King's Quest I

[paolo]

I'm putting King's Quest III to one side for the time being and am now playing King's Quest I (why I didn't play this first, I don't know, but, unless I'm mistaken, KQIII doesn't seem to have anything in it that needs knowledge of KQI).

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In the game, you meet the three characters who stole the magic items: the dwarf, the sorceror and the witch. Clearly you need to interact with them somehow to get the items back.

Get to close to the dwarf and he picks your pockets; talking to him is no help.

The sorceror will presumably cast a spell on me if I get too close.

The witch turns you into a gingerbread man.

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Any gentle hints here, please? I have

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golden egg, carrot, four-leaved clover, walnut (opened), pebbles, bowl, dagger, bucket of water

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By the way, this game is really buggy - it seems to crash all the time and sometimes does not change rooms when I walk off the edge of a room. But that's an issue for another forum. I am playing it in the larger-sized window, which is apparently untested (why?) so on my own head be it, I suppose.

[thewalrus]

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Have you tried to cross the bridge yet? The troll really doesn't like donkeys...

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[paolo]

Any hints (not answers, please) on the following?

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How do I cross the river to get to the mushroom?

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What is the goat for? He always wanders off if I take him more than a few rooms away from his pen.

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What can I feed the woodcutter's wife?

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What do I give the troll so I can cross the bridge? I lose points if I give him something valuable. He doesn't disturb me if I cross the stone bridge - I suppose that is the answer.

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Thanks for any hints (again, no outright answers, please).

[paolo]

Thanks, thewalrus, that answered one of my later questions.

[sthomannch]

paolo, which version do you play? Tierra/Sierra VGA or EGA?

Spoiler

Avoid the dwarf and the sorcerer. Get rid of the witch

Mushroom: later in the game, take a flight to get there.

Goat: Can you give him something? He might help you somewhere else. Goats hate a certain kind of nasty creatures that block roads

Food: Find a bowl in the woods. Sometimes at this place, sometimes at that place, but always out of place

Troll: Don't give him anything! Get rid of him

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[paolo]

VGA.

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I've found the gnome, but reading the hints in the older thread, it looks like I have to get rid of the witch first.

I've sorted the troll out. I've got the bowl... not sure what I'm supposed to do with it though.

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Thanks.

[sthomannch]

paolo

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examine the inventory items. Have a good look at the bowl. This should help you.

Witch and gnome: Maybe the hints talk about somebody else that lives at an elevated position. You can get rid of the witch anytime.

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[sthomannch]

Ah

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you are not talking about a gnome, but about the one on the island? yes, it helps if you have dealt with the witch first. This gives you an important clue. I worked on this hardly when I played this game...

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[paolo]

I haven't been able to get access to this site all day today, and funnily enough I've progressed well beyond the answers to the hints that have been posted since I last looked without needing the help that these hints provide. But thanks for posting them anyway - I'm sure they'll be useful to someone else.

One thing that really helped was reading the articles in Wikipedia for the various fairy tales that the game alludes to.

Now I'm curious to know

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how I can get the axe from outside the woodcutter's cottage so I can chop down the beanstalk, which I presume I need to do as per that particular fairy tale.

Shortly after my last posting, I was visited by someone who helped me get rid of the witch. I was then able to feed the woodcutter's wife and get into Cloud Land, which I got back from the safe way and the way that killed me off.

I have the fiddle (hm, that suggests a nursery rhyme, but I haven't seen the animal that goes with the the musical instrument...) but haven't played it to anyone who might want to listen yet. I'll give that a go.

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[sthomannch]

paolo,
1.

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you do not need the axe, so no beanstalk chopping and no earthquake because of falling ogres

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2.

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you got rid of the witch and killed her?

And cloud land: depending on the way you take to get there or to come back, you have to outsmart another thief

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3.

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you will play the fiddle not to an animal. And in a place that is not easily accessible, but only by flight :-)

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[paolo]

Thanks, sthomannch. I'm intrigued...

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No, I didn't kill the witch.

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Someone else has turned up and given me something else that might be useful. I'm not sure where I might use it yet, though.

I'm wondering what to do now. I think I'll just wander around for a bit and see what else happens.

[sthomannch]

paolo
Not all steps are necessary to complete the game, however:

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Witch: She fits well into the cauldron, or not? If you get rid of her, you can search her house.

Something useful: Two useful gifts, a protection spell (wears off after a short while) and a ring. Examine the ring. You can use it later to protect from a thief. Not the one on the meadows.

Clouds: Did you get the chest yet? There are several solutions to this puzzle, with different score.

Shield: Take a dive, but not in the river.

Later on you can take care of the mushroom and other things...

And a word of advice: Save often

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[paolo]

Thanks for the tips.

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I have the protection spell (which I've already used) and the invisibility ring.

The witch is still around but I was able to search her house because I was using the protection spell when I went it. She decided to go out.

Ah, it's interesting what you say about the cauldron. That would match up with Hansel and Gretel (although it was an oven in the original story).

Do I still need to get rid of her? She's being a nuisance at the moment in that sometimes she swoops down on her broomstick and captures me.

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[thewalrus]

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Yes, I still believe that you need to get rid of her. Just take in to consideration the story of Hanzel and Gretel.

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[paolo]

Thanks.

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I'm thinking pebbles, I'm thinking cauldron.

If I go into the witch's house, she turns me into a gingerbread man. Putting on the invisibility ring first doesn't help.

If she swoops down on me on her broomstick, I get killed. If I quickly put on the invisibility ring, she doesn't see me, but she's off before I can do very much.

Throwing the pebbles doesn't seem to do much more than reducing their number in my inventory.

I can go into the witch's house when she's out, but when she comes back, there's trouble.

I need to get the witch into the cauldron, I suppose, but how?

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Thanks.

[thewalrus]

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You need to wait in a part of the house where she can't see you when she comes in. Then wait till she is doing something with the cauldron. You should be able to push her in then.

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[paolo]

Of course - that makes sense. I've got rid of her now. Thanks.

[paolo]

OK, I've nearly finished the game!

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How do you get out of the caves?

I can't climb out the way I came in. I tried going back to an earlier saved game and getting the rope from the well, but it just fell into the water.

I suppose you have to go through the small hole to the west of the throne room, but I don't see an Alice in Wonderland-style potion to shrink me.

I've tried two ways of getting rid of the leprechauns (clover, fiddle) and picked up both items they left behind.

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OK... I've figured it out.

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Alice in Wonderland it was! There was something I had forgotten.

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Finished! 147 out of 158.