BenS

I played my 1st game w/ a sword/shield fighter; a Nephil archer; a priest; and a mage. Normal difficulty. Good balanced game, and so I didn't pay attn to the effectiveness overall of melee dmg. In my 2nd game, on Hard, I have an all-human party: sword/shield guy who became a dual-wielder; pole weapon user; archer; priest/mage. I was worried that having only 1 offensive spell caster would gimp me, especially on a more difficult setting. Not so much! Having the 2 front-liners (w/ Backstab of course) side by side, or coming to the rescue if something's threatening the spell caster (good luck hitting my high Dex archer!)...this game has been an absolute blast w/ this set up. So, no, theory-crafting aside, I do not find that physical dmg is underpowered in the slightest. Keep in mind that w/ 1.0.1 Jeff lowered the resistances of enemies to physical dmg, too.

There's a fair amount in the far NW of the world map. The 2nd half of the Remote Cave(rn) as well.

Jeff made physical damage resistance lower as of 1.0.1 I believe, so everything is viable. People will argue what's optimal, but really, as long as you have a balanced party, you should be fine. I would note in your list above that your potential dual wield fighter needs to start out life as a sword & board if s/he wants to actually land a hit...

To avoid the drake eating all your edibles, drop most all of it at the entrance of his cave; he only needs about 6-10 items to sate his hunger and talk to you meaningfully. I then picked up the rest of the edibles while walking out of his lair.

20. Got it! Thanks. 13. Still didn't find anywhere new on the 1st level, and now I have to return a 3rd time b/c 1 of the magic barriers on the 2nd floor requires DB 3. Sigh.

17. He has no quest of his own, and I long ago turned in the Roach-related quests. The text near his name mentions there's a discount for those sporting Anama rings. That must be the difference; currently I'm neither a real nor fake Anama member.

You can also get "back up" on dialogues w/ Anaximander. If you've done quite a lot since last you talked, walk into his office, get all the dialogues, walk out, and then back in. I was surprised to find sometimes there were new dialogue options. Also, did you ask about the previous surface party members? That opens up 4 quests right there... Finally, he does not give you the Orb of Thralni...you get that another way (no spoilers).

13. I got to that switch in my current game, but I thought that then lead to a 3rd rune. What did that do when I stepped on it?? 15. Is the point of the Wand of Carrunos to use it on a summoned creature to make it tougher? 16. The 1st Dryad Grove on the surface has an island to the NE w/ a Stone Circle. Is anything supposed to happen there? 17. In Bavner, I thought I remembered from the 1st playthrough that Voorn's prices as a trainer went from Exorbitant to Very Reasonable after the Roach plague was solved, but that doesn't seem to have happened in my 2nd game. Am I just mis-remembering that? 18. House on the Hill: you can rest there, but your Energy doesn't replenish. Is that working as intended? 19. I don't know if this is my monitor, but do some of the portraits we get (Vothkaro is a prime example) seem blurry to people? The medals/achievements are the same. Not all of the portraits; Erika's is sharp and clear. 20. Grindstone: it appears from the mini-map (and the hint book map) there is an area in the NE. How do you get there?! 21. Ruined town of Draigoth. As Alien Beasts are found here, was I too late getting here or is this town a goner no matter what? 22. Blackcrag Fortress: Quicksilver Sandals. This appears to be the only item that penalizes (-5%) your Hostile Effect Resistance; or is that a typo and should be +5%? I can test it but it will be a while before I get here in my 2nd game.

There's some decent loot there, fyi. And you don't need the lasers to break the rocks if you already have--and you should by this point in the game--Move Mts 3. The 1st place for loot (and a nice...item to use maybe later...) is in the Center/North. Move Mts to break through. The other nice stuff is off in 2-3 areas in the NE. I didn't get any of that stuff in my 1st game, but made a point to get to it in my 2nd game, and I'm glad I made the effort.

I don't think the hungry drake takes anything inedible (i.e., cures you of hp dmg). And since bags of meal took only a single slot, I didn't put them in my junk bag. I don't really understand the issue w/ the merchants not taking your bags of meal; unless you have them in your junk bag??

Those lasers don't do too much dmg, but I found I could go into combat mode, move my tank through them into an area w/ loot while leaving the other 3 PCs behind...then exit combat and they magically teleport to the tank's position (w/in 15 spaces I believe). Your other PCs can also heal the tank while s/he takes 1 for the team ;-)

Altered Giants are not bosses, but maybe your mage's level was too far below the level (not viewable apparently) of the target. Which is too bad, b/c those boys are pretty cool.

I can't help you out, per se, but am wondering what monitor you're using to play this on. I'm on a 27" iMac w/ a Retina display. True, the game doesn't quite take up the entire screen, but quite enough of it so I'm not really noticing what's happening outside the borders. Like, pretty much not at all. I think I was on a different computer when Avernum 1's remake came out, so I'm afraid I can't remember the issue and how it worked out there.

By pure accident I found him in my 2nd playthrough. Once my live-in help told me he was around, I went to the garden room & statue room--nada--and just by instinct hit the "u" button in the latter. He's standing behind a statue, and if you didn't know to use the "u" button, you would likely never have seen him! Now I have a great sword For some reason, I was expecting the 2-3 fights in the mansion before I ever came across him, but I'm glad I did, b/c that sword's a nice upgrade.

You just reminded me of a question re: armor and to hit penalties for mages/priests. Is that penalty only for melee & ranged attacks, or does it also apply to their spell-casting percentages when trying to hit enemies? Sorry for the threadjack!

Hint: You need to be crystal clear about him being dead

^ Lucabar, I believe the only 2 open-ended quests in this game involved turning in Unicorn Horns (Krizsan) and Magical Notes (Portal Fortress) for $ and xp.

As an example, there are some Asps & Snakes in the swamp area W of Agate Tower. Knowing that a bounty quest asked for 1 long after I wiped them out, in my 2nd play through, I have let them live for the time being. Though I'm not sure if outdoor encounters like those re-spawn or not.

There are a few references to Cave Lore that should be updated to Nature Lore...

For those who don't know, Father Oriathon is in the NE of of Hectar. Maybe rescue him as soon as you can ;-)

I remember 2 sets of beams there. The 1st group of mirrors is to the left and N of the beams; can't say I remember something blocking access to the mirrors. As an aside, I found this set of beams more annoying than the 2nd group. Once you're in the 2nd area, S of more beams, you will find 2 mirrors at the very bottom of a long rectangular room. Maybe it was luck, but it was easy for me to deal w/ the beams of the 2nd area. Usually beams bedevil me, honestly, but it worked out well here.

No. I think you need to have found the mark in the Slime Pits that hints at Erika's involvement, and talk to both Anaximander (sp?) and Berra maybe in Fort Emergence. The former will direct you to seek out Erika I think. And as far as Anaximander goes, sometimes I had done so much since my last visit w/ him, I'd need to walk into the room--get forced dialog options--walk out of the room, and then back in for a new round.

Will they attack an all-human party? If so, I'll just avoid them like I did my 1st game w/ a Nephil archer.

I thought that was a joke. I didn't notice anything different in the dialog box when I ran into them to suggest otherwise. Maybe I didn't pay close enough attention?

Good to know re: Negotiator, thanks! I'm trying a risky band for my 2nd play through; dropped the priest/archer dream, but that's a matter for perhaps another thread.