“Thou art a swine, Iolo.”
Ultima VII - for most fans the absolute highlight of the Ultima series, as
well as the absolute highlight in the history of roleplaying games. Ultima IX is inferior in
all areas: In Ultima VII, you can explore the world with vessels, moongates, horses, and much
more. In Ultima IX, you may ask Raven to take you to ten different locations. You can interact
with the world in almost every way you want; you can pick up, move, and use all items. In Ultima
IX, very many items are deemed “useless” and can’t even be picked up.
You
can say that Britannia simply feels real in Ultima VII, because of the details and the grand
scheme of things alike. You face subtle problems like political abuse and racism. The graphics,
the authentic, living world... Everything’s perfect. Hence, “The
Black Gate” also makes nitpickers happy! You may finally take everything apart now.
- Ignorance of predecessors (24)
- Technical shortcomings (32)
- General problems (45)
The following 3 nitpicks are new:
Ignorance of predecessors
-
In Ultima VII, we learn who the killers of Marney’s mother’s really were, amd they
are completely different from who we were told they were in Ultima VI.
(by Hyena of Ice) -
The storyline of Ultima VII has one big drawback: Ultima Underworld I is completely
ignored... For instance, where have the people in Destard gone? Where are the ruins
of the keep and other landmarks on the Isle of the Avatar?
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Maybe it was the designers’ intent to put the single virtues into the background in Ultima
VII, but it would have been nice to get an explanation why you can’t meditate
at the shrines anymore...
(by Hacki Dragon) -
What ever happened to Captain Johne? (Wasn’t he important enough to
live longer?)
(by Hyena of Ice) -
Why does Shamino not find the Ether problem annoying as well, seeing as how
he’s a ranger/magic-user, and all? (Granted, Shamino can’t cast spells in Ultima
VII, but he could in Ultima VI.)
(by Hyena of Ice) -
Covetous has suddenly become a mine, but in the past, it was a crypt.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
A problem with the intro: In previous Ultimas, red moongates only appeared when summoned
through an Orb of the Moons. Thus, the moongate which the Time Lord uses to return
you to Britannia should presumably be blue. Instead, however, it is red. What gives?
(by Evil_Freak Dragon) -
When you first meet him in Ultima VII, Shamino gives you your pocketwatch, saying that you
left it with him on your last adventure (presumably Ultima VII). However, in Martian Dreams
(which is unquestionably set after Ultima VI, since the Avatar already has the Orb of the Moons),
the Avatar still had his pocketwatch.
I know, the Avatar may own than one pocketwatch, but it’s still interesting.
(by Evil_Freak Dragon) -
On Terfin, the Shrine of Diligence (Exodus) is a gigantic statue of a daemon. In Ultima VI,
however, the Shrine of Diligence merely showed a model of Exodus’ head
placed atop a pedestal.
(by Evil_Freak Dragon) -
Where is Seggallion? He isn’t a native Britannian, so it’s entirely
possible that he lives longer.
(by Evil_Freak Dragon) -
Paulette, a ghost girl in Skara Brae, looks very similar to Seggallion’s
portrait in Ultima VI, and you even hear that her father was a stranger from another world.
Unfortunately, the game doesn’t shed any light on this mystery.
(by Ephemerides Dragon) -
Where is Beh Lem? Draxinusom is still alive after all, and he is much older.
Since we’re just on this topic: Draxinusom is the only gargoyle from Ultima
VI still alive. Obviously, the Gargoyles, too, have a law that requires important people to
live longer.
(by Evil_Freak Dragon) -
Okay, this is nitpicking, but in the search for completeness: In Ultima VII, you’re told
on several occasions that Dupre has been knighted since your last quest. However, in Ultima
VI, Dupre is already referred to as a knight during the intro.
(by Evil_Freak Dragon) -
In Ultima VI, the books in the gargoyle world make pretty clear that the wingless gargoyles
can not speak (Beh Lem was a young winged in case anyone wonders), yet in
Ultima VII, they are all speaking.
(by Sergorn Dragon) -
A bad mistake in the Book of Fellowship:
The author of the book obviously forgot about the red moongate used by King Draxinusom at the end of Ultima VI. Not to mention the red moongate Iolo, Shamino, and Dupre used when they saved the Avatar from the Gargoyles at the beginning of Ultima VI. Heck, the Avatar walked through red moongates all the time in Ultima VI!“There have only been two red Moongates in all of known existence - one used by Lord British, and the other by the Avatar.”
Damn Fellowship propaganda...
(by Tribun Dragon) -
How come you need a whistle to communicate with the wisps? In Ultima VI and
the Underworlds you don’t need such a thing.
(by Shadow of Light Dragon) -
You have to wonder why Vesper’s past from Ultima IV is completely disregarded
in this game. I suppose it’s not a coincidence that the town’s called
Vesper... or is it?
(by Dino the Dark Dragon) -
The Armageddon spell should actually not be mentioned in the Book of Fellowship.
Since when is it general knowledge? The Avatar and his companions learned the spell from the
Wisps in Ultima VI and most certainly didn’t tell the secret to anyone, considering
Armageddon is capable of eliminating all life in Britannia...
(by Tribun Dragon) -
A book in Forge of Virtue tells us how to create Golems, and that the author of the book was
the one who created them in the first place. This contradicts Underworld I, where we
encountered Golems in the Abyss.
(by Natreg Dragon) -
When you speak to Julia, she claims to have been working as a tinker for just a short
while, and also that she
“doesn’t have the patience to be a proper tinker”
and that she will probably give it up soon. Ahem, she’s been a tinker since Ultima IV, over 200 years ago!
(by Melchett Dragon) -
What happened to Julia’s scottish accent from Ultima VI? She seems to
be a different person in each Ultima.
(by Melchett Dragon) -
In Ultima VII we’re told that some magician made the magic carpet. This
directly contradicts Ultima V, where Monsieur Loubet got the carpet to Britannia from his homeland.
(by Dino the Dark Dragon) -
In every Ultima where Wisps are friendly, they will tell you that they have a collective consciousness
so much so that they have trouble with understanding how humans don’t have one. But in
Ultima 7, they tell you that the Wisp government sent them to find out about the Fellowship.
Why do creatures with a shared mind need or have a government?
(by Corwin) -
In previous Ultimas, the runes were small stones; in Ultima VI you are told that they can be strung into a necklace. In Ultima VII, they are huge stone blocks. Daver, the bellringer in Britain when you ask about runes:
“Magical little things. There’s a symbol on one side and a letter on the other. Probably spell something out if you put ’em all on a necklace. But that hasn’t been done in a long time.”
You might argue that Daver was talking in a symbolic sense when he talked about putting the runes in a necklace, but elsewhere in the game they are indicated to be very small; e.g. in Jhelom a rat snatched the rune and carried it into its hole, and in Skara Brae the rune was missing, hidden in a basket in Marney’s chest. In Ultima VII, the runes are much too large.
(by Crowley)
Technical shortcomings
-
The young Gargoyles today really don’t respect tradition! They don’t even
use Gargoyle architecture for their houses in Terfin!
(by Tribun Dragon) -
If the Shrine of Codex is a national monument, then why was it redesigned
between Ultima VI and VII? And where are the flames of Infinity and Singularity?
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Why does the prison cell in Yew have a lever to open a secret wall? Not to
mention the incompetence of the prison keepers by leaving a corpse with 20 gold coins in the
cell.
But it’s better than the Phase Spider trick.“Thou art sentenced to life in prison for thy crimes against Britannia!”
“No problem, I wilt simply pull the lever and use the 20 gold pieces to live until I find an honest job.”
(by Artic Blaze Dragon) -
Nastassia looks just like Katrina did in Ultima VU ...strange!
(by Hyena of Ice) -
The designers forgot to adjust the Gorn dialogue after the destruction of the Cube
Generator. (Hmmm... is Gorn actually not possessed by the Guardian? Maybe his blabbing
is more meaningful than we thought.)
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Hook seems to be keen on his ritual, but when he murders Alagner, he forgets to pluck
the candles into feet and arms.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The big orrery in Moonglow has a small flaw... The planets in the Britannian solar system,
as we all know, circle around its sun. But the orrery wants to make us believe that
they circle around Britannia. Age of Enlightenment? Bleh, Dark Ages!
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Why does Jaana look younger in Ultima VII than she did in Ultima
VI?
(Her portrait in Ultima VI was really horrible, so I guess nobody blames the designers for this inconsistency.)
(by Evil_Freak Dragon) -
The Vortex Cube has become considerably smaller in Ultima VII.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Why oh why is there a dangerous, tentacled sea-creature in Lord British’s moat
in Ultima VII? Is he trying to kill his subjects? Does he suffer from permanent paranoia?
(by Angelo) -
Lord British goes to bed wearing his royal cloak and his crown. Man,
he should really relax for a while and take a vacation!
(by Hacki Dragon) -
According to the Book of Fellowship, the Isle of the Avatar is volcanic. However,
there are no volcanoes there in the game.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The Ferryman is evidently the only way onto Skara Brae, yet it is
possible to land the magic carpet on the island!
(Perhaps, it’s just a bug. The rest of the isle is covered with debris to keep you from landing the carpet. But shouldn’t they have discovered that empty spot when testing the game?)
(by Shadow of Light Dragon) -
There is a small flaw in the ending sequence of Ultima VII. As we know, there are three
small pillars around the Black Gate. One’s to the left, the other one to the
right, and the third one behind. Now when you have destroyed the gate, you only see two...
Where has the third one gone?
(by Tribun Dragon) -
In Ultima VII, Dungeon Deceit is located on Dagger Isle. But it is meant to
be on the small island off Dagger Isle, like in all previous Ultimas.
(by Dino the Dark Dragon) -
Why do the guards in Lord British’s Castle not have their own rooms
in Ultima VII? Don’t they ever go to sleep? What an unrealistic game!
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Why do hostile mages have no problems casting spells, considering the huge
problems with magic all over Britannia?
(by Timo Takalo) -
In Trinsic, autumn has already begun, while summer still reigns in the rest
of Britannia... How odd.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
In the Book of Fellowship, Batlin writes about Gargoyles commuting from Terfin to Minoc.
Hehe, the author of this had the wrong torus
world model in mind when he wrote it. In reality, Terfin is too far away from Minoc, on
the other side of Britannia.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
An un-avoidable, but interesting inaccuracy: When you are about to destroy the Black Gate and
then choose to take another look at the orrery in Moonglow, you’ll notice that the planets
and moons have not changed their position into the neccessary constellation, obviously
ignoring the upcoming Astronomical Alignment.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Horance tells us that his domain, the Dark Tower, is constructed of a mysterious substance
that inhibits magic, which we all know to be as Blackrock. But when you use Rudyom’s
Wand on the Dark Tower, nothing happens. Shouldn’t the whole fortress explode,
since it’s made of Blackrock?
(by BlueClaw) -
Lord British tells you that healing is the only spell that still works right
for him. Yet, when he is assailed, he can cast lightning bolts quite well in self-defence!
Milord, thou hast lost an eigth!
(God, I love this nitpick!)
(by BlueClaw) -
As a nitpicker, you have to wonder why Armageddon destroys undead creatures as well.
They are already dead, so they shouldn’t be affected by the spell.
(by BlueClaw) -
Some confusion with names: Gorn’s deity was previously referred to as “Brohm”,
while in Ultima VII, he’s named “Brom”.
(This is unquestionably the most important mistake in the entire game.)
(by BlueClaw) -
What’s the deal with the huge throne on the Isle of the Avatar? If it’s meant to
be for the Guardian, then why would he just have a throne in a tiny room, staring into
a blank cave wall?
(by Azurio) -
In the manual, Batlin says it took many chests to carry 1000 gold. Well, in
the game, it takes only one. It seems they’ve significantly increased the capacity of
chests during the last few decades.
(by Azurio) -
Why does Mikos (the mine supervisor of Minoc) have no house? He sleeps
on the ground next to a headless camp for crying out loud!
(by Clat) -
The orrery in Moonglow is completely asynchrone. It’s supposed to display
the current positions of planets and moons. Yet the moons move with crazy speed.
Shouldn’t they move synchronically or relatively to the real moons? Otherwise, the orrery
would be pretty pointless...
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Why can broken glass kill the Avatar even when he wears magic boots?
(by Corwin) -
Sleeping customs in Britannia: The Avatar sleeps in his armour, while all his companions
watch (never sleeping themselves, or not on a bedroll anyway). Isn’t that strange?
(by Erk) -
Sasha the young gypsy speaks with a heavy gypsy accent, as all gypsies in Britannia do, often
enunciating his w’s as v’s instead. Throughout his entire speech he speaks with
an accent, but then, when he starts rattling off about the philosophy of the Fellowship and
all its wonderful tenets (which just coincidentally happens to be the same as nearly every
other Fellowship member’s throughout the game) he loses his accent entirely, speaking
like any normal Britannian would. This remarkable change in spoken language cannot go unnoticed.
Perhaps the Fellowship should resort to teaching English lessons, since they have such fantastic
results.
(by BlueClaw) -
This is probably a result of an engine limitation, but in Ultima VI, the big ships you could
buy had multiple sail rigs and mounted cannons. The ships in Ultima VII are nothing more than
single-sailed longboats, and combat from them is fought with whatever weapons the party has
in hand. A step
backwards in Britannian naval technology?
(by Withstand the Fury Dragon)
General problems
-
Where exactly is Gorn’s homeland? From what Gorn tells you in Ultimas
V, VI, and VI, it sounds as though his homeland exists in another world outside of Britannia,
yet Beverlea in Paws has one of his baby toys.
(by Hyena of Ice) -
It was stated in the Ultima IV manual that the poisoning from toxic marshes is due to toxic
gases. So why is it then that wearing Swamp Boots prevents poisoning?
In fact, even Tseramed mentions that marshlands are dangerous because of toxic gases.
(by Hyena of Ice) -
Why can Jaana, Lord British, and in fact everyone else cast spells without
spellbooks or reagents all the time?
(by Natreg Dragon) -
Geoffrey must really be satisfied with his job. He has been Lord British’s chief of guard
for more than 200 years now, and he says that he hardly leaves the castle!
What a boring life!
(by Hacki Dragon) -
The beginning of the game: A mighty being, unknown so far, threatens the Avatar. Then a moongate
opens up in the garden. The Avatar looks at his Orb of the Moons, then walks through
the moongate without taking the Orb with him! Need I say more?
(by Hacki Dragon) -
I can imagine the situation of the designers when they noticed that the Avatar most
certainly wants to tell Lord British about the Guardian as soon as his existence is
indicated. They must have been quite clueless, so they gave up and solved the problem with
a single dialogue line with a bored Lord British telling the Avatar that he should collect
more proof. His Majesty aren’t a big help...
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Maybe Alagner should have included the following line in his notebook:
The Avatar obviously thinks that Lord British hasn’t got time to take a detailed look at the notebook...“If I become a victim of the Fellowship myself, then the reader of these lines must give my notebook and all proof against Batlin to Lord British.”
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Sorry, but the married life of Iolo and Gwenno is just hilarious. He goes
adventuring all around Britannia, risking his life in daily fights against beasts, while she
undertakes an expedition into an unknown world without telling her husband first! When do they
actually see each other?
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Magic receives its energy from the ethereal waves, which Blackrock can block. Large amounts
of Blackrock can therefore block magic, as you can see later in Underworld II with the Blackrock
Dome. In Ultima VII, however, magic works fine in Covetous...
(This flaw is even more severe because there are anti-magic areas in Ultima VII, so it would have been easy to implement by the programmers.)
(by Paulon Dragon) -
How is it that the Avatar has an up-to-date map of Britannia upon his arrival
in Trinsic?
(by Hyena of Ice) -
How is it that the Avatar’s pocketwatch is still working after 200 years
in Shamino’s hands?
(by Hyena of Ice) -
How comes Jaana has just as much trouble casting magic even after you fix the Ether?
(by Hyena of Ice) -
In Cove, Lord Heather says that Nastassia is the only person without a lover. However, there
is no evidence that Rudyom has a lover, either... (Granted, that’s very
nitpicky, but, oh well.)
(by Hyena of Ice) -
Who brings the Avatar to Britannia? The Guardian appears on the Avatar’s
monitor and taunts him, which is what prompts the Avatar to return to the circle of stones,
where he finds a red moongate waiting. This would seem to imply that the Guardian brought the
Avatar to Britannia. But later on, the Time Lord says that he summoned the
moongate that took you to Britannia. But even if he did, it’s extremely
unlikely that you would have found it if not for the Guardian’s appearance.
What is going on here?
As this is a major aspect of the plot, we might assume the designers deliberately left this question open. Perhaps the Time Lord used the Orb of the Moons to create the gate to Earth. And perhaps the Avatar leaves behind the orb so that
- the Time Lord might have the opportunity to create a gate back once the quest is over,
- to avoid the possibility of a problem occuring bringing the Orb of the Moons through it’s own gate when going between dimensions/whatever, and/or
- so that someone may follow him if he fails - he’s had years to write a note or tell other people what to do if such a thing might happen - the whole Guardian thing would be creepy enough to want to take precautions like that.
On the other hand, you could also put it this way: The Avatar looks at his Orb of the Moons and notices that it’s glowing. This indicates that someone from Britannia calls for him, and that’s why he walks to the circle of stones. As for the Guardian appearing on his screen... Well, maybe the Guardian notices that the Time Lord has summoned a red moongate on Earth, and so he seeks to contact the Avatar as soon as possible, to try scaring him away.
Anyway, the creators of the game chose to leave us wondering about what really happens, and even though you could come up with dozens of further theories to explain it, I’m afraid it won’t ever be solved.
(by Evil_Freak Dragon) -
In Forge of Virtue: How did Exodus’ Psyche free itself from
the Shrine of Diligence?
(by Evil_Freak Dragon) -
At the end of Ultima VII, if the Avatar wanted to go home and still prevent the Guardian from
entering Britannia, couldn’t he have gone through the Black Gate and then had
Shamino or someone else use the wand to destroy it after he went through?
(by Angelo) -
Why doesn’t the wise and noble king provide the Avatar with a room in
Ultima VII? After all, he does in Ultima VI and even IX...
(by Angelo) -
If you follow the instructions for viewing the Codex, why can’t you view the
Codex?
(by Shadow of Light Dragon) -
If the Abyss did really erupt (as the manual says), then this event must have destroyed
the Shrine of Codex as well. Despite of this, the Shrine has been left untouched.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
It’s a bit strange that only mages become mad in Ultima VII. Actually, it should
strike all magic-users...
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The Fellowship wants to murder Lord British. Just how do they plan to do it?
Lord British is the most powerful mage in Britannia and invulnerable! (Makes you wonder if
Hook knows the trick with the sign...)
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The book in Forge of Virtue about the Stone of Castambre appears to have been written after
the Isle of Fire sank (it says something about how the Isle disappeared), whereas the golems
were obviously built (using the book) before the isle sank.
(by Tailrace Dragon) -
Why are there are suddenly a wall and a massive door at the Shrine of Codex?
And why didn’t anyone notice it before? It’s unlikely that the wall was built by
Britannian authorities, as only the Fellowship has the key...
(by Tribun Dragon) -
In the Book of Fellowship, it is stated that the Codex shrine is a national monument
and is under armed guard day and night. However:
- There are no visitors.
- The Stone Guardians only allowed people on quests to aproach the shrine. (Of course, it’s as strange that the Avatar can walk to the shrine without any problems, as I’d like to add. Perhaps it’s all because the Codex is gone.) This certainly might explain the previous point a to some extent, but still, there should be pilgrims on the isle.
- There are no guards.
(by Artic Blaze Dragon) -
In the Book of Fellowship, Batlin writes that you can visit the ruins of Blackthorn’s
Palace on Terfin. Unfortunately, you can’t. Too bad.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Isn’t it strange that you can’t get Lord British to talk about the scroll
of Gwenno, in which she mentions Serpent Isle? It even states that she had talked
to the king about it.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Why can’t you tell Caine that the mayor gave him the wrong mixture?
Telling Caine that he isn’t guilty all alone would certainly be a good deed, right?
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Why isn’t Erethian affected by the mage madness?
(by BlueClaw) -
Why did Lord British and Draxinusom put the lenses in the museum, where everyone can
steal them (which we are gonna do in Forge of Virtue)? Those lenses represent access
to the infinite wisdom of the Codex. They are supposed to be locked up night and day by the
kings, aren’t they...?
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Why is Batlin so receptive to the Avatar? Batlin knows the Avatar won’t
approve the Guardian, he knows the Avatar is the greatest danger to his plan, he knows the
Avatar’s history of defeating elaborate plans... why allow him to join the Fellowship,
go into the retreats, carry confidential messages? What was he planning? Is it just Bad
Guy Syndrome (like the James Bond villains who need to explain their plans
before setting a complicated death trap in motion)?
It just seems that it would make more sense if Batlin tried to stop the Avatar’s progress instead of just watching him conduct such a delicate investigation. He could have done all kinds of things to stop the Avatar... least of them to tell the people of the shelter in Paws to stop helping the guy everytime he is close to death.
Maybe the Guardian wants the Avatar alive, but he certainly doesn’t want him to destroy the Black Gate.
(by Maximus Dragon) -
The Book of Fellowship speaks about wars in Britannia in the time between Ultima VI
and VII. We don’t get to hear anything about those wars in the game, neither
will they be mentioned in any later Ultima.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Why is Rudyom selling the Armageddon spell like it was nothing? Yeah, he is
crazy, but the Avatar or his party don’t seem to be worried. Think about it: Rudyom
could sell the spell to any madman who wanted to destroy Btitannia. Makes you shudder!
(by Azurio) -
Does anyone in New Magincia notice that Alagner has been murdered? I cannot
seem to remember a crowd of people standing outside his house, and I do not remember anyone
mentioning his murder.
(by Elzair) -
If you tell Arcadion to kill a liche, he will tell you that it is too powerful
for him to kill. He has no trouble knocking off Lord British or King Draxinousum, though.
(by Corwin) -
It seems that it is a rather common practice for Guardian to speak directly into the minds
of those he deems particularily useful for his cause. This may be a little odd. In The Black
Gate, the Cube Generator was required for Big G to speak to people in Britannia.
It’s strange how he can speak to people in other worlds without any such device to transmit
his voice. Well, there’s nothing to support the claim that there isn’t such a device
somewhere on those worlds. Even more confusing: The Guardian did keep speaking to the Avatar
in Black Gate after the cube had been destroyed. Something is amiss here...
(by Crowley) -
Rudyom’s book “Observations of Black Rock” says that blackrock is absolutely
undestructable and can be melted or formed only by magic. But how the hell do they mine the
stuff in the mines of Vesper then? Their mining tools don’t really look so magical!
(by Trevor Clim) -
If you (almost) die, you are taken to Paws by, supposedly, Abraham and Elizabeth. The strange
thing is that after all the trouble you take to track them down, your companions don’t
even bother to question them while you’re asleep...!
(by Dino the Dark Dragon) -
In Forge of Virtue, when you give Erethian the Scroll of Infinity, he immediately proceeds
to read and decipher it. Thing is, Erethian is blind! I might need to investigate this further...
Erethian says that his blindness doesn’t impair his abilities when you ask about it,
but when you ask about books or about the Scroll of Infinity, he says something like “If
only I remember where I put it...”, showing clearly that he can’t see the books/scrolls,
let alone read them. Heck, you even have to fetch the Scroll of Infinity yourself because he
can’t see (after which you give it to him so that he can decipher it... odd).
(by Dino the Dark Dragon) -
Upon awakening Penumbra from her self-induced centuries-long slumber, she is immediately assailed
by the damaged ethereal waves. Once you place the blackrock pieces upon the four pedestals
surrounding her stone bed (which were positioned quite conveniently I might add, though one
may argue that her psychic abilities could have told her their construction was necessary 200
years ago), the material blocks the ethereal waves and her mental integrity is restored. What
I wonder is this: if the blackrock pieces actually do negate magic, then how can she enchant
the ethereal ring that the Avatar obtains from the Sultan of Spektran’s treasury, which
I am presuming takes magic to enchant?
(by BlueClaw) -
Travelling through the realm on a pilgrimage from shrine to shrine, I see that the shrines
are dilapidated and decrepit, neglected by the people. I go to Skara Brae, and see a desolate
ghost town, a burned-out ruin of a once thriving Town of Virtue. Then I wonder: just what the
hell is Lord British doing about all these problems? No wonder Britannia has a problem every
few centuries, it’s because he never gets his posterior off his throne and does something
about it. Skara Brae has a particularly nasty liche garnering forces to conquer Britannia;
what does Lord British do? He sits around doing nothing (unless of course you count his affair
with Nell), all the while the undead amass and prepare to lay waste to the realm of the living.
It’s no excuse whether he knows or does not know about the presence of Horance. From
all accounts, Skara Brae has been destroyed for a great many years...more than enough time
for Lord British to send a party to investigate and see what has occurred, and maybe - if he
is such a great sovereign that represents the Eight Virtues - work to restore the town to its
former glory. The same goes for the shrines as well - they embody the Virtues that Lord British
supposedly fought so hard to bring to Britannia. Superb responsibility there, Lord British.
Perhaps he should keep his pen in his own inkpot, stop fornicating with other people’s
fiances, and start focusing on the issues of the realm instead of himself. Just ruler indeed.
(by BlueClaw) -
When you rescue Garok Al-Mat from the dungeon he says,
“Come visit me in my house in the mountains, I’ll sell you reagents!”
But he is nowhere in Britannia afterwards.
(by Gallara) -
This one follows up on the nitpick about Jaana’s
trouble with magic and how it remains even after the ether is repaired. As we all know,
the poor girl gets tuckered out and has to rest after a simple healing spell. However, if you
temporarily kick her out of your party (say, in the middle of a dungeon for example) and start
offering her money again, all of a sudden she’s able to whip out those heals and resurrects
like crazy. Yet, when you invite her back into the party, she’ll once again be “too
tired” to do it for free. Perhaps the Avatar needs to find more trustworthy companions?
Where’s Saduj when you really need him?
(by Kane Magus) -
Sam talks about his wagon which he rides around New Magincia to sell flowers to people. However,
this wagon does not appear anywhere in the game, and there is no mention of it being sold or
destroyed.
(by Hyena of Ice) -
If you speak to Horance while he’s still evil, he says that he recently discovered that
a
“certain ore...if fashioned properly, can become the bane of the vaunted Lord British.”
He mentions that he’s also used the ore for building his fortress. The game of course indicates that this ore is blackrock. Blackrock - bane of LB - Blackrock Sword. If Horance knows this, surely Batlin knows this through his own studies or through the Guardian, and therefore Hook could know this. Why then does Batlin not put this knowledge to some use, considering the Fellowship intends to murder Lord British?
(by Derag) -
In the Book of the Fellowship’s traveller’s guide, Batlin uses the term “tourist” a lot. When you get to the part about the Britannian runes, he says that the runes might befuddle a casual tourist, and says they are beginning to fall out of fashion.
So the question is this: Where exactly are these “tourists” coming from, that they wouldn’t recognize the Britannian runic alphabet? They’d have to be coming from another planet, because Britannia is its own planet, isn’t it? Since the runes are still in use, anyone who can read would probably be taught how to read runes as well. The only signs you see written in the modern alphabet are Fellowship related signs...
(by Green Bamboo Mystery Peanut)
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