Ultima V Player’s Guide

Credits

I found a file on ftp.uwp.edu, which provided a sketchy solution to the game. I used the table of mantras and words of power, and also the shadowlords names from that file. The author’s name was Blue Dragon. Mark Mierzejewski and Detlef Koehlers were very helpful in putting the finishing touches on this file. The world map was created by Andrew Schultz.

Introduction

Ultima 5 was written by Origin Systems, and was my favorite game in the series growing up. I replayed it in the mid-90’s and wrote this guide when I did it. I’m posting it here for nostalgic reasons. If anyone still plays and finds it useful, shoot me a note.

For people that are interested in playing, it looks like the best way to get a copy is with this bundle on GOG.com: Ultima™ 4+5+6 Bundle

Documentation

Most people playing this game today are unlikely to have the full (or any) documentation. Notably, the GOG version of Ultima V includes only a text version of the “Player’s Guide” which is one of the least valuable documents.

Museum of Computer Adventure Game History is a good source for the original documents. The two most important ones are linked below.

Quick Reference - If you read only one document, read this
Paths of Destiny - The official cluebook

World Map

This map (courtesy of Andrew Schultz) shows the locations of all of the locations that can be entered on the top-level world map. This includes all towns, castles, keeps, huts, villages, dungeons, and shrines (marked with an abbreviation of the associated virtue).

There are also a few special locations marked on the map such as the Glass Sword location, the waterfall entrance to the underworld, and the location of the Mandrake and Nightshade reagents (the reagents are only available at midnight).

NOTE: The shrine of Spirituality is not on this map. You reach that shrine by entering any Moongate at exactly midnight.

Ultima V World Map

Companions

You start the game with Shamino (although he is injured) and Iolo, there is no reason to get rid of either of these two characters. The following is a table of other adventurers in the game who will join your quest, along with some useful information about them. I have assigned each character a rating which consists of the sum of the three statistics, plus the number of levels the character may still advance. This rating is useful for choosing which characters to have in your party, but doesn’t take into account the character’s spellcasting ability. Do not ask Saduj to join your party. Although he is one of the better characters, he is a member of the oppression, and will turn on you in combat.

NAME	CLASS	LEVEL	STR	INT	DEX	RATING	LOCATION
Johne	Mage	3	14	24	20	63	Ararat
Mariah	Mage	3	12	22	20	59	The Lycaeum
Jaana	Mage	2	15	21	17	59	Yew
Saduj	Bard	4	21	20	26	71	Lord British’s Castle
Iolo	Bard	3	19	17	21	62	Start
Gwenno	Bard	3	17	17	22	61	Britain
Julia	Bard	2	21	18	19	64	Empath Abbey
Toshi	Bard	1	17	16	21	61	Empath Abbey
Katrina	Ftr	5	22	18	21	64	New Magincia
Geoffrey	Ftr	3	24	16	21	66	Buccaneer’s Den
Dupre	Ftr	3	22	16	18	61	Bordermarch
Sentri	Ftr	2	23	19	20	68	Bordermarch
Shamino	Ftr	2	20	16	22	64	Start
Gorn	Ftr	2	21	15	19	61	Blackthorne’s Castle
Maxwell	Ftr	1	21	14	19	61	Serpent’s Hold

NAME	EQUIPMENT
Johne	Leather, Dagger, Amulet of Turning
Mariah	Cloth, Dagger
Jaana	Cloth, Dagger
Saduj	Iron Helm, Scale, Morning Star
Iolo	Leather Helm, Leather, Main Gauche, Short Sword
Gwenno	Leather Helm, Leather, Sling
Julia	Chain Coif, Leather, Spear
Toshi	Cloth, Main Gauche, Ring of Protection
Katrina	Cloth, Club
Geoffrey	Spiked Helm, Scale, Mace, Spiked Shield, Spiked Collar
Dupre	Iron Helm, Scale, 2H Sword
Sentri	Leather Helm, Leather, Short Sword, Small Shield
Shamino	Leather Helm, Ring Mail, Short Sword, Small Shield
Gorn	Iron Helm, Scale, Club, Large Shield
Maxwell	Chain Coif, Leather, Throwing Axe, Small Shield

MANTRAS and WORDS OF POWER

This table lists all of the mantras and words of power which must be discovered in each town

VIRTUE	MANTRA	WORD OF POWER	DUNGEON
Honesty	Ahm	Fallax	Deceit
Compassion	Mu	Vilis	Despise
Valor	Ra	Inopia	Destard
Justice	Beh	Malum	Wrong
Sacrifice	Cah	Avidus	Covetous
Honor	Summ	Infama	Shame
Spirituality	Om	Ignavus	Hylothe
Humility	Lumm	Veramocor	Doom

LOCATIONS

Name / Location	Description
Bordermarch K’A” A’P”	This is the home of Sir Simon, and is located just west of the Southern tip of Spiritwood. You need the rope and grapple to get in, because the island is covered with hills and mountains. Two companions can be found here.
Farthing P’A” E’A”	This is the home of Lord Seggallion, and is located just Southwest of Jhelom. The keep is Concealed by the dense forest on the island. Lord Seggallion has the Spyglass.
Windemere A’I” P’I”	This is the home of Elistaria, and is located just off the Southwest tip of the Isle of the Avatar. The black badge and the jewelled sword and shield can be found here.
Ararat D’K” D’B”	This is Captain Johne’s ship, wrecked on an island in the Underworld beneath the dungeon Despise. Captain John will join your party.
Stonegate E’K” J’E”	The home of the Shadowlords is located in the mountains South of Minoc. Lord British’s Scepter is guarded in this keep.
Blackthorn’s Castle E’K” J’E”	The home of Blackthorn, this is located on an island west of the southern tip of the Isle of the Avatar. Lord British’s crown is guarded here. You can also find the jeweled sword and the sword of chaos here.

SPECIAL ITEMS

Name / Location	Description
Magic Carpet	There are at least two locations where this can be found. The easiest is Lord British’s bedroom in his castle. It is lying on the ground by the magically locked door. The other carpet is right outside a dungeon entrance in the underworld.
Grapple	Lord Michael of Empath Abbey has this. In order to get it you have to ask him about the ‘Grapple’. The Grapple will allow you to climb over low mountains.
HMS Cape Plans	These can be found in the shipwright’s shop in East Brittany. They are in one of the dressers in the room with two locked doors. These plans, when used, will double the speed of your ship when the sails are up.
Sextant	The sextant is kept by David, who runs the lighthouse south of Trinsic. You need to ask him about the ‘Sextant’. The Sextant can be used outside, at night, to give you the coordinates of a location.
Spyglass	Lord Seggallion has the Spyglass, you need to ask him about the ‘Spyglass’, then tell him that the eight planets represent the eight virtues. You can use the spyglass to predict the movement of the Shadowlords, as they are represented by three comets.
Skull Keys	These can be used to unlock magically locked doors. 5 of them can be found by searching the dead tree in the Northwest corner of Minoc. Every day, these five will are regenerated. Another five can be purchased from Kristi, the cook in Serpent’s Hold.
Black Badge	Elistaria, who lives in Windemere has the black badge. You need to ask her about the ‘Oppression’, then give her the password.
Glass Sword F’A” E’A”	his can be found in the Southwesternmost tip of the Serpent Spine mountains, just West of Britain. You need to climb the mountains with the grapple in order to find the grassy area within the mountains. Search there to find the sword. The glass sword will kill any creature in one blow, but breaks in the process. A new sword will appear here if you use (and break) the glass sword.
Mystic Weapons and Armour O’J” O’J”	These are located in the underworld, in a lava pool just north of the underworld entrance to Hylothe. You have to search repeatedly in order to get them all.
Jeweled Sword and Shield	Both of these Items can be retrieved from ?? who lives in Windemere. Simply ask him for ‘Items’. Another place to the jeweled sword only is the second level of Blackthorn’s castle, on the west side behind a bunch of magically locked doors. It’s really not that important where these items are, because the sword never does any damage, the shield doesn’t protect you, and you don’t need them ever, at any point in the game.
Sword of Chaos	This can be found on the second floor on Blackthorn’s castle on the East side behind a bunch of magically locked doors. You probably don’t want this weapon, because it possesses whichever character wields it when you enter combat, then disappears afterwards.

PASSWORDS

It is often useful to know the following passwords in order to get information from people.

Resistance - Dawn
Oppression - Impera

LOCATIONS OF SHOPS

The following tables specify which shops are in which towns. They also detail what reagents are available in each town.

Town	HEALER	ARMS	SPELLS	FOOD	INN	HORSE	SHIP	GUILD
Moonglow			***	***
Britain		***		***	***
Jhelom		***		***	***		***
Yew		***	***	***
Minoc	***	***					***
Trinsic	***	***				***
Skara Brae	***		***		***
New Magincia				***
Paws				***	***	***		***
Cove	***		***
W. Brit				***
N. Brit					***	***
E. Brit	***						***
Buc’s Den		***		***	***		***	***
Lord Brit		***				***
Lycaeum			***
Empath Abbey	***
Serpent Hold		***
BorderMarch		***

Town	ASH	MOSS	SILK	GARLIC	GINSENG	PEARL	MDRAKE	NSHADE
Moonglow			***	***	***		***	***
Yew	***	***	***	***	***
Skara Brae	***	***			***	***
Cove		***	***			***	***	***
Lycaeum		***					***	***

You should only buy the best weapons. Don’t waste time on intermediate ones. The next table lists the stores which sell the best weapons, armor, and items in the game.

WEAPON	STORE LOCATION
Plate Mail	Trinsic, Lord British’s Castle
Iron Helm	Minoc, Trinsic
Spiked Helm	Jhelom
Spiked Shield	Jhelom
Magic Shield	Bordermarch, Lord British’s Castle
Magic Bow	Bordermarch, Britain
Magic Axe	Yew
Halberd	Trinsic, Serpent’s Hold
Invis. Ring	Buccaneer’s Den
Regen. Ring	Bordermarch
Prot. Ring	Lord British’s Castle

UNDOCUMENTED SPELLS

CIRCLE	SPELL	EFFECT	REAGENTS
1	An Ylem	Negate Matter	Garlic, Moss
2	In Xen Mani	Create Food	Ginseng, Garlic, Mdrake
6	Rel Xen Bet	Turn Foe to Rat	Ash, Silk, Mdrake, Nshade

THE CRYSTAL SHARDS

The Shadowlords were spawned by three pieces of Mondain’s gem. You need to recover these three shards from the underworld in order to destroy the shadowlords and recover Lord British’s Sceptre.

Shard	Notes
Falsehood F’A” M’A”	The shard of falsehood lies in the underworld below the dungeon Deceit. From that entrance to the underworld, you should go Southwest across the mountains, then Northwest at an intersection. When the path splits, go Northeast. You Should soon find a series of waterfalls which you should go over, and the shard is on an island in the middle of that lake
Hatred E’B” I’C”	The shard of Hatred lies in the underworld below the dungeon Covetous. From the entrance, go Southeast, eventually winding around to the Northwest. There is a mountainous region with the shard in the middle. You can either blink in or climb the low mountains with the grapple you enter the region from the Northwest corner, and wrap around clockwise.
Cowardice L’A” L’I”	The shard of cowardice lies in the underworld below Hylothe. There are a series of chambers surrounded by high mountains. You need to use the Blink spell in order to find the chamber with the shard.

LORD BRITISH’S ARTIFACTS

You need these four items in order to complete the game.

Artifact	Notes
Crown	The crown is kept on the top floor of Blackthorn’s castle. You have to have at least one skull key in order to get it. If you have the black badge, then the guards will not bother you, and if you have the carpet, you can avoid the traps more easily, but neither are necessary. The crown will negate all magic when used, for an infinite period of time, so it is very useful in battling powerful creatures, especially the ones that possess you.
Scepter	The scepter is in Stonegate, guarded by the shadowlords. You need the carpet in order to avoid the trapdoors that surround the scepter. If you are quick, you can steal the scepter before you kill the shadowlords, but if you don’t kill them, one of them will steal it back as you enter the final dungeon. The scepter destroys all magic fields, both the ethereal barriers, and the regular poison, gas, fire, and electric fields.
Amulet	This is in the underworld under the dungeon Destard. You can also enter this part of the underworld by falling into the underworld through certain waterfalls. If you follow the path of Lord British’s last journey, you should find it without any problem. The amulet is needed in order to provide light in the dark region around the final dungeon. If you don’t use it, you will be trapped in the darkness.
Sandalwood Box	This is located in Lord British’s bedroom on the top floor of his castle. Once you are in his bedroom, sit in the chair in front of the harpsichord, and play 678-987-8767653. The box is used by Lord British at the very end of the game in order to escape from the underworld.

DESTROYING THE SHADOWLORDS

In order to destroy the shadowlords, you need to go to the keep of the principle opposite the shadowlord, yell the name of the shadowlord, then use the shard when the shadowlord stands over the flame.

SHADOWLORD	NAME	PRINCIPLE	KEEP
Falsehood	Faulinei	Truth	Lycaeum
Hatred	Astaroth	Love	Empath Abbey
Cowardice	Nosfentor	Courage	Serpent Hold

STARTING THE GAME

Like most Role Playing Games, it is difficult to stay alive in the beginning. The game gets much easier once you buy your first magic axe. One approach to starting the game is the following.

Walk from Iolo’s Hut to Yew. Find the jail, and climb down the grating. At the East end of the East/West passage, there is a secret door on the South wall. If you follow that passage, you will find a silver sword in a barrel guarded by two rats. Towards the west end of that passage you can find Jaana who will join your party. You may want to buy extra garlic and ginseng before you leave so you won’t run out of cure poison spells. If you are 5th level, then you should also buy the ingredients for, and make some magic unlock spells.
When you leave Yew, go directly to Britain. Try to fight orcs and trolls while avoiding rats and snakes. By doing this you will get more treasure and less poison. In Britain, find Gwenno and get her to join your party.
Go to Lord British’s castle. Climb up to the top floor, where you can see the tiles on the roof. Along the South wall there is a passage leading North to Lord British’s bedroom. If the guard is there, then just wait until night and he will leave. Push/Pull the cannon into position to destroy the door, and pick up the rug right inside the door. This is the magic carpet and it will make your life a lot easier.
Go Northeast to Minoc. In the Northwest corner, there is a tree which you can search to find 5 skull keys. These keys will unlock magically locked doors. These regenerate every 24 hours.
Just south of Minoc is the dungeon Covetous. Use the magic carpet to get to it, and use the word of power Avidus to open the entrance. The first level of this dungeon is pretty easy. There are 8 rooms, and they all have a two handed weapon as treasure. Remember to attack or push the gravestones. The two fountains on that level will heal your party. When you have cleared all of the rooms on the first level, leave and sell everything in Minoc. You should now have enough money to return to Yew and buy a magic axe.
In the basement of Lord British’s Castle. Along the southern hallway, there is a magically-locked room which contains three chests. At the cost of 2 karma per chest, you can find high-end equipment here to either use or sell.

WINNING THE GAME

In order to win the game, you must kill the three shadowlords, then get all four of Lord British’s artifacts and enter the underworld under Shame. To the East of where you emerge, there is a island covered with lava. Enter the dark center of the island, and use the amulet. Yell ‘Veramocor’ and enter the dungeon doom. Use the scepter to destroy the barriers, and leave the room in any direction. This dungeon is pretty tricky, but if you take the shortest path to Lord British, you should find the following rooms:

(level 3) A room with a ladder down and three daemons, with wisps hidden in the border. There are also three bits of ethereal barriers here. Exit down the ladder.
(level 7) A room with five santraps, and some daemons and dragons. Again there are wisps around the border, so be careful of possessions. There is a ladder down under one of the sand traps. Exit down the ladder.
(level 8) This room has dragons, sea serpents, a few waterfalls, and some mongbats hidden in a chamber which opens when you hit a trigger in the northwest wall. Exit to the west.
(level 7) The next room has ettins and other easy creatures, and a grate in the floor. The room has visible exits to the west and down. You need to go North or South (of course). The trigger is on the east wall.
(level 8) In the next room, you are on an island, surrounded by sharks, with wisps floating around the perimeter. There are visible exits North and up. Hit the trigger in the Northeast, then leave to the east.
(level 7) Finally, you will come to a room with mongbats, daemons, and more ethereal barriers. You need to exit to the east
(level 8) In the next room, simply walk up to the mirror.

GENERAL TIPS

You can set the active player (press 1-6) during combat. By doing this, you can gain experience for specific players. This is also useful when navigating dungeon rooms.
A halberd is very useful in dungeon rooms, because it can attack over walls and doors, and any other possible barrier. This is especially useful, when the monsters cannot reach you. You can destroy them from behind a wall, get the experience, and never get hit once.
You can get as many magic carpets as you want because the carpet gets regenerated every time you enter the castle.
You can get seven glass swords by going to their resting place in Serpent’s Spine and equipping the sword after you find it. Search again, and another will appear. If you equip all six characters with glass swords then you can get seven in your inventory at once. You can get even more if you leave people in an inn, and recruit more players, but it’s not really worth the trouble.
Ultima 5 is not very strict about the eight virtues. You can run from combat, steal, murder, etc… and not be penalized much. It is pretty easy to return to being an Avatar.
The dungeon Covetous is one of the best places for gold and experience
The crown of Lord British is one of the most useful items in the game, it negates magic for free (only for the enemy), never runs out, and protects from possession.
If you need a ship, just go to a place with a lot of water (like Jhelon, or New Magincia) and pass for about a day (don’t rest). When the sun rises in the morning, there should be lots of water monsters, including pirate ships for you to steal.
If you go to each shrine, and complete the quest to go to the codex, the avatar’s stats will be increased. This does not affect other characters, and is pretty easy to do, so you should do it as early in the game as possible. Each statistic will be raised four points if you visit all eight shrines.