Ultima 6 Randomizer (SNES) - Quickstart Guide

Quickstart Guide

New to Ultima 6 for the SNES, need a refresher, or want tips that may help you along your randomized journey? Then this guide is for you! This is a quickstart guide meant to give you the bare minimum knowledge needed to help you along your way. The View Information panel on the randomizer page also contains extra information about the item locations. There are two web trackers, the Location Tracker and the Character Tracker, available on the bottom of the randomizer page which can make keeping track of where you have checked much easier. For more in depth information, check out any available strategy guides and of course maps you can find online!

Goal

The ultimate goal of Ultima 6 Randomizer is to beat the game. To do this at a minimum you will need to:

Collect the 8 Moonstones
Collect the Vortex Cube and insert the 8 Moonstones into it
Collect the Gargoyle Lens
Collect the Human Lens
Craft a Balloon using the Balloon Plans
Visit the 3 Gargoyle Shrines (Diligence, Control, and Passion)
Have at least 80 Karma
Have a Spellbook with the spell Dispel Field and visit the Shrine of Singularity via a Balloon
Visit the Shrine of the Avatar to finish the game

Depending on how the items are randomized you are very likely to need to do quite a bit more. Other important items that you may need are:

The 8 Runes which are used to unlock the 8 Shrines(Each has an item).
The Moon Orb is used to quickly teleport around the world.
The Spellbook allows you to cast spells.
The Spell - Unlock allows you to unlock magically locked doors and chests.
The Spell - Dispel Field allows you to remove magical fields that block your path.
Sherry the Mouse who will give you access to an item in the Jhelom Tavern.
A Shovel which will allow you to dig an entrance into Pirate Cave.
Powder Kegs which can be used to destroy non-magically locked doors.
Learn the Gargoyle Language from the Gargish Text to speak with Gargoyles.
The Book of Oz which can be given to Lord British for an item.
The Book of Boardgames which can be given to Dr Cat in Paws for an item.
The Broken Lens which can be given to the Gargoyle Lenscrafter for an item.
A Glass Sword which can be given to Ephemerides for an item if you have the Gargoyle Lens.

If Treasure Map Quest Locations are included other important items that you may need could include:

The Guild Belt is used to get an item from Phoenix.
The 8 Map Pieces are used to get an item from Homer. Map Piece #9 has no use.
A Dragon Egg which is given to Sandy in Trinsic.

If you selected the Open Avatar Shrine option then the Gargoyle Shrines (Diligence, Control, and Passion) as well as the Shrine of Singularity are no longer required. This can result in the possibility of not needing to craft a Balloon and/or not needing to have a Spellbook.

Getting Started Tips (If starting in Castle Britannia)

Talk to Lord British to get the item Key B to exit the castle.
Give some Cheese or Odd Cheese to Sherry the Mouse. She is normally found along the outer rooms of the castle.(She is needed to get an item)
Open the 3 Chests to get three randomized items along with anything else the chests have.
If Hints are Enabled get the Book from the chest in the small room and check Lord British's Locked room.
Take anything you want from the castle as everything is free and nothing is considered stolen.
Use the Key to exit the castle through the front gate.
Talk to Ariana (child in Music Hall south-west of Castle gate) to get her item and get the chests in Britain.
From here visit any cities you can reach. If playing without the Moon Orb, Paws and Skara Brae are good early places to visit.

Other Useful Tips

There are many hidden passages in the game. Look for the wall pattern to be different. There is one in Lord British's closet!
Selling items to Gwenneth in Britain is generally a good way to make money.
Invisibility Rings are incredibly useful but have a chance of breaking every step you take while wearing one.
Using Powder Kegs to destroy doors is a sometimes necessary way to enter locked doors, so always carry a few.
Buying a Skiff is useful to reach islands.
NEVER leave your Skiff or Balloon behind!!! They will be deleted and you will need to buy or craft a new one!
Karma (KR on the inventory screen) changes the prices in shops and stealing too much will cause everything to become expensive!
You can heal, cure, and ressurect at healers found in Moonglow, Skara Brae, Cove, Empath Abbey, Minoc, Britain, and Trinsic.
Casting the HELP spell will heal, cure, and ressurect all party members and return you to your starting position at no cost.

The 8 Virtues

Ultima is a game about virtues. You play as the Avatar, the paragon of virtue. There are 8 virtues in the game. Each virtue has a City, a Shrine, and a Rune that unlocks the Shrine. Shrines have items and allow you to level up and gain karma.

Compassion is the city of Britain.

The Rune of Compassion has a Heart symbol

The Moon Orb teleport is 2 up

Honesty is the city of Moonglow.

The Rune of Moonglow has a Hand symbol

The Moon Orb teleport is 2 up and 2 left

Honor is the city of Trinsic.

The Rune of Honor has a Chalice symbol

The Moon Orb teleport is 2 down

Humility is the city of New Maginica.

The Rune of Humilty has a Crook symbol

The Moon Orb teleport is 2 left

Justice is the city of Yew.

The Rune of Justice has a Scales symbol

The Moon Orb teleport is 2 right

Sacrifice is the city of Minoc.

The Rune of Sacrifice has a Drop symbol

The Moon Orb teleport is 2 down and 2 right

Spirituality is the city of Skara Brae.

The Rune of Spirituality has an Ankh symbol

The Moon Orb teleport is 2 down and 2 left

Valor is the city of Jhelom.

The Rune of Valor has a Sword symbol

The Moon Orb teleport is 2 up and 2 right

The Moon Orb

The Moon Orb (otherwise known as the Orb of the Moons) lets you quickly teleport to 22 locations. To use it, simply throw it on the ground near you. You can throw it up to two tiles away, and where you throw it determines where you will teleport. Experiment with it and you will quickly learn how it works.

If the destinations are not randomized, you can use it to teleport to:

The 8 Virtue Cities(2 tiles out along the cardinal and ordinal directions with you at the center)
The 8 Shrines(one tile clockwise from each city)
3 of the Gargoyle Shrines (Down, Up Left, and Up Right)
The Gargoyle City (Down Left)
The Shrine of the Avatar (Down Right)
Lord British (Up)

Spells and Reagents

To cast spells you must have a Spellbook equipped and know the spell. The two require spells are Unlock which can normally be purchased in Skara Brae and Dispel Field which can normally be purchased in Moonglow. You will likely often cast Light in caves and at night, and Dispel Magic to cure poisons. Help is a free spell that will teleport you to your starting point.

Spells cost reagents to use which can be found or bought from magic shops. There is a magic shop in Skara Brae, Moonglow, Cove, and one north of Britain in the Deep Forest.

The following reagents are needed for the most commonly used spells:

Dispel Field requires Black Pearl and Sulphurous Ash. This spell removes barriers such as electric fields, fire fields, poison fields, and sleep fields.
Dispel Magic requires Garlic and Ginseng. This spell will remove status effects from party members, such as poison.
Heal requires Ginseng and Spidersilk. This spell heals a small amount of damage.
Light requires Sulphurous Ash. This spell creates a large ring of light. Torches have a similiar effect and Great Light is more effective.
Unlock requires Blood Moss and Sulphurous Ash. This spell unlocks magically locked doors and chests.

The reagents you are likely going to want to keep a large stock of are:

Black Pearl - Used for Dispel Field
Blood Moss - Used for Unlock
Sulphurous Ash - Used for Dispel Field and Unlock

Karma

You will need to manage your Karma in the game, represented in your inventory screen as KR. Karma affects things such as what quests you can do, how NPCs respond to you, the prices of items in shops, and how much XP you keep on death.

Karma is lost for doing bad actions, such as lying to children, stealing, and attacking non-violent characters.

Karma is gained when doing Quests and mainly from Meditiating at Shrines. Meditating is very important as it also can gain you levels and stats. To beat the game you will need at least 80 karma. To complete the Gargoyle Lens, you will need at least 75 karma.

No Main Items are treated as being stolen. All items in Shrines and Underground are also never treated as being stolen.

Some tips on gaining Karma:

Meditiating at each of the 8 Shrines once you have used the correct Rune on them gives 10 karma each one time.
Telling the child Ariana you will come back to watch her play music gives 10 karma one time. She is found in the musicians hall in Britain.
Watching the nomad child Karina dance gives 10 karma one time. She can be found outside the inn in Britain at the start of the game.
Giving food to Ybarra at the bottom of the dungeon Shame gives 1 karma each time food is given.
Returning borrowed keys to Pridgarm the prison guard gives 7 karma one time.
Surrendering to Draxinusom will give 10 karma.
Beginning the final quest at the Shrine of Singularity will give 10 karma. This is not extremely useful as this is typically the final karma checkpoint.

Important Quest Solutions

Visit Ariana the child usually found in the Britain Music Hall. She has an item when asked about the Rune.

To get her parents permission and to not lose karma on the quest, visit her mother in the tavern on the east side of town.
You can lie to the child and simply take the item for a karma loss.

Visit Antonio the mayor in New Magincia. He has an item when asked about the Rune.

Note: Characters will move around and often will visit the tavern or their homes to eat meals during the day.
Antonio will tell you to talk to a series of characters in the town.
William is the farmer and can often be found in the north in the fields.
Aurendir is the sheep herder who spends time at the moongate.
Conor is a fisherman and can often be found on the docks to the south.
Charlotte is the weaver in town and spends much of her time in the shop.
Dunbar is the cook and is often in the tavern.

Visit Selganor the Musician Guild leader in Minoc. He has an item when asked about the Rune.

For this you will also need Yew Log bought from Big Ben hidden away in the forest near Yew.
Then cut the log into Boards at the lumbermill in Minoc.
You may need to talk to Selganor first before you can continue. He is usually in the Music Hall in Minoc.
Then craft the Panpipes from the board from Julia in Minoc. She is usually in the north east shop.
Finally learn the song Stones from Gwenno who wanders around the streets of Minoc and will occassionally appear in the Music Hall as well.

Once you have the Balloon Plans you will need to do the following to craft the Balloon.

Talk to Thindle in Paws and then have Arbeth craft you Silk Thread. This requires 40 Spidersilk and 20 gold.
Then talk to Charlotte in New Maginca to obtain Silk Cloth. This requires 10 gold.
Then return to Paws and talk to Marissa to get the Silk Bag. This requires 75 gold.
Get the Basket from Michelle in Minoc. This requires 300 gold.
Obtain a Cauldron(Empty Pot) and some Rope. These can be bought, found, or stolen. Rope is bought in Paws at Rope Maker; Cauldron in Britain Guild Shop.
When you have all the materials and the Balloon Plans, simply use the Balloon Plans and the Balloon will appear at your feet.
WARNING: BE SURE TO ALWAYS PICK YOUR BALLOON UP AFTER YOU EXIT IT AS YOU CAN LOSE IT!

The Gargoyle Lenscrafter has an item if you bring them the Broken Lens.

Learn the Gargish Language from the Gargish Text.
Talk to the gargoyle Valkadesh in the SE of the Gargoyle Lands. This unlocks the keyword "surrender" as well as "codex". Then surrender to the gargoyle Draxinusom near the gargoyle museum. This requires 75 karma.
Talk to the gargoyle Naxatilor near the gargoyle museum then get the Broken Lens repaired by the Gargoyle Lenscrafter in the east. This requires 80 karma.

Ephemerides the Human Lenscrafter has an item if you bring them the Gargoyle Lens and a Glass Sword.

Find the Gargoyle Lens.
Find a Glass Sword or craft one in Minoc at the Glassblower with 5 Gems.
Unlock the keyword "lens" from either the Gargoyle Lenscrafter or from the Gargoyle Museum Curator.
Give the Gargoyle Lens and the Glass Sword to Ephemerides.

If Overworld Chests are included then there are two books that can be returned for rewards.

Lord British will give an item reward if you return to him the Book of Oz. You will need to speak with Nystful the mage who lives in the starting castle to learn about the keyword "book".
Dr. Cat in Paws will give an item reward if you return to him the Book of Boardgames.

If Underground Chests are included Nystful in the court of Lord British will start a questline.

He will direct you to visit Mariah in the Lycaeum where you need to learn about the keyword "tome".
After visiting Mariah you can visit Homer in Buccaneer's Den and learn about the keyword "map".
Homer will require you have the Guild Belt which is randomized but normally in the pocket of Phoenix.
Once you have talked to Homer, you can talk to Budo in Buccaneer's Den about the guild who will direct you to Phoenix.
Phoenix is located in the catacombs below Castle Britannia and will give you an item.
If you have the Guild Belt then Homer will tell you of the Map which then enables a few new people who can give you items.
Arturos located north of Trinsic will give an item when asked about the Map and given some gold.
Lord Whitsaber located in Trinsic will give an item when asked about the Map if you deliver a Dragon Egg, found in Destard, to Sandy the cook in Trinsic.
Morchella located in Serpent's Hold will give an item when asked about the Map and given a magic shield. You must first talk to Koranada in Serpent's Hold to learn about the shield.
Ybarra located at the bottom of the dungeon Shame will give an item when asked about the Map and given some food.
Homer will give an item when you return to them with Map Parts 1 through 8.

Beating the Game

Learn the Gargish Language from the Gargish Text.
Talk to the gargoyle Valkadesh in the SE of the Gargoyle Lands. This unlocks the keyword "surrender" as well as "codex". Then surrender to the gargoyle Draxinusom near the gargoyle museum. This requires 75 karma.
Talk to the gargoyle Naxatilor near the gargoyle museum then get the Broken Lens repaired by the Gargoyle Lenscrafter in the east. This requires 80 karma.
Visit the 3 Gargoyle Shrines (Diligence, Control, and Passion) and talk to the statues inside.
Visit the Shrine of Singularity via Balloon in the Gargoyle lands and talk to the large stone triangle. This requires 80 karma.
Get the Human Lens by visting the lenscrafter north of Moonglow. Requires the Broken Lens and a Glass Sword.
Obtain the 8 Moonstones and insert them into the Vortex Cube.
Finally, visit the Shrine of the Avatar and place the two Lens to the sides of the pedestal and the Vortex Cube on the pedestal to beat the game!
Note: If you selected Open Avatar Shrine the 3 Gargoyle Shrines and Shrine of Singularity will not be required.
Note: Learning the Gargoyle language and talking to the Gargoyles and to the two Lenscrafters may not be required depending on where the important items end up being placed by the randomizer.

Dungeon and Puzzle Solutions

Britain Sewers

The Britain Sewers connect the city of Britain, Castle Britannia, and the town of Buccaneer's Den.

From Castle Britannia, use the ladder in the potion room, then use KeyB and follow the west passage and down the ladder.
In the cave, go east over the bridge then immediately south and around the wall to the left and go down the ladder.
Follow the wall north and west to find a trapped passage. There are three chests behind this area and Phoenix lives in this building.

Buccaneer's Cave

Buccaneer's Cave connects the city of Britain, Castle Britannia, and the town of Buccaneer's Den.

From Buccaneer's Den, enter the cave behind Budo's Secret House.
Go west and north and down the ladder then go west to find the chest on the north wall in the open room.

Dungeon Destard

The dungeon Destard is extremely deadly and full of lava.

From the entrance head north then east and follow the wall south east.
At the large bones head west and south and go down the ladder in the next set of large bones.
On Floor 2 head north then follow the wall east and south. Enter the hole just to the west of the large bones.
On Floor 3 head west then south and west and go up the ladder back to Floor 2.
On Floor 2 again head to the west wall and find the passage that leads to the treasure area and the chest.

Dungeon Wrong / Covetous

The dungeon Wrong / Covetous has a pretty simple solution. There are two entrances, one into Wrong and one into Covetous. They are the same dungeon.

From Wrong: Enter the room to the right from where you enter and go down the ladder. Will require a magic unlock cast.
From Covetous: Enter the room to the up and left from where you enter and go down the ladder. Will require a magic unlock cast.
Go directly up and flip only the upper switch touching the left wall(10 o'clock). This room requires a magic unlock cast to enter.
Go to the far left and enter the upper room and flip the left switch.
Go to the far right and flip the switch then return to the far left to go down the ladder.
Go east and down the hall then north through the secret walls in the room.

Gargoyle Shrine of Control

The Gargoyle Shrine of Control has a pretty big switch puzzle. Order of flipping the switches does not matter.

Flip all switches on the left side of the room except the bottom left corner.
Flip the two switches to the right of the bottom left corner switch.
Don't forget the switch on the left wall!
After flipping them all follow the hall north to the statue.

Gargoyle Shrine of Dilligence

The Gargoyle Shrine of Dilligence has a maze of rooms with a simple solution.

From the entrance head south two rooms then east one. There is a secret wall in the north east of this room.
Enter the secret room and go down the ladder then follow the hall west to find the statue.

Moonglow Catacombs

The Tomb of Beyvin is located in the Moonglow Catacombs. There are two entrances to the catacombs. To enter the tomb you will need to do the questline for the key or bring a Powder Keg.

Entrance One: In the tavern in south east Moonglow. There is a secret wall that leads to a ladder in the storage rooms.
Floor 1 from Entrance One: From this entrance go west over the poison to find the ladder at the far wall.
Entrance Two: In Xiao's Magic Shop north west of Moonglow there is a ladder in the closet.
Floor 1 from Entrance Two: From this entrance go west and continue along the long winding path until you find the ladder.
On Floor 2 head south east and enter the center tomb. With either the key or Powder Keg. Loot the tomb for the item.

Pirate Cave

The Pirate Cave is on a island south of New Maginica and requires a shovel to enter. The cave is quite long in the form of a multiple floor maze.

Dig on the patches of dirt found among the swamp covered island to find the hole and enter it.
From the entrance head north, then west, then south over the bridge.
At the end of the hall head north, then east to the hall end, north then east past the poison and south until the ladder.
On Floor 2 enter the maze in the south west. Up at first turn, left at second turn and then west and down the ladder.
On Floor 3 take the west passage, through the poison, then go north and east into a small room with a hole. Go down it.
On Floor 4 go east for a while until you reach a a dispel-able poison field. At the second field dispel it and go north.
Use a Powder Keg to enter the treasure house and gain access to the 5 chests here.

Stonegate

Stonegate is south of Minoc and requires a Powder Keg and the Dispel Field spell.

In the entrance area enter the secret door in the center wall and go down the ladder.
Flip the upper switch then return up the ladder.
Go down the upper right ladder, then down the upper middle ladder, then down the upper right ladder.
Go down the lower left ladder then go left through the door and use the lower wall to flip a switch.
Enter the room and use the secret upper wall, dispel the field, then explode the door with a Powder Keg.
Dispel the field in the next room and search the chest for an item.

Sutek's Castle

Sutek's Castle is on an island in the south and requires a Powder Keg and both the Dispel Field and Unlock spells. This castle has many secret passages.

Use a Powder Keg to enter the castle then go through the secret north wall passage.
Go left and in the room with the two doors, use the east wall to reveal a hidden central room.
Dispel the left fields and flip the left two switches and return to the left room.
Cast Unlock on the left door, enter the small room, then use the secret north wall door.
Enter the next small room then go east to the center small room and use the south secret wall door and go down the ladder.
In the upper north west room flip the upper right wall switch then exit this floor via the middle south room.
Go through the secret north wall then down the ladder in the right hallway.
Go right at the first choice and follow the path to the ladder and go down it.
Go left then up and follow the upper wall west until you reach a body. Search it for an item.

Detailed Item Location Information

Location Tracker

The Location Tracker page lists all the locations and gives detailed tooltips on each of the functions. You can use this page to see which item locations are included in each of the location sets. The tracker includes icons next to each of the progression items which correspond which item locations they unlock.

Ultima 6 SNES Randomizer - Quickstart Guide