ADVENTURERS! Walkthrough/FAQ Version 0.31 FAQ/Walktrhough By: Matt Massey (GetYourVashOn@aol.com) Adventurers! Comic: Mark Shallow (webrunner@adventurers-comic.com) -2. LEGAL STUFFS ---------------------------------------------------- I like speaking in plain words. Adventurers! and its characters are copyrighted by Mark Shallows, aka Webrunner. This written work is basically copyrighted by me. On second thought, why would anybody want to rip on this? Nobody would benefit from doing so... hm. Some people. I'd post more legal jargon to complete the illusion of this being a real FAQ/Walkthrough, but I'm kinda under a time limit here, so... NO PRESSIE F9! DAIGOHJI, TWELVE, AND RIKKA ARE WATCHING! ...hehe, advertisement. ---------------------------------------------------- LEGAL STUFFS .-2 -1. REVISION HISTORY ------------------------------------------------ Version 0.1 - 4/27/2002 - First version. Everything's new. Version 0.11 - 4/30/2002 - added the Ancient Cave, a few fixes for A Simple Request Version 0.13 - 5/03/2002 - added For His Own Amusement and the Zero Degree Premonition Version 0.2 - 5/04/2002 - added character analysis, spells, Rock the Vote! Sink the Vote! Version 0.21 - 5/07/2002 - added Ardam vs. Whizrom, and the Ad Ad Revolution sidequest. Version 0.3 - 5/09/2002 - I know you all want an equipment list, but I'm trying to get every weapon and armor in the game before I can. Oh yeah, I could put in accessories too, but there's not a lot and they're pretty hard to find... so that will take a while. Oh yeah, a few corrections for Ad Ad Revolution. Version 0.31 - 5/10/2002 - Sorry guys, I gotta give this walkthrough up. One of my Adv! discs are scratched to hell, and this game isn't in production any more. Then again, the guy who did the walkthrough for the Japanese version had a more complete FAQ anyway, even if he didn't add in the North American names... sorry again dudes, party on without me. ;'( ------------------------------------------------ REVISION HISTORY .-1 0. TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------ -2. Legal Stuffs -1. Revision History 0. Table of Contents (here, stupid :p) 1. Frequently Asked Questions 2. Character Analysis 3. Walkthrough a. A Simple Request b. The Ancient Cave c. For His Own Amusement d. Zero Degree Premonition e. Rock the Vote! Sink the Vote! f. Ardam vs. Whizrom 4. Sidequests a. Ad Ad Revolution 5. Credits/Thank Yous/Etc. ------------------------------------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS .0 1. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS --------------------------------------- Q: What's with all these relics? A: I don't know, they don't really play much of a part in the plot at all... Q: Is Nate from Nate Wars a secret character? A: I can't say for sure, but many legitimate sources are claiming so. I'll test the methods myself for a future version. Q: What do I do with the Magitoaster? A: SELL IT! It does random attacks every once in a while, yeah, but the capacity for bad effects isn't a good thing. Q: What's your favored party setup? A: Before my game died, I would have to go with Karn, Ardam, and Karashi, but that's not very deep into the game... replace Karashi with Drecker if you wanna go AP busting against groups of weak enemies. I wouldn't know how good the rest are, but I've heard of more than a few Gildward exploits... why oh why did my Adv! disc have to just stop working? Q: Is this for real? I can't find it anywhere! A: No. Q: ...what? A: This is my entry for the Adventurers! FAQ contest thing. While there are more than a few inaccuracies to the original script, I felt like writing my own take while trying to keep as true to the strips as possible. I didn't get too far, you see, but I've made sure to make it sound like a legitimate game of sorts, so... enjoy. --------------------------------------- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS .1 2. CHARACTER ANALYSIS ----------------------------------------------- KARN - The main character of sorts, an up and coming hero with one big sword. Considering he's almost always in the party, he's pretty good. He has a VERY potent physical attack and his techniques start at "okay" and get progressively better later on. His downfalls? Well, aside from having the most expensive equipment, he has very few MP in which to perform techniques. I mean, really low. He needs the extra MP accessories a lot more than Ardam does, let me tell you. S.STRIKE - Start - 10 MP A super-strong strike to one S.ATTK - 100 AP - 6 MP A blow that can stun S.SPIN - 400 AP - 18 MP A super spin that hits all enemies J.SLSH - 800 AP - 16 MP A very nice and messy jumping slash ARDAM - He starts out blatantly overpowered due to the Armageddon Beam, yes. But that's only in the first chapter. From there, he's still quite an asset. His HP is pathetic and his physical attacks even worse, yes, but he brings versatility to the field: nice attack spells, even better (but more costly) summons, AND healing! He also has a plethora of MP on which to spend it all on, balanced by the fact he's just... well, too weak to take a hit. ARMAGEDDON BEAM - Start - 3 MP It's like a pocket nuke and everyone's invited FIRE - Event - 5 MP A basic little fireball spell for fun and profit CURE - Event - 4 MP Recovers a small amount of one character's HP CURE 2 - 500 AP - 10 MP Recovers a decent amount of one character's HP FIRE 2 - 500 AP - 10 MP Let's kick it up a notch! BURN! ICE - Event - 5 MP Send 'em straight to the freezer ICE 2 - 500 AP - 10 MP Some like it hot, they won't like it freezer burned HEAVEN's JUSTICE- Event - 50 MP Extra-flashy, low-powered holy attack to one S-FLAMASI - Event - 25 MP Sword-wielding fire spirit scorches all enemies S-ICYLIS - Event - 40 MP Half-naked mistress of the cold chills all DRECKER - He's decent at the start with the ability to target more than one enemy with his physical attack, but he's totally outdated by the time Karashi comes along (I had her shortly before the game died... :(). To his credit, he's fast and has about average durability. His stealing success rate and damage potential is higher than Karashi's, but she's a lot more versatile and MUCH better against single enemies (which are the vast majority of your encounters in Adventurers!). Overall not worth it, but he's good for level busting (see a later section on this). STEAL - Start - 0 MP Lift an item from an enemy's grasp MUG - 400 AP - 15 MP It's a giant mug! Mug 'em all! ----------------------------------------------- CHARACTER ANALYSIS .2 3. WALKTHROUGH ------------------------------------------------------ Starts next chapter, boyee. :D ------------------------------------------------------ WALKTHROUGH .3 3a. A SIMPLE REQUEST ------------------------------------------------ "The World is seen through the eyes of one. The emphasis of the number one is incorrect. To truly comprehend the World around us, you must see the World through the eyes of many. To this, I am by your side for the remainder of our long journey of life on the World." ~ Some lovesick bard After those words and a nifty cutscene that pretty much spoil the entire game for you, you'll appear within a building where a certain green-haired swordsman and a blue robed mage stand before an old guy (defined by a freakishly long white beard, no less!) that discusses something meager; he wants you to head over to Isosceles and deliver a message to his brother. A good way to start as any! Once you leave, watch the little cutscene where Ardam badgers Karn about not wasting time... but does he listen? No! If you're new to the game, just start talking with everyone and they'll give you a few good gameplay tips (in between sappy talks about how good the weather has been in Scalene). Don't forget to check the pots and bookshelves of various homes, you can get your hands on a few free healing vials and some extra cash, in addition to another plain Staff (sell it, it's the exact same as Ardam's starting weapon). Before you do anything else, head into Karn's house and check out the little floaty green thing - it's a save point! Just step on it and call up the menu to save the game... I sure hope you have a memory card, 'cause I didn't have one at first when I got this game. But now I know better, and hopefully you do too. When you're ready, tell the guards that you two are going out to deliver the message. They reluctantly step aside (they know about Karn's itchy sword arm, if you catch my drift) and you'll be released into Scalene fields. There's nothing special to say here... it's just a big, open field with a few treasure chests scattered about (two are healing vials, one's a +1 Strength Crystal... give it to Karn of course). Ardam's impatient for a reason; he's got that badass Armageddon Beam. It costs little MP and basically blows all those Rabbits away. You don't really NEED it, but it's, like, a free victory. You'll want to get both Karn's and Ardam's levels up to 4, maybe even 5 if possible. If you're patient, take a bit more time out to get Karn to learn S.Attk; his S.Strike is borderline useless anyway because it consumes too much MP. Once you feel confident or just want to get it done, head through the gates to the north to Isosceles. Show them the seal of the elder of Scalene and they'll let you in. DO NOT head for the elder's home immediately. Instead, plunder everyone's homes for MORE items! Most of them are still healing vials, but you can find a Steel Cutter (a good sword for Karn). The weapon shop here sells an Iron Frame (for Karn), but it's weaker than the Steel Cutter you just hopefully found; don't bother. Now, go on and advance the plot. After another wisecrack from Ardam, Karn will hand over the message to the elder. For no reason at all, the elder will talk about the Elemental Relics and their place in history and how they shouldn't fall in evil hands, blah blah blah. You'll even get to see the Elemental Relic that Isosceles owns: the Alcopristine Relic! After seconds of oohing and aahing at it, the elder will shoo you off and you'll be at the gates. Before Ardam can snap another one-liner, the sky will turn orange and you'll hear several explosions. It takes no time at all for Karn to spring into action (as it sounds like it's time to kill stuff, his favorite thing). You'll find the elder of Isosceles has been mortally wounded by the sudden attack, and that the Alcopristine Relic is in danger. As if on cue, two evil critters pop out at you and the first boss fight will begin. BOSS: Eyballs (2) HP: ???? You can't win this fight, but note that the eyeballs don't attack until Ardam uses the Armageddon Beam. This means nothing, as Karn's attacks all do 0 damage against them. Once Ardam casts his nasty spell, it will only do two damage to the eyeballs, tops. Awestruck and in panic, Ardam will deliver a harrowing one-liner of panic ("OHMYGOSHWE'REDEADDEADDEADDEAD...I only did two damage...") and the fight will end. The elder will use the Alcopristine Relic to save the day, being the glory hog he is, and then say something remotely touching along the lines of "save the world or I'll kick your spooning butt," then you'll receive the Alcopristine Relic. The fires will suddenly die down, and you'll be in control of Karn. Talk to Ardam before you go to both console him and have him rejoin the party. Beyond all common logic, Karn decides it'd be better to go to the next town to figure out who was responsible for this instead of going back to Scalene to report the mess. You'll leave town with a heroic fanfare in the background, then continue onward into the overworld. ------------------------------------------------ A SIMPLE REQUEST .3a 3b. THE ANCIENT CAVE ------------------------------------------------ Once on the overworld, call up the menu and save. You'll also want to note that thanks to the recent incident, Ardam's no longer confident in himself or the world around him and thus loses the Armageddon Beam. Basically this means he's almost worthless right now. However, if you leveled up in the Scalene Fields, he won't be as useless coming into the next part of the game. While you can't go back to Scalene nor Isosceles, there's an abandoned campsite a bit south of your general direction if you need to rest up. Your next stop, Equilateral, is waaaaay up north, so it'll be a long walk. If you're below Level 4, work your way up there (near the campsite the only monsters are still rabbits). If Karn STILL doesn't have S.Attk, you'll wanna learn it soon; it'll prove to be *very* helpful in due time. When you reach Equilateral, make sure to do more plundering rounds and nab yourself a few more potions and money. There's another Steel Cutter here, which you can sell for some cash if you got the one in Isosceles. Otherwise, be sure to upgrade your armor; the next batch of enemies can be pretty nasty. Almost all of the townfolk here will talk about this Anceint Cave place (which is further up north), the others will just talk about cool weapons in the, you guessed it, Ancient Cave. After you talk to them all, Karn will get the bright idea that if he and Ardam can plunder the Ancient Cave's legendary weapons, they'll be able to stand against whoever trashed Isosceles. If he doesn't think of this, that means you haven't talked to everyone; don't forget that invisible NPC at coordinates X37, Y18! Almost everyone misses that, so don't feel too bad if you do. Make sure to visit the inn to restore your status and to save, then head up north to the Ancient Cave. If Karn didn't think of going here, then there'll be a gigantic dice statue in the way. Fortunately, it disappears for absolutely no reason once you talk to everyone at Equilateral. Ardam will scoff at the entire idea and walk off, leaving Karn to go at it alone. The monsters here aren't too tough to an experienced and armored Karn, just that the biggest problem is that it's so spooning LONG. There's also a handful of crate puzzles here, but they all fit in the "just push this one here and it's all solved" mold... I don't think I need to draw diagrams for that. There isn't a lot of treasure here (most are mysteriously empty), but you can find an Ore Staff for Ardam on B4; hang onto it. There's yet ANOTHER Steel Cutter on B5, as if you needed another one. Finally, you can find a Chain Mail on the same floor. It isn't much better than the Steel Vest in Equilateral, but every little bit can help. Once you reach B7, utilize the save point before you and grab the potions in the chests around there. Make sure to heal up, as the precarious placement of a save point and healing items can only mean one thing... a boss fight! True enough, in the next room you'll see Ardam in mortal danger! He's about to be dipped into that giant vat of Grade A+ acid! This kooky man with red eyes and a black robe wants to dip Karn's friend in acid, and you KNOW that doesn't sit very well with Karn! At first he offers to challenge the evil man to a game of Boggle. After Karn's victory, he proves to be a poor sport and decides to fight you instead. BOSS: Evil Guy HP: 500~580 Drops: Magic +1 Crystal Not all that hard a fight, just make sure that Karn keeps his HP up past 60 and everything should be fine. Sometimes the Evil Guy will recite an evil speech and recover about 120 HP, but he only does that once; it means he's about to give up. If you have S.Attk, the Evil Guy is susceptible to being stunned. Using this over and over can result in a flawless victory. Angry over his defeat, the Evil Guy will identify himself as Khrima, swear revenge, then just run off. Ardam somehow gets himself out of the acid traps (huh?) and will approach Karn with an apologetic message. Three touching paragraphs later, Karn will spot a giant red crystal in the corner, a tiny pearl next to it, and a huge airship behind the previous two war spoils. Ardam will take the crystal and the pearl, teaching himself Fire and Cure, as well as giving him access to a summon: Flamasi! It's strong, but very costly... in fact, I'd say Fire is probably better overall for a raw MP-to-Damage ratio. However, it looks real neat. Long casting time aside, it'll serve you well. Now, equip Ardam with the new stuff, head back to the save point in the room before, then climb on board the airship for another fun cutscene where Karn looks for more adventure and demonstrates his total lack of actual piloting ability as the Ancient Cave crumbles for absolutely no reason whatsoever. ...how did they get the airship out of that cave, you ask? Well, beats me. ------------------------------------------------ THE ANCIENT CAVE .3b 3c. FOR HIS OWN AMUSEMENT ------------------------------------------- After the cutscene where Karn crashes the airship, you'll be on the overworld, in front of a gigantic amusement park. Might as well save your game. As for recovering your stats, don't worry. They were refilled during that brief little ride o' fun. If you want, level bust around the park - Ardam can keep the two of you healty with his really high MP and decent Cure, even with the tougher enemies. Try to get Karn to Level 8 and Ardam to 6 if possible. When you're ready to advance the plot, go into the amusement park to be greeted by two people in red armor with the letter "K" on their helmets. They'll say how this is Khrima's Amusement Park and that the two of you were given season tickets that will no longer be good tomorrow. Karn wants some cotton candy, and Ardam's hunch of a trap ain't stopping him! The attractions here aren't very attractive. There's a whole lot of rigged minigames to be had here; save your gold. The gift shop is still legitimate, however. The equipment is nothing new, but you should think of plunking down the gold for at least one potion - it's a good MP-restoring item. Your goal is to find the cotton candy stand. This shouldn't be too hard, as there's this big yellow arrow pointing towards it. Once you visit it, it will be revealed that it's closed. Karn will curse Khrima outright, which draws the attention of his shady mindless thugs. When one of them draws a gun, Karn knows it's a good time to run! Head up towards the sword in the stone located in the center of the park. Karn will get this really bright idea that this sword will help him defeat this oncoming wave of thugs, leaving only Ardam available to fight them. BOSS (sorta): Gun Thugs (4) HP: 30~40 each Drops: Nothing This is an easier fight than it looks. Ardam is weak, but their gun attacks aren't even strong enough for a fairly experienced Ardam to fret over. If you REALLY wanna end this fight quick and didn't waste all your MP level busting, cast Flamasi and call it a day. Otherwise, just use Ardam's physical attacks; two should take out one thug. You probably won't have to cure yourself, but feel free to use a Heal Vial when needed. After the battle, Karn will have pulled out the sword, alright... but it was nothing but a prop. A really, REALLY long prop (as seen with all the twists and turns in that sword). Then he'll realize not only did he pull out a useless Tangled Sword, he just had all his stuff stolen! The culprit, a red-haired bum in need of a shave will order the gun thugs to toss Ardam and Karn into the dungeon. Karn will complain about the events that led him here, though Ardam will bring up (again and again) that Karn wanted to get in here. Open up the treasure chest for a Clothing (equip this on the, er, equipmentless Karn... better than nothing). Fortunately, your HP and MP are restored, and there's a save point. Use it. Take note of your cell. There's a huge crack in the wall behind quite a pile of TNT, and a die-cast model airplane. Walk up to the die cast airplane to light it on fire (using Ardam), then toss it at the TNT. Note that you can also go up and set the TNT on fire, but it'll deal a *LOT* of damage to the two of you. Since you don't have any heal vials (as the red head took them all), be prepared to use Ardam's cure a lot. The following dungeon isn't very long, and is in fact very straightforward. The chests here are - again - heal vials, and a potion. You'll probably be using that potion. Karn's not a huge help because he's unarmed, but he certainly still hits better than Ardam does. The enemies here are fairly easy to compensate for the handicap, but there's a tough customer: zombies!! They're almost immune to Karn's physical strikes, but they're weak to fire... and healing. Both are things Ardam has, but use Cure; it's MUCH cheaper. If you ever need to restore your HP/MP, go back to your cell and use the bed thing. Once you're at the end of the dungeon, you'll meet the red headed guy again. At first, Karn thinks of him as another prisoner ('cause he sure looks the part), but Ardam will once again point out that he was the leader of the gun thugs. Being cuaght, he'll decide to knock you all down himself. BOSS: Thug Boss, Gun Thugs (2) HP: 400~500 (Thug Boss) 30~ 40 (Gun Thugs) Drops: Everything he steals Amusingly enough, the Thug Boss is not armed with a gun. He does, however, have a pretty good physical attack utilizing throwing knives that will hit both Karn and Ardam. He can also steal all your healing vials, but you'll get 'em back after the fight. Have Ardam cast Flamasi to take out the Gun Thugs and a sizable amount of the Thug Boss' HP, then use Fire every time afterwards. Leave the healing job to Karn if you have any heal vials. If not, just have him attack. It's not a hard fight (very few fights in Adventurers! are), just a bit annoying. Once the Thug Boss is defeated, he'll surrender and give you back all your items... on one condition. He wnats to go with you! Ardam doesn't like the idea, but he certainly wins over Karn when he says how he was kidnapped by Khrima when he was young and was forced to do a lot of evil things here. He also believes that Karn and Ardam might be strong enough to get out of there, so he wants to join up. Identifying himself as Drecker, he'll join the party! Drecker starts at Level 7, and is the fastest member of the team (currently). His attack isn't too bad, and he can steal stuff. A typical thief character, really. Run back to your cell to recover and save if you must, and don't forget to re-equip Karn! If you're patient, get into a fight with some zombies and steal from them. They're carrying Angel Downs, which will restore a fallen character to about 10% of their max HP. They're fairly pricey, so grab as many as you're willing to. You might even go up a few levels (and maybe even learn S.Spin for Karn if you're really crazy). Now, head on out. As you escape the dungeon, you'll be in a big arena-type place. Khrima will appear and notice that Drecker's helping out our heroes, then offers them a contest that "they can't possibly win" - a fight against the current "champion" monster for their freedom! Drecker will eagerly accept (in place of Karn, something new and refreshing for Ardam) and you'll enter another boss fight. BOSS: Furrister HP: 1000~1200 Steal: +1 Speed Crystal Drops: Bone Knife This boss has a *lot* of HP, but still isn't much of a threat. Its physical attack can be nasty though, so make sure Ardam's on standby for healing, while pelting it with Fire and Flamasi as needed. You can steal a Speed +1 Crystal using Drecker here; make sure you get that first before you have him attack. Have Karn just use physical blows, as this boss can't be stunned by the S.Attk. It's an uphill battle, but once again not too hard. Hopefully you have an Angel Down ready if Ardam gets killed by a critical hit from Furrister (it DOES happen). Shocked and aghast that you've won, Khrima tries to send another Furrister through... and then the crowds boo and hiss and destroy the thing by throwing all their garbage at it. At the risk of being drowned in silly string, Khrima gives up and lets the heroes walk... this time. As the group leaves the park, Drecker shows off something he grabbed off of Khrima in the meantime: the Mayonaise Relic! While he's not saying how he got it, Karn and Ardam don't mind at all. The heroes are now three people strong, but there's still many more trials ahead. Don't forget to save on the overworld! And yes, once again, your HP and MP are restored. ------------------------------------------- FOR HIS OWN AMUSEMENT .3c 3d. ZERO DEGREE PREMONITION ----------------------------------------- Your next goal would be the Kingdom of Bernard, towards the east. Note that if you tried to go here earlier, you would've been chased back by soldiers from Bernard ("we have a crisis here, go away!"). There's no special obstructions in the way, aside from the tougher enemies. The Fat Gnats like to attack in groups of four or more, but that's where Drecker shines - he's one of the better anti-group people. If you equip the Bone Knife you got from the Furrister, you should be able to kill them all in one shot. They're also a great way to build up AP, so level bust around here if you'd like. As you enter Bernard, you'll be greeted by a very... interesting Bard. Unfortunately he doesn't stick around for long, as Drecker shoves him down a staircase (he's easily annoyed). Oh well. Be sure to update your equipment here. Note the "fire" elemental crap they're selling. It's very expensive, so you might want to just get one; make it the Flame Sword for Karn. Get a Chain Mail for Karn if you don't have one, and outfit both Ardam and Drecker with the Trader Suit. Don't worry about new weapons, Ardam probably won't be attacking physically much, and Drecker's Bone Knife isn't that much weaker than the Mithril nor Flame Knives. As for Karn, you probably got that Flame Sword already. I HOLD MUCH POWER OVER YOU. Ahem. Now, start looting homes and barrels. You'll find an Elixir in the grandfather clock, which is cool. Free health vials and money can help as well, and this town's got 'em! When you're ready, head for the castle. The guards will recognize you as Karn and Ardam, then open the gates and let you in despite the shady character that's following you in (...it's just Drecker, don't worry). A knight guy will greet you down the hallway, and summon you to see King Torhal about a problem within their kingdom. While it's debatable why he'd send Karn and the rest into certain danger instead of utilizing his army (and how he became king), he needs the local Ice Caverns to be cleansed of a dragon that scares the miners off. You get a choice on wether or not to accept the mission: if you say no, he'll just ask the question again and again until you say yes. The king will then give you a pass to the Ice Caverns, then send you off. The Ice Caves are more to the southeast, so go on and head in that direction. If you want, level up around here first. You might find a few Red Goops, but they often escape first thing. If you can kill one, it should be more than enough to boost your group up a level. Before entering the cave, my party was a Level 11 Karn, a Level 9 Ardam, and a Level 9 Drecker. I also managed to finally get Fire 2 for Ardam, so the next part was *very* easy for me. While the reflective surfaces of this dungeon are confusing, it's not very long. In fact, if you're STILL lost after twenty minutes, Drecker will point out a map he picked up upon enterance, but never bothered to share. Wacky zany nutter funster, that Drecker. Ahem. The enemies here are all based around ice, and thus Ardam is invaluable here. Drecker can steal some Frost Wands curteousy of the Cold Mirages; they fetch a good price, but don't equip one on Ardam for obvious reasons. At the end, there'll be a treasure chest containing 800 gold, and a save point. Use 'em! Make sure to fill back up your HP using vials (and Ardam's MP if you have the potions). Continue forward until you run into a pair of glowy eyes in the dark, which reveals itself as... BOSS: The FIRE Dragon?! HP: ???? Steal: Zippo Lighter Drops: n/a Okay, what's the big idea? A fire dragon in the ice caverns? Oh well. Despite its size, the fire dragon is FAST and will go first. However, its attacks aren't very strong. Sometimes it'll take a claw swipe, other times it'll take a zippo lighter and do pathetic damage to the lot of you. However, you'll notice that Karn's physical attacks are doing an interesting amount of damage (if he's got the Flame Sword equipped anyway). Don't bother trying to steal the Zippo Lighter, it's a weapon nobody can currently use, and doesn't sell very well. After a few rounds, the dragon's red scales melt away... hey! It was spraypaint! BOSS: The Ice Dragon HP: 2000ish (I think I'm right) Steal: Permafrost Plate Drops: Crystal Sword THAT'S more like it! This boss has a lot of HP, but it's very easily cut to size by Flamasi and Fire 2 (if Ardam has it). If Karn's got the Flame Sword equipped, it also racks up the damage too. Make sure Drecker starts thievin' - it has a Permafrost Plate! While its defense is pathetic, it allows Karn to absorb ice attacks. Hang onto it! The ice dragon's zippo lighter attack from last round is replaced by an ice breath attack, but it's not too strong outside of a small chance of freezing (which only takes you out for one round, no big). Once you defeat it, you'll get the Crystal Sword. DON'T EQUIP IT. Its attack is very high, but it breaks when used even once. Just save it for a hard part. You'll hear a soft, warm voice coming from the back of the cave, followed closely by a dark and evil one. Hit that save point and refill again (or run back to town if you're out of supplies), and prepare for another nasty one. Up ahead, you'll learn that an evil spirit has imprisoned the ice spirit, Icilys. After a heroic speech from Karn and a declaration of a migraine by Ardam, you'll enter another boss fight. BOSS: Skeleton Thing HP: 666 (on the dot!) Steal: Nothing! Drops: Nothing! This giant, cloaked skeleton thingy is scary and looks fiery, but it doesn't absorb fire. That's good; Flamasi and fire-elemental weapons are still viable! However, this enemy's defenses are really high against magic. You just may want to let Karn and Drecker do all the fighting; his physical defense is pretty good too, but you'll get more results out of a Karn physical than a Fire 2 here. This enemy's attacks are pretty scary, unlike the Ice Dragon's. His physical attack is so-so, but he can steal a large amount of HP from one character with the Dark Drain, and can send you all reeling with a single cast of Night Render (one of them over-flashy evil spells). Nonetheless, his slightly low HP is his undoing. You'll use Ardam's Cure a lot for sure, but you should be able to make it. After its defeat, he'll talk about some crazy "Eternal" stuff, how he held back and such, then disappear. Icilys will thank the lot of you for saving her, and bring lots of irrelevant plot information for you fanfic types to chew on. She'll also teach Ardam the Ice spell, and become a summon. Cool. She'll even give you the Transpodec Relic, bringing your total up to three! You'll automatically leave the cave (with full HP and MP... again) and appear on the overworld map. Save up and take a break. You deserve it! ----------------------------------------- ZERO DEGREE PREMONITION .3d 3e. ROCK THE VOTE! SINK THE VOTE! ----------------------------------- Once you make it back to Bernard, the king will thank the lot of you for your deeds and the like, and offer to take you to Beria by boat. There's really nothing else to get here (aside from a Rune Sword in the shower you can now access, but it's weak; the magic bonus doesn't help much for Karn at all). As the boat reaches Beria, the captain will look a bit worried about something, and he'll tell ya: there's some high tides! The docks are flooded and thus they can't properly dock, but they allow you to take a life boat over to Beria. Before you do, inspect the drawers down in the sleeping quarters to find 300G and a Potion. Now, go on the boat and row your way to Beria. The first thing you'll probably note is that the residents appear relatively apathetic about their situation. Thus, they probably won't mind if you barge on into their houses and take all the useless items to be found. Note the eyedrops: there's quite a few monsters out there that can blind you! As far as weapons are concerned, sell off that Rune Sword if you have it and trade in your Flame Sword for a Bastard Sword. Drecker should be outfitted with the Silver Knives. Don't bother getting anything for Ardam yet, but buy him and Drecker the Happi Coats if you can. There's no real new armor for Karn here. As for items, get a handful of Angel Downs if possible as the next dungeon is tough. To advance the plot, check the TV store. You'll notice that the crowds are watching a certain familiar guy flap his gums off on national TV... hey, it's Khrima! Supposedly he wants people to vote for him or else he'll "throw you into a vat of boiling sharks!" How cute. Also note the guy in the blue jacket handing Khrima notes. Seems like Khrima's not much of a public speaker... but nonetheless he seems like the probable cause for the floods. Grab the Glowy Object from the toaster here, then head out of town and head southwest. Note that you'll probably want to level for a while; Drecker should be close to learning Mug (a nice hit-all attack), and Karn should soon have J.Slsh (VERY good hit-one). Ardam shouldn't be too far from Cure 2, so stick around long enough to learn it. When I was done, Karn was Level 14, Ardam 11, and Drecker 10. Make sure to save near town, just in case. Once you reach the southwest corner of the continent, you'll find a TV station... Khrima's TV station! Seems like the security is lax, considering the guards just allow you in. Perfect! This dungeon is tough simply for the enemies around it: the Khrima Guards are pushovers, but the Cyborg Ks and Evil Killer Death Spybot 1000s are difficult; they hit hard, their defense is high, and Ardam doesn't have any lightning spells (their weakness), but Icylis is good in a pinch... just make sure you don't run out of MP. First of all, head northeast to the Dressing Room. Defeat the four Khrima Guards and you'll find a piece of paper that has a password on it: ORANGE. Note that if you went southwest to the security room, it wouldn't let you in even if you DID input "ORANGE". Well, now you have it. Also grab the treasure chest with 500G in it, then press onward southwest. In the southwest room (the security room), you'll have to fight THREE (!!!) Cyborg Ks and one Evil Killer Death Spybot 1000. One Mug, S.SPIN and Icylis should do it, but you'll wanna heal up afterwards. Now, head to the console and turn all security locks off. This should allow you to get into the Power Room towards the north. Once you get there, use the save point and chooce to shut down the reactor. This will (of course) take Khrima off the air and buy you some time to get in during the confusion. Grab the treasure chest with an Angel Down and now make your way towards the northwest. You'll find that this isn't the exact studio Khrima is broadcasting from, and he has a backup power source. This would be Evil Arena! And the crowd wants Karn to press his luck against a big bad bug, an ancient evil spirit, and an outer space mercenary... right then! BOSS FIGHT: Big Bug, Evil Spirit, Mercenary HP: 400~500 (Big Bug) 200~300 (Evil Spirit) 320~360 (Mercenary) Steal: N/A Drops: Strength +1 Crystal This isn't so hard... two S.SPINs should take out the Evil Sprit and the Mercenary, while a few normal attacks will polish off the Big Bug. The only one that's a worry is the Evil Spirit's ability to confuse Karn, but it dies really easily. You may have to blow a potion to refill Karn's MP if you haven't already; at this point in the game I barely had enough MP for him to do the S.SPIN twice! After victory's Karn's, the heroes get a proper tip towards the studio Khrima's doing his stuff in: Studio 666. That would be to the room west of here, so off you go! Unless you wanna go back and save, anyway. (And don't forget to use the crystal on Karn!) As you reach Khrima's TV studio he'll threaten to put YOU into a vat of boiling sharks, then run away and sic his current right-hand man on you. That would be the cue card guy (named Cody), and your next boss fight. BOSS FIGHT: Cody, Khrima Guards (5) HP: 900~950 (Cody) HP: 50~80 (Khrima Guards) Steal: Handy Pistol Drops: Nothing! Cody falls into the "medium difficulty" area. The Khrima Guards? Well, one Mug ought to kill them off. Cody's in posession of not only a (weak) gun, but several powerful hit-all attacks involving grenades and explosives and junk. While Ardam will be curing often, the strategy is really simple. Use physical attacks or the J.SLSH with Karn, and make sure Drecker steals the Handy Pistol. It's weak and definetly not worth holding onto for one of the future characters, but it nets you a cool 1250G. Use Angel Downs when needed by Drecker (Ardam probably will get KO'd a lot), and Cody should soon surrender. Once Cody gives it up, chase after Khrima! Note that he likes to throw chairs in the way to shake you off, but that's only a minor distraction. There'll be a save point right befor the exit of TV station, so use it and heal up! When you make it outside, Khrima will go on and on about oranges and other stupid philosophical musings, and then you'll get to fight him! BOSS FIGHT: Khrima HP: 1200~1300 Steal: Mallet Drops: Calculator Khrima looks to be difficult with all his flashy spells and such, but I found him a bit easier to deal with than Cody. Khrima has more HP, but his physical defense appears to be worse. Karn's J.SLSH does a *ton* of damage, but you'll probably end up using a potion or two. Drecker isn't all that much help here, but make sure he steals a Mallet; it's a good Karn weapon, even if it does half his speed. Ardam should just stick to curing; his spells won't be doing as much damage as Karn's J.SLSH. The only thing you need to worry about is an instant death attack, but you should have the Angel Downs to fix that in a jiffy! Once you win, you'll receive a Calulator; it'll allow Ardam to cast non-group spells on all enemies, but for 1/3 the damage and *1.3 the spell cost (generally not worth it). When Khrima is finally defeated, he won't admit it. Instead, he'll flee again. Not willing to forget about Isosceles, Karn and Ardam vow to pursue him over the mountains! First of all, however, go back to Beria (which mysteriously just stopped flooding) and save up. You deserve it! ----------------------------------- ROCK THE VOTE! SINK THE VOTE! .3e 3f. ARDAM VS. WHIZROM ----------------------------------------------- The moment you return to Beria, you'll be flanked by reporters and bards (one of which is the bard Drecker pushed down the steps at Bernard). Aside from the usual papparazzi drivel, Karn will also be asked if he wants to do advertisement stuff. Accept! A cool minigame will await if you do. Just go to the easternmost house in Beria when you'd like to try (you probably will.) After staying at the inn, Ardam will receive a really strange plot dream, which talks about an evil mage upon an evil tower on top of an evil mountain northeast of here. Guess what? That's right. Let's go to Zorn Tower on Mt. Hillpeak! (Don't ask how Ardam learned the name or the location.) When you reach Mt. Hillpeak, Drecker will complain about how he hates mountains. Just ignore him. Mt. Hillpeak itself isn't all that bad; it's just a very annoying ping-pong path up to the tower. The encounter rate is REALLY low (and the enmies even weaker, but remember to steal a Card from a Grim! You'll see why later). The treasure chests contain three Health Bottles (better than the vials) and a Gold Sword. DO NOT EQUIP IT ON KARN. Much like the Crystal Sword, it'll break upon use. Instead of selling it, however, keep it. Once you reach the top, go on and save your game with the save point. Zorn Tower wasn't all that hard (for me, anyway) so don't worry about levelbusting if you haven't. Ardam will get a sense of foreboding, while Karn barges right on in with the prospect of mucho treasure and stuff dancing in his head. Drecker will still be upset over having to go through a mountain, but don't worry; he'll get over it sooner or later. Zorn decides to assault you with puzzles right off the bat, with random encounters at that! The first one is a classic crate-pushing puzzle. The answer should be quite obvious: push the northernmost crate into the gap, the southeastern one a space to the left, and the final one in the center to the left as well. If you screw up (har har), just leave the room and come back inside to reset the crate locations. That wasn't hard, was it? The next room has a locked door. Don't worry about finding a key, you won't. You will find a bunch of letters though: "GNWG." I'll explain the importance of that later. As for the puzzle here, it's the same thing as before except now there's a... *gasp* unmovable block in the center! Hell with it, I don't need to walk you through this one. Once again, if you mess up you'll need to go back a room, then re-enter. The third room is the same thing as before, now with conveyer belts. That's nothing dangerous, but now there's a new monster named Earthnite that can cast Earth 4 on you! It looks dangerous and such, but it really isn't that strong for some reason. Its physical attacks are pretty powerful, however, so use Flamasi or Fire 2 (w/Calculator) to take them out. If you need a solution for the conveyer belt thing, just push the second crate to your left onto the belt and it'll do the rest. The fourth room (almost there...) is just a huge spiral of stairs. Nothing interesting, save for a hidden treasure chest with the Emerald Familiar (a NICE staff for Ardam). Makes you wonder if the developers were rushing this part, 'cause running up a flight of stairs for ten minutes on end ain't exactly my idea of good dungeon design. The fifth room is... well, one HUGE crate puzzle that you actually don't have to solve. That's right, all those crates are there for no reason. However, moving them around will help you get to a few treasure chests. They contain yet a few more Health Bottles, a Medium Potion (better MP recovery), and a Strength +1 Crystal. I say give it to Ardam... yes, Ardam. You'll see why a bit later. The sixth room is another uninspired romp through a walkway. You'll get into a number of random encounters in predetermined spots, but they're all REALLY easy. The only thing that might prove to be a problem would be the five Earthnites. Once again, Flamasi saves the day! Finally, you'll come across a save point. It's not QUITE the end yet, but use it! 'cause the next puzzle is for real... Oh boy, is it EVER for real! You have eight crates, and eight holes with obstructions and conveyor belts everywhere. I don't want to draw a diagram because it's really messy, so... here's what you do: 1. Push the crate to your right onto the belt. 2. Quickly push the uppermost crate up at the end of the belt so you can push the one riding the belt into the hole. 3. Push THAT crate into the hole. 4. Push the crate to your immediate south into the hole. 5. The crate on your left should go onto the conveyer belt, stand at the end and be ready to push it to the left gap. 6. Push the crate north of you up once, then push the crate to its right into the gap. 7. Push the crate you moved recently into the gap on the far right. 8. Finally, push the final crate close to the enterance all the way to the gap in front of the door. (don't forget to grab the treasure chest with Heaven's Justice in it, it's a spell for Ardam) Go back and SAVE. You don't wanna do that again, or do you? Don't bother with healing up, just go on forward to the highest floor of the Zorn Tower to meet with the one resopnsible for giving Ardam a whack dream. This being is known as the Whizrom, and he turned to the dark path of magery long ago. He offers Ardam a chance to join him, but of course he adamantly refuses and tells Karn and Drecker that it's his fight. As such, you'll enter a one-on-one boss fight. BOSS: Whizrom HP: 800~900 Steal: N/A Drops: Magic +1 Crystal With Whizrom's EXTREME magical defenses and high HP count, this is one annoying back-and-forth battle for Ardam. Your HP and MP have been refilled, but you'll be digging into Health Vials/Bottles and your MP restoring items a *lot.* The only spell Ardam has that does decent damage to Whizrom is the Heaven's Justice, but he won't have the MP to do it for long (unless you REALLY blow a lot of potions). Instead, you might want to rely on Ardam's physical attack. That's right; physical attacks! Whizrom's physical defenses aren't all that great, so you should be able to do about 70~90 per whack with Ardam. Remember to watch your HPs! At the end of the fight, a huge bolt of lightning will strike the top floor. Ardam will instruct Karn and Drecker to run... well, Karn anyway, Drecker fled the scene a while ago. As Karn escapes the tower, he'll watch Zorn Tower crumble to the ground while Drecker watches it unfold. Karn will panic and believe that Ardam is dead, until he appears in a bolt of lightning before the group and say how he's learned to summon the power of Poseidon (a lightning summon that does HIGHLY random damage) as a "thank you" gift for destroying the Whizrom. In addition, Ardam will show off the Erivax Relic... woohoo! You'll be back on the overworld map. I think you know what to do by now... save up! ----------------------------------------------- ARDAM VS. WHIZROM .3f 4. SIDEQUESTS ------------------------------------------------------- Sideuqests are fun things you can do that don't have to be completed, but often leave rewards. Adventurers! has a number of them, and as such they'll be covered here, starting on the next chapter. ------------------------------------------------------- SIDEQUESTS .4 4a. AD AD REVOLUTION ------------------------------------------------ The eastern house in Beria is a budget recording studio. You see, the Free Exp corporation has been through some really tough times, and they need a nice, charismatic hero to help out with their ad campaigns. If you accepted the job when you came back from the Khrima TV Station, you can help out by participating in this wacky minigame. You get only one shot at it, but if you do it right you'll get some REALLY neat prizes! The concept is simple: Dance Dance Revolution on acid. You'll have to press the correct direction on the d-pad as the arrows come up, all while swatting away various pop-up ads by using one of the analogue sticks and the X button to shoot them away... and then you have to pose heroically at times with the circle button to keep things interesting! Needless to say, this gets a *LITTLE* hectic, especially when you have, like, four pop-up ads right in the beginning. The "ad" is about five minutes long, so keep yourself on guard. Depending on how well you do, you'll get a prize: 0%-30%: Nothing but animosity! 31%-50%: Hairgel (makes character hair shiny but weak to fire, can be re-used or sold for a tidy 5000G.) 51%-70%: 10 Sword Bombs (not a bad deal, but they both break and hurt Karn when used) 71%-99%: 1 EXP in a Can (free level-up, hold onto it!) 100%: 3 EXP in A Can (THREE free level-ups! Save 'em for later when it gets REALLY hard to level up.) You might want to make a seperate save file for this so you can play this as much as you like. ------------------------------------------------ AD AD REVOLUTION .4a 5. CREDITS/THANK YOUS/ETC. ------------------------------------------ - Webrunner for writing Adventurers! and creating the contest thingy - Misteroo for pushing me to get this done - Me for writing - You for reading, as always (your ad here) CREDITS/THANK YOUS/ETC. ------------------------------------------ .5