Upheaval Quick Start Guide

version 0.3, last updated 27 Jan 2024

Table of Contents

• Purpose of this Guide
• Contact
• Game Overview
• Music
• Starting Fresh
• How to Get Powerful Magic Items
  • How to get the Enchanted Sword
  • How to get the Magic Ring
  • How to get the Book of Spells
  • How to get the Skeleton Key
• The Map
• Clue Reference
• Cool Things You Can Do With The Major Factions In Upheaval
  • The Bandits
    • Finding the Bandits
    • Some Things You Can Do With The Bandits
  • The Goblins
    • Finding the Goblins
    • Some Things You Can Do With The Goblins
    • Note on Goblin Prison
  • The Wraith
    • Finding the Wraith
    • Some Things You Can Do With The Wraith

Purpose of this Guide

Hi! This guide is for players who want to start playing my game Upheaval by doing some interesting things quickly, possibly to showcase the game to their followers or to make use of limited time to play.

If there's interest in a longer guide with more detail, let me know and I can write one for you. :)

Upheaval is a text-based open world fantasy adventure roguelike about discovering and mastering the secrets of an ever-changing world. You can play it on Windows, Mac, Linux, or Android. iOS is planned, but not available yet.

Contact

To give feedback or ask questions:

• Write me at me@alexjleone.com
• Find me on the Upheaval Discord server

Thanks! I hope you enjoy. :)

- Alex

Game Overview

In Upheaval, the world changes every time you play.

To do some of the interesting things in the game, you'll need items. Most items are hidden in a different place each game; memorizing item locations will do you little good. Instead, to find these items, you'll follow a new series of clues each game.

This guide will explain how to find these powerful magic items, how to follow any clues you may find, and some of the things you can do with those items once you have them.

Music

Music plays intermittently throughout the game, so there are natural breaks between the music tracks.

If you would like the background music to play without any breaks, check the "Play music continuously" option under the "Audio Settings" menu under "Settings."

To avoid getting a copyright claim on YouTube for any gameplay or trailer videos, make sure the name "Upheaval" appears in the description or title of your video. If you get a copyright claim anyway, please send me a link to your video and I'll get the claim removed. Thanks!

Starting Fresh

The world of Upheaval remembers past adventures, even unfinished ones. If you start an adventure and then mess around for a bit before starting a new adventure "for real," the game will remember that.

To get a super clean start, you can clear all your Save Data from past runs in Settings.

How to Get Powerful Magic Items

There are four powerful magic items that unlock most of the options in the game: the enchanted sword, the magic ring, the book of spells, and the skeleton key.

Each starting quest gives a different clue that will ultimately lead to one of these four items. If you like, you can use the clue reference below as to help you follow these clues.

How to get the Enchanted Sword

1. At the beginning, choose the dream "Protect the people of [the village]."
2. Read the mysterious letter and note the location it mentions at the end. Recommended: Write down the location in your journal.
3. Travel to that clue location and search up to four times.
4. You will find a randomly-selected object (a black obelisk, a dead tree, or a moss-covered stone). Interacting with that object will give you another clue.
5. Follow the clue the object gives you and search in that location as well, same as before.
6. You'll find a coffin there. Open the coffin. The sword will be inside.

How to get the Magic Ring

1. At the beginning, choose the dream "Move about unseen."
2. Read the mysterious letter and note the location it mentions at the end. Recommended: Write down the location in your journal.
3. Travel to that clue location and search up to four times.
4. You will find a randomly-selected object (a black obelisk, a dead tree, or a moss-covered stone). Interacting with that object will give you another clue.
5. Follow the clue the object gives you and search in that location as well, same as before.
6. You'll find a hideaway there. Crawl inside the hideaway. There will be a wooden box inside. Open the box. The ring will be inside.

How to get the Book of Spells

1. At the beginning, choose the dream "Learn to cast spells."
2. Read the mysterious letter and note the location it mentions at the end. Recommended: Write down the location in your journal.
3. Travel to that clue location and search up to four times.
4. You will find a randomly-selected object (a black obelisk, a dead tree, or a moss-covered stone). Interacting with that object will give you another clue.
5. Follow the clue the object gives you and search in that location as well, same as before.
6. You'll find a mysterious wooden box. Hang onto it. Running into the bandits can be problematic here.
7. To open the box, do one of these two things:
   • Follow the instructions below for how to get the skeleton key.
   • Search inside each of the burial mounds and read all three stories you find there to learn the three words on the box (you can stop searching after you've found the third story).
8. Use either the key or the words you've learned to open the mysterious box. The book of spells will be inside. To learn one spell, you must make camp two times with the book. There are three spells in the book.

How to get the Skeleton Key

1. At the beginning, choose the dream "Set captives free."
2. Read the mysterious letter and note the location it mentions at the end. Recommended: Write down the location in your journal.
3. Travel to that clue location and search up to four times.
4. You will find a statue of a person. The statue will be holding the key, which you can take from it.

The Map

Each location in the world is numbered below. Paths show how you can get from one location to another.

Note: Dotted paths start hidden and must be rediscovered each game. Paths with arrows can only be taken in one direction.

Clue Reference

People and objects may give clues to where you can find special objects, people, or items (see How to Get Powerful Magic Items).

To use this reference, find your clue in the list below, then find the matching location and number on the map above. Travel to that matching location, search it one to four times, and you'll find what the clue suggested you would find there.

1. in [Town]
2. in [Tavern]
3. at the edge of [Town]
4. on the north road
5. in the [Mountains], near the bottom of the pass
6. in the [Mountains], near the middle of the pass
7. in the [Mountains], near the top of the pass
8. near the entrance to the [Mountain] mines
9. in the [Mountains], near the trail that goes to the overlook
10. in the [Mountains], near the overlook at the top
11. at the start of the gully in the [Forest]
12. in the middle of the gully in the [Forest]
13. at the end of the gully in the [Forest]
14. deep in the [Forest]
15. just outside the front entrance to the goblin cave in the [Forest]
16. inside a cave on the east edge of the [Forest]
17. in a glade in the [Forest]
18. by the creek on the south edge of the [Forest]
19. by the old south road, where it passes the burial mounds
20. by the old south road, where it passes the lake
21. by the old south road, where it passes the [Fen]
22. at the end of the old south road, near the broken bridge
23. in the foothills, northwest of the tower
24. in the foothills, north of the tower
25. along the bluffs in the [Hills], west of the tower
26. in the [Hills], just outside the tower
27. along the bluffs in the [Hills], south of the tower
28. among the burial mounds
29. in the field that's east of the burial mounds
30. in the [Hills], in the tall grass just south of the [Forest]
31. in the [Hills], in the tall grass just east of the old south road
32. in the [Hills], in the tall grass north of the fen's north end
33. in the [Hills], in the tall grass where the river meets the fen
34. in the west end of the [Fen]
35. in the north end of the [Fen]
36. in the east end of the [Fen]
37. in the south end of the [Fen]
38. in the heart of the [Fen]
39. in the [Hills], by the lake

Note: Names that will change from game to game are in [square brackets]. For example, the [Forest] may be called the "Green Forest" one game and the "Whispering Forest" the next game.

Cool Things You Can Do With The Major Factions In Upheaval

Here are some cool things you can do with the major factions in Upheaval, and some directions on how to do them. Many of these require you to have one of the magic items described earlier.

The three major factions in Upheaval are the bandits, the goblins, and the wraith.

The Bandits

Finding the Bandits

The bandits could be waiting to ambush you on the roads leading west, south, and east out of town, as well as among the burial mounds and at the base of the abandoned tower. Here's a quick map of all the places the bandits could be lying in wait:

Ask about the bandits in town. After asking enough times, someone in town will know which region they're in (the forest gully, the mountain pass, the burial mounds, or the hills region).

Some Things You Can Do With The Bandits

• Drive them off for good with your sword.
• Put them to sleep with the Sleep spell.
• Put on the ring in advance, then sneak up on them.
• Join the bandits by giving them a valuable item.
• Make them think you're a friend by casting the Enchantment spell.
• Attack them with your bare hands, then search the area when you wake up to find a knife you can use against them next time.
• Let them have your stuff, then follow them back to their hideout where you can wait until they leave (1-2 days), then steal your stuff back.

The Goblins

Finding the Goblins

The goblins start the game in the cave on the east edge of the forest (location 16).

If you leave the goblins alone, eventually they will send a patrol into the forest and you may run into them there.

Some Things You Can Do With The Goblins

• Fight and terrify the goblins with your sword.
• Put the goblins to sleep with the Sleep spell.
• Ask for an audience with the Goblin King (you'll need the enchantment spell or a valuable gift to get it).
• Take treasure from the goblins' treasure vault.
• Sneak up on the Goblin King and kill him with a knife (no sword).
• Fight and kill the Goblin King with your sword.
• Steal a key from the goblins while in goblin prison or while wearing the ring.
• Press on into goblin territory (east from location 13) to get thrown into goblin prison.

Note on Goblin Prison

If you're thrown into goblin prison, all your items will be confiscated except for your magic ring and your skeleton key. Everything else will be thrown into the treasure room, which you can find by going east into the goblin cave and exploring the tunnels over and over.

The Wraith

Finding the Wraith

The wraith starts the game haunting the burial mounds and the field east of the burial mounds (locations 28 and 29). To find the wraith, go to one of those locations at night.

If you leave the wraith alone, eventually it will relocate to the abandoned tower (location 26) and unlock the door. You'll know the wraith has relocated because of the "unearthly cry" you hear echoing across the world. When the wraith is in the tower, it cannot also be found in the burial mounds.

Some Things You Can Do With The Wraith

• Cast spells on it.
• Get cursed and have your soul ripped apart. Your soul will mend itself in 2-3 days, or you can follow the curse to find and reclaim your soul.
• Drive off the wraith with fireflies.
• Give items to the wraith. Items you give to the wraith will be hidden in one of the burial mounds, in a hidden compartment that also contains a curse when opened.
• Join the wraith by visiting the wraith in the tower (be really drunk, bring fireflies, or cast enchantment on yourself to gain an audience).
• Get cursed, find the piece of your soul, and wait there for a while doing nothing to let the curse come to completion.