Click BEGIN THE QUEST. This is the Ultima where the Stranger stops travelling alone: you command up to four adventurers. For each one, type a Name, then pick a Race, a Class and a Sex, and press + ADD TO PARTY. Repeat up to four times, then press EMBARK.
| Races | Human, Elf, Dwarf, Bobbit, Fuzzy |
|---|---|
| Classes | Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Cleric, Wizard, Thief, Barbarian, Lark, Illusionist, Druid, Alchemist |
Race sets starting STR/DEX/INT/WIS and vitality. Class sets your magic school and how heavy a weapon and armour you may bear - a Wizard may carry little more than a dagger and cloth, while a Fighter may bear the exotic blade and plate.
The right-hand column shows your four slots. Each reads a race/sex/class tag (a Dwarf Male Fighter shows DMF), then M: magic points and L: level, then H: hit points, over a green vitality bar. A fallen member greys out and is marked *DEAD*.
Sosaria is drawn on a pointy-top hex grid, so you move in six directions:
| Key | Dir | Key | Dir |
|---|---|---|---|
| W | NW | E | NE |
| A | W | D | E |
| Z | SW | X | SE |
Arrow keys also move (Up=NW, Down=SW, Left=W, Right=E), or click a hex to step toward it. ENTER enters whatever you are standing on - a town, a castle, a dungeon, a moongate or the whirlpool. C camps, H shows help.
Inside a town, walk with WASD. Walk into a townsperson to hear a rumour - the rumours are how you learn about Ambrosia, the Cards and the true order. Walk into a lettered building to trade:
| W | Weapon shop - dagger, mace, axe, sword, bow, exotic |
|---|---|
| A | Armour shop - cloth, leather, chain, plate, exotic |
| T | Tavern - provisions and a paid rest that heals the party |
Buy the goods first, then choose which member receives them. A member whose class cannot bear that grade will refuse it. The south gate leaves the town.
Enter his castle at any time. He advances every member by the experience they have earned, restores all hit points and magic, and bestows the Mark of Kings. Come back after every long expedition - levels are not granted in the field.
Meeting a creature opens a separate battle grid. Foes hold the far rank, your company the near rank, and the party acts one member at a time - the prompt reads "Player 1", then "Player 2", and the active member is ringed in gold.
| Space | Strike the nearest foe |
| K | Cast (10 magic points): clerics mend the most wounded, wizards strike every foe at once |
| R | Flee - about half the time it works |
When every member has acted, the enemy rank answers. Victory pays gold to the purse and experience to every survivor.
Stand on a shore hex and press B to board a ship, then step onto the ocean. Sail to the great whirlpool and press ENTER: it drags the ship down and casts you up on the shores of AMBROSIA, the hidden land. Four shrines there raise a chosen member's Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence or Wisdom for an offering of 100 gold. The whirlpool in Ambrosia carries you home again.
Dungeons are first person, 3 to 6 levels deep, with a minimap in the corner. W walks forward, X back, A/D turn, ENTER or ESC climbs out. Find the stairs on each level and keep descending; the lowest level of a dungeon may hold one of the four Cards - Love, Sol, Moons or Death.
Carry all four Cards to the Isle of Fire and enter Castle Exodus. Exodus is a machine, not a beast - no blade will touch it. Before its heart you are offered the Cards, and you must read them in their true order:
LOVE → SOL → MOONS → DEATH
A wrong Card sparks, is rejected, and the guardians strike the whole party; the slots then empty and you must start the sequence again. Read them rightly and Exodus is undone, the Isle goes dark and cold, and the Age of Darkness ends.
Tronsoft Games · Calvin Robert Glomb · "Ultima", "Exodus", "Lord British" and "Sosaria" are trademarks of their respective owners; this recreation is an unofficial homage.