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Ulitma VII - The Black Gate
Walkthrough by asimpkins00@hotmail.com
May 11th, 2002
Version - 1.1


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|Introduction|
--------------
There is already a great deal of information and a few FAQs already available
for Ultima VII - The Black Gate. So what is the purpose of this FAQ? While
playing through this game recently I noticed just how many side quests, caves,
and wilderness treasure locations were still undocumented. Of course, many
FAQs mentioned many of these items, but none came close enough to being
complete on its own. That is what I hope this FAQ to be, a thorough
documentation of all the little hidden details that are scattered through this
game. If you come across any errors or oversights, please contact me at
asimpkins00@hotmail.com

What I haven't included in this FAQ: complete weapon & spell lists, detailed
puzzle solutions, information on the cheat mode, copy protection answers,
etc... I have left out because I felt they have been adequately covered in
other FAQs. In particular, I'd direct you towards the FAQ by DSimpson at
GameFaqs:

http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/ultima_vii_a.txt

Oh, and if you are having trouble running Ultima VII on your modern PC, I'd
highly recommend visiting the follow site:

http://exult.sourceforge.net


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|General Tips|
--------------
Be sure to have the Avatar carry all plot essential items. There's a good
reason for this. If NPCs become wounded in battle they will take off running.
Whenthey do this, it is not uncommon for them to drop some of their stuff.
Believe me, you don't want to be systematically searching the forests for a
crucial item that you need to advance in the game. Don't give the NPC's
anything that you cannot afford to lose.

For the most part, thievery in this game is rather easy. If you decide to steal
from people, just make sure you have opened your inventory screen. You can then
drag and drop items on to that without consequence. Do not move items around in
the outside world, or drag and drop onto the characters themselves. This will
be noticed, and you'll have the guards upon you quite quickly. You can always
optto come at nightime when no one is around, or use a sleeping potion/spell on
any pesky shopkeepers before you rip them off.

You'll probably eventually end up with more stuff than you can carry. If you
don't really feel like taking on more NPCs, try storing stuff on your vehicle
of choice. Ships have holds, and you can place crates on your Flying Carpet.
Stockpile up any items that you won't be needing immediately. Extra weapons,
excess food and gold, or plot related items that you won't need for a while.
(You could also designate a certain island or house as a storage location and
use the Mark/Recall spell to easily return their later.)

Organize your stuff. Use bags for keys and regeants. Have different party
members carry different things. One characters can carry gold, one character
can carry food, one character can carry extra weapons, etc.

There are two types of locks in the game. Those that open with a particular
key and those that must be picked open. Lock picks will never work on locks
that have specific keys for them.

Remember that many chests and doors can be smashed open. Switch to combat mode
and try to attack them. You can also try to blow some doors open (particularly
the wooden variety) with a powder keg, or use Ryduom's Wand on a strategically
placed piece of blackrock.

Get the Skeleton Key as soon as possible. This will allow you to quickly and
easily open many of the chests and doors in Britannia. You can throw those
pesky lock picks away. Check out the 'Various Islands' section for more
information.

There are four main types of transportation besides walking. The carriage is a
cheap option, but doesn't solve the vital sea travel issue. It's probably best
to just pass over that option. The boat is the next option, but they can be
rather expensive and don't provide transportation over land and mountain ranges.
The best solution is to avoid buying anything and find the Flying Carpet as soon
as possible. It can travel quickly over land, sea, and mountains. The fourth
alternative is through some form of teleportations, either through the moongates
or the Mark/Recall spells.

Before you head off into any dungeons, take some time to explore some of the
wilderness areas I have listed throughout this walkthrough in order to stock up
on valuable magic equipment. Stop by Serpent's Hold and raid their armory.
And make sure you have actually used up all of your training points.

Always be on the lookout for hidden teleporters, walls that are actually doors,
walkthrough walls, invisible caltrops, unreachable levers (use Telekinesis),
levers partially hidden underneath things, and keys. Most keys will only open
one chest or door, but that is not always the case. (And sometimes there is
more than one key for a particular lock.) It'll probably be a good idea to
save all your used keys in one bag, and set aside keys that you haven't found a
use for yet.

It's up to the players preference how many characters they want in their party,
but I'd put the highest priority on taking Iolo, Shamino, Dupre, and Spark. If
you want more after that then take recruit Sentri, Tseramed, or Jaana. Julia
and Katrina are the worst choices. (Sentri provides free training in Dexterity
and Jaana will occasionally provide free healing and resurrection.)

While the maximum party size is eight people, some NPCs will not join if you
already have five members. These NPCs include Sentri, Julia, and Katrina. To
get around this, temporarily disband other NPCs and ask these picky characters
to join first. Then re-recruit your other members.

The best way to get experience in this game is not by fighting, but by
completing side quests. Fighting certainly does provide experience, but you'll
be surprised how far you can get in this game without it.

Britain is a good place to place a Mark spell. You'll need to return here
often, especially to exchange your gold bars, gold nuggets, and Silver Serpent
Venom for gold. The Mark spell is also handy when you reach a generator deep
within a dungeon, but need to fetch another item in order to enter. No sense
in trying to walk all the way back. Also consider Marking the following towns
as you'll most likely need to go there more than once: Minoc, Yew, Moonglow,
and New Magnicia.

Like almost every game: Save often.


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|Weapons|
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There are many more weapons in the game than are listed here. However, these
are the weapons that I feel standout for one reason or another or that warrant
some type of comment.

Two Handed Sword - This non-magical weapon does lots of damage. It's heavy and
requires two hands, but you'll want to give these to your main fighters as
quickly as you can find them. Later on they'll most likely be replaced with
high powered magic weapons, but they'll always be good weapons to use.

Great Dagger - This will be a good weapon to use early on. It's light and only
requires one hand, but it does lots of damage. You'll get better equipment
later on, but during the beginning of the game be on the lookout for these.

Sword of Defense - This weapon is great for weaker characters. It does the
damage of a sword but adds a +3 defensive bonus. It's like having a second
shield.

Magebane - This weapon does a decent amount of damage, but it's special ability
makes it a must-have. If you hit a magic using character with the Magebane he
will lose his mana. This game is full of enemy magic users, and they are
usually the toughest opponents. Even if more damaging weapons are available,
you should probably have at least one character equipped with a Magebane just
to deal with magic users.

Firesword - A mildly strong weapon, but again it's the special ability that
makes it stand out. When held in a character's hand, this weapon will act as a
full time light source. For convenience, you'll probably want to permanently
equip a character with this weapon. If you have better weapons though, you can
always put it in a character's secondary hand. It'll still act as an infinite
light source.

Hoe of Destruction - One of the best melee weapons in the game. To make matters
even better, you can get it fairly early in the game and without much danger.
You just have to find the key to the shed. If you have this weapon you should
probably always have someone equipped with it.

Lightning Whip - This is an average magic weapon. But it has a really long
range, which is a big plus. You'll be able to find lots of these if you take
the time to explore caves here and there.

Death Scythe - Besides the Blackrock Sword and Glass Swords, this is the best
melee weapon in the game. It's rather hard to find though without using 'cheat'
rooms. If you have the Forge of Virtue add-on, there's one available on the
Isle of Fire.

Blackrock Sword - The best weapon in the game. You'll have to keep this with
the Avatar, but there's no reason you'd ever want to equip anything else. It
also comes with a few special abilities. The demon inside the sword can
replenish your mana, cast delayed blast at will, and instantly kill most
characters in the game (including Lord British).

Firedoom Staff - This is a fairly powerful weapon, although you'll have to be
careful. The powerful explosions it sends out can easily hurt your own
characters. For this unfortunate reason it might be best to not use it at all.

Glass Sword - This weapon will kill almost any creature in the game in one hit,
the exceptions being a handful of highly powerful characters like Lord British
or Batlin. However, the sword will shatter on impact making this a one-time
use weapon. Save these for your toughest opponents and the occasional
emergency.

Juggernaut Hammer - Another one of the strongest weapons in the game. And to
make matters better, this one is a ranged weapon allowing for valuable
defensive spacing. You'll definitely want to use these when you find them.

Magic Axe - Not nearly as powerful at the Juggernaut Hammer, this is another
excellent ranged weapon with unlimited uses. Unlike the Juggernaut Hammer,
this weapon is one-handed and can thus be used with a shield or any other
useful secondary item. It is also a lot less rare.

Triple Crossbow - Another incredibly strong missile weapon, yet burdened by
its need of bolt ammunition. Be careful though - it's all too easy to shoot
your own men in the back.

Magic Bow - Not as powerful as the Triple Crossbow, yet formidable in its own
regard, the Magic Bow also requires ammunition in the form of arrows. However,
unlike the Triple Crossbow there is a large variety of a magical arrows in the
game including: Magic Arrows, Burst Arrows, Tseramed Arrows, and the extremely
rare Love Arrows.


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|Spells|
--------
Most spells are not required to finish the game. In fact, most spells aren't
even all that useful. The following spells will be either absolutely necessary
or very helpful in your quest:

Telekinesis - There will be many times you'll have to pull a switch or lever
that you can't physically reach. Get this spell as soon as possible. It is
absolutely essential.

Mark, Recall - These two spells are highly convenient. Britannia is quite
large, and it'll be very helpful to teleport around as much as possible. You'll
need to get the eight Virtue Stones from the Museum to use with these spells.

Seance - You will need this spell to talk to anybody in Skara Brae, and thus you
will need this spell to finish the game.

Unlock Magic - You will end up using this spell a lot. You will also need it to
get inside Nicodemus' house, and thus it is another spell necessary to finish
the game. Get this one as soon as possible.

Dispel Field - You will need this one a few times in order to access certain
areas. Another must-have.

Great Heal, Restoration, Resurrect - These spells will come in handy very often.
Make sure to pick them up.

Enchant - Not necessary, but if you are into ranged weapons it will be very
helpful to make your own magic bolts/arrows.

Protect All, Mass Might, Invisible All - These spells can really buff up your
party before a touch combat.

Sleep, Paralyze, Charm, Charm All, Timestop - These spells can also help in
battle, especially if you are caught in over your head.

Death Bolt, Death Vortex, Mass Death, Swordstrike - These are the big offensive
spells. If the idea of powerful magic combat appeals to you, get a hold of
these spells. Of course, you can just as easily get through the game with
normal melee combat.