Ultima III: Exodus/Sosaria

''Sosaria is the world which Lord British calls home, and it is the world which is under threat from the mysterious and enigmatic Exodus. It contains many features, including towns, castles, and dungeons. Some areas can be reach on foot. Others must be sailed to, and other still can only be accessed via the mystical Moon Gates, whose positions change according to the phases of the two moons.''

''You will find many sorts of aid in the various towns of Sosaria. Some are in the form of shops and pubs where you can buy items and information. Others are in the form of the very citizens that populate the town. It's a good idea to have an understanding of what to expect when paying a visit to a town.''

Exploring Sosaria
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Gathering information
''Sosaria contains many secrets, most of which are designed to be discovered by you throughout your journey. You can learn much by talking to citizens of the towns, or through thorough exploration of the land itself. Beyond here, many of Sosaria's secrets will be revealed. If you do not wish to have them spoiled, do not read below this section.''

As soon as all your characters have 550 health points, a good weapon and a decent armor (the most expensive armors are unnecessary), you can step to the next part of the adventure.

Talk to the townsfolk in all the towns of Sosaria. Apart from flavor text, people know about some specific subjects: (1) Ambrosia (incl. whirlpool and shrines); (2) Dawn and the exotic arms; (3) the four marks and the silver snake; (4) the four cards.

Unfortunately, the information is fragmented and scattered; your duty is to collect all such information and put it back together. In the NES port, dialogue is four times more extended, and vital pieces of information are often heard in a different town.

Here's a travel plan:
 * 1) Britain, the royal city (starting point);
 * 2) Grey (buy a dozen keys);
 * 3) Lord British Castle (locked rooms);
 * 4) Moon (learn the "bribe" command);
 * 5) Devil Guard (in the NES port, learn the "bribe" command);
 * 6) Montor East;
 * 7) Montor West (use keys and the "bribe" command);
 * 8) Fawn (learn the "pray" command, but not in the NES port);
 * 9) Yew (use the "pray" command);
 * 10) Death Gulch;

Furtherore, some areas in some towns are restricted. First of all, you should buy a sufficient amount of keys. The following table divides the town services found already in Britain and those exclusive to other towns.


 * Casino: the Casino is a place where you can relax and gamble some of your gold. Win a bet, and you increase your wealth. Lost a bet, and it's gone for good.
 * Temple: temples contain priests that are prepared to aid a Party on their journey to rescue Sosaria from the evil of Exodus. However, they do prefer those who are willing to leave a donation. In the NES port, thes are the only places where a character ashes can be returned to life after a healer's resurrection failed.

Britain, the royal city
Five characters give clues about different topics. The man who says "Round back!" is saying to explore the back of the building.

Grey
Services: Armor shop, Weapon shop, Pub, Guild, Grocery store (NES: Casino)

Grey is noteworthy as being the only easily accessible mainland town with a Thieves Guild. As well as this feature, the towne has shops selling weapons, armour, and rations, as well as the Taphouse pub.

Be careful: some thieves may attack you. After the fight, all the guards in town will attack, too.


 * The Guild Shop: The Thieves Guild offers, at a high price, tools of their trade. The guild shops are difficult to locate as most towns have driven them out.

Lord British's royal castle (locked rooms)

 * The Oracle: In secluded sections of some towns dwell gifted Oracles. With their vision they can provide much understanding of the occurrences in the world around you. Knowledge is a costly thing, so bring a heavy purse.
 * The prison and torture chamber: the prisoners hold important information; you need a way to walk on fire if you want to question them, though.

Town of Moon
Services: Pub, Grocery store, Healer (NES: Temple)

Copied from the manual: ''Mysterious Moon has a reputation for being the home of Magic, yet the Magi are far and few between in this towne. The amenities are simple, with a grocer, a pub, and a healer

Devil Guard

 * ''«Of marks I say there are but four of fire, force, snake and king.
 * ''Learn their use in Devil Guard, or death you'll surely bring.»
 * --- Radrion, Prophet of Life

Moon Gates allow to reach two destinations inaccessible by any other means: the lake town of Devil Guard and the dungeon of the Moon/Time (for more information, see the Moongates page).

Services: Horse stables, Guild, Pub, Grocery store, Healer

Copied from the manual: ''This towne is concealed within a valley entirely surrounded by impassable mountains, which can only be entered through a moongate. Within the towne are a Stable, an establishment offering both Rations and Healing, a Thieves Guild, and the Le Grogshop Pub.

Notes:
 * Devil Guard is in a hidden mountain lake area, and the only way to reach it is via the Moongates.
 * Speak to the woman in the hospital twice to learn the 'Bribe' command. (To access this command on the NES, press Select when viewing the main list of commands to reach a second list.)

Horse stables

 * From the manual: Most of thy Party's progress will be on foot. If you art fortunate, you could capture some of the wild horses that roam the plains. Travel on horseback is much faster than on foot.


 * The stable: In two towns the fine horses of Lord British may be purchased. However, they are only sold in lots that match the number of the party, so they are quite expensive.

Despite what the manual says, horses never appear in the wild ( never trust a game manual!). They can be only purchased in the town of Devil Guard (or in the magic town of Dawn).

Horses simply allow to outrun enemies. They are lost whenever you enter a dungeon. They are too expensive at game start, while they are unnecessary later.

Montor East

 * ''«Ask about Cards in Montor.»
 * --- Radrion the Oracle (NES)

Services: armoury, weapons dealer, pub.

Although the two Montors are supposed to be twin cities, Montor East lacks two services available in the other one: the grocery shop and the prison.

Talk to all townsfolk and learn two hints about the cards (only one in the NES port).

Montor West

 * ''«The cards their suits do number four, called Sol, Moon, Death and Love.
 * ''Unto the Montors thou must go for guidance from above.»
 * --- Radrion, Prophet of Life

Services: armor shop, weapon shop, pub, grocery store. Special services: prison.

The information in the manual is inaccurate ( never trust a manual!): Montor West is a fully autonomous town.

Montor West has a prison. You can enter it by bribing the guard. Depending on which version you are playing, you can learn the "bribe" command either in Moon (computer ports) or in Devil Guard (NES port). Prisoners hold important information about the Cards.

Town of Fawn

 * ''«Ask about the Snake at Fawn.»
 * --- Bartender in Grey (NES)

Copied from the manual: ''Lying upon a northern island, the towne of Fawn can not be reached save by ship. Within the towne are a healer, a grocer, a pub, and a Thieves Guild.''

Services: Guild, Pub, Grocery store, Healer, (NES: Casino)

Fawn can only be reached with a ship.

Town of Yew


Services: Grocery store, Healer (NES: Temple)

Copied from the manual: ''Nestled within a near complete ring of mountains, and concealed within the depths of a great forest, Yew is a quiet towne, where many come for contemplation and prayer. Concealed within the forest within which the towne has been constructed lie the Aliment Grocery, a Healer, and the Circle of Light, a place where prayers are reputed to come true.

Notes:
 * Yew is hidden deep in the Mountains to the west of castle Britannia. Enter the pass on the west side of the mountainous area going east toward the castle.
 * Very limited view because of the dense forest. Beware of some lava pits.
 * If you have the Mark of Fire (or a lot of HP), approach the priests in the temple. They will give you the "Pray" command which can be used at the "Circle of Light". You then get the "Silver Horn" which allows you to pass the "Great Earth Serpent", guarding the entryway to "Castle Exodus".

Town of Death Gulch
Services: Armor shop, Weapon shop, Pub, Grocery store

Copied from the manual: ''Upon an eastern island, this towne of wretched villains is carved back into the mountains themselves, making it nearly impregnable for any normal foes. Once thou hast entered the towne (bribery is useful here) thou canst seek out those with valuable knowledge, or visit the various stores. The Armoury may be raided, but take care to bribe the guards before thou doth enter.

Notes:
 * There is a big field of lava, but there is no need to talk with the person there.
 * For 100 Gold you can bribe the guards. In the NES port, however, before you can do this you have to get the "Bribe" command from a person in Devil Guard.
 * You can also use the way through the forest labyrinth if you don't want/can't bribe the guards.
 * There are lots of treasure chests near the armory, but be careful of the guards when you open the chests! It's an easy way to get much gold. Just leave the town, then re-enter and all the chests are back again.

Summary
Let's summarize all the information gathered so far:
 * 1) Exodus: in order to defeat Exodus, you need three things: equip the Exotic/Mystic arms, get past the Silver Snake, use the Four Cards.
 * 2) Exotic/Mystic arms: the final clues are in the magic town of Dawn; all you know about it is that it appears with two new moons, and that it is in the large forest west of Montor; this is not enough to locate it.
 * 3) Silver Snake: in order to get past it, you have to pray in the Circle of Light in Yew and you need the Mark of Snake; this mark is in one dungeon; you are not yet powerful enough to brave a dungeon. Where can you improve your attributes?
 * 4) Four Cards: they can be found in the Shrines of Truth. Where are such shrines?

Other topics:
 * Whirlpool: someone said he/she came back from there; maybe it conceals either Ambrosia, or the Shrines, or both.
 * Ambrosia: many people suggested to find it, but where is it? One possibility is that the answer lies beyond the whirlpool.
 * Fire and force fields: found in Lord British's castle and in Death Gulch; some people dwell in there, and they may hold important information; you need the marks of Fire and Force to cross them, but again, you are too weak to brave the dungeons.
 * Time Lord: he may hold important information; once more, you are too weak to brave the dungeons.

The only thing that can be done now is to explore whatever lies beyond the whirlpool.