The Lurker

So, there's that odd mercenary named Denna in Mera. I complete her quest, then she flees instead of giving me a reward. The game tells me that she is still "out there somewhere"...

 

And, as you can guess, I never saw her again, otherwise I wouldn't have made this post. The scripts seem to imply that I was supposed to meet her again in the Zephyr Oasis, but she just wasn't there. I've talked to everyone, even random townspeople, and Denna is nowhere to be found.

 

So, um, has this happened to anyone else?

Since I've just finished the challenge area, I thought I'd tell you that you missed the Demon's Bile on Sammann's Isle.

 

As a sidenote, I find the game to be ridiculously easy on Normal, including the aforementioned challenge area. The Flailing Mass died before it could unleash its fire attack; Wrack and Essence Blade allowed me to kill the first Pairbond Construct in one round, making the second construct a joke; the Wormhost Rotghroth was a pushover once I lured it into the narrow path near its lair, the Spectral Gazer would have been difficult had it not been for the fact that Rotdhizons are virtually immune to its most powerful attack (the acid one), and Sammann died in two rounds. He never got a chance to heal himself, or attack, or even talk.

 

Finally, I thought the golems in Kayar's Spire Cells were tough until I noticed that there's a way to pick them off one by one. So, in the end, even these golems were pretty easy.

 

I'll definitely try Torment next time.

I don't think so. Torment doesn't seem to increase HP in every Spiderweb game. In GF4, Torment doesn't seem to affect HP at all. In A5, on the other hand, ALL enemies have twice as much HP on Torment (which may not have been a completely good design decision - some bosses like the Black Horror become drawn-out, boring battles).

Seconded, it'll be interesting to see what he can pull out of his hat. Fantasy? Mythology? History? Sci-fi? After all, Geneforge was supposed to be a sci-fi game when he started working on it...

The Shaper/rebel/Geneforge plotline is over, but technically there's nothing preventing Jeff from making another game set in this universe. We have yet to meet the "other magical sects" mentioned in GF1.

I don't remember exactly, but it usually ended badly for you. Other than that, they were pretty similar to the Shaper and rebel endings for the people of Terrestia.

"Good" Shaper ending : Help the Shapers, get a high reputation with them, use few or no canisters, and the Shapers will be true to their word, you'll get your reward.

 

"Bad" Shaper ending : Help the Shapers, but use too many canisters. This ending may be even worse if you have a low rep with the Shapers.

 

There is no "bad" rebel ending (except for the one Thuryl mentioned - help the rebels but give Alwan the Unbound papers), but it's happier if you have a high reputation with them.

 

Shaper Trakovite ending : you'll be seen as a hero by some, but you'll die.

 

Rebel Trakovite ending : If you have a high reputation with the rebels, you'll spend the rest of your life in the hostile Forsaken Lands. If you have a low rebel reputation, you'll be executed.

 

Weird endings : Complete the Unbound after helping the Shapers win the battle, or destroy the Unbound after helping the rebels win the battle. I believe the Shapers may actually let you live in the second case, if you didn't use too many canisters. You'll still be exiled, though.

The canisters do make a difference. If use almost no canisters and have a high reputation with the Shapers, you get a fairly good Shaper ending. It's been a while since I read the GF4 Shaper ending, but I think you even manage to gain a small amount of influence.

(Just before starting my GF4 Mental focus Servile playthrough, I thought I'd name him Delicious Dish, because I was so sure he would die many times, and because Delicious Vlish was the one who inspired me to do this playthrough in the first place. Then I considered naming him Teachey the Discordian, but I realized almost nobody would get the reference. So he ended up being Soulflayer.)

Oh, that would be A Perfect Forest (and as I said at Shadowvale : make more scenarios, *i ).

 

Dilecia has puzzles that are every bit as hard as *i's mirror puzzle, if not harder.

"I can remove it. However, it will be difficult. And extremely painful. Are you sure that you want to take the risk? Remember, as long as you stay far from Rawal, he will not be able to control you." -Sage Quothe (Astoria's faction), Litalia (Trakovite faction), Shaper Marzan (Alwan's faction), Agent Caluma (Taygen's faction).

 

"I think I can remove it. However, it will be difficult. And extremely painful. And yet, I think you must take the risk, if you would serve usss." -Saakash (Ghaldring's faction).

 

"Rawal is the first to see you. He stares at you intently for a moment and then smiles smugly. He knows that you still bear the control tool. One day, he plans to turn this to his advantage." - Narrator, Council meeting.

 

If you tell Rawal that you are working for Astoria, Alwan, or Taygen while you still have the control tool :

 

Rawal : "I see. Despite all I have offered, despite all of my authority, you have turned on me. That is fine. I am forgiving. I know how to let go. But first, one thing ...".

Player : "Yes?"

Narrator : "Shaper Rawal waves a hand. The control tool in your chest jerks slightly. It tears a tiny hole in your heart. The Shaper could have killed you quickly, of course. Since he is in a bad mood, however, he amuses himself by giving you the slow, agonizing death. After you expire (eventually), he feels much better."

 

If you make Rawal hostile while you still have the control tool :

Rawal : "Such bold defiance. I am impressed. But I think this has gone on long enough."

Narrator : "He points at you and makes a little motion with his hand. The command tool in your chest has a spasm. This tears open a hole in your heart. You collapse and die."

I haven't finished reading the scripts yet, but I think only Ghaldring's faction forces you to have the control tool removed (due to the fact that killing Rawal is one of the main quests).

I know you can't swear loyalty to Rawal without the control tool. What I meant was this : When you meet the Shaper Council while still bearing the control tool, the game implies that Rawal intends to use you as his pawn later on. So I thought that maybe the alternate Rawal ending occured if you triggered one of the non-Rawal endings while still having the tool. Probably not, but I was just wondering.

That's exactly what I was wondering. Maybe it happens when you trigger one of the endings while still bearing the control tool.

Another thing I find interesting is that there are *two* Rawal endings.

 

Anyway, thanks, Dahak! Outstanding work.

I prefer the old graphics too. Also, BoE has in my opinion much prettier custom graphics than BoA. And they can take up more than one square. Just look at the Ice Drake from Shadow of the Stranger, or the Malice Demon from An Apology, or Legion from Falling Stars, or Natus from Nebulous Times Hence. You just don't see graphics this pretty in BoA. Sure, BoA can be pretty too, but not as much as BoE.

While you're there [in Bennhold's Keep], don't forget to pick up the access crystal for the Okavano Barrier. You know, in case you eventually decide to enter Sammann's areas.

(Off-topic : Ah, unwinnable scenarios. The most infamous unwinnable scenario is probably Creator's Isle of Boredom : Because Kassand uses Major Events, the scenario is unfinishable on quite a few copies of Blades of Exile. Pity, it's a pretty good scenario.)

According to Thuryl, it did at one point, but that may not have been intentional. Having a high Stealth basically allowed you to walk through minefields without ever taking damage. Not sure if it still works that way.

I've beaten Frostbite on Torment, and I still got the Defender's Blade. After getting advice from Lazarus about the whole "be sure to loot the reagents at least twice" feature, it wasn't that hard. Of course, the part right after the goblin fight still required a few (read : many) reloads...

 

EDIT : Randomizer, the fight in the goblin hall requires you to thoroughly abuse the engine, if I remember correctly. See how you can use your surroundings to your advantage...

TM's BoA scenarios really aren't that hard. Although General Shroud in Canopy may give you some trouble as soon as TM uploads the fixed version.

 

TM made much, much harder fights in his BoE scenarios.

 

Enraged Slith - Thalia Colony is, ah, several people who "withdrew from the world" due to the crazy events happening on Morrow's Isle. If you fix the bug in one of the outdoor scripts, you can attack the Colony provided you haven't dealt with them yet. This triggers a tough fight against quite a few Elite Warriors, a lot of Bladesmen, a Wizard, and maybe a few other enemies I can't remember. If you manage to win, you get no reward (other than the items that the enemies drop and the XP).

 

Overall, if you want to play really hard scenarios, you're better off with BoE : Doom Moon series, At the Gallows (the Vahnatai Emeritus and Caffen-Bok are among my favorite battles, but only because I'm a masochist), Revenge, Echoes series, Shadow of the Stranger (to some extent), An Apology*, Roots, Areni...

 

*Note about An Apology : IMO, it's all about having extensive knowledge of the BoE engine and carefully creating your party. If you're an expert player, you'll have no problems completing it. If not, it's basically impossible. Big K's keep is an excellent test.

Blades of Rogue, hands down. Requires very careful skill points investment and decent knowledge of the Blades engine.

 

Valley of Dying Things has two very difficult optional fights (the Spirit of the Sick and Zorvas) and beating Thalia Colony in A Small Rebellion isn't a cakewalk either.

Hmm, thanks. I think there is a way to slip past the mines and even attack the gate, though (again, judging from the scripts). The real problem is probably that you eventually face a gate or a wall that you can't get past.

The latter, it seems. I believe Lethia Province and the Nodye Coast occasionally send reinforcements (unexperienced and terrified soldiers, that is), if that makes you feel any better.

 

Off-topic : I thought it would be possible to enter Lethia and Nodye when I first saw the map, but the Lethia and Nodye gates are like the Turabi Gate and the Western Morass... Are they as well defended as their GF4 equivalents?

Probably a wise idea... According to the ones who have finished it, you should only enter it if you have a very strong character. Even then, don't expect to be able to clear everything on your first try. It's apparently significantly harder than the GF4 expert areas.