Walter

What should be done is make it so that when you learn a creation at higher levels, besides the third level enabling the advanced type and +1 level at creation per level, it should give you the option to spend extra essence to give it a special ability, with a new type at each level, here are some examples: fyora level 2: add extra fire damage to mellee attack fyora level 3: deal small amount of fire damage to mellee attackers fyora level 4: can hit 2 enemies at once with ranged attack cryora level 2: adds slow effect to ranged attack thahd level 2: increase chance of stunning thahd level 3: adds a few points of parry thahd level 4: adds 1 extra ap thahd shade level 4: adds curse effect to those who attack and miss. artilla level 2: adds acid damage to melle attack artilla level 3: immunity to acid artilla level 4: can hit multiple targets with ranged attack searing artilla level 4: increased amount of acid levels caused on hit roamer level 2: increased mellee damage roamer level 3: +1 ap roamer level 4: increased acid levels from ranged attack pyroroamer level 4: explosion causes stun effect clawbug level 2: increased stun chance clawbug level 3: increased poison levels from attack clawbug level 4: immunity to stunning plated clawbug level 4: adds several points of armor vlish level 2: adds curse effect to ranged attack vlish level 3: increased chance of status effects from attacks vlish level 4: can hit multiple foes with ranged attack terror vlish level 4: adds small chance to charm with ranged attack drayk level 2: high resistance to mental effects drayk level 3: adds a few points of armor drayk level 4: can hit multiple targets with ranged attack cryodrayk level 4: adds slow effect to ranged attack battle alpha level 2: adds several points of armor battle alpha level 3: adds a few points of quick action battle alpha level 4: adds +1 ap battle beta level 4: adds several points of parry glaak level 2: mellee attacks cause poison glaak level 3: adds poison immunity glaak level 4: increased stun effect ur-glaak level 4: adds several points of armor drakon level 2: mental effect immunity drakon level 3: increased targets for ranged attack drakon level 4: increased armor ur-drakon level 4: small chance of causing terror in nearby foes each round rotgroth level 2: adds constant hp regen effect rotgroth level 3: increased parry rotgroth level 4: increased quick action rotdhizon level 4: greatly increased parry gazer level 2: adds stun effect to ranged attack gazer level 3: chance to charm with mellee attack gazer level 4: increased armor eyebeast level 4: greatly increased energy regeneration

Another thing: the quest Stringer on the northshore bridge gives you isn't about the guards on the bridge, he tells you about them but that's not what you need to take care of to complete the quest and you can complete his quests and have him leave before dealing with them. He is concerned with the rogues in the infiltrated shore area. Of course when you reach him you will have almost certainly taken care of that already though. Also though you can get by the bridge guards without a fight with leadership, you should get significantly more experience by killing them. Edit: Mass energize does bless and haste as you indicate, but it also heals everyone as well. This is like several spells unlike the description in the help file which says it shields you, not heals you. Also the blessing will last considerably shorter than with war blessing, and the haste shorter than speed as well, and is weak enough you need significantly more skill to avoid getting only a half strength haste (end up with 10 ap instead of 12). Edit: just noticed your items section is missing the stats for the crystalline shroud. Edit: Two things about the sea caves: If you have sufficient leadership you can get Aiglos to help you fight the rogues until the venomous artilla dies at which point he goes back. And one of the rooms in thier base you can enter without getting attacked that has an iron sword (strongest weapon on the island) on the ground you can steal with the creation trick. Edit: just found you can get General Greiner to make it so the acid sprayers in acidic valley won't attack you after you bring him orders. However by doing so you miss out on the experience for disarming them. Edit: you can also steal the items from rahuls private chambers safely even without permission. There is only one guard who will cause the keep to go hostile, and that is if he sees you beyond a certain doorway. However he patrols between the two different directions so you can sneak by him in either direction. you will have to fight the two Ur-glaaks, but they shouldn't be too difficult and won't get anyone else angry for doing so. Edit: Sciolino also gives you some steel spines in addition to the discount for telling him about the anvil.

Also, now with the trainers and also various books and such, it is completely possible to beat the game without using canisters, and doing so will affect your ending (good idea if you want to be loyal to the shapers). There are many more spells available which make new tactics available and agents much more interesting to use without any creations, there is now a fourth tier of creations (you won't get them if you are loyal though), anatomy was replaced with a skill called parry, which gives you a chance of blocking attacks (or at high levels countering them dealing damage to your attacker), and at extremely high levels makes guardians very hard to get killed. Now skill point costs for skills increase by one point every 2 levels making it harder to focus all your efforts into one or two skills. Now creations no longer have stats equal to thier level, but only half thier level which causes it to be somewhat more effective to increase thier stats with essence and skill points.

A few more things to point out or pieces of advice: In the school, do NOT insult Therese and when you talk to her upstairs she will give you some item (I forget what) when you ask her for supplies. If you insulted her she mentions so when you ask. (though the insult is true as she is too cowardly to help fight any more rogues. In the gatherer camp, when I had them disarm the mines for me it still allowed me to disarm them for exp, they just didn't trigger when I got near. If you have 8 or higher leadership you can convince Diawaniya to provide reinforcements to attack the rogues. This will cause a battle alpha, a glaak, and a roamer to appear near the supply cache in the infested pathway that will follow you around and fight for you, and will continue to do so in the madness mire. The reward for fixing the shaping vat isn't just the living tools, you also get an essence pod. There is an alternate quest for the papers from the research notes from the shed near fort wilton from a person in the Bulwark inn, which causes the door with the recipies and valuable items to be unlocked, and he implies you may see him later (who he is aligned with and what he wants the papers for he refuses to tell you, and he disappears if you give the other guy the papers). On south Dhonal road, when you talk to the group of 3 serviles multiple times you can expose them as rouges (I think you need to talk to the differently colored one after noticing one of them say they were "happy to help" which is unusual for a servile to say) by causing him to make a gesture allowing you to see his armor. Killing them satisfies Celeste's quest but I forget the reward. If you are pro rebel after finding them you still get some experience but not the reward by claiming there weren't any rogue serviles. After clearing the Mountain Pass ambush, return to the area later and there will be a guard there who can give you an item enhancement gem. Sciolino in the Inner keep will upgrade Alwan's sword for 800(I think, might have been a hundred higher or lower), or free if you have sufficient leadership and have recieved a mission from Rahul. Edit: I found that you can sneak into the room with the servant mind controlling the golems (walk in when the person who repairs the golems back is turned and close the door, leaving creations outside so you know when to reopen it and come back out, as if he sees you twice the town goes hostile), and you can tell it to "make it so the golems will never attack me" and it says it is decreasing thier sense radius several times and gives you a few experience. Not sure what good this will do though. Edit: you should note that strength increases stun resistance, dexterity acid resistance, intelligence mind resistance, and endurance poison resistance, that wearing armor will increase your fire cold and energy resistance by half as much as the armor % making many damage type resistance armors useless to hold on to in favor of higher armor or core stat boosting equipment. Edit: Perhaps note that fire shaping is a better choice for rebels than loyalists as drayks are the only third tier creation you can't get without canisters or rebel trainers, you need to use 3 canisters to get cryodrayks (only other creation you need to use multiple canisters to get improved version is eyebeasts with 2) and drakons are the only 4th tier creation a loyalist can't get any points in other than from canisters, and ur-drakons are impossible for loyalists. Edit: maybe advise that you can cast the semi-permanent blessing spells on all your creations provided you have enough essence to cast them once if there is an essence pool on the map or if you are willing to use a bunch of essence pods as casting them does not prevent you from restoring the used essence. This makes many difficult fights more manageable for shapers. Edit: maybe note that terror vlish will actually NOT cause terror. thier ranged attack deals poison damage (only creation with that damage type, and many types of enemies, including but not limited to pylons and golems, fully resist it forcing you to use thier mellee attack or nothing), and poisons the enemy. Thier mellee also poisons but deals physical damage. However the amount of damage done by thier ranged attack seems quite high.

Or maybe he thought you should put some of those many skill points into intelligence instead and pump up thier stats with the extra essence?

Well the empire outpost there is to magically spy on avernum and when need be send out assassins if they think someone is dangerous.

It is on the southern end of the map in a field of lava a map square west of the tower of the magi (lots of lava so buy 5 levels of pathfinder for everyone first so it can't hurt you), to get the key you need to heal patricks wife and patrick will tell you about something hidden in his tower you need to see to pass a barrier protecting the key in the castle.

Just noticed the recipies section is messed up and you are missing one of the ingrediants for each artifact.

Two things, first of all if you are carrying lankan's canister and talk to him you aren't forced to either give it to him or kill all the rebels; destroying it makes them hostile but you can run away and exit the zone and no one outside that zone will notice they went hostile, and you can still first give norrell's message and get an experience reward for destroying the calming stone before the canister triggers. Secondly, you note that if you give him the canister you can leave the island at your leisure, but you can also leave at your leisure if you kill lankan (diwaniya is so horrified he wants you off the island), so you don't have to destroy the spawners to get to dhonal's island as a loyalist.

Basically if it is close enough to be considered an avernum mod for it, it could legally be considered to be a copyright infringement.

Yes, I am quite sure that if present that was intentional to make it unwise to focus all of your skill points into the shaping skill to try to create extremely high level creations.

Yes I suppose its true, but you have to draw the line somewhere, such as using 10 living tools to open a lock that will soon be unlocked by a quest for instance.

Also remember you don't have to increase your creations stats when they level up as that uses up even more essence, and they still gain 1 point in each stat every 2 levels.

Try using the trick where if you have a creation standing near an item that is not yours with someone near by, but have your character standing somewhere with no one around you can steal it without getting caught to pick up living tools on the counter in stores. Also, I've always had plenty of living tools, did you invest no points in mechanics, not carry around +mechanics gloves, and then open any door you found even if it takes over 10 tools with a quest that opens it for you?

Well some enemies only drop items a percentage of the time.

No, I had played through the early game 3 separate times.

Quote: Originally written by Contra: Quote: Originally written by Walter: As for that artilla skin tunic, not really as you get one on the first island in kentia south gate. I never found that the Artilla there auto-dropped one. Thought i was luck-based. It is? I killed it 3 times and got it every time.

I haven't tried it, but I hear an alternate strategy is using one thaad shade, with dex maxed out then whatever you can spare to other stats, which due to its creation type and high dex almost nothing in the game has a significant chance to hit it at all.

As for that artilla skin tunic, not really as you get one on the first island in kentia south gate.

Well how many of those dozens upon dozens of spells were actually useful?

Well I played as a shaper and found up to a point it is impossible to try to take them on to early with strategy cause if they were too tough to beat normally it was probably because my creations had almost no chance to hit against them.

The only thing I ever used archery in Avernum for is when There were enemies difficult to kill with magic standing on the other side of a pit or up on a ledge so I can't reach them in mellee without spending several rounds finding the way around.

Actually he says you are free to look through his library, just don't take any of the books out of the library so it wouldn't be a crime if you read the book then leave it there. The crime part is the guy who asks you to steal it for him for a quest with the reward of 2 points of resistance.

I think that if you want to do that (reuse the same storyline in a scenario for another game), you would need to get Jeff's explicit permission for it to be legal. So try e-mailing him to make sure it's ok with him before you devote any time to this project.

Odd, according to http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist_a.htm alg is only needed for internet connection sharing and microsoft's firewall, and if you are using a third party firewall you can disable it, maybe that changed with a recent security patch I guess.