HIM v1.1.4
by Thralni
And then, all was black.
Contact me at benjaminvansoldt@gmail.com
Contents
Introduction
Information/known bugs
Tips and hints
Walkthrough
Some final plot questions answered
Credits and thank you
Version history
HIM is my second scenario, the first being Where the Rivers Meet. It is also my shortest scenario. There isn't a lot to tell about HIM, except that if I do tell a bit, already very soon I might have said too much, and that HIM is an acronym that doesn't stand for "His Infernal Majesty." Basically, what makes HIM, is the fact that you don't know what HIM is. As the scenario progresses, you come to know more and more about the scenario. The way the scenario starts is also as follows: you don't know where you are. It's as simple as that.
In this scenario there is just one special ability: "End scenario," and it does just what it says it does. When you use this ability, you get the option to leave the scenario or not.
There are no know bugs at this moment. If you find a bug, don't hesitate to send me an email about it!
1) Look all around the levels. While you can in fact play this scenario without looking around any towns except town 4 (level 0), you'd probably be missing out on story elements and such, which is a pity. Plus, if you barge from level to level without looking around proparly, you'll miss hints that'll make life easier.
2) Destroy machinery if you can. For the final fight, this'll help you.
3) Keep a good eye out for scrolls.
First and foremost: realize I'm taking the shortest route here, menaing you are missing three quarters of the scenario!
First town: level -4
Once you have seen the introductory screen and have clicked through the multitude of dialog boxes, you appear in an underground place. Walk around now. After approximately 10 steps you get a dialog box. Click it away. Now walk around again, until you get an other dialog box. click that away too. Now go west, out of the round cave you have been walking around. Follow the available path. Go into the chamber, walk up to the door and up the stairs.
Second town: level -3
Now that you are here, walk through the hallway, and go into a room with a broken-down wall. Go through the openeing in the wall and follow the cave until you come to an other room. Great. Now follow the cave south until you find doors. When you go through a single door that is NOT at the very south of this town, you have to go down a corridor and then east, to some stairs. If you found a double door at the very south, go through them and find the stairs. Go up.
Third town: level -2
Right, up the stairs. should be easy enough.
Fourth town: level -1
Right, time to find some stairs. Again. They are to the very west. Simply follow the paves walkway and you'll end up at the stairs soon enough.
Fifth town: level 0
You emerge in the final town of this scenario: the big halls of the HMC on the surface. Take the first turn east and keep going straight ahead. Once you can't go east any more, go south, through the doors, and go to the shelve with scrolls. 'look' at it, and you'll get a key. Now go back the same way you came, but at the atrium (with the stairs and all) go aouth. Go through the doors and up the stairs.
The final fight: fighting against HIM.
This fight can be tough, annoying and long, if you do things the wrong way. Several hints are given to what you can do to kill off HIM, and I really recommend doing these things. First for some information on the thing you are fighting:
Remember that HIM is not actually alive. He is, first and foremost, a piece of machinery, and though you fight an organic-looking life form, this is not what he is. This means that HIM won't be affected by any mental spells and most elemental stuff won't work well either except water: you can use cold damage spells effectively on HIM, since he is machinery and machinery works with electricity.
As HIM will point out, he is made of three parts: the thing you are actually fighting (the life form on the pedestal), the two orange vats behind him and eight "memory databanks" in the room opposite the room HIM is in. To actually defeat HIM, you have to defeat the life form on the pedestal, since this is what houses HIM's brain. However, destroying the other machinery, can help you bigtime when in the final fight.
Destroying the memory banks greatly reduces the damage HIM does to you with his spells. Mental effects, like weaken, dumbfound and curse, are not affected, but actual damage dealing stuff is.
Destroying the orange vats makes HIM gradually die. With every vat you destroy, 25 HP is deducted from the total amount of HIM's HP, meaning that, if you don't actually hit him, he'll eventually die by himself. Also, if the vats are left untouched, HIM will gain 10% of his total amount of health every turn, so beware! he can get sronger if you do nothing about it.
HIM's tactics are as follows:
* First, HIM looks for the character with the highest mage skill. He tries to dumbfound this character. Whether he succeeds or not, he can only do this once every other turn, and he will only repeat it if the mage is NOT dumbfounded.
* secondly, HIM looks for a character that is 2 or less spaces away from him. If so, he attacks this one.
* if none of the above two can or need to be done, HIM simply aquires a target and uses one of three spells:
- Mental blow: damages the target with an amount between 32 and 60, unless memory banks have been damaged. With every memory bank damaged, 8 is deducted from both 60 and 120, with a max of 56 for both.
- Brain Drain: weakens, slows and charms target.
- Soul Chain: does damage with an amount between 10 and 50, except when memory databanks have been damaged. With every databank damaged, 5 is deducted from 10 and 50, with a max of 10 for 10, and 40 for 50. Also paralyzes target.
Finally, the best way to fight HIM:
1) before you even go into HIM's chamber, go to the room opposite of his chamber. You'll see machinery with crystals. Destroy those. This will make HIM's spells weaker. Beware of electrical fields!
2) now go into HIM's room and talk to him. At the end, the fight starts. Destroy the orange vats as soon as possible, for this will drain his HP! Also, is the vats are left intact, HIM can regenerate his health!
3) now the only thing you can do, is shoot arrows at him or attack him with elemental, preferably cold damage spells.
4) When HIM dies, make sure to run to the ecit of the complex as soona s possible. The exit is, from the stairs, all the way to the north.
I can very well understand if, after playing HIM, you have some questions regarding the plot. Do know that this paragraph contains massive spoilers! If you didn't play HIM yet, you are advised not to read this!
Q: So, why do I, the player, seem to act strangely? You know, the "bite it" and "stomp it" stuff.
A: Heh. Imagine: falling down quite a deep shaft (note you awake on level minus 4) isn't very good for your mental health. You'd be confused, feel lost, feel easily threatened because of your confusement. That's why you're acting "strangely" in the beginning of the scenario, and that's why this "strangeness" is going away slowly.
Q: Why doesn't HIM let me go, even though he said he wouldn't (don't shoot the messenger)?
A: Compare HIM to a manically depressed, psychotic human: its mood and decisions change very fast, and thereby also if he'll kill you or not. When he has convinced himself the world is one big lie, he kills you for it.
Q: How come HIM forgets stuff, doesn't know what happened and all that?
A: HIM has been at the HMC for a very long time. The dust, moist and mold didn't do his memory banks any good in that time...
Q: What's this stuff exactly with a wall when I try to get out of the HMC?
A: HIM i s keeping you in. As you know, HIM has the capability to speak to you with telepathy. This 'wall' is not much different: he simply creates a mental barrier, that keeps you in. You stumble upon it as if it were a real thing, but it's only something HIM makes with a strong will and much, much energy.
Q: So if he can do that, why doesn't he use it to keep me in the lowest level of the HMC?
A: That's because he doesn't have the amount of energy or power to do that. Th lowest level, even the one directly under the surface level, is underground. Apparently, this is too big a barrier for him to make an effective mental barrier.
Q: Then something else, if he cna make these barriers, why does he need iron gates to keep me in his halls while I'm fighting him?
A: Exccellent question. See, although HIM is a superthingy, he still can't handle too much on his own at the same time. So, while he is trying to kill you, he does it the easy way and simply locks you in with gates. Helps him concentrate more on the fight and all that.
Special thanks to Nikki, who pushed me into this and helped me a bit with the initial plotting and TM, who gave me valuable help with creature scripts.
Beta testers: Nikki, Terror's Martyr, Niemand, Redstart, Smoo. Thank you all for your great help!
The finished mine wall (the darkbrown with the poles) is by Luz, All other custom graphics are either from one of the Geneforge games or one of the Avernum games.
1.1.3 - Fifth beta version: fixd the irritating bug that the doors to HIM's hall wouldn't open after the fight with HIM. Also updated this readme.
1.1.2 - Fourth beta version: fixed some bugs
1.1.1 - Third beta version: fixed some bugs and improved functionality.
1.1.0 - second beta version: fixed typos and grammatcal errors; fixed bugs; added combat abilties to machinery.
1.0.0 - Initial release for beta