The story thus far...

[Jinx]

I've played through both Book I and Book II, but it's been a while and my memory is terrible. I would love to see a "the story thus far..." supplement as we draw near to Book III. Does anyone know if that exists anywhere? I would personally prefer a detailed account, but I'm sure there are others that would like a TL;DR version.

[Painted Lady]

Why don't you do yourself a favor and simply replay the previous two games? You will have lots of fun, and all of the detail will be fresh in your mind.....

[Lord_P]

I agree with what Painted Lady said.

But if you really want to have a quick recap:

You awakened in a run-down shack in the middle of nowhere near the ruined town of Elderhollow. You found a msyterious note (two in fact) that told you to seek a man who'se name escapes me. The first Book revolved around your past and ended with you killing the goblin shaman and restoring peace to Thaermore by returning the Crux of Ages (or alternatively, handing the Crux to the shaman and dooming Thaermore). Thus ends Book I.

In Book II we learn that the taurax of the south have destroyed Thaermore. You have moved to Mistfell, a province north of Thaermore, and made home in a large shack (at least a better shack than the last one) near the town of Eastwillow. But then you receive a letter that tells you to seek another man (his name doesn't escape me, he is Darius). But Darius is killed. And someone is responsible. Book II revolves around the guild of Crius Vindica (which you are a part of) and a mysterious entity known as "the One". You do many things such as break into the dwarven mine of Hammerlorne (truly one of the best moments in Eschalon so far), explore the secrets of Fathamurk, and kill that stupid Brelinda. Book II ends with... well, it was strange.

Okay, that wasn't so quick.

[BasiliskWrangler]

Hi @Jinx!

Lord_P has a decent little recap above (copy-n-paste into a text editor to see it).

Also, in the game itself is a Prologue which is a small recap of the end of Book II, and a few NPCs that you talk to during the first couple hours of the game will "help you remember" events of the previous two games.

I think the important points to remember are:

SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED BOOK 1 OR BOOK 2

* There are four powerful gemstones (called Crux stones) and your character is someone who has spent years in a secret guild called Crius Vindica, whose purpose was to ensure the stones were never united. The historical belief is that uniting these Crux stones would be utterly devastating.

* There is a mysterious race of beings called Orakur that are planing to use the 4 Crux stones for some purpose. An Orakur (named Shina) that you meet at the end of Book II tells you that the Orakur are "shipwrecked" and need the Crux crystals to "return home". She says the Orkaur "...are not from this place you call Eschalon" and they "...came here by accident" and that their plan is to "...return control of Eschalon to the native species."

* Another Orakur, at this point known only as The One, is trying to gather the 4 Crux stones for his own use. Clearly, The One is at war with the other Orakur and the people of Eschalon are caught in the middle of it. The One uses mental tricks to gather people and beasts to fight for him in an effort to locate and secure the four Crux stones.

All of the above info is revealed in Book II. As for Book I, it really doesn't cover any of this info, but it does set up a few key ideas regarding the story arc, such as: the reason your memory was destroyed, the concept that the Crux stones are important enough to wage war over, the involvement of the Goblins and Taurax, and the idea that there is a mysterious group of creatures called Orakur that (while never making an appearance in Book I) clearly have a role in the game.

[Jinx]

@Painted Lady - Having played through books I & II twice now, I don't doubt that it would be fun a third time, but with a few other games coming out very soon (Wasteland 2 & Divinity: Original Sin) I doubt I'd be able to finish both books again.

@Lord_P - Thanks for that! I was somewhere around that same place in terms of memory.

@BasiliskWrangler - Ah yes, it's all flooding back to me now, what a cool story... I'm glad to hear that there will be some reminders built into the opening narrative as well. Carrying around the lore of countless RPGs, they often tend to bleed together. I can't wait! I'll make sure you get some love from the jinx.com social media outlets when it launches

[munster]

Extremely condensed recap of the story so far:

You are an idiot. For reasons which you can't remember, you drank an experimental memory-wiping potion (this is why you can't remember why you did it). This has resulted in you waking up in strange places in your underwear, with no idea where you are, who you are, or what you're doing there. It also means you lack the rudimentary ability to identify such common items as rocks and potatoes. You spent large portions of Book I discovering who you are, what you are doing, and wondering if everyone is lying to you when they tell you who you are and what you're doing (also, you do eventually figure out how to tell a rock from a potato), just in time to end up waking up somewhere else in your underwear etc. for the start of Book II.

It looks like it's happening a third time. Begin Book III...

(Which I can't wait to do, but I'll just have to try and be patient until February).

[Vroqren]

also, you do eventually figure out how to tell a rock from a potato)

If you're built right...

[Lord_P]

It looks like it's happening a third time. Begin Book III...

Yes, but this time we have a good reason for it;

SPOILER TO ANYONE WHO HASN'T COMPLETED BOOK II:

We got our clothes blown off by the One.

[munster]

Lord_P wrote: Yes, but this time we have a good reason for it

Actually, if you go by the inventory, we seem to be wandering around wearing nothing. I know the sprite is represented with shirt and trousers, but go to the character equipment/clothing slots and you don't even get a tatty old loincloth showing up as start-off gear

Besides, there may be a good reason for waking up in a jungle in a scorched pair of pants, but given the memory-wiping potion and its long-term effects, for all we know it could be a case of "This time I mean it, I swear: no more boozing"

[Calathon]

[...] but given the memory-wiping potion and its long-term effects, for all we know it could be a case of "This time I mean it, I swear: no more boozing"

Nice idea, maybe I´ll start as Calathon the Drunkard, proficient in unarmed combat (bar fights), alchemy (ethanol based only), foraging (rubbish bins) and thrown weapons (empty beer bottles).

Actually, if you go by the inventory, we seem to be wandering around wearing nothing.

Reminds me of The Big Lebowski: "Yeah, I would like my undies back." (Walter to the Nihilsts)

[Randomizer]

That's one nice thing about fantasy RPGs, you can always find a body to loot for clothing and it fits. So first thing you do after waking up in the middle of nowhere with nothing is look for somebody to rob. If he/she is already dead it makes it easier.

[BasiliskWrangler]

PM, did you just quote yourself? Yes, you are correct, my original notes from Book 2 development states that Shina was a male. Shina is not in Book 3, so I have not addressed that character in 3+ years. I just misspoke.

In complete disclosure, the Orakur are somewhat asexual, perhaps even incapable of reproduction. They are a dying race. Full disclosure in 56 days.

[Calathon]

In complete disclosure, the Orakur are somewhat asexual, perhaps even incapable of reproduction. They are a dying race. Full disclosure in 56 days.

Sounds like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQoRXhS7vlU to me.

[MyGameCompany]

In complete disclosure, the Orakur are somewhat asexual, perhaps even incapable of reproduction. They are a dying race. Full disclosure in 56 days.

Oooo - there's another interesting new tidbit! Hm...

[Calathon]

I thought Shina (I presumed it was a female, by the name) died after speaking to the hero?
This circumstance should make it quite hard for a reappearance in Book III, should it not?

Well, who knows anything about the Orakur, anyway... *whistling the X-Files-theme*