“Good heavens Avatar, has your memory gone completely?”
Here you’ll find numerous open question in Ultima IX. Basically, all Ultima IX nitpicks that don’t fit into an other category will end up here.
- Ignorance of predecessors (35)
- Technical shortcomings (13)
- General problems (21)
The following 2 nitpicks are new:
Ignorance of predecessors
-
In no Ultima, the moongates worked exactly the same way as in the
predecessors, but in Ultima IX, the designers have smashed all imaginations of them. The same
applies to Nico’s strange Orb of the Moons.
- In earlier times, blue moongates automatically rose at night where moonstones were buried in the ground. The Orb of the Moons could be used everywhere!
- The destination of a blue moongate was determined by the moon phases.
- The destination of a red moongate (which was created by the Orb of the Moons) was determined by angle and distance used when throwing the Orb to the ground. In addition, the destination of a moongate created by the Orb wasn’t necessarily the location of a blue moongate!
- Speaking a mantra when using a moongate, now that’s a true novelty!
- There has never been a connection between shrines and moongates.For example, the moongates worked in Ultima VI although the shrines were occupied by the Gargoyles.
(by Hacki Dragon)If you’ve the patch installed, an attentive Avatar writes into his journal that the moongate has an odd color and that this may have been caused by the pollution of the ether at the beginning of the game. As for the other inaccuracies, Rudyom just says that the use of the moongates is still limited due to the Guardian or the Columns. Actually, there is no real explanation.
-
What do pentagrams and the four elements suddenly have to do with magic in
Britannia? In former times, it also worked without such stuff, didn’t it?
Mariah tells you (quite casually) that a new kind of spellcasting was invented, but in the rest of the game, no word is wasted on the subject. (They could have explained it so easily, just by saying that the Columns twisted the Ether into following more Pagan ways.
(by Hacki Dragon)In the patch, the new kind of spellcasting is made much clearer in Moonglow.
-
How comes Blackthorn is allied with the Guardian? The story of Blackthorn
is cut off when he leaves the Xenkan Monks as a purified man on Serpent Isle. In Ultima IX,
he has suddenly joined the Guardian...
(by Hacki Dragon) -
In Ultima VII, the Timelord said the Guardian couldn’t be stopped once
he entered Britannia - But in the end, he is stopped nonetheless.
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Did 20 or 200 years pass since the end of Serpent Isle? An argument for 200
is a dialogue in the tavern of Buccaneer’s Den. It would really explain a lot. But several
facts indicate 20 years is right: All people talk about how Britannia was ravaged by evil since
the Columns appeared 20 years ago. Well, now we could just suppose nothing happened
in Britannia for 180 years. But in Ultima VII, the Guardian permanently taunted the Avatar
with stories of his attack in Britannia... Whatever, this problem will never be completely
solved.
(by Hacki Dragon)The dialogue patch makes it clear: 50 years passed since the end of Serpent Isle, and the Columns appeared 20 years ago.
-
Oops, the designers forgot Vesper, the big worker town south of old Minoc!
(Destroyed? Why isn’t it mentioned in the Journal then?)
(by Hacki Dragon)Fortunately, Vesper has not fallen into complete oblivion in the dialogue patch. At least you learn that the town was destroyed.
-
Why has the Avatar forgotten all mantras? Sooner or later, this is
getting old, isn’t it? In Minoc, there is an old folk song that children often sing...
(Of course, there’s still a certain theory...)“The Avatar’s back - lo and behold! The mantra he wants to know. For ’Cah’, demand a piece of gold, what a fool, let’s go!”
(by Hacki Dragon) -
A book in Ultima IX tells us where the eight Avatar companions live. According
to that book, Geoffrey lives in Valoria... Why did he leave Lord British’s Castle? And
Iolo lives in Britain? He lives in the forest, doesn’t he? Shamino, too, lived in Britain
in Ultima VII. Why did he move to Skara Brae? Did the companions not have something
better to do than to change their places of residence in face of the threat by the
Guardian?
(I don’t say nothing of this can’t be explained, but in previous Ultimas, you got more nice background information.)
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Stonegate actually sank down in the swamps in Ultima VII...
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The Avatar Companions have been a well-working team since Ultima IV. Why didn’t
they explore the dungeons together?
(by Hacki Dragon) -
I still remember my thoughts when I first saw the morphing item (Sphere, Cube,
Tetrahedron) in Mythran’s house in Ultima VIII. I thought:
Wow, this must have something to do with the generators in Ultima VII! I’m desperate to learn all secrets behind it!
When the freaky end music sounded through the speakers during the Ultima IX credits, I knew I’d never find out.Of course, you may now argue that the morphing object was actually just a gag made by the creators of the game. It was meant to represent the old Electronic Arts symbol of a circle, square, and triangle. When you clicked on it, the Avatar bowed down in reverence to it and said something along the lines of
“One day I may be wise enough to yield your infinite power... but not yet.”
Also, if you put it in your backpack, it said something clever each time you clicked it.Regardless of this, I had the impression that the item was relatively important, and I expected to see it again in Ultima IX.
(by Hacki Dragon) -
The shrine-cleansing stuff seems familiar, doesn’t it? Yup, because of the complex and
non-linear plot of Ultima V, which could sometimes also require you to restore a shrine.
Of course, the entire procedure worked completely differently in those times. You needed the
proper Word of Power instead of sigil, mantra, and glyph.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
An interesting view: With little changes, Ultima IX could have taken place immediately
after Ultima VI. The two major plot elements of the last trilogy (Ultima VII - IX)
were just ignored. Nothing is left from the influence of the Fellowship,
and the evil deeds on Pagan don’t have any consequences for the Avatar
either. It’s ironical that the only Ultima trilogy that was planned as a trilogy, has
an ending that somehow disregards the previous two parts.
(by Lord Eternal Dragon)In the patch, the people in the Blue Boar tavern say that in spite of everything, the Fellowship was not too bad. There are some other references, too, e.g. one in Covetous.
-
The main points against what we hear about the Guardian’s origin in Ultima IX:
-
In
Ultima VII, the Wisps describe the Guardian as an
“extradimensional being”
. They say that he cannot be beaten in“his”
world. - The history of Pagan reveals that the Guardian was present at the battle against the “Destroyer” (and we all know who that was) and the war between the Pagans and the Zealans. This happened centuries before the Avatar’s arrival in Pagan and means the Guardian ruled in Pagan at least for centuries. Ultima IX takes place less than 300 years after Ultima 4 (according to most sources). Of course, time flows differently in other worlds etc. But the meeting of the Avatar and Arcadion indicates that this era of Pagan is already in Britannia’s past. All information about the Guardian before Ultima IX point toward the fact that the great villain is very old - much older than the Avatar.
- Why does the Guardian conquer so many other worlds when he is just interested in Britannia? Serpent Isle, Underworld II, and Ultima VIII made it clear that the main reason for the Guardian being interested in the Avatar is because the Avatar once stopped him from coming through the Black Gate.
(Richard Garriott himself once claimed that the Guardian’s origin was the Shadowlords, or rather the Gem of Immortality. That would have made more sense.)
(by Lord Eternal Dragon) -
In
Ultima VII, the Wisps describe the Guardian as an
-
In Silver Seed, which takes places before Ultima IV, the three witches know
the Guardian. According to Ultima IX, the Guardian can’t have existed back then.
(by Roman) -
Remember what they promised us for Ascension? Fixing the loose strands of the series. Since
you see Mordra dead in Ultima VII and learn that Vardion is her grandson in
Ultima VIII, you should expect that Ultima IX sheds some light on this case.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
What happened to Arcadion and the Black Sword? Although the storyline with
Arcadion appeared to be quite finished in Serpent Isle, a little more information about him
would certainly be nice, especially in regards to his presence in Pagan.
(by Artic Blaze Dragon)In the patch, Arcadion appears in Moonglow.
-
Why do you have to speak the mantras only once at the shrines? In Ultima IV,
V, and VI, you had to chant them three times in a row.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
What is it with those sigils? They never appeared in any Ultima before. Maybe
they are those items from the shrines in Ultima VII, but this would only open up dozens of
other plot holes.)
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Surprise: The designers forgot about the Avatar’s tattoo from Monitor
on Serpent Isle. Who am I kidding?
(by Fissif's Dragon) -
There’s a nice discrepancy between Martian Dreams and Ascension regarding the
Avatar philosophy. When you are tested by the Shadowlords on Mars, Astaroth, the Shadowlord
of Hatred tells you, upon giving reasons why the Shadowlords still exist within everyone, even
the Avatar:
Ascension, as you know, wants to make us believe that the Avatar is completely purified. Are you completely purified? Most likely not.“No soul in life can be purged completely of virtue or vice.”
(by Mimu) -
The class system in Britannia. It first appeared as a plot element in Ultima
VII. In Underworld II, it culminated in the servants’ strike lead by Nanna. So, what’s
up in Ascension? Instead of showing the fans which measures promised by Lord British in Underworld
II have actually been taken...
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The death spell takes away half of your hitpoints. Why? It didn’t do
so in previous Ultimas. (Other spells also change slightly, but this one is a bit extreme,
isn’t it?)
(by Tribun Dragon) -
What happened to the magic carpet from Ultima VII? Did the stupid companions
lose it?
(by Azurio) -
In Ultima IX, fighters can cast spells - This directly contradicts all
previous Ultimas.
(by Dino the Dark Dragon) -
It seems Lord British forced his people to change their language. Elizabethan English (or rather
“Ultima English”) has gone; no more “thou” and “thee”.
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Boy, almost all books in this game are from Ultima VI and VII! Book
printing hasn’t been a thriving business the last years in Britannia, I suppose.
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Where on earth have all the people from Ultima VII gone? Only 20 years have
passed! Oh well, who cares about a simple girl guarding the Shrine of Compassion when you can
have a hot wench instead? Likewise, what has happened to little Spark is fairly unimportant
when your quest is to save entire Britannia, isn’t it?
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Where is Sentri?
Of course, he could be dead by now anyway. But he was already more than 200 years old in Ultima VII, being a young and healthy lad despite of it, and the Avatar should at least ask for his old friend!
(Perhaps a predatory fish ate Sentri, leaving only his boots.)
(by Hacki Dragon)In the patch, Shamino tells us about the tragic death of Sentri in war.
-
So, how did Iolo, Gwenno, and Shamino get back from Serpent Isle to Britannia?
Tell me!
(by Hacki Dragon)In the dialogue patch, you finally get to know it: Erstam helped them by opening a special kind of Black Gate.
-
As you are told in the game, the 8 Circles are directly related to the 8 Virtues. This is most
strange, because on Serpent Isle, spellcasting took shape in a way very similar to Britannia;
you even had a number of identical spells, however, there were 9 Circles on
Serpent Isle! What was the designers’ intention? Were they even aware of the
fact that there indeed were 9 Virtues on Serpent Isle? (Ethic, Discipline, Logic,
Tolerance, Enthusiasm, Emotion, Harmony, Dedication, Rationality) Well, I actually don’t
think so... Besides: Do they want to make us believe that the number of ethical principles
of a society directly dictates the number of different spell types? May we conclude
that there are 10 Circles of Magic in Christianity?
(by Hacki Dragon) -
In Ascension the runes have the symbol of the virtue on both sides,
directly contradicting Ultima VI, in which we were told that the runes have a letter on one
side.
(by Crowley) -
What happened to the Isle of Fire that rose from the sea in Ultima VII? It’s
not even mentioned in UA...
(by Wampyre Dragon) -
What happened to Lord British’s child? In Ultima VII, if Lord British died, the Avatar
would find a will on his body in which he admits to having an illegitimate affair with Nell
and conceiving a child, and he leaves his kingdom to that child. So what happened to the child
and the mother? Lord British must be losing an immense portion of his mind if he cannot remember
his own child. (Mind, though, that some say this was only an easter egg.)
(by Elzair) -
Anyone noticed the air of formality the Avatar uses around Lord British in UA?
In Ultima VI, the party referred to the king as “his nibs”, and “Mr. Nose”.
In Ultima VII, the king gives the Avatar a big hug upon first seeing him, and further jokes
are made among them. However, in Ascension, the Avatar’s always bobbing up and down in
that silly little bow he has, and calling him “My Liege”, and whatnot. They’ve
become incredibly distant. I don’t like it. It’s stupid.
(by Jets Connor)
Technical shortcomings
-
What’s the purpose of all the flickering of the moongates? Of course,
you could argue that the designers had the right to put this into the game, since Ultima IX
was the first in the series to offer the technical possibilities to do so, but on the other
hand, all images of the moongates in several manuals showed a quiet gate each time.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
In the closing cutscene, you see how the eight companions simultaneously put
the runes into the dungeons. That’s impressive, especially in Shamino’s
case: In the minimum amount of time possible, he managed to get into the innermost part of
the Stygian Abyss without any trouble! Besides, isn’t it very odd that the events
on Terfin and in the dungeons take place at the very same time? They don’t have
wristwatches in Britannia.
(by Hacki Dragon) -
I’ve been too lazy to count the number of conversations in which the Avatar writes
the name of the person he talks to into his journal although that person didn’t
introduce him- or herself.
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Taking a close look at a Britannian globe (e.g. in Samhayne’s house), you’ll notice
that it shows Britannia in its former geographical shape.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Raven must have attached a hidden motor to the Silver Hart. When the Avatar travels
to a different place via a moongate, Raven is already there.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
As we know from former times (e.g. from Ultima V’s Book of Lore), Britannia is one of
9 planets that circle the sun of the Britannian system. However, if you look at the maps
of the solar system in Ultima IX, then you will only find 2 planets next
to Britannia and its moons...
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Did they suddenly outlaw lockpicks in Britannia? They would be handy from
time to time to open locked chests and doors...
(see theory)
(by Artic Blaze Dragon) -
A tricky topic: There are far more people than beds in Britannia! I’d
even go one step further and claim that the fact we see any beds at all shows the designer’s
original intention
to include NPC schedules.
(by Artic Blaze Dragon) -
You have to wonder if they abolished cellar stairways in Britannia, considering
the huge amount of teleporter fields in the houses!
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The runes previously had a different shape.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
There’s discrepancy between the Columns in the final cutscene and those
in the game. In the video, they are very irregular and bulky. In the game, their surface is
smooth.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Aren’t all the new architectural styles all over Britannia amazing?
As if the people hadn’t anything better to do than redesigning their towns in face of
the Guardian’s attack.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
There falls rain instead of snow even in the highest snowy regions and the Northern Arctic
Sea... The weather in Ultima VII was much more realistic compared to this, wasn’t it?
Ultima IX loses.
(by Tribun Dragon)
General problems
-
When you face the Guardian the first time in Ultima IX, he sends Blackthorn away, and afterwards,
he mentions:
I wonder for what reason does the Guardian need Blackthorn? For what reason does he need the Wyrmguards? The Guardian needs no help. He just has to snip with his finger to kill any person in Britannia.“Isn’t he a worm? But I still need him.”
(by Hacki Dragon) -
When the Avatar attacks the Guardian, he hurts himself by doing so, but the Guardian
can shoot lightning flares at the Avatar without any trouble.
(by Lord Eternal Dragon) -
What the heck has Sentri got to do with jumping higher?
(by Avatarsgarbidge) -
The whole game never actually tells us what happened in Britannia. It looks
as follows:
While the Avatar’s in Pagan, the Guardian enters Britannia and destroys a few towns and keeps; He also kills many people. Part of this is somehow accomplished by the Columns, which eventually steal virtue from the people. Now he retreats to his fortress on Terfin and waits for 20 years until the Avatar returns.
Shortly after the hero’s arrival, he blabs something about his plans to conquer Britannia, ignoring the fact that Britannia has been conquered long since. (Remember Valoria? He kills a man completely out of the blue, just snipping his fingers. Does he still need a plan?)
The people in Britannia have apparently gotten used to the Guardian bullying the kingdom and living in Terfin. Yet nobody talks about it to the Avatar, not even Lord British. The good lord doesn’t even think of mobilizing Britannia against the Guardian. They just all wonder where the Columns come from!
The Guardian now watches how the Avatar turns off all his Columns, without batting an eyelid. Although he’d certainly be able to put an energy shield around Terfin or redirect vessels, he allows the Avatar to enter the isle and to get rid of him. He doesn’t even think of fighting him, but suddenly changes his mind when the Avatar confronts him face to face at the end.
That’s the result when you don’t have enough time to come up with a somehow plausible plot. I don’t think Lord British had such a wacky end in mind when he once planned the Guardian trilogy.
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Who are the Wyrmguards, where do they come from, what do they want, why are
they commanded by Blackthorn?
(by Hacki Dragon)The dialogue patch gives us the following answers: The guards are fighters recruited from all worlds conquered by the Guardian.
-
Blackthorn and the Guardian had 20 years to find the lenses. But no, they
let the Avatar get them!
(by Hacki Dragon) -
At the end, you get far too few infos about the origin of the Guardian. You
are just told (approximately), why and when he came into being, but the designers
decided not to tell the player where and how it happened. I had expected
more than this.
(by Hacki Dragon) -
So, what did the Guardian and Blackthorn want to know from the Codex?
(by Hacki Dragon) -
In the end, one question must be asked about Blackthorn: Why could he only catch the
Avatar once? Someone should have told him to hide with some Wyrmguards behind a rock
and wait until the brave hero appears - Done!
(by Hacki Dragon) -
The Sigils of Virtue cause great confusion: Sometimes they are identical to
the symbol on the rune (like the Chalice of Honor), but in other cases, they differ completely
(like the Quill and the Scales of Justice).
(by Hacki Dragon) -
It happens quite often in the game that a surprised Avatar asks:
Well, let’s see: A blond giant with blue eyes, a virtuous look, and a big ankh on his chest, who looks very similar to the Avatar on the Tapestry of Ages, runs around holding a sword and asking questions about the Columns - Who in the world could that be?“How did you know that I’m the Avatar?”
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Something more thoughtful: Beginning with Ultima IV, the story of every Ultima was
based on a certain idea. In Ultima IV, everything was directly about the eight Virtues,
while Ultima V was about the problems of turning moral into laws. Ultima VI refreshed the subject
of “Tolerance”, and Ultima VII was about collectivism. (Well, that’s my own
interpretation, of course.) Ultima VIII dealt, in some way, with the question: Does the end
justify the means?
But what about Ultima IX? If there are problems in society, can you get rid of them by just solving a few puzzles and fighting some monsters in a dungeon, eventually carrying out a magical ritual at a shrine? Herein lies the great problem of Ascension. So, if the basic idea of re-establishing virtue in that way is cheap, then at least the quests needed for doing so should be more profound, right? Well, that’s unfortunately not the case in Ultima IX. The good ’n evil scheme of the fight against the Guardian in Ultima IX rather reminds you of the old days of the first three Ultimas. Let’s face it: In Ultima IX, the Guardian is nothing more than the great villain. The fact that good and evil finally unite doesn’t help much after you’ve seen it in all Britannian towns: People are either good or evil.
(by Hacki Dragon)The patch makers could not perform miracles, but at least they cared about those topics. During a conversation with Aleena in the museum, the Avatar wonders if the people are really just puppets of the runes. Aleena then tells you that the runes are actually just symbols, which may guide people - That’s how it should be!
-
Where is Hawkwind? Why does he never appear in his physical form before the
Avatar as in Ultima IV and (as Time Lord) in Ultima VII?
(by Angelo) -
Here’s a truly open question: What happened to the Avatar companions after the
game? Could they safely escape the dungeons? Or were they killed when the Columns
crumbled down? (I’d like to add that it’s also unclear if the runes survived the
whole action. Maybe they were destroyed - Well, Aleena won’t be happy about it...)
(by Angelo) -
Why does Hawkwind stop helping the Avatar after Stonegate? Isn’t he
allowed to do more because of all the favor he’s done to Britannia in the past? (His
letter in the Abyss slightly indicates this, but it’s not backed by any dialogue.)
(by Artic Blaze Dragon)In the patch, Hawkwind was replaced with Shamino’s spirit, who finds contacting the Avatar most difficult, and so he cuts off the connection for a while.
-
Did clocks suffer the same fate
as lockpicks and crossbows? Wall clocks, grandfather clocks, sundials... All gone!
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Do they have a problem with the Isle of the Avatar in Britannia? At several
occasions, we are told that it has sunken into the seas, despite the fact it’s still
there!
(by Sergorn Dragon) -
So, do we actually get an explanation why the Avatar isn’t affected at all by
the columns?
(by Miguel Nollet) -
On the subject of blackrock: Why doesn’t a blackrock armor protect you at all
from magical attacks?
(by Miguel Nollet) -
If the Columns have rendered magic unusable for 20 years, why are there still merchants dealing with reagents? With their goods becoming useless, they should have gone bankrupt long since!
(OK, so this kind of useless national subsidy is where all the taxes of the good and hard-working Britannian people have gone... Thank you, Lord British!)
(by Tribun Dragon) -
It’s very strange that you can’t fill a spellbook but still create magical scrolls
with higher circle spells. The Guardian is inconsequent. Why doesn’t he disturb all
magic? His generator back in Ultima VII did paralyze everything, after all.
(by Tribun Dragon)
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