Walter

Well if you pump the stats to the max with the character editor you kind of lose most of the reason for a one PC party (gain experience on that one character very fast).

Oops, I meant to post that in the "Side of Victory" topic. But I had multiple browser windows open and I guess I got confused.

You don't need a bunch of scrolls, just one. Save, use it, then load. If that feels like cheating to you, console yourself that you'd find them anyway by bumping against the walls, and just think of it as saving yourself time.

I didn't find celts hard to play as at all, I played it as follows: I'd have 2 warriors in the front, followed by 2 druids (give all initial skill points to druid skills for spells learned, with 1 with as high as possible in spirit circle, other with 6 in craft, and add most points to those until you have 8 in all circles. Later on I eventually gave 8 in health and war to the warriors and found them being able to start combat by hasting and blessing themselves was a big help.

Maybe he just meant a dramatic increase over only having enough skill to cast the spell in the first place, not an increasing amount per each additional point.

I think they have enough value in Geneforge 3 to get you a few coins when sold to a shop, but beyond that no, no more useful than a pillow, or basket, or a spoon, or an unsellable trowel (for some reason some trowels can be sold for 1 coin, others 0), or simple trash for that matter.

What features first found in spiderweb games in the Geneforge series do you hope are used in Avernum 4? How about hope are not used?

Well you only need 3 magic shaping to make a searing artilla, which should have a high enough level at creation to be useful, or alternately hows your fire shaping, don't roamers spit acid as well? And if the acid is why searer is effective, couldn't you try using burning spray instead?

Quote: Originally written by Worst_enemy: Did it ever occur to any of you that he could have pumped up his creations by having them gain xp? He could have kept the fyora the entire game and made sure it never died, right?? It looks like he did that anyway judging by the fact that that fyora is level 35. Still if you invest heavily enough in intelligence, usually at the time you can first make higher tier creations you can create them at higher levels than your old creations have grown to, and they are also generally stronger for their level by the creation types inherent properties. Usually it does seem that instead of pumping up creation stats its more effective to create higher tier or more creations.

Also although the description from using a blessed stone on a piece of armor says "enchantment: dodges blows", by looking at your stat screen you can discover that what that really does is improve the armor percent by a few points. Also, as for finding better enchanted equipment, many of those can still get an additional enchantment too.

Quote: Originally written by Verelor: 16.- Some very masked and criptic Geneforge series references thrown into the dialogue could give Spiderweb loyalists the reward they deserve. Am I the only person who spent much time carrying around the Xian skull in Avernum 3? Cause that's already been done.

Intelligence has 3 effects: increases essence, increases energy, and increases resistance to mental effects. As for by how much, you essence and energy are based on a small base value plus your level times intelligence times a factor based on class. Health works the same way but with endurance. Agents get the most energy but least essence, guardians get the most health but least energy, and shapers get the most essence, but the least health. The other difference between classes is how much the shaping, magic, and combat skills cost in skill points. Because of this agents make few creations for two reasons. First of all they have to spend disproportionately more skill points to gain shaping skills. Second of all they get the least essence but are supposed to rely heavily on spells, so they need almost all of that essence for spell casting. As for saying pumping intelligence changed little for essence at the start for an agent, I believe you get .5 times level times intelligence, so at level 1 most of your essence would come from the base value, with only 1 more essence for every 2 intelligence so it is much more significant at higher levels than the first few levels. And remember the agent also needs intelligence so they don't run out of energy casting repeated high level spells.

I normally play with shaper with a big investment in leadership and mechanics, and most of the rest of the points going to intelligence or getting enough shaping skill to make the best creations I've learned the ability for. I normally manage to keep around 3 of the best creations I have the abilities learned for.

Quote: Originally written by abbaon: I hope Jeff brings back the time limit from A3. I love an RPG that discourages exploration. It doesn't really do that. I explored every single part of the outdoors, did every quest, and fully explored every single dungeon, finishing well before the tower of magi disaster. The only reasons you would be taking long enough for towns to be destroyed is if you don't use horses or spend a lot of time doing courier missions.

I haven't played all the way through avernum, but I remember it was simply impossible to take in exile.

Note that for trainers that train statistics (such as the guy in east medab that trains combat skills), it also counts weather you've put skill points into that skill.

Unless you are using mellee weapons theres no need to pump strength much more than is needed for the equipment you wear, as you can always fight your way through an area, then go around and pick things up afterwards, or drop lots of stuff right before entering a battle.

Odd, I beat Geneforge 1 without ever having a creation go rogue (though they ran away often enough). And I always only bought 2 intelligence.

1. People tell you that no human mage in avernum knows how to make quickfire, but there is quickfire among the traps in the Castle treasury (specifically you have to fight 3 Ur-Basilisks while standing in quickfire, open the chests while standing in it still, then walks a short distance and get past some magic barriers almost impossible to dispel with a crystal, then a locked door which you need unlock doors level 3 to open, all while in the quickfire). 2. The empire has several security checkpoints that only people with certain passes can go by, but there are only a few such passes in existance, all held by commanders of forces far from said checkpoints, so how do all the other raiders go back and forth through these checkpoints without carrying passes?

Well here's a thing about it: beyond the door it opens there's not much story or plot development whatsoever, but some ability upgrades and unique equipment (some of the best items in the game in fact). But its also the most difficult area in the game to fight through which makes it kind of pointless to get the items, since if you can obtain them then you are already strong enough to do anything else in the game without them.

I noticed that when you select to pick up items it shows not only items near you, but near your creations, however in checking to see if a crime was seen it only checks your posistion. Thus if you place a creation near some items, then have your character go stand in an empty room or deserted corridor anywhere else on the map you can safely take it without getting caught no matter how closely it is guarded.

Quote: Originally written by Archmagi Micael.: Quote: Originally written by Walter: I found that if you absorb the essence of a pyro roamer, it will explode in doing so, and the explosion hurts friendly characters without making them hostile or counting as a crime. Thus you can create a few pyroroamers and explode them together to kill off a friendly npc you have no further need to talk to to safely steal items nearby without any reprecussions. Yes. I have found this out. However, it is generally unadvisable, cause most people in hte game have some meaning, even if it isn;t currently apparent to you. - Archmagi Micael Thats why I specified once you have no further need to speak to them. First complete thier quests, and if a shop keeper buy everything you want and sell to get all thier coins. You won't gain spectacular returns like this, but why not take all you can possibly get?

Note that being able to train in a skill twice after canisters also includes learning skills from other means such as reading books or quest rewards from talking to people. Now rather than checking to see whether you have increased a skill twice since starting the game as it did in Geneforge 2, it only checks whether you have paid for the skill from a trainer twice. And if you really want to be able to make more powerful fyora, you can increase fire shaping skill which gives +1 level at creation just like a point of skill in fyora in particular does, but in any case you will likely only be able to have rather high level fyora if you create them near the beginning of the game so they level up with you, so if thats what you want invest your initial and first few levels of skill points in intelligence and fire shaping. (though I've always found that when I first manage to make a cryora (with usually several points invested in intelligence but only 3 fire shaping at that point) it ends up being several levels higher than the fyora I started the game with, so keeping a fyora throughout the game is likely not the best of strategies. Sure it only costs a few essence, but at higher levels it will not be very significant in battles compared to higher tier creations that will likely be higher level as well, and you do get a percentage exp penalty the more creations you have.

I found that if you absorb the essence of a pyro roamer, it will explode in doing so, and the explosion hurts friendly characters without making them hostile or counting as a crime. Thus you can create a few pyroroamers and explode them together to kill off a friendly npc you have no further need to talk to to safely steal items nearby without any reprecussions.

Quote: Originally written by Contra: If he reincarnates then him being killable is just a bug, since it is obviouse that he still plays a part in the game. If you kill him later in the game he will be replaced by his apprentice, Moorales, and thus the plot floats along perfectly. I guess noone figured that you wold be able to kill him in the very first stage of the game. Actually, if he reincarates then him being killable isn't a bug, but he was made powerful enough that it was assumed that you can't defeat him without cheating, which is true.