Demon of LaPlace/LaPlace no Ma FAQ/Walkthrough
By Asplagis (aka Zettaijin)
e-mail: asplagis@yahoo.com

Version 1.0 (June 12, 2002)


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I)Version history

II)Introduction

III)FAQ

IV)Game Mechanics
                   i)3/4 view
                   ii)Battle view
                   iii)Status conditions

V)Skills, classes and attributes
                   i)Classes
                   ii)Skills
                   iii)Attributes

VI)Characters
                   i)Main characters
                   ii)Non-player characters (NPC)
                   iii)Supporting cast

VII)Suggestions, hints and tricks
                   i)Balanced party
                   ii)Suggestions and explanations regarding experience and skills
                   iii)The infamous level-up technique

VIII)Town guide

-_-Walkthrough-_-

| Part I - The Manor |
I)First steps
II)Manor walkthrough

| Part II - The Castle |
I)Mandatory steps/foreword
II)Entering the Castle

III)Basement
            i)Servant's Area
            ii)Moldiv's Area
            iii)Ruvan's Area
            iv)The Dungeon

IV)First Floor
            i)Statue's Hall
            ii)Lower Area

V)Second Floor
            i)Forest Area
            ii)Mirror Maze
            iii)Pentagram Area
            iv)Upper Area

VII)Third Floor
            i)Western Island
            ii)Central Island
            iii)Eastern Island
            iv)Witch's Abode
            v)Zoo
            vi)Prison
            vii)Cassandra's Room
            viii)Falls

VIII)Fourth Floor

IX)End Game

X)Mysteries

XI)Bestiary (incomplete)

XII)Acknowledgements & Copyrights



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                V  E  R  S  I  O  N     H  I  S  T  O  R  Y
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Version 1.0 - First version


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                       I N T R O D U C T I O N
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LaPlace no Ma is little known RPG for the SNES in the same vein as the highly touted
Sweet Home for the NES. Both have a "horror" theme and place you in the stetting of  a
haunted house where a group of characters must investigate some strange events.

While Sweet Home placed you in the haunted mansion and left you stranded there for the
whole game, LaPlace no Ma (or, if you prefer Demon of LaPlace) allows you (until late
in the game) to return to a sleepy town on the outskirts of Boston by the name of
Newcam. In fact, you begin your investigation in the town itself, recruiting fellow would
be adventurers to solve the case of missing explorers and murdered children found near
the foreboding Weathertop Manor. The game thus takes on a true RPG feel by allowing
you to go back and forth from the "dungeon" (the Manor and later a Castle) to the town.

It was recently translated in full by a group known as Aeon Genesis, and while the first
version of the patch leaves many bugs and problems, the text itself is finished. Still, the
game has yet to catch on and, as you can see, this is the first actual FAQ/Walkthrough
outside of Lockescythe's small beginners' guide.

To say this game is groundbreaking or even very original would be going a bit far.
Whereas Sweet Home tried to challenge you with puzzles where different characters must
use their unique skills to solve each one, Demon of LaPlace is more of a standard walk
and talk RPG where you spend most of your time finding characters/items to reach other
characters/items all the while battling or evading countless encounters with monsters of
various kinds.

Truth be told, multiple gaming sessions prove fatal to this game as its core weaknesses
are uncovered, but the first time through isn't so bad actually. It's a good game to try, but
once you're done with it, you won't be coming back for seconds.


The story, which I should introduce here, pits your character before the mystery of the
Weathertop manor, the classic haunted house that you'll find in countless horror movies.
Children were found murdered near the Manor and now explorers are also missing! A
party went out in search of a little girl who followed the boys into the Manor but failed to
come back themselves. Intrigued, you take the case and find others who are interested in
the Manor's secrets.

The characters and settings bear a strong feeling of dj vu - it seems you've seen these
characters somewhere before. While they offer little in the way of personality (you don't
get that much dialogue with most characters, including your own party members), their
portraits speak volumes. It seems as if every clich in the book has been used in the
making of this game. No really - the unshaven P.I., nerdy scientist, perky journalist,
stuffy dilettante and mysterious psychic... Add to this a brave knight and a possible
forbidden love story, a katana wielding Japanese medium, an evil wizard, a ruler who
feels the ends justify the means... Quite a cast of stereotypes wouldn't you say?

Oh and LaPlace refers to 18th century French mathematician/astronomer Pierre Simon
Marquis de LaPlace, who did in fact present a theory featuring a "Demon", but this game
takes his theory a bit too literally...

In any case, this game is short by RPG standards. Level building won't take that long and
you'll be out in a jiffy if you follow my walkthrough.

In the end, this is an enjoyable way to kill some time, but don't look for a classic RPG.

Of course, this FAQ/walkthrough is new, so feel free to send me comments/suggestions/
ideas/discoveries/questions/money if you feel like it. All are welcome to contact me on
the matter of this FAQ. Also, check out my Hokuto no Ken II walkthrough for the NES
(Aaaaa-tatatatatatatatatata!)


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                                 F   A   Q
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This section is intended for those gamers who either:

a)already played this game a bit and seek answers to specific questions
b)players who don't want to read too many spoilers
c)lazy gamers who don't want to read a full walkthrough

Whether you're a, b or c (or a combination of them), you should find answers to the more
commonly asked questions regarding the game. As for who asked these questions, I'd say
most came from the Demon of LaPlace message board on GameFAQs and on RPG
Classics (Daria's RPG Classics by the way) as well as my own self when first starting
out.


Q: My initial stats suck! What can I do to remedy that situation?

A: Get stat boosting rings from the merchant in the Castle (3rd floor, eastern island, need
6+ in Parley and plenty of money) or re-roll hem by refusing the character you're given at
the start (simply say no when asked if everything is ok at the stats screen, make your life
easier by saving beforehand).


Q: What are good stats to begin with?

A: In truth, you'll notice that the scores seem to be pre-rolled and eventually "loop". I
suggest you pick the one with the highest rating in Will, Resistance and Evade since
those attribute seem to affect MP/HP growth (Will is confirmed, the others are not).
Q: There are bodies in the manor and LockeScythe tells me I should bring them back to
town for a reward. However, I can't carry them back, what gives? Do I need a bodybag?

A: No, you need nothing to carry them back. The one found on the first floor (with the
pendant) is linked to a small quest, thus you can't carry him back right away. Try finding
the maniac or other bodies on the second floor or basement first. Examine the corpse and
you'll be asked if you want to go back to town.


Q: I found some pentagram, what it's good for?

A: If you mean a pentagram on the floor, then you've just found one of the essential
elements of the Manor. You need to meet up with one of the Manor's numerous friendly
spirits who resides in the upper part of the first floor (room right above the Demon Door,
check the bed), she'll tell you what you need to do with those pentagrams.

If you meant a pentagram item found on a shelf in the Castle, then it's an item you can
equip and gives you +1 in physical protection (it is also sold by the merchant and
Janbon).


Q: Water is blocking my way, how do I get rid of it?

A: Well, find the room below this one and drain the water! Just examine the statue in he
basement's equivalent of this room.


Q: OK, I'm stuck, I apparently haven't found every pentagram, help!

A: That's not a question you know. I guess we'll see what we can do here...

1st floor : In the room with water, drain the water and go down the path that opens up.

Basement: 1)Take the stairs you reach from the main hallway on the first floor. Go left,
then up until you reach the place with a body. One of the rooms has the pentagram (you
get a message as you enter). It's protected by a spirit, so make sure you have some sacred
salts!

2) In a complicated sequence of events, you need to open Benedict's study and find the
secret passage to the cemetery. Before the cemetery, take the passage to the left and up
the door, following the path into a previously barred area of the first floor. Take the stairs
down and search for a pentagram in one of the adjacent rooms.

2nd floor: The room on the far lower right, thegreenhouse, has a pentagram protected by
Manplants.

There's a fifth pentagram used as a warp zone between the Manor and the Castle.


Q: Help! These spirits are invincible!

A: Depends on which spirit you mean... The pentagram spirit is vulnerable to the sacred
salts and other spirits are weak against MP attacks (psychic powers and silver weapons)
only.


Q: I'm still on level 2! Ack! Can't I gain more levels?

A: The maximum level is 10 and, no, gaining EXP in this game is not easy, in fact, it's
almost impossible to level up with battles alone! The only solution is to perform every
quest and, if you feel cheap, abuse the infamous level up technique. But you don't need
to go much further than level 6 to be more than powerful enough to defeat the last boss.

Q: What's the technique?

A: It has its own section, but long story short, it's a way to use the emulator's turbo
option to gain levels quickly by battling a regenerating foe.


Q: Where's the bible?

A: Under the butler's bed.


Q: How do you purify the maniac?

A: No clue, it's in the Mysteries section.


Q: The bell won't ring!

A: Have you saved Benedict's mother (well, her spirit anyhow) and destroyed all four
pentagrams?


Q: How do I cross the gap in the forest/cave area of the Castle?

A: Use the deceased finger you got from the old alchemist on the second floor.


Q: Can I save more than one NPC at a time?

A: No, and don't even try, you're reducing your EXP rewards by letting an NPC go
without solving his/her quest. Take out one at a time, starting with Adolph, then Beyond,
Kusakabe and the others in any order you please.


Q: No one wants to talk to me! They keep running away!

A: Well, have you checked your breath? Seriously, gain more Parley skill first. Some
characters/creatures require a higher level than others.


Q: Where's that iron heart thingy monsters keep talking about?

A: On a table in the Master Servant's room - the table is right next to the door.


Q: OK, I found the heart, used it on the statue near the waterway... now what?

A: The water in the basement will have dropped, allowing you to pass right through.
Remember the small patch of dry land with a statue in the basement? Try passing through
there.


Q: Can I do anything for those poor aristocrats' spirits?

A: At this point, this is still a mystery.


Q: What's this about a secret mechanism in a statue?

A: One statue outside the first floor's gate, requires the iron heart to drain water from the
basement. The other, in the first floor's statue hall, must be examined and then use holy
oils (bought at the store) on it to reveal a Spirit Machine part.


Q: The store doesn't carry holy oils!

A: Have you tried visiting after checking out the castle's second floor? It will sell new
items.


Q: Can I do anything with the second maniac?

A: Again, another unsolved mystery.


Q: What does the Holy cup do?

A: It replaces the Talisman as a means to be rid of the Skeletal Knight.


Q: I have Joanna in my party and the game bugs when I use her psychic powers!

A: Must be something wrong with the patch, but don't worry, it's normal. I suggest you
avoid keeping Joanna too long and solve her quest as soon as possible.


Q: How can I heal that hunter?

A: Remember that plant you found in the Manor's greenhouse (far right room on the 2nd
floor)?


Q: The spirit of the boatman tells me about a secret room, where is it?

A: In he mirror maze, find the mirror that doesn't teleport you and use a mirror on it. Go
outside the pentagram room and into the maid's room. You should be able to find it in the
back room.


Q: The merchant refuses to sell me anything!

A: As I said, you need at least a skill level of 6 in Parley!


Q: How do those skill boosting items work?

A: The charm glass, eye ring and Spirit Machine power all give you a skill level
according to your actual level. So, a level 6 dilettante has a level 6 clue skill with the eye
ring equipped, and a level 4 scientist with Translator has level 4 in Parley (even if he
usually has no Parley skill).


Q: I keep dropping the items I find on tables!

A: Strange as it sounds, high levels/luck make you more prone to dropping items it
seems.


Q: Can't heal in battles, what gives?

A: Use spells (Restore, Heal, Treat) or items such as Heal Medecine (HealMeds), medical
kits won't work in battle.


Q: Too many encounters... must... try... to... stay alive! Ugghhh...

A: Urr yeah, well in the unlikely event that Mr. Shatner is reading this, I'll give it to you
in Shatner speak: must... find... crystal... pole... for... Spirit Machine... on the fourth
floor. Or, you could just try that emotion control spell - it seems to reduce encounters... I
think...


Q: Is there a map to the third floor of the Castle?

A: Yes there is, but they got tricky and hid it on the first floor! Find the bottom left room
and search the servant's chambers.



Q: While you're at it, where are all the maps in the game located?

A: Manor
Basement map found on body of explorer
1st floor map in the lower right most room
2nd floor map in Benedict's father's room (up from the stairs and turn left)

Castle
Basement map in one of the apprentice's rooms (first door up and right)
1st floor map in the bottom right room of the Statue Hall
2nd floor map gained after you talk to old alchemist twice
3rd floor map in bottom left room of 1st floor
4th floor map from old lady who spins yarn


Q: Guns or melee weapon?

A: For a lone P.I., combat is good due to the Holy Sword's usefulness, but with the
machine gun found late in the game, it becomes a difficult choice. For dilettantes and in
case you have a second P.I., it's up to you to decide. Think of it this way: you won't get
the better melee weapons until the second half of the game while guns are superior up
until you find the Holy Sword. But, you find some powerful guns very late in the game.
Remember that the most powerful gun can only be equipped by a P.I., but the Holy
Sword can be used by anyone - just decide according to what best suits your party and
playing style.


Q: How do I kill Ruvan???

A: If this is your first battle with him, there's nothing you can do but wait until he steals
your mistletoe wand and ends the battles ends after three or four rounds. During your
second encounter, use the ring LaPlace gave you.


Q: How do I navigate through the maze with invisible walls?

A: Make your way up and right, notice how your characters huddle when hugging a wall
and regain their spread formation if there's an open space. Use this to guide yourself and
remember to never go too far left and down, always go back right and up as soon as
you've passed the obstacle.


Q: I'm told the Witch sells stuff, why won't she sell anything to me?

A: Janbon will sell stuff much, much later on...


Q: The cut scene with Benedict and Cassandra is garbled!

A: Again a problem related to the patch. Try keeping a Japanese ROM image and
restoring a saved state to see the scene in question.



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This section is devoted to issues of game control, menus and overall gameplay. Seeing as
the game isn't too complicated, I'm imply going to mention those aspects of the game
which might need a little explanation.

First off, the game has three modes: town map, inside a building and battle. The Town
Map view offers little to do outside choosing the building you want to enter by placing
the cursor over it and pressing A, so we'll skip it.


### 3/4  view ###

In a building, you press the A to talk/search/examine - it's your action button. B allows
you to dash, X brings up the menu screen and Y allows you to view a map of the
Manor/Castle floor you're on (granted you've found the map in question).

R/L have no apparent functions and neither does the select button.

### Battle view ###

In battle, everything is menu based. You start off by being prompted to either Fight, Run
or Talk.

You choose your option and press A. If you change your mind, press B to go back one
screen.

Talking will result in establishing contact with whomever or whatever is standing before
you, but to work, you need to have at least some skill in Parley.

Running seems to depend upon your Luck attribute.

Fighting puts you in a new, glitchy screen. Your choices are as follow:

Fight        Magic
Defend     Item
Special     Status (invisible)

The Fight commands makes your character use whatever he/she has in his hands at the
time. Thus a Scientist would be prompted to choose one of two Spirit Machine functions
while the Journalist would take a picture (if they had a weapon, then they'd attack with it)

Defending reduces damage, of course, but at the cost of your turn for the character.

Magic allows you to cast a spell or use a psychic power. Joanna will be given a choice
between Exorcising an immaterial undead and using a psychic power, while Kusakabe
has a choice between regular powers and special powers available only to him.

Special isn't available until the meter under your stats (HP/MP) reaches MAX either by
fighting, getting hit or being surprised. Once it does, you're given the option to use it and
as soon as you do, the meter goes back down. Think of it as this game's equivalent of
Limit Breaks.

Item brings up your item list and Status shows the character's current status (what he/she
has equipped, overall status, HP/MP etc.) - pretty simple and self-explanatory stuff.


### Status Conditions ###

While exploring you might find traps or merely spooky events (a piano playing by itself,
an eerie voice coming out of a cabinet) that scare your characters or might poison them
(insects lurking in beds). You might also suffer from these status ailments in battle, not to
mention how you risk being paralysed or confused.

Scared: Brings down your max HP/MP total until you get rest at the Hotel or use a stun
dart on a character. You often get scared when surprised by enemies or when you run into
unsuspected danger.

Paralysed: Character can't move, very rare. Use an item to heal.

Confused: You're berserk and end up losing control of the character's actions. He/she
might attack the enemy or him/herself. A hit by the enemy cures this condition.

Poisoned: You gradually lose HP as you walk. Antidotes can cure this.

Dead: Your character appears in a bodybag when exploring the manor/Castle/Town, how
cute! Seriously though, either use a Sage Stone or go to the Hospital for a treatment
(300$)


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The first thing you're asked to do is create a character. After choosing the sex, you're
given the option of choosing one of five distinct classes for this character: the
detective/P.I., medium/psychic, scientist, journalist or dilettante. Each time you choose a
class, you're given a set of scores for each statistic which you can re-roll, if you will, by
refusing and trying again. I suggest you do this to get a good distribution according to the
class you've chosen (i.e. good strength score for a detective/dilettante, a good will score
for medium/dilettante), and remember, the sets of scores seem pre-determined and
eventually "loop" so don't try to get perfect scores - take whatever offers the best in
terms of Will/Resistance/Evade if possible.


### Classes ###


Detective (or P.I.): Gifted with a good distribution of high statistic scores (though will
can sometimes be low) and capable of becoming a very potent fighter, the detective
makes a great choice for first time players. He's capable of using every weapon and
armour in the game, making him the backbone of your party when it's crunch time. Just
wait until you see him do 3 hits with that Holy Sword or 4 with a machine gun! His
biggest drawback is a lack of magic. Fighters are more or less the Castle universe's
answer to this class.

Starting skills : Combat (3), Clue (2), Guns(3), Parley(2)
Special: Pummel - a single physical attack which causes some damage but nothing to
write home about.


Medium (or Psychic): Unable to equip many weapons and armour, the medium must rely
upon his psychic powers to get the job done. Unlike the dilettante, the medium does not
gain spells by finding books, he already has a good number of psychic powers at his
disposition right from the very start and stands to gain more with time. Take note that the
powers used often inflict mental damage rather than physical damage, which makes the
medium the perfect ghost busting machine but of less use outside of such battles. Both
Joanna and Kenichirou have special extra powers - while Joanna has the exorcism power,
Kusakabe can use an extra set of psychic powers.

Starting skills : Combat(3), Psychic(3), Spirit(3)
Special: Mental Bolt - a bolt deals some mental damage on every enemy (note: Kusakabe
has his own special attack. Instead of Mental Bolt, he has Truth, which deals good
physical damage to all enemies)
Psychic powers list:

Name		Cost	Description					Notes
Astral Fist	 02	"MP DMG with mental fist."
Supply MP	 01	"Give MP to allies."
Treat		 04	"Raise hands and heal."
Shift MP	 00	"Receive MP from allies."
Sleep		 04	"Calm, causes sleep."
Astral Knife	 06	"MP DMG with mental blade."
Psy Shield	 06	"Protect VS mental DMG."
Recover	 06	"Cures poison."
Enchant	 06	"Weapons do mental DMG."
Ether Knife	 08	"HP DMG with mental blade."
Aura Shield	 08	"Protect VS physical DMG."
Confuse	 08	"Confuses the enemy."
Dispel		 08	"Destroys undead."
Emotion Cloud 10	"-Not sure-"					attracts monsters?
Ether Arrow	 12	"HP DMG with mental arrow."
Cure		 12	"Raise hands and heal."
Hold		 12	"Halts one enemy."
Astral Sword	 14	"MP DMG with mental sword."
Psy Barrier	 14	"Protect VS mental DMG."			targets all allies.
Exorcism	 14	"Better than Dispel."
Ether Sword	 16	"HP DMG with mental sword."
Aura Barrier	 16	"Protect VS physical DMG."			targets all allies.



Scientist: This brainy class, like the medium, cannot wear every piece of armour or use
every weapon, thus making him something of a weak link in the party's fights. The Spirit
Machine used by the scientist has its usefulness though - especially when you get some
of the better parts later on. At the start of the game, only the scientist and the medium can
successfully attack the ghosts (as in immaterial undead) haunting the manor (the medium
has powers that damage the MP, while the scientist has the Magnetline attack). Still, the
scientist remains an iffy addition - good at the start and at the end, but not great for the
middle.

Starting skills: Combat(3), Machine(3), Medic(3)
Special: Miracle Barrier - puts up a magic/physical barrier on the party (raise
dodge/resistance)
Machine Powers list:

Name		 Description			Parts			Notes
WeirdBeam	 "Beam attack."		none
MagnetLine	 "Attacks the mind."	    	FrcCoil
ManaShield	 "Create a mana shield."	FrcCoil+PsiCndns
Scanner	 "Scans enemy stats."	            FrcCoil+AstrlAmp
Searcher	 "Lowers hit rate."		FrcCoil+PwrStone
Security	 "Fewer encounters."		FrcCoil+CrsPole
ForceShield	 "Blocks attacks."		PwrStone
ShockWave	 "Shock wave attack."	            PwrStone+PsiCndns
HighFreqWave "Attacks the mind."		PwrStone+AstrlAmp
PrismBeam	 "Multicolor Beam."		PwrStone+CrsPole	targets all enemies.
Detector	 "Clue skill up."		PsiCndns
Disruptor	 "Exorcise undead."		PsiCndns+AstrlAmp
ForceBeam	 "Protects allies."		PsiCndns+CrsPole
Translator	 "Connection skill up."	AstrlAmp                    Parley skill up
E-MagWave	 "Attacks the mind."		AstrlAmp+CrsPole	targets all enemies.
PowerAmp	 "Mechanical DMG up."	CrsPole


Journalist: The camera using journalist is your cash cow. The photos taken can be sold at
the hotel for various sums, depending on the quality of the picture (blurry or clear) and
the rarity/toughness of the monster. The best so far seem to be around 600$ for a single
clear picture of the Skeletal Knight, though I guess you could get more from taking
pictures of LaPlace. Outside of the photo skill, the journalist is average to weak at best
outside of perception and charisma. Not a specialist of hand to hand combat or guns (not
that its known for its strength anyway), this class lacks fighting power. Then again, most
of your time is going to be spent taking photographs.

Starting skills: Combat(2), Guns(2), Photos(2), Clue(2), Parley(2), Medic(2)
Special: Flash - causes blindness


Dilettante: The classic "average" class with good, well rounded scores, many skills, thus
capable of doing a lot, but ultimately fails to be very good at anything. The main
attraction of this class is the magic, alas, you don't have that much MP so you seem to be
a little short-handed if you try to specialise in magic (some later spells can cost a bundle
of MP). If you don't have a good Will score, then you'd better get cracking on finding
some red rings to boost your Will or else you'll be in trouble later on. To make matters
worse, the dilettante has to FIND spells rather than having an already established
repertoire. On the upside, the dilettante can handle firearms and weapons just fine, but
won't match the detective or scientist (using the weird beam for example) in terms of
damage per hit since you're likely to try and give her some levels in the Magic skill. At
least some of the later party oriented spells can come in very handy, but don't expect
magic to do wonders on your foes. Once powered-up with maximum scores (via rings)
and skills (through the secret level-up technique discussed later on), the dilettante quickly
becomes the most powerful class in the game. But you'll make him/her your designated
healer more often than not, limiting his/her fighting potential.

Starting skills: Combat(2), Guns(2), Clue(2), Psychic(2), Magic(2), Parley(2)
Special: Flames of Hell - attacks every enemy with a potent fire magic spell
Magical spells list:

Name		Cost	Description					Notes
Flame		 02	"Fireballs an enemy."
Def Cloud	 07	"Protect VS physical DMG."			is Protection Cloud.
Restore	 02	"Raise hands and heal."
Magic Endow	 07	"Give MP to allies."
Corrode	 04	"Rots enemy's body."
Terror		 04	"Paralyze in terror."
Blind		 04	"Lowers hit rate."
Shock		 06	"Electrical attack."				targets all enemies.
Holify		 06	"Weapons do mental DMG."
Destroy	 06	"Exorcises undead."
Demon Beast	 08	"Steals HP from enemies."
Night Demon	 08	"Steals MP from enemies."
Plague		 10	"Poisons an enemy."
Emotion C	 10	"Calms you down."
Suffocate	 12	"Halves enemy HP."
Heal		 12	"Raise hands and heal."
Wrath of God	 14	"Fireball an enemy."				targets all enemies.
Death's Scythe 16	"Might kill one foe."
Full Heal	 18	"Fully heal all wounds."
Revive		 20	"Revives."
Explosion	 20	"Eats enemy from inside."


### Skills ###

Each individual skill can be raised up to a maximum level of 10 by exchanging
experience points at the Spirit research centre. Now, don't worry, you're going to lose
actual experience point - you're merely spending a mirror amount. You gain 100 EXP,
that means you also earn 100 EXP to use at the research centre.

There are three types of skill in this game - battle, adventure and recovery.

Battle skills include Magic, Guns, Combat and Spirit.
Adventure skills include Parley and Clue.
Recovery skills include Psychic and Medic.

Battle skills obviously affect the damage done within a single attack/spell and are always
useful for your characters, outside of the journalist who should be the designated
"adventure" character.

Adventure skills are most useful when you arrive in the Castle. The Manor holds only
very few enemies you can talk to without a high Parley skill/Charisma score (in fact, I'd
say almost none) and hosts only a few well hidden items which require a high Clue skill
score to find (which aren't that important anyway). As stated, those two skills become
essential in the Castle since you need to engage in discussions very often and many of the
people you encounter are frightened by your presence. More importantly, a number of
very good items are found in cabinets, tables and shelves - ranging from score boosting
rings to strong magic spells. Until you gain at least a few good levels in either skill (up to
around level 5 or 6), you'll find that exploring the Castle doesn't yield very interesting
results.

Recovery skills play a part in how fast you can heal yourself and others using items and
spells with Psychic for MP and Medic for HP. It doesn't seem to have that much of an
effect on natural rest-based healing. Admittedly, these skills remain somewhat obscure in
how they actually function. The difference between a high Psychic/Medic score and a
low one never seemed staggering in my opinion.


### Attributes ###

6 in all with a maximum levels of 10 in each. Without an instruction manual, it's hard to
tell what does what, but I think I got a vague idea of the actual function of each one...

Power: How much damage can you cause with that big sword of yours?

Resistance: Your ability to resist magical attacks (make them ineffective) and apparently,
it affects your initial HP level and its growth

Evade: Your ability to dodge attacks and also effects your HP level as above

Perception: As far as I can tell, it might have something to do with the Clue skill or
perhaps marksmanship/hit rate

Will: More will, means more MP per level up and at the start - might affect
magic/psychic powers in other ways as well (makes them more effective?)

Charisma: Ability to persuade certain creatures to talk to you, I think

Luck: I presume it has something to do with running away from battle. Oddly enough,
characters with high luck tend to drop items when searching, and sometimes get more
encounters/traps as well!



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                      C  H  A  R  A  C  T  E  R  S
************************************************************************

I divided this section into three distinct sub-sections: main characters (those who are part
of your four character limit), non-player characters (NPC for short, representing those
characters who take up the 5th slot and stay for a brief time) and, lastly, supporting cast
(characters whom you can interact with but aren't playable - I only include the characters
from the Manor/Castle and not the townspeople)


M  a  i  n     C  h  a  r  a  c  t  e  r  s

Name: Any 6 letter name you choose
Class: P.I., Psychic, Scientist, Journalist or Dilettante

Notes : This is your initial character and as such, you choose his/her sex, class and name.
Obviously, the P.I. and Dilettante are very good starting classes, with the P.I. edging out
the Dilettante. The three other classes should be taken by those in search of greater
challenge. The sex of the character has apparently no effect on the game itself, so
between the choice of a snooty looking fellow or a cute girl, I say go for the cute girl.
And again, feel free to re-roll your scores for better results.


Name: Alex Quinn
Class: P.I.

Notes: Good old reliable Alex. Big, strong and exuding rugged manliness with his dirty,
unshaven recovering alcoholic look - a classic hardboiled detective if I ever saw one.
Like everyone else, he's interested in investigating those mysterious murders and suggest
you talk to the mother of Amy, the little girl who disappeared around the same time. All
in all, an excellent addition to your group if using the dilettante or any classes other than
the detective. Just be careful he doesn't drown his sorrows in typical hardboiled
fashion...


Name: Dick August
Class: Medium

Notes: The tall, dark and mysterious Dick is a card carrying member of the psychic
friends network and is thus allowed to summon the fiendish powers of infomercials and
Dionne Warwick. In all seriousness, Dick isn't that bad a character, but as with all
psychics (besides Kusakabe) and magic users, he tends to be a weak link. At least he has
more MP than the dilettante. His raison d'tre is the destruction of evil spirits in the
Manor. He does tend to make ghost busting a breeze.


Name: Lamont Blackwood
Class: Dilettante

Notes: This stuffy old codger is a specialist of the occult and a man of many talents. He
finds the stories of occult forces within the manor to be fascinating and seeks to explore
them in more detail. A well rounded fellow who starts off with average to good scores
but quickly gets overshadowed by the other characters as time goes on. Note that he has a
gun skill of 3, rather then a player character dilettante's 2.


Name: Morgan Dylan
Class: Journalist

Notes: This cute little damsel seems a bit young to be hanging around a seedy bar, but
who am I to judge parenting in the 20's? This perky journalist wants to see for herself
what's happening in the Manor, but the stories of ghosts and ghouls scare her (I myself
thought Ghost and Goblins was a real nightmare) Obviously, you'll be needing her
special skill unless you plan on playing a journalist yourself. I guess she's the little
firebrand who's just as perky as she is tenacious.


Name: Vincent Hoffman
Class: Scientist

Notes: A nerdy fellow with glasses and unkempt hair who just happens to enjoy tinkering
with machines and various contraptions - oh and he looks like Bill Gates a bit. To round
up our bunch of archetypes, Vincent brings along his spirit machine to test the mettle of
science against those supernatural critters - which also scare him half to death. Rumours
have it that Vincent's family would leave us with a long list of nerdy heroes with glasses
from the nerd in Maniac Mansion to Lester the Unlikely to Harry Potter.


Name: Kenichiro Kusakabe
Class: Medium
Found: The castle's dungeon, large cell with acid pool

Notes: What's a good Japanese RPG without at least one moody katana wielding hero?
Kusakabe looks cool and quickly becomes one of your more powerful party members.
Though, he's not exactly in great shape when you meet him for the first time - as a
matter of fact, he's dead! His soul will thank you for freeing him, but asks that you bring
some holy water to revive his corpse. May I take a moment to reiterate the fact that this
over the counter holy water is VERY powerful stuff - maybe Vincent could host a show
called "Amazing discoveries" or something... In any case, with his body revived,
Kusakabe offers to join your team, bringing along his own special Japanese sword and
accompanying special psychic powers unique to him. Needless to say, you want him for
the final battle - despite his heroic dialogue which borders on the corny. You can safely
take out the journalist and put him in charge of kicking ass alongside the detective of
your party. As a bonus feature, Kusakabe can equip very armour in the game! Think of
him as a dilettante with psychic powers and a cool unique special attack called Truth.

Kenichirou's special powers list:

Name		Cost	Description					Notes
Attack		 02	"HP DMG with mental fist."
Sleep		 04	"Calm, causes sleep."
Cut		 06	"MP DMG with mental blade."
		 08	"Confuses enemies."
Slash		 10	"Attacks all enemies."
Tie		 12	"Halts an enemy."
Pure		 14	"Purifies undead."
Heal		 16	"Heals all allies HP."


Name: Joanna Sullivan
Class: Nut case, I mean medium
Found: Castle's dungeon, first lower single cell you find.

Notes: Where to begin? First, she's an American, thus, like Kenichiro, she can be brought
out of the castle. Second, while she's an NPC when you first meet her, you can make her
a permanent addition to the party if you take care to avoid the one encounter that will
trigger her departure. But before you make plans to include her in your final party, I must
warn you that using her magic may lead to some serious bugs in the game (see bugs
section). If you don't feel like messing up your game and want to make the most out of
this average medium (she's not really better than Dick August, but a lot prettier to look at
and has the Exorcism power to go along with her psychic powers), then you need to
complete her quest.

Joanna's quest: You have to reunite her with her long lost lover, Richard Upton Pickman.
Richard can be found on the third floor, but the thing is, he isn't human anymore... The
two have a violent dispute, where Richard makes it clear that he doesn't love her, or
rather, he loved her but she couldn't love anyone but herself. Joanna answers to your
group that Richard is just a moody, artsy type and runs off after her now ghoulish ex...
This is one of the more twisted stories I've heard in a while, which is a shame they never
go beyond what we see in that cut-scene.



N  o  n   -  P  l  a  y  e  r    C  h  a  r  a  c  t  e  r  s

Name: Adolph
Class: Wizard
Found: Castle's dungeon, upper right cell block

Notes: Little more than a one shot wonder, Adolph is apparently a fairly powerful wizard
which goes to show what those dumb servants know. Not particularly powerful nor
useful, he does provide you with an extra healer and Flame magic user for your battle
against Moldiv. Adolph's really bland and could be considered the "wizened old
man" of your average fantasy story. He'll make a brief cameo later on in the game.

Adolph's quest: Adolph is hopping mad and he's not gonna take it anymore! Moldiv has
gone too far! Although considering how he's an escape artist, one might surmise he could
do more than lounge around in his cell all day (see the Mysteries section), but who am I
to complain? Adolph asks you to take him to Moldiv so he can kick his butt... with your
generous help of course. Beat him up (the evil Wizard Moldiv, not Adolph) and you get
an eye ring for your troubles (with experience points too).


Name: Beyond
Class: Knight
Found: 1st encounter - Castle's dungeon, lower right cell;
            2nd encounter - Castle's third floor, central island, right hand cell;
            3rd encounter - Castle's second floor, along the way to the third floor

Notes: Beyond is an important character who comes back for a second and third run as an
NPC and he's also a cheap bastard who won't give you any experience points for his first
quest (finding Kusakabe who's next door). Looking like an extra from Wolfenstein 3-D,
this bruiser is all muscles as well as fiercely loyal to Princess Cassandra LaPlace. As an
NPC, he can't escape the castle's walls and offers little besides his power. His second
quest involves finding and rescuing the Princess (can this game get any cornier?), only
this time he pays up in experience.

Beyond's quests: First, he'll ask you to take him to Kusakabe, who is held captive in the
next lower cell block. Once this is done, he goes off in search of Cassandra and turns up
on the third floor to ask for your help again. This time, you need to go to the small prison
island on the north western side of the floor and defeat a tricky Succubus to release the
Princess from captivity. He will be around for one final quest, as your bodyguard once
you're trapped inside the Castle.


Name: Janbon
Class: Thief
Found: Castle's dungeon, cell right above that of Ryan

Notes: Janbon has a funny name. In French, it sounds a lot like Jambon - Ham in
English. I guess his parents wanted to play a trick on him or something. He's the bright,
perky and annoying kid who's cuteness is supposed to be endearing but grates your
nerves like an Olsen twins special. I shudder to think at what Moldiv wanted this runt for,
especially considering his name...

Janbon's quest: To grandmother's house we go! He wants you to bring him back to the
sanctity of the Witch's house so he can stop playing prison b**** for the guards and
Moldiv (and I presume a Lizard Man or two).


Name: Jerman
Class: Thief
Found: Castle's dungeon, upper left cell

Notes: Well, he's a sneaky, ugly and probably stinky thief. The kind of guy who'd steal
money from his dear old mum's purse if she were still alive. Somewhat slimy and pushy,
he begs you to help him off some griffon guarding a fantabulous - no not just fantastic or
fabulous - but fantabulous treasure.

Jerman's quest: Find the griffon, kill it and share the booty... errr... the treasure. He
takes the bag of jewels (' CDs) and leaves you with the rest of the junk... err fantabulous
treasure. I said he was slimy and greedy, but at least he got that bunch of Jewels' CDs
which I'm sure he likes for her music and artistic talent only...


Name: Ryan
Class: Fighter
Found: Castle's dungeon, lower left cell

Notes: Well this country bumpkin lost his sister to the evils of the castle. Forced to work
against her will, she's now held captive somewhere. Apparently, some well dressed city
clod took her there and Ryan's so angry he can't play his banjo like he used to anymore.
So he gets captured and now that you've freed him, he wants to find his sister. He loves
his sister Anita, making him the vengeful big brother of lore.

Ryan's quest: Just find Anita who's behind the door protected by Joanna's ex, Richard.
They live somewhere safe afterwards. Pretty straightforward and dull compared to
Joanna's perplexing little cut scene.


Name: Shuu
Class: Fighter
Found: Zoo on the third floor, last upper cell

Notes: Only recently discovered, Shuu the lizard man is one of the creatures at the zoo
and he asks to join you if you have enough parleying skill (7+). He seeks freedom but his
quest is mysterious - no one hints of anything regarding this character and we're still
trying to find out if he even has a quest (he says something about meeting his friend if
you rescue Benedict with him). In any case, he's a fighter and can only use melee
weapons, but due to his impressive endurance and might, he makes a fair replacement for
Beyond.


Name: Benedict Weathertop
Class: Wizard
Found: Prison island near the bottom/centre of the third floor

Notes: Well, he's the owner of the Manor and started all these supernatural hi-jinx when
trying to revive his dead mother, thus proving that he was no horror movie buff. You only
get to use him as an NPC once you rescue him from his cell on the third floor. He's
nothing to sneeze at with good stats and high skill levels, but he's also not going to stick
around for long since you're supposed to get him back to town as soon as possible.
Saving him gets you 3000EXP.

Also, by the time you find him, you should know everything about his shady dealings
with the dark side. Seems he and cool, evil looking bishounen wizard Ruvan were
cooking up some pretty evil schemes until Kusakabe came in and put a wrench in their
plans, thus explaining why he was so brutally tortured and killed. Benedict was
imprisoned by one Pierre Simon Marquis de LaPlace, to whom the Castle belongs, and
who doesn't take too lightly to the idea of people attempting to steal his all powerful
demon beast gods. Benedict is in fact a mere tool for Ruvan's ultimate goal...


Name: Cassandra LaPlace
Class: Princess
Found: Witch's abode after you fight Ruvan while leaving the fourth floor

Notes: Bubbly and useless, the pretty blonde princess is your typical "damsel in distress
who finds courage at unexpected moments" - but you still have to save her first. Loving
daughter of Pierre Simon LaPlace, she defied her father's wishes and tried to exorcise the
Demon, thus, she was kept captive on a secluded island of the third floor. Once freed, she
becomes an essential part of the game and a recurring character, much like Beyond, and
will hang around the Witch's abode. She eventually joins your party, seeing as the stone
guardian refuses to let anyone pass besides members of the LaPlace family and you must
reach her father's throne room. As an NPC, she's little more than a gifted healer (good
levels in Psychic and Medic) with limited fighting abilities (Combat only and average
Power score) and no magic (use items to heel) - but she doesn't stay with you for very
long so it's not very important.



S  u  p  p  o  r  t  i  n  g      C  a  s  t

Alchemist: Residing on the second floor, this pushy and grumpy man demands that you
bring him gold water in exchange for a neat item (the deceased finger) and, if you talk to
him twice, he gives you a map of the floor. Not particularly patient or friendly.

Amy: The little girl with the golden locks who's been missing ever since the two boys
were murdered. You find her somewhat late in the game on the fourth floor, in the
sacrificial room at the upper left. Bringing her back to her mother will net you a cool
5000 EXP and 1200$ - but beware, the fourth floor creatures are very dangerous.

Anita: Sister of Ryan, forced to work as a maid despite her wishes and locked up in some
room for good measure. You'll find her on the third floor, behind the ghouls guarding a
couple of doors (including Richard Pickman).

Apprentice mages: Moldiv's apprentices reside in their respective chambers in the
basement. They remain oblivious of their master's death and offer clues to the more
charismatic explorers and reveal more story elements.

Boatman's ghost: Up on the second floor, you'll find the boatman's room. According to
the man who resides just below this room, moaning and wailing keep him up all night
and so he suffers from a lack of sleep. The cause of this racket is the restless ghost of the
boatman, imprisoned in his room for helping out Princess Cassandra. He gives you a hint
as to where his precious bow statue was taken. He doesn't always appear, especially
when you've already found the statue and other times as well for reasons unknown. If
you see him with both the statue and old compass, he'll ask you to take him to the
cemetery on the third floor where he wishes to be buried (thus explaining the hole). This
good action is rewarded with 3000 EXP.

Castle guards: Found in random and set encounters, the guards of the Castle yield much
information - if you're able to persuade them to talk. Be careful, some have no time nor
patience for strangers and those guarding the dungeon will not relinquish the keys to he
jail cells without a fight. But still, try and gain more skill in Parley if a guard refuses to
talk.

Dancing aristocrats: Mindless and thoughtless, they danced their lives away and even in
undeath they refuse to cease dancing. A cruel and  propos critique of bourgeois
nonchalance, they left their bodies to rot as Moldiv gave their souls eternal life by way of
his dark magical experiments. Guards met in random encounters ask you if anything can
be done to help them, and this remains one of the great mysteries of the game. (see
Mysteries section)

Ghosts of the manor's servants: Apart from the butler, most are merely apparitions who
give you a few hints but remain nameless/functionless. You can find them in various
rooms of the manor, usually by searching their bed. They ask you to release them from
their misery by ringing the bell.

Ghosts of Benedict's parents: Richard and Janet Weathertop continue to haunt the family
estate, seeking to be freed from their tormented existence through your help. Benedict's
father can be found within a painting of himself in the drawing room, but only after
you've spoken to the butler, otherwise, you get spooked. His wife was the object of
Benedict's failed attempt at a dark ritual to bring her back to life, the same one which
opened the gate to the "Castle brimming with magic", as Benedict puts it. Her body can
be found in her room with evil spirits (two banshees) keeping her soul prisoner. She's the
only one who can break the spell keeping you from ringing the bell and end their torment.

Hunters : You meet two of those forest dwelling men lurking about the Castle. One waits
outside the second floor to tell you about the lair of the Griffon, while the other injured
himself in the mirror maze, asking to be helped (you get a sage stone in return for a
henruda plant found in the manor's greenhouse).

Insane individuals: Three individuals in this game are obviously a little "touched in the
head" as they say. The first is a maniac on the second floor of the manor who can be
either purified with sacred salts (apparently, never managed to do it myself, see Mysteries
section for notes on all three insane individuals) or talked to in order to cure his insanity.
He remembers little about how he came to be mad, but he does remember an Asian man
being captured and found a notebook which belonged to him.

The second maniac is a bit of a mystery himself. Found on the second floor of the castle,
he's a bit more aggressive than the first one and cryptic to say the least. His insistence
that darkness is upon us and that the great demon will devour us all (a giant monster
covered with eyes he says) leads to a sudden attack on his part.

The third individual to be touched by madness is a young woman who seems perfectly
normal when you first find her hanging around the lower area of the Castle's second
floor. Though her dialogue suggests she's a little off her rocker, it's nothing to be too
worried about, until later, when she screams and runs off in a fit of insanity. But she's
back to normal once you're trapped in the castle.

The Lake Witch: The diminutive old woman lives by the lake on the third floor, awaiting
the return of her pupil Janbon. A practitioner of magic herself, she may be able to offer a
magical trinket or two in thanks for your help. Being a kindly old woman, she's a boon to
any weary traveller and promises to keep the Princess safe after you rescue her. Later on,
she asks Janbon to sell some of her wares so you may be better equipped to face the
Demon.

Pierre Simon Marquis de LaPlace: He who would be Emperor of all Europe through his
pact with the Demon. He was actually a French intellectual from the 18th century who
dabbled in astronomy and mathematics. Through his findings, he conjures forth a Demon
who gave him the power to see the future, however, his ability to see the future made him
lose all hope for humanity and seeks to rectify this situation by way of the Demon.

The Castle is his domain and all who inhabit it are incapable of escaping his all seeing
eye, except for your characters who, as outsiders, are immune to this, thus making them
invaluable to those who would seek to stop the machinations of LaPlace.

The Marquis is an old and powerful wizard and can be found sitting on his throne in the
upper room of the Castle's fourth floor, guarded by two arenas (wisdom and strength) as
well as the family guardian - a large, invincible stone statue. By the time you reach him,
his grip on sanity will be greatly diminished and you'll be warned to take precautions
when approaching the reclusive man.

Old lady who spins yarn: The sweet old woman lives on the fourth floor and is crucial to
your progress after you return from your first fight with LaPlace. She too worries about
LaPlace's sanity and is curious as to why he would take such drastic measures as putting
Cassandra in jail. She offers a fourth floor map and then offers you a potent magical
artefact on your second visit later on...

Lizard Man: In the room next to the merchant servant, you find a lone lizard man who
tells you about the dreaded Skeletal Knight guarding the third floor prison. By the time
you are stuck within the Castle's walls, you find that he changes his message and has a
Shuu-like portrait added. (see Mysteries)

Master servant and the Castle's servants and maids: Led by a man who's soul has been
tainted by evil magic, the Castle's contingent of servants and maids continue to work
despite the increasing number of wandering spirits and beasts. They are instructed to
avoid talking to strangers and only through glibness of tongue will you break their
silence. Be wary though, some will call upon the guards in a panicked state, others will
run and some will avoid answering your questions altogether. On the third floor, a servant
holds a small shop south of the Witch's abode. He sells expensive wares including
powerful protection items and stat boosting rings - it would be wise to carry someone
capable of parleying (level 6+ Parley). The Master servant holds keys to some of the
basement floor's doors, however, he refuses to talk. It's best to leave him be and get the
iron heart in his room instead.

Moldiv: Apparently, the wizard who corrupted Benedict's soul with his dark ways,
introducing the inheritor of the Weathertop name to the secrets of the occult. Lurking in
the depths of the Castle's basement, he oversees the Castle's dungeon as well as
performing gruesome experiments such as the perpetually dancing ghosts of dead
aristocrats found on the first floor and crossing animals with men. His cruelty unmatched,
he will dispose of any and all intruders with his formidable magic. Adolph has an axe to
grind with him, stating he's responsible for LaPlace's change in attitude...

Richard Upton Pickman: A strange man who once loved Joanna Sullivan but now wishes
to live in an another world, far from any and all humans. Joanna and Richard share a
twisted past and it would seem they don't quite agree on the details of their failed
romance. While Joanna claims he never loved anyone and his dabbling in the occult led
him to this, he says he loved her, but she never loved anyone but herself. Sadly, he runs
away before we can learn more of his tragic tale of love and deception. If you talk to him
without Joanna in the party, he steps aside from the door, saying he couldn't stand the girl
(Anita's) constant screaming and crying.

Ruvan: This bishounen would likely break quite a few hearts amongst female shoujo
manga fans, but as with all dark suspicious bishounen, he's also eeeeeevil. The first time
you meet him, in his chambers located at the basement floor of the castle, he asks if
you're a friend of Benedict and reveals to you the proper way of rescuing his associate. It
so falls out, Ruvan is behind everything and will make your life miserable later in the
game as he is revealed as the dark ambitions that grew within LaPlace's heart and took
shape as a demon spawn...

Sage (first floor): A resident of the first floor, the kindly old sage feels a bit lonely and
would enjoy having dinner in your company. He asks about Joanna and wonders about
LaPlace's well being: he's been playing hermit as of late and the Sage wonders what
might be wrong with the master of the Castle.

Sage (fourth floor): This friendly old man also worries about LaPlace's behaviour (don't
they all?) and tells you the story behind the oft mentioned Demon of LaPlace and how the
Marquis sought to understand the very fabric of the Universe through complex
mathematical equations. He offers you the Crystal Rod for your scientist's Spirit Machine
in hopes that this will help you in your quest to meet LaPlace.

Well dressed men: Two well dressed men appear in the Castle - one worries about Anita
(found on the top left corner of the first floor, see Mysteries) and the other mentions
something about the boat man's missing statue (middle portion of second floor).

Zoo creatures: According to the caretaker, these creatures are all unique (then why is it
we find them in random encounters all the time?) and those with proper skill, can seek to
tame the wild beasts and perhaps gain knowledge from them. The lone lizard man at the
end is a puzzling creature indeed and he will join your cause if you have enough skill in
parleying (7+)



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  S  U  G  G  E  S  T  I  O  N  S,   H  I  N  T  S   & T  R  I  C  K  S
************************************************************************

### Balanced party ###

To make a well balanced team for the start of the game, you need the following :

-A journalist
-Someone to take care of ghosts/spirits (scientist with magnet line or medium)
-Someone to fight physically with guns/swords (Dilettante or P.I.)

The LockeScythe guide suggests a journalist, a P.I., a Dilettante and either a scientist or
medium and I agree that this makes for a balanced party, although, a medium could be
substituted for the dilettante for a little more challenge/diversity in my opinion.
Alternatively, a good party could also consist of two dilettantes, a scientist/medium and a
journalist.

You see, the main use of the dilettante is to cover the lack of HP recovery during battles
via items when you first begin your quest. Until you reach the castle, healing medicine is
practically non-existent and they are one of the few items that allow you to regain HP
during a battle - which is a considerable disadvantage given the low HP totals for your
first few levels. Then again, while the medium can also restore HP, he can't wear the
better armour you find later in the game and nor can he do much without his psychic
powers due to a limited choice of weapon. Also, since you find a very good medium later
on in the game, one who lacks the usual weaknesses of his class, the medium would have
to be Dick and not your main character. So until you find our mystery psychic friend, it
might not be such a bad idea to include Dick August for a few romps through the Manor
- I know of one inevitable fight which could be much easier with Dick around.

Once in the castle, the dilettante will seem that much more useful since you'll find better
magic books and the adventure skills the class starts with come in handy once boosted.
But you'll be forced to make a choice between magic and fighting, since a score of 5 in
either one is not enough for the final confrontations. Of course, you could get cheap and
use the secret level building technique of doom...(see the Infamous level up technique)
In fact, a two dilettante party might be forced to use this tactic to gain more potency.

Going at it without a P.I. isn't so difficult during your exploration of the Manor since he
doesn't hit that hard yet. But then, once you reach the Castle and gain access to better
weapons and score boosting items, you'll be thinking twice about that decision you just
made. Then again, the level up trick can make any dilettante into a much more
formidable power house than the P.I.

The scientist is expendable. Lockescythe already mentions this, but his problem lies more
in the long stretch between the end of the Manor and the later portions of the Castle
where he's of little use. He doesn't have his better machine parts yet and it'll take a while
before he collects the more useful pieces hidden within the Castle. Also, some of his
adventure skill boosting machine effects are based on your level. A level 2-4 scientist is
thus of little use.

The journalist is merely a utility character - you're bound to use her for her adventure
skills and photos more than anything else. She's a bit too weak to use as a fighter and
doesn't have psychic powers/magic at her disposal. You could boost her scores, but she
wouldn't add much to the team. Still, as I said, she's useless in combat unless you put
some serious effort into her, thus you can feel free to boost her Parley or Clue skills. The
level up trick might make her useful for collecting a bundle of money.


### Suggestions & explanations regarding experience and skills ###

Battles yield no money, you've probably already figured this by now due to the brief
mentions of the journalist being your cash cow. But they also dole out very little in the
way of experience, for example, one measly Ghoul is worth a total of 20 EXP according
to the victory message, BUT, this experience is then divided amongst your party
members, leaving you with 5 EXP each. Your first level up occurs approximately at the
1000 EXP mark. A quick calculation brings you to the conclusion that you require a nice
total of : 200 ghouls to level up. Understand that Ghouls are amongst the more generous
beasties in the Manor and that your subsequent level ups are even MORE difficult to
achieve. How does 12,000 EXP sound to you?

Seeing as high EXP rewards by way of completing quests are very limited as is and the
sole regenerating boss of the Manor offers barely enough EXP to raise a skill by one level
after a fair number of tedious battles, one should choose wisely. On the other hand, the
Castle has one regenerating boss of its own which offers better potential for cheap level
ups (again refer to the Infamous level up technique).

But let's go back to the original purpose of this section. We've already said that the
adventurer skills are essential for exploring the Castle, but we've also made it clear that
your speciality should come first. But, if you've been paying attention, you'll also notice
that we mentioned how the journalist should be the designated adventurer due to her
being a non-factor in combat and how you really don't need that much photography skill
to make good photos (level 5-6 is more than enough for the door trick). So there's your
answer. One person per adventurer skill is enough.

But if you plan on being slightly tricky about it, there's a simple strategy that can make it
even easier: quest experience transfers to the folk at the hotel, thus, the two you don't
plan on using can make very good adventure skill only characters with either a high
parley or high clue score. You then take one out and place them in the party, do what you
need to do and voil... This way you needn't sacrifice precious experience points on
adventure skills until you've made a great battle character.

Speaking of which, detectives and dilettantes are given a choice between Guns and
Combat for attack purposes. So which one should you choose? Well, guns can fire up to
four shots in one attack once you reach higher levels (compared to three slashes with a
melee weapon), making them more powerful than most melee weapons of equivalent
power (for example, a simple pistol can't compare with a bastard sword, but a riffle can),
they also cost less money to buy - though bullets become an issue. Melee weapons have
a higher initial cost, but need no expendable items like guns do. So, for now, guns are
winning, but the battle isn't over yet!

The most powerful melee weapon in the game is the Holy Sword. Though guns might do
a little bit more physical damage on certain monsters, they can't inflict mental damage.
Also, the last boss is particularly weak against the Holy sword, making it an invaluable
weapon for the final battle. BUT, just when guns look as if they're defeated, they make a
comeback with the super powerful shotgun and machine gun! However, both of these are
available just as you're ready to initiate the End Game and the machine gun is for the P.I.
only.

The verdict? It's up to you. The Holy Sword serves you very well for a very long time,
whereas the more powerful guns are available only at the end. Of course, the level up
technique makes this debate a moot point...

Lastly the recovery skills have yet to prove useful enough to warrant sustained attention
and so you should avoid putting too many EXP points into them. Level 3-4 Psychic
should be more than enough for any magic user/psychic and even then, you should wait
until later, when simple resting isn't enough and the battles get much tougher.


### The infamous level up technique ###

Tired of waiting to become powerful? You feel you're a powerhouse trapped in a
weakling's body? Annoyed at the small EXP rewards given by defeated monsters? Two
"bosses" in this game regenerate. The first is the Demon Door guarding the way to the
butler's ghost, the second is the immortal Skeletal Knight.

The first boss offers 400 EXP and 300$ per perfect photo, so that means 100 EXP per
characters. You can rack up to a good 1000 EXP per characters before getting tired of
this scheme, but early on, a few hundred EXP can make the difference between a level 2
and a level 3 skill - oh and it helps for those annoying "need just 100-200" EXP to level
up cases. The problem however is that the door regenerates only AFTER you've exited
the Manor or gone up or down a floor. Granted there's a door and a set of stairs not too
far from the boss, it's still somewhat out of your way. Making money off of the door is
easier than trying to collect EXP from it. All you need to do is spend all of your films in
one battle, finish it off and exit before returning.

The second boss is the third floor's Skeletal Knight, a creature which guards Benedict
and a stairway up to the fourth floor. This boss ALWAYS regenerates before your eyes
until you use the Talisman or Holy Cup on him during a battle. Doing so will result in his
immediate destruction. Before you do something drastic like that, you'd be better off
learning how to maximise everything through his generous 1000 EXP reward (200 for a 5
character party). Since he regenerates and isn't too hard too beat (if you've taken the time
to boost your skills a little with quest experience and your scores with Demon Door
money) you can finish it off in a few rounds just by holding down the A button and
putting the emulator in fast forward mode. Resting after every battle gives you back most
of your lost health and helps to prolong the life of your healing items at the same time.
The only thing that keeps you from doing this for hours at a time is the lack of film.

You see, his photos are worth 600$! Do the math for a moment: 20*600=12,000!
Impressive huh? Sure you may never touch that amount with a poor Photography skill,
but a blurry picture is still 300$ and half of 12,000$ remains 6000$, nothing to sneeze at
I'd say. For an hour's work, you can get your characters up a few levels and have enough
EXP for many skill level ups. Kusakabe and a P.I. with 10 in strength and 10 in
combat/guns spell doom for anything dumb enough to cross your path.



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                                                    T  O  W  N     G  U  I  D  E
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The town of Newcam, Massachusetts, 1924...

Your quest begins in the quiet town of Newcam, a place you'll be visiting often during
your game. This said, you might as well get familiar with the surroundings and take the
time to explore each buildings.

Bar: "A place where everybody knows your name..." Well, not really, but they soon will!
If Cheers taught us anything about bars is that you'll find barflies - people who live, eat
and in some cases sleep in the bar itself. The bar in DoL is also a place where one can
find countless barflies who not only dress alike, but constantly repeat themselves. Heh,
you know, that doesn't sound too far from reality...

Be that as it may, the friendly neighbourhood bartender (call him Sam and don't mock his
hairpiece) is somewhat helpful -  at first. Alas, even he succumbs to the dreaded looping
dialogue syndrome soon enough. His only real use is giving you money and experience
for carrying dead bodies with you. No better way to stir up business than by bringing in
dead people into a bar! It's almost like "Children shouldn't play with dead things", only
in a bar. Fortunately, none of the deceased are named Orville.

It's in the bar that you'll first meet your band of merry men and merry women - one of
each profession as a matter of fact. See the list of characters for more details on whom
you meet.


The hospital: Do you watch E.R. and Chicago Hope? I don't and neither should you. This
game doesn't exactly give the hospital much of a role, outside of providing a nice resting
place for various inured NPC and resurrecting your dead allies. Careful though,
resurrection cost a pretty penny in the 20's (300 big ones!) - but they furnish lovely
complimentary bodybags to lug the dead carcasses back to the hospital. Jesus used to
give it out for free, but like free internet, that fad went the way of the dodo mighty
quick...


The library: If American television and Hollywood movies taught us anything, it's that
libraries are known for two things. The first are cranky old librarians who "shush" you.
The second, sexy young female librarians who, for some inexplicable reason, tend to lose
their clothing rapidly while ending up using the Xerox machine for rather unusual
purposes. Oh yeah, and you find books too, but not in this game. In this game, it's up to
YOU to find your own damn books to read. In other words, you can read whatever
reading material you find on your journey, but that's the end of it. Seeing as you read
books, notes and memos when you find them, the usefulness of the library escapes me.
Well, there's one exception, but you'll find out about it rather quickly once you get there.


Spirit research centre: Arguably the second most visited place in town, the research
centre allows you the chance to boost your skills with the experience you've gained in
battle and through completing quests. Although that's the only service you'll find, it's a
very important one.


Hotel : Now THIS is more like it. Got scared and peed your pants? Feeling a little low on
maximum mental points? 10$ a person per night and you'll feel like a brand new you!

Also, this is where you can trade in your naked zombie pictorials for cold hard cash.
Seriously though, photos taken by the journalist will be sold here, thus allowing you to
live out your future dream, which it just so happens is a shopping spree! (spot THAT
reference!)

If that weren't enough, the save option allows you to, get this, save your game! And the
change command allows you to mix and match your party members (up to three allies
can follow you), thus making the Hotel THE most visited location on the town map.


Fortune teller: For 10$ she'll give you a clue - must avoid cheesy joke, must avoid
cheesy joke... She can also give you an idea of just how many experience points are
needed before you can raise your level - an invaluable option were it not for the fact that
gaining experience is next to impossible (more on this later).


The Weathertop Manor: The town's exclusive tourist attraction and leading cause of
death amongst intrepid explorer and ghost hunters. Voted top Haunted House three years
in a row, this place will give you the creeps thanks to its assortment of undead creatures
(material and immaterial), as well as mutated plants, mutant monsters, evil insects and the
requisite rodents of fear. Obviously, the first part of your game will revolve around
solving the secrets of this Manor and getting out alive. The second will lead you to the
castle which must be accessed via the Manor.


Dry goods shop: As opposed to wet goods shop? Seriously though, since when is holy
water "dry"? Jokes aside, this place is far more important than the other locations
mentioned up to this point. First, this is where you'll replenish your supplies of batteries
(for the spirit machine), film (for the camera - *snorts* duuuh...) and bullets (provided
you use guns) as well as buy weapons and defensive items.

The counter on the right offers some everyday items such as shovels and holy water. I
must admit, this over the counter holy water is potent stuff indeed. I'm not sure how the
clergy feels about stores selling holy wares though... Seeing as churches are
conspicuously missing in this game, I guess you have to assume that the church went
bankrupt and was bought by those cheeky corporate suit and tie guys (cue the D.R.I.
song).


(Before visiting the Castle's second floor)

Weapon shop

		Cost	Description				Notes
Knife		60	"It's weak."
Dagger		100	"Not for magic users."
Hand Axe	120	"Physical attack."
Axe		200	"Physical attack."
Saber		220	"Not for magic-users."
Rapier		300	"Stronger than sabers."
Pistol		100	"Not for magic users."
Deringer	180	"Physical Attack."
Bullet P	2	"Bullets for a gun."			buy by the singles.
Leather Vest	40	"Low def rating."
Cap		24	"Low def rating."
Camera1		1800	"For taking pictures."
Battery		2	"Powers an S.Machine."			buy by the singles.
Film		2	"Film for a camera."			buy by the singles.


Item Shop

		Cost	Description				Notes
Shovel		20	"You can dig with it."
Mirror		360	"Scares away enemies."
Compass		200	"Shows you on maps."
Holy Water	60	"Damage to the undead."
Healkit1	10	"Restores a little HP."			can't use in battle.
Star Amulet	10	"Restores a little MP."
Stimulant	10	"Cures paralysis."
Stun Dart	200	"Restores 10 Max MP."
Antidote	10	"Cures poison."


(After visiting the Castle's second floor)

Weapon shop

		Cost	Description				Notes
Knife		60	"It's weak."
Dagger		100	"Not for magic users."
Short Sword	320	"Not for magic users."
Sword		500	"Stronger than short sword."
Pistol		100	"Not for magic users."
Revolver	300	"For PIs."
Deringer	180	"Physical Attack."
Government	450	"For PIs."
Rifle		800	"For PIs."
Bullet P	2	"Bullets for a gun."			buy by the singles.
Silver Bullet	6	"Boost gun damage."			buy by the singles.
Leather Vest	40	"Low def rating."
Kevlar Vest	200	"Not for Psychics, Scientists."
Cap		24	"Low def rating."
Helmet		130	"Not for Psychics, Scientists."
Camera2		2500	"A very good camera."
Camera3		5000	"The best camera."
Battery		2	"Powers an S.Machine."			buy by the singles.
Film		2	"Film for a camera."			buy by the singles.


Item shop

		Cost	Description				Notes
Shovel		20	"You can dig with it."
Mirror		360	"Scares away monsters."
Compass		200	"Shows you on maps."
Holy Water	60	"Damages undead."
Holy Oil	200	"Drop enemy hit rate."
Healkit2	20	"Restores some HP."			Can't use in battles
Healkit3	50	"Restores a lot of HP"			Can't use in battles
Moon Amulet	20	"Restores some MP."
Sun Amulet	50	"Restores a lot of MP."
Stimulant	10	"Cures paralysis."
Sage Stone	1000	"Allows action."			revives an ally from 0HP.
Stun Dart	200	"Restores 10 Max MP."
Circlet		400	"Warp to Pentagram."			from last pentagram used



### The dry goods store shopping list ###

Now that you've built a balanced party and have some clue as to what to do with them,
it's time for a shopping list. So we'll go visit our friend on the left for weapons and
armour.

A scientist needs batteries, a journalist needs film and Alex needs his bottle of scotch...
err... that is to say the P.I. and dilettante need better weapons and bullets if you choose a
gun. Speaking of which, I suggest a nice faithful blade, possibly a rapier, for your
detective. One of the strongest weapons in the game is a blade and you find it early on,
thus, building up his combat skill would be wise - unless you have someone else in mind.
Though you can find some moderately powerful melee weapons in the Castle besides the
aforementioned blade, guns tend to be better than them.

So, I suggest you buy a good 50 or so batteries for the spirit machine (if you have a
scientist), max out on film (only 20 to reach the max) and get a rapier for the detective.
The dilettante is up to you. I guess a derringer could be nice if you have Lamont in your
group or if your main character is a dilettante, if so, buy around 50 bullets - double if you
have another gun user. The psychic doesn't have much use for weapons, but you might
check out some of the melee weapons offered if you have the money to spare after your
next shopping spree. Journalists probably won't have much use for weapons and they get
the second best camera early in the game.

The next vendor - the guy on the right and his items shop - warns you of the dangers of
the Manor, but you and the Scooby gang aren't afraid! So he agrees to sell you some
useful items, which means you should buy : a shovel, a vial of holy water, a compass and
perhaps some restorative items if you have the money to spare.

Thus equipped, you can now consider yourself ready to embark upon a first visit to the
Manor.



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W  a  l  k  t  h  r  o  u  g  h   -   P  a  r  t   I

T  H  E    M  A  N  O  R
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Obviously, the monsters here are weak and you shouldn't count on them to level up your
characters. In fact, use them to familiarise yourself with the combat system. Speaking of
which, in case you haven't noticed (well, that would be difficult) the battle menu looks
glitchy. For the sake of those who never saw the read me file included with the patch or
my little blurb about controls in this game, here they are again:

Fight         Magic/Psychic
Defend      Item
Special     Status

Once you're comfortable with the controls (X for the menu, Y for a map if available, B to
dash and A for actions) and the menus, explore the Manor with the very basic
walkthrough I'll provide. It's simple because the Manor isn't that large (compared to the
Castle) and rather straightforward in that you need to do things in a somewhat specific
order if you wish to advance.


### First steps ###

Obviously, explore the first floor and get the map as soon as possible. It should be located
in the far lower right room. Try pressing A (searching) when you're standing before
shelves and drawers. There's nothing else of note here, so exit and go to the room right
above this one. Along the way, take pictures of monsters, especially zombies which are
worth 80$ a pop for a good picture. But avoid Banshees at all cost, in fact, use save states
if you have to, that is, unless you have a psychic.

In this next room, you'll find a mirror, a book and your first offensive magic spell in the
shelves and desk. Once you're done, exit and now you have a choice. Armed with your
first offensive spell, you can either attack the Demon Door or gain some experience first.
I suggest gaining experience first. For that purpose, go to the far left room of the first
floor, it should be to the left after the first intersection (inverted L shaped room) where
you find a body with a pendant. Examine it and go out from where you came.

So now it's time to haul some cadavers! Well, actually, the maniac (Gordon) is a better
idea. Use the stairs for the second floor and head up after the stairs and left to the end of
the small corridor and into the lower door. This is Benedict's father's room and contains
the map to this floor in the shelf. Now you should be able to go around without making
useless detours. You also find the very important copper key in a drawer.

Head down for the middle door (first one down and a little to the right after the stairs) to
gain two new spells (Corrode and Terror) as well as some sacred salts. You could go into
the room with stagnant air (to the right of the stairs) and get the 200$ from the drawer as
well as the protection cloud magic from the bookshelves. The bed has a werewolf to
fight.

Now you can get that maniac who resides in the far left room (after the locked one). You
have two choices, use the salts to purify his mind or talk to him. I say search the room,
then talk to him since I never managed to use the salts on him. One way or another you
end up back in town and the bartender offers you a silver knife as a reward for bringing
back the body. He also tells you to visit him at the hospital. Talk to the man while he's
resting at the Hospital to recover a notebook belonging to "some Asian man" and get a
few hints about the Manor.

Go see the barman and he should now ask you to recover the bodies of the missing
explorers and a man in blue should be standing near a table. Talk to him to initiate a quest
for a missing friend of his and you'll receive a brand new Camera 2 for your troubles
once you complete it. Seeing as the explorer in question is easy to find, agree and prepare
for another romp through the Manor. But first, make sure you use your experience and
replenish your stock of bullets/batteries/film (if need be).

Back in the manor, you need to find the explorer with the engraved pendant again.
Nothing too difficult as he's still in the same room on the far left side of the first floor.
Once you've recovered his body, you gain experience and your new camera. Things are
picking up!

You're going to be stuck at lower levels for a while, so you might as well explore a bit
before going for the demon door. First thing you'll need is to find some more dead bodies
a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. Your first cadaver is in the basement, just use the
stairs right of the main hallway on the first floor and go up the first door you see.
Examine the room before the body for some sacred salts and you get your 500 EXP and
300$ once you're back in town, which means a new level! Congratulations!

Now those who had a level 3 skill level should be able to boost it to 4. Get some supplies
if you need and get cracking on that manor exploration. Go back to the basement via he
stairs on the first floor and go to the left and up the passageway until you find a second
corpse, one with a basement map this time! Same as above: 500 EXP and 300$ in town
and boost your skill levels and get supplies if you have to.

Again in the basement, explore the rooms around the emplacement of the last body
you've found. The left lower door contains a ghost in the bed who shall give you hints
and a lovely brooch worth 500$ (use unknown). The room under it contains the blind
magic spell book. The upper right room contains a machine part (Power stone) and a
ghost.

The room above these two contains your first pentagram, but you need to talk to he
butler's ghost and do a few other things before being allowed to destroy the pentagrams.
So go back to the first floor, seeing as that copper key isn't of use right now. Go through
the door close to the basement stairs and continue up until you find the two rooms on the
right. Take the upper door to get some important hints from a ghost who gives away what
you must do in this manor : destroy the four pentagrams and ring the bell. Obviously, the
bell requires that you talk to the mother of Benedict. Before you go, pick up a star amulet
in the drawer.

The lower one has the fearsome Demon Door boss. At this point, you have no choice but
to face it. You need the bible and iron key which are locked away behind the monstrous
guardian. If you're fully healed, take a crack at it.

Demon Door boss : No strategy needed here - just attack and hope it doesn't scream too
often. A few rounds should be needed to dispose of this menace, but it isn't too tough.
The rewards are 100 EXP per character and 300$ a photo. For now, this is your sure fire
way to make money.

Behind it, you find a drawer with the butler's spirit. He tells you more about the manor
and its inhabitants, but more importantly, he asks you to talk to the portrait of Benedict's
father in the drawing room. He gives you the iron key and you can find a bible under his
bed. This item will be very important later on.

Now that you know all this, you can return to town if you got hurt too badly or run from
some encounters and rest afterwards. You have more choices now - you have to find the
four pentagrams, but the order in which to attack them is up to you. I'll give you the
locations and you need but to choose the one you feel like doing first. Armed with the
iron key, you'll be able to access previously locked areas - beware, a strong boss monster
also lurks in that area and one door requires the silver key (which is obtained during the
pentagram hunt)..

However, fist and foremost, you should go and talk to the painting in the drawing room
on the first floor (first room on the right) and try messing with the fireplace. The Will-o-
Wisp is worth 80$ a picture and can be defeated though combat, but will regenerate
unless you use holy water. Do so and collect your prize - a silver ring!

With the iron key, open the door to Benedict's study and collect the magic endow book, a
memo by Benedict and a hidden door behind the right most bookshelf. This passage leads
to the second basement stairs and previously unreachable areas.

Now the pentagram hunt!

First, you can return to the basement near the place where you found a corpse. If you
recall, I told you to avoid the pentagram room. Now you can go and find it but to do so to
you'll need to use sacred salts in battle to defeat the restless flame spirit which protects
the seal. Stepping on the pentagram allows you the option to break it, do so and you're
one step closer towards your goal.

Now, while you're at it, go back down the long passageway and use the lower door. The
first door you see leads to a room with a memo. Once you've got the memo, go out and
down to the next room. In it, you need to find the small trail leading to the statue.
Examine the statue and pull the lever to lower the water level in the room right above this
one on the first floor. On the first floor, find that room with the water and statue (it's right
above, use the maps to see it) and now that the water has been drained, you can pass
without a hitch. In fact, you should follow the path down to the stairs and then to the
pentagram.

On the second floor, go to the lower far right door and enter the garden room. In it, you
find a henruda (which can be picked up as an item and regenerates every time you exit
the manor) and to the left, a pentagram! You need to defeat two Manplants (worth 120$
each) before being allowed to erase it. Once you're done, you are now ready to try your
luck with the chapel.

Right above this room is a door opened by the copper key. Inside, you find a chapel and
by the time you've reached the last rows of chairs, the rooms begins to attack your mind,
so cut through the middle before the room attacks you. Use save states and run from
combat, resting after each battle to regain some health. Once you're in front of the altar,
use the bible from your inventory and you will bring the room back to normal. Examine
the altar to open a secret passage leading to some stairs to the first floor's family
cemetery.

In the cemetery, the top centre grave can be dug up after being examined, to find a
memento ring. If you haven't found every pentagram yet, the other door can lead you to a
shortcut through the first floor and access to a previously inaccessible area, including a
pentagram. If you take the door next to the one leading to the cemetery, you'll find
yourself in a small corridor with stairs going to the basement. In this part of the basement,
you find two doors, one to the right, leading to a pentagram and one down leading to a
torture room and the silver key.

The reason I urge you to get the silver key without deeming it mandatory is that it merely
offers a shortcut which will be very useful later on, you won't find anything else of
importance down here besides it. In any case, it opens the left most door of the basement
area you arrive in using the stairs behind Benedict's study. The room you open via the
key has stairs for the first floor pentagram which leads you to the Castle, and, more
importantly, you can unbar the door from inside so you can reach it from the first floor
without using the basement.

The other door in that basement area leads to a small passageway in which you'll meet up
with the dangerous and unique Land Crawler creature. Take a picture for posterity, since
it won't regenerate like the Demon Door. Again, just attack using each person's
speciality and you should be fine if you've made sure to be at the best level possible at
this point. The path leads to two doors - both of which are for the wine cellars.

The rightmost room has a saber in the lower left corner, the other one seems empty.
Pretty much a bust I'd say. Go back up to the first floor and find Benedict's mum!

The uppermost room on the right (he one with statues) has a small room underneath it
with stairs leading to the second floor. The only room you can access is blocked by
magic, fortunately, you have the memento ring now! This is the key to the room of
Benedict's mother and you'll soon see that there's a person lying in the bed. What a
surprise! Benedict's mother is still in her room and is being haunted by two banshees! A
psychic will make short work of those two, otherwise a scientist and someone armed with
a silverknife (say a P.I.) will have to do the job. You can heal and protect with the
dilettante's magic, but don't bother using flame or any magic on them. Nothing too
difficult for a 2nd level party with 3-4 in combat skills/machine.

The corpse reveals that it is Janet Weathertop, mother of Benedict, and explains why her
body still laid in bed. Apparently sonny boy's been up to no good ever since he tried to
revive her - exploring dark magic, playing dungeons and dragons and listening to heavy
metal and all that sort of stuff. She bgs you to ring the bell and free the spirits from the
Manor's evil spell. She gives you the power to ring the bell as well as a hint, that
Benedict might have hidden something useful in the room (an amegeist which restores
everything to a party member). You can return her corpse to the graveyard to gain 1000
EXP and now the quest for the bell begins.

With the corpse buried, the door held fast by the mysterious force is now open and you
can follow the corridor until you reach the bell room. Ringing the bell puts an end to the
Manor's hold on the spirits of the Manor's inhabitants, letting them rest in pace for all
eternity. In other words, no more monsters (besides the Demon Door and the servants'
spirits)! Thus, you should make sure you got photos of every monster in the place if
you're looking for a complete set. Here are some unique ones:

-Will-o-Wisp (fireplace in drawing room)
-Werewolf (bed on second floor's stagnant room)
-Land Crawler (basement area lading to wine cellars)
-Plates and utensils (very long dinner table on the first floor)
-Bed (second floor, one of the lower left rooms)
-Demon Door (continues to exist even after you've rung the bell)

Many lower level monsters will become more difficult to capture in pictures later on due
to the rarity factor (skeletons, spiders, flying daggers, souls and dolls come to mind as
well as ghosts and white wraiths).

Once you're done and you've rung the bell, you can check some rooms you may have
missed but there shouldn't be much to find  right now. The fifth pentagram in the small
room on the right on the first floor leads to the Castle and the second half of the game.



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W  a  l  k  t  h  r  o  u  g  h   -   P  a  r  t   II

T  H  E    C  A  S  T  L  E
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The Castle isn't quite as linear as the Manor was, be that as it may, you're still required to
accomplish certain tasks before you can access every area, item or character. This said,
I'll give you a run down of the mandatory steps :

-Capture the bundle of keys from the Master Servant or take the iron heart from the table
(fight a doll to get it) and place it within the statue found on the second floor, near the
waterway.

-Defeat Moldiv and get his Crystal Rod to open certain first floor doors and access the
second floor.

-Defeat the Catoblepas (Talisman) in the basement or Griffon (Holy Cup) in the forest to
gain an item with which to destroy the Skeletal Knight

-Get the bow statue and buy an old compass from the merchant in the eastern island on
the third floor. You need 6 in Parley for this, so you might have to find some way of
gaining such a score with one of the less useful characters like the Journalist.

-Rescue the Princess Cassandra from her prison in the north west corner of the third floor
(unsure if this is mandatory, I presume it must be, but the game might free her
automatically if you fail to do so).

-Defeat the Skeletal Knight and rescue Benedict.

-Defeat LaPlace and trigger a chain of events concerning Cassandra, Benedict, Ruvan,
Beyond and the party.

-Go back to town and learn that Benedict is nowhere to be found and the police are
looking for him at the Hospital. This is your last chance to visit Newcam, do whatever
you need to and proceed to the Hospital to initiate the last part of the game.

-Return to the Manor's pentagram, warp to the Castle after a battle and go up to the
second floor. Adolph sends you on your way but the pentagrams no longer work. You
must go to the third floor via the eastern stairs, you are joined by Beyond.

-Talk to Cassandra to gain the letter and perform the usual steps to reach the final battle
with the Demon.

Those steps cannot be overlooked, but everything else is optional and, outside of a few
"do step A before step B", most quests/secrets/events can be followed at your leisure. So,
instead of giving you a step by step guide, I'll give you a general rundown of each floor
and I'll refer you to the characters section to know more about the NPC quests which
make up a large part of the Castle's fun.

Before we begin, note that I am not jotting down every item you can find in the various
rooms. I'm only mentioning the important ones and those who might happen to be
located near important ones. In the future, I'll have a detailed description of where to find
every item in the game along with maps of all the floors. At this point, Black supplied me
with maps for the Basement, 1st and 2nd floor of the Castle which is where you'll find
most items. Again, every time you reach a higher clue level, search around places that
seemed to have nothing and save beforehand, in case you drop a useful item. However
most of these can be bought from the merchant on the third floor.


### Entering the Castle ###

You begin in a room with a pentagram and two exits. One exit leads to the statue near the
waterway, keep this in mind since you might want to come back later. The other gives
you two sets of stairs - one goes up to the second floor and the other leads down. Go up,
then go back down and through the pentagram warp to the Manor and then the town. Our
friends the clerks at the dry goods shop have new items for you now that you've explored
the Castle a little bit. Stock up on new weapons and armours as well as taking some of
the newer items for sale if you have the money. A second vial of Holy Water, a Mirror
and some Holy Oil are necessary for some puzzles you'll encounter.

Go back to the Castle and go to the basement floor, seeing as both the first and second
floors are of no use right now.



B  a  s  e  m  e  n  t     F  l  o  o  r

The basement floor is home to the Castle's dungeon as well as being the residence of
Moldiv, an evil mage who introduced Benedict Weathertop to the dark arts. You'll also
find a strange and mysterious wizard named Ruvan who claims to be a friend of Benedict
and asks that you save him.

Now then, the basement itself is divided into four sections: the Servants Area, Ruvan's
Area, Moldiv's Area and the Dungeon. The basement's Servants Area is the only place
you can visit for now and it is named as such for there are many servants hiding in the
rooms and guards roaming the perimeter. The first door you find on the upper wall leads
to a room which holds the entrance to another room where you will find Adolph once
you've rescued him. In the meantime, check to see if you can find the Night Demon spell
book in his room. Other rooms also contain items, but your clue skill needs to be higher.

This portion of the floor is also the home of the Master Servant who lives in the last room
of the corridor (upper door) and you're given a choice of sparing his life and going at it
without his keys or kill him and take off with the bundle of keys. You don't have to kill
him and I suggest you wait before doing anything rash. I've yet to test this theory, but I
think he might be more helpful later on in the game. So the solution is simple: get the
Iron Heart sitting on the table when you first enter his room. You must defeat a Doll (a
weak monster - might want to take a picture, you'll rarely find them in this place) to get
it.

The Heart will allow you to drain some water in the basement, giving you a chance to
cross over to Moldiv's Area directly. To do so, simply go back to the first floor and take
the exit which leads outside. Look at the statue and then use the Iron Heart on it - it'll
move and drain water from the basement. Now you can take the lower door you find
when you first enter the basement and follow the path down to the second part of the
floor, including a set of stairs to the middle of the first floor. You can go up and get some
items and magic from the first floor is you so desire, if so, check out the section
appropriate for the first floor.

Assuming you're ready to continue, I might as well explain what doors the bundle of
keys would open if you had taken them. First, the second door on the upper wall is locked
and, when opened, gives you a set of stairs to the first floor. The last lower door leads to a
room which give you access to Ruvan's Area. But you can reach the first floor and access
Ruvan's Area via Moldiv's portion of the floor. So the key bundle is certainly not
necessary and in fact, it's more trouble than it's worth and the Iron Heart makes your life
a lot easier.

We're now ready to visit one of the three other portions of the floor, I suggest you tackle
Moldiv's Area first then Ruvan's Area, but you can forgo Ruvan in favour of the
Dungeon.

|Moldiv's Area| : This is where you'll find the chambers of Moldiv's and his apprentices
as well as his pet Catoblepas in one of the southern rooms (after a long series of smaller
rooms, you know you're close when you can smell the creature). Before reaching Moldiv,
you'll pass through his odd trophy room where some of the trophies attack if you search
them (the lizard man, wolfman and troll).

However, as the character section suggests, it might be wise to at least get Adolph before
fighting Moldiv. Moreover, your Parley skill might need some boosting before the
Apprentices on the east side rooms talk to you.

If you've just got here from the Servant's Area, just grab the Basement Map from the
room on the right (enter from the bottom) and leave to explore the Dungeon or Ruvan's
Area.

|Ruvan's Area|: Ruvan's Area isn't large as it's composed of a series of large upper
western rooms with little outside of a few items (need good clue skill) and some guards to
talk to. The real attraction is Ruvan, the lone wizard who lives at the bottom left of the
area (no matter where you've entered from, the room is at the absolute left). In his
chambers, the wizard asks that you free Benedict if you truly are his friends and to seek
the "monstrous" pet of Moldiv if you want to rescue him, for it holds a special item. You
can find a Magic Book on the table in his room if your clue skill is high enough (or if the
game feels like it). Your next stop should be the Dungeon which is found when you take
the other lower door and cross the small bridge.

|Dungeon|: You know you're in the dungeon when you enter a well lit room with brown,
rocky walls. Two guards await you, one in front and one in the adjacent room. The one in
front holds the important Jail Key, needed to open the Dungeon's actual door and reach
the jailed NPC. He won't just give them to you, so you'll need to knock some sense into
him first.

The Dungeon is fairly large and takes up most of the southern area of the floor. You'll
find some important characters here and you'll be making frequent trips. The characters
section of the walkthrough is very useful to know who's who and who's where in this
place, so refer to it often. The first NPC you should get is Adolph, or, the Knight Beyond.
If you chose Adolph (upper right cell), then go and defeat Moldiv right away or explore
the basement for items (especially Ruvan's chambers in Ruvan's Area). If you'd rather
free Kusakabe, get Beyond (lower right cell) and then enter the large cell blocks near the
entrance.

In here you'll find iron maidens and chairs, I'd avoid checking them unless you feel like
having an encounter with a phantom creature or get spooked. And in the other room, the
water is acid, so don't try anything. The third room has Kusakabe and the characters
section tell you what you need to know about this fellow. Make sure you have holy water
with you and agree to go back to town when he asks.

The other NPC you can find are Joanna (next to the Kusakabe cell blocks), Ryan (far left
cell), Janbon (upper cells, lower door) and Jerman (upper cells, upper door). Each one has
his or her own entry in the characters section, so I suggest you take a look here. For the
sake of quick reference, make sure you don't accidentally talk to Anita on the third floor
unless Ryan is with you. And almost each NPC might be required to spend some time
with you unless you've already cleared certain tasks.

The Dungeons holds nothing more and you're free to explore the other areas or attack
Moldiv if you have Adolph with you.



F  i  r  s  t     F  l  o  o  r

You arrive on the first floor when you first enter the Castle, alas, the actual way is
blocked by a river of some sort, so you're forced to go down to the basement or up the
stairs to the forest area of the second floor.

Once you've acquired the Iron Heart of Key bundle in the basement, you can go up some
stairs to reach the actual rooms of the first floor. The stairs in the Moldiv's Area portion
of the Basement lead you to the middle of the first floor, while the room with the locked
door has stairs for the other side of the riverbank which you follow into the lower section
of the floor. All in all, the stairs in Moldiv's area offer a better deal since you're capable
of quickly reaching the map for the floor, some potent items and useful magic.

|Statues' Hall|:  If you take the aforementioned stairs, you reach a small, closed room
with nothing but a door. Exit and you find yourself in the vast Hall of Statues. In this hall
there are five rooms in total and two exits - one at the bottom, one at the top, and four
statues can be examined. The top left statue of a man with fiery hair seems suspicious
when you examine it. Indeed, use Holy Oils to reveal a secret Psy Condenser for your
Scientist's Spirit Machine.

The first room to explore is the one at the bottom right. It has a few beds, one of which
contains a blue ring (strength power up) and a First Floor Map! Not a bad deal I'd say...
This will make reading this walkthrough a lot easier and a lot less confusing. Now, try
your luck with the upper left room or a yellow ring (Perception up) and check the family
portrait in the library (lower left door, right underneath the upper one) for a brief
dialogue. No need to rush over to the library, do so when you need to go back to town.
Just so you know, the information gleaned if of little consequence outside of slight plot
elements and might be useful much later on in the wisdom arena. Once you have the map,
though, you're ready to venture outside the Hall.

The upper door of the Hall leads to a series of rooms, the Dancing Aristocrats on the right
(see the respective Characters and Mysteries sections for more information), then, after
going up, an Electrical Attack magic book (need clue level 3+ sometimes) on the left.
The upper door leads to the throne room and you can also continue to the left for more
rooms to explore (Sage and armoury at the bottom, well dressed man and stairs going up
to the second and eventually to the third floor at the upper left).

You can find out more about the well dressed man and sage in the Characters section and
the armoury has some defensive items and weapons (including a silver sword) but you
need to fight a guard and only someone with a clue level 4-5+ will find everything that's
in the room. Be careful, guards appear often when you search.

The Throne Room doesn't seem to have any secrets, though you'll find a throne
obviously, in the centre of the room. The lower left room is locked, requiring the use of
the crystal rod and leads to the upper part of the second floor. You can find a silver
bracelet in the far right room if you have enough clue skill. I strongly suggest you use the
stairs here to reach the second floor, since it'll allow you to get the map more easily.


|Lower Area|: The bottom door leads to the lower section where you can find the Holify
magic spell (first door on the lower left), the map for the third floor in the servant's room
(next door, use the crystal rod to open the second door inside) as well as stairs for the
second floor's Mirror Maze.

Apart from all of this, there is a section which you can only reach from the second floor
and leads to a set of stairs for a previously inaccessible part of the basement and some
items. Also, the haystack at the back of the room on the right is useless until you've
rescued Janbon and completed his quest so don't bother until then (you know the drill,
Characters section).



S  e  c  o  n  d     F  l  o  o  r

The second floor is divided into four sections, the bottom area is the mirror maze, the top
left running diagonally towards the lower right holds the main area, the upper right has
the forest area and the spot between the main area and western mirror maze is the
pentagram area.

|Forest Area|: You first find the forest area by climbing the stairs up near the first floor
pentagram. While a hunter here gives you some hints about a treasure guarded by a
griffon, you won't be able to do much until you have a deceased finger. It wouldn't hurt
to tag Jerman along either. By the way, right after you arrive in this part of the second
floor, there's a large room with a wide cabinet inside. It takes a high level in Clue to find
it, but inside there's a Red Diary written by Benedict. It gives you more information on
the fateful meeting between Ruvan, Kusakabe and himself. It's the last "book" you'll find
and reveals just about every bit of obscure plot left.

If you at least have the finger, then go up along the forest path and your characters will
notice how time and space are being distorted. Nothing to worry about, it just means the
programmers didn't have enough time/patience/money/resources to create a better world
outside the Castle walls. Though this would have made the game far more interesting,
let's move on. You follow the path and reach a fissure filled with creatures - no way in
hell you're jumping this gorge! Instead, use the finger and offend someone... kidding, a
bone bridge is formed and you can now cross safely. On the other side, you have to
continue running around until you get to the griffon who awaits you in his lair.

Jerman notices the treasure and asks that you help him defeat it. Don't worry, this griffon
is your run of the mill random encounter griffon. Of course, a weak party might have
some troubles with the creature's attacks which hurt the whole party. Nevertheless, it
isn't really a boss and you shouldn't have too much trouble with it. Once it kicks the
bucket, you take the treasure or split it with Jerman. You get: phantom bracers, Plague
magic book, a Trident, a Bag of Jewels and a Holy Cup. Jerman will take the Bag of
Jewels (which seemingly don't register when you sell them anyway). There's nothing
else left to do here besides returning to the Castle for more exploration.

|Mirror Maze|: The Mirror Maze isn't a maze at all, well, not a very convincing one in
any case. You arrive here via the first floor's lower left stairs and you soon find mirrors
hung on some of the walls. These mirrors, except for one, teleport you to another mirror
on the opposite side. While this could have been confusing, it's very simple in fact, even
more so if you have a map of the floor. The two sections of the maze are more or less
identical, so, each mirror has a double on the other side. This way, you know exactly
where you're going to land with each mirror and you can guess which one is the false
mirror.

So what's in it for me, you ask? Well there are three things to do here: get the goldwater
to exchange for a deceased finger, get a sage stone from a hunter and, last, but certainly
not least, find the second floor pentagram.

The goldwater is in the middle right part of the eastern side of the maze and can be easily
located by the large white mirror-like thing hung on a wall. Just examine the white spot
and get the goldwater.

From there, go as far left as you can and then down, and loop around the second passage
to find the injured hunter who exchanges a henruda for sage stone.

You can now exit the maze in one of three ways: the stairs down in this eastern part (to
inaccessible areas of first floor and basement), the door in the upper right corner or go
back to the other half of the maze to teleport into the pentagram room.

|Pentagram Area|: The Pentagam area designates those rooms which can only be accessed
by way of the pantagram room. The door to this room is hidden behind a mirror in the
mirror room, the upper left one in the eastern half to be exact. You know you've found he
right mirror when it doesn't teleport you anywhere, this is your cue to use a mirror from
your inventory to pass through to the other side and into the pentagram room. Obviously,
you can save and warp to other floors or the Manor if you wish. But you can also explore
the aforementioned rooms, well, two actually. A large empty room and two smaller
adjacent ones. The room on the right has stairs to the third floor's central island and the
one on the left leads to a maid and a not so secret room. In this "secret" room, a bow
statue can be found - this item will let you control the boat you find on the next floor
manually once you buy the old compass.

|Upper Area|: The upper area is by far the most interesting one seeing as it holds the most
items, including the most powerful weapon in the game! It takes up a good diagonal
portion of the floor reaching from the upper left to the middle of the second floor. You
find two sets of stairs that go to the third floor and two sets of stairs for the second floor.

If you came here by using the stairs near the well dressed man, then you need to go down
two doors and enter the very large room with the stairs. If you took the middle stairs near
the throne room, then you should already be here. You can get an antidote in the first
room on the right, but the second one is far more important. You met the old alchemist
there and her requests that you find him some goldwater. Talk to him a second time and
you get the map for the floor. If you already have the water, he'll give you a deceased
finger.

Once this is done, you can explore the other rooms of this area by going through the
bottom exit. Here you have a choice go right to find a stairway to the third floor's eastern
island and a way into the mirror maze, or, go down and left to find some more interesting
stuff.

Going down and left, you'll reach a first door going up that leads to the second maniac in
the game (see Characters and Mysteries sections respectively). Going down, you can find
the young woman with the fragile mind (again, same as above) and a doorway leading to
three rooms linked by a corridor.

The first one has a well dressed man and a table which holds infinite healing medicine if
you have enough Clue skill to find it. The second holds the most powerful melee weapon
in the game - the Holy Sword! This baby slices, dices and best of all, attacks both body
and mind at the same time! A good way to make your game a lot easier and the final
battle into a cakewalk is to equip this sword on someone with 10 in strength and level 10
in their Combat skill.

Lastly, the far left room can be opened using the Jail Key and hosts the body of the
Boatman (see Characters section). His spirit might or might not talk to you, in any case,
come back to talk to him once you have both the old compass and boat statue so he may
rest in peace.



T  h  i  r  d     F  l  o  o  r


Ahh yes the infamous third floor, how confusing and bizarre it is - until you find the map
that is. If you're smart, you'll get the map on the first floor of the Castle before coming
here, otherwise, you might be taken back by the oddity of this level.

In truth, it's rather simple: you have a certain number of islands all linked by a
mysterious ferry, which, at first, allows you to reach pre-determined destinations based
on a cardinal point (North, South, East, West) and the central island.

|Western Island|: You can reach this island from the second floor by way of the  staircase
found after a long, narrow corridor heading south (a servant offers to unlock the door for
you in the small room prior to the corridor). Otherwise, you'll arrive at the pier and need
to go up and through the door to enter the premises. Once inside, you'll find a couple of
doors to the left of the stairs going down.

The lower door is unguarded and leads to the cemetery. You'll find many ghouls and
zombies roaming in this place and one of the four graves remains open (top left hole) so
that you may bury the boatman (see Characters section). Nothing else to be found/done in
here it would seem, so you might as well go up.

The upper door is guarded by a ghoul, an easy foe in the manor made much easier by
your new arsenal and levels. Once defeated, the ghoul leaves and you're free to talk to the
ghoul in the next room. Unless you have Joanna in your party, this fellow won't reveal
much about himself, and he only offers to talk to you, thus you have no option to fight
him. Obviously, this is Joanna's ex-boyfriend turned flesh eater and part time kidnapper,
Richard Upton Pickman (see Characters section). Even if you don't have Joanna, he'll let
you pass so you can rescue the maid (Anita, see Characters section) held prisoner in the
room behind him.

After rescuing her (hope you had Ryan along, otherwise you're missing some easy EXP),
you'll find nothing more to do on this floor, so you can either hop on the ferry for a new
island cruise or, go back to the second floor and possibly grab a new NPC from the
dungeon.

|Central Island|: You'll find your way to this island by one of three routes - the ferry, the
stairs or the pentagram. Yes, this is where the third floor pentagram is hidden, but to
access it, you need to visit the merchant residing on the next island to the East. The stairs
you find link you to the second floor's Pentagram Area and the ferry is self-explanatory
I'd say.

Inside the building you find little outside of a few guards to talk to and, of course,
Beyond who's looking for Cassandra as always, but being a clueless dolt, he couldn't
find her. The room above his is locked and the key to this door is a Golden Scarab which
you may buy from the aforementioned merchant, inside you'll be able to access the stairs
to the fourth floor as well as the third floor pentagram. If you have enough Clue skill
you'll find a Medical Treatment spell book in the upper left room. The fourth floor has
little interest until save Benedict, but if you so desire, you may go and save Amy for
some always welcome EXP and (for once) money!


|Eastern Island|: Ah the infamous Eastern Island, the place to be for power mongers
young and old! Once you've reached this place via the ferry or eastern second floor stairs
(near he mirror maze) you'll find that two individuals inhabit this place. On the right is a
Lizard Man (see Characters section) who warns you about the guardian of Benedict's
cell, and, on the left we have the merchant. Unless you have excellent parleying skill (6+)
he'll refuse to sell anything to you. By now you've probably read how to handle this
situation, so I'll avoid going into details.

For the sake of reference, here's what he sells:


Castle Merchant

		Cost	Description				Notes
Amulet		1000	"Mind damage to an enemy."
Ruby		1000	"Physical damage to an enemy."
Crystal Ring	1200	"Damage to all enemies."
Crystal     	680	"Banishes one enemy."
Silver Bell	300	"Confuses an enemy."
Pearl		1000	"Hold to all enemies."
Mandrake	460	"Can escape from battle."
Red Ring	1000	"Will Power up."			one use per ring.
Blue Ring	1000	"Strength up."				one use per ring.
Yellow Ring	1000	"Acuity up."				Acuity = Perception.
Old Gold Coin	1000	"Luck up."
Wand		400	"Mind def up all allies."
Staff		400	"MP def up all allies."
Rod		400	"Resist up all allies."
Pentagram	1000	"Physical def 1."			an accessory.
Def. Ring	1200	"Physical def 2."			an accessory.
Hexagram	900	"Mental def 1."				an accessory.
Horus Eye	1100	"Mental def 2."				an accessory.
PhantBrac	1500	"Dodge Rate up 10."			an accessory.
PhantMant	2600	"Dodge Rate up 20."			an accessory.
TranqRune	1000	"Resistance up 10."			an accessory.
BraveRune	1500	"Resistance up 20."			an accessory.
EyeRing		2000	"Clue Skill up."			an accessory.
CharmGlass	2000	"Connection Skill up."		Connection = Parley
SkullMedal	200	"Attracts enemies."			An accessory
Gold Scarab	1000	"Opens a door on 3F."
Compass		1000	"It's old, but it works."		for ship.
KrisKnife	350	"Allows mind attacks."
Astral Amp	1000	"S.Machine parts."
Antidote	10	"Cures poison."


The rings are by far the most useful buys and the old compass may be left for later if you
wish to limit your exploration to the usual islands. While you're at it, there's an Emotion
Control spell book near the merchant.

You can go back to the second floor, take a ferry or go out the northern exit for a shortcut
to the Witch's Abode.

|Witch's Abode|: North of the merchant's building and due East of the North pier is the
Witch's Abode. Inside is the Witch (see Characters section) who doesn't do or say much
for now, however, this place will become more important late in the game. For now, you
can bring Janbon (see Characters section) to complete his quest and gain access to the
hidden spell book. Cassandra will hide here once she's rescued. Cassandra will beg you
to help her father, Marquis LaPlace, and reveals more story elements to you as she goes
along. You'll return here after your visit to LaPlace and Cassandra will give you a letter
for her father, and the third time you need to see her, she'll join the party.

|South (Zoo)|: This is the LaPlace Zoo where rare and exotic creatures are found. You
need to speak with the servant before the door is opened for you. He asks that you be
careful as these creatures will not regenerate after being killed. There's little to be found
here outside of unique hints given out by the creatures and, of course, the NPC Shuu (see
Characters section). I'd avoid this place until you've gained excellent parleying skills (at
least 7+), otherwise you won't gain much information.

|Prison|: Not too far from the Zoo and the eastern island, there's an island that you're
unable to reach without manually controlling the boat. Once you're capable of navigating
the waters of the third floor, you'll reach this place by going southward from the eastern
island (or eastward from the Zoo). Inside, both doors are locked and one knightly figure
stands in between both. This is the Skeletal Knight, guardian of Benedict's cell and
YOUR ticket to infinite experience points and fast money! Of course, you know you
can't complete the game without offing this gaunt fellow, however, before you do, read
the comments regarding this encounter in the secret technique section.

Once defeated, you gain the skull key which releases Benedict from his cell and opens
the door to fourth floor stairs. These stairs will take you near the fourth floor pentagram
room, so you might as well make a brief stop before bringing Benedict back to town.

|Cassandra's room|: In the north western corner of the floor (above the western island)
you'll find yet another pier that requires manual control of the boat in order to be
reached. Locked away in this odd little dungeon is Princess Cassandra (see Characters
section), or so it seems. While Beyond is grateful to see the Princess alive and well (even
if the cut scene seems to show a startled Alex Quinn, the P.I.), the dialogue takes a turn
for the weird... The lovely Princess makes passes at your main character and claims she's
unable to stand up. Before you know it, he Princess turns into a seductive Succubus, a
foul temptress demon who steals the "essence" of men as they sleep (or engage in other
nightly activities ahem...)

This sultry creature is no more difficult than her fourth floor brethren and once defeated,
you're able to rescue the real Princess in the next room. After a brief dialogue with
Beyond and Kusakabe, she informs you of her intentions to stay at the Witch's abode for
the time being and invites you to go and see her as soon as you can.

|The Falls|: Apart from the islands, there's the mysterious falls on the west side of the
floor which pull you down to the mirror maze with considerable damage done to each
member of the party. Is there any purpose to these falls? Guess it's another mystery to be
solved.



F  o  u  r  t  h    F  l  o  o  r

Perhaps the most straightforward floor in all the game, the fourth floor offers challenging
monsters like Demons and Succubi who can do a number on your party. But it offers
little else in the way of challenge and has only two entrances - in the south east near the
pentagram and near the middle of the floor.

Either way, you're stuck within the lower half of the floor until you rescue Benedict and
make your way back to town with the devious son of Richard and Janet Weathertop.
Benedict's emerald statue is the key to unlocking the door that seals off the upper half of
the floor where LaPlace resides.

Before going too far, you may want to know that you can free poor little Amy from the
sacrifice room at the top of the eastern corridor of rooms (a series of narrow corridors
with a door to another narrow corridor and another, eventually leading to Amy).

Besides Amy, you find two useful characters who help you out. They are the old lady and
the sage, each one residing in his/her room on each side of the stone guardian. Visit either
one you want first and collect hints, story elements and an item from both. The lady gives
you the map for the floor as well as a crystal ring, while the old sage offers a Crystal Pole
for your scientist's Spirit Machine.

To the right of the old lady's room and the left of the sage's room are doors leading to
what Cassandra called the arenas. The left one is the Wisdom Arena, where your
knowledge of game related trivia is tested. Each room has a creature asking a riddle with
three possible answers, only one, of course, is right. Each riddle is tougher than the next,
though, until the last three or four rooms, you'll find all the answers in the game itself.
For example, one creature asks you the name of the knight who pledged his allegiance to
Cassandra and another will ask LaPlace's first name. The last questions deal with more
general knowledge, but again, nothing obscure outside of the last one ("what does the
tarot card named the Tower represent?" - destruction)

In case you're lazy, here are the answers in order: 1 3 1 2 3 1 3

The right one will test your battle skills, as the Strength Arena gives you a series of
increasingly difficult battles with a chance to heal your HP or MP after a certain number
of battles. As all roads lead to Rome, both arenas lead to LaPlace's throne room behind
the stone guardian.

You're now face to face with the owner of this Castle, Pierre Simon Marquis de LaPlace
(see Characters section duuuhhh) and the old man isn't about to cut you some slack.
Surprised that you made it this far (aren't arch villains tired of saying that all the time?),
he doesn't feel like dealing with you and your kind. However, if he must, then he'll make
a deal: beat him and your world is safe from his invasion. But, lose, and you'll be fed to
the Demon in order to give it access to your world. Talkative fellow that he is, fighting
him results in a brief in-battle dialogue regarding the Demon, destiny and his thoughts
about you.

In the end, he will fight you and a good, strong party shouldn't have too much trouble.
Just be careful, as he can cast some pretty good spells that hurt the whole party and some
which bring down your total of HP very quickly (Suffocate chops it in half, Night Demon
drains you/heals him). Casting effect spells on him aren't going to do you much good and
you're best sticking to some hand to hand combat assisted by magic healing and the
scientist can use his machine to protect the party. By defeating him, you obtain 4000
Quest EXP and 1550 for the battle.

Impressed, LaPlace agrees to talk a little more, but tells you that he doesn't really think
the Demon is all that dangerous - well not too much in any case. Long story short:
destiny is destiny, the Demon decides everything and the Marquis is tired. Seeing as
you've won, he agrees to seal the portal and will refrain from invading your world.
You're not very convincing on your own and so it's best to try and get someone who can
reason with him - his daughter. But first, you might as well do as he says and return
home... for now.



E  n  d     G  a  m  e


Now begins the end game if you will. Once you decide to go and see Cassandra a second
time (after going back to Newcam once you've defeated LaPlace), you're pretty much
kissing your freedom goodbye as the pentagrams will be sealed off (as LaPlace told you)
and therefore you're forced you to stay inside the Castle. At that point, many possible
events and quests are nullified and you can only explore the castle via the stairways. This
said, the rest of the Walkthrough assumes you've done everything you wanted and that
your level in each skill satisfies you as there will soon be no turning back.

Now then, you've defeated LaPlace and you realised that he won't listen to reason unless
someone gives him a stern talking to. He suggests you return to your world and I concur
that this is a good idea as this will possibly be your last visit to Newcam. You could
always go and talk to Cassandra, but the Princess won't do much more than offer her
gratitude and state that at least he's not going to conquer America.

In Newcam, make sure you have the end game party you want (bring Kusakabe, you
won't regret having his help)  and go to the dry goods shop. If Kusakabe is with you,
you'll have a nice surprise: a shotgun, machine gun and shotgun bullets are all waiting for
you at the left counter, best of all, they're free!!! Both the shotgun and machine gun are
very powerful weapons and the shotgun is capable of hitting ALL the enemies on screen
for very good damage. Stock up on healing items for both MP and HP, bullets and
batteries. Circlets are worthless now, might as well sell them for money. When you're
done, talk to people at the Hotel and Bar to learn that Benedict has escaped and the police
are chasing after him, then the Hospital will reveal hat he was heading for the Manor.
THIS is the real trigger for the end game, meaning you can go around the Castle and use
the pentagrams so long as you haven't learned about Benedict at the Hospital.

Once you're ready, save the game (it'll be a while until you can do this again) and
prepare for the final trek into the Weathertop Manor by learning more about Benedict's
sudden disappearance act at the Hospital. The end game triggered, you need to go to the
Castle again.

Once inside, you try to use the pentagram but you're faced with a few problems. Benedict
was here before you and is ready to get some revenge. A group of guards attack you the
instant you arrive at the Castle's first floor and find yourself forced into battle! An easy
victory at this point, but guards are all over the place now! They're even preventing you
from reaching the underground dwelling of Ruvan! So it's up to the second floor, where
you meet your old friend Adolph.

Adolph is inside the room next to the stairs and exchanges a few words with you to
explain the situation at hand, after this, he sends you on your way using a spell and you
end up at the bottom of the floor near the insane girl (who's now quite sane oddly
enough). The madman is no longer in his room and neither are most characters, so there's
little for you to do other than try to go to the third floor and find Cassandra. Along the
way, you're joined by another companion, Beyond, who was sent as an escort by orders
of Cassandra herself. Together, you return to the Witch's abode and meet up with your
allies.

The Witch explains that she's willing to do what she can to help, offering your a place to
rest and also mentions that Janbon will gladly sell you some magical wares of some
potency (he also buys your pictures and items and allows you to read books).


Janbon's Tool Shop

Cost	Description						Notes
Knife		60	"It's weak."
KrisKnife	350	"Allows mind attacks."
Long Sword	450	"Physical attack."
Bastard Sword	600	"For PIs and Kusakabe."
Bullet P	2	"Bullets for a gun."			buy by the singles.
Bullet S	2	"Bullets for a shotgun."		buy by the singles.
Silver Bullet	6	"Boosts gun damage."			buy by the singles.
Leather Armor	40	"Low def rating."			buy by the singles.
Platemail	200	"Not for Psychic, Scientist."
Cap		24	"Low def rating."
Helmet		150	"Not for Psychic, Scientist."
Battery		2	"Powers an S.Machine."			buy by the singles.
Film		2	"Film for a camera."			buy by the singles.
Healkit2	20	"Restores some HP."
Healkit3	50	"Restores a lot of HP."
Moon Amulet	20	"Restores some MP."
Sun Amulet	50	"Restores a lot of MP."
Stimulant	10	"Cures paralysis."
Sage Stone	1000	"Allows action."
Stun Dart	200	"Restores 10 Max MP."
Circlet		400	"Warp to Pentagram."
Heal Medicine	50	"Heals HP in battle."
Amegist		800	"Restores MP completely."
Cactus Ext	1600	"Restores all HP and MP."
Antidote	10	"Cures poison."

Then, go talk to Cassandra. She gives you a letter for dear old dad and hopes you'll reach
him in time.

You might want to take a moment and buy whatever you may need from the merchant,
but if you don't need anything, make your way to the boat and off to the prison island
you go in order to get o the fourth floor. Once you've arrived, guards block the stairs - a
battle ensues and after you've gained victory, go up and meet with the old lady who spins
yarn. She gives you a powerful item - the Mistletoe Wand- however, you can't really use
it... You should see the stone guardian now.

As expected, he won't let you pass. To make matters worse, the arenas have closed shop.
Annoying indeed! So you must retrace your steps to the stairs... but, what's this? Ruvan
and Benedict ambush you! Benedict is eager to finish you off as any good right hand man
would, but Ruvan tells his to keep his cool. He offers you two choices: surrender now and
go back to your world, or, fight him.

You could end the game with the bad ending at this point by saying yes, you want to
leave for your world. But we're brave adventurers out to save the world! So of course
you say no and Ruvan attacks you.

Face it, you can't win this one. Ruvan CANNOT be attacked by anything and you must
endure three rounds of attacks before he steals your precious wand and initiates a little
dialogue with Beyond. Beyond sacrifices his life for you, charging Ruvan with his sword,
knowing full well the consequences of his act. You flee down the stairs in a hurry and
regroup at the Witch's abode.

Cassandra is saddened by the death of Beyond and admits that this was all too foolish of
her. She knew very well what could happen, but she was too scared. So now, she has to
take responsibility into her own hands and end this madness once and for all! She joins
you as an NPC in order to talk to the stone guardian blocking the way. Being of LaPlace
blood, she can order it to let you pass. Rest up, buy stuff if you must, and head back up
the stairs to get pass that guardian.

Within the throne room you find a confused LaPlace who fails to understand what his
daughter plans to do. As you try to talk sense into him, Benedict appears from out of
nowhere to attack the Marquis! The wand given to you by the old woman is a secret
weapon destined to weaken LaPlace, with it, she thought, you could possibly change his
mind, however, seeing as it has fallen into Ruvan's hands it is now working against you!

Benedict gloats as he assassinates the master of the Castle and snatches his daughter
away from your protection as well, only to leave by means of his magic. LaPlace isn't
dead yet and with his dying breath, he offers you advice as well as two items to help you
defeat Ruvan. His crown and ring are now yours. The crown shall be used to discover the
hidden passageway leading to your foe and the ring will reveal Ruvan's true form,
allowing you to destroy him! He dies on his throne as you head out to meet with the dark
side of LaPlace.

The secret passage is next to the door leading into the Sacrifice Room's corridor, you'll
notice a black crack in the wall, just press A and enter the passage way.

From now on, you'll be meeting a lot of these invisible passages and the best way to
navigate through them is to notice your party characters and how they tend to huddle
when there's a wall and regain their original walking formation if there's a free space.
This is your way of spotting invisible intersections. Now then, this current secret passage
is easy enough to follow. You just need to go up, then left, and then loop down to reach
the portion of the map that was previously unreachable. The entrance is on the right side
of the room.

Inside, you meet with none other than our friend Benedict who plans on sacrificing
LaPlace's daughter in order to release the seal of the LaPlace family and reach the
Demon with hopes of using it for his own malevolent purposes. Note that the cut scene is
severely garbled and though you can see the text, the image won't make much sense.
This is a problem related to the patch and not due to your ROM image or emulator. As a
matter of fact, I suggest you keep a Japanese version of the ROM handy and use save
states to view the cut scene as it was meant to be.

You fail to stop Benedict who proceeds to slay Cassandra, thereby opening the portal to
the Demon's dimension. The dimension rift now open, you're faced with a choice - do
you step in or don't you? If you agree to continue, then you're given a chance to save
your game one last time before the final section.

The dark dimension you enter is plunged in darkness and you can't see the walls, only
your characters are visible. You have to guide yourself using the technique described
above wit hopes that you don't meet too many monsters along the way. Ah yes, I forget -
the monsters here are by far your toughest customers so far in the game. With a high
Parley skill (8-9+), you're able to gain some information, but nothing you don't already
know by now. Battling them won't bring you much closer to a new level and it may be
wiser to run than to stick around and waste healing items (not to mention your time!).
There's no map to be found, but I can give you a few general guidelines: hug the right
wall and try to go up. You'll often get blocked, when you are, just try going back down,
hugging the left wall to spot an open passage. But when given a choice, always go up and
right as far as you can before going left or down. It shouldn't be too hard to find your
way through the room and you'll know you've reached your destination once you find a
slightly different wall with an opening.

Stepping inside, you're again plunged in darkness, but there are no walls to impede your
progress this time, though you come face to face with your arch nemesis Ruvan! I suggest
you take the time to heal up and prepare yourself before going too far into the room,
merely approaching Ruvan will cause an instant battle/dialogue with him.

Ruvan will mock your attempts at stopping the Demon of LaPlace and Benedict's
ambitions, and he's in no mood to play. However, this time you have the ring of Pierre
LaPlace and with it (when used in combat), you reveal Ruvan's true form: a human
headed winged snake!

Ruvan's no different from LaPlace combat wise, except he deals more damage with each
blow. He'll use more or less the same spells (well he is the "dark side" of LaPlace in a
way) and has a fair amount of HP (I'd go with 500 or so). If your party features a P.I. and
Kusakabe with a score of 10 in strength, 10 in Combat skill and the Holy sword, then
you'll make short work of the demonic bishounen by striking for around 100HP per
round. Have your dilettante heal and fight with weapons or magic (God's wrath or use the
silver bullets) while your scientist uses his party protecting barrier as soon as he can
(useless to do this twice so make sure he can fight too with Weird Beam or Shock), or, in
the case of a psychic, use high level protective powers on the party.

With Ruvan out of the way, heal and prepare to meet an old friend in the next room...

The power mad Benedict gloats, claiming he has control over the Demon now that the
LaPlace family has been eliminated, however, the Demon interrupts this little reunion of
yours... and eats Benedict alive!

Well that was short and to the point.

Your characters discuss their strategy - obviously this Demon is bad news, but what can
you do against it? You reach the conclusion that it might be best to seal it up in this
dimension by destroying the portal. The goal is to get some distance between you and the
Demon first and then destroy the seal for good.

In order to do so, you must battle the Demon of LaPlace itself!

This giant brain with an eyeball has a certain Cthulu mythos feel to it, but it's not too
hard to dispose of it with a strong party. Again, most of its attacks are similar to spells
used by Ruvan and LaPlace (incidentally, as well as your dilettante) and does only
slightly more damage than Ruvan. Though he has quite a few more HP than any other
boss so far, he's a push over and as the kidz say, your party 0wNZ his ass or whatever.
His 800+ HP go down quickly to repeated attacks, but be careful, he might try and drain
some of your characters. Use items if you feel a need to do so, but magic and fighting
should be enough.

Once you win, there's a cut scene where you destroy the pentagram after reaching the
Manor. After the cut scene, enjoy the end sequence (which I won't spoil for you, not that
it's anything special).



************************************************************************
                        M  Y  S  T  E  R  I  E  S
************************************************************************


Believe it or not, there are still mysteries we've yet to unravel in this game. Scattered
throughout the Castle are characters and events which seem to have a special purpose, but
no one seems to know what those purposes might be. Also, because we're lazy, some
things were left untested and we kept them here in case anyone tried it out at some point
or another.

The dancing aristocrats: Odd and spooky, but why would the guards tell us about them if
there was nothing we could do? They give precious little information and are seemingly
unaffected by Moldiv's death. One couple floats through the air and outside the room
when you come back later on, is this a glitch or a clue? We've tried every item and still
no result.

The lizard men: Shuu joins your party if your Parley skill is at least 7 for one character,
however, he gives out no clue about his possible quest. He does mention something about
finding his friend when you drop him for Benedict, but the lizard men you find in the
trophy room and merchant building have nothing to say to you regarding Shuu (the lizard
man in the trophy room still attacks you even with Shuu in the party). To make things
even more interesting, the lizard man residing near the merchant also happens to have a
small avatar/picture like Shuu's when you meet him again after you're trapped in the
Castle. Is he Shuu's friend? Then why would he not react to Shuu's presence?

The insane: The first oddity is the sacred salts. How do you purify a madman with sacred
salts? You get two of those, one for the spirit guarding a pentagram and the second for a
madman we presume. This said, the first maniac answers you when you talk to him, but
the second maniac just attacks you. Any possible way to purify him? Also, the young
woman on the second floor (the one who talks about the water growing black) seems
insane, any chance to purify her? She does come to her senses once the trapped inside the
Castle, but before then, can she be helped? Can we do anything for these people?

Two, count em' two ways to beat a Knight: You can choose between the Holy cup and
the Talisman in order to beat the Skeletal Knight, but why doesn't anyone tell you about
the powers of the Holy Cup? Why get two items?

Beating the game with Kusakabe still dead: I've never had the heart to do this, but can
you get a different ending if Kusakabe isn't brought back to life?

Master Servant, my friend: You can go through the Castle's basement and off Moldiv
without laying a hand on the Master Servant. Does this mean you can talk to him later
on?

Reappearing characters: Some guards and the Master Servant appear after their death.
You can't talk to them, but they're there. Anyone know what they might be holding back
from us while they were alive?

The waterfall: Near the western outside wall of the Castle's third floor, there's a waterfall
that brings you down into the Mirror Maze at the cost of severe damage. Any purpose to
this unnatural phenomenon?

"Is Anita alright?": You save her with Ryan and he still asks you... any way to convince
him that she's safe?

And for my next trick...: Adolph is found inside a jail cell, right? But the first time I went
through the game, I didn't go to the jail right away, instead, I killed off Moldiv and dealt
with many puzzles of the second floor. I returned to the basement to find someone new in
the first room. It was Adolph! I then went into the jail and... there's Adolph again! This
is why I say we should call Adolph an escape artist - he could have easily busted himself
out of the jail had he not been so lazy. Granted this is more of a glitch than anything else,
I felt like mentioning it.



************************************************************************
                           B  E  S  T  I  A  R  Y
************************************************************************


In this section, you'll find the names of the possible encounters in each portion of the
game and how much their photos are worth (if applicable). At this point, only the Manor
is anywhere close to completion, but considering how you're likely to stick with the more
lucrative photos of the Demon Door and Skeletal Knight, I don't see why this would be
helpful...


### Manor ###

Bat 20
Banshee 120
Bed 80
Dagger 80
Doll 40
Door 300
Ghoul 80
LandCrawler 300
Maniac 120
Manplant 120
Rat 8
Skeleton 40
Slime 40
Soul 100
Spider 20
Spirit 80
Tableware 80
Undead Arm 40
Will-O-Wisp 80
Wolfman 200
Wraith 120
Zombie 80


### Castle ###

(Basement)
Master servant 80
Moldiv 400


************************************************************************
A  C  K  N  O  W  L  E  D  G  E  M  E  N  T  S  &  C  O  P  Y  R  I  G  H  T  S
************************************************************************

First off, a big thank you to Blank from the RPG Classics message board (found at
http://daria.ffcompendium.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi) for all his help with this
game. Also, I'd like to thank him for the Castle maps he offered me. Once each floor has
been done, I'll be sure to find some way of adding them to GameFAQS. He, of course, is
also responsible for the list of items sold in the various shops as well as the
magic/psychic powers list. In short, a hell of a contributor!

Thanks also go to thisisnonexistent, who, while always looking for my help to solve some
problems concerning this game, provided me with many questions for the FAQ section.

Same goes for Y2G who also provided some FAQ questions inadvertently.

Oh and let's not forget Lockescythe for his primer to this game! Sorry for overshadowing
you like this... -_-;

Also, my thanks to Drunky... I mean, RefinedMechGirl for setting herself on fire during
the making of this FAQ/Walkthrough (she's such a little trooper *rushes for the
extinguisher*)

Of course, big thanks to the cast and crew of the Heroes of the Lance GameFAQs
message board, as well as to Sturm and his moustache of pure AWESOMNESS~~~~~

While we're at it, thanks go out to Hokuto no Ken's Kenshirou, who would like you to
know that you are all already dead! Aaaa-tatatatatatatatatatatatatatata!!!


Copyrights issues :

Of course, I, Asplagis aka Zettaijin, made this FAQ/Walkthrough. I don't mind seeing
this thing on anyone's personal page, so long as you tell me beforehand and give me
proper credit for my work. If you don't, then Kenshirou will explode your head!
Aaaa-tatatatatatatatata!!!!
