Beginner tips

[Flashback007]

So I am completly new to these kind of games. They looked cool to me and especially the talk about story and stuff liked that really got me peaked interesting. Now I have almost bought all the Spiderweb Software-games and heard this was actually the best one to start with. Now I am wondering is that the case and what tips do you have for me as a complete newcomer to this game/genre?

I already started up a game and loved the look and story what I saw in it. So at least it had that going for now. Anyways thank you for all the answers :)

[Sanctified Reach 420]

check out their website in the forums there and they have alot of help there, not so much here.

[TheSnood]

Save often with F3 by default and make 'hard-saves" by opening the menu and going to save game.

Also explore everything, quicksave before using your lockpicks. So then if you do not open an area or chest with anything good in it you can just quickload and keep the lockpick,

[7 4 17 0 17 _twelvetwenty-one]

Yes, quicksave very often, as in before going into a new room, before doing a battle. Always keep a hard save while you are still in Avadon before going to a new area too.

Go to your quarters and keep at least one of every unique weapon/armor/Rune/potion/scroll/wand for emergencies - you have a desk and a wardrobe that seem to have infinite storage space. So far, I've found little use for the junk items (like paper and mops), but I tend to keep those too, just in case.
Also, be sure to do the rounds and equip all of your Followers with better equipment before selling it all, even if you never take them with you or think you would - this game has several surprises, twists and gimmicks that plan to assault you.
Things like Arcane Scroll and Drake Skin have descriptions like "Someone might have a use for these." They will. Definitely keep those.

You can Ctrl+Click an item and it will be moved into your junk bag. You can use this as extra storage if your party has all of their inventory full. Certain merchants will buy things from you - there is an option to sell all in your junk bag. Use this cautiously, though. They seem to pay a fraction of what the item is actually worth and I'm not sure if different merchants will pay different amounts for the same item.
Of course, each merchant has different items and prices them differently. Sometimes, like in The Kva, you can (try to) intimidate them into giving you better prices. Quicksave before trying this - sometimes it will simply not work and they might hold the grudge against you (there isn't a Speech skill or any other such skill-checks, but I'm not sure how deep the relationships are in this game (speaking of which, I'm not even sure if there are consequences for stealing...)).

Talk to everyone that isn't named generically. At the bottom left of the dialogue boxes, there is a little blue book that says "Record." If ever someone says something interesting, like "Return to me later, I might have work for you," hit Record. Then go to your Quests and then your Journal and you can re-read things, so you won't have to remember who might have work, so you won't get confused on the bits of the lore. There IS a limit to how many notes you can have recorded, though. Once you return to someone who has work for you, find the initial note you recorded, delete it, quicksave and then quickload. Otherwise, the next time you record something, that note will go into that vacant spot, possibly breaking up the notes you recorded from the same person; quick-saving and -loading moves all subsequent notes up into the now-empty note slot.

There are sometimes items on the ground. Open your inventory every now and then and it will show you items on the ground that you can pick up. If you look carefully, you can see the items on the ground before then - you don't have to constantly be opening the inventory every few steps, expecting to find stuff on the ground that you can't see (besides things like Mushroom when you're in caves - there are patches of Mushrooms and sometimes you can pick up one or two, sometimes you can't). Also, whenever you defeat bandits or animals, if you look carefully, when they die, sometimes there will be little objects that fall from their bodies. More loot.

Be alert when you're exploring a new area of the map. Not just for enemies but of how far your vision goes. It is not hard to miss something in the massive maps. I tend to run along the perimeter of the map first thing and then work my way inwards. If you hold Tab, it brings up a map overlay. Check every nook and cranny before exposing too much of the map, else you might forget what you explored and what you didn't.

Run the mouse along walls every now and then. Sometimes there are hidden switches that open up secret areas.



I'm sure there are more tips, but those are th'only ones I can think of at the moment.
Good luck in the enemies of Avadon!

[7 4 17 0 17 _twelvetwenty-one]

Also:
TALK TO CRAFTMASTER NICODEMUS OFTEN
I've been doing relatively well in keeping up with talking to people regularly, getting all the quests and lore I can. For some reason, I neglected to talk to Craftmaster Nicodemus... even though I would go enchant arms pretty often.
Every time you turn an assignment in to Heart Miranda, she of course has more work for you (you never do get to "settle in" to Avadon ). When you get a new assignment, first thing: Go talk to Craftmaster Nicodemus.
I'm certain I've missed out on several good magicks. I still have the Bundle of Rat Tails that he gives you in the beginning, but damn. Perhaps I could've avoided some heart-ache.