A:EftP - A Little Clarification

[Parakeet]

I've restarted at least 3 times (including the restart once I got the new command structure under my claws), read the suggestions in strategy central & read suggested strategies for creating good characters. I'm beginning to think, to refer to a graceless phrase, that I can't Not suck at this new version of Avernum 1 (not old enough in these games to have played Exile 1)

 

In the interest of dealing with some of the conflicting advice in the strategy segments:

 

First: I realize money & points are tight. However, which kind of pointage Traits or Skill points are actually tighter? It tends to tell me which kind of trait/skill is a better trade off.

 

Second: About Sage Lore...Equaling 3 levels arcane lore except for stagnant tunnels (I think that refers to the Thralni quest area, where I am currently getting my tail feathers shocked into ashes) spellbooks. Are there any other books or the like that ignore sage lore? More or less than the 8 arcane needed for the Thralni area books? I know the mage/priest is dead in this iteration, but I have found just enough priest power for each character to cast a basic heal & cure spell keeps away the frustration headache. ::glares contemplitively at the gold brick opening the path to the $#%!! undead in Thralni area:: & I can't see leaving an evil undead chilling the universe.

 

Third: There seems to be disagreement (statistically based) on the usefulness of the Spellpoint increase Traits vs. IQ/Mage/Priest points & buying other sorts of traits. Is this truely statistic or perhaps a stylistic difference?

 

Fourth: I've read that the Broadsword/Melee bonus connection is broken. The Demonslayer, Spectral Falchion, & Ghostly blade are in the Weapons listing as broadsword class swords (1d4 +5 to hit). I've also read the Demonslayer wasn't hitting like it should (somewhere here). Are these specialty broadswords subject to the same bug? (Vahantai & flaming swords are 1d4 listing, but in a separate 1d4 class w/o the +5 to hit characteristic) Or do they have a separate programmed status that removes them from being buggy?

 

Tired, Cranky, In Need of a Spring Molt to repair the Lightning damage to my feather,

Parakeet

 

[Slawbug]

Great questions!

 

1) You get more skill points than trait slots, by a significant amount. And there are a few traits that are amazingly good. However, almost any character will have "leftover" trait slots where there are no longer any traits to take that you really care about. So, if a trait and a skill point are equal in effect, preferring the trait is usually worthwhile.

 

2) All the level 3 spells work with either Arcane Lore or Sage Lore (or a combination). Only the Stagnant Tunnels books, plus the Aranea web "spellbook" west of Fort Remote, require Arcane Lore specifically.

 

3) The spell point increase traits are completely unnecessary. If you don't like going back to town, using the shift-D box, buying First Aid or Magical Efficiency, or buying and using energy potions, then you might like them. Other than that, there are better traits.

 

4) Demonslayer is not actually a broad sword, it is programmed as a short sword. Likewise for the Spectral Falchion. On the other hand, Wave Blades ARE considered broadswords. The weapons listing is incorrect.

 

In general, that list is a great source for comparing special bonuses on items, but it is not consistently accurate for looking at damage ranges, and apparently classifications.

[Randomizer]

The sword listings I used were based on the item description boxes, but Jeff doesn't always get those right.

 

There is a trap in Erika's Tower that is based on Arcane Lore (I set it off last night with only 3 AL).

[Slawbug]

The item description boxes for all broad swords say "Broadsword" -- and the item description boxes for all short swords say "Sword." This comes directly from the attack ability, so there are no exceptions to this. (Swords with unique attacks like the Flaming Sword are technically not short swords or broad swords, as far as the game is concerned.)

[Parakeet]

Thanks for the detailed answers...a little light is dawning. To recap on the blades:

 

the Demonslayer & Spectral are shortswords with no Melee bug problem

And The Oozing, Flaming & Freezing are not broad/short swords so they have no Melee bug problem

And the Waveblades (& presumably their Venomous big brothers) are broadswords with Melee bug

And the Ghostly Blade (which was not specificly addressed in the answer by name) is Not a broadsword & not afflicted with the Melee bug because it has a unique attack, right?

 

Now...where did I put that Aloe salve for my Lightning singed feathers?

 

Parakeet

[Lilith]

I'm not sure about regular waveblades, but I don't think the venomous blade is affected by the bug. At least, its damage output always kept up with other swords for me.

[Slawbug]

The Venomous Blade uses the same attack ability as the Oozing Sword, so it should be unaffected by the bug.

[Bonam]

Is there a way to easily fix broadswords by modifying the avitemschars.txt file?

[Parakeet]

To return to Arcane Lore/Sage Lore issues....

Except for limited spellbooks & the odd trap, arcane & sage are fungible, with Sage lore being a cheap way to get what you need.

 

However, I notice that Magical Efficiency is solely accessed through Arcane Lore path, limiting the number of skill points usable for M.E. (Magical Efficiency, not Medical Examiner going tut tut the last time you were one of the 80 men who tried & died) to the maximum points of Arcane lore, excluding objects that add M.E. (I've only found one or 2 so far with 1 ME in each.) I also recall reading mixed reviews on magical efficiency, some saying it's great & some wimpy. Opinions on Magical Efficiency's effectiveness?

 

If it's effective, I'd guess, based on the claims that priest spells are the point hogs (& given my skewed list of spells mage & priest, protection from magic does eat lots though it stays til you reach town, I'd tend to agree) giving most of what ever AL you buy to the priest would seem prudent. Any comments?

 

Parakeet

[Lilith]

Magical Efficiency isn't that great: the reduction in spell point cost is pretty minor and random. And by the time you get access to spells that will seriously drain your spell point reserves, you've probably got a good stock of energy potions saved up anyway.

[ShieTar]

Also, as a priest you can get First Aid instead, which seems to be easily as effective as Magical Efficiency in the long run. With FA you are not only regenerating spellpoints, but also you need to heal a bit less often.

[ĐªгŦĦ Єяŋϊε]

from what i hear first aid is not only just as effective as ME, it is just as ineffective as ME.

[ShieTar]

In my last playthrough I had 18 points over the whole party, and all my characters summoned and buffed in each fight, but continued to fight with bows afterwards- They never ran out of spellpoints due to first aid.

 

It guess it would have much less impact if you expect your mage/priest to cast something at every turn in every battle.

 

The Health regeneration coming from First Aid is actually very efficient, after any major fight I would regenerate more than my total number of hitpoints .

[Slawbug]

The health regeneration is tiny change, given how few spell points it takes to heal the party to max HP. Again, FA and ME are two ways to increase how long your energy will last, but they come with a very serious trade-off (losing points in other skills!) that do not afflict the "run back to town" and "shift-D" methods, and that afflict the "energy potions" method less.