Maledictis

I just got Avernum 3 on my new computer (Gateway laptop running Vista), and I can't seem to get my USB numpads to work for movement. I have two, and they both worked fine for movement on my old computer. When I try to use them, keys take up to 2 seconds to register, and with the way I move, that just won't do. The only thing I can use to make the numpad work is to use the FN numpad (maps some various keys to the right of Y, H, and N on a normal keyboard into the keys on a numerical pad), but when I do that, I can't use a bunch of hotkeys, like priest spells, inventory, and loading. Any suggestions?

I usually go with a bit of everything, because of how readily available money (and therefore knowledge brew) is. Versatility is truly the key. At least in A3 I'll be joining the Anama for added challenge, and will therefore not be casting mage spells. Funny, iddnit?

That's what I thought, too. It's hard for me to balance my munchkinry with my need to play singletons. And I imagine encumbrance is gonna be a problem, what with the lack of Natural Mage. Whee. Another question on the subject... What's the level cap in A2, if there is one at all? I've already hit the level cap in A1, and I haven't even raided any slith forts yet...

Quote: Too bad Jeff didn't institute a magic map spell that worked outdoors. That would have been epic. I seem to recall a wizard in the game whose life's work it was to try and make Magic Map work outdoors. Besides, the visual shock would probably kill you.

Mmkay. Once again, I'm playing through the Avernum series with a single character; Cursed at Birth and Completely Inept this time. Something I'd like to know before I move on to A2: Is there any way for a single character to get enough Vahnatai Lore to succeed in all Vahnatai Lore-related encounters? Thanks in advance.

If I see something remotely valuable, especially early in the game, and I can rip it off without being seen, I will go to great lengths to do it, simply because I can. Does that make me a bad person?

I use no scrolls or wands. I only used energy potions until I started playing single-character games, when I started using healing, invulnerability, heroic, and the like. I just can't justify the "wasted" inventory space.

I cannot stand unreachable loot and unreachable areas. Back in Exile 3, I randomly found a debug while mashing at keys early in my playing that let me move freely through walls (I was about 10 at the time, leammealone), and when I saw the areas you couldn't get to (IE: Erika's tower, Sulfras' room, the 3rd empire army base), I bashed my keyboard with just about every appendage I possessed until I found the debug code again. I've never found any other treasures I couldn't reach, though, and I don't recall a body in A2 that I couldn't reach, either...

About 70% of the time, my left hand is on ctrl+S. 20%, it's moving to loading. And I have been known to save in up to 30 different files, just because I end up saving a different file so I can relive any remotely eventful happening. And I never even bother to do that. Ever.

OCD and Avernum go hand-in-hand. Aside from literally having one hand on ctrl+S at almost all times, I will generally save and cast far sight every few steps... I've practically got it down to a science. And anybody who were to see my single-character's room in Hawke's Manse in A3 would immediately be able to see my obsessive gathering of remotely rare items, and absolute kleptomania, and that's not easy to do with only one character's inventory. I don't even try to justify it by saying I might need it anymore. The entire game is an exercise in OCD, and I love it to death.

Thank you all for your replies... I got the message that Zeviz mentioned and got worried, but I don't think I used more than 5 canisters before I got it... Is it possible that the demon I mentioned earlier does something, as well?

Right... I decided to play through G2 as a Servant, and try as I might, I just can't resist the allure of canisters. So I want to ask... How many canisters can you use before the ending changes? And does the spell cast on you by the demon in the Experiment Chambers in the Magus Complex do anything? This has probably been asked before, and I seem to recall reading an answer somewhere... But I've looked, and haven't been able to find anything. Thanks in advance.

Nonetheless, it would be nice if there were a few more. I'm sad that X isn't in the game directly. I want to see him not dead. And it would be neat if his anvil spell was somehow usable in A6...

I do remember there being a few difficulty settings in Exile. But that aside, it's definitely possible to do. Even without crazy power, it's possible to do almost anything if you think hard enough, and know AI behavior well enough.

That courier route was the way I made most of my money in Exile 3... I was peeved when they limited it in Avernum. But really, it's for the best. It's still a great way to make a bit of cash.

The puzzle's pretty easy to solve. Each of the buttons corresponds to the matching floor tile; the leftmost button for the leftmost tile, and so on. Just push 'em until you have a path you can walk.

Back in Exile, I enjoyed killing important people by trapping them in with barriers on 4-7 sides and torching them with quickfire. Nobody seemed to care. And nothing seemed to change.

Avernum's not really your average RPG. This could be done, I'm sure, but expect a massive challenge, and endless mindgrinding. I've found that single games require ingenuity, knowledge of the game, determination, and competence in all in-game skills. Knocking out magic removes the in-game skills bit, and seeing as this is your first time through, knowledge of the game can't be expected, unless you use a guide. Ingenuity... That ties in with in-game skills a bit. You can't hit things with swords from 20 feet away, and that narrows your options even more. All in all... Good luck. I'm sure it's doable, if you're determined and patient. You probably won't end up with a character you can really call a rogue, though.

So the only person who has been in all Avernum games to date is Solberg? Surely there's more than that. Was Gypsy in A4? Is there a trainer named Starcap in 5? Am I missing anyone? This goes for artifacts as well. Is Demonslayer still around? Help me document my random obsessions.

Right. I've been looking through, for various reasons, characters that appear in Avernum 1 through 4. The only ones I can think of are Solberg, X, and Kelner, unless Ko is present somewhere in A4. So my question: Are Solberg, X, and/or Kelner in A5?

I found some neat toadstools at the end of the Great Walls in A3... I don't know if this is a mistake, or if something actually happens when you make a potion with them, but... Here's a picture. http://i29.tinypic.com/rwm8hf.jpg Don't know how long that'll stay up. But anyway. QFT, mate?

Done. Avernum 3, single character, Torment difficulty. Final stats: STR: 18 DEX: 18 INT: 20 END: 20 Melee: 10 Pole: 0 Bows: 10 Thrown: 0 Hardiness: 10 Defense: 10 Assassination: 5 Mage: 18 Priest: 18 Arcane: 19 Potions: 16 Tools: 21 Nature: 21 First Aid: 6 Luck: 10 Barter: 8 Herbs: 1 Blademaster: 5 Anatomy: 5 Gymnastics: 8 Pathfinder: 8 Magery: 9 Resistance: 5 Vahnatai Lore: 10 Parry: 5 (A nice little tidbit that made me giggle: My respective resistances were 115%, 115%, 155%, 145%, 95%.) Reputation: 80 Level 74 121860 EXP Naturewalker's torc (+10% cold res) Pachtar's Plate (+1 Defense) Mithril Blade (+10% magic res) Boots of Speed (+1 parry) Pants of Power (+1 defense) Fury Crossbow (+1 parry) with Bolts of Life Archer's Cloak (+10% melee protection) Gauntlets of Might (+5% chance to hit) Ring of Endless Magery (+5% missile chance to hit) Mage's Bracelet (+10% magic res) Dryad's Blessed Charm (+10% fire res) Level 3 in all spells but Light, Forcecage, and Return Life. I was absolutely awed by how broken all this equipment could be, when combined with godlike stats. I'm hoping to use this information to create a real challenge in Blades of Avernum. Good luck to all future single heroes of Ermarian. Maybe I'll try double-cursed next. -N

I suppose if you're a massive packrat, you could always store things at checkpoints in the Black Waters and get them later...

Not all the Xian items were awful. The pants could have some limited use (-1 STR, DEX, INT, +4 LUK, blocks 1-8) if they weren't so friggin' heavy, the coins only takes up inventory space, the rock... Well, spawns rocks. Occasionally, valuable rocks. The book is nice to peruse. The ale can bless you on occasion, which outweighs the drunkenness. The skull is a talking skull, and it wants to be your friend. The plant... Well, it's a waste of space. I don't know about the chainmail. The vest is bad. Ditto for the pouch, unless you like to gamble with acid. And that's all of 'em, I think...

Several times in my Exile 3 career, I ran across a little debugging utility that allowed me to move through any terrain. Don't ask how, because I don't know. I mashed my forehead against the keyboard, and a message came up. Anyway. Point is, I used it to determine several things. There's nothing in Erika's back room, there's nothing in Sulfras' back room, the city in the Empire Third Army's camp is another way into Kriszan, and there is absolutely nothing in that infuriating rectangle of trees near Libras.