Don't Go Alone FAQ/Walkthrough by GM Beowulf Don't Go Alone Released: 1989 Published By: Accolade Developed By: Sterling Silver Software Don't go alone is a horror roleplaying game. You can choose your party from a variety of 16 paranormal characters available. Your party goes to investigate the haunted house on the hill, where you attempt to rescue your grandfather from the clutches of the Ancient One. The house is huge and you'll encounter over 100 spooky opponents and solve various puzzles in order to find out the mysteries of the haunted house. An automap feature helps you not to lose track in the huge dungeons of the game, which you explore from a first-person perspective. Instead of Health points, the characters have Fear levels, which increase when they are attacked and decrease slowly over time. Instead of Magic points, they have a concentration level which they can use to create various chemical formulas, which also refills slowly over time. General Tips: * Search everywhere. Look in every room, go through every door. Check every corner-you never know where something useful might be. * Try to keep your characters at the same level. The person who does the fighting gets much more experience in battle (though the other characters get some). It's easy to neglect your medium in favor of the technician's cool toys, the scientist's powerful formulas, and the warrior's mighty attacks. But the medium needs to do the fighting in the final battle. * Along those lines, try to kill everything you meet. Not only do you lose out on experience when you run, but monsters tend to drop a lot of useful stuff when you kill them. * Don't be afraid to switch characters during a battle if one doesn't seem effective or gets too scared to act. Press F1, F2, F3 or F4 to switch to the appropriate character. * Equip new stuff as soon as you get it! If the game doesn't tell you a new weapon or armor's power, try using Irradium, then equip it again. * When you find a new chemistry book, pass it around to all of your characters so that they all learn the formulas. Then re-equip them with the most useful ones. Generally, at least one character should have your best attack spell, and one should have your best healing spell. * When you lose against a monster (your party's fear level gets too high and no one can act) it will laugh manically and run off, and steal something from someone's pack. Immediately check to see what's gone, and re-equip if necessary. * Along these lines, try to keep an extra weapon and extra armor around in case someone's gets stolen. * Pick up plenty of keys. There are always more than you need to open every door, but it makes life easier to have a few handy. * If your party's fear level maxes out, you'll black out and find yourself in a random part of the maze. Try to avoid this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Walkthrough Level 1 Enemies: Wisp, Leech, Lizard, Ghost*, Hood, Slime, Skeleton, Killer*, Mist, Presence, Bat (* indicates particularly strong monsters for this area.) You start off at the entrance to the House, and the door locks behind you when you enter-there's no escape. First things first, get your party outfitted. Give both your scientist and chemist the Oxyacid formula-it's the only attack spell you have thus far. Head south, then west at your first opportunity, and follow the path around. There's a dagger in that room, which you should immediately equip on your adventurer. Try to kill everything you meet, either with the Oxyacid formula or, as you run out of concentration, the adventurer's attacks. You should have no trouble getting everyone up to level two or even three this way, especially if you explode the entire level before going downstairs. The puzzles on this level are pretty simple. In the area where you "feel a breeze", head in that direction and there's a wall that you can walk through for an Iron Key, which will open the door to the south. You've got two choices for getting through the level: Either head south then east to the area where you get teleported around, or south then west through the area labeled "many rooms, should you search them all?" and then the long, snaking corridor. Either way will lead you to the Room o' Many Keys (and neither has any noteworthy treasure). The aftermentioned room gives the clue "The Game of Corners." Get the Iron Key from the upper-left corner, and go around unlocking doors and grabbing the new key in each room. If you meet a monster that seems too nasty for you, fleeing isn't a bad idea. After completeing that room, follow the path around to the soth and then head east to an area with twelve small rooms. The third room in the bottom row has a telporter that lets you reach the stairs down. (Trying to go straight to the stairs will get you teleported into a different room.) My advice is to cover the entire level-though there's very little treasure. Besides the dagger, you might find a few beryls or topazes, lanterns and flashlights, and a Chemistry vol.1, which you already have four of. You're mostly mapping as an excuse to grind experience and hope for useful drops off of monsters. Level 2 Enemies: Wisp, Slime, Skeleton, Ghost, Mist, Presence, Hood, Howler*, Rattler, Bane, Blob*, Rock Creature, Spectre, Lost Soul, Ghost [pink], Ghoul, Zombie*, Bat, Bat Horde, CockRoach* "Beware the shifting walls"-that's the warning you receive, and it's appropriate. There are a lot of one-way walls on this level, and it's easy to not notice them until you're through. Still, there's virtually always an easy way back, and even if there wasn't, where would you go? You can find a motorcycle helmet, a meat cleaver and a machete (the latter in the area with the pile of trash--you'll get a message about the smell) when searching the level. There are also a fair number of iron, copper and zinc keys, so grab a few of those for later use. Enemies will drop boots or motorcycle helmets fairly regularly, so ideally you can upgrade everyone's armor (or replace any that has been stolen). This level pretty much forces you into a certain route: East, north, then south and west, then north again. (There's one critical secret passage to go through in the northeast area-your party will comment on it.) Don't miss the Chemistry vol. 2 in the top room in the far northern part of that area. And when you get it, pass it to each of your party members so they all learn the formulas. The room just south of the Chem book has a mirror, should you want one. When you reach the square where everything goes dark, use either a flashlight or a lantern-that's what they're there for. And don't throw it away afterwards, as you'll need it downstairs. West of the dark room, there's a "scary" room where your fear meter will increase with every step. You don't need to enter this room at all, but if you do, the secret exit is in the southeast corner, going east. There are two stairways going down, both in the northwest part of the floor. Both lead to the same part of level 3, so it doesn't matter which you use, though the western one requires passing through a room with an extremely high encounter rate. Level 3 Enemies: Presence, Ghost, Blob, Zombie, Bat Horde, CockRoach, Rock Creature, Jinn, Satyr, Witch, Pit Fiend*, Wyvern, Golem*, Tarantula, Beast Man, Unseen Evil, Wolf, Whirl Wind "Things are not as they seem." Which is the game's way of saying, "Very few of the walls are real." Exploring this level means pretty much ignoring walls unless you bump into them. If you found yourself getting annoyed at the one-way walls on the last level, they two-way walls here should be a nice change of pace. (There are a few one-way walls, but they're unlikely to slow you down.) There's a sword and a meat saw, both of which are lovely weapons, in nearby rooms when you first descend. Head south and explore thoroughly, and you can pick up a blow torch and tomahawk, which means you'll have a weapon with power: 4 for each of your party members. Along those lines, some monsters drop bomber jackets, and you can occasionally find vests of body armor in the far northern part of this level or dropped from monsters. Be wary of pit fiends, if you meet one-they're pretty nasty for your level 3 or 4 characters. Try to build up to level 5 while you're here. As you head south-east, you'll be alerted that you've stumbled upon a treasury. There are Opals and a Catseye to be had here as you search the room. The last door in this level (which is in the south-center of the map) gives the clue "Only the stone masters may pass." You need to have a Catseye to go through (there's one in the jewel room, or you can get them from monsters). If you have one, it'll be used automatically. Go past there to the stairs to level 4. Level 4 Enemies: Ghost, Bane, Zombie, Killer, Pit Fiend, CockRoach, Whirl Wind, Witch, Wyvern, Jinn, Lion, Mummy, Air Elemental, Water Elemental*, SheWolf, Hydra*, Executioner, Gila Monster This level is remarkably easy to zip through - just head to the north west (turn north through a fake wall at the first dead-end), and you'll hit a teleporter that takes you one of several places, one of which is the south-west corner of the floor, right near the stairs going down. But you should take some time to explore the floor first. For one thing, a quick search near where the teleporter drops you off (north-east of the stairs down, in the far western part of the floor) will turn up a diving suit, which is an excellent piece of armor for this level. I found a Chemistry Vol. 3 in a room in the north-west part of the floor, as well. Enemies on this floor tend to drop swords and blowtorches, if you missed them on the previous floor. Up in the northern part of the floor are "The Armory," "The Weapons Room" and "The Formula Room," which are all locked, and you need Boron keys to get in. There's a Boron key in the room just to the west, but that'll only get you into one of the six rooms. The rooms contain: Weapons room north: Rapier Weapons room south: Colt Armory north: Shield Armory south: Radiation Suit Formula room north: Part of a formula, but don't waste the key, as there's another entrance to it. Formula room south: Part of a formula (Sometimes the same as you can get in the hall) There are four 3x2 rooms in the mid-west area. The SE one doesn't have a door, but there's a fake wall that leads in. There's a crossbow inside. IN a room slightly north-east of there, I found a Nunchaka. The north of the stairs up, the room that gives the clue "Reflect on how to enter" requires you to use a mirror. There's a copper key inside. To the west (north of the stairs down), there are a few other locked doors that you can pick up different keys behind. (You can do them out of order if you'd been grabbing extra keys from monsters.) Eventually you'll need a krypton key; you can use that west of the stairs going up to level 3 to pick up the first gold key. The level gives an important clue: "You'll need all five gold keys to reach the Ancient One." Level 5 - "The Garden" Enemies: Ghoul, Zombie, Killer, Beast Man, Jinn, Hydra, Whirl Wind, Pit Fiend, Water Elemental, Earth Elemental, Living Dead, Sorcerer, Minor Demon, Flesh Hound, Banshee, Wight, Coatl*, Blood Demon** Bring a Krypton Key down from the previous floor; it'll make your life easier and there are a number of them up there. If you forget, there's one south and slightly east of the stairs up, in the garden. Directly to the north of the stairs going up is a suit of Blood Armor, some of the best the game offers. Further north from there are the stairs going down to level 6, and a message that you should "Seek the spirit weapons." If you head to the far NE, there's another suit of Blood Armor. There are also diving suits, radiation suits, bulletproof vests, and shields to be had lying around and from killing monsters. Take the time to upgrade your armor if you can--you can get everyone their best armor on this floor. In the large room just west of the the second suit of Blood Armor is a Long Sword. South a ways from the second suit of Blood Armor (in the middle-east area) is a Chain Saw, the most powerful weapon you can find thus far. If you explore the big, open garden area (basically, the southern part of the map), you can find a Chemistry vol. 2 and a Chemistry vol. 3. They're far to the SE, if you still need them. You can also find a Spark Generator for your technician, but you'll need a power source to make it work; and a .38 Police Special for your medium. There are a lot of chains of garlic to be found, if you feel you need one. There's a small room with a very powerful Blood Demon; as far as I can tell, there's no reason not to just flee from it. In the middle-eastern area, you'll hear a clue about searching around if the door disappears. South of there is the one-way door you knew was coming. Grab the second gold key from that room, then you can exit through the series of fake walls to the west. Watch out for the areas where "A strange otherworldly groan sets your hair on edge." Your fear levels will constantly rise in those rooms. The "meditation chamber" in the far-east area is the reverse, consantly decreasing fear. Level 6 Enemies: Presence, Hood, Howler, Lost Soul, CockRoach, Air Elemental, Flesh Hound, Sorcerer, Banshee, Wight, Coatl, Demon, Komodo, CottonMouth, Fell Demon* You can exit the first room by walking between the two doors, straight ahead. To the south are a few long corridors, with annoying teleporters that bump you back north. Stay to the west, and you should be able to go around them all. One of the side rooms has a Pentagram. If you head far to the south, there's a Chemistry Vol. 4 and a Rapier in a square room. Further SW from there is a "maze" which contains two spark generators. Don't bother with them. You may have been tempted by the general lack of darkness on the last few levels to throw out your flashlight. Don't--you'll need it here and on the next level, too. If you go south (and west) past the dark area, you can find a Bloodstone and a .45 Magnum. Head to the southeast of the dark area for the Auric Acid puzzle. You'll enter a ring-shaped room and find clues like "Ct+ +","F=", "+Au+" and "+W+." Put these together to get the formula "Ct + W + Au + F" which is "the oil which dissolves." It allows you to walk through walls-and you need it to escape from the puzzle area! (You also need it to return to the upper floors. Grandfather's voice will tell you to seek this when you enter the art gallery, too.) Once you have that formula, go to the ballroom (the large room in the center of the map). Use Auric Acid to go through the western wall in the center into a smaller room that otherwise has no doors. It contains the third Gold Key. An odd facet of this level particularly is that you will often meet weaker enemies from earlier in the game. They sometimes drop useful keys, but other than that, aren't good for much. The stairs going down are in the east, in the center of the art gallery. Just walk through the bottom fake wall of that square central area. In a small room in the south-east, you can find the riddle, "Tween creaking wood and billlowing sail lies a portal which cannot fail." I'm not sure what this refers to, though it may simply be a reference to the ship paintings in the art gallery and the exit there. Level 7 Enemies: Ghost, Howler, CockRoach, Wyvern, Sorcerer, Mummy, Wight, Rock Creature, Whirl Wind, Air Elemental, Earth Elemental, Banshee, Golem, Mummy, Demon, Coatl, Flesh Hound, Komodo, CottonMouth, Hydra, Fell Demon, Raver, Poltergist, Stone Giant*, Gargoyle The major features of this level are a large number of hallways and rooms that make your fear level rise automatically; and that it'll use up all of those lovely keys you've been gathering. (But if you run out, never fear! You know the formula for Auric Acid, so you can just walk around the doors!) To the far west, you'll hear an electric hum. Go through the door (it requires an Iron Key) to find an electric whip, and more importantly, an atomic generator-that's the power source you need for your technician's toys. Now's the time to start maxing out your characters' levels (at level 10). It'll still be a little while before you can find the best weapons, but you want your team in peak fighting form, and XP rewards really start to skyrocket here. (You can find weapons that are a small step up scattered around this floor, but the Chain Saw on your scientist is still the best you have.) The stairs going down are directly west of the stairs going up, in a darkened area. (The southern door requires a silver key.) There's also a Chemistry Vol. 5 in that room. In the far south-west corner of the map is a long hallway leaning to a Y-shaped room. There's a false wall that leads into the center part of it where you can find the fourth Gold Key. In the far south-east corner of the map is a small room where "the light seems brighter" in the north-west corner. I have no idea if this means anything. CRPG Addict Chester Bolingbroke (http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/) says he was able to acquire two Gold Keys from enemy drops on this floor. I have not been able to reproduce that, but as I have gotten every other kind of key (including Platinum), I wouldn't doubt it. Level 8 Enemies: Fire Elemental, Poltergist, Stone Giant, Gargoyle, Vampire, Summoned Devil, Power*, Hideous Demon This level has four paths, "some long, some sh..." You need to go down to the Level 9 five times in total. You can wander about this level to your heart's content, but most of the best prizes are downstairs in the brothers' rooms, and your characters should be at level 10 by now. If you go NW, it's a short path without any good prizes. It leads to the first younger brother's room. Just to the SW is a small room where you can fight a Power for a suit of Blood Armor, should you need it. The SW path is longer, and you'll need a platinum key to reach the stairs down (younger brother number two). Also, if you head south, then west, you can find a Chemistry Vol. 6. If you head S, past the large room containing the middle stairs down (those lead to the gold doors and finally level 10), just south of that room is a flamesword. SW from there (the easiest way is through the wall) is an X-ray machine. The NE and SE stairs also require platinum keys to reach. NE is the third younger brother (there's a Chemistry Vol. 5 along the short path), and SE is the older brother. Level 9 Enemies: Pit Fiend, Fell Demon, Komodo, Raver, Jinn, Gargoyle, Summoned Devil, Stone Giant, Wraith, Blood Demon*, Fire Elemental, Grim Reaper, Hideous Demon The four brothers' rooms. I'll list these by the stairway on level 8 you use to reach them. Three of them also contain clues to the Shield of Zeus formula, which you need to defeat the Ancient One, but if you'd already picked up a Chemistry Vol. 6 or a pentagram, you don't need them. NW - There's a Machine Pistol in the large center-southern room and a Flamesword in the SE area. Then walk though the mid-S false wall to find a teleporter. You'll appear next to a platinum key, and then moving one space will teleport you back up to the entrance to level 8. SW - A dark square, then one giant room. Go north to find a bazooka, the second-strongest weapon in the game. The SE corner holders the teleporter to the platinum key. NE - No great prizes (mostly a lot of Pentagrams), but the warp is in the SW corner. It leads to the third platinum key. SE - The eldest son's room. The warp is to the north, and there's an atomic generator here if you didn't get one (to power your x-ray machine) earlier, or if it was stolen. This room contains the final gold key, instead of a platinum one. Center - You need 5 Gold keys to get through the doors, but you can use the Auric Acid to sneak around one if you're short. (Note that you can only carry four gold keys, so you'll need to unlock four doors, then go to the eldest son's room to retrieve the final key if you want to do this "right". This path leads to the final level. Level 10 Enemies: Lizard, Howler, Witch, Wight, Rock Creature, Wyvern, CockRoach, Satyr, Whirl Wind, Jinn, Minor Demon, Air Elemental, Earth Elemental, Fire Elemental, Raver, Coatl, Hydra, Gargoyle, Wraith, Demon, Fell Demon, Hideous Demon, Living Dead, Poltergist, Vampire, Grim Reaper, Power, Blood Demon, Demon Lord (Note: Most of the weaker enemies are only encountered in a single room.) First thing you want to do is find the three rooms shaped like arrows, as the tips have directions to the Ancient One. (One is north, one is north-west, and one is south-west) Follow the corridors straight and you should find them fairly easily. (You should write down the notes, but I reproduce them below.) Then you can search the entire level at your leisure. There are plenty of things to find, including suits of Blood Armor, very important Spirit Wands, copies of the various Chemistry books if you've missed them, and other useful weapons. In a room directly east of the NW arrow (west of the one-block rooms) is a Bazooka. When you're ready, go into the middle-north area where the rows of one-block rooms are. Near one of them, your grandfather will say, "Remember the acid of gold." Use Auric Acid and dive through the nearest wall into a one-block room. If you got the right one, you'll teleport to the center of the square maze. In the middle-south of this level, there's a square maze. There's a Bazooka in the south-west corner of it. In the south-east corner of it, you can walk through a wall and get warped to a one-block room in a new area. This is where those directions (the three thirteens) come in handy. (There's a Spirit Wand along the way, if you don't already have one.) A note reads: SSESESEENNEES Another note reads: SSWSWSSEEEEEN A final note reads: ENEESSSWWSSEE This leads you to the Ancient One, the final boss. To fight him, you need a few things: * The Shield of Zeus formula. (You can learn this from Chemistry Vol. 6, a pentagram, or the notes on level 9) Use this first, to protect your party from his attacks. Give it to your warrior. * The Spirit Wand. Equip your medium with this; it will be your main attack. * Spirit Mirrors. They protect you from the attacks of the Ancient One. Have at least one for your medium, and try to put one on your healer, too. * The Mesonium formula. Give this to your medium as well, to boost her strength, so you can take down the Ancient One in fewer hits. * The Erato's Salve formula. Make sure at least one person has this. It's your best recovery spell if your medium gets too scared to attack. Warning: If you lose against the Ancient One, he'll run off like any other monster, but when you walk forward, you'll be teleported to the very beginning of the game! If you beat the Ancient One, he'll release your grandfather and you get treated to a lovely view of the mansion exploding as your characters rush out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Formula Name Effects In Chemistry Vol. 1: Cu + Bi + Te + N Copper Halo Diminish fear attacks by 25% Ag + O + Cs Silver Mist Restores concentration by 10% Zr + Xe + Tl + Na Ocularium Shows map F + K + O Oxyacid Causes 1-3 damage W + O + C Irradium Show invisible things In Chemistry Vol. 2: I + Ga + Ir Valium Dust Reduces Fear y + I + V Vitallium Temporarily increase max concentration Th + U + Ir + Cs Atomite Causes 5-10 damage Rh + Eu + Ti Mesonium Increases strength 50% Rn + V + Cn Analyticum Reveals enemy's stats In Chemistry Vol. 3: S + R + Cl + Ba Hypno Powder Disorganizes a monster Si + Ag + Nd + Au Ebbnium Reduces monster's strength H + Tl + Na + I Kill Flash Causes 20-40 damage Ra + N + Fe + Ar Neomycin Reduces entire party's fear by 50% Ir + He + Ra Demon's Breath Dissipates one monster In Chemistry Vol. 4: O + Fe + V + B Ring of Fire Protection from beasts, cold creatures V + O + H + Ag Arrowroot Protection from undead Bi + He + H + O Cloud Wall Protection from otherworldly creatures Cu + Ba + C + He Erato's Salve Makes party fearless In Chemistry Vol. 5: C + Ar + Fe + Au Cloak of DarknesProtection from all (?) monsters y + Th + Ct + U Dragon's Tooth Causes 50-100 damage U + Ra + Th + Tl Potion of Death Causes 100-200 damage Ar + R + Rn + Zr Timebender Doubles dexterity In Chemistry Vol. 6 (and alternate sources): Ti + U + Nd + Th Shield of Zeus Protection from the Ancient One Ct + W + Au + F Auric Acid Walk through 5 solid walls (T = Technician, S = Scientist, M = Mystic, W = Warrior) Weapon Power Can be used by Pocket Knife 1 T, S, M, W Swiss Army Knife 1 T, S, M, W Dagger 2 T, S, M, W Meat Cleaver 3 W Machete 3 T, S, M, W Meat Saw 4 T, S Sword 4 T, S, M, W Tomahawk 4 W Blow Torch 4 T Crossbow 6 S, M, W Rapier 6 T Colt 6 M Long Sword 7 T, W Nunchaka 7 W .38 Police Special 7 M Spark Generator 8 T (requires power source) Mauser 8 M .45 Magnum 9 M Saber 9 S, W Electric Whip 10 T, S, M Hunting Rifle 10 T, S, M Broadsword 11 T, S, M Chain Saw 12 S Cutlass 12 W Elephant Gun 14 T, M Sonic Knife 15 T Machine Pistol 15 M Assault Rifle 15 W Flamesword 30 W X-Ray Machine 30 T (requires power source) Flame Thrower 30 T Bazooka 50 T, S, W Spirit Wand 60 M Armor Power Can be used by Pair of Boots 1 T, S, W Motorcycle Helmet 2 T, S, M, W Bomber Jacket 3 T, S, M, W Vest of Body Armor 4 T, W Diving Suit 5 T, S, M Shield 5 T, S Bulletproof Vest 6 T, S, M Radiation Suit 6 T, S, M Suit of Blood Armor 7 T, W Item Description Beryl "A blue-green silicate." Topaz "A brilliant yellow stone." Opal "A beautiful fire opal." Catseye "An opulescent crysoberyl." Ruby "Deep blood-red in color." Piece of Amber "A small bug is preserved within." Bloodstone "A green chalcedony with red spots." Emerald "A nile green beryl." Diamond "Intense blue-white in color." String of Garlic "A pungent herb." Mirror "A cheap mirror with a wooden frame." Spirit Mirror "Gilt-edged and a back of silver." Pentagram "A mystical symbol of power." Compass Tells which direction the party is facing. Flashlight -- Lantern -- Atomic Generator "Portable and powerful (50kw)." Iron Key "An ornate skeleton key." Copper Key "An ornate skeleton key." Zinc Key "An ornate skeleton key." Krypton Key "An ornate skeleton key." Silver Key "An ornate skeleton key." Gold Key "An ornate skeleton key." Platinum Key "An ornate skeleton key." Item Irradium Description Beryl "Protection against beasts." Topaz "Protection against undead spirits." Opal "Protection against underworld creatures." Catseye "Protection against otherworld creatures." Ruby "Protection against creatures of the night." Piece of Amber "Protection against creatures of fear." Bloodstone "Protection against beasts and ghouls." Emerald "Protection against beasts and many spirits." Diamond "Protection against most spirits." String of Garlic "Protection against undead spirits." Mirror "Protection against undead and otherworld." Spirit Mirror "Protection against the Ancient One." Pentagram "Ti + U + Nd + Th" Compass -- Flashlight "Good for dark places." Lantern "Good for dark places." Atomic Generator "A power source." Iron Key "Opens certain locked doors." Copper Key "Opens certain locked doors." Zinc Key "Opens certain locked doors." Krypton Key "Opens certain locked doors." Silver Key "Opens certain locked doors." Gold Key "Opens certain locked doors." Platinum Key "Opens certain locked doors." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FAQ Q: Where can I find this game? A: The abandonware site of your choice. Try these spots: * http://www.myabandonware.com/game/dont-go-alone-mw * http://www.hotud.org/component/content/article?id=20011 * http://www.xtcabandonware.com/game/317/dont-go-alone Q: Is there a manual online? A: Not that I've ever found. A commenter on the CRPG Addict's blog had a copy and related the following: In its introduction the manual says: "Welcome to a house that tends to devour visitors. Grown men have gone in string, only to emerge in fits of burbling terror. Now it's your turn." Here is the complete backstory: "The goal in Don't Go Alone is to find and defeat the Ancient One. Who's the Ancient One? You don't want to know. Suffice to say, that he drove your grandfather berzerk with one glance, so you had better be more prepared than he was." Q: Why does "?" sometimes appear in formula books instead of elements? A: Not entirely sure. This may have something to do with your party's Intelligence or Intuition ratings. I've had those question marks go away as I went up in character levels and re-checked books. You can also find pieces of formulas scattered around the various floors, which usually fill in a few of the blanks. (You can also always input formulas manually, even if you don't have any pieces of them. I usually put in Neomycin early.) Q: Are you sure this stuff isn't randomized? A: Well, the formulas and maps aren't, as far as I can tell. The locations of some objects may be, but at least some of them are spiked, and I've been able to effectively follow my own walkthrough to most of them. Also, items remain if you don't pick them up, and respawn if you save and restart. Q: What about the third and fourth gold keys? A: In the previous version of the FAQ, these were missing. I found them when I revised it: One is on level 6 and requires you use Auric Acid on the west wall of the ballroom; the other is on level 7 through a false wall in the far south-west corner of the floor. Q: Wait, did this really go a decade between updates? A: Yep. It took me that long to get around to it. But I fleshed out the walkthrough, added monster lists and a full item list and found all five gold keys, so I think it was worth the revision. Q: No monster stats? No maps? What kind of a FAQ writer are you? A: The lazy kind. If you find things that I've missed, let me know and I'll add them in. Or just write your own FAQ-you might not have noticed, but mine's been the only one around for over a decade. Q: You don't seem terribly enthused about this game. Why bother writing a FAQ for it? A: I'll admit this isn't the greatest game ever, but I became enamoured with it when I was ten years old and it was the only non-sports game at a computer lab my parents were using and had brought me along to. When I found it on an Abandonware site in college but couldn't find any FAQs or useful documentation, I decided to put some together myself. The lens of nostalgia is a powerful thing. Copyright 2004, 2014 Chuck Rozakis. Don't plagiarize. Don't steal. Don't post without permission. Email me at chuckro15@aol.com.