I am overwhelmed with the gorgeous complexities of this game - it has held me enthralled for at least two months of gaming on and off, with inevitable consequences on sleeping habits.

I think I'm approximately half way through, but are currently struggling to locate Ravel's portal door after solving the enigmatic Deionarra quests in the Upper Ward. I have the bloodied handkerchief (the key) but still uncertain of the portal's location. Clues subtle hints anyone? :D

I stumbled aimlessly around for two hours solving minor quests simply 'at one with the game', but have yet to find the portal. Thus, my wanderings brought me back to the the Forge on the Lower Ward.

Having already declared an unholy allegiance to the Dustmen (their philosophy of true death reads like a hallucinogenic twist on Buddhism and Schopenhauer...I love it!) my absolute abhorrence for the Godsmen was almost apparent right from my first meeting with Thildon, who self-righteously yelled 'get away with thee' after I criticised his treatment of his men. Touchy bastard. Not to worry. I simply ask ye players of this great game, this:

Can I get away with slaughtering every single Godsmen and still complete the game? Do the benefits of allowing them to live outweigh my rapturous dedication to the Dustmen? Human interaction is usually what I crave for in an RPG experience like this, but when it comes to these tyrannical neo-fascist life-worshippers, I yearn to ease their sufferings and face my test in annhilating their existence! :D

Feel free to respond to anything I've asked as well as share views on the game....

Cheers,
Rob

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00">I am not quite so far as you yet. I am about to enter the area were they originally found my body. It took me forever to find out how to become a mage, I was a level 6 fighter. I was enjoying using the Brimstone Hammer however. Missed some dialog options on the old witch. Finally have an alignment of Neutral Good, and have an allegiance to the Dustmen. If I told them about my immortality would I lose the allegiance? I wonder?

Great game so far.</font>

[ 08-15-2003, 02:19 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

SOME SPOILERS
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I would not go out of my way to slaughter the Godsmen just yet. There are some solid quests (some of which allow you to do in some of the Godsmen in very treacherous ways ;) ). If I remember right, you need them around to get the portal you are looking for. If you do not like the Godsmen, then speak to Bedai-Lihn in the Foundry. ;)


Hint about the portal: Start you search in the Sensorium, specifically the private rooms (NOT the private sensorium, but the place you can rest at). Search the cabinets around there, and be prepared to do some running around the Clerk's and even the Lower Ward.

@ Pritchke

Good to see you mate! Its been awhile since I'd been back to the Ironworks forums after beating Heart of Winter a couple of months back...
I see you're no longer a drow but a red dragon now, eh? [img]smile.gif[/img]

I made my decision to remain a fighter after getting Dak'kon up to level 7/7. I also decided to get Fall-From Grace to join, whose surrounding sub plots in the Brothel I found quite well written.

I'm starting to wander around UnderSigil and getting into the nastiest battles I've found in the game thus far. I'm delaying my ultimate search for the portal to Ravel for a bit, as I've run into some strange problems....

@ Nerull

When I upset Thildon, I think this has upset my relations with everyone in the Godsmen area as no-one except for Keldorn will speak more than a few sentence to me! Even Bedai doesn't say very much at all, giving me only one option to leave...I wonder if I've buggered this up? :(

Possible spoiler:

So struggling for ideas, I explored the Sensorium in more detail, including every sensate stone.
I found the Dodecahedron and took it to Finam. Communicated with his father's spirit, got a memory back...yet, something strange happened. I found Finam's book, yet he won't and hasn't given me a quest to find it again, which I thought he would after finding the Dodecahedron....

So hmmmm, some confusion to clear up. I wonder what I must do for the Godsmen to forgive me? Renounce Dustman? I think not! [img]smile.gif[/img]

CerebroDragon
=====++UDIC++=====

CerebroDragon, you will only get the dialogue options about the book and manage to get Finam to accept it if you don't talk to the ashes of his father. There are two ways of getting the info you need: one is to befriend Finam by finding his book, the other is to talk to the ashes, and they are mutually exclusive.

As for the Godsmen, do you have a save-game from before you pissed them off? Usually it's a good idea to find out what you can from someone and ascertain they aren't needed for any vital quests, and THEN piss them off. :D
Anyway, you need a Godsman to help you find the portal you're looking for...

SPOILERS
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Yep, if you ticked off Thildon, you pretty much screwed it up. Go back to a previous save, if possible. The Dodecahedron is exactly what I was talking about. Once you get it translated, you should get a legacy number. Your best bet if you do not have high intelligence is to go get the book instead of talking to the ashes. If you talk to the ashes without a high intelligence, you will be unable to translate the language, and thus unable to proceed (as choosing the ashes will block you from returning the book). As a fighter type, just go get the book and return it to him.

Thanks again Nerull...Although I think I may have found a way to save myself from resorting to an older game just yet....

During some enjoyable experiments in mass combat training in Godmen's HQ, I discovered a small portion of the map I had not explored sufficiently...

It led me to a rather remote bottom corner to a chap named Nadilin, whose conversation featured nothing other than leaving or killing. Disappointing really. But, I mindlessly sent him into oblivion to his True Death as any would-be Dustman should! [img]smile.gif[/img] Disposing of both he and the guard, I was overjoyed to find that he had some items left over...what's this, the portal I require! mwhahaha!

And so the game opens further for me. I hope I can continue to enjoy it so immensely, playing it is like having some kind of hyperreal dystopian dream or fever. Mindblowing, really. ;)

I'm going to explore the Undersigil now and to prepare as much as I can xp wise before going further plot wise...

I'm surprised that Ironworks didn't already have a forum dedicated to this brilliant game...but perhaps is one of Interplay's more elite/esoteric masterpieces?

Cheers,
Cerebrodragon

Good deal! Enjoy!

The reason they never put their own forum is that the game never sold as well as the BG series. In fact, you will only find a few new threads a month on the game. Not enough demand to have its own forum.