|
GreyjoyBastard posted:me, skimming the lets play forum:  Yes. Got a character you want to submit? Xander77 posted:Are the screenshots with goblin fights censoring the goblins? No, some overworld fights have terrain on them that block line of sight, so I can't see them around corners. But I can still AoR them with Fireball if I can see the central tile.  MagusofStars posted:But idk, maybe ranged weapons are exactly as poo poo as young-me thought they were so the practical reality is that it doesn't matter. Yes, Ranged weapons are (mostly) poo poo, but the Ruby Skeleton, at this level, deals so much damage that it can effectively one-shot half the PCs in the current party. Heat Ray is an ability, and not the Attack action for 3d8 damage. It rolls bigger dice.
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2022 13:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 2, 2024 13:42 |
|
|
Are there any resist fire spells/abilities/items in this game? Not that such a low-level party would have any, I just can't remember.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2022 15:47
|
|
|
I want to say that the Spell Resistance status effect grants all elemental resists in addition to boosting your saving throw, but I'm not certain. It's only accessible via very high-rank spells, though. IIRC there's one spell that grants it to the entire party, and then Avatar grants it, and every other positive bonus, to the caster only.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2022 16:32
|
|
|
MagusofStars posted:I'm actually mildly surprised about you still having trouble with the Ruby Skeleton because if you were going to invent a team to handle one, I feel like "three ranged weapon specialists" sounds pretty solid. The biggest problem I always had with Ruby Skeletons was that they'd inevitably hide behind other trash undead - which both provides them with cover and also guarantees they can just go ham with their Heat Ray (rather than wasting AP on movement or physical attacks). And since they're immune to most of your common magics, it often very easily turned into a race to see whether I could break through the wall of meatshields before the Heat Rays killed someone. Having lots of throwing weapons/archery would seem pretty tailor made to focus fire them down. If you ask me, ranged weapons didn't start to get really good until, like, their point buy stopped being separate from melee weapons. That'd be about the time of the Avernum remakes.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2022 16:48
|
|
|
Wow. Seeing some of the other scenario names there, you're braver than I. Spy's Quest was some absolute bullshit difficulty. Are the Doom Moon games on your list? I remember the second especially as doing some really clever things within the limitations of the engine.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2022 16:51
|
|
|
Quackles posted:If you ask me, ranged weapons didn't start to get really good until, like, their point buy stopped being separate from melee weapons. I was mostly asking about Ruby Skeletons specifically because if there was *ever* going to be an Exile use case where ranged weapons could shine, this seems perfectly tailor-made: A single specific enemy who you want dead ASAP but who's happy staying at range, has plenty of meatshields, and is also immune to the usual magic that you'd normally use. MagusofStars fucked around with this message at 18:36 on Jul 26, 2022 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2022 18:33
|
|
|
MagusofStars posted:Ranged weapons were quite useful in the Avernum 4-6 series too. They were still a separate skill point investment from melee weapons, but with all the combat system changes (re-worked Haste/AP, you can't move after attacking, enemies with Riposte or damage-attacker spines), ranged weapons were really useful. Someone worked the math and IIRC, a ranged attacker with the Heartstriker Bow was actually the most physical damage per turn you could produce, exceeding any of the melee weapons. Huh. Well, I sure sucked at figuring out the combat systems back then. (Av5 was the first Spiderweb game I beta tested. I eschewed Ranged except as a minor secondary and ended up sloooooooowly chopping my way through the enemies to get at the squishy mage/commander in the back. Each battle ended up a big attrition thing. But I was a teenager and had lots of time on my hands.)
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2022 19:23
|
|
|
Whybird posted:Wow. Seeing some of the other scenario names there, you're braver than I. Spy's Quest was some absolute bullshit difficulty. I just grabbed, for starters, all the Scenarios on Spiderweb Software's "Good Scenarios" page. I haven't touched the other pages, or Alexandria yet.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2022 00:30
|
|
|
Scenario 1 - The Valley of Dying Things Chapter 7 - Housing and Holding  Welcome to perhaps the largest dungeon in the Exile series. The next largest - Garzahad's Ziggurat from Exile 2, had two maps with an entrance and an exit map. Today, we are going to hit up the second and third levels of a five+ level dungeon. Just me, my ever-dwindling supplies of mana, and a whole lot of paranoia and exploration. I went into this update with 268 images to parse though -and I'm going to wind up with 204 - which usually only happens if I'm in a town doing conversation transcriptions. Let's get to it.  "Can't see poo poo."    "Well, that's better." "And it'll help with the mapping."  "Goblinz. No threat." "Hey guys, check this out."   "Tokka? Zaka?" "Barriers Permeable, but damaging."  "Same as this side." "Well well, what do we have hear, hidden beside the stairs?" 270 images, and I forget this. It's an event node that describes the layout of the School. The top floor is Visitors and Receiving. The second floor (this one) is Residential/Housing for the students and faculty. The next floor down is Holding, and beside that is Storage. Below those are Administration. And it's implied there could be stuff even further down... "Well, this path is open." "Nice crystals." "Goblins have defaced the statues." "Thoz onez." "STOP SHOOTING AT US!"   "And what is that guy?" It's new NPC graphics I'm going to have to make and upload eventually, that's what. "A better Goblin." "But still a Goblin. We're better now!"  "All in favor of not looking to hard into what they were cooking, say 'Aye'." "Aye." "A primitive mushroom farm." "Some of these are actually good!" "And more sealed entrances."  "Move." "Rats." "Yes, I can see that." "Rooms converted to pens and kennels." "At least they were keeping the fountain clean for drinking." "Oddly smart, but hey, something had to go right for them." "A Slime!?!? I thought those were only in Krizsan!" "No, just a normal slime." "Well, this is obvious."  "Time to work my magic." "You cast Magic?" "I can make things appear from thin air!" "Still a way to go." "What evil iz this?" "The limitz to our power." "Other side of the stairs. Still nice." "Who put these up? The magez? They have lasted a long, long time if zo." "Ooops, our bad. Tokka?"   "Still obvious." "Anything left? "I do not recognize the words. Will have to identify." "Do we have to check all these doors?" "Yes."  "Boring. Back to the other side?" "After killing more Goblins." And my concentrated effort to level Zaka has finally caused him to reach level 6!  "Well, we know that Specimens is below, what could they be thinking is a bad creature?" "Just a spirit." "That summons SLIMES!" "Let's go north here, then go east." "Not behind the stairs, beside them. Still, quite interesting for the quarters of the lower ranked members of the School." "Into that central area then."   "That iz curious."  "Wow."  "Makes sense, really. Why waste something as big as this?"  "Well, that's a thing that must have happened. "How did they get a viable population in before the Mages left?"  "Probably just another Spirit."  "...." "It's nice to have goals. Sure, it's not going to happen, but it's still nice."  "And this is what's actually behind the stairs." "No need to go through there." "Nor here. I am conzerving my strength and will not blazt thiz wall." "drat, this won't work. It's been jammed properly." "Allow me." Never leave home without it. At some point, Locks become to annoying to break without Magic Lockpicks (which we'll get eventually), and Unlock serves well through large portions of the middle-game.   "So far, so clear."  "That explains it. This is the residencies of the faculty. They would take more care to protect their things, so the Goblins didn't get in." "Who just leaves a book on a dresser like this?" "Wow. I don't suppose he also left a Ceaser Cipher explaining what he's talking about did he?" "Oh, shut up, jackass. This just means that we have evidence that the School had some dirty secrets buried here." "Hey, no offense, but this is an Empire School. Dirty secrets are the normal."  "Nothing here." "Except this rock on the bed, holding the sheets in place."  "Let's see if this person has anything to say." "Nothing. And not even a hidden nook here like the other rooms." "Wouldn't call it empty though." "The map is just empty to the south of here." "Did not take long to be ruined. But not Goblinz. What?" "Uh guys? Quiet..." So, there is a stealth/aggro mechanic in the game, and some enemies may simply roll so poorly that they don't notice you until you are right on top of them. This guy here is 4 tiles away, and still hasn't triggered as being hostile yet.   I'm about to ambush this guy from right in front of him. "That could have gone worse." So against a single foe like this, I went to combat mode, and charged up with Hox, who hit. Tokka then Slowed the Goblin Eater, meaning that it would skip its next turn. Then Zaka and Shinwell both Cursed the Eater, which effectively double-blessed the entire party for cheap. I then hit it with everything I have on the second turn of combat, and it dies to Zaka's Wound spell before Shinwell gets his turn. The Goblin Eater died before getting a single action, with resources that are available to a starting party. "A lot of loot from the Goblins though."  "Nothing left, uzed for the nest."  "I recommend that we finish this level first." "Agreed."  "Too late." "That izn't mine. Who did zat?" "And back to the stairs." "OK, that's new." Not shown in screenshots is that the green door is flickering through three different colours automatically. It's not a gif, but more like a slideshow to emphasize that This Is New. "I have no idea what that iz." "Neither do I." It's a door we'll be able to open with a Plot Device later on. "We can come back to it later."  "Wanna bet this entire section is locked off?" "No bet." "I would have won that bet."   "This is that room to the south of the stairs." "If we are to enter, it muzt be through the barrier." "I don't see another options. We'll just have to be prepared to heal in the injuries are too much."   "Uh... NOTHING?" "I wouldn't say that."  I was really hoping this was a Piercing Crystal, able to cast Dispel Barrier once before breaking. No such luck. "And what iz that?" "Oh, that's ostentatious." "It iz not a trap." "Ah, so the punishment is to be sent into Avernum. Good to know." "I can't be the only person wondering what the point of this message is, all the way down here?" "I can. It's following the letter of the law, without recognizing the spirit of it." "Regardless, I think we're done on this floor. Time to head down? Holding?" "Agreed."   You know, I was half expecting someone to attack us right at the bottom of the stairs." "Don't mind me, just doodling."  "What did they hold here?" "Old, many yearz." "Ah, I know thoze runes. Zanitation."  "Zee!" Did you know that looking at the tile will trigger the damage? I didn't! Now I do. Also, Zaka is the only one to not take damage.  "Quiet for now."  "Keep that in mind for later. Spiral stairs?" "Thiz is not part of the structure." "Nope, even I can tell this is Goblin work. They got down here and probably didn't get past the cleansing runes." "Blood is old." "What do we have here...?" "Viewing gallery."  "We can take that Shambling Mound now."  "I am corrected." Disease is bad. Don't get Disease. NEVER CHOOSE THE TRAIT THAT GIVES YOU DISEASE AT RANDOM. "What would they have put on display here? Drakes?" "I was wondering when they would catch up to us." Assume that for the rest of this level, I'm beating up Goblins every few minutes. "Hold on, let me renew the Light spell."   "No way in from here." "How high is "High Longevity?" "No clue." "Why rebuild everything?" "Make it their zise." * * *  * * *  "Oh, an actual challenge." "You're kidding, right?" "Regardless, there's still a lot to cover." "I can each that with my polearm..." despite there being a cracked wall and being three tiles away, (G)et will get everything. "Another for the identification pile."    "This is new." "Cannot enter."   "Hold on."  Non-Magic Lockpicks can break if you fail your roll badly enough. Cooper only has 4, and these locks are pretty tough.  "Uzeless." Repeat after me: Alchemy is (mostly) Useless. "Eh, it was a boring read anyway."  "Interesting."  "You could not pay me enough money in the world to stand there." "Nor I."  "Interesting." [zaza] "A wight? What? Were?" "In that storage area that Tokka couldn't magic us into." "I agree."  "OK, this square outcropping in the room. There has to be something to it." "Hold on." "OK, let's check that out." "I did not expect it to be that easy."  "I bet this is just the controls for this level." "Probably, but knowing our luck, maybe someone left something important here?"  "Pretty lights though." "Thiz one has energy." "Let me see." "Simple." "Agreed. If this works, it will open the High longevity area." "And this one talks!" "What?!?" "Ah..." "Wait, I know this! The universal greeting!"  "It iz coded. You need to codes to access anything." "Well, that sucks." "Back to the south side of things?"   "More Goblins." "As duly appointed Map Guy, what's back here?" "Unless we have to go around." Guess who missed the perfectly serviceable door behind him, and decided to make his own with Move Mountains? "And that iz the power of a back door."  I'm just going to ... lay down for a while. It's been highs of 30 this week, and I live far enough north I get tax breaks, so the buildings are built to retain heat. Which isn't comfortable at all. "I don't feel like this right now. Let's go see what these other locations have in store for us, and come back here later."  "Arena? You can't be serious!"  "I have zero interest in going in there. Might as well go back to Longevity." "Hello? Unspecified Services! Here to make your lives miserable and ended." "Wait a minute. Vazalco? No, wait, it was Palhatis who was the objecting member of the local Triad." "You thought he might have been imprisoned here to rot?" "Well in line with Empire non-policy. But I was wrong." "The man of the hour." "And your escape?" There was also a section up here I couldn't get into, so I deleted the screencaps. I think that's where our super-skeleton is. "Back to the south?" "Might as well."  That's on me. I didn't have the chance to heal her before she was damaged to 0 and poisoned. One trip to the character editor later, and I'm fully refreshed!  "There was a door." "There was a door." "Not much left to check. Take another crack at Holding B?" "Might az well."* * *   "Nope." "That's all we can reasonably access. What next?" "We did holding. Storage should be next. They both converge on Administration."* * *    "And down we go."
berryjon fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Jul 31, 2022 |
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2022 04:32
|
|
|
So, while I'm building the next update... It has been brought to my attention, that if you scroll to the bottom, you can see that my three LPs for the original Exile Trilogy are officially linked from Spiderweb Software's Website as effectively complete playthroughs of all three games. I'm just going to sit here and hyper-ventilate for a few minutes. Jeff, if you're reading this, THANK YOU!
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2022 17:04
|
|
|
berryjon posted:So, while I'm building the next update... That's amazing!
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2022 18:45
|
|
|
Scenario 1 - The Valley of Dying Things Chapter 8 - Storage and Administration  "What would be here, given the plaze waz abanonded?" "What iz left behind is the problem." "That explains nothing." "I mean, who knows. Stuff could have ... what's the word for turning grapes into wine over time?" "Fermentation. Just because something wasn't dangerous when it was left here doesn't mean that it couldn't become dangerous if left alone." "I have to say, having directories on the walls makes things so much easier. Empire for the Win!" "That's not ominous, that's flex space for unexpected needs." "Huh, that's still vibrant." "This will either be hazardous or stupid. I'm not sure." "What iz that?"  "I could have told you that." "I'm more interested in what this is." "A machine?" "We can see that." "I guess this answers that question." "What question?" "What came first. The Chicken or the Egg?" "What sort of question is that?" "A question for people who sit in towers and don't go out into the real world, like we do."  "Blood's long since dried."   "Hrm, well preserved." "Any good?" "Actually, yes. Frozen, so they'll need to thaw out first." The machine in that room will make a new Chicken every so often, then the chicken will start to wander around. They'll go practically anywhere in the level.  "You know, it's nice when the prospect of more Giant Spiders is refreshing?"  "I have no pressing need to enter here at this point in time." "Neither do I."   "I vote or running the gently caress away." "We would not leave thiz place alive, if that were the case." "He is right, we must investigate." "Look, both the Empire and Avernum are in agreement. There are only three major dragons still alive. Pyrog was slain by the First Escape, while Mortrax died of his wounds after the Invasion." "And if they thought Pythras was dead because she was left here, they may not have counted her." "Look, Johnson, Dragons. Are. Dangerous. There's no two ways about that. We shouldn't be dealing with one of them." "Look, if it's still here after a hundred years, then it's not exactly at the height of it's power, and still contained. Worst comes to worst, we don't touch the containment at all and just run for the hills, screaming all the while." "I like that plan! The running part. The screaming will take away from good breathing techniques to run faster and farther."  "Access to Administration." "The Dragon first."  "Well, I suppose this could still be considered 'Flex Space'. It just flexed into DRAGON." "We will endure. Forward."  "They are safe, they will not recognize things az small as us." "See?"   "I'm not taking any chances. Shinwell, you got some paper on you?" "Yeah, just a second." "Now I feel better." "And leaving evidence." "Look, people know we are here. Evidence isn't something we need to worry about."  "Yeah, that's Dragon sized."  "Enter!" "We're good here, thank you." Quaking nervously, you stand before this prisoner of the School of Magery. She towers above you, looking you over with ancient, furious eyes. She is a dragon. And she looks less than pleased with her imprisonment here. "I am Pythras! Queen of lizardkind, and prisoner here." She breathes a searing gout of flame into the air. Fortunately, she seems to prefer speaking with you to devouring you. She watches you carefully, trying to estimate how much she can get out of you. "I want to escape this infernal prison." "why am i the only one talking?" "I see that you have not yet released yourself from this Prison." "It is strange. Just before the previous humans left, a lone wizards came to me. He did me a kindness. He told me the nature of my cell." "What of your Cell?" "The wizard was bothered by my being left here. He said he could not free me, but he could tell me how to be freed later. If someone were to free me, i would reward them. I can give instructions." Her voice is bitter and choked with pain. It must be horrible for her draconian pride to ask you for help. "We shall listen to your instructions." "It is the runes around my cell that hold me in. They are controlled from the control room in the Holding Cell floor. At least, that is what the wizard said. He said one other thing to me. Some sort of magic word." "We know of the controls you speak of, and I think I know the exact one you speak of. What is this word?" "The word was QUARK. He had to go and couldn't say what the word was used for. Maybe you can find out. If you can, and can free me, I shall make sure you have your reward." "What's a quark?" "I do not know, though I have pondered it much over my captivity. I presume it is a made-up word to prevent accidentally deactivating these runes. I want it to be deliberate." "And yourself, O Mighty Lady? Why were you kept prisoner here?" She laughs dryly, little puffs of flame coming with each breath. "The Human's foolish Empire decided that magical beasts of all sorts re unwelcome. Only fit to be slain or studied." "Or Exiled, but your point stands, I merely add to it. But of that, the Empire has seen fit to make sure all dragons are slain. Why were you spared?" "Spared? I was not to be slain, but studied." "Me! Queen of lizardkind! Tricked, deceived and set upon by hundreds of warriors and as many mages. Subdued and brought here to be studied. Then even worse, I am abandoned! Forgotten! I have been here for 127 years and every day I think of one thing, and one thing only. Escape." "Does the name Garzahad mean anything to you? He was a famed slayer of Dragons at the height of his power, before he was slain by a righteous assassin." "Kai-lyss is a hero beyond compare." "Garzahad? No, that name was not spoken in my presence. A slayer of my kind, already defeated? I will set aside vengeance then." "Did this Wizard tell you why the place was abandoned? Surely they would not have left one as mighty as yourself unattended." "Two weeks. That's all it took. First came a message from this Empire of which you speak, the command was given. Two weeks later, this place was empty and abandoned. They were all gone. And me? Queen of lizardkind? I WAS DISCARDED!" "Surely they would never simply discard your majesty!" "Oh, how I hate them. They simply decided to store me here in case I was needed. They left me here to rot, even without the boon of a quick, merciful death! For over a hundred years, I have stared at these miserable walls, eating worthless food and going out of my mind with boredom. Oh, how I wish to escape and obtain my revenge." "And what form will this revenge take? Will you make it public?" She emits a pyrotechnic sigh.. "What revenge is there for me? Those who victimized me died years ago. The only relief I can get is escape." "And what of the Wizard? What was their name?" "He said his name was Palhatis, for what little that is worth. Why do you ask?" "We have found, higher in the school, works of his which indicate that he was opposed to the closing of this place and the abandonment of all that was below." "And yet, this place is abandoned, human. What brings you here? Thieves?" "Not our main goal. No, this valley in which the school resides is under the effects of some sort of curse or contamination upon the water. We have traced the source of the problem to this School and have broken in to try and determine what it actually is, and how to stop it." "Your words ring true. I have sensed a growing malaise around me, but the wards around my cell have protected me from most of it. I have nothing to do with it, and if you are here to remove that stench, I will not bar your way. Just let me escape." "You have our word." "Run. to the Library area.    "Are we really going to do this?" "Yes." "Ok, so let's just talk this out. There. Is. A. Dragon. Here." "We know. We just met it. Her." "I'm just going to be over here, heaving." "There is no assurance that this is a good thing. The Empire left it here, rather than killing it or moving its containment somewhere maintained. Why?" "Because the Empire is cruel and vindictive when it wants to be?" "Or Palhatis was pulling a fast one." "Hold on, what are you thinking?" "He objected to the closing of the School, and warned about leaving problems behind down here. Not just the Dragon, but other things, right? Well, what if he thought he could come back or send someone back here to fix the problem and sort out the Dragon? He talked to her to make sure she had the information needed as well." "And you're suggesting that something happened to Palhatis and he wasn't able to act on that, but he left the 'quark' word with her as a contingency plan." "Yes!" "It makes sense, but also makes a lot of assumptions." "Yet morality stands. The Empire did a vile deed, and it muzt be undone." "We need time to think. Let's check out these books and see if 'quark' actually means anything while we think."  "There iz no need to wait." "Yet it iz a large decision." "And still a valuable reward here."  "Oh crap." Nothing I can't handle. Dispel Undead will make short work of them. "You bastards!"   "Nothing here." Told you they would get everywhere.   "Destroyed!"  "This should be interesting." "Especially when this is obvious." "Feeling better?" "Enough to spot this."  "See?" "What waz worth hiding like this?"  "Put it back!" Those question marks beside everyone is Dumbfounding. It is a negative status effect where every level of dumbfounding reduces your maximum spell level by 1, starting at 7. So Zaka and Tokka, with Priest and Mage 4 respectively, can ignore the first three levels of that status without issue. Characters that don't cast at all can safely ignore it entirely.  "Maybe something here?" ... "Nope."  "Maybe records of the top mages?" "Here!" "More evidence there is something below. Master Control is never a good sign."  "All that's left here is that last storage space with the spiders." "Might as well see how bad it is." "Ah... that's not a spider." No, they're not. They don't cast web, they web on attack. "They're not. Aren't those from the Vahnatai lands?" "And other regions of the Caverns. We don't know how far they expanded." "We know this place goes deeper. How deep?" "Many of them." "I have no need to explore here yet." "We can come back later." "And what's the vote on the dragon?" "Free." "..." "OK, but at least we'll be away from her when she is set loose."* * *  "It recognized my voice last time, let's not risk anything."    "For good or for ill, it's done. May be have not made a terrible mistake."* * *  "Pythras? Queen of Lizardkind?"  "Nothing." "And all that's left is Administration."  I should have come down here before freeing the Dragon, but it's mostly the same with only a couple changes at the far end of the level.   "Such destruction..." "I don't even know where to begin..." "With the Zombies?" "RUBY SKELETON!" Thankfully I'm trained and more prepared this time, so without the chaff in the way, it goes down easy. "The ceiling hasn't caved in. We are lucky." "It haz, in the past. This is all ztable. "And more undead az well. Where are they from?" "Less talk, more re-killing!"  "Hey, and actual door!" "And it works too." "More of those fancy doors." "Nothing." "Ew, more slimes!" "And now they're not."  "That iz a large hole." "Where the undead are coming from too? Let's go another way." "More undead." "And I am getting exhausted. We should fall back to town to recuperate and train." "Aye."* * *  "We should deal with this excess stuff as well, sell it off." "I'm good on arrows for now." First, IDing stuff. Turns out, that crystal from the dead Goblin is a Piercing Crystal, but it doesn't always work. JustJeff88 posted:Are there any resist fire spells/abilities/items in this game? Not that such a low-level party would have any, I just can't remember.  Here you go! Ohhh, cursed! Minimal damage and can't be removed without a Remove Curse effect from a town priest. But now, onto training. Strength +2, Dex +3, Bashing Weapons +2, with 1 point left over for later. +19 Spell Points, 1 point left over. Strength +2, Dex +2, Throwing +1, Archery +1 Disarm Traps +5, Lockpicking +5 Intelligence +1, Spell Points +12 Dexterity +1, Intelligence +2, +6 SP* * *  "And back for more." "Yes, going through Holding is the fastest way back to Administration."    "Different entry though." "Back to the other entrance."  "I doubt there's anything left down here." "But there iz a small gap there." "I can remove the wall in the way."  "Nope." "Ah, regular undead." "There's still a large section to explore, but I'm not sure about it. Some bad feeling." "What's the worzt that could happen?"   oh no "Oh no." You see a visibly agitated spider. It's very shy and looks very nervous. "Hi. I'm Spider," it says in a quiet squeak. "Wait. This was covered in training. These are the Giant Intelligent Friendly Spiders." "Yes, and Anaxiamander has arachnophobia." "Not that, she just hates them because they think she's cute." "Hello Spider, what are you doing here?" It shivers. "I'm a scared spider." "And what scared you?" "A big nasty thing scared me!" "Very big and very nasty?" "Yeah, I was looking around where the bad undead things are looking for neat stuff, and a big evil lizard ran by!" Obviously, this changes if you haven't released the Dragon yet. "Tell me about the lizard!" "Yeah, it was huge. And green. And it seemed really mad. It came by and roared a lot, and ate a zombie, and it was really scary. So I came back here. I'm hiding." "I don't see what the problem is." I.... look. The G.I.F.T.S are a gimmick, and one that Jeff loves. But their gimmick - that they are all visually indistinguishable, all named "Spider" and they all have nothing worth saying for the most part means that I'm going to not bother transcribing everyone I come across because it's a waste of my words and your time. They were unique and optional in the first game, then completely optional in the second, before being a required stop on the Isle of Bigail in the third game. I dread what future scenarios will have. There are still only two Spiders you have to talk to. First is over here-ish, I don't know, they all wander around and if they get mixed up, good luck finding the right one. This one is the Spider 'King', and he will tell you the password to get by the Guard Spider.  ... This Spider that doesn't move is the other one you need to talk to. He wants a password to let you into the area where they harvest and fight the Gnats for food. The 'King' Spider, if you ask him about Gnats, will tell you that the password is 'Gnat'. "After that exercise in frustration, we are passing north out of the GIFTS area."  "I think... yes..."  First, Chitrachs, and now Null Bugs, or a weaker version of them? That Anti-Magic field just prevents direct targeting or splash damage, but it only refreshes when the bugs move. And spells that target your party from the spell menu ignore it as long as the caster isn't in the Field. They're a pain, but nothing I can't handle. Just keep an eye on that Poison, as it can stack up quite quickly. "Anyone else hear water?" "In there." "Looks like we can get in from the north side."  "No." "Not much left to check out, it looks like."    "The source is even further down. Not fun."  "We should take zome. Their anti-magic properties might prove uzeful." "Sure. You do it." "Of courze." * * *  "Onze those Spirits are out of the way, I can blast down that wall." "Allow me."  "Looks like space for a couple rooms down here." "Thiz should do nicely." "!!!" Need More Mage Lore! "That should be everything then. All that's left is to head down out the back of the room where the dragon left." "That seems reasonable." "Anyone else feel that?" "That's can't be right..."  "WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTT
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2022 23:59
|
|
|
I'm not quite sure what the shocking thing happening at the end of this update is. Is it the fact that there's a hidden entrance into the school from outside? The concept of G.I.F.T.S. seems like a weird gimmick to make, but I guess that's a bit of the charm.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 00:43
|
|
|
BraveLittleToaster posted:I'm not quite sure what the shocking thing happening at the end of this update is. Is it the fact that there's a hidden entrance into the school from outside? I think that's exile.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 01:03
|
|
|
berryjon posted:So, while I'm building the next update... I'm a cynical old bastard, but that's something special. Congratulations, bj
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 02:54
|
|
|
Cthulhu Dreams posted:I think that's exile. Not remotely deep enough. Just surface caverns, like Fort Emergence was situated in. The Lone Badger fucked around with this message at 03:10 on Aug 1, 2022 |
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 03:06
|
|
|
The Lone Badger posted:Not remotely deep enough. Just surface caverns, like Fort Emergence was situated in. Pretty much. That there's a large cavern system under the Vale is something that the PCs weren't even aware was a possibility, so that the School just happened to be built to access one is a surprise. Man, what what is the geology of that planet like, to have such caverns in the crust?
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 03:16
|
|
|
berryjon posted:
I'm going to go with 'very large worms'.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 03:34
|
|
|
Side note: According to the timeline on the Spidweb forums, the entire time between the first discovery of the Exile cave system and the events of Exile 3 was about 124 years and they only started using it as a prison (leading to the founding of cities down there) about 60 years before Exile 3. So this school has been abandoned for twice as long as the nation of Exile has even existed. Pythras has been stuck there for a loving long-rear end time - and presumably the Empire is going to really regret our decision to free her when she figures out how to get revenge.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 03:36
|
|
|
berryjon posted:Pretty much. That there's a large cavern system under the Vale is something that the PCs weren't even aware was a possibility, so that the School just happened to be built to access one is a surprise. Likely the planet is even more water-rich than Earth -- the Exile caverns were probably carved by the various rivers and seas that still exist there, in greatly diminished form. I believe that it has also been indicated that it has fewer continents, and smaller ones, than Earth does.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 04:02
|
|
|
MagusofStars posted:Side note: According to the timeline on the Spidweb forums, the entire time between the first discovery of the Exile cave system and the events of Exile 3 was about 124 years and they only started using it as a prison (leading to the founding of cities down there) about 60 years before Exile 3. So this school has been abandoned for twice as long as the nation of Exile has even existed. Pythras has been stuck there for a loving long-rear end time - and presumably the Empire is going to really regret our decision to free her when she figures out how to get revenge. The numbers do line up though. If this scenario takes place 3 years after E3, then the school was closed the same year the First Expedition was sent down. That's ... possibly a coincidence, but I'm not going to bet on that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 04:12
|
|
|
jon, how many pre-packaged scenarios are there for BoE? I was thinking that, if you finish them all, you should submit those and only those to the archive and one of us can signal that to Spiderweb.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 16:30
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:jon, how many pre-packaged scenarios are there for BoE? I was thinking that, if you finish them all, you should submit those and only those to the archive and one of us can signal that to Spiderweb. There’s also at least one more scenario with “Spidweb” as the author on the list that berryjon posted earlier so that’s a semi-official scenario I assume, albeit not one that’s pre-packaged.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 21:50
|
|
|
MagusofStars posted:3, including the one that we’re running through now. Are they designed to be played continuously with a party that advances linearly through all 3? I presume not, but I wanted to ask. Also, I just found my save for my level 34 badarse Exile 1 party. Can't for the life of me remember what I'm supposed to do next in the bloody game, though.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 23:04
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:Are they designed to be played continuously with a party that advances linearly through all 3? Yep.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2022 23:46
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:Also, I just found my save for my level 34 badarse Exile 1 party. Can't for the life of me remember what I'm supposed to do next in the bloody game, though. Check your Special Items tab in the inventory. See what you have and don't have and figure things out from there. And Art finished E1 at about level 35, so you are probably at the endgame.
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2022 00:31
|
|
|
berryjon posted:Check your Special Items tab in the inventory. See what you have and don't have and figure things out from there. Good suggestion, but I am sure that I am pretty far off even if I'm high enough level. I did a lot of grinding, because I enjoy the combat, and quaffed a lot of skill potions. I know that I have not done any of the three Big Things, but I will look at my special items tab. I had totally forgotten about that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2022 00:35
|
|
|
Hahaha, I did not expect the GIFTS. I still remember playing e3 as a kid and getting stumped at the quest where you have to tell the guard the name of the King 
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2022 20:51
|
|
|
Scenario 1 - The Valley of Dying Things Chapter 9 - Under the School and the Under School "There's a goddamned cavern under the Valley." "It could be a result of vulcanism, but I doubt it." "No, thiz place is like all the otherz we have seen. Natural Caverns. Just under the surface." "Like Upper Exile." "So was the school built here because of the cave, or was it just an accident?" "There's no way to say. But there is a road here, so someone had a use for this place. Let's follow it."  "This is... not it's not the source. But we're close." "The water table is contaminated here az well." "Never finished the road?" "And why even put down a sign? It's not like there's..." "Another way down here?" "A side entrance? Let's see if there's anything viable here." "Road's still good. Air's a little on the fresh side." "That could have been said before we walked." "Side passage!" "It's seen us!" "Oh, we can take it."  "And it looks like this side passage loops back around." "I don't need magic to see that this road doesn't end here." "No, the illusion is still solid." "That's outside! Where does this come out?"  "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!??! That's the Fort over there!" "Knowledge lost, never recorded." "Well, this will help immensely. Let's go back underground." The map nerd in me is bothered when things don't really line up, and this is especially egregious. "Thiz water is fouled." "Yeah, that's obvious." "But this is not. Look, you can see the gap above..." "I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!" "Share?" "Erosion! The contamination was limited to this cavern, isolated az it was from the outside world. Then the water carved its way in, picked up the contamination and took it into the outside world." "I like that thought! One problem though." "And what would that be?" "There's a bridge. You don't bridge over something that didn't exist at the time." "..." "I mean, it's a good idea, but we'll just have to investigate further."    "Mother-of-us-all.... Look at that." Stepping n that stuff will Disease everyone. Walking over the bridge will do the same. By the end of this update, we'll have something for that.  "I'd love to poke at the School, but let's have a loot at Waste Disposal." "On the other hand... Maybe the other part of the school might be of use to us." "I can't argue with that."  "Open doors already. Not the best idea." "And the sign there?" "AAHAYWEH Gate?" "That's not what it says at all!" "But I do get the joke."    "What is that noise?" "Not demonic. Just sounds like it." "And how would you know that?" "Not enough evil. Thiz is just malice."  "Well, it's a good place to start." "WHAT IS THAT?" Gremlins! A mainstay enemy of the Exile series, they traditionally steal food from you when they hit you, and they come in very large groups. What we have here is something new - different versions of Gremlins that have been affected by the magic and contamination in this area. First, we have the Pink Gremlins, who throw darts as a ranged physical attack. "Another dead monster, and now another of those closed off doors. Maybe there's a key for them somewhere here." "Nothing here." "I wouldn't say that." "Would they even be here?" "Nothing to do but look. And honestly, it could be anything, so we can't afford to look at nothing." "That isn't grammatically correct." "pft"  "From what I've heard, that's a pretty standard message for Empire Mage Academies, telling people that within lay new and amazing things not found in the outside." "Heads up, more Gremlins!"   "And now, they are dead." Just assume I am killing Gremlins all over this floor unless otherwise specified.  "Not much to learn here, save perhaps access further in." "No, that iz not true. Look."  "Wait a minute. That can't be right. That's a Vahnatai robe." "Could they be here?" "If they were here, that means that the contamination has gone down, and not just upwards." "Yeah, but they live so far down, how long did it take to get to them?" "Water, perhaps? We don't know where that inner-river fully goes."  "I can only wish I was able to do this to my alma mater when I left." "That isn't good." "Gremlord! BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!" You see that comment about how this guy's death triggers a Global Special? Well, it's part of how Blades of Exile is programmed. It's very modular and you can manually flag changes in the world-state by killing unique enemies and NPCs. So, what happens when we kill him? That. I'm not sure that does anything else, because I'll be fighting Gremlins for the rest of the level. However, you can use this to change flags in the game if you want to have an 'Assassination' type plot or objective going on. "That wasn't so hard." "Door Number 1 or Door Number 2?" "One." "They go to the same place!"  "Nothing, and that's a structural pillar, not a hidden compartment." "Storage." "At least we're making good time."  "The caretaker key?" "Probably." "Back to the main room then."   "Not getting in that way for sure."  "That's convenient. Which first, you think?" "Apothecary, healing and restoratives." "I'm in favor." "Aye." "As well." "Map-skills at the ready."  "Good, because we're here."  "That's not funny at all!" "No it iz not." "Tells you something when they never bothered to clean up the blood on the sheets." "This door was practically ajar!"   "I win." "Well preserved. Still viable." I'm hoping those are Cleansing powders, but I won't know until I get them ID'd. Disease removal is going to be vital if I remember correctly. "Thiz is not good. There are lines of power here, harming all who would cross without the proper runes." "And before you ask, no there iz no way to know if we are right or not." Welcome to the hallway of death. Every step you take deals about 10-12 fire damage to everyone in the party, save Hox because he has the Ruby Necklace which halves fire damage. In order to get through here, have plenty of SP, and cast Heal Light Wounds or Light Heal all as the most SP efficient method of tanking the damage.   "This had better be worth it!"   "Thiz will heal disease. We can uze it, or give it to Marallis for their people." This Special Item can be activated at any time to cure all Disease in the party. And is a quest object as mentioned. I'm going to keep it for now. Also... I don't remember where I got this, which is bad because this is only the ninth update! "And now we have to go back." I have no shame in admitting I cheated everyone back to full health and SP here. You guys deserve a fun LP. I shall suffer on your behalf. "And now, back to finding that Silver Key." "Which could be anywhere."  "I thought thoze were over on the other side." "So did I." I think this is supposed to read "2nd Years". "But I'll take treasure!"   "And then nothing."  "I won't say... nothing." "As zoon as our Mage Lore iz sufficient." There are plenty of Level 4 Mage Spells available for free if I had the requisite Lore. Which I don't.  "Yeah, the only way through into there is on the other side."  "Five gets you ten it's blown to hell." "Deal." "poo poo." "Thank. You." "While you boys were messing around..."  "I wonder how zuch things are handled here."   "Well enough, oddly." I've been burned by books not being lore items, so these are being saved for IDing.  "No, not what you're thinking. This is a testing area." "See!" "What school did you go to?" "Ah... Hard Knocks?" "I know that plaze."  "Finally! If the scepter was still here, here's hoping his key is." "I'll start on the desk, you lot go through the shelves." "On it." "Found it!"  "Excellent. Time to loop back 'round and see that common room and why it had to be locked up." * * *   "Perfect." "It's a godamned dining hall." "With stairs down in the back."  "What...?"  Right, so the Tome of Knowledge can be used to have a 50/50 chance of adding or removing experience from the user. I'm going to hold onto this for now as I think I need it for a plot device in the future. But if I don't, I'll save scum to give extra XP to a low-level character. "Two sets of stairs down. Left or right?" "Left."   "Smell that!" "What?" "Knowledge."  "Yes, there is." "And no way through this. I do not know what iz inside." And I tried to save-scum my Piercing Crystal, but that didn't work out. "Oh, that's not fun. Bookworms!" Chitrach Larvae actually. "Let's see..."  "Yep, that tracks." "Still can't enter."  "Just going to be quiet study rooms." "I hate to say it, but this is pretty much a bust." "Except for where the larvae came from." "She haz a point." "Found the entry point." "I suppose this is just more to deal with. Maybe here's the source of our problems, or a backdoor into the Waste Facility." "Long way down."  "Oh."   "Welcome."
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2022 03:58
|
|
|
That's a rather friendly creepy creature. Wonder if the party will have to smash its face in.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2022 05:50
|
|
|
BraveLittleToaster posted:That's a rather friendly creepy creature. Wonder if the party will have to smash its face in. Doing so would be inadvisable for several reasons.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2022 11:30
|
|
|
BraveLittleToaster posted:That's a rather friendly creepy creature. Wonder if the party will have to smash its face in. The Vahnatai are a complex and complicated society and culture and thankfully cannot be reduced to any sort of simplistic description. They were a major part of Exile 2, and had important contributions to the plot of Exile 3. They are also, most definitively, not Elves, no matter how you slice it. And I consider their lack of inclusion as an optional character race in this game to be very disappointing.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2022 13:02
|
|
|
I appreciate that this starting adventure actually feels like a quest and an invesitgation without being a basic 'kill all the orcs' bit of uninspired greyness. That said, the burning hallway can gently caress off. Fake Edit: I didn't get the joke, but that's typical for me. I don't get out much.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2022 15:57
|
|
|
One of the nice things about Blades is that in all the bundled scenarios, "go to where the bad people are and kill them all" is never a solution that's on the table -- there's always more to it than that. I seem to recall that a lot of the user scenarios followed suit, although that might be a case of rose tinted spectacles at play.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2022 16:25
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:Fake Edit: I didn't get the joke, but that's typical for me. I don't get out much. I make lots of jokes, some of them even in the game already. Which one did you think you missed? Whybird posted:One of the nice things about Blades is that in all the bundled scenarios, "go to where the bad people are and kill them all" is never a solution that's on the table -- there's always more to it than that. I seem to recall that a lot of the user scenarios followed suit, although that might be a case of rose tinted spectacles at play. You're not wrong. Now to be fair, there is a scenario that is literally "Enter the room, kill the enemy, loot the chest, win!", but it's a parody scenario. Combat is almost an afterthought in this franchise, the strength has always been in the writing, the plot and the adventure. Monty Haul, this is not.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2022 17:18
|
|
|
berryjon posted:You're not wrong. Now to be fair, there is a scenario that is literally "Enter the room, kill the enemy, loot the chest, win!", but it's a parody scenario. Combat is almost an afterthought in this franchise, the strength has always been in the writing, the plot and the adventure. Monty Haul, this is not. Jeff is very good about not overloading the player with loot, to the point of often being stingy - especially with cash. It does make every new upgrade seem consequential, as opposed to say BG2 where the player ends the game with a literal Bag of Holding full of powerful items. BG is a great game, but that is very much a thing. berryjon posted:I make lots of jokes, some of them even in the game already. Which one did you think you missed? "AAHAYWEH Gate?" "That's not what it says at all!" "But I do get the joke." No idea what this was referencing
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2022 00:03
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:"AAHAYWEH Gate?" Abandon All Hope All Ye Who Enter Here, written on the gates of Hell in Dante's Inferno, and the name of the first level of Descent 2.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2022 01:44
|
|
|
Regarding the inaccurate mapping of the exit to the overworld, I assume that's where the handwave of "you walked for upwards for a mile or more" textbox before the actual Small Cave exit dungeon comes in. Still seems pretty flimsy that you would come out at the opposite end of the valley though. Now that you've got an easy out to the surface, do you plan on taking another run at some of the overworld areas you had to nope out on earlier? berryjon posted:The Vahnatai are a complex and complicated society and culture and thankfully cannot be reduced to any sort of simplistic description. They were a major part of Exile 2, and had important contributions to the plot of Exile 3. Though the real answer of course is that this was very much in Spidweb's very early days and Jeff basically just used the exact engine he had developed for E3 with added documentation. Since there wasn't the option in E3 to make a Vahnatai or demon or whatever PC, the option isn't here either. Pretty sure it's fairly simple to replace PC graphics though, so for LP purposes, if/when we swap out party members, you might be able to tell canon to gently caress off and just copy in a Vahnatai one. Maybe create some house-rules for Vahnatai characters too, similar to how Sliths/Nephils get different abilities. Just off the top of my head, I'd say giving your PC a free point of mage spells at the start (since they're in-canon a very magically based race) but also setting a rule that the only weapons you're allowed to use are edged weapons and throwing weapons since that's what a Vahnatai would be familiar with and able to adapt to - the skills from a waveblade to a sword are fairly transferable, but he's literally never touched a bashing weapon in his life so of course he wouldn't use one.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2022 02:13
|
|
|
Yay! I loved your old Exile threads, so super excited for this. Just started the thread but had to say before I forget; I adore the old CG renders like this and I always wish there was a game that had graphics like that, hah. It's kind of wild I just found this thread, since I was only a while back asking for advice on how to get BoE running on a modern system.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2022 02:30
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 2, 2024 13:42 |
|
|
MagusofStars posted:Now that you've got an easy out to the surface, do you plan on taking another run at some of the overworld areas you had to nope out on earlier? I'm in favour of all of this. Clean out all areas and get some mage lore for those spells, if you can. I also like the Vahanatai idea as a novelty for later. berryjon posted:Abandon All Hope All Ye Who Enter Here, written on the gates of Hell in Dante's Inferno, and the name of the first level of Descent 2. Ah. I knew that phrase of course, but I'd never seen it acronymed before. JustJeff88 fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Aug 9, 2022 |
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2022 03:31
|
|