Revision: 2001-4-10
                                   DARK LAW
                               Meaning of Death

                         FAQ / WALKTHROUGH by Haeleth


===============================================================================
    CONTENTS
===============================================================================

1   Preamble
      1.1 Foreword
      1.2 Copyright information
      1.3 Contact information
      1.4 Contributors
      1.5 General notes
          - revision history
          - completeness of the FAQ
          - why this isn't a translation guide
          - why there isn't a cheats section
2 - Walkthrough
      2.1 Beginning of Destiny
      2.2 Death-Creature
      2.3 Ed and Karon
      2.4 Guide of Death
      2.5 Return of a Saint
      2.6 King of Hell
      2.7 The Search
      2.8 Sorceror's Daughter
      2.9 Lefia Reunion
      2.10 Temple of the Wizard
      2.11 Dungeon Mode
      2.12 All Things
3 - Gameplay
      3.1 Controls
      3.1.1 Movement
      3.1.2 Attacking
      3.1.3 Using magic and items
      3.2 Statistics
      3.3 Abilities
      3.4 The town
      3.5 Researching spells
4 - Tables
      4.1 Monsters
      4.2 Weapons
      4.3 Armour
      4.4 Items
      4.5 Jobs
      4.6 Magic
5 - Maps
      5.1 Sealed Cave
      5.2 Sealed Labyrinth
6 - Miscellaneous questions
      - the rubbish bin
      - disabling battle messages
      - the Turbo-File
      - Murasame
      - relation to other games
      - emulating the game
      - the melons
      - the meaning of death
      - the Latin


===============================================================================
1   PREAMBLE
===============================================================================

1.1 FOREWORD

Of the SFC RPGs released in Japan, the great majority never reached Western
shores.  Many of these have been undeservedly neglected even by fans of the
genre.  Dark Law is certainly one of these, a refreshing breath of 
originality
(or the next best thing) in a genre dominated by Final Fantasy lookalikes.
Had it but borne the Square logo, there would have been a thousand 
incomplete
translation projects already, and more FAQs than you can shake at a stick.
In their absence, however, I can only offer the best efforts of a single 
fan,
and pray that the quality of the game prove a sufficient mask for my 
failings.
                                                                    -- 
Haeleth

1.2 COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

- Dark Law is copyright 1997 ASCII Corporation.

There are references in the FAQ below to "ROMs" or ROM images.  These are
duplicates of copyrighted material, and in most jurisdictions the possession 
of
such files is either illegal or limited to copies made by the owner of the
original media for backup purposes or for personal use.  The author of this 
FAQ
in no way condones or encourages the illegal possession or distribution of 
such
material.

Part of section 6 deals with playing the game on an emulator.  This is 
solely
for the benefit of any who are legally entitled to do so, that is, who are 
able
to create and use a ROM image without infringing the applicable laws.  
Again,
the author of this FAQ does not condone the use of emulation for piracy, or
encourage it as an alternative to playing the game from the original media
on a genuine SFC.

- This FAQ is copyright 2000-2001 Haeleth.

You may distribute this FAQ freely, with the following restrictions:

1. You MAY NOT use this FAQ in any way for commercial gain.  You may never
distribute it as part of a package on which a profit is being made; nor may 
you
ever charge third parties more than cost.  You MAY, however, charge a 
nominal
sum to cover the price of distribution media where applicable.

2. You MAY NOT reproduce or distribute this FAQ in any form or with any 
content
other than the current without the explicit permission of the author.  This
includes forms which are substantially the same (e.g. hard copies, HTML
formatting) as well as more far-reaching modifications, such as translation.
The sole exception to this restriction is that you MAY produce or reproduce
modified versions strictly for personal use.

3. Likewise you MAY NOT use or reproduce material taken from this FAQ for 
any
purpose at all without authorial permission, with the exception that you MAY
reproduce extracts within the bounds of "fair use" legislation: that is, of
limited size, for non-commercial use, properly attributed.  The reader must
be made aware of the existence and location of the full FAQ, either in a
bibliography or, when distributed in electronic format, optionally through a
hyperlink.

Anyone failing to conform to these requirements will face my wrath.  
Moreover,
anyone using the whole or any part of this FAQ for commercial gain may face
legal action (unless they give me a cut of the profits); and anyone 
attempting
to pass the whole or any part of this FAQ off as their own work will face
public humiliation.  You have been warned.  :D

All trademarks to which reference is made are acknowledged to be the 
property
of their respective owners.


1.3 CONTACT INFORMATION

Hlees wendende is currently located at "http://haeleth.port5.com/".

The most up-to-date release of this FAQ can always be found here.
Please check here before emailing me about anything.  (I'll try to keep the
version at GameFAQs relatively up to date, but it may not reflect minor
revisions or corrections.)

My email address is haeleth@hotmail.com.  This address is solely for
correspondance related to my FAQs, translations, or the games concerned.

Polite responses are not likely to be given to ROM requests or to questions
answered in this FAQ or at Hlees wendende.  Also, please DON'T ask me to
take on any other projects.  I'll think about what to do after Dark Law when 
I
get that far, and no sooner.

If you want to know whether such and such a game is translated, or how to 
begin
translating yourself, your best bet is to visit a general site - the 
Whirlpool
(http://donut.parodius.com) is probably the best one for English 
translations,
and the folk there can direct you to more specialised sites if necessary.

Constructive criticism or offers of help (excluding beta testing for my
translations - I'll ask for that when I need it) are welcome, and all
contributions will of course be duly credited - just below this, in fact.  
In
particular, please do let me know of any errors in the FAQ, however slight.


1.4 CONTRIBUTORS

Dark Kyosuke:
  Stylistic suggestions; background info; alerted me to the saving issue.

Gray Brangwin:
  Extensive notes on all sorts of things.  If you see a technical detail, 
it's
as likely to be his as mine.


1.5 GENERAL NOTES

- Revision History

2001-2-10:
First public release (i.e. on GameFAQs; the WIP versions had been available
from my site for a couple of months).  Substantially complete, but with 
quite a
number of uncertainties and omissions.

2001-2-18:
Numerous corrections and clarifications to the walkthrough, notably in "The
Search" and "Lefia Reunion", neither of which could be successfully 
completed
by following my instructions.  Watashi no baka n~.
Expanded "Controls" and "Magic Guild" considerably, and - having sussed out
the magic system at last - added twenty formulae to the spell list.
By request, added a section on emulating the game.

2001-2-27:
Very minor revision - basically just updating my site's URL.

2001-3-29:
New information from various sources added, including several more spells 
and
a couple of things I'd missed in the walkthrough.  A number of minor
corrections and clarifications throughout; several tables revised, etc.

2001-4-10:
A less minor update at last!  A number of additions to the walkthrough,
particularly in "Return of a Saint" and "King of Hell"; the endings thing
finally sorted out, and the monster table updated with a new set of data.

- Completeness of the FAQ

This is not quite a complete reference guide to the game yet.  The 
walkthrough
will take you to the end of the game, but I know there are things missing on
the way: in particular, one of the scenarios is only partially covered, but
that's because it crashes on emulators.  Likewise the tables, particularly 
that
for the monsters, still lack certain important data, and are patchy in 
areas.

I should perhaps mention a deliberate omission in the walkthrough: that
I've been rather inconsistent in my mentions of monsters.  If they're 
'event'
battles I've usually told you about them, but there are a lot of cases where
I'm expecting you to deal with anything that comes your way.

There are several major queries I have at the moment.  Please, if you know 
or
find out the answers to any of these, let me know! - this FAQ may never be
complete without your help.
The questions are:
  What are the formulae for the last three spells?
  How do you fight Daruk Golem?
  Is there any point to restoring the seal on the cave?

Conjectural answers to some of these questions are given at the relevant
points.

- Other sources of information

Okada's page, '1st.AAA':

This is "http://www.geocities.co.jp/Playtown-Spade/1021/darklaw.html", and 
is
a fairly complete guide to the game: it's beautifully concise, and makes 
this
FAQ look incredibly bloated by comparison.  It is, however, in Japanese, and
thus doesn't have to spell things out for players who only have problems
because they can't read Japanese...
(I've emailed Okada for permission to quote him; unless he objects I'll 
assume
it's okay to do so.)

- Why this isn't a translation guide

Particularly where the walkthrough is concerned, this FAQ assumes that the
player is able to play the game, but needs help in making progress; so 
you'll
probably need to understand some Japanese if you want to have a clue what's
going on.  I have not included any translations, even of key scenes.

Why take this route?  Simply because I've read too many FAQs which tend the
other way, and give you a blow-by-blow account of the story, of every scene,
so one barely has to play the game at all.  I prefer the sort which has as 
few
spoilers as possible, and that's what I've tried to write.

As you may have gathered, I am currently engaged in translating this game 
into
English.  So those of you who don't read Japanese need not despair; before 
too
long, I hope, you'll be able to play the game in a more familiar language.

Well, it'll probably take less time than it would take you to learn 
Japanese,
anyway.

- Why there isn't a "cheats" section

Partly because I disagree on principle with cheating (unless I'm doing it); 
and
partly because this game is insanely simple to cheat at anyway.  One code 
will
give you all the power you could ever need.  If you really can't bear the
thought of playing it properly, read through 3.4 carefully.  I'm sure you'll
work out what to do.

There are one or two codes - not precisely cheat-related - that I'd like to
include, so such a section may appear in future.  In particular, it should 
be
possible to make a set of codes which will be equivalent to playing through 
"Ed
and Karon" - thus bypassing the problem of this scenario crashing in 
emulators.

So far, though, all I've managed to produce are some truly amazing noises in 
my
ill-fated attempt to make a "music select" code.  The number of the current
track is stored in memory at $7e0609 (and possibly also $7e060b).  Try 
changing
the values to something else ($00-$18) and changing screens. :)


===============================================================================
2   WALKTHROUGH
===============================================================================

Dark Law, unlike many RPGs, does not have a single linear path along which 
the
player is forced. It's scenario based: each scenario is a short quest which 
the
player can complete to advance the story and build up experience.  In 
practice
the order of the scenarios doesn't allow that much variation, but it's still
freer than the average offering.

When you select 'start from the beginning' on the 'new game' menu, you'll be
presented with a pretty standard character creation system (name each 
character
and then assign their stats).  After this section, the game begins with the
scenario "Beginning of Destiny" (2.1).

You can create between one and four characters, of which any three can be in
your party at one time.  (At certain points in the game you'll temporarily
receive an extra member, allowing a maximum party size of four.)  The
'default' names are based on their hair colours (Red, Yellow, Blue, Green).
When building your party, bear in mind that while the men are stronger, they
need more experience to gain each level.

The centre of the game is the town, which is menu-driven.  Most scenarios 
are
begun by talking to the various characters you'll meet here.  See section 
3.4
for details of the various locations within the town.  I'm assuming that 
you'll
pause between scenarios to heal, upgrade your equipment, level up, and so 
on,
so it's worth getting to know the place when you first arrive.

To level up and hunt for items the player can always head to the Sealed Cave 
/
Sealed Labyrinth, which is the game's main dungeon.  The monsters rapidly 
get
tougher as you head in, so caution is advised.  There are maps in section 5
which may prove useful.  When you reach the point at which you can take "All
Things", be sure to pause to complete the Sealed Labyrinth: the equipment
you'll find in there will be invaluable in the final battle.

Scenario requirements are detailed below.  The order is that in which you
should probably take them.  Note that in some cases I haven't investigated 
the
precise requirements for a scenario - levels marked with a query are guesses
based on the general pattern.

NAME - the section here (2.x), "Scenario: ..." in main menu.*
Location: "Go to ..." in destination menu, "Location: ..." in main menu.
Level: your lead character must be within this range or the scenario will 
not
       be available.  The figures are inclusive.
Prerequisites: any other requirements, e.g. scenarios you have to take 
first.
Reward: the maximum benefit you can get from a scenario.  In most cases it's
        possible to come out with less.  The quoted values for 'exp' and 
'gold'
        are restricted to explicit end-of-scenario rewards.
Items: any otherwise unobtainable items found.  Note that this isn't 
"complete"
       in that it basically only includes important items or things you get 
at
       the "scenario clear".  There may well be other things lying around.

The four scenarios with [#] after the name are the ones in which the seal
crystals are restored.

1  BEGINNING OF DESTINY
      Location: Holy Sophia Temple
      Reward: 50 gold
2  DEATH-CREATURE
      Location: Toras Forest
      Level: 1+
      Reward: 1100 exp, 10 gold
      Items: Teardrop, M-stone
3  ED AND KARON
      Location: Masaki Head
      Level: 2-4
      Reward: 1900 exp, 20 gold
      Items: M-stone, Aqua Stone
4  GUIDE OF DEATH [#]
      Location: Reynard Castle Court; later, South Creek
      Level: 4-6
      Prerequisites: complete "Death-Creature"
      Reward: 1800 exp
5  RETURN OF A SAINT
      Location: Deep in Fangi Forest
      Level: 6-8
      Reward: 2000 exp
6  KING OF HELL
      Location: Mt. Drake Mine Ruins
      Level: 7-?9
      Reward: 2500 exp
      Items: Short Sword +
7  THE SEARCH [#]
      Location: Toras Forest
      Level: 8-?10
      Reward: 2400 exp
      Items: Damascus Sword
8  SORCEROR'S DAUGHTER
      Location: Dr. Heifer's house
      Level: 9-11
      Reward: 2700 exp, 280 gold
9  LEFIA REUNION [#]
      Location: Shanoah Town
      Level: 10-12
      Reward: 3000 exp
      Items: Golden Heart
10 TEMPLE OF THE WIZARD [#]
      Location: Mt. Molor Depths
      Level: 11-?13
      Prerequisites: complete "King of Hell"?
      Reward: 3200 exp, 900 gold
      Items: Ashura?
11 DUNGEON MODE
      Location: Sealed Cave and Sealed Labyrinth
12 ALL THINGS
      Location: Holy Sophia Temple
      Level: 13+
      Reward: the ending sequence. :D


2.1 BEGINNING OF DESTINY

As the game begins, you'll find yourself lying outside an ancient temple.
Walk south off the screen, and follow the path down.  If you want to read 
that
monument you can see on the right, the way through to it is hidden almost
directly to its left; but it won't be significant for a long time yet.  In 
any
case, your objective is the cliff edge.  Examine the projection to the right
twice.  Now collect either or both of the vines (there's one on each screen: 
if
you take both, the next scene is slightly different), and examine the
projection again to tie the vine or rope to it. Climb down.

After waking up, walk through the doorway to your south.  A long 
conversation
follows.  It doesn't matter whether you answer 'yes' or 'no' when Orion asks
whether you'll help with the work - you'll end up doing it anyway.  After 
this
you'll return to bed.  When you wake up again, head south again and go 
outside.
Talk to Orion, then follow him left and up.  Talk to him twice more and take
the hoe.  Don't start work yet: instead head north onto the next screen.  
See
that blue sparkle?  That's a Silver Dagger, so dig it up.  Now head south 
two
screens.  There's another sparkle in the bottom left: grab that too, it's a
Blue Crystal.  You can sell it in Shanoah for a few extra pieces of gold 
(every
little helps).

Now head back north and get hoeing!  If you're lucky you may find some more
crystals.  To get away with the minimum amount of work, hoe the top left
square, and then go and talk to Orion.  Now hoe the one above the bottom 
left,
then the one to the right of that, and then any one of the remaining unhoed
squares.  If you talk to Orion again now, he should be happy to chat for a
while.

You regain control back on the southern screen.  Move east a little for a
nasty surprise, then go and (you guessed) talk to Orion.  He'll give you a
letter.  Talk to him again.  Now you're free to depart at last - so head off
east and set off for the town!

Shanoah is explained in section 3.4.  Go to the castle, where you must talk 
to
King Reynard.  You'll hand over the letter; he'll give you 50 gold and
authorise you to enter the Sealed Cave.  And that's the end of the initial
scenario.


2.2 DEATH-CREATURE

To begin the scenario, talk to the guy at the pub and agree to help him.  
Now
you must buy a potion if you don't have one, and leave the town. Select the
middle option, '??', to go to Toras Forest.

Follow the path north.  Before the end of the first screen you'll see a 
little
hole in the rock.  If you examine that, you'll fight a couple of Toras 
Vipers.
It's a very easy battle, so you might as well do it for the EXP.  Then carry 
on
until you reach Lambar's hut.

Enter the hut.  You need to examine the wolf's head on the table; then leave
again and keep going north.  On the next screen the path forks.  Examine the
obstruction on the right-hand fork and the boulder blocking the left-hand 
way.

Since you can't go any further, head back to the hut.  It's still empty, but
now if you go back north and up the lefthand side someone will appear.  Talk
to her, examine the boulder, then keep talking to her (you'll give her a
potion) until she moves it.  Take the new path and head north into the cave.

Immediately to your north is a dead end with a nest at the end.  Examine it
twice, then head round to the room to the west of it.  On the way, roughly 
at
the centre of the screen, you'll pass a very short passage to the north,
leading to an obvious dead end.  If you search that dead end, though, you'll
find an M-stone!  I don't think you can get it when you come back here in a
later scenario, so grab it now.  Anyway, when you reach that back room, 
examine
the hole in the north wall three times; you'll find a pendant, which is the
Teardrop accessory (so equip it!).  Now head south again; you'll drop out of
the hole from which the woman fell.  Return to the hut.  Talk to the woman
first if you don't want to miss any dialogue; the outcome is the same 
whoever
you select, though.  Talk to her a second time if you want to learn her 
name.

Now you can head back to the town.  Go to the pub and talk to end the 
scenario.


2.3 ED AND KARON

(NOTE: I've tried this in all the emulators available, and they ALL freeze 
at a
certain point.  This walkthrough will take you that far, but no further, so
you'll have to wait until someone fixes the problem.  If anyone with access 
to
a working SFC wants to flesh out the end, I'd be happy to include it.)

(NOTE: Because I can't complete the scenario, for the above reason, I 
haven't
bothered to play it repeatedly.  I'm aware that this section contains 
several
inaccuracies and that merely following the walkthrough to the letter will 
not
trigger all the necessary flags to proceed.  If stuck, talk to everyone and
examine everything repeatedly!)

Talk to Kofu at the Magic Guild, and agree to help him.  The second item on
the menu outside Shanoah will now take you to Davis' house at Masaki Head.

Note that you can only cross the causeway to his house during the daytime.
Night will fall a short way into the scenario, so make sure you're ready 
before
you set out.

Head right towards the house.  The door's locked, so continue right.  Chat 
with
the boy, then head back round to the front: Davis should be back.  He'll 
invite
you in.  After a conversation his son will call him out, and you'll regain
control.  There's a save point in the back room if you want to use one. 
Anyway,
leave the house and head round to the back.  There's a door where the boy 
and
the dog were earlier; go inside.  Talk to them, then head back to the house 
and
go to bed.

In the morning, talk to Davis.  Then head round to the barn and talk to Ed.  
Go
back to Davis and talk again.  When the music changes, head back round to 
the
barn and talk AGAIN.  Now head back to the causeway.  Examine the highest
point.  The bird will deposit a bottle in the water to your left, which
contains a letter from Kofu.  Read it.

Now when you return Ed should be missing from the barn.  (At this point you
might have to enter the house and examine the scrolls on the shelves behind
Davis - I can't remember if this is necessary or not.)  Head to the back of
the barn and examine the floor until you find a loose plank.  Remove it.  
Now
go to the plank to the right of it, and slide it across into the gap to 
reveal
a ladder.  Go down.

At the bottom, you can go either left or right.  If you go left, you'll come
out in a pit behind the house; there's nothing to do here yet, and you might 
be
attacked by Zombies, which will slaughter you unless you run.  So go right
instead.  You'll come to a mazelike cave; there are Oak Jellies in here, but
those should be no problem.  There are two exits at the top of the screen.
The one to the right is a dead end for the moment, since you can't open the
door.  You need to know that, though, so head up that way and check the door
and the handle (to the left of it).  Now go back round to the opening to the
left, and go through the door.  You'll be in a large rectangular room.
There's a corpse in the top right corner.  Make sure your HP is full, 
because
when you've examined it a few times, the Eleanor Zombie will attack.  She's 
not
as tough as the normal Zombies ("ws se gryre lssa / efna swa micle swa bi
mga crft / wiggryre wifes be wpnedmen..."), but she uses magic, 
Wolfstorm
and Earth Heal.

Now head to the ladder, climb back up, and go round to the front of the 
house.
When Ed leaves, follow him.  Go to the room to the right of that in which 
you
fought Eleanor.  Ed will open the door.  Inside is that "Gate of the Dead" 
of
which Kofu's letter spoke.  Read the note on the floor, and talk to Ed.
He'll try to remove the Magic Stone from the wall, but fail; so it's up to 
you.
Return to the barn and collect a bucket from the top right, then head to the
causeway and fill it with water.  Go back to the Gate of the Dead and try it
with the Magic Stone.  Things will get rather exciting.  (Don't worry - I'm
told this isn't the Magic Stone you're looking for.)

At this point all emulators freeze, so I haven't played this scenario any
further myself.  Okada says:

"After the 'Scenario Clear', before you leave, investigate the tomb in the
woods behind the house for an item (the Aqua Stone); returning, you obtain 
the
Shield Magic Stone below the path."

Expanding, I imagine that after the scenario ends, the path to the right of
the shed is opened up and you can go into the woods to (Eleanor's?) tomb, on
which the Aqua Stone accessory is hanging.  What "below the path" means I 
don't
know.  It could refer to the zombie pit, or to the lower part of the 
causeway.
If you find out, please let me know...


2.4 GUIDE OF DEATH

Head to the Temple in Shanoah.  Try to talk:  nobody's there, but you can 
head
inside.  Do.  Talk alternately to the standing man and the lying man until
a third character shows up.  When everything's finished, leave this room:
you'll be back at the Temple menu.  Select 'talk' again.  The scenario 
begins.

Once you enter South Creek, you won't be able to leave again without 
forfeiting
the scenario.  This includes losing battles: if your party is annihilated,
you'll wake up back in Shanoah, and you won't be able to return to South 
Creek.
So make sure you've got some healing items, and save at the inn before you
leave!  It's probably preferable to make sure everyone's at level 5, too, if
you can stand it - but you can always level up when you get there.  When 
you're
ready, exit the town and select '??'.

Cross the bridge. There'll be a short scene with Hybard.  If you head east,
you'll come to a ruin.  Examine the rightmost block to find an inscription.
To enter the house, examine the door twice.  Head right and down, and 
examine
the book on the table a few times. Then go upstairs and enter first the room 
on
the left, then the one on the right.  If Hybard doesn't appear, go back
downstairs and examine the book again, then come back.  After a long
conversation you'll get your bodies back.

Follow the good doctor to the ruins.  He's not there, so head back to the 
house
and examine the window three times.  You'll jump up and get the book from 
the
table.  Now return to the ruins and read that inscription. It's rather 
cryptic,
so you need to think about it a bit:  go back to the house and examine the
window again, then return to the ruins.  Presto: intrat deus ex machina!  So 
go
ahead, knock at the Gate of Darkness three times.  An entrance will open.  
Need
I tell you to go inside?

At the moment you can go back to the save point by the bridge to rest if
necessary - save any potions you may have for later.  When you reach the 
upper
floor there's no way down again, so level up now if you think you need to.

Head west.  Read the notice and examine the machinery, then go through the
doorway.  Head up to the interesting apparatus in the top left. Examine the
plate in the floor, the light coming in (twice), and so on.  You have to 
check
the left-hand window at least four times before you can get the prism. When 
you
have it, put it on the block in that beam of light (you have to do this from
above the block). Now the lift is working, so go back out to it and ride it 
up.
Examine the crate in the top right corner of the room until you get the 
bottled
cheese, then leave the room by the door to the south.

Note that the Undead Wolf monsters you meet in this next area are 
exceedingly
nasty.  I'd definitely advise running unless you really know what you're 
doing.

You can't open the middle door, so go through the right-hand one.  Examine 
the
pile of sacks twice, then the table in the middle of the room.  Go up to
the place from which the rat appeared and examine the wall.  Now examine the
desk to your left, then push it under the hole you saw.  Climb onto it (the
drawer serves as a foothold) and examine the wall twice, then go back to the
left-hand room and take the wedge from the crate.  Return to the desk and 
climb
back onto it, and examine the wall twice more.  Get back down and take the
candlestick from the table to the right, then back up and you'll be able to
climb up to the hole.  Head up and left.  There are two gratings.  Look 
through
the right-hand one, then head over towards the other.  When you regain 
control,
take four steps.  You'll wake up back on the bridge again.

The scenario will now end when you leave South Creek.  If you leave right 
away
you'll receive 1600 EXP; if you go and listen at the front door first you'll
get 1800.  It isn't a very difficult choice, is it?

Now when you return to the Sealed Cave you'll see that one of the crystals 
of
the seal at the entrance is lit up.


2.5 RETURN OF A SAINT

Head to Shanoah Temple.  Talk to the Archbishop.  It doesn't matter what 
your
first answer is, but be sure to say 'yes' to his second question - he'll 
only
ask once!  He'll give you a letter, and the scenario begins.

Make sure you have potions and antidotes aplenty, since the enemies here are
tough and poisonous.  Good armour is a must, too.  When you're equipped, 
head
to Fangi Forest in the usual way.

Enter the tent and talk to the injured monk.  You'll give him the letter. 
Now
leave the tent and head north.  The Blue Crystal is the marker Frammel
mentioned, and shows the path you need to take; you can grab it if you want.
When asked if you want to proceed, agree.  As you approach the house, you'll 
be
challenged, and a Poison Corpse will attack.  Kill it (use fire-based spells 
if
you have any).  Try to open the door; you won't manage.  Now you have a 
choice.
If you want to be healed, or to save, then go back to the tent.  Talk to
Frammel to advance the plot, and then he'll heal you on request.  If you 
want
to do things the hard way, then don't do that: instead, examine the door 
three
times then try to leave - another Poison Corpse attacks, you'll hear a 
voice,
and then the door is unlocked.

Either way, once you're inside, head round to the ladder and climb down.  If
you explore to the northwest you'll fight some more Poison Corpses before
coming up against an array of locked doors; so head south instead, then 
south
again.  On this next screen you'll see a pair of Hell Bandits guarding a 
door.
Ignore them for the moment: go round past the opening leading into their 
room,
and off to the north.  You'll see one of the children you're looking for to
your right (behind the guarded door); to your north, another door, which has
neither a keyhole nor a visible switch.

Search the wall to the right of the door, halfway between the right-hand 
torch
and the end of the passage, then push the switch.  The door will open.  On 
the
other side you'll find a corpse; examine it twice and opt to read the note,
then examine it again to find a ring.

Now head back round to those Hell Bandits and kill them.  Push the switch to
the left of the door they were guarding and go in.  Talk to the girl.  
You'll
end up back by the tent, where Frammel will give you some holy water.  If 
your
MP is low, you can touch the fire to restore it; rest at the save point in 
the
tent to restore your HP.

Return to the house and climb down as before.  Head south to the room where 
the
girl was imprisoned, and search the box in there until you find an item (the
Silver Robe).  Now head back towards the ladder.  Before you get there 
you'll
be brought up short by a strange sound; so head back south again.  Two 
Poison
Corpses will have appeared.  When you've disposed of them, search the north
wall next to the light to open the secret door they came through, and follow
the passageway behind it.

Sandoro is waiting in the next room.  The spirit isn't going to give him up
easily; after a brief conversation you'll be surrounded by enemies, three
Poison Corpses and a Hell Bandit.  It goes without saying that this is your
hardest battle yet; I hope you remembered to pack some Antidotes!  The only
strategy I can suggest is that you try to gain the platform - taking out the
Hell Bandit in the process - at which point you should be able to defend the
stairs and keep more than two of the others from attacking you at once.  
Magic
will also be very useful here - again, stick to fire-based spells, as other
elements won't hurt the Poison Corpses.

When you've defeated them, head up onto the platform.  When Sandoro's 
finished
talking, throw the holy water over him.  After a short scene with the 
spirit,
you'll return to the tent once more.  Talk to Frammel (he'll go back into 
the
tent), and then to Sandoro, who'll offer you a key.  Naturally you want to
accept.

Return to the cellars once more, and this time head northwest - take the 
upper
door in the little side passage near the ladder.  You'll have to fight a 
couple
of Poison Corpses if you didn't deal with them earlier, but now you can get
through all those locked doors.  First head down the stairs to the left, 
enter
the library, and read the book on the table; then take the ones to the 
right,
and check the chests in the storeroom (one contains a Morningstar, the other 
a
Large Shield).  Of the other two doors, the one on the right leads to a 
small
room containing two jars; the one on the left will restore your HP, the 
other
your MP.

Finally, open the back lefthand door.  The Hell Bandit in here shouldn't tax
you too far.  Examine the only other interesting feature of the room.

That's all you can do for now, so head back to the tent and talk to Frammel
again.  He'll tell you who the spirit is (an ancient high priest, Dianoas), 
and
offer to read you the letter.  It doesn't seem to matter which option you
choose; either way, he'll give you an amulet.

Back to the cellars again!  Take the south door in the side-passage, and go
round to the northwest.  There's another group of monsters in this room.  If
you didn't get Sarac's ring earlier, you'll have to fight them; if you did,
then it'll take care of them for you, which is definitely worthwhile.  When
they're gone, head up the steps.  A stone in the northwest corner will start
glowing when you approach.  Examine it, and out pops Dianoas' spirit!  After 
a
moving speech he'll disappear again, and you'll pick up the stone.  Take it
back to Frammel.

And everyone's happy again.  You'll return to Shanoah.  Go to the temple and
listen to Darme's sermon, and you'll finally receive your exp.


2.6 KING OF HELL

Go to the inn and talk.  Basconar will introduce himself and offer you a 
quest.
You, being obviously the intrepid type, will accept.  As usual, leave 
Shanoah
and head for your destination - this time it's Mount Drake.

Head left across the parched rock.  Follow the ominous shadow, and enter the
mine.  Follow the tunnel.  Take the little detour and search the sack, then
continue south and emerge blinking into the daylight again.  Follow the 
ledge;
you don't need to wait long to learn more about that shadow.

After the fight, head down the ladder and east, where you'll find that save
point you saw earlier and a large hole.  Climb down into it; you won't get 
far,
but you need to do so anyway.  To the left of the pit is a pile of rocks, 
which
you also want to examine.  Now head back up that ladder and enter the mine 
over
at the far left.  The map-room you saw earlier is off to the right.  Go and
search the bag in there to find an rock with strange characters carved into 
it.
Take it, then grap the pickaxe.  That's all there is here, so backtrack to 
the
entrance to this part of the cave, and take the northwest passage.  Near the
top of this screen there's a dead-end passage to your left, and beyond it a
small room apparently blocked in.  If you search the north wall of the 
dead-end
you can open a secret door into that room; there's a skeleton inside which 
you
can examine (you'll find, but leave, an eyepatch).  You'll be coming back
later, but that's all for now.  In the same area, south of this small room,
there's a pick lying on the floor; you want to grab it.

Head north again.  There's a save point. If you check the sacks in this room
you may find a Red Crystal.  Anyway, head into the next room, where lurk a
woman and another of those Gargbat things.  I'm sure you can guess what this 
is
leading to.  Go on, kill it.

Now examine the bag below the table for a rope ladder, read the letter on 
the
table if you want, examine the shovel up north, then head back outside and 
down
the first ladder.  Hack away at that pile of rocks; if you're lucky you'll 
get
a crystal.  Climb down into the hole, using your ladder to extend the 
existing
one when you need to.  Head east, then follow the 'chibi' which appears and
head north.  (If you go south instead, you'll find a set of islands you can
jump across, but there's no point doing so yet.)

There'll be a short conversation.  After it, go to the small patch of 
mushrooms
to the west and eat one to raise your lead character's intelligence.  (If 
you
repeat the act, it'll have no effect, and then the third time you'll be
poisoned, so don't be greedy.)  Then continue to the north.

You'll find Vitus, Basconar's missing friend.  Chat with him for a while, 
then
talk twice to the creature that's looking at rocks to his left: it'll read 
the
stone you found earlier for you.  When you go back south, there's another
Gargbat to fight.  Keep going, and you'll run into an old friend.

She's less than delighted at this reunion, however, and will summon yet more
Gargbats for you to play with.  This time you'll fight three at once.  It 
gets
worse; once you defeat these, she'll summon a Heat Garg.  This beastie can 
cast
Flare Storm three times, which might give you rather a headache, so keep 
your
HP up.  Icefall is very effective, as you might guess.

After that, return to the eyepatched skeleton.  Examine it again, and the 
rock
under its head, then go north to collect the shovel.  Now, the question 
remains
where to dig.  You can try the rock by the skeleton, but there's nothing 
under
it.  Instead, go back to the map room.  If you look at the map (with your 
eyes,
that is - examining it has no effect), it's actually a map of those islands
you can jump between down at the bottom of the mine.  If you head down 
there,
and try digging at the spot that's circled on the map (it's the middle one 
of
the three largest stones on the largest island), you'll find a Damascus 
Sword.
(No, I didn't get this by myself.  The one with the sharp eyes is Gray
Brangwin.)

Now all that remains is to talk to Vitus some more and then leave.  
Antoniana
will drop by as you approach the exit.  When you get back to Shanoah, go 
back
to the inn and talk to Basconar.  You'll get an option to ask him about
Nealertos, but whatever you reply, you've completed the scenario.


2.7 THE SEARCH

Go to the shop in Shanoah and talk.  A girl (Eris) will appear and notice 
your
pendant (the Teardrop).  Here's a diagram of the conversation:

                 Eris mentions the pendant.
                    Tell her about it?
                         /       \
                        /        NO
                      YES          \
                       |     Tell her where
                       |      you found it?
                       |      /           \
                       |    YES           NO
                       |    /               \
                Give it to her?      She leaves sadly;
                  /         \       Scenario cancelled.
                YES         NO
                /             \
            20 gold,       Teardrop,
          good ending    worse ending
                 \           /
                Scenario begins.

Obviously you want to end up on the left.  Make sure you give her the 
pendant
if you want the better ending!

Check around inside Lambar's hut; there's nothing there, of course, but you
really do need to examine everything to proceed.  Now head north.  Remember 
the
right-hand path, which was blocked back in "Death-Creature"?  This time you 
can
jump over the blockade, and, if you head north, you can almost be drowned.
Fortunately a chap called Rokifel (Meryl's brother) will show up just in 
time.
Now head back round to the cave and go in.  Head up to the hole where you 
found
the Teardrop.  You may have to fight some Bloodsuckers on the way.  As you
approach you should hear a terrible scream; if you don't, go round looking 
at
things and coming back here until you do.  Go and find out who it was: Eris,
who is lying below the hole.  Talk to her.  You'll leave her in the bed in 
the
hut; now go back to the marsh where you met Rokifel.  Guess who's waiting?

The Death-Creature will run away, however, and you can't follow it over the
poisonous water.  So return to the hut; Eris is no longer alone.  
Fortunately
the other occupant of the hut is McStarr, a knight from Reynard Castle.  
He'll
ask whether you'll accompany him.  If you choose to, he'll join your party.
(There's no reason not to, since you can't proceed without him.)

Now show him the marsh, then the hole.  Return to the hut for a ladder.  
You'll
find Eris missing instead.  Examine her bed, then hurry to the marsh.  When 
you
regain control, with Eris 'safely' back in the town, head back to the hole 
in
the cave.  Use the ladder to climb up to it.

Now, in this room there's a door and some complex machinery.  You might be
forgiven for thinking that you need to use the one to open the other.  You'd
also be wrong.  In fact, they control the marsh.  Examine the valve in the
lefthand room, then turn it; the tank should ring when you strike it.  Make
sure you can hear water in the pipe in the right-hand room (turn the handle 
if
you can't) and then head back round to the marsh; it should hvae drained, to
reveal a doorway.

Enter, and climb the stairs.  Turn the handle to fill the pool, then swim 
round
to the other tank and turn the handle on this one too.  Finally, swim back 
to
the right hand side and empty the pool again.  Now return to the tank in the
cave and turn the left-hand valve again (the tank should go 'thud' when you
strike it).  Now when you return to the marsh the water will be clean, and 
you
can swim across to where the Death-Creature disappeared earlier.  Examine 
the
grass at the north end of the bank to reveal another hole, and crawl in.

Have a look around inside.  Examine the crystal ball and the books several
times to find out some truly shocking things.  When you've done that you'll 
be
able to find a panel in the ground by the left wall.  Open it and turn the
handle inside to open that door back in the cave.  Now head back over there 
and
go through the new entrance.

You'll arrive at a fork in the beautifully decorated passage.  The 
right-hand
branch leads to a locked door, so head left, up the stairs, and through the
doorway at the top.  Of course you'll have to deal with those suits of 
armour
first; they're actually Undead Knights.  Now go through the door.  When you
regain control, pull the lever to your right, then head back down to the 
fork,
up the right path, and through the now-open door.  Ignore Kane and Eris, and
head back after the sorceror and the Death-Creature.  There'll be a short
scene, and then you'll face the sorceror in a new form: the Vampire.

This is "Vampire (1)" in the monster list.  As you can see he's barely 
tougher
than those Undead Knights you polished off earlier, so don't let the change 
in
music bother you.  Oh, and don't bother using magic on him; I haven't found 
any
that hurts him yet.  Just get in close and hit him until he dies.

Now head back south to end the scenario.  If you got the better one (2400 
exp),
you can talk to McStarr in Centoria Park for a postscript.


2.8 SORCEROR'S DAUGHTER

Talk to the girl at the guild and give a positive response.  Now leave 
Shanoah
and head for Dr. Heifer's house.

Knock on the front door.  Talia will invite you in.  Talk to her again and
she'll show you round.  Eventually you'll regain control in a bedroom.  Talk 
to
Cycas, then leave the room.

You can leave Heifer's house now if you want, and return to the guild; 
you'll
get some gold and exp for your troubles.  There's more to do here, though, 
and
you get less of both if you leave now.  So don't; instead, go down to the 
lab
again.  Examine the machine in the centre of the room, looking particularly 
at
the gear on its bottom left.  There's a handle on the second shelf from the
left behind it.  Use the handle with the gear, then turn it twice to reveal 
a
staircase.  Cycas will rush in; ignore him and go downstairs.  Enter the 
room
at the bottom.  Check the crates in the corner for a couple of Revivals.  
Now
take the door in the back wall - there's a fairly easy-to-miss switch in the
wall to the right of it that'll open it.

Inside, there's another switch which opens the gate to the right; go 
through.
Look into the cells; when you've checked the rightmost one Cycas will come
through.  Eventually he'll ask you whether you know of Nealertos; I hope 
you'll
answer truthfully, although it doesn't seem to matter that much.  In any 
case
he'll be lost in thought again, so leave him to it and head back up to the 
lab.
Kill the Fang Gel; go upstairs and fight the Shadow Dueller.  He's nasty; 
his
Magic Surge attack can really hurt, and he can sometimes heal as fast as you
hit him; worse, you can't hurt him with magic.  When you've killed him, 
follow
Cycas.

Go upstairs, and through the left-hand door into Heifer's room; examine the
desk drawer to find his keys.  Now you can explore a bit further: there's a
letter to Cycas in the other room up here, Talia's, and you can put two of 
the
Chemicaloids in the basement out of their misery and talk to the third.  So 
do
all that.  When you return, Heifer will be dead.  Talk to Cycas.

Back in Shanoah, return to the Guild for your reward.  You can go to the 
park,
too, for a little scene with Hybard (I think this scenario was what 
triggered
it).


2.9 LEFIA REUNION

Talk to Meryl in the park and give the usual positive answer.  Now leave
Shanoah Town and select the option to, um, "Go to Shanoah Town".  I mean the
"??" option, not the "Town option".

Try the gate.  It won't open, so examine the wall, then try the stone 
instead.

Meryl will arrive and open the gate for you; then she'll join your party.  
Head
up the path and enter the mansion.

Try the door to the right of the stairs.  It's locked.  You can use the 
Unlock
skill to get through if you have it, otherwise there's a key: go through the
door to the left of the stairs.  There's a save point in here,and another 
door;
use this one as well.  Examine the sacks a few times until you find a key.
Now you can just unlock that door.  There's nothing much through there but a
bathroom, but you're coming back.  Take the stairs up when you've finished
searching the ground floor.

Examine the statue twice.  Now, there are four doors here, each with another
statue behind it.  You need to examine them in the right order; which 
obviously
you don't know.  So head back downstairs and through the left-hand door.  
Check
the bookshelves until you read a passage from one of the volumes; then go 
into
the kitchen (where you found the key) and examine the large bin.  Now 
examine
the mess on the floor, and lift the floorboard to reveal a ladder.  Do I 
have
to tell you what to do next?

Start checking the wine racks.  When Meryl leaves, try to follow her.  
You'll
be attacked by a pair of Hell Worms.  Kill them, then leave.  You'll find 
Meryl
hors de combat on the sofa.  Talk to her; you won't get any sense out of 
her,
though.  Examine her bottle four times.  You can't find the vintage on the
label, but you can see that the motif on it is the Earth spirit. Now talk to
Meryl; again; she's slightly more coherent, enough so to be able to demand
water.  So go back to the bin she pulled over, and examine the bucket beside
it; then round to the rooms on the other side of the stairs, and grab the
silver bowl by the sink in the bathroom.  Take it back round to that bucket,
fill it, and offer it to Meryl.  She'll tell you the vintage of her bottle.

Why did you want to know it?  Well, if you head back down into the cellar 
and
examine the other bottles, you'll learn that the vintages are these:

                            984   Water
                            986   Fire
                            988   Fire
                            990   Wind
                            991   Water
                            993   Wind
                            995   Earth

As you might guess, this is the order in which you need to examine the 
statues.
To which you need to add Meryl's bottle (Earth spirit, and the year Meryl 
told
you).  So you can go back and examine the statues (from the left, they're
Earth, Water, Wind, and finally Fire) in the order of the vintages.  Then 
check
the statue on the landing twice; it should sink into the ground, allowing 
you
to pass.

You may be wondering whether I could just have told you the order in the 
first
place?  Well, yes, I could, and you could have gone straight through.  But 
you
need the silver bowl to proceed, and you can't get it unless you go through 
the
proper procedure.  Besides, don't you agree that it's nice to know WHY such 
and
such a combination is the answer to a puzzle?

Anyway, go past that point.  The passage is blocked.  Examine the 
obstruction,
then fill the bowl with water again and replace it where you first found it.
When you return here the wall will be gone, so you can pass that point and 
take
the stairs.  Enter the room at the bottom.  Head over to the right and talk 
to
the girl.  You can see a passage to the right of this room; there's a way
through hidden directly below the girl's bed.  Off this passage are two 
doors;
open the upper one and enter.

After Meryl leaves with Lefia, go back to the main room.  Try the door at 
the
top; you can't open it.  Examine the pipes to the right of it.  Now go back 
to
where you left the bowl of water.  Pick it up, go through to the room to the
left, and check the sink in the top left.  You'll be given the option to 
empty
the bowl into it.  Pick the bottom option, "no".  Then check the sink again,
and then put the bowl back on the switch and return to the door you couldn't
open.  Meryl will return and arrange matters.  Go through it.

Time to fight another Vampire - this one is #2 in the table.  As you can 
see,
it uses a LOT of magic; the advantage of that is that its more powerful 
spells
will drain its MP fast, so if you can hang on for a while it'll lose the
ability to heal.  If you have trouble defeating it you might like to try 
ranged
weapons, since that way you'll be able to keep your party separated, and its
area spells won't hit everyone.  Killing it will complete the scenario.

>From now on you can talk to Lefia at the inn (you'll be able to choose 
between
Chris and her).  If you go there now and talk to her, you'll receive the 
Golden
Heart, which you'll need if you want to complete the Sealed Cave/Sealed
Labyrinth quest.


2.10 TEMPLE OF THE WIZARD

Get this scenario at the Guild, and head for Mt. Molor.  Enter the house.
There's plenty to look at in here - the coat inside the wardrobe, the 
jewellery
box on the table, and so on.  The minimal path, however, is this: go through
the door at the back, then through the middle door, and examine the picture 
on
the wall; then round to the room on the right, and examine the alcove twice;
then back to the front room, and take the goblet from the box by the stove;
then put that in the alcove to open a tunnel into the depths of the 
mountain.
This is a point of no return, so make sure you're kitted out and healed up
before you go any further.

When you're ready, enter the tunnel.  Head to the left and kill the Shadow
Dueller.  Climb down the ladder to examine the sparkle.  Now head north; 
you'll
see a sparkle on a rock to the left, and you should be able to jump across 
and
get it (this might require the Jump skill, though).  Keep going, and enter 
the
temple.  Now keep heading north.  You may see Vernon in a passage to your
right, or you may be attacked by a number of Demi-Iriasters - I'm not sure 
what
decides this.  Anyway, you'll reach a save point - if you take the 
passageway
to the right down you'll reach an orb which will restore your HP.

You want this right-hand passageway anyway, but you want to enter it and go 
up,
up the stairs.  Head up and right, and Antoniana will appear and join your
party.  Now head back down past the HP orb and follow the passage round and 
up
the other side.  You'll eventually meet Vernon, and a couple of fights will
ensue.  When they're over, answer Antoniana's question as you wish, and head
north again.

When you regain control, head back south to the table with the knife on it 
and
examine it twice to grab the knife.  Take it back to Antoniana.  Next you 
need
to fetch Cycas (he's in bed in the room where you met Antoniana earlier).  
When
that's done, head back to the save point.

Now head north.  When the path splits, if you take the left door, you'll 
reach
an orb which'll restore your MP; when you've done that (if you need to), 
follow
the right path.

When you reenter the temple, what you need to do is take the middle passage 
and
follow it round, then exit to the left, whereupon Antoniana will rejoin you.
Head on in.  You'll have to kill two Heat Gargs; that's no problem.  The
_problem_ is that Antoniana won't be helping you in your next battle, which
begins in a few seconds - against Nealertos.

This can be nasty if you're not careful.  Devote one character to healing, 
and
keep them away from him to spread the damage a bit.  He's unpleasant, but 
not
impossible; as usual he'll run out of MP before too long.  In fact, when I
fought him he didn't even heal, and so ended up being much easier than I'd
expected to defeat.

Pick up the book, talk to Antoniana, and leave the temple; then return to 
the
Guild for your reward.


2.11 DUNGEON MODE

Not precisely a scenario per se, you're supposed to visit the Sealed Cave 
and
Sealed Labyrinth to level up and gather equipment between scenarios proper.
However, there is another point to coming here, so it deserves a section in 
the
walkthrough.  In particular, you want to have done everything here before 
you
begin "All Things".

The seal at the door is initially non-functional.  As you complete certain
scenarios, the crystals will be restored, and after "Temple of the Wizard" 
it
should be operational again, which will prevent you from entering the cave.
You can only get in after that if you have the Golden Heart from Lefia, 
which
will open the door.

At this point, if you check the list of names by the save point, you'll 
notice
that one has been added: Rokifel's.

You can find a complete map of the dungeon in sections 2.11 and 2.12.  Note
that there's only one save point, which is right at the beginning, so don't 
go
in over your head.  As you level up, you'll stop meeting enemies in the 
lower
levels, so trekking back here to save is more inconvenient than dangerous.

There's one point in particular where my maps may prove difficult to follow.
There are two paths between the third and fourth floors of the Labyrinth, 
and
the fourth floor is divided into two areas which do not connect.  What you 
need
to to is to head to the fourth floor, follow the path to "Switch 2", and
activate it.  This opens the door to "Switch 1" on the third floor, so go 
and
activate that; then return to "Switch 2" and turn it off again.  Now you can
pass through the other keyholeless door on the third floor and reach the 
other
areas of the fourth floor, which will take you through to the deeper levels.

Anyway, follow the maps until you reach the final room of the deepest level
(marked '@' on the map).  This is the throne room of Amugnon Castle, and 
King
Daruk's corpse is still here.  Examine it.  If you have the Golden Heart,
you'll "receive King Daruk's heart", and then you'll be teleported to the
entrance, and the door will be locked again - permanently, so far as I can
tell.

Now, according to the game's script, it should be possible to fight Daruk 
Golem
somewhere in this area - somehow - but I don't know how to trigger that 
event.
If anyone does, please let me know.


2.12 ALL THINGS

Make sure you've done everything else you want to, then talk to King 
Reynard.
He'll give you your final quest.  When you leave the castle the town will be
mostly deserted; you can still change your party at the Lackdack, and you 
may
still be able to use the arms shop (if you can, don't talk - Gregor will 
leave
if you do).

Head to the Holy Sophia Temple.  Climb down the well under the cliff, and 
then
go round and enter the temple.

The final battle against King Daruk begins.  He has two physical attacks: 
one
will hit your whole party anywhere on the screen for a significant amount
of damage.  It's not actually that hard - if you're at a high level, spent 
lots
of money on stat increases, have the best weapons and armour you can find, 
and
are well supplied with potions and so on, that is.

This battle is noticably easier if you've completed the Sealed Labyrinth and
collected King Daruk's heart.  According to Gray Brangwin, it decreases the
number of offensive spells he casts, increases the probability that his 
attacks
will miss completely, and possibly also decreases his defence.

If you kill him, you win.


There are three different endings: one if you lose the final battle, one if
you win without killing Daruk Golem, and one if you win having killed Daruk
Golem.  The first of these is a short section of the last, but I guess it 
still
counts.

As for which is the "good" ending... nobody's quite sure.  Watch them all 
and
make up your own mind.


===============================================================================
3   GAMEPLAY
===============================================================================

3.1 CONTROLS

Apart from the summary of field controls, this section deals with the game's
battle system.

Field:
        Directional pad - movement
        A - examine, talk, select
        B - cancel
        X - menu

Battle:
        Directional pad - movement
        A - action
        B - cancel (when moving, return character to initial position)
        X - use magic
        Y - use item
        L+R - hide (escape from battle)

3.1.1 Movement:
  Your movement range depends on your AP (in turn based on your Agility).  
AP
is displayed in a metre below your active character, and decreases as you 
move,
but based on your distance from your initial position, rather than the 
number
of steps you take.  It must be full for you to escape, and you need a fair
amount to remain if you want to use magic or items, and a little if you want
to attack.

3.1.2 Attacking:
  When you press the 'action' button once, your character will freeze.  
Press A
again to end your turn, or B to cancel the action.  If you have a target
selected when you end your turn, you'll attack it, otherwise you'll defend.

  If you're using a melee weapon, targets are assigned automatically as you
move, and you can see before you freeze whether you're going to hit 
anything.

  If you're using a ranged weapon, however, this does not apply.  Instead,
targets are only assigned while you're in the attack pose.  You can turn on 
the
spot to face in any of the four directions while frozen without using up AP.
If your target doesn't start flashing, you can unfreeze and adjust your
position.  Note that when you're aiming horizontally, you'll have to adjust
your vertical position to hit enemies on higher or lower levels, but that
shouldn't be a problem if you check your aim before firing.  Also, you can 
only
hit visible enemies, which can be a problem when shooting vertically.
Sometimes it helps to open the 'items' screen, which centers the display on 
the
character, before entering the targetting pose; sometimes there'll simply be 
no
way to hit an enemy, which can be irritating.

3.1.3 Using magic and items:
  After pressing X or Y you'll be presented with a list of available magic 
or
items.  Select the one you want to use, and press X or Y again to confirm 
it.
You'll then have to choose a target.  There are five targetting modes.  
Items
are (I think) always "single", but spells vary.
  Single: the "hand" cursor indicates the target.  It'll switch between 
valid
    targets as you press the directional buttons.
  All: absolutely all targets are selected, even if they're not visible.
  Area: the rotating target cursor indicates the centre, and all targets 
within
    the area will flash.  You can move the cursor freely to find the best 
area.
  Directional: an arrow at your feet indicates the direction of the spell; 
as
    with ranged weapons, you can choose any of the four directions, and 
you'll
    have to adjust your position to take the terrain into account.  As 
always,
    your target(s) will flash.
  Random: just like it sounds, a target is chosen at random.

  Unlike attacking, you won't defend if you try to use a spell or an item
without a target - it simply won't do anything, so you'll have to find a 
target
or cancel.


3.2 STATISTICS

Each character has a rating for seven essential attributes and two variable.
The former, described more fully below, are rated from 1 to 25.  Their 
values
can be changed temporarily with magic, or permanantly by either donating 
money
to the Temple or by levelling up.  Stat changes on levelling up are 
determined
by a character's job, and in some cases a stat may fall.

The latter are HP and MP, representing (as usual) the character's health and
magical power; the absolute maximum value for each is 9999.  Both can be
recovered with items, by making a tiny donation at the Temple, or by staying 
at
the Inn; HP can also be recovered by resting on save points or with the 
Restore
Lute skill.  The maximum values for each will increase on levelling up, or 
on
donating a large sum to the Temple, by an amount determined by the 
character's
job.

A word needs to be said about these job-related changes.  The amount in each
case is NOT absolute: there's a fair random element involved.  If you save
before levelling up, you can reload and try again if the results aren't to 
your
satisfaction.  Note that the random seed is only changed when you change
screens (for this purpose, the whole town counts as a single screen), so 
this
takes patience.  It's a lot more bearable if you use save states on an
emulator.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
-
-Accuracy:     "Raises weapon hit rate in battle."
              When your accuracy is low, you'll often only do 1 damage even 
on
              enemies with low dexterity.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
-
-Dexterity:    "Ability to evade enemy attacks"
              Likewise: the higher your dexterity, the greater the chance 
that
              even accurate enemies will barely scratch you.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
-
-Intelligence: "Raises magic power and evasion"
              Note the latter: even non-magic users will benefit from 
greater
              intelligence.  Besides, frankly, you'll probably want all your
              characters to be able to use healing magic.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
-
-Skill:        "Ability essential for opening things like locked doors"
              This directly affects the speed at which the numbers change.  
You
              only need it high on one character, whom you should put in the
              lead when you want to pick a lock.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
-
-Agility:      "Determines movement range and AP in battle"
              This is very useful (it lets you get the first hit in with 
melee
              weapons), and essential if you want to equip heavy armour and
              still be able to move.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
-
-Vitality:     "Determines time taken to recover status and physical 
strength"
              I think this affects how long status ailments last, and how 
much
              HP is restored when you rest at a save point or use Restore 
Lute.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
-
-Luck:         "Depending on this value, good things may happen..."
              I've no idea what this does.  It might affect your chances of
              scoring a critical hit, or of finding treasure.  It also seems 
to
              be necessary for some of the better jobs...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
-


3.3 ABILITIES

  KEY:
* indicates that only one character needs to learn the skill.
# is the same, but the character must also be in the lead position to use 
it.
M indicates that a skill is used through the menu: select the "skills" tab 
of
  the character submenu of the "status" tab, then select the required skill 
to
  use it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Critical        "Hit rate up"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Cross Attack    "Sword skill knowledge level 2"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Discount #      "Sometimes buy items at discounted prices."
  You can do this anyway, but the skill may make it easier.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Dispel *M       "Release items from ancient curses."
  I have yet to find a cursed item...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Hit & Way       "Attack and simultaneously evade."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Judgement *M    "Identify unidentified items."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Jump #?         "You can jump over things to a certain extent."
  Another dubious skill.  I haven't found a use for it.  For example, it
  DOESN'T allow you to jump over the branch in Toras Forest - you can't jump
  over it in "Death-Creature" even with the skill, and you can jump over it 
in
  "The Search" even without the skill.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Magic Barrier   "Protects against magic damage."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Mental Barrier  "Protects against magic status attacks."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Overpower       "Attacks sometimes thrust enemies away."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Restore Lute *M "Play music that restores HP in the middle of dungeons."
  I have a feeling this doesn't work outside the Sealed Cave/Labyrinth, but 
I
  haven't tested this thoroughly.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Scroll          "Memorise spells in order to use magic."
  Required to buy, research, or use magic.  This is probably a priority.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Shoot           "Hitting the enemy with a projectile weapon becomes easier."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Slash!          "Certain kill sword skill"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Swimming *      "You can cross over streams, lakes, etc."
  I don't know of any places where this skill is useful.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Swordmaster     "Sword skill knowledge level 1"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Trick Guard     "Ability to ward off enemy attacks skillfully."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -
Unlock #        "Investigate the shape of the key that opens a door's lock."
  Essential in the Sealed Cave/Labyrinth - unless you're following my map.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
- -

I don't yet understand how you learn abilities. They're learnt when you 
level
up, but rather than being attached to your level they seem to be learnt
according to the number of enemies a character has killed.  There also seems
to be a random element.  The remarks about random elements in the section 
above
on stat changes probably also apply here.

There are values in the ROM which seem to be related to the learning of
abilities.  More investigation is needed to work out precisely what they 
mean,
though!  Here are a few examples:

        Traveller: [Scroll]  6
           Hunter: [Shoot]   7 [Jump]         8
            Thief: [Hit&Way] 6
         Guardian: [Shoot]   7 [Swordmaster]  5
             Poet: [Scroll]  7 [Restore Lute] 6

It looks as though, for example, a Traveller will learn 'Scroll' sooner than 
a
Poet.


3.4 THE TOWN

-- Pub (Lackadack Pub)
This is where you change your party.  This facility is unavailable during 
some
scenarios.  The process is self-evident: one icon lets you remove members, 
the
other lets you add them.
Note that you don't have a fixed 'player character' in this game.  You can 
take
any combination of the characters you create, which need not include your
initial character.

-- Arms (Gregor's Armoury)
-- Shop (Seriss' Item Shop)
The only difference between these two is the range of goods on sale.  You 
can
buy, sell, or identify items which fall into their range - the armoury
obviously deals with weapons and armour, while the item shop sells the 
various
medicines (and cloth-based armour).
An interesting feature is the ability to haggle when buying.  If you refuse 
the
list price, you may be offered the item at a slight discount.  Repeat for 
even
lower prices.  If you take it too far they'll stop offering the item and 
you'll
have to start again from the list price.  The likelihood of a discount being
offered is probably increased by the Discount ability.
Finally, you'll note that their ranges are pretty limited at the start of 
the
game.  You can build them up, though: if you sell them something they don't
have in stock, it'll be added to the list.  Note that you can only do this
with
certain items; in general, the more exotic an item, the less likely it is to 
be
duplicable.  In such cases you can still buy them back if you sell them, but
the entry will then be removed from the list.

-- Park (Centoria Park)
Read the town noticeboard, or chat with anyone who happens to be around.  A
good place to keep up-to-date on the plot.
Also, if you come here when you have less than 5 gold, you can find 5 gold 
by
selecting the "talk" function - useful if your party was wiped out and you
can't afford to heal at the inn.  Unfortunately it seems that doing this 
causes
your Luck to decrease by one point each time, which is a Bad Thing.

-- M.Guild (Rosasor Magic Guild)
As you might guess, this is where you learn magic.  Don't bother coming here
until at least one of your characters knows the 'Scroll' ability.  When 
that's
done, you have two options: you can research spells (see 3.5) or buy them.

-- Inn (Chris' Inn)
Back in the realm of convention, you can rest or save your game here.  
Actually
you can save your game anywhere in Shanoah just by going to the main menu, 
so
that feature is rather redundant, isn't it?  Note that resting here won't 
heal
status ailments - for that, you'll have to go to the temple.
Also, you'll wake up here whenever your party is annihilated.  The game 
seems
to pretend in such cases that you were just "having a bad dream"...

-- Castle (Reynard Castle)
You'll find King Reynard here, a good source of background info to the plot.
A king you can just walk in from the streets and chat with - now there's a 
good
example for that nice Windsor lady, eh?

-- Temple (Saviour Temple)
Even the atheists among you will quickly grow to love this place.  The first
option in here will remove status ailments - and it doesn't cost a penny!  
The
second option allows you to make a donation; it's expensive, but well worth 
the
money:
10 gold: restore HP and MP (the inn is cheaper)
40 gold: raise your characters' Luck
70 gold: raise several stats for each character
80 gold: increase your characters' max HP
80 gold: increase your characters' max MP

-- Guild (Tax Guild)
This is where you go to change jobs.  If you don't read kanji, you might be
able to guess which job is which by comparing the salary displayed with 
table
4.5 below (which is in the same order as the list in the game).


3.5 RESEARCHING SPELLS

When you have the "Scroll" ability, go to the Magic Guild and select the 
first
option.  This is the centre of the game's magic system; unless you master
research, you're stuck with the basic four spells, and you'll have to pay a
fortune for them.  (For example, if you buy Wind Cutter, it'll set you back
160 gold.  If you research it, it costs just 12 gold, and the buying price 
will
drop to 112!)

You're presented with a grid of 18 stones (initially 15 - see below), and 
you
can create a formula of up to five glyphs (you can use the same one more 
than
once).  When you've done so, select "OK", and Kofu will research the spell
which they represent.  Here, for reference, is the grid:

                      Glyph name                       Price, glyph class
------------------------------------------------------+------------------------
Earth         Water         Fire            Wind       2: genso (elemental)
Liquifaction  Vaporisation  Solidification  Division   4: jtai (phase 
change)
Sword         Armour        Shield          Feather    6: baitai (medium)
Horn          Blood         Bone            Flesh      6: baitai
Thunder       Heaven                                  10: kaosu (chaos)

The fee for the research is based on the glyphs you use. It's done by the 
row
they appear in (see numbers).  Just add up the values for each glyph.  Of
course, you can just try it, and he'll tell you what the price will be, but
I thought you might like to know how it works...

I mentioned above that there are initially only 15 stones to choose from.  
The
other three are missing, but if you find them and bring them back to the 
guild
Kofu will put them in the grid.  Here's where to find them.

  Medium: Shield - Masaki Head (during "Ed and Karon")
  Chaos: Thunder - Toras Forest (during "Death-Creature" only)
  Chaos: Heaven - Sealed Cave (see 5.1 2F, note)

There's one other thing.  You're probably thinking, "Great! But what 
formulae
do I use?"  That's where the spell list (4.6) becomes rather useful.  Thanks 
to
the complete decipherment of the "strange poems", plus a considerable amount 
of
trial and error (mostly by others), the formulae for all but three spells 
are
now known.  You too can be a deadly warrior-mage... for a price, of course.


===============================================================================
4   TABLES
===============================================================================

These data were in most cases simply extracted from the ROM, rather than 
pieced
together through observation.  In other words, where they're right, they're
absolutely right; if I've misidentified the ROM data, however, they could be
completely wrong.  See below for exceptions.

4.1 MONSTERS

'Spoils' are items received upon searching an enemy's corpse.  In most 
(all?)
cases you can only do this if you defeated the enemy in Dungeon Mode, and 
it's
random whether you receive the spoils or not.

The 'status' data is only quoted where I'm sure of it.  The data is, of 
course,
in the ROM, but there are a lot of values for the relevant byte which seem
unconnected.  I'll figure it out when I have time, but until then bear in
mind that a blank space doesn't necessarily mean that an enemy _won't_ 
poison
you or whatever.

The 'Notes' column is even worse.  Basically it contains bits of information
derived from observation, which I'm trying to identify in the ROM.  
Currently
among other things it includes the spells I've seen a monster cast, the
elements it's immune to, and the type of attack it uses.  None of this is
complete or consistent, and neither the presence or absence of a note on any
subject should be read as a definite statement of fact.  They're only in the
FAQ because it's more convenient for me than a separate file would be.

Neither the status data nor the various notes are priorities for me, since 
they
have no relevance to the translation project and aren't likely to be of the
slightest interest to most readers of this FAQ.  The likelihood of my ever
bothering to decode the monster table completely is fairly slim.

No value for experience is given.  This is because exp seems to be an 
attribute
of groups of monsters, not of the monsters themselves.  For example, I think 
a
group of five Slimes gives you 100 exp and one of three Oak Jellies gives 
you
90 exp.  Based on that, you might think that one of four Slimes and one Oak
Jelly would give you 110 exp (do the maths!) - but if my memory is to be
trusted it actually gives you 200.

  NAME             HP     MP    SPOILS       STATUS  NOTES

Acid Gel           88           --
Black Head         90           Antidote
Black Widow        64           Potion       Numb
Bloodpicker       110           Antidote     Poison
Bloodsucker       120           Panacea      Numb
Blue Murder       206    100    Potion
Cave Bat           18           --
Centipede          70           Antidote
Chemicaloid       158           --
Cult Murder       106           Potion
Dark Matter        60           --           Numb
Daruk Golem       666    500    Destroyer
Demi-Iriaster     160    200    Silk Robe            Uses EH/HL/FA/Pr
Desperado         170     48    Bone Ring
Eleanor Zombie     90    130    --                   Uses EH/WS
Fang Gel          137           Antidote
Gargbat           108           Potion       Numb    Immune: K?
Grassjack          40           Antidote     Poison
Heat Garg         118    100    Antidote     Numb    Uses FSt
Hell Bandit       120           (Gold)               Immune: T
Hellworm          110           --
Iron Golem        380    120    Red Crystal
Killer Crow        95           --
Killer Tusk       232           (Gold)
King Daruk        999    999    --                   Lasciate ogni speranza.
Knight Idol       165           Blue Crystal
Living Armour     258    186    Red Crystal
Mad Dog           155           Potion
Magifox           188    280    Blue Crystal
Manhunter         190     40    (Gold)
Manhunter 2       280     60    (Gold)
Master Ninja      200    290    Murasame Bl.
Mi-Yaagi          200    186    --
Mouse Eater        25           --
Nealertos         444    444    Ashura               Uses Pr; ranged
Ninja             190    230    Hinomoto Bl.
Oak Jelly          20           --           Poison
Poison Corpse     111           Blue Crystal Poison  Immune: M/K/T.
Shadow Dueller    185    230    Crystal Ring         
ImnA;EH/BR/WS/(IF/FF);Rng.
Slime              14           --
Stone Golem       250           Blue Crystal
Toras Viper        20           --
Undead Knight     210           Panacea
Undead Wolf        70           Antidote     Poison
Vampire (1)       210    150    Talisman             Uses EH/BR
Vampire (2)       275    200    Talisman             Uses EH/BR/FB/FA/WS/Pr
Werewolf          160           --           Numb
Waterworm          85           Potion
Zombie             70           (Gold)       Poison


4.2 WEAPONS

The list is sorted by type first, then attack power.  There are few enough 
that
the loss of alphabetical order should cause little inconvenience.

  NAME           PRICE   ATK      TYPE

Dagger              8     6       Knife
Silver Dagger      20     6       Knife
Holy Knife         14     8       Knife
Short Sword        24     10      Short Sword
Short Sword +      34     12      Short Sword
Damascus Sword     50     18      Short Sword
Ashura            666     39      Short Sword   *1
Long Sword         40     16      Sword
Long Sword +       56     22      Sword
Bastard Sword      62     24      Sword
Great Sword        84     26      Sword
Moon Blade         55     16      Katana
Hinomoto Blade     70     24      Katana        *2
Murasame Blade    120     30      Katana        *3
Hand Axe           20      6      Axe
Battle Axe         44     12      Axe
Great Axe          68     18      Axe
Destroyer         999     36      Axe
Slingshot          15      4      Bow
Small Bow          20      8      Bow
Longbow            40     12      Bow
Crossbow           68     16      Bow
Arbalest          105     23      Bow           *4
Light Mace         40     10      Mace
Heavy Mace         46     12      Mace
Flail              60     16      Mace
Warhammer          90     16      Mace
Morningstar        58     18      Mace
Ebony Staff        10      4      Staff
Bone Staff         30      6      Staff
Chrome Staff       34      8      Staff
Iron Staff         26     10      Staff

1: In Bhuddist mythology, 'ashura' (Skt. 'asura') signifies the fourth 'path 
of
   being', above animals but below humans - the "warlike demons".
   The translation of the name should explain why it is given to weapons.
2: 'Hi no moto' (origin of the sun) is one of the Japanese names for Japan.
3: 'Murasame' is the name of a famous swordsmith.  See the relevant question 
in
   section 6 for the legend - it's too long to go in a note.
4: An arbalest was a large mechanical bow used in medieval sieges (in 
Europe).


4.3 ARMOUR

NAME             PRICE    DEF  WEIGHT    TYPE

Leather Suit        8      1      0      Under-armour
Chain Suit         14      2      0      Under-armour
Cotton Robe         6      1      0      Armour
Silk Robe          20      2      0      Armour      *1
Leather Armour     30      2      0      Armour
Ringmail           38      3      1      Armour
Scale Mail         50      4      1      Armour
Chainmail          58      5      2      Armour
Brigandi           72      6      2      Plate
Breast Mail        80      7      2      Plate
Plate Mail         96      8      3      Plate
Hinomoto Plate    105      9      3      Plate       *2
Silver Plate      120      8      3      Plate
Knight's Mail     110     10      2      Plate
Silver Robe       100      6      0      Armour
Black Mail         95     11      4      Plate
Leather Shield     16      1      0      Shield
Buckler            30      2      0      Shield
Small Shield       50      3      1      Shield
Large Shield       70      4      1      Shield
Tower Shield       85      6      2      Shield+
Knight's Shield    94      7      2      Shield+
Veil Shield       100      8      3      Shield+     *3

1: This is obviously a better buy than Leather Armour. That's why checking 
the
   shop as well as the armoury is a good idea!
2: See 4.2 note 2.  I imagine this is that distinctive 'samurai armour'.
3: "Makes the bearer invisible".  Sounds nice, ne?


4.4 ITEMS

  NAME           PRICE     TYPE

Potion              8      Medicine
Antidote            8      Medicine
Panacea            15      Medicine
Revival            70      Medicine
Tranquiliser       20      Medicine
Blue Crystal       10      Gem
Red Crystal        20      Gem
Ebony Ring         22      Accessory
Bone Ring          30      Accessory
Silver Ring        80      Accessory
Crystal Ring       96      Accessory
Talisman           34      Accessory
Rabbit Leg         40      Accessory
Aqua Stone         20      Accessory
Golden Heart       10      Accessory
Teardrop           --      Accessory
M-stone            --      Special (see the "Magic Guild" entry of 3.4)


4.5 JOBS

Only certain jobs are available for any character at a given time.  The
availability is probably based on a character's stats, and there may well be
a random element - I haven't investigated.  I also can't tell you when each
ability is learnt, which stats change on level up, or what equipment each 
job
allows, because I haven't identified these data.  On this last point, it's
largely common sense - obviously a warrior is going to be able to wear 
heavier
armour than a clerk.

NOTE: abilities are listed in numerical order (as given in the ROM), not in 
the
order in which they're learnt.

'?' in the Income column indicates a random element.  The value of this is
(obviously) random, but apparently it's tied to your character's level - 
your
earnings increase as you level up.  Gray Brangwin reports earning 350 gold 
as a
thief at around level 20.  I dread to think what they earn at level 99... 
but
the word is probably "sugoi!"

JOB TITLE       INCOME      ABILITIES LEARNT

Traveller          0        Scroll
Hunter          11+?        Shoot, Jump
Thief            ?+?        Hit & Way
Farmer            20        --
Merchant        15+?        Judgement, Discount
Fisherman       11+?        Swimming
Craftsman         22        Unlock
Guardian          20        Shoot, Swordmaster
Poet              20        Scroll, Restore Lute
Clown             19        Scroll, Discount
Monk              32        Scroll, Dispel
Cleric            26        Dispel, Restore Lute
Scholar           28        Scroll, Judgement
Magician          28        Trick Guard
Official          34        Judgement, Mental Barrier
Soldier           35        Swordmaster
Warrior           38        Swordmaster, Hit & Way
Bishop            45        Magic Barrier, Restore Lute
Sorceror          43        Magic Barrier
Knight            45        Cross Attack
Samurai           43        Scroll, Trick Guard
Ninja             46        Critical
High priest       48        Mental Barrier
Sage              53        Mental Barrier, Slash!
Ruler            100        Critical, Overpower
Wizard            60        Magic Barrier, Overpower
Crusader          77        Critical, Slash!


4.6 MAGIC

"Cost" is the cost to research a spell.  After researching it, it can 
usually
be purchased for "cost" plus 100 gold; see "buy:" notes for the exceptions.

"Type" gives the targetting type for a spell, in the format target-type:
TARGETS - "e" enemies, "f" friends, "a" anything in range.
TYPES - "s" single, "d" directional, "r" area, "!" random, "a" all.

Name           Type   MP   Formula                           Cost

Acid Rain       e-r   20   water divide armour                12
Air Shield      f-s   16   flesh armour wind                  14
Black Rain      e-a   14
Cure Poison     f-s    7   flesh divide water                 12 (buy: 100)
Earth Heal      f-s    8   bone divide earth                  12 (buy: 100)
Errth Heal      a-s    6   earth divide bone #                12 [notes 1, 
2]
                           OR bone divide fire *              12
Fireball        e-d   10   fire solidify feather              12 (buy: 
160>112)
Flame Arrow     e-d   14   fire solidify bone                 12
Flame Fang      e-d   25   fire wind solidify sword           14
Flame Sword     f-s   27   sword divide fire *                12
Flare Storm     e-r   30   fire wind fire vaporise flesh      16
Heat Lava       e-r   44   earth fire earth liquify horn      16
Heaven Breeze   a-s   30   heaven *                           10
Icefall         e-r   45   water earth water solidify blood   16
Landquake       e-a   56   earth earth water divide shield    16
Mad Spider      e-r   14   earth fire divide horn             14
Physical Rain   f-a   30   bone liquify water earth           16
Phisical Rain   a-a   25   blood liquify water #              12 [note 3]
Plasma Bomb     e-r   46   wind fire wind vaporise sword      16
Plasma Bomb?    a-r   32   earth wind earth wind earth *      10
Prominence      e-r   58   fire fire water liquify horn       16
Prominence?     a-r   50   fire fire fire fire fire *         10
Sandstorm       e-s   58
Sandstorm?      a-!   50
Sleep Mist      e-r   28   water earth vaporise blood         14
Sleep Mist?     a-r   20   water liquify blood #              12
Stone Squall    e-r   36   earth water solidify sword         14
Thunderbolt     e-s   50   water wind earth divide shield     16
                           OR thunder *                       10
Wind Cutter     e-d   10   wind solidify feather              12 (buy: 
160>112)
Wolfstorm       e-r   32   wind earth wind vaporise flesh     16

*: formulae provided by Gray Brangwin
#: formulae taken from Okada's list
1: Jap. "Mars Heal" (in katakana "ma-su" [Mars] resembles "a-su" [Earth]).
2: This spell may either hurt or heal its target.
3: Jap. "Phasical Rain" (in katakana, "fa" slightly resembles "fi").

In some cases, there may be more than one formula for a spell.  The result 
is
the same whichever you choose.  The only case in which this makes much
difference is with Thunderbolt, where one formula is somewhat cheaper, and
the other requires a magic stone which can't be acquired by emulator users
without a fair bit of hacking.

(N.B. There are also duplicates of Cure Poison and Earth Heal in the ROM 
with
different MP costs (12 and 2 respectively), which don't seem to be 
accessible
to the player.  Either they're used by monsters, or they're "ghost" entries; 
I
don't know which.)


===============================================================================
5   MAPS
===============================================================================

Hurray for ASCII art!  Make sure you're using a fixed-width font.

5.1 SEALED CAVE

Key:    O = Save point
        T = Treasure chest
        Numbers indicate floor changes.
        Lower case letters indicate locks; codes are given in the left 
margin.

1F:                                _2_
                                  |   |
                                  | O |
                                  |   |
                                   |
                                    V
                               To Shanoah

2F:                          ___   ___   ___   _3_
                            /   \ /   \_/   \ /   \
                           |  T* |     _     |     |
                            \   / \   / \   / \   /
                            /   \_/   \ /   \_/   \
(code: 15)                 |     a     |     _     |
                            \   /\___/ \   / \   /
                            /   \ /   \_/   \ /   \
                           |     |     _     |     |
(code: 73)                  \_b_/ \   / \___/ \   /
                            /   \ /   \ /   \_/   \
(code: 26)                 |  T  |     |  T  c     |
                            \___/ \_ _/ \___/\___/
                                    1

* It's quite likely the chest in here will be empty, but you'll see a blue
sparkle when you open it.  Check that area for the Chaos Magic Stone 
'Heaven'.

3F:                          ___   ___   ___   ___
                            /   \ /   \ /   \_/   \
                           |  T  |  T  |     _     |
(codes: 695, 151)           \_a_/ \_b_/ \   / \___/
                            /   \_/   \ /   \_/   \
(code: 68)                 |     _     |     c     |
(code: 13)                  \_d_/ \   / \   /\   /
                            /   \ /   \_/   \ /   \
                           |     |     _     |     |
                            \   / \___/ \___/ \   /
                            /   \_/   \ /   \_/   \
(code: 27)                 |     _     |  T  e     |
                            \___/ \_ _/ \___/\_ _/
                                    4           2
4F:
                             ___   ___   ___   _3_
                            /   \ /   \_/   \ /   \
                           |  T  |     _     |     |
                            \   / \   / \   / \   /
                            /   \_/   \ /   \_/   \
                           |     a     |     _     |
(code: 328)                 \   /\   / \_b_/ \___/
                            /   \ /   \ /   \_/   \
                           |     |     |     _     |
(code: 648)                 \_c_/ \   / \___/ \   /
                            /   \_/   \ /   \_/   \
(codes: 445, 212)          |     d  T  |  T  e     |
                            \_ _/\___/ \___/\___/
                              |
                              V
                  to Sealed Labyrinth 1F


5.2 SEALED LABYRINTH

The Sealed Cave is pretty straightforward: just follow the map.  The 
Labyrinth,
as a brief glance at the maps below will show, is far more complex.  I'm 
afraid
the maps aren't very easy to read - limitations of ASCII - so I might be
persuaded to do graphical versions, or even a Sealed Labyrinth walkthrough, 
if
people have trouble following them.  It should however be possible to 
complete
the Labyrinth with just these maps.  It's certainly possible to complete it
without them!

Key as for Sealed Cave, plus:
        B: 'breeze' message (indicates a hidden passage)
        K: a chest containing a scenario item.  See right margin for 
details.
        L: a special door.  See right margin for how to open it.
        P: plate (inscribed with a 'strange poem')
        S#: a switch.
        @: see section 2.11 for details...

                                    to Sealed Cave 4F
1F:                         ___ _2_ _^_ ___
                           |   |   |   |   |
Code: 4916                 |   a P | P | T |
Codes: 2123, 32            |_b_|___|_ _|_c_|
                           |   |   |   |   |
Code: 127                  | T d   |   |   |
Codes: 743, 21, 80, 124    |_e_|_f_|_g_|_h_|
                           |   |   |   |   |
Code: 128                  |   i       |   |
Code: 16, 631              |___|_j_|___|_k_|
                           |   |   |   |   |
Code: 11                   | T l           |
                           |___|___|___|___|

2F:                         ___ ___ ___ ___
                           |   |   |   |   |
Codes: 131, 3217           |   a   b       |
Codes: 1172, 4210          |_c_|___|___|_d_|
                           |   |   |   |   |
Code: 5963                 | T |   e T |   |
Code: 6638                 |_ _|_f_|___|_ _|
                           |   |   |   |   |
                           | B   T | T   B |
Codes: 3872, 262           |_g_|___|___|_h_|
                           |   |   |   |   |
Codes: 5524, 1219          | P i   j   | P |
                           |___|___|_ _|_ _|
                                     3   1

3F:                         _2_ ___ ___ ___
                           |   |   |   |S1 |
Code: 8426                 |   |   a   |   |
Codes: 2615, 291, 6667     |_b_|_c_|_d_|_L_|      S2 on
                           |   |   |   |   |
Codes: 189, 538, 121       |   e   f T g   |
Codes: 140, 5517           |___|_h_|___|_i_|
                           |   |   |   |   |
Code: 26                   |   j   |     B |
Codes: 8427, 8386, 6345    |_k_|___|_l_|_m_|
                           |   |   |   |   |
                           | T |   L   |   |      S1 on, S2 off
                           |___|_ _|___|_ _|
                                 4       4
                                 |       |
4F:                         ___ _3_ ___ _3_
                           |   |   |   |   |
Codes: 8426, 3623          |   a   |   b   |
Codes: 2413, 811           |_c_|_ _|_d_|___|
                           |   |   |   |S2 |
Code: 32                   |   |   e   |   |
Codes: 9678, 9999          |_ _|_f_|___|_g_|
                           |   |   |   |   |
Codes: 1251, 20            |   | T h   i T |
Code: 8427                 |_j_|___|___|___|
                           |   |   |   |   |
Codes: 9294, 990           |   k       m   |
                           |___|___|___|_ _|
                                         5
5F                          ___ ___ _4_ ___
                           |   |   |   | K |      Ebony Key
                           |       |   |   |
Codes: 6610, 787, 5020     |_L_|_a_|_b_|_c_|      Requires Ebony Key
                           |   |   |   |   |
                          6  T |   |   |   |
Codes: 2135, 2234          |___|_d_|_ _|_e_|
                           |   |   |   |   |
Codes: 9859, 3496          |   f T |   g   |
                           |_ _|___|___|_ _|
                           |   |   |   |   |
Codes: 1849, 1671          |   h       i T |
                           |___|___|___|___|

6F                          ___ ___ ___ ___
                           | @ | K |   | K |      Silver Key, Dark Key
Code: 2204                 |   |   a T |   |
Codes: 1124, 5813          |_L_|_b_|_c_|_L_|      Require Dark, Crystal Keys
                           |   |   |   |   |
Code: 632                  |   |   L   d   |      Requires Bronze Key
Codes: 5665, 9785, 7438    |_e_|_f_|_g_|___|
                           |   |   |   | K |      Bronze Key
Code: 9821                 |   L   L   h   |      Require Gold, Crystal Keys
Codes: 7216, 4311          |_L_|_i_|_j_|___|      Requires Silver Key
                           |   |   |   |   |
Code: 8878                 |   |   |   k    5
                           | K | K |   |   |      Crystal Key, Gold Key
                               


===============================================================================
6   MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS
===============================================================================

-- What's the 'gomi' (rubbish bin) for in the items menu?

You can only carry 22 pages of items - that's 132 items in total, not 
including
anything that's equipped.  132 sounds a lot, but bear in mind that each item
uses a space of its own - in a Final Fantasy you can carry 198 items just by
stocking up on potions and antidotes!

The bin is simply the way you discard unwanted items.  The difference here 
is
that the bin can hold 8 items, which can then be restored or destroyed.  So 
you
can actually carry 140 items around with you, if you really need to.


-- Are those battle messages really necessary?

The battle system often strikes new players as clumsy and choppy, because 
the
flow of combat is constantly being broken by messages which rarely contain 
any
information not immediately visible from the graphics.  Fortunately you can
turn them off: push the second button on the configuration menu (the bottom 
tab
of the main menu).  I imagine many will agree that this is an improvement.


-- What's that 'Turbo-file' option?

The Turbo-file was an external storage unit for the Super Famicom made by
ASCII, who are of course also responsible for Dark Law.  A number of games
support it, notably other ASCII titles, although apparently Bahamut Lagoon 
as
well.  It appears still to be available - it's listed on the ASCII site at 
2000
yen for a Turbo-File II.  The description of this item claims it's a
Playstation controller, but I'm pretty sure that's a mistake on their part.


-- Is Dark Law the sequel to Dark Lord?

Dark Lord (Famicom, Data East: 1991) does indeed bear a strong resemblance 
to
this game.  It has a similar structure (free character creation, scenarios),
a similar magic system, and - the real clincher - a battle system that is
obviously a slightly more primitive version of the one we have here.

Is this an actual sequel?  I really don't know, mainly because I haven't
bothered to play far enough into Dark Lord to get a feel for the plot.
However, here's a (very) rough translation of the Dark Lord intro: as you 
can
see, the basic premise seems pretty similar.

"In the distant past, a pair of gods were fighting for control of the 
world...
At this time the world was still a place of chaos and turmoil...
The god of light, Alpharse, governed all of nature and humanity.
The lord of darkness, Ragmaila, led the Demi-Humans and the powers of evil.
The long war between the armies of the gods continued without pause...
But at length the time came for the end of the fighting...
Alpharse gathered his remaining power and confined Ragmaila and the
   Demi-Humans in defeat...
By sealing their spirits in water, the world was preserved...
So time passed, with people living in freedom and peace.
...that world was Alph Land.
And now... the door has opened!"


-- How is Dark Law related to other games?

Firstly - it has nothing whatsoever to do with Dark Half (SFC, Enix: 1996).

There are a number of striking similarities between Dark Law and an earlier
title called Wizap! (SFC, ASCII: 1994).  I haven't played it in any depth, 
so
I can't comment much, but I can say that, for example, they both have 
similar
job systems, use the same symbols for the magic elements, and both start off
with the hero alone in a mysterious forest on a clifftop from which the only
way down is a near-fatal fall.  They even use the same font.  One (Japanese)
review of Dark Law I've read describes it as the "successor" to Wizap!, but 
I'm
not sure whether that means it's actually a sequel, or just uses a similar
engine (like the Final Fantasy series).
Update: I still have no idea, but there seems to be some degree of character
crossover.  McStarr (or Maxter, if you prefer) appears in both games.


-- Tell me about Murasame.

I know this is slightly off topic, but Murasame blades are among the weapons
that crop up in an awful lot of RPGs, and people really should know the 
legends
behind these things.  His rebus dictis, I'll hand over to Gray Brangwin:
"Muramasa and Murasame were both famous swordsmiths who forged blades
unparalleled in quality, and virtually indistinguishable from each other,
except in one important aspect; in that, whereas blades forged by Muramasa
embodied the true samurai spirit and brought tranquility and peace, the 
blades
forged by Murasame were cursed and attracted war to themselves. It was said
that if you were to drop a leaf in a stream and then place a blade forged by
either in the way of the leaf, the leaf would always veer away from a 
Muramasa
blade, and inevitably be pulled towards and cut in two by a Murasame blade."

See, you wanted to know really.


-- I'm using an emulator...

(See "Copyright information" above for a disclaimer concerning this 
section.)

If you're playing the game on an emulator, there are several things to 
beware
of.  Most obviously, you may want to avoid the scenario "Ed and Karon", or 
at
least to abort it when you reach the end of the walkthrough of that section, 
or
your game will freeze.

Which emulator to choose is a harder question.  Obviously for most platforms
Snes9x is your only option; it should be fine.  Under DOS or Windows, ZSnes 
and
Snes9x both do a pretty good job, while the other emulators probably won't
handle it too well.  Neither of these is perfect, however: ZSnes can't 
manage
some of the spell effects, while Snes9x doesn't display the nice shading on 
the
menus.

I've been told that there's a problem which can arise if you use both save
states and the game's own saving system, which can cause you to lose saved
progress.  I haven't duplicated the problem myself, but you'd better be 
careful
just in case.  It might be a good idea to make sure you use the latest 
version
of your chosen emulator, though.


-- How can you write an entire Dark Law FAQ without mentioning the melons?

I'd hoped to avoid it.  You can have too much of a good thing.  I've written
about the melons in the FAQ section of Hlees wendende, so look there if 
you
really want to know.


-- What IS the meaning of death?

"The act or fact of dying; the final cessation of the vital functions of an
animal or plant.  Often personified." (SOED sv. "death", sense 1)

If you meant in the metaphysical sense, well, I'm hardly qualified to 
comment;
I'm a medievalist, not a theologian.  Ask a minister of the religion of your
choice (I'm including humanism and atheism in that).  Most of them seem to
agree that it's a wonderful opportunity, whether to catch up with your old
friends, to have another go at life, or to have some peace and quiet for 
once.
Unless you've been naughty, in which case things can get quite exciting...

Er, you meant in the context of this game's subtitle?  Erm... I'm not quite
sure.  But it's definitely a _good_ subtitle, isn't it?  Catchy.  Profound.
Meaningful.  I think.


-- What does that Latin sentence below mean?

A reasonable translation would be "Here ends the FAQ" (lit. "list of 
questions
which frequently are asked.")  Please don't criticise my grammar, I'm not a
classicist...


===============================================================================
                explicit tabula rogatorum quae crebro quaeruntur
===============================================================================
