Star Trail : Realms of Arkania II An Unofficial FAQ (v3.04)
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I have cobbled together this FAQ of info for Star Trail from a number
of messages posted by people to usenet; if I've not credited you for
info in the game please forgive me, it's not intentional - see the
end for a credit list. I have rounded off the FAQ with some data at
the end noted from spells and experience in the game.
The FAQ is split into general questions and questions on particular
parts of the game. If you have any additions/corrections, pop them
in an e-mail to me. I will try to answer questions if you mail me, but
if my real work load is high excuse me if I can't reply or am slow
replying.
Star Trail is touted as a "fantasy role playing simulation", the
reason being that there is a lot of attention to detail in the game.
The game system is based on the popular German role playing system
called "Das Schwarze Auge", which has been revised many times and
Star Trial is based on the latest version.
The game comes with a manual, reference card and a fold-out colour
map of the realm. The map covers about 400 by 300 miles of land,
and has over a dozen villages/towns marked on it. The manual is
70+ pages, thoughtfully written and well indexed. There are no
details of monsters or weapons in the manual, but there is enough
info to get you going and involved in the game. A separate clue
book (I don't have it) retails for #13.99 or so.
The game features 3D graphics in towns and dungeons (similar to
'Arena: Elder Scrolls', but oddly without the people - encounters
either yield pop-up menus or combat). Combat is isometric and
turn-based with good, but not great, graphics. On the CD version
there are combat sounds, including spell chants. Travel between
towns is done on an overhead map, with movement restricted to
paths that you find.
Characters can be from any of 12 races, and have around 50 skills
they can develop, and a larger number of spells. You can skip a
lot of the detail by playing in "novice" mode. There's a fair
chance that if you'd like a cross between 'Arena' and 'Betrayal at
Krondor', you'd like this game.
Overall Star Trail is a great game; the combat is fun though a
little clumsy. There is a lot of attention to detail which may
annoy some people, and the plot is perhaps a little too open at
times. Definately worth buying from the bargain bins though!
The prequel to Star Trail is "Blades of Destiny".
The sequel (due soon) is "Shadows over Riva".
For a review of Star Trail, see:
http://www.gamesdomain.com/gdreview/reviews/pc/strail.html
(or .co.uk rather than .com for the Games Domain UK mirror site).
The reference card says the game needs a 386PC or better (486/33
is recommended), 4Mb RAM (though it says only 2Mb on the box!),
580k of free base RAM, 670k min EMS and 64k min XMS (which is a
bit of a pain, especially on the CD version). The CD version,
which I have, takes up about 35Mb of HD space too. Sound support
looks good. I played on a DX2/66, 8Mb, SB16 with no trouble.
Graphics appear to be regular VGA.
The game comes on 3.5" disk or CD; I got CD and thus have some
extra graphics (though I'm not sure where!) and digitised speech,
which seems to pop up in cut scenes. To install the full game
from CD to HD would take over 100Mb, but luckily you only need a
fraction of that to play off the CD. Copy protection is a one
word lookup the first time you save in any game session.
There are no big patches for this game. There is one which fixes
the faces when importing characters from Blades of Destiny, and
another for people with 32Mb systems - both should be available
on the Games Domain (which mirrors the Patches Scrolls area).
Star Trail will run under Win95. I simply set the program
properties on the shortcut icon I made to prevent it from going
to MSDOS mode and it ran fine and smooth with all the sounds.
Star Trail has a relatively free-flowing plot; there are some
linear elements, but you can spend a lot of time wandering
rather aimlessly early on! Be warned though certain parts *are*
linear, like you should not enter the swamps until you have been
to Lowangen.
To start off, save the woman being attacked by Orcs SW of the
town you begin in - this gets you a bonus two levels of experience.
Then make your general way towards the Finsterkamm and the dwarven
pit. The quest in Gashok isn't too hard and can be completed
early in the game by low level characters.
General
(Q) My characters get ill a lot - what can I do?
Buy sleeping bags as soon as you can; these cut down on colds
and flu-type infections dramatically. Always carry herbs for
healing and curing disease. Early in the game sell off excess
ones as the cash is more useful to you.
(Q) How much food/water should I carry?
It depends where you are exploring; in mountain and desert areas
you should carry at least two full water skins each and probably
at least 6 ration packs (you can top these up with overnight
foraging).
(Q) Where can I get alchemy recipes?
There aren't too many around. It may be that Realms of Arkania I
recipes will work. You'll find two in the Dwarven Pit.
Vomicum: lamp oil, shurin bulb, mandrake.
Hylailian fire: 2 brandies, licorish, 2 lamp oils.
Some players report these parchments as reading like nonsense,
so manybe you need some skill to read them...
There are three more later in the game:
Moneymaker (Phex temple)
Magic drink (Phex-temple)
Sleeping drink (temple of nameless)
(Q) The markets seem always shut?
No. The markets arrive one day a week in Kvirasim (Fireday) and
Gashok (Praiosday). Time your visits to the towns accordingly or
spend a few nights in an inn.
(Q) Which "obscure" spells might I need later?
These will help - the last two are certainly important:
Teleport Spell
MELT SOLID (Temple of Nameless One)
BANE GHOSTS (Temple of Phex)
The most useful spell in combat is often the (blinding) lightning
spell which lets you get free attacks on an opponent.
(Q) Why do I lose movement points (MPs) for no apparent reason?
The more you carry, the more hindered you become, and the less
you can move each turn in combat. It pays to spread the load
around, and the Gridles of Strength and magic Water Skin you
find earlyish in the game are thus very valuable.
(Q) What combat techniques work best?
The secret is to gang up and outnumber opponents where possible,
due to the way parrying works. Make use of the "blindness"
spell, which will incapacitate an opponent for a few rounds.
Obviously, where possible keep your spellcaster(s) protected behind
a shield of fighters. Remember you can split your party, so you
don't *have* to send everyone into combat - a spellcaster could
just boost fighter stats and never enter a (planned) fight.
(Q) How do you know if the miracle button is working?
As long as time passes each time you press it, you know that the
miracle button is working.
(Q) What is spending money in temples good for?
Spending money in temples and praying afterwoods will become quite
useful - depending of the temple you will get:
repairing weapons, raising magic resistance, feed the group,
call back from death, and others.
(Q) Why is getting experience so hard?
Fighting the same monster type a second time gives much reduced
experience. The most experience seems to be gained by solving
the mini-quests in the game, rather than by fighting.
(Q) What's a good party mix?
The official clue book suggests three different parties:
1. Hocus Pocus-
Green Elf -- Ice Elf -- Silvan Elf -- Druid --
Magician (of combat) -- Magicienne (Two helps)
2. Fight! Fight! Fight! -
Warrior -- Thorwalian -- Dwarf -- Huntress --
She-Rogue -- Magician (of combat)
3. Brains & Brawn-
Warrior -- Dwarf -- Green Elf -- Silvan Elff --
Druid -- Magician
There's no real bad party mix, unless you're really silly. But
do try to get the important spells listed elsewhere.
See also Eric's notes at the end ...
(Q) Where do I get an alchemy set?
You will find one in Finsterkoppen.
(Q) How do I poison my weapons?
To poison a weapon, simply use the poison (with the use option in
the item menu. It will poison the primary weapon. As for its
usefulness, I wouldn't go into a major battle without my weapons
poisoned. It can more than double the damage from a hit and can
incapasitate that foe for the entire fight (by screwing up the
monster's stats). But if you fumble a hit ...
Notes are listed here for the various areas in the "plot" ...
the basic thread is: help woman, then go to Gashok, Dwarf Pit, Lowangen,
Swamp, Blood Peaks, Tiefhusen and finally Tjolmar (Temple of Nameless).
Gashok
Situated just north of Lowangen, the town of Gashok has at least
one quest to solve.
(Q) I've heard the sword and bow of Atherion (sp?) mentioned,
but haven't run into them in any of the dwarven pit/orc cave/phex
temple (i've been through them all in this or other games...).
where do you run into them?
To find these weapons you'll need to investigate the burnt out
mill in the town. Ask around about it, one good place in particular
is the market place area. The clues should lead you out of town
to Artherion, and you can then help him.
The Dwarven Pit
The pit is in the Dwarven town in the Finsterkamm mountains.
Herein lies the salamander stone and a few other handy items
including a magic waterskin and a number of +5 STR belts.
It is important NOT to rob anything (the altar, the graves and
the axes) else you'll anger the Dwarven god. You may find
a rope, spade, crowbar and more than one lockpick useful for
the pit. Oh, and a torch and tinder box.
(Q) How do I get in?
You can use the back entrance, but better still ask the priest
in the temple of Ingerimm (inside the mountain) about the pit
three times and he will give you the key.
(Q) How do I get out?
Either go out the back way, or get the key from the gnome and
leave by the main entrance. The back tunnel will collapse the
first time you pass through it. The back exit is at the lowest
level. Just keep climbing down (not using the stairs) till you
can go no further. Or you can leave a character with a key
outside the double door entrance.
(Q) Where is the magical water skin?
The skin must be found in the watery level; if you turn the wheel
on the higher level the water (and the skin) drain away. You need
to turn the wheel later to get through the trapdoor on that level
(and you need a crowbar for that). The wheel is on the west wall
in the room in the NW corner of the 4th level. The wheel looks
sort of like a ship's wheel. The first room you come to on this
level has the octagonal pool surrounded by statues.
(Q) What is the Asthenal Ring?
It seems to be a fire resistence ring. It's in the brazier on
the first level north and east of the main pit double door.
You will take temporary damage retreiving it. It is "useful"
in the hot "hole" on a level further down as entering there with
a rope ladder and the ring at least shows you that it's empty!
Go up to the altar of Ingerimm (same room as the hammer and the
face with the pitch torches) while wearing the ring. You'll have
a vision.
(Q) When does the hammer strike?
If one of your party members (dwarf?) is wearing the Asthenil ring
he'll fall into trance if he approaches the altar. You'll learn
about Ingerimm. If you light the torch next to the hammer and anvil
the first 3 levels of the pit are lit for 12 hours; then the hammer
hits the anvil which marks the end of the day's work and it's dark
again.
(Q) How do I get across the fire plates?
You need the leathers from the chest; wear them and put them back
when you are done (else the stairs won't come back). Take only
one set for one person. The character crossing the plates should
ideally wear the Asthenal Ring. To get to the golem you *must* use
a torch and tinder box, not magic light. You only need to send one
person over with the leathers, medallion and ring. Teleport won't
work on this level.
(Q) What is the answer to the gnome's riddle?
MOOSE! (The gnome has the key for the upper gates)
(Q) Can I get the sword and the stone?
The only way I've found to get both the sword and the Salamander Stone
and get out alive is to do things in this order: Talk to Golem first
time. Go to far SE chest and take stone *but* when offered chance to
swap or not hit ESCAPE instead of choosing. Then go back to Golem and
when he's done with the sword you'll get it. If you take the sword
and DON'T hit ESCAPE, you can't pass the glowing red tile.
(Q) My druid and elf aren't allowed in the pit - help!
Use spells to disguise them or make them invisible so that they
can walk past the dwarf guards.
(Q) Where are the hot plates?
In the pit, there's a shaft you can climb up or down. Go to the top,
search, and you'll find a key. Go down to the area filled with water
(you need to drain this by turning the wheel in room with the dwarfs)
Use a crowbar to open the slab, go down to this new level. There is
one door you can oen with a blank wall behind it. the new key opens
this door.
(Q) What items from the pit are useful later?
The stone medallion (needed on level 6) and the fire powder (can
be used later in a recipe) or (possibly?) in the lava hole.
It's probably safe to sell the rest.
Lowangen
This is the city under seige by an Orc army.
Here you will lose the Salamander Stone when you enter the city
with it. If Antharon is with you, he will take it, if not, the
stone will get lost in the crowd. You need to recover the stone
and find the secret way out of the town. Be prepared to lose the
real Stone again when you leave town!
When you enter the town, look to find Dragan Escht, ask about
Gavron, and do the favour asked. Lowangen is a good place to
sell stuff (high prices due to seige) once you have the key.
The problem is, that Dragan gives answers to only 3 questions. After
the third one he refuses to give any information. So make sure that
you ask the relevant questions i.e. 'travel', 'food' and 'weapons'.
If you visit Jandora without having asked Dragan about travelling,
you can talk to her but she won't help you.
(Q) Who is Gavron?
Usually, a party who enters Lowangen carries the stone with them and
get it stolen by Gavron. To get it back you have to find him (wait
in the Orc Death tavern). You will also find out about the fake
stone if you get yours stolen. Or ask Dragan (close to the western
wall) about Gavron. Gavron should appear at the Orc Death tavern,
then you should attempt to follow him to Ailann's house, as he has
the real stone.
(Q) Can I sneak into Lowangen?
You'll have to give your non-magic items to the orcs first time
in, but after that you should find a secret passage in/out.
To keep your stuff leave it with another party member outside the
town in a temple (you can create just a "dummy" character or two
for this). Or simply sell up everything, as your cash is apparently
safe from being taken.
(Q) Where is Black Jandora
Four squares west of the eastern wall, about halfway up.
Or: 4 paces north of the Rod and Mare brothel in Colorful Flight.
Finding Black Jandora will help you get out. Once you leave you
can always reenter through the secret passage.
(Q) Where is Vidaria Leechbronn?
Her house is located in Eydal...1 pace east and 3 paces south of the
Canal Tavern.
(Q) Where is Vinsalter?
Find the Temple of Rahja on your automap, Vinsalter is five steps
west and one step south of there (Lowangen is shaped like a big "U".
Vinsalter is in the eastern arm of the "U", about half way up on the
western edge of the arm). When you meet him, tell him Dragan sent
you - you may have to wait a day or so before he agrees to help you
though (use your most charismatic person to talk to him, and use
charisma-boosting spells).
(Q) Who has the stone?
It is probably held by Allain(sp?). After you get it back, be
prepared to lose it again when you meet the wizards outside town.
(Q) How do I get into the castle?
You`ll find out if you find Dragan and ask him about travelling.
(**It is apparently very important to do this!**).
The Swamp
The swamp is in the middle of the main map. Do **NOT** enter the
swamp until you've been into Lowangen and lost the stone there.
If you do, you'll possibly not be able to find the old woman
and special rantzy in the swamp, and thus be stuck!
(Q) Where is the "special" rantzy?
The special swamp rantzy is in a 2x2 plot of land in the upper right
center of the map. The 2x2 square is only accessible by water. You
will get a message that says that this rantzy seems different or
something, then combat begins, and you then need to net him.
(Q) How do I catch the Rantzy?
Equip a character with a net, then use it in combat, ie. equip the
net in that character's left hand.
(Q) What do I do with the Swamp Rantzy wearing the necklace?
Catch him with the net. Then find heather plants W of there. When
you get back near Lowangen use the 18th heather on him. There are
also two documents related to this problem. (Or: Go to where the
heather is. Pluck each bush, until you find the one that makes the
rantzy react. Throw away heathers that do not make him react.)
To transform the character back into a human, have a character with
adequate skills hold the rantzy, the dcoument, and the magic heather.
Use the document, then use the heather. If you do not have adequate
healing skills, wait till you are about to enter Lowangen. If your
party has a healer, you can cure his disease and adventure with him.
(Q) How do you open the chest in the swamp?
Turn stepwise mode off to get into the chest.(!) You should then
be able to click on or press SPACE by the chest to open it. Some
people report this as being rather buggy though ... it may depend
on the character opening the chest.
[According to the sir-tech people, the only narrative requirements
to open the chest are to have been to Lowangen, and to have talked
to the witch (lady). You can email sirtech yourself
"76711.33@compuserve.com", but if my experience is any measure,
don't expect quick responses.]
Having helped the lizard people and killed the witch, it should open.
(Q) How do I get into the tower?
Talk to the witch. Apparently if you do not go to Lowangen first,
the witch will NOT answer her door (her house is the shack near
the herbs, and not the house by the chest).
(Q) How do you appease the Fire Elemental?
Answer with one word at a time......
Love, Mercy, Pity, Justice, Life ... any of these will do.
(Q) Do I have to kill the witch?
After you have given her the magician's things she will likely
attack you and give you a hard fight. You can simply not go back
to her after dealing with the magician, but the experience is
probably worth it.
(Q) What do I do for the lizard men?
The lizard men want you to kill the engulfer.
(Q) Where is this so-called Heather bush that I need to destroy/utilize
to restore the rantzy / mage back to his former self?
It's north of the village of the lizard men; you will only find it, if
you've read the the magical document from the mages' tower.
Going back to Lowangen after the Swamp
Here you can get weapons and supplies. You'll probably end up
with two salamander stones, one real, one fake. However, when
you leave Lowangen you will lose the real/both stone(s) to a group
of magician/wizards. Having lost it, you need to go to Blood
Peaks (Orc Pit) to get it back. Apparently you only have 7 days of
game time to get the stone back ...
(Q) How am I supposed to know where to go after that, did I miss
something in lowangen in the way of hints, or what?
If you ask this elf Sevensprings in Lowangen he will tell you that
Ingramosch went to the Blood Peaks.
Blood Peaks and the Orc Pit
Herein lies a lot of fights, a couple of NPC's and the Salamader
Stone (if you lost it "to plan"). You are brought here if you
are captured by an orc patrol near Lowangen (which is not good as
you lose a lot of your kit, but seems to be an unescapable part
of the game plot!).
Inside look down and search the straw mats as there is some stuff
to be found in these.
(Q) How do i get in to the Blood Peaks?
You can go in the easy way, or the hard way. The hard way is to
head toward the south of the mountain range; you will be captured
by the orcs and stripped of all your stuff (as with entering
Lowangen). Your stuff is gone forever then. The easy way is to
enter via one of the 3 entrances in the mountains west of the Svall
river. You do not lose your stuff this way, though you will need to
go out and enter by another one of the 3 routes to fully explore all
the levels.
(Q) When i bumped into a certain cabinet, it says that there's a hole
above it, but that i can't reach it. What do i do?
You need to increase your reach. Try giving the lead character a
spear.
(Q) How do i kill the big spider and/or squash the nest of spiders?
You need something that protects you from poison. You should have
found black "phials", or "webbster" somewhere along the way (tastes
bad, feels good). Split off a party small enough so each character
can drink one, do so, then squash all the little spiders in the
nest. You get a gold necklace and a key for doing this. The key
opens a door on the middle level that lets you move quickly from
stairs up to stairs down. You can explore everything without this
key.
(Q) How do i open the chest near the severed hand and coin?
Put the coin you find with the hand and the cast-iron key on one
character. [This did not work for me, probably a bug]. There is
reportedly nothing important in the chest anyway. The hand
causes you damage when you attempt to take it, but has no
other function.
(Q) There's two prisoners, who should I take?
There's a shape-changing vampire and an Orc. If you take the
vampire you'll find he sucks (literally) ...
(Q) Where is the dead dark mage with the stone?
The dead dark mage is in one of the southern-most cells in the "jail"
area (where you picked up the shape shifter and/or Thurazz the orc).
It is near what seems to be the kitchen area, where there's a table
with a knife on it. I believe that it is on the west side of the
passageway.
(Q) How do I get through the spider webs?
You should find an axe nearby, equip your leader with it and you
should be able to hack through them.
(Q) How do I defeat that big orc gathering in the hall in level one?
They are very tough, but it's not a fight you have to fight.
You should be able to get to the stone without this battle, but
if you take it on there's supposedly a good experience bonus.
Tiefhusen
A port in the NW of the map, Tiefhusen contains the Temple of Phex
and is a place to go to find the legendary Star Trail.
(Q) Who do I ask about Star Trail?
Try the priest in the Hesinde(?) temple, or ask in the tavern.
(Q) Where is Hensgen?
You should be able to find him sitting by a tree outside the city
walls (I think it's in the north, but I'm not sure). You'll need
to speak to him.
The Phex Dungeon
This dungeon is good for experience, though not a lot more.
(Q) Can I escape the first skeleton trap in the Phex dungeon, as
after picking up the scroll and defeating the skeletons there
seems to be no way out?
There is a way: you should find another scroll in that region.
When you pick it up, the barrier vanishes
(Q) What is the answer to the the riddle?
- NIGHT.
(Q) How do I solve the "Memory Game" ?
You have to find the animal representing Phex.
Look into your Manual. It should become pretty clear.
(Q) How do I get the Helmet and Shield of Phex ?
When you take these items, a Poltergeist appears and blocks your way
back out. He can be dispelled using the BANE GHOSTS spell.
(Q) I searched the whole dungeon, but I still can't open some secret
passages. What must I do ?
Solve all the riddles. You also have to put 60 Ducats(sp?) into
the bowl standing on a desk (or it may be >50 Ducats, but by
now 9 Ducats won't hurt you :)
(Q) How do I get out?
Close to the place where you fought the skeletal warriors and got the
key there's a secret door in the northern corridor. In the same area
there's another one. You should be able to see them as they are a
little lighter gray than the other walls.
Tjolmar
You have to come here to get into the Temple of the Nameless.
There is a cheat here whereby you can advance your characters'
experience endlessly: In the Vault Under Tjolmar, there is a
frozen woman. In the room next to this, there is a statue of Hesinde
that asks if you want to make a trade. Each time she asks, your
experience points are bumped by 1000. So if you answer "No", touch
the statue again, get the same question, answer "No"... you can
build up levels. [Use this at your own risk!! ]
(Q) Who do I see here?
You need to visit Ingramosch and carry the stone. Under his house
lies the Temple of the Nameless.
(Q) Can someone please tell me how to finish this level?
Do you mean the door behind the secret passage in the south-eastern
part of the level? You need a statue to open this door. Opposite the
secret passage is another secret door (on the west wall) and behind
you'll find the statue. (The stairway around here is a teleport trap)
The Temple of the Nameless
This is the last stop in the game.
(Q) How do I get in?
Look at the scroll you get from the Dwarf's house; it has the
letters "2L 4R 4L" on it; you have to push the walls is the right
order, ie. 2 Left, 4 Right and 4 Left from that passage.
Position yourself at the entrance of the room. Then move 2 walls left
and try to walk into the wall. It's the correct wall when you hear
the click sound and see a message about something special (as what
you said). Remember that wall and what keystrokes got you there.
Then move right 4 walls and try to walk into the wall. If you missed
it, repeat from the starting point (entrance of the room and walk
into the first wall again) and try either the wall on the left or
right of the one you tried earlier. By this trial and error, you
will know the sequence for the 3 walls and when you perform this
sequence, the path will be revealed.
(Q) Which four-digit code do I have to enter on one of lowest floors?
The code is 1325 and I got the answer from someone else who never
explained how *they* got it. Apparantly the code in the German
(original) version of the game is 1945; it's obtained as follows -
the answer is related to the message on the wall opposites the
stairs. You'll probably have a document with the word 'cult' on
it. Look for the letters 'c','u','l' and 't' in the message (they
should appear only once). Count the position of the letters starting
from the beginning of the row they're in (NOT from the beginning of
the word they're in)!
(Q) How do I release the girl?
To free the NPC you have to use melt solid (if you have spent more
than 100 D to HESINDE(?) during the game she will help you by
increasing melt solid by 15 points; the girl NPC will help you on
the first two levels and then disappear (too much fear).
(Q) What do I do with the 4 amulet chunks?
There is a crack near the southeast corner of the map. It requires
a sun-shaped key to open a secret door. Get all the amulet pieces
(don't worry about putting them together) then immediately go to that
crack on the wall. It should open once all the pieces are there. I
had to use teleport *a lot* to get those damn pieces. Be careful as
the skeleton warriors resurrect after some time and get back their
pieces!
(Q) Where is the key on level 2?
It is hidden in a shelf where there are tools in the far upper right
corner of the dungeon. When the game asks you "Would you like to
take some of the tools to use as makeshift weapons?" answer yes and
then keep clicking on these shelves until you find the key. This
key will be used in the upper-middle of the east wall in the large
tiger room, keep searching as the keyhole is well hidden.
(Q) Any other points?
- to get the key from the plant and go out of the room you have to
split your group, but you can bring out all of them.
- the visible door (first level) is an illusion.
(Q) How do I kill the dragon?
It's rumoured you can kill it, but at some point he will be impressed
with your fighting skills and grant you your life. This will be
around the time when you caused him about 500 HP(!) of damage, maybe
more. You should have a Dragonslayer Sword, that helps.
If your party is not sufficiently built up, you may need to resort to
kikrus poison. It's on sale at Kvirasim.
Life Points are LPs observed from healthy opponents via spellcasting;
these will vary for individual creatures. It may be that other stats
vary too (including for example their levels for orcs). LPs on Orcs
certainly have a wide range (from 13 to 30+).
Beware the priests in Phex; they cast weapon-breaking spells.
(7) belts of strength strength +5 dwarf pit
skull belt dwarf pit
recipe Hylaier fire dwarf pit
recipe Vomicum dwarf pit
magic water bag always water dwarf pit
Asthenilring against fire dwarf pit
Salamanderstone dwarf pit
silver helmet can be worn by magicians ... Lowangen, Siebenquell
golden shield can be worn by magicians ... Lowangen, Siebenquell
(not really magic)
silver ring Ignifaxius magic skill Lowangen, V. Egelbronn
bow of Artherion very accurate Artherion
sword of Artherion better then others Artherion
sword bad vibrations orc-pit
silver ring ARMATRUZ, i think orc-pit
recipe sleeping drink temple of nameless
helmet like those above temple of nameless
sword magic temple of nameless
Sometime when walking around in towns an old woman will come and sell
some amulets, in some cases these amulets are magic and bring you
+5 Magic Resistance.
- Antharon some miles before Lowangen, he just needs the group to go
there, but if you make the dwarfen pit with him, he stays with the
group (until Lowangen, where he takes the Salamander stone which will
be stolen anyway).
- some sort of magician (Praiodan?) in the orc pit. Beware this guy as
he doesn't leave your party empty handed (he needs energy :-)
- some sort of Orc prisoner in the orc pit (Thurraz), he will just help
you fighting and leave the group when you go out of the pit. Useful
for orc language.
- a warrior (Helen) in the Temple of the Nameless god, all she thinks
is that it is still cold (she was frozen), but she will help you in
the first two levels before leaving.
- a female warrior (Korima) who travels the roads east of the Rorhwed
mountains. She requires 1 silver piece per day payment and may offer
to sell you her two-handed sword.
These hints/suggestions may (or may not :-) be useful ...
(Q) What type of characters would you include in your party?
This is the sort of game encourages a well-mixed party: you're going to
need your basic heavy hitters, of course, plus spell-casters, plus
healers, plus people with good survival skills so you can forage for
what you need in the wild, plus... Well, actually, let's just say you
need a wide mix of skills and you can fill that need with whatever
classes you like.
(Q) What skills are necessary? What skills are unnecessary?
Combat skills: Essential, natch. Since you can only go up one point in
any combat skill per level increase, and since there's a fair bit of
variety in what sort of cool weapons are out there, it makes a certain
amount of sense to have a diverse range of weapon skills. Swords and
edged weapons seem to be the most prevalent ones you run across (i.e.,
loot from your victims' corpses), with pointed weapons close behind. I
wouldn't bother with polearms; there are only a couple of polearms out
there, they're not all that impressive, and they've proven annoyingly
difficult for me to find (I've been running around looking for a decent
polearm for my hunter and so far, no luck). Same goes for thrown
weapons; missile weapons are much better in my experience (although
maybe they work better poisoned...). It looks like only the full-blown
warrior types can use two-handed weapons, so don't bother training
someone who isn't a warrior how to use them. Find out what weapons the
character classes you choose start with; don't waste your points
training in weapons you don't have and maybe can't even use (the
magic-wielding classes have some annoying restrictions). Chances are
the weapons you leave the first town with are the ones you're gonna be
stuck with for some time.
Body skills: Climb, Swim, and Physical Control are the most obviously
useful skills here, and since you'll have to do the first two from time
to time, you should make sure everyone's at least competent. Acrobatics
and Dance are a nice way to make some extra money in taverns; otherwise,
they're not important, near as I can tell. Carouse doesn't seem to do
much good; my characters only rarely get drunk. I haven't had to Ride
anything yet, so I don't know if you need that; and Stealth and Hide
haven't come into play yet either, near as I can tell.
Intuitive skills: I try to jack up everybody's Danger Sense and
Perception, just on general principles; I don't know how much good it
does gameplay though.
Social skills: Haggle is definitely worthwhile, considering all the
buying and selling you do in this game; you only need one really good
haggler, though. I haven't had a use for the other skills yet, really.
Nature skills: Survival and Herb Lore are definitely useful; the former
helps you forage for food and water, the latter helps you find herbs in
the wild (which have important healing properties, are used to make
potions, and/or can be sold later for money). [BTW, while camped at
night, you can have two people forage for food and one search for
herbs.] As for the others...well, your guess is as good as mine as to
how useful they are, based on the skill descriptions; I don't think I've
used any of them yet.
Lore: You'll need Alchemy if you want to mix your own potions; Ancient
Tongues and Read/Write are, I think, necessary to translate some
important scrolls and stuff; and Arcane Lore is supposedly vital to a
magician. The rest I don't think I've used.
Craftsmanship: Treat Disease and Treat Wounds are absolutely vital; make
sure you have at least two very good healers in your party, since a
character can't treat their own wounds. Treat Poison isn't something
I've used yet, but I'm keeping it up, just in case. Locks is also very
important, since you've got to get through a *lot* of locked doors.
Instrument, like Dance and Acrobatics, is a nice way to pick up a little
extra cash, but appears useless otherwise. Pickpocket and Cheat are
less honest but more profitable means of making money, although a friend
of mine says you get in trouble if you do it too much. I haven't met
any animals that I would need Drive or Train Animals for.
Spells: I've found that I don't use the conventional healing and attack
spells that much; I can heal fine with the use of proper herbs and Treat
Wounds and the basic attack spells don't do enough damage to compensate
for the lost Astral Points (which regenerate reaaal slow). Some spells
divided in my own little categories:
Spells I know or have been told are necessary: Banish Spirits,
Transversalis (Teleport), Melt Solid
Spells for evening the odds in combat by sending my opponents running:
Great Need, Horriphobus
Spells for evening the odds by temporarily neutralizing my enemies: Ball
and Chain, Bambaladam, Somnigravis, Lightning
Spell for when lockpicks just can't cut it: Foramen
Spell for when high priest turns someone into a rock: Transformation
Spell that doubles the number of attacks a PC can make: Acceleratus
Spell witches and elves need to slip past dwarves: Camouflage, Visibili
(Q) Do the negative attributes make a large impact on play?
Not as far as I can tell. I mean, Superstition negatively affects your
Magic Resistance, but I haven't seen any other tremendous impact yet.
That's all - please e-mail additions/corrections to tjc@ecs.soton.ac.uk
Credits: This FAQ could not have been made without the help and
comments from the following people:
Garfield (4darkow@informatik.uni-hamburg.de)
Ernst (Ernst.Eigenbauer@VM.AKH-WIEN.AC.AT)
Bobbie (bobbiekat@aol.com)
Dirk (Dirk.Bruggemann@durham.ac.uk)
Rick (redrick@delphi.com)
Lance (pfrench@clark.net)
Drifter (banz@pegasus.rutgers.edu)
Clark (clump@cs.mcgill.ca)
Mike (Spectre350@AOL.com)
Eric (mathis@gate.net)
Lord Soth (cmd@aimnet.com)
Barbara (barbara@albion.franken.de)
Scott (author of a mini-FAQ)
Alton (altonu@on-ramp.ior.com)
Alex (alex.lefaive@eng.sun.com)
Andy (fadden@netcom.com)
+ others (please no insult intended if I forgot you!)
