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I also vote Siobhan for that magnificent hair, but it sounds like we're missing out on plot. Any chance of a post-game summary of what we'll miss?
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Mar 8, 2020 18:47
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Siobhan looks cool and we already have two pocket artilleries, they need meat shields.
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Mar 8, 2020 19:23
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Siobhan, it’s interplanetary women’s day.
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Mar 8, 2020 20:24
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Loxbourne posted:I also vote Siobhan for that magnificent hair, but it sounds like we're missing out on plot. Any chance of a post-game summary of what we'll miss? As a very mild spoiler, there will in fact be a second chance to pick up Khunag later, well before his plot-relevancy pops up.
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Mar 8, 2020 21:04
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Siobhan. I used Demon Exodus to grind the party to max level in a certain future spot, after which two particular party members were strictly optional.
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Mar 9, 2020 16:23
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Part 007: Maini [img]https://lpix.org/3689284/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.01.14_[2020.03.12_00.07.29].jpg[/img]  Also no one, no one bring up the Toronto in casual conversation with the locals. But isn't finding the Toronto the goal of our quest, Tom? If something the size of the Toronto landed around here, it'll be the hot gossip everyone will bring up anyway. If we ask about it, someone's going to request that we travel through the Haunted Caves of Hoodool to fetch their laundry, do their shopping and mow their lawn. Is this a tortured way to explain why there are no dialogue options to ask about the Toronto anywhere on Maini?While on Gratogel, we could ask every major authority figure about the Toronto, here we literally can't bring it up in conversation at all, for some strange reason. Possibly because it might make the player think there was no reason to hang around Maini well before they encountered the main quest here... [img]https://lpix.org/3689283/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.01.20_[2020.03.12_00.07.51].jpg[/img] Let's ask some of the locals for directions.[img]https://lpix.org/3689285/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.01.26_[2020.03.12_00.07.56].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689289/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.01.48_[2020.03.12_00.08.19].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689287/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.02.06_[2020.03.12_00.08.36].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689293/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.02.15_[2020.03.12_00.08.46].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689297/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.02.21_[2020.03.12_00.08.52].jpg[/img] You cannot and need not understand everything.Which is actually what Tom says in the game, not any of my improvised dialogue. At this point I also realized there was something I needed to share.  The walk cycles for the human NPC's not wearing dresses in the 3D mode are just amazing sometimes, by which I mean just amazingly comical, especially combined with the way they skate around the place and always face you. Like that, I don't understand that. How the hell are you walking that way? Please, Tom, remain calm. I think he's going to call the guards if you keep yelling.[img]https://lpix.org/3689292/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.03.00_[2020.03.12_00.09.31].jpg[/img] Beloveno is pretty large, about as big as Jirinaar, the first city in the game. One thing that's helpful is that in the city areas, to distinguish enterable from non-enterable buildings, the non-enterables, the ones you can completely put out of your mind, have closed doors. So you don't need to go bash your face against every door in a given city location to figure out which ones you can interact with. [img]https://lpix.org/3689303/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.03.55_[2020.03.12_00.10.26].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689299/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.03.57_[2020.03.12_00.10.27].jpg[/img] The guards refuse to let us out unless we engage with the plot first, such as it is on Maini, which is plot-wise probably one of the weaker stretches of the game. Well, guys, guess we have to find the council hall! Yes, Tom, that's what the guard just said. He's just saying it out loud so he can walk into some random people's homes pretending he hasn't noticed the council hall is the huge building on the west side of Beloveno.[img]https://lpix.org/3689305/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.04.22_[2020.03.12_00.10.53].jpg[/img] Is this the council hall? Judging by all the people with visible sores and ulcers, I'd say this is the local healer. Good thing we won't need that, a good night's sleep cures almost anything for us and drugs cure the rest. I'd been wondering about that, personally, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.You can pay healers to, well, heal you, but it's a fool's game. Grabbing some rations and sleeping is cheaper and restores both hit points and spell points, you might need it if something sticks you with a condition you lack the potions for, or if you're a dumbass and grab an unidentified magical item and equip it, but outside of that, healers serve no purpose. [img]https://lpix.org/3689312/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.05.24_[2020.03.12_00.11.55].jpg[/img] Truly there's a lack of trust in Beloveno, almost everyone here locks their doors. I certainly can't imagine why.[img]https://lpix.org/3689314/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.05.28_[2020.03.12_00.11.59].jpg[/img] -and remember, stop him if he gets near alcohol. Was it really that bad, Rainer? He was literally shitfaced for a week stumbling through the woods, believe me.As far as I can tell, despite this being a bar, I literally couldn't find a single NPC to help me get Tom drunk, also despite multiple people telling me about the local liquor, Sugo. Most people inside also have just one bit of dialogue, rather than being "full" NPC's you can talk to. [img]https://lpix.org/3689319/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.05.36_[2020.03.12_00.12.07].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689318/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.05.52_[2020.03.12_00.12.23].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689320/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.06.04_[2020.03.12_00.12.35].jpg[/img] I was talking to everyone because I expected someone, somewhere, to mention Siobhan, where she was, or to indicate that she was recruitable. But all that I could find was people mentioning Khunag and what a weird basement-dwelling goon wizard he is. [img]https://lpix.org/3689323/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.06.29_[2020.03.12_00.13.00].jpg[/img] Sounds like an unhealthy relationship, dragging other people into dangerous and uncomfortable situations where they don't want to be... Does it remind you of anything, Tom? I don't know why you try, Sira. I can't believe he's this bad, there must be something decent in him deep down. Drirr! Check it out! You can take everything off the tables here! On it, Tom!Obviously I don't actually steal anything off the tables, on account of it having no value to the local pawn shops. Eventually I find the one character in the tavern who actually has an amount of dialogue to engage with. [img]https://lpix.org/3689332/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.06.42_[2020.03.12_00.13.12].jpg[/img] Well, I'm going to say that I enjoy it, even though the devs left in no way for me to get shitfaced in Beloveno. Hmm, normally it taketh a very long time to acquire a tathte for it, thee? But I'll believe you. Ath long ath you don't drown your thorrowth with it... You wouldn't bring up drowning your sorrows if we couldn't ask you about it. Well, what would you thay if you couldn't trutht the motht important people in the thity? The Counthil of the Jutht thhould be for the people. For the thecond time now I've had a quarrel with my neighbor. It wath over real ethtate, and we were quarreling about ownerthhip. Our withe counthil thhould make a jutht decithion in catheth like thith. But in both catheth a juddthment wath made whidth wathn't favorable for me or my neighbor. The counthil thimply confithcated the property, thee? I don't underthtand it. Thomething ithn't right in that counthil. The Council of the Jutht, I mean, Just? It's our government, see? Herras is the president, and with him are Riko, Perron and Gard. Hang on, where did your lisp go? I just had something stuck in my teeth, see?They only bothered to give Aurino his lisp for dialogue specific to him, not for any of the generic dialogue you can get from most talkative people in Beloveno.  Well, some guy at the harbor said we should ask everyone about Kounos- Kounos is the little village where people still have a traditional lifestyle. The path to Kounos is arduous and difficult to describe since the village lies on the mountain plateau. Just try to find the rock walls on which large, climbing plants grow. With a little exertion, you can climb up onto the plateau. Kounos is pretty far up, but if you really look for it, you will find it. -Srimalinar- Srimalinar is a beautiful little Iskai village. It lies to the north of Beloveno on the other side of the mountain. Just like the inhabitants of Kounos, religion plays an important role in the lives of the people of Srimalinar. There is a shrine which they visit regularly near their city. There is also a magician's guild. -and the Mountain Pass. That is correct, there is a path over the mountain range which connects the north side and south side of our continent. It is a very narrow, barely recognizable path because it is rarely used. It goes past Kounos and then continues north to Srimalinar. I have never been there and, therefore, can give you no information about it." Any place that's about a "traditional lifestyle" always make me wonder if it's meant earnestly or as a cover for "when there were no minorities around." Kounos isn't so bad, I used to know the guy in charge, Kontos. Tell us more about him. I've known Kontoth for a long time. Long ago, he wath a nithe guy and you could talk with him eathily, but not any more, oh no. Some yearth ago he began to fool around with black magic and religion, and now he thinkth that he if the thmartetht Druid on the planet, thee? He uthed to live here in Beloveno, but then he got thriendly with Riko and ever finthe he hath gotten more and more aloof. He hath a lot of followerth now from Kounoth who believe in hith theorieth. Well, tho be it. I think motht of them will realithe thoon enough that he ith no longer completely thane. I'm sure this extensive backstory will at no point become relevant.On the way out of the bar, though, I encounter something odd, trying to talk to one of the locals for some flavour text. [img]https://lpix.org/3689346/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.09.42_[2020.03.12_00.15.33].jpg[/img] He won't stand still so I can select him, and I accidentally select the chair next to him instead... [img]https://lpix.org/3689350/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.09.43_[2020.03.12_00.15.34].jpg[/img] What the hell?[img]https://lpix.org/3689347/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.09.45_[2020.03.12_00.15.35].jpg[/img] The game emits a loud beep and hits me with a dialogue prompt. Guys, what should I ask this chair? ... ... ...Tom are you quite okay?[img]https://lpix.org/3689353/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.09.48_[2020.03.12_00.15.36].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689365/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.09.51_[2020.03.12_00.15.19].jpg[/img] Poor chair, he has it so rough. Let's get the hell out of here.[img]https://lpix.org/3689357/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.10.43_[2020.03.12_00.16.04].jpg[/img] Put me down! Drirr, do not let go of him. I'm sane, I tell you! He's squirming, I can't hold on to him! Just a minute longer, Drirr, I'm about to get you some help, one of the bar patrons told me she'd be just around the corner...[img]https://lpix.org/3689358/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.10.46_[2020.03.12_00.16.05].jpg[/img] Block the door until he settles down and talks to her, Drirr.[img]https://lpix.org/3689360/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.10.49_[2020.03.12_00.16.07].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689361/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.11.00_[2020.03.12_00.16.12].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689359/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.11.11_[2020.03.12_00.16.18].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689363/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.11.38_[2020.03.12_00.16.31].jpg[/img] So the weird thing is that no one in this house acknowledges that Siobhan is there at all, they don't even mention her. Is she there working for them? Is she just some armed stranger who kicked in the door and sat down at the dinner table one day? Do you have any experience subduing violently struggling people without harming them? Is this about your friend who's bouncing off the walls and addressing the furniture? Yes. After that we need you to go with us on a dangerous adventure with no guarantee of compensation except for being splattered with gore at every turn and being given the biggest sword we can buy you. I'm in. ...that was much easier than expected. It doesn't matter to me where I go and what goals you pursue, as long as I can travel around the world, learn about new things, and exercise myself in battle. But you will have to help me finish my current job. This doesn't sound too bad, what are you working on currently? It's an extermination job, these people have a few pests in the basement. We can handle those bugs! We've killed demons! Let us at 'em!Now, my personal explanation for Siobhan is the exterminator one, because the house does in fact have a basement full of pests. [img]https://lpix.org/3689367/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.12.36_[2020.03.12_00.17.00].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689368/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.12.41_[2020.03.12_00.17.03].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689373/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.13.35_[2020.03.12_00.17.29].jpg[/img] A lot of pests, a huge swarm of demon wasps each the size of a large dog. That was a bracing warm-up. Now what was that about buying me a big sword?On the way to sword store, I get everyone a nap at the local inn. It's equivalent to sleeping on the ground outside, but they won't let me leave yet and I can't just sleep on the streets, sadly. While hassling the other patrons I come across this guy: [img]https://lpix.org/3689391/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.19.08_[2020.03.12_00.20.16].jpg[/img] Who entertained me more than he really should have. [img]https://lpix.org/3689395/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.20.39_[2020.03.12_00.21.02].jpg[/img] And this happened outside, one of the NPCs was loaded down with a short novel's worth of dialogue that she spits at the party and then walks away. [img]https://lpix.org/3689401/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.20.54_[2020.03.17_22.03.23].jpg[/img] And then we reach the sword store. [img]https://lpix.org/3689400/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.21.02_[2020.03.12_00.21.13].jpg[/img] Well keep your eyes open, kid, you're about to see some great stuff getting bought.[img]https://lpix.org/3689402/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.21.05_[2020.03.17_22.03.29].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689408/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.22.15_[2020.03.12_00.21.50].jpg[/img] Because this store sells Danu's Light. It's a non-unique weapon that just about anyone can equip(even Drirr, despite it being technically a human weapon), does the third-highest damage of any melee weapon in the game, adds a massive +20 boost to Speed and +15 to Close Combat while held, and on top of that it has a limited number of charges of the spell Lifebringer which heals every party member. With three melee characters, then, we'll want at least one, and as promised it'll go to Siobhan after a large amount of selling loot and some amount of swapping around gear. [img]https://lpix.org/3689433/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.29.05_[2020.03.17_22.06.52].jpg[/img] How come she gets a huge magic sword right after she joined? I never even got one! You can have the next magic sword we find, Drirr, I'm sure it'll be even more powerful than hers. Not a chance he'll look anywhere near as cool as I do, though. Where to next? We're going to visit the local seat of government. Hm, I didn't sign up for regime change but- No! We're just going there so they'll open the gates for us and we can explore the island.[img]https://lpix.org/3689444/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.31.42_[2020.03.17_22.08.11].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689435/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.31.53_[2020.03.17_22.08.16].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689436/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.31.55_[2020.03.17_22.08.17].jpg[/img] Alright gang, we're in. Let's split up and look for anything they haven't nailed down. On it! How about instead we all stick together so we don't get arrested? Spoilsport.[img]https://lpix.org/3689439/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.31.59_[2020.03.17_22.08.19].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689437/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.32.19_[2020.03.17_22.08.29].jpg[/img] Big place, nice decor. This is the biggest human city outside of Umajo Kenta.[img]https://lpix.org/3689440/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.32.28_[2020.03.17_22.08.34].jpg[/img] Swords and armor are always fitting clothes. Maybe she's referring more to the fact that we're still wearing the same shirts we crash-landed in weeks ago.[img]https://lpix.org/3689445/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.33.18_[2020.03.17_22.08.59].jpg[/img] Yeah, the guards at the gate won't let us out without the Council's permission so now we're perilously close to getting suckered into a sidequest. I'm too busy looking ambiguously villainous, go bother one of the others instead. What a jerk, let's try the next one instead.[img]https://lpix.org/3689450/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.33.50_[2020.03.17_22.09.15].jpg[/img] What's up with your buddy? My colleague Riko is somewhat taciturn, but a fine fellow. I should also mention that our colleague Perron is quite sensitive and sees all kind of specters. Don't let yourself be worried by him. Finally there is Herras, the council president. You can visit all of us. I hope you enjoy your stay in our beautiful city. We will try to make it as pleasant as possible. If you need something, let me know. I'm always here for you. But you won't actually do anything useful for us. Exactly. But I'm going to make a lot of comforting noises until you leave me alone. Point gotten, we're going now.[img]https://lpix.org/3689464/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.34.38_[2020.03.17_22.09.39].jpg[/img] Hmmmm... It's probably just a decorative chest, or full of cutlery. But I won't actually know because the door is locked, and it's driving me crazy.[img]https://lpix.org/3689456/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.34.50_[2020.03.17_22.09.45].jpg[/img] ...why is he mashing his face against the wall repeatedly while grunting? Usually the answers to these questions won't make you any happier, Siobhan. Look, it's simple, I'm trying to phase through the wall so I can reach the treasure chest! Trust me, I've done this before!The game has a very relaxed attitude to walls and their permeability, if you can get the "interact" box through them, you can interact with stuff on the other side. Unfortunately the devs caught on to this trick enough to put some furniture in the way so Tom can't loot this chest he isn't meant to be looting for an update or two yet. You guys keep an eye on him while I find another politician to talk to.[img]https://lpix.org/3689460/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.35.25_[2020.03.17_22.10.02].jpg[/img]  -little village by the name of Kounos on this mountain range. On the north side there is a small Iskai village called Srimalinar. Near there is a holy shrine, but there have been rumors recently that horrible creatures have been seen there. Now then, I wish you all the best for your journey. And come by again! Dear God, I only just said hello! I'm sorry, but we haven't established a tourist board yet so I feel responsible for informing every newcomer to the city. So about that Iskai shrine, you're not the first to mention something's up with it. Well, I'm still not sure if there is anything to it, but I have heard that more and more horrible creatures are coming out of the shrine there. But you better not go there anyway; there is a taboo which prohibits humans from entering the shrine, and it belongs to the Iskai. Well thank you for the information, I should see how my friends are doing. I couldn't do it, Rainer, the wall must be reinforced with crystal-energy force fields. There was a potted plant in the way so he couldn't reach his hand through a crack in the wall. ...let's just talk to the last of them and get out of here.[img]https://lpix.org/3689466/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.36.23_[2020.03.17_22.10.31].jpg[/img] Just lay the last of the exposition on us so we can get out of here. You are interested in the council? I will be glad to tell you about it. The Council of the Just has existed for generations. I have been a member for five years. There are two other council members : Gard and Riko. Then there is the council president, Herras. He is a wise person and I am glad that he is in the council. Unfortunately, I can't say that about all of them. Sometimes it seems that Gard and Riko do not take their tasks seriously unless it directly interests them. We often make decisions which I don't think are in the best interest of the people, and Gard and Riko are responsible. I don't like to say bad things about people, but sometimes it is necessary to tell the truth. I believe Gard and Riko are here more for their own interest than that of the people. But that's only my opinion. Talk with other people, maybe they will have a different opinion. Have you been to Kounos yet? Just talk with Kontos, Darios and other people. They all know Gard and Riko, even though they sometimes deny it. Pretty much everyone says someone in here is a selfish dickhead, and since two out of four named people in here have been unwilling to give us the time of day, I think we know who it is.[img]https://lpix.org/3689471/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.37.34_[2020.03.17_22.11.07].jpg[/img] Alright, let's go talk to Kontos the evil wizard, foil whatever scheme he's got going and then get on with the plot.[img]https://lpix.org/3689486/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.37.58_[2020.03.17_22.11.19].jpg[/img] Onwards, to adventure![days later] [img]https://lpix.org/3689485/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_00.52.20_[2020.03.17_22.13.04].jpg[/img] I thought everyone else was noting down the directions to Kounos when we got them![img]https://lpix.org/3689490/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.01.45_[2020.03.17_22.14.25].jpg[/img] I assumed you'd ignore me even if I did. Tom usually gets us where we're meant to go. As much as I hate to admit it, that's true, and by now we know all the places Kounos isn't. Alright, I gotta ask. We've been out here a week and this one guy hasn't said a word, what's his deal? Mellthas is mute, Siobhan. Huh. That explains the notes he keeps writing, I thought he was just too awed by my martial prowess to say anything.So more or less for a literal in-game week I got the party lost in the sticks of Maini. There's a huge swathe of the island east-southeast of Beloveno that doesn't connect to anything else, and has nothing in it except for more Triifalai seeds and aggressive wildlife. On the bright side everyone is now several levels beefier than when we arrived. [img]https://lpix.org/3689496/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.09.17_[2020.03.18_04.14.56].jpg[/img] Thank the Goddess, we found a road again.[img]https://lpix.org/3689498/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.10.40_[2020.03.18_04.15.17].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689506/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.10.49_[2020.03.18_04.15.31].jpg[/img] Hah, as if that little fence and lock would stop us if we wanted to explore the cave on the other side, right? The sign says the cave is dangerous, I'm sure that ignoring a clearly posted warning is breaking the law.You actually have to enter the cave from the far end to come out this way as a shortcut to save you having to trek all the way back to the entrance. [img]https://lpix.org/3689512/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.12.18_[2020.03.18_04.16.16].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689514/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.12.27_[2020.03.18_04.16.20].jpg[/img] No wonder few people go to the other half of the island when you literally have to climb vines to get there. Here's hoping these plants are healthy enough to support all six of us at once.[img]https://lpix.org/3689522/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.13.12_[2020.03.18_04.16.43].jpg[/img] Please let this be the right place, my arms are gonna come off at the shoulders if we have to do any more climbing.[img]https://lpix.org/3689525/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.13.21_[2020.03.18_04.16.47].jpg[/img] Shame we got here at 2AM, the locals are all going to be asleep. Rainer, have you ever seen any of the locals asleep? ...now that you mention it. Either they don't sleep or they've adapted to be awake any time we are.[img]https://lpix.org/3689530/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.14.01_[2020.03.18_04.17.07].jpg[/img] See?[img]https://lpix.org/3689533/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.14.16_[2020.03.18_04.17.15].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689545/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.14.53_[2020.03.18_04.17.33].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689534/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.15.00_[2020.03.18_04.17.37].jpg[/img] ...the locals do not seem quite right.[img]https://lpix.org/3689535/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.15.05_[2020.03.18_04.17.39].jpg[/img]    And I'm happy to see your friends as well, of course, my home is their home. No, Tom, he doesn't mean you can take his stuff. You picked a poor time to visit, though, Kontos made another one of his speeches recently, and while I don't doubt his intelligence, what he says is a bit... radical. How so, friend of Mellthas? Well, he keeps veering on to the subject of exterminating the Iskai to secure a future for human children.  For once I think that Tom's willingness to kill and steal may have found a deserving target.[img]https://lpix.org/3689542/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.15.47_[2020.03.18_04.18.00].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689543/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.15.58_[2020.03.18_04.18.06].jpg[/img] We could also just tell Tom that Kontos is hiding treasure in the cellar under the tavern and let nature take its course.[img]https://lpix.org/3689547/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.16.21_[2020.03.18_04.18.17].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689555/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.16.43_[2020.03.18_04.18.28].jpg[/img] Please, step aside, we're building inspectors, here to verify that the basement is built to code. Nice try. Okay, we're here to steal from your boss, if you let us through we'll give you a cut. You're hardly the first to make that kind of offer. My idiot friend Rainer is dying of a rare disease, and only seeing Kontos can cure him. I take offense at this. Please just leave.[img]https://lpix.org/3689551/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.17.05_[2020.03.18_04.18.39].jpg[/img] Well, while I figure out the rhetorical trickery that will get Nodd out of the way, we may as well take advantage of this trainer.[img]https://lpix.org/3689557/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.17.33_[2020.03.18_04.18.53].jpg[/img] I have no idea why the NPC's here call this guy Otikro, everyone else calls him Garadd. [img]https://lpix.org/3689554/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.17.36_[2020.03.18_04.18.54].jpg[/img] This is the guy that taught me to fight, I'm sure he could teach you all a thing or two.I take advantage of Garadd's services, which are notable as he's the only available Critical Hit teacher in the game. Far as I can tell your Critical Hit skill is a percentile change to just drop staggering amounts of hurt on an enemy, something like 3x the normal damage you'd do, but of course he takes almost a thousand gold per point he'll train you in and most characters cap out at between 5 and 10 points of it, so it's kind of a luxury option. Then, beefed up, I go back to Nodd. Not you again. Stand aside, moron! That does it, you've got this coming!And pick a fight. [img]https://lpix.org/3689561/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.19.02_[2020.03.18_04.19.38].jpg[/img] So Nodd is a pain in the rear end to deal with if you decide to do this the hard way. He has 350 Health, more than any enemy so far, he hits hard enough to drop anyone in two hits, has a chance of critting them out with a single blow, can cast Boasting to make anyone Panic and is wholly immune to being frozen. Frost Splinter doesn't even damage him, he doesn't resist it, any turn spent casting that on him is just wasted. [img]https://lpix.org/3689570/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.25.49_[2020.03.18_04.19.59].jpg[/img] This is how the first attempt ended. Siobhan, Mellthas and Rainer dead, Tom and Drirr panicked off the battlefield. [img]https://lpix.org/3689579/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.28.40_[2020.03.18_04.21.30].jpg[/img] The second fight didn't go a whole lot better, I still had about half the party panicked off the battlefield by Boasting, but eventually I managed to wear him down, thus allowing me the privilege of looting his body and Kontos' cellar. I kept spamming Blinding Light at him from Sira, but I have no idea how much of an effect that had, while the spell stuck, it was very vague whether it affected his odds of hitting at all, or how much. [img]https://lpix.org/3689587/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.29.47_[2020.03.18_04.21.47].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689604/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.31.10_[2020.03.18_04.22.08].jpg[/img] Kontos' cellar is a proper dungeon, complete with doors, traps and tons of vermin running all over the place. Of course, Kontos is also here, a literal basement-dwelling goon that you can hassle. [img]https://lpix.org/3689602/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.31.36_[2020.03.18_04.22.15].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689605/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.32.00_[2020.03.18_04.22.24].jpg[/img] Are you the old basement-dweller who wants to ethnically cleanse the countryside? I don't want to boast, but I am the most respected and competent magician in the area. For many years, I have been concerned with religious theories... Why am I telling you this? You obviously do not have the scientific knowledge needed to comprehend such information. "Religious theories" is a cute term for it, why don't you tell us more about those? From time to time, I must improve the general knowledge of the inhabitants of Kounos. To do this I arrange a kind of religious service... I guess using that word should allow you to understand. This way my tribal brothers have already attained great knowledge. They are thankful for this and rightly so, if you ask me. I have an extremely important position here and I only mean well for Kounos and it's inhabitants. I give meaning to their lives. Now they have something to live for, and believe me that is crucial. I don't think you will be able to understand the principles of our entire religion in just a few minutes. Therefore, I will just outline it: leadership by our Supreme Lord and the continuous improvement of our culture are the most important parts of our religion. So racism and never questioning you. I'm sure people told you horrible tales about me, and you wish to know what I think about them? You know, as long as I can concentrate on my goals I do not care what others think about me. I know my work is for a good reason and has decisively improved the lives of many people. You should concern yourself with real problems, not me. I would also like to give you some real advice: Just talk with the Iskai yourself, then you will see where the problems originate. Those pig-headed people! I only have to think about Edjirr, the tavern host... Arrim is even worse. Convince yourself. Talk with those conceited people in Srimalinar. Please, keep incriminating yourself. There is something dangerous in the north of the continent, right near the Iskai village of Srimalinar. There is a cellar there which the Iskai have considered their possession and shrine for generations now. They regularly hold religious ceremonies there and have imposed a taboo on the place and its surroundings. This taboo is strictly observed by everyone. That is the official version and what everyone in the area believes. But it is not the truth! The humans are gullible and they gladly believe anything. Nobody thought to investigate that place's secret, but I have done so! The truth is that under the cover of a 'holy shrine', the Iskai have been researching powerful black magic. They have been experimenting with new forces which even I wouldn't dare use. I probably don't need to mention the dangers that lurk in such an enterprise, and how easily things can get out of control when amateur magicians are fooling around with forces which are way beyond their capabilities. However, they have chosen to do it and now they are paying the consequences. The forces have grown too powerful for them. A completely uncontrollable situation has arisen. Those horrible creatures near the site are only the first indications of the growing danger which emerges from that place. We will have to do something about it before long. And even if the Beloveno council thinks it is not necessary to get involved, we in Kounos will not sit by idly! It sounds extremely believable that the Iskai with their magic plants are filling an area with demons and not the guy who secretly researches "fire magic" in a basement, fire magic that we've seen before will easily fill a dungeon with demonic dickheads. Really, Tom? No, I'm being sarcastic, so now we're going to go through the rest of this guy's basement so we can find some incriminating evidence and not get arrested when we eventually gut him like a fish and loot his body.I then promptly say my goodbyes and go to do just that. [img]https://lpix.org/3689627/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.34.39_[2020.03.18_04.23.43].jpg[/img] Around the corner we run into a new enemy, the Rinrii. They're not particularly dangerous, exceptionally unrewarding in XP, and killing a few of them tends to make the entire formation run away. [img]https://lpix.org/3689647/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.37.06_[2020.03.18_04.26.37].jpg[/img] There's a hallway with coloured windows on either side that change colour when pressure plates in front of them are pressed, obviously a puzzle of some sort we need to find the solution for. [img]https://lpix.org/3689655/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.37.36_[2020.03.18_04.26.52].jpg[/img] And down a long, adjacent corridor, we find this sign, right next to a chest containing... [img]https://lpix.org/3689657/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.37.55_[2020.03.18_04.27.02].jpg[/img] Another one of these wonderful +50 Strength amulets. It didn't even have any guards! So let's just turn around and l- [img]https://lpix.org/3689661/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.38.10_[2020.03.18_04.27.09].jpg[/img] ...hm. Any clever ideas, Tom? Well if I'd still had all those buckets of water, we could have extinguished it and walked across safely... The human body holds a lot of blood, if we cut open Rainer we could use his blood for it instead. No, wait! I know what the solution is! One person must sacrifice themselves to carry everyone else across![img]https://lpix.org/3689662/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.38.14_[2020.03.18_04.27.29].jpg[/img] It will be agonizing, but possible![img]https://lpix.org/3689670/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.38.29_[2020.03.18_04.27.36].jpg[/img] Nyargh![img]https://lpix.org/3689667/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.38.41_[2020.03.18_04.27.42].jpg[/img] I won't let everyone else down![img]https://lpix.org/3689669/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.38.50_[2020.03.18_04.27.47].jpg[/img] The end is in sight, now Tom will respect me as an equal![img]https://lpix.org/3689672/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.39.05_[2020.03.18_04.27.54].jpg[/img] I made it! I- Drirr? Snap out of it, while you were zoning out, Rainer complained that it was completely illogical and went to punch a wall-[img]https://lpix.org/3689683/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.39.58_[2020.03.18_04.28.21].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689680/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.40.04_[2020.03.18_04.28.24].jpg[/img] -so we didn't have to sacrifice him to cool the embers after all. What were you thinking about over there, anyway? ...nothing.So the amulet is really good, but when you grab it, it spawns a bunch of all-party-damaging tiles on the way back. You CAN have someone drag everyone else's unconscious body across, chugging healing potions in between damage ticks, or if you mash your face against all the walls you can find the illusory one and make such a sacrifice pointless, then go down to the second level of the dungeon/basement. [img]https://lpix.org/3689781/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.06.19_[2020.03.18_18.09.36].jpg[/img] The second floor is a sprawling network of rooms again filled with vermin, though more varieties than just the Rinrii this time around. [img]https://lpix.org/3689696/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.42.08_[2020.03.18_04.29.26].jpg[/img] The dinosaur-looking guys on the left are Kizz whose main thing is having high magic resistance. The tier 1's aren't too notable for it, but the higher-tier ones can shrug off close to all spells, especially if they're not fully trained by the caster. [img]https://lpix.org/3689724/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_01.49.03_[2020.03.18_18.01.20].jpg[/img] The weird yellow lizard-pigs are Brogg, whose gimmick is mostly just being ranged attackers that throw rocks at you. You can pick up the rocks after the fight and use them yourself, but predictably they're inferior ranged weapons to just about every other option. Eventually you find the combination for the colour-shifting barriers up above and you might think that's the goal of the dungeon... no, it's actually just like 60 gold worth of rewards behind such an elaborate key system. Instead, you're faced with using a movable glass wall to redirect fireballs into other glass walls so they explode, revealing a path behind them- [img]https://lpix.org/3689766/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.01.54_[2020.03.18_18.07.24].jpg[/img] Does Kontos do this every time he wants to fetch something from his basement?! That's druids for you, never quite right in the head.-Which actually isn't even where the actual goal of the dungeon is hiding! No. [img]https://lpix.org/3689786/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.05.52_[2020.03.18_18.09.23].jpg[/img] Instead in a random chest in a random corner of the basement, you find this half document that Drirr is carrying around now, which is the real goal of the dungeon. Well, what does it say? I wish I could tell you, but we can't read it until we find the other half. ...let's just get out of here and get to Srimalinar, I can't deal with any more druid bullshit until I've had a drink.
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Mar 26, 2020 18:08
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Critical Hit is absolutely worth the money if you can manage it. It really helps to have a chance to straight murder a dude on every swing.
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Mar 26, 2020 19:06
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The design decisions in this seem really strange, there is a day/night cycle, but it doesn't really seem to do much. There is a big world map to explore, but not really anything to find. Unless I'm mistaken there are only a couple of locations on each island. Maybe its just reflects the age of the game, but it seems like they put in these systems but don't do anything with them.
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Mar 26, 2020 19:14
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I dont know posted:The design decisions in this seem really strange, there is a day/night cycle, but it doesn't really seem to do much. There is a big world map to explore, but not really anything to find. Unless I'm mistaken there are only a couple of locations on each island. Maybe its just reflects the age of the game, but it seems like they put in these systems but don't do anything with them. Yeah, each island so far has essentially one thing worth exploring for. Nakiiridani: The crash site. Gratogel: The pass full of Maini: The cave. And yeah, the day/night cycle doesn't affect creature spawns or anything. Oddly enough in the 3D cities like Maini, Srimalinar and Jirinaar, it does affect shop open times and occasionally when an NPC will be around, so it literally only annoys you and doesn't give you anything to interact with. However, Albion in general seems to have a decent bit of cut content, so it may be less "design decisions showing their age" and more "game got a bit rushed towards the end." For instance, in Kounos, there are dialogue files that imply you can provoke Kontos into a fight and just kill him right there, but you can't, actually. And a later region has a location that really seems like it was meant to be interactible, but which is not.
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Mar 26, 2020 20:03
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Albion feels like a game that was meant to be a bit bigger than it was. But 'RPG with heart whose ambition exceeds its grasp' is like an entire genre in and of itself so I forgive it.
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Mar 26, 2020 20:06
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For those who care, the LP isn't dead, I've just been caught up in finishing off other projects because I was having a hard time juggling them all at once. It'll be resuming soonish(which, yes, I know is the last message posted by the OP in many an LP thread before it went completely dark, but I mean it!).
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Apr 25, 2020 00:10
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I've been really enjoying this one and look forward to it resuming but take your time!
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Apr 25, 2020 08:21
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Good to hear it isn't dead, I was getting a bit worried. I'll wait patiently.
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Apr 25, 2020 11:44
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I love everything about this cover and want to find a way to play that game JUST because of that cover. I actually love this art and cover style in general, specially with the weird font for the title, I need to look into finding more like this.
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May 5, 2020 08:02
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Part 008: An Unsubtle Plot [img]https://lpix.org/3689811/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.12.56_[2020.03.18_18.12.40].jpg[/img] Remind me again why we don't just kick down Kontos' door and cut his brain open? The law! We need solid evidence or otherwise we'd just be murderers, right, Tom? Drirr's right, we need to stay on the good side of the law- That's uncommonly well-adjusted of you, Tom. -because the cops around here might be as tough as Nodd, he almost killed us all and he was just one guy. We're not killing Kontos until we have iron-clad evidence, at which point he'll probably flip out and attack us first anyway, thus making it self-defense. Huh, that makes sense. I guess that'll just make it all the more satisfying when we finally get to do it.[img]https://lpix.org/3689812/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.13.32_[2020.03.18_18.12.58].jpg[/img] So what's your plan for getting this evidence? I figure we'll go visit Srimalinar and the shrine, if Kontos is as unsubtle as he looks so far, those demons will probably have Made In Kounos stamped on the back.[img]https://lpix.org/3689810/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.13.49_[2020.03.18_18.13.06].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689815/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.13.59_[2020.03.18_18.13.12].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689813/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.14.11_[2020.03.18_18.13.18].jpg[/img] And you even found the road there on the first try.[img]https://lpix.org/3689818/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.14.27_[2020.03.18_18.13.26].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689816/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.14.34_[2020.03.18_18.13.29].jpg[/img] He doesn't seem overly concerned about the huge aggressive wildlife right behind us. Now that you mention it, we seem to be the only one having any trouble with the local wildlife, any theories about that? Well, I figure there are two options that make any kind of sense.[img]https://lpix.org/3689828/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.15.34_[2020.03.18_18.13.49].jpg[/img] Go on. Either the locals are all incredibly tough and even a random farmer can tie these animals into a knot. Seems implausible, the alternative? Supposedly animals can smell evil and if we just stopped hanging out with you, they'd leave us alone. Ha ha, he got you good.[img]https://lpix.org/3689852/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.28.07_[2020.03.18_18.19.17].jpg[/img] Or maybe the animals themselves are evil and trying to stop Tom's righteous quest! Why can't you all be like Drirr and have faith in my infallible heroics?[img]https://lpix.org/3689855/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.28.23_[2020.03.18_18.19.25].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689853/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.28.44_[2020.03.18_18.19.36].jpg[/img] Srimalinar always bugged me, because there's a road running almost to it, but not actually to the bridge across a river you have to cross to get there, and then the city's in the middle of a swamp, and you have to circle all the way around the walls to get to the main gate and get in. It just always bugged my sense of disbelief that the place would be built like that. [img]https://lpix.org/3689857/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.28.53_[2020.03.18_18.19.40].jpg[/img] Alright, new town, let's spread out and go search for evidence. Srimalinar appears to consist of two stores and a bar. Alright, new town, let's focus on the bar and get drunk.[img]https://lpix.org/3689859/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.29.02_[2020.03.18_18.19.45].jpg[/img] Even this random guy agrees with me.[img]https://lpix.org/3689879/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.31.38_[2020.03.18_18.21.03].jpg[/img] Is this the bar? You there, random guy, get us a drink![img]https://lpix.org/3689878/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.31.48_[2020.03.18_18.21.08].jpg[/img] Man Kontos really isn't good at keeping a lid on any of his plans. Go on, tell us the rumours about Kontos. None of us here really knows what to make of it. Kontos tells his villagers that we are responsible for the horrible creatures that are found near the holy place. We can no longer deny that we have this problem. But it is an outrage to say that this was our doing! If you believe Kontos, we are evil. Ask Edjirr, the tavern keeper. He thinks the same as I do. It's like everyone is trying to unsubtly make us go to the bar. Later, guy, it's apparently our fate to go get drunk.[img]https://lpix.org/3689888/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.33.10_[2020.03.18_18.21.49].jpg[/img] Alright, this is clearly a bar. Let's hassle some of the patrons. You there, random Iskai, get us some exposition![img]https://lpix.org/3689891/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.33.15_[2020.03.18_18.21.51].jpg[/img] Lesson learned, we're never going to do that again.[img]https://lpix.org/3689890/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.33.47_[2020.03.18_18.22.07].jpg[/img] Random plot dump NPC aside, I rather like the design of the Srimalinar bar. It's full of little private nooks, which even with the relatively primitive presentation serves to give it a sense of atmosphere. Everyone else in there is just drunk or the barkeeper, who's the important one here. [img]https://lpix.org/3689893/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.34.12_[2020.03.18_18.22.20].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689892/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.34.21_[2020.03.18_18.22.24].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3689894/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.34.26_[2020.03.18_18.22.27].jpg[/img] Also this guy lies, the local wizard guild can't teach you anything useful unless you're criminally incompetent at playing the game and it's much too late to learn what she has to sell you anyway. Likewise if you engaged in a bit of Eventually we make the full circuit of the room and reach Edjirr. [img]https://lpix.org/3689897/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.34.50_[2020.03.18_18.22.39].jpg[/img] Sure, I'll pay 80 gold to advance the plot. It should interest you. It concerns the council in Beloveno. I have heard from a reliable source that a plot is being forged in the Council of the Just in Beloveno. The plan is to murder the president. There is someone of great influence on the council. I don't know who that is, but his influence will be stronger without Herras. Naturally I cannot guarantee that this is true. Ha ha holy poo poo. I don't get what's so funny about someone trying to assassinate Herras. Think about it, Kontos is so incompetent at keeping a secret that even his enemies, at the far end of the local landmass, have heard about it. Be reasonable now, all we know about Kontos is that he's setting up a transparent excuse for ethnic cleansing, why would he want to kill Herras? He's an evil wizard, he does evil things. You should also speak with Arrim who lives in the harvest workers' house. You can learn very important things from him.[img]https://lpix.org/3689904/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.35.35_[2020.03.18_18.23.01].jpg[/img] This is also a very mean thing the game does to you as you exit the conversation, because this is absolutely what you shouldn't do right away. Visiting Darios sets the next trigger for advancing the local plot, and you absolutely want to avoid doing that until you've run a few errands. More precisely, talking to Darios will advance the assassination plot against Herras(because there's rarely such a thing as a false rumour in a videogame), and we want to do some things before someone gets stabby out of order. Alright, let's go hassle Arrim again.[img]https://lpix.org/3689905/007Maini.mkv_snapshot_02.36.21_[2020.03.18_18.23.25].jpg[/img] What sort of completely unforeseen conflict could this be? Right now, there is no positive information. But if it comes out that Kontos has convinced his followers that the shrine is dangerous, then they are sure to try and do something against it. And that means that they either violate our taboo or they go even further and attack us directly. This is all speculation, but who knows? Our shrine is not dangerous. Unfortunately, I cannot prove that to you because of our taboo, but these funny creatures are coming from somewhere else. Of course, I must admit that I don't know where they're coming from either. If we let you idiots kill each other then we're never getting a ride to the next island so yes, of course, we're going to stop this. That would help all of us, I am very sure of that. It is always good to have a couple of diplomatic friends who are in a neutral position.This section of the game is also strangely full of these NPC's who will regurgitate the full plot at you whenever you talk to them, like you're an idiot who's going to forget what happened half an hour ago just because you mulched a small zoo worth of aggressive wildlife between two dialogue points. [img]https://lpix.org/3727715/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.00.41_[2020.04.28_03.36.25].jpg[/img] Just in case someone does anything stupid, we need to buy some time. Let's go down to the shrine and clear out the demons. What do you say, Mellthas? Want to ion cannon some supernatural scum?  [img]https://lpix.org/3727719/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.01.59_[2020.04.29_00.30.00].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727718/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.03.00_[2020.04.29_00.31.05].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727723/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.03.14_[2020.04.29_00.31.09].jpg[/img] Well, this is pretty peaceful so far. You want to swap places, Mr. Back Lines? My boots are squelching from Krondiir blood. I confess I hadn't even noticed, the sound of dying wildlife is kind of a soothing white noise to me at this point.[img]https://lpix.org/3727720/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.03.19_[2020.04.29_00.31.10].jpg[/img] I'll admit, I had even money on the "demons" just being some of Kontos' cronies in cardboard suits. ...are those flying hands with eyes in their palms? I forget you haven't had to deal with these before.[img]https://lpix.org/3727722/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.03.22_[2020.04.29_00.31.11].jpg[/img] I'm game, so what do we need to do to kill these things? Mystic words? Precisely targeted weak points? Possibly. What do you mean "possibly"? I mean "possibly," we've never had to find out.  Okay, I'll give you, that was cooler than hitting it with a sword.[img]https://lpix.org/3727729/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.03.57_[2020.04.29_00.31.20].jpg[/img] But, uh, can you do it to the rest of them, too?[img]https://lpix.org/3727732/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.05.43_[2020.04.29_00.32.05].jpg[/img] Look! The same kind of vermin that Kontos had in his cellar! I can't believe we're actually going to need more evidence than this.[img]https://lpix.org/3727746/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.10.09_[2020.04.29_00.33.13].jpg[/img] About half an hour of vigorous exercise and we've purged the shrine of all the evil demons. Shame we still can't go in and check it out. I hadn't figured you'd be respectful of the Iskai and their religion.[img]https://lpix.org/3727742/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.10.25_[2020.04.29_00.33.17].jpg[/img] ...what the hell was that? I don't respect the taboo but I respect the screaming text box that tells me I respect the taboo. Now let's go tell Herras someone wants to kill him. Eventually.[img]https://lpix.org/3727743/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.11.52_[2020.04.29_00.34.41].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727744/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.12.31_[2020.04.29_00.34.51].jpg[/img] What did you mean "eventually"? This could be a matter of life or death! Just because you doubted me, we're going to go shopping first, and then I'm going to find a prostitute. I swear you're actually getting worse the longer this adventure goes on.[img]https://lpix.org/3727754/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.17.41_[2020.04.29_00.43.12].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727753/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.18.55_[2020.04.29_00.43.30].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727760/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.18.58_[2020.04.29_00.43.31].jpg[/img] The prostitute visit isn't strictly necessary, except to show off some dialogue, some of which is in the dialogue files but which I'm not sure how to trigger. [img]https://lpix.org/3727757/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.19.15_[2020.04.29_00.43.35].jpg[/img] If you weren't planning to recruit Khunag, visiting this prostitute is entirely optional. Maybe for you. ...what kind of prostitute has children running around her place of employment? Please tell me this isn't about to take a very dark turn.[img]https://lpix.org/3727758/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.19.21_[2020.04.29_00.43.37].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727759/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.19.28_[2020.04.29_00.43.39].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727761/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.19.44_[2020.04.29_00.43.43].jpg[/img] In a moment, first we need to get some cheerful flavour text out of you that we forgot to get on our last visit. JOB, NAME and so forth. Well, sweeties, I'm sure you can tell by my clothing where I work. Come visit me there sometime! Of course, most males aren't willing to admit that they go to a brothel now and then. I see some well-built guys here. Hey, don't worry, you're safe; I get all the satisfaction I need at work. But why don't you visit me sometime in the 'House of the Red Curtains'? Don't be scared of the sticky carpets and the panting, most of our customers feel really comfortable. Oh by the way, my name is Kariah, glad to meet you. We'll talk some more when you come visit me, huh?Kariah is... I'm not sure what to think of her writing. I guess she kind of fits into the archetype of a hooker with a heart of gold, except she comes across more as a jovial matron who just happens to be employed in the sex work industry and is in no way traumatized or changed by it. I guess it's probably one of the more positive portrayals of sex workers I've ever seen in a game, and she does have a few dialogue gems. I don't believe the House of Red Curtains actually exists in the game, though, it feels like a reference to some cut content, and some of Kariah's un-used dialogue asks whether you've visited the brothel yet, and then ribs you and calls you prudes if you tell her you're either not interested or have an important quest to undertake. Alright, now what's so important? Well, where will I begin? I work in a brothel and, from time to time, I get customers who er... play an important role in our society. Many entrust me with information I really don't want to know and is not intended for public ears. Naturally I would put myself in danger if I pass on that kind of information. But this is so important that I'm willing to take the risk. Specifically, it concerns Gard and Riko. They are members of the Council of the Just and they do not act for, but against, our community. Their own prosperity is more important to them. They are greedy, and strive for power and wealth! You are experienced in battle! You can overthrow and kill them! The city is sure to thank you for it, believe me! Hold your horses, lady, we can't just go murder them! Awwww, really? My superior officer always told me it was better to phrase it as "an unfortunate lethal accident while resisting arrest." Sadly the goon squad is right, we're trying not to get arrested here.Albion's Phrasing posted:You put that a little too simply, dear Kariah. We don't have proof that any of this is true and, besides, this was all told to you in the throes of passion. I'm sure you won't reveal your source and that's understandable. If you did, you would put yourself in great danger, especially if everything that you have told us is true. We simply cannot act against Gard and Riko. Using which law? For what reason? We cannot simply get rid of them, and killing them is completely out of the question. We're sorry we can't do anything more for you, but we will try to find out more about Gard and Riko. We will try to keep you up to date. Maybe I am too panicky, but believe me, the secrets my customers tell me at night are almost always true. And I believe we all have reason for concern. Please don't forget about all this. And visit me again! Oh no the obviously villainous politicians are clearly working with the obviously villainous wizard and the plot is absolutely going to happen, you're not too panicky. Good thing we're going to stop it. Don't wait too long! As time passes, Gard and Riko will certainly carry out their deed! Trust me when I say I don't believe stopping it will be a great challenge, when literally both ends of the island, including random unconnected Iskai and a prostitute, have heard of it, you know you're not dealing with world-class conspirators.I'm not sure if it's possible to be told by Kariah before you're told by Edjirr and Arrim, because once you've hit Kounos you've got very little motivation to double back and visit Beloveno before you've been to Srimalinar first. So maybe? Let's go tell Herras someone wants to stab him in the brain.[img]https://lpix.org/3727770/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.21.21_[2020.04.29_00.44.08].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727767/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.21.23_[2020.04.29_00.44.08].jpg[/img] Considering the lax security, probably no one's been stabbed here. Yet. Don't get my hopes up.[img]https://lpix.org/3727776/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.21.38_[2020.04.29_00.44.12].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727775/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.22.05_[2020.04.29_00.44.19].jpg[/img] Man I wonder what could possibly need clearing up or who it could possibly involve. How can I explain it to you. One of our council members, Perron, believes that Gard and Riko are not making decisions for the good of the people. Now, Gard and Riko are somewhat inflexible sometimes. But still, that is a strong reproach by Perron, who sometimes acts too hastily. However, since Perron won't leave it alone, we've all gotten together and discussed the matter. That didn't make the mood around here any better. Gard and Riko are stubborn and maintain that they cannot and do not want to cooperate with Perron any longer. They don't respect him, but he really is an honest man and I'm not too sure about Gard and Riko. In any case, I'd rather be on Perron's side. If Gard and Riko stay obstinate, we can no longer work together reasonably in the council. Well, we have to deal with the problem somehow. Oh my God I can't stand us wasting time any longer. Look, Herras, someone wants you dead. What?! Your super-obviously evil council colleagues are buddying up to Kontos and planning to plant a knife in your brain. Literally everyone has heard about it, you could probably stab a random animal in the woods and it'd gasp out that there's a plot against you.According to Albion posted:Good, let me tell you. Where should I begin? We've talked with a lot of people in the city. Of course, we can't confirm the reliability of the information we have, but nevertheless, you must know that there are plans to murder you. We first learned of this from Perron. Since then, we have confirmed the information. Even if it should turn out to be a bad joke, then it is still probably better to have warned you once too often than once too few. I cannot believe it. Naturally, I would like to thank you for giving me this information. I've already heard about it from Perron, but since I know Perron, I didn't take him too seriously, which might have been a mistake. In any case, I will be careful now and I'll also find somewhere else to stay. I am thankful for your information and, if it turns out that there actually was something planned, I will reward you!Now, while the game tracks in-game days no events in the game(aside from being called to meet the council leader in Jirinaar) is actually timed. Instead, what advances the "time" and gets Herras attempted assassinated is talking to Mellthas' friend again when he asks you to, so in an incredibly dick move by the game, doing what it suggests gets Herras killed without you having an option to intervene(and thus no chance to get rewarded for having warned him). I remember the timing on this always confused me as a kid as I was sure I made the straightest path to Herras each time, and instead the trigger turned out to have nothing to do with actual time. Talking to Perron at this point gets him asking you to keep him informed if you bump into Riko and Gard anywhere, since they've mysteriously vanished, and I feel like there was a cut subplot about finding them and bringing them to justice or wringing the truth out of them otherwise, and that this scenario would originally have multiple solutions and branching paths. As it is, instead, half the NPC's involved in the mystery just end up feeling kind of superfluous as they more or less just repeat what other NPC's are already telling you. [img]https://lpix.org/3727802/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.26.30_[2020.04.29_00.45.26].jpg[/img] Good thing he didn't talk to his dog first, then it'd have gotten the reward for warning him. I mean, we only get the reward if he finds out something was planned. Odds are Riko and Gard will trip over their own dicks and stab themselves to death before getting anywhere near Herras. Alright, now lets go see Mellthas' friend, then he can tell us about how he just learned someone is trying to kill Herras.[img]https://lpix.org/3727801/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.27.41_[2020.04.29_00.45.36].jpg[/img] Maini mostly consists of going back and forth between the two ends of the island to advance triggers, with a side trip to burgle Kontos' basement, and one optional dungeon I'll be saving for later. Considering that the game engine obviously can track events by time passed, it's odd that they didn't do that, since it might have applied a sense of urgency to what was going on and a bit of time pressure to, for instance, finish up Kontos' basement for evidence and find the right persons to talk to. [img]https://lpix.org/3727800/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.27.53_[2020.04.29_00.45.39].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727806/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.28.02_[2020.04.29_00.45.41].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727811/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.29.07_[2020.04.29_00.45.58].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727808/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.29.20_[2020.04.29_00.46.01].jpg[/img] Alright, I guess we better head over to the shrine and prevent anyone from doing anything stupid we'll regret. Don't you mean something stupid they'll regret? I don't trust anyone on this island to be smart enough to understand when they hosed up.[img]https://lpix.org/3727826/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.33.52_[2020.04.29_00.48.25].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727819/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.33.59_[2020.04.29_00.48.27].jpg[/img] ...how is no one here yet? Either we're faster than everyone in Kounos or they all stopped at the bar to get drunk first, or maybe they went to harass the Iskai directly, let's go check Srimalinar.[img]https://lpix.org/3727825/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.35.35_[2020.04.29_00.48.51].jpg[/img] No sign of any sieging army.[img]https://lpix.org/3727824/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.35.45_[2020.04.29_00.48.54].jpg[/img] No rampaging mobs on the street.[img]https://lpix.org/3727828/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.35.58_[2020.04.29_00.48.57].jpg[/img] But something's clearly up, I haven't even tried to rob this place yet. Nothing of value? Nothing within reach of the counter and since Rainer still has the gun he could shoot me if I tried to punch the shopkeep. Let's go see Edjirr, he was relatively on the ball last time.[img]https://lpix.org/3727834/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.36.28_[2020.04.29_00.49.05].jpg[/img] Whoah, what's with the sass? Everyone's talking about it. The humans are planning to take over our holy shrine, because they are convinced it is dangerous. THEY HAVE NO IDEA! But there are a couple of incidents for which we don't have any explanation either. Like the creatures everyone is seeing near the shrine: I don't know where they come from, but they are not coming from our cellar. There is almost always one of us there and I'm sure they would notice it. But that fact doesn't seem to interest the humans at all. I guess they don't want to listen to us. If they break our taboo, there will be trouble. Speak to Kontos yourself. He's probably already thought of something new! I'm starting to believe you about Kontos' incompetence, how do the Iskai already know? Sufficiently advanced idiocy can be indistinguishable from magic.[img]https://lpix.org/3727845/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.38.40_[2020.04.29_00.49.38].jpg[/img] Let's go harass Kontos again, maybe this time he'll snap and attack us so we can call it self defense.[img]https://lpix.org/3727854/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.43.07_[2020.04.29_00.53.01].jpg[/img] Let me just ask you outright because you might be arrogant enough to admit it: did you pay someone to stab Herras? Beloveno's 'Council of the Just' is a farce. They talk, but do nothing. We, on the other hand, act.Now, there's a branching dialogue tree here, but as far as I can tell it just changes Kontos' responses and nothing about what actually happens. You can either agree with him, call him an idiot moronperson or reply neutrally. Come off it, we know you have friends on the council. Allies? That is nonsense. I would be glad if Beloveno and its council would be more cooperative, but that is just not the case. You shouldn't believe everything you hear. I have enemies, that's for sure. There are many jealous people who don't like my success and reputation - they just want to ruin it. But you are intelligent and certainly can distinguish between rumors and the truth. Nice try, no one calls me nice things unless they want something. Ah, you are nothing but a bunch of pig-headed numskulls who don't know your place in the world. Alright, I'm getting tired of this. One more insult and it's bone-snapping time. Then get out of here. I told you at the beginning that I am busy and have no time for you.There's a cut section of dialogue where you can piss him off enough that he calls the guards, alternately it may only trigger if you talked your way past Nodd rather than murdering him, and then you get a second chance to take a swing at him. [img]https://lpix.org/3727862/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.44.45_[2020.04.29_00.53.26].jpg[/img] I still don't understand why we just left. Well, considering how he seems to have fooled the entire village, can you imagine if we took a swing at him and they all came pouring in? Good point, no way we'd be able to haul that amount of loot. Okay, you two are getting unsettling. It'd be wrong to kill them just for getting fooled by Kontos' populist rhetoric. Also they might kill us, and then we'd get no loot at all.[img]https://lpix.org/3727863/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.45.57_[2020.04.29_00.53.45].jpg[/img] So what now? We go check on Herras, if he's alive then he'll probably pay us.You might not think to go check on Herras, but as far as I can tell doing so, whether he's survived or died, that's the next trigger that will advance the plot. [img]https://lpix.org/3727866/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.46.17_[2020.04.29_00.53.50].jpg[/img] No increased security, hopefully that's a good sign.[img]https://lpix.org/3727867/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.46.42_[2020.04.29_00.53.56].jpg[/img] Now tell us how they hosed it up. It happened in the middle of the night. I heard the guards posted in front of my doors cry out. Had I not placed the heavy saber under my pillow, I wouldn't have been able to defend myself. My attackers were so surprised at my strong defense, that they just fled. They were disguised and I didn't recognize them, but I think it might have been Gard and Riko. Besides, they have recently disappeared. I don't have any proof yet, but I think there's a connection. If I had not been so well prepared, I would no longer be here. I hope you accept this reward as thanks. Ha ha, what a pair of losers. Now pay up. You have really earned it! Take this key and go into the council house treasury of Beloveno. Take anything you want. Now what if we told you Kontos was behind this? I'd consider believing you... but now would be a poor time to respond. Kontos has converted his plans into action and is occupying the shrine and the surrounding area with his warriors. It's surprising how the inhabitants of Kounos stand behind their leader. He has a considerable amount of influence on them. I really wonder if it is actually the Iskais' fault that these horrible creatures appear. In any case, Kontos maintains that this is what's happening and his followers believe it. In any case, you can't really blame the Iskai for the way they are reacting. They, too, are sending warriors to the shrine and you can certainly imagine what is going on there. But it is clear that their taboo, pride, and religion are being disrespected and violated. Since you are a very mixed group, you may not be able to be served in some shops. The relation between Iskai and humans is very tense right now!Herras is pretty efficient about managing the council, too, Riko and Gard are already replaced by two new generic NPC's without much dialogue. Now let's crack open that treasury, it's been taunting me ever since we landed on Maini.[img]https://lpix.org/3727881/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.48.33_[2020.04.29_00.54.24].jpg[/img] The haul is honestly a bit disappointing at this point, or can be. If you've been playing intelligently and have some degree of knowledge of the game, by this point you'll already have exhausted a lot of what's worth buying in stores and money will really only be relevant in terms of topping up on mana and healing potions.Those two are, admittedly, extremely vital, but the good equipment henceforth will all be loot from chests and the bodies of boss enemies. Let's celebrate this with a drink. While there's a war brewing? We should hurry to intervene!  When's the last time our speed has mattered? Hell, Mellthas' dad survived like a week stuck in a basement while we took our sweet time getting there. The assassin on Nakiridaani wasn't going anywhere either. I hate to say it, but Tom has a point.[img]https://lpix.org/3727889/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.53.55_[2020.04.29_00.55.05].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727894/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.54.04_[2020.04.29_00.55.07].jpg[/img] I don't know anything about any amount of missing healing potions from the Dji Cantos guild in Jirinaar and I wasn't even anywhere near it when they all got converted to cash and spent on Drirr's gear. ... ... Tom was busy teaching me how to kill and butcher Krondiir at the time, that's what he told me his alibi was going to be. Goddammit Drirr. If there's a bounty on him, I'll turn him in. Clearly I've been too good a teacher. Settle down, I'm not here on behalf of law enforcement. Well, we'd love to come with you, but I keep hearing a chorus of voices that would be very angry with me if I didn't resolve the war here first. That's what we call a conscience. Ha ha, no, I wouldn't listen to a conscience. I mean Sira and Rainer, one of them has a gun and the other could freeze me solid. Very well, Tom, I'll wait here until you resolve matters on Maini.[img]https://lpix.org/3727904/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.55.19_[2020.04.29_00.55.38].jpg[/img] Funny how Frill seemed to know where to find us. Yeah, I haven't experienced anything like that since I got rid of the tracking anklet.[img]https://lpix.org/3727902/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.55.32_[2020.04.29_00.55.41].jpg[/img] You were saying about time not mattering?[img]https://lpix.org/3727906/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.57.01_[2020.04.29_00.56.04].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727911/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.57.11_[2020.04.29_00.56.06].jpg[/img] Oh for God's sake. I guess we have to go talk them down.[img]https://lpix.org/3727908/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.57.14_[2020.04.29_00.56.07].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727910/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.57.18_[2020.04.29_00.56.08].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727913/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_00.57.30_[2020.04.29_00.56.11].jpg[/img] Alright, gang, we already got evidence from Kontos' lab. Now the funny thing to do would be to find Riko and Gard and punch them until they snitch on Kontos, but they've apparently vanished into the aether. About the only place we haven't found solid evidence yet has been Srimalinar, you think maybe the missing piece is there? Worth a try, these meatheads are gonna stand around all day measuring dicks until we get back anyway.[img]https://lpix.org/3727921/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.01.08_[2020.04.29_14.48.39].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727927/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.01.14_[2020.04.29_14.48.40].jpg[/img] Nice guess. I feel like I'm getting the hang of this "adventurer" business, you just go talk to everyone in a vaguely threatening way until someone cracks and gives you enough circumstantial evidence to proceed to violence. I was going to say you were describing police work, but honestly not far off. Alright Edjirr, hand over the evidence. You can have them, just so you can see who you are dealing with. I have copies of it, too. It's only part of a document which Kontos wanted to destroy. It tells a lot, though. Oh my God it's the other half of the document we found in Kontos' basement. How the hell did it even end up here? Anyway, let's glue this back together and see what it says...The document always felt like the weakest part of this plot to me. Why would Kontos tear up his own important documents and hide them in his basement, and how would the other half end up with the Iskai? Again it feels like there's a missing part for Riko and Gard here, where they would've ended up with part of it. [img]https://lpix.org/3727929/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.01.44_[2020.04.29_14.48.48].jpg[/img] Let's get back to the siege at the shrine and wave this around until it resolves the plot.[img]https://lpix.org/3727943/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.03.24_[2020.04.29_14.49.14].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727940/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.03.34_[2020.04.29_14.49.16].jpg[/img] Behold! Documentation![img]https://lpix.org/3727941/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.03.40_[2020.04.29_14.49.18].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727944/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.03.51_[2020.04.29_14.49.21].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727948/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.04.06_[2020.04.29_14.49.24].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727955/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.04.17_[2020.04.29_14.49.27].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727949/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.04.31_[2020.04.29_14.49.31].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727952/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.04.41_[2020.04.29_14.49.33].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727950/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.04.54_[2020.04.29_14.49.37].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727956/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.04.58_[2020.04.29_14.49.38].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727954/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.05.07_[2020.04.29_14.49.40].jpg[/img] Hold on, we haven't killed Kontos yet! Oh, trust me, that part is coming now. He's managed to literally back himself into a corner. Let's get him, gang.[img]https://lpix.org/3727957/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.05.28_[2020.04.29_14.49.45].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727960/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.05.34_[2020.04.29_14.49.47].jpg[/img] ...this just looks like an Iskai basement.[img]https://lpix.org/3727959/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.05.50_[2020.04.29_14.49.51].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727962/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.06.00_[2020.04.29_14.49.53].jpg[/img] I kind of expected him to rush at us with a knife or something and we'd all laugh and stab him repeatedly. Have to admit, that's what I would've bet on, too. Oh well let's loot some spare change out of the place and head out again.[img]https://lpix.org/3727965/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.06.18_[2020.04.29_14.49.58].jpg[/img] What, like a soul? Essentially, Rainer. So the reason this place was taboo was that it's like an apartment, but for ghosts.[img]https://lpix.org/3727976/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.07.26_[2020.04.29_14.50.15].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727991/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.08.18_[2020.04.29_14.50.29].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727985/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.08.31_[2020.04.29_14.50.32].jpg[/img] Kontos is similar to a weaker Nodd fight. More HP, still immune to freezing, casts spells that hit more targets but do less damage than Nodd's sword swings. The parties trade blows and, looking for something for Sira to do, I have her cast Sleep Spores on him which bugs out the game. [img]https://lpix.org/3728002/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.11.06_[2020.04.29_14.51.12].jpg[/img] Rather than disappearing, the spell effect stays on screen, and every spell cast after has no effect but its animation keeps staying on-screen. [img]https://lpix.org/3727998/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.11.14_[2020.04.29_14.51.13].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3727996/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.11.19_[2020.04.29_14.51.15].jpg[/img] WHAT'S HAPPENING?! Even if you kill me, my curse will remain! I hope this isn't punishment for pinching stuff from the shrine.[img]https://lpix.org/3728001/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.11.34_[2020.04.29_14.51.19].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728003/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.11.57_[2020.04.29_14.51.25].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728007/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.12.03_[2020.04.29_14.51.26].jpg[/img] ...maybe if we make camp, it'll pass in the morning.[img]https://lpix.org/3728013/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.14.48_[2020.04.29_14.52.08].jpg[/img] Yes, we didn't break reality at all, now let's get the hell off this island.[img]https://lpix.org/3728016/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.15.00_[2020.04.29_14.52.11].jpg[/img] Also I'd like a day where I'm not washing blood out of my fur for once.[img]https://lpix.org/3728015/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.14.57_[2020.04.29_14.52.10].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728019/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.16.12_[2020.04.29_14.52.29].jpg[/img] It's good to be at sea again. Also this way the heat will die down before anyone starts wondering where all the gold went. Maybe for once we'll go somewhere peaceful where no one needs killing.[img]https://lpix.org/3728023/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.16.22_[2020.04.29_14.52.32].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728022/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.16.29_[2020.04.29_14.52.34].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728021/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.16.34_[2020.04.29_14.52.35].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728024/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.16.42_[2020.04.29_14.52.37].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728026/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.16.59_[2020.04.29_14.52.41].jpg[/img] Next: The party achieves enlightenment.
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May 5, 2020 16:02
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Decision Time! With Sira and Mellthas out of the party, we suddenly have another two open slots. Now, as Sira mentions, they'll gladly rejoin the party later, which we can make happen immediately after the Isle of the Enlightened Ones. The alternative is to go back and pick up Khunag instead, which will leave an open party slot for another optional party member that I've honestly never tried bringing before but who offers some advantages in the very end game. Sira and Mellthas obviously make a lot of the game irrelevant with freezing all enemies and banishing demons, so they're clearly the "easy" and probably optimal choice. But Khunag will make another part of the game considerably more entertaining, so he'd be my personal choice.
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May 5, 2020 16:04
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Grab Khunag I like Sira and Mellthas, but they've earned a break, and I actually know what you're talking about with the next optional PC and would be curious to see that, too. I never actually managed to finish this game but I got pretty dang far. Saving Herras was the weird bit where I couldn't remember how you did it, but knew there was some convoluted bullshit involved. Back in the day I remember actually having to use goddamn GameFAQs to figure out where those triggers were.
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May 5, 2020 16:25
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Go with Khunag and the mystery party member.
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May 5, 2020 16:27
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Those two have
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May 5, 2020 21:16
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Arkanumzilong posted:
It's a cover so Roger Dean that I'm expecting it to bust out a 3 minute hammond organ solo in 7/13 time. I had to look up the artist and apparently Dieter Rottermund painted a bunch of fantasy stuff in the 80s and 90s, mainly book covers for publisher Heyne according to some random googling. Some of his covers got bought for use in the sourcebooks for seminal Swedish pen and paper RPG Drakar och Demoner which explains why it looks so drat familiar to me personally. Also recruit Khunag, you need a wizard, stat.
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May 5, 2020 21:40
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What's the point of meeting new people if we can't strongarm them into our adventuring ways? Get Khunag and ???.
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May 6, 2020 01:48
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Khunag and Friend I like to see more content not less. And not abusing the broken party members that trivialize combat is more interesting.
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May 6, 2020 02:20
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I dont know posted:And not abusing the broken party members that trivialize combat is more interesting. Unfortunately the most broken party member in the game isn't optional. But I'll try to minimize the amount of gamebreaking that happens.
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May 6, 2020 02:29
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We're finally past the point at which I dropped the game, so I'm looking forward to further developments. Khunag
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May 6, 2020 03:45
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I'm not sure I understand what they were going for with the setting in this game. Why does it start out as generic sci-fi if the majority of the actual play experience is more like an ersatz Elder Scrolls with wizards and druids and magic and demons? It's not even particularly like they're doing a mash-up; other than the gun you get at the very start, there has been zero sci-fi elements since the intro segment.
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May 14, 2020 17:41
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King of Bleh posted:I'm not sure I understand what they were going for with the setting in this game. Why does it start out as generic sci-fi if the majority of the actual play experience is more like an ersatz Elder Scrolls with wizards and druids and magic and demons? It's not even particularly like they're doing a mash-up; other than the gun you get at the very start, there has been zero sci-fi elements since the intro segment. Xander77 posted:Oh hey. This game holds the dubious honor of being one of the few I've quit after investing some time into (Edit - Just like every other poster who reported to this thread). Mostly because it's done absolutely nothing worthwhile with its interesting premise.
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May 16, 2020 12:46
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Part 009: Enlightenment [img]https://lpix.org/3728026/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.16.59_[2020.04.29_14.52.41].jpg[/img]  That hardly sounds ominous at all! What's with the sarcasm? Frill's helped us before.[img]https://lpix.org/3728028/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.17.07_[2020.04.29_14.52.43].jpg[/img] We've just been spirited away by an "enlightened" conspiracy hiding from the world. There's no way this isn't shady. I can't believe Frill would be plotting anything.[img]https://lpix.org/3728029/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.17.09_[2020.04.29_14.52.44].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728030/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.17.12_[2020.04.29_14.52.45].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728034/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.17.15_[2020.04.29_14.52.46].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728035/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.17.31_[2020.04.29_14.52.50].jpg[/img]  Hm. You're usually in my corner, Siobhan, back me up here. Well I'm seeing two things. First, these guys are loaded. Second, they're showing us how rich they are. Oh, you don't mean...[img]https://lpix.org/3728043/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.17.45_[2020.04.29_14.52.53].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728045/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.17.47_[2020.04.29_14.52.54].jpg[/img] What? What doesn't she mean? They're not going to off us- -they're going to recruit us! I always wanted to work for the Illuminati.[img]https://lpix.org/3728046/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.17.55_[2020.04.29_14.52.56].jpg[/img] Oh, you're the familiar face Frill talked about. Indeed, we have a lot to tell you, please, step inside.[img]https://lpix.org/3728050/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.18.18_[2020.04.29_14.53.02].jpg[/img]  'sup. -Irkith, scholar of sagas- A pleasure to meet you. -Birrh, our healer- At your disposal! -and Harriet, our youngest member. As the prophecies ordained! The chosen one and his companions! ... Don't mind Harriett, she got into some of the forbidden tomes and hasn't quite recovered yet. Alright, now let's cut to the chase. Tell us what this meeting is about. Very well, as Frill has no doubt told you, we are the Enlightened Ones. Our members are both human and Iskai, and our mission is one of responsibility to this world. We safeguard knowledge and, when we identify those who have reached an exceptional level similar to our own, we invite them to join us. Of course, knowing more of this world than any others, it is also our mission to act on threats towards it. Frill alerted us to your arrival on Albion and since then we've been keeping an eye on you and making inquiries. Son of a bitch. ...no, I don't think Nemos is threatening us, Siobhan, I think what he's saying is that he's found the Toronto. Indeed, it concerns us. Your great ship is the embodiment of why Cantos lead his people to Albion from Animenkna thousands of years ago, fleeing the persecution of the Helromier. Lots of namedropping and proper nouns, I guess we know what to ask people about after this. Up until now, you've proven to be trustworthy- I thought you said you'd been keeping an eye on him. -I was trying to be diplomatic. You've proven yourselves to be capable and we figure our best chance of getting you off our world again is to ask you to establish contact between your people and ours. We want to know what their plans are for Albion. Rest assured no one else aboard the ship is anything like Tom, they've probably converted the factory to a research station by now and are eagerly trying to learn more about your world. Yeah, since you know where the ship has landed, this should be an easy mission aside from the perpetually murderous wildlife. We're in. Thank you, Tom Driscoll. We'll be sending Harriet with you, to help you in your mission, she's capable of wielding powerful magic and frankly it would do her good to get away from here. I look forward to making this interesting trip with you, Tom Driscoll. Alright, I know you all probably want to rush off, but can we stay for a bit and ask some questions? I really need to know what's going on here. Yeah, we can case the place.So before we proceed to interrogate the locals, let's talk a bit about Harriet. As a human she starts out reasonably durable, but her purpose in life isn't to hurt things, it's to heal things. She can heal all conditions, move allies and enemies around the battlefield, just plain restore HP, let you rest without spending food(and thus also heal other casters' MP, very useful) and once she hits level 22 she wins us the game. Her main weakness is that she has a permanent quest item stuck in her "neck" slot and most of the boosting items you can equip are amulets. I believe there's all of one beneficial ring and zero beneficial boots(aside from their very mild armor bonus). Before going anywhere, though, I'm going to interrogate the heck out of everyone presented at the Isle of the Enlightened Ones, because they have a lot of lore to tell us, some of which is relevant, some of which is not, but which, I feel, contributes to the sense of some level of untapped potential that this game had. First up, is Birrh, the local healer. [img]https://lpix.org/3728078/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.21.39_[2020.04.29_14.53.53].jpg[/img] Go ahead, Rainer. The rest of us are going to loiter around and enjoying the local luxuries while you interrogate the nerd crew. What's an Ens? Ens is that which makes you alive. Ens is your I. Ens is that which differentiates you from the dead, as well as from all other things which exist. So a soul. No. The soul is a classification of Animenkna. According to Bathrig, only humans have a soul. He says that animals do not have a soul. Do Iskai have a soul in this sense? Hard to say. In any case the soul is nothing more than the attempt of Animenkna to classify and categorize the Ens for himself. If you wanted to summarize the Ens with your words, then you would have to say that it is soul plus conscience. But of course the Ens is inseparable. And if I were to say your soul is the body of your Ens and your conscience is its actions., then I believe that this is the best explanation that can be understood by your way of thinking. But always remember that a body cannot be separated from its actions. ...that didn't make a whole lot of sense. So who's Bathrig? Bathrig... I cannot deny that there is something fascinating about this being. No one turned Animebona against herself more cleverly. His words sounded like freedom and Animebona, and what he said was Animenkna. And Animenkna...? Animenkna is the younger brother of Animebona. He is the ruler of your world, for he is the order, the consistent, the logical. We call it the bridle. He created everything together with his sister. Only in the case of men, Animebona wanted to create her own people - the Celts. And Animenkna was jealous of the people she created, and so he created his own people, the Helromier. You know what I'm going to ask next. Animebona means flow of souls. She is the daughter of the Unknown God. We Enlightened Ones also call her Entity, she is our creator and ur-mother. Together with her younger brother Animenkna - that means bridle of souls - she created the heaven and the earth, the animals and the plants. Up to now we thought she created Albion by herself, without her brother. And now you have come here, so Animenkna must have also participated in the creation of Albion. That is very frightening to us. For where should we turn when Animenkna's spirit has crushed Albion as well? Right, and now what we've been referred to as before, Helromier? There is no doubt that they are very clever people. Some of them even succeeded with their causal logic to recognize that Animenkna is not the only son of the Unknown God. They had great singers and thinkers: Homer and Aristotle. But their flaws allowed them to get stronger than us. They developed writing, as did we. But their writing soon began to no longer just mean what it said. For them, the writing WAS what it said and their words WERE what they meant. The flow of the language froze and they began to stack individual concepts one onto the other like stones. Their language lost its spirit. They were still very clever, but without spirit. They built the tower of their words higher and higher and converted everything magical, which they feared, into dead material, and filled it with new, spiritless life. But they completely control this undead material.So at this point it should be somewhat obvious what they're going for, kind of a classic 90's "science kills the wonder of the world"-thing, they insist that "Animebona cannot exist without Animenkna," but quite clearly disparage everything Animenkna quite aggressively. The Helromier are the ones we'd kind of consider to be the "ancestors" of modern thinking: the Greeks and the Romans, with their sciences. We can get a list of Celtic grievances with the "Helromier" out of Birrh(or any of the others): The cunning Ulysses. A very interesting figure, even if we don't have much sympathy for him. His cleverness consisted of clinging to the magic of Animebona and then betraying it for his own purposes. As such, he was a great example for Bathrig. Consider the one-eyed giant Polyphemus. Ulysses saved himself by changing his name, thus using it as a tool for his purposes. He only imitated the magic which creates a name: for his name was no longer the expression of magic, but the expression of the purpose which he sought to accomplish. And this is probably one of the main differences between the Celts and the Helromier. He built the tower of words. Where Ulysses laid the foundation, Aristotle devised the means to build the tower to great heights. He was a great thinker, there is no doubt about that. But he only used the goals of Animenkna. The Helromier value him as the founder of logic and, for them, that is the highest thing. But even through their logic, the Helromier have still not been able to understand the essence of magic. They may be stronger than the Celts, but they are still far from being everything!They also reference being defeated by "Saethar"(very subtle) and his son Bathrig(though I've found no way to connect that name or any weird transliteration of it to any child of Caesar's). Irkith also has some additional, specific, complaints about Ulysses: Homer's songs are an accurate image of the war between the two poles Animebona and Animenkna. Especially the second part, which deals with the wanderings of Ulysses, is very instructive. For Ulysses incorporates the principle of Animenkna like no one else before his time. For him, adjusting to the flow of events is no longer important: he no longer feels himself to be a part of the flow of Animebona, which man had always felt up to then. For him adjusting to the flow is only superficial. He is like the boat which conquers the river because it superficially matches its movement, but he uses its abilities to conquer it for his own purposes. Purposes which belong to an entirely different world than the purpose of the flowing river. In this way, Ulysses hopes to escape the threat of the river." Just look at how he meets the dangers he is exposed to. He defeats the giant Polyphemus by calling himself 'No one'. In this way, he imitates his Ens, which chooses its name freely from its being. But the name Ulysses invents has nothing to do with his Ens, but with the purpose which it serves. He calls himself 'No one' and after 'No one' has served its purpose, he will remove it like a piece of clothing. He deceives the Sirens when he listens to their songs without falling victim to them. He does this by wrapping himself in chains. Chains, which are the principle of Animenkna, for Animebona lets everything flow freely. In this way, Ulysses can set himself above his companions, who have to row with their ears plugged. This is also new: a leader can gain knowledge which he MUST deny his followers so that all will survive. Force and order everywhere! The principle of Animenkna. And the climax is reached when Ulysses comes home. When Ulysses comes home no one recognizes him, except for his dog and his nurse. The dog recognizes him by his Ens, the nurse recognizes him because she knew him in a former life, a life when Ulysses still swam with the flow and was bound by the principle of Animebona, where he received a scarred wound in battle with a wild boar. The new Ulysses would outsmart the boar and not get wounded. He outsmarts his wife's suitor by concealing his true identity and turning himself into a beggar. Bathrig later used this same self-denigration, and he always said that whoever denigrates himself will be raised at the end. In any case, Ulysses' untrustworthy wife recognizes him only when he pulls the bow which can be pulled by no one but Ulysses. And here, for the first time, Ulysses consciously returns to his own Ens and subjects himself to it for his own purpose - the purpose of protecting his family and retaining his lordship. He succeeds in doing this so convincingly that, before long, everyone is emulating his image. They did not even notice that they lost their freedom. In the end they all became the 'No one' who conquered the giant.Part of the issue here is, I feel, that when you get right down to it, the locals of Albion aren't all that different from the humans of Earth. They still have societies with castes or social classes, they clearly still keep secrets. Like, for all this to work they would need to have been part of a much more alien society, possibly something explicitly communist or socialist so you could more clearly differentiate between the capitalists of Earth and the socialists of Albion. Well, it's been... very enlightening, Birrh.[img]https://lpix.org/3728136/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.29.48_[2020.04.29_14.55.58].jpg[/img] So, what did you learn? They're afraid of the Toronto because they've been nursing a millennia-long grudge against us, the "Helromier." Apparently we defeated the Celts and chased them here a long, long time ago. Wimps. They also seem to have a very strange perspective on us. Still, we need their help to get back to the Toronto. What have you guys been up to? Well, we checked the place out...[img]https://lpix.org/3728143/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.30.04_[2020.04.29_14.56.02].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728147/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.30.24_[2020.04.29_14.56.07].jpg[/img] ...and these guys seriously know how to live. We also got to know Harriet a bit better. Tell 'em about the Great Bloodletting again, Harriet. It is said that a dark soul shall come to Albion, gathering many companions about him and carving a bloody swathe across the world as he seeks his home. I feel privileged to have met him! Seems pretty spot on.[img]https://lpix.org/3728151/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.30.50_[2020.04.29_14.56.14].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728148/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.30.53_[2020.04.29_14.56.14].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3728150/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.30.59_[2020.04.29_14.56.16].jpg[/img] I didn't expect this place to have a gift store. The Enlightened Ones are a bit unworldly at times, so I try to manage out finances by selling spell scrolls. Selling spell scrolls. Yep! To who? This place doesn't exactly have casual visitors. Maybe before we antagonize the lady, we should check out what she's selling.You need scrolls of Lifebringer and Goddess' Wrath for Harriet, the only two spells she doesn't immediately know(and coming back here to learn them would be a hassle), and you should also grab a scroll of Thunderstorm for Khunag since it'll be a while before he'll actually encounter a trainer or other place actively selling his type of scrolls. I'm also amused that the Enlightened Ones literally have a store selling weapons of mass destruction to visitors. The Enlightened Ones don't have a whole lot of unique dialogue between them, and aside from them and the shopkeeper, the only other NPC is a former slave of the Kenget Kamulos who escaped them. [img]https://lpix.org/3728169/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.33.01_[2020.04.29_14.56.47].jpg[/img] Outside, if you're hungry for min/maxing your crew, you can increase one stat from one character by 3 per (in-game) hour spent on one of the flowers, though after that they'll need an unspecified amount of time to "recharge." Considering how easy this game is to casually break, you shouldn't need this. Alright, we've gotten a replacement wizard, we've found that there are no easily-burglarized treasures and we've bought the magical equivalent of a nuclear weapon for when Harriet knows how to use it. Let's roll out on this quest.[img]https://lpix.org/3728181/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.35.02_[2020.04.29_14.57.18].jpg[/img] I... I just don't know what to do, Rainer. I didn't realize you cared so much for having me ar- Now who are we going to bully? Har har very funny. Try not to die out there.Rainer's leaving is very sudden, but by this point he's kind of served his story purpose of being surprised, mildly disbelieving and very curious about the more unusual things we come across, and to explain them to Tom who isn't quite as scholarly. Like Sira and Mellthas, upon leaving, he gives us all his stuff back, but not the time invested in levelling him. New recruits always start at a fixed level, which is kind of an additional "gently caress you" for picking up Siobhan and Khunag as opposed to going back and grabbing Sira and Mellthas again. At the very back of the Enlightened Ones island is a small area, literally just one room, that's for no good reason in the same pseudo-3D used for most dungeons, containing only this one portal. [img]https://lpix.org/3728184/008Enlightenment.mkv_snapshot_01.35.53_[2020.04.29_14.57.31].jpg[/img] Now we finally sort of have a fast travel system, though now that we've gotten it, the only real purpose is to go back to Maini and pick up whatever party members we were missing before heading on to Umajo and looking for the Toronto. [img]https://lpix.org/3737743/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_01.01_[2020.05.12_21.38.03].jpg[/img] Huh, I thought Umajo would be hotter and sandier. Tom, why did we go to Maini? This isn't where the prophecies have fated you to travel. Patience, Harriet, we've got some business to attend to.It's slightly rephrased but yes, Harriet will in fact hassle you every time you use the fast travel system to stray slightly from the next story objective. [img]https://lpix.org/3737765/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_03.31_[2020.05.12_21.38.42].jpg[/img] Straight back to Beloveno and straight to the prostitute's house. I should've known. No, I'm not here for Kariah.She will, of course, have zero new dialogue to reflect that you resolved a potential inter-species war peacefully. [img]https://lpix.org/3737767/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_03.44_[2020.05.12_21.38.45].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3737766/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_03.47_[2020.05.12_21.38.46].jpg[/img] We're here for this guy. If that's what rocks your boat. Not like that, we're here to recruit him, every second person in Beloveno last time we were here mentioned that he's a wizard, and without Sira and Mellthas we need some magical artillery. I am indeed a magician of the Kenget Kamulos. Sweet, how do you feel about coming with us to check out a cool spaceship and blowing up a lot of things on the way? Seems like an interesting quest, I will join you for now. Cool. Introduce yourself to the rest of these guys. Because of my capabilities as a magician, it is hard to deny that I was once a member of the Kenget Kamulos. My path has separated from my former brothers, and you don't need to know anything more about it. I was born to fight, but am trapped in a weak body. My magic serves the exclusive purpose of obtaining honor in battle. To feel currents of energy flowing through my spirit is a wonderful feeling. drat, this guy may be a beardy old dude, but I like his spirit. I sense that he will bring many bloody sacrifices to the prophet. How about you, Drirr? You're being quiet. ...he feels a bit shady, Tom. In fact, it feels like this entire team has gone down a dark route. I know what'll perk you up, Drirr, a team-building exercise![img]https://lpix.org/3737797/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_14.51_[2020.05.12_21.41.35].jpg[/img] We're going treasure-hunting! Yaaaaaaay! I sense artifacts of sinister power within these innocuous caves. I sense target practice.So technically you can do this cave at any time on Maini, and in fact if you were sticking with Sira and Mellthas it would make perfect sense to do it first off before engaging with any of the local plot nonsense. Instead, I saved it so I could get Harriet and Khunag some extra experience before continuing the plot, since I strongly suspected someone would want to see Khunag in action. Speaking of Khunag... [img]https://lpix.org/3737788/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_12.30_[2020.05.12_21.40.59].jpg[/img] Stats-wise he isn't a slouch and can in fact equip just about every type of human weaponry and armor, including the big Danu's Light sword that Siobhan also has, entirely for the sake of giving him more of a speed boost. His magic is also pretty unsubtle, being mostly ten different kinds of exploding things. Sadly a lot of his spells are purposeless, since the game has no real "elemental" damage, all of his fire spells are just less powerful versions of his lightning spells(hit one target, hit a line, hit the entire battlefield) and since most fights quickly degenerate into a big scrum in the middle of the field, his various "trap" spells also serve little purpose. Similarly his ability to drain life and magic from enemies are also somewhat undermined by the fact that chugging potions is instantaneous, that I can at this point afford near-infinite amounts of them, and that Harriet will soon make most damage that isn't "instant kill" irrelevant. Long story short: You just want Khunag to blow up the battlefield with lightning. No reason to be subtle. Also as an aside while doing this LP I learned that there's actually a threadbare Albion wiki, of all things, which is still seeing edits and has an active Discord. Strange times. It helped me with some maps for the cave so I could show off what it's like. Now, this loving cave. [img]https://lpix.org/3737796/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_14.54_[2020.05.12_21.41.36].jpg[/img] It is, of course, pitch black, filled with stalagmites that impede movement and it's a multi-level maze that only allows you to see the map of the level you're currently on.  This is the kind of thing you're looking at on each level and I believe there are about seven levels. Each of those arrow-pointing-at-hole markers is an either ascent or descent option, though at least in-game on your map you can differentiate the two since the ascent options are white X's instead. [img]https://lpix.org/3737805/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_15.53_[2020.05.12_21.41.50].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3737807/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_15.54_[2020.05.12_21.41.51].jpg[/img] You also regularly get swarmed by Kritahs, though thankfully by a fixed amount of them. Their only real trick is that when they get sufficiently injured they try to flee combat to deny Khunag and Harriet valuable XP, but they do at least allow me to practice Khunagh's lightning line spell up to its maximum proficiency before the cave is done(sadly by then he doesn't have enough XP yet for the full-map lightning attack). On the bright side, the cave is littered with chests and junk piles containing some worthwhile and less worthwhile stuff. [img]https://lpix.org/3737833/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_23.41_[2020.05.12_21.44.21].jpg[/img] For some reason they contain an oddly large amount of food, probably enough that I might not even need to buy any more before the game is over. Hope the crew enjoys living off of half-rotten hardtack fished out of a box at the bottom of a cave! The few locations of interest include: [img]https://lpix.org/3737870/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_35.00_[2020.05.12_23.37.14].jpg[/img] This cave full of herb-bearing plants, the herbs have no clear effect when used but they "purify the mind and soul," so I presume cure all conditions. Of course, with Harriet along, this is no longer really relevant unless she's the one who gets hit by a condition. [img]https://lpix.org/3737910/009TeamBuilding1.mkv_snapshot_43.24_[2020.05.12_23.59.05].jpg[/img] A path leading to this exit with the waist-high gate that the team was unwilling to open from the front but perfectly happy to open from the other side. With the caves being non-linear, this exit is of course far away from any things you'd want to reach, so it likely won't really save you any time in terms of getting out after getting the good loot from the cave. You could also potentially miss all of the good loot if you didn't know what was worth finding in there and just assume it held some spare change and food and nothing else. [img]https://lpix.org/3737948/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.00.14_[2020.05.13_03.23.04].jpg[/img] A random chest containing the best helmet in the game, the most protective as well as a huge luck boost for averting status effects, the only particularly scary thing that enemies can still do to us. [img]https://lpix.org/3737970/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.18.26_[2020.05.13_03.25.40].jpg[/img] A cave containing "COUNTLESS FABULOUS CRYSTALS" which in practice means "four gems of relatively low value, you'll earn more gold just emptying every chest in the dungeon." [img]https://lpix.org/3737982/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.26.49_[2020.05.13_03.26.36].jpg[/img] And this chest, THIS chest is the jackpot of this cave. This is the source of the sinister aura I felt at the entrance! Oh boy, is that a legendary magic sword? It sure is, champ. If I let you have this one, will you stop complaining about us being morally gray? Hm, on the one hand it conflicts with my internal code of ethics but on the other hand I finally get to be cool and have a magic sword like you and Siobhan! Deal!The Shadowblade is the second-most-powerful weapon in the game, in terms of pure damage, with the advantage of being one-handed and wieldable by everyone. It sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? [img]https://lpix.org/3738043/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.45.28_[2020.05.13_03.31.46].jpg[/img] So funny thing, while it may be cursed, the damage is still there(most other cursed items swap over to a negative damage modifier when you learn they're cursed), and it doesn't curse you in any way that prevents you from hitting things real hard. It drops Drirr's max HP by 50 and bottoms out his "Stamina" stat, but as far as I can tell the Stamina stat doesn't actually do anything observable anyway and Drirr is already pretty beefy. If it hurts my enemies half as much as it hurts me, this is a really great sword! Ow!So after finally finding the Shadowblade, which required me to actually consult a FAQ, and dropping by Jirinaar to stock up on magic potions, I decided to at long last, go to Umajo, since there was nothing else left to do other than grind up stats at the Isle of the Enlightened Ones. [img]https://lpix.org/3738068/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.48.56_[2020.05.13_03.33.30].jpg[/img] Alright gang, new city, you know what we do first. Solve crimes? Rob someone? Smite our foes with magic? No, we go harass the locals until they tell us what crimes there are to solve, who we can rob and who we can blow up without the local guards getting angry.[img]https://lpix.org/3738062/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.49.13_[2020.05.13_03.33.39].jpg[/img] One thing that sucks about the Umajo desert is that it's literally the one place in the game with random encounters. Because all the local wildlife is hostile and burrowing, you can't see it until it hits. I don't know if the wildlife still "exists" like the normal angry animals do, but are just invisible, or whether it's dice rolls. [img]https://lpix.org/3738065/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.49.30_[2020.05.13_03.33.47].jpg[/img] Everything in Umajo is, unsurprisingly, tan-coloured or sand-coloured. It's also kind of the least interesting of the cities because by now there's really nothing there, except for maybe one thing, that we'd ever want to buy. There's no armor we couldn't get in Beloveno or on Jirinaar, no "weird objects"-dealer like Rifrako that might have a few enchanted items and the only superior weapons are an upgrade to bows, but by now you could easily have every ranged character wielding crystal axes instead and the only backline character that woldn't be better off just casting spells was Rainer, and he's not with us any longer. In general the game is done handing out any kind of upgrades except for one defensive item and the highest-damage melee weapon in the game lurking ahead. [img]https://lpix.org/3738073/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.50.24_[2020.05.13_03.34.14].jpg[/img] The local decor is a combination of the Celtic interiors we saw on Gratogel and Maini, but with more metal objects around. Is this normal? What do you mean? Does he often lead you into random people's homes? ...how else are we supposed to learn anything? Also sometimes people don't pay attention to their property and it's valuable.[img]https://lpix.org/3738076/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.50.31_[2020.05.13_03.34.18].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3738075/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.50.41_[2020.05.13_03.34.23].jpg[/img] Rainer, you handle the exposition while we loot the premises. We left Rainer behind, boss. Khunag, you're probably the smartest here, besides me, you're promoted to new Rainer. Handle the interrogation. With pleasure. Local, explain this place to us or face the consequences. I'm just a housewife and have enough to do without dealing with you: Cooking, making beds, cleaning, washing, buying, and then preparing the daily food for the prisoners. This sounds crime-related! The prisoners? These people have been expelled from our society. All evil-doers from the area are kept there. Most of them are fairly aggressive and have to be watched very carefully. The prison is to the north and a guard goes there every day to relieve the shift and bring food and drink. My job is to cook for the prisoners.So the prison, oh man the prison. This NPC has a couple pages of text about guard shifts and how the prison is full of evil people and what guard you have to follow to find it at the rear end end of the desert and then the prison has zero content. No one to talk to, nothing to fight, not even anything to pick up. More or less every Albion FAQ has a side-note going: "What the heck's up with the prison????" But as far as I can tell it's literally just cut content. Khunag. Cliff's Notes. You dragged us into a random woman's house and she's spent the last half hour telling me about her husband's job. Also, nothing worth stealing. Maybe next time you should bring us somewhere useful. Alright, alright, how about...[img]https://lpix.org/3738089/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.53.59_[2020.05.13_03.35.50].jpg[/img] A rich local guild!There are really only two important buildings in Umajo. The Equipment Makers' Guild and the Miners' Guild, as mentioned the shops are at this point irrelevant(the owners don't have any interesting dialogue either), though the local bar does have a couple of very chatty NPC's, one of which will help you keep track of where you need to go. [img]https://lpix.org/3738093/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.54.03_[2020.05.13_03.35.52].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3738096/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.54.08_[2020.05.13_03.35.54].jpg[/img] This NPC comment makes me feel like the game originally had more elaborate lockpicking mechanics planned. All characters have a lock-picking stat, but as far as I can tell it's never called and can never be trained. Nor are any locks ever trapped. [img]https://lpix.org/3738094/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.54.23_[2020.05.13_03.36.02].jpg[/img] And as another indication of the Umajo control of metal, even their bathtubs are made of it. [img]https://lpix.org/3738097/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.54.38_[2020.05.13_03.36.09].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3738098/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.54.41_[2020.05.13_03.36.11].jpg[/img] Nice guild you got here. Guy in the foyer was just telling us about how you make locks, what'd you say the most valuable item is you've used those locks to protect? Smooth. We don't just use locks for valuables, our most important and recent inventions are developed in our underground workshop, and as it is locked, visitors like you cannot access it. Inventions, you say? Like engines of war? More like security devices, traps and locks. How about we help you test those? You could pass us the key. I'm not crazy and I'm giving you my key!? Hopefully, Zebenno will not give you his as well. But he is a nice fellow. Just visit him and say hello to him for me. Usually, you'll find him with the miners. He always complains about ore prices when he has nothing better to do. You'd better not ask Zebenno about the key. It would be a tragedy if Zebenno gave you his key. I feel pity for you if you had Zebenno's key. You'd have to be real careful if you got his k- Yeah, yeah, we get it. Go to Zebenno, he'll give us the key, then we can raid your workshop. It'll be a while before we see this "spaceship," won't it? Just as soon as he runs out of distracting dungeons, we'll get to it.Merdger also sells "Porenoil." You get hurt if you wander around in the desert for too long without it, but since there's nothing in the desert except for the prison, which serves no purpose... I grab a bit in case I decide to go show off the prison, it'll probably last me the rest of the game easy. The equipment makers' workshop is also the optional dungeon for the Umajo continent. [img]https://lpix.org/3738109/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.57.29_[2020.05.13_03.37.32].jpg[/img] But first let's make sure we've tapped the locals for rumours by going to the only bar in town.[img]https://lpix.org/3738105/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.57.39_[2020.05.13_03.37.37].jpg[/img] You'd think the bartender would have something interesting to say, but he doesn't. [img]https://lpix.org/3738114/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_00.59.33_[2020.05.13_03.38.24].jpg[/img] Instead you want to get a hold of Konny here, a couple of bar patrons will point you towards her and I wonder if she was originally planned as a recruitable party member, since she A) seems interested in your quest and B) there's an unused "Umajo" ethnicity for characters in the game files that no player characters ever use. I'm surprised anyone's heard of us already, but yes, that's us, we're super cool. I'm very interested in adventures. I have many adventure books at home, and I find it very exciting when I have the opportunity to meet people who go on great journeys. And now I've met you! Naturally, I would understand if you don't want to tell me anything or if you can't reveal certain information. Not everything is secret, is it? Oh please, tell me something about the exciting places and the people you have met. Well, since you're asking me to brag... Tell her about the assassin in Jirinaar! Don't forget the evil wizard we killed.The stage directions indicate that the party tells Konny everything she wants to know until she's had her fill of adventures. You've really had some very exciting adventures. I would like to join you, but I'm embarrassed to say that I might not be courageous enough. Moreover, I'm needed here. In any case, I'm eager to find out how you're going to continue and where you're going next. There are several different options for traveling from Umajo-Kenta. First, there is the northern part of the desert. There is a prison there, but that is pretty far, way up in the north. You have to be pretty strong and you must be prepared for the heat. And then, naturally, there is the southern part. But that isn't so easy to get to, because you have to go through the boulder belt. Also it seems something strange happened there a while ago. They say that the area is haunted now. But don't let that scare you away. Many people say a giant monster came down from the sky, but I've never seen anything like that. Yes, about that... how do we get into the southern half of the desert? It looks like a big field of huge boulders is blocking the way and for some reason none of us can think to climb over them. You can't get through the boulders. They are much too large and impassable. Also, you can easily get lost there. What do you want in the southern part? If you absolutely want to go there, I have heard of a possibility: There is a passage which goes under the boulder belt. The most difficult thing about it is to find the entrance. Unfortunately, I'm not able to show it to you. But I do know someone who knows. Perhaps you could hire him as a guide? Something tells me we're not going to get anywhere unless I say yes. I hope I can trust you. Well, the man is named Ohl. Not many people in the city know him, because he is very withdrawn and almost never lets himself be seen. Therefore, it is quite difficult to meet him. He is very shy and he doesn't like long conversations. Nevertheless, he is nice and ready to help, even strangers. I'm sure that he will help you if you tell him that I have sent you. He is a fanatic diamond collector, so he knows our family quite well. You can probably convince him to come for a couple of jewels. Ohl is at the ore mine every day at precisely twelve o'clock so he can see if the miners have brought out any interesting pieces. But he is never there very long. You have to be punctual, otherwise, you'll never even see him. Ohl will certainly show you the way. In any case, I wish you all the best for your continued journey! Well, it's too late in the day to catch Ohl at the miners' guild. We'll have to resume this adventure tomorrow.Next up: Raiding a basement! Finally getting to the Toronto!
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May 19, 2020 22:31
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King of Bleh posted:I'm not sure I understand what they were going for with the setting in this game. Why does it start out as generic sci-fi if the majority of the actual play experience is more like an ersatz Elder Scrolls with wizards and druids and magic and demons? It's not even particularly like they're doing a mash-up; other than the gun you get at the very start, there has been zero sci-fi elements since the intro segment. It feels strongly like the script went through multiple revisions or they ran out of time, no hiding that. Especially once you get to the island of the Enlightened Ones and encounter a lot of dialogue that really isn't very relevant to the rest of the game.
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May 19, 2020 22:32
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PurpleXVI posted:It feels strongly like the script went through multiple revisions or they ran out of time, no hiding that. Especially once you get to the island of the Enlightened Ones and encounter a lot of dialogue that really isn't very relevant to the rest of the game. This is my general sense, too. It's a shame because the first parts of it are really strong, and there's still some fun stuff later on, just nothing that lives up to the first island.
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May 19, 2020 23:14
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PurpleXVI posted:Bathrig later used this same self-denigration, and he always said that whoever denigrates himself will be raised at the end. That sounds a lot like a reference to Christianity, perhaps a garbled Matthew 23:12 - "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
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May 20, 2020 01:09
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Animebona. I mean, I get it, it was 1995, the internet and weeabos weren't so much of a thing still, but, Animebona. ...sorry, what else was that all about? Kinda couldn't focus on the rest of it.
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May 20, 2020 05:05
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PurpleXVI posted:It feels strongly like the script went through multiple revisions or they ran out of time, no hiding that. Especially once you get to the island of the Enlightened Ones and encounter a lot of dialogue that really isn't very relevant to the rest of the game.
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May 20, 2020 12:09
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I will also miss Rainer. This is fairly close to where I stopped when I was playing; I got a bit further, but I was quite sad to lose Rainer even though he's useless in gameplay. I was glad you just lose him to staying behind to nerd out instead of the poor guy dying or something though.
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May 20, 2020 13:15
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Night10194 posted:I will also miss Rainer. This is fairly close to where I stopped when I was playing; I got a bit further, but I was quite sad to lose Rainer even though he's useless in gameplay. I was glad you just lose him to staying behind to nerd out instead of the poor guy dying or something though. Part of what both makes Albion work and not work is stuff like that. In a lot of games, Rainer would leave the party because he made some heroic sacrifice, being the slightly older character and the closest thing to a "mentor" NPC the game has, to get the player emotionally invested in the next step. It's nice that the game is willing to NOT be generic in that sense, most people are willing to be sensible and you largely deal with one or two conspirators or, essentially, hostile wildlife and the leftovers from magical pollution. But at the same time the lack of some of these traditional story beats(outside of the earliest game) also makes some parts fall flat and feel a bit "we're doing this because it's here and because it makes number go up, not because we really have any particular connection to the characters or situation involved, emotionally or ideologically." My personal pet theory is that the original design doc for Albion had the player able to choose, at the very least, a "good" and an "evil" path, considering the options in the early game to be a right dickhead, and the "philosophical" divide between Animebona(and yes I've giggled at that name plenty of times) and Animenkna. Perhaps some simple Natives vs DDT Corp choice in the later game. Especially considering seemingly "dummied out" options like just plain provoking Kontos into an early fight or Kariah urging the party to go stab Riko and Gard in the brain.
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May 20, 2020 13:36
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It's very clearly a game that had a lot of ambition it couldn't quite fulfill, but I appreciate that it tried. And that first island really is an awesome opener. An actual relatively friendly and reasonable first contact scenario was so refreshing to see. As was the fact that the characters themselves actually understood how exciting it was to be encountering a sentient, reasonably friendly new species.
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May 20, 2020 14:54
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turns out we're all about that anime boner
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May 20, 2020 19:56
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So the society somehow preserved the writings of Homer, Aristotle, etc for thousands of years with great specificity and accuracy, but at the same time no one can accurately talk about Earth itself, or how or why they left, and the original culture and religion of the celts has been entirely subsumed into Anime? Okay.
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May 20, 2020 20:21
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Part 010: This Is Going To Hurt [img]https://lpix.org/3738138/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_01.03.49_[2020.05.13_03.39.36].jpg[/img] So we're off to the miners' guild to see Ohl and a few other NPC's in the area. [img]https://lpix.org/3738139/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_01.04.07_[2020.05.13_03.39.41].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3738140/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_01.04.24_[2020.05.13_03.39.45].jpg[/img] One of the two interesting NPC's here is Zebenno. Cough up the key, nerd. What? Excuse us, your colleague Merdger said you had a key to the testing chambers. Indeed, I create many exciting new protective mechanisms and I could always use more test subjects. My colleagues can't do it since they have been too involved in the development and already understand most of the inventions. So you wouldn't be able to get a proper picture of how well they'd work? Oh, I suppose that's true. Mostly they're just terrified of going in the basement. ... I'm sure it'll be fine, you wimps, it'll be like a pressure plate, two switches, maybe some spikes and a short maze, and then we'll be rich. Just give us the key, Zebenno.While Merdger doesn't want to give you the key, Zebenno only offers some vague, performative worry and then lets you go get yourself killed. The other NPC is Kossea. [img]https://lpix.org/3738144/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_01.05.08_[2020.05.13_03.39.57].jpg[/img] Who would be much more interesting if he was earlier in the game, or the game was structured in a much different way. Since we already missed our chance to meet with Ohl today, I guess we might as well hassle you about what you do for a living. I am a Mountain Priest and can conduct the ritual. We have to perform the ritual at least twice a day. Otherwise, we will offend Mother Earth. Of course, we need to mentally prepare for several hours before we can perform the ceremony. Quaint, so you're like the local OSHA guy. If you do not conduct the ritual, tunnels collapse, workers simply fall into shafts, there are explosions, you can no longer breathe the air, and lots of other horrible things happen. So kind of, yes.Imagine if this happened before you saw blatant magic. There'd be an interesting question of whether Animebona actually needed propitiating prior to mining, or whether all the rituals were, in a 40k Mechanicus-esque way, simply shoring and propping tunnels, checking for gas pockets, avoiding natural caves with a sign of animal habitation, etc. Once you've actually seen people juggle fireballs and lightning bolts, however, the Mountain Priests become a lot less interesting from a storytelling perspective, and also kind of seem to be a bit... anti-Animebona. Turning ritual magic into just another tiresome bureaucratic chore before you can get on with work feels like it's very Animenkna-esque, based on what the Dji Cantos told us earlier. You could have another interesting story seed there, where you could show that no one quite understands Animebona and Animenkna and there's a deeper unity between the two to explore and uncover so everyone can live in peace. So anyway, we missed Ohl and I'm too boring to just stand around in the streets for another 12 hours, so I decide to go check out the dungeon under the Equipment Makers' guild which, contrary to what I said earlier, actually is a storyline dungeon for a later part of the game. It's also literally unbeatable with the current party and loadout of gear, for reasons soon to become apparent. [img]https://lpix.org/3738171/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_01.12.33_[2020.05.13_03.41.50].jpg[/img] On the way I do a bit of shopping which basically consists of selling junk... to the point that I end up overloading myself on gold and, after like ten minutes of shuffling coins around, have to buy some expensive weapons as a store of value to be able to move. This weaponsmith shopkeeper is actually a bit interesting, though... [img]https://lpix.org/3738175/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_01.12.55_[2020.05.13_03.41.56].jpg[/img] He'll track you along the counter and yell at you if you grab something while he's in front of you, but not if you manage to slip besides him and grab something anyway, which is kind of odd because A) he's the only shopkeeper who reacts and B) this shows that the run-forward-to-extend-grabbing-distance trick was known of by the devs(since it's the only way to snag anything behind this guy's or any other counter). [img]https://lpix.org/3738205/009TeamBuilding2.mkv_snapshot_01.17.40_[2020.05.13_03.43.08].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765189/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.00.06_[2020.06.03_01.09.34].jpg[/img] I look forward to helping improve public safety, locks and traps are an important part of safeguarding one's home! ... Yeah, he's always like that.[img]https://lpix.org/3765194/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.00.17_[2020.06.03_01.09.40].jpg[/img] So welcome to this dungeon. The first layer is in 2D and consists of three things: Levers, corridors and keys. You will be walking back and forth to pull levers, to open doors, that get you keys, that sometimes open a door, and sometimes open a chest, and usually that door or that chest are hiding another key. When you think about it, it's an ingenious security system. How? It isn't stopping us. If I wasn't being compelled by an alien intellect controlling my every move you bet I'd be leaving after this place bored me to tears.[img]https://lpix.org/3765200/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.01.02_[2020.06.03_01.10.02].jpg[/img] In a better game these oddly regular discoloured wall sections would be secret or illusionary pathways. No such thing here. [img]https://lpix.org/3765204/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.01.39_[2020.06.03_01.10.21].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765209/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.01.50_[2020.06.03_01.10.27].jpg[/img] There's this loving anvil which can turn a long-outdated weapon(generic swords) into a slightly less outdated weapon(generic two-handed swords), but only a limited number of times, so you can't even use it to break the game's economy or anything. [img]https://lpix.org/3765218/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.02.47_[2020.06.03_01.17.37].jpg[/img] This encounter which I'm not sure whether is how all 2D encounters are meant to look, meaning all the rest are bugged, or is itself the only bugged one. Normally in 2D and 3D encounters one enemy sprite is a whole squad. Here, this swarm of enemy sprites is one squad, rather than each of them being a squad. [img]https://lpix.org/3765219/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.02.48_[2020.06.03_01.17.49].jpg[/img] But oddly enough despite being the only time this is done in the game, the multiple sprites don't even match the encountered enemies, except for the general enemy type. [img]https://lpix.org/3765224/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.03.53_[2020.06.03_01.18.16].jpg[/img] No, you can't wiggle past there. All it would have taken would be another couple of spike/knife floor tiles for it to look believable as impassable, but someone was in too much of a hurry for that. [img]https://lpix.org/3765233/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.04.45_[2020.06.03_01.18.33].jpg[/img] The first level also lulls me into a false sense of security by repeatedly deploying the same garbage encounters we've been casually wading through since the second island, Gratogel. [img]https://lpix.org/3765256/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.10.14_[2020.06.03_01.19.57].jpg[/img] Here you reach this room, to flip a switch, so you can go all the way back to the start of the dungeon, to flip another switch, so you can slowly whack the knives down with a hammer you found. It requires no thinking, there are no extra encounters to complicate going back, all it does is waste your drat time. [img]https://lpix.org/3765284/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.13.08_[2020.06.03_01.27.30].jpg[/img] The only thing of note the chest contains is a map of the first level of the dungeon. Now how every single corridor is designed to take longer to navigate than it needs to. I could forgive this if it was meant to look like something, like a real building or facility with some kind of structure, but instead I've had random map generators throw out locations that look more purposefully-made. [img]https://lpix.org/3765288/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.14.56_[2020.06.03_01.27.57].jpg[/img] This room is guarded by enemies that we outgrew on the very first island. [img]https://lpix.org/3765308/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.18.53_[2020.06.03_01.28.58].jpg[/img] Hmmmm...[img]https://lpix.org/3765307/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.19.08_[2020.06.03_01.29.01].jpg[/img] Yes, I see.[img]https://lpix.org/3765312/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.19.22_[2020.06.03_01.29.05].jpg[/img] It sounds like you have this one figured out already, Tom. ...actually no, I just wanted to sound smart, I was just going to pull levers at random and hope it worked.So this "puzzle" is supposed to bore you even more by only letting you disable certain spike sections at a time, and also having certain levers, when pulled, also activate/deactivate other levers. I prefer the more direct approach. [img]https://lpix.org/3765321/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.19.42_[2020.06.03_01.29.10].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765323/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.19.46_[2020.06.03_01.29.11].jpg[/img] If you manage to pull all three levers down, the machine "explodes," killing half your party, and disabling the interlocks, thus allowing you to disable all the spikes at once after spending some time glueing everyone back together. It also had an odd consequence for Siobhan. [img]https://lpix.org/3765338/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.21.08_[2020.06.03_01.37.19].jpg[/img] You may notice a gap in the party's formation, that's where she actually is. The Siobhan at the back of the formation is just a ghost perpetually doing its walk-cycle animation even when the party's standing still. This is really unsettling, can you fix this, Harriett? It's of no concern, the violence of the explosion simply separated her soul from her body for a time. Braaaaaaaaaains.It disappears after the next time I get the party into a fight. [img]https://lpix.org/3765376/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.42.39_[2020.06.03_03.11.08].jpg[/img] The only "interesting" thing before getting to the level 2 entrance that I skip over is a room that's literally wasting your time, since all it does is contain a lever that only exists, and thus can only be pulled to unlock the next door, at a certain time interval. And in dungeons, you can't use the "wait" command, so you literally have to let the party stand around while you read a book or something. Okay, gang, we made it through that. There's no way the next level can be worse.[img]https://lpix.org/3765384/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.43.02_[2020.06.03_03.11.14].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765389/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.43.25_[2020.06.03_03.11.20].jpg[/img] So this place has some new enemies. They will gently caress us up. Every single enemy formation in here is hell and can only be defeated by bringing Mellthas or letting a speed-boosted Drirr stand in the back row throwing out Demon Exodus scrolls(thankfully scrolls are cast at max caster level so they can bypass enemy magic resistance.). Cue the slideshow of the ways I got mangled before giving up and leaving the dungeon! [img]https://lpix.org/3765394/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_00.43.53_[2020.06.03_03.11.27].jpg[/img] Animal 3 squads! Faster even than Drirr, they do massive damage, and even if we could tank it, they have a chance to Critical Hit and annihilate a party member in one blow. ANY party member, even beefy Siobhan. [img]https://lpix.org/3765423/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.08.19_[2020.06.03_03.14.39].jpg[/img] Fear 3 swarms! We can outspeed them, but they're tanky as hell and hit pretty hard. That can be survived, though. The bad part is that they either cast small fireball(negligible damage), attack in melee(scary damage) or cast Boast, which blows partially through any target's MR and makes them flee combat. Panic can't be undone, so it's basically a save-or-die, and partial resists still allow status effects through. Better yet, any time you flee from combat, the enemy formation is wholly restored! I actually beat one of these after like ten tries when I got lucky and they didn't make everyone run away in two rounds. [img]https://lpix.org/3765428/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.12.37_[2020.06.03_03.15.51].jpg[/img] Storm 3 armies! Only Drirr outspeeds them, and every single round, every single one of them will cast Thunderstorm at a power that kills any party member in, at most, three hits. Thunderstorm hits the entire field. So the only way to survive is for Drirr to somehow take out 4 or more of them in the first round of combat. [img]https://lpix.org/3765425/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.10.34_[2020.06.03_03.15.34].jpg[/img] *puff* *wheeze* I think we lost them. Heads up! There's something in here! I never thought I would say this, but I really am not looking forward to more fights in here.[img]https://lpix.org/3765426/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.10.37_[2020.06.03_03.15.36].jpg[/img] ...okay, I have to hand it to Zebenno. Just hiring some insane old man to fill your basement with demons may in fact be the most effective anti-theft measure imaginable. Also a real effective "anti-living" measure. Let's get out of here and maybe get the Toronto to glass this stupid dungeon from orbit after we tell them all about our adventures.The only good thing about bouncing off that dungeon was that it edged Khunag up to being able to cast Thunderstorm, so now he'll just need to cast it fifty or so times before it'll do as much damage as his other lightning spells and contribute to turning fights around. [img]https://lpix.org/3765443/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.24.31_[2020.06.03_03.16.22].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765448/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.24.54_[2020.06.03_03.16.29].jpg[/img] Self-esteem issues? I used to be a diamond polisher. But now my hands shake so much that I can't do the work any longer. So instead I collect these beautiful jewels. Your tragic backstory aside, Konny said you could help us get into the southern desert. Oh yes, I do know a way through the boulder belt. I can even lead you to the entrance. Of course, I would like a small reward for it. A jewel would be appropriate. Remember that you probably cannot find the entrance alone.I'm not sure if this is true, I don't think it is, but at the same time holy poo poo the entrance is hidden in a truly sadistic way behind several sprites that appear to be impassable at first glance, so I will happily pay some random gem to not have to deal with it. [img]https://lpix.org/3765454/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.27.13_[2020.06.03_03.17.04].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765453/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.27.18_[2020.06.03_03.17.05].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765460/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.27.20_[2020.06.03_03.17.06].jpg[/img] A short hands-off section of Ohl showing me the way later... [img]https://lpix.org/3765456/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.28.28_[2020.06.03_03.17.23].jpg[/img] Ohl's enthusiasm for his hobby is somewhat adorable. [img]https://lpix.org/3765457/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.28.54_[2020.06.03_03.35.35].jpg[/img] The dungeon leading to the southern desert is a short T-shaped cave with two exits. If you take the wrong exit, like I did, you end up wandering the desert for like half an hour real-time, exploring a completely pointless section of the game world. [img]https://lpix.org/3765477/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.38.31_[2020.06.03_03.37.09].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765483/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.39.37_[2020.06.03_03.37.11].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765478/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.39.16_[2020.06.03_03.37.15].jpg[/img] It has a very pleasant-looking unique savannah biome that has no purpose to existing at all. So eventually you manage to find your way back to the cave and go out the right entrance... [img]https://lpix.org/3765482/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.42.24_[2020.06.03_03.37.29].jpg[/img] Thank God, there's a shuttle from the Toronto! You guys hang back while I flag it down![img]https://lpix.org/3765487/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.42.42_[2020.06.03_03.37.38].jpg[/img] It'll be a bit cramped, but we can all squeeze inside! Come on, gang![img]https://lpix.org/3765492/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.42.53_[2020.06.03_03.37.44].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765490/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.42.55_[2020.06.03_03.37.45].jpg[/img] Who could have predicted that the evil corporation would still be evil. drat. [img]https://lpix.org/3765493/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.43.20_[2020.06.03_03.37.57].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765499/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.43.33_[2020.06.03_03.38.04].jpg[/img]  Driscoll! You must have gone through hell! I can't believe you're still alive! Tom! Please, let me through to him! I'm sorry, miss Mocci, he must have immediate medical attention. drat, Tom, you have no idea how glad I am you're still alive. Yooooouuuu asshoooooles, the planet isn't barren! It's alive! ... Clearly prolonged exposure to a hostile atmosphere has left him confused and delirious, I'll get him to medical as quickly as possible. You'll be able to see him in a few days.[img]https://lpix.org/3765513/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.44.32_[2020.06.03_03.38.33].jpg[/img] Well, that was predictable.[img]https://lpix.org/3765514/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.44.46_[2020.06.03_03.38.40].jpg[/img] So they bothered to lock the door, but left me with a magic sword, fully armoured and with a backpack full of alien drugs. DDT really went for the lowest bidder on the security team.Now, how do you get out of being locked inside the medical wing? Perhaps violence? Stealth? Hacking? No, you wait. It's only five minutes of real-time waiting, but it feels like a lot loving longer when there's literally nothing to interact with in the small part of the medical wing you're restricted to, nor any way to wait time away. [img]https://lpix.org/3765522/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.49.16_[2020.06.03_14.47.24].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765527/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.49.33_[2020.06.03_14.47.28].jpg[/img] First things first, real glad to see you alive. We'd written you off. How about Hofstedt? Still alive, I left him with a bunch of alien nerds. Good. Now, we're on limited time, you might have noticed that I picked the lock with a hacked security card. Yeah, I kind of figured you weren't here on official business. Now tell me what the hell's going on here. You first, something tells me you had the crazier adventure. Oh man, you have no idea. So first off, this planet has wizards...[img]https://lpix.org/3765532/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.49.54_[2020.06.03_14.47.34].jpg[/img] Well, either Ned is right and you're suffering from brain damage, or all that insane stuff you just rambled off is true. I admit your numerous magical items kind of make the point for you. I swear, it's true. Now, your turn. Everything here is completely normal. Bullshit. No, really, that's the problem. At first when mining, we had a lot of accidents, cave-ins, breakdowns, attacks by animals way more advanced than this planet should be able to host from the official data, but they just kept throwing guns and machinery at it until it calmed down, and paid people bonuses to not notice, rather than acknowledging that something was wrong. And people just accepted that? This place is like the goddamn Gobi Desert, Tom, most of the crew haven't seen anything they don't expect. ...poo poo, they probably picked this place on purpose. Clever bastards. Guess there's no way to avoid the conclusion that Ned and Brandt fed everyone doctored data. And you're proof that they did it. Explains why they shoved me in cold storage, and now it's even more obvious that they took care of Inspector Beegle. He must have figured out the deception before anyone else did. The way it was done, only Ned could have done it, as AI he'd have the necessary control of the systems. Whatever they did, the solution seems simple: We bust out of here and tell everyone on board the truth. Not so fast, Ned could be a problem here. How? He's got security cameras, but it's not like they have guns duct-taped to them. No, man, you don't get it. You've seen his artificial body, right? He's got dozens of those. If we piss him off, it could be a massacre, he's plugged into every system and could run the Toronto without the crew if he had to. Well he'll hurt the crew and this planet over my dead body, I didn't defraud all those healers and shopkeepers just to be the financial king of a dead ball of dirt. ...still on the fence about that brain damage ruling, but your heart's in the right place. Let's get on to the service decks. Right now, Ned is talking to Captain Brandt, human interaction takes a lot of CPU power, which means all his other tasks, like analyzing security footage, gets put on the back burner. This could be our chance to get to the power plant unseen and shut him down. Let's roll![img]https://lpix.org/3765571/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.53.51_[2020.06.03_14.48.34].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765569/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.53.55_[2020.06.03_14.48.35].jpg[/img] Stats-wise Joe is basically like Rainer: not so great. His only advantage is that, alongside Rainer and Tom, he's one of the few characters in the game that can use guns. So when we get our hands on more guns... he could become real useful. [img]https://lpix.org/3765588/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.56.38_[2020.06.03_14.49.17].jpg[/img] Joe can not, in fact, hack open any doors for us. But some idiot left the password lying around in a drawer, on a note, so we're through the door in quick time and back on to the Toronto's cozy service decks... [img]https://lpix.org/3765600/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.58.52_[2020.06.03_14.49.51].jpg[/img] This level is entirely a "puzzle" and also, in the traditions of the Equipmentmakers' Guild basement, mostly focused around wasting your time. It has three types of puzzle: [img]https://lpix.org/3765609/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.59.23_[2020.06.03_14.49.59].jpg[/img] #1: Activate a robot and wait for it to amble over a pressure plate in the floor. Unfortunately all the robots' movements are completely randomized so you might be waiting for a while. [img]https://lpix.org/3765621/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_01.59.56_[2020.06.03_14.50.07].jpg[/img] #2: Wait for the light on the other side of the gate to flash and then press the button at the same time to activate it. It's a real dickass move because at no point has the game used this kind of logic before, so unless you're reading a FAQ, it may take you a while to figure it out, since pressing the button when the light isn't on just gives you a "nothing happens"-message not a "nothing happens because the timing was off"-message. [img]https://lpix.org/3765668/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.03.54_[2020.06.03_14.51.08].jpg[/img] #3: Finding these cabinets which aren't marked on the map at the rear end-end of tangly loving corridors so you can find a door unlocking code. [img]https://lpix.org/3765671/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.05.56_[2020.06.03_14.51.39].jpg[/img] Look at this poo poo. It's like a five-year-old just doodled random lines on a piece of paper and then they straightened the corners a bit and turned it into a dungeon map. What the gently caress. [img]https://lpix.org/3765684/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.07.26_[2020.06.03_14.52.02].jpg[/img] And then there's this loving room. No there's no climactic boss fight or dramatic moment in here, instead there are three pressure plates and like ten cells with service robots in them. Release them all and then go eat a sandwich until the robots bumble across all the pressure plates and you can continue. I had enough time to go all the way back through the level looking for one of the code paper pieces I'd missed before the robots had activated all the door plates. [img]https://lpix.org/3765701/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.12.14_[2020.06.03_14.53.20].jpg[/img] ... What's wrong, Tom? We're so close to shutting this drat ship down. What the hell was up with that service deck, Joe? CEO promised his son he'd get to build a spaceship, so he let him doodle some of the infrastructure and passed it to the designers. You really don't want to know what the plumbing is like.[img]https://lpix.org/3765708/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.12.49_[2020.06.03_14.53.29].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765712/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.13.09_[2020.06.03_14.53.34].jpg[/img] Of course, it won't be that easy. [img]https://lpix.org/3765715/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.13.22_[2020.06.03_14.53.37].jpg[/img] Joe Bernard, Tom Driscoll, please stop trying to sabotage my fusion reactor energy source before I have to get angry with you. Come on, Ned, do you and Brandt really think you can conceal the truth from everyone on board? In a word: Yes! The odds are entirely in our favour and the continued survival of DDT justifies the risk! Ha ha, wait, you're just outright saying that you're planning to destroy this world? No dissembling, lying or beating around the bush? And what about Brandt? He'll suffer consequences for this, when it gets out! Indeed, poor Captain Brandt. After this he'll suffer a gruelling investigation, as a result of which, DDT will have to let him go... with a generous severance packet. He'll be history's richest unemployed person. As for the two of you, you'll be going to the brig for the remainder of this mission. But not to worry, I'll see to it that all your needs are met. Ha ha, yeah, as if. Let's get the gently caress out of here, Joe.[img]https://lpix.org/3765727/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.14.19_[2020.06.03_14.53.51].jpg[/img] Good thing that service deck was as much of a confusing mess for them as it was for us.[img]https://lpix.org/3765731/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.14.35_[2020.06.03_14.53.55].jpg[/img] Tom, Joe, I'm sorry, but your persistence in not obeying orders make drastic measures unavoidable. If it helps, I really am very sorry about this. Whatever big brain genius decided that Asimov's Laws of Robotics weren't needed is due for an rear end-kicking when I'm out of here.[img]https://lpix.org/3765730/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.14.44_[2020.06.03_14.53.58].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765732/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.14.47_[2020.06.03_14.53.59].jpg[/img] What the hell just happened? Plot contrivance, the Dji Cantos gave me a magic rock that can fire infinite, statistically meaningless fireballs and is a quest item I can't drop, solely for this cutscene, while it's completely useless at all other times.[img]https://lpix.org/3765735/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.14.54_[2020.06.03_14.54.00].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765746/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.15.24_[2020.06.03_14.54.08].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765739/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.15.32_[2020.06.03_14.54.10].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765743/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.15.47_[2020.06.03_14.54.14].jpg[/img] Someone on the writing team didn't really think too much about what they wrote. How could the team both have waited for Tom and have headed back to the Isle of the Dji Cantos to chat with them? Either way, the plot continues after the game warps us back there. [img]https://lpix.org/3765744/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.15.57_[2020.06.03_14.54.17].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765748/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.16.15_[2020.06.03_14.54.21].jpg[/img] I'm still not convinced that a few dozen Helromier in a big metal boat can really threaten this world. It's a self-expanding, self-improving, self-replicating factory. The more of your world it consumes, the bigger and nastier it'll get. Tom, because we're helpless, how do you feel about saving us? Anyone expecting me to have a selfless reason for saving this world is out of luck. However anyone expecting me to not save this world is also out of luck. Ned and Brandt have made this personal, they're going down. Everyone with me? I'm always in for killing. I didn't join this party not to get into fights. The prophecy demands that the Great Bloodletting not be delayed. Despite everyone else... stopping your fellow humans seems like the just thing to do. You've got the Cool Crew at your disposal Nemos. I'd still like to know what, exactly, happened. Ned and Brandt killed Beegle, they tried to kill us, and when I returned they tried to finish the job. They hosed with the wrong astronaut. So how do we do this? Isn't Animebona going to gently caress them up? She will try, but she can't do much against the pure essence of Animenkna. She will need our help. Go on. Magic won't be able to affect the Toronto directly, and as you've experienced, direct action is unlikely to succeed. We'd be facing an army of Ned's bodies and the entire security team. No way we could handle that. Thanks to Rainer's explanations about the Toronto, however, we believe we have a plan. Rather than directly attacking the Toronto with magic, we will make it part of the spell, we will turn it into something living. Unfortunately, we lack some of the necessary magical expertise. From the Umajo, we need the expertise needed to affect metal with magic. And we will also need knowledge of how to handle energy at a vast scale. Because you'll need to reach the Toronto's reactor and cast the spell there. So who's got the latter expertise? The Kenget Kamulos. The mage assassins. I could possibly help you negotiate with my former colleagues. Let me get this straight. First we need to negotiate with killer wizards. Then we need to negotiate that hellish dungeon back in Umajo Kenta. And then we need to waltz into the Toronto, past the unbeatable security, and jam a magical doohickey into the fusion reactor. I think I might be able to help. I brought my camera with me when we escaped, while you're gathering the magical ingredients, I'll prepare an edit a concise video documentary about the true nature of Albion. If I can get that playing aboard the ship, at least the human security might be decidedly less murderous.[img]https://lpix.org/3765779/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.20.49_[2020.06.03_14.55.31].jpg[/img] [img]https://lpix.org/3765791/010Toronto2.mkv_snapshot_02.20.58_[2020.06.03_14.55.33].jpg[/img] Next: A completely uncomplicated journey without any kind of surprises.
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Jun 9, 2020 23:52
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I do appreciate one major thing about the plot: They give you actual time and reasons to be invested in the planet and the stuff going on here before springing 'Okay, now you gotta save it from the earthmen'. Also, Ned and the Captain trying to keep the crew in the dark about committing genocide is a nice touch that gives you a way your protagonists can try to sway the crew against them. It's certainly better than Phantasy Star 2 ending in 'Also, here are 500 earthmen, and every single one of them has a knife' out of nowhere.
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Jun 10, 2020 00:23
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Night10194 posted:I do appreciate one major thing about the plot: Outside of the Anime Boner and "Celts From Earth Are on Albion" parts, the plot is generally pretty decent, even if some parts needed a bit more love and attention and depth. The only weak thing I can say about the "capitalists gotta capitalist"-part is that it might have worked better if it wasn't so super painfully obvious from the intro what their play was. Or maybe it was just super obvious to me because I've played it before, but a bit more subtlety so Ned and Brandt's betrayal come off as a bit more of a surprise would be nice. EDIT: Also I rewrote the dialogue to be a bit more concise but the main difference is that in the "real" writing Tom goes: "You'll gently caress up this planet over my dead body, I've come to care a lot about these idiot alien fuckups and their wizards."
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Jun 10, 2020 00:26
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