Bootleg Bay
Bootleg Bay is the tropical, very-easy-rated southeastern region of cannibal villages, lizardman beaches and offshore temple islands. It is the home of the Fountain of Magic that completes the Sorcerer-to-Wizard promotion, plus four dungeons (Temple of the Fist, Temple of Tsantsa, Temple of the Sun and the optional Hall of the Fire Lord) and obelisk #11 of 15.
You make your main visit in Stage 6 at roughly level 10-13: drink the Fountain of Magic, touch the obelisk, clear the Temple of the Fist for the village acolyte, plant a statuette on the north island, and thread the Temple of Tsantsa to free Sherell. You return in Stage 10 (level 20-28) for the Temple of the Sun (Sacred Chalice -> High Priest). The region resets every 8 months, so it makes a profitable, low-risk farming stop.
Keys
- Dragon Statuette → a door
Traps
- Drink from Well.: DamagePlayer
Connections
- → Hall of the Fire Lord
- → Temple of the Fist
- → Temple of the Sun
- → Temple of Tsantsa
Quests
Sorcerer to Wizard (Fountain of Magic)
[stage]Giver: Lord Albert Newton (Mist)
Have every party member drink from the Fountain of Magic northeast of Harecksburg (it restores HP and grants +20 Spell Points), then return to Lord Newton in Mist to promote your Sorcerer to Wizard. This is the main-quest beat of the region and opens the later Wizard-to-Archmage quest.
Destroy the Crystal (Temple of the Fist)
[stage]Giver: Winston Schezar (Harecksburg village temple house)
Enter the Temple of the Fist east along the coast, fight to the final room of Monks, and touch the evil crystal to destroy it. Return to the village temple acolyte for the reward.
Rescue Sherell (Temple of Tsantsa)
[stage]Giver: Carlo Tormini (Free Haven)
Thread the switch-maze of the Temple of Tsantsa on the northeastern island, grab the Cell Key from a chest in the southwestern rooms, free Sherell Ivaneh from her cell, and escort her back to her house in eastern Free Haven for the reward.
Place the statuette (north island pedestal)
[stage]Giver: Twillen (Blackshire)
Bootleg Bay's pedestal sits on a northern offshore island. Use Fly or Water Walk to reach it and place one of Twillen's statuettes here. It is one of only five pedestals in the land and none are reachable by Town Portal, so knock it out while island-hopping.
Sacred Chalice (Temple of the Sun)
[stage]Giver: Lord Stone (returns to him for High Priest)
Returned later: in the Temple of the Sun, clear the Monks, take the northeast room and click the cabinet for the Sacred Chalice (the optional Minotaur King's room holds eight chests). Warp to the rebuilt Free Haven temple to seat the Chalice, then return to Lord Stone for the High Priest promotion.
Dungeons
When: now (Stage 6) [cleared in stage]
Short dungeon: rats and Monks; touch the evil crystal for Winston Schezar's quest. Do NOT enter the room with the skull pile.
When: now (Stage 6) [cleared in stage]
Sprawling switch-maze loop of cannibals and cobras. Grab the Cell Key in the southwestern rooms to free Sherell. Navigation, not combat, is the real challenge.
When: later (Stage 10: Sacred Chalice -> High Priest; optional Minotaur King) [cleared in stage]
Holds the Sacred Chalice (the Priest-to-High-Priest promotion item). Master Monks are magic-immune; the optional Minotaur King (861 HP, casts Finger of Death) drops 8 chests if killed from a doorway. Skip at level 10-13.
Rewards
- Sacred Chalice
- treasure-tier-4 Sword
- treasure-tier-4 Armor
- treasure-tier-4 Shield
- Sun Ray
Connections
- → Bootleg Bay
When: later (optional Fire Lord secondary quest; not on the main path) [cleared in stage]
Amber/teleporter gimmick (every character needs 1 amber to use the teleporters for free). Source of the Crystal Skull used to absorb radioactivity in the Tomb of VARN at Dragonsand.
Keys
- Amber → doors 10, 20
- Amber → door 20
- Chest Key → a door
Traps
- Stone Face: DamagePlayer
- event 50: Day of the Gods
Connections
- → Bootleg Bay
Puzzle solution
The hall runs on Amber. The Stone Faces and the two warded doors all test for it. Carry plenty.
- Stone Faces: the sign warns "All must have amber. Take life force!" Give every party member an Amber, or the face damages the empty-handed and teleports you back; only a fully-stocked party passes ("Ah, delicious amber!").
- Warded doors (the pair): use an Amber at each ward to destroy it. Both wards must fall — until then you get "All wards must be destroyed." Destroying both opens the pair together.
Speaking with the Lord of Fire also clears the ward requirement.
Trainers
Trains:
Trains:
Trains:
NPCs & Shops
Harecksburg (the coastal village on the south coast) has the core services: a Weapon Store, Armor Store, Alchemist Store, an Inn, and the Training by the Sea hall (max level 20). Quest-givers here: Winston Schezar (Destroy the Crystal) in the house attached to the village temple, and the temple acolyte who pays out that quest.
Expert trainers: Shoshi Pertoniki (Expert Perception, 500gp) and Preston Harper (Expert Chain Armor, 1000gp). There are East Docks and West Docks for the boat circuit. Obelisk #11 stands on the eastern mainland; touch it for its Auto Notes clue. A traveling Circus visits December-March, and the Shrine of Might appears in January (ask the Seer in Castle Ironfist, #32).
Fountains: the main-quest Fountain of Magic (+20 Spell Points) northeast of Harecksburg; a temporary +20 Might fountain; and two permanent stat fountains near the Temple of the Fist — +2 Personality and +2 Intellect. With the GrayFace patch each fountain is a single honest use, so drink the permanent ones on every character. Keep human bones for Lon Miller in Free Haven rather than selling them (the finder's fee tanks your reputation).
Secrets
Show spoiler — Temple of Tsantsa switch-maze (loop solution)
The switches all sit in side-rooms along one big outer loop, plus one in the room south of the middle. Walk the whole outer ring once, flipping every switch you find in each side-room (some release cannibals behind you — turn and kill them), then mop up the southern and western rooms you skipped. The Cell Key waits in a chest in the southwestern rooms. The final switch in the northeasternmost room opens the central double doors; lure the snakes and cannibals out a few at a time, then take the north stairs down to the cell and open it with the Cell Key to free Sherell. In the swirling-floor room, cross only on the swirling tile itself — the rest of the floor damages you. A secret room packed with gold is tucked off the early right-hand rooms.
Show spoiler — Temple of the Fist secret switch / skull pile
Take the LEFT path for rats, a couple of items, and a hidden switch in a secret area in the northwest room. Do not step into the room with the skull pile — with Expert Perception you can pull a scroll out of the skull pile from outside. Take the RIGHT path to a door guarded by three Monks; loot the cabinet (the second cabinet farther up holds only a useless scroll), then climb the incline to the final room of ~8-10 Monks and touch the crystal to destroy it.
Show spoiler — Hall of the Fire Lord amber / Crystal Skull
Every character needs 1 amber to use the teleporters for free; you start with 2 ambers and can go south first for +2 more. The Fallen Defender (a unique) carries a Chest Key. The prize is the Crystal Skull, later used to absorb radioactivity in the Tomb of VARN at Dragonsand. Bring an amber back to Dillan Robinson in Free Haven.
Show spoiler — Temple of the Sun: Minotaur King doorway trick
The optional Minotaur King (861 HP, magic-immune, casts Finger of Death) guards a room of eight chests, item bags and stat barrels. Lure him into the main room and stand in the doorway so his Finger of Death wastes itself on the wall while your back rank pepper him with arrows. The Sacred Chalice is in the cabinet in the northeast room (click again for extra items).
Combat
✅ Clear
- Cannibals (21 HP) / Head Hunters (30 HP) / Witch Doctors (40 HP) - low HP, good XP and chests; Witch Doctors carry 5-point all-element resist, so favor arrows/physical over single-element spells.
- Lizard Men (13 HP) / Lizard Archers (25 HP) - weak, worth clearing for loot.
- Temple of the Fist rats and Novice/Initiate Monks - fragile; clear to reach the evil crystal.
- Temple of Tsantsa cannibals + Cobras (Cobra 17 / King Cobra 40 / Queen Cobra 61 HP, Poison-immune so they only poison you) - easy; they guard the Cell Key and Sherell.
- Temple of the Sun Novice/Initiate Monks - very low HP; clear them to reach the Sacred Chalice room.
⏭ Skip
- Dense Lizard Archer/Lizard Wizard packs in the open - they fire arrows and electric balls endlessly; pull them into cover or run past (Lizard Wizard has 45 HP and 10-point fire/elec/cold/pois resist).
- Master Monks (153 HP, AC 28, magic-immune) if your accuracy is low - their armor class wastes turns; use weapons not spells.
- Minotaur King (861 HP, magic-immune, Finger of Death) unless you use the doorway trick - skip entirely at level 10-13.
- Picking up human bones to sell in Rockham - the finder's fee tanks your reputation (save them for Lon Miller in Free Haven).