nikki.

Quote: Originally written by Poit: Thanks for that Drakefyre, Its a pity its gone, still, back to work. As a maybe slightly complicated work-around to give the NPC an inventory and experince, you could use calls and special abilites. So, suppose you want to give the NPC an inventory. Just make a special ability which calls up a shop window, filled with the items you want them to have. That way, the party can take things from them, or give them things. You'd have to make sure to give the gold back afterwards, or make items with very little value (maybe 1gp?). To give experience, why not increase the level of the joining NPC to keep in line with the parties. So, in the scenario's START_STATE, have a call that records the parties level every 20 or so ticks, and updates the NPC's as necessary. It's not perfect, but...

Quote: Originally written by Drakefyre: ...and we don't know where the expedition began, it's impossible to plot out a route. Not that I'm saying you're wrong Drakey (you're wrong ), but didn't it start at Grahk's Peninsula? I'm sure Av1 said something to this effect (Av2's Peninsula sign was blurred). In fact, the more I think about it, the more I'm sure. Where's Kel? He'd know this.

Ah. Since I don't have access to a Mac with BoA, I'm pretty much screwed unless I can teach myself some kind of programming language then. Thanks though. I'll just have to stick with adding message_dialogs with "Please listen to this song now" in them.

Quote: Originally written by Kelandon: It is technically possible, but it is completely unsupported and not recommended unless you really need to and know what you're doing. Intriguing. Could one possibly alert me as to how one could do this? An email or web-link would be most satisfying. I don't wanna know to screw up anyone's game, but having the capability might come in handy if I want to build up atmosphere, like in LP. Thanks.

Just to make things clear - even if you add the charcter to slot 4, say, it will appear next to the player;s character regardless of their number. Okay, might sound a bit confusing, but for example, say I had a singleton. If I then went into a scenario and had someone join me, they would go into slot 4 or 5. In the game, they would then be directly behind my singleton, not three spaces away. The slot number doesn't actually matter, it's just for internal calculations and such.

Ahem: nottmforestweloveu (at) yahoo (dot) co.uk Thanks.

Some of it is from the games, other bits made up. Karzoth was the leader of the First Expedition = the actress in Fort Emerald in Av2 (forget her name - she teaches gymnastics) syas that she played the lead female role alongside him.

Quote: Originally written by Chivo expiatorio of yom: No. Dispel Barrier works on some weaker locks, though, I think. Yeah, that's about right. I only really noticed it at level three, but Dispell Barrier does unlock some doors. However, it's more expensive and less efficient... Oh, and the baddies behind the door include a slime zombie, I think.

2) If I remember correctly, you need 8 strength. It might be 10 though... one or the other. 3) You need Unlock Doors at level 3. And I think there might be a barrier behind it, so Dispell Barrier or a pierceing crystal will be helpful too. Not entirely sure about the barrier though - it's been a while.

Quote: Originally written by Drakefyre: O mighty Grah-Hoth. How can I serve you? Kill. Kill. Kill. Doth my eyes decieve me. Spam? Ok, Kelandon, I have a question. How do you keep track of where each cutscene is going. For individual one-on-one talking scenes, it's easy, but when lots of characters are on screen at once it's a nightmare. I tried using some graph paper, and just planning it out before hand, but no cigar. I just got more confused. Do you have any tips?

I use one fyora at the beginning (as a Shaper), and keep her through to the end. Then I use a Vlish, and a Glaahk. Glaahk's are good for the stunning, and Vlish are good against turrets. Eventually, I'll trade in the Vlish for a drayk or Gazer.

The cheap trainer is an old Shaper in Dhonal's Keep. She's in the Southwest corner. And, to get her to train you, just tell her that the Shaper's way is cruel, or something like that. She'll agree, and give you training!

Divinely touched is okay for singletons, but sometimes it just doesn't pay to have it. For example, I always give my singleton Natural Mage, because I want him to have the best armour, whilst still being able to cast Dispell Barrier and Arcane Shield. That only leaves one other ability to choose. Now, if you have a slith, you could avoid giving them toughness, but otherwise I tend to pick that or Strong Will. Strong Will is pretty much invaluable, since paralysis and sleep will kill you. Fast on Feet tends not to be so good with a singleton, since most of the time I don't enter combat mode to fight. That way, slow spells don't make any difference. (Very handy if you're fighting a big group with one or two magi). Although by doing this, you're limiting the amount of spells you can cast... The alternative is to dump Natural Mage, and take off armour before casting. Thus you could give Divinely Touched, or another one of the above. At the end of the day, the type of singleton you're playing will eventually make your choice for you. Drakey's fighter-priest probably won't have toughness, since it's a Slith, and won't use Natural Mage. It might have Fast on Feet and Strong Will, say. A fighter-mage on the other hand will want Natural Mage, so they can use Fireblasts and Arcane Shields (due to not having Divine Warrior), and might be able to avoid Strong Will depending on their intelligence. That means they might get Fast on Feet or Divinely Touched. Finally, a straight fighter, or a fighter/thief, will definately want Strong Will, since intelligence won't be a concern for him. He might want Fast on Feet so that he can act sooner in combat, or may go for Divinely Touched. Alternatively, he might want to go for Nimble Fingers, so that he doesn't have to spend so many skill points on Tool Use. Edit: Examples.

Quote: Originally written by Espionage: singleton??? As in you play the whole game with only one character. I also noticed that in Avernum that people ask if you want them to join you, is this worthwhile?? Sometimes. Personally, I don't use them, because they aren't *mine*. They're what Jeff thought would be helpful. But, I suppose that if you needed help, you could pick them up, and then drop them off in one of the Character Storage Rooms.

When I first played the games, I had a party setup like Drakey's. One Slith fighter, one Nephil Rogue/Fighter, and two spellcasters, both of which train a little bit in the opposite skill. Now though, I use a duo of just one fighter/rogue (usually Slith) and a human caster. The slith is strong enough to bear most attacks well, and the human is there for pure role-playing reasons - I HAVE to have at least one human. I have also completed Avernum 1 with a singleton. It wasn't easy - lots of spells were inaccesible, and having a lack of Rune Reading was always a problem. But, after getting through those problems, and liberally hasting, blessing and shielding for most fights, it isn't so bad. Playing through again, I'm around level 30 and just about to kill Sss-Thsss.

I'd already toyed with this. However since the rain would be a terrain, I wouldn't be able to put any terrain out of doors. So, for example I wouldn't be able to have a sign where the rain was. This could be worked around in two ways, as far as I see... I could just put the rain over the top of existing graphics, and go through everything in the custom object sheet and change which_sheet and which_icon. That way, I would have the effect I need (think buckets and buckes of rain like in the Matrix.) This would slow the game down though... Alternatively, I could just have sporadic bursts of the rain terrain... Which wouldn't be nearly as good...

Ok, this isn't much of a question so much as a brainstorm. I want my scenario to have weather conditions, which will (hopefully) be plot related. Whilst I could just pop up random messages everywhere about it now raining, or snowing or whatever, I felt it was kinda cheating. What I want to do is make the player realise it's raining without telling them... To do this, I made a practice little script: Code: if(is_outdoor() == 0) && (counter == 625) && (what_day_of_scenario() == 3) { if(current_town() != 3) { //which is a cave message_dialog("It's raining",""); set_ticks_forward(-624); }}if(is_outdoor() == 1) { message_dialog("It's raining",""); set_ticks_forward(-624);} After a while, I would set_ticks_forward() back to it's original (by adding 625), in order to maintain the day length. I would also maybe slow the party, or temporarily reduce dexterity by 1, to give the impression that they can't move quickly due to being soaked. What I really want to know is if there is a better way; if, for instance, there is a rain graphic (I did see one once, but the LOure aint got it), or if I could darken the game without tinkering with custom counters and the day time...

Quote: Originally written by Waylander: If you finish the game as a loyalist who has used many canisters, they are suspicious, but admit that they need your power. They give you an army, and you take the fight to the rogues. I haven't finished the game with a cannister-using Loyalist, no. All I know is that when a cannister-using Rebel goes home, a Shaper comes to kill you. Whether this is because you are really powerful or what, I don't really know.

Quote: Originally written by Aranfoolcaytar: Well, b and v *are* closely related in many languages... They are also incredibly close on the keyvoard. And yes, that is a joke. Sigh.

Quote: Originally written by Drakefyre: The Anama have been unfairly victimized and slandered for decades. Shame on you for continuing this hate speech. "Hate speech..." Oh Drakey...! I think the Anama are okay. That's all. I joined when I played Exile, because Avatar was incredible, but in Avernum I felt slightly cheated. Being a big fan of Haste level 3, I didn't want to forfiet my mage. And I felt that stowing her away in Fort Emergence was too much like cheating. I can see the for and against points to their argument, but as far as I can see, magic saved their lives. Was not the Phoneix Egg magically made (by Vahnatai, if Purgat... the mage man's words are to be listened to)? No, if the Anama really existed, I would not join.

Quote: Originally written by Thuryl: In Avernum 3, the damage cap is 199. The bad news is that you'll consistently be doing 199 damage on every hit by about halfway through the game. And it's even earlier if you have a Slith with the Radiant Spear. (You know... the one near the Shambler in Upper Avernum...)

Quote: Originally written by Waylander: They strip away your humanity, but a canister-mad loyalist is still as loyal to the Shapers as a purist Shaper. Yes, in theory. But in practice the arrogance would mean that as soon they asked you to do something, you'd say that you were above the task and not listen. Plus, YOU would be an illegal creature. They'd kill you.

If you mean change to another default picture, instead of overwriting one from the game, can't you just press (u)se ability?

I played as a Loyalist without cannisters, and found the Rotghroth to be by far the most potent creation. I didn't use the cannisters, like any Loyal Shaper shouldn't. After all, Shaping oneself is barred by the Shaper Council. For that reason I also didn't allow myself to be altered by Tolleran, Resnick, or the Drakon on the Isle of Spears. I did think it was a shame that I couldn't create drayks though.

This post contains some minor spoilers... - - - - - - - - - - - As the FAQ states, give Pro-Shaper opinions early in the game. That way you can get lots training early on, like from Diwanyia. You can still do rebellious things though (like handing over the book to Scintle(?) and helping Lankan and the rebels on Harmony Isle). In order to make the strongest creations, you will need to use the cannisters, and keep Kyrhyk and the Drakon in the Breeding Pit alive (his name eludes me). At least until you have been trained by them... That way you can get three pints in Gazer and Rotghroth. You cannot make an Ur-Drakon (which makes sense, since it requires a Geneforge). Oh, and there is a new ability to create items with an enchanted anvil. Read the FAQ for recipes.