GUIDE TO ULTIMA EXODUS (ULTIMA 3) for the NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM

Col. George Sicherman. 1998-11-21. 2012-11-06.

General Description

Exodus Ultima is an adventure game for the N.E.S. It was originally written for the P.C. and has also been adapted to the Apple Macintosh. From a set of up to 20 characters you choose four at a time to explore the planet, develop their skills, and eventually defeat the infernal machine Exodus.

For the history of the Ultima series, see for example the Ultima World Wide Web Archive at the Ultima Codex.

The N.E.S. version differs in some details from the P.C. version.

Characters

When you restart a game, you can use the four characters you saved with, or choose a new set, and you can create and destroy characters at will. You can design new characters yourself or draw them from a pool of archetypes:

prfsn. sex race STR DEX INT WIS
ftrMdwarf 251555
brbrnMdwarf 251555
rngrMhuman 251555
pldnFbobit 251555
larkFelf 251555
thiefMdwarf 152555
ilsntFfuzzy 525515
wzrdMfuzzy 515255
alcmtMelf 520205
clrcFdwarf 515525
druidMbobit 552020

Characters have five races (human, elf, dwarf, bobit, fuzzy), two sexes, and eleven professions. Each character is ranked in four abilities: strength, dexterity, intelligence, and wisdom. Each character also has a state of health: good health, a cold, poisoning, death, ashes.

In the status window, each character is described by a four-letter code. The letters in order identify health, race, profession, and sex.

A character normally regains hit points and magic points as he travels or fights. With a cold or poisoning, or with no food left, he gradually loses hit points.

Each character has a sum of gold with which to buy things. You can transfer gold among the characters by selecting GOLD on the main menu.

Promotion

Each character accumulates experience points by killing enemies. Each 100 experience points entitle him to advance by one experience level, to a maximum of 25. Promotion increases a character's maximum hit points by 100. Only Lord British can promote characters, and a character without the Mark of Kings can be promoted only to level 5.

As you promote your characters, fiercer monsters appear on the planet's surface! Avoid promoting your characters prematurely. When you want to explore the planet's surface and visit towns, it is best to use unpromoted characters. They will be attacked only by orcs, goblins, skeletons, and ghouls.

Professions

Fighter
fights very well; cannot use spells
Cleric
fights poorly; uses will-power spells
Wizard
fights poorly; uses magic spells
Thief
fights well; high dexterity; cannot use spells
Barbarian
fights very well; cannot use spells
Paladin
a hybrid of fighter and cleric
Druid
a hybrid of wizard and cleric
Lark
fights fairly well; has some magic power
Illusionist
fights fairly well; has some will power
Alchemist
a hybrid of fighter and wizard
Ranger
a hybrid of fighter, wizard, and cleric

Sosaria

Your party can travel on the planet's surface, in towns, and in dungeons called caves. The surface consists of land and water. To travel on water, you must attack a pirate ship and defeat the pirates. From then on you can board the ship and sail where you will. You sail faster while sailing with the wind.

Islands can be reached only by water. So can the Castle of Time and the lost continent of Ambrosia.

Characters regenerate slowly in caves and in Ambrosia.

Depending on the phase of the first moon, a Moongate appears in one of eight places. Enter it and you will reappear in one of those places—usually a different one—determined by the phase of the second moon.

<Map of Sosaria>

Commands

Press START to see the command menu. Press SELECT to see more commands. Press B to remove the command menu.
TALK
Talk with a person or creature.
MAGIC
Let a character cast a spell.
FIGHT
Fight an enemy that is next to you.
STATUS
See the characters' statistics, weapons, armor, special objects, and marks.
TOOLS
Use a tool.
GIVE
Transfer a tool, weapon, or armor. Also used to give flowers.
GET
Get something on the screen, such as a treasure chest.
CLIMB
Climb up or down a ladder in a cave.
FOOD
Share food equally.
GOLD
Transfer gold from one character to another.
HORSE
Let your characters mount or dismount horses, if you have them.
ORDER
Exchange the positions of two characters.
BRIBE
Pay a guard to go away. You can use this command only after speaking twice with a woman in the Hospital in Devil Guard.
PRAY
Pray for something. You can use this command only after speaking with a priest in the Temple that is surrounded by lava in Yew.

Armor

Use the STATUS command to wear armor.

Price Name Fighter
Ranger		 Paladin Cleric Thief
Barbarian
Illusionist		 Wizard
Lark
Druid
Alchemist
75 Cloth * * * * *
195Leather* * * *  
575Bronze** *  
2500Iron **   
6130Steel *    
8250Dragon *    
—Mystic
Armor 		* * * * *

Weapons

Use the STATUS command to wield a weapon. Some weapons must be grasped, some must be shot, and some may be grasped or thrown. The more powerful weapons can be bought only in Dawn. Most powerful is the Mystic Sword. 

Class:           FBPL R  T CDI WA
---------------------------------
Dagger       5     *  *  *  *  *
Mace        30     *  *  *  *
Sling       60     *  *  *
Axe        125     *  *  *
Blowgun    350     *  *  *
Sword      200     *  *  *
Spear      250     *  *
---------------------------------
Broad Axe  400     *  *
Bow       1050     *  *
Iron Swrd  800     *  *
Gloves    1200     *
Halberd   2700     *
Slv Bow   6550     *
Sun Swrd  4550     *
---------------------------------
Mystic S. !!!!     *  *  *  *  *

Marks

Your characters must get four kinds of Marks on their hands: These marks are found in the caves.

Cards

To defeat Exodus, you must bring four Cards. The Lord of Time will tell you in which sequence to play the cards.

Traveling

Normally your party travels on foot, passing from a space to an adjacent space, north, east, south, or west. In the town of Dawn you can rent horses. When your party travels on horses, its members consume food more slowly.

When one of your party members reaches level 5 or higher, your party will begin to encounter pirate ships on the coast. If you fight and defeat a pirate ship, you can then freely board the ship and sail in the water. You need a ship to reach the continent of Ambrosia.

The Castle

You set out from Lord British's Castle. This is a good place to retreat to when you are threatened by monsters. In the Castle you will find: and treasure rooms and hints.

Towns

Facilities

Inn
You can save the game here. When you restart, your game will be as it was when you saved.
Grocery Store
You can buy food here. (Select FOOD on your main menu to share food equally among your characters.)
Pub
You can buy ale here. If you buy 3 or more drinks, the bartender will give you a hint. The more drinks you buy, the more valuable the hint.
Armory
You can buy armor here. The armorer will tell you when a character is trying to buy armor that he is not fit to wear.
Weapon Shop
You can buy weapons here. The weaponsmith will tell you when a character is trying to buy a weapon that he is not fit to wield.
Hospital
You can heal a cold or poison here, or both. The hospital claims to be able to revive the dead, but if you speak twice to the nurse, she admits that the procedure always turns the victim to ashes.
Guild Shop
You can buy torches for lighting up dungeons; keys for opening locked doors; gems for revealing the layout of a territory; sands of time for temporarily paralyzing attackers; and tents for restoring your party's hit points between battles.
Fortune Teller
You can buy hints here.
Stable
You can buy horses here.

Moongates

Here are the phases of the Moongates:

new moonNorth of Barrier Range
waxing crescentCave of Sol (Cave Island)
first quarter3-square area, N
waxing gibbousSouth Coast
full moon3-square area, S
waning gibbousExodus Island
last quarterDevil Guard
waning crescentCave of Moon

Caves

A cave consists of 8 levels, one below the other, joined by ladders. Each level is 16 spaces square, re-entrant. Normally a cave has an unbroken outer wall that limits you to an area 15 spaces square.

You find your way around by looking at the walls and ladders. To see them you must use a Torch or some kind of lighting spell. At all times the screen tells you which way you are facing. Each space may be:

You cannot see monsters coming till they attack you. In caves you may be attacked by monsters of any strength, regardless of your experience level.

Here are maps of the caves. Coordinates are relative to Lord British's Castle.

Here is a table of marks and other special items in the caves.

 Mark of
Kings		Mark of
Fire 		Mark of
Force		Mark of
Snake		Silver
Pick		Lord of
Time
Death*    * 
Gold**     
Moon**    *
Fire **    
Fool  *    
Madness**     
Sol *  *  

Notice that only caves that begin with F have the Mark of Force, and only the cave that begins with S has the Mark of the Snake.

Ambrosia

To reach the lost continent of Ambrosia, sail your ship into the whirlpool. Ambrosia has four shrines where you can buy extra ability points for your characters at 100 gold pieces a point, and PRAY for a Card.

To reach the Shrine of Strength, go to the northwest part of the open area and head west and south.

To reach the Shrine of Intelligence, go to the northeast part of the open area, head west, and take over the Pirate Ship to cross the lake.

To reach the Shrine of Wisdom, go to the northeast part of the open area and head east and south.

To reach the Shrine of Dexterity, go to the southwest part of the open area, head west and south, take over the Pirate Ship, and sail eastward till you come to another Pirate Ship. Get off there and walk to the Shrine.

<Map of Ambrosia>

To leave Ambrosia, follow the directions for the Shrine of Dexterity until you get the Ship, and sail into the whirlpool.

Most of the locked gates lead nowhere useful. Behind one near the path to the Shrine of Intelligence stands an Inn.

Special Objects

Every character may have one of these objects, but no more.
Flower
GIVE it to Sherry to get the Heart Compass. Get it by going to the middle of the open space on Ambrosia and heading west and south through the forest.
Silver Horn (tool)
use it to pass the red snake on the island if you have the Mark of the Snake. Get it by using the PRAY command in the Circle of Light.
Heart Compass (tool)
use it to return instantly to Lord British's Castle, even from Ambrosia or during a battle but not from the Castle of Time. Get it by using the GIVE command to give a Flower to Sherry in the Royal Village.
Gold Pick (tool)
use it by digging to get the Mystic Armor. Get it by robbing the left treasure chest in the Guild Shop in Dawn.
Silver Pick (tool)
use it by digging to get the Mystic Sword. Get it by opening the chest in the southwest corner of Level 8 of the Cave of Death.
Mystic Sword (weapon)
Use it by wielding it. Get it by using the Silver Pick on the islet east of the town of Fawn.
Mystic Armor (armor)
Use it by putting it on. Get it by using the Gold Pick on the islet east of the town of Gray.
Ankh
Get it by sealing Exodus under ground!

Monsters

Land Monsters

Sea Monsters

Defeating Exodus

Sail to Exodus Island and use the Silver Horn to drive away the Snake. Enter the Castle of Time. Go north around the square, then west to the end of the corridor, then north, then west, then north into the room full of lava. Leave northward by the locked door or by crossing the force field. Go east and south to the first turning to the north. Exodus is in this room.

Go north to the edge of the floor, defeating invisible floor tiles on the way. PRAY and lay the Cards on the altars in the correct sequence. Get the Ankh and leave the island.

Back to Ultima: Exodus.
Back to Crude ASCII Maps.
Col. George Sicherman [ HOME | MAIL ]