Solo Run, many general questions

[Remata Klan]

Hello again, after you guys helped me so greatly the last time I decided to ask again for help. I got some little questions, I'm sure you can answer them all...

Firstly, some infos about my character:
I'm an Omphaaz, lvl 16 Barbarian, 175 HP and already passed many classes such as Paladin, Warlock, Wizard and Ninja.

1. I got nearly all magic spells except for the entire Vine-Realm. Is there any chance to get it ? (I'm not planning to become a Zenmaster!)

2. I've heard that Kung Fu will work especially good on Omphaaz', is that right ? Is Kung Fu better than most weapons?

3. What exactly is the differnce between enchanting and blessing? I'm only lvl 3 in enchanting (already blessed my items with damage and armor) and whenever I try to enchant an item he tells me, "you must increase your enchant skill." That's why I couldn't figure out myself, yet.

4. I decided in Ishad N'ah to make my Omphaaz Wizard to a soloist. I couldn't make up the Valeia Warrior Quests so I'm only lvl 2 in the Warrior's guild now.

a)Will I still be able to max out in guild levels and if not which skills and traits will I miss?

b) Will it be cruicial for me in any time of the game lacking those fine warrior skills? I was really looking foreward to gaining the two-handed-skill. If I’ll never get it perhaps Kung Fu really is a good option ?

5. Why could my Omphaaz magician join the priest’s guild ? My Elf Magician couldn’t, is there a special Omphaaz trait that allows every of their kind to join the priest’s guild ?

6. I was planning to choose the assassin as my final class. I believe I MUST do it now because I will meet Grue Morde now while I’m in the Dragon’s Spire.

a) Question: Wouldn’t it be better to gain some more skills and increase them easily by changing to Bard, Ranger or Monk first BEFORE I change to my final class, the assassin ? Because if I ascend to Assassin now it would take forever to learn all the new skills.

b) Is the assassin really so special and worth being chosen as final role? Or would a monk or a Samurai also be fine?

7. The Priest Munney keeps on rewarding me for talking to Janthril, is this a bug ? I guess so

8. On the way to the stout mines is a monster that attacks me but I can neither see it nor target it. What is that ? Seems like it’s hiding up in the trees.

9. In one of my “older” chars I found the scroll “assasssin’s contract”. What was that for ? I think I never used it.

10. How save is it to store items in the Inn with another character? I used to collect all the keys but suddenly they were gone except for those I still needed. Do items vanish sometimes in the Inn? Will my Assassin’s Dagger be safe there anyway ?

Wow, that’s a lot of questions. I hope you can help me out once again.
In return I want to give two hints to the Wizards and Warriors community concerning the Bronze Beast and the Scanthril Dagger Quest.
While using the search function I’ve seen that many, many problems occured with these two issues, problems I had myself

1. The Assassin’s Dagger

a) When you go to Scanthril the first time talk with him about a Job. He wants GUNDEL dead.
b) Look for the dead miner with the Miner’s Writ. This is Gundel! Afterwards immediately return to Scanthril to report his death.
c) Ask Scanthril again for a job. Now you will get the task to kill Raskallion and you’re free to kill him.

Note: Most walkthroughs tell you to kill Raskallion and return to Scanthril. If you do so without reporting Gundel’s death before, the dagger will be lost forever!

2. The Bronze Beast

Omphaazs can’t wear the Dragon Plate Mail but you can simply take another character with you, equip the Mail on him and deactivate the Bronze Beast. After that you can return to the Inn and leave the 2nd character there to continue your Solo-Run.

[Lord]

Originally posted by Remata Klan: Hello again, after you guys helped me so greatly the last time I decided to ask again for help. I got some little questions, I'm sure you can answer them all... Firstly, some infos about my character: I'm an Omphaaz, lvl 16 Barbarian, 175 HP and already passed many classes such as Paladin, Warlock, Wizard and Ninja. 1. I got nearly all magic spells except for the entire Vine-Realm. Is there any chance to get it ? (I'm not planning to become a Zenmaster!) Joining Ranger will allow you to learn vine magic. Another way to gain all the books of Magic with out become a Valkyrie is: Start off as a Priest in Spirit and Vine, switch to a warlock to get fiend and moond, become a samurai to get sun, and then the only other way to get stone (besides starting as a wizard) I think is to become a Valkyrie. But that's pointless since you can become a Zenmaster at almost the same time. 2. I've heard that Kung Fu will work especially good on Omphaaz', is that right ? Is Kung Fu better than most weapons? My Assssin has 6 or 7 skill points in Kung Fu, but only because he had no where else to put his points in really. I personally think dual wielding Arms of Argus (fully blessed) and an Assassin's Dagger (fully blessed, kept by passing to another character when recieving ascension) does more damage. I've managed to get over 200 damage in with 2 swings (1 from Arms of Argus and 1 from Assassin's Dagger), so I doubt Kung Fu can match that. Kung Fu is probably best for Monks, not Ninjas and Assassins. 3. What exactly is the differnce between enchanting and blessing? I'm only lvl 3 in enchanting (already blessed my items with damage and armor) and whenever I try to enchant an item he tells me, "you must increase your enchant skill." That's why I couldn't figure out myself, yet. To enchant an item requires you to have the Occulist Trait. To bless an item requires you to have the Cabalist trait. Enchanting a weapon can add some low/mid level spells for it to cast. Enchanting armor can give it some protection, such as protection from magic (Artifact of Fiends), protection from ice (Artifact of Ice, or Moon, I forget, it's in Mooncraft), and protection from fire (Artifact of Fire). Using Artifact of Spirit on a weapon grants it a 'to hit' bonus. Blessing an item can do numerous things: Artifact of Spirit on armour grants it regeneration. Artifact of Vines toughens a weapon or suit of armor so that it won't break. Artifact of Fiends grants extra damage when used on a weapon. Artifact of Stone grants an AC bonus to armor. 4. I decided in Ishad N'ah to make my Omphaaz Wizard to a soloist. I couldn't make up the Valeia Warrior Quests so I'm only lvl 2 in the Warrior's guild now. a)Will I still be able to max out in guild levels and if not which skills and traits will I miss? You can't max out your guild level with out cheating now. You can still reach a guild level of 5 though, so you won't miss out on any traits AFAIK. b) Will it be cruicial for me in any time of the game lacking those fine warrior skills? I was really looking foreward to gaining the two-handed-skill. If I’ll never get it perhaps Kung Fu really is a good option ? Double Strike can also be gained in the Bushi-Dojo if you want. After you get that trait, you must increase your skill in an attribute called '2nd Weapon.' You don't want to miss out on this, but you can still gain it, although it will take time now. 5. Why could my Omphaaz magician join the priest’s guild ? My Elf Magician couldn’t, is there a special Omphaaz trait that allows every of their kind to join the priest’s guild ? Is your Omphaaz magician a warlock? Warlocks can join the Priest's Guild, but a regular Wizard cannot. 6. I was planning to choose the assassin as my final class. I believe I MUST do it now because I will meet Grue Morde now while I’m in the Dragon’s Spire. a) Question: Wouldn’t it be better to gain some more skills and increase them easily by changing to Bard, Ranger or Monk first BEFORE I change to my final class, the assassin ? Because if I ascend to Assassin now it would take forever to learn all the new skills. Since you want all books of magic, I sggest you become a Ranger before becoming an Assassin. Then become an Assassin. You won't need Bard then, and you won't need Monk either. b) Is the assassin really so special and worth being chosen as final role? Or would a monk or a Samurai also be fine? Assassin is much better 7. The Priest Munney keeps on rewarding me for talking to Janthril, is this a bug ? I guess so It's a broken quest. Each time you enter the Priest's guild, it offers you a reward for completing it. Similarly, I got the quest to kill Grue Morde In Ishad N'ha, killed him, went to Brimloch Broon, entered the pawn shop, and got my reward. Each time I enter, I get reward for killing him, so this is a broken quest as well. 8. On the way to the stout mines is a monster that attacks me but I can neither see it nor target it. What is that ? Seems like it’s hiding up in the trees. 9. In one of my “older” chars I found the scroll “assasssin’s contract”. What was that for ? I think I never used it. Gorthius' 'friends' drop it if you kill them (back in Valeia). It's of no use. 10. How save is it to store items in the Inn with another character? I used to collect all the keys but suddenly they were gone except for those I still needed. Do items vanish sometimes in the Inn? Will my Assassin’s Dagger be safe there anyway ? I heard that if you give an item to a mule, then put them in the Inn, that mule will possibly not have the items you gave him/her on them any longer. A fix that I read about is that if you give the item to a mule, then check in the inventory to make sure they have it, then removing them stops this bug from occuring. Wow, that’s a lot of questions. I hope you can help me out once again. In return I want to give two hints to the Wizards and Warriors community concerning the Bronze Beast and the Scanthril Dagger Quest. While using the search function I’ve seen that many, many problems occured with these two issues, problems I had myself 1. The Assassin’s Dagger a) When you go to Scanthril the first time talk with him about a Job. He wants GUNDEL dead. b) Look for the dead miner with the Miner’s Writ. This is Gundel! Afterwards immediately return to Scanthril to report his death. c) Ask Scanthril again for a job. Now you will get the task to kill Raskallion and you’re free to kill him. Note: Most walkthroughs tell you to kill Raskallion and return to Scanthril. If you do so without reporting Gundel’s death before, the dagger will be lost forever! That's not true. I found the miner's writ on the body of Gundel, then headed straight to the stout mines and killed Raskallion. I headed to Scanthril, he said that Gundel was dead or something, and that he could tell by the look in my eyes that Raskallion was dead. So I still got the dagger, even though I reported both at once. 2. The Bronze Beast Omphaazs can’t wear the Dragon Plate Mail but you can simply take another character with you, equip the Mail on him and deactivate the Bronze Beast. After that you can return to the Inn and leave the 2nd character there to continue your Solo-Run. That's true, there are lots of guild classes that can't equip it, and the Ompaaz is a race that can't wear it.

All answers written in this color above .

[bsftcs]

1. The vine realm is a native realm to priests, warlocks, zenmasters, and rangers. So if you have not yet been a ranger that would be a good bet.

2. To my knowledge oomphazes should not be any better at kung fu than any other character with the same agility. Kung fu is generally not better than weapons (provided one has the same weapon skill as the kung fu skill). Kung fu is certainly not better than heavily enchanted weapons.

3. Blessing is done at the temple and generally bequeaths protective properties to the blessed item. Enchanting is done at the magic shoppe and generally yields offensive properties.

4a. Yes you will still be able to max out in the warrior guild. The lists of which skills and traits become available at which point are posted in the Best Tips thread. There is a bug called the multiple ascension bug, which you can exploit to max out your standing in any of the guilds right now if you wish to. It requires that you are playing the unpatched version of the game, and the method is described both in the Best Tips thread and in Stackman's Adventures.

4b. As stated you will be able to max out, so you will not miss anything. The 2nd weapon skill is definitely worth more than the kung fu - especially with two enchanted weapons.

5. That depends on the exact role of your character. Warlocks are eligible for joining the priest guild, while wizards are not. My guess is that although you describe them both as magician they have not had the same roles. There is a bug called the guild hopping bug. You can exploit that to become a member of any guild at any time. It requires that you are playing the unpatched version of the game, and the method is described both in the Best Tips thread and in Stackman's Adventures.

6 a-b. Grue Morde will only spawn in the area behind the Dragon Spire AFTER you have ascended to become an assassin. Therefore you can easily wait until the end. You should chose the other roles first. And yes, the assassin is a pretty awesome role eligible for wearing some pretty hefty garments. [img]smile.gif[/img]

7. Yes and a very good bug indeed.

8. That must be the bloodstone griffin. Yes it soars to the treetops, but stormspells and the incinerate spell should do the trick.

9. The assassin's contract is found on the ground by Gorthius's body. It is only there to prove that it was Elyssia who ordered his murder. (A plot thing). [img]smile.gif[/img]

10. The inn gliche. Radek made a post on one of the last pages of the Best Tips detailing how to avoid the bug.


As to the dagger quest. It is true that taking both the Grundel quest and the Raskalion quest simultaneously sometimes forfeits the opportunity to get the dagger, but not always. It is buggy. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 12-28-2003, 02:05 PM: Message edited by: bsftcs ]

[Bungleau]

Originally posted by Remata Klan: [b] 1. I got nearly all magic spells except for the entire Vine-Realm. Is there any chance to get it ? (I'm not planning to become a Zenmaster!) Ranger or Zenmaster. It's native to a warlock, but not one of the Warlock's spell schools, so if you don't know it, you can't learn it. 2. I've heard that Kung Fu will work especially good on Omphaaz', is that right ? Is Kung Fu better than most weapons? It's not so much that Kung Fu works on Oomphaz, but that the mental image of a three ton elephant doing a Bruce Lee impersonation is a pretty humorous thing, and some of us have few other pleasures [img]smile.gif[/img] 3. What exactly is the differnce between enchanting and blessing? I'm only lvl 3 in enchanting (already blessed my items with damage and armor) and whenever I try to enchant an item he tells me, "you must increase your enchant skill." That's why I couldn't figure out myself, yet. Okay, here's the part that's missing. Enchanting belongs in the wizards' guild, and blessing in the temple. Consider them to be two sides of the same coin -- an enchantment or a blessing are both enhancements to an item. Each item can hold a certain number of blessings or enchantments, and if you use an item "slot" for an enchantment, then you can't use that same slot for a blessing. So if you've put four blessings on your armor, you have to have an enchant skill of 5 to put the first enchantment on it. The maximum number of "slots" is 12 (14 if you're a zenmaster with Enlightenment). a)Will I still be able to max out in guild levels and if not which skills and traits will I miss? The bug mentioned only works in the unpatched game. Many skills are available from multiple classes, and even if you don't get them, you'll be a tail-kicking machine by the end of the game. You can't really play the game wrong from that point of view.<.b> b) Will it be cruicial for me in any time of the game lacking those fine warrior skills? I was really looking foreward to gaining the two-handed-skill. If I’ll never get it perhaps Kung Fu really is a good option ? Nope. 5. Why could my Omphaaz magician join the priest’s guild ? My Elf Magician couldn’t, is there a special Omphaaz trait that allows every of their kind to join the priest’s guild ? As was pointed out, were they both wizards, or was one a warlock? 6. I was planning to choose the assassin as my final class. I believe I MUST do it now because I will meet Grue Morde now while I’m in the Dragon’s Spire. False assumption. You don't meet him until you're an assassin. He'll be there when you're ready. a) Question: Wouldn’t it be better to gain some more skills and increase them easily by changing to Bard, Ranger or Monk first BEFORE I change to my final class, the assassin ? Because if I ascend to Assassin now it would take forever to learn all the new skills. Just choices in the game. By the end of a typical game, I have many skills I've never used. You just smile and move on. Aside from Fletchery for the ranger, that is... that skill, I use all the time. [img]smile.gif[/img] b) Is the assassin really so special and worth being chosen as final role? Or would a monk or a Samurai also be fine? Assassinship is something neat, and assassins make fine killing machines. Of the three special roles, it shows up far earlier than the other two, which really don't appear until the end game. Again, there's nothing right or wrong about finishing as an assassin -- it's just a choice you can make. 7. The Priest Munney keeps on rewarding me for talking to Janthril, is this a bug ? I guess so Bug in the unpatched version, I believe. 8. On the way to the stout mines is a monster that attacks me but I can neither see it nor target it. What is that ? Seems like it’s hiding up in the trees. Bloodstone Roc, as bsftcs mentioned. If you're running before you encounter it, you tend to get into a clearing where it can become visible for you. Otherwise, you're dealing with bird poop from the heavens Wow, that’s a lot of questions. I hope you can help me out once again. Hope we have In return I want to give two hints to the Wizards and Warriors community concerning the Bronze Beast and the Scanthril Dagger Quest. And thanks for contributing back! While using the search function I’ve seen that many, many problems occured with these two issues, problems I had myself 1. The Assassin’s Dagger a) When you go to Scanthril the first time talk with him about a Job. He wants GUNDEL dead. b) Look for the dead miner with the Miner’s Writ. This is Gundel! Afterwards immediately return to Scanthril to report his death. c) Ask Scanthril again for a job. Now you will get the task to kill Raskallion and you’re free to kill him. Note: Most walkthroughs tell you to kill Raskallion and return to Scanthril. If you do so without reporting Gundel’s death before, the dagger will be lost forever! The trick is that you must ask Scanthril about *BOTH* jobs the first time. If you kill Rathskallion before you get the job, you don't get the dagger. 2. The Bronze Beast Omphaazs can’t wear the Dragon Plate Mail but you can simply take another character with you, equip the Mail on him and deactivate the Bronze Beast. After that you can return to the Inn and leave the 2nd character there to continue your Solo-Run. For some reason, I thought that the Dragon Plate made by Freyedies was equippable by any character, just so you could get past the firebeast. The stuff you steal from the vaults may not be. Now, I haven't tried to put it on an Oomphaz that I can think of, but I thought that's the way it worked. And as I think about it, as long as you've got the plate and are sufficiently protected from fire (see enchantments, artifact of sun), you can withstand the heat and deactivate the critter. I may try that again...

Whew! Thanks for asking a ton of questions, and I hope this run-through is enjoyable! Keep us posted...

[Radek]

I have almost nothing to add [img]smile.gif[/img] Only a few details:

1. The Assassin Dagger. You'd better do it as you have described it. Therefore, talk to Scanthril, find Grundel, report to Scanthril, talk about "Job", kill Raskallion, and report to Scanthril. Otherwise, you are risking that you will lose the dagger.
At any rate, you must get the "find Grundel" quest and you must have talked about "Job" and got the "Kill Raskallion" quest. Killing Raskallion witout these conditions met = losing the dagger.

2. The bronze nonsense. You can Vanish past the nonsense to the lever so that you don't need the armor at all. Go to the beginning of the passage, orient yourself so that you are looking to its end, and cast Vanish. You will appear at the lever. Click the lever.
Sometimes, the spell fails - it means that you are looking in wrong direction. Reload, change the direction a bit, and try again. A bit of practice and you will never fail [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

3. Blessing and Enchanting. In fact, it's the same enchanting but Blessing gives you different effects than Enchanting. In general, Blessing is much more useful. A few details about blessing and enchanting:
a) You can add only as many blessings/enchantings as high is your skill. If you have Blessings 6 then you can add 6 blessings at most. And so on.
b) Blessings and Enchantings stack. If you want to add 3 blessing and 4 enchantings then you will need:
- Blessings 3 and Enchant 7. In this case, you will bless first and enchant then.
- Blessings 7 and Enchant 4. In this case, you will enchant first and bless then.
c) Some items are already enchanted/blessed. For example, the Sword of Hearths is already three times blessed. These blessings/enchantings count to the total number of blessings/enchantings. Examples:
- You cannot bless/enchant the Sword of Hearths with Blessing/Enchanting less than 4.
- With Blessing 12, you can add only 9 blessings to the Sword of Hearths.
And so on.

[Remata Klan]

Thank you very much Lord, bsftcs, Radek and Bungleau !
I can't believe how fast and accurate every single of my questions got answered again. I love this forum

Originally posted by Lord: Is your Omphaaz magician a warlock? Warlocks can join the Priest's Guild, but a regular Wizard cannot.

My Oomphaz could join Wizard’s and Priest’s guild right from the beginning being a regular wizard. Probably I exploited a bug without even knowing.

Originally posted by Bungleau: It's not so much that Kung Fu works on Oomphaz, but that the mental image of a three ton elephant doing a Bruce Lee impersonation is a pretty humorous thing

Now that you mention it, I think what I read about was a joke about a five ton elephant performing drop kicks. I just didn’t get it

I will train my Ranger now and move over to the Assassin’s role. I can finally concentrate on playing then instead of boring training

[Bungleau]

Originally posted by Remata Klan: Thank you very much Lord, bsftcs, Radek and Bungleau ! I can't believe how fast and accurate every single of my questions got answered again. I love this forum You're most welcome. We aim to serve... quote: Originally posted by Lord: Is your Omphaaz magician a warlock? Warlocks can join the Priest's Guild, but a regular Wizard cannot.

My Oomphaz could join Wizard’s and Priest’s guild right from the beginning being a regular wizard. Probably I exploited a bug without even knowing.

I believe that would be a heretofore undiscovered bug. I've never started an Oomphaz wizard; mine have always been clerics... er, priests. I may have to give that a shot...

Originally posted by Bungleau: It's not so much that Kung Fu works on Oomphaz, but that the mental image of a three ton elephant doing a Bruce Lee impersonation is a pretty humorous thing

Now that you mention it, I think what I read about was a joke about a five ton elephant performing drop kicks. I just didn’t get it
I remember that post as well. That's why I made my first Oomphaz a monk for a while...

I will train my Ranger now and move over to the Assassin’s role. I can finally concentrate on playing then instead of boring training [/QUOTE]Well, definitely go to it and have some fun! And for a side note, if you drop the "-" out of your smilies, they often turn into cool graphics, such as >> Just thought I'd pass that along to you...