Triumph

You want someone who is significant to multiple regions, right? The Shareware Demon shows up in DIFFERENT WORLDS! Plus, it has way more characterization than the A4 Shades.

Jeff's routine has tended to be to alternate between making an all-new game and making remakes. Jeff is currently working on Avadon 3. Based on his recent pattern, after that he'll remake Avernum 3. After that, if he stayed true to pattern, he'd probably make another totally new game, and then after that, he might get to a Geneforge remake? But that's years down the road, so it's hard to make any definite predictions.

You are correct. The original G1 graphic for Shapers and Guardians got reused in G2, but then changed in G3. Th new G3 Shaper and Guardian graphics persisted for the last two games of the series. I actually rather prefer the G1/G2 depiction of those characters. For whatever reason, Jeff didn't feel any need to tweak the Agent graphic, and it stayed basically the same all the way through. However, overall, the single biggest artistic shift in the series was, IIRC, between G4 and G5.

Hmm...looking through the scripts...I have realized that, contrary to what I always assumed, making the pro-rebel choice at the end of Dhonal's Isle does not seem to lock you in to the rebel side. You can still come back to the Shaper side on Gull Island and go thus into the endgame. Truly, the one and only decisive factor in whether you will be considered rebel or shaper for the endgames seems to be There may be some alternate way to permanently fix your alignment prior to that, but I'm not sure what that could be. Also, you can definitely take Greta with you to Isle of Spears (the last island), and I can't find any signs in the scripts that she deserts you sometime after that. There are departure speeches for both Alwan and Greta at the end of island 3 and island 4, but no others that I can find. So I'll stand by my conclusion that if your choice at the end of the third island matches you choice at the end of the fourth, you can keep the appropriate companion the remainder of the game. Edit: actually, you apparently can alienate either Alwan or Greta when you leave island 2 as well (there are departure speeches for that island that I'd overlooked). Interesting. Looks like is the trigger for offending Greta on island 2; not sure what will tick off Alwan there...

Your choice at the end of third island will permanently alienate one or the other of them, no matter what you do after that. If you stick with the same side after that, though, you keep the other one with you until the end of the game.

I would favor dropping the A4 Shades from your list. How different are they than the Slime Plague? Or the [insert Rentar-engineered plague here] Plague? Or the Unbound?

So all these characters you're collecting are going into a years-long series of deathmatch polls, right? Teh Learned Pinner versus Empress Prazac fight will be EPIC!!!!1

Oh! Kyass! For Avernum 1. I meant to write him down earlier but he got lost in all the other characters that came to mind. His fate in A2CS is really disappointing, but he's actually pretty significant the first time around.

The three Slith leaders with whom you have epic confrontations during the main plot of A6 are Khrez-Yss the spymaster, Ghavassa-Oss the big boss, and the lead mage Ess-Kalyn. Their names aren't easy to remember, but the more I think about it, the more I think they count as major characters for A6. I'd treat them as one item, the way you handled the Olgai council, rather than as separate characters.

I remembered Vibius's name! For whatever that implies about his memorability. I would agree that X deserves a nod for the 2nd Av. Trilogy. He actually plays a major role in defeating a big ol' demon in A6, as well as fulfilling the six-game metaplot of his spell research. Also for 2nd Av. trilogy: Asterios? The visiting imperial researcher whose brilliant work enables the destruction of Cotra in A6? Should Rone count for A4? What about Levitt for A4/6? I might suggest one of three Slith leaders you have to take out in A6 - the spymaster, the chief, and the mage - except that I don't remember any of their names. Your three confrontations with them are a big part of the story. For Nethergate, a few probably irrelevant suggestions: what about Dolojan? I know she doesn't last long, but I always felt like she was memorable and kind of a big deal as your real encounter with the sidhe and your first clues to the contract and the larger plot. There's also the tragically memorable Pearlblossom, who probable doesn't deserve to get onto your list but still stands out as a character. I'd also consider Titus Vorenus, the Djinn-stealing rogue with whom you have multiple confrontations in N:R. For G3-5: Shaper Monarch? He's a pretty huge figure in the plot, effectively bringing the entire war to a halt as everyone struggles to rein him in. Or General Crowley? He's one of the more reasonable shapers you meet, and you run into him several times throughout the game.

So, for G3...you played as a Shaper all the way to the end? Taking out Akhari and the Geneforge? But then killed Rahul too? Which ending did that give you? It sounds as if you'll like G1 - lots of options for you!

Actually, I'm pretty sure I've seen other people express appreciation for G3's opening, so I don't think you're alone. G1 does by far the best job of setting up a sense of mystery and intrigue that drew me in to wanting to explore. It is the least action-packed opening, but also the most atmospheric, more like stepping into a mystery novel than into a war movie. It is easily the best opening in the series, in my opinion. G2 did a good job of setting you up with a mentor figure you could respect, then quickly sprang on you a big reveal plus the mentor's disappearance in order to draw you further in. Similar to G1, it eases you in to the story with a rising sense of mystery rather a "BOOM ACTION HERO TIME!" approach. G4 has a fairly intense opening where you get the sense of barely escaping with your life and then promptly being thrown in a desperate war situation. In being a more action / conflict-heavy intro, it is more G3 than G1/G2, but I think it manages to feel more intense and dangerous. G5...meh. I think I'd rate G5 as having the least interesting opening for the series. I'd rate G1 and G2 definitely better than G3's opening, and G4 as probably better but close.

Yeah, that matches my recollection that the G2 PC was the most advanced in training of the various PCs, followed by the G1 PC.

Tangent, now that I'm reminiscing about G3: G3 is one of the games where I find it most unreasonable that the PC can make any difference. In G1, I attribute the PC's meteoric rise to power to the potency of original Sucia canisters; each level-up is the power of the canisters slowly continuing to enhance me. In G4, I can imagine the player's ability to level-up and grow powerful so quickly is factor of the Geneforge; the power is there, the PC just grows into the ability to call upon it (you've also got the PC's double-agent status to help explain your unique level of influence). In G5, you've got the Geneforge to help explain things but also narrative that PC was once a great power and is now merely rediscovering or regaining that strength. And in all three cases, the player's escalating power helps justify why the PC is able to influence events. In G2, it is harder to justify the PC's mechanical growth, but I can at least imagine how there could have been a balance of power among the factions so delicate, so precarious, that the introduction of one more Shaper, even if one that was still in training, could have been the proverbial camel-abusing, back-breaking straw. G3, though? A setting where both shapers and drakons seem to be relatively abundant compared to the size of the region? There's no rationalization I can devise for why all these powerful shapers and mighty drakons would choose to rely on a lowly student for strategically important missions, or why the PC would be capable of performing such missions.

I always found it annoying that the single best way to sell me on the rebel side would have been to On the other hand, even while the rebels are trying as hard as possible to make the shapers look reasonable, you keep meeting thuggish shapers who talk about how they kick puppies serviles for fun. There are plenty of more reasonable shapers as well as ordinary humans fighting on the shaper side. But then you have people like the creepy inquisition lady in the Inner Keep, and Agatha, and Chadwick, to name a few.

Rahul himself doesn't come across as that villainous, no. I was just using him and Litalia as prominent figures who could be stand-ins for their entire factions. There are a number of other shapers in G3 who act more brutal or corrupt (such as the aforementioned Agatha), but they aren't quite as prominent as Rahul.

Litalia: "I am heartless and unlikable!" Rahul: "Nay! I am more heartless and unlikable than you!" Litalia: "Impossible! I am the mostest heartless and unlikable! By the way, look at this oppressed servile meant to inspire pity!" Rahul: "I have taken cruelty to levels you can't imagine! Also, look, pathetic refugees fleeing rebel barbarity!" Litalia: "Thus, Shaper, you can clearly not choose the faction in front of me!" Rahul: "Obviously, Shaper, you can clearly not choose the faction in front of me!" Shaper: "Why isn't there a kill-everyone option? Help me, Aodare, you're my only hope!"

You didn't ask "Which creations will I personally find most aesthetically pleasing?" You asked which ones were good. The cryoa will be fine when you get it but really isn't worth it as a long-term plan, and probably won't pull its weight by the endgame. You'll do all right with whatever upper-tier creations you settle on, though.

"Are there items that give a significant boost to mechanics and leadership, or I need to invest to them more?" There are items that boost Lead / Mech. I'm not sure what you mean by "significant" boost; expect to invest in the similarly to what you did in G5. There is one optional area that requires 20 Mechanics, everything else is lower (I believe the next highest you need is 14 Mech.). I believe the highest Leadership you can ever need is 16. "Which creations are good, which are bad and which are OK?" Use Vlish. One quirk of the game mechanics in G3 is that Vlish are awesomely powerful. Start investing in your magic shaping from the beginning of the game, get the ability to make Vlish on the 2nd Island, create seven of them, and never look back. G3 is a game where making early Vlish and leveling them up the rest of the game WILL be rewarded (NOT necessarily investing essence in them, just getting automatically bonuses they gain from levels). Plenty of other creations are fine; you can do powerful stuff with them too; BUT the mechanically optimal approach is create an army of Vlish. "Limit is 6 cannisters before you get over the limit, correct?" I do not recall the answer to this. "Are there books, like in GF5 to train you to stuff, or it's just trainers and cannisters?" You'll learn shaping / spells from trainers and canisters in G3. "How long is the game compared to GF5? (Took me about 80 hours to finish it)" G3 is a smaller game in terms of raw number of zones. "What level should I be about when finishing it? I was about lvl 36-37 when finished GF4 and lvl 48 when I finished GF5." I don't remember what levels I was, but it doesn't really matter. Do as much stuff as you can and you'll reach a high enough level. "Is it possible to experience both Shaper and Rebel endings without replaying half the game?" As Nim said, on Dhonal's Isle, near the end of that island, you'll have the chance to make a big choice to either aid the rebels or fight with the shapers. If you aid the rebels at that point, you are locked in. If you stand with the shapers, you keep your options open. The next island, Gull Island, is your last chance to choose sides; your actions there will determine your endgame; when you set sail from Gull Island for the last island, you will be locked in as either a rebel or a shaper. "How easy\hard the game is? I had no problems with the "normal" difficulty of GF4 and GF5. Not boring, not frustrating for the most part." Personally, I found G4 harder than G3, FWIW. "Is it really possible to end the game with very few fights? Has anyone done it?" It is totally possible. I got as far as Dhonal's Isle before I got distracted by other things, but based on my previous play-throughs I was confident I could chart out a course as a pacifist to the endgame.

Impressive achievement! As to your endgame plans: Aodare (and Slarty) will be proud.

Canister use has no effect on the ending in G1. It's G2 / G3 / G4 where the "Will I or won't I use canisters?" issue is a big deal for gameplay / endings.

apolloooo is using the graphics makeover another forum user created - see here.

You should be able to beat the area eventually, you'll just have to let it go for now and come back later.

I assume you are playing G1? And that you are talking about the zone named "Guarded Bridge" rather than the zones named "Northbridge" and "Southbridge"? To get through Guarded Bridge, you'll need to either wait until you're stronger OR go join the Takers and get an amulet from Gnorrel. If you joined some other faction...well, you'll need to wait on clearing that zone. But as Nim said, if you've passed through the mines, you really don't need to worry about it, since it's not stopping you from going anywhere or doing anything important. Creation mechanics vary from game to game, but the way the game mechanics work in G1, your best bet is to settle on a creation skill (Fire, Magic, Battle) and keep raising it. Each time you raise it, absorb all your creations and make new ones of the most advanced type that you can. Leveling up creations actually results in much weaker creatures overall. Just because you durdled around so far, it doesn't mean you can't choose to focus from this point on. Your build is definitely less than optimal, but the game is by no means unwinnable. Remember that there are pretty much always two paths to any destination in this game, one that relies on combat and one that relies on Leadership / Mechanics / sneaking. Since you've invested well in Lead/Mech, you may just need to focus on finding those non-combat solutions sometimes. If you can't find anywhere to go, start revisiting all the zones you've been to and make sure you fully explored them - it's very possible you've overlooked exits that lead to other new zones.

Keep in mind that Jeff designed the Geneforge games to be winnable (or least mostly winnable) by a leadership-mechanics-sneaking route. I know it's possible to beat G3 without personally striking a single blow, and I believe this is likely true for the other games as well (note that winning the game isn't the same as completing every quest or clearing every zone). If you find the combative approach isn't working, consider that "There are alternatives to fighting." Which route do you plan to take for the endgame?