Ultima IV: How to name your dungeon

32 games since DND-1 and Garriott still can't spell.

You know the drill. I'm broke, and Lord British's dungeon has infinimoney, so I went there to start off the session.

But this time I decided to go exploring off the beaten path while down here, and wouldn't you know it? The first thing I found was the "alter" of truth, with exits in all directions.

I know three things about altar rooms - that the stones must be used here, that a three-part key is acquired here, and that they connect to each other. But I haven't got the stones, and I can't discover any way to search for keys. I kill the daemons here and leave to the left.

This is a completely different dungeon, it seems. I'm still exploring British's, so I turn back.

Oh no. Gremlins!

The dungeons connected here are, starting from the left exit and going clockwise, Wrong, Deceit, Shame, and Hylothe - rough antitheses of justice, honesty, and honor, and an obscure synonym for theological materialism. Hylothe, it seems, is where British's one-way hatch dumps you.

I return to Hylothe and soon discover the altar of love as well, which connects to Covetous, Despise, and Wrong again. I assume the first two are meant to be antonyms of Sacrifice and Compassion.

I re-enter the trolls' secret dining room, and past it is the altar of courage, connecting Shame, "Dasterd," and Covetous. Hmm. Is "dasterd" supposed to be "dastard," suggesting dishonesty? Or perhaps cowardice, as "deceit" better fulfills the former antivirtue?

Now that I think about it, the dungeon connections are perfectly aligned with the virtues'. Dasterd connects only to the altar of Courage, so it opposes Valor. Wrong, connected to the altars of Truth and Love, opposes Justice, the virtue of Truth and Love, and so on. Hylothe, then, the only dungeon connected to all three altars, opposes spirituality.

Annotated map of Hylothe's basement

Anyway, I went back to the balrons' treasure room to max out my wallet once again.

Things don't always go 100% perfectly.

The adventure took a toll! Iolo and Jaana both perished, and everyone else took a beating. My healing spells were down to 31 by the time I left - gotta craft more!

But now that I have a sextant, I can accurately place Hylothe's entrance on the map.

The balloon ride takes me to Dagger Isle - about the farthest possible traversable point there is from any moongate. I get off anyway, Blink to the mainland, and take the long walk west to Minoc's moongate, where I ride the network back home to Britain, to resurrect for $600, and heal for free.

The XP reward, though, is fantastic.

I return to the Cape of Heroes by Trinsic, and Blink southward to explore the chain of islands - the largest here is home to Serpants Hold, where I currently have no further business.

Back up northwards, I explore and chart out the mountains west of Trinsic, and discover another dungeon entrance. On the east coast of this region, north of Trinsic, are the Fens of the Dead, a cluster of six tiny islands of poisonous swamp, which I map out with Blink, and recover from with Cure. I search every square here - no mandrake! Where the hell am I supposed to find it?

Paws is right there north from the fens, where I restock on garlic, ginseng, and pearls, and re-craft my awaken, cure, and dispel magics, plus some more fireballs using up the sulfurous ash I still had with me. At this point I've started using AutoIt to speed up the process. I leave Paws with $8000.

I also take the opportunity to map out the islands north of Paws, aided by Blink. There's nothing on them, but I had to check.

Britain is up north around Britannia Bay, and I go there, finishing my map of the coast, but before heading home, I use a peering gem near the southern Serpent's Spine range and see that there's a hidden cove! With a bit of finagling, I'm able to Blink inside it and not just past it.

Something to check out later.

I go to British, heal up, and ride the moongates to Minoc, and ascend spirituality.

And then Skara Brae, for cheap food and more reagents - ash, ginseng, and moss. With ash and the not exactly cheap pearls brought over from Paws, I craft a bunch of Fireballs and Magic Missiles, and also max myself out on Protection and Wind Change spells.

After buying a thousand rations, I'm left with about $5500. I still need to raise my compassion, so this time I donate $500 to the beggar in $10 increments - if that doesn't do it then I don't know what will.

I return to Britain and check in.

Seriously. What do you want? What do I have to do?

 

My world map: