Claw
| Claw | |
|---|---|
 Location of Claw | |
| Located in: | Serpent Isle |
| Type: | island |
 The statue on Claw | |
Claw is an uninhabited tropical island on Serpent Isle. Initially the site of a dungeon known as The Dead Cat's Life II in Ultima I, it appears in Ultima VII Part Two as a cheat location.
Description[edit]
Accessible only via an obscure teleporter in the smaller of Monitor’s two parks, Claw's shores are roamed by a small population of cats, littered with human remains and exhibit the vestiges of a primitive settlement. Unique features can also be found in the form of large feline statues and wall carvings adorning the entrance to a cave, within which are duplicates of most of the game's major plot-related items, as well as a plethora of magic armour and weapons. A teleporter found outside another of the cave's entrances returns the party to Monitor, while a stairwell at the end of the tunnel through the island's lesser, southeastern mountain leads to the Dream Realm.
Other seemingly unfinished caves and Ophidian ruins also lie hidden beyond physical reach inside the greater mountain.
Original Design[edit]
Prior to the numerous content changes Serpent Isle endured in order to meet its deadline, Claw was to have been a location that could be legitimately explored by the player, and was conceived as a reference to the Kilrathi antagonists of Origin’s Wing Commander series.[1] According to the game's early design documents, the Moonshade catacombs were to have provided access to the isle, from which Fedabiblio originally recovered the skeletal remains of a cat-like humanoid during an expedition.[2] The original entrance is located at the western edge of the catacombs. It is covered by water and a pumping system present at the location was meant to allow access but it doesn't work in the release version. Furthermore, in 2002 an anonymous source allegedly close to the Ultima VII Part Two development team also provided details of a near-extinct tribe of such beings having been intended to reside on Claw. Yurel, the similarly feline biped who appears in the game's expansion pack, The Silver Seed, is reputed to be a vestige of the character who was this tribe's chief.[3]
Trivia[edit]
- Claw hosts one of the three Ultima VII Part Two cheat rooms. It can be reached via an invisible teleporter in Monitor, and the article descibes how to find said teleporter.
- In the plot items chest there is an item which doesn't appear anywhere else in the game, a small gong. It is unknown what was its original purpose.
- Removal of Claw from the gameplay created a disruptive transition from Moonshade to Furnace. While still in the Catacombs, going up the stairs in middle of the place suddenly transfers the player to the edge of the Furnace.
Gallery[edit]
How to reach Claw
References[edit]
- ↑ “The Night the Directors Left.” – An Interview with Bill Armintrout. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
- ↑ Armintrout, Bill. Ultima VII, Part Two: THE SERPENT ISLE - Moonshade Townplot (MOONSHAD.DOC) (Ultima VII Part Two). September 8, 1992. Page 7.
- ↑ “Exult Discussion - Serpent Isle cut plot... (notes)”. Exult. 2002-09-14. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
| Geography |
|---|
| Pagan | |
|---|---|
| Settlements | Argentrock Isle ☥ Daemon's Crag ☥ Tenebrae |
| Other | Carthax Lake ☥ Catacombs ☥ Cemetery ☥ Fishermen's Reef ☥ Hall of the Mountain King Herdsman's Valley ☥ Plateau ☥ Shrine of the Ancient Ones ☥ Stone Cove ☥ Treasure Cove Vengeance Bay |