Dragon Warrior III/Aliahan

You begin your journey in your homeland, the kingdomw of Aliahan; a small island nation located in the southern part of the world. On your sixteenth birthday, your mother sends you to the king, who then commissions you to defeat the Archfiend, Baramos.

Aliahan
As soon as the game starts, you'll be a cut-scene where your mother walks you to the castle. Go in and head straight up to get to the second floor. The king will tell you to go find and defeat the Archfiend, then give you 50 gold. You'll also be told that you should go to the eatery in town to find companions. There isn't much you can do in the castle at this point since there are a lot of locked doors. If talk to people in the castle and town, you'll get hints about the Thief Key and the Tower of Najima. Most other people are just talking about how their afraid of Baramos. You won't be able to afford much of anything at the beginning, and there's better stuff in the next town. The inn is cheap, but you can stay at your house for free. The northwest building is Lusia's Place, where you'll get your companions.

The Vault
The first counter in Lusia's is the vault, where you can store money and items. Your team can only carry 32 items at a time (which includes up to four pieces of equipment each), but you can store unlimited items here until you need them again. You'll be charged 10% of the market value of the item to get it back, though. However, quest items only cost 1 gold to retrieve and once you use them you'll never need them again, anyway. You can also store gold here, in 1000 gold increments, and you aren't charged to withdraw it. This is very important since you lose half of your gold on hand when you die, but none that's stored in the vault.

Registering companions

 * See the classes and parties page for more.

There's already a Soldier, Pilgrim, and Wizard registered for you, but if you want to register your own, head upstairs to the second floor counter. There you can register a new character and pick their name, gender, and class. Downstairs, talk to Lusia and choose to add a member. Get your three allies then leave.

The field
Outside of the town, you'll see the Tower of Najima to the west, but you won't be going there for a little while. You want to go to the town of Reeve first, which is to the north. You can get there by following the grassy path across the bridge and around the forests. However, you should first get your levels up by fighting the enemies around the castle. If you get too injured, just head back to your house to heal up for free. Once your ready (probably around level 3, go to Reeve.

Reeve
Reeve is a small, not particularly exciting town. You be told about a cave to the south that connects to the Tower of Najima. Even more importantly that the hints are the shops. You'll be able to find quite a few pieces of excellent weapons and armor. You'll won't be able to afford much of it, though. Your best be is to save up your money and buy a Chain Sickle for your Pilgrim (assuming you have one). This will put them at the same attack power as Soldiers, Heroes, and Fighters. You should also buy the best armor, helmets, and shields possible for everyone. Wizards should be given Magic Knives, as these will be their best weapons for a while. If you aren't sure about your Hero's and Pilgrim(s)' ability to heal your party, buy a couple of Herbs. You'll also want a few Antidotes and a Wing of Wyvern.

Hang around the town and forest, fighting enemies until your levels are high enough and you've bought everything you want. If you head to the east the enemies will give more exp and gold, but they are also significantly stronger. Once you're ready, head to the southwest peninsula and you'll see a cave.

Cave on the Promontory
The cave isn't that large, and the enemies aren't any stronger than they were outside, so the cave shouldn't be too much trouble. There are a few treasures, but they aren't that great. From the start, take the stairs down to the lower level. Follow the path until you get into an open area. The lower-right fork gets you a Medical Herb, and the upper fork takes you through a narrow passage into another cavern. Get the Wayfarer's Clothes and then go on the upper path. There's a chest with 16G to the next screen up, but the exit is to the right.