+geezer+

What seemed odd to me is both the begin-game and end-game dialogs are addressing me in first person singular, as the player of the game, rather than as a four character team (assuming a party of four). Which of the four characters is being addressed, and how do you know which of the four I believe --I-- am (if I am only one of the party, not suffering from multiple personality disorder)?

First off, let me say that I am practically a beginner. My last RPG was Ultima (1) on my Apple II. I lost most of a month of my life burrowed into the game, battling, mapping, keeping my parties stats, etc. Fun, but I realized it was as addicting as drinking or gambling and I needed to treat RPG with more respect - or at least better self control. I managed to refrain from epic Myst battles, etc. but somehow A5 snuck in and snagged me. I'd still say I'm more a casual(ty) than at the level of most of the beta testers. That said, I have been having a fine time. First I was running the stock party, but started to 'boost' them with the editor. I found I overdid it and swithed the game to 'hard'. That helped me feel more balanced, but decided to start over after reading a lot of the posts on party building on this forum. I must say that this forum has made the difference for me in terms of both playability and enjoyment. I found that it isn't so much the do this-find this that helped, it was that I wasn't the only brain dead goblin that was getting stuck when facing the Fang Clan ELder or the Pit Crawler. The reassurance that ordinary fleshy pink things had run into the same levels of difficulty that I was in somehow made it ok to go back and wail upon the foes one more time, with renewed hope for victory. What I also have gleaned is the importance of strategies in the various fights. One style doesn't fit all, and some basic approaches from those who have seen many more battles has been great. What I still feel I lack is what a basic 'buff' bewfore battle is, and how free I should be using scrolls and wands. For instance, if I use Priest/Protection more than once, is there a cumulative effect or is it more an on/off thing? Do I waste spell points doing 3-4 Protections? There are also some things that are alluded to that came from long experience playing other Avernum games that are taken for granted in A5. Like, is it better to invest points in Endurance or Hardiness? A lot of the discussion of singletons has helped me understand some of this, but us newbies, especially starting out with A5 cold, are missing some of the finer points of play. That is why this forum has been so helpful. I have generally been playing a new area 'straight', without checking forum posts or the tips book beforehand. Yes, I've read the posts and the book, but don't refresh before doing the new area. Once I've done some of the battles, I do check Synegry's list to see if I may have overlooked anything. If I did, I go back and root around. I'd have to say that the difficulty on 'Normal' seems right. I have more and more trouble getting through fights the farther I go, and my skill levels seem to just barely get ahead of the foes I am faced with. Mind you, I am now in the Sentinel Workshop, facing the Prime Sentinel and having trouble staying alive. I'll get him I know, once I figure out how best to approach the battle. I have yet to face the SE quadrant or anything farther down the road. I must say though that I am having a great time with the game on all levels - much fun. Thanks to all those who are helping me through, especially randomizer, bryce, thuryl, fael, a dozen others, and epecially Jeff.