Ultima VI: The False Prophet/The Shrine of Compassion

Castle Britannia
When you start the game, you are in a battle already against three gargoyles. Kill them all and search (Look) the corpses. If you are lucky, you can find a boomerang.

Talk to Lord British, then to Geoffrey and to Nystul. Ask Lord British to heal your party. Geoffrey sets you on the quest to free the eight shrines of virtue.

Leave the throne room, take the door to the west, then the first door to the south. This is the Avatar's room, where you can find full initial equipment for your main character. Drop the Orb of the Moons on the table: it would make the game far too easy.

Explore the rest of the castle, open (Use) any container and collect what is inside. Search (Look) the furniture and collect any item you find around. In the south-east there is a locked door that cannot be opened using the key; no need to use any lockpick: in Lord British wardrobe room there is a secret door. Move the crate, search (Look) the north wall and get through. In the south-west room you can find some weapons and armors, but also a sack of flour and some cloth. You can sell the flour to Cullen in town and the two samples of cloth to Leonard in Yew.

You can meet Sherry the Mouse in Nystul's laboratory in the south-west or beyond the locked door to the south-east. She can join you if you give her some cheese, found in the kitchen. Because of her minimal endurance, equip her with a sling (Iolo starts with one) or a lightning wand (found in a chest).

Chuckles the jester sets you on a side-quest, but you will be able to complete it only later.

No need to explore the basement: you will have to use up torches, and you could even get poisoned by giant rats. Instead, use Lord British's key and open the portcullis and the drawbridge.

Britain
Britain is by far the largest town in Britannia: it counts 24 inhabitants, plus the guards.

Because of its size, it will be subdivided into four parts. Leave the castle and continue south until you get to a sundial. Anything south of it and the street is listed as "south" in the table below; "east" and "west" from the sundial is quite self-explanatory; the "Serpent Loop" is the area north of the Castle.

From the sundial, turn east and get to the commercial area of the town. Talk to all the merchants, and most of all speak with Daver. Buy a magic bow from Gwenneth at Iolo's Bows: she will give you credit once. Then, invest some money and buy some arrows from Lynn. Cullen the baker will buy the sack of flour found in Lord British castle.

Terri may exchange all of Dupre's gold nuggets for gold coins. Still, drop one nugget and get it back after exchanging the other ones: you will need it later.

Inscriptions on the tombstones:
 * "Though she outlasted husbands five,// Now Beth too is no more alive,// But as she drew her final breath,// She smiled a smile to scoff at death."
 * "Husband the first// Sir Cedric Burned with firm bold// Till his life was quenched with a dagger cold."
 * "Husband the second// Roderic Passed with an awful wail// When someone served him poisoned ale."
 * "Husband the third// Walter passed on in his sleep// His last thoughts a secret that death will keep."
 * "Husband the fourth// Roger's manner was formal and stiff// Till one day he fell off a cliff// But now his body's a cordial host// To worms and maggots for he's a ghost."
 * "Husband the fifth// Martin left this world of toil// When he fell in a vat of boiling oil."

The mantra and the rune
Daver McCord, the bellkeeper, is the first character in Britannia who talks about runes and mantras. He ignores what exactly they are for, but he knows these things come from Lord British. If you ask the king, he will simply reply to ask to the town leaders.

Who is the town leader in Britain? Tholden, who works in the town hall, south-east from the Castle.

The village of Cove and the Shrine of Compassion


In order to get to Cove, you have to travel east and get past the Shrine of Compassion. Fight the Gargoyles: there should be just a few early on in the game.

The healer Sasha can heal your characters. If a character hold no gold, she will heal him/her for free. You can save money if you give (Move) all your money to a healthy character.

In the hospital you can meet four warriors. Only one of them is able to speak, and he is the man you came for: Gertan. Unfortunately, the information he holds is of little use to you.

Instead, the village leader, Ahrmaand, tells you all you need to know: how to use the Rune and the Mantra to negate the force field on a shrine, and how to pray at a shrine in order to get enlightment... that is upgrade of your characters' attributes.

Finally, Rudyom the mage sells spells and reagents. His spells can be very useful throughout all the game. See the page about magic for more information about him.

Now backtrack to the Shrine of Compassion and defeat all the gargoyles once again. After the battle, follow Ahrmaand's instructions and liberate the Shrine of Compassion. Collect the Moonstone and let your characters meditate if their experience points are enough to gain a level.