Ghaldring

Randomiser: Quote: Being Anama gives you access for a price to lots of knowledge brews to raise you character(s) skill points. You can get them if you have the fake rings...

Iffy: Quote: Being an Anama can be useful if you use it right. How is an Anama useful, and how do you use it right? BTW, I destroyed the golems. Guess I can relax now, since the Alien Beasts won't be going anywhere soon.

Randomizer: Quote: Spells are primarily to heal and buff Magery provides buffing spells that are at least equal to those of priests. Arcane Shield and Haste vs. Battle Rage and Radiant Shield. And I'm well aware that mages are the masters of multi-damage spells. That still doesn't justify why the Lvl 3 versions of 'Smite' and 'Repel Spirit' (lower tier spells) are available so late in the game, while all of the multi-target lower tier spells for Mages are available so early. It just doesn't make sense.

I decided to give Avernum 3 another spin, trying a different approach. I've never been very fond of Anama idealogy, but was curious as to how the gameplay differed if you were a member. So I decided to role play as a band of 'holy' Anama fearing the bad mojo, doing only good deeds, not taking anything with a NY symbol, etc. I'm rushing to complete the plagues instead of dilly dallying, because every day means more innocents succumbing to ravaging monsters A three person party was created. One warrior slith with divinely touched, one warrior/thief/priest nephil with elite warrior and nimble fingers, and a pure human cleric with natural mage (for the boost to spell). Only three PC's were created because I didn't feel the need for a 4th member, and to offset the XP penalty from the traits (a strategy which has worked very well!). At first I thought that the greatest difficult in the game would be dealing with locked doors and force barriers, but this actually wasn't such a problem. The Anama provides you with unlimited cheap piercing crystals that dispelling barriers is never a problem. And my nephil has a high tool use, which opens any door (and also has the bonus of disarming all those nasty traps for a minor XP bonus). Carrying around lamps for light is rather inconvenient, though. However, the game really falls down for clerics, and Anama members, in many aspects. Not being able to invest in Mage Spells really hurts. Obviously one reason is because you can't cast mage spells. But even worse, the number of spell points you have as a pure cleric pales in comparison to a mage/priest hybrid. Another problem: If you join the Anama, you have access to two powerful level 3 spell books early in the game: Divine Fire and Divine Restoration. Good, right? Think again. The fact that the Anama doesn't make Lvl 1/2 of these spells available for purchase on Shayder means that you have to purchase them up at Sharamik (Divine Fire), or Gale (Divine Restoration). So the notion that you are getting two awesome spells at lvl 3 early on in Shayder is rather deceptive, because you still need to travel to Sharamik/Gale first. Compare this to Exile 3, where Anama members could access powerful spells such as 'Avatar' and 'Divine thud' immediately. It's also difficult to deal good damage for low cost. You'd think that Smite would be the equivalent of Ice Lances, but there's one slight problem. While Lvl 3 is available for Ice Lances very early on in the game, Lvl 3 for Smite is located at the end of the game. Yeah, that's right. By the time you obtain Smite at Lvl 3, you probably don't need it. Also note that the only Priest Spell that causes significant damage against demons, Repel Spirit Lvl 3, is also only available late in the game. This is perhaps the biggest difference between mage and priest spells. All the good lvl 3 mage spells are easy to find, while the crap spells are difficult to find (Spray Acid, Summon Aid). On the other hand, all the crap lvl 3 priest spells are easy to locate, whereas the necessary priest spells are at the ass end of Valorim. Another real pain is that the Haste granted by War Blessing has a really short duration, which is only granted at Lvl 3. Even worse, this Lvl 3 is only provided from a Stone Circle. Why couldn't Jeff have made it so that Anama members had access to War Blessing Lvl 3, instead of Divine Restoration, which you only get late in the game anyway? Terror just blows, it's so unpredictable as to whether it will work or not. Even Forcecage has more use than it. I'm up to the golems at the moment, and having a hell of a time. Mages have so many spells which deal different sorts of damage, whereas priests are stuck with Divine Fire, a weak Smite, and Divine Retribution (which doesn't work against non-living foes, sigh). Oh well, at least I'll be able to rip through the Alien Beasts. And just as an afterthought, how on earth is Divine Fire less damaging than a Fireball spell? Bloody Anama hypocrites!

Robsta: Quote: All things considered ... Probably just for boss battles, then unequip it just before I strike the last stroke. Hehehe, touche.

I just experienced something slightly surreal in Avernum 3. My level 1 party was touring Silvar, and happened to intimidate that Empire Dervish in the inn. As a result, we enter combat mode (This is on torment, by the way). Then the Dervish does the most odd thing. He picks up a bottle of wine. I then hear that 'gush' sound associated with a character drinking a potion. He moves to attack, swings... and misses. His chance to hit is 5%. And when he does strike, the damage sucks. Hilarious. I wonder if this could be used as some sort of strategy against single difficult opponents? Drop wine on the ground, then run away!

The Drakon you have to remove from the Barrier of the Winds seems intelligent, if confused.

For your creations it does. But not for your main character (ie. the Shaper). Yeah, I know, it's not consistent. Don't ask me why not.

Yeah, I suspected no one had ever encountered them. But then again, nobody ever encountered the Easter Egg.

For Nethergate: Original, the Shared.dat and Outdoor.dat files make mention of 'Sylak's Fiery Tongs'. Is this item in the game, or is this just some vestigal reference to something Jeff left out?

SoT: Quote: drakon-enslaving 'Barrier of the Winds'. Huh?

I heard that id software is going to update the game engine for Doom... again. It should be exciting, reliving the race through Alpha Labs 1, Alpha Labs 2, Alpha Labs 3, Alpha Labs 4, Alpha Labs 5, Alpha Labs 6, Beta Labs 1, Beta Labs 2, Beta Labs 3, Beta Labs 4, Beta Labs 5, Beta Labs 6, Delta Labs 1, Delta Labs 2, Delta Labs 3, Delta Labs 4, and Delta Labs 5 (plus other exciting and original maps, such as Processing and Storage 1, Processing and Storage 2...) in Crysis like graphics.

For an easter egg, if you're playing as Romans, remove your clothes (aka. armour) before triggering the water sprite encounter.

Who: Quote: But if you equip the Warrior's Bracelet and have the Mighty Warrior trait, the effect would double So? The doubling of a neglible effect isn't noteworthy, especially when this doubling requires a significant reduction in XP gain. What difference does an extra 2 damage make when you're hitting for a hundred damage later in the game? You'd be much better off with the skill points to invest in Roman Training. Just for thought, let's say the Warrior's Bracelet had an XP penalty of 20%. Would you equip it? From what I've found, a lot of the beneficial traits in N: O have a neglible effect. I guess something is better than nothing, if you're getting these traits for free. But you're not.

I'm just curious, but can someone upload the endings for Avernum 4? I wasn't masochistic enough to complete the game.

I was reading through the walkthrough for N: O, and it mentioned that the Mighty Warrior trait added to chance to hit, by probably not to damage (although this hasn't been confirmed?). I thought I'd test this out. I scored twenty hits against a rat with a character with Mighty Warrior trait, and the same character without Mighty Warrior trait. Mighty Warrior adds a flat +15% chance to hit. Just judging from the maximum and minimum damage for both sets (1-7 vs. 3-9), Mighty Warrior trait appears to increase damage by +2. I then used standard error of the mean and a paired t test, which both demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the mean damage for both sets (a difference of +2.) So yeah, I'd conclude that Mighty Warrior trait has essentially the same effects as a Warrior's Bracelet... +15% chance to hit, and +2 to damage. Probably not worth the 20% EXP penalty.

Randomizer: Quote: 6. Romans have less spells period in the remake. ??? In Resurrection, Romans can purchase levels in all of the circles, and the game is littered with items that can add to the spell circles. Then there's that all circle scroll on Raven.

1. That campy 'Rarrgghh!' sound when you cast battle rage in Nethergate: Original. 2. Lance of Flame and the beams shot by the Crystal Wands looked like an actual lances in the original, instead of the gimpy orange ball in Nethergate: Resurrection. 3. The Blessing Pool mechanics were better in Nethergate: Original. 4. You can select as many beneficial traits as you want in Nethergate: Original, whereas you are limited to two in Resurrection. 5. Celts can't wear chain mail in the Original, which helps to offset their massive advantage in magic. 6. It's harder for Romans to obtain high level spells in the Original, remaining more true to the idea of a Roman who has trouble drawing from the magic of the Vale. 7. Magic items seem more scarce in Nethergate: Original. 8. Disease did more than just draining your hit points and energy points. 9. The sprite you can summon in the Original is slightly more useful, as it can cast some staple spells. 10. Javelins which miss the target can be reused, making them slightly more tolerable. 11. The 'Create Food' spell actually has a use in the Original. Continue...

Like a bluebird, I've been stashing away bracelets and other such goodies my party has found, and am now a little conflicted on which ones to give my two Celtic melee fighters. So, a poll! You can select two options.

Originally Posted By: Turtle Ah yes--5 XP. Hardly worth an inventory slot. Couldn't you use the stone, re-enter Nethergate/Shadow Valley Fort to recharge it, use it again, re-enter Nethergate/SVF, rinse and repeat? Infinite EXP, if you've got hours to waste.

You can train for one level of Beast Circle at Hagfen, then the +3 beast scroll, then the Beastmaster Bracelet. That's enough to obtain Charm Beast and Summon Aid.

I've noticed that having the initiative is quite important in Torment mode for Spiderweb games, more so than in games like Fallout. Often when I want to cast 'charm beast', my druids react too slowly. By the time it's there move, bam, too late. My frontliners are gryphon snacks. I could raise their Dex, but that seems rather wasteful, when I can simply give one of my frontliners a few in beast circle. That would also make the beast summoning spells more useful, as the summons would appear in front of my characters, instead of behind them. Good idea? Or bad idea?

I was walking about outdoors in Nethergate (South of Vanarium) and encountered some sort of faerie. A message pops up saying "It begins." Relevance?

I found the Charged Vlish and Unstable Firebolt to be of some use. Charged Vlish is very useful when fighting enemies with ice attacks.

Geneforge 2 definitely felt longer than Geneforge 3. It was also infinitely more enjoyable.