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I'm genuinely intrigued now by having two incredibly powerful beings - a crystal soul and a dragon - somewhat at odds.
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Nov 6, 2022 21:26
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Regarding the funeral tower: Do you have stairs in your Vahnatai ruins? 
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Nov 11, 2022 01:03
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Scenario 3 - The Za-Khazi Run Chapter 4 - Casser-Bok   "I am reminded, in pazzing, of records of the Long Fall." "The what?" "You speak Vahnatai, and you don't know that?" "The Long Fall? I thought it was the Black Waters." "One iz the name of the journey, the other iz the colloquial name of the journey." "Yeah, the name of the expedition from Formello down to the Olgai to broker a peace with them, and mutual aid against the Empire." "Oh, yeah, that. Including the encounter with a nigh-abandoned Crystal Soul near the end of the journey." Except we're going North, not south." "And lezz waterfalls." "No, just more portaging." "Thiz iz the pathway we need to take." "We're still close to the end, I can feel it." "As can I." "The really fun part is that we're only a week into this trip. About a third of the time frame allocated to us." "Curiouz. Thiz, like the Poppy cavern, indicate extreme lengthz of time." "That's nice, but which way?" "North; the Vahnatai are hidden, but not lozt." "Ah, I can zense the magics here." "Of course, they would hide in a place where no one in their right mind would want to go." "Security through obscurity. How often in our other jobs have we dealt with a person who hides something by just not admitting it exists." "Could we deal with the welcoming committee first?"  Curse, Bless, you all know the drill by now. That Skill is an issue, and the Poison can stack quickly. But thankfully between our two Priests, they can lay down some heavy debuffs to keep it under control. And that 11d13 damage dice does look scary, but remember that they only get one attack a turn, and PCs get that last-change hit point where they can stay at 0HP if they should otherwise be killed. Like so. "One down, who knows how many to go." "More here." Exploring in Combat Mode also preserves the timer on buffs, as with Haste, the slowest of my party, Tokkka, is effectively six times faster than normal mode. Another think I like to do against extra large enemies like this is set down damaging fields. The game's engine checks by tile for damage, not by enemy, so while there are three Dark Wyrms I am fighting right now, between them all, they take 8 ticks of damage from the Ice Fields I've laid down. When we get Wall of Blades though... "The lazt of the Wyrms." "Now animate Fungus." "Not much of a threat, really. Be careful they don't cover you in Mycelium." "The what?" "The fungal webbing." "Iz that what you humanz call it? Thank you." "There's still a lot of them." "halp" Each level of Webbing reduces the victim's AP by 1. If you have more webs than AP, your turn is skipped. Spiders have ended more solo runs than anything else. "But iz an learning experince."   "AHH!!"  "Exploding Arrows!" I've been saving these for a rainy day, and this qualifies. The first three shots here are effectively a casting of Divine Thud, while the last is a dud and while it shows the graphics for a Firestorm, it does no damage.  "Burn!" "That should be the lazt." "Which is good because I think I see the hidden passage." "Sloppy work, for uze againzt animals, not people." "No one was expected to find out about them, but we were lead here."  {Thank You.} {Your accent is horrible.} {Better than your Imperial Common.} "You will speak for uz then." "Oh."     "Right, here's hoping I don't screw up." "Please don't. I doubt we'll live to regret it."  You meet an exceptionally tall Vahnatai, so think you're amazed it can even walk. When you entered, it was writing something in a stylus on a clay tablet. "I am Stal, welcome." {We bow before your wisdom. What do you do here?} {I ponder, as is my title.} {What is it that you ponder?} {As Ponderer, I consider the actions of the war between your peoples. This outpost was built for that purpose. I also Train individuals who need it.} I've been skipping dungeons, so I think I'll save this for much later. {Thank you, we will not needlessly bother you.}  This Vahnatai has the dull eyes and chalky, dry skin that afflicts these creatures in old age. She seems lost in thought. Your entrance startles her from her reverie. "Oh, forgiveness asking, I am Iglit." {We Bow before your wisdom.} "Using your tongue, shall we? Require practice." "We accept that. Forgive the intrusion, but we are looking for your leader." "Our leader? Ah, speaking you of our commander. Yes, permission must be sought. I am not. No, I am Ponder." "The human word iz Sage. What do you ponder?" "Sage. Thanks be to you. I think. I contemplate. I advise. All words. Very confusing. These are words of great importance here at this outpost." "Stal spoke little of the outpost. What can you share with us?" "We are here to watch going on in Exile's war, and be reporting the news back to our people. I look at the information, sort it and find what is worth telling back to them, with analyzing. But also, our commander has asked me to assist you." "Assistance? In what manner?" "Zoat-Ihrno has asked that I procure any items you may wish to remove from your bodies. Surface supplies. I can also identify things." "Ah, sales and the like. In the interest of peace between us, I'm sure we can find something we can sell you for some small recompense." "Also, Exile's name is now officially Avernum, to help distinguish ourselves as a separate entity from the Empire." "Ah, truth? I will note that." "Lunch room. Say, can we eat here?" "Yes." "Thank you." "Does this lead out of the base and into the nearby caves?" "No." "Storage, probably."  The fort's commander sits in his office, waiting for your appearance. He stands, bows to you, and sits again. "I am Zoat-Ihrno. Welcome." {We Bow before your wisdom.} "Thank you for the greeting, but it is not needed. I am commander of this outpost. I wanted to speak with you about your reason for approaching." "Yes. But first, your outpost is not a concern to Avernum." "We agree. You should not be concerned about this outpost. We are not spies, but to observe. A subtle difference. We are watching your war, and reporting back all things that are publicly known. We mean you no ill. It iz of a different reason I wish to speak." "Yes, the Reason of Casser-Bok." "You have a message from the Bok? That is the last thing we were expecting. We could have dealt with you or ignored you on our own terms, but for that. This is larger, and you must take your message to our secret leader." "Oh. Your secret leader." "The slith/human war is important to us. This outpost is an important took for watching it. Thus, we have been given the greatest honor. A Crystal Soul is here, to give us guidance." "Not surprised, all things considered." "Yes, I suppose so. It is Presso-Bok. It wishes to see you. Speak the word, and I will open the gate." "Please." "It is done." "Everyone behave." "We have so far, why would this be any different?"  "I greet you, Humans and Slithzerikai." You arrive in the presence of another Crystal Soul. It is very different from beaing near Casser-Bok. It's a lot more peaceful. The sense of menace and agitation is not present. You hear its gentle voice in your mind. "I am Presso-Bok." "We bow before your wisdom." "I can speak little with you of my task here, though you have context already. It is private. I must instead speak with you of the matter of Casser-Bok." "Yes, his message was simple. Casser-Bok wishes to return to his people. He feels his skills will be of use in the coming time." "I must tell you that our response is no. Casser-Bok may never return. The tale of that one is a horrible one, one that you had no way of knowing." "When a Vahnatai of great value and knowledge dies, we may seek to turn the valued one's spirit into a Crystal Soul, like myself, to forever guide and provide wisdom to our people." "Our contact with the Olgai Vanhatai has allowed us top learn that much." "Sometimes, however, this does not happen smoothly." "Sometimes, a Vahnatai wants to become a Crystal Soul, but it is not chosen. One such being exists in an undead state in a tower crypt to the south. Other times, the ritual of transformation is a failure. These times are very tragic. Finally, sometimes a Crystal Soul does not adjust well to solid form. Flaws in the personality come forth." "He iz flawed." "Casser-Bok is such a case. He is mad. He did not wish to guide, but to rule. He did not listen to requests, but gave orders. And when he was not obeyed, he murdered several Vahnatai." "These murders were shocking and unforgivable, but destroying a Crsytal Soul is against our nature. So we banished him. He had been trying to return ever since, but has also slain any Vahnatai that has come within its reach. Because of this I hve advice for you. Serious advice." "What do you advise?" "You can go back to Casser-Bok to give my message now, but I advise against it. He is mad, and may harm you when his request is refused. That is all. Please leave us." "Very well." "And return me muzt. Casser-Bok haz promised us reward to get past the Dragon, and it waz contingent on the mezzage being delivered and replied, not itz contentz." "Ztill, very dangerous." "I'd say against going back, but what other choice do we have?" "none." * * *  "And we go." "Wait." "What?" "I think it's better if I go. If things go south, of all of us, I think I'm the one best suited to surviving by himself until I can get out or you get in." "Are you sure?" "He has a point. If fighting is needed, he's better than either of you two, and can last longer than us three." "Don't look at me!" "He has a point." "Look, I'll need all our consumables? That Wand of Fireballs will be useful at least." "Here." "And thiz Piercing Crystal, in case." "Thanks."  "Here's hoping all this prep is for nothing." "Oh, mighty Casser-Bok, I return with the message you desired." "Speak!" "Well, I'm not dead, so that's a good start."   "And here is the portal. Hopefully it's just a quick hop and we can leave." "Just a quick hop, that's all it will be." "Speed Potion drinked, I can see the floor is poorly made, better stay on the path for now." "Yeah, stay on the path. No need to anger Casser-Bok any further." "Is that statue... moving?" And he has no levels of Mage, so he cannot cast Scry Monster! "I can see something behind that statue up there, but they have me pincered. Or they would if I wasn't Blessed and Hasted." "Glad I have this Wand." "... Really glad." "And safe!"  "At least the door is easy to see." "Not going to use my Crystal on that. Yet, at least."  "Oh great, one of these puzzles." When you step on the sigils in the four corner rooms here, you can see a 'click' or a 'clang' in the message box. You want to have four clicks, which means Upper Left, Lower Right, Lower Left, then Upper Right. "That could have been frustrating to do multiple times. I'm glad I got it right on the first try!" "Not much here..."    "Please let this get me out." "Here I go!" "You're back! What happened?" "I have the prize, just needed to go get it. Let's leave while we still can." "Done." "Now I dread the next problem."
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Nov 11, 2022 19:52
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So Gremlins summon if you step off the path?
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Nov 13, 2022 23:44
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Quackles posted:So Gremlins summon if you step off the path? No... I don't actually know what happens if you step off the path before you get to that safe point where you go north. That's another thing to look into in the 100% run.
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Nov 14, 2022 00:46
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The game doesn't specifically point it out, but the older Vahnatai Ponder is actually someone who we met before - Iglit was one of the first Vahnatai met back in Exile 2, who helped you become a member of the tribe. Can you fight Casser-Bok? Obviously it might be tough with one person, but Exile 3 did give them stats and the option to (non-canonically) kill them in the Great Walls if you didn't have the correct 'weapon' so I'm wondering if there's either a special message for killing it and/or one of the instant "you hosed up, instant Game Over" deaths that were pretty common in Exile.
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Nov 14, 2022 01:16
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MagusofStars posted:The game doesn't specifically point it out, but the older Vahnatai Ponder is actually someone who we met before - Iglit was one of the first Vahnatai met back in Exile 2, who helped you become a member of the tribe. Sadly, pointing that out doesn't jive with how I'm writing the narrative, and yes, I did go back and check. All Praise to Baldurk for His Ceaseless Efforts to Archive poo poo. It's on the list for the 100% Run. Man, this entire Scenario is also 100% ret-forshadowing of Avernum 6, isn't it?
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Nov 14, 2022 01:30
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Scenario 3 - The Za-Khazi Run Chapter 5 - The End of the Run  "We should be close now. Maybe 50 miles to go, in a straight line." "But what elze lay in our way iz the question." "Calm waters, open caves, and welcoming locals?" "Well, we have the first at least."  "Can we not pay for pazzage?" "HUMANZ GO AWAY! LIZHARDS TOO!" "The gates are pretty far down, there's no way to get this barge across." "But I see land access from the west. We might be able to talk to someone there would smooth things over. We have a large enough war-chest for a bribe or six." "We muzt attempt." "And it iz along a path we already know." "Huh, I wonder if the Vahnatai chose their location for the presence of this town, or something else?" "Dunno, they never mentioned them." "It muzt have not been relevant."  "Hail the fort!" "There is no way they didn't see us coming." "Ahhh!" "Haha! Kill them! Chaze Them! Meat from their bones!" "Hoztile." "drat."  "You're reading signs when they enemy is literally on the other side of the wall?" "Just while waiting for the others to Bless and Haste us." "Not to mention the history lesson." "The whay?" The notion of the "Monster Town", which is just like a normal town, but one for the 'enemy' is one that I don't see too often. Because it implies civilization and that those you are wantonly slaughtering might be like you, which breaks the 'Otherness' required. "Diplomazy is gone. We muzt find the gate controlz."  "No, not here." "I think this is the way!" "Zeemz so." "poo poo, they're on the bridge!" "Do you zee another?" "North side, same type!" "Kill box." "But we control the box, they're on the bridge." "But I haz Fireball."  "OK, that was far more tense than it looked. But we're good, right?" "With everyone except you having ranged options to fight with, this was actually pretty easy." "There zould be controlz to the south." "Like these ones." "Shin, help me with this, it's heavy." "Guys, I was checking the bridge, and we have a problem." "Don't tell me they broke it!" "No, worse. There's another gate to the north." "Logical. A gate on both sides to defend from both sidez." "We will open that too." "I can see the Gate is open now. We're good." "Charge!" "Here's the other Bridge, there's not much over there!" "Except other Sliths!" "It iz too late; they muzt have warned them of our coming, which iz why we could not pazz." "Thiz should be the other gate control room." "Shinwell?" "Right."  "It iz done. Back the way we came." "Here's hoping we aren't ambushed on the way through." "And stay running!" "Phew, lost'em in the rocks." "Yez, now back to the boat, and hope for the bezt." Is that my first overworld random encounter? Really?!?!? Whatever, time to run away. "Ztill here." "I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen more of the Sliths attacking the fort." "They're to the north, fighting the Fort. Maybe this was just as much an expedition as we are?" "Not our concern, really. Also, Fort ahead."  "Watch for attacks from the sides." "Careful under the bridge." "And we are good! Ezcape!" Dungeons Skipped: +0.25. Really, I just skipped the north-west quadrant of the dungeon.  "Hopefully, the only thing left is Khoth, whom we can negotiate with thanks to the Crystal we got." "I hope zo too."* * *  * * *   "I can zense the magic here. Ancient and powerful." "Dragon." "And now... I fear."  "I remember this from the briefings. Pyrog - slain by the First Escape. Mortrax, killed by the Empire. But Khoth, Athron and Sulfras all departed Exile, and their locations were generally known so we could avoid them." "This is the equivalent of a summer home?" "What iz that?" "A smaller, secondary residence for lesser, but not less important use." "Explain in more detail later." loving Moving Floors. Only thing worse is a Teleporter Maze. I spent about an hour making my way through this, planning, saving, reloading. You're getting the highlights. Because I hate this sort of maze. Now, the interesting thing is that this maze is divided into discrete sections, and you can safely 'fallback' to the starting room from several points, minimizing the lost progress. There are also enemies here, like these Efreet's. Whom have the single worst thing I can think of to defend themselves with. Martyr's Shield means that when someone with that buff receives melee damage, the person doing the melee damage receives the same amount of damage right back. So if Hox walks up and smacks this guy for 30 damage, Hox also takes 30. Either Slow/Curse them and go around, or use Ice and RAnged attacks. And teleporters as well, to send you back to the start. This is the end-room for most of the paths, and from here you can get back to the start. Stepping into the upper-right tile (or being pushed) spawns a half-dozen Gorgons, who promptly Sleep the entire party and murder you. Don't do that. This is the way you need to go. Not West or North like I did for my first few attempts at the maze. And here, to the east, is the next room you need to go to.  "Yez, we do, for pazzage."  One quarter down, three quarters to go. Oh, and the enemies 'improve'. Because of course they do. Double Basilisks. Thankfully I can Bless/Curse my way through this. mostly I first thought this was a secret passage, but no, it's an error in the engine. The Spiny Wurm has an 'anchor' tile, like any multi-tile monster. For the Efreets earlier, it's their bottom half. This tile is used to calculate location for the monster, but the engine still renders the whole thing, and while the location is a single time, the whole sprite is real for the purposes of interactions. This error, as far as I know, only shows up with the shifting floors, which does horrible things to collision detection. "I hate this." "So do I." Yes! Back to the main front room. Progress! And only in this goddamned maze could getting back were you started be called PROGRESS. And going West first is wrong. you go West second. This is just north of the Efreet room, and is actually pretty accessible. Until you tell the statue to the East that you have a present for Khoth, this tile just north of me is closed off, and you can't go further. Also SAVE HERE. "Almozt there..." "Oh poo poo." This is the final fight of the scenario, and it is a bitch. I resorted to cheating to restore my SP and HP. You have the melee-proof Efreet in the corner embarrassing you the whole time, and these...   Some results are quite bad, but when this happened, I just accepted it and persevered and restored the party afterwards with the cheater. "That waz... horrible." "I waz sure we were dead." "Thank goodness for you two and all the spells you can throw out." "Also, have to report that Khoth has access to Golems like the ones on the surface or worse." "Anaximander isn't going to like that at all, will she?" "No, no she will not." "Hrm..." "No."  "Remember, we are here for pazzage, nothing elze." "And the Dragon himself."  I like the E2/E3 Dragon sprite better. The enormous creature looks amused and intrigued by you. Someone proving their worth to speak to them must be a novel experience. The beast towers over you. As it looks you over, it idly scratched the floor with a broadsword sized claw. "I am Khoth. I know your names." Small puffs of flame come out of its nose and mouth as it speaks. "And I am a DRAGON. Mightiest of creatures. I learn, and I increase my power at will. And, at times, I demand tribute." "It iz the subject of tribute, O Mighty Khoth, we wish to speak of." "You wish to leave my fortress to the north. I don't wish to let you. So. There are many treasures in the Za-Zhaki run, treasures which I covet. Make one these treasures payment to me, and I will let you pass." "We offer you payment."  "Go." "As you command." "Run?" "Stride briskly more like." "Legs too shaky. Can only stroll."  "Almost there." "Freedom!" "Indeed. We must go forth now." "Ah..." "WHAT?" "Look for cracks, smaller pzzages not visible to the unaided eye."  "Ah, here, illusions." "We go then. And leave no path, to keep the Dragon's privacy."   "Ah, we needed that rezt." "Yeah, pushing ourselves like that was too much." "And having a good wall to protect our backz made thiz an excellent choice." "True, true, but we need to get going. We're almost to Cavalier."  "I can only imagine the work it would take to make this river clear. Losing our boat wasn't pleasant at all." "No, it wasn't. But such a work would take years." * * *  * * *  * * *  "I see Sligh sign, they have pazzed by, perhaps az part of the siege."* * *   "WE ARRIVE!" I laughed at this, as it was literally the tick when I went over into Day 11 when I approached the fort. It was just such a stress relief after Khoth's BS.  "You are welcome."  "Ah!" You meet a tired looking Priestess. She's patrolling the fort, looking for someone who's been wounded. When she sees you, however, she runs up to you, please to meet the saviors of Fort Cavalier. "I am Mother Janis, welcome." She bows. "I do healing for the fortress. I am required to charge for visitors, but for you, I can give you a reasonable rate if you are ill." "We're good, actually. What of the fortress?" She chuckles dryly. "Since Avernum can't get supplies to us regularly, we have to sneak groups out through the secret exit, and but from passing Nephilim and other creatures like Troglodytes. Painful. I wish I could have stayed a teacher." "You teach?" "Thank you!"  This dangerous looking woman is pacing around the dining hall, reading a spell book and memorizing spells. She she sees you, however, she smiles and bows out of respect. "I am Veronica. Respects to you. I am Fort Cavalier's mage. It's only Mage." "What do you mean by that, mage?" "It's one of the reasons why we've had so much trouble defending the fort, and why we needed the wants you carried so badly. If we wanted a fireball, I had to cast it, and I can only do that so many times in a day. By the way, for your help, there's a spell I would like to teach you." "Please do." "This is Major Summoning." "Ah, siege weapons going over the walls."  "Ah, here we are."  You doubt you've ever met a person who looked so thankful to see you. When you enter his office, Commander Malak leaps to his feet to shake your hands. The last few weeks have been hard on him. He's in his thirties, but looks much older. "I ma Malak," he says, sitting.. "I lead the defense of Fort Cavalier against the Sliths. Thanks to you and the wands you brought to us, we actually have hope now." "What about the Fort itself, sir? Why is it in such a pecarious position?" "Politics. It's a rough place, built in haste, with half the fighters it should have. Yet, we've held up half the slith army for months. How about that?" "Impressive. As a Slith." "Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with the Slithzerikai in general. Several of them fought by my side against the the Empire. But I also recognize that I can't group your entire species together. You, Humans, Nephil, Vahnatai. We all have internal political divisions that mean that I can say one thing, and not have it apply to everyone. Yet people will always choose the worst interpretation because it suits them." "As for the wands? Fifteen of them. Firestorms. Shockstorms. Hell, there was a Charming wand in there for extra hurt! All with extra charges in them. Used carefully, they'll last for weeks until the Army can push in and relieve us. That reminds me, you deserve to be rewarded. And you probably want to return to Avernum." "What sort of reward are we looking at here?" "As per your contract, you'll get your gold when you return to Exile. Sorry, Avernum. Also, people around the fort are eager to help you. And I have something extra for you in that chest." "Thank you, sir. But you mentioned going back to Exile?" "Yes, there's a concealed tunnel leading out through the east. It's one way thanks to the environment, and we still take care to watch it for intrusion. It will take you down pretty far." He gives you instructions on how to use the tunnel to get back to civilization. "Thank you again, sir."  "Thiz is it. Back to Avernum."   "And yet... I feel like in our hazt, we mizzed so much." "We did." "Maybe someone else will do a better survey in the future." "Watch, they'll send us." "No, thank you." And that has been the 'rush' run of the Za-Zhazi Run. Join me next update, when I screw the the time limit, and check everything out.
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Nov 14, 2022 20:44
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I like Khoth. Immortal being, one of the most dangerous in the multiverse, and he just wants to hide away with his books and not be disturbed. Living the dream.
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Nov 14, 2022 21:31
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Black Robe posted:I like Khoth. Immortal being, one of the most dangerous in the multiverse, and he just wants to hide away with his books and not be disturbed. Living the dream. Howl's Moving Dragon. Alternately: Khoth's Moving Floors
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Nov 14, 2022 23:07
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Black Robe posted:I like Khoth. Immortal being, one of the most dangerous in the multiverse, and he just wants to hide away with his books and not be disturbed. Living the dream. I see your point, but Khoth's a douche. The one I liked was the friendly one that loved cats but was badly hurt in... Exile 2? I can't remember his name; I hope that he survived in-canon. Point is, I'd move in with that one.
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Nov 14, 2022 23:59
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JustJeff88 posted:I see your point, but Khoth's a douche. The one I liked was the friendly one that loved cats but was badly hurt in... Exile 2? I can't remember his name; I hope that he survived in-canon. Point is, I'd move in with that one. ... I'm presuming you can't kill Khtoth or backtrack from the fort upon victory?
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Nov 15, 2022 00:37
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JustJeff88 posted:I see your point, but Khoth's a douche. The one I liked was the friendly one that loved cats but was badly hurt in... Exile 2? I can't remember his name; I hope that he survived in-canon. Point is, I'd move in with that one. Agreed, Khoth is cool but Motrax is always my favorite.
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Nov 15, 2022 01:45
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The good ones always die young, which for a dragon is just a few thousand years. I remember another one that had eggs which was a first in a long time - did they ever develop that? Edit: Athron had the eggs; I remember now.
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Nov 15, 2022 02:58
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Xander77 posted:I'm presuming you can't kill Khtoth or backtrack from the fort upon victory? JustJeff88 posted:Edit: Athron had the eggs; I remember now.
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Nov 15, 2022 03:42
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Scenario 3A - The Long Run Chapter 1 - Fort Goodling, and the Cunning Crypt And today, as promised, I start with the Comprehensive Run of the Za-Zhazi Run. The purpose here is to show everything off that I missed, skipped or otherwise bypassed on my mad dash to the finish line. To do that, I am going to use the same party as was at the end of the previous run through, and here they are; Now, this IS going to be a lot softer and lighter in terms of narration. Expect more summarization, more casual info dumps, and more ... well, let's call it abridgement, especially when I get to things I've already covered, or aren't interesting, like typical 'store' characters. Anyways, let's begin. "Hold on, let me turn on ze lights." "I know all, I zee all."  "Ugh, what day is it?" "Ah... any day we want it to be." Thank you, character editor, for allowing me to skip all the boring parts and make the time limit irrelevant. But, when you adjust the day, it adjusts to the end of that day, not the start. "Ah, this is going to be a nice relaxing trip up north with no pressure, no looming threats, just a nice boat ride." "drat straight." "Oh, hi there." "I am Ahsss, I am a loyal soldier of  "I sell Tier 4 through 6 spells, and buying Curse all and Bless All from me is a pretty good idea, as well as picking up on other spells as you can afford." "Hey, there's no supply guy here!" "Yo, I'm the Town Trainer. Also, I hate every person who has moved up to the surface in Valorim and think that they are turning their backs on Avernum. I'm going to stay down here fighting until the day I die." Training Time! Priest Spells +1 (6), Spell Points +5 (44) Mage Spells +1 (6), Spell Points +6 (56) Strength +1 (9), Dexterity +2 (9), Intelligence +2 (9), Thrown Weapons +5 (13) Strength +1 (10), Dexterity +1 (10), Archery +6 (20), Lockpicking +2 (12) Strength +2 (15), Dexterity +1 (14), 1 Skill Point remaining. Bashing Weapons +2 (20), Defense +6 (6).  "Oh, books!" "Eh...." "Not totally incorrect..."  "Hi! I sell Mage Spells of rank 4 through 6. Get Slow All, Haste All and Firestorm. Also Dispel Barrier. Honestly, you could spend a lot of money on me. Also, I don't have much to add to the plot or story."   "Nice!" Ah, this is where I got that Wand of Fireballs. "What iz thiz?" "I am a illusion sent by Morog - WHOM YOU MISSED LAST TIME, JACKASS - telling you that you have an invite this time. DON'T SCREW THIS UP. Peace - OUT." "Rude!"  "I'm Mayer, overworked Quartermaster. I hate that you're getting special treatment, but I can't do anything about it. Also, I hate the Empire so much I refuse to move up to Valorim. Anyway, if you want to sell something, I can buy it." "Boat time!" And here is the map of Fort Goodling. Wow, feels weird to start doing these again. "Let's look in all these nooks and crannies, shall we?" You're just getting the highlights. "Uh... We can't go any further west, apparently, the world ends here." "Hidden pazzage here." "Juzt a time waster."  "Oh dear. We should help them out."  "Yoink!" "What next?"  "Completely boring." "Very boring." This is the fight I used to kill the default party in the opening post. This time, I'm winning it.  "Those stopped being a threat back at the school." "Eh, some of thiz is edible." "North Now!" And the first section of the Run: "Hey, what's that?"  "There's no way this could be a trap at all!"  "Though thiz does explain the recent raids on Goodling."   Nothing special here. "They would have put the good ztuff hidden away." "Like there." "Eh, loot?" "I wana fight the fire breathing hydra!" "No, we have fire-breathing lizards at home." "Thiz is familiar." A Poppy field, like what we will encounter later. It's a warning of things to come. "Look, more!" "Eh, we can do it this time." I can fight Pyrohydras, not a problem. Gremlins are too low level, and they flee combat.  "Regular Hydras are a let-down." "How could they do that?" "I don't know." "Let uz explore this random cave that we have no reazon to enter." "And the good lord said, LET THERE BE LIGHT!" "I think thiz iz a trap." "Odd, the lava pitz open after we step on them. We can step off as we will." The game checks for damage or statues from tiles when you move onto them, not off of them. You step on this tile, it turns to lava, and you can stay here as long as you want without taking damage. "Oh, I see. You enter through one of these two doors, and it closes the other one off. As you go around the outside, the floors give way to Lava, meaning you have to backtrack through them, taking damage on the way out in order to escape and try again." "Screw that. Let's just reload the game and go looking for an alternate in." "Dude!" "Hey, look, it's right here."  "My feet are clean. Are yourz?" "Yez. No defiling here." "Oh, and lava again."   "Careful of their XP drain." "Not a problem. Man, this maze could be harder if we didn't have a map." "We're out."  "Bookz!" "Nerdz!" "Hey!"  "Zorry, I forgot to Scry the Imps." "No matter, zearch the shelves...!" No, I don't know either.  "Ah, uzeful information." "We're still going to check all of them, right?" "Of courze." "Ah, a teleporter out of here." "Alzo not a concern." "Do we really want a nap?"  No, but we did lose a day. "Oh, I zhould Identify stuff."   "Well... I don't think I want any of those." "This, on the other hand, could be useful." "And while you were doing that, I was making sure the hallway was secure." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "I zhall cazt Firewalk for thiz." "Hello? Anyone home?" "Re-kill the undead first, then advance!" "Alreay ahead of you. Also, Tokka is really good with those Firestorms."    "Pull it." "Ah, the south wall just vanished, releasing the rest of the undead."  "That was rude!" "Your face is rude!" "If you could stop yelling?" "Oh fine. Let me just circle around here..." "Oww!" "Told you!" "Screw you. I kill you now." "Juzt have to slide around to get at the zecret behind." "Like so." "Loot!" "Think this will sell for something when we get back to Avernum?" "Maybe, but here's some more lockpicks for me." "That's enough. Let uz leave."  And that's that for the first two sections. See you next time!
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Nov 21, 2022 00:55
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At a guess, I wonder if the "empty" scroll is the scenario editor default template for items. So like each pre-existing item has a slot assigned to it (e.g., item #1 is a stone sword, item #2 is a bronze sword, etc...) and as a convenience, there's a bunch of extra slots at the end which are empty by default so you can create extra items without overwriting the existing ones. So if you try to place item #253 or whatever without actually designing the item, it just uses the default 'Empty' template. Also, you said you're going to reset the days as needed using the editor, but can you still keep track of the total number of days you actually burn? Just wondering how long it takes to full-clear to get an idea of just how badly you'd fail the time limit if this was for real.
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Nov 21, 2022 02:27
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MagusofStars posted:Also, you said you're going to reset the days as needed using the editor, but can you still keep track of the total number of days you actually burn? Just wondering how long it takes to full-clear to get an idea of just how badly you'd fail the time limit if this was for real. Probably, but yes, I will take as long as needed for a full clear, and show off the 'dead' Fort at the end, then maybe I will rewind time to win. Or not. And yes, there are a lot of empty items in the Scenario editor. I just like that you literally find an 'Empty' Scroll.
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Nov 21, 2022 02:29
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It is probably disabled for being too powerful. The first and only time an Empty scroll was used got rid of 99.99% of the matter in the universe by turning it all into vacuum. I fear what another casting would do 
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Nov 21, 2022 04:11
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Slaan posted:It is probably disabled for being too powerful. The first and only time an Empty scroll was used got rid of 99.99% of the matter in the universe by turning it all into vacuum. I fear what another casting would do Please tell me (truthfully) that's a reference to something? Also, the Full Run involves a lot of backtracking. Like, a lot.
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Nov 21, 2022 04:37
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It isn't a reference, just a dumb joke
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Nov 21, 2022 08:11
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Slaan posted:It isn't a reference, just a dumb joke I am sad now, and will have to work on the next update when I get home from work to recover from my sadness.
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Nov 21, 2022 14:04
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Scenario 3A - The Long Run Chapter 2 - Asskiva and the Blood Glee Clan  "Row, row, row your boat! Gently down the stream!" "Did anyone check which of the five we're on now?" "The west-most one." "Ah, 'cause we just ran out of it." "BEACH PARTY!" "Not enough beach." "Then we zhall find one!" "Hey, you guys seen the party?" "Yez! Up behind the clifz." "Thankz!" "Watch out for the Zlugs." "The what?"   "Thoze ones, I think." "Still not a good beach." "Tell me about it! The second waterway from the south meets up here!" "Thiz must be the plaze." "Now they think we're the cops." "Or worse, their parents."   "Hello?" "No!" "Yez!"  "Try again?" "Yez."   "Thiz isn't a problem."    "It waz a stupid party anyway." "And here's the central river that goes up north. You know, not even a proper dead end, three of the waterways meet up. I wonder if the other two do?" "Perhapz. But there iz this side pazzage here on the second path."  "Ah... Dragon?" "I don't think we were told about that yet." "Dragon's old trash bin." "And through the power of cheating, we know that the two left pathz have nothing interezting on them until you get to the end." "Just because we have the complete maps for this scenario now doesn't mean we can't go looking for irregularities. Things can still be hidden in the open, and not visible through that low-resolution mini-map." "Not like this." "Just walk through the wall already." "Power Geode! Nize!" "What?" "Spell Point Recharge as a rock, not a drink." "Exactly." "But that iz all for this section of the Run. On to the next." "And here we are, in the boundary between the south and the center." "Did we need to hear that again?" "Hey, I think I see more Sliths over here!" "Are you sure?" "We could get money, but lose a day." "We are under no time prezzure." "And that's about 600 gold for a day's work." "Nothing. How zad." "What about this, on the north side of the lake?" "Oh, these ones. Not the nice ones to the north." "Not even a threat to us now." "Back to Assikvas then." "It occurz to me that we can bypazz this place entirely, and their trapped pazzage, if we were willing to fight our way past the Giants." "That's silly." "Pay in Gold or Treasure!" "What about this statue we found in the Cryptic Crypt?" "The Cunning Crypt." "No. He waz an idiot." "Fine, no passage!" "You sell to pay for passage?" "Not a lot though. But thanks." "Will you let uz by?" "NO! No Humanz, no Strangerz!" "OK then."  "And they didn't block off thiz secret pazzage. How forgetful." "Nerds." "We zaid nothing." "Yeah, while you were insulting, I was reading." "Of zome uze to Priest Zaka." "Hey, there's another book in there." "That confuses me though. How can you be so large and active, yet be so endothermic?" "Further underground, we rose nearer active magma floes. Thiz portion of the caverns, so close to the surface, iz not our home any more than yours." "Popped the lock." "Let me zee that book." "Information iz free."  "Halt!" There's not a lot in this place, really. Sure, it has places to go but outside the Library, the Chief's room and the front room to 'buy' passage, there's nothing here. It's a functional location, with sleeping chambers, mess hall and the like, but there's really nothing here worth looking into. There is this guy hanging out in the lower-left of the map though. He's interesting. And likes to cast Martyr's Shield. "And we are done." "Back to the boat?" "Back to the boat."   "Never to come back!" "Hey, don't forget to save Handi! That'll be handy, eventually. I hope."   "Hey, thanks for helping. Here, let me show some of the creatures I summoned in the fight."  "No problem." "I waz thinking, to do the favor for the Unicorns, we need to get to the Giant's cave firzt, right?" "But without the Charm, can we find the missing horn?" "Look, it's not like we're in a rush, we can get the charm, come back and do things properly."* * *  "Hey, can we get the mission to get that horn back for you?" "Sure!" "Thanks." I will be showing the Unicorn Cavern and the map for this town next time as it's a separate map section from the Giants.* * *  "Over the Bridge!" "Or not." "We can take'm." "I agree." "Charge!" "Credit!"  Haste, Slow, Bless, Curse, the usual. "And getting zo many in Firestorm iz cathartic."   "Well, that was a lot. Good job everyone!" "And more loot too!"  "Aww... they ran away." "Maybe if we snuck up behind them on the boat, they wouldn't notice?" "That's a great idea! Also, we zhould look into that lake to the south of here, zee if there iz anything interezting."* * *  "I would call thiz interesting." "This couldn't possibly go wrong." "At leazt we know where that iz." "We are actually rooting around a Drake Lord's garbage pit for something he threw away and can't be bothered to find."* * * One decent backtrack later....  * * *  "And we are back!"  "Oh, I had so much fun with that spell. Makes solo runs a lot easier." "You're not even supposed to be here!" "This isn't real anyways." "Enough. Let uz raid the Giants." "Oh, right, those Giants." "Let's get to it then."  "Why would they need or want to be tested?" "That's... worrying."  "I think thoze are closed ... agianzt Giants." "Well, these are closed." "Something over here."  "Do it." "Juzt a Meat Worm." "And it doed too fast before you could Scry it." "Guys, avoid the door!" "Why...? OH poo poo. Tokka, Slow Group!" "Why?" "Look." I am an idiot who has a love/hate relationship with Ruby Skeletons, and I forgot to take a picture of the next room with four of them trapped in a small walled area that they can't get out of, but can shoot out of. I don't want to waste time shooting them to death with my group, so instead, I Slow them, Hate everyone up, and run through at combat speeds before they can fire at me. It doesn't completely work, but I survive. "Safe."  And this last room will fill with Ice fields or Blade fields as you move through it. Very, very dangerous. "Zafe!" "Don't Jinx it!" "Door's closed. Is there a lever?"  "How very polite."  "Hoz iz strongezt, and we can heal you." "I hate you all."  "Owwie." "Well, this is the out from that trial." "And it was a feast hall, probably to celebrate the success of the test." "Found the garbage chute."  "And thiz iz another way down for later."  "Ewwww..."    "This might prove to be interesting anthropology, but I studied the Vahnatai." "NERD!"  "Thiz central room haz the leadership, I zee." "That it does. Or did, he's about to die."  "Well, that's not fun. This guy had a Waveblade. And some sort of Rock? Probably a pet rock."  "Very reloxing."  "How zad. Zhall burn all."  "Less an altar, and more a trophy display."   "Ouch, I didn't get through that trap perfectly. And another Waveblade. I wonder if the Vahnatai would want them?" "Ah, maybe? It iz merely Steel." "Well, I can replace my Iron sword with it, as it's an upgrade. What else?" "Oh, wow. That's amazing. Who gets that?" "Not me, I'm dual wielding." "Yoink!" "You already have the Pants, what the heck?" "Now I'm even more protected!" "rear end in a top hat." "Ah, interezting."    "The lifecycle of a Giant." "We are done here. There iz nothing more to see or do on the top floor. Let uz descent." "Like so." Just more enemies to fight in the middle area. Nothing interesting. See you next time for the bottom half of this Dungeon, and the Unicorns!
berryjon fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Nov 25, 2022 |
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Nov 25, 2022 21:32
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quote:"Oh, I had so much fin with that spell. Makes solo runs a lot easier." We all had a lot of fin on that adventure, art. A lot of fin indeed. 
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Nov 25, 2022 22:00
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JustJeff88 posted:We all had a lot of fin on that adventure, art. A lot of fin indeed. "And that's been fixed. You know, when this was started, there was worry that Nakar themself might show up and suggest Steve as a character? There was dread, let me tell you."
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Nov 25, 2022 22:48
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Scenario 3A - The Long Run Chapter 3 - Worm Caves, Unicorn Grove, Dark Maze, Chasm of Fire  "Johnson, light!" "Yeah, yeah, on it.  " "Oh right, we kinds just followed the Charm through here, headed south and got what we wanted before running, didn't we?" "Yep, behind a false wall." "I got to wonder, did the Giants build over the Wurm Pit, or did they turn this section into one after building?" "Good thought, perhapz evidence down here?" "First, could you Scry these guys?" "With pleazure." "Wow, that pretty non-threatening now." "Says the one-man wrecking crew." "Guys, there are more of them. Can we chat later?"  "Now is later. You know, I wonder why they hide everything back here, and not up above where they live." "Thinking? Maybe they see getting to the trophies should be a challenge, fighting through the worms down here to prove they're good enough for it." "That makes sense. "One moment."  "While you zpoke, I got the Horn." "That was anti-climactic." "It was the same az last time."  "Well... I'm going to go with the worms being here first, and the Giants moving in after." "Thiz crevasse agreez."  "As if we needed more proof that the Giants are a bit loopy." "Hey, we're being flanked!" "Then we cannot mizz!" "Zhort fight." "I do not believe anything elze of value iz down here." "Nope." "Pazzage up." "And behind the feazt hall. There iz nothing left here, let uz return the horn."  The missing corner of this map section, and I still have no idea how to get into that area between the Giants and the Drake. Unless it's some winding, 10 tile long secret passage, that is. "Next stop, the Unicorn caverns. Where they've been cultivating and working on beauty." "Oohhhh....." "Ahhhhh....."  "And then there's the running and the screaming...." .... dammit, now I need to see if there's a scenario like that somewhere.... "And here we are." "I am Aetherius, and thank you for the Horn. Aeliopol will talk to you now. Here's the upgrade to get through the safe passage." "I am Aliopol, and screw you non-Unicorns. By the way, there is a Lich, more undead, and Khoth ahead of you." "I am Aeriassa, and we once lived on the surface, before the Empire hunted us down. Now we hide here until it is safe to return. Our presence here is so magical that the cave is being Unicorn-formed, making it pretty. Also, if you need healing, I charge rock-bottom prices." "And we're done here."   "Juzt some Ember Flowers." "Are we ever going to try alchemy?"  "Just a ruby." "And north we go." "Although we can pazz thorugh the Unicorn Gate now, perhapz we can rezt there?" "I don't mind."  "Zlight Rat infeztation."   "Ah, refreshing!" "Yeah, but now it's time to enter the cave system to the east and go through there." "That's going to be fun. Not." Jeff... you... I'VE BEEN MAKING THIS JOKE FOR THREE LP'S NOW! And you finally do it yourself? I mean, I admire your restraint and all, but wow.... "Ah, we muzt me on the lookout for smaller zide pazzages to get through here. I can feel the heat from that magma through zome cracks." Please ignore the damage I took from checking the Lava for hidden triggers. I was also very lax in taking main-screen screen shots for this section. I apologize, but locations will be noted on the map at the end.   "Oh, this is going to be annoying." "Not so much we can't handle." "Uh, guys, where's there's babies, there's mommas!" Not pictured - me fighting four fire-breathing pyro-hydras with low health to start. Not intelligent on my part. "They came from this way...." "If they didn't attack, we might have missed this entirely." "I think we can get through here."  "Yeah, we'll just have to fight our way through."   Just a running fight across the map. Pyrohydras are immune to fire, so they can walk on Lava without issue, which makes getting to them a slight hassle sometimes. "That wasn't so bad." "Another zecret." "Why did it have to be snakes?" "You afraid?" "I don't think so, it's what's further back."  "Naga!" "We see that!" Reload!  Naga are no joke, that's for sure. Decent casters, resisting everything and pretty good in melee, they can take town a party with just a little luck. So, the solution? Anti-magic field! You can buy it at the starting town, and is only Mage 6. And the best part is, while is stops casting in and out of the field, it doesn't stop untargetted spells, like Bless/Curse All. Yet, the enemy sees the AM Field and treats it like it does! So Field up, and start swinging for the win. "That could have been worze had I not the Field." "Yeah, Hox could have been in trouble if he couldn't keep up with them in the face-smashing department."   "That waz nice, a restoration to our spell power." "It alzo dumbfounded uz all." By three levels, meaning we could still cast Restore Mind - except I have the character editor open to fix that.  "Ah, the source of the knowledge we uzed last time." "Oh, this is going to take forever..." "Again, not on a time limit now." Each of those rocks going north from here is a 'difficult passage', making them time consuming. Is the reward worth it?  "Nothing ventured."  "Hrm...." "Not immune to fire."  "What is this?" "I don't know." Jeff Vogel's deliberately incomplete walkthrough of the scenario has no mention of this. For all I know, it's something for Khoth! "We should be getting close to the exit." "FINALLY!"  "We muzt visit him thiz time." "Password" "Calamity" If you get it wrong, you are thrown into a fight with four Shades. They're not a threat to this party. "Enter and be welcome. Serve Morag." "Time to find a Lich, then." The Dark Maze. It's where Jeff remembered that he can have locations that are more than one map-tile across, and the maze is spread out over 1 and a third, give or take. It's a deception for people who are used to thinking that a new map section of the run means a new area, and going through the maze, reaching the top of the current map tile, then finding out there's more makes this maze seem far larger than it actually is. It's also a massive time sink thanks to the hidden passages, difficult rocks and windy road through. It may actually be faster to do the Unicorn's favor and stroll right through the gate. See you next time!
berryjon fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Dec 9, 2022 |
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Nov 28, 2022 17:37
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I don't get the, um, running joke I'm afraid. Also, I maintain that the Exile games are too stingy with SP.
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Nov 29, 2022 00:33
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JustJeff88 posted:I don't get the, um, running joke I'm afraid. The phrase "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike," is a famous phrase from the maze section of the 1976 text adventure game, Colossal Cave Adventure. It has been fodder for many, many pop culture references.
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Nov 29, 2022 00:53
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Antimagic Field is the MVP of the entire Exile series. Spellcasters are far and away the most dangerous concern in nearly every battle and casting it right on top of them it immediately shuts down that threat. Especially since the late 90's AI is usually too dumb to actively leave the fields, so you effectively take them entirely out of the fight for several turns to focus on the other meatshields or physical enemies in the battle.Quackles posted:The phrase "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike," is a famous phrase from the maze section of the 1976 text adventure game, Colossal Cave Adventure. It has been fodder for many, many pop culture references. There's also a later maze in Adventure with a similar formula, which goes something like this: quote:(enter the maze) How do you map this one? If you didn't catch it, re-read those sentences again carefully.
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Nov 29, 2022 01:43
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So I went back to get the updates where I made the joke.... And it turns out that I made the "XYZZY" joke when going into the Honeycomb, here and here. I could have *sworn* I made that joke properly myself in the past, but for the life of me I can't remember. MagusofStars posted:Antimagic Field is the MVP of the entire Exile series. Spellcasters are far and away the most dangerous concern in nearly every battle and casting it right on top of them it immediately shuts down that threat. Especially since the late 90's AI is usually too dumb to actively leave the fields, so you effectively take them entirely out of the fight for several turns to focus on the other meatshields or physical enemies in the battle.
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Nov 29, 2022 02:03
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Quackles posted:The phrase "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike," is a famous phrase from the maze section of the 1976 text adventure game, Colossal Cave Adventure. It has been fodder for many, many pop culture references. Never played that; fair enough. I didn't really play any of the very early PC games of that sort because I didn't get a PC until 1995, which is coincidentally why I know about these games. JustJeff88 fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Nov 29, 2022 |
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Nov 29, 2022 18:11
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JustJeff88 posted:Never played that; fair enough. I didn't really play any of the very early PC games of that sort because I didn't get a PC until 1995, which is coincidentally why I know about these games. Oh, Colossal Cave Adventure wasn't even an early PC game. It predated the IBM personal computer by about 15 years. Hell, at the time it was made, computers that were small enough that a single person could own them had only been on the market for less than a decade.
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Nov 29, 2022 18:36
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Whybird posted:Oh, Colossal Cave Adventure wasn't even an early PC game. It predated the IBM personal computer by about 15 years. Hell, at the time it was made, computers that were small enough that a single person could own them had only been on the market for less than a decade. Is there any way to play it these days? You've piqued my curiosity.
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Nov 30, 2022 00:15
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JustJeff88 posted:Is there any way to play it these days? You've piqued my curiosity. Also, fun fact, the entire genre is called "Adventure games" because it literally created the genre.
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Nov 30, 2022 01:44
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BackupDancer has started an LP of Blades of Avernum the remake of this game and scenarios. Go read! I'm serious, there is an additional 'core' Scenario in BoA, and the scenarios themselves are sometimes quite different. Compare and contrast!
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Dec 4, 2022 04:08
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My first exposure to Vogel and his milieu was the Scorched Earth Party (http://www.armory.com/~crisper/Scorch/), way back in the heady days of the pre-9/11 2000's. It might land a little differently these days, but at the time it was some of the funniest poo poo I'd read on the internet, right up there with Old Man Murray in their heyday, and made all the more magical because I'd just stumbled across it entirely by accident (searching for this old gem), and you could never be 100% sure some random wacko's personal website was actually being ironic. So I was delighted to later find out that lunatic made games, and classic indie RPGs to boot, but... I've never really been able to get into them. Does any of his slightly-demented style of humor show up in any of his games? Because all the ones I've checked out seem to play things almost disappointingly straight.
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Dec 4, 2022 08:44
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Still accepting characters? If so. Dusty, a young priest/kleptomaniac. Taken in as a child by some monastery, he found himself given the boot the second he turned 18. They raided his room and his pockets, but they couldn't reposses the knowledge. Third row and third column, the guy in blue. Magically Apt and Nimble Fingers. Invest in Priest spells, disarm traps, lockpicking, and poison (if that's useful at all).
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Dec 7, 2022 02:25
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Added to the Que! Thank you for your contribution.
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Dec 7, 2022 04:39
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Scenario 3A - The Long Run Chapter 4 - Wurm Pit, Morag's Citadel, the Deep Caves "Hrm..." "What are you thinking?" "Oh, is that what I smell burning?" "That's bad and you should be ashamed of yourself." "No, that would be your asz. I waz doing calculationz bazed on diztances travelled, and I believe that we are more than half way to our deztination. On the 14th day of our trip." "And we've been going out of our way to do things, so what you're saying is that our 10 day run was extremely fast, and the actual trip should be about 30 days?" "Probably closer to 25, but making the run in 20 days or less should be quite viable." "Assuming you have some way of getting past Khoth." "Well, we know where to get the object from the Vahnatai, but there are ztill other options available to uz." "Thiz Lich might prove hospitable." "Heads up."  "Oh dear. We're being attacked by the restless undead." Four Specters don't put up much of a fight. "And what do we have here?" "Small pit? Mound-pit thingy?" Right, so I messed up the mapping of this place. I took my initial screenshot, then forgot to take the central one from the main middle that would include everything. It's got all the important parts to it though, so this completely optional dungeon does have some documentation. "Nothing to it, but to enter."  "hiss" Meet the typical enemy of the location, the Oozing Serpent. It can attack twice in a turn, and can add three stacks of poison onto the victim, and has a chance to sleep them as well. Sleep means they can't attack, can't move, can't act and they don't wake up when they take damage. Needless to say, to a less prepared party, they can be quite dangerous. "I think a plan is in order!" Why are you looking at me like that. I said UN-prepared! "My scrying revealz a pool there, acceszz from the south." "Anything special about it?" "Not really. Juzt clean." "What is THAT?!?!?" "Slow!" "Hazt!" "YOU HAVE MAJOR HASTE! USE IT" "Curse!" "Bless All!" "Major Haste?"  If you've gotten this far without knowing just how vital those spells are in this game, I don't know what to tell you.  "We'll deal with the snakes, you figure that out." "Man, I'm glad we're so heavy on ranged combat in this party!" {Mage, this is cursed. But it is also tied to the location. Removing it from this place will set some of the curse upon us, but if we get away with it, it will fade quickly.} {I see your plan, Priest. Hrm, I think the pool we saw earlier could aid us as well. A blessing on it could suppress the curse long enough for us to escape with this.} {It would still be a risk; I sense wards about this place that would trigger.... violence if we failed to exercise caution.} {We could just leave it. There is nothing and no one for it to harm here.} {No, it would be wrong.} {Wrong. Priest, is your mind addled?} "Hey guys, no rush or anything!" {No, recall the terms of our service.} {You think this would be rewarded.} {And I would have the trip to the Fort and back to examine the nature of the curse.} {Very well. I cannot overrule you.}  "We muzt leave." "What did you guys do?!?" "Guys?" "A magical keystone on the curse. We muzt flee with it!"  "I don't feel so good...." So, stealing the statue poisons the party, and will poison them again before we leave. It's Major poison all the way through, so be prepared for this. BUT! There's a catch. If you try to leave without doing two things I'm going to show you, the statue won't leave with you. You'll have to try again if you want the end-of-scenario reward. "Ignore!" "The pool!" "What did you guys DO?" "Deztroying this!"  "Drink, it will keep the evil at bay." "But it will not lazt." "I have found the weakness."  "Here! Pazz through before the waterz fade!" Your time limit here is EXTREMELY NARROW. Get to the escape point marked on the map after drinking the water, and GTFO.  That's how close I cut it, even with the small combat in the way; I was making up time by running in Combat mode to save a few turns. "Zafe! The Curze shall wear off now." "Just deal with the poison first." "Yes, let's."* * * "Sounded dangerous." "Very." "It was juzt a decision that needed to be made now. And it waz made." "Yeah, I can feel the energy sapping away. By the time we get back, it should be safe." "I don't like it, but we can't do anything about it here and now. We'll complain when we get back to Avernum." "I was out scouting, and well, I spotted this."  "oooh!" "Curiouz." "Well, we should be coming up on the Lich's place. We have an invitation, so it should be good." "Except for those guys. They might have an objection."  You know the drill. "Thiz iz West, not Eazt." "I do not know Flight." Nope, nor do I, and without it, you can't get to that event.   "You know what this reminds me of?" "No." "The Castle. Except this cavern is much smaller, and oriented north/south, not East/West. Why, I bet there's some sort of lava bubble under there!" "I suppoze you are correct on that."  "Hello? We were told we were welcome." "Enter, and be welcome."  "Approach, that we may speak without yelling." "uhh..."  "Well, we knew they were in the region. It's not surpising, really." "True." "Hail and well met, o'Ancient." I could fight Morog. I have Anti-Magic Field. I won't. "I am Morog, Queen of this region. I like visitors though. Not the Empire. They're assholes. Are you assholes?" "No, no we are not. We are Avernites.If I may, what brings you here?" To prove I'm not making that up. "Oh, don't look so surprised. It's cold. It's mostly dark. I moved down here... oh.... six centuries ago." "Ah.... the First Expedition was less than two hundred years ago." "Is that what they called it? I thought I heard some rats scurrying around. No matter. They're dead. You're not. Anyway, I'm here. Some come to me because they're passing through and want a place to stay for a while. Others come to petition me for assistance. And some, desire my favor, and to perform a mission." "You offer Assistance?" "Not to Humans." "..." "And those who travel with them. However, I am an entrepreneur, and I delegate some minor services to familiars. Use the portal in the north-west corner of the room to visit a small, I suppose you adventurers would call it a 'town'." "And what of this mission?" "Oh good, you can be intelligent. There are some mushrooms I want, but they're deep underground. Under the Vahnatai. Under the Slithzerikai. I would get them myself, but they are also in a region infested with Demons, and if I go, I would draw way too much attention. You are out of their expectations and beneath their notice, and you should be able to get them for me. Or not. I don't care. If you choose to, head through the South-East portal and find your way there." "Thank you for your time, we will avail ourselves of your hospitality before we embark." "Pretty nicely spoken." "Thank you." "Also polite. See you soon!"   "A 'Town', huh? Wonder if it's staffed by skeletons?" "What." "Oh great. Customers. I'm Vmok Can I throw you all into the stew? No? drat Morag. I can sell you food and a spare room to rest in. And just pray I don't kill you in your sleep." "Proth's the name, and planning your murder and the death of Morog is my game. Until then, I can identify your stuff and sell you stuff as well. For a price." I dump my excess and buy some pretty nice stuff! Two of these for Hox until he gets unique weapons. This goes onto my three casters as the best defense for 0 Encumbrance. "Zalat, you know the drill. I train." +11 Spell Points, +6 Intelligence +4 Intelligence, +14 Spell Points, +1 Mage Spells +8 Edged Weapons, +7 Thrown Weapons, +2 Spell Points +3 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +2 Lockpicking +5 Strength, +4 Dexterity, 1 Skill Point remaining +4 Dexterity, +4 Defense "Through here?" "Yes, there's a second portal on the other side to take you where you need to go. I don't mind if you wander." "Look around, shall we?"   "I... thiz cannot be safe."   "Well, I'm glad that no one is dumb enough to sit in that." "Gruesome." "Junk." "What did you say?" "Junk." "You're right! But between you and me, with you having the run of this place, I cna get some revenge on Morag. She's got this totally awesome treasure in the south-west corner of the fortress. It's hidden behind a portal maze. Could you steal it?" "You're kidding, right?" "Truth! I get vicarious revenge if you accomplish this!" "Like we would truzt your word."  "Let uz not."  "Everyone ready?" "Let's do this." "Thiz is dangerous. We muzt move quickly to find what Morag wants." "This is ridiculous." "Quiet, we can't see much, but sound still moves." "Everyone roped together?" "Check." "Check." "Check" "Check." "Check." "Check. OK, let's stay away from sources of light for now." "Careful, thoze are demonic." "What iz a Grue?" "A what?" "It iz fictional, a monzter on the surface that preys in dark places." "We're safe. Move on." "Quiet, I can hear something...."  "What the hell?" Oh, this is bad. Huge attack, multiple chances to web a character each action. Decent health? These are terrifying, really. "Kill them all!"  "I think that's it?" "More on the other zide of thiz passage." The best place to be, really. They can only attack me with two at a time, and I can focus with everyone at once. "OK, now we're clear." "You hope." "I hope. I mean, there's still demons around." Meh, I can take them now. I just don't want to because it would be very, very hard. "Another pazzage." "Now where?" "You want to go into the demon's place?" "Just into the back, a quick check." "We flee at the firzt sign of observation." "There iz no way that's safe." "I wonder what sort of horrible trap this is?" "Ah, yeah, that tracks." "I hear something." "Back!" "Nothing." "Ah, What luck. I think theze are the muzhrrooms Morag seeks."  "Back the way we came, and let uz never return." "But we will report." "Absolutely."    "I vote we warm by the lava before we report back in." "Agreed." "Thirded." "That's enough of that. Let uz return to Morag." "We return."  OK, so we were warned that Morag would attempt to negotiate down on the reward for services rendered. Getting these Mushrooms is pretty easy, though tense. If you decline Morag's offer here, you move on to the next step. If you agree, you get ripped off, and Morag tells you about a location that isn't secret and we'll get to in the near future. So, decline. Now, this is legitimate. What you aren't told, however, because Morag is a DICK, is that this protection only works if you have the Unicorn Charm. That's right! Taking this offer will allow you to get through the Poppies ahead without any worries at all, as long as you also have also completed the Unicorn quest. If you decline this exchange, then Morag will give you the Dragon Scroll, and you will have to fight time to get through the Poppies. I take this offer because of ~reasons~ you're going to see.  "Would you mind if we looked around at your amazing place before we leave?" "Go ahead, as long as you survive."   Just a lot of hostile undead. I've had my fill, thank you.  "Interexing, no sign." "None needed?" "As we're not going to do the stupid thing and raid Morag's vault, and we have a degree of... allowance, I say we check things out." "Well... this isn't fun." "They tried to cheat me."  "It's ... beautiful!"   "Thiz is not pazzable." "We've only got one Piercing Crystal between us all."  "You bastard. How long have you had that?" "Less complaining, more Dispelling!" So, this is a maze, and the teleporters do nothing, except help set up a raid on the Vault if you're suicidal. False dead end for people who think they can get through here. The real trick is to Firewalk across here (or just take the damage) and bypass the locked gates. Doing so will take you to this trigger...  And after beating them up, you can go back to this teleporter. Which will now take you here. "That waz easy." "And who cazt Firewalk again?" "Guys? Hostile Efreet?" One in close quarters like this is pretty easy, really. I can smash and take the Martyr's Shield damage quite easy. "Curiouz, Morag haz voiced no concern."   "Oh, wow. We have the Poppy Charm, and now we have the Dragon scroll? SCORE!" Time to CHEAT LIKE A MOFO!  Turns out that using this, combined with the "Leave Town" cheat doesn't actually cause Morag to forget you. There's an event flag tied to taking the scroll that sets the town to hostile, and I can't change that without restarting the scenario. I've lost access to the town, which means my next chance will be the Vahnatai Outpost. I also hosed up taking my screenshots of Morag's place, and I didn't save my work and ... ugh. I'll go back and do that after I record the next session. Let this be a lesson to you all. Don't work on LPs when it's two hours past your bed time! "RUN!!!!!!!" And lastly, there's no outdoors map for this update. Because of the way the map is set up, there's a large section I need to go through to complete Morag's region, and I need to figure out how the hell I deleted a file I had open at the same time. Bed time first. Problem solving later.
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Dec 9, 2022 07:04
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| # ? May 6, 2024 00:38 |
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It feels like a shame that there's so much content in this module that you're encouraged to just gloss over. One of the reasons why I'm not a fan of time-restricted quests even when they make sense in terms of the story.
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Dec 13, 2022 22:10
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