TriRodent

First welcome (or welcome back to SW it sounds like). To your point, yes sort of. Many of the named bosses you do have to interact with to get the combat going, true. However most give you at least one turn if you rush the room while in combat mode. They way I usually handle those situations is to buff/hast everyone outside, go into combat & rush into the room, but leave everyone at least one action point when they're done moving, 'then' summon some sort of creature/undead to help out with things (all my characters, even the melee, have at least one point of magic & priest (for fireball/healing purposes). That gives you four additional friendly bodies in the area to absorb hits if not deal damage. If the conversation doesn't immediately start, (stay in combat) use that time to buff your creations. 90% of those boss fights/conversations will initiate without having to exit combat to speak to him/her. Alternately, I suppose you could try buffing/stacking outside the door, entering combat, sending your first guy into the room a few spaces away from the boss/group (far enough for them to 'see' you. All others stay outside where they are. If the conversation doesn't initiate on that turn/start of the next one, have your first guy run back out of the room & see if that will start it then. For the occasional encounter where you do have to talk to the boss outside of combat, buff outside, enter combat, everyone rushes the room but stops, in marching order next to your first guy, exit combat & talk to the boss (this keeps all the buffs active/only one turn burned off of their duration - rather than strolling across the room normally in several turns). Then too, the boss fights aren't supposed to be a cakewalk...

Yeah, no. You have the little health bar under your opponent but that's about it. Resistances, trial & error/experience rule the day. Common sense works too. Fire lizards, don't use fire attacks. Frozen worms, cold may not be that effective... There should be a 'scrolling' option in the main 'options' menu (I'm really an not sure as I've never run into this problem) In the character window during combat there 'should' be an action point counter (I'm replaying A2CS at the moment & it's there, making the assumption that it's similar for A1EFtP). Using a scroll/wand/potion generally iirc uses 5 action points. Attacking/casting a spell, 8. Moving is 1ap per square. You can do anything as long as you have 1 (or more) points left. There is no minimum points needed for anything. Be aware that once you attack/cast a spell you can no longer move that turn (can do other things if you have the points, just not move (in A1 irrc you could step around a corner, toss a ice spray for instance in to a group, & then step back around the corner ... where they would 'not' follow you as they couldn't see you to go into their fight response... ah well.). I don't remember if you can move after drinking a potion/scroll/wand so maybe experiment in an easy fight. Moving away from an opponent takes 6ap(?)

You know how you have a spare set of house keys hanging in your kitchen, right where you wouldn't be able to get at them if you really needed them? I 'think' the balls in the inner crypt are there just for minor amusement purposes (as you obviously had found the other set seeing as how you were able to get into the crypt). No other area beyond there that I ever found.

Am about 20 pages away from finishing up Ian Toll's 2400ish page "Pacific War" trilogy. He does a really good job of examining both strategic & tactical actions from both sides (Japanese & American (& to a lesser extent, when appropriate, British, Dutch, Chinese, Russian, etc)) of most everything that went on in the Pacific theater/area from the scene setting actions of the early 1900s through the Japanese surrender/occupation in 1945-46. As a history geek I thought I had at least a good general understanding of the major events of the war in the Pacific... I was wrong. I knew the dates/locations of lots of things, but didn't really understand the thinking that went behind what was going on (based on the knowledge of the times & not looking back in hindsight). Probably way, way too much for someone who wants to know more about the Pacific portion of WW2. But for someone who wants to learn more of the nuts & bolts behind the scenes & how 'x' was important to be able to do 'y' later on (plus has a lot of time available to read 2400 pages...), the trilogy really was a well written set that was, admittedly massive, but tended not to get bogged down in either a dry recitation of facts or getting really deep into dull minutia.

Yes & no. You do need a reason for Chapters 2-5 which tend to only come about if the secret does make it off the island. True, the 'red goo' makes it off island no matter what ending you choose, so it probably doesn't matter in the long run. But I could relatively easily imagine a scenario where if you did decide to stay, that 'everyone' on the island decides to gang up on you (no matter the casualties taken) & end your iron fist rule (the shoreline of Sucia being just too big to completely defend all points at all times). Your Geneforge powers can only go so far. Like Stalin said, 'quantity has a quality all it's own...

There's also nothing, if you're bored on say a Wed evening, preventing you from digging around in the older pages of various forums & trying to find these well done stories of Avernum. If asked nicely, one of the Admins might sticky it for a while to see if it generates interest/discussion.

If these boards were really busy with dozens of new threads (not posts, threads) every day, then I could maybe see a need for such a thing. Here & now, it's not a bad idea per se, but there really isn't enough traffic that would bury those posts before people who only stop by every few months would see them if they wanted to scroll down the forum slightly.

Not at all, I mean I still have hopes of Scarlett Johansson & Gal Gadot showing up naked on my porch holding a case of beer... (even MrsTR would probably go along with that...) However I'll admit that your dream is probably more attainable than mine...sigh

Probably just a 'choose where you want it to go' option. Any new thread/post shows up on the 'recent posts' area (which is where I noticed this), so even if it's buried down in a relatively dead forum, people should notice it. I really don't see a need/desire to add another forum that probably wouldn't get 'that' much traffic overall. That said, your best bet for just general discussions is probably to put it into the most recent forum as that's where most people would stop by if they're looking for info on the more recent games.

You have to clear the western & central mines too to turn everything green ... get busy mining more of those light blue crystals...

First, welcome. The percentage is your 'to hit' percent. In this case you had a 97% chance of hitting said bat (actually, iirc, there is a max of 95% chance to hit in this game - the classic "you rolled a 1 on your d20..."). The percentages are a good thing to keep an eye on. Later on, if your frontline tank only has a 15% chance of hitting 'x' demon, a better strategy might be to have him dealing out the healing & buffs while your backline magic users beat on him with spells. There are six chapters in the Avernum story (the first three of which have been remade/updated), enjoy the journey...it's a hell of a ride.

Vlish may have telepathy capability. I don't think that it was ever done as such, but with all their mental ability it doesn't seem 'that' out of the question.

Sure, by the time you work your way through all six chapters of Avernum ... you'll probably have forgotten what a Shaper even was let alone the Loyalists/Rebellion early story... Part of the problem is (and this is NOT a knock against you), from what I've picked up, you still are in the middle of your first run through of GF. Most everyone responding has finished the game/discovered the secrets of the island/seen the effects of their various decisions in the end game wrap up. The game got you thinking and questioning what's going on (which is a good thing, Jeff does not make 'go kill everything that moves' hack & slash games), the problem is that, even if we try to restrict comments to be focused on/only use the information available at this time, it's hard not to spoil what's coming up in this game let along the next four chapters afterwards. Things are fairly murky until the final 10% or so of the game (which is wonderful from a story standpoint, but from a discussion standpoint...). I am also emphatically not telling you to just 'shut up until you finish the game' before you start talking about things. Your questions/observations have been really interesting/good/get to the heart of the matter ... but it's hard to temper my/our responses to your current level of knowledge of the GF universe (especially with many/most of us having played the entire series). If you do want to discuss 'x', perhaps a quick disclaimer at the start of your post that you are 'here' in the game and know 'this' about what's going on & to please not spoil things by discussing what you will find out later on. Now once you 'do' finish... that should be a fun thread.

Sure there is: Menu Main Menu Start new game...

Just that you're offset above your character who may be walking in a straight line for/from your perspective, but the map/ground is twisted 45 degrees to one side. Probably a leftover from the old hex mapping days.

Probably tied into the isometric viewpoint of the player

I didn't notice earlier that that was your initial post...reading further down though I've come to the conclusion that you'll fit in well with us reprobates... (hoists my rum & coke off in your general direction) Post 2 is helpful. Is it a specific save location that's the problem (can you save in a different save slot & it works or are 'all' saves corrupted?). As you got it from GOG, try downloading it again & reinstalling. Doing so 'shouldn't' overwrite your saved game files...but before doing so, copy that whole folder elsewhere/rename it so that you have a backup (with a Windows system it's in your 'Documents' folder under Spiderweb Software. Apple I'm not sure but a search in this subforum should find it)

If the game is still open from where you left it, can you leave the zone you're in? The game should auto save at that point. If not, can you load an earlier/auto save? Have you completely closed the game & restarted? Have you rebooted the computer? Thus ends the extent of any tech help I might give...alas. Thankfully though there are people much brighter about such things than me who will probably be along shortly.

You could just change it to torment right now & see if that's better. But iirc, you're just at that place in the game where things are going to plateau for a while. You aren't going to be strong enough to take on the trogolos or giants yet so you'll need to do lots of running around on the 'perimeter' (Golddale's problems, stuff along the southern coast, avoiding big fights while getting to Moon, Spineridge, Gale, etc). So go exploring, maybe go have a real nice sword made for your fighter, talk to the dragons, etc. Once you can clean out the trogolo temple without too much problem...then you're ready for the next 'step'

Not to threadjack too too much... I think all Avernums have some sort of meal quest. A1 (replaying at the moment so fresh in my mind) is delivered to Formello, A2 I can't think of off the top of my head, A3 the rich guys north of Sharimik, A5 Muck(?). It's funny the little things that Jeff keeps consistent on throughout all the games/universes - such as meal being really important to A's economy but common in G's.

As an aside... if one way is 'really' hard for you, look around. There tends to be both a combat way to 'x' & a stealth way to 'x'. In your case (after the fact) it may have been easier to go north & then east & enter Pentil from the west. (and of course nothing is preventing you from going that way now & gathering a little more gold & experience...)

Jeff's games do make you think at times, it isn't all hack & slash/kill everything that moves. (specifically thinking about the decision on the strategic value of wiping out a large batch of future slith warriors ... vs ... the tactical situation of 'you' wiping out a bunch of defenseless toddlers) Sometimes (in game situations) you gotta do what you gotta do ... in your case, telling the librarian she's done a good job, telling the farmer what she wants to hear, etc. To do otherwise risks having the town tear you apart for being a heretic (I wish those were some of the responses available to you - lying but telling them what they want to hear - give you a neutral or very slight reputation adjustment vs the larger adjustment with the given responses) In the end though I think the games are better for it as those situations do add to the background color/game immersiveness

No, not really. Unfortunately it's one of the more reliable way to gather money in most of Jeff's economies (I do like the QW model too). Also understand about Diablo. Grim Dawn is one of my favorites & ... good lord ... the sheer volume of loot that would be great for a different build (& not the one you're currently playing of course...) is overwhelming. Thankfully there are filters that will not show items that just aren't worth your time or trouble to schlep back into town (except at the very beginning where you do need every gold piece). I would offer an internet fist bump ... but we might break/sprain something...alas

It is also completely possible to go through the game unaligned. You'll miss out on the assorted quests/training, but I never found them to be 'that' compelling towards picking a side. (now Alhoon's suggestion in the 'new creature' thread where you could only unlock creation advances/buffs if you were aligned with 'x' faction & other buffs for 'y' would be interesting/cool - but for now it doesn't really matter)

? ... (wanders off to Strategy Central) ... ? .... Huh, whadda know ... "In all 'other' games there tends to be a "What to keep" thread..." (I understood what you were getting at in your initial post. I've just been around SW games since the Exile days (yes I'm old...sigh) & am used to gathering up/looting everything in sight to trade for cash. Building a fort isn't the first thing that springs to mind for me (although that would be cool in some of the longer games (where you're there for months of years of game time) if you could build a fort/castle somewhere & stock it with henchmen to guard your loot...of course that didn't work out so well for Kyass* so...)) *A1EFtP/A2CS reference if you haven't played those yet