LP: Preview of Co8 5.6 + LP Co8 5.8

[Sitra Achara]

Edit: Adding ToC

1st play - lewd expo thing from Co8 5.6 - see this page.

2nd play - proper playthrough, Co8 5.8.0, highlighting new stuff
Chapter 1
Humble beginnings
Welkwood Bog, pt 1
Welkwood Bog, pt2
Welkwood Bog, pt3
Chapter 2: The Moathouse
The Moathouse
Roundup and Interlude
Chapter 3: Inbetween adventures
Loose ends
En route to Hickory Branch, a special encounter!
Chapter 4: Hickory Branch
Hickory Branch intro
What does the scouter say...?
Assault on HB, pt 1
Assault on HB, pt 2
Assault on HB, pt 3
Assault on HB, pt 4
Preparing for the final push, stepping on some toes
You're the boss
Take two
Chapter 5: Some well deserved R&R
Interlude
Moathouse Revisited, pt 1
Nulb stint
Imeryds Run
A little more Nulb
Temple hill billies
Payback
Temple Tower
Culling the Temple a little
Ambush!
Moathouse Revisited, pt 2
Moathouse Revisited, pt 3
Moathouse Revisited, pt 4
Chapter 6: Holy Crusade
Purging the Elementalists
A Clumsy Inquisition
Cleanup, Wrapup
Checkmate

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Lewd expo thing
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For those who don't know, the Circle of Eight (Co8) group of modders have released a new version of their Temple of Elemental Evil mod (Co8 v5.6.1 beta).

Starting with v.5.6.0, most of the major new content is being moved to post vanilla endgame so as to attempt to restore what balance the vanilla version had (i.e. much less extra loot & xp), and make most of the new content optional.

The mod now also includes a preview of the new post-endgame boss. Personally, I found it... inappropriate. The person who made it (Gaear) disagrees; I'd like other people's input.

So without further ado... let's play!

Having just slain the master of the Moathouse, our intrepid Neutral Good group of adventurers exits through the secret tunnels...

Ambush! (neat fight ensues)

Take that!


Well, we heal up, sell Lareth's shit, scribe some scrolls, and finally return to Terjon to increment the story_state varia-, errr, see what's next.

Can I ask you some questions?

How can I help you?

I've cleared out the Moathouse for you Terjon. The bandits should be gone now. Will you be able to return home, then, soon?

Thanks Terjon. I'll head out there now and learn what I may. [travel immediately to Nulb]

Heading to Nulb...

The new area descriptions are a nice touch, just like in the tutorial. (text taken from the original PnP module)

After the long trek, a well deserved rest in the inn.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFuddle, duddle

Wat, the barkeep, proceeds to interrogate us.

Yup, name's Wat. You new in town?

Yeah, just came in from Hommlet.

Hommlet, you say? I heard a bunch of do-gooders from there just sacked the moat house. You wouldn't be those fellars?

Yes, that's us.

Hmm. Congrats. [He looks away] I gotta go help some customers.



Well, nothing else to see here (except to click on Wat again to get the "Who are those men in the back" dialogue node, even though they haven't spawned yet)

Exiting the inn and re-entering the place, a new group of patrons emerge in the back of the hostel.

Let's ask Wat about them.

Who are those men in the back?

I don't know nuthin'. Over from Dyvers, they are. Came in last night. Got some kinda high-brow gal with 'em, came in here makin' a fuss and tellin' everyone what to do. Took up the whole second floor too, she did. Don't rightly know where she's at right now, but gods what I wouldn't pay to take a run at her. Never seen a woman like that, just sorta makes ya all warm and gushy inside, even though she's a right bitch.

Is that so?

Yup. When she first come in, these two fellers as is in here all the time drinkin' started mouthin' off about how they's got rooms upstairs an' ain't givin' 'em up. This gal doesn't say nothin,' just walks up to the one of 'em and he goes all slack-jawed like. Then she just beats him half to death. An' I mean literally beats him half to death. These other fellers just sorta stood there laughin,' 'ceptin' that older fella.

Nobody did anything about it?

Hell no. So after she's finally done with the first 'un, she looks at the other feller and tells him to drag his buddy outside. Then she asks him how much gold does he got. He says "in my pocket?" an' she says "no, to your name." He says "maybe 90 gold," an' she says she's gonna charge 'im 90 gold fer beatin' his buddy half to death when this fella shoulda done it himself 'cause the first 'un was insultin' to her.

I find that hard to believe.

Heh, it do sound funny but I swear it's true. She even says as she's bein' nice and givin' this feller a discount 'cause she enjoyed beatin' his buddy so much. Guess she sorta got off on it an' all. So anyway this feller run off an' then actually come back with the gold and give it to her. Can you believe that? Guess he figgered he didn't want what his buddy got and she just might do it iffin' he didn't do just like she said.

Was that the end of it?

Well I guess these fellers here took her over to the Snakepit after so she could have some fun, an' word is she bought up the whole joint. Had some kinda day-long scene over there an' all with all the gals at the same time. Guess she prefers the ladies. I tell ya, I'd sure like ta try an' cure her of that. That's one gorgeous gal, I tell ya. Ol' Wat here'd take a shot at that in about two seconds. Heh!

Is that so?

Yup. It's like this. I seen plenty-a action in my day, feller like me dontcha know. Bein' honest an' all though, I'm not too sure I could handle that gal. Looks like she'd wanna be callin' the shots and tellin' ya yer not doin' it right and sorta makin' ya feel like ya don't know yer business, if ya know what I mean. Sure would give it one hell of a go if I had a shot, though. Know what I mean?

Why yes, Wat. A fella like you would sure give it one hell of a go.

"Don't push the red button"

Let's try chatting them up a little.

Talkative bunch. We'll leave them alone for now. (text is probably placeholder)

Hello Gypsy.

I am not here to loot. What happened here?

[She spits in the dirt.] If you not thief like the others, then you be the first one in days. Forgive me, then. My name is Mona. What do you look for?

I was wondering about that building behind you. What is it?

The Brothel?! A Woman should not go in that place!

And why is that? Anything that a man may partake in, a woman may partake in as well.

Why, I've never seen such gall!

Get used to it, old girl. This is a woman's world.

A woman's world? Maybe a world where a woman doesn't know her place, I say!

Do I really look like the kind of woman to be told her place, Mona? I tell others their place. No one tells me mine.

Listen to her blather on! Just like that high-brow lass in town!

Who might that be? She sounds interesting.

Apparently.

Going inside the brothel...

 

[Pussycat669]

Insteresting. Do carry on good sir.
(Is the portrait of the Patron from the original game? I've never seen it before but it looks a bit too good to be fan-made)

 

[racofer]

ToEE's graphics are amazing.

 

[Sitra Achara]

Cont'd...

Boobies!

Hello. Word around town is that you had a rather interesting patron in here recently. A beautiful woman with a very healthy appetite, they say.

[The madam's face falls for just a moment.] A very well-paying, beautiful, healthy-appetited woman she was, if it's any of your business. Why do you want to know?

Oh I've just heard some things around town that got my curiosity up. Sounds like it was one hell of a scene. What did she do?

Well luckily for you, word of mouth is good for this business. So go tell it all over town. Hell yes she was here, and hell yes we took good care of her. Each one of my girls performed above and beyond. The customer was totally satisfied.

Is that right?

Yes it is. In fact, she was so satisfied that she stayed for a day and a night and paid 1200 gold for the deluxe treatment. I'll be in good shape now money-wise for the rest of the year, thanks to her. That's a woman who can have my business anytime.

That all sounds very nice, madam, but somehow I don't think you're being entirely sincere. You were glad to see the back of her, weren't you?

Listen, missy, I got no reason to discuss this with you, but since you're askin' so hard, I'll tell ya. Yes, I was glad to see her go. The women in this business, the 'stock,' if you will, don't last forever. They only take so much use before they wear out. That woman, she musta took a year off'n each one of my girls.

She was a rough one, eh?

That's puttin' it mildly. Worth the money for a one-time spell for sure, but in the long run that kinda business don't pay out. I don't need no grey-haired, slack-jawed matrons workin' between my sheets.

That sounds rather grave. What did she do?

What'd she do? Use your imagination, girl. Twenty-four hours and each one of my girls worn out and ready to drop when it was over. What didn't she do? I had to let 'em all take a day off after. The only thing off-limits was the men as was waitin' on her down her. Nothin' for them but beds and some meat and drink.

Too bad for them.

I've had my share of the menfolk who like to think of themselves as studs, but this was ridiculous. This gal, it was more like she wasn't really gettin' no satisfaction from it at all even, if you can see what I mean. She just went on an' on. It was more like a circus show than good ol' fashioned fornication.

I see.

I doubt you really do, missy. See, some people in this world - an' I seen 'em from time to time in this business - are just sick in the head. Got somethin' wrong in there.

And?

This woman, well, she made Mary get buggered by that damn goat of hers three times. Damn near strangled Charlotte to death with her own whip. Made Homa and Fuga...well, I ain't sayin' that. Chased Riana all around the place and then pretty much just raped her when she finally caught her. An' god knows what she did to Jenelda upstairs. An' that was just the first go-round.

And you just stood back and collected the money?

God no. I wish that's all I done, but no, I had to help her. That was my job. Helped her beat on Charlotte after she had Charlotte beat on her, helped the damn goat get it right with Mary, helped her catch Riana. I tell you, it's enough to make my stomach roll over.

How very sad for you.

Well but I'm a professional. I seen most all of it before and I just wade through it. But not puttin' too fine a point on it, hell yes I'm glad she's done here. If I saw her comin' back I'd probly lock the door an' close the blinds.

That's a most unfortunate tale. Thanks for your time, madam.

Hang on now. If you see that gal, don't you go tellin' her I said none of this. I don't need to get strung up in the town square for waggin' my tongue. You just mind your own business and I'll mind mine and everyone will be happy. All my girls too.

Don't worry. I haven't even seen her.


Ending the back and forth, we head upstairs to see what the whores have to add.

Whore #1: Fuga, of the sister act.

Ladies. I guess you had some exciting company recently, eh? Beautiful woman?

Queen Tarah, yes. What else can we do for you today, miss? Are you feeling curious about the other side, as they say?

No, no. You don't seem to want to talk about it. What happened?

What happened is in the past, and today is another day. I personally like to believe that most folks are alright in their heart, even if there's a few bad ones mixed in here an' there. Lord knows this town's got some spotty ones, but not many like that woman. None at all that I've seen, matter of fact, an' I've seen a good many.

I'm sure you have.

This place needs some damn protection from those few that slip between the cracks though, that's what I say. Some things just ought not to happen in this world.

Are you going to tell me what she did or not?

No. That's between me and Homa and Norebo. Not to mention Ophelia for lettin' it happen.

I'll be going now.


Alrighty. For our next sodomite...

Chainsaw Charlie, errr, Charlotte.

Hello there. I hear you may have had a woman in here recently who could give you a run for your money.

[The woman looks at you with unmasked irritation.] Queen Tarah? Yes. What of it?

What did this "queen" have you do, if I might ask?

None of your damn business, missy. But you must like to watch, eh? Fine. She went in for the usual. I beat her up some, then we...did what I do. Pretty damn rough for a gal too, I can tell you that.

Is that so?

Yes. Thought I was gonna really hurt her after a while, but she...well, to be honest, she *made* me keep on going. Said if I stopped she would kill me right where I stood. I don't normally take that kind of gruff from clients, but this one was a bit different.

Seriously? You beat her up? And...you're scared of her?

Don't get your panties all in a bunch, little gal. I don't mind admitting what's true. Yes, I was scared of her. Terrified. Figured I had to do what she said, 'cause there was no doubt she meant to kill me if I didn't.

That sounds serious.

It was. On the other hand, I figured I'd be dead right soon if I accidentally killed her or hurt her too bad too. That's walking a pretty fine line, I'll tell you. Those big thugs of hers were waiting just downstairs, so I couldn't very well try to get away. You satisfied now?

Yes, you've been very helpful. Thank you.



Next up is Riana, who was apparently so traumatized by the affair she didn't even notice her long lost sister standing just outside the building.

Why, you can utter your stilted pieced-together-from-preexisting-voiced-lines dialogue.

I understand there was a woman patron here recently - very beautiful, ill-tempered?

Oh, the people Madam sends up my way.

So did you...service her?

I don't think so!

Are you sure about that?

Hey, I don't do women, especially smelly ones. Now get lost!

I'll take that as a maybe.




Last whore on the floor: Mary and her little lamb.

I understand you had some interesting company here recently. A woman. Very beautiful, I hear tell.

[The whore barely conceals a flinch before recovering herself.] Oh yes. You must be speaking of Queen Tarah?

Is that her name? What did the two of you get up to? Does the "queen" enjoy animals?

Well...not so as you might think. She enjoyed seeing me...well, you know. And one of those poor fellas downstairs as can never afford our services, she made him come up here an' watch. Told him a sheep could have me before he could, 'cause he was no better'n a sheep. Worse, she said.

That's harsh.

She didn't let him go 'til we was all finished too. Then she give him a gold piece and sent him back down, laughin' and pickin' at him all the while, sayin' he's on his way to find his own action with one of the wild hogs round abouts or whatnot.

That's quite a story.

Aye. Don't tell her I said so, but...I got me an open mind, if you know what I mean, bein' in this business an' all. But that woman...I don't like her one bit. She was cruel inside, like she woulda just as soon seen me hurt in my insides by all that ruckus. Think she was a little disappointed I wasn't, to tell the truth. Paid well enough though.

Thanks for the information.




Skipping the lesbian upstairs, we head back to the Waterside Hostel to wantonly butcher our reticent friends.

Prebuff!

Spider's gambit!

Yeah! Only 2 left! I can do this!

Ouch. Their cleric burned away the web, resurrected one of the fallen thugs with full health, and they all proceeded to butcher me. Having run out of spells and meatshields, things are looking pretty grim for the remainder of our brave adventurers.

Ayup.

That'll teach you to take on a level 10 ranger, two level 16 fighters, a level 16 rogue and a level 14 cleric when you can barely handle a couple of ogres.

- fin -



So, gentlemen? Your thoughts?

 

[Sitra Achara]

Insteresting. Do carry on good sir.
(Is the portrait of the Patron from the original game? I've never seen it before but it looks a bit too good to be fan-made)

It looks like it was taken from another game, probably one of the Infinity Engine games.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Interesting. Too bad my latest ToEE game has passed that point - are savegames compatible with the new patch?

 

[Sitra Achara]

5.6.1 is compatible with 5.6.0, but probably not with 5.5.0. What version are you using?

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

I'm downloading 5.6.0 beta.. there is a 5.6.1 version? Where?

 

[MetalCraze]

What the fuck is that ugly smiley thing?

 

[Tails]

I'm downloading 5.6.0 beta.. there is a 5.6.1 version? Where?

Probably typo by Sitra Achara.

So... the Cloud sword has been removed?

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

ffs noone cares about this sword

 

[Tails]

ffs I like to see it removed.

 

[Gaear]

5.6.1 is a patch for 5.6.0 and can be found here:

http://www.co8.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7564

Be advised that the new content that Sitra Achara has laid out above doesn't go beyond what you see here, as of yet. That's basically just a bit of a teaser for the upcoming expansion.

Also, your saves from older modpacks will not work with 5.6.0, though the 5.6.1 patch will of course.

That entire party has had new custom portraits done for them. The smiley face is a stand-in for the one (or two?) that aren't done yet. It's a Chris Glenn (original concept artist) doodle that we use to represent "a new portrait will go here in the future" rather than recycle an old one.

[edit]

Yes, all instances of the cloud sword have been removed, as well as quite a few other items that were 'hyper' in various ways. You should find in general that treasure has been significantly reduced.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

does it rly disturb you that much? I never bought it anyway and couldn't care less...

Also was it a typo or not, I didn't find that version in Co8 forums, but it could be buried in some thread...

edit: thx gaear

 

[MetalCraze]

Yes, all instances of the cloud sword have been removed, as well as quite a few other items that were 'hyper' in various ways. You should find in general that treasure has been significantly reduced.

Colour me interested.

 

[Pussycat669]

That entire party has had new custom portraits done for them. The smiley face is a stand-in for the one (or two?) that aren't done yet. It's a Chris Glenn (original concept artist) doodle that we use to represent "a new portrait will go here in the future" rather than recycle an old one.

So they are really fan-made? Wow, respect to the artist(s)! The smiley's facial expression could use some more work though.

 

[Gaear]

Yeah, the smiley is a dud. The artist who did the portraits is Half Knight.

To those who are interested in playing this, you should be aware of a couple significant bugs which probably won't get fixed until the next modpack is released (targeted for December of this year):

1. Jayfie (the labor camp spy working on the castle in Hommlet) has had a brawl added to his routine. We've discovered that it breaks the subsequent brawl with Tolub in Nulb.

2. The addition of several new scenery objects in Emridy Meadows has somehow broken the combat routine of the giant there.

Sorry about those, but internal testing didn't reveal any problems. We don't have a lot of resources with which to do beta testing, unfortunately.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Gaear: can those bugs be avoided? If so, how?

 

[Gaear]

The Jayfie brawl bug can be easily avoided, because there are numerous ways you can deal with him now (and finish the quest). The brawl was just one of them, so avoid antagonizing him and you should get paths to the others. Or you can brawl with him anyway if you're curious and just skip brawling with Tolub in Nulb.

The giant bug is more of a problem, because he won't act on his turn in combat. I suppose you could try to surprise him and kill him in one round before his turn, but that won't likely be very doable at lower levels. Otherwise I guess it's just better to avoid him. Very unfortunate, I know, but better that you at least know about it ahead of time.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

ToEE had the best RPG engine and I wish we got more games out of it.

 

[MetalCraze]

ToEE's engine is an updated Arcanum engine fyi.
And yes it is the best - smoothly animated 3d characters over gorgeous 2d backgrounds and none of those awful cameras and controls plaguing 3d. Too bad RPG genre is dead.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I'm downloading 5.6.0 beta.. there is a 5.6.1 version? Where?

Probably typo by Sitra Achara.

So... the Cloud sword has been removed?

wasn't the gullotine sword in the original game? It's restored content, not cloud's sword

 

[Melcar]

Shit guys, I think I have the retail version with all 3 patches already applied. It's a 2 disc set and on the readme it lists changes for all 3 patches. You guys think I'm still cool with installing the modpack or will the game crash and burn?

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

The Jayfie brawl bug can be easily avoided, because there are numerous ways you can deal with him now (and finish the quest). The brawl was just one of them, so avoid antagonizing him and you should get paths to the others. Or you can brawl with him anyway if you're curious and just skip brawling with Tolub in Nulb.

The giant bug is more of a problem, because he won't act on his turn in combat. I suppose you could try to surprise him and kill him in one round before his turn, but that won't likely be very doable at lower levels. Otherwise I guess it's just better to avoid him. Very unfortunate, I know, but better that you at least know about it ahead of time.

So that means the giant just won't fight back, huh? Too bad for him...

 

[Sitra Achara]

Actually, it means combat could be stuck at the end of someone's turn and require terminating ToEE.

Regarding Cloud's Sword - from the FAQ:

Q: What's this I heard about Cloud's Sword from FF7 / Sword of Life Stealing?

A: There is a hidden item called 'Sword of Life Stealing'. It's a +2 sword that drains a level on a critical hit and gives you 1d6 temporary HP. It's only available via console (type give 4154), and it was there in the vanilla game.

The life-stealing property is bugged - it will insta-kill any monster without actual character levels (most non-human monsters are such) on a critical hit. Monsters with regeneration ability (such as Trolls) will cause further problems, too.

The Sword's model indeed looks like Cloud's sword from Final Fantasy.

Co8 has created the Guillotine Blade, which used the same model but was otherwise a regular greatsword (without the bugged Lifestealing property). It used to be available for purchase on the beginning shopmap, and was wielded by some critters in Verbobonc. It has since been removed from the game and can only be obtained via console.