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POOL IS CLOSED posted:Tyallea withheld some good information when you paid him for tutelage in Shaping fyoras earlier. You don't feel any shame at reading his secrets. Sorry, what? I'll admit I struggled to understand the earlier explanation of the restrictions on training skills, but one of the things I was pretty confident of was that you could have a max of three ranks in a skill, although it was easy to screw yourself over and only get two. How does a fourth rank fit into this?
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Jul 25, 2017 23:08
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Sympathize with the Serviles Try the Crystal Caverns Interesting that someone has made the Rogues smart enough to ambush people...
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Jul 25, 2017 23:13
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I'm worried about your serviles, farmer dude; I have no idea how you AREN'T more freaked out about this. And yeah, variety is shiny and the crystal place probably has the nicer loot.
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Jul 25, 2017 23:20
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Maugrim posted:Sorry, what? I'll admit I struggled to understand the earlier explanation of the restrictions on training skills, but one of the things I was pretty confident of was that you could have a max of three ranks in a skill, although it was easy to screw yourself over and only get two. How does a fourth rank fit into this? So weirdly enough, the fyora Shaping ability seems to be an exception! We started out with one point in it when we began the game, then bought two more from Tyallea. Then there's a book in Tyallea's artila hell where you can gain an extra point for a total of 4! In contrast, we started with 0 points in artila, then we got one from Shanti during the tutorial because we're a Shaper, and then thanks to that we could only buy one additional point from Tyallea, for a total score of 2 in artila right now. If we find a tome, quest reward, or canister we can stack that on top. The skill system is so awkward in G2 that I find it hard to explain in a clear, concise way. A trainer can only train you up to twice in any skill or ability. Putting points into a skill/ability through reading a book, receiving a quest reward, or using canisters will count against the number of times a trainer can train that skill/ability. (Skability?) But if you hold off from using the book/canister/reward and then use it AFTER training twice with a trainer, those bonus points will stack on top of what you learned from the trainer. The game doesn't seem to count that starter point in fyora against your training... slots...? in fyora Shaping. I don't know why, but it does potentially allow you to gain the cryoa pretty early. Shapers really need the cryoa.
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Jul 25, 2017 23:23
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Maugrim posted:Sorry, what? I'll admit I struggled to understand the earlier explanation of the restrictions on training skills, but one of the things I was pretty confident of was that you could have a max of three ranks in a skill, although it was easy to screw yourself over and only get two. How does a fourth rank fit into this? There are often ways to get beyond 3 points. Basically you can train up to 2 points. Any points you get from special events (Shanti training, Shaper Books, Canisters etc) can add on top of that. But if you go up to 2 points before you train you cannot buy training. Most shaping abilities have at least 2 non training ways to level in this game, though a ton are locked behind exclusive quests etc.
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Jul 26, 2017 00:25
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Zore posted:There are often ways to get beyond 3 points. Basically you can train up to 2 points. Any points you get from special events (Shanti training, Shaper Books, Canisters etc) can add on top of that. But if you go up to 2 points before you train you cannot buy training. But Precipitate was able to purchase up to level-3 in Shape Fyora, is the point. Something odd's going on here. I could well believe that it's a one-off hack to let Shapers get the Cryoa in the early game, though.
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Jul 26, 2017 00:54
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:But Precipitate was able to purchase up to level-3 in Shape Fyora, is the point. Something odd's going on here. It's that the game doesn't count your starting point in Shape Fyora against your training slots. It probably was intended to let a thorough player gain Cryoa fairly quickly.
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Jul 26, 2017 01:02
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Sympathize with Braan the farmer, and the crystal mines seem interesting.
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Jul 26, 2017 02:17
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I mean, what's concerned mean here? I'm concerned for the serviles, but also for farmer dude, because seriously, gently caress being a freeman on the land, you are two lucky shots away from being rogue chow. Let's head for the crystal caverns, nothing bad has ever happened in those.
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Jul 26, 2017 02:17
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Braan. Keeping the services under tight control might seem mean, but they'd get brutally murdered by rogues if he didn't, so it's actually kind of the lesser of two evils.
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Jul 26, 2017 03:50
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:So weirdly enough, the fyora Shaping ability seems to be an exception! We started out with one point in it when we began the game, then bought two more from Tyallea. Then there's a book in Tyallea's artila hell where you can gain an extra point for a total of 4! So if I understand you correctly, a trainer can only train you up to rank 2 in a skill, but books/canisters/quests can train you up to any level. This means that you want to get training first.
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Jul 26, 2017 04:06
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Does Braan have different comments if you haven't destroyed the Spawner first? Also not sure how the hell I completely missed the minimap in every screenshot. My brain just sort of blurs out the UI, I guess.
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Jul 26, 2017 07:06
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Sympathize with Braan. If this were Solution, she might not, but Precipitate doesn't strike me as having seen serviles go through enough bullshit to warrant defending them over humans. And go check out the Crystal Mines because SHINY
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Jul 26, 2017 08:00
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Dirk the Average posted:So if I understand you correctly, a trainer can only train you up to rank 2 in a skill, but books/canisters/quests can train you up to any level. This means that you want to get training first. If you aren't a super mini-maxer, this is mostly critical for Creations since some of them only have 2 books/canister/quest sources available, so if you don't train first, you can't reach that critical level 3 that unlocks the upgraded version. Though if you have a statistic that isn't particularly useful (e.g., melee weapons for Shaper), you might as well not invest any skill points there until after your two points from training. Some crazy players go nuts with this and do stuff like "Don't train spellcraft on an Agent until well into the game so you can get +2 points from the training", but my personal (non-Torment) opinion is that making the end-game very slightly easier by ending up with 16 spellcraft instead of 14 isn't worth making the first half of the game notably harder by skimping on stats.
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Jul 26, 2017 12:22
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Thanks for the explanations, everyone - it all makes sense now!Dirk the Average posted:So if I understand you correctly, a trainer can only train you up to rank 2 in a skill, but books/canisters/quests can train you up to any level. This means that you want to get training first. This seems the clearest possible way to put it, with the caveat that your starting point in Create Fyora is ignored in this scenario. Speaking as a game designer this is terrible game design and Vogel should be ashamed of himself (and probably is). Also, the last post of the last page was an update in case anyone (like me) missed it and was wondering why people were voting on stuff. e: Talking of which, sympathise with Braan and head for the Saltmarsh. Maugrim fucked around with this message at 13:21 on Jul 26, 2017 |
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Jul 26, 2017 13:08
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The worst part is that the training poo poo doesn't get fixed until Geneforge 5. It was also a bit of a recurring issue in his other games until very recently.
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Jul 26, 2017 14:20
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I am a bit of a perfectionist and so I always held off on rewards and such until I could hit the appropriate trainer. I also waited to train abilities until I could get optimal pricing. 
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Jul 26, 2017 14:23
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PurpleXVI posted:Does Braan have different comments if you haven't destroyed the Spawner first? We haven't encountered a spawner in the crags (and I don't think there's actually one on this map, but my memory could be faulty -- we shall shortly see), but his dialogue doesn't change regardless of whether you've taken out the Warped Thahd. We have a little more talking to do with him coming up, though. The UI actually presents some interesting information, so that's why I don't crop it out of the screenshots. The panel underneath the gameplay often has flavor descriptions, and you can kind of keep track of my burgeoning madness in GF2 as I slowly freak out about hotkey mapped spells. Buuut I think we have enough votes to show that most of you are interested in seeing the Crystal Caverns first and the thread is largely sympathetic towards Braan's challenges here.
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Jul 26, 2017 14:59
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Four is nowhere near enough hotkeys. In G1 it might have been, but spells have proliferated since then, and many of them are useful enough to warrant casting. Honestly it wouldn't be a problem if the casting interface was good enough that casting them through the hotkeys wasn't the most convenient way to do it by such a large margin. Even as a ALL CREATIONS ALL THE TIME shaper I still wanna have fast access to at least five spells - War Blessing, Protection, Cure Ailments, Minor Heal, and Heal. vdate fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Jul 26, 2017 |
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Jul 26, 2017 15:17
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Even though my sympathies are with the serviles, there's no good reason for Precipitate to feel the same way (yet). She'd sympathize with Braan. And let's check out the Crystal Caverns.
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Jul 26, 2017 16:33
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And now I'm finally caught up. Just in time to participate, too! Well, maybe. PIC's most recent post was a bit ambiguous as to whether or not voting is closed. Still, I'm going to vote to sympathize with Braan (For the reasons MagusOfStars outlined) and to go to the Crystal Caverns. I vaguely remember getting my rear end kicked there when I played the demo as a kid, and never getting to see very far into it... You know, looking back on it, the reason I had so much trouble getting very far into the game as a kid wasn't because it was hard, but more because I was playing as a Shaper while never putting any points into magic or shaping skills. Huh. Funny how I'm only realizing this now.
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Jul 26, 2017 19:01
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I think that I found a typo in the update before last, POOL.quote:The desert trees are worth than useless -- they've created an active hazard by providing cover for all these monsters. Also, should the opportunity present itself, I wouldn't mind having a cryoa named after me... because they are bloody adorable.
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Jul 26, 2017 22:01
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Braan, Crystal CavesZore posted:The worst part is that the training poo poo doesn't get fixed until Geneforge 5. It was also a bit of a recurring issue in his other games until very recently.
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Jul 27, 2017 00:14
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Sympathize with the Serviles. Viva la revolucion, comrades! And, sure, Crystal Caves sound interesting.
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Jul 27, 2017 00:24
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Parts Kit posted:5 also did something to general Shaper stats that made mine nigh-invincible until about 75% through. It was really weird, almost nothing could hit him and he had an absurd HP pool. At a guess, that'd be Jeff introducing level into the damage/hit chance formulae, making it so that the higher-level combatant gets an advantage proportionate to the level differential. The Avernum reremakes definitely work that way, to the point that if you're remotely thorough about doing sidequests, you'll completely overpower your opponents unless you either go out of your way to seek high-level content, or turn the difficulty up. If 5 were the first game he did that in, then it wouldn't surprise me if he screwed up the formulae in the process and made the effect really huge.
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Jul 27, 2017 01:23
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See Drypeak Valley! Last time, we entered the Crags, a maze of ravines. We wandered into a trap set by an intelligent thahd, then helped a farmer fight off a fyora ambush.  "Well, while I'm here, is there anything I can do to help out?" you ask. "Oh, Shaper. I wouldn't want to do anything to... wait. There is something. Not long ago, one of my serviles ran off." He points south. "I chased it for a while, but it disappeared into some cave, and I didn't like the looks of it, so I didn't follow." "I sympathize. These simple creatures need strong guidance. Otherwise, they can go rogue. I plan on heading south, so if I find your servile, I'll send it back." "You would know best, Shaper. I try to be merciful to them, whenever they are under some sort of control. But you know how sometimes strong measures are necessary." You wonder how Braan ever got three serviles. Only trusted outsiders are ever granted that privilege and responsibility. Braan chats with you while weeding his meager crops. He complains less than you would expect. "What can you tell me of this area?" you ask. "Not much I can tell you you haven't seen already. It's ugly and infested land. To the north, it gets far worse. I wouldn't want to mess with the rogues up there," he says. "It's not so bad to the northeast, though. That area is a lot safer." "Why is it safer to the northeast?" "Because that's where Sharon lives." "Sharon?" you echo. "Don't know much. She's a witch. Or mage. Or Shaper. No idea. She lives in the woods up there, she likes her privacy, and she hates rogues. Rogues who go in there don't last long. There are creations that protect her." Of course. That Sharon. "Why is it more dangerous to the north?" "Aye. The rogues up there are bigger and meaner, and the land is drier and more useless." That's hard to imagine. "What should I do if I want to travel through there?" “Don't know why you'd want to. But, if you did, I'd talk to Ciphar. You can find him at the west entrance to the Drypeak mines. He's an even better fighter than I am, and he's seen a lot more of the land up there than I have." You already have an agreement with Ciphar, at least. "Tell me about the cunning rogues," you say. "They travel in packs, and the packs work together. Attack one, and the others follow." He spits into the dust off to the side. "Worse, some of them pretend to be scared. They run off, trying to trick you into following them. And then they lead you into a crowd of their buddies." You've already gotten a good taste of the rogues' antics. Now you know to be alert for even more of their dirty tricks.   You find some coins, venom thorns, and a living tool among Braan's personal effects. As soon as you disarm the traps, those things join your personal effects.  The servile stops and stares at the ground obediently when you approach. You talk to it for a little bit, but you don't learn anything. It is a very simple creature.  You can bet we picked up that pile of money.   Past Braan's trash piles, you stumble upon something interesting. There is a thahd hiding back here in this dead end. At first, you think that he is a rogue. Then you realize that he isn't. Well, not quite. This thahd is uncontrolled. For some reason, it has lost contact with the Shaper it served. A creation like this usually goes rogue eventually, unless someone steps in to take control. Thahds are dumb, but not mindless. It stares at you oddly, not sure whether to grovel or attack. "Thahd, where is your master?" "I... uhhh... I Thahd. I fight. Fight for Shaper. Punch. Fight!" You repeat the question. The thahd says, "No know. No have think. Punch! Punch!" This is a pretty standard conversation for thahds. "Come, Thahd. I will let you travel with me." You try to convince the thahd to join you. It takes a fair amount of will to exert control over another's creation, but your leadership abilities are strong enough to overwhelm it. "Yes, Shaper. Me good. Me good Thahd. Me serve. Serve! Punch! Serve! Punch!" The creature was clearly lonely and confused (not to mention hungry). It eagerly moves to your side. We now have a new friend! Let's rename Thahd.  The abandoned thahd starts out at a pitiful level 3 with minimal stats. We can't directly control it, though we can deactivate it, dismiss it permanently, or just lock it up behind doors and other obstacles. The thahd takes a share of the party experience and will level up if it survives long enough. Long live ManxomeBromide!   Beyond a less fortunate thahd, you find another sign warning of rogues.  Rooting around in this nest yields more money, and more money means more power. Lately you've realized that you need much more power. The passages through the Crags are starting to become quite familiar and you haven't seen any more rogues in hours. You circle back around south, past the abandoned farmstead and into a tunnel.   Game Text posted:You walk into a large cavern. It is stunningly beautiful. You stare in awe at the massive crystal formations. They're huge, lovely, and very well formed. The stones glow with their own natural light, illuminating the gallery with a soft blue hue. Despite the danger, the beauty of the glittering, pulsating crystals steals your breath away. This place must be what Takena asked you to find. Surveying the caverns should yield some sort of fruit, whether it be new knowledge or great riches. This is an optional dungeon that is currently beyond our means to fully clear. However, there are some benefits to exploring the crystal caverns this early.  Someone has already chiseled away at this small spire.  Game Text posted:You inspect the spire and find that there is one very nice crystal protruding from it. It is not flawless... it would be incredibly rare and valuable if it were. You're not sure you and your creations can take on these shades. They're everywhere and they're difficult to see -- and difficult to see means difficult to hit. Maybe Shanti will have some tips on dealing with shades.  So tempting.  There is a servile cowering back here. He is terrified to the point of incoherence. This creature is probably escaped, close to going rogue, or a bit of both. The presence of the shades doesn’t bother it. It leaves the shades alone, they leave it alone. It seems to be working out. "Where are you from, servile? You're Braan's creation, aren't you?" The servile starts when you mention Braan's name. "No, no. I not Braan's. I flee. He scares, he beats, he makes me stay where monsters are. No make me go there. Please. I flee. Let me flee! Please!" You frown. This is Braan's servile and the law is clearly on his side. However, his situation seems hopeless. There is no way one man can protect all of his serviles from the hordes of rogues out in the Crags. You won't delude yourself; you probably haven't completely solved the rogue problem. All it takes is one more of those spawners in some area you didn't discover. But this servile seems safe enough here. As long as the shades don't turn on it, anyway. It even has some supplies, though they were likely stolen. You need some time to decide what to do. You back away. The creation is extremely relieved.  You try to talk to the shade. Closer inspection reveals that it is an amorphous, blobby creature, more a parody of the human form than an actual ghost or spirit. It doesn't respond to your words in any way. It is only a magical creation, completely lacking in intelligence.   As the quality of the crystals improves, the presence of the shades likewise strengthens. The crystals must be sustaining them.  A mage died in this lonely corner, recognizable only from the robes. The cadaver is so far gone that you can only guess the cause of death -- the shades. In addition to the finely worked but now deeply stained robes, you find a simple sword and a pair of beautiful gloves. I equip these immediately. Carnelian gloves are an excellent equipment upgrade at this stage. Though they only grant +1 to armor, they also increase battle and mental magic by 1. Agents and Shapers can wring a lot of use from these. There's not much loose rubble around here, so you can't bury the poor soul or build them a cairn. You give a brief thanks for the gloves they left behind and move on.   A flawed crystal lies here, mysteriously clean and devoid of dust.  This is exactly the sort of trap you fall for; knowing that, you head forward anyway, eager for more crystals but alert for danger.  The creature before you is very old and very rare. It is a drayk, one of the most powerful and cunning of the Shaper creations. Too powerful and too cunning. It has been illegal to create more of them for many decades. A few drayks were allowed to live. Most were destroyed. A few escaped. This must be one of those. It is very old and withered, and it doesn't look quite right in the head. It is playing with some of its collection of crystals, turning them over and over in its long claws. When you enter, it barely seems to acknowledge you. "Ah. Shaper. I am Wyx. Look at the crystals. Lovely, lovely stone. So lovely." "How long have you been here, creation?" You're fascinated despite your better judgment. The crystals are lovely, but you never expected to see a drayk... ever. Wyx sets down its crystal and looks up at you. "Oh, a long time. When they came to kill me, I was gone. I hid here. And hid and hid and hid. And I don't go out. My crystals are all I need. Pretty, pretty crystals." It picks up another crystal and stares deep into it. You wonder what Wyx is seeing. "What do you eat?" "Eat? I... I... I guess I do go out. I do, sometime. I go out and grab the first meat I find, and I go back. To my lovely crystals. I love them." "When you went out, did you ever meet anyone named Barzahl?" you ask. "Names don't mean anything to me! No! It has been long since I ate a human. I know no Barzahl." Wyx is starting to get agitated. You change the subject. Wyx plays with its crystal. It doesn't look at you. "Tell me more about your crystals." "In my lone hiding, my crystals comfort me. They are beautiful. They sing, they make the shades, they smooth me out when I am full of wrath and will kill." This may not be mere madness. The crystals here are clearly quite powerful. "And when it is worst, there is my perfect crystal. The only one which is flawless. When all is worst, I bring it forth and look into it, and I see the better world." Sharon asked for a perfect crystal... "Can I see it?" "No! No! You cannot set it! It is my special thing! Mine! You go away!" You cautiously back off, all too aware that you aren't much of a match for this ancient monster. We could also ask for the crystal directly: Suddenly, you have Wyx's full attention. It is not pleasant. It rises up to its full height and inhales. You can see that, despite its age, it is still a solid brick of fire-breathing muscle. "Shaper, it is time for you to go. Go!" We also lack the chops to command it: "Creation, I command you. Give me that crystal. Do this, and I will let you live in peace here." That is enough for the drayk. It sets down its crystal and attacks you. We can't make much progress against Wyx at this point. Alone, he's a threat, but he also has shades that will come to his aid. They're even more dangerous.  The shade stares at you silently. You aren't sure whether it is the spirit of a dead person or a purely magical creation. They're definitely different from the other shades around here. Their presence is even more powerful. The air around them is almost numbingly cold.   Maybe this trio of shades controls Wyx. Or maybe they're emanations of the crystals that have bewitched it... You don't know enough about magical coercion to be able to tell.   These caverns are thoroughly surveyed. Once you're more confident in your ability to handle shades, you'll return to wreck them all and take your fill of the magical crystals here. Or is that the crystals' influence on you? You make haste on your way to the Crags. So you might be wondering why Precipitate didn't murder her way through the caverns. Well, we could take on all the flawed shades. They're not so tough. The lovely shades are strong, but we can take them in staggered ones and twos. Then there are the beautiful shades and the icy spectres. We have something like a 1% hit chance on those without war blessing, and even with buffs, our chances aren't much better. Of course, we don't have the leisure of attacking the lovely shades one by one. If we take a crystal from their spires, they all aggro and will hunt us down. If we force combat, even if we one-round a shade, the icy spectres will hunt us down. They are much, much stronger than our party. Even one would mean a total party kill without extraordinary luck. I don't like to gamble on luck. Next time: Salt Cures Shapers
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Jul 27, 2017 02:37
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I have such  to show you!JustJeff88 posted:I think that I found a typo in the update before last, POOL. You did! Thanks muchly. I think the naming list is up to date now, too. Arkanian posted:And now I'm finally caught up. Just in time to participate, too! I can totally see missing the statistics screen, especially if you played as a kid. The game never forces you into the level up screen. It just quietly awaits your attention. The Crystal Caverns are an optional dungeon and as such are quite difficult this early on. With a handful more levels, we will have the chops to do something about the place, though. And by "something," I mean carry off every item of value. vdate posted:Four is nowhere near enough hotkeys. In G1 it might have been, but spells have proliferated since then, and many of them are useful enough to warrant casting. Honestly it wouldn't be a problem if the casting interface was good enough that casting them through the hotkeys wasn't the most convenient way to do it by such a large margin. Even as a ALL CREATIONS ALL THE TIME shaper I still wanna have fast access to at least five spells - War Blessing, Protection, Cure Ailments, Minor Heal, and Heal. What I'd like is keyboard-based targeting again.  I'm sure there's a technical term for the feature, but I don't know what it is.TooMuchAbstraction posted:At a guess, that'd be Jeff introducing level into the damage/hit chance formulae, making it so that the higher-level combatant gets an advantage proportionate to the level differential. The Avernum reremakes definitely work that way, to the point that if you're remotely thorough about doing sidequests, you'll completely overpower your opponents unless you either go out of your way to seek high-level content, or turn the difficulty up. It's possible the formula got screwed up. If I ever have the opportunity, I'll ask about it.
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Jul 27, 2017 02:42
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:What I'd like is keyboard-based targeting again. The Avernum reremakes let you cast spells entirely with the keyboard (e.g. 'm' for mage spell, 'k' for Lightning Spray, then hit an enemy's selection letter), so long as you're willing to place your spells exactly on an enemy unit. You need the mouse if you want to offset the target though. Keyboard-only controls are an important accessibility feature. Turn-based RPGs are one of the most accessible genres out there; they don't require fast reaction times, just that you be able to read and hit keys on a keyboard in your own time. It's worth keeping accessibility in mind when you design your control scheme.
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Jul 27, 2017 03:08
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:The Avernum reremakes let you cast spells entirely with the keyboard (e.g. 'm' for mage spell, 'k' for Lightning Spray, then hit an enemy's selection letter), so long as you're willing to place your spells exactly on an enemy unit. You need the mouse if you want to offset the target though. Unfortunately, the last Avadon game abandoned that bit of functionality. I seem to recall that Avadon 2 didn't have it, either. I don't know why. It really made me quite happy when I got the hang of it.
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Jul 27, 2017 03:35
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:
Oh, if only that were what happened. I was eleven at the time; I wanted to play the guy who would have a bunch of monsters with him, but I also wanted to play the guy who fought monsters with a sword. So naturally instead of playing as a Guardian, I played as a Shaper and only upgraded my melee stats  . Well, that and Mechanics+Leadership. Somehow, I managed to beat the mines anyway.When Geneforge 3 came out, my playthrough of the demo was much more sensible.
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Jul 27, 2017 03:59
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Keyboard-only controls were one of the excellent features of the Spiderweb games, and I'm sad the Vogel moved away from them at some point.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:32
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Hm. It's interesting to note how quickly Solution took to using non-'it' pronouns for serviles compared to Precipitate. Then again, their situations were also very different. Precipitate's had many more years in which to be indoctrinated into proper Shaperdom, and she hasn't been thrust face-first into a civilization built solely of creations. Her reactions compared to those of her alternate-timeline predecessor will be an interesting thing to watch!
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Jul 27, 2017 18:34
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vdate posted:Hm. It's interesting to note how quickly Solution took to using non-'it' pronouns for serviles compared to Precipitate. Then again, their situations were also very different. Precipitate's had many more years in which to be indoctrinated into proper Shaperdom, and she hasn't been thrust face-first into a civilization built solely of creations. Her reactions compared to those of her alternate-timeline predecessor will be an interesting thing to watch! This game also starts out with your character having regular contact with humans belonging to Shaper society, as well as the presence of Shapers themselves (including the PC's mentor, Shanti). Keeping some psychological distance from creations is easier under these conditions. I've gotten a few areas ahead, so the next few updates should be (I hope) exciting! The plot thickens. I also accidentally omitted something from a previous update. When we took out the ancient artilas in the western mines, we earned a special item. Charms are a new feature of Geneforge 2. All you need to do is keep them in your inventory and they add stat points. We received Lucky Dice, which add 1 point to our luck score. Not bad! I'll be editing the update to mention that, but I wanted to make sure that anyone playing along knows to go back and check for dice.
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Jul 27, 2017 19:31
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:This game also starts out with your character having regular contact with humans belonging to Shaper society, as well as the presence of Shapers themselves (including the PC's mentor, Shanti). Keeping some psychological distance from creations is easier under these conditions. Oh yeah. Those things are wonderful little bonuses. They're like finding a passive-granting canister! Except, y'know, without all the megalomania and glowing skin and whatnot.
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Jul 27, 2017 21:02
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What are the limits on your inventory in this game? You lose AP when overburdened, but do you have a limit on slots? I'm having flashbacks to Diablo 2.
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Jul 27, 2017 21:54
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:What are the limits on your inventory in this game? You lose AP when overburdened, but do you have a limit on slots? I assume there's a slot limit eventually, but I've not hit it and I'm not sure any guides mention it. I've only (always) hit the encumberence limit.
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Jul 27, 2017 23:17
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Salt Cures Shapers Last time, Precipitate surveyed the Crystal Caverns, one of the many beautiful sights you can tour in  You visit Allizar first. "I managed to kill the three rogues you wanted me to hunt." "Well done! We should lose a lot less guards now. Now here is an item I was asked to give to someone who did something very useful. Improve the morale of the troops, and all that." He removes a gold ring from a pouch and solemnly hands it to you. "Take care of it. We've lost a lot of soldiers who would have lived if they had that." There's an option to tell him you killed one, but not an option to talk about killing two. Strange. The ring is a shielding band. They're quite useful, but this ring won't serve you as well as the projection band you're already wearing. The shielding band gives +5 to armor and +15% stun resistance to the wearer. It's not as good for a Shaper as the projection band.  Game Text posted:This valley full of marshy land is so useless and unpleasant that Drypeak hasn't made the slightest effort to settle it. The weedy, wiry trees have been able to spread out here, but nothing else has. Ciphar walks up to greet you. You are pleased to see that he was good to his word and met you here. "Glad you finally made it. It's finally time to push these foul little creatures back a bit. It's good to be backed up by a Shaper for once. I'll let you pick the approach. The worst of them are up to the northwest. I'd be careful, though. If we go forward too fast, we'll get swarmed." "If you were leading, how would you approach?" you ask. Ciphar seems surprised that a Shaper would ask his advice. He seems eager to give it. "I would stick to the edges of the valley." He points north. "I would go up along the north wall. I've been scouting, and there seem to be less rogues up that way. Not none, but less. Also, in a fight, any blessing or healing or other spells you can cast to help me I would help. Or a spell to speed me up! That would be great!" "I'll see what I can do." You're reluctant to go back to retrieve your only two pouches of speed spores and you don't know how to cast that spell yourself. The sign at the edge of the trees has been here for a long time, and it's so worn and covered with mineral deposits that you can barely read it. It says, "SALTMARSH."  You only take part of Ciphar's advice; instead of heading north, you go west, but you stick to the valley's edge. ManxomeBromide has other ideas. Despite your orders, the thahd you picked up zooms northwest in pursuit of a turret. You know as soon as the thahd ignores your first order that it's doomed. ManxomeBromide is like an infant compared to your other creations. A loud, temperamental infant whose thrashing has already caught the attention of a clawbug.   Despite ManxomeBromide's disobedience, you still try to rescue it. A rogue roamer sees its opportunity and flanks Vadoc, but your artila is canny and escapes harm.  Between the clawbug and the turret, ManxomeBromide didn't stand a chance. GreatEvilKing wasn't able to kill or distract either rogue in time to save his fellow thahd. Even your healing magic was too little, too late. Another roamer comes down from the north and lunges at Ciphar. ManxomeBromide has left you quite the battle.  And that roamer brought its entire pack. Eventually you clear out the entire mess of roamers, but it's hot, exhausting work and leaves you perilously low on javelins.   Clawbugs are persistent hunters with an unmatched predatory instinct.  Eventually you're forced to pause and heal yourself and your creations. Ciphar, however, remains hale and shockingly enthusiastic.   More clawbugs have begun a warren here. Judging by the piles of gravel, the bugs bored the tunnel themselves.   One by one, your creations clear out the burrow.  And in turn, you patch up your creations' wounds.  We're going to need this point in Leadership very soon.  One of the nests contains a pair of spray crystals. Each crystal contains a charge of the potent spell Searing Orbs. These will surely prove useful.   Another clawbug burrow. You shudder to think of the kind of havoc unfettered clawbug excavations could wreak on a subterranean Shaper compound.   The clawbugs seem to collect shiny trinkets and coins from their unfortunate prey. How many people have they managed to kill?  Past the clawbug burrows is something even more alarming. Game Text posted:You see a guard post ahead. There are several serviles around a campfire. All around them, you can see piles of supplies and equipment. You wonder where all those goods came from.  The clawbug charges and lands a nasty sting on GreatEvilKing, but your creations are more than equal to the task of slaying it. More worrisome is the armed servile that charges you, blade raised. You're so shocked that you fumble for another javelin before you realize that you've run out. The servile is already upon you! GreatEvilKing takes a mighty swing at the rogue and ulmont blasts it with ice, leaving you flushed and trembling and standing over a servile's corpse. At this point, strange, unbelievable things start to happen, events so bizarre that your mind reels and struggles to absorb and comprehend them. Another servile walks towards you, bearing a sword. Serviles are never allowed to arm themselves. It looks up at you, and it does not look dumbly obedient. It looks cunning and intelligent and, worst of all, hostile. It raises its blade, points it at you, and says, "I am Beka of Rising. I am here to block this tunnel. I will not allow you to pass. Today, Shaper, you die!" For serviles to go rogue and even attack their masters is not unknown. But to do it in this seemingly intelligent and coherent way? It isn't just bizarre. It's terrifying. "You are Beka? Of Rising? What is that?" You're too shocked by this turn of events to summon wittier words. "I am not here to talk, but to fight! Defend yourself, Shaper! I long for a real fight before I slay you." Ciphar seems as shocked as you are -- he says nothing but stands ready at your back. It's good to know that you can count on someone. "I don't mean you any harm. I don't want to fight any serviles," you say. You attempt to be kind, but Beka doesn't look convinced. "No. You are not here to fight us. Command us, enslave us, maybe. But not fight us. I appreciate the kind words, Shaper. But you will not pass." As long as this Beka talks, the other rogues aren't attacking. You can sense the presences of many more rogues nearby, ones just out of sight. You press your final advantage, your next-to-last resort. "Rogue, I am a Shaper! I command you to stop!" You command Beka, trying to tap into the natural obedience to your kind programmed into all serviles. Beka flinches, but continues to approach. She has gone far beyond rogue. It's as if she is a truly independent creature. "No, Shaper! You can only kill me! We have all resigned ourselves to deaths at the hand of your kind. I am beyond fear. I am free." Free? "And your mate?" you say, summoning your coldest, most imperious tones. "Friends? Children? Stop now, or I will enslave them. I will make sure that they totally lose their freedom before they die." As you speak, you call upon your Shaper powers of command, making yourself as imposing as possible. Your words strike Beka like blows. She steps back. Her sword hangs limp in her hand. She actually thinks about what you have said. Then she says, "No, Shaper! You live, you die, it does not matter. The freedom of the Rising, whether it end good or bad, is all that matters. I will go do what must be done. Then we will fight again." She turns to leave. The other serviles come with her. When she leaves, the will seems to drain out of the creations around her. They wander around aimlessly, no longer seeming to notice you. Very strange. The effort to repel the rogues without fighting leaves you enervated. At least you and your creations are unscathed. Ciphar pushes past you to pursue Beka and the other armed serviles as they retreat northwest into the mouth of what must be the secret tunnel. You keep your creations back and shout, but Ciphar doesn't heed you. However, the rogue serviles are much too quick, and they escape without coming to further blows. Beka and the servile tunnel guards leave the map and the remaining rogues become neutral at this point. You can easily end up fighting Beka and the others, but it turns into quite the dogpile unless you managed to clear out most of the clawbugs and roamers beforehand. Beka roams this entire area, so you're likely to encounter her before reaching the tunnel guards. She doesn't make a beeline for your party, though. Later we'll see what happens if you kill her...  Ciphar looks very relieved. "Well, I've done all I think I can do here, and a good day's work too. I'll help you for a bit more, clearing up stragglers and such, but it's about time for me to be returning to my farm." You're too deep in thought to do more than absently thank him. As it turns out, the unintelligent creations around here aren't rogues in the sense of being uncontrolled. The clawbugs, roamers, and so forth have merely been acting on the orders of rogue serviles. Someone somehow granted the serviles the ability to command other creations. But why? More of those rogue-controlled creations remain, though, and you know your duty.  We force-attack each remaining creature and clear them all out for the experience. At least on this map, killing one neutral monster in front of another doesn't render the witness hostile. Ciphar will continue   This large room was built in a gap in the stone and finished with roughly planed planks. It's surprisingly cozy. The rogue serviles must have stayed here, yet it's all surprisingly clean and tidy. Whoever is supervising them is doing an excellent job. Why have they turned against Shaper law? Secreted away in the wardrobe is a venom baton. It's already fully loaded. You're lucky the rogue serviles didn't attack with it, but no matter -- the venom baton is yours now. Greenshot appears to be on the fritz again, so a few shots I thought I'd taken are missing from this update. One such shot is of us acquiring a grounded robe from a pot near the campfire. The grounded robe weighs 5 lbs and grants +5 armor and 15% energy resistance.  Here is where Beka and the rest of the rogues fled. You're resolved to explore this tunnel in due time. First you must ensure that no creations ambush you from this end... or at least you can make that costly for the rogue Shaper.   Turrets, clawbugs, and roamers remain, but now that Beka is gone, they barely present a threat.   You pick off another roamer under the watchful eye of a lonesome ornk.  Once you've finished off the rogues, you take a last breather by a spring welling up from the base of a cliff. You part ways with Ciphar and head towards the secret tunnel entrance.   Game Text posted:You finally step into this well-concealed and well-guarded tunnel. It looks abandoned. This is odd, considering the amount of effort someone went to keep you from entering it.  Several scorch marks mar the tiled floor. You can't determine what caused them, and that sets you even further on edge.  You catch a glimpse of bones, mine cart tracks, and pallets of goods before your nerves overwhelm you and you turn back. Now it's time to head back and report to Shanti. You're not even sure how to explain everything you've witnessed. Next time: Tunnel Vision
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Jul 27, 2017 23:35
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Tunnel Vision Last time, we encountered hostile, armed serviles. They were led by an angry, articulate servile who called herself Beka. We managed to ward her off without further bloodshed, and then parted ways with Ciphar so we can explore the secret tunnel.  On your way to report to Shanti, you break into this abandoned house and empty the contents of the chest in the back. Shanti is still pacing in your quarters. Sooner or later, she’s going to wear a rut in the floor. “There’s an area northwest of here with a lot of dangerous traps and rogues,” you say. "Interesting, and expected. Whatever is the source of the rogues in this area, it makes sense that they would put the strongest defenses near their source." She nods once, sharp and quick. "I know it is risky, but explore that area as soon as possible." “Well, I did. I found a tunnel in the northwest corner. It seems well-guarded.” "Well done, apprentice." She walks forward and places her hand on your shoulder. "It is becoming clear that I did not make a mistake in choosing you. I see great things ahead of you." She removes her hand and starts to think again. "Of course, you should explore that tunnel. Also, I will slip away and investigate it as soon as possible. I am very interested to see what I will find on the other side." She smiles. "No, not I. What we will find on the other side. Though you are only my apprentice, I think you have earned that much respect." You swallow, throat unexpectedly tight. You’ve worked hard for the praise, but you can hardly find the words to thank her. All you can think of are the secrets you’re keeping from her. The serviles… You duck out and return to the secret tunnel.   Was this originally intended to be a mine or another Shaping facility?  Past the door you cracked open earlier, you find another locked door. It's a flimsy obstacle. Within, you find a pair of pods, one of shielding and one of healing.  Game Text posted:You notice a single pair of footprints in the goop on the floor. They're human footprints. The person was wearing boots. Smaller prints have scraped up the muck and mold. The stone layer underneath is still moist. Serviles. Game Text posted:This chamber is a supply depot. Here, for some time, supplies of all sorts have been brought. From here, they were put into carts and rolled into the darkness. Where they went, you aren't sure. The game is kind enough to present us with two routes past this obligatory dungeon. One is the mechanics route and the other is the combat route. Pick the one that plays to your strengths. Precipitate can handle all the mines on the mechanics path, as it turns out.  Disarming mines leaves your hands ice cold. Fortunately, you don't sweat or tremble. Such weaknesses would render you woefully incapable of removing these traps.  One of the mines was placed to keep intruders like you away from these supplies. While you root around, you stumble over a moldering skeleton. From the bone shards, you can only guess that they weren't good enough at disarming mines.  This shallow pool is stagnant but it's clean enough to support a patch of mushrooms. You wash your hands and face, then notice something odd. Three green, ornamental potted plants have been tucked up against a nearby wall. The plants still look fairly healthy. There's no sunlight here.  The mines are growing steadily more complex and powerful. The earliest mines were only explosive -- dangerous, certainly, but not that complicated. Now, however, you're encountering mines with creations inside.   More healing pods are still welcome.   Another small storage area blocked by mines yields nearly three dozen javelins, some of exquisite quality.  Crystal-sharp focus keeps you disarming mines. All it takes is a stumble at the wrong moment, a twitch while loosening a crucial pin, and a mine can erupt with fatal consequences.  Someone obstructed this cart with another nasty mine.  This mine guarded tools and Shaper laboratory equipment.   Your eyes are starting to twitch from the strain of examining mines in the dark.   The first two chests have a fair number of pods and other useful items, but the last two chests stump you with traps you can't disarm.  You've heard of spinecores but you've never seen one until now. The four buds around the central stalk are capable of spraying noxious chemicals. Worse is the stalk, which is a powerful turret that can consume its buds to regenerate lost or damaged tissue.  With the aid of a spray crystal and your trusty creations, you're able to clear out the spinecore. GreatEvilKing sustained serious wounds in the effort, so you swiftly staunch his bleeding and heal him. You consider carrying on south, but if there are more spinecores that way, it'll be tough going.  Game Text posted:The exit from the tunnel is just ahead. You can smell fresh air. You can also faintly smell grass. That is very peculiar, as this dry and barren area doesn't have any plants like that. You didn't survive most of your apprenticeship by jamming your hands into strange substances.   You waste a living tool opening this door. Only a few thorns were stored in here.  Now that you've had a bit of a breather, you decide to finish investigating this tunnel. Sharon asked you to look into it, and you know Shanti will want all the details, too. In a nook, you find a desiccated corpse. Perhaps this being was done in by the spinecore... You'll never know either way.   You spy a bright magenta roamer to the south. Before it can turn to attack, you have ulmont spit at it. The roamer proves extremely fragile. A series of explosions rocks the tunnel, showering you with bits of stone. You cover your head and wait, but after a minute, the noises fade back to an unnerving quiet. Perhaps you won't go south just yet.  A single turret guarded this nook. You can't imagine why. All that's back here are some building supplies and some iron ingots in a nasty, old barrel. You suppose that was enough to kill over... so say the bones beneath your feet.  The stink of gore and burned hair greets you here. Did that roamer blow up its entire pack?  Sure looks that way.   Someone went through an exceptional amount of trouble to mount so many turrets here. Even the Drypeak warren doesn't have as many.   It's annoying, actually.   Destroying all of the turrets as safely as possible requires quite a bit of your essence for protection, blessings, and healing.  But persistence sees you through, or at least bloody mindedness does. You've fought your way into what looks like a small Shaping room, complete with shelves, cages, hitching posts, and a lab bench. Nearby is a small pile of shattered crystal. Each bit is so crazed from stress that not even the cheapest, most meticulous crafter could make anything from it. You collect all the Shaper equipment before moving on. Who would put Shaping platforms in a hall like this, anyway? Too distracting.   You touch one of the formations and it dissolves on your finger, instantly releasing essence. It has a refreshingly effervescent quality. You crush a blue one as well and it heals every being close by. You leave the rest untouched.   Someone set a swarm of artilas loose in here. The room's crockery hasn't fared well in their company.   You cut more hateful turrets down to size. You hope you're never responsible for maintaining these hateful fungi.  Vadoc's been lagging behind in strength lately. While you heal your creations, you spare a moment to infuse the artila with more of your essence.  It's a shame that the essence pools here dried up. They must not have been touched for a very, very long time. Mere months shouldn't be enough for them to wither away.   Immediately opening the first locked door you stumble upon is a poor tactical choice. You reflect on this while your life is in your creations' appendages.   Somehow your creations manage to stun the maddened artila. You stagger away after crushing a curing pod in your fist, and then heal your extensive wounds with another healing pod. Though ulmont's blasts leave the artila next to dead, it's your javelin that makes the final blow.  This time you even listened at the door first, yet still...! The shade is difficult to hit. Worse, it addles any being it touches, leaving them numb and stupefied. You're barely able to get out of its reach. Somehow your creations defeat it without you. With the shade destroyed, this small prison doesn't feel quite as chilly. You snoop around a little more and find a tunic in the cell with the maddened artila. Interestingly enough, it's an artila skin tunic. Vadoc doesn't like it much, but you don it anyway. This is a delightful find. It weighs 2 lbs and grants +8 armor and +2 to battle magic. The downside is a 1 point malus to mental magic. That's not a problem for Precipitate. Now it's time to see what's on the other end of this tunnel... Next time: The Gifts of Adversity POOL IS CLOSED fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Jul 28, 2017 |
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Jul 28, 2017 02:13
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Welp, RIP me. The hilarious part is that I think I survived longer this time than in GF 1. I find it kind of odd that beating serviles actually gets compliance; Precipitate seems to be relying on the tone of her voice and her death glare. ... and why did the Shapers make mines that only blow up other Shapers?
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Jul 28, 2017 02:49
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 23:02 |
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ManxomeBromide posted:
Maybe Shaper IP law interprets "defending" your work literally 
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Jul 28, 2017 03:00
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