Eschalon challenge games (spoilers)

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mortification8
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Eschalon challenge games (spoilers)

Post by mortification8 »

So, you've already become a Destroyer and are wondering what else to do. Here are a few more challenging games for playing Eschalon that we thought of, if you've already finished the game playing "normally":
  • :) No Magic. Play the entire game without casting a single spell (this is actually pretty easy; I basically did this using my fighter character).
    :cry: Speed Game. What is the shortest period of time that you can complete the game?
    :( Kill Everything. ALL LIVING CREATURES MUST DIE. Good or evil, townsfolk or monsters. Obviously you will also acheive Destroyer by doing this. This one is tricky because you have to time the quests just right, and you will lose the shops. I like the idea of "harvesting" a town once you've completed all the quests. Mwa, ha, ha.
    :cry: No Alchemy. You cannot make or use any potions for the game. This one would present a real challenge. The ban includes Demon Oil but does not include wicks/oil for lamps. You are not allowed to imbue weapons.
    :twisted: Rich Merchant. You must increase your Merchant skill to 30 before increasing any other skill other than the skills you start with.
    :shock: Pauper. You may not assign any skill points during the start of the game or during your level-ups. Purchasing from trainers or using items is OK.
    8) The Shadow. You may not use any light sources at all during the game. Artificial vision (e. g. Cat Eyes) is allowed.
    :twisted: Survivorman. You may only place skill points into Survival, Alchemy, and Cartography, other than the skills you start with. You may not purchase any items from shops until you get to "civilization" (i. e. Blackwater).
    :cry: Lover, not a Fighter. You may not wield or swing a weapon in anger, ever. (Bare fists are allowed).
    :) Pure Mage. You may not wield or swing a weapon other than dagger or staff; you may not place more than 3 points in either of these skills. (Bare fists are allowed).
    :twisted: Noob. You must finish the game with the least amount of experience possible. (obviously this means combat is discouraged)
    :twisted: There Can Be Only One. You may only assign skill points to one skill both at the start and during the entire game. Note that this will leave you with unused points at level-up.
    :shock: Iron Man. You may not Save except when quitting the game. You may never reload except when first starting the game (e. g. no Save-Reload). If you die, you die. Game Over.
Rating System:

8) = Daddy, can I play?
:) = No worries, mate.
:( = Hmmm....
:cry: = This is gonna hurt...
:twisted: = mommy
:shock: = Whatchu talking 'bout, Willis?

Feedback on the ratings is welcome.

If you complete any of the challenges, or think of other challenge games, post here. Screenshots and/or stories are encouraged.

A LIST OF THE ESCHALON GODS (player, and challenge completed):
  • sfoc - Speed Game, 18.7 hours (normal ending)
    Effidian - Speed Game, 1.4 hours (traitor ending) :shock:
    Effidian - Noob, 3754 experience (traitor ending)
    GSV3MiaC - Kill Everything (close)
    mortification8- Kill Everything (close)
    mortification8- No Magic (normal ending)
    mortification8- The Shadow (normal ending)
I'm going to tackle the Kill Everything game and go from there.[/b]
Last edited by mortification8 on June 11th, 2008, 3:28 pm, edited 17 times in total.
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VPeric
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Post by VPeric »

Out of those, I'd say Pauper is ridiculously difficult, while "The Shadow" is almost too easy - on my monitor, I can easily see in the darkness (and if not, you can always increase brightness), plus you can use the map to guide you (in fact, I usually don't use torches when I'm leaving a dungeon, in order to conserve them - I just follow the map).
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BasiliskWrangler
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Post by BasiliskWrangler »

Excellent post, mortification8! :D
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Saxon1974
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Post by Saxon1974 »

Yes interesting post here.

I think I will replay the game as a pure mage when I finish with my Ranger so I can mess with all the spells.
mortification8
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Post by mortification8 »

OK so we have some interest, thanks for the feedback everyone.
Saxon1974 wrote:I think I will replay the game as a pure mage when I finish with my Ranger so I can mess with all the spells.
Let's add a new one then:

Pure Mage: You may not wield or swing a weapon in anger, ever. (Bare fists are allowed).

:twisted:
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Post by BasiliskWrangler »

I will make these official challenges in Book II. Very cool idea.
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Post by mortification8 »

Dude, that is awesome. We'll do our best to playtest these for you using Book 1; some of them may turn out to be too hard. Keep the ideas coming everyone!

(I've edited the parent to allow for continual updating as we go, liekwise with Destroyer. Also you might want to make some additional stickies, threads like this, Destroyer, How Long did it take you to Finish, or the Mapping Eschalon Thread.)
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Effidian
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Post by Effidian »

Here is another one.

Noob (or come up with a better name). Finish the game with the lowest amount of experience.
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Post by Effidian »

And here is my submission for "Speed Game" and "Noob". Both can be improved upon, but not by me (just because I don't want to do it again, I know where I could have done better in both counts) :)

And if anyone cares, I am wearing the same clothes you start with and using the iron dagger from the first chest you are near. Yay for starting equipment!

3754 experience
1.4 hours

The image is a huge story spoiler, don't click unless you are ready for a spoiler.

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/9006/endut4.jpg

BW edited. Spoiler! Click link for screenshot.
Last edited by Effidian on November 28th, 2007, 12:08 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Dragonlady
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Post by Dragonlady »

mortification8 wrote:OK so we have some interest, thanks for the feedback everyone.
Saxon1974 wrote:I think I will replay the game as a pure mage when I finish with my Ranger so I can mess with all the spells.
Let's add a new one then:

Pure Mage: You may not wield or swing a weapon in anger, ever. (Bare fists are allowed).

:twisted:
Not even the traditional dagger or staff? Bad idea in my mind.
Sometimes the dragon wins...
Help save the earth. It's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!
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Post by BasiliskWrangler »

Effidian: I don't mind if people post their Destroyer screenshots, but I don't want the storyline ruined for people who haven't seen that ending.
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Post by Effidian »

No problem.
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Post by BasiliskWrangler »

By the way, how did you do that?
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Post by Effidian »

Major game spoilers follow:
SPOILER wrote:
You did an excellent job at not requiring prior quests to be completed. So I didn't do any, except for the one to get into the vault, that seems to be the only required quest, if you want 2 of the endings. I assume you don't even need to do that one for the destroyer ending, but since I wasn't going to be able to do that ending I had to get the Crux.

Very few mobs actually need to be killed to complete the game. The 2 goblins for their keys, the beholder to get upstairs in the mage tower, and a raptor to get past a gate (I think that is all that is required). I used Demon Oil for those, and just focused on Hide in Shadows and Pick Locks. Hide is Shadows so I could sneak by everyone and Pick Locks so I could go as directly as I could to my goals.

So basically here is how my game played:
1. Grab goblin key from Grimmhold
2. Grab amulet from eversleep cemetery
3. Grab goblin key from Shadowmirk
4. Grab goblin key from Vela
5. Grab Crux from repository.
6. Activate portal to Rotwood
7. Grab goblin key from giant chest
8. Go talk to Gramuk and give him Crux.

Well, that is how I should have done it. What I did was pretty close, and if someone were to do the above exactly, they'd beat my score. At first I thought I'd use a dagger from shadows so I raised my short-bladed. But I soon realized I wasn't going to get enough xp to do that effectively, and that is where the Demon Oil idea came in. If I were to do it again, I'd raise Move Silently or possibly Throwing instead of Short-Bladed.

I was also going to skip getting the crux, but realized I'd never be able to do destroyer with the guy. So I had to double back to pick up the amulet for that. I didn't waste much time, but I wouldn't be surprised if you could do it in a little over an hour.
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Post by mortification8 »

Effidian, you are da man.

Dragonlady, I've added a new category for the original weaponless idea and adjusted Pure Mage to your idea.
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