Avernum/Exile Games

[Beleriphon]

Have any of you played the Avernum/Exile games from Spiderweb Software?

I always liked Avernum 3, if only because it was such an expansive world.

[Renmazuo]

If they were PC games. Probably not.

I'm not very enlightened in the Realm of PC gaming.

[Beleriphon]

You might want to give them a try, they aren't high end graphics monster and have a suprising deep story. Added is the fact they are a really good RPGs.

www.spidweb.com

[El Jaspero, the Pirate King]

If they were PC games. Probably not.

I'm not very enlightened in the Realm of PC gaming.

They actually were originally written for Mac and later ported to Windoze.

[The Glyphstone]

Love them...Exile 3 was one of the earliest games that I purchased with my own savings...that was a Looooong time ago. Avernum's even cooler, though much more difficult with the lack of AoE spells like Fireball.

[Jothki]

Love them...Exile 3 was one of the earliest games that I purchased with my own savings...that was a Looooong time ago. Avernum's even cooler, though much more difficult with the lack of AoE spells like Fireball.

Avernum 4 changed the ice spell into a firestorm-sized aoe.

I actually like the Exile games more than what I've played of the Avernum series. Only having four people in my party just feels weird, and I prefered having a whole bunch of spells over just having a few upgradable ones. I loved hacking my way through an Aranea lair and finding a Minor Mana spell hidden in its depths; a mere upgrade to something I already have isn't anywhere near as interesting.

Do the GIFTS show up in Avernum 4 anywhere?

[Crazy_Uncle_Doug]

I haven't played any exile games, but I've played Avernums 1-3. I've found them fun with enough leeway to do as I liked to make it all interesting.

[The Glyphstone]

Avernum 4 changed the ice spell into a firestorm-sized aoe.

I actually like the Exile games more than what I've played of the Avernum series. Only having four people in my party just feels weird, and I prefered having a whole bunch of spells over just having a few upgradable ones. I loved hacking my way through an Aranea lair and finding a Minor Mana spell hidden in its depths; a mere upgrade to something I already have isn't anywhere near as interesting.

Do the GIFTS show up in Avernum 4 anywhere?

Yeah, I liked Exile more that way too. Problem is, I can't get Avernum 4 yet - last I checked it was still Mac-only released.

[Beleriphon]

Yeah, I liked Exile more that way too. Problem is, I can't get Avernum 4 yet - last I checked it was still Mac-only released.

It was updated about a week ago, now on PC. How do you think I started playing it, on some dirty old Mac? Bah! ;D

[Sneak]

Yes, I definitely know them. My brother likes them a lot. In fact, my brother is a mod on the Spiderweb forums.

I tried playing around with the BoE editor, it's fun.

[The Glyphstone]

It was updated about a week ago, now on PC. How do you think I started playing it, on some dirty old Mac? Bah! ;D

R0xx0Rz!!! W00t!

Time to download... :D
And time to play... ;D ;D

[Haneyparadox]

Ahhhh! Exile! Yes yes yes. I have those CDs here somewhere still. I enjoyed those games quite a lot back in the day. I was amused thast the Nephelim Fortress that was so easily farmable in the first game was an undead haunted ruin in the second game. Lord knows i sowed enough carnage in there. Also like the Quickfire. very nice effect that was. Gonna use that little gem in some form when I start GMing again.
Should make a nasty lil surprise for my Shadowrunners.
For thosew who havent played it, Quick fire is a spell that creats a small fire, call it half a meter across which doubles it's size at the end of every turn. Yeah, it gets real big real fast. does about the same dmg as a fireball. and it dosent go away. At least not easily. Only wway to beat it was IIRC was to either contain it or try and out run it.

I also recall from the 3rd game that Unicorns werent happty foliky lil cuddlies, but nasty tempered pests that had bountys on their heads.

[Beleriphon]

Of course the natsy thing with quick fire was, especially in the Roach Lair was that you didn't have a way to contain it.

BTW, for those that like the character editor in previous Avernum games, Avernum 4 doesn't have one.

[The Glyphstone]

Quickfire rocked. I remember playing Blades of Exile...I died like six times trying to hide from the quickfire, till I worked out that you jsut walked away and were saved.

Oh, and Avernum 4 is very cool...not liking the interface so much, I keep trying to attack an adjacent enemy and "pausing" instead. Ice Rain is handy, though most of the "hordes" I've fought are undeadified.

[Jothki]

Ahhhh! Exile! Yes yes yes. I have those CDs here somewhere still. I enjoyed those games quite a lot back in the day. I was amused thast the Nephelim Fortress that was so easily farmable in the first game was an undead haunted ruin in the second game. Lord knows i sowed enough carnage in there. Also like the Quickfire. very nice effect that was. Gonna use that little gem in some form when I start GMing again.
Should make a nasty lil surprise for my Shadowrunners.
For thosew who havent played it, Quick fire is a spell that creats a small fire, call it half a meter across which doubles it's size at the end of every turn. Yeah, it gets real big real fast. does about the same dmg as a fireball. and it dosent go away. At least not easily. Only wway to beat it was IIRC was to either contain it or try and out run it.

I also recall from the 3rd game that Unicorns werent happty foliky lil cuddlies, but nasty tempered pests that had bountys on their heads.

You exaggerate the effectiveness of Quickfire slightly. It only spreads one square per turn, and doesn't do any more damage than a plain fire field. The danger from it is that it spreads as fast as you can run, so if you get caught in it, you will need a haste spell to get out.

I noticed that the Avernum series seems to lack fields. Does quickfire still work the same?

[The Glyphstone]

Sort of. It now looks like a cloud of bluish sparks, kinda dumb IMO. It expands like Quickfire, covering every adjacent tile every turn.

Oh, and I've now officially hunted out everything there is to do in the demo, except for those **** scrolls back in Fort Monastery. What do they do?

[Beleriphon]

Oh, and I've now officially hunted out everything there is to do in the demo, except for those **** scrolls back in Fort Monastery. What do they do?

They begin to get an explanation in Formello in the library. You have to go back and talk to the mage that asked you to look at them to start with, she'll give you a copy and start another quest.

[Jothki]

I somewhat dislike Avernum 4's removal of the overworld maps. While the first and second games of the series seemed to match up reasonably well, the geography is completely skewed in the fourth. For example, the GIFTS cave seems to be completely gone. It wouldn't actually have anything friendly left in it, but it would still be nice to have.

[Beleriphon]

Well all the geography is there, sort of. Its sort of been compressed since you have to walk every where in "town" mode. Either way, if you look hard enough you can find damn near everything. Of course the game does nothing to explain that the Tower of Magi and the Castle are supposed to be some 300 miles apart as per Avernum 1.

[The Glyphstone]

They begin to get an explanation in Formello in the library. You have to go back and talk to the mage that asked you to look at them to start with, she'll give you a copy and start another quest.

Thanks...I guess. That was quick - now I just need to save up the $32 to buy the game, so I can keep playing. I can't believe I wasted like 18 points of Arcane Lore trying to decipher them...

[stainboy]

I played all four Exile games and I loved em. I loved the massive, open-ended worlds.

Never did kill Garzahd in Exile 2 though. I got that I had to kill him with the Mindduel spell, somehow, but I just couldn't get that spell to do anything more than chip away at his massive mana pool. Did I miss something?

[Beleriphon]

Nope, thats about it, you chip away at his mana pool and then beat him down with point sticks and bits of crude metal.

[stainboy]

Am I recalling right that Mindduel requires a ruby that's consumed by casting the spell? How many rubies would that take?

EDIT: By the way, does it bug anyone else that the Tower of the Magi has only one floor?

[Jothki]

I killed Garzahd by summoning a couple clones of Sulfras, who eventually summoned in some basilisks.

Yes, you can store copies of the dragons. It'll probably just take you a whole bunch of tries.

For more cloney goodness, try throwing the Prince at your enemies.

[FreakyM]

Ahh.. Exile.

I honestly thought I am the only person In the whole world who plays them still..

Man, I remember back when I got my registration key for Exile III.. I was practically shaking with excitement as I finally typed it in.. the memories..

NO!
GO AWAY! DOOMGUARDS!
TOWER OF SHIFTING FLOORS!
NIGHTMARRRESSS.....

[SlyJohnny]

The Avernum trilogy rocked my socks. Ive never even heard of anyone else who played them before you guys, though :)

I played them ass backwards. 3 first, then 1, then 2. One was surprisingly primitive, and Two was annoying because of the lack of clear boundaries. In One and Three, you always knew when you were heading somewhere nasty: You didn't head deep into the alien beast infested zone and then act surprised when you got your asses kicked, and as a general rule, the further away from civilisation you are, the suckier things became. But not in two.

Ok, so it's a warzone, and other then a few clearly defined "fronts", the enemy could be anywhere and so I suppose it's realistic when you stumble onto an enemy patrol and die. But it is sort of annoying, to be one minute fighting underequipped, barbaric sliths, and suddenly run into an elite empire unit and be slaughtered, without any clear warning that you've suddenly stepped into higher level territory.

[Jothki]

The Avernum trilogy rocked my socks. Ive never even heard of anyone else who played them before you guys, though :)

I played them ass backwards. 3 first, then 1, then 2. One was surprisingly primitive, and Two was annoying because of the lack of clear boundaries. In One and Three, you always knew when you were heading somewhere nasty: You didn't head deep into the alien beast infested zone and then act surprised when you got your asses kicked, and as a general rule, the further away from civilisation you are, the suckier things became. But not in two.

Ok, so it's a warzone, and other then a few clearly defined "fronts", the enemy could be anywhere and so I suppose it's realistic when you stumble onto an enemy patrol and die. But it is sort of annoying, to be one minute fighting underequipped, barbaric sliths, and suddenly run into an elite empire unit and be slaughtered, without any clear warning that you've suddenly stepped into higher level territory.

I've never played very far into Avernum 2. I know that Exile 2 gives you tools to handle large numbers of enemies (ice wall, etc), but Avernum lacks those kinds of spells. Do you still have to face enormous numbers of enemies at once whenever you run into a triggered fight?

[Telok]

I loved Exile 2, eventually most of my parties ended up as one fighter/rogue and five casters. Some of my combats started with my summoning two Ur-Basilisks and then laying double hastes on them. Getting a copy of a golem was useful too.

A lazy way to defeat Garzhad was to use the terrain to your advantage. His throne room only had one tile doorway and quickfire didn't spread diagonally. So you create a fire barrier in the tile just outside the door and cast quickfire into the room. It takes a while because he only takes a point or two of damage each round but he and everything in there will eventually die.

[Jothki]

I loved Exile 2, eventually most of my parties ended up as one fighter/rogue and five casters. Some of my combats started with my summoning two Ur-Basilisks and then laying double hastes on them. Getting a copy of a golem was useful too.

A lazy way to defeat Garzhad was to use the terrain to your advantage. His throne room only had one tile doorway and quickfire didn't spread diagonally. So you create a fire barrier in the tile just outside the door and cast quickfire into the room. It takes a while because he only takes a point or two of damage each round but he and everything in there will eventually die.

You had the ability to summon Ur-Basilisks and you used quickfire?

[SlyJohnny]

Oh, you get mass-target spells in all avernum games. They just allow multiple targets- there arn't really AOEs.

And yeah, you're normally fighting large numbers of enemys at a time, and most of the time, melee blows do great damage to a single target. it's a case of weakening enemies and slaying lesser foes with AOE, then hasting your archers and melee fighters and smacking up anyone you judge is wounded enough to die in a single hit. Blow all your mana summoning your best monsters before opening a door on hard fights.

Magic was disproportionately awesome in the first one, particularly in the early game. In the second one there was more stuff that was resistant to it, so the fact it always hit wasn't the be all and end all- but still, things didn't really get fair until the third.

Goddamn, the third game was awesome. The previous two were good, but 3 was a masterpeice.

Garzahd in Exile died when his Manapool reached zero. Due to the nature of his magical enchantments that made him awesome, he'd just burn himself out and his body would rip itself apart.

In Avernum, he had made himself immune to damn near everything, but in doing so had given himself demon blood. So you pummeled him with Arrows of Light, Demonslayer, and Repel Spirit level 3. I prefered to kill all his cronies first.

Oh, and I disagree that upgrades weren't awesome... I used to love suddenly finding the level three variant of an existing spell, and knowing it was now perfect and optimised. Especially when it was Repel Spirit or Haste and you just knew you'd been turned awesome.

[latoo]

Oh wow.
I never realised how many people played the exile/avernum games. I thought they were cool but I actually preferred the Nethergate game.

[Jothki]

Oh wow.
I never realised how many people played the exile/avernum games. I thought they were cool but I actually preferred the Nethergate game.

How was Nethergate? I find it kind of amusing that they snuck the GIFTS in there as well.

[latoo]

Nethergate was a lot of fun. I really like the whole Romans vs Celtics thing so you get to choose one of the two sides where the two sides have their own advantages and disadvantages and stuff. The graphics weren't too bad either.

[Beleriphon]

Nethergate is neat, in that the Celts are big magically talented bad asses, but don't get armour. Ever. The Romans are legionnaires and masters of combat, and can wear lots of armour. They make mediocre magic types though.

Also you can recruit a single NPC to you team later on from the other faction, thus the Romans can get a Celt mage, and the Celts can get a Roman soldier. Plus the game has neat references, such as Raven leaving the world with Sidhe.

[Cirion Actaeon]

Hey, er, guys. You've been found out. The Spiderweb Software community has discovered your existance. We want to know why you have not joined us on the boards.

[Jothki]

Hey, er, guys. You've been found out. The Spiderweb Software community has discovered your existance. We want to know why you have not joined us on the boards.

Well, no one here has cared enough about it to post in the last 10 months. Personally, talk the creator into making Exile 4 and I'll consider it.

Also, is it just me or could you make a fairly awesome MMORPG just by directly converting everything in Exile 1 into 3d?

[Pronounceable]

I just want to say that the Exile series is the greatest ever. Avernums didn't appeal to me much, I missed AoE spells.

Did anyone know that you could capture Garzahd in Exile 2? Then unleash him on some slith barbarians...

[Beleriphon]

I just want to say that the Exile series is the greatest ever. Avernums didn't appeal to me much, I missed AoE spells.

Did anyone know that you could capture Garzahd in Exile 2? Then unleash him on some slith barbarians...

Yes I did. It was mean.

[Moribundus]

Yes, I definitely know them. My brother likes them a lot. In fact, my brother is a mod on the Spiderweb forums.

I tried playing around with the BoE editor, it's fun.

who is your brother?(on the spidweb forum) I played a ton of those games... Exile 3 was the best IMO... avernum 2 was also really good!

[Aidan305]

Ah Exile, I actually re-downloaded Exile 3 a couple of days ago along with Avernum four. I prefer the Exile series though, it may not have graphics that are impressive but since when have graphics been the most important thing about a game.

One of these days I'll actually have to get around to registering a copy of Exile.