Updates 2001
July/August 2001
Bard's Tale is a gaming series of wit, skill, and luck. This month we will be looking at Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight.
For your first few days in Tangramayne you will see that skill has a lot to do with it. If you create your party from scratch you will need to obtain the best weapons as soon as possible. Only fight during daylight for the first few days. After you determine that you can survive during the day fight at night for a while. Beware combat at night can be deadly for inexperienced characters players. After the first few night battles you should soon receive The Mithril Sword. A great weapon to start out with. Obtain enough of these for each capable character before you enter the starter dungeon.
When you enter the starter dungeon I suggest you have some graph paper ready or have a map already (obtainable from other popular Bard's Tale Sites). Fight your way around until you build your confidence enough to go down to the next level. Now find the Monster Dormitory on the second level... a great place to build up new charaters. Locate the Winged Creature and have him join your party. After a while the enemies won't be so tough. Descend into the next level and find the magic mouth and answer his question...
..."pass". Now use a map to help guide you through the antilight zone. Beware of spinners. Fight the Dark Lord and save the Princess. Teleport back to the first level and collect your experience points. Now go talk to the Sage about The Tombs.
September 2001
In The Destiny Knight there is a weapon so powerful, it will easily hit for 96 points of damage or much more with a skilled paladin, warrior, or hunter. Imagine how powerful that can be if say my paladin hit an ogre 8 times for 800 points of damage. Bye, bye ogre. That weapon is the Sword of Zar. It is my favorite weapon of the entire series. And now, I will show you how to obtain it.
This journey is going to start in Dargoth's Tower. Have a Light Wand handy, because you are going to be pretty blind. I don't remember if there are dopplegangers, so don't leave any open spaces for a monster to join. I also suggest at least one magician with the magic points full - the phase door spell will come in handy later.
Quick overview of objectives:
1. Complete battletest in Dargoth's Tower.
2. Complete the snare of death in Dargoth's Tower(you're already there, finish 'em off).
3. Head to Thessalonica and answer the magic mouth - DREAD. Enter the Maze of Dread.
4. On the 2nd floor, find the Riddler and answer his question - DER
Number one, welcome to Dargoth's Tower. The spinners get quite annoying - I suggest you equip a nospen ring. Locate the stairs to go up another level. Helpful hint, cast area enchant - to locate nearby stairs. Then phase door if needed to get to the stairs. You found the stairs? OK. let's move on. Up one level. DARKNESS. In the center of this level there is a collection of 1x1 rooms that are arranged into a nice maze. Don't be intimidated. Phase door into the maze from the darkness, because the door leading inside can be hard to find and use a light wand or equivilent item. The next step now that you are in this little maze is to face the battletest. Be prepared to face 7 rock monsters. To do this you need to get to location 13, 12. Phase door to that location; you will be in a room about 3x2. Don't try to navigate the maze - it will take forever. Now you face the battle test - 7 Rock Monsters. Vanquish your enemies. Congratulations you have passed the battletest. You feel as if you have accomplished something.
Number two, before you can collect your rewards for completing the battletest (to my knowledge) you must pass the snare of death in this dungeon. I will leave it up to you to get there. I believe everyone needs to have an open slot. The answer to the stone man's question is HAVOK. Congratulations once more, mortals.
On to three, head to Thessalonica and to the Maze of Dread. Located in the lower-right corner of the city.
Last but not least, #4, go up once, take the door to the left, and enter the other door in that room. You will find yourself in an elevator - press 2. Now head to the middle of level two. You will find a '+' shaped room. In that room you will find the riddler - don't worry weary ones he cannot harm you. He just has a riddle for you and he can only understand the answer backwards. Before you answer DER make sure you have a slot open. Now receive the Sword of Zar.
Feel free to fight your way through this dungeon with this awesome weapon. When your enemies are too far away feel free to throw the Sword of Zar at them and do some heavy damage - don't worry it returns. Enjoy.
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October 2001
This Update is going to be fairly short. I am going to talk about a spell that has tremoundous power. The likes of which haven't been matched in any of the games in the Trilogy.
Z Z G O
Those four letters strike fear into every opposing force in the series. Nearly every player who has playerd The Destiny Knight knows those four letters. Those four letters command a spell that costs a hundred spell points and inflicts hundreds of points of damage. No other spell can compare to the Dream Spell.
The Sorcerer who yields the Dream Spell has the potential to destroy all which opposes him. Power to strike anyone and everyone who opposes the Sorcerer and at the same time to heal his own party from all wounds. A power that could of matched Mangar The Evil.
Here is some information on the spell: It costs 100 points, high fizzle rate, casts MAMA, casts HEAL. You need to be at least a Sorcerer to obtain this spell ability, but to master it you should be an Archmage. Takes you directly to the dungeon entrance. This spell is a secret and can be found in one of the dungeons of the realm.
November 2001
His Name Strikes fear into the drunkest of bards. The worst part about encountering Herb is his annoying tendency to multiply. When he is summoned he doesn't just fight you, he overwhelms you. By the time you kill him he will have summoned another and another and yet another. So when I face him I usually ask myself 'will the experience points and the little gold I get out of this fight be worth the agravation I know he is about to cause me?' For this update I will be going over Herb's weaknesses and his strengths.
The Facts
What started out as a simple meelee of some mages and giants ends quite differently. The problem with Herb is that he usually isn't worth the trouble of fighting him. I usually run away (or try to kill the summoner before he can call a Herb).
His Strengths
Herb has a ton of hit points, starts out away from melee range, and replicates. So it can take a while to whip one or as it usually turns out around four of them. When in melee range the characters with lesser experience points generally can't touch him. 
His Weaknesses
Herb spends most of his time filling up his ranks... Even when they are already filled. He rarely attacks and if he does you should be able to take the brunt of his attacks with ease. Since you may not be able to hit him too well think about throwable weapons; even at close range.
Battle Tactics
So here is the real question: 'How do you kill a Herb?' Well lets start with some simple ways to finish them off. For close range attacks use the stone blade (warrior/paladin), a critical hit (hunter), drums of death (bard), or deathstrike (magician spell) for melee range. For distance fighting have your bard play "The Archer's Tune." Then have your paladin, bard, and thief throw their Sword of Zar, Song Axe, and Aram's Knife respectively. For your magic users consider the dream spell and Mangar's Mallet. For a more difficult battle have your best experienced fighters go after Herb. A good monk or warrior can do some real damage and have your spell caster cast melee men and pull them all forward one at a time. When they are all within range you may want to refer to the simple ways to dispatch them listed above.
A Job Well Done
Unfortunately even though you just finished off a couple of Herb you might have wasted a handful of spell points and a lot of time. Because your next battle may be exactly the same thing. So to avoid this problem familiarize yourself with the monster spellcasters and kill them off before they can call in the big hitters or Herb for that matter. So you ask yourself again 'Is Herb worth the trouble?' Well I'll leave that up to you.
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