Beyond the Serpent Pillars

Beyond the Serpent Pillars is included with Ultima VII Part Two and acts as the game's manual. It is 35 pages long and drawn upon as part of the copy protection. In-game, Erstam is the author of the book, while in reality the scribe is Andrew Morris.

The book is written from Erstam's point of view, and many of his personal beliefs and opinion flow into the text. The history section at the very beginning of the book is a one-sided demonisation of Lord British for example, and his personal opinion colors things like shops and weapons. It should therefore not be taken as an authoritative narrative, especially in regards to the history of Sosaria; the reader has to be careful of what to believe.

In the European editions, the book had a somewhat smaller format and was printed on more glossy paper while losing all the shades of red, being printed purely in monochrome. It also was translated to German and French.

Book Content
The following topics are part of the book:


 * Foreword
 * Lessons of the Past
 * Runescript and Ophidian Alphabet
 * A Guide for Travelers
 * Shops, commerce and the classes
 * Weapons and armour
 * Bestiary
 * Magic and its assorted topics