Longtooth

So. Somewhat new to Avernum (Put a few hours in here and there... but never stuck with it.) After beating Avadon 1, and Geneforge 1, I've decided to give Avernum EftP a try, and for whatever reason its really gelling with me. Cannot get enough. However.... I feel like certain things could be better explained, or I'm just missing them. 1. Dual Wielding. Ambidextrous, and Dual Blade Mastery all refer to dual wielding. What isn't covered is the dual wielding penalty without these skills, or just my basic to hit chance. I'm taking them all to be safe, but it would be nice to know what the base penalty is and what my current to hit is with blademaster and things like that. Am I missing a screen? 2. SwordMage. Again... I don't see any spell penalties for wearing armor. Other than say a -5% to hit. Which would effect fireballs but not say...haste.... Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere.

I hate these forums lol. There has to be an easy way to delete your topic.

Avernum Escape from the Pit. I got the Geneforge series as part of some bundle, and thought it was great but I needed something more ...traditional. No nostalgia for me! I purchased Avernum EftP and Avadon The Black Fortress around the same time. For whatever reason I played Avernum first, and it really stuck with me. I wanted something more however, and recently I put in 38 hours into Avadon and decided to buy the rest of the series. After beating the Black Fortress I took a long break. I played all kinds of other RPGs, Dragon Age, Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter, ToMe, Wasteland 2, Fallout, etc. etc. etc. ....for whatever reason, Spiderweb makes the perfect games for me. Fights are fun, epic, and don't rely on a gimmicky system that rewards cheesing said system to beat encounters. I feel like my adventurers are beating epic bosses with their own skill. Not a wand of summoning that messes with the enemy AI. (Looking at you BG1. :\ ) Also, they are so dang relaxing! I never played Exile. Bg1, Daggerfall, and Pools of Radiance where my first RPGs. Avernum especially takes me back to those days. Mass Effect and Dragon Age have cool worlds, and Fallout has epic characters and ideas, but only Avernum appeals to me now that I'm getting to the ripe old age of 30. I love how open it is, I love the writing, and I love the combat. ...woops! Started rambling. Gotta get some sleep. Anyway Avernum Escape from the Pit was my first Avernum game and I LOVE it. I played Geneforge so I imagine after I beat the 3 remakes I'll just buy 4-6.

Honestly CRPG's sorta died off after Dragon Age Origins etc hit the scene. Its not like you missed anything MAJOR op. Pillars of Eternity is a great game that suffers from truly awful all around writing. The main story is just poorly delivered. Its like it wanted to be like BG1's 'lets go adventuring!' mixed with BG2's epic story. It fails in typical Obsidian fashion. The companions are hit or miss, but I personally found them far more interesting than Dragon Age's companions. Then you have the world and lore ... which... feels kind of like Forgotten Realms fan fiction. It wants to be darker and grittier... but really isn't? Combat wise, Pillars is similar to BG1 in that spells aren't the do all end all of combat. So it feels more fun for me, as BG2's wizard duels etc bored me to tears as I looked up a particular counter spell and whatnot. If you liked Spiderweb's games, I'd HIGHLY reccomend Trese Brother's games. Star Traders: Frontiers, Heroes of Steel, Battle Templars, etc. If you just want epic tactical combat. Stories are non-existent... but hey. Fun, cheap games with some responsive developers. Shadowrun Dragonfall, Shadowrun Hong Kong, Underrail, and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines come to mind as indie CRPG's I liked. (Although, Vampire is more like the original Deus Ex but I feel like anyone would like it. Along with the original Deus Ex. Not that newfangled nonsense, the ORIGINAL Deus Ex... and System Shock 2... and... Ok. I'll stop.)

Thanks again! When I read that I remembered one I used.

Thanks for all the help! I'm around level 28/29 with my party, so I suppose it makes sense Id have good basic gear. Thanks for the advice with runes, I was saving them... and recently when I came back i ... forgot how. I believe its in the forge at the Black Fortress but it could be one of the forges with the Dragon too. I honestly cannot remember where you do the actual forging XD Anyway thanks again. Answered all my questions.

... so.