How does mechanics, locks, and unlock spell work

[fetchystick]

I want to figure out what determines a lock's "difficulty" how much each point of mechanics, mental magic, and spellcraft do. I think I may have a glitch but I'm not gonna run around crying just yet.

 

So I'm playing through geneforge 1 again and I came across the zone called "the hill". In this there are an awful lot of levers that said it takes about 2 living tools to unlock them. I fired the unlock spell and nothing happened. This is strange because I read somewhere that the unlock spell gains power through mechanics as well as mental magic and spellcraft. My mental magic and spellcraft were 3 and 1, respectively, and my mechanics was 11.

 

Since I had a level up coming soon I thought I would just forget the locks and buy some points in mechanics. The levelup came around at the hill and I increased my mechanics by three right there on the spot. I ran towards one of the levers and it still said two living tools to unlock the lever. I used unlock again and still nothing happened.

 

Is this normal? how does the mechanics skill work? How does unlock work? Can someone help me?

[Randomizer]

I think unlock spell only works on doors and not levers and traps.

 

There should be more than enough living tools in the game that you don't need to worry about running out. The ratio of mechanics to living tools needed is I think 4 to 1 for Geneforge 1. The number changes in other games. There are also items that can be swapped to use for increasing mechanics for just levers, locks and traps.

 

The Hill of Jars is a zone meant for high leadership and mechanics build characters to avoid fighting to the south and north.

 

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[fetchystick]

no no, I'm at "the hill", a little zone just east of power station and north of pentil. These levers are meant the open up doors in the zone. Thanks for the help though! much appreciated!

 

I went to another zone that had a lever not yet pulled (it took fifteen living tools before, now it only takes ten) so it's probably not a glitch or something like that. I know it'll break my poor OCD heart to do so, but I'll just have to break out the living tools and go to work.

[Randomizer]

Anything over 3 living tools usually is a quest reward door or there is a key somewhere in the zone that will open it.

[Dikiyoba]

G1 lets you control the number of living tools you want to spend on a lock, rather than the all-or-none of the later games. You might be able to use one living tool on the two-tool locks and then cast the unlock spell. Sometimes the spell will work if you do that, and it'll save you a living tool or two. There are plenty of living tools in G1, though, so saving a few isn't worth much.

 

Dikiyoba.

[The Reincarnated Baron von Steuben]

Dikiyoba: World-Famous Geneforge Answerer of Questions.

[fetchystick]

G1 lets you control the number of living tools you want to spend on a lock, rather than the all-or-none of the later games. You might be able to use one living tool on the two-tool locks and then cast the unlock spell. Sometimes the spell will work if you do that, and it'll save you a living tool or two. There are plenty of living tools in G1, though, so saving a few isn't worth much.

 

Dikiyoba.

Oh, so in the later games I won't be able to use a combination of living tools and unlock? Dear lord that will wreck my OCD.

 

I tend to hoard living tools like gold. I remember the first time I played through the game I reached the west entrance of the geneforge and ran into a 42-living tool lock. I had been using living tools liberally and was never able to get past that door. Every playthrough since I have only used living tools in the most dire of situations.