ADOM Guidebook


The Mad Minstrel

Click here for a color map of the Mad Minstrel's clearing.

The Mad Minstrel lives in a hut in a clearing found in the northern central part of the wilderness map. He will sing songs which are somewhat cryptic hints about important parts of the game. If a player wants to finish the game without reading extensive spoilers, it is very important to sit through his concerts until the player has memorized everything he has to say. Alternatively, they are reproduced here along with [some interpretation]:


 "The Lord of the Cats is a touchy fellow,
His teeth are sharp and his eyes are yellow.
  All kinds of cats he calls his subjects,
  Small ones, big ones, all he'll protect.
       If kind ye be to cats, I sing,
      Talk from him his precious ring!"

[reference to the Cat Lord and felines; see section 0.9.2]

    "Felines have a shiny fur.
When you feed them, they will purr.
  True cat-lovers never harm them,
 some musicians try to charm them.
 For all others, let me warn them:
  As soon as felines meet disaster
 their energy rejoins their master."

[more reference to the Cat Lord and felines]

    "Heaven help you in the tower of hell,
The elements will surely sound your death-knell,
 If walking on fire still shrouds you in pain,
  You might just need some more of the same..."

[Tower of Eternal Flames; be prepared warning]

      "In a very hot tower
  your points in life get lower.
Resisting fire not once but twice
       Would be very wise."

[Tower of Eternal Flames; have at least level two fire resistance;
 prudent adventurers have level three fire resistance]

       "A drakelings scales may be crimson red
       if a creature of fire for dinner he had
    he may wear tough scales and two rings to boot
      he may have the armour and all of the loot
          but fire is still a hazard to him
  cause a drakeling will start to burn from within.

     He will become fast, even fast as the light
  his foes may run screaming at this unearthly sight
      as quicklings so fast, he may just become
      but the hazard of fire will never be gone
  cause the speed makes him dizzy and dazy and that
  and no ring and no scales will save him from that.

      So the tower of fire is a dangerous thing
and you should really listen to the sound of my string
   for a drakeling has really a hard time in there
   without healing and stuff he won't get anywhere.
      So a potion or herb might be a good boon,
 but if you enter without them - you are just a loon!"

[warning about the special problems Drakelings have in the ToEF]

"The Banshee sings a strangely compelling song,
      No one can listen to it for long.
              You better beware
                And take care.
           Beware is what you need,
     Understand this verb and take heed."

[warning about the Banshee: bee-ware (beeswax) is what you need]

   "A small cave for beginners
   The big ones are for winners
    Do it the other way around
And strange monsters will be found."

[warning about the nature of the small cave; see section 1.2.3]

      "The trinity is very tough to find
                in case you mind.
           three parts you will need,
          lots of blood you will shed.
            Once all are collected,
      once your deceitful fame is erected,
   once in servitude you seem to be joining,
once chaos powers the word "friend" are coining,
            you'll enter the gate...
        Quickly - before it's too late!"

[advice about acquiring the Chaos Trinity; advice about the level of 
 corruption needed to enter the chaos gate (as a chaotic); do not 
 tarry or corruption will kill the PC - this is pertaining to the 
 "ordinary" chaos god ending]

            "I'm so lazy,
         My knowledge's hazy,
         My sounds are loud,
         but rarely I shout.
        My lyrics are coarse,
        I never owned a horse.
      My songs I'm improvising,
       I use them for advising.
          Listen with care,
       and well you will fare."

[warning to pay attention to these poems, though they are cryptic]

     "Ancient dwarfs
  often come in halves.
    Babbling they do,
     Ladies they woo,
    Useless they are,
Ignorants receive a scar."

[unknown]

  "Hotzenplotz a bandit is,
  Many a woman he did kiss,
 His guards are very strong,
so don't make anything wrong."

[warning that Hotzenplotz is not a pushover]

   "Dungeons are Grimy
     Blobs are Slimy
When dealing with Puddles
   Missiles are Subtle."

[warning about jellies in general and the fact that they corrode melee weapons]

          "Only fools
 would try to build without tools
    A bridge sturdy and strong
With good tools you can't go wrong."

[the need for a hatchet when bridge building]

           "Once a tiny cavern,
  was a monument built by the powers of Law.
        Now it's strangely distorted,
by the powers of Chaos it's meaning thwarted.
          In the depths of infinity
   it holds the first part of the trinity,
     which, once assembled and refitted,
            will make it permitted
        to become a Chaos God supreme,
     if forceful enough yourself ye deem!"

[origin of the Infinite Dungeon]

 "Caladriel was an ancient crone,
Karmic beings brought her down!
 A phial of light she created,
 but once she did not use it...
 In a dark room she dissipated."

[origin of the Phial of Caladriel]

     "Rehetep was a long-lived guy,
But his skin got cracked before his eyes.
            He would not die,
          And he would not quit,
But his skin just wouldn't stay well-fit.
    He wrapped it up in rags at first,
  But after a while the rags all burst.
         Now to keep his body in,
 He needs to borrow someone else's skin!"

[warning about Rehetep's true nature]

 "Chaos piranhas really bite.
 All are amazed at their might.
  Yrrigs knew more about this.
He manages to survive the fish."

[warning about the chaos piranhas; hint about how to get around them]

         "In the forest deep,
         all living beings weep
       for fairies cruel and fast
          won't let you last.
            Search with care
and fast like lightning you might fare!"

[hint about finding the quickling tree]

   "Chaos powers mighty and dangerous
      strive to alter all of us.
  Corrupting effects transform thee
faster than you would like that to be.
   Although useful they might seem
 they just will bring a sorrow stream."

[warning that corruption will eventually kill]

            "I am a baby dragon
      My mother is bigger than a wagon
Still she lives in a place on watery ground
          That I have never found."

[hint about Blup and Shyssiryxius]

  "The Hero Rolf, of Dwarven Kind,
     A Pillar of his Society --
  He had an Axe, the Cutting Kind,
  Which Caused Orcs Great Anxiety.
  What Became of Rolf the Mighty?
   Does Yet the World he Wander?
The Elders Wise and Mystics Flighty
      Even they must Wonder..."

[story about Rolf the dwarven hero]

       "An age ago, there lived a king, most pious and benevolent,
  Who from his god received a ring to shield him from the elements.
      This king, he had a brother true, a fighter lion-hearted,
Who sought to rout all Chaos through the Gate from whence it started.
   He purged the evil from the land, his blade once never faltered,
       And only by his god's own hand was his adventure halted.
  "O fighter brave," his god did say, "though noble is your mission,
       Yet centuries must slip away before it finds completion.
     The Balance leans too much to Law, and I must now amend it;
    Let Chaos have its time on Earth ere back to hell you send it.
    But watch this stair eternally, and wait for Heaven's message,
    To show the mighty champion who's earned the right of passage.
    For only one you'll step aside and cease your faithful vigil:
 The one who wears your brother's ring emblazed with Heaven's sigil.""

[warning about the Eternal Guardian and hint about the Ring of the High Kings]
The Mad Minstrel is also a critical part of the special endings. More about his role in the special endings can be found in section 4.3.1.2.


Updated November 26th, 2000
© Copyright Andrew Williams 2000-2001