exile or avernum?

[scorpio803]

personally i think exile is a better game and the graphics have more appeal but do you guys like Exile or Avernum better?

[Xaiya]

I hate it when people don't put a "Neither" or "I have only played one series" option.

 

Hmm, the Avernum games have more to do, but Exile has interesting things so I'm not sure.

[Celtic Minstrel]

There were a few things that Exile had that I miss in Avernum – this is why I just recently bought them both at the same time. For example, in Exile you can have 6 character members, there is a greater selection of spells, you can give a character more than two traits...

 

On the other hand, plenty of things are better about Avernum – first and foremost is the graphics, but there's also the special skills and the quest lists (from A2 up).

 

So I'm not going to vote because my answer would have to be "both".

[Drakefyre]

I prefer Exile because the game moves faster, the spell system is better, I prefer the graphics, and it was my first. *sigh*

[Enraged Slith]

Exile (1-3), Avernum (blades). E2 was the first Spiderweb Software game I bought, and the other two just grew on me. I never was able to get into the Avernum series until BoA, which I design for. I might feel differently about BoE but I never bought it.

[Erika Maroonmark]

I like how Avernum makes you actually go through the plot in some kind of order–you can't say certain things until your characters know to say them. (I had fun going around and saying "divulge" before I'd registered Exile. )

[scorpio803]

I liked exile more cause the graphics were cooler and because you can have six characters instead of four

[Zummi]

Ambidextry! So Exile..

[The Mystic]

And let's not forget the "Pacifist" trait from E2. Do not give this to all characters of a six-PC party; I learned this the hard way.

[Duskwolf]

Worst challenge mode ever.

 

But now I'm wondering if it's doable. If I recall correctly, you can still summon as a Pacifist. Can you also create walls/barriers? If so, I suspect you might be able to make at least some headway...

[Alorael at Large]

I think a party of six pacifists with 20 luck might be the most frustrating but theoretically playable party imaginable, at least for a while. Sooner or later the fact that you get no experience from all the monsters you kill without directly damaging them will cripple you.

 

—Alorael, who would love to see some kind of pacifism appear in Geneforge, which would need traits first. It's not impossible for a shaper to avoid dealing damage in favor of making creations and buffing them heavily, and it would make the non-combat challenges a little easier on the experience gains.

[Slawbug]

In a game that revolves around making creations that you command to kill things, you can hardly do that and claim to be a pacifist. In Exile 2 at least you didn't control summoned monsters, although that would be pretty flimsy justification itself. But also in Exile 2, you were a pacifist travelling with (presumably) non-pacifists, so it was more like Conscientious Objector status. In Geneforge your PC has total control over whether or not you kill anything, so you can't hide behind pacifism and still fight.

[Xaiya]

What exactly is the pacifist trait?

[Micawber]

It's a character trait (disadvantage) giving a sizeable xp bonus but meaning your character is unable to attack anything, or cast any offensive magic (not even haste!).

[Alorael at Large]

Not even haste? I didn't remember that. Limitations on buffs makes life harder.

 

A shaper has a couple of choices. You could avoid giving your creations two or more intelligence, which would make the game a real challenge. The trait could also be renamed something else. I can envision it as "Delegation" or "Clean Hands" or something else that sounds typical of snooty shapers.

 

—Alorael, who is a bit tempted to try a G4 lifecrafter who doesn't ever attack directly. He's probably not good enough to pull it off, but it would be an interesting way to play.

[Duskwolf]

Oh god, I forgot you don't get experience from summon kills. That'd certainly complicate matters.

[Slawbug]

I played most of G3 like that, actually, with the Broken Vlish strategy. I intially avoided raising intelligence in order to fill out all seven Vlish as soon as I could. By the time I got seven, manual control simply wasn't necessary. With a mass energize, nothing survived past turn one (except in scripted encounters, and those got slowed so badly they never moved anyway).

[Callie]

I was only eight or nine when I purchased Exile III. Being excessively naive, I gave all my characters every positive advantage while adding the slithzerikai penalty as well.

 

I also started that first party with one character possessing level twenty lockpicking.

 

I won the game regardless, but I know not to overload characters now.

[Prince of Kitties]

Exile, no contest. The Avernum games have tiny, horribly ugly PC and monster graphics, and the isometric view plays havoc with keyboard users' heads. It's not so much a matter of the technical aspects of one or the other being bad, as of one being very unfriendly to the player.

[The Mystic]

Quote:

Originally written by Legends of the Gnostic Esoterica:
I think a party of six pacifists with 20 luck might be the most frustrating but theoretically playable party imaginable, at least for a while. Sooner or later the fact that you get no experience from all the monsters you kill without directly damaging them will cripple you.

—Alorael

Most frustrating? Obviously, since you'd have a much harder time in combat.

Playable? Probably not; I only lasted about 5 minutes with 6 pacifists. Then again, I wasn't trying too hard...

Quote:

Originally written by Duskwolf:
Worst challenge mode ever.

If I recall correctly, you can still summon as a Pacifist. Can you also create walls/barriers?

Yes, you can still summon; however, walls and barriers are out of the question, as they are potentially damaging.

And I agree that it would be a nasty challenge indeed.

[Enraged Slith]

Quote:

Exile, no contest. The Avernum games have tiny, horribly ugly PC and monster graphics, and the isometric view plays havoc with keyboard users' heads. It's not so much a matter of the technical aspects of one or the other being bad, as of one being very unfriendly to the player.

To be honest, I hate the revamped Exile graphics. I grew up playing the original pit graphics, and would love to get my hands on them again (just need a floppy disk and a free day.) However, I don't hate the Avernum graphics. Some of them are very nice, and, as someone who makes them and is a fan of his own work, I protest your statement. I agree that the PC graphics are ugly though.

[Callie]

Why would a pacifist embark on an adventuring trip in the first place?

 

I prefer Avernum's graphics over Exile's, the major improvement being walls.

 

Avernum could do with more spells, but most of spells absent from Exile I can do without. (Death arrows weren't all that deadly)

[The Mystic]

A pacifist adventurer? Why not? Though I agree, it does seem kind of silly.

 

I too believe that Avernum could use a few more spells. In Exile, the priest spell Wound was a great generic damage spell, as it worked against every kind of monster, even those that were immune to magic. Also, there was the mage spell Shockwave, which I particularly miss, as it was a great way to damage a large mass of enemies at once.

[Enraged Slith]

My favorite that I can remember (coming with its own hilarious name) "Divine Thud"

[Callie]

I liked how a spell targeted a certain area, instead of picking a limited number of foes.

 

Sleep clouds, curse spells, magic map, fireblast, REVIVE ALL...those were the days.

[The Mystic]

Quote:

Originally written by Enraged Slith:
My favorite that I can remember (coming with its own hilarious name) "Divine Thud"

I remember that one. That has to be, bar none, the all-time coolest name for a spell.

Quote:

Originally written by Excalibur:
I liked how a spell targeted a certain area, instead of picking a limited number of foes.

Sleep clouds, curse spells, magic map, fireblast, REVIVE ALL...those were the days.

I miss that too. It made invisible enemies a lot easier.

[The Mystic]

accidental double post; please remove