Point of No Return, and other questions. (A: EFtP) (Sorry about double post. Not sure why that happened. Am new)

[theloathable]

Minor Spoilers Follow. I have been unable to find answers to these online. All of these questions apply to Avernum: Escape From the Pit.

 

1.) POINT OF NO RETURN: I just started playing the trilogy a week ago, and was wondering if there is a point of no return that I need to be concerned about. I've been doing quests and tasks around Micah's Castle, but have been hesitant about entering yet because I'm concerned that will send me down a path I don't want. I seek revenge against the Empire, and everyone seems to think that getting in touch with Ericka or Kyass are my best options. I haven't entered the Abyss yet. If I do too many quest for King Micah, The Scimitar, or for "what's-er-face" in Formello ( the lady from the Empire), will I forfeit my chances of fulfilling my personal vendetta against this tyrannical and oppressive regime?

 

2.) LEVEL CAP: I've also reached a point where I'm afraid to put anymore points into my character builds. Would anyone be kind enough to let me know what the level caps is? I can then calculate and keep myself from putting to many points into useless end-game skills like 'cave lore', etc. This way, I am sufficiently powerful enough to bring sweet, destructive justice down upon the Empire.

 

3.) POST-END GAMEPLAY: Can you explore and complete unfinished quests after the final quest is done? This way, if there are any tasks or quests I missed to assist the Avernites in bringing their fury to fruition against that racist, genocidal, small- d***ed Empire, I can go back and complete them. This question is more wishful thinking.

 

Thanks in advance for taking the time out of you busy pandemic existence to help me seek out a swift reckoning. Death to the Empire. LOVE this great game, and can't wait to play the other 2.

Edited October 14, 2020 by theloathable

[Randomizer]

1. There isn't a point of no return. You get different quests and some things can only happen if you go there.

 

Do go to Fort Remote first since that can change once you do another quest that you might not think was significant.

 

2. There are different types of caps. After level 30 the assignable stats and skill points are only given every 5 levels. You will likely end the game in the middle 30s unless you want to grind gather ingredients for wisdom crystals or fight monsters for a few points.

 

3. This game allows you to pick the order to do the 3 main quests and afterwards you can still explore and do some minor quests. Some quests have 3 factions wanting the same thing so you do have to pick which one you want to help for ideology or greed.

 

Welcome to Spiderweb Software. Please leave your sanity at the door. This is your final warning. We are not responsible for the fluffy turtles.

[theloathable]

Excellent. Thanks :).

[TriRodent]

As you mentioned getting the trilogy, A2CS 'does' have a point of no return in the first act/section (not that it's avoidable as it's the only way to move the game forward, you'll get plenty of obvious warnings before committing though).  To be able to easily survive later on, you may want to do most/all of the assorted things to do before taking that one big (again obvious) step.

 

To add to Randomizer's #1 above, just because you go into The Castle & meet the King, you aren't forced to do what he may ask on any timeline other than your own, but do go to Ft Remote before meeting him...

 

And allow me to toss in my 'welcome' as well, it's always good to have fresh mea ... er ... new faces.

[Triumph]

IIRC, there is something of a temporary "point of no return" in connection to one of the game's three major questlines, to wit:

 

Spoiler

If you have Erika teleport you to the surface to assassinate Hawthorne, and haven't collected all the brooches, it will end badly for you. Your only option at that point is to load an earlier save from before you went to the surface.

 

[theloathable]

@TriRodent: Thanks for the heads up. That is greatly appreciated, and thanks for the warm, if ambiguous, welcome :). I'm pretty exciting about coming across these gems.

 

@Triumph: I knew I should not have clicked that hidden message, yet I could not help myself. Such is life, and that was the path I was heading down anyways, so thanks :).

[theloathable]

Well, I finished all 3. Went with Hawthorne, then Grah-Hoth, then surface. There are things I wish to scream about, and I have many questions, but I think I have to play the other 2 games before I ask to much here, so I will return. Thanks again for the warnings; 

Spoiler

that demon attack on Fort Remote was nearly devastating after trying a million ways to hook up Belinda and Mick. I suppose it's a good thing I never figured out how.

 

[TriRodent]

2 hours ago, theloathable said:

There are things I wish to scream about, and I have many questions,

 

Feel free to toss them out here (unless they are things that you potentially don't want to know about ahead of time for the other games).  What the hell, we need something to kick around until Geneforge 1M comes out in a couple/few months.

[theloathable]

Okay. Appreciate it. I don't believe it will, but this post could get lengthy; not certain. I'm sure I won't recall everything I'd like to address, and I don't have access to Avernum from this computer so I can't refer to my journal. Also, some of these questions may be frustrating to answer because they might be something I could simply look up online. I tried that once, and I was confronted with a pretty solid spoiler for A2: CS. So, until I complete A3: RW, I won't be looking too many things up online. Anyways, spoilers for A: EFTP follow - 

 

1.) Somewhere NW of the Tower of Magi I ran into a demon chained up with runes. It told me to go away until I killed Grah-Hoth. I did just that, and when I went back there, the demon was gone, and no event occurred. What gives?

 

2.) This wouldn't happen to be a trilogy with a 'mass effect-esque' continuation plan, would it? Being able to carry over your actions from previous games would be simply divine. 

 

3.) I am slow to ask this one, but I need to know. Please, if you can, don't say how, but - - - does Ericka die. I share (*I mean my player character shares*) her overzealous madness, and her loathing for the empire. If she dies, I can already see it's going to hurt :'(.

 

4.) This game places among my favorites simply for its open-world, beautiful story, and its immersion. After I killed Grah-Hoth and returned to the castle to get my reward, I shanked the King (for kowtowing to the Hawthorne - death to the Empire), and I 1 hit killed him with a mage. His guards just stared at me and said, "...we're watching you". Yeah, not very well, fellas. Did the game bug out on me, or is that normal?

 

5.) Before I killed the King, I got the Dread Curse from praying at the alter in the castle. I don't remember precisely what it was, but the game told me something along the lines of, "You did evil s*** so f*** you dread curse." Any idea what evil deed I did? My only guess is that I killed the woman from the Empire underneath Formello almost immediately. She just stood there and never fought back...Was tragic, really. Took me like 10 minutes of bludgeoning her and casting s****y spells at lvl 10... Brutal.

 

6.) Does Amiee have any other significance than giving me part of the password? She only had a few lines of dialogue, while Patrick had quite a bit and was pivotal in the completion of several quests. Didn't she come down with Rone, Ericka, and Solberg? I can't recall, but it seems like she should have more significance. 

 

I think that's good for now, I will probably be back for more when I have access to the game.

[Slawbug]

2 - Nope.  I mean, these games don't really give you real choices about what to do, aside from, I guess, simply not doing certain things.

 

3 - Erika is, without a doubt, one of the best characters Jeff has written.  Her... departure scene, let's say, is incredibly fitting and poetic.  You may have emotions if you feel so strongly about her, but I don't think you will be disappointed.  Also, she is a significant character throughout A1, A2, and A3, so you don't need to expect seeing that anytime soon.

 

4 - That's not normal.  Usually a node triggers ending your game if you do something like that.  Maybe in this case you have to leave the room first or something?

 

5 - Wow, you really do hate the Empire.  Lol.

 

6 - No, yes, and yes she should.  Aimee came down with Erika, Patrick, Rone and Solberg.  She has a cameo in A2 and a reference or two in later games, but I'm afraid that's it.  She's the only one of those five who never takes on any sort of position of power, so I suppose that says something about what her priorities are.

[Randomizer]

1.  The demon goes away, but I forget the exact trigger. He was put there by Grah-Hoth as punishment.

[TriRodent]

1.  Don't remember, sorry.

 

2.  Not for 'this' series.  However Jeff's/SW's new game Queen's Wish does imply that what you did in that game will carry over to future games (when all is said & done you're given a code that you can load in the next game to carry on what you've done so far.

 

3. Her time on this mortal plane will come to an end somewhere along the way ... but it's spectacular...

 

4.  Never been into regicide so I don't know

 

5. While I certainly don't like the Empire, I tend to be a bit pragmatic about things when first encountered & tell them what they seem to want to hear (which annoyed me in assorted GFs as if I wanted to be aligned with faction 'x', standing in front of the all powerful being of faction 'y', telling him that I thought his thoughts about life were a pile of steaming BS didn't seem to be conducive to a long life & so I'd 'agree' with him & yet my faction rating went in the wrong direction... ah well.)

 

6.  Amiee does have a very important thing that will help you (if you haven't already done something else (not a huge deal either way)) in one of the future games.  Seek her out if you have the opportunity.

[theloathable]

 

On 10/23/2020 at 8:18 PM, "Nothing Left" said:

4 - That's not normal.  Usually a node triggers ending your game if you do something like that.  Maybe in this case you have to leave the room first or something?

Hm. Nothing like that occurred. I murdered the King, and left and nothing happened. I remembered being able to finish the quests for Kyass afterwards and everything. Also, yes, I do hate the empire.

 

On 10/23/2020 at 8:49 PM, Randomizer said:

1.  The demon goes away, but I forget the exact trigger. He was put there by Grah-Hoth as punishment.

Yeah, I knew it was being punished, but I remember it saying I should come back after I killed G-H. I'll have to go back and see if it's in G-H's old stomping grounds now or something. I remember there being some Imp somewhere during that quest... I don't know.

 

On 10/23/2020 at 11:02 PM, TriRodent said:

2.  Not for 'this' series.  However Jeff's/SW's new game Queen's Wish does imply that what you did in that game will carry over to future games (when all is said & done you're given a code that you can load in the next game to carry on what you've done so far.

I've been hesitant to get that one because it appeared to universally be, of all the Spiderweb games, the least praised. I should probably get it regardless.

 

On 10/23/2020 at 11:02 PM, TriRodent said:

4.  Never been into regicide so I don't know

Those swayed by Monarchy are lost...

 

On 10/23/2020 at 11:02 PM, TriRodent said:

6.  Amiee does have a very important thing that will help you (if you haven't already done something else (not a huge deal either way)) in one of the future games.  Seek her out if you have the opportunity.

Nice. Thanks for the heads up.

[Slawbug]

1 hour ago, theloathable said:

I've been hesitant to get that one because it appeared to universally be, of all the Spiderweb games, the least praised. I should probably get it regardless.

 

Don't listen to the lack of praise.  It's the best thing SW's put out in years.  It's just also the biggest departure from the past games (and from orthodox CRPGs in general), and a lot of people don't like that.

[theloathable]

I read some more about it, and am only wary of the leveling system atm. I'll probably hop-on-over to the Avadon trilogy after Avernum, then perhaps the Geneforge remaster will be out, then do Queen's Wish. I ordered the entire Geneforge series, but just saw the remaster on kickstarter a few days ago.  Such is life.

[Slawbug]

It'll likely take close to a decade for the remaster to get through all 5 games (not exaggerating).  So you'll have plenty of time to play those, hehe.

[theloathable]

Good lord... Poor independent developers.  Well, I haven't played Morrowind in a while, and Cyberpunk is coming soon. So, I should have plenty of time. I just started A2:CS about 15 minutes ago so I'll be back in a few days with more b****in and moanin.

Edited October 26, 2020 by theloathable
Fixed Spelling Error