Bard's Tale (PC)

Part 1

THE BARD'S TALE is a multi-character role-playing game in the
tradition of the
WIZARDRY series. It was written by Michael Cranford of Interplay
Productions
and distributed by Electronic Arts.

The game begins in the town of Skara Brae, where the evil
wizard Mangar the
Dark has isolated the town from all help by casting a spell of
eternal winter
on the surrounding countryside. Mangar has defeated all the good
wizards and
warriors of note in the town and has infested the town with his
evil minions.
The task now before you as junior magic casters and warriors is
to defeat
Mangar and restore Skara Brae to its rightful inhabitants. Oh
yes, you should
bring a bard along to record your deeds. He will sing your
praises if you
succeed, or croon a dirge at your funerals.

The magic system used in the game is rich in diversity. A
magic user must
start out as either a magician, specializing in casting magical
effects on
non-magical objects, or a conjurer, who deals with the
instantaneous creation
of objects and effects through magic. After learning at least 3
spell levels in
a magic art, a magic user can change from one class to another.
But do not be
too hasty: after leaving one class you can never go back to it.

Once a magic user becomes proficient in at least one art, he
can then become a
sorcerer. Sorcery deals with the magic of illusion and magical
perception. If a
magic user becomes proficient in at least two of the arts, he can
then become a
wizard. Wizardry deals with the summoning and control of
supernatural
creatures. The experience points required to advance a level as a
wizard are
much higher than the other magic classes. It is best to let your
magic user
advance all the way to level 7 in whichever art he is in before
changing
classes. But be sure to change class after he has attained level
7 of the art.
In the dungeons there are many traps for the unwary; you never
know who will be
killed and what spells are required to save your party from
extinction.

There are several different fighter classes available in the
game: monks,
paladins, hunters, warriors and rogues. All have different
strengths and
weaknesses. During combat only the first three members of your
party can
physically fight or be attacked; the last three can cast spells.
It pays early
in the game to have three fighters of some type to protect your
magic users
from physical combat and free them to concentrate on a magical
attack.

The bard is a unique individual who can fight, albeit poorly,
and cast six
magical spells by playing an instrument. You must have one along,
as this is
the Bard's Tale.

THE BARD'S TALE
Part 2

Obviously, the first thing you must do is assemble your party.
There is a
beginning party (supplied with the game) already equipped with a
basic level of
armor, instruments, etc. A much better and unique option is to
transfer
characters over from either WIZARDRY or ULTIMA III. These
characters come over
as fairly senior level characters and make the beginning of this
game much
easier. This is a highly desirable alternative.

If you create your own characters -- which you must do for
your bard -- pay
special attention to the dexterity attribute. This attribute
determines who
strikes first in combat, and can be the difference between an
easy encounter
and one which is a struggle. Magic users should have a high IQ,
while fighter
classes should have a high strength. I recommend a monk as one of
your
fighters. Their armor class drops as their level rises. Mine
eventually had
an armor class of LO wearing only a robe. They also can do the
most damage
unarmed in actual combat.

My starting party consisted of a monk, two paladins, a bard, a
magician and a
conjurer. At higher levels of the game, you will want to trade in
one of your
paladins and develop another magic user.

When you first leave the Adventurer's Guild, explore the city.
Visit Garth's
Armory, and find the Review Board (located next to the inn on
Trumpet Street).
Don't wander too far until you get a feel for how you can
survive. To restore
hit points after fighting, visit a temple. There all ills --
including death --
can be cured for a price. After a fight, you will quite
frequently find objects
of some type. Keep them all. If you don't need them, go to
Garth's and sell
them for gold -- you will need it.

Visit Roscoe's Energy emporium located off the Gran Plaz on
the corner of Grey
Knife Street. There you will get an idea what it costs to restore
spell points.

Early on, when you are still short of gold, the best way to
restore spell
points is to go into the Adventurer's Guild and just wait. This
game is in real
time, and spell points are restored as you just sit there. If you
wait on the
street or in a house, you will almost certainly be attacked.

When you find an object after a fight or in a chest in the
dungeons,
experiment with it to find out what it is. There are no cursed
items. Quite a
few objects have magical properties that are not readily
apparent. Here are a
few of the objects that I found most useful, even though you
won't run into
these until later in the game: Kael's Axe seemed to be the best
weapon, causing
the most damage for my Paladins; a frost horn for your Bard, when
used in
combat, causes 40-70 hit points of damage to a group of monsters;
a mage staff
for your magic users allows them to regain spell points even in a
dungeon (this
is incredibly useful). I will leave it up to you to discover the
usefulness of
the other items found during the game.

After learning the game play by wandering around the city and
being able to
survive, it is time to visit the dungeons. This is where the
battle with Mangar
will be won or lost.

THE BARD'S TALE
Part 3

There are five dungeons in the game that must be explored in
the following
order: Wine Cellar and Sewers, The Catacombs, Harkyn's Castle,
Kylearan's
Tower, and Mangar's Tower. Each contains something that will help
in the
subsequent stages of the game.

Wine Cellar and Sewers

The easiest dungeon of them all is reached from the inn on
Rakhir Street.
Enter the inn, ask to order a drink, then select wine. You will
then be ushered
into the Wine Cellar. I cannot overstress the importance of
mapping in this
game. Whenever possible, have the MALE spell in operation. This
will help you
avoid some of the traps that are lying around. When you have an
encounter and
find a chest, always cast a TRZP spell to disarm any traps that
may be guarding
the chest.

Located in the Wine Cellar are the stairs down to the Sewers.
The first level
of the Sewers contains almost nothing of interest. So locate the
stairs to the
second level of the sewers as quickly as possible and get down
there. The
second level contains one very important bit of information that
you will need
to enter the Catacombs: the name of the Mad God. There are also
two hints to
questions that will be asked in other dungeons. Explore this
level fully to
find all the hints and the Mad God's name. The lowest level of
the Sewers is
next and contains one item of importance for later in the game.
Locate and take
the stairs exiting from this level. Make sure you know where the
stairs lead
exactly. After this (I hope you have been visiting the Review
Board regularly
to advance levels and learn new spells), you are ready for the
Catacombs.

The Catacombs

The Catacombs are reached from one of the Mad God's Temples,
located on the
east side of the Gran Plaz. After entering the Temple, ask to
speak to the
priest, then give him the Mad God's name: TARJAN.

The first level of the Catacombs is just a survival test at
this stage. Once
you can survive there fairly easily, head for the second level of
the
Catacombs. The second level has a clue in it about the Mad God.
It also
contains a very nasty creature called a Soul Sucker that lurks in
the southwest
corner of the second level. If you decide to go in there and try
him out, make
sure you have your character disk backed up. You will not be able
to defeat him
at this stage of your development, but fortunately you don't have
to.

The lowest level of the Catacombs contains something you will
need later. Once
you have reached the third level of the Catacombs, you must use a
teleport
square to enter the Wizard's Realm. The teleport is located in
the southeast
corner of the dungeon. Once you are in the Wizard's Realm, you
must defeat him
to gain the Eye. After you have this item, you are ready to
tackle Harkyn's
Castle.

THE BARD'S TALE
Part 4

Harkyn's Castle

Harkyn's Castle is located in the northeast corner of Skara
Brae. At this
point in time, it becomes very important for you to have filled
your special
slot with the most powerful character your magic users can
summon. If you are
in the process of developing a wizard, a lesser demon is best.

The first level of Harkyn's Castle contains one item of
importance: the
Crystal Sword from the southeast corner of this level. You will
now begin to
find some of the more powerful objects to experiment with during
your
encounters. After obtaining the crystal sword, head for the
second level of the
Castle. The stairs are located in the northeast corner of the
first level.

The second level of the Castle has a couple of interesting
things. If you
answer the riddle correctly ("SHIELDS") you get a magic
mouth which can be used
to cast the SOSI spell. You must also obtain the silver square
from the
southwest corner of the dungeon. The access to this is from a
teleport located
towards the middle of the northern section of the dungeon. The
portal to the
third level is located in the northeast section of this level.

The third level of the Castle contains the entrance to
Kylearan's Tower and
some interesting opportunities. The answer to the Old Man's
question is "SKULL
TAVERN." When you encounter the berserkers located at 12E 5N
of this level,
take advantage. They can be fairly easily defeated with the right
magic spells.
You should have at least two sorcerers capable of casting the
MIBL spell. It
also helps if your bard has a frost or fire horn to aid the
others along. When
you can defeat these guys easily, it is time to make another
magic user. You
can teleport from the Castle entrance, fight the berserkers,
teleport back to
the entrance, exit the castle, then do it again and again until
your spells run
low. At 60,000 experience points a crack, it doesn't take long to
develop a
decent magic user. After this, it is time to attempt Kylearan's
Castle. When
you approach, and fight the statue of a Mad God located in the
southeast corner
of this level, you will be teleported inside the gates of
Kylearan's Tower.

Kylearan's Tower

After the battle with the Mad God and your subsequent teleport
(you did have
the eye in your possession), go one step forward, turn right,
then kick the
door down. You will then be entering one of the two most
difficult mazes in the
game. Most of it is in the dark and there are riddles that must
be answered.
Backup your character disk before entering this maze. Once you
are in, watch
carefully for teleports: they are everywhere. It is extremely
important that
you map this maze very carefully. After you have reached the
antimagic square
from wandering in a very small section of the dark, the next step
forward is a
teleport to 11E 12N. Explore until you find a magic mouth that
asks you to
"Name the one of cold, foretold twofold," The answer to
this one is "STONE
GOLEM." You will then be teleported again. After this, you
will enter a very
large, dark area. In order to get out of this, you must answer
the question
posed at 12E 2N which says, "Name the Endless Byway and your
path will be
guaranteed." The answer to this is the only street in Skara
Brae with no end,
Sinister. You then can map your way through a lighted section to
another dark
area. From this dark area you must obtain the Silver Triangle,
located at the
very north of the dark area. You can then exit the dark area,
going south from
1E 6N. After this, you will face the Crystal Golem (did you bring
the Crystal
Sword?). You can defeat him with conventional weapons and spells,
but somebody
has to have the crystal sword or he will reappear to block your
exit.

At this point, you can exit the tower to refresh your players
or continue on.
If you exit, when you reenter you must again answer the endless
byway question
to continue. Upon reaching the end of the snaky road on the east
side of the
maze, don't go through the south door. Take the door that goes
west. You will
then enter several rooms with spinners and teleports that make
finding your way
almost impossible. The way past these is southwest. When you make
it, you will
be teleported to 14E 1N. It is then an easy stroll to meet
Kylearan himself. He
turns out to be the friendly wizard and gives you a key that
allows you to get
into Mangar's Tower. He then teleports you to the stairs exiting
his tower. You
no longer need the crystal sword or the eye, and you are now
ready for Mangar
himself.

Mangar's Tower

If you paid heed and followed the stairs from the bottom level
of the Sewers,
you will know how to get inside Mangar's walls. If not, go to the
Wine Cellar,
teleport your party 17E 16N 3D, and take the stairs up. Then turn
right and
kick the door in. You should be at the entrance to Mangar's
Tower.

Level one of Mangar's is fairly easy to find your way around
in. Follow the
teleports and walk around until you reach the magic mouth on the
east side of
the maze. What is tricky is that after leaving the magic mouth,
you are now on
level 2 of the tower. So be careful in mapping.

Level two of Mangar's is again fairly easy (not even a warmup
for level 3).
From this level you must answer the question located at 4E 15N to
obtain the
silver circle. The answer to the question is "CIRCLE."
You must then make your
way to the stairs located in the middle of the southern side of
the maze.

Level three is the hardest maze of all, but by this time you
must be getting
really proficient at mapping. You must wander around this level
and obtain
quite a number of items. First of all, you sh}uld get the master
key, for
50,000 gold pieces, from 19E 12N. This key allows you to enter
Mangar's through
the front gate, instead of from the Sewers. You musthhDen find
the clues to the
seven words needed to access the fourth level of Mangar's.
Gratefully, you can
teleport into and out of this level of the Tower. After finding
the clues, you
can then speak the seven words to the magic mouth located at 10E
4N. They must
be entered one at a time. The words are, "LIE WITH PASSION
AND BE FOREVER
DAMNED." Stairs will then appear at 3E 9N. This is the only
way to obtain
entrance to the upper reaches of Mangar's.

The fourth level of Mangar's has only one tricky part. When
you first arrive,
you have a limited number of ways you can go. After reaching a
certain point,
located in the northeast corner of the level, doors appear
everywhere. Don't be
confused. Everything maps the same, it's just that doors are
everywhere.
Eventually you will find the portal to level five in the
southwest corner of
this level.

Level five is the home stretch. This easy maze leads you to
the lava pit in
the middle of the eastern side of the maze. There you dive in and
are
teleported to 10E 6N. You will then find the march up the hall of
harm to be
fruitless if you didn't bring the three silver items along. If
you have the
silver triangle, silver square, and silver circle, a door will
appear directly
north of you. After passing through this door, cast your REST
spell to restore
everybody to health and proceed directly north to the final
battle with Mangar.

The final battle itself is a large disappointment as it is
fairly easy to
defeat Mangar and his vampires, and meet Kylearan again, who
gives you 300,000
bonus experience points. After defeating Mangar, you can then
proceed one more
square north for the last question of the game. The answer is
"SPECTRE SNARE,"
which you then receive (it is good for binding to your party any
of your
opponents in battle)