Quick question about Avernum 6 endings

[Durandal_1707]

Hey, I've got a quick question about the endings to Avernum 6. I know that the ending differs depending on whether you do fewer than two missions for Melanchion, exactly two, or more than two. However, does it matter which two they are, or do you get the same ending for any two missions you choose for Melanchion?

 

Also, does completing Gladwell's missions and then killing him get you the same ending as ignoring his missions altogether, or is it different?

 

No spoilers please!

 

Thanks!

[Randomizer]

The endings are different because there are specific texts for each mission and Gladwell's missions.

[Durandal_1707]

Are these texts combinatorial in any way? Would raiding the sliths and the darkside loyalists give you two sets of texts, and raiding the vahnatai and Bargha give you the other two sets of texts, or would raiding the sliths and Bargha give you any different texts that wouldn't be covered by the two aforementioned options?

 

Do Gladwell's early quests also change the ending, or does it only matter if you go all the way to his last one?

[Randomizer]

There are two versions of each text for each mission, one for doing it and the other for not. Then there are variations for doing certain main quests like helping Gladwell all the way to the end or not and what happens to Melanchion that determine the major fate of Avernum and who rules.

[Lilith]

Basically, these are the four major variables taken into account:

 

* the total number of quests you did for Melanchion

* whether you killed Melanchion or not (if you killed him, it doesn't matter how many of his quests you completed)

* whether you killed Lord Farrar and/or the mayor of Spire

* how you dealt with Gladwell (three separate variations for not doing all his quests, doing all his quests and letting him live, and doing all his quests and killing him)

 

Other quests don't actually cause significant variations in the ending, even if they seem like they ought to.

[Laikos]

Uh, sorry to do necromancy on a dead thread...

 

But how in gods name do you drop Melanchion? I played through on hard and literally explored every square inch of Avernum... all knowledge brews made... and Gladwell wasn't a big problem with invul potions on my tank in hard mode.

 

Melanchion, on the other hand, 1 shots my party. Any tips or at least a text blurb from if you kill him? (spoiler tag of course).

[Earth]

Mel battle applies same rules than Gladwell battle, buff up (use that spell which makes spell attacks stronger), use speed+inv.+health+etc potions and scrolls when needed and I would use bows on fighters attacks after wands and scrolls are used..

[Lilith]

Being invulnerable at all times is an absolute necessity for fighting Melanchion, and even then you'll need reasonably high Endurance to stand up against his strongest attacks. One thing that can help is casting Slow on Melanchion: he's unusually vulnerable to it compared to most late-game enemies, and will often lose turns.

[Earth]

make sure you can do 2 attacks per round (or attack 1 turn and heal 2nd).

[S M Adventurer]

Melanchion is one tough cookie. I'm playing on Easy, and it still took over 10 attempts before I beat him.

 

Anyway, before I started attacking I did all the standard buffs, including Ward of Elements and Cloak of the Arcane. Everyone drank Invulnerability Elixirs. Wands of Alacrity or Speed Burst scrolls are very important too.

 

Once I got all the buffs up, I began my assault. I had my melee fighter attack Melanchion with the Shield Breaker battle discipline. (Shield Breaker is pretty much a staple for most fights.) My archer attacked and used Mighty Blow.

 

After that, I basically just spammed Smite with my two spellcasters. I had my priest use Mighty Blow, which when combined with the weakening effect of Shield Breaker, the power boost from Cloak of the Arcane, and the damage boost from using Mighty Blow, each Smite spell did over 300 damage! To repeatedly use Mighty Blow Smite attacks, I stocked up on Curing Elixirs to cure the fatigue. I also had my mage use Slow and Spray Acid on the beast.

 

If the party gets hit with Melanchion's flame aura attack, my priest pauses attacking and immediately uses

Divine Restoration to heal the party completely. The death curse isn't much of a threat, as long as you stay healed and Invulnerable.

 

One odd thing I noticed is that he would always put the death curse on my priest. Perhaps Melanchion noticed that she was the backbone to my entire strategy. If she dies, I won't survive for much longer.

 

Before the fight ended my melee fighter was struck down. Fortunately the three remaining members stood their ground and won the battle for me. Once Melanchion was dead, I had to take out his summoned demons, which were a bit annoying with their Terror attacks. Fortunately they didn't have much health and fell quickly.

 

This was mainly just a test to see if I could beat him, and I did. I had a grand time looting everything around Melanchion's Keep, including his treasure room. I guess he is worth killing if you can do it. Of course, I was on Easy difficulty. You'll probably have a even tougher time taking him out on Hard and Torment.

 

On my way out I noticed another interesting oddity. Even though I killed Melanchion and everyone else at his keep, the guards and sentinels on the road to and from his lairs didn't attack me. Call me even more surprised that Refuge didn't turn hostile either, and neither did the guards at the gate into his lands. I guess I can attack them if I want to, but I didn't.

 

I also decided to try and kill him in A5. He was much easier though in that game. I got him on my first try. Same strategy as A6, buffs, Invulnerability potions, Battle Disciplines, and Smite abuse. That's pretty much it.

 

Wow, this is a long post. I guess I'll stop here.

[Earth]

last attacker gets death curse.

 

yea Mel was much easier on A5.