Ultima 6: The False Prophet

Warning: The following walkthrough will help you solve Ultima 6. Please, DO NOT READ FROM START TO FINISH. You'll ruin the game. And Lord British might throw you in a dank cell, rapscallion...

Ultima VI - The False Prophet
Walkthrough

IN THE BEGINNING...

     When you start out the game, you're in combat with gargoyles.  Kill them 
off, obviously.  After combat, pick up any items from them and talk to Lord 
British.  He will explain what has been happening since your last visit to 
Britannia.  
     Make sure you ask him about the stone you're carrying.  The Orb of Moons 
is like carrying around a multipurpose moongate, but you can't use it until 
Lord British explains it to you.  The chart below shows your destinations 
depending on where you use it.  Assuming you are standing in the center, at 
point M: 

ÉÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍ» A - Moonglow                N - noplace 
º A ³ B ³ C ³ D ³ E  º B - Shrine of Honesty       O - Yew
ÇÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄĶ C - Britain                 P - Shrine of Spirituality
º F ³ G ³ H ³ I ³ J  º D - Shrine of Compassion    Q - The Gargoyle Altar
ÇÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄĶ E - Jhelom                  R - Shrine of Diligence
º K ³ L ³ M ³ N ³ O  º F - Shrine of Humility      S - Isle of the Avatar
ÇÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄĶ G - Shrine of Control       T - Shrine of Justice
º P ³ Q ³ R ³ S ³ T  º H - Castle of Lord British  U - Skara Brae
ÇÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÅÄÄÄĶ I - Shrine of Passion       V - Shrine of Honor
º U ³ V ³ W ³ X ³ Y  º J - Shrine of Valor         W - Trinsic
ÈÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÏÍÍÍͼ K - New Magincia            X - Shrine of Sacrifice
                       L - noplace                 Y - Minoc

     The Gargoyle Altar is where you were almost sacrificed before Iolo, 
Dupre, and Shamino rescued you in the introduction.  The Shrines of Control, 
Passion, and Diligence are Gargoyle Shrines, and it's not important to visit 
them yet. 

     By using this stone, you can visit all the major cities and shrines 
without a sea-going vessel, with the exception of Buccaneer's Den.  You can 
either take a ship or follow the sewers under the Castle.  

     Arms and armor - The easiest way to get armor and armament is to buy 
them, but you don't have much gold to start with.  Anything you kill in 
combat, search them.  Whatever they're carrying is yours for the taking.  You 
can eventually get a few sets of plate mail and swords like this. 
     For some reason, no matter what weapon you give Iolo, he keeps going back 
to his crossbow.  That's a bard for ya.  Because of this, keep him well 
supplied with crossbow bolts.  There's a triple crossbow to be found, which is 
great in combat, but it uses bolts faster.  Also, anyone you equip with bows, 
make sure they don't run out of arrows or they're worthless in combat.  
     Finally, you will need your spellbook.  You can't cast magic without a 
spellbook and reagents.  At the start of the game, you'll find your spellbook 
and a bag of reagents in a room to the southwest of the throne room.  You 
don't start with a lot of spells, but you can get more from the various mages 
around the country.  Reagents can be bought, and there are some places where 
you'll find them.  (Spider Cave is loaded with spider silk, for example.)
     Unlike Ultima IV and V, all the spells used in the game are covered in 
the Compendium.  Spells of the Eighth Circle will not be available to you 
until you prove yourself worthy.  If you happen to come across the spell 
called "Armageddon" - well, save your game before you try it.  :)

OKAY, NOW WHAT?     

     If you spoke to Lord British, he gave you your first quest - free the 
shrines.  Nystul (Lord British's mage) will tell you to take the book Iolo is 
carrying and take it to Mariah at the Lycaeum.  
     The shrines first:  To free a shrine, you have to have the rune for that 
virtue, and know the mantra.  By asking around various towns, you can find out 
the mantras.  If you played Ultima IV and/or V, the mantras are the same.

Honesty - AHM
Compassion - MU
Valor - RA
Justice - BEH
Sacrifice - CAH
Honor - SUMM
Spirituality - OM
Humility - LUM

     Not all of the runes are simple to get to - here's a short description:

Rune of Honesty - Buried with Beyvin, under Moonglow.  Talk to Manrel to get 
the key to Beyvin's tomb.  There is a secret door in the Blue Bottle Tavern 
that leads to the underground crypts.  (There's a lot of other neat stuff down 
there too - take a couple of "Unlock Magic" spells down with you.) 

Rune of Compassion - Ariana in Britain's Conservatory has it.  You have to get 
permission from her mother Anya in the Blue Boar Tavern in Britain before she 
will give it to you. 

Rune of Valor - In the Sword and Keg tavern in Jhelom, there's a mouse hole.  
Take Sherry, the mouse from Lord British's castle, and put her in sole mode to 
get it out of the mouse hole.

Rune of Justice - Under a plant in The Slaughtered Lamb in Yew.

Rune of Sacrifice - Selganor of the Artisian's Guild in Minoc will only give 
it to you if you can play "Stones" on a panpipe.  Buy a yew log from Ben 
Hurlsom west of Yew.  Take it to a sawmill and have it cut into a board.  Take 
the board to Julia in Minoc, who will carve it into a set of panpipes.  
Finally, go to Gwenno (also in Minoc) who knows the numerical notation for 
Stones.  (If you played Ultima V, it's the same notation you used on the 
harpsichord.)  Go back to Selganor and tell him the notation.

Rune of Honor - Standing on a pedastal in the middle of Trinsic.

Rune of Spirituality - Marney in Skara Brae has it in her Hope Chest.

Rune of Humility - Tell Lord Antonio of New Magincia the name of the humblest 
person in the town and he will give you the Rune. 

     Once you have all the runes, go free the shrines.  To do this, you'll 
probably have to battle gargoyles.  They are NOT easy to beat, at least not 
early in the game.  (Magic and increased strength help.)  Once the shrine is 
clear, go up to the shrine and Use the rune for that virtue.  Chant the 
mantra, and the moonstone will be freed from the force field.  Take it, and go 
do the same with the other shrines.
     When you have enough experience to raise a level, meditate on one of the 
shrines.  (Talk to it, and then chant the mantra.)  Depending on the shrine 
you meditate on, one or more attributes will be raised.
     Assuming you have enough experience to raise a level:

Honesty - raises Intelligence by 3 points
Compassion - raises Dexterity by 3 points
Valor - raises Strength by 3 points
Justice - raises Intelligence and Dexterity by 1 point each
Sacrifice - raises Dexterity and Strength by 1 point each
Honor - raises raises Intelligence and Strength by 1 point each
Sprituality - Intelligence, Strength, and Dexterity by 1 point each
Humilty - No raise in attributes


THE BOOK OF PROPHECY

     After freeing all shrines, the next thing to follow up on is the Book.  
Take it to Mariah at the Lycaeum, who will tell you what she knows, but needs 
the other half of a stone tablet to translate it.  She directs you to the 
gypsies from whom she bought her half of the tablet.  
     There are two groups of gypsies.  The group you want has a gypsy named 
Taynith and is led by Zoltan.  In addition to being a cheap source of 
reagents, Zoltan will tell you that the other half of the Stone Tablet was 
taken by the pirate Hawkins.  Best place to find a pirate is in Buccaneer's 
Den, so that's the next place to go. 
     Seek out Homer, who sailed with Hawkins.  He knows of the tablet, but 
will only talk about it to a fellow member of the Thieves Guild.  He send you 
to Budo, who says he's a provisioner.  Mention the Guild to him, and he will 
accept you only if you can steal a belt from a former member called Phoenix.  
She can be found in the sewers under Castle Britannia, which is connected with 
the cave behind Budo's house.  Phoenix wields two glass swords, which kill 
with one blow.  I found it easier to use an invisibility ring, and cast 
Pickpocket to steal the belt.  May as well take the swords too.  They're great 
in combat, and you'll need one later. 
     Take the belt back to Homer, who will tell you the tablet is with 
Hawkin's buried treasure.  The treasure map was torn into nine pieces, and you 
(of course) have to go find them.  He will tell you the location of five of 
them.
The first piece is with a shipwreck at 71N, 15E.  
The second piece is with a pirate Ybarra, who is lost at the bottom of the 
Dungeon Shame.  You can trade him food for the map.
The third piece belonged to Heftimus the Beggar, only he lost it in Dungeon 
Wrong.  It's on the third level beyond a secret door.
The fourth piece is on the body of Hawknose, who was is at the bottom of the 
Ant Mounds. 

Sandy, the cook in Trinsic, knows the wherabouts of the last pieces.  He'll 
trade the information for a dragon's egg from the bottom of Dungeon Destard.  
Kill spells work great on dragons, but be ready - they can cast many of the 
same spells you can.  
The fifth piece is with Lord Whitsabre of Trinsic.  Tell him his pirate name 
and he'll give you the map piece.
The sixth piece is with the insane pirate Bonn on Dagger Isle.  Search his 
basement.
The seventh piece is supposed to be with the widow of Nathaniel Moorehead near 
Empath Abbey.  She'll tell you a group of gypsies stole it.  Find Arturos 
(with the other group of gypsies I mentioned) who will sell it for 50gp if you 
say no to his original price of 100gp.  
The eighth piece is with Morchella, who lives east of Serpent's Hold.  She 
will trade it for a magic shield.  If you take a curved heater with a serpent 
on it, a gold nugget, and a magic gem to Gherick at Siegecrafters, he will 
make a magic shield.

     Return to Homer with the eight pieces, who tells you he had the ninth 
piece all along.  He will tell you how many paces to walk, and where to dig.  
Buy a shovel at the Thieves Guild, arrange the map on the floor so the lines 
are lined up, and you should see an island with an X on it.  (South of New 
Magincia)
     The three rocks Homer spoke of are on the eastern shore; from there walk 
3 south, 9 west, and then 12 south.  Dig to the south (there was a hydra there 
when I did this) and enter the hole.  There are a lot of traps set, so be 
careful.  When you get to a place that says "Drop to your death" you will have 
a few passages to choose from.  Take the hole with thhe gold nugget next to it 
- all others will land you in lava.  Once you find the treasure room, take the 
storm cloak, tablet piece, and the magic fan.  (With the fan you won't need 
wind change spells.)  Anything else in there, while not technically yours for 
the taking, is up to you.  Once done there, take the storm cloak to Homer.
     Take the tablet piece back to Mariah.  She will tell you what the Book 
says, which is the reason the gargoyles are attacking.  She will then send you 
to Sin'Vraal (who, up until now, was believed to be a daemon.)  Sin'Vraal will 
give you some more information, and send you to gargoyle world via Hythloth.

UP, UP, AND AWAY...

     Sin'Vraal will tell you of a Gargoyle Shrine that can only be reached by 
air.  Gargoyles can fly to it - you can't.  So, you have to find a way to fly 
over the mountains to the Temple of Singularity.  (The Gargoyles' version of 
The Temple of the Codex.)
     Through talking to various people you may have picked up information 
about a balloonist.  Talk to Selganor in Minoc, or Isabella.  You will 
eventually be told to find his body in the castle of Sutek the Mad, who is 
living in Blackthorn's old palace.  (If you've played Ultima V, you know where 
the palace is.  Non-veterans - the palace is on an island west of the Isle of 
the Avatar.)
     You'll need either a powder keg or an Explosion spell to blast the door 
open, then use Telekinesis to lower the drawbridge.  From there look for 
secret doors on walls that take you to the north, a room with switches to 
raise the portcullises, and eventually you'll find his laboratory. 
     You'll learn from Sutek that the balloonist is in the dungeons below the 
palace.  South of the laboratory is the ladder leading down.  Switches will 
open doors, but don't touch the levers unless you want to fight useless 
battles.   The southern ladder will take you to Pushme Pullyu.  One head 
always lies, the other speaks truth.  Good place to save your game, cause the 
wrong path takes you to Buccaneer's Cave, with a long way back.   
     You'll find the balloonist's hody on the fourth level down, with the 
plans still on him.  According to the plans, you'll need a large bag, a 
basket, a cauldron, and rope.  The cauldron you can find in the sewers of 
Britain, or Dungeon Covetous.  The rope can be bought from Mortude in Paws.  
SHow the plans to Michelle in Minoc, who can make the basket.  For the bag, 
buy 40 strands of spider silk and take them to Arbeth in Paws to spin them to 
thread.  Charlotte in New Magincia can weave it into cloth, and Marissa in 
Paws will make the silk bag from the cloth.  Use the plans to assemble the 
balloon, and head for Hythloth.

INTO THE DEPTHS

     The Orb of Moons can take you quickly to the Gargoyle world, but at this 
point, the Gargoyles still see you as a threat, and will attack.  You have to 
talk to Captain Johne first, who lives on the lower level of Hythloth.  (Heck 
of a place to live...)  Talk to him, who will tell you what he knows and give 
you a scroll.  Use this scroll to be able to communicate with the Gargoyles.
     Upon exiting the cave to the Gargoyle world, you will meet Beh Lem, the 
gargoyle child Johne spoke of.  He will join you, and give you directions to 
his father, Valkadesh.  Valkadesh will explain the Prophecy, and that he 
believes there is a way of averting it.  He will send you to Lord Draxinusom 
to surrender to the Gargoyles so you can travel freely within the city.
     Surrender to Lord Draxinusom, telling him Valkadesh sent you.  He will 
give you the Amulet of Submission, which you must wear at all times in the 
Gargoyle Realm.  From there talk to Naxatilor the Seer, and ask him of the 
meaning of sacrifice.  He will tell you there are three meanings to sacrifice 
- self, others, and valuables.  Since sacrificing yourself is what you have 
been trying to avoid, and you certainly don't want to sacrifice your friends, 
you must sacrifice that which is valuable.  The only thing of value to the 
Gargoyles is the Codex, and Naxatilor will ask if you mean destroying the 
Codex.  Answer no, leaving only one alternative - return the Codex to the 
Vortex, from where you "stole" it back in Ultima IV.
     Naxatilor tells you to seek out the Book of Rituals in the Hall of 
Knowledge.  It will tell of two lenses and the Vortex Lens.  The Lens is in 
the Vortex Room, but it is cracked.  The Vortex Cube was stolen.  Take the 
lens to the Lensmaker, who will fix it.  Take the lens back to Naxatilor, who 
will tell you what else you need.  A concave lens to match the Vortex Lens, 
and to consult the Codex for final instructions.
     Remembering what you know about the Codex, you cannot approach it without 
being ona Sacred Quest.  Captain Bolesh at the healers will suggest you see 
the Temple of Singularity.  This is where the balloon comes in.   Go to the 
end of the trail north of the Gargoyle Altar, and Use the balloon.  Use either 
Wind Change spells or the fan fron Hawkin's treasure room.  Go north, and exit 
the balloon.  You'll see the Temple, with the Book of Infinity, and the stands 
for the Book of Prophecy (which you have) and the Book of the Codex.  (Which 
is on the Isle of the Avatar.)  Talk to the Temple and say "quest."  The 
Temple will ask for whom do you seek the Codex.  Since you're trying to save 
everyone, the answer is "all."  The Temple will tell you to seek out the 
shrines of Control, Passion, and Diligence.  Visit the Shrines, and talk to 
the statues of your first three enemies, Mondain, Minax, and Exodus.  Each 
statue will tell you a mantra; combined the mantras form the Mantra of 
Singularity.  Go back to the Temple of Singularity, put them together, and 
say it to the Temple.  It will send you on your way to the Codex.
     The first thing upon reaching the Britannia is to find the stolen Vortex 
Cube.  The caretaker of the Hall of Knowledge will tell you to find Stonegate.  
(Ultima V veterans will know where this is, and remember it as the old home of 
the Shadowlords.)  There is a family of Cyclops living there now; the father 
wants fish.  Take a fishing pole, catch some fish by the water, and trade it 
to the cyclops for a key.  The Vortex Cube is on the fourth level behind a 
wall of lightning.  Dispel the field and you've got it.
     You can use the Orb of Moons to get to the Codex in a hurry; approach the 
Codex and read it.  It will give the final instructions:
"To return the Codex to the Vortex, place a convex lens exactly midway between 
the Codex and the Flame of Singularity, so that the light from the flame 
converges on the Codex.  Place a concave lens between the Codex and the Flame 
of Infinity, so that its light diverges over the Codex.   Then place the eight 
moonstones within the Vortex Cube.  Set it on the ground in front of the 
Codex, and use it to return the Codex from whence it came."

(and wait 200 years for Ultima VII - The Black Gate)