Ephesos

I almost never used Demonslayer, once I noticed that I was doing just as much damage with the Oozing Blade. It really was a shame... but I don't think I ever used it in A3, having run straight for the Mithril Blade. Anyway, the Radiant Soulblade was better than both of them. Isn't it a bit odd that all swords are one-handed now? It never quite registered in my mind... it would at least make sense to let sliths wield them one-handed. (Granted, that would make sliths horribly broken unless given some stiff penalty)

Yes. Certain people in the towns will make potions for you, provided that you cough up the appropriate ingredients. Quite often, there's no gold involved. On the plus side, this means that there's no risk of failure when making a potion. On the other hand, many powerful potions are out of reach for a while, and some people just don't make the right types. But hold on to them, because it's not like they weigh much anyway. (Wow... post #666)

Dude, that's awfully harsh. Give the guy a break... I think arghhhhhhh(etc.)hhh will get used to the boards soon. And keypad navigation is still perfectly viable. It's just a lot easier for you to run into something, as there seems to be far more impassable terrain that isn't very noticeable (like those puny little stalagmites that you can't seem to walk on).

Why is this topic still alive? Doesn't the CoC of Spidweb allow for mercy killings?

Quote: Originally written by Thuryl: Wouldn't it have to land in the east to do that? Think about it... goblins are everywhere. And if Fort Ganrick had landed further west, then it would've just killed some undead and cave worms. Perhaps it was something ordered by the Triad, meant to test the method of flinging buildings at your enemies. I'd like to see some of the endgame villains try and survive having a fort fall on them.

Quote: Originally written by Synergy: Down south at Grindstone downstairs below one hut, there is a lot of stored loot to be had, but the last two traps are levels 9 & 10, so it's good to use your thief's first two promotions to get him up to level 10 Tool Use to get at it while you are in the area. There's something fairly precious behind Trap Level 10, and there are actually two of those precious things there. You will be happy to use your five-finger discount to make them yours. Those are fairly easy to get by, even if you don't have the Tool Use needed to disarm them. Go into combat mode, and have all but one PC run away. Then, send the last unfortunate soul over the trap to trigger it (the ones under Grindstone only do damage, no alarms), and voila! You grab the treasure and run out to be revived.

First aid is even better with a party of all magic users... two mages use Icy Rain on four enemies, then end combat and recover all of the used SP. Has anyone looked at how Anatomy and First Aid interact in A4?

Quote: Originally written by Slith Lord: Get one of the Wyrms into your Soul Crystal and use it against it´s own kind. That´s a lot o´ fun! Actually, they're fairly resistant to one another, so they just end up enfeebling each other. That doesn't affect their breath, so then they still mow down your PCs. And why did this topic get revived?

Oh yeah... I kinda remember. I never actually witnessed EraserHead's wondrous contributions to our little community, I merely saw the aftermath. I think I was away from computers when the actual posts were up.

arghhhhhhhhh, you need to get Blades of Avernum and play Bahssikava. Then you get some good slith-centered stories. Ant there is a plot, you just need to play past the demo to really get into it.

Quote: Originally written by arghhhhhhhhh: why would someone write a walkthrough if someone didn't ask!? hmm? Out of sheer kindness and/or love of the game. It has been done before. Quote: (oh by the way hawkking look at the last post of editor available You know, the way you want to do everything without just buying the game is getting a bit annoying... I mean seriously, the good items are hard to get for a reason. Quote: anyway, back on topic otherwise the blademasters(shh they are everywhere) will ban us!!! This is unlikely. Unless you are terminally abrasive (as TM has been in the past), ungodly annoying (such as the advertisers), or intent on posting lewd images (I can't remember any examples), you won't get banned. But on the subject of the walkthrough, I seriously look forward to the day you buy the game, play it through, and write a wonderful walkthrough for us all... a walkthrough based on personal and lengthy experience, and painstakingly crafted to depict the game as best as humanly possible. But until that day, if nobody feels like writing a walkthrough, please do not expect us to make one materialize out of thin air less than two weeks after the game is released. Alright?

For the Testing Bones, I did most of what TM did... haste the party, bless/shield the fighter, and have everyone else run for safety. But two words sum up the brilliant half of my evil plan: invulnerability potion. Give one or two to my fighter, and the Bones just keeps dishing out attacks which do no damage, which means I eventually pass. EDIT: arghhhhhhhhh, your quotes are a bit messed up... you might want to try previewing your posts before you post them.

I've never seen any noticeable difference between a lethal blow and a normal one... even with something like 4 or 5 in Lethal Blow.

I've never seen any noticeable difference between a lethal blow and a normal one... even with something like 4 or 5 in Lethal Blow.

Heh, I was expecting an ad, for some reason. My best advice: Unplug your computer. Leave it as such until after Christmas.

Abraxx, there's no reason to double-post, but I will still honor your request. So, here's my reasoning: I feel that the A4 world stays fairly true to everything that A2 established. The towns are the same (except the assumedly new Fort Monastery and Fort Ganrick's apparent conversion into a mine), and old characters are still around, with a good explanation for why. Plotwise, everything is well-justified and well-thought-out. While you may see the ending coming, there are still enough surprises (some of them rather painful and burn-inducing) along the way. It all makes sense by the time you get to the end, and Jeff still manages to inject a sense of humor into bits of the game (which I'm personally amazed by). Combat is well-balanced, by which I mean that you can't just hack through everything (not without killing yourself in the process), and you can't just roast everything with spells (casters are very vulnerable to melee in this game). There are enough varied challenges, from stealth missions to a well-done escort mission (practically unbelievable, but true), to ye olde hack n' slash. You've got your old standbys, like the iron bar quest in Monastery, the Jade Halberd and Demonslayer, and the Spiral Crypt. From stupid rock-slinging giants to venomous chitrachs (just play along with the graphic), the old enemies are there. And finally, the number of super-enemies is plausible, by which I mean you'll never run into fifty haaki at once, or get swarmed by shamblers when you're already injured. A4 has linearity which works. Like A2, there's a few major quests to finish, but this time, you don't have to do all of them. The host of minor quests (some of which will get towns mad at you) is impressive, and there's always something interesting to kill. You're going in a definite direction (not like that's a bad thing), but there'e enough stuff along the way to make you forget about it at times. And like I said before, at least this is linearity with a logical flow. Predictability? Come on, there was so much speculation about A4 that someone was inevitably going to get their prediction correct. And just because Jeff chose to make the game a plausible sequel to A3, this doesn't make it a bad thing. After all, A3 left a huge loose end, and I don't see how he could've made A4 without resolving it. Just like A4 leaves a huge loose end that will probably (hopefully) drive A5, A3 provided a logical course for A4. Simply put, you've got the atmosphere of Avernum, which we all came to love in A2. And it's that same atmosphere that makes A4 worthwhile.

Quote: Originally written by *i: Athron's lair was horribly weak in terms of what it used to be. It's just one big room with a demon. I was hoping for something a little more exciting than that. It's as if Jeff got tired of doing a real dungeon and just made a room with a bunch of treasure... Ah, but remember from A2, there was just the one main room that you entered, with a teleporter down a secret passage off the side of the room. There really wasn't all that much in the entrance chamber, so it kind of makes sense for A4.

Jeff will continue making games regardless of what we say here, arghhhhhhhhh. And the lack of light truly was a disappointment. Though some caves/rooms/buildings are definitely darker than others. I seemed to notice some rooms that were so dark that you couldn't see a box until you were next to it.

Quote: Originally written by Synergy67: Once you have magic in a game, pretty much anything you think up is "possible" in any way you want it to be. Why dissect it as if it were science? I find it rather intuitively silly and not much in line with previous Averna that a crystal soul can move itself around in the first place. But I can't argue about whether or not it should be possible. Let's just assume that Rentar is still insanely powerful and intelligent. That should account for her self-teleporting. I mean seriously, she's supposed to be the most powerful vahnatai mage out there.

It still beats A3 in my mind. I honestly enjoyed A4, and I could care less if that makes me clinically insane to the rest of you. TM, you're really being spoilerrific here.

You do get some fighting alongside you throughout the game. For example, that hunter Sinderbrand (north of Grindstone) is technically going with you to kill the hellhound. And later in the game, you get to escort an NPC and get escorted by one. It's a testament to A4 that the escort mission is not painful. The NPC you're escorting can actually fight for themselves. But no, there are no NPCs you can switch into your actual party. Anywhere.

EDIT: ARGH!!! Why does this keep happening? And a full 3 minutes off... Hit F3 to save the game without going through all the extra save dialogs, and hit F4 to load that game. Really, it's not too useful unless you're in a huge rush.

Wow. That's a big post... but generally speaking, thank you for sharing. And one question: do you honestly think that A3 was better? How could you? Linearity is good when it's implemented well (which I feel A4 does, particularly beyond the demo). I mean, A2 was fairly linear when you came right down to it. A3, the least linear, was probably the worst. Distances are perfectly realistic. Have you noticed how long it takes to run from Fort Draco to Fort Monastery? Yes, we miss elevation. And secret passages. And light, really. Light was good. As for some of this, it's inevitable when you consider that Jeff was trying to update the Avernum engine. EDIT: typo.

EDIT: Okay, Synergy barely beat me to that first question. For the acid damage problem, equip items that offer acid resistance.

This is just like the whole cheats thread... you shouldn't need a walkthrough, otherwise it makes the victory a hollow one. Specific stuff is okay to ask, but honestly... a little trial and error never killed anyone. Wait, I just thought about that last part...