Al Qadim: The Genie's Curse is the latest from SSI. It features
a new and improved interface and game engine. Never before has an AD&D
computer adaptation felt so fast paced and exciting.
The graphics are stunning, arcade-like, smoothly scrolling, and
colorful. The perspective is that of a slant-overhead view that allows
you to guide your character through the adventure. In comparison the
view and scrolling are much better than those of Ultima series.
The sound card support is absolute in SSI tradition with a
multitude of brands featured. Music and sound effects are appropriate.
It must be noted, however, that they failed to render the true Arabian
night tales atmosphere. But that doesn't overly hurt the game play.
The RPG rules are those of AD&D's Al Qadim setting. In other
words the game abides by the AD&D 2nd Edition rules and is enriched by
exiting new concepts, spells, and creatures designed especially for this
campaign setting. You play a single character, a corsair (fighter
type). Swordplay is enhanced to a semi-arcade level with a special
feature: the ability to learn up to three specific combat moves. Those
combat moves become available as you increase in level and find a
trainer willing to teach them to you. Limited spell-casting is allowed
by the use moonstone shards paralleling rods and staffs (limited number
of charges) which you must acquire in the adventure. The bestiary is
close to standard but even the classic creatures are tainted with a
touch of Arabian exoticism making each and every battle a new experience.
Judging by the monsters, the game requires the skills of a 7th level
character equipped with considerable amount of extra healing potions.
The action is three dimensional: an outdoor phase with random encounters
of wandering monsters, a dungeon/city phase involving interaction with
predetermined numbers of NPC's and creatures, and the additional travel
phase such as your travels aboard your ship which sometimes result in
encounters with pirates, undead, or water elementals. The game includes
several mind boggling puzzles and, on occasion, dexterity requiring
arcade challenges.
This game is excellent. Pure art in form and principle, it
however does not present much of a challenge to the gifted gamer.
Game play to solve the game at the Medium level of difficulty without
cheats (I edited my save game later) is approximately 10 hours.
Disappointing for a five disk game. It appears that the game
was designed with novice players in mind. It is indeed excellent for
people with no previous AD&D experience. A lot can be expected from
future releases using this formidable engine, that is, if SSI does not
rupture its contract with TSR, which seems to be the case...
+----------------------------+
¦ STORY AND ACTION GUIDELINE ¦
+----------------------------+
---> Graduating From the Academy
The game opens with a test. Your master who taught the ancient
secrets of the corsairs sends you through a maze that requires agility,
speed, and quick thinking, in order to determine your fitness to graduate.
The basic principle behind the puzzle: move fast and stop as little as you
can. You are being chased by a disintegrating field which makes you start
over if it touches you. Slalom around spears and boulders, dash across
springing pun gee sticks, fiery infernos, grasping pincers, sliding
rotary blades, and dodge fiery missiles, rolling boulders, and aggressive
fire elementals. You'll have very little time to think or pause. You
must react quickly and take your chance whenever possible.
Strategies:
- Avoid wide open spaces and try to cling to the walls. Many traps are set
where no hindrance is visible.
- Keep your priorities straight. You have barely enough time to make it.
- Your greed will have to wait. When you finish, you will see a big chest
which contains enough reward to get you started.
- The teleporter is located north of that chest and will send you
outside the walls of your home city of Zaratan.
- For this first phase, and all subsequent phases, make it a habit
to crush the vases and pieces of furniture whenever you encounter them.
Very often they contain treasures, sometimes they offer the only safe
way through an area. Secret passages may be obscured by pieces of
furniture.
---> The Home City of Zaratan
The second phase involves unravelling the story line in your home
city. As you enter, your sister greets you and takes you to your
father, who will give you the family sword of honor which can only harm
your enemies. After conversing with him, visit the other houses of your
family compound:
- Your home, where your mother awaits.
- Your brother Tarik's house.
- Your Aunt's, who has a present for you.
Once you are done with the family, visit each and every other house:
- The compound of the rival family, the Wassab's.
- The trainer's home who can teach you new combat moves.
- The Inn.
- The Temple where you can donate some money (this will result in a gain
in experience).
- The Qadi's office which is discussed later on.
- Your sister's house at the south west corner of town.
The potion shop.
- The Sorcerers' Guild.
- The bazaar.
- The barracks.
- Various residents' homes.
The main tasks:
- Talk to each and every of your family members.
- Go to the bazaar, the merchant's daughter is dying and she needs purple
berries to survive. The purple berries are located in the monster-
infested oasis west of town.
- Go to the Qadi's office. He will give you a document that will hopefully
bring and end to the feud between your family and the Wassab's.
- Take the Qadi's treaty to the Wassab compound. When challenged by the
young Wassab son, politely decline. The Wassab elder will require your
father's signature first.
- Head back home and get him to sign.
- Return to the Wassab elder, he will then ask that you and your sister
also sign publicly in front of the Qadi's office.
- Fetch and convince your sister (upon meeting her again she will give you
a present).
- Return in company of your sister to the Qadi's office. There you both
sign the non-aggression pact.
- Throughout the city you will encounter private citizens in need of
donations. Be generous. Every time you give you will be rewarded by some
amount of experience.
- With the little money you have you may want to buy some healing potions at
the shop.
- Before going any further you must have dealt with the oasis covered in the
next section.
---> The Monster Infested Oasis
The oasis is infested with monsters which include:
- Hyenas
- Air Elementals
- Thorn shooting bushes
- Giant wild boars
- Swarms of hornets
The basic idea is find the one unique purple berry bush located in
the middle of the oasis next to the water.
As you collect the berries you will meet a mermaid. Promise her to
keep the knowledge of her existence secret and she will give you a message
from her master to bring to the Qadi.
Return to the city, give the berries to the bazaar keeper and
honor your oath to the mermaid and do not reveal her existence when
asked. Then go to the Qadi's office to deliver the message.
Somewhere around this time your old master will appear before you
warning you of omens of great dangers facing you. He will then give you a
few magical presents including a scroll to read before your nemesis when you
will finally meet them.
Return to the oasis bearing the reply to the message, the mermaid
will tell you of a healing pool in the oasis located on the other side of
the water from where you are standing, next to two trees. As you reach it,
step onto it and your wounds will be healed.
When you are done here, return to the city and a new plot will
unravel. Earlier during the day, about the time you signed the pact with
the Wassab family, a ominous storm had started. The storm has now cleared
up now and one of your trading ships brings bad news. While they were at
sea they passed by a Wassab ship when suddenly the storm hit. The magical
storm only affected the Wassab ship, sparing your own, and the attack was
the doing of your family's genie. Such an attack is full of consequences
considering your family had just signed a pact of non-aggression binding
your genie. Only your father, sister, and brother have control of the
genie. And when the Wassab's file a complaint with the Qadi, your
family gets blamed. But there is more. Aboard the Wassab ship was Kara,
your bride to be, the Caliph's daughter and the Caliph himself. They were
coming to greet you before the wedding. The Qadi sends you back to the
oasis to search the western shore for survivors.
Go back to the oasis and you will find the Caliph, alive and well,
but under the assault of hyenas.
After saving his life, he will insist that you search the debris for
his treasure which consists of a locket pendant with his daughter's picture.
You can find lying next to a barrel near the north west corner of the shore.
You can then return to the city. The Wassab will make formal
accusations against your family before the Caliph. Your family is ordered
to summon the family genie to explain his action. When Muliban, your genie,
appears, he declares he was given a direct order by a member of your family
and your brother Tarik is still nowhere to be found. Your family is
imprisoned back in the Caliph's palace in the capital city on another island.
Since you had no control over the genie you remain free but are banned from
Zaratan and cannot re-enter the city gates.
The adventure really begins now. Head back to the oasis to seek
the council of the mermaid. She tells you that you must locate the
magical ship on Deadman's Reef. In order to get to Deadman's Reef you
must head to the south west shore of the oasis and speak the words
"Jorgizra Jetzona". Once you secure the ship she tells you to head
to the northern part of the oasis to the mage's tower and seek an
audience by speaking the words "Azullah Batan".
Head to the southwest shore and speaks the words: they will summon
a giant turtle. Climb on its back and it will take you to Deadman's Reef.
---> Deadman's Reef
Deadman's Reef is inhabited by:
- Zombies
- Skeletons
- Thorn shooting bushes
Find three keys on the shore, two of which are found in chests
lying behind bushes. Beware of treasure lying around, for greed magically
invokes zombies.
Once you are done, climb the shipwreck. Move fast, for there is
an archer taking shots at you.
Go below deck. One of the keys will open the first door, and you'll
have to face a couple of skeletons. The other two keys will open the
next set of doors which lead into the quarters of a mage who will hurl
potent magic at you. Once you defeat her, you will gain several
treasures and access to the portal to the ship located on the wall of
that room.
Enter the portal. Once in the next plane of existence, head
to the center of the platform, there lies a large green orb. Shatter
the orb. As a result the ship will be restored and be teleported to the
sea. Whenever you come back into this room and touch the smaller orb, your
wounds will be healed.
Go back above deck and talk to the helmsman. Learn what he has to
tell you, and ask it to take you back to Zaratan.
In order to get off the boat, just climb onto the row-boat. It
will take you to the south shore of the Oasis.
Proceed north to the mage's tower and at the gate speak the words
you were taught earlier.
---> The Mage's Tower
As you enter the tower, you will be teleported to a challenge
area. Here are the basic guidelines on how to easily make it across:
- Where there are patterns of circles on the floor, step in succession
on the blue highlighted patterns. This will open the doors or engage
the mechanisms needed to proceed.
- In one instance, you will be tested for mnemonic abilities (one of the
two tests administered by the acid pool entity). In that instance you
have a round pattern of those circles which alternately light up. Step
on those which light up and when they do not light up anymore, step on
the center face. Keep track of which circles light up and which ones
light up more than once, as you will be quizzed on it afterwards.
Also, when asked about the significance of the rune, tell the truth: you
have no idea.
- Stay away from the green puddles as much as you possible. Some acid
slime elementals tend to originate from these if you stay around.
- There are poisonous spiders. Beware, when poisoned, you will loose
hit points steadily until the effect subsides after a couple minutes.
- In order to cross a section of acid pool or open a locked door, you will
often need to activate levers. When stuck, make sure you have activated
all the levers you have encountered.
- In one instance, you will need to push levers in order to lower spikes
blocking your way.
- In another, you will have to pull successions of levers in order to create
a path of rock tiles through a lava pool. That is the only instance where
the order in which you pull the levers matters. The initial order is:
+ Lever North
+ Lever South
+ New Lever North
+ New Lever Farther North
+ New Lever South
And then you will have to figure out the rest for yourself. After a
little trial and error you will get to more levers on the other walls of
the pool and one single lever standing on a tile. Once all are activated,
you will have access to a sliding plate which will take you from your last
position to the exit on the opposite side of the entrance to the pool.
- When addressing the stone faces, show humility, honor, and be
absolutely honest.
- For instance, when asked why you are in this area, reply that you came to
restore your family's honor.
- When asked if you attacked the master of the maze, say you would out of
self defense.
- When questioned by the jealous husband, reply that a wife's lover has
no honor because marriage is sacred.
- When talking to the wife, say that she should be trusted and that her love
is beautiful and precious and should be shown for the world to see.
- Later on, when asked again by the jealous husband, promise never to talk
to the mermaid again.
- When all else fails, and you are stuck in a corridor, pay attention
to shifting patterns in the walls. There is, at one point, a secret
passage.
- In some situations in order to cross pools you will need to step on
sliding stones, which have specific courses back and forth on the pools.
Sometimes you need to hop from stone to stone until you manage to get
your way across it.
If you follow these guidelines, you will eventually succeed and
get past every obstacle. You will be teleported back into the tower.
Go upstairs, enter the quarters of the mage where you will meet him and
his wife, none other than the mermaid you had previously met. After
discussing with the mage for a while, he will tell you what your next course
of action should be: you must regain control of Muliban, your family's
genie and find who ordered the attack. In order to get to that point,
you need to find the Genie's Lords. You can learn the name of their
island on the Isle of Shibaz by asking the Hermit in the Library. The
mage gives you an enchanted mirror to get what you seek from the Hermit
if all else fails.
As an additional request, the mermaid will address you. Make sure
to mention that her husband made you promise never to address her again.
After the oath is lifted, she will ask from you a gilded dove.
You may leave the tower and head back to your ship. If you want to
fulfill the mermaids request, you should set sail to the capital, enter
the city, and locate the Supernatural Emporium where you can buy the gilded
dove.
Then return the dove to the mermaid in the tower, in exchange her
husband gives you a scroll to speak before your true enemy.
---> The Capital City
Before going to the island of Shibaz, you may want to go to the
Capital city visit your parents in the jail of the Palace. The City's
shops feature:
- Barracks : Stay away.
- Mess Hall : Stay away.
- Ha-Kim's Heating : He sells the Hottest Coals in the World. When you need
them later on in the game, come get them here.
- Reptilian Desires: Here is sold the Wisest Snake in the World. When you
need it later on, come get it here.
- Desert Salvation : Local Healer. You can get your wounds healed for a fee.
Don't bother, either use the orb in your ship or buy
healing potions rather than waste your money here.
- Sand Point Gambling Club:
Gamble up to 500 coins at a time! If you win you gain twice as
as much as you gambled (500 brings 1000 for a new total of 1500 coins).
The game is "guess the number". you have 6 tries to guess a
number between 1 and 100.
Strategy:
+ 1st guess: 50
+ 2nd Guess: if value is lower: 30
if value is higher: 70
+ 3rd Guess: if you have bound the value between the two previous:
if the value is between 30 and 50, select 40.
+ 4th Guess: if it's between 30 and 40 select 35
+ 5th Guess: if it's between 30 and 35 select 32 or 33.
+ 6th Guess: depending wether its high or low, you have either the
right answer automatically or you have to choose
between two answers.
+ If you had too short on answer 2, then extend the bracket by 10
for the 3rd guess.
If then you have a range do as above within the new bracket. Your
odds will then be the same as above.
+ If you missed again on 3, then extend the guess by ten more, then
your guess become more difficult.
+ And so on...
With your earnings, invest in extra healing potions, and/or shards,
at the Supernatural Emporium.
- Shop with no sign: Trainer: Train here to learn new combat moves as you
increase in levels. There are 3 combat moves:
+ Hack
+ Sweep
+ Twirling Sweep
They are activated by holding the attack button until
the gem symbol on top of the screen light up.
- Private Homes: Stay away.
- Ingrid shop of wonders: She will sell you Idrid's Veil for a large amount
of gems. Come back here when you need it.
- Traveler's rest: The Inn is closed, but enter it anyway. One of the
two patrons will be of assistance in finding the location
of the Bottle of Eternal Emptiness.
- Supernatural Emporium: He will sell you the Gilded Dove. When you need it
come and get it from here.
In addition, he sells the following:
+ Potions: - Healing: Not very good
- Extra Healing: Excellent!
- Giant Strength: Raises it to 22, making your hits cause
more damage. Temporary effect.
- Invulnerability: Makes you much harder to hit. Temporary
effect.
- Oil of Elemental Invulnerability: + Fire
+ Air
+ Earth
+ Water
Makes you impervious to the attacks of these elementals, and
more resistant to spells based on these elements. Temporary
effect.
+ Moonstone Shards: These are available in limited quantities only. They
are listed from the most potent and limited to least
powerful and relatively abundant.
- Lightning (25 charges): Sends a bolts bouncing around
causing great damage.
- Cone of Cold (12): Has a broad, single directional area of
effect.
- Water Blast (15): Very effective against Fire Elementals
- Sunfire (10): Fireball-like area effect upon impact.
- Sun Scorch (15)
- Fire Arrow ( 7)
- Magic Missile (12)
- For Rent: This is the house of a forger who was recently incarcerated.
- Office Of Trade: He has the bone key. Come get it from him when you
need it.
He will exchange gem to gold and vice versa:
+ Get 10 gold for a gem.
+ Get 1 gem for 11 gold.
NOTE: About money matters: If you do not use a cheat, use your money wisely.
do not by any magical items except for Extra healing potions, until
you have acquired all the special items mentioned in each stores listed
above. If you need more, go gamble, the odds are actually quite good.
If you're dead broke, travel a lot just to run into pirates and or
undeads. You'll capture some amount of wealth after the battles, in
chest near the helm of the captured ships.
The last building in the city is the Palace.
---> The Caliph's Castle ( First Visit )
In the Castle Gardens, you will find some gold behind bushes and
flower beds. help yourself to it. In addition, you may converse with a
prisoner through the grate east of the entrance.
As you enter the castle for the first time, you basic objective is
to obtain the permission to visit your father in the dungeons below.
Ask the Vizier that you would like to see your family. He will then
ask you wether you wish to see the Caliph for that purpose. Reply positively.
Once taken to see the caliph, ask to meet with your family. When
refused to, insist that you give your word to not attempt to break the law
in any way. The Caliph will have the Vizier use his telepathic powers to scan
your mind for your true intentions. He'll ask you questions. Reply the truth.
You have no new information concerning the case against your family.
The caliph will authorize you to go see your father, but not the other
members of your family (mother and sister). With the permission, head for
the western living quarters, and find the stairs leading to the dungeons,
guarded by the captain of the guard. Tell him you are allowed a visit, and
proceed downstairs.
Your father's cell is located in the northern part of the dungeon.
You'll be taken straight to him, and instructed not to attempt finding your
other relatives.
Talk to him, and he'll ask you to go find your mother and sister and
inquire about their health.
You may wander about. Talk to the prisoners. One of them will tell
an interesting story about the Vizier's Seal, which will make more sense later
as the plot unravels.
Beware not to talk to either your mother or sister in the presence of
guards or robots. If you are caught talking to them, the game is over. The
robots only see you when they are close by you, and cannot see behind them.
The only guard to worry about is the one guarding the northern cells (where
your father is located). Your sister is loosing her mind, but will talk to
you and give you a present. Your mother is doing fine.
Return to your father. He'll thank you profusely and even give you
a present.
You may now leave the castle at once only to return after you have
accomplished several quests.
---> The Island of Shibaz, home of the Library Hermit
Once back at the ship, head for the island of Shibaz and go on
shore. Make your way through the abandoned buildings collecting
treasures and scrolls as you go.
Strategies:
- In one of the rooms you will see two chests and two pieces of furniture.
DO NOT ENTER THE ROOM!!! The furniture and chests will magically come to
life and destroy you.
- Besides the standard monsters, you will find, in a path lined with spears,
new creatures. They are some kind of hags with the ability to become
invisible. You must make sure to use your shards or sling on these. There
are two of them (at medium level). Enter the path and fire straight ahead.
The hags only reappear when they are attacking you, at close range.
- In the halls beyond the hags, you will encounter three statues. Talk to
them. Inspect the statues, and to the first, give a coin. To the second,
give the scroll you found on this same island, earlier, called "Heart of
Stone".
- You will encounter a magical talking chest. Give it treasure, gems, and
as many as you possibly can. As a reward you will get a moonstone shard
that will magically empower your sword.
- You will see a man on a flying carpet. Manage to reach him, and talk to
him. Be courteous and request to have access to his library. He'll open
the passage to the library, in a room in which you previously noticed a
mysterious structure.
- Go to the new set of stairs and climb down.
---> The Library Maze
The Library can be reached only after defeating the maze. Here
are the basic guidelines for doing that successfully:
- Monsters: There are a lot of Fire Elementals. They roam the northern
section of the maze. Some are hidden behind vases, waiting for you to
break them. A way to handle them is to run and shoot at them with your
sling.
- Behind a vase, in the northern section, is a fighter of great skill. Be
ready to spar against her.
- At some points you will see the Hermit on his flying carpet. Talk to him
and ask him about the location of the Genies Lords isle. Be very
respectful of him, and do not lose your patience. Eventually he will
tell you that in order to reach the library you need to get the magic
carpet.
- Statues: At some locations, you will be faced with moving statues that
seem to be attracted to you. When they initially reach you, they will
cause some damage. They presence around you greatly slows your movement.
A way to get rid of them is to leave the area they protect, and in order
to get past them, you need to move fast and plan your route carefully.
- In one of the rooms, many statues will run toward you. The only way to
get past them is to push a level in the same room, which will turn them
off. In that same room are patterns lit and unlit in a purple light on
the floor. Light all the patterns to trigger passage to the next room.
- Bridges: there are levers next to each bridges. Whenever you reach one,
pull the lever so the bridge allows passage to the other side of the
chasm.
- At one location, you need to switch levers to activate a bridge and then
rush to cross before the bridge goes back to it's original position.
Once you cross you'll be stranded on a small plateau. In order to leave
that area, take to book laying around. Read it aloud across the chasm.
Then, proceed to the northern bank of the plateau, and attempt to get off
until a green energy path appears. Get on the magical path and force
your way on it until its patterns lead you to the main bank.
- Vases: break them all, several contain treasures.
- In a path way, the northern wall is lined with vases. Break the vases
and walk on the broken remnants because the path to the south is lined
with deadly traps.
- Whenever you encounter purple runes on the floor step on them. It causes
them to become unlit in many places. There is a huge chest in the
southern section of the maze, surrounded by impregnable spikes. When you
have stepped on all the runes, a path of rune will enable you to cross
around the wall of spikes and let you access the chest.
- At another location, you have a series of flashing runes. Step on them
in a row, as fast as you can. they will become all unlit at once for a
very brief instant, and as a result, you will be able to cross the gate
nearby, otherwise blocked by a wall of force.
- In the room of the moving statues mentioned earlier, you need to step
on all the runes to light them up and activate passage to the next room,
a skeletal bridge that will lead you to the flying carpet.
- In some areas, walking along a path triggers either flame paths or spikes
to block the passage behind or ahead. Most of the time you have another
way around.
- In one area an annoying wall of spikes next to a single statue blocks the
passage to the north. In order to go around, deactivate the wall by
walking to the south ledge, then, instead of coming back up the same way,
walk across the bridge that you need to previously extend across the chasm,
and come to the same statue from the western path.
Once you reach the flying carpet, fly to the adjacent northern
platform, where a set of stairs await you. Land by flying overhead the
purple rune, then climb down the stairs.
---> The Library
In the library you need to discover the name of the Genies Lords'
Isle. There are two ways to do so.
- There is a secret passage in the northern section of the library. You can
see Scaly Horned Ogres go through it. Behind a vase, past the secret
passage, is a scroll. Break the vase and read it. The name of the
Isle is Jaza'ir Jiza.
- You were given a mirror by the mage of the oasis' tower. Put the mirror
in one of the two named chests:
+ Casket of Eternal Hope
+ Casket of Wordily Care (this one works faster)
Then talk to the Hermit, and keep on telling him you have a present
for him until he directs you to put it in one of the caskets. By that time,
he'll go check the caskets. When he finds the mirror, talk to him again, and
you'll easily get him to reveal the name of the isle.
Here are some additional guidelines:
- There are several scrolls throughout the area. They all are worthless
except the one mentioned above.
- There are several treasures in the library, beside the scroll that you
seek.
- Monsters: + Scaly-Horned Ogres
+ Earth Elementals
+ Fire Elementals
+ Poisonous Spiders
Once you have the scroll and are done exploring for treasure,
you can leave the library by the stairs. In the maze, climb on the Flying
Carpet and fly to the stairwell leading outside. Next to it is a purple
rune. Land there, climb up and return to your ship.
---> The Genie's Lords Isle & The Isle of Senat
This Island is free of wandering monsters. However, you will soon
discover that its access is restricted, as giant fists of sand prevent you
to walk toward the center of the isle.
Circle the isle to the west and south. Eventually you will reach a
point where there is an opening amidst a semi-circle of ever-moving fists.
Enter here and you will soon reach the Carpet of the Efreet in charge of
admissions.
Ask the Efreet for an audience with the Genie's Lords. He will
refuse and sound abusive. Keep your tone respectful, and insist.
Eventually he will send you fetch the Wisest Snake in the world for his
master. Go back to the capital city, where you can purchase it for a
few gems at Reptilian Desires.
The Efreet will then ask you to get him the Hottest coals in the
world. Go the the capital city and get it from Ha-Kim's Heating.
When addressing the Efreet again, stress the urgency of your quest.
He will then send you get Idrid's Veil. You can get it from Ingrid's shop
of wonders in the capital city.
Finally the Efreet will yet send you get him a last item: a Bottle
of Eternal Emptiness. In order to find about its location, go back to the
capital city and enter the Closed Inn. One of the two patrons will tell you
that it is located on the Island of Senat.
Set sail for the Island of Senat. This is a fiery volcanic roc
plagued by fire elementals. DO NOT FIGHT!!! The very fact of simply
standing on that fiery inferno hurts! Just dodge the Elementals and proceed
to the center of the isle where you shall find the bottle. Then return as
fast as you came to your boat.
Return the bottle to the Efreet, and convince him to open it in order
to make sure it truly is what you claim it is. Upon opening it, he'll be
sucked it. Simply cork the bottle, and the path is clear.
There are three features on the isle:
- The Agent of the Djinns: He roams the western part of the enclosure on a
flying carpet. Talk to him, although that does not seem to lead to much
results.
- The Agent of the Daos: His walks the eastern part of the enclosure. He
will tell you how to reach the Djinn Lords through the chessboard.
- The Chessboard: There are 4 paths of entrance for the board at each cardinal
point. Each leads to one of the the Djinn Lords.
+ North path: Go down 5 cases, east 3 cases and up 1 case. This leads you
to the Marid, great lord of the isle. Talk to him, and be patient as
he goes through his extensive tales of battle with the Efreet Lord.
He will express the wish to recover his Storyteller. He has her voice in
a bottle.
+ East path: Go west 5 cases, up 3 cases and east 1 case. This leads to
the Djinn Lords. The Red Lord is Saratah, and the Blue Lord Budisha.
Address them by their proper names. When talking to them, one will
start on a topic and stop. Then address the next for more.
+ West path: Go east 5 cases, down 3 cases and west 1 case. This leads
to the Dao Lords' underground lair. You need not be announced by
the Dao guarding the bridge, and may just go past him if he refuses
to grant you passage. Past the Dao is a flock of winged creatures which
you will have to battle. To the south is a cell in which the mute story
teller is held captive. Attempt to communicate with her. To the north
is the Dao lord. He may deal with you if you have something of interest
for him.
+ South Path: Go north 5 cases, east 3 cases and south 1 case. This leads
to the Efreet lord. Talk to the entrance guard. He will request an
audience for you, but the Lord will refuse. The only way to reach the
Lord is to cross the Chessboard, but if you enter it, an Efreet will
launch deadly flames that will instantly kill you. You need a special
item to make it across. To leave this area, ask the Efreet guard to
teleport you back. Be patient, and if he dismisses you wait a while and
try again.
Dealing with the Djinn Lords requires a certain course of action:
- Talk to the Djinn Lords. they will tell you you need to address the Marid
Lord.
- Talk to the Marid Lord. He will ask for the return of his storyteller
in exchange of help against the Efreet Lord.
- Talk to the Dao Lord. He will ask for an Airy Jewel of Pale Blue Fire
from the Djinns.
- Return to the Djinn Lords. Tell them of the prize required by the Dao
Lords. They will require something from you for it. Say you'll agree to
their price. They'll ask too much. Then say you'll sail to the end of the
world to find the Ardonat Isle . They will rebuke you saying that it
is a sunken isle, and reply you'll do it anyway. They'll reward you for
your courage and give you the jewel.
- Return to the Dao Lord. Give the jewel, and you can go get the Storyteller.
- Take the Storyteller back to the Marid Lord. There she will regain her
voice and claim her freedom. Request the reward you are due. The Marid
lord will give you an Efreet Potion.
- Return to the Efreet Lord, drink the Efreet potion and step on the chess
board. The flames will not harm you. Walk to the Lord and talk to him.
He will tell you of the Nameless ones, of the Genie's Curse. He will
reveal that your own father is a Nameless One, and give you a moonstone
shard to further empower your sword.
You may now set sail toward the Capital City and the Caliph's
palace.
---> The Capital City and the Caliph's Palace ( Second Visit )
Go straight to the castle. Ask the Vizier for a meeting with your
father. Your request will be denied by the Caliph. Proceed toward the
exit of the castle. As you reach it, a servant will walk to you and tell you
that Sumie, the head of the kitchen has planned a feast in your honor and
wishes to talk to you.
Go meet Sumie. She's the servant wearing orange clothes and standing
next to the fireplace in the castle's kitchen. She will offer help by telling
you of a locked secret passage to the Dungeons located in the North-Eastern
storage cellar of the kitchen. In order to get the key to the passage, she
will tell you to go to the Office of trade in the city.
Go to the Office of trade, next to the city's entrance. When the
tenant asks you for what service you desire, reply that you wish nothing.
Then proceed behind the counter and ask him for the key, letting him know
you were sent by Sumie. He will tell you to get them from the Baker.
Go to the baker, selling his goods in the open market in the
northern section of town. Ask for the Key of Bone, and he will oblige.
Return to the castle, and talk to Sumie. She will explain that in
order to reach the new dungeon where you father is kept, you need to cross
the Old, monster infested dungeon. Also, she asks that you return the Key
once you're done talking to your father.
Go the North-Eastern cellar of the kitchen, and climb down to the
old dungeon.
----> The Castle's Old Dungeon
In your first descent in the dungeon do the following:
- In the first rubble-ridden room, there is a key along the southern wall,
hidden by a boulder.
- Proceed to the next room. It is inhabited by Giant Poisonous Spiders.
From the right angle, you may dispose of them easily with your sling.
Move the rocks to clear the path.
- Proceed to the next room. You will find a secret passage in the eastern
wall, leading to a cell. Leave the cell via the south, and you will
be greeted by an awful stench. Follow your nose, and proceed east to the
next cell, inhabited by a Cyclop.
- Enter the Cyclop's cell, but do not attack. Ask for a compromise. He will
allow you to search his room if you promise to take him out of the castle's
walls. Accept the deal, but ask him to first disguise. He will fetch a
blanket and use it as a veil.
- Lead the Cyclop upstairs, to the kitchen. Sumie, alarmed, will intercept
you. Tell her you must take him outside, and ask her to cover his scent
with aromas.
- Lead the Cyclop out of the castle. Stay clear of wandering guards, and
walk as far from standing guards as you can.
- Once outside the castle, tell the cyclop to remain disguised. Take him
across the city, and to the shore.
- Once at the shore, he will tell you of the treasure of the nameless ones
magically protected on an island.
Before going any further, sail to the treasure island. It is
protected by Thorn-throwing bushes and Cyclops. Make your way to the
walkway bound by columns. You will reach a large chest in a circular
area. The area is trapped with lightning bolts. The way to reach the
chest is to approach from behind. A frontal approach will make it
vanish. Once you get the chest, you both will be teleported outside
the deadly ring. Take the contents, which include yet another scroll
to read before your enemies (the Nameless Ones).
Make your way back to the Castle, and proceed back to the Cyclop's
cell in the Old Dungeon. Read the scroll lying around. The first step
in this section is to open a door, and the way to do it is as follows:
- The cells may have inhabitants, so get ready for battle. One of the cells
contains green-acid puddles. Once done in that room, you should make
sure to close the cell door.
- There are 6 cells and a hallway. There are pressure plates in 4 of the
six cells, and 2 in the hallway. There is, in each room a lichen covered
wall. Each pressure plate corresponds to the nearest lichen-covered plate.
For each of the 6 plates, do the following:
- Cover the Plate with a boulder, by dragging it on top of it, or by standing
on top of it, if it allows you to reach the lichen-covered section of wall
corresponding to it.
- Hit the Lichen-covered section of wall 8 times. A metallic sound will
be heard, then a lever will appear. Pull the lever.
- Once you did that, no need to remain on the pressure plate (in the
hallway, you may drag the boulder to the next pressure plate). repeat
the operation until the 6 levers are pulled, at which time the door
will be unlocked.
Proceed to the next room. There, you will have two pressure plates.
Cover one with the boulder, and the other with the stone table. Then
proceed to the northern wall, and hit the lichen covered section, and pull
the lever in the same fashion you did it earlier.
Upon doing that, you will open an hallway lined with 8 locked cells,
and 8 levers will line the western wall of the current room.
- Pull a SINGLE lever, and hurry to the cell-lined hallway.
- Find the open cell, enter, clear it of its fiendish occupants, and take the
contents of the treasure cell. Each cell contains different types of
monsters, including Earth Elementals, Skeletons, Hags, a mage etc...
Repeat the operation until you've cleared each and every cells.
- The center cell to the south will seem empty, and has a hole in the southern
wall. This is the way to the New Dungeon where your father is kept. It
is guarded by a fearsome Ettin. This battle will be trying, so be prepared.
Do not hesitate to use any shards you may have in your arsenal.
- Once you defeated the Ettin, proceed south, and you will reach the New
Dungeon.
---> The Castle's New Dungeon ( Second Visit )
You must reach your father and talk to him. You may not be seen
by either the guards or automations, or the game is over. Follow the
following guidelines.
- Observe the path of the Robots, and use the fact that they can not see very
far, or at all behind them. The robots NEVER change their routes.
- Make use of the open cells and the halls not frequented by the Robots.
- Your father cell is located all the way to the North, in a section guarded
by a single human guard. you must make sure not to be seen by the guard
when going to talk to your father.
Your father will tell you of the Nameless ones, and that he used to
be one of them. He will instruct you that reading their spells backward will
weaken them. This applies to the scroll you have just found in the Nameless
Ones treasure pointed out by the Cyclop.
- When done talking to your father, leave the section with the same care
you used upon entering. The guard has a clockwise route, so go the
same way, but do not run into him from behind, because he could spot
you.
- Dodge the robots back to the old dungeons and then the kitchen.
- Return the keys to the dungeon to Sumie.
---> The Castle and the Private chambers ( Third Visit )
Proceed toward the exit of the castle. You will see a scroll laying
next to a pillar. Read it. It is from a man named Obdel, and it instructs
you to go meet him in the South Banquet Hall of the Castle.
Go meet Obdel. He will tell you that the person responsible for all
your trouble is The Vizier and that he magically controls the Caliph. He
will give you a One-Time Use teleportation ring that will take you to the
Vizier chamber so you may find the proof to expose him.
- Go to the Meditation, a room with weird tile pattern located in the South
West wing of the castle. Activate the ring.
- You are teleported in the Vizier's Chambers, where one of his lieutenant is
working. Sneak past from behind, toward the western exit.
- You end up in a hallway. There is a guard roaming this long hallway. You
must wait for him to do away and sprint into the western side of the
the hallway, and hide behind a column.
- When the guard passes by toward the Eastern side of the Hall, go through
the southern passage.
- There are two guards here, and a tea table. Push the tea table past the
guards and wait. When they go after it, time yourself, and proceed
straight to the SOUTH (ignore the opening to the east, it's a trap).
- You will find yourself in the Harem Chamber. Talk to the woman to the
East. Address her as Catspaw. She will recognize who you are and give you
a key to the secret passage in the caliph's chambers. She will instruct
you to put the key under the Caliph's Mattress when you're done.
- Hide behind the door. She will call the Guards in.
- When she calls the guards in, get out of the room. BEWARE: be very careful
not to hit the vase, for it will alarm them of your presence.
- Proceed straight north for the Caliph's chamber. But Beware... The hall
guard may be standing there. Timing is everything. If you're in doubt,
hide behind a column, and wait to be sure the guard went away to the east.
- In the Caliph's room, go to the Eastern Chamber. DO NOT TOUCH ANY TREASURE
or you'll be caught by an alarm, and the game is over. Unlock the
secret passage.
- You will find a chest and the Vizier's Journal. Take it. You may also
take the content of the chest in this room.
- Return to the chamber, and put the key under the mattress.
- Proceed back to the hall, making sure to avoid the guard by hiding behind
columns, and return east, to the Vizier's Chamber.
- In the Vizier's Chamber, sneak behind the Lieutenant, south and east and
teleport back to the meditation Chamber.
Head straight for the South Banquet Hall. Talk to the Servant there.
He will tell you that Obdel got a message and left for his chambers.
Go to Obdel Chambers, located in the center section of the South
Western wing of the castle (room to the left). Go through the drawer of
the piece of furniture. You will find a scroll. Read it. It reads that
Obdel is supposed to meet someone next to the city's gate.
Leave the Castle, and proceed to the city's entrance. When you'll
get close to the enclosure filled with wagons, you'll spot Obdel, waiting.
Sneak behind a wagon, where you can observe Obdel, and wait.
A mercenary will meet him. You hear them talking about the Island
of Al'Katraz. Obdel was setting the Vizier up. The Caliph is the one who
had the Vizier's Seal forged. He is under the control of the Nameless Ones.
They were trying to get rid of the Vizier. Once the meeting is over, let
Obdel pass, and follow the mercenary to the south, outside the city.
As you reach the mercenary, he will vanish. Return to the boat,
and set sail toward the island of Al'Katraz.
----> The Island of Al'Katraz
Upon getting on the island, you'll be attacked by a group of
winged creatures, so be ready for battle.
There are 2 factions on the island's surface, at war with one
another. As you proceed to either section, some guards will attack
you. You may be able to pacify them temporarily. The leaders of each
faction are located on a southern peninsula East and West, respectfully.
Attempt to stop the war between them if you wish. I personally
didn't feel like it, and when they attacked me, after I said something that
triggered them, I simply disposed of both factions. They have several
fighters, and you may need to carefully prepare and go heal yourself between
fights.
In any case, once the leaders have been laid to eternal rest, you
will find a key on each to a shrine located in each section. Enter the
two shrines, and meditate. You will be revealed the two words of the
password to the prisons below the Well: HAMA and BAZAN.
You can visit the other Houses. Persuade the wounded that your
intentions are honorable. They will tell you that the war between each
side is due to the action of the Nameless Ones' magic under the Well.
Proceed to the Well, and speak the words of the password while
standing in front of it.
----> The Prison of Al'Katraz
The course of action in the prison is pretty simple: Kill and
destroy everybody you encounter. Guidelines:
- Locate the Mercenary captain's quarters. There you will face several
guards, including a pair of Cyclops, and the skillful Captain.
- Enter the chambers of the captain. Take the Rusty key under the bed.
Look into the water. You will see the features of a mage. Claim you
are a delivery boy that ended up there by mistake. You will find
notes that indicate that your brother's voice is in a bottle on
Aballat's Isle.
- The mage will eventually come to investigate. When he does, kill him.
- Proceed back toward the two cell blocks to the east. Free all the
prisoners. One of the prisoner is your brother Tarik. Offer him
a healing potion. You will soon realize that his voice was stolen and
he was left mute.
- To the West are the monster-ridden dungeons. If you feel up to it,
force the northern gate open and proceed east.
- Beware! if your brother is with you, the controls may confuse an
attempted attack with an attempt to talk to him. Make sure to
have him out of the way when you are engaged.
- You will meet several monsters and find a lot of treasure. The final
room contains two Ettins. They are formidable enemies. Do not
hesitate to use your arsenal of shards.
Return to the Ship with your brother. Take him below deck. Set
sail for Aballat Isle.
---> Aballat Isle
Search the isle for bottle hidden behind bushes throughout the isle.
You will find several of them. Open them, and set their contents free.
In one bottle, located behind a bush on the north of the Island, you
will find your brother's voice.
A few giant wolves roam the isle, and will need to be disposed of.
In the buildings, you will find people guarding bottles. Most of them are
magically bound to do so, against their will. Hear their sad tales, release
the contents of the bottles, and set them free.
Once you are done, return to the ship and go meet your brother below
deck. Tell your brother to summon Muliban, your family's Genie. Muliban
will appear and you will decide of the next course of action. Tarik and
Muliban will go back to the Castle, and attempt to save your family from an
execution, and you will sail toward the lair of the Nameless Ones, Al-Naqqil,
reachable, now that Mulliban has blown the magical fog hiding it.
---> Al-Naqqil, Home of the Nameless Ones
You need to locate 3 magical necklaces that will allow you to
walk past 3 sets of magically protected secret passages, and locate the gate
to the extra-dimensional planes. Guidelines:
- You will encounter several Winged Minions, and a couple Cyclops.
- In a section, to the North, you need to find a secret passage to the
chambers of 3 mages. One of them will great you outside, and the others
meet you in their quarters. You will find a necklace on them.
- Read all parchments. They will tell you how the Nameless ones have been
attempting to harness the powers of the Great Moonstone from Sorcerer
Isle (the Island of your home, Zaratan). In order to take it they needed
your father out of the way, and instigated the plot to frame them. They
capture prisoners to feed on their life force, transmuting them into
monsters. They hold your fiance, princess Kara, for that purpose, and
you may already be too late. The nameless ones undergo a transformation
as they use the power of the Moonstone, slowly becoming ethereal, and
transforming into extra-planar beings.
- In a chamber to the South East, you will find a fading Nameless one in
the process of burning evidence of their activities. His magic his
even more potent than that of the previous mages. You will get a second
necklace from him. You may have to cross a secret passage to get here.
- There is a large room filled with beds. In the South-Western corner is
a table. Smash it. A secret passage will be revealed beyond.
- In the Eastern section on the lair, you will find another large room,
protected by a mage. Inside the room is another fading Nameless One.
Upon defeating him, you will find the 3rd necklace.
- Find a set of secret passages to the east, and they will lead you
to the blue gate to the extra-planar dimensions.
---> The Outer-Planes
NOTICE: The saved game I included in this release will take you at the
very beginning of this phase.
In the planes follow the Guidelines:
- Walk from platform to platform by pushing on the edges. Sometimes, stepping
on an edge or at the end of the path triggers another path to open up.
- On the platforms with gates and orbs, break the orbs. That will set the
creatures imprisoned free. Defeat the creatures, and in some instances, you
will free the prisoner that was being transformed into a monster.
- On one such instance you will fight a Hag, and will find out that it was
in fact Kara. You will have to leave her behind an proceed to find the
Nameless Ones.
- You will Meet a nameless one at one point. He is no longer human. His
magic is extremely potent. Although he seems totally ethereal, your
magical sword may affect him, but you should use shards also.
- On one Platform you will find a lone Globe. Break it and proceed on the
next available path. This will take you back to the ship. You have
destroyed the orb holding the shipmate prisoner. He will express his
gratitude. Tell him that you wish to return to the outer planes to finish
off the Nameless ones.
- One platform houses the Great Moonstone. You can break its influence on
the orbs. Then touch it and it will heal you.
- Finally you will end up on a final platform, and be confronted by the last
Nameless One. Hit him with all you've got.
Finally, you destroy him. Muliban appears and tells you that all
went well, and your family was rescued. He magically heals Princess Kara
and brings her to you. He then transports back the Moonstone to Sorcerer
Island, and takes you to the Caliph's Palace to get married.
All is well that ends well... for now...
+------------+
¦ CONCLUSION ¦
+------------+
This game was worth playing, but too simple for the experienced CRPG
player. I hope you will use this in-depth solve, because I truly had no
desire to write it, with finals and all... I had finished the game in
10 hours, last weekend, and have been delaying this until now. But as a
Pentagram Member, it was my duty to bring you the tools you may need for
better enjoying yourself.
Personal greets go out to:
+ My Lazy-ass Buddy Dr. Insanity
+ The Divine Bandieto, true son of God, and king of the world
+ Your-ass-will-soon-be-mine Faceless
+ The Entire PTG Posse
+ Ralph and KiWi
+ Killerette and her HV crew
Little note: The Scene is garbage, and so is Terratron since they
endorse such crap. Judging by my docs and all, I feel
my opinion on that matter is more than relevant. And
if you disagree, bite me.
