Chauranglaith Path: Cave doesn't show

[Unawares]

Hi there, ran into another possible glitch.

 

I've been traversing the Chauranglaith Path locations, and I can't see an option to visit the Cave showing up anywhere. I made sure to increase my Leadership (up to 4) thinking that might be the problem, since it's supposed to subtract 3 from Leadership, but it made no difference.

 

This is with the most recent CP3/128 patch in place.

 

Thanks!

[Metis]

Mod tools say that visiting the Natural Spring will inform you of the location of the Cave, as would Famous Dilemmas 10. To actually use the cave, however, you need the Chauranglaith Cave Password memory, and no, I have no idea how or where to get it.

 

Also an FYI: The Cave's -3 to Leadership is permanent, and it lowers the Skill Steps, not the Skill Levels. Click on a skill and it'll say something like Skill Level 4, 0/3 Skill steps - the latter is how many steps you need for the next skill level, and that is what the cave would decrease. Skill Steps can't be negative, though, so if you have 0 to begin with you lose nothing. Also, the Cave's +7 SS to a random Dialectic's sub skill is comically overboard - if, in the above example, you get 7/3 skill steps you won't start Skill Level 5 with 4/4 SS, but with 0/4, so getting more than you need is a waste.

[Unawares]

Thanks Metis, good to know. It's rather confusing that password thing - would be better to allow visitation to the cave, but not allow the ability until you have the password.

 

Good explanation of how the skill steps thing works... I only JUST figured that stuff out. I was so excited to get that question ability that gives 5 steps in return for the loss of a level in a random skill... until I learned that the steps don't carry over into extra levels. Meh....

[Metis]

Yeah, it's one of those things that I'd really like changed, but it could potentially not throw a wrench in the game's sense of balance so much as a stick of dynamite. In general anything that increases skill steps by 3 at once, maybe 2, aren't as worth it as...other alternatives. The Library of the Mantle of Stars is one notable exception if you're not in Astrology class, since Astrology skills are A) useful, and difficult to train because it's keyed to Luck, which is generally low. Here's two tips:

 

If you need to train a skill up fast, and you do, study in the Venalicium until you get enough Library Knowledge to open up Longshade, tidy it and use it until you get Concentration 9. It has a very, very awesome ability. Also, maxing out study levels gives you good stuff, and a few classes even give you really good stuff, so don't neglect your studies.

 

If you can, get the Planning sub skill and raise it to 2. And when (if) you're training your familiar, do the same - raise his/her Planning up to 2. It is entirely worth it, especially if you have Improved Familiar Handling.

[Unawares]

I'm almost at midterms on my second run, and have been spamming Longshade like crazy. Concentration isn't maxed yet, but only because of the number of steps required per level (at 8 presently I believe).

 

I didn't plan to have high Luck this time, but it's ended up quite high - I had some surprise boosts near the beginning of the year. Got the planning boost at 2. My planning is actually almost maxed... I'm working my compete skill up to make it easier to keep Durand at the front of the Merit race.

 

Starting with high Finesse I used potentially crippling runs to max running and boost Finesse even a bit more, worked my wrestling up and pushed money to about 6k and glory to 20 using grapple for the crowds. Curious to see if I can notice a difference with that level of glory, since it's not clear what glory does. Grapple also helped me hit max (or very close) in intimidation, manipulation, flawless timing and willpower. Oh, and competition too. Very nice when you get it to work. Started out with work until you drop, used that until test-taking hit 10, and by about then I think I had Longshade available.

 

Tough choice whether to stick in classes or not, especially once you already have high scores in class subjects. I have noticed classes hand out an extra skill, pheme or location but not very often.

[Metis]

How many skill steps you need for a skill level is determined by two factors. A) How high you related attribute is, and the skill's Train Modifier. Concentration is, IIRC, one of the hardest skills to raise because it has a very high TM, hence why it takes comically large amounts of skill steps to raise. And why Concentration 9 is awesome.

 

Yeah, I'd honestly like to know how the game determines who will be any given year's Merit winner, and how much rubber-banding is involved. I've had one game where Aveline Cincebeaux went nuts and Defamed Vernin 5 times. While Morvidus was first in the Merit race, and Aranaz was behind Durand. I know AI targeting is random, but that just seemed intentionally spiteful. I've also had a point in the early game where Durand was a -7 Merit. Guess who I blame for that.

 

Eh, running training courses has a chance to increase Fitness, not Finesse. And Glory, apparently, gives an invisible bonus to all rolls, but I have no idea what the difference is between 2 or 20 Glory.

 

You can skip classes all you want, it's not going to change your exam scores - those aren't based on attendance at all. Of course if you do skip classes you'll have the teachers looking for you, which will get you detention, so it has positives and negatives.

[Unawares]

Whoops, my bad I did mean to say Fitness not Finesse.

 

Yeah, detentions start to pile up a bit too much if you completely ignore classes. Last run through I was mostly in class up to midterms, and then quickly switched over to almost never in class afterward. That balance seemed ok, not too many detentions. And it seems you can learn stuff in detention, so it's not all bad.

[Metis]

Yeah, common mistake.

 

Yeah, what you can learn depends on the teacher, and some increases aren't as obvious as others. Remember what Oan tells you at the start, though - get too many detentions, and you're going to run into increasingly more annoying trouble.

[Unawares]

Yeah, I'd honestly like to know how the game determines who will be any given year's Merit winner, and how much rubber-banding is involved. I've had one game where Aveline Cincebeaux went nuts and Defamed Vernin 5 times.

 

Yeah, funny you should mention Aveline - the defames have started in my current run. She's like the opposite of a cheerleading team.

 

Was thinking it would be nice to knock her out of commission. At least a little. With that in mind, I just attempted a Positive Alteration of Organic Matter. But it comes up aimed at me, with no option to aim it at anyone else!! Is there a trick to this, or is it a bug?

[Schwarzbart]

Sadly only the advanced version of Positive Alteration of Organic Matter let you target some one else for the damage but this is beyond the scope of year 1.

[Metis]

Train up Astrology and Incantation until you learn Wrath of the Comet's Tail. Deals more damage than Positive Alteration of Organic Matter, and the threshold is less than half as high. It does roll Luck/Incantation rather than Intelligence/Theory of Revision, but that's only a problem if you want to add a bunch of Phemes. And if Wrath of the Comet's Tail needs extra Phemes, you need a different plan.