Geneforge 5 uncovering your past

[Indignus]

Hi all, been a while since I made a topic

 

Be warned though, dreadful spoiler alert on the answers

 

I wanted to know more about the protagonist character in Geneforge 5, does anyone have a walkthrough on it? Or if possible, list all quests/places/dialogues that has solid and useful bits about the character? It would be a great help to me, thanks and have a good day.

 

My reason if you're interested:

 

 

Me and BMA are trying to do a top secret project (not so secret anymore) that will be a somewhat continuation of Geneforge 5, so I want my story to be as accurate as possible.

 

 

[utelektr]

There's a prisoner in Stormhold that'll tell you a little if you do his short quest. Other than that, there's what Rawal will tell you, which isn't much either. The rest is all speculation.

[priumcyaes]

Utelektr is right -- beyond that, it's mostly speculation.

 

Though granted, certain people seem to recognize you, which narrows down the speculation somewhat.

[Indignus]

Utelektr is right -- beyond that, it's mostly speculation.

 

Though granted, certain people seem to recognize you, which narrows down the speculation somewhat.

 

Yeah like the servant mind in Minallah feels like you're a Shaper and such, but they're just minor details, there's also that one page in Rawal's journal in his quarters.

 

Thanks Utelektr, I'm making separate saves now where I'll join Rawal for my memories.

[BMA]

Obscurity is what happens to a game when it has had open-ended ancestors

 

I did think there was some story though, 'specially seeing that some prominent characters seem to recognize you from somewhere.

[Lilith]

A popular fan theory is that the Geneforge 5 protagonist is also the Geneforge 4 protagonist. Obviously that's not confirmed anywhere in the game, but there's nothing in particular that contradicts it.

[priumcyaes]

There were several popular theories back a while ago, I remember. Namely, GF5 protag is GF4 protag, GF3 protag, Monarch, Shaila.... the list goes on. Some have even speculated the protagonist from GF1, although I, personally, consider that one a stretch. The last theory I'll list here is that the GF5 protag was just some random canister junkie, although it doesn't fully explain why some high-tier people would have brief flickers of recognition.

 

I've personally latched onto the "GF5 protag is GF3 protag" theory, considering

how the GF3 protag went missing, according to GF4

, mostly because I wanted closure to their story, though it's really, truly left open to interpretation, I think. It could literally be anyone (or almost anyone, at least), so many theories are viable in light of how mysterious the GF5 protag's backstory is and in light of how few contradictions to any of these possibilities are presented.

 

Side note: there's a seer in the last section of GF5 that tells you things about yourself (Sage Lara, I believe her name is), but as everything else is in the game, she doesn't give you anything super exact.

She does mention that once upon a time, you were significant. She mentions you having been a lynchpin; having turned the tides.

What she DID give us swayed my view, but it still doesn't narrow it down to any one particular person.

[Hyena of Ice]

Seems like the progatonists in all 5 games are pretty young-- so I don't think that the same protagonist could appear in a later title when several years or decades pass between each.

[questionmarket superscrip]

The G5 protagonist is not that young. I'm still a fan of the G3 protagonist --> Monarch --> G5 protagonist progression.

[Dear Potato]

Well, I don't remember where or who exactly, but there is a clear mention about GF5 main character not being exactly young. There are so many ambigous answers during the game... since GF5 is the final chapter, probably it is something deliberate? I mean, to open the chance to be any previous main character you wanted. You can make it fit to whoever you want to play.

 

Personally, I like to play pretending GF5 main char is my first GF1 agent; a loyalist shaper who ranked up after Sucia events, but unfortunatelly, ends up caught in an ambush when the Shapers invade Drypeak. She remains captive to the rebels, who in turn experiment reshaping with her. Until, of course, she ends up in Rawal's hands and awakens at the beginning of GF5.

 

It's like... yeah, she's back from the past to kick some rebel ass

[ĐªгŦĦ Єяŋϊε]

also it's not clear what longterm effects extreme canister abuse has on age. theoretically it could make the character appear younger than actual age

[priumcyaes]

According to the text (or, rather, a side character's eyewitness account), the GF5 protagonist's face

was shifting around and melting like wax, and was changed to the point of ALMOST being unrecognizable -- plus they were furious and kind of animalistic when they weren't quiet. But this was a while before GF5 actually took place, and we can assume that their face had solidified by then.

Canister abuse appeared to do different things to different people -- for Hoge, it did bad things to his skin/hair/general appearance. For Litalia, it made her cold and distant/detached and glowy... although her progression through canister stuff is interesting, to say the least. Extreme canister abuse or bad canisters... I don't think the text states what it does to aging, but it does seem to warp physical features and cause that unearthly glow, as well as change demeanor.

 

The GF5 protagonist is an interesting case, especially since I'm pretty sure the game said they'd been shaped/altered at least once, if not more. Due to the eyewitness account, we can at least conclude

that they'd abused some canisters, or something to that effect... "features shifting like wax" leads me to think that they could, indeed, have appeared younger than their actual age in GF5.

If we take the GF5 art at absolute face value, though, it would appear that the character at least presents as a woman somewhere between the 20-40 range -- I'd guess closer to 20s, due to hands and what we can see that isn't covered by cloth, but I have no idea. Besides -- the art is just art, and probably doesn't parallel the game 100%.

[Lilith]

for what it's worth, Geneforge 1's use-the-geneforge ending does sort of imply that the PC's lifespan is extended by it, so affecting the aging process does seem to be a thing that heavy modification could achieve

[Hyena of Ice]

Canister abuse appeared to do different things to different people -- for Hoge, it did bad things to his skin/hair/general appearance. For Litalia, it made her cold and distant/detached and glowy... although her progression through canister stuff is interesting, to say the least. Extreme canister abuse or bad canisters... I don't think the text states what it does to aging, but it does seem to warp physical features and cause that unearthly glow, as well as change demeanor.

The canisters always-- ALWAYS turn the person cold and near always give them a superiority complex (Litalia is the sole exception from G1-3) I have a theory that the remaining different mental effects are in fact, exacerbations of the user's existing behavioral traits. The text seems to hint that Hoge has always been a bit of a callous sociopath. The sole exception in G1~3 is Barazahl who goes from being a full egalitarian to acquiring a god-like complex.

 

G1 and 3 actually do give significant insight into the effects of a bad/rotted canister. Hoge we see the effects clearly-- his bones become seriously disfigured while his body withers away (hair and teeth fall out, emaciation, and skin becomes cracked, dry, and bleeding, later IIRC sloughing off in patches.) In G1 there are one or two bad canisters. If you use them, it burns your skin and the inside of your arm/body, along with badly poisoning you. Those obviously were only "bad" to a minor degree compared to what Hoge exposed himself to. I do not recall it ever mentioning that it aged or made Hoge look aged, but I don't always remember things correctly.

The bad canisters probably follow the same logic as SOME of the red essence pools-- that the organic components have rotted, which taints the essence. Or something to that effect-- I specifically remember the rotted organic component part, and combine this with the info we get in G3 that herbs are an essential component of all essence-based solutions such as pods, spores, healing/essence pools-- and of course, canisters.

[Spukrian]

I believe that Monarch in GF4 is actually Goettsch from GF1. He tried to carve out his own kingdom on Sucia Island and failed, then as Monarch he tried again and failed....

 

As for Geneforge 5, as I've interpreted it, the GF5 protagonist is someone who used the Geneforge too many times and using Rawal's Geneforge jumpstarts the PC and his/her memory...

[Brainless Void]

I think all of the geneforge protagonists are different every game. If they are the same person their stats should have carried over to the next game, hahaha.

[Level 1 Hermit]

I think all of the geneforge protagonists are different every game. If they are the same person their stats should have carried over to the next game, hahaha.

 

Years of no practice can deteriorate one's skills. As in G5

[questionmarket superscrip]

Yeah, G5 makes it pretty explicit that the PC used to have hugely more power than they have at the start of the game.