Tectum Carvos - how long do I have to get the preparedness up? And other questions?

[Skull]

What are the consequences if I can't manage it? I mean, of course, the city will fall, but will my companion that I recruited there leave me?

I'm finding it very challenging to get everything they need, because it ticls up very slowly, the city is too isolated and it is boring to keep traveling there. Anyone has any tips?

[Jean-Maurice Nya]

Large caravan with a lot of movement points. Use the fully mounted option to travel a lot faster.
The most annoying is to find the people to transporrt there. You need a bit of luck to get them in cities. I'm currently doing it. It's long and dangerous. But I like this quest, Tectum Carvos is like Arrakis in some way.

[Skull]

Originally posted by Jean-Maurice Nya:

Large caravan with a lot of movement points. Use the fully mounted option to travel a lot faster.
The most annoying is to find the people to transporrt there. You need a bit of luck to get them in cities. I'm currently doing it. It's long and dangerous. But I like this quest, Tectum Carvos is like Arrakis in some way.

What do you mean by fully mounted option?

[Jean-Maurice Nya]

Look under your mounts (horse, lizard, yrg), you can either butcher them (the option should be always available), either you can fully mount your comitatus (on the lower left), it means you have enough mounts to travel on mounts. It increases your movement points, making it faster to travel (3-4 points are pretty usefull), which means less supplies consumption or the ability to hunt and forage without being to slow to get from a point to another.

Tectum Carvos is not far from Larnak or Last Oasis where you can get quite some supplies to increase your preparedness faster.

[Fraggle]

To help you calculate, here is what raises preparedness by what value:
Taskmaster/Slavemaster - 20 points (Can be hired in Drusian Quarry, but only two count)
Mining Equipment - 6 points
Obsidian Blades - 6 points per full stack
5 Soldiers - 5 Points
Ivory - 4 points per full stack
Supplies - 4 points per full stack
Obsidian - 3 points per full stack
Medical Equipment - 2 points

I was not able to find the "Retired Overseer" etc., but you can do it without. Note that while the initial fight to get into the town is companion combat, all following fights are crew combat, bring 400+ combat power to survive, 500+ combat power to make it inside mostly intact ( also needs some save scumming/luck)

[Skull]

Originally posted by Fraggle:

To help you calculate, here is what raises preparedness by what value:
Taskmaster/Slavemaster - 20 points (Can be hired in Drusian Quarry, but only two count)
Mining Equipment - 6 points
Obsidian Blades - 6 points per full stack
5 Soldiers - 5 Points
Ivory - 4 points per full stack
Supplies - 4 points per full stack
Obsidian - 3 points per full stack
Medical Equipment - 2 points

I was not able to find the "Retired Overseer" etc., but you can do it without. Note that while the initial fight to get into the town is companion combat, all following fights are crew combat, bring 400+ combat power to survive, 500+ combat power to make it inside mostly intact ( also needs some save scumming/luck)

Let's suppose that I give up on that town, how long until it falls? Do I lose my companion that I hired there?

[Cisco2950]

Originally posted by Fraggle:

I was not able to find the "Retired Overseer" etc., but you can do it without. Note that while the initial fight to get into the town is companion combat, all following fights are crew combat, bring 400+ combat power to survive, 500+ combat power to make it inside mostly intact ( also needs some save scumming/luck)

The Oversears can be hired in Ash same as hiring taskmasters in Drusian. Need reputation with House Darias. Additional fighters can be found int he surrounding desert villages.

[Mikeavelli]

Originally posted by Skl:

Originally posted by Fraggle:

To help you calculate, here is what raises preparedness by what value:
Taskmaster/Slavemaster - 20 points (Can be hired in Drusian Quarry, but only two count)
Mining Equipment - 6 points
Obsidian Blades - 6 points per full stack
5 Soldiers - 5 Points
Ivory - 4 points per full stack
Supplies - 4 points per full stack
Obsidian - 3 points per full stack
Medical Equipment - 2 points

I was not able to find the "Retired Overseer" etc., but you can do it without. Note that while the initial fight to get into the town is companion combat, all following fights are crew combat, bring 400+ combat power to survive, 500+ combat power to make it inside mostly intact ( also needs some save scumming/luck)

Let's suppose that I give up on that town, how long until it falls? Do I lose my companion that I hired there?

I'm about 7 years in now and it still hasn't fallen. I dont think it ever does, other than the general 10 year time limit for the game.

It's just about the last thing for me to do, so I'm finally pushing through to do it. Saving it for last makes the whole business much easier, just do a rotation of Drusian Quarry to Larnak (both places you can buy a bunch of obsidian), and down to Tectum to grind it out.

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by Mikeavelli:

Originally posted by Skl:

Let's suppose that I give up on that town, how long until it falls? Do I lose my companion that I hired there?

I'm about 7 years in now and it still hasn't fallen. I dont think it ever does, other than the general 10 year time limit for the game.

It's just about the last thing for me to do, so I'm finally pushing through to do it. Saving it for last makes the whole business much easier, just do a rotation of Drusian Quarry to Larnak (both places you can buy a bunch of obsidian), and down to Tectum to grind it out.

Yeah it never falls actually. Prolly it will fall once you...fix it up:)

[SodaModem]

Found out the overseer adds 15 points, and can be found as the random passengers you take from place to place (just dont take them where they wanted to go)

[MrSean]

I haul 80+ fighters each time. There's no consequences other than your companion not being to level up past 3.

[Skull]

Originally posted by MrSean:

I haul 80+ fighters each time. There's no consequences other than your companion not being to level up past 3.

ive never even completed this quest. Big waste of time. The game just ends before I finish it.

[Wlerin]

There are consequences.

Specifically, consequences for progressing the quest. Picking it up in the first place seems to massively increase both the strength and number of the sand wyrm swarms plaguing the eastern deserts. Completing the first phase buffs them even further, from about 200-400 strength up to 400-600 strength. Completing the second phase (gathering allies) leads directly into the third phase, a brutally difficult multi-stage fight against basically every wyrm in the desert (although you can delay that step, I suspect it would render the deserts even more hazardous).

Completing the third phase stops the huge wyrm swarm attacks both when arriving in Tectum Carvos and in the rest of the desert (though you may still encounter small swarms).

So what do you get out of it?

Coffee, mostly. Also spices. And Tarkian Awnings if you didn't start as a Tarkian. Tons and tons of Chitin. And, once you've started the quest (and picked up Eylani) finishing is basically the only way make the deserts "safe" again. But, the amazing prices the Tectum Carvos market will pay for metals cave after you complete the first phase.


Also, for Eylani to progress, you only need to complete phase two (finish gathering allies), you don't actually need to start the battles. Doing so will also put the Tarkian Awnings up for sale, but you'll still have to fight ridiculously strong wyrm packs every time you enter until you complete the battles.

[MrSean]

Originally posted by Skl:

Originally posted by MrSean:

I haul 80+ fighters each time. There's no consequences other than your companion not being to level up past 3.

ive never even completed this quest. Big waste of time. The game just ends before I finish it.

Actually i found the final few parts of the quest fairly interesting and the final fights with the wyrms were challenging. As a bonus it was also added to the ending slide.

[Kittenbait]

I generally take anything relevant I've got (e.g. obsidian, mining tools, etc.) plus a load of scrap metal to Avernum. Melt down the scrap. Then pick up fighters, run through Utvorar, Vitrar, Kotrar and Eitrar, picking up all the fighters / ivory with supplies filling the rest. Sell the metals at Eitrar for good profit Then dump everything at Tectum Carvos. A decent size caravan (4-5 BoB) can clear a lot preparedness per trip.

If you visit the Oghres SE of Larnak first, you can also get a ton of scrap metal from them first. I like the way the game is designed to create these sorts of "loops" rather than mechanically going back and forth between two places.

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by Wlerin:

There are consequences.

Specifically, consequences for progressing the quest. Picking it up in the first place seems to massively increase both the strength and number of the sand wyrm swarms plaguing the eastern deserts. Completing the first phase buffs them even further, from about 200-400 strength up to 400-600 strength. Completing the second phase (gathering allies) leads directly into the third phase, a brutally difficult multi-stage fight against basically every wyrm in the desert (although you can delay that step, I suspect it would render the deserts even more hazardous).

Completing the third phase stops the huge wyrm swarm attacks both when arriving in Tectum Carvos and in the rest of the desert (though you may still encounter small swarms).

So what do you get out of it?

Coffee, mostly. Also spices. And Tarkian Awnings if you didn't start as a Tarkian. Tons and tons of Chitin. And, once you've started the quest (and picked up Eylani) finishing is basically the only way make the deserts "safe" again. But, the amazing prices the Tectum Carvos market will pay for metals cave after you complete the first phase.


Also, for Eylani to progress, you only need to complete phase two (finish gathering allies), you don't actually need to start the battles. Doing so will also put the Tarkian Awnings up for sale, but you'll still have to fight ridiculously strong wyrm packs every time you enter until you complete the battles.

STrange never found there tarkian awnings....EVER. Only the new falcon was ever available. At least i know it should be where it would be purchasable, the tarkian awnings i mean. Also it has VERY good prices for equipment so selling there steel armaments will net you a lot of money. About 100 bross profit!