Fireball Fodder

Well I tried stripping off all my items and still no luck. I even tried increasing both Melee and Pole Weapons to 8 and it still doesn't let me get anatomy...

So what exactly do I need to unlock Anatomy? I have the skills listed in the walkthrough (4 Intelligence - costs 7 + 8 Melee/Pole - costs 8) and I still can't put points in the skill. Am I supposed to do some quest first?

Nah, it's just the lands you can access in Exile I.

The Vahnatai lands and Upper Exile are fairly small, though, but it's implied you only get to see a small part of the former.

Good point about the camping. I believe that there are only one or two camps in the Great Cave - one is between Almaria and the Tower of the Magi, and I think there's another one far to the west.

I actually checked the Silvar-Fort Exile and Fort Duvno-Fort Exile distances in Exile I and they're approximately correct, allowing for imprecise measuring since cartography seems to be in its infancy in the Exile universe. Looks like Avernum is far less consistent.

Seeing the maps posted in one thread, I thought to myself, so how big is Exile anyway?

The only clear indicator of distances we have are the ones marked on the signs, which imply 1 square = 1 mile. So, going by this, Exile has 7x6 outdoor sections, each being 48x48 miles. This would make its total area 336 x 288 miles = 99,768 square miles, or 258,397.9 square kilometers (though this also includes all the impassable cave walls).

This means it is roughly comparable to New Zealand or the UK. The nation of Exile, by my rough estimate, controls approximately 40% of this territory (though in many areas this hold is obviously not at all firm), making it similar in size to Iceland, Hungary, or Portugal.

However, Exile III adds another dimension: time. We know how much ground a party can cover in one day. I haven't tried this out yet, though, going by memory, it would make the dimensions of  Valorim far smaller. That said, there's no real indication the scale in Exile I/II is the same as in Exile III.

Any thoughts? How does this stand up when compared to the impression you gained while playing the game?

Hi, I know this is an ancient topic, but I have exactly the same problem with Exile III on Win7 (32-bit). I've tried looking around the internet for a solution, but no dice. Has someone by any chance found a solution to this in the meantime?

Funny thing is, I don't seem to have the problem with Exile I, but only Exile III.

I vaguely seem to remember getting the Mace of Disruption in E3 via random drop, but I'm not sure.

Perhaps he meant to write "fire" but instead wrote "force".

Yes, that's the most likely explanation.

The character graphics in the Exile series are small and low-res enough that a lot of them look pretty much gender-neutral to my eyes. I recall that being one of them.

I figured Feoderic was male but androgynous looking. Might be bias, dunno.

 

(Actually, I always thought his graphic looked like Michael Jackson...)

Do you guys mean the person with the red shirt and black cloak with some kind of spell suspended above his/her hand? That's the graphic he gets in BoE, but in my copy of Exile II "he" is what looks like a woman with long hair wearing blue robes.

I've experimented in Exile II and can confirm that Force and Ice walls have the same duration (ok, chance of disappearing to be precise) even in that game, despite the fact that the in-game help claims otherwise.

Off-topic, but minor issue: is it just my copy of the game, or does Feodoric (male name) from the pre-generated party in Exile II use a female graphic by default?

Ok, thanks for the quick and informative reply!

The reason I asked about Wall of Ice is that Exile II claims ice fields last "much longer" than force fields.

So I have a few questions about certain spell mechanics, and I was hoping someone with knowledge of the code could enlighten me...

Spark - what kind of damage is it?

Dumbfound - does it reduce enemy magic levels, or is it just a Mage version of the Curse spell?

Wall of Ice - does it last longer than Wall of Force? Or is it just the same spell, but with a different damage type?

Major Haste - is there any reason to cast this instead of Major Blessing (i.e. is the effect more powerful or does it last longer?)

Symbiosis - is there any reason to cast this instead of a healing spell?

Most powerful spell in general: Major Blessing. For 8sp you get both blessed and hasted, meaning all your guys are harder to hit, your warriors become much better in combat, and your mages can cast 2 or 3 spells from next turn onwards. It's almost always the first spell I cast in combat. Plus, in the Exile series you can usually get it early in the game.

Though I must admit Bless is also a good candidate for the reasons mentioned by previous posters, plus the fact that it's so cheap and available to starting PCs.

If I went by level:

Mage L1-3 - Sleep Cloud. Incredibly useful early in the game since it can affect several targets and they rarely resist.

L4 - Slow Group. Having your enemies lose every other turn is extremely useful. Also, you often get it before Major Haste and it costs less SP.

L5 - Major Haste. Like Major Blessing, but weaker. Still very good.

(Dispel Barrier for singletons)

L6 - Antimagic Cloud. Makes fighting certain monsters much easier.

L7 - Major Blessing. Explained above. Not bad even for singletons, at least before you get Avatar.

Priest L1-3 - Bless. Explained above.

L4 - Curse All. Good for making lots of melee opponents helpless, helps your fighters kill off tough enemies.

L5 - Bless Party. Like Bless, but better.

(Flamestrike for singletons)

L6 - Revive. Others have already said why.

L7 - Avatar. Ditto.

Hm, you're right, they can be activated... but they seem bugged since not only do they have no effect, but you don't lose any AP for doing so either. I've also done some tests and can confirm that they do *not* give any protection against magic or fire.

Therefore, I must conclude that unless they give some hidden passive bonus to armor value, they are indeed useless. At least you can sell them for 400 gold...

If memory serves, the rings of prot have armor values of 3, 5 and 7 for bronze, silver and gold. I believe the actual 'Protection' power was something independent. Maybe it reduces fire/magical damage? Would go nicely with an armor value to reduce melee damage.

 

What does Protection do in Blades? Are we sure it's definitely not the same in E1?

Nah, Fire Resistance and Magic Resistance are separate abilities and are called exactly that - as confirmed by the Ruby Charm and Onyx Charm.

In Blades Protection is the "universal protection" ability, which halves most forms of non-phyiscal damage - just like the rings or protection and Pachtar's Plate in Exile III. I haven't noticed it does this in Exile I. Well either that or the effect is really weak. It's possible that Jeff left the ability strength at zero by mistake.

Hm, I've just checked an old savegame and the Gold Ring of Protection has the same ability... but it also has armor 7. So either it gives a "hidden" armor bonus, or it's bugged.

p.s. It isn't the same thing as "Protection" in BoE.

Yeah it might have been level not Int... someone actually posted the formula a long time ago (but also for BoE, not Exile I), but I don't remember the name of the topic.

I remembered there is one place you can buy Piercing Crystals: Sathis (sp?), the Slith that lives all the way west of Fort Remote. Though by the time you get there it's almost certain you'll already have completed the Dispel Barrier-related quest. Piercing Crystals are just too unreliable IMO.

I'm not sure about the gauntlets, but they do have some sort of beneficial effect ("to hit" bonus or something I think).

Not all items were carried to the later games. For example, Glowstones are only available in Exile I and II. Also some weapons - e.g. Stone Dagger (was different from Stone Knife), 1-handed Spears (only exist in Exile I), Sabers...

As for changes between Exile I and Blades, there's a LOT of them, and they have a big impact on strategy.

-No summoning, no antimagic, heck no fields of any sort. This means spellcasters are generally weaker, but it's also impossible to completely prevent them from casting. Neither they nor you can hide behind endless screens of cheap cannon fodder. You can't summon basilisks etc.

-Only 12 inventory slots. No weight. Means you have to manage your potions etc. more carefully, but you can also lug around armour more easily.

-Enemies are generally weaker in Exile I - Haakai in Exile I are wimps compared to the ones in BoE.

-I think your HP is capped at 200 instead of 250, and your SP at 100 instead of 150.

-Spells cost a lot less SP in Exile I (always 1 per level of spell). You don't need to invest as much in them as in the later games.

-All special encounters are visible as dots. This is very useful since you'll always be able to prepare.

-Friendly creatures will never help you in battle.

that's just off the top of my head.

I don't remember unfortunately, but I do know that some Barriers require more Int, and Piercing Crystals are too weak to take them down. Best return later.

So if I understand correctly, it's pointless to have Str/Dex/Int at 20 instead of 19?

(in Exile III and Blades Str 20 gives you a bit of extra carrying capacity, but that's it)

You're welcome. Glad to hear people still play this classic game.

Thought so

Anyway, I thought weapon skills may add to damage since Defence reduces it. But it seems the 20 points I used to put in them were kind of a waste then...

• Encumbrance and dexterity of PC
  

Wait, does this mean that Dexterity affects damage? Isn't that supposed to be Strength?

Thanks for answering so promptly. In any case, it looks like weapon skills aren't nearly as good as I thought they were.

Just a quick question - can anyone please confirm whether Edged/Bashing/Pole Weapons, Archery or Throwing increase damage done, or do they only influence the "to hit" chance.

It's not a bug. Once you pass level 20, you only gain 4 skill points per level.

I believe it was the latter.