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Walkthrough
Everything in this walkthrough can be discovered during game play. If you wish to discover things in the game, do not read this document.
Before embarking on the first story elements, the party should get to about level 5. The safest approach is to repeat a cycle of (i) plundering the DUNGEON OF DARKNESS, (ii) visiting CASTLE BLACKMOORE for healing and leveling up, and (iii) getting supplies and equipment in the CITY OF OPHENIUS. These places are all near each other, allowing you to conserve food.
If you have a thief, steal early and often. In the CITY OF OPHENIUS you can steal from either the food or weapons shop until you get caught, then lead the two guards near the entrance into the food shop (one at a time), where you can get them stuck on the southwest table. Remember to use diagonal moves, and your ability to occupy the same square as a town denizen.
Once your food supply is secure, you can explore other parts of the map. Dungeon treasure is static, so to get a variety of magic items you need to explore different dungeons. Exploring different towns and castles is only important insofar as gathering information is concerned.
If you are anxious to explore the islands of Arrinea, you can probably buy or commandeer a ship before you are able to fly. You will need to be able to fly, however, to complete the quest.
Nothing in the game is truly random. For example, if the first thing you do after booting is to encounter a monster on the first level of a dungeon, the monster will be six orcs. Alternatively, if the first thing you do is try to steal something, you will get caught. These outcomes are determined by Fate Cards in the hands of the One. When you pray to the One, the top card is discarded. Once you learn the effect of this, you can use the knowledge to your advantage, since the fate cards are reset every time you quit and re-enter the game.
The backstory from the Realm manual reveals that you are to obtain special keys and prisms, use them to pass through the pyramid gates, and find the Baron, who claims to have a plan to vanquish Mordock. The Baron is in the Realm of FONKRAKIS.
The Fonkrakis gate, on an island in the southwest of ARRINEA, is opened by the PLATINUM KEY. The key is located on level 8 of the HELLISH INFERNO, a dungeon inside the caldera of a dormant volcano, north of CASTLE LEMPHOCYM. To enter you either need the FLY spell, or the FLYING CARPET. The latter is in the DUNGEON OF DARKNESS, level 8, or can be bought from any alchemist for a large sum of gold.
The pyramid cannot be operated without the GREEN PRISM, located in the GATEWAY TO DEATH. The prism is on level 6. You have to make it through some lava to reach it. Remember with PROTECTION 1 you can pass through lava unharmed.
At this point you can fly, so you easily find the southwest pyramid and press E to enter. Once you pass through the gate you no longer need the key or the prism to do so again, so you can replace those inventory slots with something else if you wish.
Note you cannot get the platinum key without at least one level 8 encounter. If you are trying to get the flying carpet from the Dungeon of Darkness, it will take even more. DISPEL MAGIC and the four PROTECTION spells can help you survive these encounters.
THE BLACK FORTRESS is just northeast of your arrival point in Fonkrakis. You easily find the Baron in the throne room. When you transact with him he reveals that his enchanters have devised a SWORD OF LIGHT that can dispel Mordock. The sword can channel the power of light, which is bestowed by the HIGH PRIEST. Unfortunately, after attempting a noble but foolish mission in THE ABYSS, the High Priest was trapped there. You must find him, and get the blessing. Apropos of this, the Baron mentions that he already has the RED PRISM, and that it is being kept at a secret northern base. This is CASTLE MODROSIA.
The Baron also tells you to see Teknius, presumably for the sword, but Teknius reveals that Ivan of SULPHUR CITY is handling all distribution. Sulphur City is in the Abyss, so the blessing and the sword are obtained in the same Realm.
Head to the northern part of Fonkrakis and find Castle Modrosia. The Lord in the throne room will give you the red prism without further ado. The gold key is in the DUNGEON OF NIHM on level 8. You will probably have to survive several level 7 and 8 encounters to get it.
With the key and prism in hand, enter the pyramid on the east side of Arrinea. You will ride the rays to THE ABYSS. Travel here is different, because this Realm is subterranean. The mountains reach from the cavern floor to the cavern ceiling, so there is no flying over them.
In the Abyss there are two things to do, get the blessing of the High Priest, and get the Sword of Light from Ivan's Weapon Emporium.
The towns in the Abyss have all been visited by the High Priest, and the townsfolk will fill in his backstory. He was last seen being taken into the DEPTHS OF DOOM, and is known for a preoccupation with the lust for treasure leading to violence rather than happiness.
To reach the Depths of Doom, you can either sail or fly along the central river of the Abyss, to reach a second tunnel system that is disjoint from the one with the pyramid gate (you can get a ship in BRIMSTONE BAY). The dungeon itself is in the extreme north. Incidentally, there is another dungeon in the Abyss, the CONDEMNED CAVERNS, but it has no story elements.
The Depths of Doom has a simple arrangement, with ladders alternating on the east and west sides of each level. As you descend, you may find 4 priests being tortured on level 5, but unfortunately, they cannot be reached or helped. On level 8 you find the High Priest trapped in a lava chamber. When you enter his square he recites the RIDDLE OF TREASURE. If you answer “HAPPINESS” he performs a spell and the power of light is yours! He then insists you leave him in the dungeon, for his penance is not yet complete. In truth, he has gone quite mad, and you can only leave him to his tragic fate.
To get the sword of light is fairly easy, you merely have to find Sulphur City, which is in the same cave system as the Depths of Doom. Ivan's Weapon Emporium is announced by a townsman at the entrance, simply transact at the merchant table as usual and buy the sword. In fact, buy one for each member of the party, if you can afford it. You cannot steal this sword.
Anytime after you have the power of light, you can return to the Baron for the second and final part of the plan. He reveals that rather than attempt a frontal assault on the Iron Tower, you will deceive its defenders by becoming ethereal. To do this you must obtain the ORB OF STARS from the ARCHWIZARD in CASTLE LEMPHOCYM. Once obtained, this artifact must be taken into the FORSAKEN MINE, in WORNOTH, at the bottom of which stands a buried temple. Using the orb at the four altars there will trigger an Astral Spell, turning the party ethereal (the only effect of this, in terms of game play, is that you can traverse the ether at the center of Wornoth).
At this point you know everything the Baron knows, and perhaps more. You have only to execute the plan.
Obtaining the orb is connected with becoming "enlightened," although the Baron knows nothing about this. When you see the Archwizard, he asks what you want. If you answer ORB OF STARS, he demands to know what you offer in return. The only thing he will accept is the GEM OF ENLIGHTENMENT. This is located, not surprisingly, in the town of ENLIGHTENMENT, near the Wornoth pyramid. The gem is held by BAKRO THE SORCERER, who utters only a cryptic verse when transacted with. Simply answer "GEM OF ENLIGHTENMENT" and he will sell it to you.
Before you take the gem to the Archwizard, you may want to use it to enlighten the party. This will provide some protection against Mordock's attacks in the final confrontation. To do this you bring the gem to INFERNO CITY in the northwest of Wornoth (see below), in the lava fields. Within, you will find the FULCRUM OF ENLIGHTENMENT, where you stand between the four wizards, and use the gem. The character who uses the gem must have intelligence of 50 or higher, or the flood of knowledge will kill him. Enlightenment protects the whole party, once obtained by any character.
Once you have enlightened the party, bring the gem to the Archwizard and make the trade. Next you will take the orb to the buried temple in Wornoth.
The Wornoth gate is opened by the SILVER KEY (I was unaware of the H.P. Lovecraft story of the same name when this was coded, but it fits), and the CLEAR PRISM. The key is on level 8 of the DEVIL'S HOLE, in a jail cell. The prism is held by a special dragon on the small island in the marina of CASTLE LEMPHOCYM. You have to turn the castle hostile to reach him, so remember not to attack him, even though his dragon friends will attack you.
First of all, you cannot reach the buried temple without KNOCK or POTION OF PASSAGE, so make sure you have one of these. Immediately upon entering the mine, there is a cell with a monster, whose only treasure is NOTE: ORDER IS FIRE, EARTH, WATER, GOLD. You can hang on to this and refer to it when you reach the bottom. If you are interested in treasure, AMULET OF HEALING is on level 3, STAFF OF STRIKING is on level 5, and STAFF OF POWER, PLATE+, and 2H SWORD+ are on level 7. To quickly reach the ladders down by level: (1) E-S-W-S-W , (2) N, (3) exit watery cavern east, then N-E, (4) N-W-W-N, (5) E-S-E, (6) S-W-N-W-S-E-N, (7) S (through door).
When you reach the buried temple on level 8, simply go to the altar of fire (look for lava), ready the orb, and use it (don't worry about the monster, it is just a statue). Repeat for the altars of earth (north), water (east), and gold (south). The astral spell is invoked, you get a message that you can now move in the ether, and you are done.
Once you have been prepared by the astral spell, you can fly over the central peaks of Wornoth, pass unharmed through the ethereal sea, and walk through the front door of the Iron Tower. Thanks to your ethereal deception, none of the tower denizens will bother you, unless provoked. To avoid starting fights, remember your ability to move diagonally. This is best, since the tower is filled with dragons.
Inside the Iron Tower there is a throne room, where sits the hand of Mordock, rather than the nightmare dreamer himself. There is also a larder of souls, a dark alchemy laboratory (usual wares), a chamber of horror, and a prison. The important denizens are the imprisoned SIXTH SEER, the GUARDIAN, and the GATEMASTER. The Seer has a luxurious cell separate from the main prison. He foresees your interaction with the guardian, and tells you to answer his question with "SOULS" (the larder is also a hint). He also hints you will have to use a spell or potion to break down some walls.
The guardian is at the exact east-west center of the tower, on its northern edge. Get to him, and answer his question as directed by the Seer. He will then summon the PHANTOM SHIP. Use the ship to reach the gatemaster, who will recite a verse asking for the pass phrase, which is "SROTCES EERF" (this can be learned, indirectly, from the Seers in CASTLE MODROSIA; it means "deathless evil" in the foul language of the wraith lords). After you give him the pass phrase, you are transported to the dungeon below.
The dungeon is simple, after defeating a few token guardian monsters at the entrance (plus a trap), you come to long ladder that leads straight down to level 8 (just keep hitting K). If you want to get right to Mordock, go west, and then north through a very long hallway, with a few doors, one trap, and one guard. Mordock is at the end of the hallway.
There is also a treasure room in the southwest corner of the level. If you like, you can plunder the treasure room, and then use the long ladder up, due north of the treasure room, to go back out without facing Mordock (also, as of this writing, you can use the surfacing stone). If you do choose to face Mordock, the game will be over, one way or another.
Mordock will attack with a powerful sword, one of two spells (STONE or MASSACRE), or his special attack, NIGHTMARE SWARM. The sword and spells are defended against in the usual way. Only heavily stacked defenses will have much effect, however. Enlightenment protects the party from NIGHTMARE SWARM the same way as a cleric's PROTECTION spells would (cleric spells do nothing against nightmare swarm).
The only way to harm Mordock is with either the SWORD OF LIGHT, or with a HOLY BLADE wielded by a paladin, combined with the blessing of the High Priest. The HOLY BLADE is about one third as effective as the SWORD OF LIGHT. All other attacks, including spells, will use a turn, but will have no effect.
If the party manages to defeat the nightmare dreamer, a brief conclusion to the story is displayed, and the game is over.
Because the source is open, if you know a little BASIC cheating is easy. In particular, you can break execution, perform manipulations from the FP prompt, and then resume playing. Here are a few hints on how to do this.
First of all, while Realm is waiting for input, you cannot break, since GET is used for all input. Therefore you have to rapidly hit Ctrl-C between inputs, and to do this, it may be necessary to slow down the emulator. Once you break, the easiest cheats are those which involve changing BASIC variables. For example, you can easily give yourself any spell. With a little more understanding, you can POKE your own values into the map buffer, allowing you to change the terrain, add or subtract monsters, etc.. Once finished cheating, you can usually use CONT to resume playing. If not, you can reset the stack and use HOME: GOTO 100. These techniques work best in proDOS.