Magic wands can be dangerous things. The one you found in the junk shop off Market Street was no exception. It was a mistake to wave it while the cranky old shopkeeper's back was turned... Instantly the atmosphere turned inside out, taking you with it. Then it twisted back again, dumping you back inside the shop - but a strangely altered shop indeed... No windows, precious little stock - and no shopkeeper either! You were in part of a cave system, to judge from the walls, ceiling and floor.
As you paused, uncertain what to do, a voice seemed to weasel its way into your mind, crawling between the wet layers of flesh and skull:
"Go and seek the treasure, mortal, and bring it back here in payment for the misuse of my wand. You will need every ounce of cunning to deal with the serpent in the Garden of Eden, the ancient mariner, the invalid old lady, the whale, and myriad other problems too difficult to mention.
"A word of warning - it is dangerous to travel in the dark!
"One final thing - READ MY NOTICE!"
As the words began to fade from your concious mind, the temporary paralysis that had gripped your limbs since you waved the wand eased, and you began to realise that what happened now was up to you...
Philosopher's Quest Help Sheet 'PHILOSOPHER'S QUEST' comes with on-line help which you get into by typing HELP <RETURN>. The program will halt and wait for you to type in a number so that it knows which 'hint' you want. You therefore need to know which numbers refer to which hints. Pages 2-4 of this Hint Sheet contain a series of questions that players typically ask, like 'How do I find anything underwater?' Various 'key words' have been deleted from these questions - making it harder to accidentally see the solutions to other questions - and are reproduced below. The numbers alongside the words refer to the questions. The number that follows each question is the number to key for that particular hint. Good luck! ALBATROSS 3 GRAVEYARD 19 SEA 44 AREA 15,23,50 INK 21 SHOP 36 BABEL 4 JUICES 18 SLAB 38 BATTERY 7 LADY 17,22,29,37 SNAKE 39 BENDS 6 45 SOLICITOR 28 BLACH 43 LAMP 30 SOURCE 53 BUCKET 38,52 LIGHT 23,53 STOMACH 42 CHEESE 8 MARINER 7,12 TEA 29 CUPBOARD 44 MAZE 16 TIME 30 DANGER 9, 49 MOUSE 26 TOOTH 40 DARK 10 OBJECT 20,36,47 TREASURE 27,48 DOG 1,11,17,22 OCTOPUS 27 UNDERWATER 2,41 37,46,51 OFFICE 28 WALK 33 DOOR 32 PAINT 31 WATER 35 EDEN 13,50 PANTRY 32 WEIGHTS 52 ELEPHANT 14,19 PASSAGES 25 WHALE 16,42 FRUIT 39 PLANK 5,33 WILL 45 GAME 24 POINT 24 YOU 15,23 GARDEN 13 PORTCULLIS 34 GASTRIC 18 ROOM 9,49 1 How do I find the old lady's third ***? 43 2 How do I see **********? 16 3 How can I drop the *********? 39 4 How do I do anything in *****? 22 5 How do I walk the full length of the *****? 21 6 How do I avoid getting the *****? 30 7 How do I avoid losing almost all my ******* time when 36 I visit the *******? 8 How can I get past the ******? 15 9 How can I stay alive in the ****** **** the first 19 time? 10 Why do I keep dying in the ****? 2 11 How can I find the old lady's ***? 31 12 How do I get past the ancient *******? 34 13 How do I get out of the ****** of ****? 33 14 How do I get past the ********? 27 15 How can I escape the '*** don't exist' ****? 37 16 How do I get out of the ***** ****? 26 17 How can I ensure that the old ****'s *** stays alive? 35 18 How do I avoid being dissolved by ******* ******? 29 19 How do I get back safely from the ********s' 32 *********? 20 How do I lift heavy ******s? 5 21 How can I get the ***? 6 22 How can I get back to the old **** after getting her 41 *** down safely? 23 How can I get ***** again after escaping the 40 '*** don't exist' ****? 24 How do I finish the **** and get the last *****? 50 25 I don't understand the M. E. ******** 11 26 How can I pick up the *****? 24 27 How do I get the ******** chest from the *******? 23 28 What use is the *********'s ******? 4 29 How can I get the **** her ***? 14 30 How do I avoid running out of **** ****? 51 31 How do I use the *****? 47 32 How do I open the ****** ****? 7 33 How do I stay alive when ****ing the *****? 8 34 How do I get past the **********? 12 35 How do I enter the ***** safely? 10 36 How do I get more than two ******s out of the ****? 1 37 How do I find the old ****'s fourth ***? 44 38 How do I get the **** out to the ****** 13 without dying in the ****? 39 What do I do with the ***** and the *****? 25 40 How do I take the ***** safely? 28 41 How do I find anything **********? 17 42 How can I get dry things into the *****'s *******? 20 43 What use is the word *****? 49 44 How do I open the *** ********? 18 45 How do I make the old ****'s **** valuable? 48 46 How do I find the old lady's second ***? 42 47 How do I enquire about the use of an ******? 52 48 How can I locate an item of ********? 53 49 How do I stay alive in the ****** **** the second 45 time? 50 How do I get out of the **** outside ****? 38 51 How do I find the old lady's fifth ***? 46 52 How do I get the heavy ******* into the ******? 9 53 How do I find a ***** ******? 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 'COUNTDOWN to DOOM' (C) Peter Killworth Publ. by TOPOLOGIKA 1987