Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Eschalon: Book I – Walkthrough
Warning: This guide contains many spoilers!
This is certainly not the only way to complete the game, so it’s more fun if you don’t use it unless you are really stuck.
This guide will help you with the following -
-Main Quest
X. World Map
1: Getting to Aridel
2: Obtaining the Amulet
3: The Salted Coast
4: Finding Lilith
5: Defeating the Queen
6: Finding the Vault
7: Your long-lost Brother
8: Getting to Eurabor
9: Obtaining the keys
10: The Goblin Citadel
-Side Quests
1: Secret’s of Transference Circuits
2: Mithril Bar
3: Wedding Ring
4: Crucible
5: The Locket
6: The Water Gate
7: Fungal Slimes
8: Pure Water Tree
9: Lilith’s Amulet
10: Blackwater Thugs
11: Divine Ore
12: Healthy Acorn
13: The Letter
-Other
1: Exploits
2: Easter Eggs
Main Quest
X. World Map
Here is a world map for you to use during Book I.
1 – Getting to Aridel
You start in room, and get a brief message. Look around and notice where your cursor hovers. Certain objects will light up when it is above them. That usually means they are openable, though to simplify things we’ll just say that they are “useable”. Now head outside to the south. Here you will find a well, a barrel and a few stumps. If you look closely, one of the stumps is “useable”. Check it, and you will find a few items that may come in useful. Now look in the barrel, as there are also some items in there. To check your inventory, click on the inventory icon near the top right hand side of the screen, or press “I”. Read the sealed note. It will tell you to find Madock in Aridel. There are a few ways to Aridel, though one of them is easily fastest. You may want to look around the abandoned town you started in first though. Notice the Fanged Salamanders. They are your first challenge. Killing them will grant you 8 experience towards your next level. Once you’re done exploring, head north-east. You will find a path there. Follow that path for a ways and soon you’ll find a bridge. Just past the bridge is Aridel!
As you walk in, use the sign. This will add Aridel to your “Quick Travel” locations. No matter where you are, as long as you’re not near enemies, you can use the quick travel to go to Aridel. To access your quick travel menu, click on the paper colored square on the right side of your screen. If you have the “Cartography” skill, it will be a map of your explored world. Once in Aridel, feel free to look around a bit, sell what items you don’t want, and buy what items you do. When you’re done with that, head to Madock’s house in the south-eastern most corner of the town. Talk to him for a bit and he’ll tell you that he did have stuff for you. Search his drawers, and you’ll find a sack of gold for you, and a 2nd Sealed Note. You’ll also have leveled up by now, so click on the green “Plus” sign to add stats to your character.
2 – Obtaining the Amulet
When you read the 2nd Sealed Note, this mysterious man will tell you that you must retrieve your amulet from a crypt, and after that to speak with Lilith for information about the amulet. First though, you’ve got to get it. Walk north out of Aridel. The black line that you see, north of the town is simply a region divider. This helps the game run smoother, because not all of the world map has to be loaded at one time. Now, in the next region, take the first right. This will lead you to a house. Enter it and speak with the man. Tell him that you must retrieve one of your belongings from the crypt.
There are two ways to get the key to the crypt. The first is to agree with him, and kill every Salamander in his Cellar. This is not hard, though there are quite a few Salamanders. Either click on the torch icon near the inventory one, or press “T” on your keyboard to light a torch. Torches will light up a small area around you in dark places such as dungeons, or anywhere at nighttime. Your second option is to break into his room and steal the key from his drawers. Once you have the key, head west. Keep heading west until you see what looks like a big graveyard at the far west edge of the screen. Go in and kill the two Blood Sippers. Now enter the crypt to the north. The crypt is a large area, with lots of creatures, so be prepared. Once inside the crypt, head south to an intersection there. From there, go west to the next intersection at the end of the hall. Head north there. Go as far north as you can, and then enter the room. Go into the next room, and after that, the next one after that. From there, take a “Security Key” from one of the storage units. Now head back out to the most recent intersection. This time, go south and follow the path until you find a large room to the south of you. Entering this room is optional, though it is essential to complete the “Secrets on Transference Circuits” Side Quest. Now, continue east along the corridor. When you reach a room with a few gates and levers, pull the levers. These will open gates. One of theses such gates will allow much easier access to this point if for any reason you must leave the Crypt after this point. Continue east until the path changes direction, and takes you north. In the north room you will find 2 Noximanders, which are large, and green fanged salamanders. The only difference is that Noximanders are poisonous. If you don’t have a Detox Serum to cure poison, you might not want to enter this point yet. After you kill the Noximanders and Fanged Salamanders in that room, open the door ahead. The “Security Key” that you gained earlier will unlock this. In the room north of there, you will find a few Blood Sippers and chests. Before you enter the room at the north west end of the hall you are currently in, be sure you are prepared for a long fight.
Once you do enter, save before you step on the tile that has a square on it. Once you step on that, the gates to the north and south will open, and 2 “Walking Corpse” will walk out. These aren’t easy to fight, even by the end of the game. I can give no advice to killing them other than “Be careful not to stay in their attack range for too long.” Remember that this game is turn based, and that they will only move when you do. Good luck!
After this fight, you may want to go north for quite a bit of loot. Be warned, to the north there are many “Fungal Slime” which are technically supposed to be the second monster in the game, after Fanged Salamanders. Fungal Slime have a long ranged attack, and give you 25 experience towards your next level when they are killed. From the area with the fight between you and the to Walking Corpse, walk south. When you reach a lever, shortly after a turn west, don’t pull it yet. First, continue west. After a turn north again, you will find another lever. Pull this one. Now walk into the room. Feel free to loot stuff from a any coffin, but the one you’re really looking for is on the west side of the room, closer to the north end than the south end. Inside you will find an amulet shaped like a triangle with a circle in it. Take this “Strange Amulet”. You very well might have leveled up again. Now go back to the first lever in the hallway. Pull it, and walk south through the open gate. As you walk, the gates will close behind you and open in front of you, making it impossible to go back the way you came.
3 – Bordertown
The easiest place for you to go now is south of Aridell. Before you head there though, grab the ‘healing elixir’ from the priest in Aridell. If you’d like to, pick up Garrett’s Sextant in the first destroyed house along the coast. If not, stick near the tree line on the northern end of the region. Once you find the man who the ‘healing elixir’ is for, offer it to him, and accept the quest he gives you. You’ll head to bordertown in the next step, be sure you have that note with you. Head north east of the crypt to the opposite corner of that region, and into the next. Walk north, but be careful. When you see a path with a sign that says “Quick route to Darkford” ignore it, it's a lie. Continue walking north until you see the trees and path sort of turn to the west. Head the direction. Any second now, “Bandit(s)” will start walking out from their places to attack you. Fight them if you wish, but you’ll probably be unprepared for them at this point. NPC’s (Non-Player Characters) cannot follow you through regions. Use this to your advantage as you play. Continue heading east, but stay close to the trees. More Bandits will continue to stream out towards you. Until you see a small fire near a sign, stay next to the trees. Once you do see that, head north, towards it. Let the archer and the blacksmith of this town defeat the Bandits while you run around in circles, uselessly. If one of them dies, re-load your last save game – you don’t want any of these characters to die. Once the Bandits are dead, click on the sign to at “Bordertown” to your quick-travel menu. After shopping, accepting quests, and whatever else you wish to do here, head west and a little bit north. There should be two guards and a gate. Pressure the guards into letting you in, and though they tell you not to steal anything, go ahead and steal everything. Including a very important ‘Gate Key’ (If you don’t steal this it isn’t game over, but you’ll want to later). Do also speak with the head of the guards, even though he won’t do anything about your information. Notice his name. That’s an interesting story that you can follow through all three games.
4 – Finding Lilith
On your way to the guardhouse you passed a fork in the road. It’s time to go south there. You’ll find a “Hive Drone” here. These are a lot harder to kill, and will give you 60 experience every time you kill one. By this point you may or may not be able to take them on one at a time. Anything with range helps. Head south a bit past the first drone, and you’ll see the Region divider. In the next region, there will be a lot more drones, but again, they might be killable if you can single them out. Not long after you the Region divider, there is a branch to the east. Don’t bother with that yet. Instead, continue south until you’re about 5/6 of the way through that region. At about the ½ point there is a branch to the west. Don’t take that yet either. At 5/6 of the way through you’ll find another branch to east. Do take that. Soon you’ll find a dock at a lake, and a house just past the lake. You’ve reached Lilith’s house. She claims she’s allergic to the bees, but she’s totally lying to you. If you find yourself overwhelmed, bring them to her, and she’ll take them out. With her fists none-the-less. Anyway, she wants you to kill the Queen Bee before she’ll give you any information.
5 – Defeating the Queen
Now might be a good time to head back to previously explored places and kill any monsters you just ran past. You’ll want to be pretty prepared for this fight. When you’re ready, stock up for a big fight, and head back. This time, head south at the path leading to Lilith’s house into a new region. Head east as soon as possible, and go as far east as you can in that region. There you will see a stone pillar. If you click on it, it will add “Grimhold West” to your quick-travel menu. This will come in useful later on. From there, head south until it you reach an intersection, close to the end of the region. The signs will warn you not to go east there, but you should anyway. You’ll know when you reach the bee cave.
Before you go in however, go to the far east end of the region, at this great rift in the ground. Follow it south, avoiding rocks and trees. At the end, you’ll find a chest. Open it, and take the gold. Now you can enter the Hive. I won’t say much about the Hive, because it’s pretty straight forward, and very hard to get lost inside of there. First thing to know though, is that when you find an area lit up with tall torches, that has a path you can’t get to, because of a rock, pull the north west, south west, and middle east levers. That will get you where you want to go. There is a chest down there that says something about “Steel”. It’s not too difficult of a riddle, but I’ll give you this: A=1, B=2, Z=26.
The next thing I’ll tell you is that when you get to a room that says something like “I’d better not touch anything”, it would be wise to do just that (unless of course you’re a daredevil who wants free money and experience).
The last thing I’ll tell you about the cave is that once you’ve defeated the Queen, stay in that area a bit longer. See those things that look like Giant Honeycombs? Take 10 of the “Giant Larva” from those. Good luck in the caves! Once you defeat the Queen, bring Lilith your “Queen’s Stinger” She won’t take it, so you can still use it as a weapon if you’d like. Once you show that to her, she’ll explain that the amulet of yours is a key to a very high guarded bank in Blackwater. Useful huh, doesn’t even tell you where Blackwater is…
No matter where you are now, head back to the Crypt. Go to the south western corner, and you’ll find a man named Hemish. Give you your 10 Gant Larva and he’ll give you a “Flask of Incinerator Fuel” This is probably going to help you most in one of the final fights. Want to see what it does? Head outside to any NPC in an open area. Save! Now throw it at them. Pretty, isn’t it? Now, reload your game before you threw it. Keep that for later.
6 – Finding the Vault
You may want to head back to Bordertown now, and take the 70 pound Crucible the Black smith wants you to take to the Black smith in Blackwater, if you want to do that quest. Quicktravel to Grimhold West, and walk to the south-western corner of that region. Head out of this region heading west. You’ll need to cross an entire region of plains, and then head into the next region west. Continue west.
Soon you’ll find a town. You can choose two ways to get in. Firstly, and ideally, talk to the guards, and pay the 100 gold fee. The other way, is simply to kill the guards. Before you enter however, I suggest going to the south entrance of the town. Once again, click on the stone pillar to add “Blackwater” to you quick-travel menu.
Now, whichever way you enter the town, head to the blacksmith. He’s not hard to find, he lives on the corner, and has tons of weapons in his store. Give him the Crucible as soon as possible, if you brought it. Now, head down the western path a bit more, to the last house on the north. Enter the house with the dead body. Beware of traps though. When you get in, search the dead body, and you’ll find a note. Read this note and learn about “Foozgrumph”. Now exit again, and head to the tavern, close to the northern entrance to the town. When you walk in, the bandit looking man will ask you to go kill Lilith and bring him her amulet. Well, now some pieces start to click – This mysterious man sent you to Lilith to learn about your amulet, because she herself has one. Someone of value must be in her vault… Feel free to ignore him if you wish, or accept his quest, if that’s what you want. Talk to the innkeeper, and ask for a room. When he asks for your name, tell him you are “Foozgrumph”. He will say something like “Ah, I see.” Now you will be shown Foozgrumph’s room. The north wall of your room is fake. Feel free to walk through it anytime, and follow that path. At the end of that path, you’ll notice a staircase. Go down it.
There’s nothing to fight down here, if you’re careful. When you reach the goblin at the desk, show him your Amulet 26. He will open the gate for you. Explore down here for a while, until you find your vault. Inside, you will find a chest. In that chest are… The Crux of Ages, and the third sealed note. Read the note carefully. It will tell you that you need to go find your brother, and it will tell you who’s been sending you these notes – yourself.
At this point, I recommend going back to Lilith, killing her, taking her amulet, and entering her vault in this bank. Inside is the best sword in the game. If you don’t want to use it, feel free to sell it for lots of gold though. Again, if you don’t want to kill Lilith, don’t. If you give the Bandit man the key after you take the sword from her vault, he’ll come back to kill you. But it’s just more experience, right?
7 – Finding your brother
Your brother is in Vela. Be careful in Vela, because as soon as you enter, there are traps everywhere. This will probably be your first encounter with fighting goblins in the game as well though. It will also probably be your first time killing a Taurax. Vela can be found in the region north of Blackwater. Note: I highly suggest you save (something you’re not going to overwrite) before entering the region with Vela. There is a fairly common bug that will require you to reload from before you entered Vela if it occurs. Enter Vela, and very carefully walk through the streets. I suggest you kill everything in Vela, but you only technically have to kill 2 things in Vela. First, head north, annihilating everything in your path. When you get to the “Goblin Warlord” be careful. These are harder to kill than the other types. You’ll notice that goblins frequently drop something when they die. These are the first commonly appearing creatures that drop stuff. When you kill the Goblin Warlord in the north end of the city, You’ll notice he drops a Goblin Key. Keep it. Now walk to the more western end of the ruined city, again, clearing your path as you go.
Sooner or later, you’ll come to a very large red, demon/minotaur looking thing. This is your first Taurax. I would kill it, though there are many other options, such as locking it in a room. My personal favorite, other than killing it by hand was to lock it in the room full of poison traps. You’ll find that near the far end of the north buildings, as you enter the city. Once that is dealt with, head north, across the bridge. You’ll find your brother in a room. If I’m correct, you must now walk around the building, and pull a lever to gain access to this room. Talk with your brother, and he’ll tell you to speak with Eurabor, who lives in Shadowmirk. Then, put him out of his misery if you wish.
If your brother is not in the room, you are experiencing a fairly common bug. Reload the game from your last save that you hadn’t entered Vela yet. If your brother is still not there when you get to that point, save anywhere but the region of Vela. Take that map out of your maps folder in your Eschalon Book I folder. When you reload, and walk back into Vela, the map will reload itself. Try again. To Shadowmirk now!
8 – Getting to Eurabor
Eurabor is a wizard. Wizard’s live in Shadowmirk, which is that strange castle that seems impossible to enter. You probably saw it on your way to Bordertown. So, head back to Bordertown, and then east one region. There might still be bandits waiting there for you, but by now you should be able to fend them off. When you get to Shadowmirk, it still seems impossible to enter. So, head all the way around it to the east, and follow a small trail in the trees. It will lead you up to the side, where you can’t see that there’s land. Keep following this path until you reach the back door. Now you can enter. If I were you, I’d head back out to the front of the castle, and pull the lever that opens the gate into there. Now head back into Shadowmirk.
Once you kill the “Dimensional Eye” hovering near the pillars, continue forwards. At the hallway, head east, past the first door, and to the open room. Talk with the wizard if you want. Go into the Arachnid Chamber, and fend off the spiders. Search through all of the egg sacks till you find a key. Now leave the Chamber. Head to that first door, and your key will unlock it. Now walk past the skeletons, and into the room at the end. Look through the chests there, and take everything in them. Now, work your way back to the place with the pillars. As you leave the room you’re in, the skeletons will come alive and attack you. They’re not too hard to fight if you take them 1 at a time.
Once you’re back at the pillars, head west to the pressure tiles on the ground. Those tiles will teleport you back to the start if you step on the wrong one. Work your way through this maze without getting sent back to the beginning. Telling you would take all the fun out of it. Once you get to the end, look at the chests in the room there. One of them has a sign that says “Give me Strength”. Place a potion of Ogre Strength in that chest, and close it. Ogre Strength is the pink potion you got in the room with the skeletons. The next chest says “Ease my Burden” (or something like that). The potion that belongs in there is a level 3 Healing Potion (there is one to be found in Shadowmirk). The next floor is a simple matter of remembering which portal leads where, like a larger version of the teleporter maze you did on the first floor. Once you reach the third floor, talk to Eurabor.
9 – Getting the Keys
He will tell you about the Goblin keys you need to collect. Go to the room north of him and take the green goblin key from his chest. The next one is in Grimhold. Use your quick-travel to go to Grimhold West. Head to the region to the east. You’re now in Grimhold. Kill everything in here, and go downstairs. There are a few ways downstairs, but for now, only one is available to you. I’ll let you explore the basement for yourself, but remember to search every single chest. One of them, near the center of the dungeon holds a Goblin Key. That should be the third key (The first was in Vela, and the second held by Eurabor).
The final key requires you to enter Crakamir, the most dangerous part of the Thaermore continent. Interestingly, it will also put you closer to the ending of Book II than you are for 90% of Book II. Don’t worry, you get to go to the other end of the world before you need to worry about that!
There are three ways into Crakamir. The first, and most straightforward, is to use the key stolen from the captain of the guards desk. The gate where this is useful is in the region south-east of Blackwater. It’s in the very south-western corner of that region.
The second way into Crakamir, and perhaps the most convenient, is a teleporter located near bordertown. In the south-eastern corner of that region is a house. Bring your own mercury (silvery circle) and ectoplasm (purple… shape) with you. In the basement of this house, take the skull and fish out of the alembic, and put the mercury and ectoplasm in. This will activate the teleporter into Crakamir. (Note: from this room you can also teleport into a hidden cave near blackwater that must be opened from the inside).
The final way into Crakamir is by traversing the difficult dungeon “The Tangletree Ossuary”, and climbing the ladder found at the end. Great loot, but I tend to wait until a little later to attempt that dungeon.
Once within Crakamir, head to the westernmost of the three regions. Now, head to about the center of the region, but a bit further west. You should see giants. I strongly suggest you don’t attack them. Talk to the leader. He is easy to tell from the others, and lives in the north most building. He will tell you that he will give you the red Goblin Key, and help your fight against goblins if you return their Giant Skull. Agree to help them now. However you wish to leave Crakamir, do so, and quicktravel to Vela. Head a region east, where you will be confronted by many, many Raptors. They’re probably the second hardest monster in the game, so be wary. In basically the center of the region you should find some old, abandoned hunting grounds (and a lodge). Find the entrance, and make your way in. Search around the hunting grounds for a while, and eventually, you’ll find the Skull in one of the storage units in a room. Bring it back to the Giants. They will give you your key now, AND fight for you at the goblin citadel!
10 – The Goblin Citadel
Now head to the Goblin Citadel, south, and east of the giant village. You’ll notice it is quite large. Enter where you feel prepared - there will be a huge fight. I strongly suggest you use your flask of incinerator fuel here. Once everything is dead, head underground. All I will tell you of this is that it is very dangerous, and fun. By now, it should be hard still, but not as hard as you’d think. I don’t want to spoil the entire game for you (too late?), so I’ll let you finish from there. Good luck, and have fun!
Side Quests
1 – Secrets of Transference Circuits
• Quest Given By: Magic and Alchemy store owner in Aridel
• Summary of Quest:
This is one of the first side quests in the game, and possibly the easiest. All you must do is find a book called “The Secrets of Transference Circuits”. This book cannot be bought from stores however. This book can only be found in the Crypt you must enter near the beginning of the game. When you are at the very south end of the Crypt, near Hemish, head a little east. Soon you will find a room to the south. If you enter, 4 Blood Sippers will come out and attack you. Enter, and head to the far south east corner of the room. Whether you choose to fight the Blood Sippers or not, walk through the wall here. Now in the next room, you’ll find a cabinet. Inside this cabinet is the book you are looking for.
2 – Mithril Bar
• Quest Given By: Blacksmith of Aridel
• Summary of Quest:
The dungeon you are looking for that holds the mithril bar can be found in the town you started the game in, south of Aridel. There is a staircase near the north end of the town, heading down. Be prepared from a lot of fighting in there. When you go in, be sure to walk on the pressure pad in the second room. This can be found by walking close to the wall, heading south east. This dungeon is pretty straightforward. There are a lot of traps on the ground, so be careful where you step. If you ever find a dead end in your journey, turn back and take a different route. I’ll let you work your way through for yourself to let you have some of the fun.
3 – Wedding Ring
• Quest Given By: Lone Woman in the region north of Aridel
• Summary of Quest:
The woman asks you to find her husband, and tells you that if you find him dead, to bring her his wedding ring. Walk into the region north of her, from the east and follow the trees. Make the left into the path with a sign saying “Quick route to Aridel.” It is not a quick route to Aridel. You will be attacked by multiple thugs, so if you’re not strong enough, you may want to wait. Continue in, and you’ll be attacked soon. Once the thugs are disposed of, head south from the center. Soon you’ll come to a clearing. You can loot whatever you want from there, but the ring is the important thing. Bring it back to the woman, and she’ll tell you about a combination to a chest. This chest can be found south of the region with Lilith.
4 – Cruible
• Quest Given By: Blacksmith of Bordertown
• Summary of Quest:
This is also a fairly simple quest. Just bring the Crucible to the blacksmith in Blackwater. I explain how to get to Blackwater in the Main Quest walkthrough, under “Finding the Vault”. The Crucible weighs 70 pounds, so make sure you have 70 pounds free before you take it.
5 – The Locket
• Quest Given By: Magic Store owner of Bordertown
• Summary of Quest:
The locket can be found in Grimhold, and is easiest to find if you enter from Grimhold West. When you walk in, head south until the path branches east and west. Take the west path, killing the goblins on your way. Before you head downstairs, check the room near the ladder. Head in there, and get the locket from the cabinet.
6 – The Water Gate
• Quest Given By: Dying soldier at Grimhold East
• Summary of Quest:
When you talk to the soldier at Grimhold East, he says something about shutting off the water gate. This is easiest to do if you head into Grimhold from Grimhold West. From the west end, head underground into Grimhold. You’ll find quite an adventure under Grimhold, so I won’t spoil too much. All that I’ll say is, that the Water Gate is closed by a lever surrounded by a lot of water, on the West side of Grimhold. Good luck!
7 – Fungal Slimes
• Quest Given By: Sailor of Bordertown
• Summary of Quest:
This is extremely simple. The sailor in the northern end of Bordertown can’t sail because there are too many Fungal Slimes in the next region over. Head over there, and eliminate every one. There are quite a few, so don’t be surprised if he says you didn’t complete the task when you return to him. Note that Fungal Slimes can attack across multiple tiles, and that they can become dangerous in quantities this high.
8 – Pure Water Tree
• Quest Given By: First Tree (North of Lilith’s House)
• Summary of Quest:
This quest can be challenging. After getting the quest, you’ll learn that this tree needs a flask of Pure Water. The only place you can get this is a special well on Crakamir. This well is in the north middle region. (There are 6 regions). To get to it, you must either run from, or fight 2 Taurax. You will need an empty vial to collect water from the well. Once you have the water, bring it back to the tree. Alternatively, you can drink the pure water, and gain +2 skill points on the next level up. You cannot do both however.
9 – Lilith’s Amulet
• Quest Given By: Shady Man in Blackwater Tavern
• Summary of Quest:
This Shady man wants you to retrieve the amulet around Lilith’s neck. Well, after learning what your amulet was, it’s fairly simple to guess what her amulet is. It’s completely your choice whether you get it or not. If you choose to kill her, I suggest you go and collect the item from her vault before giving it to the Man. Again though, it’s your choice. If you do take the sword from her vault before giving him the amulet, he and a gang of bandits will attack you later on. Do not offer them 100 gold! Just fight them, and if you can’t kill them, bring them to Blackwater. The guards and priest there can take care of them for you.
10 – Blackwater Thugs
• Quest Given By: Mayor of Blackwater
• Summary of Quest:
The Mayor is suspicious of a group of thugs that live south west of Blackwater. All you have to do is kill them all. They can be very challenging! Try bringing them to Blackwater for the guards to fight if you get overwhelmed. Speak to the mayor again once they’re dead.
11 – Divine Ore
• Quest Given By: Blacksmith of Blackwater
• Summary of Quest:
The Blacksmith wants you to retrieve some “Divine Ore” that some thugs stole from him. He only tells you that they headed southeast. This is very difficult quest. If you’re not comfortable killing the Barean Mercenaries yet, don’t do this quest yet. Head one region east, and one region south of Blackwater. The same region with the entrance to Crakamir. Now head to the very southeast corner of the region, following a path of trees. When you can, go north away from the path, down into the dungeon. When you get the part that has multiple scones, and no torches in them, place a torch in every one. This will open the wall up to you. Now walk in here. Follow the path, and be prepared to either fight, or run. At the very end of this path you will find 3 rooms. One contains the Divine Ore, and another contains the best cleaving weapon in the game.
12 – Healthy Acorn
• Quest Given By: First Magic and Alchemy store owner in Blackwater
• Summary of quest:
Head to the same path of trees you do in the “Divine Ore” quest. This time though, head into the region east of the region with that dungeon. Follow the path of trees, going north and east every opportunity. Do not go into the next region to the north though. Instead, you’ll find multiple Acid Grubs. After either killing them, or running around them, you’ll get to a special tree that is “Useable”. If you fight the acid grubs, be careful – they can ruin your armor when they die! When you “Use” this tree, it will open up a box, like when you open a chest of drawers. Inside will be the acorn you seek.
13 – The Letter
• Quest Given By: Dead Body in Crakimir
• Summary of Quest:
In Crakamir, you’ll find a dead body along what looks like tire tracks, in one of the northern regions. Searching the body, you’ll find a letter. After closing the letter, it will ask you if you wish to bring it to the designated recipient. The woman lives in the western end of Blackwater.
Other
1 – Exploits
Eschalon: Book I, is a great game, but it’s not perfect. There are two MAJOR exploits that I use to my advantage during each playthrough, but it’s up to you if you want to use them. Note that both of these were fixed in the second and third games.
The first exploit takes advantage of the characters ability to swap which weapon is being held at any time. This means that if you have a bow in your hand, arrows in your quiver, and any other weapon ready to be equipped by pressing ‘enter’, you can essentially fire that weapon out of your bow. Simply fire the arrow, and as it’s traveling to it’s target, swap weapons. When the arrow hits the damage is calculated based on the weapon in your hand (or even your empty hand).
The second exploit takes advantage of your ability to turn on/off a torch without using a turn. You can turn it on for your attacks, and turn it off again before the enemy attacks you, significantly increasing your ToHit, while substantially decreasing theirs. Alternatively, with just one level in Hide in Shadows (can be gained from a book) you can stand against a wall with your torch. Keep it on when you attack, and, if you’re hidden in the shadow, and turn it off before their turn, they will be unable to find you. This allows you to attack them without ever taking damage (if you’re careful).
2 – Easter Eggs
Ever been exploring, and come upon an item called “Easter Egg”? Well, I think it’s time you learned what those did. Easter Eggs are a great way to get experience. There are a total of three Easter Eggs to be found across Thaermore. When you bring all three of them to a special location, you will gain a level, no matter what. It is suggested that you do not use these until you just barely got a new level, and only have around 0-100 exp towards your next level. The first Easter Egg can be found in the only second floor room in the town you start out in. The door takes quite a while to bash down, so you might want to try picking the lock. The second Easter Egg can be found in the Tangle Tree Ossuary, just past the riddle with chests. The following items go in the chests:
Consumed by Fire: Ash
Womb of a Tree: Apple
Endless band of metal (or something like that): Any ring (best to use copper or tin)
A Smashing Victory: Any bludgeoning weapon (best to use a wooden cudgel)
The final Easter Egg can be found hidden among spiders in northern Crakamir. Once you have all 3 Eggs, bring them to Shadowmirk. In Shadowmirk, head into the room just west of the main entrance. In there you will find what looks like a candlestick holder. When you click on it, you will automatically put the Easter Eggs on it, and level up.
I hope this guide helps you complete this game! I’m extremely open to correction, so if you find any mistakes in the guide, PM with a subject of: Walkthrough Correction (or something along those lines)
Many Thanks!
Warning: This guide contains many spoilers!
This is certainly not the only way to complete the game, so it’s more fun if you don’t use it unless you are really stuck.
This guide will help you with the following -
-Main Quest
X. World Map
1: Getting to Aridel
2: Obtaining the Amulet
3: The Salted Coast
4: Finding Lilith
5: Defeating the Queen
6: Finding the Vault
7: Your long-lost Brother
8: Getting to Eurabor
9: Obtaining the keys
10: The Goblin Citadel
-Side Quests
1: Secret’s of Transference Circuits
2: Mithril Bar
3: Wedding Ring
4: Crucible
5: The Locket
6: The Water Gate
7: Fungal Slimes
8: Pure Water Tree
9: Lilith’s Amulet
10: Blackwater Thugs
11: Divine Ore
12: Healthy Acorn
13: The Letter
-Other
1: Exploits
2: Easter Eggs
Main Quest
X. World Map
Here is a world map for you to use during Book I.
1 – Getting to Aridel
You start in room, and get a brief message. Look around and notice where your cursor hovers. Certain objects will light up when it is above them. That usually means they are openable, though to simplify things we’ll just say that they are “useable”. Now head outside to the south. Here you will find a well, a barrel and a few stumps. If you look closely, one of the stumps is “useable”. Check it, and you will find a few items that may come in useful. Now look in the barrel, as there are also some items in there. To check your inventory, click on the inventory icon near the top right hand side of the screen, or press “I”. Read the sealed note. It will tell you to find Madock in Aridel. There are a few ways to Aridel, though one of them is easily fastest. You may want to look around the abandoned town you started in first though. Notice the Fanged Salamanders. They are your first challenge. Killing them will grant you 8 experience towards your next level. Once you’re done exploring, head north-east. You will find a path there. Follow that path for a ways and soon you’ll find a bridge. Just past the bridge is Aridel!
As you walk in, use the sign. This will add Aridel to your “Quick Travel” locations. No matter where you are, as long as you’re not near enemies, you can use the quick travel to go to Aridel. To access your quick travel menu, click on the paper colored square on the right side of your screen. If you have the “Cartography” skill, it will be a map of your explored world. Once in Aridel, feel free to look around a bit, sell what items you don’t want, and buy what items you do. When you’re done with that, head to Madock’s house in the south-eastern most corner of the town. Talk to him for a bit and he’ll tell you that he did have stuff for you. Search his drawers, and you’ll find a sack of gold for you, and a 2nd Sealed Note. You’ll also have leveled up by now, so click on the green “Plus” sign to add stats to your character.
2 – Obtaining the Amulet
When you read the 2nd Sealed Note, this mysterious man will tell you that you must retrieve your amulet from a crypt, and after that to speak with Lilith for information about the amulet. First though, you’ve got to get it. Walk north out of Aridel. The black line that you see, north of the town is simply a region divider. This helps the game run smoother, because not all of the world map has to be loaded at one time. Now, in the next region, take the first right. This will lead you to a house. Enter it and speak with the man. Tell him that you must retrieve one of your belongings from the crypt.
There are two ways to get the key to the crypt. The first is to agree with him, and kill every Salamander in his Cellar. This is not hard, though there are quite a few Salamanders. Either click on the torch icon near the inventory one, or press “T” on your keyboard to light a torch. Torches will light up a small area around you in dark places such as dungeons, or anywhere at nighttime. Your second option is to break into his room and steal the key from his drawers. Once you have the key, head west. Keep heading west until you see what looks like a big graveyard at the far west edge of the screen. Go in and kill the two Blood Sippers. Now enter the crypt to the north. The crypt is a large area, with lots of creatures, so be prepared. Once inside the crypt, head south to an intersection there. From there, go west to the next intersection at the end of the hall. Head north there. Go as far north as you can, and then enter the room. Go into the next room, and after that, the next one after that. From there, take a “Security Key” from one of the storage units. Now head back out to the most recent intersection. This time, go south and follow the path until you find a large room to the south of you. Entering this room is optional, though it is essential to complete the “Secrets on Transference Circuits” Side Quest. Now, continue east along the corridor. When you reach a room with a few gates and levers, pull the levers. These will open gates. One of theses such gates will allow much easier access to this point if for any reason you must leave the Crypt after this point. Continue east until the path changes direction, and takes you north. In the north room you will find 2 Noximanders, which are large, and green fanged salamanders. The only difference is that Noximanders are poisonous. If you don’t have a Detox Serum to cure poison, you might not want to enter this point yet. After you kill the Noximanders and Fanged Salamanders in that room, open the door ahead. The “Security Key” that you gained earlier will unlock this. In the room north of there, you will find a few Blood Sippers and chests. Before you enter the room at the north west end of the hall you are currently in, be sure you are prepared for a long fight.
Once you do enter, save before you step on the tile that has a square on it. Once you step on that, the gates to the north and south will open, and 2 “Walking Corpse” will walk out. These aren’t easy to fight, even by the end of the game. I can give no advice to killing them other than “Be careful not to stay in their attack range for too long.” Remember that this game is turn based, and that they will only move when you do. Good luck!
After this fight, you may want to go north for quite a bit of loot. Be warned, to the north there are many “Fungal Slime” which are technically supposed to be the second monster in the game, after Fanged Salamanders. Fungal Slime have a long ranged attack, and give you 25 experience towards your next level when they are killed. From the area with the fight between you and the to Walking Corpse, walk south. When you reach a lever, shortly after a turn west, don’t pull it yet. First, continue west. After a turn north again, you will find another lever. Pull this one. Now walk into the room. Feel free to loot stuff from a any coffin, but the one you’re really looking for is on the west side of the room, closer to the north end than the south end. Inside you will find an amulet shaped like a triangle with a circle in it. Take this “Strange Amulet”. You very well might have leveled up again. Now go back to the first lever in the hallway. Pull it, and walk south through the open gate. As you walk, the gates will close behind you and open in front of you, making it impossible to go back the way you came.
3 – Bordertown
The easiest place for you to go now is south of Aridell. Before you head there though, grab the ‘healing elixir’ from the priest in Aridell. If you’d like to, pick up Garrett’s Sextant in the first destroyed house along the coast. If not, stick near the tree line on the northern end of the region. Once you find the man who the ‘healing elixir’ is for, offer it to him, and accept the quest he gives you. You’ll head to bordertown in the next step, be sure you have that note with you. Head north east of the crypt to the opposite corner of that region, and into the next. Walk north, but be careful. When you see a path with a sign that says “Quick route to Darkford” ignore it, it's a lie. Continue walking north until you see the trees and path sort of turn to the west. Head the direction. Any second now, “Bandit(s)” will start walking out from their places to attack you. Fight them if you wish, but you’ll probably be unprepared for them at this point. NPC’s (Non-Player Characters) cannot follow you through regions. Use this to your advantage as you play. Continue heading east, but stay close to the trees. More Bandits will continue to stream out towards you. Until you see a small fire near a sign, stay next to the trees. Once you do see that, head north, towards it. Let the archer and the blacksmith of this town defeat the Bandits while you run around in circles, uselessly. If one of them dies, re-load your last save game – you don’t want any of these characters to die. Once the Bandits are dead, click on the sign to at “Bordertown” to your quick-travel menu. After shopping, accepting quests, and whatever else you wish to do here, head west and a little bit north. There should be two guards and a gate. Pressure the guards into letting you in, and though they tell you not to steal anything, go ahead and steal everything. Including a very important ‘Gate Key’ (If you don’t steal this it isn’t game over, but you’ll want to later). Do also speak with the head of the guards, even though he won’t do anything about your information. Notice his name. That’s an interesting story that you can follow through all three games.
4 – Finding Lilith
On your way to the guardhouse you passed a fork in the road. It’s time to go south there. You’ll find a “Hive Drone” here. These are a lot harder to kill, and will give you 60 experience every time you kill one. By this point you may or may not be able to take them on one at a time. Anything with range helps. Head south a bit past the first drone, and you’ll see the Region divider. In the next region, there will be a lot more drones, but again, they might be killable if you can single them out. Not long after you the Region divider, there is a branch to the east. Don’t bother with that yet. Instead, continue south until you’re about 5/6 of the way through that region. At about the ½ point there is a branch to the west. Don’t take that yet either. At 5/6 of the way through you’ll find another branch to east. Do take that. Soon you’ll find a dock at a lake, and a house just past the lake. You’ve reached Lilith’s house. She claims she’s allergic to the bees, but she’s totally lying to you. If you find yourself overwhelmed, bring them to her, and she’ll take them out. With her fists none-the-less. Anyway, she wants you to kill the Queen Bee before she’ll give you any information.
5 – Defeating the Queen
Now might be a good time to head back to previously explored places and kill any monsters you just ran past. You’ll want to be pretty prepared for this fight. When you’re ready, stock up for a big fight, and head back. This time, head south at the path leading to Lilith’s house into a new region. Head east as soon as possible, and go as far east as you can in that region. There you will see a stone pillar. If you click on it, it will add “Grimhold West” to your quick-travel menu. This will come in useful later on. From there, head south until it you reach an intersection, close to the end of the region. The signs will warn you not to go east there, but you should anyway. You’ll know when you reach the bee cave.
Before you go in however, go to the far east end of the region, at this great rift in the ground. Follow it south, avoiding rocks and trees. At the end, you’ll find a chest. Open it, and take the gold. Now you can enter the Hive. I won’t say much about the Hive, because it’s pretty straight forward, and very hard to get lost inside of there. First thing to know though, is that when you find an area lit up with tall torches, that has a path you can’t get to, because of a rock, pull the north west, south west, and middle east levers. That will get you where you want to go. There is a chest down there that says something about “Steel”. It’s not too difficult of a riddle, but I’ll give you this: A=1, B=2, Z=26.
The next thing I’ll tell you is that when you get to a room that says something like “I’d better not touch anything”, it would be wise to do just that (unless of course you’re a daredevil who wants free money and experience).
The last thing I’ll tell you about the cave is that once you’ve defeated the Queen, stay in that area a bit longer. See those things that look like Giant Honeycombs? Take 10 of the “Giant Larva” from those. Good luck in the caves! Once you defeat the Queen, bring Lilith your “Queen’s Stinger” She won’t take it, so you can still use it as a weapon if you’d like. Once you show that to her, she’ll explain that the amulet of yours is a key to a very high guarded bank in Blackwater. Useful huh, doesn’t even tell you where Blackwater is…
No matter where you are now, head back to the Crypt. Go to the south western corner, and you’ll find a man named Hemish. Give you your 10 Gant Larva and he’ll give you a “Flask of Incinerator Fuel” This is probably going to help you most in one of the final fights. Want to see what it does? Head outside to any NPC in an open area. Save! Now throw it at them. Pretty, isn’t it? Now, reload your game before you threw it. Keep that for later.
6 – Finding the Vault
You may want to head back to Bordertown now, and take the 70 pound Crucible the Black smith wants you to take to the Black smith in Blackwater, if you want to do that quest. Quicktravel to Grimhold West, and walk to the south-western corner of that region. Head out of this region heading west. You’ll need to cross an entire region of plains, and then head into the next region west. Continue west.
Soon you’ll find a town. You can choose two ways to get in. Firstly, and ideally, talk to the guards, and pay the 100 gold fee. The other way, is simply to kill the guards. Before you enter however, I suggest going to the south entrance of the town. Once again, click on the stone pillar to add “Blackwater” to you quick-travel menu.
Now, whichever way you enter the town, head to the blacksmith. He’s not hard to find, he lives on the corner, and has tons of weapons in his store. Give him the Crucible as soon as possible, if you brought it. Now, head down the western path a bit more, to the last house on the north. Enter the house with the dead body. Beware of traps though. When you get in, search the dead body, and you’ll find a note. Read this note and learn about “Foozgrumph”. Now exit again, and head to the tavern, close to the northern entrance to the town. When you walk in, the bandit looking man will ask you to go kill Lilith and bring him her amulet. Well, now some pieces start to click – This mysterious man sent you to Lilith to learn about your amulet, because she herself has one. Someone of value must be in her vault… Feel free to ignore him if you wish, or accept his quest, if that’s what you want. Talk to the innkeeper, and ask for a room. When he asks for your name, tell him you are “Foozgrumph”. He will say something like “Ah, I see.” Now you will be shown Foozgrumph’s room. The north wall of your room is fake. Feel free to walk through it anytime, and follow that path. At the end of that path, you’ll notice a staircase. Go down it.
There’s nothing to fight down here, if you’re careful. When you reach the goblin at the desk, show him your Amulet 26. He will open the gate for you. Explore down here for a while, until you find your vault. Inside, you will find a chest. In that chest are… The Crux of Ages, and the third sealed note. Read the note carefully. It will tell you that you need to go find your brother, and it will tell you who’s been sending you these notes – yourself.
At this point, I recommend going back to Lilith, killing her, taking her amulet, and entering her vault in this bank. Inside is the best sword in the game. If you don’t want to use it, feel free to sell it for lots of gold though. Again, if you don’t want to kill Lilith, don’t. If you give the Bandit man the key after you take the sword from her vault, he’ll come back to kill you. But it’s just more experience, right?
7 – Finding your brother
Your brother is in Vela. Be careful in Vela, because as soon as you enter, there are traps everywhere. This will probably be your first encounter with fighting goblins in the game as well though. It will also probably be your first time killing a Taurax. Vela can be found in the region north of Blackwater. Note: I highly suggest you save (something you’re not going to overwrite) before entering the region with Vela. There is a fairly common bug that will require you to reload from before you entered Vela if it occurs. Enter Vela, and very carefully walk through the streets. I suggest you kill everything in Vela, but you only technically have to kill 2 things in Vela. First, head north, annihilating everything in your path. When you get to the “Goblin Warlord” be careful. These are harder to kill than the other types. You’ll notice that goblins frequently drop something when they die. These are the first commonly appearing creatures that drop stuff. When you kill the Goblin Warlord in the north end of the city, You’ll notice he drops a Goblin Key. Keep it. Now walk to the more western end of the ruined city, again, clearing your path as you go.
Sooner or later, you’ll come to a very large red, demon/minotaur looking thing. This is your first Taurax. I would kill it, though there are many other options, such as locking it in a room. My personal favorite, other than killing it by hand was to lock it in the room full of poison traps. You’ll find that near the far end of the north buildings, as you enter the city. Once that is dealt with, head north, across the bridge. You’ll find your brother in a room. If I’m correct, you must now walk around the building, and pull a lever to gain access to this room. Talk with your brother, and he’ll tell you to speak with Eurabor, who lives in Shadowmirk. Then, put him out of his misery if you wish.
If your brother is not in the room, you are experiencing a fairly common bug. Reload the game from your last save that you hadn’t entered Vela yet. If your brother is still not there when you get to that point, save anywhere but the region of Vela. Take that map out of your maps folder in your Eschalon Book I folder. When you reload, and walk back into Vela, the map will reload itself. Try again. To Shadowmirk now!
8 – Getting to Eurabor
Eurabor is a wizard. Wizard’s live in Shadowmirk, which is that strange castle that seems impossible to enter. You probably saw it on your way to Bordertown. So, head back to Bordertown, and then east one region. There might still be bandits waiting there for you, but by now you should be able to fend them off. When you get to Shadowmirk, it still seems impossible to enter. So, head all the way around it to the east, and follow a small trail in the trees. It will lead you up to the side, where you can’t see that there’s land. Keep following this path until you reach the back door. Now you can enter. If I were you, I’d head back out to the front of the castle, and pull the lever that opens the gate into there. Now head back into Shadowmirk.
Once you kill the “Dimensional Eye” hovering near the pillars, continue forwards. At the hallway, head east, past the first door, and to the open room. Talk with the wizard if you want. Go into the Arachnid Chamber, and fend off the spiders. Search through all of the egg sacks till you find a key. Now leave the Chamber. Head to that first door, and your key will unlock it. Now walk past the skeletons, and into the room at the end. Look through the chests there, and take everything in them. Now, work your way back to the place with the pillars. As you leave the room you’re in, the skeletons will come alive and attack you. They’re not too hard to fight if you take them 1 at a time.
Once you’re back at the pillars, head west to the pressure tiles on the ground. Those tiles will teleport you back to the start if you step on the wrong one. Work your way through this maze without getting sent back to the beginning. Telling you would take all the fun out of it. Once you get to the end, look at the chests in the room there. One of them has a sign that says “Give me Strength”. Place a potion of Ogre Strength in that chest, and close it. Ogre Strength is the pink potion you got in the room with the skeletons. The next chest says “Ease my Burden” (or something like that). The potion that belongs in there is a level 3 Healing Potion (there is one to be found in Shadowmirk). The next floor is a simple matter of remembering which portal leads where, like a larger version of the teleporter maze you did on the first floor. Once you reach the third floor, talk to Eurabor.
9 – Getting the Keys
He will tell you about the Goblin keys you need to collect. Go to the room north of him and take the green goblin key from his chest. The next one is in Grimhold. Use your quick-travel to go to Grimhold West. Head to the region to the east. You’re now in Grimhold. Kill everything in here, and go downstairs. There are a few ways downstairs, but for now, only one is available to you. I’ll let you explore the basement for yourself, but remember to search every single chest. One of them, near the center of the dungeon holds a Goblin Key. That should be the third key (The first was in Vela, and the second held by Eurabor).
The final key requires you to enter Crakamir, the most dangerous part of the Thaermore continent. Interestingly, it will also put you closer to the ending of Book II than you are for 90% of Book II. Don’t worry, you get to go to the other end of the world before you need to worry about that!
There are three ways into Crakamir. The first, and most straightforward, is to use the key stolen from the captain of the guards desk. The gate where this is useful is in the region south-east of Blackwater. It’s in the very south-western corner of that region.
The second way into Crakamir, and perhaps the most convenient, is a teleporter located near bordertown. In the south-eastern corner of that region is a house. Bring your own mercury (silvery circle) and ectoplasm (purple… shape) with you. In the basement of this house, take the skull and fish out of the alembic, and put the mercury and ectoplasm in. This will activate the teleporter into Crakamir. (Note: from this room you can also teleport into a hidden cave near blackwater that must be opened from the inside).
The final way into Crakamir is by traversing the difficult dungeon “The Tangletree Ossuary”, and climbing the ladder found at the end. Great loot, but I tend to wait until a little later to attempt that dungeon.
Once within Crakamir, head to the westernmost of the three regions. Now, head to about the center of the region, but a bit further west. You should see giants. I strongly suggest you don’t attack them. Talk to the leader. He is easy to tell from the others, and lives in the north most building. He will tell you that he will give you the red Goblin Key, and help your fight against goblins if you return their Giant Skull. Agree to help them now. However you wish to leave Crakamir, do so, and quicktravel to Vela. Head a region east, where you will be confronted by many, many Raptors. They’re probably the second hardest monster in the game, so be wary. In basically the center of the region you should find some old, abandoned hunting grounds (and a lodge). Find the entrance, and make your way in. Search around the hunting grounds for a while, and eventually, you’ll find the Skull in one of the storage units in a room. Bring it back to the Giants. They will give you your key now, AND fight for you at the goblin citadel!
10 – The Goblin Citadel
Now head to the Goblin Citadel, south, and east of the giant village. You’ll notice it is quite large. Enter where you feel prepared - there will be a huge fight. I strongly suggest you use your flask of incinerator fuel here. Once everything is dead, head underground. All I will tell you of this is that it is very dangerous, and fun. By now, it should be hard still, but not as hard as you’d think. I don’t want to spoil the entire game for you (too late?), so I’ll let you finish from there. Good luck, and have fun!
Side Quests
1 – Secrets of Transference Circuits
• Quest Given By: Magic and Alchemy store owner in Aridel
• Summary of Quest:
This is one of the first side quests in the game, and possibly the easiest. All you must do is find a book called “The Secrets of Transference Circuits”. This book cannot be bought from stores however. This book can only be found in the Crypt you must enter near the beginning of the game. When you are at the very south end of the Crypt, near Hemish, head a little east. Soon you will find a room to the south. If you enter, 4 Blood Sippers will come out and attack you. Enter, and head to the far south east corner of the room. Whether you choose to fight the Blood Sippers or not, walk through the wall here. Now in the next room, you’ll find a cabinet. Inside this cabinet is the book you are looking for.
2 – Mithril Bar
• Quest Given By: Blacksmith of Aridel
• Summary of Quest:
The dungeon you are looking for that holds the mithril bar can be found in the town you started the game in, south of Aridel. There is a staircase near the north end of the town, heading down. Be prepared from a lot of fighting in there. When you go in, be sure to walk on the pressure pad in the second room. This can be found by walking close to the wall, heading south east. This dungeon is pretty straightforward. There are a lot of traps on the ground, so be careful where you step. If you ever find a dead end in your journey, turn back and take a different route. I’ll let you work your way through for yourself to let you have some of the fun.
3 – Wedding Ring
• Quest Given By: Lone Woman in the region north of Aridel
• Summary of Quest:
The woman asks you to find her husband, and tells you that if you find him dead, to bring her his wedding ring. Walk into the region north of her, from the east and follow the trees. Make the left into the path with a sign saying “Quick route to Aridel.” It is not a quick route to Aridel. You will be attacked by multiple thugs, so if you’re not strong enough, you may want to wait. Continue in, and you’ll be attacked soon. Once the thugs are disposed of, head south from the center. Soon you’ll come to a clearing. You can loot whatever you want from there, but the ring is the important thing. Bring it back to the woman, and she’ll tell you about a combination to a chest. This chest can be found south of the region with Lilith.
4 – Cruible
• Quest Given By: Blacksmith of Bordertown
• Summary of Quest:
This is also a fairly simple quest. Just bring the Crucible to the blacksmith in Blackwater. I explain how to get to Blackwater in the Main Quest walkthrough, under “Finding the Vault”. The Crucible weighs 70 pounds, so make sure you have 70 pounds free before you take it.
5 – The Locket
• Quest Given By: Magic Store owner of Bordertown
• Summary of Quest:
The locket can be found in Grimhold, and is easiest to find if you enter from Grimhold West. When you walk in, head south until the path branches east and west. Take the west path, killing the goblins on your way. Before you head downstairs, check the room near the ladder. Head in there, and get the locket from the cabinet.
6 – The Water Gate
• Quest Given By: Dying soldier at Grimhold East
• Summary of Quest:
When you talk to the soldier at Grimhold East, he says something about shutting off the water gate. This is easiest to do if you head into Grimhold from Grimhold West. From the west end, head underground into Grimhold. You’ll find quite an adventure under Grimhold, so I won’t spoil too much. All that I’ll say is, that the Water Gate is closed by a lever surrounded by a lot of water, on the West side of Grimhold. Good luck!
7 – Fungal Slimes
• Quest Given By: Sailor of Bordertown
• Summary of Quest:
This is extremely simple. The sailor in the northern end of Bordertown can’t sail because there are too many Fungal Slimes in the next region over. Head over there, and eliminate every one. There are quite a few, so don’t be surprised if he says you didn’t complete the task when you return to him. Note that Fungal Slimes can attack across multiple tiles, and that they can become dangerous in quantities this high.
8 – Pure Water Tree
• Quest Given By: First Tree (North of Lilith’s House)
• Summary of Quest:
This quest can be challenging. After getting the quest, you’ll learn that this tree needs a flask of Pure Water. The only place you can get this is a special well on Crakamir. This well is in the north middle region. (There are 6 regions). To get to it, you must either run from, or fight 2 Taurax. You will need an empty vial to collect water from the well. Once you have the water, bring it back to the tree. Alternatively, you can drink the pure water, and gain +2 skill points on the next level up. You cannot do both however.
9 – Lilith’s Amulet
• Quest Given By: Shady Man in Blackwater Tavern
• Summary of Quest:
This Shady man wants you to retrieve the amulet around Lilith’s neck. Well, after learning what your amulet was, it’s fairly simple to guess what her amulet is. It’s completely your choice whether you get it or not. If you choose to kill her, I suggest you go and collect the item from her vault before giving it to the Man. Again though, it’s your choice. If you do take the sword from her vault before giving him the amulet, he and a gang of bandits will attack you later on. Do not offer them 100 gold! Just fight them, and if you can’t kill them, bring them to Blackwater. The guards and priest there can take care of them for you.
10 – Blackwater Thugs
• Quest Given By: Mayor of Blackwater
• Summary of Quest:
The Mayor is suspicious of a group of thugs that live south west of Blackwater. All you have to do is kill them all. They can be very challenging! Try bringing them to Blackwater for the guards to fight if you get overwhelmed. Speak to the mayor again once they’re dead.
11 – Divine Ore
• Quest Given By: Blacksmith of Blackwater
• Summary of Quest:
The Blacksmith wants you to retrieve some “Divine Ore” that some thugs stole from him. He only tells you that they headed southeast. This is very difficult quest. If you’re not comfortable killing the Barean Mercenaries yet, don’t do this quest yet. Head one region east, and one region south of Blackwater. The same region with the entrance to Crakamir. Now head to the very southeast corner of the region, following a path of trees. When you can, go north away from the path, down into the dungeon. When you get the part that has multiple scones, and no torches in them, place a torch in every one. This will open the wall up to you. Now walk in here. Follow the path, and be prepared to either fight, or run. At the very end of this path you will find 3 rooms. One contains the Divine Ore, and another contains the best cleaving weapon in the game.
12 – Healthy Acorn
• Quest Given By: First Magic and Alchemy store owner in Blackwater
• Summary of quest:
Head to the same path of trees you do in the “Divine Ore” quest. This time though, head into the region east of the region with that dungeon. Follow the path of trees, going north and east every opportunity. Do not go into the next region to the north though. Instead, you’ll find multiple Acid Grubs. After either killing them, or running around them, you’ll get to a special tree that is “Useable”. If you fight the acid grubs, be careful – they can ruin your armor when they die! When you “Use” this tree, it will open up a box, like when you open a chest of drawers. Inside will be the acorn you seek.
13 – The Letter
• Quest Given By: Dead Body in Crakimir
• Summary of Quest:
In Crakamir, you’ll find a dead body along what looks like tire tracks, in one of the northern regions. Searching the body, you’ll find a letter. After closing the letter, it will ask you if you wish to bring it to the designated recipient. The woman lives in the western end of Blackwater.
Other
1 – Exploits
Eschalon: Book I, is a great game, but it’s not perfect. There are two MAJOR exploits that I use to my advantage during each playthrough, but it’s up to you if you want to use them. Note that both of these were fixed in the second and third games.
The first exploit takes advantage of the characters ability to swap which weapon is being held at any time. This means that if you have a bow in your hand, arrows in your quiver, and any other weapon ready to be equipped by pressing ‘enter’, you can essentially fire that weapon out of your bow. Simply fire the arrow, and as it’s traveling to it’s target, swap weapons. When the arrow hits the damage is calculated based on the weapon in your hand (or even your empty hand).
The second exploit takes advantage of your ability to turn on/off a torch without using a turn. You can turn it on for your attacks, and turn it off again before the enemy attacks you, significantly increasing your ToHit, while substantially decreasing theirs. Alternatively, with just one level in Hide in Shadows (can be gained from a book) you can stand against a wall with your torch. Keep it on when you attack, and, if you’re hidden in the shadow, and turn it off before their turn, they will be unable to find you. This allows you to attack them without ever taking damage (if you’re careful).
2 – Easter Eggs
Ever been exploring, and come upon an item called “Easter Egg”? Well, I think it’s time you learned what those did. Easter Eggs are a great way to get experience. There are a total of three Easter Eggs to be found across Thaermore. When you bring all three of them to a special location, you will gain a level, no matter what. It is suggested that you do not use these until you just barely got a new level, and only have around 0-100 exp towards your next level. The first Easter Egg can be found in the only second floor room in the town you start out in. The door takes quite a while to bash down, so you might want to try picking the lock. The second Easter Egg can be found in the Tangle Tree Ossuary, just past the riddle with chests. The following items go in the chests:
Consumed by Fire: Ash
Womb of a Tree: Apple
Endless band of metal (or something like that): Any ring (best to use copper or tin)
A Smashing Victory: Any bludgeoning weapon (best to use a wooden cudgel)
The final Easter Egg can be found hidden among spiders in northern Crakamir. Once you have all 3 Eggs, bring them to Shadowmirk. In Shadowmirk, head into the room just west of the main entrance. In there you will find what looks like a candlestick holder. When you click on it, you will automatically put the Easter Eggs on it, and level up.
I hope this guide helps you complete this game! I’m extremely open to correction, so if you find any mistakes in the guide, PM with a subject of: Walkthrough Correction (or something along those lines)
Many Thanks!
Last edited by Vroqren on August 30th, 2015, 12:53 am, edited 13 times in total.
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Nice! Clearly a lot of work went into making this; thanks for the addition!
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Thank you! Like I said, I know I made a lot of mistakes, so any corrections are welcome, no matter how large or small!
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Nice job! Thanks for your hard work!
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Aww yeah, you rock Vroqren!
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Well thank you, but I honestly don't deserve the thanks - I was just bored and figured I could help people. You should thank BW for making such excellent games for us to play!
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Request: Vroqren, any chance you could go through the original post, and add more paragraphs and space it out more, so that it's easier to read?
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Sure thing - I'll do that.
Edit: Done spacing it out, tell me if you need me to change it more.
Edit: Done spacing it out, tell me if you need me to change it more.
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Thanks for the help...
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Definitely looks better, thanks. My only thought is that it would be good if some of the longer individual entries could be split into more paragraphs rather than just having them as a long blocks of text. But this is a minor thing, so no biggie if you don't...Vroqren wrote:Done spacing it out, tell me if you need me to change it more.
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
I've got plenty of time on my hands today - I'll edit that a bit more.
Edit: I did it, but I can't put spaces at the beginning of a line, it just deletes them, so that's the best I can do.
Edit #2: My file of Book I is corrupt - can anyone take the time to find out what the real names of the side quests are? I can't get on to check, and I don't just know them all by heart.
Edit: I did it, but I can't put spaces at the beginning of a line, it just deletes them, so that's the best I can do.
Edit #2: My file of Book I is corrupt - can anyone take the time to find out what the real names of the side quests are? I can't get on to check, and I don't just know them all by heart.
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
The list of Book I Quests can be found here.Vroqren wrote:Edit #2: My file of Book I is corrupt - can anyone take the time to find out what the real names of the side quests are? I can't get on to check, and I don't just know them all by heart.
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
Very nice - never seen that before. It's amazing - I'm finding out new things about the game, just from looking at all the quests, I didn't know about all of them. Speaking of which, how do you get the quest from Garrett? He never talks...
- Kreador Freeaxe
- Major General
- Posts: 2436
- Joined: April 26th, 2008, 3:44 pm
Re: Eschalon: Book I Walkthrough
You have to ask the barkeep about Garrett before you get the conversation cues to get him to talk.
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Kill 'em all, let the sysadmin sort 'em out.
Kill 'em all, let the sysadmin sort 'em out.