What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Discussions and help for Bard's Tale I: Tales of the Unknown
Maven
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What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by Maven »

Probably my favorite and most useful exploit is using the spectre in the cats for quick level-ups. It seems in the IBM PC version, getting hit by a spectre or vampire will drain you a level. However, if you pay at the temple to have it healed, you get enough experience "restored" to immediately go to the review board and be advanced to the NEXT level. It's not cheap, but it's a lot faster than grinding -- especially for wizards.

So, you teleport down to the stairs of level 3, traverse the maze until you get to the spectre, let him hit your wizards a couple of times before you kill him, and pick up the eye. After you teleport back, you can sell the eye and it will pay for you to get the levels restored for a couple of your characters at the temple. Then go visit the review board, and voila! 1.2 million exp!
Maven
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by Maven »

Here's one that is only useful in specific situations, but is still fun.

If you find that you are not able to hit things reliably, there is a way to trick the game into letting you hit better. For example, level one magic users can't reliably hit the samurai statue, even if they have 18 dex and you buy them robes and play the traveler's tune.

Run around town kicking in doors until you encounter a party of magicians. Then repeatedly defend until you see the message, "Magician casts a spell...". Not the one where the magician casts a spell at one of your party and it either has no effect or withers them--the other one where it just says they cast a spell. This will permanently (until you exit the game) allow you to hit just about anything. Even a level one conjuror with an armor class of 10 can hit the grey dragon statue.
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Marco
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by Marco »

That's interesting. How did you ever find out about that one?

I haven't really played the game from scratch in a long time. Whenever the bug hits me to play some Bard's Tale, I usually just fire it up with my old characters, who can hit just about everything anyway.

Marco.
Maven
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by Maven »

Well, sometimes when I start a new game, I like to put a battle mage on the front line, because they have better save stats and can run from barbarians a little bit better. I noticed that a naked mage can't normally hit spiders and skeletons. But after I had played a while, sometimes they could. At first I thought it had to do with dying and moving characters around, but eventually I tracked it down to the spell the Magicians cast.

On topic, the fastest legitimate way I have found to increase levels is to use a Spectre Mace. I equip it on one of my Wizards, party attack, whack everyone I want to go up a level, restore their experience at the temple, and go visit the review board.

There are only two problems with that strategy. It is expensive. And in order to get a Spectre Mace you have to be fighting in the last two levels of the game. Which means you have almost finished the game. You can find a mournblade a few levels sooner, and it works almost as well, but make sure you use a level 1 hunter to wield it or you'll be critically hitting your party members instead of draining their levels.

Alternately, the Spell Spirit spell summons a Spectre about half of the time. It's easier to get than finding one in the dungeon, and party attacks on the special work as well as actual attacks on real Spectres. It is easier to kill as well -- a simple Instant Wolf spell, or even a Target Dummy, will replace it. However, it hits REALLY hard. I wouldn't attempt fighting a pet Spectre in your special slot unless all of your party members had at least 150 HP. The pet Spectre can often do that much damage in a single hit.
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Darendor
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by Darendor »

When raising up a new party, I find that there are a few staples for power-levelling.

We all know about the 396 berserkers that live in Harkyn's Castle, but there's one other place for when you can't quite yet survive this.

Enter the Catacombs, then make your way to level 3. From the stairs, there's 2 set encounters a short distance away - 69 Wights, and 36 Ghouls.

Use whatever mass-destroying capabilities you might have (Flame horn, REDE, MIBL, SHSP, DRBR, STFL, bound dragon/demon/whatever) to clear these 2 spots, then return to the stairs, go up them, then turn around and tramp right back down. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Try not to get aged or level drained, and when your spell points run close to dry (or your horn disintegrates), head out and to the Review Board.
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toper
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by toper »

Darendor wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 3:15 am
Enter the Catacombs, then make your way to level 3. From the stairs, there's 2 set encounters a short distance away - 69 Wights, and 36 Ghouls.
If anyone needs the APAR address to the Wights, just look at the location I have listed under my Avatar. Its my favorite training location... Pretty sure I get more XP per hour there than I do fighting the 'zerkers.
My Bardstale Trilogy long play series: Pixel Hunter Play's BardsTale Trilogy
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Darendor
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by Darendor »

toper wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2019 7:42 pm
Darendor wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 3:15 am
Enter the Catacombs, then make your way to level 3. From the stairs, there's 2 set encounters a short distance away - 69 Wights, and 36 Ghouls.
If anyone needs the APAR address to the Wights, just look at the location I have listed under my Avatar. Its my favorite training location... Pretty sure I get more XP per hour there than I do fighting the 'zerkers.
Except level 3 is APAR shielded, so you'll need to teleport to the stairs down on level 2, and walk from there.

But yeah, close enough.
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toper
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by toper »

Darendor wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2019 11:14 pm
toper wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2019 7:42 pm
Darendor wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 3:15 am
Enter the Catacombs, then make your way to level 3. From the stairs, there's 2 set encounters a short distance away - 69 Wights, and 36 Ghouls.
If anyone needs the APAR address to the Wights, just look at the location I have listed under my Avatar. Its my favorite training location... Pretty sure I get more XP per hour there than I do fighting the 'zerkers.
Except level 3 is APAR shielded, so you'll need to teleport to the stairs down on level 2, and walk from there.

But yeah, close enough.
true... but with the address, they can find the exact location on a map.




(this is me trying to save face. It's actually been a VERY LONG TIME since I played BT, and only back because some goofball on a different site said that trilogy saves can't be changed externally, I found a bit of evidence that suggests other wise.)
My Bardstale Trilogy long play series: Pixel Hunter Play's BardsTale Trilogy
altsan
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by altsan »

I always played the DOS version. My go-to on starting a new party was to hit 'Z' the minute I stepped outside. I always used to recommend this to newcomers, too. Pretty sure this only works on the DOS version, though. (For those who only played other ports, hitting Z anywhere in Skara Brae under DOS summons a Stone Elemental, 1-33 hp, into the Special slot.) This is the most efficient way to make sure your characters survive to reach level 2-3.

I know some people consider it cheating, but I figure it's a built-in game command, so it must be legit. :P Surely at least as legit as looting the prebuilt party of their fire horn. I always just figured the Adventurer's Guild has some kind of standing agreement with the Stone Elementals union. :lol:
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toper
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by toper »

Another trick I like to use when playing the long game is training the mage classes so that their final class is conjurer or magician instead of wizard.

So it's conjurer, sorcerer, wizard, magician

Or

Magician, sorcerer, wizard, conjurer

__________
After level 12, conjurer's and magicians only need 230,000 XP to level up (and get a SP bump) instead of 1.3 million that the wizard needs.

Which means that ending the training in mag/con class gains spell points 5.6x faster than ending at wizard class.

Not sure if this counts as a trick. It's more of a "I read the XP table, and this works better in the long run" kind of thing.
My Bardstale Trilogy long play series: Pixel Hunter Play's BardsTale Trilogy
Maven
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by Maven »

The easiest way to never die is to make sure you can run from any encounter that is too tough for you. This is determined mostly by the level of your lead-off character, and their luck score. Here is the short chart for where you can safely go based on the level of your party leader. This is for Warriors, Monks, Hunters, Bards, and Rogues that have 18 luck.

6 Town during the day, Cellar
8 Town at night, Sewer 1-2
12 Sewer 3, Cats 1
14 Cats 2-3, Castle 1
18 Castle 2-3
22 Kylearan's Tower, Mangar's Tower 1
26 Manger's Tower 2-3
28 Red Dragons
30 Manger's Tower 4-5, Spectres
34 Storm Giants

I always make sure my party leader has luck 18 if at all possible. If his luck score is less than 16, he has to be 6 levels higher. Paladins don't need to be quite so high level after level 10 or so, but it takes many levels to get a Paladin up to luck 18 since they can't be Hobbits.

And if you get a luck shield, give it to the party leader and equip it immediately. It will knock 4 levels off how high you have to be to go places safely.
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Darendor
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by Darendor »

Maven wrote: Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:11 am The easiest way to never die is to make sure you can run from any encounter that is too tough for you. This is determined mostly by the level of your lead-off character, and their luck score. Here is the short chart for where you can safely go based on the level of your party leader. This is for Warriors, Monks, Hunters, Bards, and Rogues that have 18 luck.

6 Town during the day, Cellar
8 Town at night, Sewer 1-2
12 Sewer 3, Cats 1
14 Cats 2-3, Castle 1
18 Castle 2-3
22 Kylearan's Tower, Mangar's Tower 1
26 Manger's Tower 2-3
28 Red Dragons
30 Manger's Tower 4-5, Spectres
34 Storm Giants

I always make sure my party leader has luck 18 if at all possible. If his luck score is less than 16, he has to be 6 levels higher. Paladins don't need to be quite so high level after level 10 or so, but it takes many levels to get a Paladin up to luck 18 since they can't be Hobbits.

And if you get a luck shield, give it to the party leader and equip it immediately. It will knock 4 levels off how high you have to be to go places safely.
What do the 6 - 34 numbers mean?

Also, yeah, you can run from fights as much as you want but if you ever actually want to beat the game proper you will have to face Mangar at some point...


I feel like I was supposed to be doing something on the forum earlier this year but I don't remember what.. :shock: :?
Maven
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by Maven »

Darendor wrote: Sat Oct 26, 2019 6:15 pm What do the 6 - 34 numbers mean?
That's the minimum level your lead character needs to be in order to always succeed running from the fight.

Here's another interesting exploit for those that like to play with less than 6 members in their party:
If you take a Bard, equip him with an instrument, and then remove him from the last slot in the party while in the Adventurer's Guild, you get a ghost Bard in that slot that can play songs. If you only had 5 members and the Bard was in slot 5, for example, and you remove him just before leaving the guild, using the F5 key will bring up the song menu and you can choose which song to sing. If you sing too many songs and he loses his voice, pop back into the guild and add him and then remove him, and the ghost Bard's song bank will be recharged.
drifting
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by drifting »

Maven wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 1:53 pm
Darendor wrote: Sat Oct 26, 2019 6:15 pm What do the 6 - 34 numbers mean?
That's the minimum level your lead character needs to be in order to always succeed running from the fight.

Here's another interesting exploit for those that like to play with less than 6 members in their party:
If you take a Bard, equip him with an instrument, and then remove him from the last slot in the party while in the Adventurer's Guild, you get a ghost Bard in that slot that can play songs. If you only had 5 members and the Bard was in slot 5, for example, and you remove him just before leaving the guild, using the F5 key will bring up the song menu and you can choose which song to sing. If you sing too many songs and he loses his voice, pop back into the guild and add him and then remove him, and the ghost Bard's song bank will be recharged.
Which version is this?
Maven
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Re: What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Post by Maven »

drifting wrote: Fri Apr 02, 2021 6:21 pm Which version is this?
MSDOS
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