From StrategyWiki, the video game walkthrough and strategy guide wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The attributes[edit]

See also Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (NES)/Companions

Main attributes:

  • Dexterity is probably the most important attribute: it rules the probability of hitting enemies, the probability of avoiding traps and perhaps the probability of dodging enemy attacks.
  • Strength comes second: if the enemy is hit (and that depends on Dexterity), Strength determines the amount of damage dealt.
  • Intelligence rules the amount of magic points (MP) that a character has, but the magic abilites in this video game are actually ruled by the amount of gold the player can spend on magic reagents. Therefore, Intelligence is probably the less important of the three attributes.

Other attibutes:

  • Health points (HP): The amount of hits the character can sustain before dying. Health can be replenished using healing spells or resting. Their maximum depends directly on the level, i.e. Max HP = 100 times the level.
  • Magic points (MP): Every spell cast consumes some MP, that are replenished by walking. The maximum MP depend on Intelligence and profession, as per the table in the next section.
  • Experience: It is gained by defeating enemies, it is halved whenever the Stranger is knocked out. At set amounts, the character gains a level, as per the table below.
  • Level: It rules the maximum health points as well as the number of companions in your party. Whenever a character advances in level, his/her attributes are increased by a random amount, between 0 and 7.

The Stranger always starts the game at level a level from 1 to 3, depending on the starting class.

Experience Level Health Pts. Party members
0 1 100 1 (Stranger alone)
100 2 200 2
200 3 300 3
400 4 400 4
800 5 500 5
1600 6 600 6
3200 7 700 7
6400 8 800 8 (all)

Creating the Stranger from Another World[edit]

At the beginning of the game, you'll have to answer seven questions to create the Stranger. Every question implies a choice between two virtues. Whenever you choose a virtue, the character gains a specific bonus in his attributes, and the other virtue is "discarded", i.e. it will not appear in subsequent questions. Depending on the game versions, some virtues can give a different bonus. Before the casting, all attributes of the Stranger are equal to 15.

The seventh (and last) question determines the class of the character.

Virtue Bonus
(every question)
Profession
(7th question)
MP
1 - Honesty Int+2/+3 Mage (Mariah) 2 × Int
2 - Compassion Dex+2/+3 Bard (Iolo) 1 × Int
3 - Valor Str+2/+3 Fighter (Geoffrey) 0
4 - Justice Dex+1, Int+1 Druid (Jaana) 1.5 × Int
5 - Sacrifice Dex+1, Str+1 Tinker (Julia) 0.5 × Int
6 - Honor Int+1, Str+1 Paladin (Dupre) 1 × Int
7 - Spirituality Dex+1, Int+1, Str+1 Ranger (Shamino) 1 × Int
8 - Humility (no bonus) Shepherd (Katrina) 0

In the dungeons that correspond to each virtue there are Magic Spheres that when touched increase the attributes which are related to the virtue (i.e. Covetous = Sacrifice = +5 to STR, DEX). They do 200/400/600(800 in SMS) points of damage depending on how many attributes are increased (1 or 2 or 3). The spheres respawn each time you re-enter the dungeon. Thus, any character you choose can get each attribute to maximum, that is 50.

Companions[edit]

In the course of the game, the Stranger will have to recruit the characters who embody every one of the eight virtues, but he cannot recruit the character with his same profession.

A/ST SMS NES Companion Virtue Main attr. MP Notes
Ultima4 AMI sprite mage.png Ultima4 SMS sprite mage.png Ultima4 NES sprite mage.png Mariah
the Mage
Honesty Intelligence 2 ×Int She has the highest Intelligence and magic powers, but her choice of weapons is limited.
Ultima4 AMI sprite bard.png Ultima4 SMS sprite bard.png Ultima4 NES sprite bard.png Iolo
the Bard
Compassion Dexterity 1 ×Int He has great dexterity, and starts with a ranged weapon.
Ultima4 AMI sprite fighter.png Ultima4 SMS sprite fighter.png Ultima4 NES sprite fighter.png Geoffrey
the Fighter
Valor Strength 0 His great strength is pointless because of his limited dexterity and limited choice of ranged weapons; he can use no magic at all.
Ultima4 AMI sprite druid.png Ultima4 SMS sprite druid.png Ultima4 NES sprite druid.png Jaana
the Druid
Justice Int + Dex 1.5 ×Int She has good magic powers, dexterity and ranged weapons, but limited strength.
Ultima4 AMI sprite tinker.png Ultima4 SMS sprite tinker.png Ultima4 NES sprite tinker.png Julia
the Tinker
Sacrifice Dex + Str 0.5 ×Int She has great dexterity and strength, but limited magic powers.
Ultima4 AMI sprite paladin.png Ultima4 SMS sprite paladin.png Ultima4 NES sprite paladin.png Dupre
the Paladin
Honor Int + Str 1 ×Int His great strength and weaponskill are pointless because of his minimal dexterity.
Ultima4 AMI sprite ranger.png Ultima4 SMS sprite ranger.png Ultima4 NES sprite ranger.png Shamino
the Ranger
Spirituality All 1 ×Int A well-balanced character, he has a bit of everything, but does not excel in anything.
Ultima4 AMI sprite shepherd.png Ultima4 SMS sprite shepherd.png Ultima4 NES sprite shepherd.png Katrina the
Shepherd
Humility (none) 0 She has the lowest attributes, no magic power and a limited selection of equipment.

For a quick reference, the eight professions can be summarized in the diagram below (based on the NES port).

The only differences between original and NES port are: (1) in the NES port Julia the Tinker is replaced by Julius, although their attributes are the same; (2) in the NES port the abbreviations of Dexterity and Intelligence are swapped.

 · Top: Characters with limited magic powers;
 · Bottom: Characters with great magic powers;
 · Left: Characters with great strength;
 · Right: Characters with great dexterity.