"Escape From Hell" Additional Gameplay Information by Peter Karsanow - p.karsanow[AT}sbcglobal{DOT)net v1.00 28 August 2002 This file provides additional information for playing the PC RPG "Escape from Hell" that was released by Electronic Arts in 1990. The only sources of information that I could locate about this game were: 1. a scanned copy of the manual, still available at a well-known abandonware site if you look in the right place (I don't want to provoke them to remove it as they've removed the game download); 2. the widely-distributed walkthrough by Ed "Buzzard" Reedy, with assistance from Dave Konkel and Patricia Raymond, (c) 1991 (available at www.gamefaqs.com as escape_from_hell.txt); 3. the walkthrough in "Quest for Clues IV". Information about getting your own copy, or hacking/cracking the game will not be provided here. I'll assume that you have access to the first two sources above, but not the third. My suggestions mostly modify the information from "Quest for Clues IV", and address the few minor errors in the Reedy walkthrough. TIPS - STRATEGY - - Don't save the game right after beating aggressively hostile monsters (ones that will attack even if you don't try to interact with them). They'll just be right back when you load. In fact, they'll be in the same location as where you killed them (even the initially friendly ones); this may cause pile-ups! - - Because monsters are restored when you Load, the game both encourages you to beat up on weak ones, and avoid multiple fights with strong ones. Instead of the typical CRPG wandering monsters, just keep saving and loading the game and fighting the monsters you just brought back. - - Don't worry too much if party members drop below 1 HP. They will eventually regenerate back. However, all 3 cannot be allowed to die at the same time, unless you want to reload or jump back to the start location on level 1. - - There are a lot of useless items in the game (see below). Always drop weapons that you know you won't need; weapons don't break in this game unless they run out of ammo. But armor can get worn down very quickly, so decide early if you will press on regardless or try to keep armor intact through loading saved games. There are only two places where you can get unlimited armor items, so after a while I gave up and walked around with none equipped except for really tough encounters (Capone, long-range groups with guns, etc.). - - The amount of additional HP and increases to character attributes (Strength, etc. except for Psychic Force) gained at a new level are random. - - XP Table: (amount needed goes up by 1500 per level until 15000) Level Experience 1 1500 2 4500 3 9000 4 15000 5 22500 6 31500 7 42000 8 54000 9 67500 10 82500 11+ 15000 more each level, e.g. 97.5k, 112.5k, etc. - ITEMS - - Here are the known special items that you may need to get through the game. Some are unique, but others you can keep repeating the procedure to get an unlimited amount: Phone Handset - start game with this, unique at start, ?trade to a Hell Sergeant in southern part of Lucifer's Landing for a Demonic Shield (reported by Quest for Clues IV)?, unlimited once Lucifer's Landing is destroyed from desk in south end, otherwise useless? Matches - start game with this, unique, give to smoker in Court of Minos in City on the Edge of Eternity for a Pistol 20 Holy Cross - in chest at game start, unique, best used on Al Capone and Satan to instantly get rid of them in combat. I was never able to damage Satan with an Unholy Mace, Uzi or Dark Rifle, so I'd say this item is absolutely necessary! Fairy Dust - in chest at game start, teleports when used?, or give at Flicka's Flame to get Magic Potion, unique at start of game, unlimited once Lucifer's Landing is destroyed (go to desk where you got Care Bracelet earlier) Healing Elixir - one in chest at game start, heals moderate HP Mirror Shades - from prisoner (Melrose Amber) in Firepit in City on the Edge of Eternity, give to Singer (Tom) directly north for a Trench Coat once, can get again if nobody has item, armor, but no Defense and supposedly protects against psychic attacks Basket o Forks - from Court of Minos in City on the Edge of Eternity, unlimited, give to A. Burr in Limbo for Police Special and Spiked Shield one time, nothing after that Yorick's Skull - from Shakespeare in Limbo or pile near Horatio on level 1, unlimited, give to Hamlet to recruit him 'Tudes Tape - dispenser in Limbo, unlimited, give to man in NE of level 1 for Parachute and Parachuting skill, there is a second item with the same name in the ITEMS file for an unknown reason Hell Badge - try to walk past Hell Sergeant in Recruiting Cave, then use Bluff skill to get one, unlimited, lets you use most devil statues for healing. Also, one is always in the bottom right chest in the NW building of the Training Camp on level 1. Can also get unlimited from Larry, the other comedian at the comedy club in Gangster's Guillotine; if you recruit Frank, Larry will hand you unlimited Hell Badges when you talk. Parachute - give 'Tudes Tape at table near NE corner of level 1 to get, used to jump from SE of Lucifer's Landing on Level 1 to start on level 2 Care Bracelet - from desk near Flicka in Lucifer's Landing, give to Juliet in Court of Minos in City on the Edge of Eternity for Angelic Powers, look at desk again to read "Dust of Fantasy + Flicka's Flame = Healing Force"; unique before Lucifer's Landing is destroyed, unlimited afterward (go to where Flicka was) Angelic Powers - received from Juliet, a weapon: >=25 Damage, no Defense, 1 attack, Medium range, unlimited uses! found in the ITEMS file with the special monster attacks. Apparently don't need to keep this to successfully end the game. GallonOfBlood - from Bonny or BOA counter in Gangster's Guillotine, give at bank in City of Devils to get Bulletproof Suit (do 3 at once), unlimited DataBaseProgrm - from Julius Ceasar's computer in Gangster's Guillotine, for woman in Minos Court, City on the Edge of Eternity. can get unlimited, but only need 1. ConsultntBadge - from woman near SE Office of Redundancy, City on the Edge of Eternity, level 1 after giving other woman the DataBaseProgrm. unlimited, but need only one on level 3. SuperiorsCloak - from same woman as Consultnt Badge, at same time you get Badge, unlimited. this armor item can be equipped at same time as BulletPrf Suit! LaptopComputer - from man in SE Office of Redundancy, City on the Edge of Eternity, unlimited. also unlimited by using Steal skill at clerk in Order Center, Beelzebub's Bane, level 3. needed to transmit party into Satan's Fortress from Death Alley. Magic Pyramid - from top center chest in Security Depot, Beelzebub's Bane, level 3. unknown use, kills any character it's used on! Phreaker Box - from Scrooge in Dismal Land, needed to transmit party into Satan's Fortress. - - And here are known (or believed to be) useless items that aren't weapons or armor: Button - Stalin in City on the Edge of Eternity, Richard given one before he joins, Stalin has one Gold Bar - City on the Edge of Eternity at sign near Firepit, unlimited Happy Face Pin - Clown in City on the Edge of Eternity, unlimited B.'s Sketches - Aaron Burr's designs for pistols, B. Arnold wants them, if you Give them to the desk then all the guards in Limbo become Hostile; both walkthroughs tell you not to take item Intestines - Zombie booty Slime - Zombie or Crypt Thing booty - - There are places where you can get unlimited items of a specific type: Gold Bar - City on the Edge of Eternity at sign near Firepit LaptopComputer - man in City on the Edge of Eternity, needed to transmit party into Satan's Fortress. also by using Steal skill at clerk in Order Center, Beelzebub's Bane, level 3. Happy Face Pin - Clown in City on the Edge of Eternity, useless Garbage Can Lid - through rear door of Minos Court, City on the Edge of Eternity (shield rating 2) SilverNecklace - after you get a Trench Coat from Tom (north of fire pit in City on the Edge of Eternity) for Mirror Shades, you get one of these if you bring more, can be equipped but no apparent effect, probably useless Yorick's Skull - from Shakespeare in Limbo or pile near Horatio, give to Hamlet to recruit him Shovel - man on toilet, Limbo OR trade a Dueling Sword to Quasimodo in the Training Camp. Melee Weapon rating 7, Use to dig up graves in Training Camp. GallonOfBlood - from table or Bonnie in BOA, Gangster's Guillotine, level 2. take to Bank of Undead in Los Diablos and give at desk for a BulletPrf Suit! BulletPrf Suit - from desk at Bank of Undead in Los Diablos when you give a GallonOfBlood RollingBoneMag - useless?, unlimited from Satan's Sauna, Los Diablos, level 2 Gold Necklace - useless?, can be equipped but no apparent effect, talk to Happy Rappers in east building of Satan's Halo, level 2 Bomb - talk to Singers/terrorists in east building of Prison, level 2 DataBasePrgrm - Ceasar's computer, Gangster's Guillotine, level 2, only need one for level 1 ConsultntBadge - from woman near SE Office of Redundancy, City on the Edge of Eternity, level 1 after giving other woman the DataBaseProgrm. only need one on level 3. SuperiorsCloak - from same woman as Consultnt Badge, at same time you get Badge. this armor item can be equipped at same time as BulletPrf Suit, so get at least 3! Hitler's Diary - from bookcase in Dachau, give to Hitler to recruit Phreaker Box - from Scrooge in Dismal Land, level 3, needed to transmit party into Satan's Fortress Clay Tablet - possibly used in a puzzle, from garbage can in Hammurabi's house near pool, Dismal Land, level 3. useless? - - Here are some tricky items: Dueling Sword - the manual that I have says it has a Defense of 8, but the most that I've ever seen is 3 (in Hamlet and Horatio's inventory) and it's usually 2; odds are the "8" is an OCR mistake. Hell Sabre - just like the Dueling Sword, except I don't know of any NPCs that start with one, so I've never seen anything better than a 2 Defense one. Sleep Grenade - Equip, when in combat you must Status the character, then Use the grenade. It just puts enemies to sleep, so you don't get any XP or items from them. Bummer! Despair Ankh - a weapon, one found when using Shovel on bottom left grave in Training Camp, level 1. when used, may make Hostile enemy Friendly (permanently!) and/or fearful of you so it runs away Petrify Rod - a weapon that freezes an enemy (they just disappear, no XP), one in toilet of Satan's Sauna, Los Diablos, level 2. Apparently enemies can unfreeze after several combat rounds. Red Cape - equippable as armor but no Defense, appears in weapon list in ITEMS file, 1 use when received, Use to turn Friendly into Hostile Devil's Fork - weapon, 5 Defense when received, Group, >=40 Damage! unknown # of uses but eventually breaks even if armor not worn down Regal Crown - equippable but no Defense, when used says user is now invisible! likely to get these from the Evil Woman group in Los Diablos. actually probably useless. Lucifer's Joke - unique from Capone's house, give to Frank in Gangster's Guillotine to recruit - - There are several items listed in the ITEMS file that aren't obvious and aren't listed in the manual, so I'm listing them here so I can present any data collected on them: Demon's Fork - probably a weapon Poison Grenade - probably a weapon you Use in combat Lethal Grenade - probably a weapon you Use in combat Book of Death - probably a weapon you Use in combat Servitude Rod - probably a weapon Confusion Prism - weapon you Use in combat, unknown effect Pipe of Peace - probably a weapon you Use in combat Elmer's Gun - probably a weapon Sleep Grenader - a weapon, apparently a multiple-use Sleep Grenade, I didn't try this out. Diving Mask - armor rating 3, Code has one. Diamond Ring - probably useless Gold Ring - probably useless Gold Ingot - probably useless OrnateBracelet - probably useless Diadem - can be equipped, probably useless Ermine Cape - probably useless Feathered Cap - probably useless Bag of Jewels - probably useless Welding Tools - probably used in a puzzle Thieves' Picks - probably improve Picklock skill SafeCrackTools - probably improve Picklock skill 80986 Processor - probably used in a puzzle Infernal Card - probably used in a puzzle Hollow Boulder - probably used in a puzzle Healing Spray - minor healing item Healing Elixir - small healing item Curing Potion - large healing item Magic Potion - moderate healing item, use Fairy Dust at Flicka's Flame to get one Magic Pyramid - unknown use, found in north center chest in Security Depot of Beelzebub's Bane, level 3. when used, kills user! Razor Blade - probably used in a puzzle Black Sphere - probably used in a puzzle Bugle - probably used in a puzzle Fairy Dust - teleports party?, or change into Magic Potion Devil Dust - unknown Divining Rod - unknown Junk - useless Peace Symbol - equippable, use to make Hostile into Friendly Holy Water - unknown Boom Box - unknown, Code has one, can't be used or equipped. probably useless. AquaLung - unknown SurfBoard - unknown Towel - unknown StraightJacket - unknown, Jekyll has one but it can't be equipped or used, probably useless. Heart - useless? Cigarettes - useless? SunTan Lotion - useless? Steroids - useless? Stryker Tape - useless? Surf Wax - useless? Lead - useless? Clay Tablet - probably used in a puzzle, unlimited from garbage can in Hammurabi's house near pool, Dismal Land, level 3 Noodles - useless? 'Tudes Tape - either a bug, or a repeat of the same item - - There are references in the ESCAPE.EXE file to cursed or evil items, but I never found any. - INVENTORY - - Characters in the party can randomly gain items in combat, but only if they have a slot open in inventory. After combat, it's usually a good idea to check the party's inventory for anything added. Items can be added in the middle of the list, so check EVERYTHING. If you notice that you're getting useless junk, you may even want to drop items during combat. - - Armor can be worn down or even destroyed during combat, but this occurs randomly as a result of receiving high damage from enemies. I resolved at first to avoid armor damage, and would Load to undo it if I was just trying for more experience through "random" combat. Early in the game, it's a lot tougher to get armor than weapons. But once I got to "destroyed" Lucifer's Landing and level 2, I avoided wearing armor except for really tough battles; it's just not worth reloading all the time or going for replacement armor. - - Most chests contain random items. The very first one doesn't and a few special chests throughout the game, but after that, you may be better off if you save nearby and load if you don't like what you get. - - If you open a chest with no empty slots in anyone's inventory, the game just says "Nothing..." and empties the chest anyway. - NPCs - - Here's the list of known recruits you can get: (L # is initial level, # is uses left or skill level, (#) is Defense rating of item if out of the ordinary) Level 1 City on the Edge of Eternity Stalin - L 0, HP 20, Spd 1, Nail Gun 15, Knife, Button, Heavy Raincoat Bluffing 3, Steal 16 Better than nobody to start with, first to go. Tends to desert when leaving level 1. Button is useless? No combat skills. Khan - L 2, HP 35, Spd 2, Broadsword, Garbage Can Lid, Frying Pan Dueling 12, Fist Fighting 4, Martial Arts 5, Acrobatics 6, MeleeWeapon 5, Archery 19 best fighter at first, tends to desert when entering Satan's Halo on level 2. unmodified level 1 terrain Hamlet - L 2, HP 54, Spd 1, Dueling Sword (3), Yorick's Skull Dueling 20, Fist Fighting 4, Melee Weapon 5, Archery 7 get a Yorick's Skull from near Horatio or from Shakespeare, give to Hamlet to recruit him, then drop it. OK fighter who won't leave unexpectedly. Horatio - L 2, HP 45, Spd 2, Shovel, ThrowingAxe, Dueling Sword (3) Dueling 17, Fist Fighting 4, Archery 10 will join if you have Hamlet, better fighter than Hamlet and also won't leave unexpectedly. Limbo Ach-Chu - L 2, HP 40, Spd 3, Spiked Bat Dueling 6, Fist Fighting 15, Martial Arts 19, Acrobatics 10, Melee Weapon 6, Archery 4 volunteers, appears to be a great fighter, may desert at Phu- Dos at Satan's Halo on level 2 Training Camp Dante - L 1, HP 30, Spd 1, J-Mart Hose Dueling 7, Fist Fighting 10, Melee Weapon 1, Pistol Combat 2, Rifle Combat 3 volunteers, annoyingly tends to follow you around the camp if you don't recruit him J. Booth - L 2, HP 45, Spd ?, Pistol [same amount of uses left] Pistol Combat 20, Bureaucracy 20, Steal 13 Give a Pistol to recruit him, it will stay in his inventory, I didn't use him Level 2 Los Diablos Wild Bill - L 3, HP 70, Spd 2, Auto. Pistol 40, Dark Rifle 40, Dark Pistol 40, Flack Jacket, Super Sombrero Marksmanship 20, Fist Fighting 15, Melee Weapon 7, Pistol Combat 20, Rifle Combat 9, Archery 3 volunteers, great equipment, I didn't use him Satan's Halo Billy Bob - L 4, HP 65, Spd 2, Rifle 40, BulletProofVst, Mirror Shades Melee Weapon 5, Pistol Combat 5, Rifle Combat 2, Automatic/SMG 10, Swimming 4, Bluffing 18, Bureaucracy 3, Parachuting 7, Pick Lock 8, Steal 12 north building, will join for Mirror Shades, I didn't use him Blonde - L 1, HP 10, Spd 1, (nothing) (no skills!) in Club Moranda (east building), volunteers so useless it's not funny! could it change the ending if you bring her out instead of Alison? Mozart - L 2, HP 35, Spd 1, Pistol 20, Curing Potion 3, 3*Fairy Dust 3, Diamond Ring, Gold Ring, Trench Coat, Mirror Shades Marksmanship 5, Fist Fighting 3, Pistol Combat 10, Bluffing 13, Explosives 4 in Club Moranda (east building), willing to join after you use Electrical skill. I didn't use him. Prison of Damned Sparticus - L 1, HP 80, Spd 2, Battle Axe Dueling 14, Fist Fighting 20, Acrobatics 10, Melee Weapon 17, Swimming 5, Steal 10 volunteers, starts with 10 current HP. I didn't use him. Gangster's Guillotine Alan - L 2, HP 65, Spd 1, Knife, J-Mart Hose, Sledge Hammer Dueling 5, Marksmanship 1, Fist Fighting 13, Martial Arts 3, Melee Weapon 3, Pistol Combat 10, Rifle Combat 6, Archery 5, Swimming 17 volunteers after defeating Capone, necessary to finish game, starts with 41 current HP Frank - L 3, HP 50, Spd 2, Sledge Hammer, Wrist Rocket 30, Vapor Grenade 0(!?), Cnstructn Helm, Trench Coat, Gold Ring Fist Fighting 2, Melee Weapon 2, Pistol Combat 7, Rifle Combat 3, Bluffing 10, Pick Lock 3 give Lucifer's Joke from Capone's house, the Vapor Grenade appears to be useless. I didn't use him. Level 3 Dachau (SW of level) Guderian - L 4, HP 110, Spd 2, Shovel, Auto.Pistol, Leather Jacket, Sleep Grenade 1, Curing Potion 3, UZI SMG 40 Marksmanship 12, Melee Weapon 7, Pistol Combat 13, Rifle Combat 13, Automatic/SMG 18, Rocket Lncher 17, Flying 10, Swimming 3, Electrical 5, Bluffing 5, Bureaucracy 20, Explosives 10 use Picklock skill to free (20 works), tells you Alison is in Satan's Fortress. not bad, but too much trouble to build up as high as Alan or Horatio; I didn't use him. Hitler - L 6, HP 200, Spd 3, BulletPrf Suit, Demonic Shield, MotorCycleHelm, Metal Gloves, Power Sword, ConfusionPrism 1, Sleep Grenade 1, Petrify Rod 1, Devil's Fork, Hockey Mask Marksmanship 5, Fist Fighting 1, Melee Weapon 2, Pistol Combat 3, Rifle Combat 1, Automatic/SMG 13, Rocket Lncher 13, Swimming 6, Bluffing 20 give Hitler's Diary to recruit, supposedly hates Guderian and reputed to be "flaky". great equipment, but I didn't use him. Beelzebub's Bane (central SE level 3) Code - L 4, HP 100, Spd 2, Boom Box, Peace Symbol 1, Diving Mask (3), 2* Dynamite 1, Leather Jacket, MotorCycleHelm Melee Combat 5, Pistol Combat 5, Rifle Combat 12, Automatic/SMG 15, Rocket Lncher 18, Electrical 11, Hacking 20, Bluffing 5, Explosives 10, Steal 10 fight or Bluff your way into his cell, volunteers, starts with 51 current HP, should be necessary to finish game but really isn't. Dismal Land (SE level 3) BlakBeard - L 4, HP 90, Spd 2, Broad Sword, Crossbow 0 (!?), Evil Axe, Spiked Shield, Metal Gloves, Demonic Shield, SacrificeBlade Dueling 20, Marksmanship 5, Fist Fighting 15, Melee Weapon 17, Pistol Combat 4, Archery 3, Electrical 15, Bluffing 10, Pick Lock 11, Steal 20 volunteers, apparently the Crossbow has infinite uses! I didn't use him. Jekyll - L 2, HP 80, Spd 1, Healing Elixir 3, Gold Ring, StraightJacket, Pistol 15 Fist Fighting 15, Pistol Combat 20, Electrical 10, Explosives 15, Chemistry 20 will join for a Dark Pistol, and it doesn't even stay in his inventory! once in party, you will find 2 Sleep Grenader (6 uses) in the far left and right bookcases. Reedy's walkthrough says that if he's in party "the stars will drain you of skills", but this only applies to the bottom 2 stars in the room and the others apparently do nothing. Just avoid this guy! Satan's Fortress Alison - L 3, HP 60, Spd 1, (nothing carried) Dueling 4, Marksmanship 3, Melee Weapon 10, Pistol Combat 7, Rifle Combat 5, Automatic/SMG 11, Archery 5, Rocket Lncher 3, Swimming 16, Hacking 4, Chemistry 18 volunteers, necessary to finish game. Special NPCs listed in the NPCS file: Tom - City on the Edge of Eternity, when given a Mirror Shades, will give a Trench Coat once, then Silver Necklace afterward A. Burr - in Limbo, give him the Basket o Forks for a Police Special and a Spiked Shield once Quasimodo - in Training Camp, give him a Dueling Sword for a Shovel, unlimited Moriarty - in Lucifer's Landing, tells you where Flicka's Flame is (on level 1) if you give him a Pistol, or once Lucifer's Landing is destroyed there's a plaque at his former location with the same info Harry - in Prison, level 2 (give Dark Rifle to raise Picklock to 20) Clyde - in BOA, Gangster's Guillotine, level 2 after Capone beaten. wants a Tommy Gun to teach you Automatic/SMG 15 Larry - other comedian at the comedy club in Gangster's Guillotine; if you recruit Frank he'll hand you unlimited Hell Badges Satan - the Ultimate Bad Guy, but can be easily defeated if you saved the Holy Cross all this time SKILLS - PASSIVE - - Either through transcription error or oversight in the original, Archery isn't defined in the manual available to me. Logically, it should enhance effectiveness with bows and crossbows, but I have no idea if Nail Gun and Wrist Rocket benefit too. - - Here are places where party members can learn various passive skills, in the expected order that you will get to them: Melee Weapon 15 - Marc Anthony, around Library in Limbo, all except Richard Archery 15 - Thucydides, Library in Limbo, Richard only Rifle Combat 15 - Hell Sergeant near entrance of Training Camp, all Dueling 19 - Hell Sergeant E side of Training Camp, all except Richard Pistol Combat 10 - book in Examination Room of Recruiting Cave, Richard only Automatic/SMG 15 - Flicka, Lucifer's Landing, Richard only Rifle Combat 15 - Wyatt Earp, Los Diablos, level 2, all (same as Hell Sergeant) Automatic/SMG 15 - Clyde after Capone gone, BOA, Gangster's Guillotine, level 2, all but Richard, for a TommyGun, does some damage to party members Rifle Combat 18 - Model, Dachau, level 3, all but Richard, don't have to actually "fall in" - just talking to Model is enough RocketLnchr 15 - Rommel, Dachau, level 3, only to the character in the second slot of the party! - - Note that if the NPC's skill is already above that taught by the trainer, it drops to the value for the trainer regardless. A minor loss for Hamlet at the Hell Sergeant, but it could be worse. - ACTIVE - - Here are places where Richard can learn various active skills, in the expected order that you will get to them: Parachuting 9 - give 'Tudes tape to man in NE part of level 1, also get Parachute, Richard only Picklock 10 - touch left pitchfork in Training Camp, level 1, then use existing Picklock skill on door, Richard only Electrical 20 - Ed in Capone's City, level 2, Richard only Explosives 15 - Abdhul in Prison, level 2, Richard only Picklock 20 - give Harry in Prison, level 2 a Dark Rifle, Richard only Bluffing 20 - use Sledgehammer on aquarium in Abe's Tanks, Prison, level 2 (can usually get one from the hostile wimpy prisoners, or Alan starts with one), Richard only Swimming 10 - try moving into pool in Dismal Land, level 3, Richard only. Swimming 20 - give Erik the Viking in Dismal Land, level 3 a Dark Pistol, Richard only. also told that Alison was moved to a cave in the NE of level 3 (untrue unless you want XP). NOTE: going back in the pool with skill 20 will reset it to 10! - - The only place so far that I've found where Steal works is at the clerk in Beelzebub's Bane, level 3; level 10 with the skill, from "Code", is enough to get unlimited LapTopComputers. - - I never found a use for Chemistry or Explosives. - - If you try to use Alison's Hacking skill, it brings up a list of some of her inventory items. The LapTopComputer appears, but you can't select it. The Phreaker Box doesn't appear. I guess I didn't figure out this puzzle. - - It appears that Hacking, Bureaucracy, Chemistry and Steal are never learned during the game, only some NPCs know them. - Unknown - - There are several skills listed in the ESCAPE.EXE file that aren't mentioned in the manual. These could be active, passive, or even unimplemented: Flying - seen as active skill on Guderian, unknown if usable. Mechanical Boatman Pilot Find Trap WALKTHROUGH COMMENTS 1. As long as you don't attack, you can often avoid contact with or run away from many encounters until you have better people and better equipment. Remember that you are usually best off NOT attacking "Friendly" groups. While it may seem that you can get stuck, there is often a way out. Or, unfortunately, you've done something you shouldn't and will have to backtrack or even start all over. 2. Two places in the City on the Edge of Eternity to gain experience: the Court of Minos room near the back door, and the Post Office. I suggest you only open one of the 3 chests each time you save-fight- load, so you can try for good weapons. The Skeleton at the Post Office has a good chance of dropping an Unholy Mace, which is the best weapon (except for perhaps Hamlet's and Horatio's Dueling Swords with 3 Defense) you can get this early in the game. It's the second-best thing on the weapon list with unlimited uses (the Dark Axe is the only thing better, and I only found one in Satan's Fortress). Also note that while Hamlet's and Horatio's Dueling Swords start out with 3 Defense, every other one that you get has only 2, as do the Hell Sabres later, even though they should be higher (or my copy of the manual is wrong). Also, Minos' Estate is NOT worth going into; there are two Friendly groups blocking your way in, and only wimpy weapons in the chests and a DTI phone. And don't bother keeping a LapTopComputer at this point; you'll be back later or could get one elsewhere. Avoid the receptionist the whole game, to avoid tough combats all over early in the game, and to avoid bothering with wimpy combats when you're buffed from level 2. 3. How do you get the Skeleton blocking your way from the City on the Edge of Eternity to be Hostile? One way that might work is to save the game in the City, then go out and attack the Skeleton, and Run from the Hell Guards. If you do this right, when you Load the Skeleton will be hostile but the Guards will still be Friendly, and hopefully not blocking the way out either. Otherwise, you'll just have to take your chances with initiating hostilities and the consquences of hostile Hell Guards all over, and possibly not being able to finish the game. Do NOT waste a charge from the Holy Cross on these guys or any minor enemies; save it for Capone and Satan. 4. If you take the B.'s Sketches from A. Burr's desk in Limbo, and give them to B. Arnold (actually give them to his desk), you'll trigger an alarm that makes all the Hell Guards in Limbo Hostile. You probably don't want that. Both walkthroughs advise against it. 5. To get a Hell Badge, you MUST try to walk past the Hell Sergeant at the Recruitment Cave. You will NEVER get anything if you aren't one step beyond him, but even Bluffing 1 will work then. Also, DON'T follow his orders and go in further to the Examination Room. Not because you can't beat the Loggers, but because it will cause the groups waiting on line to move around and block your way out, which causes problems later trying to get back in. So just get the badge and immediately leave for the Training Camp. You'll be back later. 6. What can often occur: you have gotten surrounded or boxed in by too many friendly or neutral groups that you can't move in the direction that you want. If the blockers are moving about randomly, then either wait (press spacebar) or move to give them a way past you if possible. If the blockers are stationary, you may be able to "legally" turn them Hostile so you can get rid of them with a clear conscience. Here's how: you must find another group nearby that IS Hostile, and start fighting them. The blocking group will often turn Hostile as well, and then you either have to Run or fight as necessary. You can also sometimes save the game, start fighting, leave the map, reload and they'll still be hostile when you resume. 7. Why can't you enter the far northwest or northeast corners of level 1? They appear clear... Same thing appears for empty corners of other levels as well. 8. In the Training Camp, use the yellow pitchforks to get some skills and items. I avoided them out on the larger level maps. Touch the left one, and then use Richard's Picklock skill while next to the door, even if it appears open, and Picklock will rise to 10. Touch the top one to go to a graveyard where you can dig up some stuff if you use a Shovel BELOW (only) a tombstone. The bottom left one got me a Despair Ankh (see explanation elsewhere); most have nothing or bones that you apparently automatically discard. The one directly below the right pitchfork had Pistol 20, Pistol 20, UZI SMG 50, Police Shield, Sleep Grenade 1, Battle Jacket (thus you should have 6 slots empty, rather than 5 as stated in the Reedy walkthrough). The one at the left end of the row above the left and right pitchforks had a Hockey Mask and a Chainsaw 20. 9. In the Training Camp, before you touch any of the pitchforks (or when you touch the bottom one to make it "normal"), there is one unmarked location to the NW of the pitchforks that will spray you with noxious gas when you enter it. This is actually a bug, because there is one location in the right pitchfork's area that DOESN'T spray noxious gas like it's supposed to. Just in case you didn't figure it out... 10. When you're bored with the Training Camp, and have gotten at least the Pick Lock training, head back to the Recruiting Cave. Now, just get another Hell Badge from the Sergeant (or you'll have to fight everyone), then go past into the Examination Room to the south. Fight the Loggers if you want (but, again, it will turn most of the groups on line Hostile), but definitely get the Pistol training from the book in the NW corner. Go for the chests in the south end of the room if you like. Back up, east through 1 Despair, and use your master (10) Pick Lock skill on the door. Fight the 2 groups in the treasure room, and make sure you get the Demonic Shield from the bottom center chest. With it, you're allowed into Lucifer's Landing. 11. Unfortunately, you have to do a lot of things in Lucifer's Landing on the first trip through, because it will be destroyed once you get close to any of the chests and come back later. Go to the north first, as you can meet Flicka, get Richard trained in Automatic/SMG and get the Care Bracelet nearby. Anything you can use from the chests is good news. To the south, make sure you have the Parachute before entering the hole in the SE corner. Unless you use long-range weapons, you'll either have to tough it out or run past the monsters on the "6" islands when they're out of range. 12. Now about "Flicka's Flame"; it's on level 1, guarded by a group of Hell Privates, and you passed by it on the way towards Lucifer's Landing. It's NOT in Lucifer's Landing, and you don't need a boat or anything special to get to it. Just go one west past where the guards were, and give a Fairy Dust to get a Magic Potion. Moriarty wants a Pistol to tell you where it is, but you can even get the same information after Lucifer's Landing is destroyed by going to where he was. And once Lucifer's Landing is destroyed, you can go get unlimited Fairy Dust from the desk where you earlier got the Care Bracelet. 13. I started playing with no armor equipped after a while, because the monsters kept wearing it down. Once the characters had over 100 HP or so, for most fights it didn't matter as long as they didn't go below 1 or could regenerate before something else hostile came around. Slow and steady... 14. Once on level 2, take down the swarm around where you land. Avoid the quicksand on the way directly north to Gangster's Guillotine; it's rather unfair of the game to suddenly remove one of the NPCs, but this is Hell! The Bank of Avernus is the east building; you can either move at the counter or talk directly to Bonnie to get the blood. 15. In Los Diablos, there are several spots in Satan's Speakeasy where everyone but Billy the Kid will start to attack you. If you go for the chests in Al's, all the lawmen come after you. 16. When you get to Satan's Halo, find the sign for Club Moranda and then go north as best you can. Up in the corner, you'll find an armor item. Just west of the sign for Phu-Dos, go directly south and you'll find a healing item, and then head NW to the corner under the building for an armor item. In the chests at Phu-Dos are an Uzi and Mac 10, and a BulletProofVst, but taking them will upset the tougher group of Hell Guards at the gate. Fight through the door to the north, then head all the way west for a weapon. Go all the way around the north building to talk to Sam for why you need a Consultant Badge (to use at the door to Satan's Control Center in his fortress). In the north building with Billy Bob, there's a locked drawer that won't open for Pick Lock 10 but will give you a weapon (Tommy Gun for me) with 20. To the east, go south and towards the fenced-in flames for a weapon. In the east corner just south of there is a healing item, and another healing item if you go north and around to the corner. 17. You are always attacked when you leave Club Moranda, although it's just some Hell Soldiers. There's nothing really worthwhile in here anyway, though. 18. The first place that I found I HAD to use long-range weapons was the 2 Cops at the Prison. Otherwise, those Uzis just ripped the party to pieces while trying to get close. 19. The two chests in the east building of the Prison contain random armor items. The Asbestos Suit that you get, along with Bluffing 20, is probably in case you want to try walking through the fire surrounding Satan's Fortress on level 3; ignore it otherwise, as the other two walkthroughs have. 20. With Bluffing 20, you automatically get past the guard going into Capone's City when you walk past the light posts. Maybe this works with a lower skill level, I don't know. 21. You don't have to go into the FallenAngel Cafe; the Hell Captains there are nasty unless you're prepared to oppose Dark Rifles with lots of firepower. 22. The Red Cape can be used to turn Friendly NPCs and monsters into Hostiles. The only problem is that they will go first in combat. A very strange thing is that Buffalo Bill will shoot your characters about 150 times each with his Uzi when he turns Hostile, but the NPC doesn't have an Uzi when you recruit him. Similarly, Clyde at the BOA will shoot you about 300 times with a TommyGun although he asks you for one. 23. If you attack Julius Ceasar, his Police Special won't work in the combat! Anyway, don't forget to get one DataBaseProgrm and take it with you back to level 1 (which normally means going back to Capone's City and taking the lower set of pentagrams to end up in Lucifer's Landing - or you could just get the whole party killed and restart at the entry point on level 1). 24. Give the DataBasePrgrm to the woman north of the receptionist. Then go find her sister near the SE corner of the City, and get at least 3 SuperiorsCloak, but keep only 1 Consultnt Badge. Make sure you have gotten the Angelic Powers from Juliet, and one LapTopComputer before leaving level 1 by walking into the DTI phone in the Court of Minos (or going through the Parachute routine to level 2, then through the upper set of pentagrams at Capone's City); we won't be coming back here again unless the party is consistently wiped out. 25. The RubberNecker near the entrance to Dachau is rather easy to kill with Unholy Maces, and gives 1000 XP. Not a bad place to hang out and build levels. When you enter Dachau, Alan's Swimming skill will kick in and move you across between the far east and far west points of land; a 6 skill doesn't seem high enough. 26. QFC4 mentions that there is a transporter to level 2, and says that it's in Beelzebub's Bane. Actually, it's a pentagram roughly in the center of level 3, and sends you to the transport pentagrams in Capone's City on level 2. However, those will send you somewhere else on level 3, possibly a random location. 27. There appears to be a puzzle with Hammurabi and his clay tablets in Dismal Land, but I have no idea how to solve it or what to do with a Clay Tablet. 28. Yes, the northeast cave is a trap, but you can get out of it relatively unscathed if you're lucky. First, the Hostiles will go back to Friendly after about 500 or so moves, so if you can stay still while out of their range they'll eventually let you out. Just don't try to go towards the back, or the alarms will go off again! Also, possibly by getting into the "black" area through the exit, some of the groups from the entrance area were seen to wander around the blackness a while after the alarm went off. Did anyone try using a Shovel on the tombstone at the end of the cave? 29. In one script glitch, you can enter Satan's Fortress by moving into the DTI phone booth at the end of Death Alley with only the LapTopComputer and the Phreaker Box, but the message mentions Code even if you don't have him in the party (I had Horatio). A second glitch occurs if you drop the LapTopComputer and Phreaker Box once inside Satan's Fortress, but keep the Consultnt Badge, use it to enter the locked room and go to the desk; the message says you disassemble those two items. A third one occurs if you defeat Satan without Alison, then head back to get her; you get the entire trash talk from Satan each time you pass through a certain square. Same goes for the pep talk from Alan a bit earlier in the hall. 30. Anyway, to get through Satan's Fortress with the minimum ruckus, as soon as you appear equip long-range weapons. Head north to a "T" and go east from there. At the next "T", head south, ignoring the Consultant's Room. Yes, that's Alison in the room to the west, you can go talk to her but be aware that a group of Hostiles is in range through the walls. Follow the hallway from then on, fight Satan, then one last Hostile group further on towards the red square. Do NOT save the game after defeating Satan if you used the Holy Cross, because the Big D will be right back and you won't have your instant kill item anymore! Once it's safe, go swap out your last NPC for Alison, and head back through the hallways past Satan's office (a bit bare, isn't it, for the Lord of Evil?) to the strange red square. Move into it to end the game. 31. If you've been "good", then you get a message that the door opens, then see a minimally animated end screen implying that you can return to life on Earth. Press Ctrl-q to quit at that point. If you've been "bad", I guess you don't leave! The game won't let you try to go through without Alison or Alan. You apparently don't need to keep the Angelic Powers though, or do anything with the Consultant's Room. 32. Compared to how Reedy apparently played the game, I kept Horatio until the very end, and used missile weapons as little as possible. Only when confronted with machine guns at long range, or evangelist-type groups, where it was suicidal to charge in, did I resort to equipping the guns and sometimes armor. Nearly the whole game, everyone used Unholy Maces. For me, Richard ended the game at level 19, Horatio at 24 (that Spd 2 and Melee Weapon skill makes a huge difference), and Alan at 15 (the game usually let him shoot before the others but he was still wimpy). 33. Some loose ends: - Sorry, I forgot to record the Spd value for Booth. - With Guderian or Booth (Bureaucracy 20, possibly even Billy Bob although only skill of 3) and Code (who knows what to ask for), could you get something special from the clerk in Beelzebub's Bane? - Can anything useful be done once the Consultnt Badge gets you in the Consultant's Room? Does it involve using the Laptop and Phreaker Box and Hacking skill, or maybe Explosives? - Can you do anything for Hammurabi (who should be in Limbo with the Virtuous Pagans!) or anything with the Clay Tablet? - Who is the General that Captain Blye (sic) in Dismal Land says is in the Supply Depot (which is where?), and is implied to be in pieces? If this is Guderian, there's a continuity glitch. - Does anything happen if you use a Shovel at the tombstone at the back of the cave where Alison is supposed to be? - I tried making one unprovoked attack while in Satan's Fortress, but was still considered "good". How bad do you have to be to not get out of Hell? Is there even a bad ending? - Does anything different happen if you try to bring out the Blonde instead of Alison? - No, there is no apparent way to import Wasteland (or any other game's) characters into Escape From Hell. Anyway, I'm glad I finally finished this one. I wish it had allowed skills to rise through experience rather than just being taught, but this ain't Wasteland (or even Fountain of Dreams). Somehow, I get the feeling this was somebody's submission to EA that got them jobs there, not a product built by a large team and exhaustively wrung out. Certainly a unique RPG! Pete Karsanow This document Copyright 2002 Peter Karsanow. http://www.geocities.com/hentaihelper/p_gmhelp.htm