LEVEL 17: THE DRAGON'S LAIR
Kills: 11 Items: 23 plus 1 Mystic Plaque (no secrets)
Pick up a large med-pack and 2 sets of Uzi clips from the ground. The petrified guard will not awaken if you follow these instructions, so he can be ignored. Just slip by into the next room. The stone guard on the opposite side of the room awakens as you enter, so take care of him. If you have grenades to spare, blast the two remaining guards with 3 grenades apiece before they wake up. (In case you didn't read the notes for the previous level, this will make them quite a bit easier to kill when they do awaken.) Ignore the switch on the far side of the room. All it does is awaken the guard you passed by before, without opening any doors. Instead, pull the switch on the side of the door through which you entered. This wakes up the two guards on the sides and opens the exit door.
After you've killed the guards, advance carefully into the next room. It's dark and there are many pillars in here. 6 cult members are lurking in the shadows. You can draw them out one or two at a time by advancing slowly into the room then backing out as they emerge from hiding. When all 6 are dead, recover their stuff: large and small med-packs, 6 sets of Uzi clips and a MYSTIC PLAQUE. Use the Plaque to open the door and enter the Dragon's Lair.
Bartoli's body lies on a low platform at the center of this huge room. When you step within the area marked off by the pillars, he magically transforms into a huge dragon.
There are a number of holes in the floor leading to a water-filled room below. Down here are 10 sets of Uzi clips and 2 large med-packs in case you need backup. However, when fighting the dragon, it's nearly impossible to get down here then climb back out of the water without getting toasted. If you're really short on ammo, I'd recommend going into the water through one of the holes at the edge, then picking up only the stuff at the perimeter of the underwater room. If you get too close to the center, the dragon wakes up.
There are many ways of killing the dragon. My favorite (i.e., the easiest and least dangerous) is to approach the center of the room from the left, keeping behind the pillar. When the dragon rouses, edge toward the right until you're able to hit it using grenades. It will take about 15 grenades to bring it down, and it won't try and come around the pillar if you're positioned correctly. (As far as I know, this was first suggested by "dafiske" on the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup, though I've seen it elsewhere as well.) If you're having difficulty locating the "safe" spot, check out this screenshot: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/9596/dragon.jpg.
Once the dragon goes down, rush over to its belly and pull out the Dagger. If you don't get it in time, the dragon will revive and the whole thing starts over again.
When you've got the Dagger, the exit door opens and the place starts to collapse. Run through the exit door and down the passageway to end the level.
There's a movie sequence in which Lara runs from the exploding Wall and is knocked to the ground. She awakens some time later and presumably heads for home.
EPILOGUE: HOME SWEET HOME
This short level begins with Lara at home again admiring her new prize. The alarms go off as two vans full of Fiama Nera goons bust into the estate. Hurry to the other side of the bed and unlock the gun closet. (The key is already in your possession.) Inside is the shotgun (in the far left corner along with some shells). There are also more shells, flares and med-packs. You may not have time to pick them all up at first, so go for the gun. 4 thugs and a dog will enter the bedroom first--2 from the balcony, the rest from the doorway. Take them out and gather any stuff you weren't able to get at first. Some of the men you kill will provide extra shells and med-packs.
Head down the stairs. 2 more dogs and 4 more men are waiting outside. You can draw them out by stepping through the door then retreating into the house. Two more men and dog appear when you approach the low hedges to the left of the door. The final enemy is a thug with 2 big guns. He's hard to kill but when he falls, that's the end of the game. Off to the showers to clean up and unwind.
Congratulations! You did it!
Copyright © 1998 Stellalune. Special thanks are given to the participants in the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup, without whom some parts of this walk-through couldn't have been written. Feel free to copy, distribute and quote this walk-through, but please include this credit line so people can send me their corrections, comments and suggestions. Also, if you'd like to offer this on your own web site, kindly ask permission first.
