*****************************************************************************
*                    ______               __     _                          *
*                   / ____/  __________  / /____(_)___  _____               *
*                  / __/ | |/_/ ___/ _ \/ / ___/ / __ \/ ___/               *
*                 / /____>  </ /__/  __/ (__  ) / /_/ / /                   *
*                /_____/_/|_|\___/\___/_/____/_/\____/_/                    *
*                                                                           *
*****************************************************************************
*                            Phase One: Lysandia                            *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
*                             FAQ by MOSC v1.4                              *
*****************************************************************************

Table Of Contents (Searchable)
A) Intro/Explanation
B) How to Play Excelsior
C) Character Creation
 -Race-
 -Gender-
 -Primary Attributes-
 -Secondary Attributes-
 -Class-
 -Skills-
 -Alignment-
D) Walkthrough
 -The Amulets-
 -The Resistance-
 -The Elixer-
 -The Gem Of Severance-
 -The Crystal Jar-
 -The Banishing Blade-
E) Items
 -Buyable Items-
 -Hidden Items-
F) Skills
G) Magic
 -By Shop-
 -By Spell-
H) Power Gaming in EX
I) Cheater's Solution Appendix
J) Thanks/Legal

---------------------------A) Intro/Explanation------------------------------

Well, this has been a long time coming for me. I've played this game on and
off for many years now. I must say when starting this faq I hadn't touched
it in several years since I actually had managed to finish it. A few years
back while desperately searching for some help to one of the later puzzles,
I left my email address on a forum. Ever since, people have somehow found it
out of the giant haystack that is the internet and I've come to meet several
people who all seem to have fallen in love with this little game but get
stuck somewhere. Lets be honest here. The game is not perfect. Many of the
puzzles are vague and hard to understand what is being asked. My main goal
with this FAQ is to provide a solution-free help guide. I will avoid giving
you the answers completely. If you absolutely need them, they will be in a
solution section at the end of this FAQ. It's much more fun if you find
the solutions for yourself though.

Excelsior has lots of stats, skills, items, and spells. Although the manual
explains some on each, it doesn't give very much detail. This FAQ contains
more details to help you get the most out of your character. I've always
been a "power gamer" or "min-maxer" and this game is a great one for people
like us to try and maximize our power. People sometimes say it removes the
challenge, but the challenge of excelsior is in the puzzles, not the
gameplay.

The walkthrough I will try to keep as spoiler and answer free as possible.
Try not to read ahead much if you don't want to be spoiled. I'll separate
out hints with a box like this:

*****************************************************************************
*HINT: This is what a hint box looks like. Avoid it if you don't want any   *
*      spoilers of info on a puzzle. You'll know it's done when the box ends*
*****************************************************************************

Similarly, in the walkthrough will be quick reference numbers to use the
finder on and take you to the cheat section. Cheat boxes will contain a
search code like "Cheat100" and looks like this:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat100: I'll put the quick solution to the puzzle here. Use the number   +
+          to search for a match from the walkthrough to the cheat section  +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

---------------------------B) How to Play Excelsior--------------------------

First off, Excelsior is shareware (although you get the full game) and can
be distributed totally legally. At the time of this faq (date at bottom), it
could be downloaded form dosmuseum.com. It is a shareware game that is free
to distribute but can only be played for 10 days (although not enforced).
It can still be purchased for $15. A helpbook is also available for $7.50. I
say that not because I am affiliated but because this is a great game and
you should support the efforts of it's dedicated staff.

There are 3 versions of this game. This FAQ is written about v2.0 which is
dos only and does not run well in windows. v3.0 exists as well which runs
in 2000/XP. To play the earlier version 2.0 (which I recommend), get a dos
emulator like DOSBOX. DOSBOX is a free download from:

http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/

The game is designed to run at 800x600 resolution so you may have to
adjust it to that in the dosbox configuration file. The compatibility is
very good. You shouldn't have much trouble.

The download from dosmuseum.com comes with a manual so I will not explain
commands in detail for this faq (read the manual). However, there is an
index of commands in the game which you can access by 'Shift+H' which is
very useful if you forget what closes a door when something is chasing you
or similar.

-----------------------------C) Character Creation---------------------------

Welcome to Lysandia located at Plane 52, Universe 13 Subclass A. Coordinates
154.21 by 546.4 by 1,321.43 by 72.2! If you don't know where that is, don't
worry, neither do I. All you need to know is that we're headed to a magical
world in the old school style of RPGs before the days of 3D graphics and,
well, mice. Pull out your keyboard command cheat sheet and turn off your num
lock, you're in for a treat.

Before we can trounce through this 'Open World', 'non-linear', 'free
roaming' RPG classic though, we need to make a name for ourselves
(literally) and draw up a character. I'll outline the choices briefly in
this section as well as provide a basic suggestion for a combat focused
starting character. For more discussion on "which is better, this or that"
and other power gaming stuff, go to the Power Gaming section.

NOTE: Moving through the character creation menus can be confusing. The 'N'
key is the magic button that allows you to go to the next screen.

-----Race-----
The first choice you get to make is race. There are 13 races. Each race has
it's advantages and disadvantages (except for humans which have neither).
Unfortunately, even though there are many monsters in the game who share
the same races (like Trolls and Imps), no matter what you pick, you'll play
as if you are a more or less civilized human type being. Races mostly just
determine your maximum hitpoints and give some statistical boosts and/or
penalties. The main thing is to understand that races form three basic
sizes. Beastier races, like Giants, have a higher maximum HP (about 25% 
more) but have less stats. The middle races have medium HP and medium stats.
The small races (like gnomes) have less HP but better stats. If you're
looking for an quick recommendation, pick giant. They have the maximum HP
and better stats than some of the other high-hp races.

-----Gender-----
Gender is an easy choice. Male Gives +1 Strength and -1 Dexterity. Female
gives +1 dexterity and -1 strength. Sorry ladies, but statistically
speaking, strength is a little more useful. Three of the races (Imp,
Golem, and Glynn) have a "sexless" option which basically means it gets
neither the dex or strength bonuses. An interesting twist, but I still
prefer male for the added HP early in your game.

-----Primary Attributes-----
while we're on that subject, the next choice is to raise your Primary
Attributes. The base Attributes are STR: 15, DEX: 15, INT: 15 and you are
given an additional 30 points to spread between them. Strength mainly
determines your HP (along with your race and level). Dexterity mainly
determines how often enemies hit and how often you hit them. Intelligence
mainly determines what your max magic points will be (along with class and
level). Dexterity is not very useful comparitively. Strength is probably
the most useful. If you're keeping with the build for newbies I've been
walking you through, you'll want to put the most into strength. I do
recommend putting intelligence at 20 (so you start with at least 1 MP if
you pick magic as a skill later). A male giant already had 19 strength to
begin with so putting intelligence at 20 you can still reach 44 strength
(max is 50)from level 1! All those extra hitpoints will make your life a
lot easier.

-----Secondary Attributes-----
Next comes luck, charm, and piety. Most races have large effects on these
but the base is 5 in each with 5 additional points to spread as you like.
Luck has a small effect on everything and is decently useful. Charm governs
the price merchants buy and sell goods and items for. Given high enough
charm attribute, you can buy a weapon for less than you can sell it back
to them giving you more gold than you'll know what to do with for very
little effort. Piety doesn't effect much that I know of other than being
a requirement for the paladin and cleric classes (8 or 9 respectively).
These classes are powerful mixes of magic and combat. The beginner is
best served by just a pile of charm I find. It makes gold very easy.

NOTE: There are a couple of other things to keep in mind with Both 
Attributes. All but two of the classes (Militiaman and Scholar) have some
attribute requirements. Paladin, for example (which is a good advanced
choice), requires 30 strength and 25 intelligence minimum as well as 8
piety. Also, different pieces of equipment will require certain stats to
use (mainly DEX for armor).

-----Class-----
After you assign your stats, you'll be presented with a few class choices.
The different classes serve to determine your maximum magic (along with
intelligence and level) as well as what equipment you can use. Casters will
have limited armor choices but have the option of powerful wands and
daggers. Similarly, Archers can use the best bows and Warriors the best
swords. Although there are many quirky pieces of armor that are intended
for lighter classes, generally the more combat oriented a class is, the
better options for armor you will have. If you've been following the
recommendations for this section, choose warrior for the best selection of
powerful swords and armor.

-----Skills-----
The next choice is skills. All skills are learnable later in the game so
don't let that page of No's scare you. Fortunately, you'll be given at
least two skills for free. Other classes will be given 3 free and many
if not most) are given some free feats. Mages get magic for free (in 
addition to their optional choices) as an example. Anyway, I highly suggest
taking something to heal yourself early on which can be bandage OR magic.
A low level heal spell (AP) is available in the very first town. I also
suggest music if you want to have a complete list at some point. You can
learn music later but it's definately the longest to get. However, I have
yet to find ANY use for it so if you're not a completionist, stick with
magic and bandage.

-----Alignment-----
Not nearly as involved as you may think, this basically determines the magic
cost of your spells. Each spell has a fixed alignment. If you are close, the
spell will not cost extra. If you are far, it will cost a lot more and if
you are the most evil character possible trying to cast the most good of
spells, you probably won't have enough MP (max is 100). As you cast spells,
your alignment also moves towards them. If you want to maintain an extremely
good or bad alignment, you'll have to make sure to mostly cast spells on
those extremes. Unfortunately, I haven't found any dialog or plot related
differences with alignment so really, it just helps determine MP cost. Early
on, all the spells will be in the middle so it is recommended you leave the
alignment towards the middle. Casters tend to use more evil magic to do
damage while others tend to use more curative magic which is good alignment.
For our newbie giant warrior, lets give him a small chunk (4) of good
alignment to try and line him up with early healing and utility spells.

Starting out, you'll find yourself between the Castle Excelsior on your
right (surrounded by a moat) and a town (Oooblyae) on your left. This is the
place to be for your early item needs and leveling up. Although you can
theoretically take off and never touch the main quest, you'll want to
remember this starting area. The town on the left has merchants for just
about everything and the capital is where you need to visit when you have
received enough experience to level your character. Remember Shift+H for the
commands if you forget!

-------------------------------D) Walkthrough--------------------------------

Welcome! Before you wander too far, you'd best get at least some useful
starting equipment from the nearby town of Oooblyae. This town serves as a
nice home base. Here is a shop to buy and sell armor, weapons, equipment
(shovels, lanterns, and torches) and probably the most important set of
spells. There is no Inn surprisingly, but there is a healer who will cure
you for a price and can remove poisons. You can also buy some food at the
tavern. Next door is the Castle Excelsior which has a bank and some kind of
counsel which serves to level you up when you've reached the required
experience. 

You won't get very far without some means of doing damage and healing
yourself. The Alleviate Pain (AP) spell is available and if your alignment
is right costs only a single MP. Walking around town will quickly restore
your magic points so from this one spell, you have infinite healing if you
can make it to a town. If you did the build I laid out in the character
creation section, the AP spell will cost you 17g out of your starting 100g.

Weapons and armor are also important. When I start, I like to pick up a
pair of shortswords and ready them both. Two attacks makes short work of
low level enemies. Anyway, I like to stick close to town until I'm a little
stronger. Look up the "Buy/Sell Trick" in the power gaming section if you
want a pile of gold early on. I suggest you spend some time and explore the
great world of Lysandia. The game more or less expects you to gain levels
early on as well as get yourself some good equipment. Check the Other
sections of this faq for info on where to get skills, magic, weapons, and
armor.

-----The Amulets-----
If you are ready to start the questing, time to head for the throne room.
The blue mage on the king's left gets us going. He'll give you some plot
and tell you to track down the three amulets. Amulets allow you to raise
your primary attributes when you bring them to the corresponding orb. There
are three orbs and amulets (one for each attribute). The three orbs are in
the three different Castles (Excelsior, Infinitum, and Griswald). I'll help
you get started with each. 

The Red Amulet is pretty easy. Talk to the Green Warrior in South Blagsell
Tells you to look for Boore in North Blagsell. Eventually you need to grab
a shovel and dig up the grave in owenfield.

The Green Amulet doesn't require a quest to get either. Anyway, head to
Roaldia and talk to Owen. He'll tell you to talk to Mitchel (a few steps
up) and then it's on to Bebbel. There you'll find Kirk the brown caped guy
who points you to the Forgotten Pits. Next to the Green Amulet is the very
cool "Magic Lantern" which a) never needs using b) never runs out and
c) lights up the whole floor! Very cool. There is more to the Forgotten Pit
but we'll have to come back later. We're not ready yet.
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: On the second level of the Forgotten Pits, there is a secret door    *
*      that you use to get to the green amulet in the bottom right corner.  *
*****************************************************************************

The Blue Amulet Quest starts in Embiscule. Offer the Beggar some money and
he'll point you in the right direction. Talk to Cirine in the north of
Borroughs and he'll tell you about the balboa tree and a woodsmen who you
will need to get some help from. Check out Cheat101 if you get stuck.

With all three amulets, you should quickly have very healthy stats. Make
sure you have some good gear to match as we'll get into more serious
dungeons. Level 5 is probably optimal but it's more about the gear. At this
point, you should go track down whatever weapon and armor is best for your
class. If your a caster, you should also pick up the spells you need.

The amulets give stat bonuses to your main attributes as you level but
to get the benefit, you have to visit the corresponding orb in one of the
three main castles. Anyway, using these orbs you can eventually get your
strength, dexterity, and intelligence to 50 by the time you reach the max
level of 10.

-----The Resistance-----
If you've returned the Axe from the Blue amulet quest, you've found that
there is a resistance in dungeon Intungo. The dungeon is above Heize which
is off the coast of Owenfield. Inside the dungeon, we'll hit a puzzle on the
second floor. This is the first of several cool dungeon puzzles you'll need
to do. I'll give hints and a search code for the cheater's solution if you
need it. I encourage you to try to figure it out on your own though. The
sign reads "SE. W. NW. NE. SE. N. W. SW." Figure out what this riddle means
and give your solution to the talking sign.
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: There are letters made out of walls here. Walk around the level and  *
*      figure out where the letters are.                                    *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: Remember that in Lysandia, North is DOWN and South is UP! However,   *
*      That doesn't seem to apply to this puzzle.                           *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: The directions are like a scavenger hunt. They start at the signpost *
*      and you go from one letter to the next...                            *
*****************************************************************************
Look up Cheat102 if you want the answer.

Welcome to the Resistance. You'll want to talk to Sebastian (white guy alone
in circular building). This is also the place that quests will be drawn
from. Again, a reminder that Excelsior is not a game where you level much
during the process of quests. If you are poorly equipped or low level, you
will want to spend some time improving those before doing quests.

Also, while we're here, go down to the lower level of the resistance and
pick up Mortimer's Skull. It is useless on it's own but coupled withe PR
spell you find down in the Forgotten Pits, it allows you to warp back to a 
fixed location. I will remind you when we get to the pits to pick up the
spell but if you're feeling adventurous, you might skip ahead and try to
get to the bottom of the pits a bit early in order to pick up that spell.

The first quest here is to deliver a message. The royal dungeons are located
a screen up from castle excelsior. There are many powerful guards inside so
again, be prepared. The first challenge here is to find your way through the
dark. Anyway, check Cheat103 if you get stuck. Once you reach the next
level, you want to make sure and pick up the scroll in the very top. It's
the strongest good alignment spell, Divine Hailstorm. This level is very
fun. It teaches a good lesson of Excelsior. "When in doubt, inspect for
secret doors!" Anyway, when you get to the next level, you have yet another
challenge ahead of you. Your target is locked up! How will you deliver the
message? Check Cheat104 if you get stuck. Afterwards, it's back to Intungo.
Get used to that trip, by the way.

-----The Elixir-----
Next up is the Elixir of Capital Power. There are several parts to this
quest that takes you all over Lysandia. The Almanac is the first target.
Ambora sends you to the Zzoborf Isle. Don't know where that is? Very likely.
There's a cartographer in Castle Infinitum who can help, or check Cheat105.
Look around Zzoborf Isle and you should find the almanac. If not, Check
Cheat106. Fortunately, this is one time you DON'T have to go back to
Intungo. 

With the "Soggy book", the first thing we need to do is get it fixed. You
have to take it to Roaldia where (for a decent chunk of gold), Vrabel's
Almanac will be fixed. Of course, nothing is that easy. The book is just
another puzzle. Yay! This one's a little hard to do completely on your own.
In order to get some help, we need to find an expert in cryptography.
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: Check out the distant village of Randaway. It's just below the place *
*      where you found the almanac.                                         *
*****************************************************************************

Wipfel tells that each set of numbers represents a letter. Also, he offers
to give you an extra clue for 5000g. His clue is helpful but if you are
feeling cheap, you can read it in Cheat107. Wipfel gives you a pretty good
start on it as well giving you quite a few letters (7 out of 26).
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: The first digit is incremented for each letter in the alphabet. It   *
*      looks like 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 etc...                          *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: The second digit is decremented every third letter in the alphabet.  *
*      It looks like 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 3 etc...              *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: The third digit is incremented every ninth letter in the alphabet    *
*      It looks like 1 x9, 2 x9, 3 x8 (the 27th is null)                    *
*****************************************************************************
If you still can't translate the almanac, it's solved in Cheat108.

Now with our formula, we need a chemist to make it. Search around until
you've found one, or just check Cheat109. Our friend Hugh Windwell-Crumb is
quite a master. He has three of our ingredients on hand apparently but the
fourth is one you're going to have to get yourself. He sends you off to talk
to Alexis, the glassblower in Davinhoven.

Davinhoven is along the road (just out of view above) to Roaldia so head
out that way again. When you jump in, you'll see something very unique, the
game's one and only Gold Dragon. I always keep him alive, but that's just
sentimental me. He seems to have the same drops as a White Dragon (which
spawn randomly at level 8+). On the second floor is another rarity, the one
and only dual shot crossbow. It fires twice (shocker) and does about 100
per shot which makes it moderately useful. I generally use magic on the rare
occasion I do ranged damage so the DSC is more of a novelty to me. Anyway,
lets find our glass blower.

Alexis gives us another "go get it" quest, this time for sand from the large
sandbar off the coast of Farborough. Before you leave though, all you evil
casters will want to stop by the next floor as well for Davinhoven's other
one of a kind, the most powerful (and most evil) damage spell in the game,
Devil's Fury (DF) and nearby is the best wand in the game, the Lightning
Rod (one of a kind). Also, pick up a shovel on your way to the sandbar.
Embiscule has a guy who sells them and is not far at all. Not surprisingly,
The game tells you to go south and means down. It's about 50/50 which way
"north" refers to and which way "south" refers to. In this case, south is
down. When you get the sand, return it (along with 250g) to Alexis and then
it's time to fill it. After some asking around the world, you'll learn that
the Forgotten Pits is the place to go. It's about a screen down from Castle
Infinitum. 

After passing the levels for the green amulet, we'll get down to a riddle
puzzle. Also note the holy water guy, we'll get back to him later. Here are
the clues:
-It is three dimensional in a four dimensional world.
-The sign is blank!
-It is one dimensional in a two dimensional world.
-It can't exist in a one dimensional world.
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: Well, you either get it or you don't. This clue might not even help  *
*      you but think of yourself in these worlds rather than geometry class.*
*****************************************************************************
If you give up, check Cheat110

The next floor is tricky but there no secret door you're looking for, just
a lot of winding paths. Once you get to the yellow water, there WILL be a
secret door though, but it's rather obvious. When you reach the bridge, hit
'U' and use the goblet to get some liquid light. While we're down here, make
sure to pick up the Spell scroll (PR). In combination with Mortimer's skull
which you picked up earlier, you can now effectively set a waypoint. It's
useful when doing a fetch quest to drop it outside and then when you finish
fetching, you can warp back. Also of interest is a very powerful lightning
wand. You casters and paladins will definately want to pick that up.

Next stop is back to Hugh for the mixing. The potion you just received is a
one-of-a-kind health potion. It's not Required to beat the game but it's
kind of nice. It will make your max HP 999 for a short time and fully heal
you as well. You can still die if you take 999 damage, but that's a lot.
Most people say save if for the final boss. Regardless, you earned it.
Anyway, it's back to Intungo for us. I'm sure you have learned a quick way
through the first couple floors by now! Hopefully the skull and PR will
make some of the back and forth a bit easier.

Now begins three more item quests. The three items are the Gem of Severance
which you can learn about from Nargausius in Woodshade, the Crystal Jar
which you learn more about from Gnona in the monster town of Grethal, and a
third item which has not yet been named. Don't be sad about not learning of
the third item just yet because both the gem and jar will take some work!

-----The Gem Of Severance-----
Nargausius is a green bard near the lute store (no surprise). He tells you
that you'll need to make two gems and take them to an underground shrine.
For more info on the "eye stones", we head to Xoxiro in Burroughs. Xoxiro
is a stuttering green warrior type (ranger) in the middle of town. The two
people he tells you about should sound familiar, you've already been by
their locations already. The Friar from the Royal Keep and Fevex from
Davinhoven. We'll start with the Royal Keep guy cause he's harder. 

When you talk to the good Friar, he will tell you that only a dagger blessed
in holy water can bring him down, unfortunately, he forgets the name of the
guy who makes holy water. Luckily I told you to remember him from our last
trip through the forgotten pits (sounds like a great place for some holy
water, yes?). There's a small side quest that must be done here though in
order to get the holy water. You can go and find out about it from him or
just keep reading.

Back in the Seventh Keep, you may have noticed a few more levels past the
chemist. Well, it's time we re-visited. On the third level, you'll get a
fun puzzle (one of the easier ones). Here are the clues:
-Oh no! Something ate my cat!
-The eye can wander for day.
-To be good is the goal.
-Sail the seven seas.
-One blue jay sat in the tree...
-Each philosopher asked "Why?" five times.
-Tea is served promptly at three.
-A hex on you!
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: Each phrase contains a word that sounds like a Letter. This Letter   *
*      is part of the pass phrase.                                          *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: Each phrase contains a word that sounds like (or is) a number. This  *
*      number is the order of the letter in the pass phrase.                *
*****************************************************************************
If you can't figure it out (it's really easy and I gave two huge clues), you
can look up Cheat120. Continuing, you'll eventually meet a lady who needs
your help. Specifically, half your food (I hope you didn't just stock up!).
Feed her and she'll indoctrinate you into the order.

Now we can return to the forgotten pits to get our holy water for our dagger
and then take our dagger back to the good friar and get our gem. In case
you've forgotten, we're trying to make the Gem of Severance with it. LOL.
Our next stop is Davinhoven where the evil Fevex tells us to go kill the
nice lady who just took half our food! Well, there are no dialog options for
this, it's just plain cold murder. Get close and hit 'A' and then kill her.
I know the game wants you to feel bad about this but she just stole half my
food so I'm really not that sad about it! We'll lose our little crescent
but it had no other purpose but to get us holy water anyway. Back to
Davinhoven we go.

I think this quest may have multiple ways of going through it but I know
also that you can permanently mess your game by doing things out of order.
If anybody has more info on this, please feel free to email me. To be safe,
do it in the order I said. If somebody knows of a way to do this without
killing Jasmine, please let me know. I think though, that the game wants
you to do something absolutely good and absolutely evil. The evil one I can
see, murder, but the good one is supposed to be Justice? Whatever. After 
retrieving the stones, we need to find the place where they fuse. I don't
know if it's mentioned in any town or anything but we're headed to the
hidden dungeon of Draxen.
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: To find Draxen, follow the river up into the mountains from          *
*      Boroughs. It's on a swampy path.                                     *
*****************************************************************************
This is my favorite part of the game. There are no riddles in Draxen, just
lots of hard enemies (mostly water enemies) and tricky maps to get across.
You need to be high level to survive down here and knowing purify blood and
air walk are almost a requirement. IMHO, this dungeon is harder than the
final boss. A useful item to look for is the Eramel Plate mail. You might
have bought one in Owenfield already but if not, it's the highest AC armor.
Few classes can use it though. Also down in Draxen is the Avenger, the most
powerful sword in the game. Very few classes can use it (warriors can) and
I suppose it's not that much stronger than a speedblade but hey, it's red
and hits hard. Once you find the two sided face, use the two eyestones and
take the gem off the table. Hasty Exit is a nice spell to have right about
now. If not, enjoy the swim back. Also, pat yourself on the back for
surviving this difficult area!

-----The Crystal Jar-----
Now we need the Jar. Perhaps you've forgotten but we're supposed to find a
witch named Gnona to learn more. Gnona is a brownish caster (witch) in the
bottom left area of Grethal.  If you are having trouble finding Grethal,
check the hint.
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: It's an island in the bay roughly between the forgotten pits and     *
*      Castle Griswald. The island is surrounded by mountains except for a  *
*      small crack on the top right section.                                *
*****************************************************************************
I like the story bit with this character a great deal. Anyway, she tells you
the Jar is behind a magical fire and you need to talk to Karth Whitlaw about
some "purely physical means" aka a machine. Karth is very reclusive and it
can be quite a task just to find him. Check Cheat111 if you want to be told
his location. Anyway, after a long block of text, we need to track down a
mold from a "slick gambler" in Pibsly and some eramel ore. Also we'll need
to have the key itself forged. First, lets get the mold. At least Pibsly is
close! The guy you're looking for is a blue thief type in the key store. A
few gold will win you the mold. The ore is more work however.

Ask around the world and you'll learn that Eramel is mined from the Red Keep
which is located above burrows. On the second floor you'll hit another
puzzle!
Top: "I give you one gold the first time the minute hand crosses the hour
hand on a thirteen hour clock."
Left: "I give you twice as many as the previous time thereafter"
Bottom: "How many small sacks can you fill with the gold that you receive
between a quarter hour after noon and a quarter hour after midnight?"
Right: "A small sack can carry one short of a dozen and four score gold
coins"
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: "Four Score" is 80. The Right clue is saying a small sack can carry  *
*      12 - 1 + 80 = 91 gold                                                *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: The clock is 13 hours remember. It starts right after noon and ends  *
*      right before midnight. Twice as many as the previous time thereafter *
*      is an accumulating sum                                               *
*****************************************************************************
Look up Cheat130 if you want the answer.

Next, head to the next floor and learn about the poor little elfs oppressed
by some evil sorcerer. I wonder who will save them? Wind your way through
this floor and head to the next where you will find the sorcerer. She likes
to put you to sleep but is not that powerful herself. I strongly advise
killing off anything else around that can get to you before talking to her.
A save couldn't hurt as well. Anyway, kill her and head back to the elfs.
If you talk to them again, you will be given access to the stash of 
eramel ore! 

Now, to get the thing forged. You can hunt the world over for the right
place or just check the hint:
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: Next to weapon shop in South Blagsell (which is the upper one)       *
*****************************************************************************
With key and bird in hand, we need to retrieve the jar. For this, we're
heading to the edge of the world. If you don't have a ship, you better have
some decent magic and the Air Walk spell. Regardless, head for the upper
right corner of the map. It's actually a corner too, because Lysandia has
no wrap around, it actually just stops. Very cool. Anyway, you'll see
some land and a blue flame. Type 'E' on it to enter into some weird fire
world. Head through it till you get to the sign and then use the key.
I do recommend returning the bird and key just to clear out some space.
Your reward is a tip about the Dual Shot Crossbow which you probably 
already stumbled upon if you've been following this FAQ.

-----The Banishing Blade-----
Now that we have both the Gem and the Jar, it's back to Intungo. There, we
will learn about the Banishment Sword. The third piece of the puzzle. As
you learn, this one involves the treacherous Keep Ironthread! A warning,
many a gamer has given up on Excelsior during the course of this dungeon.
Lucky you that I made this FAQ to help you through! Our time together is
drawing shorter by the paragraph but lets not get all sentimental yet! 
Before we can even ENTER the dungeon, we need to get the password and that
requires talking to the two noblemen of Excelsior. The two guys in question
own Castle Infinium and Castle Griswald. I'll start with Infinium. Before
you do this, make a save separate from where you usually save. The next
quest gets messed sometimes if you don't know the order and a backup right
about now would be ideal to fall back to if you get things out of order.

The good Sir Amanthor of Castle Infinium will tell you the password, if you
do one small quest for him (of course). He wants you to make it rain. First
stop is Hornance the meteorologist. He's in the bottom right of the Castle.
He lays out our quest for us. First find a rock, second figure out how to
get it struck by a bolt of lightning and third figure out how to get it up
into the air. There are no riddles to this quest, you're just supposed to
wander all over the world until you learn what is needed. I'll give a hint
for each part and a walkthrough in the cheat section. First the rock
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: You're looking for something called the "Saturnium Rock", a meteor   *
*****************************************************************************
next the delivery method
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: a hot air balloon would do the job...                                *
*****************************************************************************
and the lightning
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: There's a guy in Randaway famous for weather control spells.         *
*****************************************************************************
and then we head to the highest point in the land
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: There's a sign marking the spot in the middle of a mountain range.   *
*****************************************************************************
For a step by step quest literal walkthrough, check Cheat140. It should be
noted that there are lots of ways to permanently mess this quest up. You
only get one scroll and one balloon and all three items must be used in the
right order at the special spot. Lucky for you, you have this great FAQ!
Hopefully you were able to "bring the rain" without checking the cheats.

Now we return to Sir Amanthor who both gives us the password and also sends
us to Heltimer. He's located in the bottom left of the Castle. He gives us
a special key we'll need later. Anyway, it's on to part two of this quest
so lets head down to Castle Griswald.

Sir Rodagarn gives us another quest of course. This time you have to
retrieve the 'Miracle Ear' which has the ability to talk to monsters (but
apparently not the ones you fight on the field so don't try). Lets go talk
to the culprit, Mr. Peffley. He makes a joke about Nelver in Borinthia, 
which I'm sure you know means we're headed there. Nelver is a white warrior
type near the Weapons. He sends us to talk to Nenn in Randaway. I think now
would be a fun time to point out the game seems to send us to Randaway twice
here on the hopes we'll stumble across another quest item there fairly
randomly. There isn't anything telling you that you need it but make sure
you pick up a yellow clock from clock guy out there. If you get a blue one,
go back and say ACCEPT the first time and get a yellow one. Anyway, Nenn is
a green colored regular guy looking thing. He tells us that Peffley's
weakness is that he is a coward. How about we go back and threaten him? 
Of course, this quest is not over yet. We get to USE the miracle ear to help
some more in this trade dispute. Anyway, we've been to the monster town
before but if you've forgotten, it's an island in the bay roughly between
the forgotten pits and Castle Griswald.

While we're out here, make sure you talk to everyone. This will be your only
chance because we have to return the ear to get the password! There is one
particularly important piece of information you're going to need for the
dreaded Ironthread dungeon. There's also a guy who tells us to get a clock.
Luckily, I told you to pick one up when we were back in Randaway.
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: The white weird monster in the top of this town gives the critical   *
*      clue of 'CAVENGBER' which we will need in Ironthread                 *
*****************************************************************************
Well, it's time folks. To Ironthread we go. If you've forgotten or skipped
the password, you can find it in Cheat150. The order of which half you give
the sign first does matter, you need to give Sir Rodagarn's code first.

Ironthread is a dark maze where you can't see an inch in front of your face
that ends in the game's most confusing puzzle. Many a Excelsior fan has
simply given up here. Please don't be in a hurry to run to the cheat section
and get the solutions. It's kind of fun to try and sketch YOUR OWN map of
this place. If you want the short and sweet of getting though this journey
through the dark, jump over to Cheat160. I'll assume you've reached the
yellow ground.

First pat yourself on the back. Second, figure out what you could possibly
be supposed to do. By telling you to be extra careful in the monster town,
hopefully I've made this much easier for you already. If not, here's a
couple hits
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: You will need to use the key, the clock, and the password given to   *
*      you in the monster town.                                             *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: This puzzle is the reason the clock has 13 hours. Otherwise, the     *
*      solution would be messy.                                             *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
*HINT: There are 26 letters in the alphabet. Just, you know, throwing that  *
*      out there...                                                         *
*****************************************************************************
The cheater's walkthrough is Cheat170

With the sword, we're basically at the end. Stop By Intungo and they'll tell
you to use the four items you have an "pay the king a visit". Anyway, if
you've not been paying attention at ALL, he's up in Castle Excelsior. Time
to beat the game.

You'll want to equip the sword. It is the only way to do damage to the King.
To start the fight, use the Gem. You can use the potion before, during, or
never. It makes your HP 999/999 which I guess is most useful when you're
about to die. You still take damage though but you should have plenty of
life to get the job done. When the king dies he turns into some demon thing.
You can't do damage to it, just use the Jar and you've won.

I must say I'm disappointed that in the end, everyone has the same HP (from
the potion) and has the same way of doing damage to him (the sword). It
makes the game's very different classes play out much the same. Oh well,
small complaint about a great game. Really, the final boss is the dungeon
of Ironthread. The last guy is just for fun ;)

----------------------------------E) Items-----------------------------------

It would of course be great to list every single item in the game and lots
of cool stuff about each one but I don't think it would really be that
useful and lets face it, very few ppl still play this game. Anyway, here is
a good list of some nice items you'll probably want to track down. I didn't
list any plot items.

---Buyable Items---

Marksman's Bow - Buyable in Randaway
Useful by anyone who has the Marksmanship Ability I believe, It's a high
damage bow. The Dual-Shot Crossbow is probably a wiser choice and if
you are an archer or similar class, you can probably use the stronger
bow of grace but hey, it's easy to get.

Bow of Grace - Buyable in Randaway
Best bow in the game and only usable by archers and related classes. If you
picked one of these classes then this is your main reward. Might as well go
get it. The Dual-Shot Crossbow is comparable, you may prefer it (and the
DSC is useable by more classes) which makes this bow kinda meh considering
it's strict class requirements but hey, you'll probably want to use it if
you can just so you can say your class choice wasn't a mistake.

Mystic Timepiece - Buyable in Randaway
You have to say "No" to the clock maker and then he'll offer you this
beauty for a fixed 1000g. It's basically an item that you can use to cast
Chronic Discontinuim (CD) one time. Not very useful but hey, it's a nice
oddity.

Eramel Plate Mail - Buyable in Owenfield
This is the only piece of armor that gives the full 10 points of Armor
class. It's actually findable as well but the easiest way to get it is to
buy it from the shop in Owenfield. You can also buy Eramel Shields here
but I'm not sure why anybody would actually want to use a 2-handed shield.

Quickplate - Buyable in Stockshire
Many classes cannot wear plate mail. Some can't even wear eramel banded.
The Quickplate offers 9 pts of AC and is usable by many of the hybrid
classes. If you can't wear plate mail, this is the next best thing. Note
that Eramel Banded Mail which drops commonly at level 6+ has the same AC
but is more restrictive of class.

Slumber Lute - Buyable in Woodshade
This requires the music skill to use but I'm really not sure what it does.
It would seem this item is the purpose of the skill but it doesn't really
seem to DO anything. Anyway, another oddity. If anybody figures out a use
for this thing or for music in general, please let me know.

Speedblade - Buyable in Embiscule
The second most powerful weapon in the game is the Speedblade. It's also
one that's equipped by many classes and only takes one hand to use (so you
should really get two of them). Only the avenger is stronger and there is
only one of those. Also, not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to use
the avenger (warriors get it though). Anyway, this is a great sword to buy
and a good one for using the power gaming money trick on as well. The shop
also has some other unique blades you may like, but the speedblade is by
far the strongest.

---Hidden Items---
Avenger - Forgotten Pits
Only a few classes can use this but it's a one of a kind powerhouse super
sword. Pair it with a speedblade for even more death dealing because
awesomely, it's also a one-handed sword! Well protected in the bottom 
depths of the forgotten pits, it's a great pickup if you can find it.

Lightning Rod - Davinhoven, Forgotten Pits
The most powerful "wand" type weapon, it's a one handed ranged weapon that
doesn't consume ammo! Does decent damage too. It's very restricted by
class so don't cry if you can't use it. Yet again another reason to go
paladin over caster is that they get to use both of these wonderful wands.

Dual-Shot Crossbow - Davinhoven
This little wonder is just another Davinhoven unique. It's arguably the
most powerful ranged item as it fires two crossbow bolts. It does consume
ammo rather fast however and crossbow bolts seem to drop a little less than
arrows so make sure you stock up! Amazingly, almost all classes can use this
weapon too, just make sure you have marksmanship added.

Handless Shield - Royal Keep
These are actually buyable in the monster town of Grethal I believe but
it's definitely much easier to just swing by the first level of the Royal
Keep and pick that one up. It's only one armor class less than the strongest
shield (Eramel Shield) but lets you use two weapons. Not all classes can use
it. For those that can't or haven't found it yet, you're stuck with the 
buckler if you want to ready two weapons which gives two less AC than the 
handless shield.

----------------------------------F) Skills----------------------------------

-Bandage-
Volunteer down at Borinthia. You'll get poisoned for your trouble but you'll
learn this useful skill which will naturally regenerate some of your health.
There is a curer in the right side of the town next to some blue fire to 
remove the poison or cast a quick PB spell.

-Survival-
There is a trainer in the upper part of Castle Infinitum. This skill helps
reduce the damage you'll take if you run out of food. Yeah, pretty lame.

-Scribe-
Talk to the scholar (blue caster) in the top of Wyckmire. Not really sure
what this is useful for.

-Lockpicking-
There's a small hut on an island off the coast for this. It's roughly down
and left from Castle Griswald (a few screens away). Talk to the thief a few
times. He'll steal from you, but eventually you'll learn this skill.

-Seamanship-
This one takes a few steps. First, talk to the purple warrior (militiaman)
in Widdlenix. You must talk to him first to open this. He'll send you to
talk with Jenell in Borinthia. She's a purple maid type on the west side
of town. She'll send you to Caspian in the "shipwright's shop" which is
down in Farborough. Now you get the pleasure of buying a very very
expensive (I suggest using a grey potion to reduce the cost) ship. It does
get an awesome catapult though. Hit 'F' to fire!

-Dark Eyes-
Make sure you're healed up. Talk to a shady lady in the bottom left corner</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
of Owenfield. She'll give you this useful skill for a price. When she's
done operating though, you'll take half damage and get poisoned though.
There is luckily a curer right above you (or just use a PB spell).

-Fencing-
Very useful and very easy to get. In the top right part of castle
Excelsior is a little training center. 50g and you're now an expert with
all manor of blades. This greatly increases your accuracy with bladed
weapons. 

-Marksmanship-
Most bows and crossbows don't do much damage. Also, they have limited
ammunition. Anyway, There is a trainer in the top right corner of Pibsly.

-Swimming-
Useful and easy. It does what you think it would do but you only get to
move about 5 spaces before you start to drown. Anyway, head down to
Farborough and talk to the guy in front of the pool.

-Music-
This is a royal pain but kind of fun. The skill is also worthless. As far as
I can tell, it lets you play the lutes in the game. There are two. One that
does nothing but make music and another that supposedly puts things to sleep
but I have yet to get it to work. Anyway, The quest starts in Roaldia. There
is a white caster in the Eastern part of town who tells you about the famous
Jad Merlings. He also tells you he's run off "perhaps to Babbel". Get used
to this. The quest takes you all over the world. Cheat180 has a walkthrough
if you get lost. Enjoy the useless skill.

-Fist Fighting-
I've never really used this but it allows you to do damage with your bare
hands. Anyway, head to Roaldia and pick a fight at the bar. Call the guy
"Orc Face" and you'll get it for free.

-Magic-
Head Over to Woodshade for this invaluable skill. You'll want to see the
wizard called Calantroph but other than 100g, he doesn't ask for anything.
Probably the best 100g you'll spend.

----------------------------------G) Magic-----------------------------------

The handbook that comes with the game is a great source of information
regarding the magic in the game. Each spell is listed with a short
description as well as the abbreviation, the MP cost, and most importantly
the alignment. In this section I'll tell you where to find them.

---By shop---
Oooblaye Magic Shop (Northwest of town)
FT, AP, LA, ZB, CP, BL, BH

North Blagsell Magic Shop (Northeast of town)
PB, FM, CD, MB, HF, TU

Widdlenix Magic Shop (Northeast of town)
MR, HE, FA, MC, PE, PS, AW

Farborough Magic Shop (West of town surrounded by water maze)
HW, AW, OH, FF, BB, SW, HJ, MC

Roaldia Magic Shop (East part of town)
IE, ID, MF, MS, GW, MR

---By Spell---
Alleviate Pain (AP) - Oooblaye
Curtain of Protection (CP) - Oooblaye
Zagha's Banquet (ZB) - Oooblaye
Air Walk (AW) - Widdlenix, Farborough
Flesh Mend (FM) - North Blagsell
Purify Blood (PB) - North Blagsell
Fumbling Fingers (FF) - Farborough
Mystic Rejuvenation (MR) - Widdlenix, Roaldia
Omniheal (OH) - Farborough
Turn Undead (TU) - North Blagsell
Higher Justice (HJ) - Farborough
Holy Wind (HW) - Farborough
Flame Toss (FT) - Oooblaye
Magic Burglar (MB) - North Blagsell
Sander's Poultry Eliminator (PE) - Widdlenix
Ball Lightning (BL) - Oooblaye
Hyper Fireball (HF) - North Blagsell
Blue Havoc (BH) - Oooblaye
Mood Swing (MS) - Roaldia
Brain Blister (BB) - Farborough
Gwen's Wrath (GW) - Roaldia
Plasma Storm (PS) - Widdlenix
Soul Witherer (SW) - Farborough
Luminous Air (LA) - Oooblaye
Instant Elevation (IE) - Roaldia
Instant Descent (ID) - Roaldia
Hasty Exit (HE) - Widdlenix
Windwell-Crumb's Mind Clearer (MC) - Widdlenix, Farborough
Fisk's Alchemy (FA) - Widdlenix
Mesmer's Flying Feet (MF) - Roaldia
Chronic Discontinuim (CD) - North Blagsell

Hidden Spells:
Cavaterra's Disappearing Act (DA) - First level of the Seventh Keep
Devil's Fury (DF) - Near the evil Fevex in Davinhoven
Divine Hailstorm (DH) - Near the good Friar in the Royal Keep
Mortimer's Pinpoint Relocation (PR) - Deep in the bottom of the Forgotten
Pits. This spell is useless without Mortimer's Skull which is found
in the resistance camp deep in Intungo. Once the skull has been retrieved,
it can be left anywhere on the surface as a sort of fixed waypoint. Cast
PR and you'll warp to the skull's location!

----------------------------H) Power Gaming in EX----------------------------

-----Buy/Sell Trick-----
Charm determines the Cost of items and how much you get for them when you
sell them. There are also Grey Potions which can raise your Charm by 3
points. The easiest place to get grey potions is Wyckmire. With enough
charm, you can buy an item only to turn around and sell it and make a pile
of gold. At 12 Charm, for example, a grey potion costs 28 gold but you can
sell it for 60 gold. Each exchange nets you 32 gold! More expensive items
(speedblades from North Blagsell are great for this) can make you thousands
of gold in mere seconds. You don't need a very high charm to use this
trick either. At 9 Charm, you make money buying and selling (although not
very much per exchange). Thus, I recommend about 7 charm for a character.
With 7 charm, you won't make money when you buy and sell normally BUT when
you use a Grey potion, you WILL make decent money (Charm will temporarily
be 10). Once you get used to this easy gold, it's hard to get away. It makes
the High piety classes of paladin and cleric much more challenging though as
your charm will be much lower. Without charm, gold is much harder to come by
and that means crappy gear for a long time. 

With even just 7 charm, I like to hang out around the starting town and
make a stack of about 100 gold. Then I'll run down to Wyckmire and buy a 
grey potion (and use it). Now, I'll buy another potion (blue are worth the
most) and then sell it. Then I'll buy as many as I can and sell them back.
This can be done fairly quickly when you get used to it. Anyway, you'll
quickly have over 1000 gold. Buy a grey potion and head out of town (Buying
a horse here ain't a bad move either. Makes running from monsters for the
moment pretty easy). Next stop is the weapon shop in Bebbel with some very
expensive swords. Use your grey potion (if the effect wore off) and start
buying and selling these swords. You should make about 50,000 gold or so.
That should be all you need for this game. If you need more, you can always
come back. Also, it's nice for my level 1 character to pick up a couple of
really nice swords here as well. Makes killing Kobalts kind of easy when
you're hitting them for 200 each time.

-----Race Bonuses-----
The 13 Races come in three sizes and have different stat bonuses. Now, there
are 3 amulets for the three primary attributes but there are none for
secondary attributes. This means that no matter what you start with for
primary attributes, you can max them later. However, your secondaries can
only be temporarily be boosted. To my knowledge, piety is only really used
for reaching the paladin and cleric classes (8 and 9). Also, Charisma seems
to only effect the prices. As I explained above, 7 seems to be plenty when
used in conjunction with a grey potion. Luck is very useful though as it acts
like extra dexterity (you hit more and they hit you less). I think it also
has smaller effects on the size of gold/key/food/arrow drops and other
things as well. The question becomes, which races in the three sizes have
the best secondary attributes? I also included PAT (Primary Attribute Total)
but as I said, it's mostly irrelevant.
 _______________________________________________________
|Race       | Size | Luck | Charm | Piety | Total | PAT |
|-------------------------------------------------|-----|
|Human      |  M   |  5   |   5   |   5   |   15  |  45 |
|Elf        |  S   |  7   |   5   |   5   |   17  |  46 |
|Dwarf      |  M   |  5   |   5   |   5   |   15  |  46 |
|Gnome      |  S   |  5   |   5   |   5   |   15  |  47 |
|Halfling   |  M   |  5   |   6   |   5   |   16  |  46 |
|Imp*       |  S   |  7   |   5   |   5   |   17  |  45 |
|Troll      |  L   |  5   |   2   |   5   |   12  |  44 |
|Half-Orc   |  L   |  5   |   4   |   5   |   14  |  45 |
|Half-Elf   |  M   |  6   |   5   |   5   |   16  |  46 |
|Half-Gnome |  M   |  5   |   5   |   5   |   15  |  46 |
|Giant      |  L   |  5   |   4   |   5   |   14  |  45 |
|Golem*     |  L   |  5   |   3   |   5   |   13  |  46 |
|Glynn*     |  M   |  5   |   6   |   5   |   16  |  46 |
 -------------------------------------------------------
*These are the only classes that can choose Gender Sexless which gives no
boost to strength or dex.

Well, as this table highlights, there are several bad choices on the list.
Human, for example, is inferior in every single way to half-elf which seems
to dominate the "medium" size list unless you really want an absurdly high
starting charm (Glynn and Halfling with pts spent). Troll seems to have
nothing going for it however with the lowest charm, no luck boost, and the
worst PAT (if you care). 

To me, none of the small or medium choices are any good just because you
don't want to sacrifice so much HP for very small boosts. Even if you want
to play a paladin or cleric (cutting your spending points significantly),
it seems like you're best off with a Large race. Of the four, Troll and
Golem are pretty poor so you're left with Giant and Half-Orc. They only
differ in how their primary attributes are spread with Giant having a very
low dex of 12. I've always thought that DEX was the worst of the three (and
the only stat the boot trick works on) so that makes Giant the easy choice
for me. A Giant Paladin or Cleric is not going to have 7 Charm, it's true
so money will be tight. Even though that is certainly a weakness, it
shouldn't do more than make you take a few more trips to the store to sell
stuff. Giant wins.

-----Class Stat Req-----
I really don't think this is an exhaustive list but here are the classes
I've found and what their requirements are. If you find another or some
info here is wrong, please drop me an email.
 _______________________________________________________
|Class       | Str | Dex | Int | Luck | Peity || MAX MP |
|---------------------------------------------||--------|
|Scholar     |     |     |     |      |       ||   S    |
|Militiaman  |     |     |     |      |       ||   S    |
|Pirate      |  25 |     |     |      |       ||   S    |
|Warrior     |  30 |     |     |      |       ||   S    |
|Mage        |     |     |  30 |      |       ||   L    |
|Archer      |  25 |  25 |     |      |       ||   S    |
|Swordsman   |  25 |  25 |     |      |       ||   S    |
|Bard        |     |  30 |  25 |      |       ||   S    |
|Ranger      |  30 |  30 |     |      |       ||   S    |
|Assassin    |     |  25 |     |   7  |       ||   S    |
|Rogue       |     |  30 |     |   7  |       ||   S    |
|Paladin     |  30 |     |  25 |      |   8   ||   M    |
|Cleric      |     |     |  30 |      |   9   ||   L    |
 -------------------------------------------------------

If I had all the time in the world, I'd go through and list what equipment
can be equipped for each class. I was unable to fully test max MP but I
know the M = 75 max (50 int level 10) and the L = 100 max (50 int level 10).
The rest may have 25 or 50 max, it's hard for me to tell. Everyone's at
least 25. In terms of weapons/armor, mage is very very limited where Warrior
gets everything but the best bow as well as magical weapons. Paladin is the
best choice if you want magic and combat. He cannot use the handless shield
or the avenger but he can wear enamel plate and use speedblades. All while
having 75 mp. I'll try to expand further on this stuff if I get the time.
If you have more info, feel free to email me (I'm pretty sure there's a
Sorceress class but couldn't figure it out).

-----Winged Boots Bug-----
The Dexterity boost from the winged boots is somehow permanent. You can get
it more than once by wearing them, wearing something else, and wearing them
again. Switching between winged and something else you can quickly get 50
dexterity. There are also items that raise Strength (gauntlets) and 
intelligence (helm) but they do not share this bug, only the boots.

-----Power Play Start-----
My strategy for living long is to stay at level 1
for as long as possible, so that when I get new
weapons, I can kill all enemies in only one or two
hits. I don't level up until I absolutely have to go
into the dungeons to further the story. I don't know
if the pure-casters can get away with this strategy or
not, but I never play a pure-caster anyways.
-Patrick Wong


------------------------I) Cheater's Solution Appendix-----------------------

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat101: The woodmen is in the woods above the path between Wyckmire and  +
+          Castle Infinitum. Borrow his axe and head into the hills. The    +
+          tree you're looking for is brown and it's surrounded by brown    +
+          hills. It's relatively hard to spot. If you follow the road from +
+          Roaldia, it's just before you go past dungeon Davinhoven on the  +
+          Bottom side of the road. You need to return the axe to get the   +
+          Password (Victory) for later in the Intungo Dungeon.             +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat102: The sign gives directions that correspond to letters. "SE. W. NW.+
+          NE. SE. N. W. SW." The letters are relative to each other from   +
+          the direction sign. SE goes to S, W goes to U, NW goes to R, NE  +
+          goes to M, SE goes to O, N goes to U, W goes to N, SW goes to T  +
+          The pass is SURMOUNT                                             +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat103: A trick challenge. Search for a hidden door in the bricks at the +
+          Very beginning of this dark room.                                +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat104: There is a jailer near the entrance who asks for a name. Tell    +
+          'me' and he will imprison you. You can then bust out by a secret +
+          door and make your way to the prince                             +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat105: Zzoborf Isle is a large island a screen up from Randaway. The    +
+          easiest way to get there is to heat to North Blagsell and use an +
+          AW spell and head out to sea.                                    +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat106: examine the bottom most water hole to find the book              +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat107: Wipfel takes the text from you and retreats into study. Later    +
+          he returns. In his arms is the Almanac as well as stacks of      +
+          parchments. He clears his throat and proceeds to explain his     +
+          findings. "This is quite an ingenious code, if I ever saw one.   +
+          My first idea was correct; each triad of numbers reflects a      +
+          single letter. To decipher them, imagine a cube, within which    +
+          there are divided twenty-seven smaller cubes, such that you have +
+          a three by three by three grid. Beginning with the top left cube +
+          of the frontmost section of nine, each cube contains a letter.   +
+          Proceed left to right, gradually moving down the columns, and    +
+          starting again from the top left when you reach the middle slice +
+          of three, and you will be able to fill in all twenty six letters +
+          of the common alphabet. There will be a leftover dummy space in  +
+          the very last cube. Now, each cube may be pinpointed with a      +
+          three number coordinate, which is exactly what the Almanac you   +
+          possess does. Thus the letter 'A' can be described as residing   +
+          in cube 131, as it lies in the first column, the third row -     +
+          working upward, and the first slice. A further example is in     +
+          order - my name. It would be indicated by the following          +
+          coordinates: 223, 311, 112, 321, 221, 332. It's really quite     +
+          clever. You should be able to take it from there. Now, I think I +
+          will work on an extension of the code for the Orcish alphabet,   +
+          consisting of eighty letters. It will require the use of a four  +
+          dimensional hypercube, and should prove quite a challenge. Good  +
+          day to you."                                                     +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat108: Dragon Tears, Chimney Soot, Black Ice, and Liquid Light          +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat109: The Seventh Keep, second level. It's just under Castle           +
+          Excelsior in the middle of a lake                                +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat110: The Pass is Shadow                                               +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat111: He is on his own private island  just off the coast near Pibsly. +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat120: The pass is JBTIYUCO                                             +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat130: The answer is 45                                                 +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat140: Go a little down from Castle Infinium and retrieve the saturnium +
+          rock in a crater there. Next, go to the top part of Hollow and   +
+          buy a hot air balloon for 5000g. Now head to Randaway and talk to+
+          Shoban Rundledrum in the top left part of town. Next head to     +
+          Pibsly and talk to the lady in the middle about magic cheese.    +
+          Bring the cheese back to the guy in Randaway and head to the     +
+          highest point in the land (which is in the mountains very close  +
+          to where you found the saturnium rock below castle infinium.     +
+          First 'use' the rock which puts it in the balloon and then use   +
+          the balloon while standing next to the sign. Last use the scroll +
+          to zap it. Enjoy the rain.                                       +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat150: The password to enter Ironthread is IGBLIBBR                     +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat160: I'll give you directions at each interchange. Otherwise, just    +
+          keep going until you have two paths you can choose from. I will  +
+          say 'up', 'down', 'left', or 'right' meaning what key you should +
+          hit (direction on screen) when you get to the interchange.       +
+          First we head up from the stairs and go 'up' at the three-way.   +
+          This leads you to a stairway. Next floor we go down from the     +
+          stairs and head 'left' at the three-way. At the next three-way,  +
+          we go 'up' and take the ladder. Next floor we go up from the     +
+          stairs and take a 'down' at the three-way and then another 'down'+
+          at the three-way right below it which leads to the next stairs.  +
+          Follow the path a while till you come to a three-way and continue+
+          'right'. Next is another three-way where you go 'up'. Then       +
+          another three-way where you go 'right' and we reach the stairs.  +
+          on the next floor we quickly hit a three-way where we go 'left'  +
+          and then another where we go 'up'. At the next three-way, it's   +
+          'up' again followed by another 'up' and you should reach the     +
+          stairs. Continue for a while and you'll hit a three-way where    +
+          you continue 'down' followed by another where you go 'right'.    +
+          Follow this a while until a three-way where you go 'down'.       +
+          Another round about we go until we hit another three-way where   +
+          we head 'left' and then continue 'right' at the next and then    +
+          'down' which after a path leads to the stairs (whew). Little     +
+          more left. From the stairs we go to a three-way where we go      +
+          'down' followed by another where we also go 'down'. Around we go +
+          and then another three-way where we go 'down' and another where  +
+          we go 'down'. The next three-way is a 'left' and you should hit  +
+          the stairs. Then next floor we get a 4-way and head 'up'. which  +
+          leads to a stairs. Follow this around and take a 'left' and then +
+          another hike to more stairs. Follow this and go 'up' and then    +
+          'right' and then an 'down' and you should hit more stairs. This  +
+          one is small, just go 'up' when you get a choice and you should  +
+          hit more stairs. The next is a long walk but there are no forks. +
+          After the stairs, again another long walk but no forks. These    +
+          stairs will lead to the bricks. Welcome to the top. You should   +
+          walk around and find the yellow square.                          +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat170: Use the key which will wind the clock. Then, you will need to    +
+          Set the clock a few times for each letter in the password. Each  +
+          Letter in the alphabet is lined up with a Time going from A to M +
+          and then starting at 1 so Z is 13. The pass then translates into +
+          nine set points for your clock. Set It to 3, then 1, then 9,     +
+          then 5, then 1, then 7, then 2, then 5, then 5. This will summon +
+          the sword. Take it and you will be automatically brought out of  +
+          the dungeon.                                                     +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Cheat180: Roadia - White caster (tells you to go to Bebbel)                +
+          Bebbel - Green Bard (tells you to go to Oooblyae                 +
+          Oooblyae - Green Bard (tells you to go to SOUTH Blagsell         +
+                     NOTE: Remember that South is UP and north is DOWN     +
+          South Blagsell - A hermit (green dude) tells you to go to        +
+                           Burroughs.                                      +
+          Burroughs - Green Bard (tells you to go to Hollow)               +
+          Hollow - Green Bard (sends you to Woodshade)                     +
+          Woodshade - Green Bard (sends you to Roaldia)                    +
+          Roaldia - White Caster (sends you to his hut which is near       +
+                    Randaway. Randaway is on an island a screen right of   +
+                    Farborough.)                                           +
+          Hut - He's actually there. He doesn't even charge you. Yay!      +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-------------------------------J) Thanks/legal-------------------------------

Thanks to all the fans who have emailed me about this game over the years. I
hope this FAQ helps you get many hours of fun and maybe shares some of the
fond memories I've had. Thanks go to Daniel Berke and Matthew Engle for
creating such a fine game.

Thanks to Patrick Wong for sending me some tips including the location
of the magic skill trainer. I've now got em all.

Excelsior is Copyright 11th Dimension Entertainment (Daniel Berke and 
Matthew Engle) and is distributed as shareware (not freeware).

11th Dimension Entertainment:
http://www.nwlink.com/~dberke/

This FAQ is Copyright Daniel Moscovitz. All rights reserved.

For posting on Gamefaqs.com ONLY.

Contact: EMAIL d _at_ mosc _dot_ com

Version 1.0 - 12/04/07 - base version
Version 1.1 - 12/05/07 - mega cleanup
Version 1.2 -  3/22/08 - Magic skill location, reworked character creation.
Version 1.3 -  4/15/08 - Finally added spells and items sections.
Version 1.4 -  4/25/08 - Added info on Mortimer's skull and spell.
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