"Ultima", The World of Multiple Choice Quiz | Ultima Games

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The various "Ultima" games more-or-less all occur in the unique world of Britannia. This world is an iconic high-fantasy world populated mostly by humans (although gargoyles make an appearance later on in the series). Who is generally accepted as the ruler of this land?

Answer: Lord British

Lord British is the in-game persona of the creator of the "Ultima" series, Richard Garriott. In the timeline that the "Ultima" games take place in, he (Lord British) is the ruler of the world of Britannia.

The "Ultima" series is known for its characters' appearances being based on real-life people, usually people who worked in Origin Systems, the company that made the games. Richard Garriott actually has two major in-game personas. Aside from Lord British, the former king-turned ranger Shamino is also based on Richard Garriott.

2. In the world of "Ultima", there are various means that the player can use for transportation, both magical and mundane. Which of the following are the most commonly-used among the magical transportation methods?

Answer: moongates

The moongates are a classic "Ultima" transportation feature and have in fact been featured as major plot elements in some of the later ones.

Blue moongates are used for day-to-day transportation and are normally located in stone circles near the major cities and shrines. Blue moongates are somewhat random and their destination points depend heavily on the phases of the moon.

Red moongates are special moongates generated by several magical objects such as the Orb of Moons. These moongates are usually targeted and the destinations are more specific than blue moongates.

Other moongates include black moongates used by the guardian in "Ultima VII: The Black Gate" (and presumeably "Ultima VIII: Pagan") and silver moongates.

3. Each new "Ultima" came with an innovatively unique aspect of gameplay and/or story. "Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny" was renowned for accurately portraying a world under the grip of a tyrannical ruler. Unlike other RPGs of the time, it was unusually dark and foreboding. Who is the villain in "Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny"?

Answer: The Shadowlords

In "Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny", the Avatar comes to a Britannia ruled by Lord Blackthorn where he is influenced/possessed by the Shadowlords. The Shadowlords themselves are the exact opposite manifestations of the three pre-virtue principles of Truth (Faulinei: Falsehood), Love (Astaroth: Hatred) and Courage (Nosfentor: Cowardice).

The Shadowlords also make a cameo appearance in the Avatar's dreams in the later sequences of "Ultima Worlds of Adventure II: Martian Dreams".

4. Some of the games in the "Ultima" series don't necessarily take place in Britannia. This particular game takes place in the valley of Eodon, where the Avatar must rescue his companions and find a way home, uniting the peoples of the land and defeating a race of mutated ants along the way. Which of the following games is it?

Answer: "Ultima Worlds of Adventure: The Savage Empire"

"Ultima Worlds of Adventure: The Savage Empire" is the first game in the Worlds of Adventure series. It details the adventures of the Avatar and his earthly friends in the prehistoric valley of Eodon.

Many of the Avatar's Britannian companions are actually present in some way in the Worlds of Adventure series. In "Ultima Worlds of Adventure: The Savage Empire", Iolo appears as Triolo, a shaman; Dupre is Dokray, a strong tribal warrior while Shamino is Shamuru, a wandering ranger, just like the real one.

5. This volatile material was first introduced in "Ultima VII". It is a particularly explosive type of material, yet one can find various objects made from it. It also has a notably adverse effect on magic, as seen in the major plot of "Ultima VII".

Answer: blackrock

Blackrock was first truly introduced in "Ultima VII: The Black Gate", although some signs of it have been hinted at in the two "Ultima Worlds of Adventure" games.

In "Ultima VII", part of the main plot involves destroying three generators made of blackrock which were causing Britannian magic to go awry. This rare material can be used to absorb magic, as seen in the game when the mage Mariah requires several pieces in order to shield her room from the adverse effects of the generators.

In the expansion "Ultima VII: Forge of Virtue", one can attain a very powerful blackrock sword that has a daemon trapped inside it.

Perhaps its most notable use is that one can build moongates made of it that can traverse space and time (as was almost witnessed in "Ultima VII" & "Ultima VII part 2: Serpent Isle"). It was through these moongates that the cosmic entity called The Guardian tried to enter Britannia with in "Ultima VII: The Black Gate" and "Ultima VII part 2: Serpent Isle".

6. Most of the Avatar's companions are actually non-native Britannians like him/her. They come from the real earth, and have travelled to Britannia through various means and methods. In many of the "Ultima" games though, the Avatar can band together with natives of the worlds that the various "Ultima"s take place in. Which of the following companions is actually a native of the land of Britannia?

Answer: Shamino

Shamino Salle Dacil was actually the king of the Lands of Danger and Despair, a part of the old continent of Sosaria before its breakup into Britannia and other islands/kingdoms.

Eventually, he became a ranger and a valued member of the Avatar's party in most of the canonical "Ultimas".

His old castle and kingdom can actually be visited in "Ultima VII part 2: Serpent Isle" and also in one of the expansions of the MMORPG, "Ultima Online".

7. While a few of the games in the "Ultima" series are not set entirely in Britannia, there is one particular "Ultima" which for a great majority of the game is set on our world of earth. Which of the following "Ultima"s takes place on Earth?

Answer: "Ultima II: Revenge of the Enchantress"

"Ultima II: Revenge of the Enchantress" was somewhat of a different take on the "Ultima" series. Created by Richard Garriott for Sierra, the game takes place in various time periods on Earth.

While "Ultima III" & "Ultima IX" both occur in Britannia, "Ultima Worlds of Adventure II: Martian Dreams" takes place on an alternate-reality 1800's Mars.

8. This particular "Ultima" was revolutionary (and controversial) for not being set in the traditional world that the series is normally set in. It also featured a revamped control method and an unusual magic system. Instead, the Avatar is thrust into a dark and unfamiliar world already subservient to the antagonist of this particular "Ultima" story arc. Which of the following games is this controversial "Ultima"?

Answer: "Ultima VIII: Pagan"

"Ultima VIII" is set in Pagan, a world which was conquered by the Guardian ages before. Unlike Britannia, the people of Pagan do not follow the virtues and instead worship the four primal forces of earth, water, air and fire. Unbeknownst to them, the four titans representing each (Lithos, Hydros, Stratos and Pyros) element are actually facets of the Guardian.

Much controversy surrounded the release of this game because of several changes that the developers implemented in order to appeal to a much wider audience. For starters, this was the first "Ultima" where the Avatar had to jump around action-arcade-style onto moving blocks and platforms. This was the first major "Ultima" in a long time to feature the Avatar alone, without an adventuring party to accompany him.

Unlike the "Ultima"s that had come before, "Ultima VIII: Pagan" did not have a character creation system, one of the unique aspects of the series. Finally, many of the story's challenges involved forcing the Avatar to actually commit non-virtuous deeds such as theft and murder in order to accomplish his task. In fact, it is implied that the Avatar's final quest to escape the world resulted in a massive cataclysm that probably destroyed the world.

9. The Avatar has been a long-standing protagonist of the "Ultima" series. He/she was not always known as the Avatar though. Prior to a particular "Ultima", the to-be Avatar was known simply as "the stranger". Which "Ultima" did the Avatar first formally appear in?

Answer: "Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar"

In "Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar", the protagonist goes on to fulfill the eight virtues and recover the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom to become the Avatar. From this point onward, the "mysterious hero" was to be known as the Avatar.

It is interesting to note that the removal of the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom from the Stygian Abyss eventually led to the destabilization and destruction of the world of the gargoyles. This plot point was revisited in the later "Ultima VI: The False Prophet" where the Avatar returned the Codex to its rightful place and cemented peace between humans and gargoyles.

10. The "Ultima" series has been hailed at one of the first and greatest computer role playing games ever. Through more than 2 decades of development and more than a dozen games, the world has been fleshed-out more than most gaming worlds in existence. Which of the following was the first game set in the "Ultima" world?

Answer: "Akalabeth: World of Doom"

"Akalabeth" was a simple dungeon crawl-type rpg made by "Ultima" creator Richard Garriott. The game itself is popularly called "Ultima 0" by fans of the series, and it is the first game to actually take place in the "Ultima" universe.

Source: Author ryiannah_shrum

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

"Ultima", The World of Trivia Quiz

The "Ultima" series spans more than a dozen games on numerous platforms, the PC being the most prevalent. Some "Ultimas" were also released for the NES and SNES. This quiz covers general knowledge about the land that these games take place in.

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