Untamed Banana Slug

Cleaned up the Anama lands and survived the Darkside ambush with great ease (even managing to kill the characters with the airy greaves, wahoo!). Now I'm running around Highground without too much opposition. I'm going to discontinue playing for now, as class resumes tomorrow. From what I have experienced, I can honestly say that substituting melee characters with mages is a vast improvement, and makes what I found to be an almost impossible experience tolerable. As of yet, enemies with resistance to all non-physical forms of damage are few and far between, and are dealt with with archery and summons. On the topic of summons, shades are invaluable. You want a source of reliable physical damage? These guys are it. Not only do they curse on contact, but they also resist ice and poison.

Do you know what the reward is for killing Solberg/giving papers to Ruth? Or is it simply done so that she won't kill you on the spot?

Domont mentions that the Darkside Loyalists want Solberg's papers, yet nowhere in the walkthrough can I find who I am meant to give them to, and what my reward will be. Also, what is the reward for killing Solberg?

I've just hit Moref the Shade, and careful inspection has revealed that yes, the sentinel which Moref possesses is marked for *less than a second* when he first enters it. The mark is equivalent to what you see on a character who has been blessed: A single, yellow swirling diamond. I took a screenshot and marked the possessed sentinel with a red rectangle, in which you can see the 'mark of possession' (ie. the diamond, NOT the green orb thingy, that's just part of the background). http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/Red_Wizard/moref.jpg He switches bodies every round, so if you missed the swirling diamond, just wait until the next round with your eyes constantly sweeping across the monitor. I wouldn't go attacking nilly willy, it seems rather counter productive. Also note that the first sentinel possessed is always the same one: The one on the top right corner. This 'challenge' really highlights a persistent problem with Geneforge and A4/A5. The game should *not* be made difficult because of poor graphics/graphical orientation. Tiny switches are neither here nor there, but caches/levers/bodies which the player can't see because of the isometric 3D perspective is just stupid. Edit: I just managed to beat down Moref on Torment, although I burnt through three Invulnerability Potions in the process. Oh well, I guess that is what they are for. By the way, did I ever mention that I wish my mages all had Repel Spirit so that they could focus fire?

I slaughtered my way through Tranquility, and am now killing chitraches with extreme ease in Anama Lands. So far so good.

Originally Posted By: Turtle Might be a good idea to give one of your mages a few levels of priest spells as back-up, though. Otherwise, if your priest gets smoked in a tough fight, the rest will fall like dominoes. On the other hand, I guess you'll need more than a few levels to get to the really awesome priest spells, so it might not be worth it at this point. It would be good to have a few levels of priest spells just so that I could focus fire with Repel Spirit, as disruption damage is the only type of damage mages cannot do. On a slightly related subject, for the first time ever I managed to beat those three sentinels for the Dispel Barrier quest!

I'm currently running a 3 mage + 1 priest party on Torment, and so far am having a rather easy time of cleaning out Khora-Vysss. My staple spell, icy rain, is a solid unripostable spell with which my three hasted mages can wipe out packs of enemies in a *single* round. Even better, it can wipe out turrets from a range at which the caster is safe from retaliation, and even hit enemies around corners. It will be interesting to see how my mages will perform later in the game.

Originally Posted By: Celtic Minstrel I remember a game which (in my opinion) tried to make things too realistic. For example, you start bleeding when damaged, or you are forced to rest after walking a certain distance because you're too tired to continue. I disliked that game very much. You'd only be at risk of bleeding to death if you were knocked below 0 health (ie. 'unconscious'), and that could be stopped by just bandaging your character. I rather enjoyed Realmz to be honest, the character creation was diverse and the combat intense. Yeah, the fatigue feature was annoying, but not much more than the food requirement in Exile.

Originally Posted By: Flowers Hooray! I was hoping I could end with the Trakovites so I can pretend that I'm an anarchist. Thanks for your help! I'll go wring everything I can from Astoria and Ghaldring, and then hang them out to dry. I'd go Astoria --> Litalia ---> Ghaldring, although I guess it depends on which endgame you want.

Originally Posted By: Namine I've heard Battle Shaping is broken so i was wondering, are the battle alphas any good? or should i just stick with plated clawbugs till i hit rotgroths. If you've been leveling up your plated clawbugs, stick with them until war tralls.

"In ancient Avernum there was a legend that one day a child will be born during the Time of Shades, grow to be a man, and vanquish evil from the land. That man is not Chuck Norris, because Chuck Norris killed that man.' "The Blight was Chuck Norris' way of saying "I hate Avernites""

Originally Posted By: Out of the static If you want mages to be anything but helpless, squishy targets they need to be Natural Mages with the full 25% armor load. —Alorael, who also recommends keeping in mind that eventually the game throws enemies you can't take down quickly at you. You need tanks of some kind to keep them off your squishy damage-dealers. Priests could work, but they need to be prepared for it. Aren't there several sets of armour that don't encumber? Although I still think Natural Mage would be a better choice than Elite Warrior. By the way, what is all this nonsense about priests being 'wasted' or 'not pulling their weight' if they are mainly healing and buffing? A healed character's damage output is 100%, whereas an unconscious character's damage output is 0%. In otherwords, a devoted support priest just increased a party member's damage output from 0% to 100%. A similar argument applies to blessing and shielding spells.

Originally Posted By: Finch Hi everyone Just started Avernum 5, and I can't come up with any names for human like cat people or lizard men (and lizard women ) Any help or suggestions? I really don't think that in Avernum's plot, the Nephlim and Sliths are named with human like names Any help is very much appreciated thanks Name your nephil Chuck Norris. "Chuck Norris always knows the EXACT location of Dorikas." "Fear is not the only emotion Chuck Norris can smell. He can also detect hope, as in "I hope I don't get another arrow from the Blessed Longbow of Chuck Norris."" "Behind every successful emperor, there is a wizard. Behind every dead Darkside Loyalist, there is Chuck Norris." "Chuck Norris can lead a cave cow to water AND make it drink." "Sticks and stones may break your bones, but Chuck Norris' arrows of death will penetrate your recesses." "Give an Avernite a fish, and you will feed him for a day. Give an Avernite anything that is better than a fish, and Chuck Norris will beat his ass and take it." "In the Words of Dorikas, "Veni, Vidi, Vici, Chuck Norris". Translation: I came, I saw, and I got my ass beat by Chuck Norris." "Chuck Norris once shot someone so hard that his arrow broke the speed of light, went back in time, and slew Grah Hoth while he was battling Rone at Skarragath." "Chuck Norris once shot down a dragon with his finger by yelling "SPARK"." "There is no blessing magic in Avernum, only warriors Chuck Norris has breathed on."

Originally Posted By: Namine To put it simple, i always die. I'm an Agent, and i can't kill the gaurdian. Everytime i get to him im weak from fighting the roamers, and if i heal myself with cheats i still die. Any tips? P.S poison kills me fast. You'd better get used to that level of difficulty, it only gets worse once you hit the Storm Plains and Dera Reaches. Anyway, have you recruited the golems? I've never played through Clockworks without golem assistance.

Originally Posted By: Nefarian Ugh I just realized something. I was thinking of Tek's Spectral Dirk from Geneforge 2 when I snuck into Dera Reaches at level 34 to get it. I thought it still gave +30% hostile effect resistance and other stuff -.-. Yeah I guess Spectral rapier would be better...I'm gonna have to load back from a looonnnnnggggg ways back though =\ Meh, just stick with the Guardian Claymore. The spectral rapier might be *slightly* more appropriate for your build, although I'm not even sure if that is the general consensus. The Mindwarp Seal is one of the better rings, but the Forbidden Band may be a little better. Quote: Out of curiosity, why does everyone go for the golden crystal? Does it improve magical abilities as well as melee? List of crystal descriptions here: http://www.ironycentral.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=169054#Post169054 It improves your melee attack by 6 levels (2 more than war blessing), which translates to +30% to hit and +18 average damage if you're using a broadsword with 1d5 damage. IMHO, the Golden Crystal is better off attached to your armour, where it grants hostile effect resistance (a MUCH more useful effect).

Right. I loaded up a savegame to determine if it was possible to satisfy both the Rebels and the Loyalists, but killing the Guardian and the Servile Infiltrator result in you failing *both* quests. That introduces a bit of dilemma for powergamers. If you take the Rebel option, you miss out on: - Mindwarp seal (on the servile infiltrator) - Spectral rapier (Taygen only section of the Dera Vaults) - Gloves of the Hammer, Golden Crystal, Impervious Band, Agent Cloak (Taygenite rewards) If you take the Shaper option, you miss out on: - Guardian's Claymore - Tek's Spectral Dirk. Now, Tek's Spectral Dirk is cack, with the Charmed Falchion superseding its defensive bonuses. So the question is: Is the Guardian's Claymore worth the Mindwarp Seal and Spectral Rapier (+4 to mental magic)?

Yep.

Originally Posted By: Nefarian Ooh where do you find those? I think I might have the charmed falchion...from the trakovite quest right? Where's the spectral rapier from though You get the Charmed Falchion from the Noyde Pass, while the Spectral Rapier is found in the Lost Dera Vault.

Out of what you listed? The Guardian Claymore. However, you might want to consider: Spectral Rapier 625 Physical 11 44 +2 PA +3 Energy Preservation +2 MENTAL Charmed Falchion 500 Physical 11 55 +5 LUCK +8 HER +2 C.INT As for the enchantment, I wouldn't bother wasting a crystal by attaching it to a sword, since you won't be meleeing. However, if you were going to melee occasionally, perhaps the ivory skull. After all, the 'Curse' effect is the only one which you can't replicate with spells.

Originally Posted By: Dikiyoba So Ahonar, Pathass, and Adze-Haakai walk into a bar... and Ahonar said "OUCH!"

Originally Posted By: Eras of Radiance! The vlish menace isn't such a disaster in G5. I'm also fairly convinced that the clawbug horde is better than the corrupted thahd horde. You're not dependent on regeneration and you get more experience benefits, for one thing. —Alorael, who should have said two things. They're linked, though. One and a half things? Corrupted Thahds are cheaper, do more damage, and have a gamut of resistances.

I sent wave after wave of corrupted thahds at them. I've never really used corrupted thahds before, but now that I am, oh boy. They are tearing everything to pieces in the Mera fens. You don't need to invest any intelligence, just shape about 7, cast regeneration aura, and off you go.

1. Create one charged vlish 2. Cast regeneration aura 3. Use it to draw cryodrayks away from canister 4. ???? 5. PROFIT!!!

Originally Posted By: Nefarian wow i feel underleveled... You're not alone. My Sorceress Mesmira has reached the Mera Road and is only level 13, which is seven levels lower than Diki's shocktrooper. And I'm playing with disposable creation. Christ.

Originally Posted By: Thuryl Originally Posted By: Doomblob So does joining the anama disable mage spells? And what are the bonuses to priest spells like? Yes. The bonuses are pretty significant: you get easy access to some of the highest-level priest spells in the game. The bonuses unique to the Anama are trivial (ie. +2 to Priest Spells?), and pale in comparison to being able to use mage spells. As for the highest level priest spells, you can easily get those spells from other places in the game early on. Also, you can't join the Church of Divine Lucre, which gives you a bonus to magery.