Ultima IX Strategy Guide
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The Ultima IX Strategy Guide (ISBN 0-7615-1585-2) is a book published by Prima Publishing in 1999, with writing credited to Chris McCubbin and David Ladyman. It is 304 pages long and originally retailed for USD$19.99.
Description[edit]
The book is divided into several sections:
- “A Book of Places”: an overview of Britannia as it exists during the time of Ultima IX, ostensibly written by a woman who is implied to be Raven. Also features a complete merchant list for the game.
- “Character Creation”: The process by which the player sets up the Avatar’s attributes. Includes a transcription of every possible Virtue question the gypsy could ask.
- “Equipment & Magic”: includes additional gameplay tips and a short listing of Easter eggs.
- “Creatures & Enemies”: full stats are provided for every monster in the game.
- “Tales of Virtue”: eight stories that detail individual adventures of each of the quintessential Companions, each one showcasing the specific Virtue associated with that companion. (Iolo's story, for example, is based on Compassion, while Katrina's tale demonstrates Humility.) The material in this chapter had previously appeared on the official Origin website.
- “The Avatar's Journal”: a simplified walkthrough for Ultima IX, presented in the form of journal entries ostensibly written by the Avatar during the adventure. This section contains only hints to steer the player in the proper direction, not an explicit guide to every puzzle in the game.
- “Walkthrough (Keys to the Dungeons)”: unlike the Avatar's Journal, this is an explicit, hand-holding walkthrough for the entire game. Includes complete dungeon maps, as well as transcriptions of essential scrolls and documents found along the way.
- “A Conversation With Richard Garriott”: a nearly 50-page interview with Ultima creator Richard Garriott, discussing the series as a whole and its development over time. Some of this interview had been previously published in Prima's earlier work Ultima: The Avatar Adventures, and token credit is given to that book's co-author, Caroline Spector, for her portion of it. This extended and revised interview includes more extensive coverage of Ultima VII, as well as Ultima VIII and Ultima IX.
- “Cheats & Spoilers”: includes an overview of the game's karma system, as well as additional material that did not fit in the other sections.
Also included is a pull-out poster of the Tapestry of Ages, with text explaining what each section of it depicts.
The book also features several pieces of concept art by Scott Jones, as well as an Easter egg of its own: The artwork for each chapter-heading page contains a sentence in runic. When translated and read in order, these sentences become a "dread secret": the method for killing Lord British.
Trivia[edit]
- Some information in this guide winds up being inconsistent or directly wrong when compared to actual data in the final official version of the game, which is 1.18f. Among these inconsistencies are several listed karma modifiers which don't work (“Cheats & Spoilers” section) and keys to several locks mentioned on “Walkthrough (Keys to the Dungeons)” chapter being completely unnecessary because those specific locks are never locked to start with.
External Links[edit]
- Ultima 9 (PDF) – Pix’s Origin Adventures
- Ultima IX Strategy Guide (PDF) – high quality