Eternal Dagger FAQ version 1.0.0(Apple version) Completed 4/22/2000 This FAQ Copyright 2000 Andrew Schultz Eternal Dagger and Wizard's Crown are copyright Strategic Simulations, Inc. This walkthrough is part of my contribution to the efforts to preserve classic Apple II games. Please do not re-distribute for profit without my consent. If you would like to use this for your site, please ask a specific question, and I'll probably say yes. My general games page can be found on: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762/games/games.htm Now, to business! --------------------------- OUTLINE Introduction Strategies(Fighting and Exploring) Treasures Main Walkthrough Ultra-Condensed Walkthrough(avoids spoilers at the beginning) Cheating(for Apple IIe disk images) ---------------------------- INTRODUCTION I don't have the manual yet(or even a facsimile) so here goes....you have been beamed into this world from the world of Wizard's Crown. Your party must start on the Wizard's Isle and work its way to the Demon World where you will shut the portal that Anawt and his demons are using to get into the world. Elharra, the hero of legend, lost the Eternal Dagger and was unable to defeat Anawt. You must do better--the fate of the world is at stake. STRATEGIES FIGHTING/IMPROVING You will be able to improve pretty easily on Wizard's Isle until you kill the Necromancer. Then there are no combats whatsoever. Be sure you can lick the monsters before progressing, because they get tougher off Elven Isle. Might be advisable to get every "important" skill over or close to 250 before progressing. EXPLORING Greenbay is the city on the northernmost isle(Lambeaufield not included). Sea Haven is the north city on Elven Isle, and Lothario is to the south. The dungeon/city Koruy is well off to the east/northeast. Dwarfhold is the only city on Dwarf Isle(the southernmost.) Don't forget to rest when you are exploring, or you'll get tired and some very easy monsters can do substantial damage to you. And don't feel you have to win every fight, too. Remember monsters' reactions to you and always be sure to T)alk first as quite a few are actually friendly. Another important thing to do is to leave a dungeon when you're weak. You can always rest and come back until near the end of the game, when it's hard to turn back from a dungeon--in which case, a backup disk is a VERY good idea. Even better than usual in this case. To explore a dungeon, remember that there are a lot of walls that need to be examined or just walked through. Pretty much every square in a dungeon is accounted for, so if there's a block you can't get to, you're probably missing a secret door or a wall you can walk through. Also, never turn down help in a dungeon. The worst that can happen is that you get injured. But if that's too steep a price to pay, and you're not 100% honest(don't feel bad), you can always re-start from before you got injured, a bit wiser for your experience. TREASURES Treasures are random, but often certain groups of treasures are guarded by several of the same sort of monster. Often after one encounter you will be able to F)ollow tracks, leading to more monsters--a sign you're on to something. When the number of monsters that attack you starts to decrease, you can anticipate treasure soon. They are also the best ways to find unique armor/weapons that can improve your party in ways experience alone can't. Here's a rough outline of where treasure is: WIZARD'S ISLE Try your luck close to the mountain range. Also be sure to T)alk to the only people you see and you'll get a Dragon Slaying Longsword. This is handy when you meet the Dragon in the southeast to raid his horde. There's also treasure before you enter the Necromancer's. ELVEN ISLE East of Koruy there are a bunch of Flits/Flitters. I imgaine there's other treasure around Koruy. DWARVEN ISLE Treasure is found where the mountains almost meet the sea. It's tough to get at but is very valuable as well. The mountain map is like a starfish, and the "tendrils" all have treasure at the end. DUNGEONS You can mine for minimal treasure in Sri's dungeon. However, the best guaranteed treasure comes from the Weapons Masters who all have +2 Plate. There is a +6 Storm Spear in the Underwater Dungeon(just before you have to get rid of it. Gee, whiz, great...) Of course, if you are not above minor-league cheating, you can reset Koruy and Sri's Lair and keep picking up cash. You can even reset Waddling Turtle and Magoomba's dungeons and re-kill them, but the benefits are not worth the risk. Going through Avlis's tower again is possible but it's such a hassle to solve the puzzles and put up with Avlis's tricks that you're better off beating up monsters outside, which gets you experience too. MAIN WALKTHROUGH Basically, everything important, except finding the dungeons, is done in a dungeon. So this walkthrough is organized by dungeon. Some dungeons are very simple and thus do not have directions. However, I will do my best to describe directions for the more complex dungeons. NECROMANCER'S CAVE Be sure to build your party up before completing the Necromancer's Cave. The path to the Necromancer's Cave is in the northwest corner of the Wizard's Isle. You will need to search for it and follow tracks. After a while, you will find a tunnel under the water to an island, where you will be able to enter the cave. Always let the skulls give you advice(examine them) and examine tables for other clues. You will need to find the names of the FLOOR, HALL, and DOOR. You'll want to explore the first level fully, because the weapons masters that are a bit out of the way have +2 Plate Armor. There aren't too many branches in your path until you get near the end. On the second level, there is a maze in the southwest. Just north of the corner is a secret door--you'll need to examine an east wall, then give the name of the hall. You'll run into the necromancer. There'll be a few encounters before you leave after you get out, but when you do MAGOOMBA'S GROVE(in the southeast of the Elven Isle) is next. There's exactly one path to follow to a grove, so instructions are not necessary. You get the Eternal Dagger from winning that fight. You might want to use Tactical Combat for this one if your party isn't strong enough--or you might want to beat monsters up for a while. KORUY(NE Elven Isle, beyond the desert)--search the NE part of Koruy to enter. It looks like a city, but there's no commerce and even less hospitality than the dwarves' city. You'll start off in the middle of a spiral. The outer west wall has two false walls. Go through them and to the north you will find your way to a skeleton key. To the south you find significant treasure. Going east from the spiral and then south you'll enter a room--examine the shelf on the north. When you get to a peg, turn it. It will make the wall north of the northwest corner false. Step through it, and then there's another square on the north wall you can walk through. Ready the skeleton key and examine the skull. It'll open, and the Princess will enchant the dagger for you. If you don't have it, you'll have to go back to Koruy once you've won the dagger from Magoomba. WADDLING TURTLE'S HUT(N. of lake, in mountains): Waddling Turtle is upstream of the lake, N and a bit NW. Talk to any turtles you'll find--don't fight them. They're tough. Onceyou've got the dagger and have entered the hut, talk to Waddling Turtle and give him the dagger. Don't take from the chest--he and his turtles won't be pleased. The map you get is good enough. SRI'S LAIR(S. of mountains, Dwarven Isle): The only reason to go to the Dwarven Isle is to get the Aqua Helms. And maybe for treasure. The monsters are nasty. Dwarves tell you Sri's is in the most inaccessible part of the continent. By that, they mean that the mountains are shaped like a mutated asterisk. Sri's is nestled in the vertex that points off to the south. As Dwarfhold is on the north this means a rather long trek around one coast and then northwest/northeast. You'll need a field guide for all the monsters you'll see. Once you're in, there aren't too many traps. Many side paths have little more than gold, etc. The right path is to the east, then go north as far as you can(opening doors along the way.) Turn west until the path turns sharply south. Again go through doors and eventually you'll run into Sri. But where are the helms? Look for the place that isn't filled in yet. It's to the east. So check the wall to the east. Be sure to leave space for all your characters to pick up aqua helms. Once you've gotten them, best of luck on your voyage out--remember to save 10 gold pieces for transport back to the Elven Isle or you may be stuck working for the Dwarves for copper pieces per day. An interesting note about Sri's Lair: Levels 1 and 3 are adjacent to each other in a memory-saving move, I guess. Level 3 is the northwest corner of level 1, and as the computer sees it, level 2 is north of level 1, not really "above" or "below." See Grey Eagle at the EYRIE. The Eyrie is on the mountain square that touches the sea(SW Elven isle), so search there. He's the northeast of the eagles. Before this he would say "you may leave," but now he gives you a bag of wind. It will help you get into... AVLIS'S TOWER. A madman will lead you there, and if the gates open and you decline, you must go back to Grey Eagle. Remember to rest before you enter because the entry is one-way. At any rate, there will be confusing puzzles, but don't let them annoy you. For the puzzle with the cakes, pull lever 7 to avoid injury. (The person with 5 cakes gives away 2 1/3 to the person with no cakes) For the countdown room, push the red button and wait. Letting time run out is the solution. There are lots of puzzles here that aren't necessary to solve the game. For instance, one door reads "ETESH STEJRES TEIFGRH LAEIYS" = "These jesters frighten easily" garbled. I don't know how to decode the 1&- but if anyone does I'll be glad to credit them for it. On the second level, Avlis is through the first door to the north. Remember to search around to find the cloak of feathers. To leave you have to pass by three statues and into a room with flames and open doors and a central room with a flame you must jump in to leave Avlis's Tower. You will want to close all the doors past the statues--close the outer ring first, then close all the doors to the center room. Then jump in the flame, and you will have left Avlis's Tower. The puzzle of the statues deserves some explanation. The Left statue says he is next to Truth, so he can't be Truth. The Middle statue can't be Truth(he says he's Diplomacy), so the Right must be. Therefore the Middle statue must be Lies(as Right says) and Left must be Diplomacy(sometimes tells truth)--therefore you do as the right statue says. Close all the doors. If you don't, you are transported to a south room(the one you can't open the door to) and given a combat. Repeated mistakes when you step on the central flame lead you east, and eventually mistakes will send you to the third room east where you will keep fighting a tough and a toughie. Also be aware that you don't have to close the doors outside of the room, and doing so is no substitute for closing doors inside the room(as I found out!) The next step puts you past the point of no return, so you should back your disk up in case your characters are not strong enough. Return to the Eyrie(rest up first!) for transport to the isle by the Underwater Dungeon. Put on your aqua helms, you're going in... UNDERWATER DUNGEON There's surprisingly little to see here, except for some clues about how you need the dagger to break some contraption. "Remember POKIP" is here too but doesn't seem to be used. The portal is in a central south room. Don't worry about the other rooms--any treasure you may find must be dropped when you go through the portal. Drop everything EXCEPT the Eternal Dagger, including the stuff in your backpack. Just step on the portal and you'll have a one-way ticket to the... DEMON WORLD There'll be an initial encounter with undead warriors. You can probably "take" them. The secret door to the west results in a tough maze puzzle. What you have to remember is that stepping on a rubbish pile may shift the dungeon around--empty spaces now have walls, and vice versa. Fortunately there are no dead ends and you can often re-trace your steps or go back to the beginning relatively easy. And at 15x15 it's not impossible. There's a spoiler below as to how to get through the maze, but this is fun and challenging enough that I won't put the solution here. Once past the maze(you've touched the "stairs" which are really a teleporter) find the secret door to the east. You'll be on a checkerboard of walls and spaces, and the exit is east--another teleporter. Look to the north wall--part of it can be wakled through. Elharra the hero is in the northeast of the next room. He tells you Anawt will arrive soon. In the next room there are two objects--activate your character with the Eternal Dagger and examine the one on the south. Yes, you want to use your weapon. (If you don't do so in time, Anawt will attack you. With your current "downsizing" in equipment this may not be pleasant!) THE END The screen blinks, and your party is in a peaceful glade far from home or the Demon's World. Your characters' icons are arranged in an octagon, with tree icons around. The game freezes. You've won! Sadly, the sequel this ending implied was never produced--or I never heard about it. If you did, write me at the address below. ULTRA-CONDENSED WALKTHROUGH This touches over some details so if you miss something here, you may get close to the end only to realize that you're trapped. But that's the +/- to a total spoiler. Details are above... Necromancer's cave is pretty much linear. The Door, Floor and Hall are named WNPT, IXL, and ROLF respectively. Name them and the necromancer is behind a secret door to the east(examine to reveal it) in the southwest corner. Once the cave is destroyed, Greenbay(the city in the south) will come to life. Use it to rest and go to the Elven isle. Magoomba's Grove(SE Elven): Get in, kill Magoomba, get out. Koruy(NE Elven): remember the secret door west of the spiral. Get the skeleton key, and go into the southeast--turn the peg on the north shelf, go northwest, and ready the key and rescue the princess. Waddling Turtle's(Upstream/North of the lake): Talk to him when you have the dagger and he'll give you a map. Sri's(S. Dwarven Isle by mountains): Take the east passage and go as far north(through doors) as you can. Turn west until you must go a few squares south and then go very far south. When you defeat Sri and seem to be at a dead end go through the squares to the north/south of the bookcase. The trunk with the aqua helms is to the north. Grey Eagle's(1)(SW Elven): Get the bag of Wind. Avlis's Tower(NW Elven): Use the bag of wind to enter. Be sure you've rested beforehand--you can't get out! Puzzles can be solved by trial and error if nothing else, except the "countdown" puzzle--just wait. Avlis is the first door north, and you get the feathers from him. Past the statues you will want to close ALL the doors before stepping in the center flame. Then you're teleported out. Grey Eagle's(2): Show Grey Eagle the feathers and he'll transport you to.... Underworld: Put on your aqua helms and enter. The portal is in the south--drop all items except the Eternal Dagger before entering. Demons' World: Secret door to the west. Touch the following maze squares: 2W of NE corner, 7W6S, 11W9S, 13W2S, 6W10S, 10S, 1W10S, 2W13S, and you can get to the stairs. Go east from that room, then go east on the checkerboard you're teleported to. A secret door to the northeast(walk through it) leads to the room that controls the portal. Let your player with the Dagger lead, and he can probably kill the ray before Anawt arrives. CHEATING(APPLE IIE IMAGES) It's possible to "cheat" your characters up--whether you enjoy crushing monsters or would rather concentrate on exploring, you can improve your skills rapidly. The following procedure can get stats of 250--of course, it's possible to get more, but I haven't figured that out yet. Also, be sure to back up your disk before byte-editing it--the wrong byte and weird things could happen to your characters. For character # [a] alter bytes [b] to 0xfa(33 in all) (Note: these numbers are in hexadecimal.) 1: 0x2b24-0x2b44 2: 0x2bc0-0x2be0 3: 0x2a5c-0x2a7c 4: 0x2af8-0x2aff AND 0x2900-0x2918 5: 0x2994-0x29b4 6: 0x2830-0x2850 7: 0x28cc-0x28ec 8: 0x2768-0x2788 Note that are "in order" by 1)decreasing "hundreds" digit and 2)increasing ones/tens digits. That's why character 4 is split between hundreds digits. ---------------------------- Version 1.0.0: basic walkthrough completed 4/22/2000 4 PM, 4 hours after I solved it Credits: David Ellsworth for a great Apple Emulator, asimov.net for having this old game, and druadic@cs.com for having maps that made walking through a breeze, and www.kahei.com for the hex editor that made building characters easy so I could concentrate on walking through again. Check out his home page at http://members.xoom.com/druadic/aquired.htm(or is it html? There will be a 1.0.1 release) for other games. Thanks to the authors of the game as well, and let's not forget ol' Al Gore for inventing the Internet :). Please send comments to Andrew Schultz at schultza@earthlink.net