King's Quest III: To Heir is Human
KQ3 (Grey Box)[]
Become Gwydion, young slave to the evil wizard Manannan of Llewdor. Discover the wizard's secret spells, and use his magic to free yourself from his thrall. Embark upon a dangerous voyage to another land. Scale snowy peaks and brave a terrible monster to free a kingdom from its ravages!
Relive ancient lore and legends, fantasy and fables in this epic adventure...
Step into the tattered shoes of Gwydion who serves the powerful and evil wizard Manannan on his mountaintop retreat. Use your wits to learn his magic and free yourself from slavery.
Explore the countryside of Llewdor, where Manannan reigns supreme. Survive an arid desert, and ford sparkling streams.
Travel to a nearby seaport, where you'll find companions of questionable character and motives.
Find passage on a ship bound for places unknown. And may the wind fill your sails!
On your travels, encounter beings, both mystical and mythological, from fiction and fairy tales. Get help from the friendlier ones, and tread carefully with those who would do you harm.
Come face to face with Medusa, the woman so ugly she turns mortal men to stone.
Scale snow peaks to tackle the Abominable Snowman in his mountain stronghold.
Enjoy the reluctant hospitality of three less than charming bears (who have learned to distrust visitors).
And of course, match wits with the powerful,wizard Manannan, whose every whim must be your command until you learn a way to defeat him with his own magic!
KQ3 demo[]
Become Gwydion, young slave to the evil wizard, Manannan of Llewdor. Explore the countryside where Manannan reigns supreme.
Scale snowy peaks to tackle the Abominable Snowman in his mountain stronghold.
Discover the wizard's secret spells and use his magic to free yourself from his captivity.
Find passage on a ship bound for places unknown. Embark upon a dangerous voyage to another land.
And of course, match wits with the powerful wizard Manannan, whose every whim must be your command!
KQ3 Hintbook[]
King's Quest III is the continuing saga of the King Graham family who reside in the Kingdom of Daventry… sharpen your adventurer's skills and journey along with Gwydion as he develops his resourcefulness, discovers his true self, and eventually becomes a real hero!
Sierra Newsletter 1988[]
King's Quest III..transpires some time after the first two games in the series. In this adventure you become Gwydion, a young lad enslaved by the evil wizard Manannan. With use of cunning, wit, complex magic spells, and wise use of your time, you must seek to escape the clutches of the evil wizard and discover your true identity.
Travel the high seas, massive mountain peak and other grand obstacles as the quest unfolds before you. Tackle puzzles and mysteries that will test your best problem solving skill.s A grandiose combination of strategy and smarts is required to complete King's Quest III' Sierras grandest and most complex 3-D animated adventure to date.
1987/1988 History Catalogues[]
Step into the tattered shoes of Gwydion, a young slave serving the powerful and evil wizard Manannan. Use your wit to learn his magic spells. But be careful, for if the evil wizard catches you with his magic he will surely kill you.
Embark upon perilous voyages to distant lands. Encounter beings, both mystical and mythological, from fiction and fairy tales. With wisdom and resourcefulness you will progress far, and perhaps discover your unknown destiny!
Sign (KQ2 1987)[]
You are Gwydion, young slave to the evil wizard Mannanan. Discover his magic and use it to free yourself from his thrall.
KQ4 manual[]
King Graham married the beautiful girl he had rescued, and two years later the young Queen Valanice gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Alexander bore a striking resemblance to his father, and likewise Rosella to her mother. The family lived a very happy and peaceful life...at least for awhile.
But from deep within the forests came rumblings of a terrible beast who was ravaging a bloody trail towards the land of Daventry. Sightings of dragons had been rare in these tranquil times, and never before in the kingdom of Daventry had one witnessed such a beast as the terrible three-headed dragon. As the years crept by the notoriety of the beast grew as great as the destruction it wrought. Soon the whole population of Daventry tremored with the news of the dragon's approach, and each homestead dwelt in terror.
Meanwhile, in a land far away, lived the malevolent wizard Manannan. Manannan kept a watchful eye upon the kingdoms of the world. With a sardonic grin he watched as the three-headed dragon rampaged its way towards Daventry. Manannan's hatred of mankind had intensified with his great age, and his coal-black eyes burned a strange reflection upon the glass of the crystal as he mirthfully watched another human swallowed whole by the vicious beast.
Preferring his solitude, the powerful Manannan was only allowed to be observed by one servant boy, who maintained his house and performed all of his menial chores. Of course, Manannan could have conjured up spirits to do his dirty work, but he much preferred to see the toil and strain of a young mortal suffering under his thrall.
Most would call it depravity, but it was fear that fueled the flames of Manannan's hatred of humanity, a fear instilled by a vision from his prophetic crystal ball. For within its walls of quartz had Manannan seen his own hideous destruction at the hands of a conquering hero.
Time has wrought many changes, and with it much sorrow. The kingdom of Daventry was ravaged by the deplorable dragon, and the young Princess Rosella was abducted. The entire kingdom was overcome by the brutal onslaught of the beast, and though forewarned, found themselves helpless to defend against its supernatural strength. Much weeping and wailing was heard throughout the land. Even with its power of prophecy, the Magic Mirror could provide no answers, not even a clue, for some bearer of black magic had cast a cloud of darkness upon its face...
And the wizard watched with eyes of venom...!
The entire tale of Rosella's rescue, the wizard's downfall, and the restoration of the royal family are chronicled in the saga To Heir is Human.
KQ4 Glass Bottle[]
Help me! I'm lost at sea in "King's Quest III!" I'm with a bunch of nasty pirates who want to feed me to the sharks! If you can, come quick!
The Official Book of King's Quest[]
A boy named Gwydion is held captive in Llewdor by the wicked wizard Manannan. Gwydion must escape to learn his true identity in King's Quest III. When he does, he rescues his twin sister Rosella who is in Daventry in the clutches of a dragon. That done, Gwydion and Rosella are reunited with their parents , King Graham and Queen Valanice.
In a far-off land known as Llewdor, there lived a wicked old Wizard named Manannan. Like most of us, he hates housework. One day he discovers that a boy whom he has kidnapped makes a dandy housekeeper. As we join the story, the boy Gwydion--unfortunately, that's you--has reached his seventeenth birthday and lost interest in his chores; he has started to chase girls and hang out in town. Although Gwydion doesn't know it, his days with Manannan are numbered unless he can outwit the wily Wizard and escape.
What this has to do with Sir Graham--now King Graham and Queen Valanice--is not immediately apparent. But it is indeed the third story of a continuing adventure.
The King's Quest Companion[]
You are Gwydion, a 17-year-old boy who is the slave of the evil wizard Manannan in the land of Llewdor. Your master will kill you when you turn 18---something that will happen very soon. You must escape the wizard, discover your true identity, find out who your true parents are, return home, and rescue your twin sister from a three-headed, fire-breathing dragon.
1989 10th Anniversary Catalogue[]
In To Heir is Human, a young man named Gwydion must free himself from a wily wizard, using the wizard's own magics against him, and make a perilous journey to far places in search of his true name, his identity, and his royal destiny.
[]
Twenty years have passed and King Graham and Queen Valanice have twin, teenaged children, Alexander and Rosella. Unfortunately, Alexander, as a baby, was stolen unnoticed from his crib one night. Help the boy find his way home to Daventry again.
KQ5 manual[]
In time, Queen Valanice and King Graham became the parents of twins, a son and a daughter. Life in Daventry was peaceful and good -- for a time.
In a land far away lived an evil and powerful wizard named Manannan. It was his wont to kidnap infant boys and raise them to be his slaves, killing each in turn before he was full-grown and could pose a threat to the wizard's dominance. His most recent vassal, a boy he called Gwydion, was, however, unusually bright and perceptive. He mastered several of Manannan's spells and turned them against him to gain his freedom.
After a time, Gwydion's travels brought him to Daventry, not the lovely and peaceful Daventry of days gone by, but a land devastated by a terrible affliction. The kingdom had fallen victim to the ravages of a dreadful three-headed dragon, which had burned the land all around and killed many people.
Gwydion was able to use his newfound powers to destroy the dragon and rescue the intended victim from its lair. He was taken before the King and Queen and rewarded in such a way as he never could have imagined in his life as Manannan's slave.
The chronicles of Gwydion, his trials and his journeys, are told in King's Quest III: To Heir is Human.
KQ5 Hintbook[]
A year after the wedding of King Graham and Queen Valanice, twins were born to the happy couple; a dark-haired boy, and a golden-haired girl. The boy was named Alexander, and the girl, Rosella. One morning about six months later, Queen Valanice looked into the nursery and found it unattended with Alexander's crib empty and Rosella crying uncontrollably. The castle was scoured high and low, and every inch of Daventry was searched, but there never was any sign of the little boy. The entire kingdom sank into a deep depression that never lifted, and as a direct result, was unable to defend itself when a terrible dragon moved into the area and caused mass destruction. Through it all, the big question remained like a brick upon the breast of Daventry: what HAD happened to little Prince Alexander?
Eighteen years later finds an unhappy lad by the name of Gwydion searching desperately for a way to escape the slavery enforced upon him by the evil wizard Manannan. Manannan and Gwydion lived in a house high upon a mountain peak in the center of Llewdor, a land far across the sea from Daventry. The poor boy knew not whence he came from, or how he got to be there; all he knew was he'd lived his entire life with the cruel wizard. For as long as Gwydion could remember, the wizard had treated him cruelly and very rarely let him out of his sight.
Manannan was very keen and noticed anything out of the ordinary, so the boy needed to be very careful with any escape plans. Gwydion decided to fight fire with fire; that is, to fight Manannan with his own magic. When the wizard wasn't looking, Gwydion would sneak to the laboratory and learn magic spells and would secretly gather the materials needed to cast them. One day he got the break he needed; when Manannan's attention was diverted, Gwydion was able to turn the wizard into a cat, who ran away vowing he would get even. But Gwydion wasn't worried, he was too happy about his new-found freedom.
During his subsequent travels around Llewdor, Gwydion discovered his true identity; that he was really Prince Alexander of Daventry. With this news he was eager to find his way there, and later managed to cross the vast sea dividing Llewdor and Daventry. From the coast he next needed to cross the great mountains surrounding Daventry, whereupon he discovered a dragon which had been terrorizing Daventry for years. Using his fledgling magical skills Gwydion...oops!...Alexander managed to overpower it, and save his captive sister Rosella in the process. From there, the brother and sister went on home to a joyful reunion with their anxious, but loving, parents.
1991 Spectrum Catalogue[]
Young Gwydion needs your help! Together you'll struggle to escape the clutches of the evil wizard Manannan. Your travels will carry you back to the land of Daventry where you'll perform deeds of daring and discover the truth of your heritage and the true heir to the throne!
The clever wizard casts evil spells you'll have to overcome.
The Magical World of King's Quest, InterAction, Fall 1992[]
The third King's Quest, "To Heir is Human," tells of the birth of twins one year later; a dark-haired boy, Alexander, and a golden-haired girl, Rosella. Six months after their birth, Alexander was kidnapped from the nursery at night by an unseen interloper. Every inch of Daventry was searched, but he had disappeared without a trace.
Eighteen years later, in the land of Llewdor, an unhappy lad named Gwydion was searching desperately for a way of escaping the slavery forced upon him by the evil wizard Manannan. The boy knew not from whence he came; all he knew was that he lived his entire life with the cruel wizard. But by learning magic on the sly, Gwydion was eventually able to overcome Manannan by turning him into a black cat. Unfortunately the "cat" vowed to someday, somehow, seek revenge.
During his subsequent travels, Gwydion learned his true identity; that he was really Prince Alexander of Daventry. With this news, Alexander was eager to find his way there. Once in Daventry, after a long journey, he learned that a terrible dragon had been terrorizing the kingdom for years. But by using his fledgling magical skills he was able to overpower it, and save his captive sister Rosella in the process. From there, the two went home to a joyful reunion with their parents.
1992 Many Worlds of Adventure Catalogue[]
Help young Gwydion escape before he's killed by the evil wizard Manannan. The adventure takes a surprising turn if you can solve the mystery of Gwydion's true identity.
Interaction Magazine, Spring 1992[]
As young Gwydion, you've always known the cruel treatment at the hands of your master, the evil wizard Mannanan. The time is right for your escape! You must outwit your wicked captor before he discovers your plans. Discover your true name, your true identity...and your true birthright.
This enjoyable adventure has even more interesting puzzles, fun situations and exciting characters than its predecessor. Like KQ II, it will run well for you.
KQ5 NES manual[]
In time, Queen Valanice and King Graham became the parents of twins, a son and a daughter. Life in Daventry was peaceful and good - for a time.
In a land far away lived an evil and powerful wizard named Manannan. It was his wont to kidnap infant boys and raise them to be his slaves, eliminating each in turn before he was full-grown and could pose a threat to the wizard's dominance. His most recent vassal, a boy he called Gwydion, was, however, unusually bright and perceptive. He mastered several of Manannan's spells and cast one against him which turned Manannan into a cat. With that, Gwydion was free!
After a time, Gwydion's travels brought him to Daventry, not the lovely and peaceful Daventry of days gone by, but a land devastated by a terrible affliction. The kingdom had fallen victim to the ravages of a dreadful three-headed dragon, which had burned the land all around and drove many people away from the town.
Gwydion was able to use his newly found powers to destroy the dragon and rescue the intended victim from its lair. He was taken before the King and Queen and rewarded in such a way as he never could have imagined in his life as Manannan's slave.
[]
Queen Valanice and King Graham soon became the parents of twins, a son and a daughter named Alexander and Rosella. Life in Daventry was peaceful and good--for a time. But the young prince was stolen from his cradle, and the kingdom went into years of deep mourning.
In a land far away lived an evil and powerful wizard named Manannan. It was his wont to kidnap infant boys and raise them to be his slaves. Before his slaves were full-grown and could pose a threat to the wizard's dominance, Manannan ridded himself of each in turn.
However, Manannan's most recent vassal, a boy he called Gwydion, was unusually bright and perceptive. He mastered several of the wizard's spells and and turned them against the tyrant to gain his freedom. Gwydion was, of course, the kidnapped Prince Alexander.
After escaping Manannan, Alexander's travels brought him to Daventry--not the lovely and peaceful Daventry of days gone by, but a land devastated by a terrible affliction. The kingdom had fallen victim to the ravages of a dreadful three-headed dragon. The beast had burned the land all around and killed many people.
Alexander was able to use his newfound magical powers to destroy the dragon and rescue an intended victim--none other than Princess Rosella, his sister--from its lair. He was taken before King Graham and Queen Valanice and the happy family was reunited. Daventry rejoiced and prospered once more.
KQ6 Hintbook[]
The Adventure of Prince Alexander (In which he Discovers his True Identity, defeats a Mighty Wizard, and saves his Royal Sister from a horrible Death.)
Our poor prince! Imagine his plight, reader if you will. Snatched from his home as a tiny infant, he was enslaved by the evil wizard Manannan for almost eighteen years in the Land of Llewdor. He didn't even know his own name, for the wizard called him Gwydion. The young prince was forced to care for the wizard's home and beasts, prepare his meals, and perform the rudest of tasks. He was brutally punished for smallest of transgressions, whether real or imagined. Manannan taught Gwydion to read, not for any love of the boy, but because he could not tolerate the presence of ignorance. That was a fatal mistake. For you see, the noble youth had discovered that Manannan planned to kill him upon his eighteenth birthday. That usually happy event in the young man's life was but scant days away for the prince. In a desperate bid to save his life, the boy used the wizard's own magic against him. Using a forgotten spell, he transformed the terrible Manannan into a mangy and ill-natured tomcat! Oh, imagine the boy's delirious sense of freedom. After a rather dangerous journey, Alexander found himself on an unknown shore. Little did he know he had found Daventry, his long lost home! He met a wise gnomewho told him of his heritage—and of his sister's eminent sacrifice to a fire-breathing dragon. Alexander rushed to the scene. It was a terrible sight; his sister bound and helpless, about to be burned to ashes by the dread beast. Alexander called upon all of his newly-found arcane knowledge and with a mighty spell, vanquished the creature. The joy and wonder of the Royal Family's reunion is still celebrated by the whole kingdom each year on the anniversary of Alexander's and Rosella's return.
The Royal Scribe[]
Gwydion is a young boy, trapped in the castle of the evil wizard, Manannan. Using the wizard's own magic against him, Gwydion escapes and begins a perilous journey back to a home he never knew and an inheritance it is his destiny to claim.
KQ7 Hintbook[]
Talk about a bad break! King Graham and Queen Valanice produced the cutest pair of twins anybody had ever seen. But when the baby boy was still just a squeaker, he was snatched from his home by the evil wizard Manannan, and made a slave. He was so little when the nasty sorcerer took him that he never even knew he was a prince. That creepy Manannan even changed the boy's name from Alexander to Gwydion. He made the poor kid clean his house, take care of his animals, cook for him, and basically do all his dirty work. He would punish poor Gwydion in a totally harsh manner for the smallest mistake, and sometimes for nothing at all. The one good thing Manannan did was to teach Gwydion to read. That was a big mistake, because knowledge really is power! Gwydion figured out that Manannan intended to kill him on his eighteenth birthday (some present!), and that was only a few weeks away. Gwydion dug through the wizard's books and found a righteous spell. He whipped up a cookie that turned the foul-tempered warlock into a foul-tempered alley cat. Gwydion hot-footed it down the mountain and got the heck out of there. After a dangerous adventure and a close encounter with some cranky pirates, Gwydion (he's really Alexander, though, remember?) jumped ship and swamp to an unknown shore. What luck! He'd landed in Daventry! He didn't have much time to be jazzed about this, because a dragon was was about to barbeque his long-lost twin sister Rosella. Using a big bad spell, Alexander clobbered the dragon. He was reunited with his family, and took his rightful place as crown prince. You can still make him look if you call him Gwydion, though.
KQ7 Authorized Guide[]
King's Quest III: To Heir is Human jumps ahead nearly 20 years after Graham and Valanice's wedding. They are nowhere to be seen.
In the land of Llewdor, there lives an evil magician named Manannan. How evil is he? Instead of employing servants to cater to his peculiar needs, he keeps a slave, just one, a young boy whom he kidnaps and then raises from infancy. When the slave reaches his 18th birthday, there is no party - Manannan kills him and starts over with another boy. Now that's evil!
Gwydion is Manannan's current slave. He's three days shy of 18 and needs to escape. His plan is simple and dangerous. Each time his master either naps or poofs off someplace, he explores. First he breaks into the wizard's secret laboratory and discovers a spell book. In Manannan's study, he discovers the magic wand needed to create the spells. From then on, whenever possible, he will rush down from the mountain top, where the house sits, to gather ingredients for the magic spells.
One spell lets Gwydion understand what the small animals chatter between themselves. From them and a neighborhood oracle, he learns that he is really a kidnapped prince. He also finds out that he has a sister, a twin. Oh, by the way, she's soon to be sacrificed to a three-headed fire-breathing dragon. Happy birthday.
Surviving close calls with Medusa, some nasty bandits and the Three Bears, Gwydion is finally able to turn Manannan into a cat and escape. Free at last, he goes into town and is kidnapped by a band of pirates who could recognize a country bumpkin when they saw one.
The brigands transport Gwydion across the sea, but just before they reach land, he is able to dive overboard and escape. From there he travels over the mountains, past an abominable snowman, down cliffs of sudden death and arrives in, of all places, Daventry.
The kingdom is in ruins; a dragon has been wreaking havoc for years. Gwydion meets Rumplestiltskin (or a close relative) and discovers that he is Prince Alexander of Daventry. His sister, Rosella, is a that very moment being sacrificed to the dragon. She had been sent there by her - their! - father, King Graham.
Alexander isn't about to let any little old monster disturb the family reunion. He defeats the dragon, rescues his sister, and arrives in Castle Daventry in triumph. Upon meeting his son, King Graham passes the torch of adventuring to his children by throwing his adventuring cap to them. The story ends with the cap still in flight.
King's Quest Collections (1997)[]
III - King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human - Prince Alexander must free himself from imprisonment by an evil wizard and find his way back home again.
KQ8 manual[]
Synopsis: Step into the tattered shoes of Gwydion, a young slave whose existence has been spent serving the powerful and evil wizard Manannan. But now your usefulness to him is ending, and a landmark birthday approaches — you are certain that Manannan will choose to end your miserable life that day. With nothing left to lose, you must finally dare to learn the wizard’s magic spells, explore the world outside the tower you’ve called home, and finally challenge the wizard himself to save your own skin, and discover the awesome secret of your own past!
King's Quest Collections (2006)[]
A young apprentice to an evil wizard must escape his captor or be faced with certain death. Upon the discovery that he is the long-lost son of the royal family, young prince Alexander learns that To Heir is Human.
Police Quest 2 summaries[]
Become Gwydion, young slave to the evil wizard Manannan of Llewdor. Discover the wizard's spells. Embark upon dangerous voyages to distant lands. Free a Kingdom from its ravages.
KIXX summaries[]
Be cunning and courageous to escape a life of harassed slavery and a premature demise at the hands of the evil wizard "Mannanan."
"Mannanan" stole you from your family when you were only one year old, to be trained to serve his every need. Unless you can learn enough of his powers to escape [without being caught], you won't live past your 18th birthday.
A variation appears in the KIXX catalogue:
KING'S QUEST® III TO HEIR IS HUMAN Help Gwydion, slave to an evil wizard, overcome his servitude to perform brave deeds. Sail the seven seas with a band of merry sailors. Come face to face with Medusa and the Abominable Snowman! Accomplish your quest a royal reward!
KQ3 GOG release[]
In King’s Quest III: To Heir is Human, you find yourself a servant of an evil wizard. As Gwydion, you must master spells and overcome numerous perils to escape from slavery and save a kingdom.