Cream of the Crop 22/Cream of the Crop 22.iso/games/csmag51.zip/INSTALL.DAT/3NVDAWN.TXT

Text File | 1996-07-14 | 14KB | 307 lines

~Anvil Of Dawn

More tips
---------

By Lu Richardson


Recap
-----

Where was I?  Ah, yes, I left you at the CITY OF THE DEAD.
Sentimentality apart, when you've freed the hero's girlfriend by
capturing the soul of the big bad red guy, go back to the hero and
talk to him, saying "Done".  Next, capture his soul.  Now you can
leave.

Oh, by the way, I meant to tell you - I expect that, at the TEMPLE
OF THE MOON, when you got upstairs to the Oracle, you thought of
collecting the tears (which came now and again on the face of the
Oracle) using the purple jar.  Wot, you didn't?  Tsk, tsk.  Good job
you can go back!

Furthermore, and in case you are interested, you can speak to the
Lady of the Sea without dying if you cast beforehand "Soul Link"
(the purple object like a ghost), if you have it.  In return, you
get yet another spell.  Not terribly important, actually.


More
----

I wish I could say that you can skip the difficult bits of the
various maps - alas, you must try and cover each location as
thoroughly as you can before you move on.  Vital items are not left
laying around for you to find; you must really work hard to get
them.  That seems to be the whole idea of this game.  It's SICK!!!
But remember, this is a challenge to your intelligence.  Are you a
man or a mouse?  All I have to say is, hand over the cheese...


Outdoors
--------

Before going on to give more specific tips, I ought to mention that
you should make yourself a convenient map of the great outdoors.
Although this game is not strictly linear, and you can go visit here
and there, it's useful to know exactly where you are at all times if
only to save on shoe leather.

As well as determining in which direction you can travel from each
"square" of the outdoor map, it is a good idea to turn on the spot
in order to have a look all around, because some characters and
items lurk out of your line of sight.  For instance, travelling two
squares E of The Barrier and then two N, you have to turn slightly W
to discover a dwarf who will trade you items for gold coins.

The most important things you have to do while outside is to go two
squares N from the Underground City and two E to see a rock.  Use
your Trumpet of Earth Quakes and then return two squares W and turn
N to access the Land of Roots; which in turn leads to the Elder
Tree, the Reed Plain, a bridge guarded by an Ettin (you can scare it
off with a little creature you can pick up at the Reed Plain), and
through the bridge to the Iron Titan.

However, you can also get to the Iron Titan via the Gorge Keep,
which is more fun, and which you can access by going S at the Temple
of Moon, then twice W and then all the way N.  By the way, from the
Temple of the Moon you can also go S twice then W twice and S again
till you get to a waterfall.  Behind it, a guy will give you a spell.

Once you have the four seals (Sol, Moon, Spring Equinox, Fall
Equinox), go three squares W from the Barrier, turn on the spot and
use the Fall Equinox, then go W and twice S to find the next niche
for the Moon disc, S to find a hidden guy, W to find the niche for
the Spring Equinox, W and N to find the one for the Sol disk.  Now
you can go S, W, W, N, N, N, W, S and enter the Sanctuary.


Of plates and spinners
----------------------

Now, if you can bear it, more about plates and spinners.  As to the
first, ignore the plates which are in front and behind doors and
which serve to open them and shut them.  However, look upon them
with great suspicion if they are away from any doors and in splendid
isolation.  Don't always assume that you must weigh them down;
sometimes this works, sometimes it does more harm than good.  Mark
them down on the map and try various things.  As I have said before,
sometimes just one rock, or a spare item, will depress them.
Sometimes, you need tons of boulders to make an impression.  And, of
course, there is the always the dud one which doesn't seem to do
anything at all.

If there are some of those large cubes around, try to manoeuvre them
onto the nearest plate - if they don't work, it's easy enough to
move them off or destroy them.  Husband the small cubes you will
find around and about, to use them in an extremity; carry away the
stones you've used in the last location if you feel they've done
their job (but not if they keep a vital path open in case you have
to return).  You'll come to value boulders like dear friends,
believe me.  The final word is, depress a plate and see what that
does.  If you are stuck somewhere, chances are a plate is involved
somehow.

As to spinners, the first you'll encounter are simple enough, they
merely turn you around.  However, as you advance into the game
you'll find some real lulus.  They'll send you around in all
directions until your head really spins.  The best thing to do in
these circumstances is to keep calm and make one move at a time and
see what that does.  I might as well tell you that some of those
spinners have to be conquered in order to be able to continue the
game.

On the subject of holes on the ground, some appear and disappear (in
which case you should watch them for a while and chose the right
moment to move), some stay open until you chuck a stone onto an
useen plate, some can be closed by stepping on a plate, some will
remain open if you've depressed a plate.  Take your pick.  As
everything else in this game, it's a matter of trial and error.

Don't neglect the switches on the walls.  If you find you can't
throw one, it's because you have to, yes, you've guessed it, depress
a plate somewhere.

Teleporters are perverse things.  Sometimes they are helpful,
sometimes they send you to the wrong place.  Try going into them
several times or, if there is more than one, take the one in the
opposite direction to the one you wish to go.  It's like that.  As
well, sometimes depressing a plate will bring them into being.


And now, if you insist, more tips.  You can do the following in any
order you like.  So long as you don't mind tripping around a lot.


Land of Roots
-------------

First you have to get all the way upstairs (N) to the Elder Tree,
where you'll be given a branch and told to heal the roots of the
tree.  Get all the way downstairs again and proceed to do this area
completely - you cannot afford to miss a single nook, so use the Eye
of Insight to see the bits not so easily accesible, which should
give you a clue.  There will be much teleporting here and there and
weighing and unweighing of plates.  A vital teleporter is in one
hidden square to the SE.

You will find out the name of the dragon, and also you'll find a
ruby shard.  When you teleport to the room with the dragon, use the
shard on the hole and you'll see a chest.  Inside, a jar.  Say the
name of the dragon at the stone and when he drops the amber, use the
jar on it.

When you find a root, hold the branch in one hand and cast the heal
spell.  When you've done all the roots, i.e., you have covered every
bit of the map, you can go upstairs to the Elder Tree, where it will
oblige by letting you through.

You can go N twice and the W till you hit...


The Reed Plain
--------------

You have to push your way through the reeds, which makes a nice
change from the plates.  Here, all you need to do is to get one of
those little red Skaracs; there is a chest round about the middle of
the map and the exit is to the NW.  The only reason to come to the
Reed Plain is to get a Skarac so that you can then exit NW and go W
to the Ettin, talk about the Skarac and carry on W three times.
Going N will take you to the Iron Titan, and going S will take you
to the Gorge Keep, which you cannot enter.  I chose to return to
more familiar places.  I went from the Underground City W, then N,
then W to the S of the Temple of Moon.  Then, by the means I
indicate above, I made my way to...


The Sanctuary
-------------

Here you teleport around till you are sick of it and till you get
all six dragon sigils, then go back to the entrance.  Plonk the
sigils on the indents on the wall and, when they are all in, the
doors to the N will open.  Eventually you'll get to the center,
where a tree transforms and gives you a valuable item and some vital
information.  OK, time to go to...


The Gorge Keep
--------------

See above to find out how to get there.  First clear the whole area
of monsters and open the two doors which can be opened.  The few
chests there are should yield a crank shaft and an ember.  Take the
ember to the guy in the ice cube and put it on the floor by him.  In
a while he'll melt and you can talk to him.  He will give you a key
to the door in the room with the three fake switches.  Open the door
and use the crank on the contraption then turn the wheel four times
to get the door to the N open.  Now you can leave and go over the
bridge to...


The Iron Titan
--------------

I can't bear it, more plates!  And holes in the ground, this time.
This location is just about the worst in this game.  Steel yourself.

Before you do anything rash, walk around carefully around the
entrance chamber, without touching any of the cubes.  Study the
map.  You have to push the corner cubes onto the plates, then
manoeuvre four more into the teleporters.  Then you have to follow
them into each telerporter and push the cube onto the plate you'll
find.  Once you've got all four cubes onto the four plates you got
to through the teleporters, all the holes will disappear - except
for one downstairs.

When you are on the next floor, advance carefully till you find a
hole next to an illusionary wall, then throw stones until it
disappears (they land on a plate).  Now you'll be able to go through
the illusionary wall.

Well, that takes care of the holes.  The main problem here is to
shrink the giant on all three floors.  This is easily done using a
blue cube of Magic Immersion in front of him.  However, since the
giant is in areas in which you cannot use magic, you'll have to
locate the wall switch in each level which makes this condition
disappear.  All the switches are quite near the places where the
giant is, so you'll have no problems.  Don't forget to pick up the
shackle when you've reduced the giant to size.

When you've finished here, exit in search of a new location, which
is two "squares" to the NW.  This is...


The Quagmire
------------

There are loads of chests here, and you should get at them all
because some of them contain vital items.  You will also find a
shackled sword - the way to free it, as if you hadn't worked it out
for yourselves, is to use lots of gold coins.  I used them directly
on the sword and it worked, though I guess you could put them
through the hole.  If you don't have many gold coins, don't worry -
there are enough in the chests in this area.

Further north, in a large space, you'll find an ugly tree.  Attack it
with the sword you've just freed and you'll get a chunk of wood.
Look around for it.

When you've covered this area completely you can proceed to the next
exit, to the N.  You'll notice you cannot advance anywhere.  Use the
whistle I hope you found and you'll be transported to...


The Evil Stronghold
-------------------

I think we are getting hotter.  Also, the puzzles involving plates
and holes on the ground get more tiresome.  Some plates don't need
weighing down, you just have to step on and off them.  You will also
have to be extremely patient with the spinners.

From here you can go to the Fire Mountain and, from there, to the
Anvil of Dawn.  I thought you'd like to know.  Don't bother to go
upstairs yet, keep to the ground floor and find the next exit.  You
are going to need oodles of stones to weigh plates down in the next
scenario, so don't forget to pick them up before you go to...


The Fire Mountain
-----------------

You are looking for the Sigil of Fire and 4 marks of iron.  Also for
the dwarf who'll make you a chest.  Let's see:  for this you must
have a piece of black wood, a lump of clay, an iron shackle, tears
in a vase, a hero's soul in a cage, dragon's amber and the
heartstone.  OK?  Let's hope you don't have to go back to fetch
any of them, so we can carry on.

If you don't go bonkers getting this sorted out, return to the Evil
Stronghold and, clutching said chest, go all the way upstairs.  Here
you'll find a bad guy being tough on a smaller guy.  Make sure you
are packing the sword you found at the Quagmire and challenge him.
You should be able to kill him without any trouble.  Next, pull the
horns, enter the room and use the chest on the thingie.  Now back to
the Fire Mountain and exit to...


The Anvil of Dawn
-----------------

Oh, dear.  We've got everything we need, but the guy is (I can't
bring myself to say it...) 'armless.  So, use the spell Mend Unseen
and you'll be able to proceed.

Inside, invisible walls will block your way.  Use the Unmake spell
and go to the N.  You have to find find a cup in a chest by going
through an illusionary wall.  Continue "unmaking" walls and go to
the center E of the map.  Use the cup in the hole and you'll get
through to the villain.

Talk to him and reject his offer.  Turn to the right and walk into
the beam of light.  Rather a daft end to the game, but an end all
the same.  Thank God!