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the Silver Blades: FAQ/Walkthrough by ASchultz
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version 1.0.0 by Andrew Schultz schultz.andrew@sbcglobal.net

This FAQ will refer to the maps I sent to GameFAQs. The maps are complete for 
every area except the ice caverns at the end, which are pretty much one-way, 
and if you have a ranger, he will tell the right way to go. I'm almost 
avoiding a detailed walkthrough there on principle, just because it is such a 
bad part of the game.

================================

            OUTLINE

  1. INTRODUCTION

  2. CONTROLS

    2-1. MOVING

    2-2. COMBAT WITH STRATEGIES

  3. STARTING OUT

  4. WALKTHROUGH

    4-1. OVERVIEW

    4-2. DETAILS

    4-3. OUTLINE

  5. CHEATING

    5-1. VAULT TRICKS

    5-2. HEX EDITING

    5-3. JOURNAL ENTRIES

    5-4. RULE BOOK HEADINGS

  6. VERSIONS

  7. CREDITS

================================

  1. INTRODUCTION

Secret of the Silver Blades is another game in the AD&D line. It is strictly 
first person and has some improvements and some annoyances and some lag near 
the end, but it cuts out the annoying long combat bits of fighting 50 enemies 
at a time. You start in New Verdigris trying to find the reason for 
disturbances in the mines below. Many maps here are 16x16 but there are a few 
big ones such as the ruins and the mines. The ruins connect the town 
(eventually) with the Well of Knowledge you can teleport to right 
away(eventually you can teleport to/from it from other checkpoints,) and the 
mines, though branching, are not bad to map. You also don't have many map 
tricks such as teleports, but the depth of the mines and the length of the 
trek to the frost giants' village and beyond makes things tedious and 
repetitive to win from scratch--many of the winding passageways are 
duplicated as well.

Fortunately you can get by without much leveling up, and you get experience 
for quests. The game is also fairly linear and you can decrease the 
difficulty if you want. With maps it goes by pretty quickly. Money is no 
problem, too--the town is so grateful to have you they'll heal you for free! 
Oh yeah, you can duplicate items, too.

For plot details visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_of_the_Silver_Blades

  2. CONTROLS

    2-1. MOVING

    2-2. COMBAT WITH STRATEGIES

Whenever possible, backstab. You need to be able to cycle around properly and 
I've said it before and will again(oh no, I sound parental) but mobility is a 
key for your fighters.

I didn't deviate much from the following spells:
Cleric: Bless, Hold Person, Prayer, Flame Strike, Harm
Mage: Magic Missile, Stinking Cloud, Fireball, Ice Storm, and kill-spells

Hold Person has about a 5 square range, so move your Cleric in and then cast 
at mages.

Magic Missile has a long range, which is good, since it can take out bad guys 
in back. A ranger can use it in a pinch, too. Your 2nd ranger in slot 4 
should also have a long bow with magic arrows to take out enemies in back as 
well.
Stinking cloud has a 31' range in other words (3,1) (3,0) or (2,2) away. It 
is double-edged, though. If you use it in tight quarters your characters may 
have trouble walking around it. And if you place it in the corner you may 
only be able to hack at the enemy with one fighter. Still it is great to pick 
off enemies just behind the front line.
Fireball can backfire on your players. But if only one is touched, that is 
okay. It can take out a lot of monsters and disrupt their spells.
Ice Storm is similar but may do less damage.

For 2-wide enemies you may want to fan out in a horizontal line, by a door if 
possible. For 2-high, make a vertical line. Often you can just camp your guys 
out by a door and guard against enemies, and you will mow them down.

With a variety of enemies, don't form a straight line. Rather, zigzag so the 
most of your guys can kill them off. Also use delays as necessary and don't 
send your mage or cleric to the front line just to get a hit if it blocks the 
other guys.

Never disengage from an attacker unless there is a spellcaster to disrupt, 
and that guy may cast a wide angle or kill spell.

If an enemy has lots of hit points and there is no inherent danger of 
spellcasting, you may wish to delay your fighter thief if he can get behind 
the enemy. The fighter thief does the most damage from behind.

If there is one dragon, surround it and thump the snot out of it. Take time 
to walk around it. It will go down quickly.

If in melee, kill the weak links then surround the big guys.

One other thing to remember once you win is that you can only see two pages 
of items at a time, so pick up and drop a bunch of items you know you won't 
want. The magic stuff is at the very end.

If you want to load up on cash, bracers are your best bet after defeating 
mages. They sell for a minimum of 6K.

  3. STARTING OUT

I recommend the following party:

Human P
Dwarf F/T
Human R
Human R
Human M
Human C

This is the best order, too. #5 frequently gets trapped between 4 and 6, and 
the mage is ideal for that. He'll have the worst armor class and can't fight. 
I didn't have/want to change character class, but with hex cheats it is no 
problem. I'd modify my characters for 18 strength, 18 con and 18 dexterity. 
The rest can be rock bottom unless someone needs charisma or intelligence. I 
think if you set everything at 18 you get harder fights.

I generally settled for 18 dexterity and 15+ constitution and 18+ strength, 
except for the mage and cleric who didn't need it. If you're playing straight 
up a fighter type can have bad strength, too, since you get Ogre Strength 
gauntlets. If you're duplicating items, then you don't need to be concerned 
with strength. Dexterity is the most important attribute, since a big part of 
combat strategy is to disrupt mages before they can cast anything. If a 
fighter with an ice storm or fireball wand nukes opposing mages, a big fight 
can become easy quickly. Though you don't really need to go that far.

  4. WALKTHROUGH

    4-1. OVERVIEW

The best way to get good early is either to cheat or to find magic items or 
know where they are in advance. Finding the next best armor and sword can 
make fights very easy indeed. Many of the tricky fights involve dragons, and 
you can visit the old man in west New Verdigris for that. The cool thing is 
that regardless of what level you play at, you get the same treasure. You may 
not get as much experience, as you won't fight as many enemies, but oh well.

You should also get familiar with selling stuff and with quick healing. 
You'll wind up with a ton of money and it's worthwhile to spend it on 
Necklaces of Missiles to take out the backbenchers. Ask to sell items ASAP 
and note their cost. If they cost a lot, they are magic and you should ID 
them. If not, sell them. If one unknown item costs as much as a known magic 
one, you know roughly what it does. You might as well ID it to avoid 
confusion later since you should be rolling in cash by game's end.

Remember to go back frequently to sell your stuff. This opens up inventory 
spaces and keeps your encumbrance low. The first helps you get more cool 
items and the second allows you to backstab more conveniently or attack 
enemies at range. Also if you see a weird item at the end of an inventory, 
take it, and after a special fight, loot everything too.

Healing at the temple of gond is free, and to heal everyone, you just need to 
move 4 down, hold H til the player needs more healing, then move to the next.

When in doubt or overloaded with money, buy a necklace of missiles from the 
Magic Shop so you can disrupt opposing spellcasters before they cast 
anything. It is worth it in big fights.

    4-2. DETAILS

      4-2-1. TOWN AND RUINS(FIRST)

First, you should outfit your guys with the armor left behind. Give your 
paladin the best stuff and propagate the other weapons down the line. You'll 
be selling them soon enough. Visit the old man in the west several times--if 
you leave and return, he has a new story and eventually he gives a scroll of 
Prot Dragon Breath and a Cloak of Displacement(AC -2 for anyone). You can go 
through the portal in the north of the house to win a fight. 3E and duck and 
loot. You will get +2 banded mail, a +2 mace and a +2 shield. I also got +2 
plate and a +2 long sword. At any rate, take all the items to get everything 
magic--you should find some +1 shields. Go to the store and here is how to 
save money ID'ing stuff--if it sells cheap, it's not magic.

You may wish to keep track of who has what on a sheet of paper--that way you 
know when you can sell +1 shields and such for cash.

Now that everyone is decently equipped, you can get healed back in town(it's 
free) and go into the maze. Follow the path north, turning down when you can. 
Past the old mine, N and W at the 2x2 room. Then fight the dragon and giants-
-well, ignore the giants. Use magic missiles to bring the dragon down and get 
the loot.

Walk around the well and fight some more. Win the first two going into the 
center--heal after each one--and get the hang of beating Banites or Black 
Circle. Always focus on the spellcaster. Hold Person from the Cleric works 
well.

Once you've tackled these guys and have +1 stuff at least for everyone, heal 
and go to the magic shop. Stay and take out the enemies that come by--line 
your four fighters in front, move your mage in just behind for Stinking Cloud 
and your Cleric can Hold Person. The BC Lords will fall. You get better 
items(+2 long swords) and for the fight behind and above, get mirrors. 
Replace shields with them til the medusas die(and don't attack the medusas--
they'll kill themselves) and the rest is easy.

East and south of the shop you have Fire Knives. They are tricky. One hit 
from them and you can die. Hold Person and Stinking Cloud, again. You may 
have to re-load a few times. Cast Prayer before this fight.

You may want to go SE in the ruins to get to the other dragon. Or you can 
clear the well first. It doesn't matter. At the start you need to locate and 
plunder treasure. If you have extra money, and you probably will, a Wand of 
Missiles is handy to get past annoying fights where you have one spellcaster 
off to the side. Your cleric can use it. You can just un-ready and re-ready 
your weapon between uses. But save it for the tough fights. And use it to 
save the necklaces of missiles for the VERY tough fights later. The Necklace 
casts fireball. With range spells in general, you will want to wipe out as 
many enemies as you can, even if you damage a front line character in the 
process.

P57 randomly found durring travels

      4-2-2. RUINS(SECOND) AND WELL

You should be able to surround the dragon and hit him from behind a few 
times, though he does line up against a wall. If you like, knock the 
difficulty down just before the fight. He may hit you for 88 damage and a 
kill, so again save before attacking. I haven't found another place to use 
the scroll of prot. dragon breath from the old man, so this is good. If you 
win, the well opens for you and if you visit a portal later, you can come 
back. You already saw one potential portal NE of town.

SE is another dragon who gives good treasure and an amulet(not in your 
inventory) when you win. Note the portal that opens up--it leads back to the 
well, a handy shortcut.  This fight also gets you a +2 plate and a cloak of 
displacement.

Treasure is N of the well(watch for the fight afterwards, but the +5 leather 
is nice) and you can go NW for a fight to loot. Most rank and file enemies 
don't have magical items but armor can make you pretty rich.

Well P's: 25, 19, 1, 38, 71

      4-2-3. ADMIN BUILDING SIDE QUEST

This one is not necessary and may in fact be more nuisance than it is worth. 
However it has some cool items at the end of it. You may in fact wish to 
complete it in parts, or near the end of the game.

SW of the mine, you can enter, and you fight some spellcasters and fighters. 
Bring a fireball and some hold-person spells. Now you can just go straight 
south to get on with the main part of the quest(a secret door is there) or 
you can search the side passages to the west and east, which have more tough 
fights like the one to start this area. They don't appear to give any good 
items, though, so you can pass.

Follow the passage south and it is one way pretty much. (3,10) has an enemy 
who hits you for small damage and runs. The first encounter is at 1,12. You 
should be able to rest after it and you will probably need to, even if you 
set the difficulty to easy. The next fight after you go S* E* N* E is with 
the same sort of enemies. Again use a fireball to greet them and hold person 
too. There is treasure beyond the door in the next room--just a few scrolls. 
Then follow the passage to 11,15 and you can just wait and stand your ground 
to get rid of those enemies. (10,11) and (12,10) are standard fights, then 2N 
2E S* leads to hatchlings. They should be no problem on easy mode but tougher 
on others if you don't use magic--with -1 AC you really need to hit them with 
a spell. You have two waves of these as they guard all squares before the 
room below, then there is the final fight which is very lucrative and offers 
you great magic items at the end. Just take and drop a few items in the 
treasure pool to see what is at the very end. I got a Girdle of Giant 
Strength.

You can now activate the portal or leave to the east, unsealing a door that 
was sealed before.

5,8 gives paragraph 69 and when you catch nd soothe the clerk you get 55, 49 
and 40.

      4-2-4. TEMPLE

The temple is pretty easy to clear out. Exit the NW of the well and you'll 
have one fight with banite priests. Loot them, ID items, and return. Walk 
along to the well. You'll have the Black Circle to fight. Go down to the 
temple level and go south through the gates. You'll have some minotaur fights 
but nothing serious. At the south of the chapel, 1W of center, bash through 
and you can go east for treasure and experience. The doors in the corner of 
the chapel lead to the next area.

You have some treasure squares as well. But you need to trip (0,4) and/or 
(1,4) so you can see Delf in the NE. To get to him there is a secret door 
along the bottom.

Delf in the NE gives you your next quest--go into the mines and get the 
pieces of staff. You will need to return to him once it is done. Not 
necessarily right away though. You should concentrate on clearing out the 
mines. Before going into the mines, be sure to activate the portal in the DL 
at (2,15). It allows you to return easily to the temple from the well.

You will also find +3 chain and a +3 shield at (1,11) and (15,13)--secret 
door at (15,14).

P65 at 0,4, paper at 1,4

      4-2-5. THE MINES

There are some side treasures I may mention later. If you are close to a new 
level you can dig for gems continually in some dead ends. However, On level 
6, you find Vala, a great NPC, with the piece of the staff. Each level where 
you find a staff piece has treasure and experience and it's best to bull your 
way through. You may have to face Umber Hulks on the way and so save before 
and after finding each staff piece. The hulks are especially nasty if they 
possess your PCs to attack Vala, and I advise either being on a diagonal or 
having people stay back and guard so the hulks walk into a massacre.

Treasures always appear behind doors, and you usually have a chance to flee 
any enemies hiding out. In general you can flee from fights, but enemies 
should not be too hard. Against cockatrices or margoyles, unready your 
shields and ready mirrors to avoid petrification.

Level 1:

Follow the path west, turn north in the 2x2 room, then west in the 3x2, and 
go north at the final branch.

Treasure here is really good: Plate +3, Long Sword +3, Shield +3, Composite 
Long Bow +2. The last is useful down the road for tricky fights with mages in 
the background.

Level 2:

West, west at the T, north at the 3x2, and after you fight some Umber Hulks, 
the passage end holds a chest with items. The chest may blow up in your face. 
The treasure is not so hot(potions) but the damage is worse and the 3000 EXP 
is nice. Even if the chest blows up you get a staff piece.

Level 3:

Head north, then east at the 2x2, then east at the intersection. Wyverns 
attack. Use a fireball here if they wind up poisoning/killing your guys.

Treasure here is good: +2 ring of protection, +4 mace, +3 trident. Well, only 
the +4 mace is useful since everyone probably has +2 stuff now, so the ring 
of protection does nothing.

Level 4:

South, south over the rubble, west, then east at the 2x2 room. Loot the dead 
body.

Treasure: +3 ring of protection, nice for your mage

Level 5:

North, west at the T, north at the 2x2.

Treasure: stone and scrolls

Level 6:

There are many lizard man patrols here and you should be able to wipe them 
out. It's tempting to use a fireball as a time saver, but try to parlay 
around the enemy. The fights are not hard but they can be long.

West, one south after the barricade then west and the winding path leads to 
the big fight.

Note that after winning the fight you will take 10-15 damage so if anyone 
goes unconscious they may die. Check before saving, and heal/cast prayer 
before the fight!

Treasure: necklace of missiles and eyes of charming

Level 7:

South all the way, east, south at the 2x2, west at the T. You can go back 
east for some nice treasure, too. ??

Treasure: some cool trinkets

Level 8:

Piece 8 is south, west at the T, south all the way and east. Great treasure 
with the staff piece, too. +5 banded mail, longsword vs giants(+3 otherwise,) 
and a cloak of displaement. That is your third. Your front line now each has 
one.

Some nice treasure is north, west at the 3x2, 3 north and east. More to the 
east, then go east at the T.

There is a teleport to 58,30 on level 9. You need to use it to destroy 
whatever is blocking your passage to level 10. However, it will damage you a 
lot(20-30 points.) So return to town, sell your goods, and heal up before the 
next bit. Stop by Delf on the way back.

Level 9:

There is treasure here but it is behind nasty traps, so I suggest you just go 
down to level 10 once you break through the barriers. The lift offers you 
nowhere new but if you took the teleport from L8 and beat the umber hulks, 
you just need to follow the passage and go south in the big room.

This requires fights with enemies who can stone you, so get your mirrors up! 
Vala does not need one, fortunately. Now you can go to level B/10!

Level 10:

Again the side passages are treacherous so just plow through. Treasure is 
behind some gross damage, so if you need the experience, go for it. 
Otherwise, ready mirrors in place of shields and go east. Fireball/ice storm 
the phase spiders if you want. They can poison and kill you with a lucky hit.

Go south at the branch and after some more fights(save after each one) you 
can reach a big hallway that leads to the castle dungeons.

      4-2-6. THE DUNGEON

Because there are so many magic casting enemies, you need to have enough 
speed to get to them. Therefore, if your guys are having trouble moving, sell 
everything off before continuing. In fact, now is a good time to go back and 
visit Delf, too. You'll get some experience for it. You'll get some 
experience for the puzzles, too.

LEVEL 1:

This first level is a sequence of 4 4x16 strips. Avoid doors as you walk 
north. The first one only has one necessary fight, with driders. It is at 0,5 
and should not be hard with an Ice Storm or Fireball. The driders don't have 
much in the way of HP. But you need to get to them in a hurry. After that, 
you face a puzzle at the stairs which gives you experience if you solve it. 
Save before the puzzle if you want. Then you can visit the well, get the 
answer, and return(or better yet, restart and return.) You get 20K experience 
for the right answer. This builds up quickly. Then you have stairs N E S to 
the next sub-level.

You should be able to run through the next part with no problems. There is 
one fight along the way but it is not critically difficult. E S* W 2S E N 2E 
4S 2W (S N) N W 4S 2E 2N E 2S. Treasure at 5,14 is trapped but your dwarf FT 
can undo it. It's a bit of extra experience. At 7,15 you have another puzzle. 
YOUR WORD.

E N and the west is a detour portal to the well. Go N instead and at the top 
W and 3S is a trap you can undo--1S has a secret door to the west. W 2N 2E N* 
to another puzzle: YOUR BREATH.

Now W goes to the next area, but E goes to the compound side quest.

If you return to the well, at the well gives p71.

Answers:

YOUR HEART
YOUR WORD
YOUR BREATH
RIVER

      4-2-7. COMPOUND SIDE QUEST

Some good experience here but no great treasure--there may be gold but don't 
take it as the final fights require mobility. Let Sir Deric join but be sure 
to heal him. Give him some cheap armor and weapons you find, too. N then E--
not much other choice. You can rest to the S and E but you don't really need 
to. There are fights north of this intersection en masse. 3 E* N accesses 
paragraphs 58 and 70. My map is wrong here as the UR is walled off but there 
is a pretty easy way in.

The actual quest bit is east and south through the gates. Then another gate. 
and 13,11 is a fake treasure with a nasty fight, so avoid it. S*(treasure) N 
4W 2S 4E gets you the first of two prisoners. Then go back to the 
intersection, 3W S and a secret door is W.

W 4S W leads to a fight hiding treasure. As usual you need a fireball to 
knock things out. Each door except the NW gives treasure, which isn't too 
useful but gives experience. 3N of that is a door with another fight. W* for 
treasure then 3E 2N for more. S W* and now get your guy with the speed boots 
a wand of ice storm/fireballs before you go north.

This is because enemies are located far back and you need to hit them 
quickly. Twice if need be--the driders and mages can be tricky. But once they 
are down you can mop up the fighters. Sir Deric leaves the party. There's a 
fight with golems to the north, too, which guards the final treasure. It 
isn't much but the experience is.

      4-2-8. THE REST OF THE DUNGEON

W S* W N, fight with umber hulks, W S gets you the Brass Key you need. Back 
to (14,8) and W 2N 2E N* W 2N W S* W N*. This leads to level 2.

LEVEL 2:

W 3S to some Umber Hulks. Beat them then 2S E N E S E 2N 2E (medusa E S with 
some fights and traps in side rooms) 3N 2E S and the first puzzle is RIVER. 
This kicks you to the southeast. S W N 2W 2S and 3E 3S W has a clue but you 
need to win a fight, and the clue doesn't really help. So 3W N for treasure 
then S W S* and answer WATER. That leads to the NW, with W N 2E S 2E 4N W and 
3S leads to a portal back to the well if you need it. There is a fight with 
pyro hydras ahead--along the corridor and W at 2,9. Hit these guys with a 
fireball. E S E leads to the last bit. SILENCE.

S W N E* N* E 2S E for trapped treasure, then W 2N W s* W S E is a long one-
way passage to the end. (15,9) is a tough fight for treasure and (13,9) is 
thefinal stairway up. WIND is the final answer.

LEVEL 3:

You start off in the top half. N E N W N E* N and E are some giant fights. S 
E* and S W 2S W leads to a portal fight with Umber Hulks and then Pyro 
Hydras. There is a portal back to the well there. Or you can just go S* at 
the T, E and N*. Hack through the illusion.

W S W* S*-1 (to the east are some fights that show enemies trying to burst 
into the castle but you can't quite get there.) 3W N 3W 2S and W is a fight, 
then 2N 2W 3N fight 2N, then you fight some Pyro Hydras for the key at 2E 2S 
W S. You can let the enemies by on the west side and fight some Umber Hulks. 
Use a fireball per fight here if you have trouble hacking through. You are 
let out at the ice paths.

      4-2-9. ICE PATHS AND FROST GIANT VILLAGE

The ice paths are not terribly tricky if you have a ranger, but they are 
long, so save after you make it past each door. If monsters follow you, you 
can always flee and just turn around and keep moving. It is tedious, but they 
stop following you at the next door. Eventually you'll see more than just 
generic monsters--Black Circle types. No choice but to fight them.

There is one branch off where you see the clerk of Phlan has been captured. 
You can rescue her if you want, but you go on a big wild goose chase. She 
instructs you how to get to safety and there is no serious treasure at the 
end, just a teleportal to the well and some gems.

In general you will either go east or southeast when you get to a clearing, 
and just before the village is a teleporter it's a good idea to use. You will 
need to hack through a lot of Frost Giant fights.

Just before the frost village is a good time to get the staff if you want, 
but you have one more chance after this. Still, you probably need to heal, so 
on the way you can get the staff. Vala probably gave you a bunch of warnings, 
too.

      4-2-10. THE CASTLE

Paragraph #29 at the intro. You will have a medusa approach you no matter 
where you go, and you will NOT want to sign. She attacks anyway, so ready 
mirrors beforehand. There is a teleporter back to the well here. Take the 
second south niche, wait, and S E 2N to get to the well. You now need to pull 
the lever that will let you out. Go 2S W 2S for a fight, then 2S and now you 
can go back north to the niche and leave.

All the niches in the main hall work similarly. You need to wait to activate 
them, then find a lever to flip to get back out. But not many of the side 
paths are profitable. There are some traps to disarm, but other than that the 
only really interesting ones are the far east south one(treasure at 13,14 and 
lever at 14,15 with encounter at 15,14 and passage back to the dungeons at 
15,9--it leads to the stairs in the dungeons some mages were trying to melt, 
which means a fight) and the far east north(encounter) and the west south(2 
encounters.)

And even with those you probably just want to advance. Use the south center 
swivel and take the west door, leading to a teleport and the stairs at 15,0.

LEVEL 2:

You don't need to get into the fight to discover the password, but if you 
want some easy treasure go due south then W to 14,8. This win allows you to 
go east at 0,2 with another secret door south at 2,1. The NE rooms have two 
fights and if you follow the medusa at 15,12 it kicks you back to dungeons, 
level 1. So don't go there.

The maze is not bad. If you hit the roving patrol of Driders, you got the 
word, but you can give it anyway, STEELEYE. From 4,4, S E= 2S W N W 2S W 2N 
2W N W*(past guards) S* and follow to where you give the password and go 
south. There's a nasty trap area from 15,1 to 15,7 which seems to be guarding 
stairs but isn't. The rest of the maze has 1-way doors and guards and is not 
much fun.

LEVEL 3:

This is it. You can rest anywhere here, but there's also an easy portal back. 
E* N* E* S* E and let the lich attack--he does no damage, but if you try 
other options you are booted N of the stairs to a fight. E N 3E 3N W and take 
the portal back. You have treasure E S E but you need to realize that the 
last two fights will have you FAR away from your opponents, so you need 
mobility to run at them. Treasure seeking is not worth it.

From the portal, E 4N(walk through the illusion) and the E N fight is nice 
but gives no weapons.  W N* E* 2N W* and use the (S)ilver key. W S8 W* and a 
fight. By now use two fireballs per fight. Go north and (G)old then N* E* N*-
1 W for another fight and W*. I'm not really describing the fights here 
because the strategy of firebombing the mages and hammering the other 
opponents is repetitive and enough. Just have enough mage spells in reserve 
and waste an attack for a Magic Missile or Ice Storm wand if need be.

Another fight at 5,1 and then W 3S W. Heal and cast prayer. Drop excess money 
and give your guy with speed boots an ice storm wand and go west. This is the 
tough fight--the final is easier. Wipe out the clerics and mages ASAP. You 
need to do so before they cast anything, since they can kill. Though really 
at this point losing a constitution point isn't the worst thing in the world. 
Then hack the remnants of the enemy army up--have someone with Lightning Bolt 
get rid of the storm giants in the way. One thing to watch for is that the 
enemy Dreadlord cannot be affected by magic, so you need to rip open a path 
through the center to get to him to disrupt his spells ASAP.

The last fight involves golems and medusas and a couple ice storms did for 
the medusas without leaving my guys vulnerable to their stone gaze--no need 
to ready mirrors. Line up vertically if you can and give your mage a chance 
to run back and forth and cast Stinking Cloud. Then hack away. A portal 
appears in the NW. You can return and complete optional quests now if you 
want.

    4-3. OUTLINE

0. [cheat if you want]
1. Visit old man in town, go to the Well, duck and win a fight
2. NE, get dragon treasure, use fireball/magic missile
3. use several fireballs and stinking cloud to take out magic shop
4. use mirrors and a bunch of spells to take out N area of magic shop. Same 
for S area. Don't be stingy.
5. In the SE win the dragon treasure with the amulet
6. In the Well, Icestorm the dragonbabies, heal, take out new dragons
7. get the treasure NE of the well
8. Clear the well by beating the Ancient Dragon
*9. Go to admin building and clear it out, getting to inner sanctum
10. Clear the temple below the mine and meet Derf. Find stuff behind secret 
doors. 
11. Get the staff pieces for Derf. Vala is a great NPC on level 6.
12. Use the L8 teleporter(be VERY healed) and win the fight to break the way 
to L9/B
13. Barrel through to the castle dungeons. Answer the puzzles as you get 
them. Get the silver, gold and brass keys. *Clear the Black Circle Compound 
for extra goodies.
14. Set play level to Novice to keep sane. East to the Frost Giant village. 
Save at each fork in the road. Win the king's trust by fighting the Black 
Circle.
15. East to the castle. Use the Silver, Gold and Brass keys. Defeat the 
Dreadlord. Then defeat the golems behind him.

  5. CHEATING

The simplest way to cheat is to start a game with one player, take all the 
items, save and drop the player. Repeat with 6 others. Then form the party. 
Everyone has everything!

Another cheat is unverified but at 

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=74303

It involves hex editing so 5-3 and 5-4 are irrelevant.

    5-1. VAULT TRICKS

There are several ways to duplicate items using the vault. The easiest 
follows:

1. save game a
2. put items in vault. Save game b
3. load game a, repeat 2
4. take items from the vault when done

Another is

1. save game a
2. put items in vault.
3. backup vault.dat to vault.bak
4. take items
5. copy vault.bak to vault.dat

    5-2. HEX EDITING

For save game X, player Y,

CHRDATXY.SAV contains the following important data:

multi byte = high byte 1st

0x01-0x0f = name
0x10-11 = cur/max str
0x12-13 = cur/max int
0x14-15 = cur/max wis
0x16-17 = cur/max dex
0x18-19 = cur/max con
0x1a-1b = cur/max cha
0x1c-1d = cur/max for 18+ str
0x070 = max HP
0x071 starts memorized spells
0x109 = gold(2 bytes)
0x10b = platinum
0x10d = gems
0x10f = jewels
0x12c = experience(4 bytes)
0x19b = encumbrance(2 bytes)
0x1af = min damage
0x1b1 = max damage
0x1b3 = bonus damage
0x1b5 = current HP

    5-3. JOURNAL ENTRIES

1 map to the dragon's hoard
2 fanatic soldier's tale: we have done
3 sir deric's story: the black circle
4 BLACK CIRCLE MAGE AT TOP OF MINE  
5 MAYOR TALKING OF THE BLACK CIRCLE  
6 One of the miners saw red robed 
7 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE SCROLL  
8 I didn't drink that much. I'm
9 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE
10 A DYING MAN'S LAST WORDS
11 EXULTANT BANITE PRIEST the beholder corps
12 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE TEMPLE
13 BLIND MAGE'S STORY
14 THE CAPTAIN'S TALE
15 MEETING THE FROST GIANT KING
16 BLACK CIRCLE COMMANDER'S PAPER
17 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE BROTHER WARS
18 STORY OF THE SILVER BLADES
19 THE AMULET OF ELDAMAR.
20 That old man -- south of the mayor's
21 EARLY DAYS OF THE TOWN. This
22 DYING CLERIC OF BANE. The Black
23 TALK OF MYSTICAL ITEMS. The mages
24 THE GUARD OF GRIMDRA HOARD
25 MESSAGE FROM THE WELL: The miners'
26 WARNING ABOUT THE AMULET. The Dreadlord
27 RESCUED MAIDEN'S STORY: The mages took
28 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE VORPAL BLADE
29 VALA'S DESCRIPTION OF THE OLD CASTLE
30 So many gems down in that mine and no way to get at them. Lif
e ain't fair.
31 BANITE PATROL'S STORY The Black Circle
32 MAP OF THE 4TH LEVEL
33 PRISONER'S TALE I am one of
34 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE FLAMING ONE
37 MAYOR'S INTRODUCTION: We are a small
39 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE CLOAK
40 LEDGER FROM NEW VERDIGRIS MINING: 2nd
41 Map to the first key
42 THE MEDUSA'S TALE I don't care!
43 LETTER FROM MARCUS TO THE BLACK CIRCLE
44 PHLAN CLERK'S TALE Well, I had
46 LETTER FROM MULMASTER
47 MAYOR RELATES YULASH EXPERIENCES
48 THE GLOWING MOUSE'S SPEECH
50 DERF MEETING VALA
51 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE
53 THE BLACK CIRCLE'S PLAN
54 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE WELL OF KNOWLEDGE
55 CLERK'S STORY
56 MEETING WITH OSWULF
57 LETTER FOUND BLOWING IN THE WIND
58 A PRISONER'S SPEECH
59 TALE OF THE WOUNDED WARRIOR
60 MESSAGE FOUND BY POUCH
61 MAYOR REVEALS HIS TRUE MISSION
62 MAGE'S REPORT
63 VALA'S STORY the amazonian woman
64 MAD DWARF'S RAMBLINGS
65 LETTER IN TEMPLE
67 MAD CLERIC'S RAMBLINGS
69 CLERK'S LETTER
70 PRISONER'S TALE the black circle has
71 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AMULET

    5-4. RULE BOOK HEADINGS

Sometimes the game will ask you for something from the rule book when you 
save a game. I've compiled a few subheaders and should not have missed 
anything.

HOW THE HEROES ARRIVE...
The miner's haul the chests of gems

CHARACTERS AND PARTIES
To play SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES

The Player Races
There are six races from which

Ability Scores
Every character has six randomly generate

Character Classes
A character must belong to at least

ALIGNMENT
Alignment is the philosophy a character lives by.

Building a Successful Party
Forming a strong and adaptable party is a key

COMBAT
Combat occurs often during your adventures.

====

Before You Play
There is no copy protection on your SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES disk,

Getting Started Quickly
SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES comes with a ready-made party that allows

Using Menus
All commands are menu based, and the concept of the active character

Beginning to Play
To begin playing the game you must load a saved game or generate

From Where Menu
FROM WHERE: SECRET CURSE EXIT

Viewing Characters
The VIEW command displays the character summary screen.

Character Status
OKAY status means that the character has positive HP and can move and

Display Screens and Points of View
SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES uses three different points of view: 3-D,

Viewing Characters: The VIEW command displays the character summary screen. 

Adventuring Options
The following menus control most adventuring options:

Adventure Menu
MOVE AREA CAST VIEW ENCAMP SEARCH LOOK

Encamp Menu
SAVE VIEW MAGIC REST ALTER FIX EXIT

Rest Menu
REST DAYS HOURS MINUTES ADD SUBTRACT EXIT

Alter Menu
ORDER DROP SPEED ICON PICS LEVEL EXIT

Speed Menu
SLOWER FASTER EXIT

Pics Menu
ANIMATIONS ON/OFF EXIT

Level Menu
NOVICE SQUIRE VETERAN ADEPT CHAMPION EXIT

Magic Menu
CAST MEMORIZE SCRIBE DISPLAY REST EXIT

Memorize Menu
MEMORIZE NEXT PREV EXIT

Scribe Menu
SCRIBE NEXT PREV EXIT

CIVILIZATION
The mining town of New Verdigris

Armoury Menu
BUY VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE  APPRAISE EXIT

Temple Menu
HEAL VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE APPRAISE EXIT

Vault Menu
DEPOSIT WITHDRAW TRADE EXIT

Combat Menu
MOVE VIEW AIM USE CAST TURN QUICK DONE

Aim Menu
NEXT PREV MANUAL TARGET CENTER EXIT

Done Menu
GUARD DELAY QUIT BANDAGE AUTO SPEED EXIT

Treasure Menu
VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE DETECT EXIT

ENCOUNTERS

When a party comes across monsters or NPCs

End of FAQ Proper

================================

  6. VERSIONS

0.3.0 sent to GameFAQs 10/10/2007, good start
1.0.0 sent to GameFAQs 10/14/2007, complete

  7. CREDITS

project64.c64.org
GameFAQs's anonymous walkthrough for general ideas

 Secret of the Silver Blades: FAQ/Walkthrough by ASchultz
Version 1.0.0, Last Updated 2007-10-14 View/Download Original File Hosted by 
GameFAQs
Return to Secret of the Silver Blades (PC) FAQs & Guides 