Spukrian

Not sure about this, but I think some people actually requested this. I think that's Geneforge 3. This is my hope as well. Right now I'm playing Avernum 6 on Torment. If I manage to finish it, I will try all the Geneforge games on Torment.

IIRC it is said that chitin armor is from a "creation specificially bred for this purpose", without describing the creation. Everything woth 4 gp or more could be sold, however the value of some items change, i.e. some things you could sell in earlier games are worthless in GF4 and GF5.

I think that in at least some of the games, level also raises initiative.

After watching the soldier go in, a secret button should appear on the wall. When you click on it, you should get a message about doing exactly the same thing as the soldier.

I stand corrected then.

The double damage on Torment and the armor penalty are two different things. What it means is that anyone with armor less than 36% (or whatever the number is) suffers the full 2*damage of any hit, i.e. armor is useless on Torment in the beginning of the game. At least this is how I understand it.

That's cool, thanks. Good to see that Geneforge's internal structures aren't a total mystery.

There are some people in this forum working on this, though I don't know how it's going. I haven't tried the programs they've made so far...

Actually, the rebel servile that approaches you on Dhonal's Isle explicitly tells you to do whatever it takes, even helping the Shapers, to reach and repair the Creator. Everything else isn't as important.

I do agree with you that the conflict is badly written. Lankan having ulterior motives is how I make sense of it, because the situation doesn't make any sense. It's almost a plothole. Diwaniya is definitely quite stubborn as well... Did Rahul really know of and approve of Agatha's crimes? I thought what Agatha and the other Shapers were working was secret and classified, at least untill the PC takes care of the problems on the island.

IIRC I've read in a thread here somewhere, that the reason for this is that Jeff wanted to simulate a war, and in wars you don't compromise, you pick a side. I believe that is the real reason behind the railroading of the story... and you're right, it IS frustrating. On the other hand, the whole situation being frustrating causes it to be memorable. Lankan is the kind of character you love to hate.

Actually, Lankan and the rebels giving up would definitely accomplish something, as it would prevent bloodshed and possibly save the lives of the other rebels. Or do you believe Diwaniya would be more merciful if the rebels held out untill the guards find them instead of giving up? Furthermore, Lankan knows that Litalia created the rogues. Has he shared this information with the other rebels? If so, do you really think that they agree with his decision to ally with her? Do you really think that they would stay with Lankan voluntarily? That doesn't make any sense to me - he believes Diwaniya will somehow be able to deal with the rogues, yet he refuses to believe that the PC will be able to. And he asks the PC to remove the clawbugs, so that they can build trust. Yet when he trusts the PC, he asks him to get the canister instead of helping with the rogues.

The point is that he has a choice - more than one in fact.1. Lankan should realize that the PC is fully able to take care of the rogue problem. 2. The captain of the guard (forgot his name, sorry) tells you to go to Lankan and offer him a deal, as a peaceful solution. Lankan refuses. The conclusion I draw from this is that Lankan is lying through his teeth. He has been lying to the other gatherer rebels and most of what he tells you when you talk to him are lies. He doesn't care about the rogue creations. He just wants power so he will be able to kill Shapers.

I prefer Shaper and Guardian to Agent, not because I think that they're better, but because often I don't enjoy playing magic users that much...

Maybe she used the Geneforge to stay young...

Yes, I'm well aware of that fact. I just think it would be fun if the system was changed a bit.

First, the difficulty of any Geneforge game is usually dependent on your build or your tactics, with each game of course becoming more difficult than the previous. With that said, I think Genforge 5 was actually a step back in difficulty, I found it to be easier than GF4 and GF3. I do agree that Melee/Missile combat is weaker than Magic and Shaping, I too would like to see it boosted somehow. My suggestion is that a Guardian has an ability list, just like the Agent has spells and the Shaper has creations. These abilities would work the same way, e.g. the Guardian has a chance to riposte attacks that is equal to Dexterity + Parry + Riposte. Of course, this Riposte ability can't be raised with skill points, only with training or canisters (and maybe as a quest reward). I also like your idea about creations you keep for a long time evolving into better forms. Though I would prefer it if these forms would be a type of creation that you can't get otherwise (e.g Fyora evolves to Warped Fyora, Cryoa evolves to Pit-Bred Cryoa). With that said, I think your ideas for "Perected Creations" would probably make the games too easy. I'm not going to comment on your storyline changes.

IIRC it is stated in Geneforge 2 that Zakary and Barzahl came to Drypeak about 5 years before start of the game. I don't think the gap between GF1 and GF2 would be so large as 20 - 40 years. 30 - 50 years between GF2 and GF3 does sound right. The Kratoa-Kel Stoneworks was Barred about 50 years before GF5 and since you meet the guy responsible for the mess in GF2, I believe that at the time of GF2 the Barring of Kratoa-Kel Stoneworks was recent. Of course, this is contradicted by the age of Litalia, who apparently went to Drypeak some short while after the events of GF2 and she doesn't seem to be 70 years old in GF5. Amena Blade is in Geneforge 5? Can't believe that I've missed him every playthrough...

The Western Rapids quest is indeed in Avernum 5, where you can't find any Fort Remote or Great Cave AFAIK. The messages needed to complete the quest are gained by defeating the enemy on the peninsulas (ogre/nephils) and then reaching the highest point there. There is also a message gained by traveling between the peninsulas, but I'm unsure if this is required to finish the quest. And you need to talk to Duaria for a reward, not Mother Alice.

Putting skillpoints into a creation isn't really worth it since creation stats are capped at 30. Just put those two points into Intelligence but nothing more...

Powergaming is not necessary in GF5 unless you're playing on Hard or Torment. I've never used Mental Magic extensively in any Geneforge game, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong: I do believe that Mental Magic actually gets better if you raise it as high as you are able to. A Warrior and a Sorceress has the same amount of Essence at the same amount of Intelligence. The Sorceress has more Spell Energy though. But the Warrior isn't going to cast that many spells, just buffs before combat and healing during the fights. Yes, if you're going to play a Sorceress, I'd recommend you put most of your points into Intelligence. If you're using Disposable Creations (e.g. absorbing them after clearing a zone) then having high Shaping skills are good, to compensate for the levels that the creations won't gain through experience.

I'm definitely going to try Torment when I get back to the Geneforges. Right now I'm going through the second Avernum trilogy. I actually finished Avernum 4 on Torment with a sub-optimal party, but I'm not sure if I will be able to finish Avernum 5 without turning down the difficulty to Normal.

Yes, I agree. Though in both GF4 and 5 on Normal I have never been forced to rely on using items for healing. Most of the +AP boots you make in GF5 are pretty good I think... Stacking +AP items might be useful if you're playing a Shaper type or an Agent type, but my argument here is that Melee types get a better deal with other types of equipment in GF5, maybe in GF4 as well.

In the early Geneforge games the +AP items were incredibly useful if you were an Agent or Guardian, perhaps even if you were a Shaper. But with the changed AP system in Geneforge 4, the usefulness of +AP items was IMHO diminished. In Geneforge 5 with various nerfings they were even less useful! I played Geneforge 5 as a Servile and found that I was more successful by putting heavier armor than any +AP item. Now, the question is if this is purely subjective or not. As I understand it, armor is less useful on higher difficulties and so far I've only played the Geneforge games on Normal difficulty. I also know that when playing an Agent/Infiltrator there are effective "Glass Cannon" builds with Quicksilver items that are quite effective on any difficulty. What's your opinion on Quicksilver items in general? Specificially in Geneforge 4 and 5? Specificially on Hard and Torment difficulties? I'm curious to know.