Thoth

I went there and cleaned out all the enemies before realizing they didn't give the quest. Went back to Tower Colony to get the quest, but the gate was still closed after returning. Not really sure what to do at this point. Is there a script that you can edit? I've seen people mention this sort of thing on these boards, but don't really have any idea how to go about doing that.

I'm doing a 2-character playthrough, and just cleared out the barracks under the Great Portal to retrieve the papers for Tower Colony. The problem is the gate at the end (just before the two magical barriers) is closed and I can't figure out how to open it. Is there a wheel you need to turn or something to enter this area? I don't remember having this problem the previous time I played the game.

I just downloaded the remix, and am enjoying the tactical specialties of different builds. Several somewhat unrelated comments: 1) Pole weapons don't seem to have any sound effects indicating hit or miss 2) What are the implications for traits? Without getting too far (level 7 now), it seems that swordmage will be significantly more useful now in order to gain access to shields for your mages. Also, with the release of 1.2, skill training will require significantly less gold, so perhaps negotiator is not worth getting for every party member. Thoughts? 3) In earlier exile/avernum games, the usefulness of a blessing was mainly from the bonus to hit%. Is it possible to change the spell so it affects primary stats to give +10% to hit, rather than +2% gained from weapon skills?

Creating a Monte Carlo simulation is a bit beyond what I can do, but conceptually, I think it is fairly clear: there should be a tactical role for every type of character build. The problem is that a pole user’s defense isn’t as high as a character that uses a shield, and their attack can’t keep up with a dual-wielder. The opportunity seems to be a strong attack that affects multiple opponents, which the engine comes very close to achieving. There are traits that specifically benefit dual wielders, and others that only benefit archers or priests. A perk (halberd mastery?) that increases cleave chance 10% per level (max 3) would allow for a pole user that would hit two opponents 50% of the time, and be tactically quite useful on the front lines of a party. Alternatively, every level of pole weapons could increase chance to cleave by 1%, which would become fairly substantial after 15-20 levels. I’m sure there are other options as well. The point is that a pole user should be able to do something that a melee user cannot, and at present there doesn’t seem to be a scenario where this is the case.

That's sort of my point. Later in the game I regretted my decision to have a pole user, since he didn't do enough damage in melee, and would have at least had higher defense if using a shield. The game would benefit from having a niche for a pole user throughout the game. Any thoughts about whether the tweaks proposed above would achieve this?

Although I have lurked on these boards for a number of years, this is the first time I've felt the urge to post something. Pole weapons seem significantly underpowered to me. They take both hands, and should have some real advantages over a broadsword, which now has the same damage die, but allows for use of a shield or second weapon. Further, the stat boosts from melee weapons and shields are better than pole weapons. I would like to suggest two reasonable ways to improve the balance and create a proper role for a pole user. 1) Increase the damage from d4 to d5 or d6. Pretty straightforward. 2) Create perk or stat that significantly increases the cleave %. I favor this option, since it creates a niche of a pole user for managing crowds, and complements his/her role as a meat shield. There are a number of enemies that almost always cleave hit when they strike you. It irritates me that you max out at 20%.