ULTIMA I

STRATEGY

Strategy  suggestions  for playing "Ultima I" are presented in this file, which
is  divided into five sections:  I) The Beginning, II) The Dungeons, III) Space
Travel,  IV)  Saving the Princess, and V) Battling Mondain. Descriptions of the
terrain  of  the  four  continents  of  Ultima  are  provided in the next file,
entitled "Layout."

I. THE BEGINNING

Once  you  create  your  character,  and  endow him or her with race, type, and
attributes,  you  are  ready  to  begin  your  adventure. Each race and type of
character  has its own  advantages and disadvantages. Obviously, a fighter is
vicious  in  battles,  wizards  or clerics throw potent spells, and thieves are
good  at  thievery. Experiment with different characters. Your first step, upon
finding  yourself  in  the  middle  of  a grassy plain, is to ready your armour
(leather)  and  a weapon (dagger). Thus prepared, you may then begin to explore
the world of Ultima.

You  will encounter a number of strange creatures during your travels. On land,
you  will  find  Orcs,  Evil Trents, Hoods, Knights, Bears, Wandering Warlocks,
Necromancers,  Hidden  Archers, Thieves, Dark Knights, and Evil Rangers. In the
ocean, there are Giant Squid, Ness Creatures, Dragon Turtles, and Giant Octopi.
It  is  likely  that you'll be killed quickly. If so, you will be reincarnated.
(If  you're reincarnated in the middle of water, keep trying to move or attack.
These  actions will use up your food and hit points, and you'll be reincarnated
again  --  hopefully  on land the next time.) However, your resurrected self is
lacking  in  food,  gold,  and  weapons.  Take  heart!  Although the process of
building  up  your points and possessions seems slow, if you persevere you will
"ultimately" be victorious. The following strategy hints should be helpful:

1)  It  is often advisable to avoid combat. Try to run away from an enemy until
you can build up your hit points.

2) Buy and steal as much armour as possible. If you are killed, you will retain
your armor, vehicles, and spells, but you will lose your weapons.

3) To increase your gold supply, you can sell some of your armour.

4)  As  soon  as  possible,  descend  into a dungeon. By entering a dungeon and
killing a number of creatures, you will gain hit points, experience points, and
gold  (and  food,  if  you're  killed  in a dungeon). You can do this again and
again, building up your character.

5)  Always  buy  a  drink from Varg the tavern keeper in a pub. He may give you
some helpful clues.

6)  As you gain experience points, you will find that more advanced weapons and
transportation become available in the cities. Items such as pistols, blasters,
and  phazors  are invaluable in battles (in fact, sea creatures will be "out of
weapon range" until you get a hold of, at least, a set of bow and arrows). By a
strange  quirk  in  the game, you may be able to steal technologically advanced
weapons  or armor even before they're available for purchase! Use of a vehicle
will  conserve  your  food supply during your travels. Seagoing vessels and air
cars  allow  you  to  visit  islands  and  cross oceans. Once you've obtained a
frigate  or an air car, you can use its cannons or lasers to fire on enemies. A
space shuttle will be required for space travel.

7)  When  you  enter  a  castle, be sure to transact with the King. If you have
sufficient  gold,  he  will  sell you hit points. If you offer service, he will
send you on a quest for which you will be handsomely rewarded.

8)  Save  the  game  frequently. You never know when 7 Hidden Archers or 4 Ness
Creatures might attack and kill you.

9) Beware of Wenches, Jesters, and Bards. They like to steal your possessions.