinking youÕll have an easy
time of it. The Library is located directly south of KutoÕs Well, so head
over to it. In the block, there are two doors into the actual building.
Take the one at (9,1), so you can clear out the unimportant stuff before
worrying about the books and monsters.

By using the ÒlookÓ command at (10,2), (10,6) and (8,5), youÕll find boxes
of gold foil worth 100GP and 100XP.

ÒLookÓ at (8,4) for better treasure. YouÕll find three Potions of Extra
Healing here.

Going to (11,3) sparks an encounter with Mad Man. If you donÕt have an NPC
in your party, you can get him to join you -- but there is no reason to
have this worthless fool in your party.

Go to (12,5) and meet five Kobalds who immediately surrender. DonÕt kill
them to find out that the boss of the Textile House is in a secret room. If
youÕve followed my walkthrough, you know that by now, so that info is
worthless.

Now itÕs time to enter the northern (and more important) half of the
library. Go north through the door at (8,6) to get there. If you keep going
west and try to go through the door at (7,6), youÕll briefly enter the
garden, step into Green Slime, watch one person take a bit of damage and
immediately leave the room. In other words, DONÕT go through that door!
In the northern part of the Library, there are a ton of rooms, but only
four of them have books in them. The Mathematic Book room is at (3,9), the
Philosophy Book room is at (13,9) and the History Book room is at (11,11).
It seems to be random when/if you get books from ÒlookingÓ. On one time
through, I got a book from this History room the first time I ÒlookedÓ, the
next time I played, I ÒlookedÓ five times and got nothing.

Now itÕs time to enter the Literature Book room at (5,11). There may not
be exciting books here (well there is one to find), but there is a grumpy
Basilisk.

-----------
SUB-BOSS: Basilisk
Yes, there are only two real enemies in this block, but they both are
boss-class monsters. This freaky lizard isnÕt afraid to use its gaze attack
to try to turn a party member to stone. If it does (it isnÕt 100% accurate,
but it is fairly effective), you might as well reload. ItÕs not cheap to
unstone a character and youÕll want to be at full strength for the Spectre
anyway. Basically, youÕll want to go all out here. Have all your melee
fighters assault it and have your magic-users go after it with Magic
Missiles. You want to kill it as quickly as possible because the more turns
it remains alive, the more chances it has to take someone out of commission
for a long time.

Note: By purchasing Silver Mirrors in Phlan, it is possible to defend
against the gaze attack. Just a piece of advice for those who find this
beast problematic.
-----------

For winning, I got 3368XP, two potions, a scroll and a Displacer Cloak
(very useful, as it will lower someoneÕs AC by two points). ÒLookÓ and you
will find one book here. If youÕve explored everywhere, then itÕs time to
leave. Just take either door out of the building. No problems here. Nope,
not at all. Wait! WhatÕs that!!!!

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: MendorÕs Spectre
After taking the books, any attempt to leave through either door is met
with a hostile encounter with the ghost of the libraryÕs founder. After
all, he spent his life guarding them. In the NES version, youÕll have some
interesting dialogue with Mendor saying heÕll guard the books with his life
and one of your party members coming back by saying that heÕs already lost
his life.

Anyway, if the Spectre hits you, the struck member will lose two experience
levels. If this happens, reload. While you can use a Restoration spell to
get the levels back, you wonÕt get any lost experience above the minimum
needed to be at a characterÕs maximum level. If a character that was about
100XP from advancing gets afflicted this way, it could take hours to regain
those points.

The problem is that Mr. Spectre is very, very, very skilled in combat and
has a pretty good THAC0 (not to mention a low AC). Regardless of your melee
fightersÕ AC, getting through this fight unscathed is more a matter of luck
than anything else. All I can really say for advice is to just keep trying
until you get it and donÕt get discouraged. The discouraging part is when
you get to the Graveyard and realize that youÕll have to fight more of
these Spectres....and they arenÕt the toughest things there....

Use the same strategy I gave you for the Basilisk and hope you kill him
before it connects. This time through, I did something I never have done
before on either the NES or computer version -- won on the first try. It
struck first and missed and then I got a couple big attacks (10HP), a 10HP
Magic Missile and a couple little attacks to win. Needless to say, I was
very relieved.
-----------

Victory means you can leave this place and collect your reward --- which
was a total of 2600XP and 2600G. The next quest given is to prevent a
tribe of ever-lovable Lizardmen from joining the enemy. That Wilderness
quest will wait for a while, you might as well head to the Kobald Cave now.

---------------------------------
i. Kobald Cave/Textile House (revisited)
  Common/Set Enemies: Envoy, Kobald, Troll, Wild Boar, Wyvern.
  Goal to Clear: Take out the Kobald King so he doesnÕt join the Boss.
                 Completely clear Textile House.
  Reward for Clearing: Kobalds -- 6250XP, 25 gems.
                       Textile -- 1250XP, 1250G

The Kobald Cave is located a bit east/southeast of the Nomad Camp. Look
for a large mountain at the end of a river and youÕll have no problems in
finding this location. YouÕll know youÕre close if youÕre thrust into
combat with a large platoon of the little buggers. This fight is simply a
slightly larger version of the Kobald battles you endured in the Nomad Camp
battles.

In my opinion, trying to do all the Kobald Cave at once will result in
nothing but frustration, as there are some very tough battles in here, news
that might surprise you, being that Kobalds are so weak. Well, they are.
However, there are a lot of them AND there are some powerful foes working
with them, such as Trolls and a Wyvern. So, you will have your hands full
in getting through here. If you have the right equipment (namely strong
armor, items with Fireball and/or Magic Missile-firing capacity and plenty
of healing goods), you might do everything at once -- but if you see your
stats, spells and items dwindling down to a dangerous level, then leave the
cave, heal in Phlan and then come back to finish things off.

Speaking of the Wyvern, letÕs take him out first. To do so, go through the
large opening to the cave (you have two choices, but this way allows you
to bypass a rather nasty trap at the expense of immediately fighting an
angry lizard). The first thing youÕll notice is that this is the first
official dungeon (NomadÕs Camp doesnÕt count) where the ÒareaÓ command is
not present. In other words, if you want a map, you have to draw it by
yourself. The second thing youÕll notice (whenever you enter a battle) is
that this area is cramped (Kobalds are tiny by human standards). Because
of this, your movement is very limited in battle. Take each characterÕs
standard squares-per-turn movement rate and subtract four from that number.
ThatÕs how far you can move per turn while in this cave.

To start out with, by entering the large entrance, you are at (10,0). From
this entrance, follow the path. You can trigger the battle by choosing to
climbing the rocks at (13,6). Doing so will cause some stones to rattle,
which serves to attract its attention. Or, you can simply continue north to
(14/15,7), at which point youÕll be close enough to its nest to provoke it
into action.

-----------
SUB-BOSS: Wyvern
If you were very unlucky like me, you may have fought one of these beasts
as a random encounter in the Wilderness. For all intents and purposes,
consider this fight just like the Basilisk battle -- except instead of
potentially turning someone to stone with a successful hit, this beast will
remove them from battle with a poisonous attack. So, hit it with everything
you have and hope that it only causes damage when it attacks and doesnÕt
wipe someone out with poison. On a bright note, I do not believe that the
movement penalty applies to this battle. Maybe the WyvernÕs room is a bit
more spacious due to its far greater size in relation to Kobalds.
-----------

After beating it, head north to (14,9) and youÕll find the WyvernÕs nest.
Now that the beast is gone, its treasure is yours! I received 3300XP, 7
gems, two scrolls, Short Sword +1, Leather Armor +1, Banded Mail +1 and a
Mace +1. Not a bad haul.

Go north to (15,12) and find a one-legged Kobald. If you give it water, it
rambles for a bit before telling you to watch out for traps. Well, heÕs
right. WeÕre going into the main part of the cave now and there are a few
traps to get by in this area.

Go up the rocks at (13,6) now and enter the corridor. Immediately (12,6),
youÕll run into a sleeping Kobald. Here, you have three choices. If you
pass by it, it will NOT wake up (at least it didnÕt for me), allowing you
to move on unharmed. If you wake it, it will be groggy and offer to take
you to the King (possibly a good decision if you have either already
explored the tunnels or have no interest doing so at this time). Or you
can kill it for no reward or penalty.

Assuming you donÕt go to the King now, letÕs explore the rest of the cave.
At (11,6), a spike trap waits to cause damage to you. Always is nice to
get a little taste of Kobald hospitality, isnÕt it?

Speaking of hospitality...walk one more square to the west (10,6) and
a net will fall on you. As you struggle free, Kobalds will attack, so at
least youÕll get to take your frustration out on the little critters.

At (10,8) youÕll get a message saying that women and children Kobalds are
running from you. This is the entrance to their dwelling area. Word of
advice: donÕt bother going here unless you have a deep-seated need to map
every inch of this cave. I have never found any treasure here and all you
will likely do is run the risk of taking unnecessary damage in battle with
random parties of Kobalds.

At (8,3), there is a potentially lethal encounter with Kobalds. A solo
Kobald waving a white flag comes up to you and tells you that if you spare
him, heÕll lead you to the treasury. Any attempt to act hostile or any
refusal of his offer leads him to trigger a trap to drop rocks on you for
some pretty hefty damage, followed by a battle with a squad of Kobalds.
If you accept his offer, though, heÕll just lead you to the WyvernÕs
domain. Here, you may kill him with no worries. And since youÕve (if you
follow the walkthrough) killed the Wyvern, there is nothing to worry about
as far as thatÕs concerned, either. My advice for this area is to either
follow my advice or not go to this square, as the damage youÕll take from
the trap far outweighs any benefits youÕll get from killing a simple Kobald
attack party.

At (6,4) if you search the stones, youÕll find a map detailing a monster
at the end of a small passage. My best guess is that itÕs a vague warning
about the Wyvern, but I have no idea. Not that important of a clue, in my
opinion.

Go south to (6,2) and youÕll run into a pond. One character will fall in
and possibly lose an item in the process, so be careful that you donÕt lose
something important.

A bit farther south at (6,0) is an exit from the cave. If you had
originally entered through the smaller entrance, youÕd have started here.
I would advise ignoring this entrance/exit, as youÕll have to walk through
the pond to get to it and there is no point in risking the loss of an item
when there is another perfectly serviceable exit from the cave.

For the most part, the western third of the cave is quite unexceptional.
However, Princess Fatima, a solid NPC Fighter, is at (1,12). If you donÕt
have an NPC in your party, you can always pick her up to help out while
youÕre in the cave. Just be warned that if you leave this region at any
time for any reason, she leaves (that includes going to Phlan to heal and
leaving after clearing the block).

At (2,12) is a written note saying that the Kobalds are planning to attack
a Nomad camp (the one you just saved). Meaningless, but adds a bit of
story to the game.

After youÕre through exploring the main part of the caverns, itÕs time to
tackle the immense chamber in the center. By entering at (5/7,10), youÕll
get a fair warning that something big is about to go down, as the game will
inform you that your party hears the voices of Kobalds and Humans talking.

By entering the chamber through the door at (3,12) or advancing in this
chamber to (4-6,12), youÕll meet a large force of Kobalds in a meeting
with some humans. Unfortunately, these arenÕt friendly ally-type humans.
These are humans working for The Boss, who tell the Kobalds that killing
you will do wonders for their standing with him. Get ready for a huge,
multiple-wave battle!!!

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Legions of the Kobald King
YouÕll soon find out that unlike the weak battles in the Nomad Camp, the
Kobalds have come to fight. No longer will you be fighting weak groups of
Kobalds with a lot of help from Nomads. Now, your party is on its own and
itÕs the Kobalds who have enlisted the help. Watch out for some tough
fights. I truly hope you have some way of casting Fireball multiple times
(either the spell or a Necklace of Missile). After winning waves, choose to
continue the battle, as this will be your only chance to heal party members
(no breaks in the action). Also, you may get magical items for winning
battles here. The first time I beat Wave One, I got a Wand. After
forgetting to do the Òcontinue/healÓ strategy, I started the battle over
and got nothing for conquering the first wave.

Note: You have one big advantage in each of these fights in that you start
     the battle separated from the enemy forces. This means you can go
     wild with Fireballs without fear of hitting your own party members
     and that the monsters will have taken a good deal of punishment
     before reaching you.

Wave One: Six Kobalds, two Kobald Leaders, one Troll. Not too bad, but
         donÕt let the Troll live for too long. Those guys can kick your
         teeth in if you give them half a chance, so make it your top
         priority.

Wave Two: Before this round starts, the Kobalds assault you with a catapult
         for some added damage. Now, you get to fight four Kobalds, two
         Kobald Leaders, one Wild Boar and one troll. Try using a Fireball
         to wipe out as much opposition as possible.

Wave Three: The lackeys of The Boss get into the mix here. You go up
           against four Kobalds, two Envoys, one Troll and one Wild Boar.
           Before the battle, the Envoys say theyÕll show you how a real
           soldier fights and if youÕre not careful, theyÕll back up that
           bit of bravado (especially if the first two battles took a lot
           out of you). Hit this group with everything you have. I used
           the Necklace of Missile twice to kill the Troll and constantly
           chipped away at the Envoys with a combination of the Fireballs,
           Magic Missiles and melee attacks.
-----------

This fight netted me over 3500XP, two Two-Handed Swords +2 and a Ring of
Invisibility. However, you will soon notice that the Kobald King slipped
away during the battles. Now, itÕs time to decide if you want to finish him
off now, or leave, recharge and then return.

Either way, once you get back to this room, youÕll want to head east
through the door at (6,13). YouÕll have one more little surprise in store
for you here. The final group of bodyguards waits at (7,13) and this is a
tough one.

-----------
SUB-BOSS FIGHT: KingÕs Bodyguards
This fight is tougher than any of the previous three, but it is only one
battle instead of a three-fight endurance test. You go up against 10
Kobalds, three Kobald Leaders and two Trolls --- with the Trolls right next
to your front line. This means you might take a good deal of damage in this
fight, so I hope youÕve replenished the HP of your top three characters.
Once again, blitz them with everything you have and hope that you wipe out
the Trolls before they really cause some damage.
-----------

I finished with a bit over 2000XP and a Leather Armor +1 for my efforts in
this battle.

Now move through the rooms in this area of the cave until you get to
(10,14). Here, youÕll find that in his efforts to escape you, the Kobald
King fell into a spiked pit and has perished. This is all you need to get
your reward in Phlan (the Kobalds canÕt join The Boss now that they have
no leadership), but itÕs wise to explore everywhere, so donÕt leave yet.
The KobaldÕs treasure is located at (13,14). I got just under 4000XP, a
Mace +2 and some assorted spells and junk.

But youÕre not done yet. At (12,15), use the ÒlookÓ option and youÕll find
a bottle. Try to pull it out of the wall and the cork comes off. Smoke
comes out and forms an Efreet, who asks if your party is composed of
Vampires. You can always attack him (or say ÒyesÓ), but the wisest course
of action is to say ÒnoÓ. He tells you to only call him when there are
Vampires near and then goes back into his bottle. You get 3950XP and the
Efreet Bottle (I also got a Flame Long Sword +1). If that piece of advice
didnÕt explain the EfreetÕs purpose enough, if you go back to DiogenesÕ
cave and offer the bottle as a gift, the silver dragon will tell you that
you need it and to go to Valhingen Graveyard to kill the vampire with it.

Now, youÕre done with this area. Leave the Kobald Caves and head back to
Phlan. Your reward is 6250XP and 25 gems. The new quest given to your party
will be to find the kidnapped son of Bivant, who bears a heart-shaped mark
on his shoulder. The clerk gives no clues as to his location, but a little
Wilderness exploration will. Or you can just read a couple of chapters
ahead. Next up on the Òto-doÓ list is solving the polluted water problem,
unless you want a bit of (hopefully) quick and easy experience. Then, take
a trip to the Textile House and fight enemies until there are no more
random encounters.

If you choose to do this, note that there are two spots that are now of NO
interest in the northern half of the Textile House. At both (10,9) and
(3,9) there is a diary entry that is the exact same as the one at (1,7)
(about undead in the graveyard, if you donÕt remember). That diary entry is
duplicated in the computer version, too, so this isnÕt a NES programming
error.

One important thing to keep in mind is to stay near the northern part of
the Textile House to draw out random encounters. This way, youÕre near the
Podol Plaza temple, so you can easily go up and heal/rest if need be.
Remember that most of the encounters can be quite difficult under any
circumstances, as Scorpions can incapacitate with their poison, Wights will
drain levels with successful hits and Ghouls have the potential to paralyze
party member (meaning the next hit will be an automatic death -- much like
a Sleep or Hold Person spell).

After cleaning out the place (no real way to know -- so just leave and go
back to Phlan if you realize that you havenÕt been attacked in a while), go
to the Clerk and youÕll get 1250XP and 1250G for your troubles. Personally,
I donÕt feel that is much of a reward considering the time and risk factors
involved, but if you want to be thorough, then go ahead and clear out the
Textile House.

When done with the Textile House (or the Kobald Cave, if you donÕt want to
bother with CadornaÕs old stomping grounds), itÕs time to unpollute the
water and solve the problem of the Lizardmen (since both quests are
somewhat connected).

---------------------------------
j. Pyramid of Yarash/Lizardman Keep
  Common/Set Enemies: 6th Lvl Fighter, 7th Lvl Thief, Displacer Beast,
                      Drider, Drythfi, Dwarf Fighter, Giant Lizard, Kobald,
                      Lizardman, Mutant Lizardman, Stirge, Yarash
  Goal to Clear: Get rid of water pollution.
                 Prevent Lizardmen from joining The Boss.
  Reward for Clearing: Water pollution: 19,000XP, 250G, 75 gems
                       Lizardmen: 10,050XP, 50G, 40 gems

First off, letÕs do something about all that polluted water. If youÕve been
running around outside, youÕve probably seen a Pyramid in the middle of a
lake that seems to be the center of this polluted area. LetÕs take a look
at this place.

To enter the Pyramid, you must take a boat there. Fortunately, one is
available if you know where to go. Step onto the forest square directly
north of the Pyramid (bordering the lake). The game will note there is a
boat here and youÕll be able to take it to YarashÕs Pyramid.

Once again there is no map. For this area, it is tough to make a 16-by-16
grid due to teleporters, so instead of giving coordinates of important
places, IÕll simply give directions on how to get to every location of
interest.

From the entrance, head up the long dark red (or brown) corridor. If you go
all the way in a straight line, you will simply find another secret door
leading back outside. Where you need to be in order to advance is the small
area where the corridor widens to a two-by-two room. On the first square to
the right, you are told that there are small stones on the ground and given
the option to throw one, go forward or go back. If you choose to go forward,
youÕll be teleported to a place with blue-colored walls. If you throw a stone
here, youÕll go to another dark red (or brown) area.

On the other hand, if you happen to step on the northern-most square to the
right, youÕll be automatically teleported to the other dark red (or brown)
area. So, what do these two areas hold?

1. Second Dark Red (Brown) area -- this area is a pretty nasty maze with
  some tough opponents. You might get the idea that something fishy is
  going on here, as many humanoid enemies act like youÕve saved them, but
  then attack you when you attempt to parlay. Things are not what they
  seem in the domain of Yarash... Then, you also have to encounter some
  monsters, like Driders, who donÕt bother with deceit, but are pretty
  straightforward with their hostility.

  So, what do you do if you're foolish enough to deposit yourself in this
  region (which is completely optional, has nothing worth your while and
  can be quite deadly to the average party)? Well, if you know, it's fairly
  simple. From where you start in this area (a three-way intersection), go
  east, south and east again along the corridor, ignoring all doors and
  branching paths. When the corridor ends in a door, take that door and take
  another to the south. Go east and you'll run into a human cleric, who asks
  you to help him finish off an escape tunnel. Do so and you be teleported
  out of the pyramid. I probably don't need to mention this, but be nice and
  don't attack him. You have enough creatures to treat like trash and kill
  without brutalizing the few friendly folk in AD&D world.

  Now, I need to add that there is another section of this maze. In the
  small room that you entered to take the south door to the final corridor,
  there also is a secret door on the east wall. If you go through it and
  follow the path to the north, you'll take a teleporter to a second section
  of the maze. My advice is don't do this. As far as I know, there are no
  benefits to being here and absolutely no reason for you to go here (unless
  you truly are masochistic). So, if you do this, you're on your own. If you
  find something extraordinary and wonderful, send me a message and I'll
  include it, but I'm not holding my breath. Yarash's little maze levels in
  his dungeon truly are painful to go through, holding much risk for no
  reward beyond the experience you get for killing enemies. Anyway, back to
  the quest Ñ the rest of Yarash's domain is a bit more lucrative.

2. Blue area -- This is the place you want to be. Luckily, there are no
  random encounters and only a couple of actual battles. If you're careful,
  this is a pretty simple place. The first step to being careful is to
  always remember the first rule of teleporters in Yarash's Wacky World:
  if you have the option of throwing a stone, DO SO!!! If you don't, you'll
  end up having to really retrace your steps, as you get warped to either
  the maze or the entry area of the pyramid.

  So, to start things off, go north and then west when you reach a fork in
  the road. Follow the hall to the north. Notice that area on the wall that
  looks different? That's a secret door. If you take it, you'll be in a
  recently used lab. Go through the secret door on the west wall and follow
  the hall to the north (south is a dead end, despite looking like a
  teleporter square). Go down the winding and meandering path and you'll
  reach an automatic teleporter (no stones necessary). This will zap you to
  a room with some Lizardmen. You can always fight them if you want, but
  they are friendly to you for the sole reason that you're not allied with
  Yarash. Exit the room through the secret door and you'll be right next to
  the secret door that started you on this little expedition. Fun, but
  worthless.

  Now, let's go past that first secret door. Just follow the hallway and it
  will end with another secret door. This room looks like a dead end, but if
  you move from the entrance, you'll be forced into a fight with three
  Mutant Lizardmen. They're a bit tougher than the regular variety, but have
  the same weaknesses (i.e. being semi-vulnerable to Sleep). Exploit that
  and if you can take one or two out of the battle, things will get quite
  easy for you. There is nothing of value in the room, though, and the
  monsters don't give much experience, so it's up to you to decide if this
  room is worth the effort.

  So, are you ready to actually start on your quest to teach Yarash a
  lesson? Well, this is pretty simple. Go back to the original fork in the
  road and go east this time. There is a secret door to your right, but it
  just leads to another boring lab. Just keep going and throw a stone when
  given the option. The triggers the teleporter to take you close to Yarash.

  In this new area, just follow the path and you'll get to another
  teleporter. Throw a stone and dive in. Go about two steps and repeat the
  process. Head around the corner and you'll see a closed door. Take a deep
  breath, open the door and confront...nothing. However there is some
  equipment spewing forth black water. Choose to break the equipment and
  then choose to leave the room. If you continue breaking things, you will
  get caught in a big explosion and take some damage. Leave the room, you'll
  be out of range.

  Go back into the room and you'll see a door right across from you. That
  is Yarash's chamber. We'll go there in a bit, but you have the opportunity
  to do some good first. Take the hallway next to Yarash's room and you'll
  find another room on your right. Enter this and you'll find some
  Lizardmen chained up and forced into labor. Be a good fellow and help
  them out and they'll tell you to go to their castle in the East Marsh for
  a reward. Warning: Do not take any sort of antagonistic tone (including
  ÒslyÓ) when parlaying with them. If you do, they will throw poisoned water
  on you, which will kill some number of your party members. BE CAREFUL!!!

  Now, it's finally time to take care of Yarash. Enter his room and the old
  wizard will discuss the possibility of using your party in his
  experiments. Since that sort of conflicts with your plans, you'll be
  forced into battle.

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Yarash and Creations
Yarash doesn't fight you one-on-one, instead choosing to have six Mutant
Lizardmen act as a barricade between you and him. Hopefully, you'll be able
to put some of these guys to sleep or incapacitate them with a Stink Cloud,
because this is one tough battle if everyone's awake and active. While the
Mutant Lizardmen don't often cause much damage when they hit, they donÕt miss
that often Ñ and all those small hits will add up quickly. Even though he's a
wizard, Yarash does next to nothing. Every once in awhile, he'll throw some
thing at you that can paralyze a character, but thatÕs the extent of his
actions.
----------

After I won, I picked up 6121XP, 40G, Bracers AC4, Paralysis Wand and three
Potions. If you go to the east-central square, there is a desk with some
paper. It seems The Boss wanted Yarash to help him out, but the demented wizard
preferred to work alone and refused the offer. Much more importantly, on the
center square of the northern side of the room is a dial. When you first get
there, it is set to Blue. This dial affects the teleporter which
happens to be in the northeast corner of the room. If the dial is set to Blue,
it will send you to the entry area of the pyramid. So, where do the other
settings take you? Read on...

Gold: a room with junk. With every step you take, you are greeting with a
     message that says there is a bunch of magical junk that looks useless.
     The first time you "look", you'll pick up some stuff.

Bronze: same as Gold.

Silver: same as the other two. Maybe it's not exciting, but it's free goods!

When you're done playing, get out of there and go back to Phlan and get your
reward. It's a nice one, too, as you get 19,000XP, 250G and 75 gems. Your new
mission involves a fun chat with your ol' pal Cadorna. Cadorna tells you to
take a letter to Zhentil Keep and not open it beforehand.

But it's not like anything that Cadorna says is overly important, since he is
somewhat of a shady character. Let's finish off the Lizardmen quest by going
to their castle. The first thing you'll want is to be sure you have a good
number of healing potions (you ought to have a ton of Gold by this point, so
start spending. Go to the dock and pick "east". After leaving your boat,
head north and go into the forest northeast of the Kobald Cave. The Lizardman
castle is here. Enter and you'll immediately notice an anti-magic barrier in
effect. See why I had you get the potions? You can't cast Cure Light Wounds
here.

There are a number of small crumbling rooms in this castle. Let's take a
look at those first. To give you a sense of perspective, as there is no map
to this place in the game, the entrances to the castle are at (7/8, 0).
Many of these little structures are unimportant, but there are a couple of
note. First, if you enter the doors at either (4,8) or (2,5), you will get
into a fight with some Giant Lizards. By this stage of the game, this should
be a very easy battle. Then, go on up to (4,12) to meet some Lizardmen and
their Giant Lizard pet. Another easy fight. The main objective is the center
of the keep, located at (8,6).

Before I continue, there are three ways of doing the main part of this area.
You can follow the heroic path and help the Lizardmen out, or you can take
more of an unsympathetic stance toward their plight. To the best of my
knowledge (essentially an educated guess), you should be able to earn the
commission no matter what Ñ but itÕs a lot easier to do things if you take
the heroic path.

When you enter the center room, an old Lizardman comes forward in a peaceful
manner. You to choose to listen to him, or attack. If you attack him, you'll
quickly slaughter him and get stuck in an easy battle. After winning that, if
you go back to Phlan, you'll quickly discover that you haven't accomplished
your goal, as you'll receive no commission. You might be able to eliminate
the Lizardman threat by going downstairs and clearing out the underground
level of the Keep (detailed below), but I cannot confirm that at this time.

If you listen to him, he'll ask you to help his tribe. Apparently, a
Lizardman named Drythfi is attempting to take the tribe over in order to sway
them to Tyranthraxus. Conveniently enough, immediately after the old fellow
explains the problem, Drythfi appears and challenges him for leadership of
the tribe. You can either champion the tribal elder or sit back and enjoy the
proceedings. If you do nothing, Drythfi will easily kill the old guy and then
lead his troops into battle with you. If you take this route, you may have to
also clear the underground level to get credit Ñ I'm not sure.

On the other hand, if you follow the path of chivalry, you'll have the
opportunity to pick one party member for a one-on-one battle with Drythfi,
who is essentially a Mutant Lizardman with a name. Pick your best fighter and
you should should win without too much trouble (unless you have a massive run
of bad luck in attempting to hit him or he has a fantastic run of luck in
connecting with his high-damage attack). Win the fight and the old Lizardman
will assure you that his tribe will never join Tyranthraxus. He'll then ask
you to leave, as his tribe has a number of members that aren't fond of
humans.

But that's not the fun thing to do, is it? Instead go into one of the smaller
rooms in this area and go downstairs. You're in the secret lair of the
Lizardmen and there are a number of opportunities to get treasure and
experience here. Scattered through this area are seven ponds. Whenever you
walk up to one, the same thing happens. A Lizardman appears, throws a spear
at you and attempts to escape into the water. If you catch him, you have a
battle with five Lizardmen. Regardless of whether you catch him or not,
you'll get the opportunity to dive in the water, an activity that will give
you a bit of treasure (1500XP, 1000G, 2 gems). Find all seven ponds and get
the treasure and you will have done all there is to do in this region.

Return to Phlan to get your reward (10,050XP, 50G and 40 gems). The next
quest on our agenda is to recover the missing heir to Bivant. In order to do
that, you must contend with a whole bunch of Buccaneer slavers. You'll have
the option to fight for the youngster's freedom or use other methods, so
decide what you want to do. If you want to fight, be aware that you'll need a
strong party to survive all the challenges you'll face. If you're not
confident in your party's strength, fight random encounters in the western
part of the Wilderness. A couple of chance encounters with Quicklings will do
wonders for a party's power, as they are worth a ton of experience and can
drop some fine items. Also in this area are Buccaneers, who are worth a good
deal of experience, especially considering they are one of the weakest foes
in the game.

----------------------------------
k. Buccaneer Base
  Common/Set Enemies: 3rd Lvl Fighter, 4th Lvl Fighter, 5th Lvl Fighter,
                      Buccaneer, Captain, Sub-Captain
  Goal to Clear: Recover the missing heir to Bivant.
  Reward for Clearing: 3100XP, trinkets to sell

This is an easy place to find, if you know where to look. Go to the Phlan
Docks and choose to go to the west destination. After being dropped off, just
keep going west along the coast. Shortly after the coast takes a slight dip
to the south, youÕll find the base. When you reach it, youÕll be escorted in
by the slavers, who think of you as a potential customer (which you just
might be).

First, hereÕs a brief overview of the area. After youÕve been taken into this
area, go north until you get to the double doors that signify the exit back
to the wilderness. On a map, these doors are at (7,15) and (8,15) -- the far
northern edge of the base.

The first thing to know is that there are eight guard towers on the
perimeter. They are located at (6,15), (9,15), (2,13), (13,13), (0,5),
(15,5), (4,1) and (11,1). Each guard tower has four Buccaneers in it and is
a very easy fight that will net you a bit over 2000XP. The reason IÕm telling
you this is because slaughtering the guards has no ill effect on your success
on this mission. In other words, before worrying about the Bivant heir, kill
everyone in the guard towers for a lot of experience.

Now, as for the rest of the base. Just south of the entrance are two
unimportant buildings. There is a row of four buildings just south of that.
In this row, youÕll find the entrance to the slave pens at (7,9) and pens of
livestock at (11,9). Well, youÕll find livestock pens all around the far east
building, but this particular square is special, as you have the option to
open the pens at this point. Then, there are three more buildings south of
that row, with a shady individual at (2,4) who will sell you a pass to see
the Captain for roughly 25,000G. Then, on the far southern tip of the Base is
the CaptainÕs headquarters. The door to enter this place is at (7,4).

Now that you have an idea where the important places in the Base are, here we
go with a comprehensive look at how to recover the Bivant Heir. There are
three methods you can use, depending on your partyÕs strength and your
intelligence.

1. The ÒIÕm an idiot with more gold than brainsÓ plan: Go to the shady guy
  and buy a pass. Show the pass to the guards outside the CaptainÕs building
  and buy the Bivant heir for 30,000G. Leave and go back to Phlan. Sure itÕs
  easy, but you can also accomplish the same thing for no cost.

2. The ÒIÕm playing it safe because my party isnÕt that powerfulÓ plan: Go to
  the entrance to the slave pens and try to get in. When the guards stop
  you, attack them (simple fight with four Buccaneers) and then enter the
  pens and collect the heir. Now (very important or youÕll be fighting the
  whole base), go to the livestock pens and release them. Make your escape
  while the confused Buccaneers are running around trying to re-capture the
  animals. Quick, easy and no risk unless you accidentally get close to the
  gates before releasing the animals. Now, go back to Phlan.

3. The ÒTo hell with subtlety -- EVERYONE DIES!!!!Ó plan: After much
  experimentation, IÕve found the best way to pull this plan off is to suck
  it up and buy the pass from the shady guy. You could just walk into a
  random building and assault the Buccaneers there or walk up to the
  CaptainÕs headquarters and attack his guards (two 4th Lvl Fighters), but
  that sets off a tougher string of battles that climaxes with a huge fight
  with the Captain, Sub-Captain and a ton of 3rd and 5th Lvl Fighters. By
  purchasing the pass, you can take out the Captain and a small group of 5th
  Lvl Fighters first and then move on to a slightly easier string of
  battles. ItÕs going to be tough either way, but I found this method to be
  a bit easier to handle, as none of the fights are against overly
  intimidating forces. After youÕve beaten all the Buccaneers, simply enter
  the slave pens, collect the heir and go back to Phlan.

Now that youÕre back in Phlan....huh? Oh, you probably would like a bit of
strategy on how to handle the fine folk of the Buccaneer Base, wouldnÕt you?
Well, here we go....

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Buccaneers A-Plenty!
If you follow OverdriveÕs approved method to slaughter these fellows, youÕll
have to fight four consecutive battles. The first and fourth fights have the
most opposition, but you canÕt really relax in the middle two conflicts, as
you wonÕt want to take much damage in any single fight. Before deciding to
do this, take a look at your party and go down this simple checklist of
things you may want to have.

LetÕs start with the Clerics and Magic-Users. YouÕll want plenty of Cure
Light Wounds spells, especially to use between waves (by saying yes when the
computer asks if you want to continue battle). Potions of Healing or Extra
Healing are wonderful for this also. Clerics also will want plenty of Hold
Person spells, which work wonderfully on 5th Lvl Fighters. Magic-Users will
be greatly helped by Sleep (for weak enemies) and Stink Cloud (for stronger
foes) spells. If you can cast Fireball (either from being at a high enough
level or by having a Necklace of Missile), that will help immensely. Finally,
having a Magic Missile or two on hand (or a Wand of Missiles) also will help
in combat, as the Captain seems resistant to any hold/paralysis spell you may
have. As for Fighter-types, just make sure youÕre at a decent level (at least
Lvl 6) and that you have strong armor and weapons. Overall, while having
high-quality Fighters is very helpful, this conflict (and the potential
Zhentil Keep one that will be detailed in the next chapter) will be won by
your Clerics and Magic-Users. The more effective they are, the better things
will go for you.

Now hereÕs what you fight:

First Wave: Captain and four 5th Lvl Fighters. You start out with a tough
           one, as the Captain is very strong, solid on defense and has a
           lot of HP. He also starts in the back row and will use a distance
           attack on you until forced into melee combat. The quicker you can
           (hopefully) get the 5th Lvl Fighters to succumb to Hold Person
           and the resulting one-hit instant kill, the better off youÕll be.

Second Wave: A combination of Buccaneers, 3rd Lvl Fighters and 5th Lvl
            Fighters. Much easier than the first fight. The Buccaneers will
            go out without even a whimper and the 3rd Lvl Fighters arenÕt
            overly imposing. If you can Hold some of the fighters, you may
            not even take one hit in this fight.

Third Wave: A slightly tougher version of the second wave. There are a couple
           more Fighters here, but this is still an easy fight, even though
           youÕll be under a bit more fire from the 5th Lvl Fighters.

Fourth Wave: Sub-Captain and a total of 11 3rd and 5th Lvl Fighters. With no
            weak Buccaneers in this fight, if your party is depleted they
            could be in for a bit of a fight. I like to bring out the heavy
            artillery here. Sleep works on the 3rd Lvl Fighters, Hold Person
            and Stink Cloud are potentially effective on everyone and Magic
            Missile does wonders on anyone left moving. Oh, and donÕt be
            intimidated by the cool-looking armor worn by the Sub-Captain.
            According to his HP total, heÕs just a 3rd Lvl Fighter that has
            a different look.
-----------

After ending the Buccaneer threat, you will automatically release all the
slaves, including the Bivant heir. Go back to Phlan and get a piddly reward
of 3100XP and a couple of trinkets that you can sell to get some gold. Sadly,
there is no side-quest that allows you to go to the house of Mr. Bivant and
shake him down for the reward YOU feel you deserve, but life goes on. Well,
hopefully it will continue to go on after you attempt this next quest, a
foray into the hallowed halls of Zhentil Keep at the request of your good
friend, Cadorna.

----------------------------------
l. Zhentil Keep
  Common/Set Enemies: 4th Lvl Fighter, 6th Lvl Magic-User, Aides,
                      Commandant, Corporal, Dwarf Fighter, Guard
  Goal to Clear: Deliver letter and escape with your life.
  Reward for Clearing: 8000XP and 32 gems

Before I delve into the meat and potatoes of this region, let me forewarn
you that Zhentil Keep is much like the Buccaneer Base, in that there are
multiple ways to do this region. ThereÕs an easy way for players not overly
confident in the strength of their characters and/or their tactical ability
and there is a hard way for skilled players with a strong party.

If you have any doubts about your party, either choose to do things the easy
way or at the very least, save your game before attempting to bust out of the
Keep.

Without going into an obscene amount of detail, here is the summary of events
that will explain why youÕll need to fight your way out of Zhentil Keep.

First, to find the Keep, go directly west of the Buccaneer Base until you
see a group of armed men going into a Keep. Explore in that area and the
armed men will come up to you, take your letter and escort you into the Keep
to meet the Commandant.

He seems like a nice guy at first, as he has his men give you a tour of the
place before taking you to a room to rest from your trip. Basically the
purpose of the tour is to let you know that there are a ton of soldiers here
and that the Keep is very well fortified against outside attack.

After a bit of rest (you can try to leave now, but letÕs just let things
progress naturally), you will be collected and taken to dinner with the
Commandant. It will essentially be a brief Q-and-A session with him, during
which you will get a bit of information about various things going on in
Phlan. Interestingly, youÕll also get the idea that the Commandant of this
Zhentil faction that is supposedly hostile towards Phlan is in support of
Cadorna being in charge of that city. If you didnÕt think your favorite
councilman was shady before, you really should now --- and if you donÕt now,
you will in a couple of minutes.

When the meal has concluded, youÕre escorted back to your room for the night.
Whatever you do, do NOT rest. Just wait, because in a matter of hours, a
group of four soldiers will come in with the intent of slaughtering you.
While this group of four Aides is not a tough battle, if youÕre asleep when
they come in, they will do some damage. However, if youÕre awake, this will
be an easy battle.

Leave the room and youÕll immediately be attacked by a larger group of foes
that consists of four more Aides and 16 Guards. No problem here, as Guards
are very weak (sort of the Buccaneers of Zhentil Keep). You should win this
battle without any problems, too.

Now, itÕs time to make your choice. Do you make your escape now, or do you
stay and kill everyone in Zhentil Keep in order to send a message that youÕre
not to be trifled with? The consequences of both courses of action are listed
below.

1. ÒFeets, DonÕt Fail Me Now!Ó method
   If you feel like you should run away, leave your room and take a left
   through the door in the hallway. You should now be in the main part of
   the Keep. Go south one square and then turn east.  Note: If you turn east
   immediately after entering this part of the keep and move into the
   corner, you'll get stuck in a tough battle with a Dwarf Fighter and a
   number of Aides. While it's smart to fight this conflict now if you want
   to kill everything, as I'll explain later, it's not a good idea to do
   this battle if you're just trying to escape.

   Anyway, just keep going east until you reach an intersection. Turn left
   (north) and you'll reach the gates (due to the random nature of the
   battles here, you may fight once again against Zhentil's finest --- a
   host of Guards and Corporals). To escape, you'll have to fight a small
   detachment of Guards, but that should be easy. Also, if you make a wrong
   turn, there is at least one area along the perimeter of the keep where
   you can climb the wall to escape. So all is not lost if you fail to
   follow these instructions.

2. EVERYONE DIES!!!!
   Now, if you want to stay, you'll want to remain in this general area to
   fight the random battles. Or, a smarter thing to do is immediately tackle
   the set battle with the Dwarf Fighter and cronies I mentioned above, as
   this will eliminate a number of battles that would normally deplete your
   party's health and spell-casting capacity.

   Battle 3 -- Dwarf Fighter and 10 Aides:
   This is a very tough battle that good spell usage can make a walk in the
   park. Having Magic-Users cast Sleep will take out a few of the Aides and
   having Clerics cast Hold Person does wonders for removing just about any
   one left standing from the conflict. Have your Fighters take out anyone
   left standing and capable of fighting and then slaughter the helpless
   held/sleeping foes. If you play this battle right, you'll take very
   little (if any) damage.

   Winning this battle immediately puts you into conflict with the
   Commandant and his forces.

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Zhentil Commandant and his legions
The Commandant sits way in the back and blasts you with items that cause
electrical damage. There is also a 6th Lvl Magic-User in this battle, but
because of the atrocious AI the computer gives that sort of chap, he'll be
unable to chew you up with spells. That leaves 10 Aides and nine 4th Lvl
Fighters, quite a formidable assortment of bodyguards due to the extreme
numbers advantage and long-range attack capabilities they possess.

Fireballs are a great way to start things out, if you can cast them. After
that (or if you can't cast them), use Sleep on the Aides and Hold Person
and/or Stink Cloud on the 4th Lvl Fighters and Commandant. Take note that all
the Aides and Fighters do have long-range attacks, so anyone standing is
capable of damaging any party member at any time. Try to cut a path to the
Commandant as quickly as possible, as he is a very real threat with brutally
damaging item attacks. If you can Hold him, that is perfect, as he has an
unreal amount of HP and will not be easy to kill normally.

One thing to keep in mind is that you WILL take damage in this battle, as no
matter how strong you are or how many spells you have, they will get a few of
their arrows into your party and the Commandant likely will blast someone
with 10-20 HP of damage from his electrical attack. So, be sure that you have
a powerhouse party that can not only create a ton of havoc quickly, but also
can take a lot of damage, or this will be a painful battle for you.
-----------

   For winning, I personally got 11,693XP and 75G, as well as a ton of
   items, including a Lightning Wand, Ring of Fire Protection, Bracers AC3,
   Shield +1, Plate Mail +2, Javelin of Lightning and Long Sword +2. Also,
   the rest of the Keep surrenders or escapes. To my knowledge, there is
   nothing of interest in the Keep, so can leave now.

   Now, if you'd not challenged the Dwarf Fighter immediately (or if for
   some reason, his force didn't appear on the square immediately east of
   where you exited the hallway leading to your room), you would have been
   forced to fight about three more random guard battles that consisted of
   progressively more powerful assortments of Guards, Corporals and Aides
   before moving on to the Dwarf Fighter/Commandant battles. While a strong
   and smart party would be of no risk of getting killed by these groups,
   they will be at risk of getting worn down to the point where the
   Commandant fight becomes either impossible or near-impossible to win.

Anyway, after escaping the Keep and going back to Phlan, the Clerk will give
you 8000XP and 32 gems for surviving. You will also get a new commission to
slay Cadorna for his attempt to betray you and the city. Also, Lord Urslingen
will give you a special mission to slay the guards at the Stojanow Gate and
slay the guards there. This gate happens to be located just north of Podol
Plaza and will be our next objective.

----------------------------------
m. Stojanow Gate
  Common/Set Enemies: 6th Lvl Magic-User, Aides, Bugbear, Ettin
  Goal to Clear: Clear the two towers and wipe out the Bugbear patrols, so
                 Phlan soldiers can secure the region.
  Reward for Clearing: 12,500XP and 50 gems

After walking around for a little while in the southern portion of this
place, you'll meet a merchant with a wagon. Offer to spend the piddly 250G to
buy the wagon, as it will make getting past the actual gate a bit easier.
Another thing you can do to make your time here easier is NOT go near the
actual wall at this time. Just go to the gate after getting the wagon. If you
run around the wall, you'll gain the attention of the Bugbear guards. As the
merchant says, they are in a bad mood and will act in quite the hostile
manner. Until you've cleared out the guard towers, you don't want anyone in
this region angry at you, as the guard tower denizens will rain pain upon you
from afar if you get their attention.

When you reach the general area of (7,4), a Bugbear will demand a 15G bribe.
Pay it and you'll be placed on the other side of the gate. Now it's time to
empty the guard area of monsters.

First, go west and through the door at (4,10). Go up the stairs and you'll
run into three Ettins, an Aides and a 6th Lvl Magic-User. The Ettins are
essentially a tougher version of the Ogres you've fought off-and-on
throughout the course of the game Ñ a two-headed giant-class foe with two
wicked melee attacks per round. Also, the Magic-User apparently has a
Lightning Wand, as he fires off electrical bolts at party members.

Winning this battle will give you a good deal of XP (about 4500 for me) and
some items. Also, the alarm will start ringing. Now, it's time for you to
move quickly. Leave the tower and the guards from the other tower will be
waiting for you. This battle will be the exact same as the last, except
you'll be starting from a distance. Take advantage of this to blast the
opposition (especially the Ettins) with long-range attacks. If you did get a
Lightning Wand from the final Zhentil Keep battle (or at any other time), the
bolts that item fires off can be quite effective, as can a well-placed
Fireball. I found this battle to be tougher than the previous one because it
seemed that more Ettins would get involved in the action and because it
always seemed that the Magic-User would fire off his Lightning Wand at least
once. However, I also got a better reward, with over 10,000XP and a pair of
items.

After wiping out the guard towers, you're notified by the game that all you
have to is wipe out the outside patrols and you'll have reclaimed the gate!
Heal up and let's kill us some Bugbears. Go into the actual gate area via the
door at either (7,9) or (8,9) and you'll be ambushed by the Bugbears. A Sleep
spell or two will do wonders to knock out some of the 10 Bugbears in this
battle. Look at this encounter as a more difficult version of a large battle
with Gnolls or Lizardmen, as Bugbears are only marginally tougher than those
two foes. Note: It's not a good idea to explore at this point, as brutally
tough patrols from the Castle will be guarding the entrance to that area.
Unless fighting large numbers of giants seems fun to you, just go after the
Bugbears and save the Castle and its inhabitants for later.

Win this battle and the Phlan guards will secure the gate. Congratulations,
you'll be able to enter the Castle whenever you want, now. However, we still
have a number of quests to complete before doing that, so let's go back to
Phlan and get our reward. You can look around the entire Stojanow Gate block,
if you want, but there is nothing of interest in any of the small buildings
in this region.

The Clerk will exclaim that now Phlan can be on the attack thanks to you and
gives you 12,500XP and 50 gems. You will be led by guards to the Special
Council, where Lord High Mayor Ulrich Eberhard tells you to go to Valjevo
Castle and save Phlan.

Before doing that, let's get rid of Dirten by clearing the Wealthy Area and
Bane Temple. If you want, you can clear Valhingen Graveyard first, but in my
opinion, a poor AI Cleric in a region jam-packed with powerful undead could
be a liability, so let's just fulfill his quest now.

----------------------------------
n. Wealthy Area/Bane Temple
  Common/Set Enemies: Mace, Ogre, Orc
  Goal to Clear: Kill Mace and destroy the Shrine to Bane.
  Reward for Clearing: 1500XP, 750G, 3 gems

Take the boat to the north and enter the northern part of the city to go to
Kovel Mansion. To enter the Wealthy Area, go through either door on the south
side of this block.  Now that you're here, explore all the buildings, as
you'll find some useful items and some easy battles.

Go through the door at (14,11) and you'll meet a seven Orcs and one Orc
Leader. Kill them and go through the south door to (14,7). Free the Goblin
slaves and one will tell you that you need a special symbol of Bane to enter
the temple. That symbol is named "Leather Symbol of Bane" and you'll have the
opportunity to win it in a random Orc battle during your exploration of this
block. Other than that random Orc battle, it doesn't seem like there are
wandering monsters in this area, so it should be easy to get the symbol. Go
back to the Orc room and go west through the rooms. By "looking" in each
room, you'll find a number of minor treasures, so be through in your
investigations.

At the end of this chain of rooms is an attack by an Ogre and some Orcs at
(6,7). At this point of the game, this (like the other battles in this block)
should be very easy. Win and you'll get to learn a little bit of the hierarchy
around these parts, as there is a note saying that Mace is strong, the Boss
(Tyranthraxus) is stronger and that Bane (evil god) is the strongest of all.

Leave this large building and head to the southern part of the Wealthy Area
to find the entrance to a mansion at (8,4). Enter and immediately fight a
squad of Orcs at (8,3). Go through the mansion to (9,0) and search the bed
there to fight another Orc patrol. Kill the Orcs and you'll find there was
nothing in the bed. In another part of the mansion (5,0), there is a message
alluding to secret treasure in the Bane Temple.

After doing this, you've seen everything of interest in this block, so if
you've gotten a Leather Symbol of Bane, you're ready to enter the Temple of
Bane, so go through either of the two western exits from the Wealthy Area.

In the Temple, you'll regularly get assaulted by bands of four orcs holding
the Leather Symbol of Bane, as well as battles against larger Orc patrols.
They are easy battles, so don't worry about getting worn down, though. Just
kill everything that gets in your way make your way to the entrance to the
actual temple (the huge building in the center of the block). At the entryway
(2,7/8), a blind Orc will examine you. If one character holds the Leather
Symbol of Bane, you will be allowed into the temple.

At (14,7/8) is a shrine dedicated to Bane. Destroy it and the Half-Orc Cleric
Mace, two Bugbears and 14 Orcs will confront you.

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Unholy Mace and his bodyguards
At this stage of the game, this will be an easy fight. Add the facts that
Mace has the same terrible AI that other magic-using characters have and that
he and the two Bugbears are in the front row and you should have no problems
here. Cast a Sleep spell or two on the Orcs to simplify things and you'll
cruise to victory here.
-----------

You'll get a small reward for winning his fight and true to his name, Mace
will drop a Mace +1 for you to pick up. Dirten will tell you that the
treasures of the temple are yours and then leaves your party for good. So,
let's go treasure hunting! You'll find trapdoors at (5,10), (12,5) and (9,3)
You will have to be in "search" mode as you walk around to find these places,
as they are all well-hidden. Also, you should know that you will get a ton of
minor magical items at each of these places, so watch your inventories. No
point in unearthing the treasure if you can't hold it unless you're only out
for the experience by this point.

After you're done searching, go back to Phlan. The Clerk will give you
1500XP, 750G and 3 gems for this job, as well as the shrine treasure you
took. Now, it's time to give yourself a real challenge to set the stage for
the final couple of quests, so let's go to Valhingen Graveyard.

----------------------------------
o. Valhingen Graveyard
  Common/Set Enemies: Ghoul, Giant Skeleton, Juju Zombie, Mummy, Skeleton,
                      Spectre, Wight, Zombie
  Goal to Clear: Wipe out the Vampire and his minions, such as the undead-
                 producing Spectres.
  Reward for Clearing:

Go back to the docks and once again, pick the north option. This time,
instead of going to the northern part of town (Kovel Mansion), choose to go
to the graveyard. You'll want to be very careful here and save after every
battle. Many of the enemies here can drain levels with successful hits and
you don't want to have to rebuild experience, as not even the Restoration
spell can restore all the points you lose.

Basically, your main goal is to slaughter the evil Vampire that is
controlling the undead forces. However, there are a number of Spectres
(remember Mendor?...) that you also have to focus on. They are in charge of
producing various types of undead (Skeletons, Zombies and Wights). By killing
them, you will put an end to the hordes of undead the Vampire is creating to
overrun Phlan.

There also are a number of other set monster encounters. Each of these is
worth fighting as the rewards can outweigh the risks. The undead of Valhingen
Graveyard hold plenty of wonderful treasures. Remember that for more
encounters, the Clerical Turn option will be your best friend. When a Cleric
reaches their sixth and final level of experience, their Turning ability can
destroy Skeletons and Zombies, instead of simply forcing them to run away.

You'll enter the Graveyard at (0,11). Your final goal is in the northeast
corner, but we have a long and meandering path to get to that location. So
head down the paths marked by gravestones and seek out the mausoleums to
progress through this region. At (4,9), go through to door to fight a band of
Skeletons. Win that battle and continue east to (7,9) to fight larger group
of Skeletons -- led by a Giant Skeleton.  The Giant Skeleton is very strong
in melee combat, so try to wipe it out quickly or it will make life miserable
for your party. After winning this battle, go south to (7,7) and "look" to
find a marble box with a lot of treasure. I got 9050XP and four scrolls with
two casts of Restoration each.

Continue south and go in the mausoleum at (1,3) to trigger a Skeleton attack
(as if the game's notice that bones were laying outside the door didn't give
that away). Win the battle and enter the building to take a good deal of
damage from poisonous gas. Go through the door at (0,0) and you'll meet the
Spectre in charge of animating Skeletons.

-----------
SUB-BOSS FIGHT: Spectre Uno
Nothing but one Spectre, although that still is a formidable foe. Use the
same strategy you used on the one in Mendor's Library, although this battle
should go a bit easier due to all the weapon/armor upgrading you've been
doing since that point. Magic Missiles are great because of the automatic
damage they generate and your Fighters should be a bit more adept at landing
blows. Don't bother with attempting to turn this or the other two Spectres,
as that isn't going to work out too well for you.
-----------

Beat him and leave this area. If you've taken too much damage from the gas or
encounters, go back to Phlan. If not, then enter the door at (5,6) to visit
another mausoleum. This building houses the Zombie-producing Spectre, so be
ready for another fight. As with the Skeleton-producing Spectre's lair, you
will face a battle as soon as you attempt to enter the place. Fight the 10
Zombies that greet you and then proceed into the building.

Meander through the building until you reach (4,5). There you'll see the
Spectre and get the opportunity to fight it.

-----------
SUB-BOSS FIGHT: Spectre Dos
Same strategy as the first battle. Show no mercy, as none will be shown to
you. I was able to get the jump on the ghostly monster and get a free round
of attacks in, which made this fight very easy for me. Two hits and three
Magic Missiles later and it was toast.
-----------

Now, if you go just a bit northeast of this mausoleum (8,7), you'll run into
a helpful chap named Magician. Don't accept his offer. You already know how
poor the computer AI is when it comes to magic-using classes AND this chap
will betray you the minute you run into the Vampire. Yep, ol' fangy has
himself an accomplice just waiting to trick stupid adventurers into falling
into his trap. Just say no to him and watch him attempt to attack you. After
having a hearty chuckle at the folly of solitary wizards attempting to take
out five well-trained adventurers, slaughter him and continue exploring.

Anyway, go north from here, so we can kill the final Spectre. As you step in
front of the door (9,10), the game sends you a message about static
electricity and lightning crackling the air and a tough crew of Wights
approaches. Now this fight is cause for concern. There are six of these
level-draining undead and they start out right next to you. You'll want to
hope your Clerical folk can turn all of them (my L6 Cleric was able to do
so). If that doesn't happen, you'll want your Magic-Users to inflict pain on
them with a Fireball (being careful not to burn anyone in your own party). A
number of factors for your success in this fight are out of your hands Ñ
namely how quickly your Clerics get to act and how successful they are in
turning the Wights Ñ so be sure to save immediately before stepping on this
square.

Beat the fight and enter the mausoleum. You'll immediately take damage from
supernaturally being slammed into the air, but that shouldn't be anything to
worry about. Go one step farther south and you'll find the Wight-creating
Spectre.

-----------
SUB-BOSS FIGHT: Spectre Tres
Same drill as the previous two. Use your best attacking items and hope to
finish it off before someone gets drained.
-----------

All three Spectres are dead, so no new undead will apparently be created
(you'll still have the occasional random fight until the block is cleared,
though). Before taking care of the Vampire, there are a number of other
mausoleums to explore, each with their own encounters and with their own
treasure.

At the entrance (10,0) to one building, located in the south-central part of
the graveyard, you'll be greeted by Zombies loudly descending the stairs. Win
that fight and enter the building to get challenged by the strangely named
Juju Zombie. While this monster has more than twice the HP of a regular
Zombie, there is only one of it, so this may be the easiest fight in the
entire Graveyard. Win and you'll get to pick up "various objects" scattered
around. I got 3280XP, a Lightning Wand, two scrolls and a potion.

Now enter the building at (11,4). Hmmm....looks like it's empty. Take another
steps and ...WHOOPS!!! Guess it's not so abandoned. If the picture that pops
up on the screen doesn't make things clear enough for you, your lead party
member will kindly inform everyone that a Mummy is on the loose before the
battle starts. Once combat has begun, you'll find out that it's actually four
Mummies Ñ making this a nasty little confrontation. Fortunately, these
beasties don't drain levels. Unfortunately, they are still diabolical
creatures. At the beginning of the fight, everyone in your party has a chance
of being paralyzed (if my AD&D memory is accurate, I believe Mummies have the
ability to cause opponents to be paralyzed by fright). You'll see "*name* was
unaffected" for each one that avoided this nasty effect. To make matters
worse, each successful hit by a Mummy can disease a party member. Oh, and all
four of them start right next to your party. Wait, I almost forgot that they
seem to be a bit too powerful for your Clerics to turn. Yep, this sure is a
fun battle, isn't it? If you have a Fireball handy, use it, as you'll be able
to severely damage three of them without hitting a party member. This can
make the battle a lot easier to win without taking severe damage. If not, use
melee attacks and Magic Missiles and hope for the best.

I got 5656XP for surviving this battle. Immediately after it's over, go to
your "encamp" screen and cast Cure Disease on any afflicted party members.
While my AD&D memory doesn't recollect how being diseased affects a
character, as unforgiving as the status effects are in that world, I didn't
really want to find out the hard way. There seems to be no treasure here, but
getting over a thousand XP for every character kind of is a reward in itself.

Our next building is the one at (15,9), which is described by the game as a
"large tower". Try to enter and some ghostly voices threaten to kill you if
you donÕt leave. Ignore that advice and you have another six-Wight attack.
Use the advice I gave for the battle outside the abode of ÒSpectre TresÓ for
this one, as it is identical for all intents and purposes. Note: While undead
turning is a very imprecise science, it should be said that my L6 Cleric
turned all six Wights in the first such battle, but was unable to turn any
here. It might have just been an unlucky attempt (as opposed to some in-game
mechanism where that is an ÒunturnableÓ group), but I was forced to use a
more direct way to attack (one Fireball and one well-placed blast from the
olÕ Lightning Wand mixed with one or two successful melee attacks).

After winning, enter the building and go into the small room inside (15,8) to
meet a Wraith. The Wraith moans that it is protecting a body and that you
should leave. Failure to comply means a battle. Think of a Wraith as a
slightly weaker Spectre (or slightly stronger Wight, for that matter). It
does drain levels, but also goes down quicker. Win the fight and youÕll get
all the equipment the body possessed. For me, this was a Hammer +3, Sling of
Seeking +2, and some scrolls and potions.

Now, take the door at (9,14). Well, try to take the door. As you attempt to
open it, youÕll be faced with another battle with a Spectre.

-----------
SUB-BOSS FIGHT: Spectre Quattro
The only difference between this and the previous Spectre battles is that you
wonÕt get a surprise attack on it, so it will have a much better chance of
taking a swing at you and draining someone of a couple of levels. Do your
best to prevent that from happening (i.e. saving before trying to fight it).
-----------

Now that this guy is dead, go through his building. In the final room (8,13),
a ghost will give you a prize for your ability to meet his standard for
bravery (or something like that). I received 2630XP, Plate Mail +2, Long
Sword +2, Shield +1, Ring of Fire Resistance and a ton of scrolls.

Now go through the door at (12,13) and go to the center of the room. Read the
scroll and sanctify the coffin. Leave this room and go through either the
door at (12,15) or (14,13). There is a secret door at (15,14), so go through
it and go one step west. ItÕs Vampire Time!

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Vampire and Wolf collection
If you got the Efreet Bottle from the Kobald Cave, the cork will
automatically pop off and youÕll have an ally for this confrontation. Samir
Ahwahl, vampire-hunting genie, will come out and threaten to kill the
Vampire as a precursor to this battle. As for the fight itself, it wonÕt be
easy. The Vampire starts right up next to your front line, the Efreet has no
way of getting to him immediately and there are five Wolves getting in the
way. The Vampire is another high-powered undead, capable of draining levels
with ease. Really, this is another battle where strategy and luck must
collide for victory to be yours. YouÕll have to unleash Fireballs on the
enemies, hope your melee fighter can hit the Vampire and hope the Vampire
misses once or twice, so you can win the battle without adverse side effects.
The first time I tried things, the Vampire drained my Cleric immediately. The
second time, he missed a Fighter early, two Fireballs killed four Wolves and
did 30 damage to him, the Efreet killed the other Wolf and my Fighters
finished the Vampire off.
-----------

After the battle has ended, the Vampire will dissolve into mist and attempt
to visit his now-sanctified coffin. ÒLookÓ on the square you fought him and
youÕll get his treasure. I picked up a sweet 16,230XP, 9000G, 12 gems, Magic
Missile Wand, Shield and a bunch of potions and scrolls. Now, go back to the
building with the coffin and step to the square where the coffin was to fight
him again. Once again, Mr. Efreet will assist you in this endeavor.

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: Vampire II: Evil Never Dies
No wolves this time. ItÕs just your party and the Efreet against the Vampire
in a battle to the death. DonÕt hold back here! Have your Magic-Users use
Magic Missiles or Lightning Wands and hope your melee fighters donÕt fall
into a costly slump. And above all, hope that the Vampire misses with his
attacks. Fortunately for you, the first fight depleted him and he wonÕt take
as much damage this time around (my guess: 15-20HP).
-----------

Now, go back to Phlan to collect your reward. You will get a great prize from
the Clerk for completing this tough mission: a total of 26,035XP, 285G and
103 gems. After that, youÕll also get a special reward from the Council of
35,000XP and 140 gems for driving away the Vampire. Also, with the Vampire
dead, you can sell the Efreet Bottle for 17,500G.

Now, technically youÕre ready to challenge Valjevo Castle, but you might feel
you need a little more experience to give some characters one more level. If
so, read the next section and youÕll find a somewhat villainous way to get
a ton of experience (as well as a ÒnicerÓ way to get a much smaller amount
of XP and a questionable thing to do that will even give you fewer XP).

----------------------------------
p. Three Optional Quests
  Common/Set Enemies: See below
  Goal to Clear: See below
  Reward for Clearing: See below

This section will be divided into three areas. First, IÕll discuss how to get
a ton of experience by decimating New PhlanÕs defense. Second, IÕll mention
how to clear Podol Plaza for a reward. Third, IÕll bring up Cadorna and the
different paths you can take when you encounter him for the final time.

So, you need experience? Phlan is the place to be, as you can get an ungodly
amount without even leaving the City Gates now that you are powerful. All you
have to do is anger the guards, which isnÕt that hard to do. The easiest way
is to simply go to the Council building and try to enter any room besides
the ClerkÕs. Or you can try going into most buildings at night. Or get in a
tavern brawl. Or try to ÒrestÓ in New Phlan. Any of those actions will get
the attention of the guards, who will tell you to move on. Instead of
following orders, choose to attack. Note: It is best to instigate combat in
a narrow area. DonÕt pick a fight in a wide-open area, as that will give
the Fighters the opportunity to run around the Aides and immediately attack
you.

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: New Phlan Guards
This is no easy battle, as you have 20 opponents. Up front, next to your
party will be 10 Aides. Behind them will be two worthless 6th Lvl Magic-Users
and a group of eight Fighters (four 6th Lvl and four 8th Lvl). If you follow
my advice and picked the fight in a narrow area, such as the main hall of
the Council building, all the opponents will be bunched up and will stay that
way. You know what that means? Fireball-o-rama!! Two or three of these bad
boys will weaken the Fighters and likely kill the Magic-Users and Aides that
are in the path of destruction. Meanwhile, have you Clerics work on hitting
as many Fighters as possible with Hold Person spells because high-level
Fighters arenÕt easy to hit with melee attacks, regardless of your partyÕs
strength. Basically, you want to be at full strength when you enter this
battle and you want to hit the opponents with ANYTHING you can. DonÕt hold
back, as you wonÕt have to immediately fight any battles after this one.
-----------

Winning this war got me 10,400XP and 116G. It also alienates most of New
Phlan. While the Clerk and the fine people at the Training Hall will still
talk to you, Shrines, Inns and Shops all refuse to accept your patronage.
That means youÕll need to go to the Slums and heal you characters the
old-fashioned way (i.e. before you got a ton of money and could just throw
it at Shrine clerics). So repeat the pattern of healing, memorizing spells
and resting until everyone is at full health with full magic-casting
capacity.

Now go back to New Phlan. While most of the Òoff-limitsÓ buildings simply
give you a message saying (in essence) that you arenÕt welcome there, there
is one building that is a wee bit different. Remember the Shrine of Sune
(southwest corner of town)? Save your game and go there. An ominous armored
Cleric greets you by saying that youÕll pay for what youÕve done Ñ and then
attempts to ensure you do!

-----------
BOSS FIGHT: A Medieval Holy War!
YouÕll be locked in battle with three 7th Lvl Clerics, seven 5th Lvl Clerics,
three 8th Lvl Fighters and seven 4th Lvl Fighters. The 7th Lvl Clerics were
at the front of the battle (adjoining my front row), while the 5th Lvl
Clerics were right behind them. Behind the Clerics were the Fighters with the
8th Lvl guys being in front of most of the 4th Lvl ones. Here are a couple
of very important things to know before jumping into action.

1. In the NES version, you get one H-U-G-E lucky break Ñ the horrible AI in
  this game. By all rights, the Clerics by themselves should eat your party
  up with a nonstop barrage of Hold Person spells followed by one-hit-kill
  melee attacks on your helpless characters. However, as IÕve probably said
  a million times in this guide Ñ no computer-controlled character with
  magical capacity shall ever do anything intelligent with said magic. The
  point of the story is that all 10 Clerics did nothing but melee attacks
  when I fought them.

2. YouÕre not home-free by any means, though. The 7th Lvl Clerics and 8th Lvl
  Fighters can give any character fits, there are enough 5th Lvl Clerics to
  add to that frustration AND the 4th Lvl Fighters will (if given the
  chance) pick you apart with long-range attacks. Since the 4th Lvl Fighters
  are the farthest away from you at the start of the battle, the odds are
  quite high that theyÕll have plenty of opportunity to do so.

So what does all this mean? Essentially that your strategy will be much the
same as the previous battle with the exception that flawless execution is a
bit more important here. Have your Magic-Users target their Fireballs so that
all the Fighters are in the area of effect. About three Fireballs should be
enough to kill all (or nearly) all the 4th Lvl Fighters, which will take
away what is perhaps the biggest danger to you. Have your Clerics focus their
Hold Person spells on the 8th and 7th Lvl foes. While they wonÕt be 100
percent effective, you will be able to remove some tough opposition from
the battle easily this way. Then, have your melee characters finish off what
is left with a little help from some Magic Missiles and similar attacks.
-----------

As a reward, youÕll get an incredible 211,670XP, 100,142G and 400 gems. In
other words, for winning one optional battle, youÕll get nearly as much
experience as youÕve gotten for almost everything youÕve done up to this
point. Needless to say, anyone who still may advance in level will likely be
able to do so at this point. So head over to the Training Hall and then go
back to the Slums.

Yep, you still arenÕt welcome in town. While not being able to go to Shrines
and Inns arenÕt much of a problem (you can rest in many places and you can
still go to the hidden shrine in Podol Plaza), not being able to identify and
sell items could be a bummer. However, there is an easy way to solve that
problem.

Head back to Podol Plaza. Now, using the Shrine to heal when necessary, run
around and fight all the monsters that you find. Eventually (like the Textile
House), the random encounters will dry up. When that happens, go back to
New Phlan and get 1250XP and 1250G from the Clerk. While that reward is
insignificant, it has a very welcome side-effect. By doing a quest (even
though you never were actually given it), you restore the faith of the
townies and they welcome you with open arms again, allowing you access to
everything.

Finally, before officially tackling Valjevo Castle, there is one quick
Òseek-and-destroyÓ mission you can do if you know what youÕre looking for
and if you feel up to it. Go north from Stojanow Gate (through the northeast
exit) into the Castle. At this point, youÕll be in the SW block (more on the
blocks of the Castle will be explained below). Head north until you reach an
east-west path. Go east into the SE block and continue going east until you
reach the end of that path. Go a bit north and enter the door at (14,5) to
find Cadorna. Apparently the villainous Councilman didnÕt meet with enough
success for TyranthraxusÕ tastes, as he is now in shackles. You can choose
to kill him or free him. If you kill him, youÕll be able to get a piddly
reward of 850XP, 150G and 3 gems from the Phlan Clerk. If you release him,
youÕll get a password which will come in handy as you explore Valjevo Castle.
ItÕs really your call, as the experience is of much less importance than
the password in the grand scheme of things, but you can get the password
elsewhere.

Anyway, when you feel youÕre ready, itÕs time to lay siege to Valjevo Castle
and put an end to the evil reign of Tyranthraxus!

----------------------------------
q. TyranthraxusÕ Final Day
  Common/Set Enemies: 1st Lvl Cleric, 1st Lvl Thief, 4th Lvl Fighter, 5th
                      Lvl Cleric, 6th Lvl Fighter, 8th Lvl Fighter, Fire
                      Giant, Genheris, Giant Snake, Hill Giant, Medusa,
                      Troll, Tyranthraxus, Tyranthraxus (Fake).
  Goal to Clear: Kill Tyranthraxus.
  Reward for Clearing: GAME OVER!!!!

--Part 1: OVERVIEW--
The first thing you need to be aware of is that you wonÕt be completing this
mission in one trip. Valjevo Castle is huge and is loaded with tough foes,
including Giants, Trolls and high-level Fighters. The majority of the castle
is contained in four 16-by-16 blocks, which you can consider a 32-by-32 block
for all intents and purposes. The computer doesnÕt provide an automap, so
youÕll have to do that on your own.

To give a brief overview before delving into the details, think of the castle
as a big square with a smaller square inside of it. The big square consists
of a number of buildings with Giant guards, other foes and treasures/useful
items. The smaller square, which can only be accessed by gates in the SE and
NW blocks of the big square, is essentially the inner sanctum of the castle.
YouÕll have to navigate a hedge maze and fight some tough battles to get to a
final, smaller area, where Tyranthraxus and his inner circle of cronies are
hiding.

In my opinion, youÕll want to have a specific strategy for how to tackle this
area. If you still need XP, you should look for battles. Tackle the Hill
Giant rooms and the Smithy (and any other place I note that the battle is
optional). Hell, even alert and assault the guard patrols if you want.

However, if you arenÕt in need of experience, youÕll only want to go to a
couple of places in the outer block before tackling the inner block and
finishing the game off. So, if youÕre only looking to finish the game, here
are the only outer block places IÕd recommend visiting (get coordinate from
actual level walkthrough).

SW Block: At the evil Shrine, the Necklace of Missile you can get from the
         dead body of a Cleric will give you plenty of extra Fireballs,
         which is always a good thing.

NW Block: Not much Ñ the only important thing is that one of the entrances
         to the inner block is here.

SE Block: CadornaÕs here (if you havenÕt gotten him yet) and thereÕs a pool
         with some swords in it). Also, the other entrance to the inner
         block is here.

NE Block: There is an armory with free equipment and two places where you can
         obtain useful passwords.

Finally, to save time, here is a strategy for where to go if you have to
leave the Castle for various reasons.
1. Minor healing/spell replenishment Ñ just go to Stojanow Gate, heal and
  rest.
2. Major healing/spell replenishment Ñ go to the Podol Plaza shrine.
3. Identify and sell items Ñ sorry, but you have to go all the way back to
  New Phlan for this task. Hope youÕre up for a long, time-consuming walk.

Okay, now itÕs on to the actual walkthrough. When going north from Stojanow
Gate, you will start off in the SW block of the Castle. First IÕll detail
everything of importance in the outer square and then move on to the inner
square, finishing with TyranthraxusÕ domain.

--Part 2: SW Block--
The first thing you'll want to do after you get here is go through the door
at (12,2). A woman here will be quite cooperative and hand you some clothes
which you will use to disguise yourself. These clothes will be somewhat
helpful in avoiding a few encounters, so be nice, take them and trust the
woman when she says she won't tell anyone about you.

Go to (3,1) and you'll be in the smithy. You can choose to attack or talk.
Using "sly" or "meek" will start a battle with the Smith (4th Lvl Fighter)
and three Fire Giants, as will attacking (duh!). Fire Giants are very strong
melee combatants. They don't have the two strikes per round that an Ettin
has, but they seem to have better armor and are naturally resistant to fire
(no Fireballs for this group). A lightning attack (wand or spell) will work
wonders against them, though. I got 25,694XP, 12,182G and a ton of weapons
and armor for my work here. All that equipment was only +1 for me, so you may
consider not picking it up, as it's a long walk back to the Phlan shops from
here.

The only area of interest here is a Shrine to Bane located at (1,12). This
can be a tricky area, as most of the options lead to far more pain than you
want, as the head Cleric here has a Necklace of Missile. When you get the
option to attack, meditate, talk or leave, the only correct choice is
"leave", which will put you in a fairly simple battle with one 5th Lvl Cleric
and two 1st Lvl Clerics. However, if you pick "attack", the head Cleric will
use his Necklace to devastating effect. Even worse, if you "meditate", you'll
take damage from the evil god Bane AND a Necklace (Fireball) before battle.
Both of those methods will be highly lethal to your party, as only the
strongest members will survive. Win the fight and you'll get that Necklace
of Missile, as well as a couple more pieces of equipment.

At the back of the shrine (1,15) is the collection box and a pair of swords.
Just ignore this stuff. Robbing Bane's collection box will attract his
attention, causing damage to your characters (not worth it for 3G). The
swords are cursed, making them pretty worthless, too.

From here, go north to the Northwest Block.

--Part 3: NW Block--
If you enter the first building on the left as you come in from the Southwest
Block and go to (2,2), you'll encounter a group of five Hill Giants. Tougher
than Ogres, but not quite on the same level as Fire Giants, these brutes can
be softened up by a couple of Fireballs. However, doing so will set off an
alarm, which will make things a bit tougher for you. Personally, I'd advise
against entering this battle unless you in need of the XP, as you really have
nothing to gain from alerting the attention of all the guards. There will be
several encounters like this scattered around the four blocks of Valjevo
Castle, so I'll be sure to inform you of each alarm-raising battle. Note: If
you choose to fight this battle and alert the guards, there is an easy way to
avoid the patrols, which are collections of human soldiers and giants. When
they confront you, parley and pick "haughty". The leader will ask who you
serve, so untruthfully reply that you serve The Boss. That will satisfy the
leader and you'll be home free. Note: This fight and the other ones that IÕll
label as Òunnecessary Hill Giant fightsÓ, as well as several other potential
encounters throughout the castle, only seem to be triggered during the day.
At night, the room will be empty. So, if you donÕt see something I saw OR
saw something I didnÕt see, you were there at the wrong time of day.

Enter the door at (2,8) and you'll have a bucket of sand fall on you Ñ an
action that will cause light damage to you and alert six Hill Giants. While
this can be a tough battle if they start to drill you with their powerful
attacks, so do your best to connect with some Fireballs and other high-impact
attacks.

An entrance to the inner square of the castle is at (3,7/8). Ignore this for
now, but weÕll be coming back here at a later time. Take note that a careful
adventurer will find a useful password for entering this area.

Go through the door at (2,12) and you'll run into a pair of Hill Giants. You
can talk yourself out of a fight by parleying correctly ("haughty" worked for
me). If you feel like fighting, just attack, as this is a fairly simple
battle for this stage of the game.

When you reach (5,12/13), you'll be accosted by a guard (6th Lvl Fighter).
This could cause trouble for most players, so be careful if you choose to
reach this square. The guard will ask you what you're doing here. If you
flee, he sets the alarm off. If you fight, he sets the alarm off before
attacking. Either way, you'll have to contend with the patrols (a Fighter
with a bunch of Hill Giants) in which ever way you prefer to. However, it
should be noted that unless youÕre trying to kill everything in this region,
there is no need to try to get past this guard post. The room the fighter
comes out of is empty and there are only empty rooms between this post and
another one located at (5,12/13) in the NE Block. So if youÕre just trying to
finish the game or youÕre just trying to hit the important rooms in this
castle, just avoid both guard posts, as they are purely unnecessary. Note: If
you donÕt kill the Hill Giants at (2,12), they will be in this battle.

So, since you canÕt go from the NW block to the NE block without instigating
these fights, retrace your steps and go to the SE block.

--Part 4: SE Block--
If you go through the door at (10,2), youÕll be damaged by a crumbling
ceiling. This room has no treasure or anything like that, so just avoid this
place.

Go through the door at (12,2) and your lead character will be disgusted by
the amount of dusty cobwebs in this room. ThatÕs it, though. No treasure,
spiders or anything interesting here.

There is a pool of water at (15,5). Have a character dive in and they will
come up with a couple of decent Long Swords. Also, in case you havenÕt been
here yet, Cadorna is imprisoned next door at (14,5). Another entrance to the
inner square of the castle is at (12,7/8).

A nest of Giant Snakes is at (14,12). If you choose to fight this battle, get
used to the enemy, as they are common foes in the hedge maze. However, there
is no need to fight this battle, as there is nothing of value here.

Also, two unnecessary Hill Giant encounters are at (7,1) and (14,7).

Move on to the NE area, now.

--Part 5: NE Block--
Go in the door at (3,13) and youÕll see an officer and some Hill Giants
(only during the day). You can fight them and be put in a battle with a 6th
Lvl Fighter and four Hill Giants, if you wish. I got a scroll after winning
the battle, but I have no clue if the treasure here is random or fixed. Oh,
and the alarm will go off, making this another unnecessary battle.

At (15,6) is a report stating that Tyranthraxus is not just planning to
conquer Phlan, but the entire region, as well. Across the street is a very
important room. Go to (15,8) and youÕll find a Gnoll harassing someone. Kill
the Gnoll (an automatic feat) and the grateful person will give you the
password to the gates allowing access to the inner section of the castle.
Very useful if you choose to kill Cadorna.

An armory loaded with many pieces of equipment is located at (14,13). You
may want to loot this place or you may not want to waste the time. Depends on
if you feel your partyÕs equipment is optimal at this time.

There are some really stupid Fire Giants at (13,9). How stupid are they?
Well, if you parley ÒhaughtyÓ with them, theyÕll inadvertently give you
both the gate password and the guardpost password.

Speaking of guardposts, there is one located at (5,12/13). If you pick a
fight here, the four Fire Giants from (13,9) will join the fray if they are
still alive. ThatÕs a very negative scenario, right there. Note: I came here
after getting the password from the Fire Giants and the guard still sounded
the alarm, so I donÕt know if the game refused to recognize it or what. So
my earlier advice to ignore the guardposts unless youÕre looking to kill
everything still stands.

Anyhow, once youÕve done enough exploring, itÕs time to go through the gate
into the inner region of the castle. For the purpose of this guide, I will
first enter through the gate in the NW block.

--Part 6: Hedge Maze--
Go to the NW block and go to the aforementioned doors leading to the inner
block. As you try to go through the door, you'll hear the guards demanding
the password. Considering there are three ways to obtain this password, I
would sincerely hope you have it. If you don't, you can force your way
through, but doing that will set the alarm off and result in the guards
dumping a rather large stone on you Ñ resulting in a hefty amount of damage
to one character. You don't want to be taking unnecessary pain at this point
and time, as you're nearing the endgame, so do yourself a favor and get the
password. Besides, setting the alarm off will force you into occasional
battles with Giant Snakes. Since, as I've said before, you DON'T want to take
unnecessary damage, you don't want to trigger these battles.

After getting through the gate, you'll be in a large and complicated hedge
maze. Rule 1: Do not walk through the walls (which is possible here, as they
are fences with plants on them). Sure, it's a nice shortcut and all, but one
character will be killed by poisonous thorns. You don't need me to tell you
that is a very negative thing to have happen. Rule 2: Draw a map. This place
is a huge pain in the rump to get through and having me simply type something
like, "go north two, then east one, then south one, then east three" seems
way too ponderous. So I'll be giving vague directions with the coordinates
included. If you draw a map, you'll be okay. If you don't set off the alarm,
you'll be better than okay, as you'll get to explore at your own leisure
while only worrying about fixed encounters, many of which can be avoided.

Anyhow, if you go east and north, you'll get to (6,11). Open this door and
you'll meet an old man, who begs to be spared. If you do, you'll get a note
saying that Tyranthraxus gets his power and charisma from the Pool, along
with some Magic-User items (bracers, wand, ring). Sadly, not everything in
this area is as easy as this room.

From this section, there are two gates leading into the SW block, one at
(0,4) and (0,11). If you want a fight, take the exit at (0,4) and attempt to
stay as close to a due south path as possible in order to reach a small guard
post of Hill Giants. Kill them or talk your way out of difficulties
("haughty" followed by saying you follow The Boss still works). Or you can
just avoid this room, as there is no real reason why you have to come here
(by careful map drawing, you can easily find an alternate path). It all
depends on how "complete" you wish to be when it comes to killing the
followers of Tyranthraxus.

Now go to (9,10) of this block. There is a teleporter that will lead you
other teleporters (there is one in each block that you visit in sequence).
This can quickly lead you to battle with a fake Tyranthraxus or to his actual
lair, so keep that in mind. However, for now, ignore this place, as using it
will get in the way of my descriptions. To make things easy for you if you
take the teleporter, if you end up near an empty room, you're close to the
real Tyranthraxus. If you end up near a room with a man inside, you're at the
fake Tyranthraxus. If you do accidentally take the teleporter and want to get
back to (9,10), just keep stepping through them until you're looking north at
a dead end in the hedge maze (you always are teleported one space away from
the teleporter, but looking directly at it).

Anyhow, to take the long way to the fake Tyranthraxus, retrace your steps to
the SW block and take the exit at (0,11). Go through here to the SE block and
follow this linear path making sure to avoid the fork that takes you to the
teleporter at (3,11). At the end of the path is a door (4,14). Take it to get
to the fake Tyranthraxus. Parley with him and choose "haughty" and he'll
admit to being a double and ask to escape. Let him and you'll get his trea
sure (decent equipment). You can attack him, but that tends to trigger the
alarm, so I wouldn't advise it. If you do fight him, he's listed as
Tyranthraxus in the battle, but looks like a thief. It's not a tough battle,
just a relatively pointless one at this stage of the game. Besides, you don't
seem to get the treasure (at least not automatically) if you kill him.
Included among his treasure (at least for me), was a Long Sword +5, which is
a wonderful tool for the average Fighter.

After taking care of the fake Tyranthraxus (one way or the other), retrace
your step and exit the hedge maze. Now, go to the SE block's entrance and go
in this way (using the password again). Once here, if you go west and south,
you'll reach a room with four Fire Giants having a spirited discussion of the
differences between frogs and toads (10,4). To get out of a fight, say "no"
when one of them asks your opinion and then leave when the other giants
prompt you to. To fight, do virtually anything else. If you feel up to it and
have plans to leave the castle to heal at some point, go ahead and fight
them, as this confrontation will not trigger the alarm.

Now, if you want to clear the other corner room, go to the exit to the NE
block located at (11,15). If you're just interesting in finding the real
Tyranthraxus, skip this paragraph and go to the next. When in the NE block,
meander around (taking note that this block's teleporter is at (6,5) until
you reach a door at (9,11). Open it and you'll be ambushed by a very powerful
group of eight Trolls. If you don't mind taking a few hits and you have a
spare Fireball or two, this actually isn't a very hard battle. The Trolls are
all bunched together and I had no problems getting seven of them in the
Fireball radius, which made this a fairly fast-paced battle.

To get to the end of the game, take the same entrance to the NE block, but
instead of attempting to get to the northeast corner of the NE block, you'll
want to go to the NW block. While there are two entrances, you'll want to
ignore the one at (0,11), as it is a dead end. Instead, go through the NE-to-
NW gate at (15,4). It's a pretty linear path to the final room in the hedge
maze. Just be sure to avoid stepping on (12,4), as that is this block's
teleportation square and there it's doubtful that you'll want to get lost and
confused at this late point of the game.

Go through the door at (11,1) and you'll be in an empty room. However, there
are two secret doors in the two wall squares immediately to your right as you
enter the room. Go through one of them and then go through the door
immediately to your left to gain access to a staircase leading up to the
final area of this game.

--Part 6: Tyranthraxus' Lair--
Immediately, you should get a message telling you about a secret door on your
left. This is where you will go, but if you want a potentially tough battle,
go down the stairs in front of you (to your east). This will put you in
conflict with a Medusa. The gaze of a Medusa can turn a person into stone, so
be careful. Treat this foe much like the Basilisk, with one possible
exception. While my memory is shoddy on AD&D rules and I slaughtered this
monster with ease, it is possible that if she connects with a regular attack
that you will be poisoned (because of how a Medusa's hair is made out of
snakes). Regardless, Magic Missiles and melee attacks will make short work of
this foe (hopefully before her special attacks make short work out of one of
your party members). There is nothing special in the Medusa's lair and you
only get a paltry XP reward for killing her, so the decision is yours if you
want to fight or avoid this monster.

Going through the secret door will lead you to another staircase going up.
Take it and you'll be in a fairly small area. First go right (east) and
follow the path to two doors. The door on the left just leads to a trap door.
If you jump down in, you'll take damage and be back in the Medusa's lair. The
other door leads to a dead end. Pretty meaningless trip, isn't it?

So, let's go the other way. You'll again reach two doors. The one on the left
leads to Tyranthraxus and his guards. The one in front of you leads to a
potential worthless ally. Go through the door in front of you and you'll meet
a messenger. He's only a 1st Lvl Thief, so kill him if you wish or let him
live. Either way, enter the room to your right and you'll meet Genheris, a
subordinate of Tyranthraxus. You can kill him easily if you wish, or you can
parley with him ("haughty" and "abusive" are the quickest for this tactic).
He'll think Tyranthraxus sent you to slay him and enlists your help to help
him against his former boss. I'd pick him up. Genheris is surprisingly active
for a Magic-User, although the Sleep spell he's fond of casting is worthless
at this stage of the game. However, he may absorb a hit meant for one of your
good party members or cast a useful spell like Fireball (even though he tends
to abort that spell before getting it off and he may hit your party members
with it if he does actually cast it). Plus, he has a Lightning Wand, so if he
actually uses it, he may help you out that way. Note: as a L7 M-U, Genheris
seems to be more proficient at getting his magic to work on Tyranthraxus, who
is very resistant to magic. You may want to pick him up for the sole purpose
of providing support for you melee characters in that battle.

When you're ready to finally finish this game off, leave Genheris' chamber
and go through the door you passed up. This is the stairway to Tyranthraxus,
but you don't get to fight him yet. First, you must go through his guards.

-----------
SUB-BOSS FIGHT: Minions of the Dragon
Tyranthraxus has a total of 10 8th Lvl Fighters in his room just waiting for
someone to attack their boss. I had a Necklace of Missile and plenty of Magic
Missile and Lightning Wands for my Magic-Users to use to soften up the foes.
My Clerics went into overdrive casting Hold Person. My melee fighters sealed
the deal with their attacks. Overall, this has the potential to be a brutally
tough battle. One key is to hold as many of the four lead row opponents. If
they are all unable to move, the six back-row Fighters are powerless to
attack and you'll have an easy time of it. If that tactic doesn't work, you
still will win provided you use an all-out blitz attack against them, but
you'll take damage, too.
-----------

After winning the battle, repeated say "yes" when the game asks if you wish
to continue the fight until you've healed your party members the best that
you can. Coming up is the big fight with Tyranthraxus and you don't want to
be short on HP coming into this battle.

Tyranthraxus will give the typical big-time bad guy talk ("you're strong too
make it this far, but now you have to die....") before offering to let you
join him. You can choose to join him, but that gives you the bad ending,
where you find out that you helped to destroy Phlan. Instead, choose to
oppose him and get the final fight started.

-----------
FINAL BOSS FIGHT: Tyranthraxus the Dragon
If you get through the fight with the 8th Lvl Fighters in good shape, you
ought to be able to win this battle fairly easily. While AD&D Dragons (which
Tyranthraxus is) have the ability to use a breath attack that can hit
characters for one-half their maximum HP, he never used that against me
(possibly because he starts right next to you in a melee situation).

With that said, heÕs still no slouch. Every time he hits a party member,
theyÕll take damage from his actual attack PLUS a decent amount of additional
fire damage. By this stage of the game, IÕd equipped all my melee characters
with Rings of Fire Protection, which kept the fire damage in single digits,
but that is an attack to be wary of, in any case.

Tyranthraxus has one other thing in his favor Ñ magic resistance. Many spells
you cast will be completely blocked by this resistance. When I fought him,
my two Magic-Users were unable to hit him with either Magic Missiles or their
Lightning Wands. However, Genheris (who was L7, as compared to my characters,
who were L6) connected with both Magic Missiles he cast for over 30HP of
damage.

If you can get that kind of support from Genheris, this will be an easy
battle. With TyranthraxusÕ low AC, the only melee character that will likely
have an easy time of hitting him is the Fighter you give the Fake
TyranthraxusÕ Long Sword +5 to (assuming you got it). Still, if you get the
help from Genheris, youÕll only need two or three hits by Fighters to finish
the battle off. If you donÕt have Genheris or he isnÕt being all that
helpful, things will get more difficult. YouÕll need to hope your Fighters
can hit reasonably frequently and youÕll probably be uttering prayers every
time one of your Magic-Users attempts to utilize any sort of offensive magic.
I never really recommend the Cleric spell Enhance (which gives characters a
minor stat boost), but if you have trouble here, that spell may be what you
need to push you over the top.
-----------

Regardless of your methods, you will eventually defeat the monster. As the
dragon dies, TyranthraxusÕ soul escapes and he threatens to enter your
bodies. Fortunately for you, Big TÕs master, the evil god Bane, steps in and
calls the demon back (as heÕs a bit perturbed by TyranthraxusÕ failures).
Tyranthraxus is dragged into the Pool of Radiance and you go back to Phlan
victorious.

Watch the credits roll and youÕll be back in Phlan. Essentially the game is
over now, but you can run around and kill anything you havenÕt killed yet.
You may also go to the Phlan Clerk and receive roughly 50,000XP as a reward
for killing Tyranthraxus. The Clerk also offers to give you a Character Sheet
for your hard work. Essentially, that is a 144-character password that was
probably created to port Pool of Radiance characters into a sequel to the
game for the NES. However, that sequel never was ported over, so the
passwords are worthless.

So, ignore the Clerk (unless you want the XP just to be complete) and relish
the fact that you just beat a very difficult game.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. MONSTER COMPENDIUM
Note: This section is taken from my FAQ for the computer version (where
     they display them on the screen). Since weÕre talking about the AD&D
     world, IÕd be surprised if there is much (if any) of a difference
     between the HP of the same monster in two different versions.

Note2: Enemy AC can vary slightly. IÕve noticed that (at least in the
      computer version), sometimes monsters of the same class may have
      different equipment. One example was in the computer battle with
      Norris the Gray. Some of his Kobald Captains had a bow and were AC7,
      while others had a melee weapon and a shield to be AC6.

Note3: Enemies listed as ÒWilderness onlyÓ are only found as RANDOM
      encounters in the Wilderness. If they are found in any block of
      Phlan OR any of the Wilderness dungeons, they are not listed as
      such.

Note4: Finally, there always is the chance I may have missed an enemy or two
      in my list. There are a few very rare encounters, which I may not
      have encountered. So if you find something I missed, donÕt hesitate to
      let me know and IÕll include it.

-----------
Ahnkheg: Gigantic insect. It has very good natural armor and when it hits
        a party member, it can cause additional damage via acid. Found in
        Wilderness. It also have a very deadly acid-spitting attack, which
        seems to follow the Dragon breath rule of taking away half a
        characterÕs maximum HP. Tough random foe that arenÕt worth a great
        deal of XP. Wilderness only. Also, in the western Wilderness, a bit
        north of the BuccaneerÕs Base and Zhentil Keep, but just south of
        the mountains, there is a triangle of trees. If you walk into the
        center of them, there is a set encounter with them.
  Ahnkheg:                  40HP      2AC

Bandit: Less than imposing human enemy. They have few HP and are easy to
       slaughter. An interesting fact about them is that your Fighters will
       be able to "sweep" a number of them when they attack. "Sweep" attacks
       are only used on tiny monsters (Kobalds, for example), which means
       that apparently, these fellows are pretty small in stature.
  Bandit:                    6HP

Basilisk: Bizarre lizard with the ability to turn an adventurer to stone.
         Be very careful fighting them, as they can devastate a party with
         that gaze attack of theirs. Fortunately, they are extremely rare
         in this game.
  Basilisk:                 31HP      4AC

Buccaneer: Slave traders who have a base in the southwest region of the
          Wilderness. The basic Buccaneers are even easier to kill than
          Bandits (but worth a lot of experience). However, their
          Sub-Captain should be considered a 4th Lvl Fighter and their
          Captain is one tough hombre with a ton of HP.
  Buccaneer:                 4HP
  Captain:
  Sub-Captain:              18HP

Bugbear: These large humanoids are decent fighters and should be considered
        to be tougher versions of enemies like the Gnoll and Lizardman, but
        a step below Ogres. If you get unlucky and run into a couple in the
        Slums, it will be a tough fight, but by the time you get to Stojanow
        Gate, they are pretty easy to topple.
  Bugbear:                  16HP

Cleric: These warrior-mages should be brutally difficult to fight, as they
       are quite proficient with certain annoying spells, like Hold Person.
       However, with the lack of AI this game has, they essentially are
       nothing more than a slightly weaker version of a Fighter.
  1st Lvl Cleric:
  5th Lvl Cleric:
  7th Lvl Cleric:

Displacer Beast: Yep, all the fun mystical animal battles tend to be
                outside. These cat-like things have long tentacles and
                tend to provide a bit of a challenge. Not as tough as
                Ahnkhegs, by any means, but they can cause solid damage.
  Displacer Beast:          30HP      2AC

Dragon: Very powerful and intelligent monsters. You meet two in this game,
       but only one is an encounter: Tyranthraxus. Yep, BaneÕs demonic
       henchman is in the form of a dragon for this gameÕs final encounter.
       Use caution, as heÕs very powerful and very resistant to magic.
  Tyranthraxus:

Drider: Half man and half spider, these creatures are essentially evil
       versions of the Centaur. As I recall from official AD&D stuff,
       these guys are either failed experiments of the evil Drow Elves or
       are Drow that failed some sort of test. Either way, they are tough
       opponents for a young party thanks to their brutal range attack
       with a bow. They also can paralyze a character in melee combat.
  Drider:

Dwarf: You might have some in your party. Short, powerfully-built humans
      that are natural tanks to be at the front of any battle. Long story
      short, youÕll like them a lot more when theyÕre on your side, as
      opposed to when theyÕre against you.
  Dwarf Fighter:            50HP

Efreet: There is only one of these Djinn-like demons in the game and heÕs
       not hostile unless you provoke him. Vampires are what heÕs after,
       so I wonder if you can find him one to confront...
  Efreet:

Enemy Leaders: Generic header for named enemies that tend to lead forces
              of monsters. While they might not all be aligned directly
              with Tyranthraxus, they are likely opposed to you.

  Commandant:              100HP
      The leader of the forces at Zhentil Keep, heÕs quite the tough cookie.
      Not only does he have a lot of HP and is a skilled soldier, but he
      also is lurking at the back of a large force of soldiers and will
      constantly blast you with a Lightning Wand until you reach him. Not a
      fun opponent.

  Grishnak:                 24HP      5AC
      Stronger than average Hobgoblin in the Textile House. In the
      computer version, heÕs a priest and will attempt magic. Either heÕs
      not a priest in the NES version, or he simply chose to come after
      my front line in melee combat (bad AI if thatÕs the case). If he
      does have magic capabilities, the key is to keep up the offense, so
      he canÕt get any spells off. Either physical attacks or Magic
      Missiles work good here. If he doesnÕt have magic, then just treat
      him like a Hobgoblin with a lot more HP.

  Mace:
      Half-Orc Cleric in charge of running the Bane Temple. Like most of the
      enemy characters with magical capabilities, the gameÕs AI problems
      prevent him from casting spells. If you follow my walkthrough, he is
      a breeze as youÕll be overpowered for his region, anyway.

  Norris the Gray:          25HP      1AC
      Leads a force of Kobalds and Lizardmen. HeÕs vulnerable to Sleep
      magic, so his low armor class is nothing to be concerned about.

  Tyranthraxus (Fake):
      Appears to be a Thief from his battle-screen icon. If you talk to him,
      heÕll realize the folly of pretending to be the being you want to
      kill and offer to leave and give you his treasure. Since fighting him
      will trigger the Valjevo Castle alarm, you may as well let him escape.

  Yarash:
      The creator of a breed of Mutant Lizardmen, this wizard is the cause
      of the polluted waters around Phlan. Even though he is a wizard, he
      never did anything magical around me, making him an easy victim after
      I endured the attack of his bodyguards.

Enemy Soldiers: YouÕll fight these guys from time to time. Basically, these
               are Fighters with more ÒmilitaryÓ names. They come in
               varying strengths, but arenÕt the toughest enemies in the
               game. Most common in Zhentil Keep, they are found in other
               places, though.
  Aides:                   13HP
  Corporal:                13HP      6AC
  Envoy:
  Guard:                    4HP

Ettin: A stronger two-headed version of the Ogre. They can attack twice per
      round and can cause a ton of damage with each successful hit, making
      them an enemy to tread lightly around. Any character with fewer than
      35-40HP is risking a quick death if they are near these shock troops
      of Tyranthraxus.
  Ettin:

Fighter: Humans that have sided with the forces of evil. You have Fighters
        in your party, so you know what they can do. The basic rule with
        evil Fighters is that the higher their level, the better they
        are equipped and the stronger they are.
  3rd Lvl Fighter:          18HP
  4th Lvl Fighter:          30HP      3AC
  5th Lvl Fighter:          39HP
  6th Lvl Fighter:
  8th Lvl Fighter:

Ghoul: Undead creatures. They donÕt drain levels, but they do have the
      ability to paralyze party members, which makes them a bit on the
      unpleasant side -- especially since a paralyzed person is helpless
      and can be removed from the battle with one hit, regardless of how
      weak the attacker is (much like the end result of Sleep and Hold
      Person spells).
  Ghoul:                    10HP      6AC

Giant: A really big human-like monster. As far as this game goes, Giants are
      stronger versions of Ogres. Hill Giants are essentially Ettins that
      only get one attack per round, while Fire Giants seem to be better
      armored (and maybe slightly stronger) versions of Hill Giants. Be
      careful, as they have a lot of HP and can do a lot of damage. You will
      get a ton of XP for beating any type of Giant, though, so if youÕre
      still looking for levels at this point of the game, these foes are
      worth your time to hunt down.
  Fire Giant:
  Hill Giant:

Giant Lizard: Big reptile that is kept as a pet/guardian by various
             intelligent monsters. Nothing overly special, but definitely
             donÕt ignore them.
  Giant Lizard:             16HP

Giant Mantis: Big green insect that pops up from time to time outdoors. Not
             overly easy, but not that difficult, this is a pretty
             middle-of-the-road encounter. Wilderness only.
  Giant Mantis:

Giant Snake: A big snake. Definitely can be dangerous. While I havenÕt
            been poisoned yet, I am pretty sure they have the ability to
            do that to you.
  Giant Snake:              25HP      5AC

Gnoll: Large, but weak, humanoids. While theyÕre tougher than the average
      Slum-level enemies, they are barely more imposing than Orcs or
      Hobgoblins.
  Gnoll:                    10HP

Goblin: Weak humanoids. TheyÕre a bit tougher than Kobalds, but are among
       the easiest monsters to kill. Their leaders can shoot arrows at
       you, making them a bit of a threat in the early going.
  Goblin Guard:              4HP      6AC
  Goblin Leader:             7HP

Hippogriff: Cross between a bird and a lion that you may find in the
           Wilderness. They have multiple attacks per round, but arenÕt
           too tough. Wilderness only.
  Hippogriff:               18HP      5AC

Hobgoblin: Bigger brothers of the Goblins. They are marginally tougher
          than Kobalds, Goblins and Orcs, but are still basically
          footsoldiers in the enemy army. The only difference between
          Hobgoblins and their Leaders is the type of weapon used.
  Hobgoblin:                 6HP      5AC
  Hobgoblin Ldr:             6HP      5AC

Kobald: The weakest of the humanoid monsters. These little guys are only
       a threat in large numbers (and only then if the computer is
       generous with their to-hit rolls). However, they do have some
       strong friends at times.
  Kobald:                    3HP      7AC
  Kobald Leader:             4HP      6-7AC

Lizardman: Tough humanoid beings that are better at fighting than other
          similar opponents. YouÕll find them as both regular monsters
          and as the inhabitants of a castle. YouÕll know youÕre getting
          tougher when they guys start getting easy.
  Drythfi:                  18HP
  Lizardman:                11HP      4AC
  Mutant Lizardman:         18HP

Magic-User: Pretty easy opponents, all things considered. Mainly because this
           versionÕs crappy AI doesnÕt allow computer-controlled Magic-Users
           to cast spells. So, essentially, they are sitting ducks that
           youÕll be able to run through. Be cautious, though, as some of
           them have wands, which they will not hesitate to use on you.
  6th Lvl Magic-User:

Medusa: The Medusa is a very optional encounter in the final section of
       Valjevo Castle. If you choose to fight it, be careful, as it can
       turn party members to stone with a gaze attack.
  Medusa:

Mummy: You only fight one encounter with these monsters. That probably will
      be enough. They can paralyze characters with fear and inflict disease,
      AND they are very resistant to L6 and below Clerics attempting to
      turn them. Depending on your luck, you may have to take more than one
      stab at this battle to get the result you want.
  Mummy:

Nomad: Weak humans. There is no reason to fight them, as your quest has you
      help them and you can parley out of any random encounters. If you
      fight them, they can be dangerous because of their numbers and their
      projectile attacks. Hassad is their chief. You should never be
      fighting him. Help the guy out. ItÕll be worth your time.
  Hassad:                   45HP      0AC
  Nomad:                     6HP      6/5AC

Ogre: Big humanoids with a lot of strength. Consider them as practice for
     the various giants youÕll be seeing late in the game (and more often
     in other games of the series if you play them).
  Ogre:                     21HP      5AC

Orc: Another of the minor humanoid enemies in the game. They are common
    early in the game, but you wonÕt see too many of them in the latter
    stages.
  Orc:                       5HP      6AC
  Orc Leader:                8HP      5AC

Poisonous Frog: Weak little critters that pop up now and then. Either their
               poison is really weak and ineffective or I just never have
               been affected by it, but they have given me no troubles at
               all.
  Poisonous Frog:            4HP      8AC

Quickling: Tiny humanoids that are deceptively good in battle with decent
          defensive and offensive capabilities. However, they are very much
          worth your time in battle, because they are worth a ton of
          experience (over 10,000XP per battle) and drop nice items. And as
          another bonus, they are VERY susceptible to Sleep, which negates
          their low AC immediately.
  Quickling:                 7HP

Scorpions: Dangerous enemies. They have good enough natural armor to block
          a decent number of attacks and can take out party members with
          a well-timed thrust of their poisonous tail. Be cautious here
          and (if possible) wear them down from a distance.
  Huge Scorpion:            20HP      4AC
  Large Scorpion:           10HP      5AC

Skeleton: Regular Skeletons are weak undead with one thing working in their
         favor -- the fact that edged weapons (like swords) only cause
         half damage. Just turn them -- the lost experience from not
         actually fighting them is meaningless. The gameÕs sole Giant
         Skeleton is a different matter as a successful hit by it can cause
         Ògiant-classÓ damage (i.e. 15 or more HP of damage).
  Giant Skeleton:
  Skeleton:                  5HP      7AC

Spectre: A very dangerous form of undead. They pretty much combine all the
        traits you donÕt want that genre of enemy to have. They drain two
        levels per hit, they have a low AC (making them tough to hit) and
        they are very accurate with their attacks. You only have to fight
        about five of these the whole game, but unless youÕre either lucky
        or masochistic, youÕll be thinking that is five too many.
  Spectre:                  38HP      2AC

Stirge: Bizarre combination of bird and bat. They are pretty weak with few
       HP. While they hit often, it is only for 1-2 HP, so you should be
       able to tear through them with little effort. Wilderness only.
  Stirge:

Thief: The weakest human enemies. They donÕt hit or have good AC like the
      Fighters and canÕt cast spells like Priests or Magic-Users. They
      can (if given the chance) perform a backstab attack for extra
      damage, but that is their only effective attack.
  1st Lvl Thief              4HP      4AC
  6th Lvl Thief             28HP      4AC
  7th Lvl Thief

Thri-Kreen: A bizarre combination of insect and human, they seem to populate
           the western part of the Wilderness. They are pretty tough because
           of their multiple attacks and ability to paralyze, but are worth
           a decent amount of experience. Wilderness only.
  Thri-Kreen:

Tiger: These ferocious felines donÕt have much defense, but they can be
      offensive juggernauts. When they strike, they can attack up to four
      times (three normal attacks plus a rake of the claws). Needless to
      say, that is painful regardless of the victimÕs current amount of
      HP. Wilderness only.
  Tiger:                    38HP      6AC

Troll: These rough monsters hit hard, have a good deal of HP and can
      regenerate damage caused to them gradually. They are among the
      tougher monsters in this game solely because of their brutal hand-
      to-hand fighting prowess.
  Troll:                    36HP      4AC

Vampire: The strongest undead creature in the game. Very skilled melee
        fighter that can drain levels and take a bit of a beating.
        Fortunately, thereÕs only one of them in the game. Unfortunately,
        you have to fight him twice.
  Vampire:

Wight: One of the first truly scary enemies youÕll find. While they are not
      the strongest undead out there, they can drain one level with each
      successful hit -- which is something you donÕt want. Try to ÒTurnÓ
      if possible. If not, then try to wear them down with projectiles
      or spells before engaging in hand-to-hand.
  Wight:                    23HP      5AC

Wild Boar: This piggish animal has one special aspect to it, in that if
          you hit it hard enough to disable it (message: ÒxÓ goes down),
          but not hard enough to kill (message: ÒxÓ goes down and is
          dying), it will get back up and resume the battle. You have to
          flat out kill it to stop it from fighting.
  Wild Boar:                18HP      7AC

Wraith: Mid-level undead. A bit stronger than the Wight, but not as imposing
       as the Spectre. ThereÕs only one in the entire game and it guards
       some decent treasure, so donÕt hesitate to kill it Ñ just make sure
       you donÕt get drained.
  Wraith:

Wolf: Animal friends of the Vampire. DonÕt be distracted by them, since if
     youÕre strong enough to fight Vampires effectively, they are of no
     danger to you whatsoever.
  Wolf:

Wyvern: A small cousin of the dragon. While this extremely rare enemy does
       NOT have the killer breath attack of the dragon, it does have a
       poisonous stinger on its tail which WILL kill a party member if
       successful in its attack.
  Wyvern:                   42HP      3AC

Zombie: A reanimated corpse. The average everyday Zombie has nothing going
       for it. Just think of them as an undead version of the Kobald or
       Goblin (although with more HP). The solo Juju Zombie in the game
       takes more of a beating, but didnÕt last long enough to show any
       special attributes.
  Juju Zombie:
  Zombie:                   10HP      8AC

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9. COMMISSION QUICK-REFERENCE LIST
This is just a quick-reference list so you know what commissions youÕll get
from the council and in what order the clerk (or other people) will drop
on your lap. After that will be a difficulty rating which you may take with
a grain of salt. Depending on your actions, any quest can be made easier or
tougher.

First off, when you start the game, you get three quests.
1. Clear Slums of monsters: Rating 7 -- you start the game so weak that any
  encounter is potentially dangerous. As you start to get better weapons
  and armor, and gain a level for some characters, it gets real easy here,
  though. Patience is a virtue.
2. Clean out Sokal Keep: Rating 4 -- Ignore Scorpion room and be careful
  in the main battle and this will be easy pickings (unless you attack
  Ferran for some odd reason).
3. Find rare books/info about PhlanÕs history: Rating 8 -- Only two fixed
  battles you have to fight, but they are brutal. Just because this is
  one of your original quests doesnÕt mean to do it early in the game.
  Save it until you start to get a few L4/L5 adventurers.

As you finish off quests, the clerk (or other people) will give you new
ones to occupy your time. In the order you get them:
4. Find information on weapon to be auctioned to enemy at Podol Plaza:
  Rating 2 -- Keep your disguise up and youÕll be safe. There are no
  mandatory battles for this quest.
5. Cadorna has you get his treasure from the Textile House: Rating 5 -- The
  rating is due to some tough random monsters in area. The set battles are
  pretty easy.
6. Bracchio gives you the Cleric Dirten and requests that you dispel the
  presence of Bane from a temple: Rating 1 -- That rating assumes you follow
  my guide. If you do, you will be quite overpowered for this area and
  shouldnÕt have in troubles at all in conquering it.
7. Eliminate Thieves from Kovel Mansion: Rating 5 -- A lot of high-level
  thieves and some diabolical traps make this a tough area for a low-level
  party.
8. Make sure Nomads donÕt join the enemy: Rating 1 -- The Slums have harder
  fights than this place...and you get very nice rewards for doing it,too!
9. Remove undead from Valhingen Graveyard: Rating 9 -- Tons of enemies that
  either level drain or have other nasty status effects (i.e. Mummies). Most
  non-random battles and a few random fights offer the opportunity for
  disaster. The only things keeping this area from getting a Ò10Ó rating is
  the fact that most battles are fairly small, allowing you to potentially
  overwhelm enemies before they can get much offense off and the fact that
  Clerics can potentially make many battles easier by turning a good number
  of the undead monster types.
10. Stop Kobalds before they can join the enemy: Rating 8 -- A few traps, a
   few tough battles and a three-battle endurance test. This is a tough
   area. Fortunately, you can get some good treasure and experience here.
11. Stop the pollution of Stojanow River: Rating 7 -- If you go into the
   maze, this can be brutally tough, but if you know where to go, only the
   fight with Yarash and company will test you.
12. Prevent Lizardmen tribe from joining the enemy: Rating 3 -- If you choose
   to fight Drythfi one-on-one, just make sure you have a good fighter and
   this shouldnÕt be too tough.
13. Find the kidnapped son of Bivant: Rating 1/8 -- ItÕs painfully easy if
   you either buy the kid from the Buccaneers or create a diversion with the
   livestock. However, if you fight your way through this area, things will
   get pretty tough. Not as tough as Zhentil Keep, but still not something
   to take lightly.
14. Take CadornaÕs letter to Zhentil Keep...and get out alive: Rating 1/9 --
   If you immediately make a bee-line for the door, youÕll just fight a
   couple of battles that should offer no challenge. If you stick around,
   the battles gradually get harder until you fight a brutally tough
   conflict with the Commandant and a ton of cronies. It takes a lot of
   power and a like amount of luck to survive all the opposition this Keep
   offers.
15. Liberate Stojanow Gate: Rating 6 -- There isnÕt much fighting, but the
   second conflict with Ettins and company was a battle I found to be quite
   difficult.
16. Kill Cadorna on sight: Rating 1 -- Run into Valjevo Castle. Find Cadorna.
   Kill Cadorna. Run back to Phlan. Easy as pie. However, he will give you
   a useful password if you free him and you get a crappy reward for killing
   him, so you might consider being merciful.
17. Save Phlan (i.e. Beat Tyranthraxus): Rating 8 -- There are a ton of
   high-impact battles here, but many are optional. If you donÕt try to
   bite off too much of the huge Valjevo Castle area at once, you should
   be okay. Just be careful, as the Giants, Trolls and high-level Fighters
   in this place can all do a lot of damage quickly if you donÕt hit them
   with strong magic immediately.

Also, you will occasionally find a non-sanctioned quest to undergo. While
the Council doesnÕt commission you to do anything, they will be grateful.
a. Kill Norris the Gray in the Kuto Catacombs: Rating 3 -- Random Kuto
  encounters are tough. Norris and friends are comparatively easy.
b. Clean out Textile House: Rating 8 -- Very tough random encounters with
  enemies that can drain, paralyze or poison you. Also, the reward for
  beating enough of these encounters is pretty insignificant.
c. Clean out Podol Plaza: Rating 1 -- If you do this at the end of the game
  like I suggest, this will be pitifully easy. Ogres, Hobgoblins, Goblins
  and Orcs just canÕt hold up to highly advanced parties.

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10. STUFF I HAVENÕT PROVEN
At this point, there are two items on this list. Both came to me via the
GameFAQs message boards. Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to prove
either of them. However, IÕll mention both items here, so anyone who wishes
to test them out may do so.

a. Get a +4 Long Sword early in the game: To do this, head to Podol Plaza
  early in the game (before you complete any missions and are commissioned
  to go to Podol for information). Go to The Pit and fight the angry drunk
  Fighter in a duel. If you use a Cleric, you can Hold him and if you use
  a Magic-User, you can Sleep him for an easy win. Your reward is a +4
  Long Sword, which youÕll keep equipped on a Fighter for the entire game.

b. Manual of B(odily) Health works?: Apparently, this item will give you a
  one-point Constitution bonus....it just doesnÕt kick in right away. From
  what I gathered, you have to use the Manual on a party member and then
  complete a quest and receive your commission for the very beneficial
  side-effect kicks in. According to that same message board post, you can
  occasionally win them from Quicklings in random battles. While I didnÕt
  personally get one, I can believe that, as they drop some wonderful items.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. CREDITS
Myself for doing the guide; GameFAQs for hosting it; SSI for making this
and other AD&D adventures; anyone who unknowingly supplied help on the
message boards in the past or present AND any material which gave me any
concept of various AD&D rules and whatnot, whether it be the gameÕs
instructions, my instructions for BaldurÕs Gate II, that AD&D Rules FAQ by
DSimpson or any other source I canÕt think of at the time.

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