TREASURES OF THE SAVAGE FRONTIER
INTRODUCTION
This walkthru of TREASURES OF THE SAVAGE FRONTIER is divided into two
sections: Amanitas's Journal contains only hints; Elminster's Journal contains
explicit answers. As with any SSI AD&D game, you can play this game standalone
but it is best played after GATEWAY TO THE SAVAGE FRONTIER. Your characters
will be of a higher level than new characters and can bring their items with
them from GATEWAY. Maps from the first game remain the same for places that
are featured in both games.
The game has two built-in hint systems. The Crown of Amanitas will tell you
the next mission. Some of the missions can be done in any order; others are
triggered by key events and must be done in the proper order. Once you get the
three gems, the lucky papers tell you what is going on in each town. You only
need one of the lucky papers, and they can be discarded once you complete the
mission in that town. There is one mission in the game that implies you must
keep the papers, but it looks like that is unnecessary; however, the gems are
necessary.
The gems needed to decipher the lucky papers are found only in battles where
you face a combination of Hosttower mages, Zhentarim troops, and Kraken spies.
Each carries a different gem and ALL destroy them as soon as one of them dies.
The exception is the one who dies first: you can recover that enemy's gem. So,
the key to getting the three gems is to carefully target the enemies so you
can control which one dies first.
AMANITAS'S JOURNAL ENTRIES
LLORKH
The games begins here. This is a leftover mission from GATEWAY that can
finally be done, and serves mainly as a training maze for newly created
characters. The mission is to clear the town of Zhentarim troops. You should
first clear the town of Zhentarim troops before attacking Lord Geildarr in his
palace. This will make the battle in the palace and the palace dungeons
easier. There is a training hall at the northwest area: a party imported from
GATEWAY will need to train almost immediately.
Geildarr's keep is cleared through a series of fixed encounters. Check all
the rooms on the ground floor and in the dungeons. Geildarr can be found in
the north part of the dungeon. Look for hidden doors. When the two Siulajias
appear, Cast Dispel Magic on someone in the party. If you accept Siulajia into
the party, she and a Lawful Good member of the party will fall in love.
LOUDWATER
You will go through this town on the way to Secomber. Except for some fixed
encounters for XPs, there is not much of interest here. Some of the encounters
give minor clues to the enemy's war plans. The undead in the cemetery exist
only for XPs: you cannot clear the area. A Ring of Cold Resistance can be
found if you help a pretty young woman.
SECOMBER
After Llorkh, your next destination is Secomber to talk with Amanitas. He
will give you the Crown of Amanitas and send you on your next mission. There
are some minor fixed encounters in Secomber. One of these gives you the first
opportunity to capture a gem. While you are supposed to go to Leilon, you
might want to take the long way around via Mirabar. It has the only magic
weapons shop available to the party at this time. Neverwinter and Waterdeep
are closed to the party until you do the Leilon mission.
YARTAR
In Yartar itself, there is only one thing to do: find the secret Kraken base.
Look for a secret door in the southeastern section of town.
If you have not rescued the Waterbaron, you will discover that he has been
kidnaped. Return here after rescuing the Waterbaron to get a shield +2.
TRIBOAR
There is nothing here except the rescue of the Waterbaron. Check for secret
doorways in the northwestern area of town. Do NOT say you're from Yartar:
until you rescue the Waterbaron, that will get you into trouble. Once you
rescue him, take him directly to the Lord Protector.
MIRABAR
Nothing much happens here until near the end of the game. Then you will
confront the city council with proof of the plot to discredit Waterdeep. This
will result in a big battle. You must have all three gems for this to happen,
but you won't need any of the lucky papers.
The weapons shop has magical weapons. The magic shop has a Rod of Stone to
Flesh. The supply store has cloaks +1 and belts +1. These are useful for
anyone wearing bracers.
There are three encounters here which will give you hints as to what will
happen in the sequel. Look for secret doors in the north end of town. Also,
check out what's behind the jeweler's shop.
After the above meeting with the council, you will finally be able to meet
with Raurym and Steelfist. Both will offer their sons as a companion to
Fireshear. You do not have to accept either, but Gauhok Steelfist is the more
useful of the two.
LEILON
It's best to get this mission done as soon as possible as Neverwinter and
Waterdeep are barred until it's out of the way. This is the first of the
missions that must be done in order. Your task here is very simple: Go to
the Rutting Duck, get captured, and then fight your way of out prison. The
Zhentarim have kidnaped the ambassadors and framed your party for the
kidnaping. To clear your party, you must go to Neverwinter and Waterdeep. Go
to Waterdeep first as the game will force you there if you try to go anywhere
else.
There are some unrelated fixed encounters in this town. Use Search to find
the secret entrances. There is a very useful potion to be found after one of
these battles. Save it for the final battle of the game. You cannot go into
the rooms in the northeastern area of town: that's the prison from which you
escaped, and you cannot return once you have escaped.
PORT LLAST
This city has several fixed encounters useful for XPs, minor loot, and some
clues. Explore the city in Search mode to find the secret entrances. The one
mission of any import involves taking a cruise. This leads to a battle with
pirates that can be very easy or very hard. Success depends on how fast your
characters find the ship's guns and how well they use them. One of the best
pieces of armor in the game is your reward from the First Captain.
The supply shop contains some magical items. Beware of the golems; only +3
magical weapons will harm them.
WATERDEEP
This is the next mission after Leilon. You will be framed and tossed into the
ocean to drown. Sea Elves will rescue the party and deposit it in the dungeons
under Waterdeep. The way out is in the northeastern area. The evidence to
clear the party is also located there, but you need to search for the hidden
doors.
There is a rescue you can do at 0,0. Again, search for hidden doors. It's not
necessary to bring the evidence of your innocence to anyone; finding it is
sufficient. This is rather disappointing. It would have been more satisfying
to have presented the evidence to someone.
WATERDEEP VILLAGE
You exit from the Waterdeep Dungeons here. You can never get into Waterdeep
Proper in this game. This village is as close to Waterdeep as you can go. The
map store is useless; however, there is another nice piece of loot if you can
find the dragon's lair in the village. There is an inn but there is also a
false inn in this village; otherwise, the village has some minor fixed
encounters.
DAGGERFORD
Daggerford and the Way Inn are the next missions after Waterdeep if you have
not already done them. You got a clue to these missions back in Loudwater. The
mission is clear the town of Zhentarim troops. They are located in the castle,
but first explore the town for some side encounters that make the castle
easier.
After you clear the castle you must intercept fleeing Zhentarim; otherwise,
the Way Inn mission is much tougher. A Rest is not recommended first.
THE WAY INN
Again, the mission is to clear the Inn of all Zhentarim. Explore and look for
secret doorways. This is one area where stepping on every square is critical.
There is a very nice bracer AC 2 among the loot.
LONGSADDLE
As before, this mission is to clear the town of Zhentarim forces. If you wait
until the market opens and snoop around there, you will be guided to where all
the encounters are found. You can also blunder around until you find all of
them.
Each ranch house has two encounters. The first happens as soon as you enter
the house; not all encounters are battles. The second requires you step on the
right square. There is also one encounter in the Harpells' home. The hint from
Malchor Harpell about Mirabar should be ignored. His appearance signals that
you've done all the encounters. The Mirabar mission is one of the last ones in
the game. Malchor will give a nice Ring of Fire Resistance and a Wand of
Lightning.
MINTARN
The mission is to find proof of the plot. The location of the proof is in the
southwestern part of town and not in the old fort. It's the one place you
can't enter until you've fought all the fixed encounters outside the fort.
You can ignore the fort except that the loot includes a very nice bow +2.
Afterwards, you can go back to the mainland or to Orlumber. Siulajia will be
kidnaped when you leave. There is nothing that can stop this, and you will not
find her until much later.
ORLUMBER
The mission here is to get the information that the ships attacking Orlumber
are not from Waterdeep. This evidence can be found at the south end of the
city where you first disembark. Check the loot list very carefully after the
big battle. Take the information to Tulgar Wrighttson, and that's the end of
the Orlumber mission.
The magic shop here has wands of Ice Storm and potions of Extra Healing.
FARR WINDWARD
This appears to be an optional mission that you have to figure out on your
own from the lucky papers. To get to Farr Windward, you go past the magic shop
in Orlumber. That leads to a tunnel complex which leads to Farr Windward.
Accepting Ougo into your party helps in completing the mission and does it in
a way that makes more sense. Follow his hints. It is recommended that you get
rid of Ougo at the nearest training hall once you complete this mission.
NEVERWINTER
You cannot enter here until you finish Leilon. Your mission is to find and
rescue the ambassadors who are hidden here. One is located behind some secret
doors in the Tavern in the northeastern section of town. It is not advisable
to talk to the Fat Man. The other is in the gardens to the southeast.
THERE IS A TIME LIMIT! If you do not find the ambassadors in time, you will
be sent to Farr Windward where you have to fight your way back to Neverwinter.
Avoid contact with the authorities until you have rescued the ambassadors,
then visit Lord Nasher. You get a Rod of Cold as a reward. Neverwinter is also
a port of call to Mintarn, Orlumber, and much later in the game, Fireshear.
There is a magic shop in Neverwinter. The Rod of Striking is a +3 weapon but
vanishes after enough use. Still, it is the best melee weapon in the game for
a mage.
RUATHYM
To get to this place you have to locate Jagaerda in Luskan. She is hiding in
one of the small residences. She is the only way to get to Ruathym.
The mission is to free Redleg by locating the place where he imprisoned.
Then, follow his advice. Eventually, you will return to Luskan where Redleg
leaves you.
Redleg will leave the party temporarily several times, and each time he
returns all the items you gave him will disappear; so, have spares to reequip
him. It's worthwhile to explore the town before entering the main fortress:
there is major loot in one place.
THE DWARF MAZES
These are three optional puzzle mazes. They are for XPs only. The only loot
is money. The locations are found by listening to parties of dwarves you
encounter. The mazes are also one shots. Once you leave, they cannot be
reentered. You get a big bonus for doing all three of them. The dwarves also
give you the only clues as to how to get out of the mazes.
NEVERWINTER MAZE
This maze is at the top of the big mountain to the northeast of Neverwinter.
Basically, it's a mapping exercise. The maze is filled with teleporters that
are activated ONLY after you enter the crossroad square in the middle. The
object is to find all the places that are reached via teleporters and to fight
the battles there. You can leave anytime through the doors at the ends of the
north/south or east/west corridors.
DAGGERFORD MAZE
This maze is in the middle of the hills northeast of Daggerford. This is a
puzzle maze. The puzzle is: In what sequence should you go through the doors
in order to exit the maze?
YARTAR MAZE
Go due south from Yartar to the east/west connecting road and head due east.
The maze is in the middle of the plain.
HARPELL TOWER
This tower is due west of Longsaddle. There is a hint that it exists, but
finding it is an exercise for the player. There are two encounters in the
tower and optional encounters that can be found by exploring outside. The
reward for fighting the two inside encounters is a meeting with Malchor
Harpell (if you can find the hidden door to his chambers). A mage who trains
with Malchor gets XPs. The training costs 500 pp. The party gets a magic ring.
LUSKAN
Nothing much happens here until you return from Ruathym. There are some
random encounters in the old town, and you can get lots of XPs by trying to
enter the Hosttower; however, you'll be kicked out of the tower as soon as the
battle is over. You go to Ruathym from here by finding Jagaerda when it's time
for your party to go to Ruathym. When you return from Ruathym, you will find
Siulajia and Jagaerda in the old town. At that point, you can kick the pirate
captains out of their palaces. You can rest in the palaces once you have done
this.
FIRESHEAR
Upon your arrival, you discover that the town has been attacked by a
mysterious third party. If you explore the town, you discover the Zhentarim
are also looking for whomever attacked the town. The attackers are located in
the mines below the town. There are two fixed encounters: the first frees most
of the townspeople; the second reveals the leader of the attackers.
Both battles are tough. No matter what you do, some of your characters will
run away on the first round. They will recover after the second round if they
did not succumb to running away. You then fight with whomever is left.
Note the mine entrances carefully as they lead to different parts of the
mines. Certain areas of Fireshear can only be reached through the mines. The
mines are NOT a regular 16x16 maze, so good mapping is critical.
The mine entrances in the southwest leads to the townspeople. West of where
you rescue the townspeople is the mine entrance to the docks where the final
battle is fought.
There is one optional battle behind a secret door in the mines.
Once you clear the town, all the shops return to normal. The supply shop
contains belts +2 and cloaks +2. Buy some belts for everyone; this is the best
armor in the game. Bracers AC 2 appear later on as battle loot. The
combination of bracers, belts, and cloaks gives your characters some really
low AC. The people supplying you with the bracers also have some cloaks +2.
AURILSSBARG
There are three minor encounters here: one is a fight; the others are
friendly. Avoid meeting the local leader, Tranjer Rolsk. He occupies the big
house in the northern half of the place. Exit to the east to Bjorn's Village.
BJORN'S VILLAGE
Your guide's at the northeast pier; however, it's worthwhile to explore the
village. There are two encounters with major loot. Check out the bracers.
ICE WOLF'S VILLAGE
This is the next stop. Explore the place. There are several fixed encounters,
a secret shop to identify items, and a training hall. There is major loot in
some of the encounters. Also, once you leave the village into Ice Peak proper,
you cannot return.
ICE PEAK
Ice Peak is spread across three mazes: the western half of Ice Wolf's
Village, Ice Peak proper, and the southern fringe of Ice Peak. Finding a place
to rest is important here. You can generally rest in any room. The problem is
finding one in time. There are several battles that are useful for XPs but
they are incidental. To get to Freezefire's cave, find the southernmost
connection between Ice Wolf's village and Ice Peak. Exit south into the
southern fringe, and then exit back into Ice Peak proper at the next western
connection. At the dead end, look for a tunnel. The final battle is a
two-parter, and you end up back at the Sword Coast automatically at the end.
ELMINSTER'S JOURNAL ENTRIES
DAGGERFORD DWARF MAZE
You start at the west end of the maze. Go through each side door exactly once
as you proceed west. Then, go through the east door. There will be a fight.
Afterward, head straight west to exit.
YARTAR DWARF MAZE
The secret is to head in the direction that has no door and keep going in
that direction. You cannot rest here.
LLORKH ENCOUNTERS
Fixed encounters are at (1,1), (0,6), (0,9), (4,1), (3,3), (5,5), (5,9),
(8,0), (14,1), (11,12), (14,15), and (9,14). One of these is best handled
peacefully.
There are three encounters in the keep. In the keep dungeons, there are fixed
encounters in just about every room. The hidden doorway to where Geildarr is
hiding is at (13,4).
LOUDWATER ENCOUNTERS
The encounters are at (15,2), (7,3), (10,5) (hidden entrance at (9,8)), and
(0,10).
SECOMBER ENCOUNTERS
Encounters are at (13,15) through the hidden door at (11,15), (6,14), and
(1,13).
YARTAR HIDDEN BASE
The hidden base is through the hidden door at (11,13).
TRIBOAR ENCOUNTERS
The baron is hidden in the complex behind the secret door at (5,0). There are
3 encounters in the complex in addition to the one with the baron's guards.
MIRABAR
The hints for the next games are found at (0,3) and (5,3). Both are reached
through a series of hidden doors. There is an encounter behind the jeweler at
(12,9). There are several encounters worth lots of loot along the corridor
from (0,0) to (15,0).
LEILON ENCOUNTERS
There are 6 fixed encounters that have nothing to do with the main game if
you care to search them out. All lie behind hidden doors.
PORT LLAST ENCOUNTERS
There are 8 encounters that have nothing to do with the main game if you care
to find them. The golem is at (0,2). Check for hidden doors.
WATERDEEP DUNGEON
The hidden doors to the Zhentarim base are at (12,2). The exit is at (15,0).
Everything else is optional and can be ignored.
WATERDEEP VILLAGE ENCOUNTERS
There are 4 optional encounters here. The dragon is the fifth encounter, and
the hidden door to his den is at (9,11).
DAGGERFORD ENCOUNTERS
Encounters that should be fought before entering the castles are at (9,15),
(12,14), and (0,0). The (0,0) encounter is through the hidden door at (0,1).
After clearing the castle, go immediately to (8,15).
THE WAY INN ENCOUNTERS
The encounters are at (12,2), (11,4), (8,6), and (2,7) on the ground floor.
Stairs to the second floor are at (6,5) and (9,5). Encounters on the second
floor are at (4,15), (7,15), and (14,13).
LONGSADDLE ENCOUNTERS
Fixed encounters are at (7,12), (10,5), and at the ranches at (13,10),
(12,1), (2,3), (4,10), and (4,13). Remember: each ranch has two encounters.
MINTARN MISSION
The encounters needed to clear the town are all on the south end of the place
and their location are obvious. There are no hidden doors.
ORLUMBER MISSION
Check the hidden door at (11,15). Take the evidence to (11,3). The entrance
to the tunnel to Farr Windward is at (4,9). Go to (0,1).
FARR WINDWARD MISSION
This mission appears to be optional. Start at the house at (7,13). Check out
the hidden rooms at (5,8) and (9,4), then head back to the house at (7,13).
Proceed back to Orlumber (11,3) and that's it. All that remains is to get rid
of Ougo at a training hall.
NEVERWINTER MISSION
The ambassadors are at (10,0) and (15,15). Finding the hidden doors to them
is left as an exercise for the player.
RUATHYM MISSION
There is major loot at (4,3). Redleg is held prisoner at (3,8) through the
hidden door at (2,7). Random encounters are endless and very frequent; don't
spend too much time wandering around. You need to take Redleg to (15,4) after
you've rescued him. There is one big final battle here.
Redleg takes you back to Luskan at (9,2). Siulajia is at (11,1) and Jagaerda
is at (7,4).
FIRESHEAR MISSION
The mine entrances at either (5,12) or (3,14) are the closest ones to where
the townspeople are held. Go due north from the archway, then due west to get
to the docks. No coordinates are possible in the mines. There are optional
encounters in the rest of Fireshear which can be ignored.
AURILSSBARG MISSION
The only hostile encounter is at (2,6). There is a prisoner to be rescued at
(12,8). Bjorn's Village is due east.
BJORN'S VILLAGE MISSION
There are two worthwhile encounters at (7,10) and (11,7). Exit at (15,3).
ICE WOLF'S VILLAGE MISSION
Encounters are at (11,14) and (9,15). There is a treasure chest at (8,14).
Bash it. There is a jeweler hidden at (13,9) to identify your loot. There is a
training hall at (15,6). The entrance to Ice Peak is through the hidden doors
at (9,9) and (7,4).
There are many encounters in Ice Peak, but the route to the end is exit west
at (0,14) into the Ice Peak north (15,14).
ICE PEAK NORTH AND ENDGAME
From (15,14) exit south at (13,15) into Ice Peak south (13,0). Exit back to
Ice Peak north at (10,0) into Ice Peak north (10,15). Follow the trail to the
dead end and Look for the tunnel entrance. This takes you to (7,8) which is
Freezefire's lair. The final battle takes place somewhere here, and it's
two-parter.
