Having completed the tutorial, I'm out into the World, taking two companions along with me. This time I took the tank (the blademaster) and the shaman. Here's something truly neat: all the characters, this time, have distinct personalities. The sorceress is vain and overly enthusiastic, the blademaster is a stoic guy from the desert, etc. In Nethergate and Avernum, your four characters were just your four characters, with different skills, but that's all. You traveled as a pack, always, and that was "you." Now, only the lead character is "you."
Also, as you always have to leave two characters behind, the ones left behind gain skill points to match those in the field. They're constantly "training." That only makes sense--otherwise the intrepid player would just travel with the same two companions always. That's an option, I would guess (although perhaps Jeff built something into the game to stop us from doing that?), but it's fun to meet these different folks.
And, a major innovation, the "junk bag." At last, we can just plop sellable items into the "junk bag," which appears, so far, to have infinite capacity, then you just sell all the contents all at once. Major timesaver. Keeps the inventory clean. Find an emerald, plop it into the junk bag, don't worry about clogging the inventory. That is really nice.
Although at first, I didn't know what the junk bag was. It just sorta appeared somehow. I put stuff into it, not knowing it should all be sellable stuff. I wound up inadvertently selling some bows I'd picked up, and had to wait to get all my characters equipped with missile weapons. In fact, I went through most of the first mission with only my character having a missile weapon. Finally found the weapons the others could use.
What I don't like: we can still steal stuff, but we can't get caught doing it. Advice for newbies to Spiderweb games: always rip off everything that isn't nailed down--especially stuff labeled "NY," or, "not yours." Take the meal bags from the basement of the starving peasants (um, they are little computer animations; they are not real; take their stuff), grab the loot from the guy who just helped you. Take it all and sell it, sell it, sell it. But, in the previous games, you could get caught. When you got caught, the whole town would turn against you. I always just shut the door when I pilfered places so nobody could see me doing it. Now, the game won't let you steal if you'd be seen doing it.
Plus, and I suppose this makes sense if you think about it--you can't equip weapons and armor on characters unless they're the right type of character (the old mages-can't-wear-armor stuff), and until they've advanced enough in skill points to wear certain stuff. I found a good breastplate for my blademaster, but I couldn't equip it until he'd gained more points. Frustrating, at first. You've just got to cart the stuff around until you finally can use it.
Anyway! I met Redbeard, a pleasant enough fellow, but with menace. "You're allowed one mistake, and you just made it." (And I have a suspicion: I know Vogel got his inspiration for this game from "Bluebeard," the wife-murderer. Redbeard appears not to age, and nobody knows why. Three of his closest aides are called his "wives." Could he be consuming their life essences, once they're no longer useful to him? Just a speculation.)
Also, I have completed the first major mission, but with several minor quests so far undone. I traveled to the Kva lands, and wiped out a nest of "wretches," this game's upgrade of goblins. We always have some weak enemies to slaughter at the beginning in order to build up skill points. These, of course, have bosses, who also must be slaughtered.
We get trapped in the wretchs' dungeon, and must battle our way out. At one point it looks as though we're really trapped, but I finally found the route out. It was pretty straightforward battle-your-way-out stuff. I vanquished the wolves, one "young hellhound" (no doubt we'll meet more mature hellhounds as the game progresses) and a "very bad bat." Along with, of course, assorted ogres and bad-guy shamans (take those out first or they will get ya).
But this game is much easier than previous Spiderweb games. Even in the boss battle I was never in any real danger. Yes, I had to gulp down a fairly good supply of health potions, but I never even came close to running out of "vitality." I used to just stockpile those potions and used them only when I really needed them. No matter how many games I played, I tried not to use them. Nonsense! You find them everywhere. You can buy them if you don't find them. Use 'em! You'll find more. (Well, obviously you don't gulp down a massive healing potion to cure you whenever you just get nicked, but watch the health meters on your characters and when they get low, gulp.) Vogel is very good about planting things like battle crystals and potions in areas leading up to big battles. If you don't have enough supplies going into a battle, then you deserve to lose.
I was able to finish some minor quests. Easy stuff for locals in the area. A couple more are still out there, and I suspect (actually, it's obvious) that I'll be returning to that area later.
After a couple of boss battles I had a couple of keys. These are just automatically picked up and become part of your "special items" inventory. You don't see the keys, they just work to let you into areas that previously were inaccessible. So, after the battle, you go back and clean out the loot. That task, with the junk bag, is much easier than before. In Avernum I'd often have to make several trips to town to sell the loot, then go back for more.
I started on the next major quest, but I think I'll go back and see if I can't do a couple of the minor quests in the castle. I need to find a guy in the dungeon, and a room "under" the dining room. It won't hurt to backtrack. I'm sure I missed stuff.
So far this is playing very much like a combo of Avernum and Geneforge. We travel to different loadable "areas" as in Geneforge (a concept Vogel got from Baldur's Gate), but the quests are more Avernum style. So far we don't "clear" areas, as in Geneforge, but we have to perform certain actions before new areas open up. And, I can jump from the entry point, across several areas, and into the one I want.
The major problem with Spiderweb games, is, of course, that you can't seem to stop playing them. I didn't fully waste the day yesterday, but I did spend most of it with Avadon. I must get a grip.
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