Black Cauldron FAQ/Walkthrough [for DOS/WINDOWS]
Version 1.1.0
Copyright 2000 Andrew Schultz(schultza@earthlink.net)
_The Black Cauldron_ is copyright Sierra on Line(game), Disney(movie),
and Lloyd Alexander(book) too. This FAQ is not affiliated with them in
any ways. This is part of my throwing water into the ocean of documents
for people to remember old computer games.
AD SPACE
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762 = My home page
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/games/games.htm = My games page
http://members.fortunecity.com/cartographics = My maps page. One day I
hope to put a Black Cauldron color map there.
This is the first adventure game I've written a FAQ for. I wasn't able
to find another really in-depth one, and I liked the game(and the book
the movie that was based on it was based on) enough to give it a whirl.
I'd found myself asking some questions pretty frequently and can't
imagine that I'm the only person out there who's ever played old
computer games and read(re-read) Lloyd Alexander's series.
********************
OUTLINE:
CONTROLS
ITEMS
ROUGH TEXT MAP
BRIEF WALKTHROUGH
HOW POINTS ARE SCORED
HOW YOU DIE
HOW YOU'RE KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS
THE PEOPLE IN THE GAME
STRANGE STUFF
GAME VS. BOOK[SPOILERS]
CREDITS/VERSIONS
********************
INTRODUCTION
You are Taran, assistant Pig-Keeper at Caer Dallben. The Horned King
wants to steal the Black Cauldron, which changes skeletons into
deathless, man-like, emotionless warriors and will give him a huge army
to take over Prydain. To do so, he needs to capture Hen Wen, the
oracular pig, and force her to show him how. Your mission is to get Hen
Wen to King Eiddileg's Fair Folk realm and safety. Then you must do
what you can to destroy the Black Cauldron. Your mission takes you
through a maze in Eagle Mountain, the Horned King's castle, to the fairy
realm, and across the Morva Marsh.
CONTROLS
Keyboard(arrows, with diagonal directions home/page-up/page-down/end
corresponding to NW/NE/SE/SW) or joystick or number pad moves Taran
around.
= quit
= inventory
F1 = help
F2 = sound
F3 = toggle item you wish to use
F4 = use that item
So, for instance, to drink, push F3 and use the arrows to move to water.
Then push F4. You often want to have your item prepared in advance--for
instance, if you want to discourage the henchman.
F5 = save game[there are 12 name slots for this. I usually save with
points and a brief description]
F6 = perform an action. IF you're in front of a door, you'll open it.
If you are looking at an item, you can take it.
F7 = restore game
F8 = look around
F9 = restart game
Unlike most AGI games, this has no text interface. This cuts down on
possibilities and potential for difficult puzzles but can also cut down
on general confusion.
ITEMS
The items here are in the order presented in the AGI editor. Search
"AGI Editor" download to pick it off the web or see the link in the
credits. The format is: Item, where it is, what to do with it, and *-
"have you tried."
Nik Mayinger corrected a lot of errors I had when I originally dashed
this part off.
1. Knapsack
At Dallben's in the cupboard
Lets you carry unlimited items
2. Corn
By Hen Wen, in the shed on the west side
Feed to Hen Wen
* You can't eat it after giving Hen Wen the gruel.
* Gurgi will eat it, but you won't get points for it(Nik Mayinger)
3. Gruel
At Dallben's on the fire
Feed to Hen Wen
* Won't help your hunger after you feed Hen Wen the corn
* Gurgi will eat it, but you won't get points for it(Nik Mayinger)
4. Food wallet
Under the bridge SE of Caer Dallben
Use unlimited times when hungry
5. Bread
Find it in the Caer Dallben cupboard
Eat it to cure hunger
6. Water Flask
Get in the cupboard in Caer Dallben
Fill it with water
* Use it in a fast stream, and it gets ripped off by the current. You
may drown as well.
* The flask will turn up in calmer waters downstream. (Nik Mayinger)
7. Water
Pour water from a stream(F6) while using the water flask.
Use when you're thirsty--five or six uses
8. Apple
In the Caer Dallben cupboard
Give to Gurgi(or eat it to cure hunger)
* Eating apple and cookie means you can't make friends with Gurgi.
9. Cookies
In Gwystyl's cupboard
Cures hunger
* Eating apple and cookie means you can't make friends with Gurgi.
10. Rope
Dallben gives it to you after Hen Wen's Visit(Nik Mayinger)
Lets you climb the cliff north of Eagle Mountain's base
11. Dagger
Found pinned to a frowning tree west of Caer Dallben
Lets you break in through the window of the Horned King's castle
12. Magic Sword
Behind the secret door in the catacombs
You can stun the henchman with it, and then you trade it to Orddu,
Orwen, and Orgoch for the Cauldron
13. Harp
Fflewdurr gives this to you when you rescue him as gratitude.
Give to Eiddileg as a token so you can get the mirror and the flying
powder
14. Lute
This is found in the tree with a hole in it(Nik Mayinger)
Give to Eiddileg as a token so you can get the mirror and the flying
powder
* 1st time you use it, it's tuned(scales). Then it plays a song.
15. Flying Dust
Eiddileg gives this to you when you prove your friendship.
Use it to get out of the Fairy Kingdom, then to get to the Marshes
of Morva.
* You can't fly over the cliff/mazes to get to the castle(alas)
16. Keys
The henchman is guarding them, to the west of your cell and to the
north of where you climb out of the catacombs.
They open the door to your cell as well as Fflewdurr Fflam's.
17. Tin Cup
It's lying on a table in your jail cell.
Bang it against the door, and Eilonwy will try to visit you.
18. Magic Word
Gwystyl gives you this if you return Hen Wen safely.
Use it south of the waterfall. A rock will sink down, and you can
walk over it.
19. Magic Mirror
King Eiddileg gives it to you when you show you are friendly.
Show it to the Horned King for a chance at maximum ending points.
20. Book of Knowledge
The first thing the three witches offer you if Gurgi sacrificed his
life for you.
Accepting this with F6 will not help your score.
21. Pot of Gold
The second thing the three witches offer you if Gurgi sacrificed his
life for you.
Accepting this with F6 will not help your score.
22. Hero Shield
The first thing the three witches offer you if you turned the mirror
on the Horned King.
Accepting this with F6 will not help your score. Waiting will
resurrect Gurgi.
23. Suit of Armor
The second thing the three witches offer you if you turned the
mirror on the Horned King.
Accepting this with F6 will not help your score. Waiting will
return the magic sword.
24. Bread
You have 2/3 bread left.
You can eat it if you're starving.
25. Bread
You have 1/3 bread left.
You can eat it if you're starving.
ROUGH TEXT MAP
The map has been broken up into several parts. Available items are
indicated with a bracket.
CAER DALLBEN [you can cycle vertically but not horizontally. So the
stone fence is north of the waterfall, for example.]
+-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
| Soggy | | Trees and | | Lake | | Waterfall |
| Ground | | Diagonal | | (Eiddileg | | |
| | | River | | is under | | |
| | | | | here) | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
+-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
+-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
| Branches | | Birch tree | | Clearing | | Logs bound |
| That knock | | with knot | | (vine traps)| | on east |
| you over | | hole | | | | |
| | | (lute) | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
+-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
T M +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
o o | "No | | Trees, | |Caer Dallben | |Caer Dallben |
u | Diving" | | with river | |cottage-geese| |farmyard |
n | Split NE/SW | | in the SW | | (outside) | |(goat, Hen |
t | | | | | *enter | | Wen) [corn] |
a | | | | | inside* | | |
i | | | | | | | |
n +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
T 4 +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
o | "No | | River path | | River path | | River path |
T | Trespassing"| |**** ****| |**** | | **** |
r | | |**** ****| |********* | | **** |
e | [Dagger] | | ********* | | *********| | ******** |
e | | | ********* | | ****| |*****(bridge)|
s | | | | | | | [food]|
+-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
t
T r +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
o e | Next to | |Secret Glade | | Three trees | | Stone fence |
e | Morva | | (Gwystyl's) | | | | to west |
B / | | | | | | | |
l s | | | | | | | |
a w | | | | | | | |
c a | | | | | | | |
k m +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
p
SEPARATE PLACES:
+-------------+ +-------------+
|Caer Dallben | |Secret Glade |
|(Dallben) | | (Gwystyl's) |
|[bread,apple,| | [cookies] |
|gruel,flask, | | |
|rope,bread, | | |
|knapsack] | | |
+-------------+ +-------------+
vvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvv
South to Caer South to
Dallben-outside Secret Glade
OUTSIDE THE CASTLE:
+-------------+
| By castle |
| window |
| |
| (to front |
| of castle) |
| |
+-------------+
|
+-------------+
| Midway up |
| castle wall |
| |
+-------------+ +-------------+ | |
| |==|Castle proper| | |
| |==| | | |
| | +-------------+ +-------------+
| | /(up)
| | +-------------+
| Castle |==| South of |
| entry |==| moat |
+-------------+ | |
| |
| |
| |
+-------------+
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
+-------------+ +-------------+
|Left winding | |Right winding|
| path | | path |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
+-------------+ +-------------+
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
+-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
| Left cliff | | Dark | Dark | | Right cliff |
| face | | view | view | | face |
| |==| | |==| |
| |==| | |==| |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
+-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+
\ /
\ /
+-------------+
| Bottom of |
| cliff |
| |
| |
| |
| |
+-------------+
|
|
+-------------+
| Maze at foot|>
| of Eagle |>
| Mountain |>To
| |>"No diving"
| |>
| |>
+-------------+
|
|
+-------------+
|Four frowning|>
| Trees |>
| |>To Dagger/
| |>"No trespassing"
| |>
| |>
+-------------+
|
|
+-------------+
| Black tree |>
| and swamp |>
| |>To NE of
| |>Morva
| |>
| |>
+-------------+
INSIDE CASTLE, ABOVE GROUND
+-------+ +---------+ +---------+ +---------+ +-------+
|Parapet| | Front of| | Top of | |Tapestry | |Balcony|
|outside| | castle | |staircase| | room | | |
| |==| (window)|==| | | |==| |
| |==| |==| | | |==| |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
+-------+ +---------+ +---------+ +---------+ +-------+
|(up) | |
| | |
+---------+ +---------+ +-------+
|Middle of| | Storage | | Main |
|staircase| | space | | floor |
| |==| |==| |
| |==| |==| |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
+---------+ +---------+ +-------+
| |
| |
Bottom of +---------+
staircase | Wine |
(see below) | Cellar |
| (fall to|
| north of|
| trap |
| door) |
+---------+
| \
| \(Secret chute in
the east)
+---------+ +---------+ (To North of trap
door)
| Outside | | Entry |
| (see | | |
| above |==| |
| map) |==| |
| | | |
| | | |
+---------+ +---------+
INSIDE CASTLE, ONE LEVEL BELOW GROUND
+--------+ +--------+
| Middle | | Fflew- |
| of | | ddur's |
| Spiral | | cell |
| Stairs | | [harp] |
| (see | | |
| above) | | |
+--------+ +--------+
|| ||
+--------+ +--------+
| Bottom | | Patrol |
| of | |by cells|
| Spiral |==| |
| Stairs |==| |
| | | [keys] |
| | | |
+--------+ +--------+
||
||
+--------+ +--------+
| Jail | | |
|Corridor| | Your |
|(stairs |==| Cell |
| down)|==| |
| | | [tin |
| | | cup] |
+--------+ +--------+
INSIDE CASTLE, TWO LEVELS BELOW GROUND
+--------+
| Burial |
| room |
| [magic |
| sword] |
| |
| |
+--------+
|
+--------+ +--------+ +--------+
| Loose | | Fallen | |North of|
| Bricks | | beam | | trap |
| |==| |==| door |
| |==| |==| |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
+--------+ +--------+ +--------+
| |
+--------+ +--------+ +--------+ +--------+
| Corner | |Gargoyle| |Eilonwy | |Cauldron|
| Room | | head | | (trap | | room |
| |==|(stairs |==| door) |==| |
| |==| up)|==| |==| |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
+--------+ +--------+ +--------+ +--------+
MARSHES OF MORVA (west of secret glade)
+--------+ +--------+ +--------+
|Cauldron| | Cottage| | Outside|
| Storage| | Room | | Cottage|
| |==|(trunk) |--| |
| |==| |--| |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
+--------+ +--------+ +--------+
BRIEF WALKTHROUGH
*=not necessary, but neat.
NOTE: at some points during the game, you will get hungry/thirsty.
Just select F3 for the food and F4 to use it. Also, calm streams are a
good source of water. Select the water flask[F3] and then F4. You will
have an item, "water," in your inventory that you use[F3/F4] so you are
not thirsty.
From Dallben's cottage:
W, N, F6 at tree knothole, F6 to get lute, S, E
F6 at the door to open it
Enter the door
F6 by the fire to get the gruel
F6[5x] by the cupboard to open it, get the apple, bread, rope and
knapsack. F6 to close it again if you'd like,
*F6 to Dallben for instructions.
Leave the cottage and go east.
*Go to the corn shed, F6 opens it, and F6 gets the corn
F6 at Hen Wen's pen. F3 to select corn or gruel, and F4 outside her
"kennel." She will walk out.
S, and on east side of bridge, F6 to search for wallet, and F6 to pick
it up. [I recommend getting water here, with F3 on the flask and F4]
N and E.
F6 to go back to Dallben's. Hen Wen will start to follow you around.
[There are three ways to get Hen Wen to safety. You can get her
captured and rescue her from the castle, or you can go to Gwystyl's.
This walkthrough is about going to Gwystyl's.
N, W, N, N.
You are now by Gwystyl's secret glade. N, E, N, W, N, E and you will
find his hidden house.
F6 at cupboard. F6 to get cookies. F6 to close it. Leave to the
south. Go south again to the glade and exit. W,S,E,S,W,S. Now head to
the bottom of the screen.
W, N, F6 to read notice, and F6 to get dagger, N, W.
In the mountain maze, go WNWNWNWNENWN. Just go as far as you can in the
lateral direction and then as far north as you can and you'll make it.
F3(rope) and F4. It may take a few times hitting F4 but the rope will
hook. Which way it heads is random. Push F6 once the rope catches.
Then go diagonally up(left or right)...
The cliffs are not too tough to navigate but save to make sure. Use F6
to get a hold on the cliffs.
N to the winding road.
N through the winding road. You'll face a moat to the north next. The
four alligators look tough, but you just need to move diagonally and it
should not be hard at all.
(Nik Mayinger points out that you can go west from the moat and push F6
to get into the henchman's cart if it is there, and you still can get
maximum points that way. If it is not, just exit and come back later.
If it is, just get in and proceed. You will get caught if you try to
pass the guard or get out of the cart(F6) too early once in the castle.)
F3 the dagger for later.
F6 to get a hold of the wall. Save your game here so boulders don't
land on you. There are several ways to get to the top but I like going
north from the center and then going diagonally up left. You want to
reach the window(yellow) and hit F4 so your dagger breaks it. That will
put you inside the castle. Since you've rescued Hen Wen, you can turn
yourself in. Let the henchman catch you.If not, you should execute the
following sequence:
****
F2(turns sound on--circumvent bug in the game as otherwise you won't
have time to rescue Hen Wen). E, E, E. F6 after Hen Wen shows a
thought bubble. Approach Hen from below(makes it easier to escape
Creeper) and F6 to take her.
W. W. Climb stairs(be careful! At the very top, you can fall easily!)
W, W, F6(throws Hen Wen from the balcony) and get caught. (Nik Mayinger
reminded me that you will need to pick up your items from the closet
west of the throne room if you choose this route.)
****
At the table, F6 to pick up the cup, F3 to the cup and F4 at the door.
The rattling will slide open a panel. Fall through it.
W, W, N, go to rectangles on the back wall.
F6(5x) creates a passage. Approach the king. F6 takes the sword. F3
the sword.
S. S. N. F6 at the gargoyle and climb up.
N here, but you might want to go a bit W first. This will allow you
more time to use the sword on the guard with F4. Go to the keys, hit
F6, and go to the door at the north(F4 on the guard again if necessary!)
F3(keys), F4(the door), and enter the door. F6 around the man in
chains, and he(Fflewdurr) will give you his harp. F3(sword).
S, W, U, E, S, S, F4(at the crank on the west side), W.
Go E at the bottom of the screen, and remember which way you tossed the
rope. Go south on that side of the screen(if you don't remember, pick a
side, go south, and see if there is a rope tied. Or you may be doing a
lot of extra cliff climbing!) Hit F6 at the rope, go diagonally down,
and land. Retrace your way through the maze and go back to two south of
Dallben's(E, E, E, S, S) and wait for Gurgi to appear. If he doesn't
duck quickly out and in.
F3(apple), F4 when Gurgi is around you.
If Hen Wen got caught, follow the advice below the first pair of
asterisks. If not, follow the advice below the second pair.
****
S, go to footprints, F6 as follows--E,E,S,E,N,E, and you will fall
through to Eiddileg's.
****
S, and head to the south part of the screen. Go all the way east, F3
the magic word, and F4. The rock will lower--cross it, but don't get
too close to the waterfall. Keep pushing east and north until you are
in a dark cave, then go all the way east. You'll fall into the hole.
****
From there, F6, and then F3 the lute and F4. Eiddileg will give you a
mirror and dust. F3 the dust and F4. Go up to escape. From either
location go north one and west all the way to Morva.
F3(dust). F4 and go west to cross the swamp. Wait for it to wear off,
then hit F6 at the door.
F3(sword). F6 to open trunk and let the frogs out. F6 when the witches
appear. F4 a bit after. [Note: You can also hit F4 after the witches
appear. A cauldron will come flying from the left. You must face left
and hit F4 just before it hits you or you will be turned into a frog.
Then F3 the magic sword and F4 to give it to the witches. If you do you
get the same points as if you'd given it to them right away. You can
also F6 to talk, F3 the mirror and F4 to give the witches the mirror,
but only the sword will get you the cauldron. Thanks to Sashanan for
these hints.]
Exit cottage. Hit F6 around the cauldron and listen to the witches.
Wait for the gwythaint to swoop.
Go back to the Horned King's castle. Enter via the front gate if you
can, but if not, cross the moat.
There are two ways to win(live body in the cauldron, or the mirror).
The second gives maximum points:
****
Go to the bottom of the spiral staircase. E. F6 at the grate, then F6,
and you'll fall into the balcony. From the east edge hit f6.
****
Alternatively, you can fall in the cauldron if you haven't fed Gurgi.
If you have he will jump in for you.
****
You can jump south from the balcony and use the mirror on the Horned
King.
****Finally, from the castle entrance, go north. East behind the second
barrel is a garbage-chute. If you go south and east from where you
land, the cauldron will be there. Have the mirror ready--the Horned
King is fast.
****Just wait when the witches offer you stuff. The last option is
always the best although on re-playing it it's cool to see what the
other choices do.
HOW POINTS ARE SCORED
5 - Feed Hen Wen
[You may feed her the corn or the gruel]
4 - Find secret house in bushes
20 - Bring Hen Wen to the secret house
5 - Get through mountain maze
5 - Toss rope across the cliff
6 - Successfully navigate the ledges
5 - Get by the crocodiles
[swim diagonally to fake them out]
18 - Climb up the castle wall successfully
[avoid the smooth grey spots and you'll be all right.]
[alternative entry by henchman's cart also gets you 18 points.
Thanks to Nik Mayinger.]
20 - Rescue Hen Wen from the castle
[throw her over the railing on the far west side]
6 - Knock on your prison door with the tin cup
[alternatively, if you fall through the garbage chute, you get 6
points.]
10 - Fall through the trap-door
10 - Search wall and make a hole you can walk through
8 - Get the sword
8 - Get keys
9 - Free Fflewdurr
13 - Leave castle
10 - Give Gurgi the apple
13 - Find Eiddileg's secret chambers(by mistake)
10 - Give the lute to Eiddileg
10?- Give the secret word to Eiddileg
15 - Find the witches' cottage in the Marshes of Morva [either by flying
or jumping. Thanks to Sashanan for pointing out that you can jump--go
to the marsh with the rocks, top of the screen, and go WSESESSW on the
rocks.]
18 - Offer sword to witches
So far, so good. But there are three endings:
[30-You enter the Black Cauldron, not having made friends with Gurgi]
[20-Jump into the cauldron yourself, but Gurgi goes in your place]
[15-You ask witches to resurrect Gurgi, i.e. wait]
[25-Show the mirror to the Horned King]
[15-You ask witches for the magic sword back, i.e. wait]
HOW YOU DIE
--If you are thirsty/hungry and do not drink/eat after a third warning,
you may die unexpectedly
--Fall off a mountain ledge while climbing or walking or using rope
--Fall off the winding path
--Fall off the stairs
--Walk into the Morva Marsh
--Walk into swiftly flowing rapids
--Swim beneath waterfall
--Don't bother to swim in a river
--Let Hen Wen tell the Horned King how to get the Black Cauldron
--The henchman catches you in the castle after you've been locked up
--You get too close to the gwythaint with your sword(Nik Mayinger)--
without the sword, you are just captured
--You jump too early from the balcony
--Horned King's assistant or henchman catches you stealing Hen Wen
--You are eaten by crocodiles as you cross the moat--often precipitated
by slipping on smooth stones or being hit by a boulder
--You fall off the stairs a good distance
--You swing your sword at Orddu, Orwen, and Orgoch before talking to
them(F6) and wait around
--You fall off the winding path to the castle
--Horned King catches you by the cauldron(which is strange--he doesn't
kill you before putting you in. But Nik Mayinger notes that you're
toast if you don't enter ther cauldron willingly.)
--Jump in the cauldron before the gwythaint takes it away(or at the
Horned King's without Gurgi around. But you still technically "win"
then!)
--Walk north off moat bridge(you drown in the waters)
--Walk south off moat bridge(the alligators are merciless)
--You fill your flask with the poisoned water around the Horned King's
castle and drink it(thanks to Sashanan for this one!)
HOW YOU'RE KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS
- Gurgi runs into you
- You fall into Eiddileg's kingdom
- The goat in Caer Dallben runs into you
- You fall a short way off the stairs
- You fall a short way from the rope on the mountain
- Eilonwy opens the trap door and you fall through it
- Fall down the garbage chute by wine cellar
THE PEOPLE AND OTHERS IN THE GAME
Dallben--the man in charge at Caer Dallben. He asks you, as your first
task, to feed Hen Wen.
Hen Wen--the oracular pig, whom you must feed and protect from the
Horned King.
Gurgi--a cross between a wolf and a man who seems to have gotten the
worst traits of both. In the book, anyway. He's a lot cuter in the
game.
Eilonwy--a princess of an ancient line of spellcasters who is trapped
under the Horned King's dungeons. She has a magic bauble which provides
light.
Fflewddur Fflam--he is tied up in one of the Horned King's jail cells.
Horned King--sits on his throne, then is at the cauldron
Creeper--Horned King's Assistant. Brings Hen Wen to the Horned King so
that she may prophecy.
Gwythaint-big ugly birds who spy and capture for the Horned King. One
is chained outside the throne room as well.
Henchman--appears at random and can be stunned with the sword. You can
also hide from him behind the tapestries on the upper level, in the
cart, or in the nook inside the drawbridge(Nik Mayinger)--I found that
you can hide behind barrels as well, and you can often use barriers to
confuse him. You're as fast as he is in any one direction, except in
the hall around Fflewdurr Fflam's cell, i.e. if you are horizontally
aligned with him and go up, you will be caught.
Eiddileg--king of the Fair Folk.
STRANGE STUFF
--If you cross the swamp via the stones before seeing Eiddileg, the
trunk is locked. (Nik Mayinger)
--If you rattle the tin cup in the prison without having gotten caught,
nothing happens. (Nik Mayinger)
--Hen Wen can fit through the small hole in the crypt if you rescue her
from the castle and then fall into the garbage chute.
--You can, if you are quick with the F3, F4 and return buttons, give not
only the lute but also the harp to King Eiddileg. This gives you the
potential for 240 out of 230 points. (Sashanan)
--In the cell, if you go directly west after you're put there, you can
get to the door while it still opens, but you'll be stuck there a second
or two before it closes.
--Other temporal anomalies include talking to Eiddileg before he talks
to you
--Having sound off while on the balcony causes Hen Wen to tell the
Horned King about the cauldron right away. An unfair bug.
--You can step on the VERY edges of the swamp, but don't push it.
--Swing the sword around Dallben, and he tells you it's a nice sword,
but be careful!
--"By allowing the pig and yourself to be captured, the Horned King has
won!"
--The man with the cleaver doesn't seem to *do* anything, actually.
--You can't jump in the cauldron after the gwythaint appears but before
it takes the cauldron. The story just says that it's too strong for
you.
--You can make Hen Wen jump across the bridge with the food wallet by
skirting it.
--You can get stuck in flying mode, and you'll have to use the powder
again to undo the trick.
GAME VS. BOOK[MAY BE EXTREME SPOILERS]
I've never seen the movie, but this game is a conglomeration of the
first two books in Lloyd Alexander's wonderful Tales of Prydain. They
are called, respectively, _The Book of Three_(labeled [1]) and _The
Black Cauldron_(labeled [2]). Elements of both books are blended pretty
well into this game, and it was fun to see what the game authors
interpreted each character with the limited canvas VGA graphics
afforded. As for the plot....
In the game, Coll is nowhere to be seen. Pity, I liked him in the book.
In the book[1], Coll dubs Taran "Assistant Pig-Keeper" and is the one,
instead of Dallben, who gives Taran orders.
In the book[1], when Taran goes to feed Hen Wen, she escapes into the
forest in fear of the Horned King.
In the game, Hen Wen is captured by a gwythaint along with Taran, who is
taking her for a stroll.
In the book[2], the Cauldron has actually been taken AWAY from Arawn
Death-Lord(who was the Horned King's mentor) by the three witches(they
had struck a bargain earlier) and Dallben has called for its
destruction.
In the game, the Horned King is looking for the Cauldron and gets it.
In the book[1], Taran is actually captured by Cauldron-Born and thrown
in a dungeon in Spiral Castle. Achren, an evil witch who once ruled
Prydain, is responsible.
In the game, it's just the generic henchman. And the Horned King is the
only -really- bad guy in the game. But there are annoying spiral
staircases in the Horned King's castle, although Spiral Castle was not
surrounded by a moat.
In the book[1], Eilonwy rescues Fflewdurr Fflam mistakenly. He keeps
his harp for a while, too, and joins Eilonwy and Taran.
In the game, Taran rescues him. Fflewdurr gives Taran the harp in
gratitude and runs off.
In the book[1], Eilonwy finds the magic sword. In addition, she does
not let Taran have it, because he is not "of royal blood." And she does
not desert Taran. They also fall down a slope to get in there.
In the game, Taran finds the sword and has to use it. Eilonwy deserts
him once he gets to the sword room. The sword room is behind a wall.
In the book[1], Gurgi is given the magic wallet of food at the end.
In the game, it's under a bridge. Gurgi won't eat from it, only apples
and cookies.
In the book[2], the witches seem neutral, although they are as nice as
they try to be to Taran. The Cauldron is traded for a brooch, and it is
dragged back to Prydain.
In the game, the witches are much nastier. The Cauldron is traded for a
sword and taken by a gwythaint.
In the book[1], the Horned King is defeated in battle by Gwydion(not the
guy from King's Quest III), who has learned his name from Hen Wen.
In the game, the Horned King is killed by Taran's efforts or Gurgi's,
depending on the ending.
In the book[2], the Cauldron is destroyed by someone jumping in it.
In the game, Taran can destroy the cauldron by jumping in it to "win,"
but that does not get the maximum points scored.
CREDITS/VERSIONS
CONTRIBUTORS
Sashanan(sashanan@hetnet.nl)
Nik Mayinger
ArtOfCc@aol.com
Thanks to everyone who has written to me about this game.
bhlegend.com which featured this game for download.
1.0.0 Originally started 9/23/2000 and sent to GameFAQs on 10/4/2000.
1.0.1 Written 10/23. Added information from
Sashanan(sashanan@hetnet.nl) including 2 tips about the witches(giving
the mirror and swinging the sword at the cauldron), jumping over stones
in Morva, and drinking poisoned water from the moat. Edited some stuff.
1.1.0 Written 6/8/2001. Added information from Sashanan again(240 out
of 230 points trick) and a bunch of stuff from Nick Mayinger, including
a new way to get into the castle and a lot of boo-boos in my items
section(ArtOfCc also spotted the error about the harp.)
Thanks to members.nbci.com/agi_sci where I downloaded Peter Kelly's AGI
editor.
Complete Points List
5 Give bowl to pig.
4 Take flute.
20 Give pig to fary.
10 Give apple to creature.
13 Get into faries' cave.
10 Give lute to faries' king.
5 Get out of rock maze.
5 Pass rope.
6 Climb rocks.
5 Pass chasms.
18 Get into castle.
6 Find hole in floor.
10 Get to basment.
10 Enter berrial chamber.
8 Take sword.
9 Release man.
13 Leave castle.
15 Get to middle of swamp.
18 Give sword to witches.
25 Show mirror to king.
15 Get sword.
230 Total, Out of
230 Possible
===============================================================================
This File have been written by Avi Machness.
for corrections / additions / comments please contact
me at: Machness@surfree.net.il
Note: if you have points lists for any quest,
or can give me more points for this one,
please contact me ASAP.
Thanks, Avi
by Trace Haeggstrom
5/26/86
The way this solution text is written in such that you can
use it to help yourself when you've come to a major difficulty
and don't know what else to do. The clues start out as slight
clues and then if you still can't figure it out then read the
next clue. It is much more rewarding when you've figured out
the game yourself without any help, but when you get to the
point of giving up then look at these clues.
There are more than one way to finish this game and do
certain things, so once you do it this way listed below you
might want to try it again a little differently.
Also there are many dangers to watch out for that I'm not
going to warn you about. But once they happen to you you will
be wise to them and won't let them happen again.
The first thing you need to do before you even start the
adventure is get the instructions and read which button makes
you do the different functions, this is inportant so that if
you need to do someting fast that you can do it quickly.
It is also very inportant that you save your games as
you go along so that if you die, and I know you will, then
you don't have to start from the very beginning.
Also I have not checked this out for spelling so if anyone
sees an error then go ahead and change it for me.
Good luck
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #1
The first clue is to go into the cottage and get everything
that isn't nailed down. And talk to the old man and he will
give you instructions on what to do next.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #2
Now if you've done what Dallben told you to do then you
should of ended up back in the cottage if you followed Hen Wen.
There is another big clue in there for you if you are there
in the cottage. So then just try to do what the image tells you
to do.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #3a
If you can't find the safe house that Gwystyl tends then
look at the map and there is a thick brush area just below
the river widest part of the river. Try there and you should
have a little more luck. Then from there you will encounter
another inportant clue.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #3b
If Hen Wen was stollen from you by a Gwythaints then you
will have to go up to the horned kings castle to get her back.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #4
The next thing to do is to try to get youself up to the
castle. If you use the map that came with the game it is
in the same spot on the map as in the game. There is a
little bit of a maze in the rocks to work youself through
but it's not too bad.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #5
If you found your way through the rocks and just can't
figure out how to go any further then just throw the thing
that Dallben gave you as you left the cottage with Hen Wen.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #6
Once your up to the top of the rope then you have to climb
up the rock face in front of you. You best save your game
before you try it. There is a little bit of back and forth
movements needed to get up so keep trying.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #7
The next hard part is to cross the water where the
aligators are. It is not as hard as it looks so go ahead
and try it. Once your on the little ledge then there's only
one way to go.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #8
If your on the side of the wall and can't get any further
then you need to use the knife that was back in the black
forest to cut the vines to expose the window. Then you can
go on in.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #9
Now your job is an easy one. You try to get caught by the
henchman. You can look around the castle a little bit first
if you wish but you will soon need to be caught to continue
any further.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #10
Once your in the dungeon there is a cup there on the table.
This part I'm sure nobody has had any trouble with because it
is so natural what to do with the cup. But if you don't know
just try using it over at the door. Then your secret exit will
appear.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #11
Now you need to look all around this area that you are in
to see where the next move is to be. If you keep a close eye
on the flying bubble it will go into the wall at one place
in the tunnels. This is an inportant place to investigate
so don't leave until you have.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #12
If you are stuck under the dungeons still then go over to
where the ladder is and turn the gargoil's head on the wall
and you will see your exit.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #13
Now you must use your sword whenever the henchman gets
near you. The keys on the wall are also some help to you
if you can figure out where to use them, not a real hard
problem to figure out. Also before you leave the castle you
should find all the thing that the henchman took from you
when he caught you.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #14
If you can't find the stuff the henchman took from you then
look in the closet next to the kitchen.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #15
To get out of the castle you will need to use your mighty
sword and cut the chains on the drawbridge.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #16
Now you need to get youself back down to the flatland and
over to the water fall to use something that Gwystyl gave you
when you left Hen Wen at the safehouse. If you use this
certain thing at the waterfall you will see a secret way to
go.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #17
Keep walking around in the cave and you will soon fall.
Then there will be a real need for one of two things. Either
of these items will be able to play music so if you have one
of them then be ready to use it. First carry on the
conversation that comes up and on a certain cue play the
musical item.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #18
If you got out of the cave with the things that king
Eiddileg will give you then you need to go over to the marsh
land and try to get over to the little cottage across the
marsh. There is an easy way to get across and there is a
hard way. If you didn't get anything from king Eiddileg then
it's going to be the hard way, you jump across the rocks and
floating stumps in the water. If you got the stuff from king
Eiddileg then use the most logical one of them there by the
edge of the marsh, try using both things if you can't figure
it out.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #19
Once you've crossed the marsh and entered the cottage
you will have probably already opened the chest to see what's
in it. Then the witches would have appeared to you and if
you didn't do the right thing then they turned you into a frog.
If you are ready to use the sword after they talk to you then
they will take that in exchange for the black cauldron. If you
use the sword too soon then they will start throwing the other
cauldrons at you.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #20
If you jumped into the cauldron then you made the wrong
move because you just killed youself and ended the game.
There is a way to win without killing youself.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #21
After the Gwythaints has taken the cauldron then it's back
up to the horned king's castle again to find it. The way up is
the same as before so there should be no problem there.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #22
If you get into where the horned king is with the black
cauldron and you're up on the ledge and jumped then you once
again made the wrong move. there is a way to finish without
having to die at all.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #23
Go down to where the underground tunnels are below the
dungeons and then you will see the horned king eye to eye
and you will be able to make him see his real self if you
use the right thing and he will take the big jump himself.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #24
If you still can't figure out what you need to do to kill
the horned king then use the other item that you got from
Eiddileg king of the fair folk. If you don't have it then you
better go get it. Make sure you are ready to use it quickly
when you walk into the room that the horned king is in with
the cauldron.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #25
Your close to the end and you might even have already ended
the game and still didn't get the full points on your score.
If you want the full score you need to bargain with the witches
at the end. Remember that they said that they love to bargain.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLUE #26
If you still haven't figured out how to bargain with the
witches then just don't do anything at the end and they will
keep uping the trade until they finally give you back the sword
and then the game will end and you'll live happily ever after.
Well, here is the long-awaited solution for The Black
Cauldron. There are many alternative routes to an ending,
but there is only ONE correct way to get all 230 points.
One more thing...since B.C. uses mostly the joystick or
the special commands instead of text, here are the
commands:
|F1| Sound On/Off
|F2| Display DO/USE/LOOK Menu
|F3| Save Current Game
|F4| USE Object Selected On Status Screen
|F5| RESTORE A Saved Game
|F6| DO Something [talk,enter,exit,open,etc...]
|F7| RESTART The Game
|F8| LOOK At Area Or Object From Status Screen
[TAB] Display STATUS Screen
[ESC] PAUSE Game
[CNTRL]-J Install Joystick
[RETURN] Returns To Game From Status Screen
[HELP] Displays Help Screen
Type in 'SLOW' Slows The Game Speed
Type in 'NORMAL' Sets The Default Game Speed
Type in 'FAST' Speeds The Game Up
Keyboard Movement:
_______ _____________
|7|8|9| |NW | N |NE |
------- -------------
|4|5|6| --===> | W | | E |
------- -------------
|1|2|3| |SW | S |SE |
------- -------------
So now, there will be no questions about what command you
are supposed to do! Whenever a sentence does not say which
command to use, try 'DO' first, 'USE' second. To USE an
item, hit [TAB], move the high lighter to the desired item,
and then hit [RETURN] or push the joystick button. Now
when you select USE, that item will be done. If using 'DO'
does not work, try 'USE'. The reverse is also true.
SOLUTION
========
Before the Castle:
------------------
Well Assistant Pig-Keeper, go inside the house, and talk
with Dallben. Grab the pot from the fire, and empty out
the cupboard on its right. Exit the house, and go East.
Enter the pigpen, and feed the pot of gruel to Hen-Wen.
When she splits for the house, tag along. Go inside again,
and watch the fun little pictures. Take the rope, and
leave the house. Go South, and then East to the bridge.
On the bridge screen, when you first appear, don't make any
movements, and count to twenty. If a gwythaint appears,
RESTART the game (What's a gwythaint you ask? Believe me,
if one appears, you'll know it). It will go after Hen-Wen,
bringing her to the Horned King. You will not be able to
get all 230 points easily if she is captured, so its best
just to RESTART. If none appear, walk over to the right
side of the bridge, and search around. Grab the Food
Wallet, and WALK BACK TO HEN-WEN! Pigs don't swim, so if
you kept walking, you'd lose her! Go with her across the
bridge, and then go South, West, and West again. You should
now be on a screen full of bushes. To get through the
thicket, stand behind the stones, then go behind the bush
east and behind the stones. Walk to the east end of the
bush, and head North until your feet are at a blue-colored
bush. Go West young man, toward the center of the screen.
Tah-Dah! Open the door, and go inside with Hen-Wen. Chat
for a bit with Gwystyl, and you'll get The Magic Word. Go
to the cabinet next to the secret passage, and open it.
Grab the cookies, and then leave. You will have to go
find a gift for the King, so while in the thicket, go west
until there is a clear area to the North. Go North, and
then cross the river. Go North again, and look into the
hole in the tree. You will find a Lute, and then USE it
twice. That was nice, wasn't it? Back to the game...go
North, and then East. Walk along the southern edge of the
lake, while going East. On the waterfall screen, walk
along the southern edge of the lake again, and go as far
East as possible. When you are next to the rock, use the
Magic Word. The rock will drop, and you can walk across it
to the grey cave area to the right of the waterfall. You
will drop down into the caves of the Fair Folk. Talk a bit
with the King, and then offer him the lute. He will give
you some Flying Dust, and a Magic Mirror. Use a little of
the dust, and fly out of the cave. Once outside, use the
Magic Word again, and walk back across the rock. Now for
the hard part...you'll have to find a little furry guy
named Gurgi, and feed him to make him friendly. He is
never in the same place twice, so you'll have to hunt for
the little bugger. He can be anywhere in a one-screen
radius from the waterfall (including it, of course), so you
will just have to hunt around for him. When you catch up
with him, feed him an apple or a cookie. UNTIL YOU FIND
HIM, YOU CANNOT GO ON TO THE NEXT SECTION!!!
The Road To The Castle:
-----------------------
Now that you've found Gurgi (If you didn't, you cannot get
all 230 points!) and fed him, making him your friend, you
must raid the castle of the Horned King. Return to the
waterfall screen, 'cause that's the easiest place to give
directions from. At the waterfall, go North twice (don't
cross the bridge), and West three times. Pull the dagger
out of that freaky tree, but ignore the 'NO TRESPASSING'
sign. Go West, and then North to the rock maze. This is
another area which takes some tricky maneuvering to get
through. First, go behind the boulders at the bottom-right
of the screen. Move towards the right of the screen, until
you think you have reached the 'V' in the next row of
boulders (you should be totally hidden). Go as far forward
as you can, then west until you reach the 'V' in the third
row of boulders. Go forward again, and then left. Go
forward and left again, until you are behind the boulder to
the farthest left. Go forward as far as you can go, then
go right to the center of the screen. Go forward towards
the dead tree in the center of the screen, and you have
arrived! Now, use the rope, and you will be able to scale
the cliff. Remember to go diagonally, or you'll do your
Humpty Dumpty imitation. Once at the top, you will be
faced with a rather nasty looking series of ledges. This
is yet another maze screen, but with different directions.
There are also two screens of this type, each a mirror
image of the other. From the rope, walk west until you
reach the edge of the cliff. Walk towards the far wall,
and then climb up it. Go west as far as you can, and then
climb down. Walk west to the edge again, and climb up on
the wall once more. Climb up to the highest ledge to the
right, and go above it. Climb down, and you will be on a
VERY tricky ledge. Carefully walk to the right edge of it,
and then climb up on the wall again. Go up and right, and
then drop down to the end of the cliffs! Wah-lah! Walk
off the screen to the right, and check out the castle.
Cool, eh? But, you must press onward...by going forward.
There is another set of twin screens, each with a twisty
pathway on it. Type 'SLOW', which will slow the game, and
then walk very carefully. Once you reach the end of the
path, type 'NORMAL'. Go forward, and you will see the only
passible portion of the moat. [Once in a while, an evil
dude will pull up to the drawbridge, at the screen to the
west of this area. Jump into his wagon, and enter with him
into the castle, but jump out fast or he will see you.]
At the moat, wait until the gators are at the sides of the
screen, and none of them are in between you and the wall.
Swim across, and if there are no gators in between you will
be able to out swim them. Or, just dodge around them until
you get through. At the wall, go forward to the next
screen. Go climb up the wall, while not going over the
light colored stones, and also avoiding the rocks thrown at
you by the bad guys. Go up to the next screen, where a lot
of vines have grown. Keep dodging boulders and light
colored stones, and go over the yellow rectangle. Select
the DAGGER, and then cut the vines away. A window will
open up, which will allow you to go...
Inside The Palace Of The Horned King:
-------------------------------------
Welcome to the most unfriendly place you could go beside
Lybia. The guards will constantly be chasing after you if
spotted, but the hanging tapestries provide enough cover so
that the guards will not be able to see you, and then
leave. Or, since you run at the same speed, you could
simply out move them. But, when you first enter the castle,
it helps more to let yourself get captured!!! Just wait for
a guard to show up, and walk into him. You will be taken
to the high point of the castle--the dungeon! After being
put in jail (do not pass go, do not collect $200), grab the
tin cup, and bang it against the door. Some spazzy chick
will open a secret door in the floor, and you might as well
get out any way possible. After you know where the door
is, you can open it whenever you get thrown into jail by
those spaced-out guards. Once in the under-dungeon tunnels
(nice place, eh?), go West twice, North, and North again.
Take a look at the dude there, and then grab his sword.
GUARD THIS SWORD WITH YOUR MISERABLE EXISTENCE. Hit [TAB],
and select it. Whenever a guard gets too close, USE it.
The girl will slip out a door you can't use, so keep
looking! Go South twice, and then East. Turn the gargoyle
candelabra, and go through the newly opened secret door!
When you get up there, go to the other gargoyle at the far
left, and turn it again. We don't want to go falling into
a hole now, do we? While still at the far left, go North.
The guard will pop instantly, so USE the sword quickly.
After boinking him upside the noggin, grab the keys off of
the right wall. If the guard wakes up, bop 'im again! You
have to unlock the door to the North (you'll have to un-
select the sword though), and unlock the chains holding
the bard, Fflewddur Fflamm. In his gratitude, he'll give
you another musical instrument, a harp. He'll exit the
castle (how, even I don't know), and you should walk out as
well. Back at the guarded room, you have to go West to a
flight of stairs. If the guard gets to close, you know
what to do (ka-whack!). Go up the stairs. About halfway
up, if you have followed these directions to the letter,
you should be thirsty. Hit [TAB], and USE the Water. You
might as well eat something as well. Continue up the
stairs, and then go East. There is a small door on this
screen, in which all your confiscated stuff is. Open the
closet door, and grab your gear. You'll have to re-select
the Sword at this point. Ignore that chained gwythaint,
because if you get too close, it'll catch you like a guard!
Go through the South door, into the wine cellar (hic!).
Go directly South, or else a guard will pop up if you take
too much time. You should now be at the drawbridge control
room. Stand next to the chain and winch, and USE the sword
to Ginsu the chain. The drawbridge will drop, and now you
are on your way to...
The Marshes Of Morva:
---------------------
To get down from the Horned King's castle, just reverse the
directions you used to get up there in the first place.
When you get to the end of the boulders, go South twice.
USE the Flying Dust, and go South across the Marsh. Once
over dry land again, USE the Dust again for a landing
(landing lights not necessary). Get your Magic Sword ready
before you open the door and enter the hut. Go inside, and
open the chest. Ignore the previous adventurers/frogs, and
wait for the witches to appear. Talk to them a for a
little bit, and when they say they will turn you into a
frog, USE your sword. Ahhh...the Cauldron at last! Alas,
if you wish to get all 230 points, you must simply wait for
a gwythaint to come and swipe it. Depressing, wasn't that?
You must now trudge off to the Horned King's castle again
to get rid of both him and the Cauldron.
The Battle For The Black Cauldron:
----------------------------------
You now are returning to the once Good castle for the last
time. Instead of going past the gators and climbing the
wall, go west from the moat screen to the now open
drawbridge. Go North, into the wine cellar again (double
hic!). There is a secret passage between the second and
third kegs on the right. Walk between them, and keep going
right after the text says you found a passage. You'll do
a Star Wars imitation, going right down the garbage chute.
After falling, you will now be in those lovely little
tunnels under the dungeon level. Hit [TAB] and ready the
Magic Mirror you got from the King if the Fairy Folk. Go
South, and then East. The Horned King will be in here,
making some truly bizarre home brew (actually, he'll be
making an army of invulnerable, un-dead soldiers). When you
drop in un-announced, he'll get a bit peeved, and go after
you. USE the mirror, and the horror of what he sees will
make him take a swim in the Cauldron. YECH! You don't
wanna think about what is in that pot now! The walls will
crumble, but you'll be safe on a floating log. Enjoy the
ride (Black Cauldron flume ride-no tickets necessary.),
until you find yourself on the same screen as that stupid
Cauldron again!!! The witches will offer you all sorts of
junk, but ignore ALL of it. You'll get your sword back,
and then you'll reach...
start: go to the door and press f6,open door,enter the door and go
to the cupboard,pres f6,take knapsack,press f6,take apple,press f6,
take bread,f6,take waterbottle,now go to the fire,f6,take gruell/leave the room
and go east,go to the shed and f6,open ched,f6,get corn,go to the gate and f6,
open gate,press tab key and go to the gruell,f4 to feed the pig hen wen
with the gruell,now alk wst back to the house,go to the door and f6,open the
door and enter,go to the bowl and wait,now u get a rope,leave the room with
the pig,outside the house you go north,there comes a big bird and get u
and henwen,you must return to this point when u free,(2 x south),then go west,
go to the tree and f6,gert lute,go west,n,n,n,f6,get dagger,e,press tab key,
go to waterflask,f4, u fill u flask with water,s,there is a house in the
bushes,search the undergroundhouse,f6,open door and enter,go to cupboard and
f6,get cookies,leave house,s,w,(morva marsh),n,n,n,(eagle mountain),start
at the right from the screen to walk trough the rocks,when walk rocks go n,
get the rope and press key 7 and then F2,now u climb the rope,climb rocks,
after climb rock wall go down on otherside from mountain,u see some crocodile
u must swim to the other side,watch for crocodiles,when on otherside go to
wall and f6,climb wall,u see window and use here the dagger,enter window,
e,e,e,wait until creeper sits downby the throne,f6,do.u jump down and go
to the pig,f6 and walk with pig west,w,up,w,w,f6,the pig is free now,
wait for the henchmen,he puts u in prison,in the cell there is a tin cup,
f6,get cup,go door,f4 use tin cup,wait,down,go north,w,w,go to the wall,
press 4x f6,n,f6,get sword,(u can use the sword to stop the henchman),s,s,
e,f6,get keys,press tab and f4,use keyson door,enter door,(cell flire flam),
f4 use sword to free flire flam,leave cell,w,up 1 x,e,f6,open door,f6,get all,
s,s,f4,use sword for open bridge,leave castle,e,s,now go back the way through
the mountains,down the rope and walk trough rocks,s,e,(walk trough the tree)
here did u find the dagger,e,swim,e,swim,e,bridge,go to the right side of
bridge and f6,again f6 and u get a food wallet,s,wait here for gurgy and
give gurgy apple,s,falling water,w,go to the pigfotprints and jump on the rocks
to the bigone,f6,down,f6 and f4,offer the lute to king eiddileg,now u get
a mirror and the flying dust,f4,use flying dust to go up,(in the water)
leave water and go w,w,(swamp)f4 use the flying dust,fly to the left from
the screen to the yellow ground,(hidden area of morva),stop flying and f4,
go to the door and f6,open door,go to the chesty and f6,open chest,wait for
the witches,f6,press tab and get sword,f4,use,outside,f6,dont go to the
black cauldron,wait for gwythaint,he must steel the black cauldron,then use
flying dust,fly e,fly n,stop flying and f4,n,n,w,(base eagle mountain)
now go back to the castle,go to the bridge and enter the castle,inside castle
you go n,(wine cellar),n,w,down,e,go to the grate,f8,f6,f6,now wait and look
what happened,do nothing game is over for u,let computer play the game for
u now,dont get the book and the gold on the end,wait untill the game is over
u can press the help key for see the commands..
Part 1
THE BLACK CAULDRON, by Sierra On-Line, is loosely based on the Walt Disney
movie of the same name and was written in conjunction with Disney's personal
computer software staff. It's a 3-D game almost totally controlled by joystick,
mouse, or various keys depending on your computer and personal choice. In my
version, only one command, FAST (NORMAL and SLOW are options too), may be
entered on the keyboard and everything else is done with the DO, USE, or LOOK
commands using the mouse, joystick, number keypad, tab, and various function
keys.
This is not as easy as it sounds as you must decide which item to "use" and
must place your character in just the right place and al. However, it was
thought that typed commands would be more difficult for children. If you are
having trouble with an arcade sequence killing you by surprise, it may help to
use the "slow" command to slow Taran down. To use an item in your inventory,
press the appropriate buttons, and keys to see it on your screen, move the
"highlight" to the item you want to use, and press again to return to the game
screen.
Since I am a long-time adventure game player, I normally use north, east, etc.,
as directions. However, you may be newer at this than I am and up, right, and so
forth, may be more comfortable. I've tried to make these directions clear; but
if you get confused, just think of your screen as having a set of compass points
on it with north is pointing up and it should be clearer. In addition, since you
may be reading this mainly to help your child, I've tried to make it as clear
and complete as possible.
You are Taran, assistant pig keeper and would-be adventurer. Your mission, as
it evolves during the game, is to deliver th visionary pig, Hen Wen, to safety
and destroy the evil cauldron. You begin outside the cottage of Dallben in Caer
allben in Prydain. If your computer has enough memory, type FAST on the
keyboard and press the carriage return. (Try it. If you don't have enough
memory, it won't work.) Then move Taran up to the door of the cottage and use
the DO command to open the door and go in. Move over in front of Dallben and DO
again. He'll tell you it's time to feed the pi so move up to the fire and DO to
get the food cooking there. Go outside and east (right) to the pen. DO at the
gate to open it, go in, highlight the pig food and USE it to feed Hen Wen.
(There's corn in the shed too and you can use it to feed Hen Wen instead of the
gruel.)
She will take off in a hurry so follow her back into the cottage. (Don't worry
if she gets ahead of you -- just keep going back to the cottage.) Move fairly
close to Dallben and read about Hen Wen's vision and your mission. When Dallben
gives you the rope, move to the upper right side of the room and DO to open the
cupboard and take out everything in it. (If you keep on pressing the DO command
you will end by closing the cupboard.) Leave the cottage (Hen Wen will follow)
and move around to the bottom left side of the water trough right in front of
the low place. Highlight the water flask and then USE it. Move North and West
(up and left) keeping close to the edge of the screen.
When you get to the tree with the hole in it, move right in front of it and DO.
You'll find a lute. It looks quicker and easier to move straight up the middle
of the screen but the evil Horned King has sent his despicable gwythaints after
Hen Wen; and the method for avoiding them (and almost all Sierra bad guys is to
move to another screen FAST! So stay close to the edge of the monitor and move
two screens up (north) to a briar patch as best you can. This is the first, and
easiest, of a series of arcade sequences in this game. You want to move north
but must, through trial and error, find a twisty path through the briars. This
one's not hard. Just go around the rock to the west (left), north a little, east
around a bush in front of you, and west around the back. (If you came in from
the east from behind the tree, just go west until you can't go any further,
north, and straight west.)
When you have successfully negotiated the briars and gone north to the next
screen, you'll see a door to a underground house in front of you. Move up to it
and DO. You open it and go inside. This is the home of the Fair Folk who will
take care of Hen Wen for you. When Gwystyl has given you the new message from
Dallben, the magic word, ad takes the pig to safety, move up and right to the
cupboard at the back. DO and you'll get the cookies. Go back outside and you
begin the next phase of the game.
Go straight east to the next screen. Wander around here for a bi,, moving a
screen or two if necessary, and you should see Gurgi, a little creature who's
dirty but cute, and hungry. Give him the cookies (or the apple) and he'll be
your friend for life. This isn't mandatory but you get points and it is part of
one (not the best but still useful) of the solutions to the game. Go south
(down) to the lake with the smooth stones. Cross over it in any way you like,
just don't get too close to the waterfall. You can walk around or swim (You can
also go as far east (right) as possible and north (up) from there, across the
footbridge, etc.) With te waterfall on your right, move across the bottom of
the screen close to the rocks in the falls.
When you're near a flatish rock that sticks up rather high in the water,
highlight the magic word and USE it. The rock will drop. Be careful here and
step on the rock going slightly up to the next flat area but not really straight
up. The graphics aren't right here and it looks like you're walking on thin air
but if it's dark, you're in the right place. Keep going east and there you are
in the Land of the Fair Folk being challenged by King Eiddileg! A bit battered
for falling down the hole but none the worse for wear. DO to tell him who you
are, highlight and USE the lute to give it to him as a token, and he'll give you
some flying dust. Highlight and USE the dust, fly out, USE the magic word to
lower th rock again and return to the ground. Go North two screens to the
bridge. If you go into the stream and LOOK at the bridge from the side you'll
see a food wallet. DO to get it and you'll never run out of food although I
never had any problem using just the bread and the apple.
Now you're ready to tackle the castle. Go West three screens to a frightening
forest that has a tree with a dagger holding up a "no trespassing" sign. Move to
the tree in a sort of NNE direction and DO to get the dagger. Now go North to
the next screen by going between the two black trees at the top "The rapids are
turbulent and treacherous. This is not a good place to dive in.") and West to
the Base of Eagle Mountains.
THE BLACK CAULDRON
Part 2
You are confronted with a large number of rocks which make up another maze,
quite a bit more difficult this time. Make some notes for yourself so you'll
know how to do this. You have to come back down this way and do it all over
again later. Start navigating the maze from slightly up on the right.
(Specifically, where you came in from the east (right).) Move in (west) and
north a bit, west, northeast, west, north, west in a bit of a loop and back
around east-northeast (east on a slight north angle), and, finally, north up
the rocks somewhat to the right (east) of the center of your screen. After
you've gotten into the maze the main rocks you are concerned with are the big
one in the center and slightly to the right of your screen (around to the right
and across the back) and the large pointed ones in the top half to the left
(around the left and across the back).
This may take quite a bit of adjusting and some work since all I could give you
was a general idea of where it goes. Keep working and look for openings. Much
depends on just how you approached a specific area. Look for "V" shapes in the
rocks for extra clues. However, they ARE there, and at least you are unlikely to
die in the maze. You'll end up right in front of a barren tree which is a new
screen.
Save a LOT in this area!! You'll need those saves! This stuff is tricky and the
flying dust won't work. Move up close to the tree, highlight the ROPE in your
inventory, and USE it. It should attach to the tree and head on up to the top
corner of your screen. If it doesn't, move a bit and keep trying. Remember which
way it went! You'll need to know that to get back down. Use the DO command to
start climbing the rope. If possible, I strongly recommend you use the keyboard
here. The rope is set at a precise northeast (or northwest) angle and you can
easily fall off using the joystick or mouse. Don't forget to save. I recommend
one at the bottom before you start the climb and another at the top. One helpful
thing is you'll be walking into a cliff at the top and so you don't have to
worry about making certain he's stopped before getting to the next screen.
Now that you're here, cross to the other side of the ledge and move Taran into
the wall until his fingertips "clutch the tiny crevices in the rock face," move
him across and down to the next ledge down. SAVE! Walk around the ledge and
climb again. Up this time and away from the side your rope is on. If your rope
is on the left, (it went right) move until his feet just clear the long ledge
one level up from the rope and then drop down. If your rope is on the right,
you'll need to move all the way up into the ledges on the top (but not so far
that you fall off) before coming back down or you won't be able to get him onto
the ledge no matter what it says on your screen. (At least in my version.)
SAVE! Now, walk around the long ledge being careful not to fall off the front
OR the back. Climb again until you can land on the final ledge at the side of
your screen over the rope. Be careful! It is possible to fall off the side if
you're too close to the edge of the screen and you'll need to adjust a bit to
make it work. The left screen here is a little strange. One time I was close to
the left side of the top ledge and automatically dropped off, without being in
the right place and leaving an odd red piece behind which wasn't really there.
Also the topmost climb (into the overhanging rocks) looks all wrong. However, it
doesn't matter. SAVE! Go to the next screen.
If you're hungry or thirsty, this is a good place to take care of it. Highlight
WATER (not the flask) or BREAD (or the apple or food wallet if you like) and
then USE it. This screen is surprisingly small and it may look as if you'll fall
off the edge if you go north (up) but you won't. So, go north to the next screen
and you'll be confronted with another ledge-style path to the castle. Carefully
take your way to the castle following the graphics (the keyboard may help you
here although you can do it with the joystick without much trouble if you're
careful) and go north to the castle and the moat filled with alligators.
(Another good place for a save.)
There are two ways to get in the castle. You can leap into the moat when the
alligators move apart, swim to the wall, DO, climb it, cut the vines at the
window in the top left corner, and go in. However, I'm an adventure game player,
not an arcader, and after navigating the maze, climbing the rope and the wall,
and navigating the walkway, I chose the easier route. Go west to the side of the
castle and you'll see a drawbridge which is most likely closed. If so, go east
again and come back. Keep moving back and forth between the two screens and
eventually the drawbridge will be open and the King's henchman will be there
with a cart.
For some odd reason, I often found it helpful to use the magic word near the
alligators but this didn't always work and is certainly not necessary. In any
case, as soon as you see the cart move around behind it and DO. You'll jump in
the back, the henchman won't see you, and you'll end up inside the castle. As
soon as he leaves, DO out of the cart and go north through the archway to the
wine cellar.
If you started this walkthru in the middle and Hen Wen has already been caught,
you need to go north, west, up the stairs, east, and through the door to the
East onto the balcony overlooking the Horned King's Throne Room. You should see
Hen Wen and can jump off, grab her to break the spell, and take off with her.
You can throw her off the parapet, or go across the drawbridge or down into the
dungeons letting her go out through the hole in the burial chamber either with
or without Eilonwy. However, I have been playing Sierra games for too man years
to have allowed her to be captured so I have not tried any of these methods and
am not sure what happens after that except that you need to DO at the pig tracks
near the waterfall to jump from rock to rock in order to get to te King of the
Fair Folk.
If Hen Wen is already safe you have some options on how to get to the dungeons.
You ca go there directly from the wine casks, or go north, west, down the
stairs, south, turn the figure on the wall, and climb down the ladder. If you
get caught right away, rattle the cup at the cell door to open up a passage, and
don't forget to grab your stuff from the closet through the left door at the
back in the area north of the wine. Personally I went directly down the garbage
chute.
In the wine cellar there are six huge wine casks, three on each side of the
door. Between the first and second to the right of the door (counting from the
center) is a garbage chute you can't see. Go between them, wiggle around a bit,
and you'll fall down the chute landing two floors down, a bit dizzy but no big
problem. Here is Eilonwy and her magic bauble imprisoned by the Horned King. Go
west twice (go north first if you were captured or west, north if you went down
the stairs) and you'll see a wall where five of the stones reach onto the floor
from the wall. Move up in front of them (a LOOK may be useful here) and DO until
you have removed them one-by-one. Go through the hole into the burial chamber
and you'll see a stone coffin with a "glint of metal" on he top.
THE BLACK CAULDRON
Part 3
The magic bauble will find an exit to the north-northwest and Eilonwy will
follow it out of the castle. (If you have Hen Wen, she can follow them too.)
Since you can't follow her, move up close to the coffin and DO. Now you have a
magic sword! Go south twice and east. You'll see a "hideous gargoyle" on the
wall next to a ladder. Stand in front of the gargoyle and DO to open a trap door
in the ceiling (not necessary if you used the stairs), then move in front of the
ladder and highlight the sword in your inventory. Be prepared to move quickly
because you MUST NO be caught with the sword or the game is over. I found it
easier to use the function keys here instead of a joystick or mouse because it
required only one button so it was faster. SAVE!
Okay, now go up the ladder, move closer to he center of the screen and go
North. The henchman is guarding the cell and the dungeon so he appears here
incredibly often; and he must be close to you or you'll miss him with the sword.
When he gets fairly close USE it. Yup. It' a magic sword all right. (Also
typically Sierra non-violent.) He's momentarily stunned but not permanently out
of commission. Moving fast DO to get the keys on the right wall and go back
south to avoid the henchman. Go back to the center of the screen and go north
again continuing to move quickly.
It's easier to complete this sequence if you can whack the henchman about a
third of the way up the screen. This allows you time to do what you need to do
before he wakes up and he's still far enough away so it takes him a bit of extra
time to reach you. USE the SWORD on the henchman again, immediately highlight
the KEYS, go straight up to the door in front of you, USE the keys to open it,
ad go through it. Move up to Fflewddur Fflam and DO. You'll introduce yourself
and untie him. He'll give you his harp and take off.
Highlight the sword again and go south through the door, west through the next
door, up the first stairs, east (don't forget to grab your stuff out of the
closet if you were captured), and then south twice to the drawbridge area. (You
can also go up the stairs, west twice to the parapet, and DO to jump off or back
out the way you came in if you climbed the wall. However, the parapet method, at
least, doesn't give you the 13 points you get by using the drawbridge. Again, I
never climbed the walls so I can't tell you about that method.)
The henchman appear here often; and I found that it was almost always possible
to move fast enough to change screens to avoid him instead of taking the chance
of missing him with the sword. Move up close to the drawbridge mechanism (you
will need to be either directly in front or slightly south (down) from it) and
USE the sword. The sword has MORE magic powers! It easily cuts the chain and the
drawbridge is now permanently open.
You'll need a save here and you can decide whether you want it on disk 1
(inside castle) or disk 2 (outside). Go out the door, across the drawbridge
(again, the keyboard helps as it's VERY narrow and straight east/west), and back
to the rock wall. Now you know why I told you to remember which side your rope
was on because if you go the wrong way from the castle you won't be able to get
down.
limb back down the cliff and the rope the same way you got up but don't untie
the rope because you'll be needing it gain. Navigate back through the rocks,
exit south, and go south to the swamp. It will say there's a swamp to the
southwest and if you LOOK it will tell you it might be possible to cross it
here. From here you can try jumping on th rocks in the swamp if you like but
it's a lot easier to use the flying dust. (If you went west out of the rock
maze, just go south twice and fly west from the northeast corner of Morva Marsh.
With the dust it's okay either way.) Highlight the dust, USE it, and go south
(or W) past the beach (It's light and yellowish in my version.), and south to
the witches house, USE it again to land, and start walking again. Move to the
door, DO to open it, and go inside. There'll be a chest here so move up close
directly in front of it and DO to open it.
Oops! It seems that the witches like to turn people into frogs and they aren't
too pleased with your activities! DO to tell them who you are but that isn't
enough so highlight the sword and USE it to trade. (Make SURE to tell them who
you are first or you'll be sorry.) Great, that's what they wanted and you all go
outside automatically. Move up to the cauldron and LOOK then move to the witches
and DO. (Be careful not to use DO too close to the cauldron or you'll jump in it
and the game will be over.) Wonderful.
These "ladies" are real "sweethearts." You get more snide remarks and a
gwythaint comes by, grabs the cauldron, and carries it off to the castle.
Time to return to the castle. Fly back across the marsh, land where you can, go
back to the rock maze, and return to the castle using the exact same route as
before except the drawbridge is open this time. NOTE: If the drawbridge is
closed when you return to the castle, you can get in the same way you did before
or try another one of the listed methods.
Getting caught is not recommended this time so head for the garbage chute
between the wine casks. Go south, highlight the Magic Mirror, then east to the
King's Secret Burial Chamber where he's preparing to resurrect his evil army.
USE the mirror when he comes a bit closer to you. He sees his true self and that
much evil is too much even for him. He jumps into the cauldron destroying both
i and himself forever. Hooray!!
At this point the game is automatic except for pushing the button when there's
to much text. The destruction of the cauldron shakes the castle to its
foundations and throws you into the moat where you grab a passing log and hold
on tight. When you get to more peaceful parts you'll see the cauldron floating
in th stream and get out of the water. The witches will arrive and start
offering you things to give them back the cauldron. Don't do anything and they
will eventually offer you the sword, which you'll get automatically.
If you like, you can press the button to look at the Status Screen and see your
full 230 points. Your friends Eilonwy, Gurgi, and lewdur will appear and all
four of you will head off into the distance with Dallben waving goodbye.
Congratulations!! You're a REAL hero now!