*i

The trapdoor is the point of no return. Once you go down, there's no going back.

Alorael has been promoted to the rank of board administrator. Huzzah! During the next few months, I will be transitioning my duties to him.

It has been a pleasure serving you, and while I intend to remain a part of the community, my personal and professional life leaves little time for administering these forums. Thank you for your kind support over the years and please welcome Alorael to his new role!

Here is the all of the ending text:

 

80 = "At last, the portal is ready to carry you to safety.";

81 = "";

82 = "";

83 = "";

84 = "";

85 = "As you approach it, several Hands run up to the gate. They are bloody, exhausted, and overjoyed. They report victory. The huge Tawon attack was turned aside. The Hands you sent upstairs made the difference.";

86 = "Redbeard nods. _Well done, warriors. Hold the fort. We will not leave you alone._ Then you all pass through.";

87 = "You nod. _Well done, warriors. Hold the fort. We will not leave you alone._ They note the gory scene, and they immediately know what it means. _Yes, Keeper._ they say. Then you pass through.";

88 = "";

89 = "As you approach it, you hear mad shouting to the south. Tawon warriors are approaching the gate. They are carrying a log, ready to bash their way in.";

90 = "Redbeard mutters, _We will never erase this shame._ You all step through. Eventually you learn that the Tawon took poor, underdefended Fort Foresight easily. There were no survivors.";

91 = "You step through. Eventually you learn that the Tawon took poor, underdefended Fort Foresight easily. There were no survivors.";

92 = "";

93 = "";

94 = "When you return to Avadon, you immediately set to work. Redbeard heads to his tower. You travel to your post.";

95 = "";

96 = "As a Hand of Avadon, you wait for your next set of orders. You don't have to wait long. Soon you are sent to the Khemerian border. Then the rebel lands again. Then to fight Svorgald landing parties.";

97 = "As an Eye of Avadon, you go to the library, where you divulge everything you have learned about Dheless and the rebels. You then head out again, traveling from outpost to outpost and gathering reports. It is dangerous work, but you are extremely well-suited for it.";

98 = "As a Heart of Avadon, Redbeard gives you a high honor. You replace Heart Protus as the main commander for the Hands, and Protus receives a long-desired post in the Keeper's tower. The Hands get orders and aid from you, and they soon come to honor and rely upon you.";

99 = "";

100 = "";

101 = "In the passing weeks, you find that Heart Protus no longer plots against Redbeard. You and he see each other often, but you never discuss your brief flirtation with treason. Ever.";

102 = "";

103 = "";

104 = "You are very busy, rarely finding a moment to sleep. Redbeard stays in his tower. Nobody sees him. Not even the Hearts. Shades and imps carry his orders from his tower.";

105 = "He sends all of you out to learn and fight, and as you explore and receive reports, you learn the true scale of the disaster that has befallen the Pact.";

106 = "";

107 = "";

108 = "";

109 = "When you return to Avadon, Heart Protus greets you and asks what happened to Redbeard. One look at your face gives him his answer.";

110 = "Word gets around fast. Avadon has a new Keeper, chosen the way all of its Keepers have been chosen. You are escorted to your tower. As much as you would like time to settle in, you have to get to work.";

111 = "After all, if you are not both skilled and careful, you will soon suffer the violent fate of your predecessor.";

112 = "";

113 = "You have to labor tirelessly. You have much to learn and no time to learn it. You have to learn all of the secrets of Avadon, who does what and how, where the levers of power are, and how hard you should push them.";

114 = "And, of course, you have to meet Hanvar's Council and a countless array of lesser officials. It would be a horrible trial even in the most peaceful of times.";

115 = "";

116 = "Happily, Heart Protus is there. You promised him a position of influence, and you meant it. He becomes your closest advisor and a powerful aid in learning everything you need to. You are true to your word, though you never forget how little he can be trusted.";

117 = "Heart Protus would have been a powerful aid in learning everything you need to. However, when he betrayed Redbeard, you decided to never trust him, and you meant it. He ends up in a cell in the deep dungeons, pale and forgotten. Nobody questions the order. You are Keeper.";

118 = "";

119 = "Sleep soon becomes a distant memory. You send out scouts. You receive reports.";

120 = "You never lose sight of one fact: If you are to hold your post, you will need to take control quickly and start to show real, tangible results for the Pact.";

121 = "You never lose sight of one fact: If you are to simultaneously hold your post and aid Dheless, you will need to take control quickly and act with great skill and care.";

122 = "You read reports. You learn. Soon, you are subjected to the true scale of the disaster that has befallen the Pact.";

123 = "";

124 = "";

125 = "";

126 = "Dheless didn't lie. His agents were everywhere in the Farlands, carrying treaties, satchels of gold, and promises of a future free of the Pact.";

127 = "The Farlands aren't allies. Each has its own plans, its own agendas. However, they all unite in one thing: Attacking the Pact, as hard and fast as they could.";

128 = "";

129 = "";

130 = "In better times, the Pact could have turned this disorganized assault aside easily. However, it was weak.";

131 = "Years of forgetting they had a common cause took its toll. The Pact forgot it had to work together, and its mutual distrust kept it from being able to properly dismiss the threat.";

132 = "";

133 = "";

134 = "You followed Redbeard's orders and did what you could to turn aside the hordes. Yet, Avadon was only one fortress. The five states of the Pact couldn't work together, and the carnage continued.";

135 = "You gave your orders and did what you could to turn aside the hordes. Yet, Avadon was only one fortress. The five states of the Pact couldn't work together, and the carnage continued.";

136 = "As Keeper, your job was easy. Be ineffective. Keep the Black Fortress from interfering with the good work of Dheless. Without your influence, the five states of the Pact couldn't work together, and the carnage continued.";

137 = "";

138 = "";

139 = "";

140 = "No matter what, the forces of Avadon had to emerge. The Black Fortress was still recovering from Miranda's betrayal. It had few warriors to send out.";

141 = "You might have done far better, but what was done was done. Avadon was far from having the forces necessary to make a real difference. Those who served under you thought you a weak and ineffectual Keeper.";

142 = "Since you wanted to help Dheless, you didn't mind the lack of power for Avadon. However, those who served under you thought you a weak and ineffectual Keeper.";

143 = "";

144 = "As time passed, however, the benefits of your tireless work to help the Black Fortress were clear. Your victories freed up Hands and Eyes, enabling more warriors and agents to be sent out.";

145 = "You could have done more, of course, but your accomplishments did much to win the approval of those serving under you.";

146 = "";

147 = "";

148 = "And still more. The extent of your victories, big and small, resulted in a powerful, confident Avadon. Early victories led to better recruiting, and soon the barracks of the Black Fortress swelled with excellent recruits.";

149 = "Of course, you made sure that the Hands and Eyes were never quite where they needed to be. They made a small difference, but you always made sure they could never score a decisive blow against Dheless. It was easy.";

150 = "As a result, you were hailed as a Keeper of unusual cunning and competence.";

151 = "";

152 = "";

153 = "With these feeble forces, the Black Fortress attempted to stem the tide. Losses were constant. Every day meant another funeral. And yet, the warriors of the Black Fortress followed their oath and did their duty.";

154 = "With these forces, the Black Fortress attempted to stem the tide. Losses were many and funerals were frequent. And yet, the warriors of the Black Fortress followed their oath and did their duty.";

155 = "With these powerful forces, the Black Fortress stemmed the tide. Losses happened and funerals were frequent. And yet, the warriors of the Black Fortress followed their oath and did their duty.";

156 = "";

157 = "";

158 = "It was at this point that you realized that someone was making a concerted effort to kill you.";

159 = "The Gray Raptors found out what you did to their outpost, and your position in the Black Fortress was not enough to turn aside their rage.";

160 = "";

161 = "Their assassins began to hunt you in earnest. You were competent, but not even you could stay away forever. You had to rely on the protection of the Black Fortress.";

162 = "";

163 = "Then the nightmares started. The illness. The patches of scaly skin. The odd growths.";

164 = "You didn't need to speak with a healer. You knew what happened. You could feel it. You drank of the waters of the Corruption. You took that sickness within you. Now it is warping you.";

165 = "";

166 = "Fortunately, you didn't drink too much. You were able to keep the advance of the sickness under control. The warriors of the Black Fortress knew something was off, but they decided to ignore it.";

167 = "Eventually, not even the warriors of the Black Fortress could ignore the illness. You were forced to accept a hard truth: The quality of your service had to be high enough to convince them to overlook your condition.";

168 = "";

169 = "Even with your responsibilities, you were able to occasionally slip away to spend time with [C]. The scout waited for you in the Titan Peaks. Your time together was infrequent, but all the more precious for it.";

170 = "";

171 = "In the end, your flaws were forgiven. Your service to the Black Fortress was valuable enough to make up for any flaws. You continued in your service.";

172 = "The filth of the Corruption always lies within you, but you find ways to control it. And even, in difficult times, draw from it.";

173 = "As for the Gray Raptors, they eventually tire of having their assassins killed. They send an envoy and you arrange payment of a blood price from the Avadon treasury. Problem solved.";

174 = "";

175 = "In the end, the drawbacks of having you around are too great.";

176 = "The Black Fortress decides that these hard times require a much more powerful Keeper. In the end, it's Eye Mamora that kills you during a visit to the dungeons. Sort of a surprise. You'd thought it would be Callan.";

177 = "The Black Fortress decides that these hard times require much more reliable servants. You are confined to a cell in the dungeons while they decide what to do with you. Alone and unprotected, you are easy prey.";

178 = "";

179 = "During your service to the Black Fortress, nobody finds out about your treason. Or maybe Redbeard knows, and he's only waiting until he doesn't need you. Then to the dungeons you go.";

180 = "It leads to many, many sleepless nights.";

181 = "";

182 = "";

183 = "And as for your companions.";

184 = "Khalida was slain while valiantly defending Fort Foresight.";

185 = "Khalida continued to loyally serve Avadon and live up to the ideals of the Pact and the Stone Code. However, her constant fugue states kept her from being given any but the simplest and least important of missions.";

186 = "Khalida continued to loyally serve Avadon and live up to the ideals of the Pact and the Stone Code. She mostly overcame her fugue states, and, as long as she stayed away from the Black Fortress itself, she was able to serve with great distinction.";

187 = "";

188 = "";

189 = "Yoshiria was slain by a barrage of spells while defending the gates of Fort Foresight.";

190 = "Yoshiria was never found again. Well, most of her. Once they saw that nobody was coming to her aid, the Gray Raptors delivered her head to her family in Holklanda.";

191 = "Yoshiria continued to serve the Black Fortress until the Gray Raptors caught up with her once again. Her death was quick and mostly painless. Alas, Avadon was too distracted to ever find the killers.";

192 = "Yoshiria continued to serve the Black Fortress. She earned a post defending Holklanda from foes within and without. At last, she could follow her oath without regret.";

193 = "";

194 = "";

195 = "Dedrik's command of nature was inadequate to save Fort Foresight. Happily, he was able to send the wolves he commanded to safety before the Tawon attackers brought him down.";

196 = "Dedrik served Avadon for a time. At last, his inability to ever see his family and help his homeland was too much for him. He deserted and fled west. So far, he has been able to avoid capture. When he is found, a death sentence is inevitable.";

197 = "Dedrik served Avadon as a loyal Hand, sustained by his ability to occasionally visit his tribe, see his family, and help the Wyldrylm.";

198 = "";

199 = "";

200 = "Yannick expended all his energy defending the Tawon attackers. He died happy, at last using the knowledge he gave up everything to obtain.";

201 = "Yannick left to explore the temples of the Tawon and was never seen again.";

202 = "Yannick tried to serve the Black Fortress, but his obsession with the secrets of the Tawon temples consumed him. In the end, he had to be confined in a cell for his own protection.";

203 = "Yannick tried to serve the Black Fortress, and his power was great enough to allow people to overlook his growing madness. His missions were always great successes, though they tended to leave a lot more scorched earth behind than they needed to.";

204 = "";

205 = "Alcander tried to sneak away from Fort Foresight. The Tawon attackers found and slew him.";

206 = "Alcander continued to serve the Black Fortress in his fashion: Doing the minimum possible and complaining bitterly to the increasingly small number of people who could tolerate his presence. He was never allowed to visit his clan, mainly out of spite.";

207 = "Alcander continued to serve the Black Fortress in his fashion: Complaining bitterly but solidly doing his duty. He was eventually allowed to visit his clan. With time and patience, he was even able to get them much of the treasure he obtained.";

208 = "";

209 = "";

210 = "And the war continued. There were many raids. Many battles. Hanvar's Council struggled to deal with the threat, quell the Wyldrylm rebellion, and end the disagreements of the Pact members.";

211 = "You watched this struggle from a distance, doing your best to aid Avadon. Every day, you hoped Redbeard would emerge from his tower and take a more active role in the defense. Every day, he remained unseen.";

212 = "You did everything you could as Keeper to fight for the Pact. It was a grim struggle. Unlike Redbeard, you were active. You went out into the field. Visited the troops. Saw the situation firsthand.";

213 = "You did everything you could as Keeper to help the Farlands, while making it seem like you supported the Pact. You appeared active, but aided the Farlands in a multitude of small, significant, nearly invisible ways.";

214 = "";

215 = "";

216 = "At last, Hanvar's Council was able to agree on something. When Redbeard ignored their fifth summons, they decided that they could tolerate his insolence no more.";

217 = "When they sent a force to enter Redbeard's Tower, they were allowed in. Redbeard had been unseen for too long. Nobody was willing to die for their absent leader.";

218 = "";

219 = "Redbeard's Tower was empty. The Keeper was gone.";

220 = "Avadon was stunned. Where did he go? Was he sending the orders? Was he dead? What happened?";

221 = "";

222 = "Hanvar's Council elevated Heart Callan to Keeper. Their troops stayed in Avadon, keeping a very close eye on events there. Soon, their influence started to grow. In Redbeard's absence, the council began to take control.";

223 = "Heart Callan did her best to maintain the independence of the Black Fortress, but she was no politician.";

224 = "";

225 = "";

226 = "At last, Hanvar's Council was able to agree on something. They wanted to take their power back from Avadon at last. They sent a powerful force to the Black Fortress.";

227 = "Their goal: Your submission, or your departure. The Black Fortress was to abandon its state of being totally above the law. In return, you would be allowed to remain Keeper.";

228 = "";

229 = "You turned to Avadon, hoping that they would support and defend you. They did. The council's troops were turned away, and the power of the Black Fortress was only enhanced.";

230 = "Thus, you were able to continue to fight for the Pact.";

231 = "Thus, you were left to undermine the Pact in peace.";

232 = "";

233 = "You turned to Avadon, hoping that they would support and defend you. They did not. Avadon was forced to submit at last.";

234 = "You stayed on as Keeper. Your power was greatly limited, but your resources were still great. You were able to continue doing the only thing you ever wanted to: Fight for the Pact.";

235 = "You did not stay on as Keeper. Instead you slipped quietly away, using a portal to flee to the Tawon and a life of exile. You never saw Dheless again, but he made sure, from a distance, you were looked after. He pays his debts.";

236 = "";

237 = "";

238 = "";

239 = "And so the war continued. In time, it would be called The Great Unraveling. A thousand little battles, a thousand raids, a multitude of petty conflicts.";

240 = "The result: After centuries of peace, the Pact had allowed itself to be subjected to the greatest threat to its existence since the Black Age.";

241 = "Dheless was never seen, but his influence grew stronger every day.";

242 = "";

243 = "Years passed. Cities burned. Armies fell. No land was untouched by suffering.";

244 = "The mystery of Redbeard's absence continued.";

245 = "You endured.";

246 = "";

247 = "";

248 = "Every day, peace seemed farther away.";

249 = "In the end, the common people, Pact and Farlander alike, could only ask one thing: _How will this end? Who will come and save us from this torment?_";

250 = "Perhaps, one day, that hope will be answered.";

Here's what Redbeard, shaky as his memory is, says:

Yes, that was an ugly business. She was punished for the lies of a Dharam lord, and the lord was too powerful and effective for us to punish him. I will say nothing else about him. He is less important now. What happens to him happens. I will not be involved.

This implies he was a lord then, but perhaps this is Redbeard really just misremembering and that he was merely a very wealthy and powerful merchant supporter of Avadon.

I think the complaint is more that Jeff should have a little more political diversity amongst your companions. It would be nice had one of them played the Alwan-type role as opposed to having a party of Gretas.

No need for a subforum. We can deal with this on a case by case basis.

Please welcome our newest global moderator and longtime member, Nikki!

Exile II was the first demo I played, and Exile III was the first one I bought, which was the summer of 1997. I played it from a floppy disk with demo software from a Mac computing magazine.

I hate to say it, but I kind of like the auto-revive, despite the needed suspension of disbelief. I know in the Exile days, when one of my PCs died, I just simply reloaded the game because it was too inconvenient to revive an ally. In Avadon, that's no longer a concern. In the end, I think this means more enjoyment for me per unit time played. So yeah, I think that's a good thing.

I wouldn't read too much into the ordering of character classes. It's arbitrary.

sea: There's no reason to be condescending. Different people have different tastes. Neither are correct, just different. While on these forums, please be respectful of the opinions of others, even if you strongly disagree.

Thanks Sylae!

To celebrate the long anticipated release of Avadon 2, I've changed the titles back to be themed around Avadon.

What is your level and character build? I took two Blademasters and a Tinkermage at a little under level 20 and I found this fight comparatively easy.

I like the new system. I always do a "rechargeme" cheat when I'm getting low on energy and I'm certain I can get back to the pylon without any trouble whatsoever. It saves me time, and does not fundamentally alter the balance of the game.

Avadon 2 is officially out for both Mac and Windows!

http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/avadon2/index.html

Discussion for Spiderweb's latest game goes on this forum. Happy gaming!

No.

We've had these threads since there was a BoE-centric community in the late 1990's with week+ long intervals without a single post to the forums at the time. I suspect this place will be around until Jeff retires, and even then for some time.

My mother recently bought a new touchscreen fancyshmancy phone and gave me her crappy old one. Thanks mom. And then she has the nerve to ...

While this won't solve your technical problem, if you find your new "crappy" phone inadequate for your standards, might I suggest donating it to someone who will actually appreciate it.

http://www.ncadv.org/takeaction/DonateaPhone.php

http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/

Just a reminder that Jeff is one guy writing the game with a small company. He doesn't have a lot of capital to work with, and graphics and music are expensive. Because of limited assets, the company has been literally one game away from going out of business. The rest of your criticisms are certainly fair though.

I kind of figured that this might happen. I think Avadon has been Spidweb's most commercially successful release so far, so he 1) has some breathing space to work and 2) has a really strong reason to make something that the broader fanbase will like.

 

This is good. I am looking forward to the new release.

Agreed and looking forward to the release. Also, I get the feeling the "market fundamentals" have changed, i.e., Jeff has been able to expand his ability to get new customers and increased sales from the advent of distribution networks like Steam, the Humble Bundle, gog.com, etc. Notice how Jeff has spent a lot of time pushing his older series on new distribution networks; it's almost pure profit for those games at this point. So yeah, comes back to what you said. Jeff likely has a lot more breathing room from previous sales, a steady flow of cash from sales of older games, and a higher profit potential than ever before.

The problem with this battle is that it is not difficult, but that it is tedious. It's a battle of attrition really because Redbeard's offensive skills are not super impressive at taking out the whole party. I seriously think this battle could be made more fun while still creating the atmosphere where Redbeard is very, very difficult to bring down.

I'm going to complain to an asteroid, preferably a female one conscious about it's weight , that will teach you to be disrespectful about them.

Mosquito -- Over the line. I know you were joking, but please avoid this line of humor. Thanks!

The issue with the way shields are implemented versus dual wield and two-handed weapons is that it is almost always better to do more damage and kill your enemies faster, thereby avoiding damage altogether, than to merely reduce the amount of damage taken per hit. To make using a shield versus the alternatives an effective strategy, you would probably need to make their damage avoidance strong (high chance of parry), reduce the effectiveness of all player attacks, and make healing more costly or less effective.

History shows that every new technology brings with it benefits and new problems. For good or ill, the internet is here to stay. As a society, we need to strive to maximize the benefits while keeping the drawbacks to a minimum.

Agree with what Lenar and Alo said. And furthermore, there is no reason the entrance to the surface could not have been in the Footracer province with the party being immediately mauled by the alien beasts. Instead we get to deal with the much easier slimes, and slowly work our way up to the more difficult challenge. Is this "realistic", or more precisely plausible given the fantasy elements of the world? Absolutely not. Nonetheless, this suspension of disbelief is necessary for the game to be enjoyable to a large majority of players. Almost always, realism goes to the back of the bus when it conflicts with other concerns of game design, most important of which is playability and enjoyment (e.g., the "junk bag" in more recent Spiderweb titles).

Similar arguments can be made for item placement of powerful equipment. Getting access to the most powerful equipment early on (and yes, unless specifically prohibited by plot barriers, clever engine abuse certainly makes this possible), would destroy much of the enjoyment of upgrading your characters and equipment to meet new challenges.