HoonDing

You forgot his most important role: Autolycus in Hercules and Xena.

Ukraine is a modern-day Tortuga. The butthurt in that .pdf is exquisite.

I did a playthrough as a dual-wielding blaster pistol user in heavy armour once. It was pretty boring and felt like playing Space Siege. To the game's credit, though, at least pistols/rifles builds are equal to melee builds. In KOTOR 1, ranged weapons are pathetic.

If you found that first dragon part hard, I am sure Zagan must've caused (or will cause) a lot of raeg...

I think he meant the cave with the two rival sisters. It's easy to miss on a first run. Sentinel Island is my favourite area in the game, simply because of the awesome theme. The first time you arrive in the sunset and that time starts playing, is pretty awe-inspiring.-

Suck it, haters.

The Thalaria arrives at the Isle of Forgetting and is welcomed by Brother Emmeran. BROTHER EMMERAN: Greetings! In the name of the Riverfather, I welcome you to the Isle of Forgetting! BROTHER EMMERAN: You have come, just as I asked. I am pleased to meet you again. URDIRIEL: Greetings, I am also pleased to see you again. BROTHER EMMERAN: And as I see, you are not alone. URDIRIEL: Yes, this is Ardo with his companions Forgrimm and Cano. I'm sure you are already familiar with Captain Delbrack and his crew. ARDO: It is an honor to meet you, Brother Emmeran. After hearing of you, we all wished to meet you ourselves. BROTHER EMMERAN: Then I'm glad to answer that wish. Please, come down from your ship. I would like to tell you a little about this place. ARDO: I thank you for your invitation, Brother Emmeran. I am intrigued to discover more about this place. For now, there's nothing more to do on the Isle of Forgetting than follow Emmeran and Ardo on a tour of the island and listen to a history lesson about the place. When the tour ends in front of the temple, Urdiriel asks Emmeran about his words in Nadoret. URDIRIEL: You mentioned my destiny when we met in Nadoret... Is that why you wanted me to find you? BROTHER EMMERAN: Yes, the Riverfather revealed your face to me in a vision... you will play a role in the fate of the river, that is certain. Give me your hand... BROTHER EMMERAN: Yes... the image is becoming clearer. A dark cave filled with putrid water... Tentacles that search for you in the dark... beware the death that lurks beneath your feet... URDIRIEL: What are you talking about? What do you mean? BROTHER EMMERAN: Forgive me, I can tell you no more. in the end, it is your deeds that will determine your fate. I will follow your progress and speak with the Riverfather. BROTHER EMMERAN: But heed my warning: take care at the Tollgate. This fortress is a place of suffering and fear. Do not be deceived by appearances to the contrary. ARDO: Wait, what makes you think we want to go there? BROTHER EMMERAN: It is your destiny... you may set your own course on the waters of the Great River... but the River of Time has a will of its own. When you have found it, bring it to me... URDIRIEL: It? What do you mean? BROTHER EMMERAN: You will know when the time comes. But enough of this, my friends. Your tasks are preordained... only you can decide how you face them. ARDO: Well... so be it. Since you mention our tasks... I had best return to the ship. We must prepare to continue our journey. ARDO: It was an honor to meet you, Brother Emmeran. BROTHER EMMERAN: I thank you. It was good to have guests again. Visit me again whenever you wish. Until then, go with the blessing of the Riverfather. And thus, the party continues on to the Tollgate. More to come, on Friday.

After the fateful night where Fayris bit the dust, Urdiriel and Jaakon have a nice batch of leveling points, which is spent on raising some their skills/spells and learning some new ones. Importantly, Jaakon picks up Alchemy and Urdiriel learns the art of bowyery. Following Gerlin's instructions, they visit the Leaping Stag to share their experiences with Ardo, Forgrimm & Cano. ARDO: Ah, there you are. Did you find out anything useful? URDIRIEL: More than useful. A certain "Gerlin" approached me... he's on a secret mission to track down the river pirates. ARDO: Gerlin, you say? Never heard of him. What does he have to do with this? And who is this with you? JAAKON: My name is Jaakon Zagor. I work with Gerlin - in his name I would like to join you in your search for the pirates. ARDO: Jaakon Zagor. Hmm. Well, if you think so... URDIRIEL: I think we can trust Gerlin. He suspected that a band of smugglers were taking goods from the pirate attacks from here further inland. JAAKON: That's right. Your friend helped me and my partner Fayris Lynxeye explore the docks one night to try and find out about this contraband... FORGRIMM: Well, well. So we're supposed to trust these people... hmm. Did you find anything suspicious? Were smugglers there? URDIRIEL: You can say that again... we were instantly ambushed several times. We had to rescue Gerlin, as he was being held by the smugglers and a magician by name "Coldstone". Unfortunately one of Gerlin's companions was killed in the attempt... whereas Coldstone was able to use his magic to escape. FORGRIMM: Hmm... What have we gained, if he escaped? We still don't know where these pirates have their hideout. If this keeps up, we'll never... we'll never get the stolen merchandise back. URDIRIEL: Well... it's not at all certain whether the smugglers and this "Coldstone" have anything to do with the pirate attacks. Gerlin was, however, able to overhear a conversation that linked the Commandant of the local Tollgate to the smugglers. CANO: The Commandant of the Tollgate, you say? Hmm... perhaps we should pay the gentleman a visit, what do you think, Ardo? ARDO: Aye... I think we should see what's what there. What about you? Are you joining us? URDIRIEL: Of course! What did you think? JAAKON: I will go with you as well... and not just because Gerlin wishes it. This Coldstone must be stopped, whatever he's up to. ARDO: Right, then it's settled. We'll meet at the docks. Ardo secures the services of Captain Delbrack and his boat, the Thalaria. However, there is a problem that needs solving. Delbrack fell out with his crew and they left in a huff. Urdiriel's task is to convince them to return. Delbrack gives her 10 ducats in case all persuasion attempts fail. The first sailor, Four-Finger Salm, is harassing the local blacksmith near the South Gate of Nadoret. Now, if our characters had good social talents, a lot of experience could be won here by convincing the sailors without having to pay up. But alas... All persuasion checks fail, however, and Urdiriel is forced to cough up 4 ducats. The second sailor, Silvertooth Yallik, is in the caverns underneath Nadoret, betting on fights in an arena. Again we convince the sailor by using 4 ducats. Dumb Dan is a drunk, picking fights at the Leaping Stag. Urdiriel manages to succesfully intimidate Dumb Dan and this time doesn't have to pay up. Leaving the tavern, Urdiriel and Jaakon run into the beggar Old Greyhair. Turns out Greyhair is working as Gerlin's eyes and ears in Nadoret. GREYHAIR: Ohh... excuse me... do you have a farthing for a poor one-legged man? URDIRIEL: I'm busy at the moment. Out of the way... GREYHAIR: Psst! Gerlin sent me, I have a message for you! URDIRIEL: Aha! A message. How can I tell it's really from him? JAAKON: Because I can confirm it. Old Greyhair is Gerlin's contact here in Nadoret. We had strict instructions to keep it a secret - unless he contacted us. We can trust him. Greyhair hands over a letter which contains the interesting tidbit that Coldstone does not wear any magician seal, i.e. not acting under the authority of any guild laws or regulations, i.e. being a rogue mage. After all this hoopnanny, the Thalaria can finally depart. Urdiriel, remembering Brother Emmeran's invitation, decides to make a stop at the Isle of Forgetting before pushing on to the Tollgate.

I'd say all pre-ME boards are worth visiting.

Et tu, Felicia?

Hermosa is awesome. She always kicks Kenneth's ass when they duel. Best French accent ever as well.

The game will make for a very entertaining Let's Play, that's for sure.

Would anyone be surprised if the Witcher 2, a completely DRM-free game, gets leaked before release? It will be interesting to see how much that game will be pirated... maybe the final test for the PC gaming industry before finally going over to exclusively developing MMOs, indie & browser games.

Is there seriously a woman in Gears of War 3?

That's the point. The entire game is taking a piss at the whole serious business epic fantasy trend in RPGs. It's the fantasy version of Anchronox.

Paint the Elf blue in Photoshop and we have a Na'vi.

Well, Manny didn't slaughter Commander Rhode. Though Larian McGuffins her out of the way, being able to kill her three underlings is still quite a stretch. They're only level 13, Rhode is probably at least level 40.

Dragon Age 2: Too fast, too furious.

Anjali's suit reminds me of the female Templar armour from Hellgate: London.

The junk golem can be rather easily defeated by setting it on fire with the Incendiary Arrows that Urdiriel picked up earlier and Jaakon's Thunderbolts. The summoned fire elemental is meant to keep the golem away from Jaakon and Urdiriel, but unfortunately it doesn't have a lot of hit points and goes down quickly. Eventually the junk golem is defeated, knocking down Urdiriel in the process. While Jaakon is mourning over Fayris' body, Urdiriel unties Gerlin. AGENT GERLIN: Coldstone. I... I was too careless. I'll never forgive myself. JAAKON: Poppy****! What happened to Fayris has nothing to do with you, it was that... that monster! URDIRIEL: Even though I may not have known Fayris very well, I deeply regret that we weren't able to save her. AGENT GERLIN: Truly, an immeasurable loss. A life so young, ended so casually and cruelly. In spite of this, my friends, we mustn't lose hope. Not now. URDIRIEL: So 'Coldstone' is the name of the man whom we have to thank for this? What part does he play in this matter? AGENT GERLIN: That's the big question I don't have an answer for... not right now, anyway. I don't know much about him. But I will remember his face... and his name. We've clashed before, during my youth. URDIRIEL: Clashed? AGENT GERLIN: Yes, it was a trivial matter during my service, an... irregularity. I can't even remember what it was about. But I'll get to the bottom of it, even if I have to examine every document from my service days. AGENT GERLIN: Well... the actual reason I ended up being taken prisoner was a conversation behind a courtyard wall - which I was able to overhear by accident while on the way to our meeting point. AGENT GERLIN: What I heard was, "That fat swine is getting greedier by the day. He wants a bigger piece of the pie... he's almost as bad as the Baron! Now the chest is supposed to go back to the stronghold. Seems it was brought here by mistake." AGENT GERLIN: When they stopped talking, I climbed over the wall to see what was in the chest. I was so eager to catch a glimpse that I didn't notice I wasn't alone on the other side of that wall. I felt a blow on the head and... woke up here. URDIRIEL: And? What was in the chest? AGENT GERLIN: I didn't get to that, more's the pity. But we still have the following clues: the initials "S.B." were carved on the chest... I suspect that "S.B." could be the Commandant of the Tollgate, Stitus Bloomfold. URDIRIEL: Stitus Bloomfold, interesting. What's the plan this time? AGENT GERLIN: Jaakon. I want you to accompany our new friend here. If she trusts someone, you trust that person too. URDIRIEL: Ah, speaking of which: I'm traveling with three well-heeled merchants who are also in search of the pirates. Something extremely precious has apparently been stolen from them... AGENT GERLIN: Yes, I know these gentlemen... You can tell them everything. You must go to the Tollgate and find out what the connection is between Commandant Bloomfold, the smugglers and the pirates. URDIRIEL: Agreed. Together we'll get to the bottom of this. JAAKON: Yes, we shall... and we'll find what this "Coldstone" has to do with it all. AGENT GERLIN: Excellent! I'll journey to Ferdok to report on this night's events and what we have found out so far. And I will do everything in my power to find out all I can about Coldstone. May Phex be with you until we meet again! URDIRIEL: I hope you'll find some answers. Take care of yourself, Gerlin. After all this, Jaakon and Urdiriel return to the city. NEXT UPDATE: travel preparations.

Outside, Jaakon and Urdiriel decide to sneak past the smugglers to reach the warehouse where Fayris and Gerlin are. This requires some careful timing, as the area is patrolled by a mage. Eventually, they reach the southern warehouse. Just as Urdiriel and Jaakon enter the warehouse, Fayris (who apparently didn't need much help) comes storming in and attacks a mage who is guarding Gerlin. The mage, however, stops the arrow in its path and hits Fayris with a ball of lightning, instantly killing her (and crushing Urdiriel's hopes for a F/F romance). The mage then leaves after dropping a glowing object on the ground. The object gathers junk from around the warehouse and assembles a golem, with the intent of crushing Jaakon and Urdiriel into the ground.

Our party has barely taken ten steps when they run into some smugglers who appear to have been following Fayris. FAYRIS: Oh, no! Members of the smugglers' gang. How could they have followed me? JAAKON: We can speculate about that later. Hmm, they haven't noticed us... maybe they're only supposed to be lookouts while the ship is being unloaded. FAYRIS: I have an idea! What if I set up a trap in the passageway, and then we lure them in here? URDIRIEL: That's not a bad idea, Fayris. Let's do it. Between Fayris' traps, Jaakon's fire elemental and a volley of arrows the smugglers are easily defeated. After two more skirmishes with smugglers, now including enemy mages, the party makes it to the warehouses where Gerlin is imprisoned. Fayris now proposes to split the party to scout ahead. Fayris goes to the southern warehouse, while Jaakon takes the northern warehouse. Urdiriel stays behind to watch their backs. However, not long after Urdiriel is left alone, some gloating thugs appear. SMUGGLER: Tsk tsk... always these puffed up snoopers who don't know when to quit. SMUGGLER: Now you'll pay the same price for your stubborness as your friends did. URDIRIEL: You should have thought more about the price you'll pay for your actions... Though outnumbered, Urdiriel easily defeats the thugs are easily beaten with the help of Jaakon's fire elemental who conveniently stayed behind, and the Thunderbolt spell. Two of the thugs drop Incendiary Arrows, which will come in handy not much later. Urdiriel is now faced with a choice, either to follow Jaakon or Fayris... she decides to pick Jaakon. Once inside, she is just in time to help out Jaakon survive the trap that was set for him. However, Fayris is still in danger. JAAKON: I thank you, Urdiriel Teardream. Hurry! We have to get to Fayris in the other warehouse. Gerlin is probably in there too! URDIRIEL: Agreed. Which way? JAAKON: Through the back gate! Out to the harbor. If we access the other warehouse from there, we might have the element of surprise working to our advantage! Jaakon and Urdiriel head outside, to find the entire area to be infested with thugs. Will they come in time to save Fayris and Gerlin?

Our character has only just finished her training with Master Laurelin, when she is approached by a Dwarf. AGENT GERLIN: Urdiriel Teardream, stop... a word with you. URDIRIEL: How do you know my name? AGENT GERLIN: Now, now! Not so hasty! I didn't mean to barge into this. First of all, let me explain how you came to my notice. AGENT GERLIN: How you mastered the last stages of your training with Master Laurelin... that impressed me. And how you dealt with that crazy beekeeper... Very shrewd, I must admit. URDIRIEL: Well, shrewd isn't exactly the word I'd use. What do you really want from me? AGENT GERLIN: I'll get to that in a moment. But the most revealing part was the story about that... Blood Wolf. Pity it didn't spare any of the smugglers. They could probably have given us lots of information. URDIRIEL: Enough! How do you know all this? Who are you? AGENT GERLIN: My name is Gerlin and my... 'office' requires me to see to it that I am always well informed about things. To put it bluntly, I... stumbled upon you... so to speak... during my investigation of the pirate attacks. URDIRIEL: You're on the trail of the river pirates?! What were you able to find out... and what do these... these smugglers have to do with it?! AGENT GERLIN: I don't know that myself yet, but I'm sure we'll find out soon. However, that is something we should discuss in a somewhat quieter location. URDIRIEL: You still haven't told me whom you're working for... AGENT GERLIN: When you get your teeth into something you just don't let go, do you? Heh heh... I like that about you. However, I regret that I must keep this information from you... for now. We should really discuss this in a quieter location. URDIRIEL: Hmm. All right, agreed. After you. AGENT GERLIN: Alright then. Follow me. Gerlin takes Urdiriel to a back alley of Nadoret and introduces her to his companions. AGENT GERLIN: Nobody should bother us here. My liegemen: Jaadon Zagor and Fayris Lynxeye. AGENT GERLIN: Seems like all of us want to find out what the river pirates are up to. That brings a cooperation to mind. JAAKON: Cooperation? Isn't that rushing it a bit? I was only talking about exchanging information, nothing more. FAYRIS: We don't have enough people to pass up such crucial help, Jaakon. My senses tell me that we should trust them. Gerlin has always had the right instincts so far. It... AGENT GERLIN: ... It is not up to us alone to make any decisions about a mutual plan, anyway. AGENT GERLIN: After all... we're all in this thing together, aren't we? AGENT GERLIN: So what say you? Do you want to work together in this? URDIRIEL: I'm in.. if you'll actually tell me what's going on. AGENT GERLIN: My sources tell me that a ship will dock in the harbor tonight, after the curfew. It's possible that stolen merchandise from the pirate attacks will be on board. Anyway, we'll have to take a closer look at this situation. URDIRIEL: Loot from the pirate attacks? Hmm... why Nadoret, of all places? I don't understand. JAAKON: Nadoret is one of the last big trading posts before Ferdok. Perhaps the merchandise is to be transported on the road from here. FAYRIS: And it's not certain if Nadoret is the only place on the river that is used for this purpose. It's possible that there's only one location which constantly changes. URDIRIEL: That's all very well, but Nadoret still seems like an insecure turning point to me, though. The harbor is sure to be monitored by partrols during the curfew. JAAKON: Normally you would be right about that. However, according to everything we were able to learn, there won't be any patrols tonight. AGENT GERLIN: A tricky matter... the influence of the men behind this must reach farther than we supposed. The question is... how far? URDIRIEL: I'd be happy if we could just catch the pirates. But one thing at a time. What is the plan? AGENT GERLIN: As soon as you are ready, Jaakon will take you to our meeting place when darkness falls. We'll discuss the last details there and leave together. URDIRIEL: I understand. Let's hope it all goes well. Before setting off, Fayris gives a warning: the upcoming mission will be the first that is serious business. FAYRIS: Urdiriel Teardream, I sense that you know how dangerous this mission will be for us all. Be sure that you prepare properly for all this... then meet Jaakon behind the tavern at the marketplace. URDIRIEL: Of course. I'll prepare myself and then go to the tavern. AGENT GERLIN: Well then, that's everything... right? Please excuse me. I also have some preparations to make. Oh... and please keep a low profile. Not a word to anyone about our mission. URDIRIEL: As you wish. Until tonight. They part ways and Urdiriel heads to the marketplace to buy a few potions and supplies. Then she goes to find Jaakon behind the tavern. Before starting the mission, Urdiriel decides to chat a bit. URDIRIEL: Can I ask you a personal question? JAAKON: Oh, I... of course. You may. URDIRIEL: What is your profession? You don't exactly look like a warrior. More like a Fountlandish scholar, actually. JAAKON: No, I don't come from Fountland originally, even if a large part of my family feels very much at home there. I studied at the Hall of Mercury in Festum. I didn't stick with it very long there. URDIRIEL: Festum? Isn't that in Fountland? You do have rather Fountlandish features. JAAKON: Listen: I! Am! A! Middenrealmian! My heart belongs to the Middenrealm, that's why I decided to go into service... to work with Gerlin. So please do me a favor and don't pester me about Fountland. URDIRIEL: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. JAAKON: It's alright, I... You couldn't possibly know that I don't care to deal with that topic. There are just some things that are better left alone. I hope you understand that. URDIRIEL: How about Gerlin? He hasn't let much slip so far. I still don't know whom he is working for. Or you, for that matter. JAAKON: And you won't get that information from me, either. Sorry. All I can tell you is that he is an outstanding friend and mentor, and that he never leaves any of his people in the lurch. JAAKON: He thinks very highly of you for some reason. I guarantee you that you can trust him completely.. I even surmise that ultimately we are pursuing the same goals. That's all I can tell you about him. URDIRIEL: Is this Faryis Lynxeye a Feytala? JAAKON: Feytala? Oh... of course. Yes, you're right, she's an Elf half-breed. Why do you ask? URDIRIEL: I'm just curious. I was wondering how long you have known her. JAAKON: Actually I began my service with Gerlin at just about the same time as she did. We met for the first time there. At first, the teamwork wasn't as succesful as Gerlin had hoped... but over the years we've overcome our differences to have a viable working relationship, as Gerlin likes to say. I think very highly of her. You won't find a better scout anywhere. URDIRIEL: About our mission... JAAKON: Of course, the mission. Are you ready now? URDIRIEL: Yes, let's get started, Jaakon. JAAKON: Now we're getting to the deadly serious side of things. We'll meet up with the others behind the Praios Temple after darkness falls. Let's go! However, when Urdiriel & Jaakon show up behind the temple at night, something is amiss. JAAKON: I don't like it at all. The others should already be here by now. URDIRIEL: Perhaps the harbor watch is on patrol after all and held them up? JAAKON: Out of the question. We would have seen them in that case. No, it must... psst... someone's coming! Fayris comes rushing out of the darkness and addresses Urdiriel and Jaakon. Of course, something has not gone according to plan. FAYRIS: Urdiriel Teardream, Jaakon! We... Gerlin, he... JAAKON: What's the matter with Gerlin? What happened?! FAYRIS: We were... he wanted to check on something. The smugglers captured him, I... I couldn't intervene. JAAKON: Curses! How could he be so careless! Something must have rattled him... could you see where they took him? FAYRIS: No, I... I didn't want to endanger Gerlin in any way. One of them muttered something about "the two big warehouses" and "the only way into the harbor district". JAAKON: Hmm... if we want to rescue Gerlin, we'll have to sneak through those warehouses whether we want to or not. Hurry, who knows what they're planning to do with him! URDIRIEL: You're right. We've no time to lose. And so, for the first time in the game, we get to control an entire party. Jaakon is a battlemage with a nice array of offensive spell and the useful Sleep spell. He can also summon the fire elemental, a very useful summon as its touch sets enemies on fire. His melee skills are not too shabby either and with his staff he can trip enemies when he is attacked in melee. Fayris is a ranger like Urdiriel, but as a Half-Elf she doesn't suffer from any social penalties when dealing with humans. She also comes with the Arrow Tempest skill, which allows to shoot two arrows at once. Thus, our party sets off.

Did you miss the "Careful with that axe, Eugene"? That was an obscure Pink Floyd reference. The game is brimming with easter eggs like that.

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