Beyond Zork Part I This is one of Infocom's more difficult games, and not simply because of the puzzles, some of which are very tough. What makes things hard for the player is the fact that much of the game is random in nature: objects and places are never quite the same from one game to the next. A staff of Levitation this time might be a staff of Sayonara the next. The arrangement of rooms in the cellar is never the same twice. Magic words on scrolls are different each time you play. Added to this confusion is a multiplicity of solutions to many of the problems in the game. For example, there are at least five ways of getting off Zeno's Bridge, and at least two for getting the Unicorn out of the stall. Sometimes, the difficulty is deciding which method to use to solve a puzzle: you can't always be sure that the way you're doing it won't put you in a hole later on, when a magic item is used up (and most magic items have few charges). Yet, some order can be made out of the chaos. While room arrangements change, the rooms themselves stay the same in type and number. Wands, sticks, staves, etc. may have different properties, but they will always do one of the same six things: Annihilate, Levitate, Evert, Dispel, Anesthetize, or Vanish a creature. Ditto for potions: their effects and colors may change, but only to a limited degree. Also, items will be found in roughly the same places. For example, a stick or cane or rod or somesuch will always be found somewhere in the spooky area where the Eldritch Vapor hangs out, and a potion will always come to light somewhere in the Ruins. So once you've played the game for awhile, you'll get to know where to look for various objects. It might not do quite the same thing as the last time, but eventually you'll be able to collect everything in the game, once you know where to look for it. Always take new-found items to the Magic Shoppe and have them identified. It costs nothing, and the only other way to find out what they do is to try them out, which wastes charges on the rods, and may kill you if it's a potion. Once an item has been identified, it will not change properties during the game. Also, there is no way to go through the curtains from this side, but later on you'll be able to come through from the other side, which is in the astral plane of Atrii. And you can't steal anything from the shop, either; the old woman watches you like a hawk (it's probably the same old woman in all three shops). Several items in the game are there just for the purpose of trading for cash. These include the bubble gum card, the platinum sextant, the silver ornament, the gold crown, the gold doubloon, and the diamond snowflake. Exchange them for zorkmids (or an item of similar value in the shops), so that you don't end up carrying around excess items in your inventory. Almost anything you buy can be sold back in the shops, but you will get only half price for them. For instance, the axe costs 40 zorkmids, but if you sell it back to the old woman, you will get only 20 for it. Character creation does not seem to be as important as one might first expect. You definitely need a good Stamina score; the more you have, the more damage you can take and the better your chances of defeating the various monsters you have to face in the game (although not all monsters are bested with weapons). Remember that if your Stamina is dropping rapidly in an encounter, you can always run off and come back another time; there is no difficulty in escaping, except for those unfortunate times when you're caught in a dead end, and you have no helpful spells to get you out of trouble. Intelligence, while important, is very easy to increase, so you needn't start out with too high a score in this attribute. Compassion will also increase during the game when you help out some of the creatures in difficulty, so a high starting score here is also not necessary (but do put a few points into it, anyway). Strength is helpful in several instances, so have a good starting score here. Luck is harder to gauge; I suspect it helps a bit in combats (which, from my observations, are not handled in typical RPG style), so you might want to put a few extra points into this one (the "lucky charms" that you find in the game will not increase your luck; they have another purpose entirely). Good dexterity is also useful, primarily again for combat. The actual number of points you put into any attribute is up to you; a difference of a point or two in any attribute usually won't make that much difference, expecially as most of your attributes will increase during the game anyway. Armor and weapons are variable things. I went through almost the entire game with no armor at all, and with the battle axe as my weapon. For the end game, I sold back the hourglass, and used the money to buy the plate armor and the sword, which I found not necessary at all. Armor, in my experience, was not very helpful; I seemed to take as much damage with it as without it. One more thing to note is that you must defeat, not simply evade, EVERY monster in the game to complete the adventure with the highest score. While it's possible to finish without having fought (one way or another) all the monsters, you won't get to the highest level unless you actually do that. As you read through this walkthru, keep in mind that it will often show only one or two solutions to a particular puzzle; there may be other ways of getting something done that aren't mentioned. Remember that if I call something a stick or wand or rod, that is just for convenience; when you play, these items may not be the same or do the same thing. Save the game frequently while playing. In the Apple version, the save disk allows for only three positions (down from the usual four for 128K games), so have several save disks handy before you start. So you begin on top of a hill, with nothing but a single zorkmid to your name. The first thing you want is a weapon, so head on down to the Wharf, where a familiar old sailor is painting a magical ship on his canvas. You can say "Hello sailor", but nothing happens here. The sailor is not important until the very end, so just ignore him and grab the shillelagh that's floating around in the scummy water. Fortunately, you can refer to the shillelagh as a "club" (no renaming needed); it's a lot easier to type! At this point, you have several options: you can roam around the countryside for awhile, trying to pick up as many magical items as you can while avoiding most of the monsters (known as running away), or you can explore the cellar of the Rusty Lantern. Remember to take the lantern off the hook before you go inside. The bandits by the fireplace are useful only for mentioning a mysterious "helmet" north of the River Phee. This is in the Ruins, and you aren't quite ready for those yet. As the bandits can't be fought or driven away, just ignore them (the dagger makes a second weapon for you, if you want to take it). In the kitchen you find an ominous locked door and a giant onion. Many people have been puzzled by its use in the game, but we will come to that eventually. Talk to the cook about the onion, and sooner or later, he'll offer you the onion if you'll go down into the wine cellar and retrieve a bottle of rare wine. Of course, this is not as easy as it sounds, and I ssuggest saving the game either just before or just after you go down the stairs. The first thing you find down there is a crinkly scroll (one of the few fixed items in the game). This renews items, such as your lantern (very handy). However, soon after you pick up the scroll, a rat-ant will scurry into the room. This is your first encounter. After you've bashed it enough and sent it scurrying back into the darkness, it's time to look around for the wine. There is one other nasty critter down here, a discipline crab. However, it doesn't roam around, you'll only find it in its lair. Naturally, there is no way of knowing where that lair is, and you may walk into it without realizing it. Let's hope you've found the mold that increases dexterity first (just squeeze the mold and wait awhile; when your finger itches, look at it...and you must look at it to get the increase). When the crab has been defeated, it leaves behind its gold crown. If you then search the nest, you will also find a gold doubloon. Both these items have only one use: to trade for cash or other objects. Therefore, don't be afraid to sell them. Also in the cellar is a skeleton with an amulet around its neck. Of course the moment you reach down to get the amulet, the skeleton comes to life and begins to strangle you. Fortunately, one good smack with the club should take care of this bony nuisance. Once the amulet is yours, examine it carefully. There seem to be a lot of red and green squiggles on it, so if there's anything to read, it's quite illegible. But we'll be taking care of that shortly. In one room is a stack of crates that is almost a staircase. Now that your Dexterity has been increased by the mold, you'll be able to climb it quite easily, and obtain the wine bottle at the top (by the way, in one of the other rooms you should find a stick or stave or whatnot). Hmm, maybe this wasn't so hard, after all. So you climb back down and return to the stairs, only to have the door slammed shut in your face! Shades of Zork I! Now what are you going to do? Well, there aren't any secret ways out, I can tell you that. If you traipsed around the countryside beforehand, you could use the word of recall to get yourself out (if you found the scroll with it). Or, if you have the stave of Sayonara, you could point it at yourself, and get out that way. But, if you don't happen to have anything like that, don't despair! The answer is right there in your hot little hands! Look at that wine closely: it's RED! AHA!!! Read the amulet through the wine bottle! Lo and behold, you can see a magic word (does this remind anyone of Zork II?). Say the secret (err, magic) word, and your strength is temporarily (1 move) increased to 99! Now you're strong enough to smash open the door: WHAM! And the amulet is good for two more uses, even. Not a bad little bauble to have, eh? But anyway, you give the wine to the cook (you can't open it, and it has no other purpose in the game), and you are now the proud owner of a giant onion. Doesn't that just make your day? Beyond Zork is copyrighted 1987 by Infocom Inc. This walkthru is copyrighted 1987 by Scorpia, all rights reserved.