Home » Nitpicks » Ultima IX » Tapestry of Ages

• Ignorance of predecessors (37)
• Technical shortcomings (3)
• General problems (5)

Ignorance of predecessors

• There is an ankh on the clothes of the Stranger from Another World who fights Exodus on the Ultima III part - But there were no Avatar, ankh, and Virtues prior to Ultima IV!
  (I don’t think the ankh refers to the cover of the clerics manual in Ultima III...)
  
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• Lord British did not have white hair in Ultima IV.
  
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• Iolo did not have white hair in Ultima V. (As seen in the intro of Ultima V.)
  
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• Blackthorn wasn’t laid in chains at the end of Ultima V, but simply sent through a red moongate.
  
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• Blackthorn had long hair in Ultima V.
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• Iolo didn’t kill the Gargoyle priest in the intro of Ultima VI with a bow and arrows, but with a crossbow!(Perhaps there’s more to this.)
  
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• Ladies and gentleman, the worst inaccuracy on the Tapestry of Ages. Ultima VII fans, keep cool and don’t stop breathing: The destruction of the Black Gate.

  As far as the Tapestry is concerned, we’d have to call it “Slashing on the Black Rock” anyway. This is how it happened in Ultima VII: The Avatar used a wand from a safe distance, whose energy hit the Black Gate, which caused it to crumble down while the Guardian was trying to get through.

  In contrast, this is how it’s shown on the Tapestry: The Avatar furiously slashes on a rock, and there is no trace of the Guardian!

  Need I say more?

  (Maybe I’m completely wrong, and the scene is rather supposed to show the Avatar smashing the Blackrock statue of the Great Earth Serpent with the Serpent Sword at the end of Serpent Isle, because then, [almost] everything would be correct. However, unfortunately... When you click the Tapestry in the museum, this nice theory folds up like a house of cards.)

  
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• The execution at the beginning of Ultima VIII took place on docks next to the sea and was carried out by Shaana, a woman.
  
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• In the museum, you are told the following:

  “Batlin gathered the discontented masses for the Guardian.”

  That’s put in a very bad way. First of all, the Fellowship attracted all social classes. Second, the people had no idea the Guardian was involved. When he turned out to be the secret boss, almost everyone left the sect.
  
  (by Hacki Dragon)

  The patch rewords the sentence so that its content is now correct.

• Must I really mention that there the Tapestry of Ages did not exist before Ultima IX? The museum, by the way, was also not built until the time between Ultima V and VI. The only possible explanation why we never saw a Tapestry of Ages before: It previously hung on the south or east wall of the museum.

  While it’s true that we learn the Order of the Silver Serpent kept the Tapestry in former times, this brings up even three further questions:

  1. Why did the Order keep the Tapestry’s existence secret all the time?
  2. Why is the Tapestry in the museum now? Does the Order not feel like keeping the Tapestry anymore?
  3. Did the Order of the Silver Serpent even exist in the time of Ultima I?
  
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• The sky at the execution scene should actually be red or purple. (See the intro of Ultima VIII.)
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• The scene, in which the Avatar kills Exodus with a lance, never happened in reality. Exodus was defeated in a completely different way. The 4 cards you may now admire in the museum were used.
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• It’s really strange that we may admire Lord British “knighting” the Avatar with a sword. The Stranger became the Avatar when he found the Codex. Afterwards, he was instantly brought back to Earth by magical means. There’s never been an indication that the Avatar returned to Britannia between Ultima IV and V.
  
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• Lord British’s crown on the Tapestry looks different than in previous Ultimas.
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• The red cape was a typical Avatar attribute in Ultima VI and VII - Where is it on the Tapestry?
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• The appearance of all Avatar companions is totally wrong. Would it have been that hard to use the portraits of Ultima VI, VII, Underworld II, and Serpent Isle as a pattern instead of inventing new faces?
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• Maybe it’s a bit unilateral that the beginning of the Tapestry shows us how Mondain threatened Lord British. After all, Mondain also threatened the three other quarters (or actually: seven eights) of Sosaria in those times. Lord British just ruled over one half of the Lands of Lord British.
  
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• The dimension gate of Minax on the Tapestry should be white or silver. (That wouldn’t have been a problem for the artists, I suppose.)
  
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• In the intro of Ultima VI, the Gargoyle priest held the Book of Prophecies, which was most important for the game, in his hand...
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• The Tapestry’s take on the scene from Ultima VI seems to be a whole big inaccuracy. Is the blue thing in the background a moongate or the exit of cave? In both cases, there’s a mistake:
  • If it’s meant to be a moongate, then it should be red - and square, not round!
  • If it’s not a moongate, then it’s even worse, because in such a case, the Tapestry wants to make us believe that the scene happened in a room instead of an open area.
  
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• The Gem of Immortality on the Tapestry has a wrong color.
  
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• The Tapestry wants to tell us that Mondain created the Gem, but actually, he just took it from his father. (see the Book of Lore in Ultima 5)
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• Which one is Mariah and which one is Jaana? Jaana should be the woman with the druid staff, but she could as well be the blond woman in the middle, since the designers in Ultima VII agreed on Jaana having blond hair. Mariah has never blond anyway. So we’ve got at least one inaccuracy here.
  
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• The appearance of the Monitorian crematory is a bit too much. On the Tapestry, huge flames rise, while there was a small opening there in Serpent Isle.
  
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• The execution scene on the Tapestry is really complete nonsense. Look at the landscape in the background! There was just one big volcano in the centre of the island of Morgaelin, and no hilly countryside. In addition, everything was more cramped and smaller.
  (by Sycoraxx)
• On the Tapestry, the sun shines in Pagan. That’s not good, because the missing sunlight was a main attribute of Morgaelin and Tenebrae, the “City of Eternal Twilight”.
  (by Covenant)
• Shamino had no mustache in Ultima V (as seen in the intro of Ultima V).
  
  (by Angelo)
• Many will say this is too pedantic: once again, it’s about the scene of the Ultima VI intro. On the Tapestry, the Avatar’s hands are tied behind his head, while they were actually tied to the sides of his head...
  
  (by Angelo)
• The Pagan execution scene has its problems with small things, too: The axe should have only one blade. Why so little love for details?
  (by JTG Dragon)
• Why does the Ultima V part present us the eight Avatar companions? Ultima IV was the game in which those eight people played a major role, while you were free to choose your party in Ultima V. (They should rather show us Gorn, Toshi, and Saduj, hehe...)
  (by JTG Dragon)
• If you believe the scene with Minax in close-up is flawless, prepare to be set right: The special crown is missing, which you saw in the Ultima II manual and on Minax’ statue in Ultima VI and VII...
  
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• The Avatar uses the same sword throughout the Tapestry, but it should be a different one on two spots:
  1. He didn’t kill Minax with an ordinary sword but with the “Quicksword” Enilno.
  2. At the end Ultima VII, the Avatar had to use the Black Sword, because it was bound to him and could not be unequipped. (If you interpret this scene as the destruction of the Great Earth Serpent’s Blackrock Statue, the Avatar should use the Serpent Sword.)
  
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• A bucket wasn’t needed for the execution in Pagan, as the head fell directly into the water.
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• On the execution scene on the Tapestry, the Avatar appears to be angry and eager to interfere. In reality, it was different:
  The Avatar was still dazed by the trip to that alien world, shocked by what he saw, very cautious, and trying not to attract attention.
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• Let’s face it: The Tapestry is a propaganda tool. The portion of the Tapestry connected to the execution on the docks in Pagan mentions how the people of Pagan couldn’t be converted to virtue. Talk about giving a positive spin on events! When did the Avatar try to convert anyone in Ultima VIII? He doesn’t even mention the virtues in the game. Actually, Pagan converted the Avatar into a self-absorbed, irresponsible magic user who only cared about leaving that horrible place.
  (by Maximus Dragon)
• The description of Dupre’s sacrifice isn’t quite correct:
  It says he sacrificed and “saved our world from the Guardian’s grip”. However, the Guardian’s plan isn’t made clear at all in Ultima VII Part 2. (See Serpent Isle nitpicks.) Dupre’s sacrifice stopped Imbalance (eventually) that might have destroyed Britannia but wouldn’t have put it in the Guardian’s grip (unless in a very indirect manner). And if everyone in Britannia was dead like in Serpent Isle who cares if the Guardian shows up later?
  (by Maximus Dragon)

• Minax was a little girl when the Stranger killed Mondain, or so it says the Ultima II documentation. Quoting from the docs:

  So it was for several years - long enough for a child to grow to adulthood. No one wanted to notice when the disease began again.

  Then, in the part on the Tapestry where she is with Mondain, why does she look like an adult? Quite a mystery indeed...

  
  (by Gradilla Dragon)

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Technical shortcomings

• It’s strange that the Tapestry displays a small wall around the Guardian keep. The intro and the game show completely different surroundings!
  
  (by JTG Dragon)
• There are not many flawless scenes left on the Tapestry. The picture of the column does not show the lava at bottom...
  (by Tribun Dragon)
• They also forgot about the glyph decoration of the Column’s surface.
  
  (by Tribun Dragon)

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General problems

• Did the Tapestry actually predict all events, as it did with the final Ascension of the Avatar, or did it enlarge afterwards each time? Did it also predict the fall of Blackthorn’s regime? Or the peace between humans and Gargoyles? Or the end of the Quest of the Avatar?
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• Didn’t it confuse people when they looked at the Tapestry one morning and saw the Avatar talking to a big burning fire daemon? Why in the world does nobody ask him what happened in Pagan?
  
  (by Hacki Dragon)

  In the dialogue patch, you learn that the Wyrmguards recounted everything about the Avatar’s adventure in Pagan.

• The Tapestry leaves no doubt from the beginning that the Avatar is going to rise in some kind of higher existence at the end of the adventure. Given that, isn’t it irresponsible of the him to enter into a relationship with Raven? He knows very well that he is eventually going to break her heart, doesn’t he?
  (by Hacki Dragon)
• On the tapestry, you see the Avatar literally “ascending”. In reality, the end of the game looks different: the Avatar unites with the Guardian and becomes pure energy.
  
  (by Angelo)
• The Tapestry only uses future tense for the events that happen in Ultima IX (and only for those). Therefore, we must assume it was made knowing (somehow) what happened in Pagan before the events of Ultima IX started.

  Now we run into some problems. The tapestry says “The Guardian will rip Britannia asunder with giant evil columns”. (Notice the “will”, naturally saying it hasn’t happened yet?)

  If the people of Britannia knew that, then why did they remain living near them? They knew they were created by the Guardian and had to be part of his plan! Are they completely unable to put the Tapestry’s prophecies to some good use?

  
  (by Maximus Dragon)

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Ultima IX

• Britain
• New Magincia
• Moonglow
• Yew
• Minoc
• Trinsic
• Valoria
• Skara Brae
• Earth
• Lord British's Castle
• Terfin
• Flora and Fauna
• Topography
• Tapestry of Ages
• Journal
• General
• Dialogue patch

Was the Avatar evil in Pagan?

Yes
No
No, because the Tapestry in UA says he was virtuous
Your actions had to be evil, but there was no evil personality forced upon you
This is entirely up to your own interpretation

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