In Progress LP Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - Anglo-American alliance (Update 6)

[Kosmonaut]

Paris in the fall. The last months of the year, and the end of the millennium. The city holds many memories for me. Of cafés, of music, of love... and of death.​

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Table of Contents​

• Introduction​
• Chapter 1 - Killer Klowns from Outer France​
  • Part 1: Surviving the bomb and the police
  • Part 2: I’m Nicole Collard, from 'La Liberté'
  • Part 3: Following the trail of clown leftovers
  • Part 4: The asshole tailor from Panamá
  • Part 5: Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnn!!!
  • Part 6: Anglo-American alliance

So, it seems that there’s no LP on the Codex for this game, or my Google-fu is really bad and I can’t find it. Whatever, if Crusader Kings 2 has dozens of LP, why should be a problem another Broken Sword thread, right?​

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Spoiler

Obligatory Wikipedia intro:​

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Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (also known as Circle of Blood in the United States) is a 1996 point-and-click adventure game developed by Revolution Software. The player assumes the role of George Stobbart (an American tourist in Paris), as he attempts to unravel a conspiracy. The game takes place in both real and fictional locations in Europe and the Middle East.

Broken Sword leans more towards the story than the puzzles. Although this is a dialogue-heavy LP, I’m not going to write/paste all the dialogue options for all the NPC in the game, only what’s relevant for story advancement purpose, or funny. I you don’t like too much talking and prefer something more succinct just post your comments and suggestions and I’ll change this to make it shorter fuck you.​

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There’s going to be a lot of spoilers on this thread. So if you haven’t played the game and don’t want to ruin it, stay away, because I’m not going to use spoiler tags. You’ve been warned. So without further ado lets play...​

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So here's the intro of the game. It's actually pretty cool. You can check it on its full glory on this Jewtube video:​

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Shadow of the Templars was the best Broken Sword game. From here it was pure decline. The second one, Smoking Mirror, although it was a fun game, it wasn't as good as SotT. The last two games were awful (IMHO).​

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There's some conspiracy theory that the lost of quality of subsequent Broken Sword games, was because the lead writer, Dave Cummings left Revolution during Smoking Mirror development. There's even a thread about it on the 'Dex.​

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We skip a bunch of the credits...​

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Meet George Stobbart, our protagonist. An incredible annoying and meddling kwanzanian. He's on vacation through Europa, and it happens to be in Paris, the start of our very fine adventure.​

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:patriot:​

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Although at first, George's flirt with the waitress is successful, he's immediately friendzoned when the intentionally ambiguous woman meets this old gentleman.​

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Our hero's moment of depression gets interrupted by this accordion-wielding, disturbingly-looking clown.​

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This should be an emoticon on the 'Dex, by the way.​

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The clown takes the old man's briefcase, leaves the accordion, and proceeds to run out of the Café an into an alley. Maybe it was just a covert exchange of things.​

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Huh?​

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OH SHI....!!!​

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Well, it seems that our hero didn't make it. He just died in the intro sequence.​

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Nah, he was just unconscious.​

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And so it begins our adventure! Next update: Killer Klowns from Outer Paris, Part 1.​

 

[anus_pounder]

Do continue.

 

[Azira]

Killer Klowns from Paris. Would watch.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Broken Sword 1 is p cool I liked the scope, with different countries to visit and subplots therein. Especially Spain.

 

[SCO]

It's pretty funny how the Broken Sword series only declined. I liked that the first one had the quality of a (very fake but still) sense of history. The countries feel very different somehow (even more than fate of atlantis).

 

[abnaxus]

The deaths are pretty funny in this game.

And that goat puzzle is still shit.

 

[Erebus]

In the french version of the game, George has the most awesome accent ever.

 

[Kosmonaut]

And that goat puzzle is still shit.

 

[SCO]

It is shit. I would have fucking killed that fucking goat in real life.

 

[SCO]

It has a wikipedia page

Just typed 'goat puzzle' in google i'm feeling lucky.

 

[Brother None]

Oh hey. Cool.

 

[Kosmonaut]

Chapter 1 - Killer Klowns from Outer France, Part 1

In the previous chapter, our hero George Stobbart barely survived a bomb blast. In the good kwanzanian fashion, instead of contacting the local authorities, he decides to look for answers and investigate for himself why the old man was killed, and who's that misterious killer clown. So we begin...

Spoiler

Note: The game that I'm playing is the classic Broken Sword, not the directors cut. I just use the portraits from the new version. But the screen captures are from the old one. You also know the deal. The portrait represents who's talking and when the dialogue is in italics, it means that is some kind of internal monologue. Text between portraits are my comments.

As I picked myself up all I could hear was the ceaseless drone of the traffic. Life went on around me, but the explosion was to change my life forever…

Phew! The cinematic sequences end and we take control of George. After a little bit of pixel hunt, we realize that there's a newspaper that can be picked up.

The leading article referred to the visit of a Nobel prize winner from some unpronounceable Eastern European State.

: x
OK. We click a bit around, and it's just George making witty comments. Nothing important so far (well, nothing but the newspaper). We decide to enter the café (or what is left of it).

As we enter the café, we found the bodies of both the old man and the waitress. We check first the gentleman's corpse.

I tried not to meet his stare as I searched the dead man’s pockets.

Then we check the waitress, who miraculously is alive and almost unscathed.

George then gropes her helps her to take seat.

Oh, my head. Never again!

What’s your name, cheri?

George Stobbart, ma’am!

Oh… American?

:patriot: She asked the question quite innocently, but I could sense her reserve. It was something which seemed to afflict all Europeans… (butthurt)

You look like you could use a little help…

I could use a little drink! I feel sick, dizzy, and bruised - and I don’t even remember the party!

Just relax and take it easy. You’ve been knocked out…

You don’t say! What happened?

There’s been an explosion. You should try not to move.

Are you a doctor?

We lie to her.

Who?

Only one of the most brilliant medical minds on this planet. He taught me everything I know about medicine. Can you remember anything at all?

Non. I need a drink. Pour me a brandy.

Is that straight, or with ice?

Just give me the bottle with a teat on it.

I'm gonna get laid with a drunken french girl!

I guess a little drop won’t hurt.

Ah! That is better.

She knocked back the brandy as if it was water. I was glad I wasn’t picking up the check!

What about the old man - is he dead? (y)

Yes, he is.

Ah, mon Dieu! I’ve never seen a real live corpse before, except for grande-maman. That was different - she was family. Has he… gone stiff?

I shouldn’t think so. He’s only been dead a few minutes.

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We ask her about the old man.
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Note: In the above image we can see the dialogue menu and the inventory (upper icons). Instead of selecting words or sentences, you click the image of the person, thing or place you want to talk about. You can even ask the NPC about your things in your inventory when you are in this screen. As we want to know about the old man. We click the icon with the hat and glasses. You can ask the waitress about the clown and the newspaper.

Did you know the old man?

No, m’sieur, I never saw him before.

How did the old man behave?

Well… agitated. He kept looking about him - at the door, at his watch…

As if he was waiting for someone?

Yes, I suppose so. He was worried about something, that’s for sure. If you ask me, h was having an affair. He had that look about him… like a guilty husband.

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We ask her about the killer clown
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Do you remember what happened when the clown entered?

I remember that horrible tune he played all right! It was like a funeral dirge!

*I’d never liked accordion music, either.*

Did the clown speak to the old man?

No - he just laughed at him. Then he grabbed the old guy’s briefcase and ran out of the door.

Did the old man try to stop the clown?

O, he didn’t have a chance.

That’s it. That’s all I can remember.

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Well, that's all that we can do here. George can ask her about the newspaper and the briefcase, but she says nothing of interest.

We move out of the café and check if that old polish man that was digging a hole knows something.
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Stay here, mademoiselle. I’m going to look around for evidence…

Fucking chicken

The fuck? As we walk through this part we encounter a police officer who, at first sight threaten us with his gun.

Imperial Guard: Stop right there you criminal scum!

Woah - don’t shoot! I’m innocent! I’m an American!

Can’t make up your mind, huh?

Nobody likes kwanzanians.

I demand to see the American Consul!

Drop your weapons and get down to the ground!

Inspector Musse: Put that thing away, Sergeant Moue. I apologize m’sieur, but I cannot permit you to leave.

Am I under arrest?

Ah, non! I would simply like to ask you some questions. En avant - to the café! Marche!

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Damn!
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Click the goat to go to the Table of Contents.

 

[Kosmonaut]

It is shit. I would have fucking killed that fucking goat in real life.

I completely agree. That's why I raged about it. It took me several days to find how to solve the goat puzzle.

 

[SCO]

I restarted and went back to spain, convinced i'd missed a item somewhere. Motherfuckers.

 

[Modron]

Funny beat this thing years ago but have no recollection of being stalled by a goat; must have reverted to my strategy of when in doubt click the shit outta everything and been lucky.

 

[Kosmonaut]

Chapter 1 - Killer Klowns from Outer France, Part 2

In the last LP update, our annoying hero is detained by a pair of French police officers. One very aggressive and dumb, and the other smart, eloquent and laid back. We were escorted to the café, where we are going to be questioned about the explosion.

Spoiler

I wasn't even allowed to talk with the polish worker.

We return to the café (or what remains of it).

What a mess! This bombing is an outrage, is it not?

Stop that, m’sieur!

Has it occurred to you that he may be dead, Moue…?

Oui, m’sieur, but I prefer to look on the bright side... SM: Besides, I recall a case where the killer escaped by feigning death! However, in this case the man is quite dead. Clearly the killer knew of his presence and...

All we know is that he is dead.

It seemed reasonable to assume...

A great detective assumes nothing. Take Maigret for instance...

B... but he was a fictitious character, monsieur! Why, he was no more real than... than Poirot or Tintin!

That’s different, Moue - they were comedy Belgians. Anyway, it is unlikely that even you will learn much from talking to the dead. Examine the girl, and take her statement... if you can.

I doubt if she is a fit state for questioning, m’sieur. It smells t me as if she has been drinking!

As I feared. We have stumbled upon a den of iniquity, Moue.

Leave her to me, sir - I am used to handling drunken women.

I do not doubt that for one moment...

Et maintenant, to business! Your name, please?

George Stobbart. I’m from California.

And what brings you to Paris, M’sieur Stobbart?

Travel. I’m touring Europe.

You chose well. The city is most beautiful at this time of the rear, non?

Uh… yeah, I guess so - apart from the bomb blasts!

Where you in the vicinity of the café at the time of the explosion?

Yeah. I was sitting out on the sidewalk. I was lucky I wasn’t killed!

The Inspector passed over my remark with no reaction...

Did you see the deceased enter the café?

Uh… yeah.

And did he say anything to you?

Did you see anyone else in the café?

Yeah, there was a guy dressed as a clown. He was carrying an accordion.

An accordion? Bon. The picture is forming in my mind… And it is not a pretty one! Is the girl all right, Moue?

She says the American claimed to be a doctor. He forced to drink the brandy...

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What a fucking snitch. That waitress.
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I can explain everything!

Can you, m’sieur?

Almost everything.

Eh bien. I have heard enough.

What do you mean?

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Let me wrap this around my head. I'm a key witness of a terrorist attack and a murder. I saw the victim and the killer... and yet I don't know nothing? This is really suspicious.
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I hope this little incident does not spoil the rest of your vacation…

What about my personal safety? Can’t you at least give me some advice?

What can I say? Stay alert, and look out for suspicious characters...

Great advice.

I honestly believe you are in no danger, m’sieur. Should you remember anything of importance, please contact me.

That is all. You may go.

There’s not much to go on, m’sieur...

On the surface no. But what lurks inside the subconscious? If the door can only be opened...

Are you serious m’sieur? I thought your interest in psychic detection was purely academic...

Academic? You are about to witness a scientific breathrough!

Facepam indeed. We exit the café. There's nothing more to do here.

Only to find a gorgeous photographer.

George just stays there, looking as she takes pictures. Should he ask her out? :crispy:

Hi! My name’s George Stobbart...

Oh. An American, by the sound of it.

Yeah. That’s right. On holiday in Paris. Some holiday, huh?

You were here when the bomb went off?

Sure was! Sat right out front of the café!

I couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t even asked how I was feeling...

Yeah. He went inside, just before the bomb exploded. You weren’t... related to him were you?

Oh, no - nothing like that. I’m Nicole Collard, from ‘La Liberté’.

:patriot: What is that - some kind of nightclub?

Ah, no - it’s a newspaper.

You’re a reporter?

I’m a freelance photo-journalist.

Say - you could interview me. About the bombing...! you know, an eye-witness account... 'Minutes after the outrage that shook the whole of Paris...' You know - real life drama, human interest - that kind of stuff.

Did you see who planted the bomb?

I know it sounds crazy, but he was dressed like a clown!

Oh god. It’s him again...

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So, Nicole knows something about the killer! Let's ask her about him.
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Have you met the clown before?

It’s... a long story.

I have plenty of time.

Who was the guy you were supposed to meet?

His name was Plantard. I didn’t know him, but he called me last night. He said he had a story which would interest me. He asked to meet him at the café. I guess I’ll never know what wanted to tell me...

No shit Sherlock.

Not unless you have Rosso’s gift for psychic interrogation.

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George ask her about Plantard, a.k.a. the old man.
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How did Plantard get your name?

Through the newspaper - La Liberté. I’d written an article linking two unsolved murders, one in Italy, the other in Japan. The cases were remarkably similar... a wealthy victim, no apparent motive, and a costumed killer. Plantard said he could supply me with more information.

Why do you want to get involved?

Because he almost killed me! Isn’t that reason enough?

I guess so. Listen...

You help me with my story and I’ll let you in on what I know. And let’s get one thing straight right now... This is strictly business.

I have to go to develop these pictures. A bientôt, m’sieur...

Fine. I’ll uh... see you soon.

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OK. So now we met Nicole Collard, the co-protagonist. I know it because the appears prominently in the game box art. George has Nico's phone number, but if he wants to talk to her (and try to romance this companion) he needs to find first something to help her story.
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Click the goat to go to the Table of Contents.

 

[Erebus]

This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, as long as by "friendship" you mostly mean "sexual tension".

 

[Brother None]

Great stuff, Kosmonaut.

 

[Kosmonaut]

Great stuff, Kosmonaut.

Thanks Bro None. This is my first LP, and I know there's room for improvement, but I had to start somewhere.

To everybody reading this. Checking some of the new LP, it seems that now the updates are hidden between spoiler tags, why is that? Should I follow suit?

 

[Azira]

The reason for the spoiler tags is that it hides the images while they're loading. It's handy when there are several image-heavy updates on the same page.

So whether you should do it depends on how image-heavy your updates are, and how many updates to a page you'll end up posting.

I use them. I like them. But then again, I'm weird.

 

[Kosmonaut]

I'm preparing another update. How many post does a page needs to have to move to the next one? I don't want to post it in this page.

Edit: Well it seems that is 25 post per page.

 

[Brother None]

Seems so, yes.

Bumpan'

 

[Kosmonaut]

Bumpity Bump!

 

[Brother None]

Bumper bumps.

 

[Kosmonaut]

Chapter 1 - Killer Klowns from Outer France, Part 3

Just a quick recap. In the previous update George met Nicole Collard, who is a mixture of co-protagonist and romanceable companion. We managed to get her phone, but we first need to find more clues of why the café was bombed and why Plantard (the old man with the briefcase) was killed. And that's precisely what we will do next.

Spoiler

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Before we leave the café, we talk with Sergeant Moue. Most of the talk is banal, shit, boring. The only interesting thing is when George ask him about Inspector Rosso (supposed) psychic powers.
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Exactly. This is very suspicious. Maybe Inspector Rosso was casually passing by, or Parisine police is really really fast and efficient. But if we remember, Rosso also was happy that George didn't "know anything" about the bombing. Rosso shouldn't be trusted.
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Inspector Rosso’s sources are a perpetual mystery to me, m’sieur. There are some who say he has made a pact with the Devil!

And what do you think?

I think he is the Devil.

He’s ‘giving her the once over’ as you Americans say.

I hope than Rosso isn't part of the "Enrichment Squad".

What?

Once he gets his teeth into a case, nothing will shake him off.

Was he serious about all that ‘psycho-detective’ stuff?

Of course! Inspecteur Rosso is a pioneer and a visionary. His revolutionary methods, once perfected, may change the face of law enforcement forever!

I can’t see it taking of in L.A.

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As we don't get anymore useful information from Moue we go to the back alley where the killer clown ran away. Maybe we should have done that before going to the construction zone.
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We end in a dirty alley, filled with garbage, trash bins and weathered boxes.
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We look for clues inside the bins and boxes but there's nothing.
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We try to pull the manhole cover, but George isn't strong enough to open it. In this screenshot isn't visible, but when the cursor hovers over the manhole, it changes to a pair of gears. This means that we can manipulate this item somehow, and is a clear indicator that we are facing a puzzle or a door that needs a key.

Well, then we need to find something to open the cover, because maybe that's were the clown went into hiding.

So we return to talk with the polish pickaxe man.
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Hi! Can you spare a few minutes?

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Conveniently, there's a toolbox inside that tent. But when we try to open it, the polish construction worker gets angry. He also doesn't allow us to use phone. Maybe George can convince him somehow of lending him some tools if he talk more with him. Or maybe if he is distracted?
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No. It was a misunderstanding.

When he pulled that gun - cah! - I thought that was it. Those automatics pack quite a punch, you know.

He made a mistake. He thought I was a terrorist.

You? A terrorist? Ha!

He was only doing his duty, I guess. Did you see a clown come by this way?

A clown? Like in a circus?

Yeah. With make-up and a big red nose.

Ho! Those guys are funny, aren’t they?

Not in my experience.

I love the circus - especially the horses.

You haven’t answered my question. Have you seen a clown?

You think I’ve got time to watch everyone who passes by? Some of us have to work for a living.

Look, I know you’re busy, but surely you’d have noticed a clown?

I told you already, I didn’t see a thing!

He was wearing multicolored baggy trousers and make-up!

He’d be a poor sort of clown if he didn’t...

Did you see an old guy with a briefcase?

Oui. Silly old coot! D’you know what he said to me? Work fascinates me, he says. I could watch it all day. Quelle bitte! I could have knocked his block off!

Did you recognize the old man?

Non. Should I have done? Was he a celebrity?

no, but I guess he is now. His name was Plantard.

Was? He’s dead, then?

Yeah!

Now I wish I hadn’t called him what I did.

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Polish man turned out to be a chicken-hearted librul.
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Regret and remorse are strange emotions... They really bring out the hammiest actors in place.

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George don't get more information from him. He offers him the newspaper, and after a few tries, he reluctantly takes it.
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Like champagne bottle corks, non?

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He seems interested in a hand-written note in the newspaper.
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It turns out that Salah-eh Dinn isn't the real name of Andhaira. Is the name of a race horse. And he seems interested in betting on it.
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And so he leaves his place of work! With the tools and the phone unattended! George takes advantage of this and checks the tool box.
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And guess what? He finds a tool to open manhole covers. Just what we need!

Before we leave, we check the phone.
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This is the call inteface. You just click on the phone number and then enter in "phone conversation mode". We can call Nicole, but as we haven't found anything --yet-- she will just polite rebuff us. George also wrote Andhaira's name the horse's name. Let's get back to the alley.
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You just need to click on the tool and then on the cover.
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Voilà!
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We enter the expansive, clean and comfortable sewer. Notice the small red ball in the center. Obvious pickup item is obvious.
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As I picked up the plastic ball, I realized it was intended to be worn. It was the clown's red nose.

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Bingo, our first clue about the clown. Why did he leave his nose there? We don't really now, but now is ours. There's nothing more to do here, so we move to the next sewer section.
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There are two more things here that can be picked up too. We take the cloth-like thingie that is on the floor.
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I scooped up the sodden tissue. It was cold and greasy like breakfast leftovers.

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Ewwww! Used tissue stained with white, grease-like substance. But George pick it up anyways. Ok, let's get the next one.
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I took hold of the scrap of material and unsnagged it from the spike.

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So it seems that in his haste, the clown left a torn piece of cloth in the gate's pike. Nothing more to do here, so we climb the stairs an exit this sewer level.
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