![]() There are very interesting differences esp in pet projects that try to form gaps between each of the series. TBH, you might want to check out each version of ultima. You could start with his D&D 28(or w/e), add akalabeth, ultima I, escape from mines of mt drash, etc. and it is all mapped out with named NPCs and everything, yet it would probably all fit in a 16 page booklet. The main quest was about mastering the 8 virtues to become the Avatar that could save the world by journeying to the Abyss and answering the Ultimate Riddle.īasically you've got a campaign setting, plothooks, 8 town maps filled with pregen NPCs, 8 multi-level dungeons, 8 temples, 8 classes, etc. You had 8 reagents for spell components, some of which could only be harvested on the darkest nights in remote bogs and forests. ![]() The 8 evil vices all had a corresponding dungeon hidden in the remote reaches of the wilderness to explore and find forgotten knowledge. Now there were 8 noble virtues that one strived to uphold and learn the secrets of the corresponding shrines. The 8 main PC classes each had their own patron town, where you could go to find quests, clues and recruit NPCs to your 8-man party. This was a beautifully crafted 8-bit world, just large enough to get lost in but not to large to get overwhelmed, that oozed old-school D&D-esque flava. Ultima IV kept all the features III had and added more. The final battle reveal was that the BBEG and source of all evil in the world was a computer AI called Exodus. It offered a surprisingly complex experience for such a tiny game world: moon portals, eight 10-level dungeons connected by portals in their lowest levels, towns, a 4-man party of companions, sea exploration (if you managed to a capture passing pirate ships) and a whirlpool that sucked unfortunate ships down to the lost land of Ambrosia. Ultima III was a more solidly classic fantasy setting. While mostly a quasi-medieval fantasy world filled with 8-bit-sprite dungeons and castles, it also featured hovercraft, lasers, and part of the game involved space exploration in a starship. Ultima II was a "Journey through space and Time". Then it got me thinking: has anyone ever used one of the early Ultimas a campaign setting for D&D? (I'm only ever played Ultima II-IV) Nostalgia got the better of me, and I started reminiscing about the days I spent playing this game and trying to complete the Quest of the Avatar as a teen. I just recently discovered that Ultima IV is being offered at GOG as freeware.
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