Games PC ULTIMA II User Manual

Ultima II™

By Lord British

Documentation by
Mary Taylor Rollo

Disclaimer

This document is a word-for-word digital copy of the printed Ultima II manual that came
with the original Ultima 2. It is intended to accompany the Ultima 1-6 CD compilation. Origin
apparently decided that this document was not necessary for redistribution when putting the CD
together. However, there's a wealth of information about the world of Ultima 2 within the pages
of this document. I find the exclusion of this document from the Ultima 1-6 CD to be an
oversight. The game can't be played or enjoyed to its fullest extent without the information
provided here. Thus, the existence of this document.

I tried to keep the documentation as close to the original as possible. However, I did take
the liberty to correct a few minor grammatical and spelling errors. Millions of thanks go out to
both Brian Reynolds ([e-mail]) and Scott Leonard (e-mail: [e-mail],
web address: http://members.aol.com/trigonman3/ultima.html) who provided me with
photocopies of their Ultima II documents. Without their help (and Origin’s), this document
wouldn’t exist. Each one was slightly different, due to different platforms (Apple, Atari,
Macintosh, etc.) so I combined the best of each to make this document. I also took the liberty to
change the layout of some topics for easier reading. I recommend a viewing percentage of 110%
with Font-Smoothing from the Plus! Pack.

I scanned in the few graphics that existed in all of the copies, but did not color them. I
would like to color them, but I am all colored-out. These documents have taken more of my time
that I care to admit and am more interested in getting them released than coloring the graphics. If
someone wishes to color the graphics in this document, e-mail me and I’ll get you the original
black and white scan. This document is provided "as is". No warranty is expressed or implied.

The electronic version of this document is not endorsed or supported by Origin (OSI). I
am not an employee of Origin, and am not affiliated with them in any way. I just really like
Ultima, and wanted to fill in the glaring gap of information Origin supplied to the owners of the
Ultima 1-6 CD. Please do not charge any money for this document in any shape, manner or
form. I charge no money for this, and neither should you. This whole package is freeware. Please
do not make changes to this archive and then re-distribute it. You may not chunk this file into
something smaller, and always be sure that the contents of this archive is unmodified.

If you have any comments, questions, suggestions or problems, direct them to
[e-mail]. In the meantime, please enjoy!

Ultima and Lord British are registered trademarks of Richard Garriott. Avatar, Quest of the Avatar, Spell
Book of the Eight Circles are trademarks of Origin Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

ULTIMA II WELCOME

Welcome to the universe of Ultima II. In your package, besides the handbook you’re reading,
you’ll find a warranty return card, two disks and three program sides, a player reference card, and
a cloth time map of the world according to Lord British.

THE WARRANTY CARD

Sierra On-Line, Inc. wants your continued business. If you fill out the enclosed product
registration card and return it to us (we have already paid the postage), you are covered by our
warranty. If your disk should fail within 90 days, return it to your dealer or directly to us, and we
will replace it free. After 90 days, enclose $5 and return the software directly to us. Sorry, without
the registration card you are not covered by the warranty.

THE HANDBOOK

In this booklet, you will find the instructions for getting along in the Ultima universe and the story
of how it all came about. Now, absolutely no one expects you to want to read the story, or even all
the instructions, before you take a good look at what you’ve got which means turning on your
computer and taking a look at the disks. So, be kind enough to read this page and the next; and
you’ll be up and playing Ultima II in no time. The story contains the background and hints you’ll
eventually want to know, but you can worry about them later.

THE TIME MAP

The cloth map that is provided is to be used to guide you through the corridors of time on Earth.

THE DISKS

In Ultima II, you’ll find friends and monsters, royal courts and musty dungeons, action and
adventure. You’ll be instructed to create your own player who will run around the Ultima universe
for you. Now lets look at the disks.

DISK 1 SIDE 1: THE ULTIMA II PROGRAM MASTER. This is the disk that you must use to
start the game.
DISK 1 SIDE 2: THE ULTIMA II PLAYER MASTER. The Player Master contains the prototype
seed from which adventurers are grown. Because a seed can only be nurtured once, NEVER USE
THIS DISK TO PLAY THE GAME! The Player Master is to be copied, once for every adventurer
you would like to create. Be sure not to remove the “write protect” tab on the upper right side of
the disk.
DISK 2 SIDE1: THE GALACTIC DISK. This disk contains in detail all of outer space and the
nine planets of the Solar system.

IBM ADVENTURES

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NOTE: This section originally referred to Apple and Atari setup information. Instead, this

section will briefly describe the IBM version of Ultima II that came with the Ultima 1-6
CD and patches necessary to play it properly.

Don’t bother running Ultima II from the CD. Instead, make a directory on your hard drive (U2 is
a good name) and copy the contents of the U2 directory on the CD-ROM to your hard drive. Then
(from DOS because it’s easier) go to the Ultima II directory and type: attrib -r *.* This will
remove the Read-Only attribute from every file.

You can now run UltimaII.Exe, but it will crash with a “Divide by Zero” error. You have two
options. Run MoSlo.Com (moslo /5 ultimaii.exe) and slow your computer down to the speed of an
XT computer.

Or install the U2Fix.Zip which accompanies this archive. It will let you play Ultima 2 without
resorting to MoSlo. Read the documentation that comes with it and follow the instructions. Of
particular importance is to press and hold the SHIFT key while starting the game with U2.Com.
OR, if you’re adventurous enough, you can patch the game yourself with an Hex editor and the u2­spdfx.txt file that comes with U2Fix.Zip.

However, now that you can play Ultima II, you’ll quickly discover that Origin made a big mistake
when putting the CD together. Every planet you go to will look like Earth because Origin used the
same names for the planets as they did for Earth. The game was divided into 3 disks, and each
disks’ filenames were identical. Origin simply copied the floppies to the CD—overwriting the other
planet’s definitions. To fix this, decompress and install the Ultima II -- The Fixed Version Patch
by Mike Marcelais, The Moonstone Dragon that came with this text file. (U2Patch.Zip)

Now you can play Ultima II the way it was supposed to be! Good luck, adventurer!

GETTING STARTED

To enter the world of Ultima II at this time, please refer to your Player Guide.

CREATE A CHARACTER

Making a friend is what you are doing when you choose “C” (for create a character) from the main
menu. The Player(s) you create is your alter ego who will negotiate the Ultima II universe at your
side. Together you will find friends and monsters, royal courts and misty dungeons, action and
adventure.

The skeleton of a character sketch will appear on the screen; you have ninety points to distribute
among various physical attributes that give soul to your character. Once you’ve distributed the
points, you get to choose your character’s physical attributes, sex, race, and its profession. Finally,
you can give it a name.

How you distribute attribute points obviously affects your character; not so obviously, however, your
choice of sex, class, and profession also has strong effects. Here’s how it all works.

THE ATTRIBUTES

STRENGTH determines the damage you can inflict on a foe in a fight. Naturally, each

foe’s attributes will also influence the relative success of your attack.

AGILITY influences your skill at wielding a weapon; some weapons require a

considerable amount of agility in order to use them at all. The higher your
points the more agile you are. Of course, you would never think of using it
this way, good agility also increases your chances of success at stealing.

STAMINA reflects your ability to defend against attack. Armour adds to your stamina.

Attacks from extremely strong monsters make it all irrelevant.

CHARISMA governs your success in bargaining with merchants. Prices are generally lower

when you are fun to have around.
WISDOM is required to cast spells successfully.
INTELLIGENCE is what you need to tell a balron from an angel, until it hits you. Actually

intelligence increases your skills in bargaining and in casting spells. The

more you have, the better your bargains and spells.
You must allocate at least ten points to each category. Clever players can increase their attributes

up to 99 points apiece during game play. Figuring out how to obtain the extra points is part of
earning them; they’re costly.

Some extra points come easily. Each race has a strong point that is reflected in attribute points for
your character; and assuming that your character must have some predilection for its profession,
that choice too alters one of its attributes. When you choose a race, profession and sex for your
character you add to his/her character attributes.

Here’s are the races:

Human +5 Intelligence
Elven +5 Agility
Dwarven +5 Strength
Hobbit +5 Wisdom

Now the professions:

Fighter +10 Strength
Cleric +10 Wisdom
Wizard +10 Intelligence
Thief +10 Agility

Finally, (and you may ponder whether this is not a rather strange sequence), you must give your
character a sexual identity. If you choose to make it a male, your character will gain strength

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points because males are usually stronger. If you choose to make it a female, your character will
gain charisma points.

Male +5 Strength
Female +10 Charisma

All you character needs now is a name, and the only stipulation here is that the name be no longer
than Rumpelstiltskin. If you try to make it longer, you might upset the program.

Look! You have a new friend. He/she will become your faithful comrade in arms. He/she will do
your bidding, fight your fights and find your treasures. Ultima II awaits you both of you.

MOVEMENT COMMANDS FOR IBM ADVENTURERS

On the surface of a planet, the right and left arrows control movement east and west; the up arrow
moves north and the down arrow moves south. In dungeons and towers, left and right arrows
control left and right turns; the up arrow moves forward and the down arrow retreats. In space,
movement is determined by xeno, yako, and zabo coordinates; refer to the Ultima II Galactic map
for the coordinates for your chosen destination.

KEY LETTER COMMANDS

A)ttack Lets you fight someone or something. Must be followed by a direction unless your

in a tower or dungeon. Ex: [A] [RETURN].

B)oard Lets you get on your horse, climb into a plane, strap into a rocket, board a ship.

(See “Xit” to change your mind.)

C)ast Casts the spell you have ready. (See “Magic.”) You can only cast spells in

dungeons and towers.
D)escend Lets you go down a level (by rope) in a dungeon or tower.
E)nter Enter a town, castle, dungeon or other landmark or read a sign. You must be

standing on the entrance before entering.
F)ire Shoots a ship’s guns once you’ve boarded.
G)et Pick up treasures, weapons, and armour. You must be standing on the item you

wish to get.
H)yperspace Catapults spaceship through space to the coordinates you specified.
I)gnite Lights a torch.
J)ump Lets you jump up and down which is a good way to release frustration especially

when things are not going well. Often used in tandem with “Yell.” (See “Yell.”)
K)limb Lets you go up a level (by rope) in a dungeon or tower.
L)aunch Toggles takeoff and landing in a plane or rocket. Landings must be on /Land

grass. Press any key to touch down rocket.
M)agic Readies a magic spell you know for casting. (See “Cast.”)
N)egate Stops time for all things farther than one square away from you, giving you a

chance to get out of a tight situation. “Negate” will only work for characters who

possess a particular magic item.
O)ffer Offers money (gold) as payment or bribe. If the non-player character that you’re

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offering to has nothing to give in return, it will accept your offer as a generous gift.
P)ass Allows one game turn to pass without doing anything. However, others will not

pass their turns. Pressing the spacebar accomplishes the same thing.
Q)uit Saves the game; allows you to continue, or turn off your computer. When you turn

it on again, you’ll pick up where you left off. “Quit” works only in the countryside

on Earth and you must not be aboard anything.
R)eady Equips you with your choice of any weapons your own.
S)teal Attempts to take items from stores without paying for them. May or may not work

for weapons, armour, food, transport. Be sure to plan an escape route ahead;

townspeople don’t take kindly to theft.
T)ransact Lets you talk with the people of Ultima’s universe. You must follow the command

by giving the direction toward which your communication is to take place. Because

the intricacies of winning—and even playing tips—are available only from

characters in the game, you should “Transact” as much as possible; don’t skip

anyone. You may even meet someone you know…
U)nlock Open doors—if you have the keys. “Unlock” must be followed by the direction of

the door you wish to unlock. Incidentally, in the universe according to Lord British,

locks gobble keys, so use them wisely.
V)iew Gives you, if you have a certain magical item, a bird’s eye view of a town or village,

or a satellite’s view of a planet. One viewing per unit of magic. “View” doesn’t

work in dungeons or towers. W)ear Outfits you in your choice of the armours that

you own.
X)it Exit. It won’t help a bit in the middle of a hairy dungeon, but it will get you out

from or off of anything you can board. (See “Board.”)
Y)ell Stops everything while you type in anything you feel like yelling—then gets on with

the game. In other words, you can let out your frustrations, but it won’t affect the

game in the least. Often used in tandem with “Jump.” (See “Jump.”)
Z)tatus Stops everything to display a text screen of your character’s attributes and

possessions. This is also the only command that affects a complete and open-ended

pause in the game.
Space Bar Pass.

MAGIC SPELLS

Only clerics and wizards can use magic. Nine spells fall into three categories.

SPELLS BOTH CLERICS AND WIZARDS CAN USE:

Light Creates magical illumination, and eliminates the need for a torch.
Ladder down Teleports you straight down one level in a tower or dungeon.
Ladder up Teleports you straight up one level in a tower or dungeon.

SPELLS ONLY CLERICS CAN USE:

Passwall Destroys the wall in front of you.
Surface Teleports you immediately to the surface of the planet that you are on from within a