Profile for Marak

Field	Value
Displayed name	Marak
Member number	4902
Title	Apprentice
Postcount	42
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Registered	Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00

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what is your group make up? in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Friday, November 25 2005 16:03 Profile #7 Here goes: In Avernum 2, since the Melee damage cap is so ludicrously low, I basically make everyone into massive magic monsters: everone has at least 13 points in both Mage and Priest Spells (although I try my darndest to get 18/18 with everyone), high Intelligence, and a fair measure of other useful stats: Cave Lore, Strength (to carry my phat loot), Endurance (you need HP, after all), Luck, Defense, and Hardiness (to reduce encumbrance from armor). Of course, all my characters have both the Natural Mage (casting in armor for the win) and Sickness Prone (to offset the XP penalty for Natural Mage) Traits. In Avernum 3, it's the same thing, but 2 of my characters stop the Mage/Priest Spells at 12 or so, and instead focus a bit more on Melee (since you can do REAL damage with Melee in A3): I put the points I'd normally spend getting Mage/Priest Spells to 18 on Melee Weapons, Polearms, Assassination, Gymnastics, and Dexterity: that way, my "Melee Duo" still have all but 6 of the game's spells, and it gives me a viable backup plan for when I encounter Magic Immune critters (like Rakshasa or Doomguards). Why do I do this? I like being powerful to the point of outrageousness. Plus it's amusing to get into a fight with virtually anything and have the ability to end the fight in one round, as each character unleashes their stupidly powerful Ice Lances/Lightning Spray/Fireblast/Arcane Blow spells. It's sad how much damage a character with 18 Mage Spells, 12 Intellect, and 9 Magery can do. And I won't even get into how convientent it is when ALL your characters can cast Healing, War Blessing, Haste, Unshackle Mind, Mass Curing, Mass Healing, Fireblast, Ice Lances, Lightning Spray, Cloud of Blades, UNLOCK DOORS, and MOVE MOUNTAINS. There's nothing you can't fight, and no obstacles can bar your way. Who needs to blow 75+ skill points on Tool Use when you have Level 2/3 Unlock Doors on every character and your resistances are so high (thanks to your Luck and high Mage/Priest/Intellect scores) that you can laugh off most trap damage (or cure it with Mass Curing/Healing)? How'd you like to take your end-game Party and be able to have a realistic chance at killing Erika in her tower (in A3)? She and her FOUR Doomguards laughed at my "balanced" Fighter, Thief, Cleric, Mage Party, but with my All Magic Party, I killed her. And her Doomguards. Without anyone dying. Ok, sorry, done ranting. You should try an all Dual-uber-caster party sometime. It's fun being the most powerful quartet of mortals in the world of Avernum. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
I wonder what would happen.... in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Friday, October 21 2005 12:15 Profile #11 Yes, it's true, most cities have several states of "decay". As as mentions before, Kriszan has several - I remember the first time I played through I took about 30 days to even GET to the surface; by the time I had cleared the Agate Tower, the chick in the shrine in the NE corner of town was gone, and I think they got that Archer NPC that would otherwise join you (Hawk?), as well. More barriers and busted up buildings than when I first got there. And, of course, it all stopped after I finally found and offed the Slimes for good. It would be kind of fun to buy a stack of food and Rest, coming back into town every few days to see what the slimes/cockroaches have done to it. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
On Nov 1st, 2005.... in General
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Tuesday, October 18 2005 13:40 Profile #33 Joss Whedon is my master now. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
This is getting old. in General
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Tuesday, October 18 2005 13:19 Profile #34 SEVENTY-SECOND! SCORE! *Ahem* Uh yeah, sorry about that. Um, keep up the nice work. I like statistics. ...carry on. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
In A4 i think that you should be able to murder in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Tuesday, October 18 2005 13:09 Profile #10 Alorael has a point, murdering people and hiding their bodies Solid Snake-style wouldn't add much to the game. I still think Pickpocketing could be fun and/or interesting if done properly. I mean, stealing stuff from their pockets is no worse than closing a door in order to steal stuff from behind their back. On a completely unrelated note, when you guys brought up unscrupulous Adventurers, I was suddenly tempted to take my Level 49 end-game party in A3, port back to Fort Emergence, and systematically kill every living being on the continent of Valorim. Just because, at this point, I probably could. They could possibly even rampage through Blackcrag and assassinate the Empress, in the grand Avernite Adventurer Tradition. Hmm. I may seriously have to try that, it sounds fun and challenging. Make a save game file titled something like "They finally snapped from the strain of having 30 unfinished quests scattered across the entire continent.sav" Edit: clarification, typos [ Tuesday, October 18, 2005 13:12: Message edited by: Marak ] -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
Prophetic Names for NPCs in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Tuesday, October 18 2005 13:00 Profile #8 An excellent point, Knot. I admit I handn't thought of it that way. Thanks for the insight. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
In the Sewers of Shayder... in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Tuesday, October 18 2005 12:58 Profile #20 I still use it to mop up whatever doesn't die to my Level 3 Lightning Spray. Why blow 4-6-8-10 MP on a monster with 30 HP when can off it for 2 MP with Level 3 Bolt of Fire? And no, my Ashwood Bow with Iron Arrows with 5 Dex and 0 Bow skill isn't going to cut it. I'm just saying, Bolt of Fire still gets a fair amount of use (especially in a Magic-heavy Party like mine) even at "higher" levels. Although, I will admit that once you're Level 40+ with 130+ MP and 5 points in Magery and 10 Intelligence and 18 Mage Spells, it pretty much falls by the wayside. And more on topic, how is that the High Priest of the Anama seems like, for the most part, a fair-minded (if biased), reasonable individual, and yet his followers are intolerant, xenophobic pricks? I mean, seriously, try to talk to anyone in the Anama without Rings on, see where it gets you. And yet, you can talk to the leader of the Anama fresh off the street and he'll teach you Priest Spells until the cows come home. It's weird. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
In the Sewers of Shayder... in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Monday, October 17 2005 10:27 Profile #18 Well, my Mages with 0 points in any weapon skill were more than happy to bump the damage their Bolt of Fire did from 35 to 55... -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
In the Sewers of Shayder... in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Sunday, October 16 2005 14:23 Profile #15 I believe the "main character" or "protaganist" was called Montresor (see my "quote" above). And hey, it still fits. The dead guy was a Mason (Mage) and his murderer is not (Anama). -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
Prophetic Names for NPCs in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Sunday, October 16 2005 14:20 Profile #2 Nominative determinism. Nice. I still say authors have a tendancy to do this (whether on purpose or not), whereas in real life it's normally more coincidence than anything. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
In A4 i think that you should be able to murder in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Sunday, October 16 2005 14:14 Profile #2 I sort of agree with you... having a real use for Tool Use would be great. I mean, really, what is it good for OTHER than avoiding the damage from traps? Nothing. Open Doors is better than Tool Use at opening roughly 99.95% of the doors in the game. I think Pickpocketing would be great. Your Skill vs. the NPC's Level (or equivalent)... failure means the town hates you (like Stealing), success nets you some Coins and maybe some sellable loot of minor value (or great value, depending on the NPC, imagine what would be in X's pockets, for instance...) -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
Things I learnt playing Avernum in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Sunday, October 16 2005 08:53 Profile #14 Actually, I was thinking more of Patrick in A2 (Mr. OMG! Linda summoned a demon or 3! I am SO outta here *teleports halfway across Avernum and stays there for a long, long time*) and X, who made tracks for safer points the moment Linda started trouble in A3. Or maybe I should make it 13. When Linda does something bad, the Triad flees in terror, because the most powerful mages in Avernum stand NO chance against Demons; only ADVENTURERS (tm) are equipped to fight THOSE things. Well, seriously. What do Adverturers have in the way of Demon Slaying Prowess that the Triad does not? Ok, fine, they might have Repel Spirit Level 3 and the Demonslayer, but those are trivial! *goes and hides in the corner* -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
Prophetic Names for NPCs in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Sunday, October 16 2005 08:34 Profile #0 *Rant Mode: On* I just love how characters in Video Games, Movies, Books, etc. will often have names that give hints as to who they are or what they do. Because, you know, Mom and Dad would be looking at their newborn baby, and one would say to the other, "You know dear, he looks like he'll be a Necromancer some day. Let's name him Necaros!" Or maybe, "He seems like a loner, honey. I think we should call him Purgatos!" *Rant Mode: Off* Yeah, not trying to make fun of anyone (like Jeff or J.K. Rowling), but I find it somewhat humorous when characters have names that describe them in adulthood. Especially when said name is their real, honest, legal, given name and not some kind of taken-for-granted nickname. Any other ironic, too-true names you've seen in Avernum you want to share? I'm sure I've forgotten a bunch of them. Edit: And how about the Island of Bigail? With the roaches all over it, spreading filth and disease, anyone living there experiences a Big Ailment! Ba bum Ksh! [ Sunday, October 16, 2005 08:36: Message edited by: Marak ] -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
In the Sewers of Shayder... in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Sunday, October 16 2005 08:26 Profile #13 Granted, the poor sap in Amontillado wasn't a Mage per say, but when I saw that screenshot that's the first thing that popped into my head. I could just see a guy in Anama robes, his ring glinting in the dim light, bricking up the poor, bound mage for past transgressions while the doomed man futilely cried out for mercy. Poe FTW. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
what party do you use? in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Sunday, October 16 2005 08:14 Profile #22 For A2: 4 Human Customs, normally 2 males and 2 females. I go supremely magic heavy, with EVERY character able to cast both Priest and Mage spells, and at the highest level you can start with (usually 6 Mage/5 Priest). I neglect all stats except the Big Four, Mage and Priest spells. One character gets Tool Use, one Potion Making, one Arcane Lore, and one Luck. Oh, and every Character ALWAYS has Natural Mage and Sickness Prone. Uber Mageness for a 5% XP hit? I can handle that. It's fun to slaughter everything with a party that's able to Haste themselves and cast 8 attack spells per round. Sure, buying all those spells gets expensive, but you never need to buy equipment in Avernum, so what else are you going to spend your coins on? Other than the occasional Special Skill, that is. For A3: because Melee characters aren't totally worthless in A3 like they are in A2, I make a Party much like my A2 one, but with 2 characters that put a few more points into Melee/Pole Weapons and Strength. That way I can have 4 casters, 2 of which are also able to fight fairly well (and take the hits a bit better) at the expense of having 18 Mage/18 Priest by the end of the game. I also give everyone a scattering of points in Hardiness and Defense, and the 2 Fighter-types get a point or 3 in Assassination. Works pretty well. The lead character can smite things out of combat if need be, and everyone can wear heavy armor (thanks to Natural Mage and Hardiness). As for names, I have a few favories: I pick 4 of the following names for my Custom Humans: Taya, Lanea, Marak, Rallen, Mortred, Mallis, and Nema. If I put in a Slith of Nephil (I normally don't), I give them bizarre names like Sh1tzu (a breed of dog, har har) and Zard (short for LIzard, get it? Tee hee!). Yeah, I have a Human bias, sue me. :P [ Sunday, October 16, 2005 08:17: Message edited by: Marak ] -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
The Tower of the Magi in A3 *SPOILERS* in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Sunday, October 16 2005 08:00 Profile #14 What happens in Delis after 40 days? I don't think I've seen that... do the slimes overrun the whole town or something? It was kind of fun to cut the Linda/Portal in half with the Blassed Athame (sp?). She certainly deserved some kind of messy end like that. Talk about not learning from the past... -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
In Avernum 3, how useful are potions, and alchemy? in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Sunday, October 16 2005 07:55 Profile #5 Hrmm, I guess the question is this: Are you willing to get you Potion Making up to 12-15? Is it worth about 5 Levels' worth of Skill Points to be able to make Elixers and Knowledge Brews at the end of the game, and the occasional MP-restoring potion for the bulk of the game? If you answered "NO" to one or both of the above, it's probably not worth it to invest all the time, coins, and skill points in Alchemy/Potion Making. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
In the Sewers of Shayder... in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Thursday, October 13 2005 17:03 Profile #7 All I can say about this topic is... "For the love of God, Montresor!" -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
Newbie question...Barter in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Monday, October 10 2005 17:56 Profile #1 The short answer: Yes. The longer answer: you start off by getting somewhere in the neighborhood of 30% of an item's actual value when selling to vendors. You can incrase this value to roughly 60% by getting 16-20 points in Barter. Obviously, in order to "max out" your sell-to-vendor value, you need to give each PC 4 or 5 points in Barter. I'd also recommend doing it sooner rather than later; yes, you'll be poorer now, but it will make you much richer later, which is important if you want/need to buy new Spells, Level 2 Spells, Steel (or better) equipment, etc. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
The Tower of the Magi in A3 *SPOILERS* in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Monday, October 10 2005 16:21 Profile #2 Both, I think. :P -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
Things I learnt playing Avernum in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Monday, October 10 2005 16:20 Profile #8 11. No one - Adventurers and townsfolk alike - is able to resist the urge to sit in any and all chairs that they happen to be walking past. 12. Half the people in Avernum are described as being pale to the point of having semi-translucent skin, while the other half are somehow "dark skinned". ??? 13. When the going gets tough, members of the Triad get going. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
The Tower of the Magi in A3 *SPOILERS* in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Monday, October 10 2005 16:04 Profile #0 Ok, I'm serious here. If you haven't played through A3 to (almost) the very end, STOP READING NOW. . .. ... .... ..... Ok. I just fired up an old save of mine after reading through Draky's A3 FAQ on GameFAQs, and I noticed that he kept STRONGLY hinting that something would happen to the Tower of the Magi after Day 160. So, I bought a ton of mushrooms and Rested about 100 times until I got to day 161, walked my Party back to the Portal to the Tower, and... It's all destroyed! Infested with Demons! All the NPCs that weren't part of the Triad nothing but bloodstains and mangled corpses laying about! Shattered walls! Pits of fire/lava! Imps EVERYWHERE! Demons standing sentinel at every path that leads to the Portal in the tower's center! A badly injured and harrassed Solberg telling you how Linda finally f'ed it up big time and all but summoned Hath-groth (sp) back into Avernum! Man. It's one thing for a game to hint that trouble might be brewing... but to actually go ahead and have the WORST happen, to utterly destroy a bastion of power like the Tower of the Magi... to kill everyone present indiscriminately, as would be the case if a demonic invasion were to unexpectedly occur... I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I have to give massive Kudos to Jeff for doing it. To penalize you for lingering overlong in a very real, very disturbing, and impossible to fully rectify way. I think going back to the nuked Tower is one of the BEST Avernum moments of them all. Uh, that's all. I just wanted to vent. Comments are, of course, welcome. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
Doomguard - arrgh! in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Monday, October 18 2004 04:01 Profile #5 Since you have the Radiant Slith Spear and are using "War Blessing" I can only assume that you're fighting an A3 Doomguard. Here's what I did to defeat them with my Party: 1. War Bless and Haste whomever has the Radiant Slith Spear. Back everyone else off. 2. Have the RSS weilder attack the initial Doomguard. 3. Attack the Doomguard with the smallest bar/least HP until you snuff it. Your allies should only attack IF there's a Doomguard clone with a sliver of life that they're guaranteed to kill. Otherwise they should just be standing around, offering moral support, buffing, and healing for Mr. RSS. 4. Repeat step 3 until all the clones are dead. GG Doomguard. -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
Buying a house... in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Monday, September 13 2004 06:48 Profile #9 8000 Coins might seem like a lot, but I personally find it to be a worthwhile investment: -Just the fact that you have your very own house to explore, and "decorate", and plunder (none of this "NY" crap here :P ), is pretty sweet to begin with. -Toss in the fact that the game rewards you with a couple of nice items if you do purchase Hawk's Manse, and... -The place is the Ultimate Inn: no cost, and FULL HP and MP restoration every time you sleep there. Oh, and you get a room to leave a character behind in, so it doubles as a "barracks" as well. -Finally, it makes a convenient location to drop stuff you're not using but don't want to sell. Those little side rooms off the foyer make great dumping zones. I guess it's sort of misleading, because in that promotional blurb for the game, they make it sound like you have several houses to choose from, instead of just one, but oh well. I'd rather have one choice than none at all, you know? -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00
A2: Highest Rep you've gotten in The Avernum Trilogy
Marak Apprentice Member # 4902	written Monday, September 13 2004 06:40 Profile #0 I'm just curious how high some of you have been able to get your Reputation up to. Personally, I got mine up to 94 (Legendary), but I'm pretty sure I got my Rep lowered by a point or two somewhere along the line, and there's bound to be a quest or three that I haven't completed (or completed and never got the reward for). I guess my question is, what's the max possible Rep? 100? And is there a better "title" than "Legendary"? -------------------- Your training was extensive... "This... is a tree!" "...what's it for?" ...and confusing. ---Avernum 3 Intro Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 26 2004 07:00

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