Ultima FAQ Version 1.3 06/12/95
This FAQ is in no way affiliated with Origin. All
information within this FAQ is from the author, contributors
or from books. Any comments concerning this FAQ can be made
to the author at
[email protected] and please have the words
"Ultima FAQ" in the subject.
The purpose of this FAQ is to ask and answer some the
quesions that come up when one plays the Ultima series (from
Ultima I all the way to the current Ultima VIII:Pagan, or
any of the Worlds of Ultima games).
These questions do not pertain so much to how to solve the
game in particular but is more to try to make sense of some
of the inconsistencies that exist within the story line
between each game.
This FAQ does contain the odd bit of information that may
act as a spoiler to some of the surprises that exist within
the Ultima games. A warning will be placed just before the
spoiler to help those avatars keep their innocence. :-)
I) Why an Ultima FAQ?
Q: "Why would you want to waste your time trying to make
sense out of a computer game, why not just play and enjoy
it"?
A: "I am not doing this to read any deep meanings into the
Ultima games. I enjoy just playing the games like thousands
of others do but I find it fun and entertaining to find
plausible answers to some of the story line inconsistencies.
To me it is like writing a story which allows me to enjoy
playing Ultima in a different way. Furthermore the purpose
of this FAQ is not to make the story of Ultima believable!
It is a fun attempt to make sense out of the storyline. I
will not attempt to cite historical and scientific accounts
of time doors actually existing on Earth like in they do in
Ultima II as that is neither important or the purpose of
this FAQ. The Ultima series is fantasy and this FAQ seeks to
make that fantasy more enjoyable".
Q: "Are there not books out there that already answer many
questions concerning Ultima"?
A: "The two books I have (The Official Book of Ultima by
Shay Addams and Master Ultima by Ralph Roberts) are both
very good in terms of helping the reader complete the
individual games. But what this FAQ is to do is answer some
of the questions concerning the story line which in many
places is very inconsistent. So I see this FAQ having a
unique purpose".
Q: "Which Ultima games does this FAQ apply to"?
A: "All of the following:
Ultima I
Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress
Ultima III: Exodus
Ultima VI: The Quest of the Avatar
Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny
Ultima VI: The False Prophet
Ultima VII: The Black Gate and Serpent Isle
Ultima VIII: Pagan
Ultima Underworld I: The Stygian Abyss
Ultima Underworld II: Labryinth of Worlds
Worlds of Ultima I: The Savage Empire
Worlds of Ultima II: Martian Dreams
Since the second and third trilogies are more consistent in
terms of storyline there isn't as great the need to answer
many questions concerning those games. As well the Worlds of
Ultima games are more like "side adventures" that have
little to do with the Britannia/Guardian theme so they will
not be focussed on too much in this FAQ. If people do have
questions or answers concerning any of the Ultima games they
can e-mail them to me to be entered into the FAQ".
II) Questions and Answers to the Ultima Storyline.
Q: "In the first trilogy there existed up to five different
races available to players. They were humans, dwarves,
elves, bobbits, and fuzzies (who appeared only in Ultima
III). In Ultima IV and onwards only humans were available to
play with. What ever happened to the dwarves, elves,
bobbits, and fuzzies"?
A: "A combination of factors eliminated these races from
further Ultimas:
i) The continent of Sosaria was transformed between Ultima
III and IV. Many people of all races were killed due to this
violent transformation, but because these other races were
less populous than the humans they had a more difficult time
surviving.
ii) In Ultima IV and onwards these other races still exist
within Britannia but play a non-role because of their
reduced numbers, self-induced isolation, and because of the
dawning of human achievement".
Note, however, that in Ultima Underworld I, Dwarves are
re-introduced. As well we see in Ultima VII new races appear
such as the Emps and the Faeries. We could assume that the
Fuzzies from Ultima III evolved into Emps while Elves from
Ultima I through III became the Faerie race.
Q: "How do you explain the presense of high-tech weapons,
armor, and vehicles in Ultima I and II despite the
fantasy/medieval atmosphere of both games? As well, from
Ultima III and onwards these high-tech items do not exist,
how do you explain their disapperance"?
A: "Prepare yourself for a long-winded answer:
In Ultima I Mondain the Wizard was intent on world
domination. He was also intent on conquering other
civilizations. Using his magic and power, Mondain altered
the dimension doors (the very same ones that allowed for
Lord British and all later heros to enter Sosaria) so that
they would allow him to enter a point in time into the
future. In this new dimension Mondain encountered and became
allied to an alien race who too shared Mondain's thirst for
power. With these new alies Mondain intended to totally
conquer Sosaria and many other dimensions. Adventurers and
earlier heros managed to use Mondain's time door to steal
some of the weapons, armor and transport that belonged to
the aliens for the defense of Sosaria. Merchants eventually
got a hold of some of these items as well and began to sell
them to those who could afford them. Thus the presense of
high-technology became common in Sosaria.
In Ultima II the game takes place no longer in Sosaria but
on Earth. This change of battleground alone explains the
presense of bi-planes, blasters, reflect armor, and
spaceships among other things. The presense of time doors
upon Earth is something that will be explained later.
In Ultima III the battle has shifted back to Sosaria (though
a radically different place than before) and we find that
the high tech items of the earlier games no longer exist.
The only explanations for this lie in the actions of Lord
British who had decided to do away with these items since
their potential for evil was far too great. He felt that
these items posed a threat to the natural balance of
Sosarian life. Besides with the death of Monain, the
dimension door to the future had closed and these high-tech
items could no longer be recharged/repaired thus limiting
their usefulness. You can bet that the merchants were sure
upset!
<<< SPOILER ALERT BEGINS >>>
Yet Ultima III does have an element of high-technology
within its story. This is based on the fact that Exodus is
actually a computer! It seems likely that Mondain and Minax
had worked together and combined their black magic with the
sciences of the future dimension opened by Mondain to create
Exodus".
<<< SPOILER ALERT ENDS >>>
Q: "Why do the continents change so drastically in the first
three Ultimas"?
A: "The only change that does actually take place is between
Ultima I and III, since Ultima II is played on Earth and not
Sosaria. Sosaria as found in Ultima I consists of 4 seperate
continents, with townes, castles, and dungeons found on each
one. The change to the world as seen in Ultima III is quite
radical since it changes to a world of two continents, one
of which has Lord British and various towns, while the other
is largely uninhabited. It seems that the loss of two
continents can only be explained by some kind of massive
cataclysm (perhaps a comet hitting the planet, or the last
dying magical wish of Mondain) which totally gutted two
continents and transformed the others. The continent that
Lord British lived on (which became Sosaria in Ultima III)
was spared in large part due to his magical power. The
hidden continent of Ambrosia was created when the cataclysm
submerged the continent, seperating it from Sosaria.
In Ultima II the geography changes radically because the
setting takes place in four different time eras of Earth.
The reason for the change from Sosaria to Earth is that
Minax wished to destroy the planet that produced the hero
who killed Mondain. Minax accomplishes this by creating time
doors upon Earth to go into the past and future and set up
the conditions for a nuclear confrontation. It was the goal
of the hero in Ultima II to defeat Minax so that the future
created by her would not come to pass.
The transformation of Sosaria in Ultima III to Britannia in
Ultima IV can be explained by the ending of Ultima III when
the heros kill Exodus. Following the death of Exodus, great
natural catastrophes took place which was due to a
self-destruct mechanism that would be activated if Exodus
was ever destroyed. The catastrophes consisted of
earthquakes and volcanic explosions killed many people and
also transformed Sosaria into what is now Britannia".
Please also note that Ambrosia returned in Ultima VII and
that Serpent Isle itself is one of the four Ultima I
continents. Thus those original continents of Sosaria still
play a role in the Ultima series.
Q: "How do you explain the presense of Lord British on Earth
during Ultima II when he belonged in Sosaria"?
A: "Lord British used the portal to come back to Earth to
help the hero of Ultima II to defeat Minax. Since Minax had
plans to destroy the Earth, Lord British worked to prevent
this by summoning the hero and then providing support during
this battle on Earth. When Minax was defeated Lord British
returned to Sosaria to help in its rebuilding. It was likely
during this time that Lord British also recruited many of
the future Avatar Companions, such as Dupre and Jaana to
invite back to Sosaria".
Q: "Why is it in Ultima I-III players steal, cheat, kill
"innocents", and commit other non-virtuous actions, yet that
all changes in Ultima IV and on"?
A: "In each of the first three Ultimas, players found
themselves in a time where survival was of the utmost
importance. Because of the great threat that the Triad of
Evil represented to Sosaria amd Earth little importance was
placed on virtues and principles. Thus players found
themselves doing some un-avatarish things such as stealing,
lying or even killing "innocents" (Remember the Clown in
Ultima I)! Despite what traditional history tells us, it was
not the Avatar who saved Sosaria and Earth from the Triad of
Evil, but it was other brave individuals who sometimes had
to do wrong things for the right reasons. (Stealing food in
Ultima II was a necessity if the player wished to live)!
This all changed after Exodus was defeated and a new age
came into being. Lord British rediscovered the ancient ways
of Avatarhood that existed in ancient Sosaria, and called
out for the players to now embody this new philosophy. Thus
the eight virtues and the three principles became a new way
of living for Britannia, its inhabitants and its visitors.
This theory runs in conflict with that posted by Batlin in
his rendition of Britannia history (as in Ultima VII).
Batlin states that the Triad of Evil was defeated by the
Avatar and that he never commited any non-virtuous acts.
This makes little sense as one of the main purposes of
Ultima IV was for the player to actively strive to attain
Avatarhood which is something the player never had to do in
the first trilogy. Furthemore having a human Avatar playing
a role in the first trilogy makes no sense as players could
choose to be any race or class they wanted. It is unfair to
assume that all of the Ultima series has to be formed around
the Avatar character. Surely throughout Sosaria's and
Britannia's history there must have been other heroes and
heroines".
Q: "Why does the magic system change so much through the
Ultimas"?
A: "All of the same basic spells appear in each Ultima. (for
example there is a magic missle and blink spell in each
Ultima) Some new ones are created due to progress in the
magic arts, while some old ones are lost. It seems that
spell components were abundent in earlier times (Ultima
I-III) such that if you needed something, it was easily
found along the countryside. After Exodus was destroyed, the
lands went through violent change and spell components
became harder to come by. It thus became more expensive to
collect these reagents and thus players were now charged for
them which is a practice that began in Ultima IV. Also in
Ultima II players were also charged for acquiring spells but
we must remember that this epsiode took place on Earth, were
magic is rare and to practice it is expensive. Think of all
the props that David Copperfield must buy! ;-) Seriously the
presense of magic on Earth during Ultima II can only be
explained by the presense of the time doors which linked up
Earth and magical realms such as Sosaria and the Age of
Legends. From Ultima IV and onwards the magic system remains
relatively stable and only seems to change if the player
moves to a different land such as Pagan.
It is important to not that in Ultimas I and II an often
used spell was the Prayer spell to call upon the aid of a
personal deity. This is unique since in Ultima III the
Priests seemed to rely on the power of truth instead. From
Ultima IV onwards there have been no signs of deities
existing or playing an active role in the history of
Britannia. Possibly the deities of Ultima I and II did not
survive the cataclysms that shook Sosaria from Ultima to
Ultima".
Q: "How would you explain the changing of professions
between some of the Ultimas? For example in Ultimas I
through III there is a Priest class yet there is not such
class in Ultima IV and onwards. As well how do you explain
the changing of professions by certain characters, such as
Shamino being a Ranger in Ultima IV but in Ultima V and VI
he is a Fighter"?
A: "The Priest profession transformed over time between
Ultima I, II and III from that of a god following profession
to one that follows the way of truth. Many of the spells in
Ultima III were truth oriented. For example they could turn
undead since living death is an untruth and their second
most powerful spell Zxkuqyb unleashed the power of truth
onto all enemies. In Ultima IV and on truth is one of the
three Principles upon which the Avatar's virtues are based.
The Priests' dissappearance was due to the fact that evil
was mostly banished from the land which made their existence
as a distinct profession unesassary. Instead their order
disbanded and turned to forming towns based on the virtue of
truth. Some towns created were Moonglow, Trinsic and Yew.
Shamino and others likely changed thier profession due to
neccesary circumstances. Each of the eight professions of
Ultima IV ended up congregating into the three major
professions of Ultima V and VI. It looked like this:
Fighter, Ranger, Paladin, Shepherd --> Fighter
Bard, Tinker --> Bard
Mage, Druid --> Mage
The reason for the change was to have each of the eight
professions embody the three Principles more than the eight
Virtues. The Fighters embodied Courage, the Bards embodied
Love, while the Mages embodied Truth. This took place due to
the pressures of the three Shadowlords who tried to corrupt
the three Principles in Ultima V. The people of Britannia
and the Avatar Companions responded by strongly emphasizing
the three Principles in an effort to combat them".
Q: "What is the time lapse between Ultima I-VIII"?
A: "The time lapse is given while the reasons for the lapse
follow:
"The first era begins with the Triad of Evil and the
resulting Three Ages of Darkness (A.D.) Time was not kept
during this difficult era so these ages are identified only
as 1st, 2nd and 3rd A.D. This era ends with the founding of
the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom.
1st A.D. The First Age of Darkness : Mondain the Wizard
2nd A.D The Second Age of Darkness : Minax the Enchantress
3rd A.D. The Third Age of Darkness : Exodus
The second era involves the establishment of the Principles
and Virtues as embodied by the Avatar. Thus the this time
was called the Ages of Virtue (A.V.) Time begins with the
founding of the Codex by the Avatar. The "+" means that the
resulting adventures happened around the time noted.
123 A.V. The Quest of the Avatar
139 A.V. Warriors of Destiny
161+ A.V. The False Prophet; Savage Empire; Martian Dreams
190+ A.V. The Stygian Abyss
360+ A.V. The Black Gate; Labyrnth of Worlds; Serpent Isle
Since Pagan is in a different dimension from Britannia the
time line changes no longer applies. We can assume Pagan has
some unknown time line of their own. We can call this time
the Guardian's Age (G.A.)."
.. G.A. Pagan
Q: "Is it possible to tie in the history of Ultima to the
Wing Commander universe"?
A: "Sure it is. In fact in Ultima VII there are references
to the Kilrathi! To explain this would not be too difficult.
It would be safe to say that Earth would not be the only
place that had portals connecting to Britannia. Surely some
of the planets within the Kilrathi empire also had these
portals as well. Furthermore we could make an assumption
that it was the Kilrathi that Mondain recruited in his
efforts to conquer Sosaria in Ultima I! As well there is one
reference of them in Ultima Underworld II. Unscramble the
name 'Trilkhai' who are the creatures who dwelled in
Killorn's Keep and asked you to uncover their true identity
and you get 'Kilrathi'."
III) Future Questions.
These are questions I am attempting to work on but need your
help and opinions in how to answer them. Also this is also a
area where your questions could be put forward for others to
ponder.
What are the origins of the Avatar's Companions (Iolo,
Dupre, Shamino, etc) and where did they come from? Also what
are the appearance record for all possible characters since
Ultima I?
Why is it that people from Earth (Lord British, The Avatar,
etc.) age at a slower rate then people in Britannia?
Thanks to Elias Nordling I now have a time line for Ultima.
I am challenging other Ultima fans to enhance this timeline.
IV) Conclusion.
I will be adding to this FAQ as time goes on, and as I think
of new questions to be answered. I would appreciate any
feedback and/or contributions to this FAQ. Hope you enjoy!
I would like to thank the following for helping me with this
FAQ with their contributions and ideas:
Lawrence Abrams Dan Fabulich Allan Mills John Sabean
Jason Sprague Mike Marcelais Janne Siren Aubrey Chen
"The Avatar" Elias Nordling
Chris Billows
[email protected]
