Slawbug

Not quite. What the ending actually says is: "As you speak, the Council manages to slowly grow concerned. They are also strangely unsurprised. It's as if they have recently been told a tale much like this one." In theory this could mean somebody else already reported what was going on in Drypeak, and the Council just ignored it. It seems more likely a call-out to the previous game's ending, since your story of Drypeak is incredibly reminiscent on the report they heard from the G1 PC -- right down to the Awakened, the Takers, canisters, and a Geneforge.

I guess I should make some of this codex info accessible without having to install the mod. So, here you go! (There's further specifics in other codex entries.)

Because it's an RPG. It has RPG Plot Hole #1. Almost every RPG has this problem: what's so unique about the PC(s) that they can do this thing, but nobody else can? (Related question that afflicts most CRPGs: how the heck does their power level rise so meteorically?) Geneforge 1 did a better job of avoiding these plot holes than any game I can think of: the player is one of literally two people in this isolated location with years of relevant, specialized knowledge. Leadership-type manipulation helps explain this even more. (And for power level, you have both the player's specialized training in learning things quickly -- at the exact point in training where it's primed, but unused -- and on top of that, the canisters.) G2 and G3 both tried to copy and paste this solution. In G2 it's weaker both because the isolation is less absolute and because there are other Shapers around (who don't have the psychological and geopolitical explanations for being stuck that applied to Goettsch). The whole "you're an outside factor" speech that a few people like Darian throw at you is a little weird. There are lots of outside factors in the valley, just as strong as the PC, and it's not clear why the PC tips the balance but nobody else could. (G3 in some ways had less of an issue with this, simply because the PC's actions don't feel even remotely as significant. But at that point it was a copy-paste of a copy-paste.) (And G1's power level explanation doesn't really hold up in either game.)

Reminder for anyone else reading: this only happens on Torment. Getting to level 3 is definitely a little bit of a puzzle. Then you start making some pretty good incremental progress.

Hahaha, awesome! Yeah, Torment specifically is extra hard here. Sounds like you can handle it, but there are some tips in the Codex if you need any. And yup, the one cosmetic change here was blue shaper, shiny armor guardian, and sepia tone agent.

No. The discussion was about whether or not loyalist shapers like Kima, Macnulty, and Bunk; Aodare; or Elissia, could successfully make it to the Shaper Council or not. oceanes objected that Drypeak was too far for an easy journey (see above addrsesing that). Making it to the Drypeak entrance is hardly an impossible task. Whatever doubts the PC has about Elissia, she can shape drayks. Kima can shape rotghroths. And Aodare, well, he made it to Taker lands on his own, so presumably he could make it back. The only thing that even remotely seems like it could pose a challenge would be a major Barzite force. But Stannis only targeted Shanti because she was a new factor under constant surveillance. That does not apply to any of these other shapers. Barzahl isn't constantly watching them, and even if he did, would hardly send a major force after them just because they started walking east.

What? Shanti did make it. This is about the journey between the Drypeak mountains and the Shaper Council, not travel within the Drypeak area.

"You travel with Shanti for weeks... Then you climb into the desolate mountains. You see the rubble and ruins surrounding Drypeak. After a long, exhausting climb through the cold wastes, Shanti lets you set up camp in an abandoned shop. You sleep like the dead." This is the Infestation intro. It's only "weeks" of travel and that's before entering the "desolate mountains" -- which it sounds like you're only travelling through for one day before the game begins. As for Elissia, the exact text is "She is old and weak. You doubt that she will make it back to the council alive." It says nothing about the journey at all -- only that she is old and weak. There's no suggestion that somebody younger and stronger would have any trouble making it. There's little doubt that Kima, Macnulty, and Bunk, working together, could easily make the journey. One Agent and an apprentice had no problem doing so. It also doesn't seem like they are really having much of an effect on Barzahl. And as for Aodare, he's not doing anything to actually impede the Takers at all.

Some do express an awareness of what the council might do, including a few commons. I just think it's not a conversation it made sense to write 80 versions of. But also, they've been there doing that stuff for years before the PC shows up. And despite the flowery language a few people give you about being an outsider with a unique ability to influence things... that kinda has zero truth to it. There have been plenty of other shapers in Drypeak, including those stoutly loyal to the council and not Zakary, like Macnulty's crew, and Aodare. It's just that apparently none of them chose to go back to the Council and call j'accuse... which is actually a little bit confusing. The one thing that might make the PC seem more likely to do that than others is Shanti's death -- and that is a topic that makes pretty much everyone who is asked about it nervous, even when they had nothing to do with it.

Everything about Thrackerzod and his group clashes with what we know about Shapers, with the dynamics of having only two (2) Shapers on Sucia in original Geneforge, and so on. They were a kickstarter backer inclusion, and it kind of feels like Spiderweb got backed into a corner on that one. As far as I'm concerned, they don't exist. That said, Zakary does comment on a period when he was some kind of wandering Shaper, too. So maybe there is some kind of dispensation for that.

Have you actually played Overrun, alhoon? Please read the codex.

Thanks for the kind words alhoon. Short answer: no. This seems like a bad idea. This just isn't a simple mod where each change is self-contained to one place. There's real potential for unexpected issues with conflicts over things like SDFs; it would be time-consuming to test; and it would add complications any time updates happen. The fact that you are asking this as soon as you see the mod, without having used it or looked at it, does not add confidence.

You effectively have one Shaping stat that governs all creation types, instead of three different ones. (Battle and Magic are set to equal Fire whenever you enter a friendly town, and any items that affect shaping skill affect all three.)

Infestation: OVERRUN This is a giant mod that overhauls creations, skills, equipment, general progression, and other game mechanics. It adds some entirely new content, including quests and items. And it includes some Quality of Life features, like increased walking speed. (See bottom of post for download link. Also, you can scroll down in this thread to see the rest of the "Shanti's Guidance" codex section.) Creations and items that used to be lackluster now do cool, unique things. In Infestation: Overrun, you can mix and match creations of different types without any sacrifices. Rotdhizons fearlessly clearing the way for fire-spitting Roamers and poisonous Artilas, maybe, supported by blood-stirring Vlish and nimble Stalkthorns. High Leadership can increase joinable NPC levels, too, creating another option for party building. Some spells and abilities do new things when raised to high skill levels. Some items are used in completely different ways. Almost every unique item has been augmented or altered to be unique and useful. There are new mechanics and shifted balance for shields, armor, missile weapons, wands and rods, and Feisty Slap of Pain. In Infestation: Overrun, everything has a use! Enemies have some new tricks up their sleeves, too. The difficulty level hasn't gone up overall, but the variety of challenges definitely has. Speaking of difficulty, additional tweaks have been made to Veteran and Torment, tightening up exploits and pushing you get good use out of low- and mid-tier creations and spells, rather than jumping straight to tier 4 creations and Airshock. Torment is a serious challenge. QoL improvements include things from my QoL mod, like increased walking speed; more informative tooltips; and other helpful information-sharing from the game interface. New content includes game-spanning quests, items, and even a new NPC. G2 is a pretty great game on its own. This mod is intended to offer a new experience for a second playthrough. And, you do need to start a new game for many of these changes to take effect. (For a more exhaustive list of changes, check out the in-game Codex. Shanti also summarizes most of them as you go through the first zone.) Bon appetit! Installation Instructions 1) Close the game. Locate your G2 "Scripts" folder. Sample path might look something like: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Geneforge 2 - Infestation\Geneforge 2 Infestation Files\Scripts 2) Back up the folder. 3) Download and unzip the attached file. 4) Copy all text files into the Scripts folder, replacing the existing copies. 5) Use at your own risk 🙂 This is why you're backing things up first! Also, don't bug Spiderweb, they aren't responsible for this. 6) Please do not release altered versions of this mod, or copy and paste pieces of it into your own mod. In part for to reduce confusion for people using mods, and in part because, frankly, this took a lot of work. (If you prefer, in step 2, you can copy the entire "Geneforge 2 - Infestation" directory. This way you can keep the base version of the game available to play. Just be careful about which copy of the app you open!) Note: This version (v1.01) is a sort of public beta. The mod is "complete," and has been tested for bugs, but there are probably things I missed. I'm going to have to update all the files when Spiderweb releases v1.02 of Geneforge 2, anyway, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to get some extra feedback and bug-squishing before that happens. Feedback, questions, and reports of possible bugs are appreciated! When v1.02 is released, you will need to re-install the updated version of the mod (it'll probably take me ~24 hours from the update to get it out) -- you won't have to restart your playthrough, though. Version History v1.01 - Initial release G2 Overrun Mod v1_01.zip

Lord Rahul's wife is Lady Anjali. Yes, she is a Shaper. It is really not hard to google these things. Fifteen seconds.