STAGES & BOSSES

Click on a stage number to jump straight to that section!
Stage : 1 || 2 || 3-A || 3-B || 4 || 5-A || 5-B || 5-C || 6 || 7 || 8-A || 8-B
Interlude || 9-A || 9-B || 9-C || 10-1 || 10-2 || 10-3 || 10-4 || 10-5 || 10-6

STAGE 1 : - OPENING -
DESCENT FROM THE BROKEN LANDS

As your character draws his weapon, familiarize yourself with his special moves, then move to the right. Goblins will begin the assault. Destroy them as you pick up the items. Further to the right are more chests with items as well as more goblins. But this time, the ground shakes and around 3 Riyakaas or goblin carts will arrive one by one. Destroy each on of them and free the hostages for more XP and items. After the hostages are freed, you have to name your character to determine your initial item reward and the first stage ends.

STAGE 2 : THE VILLAGE OF TRINTRAN

Once the stage begins, walk down near the bridge to find 500 SP. On the right are a group of kobolds guarding a chest. As the battle ensues, more kobolds and gnolls appear. Hold up on the background's house door to find treasure chests guarded by skeletons. Back outside are owlbears followed by gnoll archers. Get the Efreet Bottle from the trapped chest and save it for the boss battle. After dispatching the owlbears and a few goblins, the first boss arrives: a crude yet effective goblin-made tank they call... War Machine!

WAR MACHINE 10000 XP

STAGE 3-A : TO RIDE A JUGGERNAUT

The heroes chase and jump aboard the steel train known as the Juggernaut. These massive cars are stationed by kobolds, gnolls and hellhounds usually guarding some treasures. Eliminate these monsters as you trek across the metallic cars. After clearing most of the cars, you'll reach a wooden cage with an imprisoned monster. Knowing you are a great threat, a kobold breaks the monster free from his cage. Now you must fight the the 1st Dark Warrior! The fiend has brutal attacking power as well as lightning magical attacks. Having skeleton lackeys won't help either.

DARK WARRIOR 1 15000 XP

STAGE 3-B : BATTLE ON THE VESUVIA

The River Vesuvia is infested by rafts filled by kobolds, gnolls, owlbears and troglodytes. There will be an encounter once your raft collides with an enemy. You have 30 seconds to reach a flag checkpoint, otherwise you will be helplessly pursued by a Black Dragon. The north and south edges hide caches of coins. In the second area, an avatar mentions the 4 magical swords, Final Strike and Synn. The third area is much like the first. The final area is a shoreline filled with treasure chests and scorpions. On the rightmost side, the bosses will appear: a Man Scorpion for 1 player and a pair for 2 to 4 players! Beware, ghouls and troglodytes also join the fray!

SPELLS Flesh to Stone Lightning Bolt
MAN SCORPIONS 15000 XP

	GLANTRI SHOP Completing either of Stages 3-A or 3-B leads to this shop.
	40 SP	30 SP	20 SP	20 SP	100 SP

TRADE EGG OF OWLBEAR		RECEIVE EGG OF WONDER

STAGE 4 : SKIES OVER AENGMORE

The skyship is invaded by Shadow Elves! Fight the drow swordsmen but Magic Missiles are your best bet to eliminate the pesky Wyvern Riders and jump from their Fire Balls. After dispatching more Shadow Elves, the Harpy arrives at the helm of the ship along with more Shadow Elves. After defeating the Harpy, Tel'Arin jumps to the bow of the ship. He's a formidable swordsman and spellcaster who can summon skeletons. When his health is down to half a gauge, Tel'Arin blows the players with a Fire Ball and about to finish them when he is stopped by the elf Tel'Eleron.

		SPELLS Animate Dead Fire Ball Haste Lightning Bolt
HARPY 10000 XP	TEL'ARIN ESCAPE: 8000 XP

STAGE 5-A : RIDDLE OF AENSUN

Much like Trintran, Aensun was invaded by monsters like kobolds, gnolls and hellhounds. Enter the house doors to free the villagers and gain some useful items. At the end of the stage is the 1st Ogre Brother. He is a clumsy but powerful brute. Once he has suffered enough damage, he calls forth his elder brother to join him. You must now fight both of these hulks. Ranged weapons as well as spells will be very helpful for this battle. After destroying both of them, a villager will sell you items for discounted prices in gratitude!

OGRE MASTER BROTHERS 15000 XP

	AENSUN DISCOUNT SHOP
	21 SP	16 SP	12 SP	12 SP	80 SP

STAGE 5-B : FOREST OF DESPAIR

The forest itself is a labyrinth of hidden caves and passages. Only beetles, scorpions and ghouls reside on the forest but the caves are inhabited by humanoids, undead and owlbears. Such caves also hide treasure chests, among which contain the Cursed Sword 2, Flame Sword and a character cap. Be sure to get them all! Either the upper and lower ends of the maze hides the big boss of the forest... the nightmarish Beholder. All spells cast when his central eye is bulging will ultimately fail, so physical damage weapons are your best bets. Make sure to get a Beholder Eye to trade for Levitation Boots in the shop!

BEHOLDER 25000 XP SPELLS Charm Person Inflict Serious Wounds Flesh to Stone Sleep Spell Breach

	FOREST OF DESPAIR SHOP
	42 SP	32 SP	25 SP	25 SP	130 SP

TRADE BEHOLDER EYE		RECEIVE LEVITATION BOOTS

STAGE 5-C : FOREST BRIDGE
NOTE : You can only access this route if there is an Elf in the party.

The entire forest bridge is a single narrow corridor filled with giant beetles and all sorts of Shadow Elves. Again, Magic Missiles will best dispose of the beetles and the Shadow Elf mages and fight the rest in melee. These enemies also drop handfuls of treasure. At the end of the bridge is the formidable green dragon. Contact to its breath of damaging chlorine temporarily stuns the players. The narrow battlefield and a flying target would also be a challenge, so give it all you've got. Defeating the boss of this shortcut stage will lead you halfway through the next stage.

GREEN DRAGON Breath Weapon : Chlorine gas 30000 XP

	FOREST BRIDGE SHOP
	42 SP	32 SP	25 SP	25 SP	130 SP

STAGE 6 : THE BATTLE OF STRONG OAK
NOTE : If you completed the Forest Bridge, the Manticore battle and the first two areas of the tree are skipped.
You'll immediately enter the area of the first encounter with gargoyles.

MANTICORE 25000 XP

The stage begins at the foot of the tree and you must contend with a manticore. As long as you keep him from flying and pin him on the ground with attacks, you should be fine and even gain some Manticore skin. Inside the great oak are 4 corridors filled with kobolds, undead, hellhounds, Shadow Elves and gargoyles as well as multitudes of treasure. Once you reach the tree's pinnacle, you'll face the sorceress and the summoner in a protective bubble and sends a fearsome lich and ghouls to fight you. Contact with this fiend causes paralysis and watch out for its deadly Meteor Swarm! Once you defeat the lich, the sorceress puts you to sleep.

LICH 30000 XP SPELLS Animate Dead Fire Ball Lightning Bolt Meteor Swarm Teleport Wall of Fire

STAGE 7 : GROVE OF DESTRUCTION

After your character wakes up, move to the right and annihilate the goblins guarding two large treasure chests. More goblins and gnoll archers appear before the boss arrives shortly: the illusory Displacer Beast. This could be a long battle since the beast is so elusive and it is usually backed up by Goblins. Never let it get too far away from you since it can whip you with its tentacles; too close and it will mangle you. Combine melee and missile offense as well as spells. Be sure to get your hands on the Displacer Beast's skin to obtain a Displacer Cloak from the merchant!

DISPLACER BEAST 40000 XP

	GROVE OF DESTRUCTION SHOP
	80 SP	35 SP	50 SP	50 SP	200 SP

TRADE DISPLACER BEAST SKIN		RECEIVE DISPLACER CLOAK

STAGE 8-A : FOREST LABYRINTH

The enchanted forest has 4 areas, each with forks. These areas are filled with kobolds, goblins, gnolls, ghouls, owlbears and trogodytes. A kobold will always destroy the visible signboard. The path where he runs to is the correct path. Whenever you choose a wrong path, you'll return to the very first area. Once you choose the 4 correct paths, you managed to exit the forest with an XP bonus. Mess up 4 times and you'll have to fight Blackwing - the same dragon who pursued you in Vesuvia! Dodge its acid breath as much as possible and grab a hold of its dragon hide!

Penalty Boss BLACK DRAGON Breath Weapon : Acid 50000 XP

	FOREST LABYRINTH SHOP
	85 SP	35 SP	55 SP	55 SP	250 SP

TRADE DRAGON SCALES		DRAGON SHIELD Fig, Cle, Elf, Dwa	DISPLACER CLOAK Mag, Thi

STAGE 8-B : RESCUE AT THE GNOME VILLAGE

The entire stage is much like Tower of Doom's underground city. The first area is mainly filled with kobolds, gnolls and skeletons and more of them are on the bridge. The second stony area is full of ghouls, troglodytes and hellhounds, along with a few treasure chests. At the end of the area, the mythical chimera descends. It has the front and head of a lion together with heads of a ram and a fire-breathing dragon, a rear of a goat, and a tail of a snake. After destroying this invader, the gnomes grants you a potion to access their village for a limited time as gratitude. With enough coinage, it's your chance to acquire some rare items!

CHIMERA 55000 XP

GNOME VILLAGE SHOP Enter the tavern first in order for the shop to open. Click the sword and mace on the wall to be available.
	WEAPONS	1500 SP	2500 SP	6000 SP	8000 SP
	WANDS	1200 SP	1200 SP	1200 SP	800 SP
	RINGS	400 SP	500 SP	500 SP	1000 SP

	GNOME SHOP
	85 SP	35 SP	55 SP	55 SP	250 SP

INTERLUDE : CAVE OF RAFAEL THE IMMORTAL

As you fall down the chasm with the floating stone, direct yourself to the left or right side in order to land on the cave ledges. Note that once you enter Deathwing's cave, you cannot access the lowest cave afterwards. The caves' locations are: B30F, L : Hellhound cavern. A single chest contains the Cursed Sword 1. B50F, L : Deathwing's treasure trove. See below for more details. B70F, R : Scorpion and hellhound cave. A single chest contains the Storm Blade.

Gather the scattered treasure chests on the bridge. Halfway through, Deathwing gives three questions. Answer NO, NO and YES. Run all the way to the right to avoid the full-screen breath of instant doom. After hoarding the items, it's time to face Deathwing himself. He also uses his fire breath weapon thrice throughout the battle and contact with the flame spells instant death. He usually blows fire straight down. He also "inhales" you to one end of the screen, in which you must go with the suction below his head to avoid the fire breath. If he flies to the background, hide directly behind the two large boulders to shield yourself from the full-screen fire breath. Like his late fellow red wyrm Flamewing, Deathwing can throw fireballs, swipe with his claws, ram the ground and make a dead fall among others. Use your Rising Attacks and spells to strike his head repeatedly and slide to evade his attacks. Acquiring the precious Dragon Horn from Deathwing is also very manageable. Once you deplete his three gauges and destroy Deathwing, a dragon icon appears on top of your portrait on the high score screen.

RED DRAGON Breath Weapon : Fire (Instant death) 700000 XP

	CAVE OF RAFAEL SHOP
	85 SP	35 SP	55 SP	55 SP	275 SP

TRADE DRAGON HORN		DRAGON SLAYER Fig, Elf, Dwa, Thi	SERPENT STAFF Cle	MAGICAL STAFF Mag

STAGE 9-A : LAND OF FIRE

As the name implies, the entire area is infested with hellhounds, goblins and fire pillars. The ground is also spiked with fire mines that explode when stepped on. Fire walls can only be disarmed by attacking the scorpion crawling between the pillars to recover chests containing the Frost Sword and a Flame Shield, which will be extremely useful for this stage. Clear the area and face the Flame Salamander, who is impervious to any fire-based attack. For best results, equip your new Frost Sword or cast Ice Storm with an Ice Rod in hand. Use the Flame Shield to block its attacks!

FLAME SALAMANDER 70000 XP

	LAND OF FIRE SHOP
	90 SP	40 SP	65 SP	60 SP	300 SP

STAGE 9-B : LOST WORLD

The entire area of the Frozen World is inhabited by Shadow Elves, troglodytes and ice pillars. The ground is also spiked with ice mines that freeze you when stepped on. Ice walls can only be disarmed by attacking the scorpion crawling between the pillars to recover chests with the Flame Sword and Ice Shield, which will be extremely useful for this stage. Clear the area and face the Frost Salamander. It is immune to any cold-based attack. Equip your new Flame Sword or cast fire spells or toss oil with a Fire Rod in hand. Use the Ice Shield to block its attacks!

FROST SALAMANDER 70000 XP

	LOST WORLD SHOP
	90 SP	40 SP	65 SP	60 SP	300 SP

STAGE 9-C : SECRET UNDERWORLD
NOTE : You can only access this route if there is a Dwarf in the party.

The tunnels is basically a long run across a corridor with a ceiling that constantly rains falling boulders. Since this area has no enemies, run all the way through the corridor to the end of the area. The second area is the boss fight with Tel'Arin and your once-ally Tel'Eleron. Both being elves, they are adept swordsmen and spellcasters. Their agility and bastard swords also give them a huge advantage. Pound one target until he goes down before focusing on the other. If you killed Tel'Arin first without befalling Tel'Eleron, he will fall out of his charm spell and be indebted to you, a price he will pay later in the game.

	SPELLS Fire Ball Haste Lightning Bolt		SPELLS Fire Ball Lightning Bolt
TEL'ARIN & TEL'ELERON 55000 XP

	SECRET UNDERWORLD SHOP
	90 SP	40 SP	65 SP	60 SP	300 SP

STAGE 10-1 : GATEWAY

The entrance of the Air Castle is mainly a puzzle courtyard. The basic premise is you need to have all pedestals pressed down in order for each gate to open. Though multiple players can stand on several pedestals at once, a solo player sans the Magicuser can push the statues on the pedestals to press them down and stand on the rest. Correct casting of Lightning Bolt also count as a "step" on a pedestal. The rooms behind these complex gates contain lots of enemies yet lots of goodies, so be sure to get them all! The rightmost door of the main room is the stage's exit.

STAGE 10-2 : OVERTURES
NOTE : If you completed the Underwater Passage and killed Tel'Arin beforehand,
you begin the stage facing hordes of enemies as you ascend a massive spiral staircase.

Grand Master 1 : The Swordsman TEL'ARIN 50000 XP SPELLS Fire Ball Haste Lightning Bolt

This is your final one-on-one showdown with Tel'Arin. He fights and casts the same, sans the skeleton lackeys. Kill him to complete the first area. In the next area, kill the kobolds and gargoyles before hoarding the trove in the nearby door. Further to the right is a floor filled with fire mines and Shadow Elves. There is a hidden door through the visible window on the wall, which contains a chest with a Storm Blade. Exit through the rightmost door to complete the stage.

STAGE 10-3 : THE ARENA

This stage is solely a boss battle with a Grand Master. The specter is always accompanied by skeletons. Ezerhorden's only attack is a homing dark punch missile. Once he comes near you, he transforms into a big visage and begins to chew you. Any physical damage inflicted on Ezerhorden in this phase is transferred to the victim. Cast Lightning Bolt on Ezerhorden as it is his extreme weakness. A single Lightning Bolt with a Lightning Rod and Earring equipped strikes incredible damage upon Ezerhorden.

Grand Master 2 : The Phantasm EZERHORDEN 80000 XP

	AIR CASTLE SHOP
	95 SP	45 SP	65 SP	65 SP	325 SP

STAGE 10-4 : BATTLE ROYAL

Like the title implies, the stage is an arduous climb around a spiraling staircase facing relentless hordes of monsters. Obliterate them all and gather the loot. At the next area, there are 3 doors blocked by fire, lightning and ice respectively. Run all the way to the right near the exit then come back. Destroy the 4 gargoyles with magic and ransack the now opened doors, one containing a chest with the Holy Shield. When done, run back to the exit to complete the stage.

STAGE 10-5 : THE ARENA REVISITED

The entire stage is solely a Grand Master battle like Ezerhorden's. The 2nd Dark Warrior wields a menacing greatsword, giving him awesome range when he swings it. His magic attacks are death type in nature and can be blocked by the Holy Shield. He can pound the ground to create a dark energy pillar, conjure a cage of energy pillars around himself or shoot dark magic missiles from his torso and teleport around as well. He is also accompanied by skeletons. Turn Undead if you must and pound Dark Warrior 2 with your strongest attacks and he'll fall in no time.

Grand Master 3 : The Behemoth DARK WARRIOR 2 90000 XP

	FINAL SHOP
	100 SP	50 SP	70 SP	70 SP	350 SP

STAGE 10-6 : INNER HEART, DARK HEART
NOTE : If you spared Tel'Eleron's life beforehand, he'll dispatch Nagpa for you himself, but in turn gets killed by Synn.
You will gain no XP for the battle with Nagpa this way.

The second-to-final battle begins with the wereowl sorcerer summoning his lackeys: a Black Dragon and Manticore. Destroying both his familiars it is a tedious and risky thing to do. Focus all your attacks on Nagpa, the more fragile target. He alternates between teleporting around the screen and frequently casting Lightning Bolt. Full-screen spells help on this battle greatly. Use the items on the chests and pursue Nagpa until he bites the dust and his minions will fall as well.

Grand Master 4 : The Summoner NAGPA 10000 XP SPELLS Lightning Bolt Summon Black Dragon Familiar Summon Manticore Familiar Teleport

This is it, the final battle! The evil sorceress Synn transforms into her dragon alter-ego. All her attacks are very similar to Deathwing's, though her attacks are much stronger and have extra fire damage, i.e. her deadfall is like a Meteor Swarm. She also has 3 gauges and uses her breath weapon once per life gauge lost. As usual, these fire breaths kill instantly. The directions and tactics with which she shoots fire and avoiding it is also the same: straight down, leftwards and rightwards. However, if she flies to the background to blow a full-screen breath, stand in place on the dark pedals on the lower corners of the floor to erect a stone wall. Synn is extremely aggressive and attacks relentlessly. However, with Large Burning Oils, Sword of Legend, Dragon Slayer, high-level spells and even Final Strike, the heroes will ultimately win the battle. Congratulations on completing the Shadow Over Mystara campaign!

The Sorceress SYNN Breath Weapon : Fire (Instant death) 500000 XP

© 1996 CAPCOM Co. Ltd., Tactical Studies Rules