When the archevil Mondain was finally overcome by a gallant knight, the ravaged world rejoiced. The warlock who had called himself immortal was indeed dead, and a long-sought peace slowly healed the wounds of the people.

Certainly, the good folk of Earth had no ear for the quiet, insistent rumors of wars still to come. Kings and commoners alike eased the last dark vestiges of Mondain's evil out of their minds and away from their lives. Their souls began to know happiness once more... but only for a short, blissful time.

The most virulent of the rumors that surrounded Mondain's demise spoke vaguely a warning that Mondain had been training an apprentice, a young and impressionable protégé with an indescribably powerful gift of magic. This rumor was all but squelched when companions of the warlock's slayer entered the shattered chambers of Mondain's fortress and found nothing but smoking rubble and dust-clotted blood stains on the floor. (Not so much as a single shard of Mondain's dread Gem of Immortality lay among the wreckage ... but many, many years would pass before the awful import of that detail would come to light

When nothing came of the talk of a potential heir to Mondain's curse, people were only too eager to embrace its falsehood and throw off their cloaks of fear. The evils of the past were gone with their creator and perpetrator. Indeed, the world was a beautiful place again; life was to be savored, enjoyed.

The rule of Lord British brought the diverse kingdoms together under a common flag of unprecedented fellowship and goodwill. Trade prospered throughout the land as never before; long standing feuds between rival nations ended as the leaders of the world came to see the folly of heartless conquest. Perhaps the most wondrous hallmark of the new ages was the discovery of the mystic "time doors '- shimmering mist-like portals through which a brave explorer might wander the roads of another time and eventually return to the present. The scattered portals opened an era of new learning, a renaissance of timelessness. Soon, the world was too busy a place for thoughts of less fortunate times. So it was for several years - long enough for a child to grow to adulthood. No one wanted to notice when the disease began again.

But so it did. First there was the single lost orc a farmer stumbled upon. What was it? Whence came it? Sages knew in their secret hearts that the orc was the work of a sorcerer and that, had that sorcerer been a benevolent one who'd created the orc by accident, he or she would have come forward. But they refused to admit the truth, even to themselves so they cast the knowledge aside.

The orc was too sick and hurt to fight when it was found. When, sufficiently recovered, it began to assert its inborn malice, it stumbled into a paradox in its feeble head. These human creatures had saved its file - it grasped that much - and it didn't want to hurt them. Because the little lone orc had never been missed, it was not beset by magical influences; nothing discouraged it from welcoming its new, confusing, but rather pleasant benevolent feelings.

From this one unusual orc descended all the good Orcs who lived peacefully in towns and villages. But the prospering people of Earth should have admitted its significance many years before.

Instead, little by little and too often blindly evaded, the evils of the coming age began to shower Earth. By the time the people finally acknowledged it, the evil was too powerful, too widespread to be overcome directly. Already its perpetrator was stronger and more wretched than any prince of darkness before and had grown too vain to keep silent.

Thus was the name of Minax, enchantress of evil, made known. A master of telekinesis from infancy and proudly apprenticed to Mondain the Wizard at age eleven, she had grown to wield a power many times greater than that which had failed to save her master. And with that growth arose an intense hatred for the people of Earth who had brought her master's end. Never content to merely afflict the good with evil, causing misery and pain, Minax sought to sow the seeds of evil in the good, leaving none untouched. Storms of destruction collapsed the frame work of society, and horrors once known only to those with conscience -guilt, loathing, and self-hatred prevailed against the entire Earth.

The climax of Minax's wrath was the holocaust of 2111, in which ancient civilizations born of love of beauty and wisdom and knowledge turned upon one another and, in their vicious anger and contempt, destroyed almost all of the very Earth that had nurtured them.

Were it not for the time doors, you would likely not be here now. Only the ability to move in time enabled any living thing to survive the holocaust, so far as is known.

Since that awful day, survivors have devoted themselves to rethinking the concept of time itself, hoping to find some means of using the time doors to alter the course of past events. They have concluded that evil can emanate from a single overpowering source and that this source is Minax. And they believe there to be a chance that total elimination of a cause may excise its effects from all time, as if the past might become the future for those who step into it.

That group, which I, Lord British, chair, extend our deepest respect and admiration to you for heroically volunteering for this perilous expedition into time. Know before you go that, whether you succeed or fail, you have our gratitude and, indeed, our Love.

And if - no, when - you succeed, you will return to the present as it could and should have been. Those of us in this conclave can assure you that we will never forget your great deed. But you should be aware that, by the very nature of your success, future generations prospering in the sunlit glory of the world as you will have made it are apt to forget. Your reward may be enjoyed only in the silence of your soul.

If you understand all this and are still willing to venture forth, then go now with our abundant

well wishes and the promise that our hopes will be with you ceaselessly until your return.

Farewell,

The Quickstart parchment included in your package provide all the information you need to start playing Ultima II on your computer system. It includes all machine-specific information for your computer type and is designed to have you playing Ultima II as quickly as possible.

The accompanying Reference Guide includes information that you will want to access frequently as you play the game (keyboard commands, magic spells, etc.) Keep the guide close by as you play, for it is an invaluable, time-saving device.

Once you have followed the instructions for your machine in the "Quickstart" parchment, return to this book and follow the section titled "Starting Play."

The Play Screen - When the game screen appears, you see your character in the center of a landscape. Use the "movement keys" to move around just enough to see that you’re on a sort of map. Don't wander too far; your character isn't apt to be very strong yet and you have no weapons or armor.

Notice the text at the bottom of the screen. It should look something like this:

CMD: North Hits: 400

CMD. East Food: 398

CMD. Pass Exp: 000

CMD: Gold: 400

Now press the Z key to pause the game. A text screen will take showing your character's attributes and possessions, but all you want now is its "pause" function so no nasty Orcs will come along and do in your new friend while you're learning how to get around

On the left, Ultima II asks your command with the CMD: prompt, and writes out your full command although you press only one key. In the dungeons, it responds to direction commands with "forward," "right," "left," and "retreat" instead of compass directions.

On the right, the screen displays information to help you keep track of your health, food supply and wealth.

If either the "HITS" or "FOOD" values reach zero, you're out of luck. Food is pretty easy to replace; all it takes is money to buy it and a store that sells it. Look for food stands in villages. Hit points are also replenishable, but you must discover how to accomplish that feat.

Press any key and the world will magically reappear. Did you notice a town nearby when you wandered before? Head straight for it and enter. You need weapons and armor if you're to survive for long. There are plenty of others eager for a share of your gold, so be on guard against your appetites. You can't afford much more than you need.

Did you run into any monsters outside? They don't care about your motives; they attack and you must fight them. In town, you may see some of the same monsters mingling with various people. You'll seldom be attacked in town unless you've done something wrong. Don't take chances ... you're not strong enough yet.

Instead off-fighting, talk to the townspeople. Press T for Transact. The command line will ask for the direction in which you wish to talk. Enter it just as if you were moving in that direction, and the creature will respond if it can talk and chooses to do so. (only rare Orcs have the power of speech.)

Many of the people you meet will say whatever is the popular response in their crowd these days. Now and then, someone will break away from the crowd and reveal something really useful. Without these bits of information, you won't get very deep into Ultima II and you certainty won't win. So talk to everyone. Put up with the bores to find the gems.

Transacting is also how you communicate with storekeepers to make purchases. Most such transaction are self-explanatory, but a few merchants use abbreviations for their products. So it's time to identify weapons and armor; then let's meet in the pub.

Enter the weapons shoppe and press T to start a transaction with the weapons dealer. He will ask you to choose between the following:

1) DA 5) SW

These terms represent, respectively, dagger, mace, axe, bow, sword, great sword, great sword and phaser. Each is more effective than the one before it, and more expensive, too. However, being new to the game, it's unlikely that you're agile enough to wield anything requiring more manual dexterity than a battle axe. There is one weapon that cannot be purchased in a shoppe; it must be earned. It is the magical quicksword Enilno.

At the armory, you can buy leather, chain, plate, and the magical "reflect" and "power" armors. You may as well Wear your new armor and Ready your new weapon right away!

Wizards and clerics are probably smart to wait a few turns before purchasing spells, because you need weapons and armor too. Later on, you can refer to the Magic Spells list, discussed later, to decipher what if being offered you in the chapels and magic shoppes.

Pubs have always been centers for gossip and street-wise advice, and those found within the universe of Ultima II are no exceptions. And, as usual, the barkeep is the wisest of all. When you talk to bartenders, they'll ask 1-Buy, 2-Tip?

If you buy, you'll get a drink at a reasonable price and a comment that may or may not be useful. If you choose "tip" the 'keep will ask how many gold pieces you're willing to spend, up to nine. For your money, you’ll get an important clue about the secrets of the game which, of course, you may or may not have heard if you've asked the barkeep before.

Bartenders' clues help you play Ultima II successfully and wisely. But only from oracles and sages can you get the strategic hints you’ll need to win the game. Counsel with sages is very expensive and they too can repeat themselves.

Armed and shielded, you am ready to venture into the countryside and search out the evil enchantress. Chances are, you’ll meet a monster or two in your travels. Hesitation can be your worst enemy, since there are no friendly wayfarers in the countryside!

There's some timing to work on in battle. You may Press A for Attack as soon as you've finished your last turn, but don't press a direction until you’re prompted to do so. If you do, the game will respond only to the last command and try to move in the direction of the monster which is, of course, blocked. After a while, you won't have to watch the screen; the timing will come.

Keep an eye on your hit points. If you're getting nervous during a fight, try to guide the monster toward a time door so YOU can disappear and escape. Sometimes you can avoid monsters too, although fighting them and winning is essential for raising experience and cash. Monsters always make a bee-line for you. Keeping that in mind, you can often lead them into spots which leave you protected

Take warning: no matter how strong you become, there will always be some creatures impervious to your attacks. They may be ferocious, terrible creatures or ineffective Orcs. When you meet one - and you’ll never meet more than one at a time - leave it alone and get away. These lonely creatures are mutants of Minax's evil, doomed to continue their miserable lives forever.

Learn to make your way around the land and then through time. Seek out towns, villages and castles and talk to everyone. Pay attention to the items you get from monsters you overcome. Look at your Z-stats Often. Learn where to get food and hit points early in the game.

Eventually, your travels will take you into outer space, where you can make the grand tour of the planets. Follow your Galactic Map well but don't be afraid to explore, too. As you gather tactical information and become comfortable with your environment, you’ll pickup the clues that will lead you eventually to the lair of Minax the Enchantress herself!

Remember, you may save the game by pressing the [Q] Quit key. Whenever you have accomplished something you feel is significant, it is a good idea to save the game. After pressing the [Q] key, you may continue the game or quit and return at another time to the same point in the game. You may only "quit" when you are in the countryside on Earth. You cannot "quit" while aboard any mode of transport.

Good luck, adventurer. Your journey will be arduous, but Earth's future depends upon your success.

Shank's mare will take you far in Ultima II - but not everywhere. You can purchase, overtake or steal more efficient forms of transportation.

The use of magic spells is limited by your selection of profession. Only wizards and clerics can cast magic spells. Nine spells fall into three categories.

Acquiring spells is simple: you purchase them in appropriate shoppes. Their cost rises with increasing power. Casting a spell uses it up even if it fails, so be sure to have plenty of the spells you like.

Press the M (Magic) key and specify the spell by number. Then press C (Cast) to activate the spell. The spell you specify is the default spell until another is selected.

No one remembers exactly when the time doors first appeared, probably because their existence renders time relative. However, none Of our almanacs or other reference books make mention of them prior to the defeat and demise of the evil Mondain.

Strongly convincing philosophic theory supports the chronology. Mondain had gained such power that, upon his death, the physical laws of nature suffered a great upheaval. When the smoke cleared, what remained were corridors in time and space; what we commonly call our time doors.

Many explorers and wizards have traversed the corridors of time. The few who have returned speak of great confusion and difficulty in controlling the progression through the corridors and, especially in primitive times, of finding a means of transport to appropriate returning doors. Nonetheless, the existence of the time doors has changed all that is and all that ever was. When - no where - there were no time doors, that which was done was done. No second chances existed; there was no reaching into another time to find a cause, negate it, and thus reverse history's mistakes. Now, of course, it is possible.

The Time Map - As far as we know from those few surviving time travelers, the time corridors connect with five distinct time periods, although much uncertainty still surrounds the periods' exact historical dates. Tie adventurers' experiences do appear to confirm the existence of intelligent life forms in an era thought to have supported only primitive life or no fife at all. One period, reported vaguely by at least two independent travelers, appears to have no place in prior philosophic thought at all. Ironically, if it is what it appears to be, it is the period about which the most has been written. Until recently, such writings were believed to be speculation at best, pure fancy at worst. It is a time we know only through mythology - the time of Legends.

The following time periods are accessible through the time doors:

Using Time Doors - The time doors of all periods are shown on a map of the world as it is in A.D. Since accurate maps of other times do not yet exist, you will have to extrapolate the locations of the doors in other periods. Because Legends exists outside of the concept of time, its map would not resemble that of Earth in any reasonable way. Therefore, Legends is represented by its four known time doors grouped at the bottom of the map - where Antarctica would be shown if any time doors were to appear there.

The doors are not always, only sometimes open. When they appear, they rise silently looking rather like a blue mist that takes on the

Caution - Do not position yourself where a time door first appeared and wait for it to reappear. It will not reappear while you stand on that spot and the consequences of upsetting the time door interval could be disastrous.

The symbols and lines of the map represent the best possible compilation of sketchy information. Each time door is represented on the map by two symbols. The first indicates the time period in which that door will appear. The second is the time period to which it will transport a traveler.

A direct line from the door indicates where you will find yourself in the new time. When more than one line extends from a door, the line representing the door's destination is the one that leads to another time door with the destination time symbol marked first.

Example: Suppose you are in the time of the Aftermath, and wish to travel to the present. Look for a door represented first by the aftermath symbol followed by the A.D. symbol. Did you find it? It's the one in Alaska with numerous lines extending from it. Look for the line that leads to a time door with the A.D. symbol marked first- Got it? Try Argentina. In this case, the door in Argentina leads right back to the future in Alaska, but that won't always be the case.

Your journey will inevitably lead you into outer space. Special attire is needed to successfully travel through the solar system. While this map shows the limits of known space, don’t be afraid to search for new worlds.

The skillful use of weapons, combined with the proper armor, can spell the difference between success and failure in your quest. Armor and weapons can be purchased at shoppes in the towns. The cost of weapons increases with their effectiveness. The cost of armor increases according to the amount of protection it affords.

The following abbreviations are used by the shopkeepers when you attempt to purchase weapons and armor.

DA Dagger

MA Mace

AX Axe

BO Bow

QU Quick Sword

SW Sword

GR Great Sword

LI Light Sword

PH Phaser

Cloth

Leather

Plate

Reflect

Power

General Hints

1. Get a Blue Tassel by killing various monsters.

2. Get a Ship (It makes killing easier!)

3. Get Lots of Money! (This is 90% of the game.)

4. Go to Pirate's Harbor in Aftermath and take Rocket to Planet X.

5. Get Father Antos' Blessing and then return to Earth

6. Go To New San Antonio in 1990

7. <O>ffer Gold ($500) to the Old man to get the Ring of Protection.

8. <O>ffer Gold ($500) to Santre to get the Quicksword.

9. <O>ffer Gold to the Hotel Clerk to raise stats.

10 .Go to the Time of Legends, and Enter Castle.

11. Kill Minax by Hitting 5 times.

12. You won!

Hit point can be obtained by <T>ransacting with Lord British in his castle, either in 1423 BC or 1990 AD (old sucker, isn't he?). In the Beginning, he will increase your hit points by 300 for every 50 gold pieces. As your hits start to increase, the amount he gives you will decrease. As you approach 9999, he will be giving you 100 per 50 to avoid letting you roll your hit counter back to zero.

The most important thing you can do in Ultima II to get you started well is acquire a ship. You can't do this until you gain a blue tassel, so check your <Z>tatus after every encounter until you have one. If there is a "wild" pirate ship off the coast nearby, go to it and take command, if not, probably the easiest place to get one is in Pangea. Take one of the time doors there and try to find an area to stand in where you are almost completely surrounded by water, this increases the chance of the next beast that attacks you being a ship (or sea serpent). Once you get the ship, the game will go a lot easier for you. Food lasts longer, hits you take do less damage, and you pack considerably more fire power for dealing with hostile forces. Avoid pirates or destroy them as quickly as possible) until you have a good start though, they can steal your tassel and leave you land bound once again.

There is an interesting bug in all of the versions of Ultima. If you commandeer a "wild" pirate ship, it will be multiplied. Use this fact to set yourself up an armada of ships in convenient places in every time zone as soon as you get the opportunity. For instance, if you capture a ship on the eastern shore, start going west to the other shore with the rogue ship following you, he can only fire if you remain still or move adjacent to him. Once you reach the western shore, board the rogue ship and go back east, or north, or south, wherever you need ships to be handy. Once you feel you have all you need in a given time zone, destroy the rogue ship.

Pangea is a good place to start with ships because of the rapidly replenishing population of the minions of evil, but ultimately, you'll want at least one in each of the 5 time zones. When you feel ready, you are loaded with equipment and hit points and you have the best weapons & armor. You'll find that the best place is in the time of legends. Go there with an airplane so that you won't be trapped somewhere with no escape then park near a lot of water and start killing. Sooner or later, a boat will appear and you will have the same advantages you've had before. The difference is that the propagation rate vastly exceeds any other location in Ultima II. For this reason, you can build up gold and experience here faster than anywhere else. Of course, having to destroy all the powerful creatures that are here initially is the price you pay. After you kill the first group, you will find that the percentage of the lesser monster types increases considerably.

As the game progresses, you'll find yourself needing keys. Not the skull keys that you capture from overland monsters, but keys to the doors you'll find to some areas inside townes. Getting these can be a dangerous proposition because the only way to do it is by attacking towne guards, and of course if you attack one (or anyone else in a towne, they will all come looking +or you. You will need 3 keys to start out with to get into the airport at New San Antonio so you can commandeer a plane and finally put on some real speed. This means you have to defeat 2 guards. The simplest way to do this is in Port Boniface, the village near the castle of Lord British in 1990 AD First, make sure you are reasonably well equipped with weapons & armor and get LOTS of hit points from Lord British. As you enter Port Boniface, you will notice 2 guards standing on the far side of a sign heralding the name of the towne. Walk around this sign and <A>ttack one of these guards. Walk back around the sign immediately, the guard will follow you, then keep attacking him until he's destroyed. If you have done everything correctly, you should be able to walk back up and draw another guard to you. After killing him, you will have 4 keys, enough to get your airplane.

There are two other useful things you can do in Port Boniface. One is to steal enough food to keep you from having to come back every 10 minutes and buy more. A simple way to do this without getting waylaid by guards is to walk around to the right edge of the McDonalls where there is, conveniently enough, a take out window. As long as the merchant is on the other side of that window from you and not one of the various people wandering randomly in there, you will be able to steal food. Continue stealing it until you see guards approaching you. This will mean two things. First, you will be unable to steal more food and second, you want to get the Hell out of towne. As soon as you see a guard strolling your way, make a beeline to the right for the edge of towne. Once outside you can repeat this exercise until you have enough food to last a considerable time.

The last really useful thing to do in Port Boniface is to get a ship. Once you have a key you can open the door to the port area. You will be immediately set upon by the people inside. Don't worry about this. Just lead them far outside to give yourself enough room to maneuver around them and come back to the port. Once you board a ship, you can give them their due by using the <F>ire command to take them out. Interestingly enough, unlike the <A>ttack command, this does not set the guards on your trail. Once you've finished off the pirates, you can head the ship out onto the open seas by exiting Port Boniface to the north.

The Dungeons and Towers of Ultima II are just an exercise in entertainment. They are absolutely unnecessary to finishing the game.

Besides Port Boniface, there are two other cities of prime importance. One is the ruin of Moscow (Pirates Harbor) in 2112 AD and the other is New San Antonio in 1990 AD Pirates Harbor is important for a couple of reasons. First, it's where you get spaceships. Early in the game, the most important reason to come here is that you can pick up an ample supply of keys and free weapons & armor so you have more gold for attribute points. You should have 1 of the 4 keys that you obtained in Port Boniface, assuming you haven't squandered it somewhere else by now. Use it to open door to the port authority and gain access to the ships in the harbor. Kill the person blocking your way and stand just outside the door until the guards start to approach. As soon as you see them coming, head for the ships. Many will follow you, just sit there and <F>ire until you have killed them all (you'll need a godly amount of hit points for this.) Once they're all gone, head for the door again to lure in the guards that got caught on the outside in to you and the ship. You can continue this until you kill all the guards in the city but one. You will notice that he is invulnerable to attack because try as you might, you can't even hit him. When you feel you have enough keys, take the ship out into the bay and go south to the island. Get out and stand on each shield and sword and <G>et them. When done, leave towne with a ship or plane and you will now have permanent transportation posted in Aftermath.

New San Antonio is by far the most important place in the game. Most of what you need to solve it is centered here. In the confines of New San Antonio, you will find Santre the swashbuckler. He holds the quicksword, the most powerful weapon in all of Ultima II. It can be yours for $500 pieces of gold. He is in the prison (2nd cell on the left) which you'll have to fight to enter. The easy way to do this is to first acquire a plane from the airport, fly it to the door of the prison and open it. The guard will chase you because you attacked the fighter to get into the airport. Fly the plane to the west and park a +et-) spaces away, the guard will follow. Once you've led all the guards a good distance away, fly back and park your plane in the doorway. It will keep people from following and trapping YOLA in the prison. Get the sword from Santre, get back to your plane and fly out.

Another interesting location is the grove in the northern part of New San Antonio. For $500 you can purchase a ring of protection that will allow you to walk through fire unscathed. This is absolutely necessary to completing the game because you have to walk through barriers of fire several times in Shadow Guard to defeat Minax. Once you have the ring, be wary of thieves. Always check your <Z>tatus after you encounter one and have been pilfered. The ring is Unfortunately in the list of items it is possible to steal. Also, don't bother approaching the old man before you have been to Planet X to be blessed by Father Antos in Ozy’s Place. Without the blessing, the old man will take your money and tell you to come back after being blessed. You will then have to offer up another $500 to get it.

The last, and possibly most crucial person to see in New San Antonio is the clerk at the Hotel California. <0>ffering him gold is the only way to increase your attributes in the game, and you should get all of them as close to 99 as possible (as well as getting your hit points up as high as possible) before attempting to take on Minax. For every 100 gold pieces you offer the clerk one of your attributes will be increased by +our points (unless he says "Thank You", in which case, it's a good time to reboot and enter the city again. You need all the gold you can get!). The attribute he increases is seemingly random, but truthfully, they are increased in a very specific order, primarily because the random number seeder is really only pseudo-random. In other words, if you encounter the clerk on the same move in the game, her 5 times to destroy her and win the game. If you have succeeded in trapping the Balron, make sure your route to her doesn't take you somewhere that will allow him to escape and come after you again.

That’s it…