Av1, 2, Total inept +plus brittle bones rocks

[jestrada5]

Everytime i read about making a party, nobody seems to even consider the combination of totally inept and brittle bones. This is a 70% exp bonus and if given to your priest it will send him through the roof with levels and skill points.

 

He is much more than just a packmule, since he gets all the high level priest spells very early and this lets you take on dungeons early that a more traditional party couldn't take on. The other bonus is that you can get high potion skill early on as well.

 

I have tried this in avernum 1 and 2 and it works really well. You also have the option of trading for the npc in both games if this liability gets on your nerves, but to tell the truth i kept him in Av1 for all three endings because i didn't want to bother with finding all the lvl 3 spells again. In av2 i got the npc.

 

Have others tried this?

[Alorael at Large]

Luthien, who isn't around at all and hasn't been for years, played through A2 with a Totally Inept and Brittle Bones singleton as a challenge. He was successful.

 

—Alorael, who believes Luthien claimed that Avatar, the Divinely Touched Elite Warrior (or was it Natural Mage?) was a more difficult character to play with.

[Lilith]

I don't play the Avernum trilogy much, but I always put two disadvantages on my BoA characters, and it's generally worked well for me. Characters with disadvantages tend to be noticeably weaker at low levels, but since disadvantages don't get worse with level, the extra levels you'll gain balance this out soon enough.

 

(Some disadvantages are too serious to be worth considering, though. I'd never take Sluggish.)

[jestrada5]

Yeah sluggish sucks.

 

As for the totally inept, brittle bones,at least up until a2 the ai doesn't hunt down your spellcasters with melee troops so it is not a disadvantage at all.

 

I know people try it, but what i am saying is that doing so is an advantage to the party. I was running around with 3 characters at aound lvl 7 or 8 while my priest was in the 20's. You don't do it because it is a challenge, but because it makes the game easier.

[Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas]

Quote:

Originally written by Recondite Anchorite:
Luthien, who isn't around at all and hasn't been for years, played through A2 with a Totally Inept and Brittle Bones singleton as a challenge. He was successful.

—Alorael, who believes Luthien claimed that Avatar, the Divinely Touched Elite Warrior (or was it Natural Mage?) was a more difficult character to play with.

And he's not the only one. On both accounts. As well as with A3. I really should get a copy of A1.

[Bomber]

But dosn't brittle bones make you easier to damage?

[Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas]

Dexterity, defense and hardiness counteract that quite nicely.

[jestrada5]

But you don't need it. This is your priest that stays in the back and casts spells. I put all my skill points in int, priest, alchemy, some first aid (although this was a mistake) mage and end.

 

His dex was 4 and i didn't bother putting any points in def or hardiness. Worked just fine. However, if any melee guys slip through he wouldn't last more than 2 rounds without spell help. This hardly ever happened.

 

totally inept also makes you 1.5 more vulnerable to fire, but since he has the most HP in the party this is usually not a problem either.

[Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas]

Try that while soloing. Dexterity is the most overpowered skill ever.

[jestrada5]

No way. If i even get the urge to solo i would just break out nethack. I play this game for the plot and the party dynamics. If i want a challenge, i will go back to nethack with all conducts again. (which is why i burned out on that game in the first place. 12/12 conducts is hard.)

[Zeviz]

If I am not mistaken, the amount of experience you get for killing things depends on level of your highest-level character. So the levels of all of your other characters were held back by the presence of that high-level disadvantaged priest. It sounds like you did fine anyway, but I wonder if you would have had easier time in the end-game with a more conventional party.

[Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas]

Afaik, that applies only in A4. The AT gives xp based on average level.