Extreme freestyle spelunking! Let's Play Avernum!

I wish it did! The sequels all track quests, but the first Avernum game expects you to either remember everything or take notes.

Given how huge and nonlinear the game is, that can be really annoying.

Yeah, I missed that little secret at first. I ended up getting it after returning to Fort Avernum a little later for another important item, but it won't show up in the LP for at least one or two more updates.

Definitely keep pointing out anything I miss, though. Given just how much stuff is in the game, there's a good chance that I'm going to miss minor secrets here and there.

Of course, not every party can use swords:

One of my favorite things to do in Avernum I way back when was to roll a solo character, then right at the start head to one of the dragons' lairs where you could find a free Jade Halberd. The only obstacles are a toll bridge and a ridiculously strong random encounter that isn't very hard to evade. The Jade Halberd is literally the strongest melee weapon in the game (outside of the specialty 'slayer' weapons), so you can then make your way back to the beginning area and curb stomp all the level 1 monsters. Good times.

You can hit the "Record" button to save dialogues to your journal, although it's still nowhere near as convenient as the quest tracker in Avernum II and beyond.

EDIT: Oh hey there's a mirror of Silver's annotated maps online! Completely spoils every single area in the entire game, but in a completely awesome way!

When last we saw our heroic adventurers, they had decided to leave Silvar behind and head for Fort Dunvo in an effort to raise some money. On the way there, they stumble upon a grove of cave trees just north of the road that links Silvar and Fort Avernum. A quick investigation seems like a good idea!





Well, they aren't trying to kill us, so let's see if we can talk to them.



That didn't work out too well. Attacking them is an option, but given that even the common cave rat poses a threat to our party, picking a fight with a bunch of gremlins seems like terrible idea. I guess we'll come back later.



Following the road north, the party reaches Fort Dunvo at last. I wonder what that sign says?



Formello! That's where the crazy guy with the crystal is supposed to be! After we're done here, we'll have to see about heading north... that crystal sounds interesting.



Entering Fort Dunvo, the party immediately notices an inn directly to their left. What better place than an inn for adventurers to hear the latest news and rumors?



Most of the customers have no interest in talking to us, but a lone priest is friendly, and has a brief chat with the party. Apparently he used to work at a chapel in Formello, but Nephilim raids have been causing serious problems, and he wasn't willing to stick around. He tells us to mention his name to Mother Claudette if we're ever in Formello, and she'll help us out.



We meet Carol the healer. She heals people for a fee. Moving on.



Another town, another blacksmith. It seems this guy is only capable of doing minor repairs, but somebody by the name of Boutell living in Fort Draco far to the north is a real expert. That may prove handy to know in the future!



Scott likes to fish. That's basically the only thing he has to say to us. Scott is a jerk.



At last, somebody truly useful! Walner is a sage, and he can both identify our items (for a reasonable 5 coin fee) and teach us a couple potion recipes. We can't afford those recipes yet, but we'll be back!



Bow and arrow shop. Meh.



The final store is Jason's "Farming" Supplies, according to the sign outside.

Once again, I am a moron and I didn't take a screenshot of the store's inventory, but as you can see by the event log and my acquisition of 9 lockpicks, Jason does indeed sell "Farming" supplies. Apparently he became a shop owner after a group of bandits razed his farm to the ground. He offers us a reward for killing them, and tells us they roam near the road to the north.



With a set of lockpicks in hand, Sage takes the time to steal a jug of wine from the inn's storeroom. In Avernum, items that do not belong to the party are marked as such, and taking one will cause everyone in town to become hostile to you, as well as cause the party to suffer a reputation loss... but only if they see it happen. If no friendly NPCs are in sight, you can loot everything that isn't nailed down with no penalty whatsoever. Because we are heroic adventurers, obviously we're going to rob from the citizens of Avernum every single time the opportunity presents itself.



Finally, we have a chat with the commander of the fort. Captain Johnson hires us to help with two problems: a Nephilim fort to the north, and a group of bandits that has taken up residence in a ruined fort to the northwest. Bandits sound like a good way for rookie adventurers to earn some cash. At last! No more talking!

Well, a little bit more talking. We stop by the gremlin's grove again, and this time, they quickly sniff out the jug of wine the party is carrying. While they're busy partying, we can check out the rest of the grove!



In a corner of the grove are some toadstools, the kind used in alchemy. Patches of herbs on the overworld will actually regrow over time, so this sidequest has given us a constant supply of toadstools to use. Nice!



On our way to the bandit's hideout, we bump into an old corpse on the ground. A quick search reveals a perfectly good Iron Longsword, which Parsley takes, and he hands his Bronze Longsword down to Sage.



At last! The bandit fort! The minimap scrolls in square chunks rather than scrolling smoothly, so it's hard to tell, but we're only slightly north of the body we found the Iron Longsword on. Anyway, let's go inside and start kicking some bandits around!




This fort has definitely seen better days. At least getting inside will be easy!



Ah dammit, not more rats! The party quickly dispatches the single rodent, to the north. Inside this ruined storage chamber are a few minor treasures... bolts of cloth, furs, and a cloak clasp. Nothing useful, but they'll fetch some coin in town.



The party walks right through a seemingly solid wall to the north, showcasing Avernum's use of the traditional cRPG staple, secret doors, as well as the empty inventory of a box that only moments ago contained a First Aid Kit. Many walls in Avernum are false, and can simply be walked through. Checking suspicious walls is key to uncovering valuable items, but since this is just a newbie dungeon, there's nothing of importance here.



After looting the storage rooms of anything valuable, the party heads south, and bumps into their first bandit! Charge!



Parsley deals a solid blow to the poor bandit, and Thyme's Firebolt spell finishes him off.



Just a few steps around the corner, the party runs into a few common skeletons. Parsley, Sage, and Thyme are able to take two of them down without problems, and the third?



Rosemary's Repel Spirit spell dispatches it easily. 21 damage!



Sage unlocks the door, and the party gets a nasty surprise. Shades are pretty tough foes for a level one team to take on.



Parsley and Sage are too low level to be terribly accurate with their attacks, and Thyme's Firebolt doesn't do much damage this round. What's worse, the shades can cast Ice Lances, dealing a fair amount of damage to the entire party. Thyme casts haste on Rosemary on the second round, granting her 6 AP per turn. Since casting a spell costs no more than 5 AP, if she doesn't move, she can cast two spells per turn! Two Repel Spirit castings per turn allows Rosemary to decimate the shades in the next round.



The battle is over! As you can see under the character portraits, Rosemary is still hasted, and Sage is suffering from a Slow effect. These will disappear within a couple rounds of movement, however. You can also see just how much damage two shades were able to deal to the party before being defeated, and some of their attacks missed. More importantly, treasure!

Trying to open one of the chests informs us that the chest is trapped... here's your chance to shine, Sage!



Huzzah! Sage manages to disarm the trap, with a 59% chance of success. Well done! In the first chest are a handful of coins, some potion ingredients, and an Energy Potion, capable of restoring missing MP. The second chest has more coins, and the party is quite pleased. This was a good find!



Scouting the courtyard, the party faces off against more bandits, this time with an archer! Thyme hastes Parsely, and Rosemary casts Battle Rage on him, granting him 6 AP per turn and significantly improved damage.



Parsley dispatches the bandits easily, while Rosemary heals Sage. In Avernum, enemies drop whatever they are carrying when killed, so Rosemary is able to loot a bow and some stone arrows from the archer. Maybe someday soon she'll be able to put her archery skill to use?



Dispatching a few solitary bandits, the party explores the rest of the fort, saving the barracks for last. Before tackling the barracks, the party returns to town to sell their haul. They are heavily encumbered from all the equipment they have scaveneged from dead bandits, and need to lighten the load if they want to loot the barracks properly! A few hundred coins are earned.



The only thing left to do is assault the barracks. By entering from the side, the party will prevent being caught between two groups of bandits.



Three bandits this time! Parsley rushes forward and slays one bandit in a single mighty blow, leaving a pile of unclaimed equipment on the ground. Sage severely wounds one, and Thyme follows up with a casting of Ice Lances. Rosemary finishes off the final Bandit with a well-placed Smite spell. No injuries are suffered by the party during this encounter.



Can the party repeat a flawless victory against five opponents?



Parsley and Sage fail their intital attacks, and Thyme makes use of Ice Lances once again, seriously wounding four of the five bandits. The bandits pile on Parsley, and Rosemary struggles to keep him alive, but in the end Parsley is able to remain standing while the party crushes the bandits one by one.



A single mage lurks in this room. The party defeats him before he even has a chance to react.



That was the bandit leader? He was easier to beat than his minions! What a letdown.



Well, he had good loot, at least. Some potion ingredients, an unidentified magic ring (!), a cloak, and a Wand of Bolts, capable of casting Firebolt 6 times, as well as fetching a good price if sold. The bookshelf is searched as well, and the party discovers a hidden scroll... shall they try to decipher it? Of course they will!



Spells in Avernum have three levels. The firsst two levels of a spell can be purchased, but level 3 spells must be found by adventuring. Increasing a spell's level will improve its effects, whether it be buff duration, or spell damage, or even adding new effects. This is the real treasure of the bandit fort, and it bestows Thyme with the ability to cast a level 3 Light spell. This spell lights dark areas better than a lamp, and lasts for a very long time. Excellent!



Our heroes run out of inventory space again, and travel to town once more to sell their loot before returning to explore the last room of the barracks. Normally I'm not too concerned with selling every single item I can get my hands on, but ever bit helps at the beginning of the game, and since MP gradually regenerates when traveling on the world map, the trip allows the party to heal up and prepare for any enemy encounters that might remain in this dungeon. The party finds one last cluster of bandits, including a cleric. They don't last long. The party collects all the equipment and items the dead bandits have left behind, as well as several minor valuables hidden in cupboards and boxes throughout the bandit hideout, then return to Fort Dunvo victorious! Combing through the loot, everyone but Thyme (who cannot wear armor) upgrades from Poor to normal quality Leather Armor. Sage gets a pair of gloves, and both Parsley and Sage get hats as well. Very minor improvements, but improvements nonetheless.

We receive 100 coins for our trouble, and the party's reputation has improved. Good pay for easy work!



As you can see in the lower-left corner of the screen, selling all the equipment and random valuables we found in the bandit hideout has given us a nice pile of coins. And I finally got a picture of the shop interface!



The party visits Walner the sage and pays him 5 gold to tell them what special properties the magic ring they found has. A Shield Ring should prove useful, and Parsley equips it right away.



Because I am a moron (you will find that this is something of a recurring theme), I forgot to tell Warrick we found Anastasia before heading to Fort Dunvo, so I detour down to Fort Avernum and do so. We gain another point of reputation for our kind act, and the bonus XP from completing the quest is enough for Rosemary and Thyme to reach level 2! Huzzah! But alas, this update is too image-heavy as it is, so spending the skill points we gained leveling up will have to wait for the next update!

Next time: Raiding the Raiders OR We're Adventurers!

This is one thing Spiderweb just can't seem to get right. Items in later games actually tell you what they do, but rarely have those informative or humorous descriptions.

Aaand this is another. It's not usually a problem, but the quest log system seems to about the only thing that hasn't been improved since forever.

However, at least there is one for later games. I don't know how people remember all this stuff while playing.

Also, for those who want to play along: Spiderweb games are on sale, AND now use a more modern pricing scheme.

So getting the bundle packs no longer punches your wallet in the junk.