Download » siegelets »  Lands of Hyperborea
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- Autor: Xaa
- Offic. pages: official site
- Last version: 3.0
- files size: 173,62 MB (182 053 176 B)
- required: DS 1.11,
- downloaded: 3689
In the Lands of Hyperborea, you begin the Single-Player game as an escaped prisoner - a rogue, borne by a swift and magical river to another land, far away.
Before will you play, read through README and Known Issues, otherwise you will have a lot of questions. Last version
Readmes
added: 2010-09-30 19:31:22 Last update: 2010-09-30 19:31:22
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README_Hyperborea_3_0.txt
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// The Lands of Hyperborea
//
// Version 3.0
//
// A Dungeon Siege Siegelet
// by Author and Composer
// Jim Farris.
// xaa@3lefties.com
// http://come.to/xaa
// (c)2002, 2003 All Rights Reserved
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// This is the README for Hyperborea. Please read it before playing =)
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// End User License Agreement:
BY INSTALLING THIS SOFTWARE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS:
1) You acknowledge that the SIEGELET "The Lands of Hyperborea"
(hereinafter referred to as the SIEGELET) and all content within
are (c)2002 and (c)2003 Jim Farris (and/or Gas Powered Games, as
appropriate by materials). You acknowledge that you understand the
copyrights of this SIEGELET and all content within are protected
under US law under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and under
International Law via the Berne Treaty.
2) You agree that any and all use of the material contained within the
SIEGELET in your own siegelets or modifications is PROHIBITED
without the express written permission of Jim Farris, and is a
violation of US and International copyright law.
3) You acknowledge that all original artwork and music within the
SIEGELET are (c)2002 Jim Farris.
4) You agree that you will not reproduce or distribute any artwork,
music or other artistic work contained within the SIEGELET without
the express written permission of Jim Farris.
5) You acknowledge that the character 'Xaa' and any/all likenesses is/are
(c) and (tm) 2002 Jim Farris, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
6) You agree that you will not reproduce or distribute the character
'Xaa' and/or any/all likenesses in any way, shape or form.
7) You agree that you will not distribute this SIEGELET to anyone
without the express written permission of Jim Farris.
8) You acknowledge that you understand the SIEGELET files themselves are
copy-protected, and you acknowledge that removing or otherwise
defeating the copy-protection of this siegelet is a violation of
the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
9) You agree that you will not attempt to defeat the copy-protection
measures on the SIEGELET files in any way.
IF YOU AGREE TO THE ABOVE TERMS, YOU MAY INSTALL THE FILES. IF YOU DO
NOT AGREE, THEN DO NOT INSTALL THESE FILES, AND IMMEDIATELY DELETE THIS
INSTALLER AND ANY/ALL DOWNLOADED FILES ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
- Dungeon Siege 1.11 or higher
- 1ghz processor speed or higher.
- 500 meg ram or higher.
- 16 meg video card or better.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// INSTALLATION:
***If you have NOT changed the Default Directory for Dungeon Siege***
1) Run the installer. It will install the files you need
in the directories they are supposed to go to.
2) Click the shortcut on your desktop to play.
Note: If you do not see the Hyperborea shortcut on your desktop,
your windows configuration prevented the installer from
creating it, so you will have to create it yourself. To do
this, follow these steps:
1) Right-click somewhere on your desktop, and select New>Shortcut.
2) A wizard-window should pop up. The first thing you enter in
that wizard is the command line. Enter in the following:
"C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesDungeon SiegeDungeonSiege.exe" res_paths=Hyperborea map_paths=!Hyperborea
3) Click the "next" button. If you get an error saying the path
cannot be found, then make sure that windows didn't add
extra " marks in your command line. It should look exactly
as above.
4) The wizard then asks for a name for the shortcut. Type
"Lands of Hyperborea"
and then click the "finish" button. The shortcut will
appear on your desktop.
If you like, you can change the icon used for your new shortcut.
An LoH icon is installed in the folder
C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesDungeon SiegeHyperborea
To change the icon for your shortcut, right-click it, select
"properties", click the "shortcut" tab, then select the
"change icon" button. In the "file name" box, enter the
following:
C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesDungeon SiegeHyperboreavox.ico
The icon should appear in the sample window. Click "OK", "Apply", then
"OK" and you're done.
***If you HAVE changed the Default Directory for Dungeon Siege***
1) Run the installer anyway. The files will be installed to
C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesDungeon SiegeHyperborea
Once the installer finishes, simply open Windows Explorer
and manually move the hyperborea folder to your custom
installation folder. For example, if you have Dungeon Siege
installed to the folder c:mygamesdungeon siege
you would then drag and drop the hyperborea
folder to create c:mygamesdungeon siegehyperborea
2) Change the shortcut on your desktop to point to your
installation directory. For example, if you have Dungeon
Siege installed to c:mygamesdungeon siege, then the
command line for the shortcut would need to look like this:
"C:mygamesDungeon SiegeDungeonSiege.exe" res_paths=Hyperborea map_paths=!Hyperborea
3) Click the shortcut on your desktop to play.
4) You may or may not have to install your own shortcut. See the
instructions above for how to do that.
>>>NOTE TO WINDOWS NT, 2000, and WinXP USERS:<<<
The Shortcut is installed in c:windowsdesktop. This is an
unavoidable limitation of the installer I am using, which is
intended to be more easily accessible to DS players on a Mac.
You will have to move the shortcut from c:windowsdesktop
to your personal desktop, which is found in:
C:Documents and SettingsUsernameDesktop
REMOVAL:
Delete the hyperborea folder and the shortcut. Poof - gone.
INSTALLATION WARNINGS:
1) DO NOT PLAY A PREVIOUSLY EXISTING CHARACTER IN LOH!
YOU WILL LOSE MAGIC ITEMS!
2) LOH IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH ANY OTHER MOD, MAP OR GAME ALTERATION!
DO NOT PLAY LOH WITH MODS!
3) DO NOT USE CHEAT CODES WHILE PLAYING LOH!
YOUR CHARACTER WILL BE DELETED!
4) YOU MUST HAVE DS 1.11 OR HIGHER TO PLAY LOH!
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// TROUBLESHOOTING:
Problem: Game doesn't work.
Solution: If you click the shortcut and nothing happens or you get a
windows error telling you that the files weren't found, then you
probably have the files in the wrong place, or have a mod in place
that's preventing the files from working.
Make sure of several things:
1) Look in your /resources folder. You should only see the
following files there:
logic.dsres
objects.dsres
siegeeditorextras.dsres (but don't worry if you find out you don't have this file)
sound.dsres
terrain.dsres
voices.dsres
If you have anything else in there, remove it.
2) Look in your /hyperborea folder. You should only see the
following files there:
hyperborea.dsmap
xaa_hyperborea.dsres
xaa_hyperborea_intro_movie.dsres
3) Right click your hyperborea shortcut on your desktop, and
select 'properties'. Make sure the command line looks
something like this:
"C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesDungeon SiegeDungeonSiege.exe" res_paths=Hyperborea map_paths=!Hyperborea
All on one line, incidentally.
4) If you have done all the above and you are using the shortcut
the installer placed on your desktop for LoH and you can
see the intro movie but still cannot get the game to play
properly, then you have a bad download.
To correct this problem, do the following:
1) Run scandisk and defrag.
2) Go back to the download page, and download only from the
siegenetwork site, not any other site.
3) Install, and try again.
Note that if you have a bad connection and cannot get a clean
download, you may need to try a download manager or other
download assistance program. Many are available as shareware or
freeware on the internet.
Problem: Game works fine, Hyperborea intro movie plays, etc, but the
single-player map is always "Kingdom of Ehb" and/or the character
always ends up starting by the farmhouse in the Kingdom of Ehb.
Solution: This is caused by an incorrect shortcut. Please see above
for how to set the command line on your desktop shortcut.
Problem: Limited selection of faces and clothing on the startup screen.
Solution: None. This is intentional, and part of the design of LoH.
Problem: "Selected Map Could Not Be Loaded" error in Single Player.
*OR*
"Map (Hyperborea) in world (Normal) cannot be initialized"
fatal error in Single Player.
*OR*
"No Map Found" error in Multiplayer.
Solution: There are several possible causes to this:
1) The command line of your shortcut is wrong. See above for how
the command line should be formed.
2) The map file is not in the /hyperborea folder. If you have
moved the map file, you need to move it back to /hyperborea.
Both the map and the rescources folder are required, and
both must be in the /hyperborea folder for the siegelet
to work properly.
3) The rescources file is not in the /hyperborea folder.
See #2, above.
4) You do not have DS 1.11 installed. LoH requires Dungeon Siege
version 1.11 or later to play. The update is free, simply
start the game, click the "multiplayer" button, select
"Zone Match", log in, and allow the update to proceed
normally. If you are on a Mac, this does not apply.
5) If this still does not correct the problem, your system may not
be able to accept the command line of the shortcut, and is
unable to find the /hyperborea folder (this is particularly
true on a Mac). Try the following:
1) Copy Hyperborea.dsmap from the /hyperborea folder into
your /maps folder
2) Copy xaa_hyperborea.dsres and xaa_hyperborea_intro_movie.dsres
into your /rescources folder.
3) Delete the hyperborea shortcut (which isn't working
anyway), and use the normal Dungeon Siege shortcut to
start the game. When the game begins and you reach
the point where you are ready to select a map, select
"The Lands of Hyperborea."
WARNING: Placing the Hyperborea rescource file into your
/rescources folder will break most other maps as long
as it is in there, and again, LoH is NOT COMPATIBLE
with ANY other map or mod you may have installed.
Moreover, most (if not all) items in Siege Editor will
have no comments in their "properties" window, as LoH
is NOT "open source." And, once again, do NOT use an
already existing character in LoH, as they will lose
all magic items that they did not gain in Hyperborea.
6) If even this drastic step doesn't correct the problem, then
either:
A) You have altered the siegelet to introduce changes (and
as such, broke it). LoH is not an "open source"
project, and the siegelet's many skrits and templates
interact to a very high degree (hence the high system
requirements). Aside from having violated the EULA,
Even a small change can cause the siegelet to fail to
work correctly. Either re-install the siegelet from
the installer you downloaded and hereinafter obey the
EULA, or uninstall the siegelet.
B) You are using a mod which is preventing the siegelet
from working properly. LoH is NOT compatible with
ANY mods. Please remove ALL mods before playing LoH.
C) You have a bad download. Go back to the SiegeNetwork
website, and download the siegelet again. Please
note that if you downloaded the siegelet from "Kazaa"
or other filesharing networks, you almost certainly
downloaded a hacked version of the siegelet, and
this is why it does not work. Many of the hacked
versions of the siegelets delete or alter files to
make "improvements" - and these "improvements"
usually break the siegelet. In addition, the hacked
versions of the siegelet often contain viruses,
trojans or other computer nastiness - such is the
risk of using filesharing networks like Kazaa and
Morpheus in the first place. One of the worst to be
reported to me so far is a trojan keylogger that will
steal your system passwords, and does not register on
most virus scanners as of yet.
Please note: I cannot and WILL NOT be held
responsible for any viruses, trojans or other nasty
things that you may get from filesharing networks!
THE ONLY AUTHORIZED SITE TO DOWNLOAD THIS SIEGELET
IS THE SIEGENETWORK.COM WEBSITE! FOR YOUR OWN
PROTECTION, ONLY DOWNLOAD THIS SIEGELET FROM THE
SIEGENETWORK.COM WEBSITE!
Problem: Cannot equip armor/items.
Solution: If you are playing a multiplayer game and are playing the
"shikari" character (the one that looks kind of like a ninja),
this is intentional. Shikari may only equip shields, bows, melee
weapons, rings and amulets. They may not wear armor of any
kind. Note also that the "rat people" in the single-player game
may not equip helmets, though the male may wear the Helm of
Threestorms. Note also that both the Shikari and the rat-people
have advantages to compensate for this - in the case of the
rat-people, they are strong and have more hit points, and in the
case of the shikari, they have a special item that only they can
use which increases both their armor and running speed based on
their ranged skill.
If this is not your situation and you are finding that ALL
characters are having trouble equipping ALL armor and weapons,
then the problem is you need to update your game to the latest
version of DS. LoH requires Dungeon Siege 1.11 or later to play.
The update is free, simply start the game, click the "multiplayer"
button, select "zone match", log in, and allow the update to
proceed normally.
Problem: Extreme Lag on a Low-End machine.
Solution: LoH was intended to be run on machines which meet the minimum
specifications listed above. If you have a low-end machine, there
are several possible solutions. Turning off the sound is one
solution. Turning down the 'detail' slider under the 'options'
tab is another. You can also raise the app-priority under the
'options' screen, so Windows will give a higher priority to
running the game - you should also make sure that you have no
other windows open while you are playing if your machine doesn't
meet the minimum specifications. Another option is to try a
"clean boot". This is done as follows:
***Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000***
1) Click Start, and then click Run.
2) In the Open box, type msconfig, and then click OK.
Result: The System Configuration Utility will start.
3) In the System Configuration Utility, Click the General tab, and
then click Selective startup.
4) Under Selective startup, click to clear the following check boxes:
- Process Win.ini file
- Load startup group items
- Load environment variables
5) Click the Startup tab, click to select the *StateMgr check box,
and then click OK.
6) When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes.
7) After the computer restarts, click Start, and then click Run.
8) In the Open box, type msconfig, and then click OK.
9) Click the General tab, and then verify that the check boxes
that you cleared are still cleared. If you see a selected,
unavailable check box (it appears dimmed and has a check
mark in it), the clean boot was not successful. If this
occurs, you may need assistance from the manufacturer of
the program that is listed next to the selected, unavailable
check box.
10) Double-click the LoH shortcut to start the game.
After you quit the game, you will want to restore the computer to
normal use. To restore the computer to use a normal startup,
start the System Configuration Utility again, click the
General tab, click Normal Startup, click OK, and then
restart the computer.
***Windows XP***
1) Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and
then click OK.
2) On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then click to
clear the Process System.ini File, Process WIn.ini File,
and Load Startup Items check boxes. You cannot clear the
Use Original Boot.ini check box.
3) On the Services tab, click to select the Hide All Microsoft
Services check box, and then click Disable All.
4) Click OK, and then click Restart to restart your computer.
5) After the computer restarts, click Start, and then click Run.
6) In the Open box, type msconfig, and then click OK.
7) Click the General tab, and then verify that the check boxes
that you cleared are still cleared. If you see a selected,
unavailable check box (it appears dimmed and has a check
mark in it), the clean boot was not successful. If this
occurs, you may need assistance from the manufacturer of
the program that is listed next to the selected, unavailable
check box.
8) Double-click the LoH shortcut to start the game.
After you quit the game, you will want to restore the computer to
normal use. To restore the computer to use a normal
startup, click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open
box, and then click OK. On the General tab, click
"Normal Startup - load all device drivers and services".
Click OK. Click Restart when you are prompted to restart
your computer.
If you have tried all the above and are still suffering from
severe lag on a low-end machine, the only thing left is to
upgrade your machine. Getting more RAM will help (please
note that RAM cards are cheap and fairly easy to install),
as will getting a better video card. A faster processor
also will help, as well.
Problem: No comments on any items in Siege Editor.
Solution: LoH is not an "open source" project. Please remove the
xaa_hyperborea.dsres from your rescources folder - it
belongs in the /hyperborea folder. If you have any
questions on how I did something in LoH, simply send me an
e-mail and ask. I am more than happy to explain how I did
something, and show the dev-tank skrits with full comments
and explanations to anyone who can work up the energy to
type an e-mail and send it to me. However, LoH is not
"open source." To find out how I did something, you're
going to have to have the common courtesy to ask.
Problem: Previous Single-Player game will not load in LoH 3.0
Solution: Unfortunately, due to the major revisions that have been
made in both the map and the rescource file, previous 2.0
Single-Player games are not compatible with LoH 3.0.
If you wish to play single player, you will have to start
a new game. Your old single-player characters can be
exported to multiplayer, however.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Difficulty Levels in Hyperborea:
- Easy: For people who want an experience similar to the original
game. Mobs are significantly easier to beat, and you can
run through the entire SP adventure in a matter of a few
hours.
- Normal: For people who want a real challenge when they play the game.
Mobs are tough - most are your equal, many are tougher than
you. Stealth and tactics are required to survive, and it
will take you many hours, perhaps days to finish the SP
adventure.
- Hard: For people who just can't get enough of watching their
characters get beaten to a bloody pulp. Completing the SP
adventure on 'Hard' is a major accomplishment. Save
frequently. Like every few minutes. If you don't save
frequently, you'll never manage it.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Mod Compatibility: None. Remove all mods before playing Hyperborea.
To prevent cheating, I have intentionally gone out of my way
to make this siegelet NOT compatible with many common cheater's
mods.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Hints, Tips, and Clues:
- Save Frequently. I mean it.
- If you have never played the Lands of Hyperborea before, it is
reccommended you first play on 'easy' difficulty - even if you
HAVE played the original game before. It is NOT reccomended
that you play the Multiplayer game before the Single-player
game. The multiplayer world is based on the single-player world,
and doesn't make much sense if you've never played the SP game.
- If you are having a hard time in Hyperborea, lower the difficulty
level to 'easy'. Also, remember that some encounters you aren't
intended to beat, but to sneak by using the stealth skill.
- Magic in Hyperborea functions differently than in the basic game.
The website explains this more thoroughly, and there is a lorebook
in-game which also explains it, sold by the Ancient Dwarf.
In brief, however, Spellcasting is an extremely exhausting
discipline. Spells that have no level minimums cost hit points
as well as mana to cast. Manage your party carefully, and watch
your caster's hit points closely. In Hyperborea, the "mana"
bar represents your character's willpower and mental stamina,
while the "health" bar represents physical endurance and overall
physical health. All spells are tiring mentally to cast, and
most spells also have a physical toll in exhaustion and strain.
Watch your casters carefully.
- The bigger the heal spell, the more tiring it is to cast it. Do NOT
cast large heals on yourself when you are about to pass out. Use
'Bind Wounds' to bring your hit points up a bit more, THEN use a
larger heal. Do NOT allow characters set to heal the party to get
too low on hit points. In Hyperborea, when your character's icon
is flashing yellow, it doesn't mean the character thinks yellow
is a spiffy color, it means they are in TROUBLE.
- Use the 'options' settings inside the game to declare hotkeys,
particularly for movement, attacking, and casting spells. For
example, this is the keyboard setting I use, with my right hand
on the keyboard, and my left hand on the mouse (NumLock button ON):
get_awp_01 = key_numpad_1
get_awp_02 = key_numpad_2
get_awp_03 = key_numpad_3
get_awp_04 = key_numpad_4
stop = key_numpad_5
force cast = key_numpad_6
force attack = key_numpad_7
party_heal_body_with_potions = key_numpad_8
party_heal_magic_with_potions = key_numpad_9
rotate_primary_spell_slot = key_numpad_0
inventory = key_numpad_decimal
move = key_numpad_multiply
collect_loot = key_numpad_plus
toggle_mini_map = key_numpad_subtract
toggle_quest_log = key_numpad_divide
camera_rotate_left = key_left
camera_rotate_right = key_right
camera_zoom_in = key_up
camera_zoom_out = key_down
With this keyboard setting, you can lower the camera down to be
somewhat level with the character's heads, zoom in close, and use
the keyboard to click where you want the characters to move to or
on what you want to attack. Hyperborea was designed to be best
viewed with a low and closer camera than in the original game
(though you can zoom out if you need to), and in many areas,
it's easier to see if the camera is behind the characters, at or
somewhat above the level of their heads. Naturally, you don't
have to use the specific settings I use, above - use any
keyboard settings you feel comfortable with. However, I strongly
reccommend the use of 'move', 'force attack' and 'force cast'
hotkeys when playing Hyperborea, at a minimum.
PLEASE NOTE: The above hotkey explanations are a GUIDELINE
for how YOU can set YOUR OWN hotkeys. LoH does NOT change
your hotkey layout for you.
- To hunt deer and other ambient animals, use a ranged weapon, and the
'force attack' hotkey. Shoot at the ground so that your
projectiles will pass through the deer - it will die, and drop
meat. This meat can be used (it acts like a rejuvenation potion),
or sold to a vendor. Only larger animals (pigs and bigger) drop
meat.
- Use the megamap to peer through dark and/or heavily forested areas and
spot enemies hidden from view. But DON'T use it all the time, as
traps and enemies who are using stealth skill do NOT appear on
the megamap, and enemies who are waiting to ambush you cannot be
seen on the megamap.
- Read the in-game tips that pop up from time to time. They contain
important tips and clues you will need to complete the
single-player game. It is NOT reccommended you turn them off.
- Read the lorebooks. They also contain important tips and clues, as
well as background 'plot' information.
- Your companion will also give you hints, tips and suggestions.
Pay attention to them. Also, when your companion speaks to you
outside of an NIS (and she will do this often), remember that you
can hit the 'page-up' button to scroll back and read what she
(and you) said, if you missed it earlier.
- Don't skip the NIS'. Aside from advancing the plot, they also
contain hints and clues you will need to complete the
single-player game.
- Player Characters can see farther than NPC's can, and player
characters in Hyperborea are set to be particularly aggressive.
Manage your party carefully. Consider setting your movement
options to 'engage' and your combat options to 'defend' - or even
'hold' and 'attack freely', for characters using spells or ranged
weapons. Just letting your characters run off willy-nilly to
attack at will is one of the fastest and easiest ways to get
killed in Hyperborea - even on 'easy' difficulty.
- Extensive work has been done with brain and job skrits, so you may
be surprised to discover that characters in Hyperborea behave
completely differently than they do in the basic game.
- The 'Engaged' movement button: When the 'Follow'
button and 'Engage' buttons are on, the last spot
you clicked is considered a 'rally point'. Characters
will attempt to return to that position as soon as
they can. In addition, characters will prefer to avoid
engaging enemies which are too far away from the
'rally point'. Necromancer Minions, however, are
extremely vicious (even compared to the player
characters), and if 'engage' and 'attack freely'
are set, they may still choose to engage enemies
farther away.
- The 'Follow' Button: With the 'Follow' button on,
your characters will make it a priority to stay
near each other. With the 'Follow' button off,
they will move independently. When the 'Follow'
button is disengaged, this over-rides the 'engaged'
button's behavior, and allows you to have one
character explore on their own. There are several
points in the SP adventure where it is necessary
for one character to explore an area alone.
Turn off the 'Follow' button to allow one of your
characters to explore without the rest following.
Remember to turn 'Follow' mode back on when the
character rejoins the group.
- Regardless of the settings of the above buttons, minions
will ALWAYS attempt to follow their summoner. This
means that if you intend to sneak around with a
necromancer minion, you will need to get them the
'stealth' skill.
- Player characters have three advantages over NPC's:
1) You can see farther. NPC's in Hyperborea are limited by
the everpresent fog which shrouds the lands, years
of which has shortened their vision. The PC's,
however, can see significantly farther than any NPC.
Moreover, you (the player) can usually (but not always)
see farther than your characters can. Use this
advantage. Plan your encounters - don't just rush in
and get killed.
2) You regenerate. Though there are some NPC's who also
regenerate (like trolls), generally speaking, most do
not. This means you can use hit-and-run tactics, and
slowly wear down an enemy who is too tough for you
to defeat in a single engagement. Be warned, however,
that many enemies respawn automatically - you do not.
3) You can think better. NPC's rely on their brain skrits and
their party skrits. You, however, have the advantage
of a human being at the controls, and the ability to
out-think your enemies. Use this advantage.
- Talk to all NPC's who are not hostile to you. Many have clues,
storyline explanations, and other things that you should hear to
understand what's going on, and where you should go next.
- Remember that friendly NPC's can TURN hostile when they see an enemy
of their race. In Hyperborea, the race hostility is divided along
two main lines:
1) 'Light' Races - Humans, Dwarves, Light Elves, Valkyrie,
Packmules and Packgikks.
2) 'Dark' Races - Hyperboreans, Dark Elves, Goblins,
Necromancer Minions and Undead Packmules.
The 'light' races hate the 'dark' races, and vice-versa (though
packmules and undead packmules aren't aggressive, NPC's will
attack them).
- Exceptions:
1) Dark Elves: A dark elf PC is considered a 'renegade', a
worshipper of Vox. Though most Dark Elves will be neutral
to you, those who are fanatic worshippers of Lactri will be
hostile. You can tell the difference easily, however.
Hostile NPC's have a red 'enemy' icon when you hover your
cursor over them, and display hit points. Note, however,
that if you bring an enemy race into Tir'Malani and they
are spotted, ALL the NPC dark-elves will turn hostile to
your entire party, permanently.
2) Hyperboreans: EVERYONE hates the Hyperboreans, even the other
Dark Races. More, PC Hyperboreans are considered 'corrupt',
and are hated by NPC Hyperboreans (after all, by definition,
you hang out with races that the other Hyperboreans are
sworn to kill). Be warned - if you play a Hyperborean in a
MP game, pretty much every NPC you meet wants to kill you.
3) Elemental Witches and Shikari characters are both treated as
being humans. However, Shikari have a working relationship
with the Dark Elves, and most Dark Elf NPC's will treat a
Shikari character just as they would a Dark Elf character.
This means that a Shikari can enter Tir'Malani and not be
attacked, so long as they stay away from the fanatic
worshippers of Lactri.
4) Sorceror Minions (the Magic Boxes) and all other summoned
beings are outside this list. NPC's who are already hostile
to your party will attack them, but otherwise they will be
completely ignored.
5) Druid Minions (the Magic Gnomes) are identical to the Magic
Boxes, above.
- If you're in doubt about an NPC, save the game, then have one party
member walk up to within their view and find out.
- When an NPC turns hostile to you, he turns hostile to your ENTIRE
PARTY. Guilt by association is a fairly common notion in medieval
thought, and Hyperborea is a fantasy-medieval environment. They
also STAY hostile, even after they kill you. Thus, if you see an
NPC who might turn hostile to you because of your race, do NOT
approach them - let other party members who are not antagonistic
to them approach, instead.
- Merchants ARE invulnerable. Do NOT expect to ever be able to kill a
merchant, they will attack you, you can't hurt them, and they can
beat you endlessly until you die. If a merchant you see is of
an enemy race, do NOT approach them. Let another party member
who is of a 'friendly' race talk to them, instead. And yes, this
means that in a multiplayer game, you'll have to get help from
other players to deal with some merchants. I know the idea of
having to work with other players in a multiplayer game will come
as a terrible shock to some players, but that's how Hyperborea
works. Stand together or die alone. If you have accidentally
enraged a merchant, your only hope is to run them inside a
building with a door, then dart outside and close the door
before they can leave, trapping them inside.
- Packmules and other pack animals are NOT SNEAKY. Be aware that if
you intend to go somewhere that you may be required to do some
sneaking around, your might want to leave the pack-animals behind.
- If you're searching for the Hammer of Thunder and can't find it,
make sure you have the quest active in your journal. The quest
is titled "The Hammer of Thunder". If you do not see it, you need
to enter the dwarf city and speak to the NPC's there to activate
the quest. Only then can the hammer actually be found.
- If you're searching for the Staff of Ice and cannot find the
fat lady at the top of the Inn who starts you on the quest,
make sure you have the proper quest from Lord Dalar active,
first. Most players who have trouble with this quest are
trying to do it out of order - you must obtain the Hammer
of Thunder first, then return to Lord Dalar to update the
quest.
- Can't find the Heart Bow? Make sure you have the quest, first,
then start killing bandits. Eventually, the one with the bow
will appear.
- To get the quest to kill Cardinal Mazerain, you must be at least
level 45 when you turn the door-latch on Lord Collingway's house.
You do not need to kill Cardinal Mazerain to complete the SP game.
- Using the Song of Vox allows entrance to Hyperborean dungeons once
the single-player quest is complete. In these areas, you will
find some special suprises (particularly in single-player play)
and deadly dangers.
- 'Locked' doors and chests can be opened with the lockpicking skill.
Finding the vendor who sells the skill, however, is part of the
game.
- In Single Player play, part of the game experience (and challenge) is
getting lost. There are several areas designed intentionally to
where you will probably get lost. Moreover, in single-player play,
the compass has been disabled as part of this challenge. To use
the compass, you need the 'Sense Heading' skill. The Ancient
Dwarf you first met sells it, as do several other NPC's.
Exception to the above: In multiplayer play, due to the
critical necessity of keeping the players together (getting
separated can get you very dead very quickly), the compass
is enabled by default.
- Once you complete the SP quest, other characters may become available
for you to add to your party and work on the other quests that
exist in Hyperborea. They are hidden - you'll have to look for
them =) Amoung these people are two rat-people NPC's. They can
be recruited and used normally, just like the other NPC'S.
HOWEVER: Because of unavoidable limitations in the MP game,
the rat-people player-characters should not be exported to be used
in an MP game.
- Minions are a special type of summoned creature, which are added to
your party when you summon them. Look for the spells that summon
minions, as they come in VERY handy in the single-player game.
Like all summons, minions do not gain experience. But they can be
given gear, and commanded like any other party member. They also
can use skills, and some spells.
- Certain areas of the map cannot be entered until after you have
received a specific quest to go there.
- If you can't find Marcus Ragnor, you haven't looked hard enough.
He's hiding. Look around a bit more.
- As has been mentioned before, many enemies respawn. Take advantage
of this, and thoroughly explore areas you discover so as to
maximize the amount of experience you can get before moving on.
Finding out which enemies respawn and how long it takes them to
do so, however, is part of the game.
- The dwarves were trying to run home when they died.
- Use stealth to loot the bed of the witch in red.
- The Muong Troll hates curses.
- Look for a left on the stair.
- Lloyd was killed by a Black Widow.
- A skeletal captain has a special ring.
- A locked chest by a large rat hides a special secret.
- Beware of Darklings. They are the equivalent of vampires in Hyperborea.
- Can't open the gate? Did you try picking the lock?
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
*****Special Notes*****
1) Cheat codes, specifically +drdeath and +zool, are NOT reccommended.
Your character will, quite probably, be instantly killed the
moment you cheat in this manner.
2) The use of DSMOD will also get your character instantly killed. You
have been warned.
3) Don't be suprised that other cheats I haven't mentioned will
also get you killed. Play the game straight. If it's too hard
for you, then turn the difficulty down to 'easy'.
4) If you simply can't play the game without cheats, if your life
becomes meaningless and dull when you cannot type +drdeath and
cut through everything like a hot knife through butter or type
+checksinthemail and become instantly rich as Croesus, then
this siegelet simply is not for you - you should try another.
This siegelet was made for people who enjoy a real challenge,
not people who simply can't have fun unless the game is
something that wouldn't challenge a brain-damaged chimpanzee.
5) Players MUST remove all mods before playing in Hyperborea.
Hyperborea is NOT compatible with any other mods (intentionally
so). Even innocuous mods, like "backpack" mods, can cause
problems in the single-player game, and will almost certainly
cause multiplayer incomatibility. You have been warned.
6) To prevent cheating, this siegelet is NOT intended to be used
with any other mod or map. The original installer
works like Yesterhaven - the map and mod are intended to
be in their own folder, and only used when you play Hyperborea.
Several aspects of Hyperborea will instantly break all other
maps the .dsmod file is used with - primarily, spells and
certain items will no longer drop, merchants will only
sell a handful of spells, and certain potions and other
items which are blocked in Hyperborea will become available
in other maps - but will kill you when you use them.
Again - this siegelet is NOT compatible with any other
mod or map.
7) Do NOT import an already existing character into the Lands of
Hyperborea. They WILL lose their magical items. They will lose
them immediately and instantly. They will lose them permanently.
Do NOT play an already existing character from another game in
the Lands of Hyperborea. You have been warned.
The Lands of Hyperborea is a unique and wonderful experience - but
there can be problems. If you have any problems with this mod, feel
free to e-mail me with your question at xaa@3lefties.com
HOWEVER:
Players are kindly requested to please pay attention to the following
before they send an e-mail:
- Summoned Minions, due to the lack of a FuBiCookie object in
Multiplayer, should not be used in multiplayer play UNLESS you
are ALONE with NO OTHER PLAYERS CONNECTED TO THE GAME. When there
are other players connected to a multiplayer game, do NOT use
Summoned Minions or you will encounter several unavoidable
problems relating to the lack of a FuBiCookie object - in brief,
the minion will conflict with the presence of other human players
in the game. They will appear and be added to the party, but
their portrait will not appear - instead, they will over-write
the portrait position of another player connected to the game.
Also, summoned minions are NOT saved as part of your 'party' in
multiplayer games, since the multiplayer game only saves your
main character. Thus, if you do not take the gear you gave them
off of them before you quit the multiplayer game, you lose it.
If you choose to use minions in multiplayer games, please do not
e-mail me with problems you have encountered doing so - I already
know about them, and you WERE warned not to do this, after all.
This is doubly true of the Magic Box and the Magic Gnome - you
should ONLY summon the Magic Box or the Magic Gnome when you
are ALONE in multiplayer, as the HOST. And lastly, the
"polymorph/transformation" spells rely on a similar skrit to make
them work. As such, they too should only be cast when you are
ALONE in multiplayer, as the HOST.
- Please remove ALL other mods before you play Hyperborea.
Hyperborea is not compatible with any other mod, map or siegelet.
This is intentional, to prevent cheating (both in Single Player,
and Online). Please do not e-mail me with complaints that your
favorite mod does not work in Hyperborea. It's not supposed to.
- Please do not e-mail me with complaints that your "Kingdom of Ehb"
map is broken with the "Hyperborea mod" (or any other map, for
that matter). The Lands of Hyperborea is NOT a plug-in modlet,
it's a full Siegelet. It was never intended to be used as a
simple modlet for the Ehb map, or any other map.
- Please do not e-mail me with complaints that your favorite mod
breaks Hyperborea. It was never intended to be played with other
mods.
- Please do not e-mail me with complaints that your favorite "+drdeath"
character was labeled a 'cheater' as soon as they started in
Hyperborea, and instantly deleted. That's what was supposed
to happen. You are supposed to start a new character when you
play the SP version, and the MP version is meant only for
characters imported from the single-player Hyperborean game or
created from scratch in the MP character selection screen.
- Please do not e-mail me with complaints that your favorite 'legit'
character lost all their gear when you started them in a
multiplayer Hyperborea game. Hyperborea is intended only
for characters you create in Hyperborea, either imported from
single-player or started fresh in multiplayer. To prevent
cheating and preserve the game balance, you are supposed to
use only gear found in Hyperborea.
- Likewise, do not e-mail me with complaints that your character was
deleted the moment you typed +zool or +drdeath in single-player.
That, also, was supposed to happen. If you are having a hard
time in Hyperborea, lower the difficulty level to "easy".
Now - if you've read all the above and STILL have a question, e-mail me at
xaa@3lefties.com =)
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Allowed Usage and Copyright Notices:
No part of this mod or any characters in it may be used in any other mod without
my express written permission. If you wish to use any part of this mod in
something you are working on, you may e-mail me at xaa@3lefties.com
Music and artwork that I have created for this mod, including (but not limited to)
L'Homme Arme', are (c)2002 Jim Farris, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of the music
or artwork in this mod may be used in any other mod without my express written
permission.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// ****OFFICIAL NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT****
// THE CHARACTER 'XAA' AND ALL LIKENESSES THEREOF ARE COPYRIGHT
// (C) 2002 JIM FARRIS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. YOU MAY NOT REPRODUCE
// OR DISTRIBUTE THIS CHARACTER IN ANY FORM, MECHANICAL, ELECTRONIC
// OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM ME,
// JIM FARRIS. THIS MEANS YOU MAY NOT INCLUDE THIS
// CHARACTER IN YOUR MODS UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY RECEIVE
// WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM ME. THIS CHARACTER IS PROTECTED BY
// US COPYRIGHT LAWS AND UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW VIA THE BERNE
// TREATY. VIOLATIONS OF COPYRIGHT WILL BE DEALT WITH TO
// THE FULLEST EXTENT OF APPLICABLE LAW.
//
// If you wish to use this character in your mods, you may
// reach me via e-mail at xaa@3lefties.com, or via snail-mail
// at the following address:
// Jim Farris
// 612 S. Ave. 'E'
// Portales, NM 88130
//
// ****LIMTED USE NOTICE****
// You may install, use, access, display, run, or otherwise interact
// with the character 'Xaa' as it appears in the Dungeon Siege
// Siegelet (mod) "The Lands of Hyperborea". You may make "backup" or
// "archive" copies of this character for personal, non-profit use.
// This permission does NOT grant you any rights in connection with
// the character as a trademarks or service marks of Jim Farris.
// All Title and Intellectual Property rights to the character
// 'Xaa' are retained by it's creator, Jim Farris.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
If you do not agree to the above allowed usage and copyright notices, you
then please immediately uninstall and delete the siegelet "The Lands of
Hyperborea", and all associated files.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// CREDITS:
The following people have contributed to the production of Hyperborea in ways too
innumerable to even begin to describe. Each and all have my heartfelt thanks.
- Icemage (coding, technical assistance, suggestions, playtesting)
- Trailstorm-Radeem (mapping, suggestions, playtesting)
- SvS (multiplayer, suggestions, playtesting)
- Lloyd (ideas, playtesting)
- Pentestoy (ideas, playtesting)
- Calix (suggestions, technical assistance, playtesting)
- Uncle Ernsie (suggestions, technical assistance, playtesting)
- TomCat39 (suggestions, playtesting)
- Witness (webhosting, playtesting)
- Interested2 (suggestions, playtesting)
- Kryptonium (suggestions)
- Ghastley (creation of the "Illuminati" mob's mesh and animations)
- Rostro (assistance and inspiration with the Magic Box skrit)
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Update History:
----- 1.0 = initial release.
----- 1.1 = First Patch.
----- 1.11 = Second Patch.
----- 2.0 = First Revision ("Christmas" patch).
----- 3.0 = Second Revision.
Fixes:
1) The problems with body parts of the rat-people and Lactri in
multiplayer play have been fixed. All body parts should properly
attach. Please note, however, that it is still not reccomended
you use a rat-person character in multiplayer, due to the way the
game camera works in taking their portrait picture.
2) The problems with the magic snowball have been fixed.
3) Merchants now check to see if you are using +checksinthemail to buy
expensive things while you're talking to them.
4) The display problems with Shikari Armor when you are not the host in
MP have been fixed (see #15, below).
5) Lactri no longer randomly drops her spellbook when killed.
6) The Azunite Monks and Priests in the King's Castle no longer
randomly drop their gear when killed.
7) All other mobs that were occasionally dropping monster-only spells
no longer do so.
8) The Hammer of Thunder quest now updates properly in multiplayer.
9) The problem with "dark"-race NPC's ignoring pack-gikks has been
fixed.
10) Some minor tweaks have been done to the brain skrits for necromancer
minions to bring their behaviors more in line with those of the
rest of the party.
11) Fixed a small bug in the Cenobite armor and tweaked a tiny graphics
error involving the left arm.
12) Several minor tweaks to NPC reactions and conversations have been
made, particularly to the NPC's in the dwarven city.
13) The camera-angle problem with clicking on the magic portal after
killing Lactri in single-player, which sometimes caused the ending
NIS to botch, has been fixed.
14) The icey-pop bug with large trolls has been fixed.
15) Due to a persistent inventory bug in DS 1.11, the Shikari characters
in multiplayer have been completely re-worked from scratch. They
now start with a visible inventory item, a magic skull, which
functions as a spellbook. When it is equipped, the shikari
character will gain a bonus to running speed and armor based on
their level. This bonus is set so that at level 150 ranged, the
character will recieve a bonus of 900 to armor, and have a running
speed of twice normal (9 meters/sec). Shikari characters created
prior to this update may get this skull by simply walking up to
the Statue of Vox in the Black Forest - it will be automatically
placed in your inventory (and will bump out any spellbook you may
already have equipped). Once you have received your magic skull,
simply exit the game, and your shikari character will be updated
to LoH 3.0 Shikari abilities.
NOTE: ALL Shikari characters created PRIOR to this update
MUST walk up to the Statue of Vox in the Black Forest to
receive their magic skull or they will have NO bonus to
armor or speed. Also, you MUST exit the game after
receiving the skull to update your status as the owner
(parent SCID) of the skull, and be able to recieve the
bonus to speed.
16) Tim the Sorceror has finally been convinced that since he's
invulnerable, he doesn't need to attack characters he doesn't
like - he can just simply refuse to sell to them.
17) The first roadblock on the way to Tim's tower has been removed in
Multiplayer, so more customers can get to Tim's Tower.
18) Some minor revisions to some of the spell icon grahics have been
done, to make them easier to identify in one's inventory.
19) Soul-Lance no longer automatically fires the instant you select
it and have a mob in range (which was putting people at high
risk of killing themselves with it).
Revisions and Changes:
1) Master Belaim now has far better spellbooks for sale.
2) There are new regions on the map, with new mobs in them.
3) There are new mobs in Lactri's Lair.
4) Marcus Ragnor will now sell lockpicks to Valkyries who've been
locked out of Asgard by Brunhilde. Marcus also still sells to
Humans (including elemental witches) and Dark Elves.
5) Other races who need lockpicking and stealth skills can look for
Buboe, the Thief.
6) By player request, Escher's Waterfall now has a direct connection to
the rest of the Hyperborea map. You cannot start in Escher's
Waterfall and then leave to the rest of the map, however.
Moreover, because a few people were only going to Escher's
Waterfall to level up on the zombies (missing the entire point
of the region), the zombie generator now only produces one
zombie at a time.
7) By player request, Valkyries can now do quests for a special armor
set. Talk to the guards by the Eternal Flame of Asgard for more
information.
8) The rat-people are now prohibited from wearing helmets, since it
makes them look extremely goofy. Rat-men may still wear the
Helm of Threestorms, however.
9) By player request, necromancer minions are now treated as monsters
by the "Light" race NPC's, particularly guards and merchants.
This means they will attack instead of ignoring the fact they are
talking to a skeleton, thus your necromancer minion will have to
use "Cloak of Shadows" and sneak past the same NPC's that a dark
elf would. "Dark" race NPC's will still ignore them, for the most
part, as they aren't particularly surprised to see a necromancer's
minion trotting about. There are exceptions, however, so be
careful.
10) By player request, the experience awards for mobs beyond level 50
have been reduced. Under my previous system, you killed 50 mobs
of your level to advance a level. This proved too easy for some
players, as they simply attacked mobs that out-levelled them by a
couple dozen levels, and advanced so swiftly the mob couldn't kill
them because they were gaining levels too fast. This should solve
the problem. Under the new system, you'll still kill 50 mobs to
advance a level, up to level 50. The increase in experience per
level begins to decline around level 50 (more than high enough to
complete the SP adventure), until about level 148 or so you are
having to kill a couple thousand mobs to advance a level. Still
reasonable advancement, compared to the original game (where you
literally had to kill billions of mobs to get to level 150), but
not so fast that you're at level 100 in maybe half an hour's work
on dragons.
11) Weaken, Curse and Malign have all been boosted a bit so they will
actually be effective in combat.
12) There are now a dozen new "crafting" skills allowing you to make
nearly eighty different crafted items, including a "set" items
collection.
13) New PC-dwarves in multiplayer start with a free "crafting" skill
only they can use, as well as a crafting kit. Multiplayer
dwarves created prior to this update can buy the skill and the kit
from Gimana Surehammer in Kazah'Duun. Note: Making weapons and
armor requires a pattern, the appropriate material, your crafting
kit, and the use of your skill. Note also that making more
advanced weapons and armor requires more advanced skills.
13) New PC Light-Elves in multiplayer start with Foraging and Basic
Alchemy skills as well as a crafting kit - this allows them to
make small potions from berries they forage. Multiplayer light
elves created prior to this update (and anyone else who might
want the skill) can buy the skill and the kit from Adwallanon,
the Druid in Tir'Asleen. Note: To make a basic potion requires
an empty bottle, a berry, your crafting kit, and the use of your
Alchemy spell. Note also that making more advanced potions
requires more advanced skill.
14) There is a new merchant in the Black Forest in Multiplayer who sells
to Hyperboreans and Dark Elves.
15) The Magic Box now stores whatever items are inside it, and these
items are periodically saved to your savegame file. In multiplayer
play, this allows you to have a 'packmule' inventory that you can
summon, and it will be retained between game sessions. As this
is a skrit solution, not a DSDLL, it should work for players on
the Mac, as well.
WARNING: Due to the realities of the multiplayer interface, you
should ONLY summon the Magic Box if you are ALONE, as the HOST.
Someone else might be able to open your box and steal your things,
and/or you might not be able to open it at all, yourself.
16) There is also a new 'Druid Minion' who can store things like the
magic box, and can also attack like the necromancer minion.
Note, however, that he's a very tiny little gnome, and big scary
monsters terrify him. It's usually best to not try to order him
to attack, but to simply wait for him to get his courage up and
jump in to help you.
17) Valkyries now will no longer equip melee weapons other than their
soul-sword.
18) A new spell has been added to the "Druid" line of Nature Magic,
"Nature's Transformation", which is functionally identical to
"Feign Death" except instead of playing dead, you polymorph into
a tree. Like "Feign Death", there is no time limit on how long
this transformation lasts, though monsters who are currently
attacking you may not be fooled by the transformation, and
may continue their attack - so be careful.
19) By player request, there are more "nature-oriented" items available
in the game.
20) Bear Spirits and Wolf Spirits have been re-vamped to make them more
useful in the game. Please note that they still retain their
original advantage - they can be summoned in addition to other
summons, allowing you to have more than one summoned creature
active at once.
21) Some tweaks have been made to game physics to improve gameplay.
22) By player request, the time requirement for Meditation skill at
higher levels has been drastically reduced.
23) Fireblast, Icefury and Invoke Fireblast have had their mana costs
increased to more accurately reflect the tremendous amount of
damage they do at close range.
24) The LoH map and rescource files have been tweaked for better
performance on low-end systems.
25) By player request, the Necromancer Minion now stacks with the Druid
and Sorceror minions, making saving your minion's gear in
multiplayer far easier. Note, however, that the druid and sorceror
minions do not stack with each other.
26) There are now Druid spells which allow the player to transform into
a werebear or werewolf. The werebear can melee, while the
werewolf can both melee and cast a healing spell on itself or
other party members. There is also a third, hidden spell you
will have to discover for yourself.
WARNING: Due to the realities of the multiplayer interface, you
should only use the transformation/polymorph spells when you are
ALONE, as the HOST.
27) Dwarves and Hyperboreans can now use Meditation skill.
28) There are new "unarmed" animations, as well as several other new
animations.
29) Various other tweaks to mobs have been made throughout the game to
counter the situations where some players were abusing the game
to gain an unfair advantage - for example, the Dark Elf Assassin
at the beginning of the game no longer drops his gear, and zombies
(who are pathetically easy to kill despite their actual level)
now give a fraction of the experience they used to.
30) By player request, the Throwing Star and Shikari Throwing Spear
have been changed. The Throwing Star now requires somewhat
higher stats, and the Throwing Spear is now a progressive
weapon, the next step up from the Throwing Star for
Shikari characters in Multiplayer.
31) By player request, the running speed bonus of the Traveller's
boots has been reduced, so as to make the various "haste"
spells in the game actually useful. As a consequence, shikari
maximum running speed, which was based on the running speed
available from Traveller's boots (which shikari cannot wear),
has been adjusted accordingly. Shikari will now reach their
top running speed at level 80 rather than level 150.
32) Due to the tremendous physical cost of Soul Lance, which even when
properly used leaves the caster extremely vulnerable if it
misses, the range has been increased. Soul Lance now has the
longest range of any spell in the game.
33) Most of the large area-effect spells (ice storm, meteor, etc) now
no longer require you to click on an opponent - if the caster is
set to "attack freely", has the spell selected and has an
opponent in range, they will cast the spell.
34) All characters now have facial animations when they attack, get hurt,
get knocked unconscious, or are just standing around.
35) Many mobs are now able to recognize when you are too tough for them
to beat, and will not attack unless A) you are attacking them, or
B) they think you are moving into a position to attack them.
36) Gimana Surehammer now has a "Hammer" button for those who are
trying to do the hammer quest. This eliminates the minor
annoyance of constantly getting the quest in Multiplayer when
all you wanted to do was just buy a hat.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Frequently Asked Questions and "Spoiler" Answers:
DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ "SPOILERS"!
THE BELOW ANSWERS COMPROMISE A "WALKTHROUGH" FOR LOH!
IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ A "WALKTHROUGH" OF THE GAME,
THEN DO NOT READ BELOW HERE!
- Single Player Walkthrough/FAQ:
Q) What should I do before I start the game?
A) Remove all mods you may have in place. LoH is not compatible with
any mods whatsoever. If you have other mods in place when you
play LoH, it may make it impossible for you to complete the
single-player game. DO NOT PLAY LOH WITH MODS.
Q) Wait - I share this computer with my brother/sister/cousin/wife/etc,
and/or I am not sure what you mean by mods! How can I tell
whether or not I have mods in place?
A) Look in your /resources folder. You should only see the following
files there:
logic.dsres
objects.dsres
siegeeditorextras.dsres (but don't worry if you find out you don't have this file)
sound.dsres
terrain.dsres
voices.dsres
These are the original game files. If you have anything else in
there that isn't on the above list, it's not an original game
file, it's a mod. Remove it.
Q) Okay, I have no mods in place. Now what?
A) Click the shortcut the installer placed on your desktop to start the
game.
Q) Okay, I started the game. Now what do I do?
A) Pick up the knife that's lying beside the singing statue of Vox
nearby. This will start you on the main quest.
Q) Okay, now what?
A) Kill bears and wolves for a bit until you're at least level 4 and
can kill the bandits outside the cave entrance. Remember to
save frequently, in case you mess up somewhere along the line.
Q) The Ancient Dwarf says to hunt the deer. How do I do that?
A) Use the throwing knife you picked up, aim at the ground at their
feet, and hit the "force attack" key. When you kill the deer,
they drop meat, which you can eat to regain health and mana - or
sell to the Ancient Dwarf to buy better gear.
Q) I'm pushing the '7' button on the numberpad like it says above, but
nothing is happening!
A) The default for "force attack" is key "A". The layout described in
the tips above is not automatically installed, because this would
make things very confusing (not to mention extremely annoying for
people who had gotten used to a different layout than I described,
above). It is simply a suggestion of how you can set up your
keyboard hotkeys to make the game easier to play - you don't have
to use it, and it's not automatically changed. If you want to
change your hotkeys, click the little "door" icon in the bottom
right hand side of the screen, select "options", click "input",
click the "hotkeys" button, and then arrange your keyboard
hotkeys the way you would prefer. Afterwards, to shoot the deer,
aim at the ground beneath them (or just beyond them, so your
knife will hit them), and hit the "force attack" key that you
have assigned.
Q) Wait - I just noticed! My compass doesn't work!
A) To make the single-player game more of a challenge, the compass
is disabled. This allows you to actually get lost if you're
not paying attention to your surroundings. To use the compass
in single-player, you will need to purchase the "Sense Heading"
skill, available from the Ancient Dwarf and several other
merchants in the game.
Q) How do I use Sense Heading?
A) It's used like a spell. Place it in your spellbook, select it,
and right-click on yourself.
Q) Okay, all the bears and deer and bandits are dead - now what?
A) Go in the cave - you'll find a companion who will accompany you
throughout the rest of the adventure inside. Talk to her, read
what she has to say, then click "accept" to add her to the party.
You should also buy the "Acid Gas" spell the Ancient Dwarf has,
at a minimum, and give it to her so she can begin the slow
process of building Combat Magic - necessary to the rest of the
adventure. Your companion, T'Vril, is necessary to completing
the single-player adventure. Do your best to keep her alive,
and listen to what she has to say, as she will talk to you often.
Q) Hey! T'Vril blinks?!
A) Yes, she does. Her facial expression also changes when she attacks
or spots an enemy, and when she's hurt or unconscious.
Q) How come I don't?
A) You do. Look closer.
Q) Okay, but all that blinking and grimacing is very annoying!
Is there any way to turn it off?
A) Yes. Wear a helmet. The characters will only blink and change
facial expression when they are bareheaded.
Q) Okay, I've got T'Vril, but the Assassin is deadly and kills us both
very easily! How do I get past the assassin?
A) Use the "Cloak of Shadows" skill that your companion has. She has
an extra copy for you.
Q) How do I use "Cloak of Shadows"?
A) It is used like a spell. Place it in your spellbook, select it,
target yourself, then right-click or use the "force cast"
hotkey (keyboard "C" by default).
Q) Okay, I'm past the assassin. Now what?
A) Climb the stairs in the cave and get past the ancient rusting gobbot
T'Vril warned you about.
Q) Why does that strange spider laugh at me when I kill it?
A) It's called foreshadowing. You'll understand a little later on in
the story.
Q) How do I get past the gobbot?
A) Either kill him (the two of you together can manage it on "easy"
difficulty), or sneak past him like you did the assassin.
Q) Okay, I'm past the gobbot. Now what?
A) Start climbing out of The Hole. The Hole is a giant crater, and the
Black Forest (where you started) is at the bottom of it. When
you get to the top of The Hole, start searching around until you
find the Cursed Town of Hamlin.
Q) T'Vril keeps passing out when she's casting spells! What's wrong?
A) Nothing, she's just inexperienced at spellcasting, and trying to do
magic is tiring her out quickly. In Hyperborea, most spells are
extremely tiring to cast - after all, you ARE warping the very
fabric of reality, here. See the book on Hyperborean Magic that
the Ancient Dwarf sells for full details on how the spell system
works, and the different types of magic. Until T'Vril manages to
get some experience at spellcasting and can actually do magic for
a bit without passing out from exhaustion, your hero will have
to help her out with potions or with healing magic. Note also
that you should NEVER cast a large healing spell when you are
about to faint from exhaustion, as the strain will cause you to
pass out, and when the spell goes off it's effect will be wasted
waking you up. Instead, use smaller heals like "Bind Wounds"
when you are weak, then once you have a bit of strength, you
can use the larger heals.
Q) My hero and/or T'Vril keep making a lot of "pain" noises when they
get hit, and it's very annoying! Is there any way to turn that
off?
A) Yes, try wearing better armor. If you've kept T'Vril naked because
you like looking at her butt, well, you'll have to listen to her
cry out in pain when things beat on her. Put simply, however,
your characters are making pain sounds because they are getting
hurt and need better armor. The only exception is very tiny
creatures, such as rats and bats, which have an incredibly
painful bite. It doesn't do much actual damage, but it really
hurts quite a bit. To stop your characters yelping at these
little painful nips, you need enough armor so that bats and
rats can't bite you in the first place.
Q) My hero and/or T'Vril keep drinking potions during a fight, and
it's very annoying! Is there any way to turn that off?
A) The "auto-potion" feature exists because people on low-end systems
may find that in LoH, by the time they've pressed the button
to tell their characters to drink a potion, they are already
dead. This is particularly critical in single-player play,
where if everyone in the party falls unconscious, even
for a brief instant, it's game over. The feature cannot
be "turned off", it is too necessary to the inherent design
of the siegelet and also was one of the original design
considerations - the characters watch out for themselves,
and actively take steps to stay alive. However, if you want
your characters to not drink potions as often, you can
try wearing better armor, being more attentive with healing
spells, and using more hit-and-run tactics to make better use of
your mana.
Put simply, your characters are drinking potions because they are
constantly getting low on health and/or mana, and they are losing
the health and/or mana at a rate which is too fast. The usual
cause is you, the player, failing to use effective strategy and
tactics, and simply trying to run in and just scrap toe-to-toe
with tough mobs. LoH requires more strategy than the original
game did. If you try to simply run forward and smash everything
to death the same way you did in "Kingdom of Ehb", your
characters will be constantly getting badly hurt and/or burning
up all their mana very quickly, and will be drinking potions just
to stay alive. LoH is not the "Kingdom of Ehb" or the "Utrean
Peninsula". It is a different map, and a different game.
Your characters will have to be more cautious, and manage their
battles better.
It's important to note that the break point for potion use is at
30% - falling below 30% on health or mana (or both) will cause
the characters to make a decision as to whether or not they
should use a potion. I repeat - falling below 30% on health or
mana causes them to make a DECISION as to whether or not they
should use a potion (and what kind). It is NOT automatic.
If they are under attack and getting hit, they will usually (but
not always) drink immediately. With mana losses, if you are
facing a tough mob and your character is casting rapidly and
repeatedly on them and swiftly losing mana, this can cause them
to drink a potion the instant they fall below 30%, leaving the
appearance that they weren't even near 30% when they drank. But,
they were. Meanwhile, out-of-combat combat losses to mana and
hit points, such as from spellcasting, they may decide to ignore.
This depends on how low they are and (most importantly) how
quickly they lost the hit points and/or mana. Repeatedly casting
small buffs out of combat usually doesn't trigger the behavior,
while casting a spell that instantly drains all their mana (such
as Death Aura) usually will. Also, what kind of potions they
have available in their inventory factors in. All things being
equal, your characters will prefer to drink smaller potions first,
as they're easier to replace, and they will prefer to use health
and mana potions over food/drink and rejuvenation potions, as the
health and mana potions are refillable if they're not completely
used up.
In the end, however, the problem isn't the characters - they are
doing precisely what is necessary for them to keep up the pace
that YOU are setting. The problem is your tactics. If you are
the kind of player who simply cannot play a game like this using
stealth and carefully considered tactics, then unfortunately the
only reccomendation I can make is for you to turn the game
difficulty down to "easy" so your characters won't get beat up
or exhausted so quickly. It should be noted, however, that it
is possible to play the entirety of the SP adventure and not have
your characters drink a single potion until you tell them to.
All it takes is effective tactics.
Q) Wait - health and mana potions are refillable? How?
A) If the potion isn't completely used up, it can be refilled by
dropping another potion of the same type (health or mana) onto
it while it is inside your inventory. For example, a large
health potion that is mostly empty can be refilled by dropping
several small health potions on top of it. Note that even
crafted potions can be used, and ordinary potions can also
be used to re-fill crafted potions.
Q) You mentioned food and drink potions, and crafted potions. What
kinds of potions are available in the game?
A) Aside from ordinary health, mana and rejuvenation potions, Alchemy
skill can create nine different types of health, mana and
rejuvenation potions, each of increasing size. As far as
food/drink potions, the lowest is Bread, followed by Meat (which
gives the same benefits as bread but takes up half the space),
then Beer, Ale, Wine, and Elf-Wine. Alchemy skills can be
purchased from the druid in Tir'Asleen later on in the game, when
you get the quest to go there for the first time.
Q) Those footstep sounds my characters make when they move are very
annoying! Is there any way to turn them off?
A) Yes. Due to the possibility of lagging people who are on
low-end machines, the "footstep" sounds have been linked
to your detail settings. If you lower your detail settings,
they will stop. To lower your detail settings, Push the
"ESC" button or click the little door icon in the bottom
right corner of your screen, click the "options" button,
click the "video" tab, and move your Object Detail Slider
to the left, below the half-way point. This will turn
off the footstep sounds.
Q) Okay, I made it out of the hole and I found this skeleton in some
ruins - all the other skeletons attacked me, but he didn't?
A) Yes, that's Lord Dalar. You'll be dealing with him later. For
now, just continue looking for Hamlin.
Q) Expletive deleted! These woods are CRAWLING with hobgoblins!
A) Yes, the forest south of Hamlin is full of them. With a bit of work
and trips back and forth to Hamlin to sell the proceeds and buy
new gear, you can easily reach level 12 in an hour or so just
killing the hobgoblins in this forest.
Q) Okay, I finally found Hamlin. Now what?
A) Talk to the old witch - she sells spells you will need. You also
want to talk to the slave trader, as he sells weapons and armor.
Then select the entire party, walk upstairs in the slave trader's
house, and have T'Vril talk to the Hobgoblin Quartermaster to
advance the quest. After she talks to him, select the entire
party again, and walk outside the building. An NIS will start,
which will explain what you need to do next.
Q) How come I can't get into the barn?
A) The door is locked until after the NIS, above.
Q) I tried talking to the skeleton in the barn, but all she says is
"Come closer." I walk closer, but that's all she says!
A) You are clicking the "close" button too quickly. To save on
download size, LoH has no voice-overs. This dramatically reduced
the size of the download - for example, a voice-over for the NIS
in Hamlin would have increased the download by about 6 meg (3 meg
for a file with a female human talking to T'Vril, and 3 meg for a
file with a male human talking to T'Vril). So, because all the
conversations in the game are text-only, I have set the scroll
speed so that even the slowest reader can keep up as it scrolls
by. You read very quickly - this is a good thing. So, to get
to the point of what any NPC is saying faster, simply click the
scroll-bar on the right side of the text window. Then you can
more rapidly read what it is they have to say.
Q) How do I buy the undead packmule?
A) Have T'Vril talk to it. It will like her. You, it won't like.
All pack animals in LoH work this way - talk to the animal. If
it likes you, you can buy it.
WARNING: Please note that having a pack animal complicates the
adventure IMMENSELY, as pack animals are NOT sneaky in any way
and cannot slip past guards and such, and pack animals are liked
and/or hated just like player characters are. For example, most
light-race NPC's will attack rotting zombie-mules they see
wandering around - which makes sense, if you think about it.
Q) Okay, now what?
A) Head east to Incabulos forest, and go to Tir'Malani so T'Vril can
train in Necromancy (in game terms, buy her first useful spells).
Q) I had a lot of stuff to sell so I followed the signs to Gnashtooth's
Trading Post and it was full of hobgoblins and they all attacked
me and I died!
A) The signs leading to it said things like "Your One Stop Shop for
Human Entrails!" and "Forest Witches Welcome!" What did you
expect you'd find when you got there - a K-Mart? Restart from
your last save and try again. LoH doesn't have signs in the
nature of "this way to the monsters" and "this way to town",
you actually have to think about what the text you're reading
actually might mean.
Q) Okay, I'm in Incabulos forest, now what?
A) As T'Vril said in the NIS and as it says in your quest log, you
should find and talk to T'Kazi T'Malin, the Renegade Leader.
Q) But I can't find the renegades or the city!
A) There are two trails of brown mushrooms in Incabulos Forest, both
starting near the troll-bridge. The first trail heads northeast,
and leads to the renegades. The second trail heads southeast,
and leads to the city.
Q) Okay, I found the city, but the guards at the entrance turned evil
and attacked me and killed me!
A) Yes, your character is a human, and they don't like humans. This
is explained above in the section that discusses racial biases
and the "Light Versus Dark" arrangements of racial hatreds.
Also, T'Vril warned you that you would have to sneak past them,
and the renegade leader, T'Kazi T'Malin, also warned you that
they would kill you.
Q) Okay, so how do I get past the guards at the entrance to the city?
A) As T'Vril told you, you will have to use stealth to slip by them.
Have the hero use the "Cloak of Shadows" skill, then run past
them.
Q) T'Vril said that Captain D'Kith was an old friend of hers, but how
come he doesn't have anything to say to her when she comes to
the city?
A) He's upset that she became a Vox-worshipping renegade, and is
giving her the "cold shoulder" treatment. This will make more
sense later on in the story, when T'Vril reveals her background.
Q) Okay, I'm inside the city. Now what?
A) Turn off the "follow" button, select T'Vril, and have her explore the
city alone. Remember the warnings that T'Kazi T'Malin gave you.
Talk to all the people you encounter in the city who aren't
already hostile to you. If you hover your cursor over someone
and see hit points, you want to sneak past them, not talk to them.
Do NOT disband the hero - just turn off the follow button, select
T'Vril, and have her go forward alone to explore the city.
Q) I disbanded the hero, lost all my money, and now I can't get them to
rejoin the party!
A) That's why this readme says not to do that. You are supposed to just
turn off the 'follow' button, select T'Vril, and explore the city
alone. You will have to start from your last save before you
disbanded the hero, and try again. If you have not been saving
frequently, as mentioned in this readme above, then you will have
to start again from the beginning. Please note that there is an
autosave at the bottom of the ramp as you approach the city - you
can restart from there.
Q) I opened the door to the garrison and everyone inside jumped me and
killed me instantly!
A) Yes, tht's why T'Kazi T'Malin, the renegade leader, warned you to
avoid the garrison. The garrison is full of fanatic worshippers
of Lactri who are part of the city guards, visiting hobgoblins
who get paid money for each renegade's head they bring in, and
Kal'Zerai bandits who are all sociopathic homicidal maniacs.
Restart from your last save, and try again. Please note that
there is an autosave at the bottom of the ramp as you approach
the city. You can restart from there.
Q) I opened the door to the temple and everyone inside jumped me and
killed me instantly!
A) Yes, tht's why T'Kazi T'Malin, the renegade leader, warned you to
avoid the temple. The temple is full of maddened priestesses
of Lactri and even a Handmaiden of Lactri (an enormous spider
that's actually a minor avatar of the goddess). Restart from
your last save, and try again. Please note that there is an
autosave at the bottom of the ramp as you approach the city.
You can restart from there.
Q) I finally found the necromancy school, but it's closed! Now what?!
A) Talk to the man inside. He tells you what to do. You have to
continue on past the empty school, and find the elevator down to
the pit.
Q) I walked to the end of the bridge and the Royal Guards killed me!
A) Yes, that's why T'Kazi T'Malin, the renegade leader, warned you to
avoid them, and this readme warned you to avoid people in the
city who are already hostile to you. Moreover, the two dark
elf women at the start of the bridge were having a conversation
with each other which should have again warned you that the
royal guards were waiting to ambush you. And, lastly, when you
hovered your cursor over them, you got a red triangle and hit
points displayed, and the message "left click to attack". This
was not a group of people who were going to wave and smile as
you blissfully walked by, they were waiting to kill you, and
you were warned they were there several times. All of LoH is
like this - if you actually bother to read what the people
and signs around you are saying, you can avoid getting dead.
If you don't, you will get dead a lot. The Royal Guards are
fanatic worshippers of Lactri, and they hate renegades. Well,
they hate pretty much everyone, but that's as may be. Restart
from the autosave on the bridge, and try again - this time,
use stealth to slip past them.
Q) Okay, so how do I get past the royal guards?
A) Again, use the "Cloak of Shadows" stealth skill to slip past them.
Then go down the elevator, and you will be in the bottom of the
pit. Look around for the necromancer's house in the pit.
As the man in the closed school warned you, mind the shardlings.
They're dangerous.
Q) Okay, I went down the elevator and finally found the place. Now
what do I do?
A) Talk to the necromancer and his daughter to advance the quest.
Also, as the pop-up tip window told you when you entered their
house, have T'Vril buy Leech Life and Summon Skeletal Minion.
Summon Skeletal Minion adds a third member to your party, and he
will come in very handy later on in fighting the bad guys.
However, like T'Vril, he's not liked by the "light" races in
Hyperborea.
Q) The necromancer's daughter said I had to talk to Lord Dalar.
Where is he?
A) In the ruins in the forest south of Hamlin. He's the skeleton in
red armor with a huge axe who doesn't try to kill you.
Q) How come the necromancer's daughter spells his name "Dahlar" and
the quest log spells it "Dalar"?
A) She doesn't know him that well.
Q) Lord Dalar says I should kill the priest - T'Vril says I should talk
to him. What do I do?
A) Listen to T'Vril, and talk to the priest. T'Vril warns you that the
priests won't like her, as did the Hobgoblin Quartermaster.
When you hit the autosave point, leave T'Vril at the bottom of
the hill while you explore the temple. Turn off the 'follow'
button, select the hero, and have him explore alone again, just
as T'Vril did in Tir'Malani. Do NOT disband T'Vril - just turn
off the follow button, select the hero, and have them go forward
alone to explore the temple.
Q) But I already attacked the priest and/or his guards, and now the
priest won't talk to me! Now what do I do?
A) Restart from your last save and try again. Please note that there
is an auto-save at the bottom of the hill just in case you mess
up and the guards spot T'Vril, which will turn them and the
priest hostile. The inherent game logic is that after you try
to kill someone (or their friends), whether or not you succeed,
they don't want to talk to you or help you ever again (which
makes sense, if you think about it - someone who murdered my
best friend isn't about to get me to loan them $20, after all).
Q) I disbanded T'Vril, and now I can't get her to rejoin the party!
A) That's why this readme says not to do that. You are supposed to
just turn off the 'follow' button, select the hero, and explore
the temple alone. You will have to start from your last save
before you disbanded T'Vril, and try again. Please note that
there is an auto-save at the bottom of the hill just in case
you mess up.
Q) I got the robe! Now what?
A) Like it says in your quest log, return to Lord Dalar. As you leave
the temple with the robe and start to go down the hill, an NIS
will begin. Aside from advancing the plot, like all NIS's, you
shouldn't skip it. You should watch it for clues about what's
coming up next.
Q) Now Dalar wants me to go after the "finest weapon the dwarves have
ever made." What's that?
A) The Hammer of Thunder - it's a progressive melee weapon that does
area-effect damage.
Q) What's a progressive weapon and/or progressive armor?
A) Progressive weapons and armor get better as you level up. Simply
re-equip them each time you level up to improve their bonuses.
Q) How do I find the dwarves?
A) Head north from Hamlin, following the trail. You will eventually
find a four-way sign. Follow the one that points to Kazah'Duun.
T'Vril pointed this out to you in the NIS that followed your
encounter with the priest, incidentally.
Q) The dwarf guards turned evil and attacked me!
A) Yes, they don't like T'Vril, she's a Dark Elf - she mentioned this
both in the NIS that followed your encounter with the priest of
Azunai, and again when you got the quest from Dalar and were
walking away. It's also mentioned in this readme several times.
You will need to restart from the autosave point, and have T'Vril
use stealth to slip by them. The guards also don't like T'Vril's
minion - they're dwarves, not dark elves, and walking corpses
creep them out. You might want to have the minion use Cloak of
Shadows, too. Once past the guards, you will be in the Southern
Tunnels. Search the tunnels until you find the entrance to the
dwarven city, Kazah'Duun. When you get to the city, you will
have to leave T'Vril and her minion outside the entrance, just
as you did before, otherwise everyone in the city will turn
permanently hostile to you and most of the doors will be
permanently closed.
Q) GAH! It's DARK in here!
A) Yep. The southern tunnels are pitch black. Has a lot to do with
it being underground - light doesn't penetrate rock very well,
even in Hyperborea. You can have T'Vril's minion equip a torch,
if you have one. This will provide a bit of extra light, and
widen the area that you can see in.
Q) Okay, I'm lost! How do I find the Hammer of Thunder?
A) First, you have to talk to the smith's wife in Kazah'Duun. She's
the one who sells hats. She gives you the quest - just click
the button that says "Hammer" and she will explain it. Then,
go back out into the Southern Tunnels (where the Darklings
are/were). There are three trails of corpses, their heads all
pointing to the city. Follow the feet, and the three trails will
lead to three destinations: Two trails lead to the exits, and one
trail leads to the Hammer. When you hit the auto-save spot, you
are near it. Go up the ramp, and look for a chest on the floor.
Don't bother using your auto-map, neither the hammer nor the
darklings are shown on it. Please note that the guards outside
Kazah-Duun are close enough to the city so that if they spot
T'Vril, they will shout about it, and the entire city will turn
hostile to your party. Have T'Vril wait outside while you
explore the city, just as you did in Tir'Malani.
Q) I'm looking, but I don't SEE any corpses on the ground in those
tunnels!
A) They don't show up on the megamap, and as non-blocking objects,
they have a low LODFI setting. Turn off your megamap, push the
"ESC" button or click the little door icon in the bottom right
corner of your screen, click the "options" button, click the
"video" tab, and make sure your Object Detail Slider is all
the way to the right. Then the corpses will be visible - just
walk around and look for them. If you had your detail slider
down to reduce lag on a low-end machine, don't worry - there's
not much in the Southern Tunnels except for a few picks, some
rocks, and the darklings.
Q) I got the hammer! Now what?
A) Like it says in your quest log, return to Lord Dalar.
Q) Okay, now Dalar wants me to get the "Shaft of Ice that Never Melts".
How do I get that?
A) Go to Stonegate. Leave T'Vril outside the inn, away from the front
door. Walk to the top of the inn. Talk to the fat lady there.
She gives you the quest you need. Get T'Vril, and head north from
Stonegate, following the signs to the Valley of Four Winds. At
the end of the Valley, on top of a mountain, is Tran the Icemage.
Talk to him, then walk away. An NIS will begin. The quest is
completed in that NIS. Please note that while you're in
Stonegate, you might want to explore around a bit and chat with
the NPC's. And yes, they don't like Dark Elves.
Q) But I can't find the fat lady at the top of the inn!
A) There are two possible causes to this:
1) You do not have the quest from Dalar to go to Stonegate in the
first place. This is usually caused by a player getting
ahead of themselves, and trying to get the staff before
they have the hammer. Check your quest log and see what
you are supposed to be doing. What causes the fat lady to
appear is you having the correct quest from Dalar and
walking through the triggers at the entrance gates to
Stonegate. If you have the correct quest from Dalar, your
quest log will say "seek a shaft of ice that never melts",
and the quest conversation that you can read by clicking
the dialog button in your quest log will show you Dalar's
words, which are as follows:
"By the Goddess! You have it! The Hammer of Thunder!
Well done, mortal. Now, turn your attention to the
next item you shall need - a Shaft of Ice that Never
Melts. Begin your search in the human city of
Stonegate, to the north."
2) You have a mod in place which is preventing the fat lady from
appearing. As has been mentioned in this readme several
times, LoH is not compatible with ANY mods.
Unfortunately, because you chose to play with mods in place
anyway, you're screwed - you cannot complete the SP game.
You will have to pull out your mods and start the game all
over again from the beginning. And next time, remember:
LoH is NOT COMPATIBLE WITH ANY MODS!
Q) Okay, I've been using T'Vril's minion since I got him, but he's not
gaining experience and now he's constantly getting beat up! Why?
A) He's a summoned mob, he doesn't get experience. T'Vril gets all the
experience he earns, because she summoned him.
Q) But I'm constantly having to heal him! What do I do to make him
stronger?
A) Let him die, then summon him again. By now, T'Vril has gained
several levels, and the next minion she summons will be much
stronger. You can also use "Return Summoned" or "Dismiss
Summoned" on him to get rid of him, then summon a stronger
minion in his place. When he dies or us un-summoned, all
his gear will fall to the ground for your next minion to use.
Q) Hey - I just noticed that she doesn't get a lot of experience
from her minion when he fights!
A) This is an inherent limitation of the game engine brought on by
equipping the minion with weapons. The caster of a summon
spell gains experience to the skill they used to summon the
mob, but if the mob is using anything but unarmed combat, the
experience they gain is limited by the level of skill of
the caster in the skill the mob is using. If you need to
maximize the experience T'Vril gains from her minion, have
the minion fight barehanded. If you need the minion to kill
things as quickly and efficiently as he can, give him the
best melee weapon you have that he can use.
Q) Hey! How come sometimes when my minion runs far away and I'm
trying to heal him, I suddenly can't cast on him and the
monsters stop attacking him?
A) The spell which maintains the summon is set up so that if
your minion gets too far away, his alignment is set to
neutral and his ability to attack (and be attacked) is
turned off. This is so that he will return to your side,
rather than running willy-nilly around the countryside,
chasing monsters. After he's returned to your side, he
returns to normal in a few seconds.
Q) Okay, I got past all the elemental witches and found the tower of
Tran the Icemage, but Tran the Icemage won't talk to me!
A) This is because you have a mod in place which alters heroes.gas.
Most times, it's a backpack mod. As has been mentioned in this
readme several times, LoH is not compatible with ANY mods.
Unfortunately, because you chose to play with mods in place
anyway, you're screwed - you cannot complete the SP game.
You will have to pull out your mods and start the game all over
again from the beginning. And next time, remember: LoH is NOT
COMPATIBLE WITH ANY MODS!
Q) I got the staff! Now what?
A) Like it says in your quest log, return to Lord Dalar.
Q) Okay, now Dalar wants me to go to Tir'Asleen and seek the heart of
an archer. How do I find Tir'Asleen?
A) Just as the Dark Elves marked their roads with mushrooms, the Light
Elves mark their roads with flowers. Follow the trail of tall
pink flowers that starts in the bandit forest. It ends in
Tir'Asleen.
Q) WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT HUGE THING THAT STOMPED ME DEAD?!
A) A giant. You took a wrong turn. Try again.
Q) Okay, I'm here in Tir'Asleen - what exactly am I looking for?
A) The Heart Bow, a progressive bow with a range of 25.
Q) How do I find the Heart Bow?
A) Go to Tir'Asleen, if you're not already there. Talk to the elf on
the beach. Not the one on the raft, the one in scalemail armor
standing on the beach. Then walk out into the forest again
outside Tir'Asleen, and go to the lake. There's a bush on the
beach all by itself. It is a generator, and spawns the heart-bow
bandit when you have the quest. Kill him, and when the heart-bow
hits the ground, the quest is complete. Please note that the
bandit is a SPAWNED MOB - this means that if you spawn him then
walk away, he can EXPIRE and will NOT appear again. If you have
gotten the quest, gone to the lake and he isn't there, then
it's entirely possible you wandered away from him long enough for
him to expire. Restart from your last save, and try again. Note
also that you are looking for a LAKE, not the little ponds that
are on the map. If you can see the other side, that's not the
lake, it's a pond.
Q) I got the Heart Bow! Now what?
A) Like it says in your quest log, return to Lord Dalar.
Q) These respawning enemies are beginning to get to be a bit much.
How can I keep them from coming back?
A) Gib them. An enemy who explodes does not respawn. If you can't gib
them just on the damage you do alone, there are several spells in
the game which can permanently eliminate a respawning enemy, with
"Explode Body" and "Corpse Transmutation" being the best of them.
Note, however, that if you are trying to use the "crafting"
skills, gibbing your enemies isn't necessarily a good thing to
do - most of the raw materials used in crafting come from enemies
who respawn.
Q) Hey! I just noticed! Some of these monsters aren't attacking me
anymore!
A) Yes. Some mobs in Hyperborea are smart enough to recognize when
you are simply too tough for them to beat. Those that are smart
enough to realize this will ONLY attack a tough character if
1) they think you are attacking, or 2) they think you might be
moving into position to attack them. If you don't have a weapon
or offensive spell selected and don't run right past them,
a mob who is smart enough to realize it can't beat you simply
will not attack. Generally speaking, only mobs who are undead,
really vicious, really stupid, or insane/fanatical will attack
you if you're obviously too tough for them to beat and aren't
attacking them or their friends. It should be mentioned,
however, that in some areas (such as Icabulos Forest, Tir'Malani
and the Troll Swamp), pretty much everything you meet fits
those criteria. ;-)
Q) Okay, now Dalar says I need to get the Soul of a Valkyrie. Where
do I find valkyries?
A) In Asgard.
Q) How do I find Asguard?
A) Go back to Tir'Asleen. Go to the top of the inn. You should see a
Valkyrie named Brunhilde. Talk to her, then go back to the
Tir'Asleen elevator. Ride it to the top. Face the city.
Turn right. Follow the edge of the ledge, and you will find
Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge.
Q) But Brunhilde won't talk to me!
A) This is because you have a mod in place which alters heroes.gas.
Most times, it's a backpack mod. As has been mentioned in this
readme several times, LoH is not compatible with ANY mods. You
also probably wondered why Tran the Icemage had nothing to say to
you, and several other key NPC's didn't speak in the adventure.
Unfortunately, because you chose to play with mods in place
anyway, you're screwed - you cannot complete the SP game.
You will have to pull out your mods and start the game all over
again from the beginning. And next time, remember: LoH is NOT
COMPATIBLE WITH ANY MODS!
Q) The Gates of Asgard are locked! How do I get INTO Asgard?
A) You will need lockpicks to open the gate (Brunhilde locked the gates
before she went down to Tir'A to get a beer). Lockpicks are
obtained from Marcus Ragnor, in Stonegate. If you didn't find him
and buy them when you were in Stonegate before, you will have to
go back now and pick them up from him.
Q) How do I find Marcus Ragnor?
A) Go to the lakeshore in Stonegate. Look around - you'll see a little
alcove-like cave, with a fire. Walk up to it - Marcus Ragnor is
standing there, hiding. If you stand near him, he will appear and
you can talk to him.
Q) I got inside the gates and the guards attacked me!
A) Valkyries don't like Dark Elves, either. Have T'Vril sneak past
them. They also don't like walking corpses, so have T'Vril's
minion sneak past them, too.
Q) I had my hero talk to the guards inside the gate, and they said
Brunhilde DIDN'T lock the gates when she went down for a beer!
Is this a mistake?
A) No, they figure that if you got in here, the gates must have been
unlocked. After all, who would expect a mortal to pick the lock
on the Gates of Asgard to get in? Think about it.
Q) Okay, I'm past the gate and the guards. Now what?
A) Climb the mountain to reach Valhalla, then talk to the valkyrie
leader, Wulfhild.
Q) I didn't get the Soul! What do I do?
A) Go back to Dalar empty-handed. The valkyrie leader, Wulfhild,
explains that the valkyrie's sword is their soul - and no
valkyrie will part with their soul, alive or dead. If you
didn't see that, you probably clicked too quickly when
her dialog screen came up.
Q) GASP! Vox killed Dalar! What do I do?
A) Celebrate, and pick up his gear - he was a bad guy. Then start
hunting for Lactri.
Q) But I only have me and T'Vril! Is that enough to finish the game?
Are there other party members I can get?
A) The single-player adventure is set up so you and T'Vril can complete
it with just her minion helping you. There ARE secret party
members hidden around Hyperborea, but none of them are necessary
to completing the single-player adventure.
Q) Where do I find Lactri?
A) In the palace in Tir'Malani. You will need lockpicks to get in.
Q) Does the endless stair ever END?
A) Yes. Keep going.
Q) Wait - I'm going down the stairs and T'Vril is talking and she says
she's a princess?
A) Barely, yes - she's 348th in line for the throne. Still, this is
why Captain D'Kith gives her the cold shoulder. It's no small
thing when a princess you know decides to abandon the state
religion and join religious rebels in the forest, after all.
Q) Okay, I found the bottom of the endless stair, but now I can't get
past the levers and gates! Now what?
A) The clue as to how to open the gates is given in the book "A Spider's
Dream", which was found in Stonegate. Reading from left to right,
push the 5th lever, then the 3rd, then the 1st. If you have not
touched the levers before, the gates will all be open. If you
have, restart from your auto-save at the bottom of the stairs,
and try again.
Q) Okay, I killed Lactri, but nothing's happening? Now what?
A) Look around. Once Lactri dies, Vox appears. Look for a big bright
light, and the same singing sounds you heard at the beginning of
the game (the megamap is helpful for this). Talk to Vox. She
gives you two choices. Save the game, then make your choice.
Q) I can't click on the magic portal!
A) It's been changed in LoH 3.0 - instead of clicking in the air, which
was causing people holding the camera at odd angles to not have
things work right, you now simply click on the ground at the base
of the sphere. Look for your cursor to turn into a hand,
indicating something to use. Click to center yourself exactly
in the portal, and it will work.
Q) Okay, I finished the SP game. Now what?
A) You can continue playing. There are still regions to explore,
hidden monsters to find, and other things to do =) There are
also hidden party members you probably haven't found yet ;)
Q) How do I get past the roadblock to the Holy See of Azunai?
A) This is the king's quest, mentioned above. To get the quest, you
must be level 45 or higher when you try the lever on Lord
Collingway's cabin. Make sure that the person TRYING the lever
is level 45 (I.E. at least one of their skills is level 45 or
higher) - click the person with the highest skill, and have them
try the lever. Please note that they must be level 45 WITHOUT
magical adds.
Q) How do I get into the Hyperborean Dungeons?
A) Stand next to a broken statue of Vox, and drop a skull. Then, cast
the Song of Vox spell you got for talking to Vox after defeating
Lactri. An entrance will open somewhere nearby. Skulls are
random drops from Hyperborean NPC's when you kill them, as well
as summoned NPC skeletons, such as those summoned by certain
witches, dragons, and Dark Elves. You can find a broken statue
of Vox in the ruins south of Hamlin where Dalar was, as well as
in some ruins south of Stonegate.
Q) How do I get into Escher's Waterfall in Single Player?
A) It's a secret. ;-)
Q) I went into the Cemetery and all these zombies popped up and they
attacked and the gates were locked and I couldn't escape and I
died!
A) Well, T'Vril does warn you it's dangerous in the swamp, after all.
Next time, you might want to bring some lockpicks.
Q) I can't find any of the hidden party members! How many are there,
and where are they?
A) There are five additional characters available:
1) Lord Collingway (Human): Found by being level 45 (without
magical boosts) and turning the lever on his cabin to
open the door. This also initiates the King's Quest.
2) Evangeline (Water Elemental Witch): Found by returning to the
tower of Tran the Icemage when you are level 45 or higher.
She also completes the story of Tran's Quest in her
introductory dialog.
3) Xena (Rat-Girl): Found in the first Hyperborean dungeon, near
where Lord Dalar was standing. To open the dungeon, drop
a skull on the ground near the broken statue of Vox, then
use the Song of Vox to repair the statue - this will cause
an entrance to open nearby.
4) Xorn (Rat-Man): Found in the second Hyperborean dungeon, which
is in the Farmlands south of stonegate near the ruins. To
open the dungeon, drop a skull on the ground near the
broken statue of Vox in the ruins, then use the Song of Vox
to repair the statue - this will cause an entrance to open
nearby.
5) Adara (Light Elf): Found by being level 45 and going to the
slaver in Hamlin. He will have a set of ownership papers
for sale. Buy them, then go upstairs and drop them before
the elf in the far right cage. The cage will disappear,
and she can be added to the party.
Q) My character transformed into a werebear/werewolf in single-player,
and now they follow waaaay behind the group!
A) Your character's mind is a little muddled when they are polymorphed.
To have your character lead the way, simply turn ON the "follow"
button, select the character, and have them move - the rest of
the group will follow.
Q) I have other questions about the transformation spells!
A) See the multiplayer list, below.
- Multiplayer:
Q) Where do I get lockpicks?
A) If you are human, dark elf or valkyrie, talk to Marcus Ragnor. All
other races have to find Buboe, the Thief.
Q) Why can't I create a rat-man or rat-girl in multiplayer?
A) Because they are composite characters, made from three separate
meshes, and the game won't display them or take their picture
properly when the character is created or when you join another
player's game online.
Q) Where do I find the four Lloyd's Rings?
A) That's a secret ;-)
Q) Where do I find Fury, the God of Hate?
A) That's a secret, too ;-)
Q) Bears and wolves don't respawn, so how are me and my friends supposed
to level our new characters in multiplayer?
A) Use one of the two following methods:
1) Start a game alone in the Black Forest, build to level 6,
then join your friends in a multiplayer game in Hamlin.
2) Start a game with your friends in Stonegate, and gang up on
the hobgoblins in the farmlands south of town.
Q) If a shikari can't wear armor, they can't loot it when it's sitting
on the ground! How am I supposed to make any money when I can't
pick up a lot of the loot I find in the game?!
A) Instead of left-clicking or using the "collect loot" button, open
your inventory, then right-click on the item. The character will
pick up the item and it will be in your cursor. From there, you
can then place it into your inventory. Please Note, however,
that if you attempt to have your Shikari character equip it,
he'll instantly toss it to the ground in disdain.
Q) My old Shikari character's powers stopped working! He has no armor
rating, and he runs slow, now!
A) As explained above, Shikari have been completely re-worked in LoH
version 3.0. New shikari characters begin with a magic skull that
functions as a spellbook. When it is equipped, they gain the
bonus to armor and speed. To get your old character to have the
same powers again, you must start a game in the Black Forest,
and walk up next to the Statue of Vox. The skull will be
automatically added to your inventory, in your spellbook slot.
Q) I summoned my magic box or gnome in multiplayer and I couldn't open
it, then the people I was playing with stole all my stuff!
A) That's why this readme tells you not to do that. You should only
summon a minion when you are ALONE in multiplayer, as the HOST.
Q) I polymorphed into a werebear/werewolf/illuminati in multiplayer
while my friends were connected to the game with me, and then
I lost control of my character and couldn't play and/or
something worse happened!
A) That's why this readme tells you not to do that. You should only
use the polymorph spells when you are ALONE in multiplayer, as
the HOST.
Q) I transformed into a werebear/werewolf/illuminati and now I can't
open doors or use switches!
A) The werebear and werewolf don't have hands, and the Illuminati is
literally too stupid to figure it out. Therefore, you should plan
your transformations carefully - don't transform if you know you
have to use an elevator or open a door to get where you need to
go.
Q) My cursor doesn't change when I highlight things while I am
polymorphed!
A) Yep. Unfortunately, this is a GUI limitation that's hard-coded into
the game.
Q) How do I attack as a werebear/werewolf/illuminati?
A) Click on the enemy you wish to attack, or simply set them to "Attack
Freely" and "Move Freely" and move them near a crowd of enemies.
Please note that you must click, you can't use the 'force attack'
button - another GUI limitation that's built into the game.
Q) How do I use the werewolf's healing spell?
A) Press your "character_awp_03" button, which is keyboard button "3"
by default, then right-click yourself like you were casting a
spell. Afterwards, press your "character_awp_01" button,
keyboard button "1" by default, so you can fight again.
Q) Does the werebear have a healing spell?
A) No, that's the lesser of the two druid transformations. The
werebear can only fight. All transformations, however,
can use potions. If you dropped a few potions on the
ground before you transformed, your character can then
pick them up. To use them, use the "drink health potion"
hotkey on your keyboard (keyboard "H" by default).
Q) Can the Illuminati fight in melee?
A) Yes, but she can't be directly commanded to melee a specific enemy,
because she prefers using her zero-mana spell. Press your
"character_awp_01" button, which is keyboard button "1" by
default. Then set them to "Attack Freely" and and move them near
a crowd of enemies. The character will begin attacking them
in melee. Afterwards, press your "character_awp_03" button,
keyboard button "3" by default, so you can use your spell again.
You can easily tell the difference in whether or not she is
set for melee or magic, because a dark-elf crystal sword will
appear in her hand for her to use in melee when you have
melee selected.
Q) My timer expired on my werebear/werewolf/illuminati transformation,
I turned back into my normal self, and the monsters stopped
attacking!
A) And this is a bad thing? ;-) They stop attacking because they are
confused. Take advantage of this confusion.
Q) How do I end the transformation spell before the timer expires?
A) You can't, so plan your transformations carefully.
Q) Hey! I notice I don't get a lot of experience when I'm transformed
into a werebear/werewolf/illuminati!
A) Yep, those are the breaks. While transformed, you have a
packmule's inventory and are incredibly tough and
dangerous in a fight. As a werebear, you have deadly
melee attacks and very high armor rating. As a werewolf,
you have a zero-mana healing spell that heals you completely,
tremendous armor rating, and can run incredibly fast.
As an illuminati, you have a deadly melee attack,
and a zero-mana ranged spell attack. In short, while
transformed, you are immensely dangerous. As a consequence,
you don't get much experience while transformed - at higher
levels, you get virtually none.
Q) I exited the game without taking all the stuff off my necromancer
minion, and I lost all the stuff that was on him!
A) Necromancer minions do not save the items they are carrying. Only
magic boxes and magic gnomes save the items. You can use "Return
Summoned" or "Dismiss Summoned" to get rid of your necromancer
minion, and all his stuff will fall to the ground. Thereafter,
you can summon a magic box or a magic gnome and have them pick it
all up so you can use it again the next time you play.
Q) I put something in my magic box or magic gnome and then exited the
game, and when I came back, the item wasn't there!
A) Items stored in a magic box or magic gnome are only updated when
your character is saved. This happens about once every two
minutes in multiplayer play.
Q) My valkyrie can't equip any melee weapon other than her soul-sword!
A) She's not supposed to be able to. The soul-sword gives progressively
increasing damage at about 150% of the damage rate that one could
normally use by one's strength, and gives a progressively
increasing bonus to blocking melee, ranged and magic attacks as
well as a progressive increase to weapon speed, until by the time
you reach level 150 you have a 75% chance of blocking melee, a 50%
chance of blocking ranged, and a 37% chance of blocking magic.
All you have to do is keep re-equipping it each time you gain a
level in melee. Moreover, at level 150 you're attacking almost
three times a second, doing an average of 778 points of damage per
hit (often more), are attacking up to four targets within five
meters of you, and Valkyries of all levels have a 1 in 4 chance
each time they attack to do a "flurry" attack which can hit up to
four times. Combined with their multiple target attacks, this
means that at high levels, a Valkyrie who finds herself surrounded
by enemies can concievably hit that group of enemies up to
sixteen times in one flurry-attack. And you want something better
than that? Sorry, that's as good as it gets for melee in LoH.
Even an Immense Dragon Wing of Agony isn't as good as a
Valkyrie's sword gets when she finally reaches level 150. The
Valkyrie's sword does more damage, hits harder, hits faster, and
hits more often. The Valkyrie soul-sword is designed to be the
best melee weapon in the game, and a valkyrie simply doesn't need
any other melee weapon. In addition to all the above, this isn't
just a sharpened slab of steel your character is swinging around,
it's a physical manifestation of her soul. She's not going to
toss her soul aside for some other weapon, ever.
Q) If Valkyries are so good, then what's the point of playing other
races?
A) Stats and race-relations. Each race and gender has a different set
of starting stats, which tends to make them better or worse at
particular skills early on - and your development in your first
few levels determines a lot of how your character will end up.
Valkyries start with high strength, but low intelligence. They
stink at spellcasting, it takes forever to build them into decent
spellcasters, and they'll never be as good at spellcasting as the
other races because they'll always be behind in intelligence.
They have a bonus to mana when they begin, due to their low
intelligence, but this vanishes as they level up. Dwarves, on
the other hand, are the second-best melee race because of their
high strength, and the second best spellcaster race because their
intelligence starts as average while their strength affords them
the ability to avoid passing out from exhaustion while they are
getting past the "apprentice" levels of skill. They are the
worst at ranged, however, because of their low starting dexterity.
The best spellcasters overall are female elves (light or dark),
followed by dwarves - note, however, that female elves have a
much harder time at lower levels when they are using Necromancy,
Battle-Magic, Priestly-Magic or Elementalism, because they are
weaker and tire quickly. For range, the best is male elves
(light or dark) and female humans, both because of the higher
initial dexterity stat. Shikari are easier to play as ranged
than male elves or female humans, but their inability to wear
armor of any kind limits magic bonuses they might otherwise get
at higher levels from magic armor - they can only use weapons,
shields, amulets and rings. Female elves are also good at range,
but their lower strength means it takes longer for them to master
the heavier ranged weapons. Male humans are about the average.
Good at pretty much everything, they start with a higher strength
than female humans, and make good warriors. Toss in the
realities of race-relations in Hyperborea, and you can see that
your starting choice of race and gender will determine a lot of
what your initial problems are going to be when developing a
multiplayer character, and what your best skill choices will be
for that character.
Q) What is the hardest/easiest race to play in multiplayer?
A) That depends a lot on the player and what you're trying to build
with the character (combat magic, nature magic, ranged or melee)
and whether or not you have friends who can help you by buying
the skills/spells/items you need, but generally speaking,
the difficulty from hardest to easiest is as follows:
Very Easy: Female Light Elf (nature),
Valkyrie (melee)
Easy: Shikari (ranged),
Male Light Elf (any skill)
Elemental Witch (nature)
Moderate: Human (any skill),
Dwarf (any skill),
Elemental Witch (combat),
Female Dark Elf (combat),
Male Dark Elf (ranged),
Female Light Elf (combat, ranged)
Hard: Female Dark Elf (ranged, melee),
Shikari (combat, nature),
Male Dark Elf (combat, melee),
Valkyrie (combat, nature, ranged),
Female Light Elf (melee)
Harder: Hyperborean (combat, ranged, melee),
Shikari (melee),
Elemental Witch (ranged, melee)
Hardest: Hyperborean (nature),
Female Dark Elf (nature),
Male Dark Elf (nature)
Q) I'm ___ level, now. Where do I go to kill stuff to get to the next
level?
A) Part of the game's challenge is finding this out for yourself. ;-)
Where you went in the SP game is a good guide as to mob areas
from level 1 to 50, however. Beyond that, you will simply have
to explore and discover for yourself.
- Single and Multiplayer
Q) How do I break the rock (or the crystal) in the Dwarven Mines?
A) You can't, they're invulnerable. They're there so the dwarven
miners look like they're actually working, since the game
will not allow a neutral NPC to attack an object.
Q) How do I use the crafting skills?
A) Each skill has a fixed combination of recipies that will work with
it. Read Chorus' book (sold by the Ancient Dwarf and several
other merchants) for general instructions on how crafting works.
Generally speaking, you need a crafting kit lying on the ground,
the correct components nearby, then you use the correct skill and
something new will be created. Please note that you do NOT need
to use the crafting skills at all to finish the SP game - no
crafted items are required by any of the quests. Two general
rules to note:
1) Everything starts with a pattern, a raw material, and
the crafting kit.
2) Successive stages of materials and/or results are
created by adding materials to the results of
previous stages.
Q) What are the recipies for the crafting skills?
A) That's a secret ;-) You have to discover the recipies by
experimentation. Don't worry - if you fail, you do not lose the
items, it simply doesn't do anything. Note also that you need to
work in a clear area. Using a crafting skill when there is a lot
of loose junk at your feet raises the possibility that it will
fail and do nothing.
Q) Can minions drink potions?
A) Yes, the Magic Box can drink potions, as can the Skeleton. To make
the Magic Box drink a health potion, use the "drink health potion"
hotkey (keyboard "H" by default). The Magic Gnome will not
drink potions, however - those are your potions, they don't
belong to him, so he will not use them. Note also that the
skeleton, like player characters, will drink potions in combat
as needed.
Q) Why does farmboy carry his staff across the front of his body
rather than at his side like he used to?
A) Because when I was re-working the animation for running with
a staff so as to add the "footstep" sounds, I discovered that
Mike Biddlecomb, the guy at GPG who created the DSTK Art-Packs,
reversed the shield and weapon grips for several of the
animations for Farmboy and Farmgirl - and one of them was
farmboy's running animation with the staff. When exported, the
staff followed the actions of the left hand, not the right,
and waved around wildly in the air. After weeks of fiddling
with it both in SiegeMax and in a hex editor, I finally gave
up and just re-built the animation so it would work properly
in the game. This was what I came up with.
Q) Why do you make the players walk around so much? How come there
aren't teleporters?
A) Primarily because 1) Teleporters make the game far too easy,
and 2) Teleporters make the map feel much smaller. I wanted
LoH to have a feeling of being a huge area (which it is, it's
over twenty square miles in size), rather than a tiny area.
For a more detailed explanation of my feelings on the subject of
teleporters, however, have a human character talk to Tim the
Sorceror in the forest north of Stonegate.
Q) What's with the elf on the raft?
A) If you're asking this question, you're too low level to find out
the answer. Try talking to him again when you've gained a few
levels.
Q) Does T'Rilith do anything, or just stand there?
A) Buy her a drink and find out.
Q) I typed a cheat code in and my character was called a cheater and
instantly deleted!
A) That's why it says in this readme not to do that.
Q) But why are you blocking cheat codes?
A) To level the playing field for all players. Single-player characters
are exportable to multiplayer - and single-player characters built
with cheats are far more powerful than legit characters, and ruin
the multiplayer fun for everyone.
Q) Okay, my character died and the ghost timer is some incredibly high
number!
A) It's one day of real time.
Q) WHAAAAT?! Why so much?
A) To make dying in Multiplayer equivalent to dying in single player.
In Single player, if everyone is unconscious, even for a brief
instant, it's game over. In multiplayer, you can have friends
come along and resurrect you. Also, there are several rez shrines
in the land. The Vox statues are rez shrines, as are the
"stonehenge" monuments.
Q) I installed Hyperborea, and now my other map doesn't work right!
A) As it says in this readme, LoH is not a plug-in modlet, it's a
full-blown siegelet, and it's not compatible with any other mod
or siegelet. This is why you are supposed to be using the
shortcut to play LoH, not simply drop the files into your
/rescources folder like this was just any other map. The
shortcut tells DS to just run LoH. When you want to play
normal DS, use the normal DS shortcut.
Q) But I'm playing DS on a Mac, we don't have special desktop shortcuts,
we have to sacrifice a black chicken and wave the bloody corpse
over our keyboards while burning sacred insence and chanting the
words to "Stairway to Heaven" backwards to get things to work!
A) Unfortunately, I'm on a PC, I don't have a Mac. In fact, nobody in
my entire town has one - this is probably because I live in a
very small town in the middle of nowhere, and the nearest Mac
dealer is a 5-hour drive away. And, as you can tell by the
humorous nature of the question above, I don't even know how a
Mac works. So, unfortunately, I have no idea how to help you.
I suggest you visit the online forums for Dungeon Siege and chat
with other Mac users who have gotten siegelets to work on their
machine. Perhaps they will be able to help you.
Q) I started a previous character in multiplayer and lost all my stuff,
my character was called a cheater and deleted, my dog died, my cat
got pregnant, my wife/girlfriend left me, my computer exploded,
my house burned down to the ground and the IRS wants to audit me
for the last twenty years of my income! Insert Outraged
Expletive Here!
A) That's why it says above in this readme not to start a previous
character in LoH. Perhaps you should read it.
Q) My spellbook and/or inventory display is all messed up!
A) You have a "backpack" mod in place. LoH is not compatible with any
mods. Remove all mods before playing LoH.
Q) I can't talk to the packmules to hire them and/or key NPC's will not
talk to me so I can't advance the quest!
A) You have a mod in place that alters the heroes.gas file. LoH is not
compatible with any mods. Remove all mods before playing LoH.
Q) I have some other weird or inexplicable bug that you haven't talked
about!
A) Most likely, you have a mod in place. Remove all mods before playing
LoH. LoH is not compatible with any mods.
Q) How do I dance the Forbidden Dance?
A) That's a secret. ;-)
Q) Why am I limited in what I can choose for my character's appearance?
A) If you haven't played the Single-player game yet, I encourage you to
do so. The answer will probably dawn on you as you are playing.
If you have played the single player game and still don't
understand why, then you've missed one of the more important
messages of the story. T'Vril, your faithful companion throughout
the adventure, a woman who risks her life and literally endures
deep pain for you, her friend (watch the NIS sequences outside
Tir'Malani and Valhalla again), is constantly and repeatedly
attacked throughout the entire story because of either her racial
heritage (Dark Elf), her religious creed (Vox-worshipper), or
both. She is spit upon, trodden upon, and many times she is
spotted by a racial or religious enemy, you have to re-start from
a previous save, and try having her sneak around the bigoted NPC.
And yet, she is not a creature worthy of any of this treatment.
To the contrary, her behavior in the storyline shows that she is
greater than any of the other characters in the entire game, even
the hero. Despite hatred, despite prejudice, despite bigotry,
despite everything - she is your one, true friend.
Yes, I could add different skin colors to farmgirl and farmboy.
However, if I do, does this comprise an open acknowledgement of
cultural and racial heritage in real life, or is it really just a
crutch the player uses to dodge the serious and complex issue of
racial bias that their companion, T'Vril, faces nearly everywhere
in the adventure? To me, as the author of the story, allowing
multiple skin choices for the player somehow takes away from one
of the larger messages of the story - T'Vril is hated everywhere
she goes for her race or creed, or both. And yet, despite the
terrible treatment she gets, she is your one true friend in the
entire adventure.
In real life, people don't have a choice as to what color their
skin will be - nor, really, do they have any choice in how other
people will treat them because of their racial or cultural
heritage. In LoH, a Dark Elf has two choices - male or female.
The other choices are simply variations in facial appearance and
hairstyle. If you're born blue, you're born blue - you have to
deal with how everyone else will treat you.
In the game, T'Vril has no choice about how anyone will treat her.
The world simply is the way it is, and she simply has to deal with
it. Allowing the player an infinite variety of skins for their
character is possible, but mutes a very important message in the
story - those aren't the choices your companion has available to
her. Only through your courage, strength, compassion and
understanding does she overcome the bigots of her world. And so
it is in the real world, as well.
Q) Hey, some of the questions you list above are extremely dopey. Have
real people asked these questions?
A) Yes. Almost every question above was originally sent to me by
e-mail, or posted to message boards on the internet, and most
of the ones involving the single-player game have been asked
several hundred times. However, if you find that you have a
question that I haven't covered above, feel free to e-mail me
at xaa@3lefties.com and ask.
// Jim Farris,
// Published Professional Author and Composer.
// xaa@3lefties.com
// http://come.to/xaa
// (c)2002, 2003 All Rights Reserved
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