Avernum 3-9: I'm Baaaaack!

I have at last returned to the game! And wowzers am I having fun!

I was away because I had hip replacement surgery, which isn't difficult, but it becomes a bit of a challenge to rest a heavyish laptop on your recovering legs, which is how I play this game. I've recovered enough now that I can do that again.

I actually waded a bit into the game last night, just to see where I was in the thing. Had to remember how to fight for a short time. But, I'm in the middle of finding the five major artifacts. I had the plate mail and the magic shield already. Today I got the Wand of Endless Magery (formerly a ring) and the Fury Crossbow. I'm now hot in pursuit of the last artifact, the Black Halbred.

These are nice, nice things to have as you go into the endgame. And, I'm only on Day 139, so I have 21 days to go until the Tower of Magi quest. Even with my slow playing, indeed I would have finished before Day 160. So I'll just have to wander around doing job board quests. (I found a second bag of sugar. When I fulfilled the "fine meal" quest they apparently took my sugar too. I had been carrying that around for most of the game, because I know that sugar is usually a quest item. Now I'll have to find that quest again, somehow. Well, that'll take some time!)

I confess to using the old hint book for much of my questing today. One of the quests has a bunch of power beams to manipulate. I hate those things. I just used a couple of return life scrolls rather than trying to figure the thing out. These were in the Lair of Zkal, which is challenging even on the first floor:

Lots of secret doors here. Don't miss one!

I'm so strong now, however, that even though these fights aren't pushovers, I'm never really challenged. I've reached level 31 with two of my characters and ought to hit it with the other two soon. At last I'll be able to use some of those crystals I've been collecting that give you new levels of things like resistance.

What's fun now is that I'm at last getting into an area of the game where I haven't been before. I'm adventuring again! Here I am coming into a brand new town!

I believe this is the remote town of "Wainscotting."

So it's almost like starting a new game, except that I'm strong! 

To me the fun of these games is going to whole new areas and exploring. So I'll be doing that all of tomorrow! Then, of course, I have to defeat the golems and the alien beasts--the final two plagues. I know I shouldn't go to Blackcrag Fortress until after Day 160. I'm pretty sure that's the endgame.

I do need to research something. I bought the fake Anama rings so that I could get Level 3 Healing, but I have not yet robbed their treasury. I'm wondering if I just ought to get the priest to remove these fake rings, because I finally encountered a mage who wouldn't sell me any spells because I've got these fake rings. I'll spend some time on the forum and see if I can figure it out. (Update: yeah, got those taken off, after buying lots of cheapo stuff. Decided not to rob their treasury. The Forum says it really isn't worth it.)

But I intend to have more fun tomorrow! There is still plenty of game left! Yay!

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