Thaluikhain

Huh, that title had me worried for a bit.

Huh...that pic of you isn't exactly weedy, but compared to the rest of the sliths you seem rather under-muscled. What program did you use for these, and how much work did you do yourself to tidy them up?

Oh right, thanks. I did check the lava area out before, but neglected to look for secret passages, instead of just something around the back end. And the dungeon is higher level than I expected.

Ok, playing Exile 2 for the first time ever, and apparently there's a hidden empire base near the Tower of Magi that sends random encounters out which are annoying when walking to and from there. I've forgotten the exact clue to the location I was given, and who gave it. Can someone tell me where I find it?

As it happens, I'm currently playing Exile 2 for the first time ever. I started with 3, which is the only Spiderweb game I've ever finished. I started some of the remakes, never finished them, and went back and started Exile 1, never finished.

Well...a lot of those monsters are fairly standard in various fantasy, but it's how they are used that's important. I mean, Vahnatai are Roswell greys, which have been done a zillion times in (usually bad) sci-fi. But putting them in fantasy was different, giving them kris blades and ninja stars and having crystal magic and crystal souls and hibernating underground...that's a different take on it.

Not because of the song? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQfAZVsz6KM Always reminds me of the song.

Pretty sure the first time I walked past it, or perhaps triggered the quickfire first and then had other things to do. Though, the clue for slimes is easy to miss as well, you might not go back to the crystal in the Troglo/giant one, due to running from monsters, though you can't miss the golems one if you persist that far. There's a few dungeons that have things hidden behind magic barriers and you'll probably not have dispel barrier at the level you'd reach them. And often, yeah, not really worth going back for.

Ok, I completed the game a couple of times before (ages ago), and it's the only Spiderweb game I've ever finished. I should finish some others at some time. Anyhoo, the end battle was a bit emotional, saying goodbye to the game. Seems fitting that only 2 party members survived. Some thoughts: Floors full of conveyor belts might be fun (might) if you aren't getting fireballed all the time or monsters attacking all the time. Multiple Bless Part spells...I didn't know how broken bless was until this playthrough. It was Bon-Ihrno helping you, the dead thief was a total coincidence, been wondering about that for ages. Casting Force Barrier on a monster can damage it. Doesn't work on Doomguards, but oddly the Flaming Blade does give bonuses against them. There's Vahnatai civilians in Rentar-Ihrno's keep, in the kitchens. Just feeling good about not having to kill any vahnatai children before I ran into one of those I had to kill. And then one more and 2 human kids to kill in the bonus dungeon. Talked to Jeff (the in-game character, not the real one), was tempted to see if killing him does anything, but I didn't. The Knowledge Brew recipe is found in SE Valorim, near where you can buy Mandrake Root and Ember Flowers, which you need to make the Brew, and near the courier mission to get as much money as you need. Convenient. I spent lots of money on archery and thrown missiles, but almost never used them except fighting Rakshasas in the Keep. Discovered that the iron razordisks I picked up explode the hard way there, was going to use them and various potions in the final battle, but forgot. Was nice to see some of the old monsters again, makes sense there were efreets and nagas since they were in with the giants (and efreet in Ghikra), but why were Dark Wyrms in with the Alien Beasts? Why were there rakshasas? Even with lots of Knowledge Brews and refreshing shops to get best magic items on sale and using hints, still had to use the editor a lot. Game gets very frustrating and grindy and dunno how people wou solve the puzzles fairly. Anyway, this game was a big deal for me in my earlier years, and IMHO, still holds up today. Well done Jeff Vogel!

Ah, thanks for the help (and only 3 hours after I asked the question as well, which is impressive), I found it. Not sure if this is supposed to be an old crypt or a new one, though.

Ok, almost finished E3 now, and in the final cavern, at least the map in the hint book there's a town marked called "Small Crypt" next to a big block of rock walls in the centre. But I've not been able to find it when I go there. Is there something I need to do to make it reveal itself, or did I just miss it?

Oh, and in Ghikra there's a ghost messenger not unlike the other ones around, so yeah, that was probably one of the friendly Vahnatai being cryptic and not putting on a Vahnatai way of speaking. And that it appearing in the secret room in the animal shed to give you hidden items is unrelated to the dead person who would secretly hide items in animal sheds. Oddly, after the Vahnatai had departed, I still run into Vahnatai patrols looking for bandits, who I guess were left behind and nobody told them what was going on.

Oh, just finished the Tower of Shifting Floors (I have 199 golem gems to sell now. Also, argh!!!!!!), and the book there you get Mindduel from has Erika's name on it. Also, there's razordisks and a hraithe there (not sure what's with the hraithe). And then the evidence from this one unequivocally tells you who it is behind everything, making the above less important. (Did the Vahnatai come to Ghikra via the Portal Fortress like everyone else in Upper Exile (barring monsters) did?)

Hmmm, is the augment in Tevrono in that one destroyed building there? Always get there late in the game and never seen it, maybe I'm too slow.

Oh, there's another in Gale as well, I think for an unspecified bonus.