Secret of the Silver Blades(PC) FAQ/Walkthrough
version 1.0.0 by Andrew Schultz [email protected]

This FAQ will refer to the maps I sent to GameFAQs. The maps are complete for
every area except the ice caverns at the end, which are pretty much one-way,
and if you have a ranger, he will tell the right way to go. I'm almost
avoiding a detailed walkthrough there on principle, just because it is such a
bad part of the game.

================================

           OUTLINE

 1. INTRODUCTION

 2. CONTROLS

   2-1. MOVING

   2-2. COMBAT WITH STRATEGIES

 3. STARTING OUT

 4. WALKTHROUGH

   4-1. OVERVIEW

   4-2. DETAILS

   4-3. OUTLINE

 5. CHEATING

   5-1. VAULT TRICKS

   5-2. HEX EDITING

   5-3. JOURNAL ENTRIES

   5-4. RULE BOOK HEADINGS

 6. VERSIONS

 7. CREDITS

================================

 1. INTRODUCTION

Secret of the Silver Blades is another game in the AD&D line. It is strictly
first person and has some improvements and some annoyances and some lag near
the end, but it cuts out the annoying long combat bits of fighting 50 enemies
at a time. You start in New Verdigris trying to find the reason for
disturbances in the mines below. Many maps here are 16x16 but there are a few
big ones such as the ruins and the mines. The ruins connect the town
(eventually) with the Well of Knowledge you can teleport to right
away(eventually you can teleport to/from it from other checkpoints,) and the
mines, though branching, are not bad to map. You also don't have many map
tricks such as teleports, but the depth of the mines and the length of the
trek to the frost giants' village and beyond makes things tedious and
repetitive to win from scratch--many of the winding passageways are
duplicated as well.

Fortunately you can get by without much leveling up, and you get experience
for quests. The game is also fairly linear and you can decrease the
difficulty if you want. With maps it goes by pretty quickly. Money is no
problem, too--the town is so grateful to have you they'll heal you for free!
Oh yeah, you can duplicate items, too.

For plot details visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_of_the_Silver_Blades

 2. CONTROLS

   2-1. MOVING

   2-2. COMBAT WITH STRATEGIES

Whenever possible, backstab. You need to be able to cycle around properly and
I've said it before and will again(oh no, I sound parental) but mobility is a
key for your fighters.

I didn't deviate much from the following spells:
Cleric: Bless, Hold Person, Prayer, Flame Strike, Harm
Mage: Magic Missile, Stinking Cloud, Fireball, Ice Storm, and kill-spells

Hold Person has about a 5 square range, so move your Cleric in and then cast
at mages.

Magic Missile has a long range, which is good, since it can take out bad guys
in back. A ranger can use it in a pinch, too. Your 2nd ranger in slot 4
should also have a long bow with magic arrows to take out enemies in back as
well.
Stinking cloud has a 31' range in other words (3,1) (3,0) or (2,2) away. It
is double-edged, though. If you use it in tight quarters your characters may
have trouble walking around it. And if you place it in the corner you may
only be able to hack at the enemy with one fighter. Still it is great to pick
off enemies just behind the front line.
Fireball can backfire on your players. But if only one is touched, that is
okay. It can take out a lot of monsters and disrupt their spells.
Ice Storm is similar but may do less damage.

For 2-wide enemies you may want to fan out in a horizontal line, by a door if
possible. For 2-high, make a vertical line. Often you can just camp your guys
out by a door and guard against enemies, and you will mow them down.

With a variety of enemies, don't form a straight line. Rather, zigzag so the
most of your guys can kill them off. Also use delays as necessary and don't
send your mage or cleric to the front line just to get a hit if it blocks the
other guys.

Never disengage from an attacker unless there is a spellcaster to disrupt,
and that guy may cast a wide angle or kill spell.

If an enemy has lots of hit points and there is no inherent danger of
spellcasting, you may wish to delay your fighter thief if he can get behind
the enemy. The fighter thief does the most damage from behind.

If there is one dragon, surround it and thump the snot out of it. Take time
to walk around it. It will go down quickly.

If in melee, kill the weak links then surround the big guys.

One other thing to remember once you win is that you can only see two pages
of items at a time, so pick up and drop a bunch of items you know you won't
want. The magic stuff is at the very end.

If you want to load up on cash, bracers are your best bet after defeating
mages. They sell for a minimum of 6K.

 3. STARTING OUT

I recommend the following party:

Human P
Dwarf F/T
Human R
Human R
Human M
Human C

This is the best order, too. #5 frequently gets trapped between 4 and 6, and
the mage is ideal for that. He'll have the worst armor class and can't fight.
I didn't have/want to change character class, but with hex cheats it is no
problem. I'd modify my characters for 18 strength, 18 con and 18 dexterity.
The rest can be rock bottom unless someone needs charisma or intelligence. I
think if you set everything at 18 you get harder fights.

I generally settled for 18 dexterity and 15+ constitution and 18+ strength,
except for the mage and cleric who didn't need it. If you're playing straight
up a fighter type can have bad strength, too, since you get Ogre Strength
gauntlets. If you're duplicating items, then you don't need to be concerned
with strength. Dexterity is the most important attribute, since a big part of
combat strategy is to disrupt mages before they can cast anything. If a
fighter with an ice storm or fireball wand nukes opposing mages, a big fight
can become easy quickly. Though you don't really need to go that far.

 4. WALKTHROUGH

   4-1. OVERVIEW

The best way to get good early is either to cheat or to find magic items or
know where they are in advance. Finding the next best armor and sword can
make fights very easy indeed. Many of the tricky fights involve dragons, and
you can visit the old man in west New Verdigris for that. The cool thing is
that regardless of what level you play at, you get the same treasure. You may
not get as much experience, as you won't fight as many enemies, but oh well.

You should also get familiar with selling stuff and with quick healing.
You'll wind up with a ton of money and it's worthwhile to spend it on
Necklaces of Missiles to take out the backbenchers. Ask to sell items ASAP
and note their cost. If they cost a lot, they are magic and you should ID
them. If not, sell them. If one unknown item costs as much as a known magic
one, you know roughly what it does. You might as well ID it to avoid
confusion later since you should be rolling in cash by game's end.

Remember to go back frequently to sell your stuff. This opens up inventory
spaces and keeps your encumbrance low. The first helps you get more cool
items and the second allows you to backstab more conveniently or attack
enemies at range. Also if you see a weird item at the end of an inventory,
take it, and after a special fight, loot everything too.

Healing at the temple of gond is free, and to heal everyone, you just need to
move 4 down, hold H til the player needs more healing, then move to the next.

When in doubt or overloaded with money, buy a necklace of missiles from the
Magic Shop so you can disrupt opposing spellcasters before they cast
anything. It is worth it in big fights.

   4-2. DETAILS

     4-2-1. TOWN AND RUINS(FIRST)

First, you should outfit your guys with the armor left behind. Give your
paladin the best stuff and propagate the other weapons down the line. You'll
be selling them soon enough. Visit the old man in the west several times--if
you leave and return, he has a new story and eventually he gives a scroll of
Prot Dragon Breath and a Cloak of Displacement(AC -2 for anyone). You can go
through the portal in the north of the house to win a fight. 3E and duck and
loot. You will get +2 banded mail, a +2 mace and a +2 shield. I also got +2
plate and a +2 long sword. At any rate, take all the items to get everything
magic--you should find some +1 shields. Go to the store and here is how to
save money ID'ing stuff--if it sells cheap, it's not magic.

You may wish to keep track of who has what on a sheet of paper--that way you
know when you can sell +1 shields and such for cash.

Now that everyone is decently equipped, you can get healed back in town(it's
free) and go into the maze. Follow the path north, turning down when you can.
Past the old mine, N and W at the 2x2 room. Then fight the dragon and giants-
-well, ignore the giants. Use magic missiles to bring the dragon down and get
the loot.

Walk around the well and fight some more. Win the first two going into the
center--heal after each one--and get the hang of beating Banites or Black
Circle. Always focus on the spellcaster. Hold Person from the Cleric works
well.

Once you've tackled these guys and have +1 stuff at least for everyone, heal
and go to the magic shop. Stay and take out the enemies that come by--line
your four fighters in front, move your mage in just behind for Stinking Cloud
and your Cleric can Hold Person. The BC Lords will fall. You get better
items(+2 long swords) and for the fight behind and above, get mirrors.
Replace shields with them til the medusas die(and don't attack the medusas--
they'll kill themselves) and the rest is easy.

East and south of the shop you have Fire Knives. They are tricky. One hit
from them and you can die. Hold Person and Stinking Cloud, again. You may
have to re-load a few times. Cast Prayer before this fight.

You may want to go SE in the ruins to get to the other dragon. Or you can
clear the well first. It doesn't matter. At the start you need to locate and
plunder treasure. If you have extra money, and you probably will, a Wand of
Missiles is handy to get past annoying fights where you have one spellcaster
off to the side. Your cleric can use it. You can just un-ready and re-ready
your weapon between uses. But save it for the tough fights. And use it to
save the necklaces of missiles for the VERY tough fights later. The Necklace
casts fireball. With range spells in general, you will want to wipe out as
many enemies as you can, even if you damage a front line character in the
process.

P57 randomly found durring travels

     4-2-2. RUINS(SECOND) AND WELL

You should be able to surround the dragon and hit him from behind a few
times, though he does line up against a wall. If you like, knock the
difficulty down just before the fight. He may hit you for 88 damage and a
kill, so again save before attacking. I haven't found another place to use
the scroll of prot. dragon breath from the old man, so this is good. If you
win, the well opens for you and if you visit a portal later, you can come
back. You already saw one potential portal NE of town.

SE is another dragon who gives good treasure and an amulet(not in your
inventory) when you win. Note the portal that opens up--it leads back to the
well, a handy shortcut.  This fight also gets you a +2 plate and a cloak of
displacement.

Treasure is N of the well(watch for the fight afterwards, but the +5 leather
is nice) and you can go NW for a fight to loot. Most rank and file enemies
don't have magical items but armor can make you pretty rich.

Well P's: 25, 19, 1, 38, 71

     4-2-3. ADMIN BUILDING SIDE QUEST

This one is not necessary and may in fact be more nuisance than it is worth.
However it has some cool items at the end of it. You may in fact wish to
complete it in parts, or near the end of the game.

SW of the mine, you can enter, and you fight some spellcasters and fighters.
Bring a fireball and some hold-person spells. Now you can just go straight
south to get on with the main part of the quest(a secret door is there) or
you can search the side passages to the west and east, which have more tough
fights like the one to start this area. They don't appear to give any good
items, though, so you can pass.

Follow the passage south and it is one way pretty much. (3,10) has an enemy
who hits you for small damage and runs. The first encounter is at 1,12. You
should be able to rest after it and you will probably need to, even if you
set the difficulty to easy. The next fight after you go S* E* N* E is with
the same sort of enemies. Again use a fireball to greet them and hold person
too. There is treasure beyond the door in the next room--just a few scrolls.
Then follow the passage to 11,15 and you can just wait and stand your ground
to get rid of those enemies. (10,11) and (12,10) are standard fights, then 2N
2E S* leads to hatchlings. They should be no problem on easy mode but tougher
on others if you don't use magic--with -1 AC you really need to hit them with
a spell. You have two waves of these as they guard all squares before the
room below, then there is the final fight which is very lucrative and offers
you great magic items at the end. Just take and drop a few items in the
treasure pool to see what is at the very end. I got a Girdle of Giant
Strength.

You can now activate the portal or leave to the east, unsealing a door that
was sealed before.

5,8 gives paragraph 69 and when you catch nd soothe the clerk you get 55, 49
and 40.

     4-2-4. TEMPLE

The temple is pretty easy to clear out. Exit the NW of the well and you'll
have one fight with banite priests. Loot them, ID items, and return. Walk
along to the well. You'll have the Black Circle to fight. Go down to the
temple level and go south through the gates. You'll have some minotaur fights
but nothing serious. At the south of the chapel, 1W of center, bash through
and you can go east for treasure and experience. The doors in the corner of
the chapel lead to the next area.

You have some treasure squares as well. But you need to trip (0,4) and/or
(1,4) so you can see Delf in the NE. To get to him there is a secret door
along the bottom.

Delf in the NE gives you your next quest--go into the mines and get the
pieces of staff. You will need to return to him once it is done. Not
necessarily right away though. You should concentrate on clearing out the
mines. Before going into the mines, be sure to activate the portal in the DL
at (2,15). It allows you to return easily to the temple from the well.

You will also find +3 chain and a +3 shield at (1,11) and (15,13)--secret
door at (15,14).

P65 at 0,4, paper at 1,4

     4-2-5. THE MINES

There are some side treasures I may mention later. If you are close to a new
level you can dig for gems continually in some dead ends. However, On level
6, you find Vala, a great NPC, with the piece of the staff. Each level where
you find a staff piece has treasure and experience and it's best to bull your
way through. You may have to face Umber Hulks on the way and so save before
and after finding each staff piece. The hulks are especially nasty if they
possess your PCs to attack Vala, and I advise either being on a diagonal or
having people stay back and guard so the hulks walk into a massacre.

Treasures always appear behind doors, and you usually have a chance to flee
any enemies hiding out. In general you can flee from fights, but enemies
should not be too hard. Against cockatrices or margoyles, unready your
shields and ready mirrors to avoid petrification.

Level 1:

Follow the path west, turn north in the 2x2 room, then west in the 3x2, and
go north at the final branch.

Treasure here is really good: Plate +3, Long Sword +3, Shield +3, Composite
Long Bow +2. The last is useful down the road for tricky fights with mages in
the background.

Level 2:

West, west at the T, north at the 3x2, and after you fight some Umber Hulks,
the passage end holds a chest with items. The chest may blow up in your face.
The treasure is not so hot(potions) but the damage is worse and the 3000 EXP
is nice. Even if the chest blows up you get a staff piece.

Level 3:

Head north, then east at the 2x2, then east at the intersection. Wyverns
attack. Use a fireball here if they wind up poisoning/killing your guys.

Treasure here is good: +2 ring of protection, +4 mace, +3 trident. Well, only
the +4 mace is useful since everyone probably has +2 stuff now, so the ring
of protection does nothing.

Level 4:

South, south over the rubble, west, then east at the 2x2 room. Loot the dead
body.

Treasure: +3 ring of protection, nice for your mage

Level 5:

North, west at the T, north at the 2x2.

Treasure: stone and scrolls

Level 6:

There are many lizard man patrols here and you should be able to wipe them
out. It's tempting to use a fireball as a time saver, but try to parlay
around the enemy. The fights are not hard but they can be long.

West, one south after the barricade then west and the winding path leads to
the big fight.

Note that after winning the fight you will take 10-15 damage so if anyone
goes unconscious they may die. Check before saving, and heal/cast prayer
before the fight!

Treasure: necklace of missiles and eyes of charming

Level 7:

South all the way, east, south at the 2x2, west at the T. You can go back
east for some nice treasure, too. ??

Treasure: some cool trinkets

Level 8:

Piece 8 is south, west at the T, south all the way and east. Great treasure
with the staff piece, too. +5 banded mail, longsword vs giants(+3 otherwise,)
and a cloak of displaement. That is your third. Your front line now each has
one.

Some nice treasure is north, west at the 3x2, 3 north and east. More to the
east, then go east at the T.

There is a teleport to 58,30 on level 9. You need to use it to destroy
whatever is blocking your passage to level 10. However, it will damage you a
lot(20-30 points.) So return to town, sell your goods, and heal up before the
next bit. Stop by Delf on the way back.

Level 9:

There is treasure here but it is behind nasty traps, so I suggest you just go
down to level 10 once you break through the barriers. The lift offers you
nowhere new but if you took the teleport from L8 and beat the umber hulks,
you just need to follow the passage and go south in the big room.

This requires fights with enemies who can stone you, so get your mirrors up!
Vala does not need one, fortunately. Now you can go to level B/10!

Level 10:

Again the side passages are treacherous so just plow through. Treasure is
behind some gross damage, so if you need the experience, go for it.
Otherwise, ready mirrors in place of shields and go east. Fireball/ice storm
the phase spiders if you want. They can poison and kill you with a lucky hit.

Go south at the branch and after some more fights(save after each one) you
can reach a big hallway that leads to the castle dungeons.

     4-2-6. THE DUNGEON

Because there are so many magic casting enemies, you need to have enough
speed to get to them. Therefore, if your guys are having trouble moving, sell
everything off before continuing. In fact, now is a good time to go back and
visit Delf, too. You'll get some experience for it. You'll get some
experience for the puzzles, too.

LEVEL 1:

This first level is a sequence of 4 4x16 strips. Avoid doors as you walk
north. The first one only has one necessary fight, with driders. It is at 0,5
and should not be hard with an Ice Storm or Fireball. The driders don't have
much in the way of HP. But you need to get to them in a hurry. After that,
you face a puzzle at the stairs which gives you experience if you solve it.
Save before the puzzle if you want. Then you can visit the well, get the
answer, and return(or better yet, restart and return.) You get 20K experience
for the right answer. This builds up quickly. Then you have stairs N E S to
the next sub-level.

You should be able to run through the next part with no problems. There is
one fight along the way but it is not critically difficult. E S* W 2S E N 2E
4S 2W (S N) N W 4S 2E 2N E 2S. Treasure at 5,14 is trapped but your dwarf FT
can undo it. It's a bit of extra experience. At 7,15 you have another puzzle.
YOUR WORD.

E N and the west is a detour portal to the well. Go N instead and at the top
W and 3S is a trap you can undo--1S has a secret door to the west. W 2N 2E N*
to another puzzle: YOUR BREATH.

Now W goes to the next area, but E goes to the compound side quest.

If you return to the well, at the well gives p71.

Answers:

YOUR HEART
YOUR WORD
YOUR BREATH
RIVER

     4-2-7. COMPOUND SIDE QUEST

Some good experience here but no great treasure--there may be gold but don't
take it as the final fights require mobility. Let Sir Deric join but be sure
to heal him. Give him some cheap armor and weapons you find, too. N then E--
not much other choice. You can rest to the S and E but you don't really need
to. There are fights north of this intersection en masse. 3 E* N accesses
paragraphs 58 and 70. My map is wrong here as the UR is walled off but there
is a pretty easy way in.

The actual quest bit is east and south through the gates. Then another gate.
and 13,11 is a fake treasure with a nasty fight, so avoid it. S*(treasure) N
4W 2S 4E gets you the first of two prisoners. Then go back to the
intersection, 3W S and a secret door is W.

W 4S W leads to a fight hiding treasure. As usual you need a fireball to
knock things out. Each door except the NW gives treasure, which isn't too
useful but gives experience. 3N of that is a door with another fight. W* for
treasure then 3E 2N for more. S W* and now get your guy with the speed boots
a wand of ice storm/fireballs before you go north.

This is because enemies are located far back and you need to hit them
quickly. Twice if need be--the driders and mages can be tricky. But once they
are down you can mop up the fighters. Sir Deric leaves the party. There's a
fight with golems to the north, too, which guards the final treasure. It
isn't much but the experience is.

     4-2-8. THE REST OF THE DUNGEON

W S* W N, fight with umber hulks, W S gets you the Brass Key you need. Back
to (14,8) and W 2N 2E N* W 2N W S* W N*. This leads to level 2.

LEVEL 2:

W 3S to some Umber Hulks. Beat them then 2S E N E S E 2N 2E (medusa E S with
some fights and traps in side rooms) 3N 2E S and the first puzzle is RIVER.
This kicks you to the southeast. S W N 2W 2S and 3E 3S W has a clue but you
need to win a fight, and the clue doesn't really help. So 3W N for treasure
then S W S* and answer WATER. That leads to the NW, with W N 2E S 2E 4N W and
3S leads to a portal back to the well if you need it. There is a fight with
pyro hydras ahead--along the corridor and W at 2,9. Hit these guys with a
fireball. E S E leads to the last bit. SILENCE.

S W N E* N* E 2S E for trapped treasure, then W 2N W s* W S E is a long one-
way passage to the end. (15,9) is a tough fight for treasure and (13,9) is
thefinal stairway up. WIND is the final answer.

LEVEL 3:

You start off in the top half. N E N W N E* N and E are some giant fights. S
E* and S W 2S W leads to a portal fight with Umber Hulks and then Pyro
Hydras. There is a portal back to the well there. Or you can just go S* at
the T, E and N*. Hack through the illusion.

W S W* S*-1 (to the east are some fights that show enemies trying to burst
into the castle but you can't quite get there.) 3W N 3W 2S and W is a fight,
then 2N 2W 3N fight 2N, then you fight some Pyro Hydras for the key at 2E 2S
W S. You can let the enemies by on the west side and fight some Umber Hulks.
Use a fireball per fight here if you have trouble hacking through. You are
let out at the ice paths.

     4-2-9. ICE PATHS AND FROST GIANT VILLAGE

The ice paths are not terribly tricky if you have a ranger, but they are
long, so save after you make it past each door. If monsters follow you, you
can always flee and just turn around and keep moving. It is tedious, but they
stop following you at the next door. Eventually you'll see more than just
generic monsters--Black Circle types. No choice but to fight them.

There is one branch off where you see the clerk of Phlan has been captured.
You can rescue her if you want, but you go on a big wild goose chase. She
instructs you how to get to safety and there is no serious treasure at the
end, just a teleportal to the well and some gems.

In general you will either go east or southeast when you get to a clearing,
and just before the village is a teleporter it's a good idea to use. You will
need to hack through a lot of Frost Giant fights.

Just before the frost village is a good time to get the staff if you want,
but you have one more chance after this. Still, you probably need to heal, so
on the way you can get the staff. Vala probably gave you a bunch of warnings,
too.

     4-2-10. THE CASTLE

Paragraph #29 at the intro. You will have a medusa approach you no matter
where you go, and you will NOT want to sign. She attacks anyway, so ready
mirrors beforehand. There is a teleporter back to the well here. Take the
second south niche, wait, and S E 2N to get to the well. You now need to pull
the lever that will let you out. Go 2S W 2S for a fight, then 2S and now you
can go back north to the niche and leave.

All the niches in the main hall work similarly. You need to wait to activate
them, then find a lever to flip to get back out. But not many of the side
paths are profitable. There are some traps to disarm, but other than that the
only really interesting ones are the far east south one(treasure at 13,14 and
lever at 14,15 with encounter at 15,14 and passage back to the dungeons at
15,9--it leads to the stairs in the dungeons some mages were trying to melt,
which means a fight) and the far east north(encounter) and the west south(2
encounters.)

And even with those you probably just want to advance. Use the south center
swivel and take the west door, leading to a teleport and the stairs at 15,0.

LEVEL 2:

You don't need to get into the fight to discover the password, but if you
want some easy treasure go due south then W to 14,8. This win allows you to
go east at 0,2 with another secret door south at 2,1. The NE rooms have two
fights and if you follow the medusa at 15,12 it kicks you back to dungeons,
level 1. So don't go there.

The maze is not bad. If you hit the roving patrol of Driders, you got the
word, but you can give it anyway, STEELEYE. From 4,4, S E= 2S W N W 2S W 2N
2W N W*(past guards) S* and follow to where you give the password and go
south. There's a nasty trap area from 15,1 to 15,7 which seems to be guarding
stairs but isn't. The rest of the maze has 1-way doors and guards and is not
much fun.

LEVEL 3:

This is it. You can rest anywhere here, but there's also an easy portal back.
E* N* E* S* E and let the lich attack--he does no damage, but if you try
other options you are booted N of the stairs to a fight. E N 3E 3N W and take
the portal back. You have treasure E S E but you need to realize that the
last two fights will have you FAR away from your opponents, so you need
mobility to run at them. Treasure seeking is not worth it.

From the portal, E 4N(walk through the illusion) and the E N fight is nice
but gives no weapons.  W N* E* 2N W* and use the (S)ilver key. W S8 W* and a
fight. By now use two fireballs per fight. Go north and (G)old then N* E* N*-
1 W for another fight and W*. I'm not really describing the fights here
because the strategy of firebombing the mages and hammering the other
opponents is repetitive and enough. Just have enough mage spells in reserve
and waste an attack for a Magic Missile or Ice Storm wand if need be.

Another fight at 5,1 and then W 3S W. Heal and cast prayer. Drop excess money
and give your guy with speed boots an ice storm wand and go west. This is the
tough fight--the final is easier. Wipe out the clerics and mages ASAP. You
need to do so before they cast anything, since they can kill. Though really
at this point losing a constitution point isn't the worst thing in the world.
Then hack the remnants of the enemy army up--have someone with Lightning Bolt
get rid of the storm giants in the way. One thing to watch for is that the
enemy Dreadlord cannot be affected by magic, so you need to rip open a path
through the center to get to him to disrupt his spells ASAP.

The last fight involves golems and medusas and a couple ice storms did for
the medusas without leaving my guys vulnerable to their stone gaze--no need
to ready mirrors. Line up vertically if you can and give your mage a chance
to run back and forth and cast Stinking Cloud. Then hack away. A portal
appears in the NW. You can return and complete optional quests now if you
want.

   4-3. OUTLINE

0. [cheat if you want]
1. Visit old man in town, go to the Well, duck and win a fight
2. NE, get dragon treasure, use fireball/magic missile
3. use several fireballs and stinking cloud to take out magic shop
4. use mirrors and a bunch of spells to take out N area of magic shop. Same
for S area. Don't be stingy.
5. In the SE win the dragon treasure with the amulet
6. In the Well, Icestorm the dragonbabies, heal, take out new dragons
7. get the treasure NE of the well
8. Clear the well by beating the Ancient Dragon
*9. Go to admin building and clear it out, getting to inner sanctum
10. Clear the temple below the mine and meet Derf. Find stuff behind secret
doors.
11. Get the staff pieces for Derf. Vala is a great NPC on level 6.
12. Use the L8 teleporter(be VERY healed) and win the fight to break the way
to L9/B
13. Barrel through to the castle dungeons. Answer the puzzles as you get
them. Get the silver, gold and brass keys. *Clear the Black Circle Compound
for extra goodies.
14. Set play level to Novice to keep sane. East to the Frost Giant village.
Save at each fork in the road. Win the king's trust by fighting the Black
Circle.
15. East to the castle. Use the Silver, Gold and Brass keys. Defeat the
Dreadlord. Then defeat the golems behind him.

 5. CHEATING

The simplest way to cheat is to start a game with one player, take all the
items, save and drop the player. Repeat with 6 others. Then form the party.
Everyone has everything!

Another cheat is unverified but at

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=74303

It involves hex editing so 5-3 and 5-4 are irrelevant.

   5-1. VAULT TRICKS

There are several ways to duplicate items using the vault. The easiest
follows:

1. save game a
2. put items in vault. Save game b
3. load game a, repeat 2
4. take items from the vault when done

Another is

1. save game a
2. put items in vault.
3. backup vault.dat to vault.bak
4. take items
5. copy vault.bak to vault.dat

   5-2. HEX EDITING

For save game X, player Y,

CHRDATXY.SAV contains the following important data:

multi byte = high byte 1st

0x01-0x0f = name
0x10-11 = cur/max str
0x12-13 = cur/max int
0x14-15 = cur/max wis
0x16-17 = cur/max dex
0x18-19 = cur/max con
0x1a-1b = cur/max cha
0x1c-1d = cur/max for 18+ str
0x070 = max HP
0x071 starts memorized spells
0x109 = gold(2 bytes)
0x10b = platinum
0x10d = gems
0x10f = jewels
0x12c = experience(4 bytes)
0x19b = encumbrance(2 bytes)
0x1af = min damage
0x1b1 = max damage
0x1b3 = bonus damage
0x1b5 = current HP

   5-3. JOURNAL ENTRIES

1 map to the dragon's hoard
2 fanatic soldier's tale: we have done
3 sir deric's story: the black circle
4 BLACK CIRCLE MAGE AT TOP OF MINE
5 MAYOR TALKING OF THE BLACK CIRCLE
6 One of the miners saw red robed
7 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE SCROLL
8 I didn't drink that much. I'm
9 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE
10 A DYING MAN'S LAST WORDS
11 EXULTANT BANITE PRIEST the beholder corps
12 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE TEMPLE
13 BLIND MAGE'S STORY
14 THE CAPTAIN'S TALE
15 MEETING THE FROST GIANT KING
16 BLACK CIRCLE COMMANDER'S PAPER
17 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE BROTHER WARS
18 STORY OF THE SILVER BLADES
19 THE AMULET OF ELDAMAR.
20 That old man -- south of the mayor's
21 EARLY DAYS OF THE TOWN. This
22 DYING CLERIC OF BANE. The Black
23 TALK OF MYSTICAL ITEMS. The mages
24 THE GUARD OF GRIMDRA HOARD
25 MESSAGE FROM THE WELL: The miners'
26 WARNING ABOUT THE AMULET. The Dreadlord
27 RESCUED MAIDEN'S STORY: The mages took
28 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE VORPAL BLADE
29 VALA'S DESCRIPTION OF THE OLD CASTLE
30 So many gems down in that mine and no way to get at them. Lif
e ain't fair.
31 BANITE PATROL'S STORY The Black Circle
32 MAP OF THE 4TH LEVEL
33 PRISONER'S TALE I am one of
34 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE FLAMING ONE
37 MAYOR'S INTRODUCTION: We are a small
39 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE CLOAK
40 LEDGER FROM NEW VERDIGRIS MINING: 2nd
41 Map to the first key
42 THE MEDUSA'S TALE I don't care!
43 LETTER FROM MARCUS TO THE BLACK CIRCLE
44 PHLAN CLERK'S TALE Well, I had
46 LETTER FROM MULMASTER
47 MAYOR RELATES YULASH EXPERIENCES
48 THE GLOWING MOUSE'S SPEECH
50 DERF MEETING VALA
51 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE
53 THE BLACK CIRCLE'S PLAN
54 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE WELL OF KNOWLEDGE
55 CLERK'S STORY
56 MEETING WITH OSWULF
57 LETTER FOUND BLOWING IN THE WIND
58 A PRISONER'S SPEECH
59 TALE OF THE WOUNDED WARRIOR
60 MESSAGE FOUND BY POUCH
61 MAYOR REVEALS HIS TRUE MISSION
62 MAGE'S REPORT
63 VALA'S STORY the amazonian woman
64 MAD DWARF'S RAMBLINGS
65 LETTER IN TEMPLE
67 MAD CLERIC'S RAMBLINGS
69 CLERK'S LETTER
70 PRISONER'S TALE the black circle has
71 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AMULET

   5-4. RULE BOOK HEADINGS

Sometimes the game will ask you for something from the rule book when you
save a game. I've compiled a few subheaders and should not have missed
anything.

HOW THE HEROES ARRIVE...
The miner's haul the chests of gems

CHARACTERS AND PARTIES
To play SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES

The Player Races
There are six races from which

Ability Scores
Every character has six randomly generate

Character Classes
A character must belong to at least

ALIGNMENT
Alignment is the philosophy a character lives by.

Building a Successful Party
Forming a strong and adaptable party is a key

COMBAT
Combat occurs often during your adventures.

====

Before You Play
There is no copy protection on your SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES disk,

Getting Started Quickly
SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES comes with a ready-made party that allows

Using Menus
All commands are menu based, and the concept of the active character

Beginning to Play
To begin playing the game you must load a saved game or generate

From Where Menu
FROM WHERE: SECRET CURSE EXIT

Viewing Characters
The VIEW command displays the character summary screen.

Character Status
OKAY status means that the character has positive HP and can move and

Display Screens and Points of View
SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES uses three different points of view: 3-D,

Viewing Characters: The VIEW command displays the character summary screen.

Adventuring Options
The following menus control most adventuring options:

Adventure Menu
MOVE AREA CAST VIEW ENCAMP SEARCH LOOK

Encamp Menu
SAVE VIEW MAGIC REST ALTER FIX EXIT

Rest Menu
REST DAYS HOURS MINUTES ADD SUBTRACT EXIT

Alter Menu
ORDER DROP SPEED ICON PICS LEVEL EXIT

Speed Menu
SLOWER FASTER EXIT

Pics Menu
ANIMATIONS ON/OFF EXIT

Level Menu
NOVICE SQUIRE VETERAN ADEPT CHAMPION EXIT

Magic Menu
CAST MEMORIZE SCRIBE DISPLAY REST EXIT

Memorize Menu
MEMORIZE NEXT PREV EXIT

Scribe Menu
SCRIBE NEXT PREV EXIT

CIVILIZATION
The mining town of New Verdigris

Armoury Menu
BUY VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE  APPRAISE EXIT

Temple Menu
HEAL VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE APPRAISE EXIT

Vault Menu
DEPOSIT WITHDRAW TRADE EXIT

Combat Menu
MOVE VIEW AIM USE CAST TURN QUICK DONE

Aim Menu
NEXT PREV MANUAL TARGET CENTER EXIT

Done Menu
GUARD DELAY QUIT BANDAGE AUTO SPEED EXIT

Treasure Menu
VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE DETECT EXIT

ENCOUNTERS

When a party comes across monsters or NPCs

End of FAQ Proper

================================

 6. VERSIONS

0.3.0 sent to GameFAQs 10/10/2007, good start
1.0.0 sent to GameFAQs 10/14/2007, complete

 7. CREDITS

project64.c64.org
GameFAQs's anonymous walkthrough for general ideas

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