Catweasle

Originally Posted By: Earth Empires finding valuable things after battle isn't easy due small size so its best to use g and get everything valuable that way. Randomizer has already said exactly this. Originally Posted By: Painted Lady That probably is not going to happen. Doors used to be closeable before Jeff added the iPad as a supported system. Trying to close doors with pudgy fingers apparently became a source of serious frustration. Now doors may be opened but not closed..... Maybe, but it is very very frustrating not being able to close doors on other platforms! If one could at least push crates and barrels around, but that is probably also too difficult on iPad.

I agree with mithrandir138. I too think this game is great, but it is very difficult to recognise items which are lying on the ground or things outside, particularly the groups that are wandering around. Are they merchants, soldiers, sliths, monsters or what? In the first trilogy you had the "look" button and in A2 and A3 the right mouse button did the same (at least on Windows). In AEP there is no look button and none of the normal navigational aids in Windows, like the right mouse button or double-click work. I hope this will be improved in new games. And also that doors should be closable.

It is just chance, where the character reappears. Perhaps it also has something to do with the version. The Remix apparently has more randomness. There was a long discussion about this in another thread: Too much randomness in combat? You could always try using Shadow Blink (originally called Blink) to transport yourself somewhere else. That is if you have enough health to survive that long.

What on earth do you mean? All games of the first trilogy (ie A1, A2 and A3) had potion making as a skill. In the second trilogy (which I have hardly ever played) the Geneforge engine was used. I do not know enough about those games, to say if you could make your own potions, but I do not think so.

But there is a button on one of the rock pillars. Pressing it opens a path to the rats. If you are still having trouble look at my description of Formello

It is a long long time since I played Exile 1 but if I remember rightly the situation with Greymould Salve and Hathwisa was the same as in A1: you needed the salve to cure her and you could either find some somwhere or find the recipe, get some geymould and make it yourself. I do not have a copy of the game or of the hints book for Exile any more so I cannot check, but I still have A1 and quote out of the Hints Book: Quote: ... There are also 2 uses of graymold in Erika's Tower. (Also, there is one use of Graymold Salve in Grah-Hoth's treasure room). Make or obtain the salve and then talk to Hathwisa, in the northwest corner of Patrick's Tower. (my italics) Reading the text Make or obtain the salve in AEP I thought it meant the same as in A1. It is however arguable that "make" does not necessarily mean making it yourself. If you get somebody else to make it for you it has also been made. So the Text in the AEP Book of Answers is not wrong, even if it is a bit misleading.

This text snippet is also in the Avernum Book of Answers. This is not the only case. There is a more blatant example of the wrong text taken from A1 in the Tower of Sulfras. All I wanted to say, is that if you are used to the rules of one game, it can be a bit difficult to adapt to the new one. For instance the first time I used a boat in this game I spent ages trying to get out it, until I read the instructions that popped up. I was so familiar with the first trilogy that I "knew" how to do it, even if it is different in this game.

Originally Posted By: maopet1 i have a question. i found the graymold salve and a bunch of graymold but cant figure out what to do with it. i have been on a wild goose chase following leed after leed to no avail. am i doing something wrong? Yes it is a bit confusing but everyting is much easier than in A1 (Avernum). It did however take me some time to work out how I could turn the greymould I had found into a salve in Patrick's Tower even though I had the recipe. My problem was that I took the Hints Book lierally: "make or obtain the salve". I thought that "make" meant I could make it myself. It actually means that I should get someone to make it for me.

Rita in Patrick's Tower and Thantria in Formello also want this tome. I have now finished the description of Drath's Crypt in my walkthrough of AEP.

Originally Posted By: HOUSE of S EE actually has a fairly large amount of content as far as the first three games are concerned. Perhaps I just looked at the wrong pages. Most of those I found at were just stubs.

Originally Posted By: dorfydorf Seeing this kinda makes me feel sad. BTW thanks for introducing me to Encyclopedia Ermarian. Me too. I did once think of implementing a Wiki for these games, but decided simply to write my own hints. It is a lot of work, takes rather a long time but I find the result satisfying, even if there are rather more typing errors than I would like. The Encyclopedia Ermarian is very good and contains some nice background information, but like many such projects has too little content. Wikis share a basic problem with all encyclopaedias: they are excellent as works of reference, but it is very difficult just to read through them.

Originally Posted By: TheMike It was over fast and without having to use a return to life spell/scroll or even a single energy potion. I'm wondering if I've just leveled to the point where most enemies will no longer be even remotely challenging (my characters are roughly level ~26 last time I checked) or if Drath was just obscenely difficult compared to Pyrog. I am now on my second run through, which is taking rather a long time because I am recording everything and I have not yet got to Drath this time, but if I remember rightly, he was rather difficult the first time round. I killed Pyrog at about level 20 and she was not particularly difficult. I have however noticed that most bosses are a bit tedious in this game. I have for instance just entered the arena in Spire for the third time, just for fun (and for a bit more experience). The four Champions that appeared did not do much damage to my party, but I could not do much dammage to them either. We just kept pummelling each other until they weakened and died. Perhaps I have missed something in the training of my characters, but I get the feeling that many of the bosses just have tough armour and a lot of health points. Which often leads to protracted battles which can get rather boring.

Originally Posted By: MTrask No, I agree most games don't track NPCs, but on the other hand, most of them tell you explicitly where person X is - like nailing an arrow in your compass in the HUD, or by spelling it out in the quest log. This is one of the things I have tried to take into account in my hints pages. For instance, when Scab in Spire tells you about Asp, I have a link to Cotra. The same when Ramone in Almaria tells you about Chuck, I have noted that he is in Silvar.

For all who are looking for help, I have reworked my original hints pages for Avernum and have now nearly finished the walkthrough for AEP (Avernum: Escape from the Pit)

Try stealing the treasure in Formello (NW corner) or steal from the upper level in the Arenea Cave.

You have to turn a statue in the room (orange floor) with 6 statues right in the centre of the tower. This opens th gate in front of the pedestal. When you get round to the now opened gate you just have to read the stones three times. This is described well in Rache's Walkthrough. BTW I always enter the tower from the secret door at the back of the tower and try to get to Zkal as quickly as possible. The spawning platforms on the ground floor do not work after he has been killed, so it is much easier to explore the dungeon. Spell points will still be absorbed and there are sill lots of undead around, but they will not multiply unduly. What Rache say about not being able to learn this spell or get the rouge's leather if you enter from the back is just not true. Whether you enter from the back or the front you can get to every part. Note that there are lots of secret doors and portals in this dungeon.

You do not actually need Quickfire. Cloud of Blades also removes the barriers.

Originally Posted By: DokEnkephalin Imo, it's best to train everyone in the first couple levels of mage and priest spells, that way you can spread the MP and AP costs around and save your specialists for when the real power is needed. I agree thoroughly. I have only played A1 -- A3 but in these games there is another advantage in having warriors with a few spell points: they suck up the Dumbfounding and Spell-Draining attacks from Gazers and Mung Demons leaving your spell casters free to heal or otherwise repair the warriors. I have written some further notes about the subject in my walkthroughs.

Originally Posted By: Droid I find Avernum 2 to be the best Avernum game, all around. Me too. I also find also find combat rather irritating in the new games. I often find that the characters go of in an unexpected direction, because I did not see some obstacle in the way. I too have only tried the demos for A4, A5 and A6 but cannot imagine that the full versions are better.

Originally Posted By: The Mystic I don't think it has any effect on how much healers charge. It has not got anything to do with what the healers charge. In A1 and A2 they will BUY your stuff! (Look at the Inventory panel and you see the price.) There are enough healers around that you just do not need barter.

I never bother about Barter in A1 and A2 because Healers offer you 60% of the face value without any barter skill and a low reputation. In A3 I buy a few levels of barter and sell only to Grove in Shamirik, Kendra in Lorelei or Stern in Gale. (They give the best prices in thier area.) The only potions I ever use (exept healing potions very early on in the game) are Knowledge Brews and Enery Potions/Elixirs. The latter are necessary in some dungeons later on in the games.

CycyX and The Mystic are right. The annotated maps mention both ways to find the spell, but you have to look at the right place to find this out. That is one of the reasons that I wrote my own walkthrough.

You do not actually need the Orb of Thralni to reach Erika. The Hints book tells you to steal a boat from the giants to the east of Bargha. That is the official way. I find it easier with the Orb. You get the password for the statues from Erika only after visiting Aydin. It is however much easier to get the proper keys than to persuade Erika to tell you about her statues. Btw the onyx key to the doors in the Slith Castle can be found in the Slith Fort and the Swamp City (not Slith Temple).

That is what I suspected as I only found a roach in the temple: poor Father Oriathon has certainly been killed. The urgently needed supplies have obviously come too late. But in any case thanks for the answer. – Alorael's hypothesis is however very interesting! If it is correct the camouflage backfired on the reverend because I killed him.

I am playing A3 as singleton, which means it takes a long time to get there. I have a job to "deliver urgently needed supplies to Father Oriathon last known to be in Hectar on the Isle of Bigail". At day 113 I got there only to find that the temple is empty. I have looked everywhere on the island but could not find him. Does anyone know where he might be hiding?