Ultima II

                                 Ultima II(tm)
                                By Lord British

                                Documentation by
                               Mary Taylor Rollo




                               ULTIMA II WELCOME

    Welcome to the universe of Ultima II.  In your package, besides the
    handbook you're reading, you'll find a warranty return card, two disks
    and three program sides, a player reference card, and a cloth time map
    of the world according to Lord British.

                               THE WARRANTY CARD

    Sierra On-Line, Inc. wants your continued business.  If you fill out
    the enclosed product registration card and return it to us (we have
    already paid the postage), you are covered by our warranty.  If your
    disk should fail within 90 days, return it t o your dealer or directly
    to us, and we will replace it free.  After 90 days, enclose $5 and
    return the software directly to us.  Sorry, without the registration
    card you are not covered by the warranty.

                                  THE HANDBOOK

    In this booklet, you will find the instructions for getting along in
    the Ultima universe and the story of how it all came about.  Now,
    absolutely no one expects you to want to read the story, or even all
    the instructions, before you take a good look at what you've got which
    means turning on your computer and taking a look at the disks.  So, be
    kind enough to read this page and the next; and you'll be up and
    playing Ultima II in no time.  The story contains the background and
    hints you'll eventually want to know, but you can worry about them
    later.

                                  THE TIME MAP

    The cloth map that is provided is to be used to guide you through the
    corridors of time on Earth.

                                   THE DISKS

    In Ultima II, you'll find friends and monsters, royal courts and musty
    dungeons, action and adventure.  You'll be instructed to create your
    own player who will run around the Ultima universe for you.  Now lets
    look at the disks.

    DISK 1 SIDE 1:  THE ULTIMA II PROGRAM MASTER.  This is the disk that
    you must use to start the game.
    DISK 1 SIDE 2:  THE ULTIMA II PLAYER MASTER.  The Player Master
    contains the prototype seed from which adventurers are grown.  Because
    a seed can only be nurtured once, NEVER USE THIS DISK TO PLAY THE GAME!
    The Player Master is to be copied, once for every adventurer you would
    like to create.  Be sure not to remove the "write protect" tab on the
    upper right side of the disk.
    DISK 2 SIDE1:  THE GALACTIC DISK.  This disk contains in detail all of
    outer space and the nine planets of the Solar system.




                                GETTING STARTED
    To enter the world of Ultima II at this time, please refer to your
    Player Guide.

                               CREATE A CHARACTER
    Making a friend is what you are doing when you choose "C" (for create a
    character) from the main menu.  The Player(s) you create is your alter
    ego who will negotiate the Ultima II universe at your side.  Together
    you will find friends and monsters, royal courts and misty dungeons,
    action and adventure.

    The skeleton of a character sketch will appear on the screen; you have
    ninety points to distribute among various physical attributes that give
    soul to your character.  Once you've distributed the points, you get to
    choose your character's physical at tributes, sex, race, and its
    profession.  Finally, you can give it a name.

    How you distribute attribute points obviously affects your character;
    not so obviously, however, your choice of sex, class, and profession
    also has strong effects.  Here's how it all works.



                                 THE ATTRIBUTES

    STRENGTH      determines the damage you can inflict on a foe in a
                  fight.  Naturally, each foe's attributes will also
                  influence the relative success of your attack.

    AGILITY       influences your skill at wielding a weapon; some weapons
                  require a considerable amount of agility in order to use
                  them at all.  The higher your points the more agile you
                  are.  Of course, you would never think of using it this
                  way, good agility also increases your chances of success
                  at stealing.

    STAMINA       reflects your ability to defend against attack.  Armour
                  adds to your stamina.  Attacks from extremely strong
                  monsters make it all irrelevant.

    CHARISMA      governs your success in bargaining with merchants.
                  Prices are generally lower when you are fun to have
                  around.

    WISDOM        is required to cast spells successfully.

    INTELLIGENCE  is what you need to tell a balron from an angel, until it
                  hits you.  Actually intelligence increases your skills in
                  bargaining and in casting spells.  The more you have, the
                  better your bargains and spells.

    You must allocate at least ten points to each category. Clever players
    can increase their attributes up to 99 points apiece during game play.
    Figuring out how to obtain the extra points is part of earning them;
    they're costly.

    Some extra points come easily.  Each race has a strong point that is
    reflected in attribute points for your character; and assuming that
    your character must have some predilection for its profession, that
    choice too alters one of its attributes.  When you choose a race,
    profession and sex for your character you add to his/her character
    attributes.

         Here's are the races:

            Human   +5      Intelligence
            Elven   +5      Agility
            Dwarven +5      Strength
            Hobbit  +5      Wisdom

         Now the professions:

            Fighter +10     Strength
            Cleric  +10     Wisdom
            Wizard  +10     Intelligence
            Thief   +10     Agility



    Finally, (and you may ponder whether this is not a rather strange
    sequence), you must give your character a sexual identity.  If you
    choose to make it a male, your character will gain strength points
    because males are usually stronger.  If you choose to make it a female,
    your character will gain charisma points.

            Male    +5      Strength
            Female  +10     Charisma

    All you character needs now is a name, and the only stipulation here is
    that the name be no longer than Rumpelstiltskin.  If you try to make it
    longer, you might upset the program.

    Look!  You have a new friend.  He/she will become your faithful comrade
    in arms.  He/she will do your bidding, fight your fights and find your
    treasures.  Ultima II awaits you both of you.

                     MOVEMENT COMMANDS FOR IBM ADVENTURERS

    On the surface of a planet, the right and left arrows control movement
    east and west; the up arrow moves north and the down arrow moves south.
    In dungeons and towers, left and right arrows control left and right
    turns; the up arrow moves forward and the down arrow retreats.  In
    space, movement is determined by xeno, yako, and zabo coordinates;
    refer to the Ultima II Galactic map for the coordinates for your chosen
    destination.

                              KEY LETTER COMMANDS

    A)ttack      Lets you fight someone or something.  Must be followed by
                 a direction unless your in a tower or dungeon.  Ex: [A]
                 [RETURN].
    B)oard       Lets you get on your horse, climb into a plane, strap into
                 a rocket, board a ship.  (See "Xit" to change your mind.)
    C)ast        Casts the spell you have ready.  (See "Magic.")  You can
                 only cast spells in dungeons and towers.
    D)escend     Lets you go down a level (by rope) in a dungeon or tower.
    E)nter       Enter a town, castle, dungeon or other landmark or read a
                 sign.  You must be standing on the entrance before
                 entering.
    F)ire        Shoots a ship's guns once you've boarded.
    G)et         Pick up treasures, weapons, and armour.  You must be
                 standing on the item you wish to get.
    H)yperspace  Catapults spaceship through space to the coordinates you
                 specified.
    I)gnite      Lights a torch.
    J)ump        Lets you jump up and down which is a good way to release
                 frustration especially when things are not going well.
                 Often used in tandem with "Yell." (See "Yell.")
    K)limb       Lets you go up a level (by rope) in a dungeon or tower.
    L)aunch      Toggles takeoff and landing in a plane or rocket.
      /Land      Landings must be on grass.  Press any key to touch down
                 rocket.
    M)agic       Readies a magic spell you know for casting.  (See "Cast.")



    N)egate      Stops time for all things farther than one square away
                 from you, giving you a chance to get out of a tight
                 situation.  "Negate" will only work for characters who
                 possess a particular magic item.
    O)ffer       Offers money (gold) as payment or bribe.  If the non-
                 player character that you're offering to has nothing to
                 give in return, it will accept your offer as a generous
                 gift.
    P)ass        Allows one game turn to pass without doing anything.
                 However, others will not pass their turns. Pressing the
                 spacebar accomplishes the same thing.
    Q)uit        Saves the game; allows you to continue, or turn off your
                 computer.  When you turn it on again, you'll pick up where
                 you left off.  "Quit" works only in the countryside on
                 Earth and you must not be aboard anything.
    R)eady       Equips you with your choice of any weapons your own.
    S)teal       Attempts to take items from stores without paying for
                 them.  May or may not work for weapons, armour, food,
                 transport.  Be sure to plan an escape route ahead;
                 townspeople don't take kindly to theft.
    T)ransact    Lets you talk with the people of Ultima's universe.  You
                 must follow the command by giving the direction toward
                 which your communication is to take place.  Because the
                 intricacies of winning-and even playing tips-are available
                 only from characters in the game, you should "Transact" as
                 much as possible; don't skip anyone.  You may even meet
                 someone you know...
    U)nlock      Open doors-if you have the keys.  "Unlock" must be
                 followed by the direction of the door you wish to unlock.
                 Incidentally, in the universe according to Lord British,
                 locks gobble keys, so use them wisely.
    V)iew        Gives you, if you have a certain magical item, a bird's
                 eye view of a town or village, or a satellite's view of a
                 planet.  One viewing per unit of magic.  "View" doesn't
                 work in dungeons or towers.  W)ear Outfits you in your
                 choice of the arm ours that you own.
    X)it         Exit.  It won't help a bit in the middle of a hairy
                 dungeon, but it will get you out from or off of anything
                 you can board.  (See "Board.")
    Y)ell        Stops everything while you type in anything you feel like
                 yelling-then gets on with the game.  In other words, you
                 can let out your frustrations, but it won't affect the
                 game in the least.  Often used in tandem with "Jump." (See
                 "Jump.")
    Z)tatus      Stops everything to display a text screen of your
                 character's attributes and possessions.  This is also the
                 only command that affects a complete and open-ended pause
                 in the game.
    Space Bar    Pass.



                                  MAGIC SPELLS

    Only clerics and wizards can use magic.  Nine spells fall into three
    categories.

                    SPELLS BOTH CLERICS AND WIZARDS CAN USE:

    Light        Creates magical illumination, and eliminates the need for
                 a torch.

    Ladder down  Teleports you straight down one level in a tower or
                 dungeon.

    Ladder up    Teleports you straight up one level in a tower or dungeon.

                          SPELLS ONLY CLERICS CAN USE:

    Passwall     Destroys the wall in front of you.

    Surface      Teleports you immediately to the surface of the planet
                 that you are on from within a tower or dungeon.

    Prayer       Calls for divine intervention to destroy your foe.
                 Results simulate reality.

                          SPELLS ONLY WIZARDS CAN USE:

    Magic Missile  Offensive magic weapon with strength geared to the level
                   of the caster.

    Blink          Teleports you randomly anywhere on the same level.

    Kill           Attempts to obliterate your foe by magic.

    In the universe of Ultima, acquiring spells is simple: you simply
    purchase them at the appropriate stores.  Their cost rises as their
    power increases.  Casting a spell uses it up even if it fails; so be
    sure to have plenty of a spell you plan to count on.

    To use a spell you have bought, you must first press [M], for "Magic"
    and specify the spell number (according to the list at the beginning of
    this section).  This readies the spell.  Then press [C] for "Cast" to
    activate the spell.  It will remain your "on-line" spell until you
    choose another.

                                  WHAT YOU SEE

    When the playing screen appears, you see your character in the center
    of a landscape.  Use the movement keys to move around just enough to
    see that you're on a map.  Don't wander very far; your character isn't
    apt to be very strong yet, and you have no weapons or armour.



    Do notice the text at the bottom of the screen.  It looks something
    like this:
        CMD:    North   Hits:   400
        CMD:    East    Food:   398
        CMD:    Pass    Exp:    000
        CMD:            Gold:   400

    Now press [Z] to pause in playing; a text screen will take over showing
    your character's attributes and possessions, but all you want now is
    its pause function so no nasty orc will come along and do in your new
    friend while you're learning how to get about.

    On the left, Ultima II asks your command, with CMD, and writes out your
    full command although you press only one key.  In the dungeon, it
    responds to direction commands with "forward," "right," "left," and
    "back" instead of compass directions.

                          ENDURANCE OF FIGHT AND FOOD

    On the right, the number next to "hits" represents the number of hits
    you can take in battle and survive.  Monsters vary in strength and
    decrease your hits stockpile by various numbers of points accordingly.

    The number next to "food" represents just that and works rather like a
    fuel supply.  A little bit dwindles away with each turn, whether you do
    anything or not.

    If either hits or food reaches zero, you're out of luck.

    Hits can be replenished, but you must discover how to accomplish that.

    Food is pretty easy to replace; all it takes is money to buy it and a
    store that sells it.  Look for food stands in villages.

                                  WHAT YOU GET

    The third line, "experience," increases as you fight.  Every encounter
    has the potential to add to your experience and most do; occasionally
    you'll take on a foe who's a real wimp and get no experience from it
    though.  The amount of your experience determines your character's
    level-it's shown at the top of the "ztatus" screen.

    "Gold," the final line, shows (got a guess?) how rich you are.  Not
    very.  You can make more gold by fighting (and winning), in which case
    you get whatever your opponent was carrying, and by picking up chests
    in dungeons and towers.  There are plenty of ways to spend gold, the
    first is the one that you need to indulge in now.


                         FIRST QUEST:  ARMS AND ARMOUR

    Press any key and the world will magically reappear.  Did you notice a
    town nearby when you roamed before?  Head straight for it and enter.
    You need weapons and armour if you are to survive at all.  There are
    plenty of others eager for a share of your gold, so be on guard against
    your appetites; you can't afford much more than you need.



                          GETTING TO KNOW THE NATIVES

    Did you run into any monsters outside?  They don't care about your
    motives, they attack and you must fight them.  In town, you may see
    some of the same monsters as well as various other people.  They seldom
    attack in town unless you do something you shouldn't, but just now
    you're not strong enough.

    Instead of fighting, talk to the townspeople.  Press [T] for
    "transact;" the command line will ask for the direction in which you
    want to "transact."  Enter it just as if you were moving that way, and
    the creature will respond if it can and chooses t o.  (Only rare orcs
    have the power of speech.)  If you attack in town, the guards will come
    after you.

    A lot of people you meet will say whatever is the popular response in
    their crowd these days.  Now and then, someone will break away from the
    crowd and reveal something extremely useful.  Without these bits of
    information, you won't get very deep in Ultima II and you certainly
    won't win.  So talk to everyone.  Put up with the bores to find the
    gems.

    Transacting is also how you communicate with storekeepers to make
    purchases.  Most such transactions are self-evident, but a few use
    abbreviations for products, and you may need clarification.  So it's
    time to identify weapons and armour; then lets meet in the pub.

                               CHOOSE YOUR POISON

    The weapons dealer will ask you to choose between 1)DA 2)MA 3)AX 4)BO
    5)SW 6)GR 7)LI 8)PH. These represent respectively, dagger, mace, ax,
    bow, sword, greatsword, light sword, and phaser.  Since that's too
    difficult to read, here's a table:

                   Dealer     Item    Dealer     Item
                   ------     ----    ------     ----
                   1) DA      Dagger  5) SW      Sword
                   2) MA      Mace    6) GR      Greatsword
                   3) AX      Ax      7) LI      Light Sword
                   4) BO      Bow     8) PH      Phaser

    Each is more effective than the one before it and more expensive too.
    Be careful because at first you aren't apt to be agile enough to wield
    anything larger than an ax.

    At the armoury, you can buy leather, chain, plate, and the magical
    reflect and power armours.  You may as well wear your new armour and
    ready your new weapon right away; be prepared.  There is one weapon you
    cannot buy; you must earn it.  It is the magical quicksword, Enilno.

    Wizards and clerics are probably smarter to wait a few turns before
    purchasing spells, because they need armour and weapons too.  When your
    character can afford them, you can refer to the "Magic Spells" given
    with the command list to decipher what's being offered you in the magic
    store.



                           THE PUB AND ITS PROPRIETOR

    Pubs have always been centers for gossip and street wisdom.  The
    universe of Ultima II is no exception.  And, as usual, the barkeep is
    the wisest of all.  When you talk to bartenders, they'll ask, 1-BUY, 2-
    TIP?

    If you buy, you'll get a drink at a reasonable price and a comment that
    may or may not be useful.  If you choose "tip," the 'keep will ask how
    many gold pieces you're willing to spend, up to nine.  Pay up and
    you'll get an important clue about the workings of the game, Ultima II-
    which, of course, you may have already heard if you've asked the 'keep
    before.

    Bartenders' information helps you play Ultima II successfully and with
    understanding.  But only from oracles and sages can you get strategy
    hints that enable you to win the game.  They are expensive, and they
    too can repeat themselves.

                                IN THE MAELSTROM

    Armed and shielded, you're ready to venture into the countryside.
    Chances are, you'll meet a monster or two in your travels.

    Don't wait, attack!  There are no friendly wayfarers in the
    countryside.  There's some timing to work on in battle.  You may press
    [A] for "attack" as soon as you've finished your last turn, but don't
    press a direction until you're asked for it.  If you do, the computer
    will pay attention only to the last command and try to move in the
    direction of the monster, which is, of course, blocked; then you miss
    your turn in that all you get for it is the message that you can't go
    that way.  After a while, you won't have to watch the screen; the
    timing will come.

    Keep an eye on your hit points.  If you're getting nervous during a
    fight, try to guide the monster toward a time door so you can disappear
    through it.  Sometimes you can avoid monsters too, although fighting
    them and winning are essential for raisin g experience and cash.
    Monsters always make a bee-line for you.  Keeping that in mind, you can
    often lead them into spots from which they can't get at you.

    Take warning:  No matter how strong you become, there will always be
    some monsters impervious to your attacks.  They may be ferocious
    terrible creatures, or they may be ineffective orcs.  When you meet an
    orc try to "transact" and defend yourself if you must.  These lonely
    individual creatures are mutants of Minax's evil, doomed to continue
    their miserable lives forever.

                                  ON THE TOWN

    Learn to make your way around the land and then through time.  Seek out
    towns, villages, and castles and talk to everyone.  Pay attention to
    the items you get from the monsters you overcome; look at your "ztatus"
    often.  Learn where to get food and h it points and figure out the best
    places and methods for getting the most money.



    As you gather tactical information and become reasonably comfortable
    with your environment, you'll begin picking up clues about your quest.
    Your purpose is to learn how to fulfill your quest and then do what is
    required.  The ultimate object of your quest is explained in the story
    of Minax.

                                    FAR OUT

    Eventually, your travels take you into outer space where you can make
    the grand tour of the planets.  Space travel is tricky, so be careful.
    Don't forget your special attire.  Follow your galactic map well, but
    don't be too chicken to explore.

                                 REINCARNATION

    If you are killed either in space or on earth.  DON'T DESPAIR; you can
    be REBORN, right where you were the last time you saved the game, with
    all your attributes, money and belongings.

    If you die, turn off your computer.  Place your Master Program disk
    back in the disk drive.  Turn on your computer and continue to play.
    (IBM Users-you will have to re-boot the computer and re-start Ultima 2.
    If you are playing in a Multi-tasking environment, simply close that
    DOS window, open up another and run Ultima 2 to continue playing.)

                                  TIME TRAVEL

    No one remembers exactly when in history time doors first appeared,
    probably because their very existence renders time relative.  Ancient
    books show no mention of them prior to the defeat and demise of the
    evil Mondain, so well recorded in Ultima.

    Strongly convincing scientific theory supports the chronology.  Mondain
    had gained such power that, upon his death, the physical laws of nature
    suffered a great upheaval.  When the smoke cleared, all that remained
    were corridors in time and space, we commonly call our "time doors."

    Numerous scientists and adventurers have attempted to traverse the
    corridors.  The few who have returned speak of great confusion and
    difficulty in navigating through the corridors, especially during
    primitive times.

    Nevertheless, the existence of the time doors has changed irretrievably
    all that is and all that ever was.  When-no, where-there were no time
    doors, what was done was done no second chances existed; there was no
    reaching into another time to find a cause, negate it, and thus remove
    its effect from all time.

    Now, of course, it is possible in all times.



                                  THE TIME MAP

    The few returning time travelers tell us that the time corridors are
    connected with five distinct time periods, but not one of them has been
    able to determine, with a semblance of precision, exactly when or how
    it happened.  Their experiences do appear to confirm the existence of
    intelligent life forms in many eras previously thought to be supporting
    of primitive life only, or no life at all.

    One period, reported by two independent travelers, if only vaguely,
    appears to have no equivalent in early scientific thought.  It is what
    it appears to be, it is the period about which the most has been
    written.  Until now, the period was believed t o be theological at
    best, purely imaginary, it is a time we know only through mythology:
    the time of Legends.

    Here are the five time periods accessible through the time corridors.

    LEGENDS    The time before time, peopled by creatures of myth and lore.
               Whether the time of Legends is ruled by good or evil affects
               all other times and places.  It is believed that the power
               of the enchantress Minax, the authoress of our worst troubles,
               is greatest at this time.

    PANGEA     The time when Earth is still forming.  Before volcanic
               upheavals separate the seven continents and set the great
               continental drift in motion, earth is one great continent
               surrounded by a gigantic ocean.  There appears to be
               abundant, if spars e, life and some civilization, although
               the origins are so far inexplicable.

    B.C.       The time just before the dawn of civilization as history
               records it.  According to the time travelers, an advanced
               civilization already exists in B.C., apparently the progeny
               of the beginning civilization of Pangea.  The old twentieth
               century "crack pots" theorized that civilization developed
               from a few human beings left behind by a prior advanced
               civilization that for some reason moved on into space.

    A.D.       The present-if we can still call it that.  Specifically,
               1990.  It is, but apparently now not as it was to have been,
               a rather perilous time of planetary egocentricism leading to
               an overemphasis on dangerously shaky interplanetary
               jealousies and greed.  The times reflect the people who
               suffer stress with a sense of urgency that encourages
               pragmatism over reason, dulls an awareness of values and
               leads weaker souls to lives of crime.

    AFTERMATH  The post devastation period once though of as the future.
               Much of life and all known civilization has ceased to exist.
               As we learn more of the enchantress Minax, we become more
               and more convinced of her single-handed perpetration of the
               entire devastation itself and all that led to it.  Note that
               much of the land mass has been wiped out, especially the key
               centers and most troublesome hotspots of the great Sino-
               Russo-American Era.



    The time doors of all time periods are shown on a map of the world as
    it is in A.D.  Accurate maps of most other times do not yet exist.  You
    will have to extrapolate the location of other time period doors as
    they would appear in their own time periods.  Because Legends is pre
    time, or extra time, its map would not resemble that of Earth in any
    reasonable way.  Therefore, Legends is represented by its four known
    time doors grouped at the bottom of the map where Antarctica would
    appear if any "time doors" were to appear in Antarctica.

    Time doors appear randomly but they always appear at a set interval.
    When they appear, they rise silently looking rather like a blue mist
    that takes on the form of a door.  Very soon they dissipate.  To enter
    a time corridor, simply step into a time door while it's visible.
    Caution: Do not position yourself where a time door was and wait for it
    to reappear.  It will not, so long as you are on its spot.  The
    consequences of upsetting the sequence of time doors are unknown but
    scientists speculate that they could be disastrous.

    The symbols and lines of the map represent the best possible
    extrapolation and compilation of sketchy information given by those few
    returned time travelers.  Each time door is represented on the map by
    two symbols.  The first is the symbol of the time period in which that
    door will appear; the second is the symbol of the time period to which
    it is believed that time door will transport the traveler.  A direct
    line from the time door shows where on Earth you will find yourself in
    the new time.  Where more than one line leads from one time door, the
    line representing the door's destination is the one that leads to
    another time door that has the destination time symbol as its first
    marker.

    Try following this example on the map:  Suppose you're in the time of
    the aftermath and you wish to travel to the present.  Look for a door
    represented first by the aftermath symbol followed by the A.D.  symbol.
    Find it?  It's in Alaska with numerous lines extending from it.  Look
    for the line that leads to a time door where the first symbol is A.D.
    Got it?  Try Argentina.


                            THE NATIVES OF ULTIMA II
                                   EVERYWHERE
    ORC
      More pest than peril, the not-bright orc is the prolific product of a
      foolish experimental genetic mating of human and boar.

    THIEF
      An ordinary human pickpocket, the thief would rather snitch than
      fight.  He may take something very important from you.  Always check
      your inventory (Z) after being confronted by a thief.

    FIGHTER
      Humanoid and strong, fighters carry something you need.

    CLERIC
      Men of the cloth carry their crosses and proselytize but are not
      always good or wise.



    WIZARD
      With magical staff in hand, wizards enjoy throwing magic missiles
      that do powerful damage.

    DAEMON
      It looks like it's shrugging, this creature of minor hells, but it's
      pleasure is to stop you in your tracks by magic.  A certain magical
      item can thwart the daemon-sometimes.

    DEVIL
      Complementing the daemon, the devil stays in your arms.  A different
      possession deals with this baby.

    BALRON
      Awesomely recognizable from its great leathery wings, the wretchedly
      evil balron ensures the success of its Herculean strength by using a
      sleep spell to render its victims helpless.  Some have hypothesized
      that the spell is not real-that the fetid, putrid breath of the
      creature is so horrible that humans cannot resist the urge to escape
      it immediately through sleep.

    SEA MONSTER
      If it weren't so big it might be a swan-until it takes after your
      frigate.  It will also attack you while you are on land if you are
      near water.


                        IN TOWNS, VILLAGES, AND CASTLES

    GUARDS
      Chosen for their brawn, guards are mindlessly loyal to their
      governments; they're generally harmless unless you break the rules-
      they're extremely strong.

    MERCHANTS
      Unarmed and mild, the grassroots of Ultima II, merchants rarely
      fight.

    JESTERS
      Bouncing about in eternal jumping jacks, jesters are usually the
      buffoons you'd expect-but occasionally the buffoonery masks great
      wisdom.

    KINGS AND QUEENS
      Larger-than life humans, but smaller than guards, royal persons do
      little other than sit on thrones and bestow.

    MINAX
      ?



                          GETTING AROUND IN ULTIMA II

    Traveling on foot will take you far in Ultima II-but not everywhere.
    You can purchase, overtake, or steal more efficient forms of
    transportation.

    HORSES
      Riding horseback is slightly faster than walking, and horses are
      cheap.

    FRIGATES
      When a frigate docks near you, you can commandeer it-if the crew will
      accept you as a seasoned sailor-if you have a certain item.
      Otherwise, they'll turn the broadsides on you.

    PLANES
      No jets in Ultima II, but these little singe prop jobbies are just
      the ticket for hotfooting it around the world and through time-if
      you're prepared.

    ROCKETS
      Probably by the time you find one, surely by the time you figure out
      how to procure one, you won't need a manual to deal with the
      situation.  It takes proper armour to launch one and survive.


                               ULTIMA II TERRAIN

    Throughout the Ultima II universe, five natural terrains and two
    created terrains exist.  Then there are five kinds of population
    centers, so to speak.

    WATER
      No one in Ultima II knows how to swim except the sea monsters, so you
      can only cross water with a frigate-or pass over it by air.

    GRASS
      No problems moving on grass, but don't expect grass to save you from
      starvation.  Your character's assumed to be humanoid, not bovine.

    SWAMP
      You'll have no trouble making through the swamp, unless you're low on
      hit points.  You lost hit points with every step.

    FOREST
      Sometimes there are monsters in forests lurking behind trees.  But
      they're pretty trees and give nice shade.

    MOUNTAINS
      No way!  Are you a goat?

    COBBLESTONES
      No more concrete jungles.  The streets and sidewalks of Ultima II are
      paved exclusively with cobblestones-past, present, and future.



    WALLS
      Impenetrable.  If you're flying and so much as touch one, the Great
      Mover of Ultima II assumes you want to get out of town and escorts
      you there.

    VILLAGES
      In Countryside villages live the simple folk, selling their simple
      wares to wayfarers and sharing their lore.

    TOWNS
      With the greater sophistication of a cosmopolitan atmosphere come the
      products of human innovation; the sword, the mail, and the tankard of
      ale.

    CASTLES
      Castles, seats of government, contain prisons and cathedrals, private
      vaults and private chambers.  Explore as you will, but note that the
      guards in castles are the cream of the crop.

    DUNGEONS
      Apparently the breeding grounds for all the evil creatures in Ultima
      II's universe, leading-who knows?-to hell itself, the dungeons are
      full of hidden passages and twisty, diabolical mazes.  They're also
      full of treasure and vicious monsters.

    TOWERS
      Perhaps the world of evil became overcrowded, for its forces began
      building dungeons skyward; towers are upside down dungeons.  Watch
      for secret messages in unlikely places.




                     ULTIMA II GALACTIC MAP OF KNOWN SPACE
                          (view glxymap.gif for image)

                     Xeno    Yako    Zabo    Life   Terrain
         *  Sun       4       4       4       N     None
         A  Mercury   5       4       5       ?     Water, swamp
         B  Venus     3       3       4       N     Water, swamp, grass
         C  Earth     6       6       6       Y     All varieties
         D  Mars      6       2       3       Y     Mountains
         E  Jupiter   1       3       4       ?     Water, grass
         F  Saturn    2       8       5       N     Water, grass
         G  Uranus    9       4       6       Y     Forest, grass
         H  Neptune   4       0       5       ?     Grass
         I  Pluto     0       1       4       Y     Mountains

    Space travel continues, and the courageous and creative space explorer
    may discover unknown planets to add to this map.



                               THE STORY OF MINAX

    When the archevil Mondain was finally overcome by a gallant knight (was
    it you?), rumors abounded.  The most fearful one was that, at the time
    of his demise, Mondain had been training an apprentice, a protegee with
    amazing powerful, natural, magical abilities.  The rumor was squelched
    when colleagues of his conqueror entered his castle and found no sign
    of anyone.

    Life during Mondain's time of power was terrible; never had a prince of
    darkness wielded so brutal a stick.  Mondain was a disease on the
    landscape; he reigned over all the evils ever known, and more; he
    brought them all to fruition on Earth and its environs at once.  He
    enjoyed seeing Earth's well meaning humanoids squirm.  With the
    destruction of Mondain and his all-powerful gem of evil, those horrors
    ceased.

    When nothing came of the rumor of a potential successor to this cancer,
    people were only too eager to accept its falsehood and throw off their
    cloaks of fear.  The evils of the past were gone with their creator and
    perpetrator.  At last, the world was beautiful again, and life was to
    be enjoyed, savored.

    So it was for several years, long enough for a child to grow to
    adulthood.  They were exciting years, for the strange appearance of the
    time doors opened a great era of new learning, a renaissance of
    timelessness.  Creativity burst forth and new work s proliferated.  No
    one wanted to notice when the disease began again.

    But so it did.  First there was the single lost orc a farmer stumbled
    upon.  What was it?  Whence came it?  Scientists knew in their secret
    hearts that the orc was the work of a sorcerer, and had that sorcerer
    been a benevolent one who had created the orc by accident, he would
    have come forward.  But they didn't want to know it, so they put it
    aside.

    The orc was too sick and hurt to fight when it was first found.  When
    it was sufficiently recovered and it had begun to assert its learned
    wrathful ways, it discovered a conundrum in its weak little head.
    These creatures had saved its life-it grasped that much-and it didn't
    want to hurt them.  Because the little lone orc had never been missed,
    it was not controlled by magical influences.  It persisted with a
    pleasant benevolence.

    All the good orcs we see in towns and villages today have descended
    from this one unusual orc.  But the good people of Earth should have
    realized its import those years ago.

    More and more, the evils of darkness began to show Earth.  By the time
    the people acknowledged it, the evil was too powerful, too widespread
    to be overcome directly.  Already, its perpetrator was stronger and
    more wretched than any previous prince of darkness and had grown too
    proud to keep silent.



    Thus was the name of Minax, "enchantress of evil," made known.  She was
    a master of moving objects spiritually from the age of three and
    proudly apprenticed to Mondain at age eleven; she had acceded to many
    times his power.  The world she created mad e Mondain's reign look
    prosperous and carefree.

    For Minax was not content to spread evil among the good, causing misery
    and pain; she preferred to sow seeds of evil in the good, and thus set
    the good against good leaving no person untouched.  Destruction
    abounded and guilt and self-hatred tainted the Earth.

    The climax was the devastation of 2111, Minax's greatest triumph to
    date, when ancient civilizations, born to love of beauty, of wisdom and
    reason, turned upon one another and, in their vicious anger and hate,
    destroyed almost all of the very Earth t hat had nurtured them.

    If it were not for the time doors, you would not be here now.  Only the
    ability to move in time enabled any living thing to survive, as far as
    is known.

    Since that awful day, survivors have devoted themselves to grasping the
    meaning of the event and to rethinking the concept of time and its
    dimensions.  This dedicated group has researched, experimented and
    hypothesized in the hope of finding some means of using the time doors
    to reverse time or to change a cause and reverse its effect.

    Throughout their studies, two complementary theories persisted.  One
    was that evil was derived from a single, overpowering source which was
    Minax; the other was that the total elimination of the root cause could
    reverse its effects from all time, as if all immediacy was the present
    and all else was the future.

    That group which Lord British chairs extends its deepest respect and
    admiration to you for heroically volunteering for this extremely
    dangerous expedition into time.  Know before you go that, whether you
    succeed or fail, you have their gratitude and love.

    And, if-no, when-you succeed, you will return to the present as it
    might have and should have been.  Those in this small group assure you
    that they will never forget your great deed.  But you should be aware
    that by the very nature of your success, t hat future generations
    prospering in the sunlit glory of the universe that you have made, are
    apt to forget.  Your satisfaction must be self-sufficient.

    If you understand all this and are still willing to venture forth, then
    go now with their abundant well wishes and the knowledge that their
    thoughts will be with you ceaselessly until you return.

    Farewell.  May the force of good surround you throughout your trek.

    WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
    What kind of adventurer are you anyway, that you're still sitting here
    reading this legend instead of entering Ultima II?
    Begone-and boot!




                                    CREDITS

    Lord British acknowledges a special debt of gratitude to friends and
    colleagues in the noted areas:

        Programming:
          Kenneth Arnold
          Richard Garriott
          Keith Zabalaoui

        Atari Conversion:
          Chuckles

        Game Design:
          Helen Garriott
          Owen Garriott
          Howard Makler
          Mary Taylor Rollo

        Inspiration:
          Susan Davis
          Debra Del Nero
          Linda Garriott
          Christine Hanson
          Sherri McAdams

    Special thanks to all personalities found within Ultima II.

    Author's Note:

      I spent more than 14 months creating the Ultima II universe.  If you
      have half the fun playing Ultima as I had writing it, my time was
      well spent.  Wishing you wonderful weeks of fantasy.

                                                  Lord British







    Ultima II (c) 1983, Lord British and Sierra On-Line, Inc.






                         Ultima II(tm) Quick Reference


                              KEY LETTER COMMANDS

          A)ttack     J)ump          S)teal      P)ass        Y)ell
          B)oard      K)limb         T)ransact   Q)uit        Z)tatus
          C)ast       L)aunch/Land   U)nlock     R)eady
          D)escend    M)agic         V)iew       G)et
          E)nter      N)egate        W)ear       H)yperspace
          F)ire       O)ffer         X)it        I)gnite


                                  MAGIC SPELLS

        Clerics and Wizards   Clerics Spells    Wizards Spells
         1. Light              4. Passwall       7. Magic Missile
         2. Ladder Down        5. Surface        8. Blink
         3. Ladder Up          6. Prayer         9. Kill
