"Might and Magic: Gates to Another World" for Sega Genesis
Stat Raising Guide, v1.3 (6/20/2008)
by Dammit9x
dammit9x at hotmail dot com

Copyright 2004-2008

    This document may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for 
personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise 
distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on 
any unauthorized web site or as a part of any public display is strictly 
prohibited and a violation of copyright.
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  Changed since v1.1 (1/5/2005):
Added section on the Frenzy glitch

  Changed since v1.2 (3/31/2007):
Restructured guide and improved writing style
Added and improved many sections
Verified some uncertainties

***************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
I. STATS
  1. ROLLED STATS
  2. DERIVED STATS
  3. TEMPORARY CHANGES
  4. SECONDARY SKILL BONUSES
  5. PERMANENT BONUSES
  6. STAT TRADES
  7. CLASS-SPECIFIC ITEMS
  8. LUXUS B2 HP BONUS
  9. CASTLE DUNGEON HP BONUSES
  10. DRAGON'S DOMINION D3(12,14) HP BONUSES
II. PLAYING THE GAME
  1. CREATING A PARTY
  2. FAST MONEY AND EQUIPMENT
  3. CHOOSING EQUIPMENT
  4. EXPERIENCE TRICKS
  5. ALIGNMENT AND SEX CHANGES
  6. ENCHANTING ITEMS
  7. CASTLE DUNGEON PORTALS
III. CHEATS AND GLITCHES
  1. FREE ITEMS, GOLD AND GEMS
  2. FREE TREASURE
  3. REST TO TELEPORT
  4. FRENZY
MY PARTY
CLOSING
***************************************

INTRODUCTION
  This is not a walkthrough for Might and Magic II. Refer to Andrew Schultz's 
guides and maps for that. This guide will help you I.) boost your character's 
stats, II.) quickly get treasure and experience for your party and III.) apply 
some cheats and glitches in order to exploit the game to the fullest. It is 
written for the Sega Genesis version of Might and Magic: Gates to Another World,
which is Might and Magic II in the series; However, it is applicable to all 
versions of the game.

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I. STATS
  1. ROLLED STATS
  Might: Causes more damage with both melee and missile attacks
  Intellect: Determines max SP for Sorcerers and Archers
  Personality: Determines max SP for Clerics and Paladins
  Endurance: Determines the max HP gained when training (leveling up)
  Speed: Determines order of action in combat. Faster monsters and characters go
before slower ones. When speeds are equal, characters go in the order of the 
party arrangement. Higher speeds give a bigger AC bonus.
  Accuracy: Determines the chance of hitting with missile or melee; However, it 
is difficult to notice the difference when Accuracy is changed. The target's AC 
also plays a role in determining hits or misses.
  Luck: Possibly affects the chance that the party will successfully Hide from 
combat and the chance of success for thievery. Luck may have other effects.

  2. DERIVED STATS
  Level: This determines max HP, max SP, spell level, thievery, the number of 
attacks a character makes per round, and whether enemies try to run away in 
battle. It is raised by gaining experience and then paying for training at 
training center in one of the towns.
  HP: Hit points. If they run out the character becomes Unconscious. An 
Unconscious character dies if hit again. You can raise the HP of a wounded or 
Unconscious member with healing items or spells. HP is refilled with Rest. There
are several ways to raise max HP, the most obvious of which is leveling up.
  SP: Spell points. They are required for casting spells. The SP cost of some 
spells is fixed, and with others it depends on the caster's level. SP are 
refilled by resting and maximum SP is increased only by leveling up.
  SL: Spell level. This determines which spells are available to the character. 
Some spells need to be bought or found. SL = level/2 + 1/2 for Clerics and 
Sorcerers or level/2 - 5/2 for Paladins and Archers.
  AC: Armor class reduces the character's chance of getting hit. It does not 
reduce the damage taken. AC is raised by wearing protective equipment and by 
high Speed.
  Thievery: This determines the chance of success when opening locked doors and 
chests. Failure usually results in setting off the trap. Failures still occur 
occasionally even with very high (>150) thievery. Thievery starts at 15 for 
Robbers and 10 for Ninjas and increments by 1 for each level up. Certain 
equipment increases Thievery, and it can be boosted to 50-59 in Sandsobar 
dungeon.

              AC/dmg  HP per  SP per
Stat Rating:  Bonus:  Level:  Level:
     0-13        0       3       3
    14-15        1       4       4
    16-17        2       5       5
    18-19        3       6       6
    20-22        4       7       7
    23-26        5       8       8
    27-30        6       9       9
    31-45        7      10      10
    46-60        8      11      11
    61-75        9      12      12
    76-90       10      13      13
   91-105       11      14      14
  106-120       12      15      15
  121-135       13      16      16
  136-150       14      17      17
  151-175       15      18      18
  176-200       16       3      19
  201-225       17       3      20
  226-250       18       3      21
  251-255       19       3      22

AC/dmg bonus: The damage done by Attacking, Fighting and Shooting is increased 
by the number that corresponds to the character's Might rating. This bonus is 
added to both the min and max damage. For example, a Holy Cudgel wielded with 
50 Might does 9-18 instead of 1-10 damage. Similarly, AC is improved by Speed.

HP per level: This is the number of max HP a sorcerer gains when training at 
Middlegate with the given Endurance. Use the following table to make 
adjustments for other classes and training centers:
 
          Middlegate  Sansobar  Tundara   Vulcania  Atlantium   MAX
 Sorcerer      +0        +1        +1        +2        +3        21
 Cleric        +1        +2        +2        +3        +5        23
 Ninja         +1        +2        +2        +3        +5        23
 Robber        +1        +2        +2        +3        +5        23
 Paladin       +2        +4        +4        +5        +7        25
 Archer        +2        +4        +4        +5        +7        25
 Knight        +3        +5        +5        +6        +9        27
 Barbarian     +5        +7        +7        +9       +12        30

  Notice how by some oversight the HP per level resets to the minimum if you 
exceed 175 Endurance. Don't let this happen. If it gets too high, you can reduce
it with the Intellect trade. (See below.) The MAX corresponds to a character 
with 151-175 Endurance training at Atlantium.

SP per level: Unlike max HP, max SP is recalculated every time you rest. For 
Sorcerers and Clerics, the max SP is your level times the number in the table 
corresponding to Intellect or Personality at the time when you rest. For 
Archers or Paladins, it is (level-6) times this number. For example, a level 
10 cleric with 50 Per has 110 SP. A paladin with the same level and Per has 44 
SP.

  3. TEMPORARY CHANGES
  Certain events change stats of the whole party until the next encounter or 
until resting:
             Location:   Effect:
            B1 (11,14)   Set Might to 40
            D2 (1,12)    Set Might to 200
            B4 (14,9)    Set Might to random number
            B2 (8,8)     Set Intellect to 65
            D1 (13,9)    Set Personality to 65
            B4 (3,2)     Set Personality to 75
            A3 (1,13)    +25 Speed
            D2 (1,7)     Set Speed to 200
            C2 (1,13)    Set Accuracy to 40
            A4 (10,10)   Set all stats to 100
            E2 (11,9)    Set all stats to 200 and Level to 50
            A1 (2,3)     Set Level to 25
            C1 (1,11)    Set Spell Level to 9
            C4 (9,14)    Set HP to 150
            C2 (14,10)   Set SP 20
            C1 (1,5)     Set SP to 200
            D3 (3,14)    Set SP to 200
Murray's Cavern (0,9)    Set HP to 1 and SP to 200
Murray's Cavern (5,15)   Set HP to 500

  Potions serve a similar purpose and are more convenient, but costly.
Item:          Buy at:    Cost:   Effect:   Charges:
Force Potion   Sandsobar    100   Might +10   3
Skill Potion   Tundara      500   Level +5    5 
MaxHP Potion   Atlantium   4000   HP +512     2

  The drinks in the taverns also give temporary bonuses. A character must keep 
drinking the same drink without leaving the drink menu a number of times before 
the benefits show. The stats reset if the character gets sick (poisoned) while 
drinking:

Drink:         Cost:   Effect:
Orc Beer           5          +5 Might per drink after 2 drinks up to 99 Mgt
Straight Shot      5      +20 Accuracy per drink after 3 drinks up to 99 Acy
Id Elixir         20   +10 Personality per drink after 3 drinks up to 99 Per
Academic Age      20     +10 Intellect per drink after 3 drinks up to 99 Int
Rare Vintage      50         +3 Levels per drink after 3 drinks up to Lv 49
Mystic Brew      100    +1 Spell Level per drink after 5 drinks up to SL 8

Example: A level 5 character drinks Rare Vintage 10 times and goes to level 26.
         5 + (10-3) x 3 = 26

Temporary boosts to Intellect, Personality and Endurance seem to be pointless. 
These stats are only polled during level-ups, and the values that get checked 
are the permanent ones.

  4. SECONDARY SKILL BONUSES
  Each character can have up to two skills from the table below:
Skill:         Town:              Cost:   Purpose:
Cartographer   Middlegate (0,15)     10   Add to the automap as you explore
Mountaineer    Middlegate (3,12)   2000   Pass mountains (need it twice)
Pathfinder     Middlegate (1,9)    1000   Pass forests (need it twice)
Crusader       Tundara (2,14)       250   Take quests
Merchant       Tundara (5,13)      1000   Half buy price, double sell price
Navigator      Tundara (8,13)       750   Don't get lost in the desert
Gladiator      Vulcania (3,9)       500   +5 Might
Intellect      Atlantium (8,4)      500   +5 Intellect; read runes at C3 (0,7)
Diplomat       Sandsobar (3,4)      500   +5 Personality
Soldier        Vulcania (0,3)       500   +5 Endurance
Athlete        Atlantium (6,2)      500   +5 Speed
Arms Master    Vulcania (15,3)      500   +5 Accuracy
Gambler        Sandsobar (3,0)      200   +5 Luck
Hero/Heroine   Atlantium (9,2)     1000   +1 all rolled stats
Pickpocket     Sandsobar (0,5)      300   +5 Thievery; Ninjas and Robbers only
               Middlegate (12,10)   100   Remove both skills

  The secondary skills that give stat bonuses don't do anything if the character
learns it when the stat in question is 50 or up. But removing the skill with 
Brain Detoxification in Middlegate still deducts from the stats that were 
supposed to be increased. I recommend not getting those skills except to give an
early boost to Speed or Endurance. Use the permanent method instead.

  5. PERMANENT BONUSES
  Character stats can be increased permanently at certain dungeon locations:

         Cavern:           Tile:    +10 to:       Combat required:
C3(1,6)  Druid's Cavern    (1,15)   Might         none; use Teleport
A4(13,10)Below Atlantium   (11,15)  Intellect     none; use Teleport
B1(4,12) Ice Cavern        (7,15)F  Personality   none; run away afterward
                           (8,15)M
E1(3,4)  Below Vulcania    (15,14)  Endurance     none; use Teleport
E3(5,5)  Nomadic Rift      (0,15)   Speed         none; use Teleport
A2(1,1)  Pinehurst B1      (14,13)  Accuracy      several difficult battles
D4(3,7)  Dawn's Mist Bog   (12,7)   Luck          battle with Lucky Dogs
E4(4,10) Below Sansobar    (0,12)   Thievery      none; use teleport;
                                                  700 gold required

  Your stats can only be improved to 50-59 in this way. For example, if Might 
is 49 or below, you get +10 Might from eating spinach, but if it's 50 or higher 
you get nothing. For this reason you should remove stat raising equipment or 
skills before getting the bonuses. Try to get the Thievery bonus before level 5 
for Robbers or level 10 for Ninjas, so that they can benefit from it four times.
This effectively offsets the poor initial thieving ability of the Ninja. 
  The bonuses do not show up until you've rested or had an encounter. You may 
recieve more than one bonus without resting or entering combat; the multiple 
bonuses will just register all at once. However, the ceiling of 50-59 still 
applies even if the bonus is not shown.
  The event is spent after you visit the tile. To reset it you need to 
leave the area and come back. Drop a Lloyd's Beacon when you reach the tile 
for the first time. Cast Surface, or run away to the exit, then just return to 
your beacon. Lloyd's Beacon is learned at (7,11) in Corak's Cave, C2(5,11).
  Another way to do this is to bring the man at D3(7,13) a Cupie Doll, then 
visit the fountain at E3(10,12). The circus which is open from day 140-170 at 
B2(14,4) now raises stats by +10. You may repeat the process until you reach 
50-59. To do this you would have to wait until day 140.

  6. STAT TRADES
  To raise stats past the 50-59 ceiling, you'll have to trade away other stats:

Dungeon:       Tile:    Trade:            Combat required:
Hillstone B1   (0,0)    +3 Mgt, -5 Int    none; use Teleport
Woodhaven B1   (15,0)   +3 Mgt, -5 Per    none; use Teleport
Hillstone B2   (3,9)    +3 Int, -5 End    none; use Teleport
Woodhaven B2   (8,6)    +3 Per, -5 Lck    two battles
Luxus B1       (5,0)    +3 End, -5 Spd    none; use Teleport
Luxus B2       (15,0)   +3 Spd, -5 Mgt    none; use Teleport
Pinehurst B1   (2,7)    +3 Acc, -5 Spd    none*
Pinehurst B2   (4,15)   +3 Lck, -5 Per    none*

*Accuracy trade: Coming from the ground level entrance, Jump N at (1,10) to 
avoid a battle. To get to the ground level stairs from the stairs to B2, get 
into a battle then run away.
*Luck trade: Etherealize W from (6,9) and N from (5,10) to avoid battles.

  These trades are better than they look. Unlike the bonuses, stats can be 
brought up all the way to 255 this way with enough patience. The procedure 
to raise Endurance, for example, would be to trade away Speed down to 5-9, 
return to the Nomad's Cave to replenish Speed, then return to Luxus B1 and 
repeat. Each round trip (10 trades) would and raise Endurance by 30.
  If you try to trade when your stat is less than 5, you get nothing but the 
stat is brought to 0. To avoid mistakes, use Exchange to put the member you 
want to make the trade at the front of the party. Like the bonuses, the changes 
aren't shown on the status screen until you've had combat or rested. Unlike the 
bonuses, you can make the trade any number of times without leaving and 
returning to the area. Skillful use of Teleport, Lloyd's Beacon, and the portals
from area B2 will minimize the amount of time and combat required.
  Take note of what trades require what. Try to first increase the stats that 
won't be decreased later by other trades. For example, if you want to raise 
both Speed and Accuracy, do Accuracy first because it requires Speed. If you 
did Speed first all your hard work would be traded away when you did Accuracy. 
Some stats must remain below the 50-59 ceiling to serve as the source for other 
trades.
  Don't get too greedy. 255 is the absolute max. That includes AC. If you 
equip an item that would increase your stats past 255, only part of the bonus 
is applied. When you remove it, your stats will be decreased by the full 
amount. So if your Speed is 200 and you put on Speed Boots +60, Speed goes up 
only 55, up to 255. When you remove them, speed goes down by 75, down to 180.
  Also remember the unusual cap of 175 on Endurance.

  7. CLASS-SPECIFIC ITEMS
Class:     Item name:    +15 to:      Dungeon:      Tile:    Combat required:
Knight     Ivory Cameo   might        Pinehurst B1  (11,13)  several
           Ruby Tiara    accuracy     Pinehurst B2  (2,13)   none*
Paladin    Agate Grail   personality  Pinehurst B1  (6,6)    several
           Opal Pendant  might        Pinehurst B2  (14,13)  none*
Archer     Topaz Shard   accuracy     Luxus B1      (0,15)   none; use Teleport
           Sun Crown     intellect    Luxus B2      (15,13)  none; use Teleport
Sorcerer   Amber Skull   intellect    Luxus B1      (0,0)    none; use Teleport
           Quartz Skull  intellect    Luxus B2      (14,14)  none; use Teleport
Cleric     Onyx Effigy   personality  Woodhaven B1  (4,4)    none; use Teleport
           Pearl Choker  personality  Woodhaven B2  (10,4)   lots
Robber     Sapphire Pin  luck         Woodhaven B1  (7,1)    none; use Teleport
           Amethyst Box  luck         Woodhaven B2  (4,6)    lots
Ninja      Crystal Vial  speed        Hillstone B1  (15,4)   none; use Teleport
           Ruby Amulet   luck         Hillstone B2  (4,0)    none; use Teleport
Barbarian  Coral Broach  might        Hillstone B1  (1,14)   none; use Teleport
           Lapis Scarab  might        Hillstone B2  (15,15)  none; use Teleport

  *Ruby Tiara: Etherealize W from (6,9), again from (5,10) and again from 
(3,11). Do it one more time to get through the barrier.
  *Opal Pendant: Etherealize E from (8,8), again from (9,9) and again from 
(12,12). Do it one more time to get through the barrier.

  They will not let you pick up a class-specific item if the class that can 
use it is in the party. The obvious way to get around this is to leave a 
Beacon one or two squares away from the item, then come back after dropping 
the offending member off at the inn. You can leave and Beacon back to get as 
many as you want. Like any other equipment, these can be enchanted to +63. 
They cannot be duplicated, however.

  8. LUXUS B2 HP BONUS
  There is a guy at (0,15) of Luxus B2 who offers to sell a character all the HP
"you SHOULD have" for 1 million gold. This brings the maximum HP up to where it 
would be if the character had done all level-up training at Atlantium at his or 
her current Endurance rating. This negates the non-optimal HP raises derived 
from leveling at an inferior training center or at a lower Endurance rating.
  The seller can't help and won't take the money if the max HP is above the 
point projected by the character's Class, Endurance and Level. Thus, to get 
maximum benefit from Luxus B2, it's best to buy it after raising Endurance and 
before getting the castle dungeon and Dragon's Dominion bonuses, especially 
before the 1000 HP bonus. Likewise, it won't matter if previous level-ups were 
bought at inferior training centers.

  9. CASTLE DUNGEON HP BONUSES
Dungeon:      Tile:    Don't bring:  Combat required:
Pinehurst B1  (14,5)   Humans        several
Pinehurst B2  (13,1)   Humans        none*
Luxus B1      (11,14)  Dwarves       none; use Teleport
Luxus B2      (8,11)   Dwarves       none; use Teleport
Woodhaven B1  (0,7)    Elves         none; use Teleport
Woodhaven B2  (12,2)   Elves         lots
Hillstone B1  (11,1)   Half-orcs     none; use Teleport
Hillstone B2  (10,7)   Half-orcs     none; use Teleport

*Pinehurst B2: Etherealize E from (8,6), again from (9,6) and again from 
(12,4). Now Etherealize S from (14,4). Do it one more time to get through 
the barrier.

  These bonuses increase your max HP by 1-12. Each of them can only be accessed 
once per moon phase. The moon phases are 60 days long.

  10. DRAGON'S DOMINION D3(12,14) HP BONUSES
Tile:    HP bonus:  Limit:                   Combat required:
(0,0)    +10        up to 200 HP             3 Earth Wyrms
(11,2)   +25        none                     Armored Dragon
(7,14)   +1000      once per character       Ancient Dragon (not easy)

  +10 HP: From the starting point, Jump E from (2,8). Move E one step, S one 
step, then Jump S from (5,7). Move S then W to (4,0). You have to face the 
Earth Wyrms. After that, walk W through the walls to the fountain. 
  +25 HP: Jump E from (2,8), then (6,8) and (8,8). Jump S from (10,8). The 
Armored Dragon is at (7,0).
  +1000 HP: Jump E from (2,8), then (6,8) and (8,8). Jump N from (10,8) and 
again from (15,12). The Ancient Dragon as at (15,15). You can try raising your 
luck at the Greatest Fountain to improve your chances of hiding from him (or 
just fight him). 

  The biggest point of interest is the one-time 1000 HP jackpot. The +25 
fountain gives HP once per visit and can be used indefinitely, it seems. Lloyd's
Beacon, Time Distortion, and Surface don't work in this dungeon.

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II. PLAYING THE GAME
  1. CREATING A PARTY
  Don't worry about rolling 21s for your characters. Just roll reasonable 
numbers, because all stats can be raised. Speed and Endurance are most 
important for weak characters. The six default characters are adequate if you 
don't want to create your own.
  You may wish to have a party of six characters and two hirelings that has one 
representative from each class, or to take multiple characters of the same 
class. But getting treasure will be difficult without a Robber or Ninja. The 
spellcasting ability of at least one Cleric or Paladin and at least one Sorcerer
or Archer will help with getting around and fighting certain enemies. 
  Name can be changed from the View Char menu. 
  Race is permanent. It has a trivial effect on stats, and specific races are 
barred from getting benefits from each castle dungeon. Thus, a racially uniform 
party will be somewhat better able to deal with this problem.
  Sex is permanent but can be changed (for the whole party) in two places. The 
Personality boost in the Ice Cavern is sex specific, so a non-unisex party will 
have to make twice as many trips to exploit it.
  Alignment is permanent but changeable like sex. However, alignment can be 
easily restored to its original state at a temple or with the Cleric spell. 
Alignment determines whether a character can equip an item with +5 or higher 
enchantment and may also determine whether the character can hit and damage 
certain enemies.

  2. FAST MONEY AND EQUIPMENT
The guardian pegasus Meenu is at B1(9,9). Tell him his name for 100,000 gold.
Path to avoid blizzards: (8,3) > (8,8) > (7,8) > (7,10) > (9,10) > (9,9)
No skills or magic are required, so a new party can do this.

Buy the Merchant skill in Tundara(5,13) for 1000 gold and give it to whoever is 
at the front of the party. With this done, you can buy items, use them 
partially, and sell them back for the same price. (Plus you'll make double the 
money selling treasure.) Buy a Witch's Broom in Tundara and a Teleport Orb in 
Atlantium to start using these Fly and Teleport without a high level Sorcerer. 
These spells will help get treasure quickly.

B2(5,13) has a free Ice Sickle +2.

Teleport to (15,9) at Tundara and get the Emerald Ring. Run away at the (15,8) 
encounter to escape without being thrown in jail.

Gemmaker's Volcano A4(4,7) has no encounters and lots of Fire-type equipment. 
Make sure you have the Levitation spell to avoid the lava, either from a 
Sorcerer or a temple blessing. Get 500 gems at (6,10).

Ice Cavern B1(4,12) has another 500 gem pile at (0,15). Using Teleport to 
avoid battles, search to find good treasure at (5,12) (6,15) (9,12) (14,15) 
(3,3) (10,3) and (12,0).

Dragon's Dominion D3(12,14) has four guarded but valuable treasure caches.
  (3,6): Broad Sword +5, Great Bow +5, Flamberge +5
  (3,10): Great Shield +5, Helm +5, Plate Mail +5
  (13,6): Titan's Pike +7, Photon Blade +7, Ancient Bow +7
  (13,10): Gold Shield +7, G Plate Mail +7, Gold Helm +7

  3. CHOOSING EQUIPMENT
  Weapons: For fighting characters, go for maximum damage weapons. The stat 
boosts are not as important. However, there is something to be said for using 
a one-handed weapons over Titan's Pikes, because they allow you to equip the 
Magic Shield. 
  Beware of elemental weapons such as the Flaming Sword. Some enemies are weak 
to certain elementals, but many are immune to them. Elemental weapons are 
troublesome when fighting strong monsters.

  Missile weapons: It's not necessary to equip both a strong melee and strong 
missile weapon. If one of them is much stronger, it can be used in combat while 
the other can be used to raise some exotic stat.

  Armor: Try for gold equipment. Bronze gives Fear resistance, Iron gives 
Sleep resistance, and Silver gives Energy resistance, all pretty much 
worthless. Whatever Luck does, it's probably more helpful than those effects. 
When it comes down to Gold or highly enchanted non-Gold, keep the Gold because 
you can enchant it eventually.

  Resistances: Fear, Sleep, Energy, Acid, Fire, Electricity, and Cold are all 
worthless. These attacks are used against you rarely enough that it's not 
worth wasting equipment slots on them. Magic resistance is good however, and 
sometimes magic resistance encompasses the others, for example if the enemy 
casts Fireball.

  4. EXPERIENCE TRICKS
  A nice quest for beginning parties is the Mark's Keys quest. Go to A2 (2,9) 
and answer KEYS. Then bring them to C1 (1,1) for 10,000 xp. Don't go there 
unless you have the keys or a character will die.

  Try the quests for Hoardall, Slayer, and Haart. (You may remove an unwanted 
quest at Hillstone(13,2) or Woodhaven(13,2).)

  Lord's Quest of Hoardall at Woodhaven(9,11) in C1(3,14): reward 100,000 xp
Sword of Valor at A2 (11,2) guarded by 6 Mountain Men
Sword of Honor at D4 (14,11) guarded by 6 Guardians
Sword of Nobility D1 (0,8) guarded by 4 Priests

  Lord's Quest of Slayer at Hillstone(5,2) in D4(13,1): reward 1,000,000 xp
Dragon Lord at D1(10,12)
Queen Beetle at E2(11,6)
Serpent King at E3(5,6)

  Quest of Haart at B1(5,5): reward 250,000 xp, 50,000 gold, 500 gems
Phaser at A1(11,2) in year 600 guarded by Spaz Twit and 6 White Knights
Loincloth at E2(4,5) in year 700 guarded by Long One and 30 Crazed Natives

  There is a coin slot in Hillstone B1 (11,5) that gives 1 exp per gold. 
Downstairs in B2 (9,15), a magical pit gives 3 exp per gold. These methods 
require gold and don't work for hirelings since they can't hold gold.

  The epicurean quest requires eating all three meals at all five taverns for 
each character. Then visit A3(7,7) to get 100,000 xp. This doesn't work for 
hirelings because they can't order at taverns.

   The fastest xp method is to fight the Cuisinarts at B2(1,8). If your Speed is
approaching 200, your levels are reasonable and your weapons are highly 
enchanted you should be able to drop all three Cuisinarts before they can 
move, leaving 60 million xp, or 7.5 mil to each member of a party of eight. The 
treasure will be good too.
  The Greatest Fountain at E2 (11,9) can solve the level and Speed problems, but
you will need to provide your own weapons. It's not feasible for low level 
parties to kill them but it's still possible to beat them. Give each character 
Magic Herbs and make them heal each other when the Cuisinarts frenzy. Some 
members may still be alive once the Cuisinarts have killed themselves.

  5. ALIGNMENT AND SEX CHANGES
Dungeon:      Tile:    Party becomes:  Combat required:
Pinehurst B2  (5,1)    Good            none*
Woodhaven B2  (7,8)    Neutral         one large battle
Luxus B2      (5,11)   Evil            none; use Teleport
Hillstone B2  (0,8)    Male            none; use Teleport
Luxus B2      (4,8)    Female          none; use Teleport

  *Good alignment change: Etherealize S from (6,6) and again from (6,3)

  Very often you will want to equip an item but have an alignment conflict. 
Use the alignment-changing locations above to correct this. You can easily get 
realigned at a temple or with the cleric spell.
  The only reason to use the sex change is to make the whole party the same sex,
in order to expedite the Personality-boosting process in the Ice cave. Sex 
changes are permanent. To reverse them, bring the characters to the opposite 
fountain.
  The alignment and sex changes affect all characters present in the party.

  6. ENCHANTING ITEMS
  Ultimately you will want to complement your stats with the appropriate 
equipment. All items can be enchanted to +63 with the level 9 sorcerer spell 
Enchant Item, available in the Gemmaker's Volcano. If you want to start 
enchanting before you have a level 17 sorcerer, rescue Mr. Wizard at D3(1,14).
  The enchantment increases whatever bonus the item gives, so that +20 Speed 
Boots give +35 speed. Magical armer or weapons that are enchanted get a bonus 
both to AC/damage as well as the magical feature, so a +20 Titan's Pike does 
1-40 +20 damage (i.e., 21-61 damage) and raises Might by +35. Most items 
become alignment-specific (to a random alignment) once they reach +5 or higher.
  The spell costs 50 SP plus one per plus of the item. So enchanting a +50 
item takes 100 SP. If you want to replenish your SP without resting, use the 
fountain at C1(1,5). Get gems quickly at the Ice Cavern or the Gemmaker's 
Volcano by using a Beacon.
  There is a chance that Enchant Item curses the item. You get no notification 
until you try to equip the item. The character becomes cursed and the item 
cannot be equipped. The level 9 cleric spell Uncurse Item doesn't work. So 
make a backup save before trying to enchant something.

  7. CASTLE DUNGEON PORTALS
                       Stairs  Stairs  Teleport/  Area B2         Dungeon
Castle:   Location:      up:    down:  Etherlze:   warp:           warp:
Hillstone D4(13,1) 1F         (10,13)     Yes  
                   B1  (8,15)   (5,1)     Yes  (4,3)->(11,13)  (15,15)->W(0,14)
                   B2  (0,12)             Yes                  (7,10)->W(7,15)
Woodhaven C1(3,14) 1F          (11,9)     Yes  
                   B1  (0,15) (13,13)     Yes   (4,1)->(0,14)  (1,9)->P(0,15)
                   B2  (7,15)           No, No                 (8,4)->P(7,7)
Pinehurst A2(1,1)  1F          (11,2)     Yes
                   B1  (0,15)   (1,2)   No, No  (6,3)->(1,2)   (12,8)->L(11,9)
                   B2   (7,7)           No,Yes                 (8,6)->L(10,2)
Luxus     E1(3,4)  1F           (0,0)     Yes  
                   B1  (11,9)  (13,5)   No, No  (6,1)->(9,8)   (15,0)->H(8,15)
                   B2  (10,2)             Yes                  (11,1)->H(0,12)

  The table gives all the information pertaining to travel into and within the 
castle system. Most of the important places for stat-massaging are located in 
the castle dungeons. You will be spending a lot of time down there if you want 
to raise them really high. 
  The Teleport/Etherealize column tells whether these important spells are 
allowed on each floor. Without these you will have to fight to get anywhere. 
Both floors of all the dungeons have links to other dungeons, indicated by the 
Dungeon Warp column.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. CHEATS AND GLITCHES
  The following are curiosities specific to the Genesis version. They were not 
intended by the game developers and may be considered cheating.

  1. FREE ITEMS, GOLD AND GEMS
Choose "View Char" and at the "View which?" prompt, press C while holding A. A 
nameless character with invalid stats will be displayed. You can take his stuff 
by using the Trade command. Press left to view more characters. The set of 
characters available depends on the last enemy or NPC sprite to be displayed.

  2. FREE TREASURE
Choose a party of six characters and two hirelings and dismiss one of the 
hirelings. Without moving, search to find a trapped chest. It will contain 
84 million gold, 34 thousand gems and a Small Club. This can be repeated by 
bringing the hireling back.

  3. REST TO TELEPORT
In any dungeon where Teleport is forbidden, simply Rest to re-enable the spell. 
This can be used to zip around otherwise dangerous areas. This also unlocks 
other forbidden spells, such as Lloyd's Beacon in Dragon's Dominion.

  4. FRENZY
  Cast the Frenzy spell on any character in combat. With this done, the enemies 
will lose all magic resistance and spells that never work, like instant kill 
spells, will now work even on the strongest enemies.
  This makes it possible to open up with Frenzy, revive the fallen character, 
and then nail the enemies with your killer spells all before they get a chance 
to move. Remember that Frenzy affects the character one slot above the 
designated target, and be sure to deal with the Endurance penalty.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MY PARTY
  This is to demonstrate what kind of party you can make with enchantments and 
stat-boosting. All equipment is +62 or +63, and the party is so strong that 
visiting the Greatest Fountain makes them weaker. The names will be familiar if 
you've played the D&D arcade games.

Base stats for all characters:
Mgt 130-140
Int 55-59 (120-129 for spellcasters)
Per 55-59 (120-129 for spellcasters)
End 160-169
Spd 124-129
Acy 134-139
Luc 55-59 (124-129 for thieves)

Equipment-modified stats:
Mgt 200+ except sorcerer, archer, and ninja
Int 200+ for spellcasters
Per 200+ for spellcasters
End 160-169
Spd 200+
Acy 200+ except sorcerer
Luc 200+ for thieves

 Crassus M/Good/Human/Knight+
Photon Blade (Might)
G Plate Mail (AC, Luck)
Silver Shield (AC, Energy)
Ruby Tiara (Accuracy)
Speed Boots (Speed)
Magic Charm (Magic)

 Dimsdale M/Neutral/Dwarf/Barbarian+
Swift Axe (Speed)
Gold Shield (AC, Luck)
S Scale Mail (AC, Energy)
Lapis Scarab (Might)
Acy Gauntlet (Accuracy)
Magic Charm (Magic)

 Lucia F/Good/Elf/Archer+
Magic Sword	(Magic)
Ancient Bow (Accuracy)
G Chain Mail (AC, Luck)
Elven Cloak (AC)
Sun Crown (Intellect)
Speed Boots (Speed)

 Greldon M/Good/Human/Cleric+
Holy Cudgel (Personality)
G Splintmail (AC, Luck)
Magic Shield (AC, Magic)
Acy Gauntlet (Accuracy)
Mgt Gauntlet (Might)
Speed Boots (Speed)

 Moriah F/Neutral/Human/Robber+
Force Sword (Might)
Magic Shield (AC, Magic)
G Chain Mail (AC, Luck)
Acy Gauntlet (Accuracy)
Speed Boots (Speed)
Stealth Cape (Thievery)

 Syous M/Neutral/Human/Sorcerer+
Wizard Staff (Intellect)
Magic Charm (Magic)
Emerald Ring (AC)
Invisocloak (AC)
Speed Boots (Speed)
Ruby Ankh (Luck)

 Sherman M/Good/Human/Paladin+ (hireling)
Thunder Sword (Might)
Ancient Bow (Accuracy)
G Plate Mail (AC, Luck)
Magic Shield (AC, Magic)
Agate Grail (Personality)
Speed Boots (Speed)

 Nakazawa M/Good/Human/Ninja+ (hireling)
Sun Naginata (AC)
G Ring Mail (AC, Luck)
Crystal Vial (Speed)
Acy Gauntlet (Accuracy)
Castle Key (Thievery)
Magic Charm (Magic)

All characters have:
- one item that boosts speed, luck, and magic resistance, and two that boost AC
- one item that boosts accuracy (except the sorcerer)
- one item that boosts might (except the archer, ninja, sorcerer)
- one item that boosts thievery, for the thief classes

Other points:
- The sorcerer doesn't wear the stupid Padded Armor
- The knight, barbarian, archer, paladin and ninja use one class-specific item
- The knight and barbarian also get energy resistance
- The most reused item is the Speed Boots (6 times)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLOSING
  Credit goes to CrazyLaz for the Frenzy trick and to radjenef for the free 
treasure and rest to teleport tricks. Credit goes to Andrew Schultz for info on 
the HP seller in Luxus B2 in his very useful guide, and to those who supported 
his work. 
  This document is my own work. Any questions, comments, corrections or 
complaints should be addressed to the address below, with clear indication in 
the subject line that the email is concerning this FAQ. 

Want to see this game beaten really fast? Watch the video I made at
http://tasvideos.org/2015S.html

dammit9x at hotmail dot com