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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Regarding the writing, obviously you have to establish their primary characterizations and haven't had much time in which to do it, but I think you're hammering the "I want a drink" button a little hard for Dmurr. I mean, every single line she's had so far has referenced alcohol in some way; I think we get it. In contrast Kai-Lyss is considerably more subtle; I like it. I've taken both your comments into consideration. Once Dmurr gets a drink, I think she'll quiet down.
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Dec 30, 2013 03:04
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Ignoring the fact I think you've written the most articulate sliths in all of Exile, at least to the best of my memory, I forgot this game is the point where they ditch about 75% of the wacky sounds that probably drew me in to the game from Exile 1. I'm not sure if I would have played much Exile if I had a demo of 2 rather than 1 back in those days. and thank you for taking my advice about the OP
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Dec 30, 2013 03:48
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Cheez posted:Ignoring the fact I think you've written the most articulate sliths in all of Exile, at least to the best of my memory, I forgot this game is the point where they ditch about 75% of the wacky sounds that probably drew me in to the game from Exile 1. I'm not sure if I would have played much Exile if I had a demo of 2 rather than 1 back in those days. The way I look at it, Aaarth-Tss and Kai-Lyss both have their reasons for practicing the human tongue, and to make themselves understood. The same cannot be said of any other Slithzerikai they may encounters.
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Dec 30, 2013 04:15
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I guess you might be right about that. Especially forgot about Aaarth-Tss's whole thing. Already. After reading the post.
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Dec 30, 2013 04:38
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While that first battle is (technically) optional, the game expects you to get into it. It's honestly one of the first things that comes to mind in terms of poor design decisions in Exile 2 (after the wonkiness of the poison, alchemy, assassination, and luck skills, but before we run into some of the more insane sidequests later on). While I love Exile 2, that fight is a piss-poor way to introduce a new player to the game, as you're usually unprepared, the enemies are all around you, and you don't know the mechanics yet. They love to bunch up on your poor mages, who will probably be thrown into the middle of the courtyard with them when you hit fight for the first time without knowing how the game likes to put your characters in formation, and they can roll RIDICULOUSLY high damage numbers for being the first fight of the game. Even an optimized party can suffer a death with some poor luck. Also, gotta say, while I like all the characters' concepts, I'm enjoying Chester and Kai-Lyss' dialogue the most so far; they seem to fit very naturally into their roles. Hopefully the rest will shuffle out their issues in due time. And for those reading along, take note: while most maps you find in the game are poorly-scrawled, this one is especially terrible.
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Dec 30, 2013 07:24
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The 'correct' way to fight that without risk is to all withdraw into a room and let the guards deplete the nephilim first while you concentrate on taking out their shaman. Though I'm not sure if they're strong enough to off any important NPCs.
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Dec 30, 2013 07:57
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Shady Amish Terror posted:While I love Exile 2, that fight is a piss-poor way to introduce a new player to the game, as you're usually unprepared, the enemies are all around you, and you don't know the mechanics yet. They love to bunch up on your poor mages, who will probably be thrown into the middle of the courtyard with them when you hit fight for the first time without knowing how the game likes to put your characters in formation, and they can roll RIDICULOUSLY high damage numbers for being the first fight of the game. Even an optimized party can suffer a death with some poor luck. >If you try to fight it straight, even an experienced player can struggle badly, much less a newbie. >There is no opportunity to gain levels/XP beforehand or even to visit a store. So if you have an oddball setup (e.g., multiple archers), it's entirely possible to have a character forced to use a weapon with no training. >The enemies here (Chief, Shaman, several Warriors and half a dozen regular Nephils) are roughly equal to a late-Chapter 1 random battle. The soldiers help, but you're still outnumbered. >It's entirely possible to just run right out the front door and skip the entire battle. Since there's usually a soldier or two closer to the nephilim spawn than you, this is actually reasonably safe. But doing so screws you out of the map and >You can, as mentioned, dodge the fight trigger entirely by going through the mess or abusing the start/end combat button to jump past the trigger. >The tired/lazy/drunk mage in the room next to yours actually can be requested to help and is a huge benefit...but from where you trigger the battle, it's actually extremely difficult to get to him unless you immediately enter combat mode and run for it (something that a new player probably wouldn't think of). I'm pretty sure you were actually intended to run and ask him for help, since this not only draws him into the fight, but also gets your characters out of direct fire, letting the soldiers wear down the enemy, making the battle significantly simpler.
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Dec 30, 2013 15:05
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Well if you're fighting it straight I recommend 4 characters capable of throwing fireballs. Solves things up a treat.
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Dec 30, 2013 16:42
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MagusofStars posted:>The tired/lazy/drunk mage in the room next to yours actually can be requested to help and is a huge benefit...but from where you trigger the battle, it's actually extremely difficult to get to him unless you immediately enter combat mode and run for it (something that a new player probably wouldn't think of). I'm pretty sure you were actually intended to run and ask him for help, since this not only draws him into the fight, but also gets your characters out of direct fire, letting the soldiers wear down the enemy, making the battle significantly simpler. Really? I thought he just got caught on the bad pathing AI, much like the Captain does in my video. I mean, instead of going through the open door to get at the attackers, the Captain keeps walking into the corner of her room because it's a straight line to her target. This fight would have been much easier if Kai-Lyss had Level 3 spells. Haste and Fireball? Yes Please.
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Dec 30, 2013 16:44
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Oddly enough I've never had much problem with this fight. You have enough soldiers on your side that you're not getting hit with that much damage, and can plink away at leisure. But yeah, I always had Fireball which helps a lot. It's not really worth it to do much close-up fighting this early, when warriors are fairly worthless.
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Dec 31, 2013 01:23
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This first fight is a pretty good way to dash any hopes the player might have had about running a full pacifist party.
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Dec 31, 2013 04:33
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That's a pretty severe first fight. Can you start this game out with area-effect spells or is that only later on in the series development?
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Dec 31, 2013 04:35
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Glazius posted:That's a pretty severe first fight. Can you start this game out with area-effect spells or is that only later on in the series development? If any of the characters had started with level 3 Mage Spells they'd've had access to Fireball, which really smooths out the early game. Granted Kai-Lyss only has 10SP, which is a big limitation.
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Dec 31, 2013 04:38
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Glazius posted:That's a pretty severe first fight. Can you start this game out with area-effect spells or is that only later on in the series development? As others have said, Fireball, which makes its glorious return from E1 would have made this a lot easier. Kai-Lyss will be training up to Mage 3 rear end soon as he can. There will be no arguments about this. TooMuchAbstraction posted:If any of the characters had started with level 3 Mage Spells they'd've had access to Fireball, which really smooths out the early game. Granted Kai-Lyss only has 10SP, which is a big limitation. Actually, I think the in-game character maker is borked. It didn't seem to apply the same bonuses to the characters that you get at normal character creation. I'm half tempted to re-build the party from scratch, but instead I just used the character editor to fix up the stats. Kai-Lyss has 24 SP. 12 from the Spell Levels, plus 12 from buying SP outright.
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Dec 31, 2013 08:25
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Just to clarify for people who might still be new to the game/series, fighters have a weak start in the early game; your money has to be split between their gear and getting training for the whole party, and running up to hit dudes is risky business when one bad turn with just a couple of enemies can splat a low-level character. High HP gains, damage that can't be negated by magic resistance, and some other goodies make them excellent at taking out single targets later on. Conversely, opposite what you might expect, mages are indispensably powerful early on; the magic level is Mage 3, at which point you get access to Fireball. Some spells you have to be taught (few of the low-level spells, but nearly all of the high-level spells need to be acquired extrinsically), but a few you will know right away at the correct level, and Fireball is one such spell. Berryjon will almost certainly be showing off why Fireball is good; for those playing along at home, get at least one, and maybe two characters who can cast this AS SOON AS YOU CAN, maybe even right out the gate. It's worth it. I've said that I love Exile 2, and I've said that Exile 2 has some questionable gameplay decisions. Just know that Fireball is borderline necessary to beat the first chapter.
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Dec 31, 2013 09:17
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Shady Amish Terror posted:Berryjon will almost certainly be showing off why Fireball is good; for those playing along at home, get at least one, and maybe two characters who can cast this AS SOON AS YOU CAN, maybe even right out the gate. It's worth it. I've said that I love Exile 2, and I've said that Exile 2 has some questionable gameplay decisions. Just know that Fireball is borderline necessary to beat the first chapter. It makes a stupid large difference early game to have two people who can throw fireballs or haste spells instead of just one. You just have to be careful not to go overboard on one or two fights and drain all your SP when you're out in the middle of nowhere.
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Dec 31, 2013 11:08
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berryjon posted:Actually, I think the in-game character maker is borked. It didn't seem to apply the same bonuses to the characters that you get at normal character creation. I'm half tempted to re-build the party from scratch, but instead I just used the character editor to fix up the stats. Kai-Lyss has 24 SP. 12 from the Spell Levels, plus 12 from buying SP outright. When you create characters in the initial creation, you get free bonuses to SP for having spell levels (so if you're playing along at home - put as many points into spell levels for your casters as reasonable - saves a bundle of skill points on SP later on). The in-game character maker operates similar to increasing stats via leveling - meaning no free SP. Oddly, E3's is even more borked up - The initial six "premade" characters actually have *more* skill points than a brand-new from-scratch character by a significant margin even in the normal character creation. Therefore, if you're looking to optimize, you should manually decrease all stats to zero, deselect traits, etc rather than actually removing the character and replacing them.
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Dec 31, 2013 12:34
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I don't recall being able to put points into SP directly. But it was long ago, and I've played revamps since. Still, enough spell levels to get all the free spells (usually tier 3 depending on system) is a good plan for casters in Spiderweb games (Except Geneforge where it doesn't apply, IIRC). Two people with Mage3 and Preist3 are key elements to any starting Exile party for me. It just makes so much difference. Admittedly, I teach most fighters enough for minor heal and minor cure too. A bit of free SP on long trips, and emergency healing options when turn order is not in your favour.
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Dec 31, 2013 13:39
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Shady Amish Terror posted:While that first battle is (technically) optional, the game expects you to get into it. It's honestly one of the first things that comes to mind in terms of poor design decisions in Exile 2 (after the wonkiness of the poison, alchemy, assassination, and luck skills, but before we run into some of the more insane sidequests later on). Though it does show just how much Jeff Vogel (owner of spiderweb software) has improved in his ability to make fun games. In one of the last gene forge game you are in a similar situation. You are fresh recruit right off the boat about to begin your training and all hell breaks loose. The opposing forces are attacking and you have to run through a battle of giants vs lightning lizards to safety. You aren't going to die unless you do something stupid like attack a giant. Still gives the same sense of conflict, but it's not nearly as annoying. And it is pretty cool, because the giants and lightning lizards are new summons to that game, so you get to see them in action in end game fights.
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Dec 31, 2013 19:51
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I will say this about that introductory fight, though: it does a good job of setting the mood for the game. The nation of Exile is in bad trouble in E2, and this fight shows the player that instead of just telling them.
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Dec 31, 2013 20:59
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Personally I'd have spawned the fight at a greater distance from the players so the nephilim have time to get roughed up by the fort's troops, maybe even more of them than we had. That, and given some passable gear for any character type. Non-spellcasters are screwed really hard when you might not even have the weapons to match their skills.
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Dec 31, 2013 21:09
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Haha, I was waiting for you to get to this fight since the first LP started. The first time I played this game that Chief dropped one of my tanks from full hp to zero in two hits and only dumb luck kept me from losing anyone. Exile 2 really feels like an expansion pack for the first game, as the difficulty is tuned up, and the game doesn't pull punches. Looking forward to seeing how this comedy act does.
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Dec 31, 2013 22:04
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It's a much easier fight in Avernum 2. If you have any decent mage you have access to a multi-target ice spell that makes these cats mincemeat. Think the guards are a bit stronger in it, too.
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Dec 31, 2013 22:54
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a medical mystery posted:If you have any decent mage
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Dec 31, 2013 23:25
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This is the fight that got me to use the editor to un-pacifist my priest like 5 minutes into a new game. It was doable with two guys throwing out fireballs and hastes but not being able to bless made it a lot harder than it had to be.
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Jan 1, 2014 00:10
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I think I'm going to collate all your guy's commentary about that battle, and put it into the update. Does anyone mind?
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Jan 1, 2014 00:16
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Sounds good really, and it really should be impressed on newer players that you want M3 and P3 in your starting party just to get over the gear gap at least. And that letting the NPCs soften them up goes a long way.
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Jan 1, 2014 00:26
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Mage 3 is a lot more important than Priest 3; Haste and Fireball are both clutch spells. I can't remember anything seriously significant in Priest 3 (Bless and Wound are both level-2 spells, right?), so Priest 3 is mostly a stepping stone to Curse All in Priest 4. With the way the AI works in this game, it's not remotely uncommon to be able to hit 4 enemies with a single Fireball, which is fantastic damage-per-mana and damage-per-target since Fireball is honestly pretty powerful. If you have two Fireball casters in your party then you can easily chop each encounter in half on the second turn once the enemy has bunched up on your meatshields.
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Jan 1, 2014 01:03
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Mage 3 is a lot more important than Priest 3; Haste and Fireball are both clutch spells. I can't remember anything seriously significant in Priest 3 (Bless and Wound are both level-2 spells, right?), so Priest 3 is mostly a stepping stone to Curse All in Priest 4. Heal is Priest 3, I think. I usually don't bother even buffing my fighters this early on, I'd rather just spend that SP blowing people up even if I don't have fireball (Flame/Wound are good enough). They're kind of just there to soak damage before you get the party-wide buffs.
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Jan 1, 2014 01:34
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berryjon posted:I think I'm going to collate all your guy's commentary about that battle, and put it into the update. Does anyone mind? I saw you already updated it, but great idea. Honestly, when I read some of the LP's in the Archive, I find some of the most interesting updates to be ones where the LP'er addresses/includes reader comments, because it gives a nice outside perspective and/or fills in gaps. Without overdoing it of course - not all our discussions really need to be remembered 
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Jan 1, 2014 01:57
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Woo! Great start to a much-beloved LP.
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Jan 1, 2014 02:02
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Redmark posted:I usually don't bother even buffing my fighters this early on, I'd rather just spend that SP blowing people up even if I don't have fireball (Flame/Wound are good enough). They're kind of just there to soak damage before you get the party-wide buffs. A fighter that's had Bless cast on them once can soak something like five times more (melee) damage than one without, because they're borderline-unhittable. And they'll be contributing about one Flame spell's worth of damage per round as well. Of course Bless makes no difference for spell damage.
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Jan 1, 2014 02:28
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Actually, I take some time out in the next update to show off how Bless affects a character, along with how dual wielding functions.
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Jan 1, 2014 02:57
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One of the things I really love about Exile 2 is how much more present the antagonists are. In 1 Grah-Hoth and the Empire and the Sliths were mostly just content to sit in their home bases until you came up and bothered them (the Fort Remote attack aside). In Exile 2 the Empire have you constantly on the back foot: they're up close and in your face and ceaselessly working on new, horrible ways to make your life difficult, and you constantly feel threatened by them.
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Jan 1, 2014 13:41
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Wow, finally caught up. Good job so far, berryjon! Lots of potential with the new group.
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Jan 2, 2014 18:26
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I'm playing through Avernum 2 right now, and it strikes me how much more fun it is. That extra push of guidance at the start makes it far more accessible that A1, or even the remake. Looking forward to seeing the differences between A2 and E2.
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Jan 5, 2014 02:59
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occipitallobe posted:I'm playing through Avernum 2 right now, and it strikes me how much more fun it is. That extra push of guidance at the start makes it far more accessible that A1, or even the remake. Looking forward to seeing the differences between A2 and E2. Which is more fun? E2 or A2? Also, I should have an update ready tomorrow.
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Jan 5, 2014 04:42
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Update 003 – Fort Draco and Under Draco  “I've heard of Draco. We passsed by on our way to meet with you.” “It's not much. Just a mining town, really. Not even properly threatened by the Slithzerikai. Right now, it's being reinforced to deal with Empire incursions.” “Wouldn't a fort closer to the river to the west be better, Ma'am, Sir?” “Oh, don't be such a boor, my dear Chester. Even Ganrick is an outpost. Draco is an established locale to operate from.” “Ssstill, there is a tenssion in the air.” “Right on that. Can't wait to get my hands on a proper bow, that's fer sure.” I went and fixed up the party's stats. It seems as the in-game character creator acts like a trainer, not proper character creation, so it doesn't add in the additional Stats for being Slith or Nephil, nor did it add in the extra SP from having levels of Mage and Priest to Kai-Lyss. He's a hella lot better now, as is Dmurr and Aarth-Tss. “Alright, Draco is a secure location, I should hope. So once we're inside, we can split up and do our own thing. We'll meet in the tavern to eat before we plan out our next move.” “You want us to go our separate ways, Ma'am, Sir? That doesn't seem like a good idea.” “Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, we're all in ear-shot. Besides, one of the things that Unspecified Services encourages is independent investigation. Consider this a... test of a sort. I'm going to visit Boutell, the blacksmith, then head over to the tavern to wait for the rest of you.”  I may transcribe these extra messages in the future. I'm not sold on how they're presented in this LP yet. “Barriers? What are they talking about?” “Go and find out.” “Such a taskmaster! Who does she think she is, giving orders like that?” “Crisper? I do not know that name.” “Speaking of names, wasn't there an Art... something or other some years back? Oh, darn. I suppose I should have paid more attention to that sort of thing during my time in the Capital.” “This restaurant is quite poorly laid out. The table doesn't even have a proper view!” A large, filthy dirty man sits at the bar, swilling mushroom ale. “Hey, let a man drin in peace.” “Well, I be! And who are you to tell me what to do?” "Harg. And you heard me. I'm drinkin' here. Go away." “Humph.” “Don't mind him. He's a grumpy drunk.” The bar is tended by a handsome man with somewhat deranged demeanor. He fights a constant and futile battle to keep the counter free of soot. “Ah! Food! Drink! Finally, I'm famished!” “Shouldn't you be getting a replacement bow?” “Nah, Chester said he would. He's a pal like that.” “It is improper to take advantage of your fellows like that.” “What? He said he would, and I trust him! More'n I trust you, really.” "Welcome to my inn! My name is Crisper." “What do you serve?” "Drinks are a gold. You can sleep in the common room for 5 gold. And you can even buy rations! Feel free to stay and rest for a while. Just never mind me. It takes all my time keeping the place clean." Fort Draco serves much the same purpose as Silvar does in the first game, providing a basic base camp for the party before they move on to more important places and locations. This is the Inn, and here you can also buy food. Food, basic supplies and training are all to be found here, though like Silvar, there are no additional spells to be had. “Can I get a drink?” "Here's some of our finest!" He serves up several mugs of mushroom ale, with little flecks of soot floating on top. It's strong, and not entirely repulsive. “Oh, that hit the spot. And it should tide me over for a while. So, why are you constantly cleaning?” He twitches. "All the ashes! I never knew when I bought this place there would be so many ashes! A ton a day, piles and piles of them, all over. And smoke too! And it isn't just that...” He twitches alarmingly. "It's the spiders! I have to clear away their webs! All of them!" “Ummm... Art did mention something about spiders before...” "They're what did this to me! It was the happy spiders! I can't get them out of my brain! I hear them speaking to me sometimes! A whole bunch of them live to the west. Some of them came around not that long ago, looking for someone to help them. I ran! I've always hated spiders! And having them hit on me only makes it worse!" He's ranting. You get nervous. Yes, they're here. Yes, we'll visit them before the end of the first Act.  “Hello!” You see an ageing and greying man behind the counter, wrinkled and grumbling. He is sharpening an arrowhead. His skin is like parchment, bleached white. He looks up at you. "Ah! A customer!" He brushes soot off the counter with his hand. "I am Orson. Welcome!" “My name is Chester, sir. I've been given a shopping list to take care of. Would you be willing to help me?” "Sure! I run this fine little shop. You can buy and sell weapons here." He waves at his stock. "Not bad, despite the barrier. Really messed with my stock." “Your stock seems well enough, sir. What is the problem?” "Well, I won't be able to get much new stock with those barriers up, but I still have a lot here. I just hope they get the thing down soon." “Let me buy something first, if you don't mind.” “I was supposed to get a bow and some Arrows for Dmurr. I wonder if these are what he was after.” Oh sweet mercy of Sanity and Intelligence! This alone makes ranged PCs worthwhile instead of dead weight in Exile 1! AMMO STACKS “Oh, about those barriers?” "It's awful! Big magic barriers, cutting us off from Exile! Ask Commander Anford about it! He'll tell you." Everyone will give you this line when you ask about the mysterious 'Barriers'.  “Ah, I've heard of this place. It's where people go to get trained! Though I don't feel the need to visit here yet.” Training is done on a screen exactly the same as character creation. However, instead of having unlimited gold to work with, we have only the party funds. And additional Skill Points are earned via levelling up. Characters will earn 5 Skill Points every level until Level 20, then 4 points each level thereafter to the cap of 50. There is another way to earn Skill Points, but I won't be able to get that until Act 4. “<What curious thoughts emerge from beneath the bubbling water.>” “<To think that such large effects from such a small thing.>” “<What am I to learn?>” “Boat. <Float-craft>. Boat.”  You meet an energetic, long-haired woman, her belt laden with tools of various sorts. She holds a ruler and a scroll, and her jerkin is covered with a light layer of sawdust. “Hello! I'm Tess, the shipwright of Fort Draco. Pleased ta' meet'cha!" “I am Aarth-Tss. I wasss looking at your... boatsssz.” "Whaddaya' think? I make them. Wanna' purchase one? Only 300 gold. Highest quality!" “I do not know... I would need permission, nor do I have the money required. It is not like we have had much need for sssuch thingsss in the passt.” “Makes sense. We don't get much business, and it's not often that Slith come up this way. They like to stay closer to the Gallery and the waters near there.” “I am from Gnass.” “Interesting! Well, how about we talk some more in my shop?” “That may be... interesssting.” “<A quiet place to reflect.>” A middle-aged man is reclining against one of the statues, looking out over the water. The green light from the fungus above shines eerily on the river. He wears the robes of an apprentice. Strange - he's old for an apprentice. He looks up at you. "Welcome. Join me in enjoying the view. I am Anford." “Kai-Lyss. What do you do around here, humanz?” "I am the fort commander. I'm also a mage, but that isn't as important." “This fort is yourz? Ssshould you not be attending your dutiess?” "This is where I do my thinking about the fort. My office, so to speak. Normally, I'd be planning tactics, defenses, that sort of thing. But not lately. We fought off a bunch of Empire assaults, and they've left us alone lately, so that's not on my mind. We have a different threat now. I'm mainly thinking about the barrier." “Your peopless have spoked of these Barriers in passing. What are they?” "The barriers appeared less than a week ago. We just found out about them. Magic barriers, of a sort we've never seen before, cutting off this area from the rest of Exile. We can't break them down, we can't touch them. It's a disaster! Exile needs our help!" “What does Draco produsse that makes you so vital?” He gives Kai-lyss an appraising look. “Metal.” “Fair enough. You also appear to be a mage. But your cloth indicatesss you are apprentiss.” "I've been an apprentice mage for five years. In the slith wars, I got assigned to this fort, and they found I had a knack for tactics. I never returned to the Tower of Magi." “Ah. We are ssimilar then. I too was magusss before being zwept up in the War. Though I wass on the...other side.” “You know, I'm willing to let by-gones be by-gones, if you are.” “Yesss. We are sstrangers. We sshall sstay that way.” “<Did I read that right?>”  “<I did. Good.>” “This is ludicrous! How did I wind up in this situation?”  "Hi! I'm Kev!" You find a very young man, just starting to get fuzz on his upper lip. He's rearranging the thick piles of dirt on the floor with a large broom. Huge piles of ore dwarf him on either side. “Oh! I'm so sorry, dear child. Whatever are you doing here?” "Sweeping up the warehouse." “This seems like such a big job, to be cleaning a large warehouse such as this by yourself!” “Yes, Ma'am! But, it's nice to see someone. This place makes me nervous. I keep hearing noises." “Noises? Surely there are many sounds in this building.” "From the storeroom, with all the barrels. I hear scraping in there all the time. I try not to go back there - it sure don't sound like rats!" laughs “Rats? I'm sure a good man like you has nothing to fear from them!” "Big as me! And sometimes they blow this foul, nasty gas at you! I run when I see 'em. You should do the same!" “Ah, Mung Rats. I've heard of those.” “This storeroom, right?” “Yes!” “I'm not strong enough to force the door, nor do I have the required items to flip the lock. Perhaps I can convince one of the Lizards to do it for me?” “For all the changes, at least the foundry is in relatively the same spot.” “Boutell? You in here?”  “Oh! You must be Art!” A short stout woman is taking notes on a sheet of lichen parchment. She, like everything and everyone else, is covered with a thick layer of soot. She slaps you on the shoulder in greeting. You think she sprained something. "Hi! Call me Cappy." “Oh! Boutell mentioned something about you the last time I was through here. I don't remember what, exactly.” "I'm the forewoman here. We can't talk long. We have a load of ingots due in Formello." “I'm headed up to Formello myself. Any news?” “Not really. It's still the biggest city up here. It's some ways to the southeast. They've built up a large barracks there." She frowns. "Lucky thing our next steel is going there, what with the barrier and all." “What barrier?” "Because of that barrier that just appeared, we can't send stuff anywhere else. It's a bad thing. Lots of fortresses count on us for weapons." “You didn't answer the question!” “Look, talk to the Commander. He knows more about it.” “Sure.” “Hey, I'm Art. Where's Boutell?” A tall, thin woman heaves sacks of ore over to the smelter. The muscles of her arms show through her pale skin like steel cables. She gives you a brief nod. "I'm Della. So, you're Art huh? The lady with the fancy sword?" “That's me! I thought he only hired one helper, not two?” "I help keep the foundry going! While I can." “What do you mean?” "Those cursed Nephilim have cut us off from our fine ore, but we've got plenty stored up, so we'll be making steel for a while!" “Actually, one of the things I'm up here to deal with is the Nephil problem. You know anything about it?” "Up north. They took all our mines from us. Hope we get back at 'em soon. Exile needs Draco weapons." She grabs another sack of ore. "Look, I got a lot of work to do. Boutell's in his shop." “Thanks.” “Heh. So many theories you've dashed.” “BOUTELL!” You are greeted by an enormous, heavily muscled man, stripped to the waist. Somehow, his ruddy glow manages to shine through the paleness that comes from years of living in these caves. “ART!” This conversation is about to go seriously off the gameplay. I'll post the actual conversation tree afterwards. “Hey, you old fart! How's the metal?” “poo poo, as always. You?” “Got my rear end handed to me in the Giant Lands by a lucky Emp.” “Ouch. At least you got out alright!” “Tell me about it. Anaxiamander took my stuff for people still on the front. Got to keep the blade though, no one else will touch the thing.” “HA! How's it holding up?” She draws the Alien Blade, handing it over to Boutell. “Still damned perfect. No nicks, no kinks, no nothing, no matter how much I use it.” He examines it with a critical eye. “You really should let me have this for a while. Give me a month or two, and I think I could crack its secrets.” He hands it back. “I did. Four years ago. You had it for six months, my friend. What makes you think this time will be different?” He sighs. “You're right. It's beyond me. But I have to keep trying, you know? To see such fine craftsmanship, and to see my own works... It's a blow every time I see you.” “Hey, no mushy stuff. You're Boutell! Man among Men! Even X thinks you're awesome! You just need practise! It's like I keep telling you, you're a great smith, the best the world has ever seen. Someone got lucky in making my blade, but you consistently produce the finest weapons Exile has ever seen.” “Ah, you always knew how to bring a smile to my face. Ever since you brought me Demonslayer, it's been one job after another for you, ain't it?” “You got that right. So, what's this you wanted to talk to me about?” “Well,” he leans in to speak quieter, “We've got a bit of a smugglers problem here in town. The guard have been chasing their asses, or patrolling for the Empire. Would you kindly take a look around? There's places...outside the walls that people seem to miss.” “I can look into it. Sure. Anything else?” “Well, X paid handsomely for that anvil, and well, I've picked up a wee bit of magic. Come around and ask me about augmentation when you come back.” “... Sure?” First, the conversation:Name: He grabs your hand. "I'm Boutell, master blacksmith of the caves." He doesn't seem terribly humble. Job: "I work steel! Only person down here who does! If you want a good weapon, you can buy it here! I also do repair work." Repair: "Yes, indeed. Mighty Demonslayer itself was reforged by my hand!" This seems implausible, but you let it slide. "I can repair any blade you need reworked, and I can improve weapons too." Improve: He leans close to you. "Let's just say not all of my skills are mundane - some are magical. For a fee, I can take any nonmagic weapon and give it an enchantment. Make it stronger. I'm the only man who can do it! Only works once for each weapon, though. If you're ever interested, bring me a weapon and ask me to augment it. Make sure you know exactly what it is, first!" Augmentation is a means by which Boutell can improve a non-magical weapon, and make it almost as good as a Magical one. For the people more familiar with DnD 3.0, this is the equivalent of making it a Masterwork weapon. It's only really useful in the first Act, although the lack of magic weapons can be felt all the way through into the end-game. It's also very expensive, and I'll show it off before I finish off the Act. “Your new anvil?” “You know it!” “Alright then, time to gather everyone up.” “So, what did you all find out?” “There is a boy afraid of rats. By the way, this Fort has a horrible rat problem.” “There are boatsss. I've never been in a boat before!” “<That is what held your attention?> I sspake with the Commander of this Fort. He told me of some form of Barrier that iss blocking sshipments from the rest of the human nation.” “I heard they were only to the south. That the caves to the west were still clear. Hey Art, There were some Spiders that came by a while back asking for help. You know anything about that.” “NO! NEXT!” “I thought Unspecified Services did that sort of thing?” “Next!” “Not much, I'm afraid. I don't really have the skills for this. I got some supplies for Dmurr, but what I think was interesting was that it was hard to find good weapons. I thought Fort Draco was a supply centre for good materials?” “Boutell has a contract to sell his good stuff to the Army. What with the war going on. Kai-Lyss, anything more about these barriers?” “No. Only that they exist. You imply we sshould invesstigate?” “Probably. We can swing south before heading to Formello. Actually, we do have one thing to do in town first.” “What is it, Ma'am Sir?” “There is a smuggling ring in town, and we're going to break it up.” “A good endeavour.” “What are they smuggling, the boors?” “What are 'boorsss', and why would anyone sssmuggle them?” “I think she means it as an insult.” “Truly?” “Yes, dear.” “But what is a 'boor'?” “A person or persons lacking in the dignified social graces expected of them.” “Also known as everyone.” “I am confussed.” “We can talk about that later. I already have a lead, so we're going to all go together.” “Right behind you boss. Subtle like a spider!” “...” “Let's go.” “Ah, this is the store. And what happened to the person who was living here last time I was here? The friend of Zathnia and Cortath?” A small woman with curly hair sits behind the counter watching you silently. She looks uncomfortable. "I'm Cheryl. I don't know who you're talking about." “That's alright. So, what are you doing back here anyways?” "Just sitting. Maybe with some things you could buy. But things that are perfectly legal to sell! And you can sell me things too, nothing wrong with that. Nothing illegal going on here." She is intensely nervous. She sells lockpicks, which I get for Marianna. “Ma'am, sir, I think you should see this.” “What?” “It's like they want people to see this.” “I'll go first.” “Hello all. I don't suppose we could talk like rational people?” “Intruders!” “We must seperate!” Ah, the joys of combat in a limited space. Only Chester and Art are outside the pile. And this is how the battle goes for the most part. Kai-Lyss, once again, draws a lot of attention. I had to reload a couple times to avoid his death. Another thing to note for those familiar with the performance of Art in the previous LP. With only one other spell-caster in the party, she has to spend actions to cast Priest Spells rather than attacking, killing, and making more XP. It's a small difference, but considering she needs the least XP to level, and is in the best position to generate XP, it may just add up. “Why wouldn't they talk?” “Indeed, you'd think they would be amicable to a business proposition?” “Maybe because we didn't have an appointment?” “That's silly. And quite possible. Perhaps we should...” “You guys do realize that there's more people down here, right?” “<Kai-Lyss, I do not understand what happened.>” “<Aarth-Tss, we are aiding in removing a criminal under-element to the supply of weapons and armor to the Human Nation.>” “Ahhhh. But why would sssomeone do that in the first place?” “Do what?” “Aaarth-Tss had a question best asked in our native tongue, and I answered that we were removing the smugglers before they could damage the material economy.” “Pretty much. And if my Slithzerikai isn't totally ruined, I think the answer to your question is that they felt that they could profit from their actions while not adversely affecting the source of their stolen goods.” “That's stupid.” “I agree. We should teach these thieves a lesson in manners!” “A Black Sword?” “Must be the local group. Talk about a lack of imagination.” Oh, guess what! You can push crates/boxes/barrels around now! When you try to push them into an occupied place though, you just switch places. It's fun! “Ouch!” Alright, time to talk about the combat system a little bit. For some reason, the enemies won't come into this room, they'll stay in the hallway, so I have a bit of time to prepare. I recognize that Marianna is in the least position to gain XP, so I take this opportunity to set her up for grinding. I'll give Marianna the Alien Blade for this, as it's the best weapon by far. In the meantime, in case something goes horribly wrong, I have Art equipped with a Stone Axe and the Bronze Broadsword. As you can see here, Art is pretty close to Level 2 already, so by the time this is done, she'll have gained the next 8 XP through leak experience. Ah, so may subjects, and a linear format to present them all. Let me get experience out of the way first. In combat, when a PC kills an enemy, they gain XP. Normally, you would gain 5 XP for killing a single foe of equivalent level, with less XP for killing lesser foes, and more for higher levels. However, the other members of the part get 20-25% of the 'kill' XP as 'leak' experience, and so far Marianna has only been gaining that. It's also the reason why Pacifism is -40%XP. What I'm going to be doing is setting Marianna out front with the best gear, with Art Blessing her, and Kai-Lyss using (Minor) Haste as well. She will hold the hallway to the south, earning the most XP in order to keep her up with the rest of the party, something she'll need. Now, Marianna has a Stone Knife, and the Alien Blade equipped at the same time. Because she doesn't have the Ambidextrous Trait, she is taking penalties to her 'To Hit' percentage for both weapons, while the damage remains the same. I don't want that. Now she only has the Alien Blade equipped. She has two less Dexterity, and 7 less Edged Weapon skill, so she only has a +15% to hit, instead of Art's +30%, and deals less damage per blow. To elaborate, while the game operates on a % base, it actually rolls on a d20 as all the percentages are multiples of 5 (once again, this game predates 3rd Edition). I've put some thought into this, as well as some off-camera testing, and as near as I can tell, combat works by rolling to hit the enemy, then rolling to determine the damage. To-Hit is determined by rolling a D20 in the back ground, adding the 'To Hit' bonus of the equipped weapon(s). A character's 'Luck' stat may also affect this roll as well, but I don't have proof of that. This total is checked against the Defence of the target, and if the attacker exceeds the defender, damage is dealt. Damage is based on the weapon. Each weapon has a 'Damage' stat, which the game rolls as a simple 1d#, where the '#' is the damage stat. Additional damage is applied through the strength of the character, as well as the bonus from the weapon. For the record, the Alien Blade is a 10/+5/Poison weapon. In that is deals 1d9 damage, with a +5 (25%) to hit, and to damage and has a chance to poison the foe as well. Damage is reduced by a combination of the 'Defence' value of the armor the PC is wearing (or a flat value in the came of enemies) as well as the Strength stat. You can see cases where someone gets hit, but the hit causes no damage. That's due to a low roll not exceeding the armor of the defender. “What? Why is there a Shaman here?” “Perhaps the two groups are in allegiance?” “I hope not!” Of note, each casting of Bless on a person results in a +5% chance to hit, and +1 to damage, in addition to an unquantified improvement to their defence. Given the nature of the observed system, probably a +1 to avoid being hit and a +1 to damage reduction. And Marianna starts her killing spree. “I'm covered in blood!” Marianna, under the effects of 7 Blessings, and a couple Minor Hastes. She's killed everything in front of her, and earned 72 XP in the process. Not enough for a level yet, but it's a good start. Art leveled up by proxy though, but I won't cover that until a bit later. “An impressssive display.” “Of course! This brigand was no match for the Kampffechten I know!” “... you were swinging wildly, and the other got confused.” “You just don't know style, my dear.” “...” “Thissss... We come upon them at meal timesss.” “Barracks. Looks like someone forgot their armor.” “Or, it's a spare set.”  “We should come back to this later.” “Here, let me.” “That's not how you do it!” I really need the Unlock spell, of for Marianna to improve dramatically. “drat it, I hate Mung Rats.” “I can see why, Ma'am Sir.” “Ugh, I hate webs.” “The sspoilz. Not much here.” “I'll let the people up above know.” “We sshould finish checking everything else first.” “I think so, too. There could still be more supply caches around.” “More ratss.” “This infestation must be put out!” “Another sleeping room. Why have two?” No idea.” “Huh, this is odd.”  “... this will be important.” “Back down, Ma'am Sir?” “Yes, we're not done yet.” “What layz back here?” You hear rats. “Ugh. More vermin. Best be at it then.”    “Disgusting creatures! Their deaths are well served!” “Couldn't agree with you more.” “The way back here seems... more open.” “Huh.”  “Mark the location for the troops to secure., we'll go back the long way.” “Do we confront the merchant who guards the entranze?” “We have no proof she has done anything wrong. It would be wrong for us to take actions based on guesswork.” “I disagree, but will resspect Art's decision.” “Chester has a point, let's just get back in there.” “I believe that this would lead up into the storehouses above. A good way to enter, I think, if we could get into that room.” “And another secret passage out. Does this mean we're done?” “We should be.”  “Or not.” “And now we're done.” Map time! I confess something. I didn't know about this dungeon the first time I played the game. It wasn't until my second try that I discovered this, and the shock of the discovery led me to spend far too many hours trying to find each and every last little thing in this game.  Fort Draco itself has undergone some massive changes since its Exile 1 incarnation. The only thing that's remotely the same is Boutell and the Boat shop, the rest is new, and rearranged. Also, in keeping with its position as an early-game supply stop, steel weapons are no longer available. Instead, we are allowed to purchase the early items as the good stuff is being shipped off to the war effort. Instead, we get a couple stores to purchase supplies (I buy a bit of food off screen from the Inn), a trainer, and a quick dungeon. A lot of towns got changed between the games. While I don't like the changes that happened to Fort Draco, I do understand why they were done. Other times, not so much. And now: VOTE TIME! Shall the party:A: Deal with the Nephil Fort, like they are supposed to? B: Investigate the 'Barriers'? C: Do some exploration first? Voting will last until Tuesday evening!
berryjon fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Aug 9, 2014 |
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Jan 6, 2014 03:29
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Deal with the Nephil, since it's what they're nominally there for and it'd be poor discipline to shirk their duties just yet. Good update, and it's interesting to see some of the mechanics of the game exposed that way. I thought Bless had a bigger impact both on hit chance and defensive rating; maybe it scales with the caster's INT?
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Jan 6, 2014 04:31
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Deal with the Nephil. The barriers don't seem to be going anywhere, and if I know exploring in mah oldschool RPGs (and I do), it might end up being a decidedly bad idea.
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Jan 6, 2014 04:51
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