Randomizer

We could have Vahnatai as an isolated group like in the BoA scenario KZR. That would give them a limited neutral presence. Diplomacy sounds too much like the opinion dialogs of Geneforge. If it is based upon actions then it would be okay since you get to make a conscious decision and not try to guess which dialog branch will lead to a payoff.

Congratulations. I hope Geneforge 4 makes it next year.

You don't see strength canisters until late in chapter 5. No increases in healing craft except by items and a few rewards are increases in Major Heal,

Another advantage to mass madness is that it automatically slows all shapers that are normally immune to mental effect spells. When facing 4 or more creations and a shaper type you are bound to gain a few new allies and weaken your opponents.

This is a quick list of the spells that any class should get during the game to be effective: Mental magic - daze, terror, essence shackles, strong daze, charm, mass madness Blessing magic - blessing, protection, essence shield, spine shield, mass energize (it's faster), steel skin, essence armor, elemental cloak Healing craft - minor healing, cure affliction, heal, major heal I think I've used these spells in every game and can get by without the other ones. This needs a maximum level of mental magic of 9, blessing magic of 8 (+4 from captain's shiv and boots), and healing craft of 7.

I don't think Jeff even beta tested OS 9. Still you can always email him to check.

Take the combat system from Geneforge 4 so you no longer waste a turn if you have less than 5 AP to fight or use a spell. At least make it so you don't lose the rest of the action if you still have 3 AP. Please bring back elevations. Mass haste or more mass haste items. The backpack/encumberance system from Geneforge 4 so you don't spend a round dropping everything or leaving piles everywhere to pick up on return trips. From what Jeff said last time it seems like there maybe a few one way sections.

I still think Council hatchet woman. The Council wouldn't send one of their own out to the front lines. Anyone sent out from the Council would worry that his/her fellow members were plotting to eliminate them.

Shaper robes were lying all over the place in the various prior games and since Shapers had some prestige in Terrestia before the Rebellion it would make sense to pretend to be one whatever you were. Only another shaper would be able to question you and they apparantly weren't that common in Grosch. Sholai makes more sense since they had an "empire" on Sucia Island until the Shapers came to clean everything out. The fact that so many serviles and equipment was removed from the island shows that no one was watching what made it to the mainland. It would be possible for a lone survivor to hide and follow the Shaper ships to the mainland. Jeff seems not to want to have a PC carry over from game to game. Unless this is why what happened to the third one from GF3 is being hidden by both sides. But that one would have more advanced creations available than Monarch.

With both sides thinking that he was from the other, maybe he was a survivor of Sucia Island which would make him a canister enhanced Sholai. I was wondering which character he was from an earlier game and the Sholai researchers were heavily into making altered and enhanced forms of the basic creations with no real control of them.

1) There are lots of augmentations places. The best is +3 in Gale if you can wait. Do enough deliveries to make money and you can replace older items with new ones if you don't want to wait. 3) The other random item stores are in Yale across the bay from Shaydar to the west by ferry and in the center of Loreli. Prices are about the same for buying. 4) There better amulets later in the game so trade up when you get one. It depends upon personal preference. There is a crystal one that prevents petrification by the basilisks that I always liked, 5) Having extra Archer's bows can't hurt and there are times when you can save the spell energy and just have everyone shoot. 6) Micah gloves help spellcasters, the is nimble gloves for the thief, and just pick what you like for fighters. 7) Mithril chain is great for spellcasters and thief/archers, but there is some great plate for the fighters up in front.

The controls should be set so the blocks move and form a vee shaped tunnel to the door to that Trogolo priest. Be sure you set the last control on the left and check the door again. I never had any trouble with it after I figured out the combination,

Jeff changed the way quests are done so there wouldn't be lingering unfulfilled quests. It maybe after you do that quest before getting it from General Crowley, that the program won't allow you to gain the credit with the Shapers.

It's likely the agent has delusions of granduer and thinks because she works for the Council and was assigned tasks that she is part of them. After all in all beauracracies the aides that handle the major work for the bosses begin to think of themselves as the boss, They do all the real work and the boss gets to rubberstamp the approval,

You better play with a Rebel frame of mind because you will need items like mindwarp seal and agent's cloak from killing Eliza and the reward, and gloves of succor from giving Fackler the research notebooks. This will give you +1 battle magic, +4 mental magic, +1 healing craft, and +1 spellcraft. The Captain's shiv and boots will give +4 blessing magic to swap before combat. That will help raise your magic spell ability so you have a chance. You probably will rely on creations for most of your fighting.

I never got any reward from Eliza for helping her out. Shaftoe lets you in to his locked areas after his second quest. There are some nice items in the areas you can get to in Eliza's bunker, but not the DFO in the eastern room.

I used the Geneforge and destroyed it, left it there, let Trajkov use, and destroyed it without using it, I really wanted to see some of the different endings for being an Obeyer, The Geneforge makes you god-like, but you still can get killed if you let them swarm you or do something else stupid. I didn't feel like killing everyone since I was getting almost no experience for the effort.

Avernum 4 made MACWorld's Hall of Fame for 2006 - article I think we all know our opinions on the game but this is theirs.

Finishing up chapter 3 with the following: Level 34, health 213 (152 with gruesome charm), essence 193, spell energy 383, strength 7 (+4 from girdle of might and guardian claymore), dexterity 3 (+4 from nimble sandals and gruesome charm), intelligence 5 (+2 from gruesome charm), endurance 5 (-2 from gruesome charm), melee wpns. 5 (+5 from legs of the tyrant), missle wpns. 6, quick action 5 (+2 from guardian claymore), parry 6, battle magic 9 (+4 from ring of eye's purity and agent's cloak), mental magic 6 (+2 from gloves of succor and agent's cloak), blessing magic 6 (+3 from Captain's shiv and agent's cloak when needed), spellcraft 8 (+4 from 2 mental health charms. agent's cloak, and runed jaded necklace and I trained for 2), starting shaping, healing craft 5 (+2 from phsycian's charm and gloves of succor), leadership 10 (+2 from infiltrator's cloak and tunic), mechanics 10 (+5 from infiltrator's cloak and tunic and tinker's gloves and bauble), luck 3 (+1 from lucky charm and from Dillame's mayor). Took a while to get enough money for spells and all of Captain Archibald's training before I could turn him in for the reward. Starting to get nasty destroying things now that I'm in Burwood and I can kill a wingbolt with 2 icy spray's. Still running out of spell energy fairly quickly.

The only items that can't be made as a Shaper loyalist are the ones using the deep focus orb since that involves killing Eliza. Legs of the Tyrant can be made using Shaftoe's recipe that you get for helping him and items that you find by the Golem's Fen. Synergy showed and I also found that you can slip into the place in Turabi Gate to the south of the gate past the Shapers to get the essence infused skin. Getting the second blood poison from the Western Morass is hard but with terror and a lot of work you can get to it so you can also have gloves of Savergy. You need a lot of strength and combat boosting items as a melee fighter. By concentrating on mental magic you can deal with mobs of creations.

Jeff is working on the Windows version and there have been less problems with the final Mac version so it should be out sooner. I guess Jeff will be calling for Windows beta testers after New Year's Day. It's a lot better written than the earlier Geneforge games. I do think he should have left some of the challenges of the early betas in for northern Illya and made the end harder, In the mean time we Mac users can taunt the Windows users to go away or we'll be forced to taunt you some more. Now go and chop down the tallest tree in the forest with ----- a herringbone.

In old Avernum games you had the areas where lighting established how far you could attack. The Mertis Spiral had the section where your torch always went out if you took a step so you were always being attacked at close range. It would be a change, but something could be done where you could only attack within a certain radius.

I don't remember any weapons that have the higher damage die than 1-5, but the weapons in chapter 3 start doing better special damage. You really need to get strength and melee damaging items. The guardian claymore from killing Shaftoe is +2 strength, legs of the tyrant gives +3 damage levels, piercing gloves, girdle of might, etc. You do need high strength for the better armor. It kind of levels off with the inability to target mutiple opponents that an infiltrator can with essence orbs, acid shower, and aura of flames. You have to increase mental magic throughout the game so you can use daze, strong daze, and mass madness to give you time to fight. Even terror, dominate, and charm can even the odds.

First time I faced a servile with a venom baton I thought Slarty's going to love that the damage is back. The old betas had some nasty areas like North Illya Woods where you were in fight mode from the start facing swarms of vlish. Jeff toned down most of the game and I'm still looking for where he made it harder.

I think there are a few areas where it's really dark like the Wrecked Lab where it helps in giving you a greater attack distance, but I stopped using light early on and never really cared. It doesn't have a noticeable effect and it frees up one more slot in your backpack.