Grail Shadowblade

It's not primarily the graphics, I mean I've modified most of the character related graphicxs in my games to my preference anyway. I find it's more the fact it's explained in words not graphic and audibly. You can't imagine things when a cutscene plays out with characters speaking for themselves with no input from you.

 

Therein is why I think Avernum succeeds, in the first trilogy you rely on the dialogs to tell the story. Which is the gateway to imagination, allowing our minds to fill in the blanks.

Quoted for being the pure and simple truth.

Well still not what I had in mind but this is an idea taken from my work in progress system and tweaked for here.

 

I use a point buy system for character creation, however unlike AIMhack I lumped the entire point pool together. What this means is the players have to not only worry about their attributes but also their skills from the same amount of points.

 

The following is a very tweaked version of my system:

 

 

From there it's the usual rules for point spending, just an idea. The numbers are just picked at random however. My system uses 55 points and uses a very different skill method then AIMhack.

Well they wouldn't be the usual idea of Fallout traits, I'm thinking more along the lines of things like Finesse and Fast Shot. They boost certain abiities of your character and hamper others. They would be positives and negatives to certain skills, in either prefabbed arrangements or DM approval.

 

Admittedly this isn't what I was thinking at first but I've completely lost the idea for now, perhaps it'll come back to me.

Which Fallout? I should have said that however I'm referring to the Fallout 2 and tactics systems premise. Not how it was handed but the aspects of the system, I could see something like a trait and perk system working for AIMhack. With the traits being more geared towards class bonuses, essentially a way to focus a character towards a class you have in mind.

I beg to differ, classes could be used to give a boost to starting skills like races are. While imposing limits of some kind as well, personally with a system like AIMhack I'd lean towards the Fallout route.

Attributes, skills, traits and perks. I think the addition of traits could benefit certain classes, however if it's too similiar to perks then fair enough. However I'd set each trait to boost one thing whle hampering another, so the player picks a trait for both it's positive and negative side.

Glad to know I wasn't the only one who thought that at first.

Funnily enough TM said the same thing about Artifact's Hall, I have his blessing to upload it once I tidy it up.

 

I'll need to change a bunch of my book dialogs as they're only relevant to me first, still I can probably do that in the next few days.

 

EDIT: Oh, if you log into AIM with the account in your profile I already have you on AIM. So we can converse there if that's the case.

Good grief... In the four hours I spent making a character all of you lot posted @_@

 

Last post I saw was Lilith's, anywho character sent.

Hmm, I hadn't considered that due to knowing it's a real challenge for low levels. Still I'll give it a go.

 

EDIT: Amusingly buying all the skills bankrupted me and I had to wander around stealing everything I possibly could just to progress the scenario. Although I did find a bug in the process, given I have v1.0 and I can't find any updated version I'm not sure if TM ever did any bug fixing.

 

 

EDIT2:

 

EDIT3: Blast it all, that bug renders the entire scenario unplayable. Guess I'll have to restart it.

 

EDIT4: I decided to take a moments break to test that little bug and I foud you don't have to play for the room to triggger then event, spend your gold so you have under 5 gold and then rent the room. When you fail the tax collector appears, walk into the doorway to the rooms. Enjoy the now free cutscene and go sell the junk.

 

EDIT5: Apologies TM but I seem to be adept at breaking RoR.

All right so I went with Adrift for the next scenario and it wasn't too hard, at least compared to The Empire's New Grove. There were a few close calls however, mostly when the priest ran out of SP.

 

 

Now then I found myself wanting more energy potions but otherwise it but that was more an annoyance then anything. By the end of it the pair wound up at level 4 which was a nice surprise, now to decide what's next.

I'll bear that in mind, I may well need it. Still if I can avoid it then so much the better, not because it's stupid as you said. But because I want to try and avoid too much script experience.

It seems kind of spammy to post a third time in a row but...

 

I decided to go for The Empire's New Grove as the second scenario and I regret doing so. I forgot that Nikki set the level range a little on the low side (or perhaps I should have made my priest a stronger priest)... It already garnered the first TPK how a slowed Mage managed to lightning spray me twice in the same round is beyond me. You know I really wish I hadn't saved and commited myself to this scenario, as the big merchant fight TPKed me an ungodly amount of times.

 

 

Highlights:

• Winning the first fight at level 1 (you wouldn't believe how hard it is with a level 1 party). First time I won it, I lost Raven.
• Getting blindsided by an Empire Patrol after winning said fight and slaughtered, instant death heh.. OKay not a true highlight but still a memorable moment.
• Winning the fight again and managing to barely survive it with both Takara and Raven alive.

 

 

There is a downside to managing to beat that scenario though, I only gained a single level. Still with the gear I gained from it I should be okay for a few levels before I need to actually buy anything. Next time I try The Empire's New Grove with a low level partry, I'm going to make sure they do a scenario I can buy potions in first!

So for the first scenario I decided to enter Wilderness, because as memory serves it had some rather nice goodies stashed in there. Although I don't actually recall how many of the goodies in there I get to keep. Still it was an interesting starting choice, I found some items dotted around the outdoors that I'd never actually found in my previous run throughs.

 

 

The fight wasn't that difficult, although Takara did hit 0 HP a few times. Still he healed up with a handy potion and then got healed by Raven (If you've played Wilderness you know why Takara didn't heal himself). Both of the PCs took the scenario well in their stride, although getting poisoned was a nasty surprise although soon fixed.

 

At any rate it was worth being the starting scenario, I got experience and didn't manage to level up. But given Takara and Raven both have -50% XP I'm not at all surprised. Still I got my reward gold and

 

 

Now then, I have to decide on the next scenario. I might do Adrift now I have some toys to make it hopefully easier then I remember it being. At least for a freshly created party with no gear. Or I might go grab some new gear just to be on the safe side...

So to my knowledge people have tried a full party and a singleton party in regards to TPKs and trying to not save unless doing insanely long scenarios (or just taking a break to sleep, work, etc, etc). So simply because I'm bored, I've decided to try something along the lines of Ephesos' Never Say Die with a dynamic duo.

 

Of course to be along the lines of Ephesos' Never Say Die, if one of them dies and I can't readily resurrect them in the curent scenario they will stay dead and get replaced with a level one (which is going to be a nightmare from level 10+).

 

The rules for this will be as follows:

 

• If I can complete the scenario in one sitting I will do so, if not I'll save when I need a break or have to do something.
• If I get a TPK I will revert to my last save, which will either be the start of the scenario or my last break.
• Dead means dead, I know I said this already but if I can't resurrect someone via my party or someone/thing in the scenario they are gone forever.
• I will be using the HLPM in between scenarios to replace the dead PC, I can't be asked to add the call to every single scenario.
• I will also use the HLPM to sell loot between scenarios, if the next scenario doesn't have towns or shops.
• I will be playing on Normal difficulty for this.
• If anyone else can think of a reasonable rule to impose on myself I'm open to suggestions.

 

Now then to start with I will be using the following party:

 

Takara - Human fighter/priest, melee weapon specialist and primary healer. Given my playing style he'll also be an archer as his backup in case I run out of potions and sp.

 

Raven - Nephil thrower/mage, enough said really. Although she will be my lockpicker and have a level of priest just in case.

EDIT: As all characters need some melee, I decided to make her a pole weapon user.

 

And now to frisk the scenario archives for a level 1 to play, tempted to do Adrift same as most given I know the scenario well. Although I am debating rummaging around for another in the stash of scenarios I've gathered.

 

Oh and also I'll be providing highlights, same as the other threads in this vein.

That it did, although it's not a total loss, I just found my design notes on the memory stick I run BoA on (yes it works as a portable just so long as you don't mind sometimes needing to do an over install to fix a few qurisk that appear that way). I'd transferred my projects and scenarios to the laptop because I needed the extra space to give a friend some photos, but hey design notes is better then nothing.

So hopefully once I've read up on the code again (I've forgotten how to code some of what I know I used), I will get around to releasing End Days.

Bah apologies, my laptop decided to wipe itself and took my scenario along with everything else with it. Only just really recovered.

 

Actually I know of a version of Artifacts Hall that is up to date, I've been updating mine and I should probably poke TM for his permission to post an updated version and take over maintaining the scenario. Been doing the same with the library in HLPM for the sake of it as well, I had to do something while I rebuilt my laptop >.>

Well fingers crossed I can do this with little trouble, might have to do the code without all the nice utilities though seeing as they don't like the temp laptop ¬_¬

Interesting concept and one I find intriguing.

I aim for multi role personally, for example my current party leader is a warrior/archer/mage/priest.... Annoying to train but he did start out as an archer warrior.

Of which mine is way out of date... -trundles off to update-

Damned shame, although maybe another designer will do a "fan" sequel sometime in the future. They were really enjoyable scenarios...

Not a bad experiment at all, I might start my own like this. Maybe with a party though, possibly even working a storyline in about them. While have singleton versions going as well.

I'll add that to my try and get to run list as well then, well done on it though.