LauraB

Oh. Never mind, found him - I missed the secret switch in the lower level that allows access to the island with the lost hero.

can someone tell me where you get the chant? I haven't found it and am hoping I haven't gotten myself stuck irrevocably, I hate unfinished quests on my list.

Just got to the fight with Redbeard at the end, and like a previous poster I'm going to say I'm done. I think I could go in and get the loyal Hand ending, but I've been pretty much on the "kill Redbeard, that vile tyrant" side the whole game so don't think that would be very satisfying at this point. I've tried to kill him 4 times so far, for over an hour each, and in the end just die. I don't have the patience to keep trying, and I'm bummed that I won't have a more satisfying ending. Overall, I really enjoyed the game. It seemed a lot shorter to me than the Avernum & Geneforge series games, and I suspect I missed some side quests that might have opened up other areas because I was hoping that I'd figure out a little about who people were and what the heck was going on before having to commit to treasonous acts. One thing I loved about the previous series was how often I came to a point and thought the game was nearly over, and then opened up a whole new territory or chapter of gameplay - it was terrific and I loved how extensive the stories were. This game feels less complex, and I was a little disappointed in how quickly I reached the final battle. I really liked a few of the changes with this game, though, including the ability to resurrect team members during combat, the self-healing after combat (I used to use cheat codes after so I wouldn't have to walk back to a town...) and the junk bag. Saves a lot of wasted time. I wasn't such a fan of the limited skill uses - it honestly makes the shaman character extremely limited, and that was my main character class. The introduction to new areas by NPCs took away the thrill of exploration, and I didn't love that; however, I did really like the way that prevented me from mucking up quests I hadn't received yet, so I'm not entirely upset about it. I was also disappointed by the fact that once you've found Shima, you pretty much have to do his quest right away or lose your chance and his allegiance. Overall, a good story, some good updates, and I really hope to see a much more extensive Avadon 2!