Ultima Underworld Clue Book
The Ultima Underworld Clue Book: Mysteries of the Abyss (ISBN 978-0929373089) is 64 pages long. It originally retailed for USD$14.95 and was published in 1992. It was written by Aaron Allston, while in-universe Tyball, the villain, is the author.
Description[edit]
For the most part, the book is narrated by the evil wizard Tyball in a letter to his former apprentice Malabelle. The narration is interesting in that it fills details on various NPCs, that are left unexplained in the game, deepening how Tyball terrorized the inhabitants of the Abyss. It also contains a detailed backstory of the events between Tyball and Garamon that was not shown in the game, which led to the Slasher of Veils being brought to Britannia and Garamon's subsequent murder. It also holds explanations on Tyball's further motivations and reason for the kidnapping.
Further explanations are a narration of the Avatar’s quest in the Abyss, plus details of the game engine of Ultima Underworld are told without narration. The other content is described below. The book does contain many unique illustrations as well.
Book Content[edit]
The clue book has the following content:
- Tyball's tour through the Abyss
- Advice to the traveller
- Walkthrough
- History of the Abyss
- Engine details and tables
Errors[edit]
Trivia[edit]
- This was among the first Ultima hint books to be assigned an ISBN code.
- Numerous illustrations were created and then discarded, most notably a very different picture of Arial. Those can be found in the links below.
Gallery[edit]
Back cover
Credits[edit]
according to page 2, credits are thus:
| Scope | Role | Name |
|---|---|---|
| (manual) | Author | Aaron Allston |
| Editor | David Ladyman | |
| Cover Art | Denis Loubet | |
| Interior Art | Jeff Dee | |
| with Karl Dolgener | ||
| Maps | Terry Manderfeld | |
| with Brian G. Smith | ||
| Art Director | Craig Miller | |
| Graphic Designer | Jennifer Davis | |
| Additional Support | Doug Church | |
| Scott Hazle | ||
| Robert Hill | ||
| Jeff Shelton | ||
| Scott Shelton | ||
| Tim Stellmach | ||
| ULTIMA Underworld | Designed by | Paul Neurath |
| Produced by | Warren Spector |
External Links[edit]
- Mysteries of the Abyss (PDF)
- Mysteries of the Abyss (PDF) – high quality
- Gallery, including the unused illustrations
| Official Origin Clue Books | |
|---|---|
| The Books | Ultima III ☥ Ultima IV ☥ Ultima V ☥ Ultima VI ☥ Ultima VII ☥ Ultima VII Part Two ☥ Ultima VIII Savage Empire ☥ Martian Dreams ☥ Ultima Underworld ☥ Ultima Underworld II |