What can change the nature of a man? Let's Play Planescape: Torment!

1. Mo' neutral
2. Mo' good
3. HACK THAT SUCKA.

Yes, the decision to use the editor is the one most important. Why are you even questioning this.

1)Tell him to just spit it out.
2)Treat him with kid gloves; one of our past incarnations probably hurt him bad
3)Open up the editor and give yourself +1 Con. It's only fair!

2
3
1

Current vote weights:

Name [votes won]'s new vote weight: X votes

Alpha Werewolf [1]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
Arithon32 [8]'s new vote weight: 2 votes
Austin [8]'s new vote weight: 3 votes
birdiedude [3]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
Brickroad [4]'s new vote weight: 2 votes
Cort [5]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
Dawnswalker [3]'s new vote weight: 2 votes
Destil [9]'s new vote weight: 2 votes
Falselogic [2]'s new vote weight: 6 votes
Gerad [9]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
Heffenfeffer [1]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
JFink [0]'s new vote weight: 3 votes
Kalir [7]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
Knurek [8]'s new vote weight: 2 votes
Kylie [3]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
Loki [0]'s new vote weight: 2 votes
Mightyblue [3]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
Mogri [9]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
MoneyCityManiac [3]'s new vote weight: 2 votes
Mr Sensible [5]'s new vote weight: 4 votes
Olli T [5]'s new vote weight: 2 votes
Phil [11]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
Raven [4]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
Soren Highwind [13]'s new vote weight: 1 votes
Taeryn [5]'s new vote weight: 3 votes
Teaspoon [9]'s new vote weight: 3 votes
Torzelbaum [2]'s new vote weight: 1 votes


Current tallies:

1) Agree to his demands; you won't harm him (More Lawful) = 1 vote
2) Say you won't harm him, but maybe he deserves a thrashing if his info is bad (More Chaotic) = 3 votes
3) Tell him to just spit it out. (Neutral) = 3 votes

... and ...

1) Treat him with kid gloves; one of our past incarnations probably hurt him bad (More Good) = 3 votes
2) If threatening him for what he knows is what it takes, it's what it takes (More Evil) = 6 votes (you can thank Falselogic for this)
3) I don't think we should worry about what happened in the past (Neutral) = 2 votes


Finally, in regards to the Tear of Salieru-Dei (the +1 Constitution item that only works for Lawful Good characters), we should...

1) Throw it away. Cheating is not sporting! Pretend you left it in case you come back here as a future incarnation (More Lawful) = 4 votes
2) Open up the editor and give yourself +1 Con. It's only fair! (More Chaotic) = 5 votes

Voting ends whenever! The next post will be about, ah, "alternative" solutions to the Dead Nations.

Neutral, evil, hack it!

As an aside, this LP is a huge part of why I finally registered at TT, and this is one of my favorite games. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Eddie!

1) More chaotic
2) More evil
3) More choatic

Bwa ha ha!

Oh stop! Eddie's head doesn't need to be any bigger than it already is!

Chaotic, Neutral, hack it

Chaotic, evil, chaotic!

Should I be worried that during the downtime I had, I apparently lost a good chunk of the readers who wanted a "good" resolution to things, but apparently maintained all the "evil" readers?

I get the funny feeling that you guys are going to love Ingus.


Current tallies:

1) Agree to his demands; you won't harm him (More Lawful) = 1 vote
2) Say you won't harm him, but maybe he deserves a thrashing if his info is bad (More Chaotic) = 6 votes
3) Tell him to just spit it out. (Neutral) = 3 votes

... and ...

1) Treat him with kid gloves; one of our past incarnations probably hurt him bad (More Good) = 3 votes
2) If threatening him for what he knows is what it takes, it's what it takes (More Evil) = 11 votes
3) I don't think we should worry about what happened in the past (Neutral) = 3 votes


Finally, in regards to the Tear of Salieru-Dei (the +1 Constitution item that only works for Lawful Good characters), we should...

1) Throw it away. Cheating is not sporting! Pretend you left it in case you come back here as a future incarnation (More Lawful) = 4 votes
2) Open up the editor and give yourself +1 Con. It's only fair! (More Chaotic) = 10 votes

I'm still around. -sniff-

I'm chaotic good! You don't tell me when I can come and go, as long as nobody gets hurt.

1) More Chaoric
2) More Good
3) More Chaotic

"Say hello to my little friends!"

"What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?"

1. More Chaotic
2. Neutral
3. More Chaotic (Eddie's rant convinced me to choose this option.)

OPTIONAL CHAPTER 4 (DEAD NATIONS) SOLUTIONS

Where we try bargaining with a rat, putting the charm on a zombie, and become the once and future king.

************************************************** **************************************************

As promised, here are some other ways you can solve the quest. In general, most quests in this game (and in the Baldur's Gate series) aren't as flexible as this, which I think makes it kind of cool!

(note: I'm leaving out a lot of screenshots I'd normally include so I can get through this all in one post.)

The first thing you can do differently is to tattle on Soego, the Dustman Wererat, without murdering him:



Hargrimm comes stomping in to his room all hoping mad. Soego, for his part...



...has glitched into the wall it seems. A terrible punishment!



Hargrimm orders that Soego be brought food and water so he'll live, but otherwise confines him to the room. A wall of ghouls and zombies block the door; hopefully you didn't drop anything in there beforehand!



The game also decides that the only thing better than having one Hargrimm the Bleak, is TWO Hargrimm the Bleaks!



Anyway, if you've found out about Soego, you can head to the Warrens of Thought and get in to see the head honcho here by bluffing about your relationship to the Dustmen (even if your relationship is murder/victim).

Alternatively you can just barrel in here, which will get you thrown into a jail that you can bribe your way out of. You can then make a mad dash either to the exit or...



The room where Many-As-One stays! This is probably the coolest room in the game, as a wall of Cranium Rats move in the shadows.

That Many-As-One is entirely represented via a lone mice model is also probably the biggest letdown. So if you were hoping for something like a Rat King!



Many-As-One will ask you to slay the Silent King; you can't lie to him unless you've got a 14 Int, and if so you can bluff him into believing the Silent King is too strong for him.

We're going to take the path with more bloodshed here, of course.



Speaking of bloodshed, this ghoul here is named Acaste, and she's unhappy with the Silent King stopping her from eating everything. We'll check back with her later.



There is no way, having left the Dead Nations and having gone to the Warrens of Thought, of resolving this without violence. You need a key that Hargrimm carries, and while you can pickpocket it from him (which would require the Nameless One being trained as a thief, which is probably unlikely), using the key at the Silent King's door makes everything in the Dead Nations go hostile anyway.



When you enter the Silent King's throne room, you'll quickly notice that something isn't quite right about the Silent King:



You don't need his skull to prove to Many-As-One that he's not alive, but you can use it a quest later should you desire.

Many-as-One rewards you with a memory that is worth a decent amount, although your reward is based off the number of cranium rats inside the Warrens of Thought that you didn't kill. As long as you found out about Soego first, you won't need to fight any of them, but otherwise you can just run past (always a good idea with mobs of Cranium Rats).





And that's how you work for Many-As-One instead!

But what it you wanted to do it a non-violent way? This IS Torment, where the number of mandatory fights can be counted on one hand. Two conditions on this one however:

1) It has to be done before you gain your freedom from the Dead Nations.
2) You need a 16 Charisma. Easily doable as long as you've got the Friends spell.

If both conditions apply to you, speak to Silent Mary, the zombie who taught you how to speak with dead:




Her directions are a little confusing (while a conceit of this game, there is no N/E/W/S directions in Sigil), but the portal she means is the one closest to her:



Entering into it, you get a small cutscene before Hargrimm comes up and starts pleading with you not to tell anyone about the fact that the Silent King is dead dead.



It seems that the Silent King accepted True Death - the thing that Hargrimm didn't want Soego going about doing - and has not ruled for sometime. Hargrimm and Stale Mary have instead been trying to continue on in his absence by guessing how he might have ruled before he became an absentee landlord.

You've got four options from this point:

1) Promise you won't tell anyone.
2) Not promise you won't tell anyone.
3) Lie and say you don't tell anyone.
4) ? ? ?

There are at least a couple of parties who would love to know about the Silent King's... condition. One is of course, Many-As-One, whom you can now go and tell immediately for a reward (and an alignment push towards evil, and possibly chaotic if you promised Hargrimm before).



Acaste is one; she'll start a full-on riot in the Dead Nations with Ghouls against everything else. Chaotic and Evil, but not really that helpful.

The coolest option is to suggest the following:



At this point I've really got to ask where this magical throne came from and why is it buried beneath Sigil, but I suppose stranger things have happened.



Becoming their King is not without consequence however. For starters, it's a game over!

Uh, I guess that's kind of the worst consequence actually, unless being the King of a small group of undead is really what you were looking to get out of this game.

You probably also should have mentioned about the shadows that are hunting you down and who are stealing your memories, but I guess they were desperate to fill the position.

You'll never be able to solve the mystery of who you are!

G A M E O V E R

Next time: we help a pregnant city give birth.

CHAPTER 4, WHAT LIES BENEATH, PART 4

Where we go through a door that is not a door, discover the danger that lurks in shadows, and help a city give birth.

************************************************** **************************************************

I see the tiefling girl who tried to see me killed in the Alley of Dangerous Angles. As if my mood wasn't foul as it is, after learning about how little Pharod knows about me.





I'm not in a particularly charitable mood after finding out that for all the work I did to get the Bronze Sphere. For all my efforts, my reward is a trinket, a few hundred copper, and the knowledge that one of my past incarnations manipulated him into helping me.

I get the feeling that my past incarnation is still manipulating him, but I keep that bit of information to myself.

************************************************** **************************************************

I follow the tiefling - Annah - out of Pharod's stench, and into the rotten smell of the Hive. As we travel, I take a look at the items I took from Pharod:



The ring is mostly worthless, but I'm curious who the "Gehraise" it's inscribed to is. I'll hang onto it for the moment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor Poison is not a common affliction in Torment. You'll be much better off using pretty much any other ring.

The note is written in a miserable scratch:

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAGGED NOTE FROM PHAROD - Beware SHADows - Beware places where the night LIVEs. - They wait - There is no Natural Darkness - Only ShaDOWS

I try and piece out if there's a hidden message contained within the note, but am unsuccessful at spotting anything. Perhaps it was written by that unstable incarnation I read of earlier.

Otherwise, it appears that Pharod was hanging onto a few bandages, and about 350 copper commons. Well, 350 copper commons I didn't have before I met him at least.




It's night in the Hive, and we're all tired. As Morte and Annah bicker, I suggest we retire for the night before seeing what is on the other side of that door. Before we pay a visit to Mebbeth however, I tell the group that I want to make a quick stop at the Gathering Dust bar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor We now have our fourth party member! Annah is a multiclass Fighter/Thief (much like Dak'kon is a multiclass Fighter/Mage), and the only thief we'll get in the game. She's fairly average all things considered; thieving has its uses but is not critical, and she's an okay fighter in a game where you get a lot of okay fighters. Annah uses punch daggers exclusively, which is fine since Punch Daggers are pretty good in this game. Her high dexterity gives her a pretty decent AC, but she lacks Morte's resistances, so like Dak'kon you have to be careful with her if the enemy decides to turn their attention towards her. The other notable thing about Annah is that she's the first member to join that is a member of a faction. The Free League is a group that are united in their desire to not be united. It's a faction that believes that everyone should be able to do what they want, which gives them a Libertarian streak that makes them popular with merchants. We give her those awesome Punch Daggers of Moorin, if not for the high damage and AC bonus, than for the luck bonus.

While an extra 300 copper isn't enough to make up for how badly I feel Pharod 'overstated' the information he had on me, it's a start. A really good start.

We head to Mebbeth's to get magically patched up, and to have a safe place to rest.




While relaxing, I take the time to fiddle with the Circle of Zerthimon. To my surprise, I find more a seventh circle!

Quote:

Originally Posted by THE SEVENTH CIRCLE OF ZERTHIMON "*Know* that the Rising of the People against the *illithid* was a thing built upon many turnings. Many were the People who lived and died under time's blade while the Rising was shaped. "The Rising was shaped upon a slow foundation. Steel was gathered so that it might mark *illithid* flesh. A means of *knowing* the movements of the *illithids* was established, at first weak and confused, then stronger, like a child finding its voice. When the movements were *known*, then the *illithids* were observed. In observing them, their ways of the mind were *known*. "When the ways of the *illithid* were *known*, many of the People were gathered and taught in secret the means to shield their minds, and the way to harness their will as weapons. They were taught the scripture of steel, and most importantly, they were given the *knowing* of freedom. "These things were not learned quickly. The *knowing* of much of the ways was slow, and in all these things, time's weight fell upon all. From the *knowing* of one's reflection in a steel blade, to the *knowing* of submerging the will, to the *knowing* of seeing itself. All of these things and more the People built upon. In time, they came to *know* the whole."

I quickly bring this news to Dak'kon's attention.




While Dak'kon is hard to read, I feel that this news has bolstered his spirits. Perhaps this tale does not end with Zerthimon a pawn of the illithid, but with redemption?

I decide that I shall puzzle with the circle some more when I next get the chance.



The arcane spell that the circle teaches us is strange. The symbols and gestures require very precise movements and timings; I fear that it will take some time to truly master this spell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor "Missile of Patience" is kind of a quirky spell, and (like the nonsense of the spell description), There's a lot of misinformation about it on the internet, so here's the basic gist on the spell: Quote: Originally Posted by MISSILE OF PATIENCE (LEVEL 1) Range: ? Duration: ? Speed: ? Area of Effect: ? Saving Throw: Special "Could this spell be any more useless??!" cried Eelnek, mage of Amnar. The bane of mages everywhere, could this be the practical joke of an arch-mage, or living dis-proof of the old Prime Material axiom that "good things come to those who wait"? "If you use it before level 11, it sucks. You'd be better off using Magic Missile. If you use it at or after level 11, this spell is amazing; it deals 2d8 electricity damage per hit, and you can fire many (10+!) missiles. It's only issue is that you have to focus on the spell, which means standing in one space and firing the missiles as you can (there's a short delay between each missile, and you have to click your target to aim it). It won't take an enemy from full to zero quickly so it's terrible on the defense - unless standing in one spot and getting wrecked is your idea of defense - but it can greatly supplement your allies in taking some of the beefier enemies in this game down." - The Editor

If I'm going to be working with her, I decide I might as well get to know here a bit better, so I strike up a conversation with Annah.





Once I'm done with this business above, I might have to pay another visit to Pharod. He might be sitting on a small fortune for the taking.

Quote:

The ring that Annah was keeping from you is unremarkable, but there are no shortage of empty fingers that need one.

I press Annah a bit more about her "father":





A strange man Pharod was. I'm certain now that it was *me* - well, one of my past incarnations - that told him that the bronze sphere might hold his salvation. I don't feel sorry for him, but it makes me wonder if there others on the Planes who have been manipulated so?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor All this talk has bumped Annah up to level 5 as a thief. *As* Annah is a thief, you can choose one of four thief skills to raise: Open Locks: This skill is equal parts good and bad. It's pretty good if your Nameless One is a Mage, because then you won't have a character with an amazing strength score that can simply bust into everything. On the other hand, outside of one or two chests, there isn't very many locks you would want open! Stealth: Good, but not great. This skill allows you to sneak up and backstab people. But you'll find fewer opportunities to do that than you might want in this game. Find/Remove Traps: This skills is kind of useless, as there are few traps in the game that are worth looking out for, and those that do exist rarely deal much damage. Pick Pockets: this is probably the *best* skill overall, simply because it can save you a ton of money. Despite Pick Pockets being the best, I'm going to prioritize Open Locks for the moment, but will switch to Pick Pockets once I max it. Why? Because Rat Tail Charms are a common find on corpses, and they each give a (stackable) +5% Pickpocketting bonus. So if need be, I can just use a bunch, take what I need from a store, and leave!

Rested up, we return to the door that Annah brought us to.

************************************************** **************************************************

Meanwhile...

************************************************** **************************************************

Inside is a real mess of a place. Abstract artwork hands (or is directly painted) on the walls, and stuff is piled haphazardly around too. It might itself be artwork! A tiefling near the door seems too engrossed in her painting to care about our presence. Annah and Morte decide that now is a good time to start bickering.

Annah: "What are yeh looking at, skull?"

Morte: "I thought you were good looking, but I was mistaken."

Annah: "That tongue of yers is gonna get yer nose broken."

Annah got through here once before, so I ask her to take a peak ahead to ensure we don't run into any ambushes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor "Stealth Mode" is kind of like a temporary invisibility. It allows a thief to creep around without attracting the attention of enemies, and potentially allows them to get behind an enemy and backstab them. Its success rate is based off a thief's Stealth skill, and it only lasts so long before another Stealth check is made, and interacting with anything (such as opening a door) will break it, and you can't use it if an enemy can see you. So it's a good, but not great, skill. It is useful for scouting ahead, particularly if you've got mages, as you set up their spells before the enemies can begin to react.

Creeping forward, Annah sees a lone Chaosmen rooting through some garbage.



The Xaositect finds himself bleeding from the kidney, as Annah punches one of her daggers into it. He doesn't stay up long before he falls dead.

Quote:

Attacking while in stealth mode will break the stealth. Backstab can be very powerful, but it's not always easy to set up, and if it doesn't kill the enemy, then they'll be alone next to Annah, who is - as mentioned earlier - not fantastic in a one-on-one brawl. There's also the fact that in the time it takes to set up a Backstab, Annah might have been able to simply punch the enemy for more damage. For that reason, I don't use it very often, despite how much I love it in Baldur's Gate (although admittedly, Invisibility potions are easy to come across, and there's no equivalent in Torment). The thugs in here are pretty strong, so you don't want to draw out battles against them. They generally only come at you a few at a time however, so they're not that difficult.

Annah keeps scouting forward, as we move silently in. I come across a man, who I decide to press for information.



I feel bad about doing this to a blind man, but...



... I'm trying not to attract too much attention here. I gently knock him out.

In the room opposite, a woman hiding in the shadows whispers to me to talk to her.





I'm unsure if my party is really built for sneaking around, but attacking from a different entryway might be a good idea, tactically. I feel like a few crazed men - even burly ones like this Xaositects are - do not warrant tiptoeing around them.



Annah checks the next room, and sees two Chaosmen lounging around. I give the signal for Morte and Dak'kon to rush in, while I prepare that spell I learned in my tomb:





It's a bit underwhelming, but better than nothing I suppose.

Morte and Dak'kon focus on one, while Annah jumps out of the shadows and ambushes the other. He does not survive her attack.



Annah picks the door, and inside I glance at a half dozen burly, raving, men. One quickly spots me.

I decide it's time for a smoke break.



One of the Abyssal Pipes I find streams in some sulfuric gas from Hells knows where. The men barely have time to register that the air around them is positively toxic...



... before they choke and fall dead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor If you're familiar with the Cloudkill spell from Baldur's Gate, well, this one works differently. For one, it's instant (the game pauses an animation that plays). Secondly, because it's instant... it's crap against high level enemies. Creatures above six hit dice will only take a mere 1-10 damage, so don't expect to slay dragons with this spell (not that there are any dragons in Planescape: Torment...). This is probably the best place to use it in the game, as this fight is somewhat difficult even with other area effects spells like Swarm Curse. Disappointing perhaps, but Cloudkill was pretty ridiculous in the original game, so perhaps a nerf was in order.

One dog lives through the gas.



He does not live for much longer. I pick a key to the exit off his corpse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor Fess up time: I skipped a bit of this place, for time reasons. Getting through that door actually requires killing a mage on the third floor of this building, and this key unlocks a chest in a storeroom that has a few hundred more copper in it. Here's the raw loot from the hideout: 5 bronze ring 5 clot charm 1 blood fly charm 1 bronze bracelet 3 copper earring 691 copper commons 1 bone dagger 1 dirty rat charm Not really anything special, so I skipped it!

I return to the lady hiding in the shadows to brag about the accomplishment.




The gem appears to be magical; I decide to examine it in detail later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor There was a lot to try and cram into this update! The gem is nothing special really. All the killing (and the small experience bonus that we get for clearing those Chaosmen out for Sybil there) pushes Dak'kon into level 6 for his Fighter class.

With our victory achieved, Annah points towards the exit. A feel a tingle go up my spine; I get the feeling that the closer I get towards solving the mystery, the more I might regret chasing the answers.



The door opens into a slim alleyway. Most of the buildings here look half-finished, but in the uncomfortable way, like cracking open an egg and seeing a half-formed chick inside. While the area lacks the hustle and bustle of the rest of the Hive, the sounds of a dabus clanging away is still present. Annah says that they're silently doing the Lady of Pain's work, reshaping the city. It doesn't seem very efficient to me, but I suppose it is of no concern of mine.



The path only leads in one direction, past a building made of unfinished stone. The wooden door and frame look rough, as if split from an axe mere minutes before being used as building material. My curiosity on what these structures might look inside causes me to enter.



Inside, stairs lead up to a small, mess of a room. The pungent odor of decay hangs in the air, from what looks to be the corpse of a dabus. Annah cringes and tightens up at the sight.

"Afraid of a corpse, tiefling?"

"Nay, yeh daft fool! That corpse be of one of the Lady's servants it is!" She hangs back near the stairs, seemingly wanting to do nothing more than leave this place.

I believe I can get some answers from the corpse however...




I quickly turn to the group and announce that we're leaving; I pray that whatever trapped him in here doesn't decide to entrap us as well!



I grab the one thing he was carrying - a finely crafted hammer - before we leave; it might come in handy.



We fortunately are not barred from exiting the building. We find the dabus nearby.



Despite my warning, it appears to not want to take precautions...



... and enters the building. I cringe, and wonder if I perhaps should have been a bit more explicit about my warning.



The door shuts behind the dabus and locks. I tug unsuccessfully to open the door, before Annah says under clenched teeth that we should leave in case the Lady comes looking. I'm inclined to agree.



We quickly leave through the only visible exit to this place.



As we walk to this small recess between a group of buildings. The air is not better here - in fact, it might be worse - but the buildings are beginning to look like someone who gives a damn owns them. Morte mutters that we must be on the border between the Hive and the Lower Ward.

As my comrades glance around the area, I notice something strange and unearthly emerge from a nearby building. Is that... a human face?

************************************************** **************************************************

************************************************** **************************************************

The shadows! That's what the note was trying to tell me. They're what were - has - been chasing my incarnations across the plane. The tomb below Sigil... no wonder it didn't work! It was built to stop flesh and blood, not beings made of negative energy!

It's helpful to have a "face" to my killer, but how in the planes can I stop them? And why are they chasing me in the first place? One mystery solved, only for more to begin...





I've done a lot of strange things since I woke up in the Mortuary. I've met a personification of a letter of the common alphabet. I've had an elderly, blind woman dig around in my intestines for a ring. I've helped a nation of undead that lie underneath the city against a swarm of intelligent rats.

Being the midwife for a city might top all of them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor Our work so far pushes Morte over into a level 7 fighter. Notice the giant jump in experience needed to go from level 7 to level 8! Fighters aren't bad in 2e, but they really get screwed on the experience front. Mind you, the experience gains later in the game are absolutely insane, so this isn't a giant issue in Torment.

My work is shoddy, but if all that is needed is to pull a few nails out...

Quote:

If you're not still carrying around the prybar from from Mortuary, there's one in the Starved Dogs Barking lair (i.e. the Chaosmen hideout you just came through).

If this adventuring thing doesn't work out, maybe I'll become a carpenter. Well, perhaps not. Even without the whole "being chased by shadows" thing, it would be a bit of a waste of my talents...

While I work, Morte and Annah continue to bicker.

Morte - "It couldn't hurt you to say a few words to me, fiendling."

Annah - "Aye, it could... hurt yeh, that is."

I return to the stone face.



The ground beneath me begins to shift and give way. I motion for everyone to follow me, trusting that the city shall attempt not to harm us after the help we have just given it!



From the raw materials around us, buildings begin to pop up from the ground like blades of grass.



The old is torn away, and from the remains a new section of the city is born.



We emerge from an alleyway into a much neater section of the city. "Welcome to the Lower Ward, chief," sniggers Morte.



Immediately after arriving, we are beset upon my a merchant. I roll my eyes and tell him that I'm really not interested, but he's persistent.

In my distraction, I don't notice Morte, in his boredom, has broken off from the rest of the group...









... and I notice too late to stop the wererats from abducting him.

Dammit! That's MY mimir!

Okay, this update has gone on long enough!

We're back into a somewhat open section of the game. Rescuing Morte will lead us to our next plot point objective, but (like the Hive) there is quite a bit that we can optionally do in the meantime.

One of the choices we have is in obtaining some new party members; there are three that we can pick up at this point in the game (all of which involve some work, some more than others). Like in the Baldur's Gate games, we can only have a maximum of six people in our party, so figuring out who we want to bring is important. The next post gives a quick rundown of our options!


Current members:

Morte (Chaotic Good)


Aside from the obvious comedy that Morte brings, he's a strong defensive fighter, thanks to some of the crazy physical resistances he has. His taunt ability can also be useful in a pinch to (sometimes) peel an enemy off one of our allies. His big weakness is that offensively, Morte isn't that stellar, even compared to characters like Annah. He also lacks the ability to equip tattoos, earrings, bracelets, and other items that other fighters - like Dak'kon and Annah - can use to beef themselves up. This means that while he starts out strong, he gets comparatively worse as the game progresses.

Personality: wise-ass talking skull.
Pros: Excellent tank, and has the best banter with the rest of the party.
Cons: Poor offensive abilities; will fall behind other fighters late in the game due to equipment restrictions.


Dak'kon (Lawful Neutral):


A pretty strong Fighter/Mage, Dak'kon has the benefits of coming equipped with a magic weapon that will upgrade on its own, Dak'kon plays both of his classes pretty well. With a slight upgrade (which we'll likely see in an update or two), he'll be able to get natural regeneration, and his mage spells allow him to beef up his strength (or others), which can make him a pretty deadly attacker. If he has a weakness, it's that his mage side will lag behind because of his multiclassing, but then again, the bread and butter spells you'd use are level 4 and below anyway. Also: he is not very talkative.

Personality: Warrior Monk, who silently observes before taking the perfect course of action.
Pros: Excellent Fighter/Mage
Cons: Is so quiet that he has next to zero banter with other party members.


Annah (Chaotic Neutral):


The only thief you'll get naturally in the game, Annah has a couple of unique benefits, particularly in the "saving money" category by stealing a lot of the expensive items you can potentially earn. She's decent offensively, although lacks the constitution or defenses to stand on the front line for too long. Her biggest problem is that this game does not really reward thieves. Even though we more or less just got her, we could go, loot the few stores in the game remaining, and then kick her to the curb. She is pretty entertaining however (particularly with Morte and Fall-From-Grace in the party), and she is the most obvious (and reactive) love interest for the Nameless One, should you wish it. But like Fall-From-Grace, don't expect it to get very steamy.

Personality: Hot-blooded (but superstitious) Irish dame.
Pros: The only thief in the game; particularly useful if the Nameless One isn't a high strength fighter.
Cons: Thieves are not critical to have in this game.


And our options for recruitment/replacement:


Fall-From-Grace (Lawful Neutral):


"Grace" is a succubus who has defied her demonic heritage, and has become a soft spoken member of the Society of Sensation, a faction that is devoted to experiencing the planes. To the Sensates, it's not about the destination, it's really about the journey. She's a cleric - the only one in the game you can get - and that makes her invaluable to most parties, as otherwise your healing is limited to items and natural regeneration. She also gets a few strong attack spells, although she doesn't have NEARLY the list that your typical Baldur's Gate cleric has. She's also one of two love interests in the game, but don't expect Baldur's Gate 2 levels of romance here! For one, romance is not the focus of this game. For two, she's a succubus! Kissing her will literally kill you.

Personality: Inquisitive, well spoken, and resolute
Pros: the only cleric in the game, so a great source of "free" healing. Potential love interest.
Cons: Not a terribly effective combatant, and more or less replaceable with items.


Ignus (Chaotic Evil)


The pyromatic wizard that you heard of from Reekwind's story (and the burning man on display at the Smoldering Corpse bar), Ignus is a pretty good mage, who comes with a variety of attack spells. He's pretty evil however, and pretty crazy, so you don't take Ignus if you're looking for some quality banter. His big weakness in our current party is that the Nameless One is a mage too, and thus you'll probably find a meatshield like Morte or Dak'kon (who's a decent mage in his own right) better. One plus tho: he has a 20 Con, so will naturally regenerate his hit points, which is handy.

Personality: psychotic pyromaniac. Likes fire and setting things on fire.
Pros: A strong mage, usually even better than the Nameless One until late in the game.
Cons: Too many mages in the kitchen can lead to few meatshields, and meatshields can be important.


Nordom (Chaotic Neutral):


Nordom is a modron, a race of highly lawful beings from the plane of Mechanus. While Modron 'programming' usually prevents them from running off as adventurers, Nordom has gone rogue, which is a condition that occasionally happens to his race. Nordom is accompanied by a pair of sentient crossbows, which, uh, communicate with him (with various clicks). A fighter by class, he's a ranged attacker, which can be useful, but it also means that he's not a meatshield, and he's generally not a terribly effective attacker. As a note, it's strange that Nordom is considered "chaotic neutral" (that's not really canon with the material) but whatever. We'll roll with it.

Personality: hilariously naive robotic-like creature voiced by Homer Simpson.
Pros: The only ranged fighter in the entire game.
Cons: Meatshield are generally better, since few enemies are ranged attackers themselves.


There is one other character you can recruit, but you can't get him until VERY late in the game. He's good, but we'll decide whether or not to take him when we get to him. It won't be for some time.

So your challenge Talking Time: we need a party of 6, but we're going to have to leave someone warming the bench. Who is it going to be? Vote for the member of the party you least would like to see tagging along on our little adventure. The character that gets the most votes will have their little personal sidequest finished before being kicked to the curb for the rest of this LP.

Quote:

Who is it going to be? Votes will only count as one this time as this is a pretty important decision! The previous vote weights will be carried into the NEXT vote we have. 1. Morte, the smart-ass talking skull? (More lawful and evil) 2. Dak'kon, the patient warrior monk? (More chaotic) 3. Annah, the fiery Tiefling? (More lawful) 4. Fall-From-Grace, the Sensate succubus? (More chaotic) 5. Ignus, the crazed pyromatic mage? (More lawful and good) 6. Nordom, the curious Modron with the robotic mind? (more lawful) I'm interested to see how you guys will vote!

Ignus is pretty dull, let's leave him behind to smolder.

Hmm. From an entertainment perspective, kicking out either Dak'kon or not getting Ingus makes the most sense...and while I prefer Dak'kon, if the voting keeps going the way it has been it's increasingly ridiculous for him to stick around with us. So let's finish up his sidequest and let him go.

Ingus seems boring. Bye, Ingus.

Uh... Isn't his name Ignus? (This is not my vote.)

Yes it is! Whoops!

Nordom

I say keep Morte and Dak'kon. I remember Ignus had some interesting dialogue when learning his spells, but was otherwise uninteresting, so don't bother. I have no preferences for the others.

Ignus.

Ignus. But learn his spells and *then* kick him to the curb!