The Drunken Lizard Pub

Well, supposing you stole the key from the dwarves, can you later continue the main quest and go to Picaroon's island if you never even met Sparrow?

Elwro wrote:Well, supposing you stole the key from the dwarves, can you later continue the main quest and go to Picaroon's island if you never even met Sparrow?

Yes.

As I said, all you need to do is get a key. The next step of the questline activates, regardless of who or where you get the key from. I know it can be a bit confusing, seeing as how the quest actually tells you to go and talk to Sparrow. But the essence of the quest, despite this, isn't "Talk to Sparrow". It's "Get the key [from her]".

Cool, wanted to know that before my next playthrough. Thanks!

Rebelicious wrote:As I said, all you need to do is get a key.

You don't even actually need a key, right? Provided you can get that door open via other means...

xolotl wrote:

Rebelicious wrote:As I said, all you need to do is get a key.

You don't even actually need a key, right? Provided you can get that door open via other means...

I haven't actually tried any other way, but yeah, I've heard that it's possible to pick the lock or melt it.

I can just say that the quest updates no matter how you get the key. Maybe it updates when you pick the lock or something, too.

Rebelicious wrote:My main gripe here... is how the main quest doesn't even really offer an option or even an optional interpretation of the quest - and how following that quest will by default result in a lost challenge.

Yes, I get what you're saying. Since everybody else seems to offer you alternatives to get the key they seem to be overlooking your point. I didn't.

Why should one meet every challenge by following the main quest line?

Challenges are supposed to be special, additional tasks that spice up the gameplay. There's no need to ever meet any of them if you just want to finish the game.

Sade wrote:Why should one meet every challenge by following the main quest line?

Not meeting a challenge by getting the key from Sparrow is probably just a minor complaint here, indeed not a big deal. Also if you meet the bronze quest you will be failing a challenge, as you can't wear armour for the True Mage quest, and I haven't read too many complaints about that either in these forums.
But the game is suggesting that for following the main quest you need to get the key from Sparrow. That can be perceived as misleading if there are other and better ways.

Sade wrote:Why should one meet every challenge by following the main quest line?

Challenges are supposed to be special, additional tasks that spice up the gameplay. There's no need to ever meet any of them if you just want to finish the game.

You shouldn't. Challenges -should- be additional tasks to spice up gameplay. The issue, as I see it, is that by following the questline, you lose the challenge by default. Follow the questline and you -will- lose the challenge.

The only way to even find out that there's another way is basically to go to the forums. That's not challenging. That's just idiotically meta-gamey.

You shouldn't automatically fail a challenge by following the main questline.

Rebelicious wrote: The only way to even find out that there's another way is basically to go to the forums. That's not challenging. That's just idiotically meta-gamey.

Or.... you could find out there's another way by being extra diligent. Or... you could get lucky and stumble upon it. Expecting to have all the answers given to you... that's meta-gamey. You shouldn't expect to automatically overcome all of the challenges on the first play-through without "cheating" (looking through the forums, using a trainer, etc.). They wouldn't be challenges if that were the case.

You shouldn't automatically fail a challenge by following the main questline.

An opinion, which you're certainly entitled to.

Back to the oringal topic: I think pickpocketing would be a fun addition... even more so if NPCs could pick YOUR pockets. ^_^

CrazyBernie wrote:Back to the oringal topic: I think pickpocketing would be a fun addition... even more so if NPCs could pick YOUR pockets. ^_^

Those merchants pick my pockets quite enough as it is.

CrazyBernie wrote:

Rebelicious wrote: The only way to even find out that there's another way is basically to go to the forums. That's not challenging. That's just idiotically meta-gamey.

Or.... you could find out there's another way by being extra diligent. Or... you could get lucky and stumble upon it. Expecting to have all the answers given to you... that's meta-gamey. You shouldn't expect to automatically overcome all of the challenges on the first play-through without "cheating" (looking through the forums, using a trainer, etc.). They wouldn't be challenges if that were the case.

[...]

Having the answers handed to you in-game isn't meta-gamey, but that's beside the point, since of course you shouldn't have them handled to you.

All that is really necessary is for the quest to be changed into being a quest to find a key, of which Sparrow has one, rather than a quest explicitly to go see Sparrow (and subsequently lose the challenge by default).

CrazyBernie wrote:[...]

Back to the oringal topic: I think pickpocketing would be a fun addition... even more so if NPCs could pick YOUR pockets. ^_^

Last NPC that pickpocket me lost it's hand.

Rebelicious wrote: All that is really necessary is for the quest to be changed into being a quest to find a key, of which Sparrow has one, rather than a quest explicitly to go see Sparrow (and subsequently lose the challenge by default).

Actually I like the fact that you fail the challenge... 'cause then it makes you stop and think that there must be another way.

CrazyBernie wrote:Back to the oringal topic: I think pickpocketing would be a fun addition... even more so if NPCs could pick YOUR pockets. ^_^

I actually asked about (which is just like quasi-asking for!!) whether such a thing would ever happen back in this Book I thread (see #4 in the list).

It's already on my Book III request-/wish-list which I'm saving for the opening of the Book III forum...

CrazyBernie wrote:

Rebelicious wrote: All that is really necessary is for the quest to be changed into being a quest to find a key, of which Sparrow has one, rather than a quest explicitly to go see Sparrow (and subsequently lose the challenge by default).

Actually I like the fact that you fail the challenge... 'cause then it makes you stop and think that there must be another way.

From a metagaming standpoint, yeah. From a roleplaying game standpoint, it's very hard to rationalize not going to Sparrow to begin with, given the main quest offered you.