Avernum4 easter egg, averforge

[balencedrago]

 

I was playing Avernum 4, and the vanhatti refered to his peoples mages as "Shapers". looking back through the game relationships, is it possible that the shapers from geneforge found refugee far underground and ascended into the vanhatti of the Avernum Saga? Considering that the ability to shape one selves was an ability held by the Shapers (albeit, outlawed), this is completely feasible. This could be the Aver-Forge link some were looking for.

 

-edit: Conversation: "I am what you would call a.. a politician. I am not a Shaper. a wizard, i mean."

 

also, would anyone care to discuss the fact that there are down right Gazers in Avernum? and not just some variety of monster like the drakes, these Gazers (and some eye-beast) act exactly like the ones from geneforge, are resistant and spew the same things, control minds of others, etc. These frighteningly intelligent, and seemingly immortal creatures could of easily lived throughout the ages.

 

Also, they use a stick that nullifies the shades so that they don't attack the person wearing it. this is discribed almost identically to the "control rods" used in geneforge 1, and by the mad mystery shaper character in geneforge 4 (or 5, i forget)

 

Most evidence points to the fact that Geneforge is a prequel is Avernum.

[Kelandon]

This is a really common suggestion. Vahnatai were called "shapers" long before Geneforge 1 (dating back to Exile 2, if I remember correctly). Rentar-Ihrno's apparent mastery over different monster species only lends to the speculation. And, yes, it is true that the two series share a lot of monsters.

 

But I still think it goes Avadon -> Geneforge -> Avernum.

 

(Er, in all seriousness, it's probably all just coincidence and in-jokes.)

[balencedrago]

i have not played the avadon series yet, so ill look into that. but every single hint in the game is pointing to the fact that geneforge in all reality is a prequel so avernum.

[Questionably Legal]

Interesting, but it doesn't seem feasible to me that every single person who had even the faintest knowlege of shaping all mutated themselves into the same emanciated gray bobblehead and hid underground, opening the way for the highly magical but completely non-shaping Empire to conquer the entire planet.

 

Also, since apparently every naturally evolved creature in the Geneforge series has been outcompeted by a Shaped creature, everything in Avernum would have to decend from one of the Geneforge creation types. Specifically the dragons, who as giant intelligent magic-using reptiles that breathe fire, must be decended from drakons. This would mean that even though the drakons/dragons never abandoned the surface (until fleeing the Empire), and lost none of their power or intellgence, they somehow completely forgot how to use any form of shaping. Seems pretty unlikely.