|
Glazius posted:Really the Vahnatai are the easiest to understand here. They got well hosed by the Empire and there are probably quite a lot of people down there calling out for revenge. There were also the Vahnatai style barriers in the trog/giant tunnels. Still, it's not clear why they'd wanna gently caress over the Exiles to boot; they were responsible for recovering the Vahnatai's lost Crystal Souls, after all. They did know the Exiles were trying to return to the surface, right?
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2017 22:58
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 1, 2024 05:24 |
|
|
LuffyVeggies posted:First, I'm not sure if you know this (it seems like you probably do but didn't do it because it's revealed later), but the golem-making machines CAN be destroyed with Dispel Barrier. However, there are so many of those machines on the first floor that it doesn't help much unless you try going after all of them, and the flavour-text implies that the destruction is only temporary, so I'm not sure how long the destruction lasts. Another fun fact with the conveyors is they also can move items, which leads to some headaches.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2017 23:40
|
|
|
LuffyVeggies posted:First, I'm not sure if you know this (it seems like you probably do but didn't do it because it's revealed later), but the golem-making machines CAN be destroyed with Dispel Barrier. However, there are so many of those machines on the first floor that it doesn't help much unless you try going after all of them, and the flavour-text implies that the destruction is only temporary, so I'm not sure how long the destruction lasts. I do that early in the next update actually. And no. She didn't. You all know how Art is with commitments and feelings of betrayal.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2017 02:13
|
|
|
Urgh. I have simultaneously dreaded and awaited this part of the LP. I fully admit I cheated the hell out of this place all those years ago when I first played E3. In fact, was it not heavily changed for Avernum 3? I recall the conveyor belts being removed, at the very least.
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2017 23:07
|
|
|
FreakyM posted:Urgh. I have simultaneously dreaded and awaited this part of the LP. I fully admit I cheated the hell out of this place all those years ago when I first played E3. Avernum 3 swapped it out for tedious block-and-laser puzzles, yes. The dungeon was a pale shadow of its original self. I'd like to remind all those bemoaning the difficulty of the dungeon that this is completely optional; you only need to do one of Slimes/Roaches and one of Trog-Giants/Golems to gain access to the endgame. If you do insist on doing it, though, remember about SP-restoring items, which are plentiful and reasonably cheap, especially compared to the huge amounts of money in the game. For the literal mansion that berryjon bought, they could have instead purchased enough Energy Potions to cast Quickfire in every single dungeon remaining in the game. Just sayin'. It can also make a surprisingly large difference to go do some of the major sidequests. They're largely easier than the golem plague and give seriously good rewards. Finally, you can basically trivialize the first floor of the dungeon (which is the only one with constantly-spawning-in golems) if you run around in combat mode. You move four times faster than usual in combat mode, even without using haste.
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2017 23:43
|
|
|
TooMuchAbstraction posted:Finally, you can basically trivialize the first floor of the dungeon (which is the only one with constantly-spawning-in golems) if you run around in combat mode. You move four times faster than usual in combat mode, even without using haste. If you're not casting Major Haste or Major Blessing, you're doing it And if you don't have those spells, you're in the wrong dungeon, my friend.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2017 00:28
|
|
|
berryjon posted:And if you don't have those spells, you're in the wrong dungeon, my friend. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2017 00:38
|
|
|
Parts Kit posted:Or the Anama. Who get access to Avatar - which grants Haste.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2017 01:41
|
|
|
berryjon posted:If you're not casting Major Haste or Major Blessing, you're doing it If you don't have Major Haste or Major Blessing forget wrong dungeon you're in the wrong end-game.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2017 02:11
|
|
|
berryjon posted:Who get access to Avatar - which grants Haste. If you've specced your entire party to be able to cast level-7 priest spells (and to have the spellpoint pool necessary to cast Avatar more than once), then you might be overlevelled, even considering the bonuses the Anama give. Avatar can only be targeted on the caster, remember.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2017 04:12
|
|
|
FreakyM posted:In fact, was it not heavily changed for Avernum 3? I recall the conveyor belts being removed, at the very least. TooMuchAbstraction posted:Avernum 3 swapped it out for tedious block-and-laser puzzles, yes. The dungeon was a pale shadow of its original self. The A3 version has laser beams blocking your path and a bunch of levers to pull. Ironically, it's almost as aggravating, just in a completely different way.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2017 04:30
|
|
|
TooMuchAbstraction posted:If you've specced your entire party to be able to cast level-7 priest spells (and to have the spellpoint pool necessary to cast Avatar more than once), then you might be overlevelled, even considering the bonuses the Anama give. Avatar can only be targeted on the caster, remember. Solo-party challenge! Remember, Art has been my solo-character design, just with a party tacked on She can cast and abuse Avatar with Energy potions - which she could afford if I wasn't being a ponce and playing for the LP.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2017 05:03
|
|
|
berryjon, please tell me there's a place in your story where Art deliberately gets the wrong magic item in order to kill Erika. It could be like a daydream at the critical moment.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2017 09:24
|
|
|
berryjon posted:Solo-party challenge! Remember, Art has been my solo-character design, just with a party tacked on She can cast and abuse Avatar with Energy potions - which she could afford if I wasn't being a ponce and playing for the LP. Oh, well, if you're playing the solo party "challenge", then what do you have to worry about? Even with all the positive traits, you should be pretty near max level by now and drat near unkillable thanks to regen/toughness/antimagic field/all the good equipment stacked on a single character. Especially since you'll have actually drunk all those skill potions I saw sitting in someone's inventory in the last update!  The solo challenge is probably easier than playing with a full party, once you get out of early-game hell. A single blessing will cause the vast majority of enemies to be completely unable to hurt you. Admittedly, combining solo challenge with Anama is not something I've considered trying.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2017 16:36
|
|
|
TooMuchAbstraction posted:Especially since you'll have actually drunk all those skill potions I saw sitting in someone's inventory in the last update! I've been saving those for a special occasion. Don't you worry. Actually. Do. Do worry. Fret and panic even!
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2017 01:43
|
|
|
TooMuchAbstraction posted:The solo challenge is probably easier than playing with a full party, once you get out of early-game hell. A single blessing will cause the vast majority of enemies to be completely unable to hurt you. Admittedly, combining solo challenge with Anama is not something I've considered trying. It works like this: 1: Cast Avatar 2: Kill everything 3: If everything not dead, goto 1
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2017 13:31
|
|
|
Cerebral Bore posted:It works like this: And I guess if anything casts Slow or Dumbfound on you, a) you'll probably avoid it thanks to Avatar's magic resistance buff, and b) even if it does stick, you're invulnerable, you should have time to fix the debuff before things start getting nasty. Ironically the Avatar's worst fear is probably a pack of Giant Spiders and their ability to fling webs. I decided yesterday to fire up a new solo character. Did you know that Frrrrr, the nephil in the prebuilt party, has 85 skillpoints spent on his character sheet? You're supposed to only start with 60. That's five free levels, right at the start of the game! Anyway, so far said solo character has done the goblin/bandit/wolf dungeons, killed the ice pudding near New Cotra, cleared out a feral Nephilim tribe, and cleared the nest of chitrachs. The worst trouble he got into was in the goblin warren, where he ran out of SP and was being chased by a Goblin Warrior when he still only had 12 max HP. Turns out the poison on their melee can be a real problem when you refuse to spend any skillpoints on directly boosting HP. The most amusing trouble he got into was against the feral nephils; one of the shamans summoned giant spiders before dying, which spiders kept him completely pinned down with flung webs until their summon timer ran out and he was finally able to get a chance to clean the webs off. During that entire time he took no damage, despite a half-dozen Nephil Archers and plenty of melee units, courtesy of a mere two Blessing spells with an INT of only 5. Blessing is super-OP, you guys.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2017 15:36
|
|
|
Update 055 – The Tower of Shifting Floors (2) “Alright. Perhaps the Vahnatai holed up in here, and fortified it as a defensible position, only to be overrun.” “That sounds ... plausible.” “Actually, that reminds me ... did we ever check in with Ghirka and its residents with regards to the evidence we collected between the Troglodytes and the Giants?” “The Orb got stolen, so we had to react to that.” “Yes, Arts and by extension our priorities switched due to the attack on the Fort.” “In retrospect, that was a mistake.” A very serious one on my end. I need to check one of my earlier saves and screencap Rentar-Ihrno's response to the accusation. My fault entirely, unless one of the lovely people in the thread can provide? “At least there's only one way out. We can take that, and get back onto these belts.” “That actually raises a question.” “Which one?” “Why are they up here? It's not like there are Golem creation machines up here, so why the maze-like structure?” “Defence?” “Logical, but if this place has been properly attacked, by the time they reached this point, this would be little more than an annoyance.” “Um, should we be talking? We missed our out!” “Firewalk!” “Oh goodness. However, there appears to be only one way out of this – on the south side there.”  “So there is.” “Ah, no more molten glass.”   “This must be the exit to the last exterior node.”  “We can cross this pool now.” “Good.” “Curious. We are quite far underground here. Yet, this appears to be a natural magma pocket. Has anyone seen any signs of volcanoes on the surface?” “no...” “And those machines are like pumps, moving the magma up into the tower itself.” “That doesn't sound good.” “Hey, we're locked in!” “Not to worry, there are stairs up here.” “See?” “That takes us back to the main floor. There has to be some way around the gates.” What I SHOULD have done at this point was to go around the large machine to my right and circle back around to this stairs. I head back downstairs at this point, and I don't trigger the gates closing, which means I can get to the last stone circle. Instead, I misread my walkthrough and think I missed something in the control room. Despite taking a screenshot of the correct thing. Oh well. At least I get to show off something to you guys. “mgrgr.... Come on. Let's find a way back downstairs.” “Actually, before we do, there's something I want to check.” “Oh?” “These machines are delicate pieces of equipment to construct Golems, correct?” “Yes.” “Well, we have a spell available that can disrupt such delicate strands of energies.” “We do?” “Yes.”  “It is already repairing itself.” “And it would be awkward to hunt down the rest of the machines. I mean, yes, we could, but how long would that take? Would we spend more time running around than it would take to repair? This is a temporary measure, and not one that we can rely on.” “Your logic and concerns are sound.” “Come on, back to the second level. We probably missed something.”* * *  “Well, now that we activated or deactivated the Aleph button, we now have access to this library.” “I thought it was a fish!”  “At least there are tables to do reading at.” “HAHAHA!” “Already knew that.”  “Don't wreck the books!” “Already determined through observational inference and tested. It's Dispel Barrier.” “WHAT!” “Could be stolen. This book looks very old.” “Examination runes. Possibly to check on early versions of the Golems?” “That would fit with what we have seen back in the Slime Pit and other places.” “Nothing interesting on this scroll.” To get to the north exit here, enter combat mode and run. It's a lot easier. “More contraptions of unknown providence.” “How do we get to that button?” “Seriously. If you need to get out, we can do that. Get fresh air in your lungs.” “No sense in that. We're almost done.”  “Down to the first or second floors?” “Just to an ... access tunnel?” “With treasure!” “Are we doing this corner now?” “Probably.” Nothing of interest in the south-west corner of the map. Just more time spent while the Clang-ing happens. “Finally, back to those stairs.” “I hope the gates have raised since then.”  “Yay!” “I was right. Pipes.”  “Well, so this is the Bet symbol for the other button we pressed.” “If we hadn't, I suspect these moving floor pieces would have prevented us from advancing.” “And we're through.”  “I see stones!” “Usual tactics.” Luck to the rescue! “And that's four for four.” “Back into that bad place.”   “Ugh, this atmosphere...” “I think we've done all we can. We need to go higher now.”  “...”  “Right, that took too much effort.” “Now, I'm curious as to what is in there.” “Yeah. Maybe eventually.”  “I really don't like these floors.” “Yeah.” “ugh...” “We need to take this next left.” “I SAID LEFT!” “It has been established by this point your sense of direction is poor.” “....” “At least this way we can get into that large hall.” I want off!”  “I could do without the Demon Golems.” I tried Ravage Spirit in this fight – the optimized anti-demon spell. Turns out Demon Golems don't count as Demons! “You know, fights tend to leave more scorch marks now than when I was young.” “When were you young?”    “OH COME ON!” One long trip later, back through the magma pool, down to the basement, then up through the first floor, then all the way around the second floor – because the general motion of the moving platforms is counter-clockwise.... “And back where we started. Let's get off of this.” “I don't want to do this any more! This isn't fun.”  “Oh hey, we pressed this button back in the control room as well.” “And now we can't get in.” “Which means going back and resetting the button.” “Done!” “We'll probably be ambushed here.” “Don't jinx it!” “Too late.” “Nothing we haven't dealt with before.” “Well, only one more level if that schematic was correct.”  “No more moving floors!” “YAY!” “This is almost ... cozy.” “Yeah. It even has a welcoming party.” “The control source of this place is in the room to the south.” “So close.” “Hang on, we're almost there.”  “Oh my. Had we not disabled those towers, I doubt we could reach past this point.” “We can use the anti-magic to cross the residual energy fields safely. I hope.” Exploiting being able to overwrite fields, and Anti-Magic has 'priority'.  “THAT DIDN'T WORK!” “Oh, two Blade Golems. Like that will slow us down.”  “Well, that worked better this time.” “It knows we're here!” “Oh come on!” “This is your last defence? A maze of moving floors?” “In̶̢͡t͟͢͠r͢ud̶͟e͜͟r̨s̴ ̕D҉é͠t̵è̸̶c͜tę͢d ” “No sense in holding back!” “E̷na͘b͢͠l͏͠e̴ ̶͟͠Co̶͘͡u͢n͏̷̡t̵̷͡e̢r̵͝m͠҉e̵a̛s͞͏ų̶͜r̛̕e͘͠s ” “There it is!”  There it is, the “Boss” of the Golem Dungeon. And it's got a lot of tricks up its sleeve. “Well, I have something useful for this.”  Wall of Blades is a nice spell. “Almost there, you monster!” “E҉͏r̢r̀́҉o̕r̶͜. ̧K͡͠͝n̕̕own͟ En͠t͜i͢t͠y̵̨ ͜i̕͘n͝ ̶́͡Prox̵̨i͘ḿ͏͡ity҉̡ ” “All to be useless.” “C͜͝͏o̧n̨̨͞t̀in͏̸͠g̵̵en̴̨c͏̛y͟ ͜En͟a̸͘c͟t͝ę̶d͟ ” “Everyone! Pile on the central crystal!” “S̸t̴̛̀e̡r̵̶̶i̢̨l̵̵̡i̕͠͝z̡a̵t͟͢í҉ơ͡n͜҉͘ in Ṕ̨̨r̶o͟g͏͜r̕͞e̵͞s̵s̸̛͟ ”   “Aieee!” “S̸t̴̛̀e̡r̵̶̶i̢̨l̵̵̡i̕͠͝z̡a̵t͟͢í҉ơ͡n͜҉͘ in Ṕ̨̨r̶o͟g͏͜r̕͞e̵͞s̵s̸̛͟ ” “We must act faster! The enemies are getting closer!” “RAAAAAAAGHH!” “C̕o̶͘҉n̡̡̛t̶̢a̵͘͞i̴n̕me͘͘nt ̸B́͢͝r͡͏e̷͟͞ach҉̢́ ” “D̨͜͡I̵͝R͠E̶C͡T̢͟È̸́D͠ ͞P̡Ú̶̸RGE̢ ̶̨I͟N ҉̨͞P̧͜R̵̀O͟҉G͟͞RE̷̸S̶S̵ ”  “urgh...” “Matthias!” “huh.” “Dammit!” “Stay with us!”Matthias looked down at the shard of crystal buried in his chest. The brown of his robes turning darker as his life's fluids left him. “Eh, this was surprising.” Art pressed her hands around the wound, channelling healing energies into it. “Bah, I've seen worse. You'll be fine.” Matthias shook his head. “Probably not.” “What are you talking about?” Delilah demanded of him as she added her own power into their leader's efforts. “This is just more than a surface wound.” Bronwyn shook her head. “It's through,” she warned them. “I can see it out his back.” “That's not good,” Sass hissed, turning his head away. Ni'aurrl grimaced. “It is a deadly wound. The worst kind – one unforeseen.”  “No! I don't want to lose another person on my watch!” Art ground her teeth as she cast spell after spell. Matthais coughed, blood from places it shouldn't be. “Don't worry. I thought my disease would be the end of me.” “This is better.” Everyone paused to look at Sass, who in turn had brought himself up to his full height. “Death against ones foes is better.” Delilah objected. “What are you talking about?”  It was Bronwyn who explained. “This. If we can't save him....” The look Art gave her could have melted steel. “No.” “You have a better choice?” “No. She doesn't.” Matthias said thinly. “Sasserithrasix, please.” 
berryjon fucked around with this message at 07:05 on Apr 17, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2017 04:08
|
|
|
Wooooo Consigned to the Eternal Void! My only regret was that I had but one hat to give for saving the world!
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2017 04:41
|
|
|
Oh no! Matthias! They're sticking him in the mind shard, I hope? He seemed to have radiation sickness - or was that the implication of the tower's miasma being radioactive, and he had some other long term illness?
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2017 05:22
|
|
|
Kacie posted:He seemed to have radiation sickness - or was that the implication of the tower's miasma being radioactive, and he had some other long term illness? Despite my best efforts to hide it, Matthias has had a Bar of Uranium in his inventory since entering the Tower. That's been accelerating his Disease ticker. And then he gets killed by an exploding crystal. I had three different methods thought out, but in the end, this was the only one I would write worth a drat.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2017 06:17
|
|
|
Noooooo! Sicky McAwesome! You may have colored everything you touched with your insides, but you were the best replacement for Rook. You will me missed.berryjon posted:Despite my best efforts to hide it, Matthias has had a Bar of Uranium in his inventory since entering the Tower. That's been accelerating his Disease ticker. Well, that would explain the clear radiation poison/sickness pop-ups we've been seeing. I just thought it was something about the tower, making it even MORE unfun to go through.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2017 15:43
|
|
|
Well, that's not what I imagined when you said you had a plan for Matthias' disease issue. Poor guy, he didn't get to visit that library he was saving up for, unless I'm just forgetting a revisit. It'll certainly be interesting to see how things go from here, in any case.berryjon posted:Perhaps the Vanhatai holed up in here
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2017 17:18
|
|
|
Interesting. Art's group lost a powerful mage on the surface. Kai is busy rebuilding the Slith, Peregrine (whoops! Wrong name earlier) is busy in the Mage Guild... not many people could fill that hole. Is it Ember? Is she coming back? Krumbsthumbs fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Apr 16, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2017 17:37
|
|
|
Krumbsthumbs posted:Is it Ember? Is she coming back? The rest of the game will be with a five person party. Ni' will be primary Mage, Delilah primary Priest, with Sass taking up the slack.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2017 02:15
|
|
|
Yeah, there are a lot of signs pointing due V right now, but it's honestly anybody's game.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2017 05:57
|
|
|
Glazius posted:Yeah, there are a lot of signs pointing due V right now, but it's honestly anybody's game. It's actually been Peregrine the whole time.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2017 06:53
|
|
|
The Lone Badger posted:It's actually been Peregrine the whole time. Peregrine and Kai-Lyss have a special post-game event lined up, just for them.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2017 07:03
|
|
|
You'd think palling around with all these wizardly types would make Bronwyn pick up something by now.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2017 07:30
|
|
|
Huh, I think I missed the book with Erika's symbol on my last playthrough, don't remember it. IIRC Rentar's response to the Trog/Giant evidence is a almost politician's generic "It isn't us. We will investigate this." response. berryjon posted:Despite my best efforts to hide it, Matthias has had a Bar of Uranium in his inventory since entering the Tower. That's been accelerating his Disease ticker.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2017 11:59
|
|
|
Parts Kit posted:IIRC Rentar's response to the Trog/Giant evidence is a almost politician's generic "It isn't us. We will investigate this." response. I just finished the trog/giant quest in my most recent playthrough. I tried to screenshot this, but the screen magnifier I'm using to make the font non-tiny doesn't play well with OSX's screenshot system, and then I saved after getting the (one-time-only) dialog.   But yeah, she basically says "this is concerning, someone is stealing our methods, the only people who have the access and expertise are the Exiles. It's totally you guys doing this to yourself." A few notes on my playthrough, incidentally:
EDIT: vvvv oops! Fixed, thanks! TooMuchAbstraction fucked around with this message at 04:28 on Apr 21, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2017 04:20
|
|
|
TooMuchAbstraction posted:I just finished the trog/giant quest in my most recent playthrough. I tried to screenshot this, but the screen magnifier I'm using to make the font non-tiny doesn't play well with OSX's screenshot system, and then I saved after getting the (one-time-only) dialog. You might want to cut off the list of dungeons at the bottom of that.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2017 04:23
|
|
|
Update 056 – Fallout (1) “Art?” “Come on.” “There's nothing more to do.” “...” “Let's go. I'm going to find out who caused all this.” “And them I'm going to happen to them.” “...” “Art...” “...” “Don't. She's not in a talking mood.” “Oh, I'm in a fine talking mood. I even know enough about Slith culture to not be mad as you, Sass. I'm just saving for when I find the right target.” “The local Golems were shattered by the resonance from the killing of the controlling system. We shouldn't have any more being built, but there will still be random groups out there.” “Like them.”* * *  “We should let the General know.” “That would be a good idea.” “General.” “Art.” “Job's done.” “what” “But know this, we're going to ignore you. Unless you get the Empress herself to come down here, there's not much more I can do from here.” “Thank you.” “Some help.” “Peace is a different monster than war. Without the pressures of the Golems to act on them, they are less willing to acknowledge us.” “I have an idea.” “A good one, or a bad one?” “I was thinking of going to Gale, and seeing if I can provoke them into doing something stupid.” “NO!” “NO WAY!” “This is a bad idea!' “Even I think this is wrong!” “Hey, gonna open up the gates now that the Golems are being pushed back?” “Not on your life!” “So, uh, heads up. You might want to start finding some place else to be. Golems beaten, and what not.”  “Thanks. Take care.” “NO!” “Eh, it's not like a city full of guards could stop us at this point.”  “I think they can!”  “Let's see here...” “No surprises yet...” “Where are all the guards?”  “We even got the key for this....” “Which seems like it is useless.” “Secret passage perhaps?” “Worth checking out. Rather than whatever Art has planned.” “Hey!” “...” “If that's the case...” “Yeah, I'm going to steal this.” “Are you in charge?” “Never has being a nobody felt so wonderful.” “Let's leave, please?” “Yes!” “Agreed!” “Fine. Punching people who can't punch back isn't fun.” “OH COME ON!”  “This looks ... annoying.” “Probably slimes or something.” “I was not expecting undead.” “WHY?!?!?”  “Can we leave now?” “Of course not! We have the key to the Library.”  “Which will necessitate going back around.” “Do we have to?” “The sign says so.” “Though I suspect we'll have to get to go the long-way around for this. Come on, to the ramparts!”  “Sure, why not?” “Here!” “Hey, the key to Erika's back rooms is also made of Electrum. I wonder if this will fit?” “This isn't the same.” “No, it isn't. But here we are. Everyone, sit down.” “Sure.” “What happened was wrong. But not in any sense that it is a wrong we can right. You may think me callous for saying the things I have said, or for doing the things I have done. But I want you to know that's not the truth of it.” “I've killed enough people, and had enough people die on me that I'm no stranger to these things. And yes, in a way, I'm accustomed to it. But when people I care for die, I do not rage. I do not get angry and yell at the world for the injustice of it all.” “I know there is no justice. Only our actions in life, and the effects they have after our passing. This is what matters. The things we leave behind. Matthias ... I did not know him as well as I should have, I've been moving as I have these past three months, and nothing I can say or do will ever make up for that.” “We are here, in the Library of Gale, to celebrate the life of a man well lived. Who went beyond expectations, and did what was asked of him. Not because it was asked, but because it was the right thing to do. And I intend to, in the end, do right by him.” “I'm going to go forward. When we get back to Fort Emergence, if any of you feel uncomfortable with my direction, you're free to leave. I'll give you a good report, no word of a lie. But if you follow, what comes next will shake the world.” “Take a few minutes, then we'll leave.”  “Thanks.” “I'm going to read books now!”    “Oh, and before we go, let's get some training in.” Art, having 16 skill points, buys 3 Strength and 2 Dex, then the last point in SP. She's within spitting distance of Level 50, the cap for the game. Bronwyn maxes out her Edged Weapons skill, then invests the rest in Defence. From here on out, she should be getting Luck and Defense. Sass gets to Mage 6 and Priest 6, then puts the remaining 9 points into SP. He's our backup caster now, with Art helping in a pinch. Ni'aurrl maxes out her Mage Lore to make up for the loss of Matthias. Then the spare points put into SP and HP. And at last, Delilah gets some Mage Lore as well, then pushes her SP to 83. There's a lot of spellcasting ahead for our primary Priest. “Hey, before we leave, can you keep an eye on our Horses? We're going to teleport back south, and can't take them with us.” “For all you've done? Done. I heard about your encounters with the heads of state. Listen, if you get words with people higher than them...?” “You will be spoken of highly.” “Time to use the Amulet of Rapid Returning for the first time in a long time.”  “One thing to do first.” “Yes, a good thing.” “For the next.” “For the next.” “We should also check in with Berra about the Mind Crystals.” “Good idea.” “Hey.” “I see you are a man short.” “He's on patrol.” “I'll mark him down as doing research then. I'm sorry.” “Don't be. Tell me about these.” “Bullshit. I've met Crystal Souls. Carried them in my pack while running for our mutual lives. That wasn't a Crystal Soul.” “Not one with an actual Soul in it, no. But this is the work of the Vahnatai, empty and then filled with something malign. Not one who loves. Talk to Anaximander. I will contact the Tower.” “Understood.” “Let's do this.”    “Anaximander, about Matthias.” “His next of kin will be notified, and he will be recorded as being Killed In Action. The appropriate funds will be dispensed.” “Art, officially, I need to tell you to stop. This is a tragedy, one that any team would need time to recover from. But I know you'll ignore me. So you didn't hear me say this:” “Prince Karmas is up by New Cotra. I will send for him. We cannot make these decisions by ourselves, and having him here will help temper things. Your orders are simple. Investigate Ghikra by any means necessary, determine the extent of the threat to Exile from enemies we thought our enemies or our friends...” “And end them.”
berryjon fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Apr 26, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2017 04:54
|
|
|
So, a fun bit of subtle storytelling. When you first meet the smuggler at the northeast corner of Gale, he mentions that the mayor would be pissed if he knew that the smuggler was letting Exiles into Gale. Why is this significant? It means that the mayor, the same guy that has the city on lockdown, is also in charge of the only means of entry to or exit from the city. And what's the only thing getting into the city right now? Skribbane Herb. Go hit up the Gale treasury, hidden behind the mayor's office. You'll find around 5000 gold (far more than any other treasury in the game), some magic plate armor, and some Skribbane Herb. The mayor's running the drug trade, or at any rate profiting massively off of it. The game doesn't make a big deal out of it, but all the clues are there, for someone willing to notice and put them together.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2017 05:09
|
|
|
Update 057 – Fallout (2) "Well, time for me to talk to myself again." "What have I become, I wonder? A sword of vengeance? Did the Vahnatai really do this? Or is this another false lead? One more comprehensive than the others? We did find that book attributed to Erika in the Tower, but does that mean anything?” “I'm not a thinker. I usually have other people for that. I'm an actor. A doer. Point me at a problem and I'll gnaw on it until it's no longer a problem.” “Story of my life. Just a simple Acolyte, attached as a field medic to a Corps out to isolate and terminate a rogue and mad Mage. And from there.... Well, I would rather not go there again.” “Yeah, I'm a mess. A wreck. And time to see if I need to write some awesome letters of recommendation. Wouldn't be the first time I've scared people off.” “HI!” “No, please. Don't stop on our account. I want to hear more about how you're a mess.” “Oh hush! That won't be necessary.” “You do what you do, there is no stopping you. You said you would move the world? I want to see that.” “She already has! Her statue is HUGE!” “And maybe she'll do it again? What happens then?” “Uh... her statue gets HUGER?” “Thanks guys.” “So, what's the plan, oh fearless leader?” “Tower of the Magi, then Ghirka, then we'll see.” “Refreshingly direct.” “Not to the Vahnatai first?” “No, not yet. While it may seem like a good idea, as long as they don't know we know what we know, they will act like we don't know what they know, and thus won't act suspicious.” “My head's spinning from all the knowing!” “Don't worry, it'll get better.” * * *  * * *  “I'll never get used to this.” “Still a marvel of magic.” * * *   “Hello, Art. I heard.” “Hey, Peregrine.” “Let me please get something out of the way first. I will not be able to join you. I have too many responsibilities here.” “I wasn't going to ask. But thanks anyways. Look, I know that Matthias wasn't exactly Tower material, but, well...” “I will take care of things. Do not worry. Have you had a chance to confront Rentar-Ihrno yet?” “No. I don't want to either.” “But it must be done. The respect they have for you, Iktah, is not something they can overcome with ease. You may be able to reach them on a level that no one else can.” “They say I hold the gates.” “I got to hear a repeat of your little speech where you said that to them. You are not one for public speaking, are you?” “Not unless I'm yelling, no.” “Then yell if you have to. If they can prove their innocence, then take up the mantle of justice twice-fold. Once for them, and one for ours.” “Maybe. But it's just one more name on the toll. Not that I would tell them that.” “You don't have to. Now go. You have places to be.” “Thanks. And take care.” “I will.” I remembered at this time that I had been hoarding the Golem Gems for a kill-count for them. Well, I added them up. I had 110 in inventory (that sell at 50g a piece), which means I probably actually killed upwards of 150 over the course of the past few updates. And the average random encounter had about 5 golems in it. Yeah, that's a bit. It also appears that I could not get my reward from X for dealing with the Golem problems. I may have not tripped a flag properly. Oh well, it's not like I can't get these spells elsewhere, and I have all the vital ones I might need already. I also finally use all those Knowledge Potions that have been sitting in Art's inventory for who-knows how long. Everyone except Art gets two, and thus four more Skill points to spend when I train again. “I hope you're innocent.” “So do I. I would not want to fight them.” “None of us do.”* * *  “Now, to talk to Rentar-Ihrno.” “No signs of life. This isn't good.”  “HELLO?” “{HELLO?}” “Empty. There's no one here.” “Come on. We'll see if they left anything behind.” “Like what?” “Their Crystal Souls?” “This isn't good.” “I can't see where they were. Which doesn't mean much given magic.” “Dammit. Well, there's one place left to check. There south-east quarter.” “We could not enter last time.” “Maybe something has changed?” “I hope so.”  “The barrier that prevented us from advancing last time is gone. This is another bad sign.”  “Charge!” “Well, this is still bad news. Attack!”  “Hrm, I think I'm having a problem.” “Right! Maybe I shouldn't be using a burning sword on something made of fire.”  “Right, well, that could be anything, but I'm going with hostile forces.” “For a moment, I thought you were going to make another excuse.” “Not anymore.” “Uh... the path closed up behind us!” “But it has stopped.” “Me.” “You.” “{RENTAR-IHRNO! SHOW YOURSELF!}” “This isn't a good sign. Well, might as well trigger it.”  “{I am Art-Iktah! Cease at once!}” “Never mind. They're both undead.” “And what about you?” From a ways away, this looked like a formidable Vahnatai Warrior. When you get close, however, you see that it isn't actually there. It's very slightly translucent. It looks at you as if it were alive, however. “Who are you?” It stares at you, perfectly impassive. “What do you want?” It says in an emotionless voice, “I have been left here with a message.” “What is the message?” “My creators with me to tell you not to interfere.” “And who are your creators?” “Rentar-Ihrno, and others.” “Why should we not interfere?” “The Empire stole three of our Crystal Souls. They stole the soul of our people. You cannot comprehend the magnitude of this offence.” “That was the offence? But those responsible are dead! I made sure of it!” “Picture if someone violated and destroyed those you loved most. Such it was with us. The Empire must be destroyed. Those who live in the Empire are a part of it and must be destroyed. The Empire's lands must be destroyed. Those who try to prevent our vengeance must be destroyed.” “And what? Keep the cycle of vengeance going? To destroy everything?” The shade begins to fade. "Your destruction of the Crystal Souls creating the golems can be forgiven under these circumstances. Do not oppose us further, however. Aid the great enemy, you become the great enemy. Forever. The Empire and its lands must be ashes. Remember this, and choose wisely. " The shade disappears. “Oh, no. Rentar – what have you done?” “There's nothing else here for me.”  “Yeah, things just went south. I can only hope this is just a faction led by Rentar-Ihrno, and not the whole of the Vahnatai-Olgai. That would be ... messy.” “It's more than that.” “Oh great. What do you want?” “First, my ... cond ... my ....” “You did not deserve that. Nor did he.” “Get on with it.” “Can we please have this discussion quietly, and without implied threats?” “Never!” “To assure you, I am here in person to investigate. I doubt Rentar-Ihrno has left anything of value here, but the contamination effect is still in full force.” “There's far too much proof for me to give them a pass now.” “And more proof there will be, I am sure, Art.” “Came yourself, huh?” “Necessary. The wards in this place are too strong for me to break through in any reasonable amount of time. Besides, I still have my privacy.” “Listen, you find anything about where they...” “Yes?” “Bon-Ihrno. They were saying she was missing. There is no way she would have gone alone with this. Find her!” “Yes! A viable lead. I will endeavour to do so, but that will take time. Know this, Art. You and your ... assistants should return to Fort Emergence. The Prince is there, and you will both be in need of the council of the other. I will communicate with you when I have more information.” “Thank you.” “Do not thank me yet. Rentar-Ihrno is a foe on my level. She is fully capable of destroying Exile. We are not safe. Not yet. Perhaps never.”* * *  “No sense in waiting.”  “Art, there you are!” “Your highness.” “Greetings.” “Hey!” “Your highness.” “Yo. Erika said you were here. That was fast.” “She was the one who contacted me and told me to come here. Though I technically outrank her, one listens to people like her.” “Wise people do. So...” “Berra has been in contact with the Tower and the Castle. At this point, we are trying to reach the Olgai Council, but it is too soon to get a response. We cannot yet determine how to act until we know the full extent of Rentar-Ihrno's actions.” “Yeah, I saw some of the plans they had at Ghirka. They were using it as some sort of forward observation post.” “So it would seem. What do you suggest?” “Find Rentar-Ihrno. Send me in to get an explanation. If there's anyone she would listen to, or at least give a chance to talk, it would be me.” “That may not be possible. If the Ihrno has indeed done these things, we have made no secret from them that you are investigating the surface.” “You expect Rentar-Ihrno to be expecting Art, and possibly hostile?” “Yes.” “That's not good.” “Not at all.” “But Art is Art! She can talk peace!” “We would need to find her first. Erika is investigating, so what did you want me to do?” “At this point?” “Nothing.” “What?” “You're too ... kinetic at the moment. You would rush ahead and find things that we are not prepared for, or ready to deal with the consequences of. Return to the Surface, yes. But investigate things more completely. The things you may have missed. Leave no stone unturned, no good deed undone. We will contact you when we have more information.” “That's it?” “No. You didn't collect your reward from Levy yet either. Do so first, then return to the Surface.” “Very well. We will do as you ask.” “Thank you. And my condolences. He will be marked and remembered.” “Thank you.” “Levy! What do you have?” “Boots?” “Yep! Wait till you understand what they can do!” “Well, time to explore.” Time to polish up missed content and side quests. I'm massively ahead of the game's clock at this point – I'm at least 30 days ahead of the theft of the Orb for starters. So the next few updates will be me poking into corners, fighting fights, and getting the five major Artifacts out of Valorim. Minimal plot at all until the plot takes over.
berryjon fucked around with this message at 01:43 on Apr 25, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2017 07:59
|
|
|
It's painfully obvious who's responsible once you ask yourself why they aren't any Vahnatai party members; At least the party has a good reason for wanting to kick their collective asses. Also, why would they want you to escape the prison? Even if they want to use the party as anti-Empire propaganda after the escape, that's still a crazy stupid risk.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2017 17:16
|
|
|
thetruegentleman posted:It's painfully obvious who's responsible once you ask yourself why they aren't any Vahnatai party members; At least the party has a good reason for wanting to kick their collective asses. When E3 was announced, I actually sent an email to Mr. Vogel (yes, I was very young), asking if this meant there would be Vahnatai party members. He responded that doing so would take more work than was feasible, especially on the mechanical side. That he didn't include the option in Blades of Exile seems to support that. Also, Unspecified Services is an Exile agency, and the Vahnatai are a separate polity. The Slith and Nephil members of the party are implied to be from the groups allied or part of Exile at this point.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2017 17:48
|
|
|
thetruegentleman posted:It's painfully obvious who's responsible once you ask yourself why they aren't any Vahnatai party members; At least the party has a good reason for wanting to kick their collective asses. It's even more obvious when you consider that the crystal shards recovered from the Giant/Troglo battleground are the first case where the evidence you find is actually directly causally linked to the plague, instead of being a "signature" that could easily have been planted by a third party. The Vahnatai bear Exile no ill will; they are capable of distinguishing between "good humans" and "bad humans". They're just painting with a ridiculously broad brush, such that some random hermit in the Valorim wastelands is just as culpable for the Crystal Soul theft as Garzahd was. Also, gonna replicate my post that got inserted in-between the golem wrap-up and Art's moping: quote:So, a fun bit of subtle storytelling. When you first meet the smuggler at the northeast corner of Gale, he mentions that the mayor would be pissed if he knew that the smuggler was letting Exiles into Gale. Why is this significant? It means that the mayor, the same guy that has the city on lockdown, is also in charge of the only means of entry to or exit from the city. And what's the only thing getting into the city right now? Skribbane Herb. TooMuchAbstraction fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Apr 24, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2017 17:56
|
|
|
Letting you escape is actually a savvy move. The mayor needs to establish and keep control, so backing down from her threats to arrest you is not a feasible option. But locking up the only people to succeed against the plagues is also not feasible. One, it's going to draw attention given your fame and known success. Two, Art and company are a bunch of magically talented, physically powerful, possibly unbalanced adventurers - not exactly the kind of people you want stewing in fury a few feet from the council hall. Locking you up, but in a fake way sort of splits the difference.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2017 18:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 1, 2024 05:24 |
|
|
TooMuchAbstraction posted:The Vahnatai bear Exile no ill will; they are capable of distinguishing between "good humans" and "bad humans". They're just painting with a ridiculously broad brush, such that some random hermit in the Valorim wastelands is just as culpable for the Crystal Soul theft as Garzahd was. I'm thinking less that they're painting with a broad brush and more that they're making it clear that the consequence for messing with a Crystal Soul is a war of destruction. It's just that the form war with the Vahnatai takes isn't them marching a bunch of soldiers into your land, it's them sneaking wizards behind enemy lines to plant monster-producing factories where you can't find them. I mean, don't get me wrong -- I'm not suggesting that their actions are justified -- but then again I'm not a Vahnatai.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2017 18:17
|
|
