After finishing Ultima VI, Origin Entertainment decided they wanted to use the game system more than just the once. Out of that desire came two Worlds of Ultima games, the first of which was The Savage Empire.
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The Avatar takes a moonstone to a friend of his, Professor Rafkin. While experimenting on the stone, an accident occurs, sending the Avatar, Professor Rafkin, and a young reporter, Jimmy Malone, into an undiscovered, and undiscoverable, section of Earth called the Valley of Eodon. There, dinosaurs still roam the wilds, and multiple different tribes of people from all different times and places in Earth's history, live side by side, often clashing with each other.
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Into this land, the Avatar runs across the princess of the Kurak tribe, Aiela, a warrior woman who finds herself attracted to this newcomer. However, just as the Avatar saves Aiela from a pterodactyl, he is confronted by a giant warrior named Darden of the Urali tribe. Darden takes Aiela, crushes the Avatar to the ground, and disappears.
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When he awakes, the Avatar must gather his friends from the modern world back together, hunt down the monster, Darden, and rescue the Kurak princess Aiela. In the meantime, he must deal with the lack of trust between the tribes, as they constantly work against each other, as well as the never-ending threat of the Myrmidex. The Myrmidex are human-sized, ant-like creatures who hunt all humans for food, emerging out of their warren of tunnels underneath the valley to strike without warning.
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To find his way home, the Avatar must put an end to the Myrmidex threat. To do that, he'll have to find a way to unite the tribes together.
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Throughout his journey the Avatar will be joined by many companions, both from his world and from the valley, all intent on ending the strife that plagues the valley. However, nothing worth doing is ever easy. And there are those who would rather maintain the world as it is, relishing in the power that comes from the constant threat of death.
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Will the Avatar save his companions, rescue the princess, unite the tribes, end the threat of the Myrmidex and find his way home? And, in the process, will he figure out the secret of the Valley and why no one has ever found it before?
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Only time will tell.
Character Creation and Copyright Questions
Before starting your journey (and using the rest of this guide), you must first create a character by answering three questions. How you answer the questions affects what kind of stats you, the Avatar, will have.
There are three Stats in the game: Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence.
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Strength has three functions:
1) Determines maximum weight of items the character can carry and/or wear.
2) If hitting an enemy in combat, it helps determine how much damage is dealt (even with ranged weapons).
3) It determines how much health a character has. Max HP = STR*2 + 4*Character Level.
Dexterity has two functions:
1) Affects how successful a character is at performing specific actions (primarily hitting an enemy).
2) Affects the player order in Combat. High Dexterity rates allow characters to sometimes perform 2-3 actions during a single Combat Round.
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Intelligence has two functions:
1) Increases the power of Magical Spells (only Triolo can cast spells).
2) Increases a character's Magical Defense.
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During Character Creation, the Avatar will be randomly asked one of the six questions below (chart taken from strategywiki.org). Based on the answer made, the Avatar's stats will be increased by 1. For instance, if asked if you return a spear to a warrior (Dexterity) or give it to the original owner (Intelligence), either Dexterity or Intelligence will be raised.
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The second question will deal with the stat you did not take in the first option, and the stat that did not appear in the first question. The example above deals with Dexterity/Intelligence. If you selected A, gaining Dexterity, the second question will be between Intelligence (the one not chosen) and Strength (the one not offered).
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The third question will be between the two stats you picked before.
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What that means is that, when you're done, one stat will be raised by 2, one will be raised by 1, and one will not be raised at all.
Image courtesy of Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire StratagyWiki
Copyright Questions
As was standard for most games made in the late 80s through the 90s, The Savage Empire requires some kind of proof that you actually bought the game before letting you play it.
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The way this game does it is to have you begin the game in a conversation with the Kurak Shaman, Intaya. Intaya gives you a quick update of where you are, and says he's glad that your body has recovered from its injuries. He then checks to see if your mind has recovered as well by asking you a random question whose answer can only be found within the Adventure Book that comes with the game. Or, of course, on a site like this.
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The possible questions and their answers are:
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1. Who is on the cover of the Ultimate Adventures Magazine? (Coatlicue)
2. In your dreams, what did you think of as an old trusty friend? (Bowie or Knife)
3. In your dreams, you saw birds. What sort of eyes did they have? (Reptilian)
4. In your dreams, what was it that you lacked? (Memory)
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5. What sort of cover does Jimmy's notebook have? (Weatherproof)
6. What does Professor Rafkin think the the valley is akin to? (Time Capsule)
7. What is the first tribe Rafkin discusses in his notes? (Nahuatla)
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8. What does Rafkin say happens frequently between tribes? (Clashes)
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9. What expedition has returned? (Wild Basin)