Avadon 14: FIGHT!

Oh freakin' wow. I have just survived a major dungeon fight--SOLO!


Yes, I got abandoned in the dungeon. Couldn't take my shadowwalker and shaman. Just me. That's the plot of the game. And then I went the wrong way--even though there was a perfectly good warning that I'd get swarmed if I went that way. I tried to follow the directions, I just got it backwards.


And so I ran straight into the whole damned camp of bandits--and got swarmed.


Fortunately, I like these "Circle of Fire" scrolls. I've been saving them up. They do lots of nice damage, all going out in a circle from my character. I was completely surrounded, and I set off about four of those, which pretty much took care of the swarm. Also I had a goodly amount of assault crystals and battle crystals, and quite a few recharging items. 


Also, I used a couple of the zombies I've been carting around in a little bag (you get this bag of chilled bones. You can use it to generate zombies who will fight for you, or you might use them in a cold drink--such is the humor in Jeff's games).


The really exciting stuff, though, was when I kept running into more and more enemies. I still didn't realize I'd gone the wrong way. I actually defeated most of the camp--SOLO! Once I ran into the evil wizard I was down to only a few more scrolls, potions and crystals--but I got him. Somehow. He drains your magical abilities. It's really bad.


However, I survived. 


Now then. Did I remember to save the game between the swarm of enemies and the wizard? Of course not. I would have had to do the whole thing again if he'd killed me.


I supposed that means that this game indeed is easier than Jeff's previous efforts. Really, I shouldn't have been able to do all of that. I would never have been able to do it in an Avernum game (although fanatics do beat those games as singletons on the torment setting).


Now, all this was after completing the Titan Keep quest--which was super easy because you get a swarm of fighters on your side for once. Even fighting the bosses in the basement wasn't all that tough. Fun, but not really worrying.


This fight, though, was worrying. I was sure I'd never get out of it. If not for those Circle of Fire scrolls, I wouldn't have. Also, I put some points into my own healing, and got some regneration when I needed it most.


But then I decided to further explore the dungeon (after saving!) and found both the route I should have taken and an old drake. I suspect that's where I can find the drake's egg for the drake's egg quest. But she (it) got me. 


At least I had saved the game after all my bandit battles.


Whew.


And that's what makes these games so much fun. You do get immersed in them.


Now of course, the problem here is that I used up all that stuff that I'm probably going to need later. I have a couple of saved games from my encounter with the Mindtaker drake. I both killed him and let him go just to see which reward was better. If you let him go you get a great shield. If you kill him you get a great weapon. I went with the kill option, because I've already got some great shields and I don't need another one. Also, my sorceress is much happier if we kill the guy, because that's what she set out to do. 


However, I saved that game just before my dungeon fight. I think it would be prudent to go back and replay the whole thing to avoid the swarm, and go the way I'm supposed to go. I hate to use all those great Circle of Fire scrolls on just one fight, when you just know things are going to get more difficult.


Yeah, I think I'll do that.


However, wow. It was an exciting battle!


Update: Well phooey. It turned out that I'd done a massive amount of stuff since killing the mindtaker drake. Yeah, I could do it all again, but I think I'll just let it all stand instead.


So, I wiped out the bandit den singlehanded. I'll let that stand.


Up-update: Aha! I did save a game just as I was starting that quest. So I redid the fight. Yup, indeed, I was supposed to go the other way. I even advanced the plot a bit by doing it correctly. Also, I had the added advantage of knowing a bit more about how to fight the mage, so I got him more easily this time.


Also, I decided to try to just steal the drake egg (I was quite right about that) and not kill the poor old "withered" drake. I hasted and ran to the nest, grabbed the egg and tried to outrun the drake. Alas, however, she chased me all the way until I had to fight her. This time I killed her, and I feel badly about it, but she was, after all, only a computer avatar and not a real drake with emotions and stuff.


So I'm now back on the true plot of the game with plenty of good stuff intact, including my Circle of Fire scrolls.


Still, I have to say that I am rather proud to have wiped out almost the whole camp singlehandedly. Not bad!


(Memo: Steve Jobs died yesterday. Mourn. It's because of him that I've enjoyed 27 years of Apple products, including this computer. He changed the world.


What a massive waste. RIP Mr. Jobs. You earned it.


Here is perhaps the most accurate obit I've seen.)


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Avadon 13: Got the Bad Guy

So, despite the fact that Redbeard pardoned him, I went ahead and slaughtered the slaughterer of my tank's patrol. Good thing, too. Got some of the best armor in the game offa that guy. If I'd followed my usual peaceful instincts, I would have missed that.


Still haven't started the major quest of the day--the Titan Keep. Am cleaning up some of the minor quests. Also, I bought the expensive blessings from the Incantor at the Kellendrian castle. I mean, what else am I gonna spend my money on? She has an expensive "wizard's bow" too, and I'm saving up for that.


But I did manage to find my blademaster, and, moody though he is, I did his quest for him, which resulted in the aforementioned armor.


When you finally find the bad guy who ambushed my guy years ago, he produces a paper showing that Redbeard pardoned him. For once, I didn't go along with it. Hah.


I did do a stupid thing, though. A poor peasant had saved up to pay me for slaughtering some salamanders, but I did it for free. 


Sap.


I mean, it violated my philosophy of always stealing everything from the computer people, including the starving peasant computer people.


Sap.


Anyway, I think I'm pretty much ready to start the quest. After doing all that stuff I went back to the Avadon castle and did my housekeeping. I sorted out the good armor and placed it on my d00ds. I enhanced stuff. I sold stuff that's been cluttering up the inventory and that I'm never gonna use (such as good, but lesser amour and weapons). 


One thing that I kinda don't like about this game is that you have to go back to the home base to do all of that. In the Avernum games when you found the good stuff, all your guys were there and you could just equip the stuff on the spot.


And plus, I think I've figured out what is a bit less compelling about this game than about the Avenum games. There is no definitive overriding goal for the game, other than just playing and advancing and finishing it. Fun, sure, but what are we doing in this game? OK, there are multiple hints that something somewhere is causing problems for Avadon, and we'll find out what that is sometime, but it's too vague to provide a real goal in the game.


In the Avernum games, you knew what you were fighting. Either it was the Empire trying to wipe us all out, or the Vahnatai were attacking us, or something like that. We had real goals: destroy the Vahanati barriers, find the Orb of Thralni, find Demonslayer--that sort of thing. These quests took up weeks of playtime. Even in Nethergate, you knew what you were doing from the start: get the magical people to the Nethergate if you're playing as the Celts, or stop them if you're playing as the Romans. There was a purpose to everything.


This time we just keep going back to the same three areas with expanded quests. No doubt it'll all come together in the end, but so far I don't see an overall reason to do all of this, other than that we're "Hands" of Avadon and this it's our job. The fact that Avadon is the preeminent, looming, unopposable power in this world actually lessens the game's sense of danger. In Avernum, you knew that you were the lesser power, fighting one that easily could overwhelm you. Even when you played as Empire soldiers in Avernum V, you spent the whole game in an isolated, remote area where you could be beaten. 


It just doesn't appear that Avadon could lose.


It's still plenty of fun, but not as compelling. There just isn't enough of a plot, at least in comparison to Jeff's earlier games. I do appreciate, though, that we get to know our individual d00ds in this game. There were teensy hints about Sschah and the others in the Avernum games, but this time they have real personalities. That's a great improvement and certainly does add interest, but it doesn't overcome the lack of a dominating plotline.


Anyhoo, I now know for certain that I'm more than 60% through the game. I looked at the forum, and saw an entry that said when you get the lockpick satchel you're about 60% finished, and I got that early last night.


Also, finally I'm getting some named weapons. The Rod of the Sun, the Ivy-Covered Rod. The Blademaster armor. That kind of thing. Makes your d00ds much more powerful.


And power I will need if I'm going to tackle Redbeard! Also, that blue dragon.


But, it was satisfying to make the right decision last night, and get the goodies.


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Avadon 12: Re-start!

Oh dear, I took a week off to do nothing but my Kirkus books (I'm a full month ahead!) when I got a miserable cold. Luckily, Dad didn't get it. First time I've been sick in the eight years I've been doing this. 


However, as a result, I almost forgot how to fight in this game.


Went back to the wizard's lair to pick up a magical tome for the librarian. It was guarded by assorted demons. Got wiped out once and lost characters twice. At one point I was down to nobody but my sorceress, who's always vulnerable, but fortunately I'd already vanquished most of the demons I was fighting and the last one was almost dead. He kept fighting at two shots per round, though. Still, she got it with her trusty arrow. I had even forgotten to give her the "Wand of the Sun" that I won from the wizard. Luckily that's useless against demons (well, except for ice demons). So, silly me.


That just shows you that you need to keep momentum up in these games. Lots of what you do is almost muscle memory, even though this is all turn-based combat that can be left for hours between moves if necessary.


I went back to the dragon's lair in Kva and got that dungeon quest. Nope, it wasn't the crypt ghost, although I wiped him out rather easily this time, as I'm now at level 22. It really was the drake. Spiffy. I've got three drake skins now. One more and I can get two new pairs of pants.


So far I haven't started on my major quest for this segment of the game. I've still got some minor quests to clear up, so I think I'll do as many of those as possible. Then I have to go find my tank (blademaster). It seems that all of your friendly helpers go AWOL at some point in this game. I've retrieved the shaman, now my tank is missing.


I had contemplated going out with just my two vulnerable characters, my shaman and my sorceress, but I think they'd get wiped out. They've both got good range attacks, but they can't use them on every turn. You use up the spell energy and have to wait up to eight or so turns to use the spell again. That's a long time. I think you do need melee fighters hacking away in these fights. Heh. Maybe I should try it just for fun.


I wonder if you get all your fighters at once in the endgame. Apparently you get a choice to attack Redbeard or not. That would happen in the castle, where all of your characters live. So why not give us all of them! I betcha that's what happens.


Anyway, now I'm mostly healthy again, and I'm taking a few days off from Kirkus books. I do want to get the front room finally completely ready to paint--put down my dropcloths, finish taping and get the sockets off--but there will be time for Avadon!


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