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The Castle | Hazard Zone | The Mines | The Mountain | The Pyramid | River Styx | Hall of the Dead | The Forest | The Temple of Ramm |
THE TEMPLE OF RAMM
Map
Now for the final part of the game.
Key of ?Decision?
Once I'm in the Temple, I go to #11 on the Temple map, where I encounter the evil half of Xorphitus for the first time. There is a chasm just ahead of me. The key here is to have a character equip the Staff of Aram, and then move across the chasm. It is cursed, so I'll have to remove it sooner or later.
Now as for the Temple itself, describing it is a bit tricky, but I'll try ...
The chest at #2 holds a Key of ?Decision?. You can use the Key to open the gate at either #3 or #7, but not both. It doesn't really matter which one, the difference being which path you happen to take. I chose the left one. I buff up with Magic Screen and Armorplate, go west through the gate, and win a fight against several Guardians of Ramm.
I go west to the next room, and fight 4 Mind Flayers and 4 Guardians of Ramm. You must if can kill the Mind Flayers quickly, and preferably before they unleash either Psionic Blasts or Mind Flays. They are worth a lot of experience points if you can kill them quickly enough.
Note that I avoid resting as I go through the Temple. Resting expires the Magic Screen and Armorplate, which I really want to keep up during these fights.
Key of 1st Test
I go to #4 and get teleported to #5, and have to fight more monsters on arrival. Note that if I had used the Key of ?Decision? on the gate at #7, then I would have to go to the teleporter at #8 to arrive at #9.
I fight my way to the chest at #6. It has the Key of First Test, along with some Magic Cookies and an Ankh of Life. I only take the key, and use it to open the nearby gate.
Key of ?Quandry?
That brings me back to #1, but for a second loop through the temple. I go ahead and have a second encounter with Xorphitus at #11.
I go to the new chest at #2, and get the Key of ?Quandry?. And again, which gate you choose only dictates which path through the second loop you take. I again choose the left gate at #3.
I continue to fight my way towards the northwest corner. Terra takes Death on her 19, which gives her a single-target instakill option and also increases her Mental Mana with each level-up.
Key of Finality
The second loop is longer, but it's a simple matter of going to the next room and going to the teleporter in the corner of that next room, fighting monsters along the way. Errol takes Deep Freeze on his 21st level-up after a fight with three Mind Flayers. It provides plenty of freezing damage against a single-target. I also encounter a new foe, Lesser Devils, which are more powerful versions of Nightgaunts.
There will sometimes be tougher monsters during the second loop. One group that I encounter are Twisted Sylphs. These Pixies aren't especially dangerous, but if they can cast enough Bless spells, they will become impossible to hit. This means you're stuck in spot, and you'll have to reload. But fortunately for me there were just a few of them so I cut them down in rather short order.
Another new monster I encounter are three Greater Demons. They like using Fire spells, so I use a Fire Shield spell. Conjuration is another favorite of theirs, so be prepared to spend some time cutting down the summoned help as well. Chun-Li takes Wizard Eye on her 20th level-up, while Rothgar takes Resurrect.
I go to the next teleporter. Now I have to fight several Guardians of Ramm, this time led by four Priests of Ramm. These guys are the real deal. They're very high-level, meaning they're likely to resist your spells and kill your characters outright with either Death or Lifesteal. Your only real hope is to cast multiple Silence spells at once and hope that it's enough to silence each Priest, otherwise you may be looking at reloading. It worked for me this time.
I proceed to the next room and fight 6 Twisted Sylphs, 2 Poison Giants, and a Will' O' Wisp. Poison Giants are pretty easy if they attack physically. They will once in a while breathe poison at the whole party. At one point the Will' O' Wisp summons a Pyro Eiyre. There's potential danger in that it likes Fire spells, and is at the very back. Here is where Terra proves the worth of a spell like Death, as it allows her to take out the Pyro Eiyre instantly. I eventually wear everything else down.
Ryu takes Stamina on his 19th level-up. He now needs to contribute to replenshing Stamina when he can.
Xorphitus
I am close to #1 again. I renew my Magic Screen and go north to #11 again, this time to actually fight Xorphitus. He summons three Greater Demons to help him. Both Chun-Li and Terra use Silence on Xorphitus, to maximize the chances of preventing him from casting any spells. Zarax and Ryu take him out in the first round. Rothgar and Errol both use Astral Gate on the Greater Demons, and get rid of two of them. I have little trouble killing the third one in the last round.
Xorphitus' spirit appears and wants to know why I killed him. He flips out after I give him the expected answer of "cosmic forge". He tells me I'll never find it, but in a way that in itself amounts to a clue, before his spirit dissipates.
I get the Staff Magicus, the Mystic Ring, Robes of Enchantment (U) and Robes of Enchantment (L). Rotghar takes the latter two and gives them to Terra. Terra equips them but keeps her Robes (U) and Robes (L) for importing into Wizardry 7. I make sure the inventory is full except for two empty slots for Rothgar.
I go on ahead and keep walking straight north until I seemingly walk into the north wall but instead fall down a chute.
I could go north through the door for the final encounter, but instead turn around and press the button on the south wall.
That returns me to #1. Pressing the button also resets all fights in the Temple except for the one against Xorphitus, and with the gates that I previously unlocked still open.
I go down the stairs to return to the Forest, and continually rest up until every character has his or her Mana replenished fully.
My objective is to grind the Temple until everyone reaches 24th level or more. That means going through the loops in the Temple with Armorplate and Magic Screen in place, and using the Stamina spell to replenish my stamina and avoid resting.
Second Trip Through Temple of Ramm
I need to use the Staff of Aram to cross the chasm again. But all Rotghar needs to do is use a Remove Curse with power level 1 to unequip it. I put up Armorplate and Magic Screen, and begin monster hunting again.
I was a little more flexible when both Errol and Terra levelled up at the same time after a lengthy fight against 4 Mind Flayers and numerous Guardians of Ramm. They both got 6 hit points. I wasn't that insistent on Terra getting lots of skill points, because she just needs to add 3 more points to reach 98 Thaumaturgy points and she'll be within easy striking distance of 90 skill points for Theology for her next level-up. She now gets her mass destruction option with Nuclear Blast, while Errol took Iceball.
Chun-Li takes Mental Attack on her 21st level-up, with a view towards possibly having it to start Wizardry 7. Rothgar takes Word of Death.
I thereafter encounter new foes during the next two fights, a Lord Daimyo and three Master Daishos. They're more powerful versions of Samurai. I managed to take out the Lord Daimyo with a critical hit right away, while Terra used Silence on the Master Daishos during the first fight. The latter fight also included six more Samurai and three Ninja. I again ganged up on the Lord Daimyo in the second fight, while Rotghar used Silence on the Master Daishos and Terra used Silence on the six Samurai.
I accepted 10 hit points and 7 skill points when Ryu reached his 20th level-up. I'm within striking distance of a perfect 100 for Kirijitsu come level 24 anyway. He takes Air Pocket, and again with a view towards having starting spells when I import to Wizardry 7. This one also provides an option against enemies that themselves use Air spells from the Alchemist's spellbook.
The next fight is against four Priests of Ramm and a lot of Guardians of Ramm. All of Chun-Li, Rotghar and Terra using Silence manages to prevent any of the Priests from getting off their spells for the whole fight. I can thereafter wear them all down at will.
Errol takes Energy Blast on his 23rd level-up. And again, it's about having options at the start of Wizardry 7.
I go through the open gate on the right, on through the chasm and through the chute, and then press the button to start everything over again.
Muse
I do another round. I begin with defeating several Lesser Devils, with the inconvenience of having to cast a few Cure Lesser Conditions after getting hit with a Blinding Flash spell. Terra advances her Theology past 90 skill points, and takes Cure Stone on her 21st level-up. It will increase the amount of Earth Mana she gets with each level-up.
A couple fights later and I run into a new foe. It's a Chunin, a more powerful Ninja, along with three Ninja. But I still get them with physical attacks.
I continue on and fight a few more Mind Flayers and Guardians of Ramm. Chun-Li takes Haste on her 22nd level-up. Again, options after importing into Wizardry 7. Rothgar takes Enchanted Blade. It will be a useful buff in fights to come now for what's left of this game, and is potentially a starting option for Wizardry 7 as well.
I later on end up fighting two groups of Poison Giants, one of which is out of sword's reach, several Twisted Sylphs and a Will' O' Wisp. The back rank Poison Giants are potentially dangerous, so Errol puts two of them to sleep with his Lute. That makes things considerably easier, although I still have to use Cure Poison once in a while. That frees me to focus on taking out the closer group of Poison Giants in the first round, and then going to work on the Twisted Sylphs. The Will' O' Wisp takes a lot of swings to bring down, but I do that too. And the last group of Poison Giants gets worn down last.
I go through the next teleporter, and have to fight three Mind Flayers and several Guardians of Ramm. Ryu got 10 Hit Points and 9 Skill Points to add to his Kirijitsu on his 21st level-up. He also took Itching Skin for the sake of options come Wizardry 7. I didn't like Errol getting 5 Hit Points, but I compromised as he and Ryu are forced to advance level at the same time. He takes Weaken on his 24th level-up.
Errol has now obtained the rank of Muse after reaching his 24th level. The idea is to reach 24th level and ultimate ranks in their classes for the other characters as well. Zarax has long since obtained the rank of Conqueror as a Fighter.
I later on get in a massive fight with five Priests of Ramm and several Guardians of Ramm. I manage to Silence all but one of them. But I proceed despite the risk. Fortunately Rotghar managed to resist the Lifesteal cast by the Priest I didn't Silence. And at some point I manage to kill that Priest of Ramm before he can try a second spell, which puts me in the clear for the rest of the battle.
I would have been willing to accept suboptimal rolls for Chun-Li, Rothgar and Terra as they're forced to level up at the same time. But I got good Hit Point rolls for all them, so I could live with lower Skill Point rolls. Chun-Li takes Knock-Knock on her 23rd level-up, while Rothgar takes Divine Trap. I want Divine Trap as an available spell to start Wizardry 7, so more than one character having it improves the chances of having it to start after I import my characters.
I leave through the open gate, go through the chute, and press the button to reset.
Grandmaster and Monarch
I continue with another run. This time I insist on Mind Flayers or Ninja or Samurai during the fights, as I want more xp than if I were to just get Lesser Devils or Guardians of Ramm. Errol takes Web on his 25th level-up as a possible option when Wizardry 7 starts.
I continue to kill Mind Flayers, which leads to Ryu taking Stink Bomb on his 22nd level-up.
I continue to kill Mind Flayers and Guardians of Ramm. Chun-Li and Rothgar and Terra are all obliged to level-up at the same time, so this is another one of those series of rolls where I'm willing to say, "Good enough." Chun-Li takes Terror and Rothgar takes Blades on their 24th level-ups. Terra takes Lifesteal, which is another deadly single-target spell, on her 23rd level-up. Chun-Li has now achieved the rank of Grandmaster as a Monk, and Rothgar has achieved the rank of Monarch.
My last fight for this loop is against 5 Priests of Ramm and 6 Guardians of Ramm. I still use multiple instances of Silence to be safe, but the benefit of higher levels now makes itself felt. I couldn't Silence one of the Priests, but the party resisted his Death Wish, and then Rothgar resisted his Lifesteal.
Errol takes Fireball on his 26th level-up. I go through the gate and chute, hit the button, and start over.
Grandfather and Pontiff
I go through the next few battles against Mind Flayers and Guardians of Ramm. Ryu takes Web on his 23rd level-up.
I go ahead a little through the first open gate when I run into new foes. Pharaohs of Phyre of course cast Fire-based spells. Rocks of the Rumble are much more powerful versions of the Guardian of the Rock, able to attack either with single boulders or spew boulders and damage the whole party. I focus all my physical attacks on the Rocks of Rumble, while Terra easily gets rid of the Pharaohs with Dispel Undead.
Chun-Li takes Slow on her 25th level-up, while Rothgar takes Identify.
I am next faced with two groups of Poison Giants and two groups of Twisted Sylphs. I decide to handle it with a double shot of Nuclear Blast from both Errol and Terra. Errol takes Stink Bomb on his 27th level-up.
At one point I run into a more powerful version of the Mind Flayer called a Keeper of the Crystal, along with four Mind Flayers and two Guardians of the Ramm. That requires I switch up strategies a bit. Zarax, Chun-Li and Ryu go all out for the Keeper of the Crystal and take him out in the first round. Rothgar and Terra do a double shot of Silence on the Mind Flayers. It works on all but one of them, and that one unfortunately drove Ryu insane with a Psionic Blast. But it's not a big deal as Rothgar uses Sane Mind on him.
My fight is against another new foe. It includes two groups of Pharaohs of Phyre led by a more powerful version of the Pharaoh called a Radames. Zarax, Chun-Li and Ryu gang up on and take out the Radames. Errol casts a Fire Shield, which reduces the damage caused by the Fire Bomb that the Radames cast. Rothgar and Terra got rid of the two groups of Pharaohs with Dispel Undead spells.
Now I decide I want Priests of Ramm for my next two fights. The reason being advancing Ryu to his 24th level will be within reach, and I can thereafter go straight to the finale without anymore loops through the Temple. I managed to win the first fight without much of a hitch. The third one was risky, because even with three Silence spells I could only Silence three out of the five Priests. But my levels and resistances are high enough that I managed to pull through.
All of Zarax, Chun-Li, Ryu and Rothgar advance a level after the fight, so I pretty much take what I'm given. Chun-Li and Rothgar take Detect Secret and Conjuration on their 26th level-ups respectively. Ryu takes Poison on his 24th level-up. He has now attained the rank of Grandfather as a Ninja.
*NOTE* There were a few monsters I did not run into, but for your reference:
Now I go through the chute, but this time I do not press the button. I'm almost ready for the finale. First, I trade a few items to Rothgar, to make sure his and everyone else's inventory is completely filled up. Swag Bags included. There's a specific reason for this.
The Cosmic Forge
Now it's time for my last meeting with the Bane King and Rebecca after I step through the door at #1 on the Lower Level Map and go to #2. Note that if I had kept the Silver Cross and used it to stop the Bane King from drinking my blood, I would now have to fight both of them. I've done it before. Both can drain hit points with their physical attacks, use a Hypnotizing gaze, and can cast Psionic Blast. The Bane King can also use Divine spells like Death Wish and Lifesteal, while Rebecca can use fire and air based spells (e.g. Lightning, Poison Gas, and Noxious Fumes). Rebecca's physical attacks can also poison. Equip your fighters with the Holy Stakes of Wood (which do pitiful damage), and Rocks of Reflection. Have your back rank characters throw Holy Waters at them. Go for Rebecca first, since she has fewer hit points, then the Bane King. Chances are, even with optimum planning and execution, you may end up having to reload at least a few times before you finally get them. It really is that kind of battle.
However, I chose to drop the Silver Cross, and thereby avoid this fight. The Bane King commits suicide by driving a wooden stake into his own heart. Rebecca now shows up and asks, "Is he gone?" *NOTE* When she asks this, reply, "I love you". She will then give you the Diamond Ring, which provides a whopping +5 bonus to armor, and regenerates its wearer. Only female characters can use it. This will become part of the ultimate setup for my Valkyrie in Wizardry 7. The Diamond Ring also has a very specific use much later during Wizardry 7, but for now ...
But Rebecca trying to give the Diamond Ring while the party's inventory is completely full, swag bags included, brings me to an NPC trading screen with Rebecca. I learned this little trick from Stephen Lee's excellent walkthrough . I have Chun-Li her one of the junk items from her inventory, and then exit. Rebecca gives the Diamond Ring to Chun-Li, and repeats her dialogue.
I say "I love you again", and this time have Terra give her a useless item. Rebecca will give the Diamond Ring to Terra, and repeat the dialogue. If you're so inclined, you could based a female only party to get as much as six Diamond Rings if you want.
Now I say "bye", but this time have Terra give her five useless items. I actually need an empty inventory slot to work with, to be able to remove an item from a swag bag when necessary.
However it shakes out, the party will also get:
Now comes some playing around with the inventory. The concept is for a party member to always have an inventory slot open, either in case I need to trade an item to another player or because I need to get an item out a swag bag. There are a few things I accomplish:
I avoid dropping an item unless I need to free up an inventory space. Once I've done what I wanted, I use any junk items that multiple instances (e.g. 5 Apples), and trade them to whoever may have an empty slot or two to again completely plug up my inventory. And again, there's another prize item I've got my eye on.
I go north to the gate at #3, and speak the password to open it, "The Hand of Destiny".
Now I press on ahead, and find the Cosmic Forge at #4. Whether or not you try to take it is a roleplaying choice that affects the story of how you begin Wizardry 7. Taking it would result in a cyborg showing up and stopping me.
But I have something else in mind, and go past. There is an illusionary wall on the north side at #5 that I simply step through. And there's a door on the other side.
*BELA*
The door at #6 is locked. It will be very difficult to open if you killed the Bane King and Rebecca, because it has a lot of tumblers. You would need a Skullduggery skill of 100 for any realistic chance, or hope the highest-powered Knock-Knock spell will work. But I use the B.D. Exit Key that I received from Rebecca.
But that means Terra now has an empty spell slot. Rothgar gives her the Staff of Aram since he doesn't want a quest item in his non-swag bag inventory. Zarax trades him a spare Apple to plug his inventory back up to full. What I want is for Rotghar to have three spare items that he can drop during the upcoming battle.
On the other side of the door is Bela at #6, an enormous Black Dragon. If you used the Silver Cross against the Bane King and Rebecca, he'll be pretty peeved at you, and then attack. He has over 800 hit points, can use powerful physical attacks, has a pretty extensive spell book, and can breathe acid. He might be a bit much for a party that hasn't reached at least level 20 or beyond. If you do kill him, he'll leave behind the Cameo Locket. This provides a +4 bonus to armor, can regenerate its bearer, and can only be worn by male characters.
Once he's dead, you'll then notice a space ship at #7. When you take the space ship, you'll then get the *Space Ship Ending*. That will lead to starting Wizardry 7 allied to a villain named The Dark Savant and a race of spider-like beings called the T'Rang.
But if Rebecca still lives and the Bane King took his own life, then Bela will offer you the chance to join him to chase a Cosmic Lord. If you say yes, that leads to a beginning of Wizardry 7 where you start off allied to a race of beings called the Umpani.
I refuse his offer to join the chase of a Cosmic Lord. He indicates an intention to leave me the keys, and that means the *Space Ship Ending* will no longer be available.
That brings me to the NPC Trade mode with Bela. And that gives me the option to "Fight" him. Rothgar, Chun-Li and Ryu go on the attack. Errol used Anti-Magic, while Terra used Conjuration to provide extra targets for the dragon to attack. Rothgar, and this is the important part, selects the "Equip" option. And when it becomes his turn, he drops three items he no longer needs from his inventory.
Bela hit the party hard with a Nuclear Blast, so the next round I make sure both Rotghar and Terra Silence him. I have to spend the next few rounds healing up everybody. But once I do, I eventually manage to wear Bela down.
He drops three items:
I use the Key of Stars to open the gates near #8 and #9. I then follow the tunnel to its end until I end up back in the Forest.
Whichever ending you take, you'll find your party back in the Forest, and this gives you a moment to prepare for Wizardry 7.
Forest
Preparing for Import
I am now at the northeast corner of the Forest. I travel to the southwest corner and use the North Exit Key to open the gate at #11. I step through and down the stairs to return to the Castle.
Remember my previous advice about preparing for import? Diamond Rings, the Ring of Stars, the Cameo Locket and a Rod of Sprites can all be imported without any hitches to Wizardry 7. Each character can usually import one unique and expensive item into Wizardry 7, besides the ones previously mentioned. After that they'll have to settle for tier-1 items that are typically worth 1000gp or less. This video shows me equipping my characters in such a way as they can show up in Wizardry 7 with decent interim equipment.
Zarax equips Fang, a Heater Shield, a Helm&Coif, a Studded Hauberk, Studded Chausses, Copper Gloves and Chain Hosen. Ryu had been carrying these items for him.
Chun-Li equips a Hayai Bo, her Diamond Ring, Robes (U), Robes (L) and Sandals.
Ryu equips a Katana, a Wakizashi in his off-hand, a Ninja Cowl, Ninja Garb (U), Ninja Garb (L) and Tabi Boots.
Rothgar equips the Raven's Bill, the Cameo Locket, a Helm&Coif, a Studded Hauberk, Studded Chausses, Copper Gloves and Chain Hosen. The regeneration provided by the Cameo Locket will nullify the health-draining effects of the Raven's Bill during Wizardry 7.
Errol equips a Cutlass, the Skull Dagger in his off-hand, the Ring of Stars, a Studded Hauberk, Leather Leggings, Chamois Gloves and Buskins. He also keeps the Lute and the Angel's Tongue as his instruments.
Terra equips her Holy Basher, her Diamond Ring, Robers (U), Robes (L) and Sandals.
I discard all other items. And indeeed, keeping multiple items of greater than tier-1 but are not the special ones like the Cameo Locket or Diamond Ring would mean Wizardry 7 will choose at random only one of the items to get imported. Dropping what I don't intend to import is part of the planning process for making a good start.
Also, because I didn't board the ship or travel with Bela, my ending will be the same as if I took the Cosmic Forge. **THE END***
