Advice for a Newbie...

[Warhammer]

1- Dracons acid spit damage is level dependent. But not enough to be really worth an action round in the mid-late game.

2- Think of spells as a two dimension table. On the X-axis you have the 4 spellbooks (Alchemy, Wizardry, Divinity, Psionics) and on the Y-axis the 6 realms (Fire, Earth, Air, Mind, Water, Divine)

True most Divine realm spells are also in the divinity spellbook, and most mind spells are in the psionic spellbook.

But there are many exceptions, Enchanted Blade for example, is available to Wizards and not Priest even though it is a Divine *realm* spell. Concussion is a Wizard not Psionic spell even though it belongs to the mental realm.

The index in the end of the manual especially where the spells are separated in 4 spellbooks is very usefull to clear the confusion.

3- On paper swithching from Rogue to Bard may seem a great idea, since they keep their pickpocket, disarm skills open. But in pracice it is not such a good move, since bards are great in the early to mid game (they can "cast spells" with their instruments better than a pure spellcaster of the same level) but in the mid-late game the bard gets surpassed by spellcasters. So class changing your Rogue to Bard at say level 10 will not be a good idea since he will only be able to play level 15 instruments when he reaches level 25, total.

I would consider class changing from rogue to fighter, once the Stealth, Disarming and pickpocket skills are high enough, the dagger he has been practicing with goes nicely in the offhand of a dual wielding fighter. Just a personal opinion though.

[Brak]

Thank you all for the relplies, this certainly seems to be a very good board. This game is going to take a lot of getting used to. Having played all the Black Isle games and recently completing Gothic, I am a bit overwhelmed by the amount of race/class combinations possible. And the different forms of magic use are blowing my mind. I will definately have several reads through the index of spells in the manual, it appears that will help me get a grip.

Since I am getting my ass handed to me on the road to Arnika I am thinking about starting another party. I find the spit acid ability of my dracon so very useful...it does the same amount of damage to 10 enemies at a time as one arrow does to only one of those enemies. So why not have 3 or 4 dracons in my party. And maybe an Alchemist instead of a Psionic. Alchemists seem to have some nice area damage spells. And this way I could start with a bard instead of trying to switch my rogue who is already 7th level (too late from some of the opinions gathered here).

And JUST TO CONFIRM: I suspect that certain items I find can only be combined using a gadgeteer, like umm parts of stuff, like the microwave chip. But the same button that combines things can be used by only the Alchemist to combine things like potions and powders, right? And if so, is there a comprehensive recipe list anywhere out there?

Off Topic - don't read any further unless you want to read about who Brak is - Brak is indeed a character from the Space Ghost franchise. But he is not the evil bug (that is Zorak). Space Ghost started as an action cartoon by Hanna Barbara in the late 70's & 80's. You know, a super hero fighting evil on distant planets and in space. When I was a kid it was pretty cool stuff. A comic book style kind of b-cartoon. Well, now that Turner's Cartoon Network owns the rights to Hanna Barbara cartoons, they decided a few years back to do something funny with all that footage of Space Ghost. They made him into a late night talk show host with real guests (usually famous actors & musicians). Very wierd, kind of adult humor. The show is called Space Ghost Coast to Coast. This weekend I saw an episode with Bjork and the singer for Radiohead. Zorak is his band leader and is very evil. They also tried to make a morning show where Space Ghost hosted and sang silly songs and showed clips of other old Hanna Barbara cartoons, this was called Cartoon Olio, or something like that. This featured Brak as the sidekick, Brak has a really funny voice and sings some of the silliest songs you've ever heard, and is an alien kid of some kind. Since then Cartoon Olio flopped and Space Ghost Coast to Coast was a hit. But people loved Brak so he now has his own show, first there was a big stage production called Brak presents the Brak Show starring Brak. Lately he has been in a much funnier Leave It To Beaver take off more simply called the Brak Show. Go here if you want to see images of and learn more about the funny and handsome BRAK!
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/spaceg...rak/index.html
And here is a link to Space Ghost's Invincible Super Site where he has movie reviews and other great stuff:
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/spaceghost/index.html

[Jodmos]

Hey Brak, thanx for givin me insights who "Brak" is.
Damn good posting =)
Thanx for ur effort.

When taking dragons keep in mind that when you hit 100 in a certain atribute it unlocks personal skills ( eg 100 str gives you the ability of powerstrike which is very usefull for warriortypes ).
Skills and atributes are very important in this game, so taking dracons for certain classes where atributes are needed they are lacking at would be not such a good idea.
But its your choice, some freaks ( no offence hehe ) even play the game with a bunch of feary ninjas, they must be masochists or experts =)
Go for a bard instead, their first instrument casts sleep at a high powerlevel, wich is very usefull in the early stages.
My first party without a bard had a damn hard time getting to Arnika, because the roads where swarmed with critters and banidts.
My bard party just laughed about that ;D
And while the game continoues the instruments youll find get better and better.

I wont tell you what instruments to come ( i was surprised my self and dont want to take this from you if you go with a bard )
but belive me they rock.

[chimera99]

Brak,

It's very easy to get caught in the early game, I need 4 Dracons breath type syndrome. Don't. This is a LONG game and the balance of power shifts a lot during it. If you optimize for the short haul, you will really be sad 50 hours into the game. (Early on the road you get a bard instrument that beats the Dracs breath.) Dracs are cool, just don't love them for their breath. And yes, the first road can be a real !@#@!#!@. One hint, don't rest unless you absolutly MUST. If you do rest, stop resting as soon as you have you health/spell points back. That is one area where monsters respawn at a high rate. Get through fast. (Later come back with an elemental in tow and pay then all back.)