Let's Play Sierra Games - Quest for Glory II

[Rath Darkblade]

To start with ... I don't remember hearing all those noises when walking through the streets of Shapeir. (Knocking noises, whistling noises, etc.)

As for Keapon: yes, he mostly says gibberish. Or puns. And (mostly) they rhyme. Keapon's job (like the QfG1 gnome - I forget his name) is to be a jester. But try asking him about (oh, I don't know) water. It's a non-rhyming storm of puns.

A little tip: You can press Ctrl+T to see the time, Ctrl+M for the map, and Ctrl+S (I think?) for the compass. You can also press the "+" sign to speed up the game or the "-" sign to slow it down. (Apologies if this is obvious; I noticed you wrote "Look time", which doesn't work. Oh, and Ctrl+A is "Ask about").

You hate the map thing? I think it was originally used as copy protection. It's not that bad, is it? All right - yes, the street names can be confusing if you don't have the map that comes with the game. Doesn't the map give you the street names? Just curious.

Just an observation: I never noticed how you can stand in a someone's way and they won't move until you do.

The astrologer's house, at the Tarik of Stars, is not far from the Palace. It's one of the dead-end streets, IIRC - to the south. Aziza's house isn't far from the plaza where Keapon is -- it's to the northeast, and then (in the map) on your left. When you're walking around and reach the end of a street, you can also type "look sign" or "look street", and it will tell you what street you're on and what street you're about to turn into. That should help you navigate around.

To increase your "Comms" skill, bargain with everyone. Don't just buy things. The Communications skill is useful for saving your money, especially at the start of the game.

I noticed you tried buying the "dates stuffed with almonds". It's just "buy dates" (as in the fruit -- dates from a palm tree. They're sweet inside and healthy. Hmm ... almond-stuffed dates). You can also ask the katta about rations, and they'll sell you lizard jerky.

Looks like you had fun trying to buy the poison-cure pills. "Buy poison pill" is enough. (Sorry to be a smart-ass).

The astrologer is fun. Whatever name you give him is a name for heroes. I noticed you had some trouble telling him about yourself; you need to "tell about Spielburg". ("Spiel" is German for "play", and "burg" is "town" -- as in Pittsburgh, which means "Pitt's Town", etc. "Burg" or "burgh" come from the Anglo-Saxon word, "burh", i.e. "fortified place", and is the root of the word "borough", or suburb. Sorry, I'm a word nerd. Can you tell?)

"Tree woman was the other way". I love your humorous save-game names.

Nope, there's no need to fight the griffin. You can if you really want to, but he can fly around, is very tough, and you don't get anything if you do. (I think). So there's no point fighting him. He's not a threat.

*watches Valor the Victorious ride around the desert* Um. You can die of thirst in this game, you know. And the desert map is seriously big. I always played it safe and stayed near the town. It's easy to get lost and die of thirst or monster attacks. ("No way the map is this wide". Most of the things worth seeing in the desert are within ten screens. The only reason to go further is if you're looking for something to fight and loot. But then again, I always played a thief-with-magic-skills. The magic skills were handy, and the thief has a few quests in Shapeir to make money with. Less risky, unless you get caught!)

I'm not sure why the carpet-selling katta is here. You can't buy a carpet, and you don't need one. It's only seen at the end of the game - the flying variety.

As for the pin, all heroes get one before Raseir, but it's mainly for the thief (no spoilers).

"Forgot about the water! " Hope you didn't forget to refill your waterskin. And you can always buy extra ones - very useful.

I noticed you always sleep until dawn. In the AGDI remake of this game, if you only REST until midnight or so, you can come out and speak to Shameen and Shema (who are having a midnight snack or something?) They'll have lots of interesting things to say about their travels, how they became inn-keepers, their hopes for the future, and so on.

Just curious: why did you throw rocks at the griffin? (As the game says: "Aggressive, aren't you?") I'm not sure why he's there, except to sleep, but he's not a threat.

"Hurt bad; go rest". "Night - let's ride". Valor doesn't mess about, I see.

Um, at 6:11:30 or so, you're fighting a giant scorpion. You win, but you don't take its poison gland? Why not?

Also, the same night, I see you're running away from the monsters, but you wait up for them to catch up with you ... and then run away again. What for?

Fast forward to monster in the cage (about 7:52:00 or so) ... head of a cobra, tail of a scorpion and body of a panther. It certainly doesn't look like the head of a cobra, but it's dangerous enough!

Uh-oh. You gave him too much food and the game froze, I guess? What happened? All you have to do is give him is the dispel potion and the water. Don't have a dispel potion? Ask Harik for one. All heroes should have dispel potions. "Your saurus doesn't want to get closer to the cage"? That's because it's smart - it saw what that monster did to you when you opened the cage! (But hey, Sierra deaths are fun).

Fast forward to water elemental. You have 323 dinars and 260 centimes!!! You're rich! Richer than Elon Musk! You can buy a new car saurus katta pin (that costs 500 dinars!)

Why drop the ghoul claws? Isn't it possible to sell them all?

Ah, the EOF (Eternal Order of Fighters). I think I wrote a song about them - "EOF" (to the tune of "UHF" by Weird Al). Does the EOF Membership Badge do anything / give you anything? Or is it just for bragging rights?

Fast forward to Rasier ... ah yes, Signor Ferrari telling you a story about smuggling water. But you have water. Uh-oh.

I noticed you helped Zayishah, the Emir's daughter. (I'm surprised you didn't use the X-ray specs etc. - you don't lose honour if you do. But a fun thing to do is try to give her your clothes -- or Visa -- twice. Try it, but save your game first).

Heh. Entering the Dead Parrot Inn after you have no Visa ... and the music plays really fast. Sounds a bit like something out of Benny Hill. (10:24:36).

"This is lame - visa-less". Yes, waiting for night to fall in Raseir is my least favourite part of the game. I usually just go to the fountain plaza and wander around, back and forth, and back and forth, etc. etc. until nightfall. (I think Ferrari ignores you because you're not a thief. Maybe you can show him the thief secret sign that you learned in QfG1? Or your katta pin?)

By the way, Sharaf (i.e. the katta you meet in the jail) is also Shema's cousin, and the leader of the Rasier Underground.

Around 10:43 or so, you're trying to walk into the wind. You have to go back to the water screen and destroy that rock formation where the wind is blowing from. Then you can cross with no issues.

In the scene with Khaveen (just before the final clash with Ad Avis), you don't have to jump. You can climb down the curtain, no?

"I have magic lol". I didn't notice until nearly the fight with Ad Avis that yes, you have 93 Mana Points. But you don't cast spells. Why not? Why not buy some spells from Keapon? They'll make you INVINCIBLE!! INVINCIB -- *falls off balcony* Ow.

That Iblis sure loves his thunderbolts.

"Talk Ad Avis" - and he tells you you're carrying too much.

Yes! Running through the fire. It seems counter-intuitive, but that's the only way to beat Ad Avis. And now you're a paladin, I'm sure. On to Quest for Glory 3 (or 4)?

Thanks, Tawm! That was fun.

[Tawmis]

To start with ... I don't remember hearing all those noises when walking through the streets of Shapeir. (Knocking noises, whistling noises, etc.)

I think because it's using MUNT so the Roland thing, so it's all fancy sounds.

A little tip: You can press Ctrl+T to see the time, Ctrl+M for the map, and Ctrl+S (I think?) for the compass. You can also press the "+" sign to speed up the game or the "-" sign to slow it down. (Apologies if this is obvious; I noticed you wrote "Look time", which doesn't work. Oh, and Ctrl+A is "Ask about").

Control D, I think is to see day/time. Unless Control T gives specific time. I did find it in the menu to eventually check for the day.

You hate the map thing? I think it was originally used as copy protection. It's not that bad, is it? All right - yes, the street names can be confusing if you don't have the map that comes with the game. Doesn't the map give you the street names? Just curious.

What's confusing is if you load down/up - your orientation of the hero changes. So for example if you're walking "upward" (say towards the top of your screen) - and miss a door on your left. So you turn around - it turns your whole character and perspective around too. Just found it jaunting, because I'd have to turn the whole map around to match perspective.

Just an observation: I never noticed how you can stand in a someone's way and they won't move until you do.

Yes, NPCs do it to each other too. Somewhere in there, I say, "What are you whispering?"

To increase your "Comms" skill, bargain with everyone. Don't just buy things. The Communications skill is useful for saving your money, especially at the start of the game.

Yeah, I had so much money, I didn't bargain anything. Only thing I ever tried to bargain was the pin, which was 1000 dinars (but you get later).

"Tree woman was the other way". I love your humorous save-game names.

LOL

*watches Valor the Victorious ride around the desert* Um. You can die of thirst in this game, you know. And the desert map is seriously big. I always played it safe and stayed near the town. It's easy to get lost and die of thirst or monster attacks. ("No way the map is this wide". Most of the things worth seeing in the desert are within ten screens. The only reason to go further is if you're looking for something to fight and loot. But then again, I always played a thief-with-magic-skills. The magic skills were handy, and the thief has a few quests in Shapeir to make money with. Less risky, unless you get caught!)

Yes, to both. I did die, I think twice, due to lack of water, because I wandered in the desert. Which is why, I began going out of the city then to the left (towards the griffin). And just wander a few screens past him.

Which, feels kind of lame - because the desert is VAST - it doesn't "wrap around" like other Sierra games.
So if you lose track of where you are, you're as good as dead.
So hugging the mountain wall is the SMARTEST thing to do - but also makes it kind of lame.
But that's what I ended up doing.
Using the griffin as a marker to know how close I was.

I'm not sure why the carpet-selling katta is here. You can't buy a carpet, and you don't need one. It's only seen at the end of the game - the flying variety.

Probably like the snake charm outside of the inn. Just there to populate the area with what would logically be seen in that environment.

Just curious: why did you throw rocks at the griffin? (As the game says: "Aggressive, aren't you?") I'm not sure why he's there, except to sleep, but he's not a threat.

Wanted to see if it changed Honor, driving the griffon away. It didn't - so I restored.

Um, at 6:11:30 or so, you're fighting a giant scorpion. You win, but you don't take its poison gland? Why not?
Why drop the ghoul claws? Isn't it possible to sell them all?

At one point, he stops buying stingers from scorpions and claws of ghouls.

Also, the same night, I see you're running away from the monsters, but you wait up for them to catch up with you ... and then run away again. What for?

This was a tactic I learned in this game.
So I was out, and it was night, and my stamina was low and I had no pills.
I had been running once - ran into a ghoul and INSTANTLY died, saying it drained me of my stamina (when it hadn't even touched me).
So at night - I learned - if this happens - if something other than a ghoul is chasing you - don't out run it.
Let it keep following you - so a ghoul won't attack, as only one type of monster will ever attack you.
So if I have a scorpion following me, I know I won't run into a ghoul.

Uh-oh. You gave him too much food and the game froze, I guess? What happened? All you have to do is give him is the dispel potion and the water. Don't have a dispel potion? Ask Harik for one. All heroes should have dispel potions. "Your saurus doesn't want to get closer to the cage"? That's because it's smart - it saw what that monster did to you when you opened the cage! (But hey, Sierra deaths are fun).

Yeah I freed him - but if you give him too much food/water, the game freezes. Same as saying Iblis in the Forbidden City.
No end of game message - it just freezes.

Ah, the EOF (Eternal Order of Fighters). I think I wrote a song about them - "EOF" (to the tune of "UHF" by Weird Al). Does the EOF Membership Badge do anything / give you anything? Or is it just for bragging rights?

I think it messes you up from becoming a Paladin, because they ask you to "kill an unarmed man" (but you don't actually kill him).
When I imported to QFGIII - I had the option to come in as a Paladin, so I did.
Saved the game. Just so I have it there and ready.

I noticed you helped Zayishah, the Emir's daughter. (I'm surprised you didn't use the X-ray specs etc. - you don't lose honour if you do. But a fun thing to do is try to give her your clothes -- or Visa -- twice. Try it, but save your game first).

She's hot!

By the way, Sharaf (i.e. the katta you meet in the jail) is also Shema's cousin, and the leader of the Rasier Underground.

Yeah she tells you that.

Around 10:43 or so, you're trying to walk into the wind. You have to go back to the water screen and destroy that rock formation where the wind is blowing from. Then you can cross with no issues.

Yeah figured that out.

In the scene with Khaveen (just before the final clash with Ad Avis), you don't have to jump. You can climb down the curtain, no?

No idea. I jumped assuming that was the same way it was from the Forbidden City.

"I have magic lol". I didn't notice until nearly the fight with Ad Avis that yes, you have 93 Mana Points. But you don't cast spells. Why not? Why not buy some spells from Keapon? They'll make you INVINCIBLE!! INVINCIB -- *falls off balcony* Ow.

I got magic from the Djini. When he said "I give you three wishes." I wished for Strength, Magic, and Teleport.

"Talk Ad Avis" - and he tells you you're carrying too much.

Pretty sure that is a bug.

Yes! Running through the fire. It seems counter-intuitive, but that's the only way to beat Ad Avis. And now you're a paladin, I'm sure. On to Quest for Glory 3 (or 4)?
Thanks, Tawm! That was fun.

It didn't say I became a Paladin, but imported into QFG3 as such.

[Rath Darkblade]

What's confusing is if you load down/up - your orientation of the hero changes. So for example if you're walking "upward" (say towards the top of your screen) - and miss a door on your left. So you turn around - it turns your whole character and perspective around too. Just found it jaunting, because I'd have to turn the whole map around to match perspective.

Oh, OK. Still - if you walk past a door, it's on your left, and then you turn around ... sure, the door should be on your right. Right?

I agree it's annoying to have to turn the map around. But if you walk past a door-on-your-left, and you turn around, and it's STILL on your left ... that'd be stupid. (Unless -- oh no! -- it's a MAGIC door!)

Seriously, I never understood what those doors are there for. You can't open them. A thief can pick the locks, so they're good for lockpicking practice, but as soon as the lock is picked, the people on the other side notice and bar the door. (If you play a thief and want to break into somewhere, there are only two or three places).

Just an observation: I never noticed how you can stand in a someone's way and they won't move until you do.

Yes, NPCs do it to each other too. Somewhere in there, I say, "What are you whispering?"

They're planning to rob you blind. Either that, or they're necking (in 2D). Suddenly, Shapeir is much more liberal than we thought.

*watches Valor the Victorious ride around the desert* Um. You can die of thirst in this game, you know. And the desert map is seriously big. I always played it safe and stayed near the town. It's easy to get lost and die of thirst or monster attacks. ("No way the map is this wide". Most of the things worth seeing in the desert are within ten screens. The only reason to go further is if you're looking for something to fight and loot. But then again, I always played a thief-with-magic-skills. The magic skills were handy, and the thief has a few quests in Shapeir to make money with. Less risky, unless you get caught!)

Yes, to both. I did die, I think twice, due to lack of water, because I wandered in the desert. Which is why, I began going out of the city then to the left (towards the griffin). And just wander a few screens past him.

Which, feels kind of lame - because the desert is VAST - it doesn't "wrap around" like other Sierra games.
So if you lose track of where you are, you're as good as dead.
So hugging the mountain wall is the SMARTEST thing to do - but also makes it kind of lame.
But that's what I ended up doing.
Using the griffin as a marker to know how close I was.

The desert is big. REALLY big. I mean, you might think Shapeir is big, but that's peanuts compared to the desert. And yes, it's empty. Not much happens in a desert. That's the point.

Seriously, I think they made it that big so that no-one could just go out into the desert, wander around for a bit and find Raseir, and go "What, that's IT? Man, what a lousy tiny desert."

Like they said, you need to travel in safety with a caravan. That desert is huge.

Maybe it's supposed to make you feel like those explorers who went out and never came back. Burke and Wills, Lewis and Clark, Henry Hudson - stuff like that. If you lose your bearings, and lose your water -- next thing you know -- you lose your marbles.

Maybe the hero could have done that? Go nuts from lack of water, I mean -- like Patti in the bamboo maze, in LSL3.

Also, the same night, I see you're running away from the monsters, but you wait up for them to catch up with you ... and then run away again. What for?

This was a tactic I learned in this game.
So I was out, and it was night, and my stamina was low and I had no pills.
I had been running once - ran into a ghoul and INSTANTLY died, saying it drained me of my stamina (when it hadn't even touched me).
So at night - I learned - if this happens - if something other than a ghoul is chasing you - don't out run it.
Let it keep following you - so a ghoul won't attack, as only one type of monster will ever attack you.
So if I have a scorpion following me, I know I won't run into a ghoul.

Oh! I had no idea about that. But then, since I played a thief, I avoided the desert at night (and broke into people's houses and stole their stuff! Mwa ha ha!)

Ah, the EOF (Eternal Order of Fighters). I think I wrote a song about them - "EOF" (to the tune of "UHF" by Weird Al). Does the EOF Membership Badge do anything / give you anything? Or is it just for bragging rights?

I think it messes you up from becoming a Paladin, because they ask you to "kill an unarmed man" (but you don't actually kill him).
When I imported to QFGIII - I had the option to come in as a Paladin, so I did.
Saved the game. Just so I have it there and ready.

Ah, yes! I remember - and if you "kill the unarmed man", you can't be a paladin, so you import to QfG3 as a fighter.

I'm not sure what's the point of being a fighter. I mean, they don't get that many quests; the only quest they have, as fighters, is killing monsters. Kinda boring, isn't it?

I noticed you helped Zayishah, the Emir's daughter. (I'm surprised you didn't use the X-ray specs etc. - you don't lose honour if you do. But a fun thing to do is try to give her your clothes -- or Visa -- twice. Try it, but save your game first).

She's hot!

There's that, sure. Plus if you don't help her, it's game over, isn't it?

"I have magic lol". I didn't notice until nearly the fight with Ad Avis that yes, you have 93 Mana Points. But you don't cast spells. Why not? Why not buy some spells from Keapon? They'll make you INVINCIBLE!! INVINCIB -- *falls off balcony* Ow.

I got magic from the Djini. When he said "I give you three wishes." I wished for Strength, Magic, and Teleport.

So now you're a magic-wielding warrior. But you don't have any spells? What's the point of having magic, if you can't cast spells?

If you can't cast spells, you can't practice your magic, so your magic score won't increase. I think you get two or three spells in QfG3, and a few more in QfG4. But you won't be able to buy any until QfG5.

[Tawmis]

Seriously, I never understood what those doors are there for. You can't open them. A thief can pick the locks, so they're good for lockpicking practice, but as soon as the lock is picked, the people on the other side notice and bar the door. (If you play a thief and want to break into somewhere, there are only two or three places).

Well not just the doors - but the hallways you need to go through that are NOT at the end of a hallway.

*watches Valor the Victorious ride around the desert* Um. You can die of thirst in this game, you know. And the desert map is seriously big. I always played it safe and stayed near the town. It's easy to get lost and die of thirst or monster attacks. ("No way the map is this wide". Most of the things worth seeing in the desert are within ten screens. The only reason to go further is if you're looking for something to fight and loot. But then again, I always played a thief-with-magic-skills. The magic skills were handy, and the thief has a few quests in Shapeir to make money with. Less risky, unless you get caught!)

Yes, to both. I did die, I think twice, due to lack of water, because I wandered in the desert. Which is why, I began going out of the city then to the left (towards the griffin). And just wander a few screens past him.
Which, feels kind of lame - because the desert is VAST - it doesn't "wrap around" like other Sierra games.
So if you lose track of where you are, you're as good as dead.
So hugging the mountain wall is the SMARTEST thing to do - but also makes it kind of lame.
But that's what I ended up doing.
Using the griffin as a marker to know how close I was.

The desert is big. REALLY big. I mean, you might think Shapeir is big, but that's peanuts compared to the desert. And yes, it's empty. Not much happens in a desert. That's the point.
Seriously, I think they made it that big so that no-one could just go out into the desert, wander around for a bit and find Raseir, and go "What, that's IT? Man, what a lousy tiny desert."
Like they said, you need to travel in safety with a caravan. That desert is huge.

But they didn't need to do that. They could have it that Rasier is just not accessible no matter how far you travel - and it could easily be explained that you have to go through specific passages and do that stuff - which is why it's not accessible (no matter how much water you have).

I honestly believe that the desert has a certain X and Y length that is "set" - and the rest is just randomly generated to create the illusion of an endless desert - and it probably has a counter to count screens once you pass the "X" or "Y" to count, the hero ego needs to move that many screens back.

Ah, the EOF (Eternal Order of Fighters). I think I wrote a song about them - "EOF" (to the tune of "UHF" by Weird Al). Does the EOF Membership Badge do anything / give you anything? Or is it just for bragging rights?

I think it messes you up from becoming a Paladin, because they ask you to "kill an unarmed man" (but you don't actually kill him).
When I imported to QFGIII - I had the option to come in as a Paladin, so I did.
Saved the game. Just so I have it there and ready.

Ah, yes! I remember - and if you "kill the unarmed man", you can't be a paladin, so you import to QfG3 as a fighter.
I'm not sure what's the point of being a fighter. I mean, they don't get that many quests; the only quest they have, as fighters, is killing monsters. Kinda boring, isn't it?

Boring, sure - but they're also very durable.

I noticed you helped Zayishah, the Emir's daughter. (I'm surprised you didn't use the X-ray specs etc. - you don't lose honour if you do. But a fun thing to do is try to give her your clothes -- or Visa -- twice. Try it, but save your game first).

She's hot!

There's that, sure. Plus if you don't help her, it's game over, isn't it?

I am actually not sure.

"I have magic lol". I didn't notice until nearly the fight with Ad Avis that yes, you have 93 Mana Points. But you don't cast spells. Why not? Why not buy some spells from Keapon? They'll make you INVINCIBLE!! INVINCIB -- *falls off balcony* Ow.

I got magic from the Djini. When he said "I give you three wishes." I wished for Strength, Magic, and Teleport.

So now you're a magic-wielding warrior. But you don't have any spells? What's the point of having magic, if you can't cast spells?

Ideally (and I can't remember) - buy them in Quest for Glory III. But when i said "magic" - I thought I'd get a magic weapon. Not that he'd give me a magic points to spend. But I went with it. Just to see how that goes with Quest for Glory III.
And the import allowed me to select Paladin.

If you can't cast spells, you can't practice your magic, so your magic score won't increase. I think you get two or three spells in QfG3, and a few more in QfG4. But you won't be able to buy any until QfG5.

Oh, that's fine. I am curious to see what happens.

[Tawmis]

Quest for Glory II - Commentary, Part 1 of 8. Going to be doing these videos over the next few days and uploading them spread out.

[Rath Darkblade]

Ideally (and I can't remember) - buy them in Quest for Glory III. But when I said "magic" - I thought I'd get a magic weapon. Not that he'd give me a magic points to spend. But I went with it. Just to see how that goes with Quest for Glory III.
And the import allowed me to select Paladin.

*thinks* I am not sure if you get a magic weapon in QfG III. If your honor goes high enough, you might ... or am I thinking of that loading screen where the hero's sword blends with lightning? I think I might be, sorry.

I know that you get one in QfG4, if you do the right things and raise your honor high enough. (Being careful not to spoil).

If you can't cast spells, you can't practice your magic, so your magic score won't increase. I think you get two or three spells in QfG3, and a few more in QfG4. But you won't be able to buy any until QfG5.

Oh, that's fine. I am curious to see what happens.

OK. I know you'll get at least one spell in QfG3; the wizard gets three (or is it four? ugh, I forget), and when I played a magic-using thief, I got at least two (or was it three?)

Memory's a funny thing. Plays tricks on you. Anyway, I'll shut up and avoid spoilers.

[Tawmis]

*thinks* I am not sure if you get a magic weapon in QfG III. If your honor goes high enough, you might ... or am I thinking of that loading screen where the hero's sword blends with lightning? I think I might be, sorry.
I know that you get one in QfG4, if you do the right things and raise your honor high enough. (Being careful not to spoil).
OK. I know you'll get at least one spell in QfG3; the wizard gets three (or is it four? ugh, I forget), and when I played a magic-using thief, I got at least two (or was it three?)
Memory's a funny thing. Plays tricks on you. Anyway, I'll shut up and avoid spoilers.

Oh if I can't buy any spells, that's fine too. But even if I can get one - and raise my magic skill just to try and raise as many skills as I can to 200 (or whatever the new cap is in QFGIII).

[Rath Darkblade]

Oh, the caps? The caps in QfG games are easy.* In QfG1, you can only raise your skills to 100; in QfG2, 200, and so on.

___________________
* Yes, I realise that they're not easy if you're not aware of them

[Tawmis]

And now part 2 of my Quest for Glory II commentary. It's 30 minutes long (tried to make these digestible!) A lot of rambling, some fun facts about Quest for Glory II, and even some game play commentary. If you enjoy these, please click LIKE and SUBSCRIBE if you haven't already! <3

[Rath Darkblade]

Er, what? You import your hero, and he wakes up with 64 points (out of 500)? Where did the 64 points come from? *confused*

There could've been a brigand camp or a jackalwere pyramid, I guess, but then people would complain that the Coles were ripping off QfG1. "Give us a new challenge! RA!" etc.

Random question: towards the end of the intro, Shameen casts a spell (?) and gives the hero new, Shapeir-style clothes. It's fun, I get it, but ... how does Shameen know magic? He never cast a spell before (and never does again). So what's going on? Discuss!

As for dinars and centimes: a dinar is pronounced "dee-nar", and a centime is a French coin (link to wiki), pronounced "son-teem". It's French for 'cent'. I guess it goes back to the period before World War 2, when France nominally ruled parts of the Middle East (like Lebanon and Jordan, as well as some countries in North Africa). Oh! And when I looked at the wiki-article, I found that Algeria still uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algerian_dinar]dinars[/url], but not centimes anymore (because of their low value).

In Algeria, just like Shapeir, there were 100 centimes to the dinar (just like 100 cents or pennies in a dollar). France colonised Algeria in the early 1830s, and ruled there until 1964. Um. Sorry for the brief history lesson, I'll shut up now.

Yep, the thief gets two quests from the money changer. You can break into the armorer's and, more dangerously, break into a house in an alley somewhere and steal stuff from there. It's dangerous because once you're there, the people who live there keep coming in, and you have to find a place to hide before they do. If you don't, it's game over!

I can't say anything about DC or Marvel comics, since I don't know anything much about them. I did once collect KODT (Knights of the Dinner Table) comics, which are all about a group of guys and girls getting around a table and playing RPGs - mostly Hackmaster (a fantasy RPG), but also Aces & Eights (a Wild West RPG). It also had news about RPGs, and RPG humour, and letters to the editor etc. etc. It was (and still is) published by Kenzer and Co. I think someone animated some of the early comics (in Flash, so of course it looks primitive) and put them on YouTube. Here's the first one.

Fun fact about scorpions and ghouls: of course, everyone knows that scorpions live in deserts. But did you know that ghouls (a standard D&D monster, and yes, a character in DC comics) come from a very, very ancient (pre-Islamic, so at least before 660 A.D.) Arabic myth? Yep. There were even male and female ghouls - a male one was called ghul (pronounced "ghoul"), and a female one was called ghulah ("ghoul-ah").

Aziza isn't that judgmental. She just values politeness very highly (as do most Muslims - they take politeness, generosity and hospitality very, very seriously. That's probably also why being generous to the beggar increases your Honor). But you don't have to say farewell before leaving - a simple "bye" is enough.

Omar gives you lots of clues and backstory (but in an entertaining way). Try reading his poems out loud - they're quite good. (He reminds me of the "1001 Nights" stories - IIRC, originally these were written in poetic form, which is similar to the English "Beowulf" saga, the Viking sagas, and the French tales of Reynard the Fox).

As for warriors/paladins and the EOF - you don't have to kill the guy if you don't want to. (Not killing him is one of the prerequisites for becoming a paladin. Others are being polite to Aziza, being generous to beggars, freeing Shapeir from the elementals, and helping people who need your help like Julanar the tree-healer and Zayishah the emir's daughter, etc. Basically? Go out of your way to be helpful and generous, don't steal or murder unarmed opponents, and don't be a jerk).

You train with Uhura ("Oo-hoo-ra"). She is a reference to Lieutenant Uhura on the Original Star Trek.

You stay by the mountains ... and you get back to the vulture? Don't you mean the griffin?

Fun video, Tawm.

[Tawmis]

Er, what? You import your hero, and he wakes up with 64 points (out of 500)? Where did the 64 points come from? *confused*

You clearly didn't listen to the audio?
If you look at the thumbnail it says part 2 of 8.
So the video is spliced into 8 pieces for the audio. So the 64 points is because in part 2 ... I think it starts on Day 3.

There could've been a brigand camp or a jackalwere pyramid, I guess, but then people would complain that the Coles were ripping off QfG1. "Give us a new challenge! RA!" etc.

Who would be upset about something more to the desert than the Dervish (just a few screens south), the griffin (right by the city, a few screens to the left) and the woman who is a tree (a few screens to the right) and the beast who is just a screen left and two (I think?) down from the griffin? The desert felt very bland. For example, even in King's Quest 5 there was an encampment out there to be found. Wish they'd done that.

Something - anything! - to show where all these brigands were coming from.

Random question: towards the end of the intro, Shameen casts a spell (?) and gives the hero new, Shapeir-style clothes. It's fun, I get it, but ... how does Shameen know magic? He never cast a spell before (and never does again). So what's going on? Discuss!

Could be he's always had magic, but doesn't care to use it.

As for dinars and centimes: a dinar is pronounced "dee-nar", and a centime is a French coin (link to wiki), pronounced "son-teem".

I am sure in part 3 of the commentary (which I've not started yet), I am going to pronounce it wrong again if I mention it. lol

Yep, the thief gets two quests from the money changer. You can break into the armorer's and, more dangerously, break into a house in an alley somewhere and steal stuff from there. It's dangerous because once you're there, the people who live there keep coming in, and you have to find a place to hide before they do. If you don't, it's game over!

Yeah, so I remembered correctly about the Money Changer.

I can't say anything about DC or Marvel comics, since I don't know anything much about them. I did once collect KODT (Knights of the Dinner Table) comics, which are all about a group of guys and girls getting around a table and playing RPGs - mostly Hackmaster (a fantasy RPG), but also Aces & Eights (a Wild West RPG). It also had news about RPGs, and RPG humour, and letters to the editor etc. etc. It was (and still is) published by Kenzer and Co. I think someone animated some of the early comics (in Flash, so of course it looks primitive) and put them on YouTube. Here's the first one.

Yeah - I am not gonna post all 12 parts to it - but I took the art from KotDT (because I can't draw) and changed the names and made my own dialogue based on our D&D sessions from like 1998... I was making these like a few days after each session, so they all have "inside jokes" that were meant for the folks in the game... but some of it is still funny even if the entire reference isn't known... this is the first one...
http://neverendingnights.com/archives/950

Aziza isn't that judgmental. She just values politeness very highly (as do most Muslims - they take politeness, generosity and hospitality very, very seriously. That's probably also why being generous to the beggar increases your Honor). But you don't have to say farewell before leaving - a simple "bye" is enough.

Yeah she phrased it as "It is polite to say farewell when leaving the table..." So I always did farewell. Didn't wanna chance it.

As for warriors/paladins and the EOF - you don't have to kill the guy if you don't want to. (Not killing him is one of the prerequisites for becoming a paladin. Others are being polite to Aziza, being generous to beggars, freeing Shapeir from the elementals, and helping people who need your help like Julanar the tree-healer and Zayishah the emir's daughter, etc. Basically? Go out of your way to be helpful and generous, don't steal or murder unarmed opponents, and don't be a jerk).

So it was just the "killing the unarmed" guy is what undid me from being awarded Paladin in QFG2?

You train with Uhura ("Oo-hoo-ra"). She is a reference to Lieutenant Uhura on the Original Star Trek.

Yeah, that's what I muttered somewhere in the video, about her being a reference to the ST character.

[Rath Darkblade]

Er, what? You import your hero, and he wakes up with 64 points (out of 500)? Where did the 64 points come from? *confused*

You clearly didn't listen to the audio?
If you look at the thumbnail it says part 2 of 8.
So the video is spliced into 8 pieces for the audio. So the 64 points is because in part 2 ... I think it starts on Day 3.

Oh, I understand that it's part 2. But since we see the carpet flying in, the USS Enterprise etc.. I thought you were starting a new game ... so where did those points come from?

There could've been a brigand camp or a jackalwere pyramid, I guess, but then people would complain that the Coles were ripping off QfG1. "Give us a new challenge! RA!" etc.

Who would be upset about something more to the desert than the Dervish (just a few screens south), the griffin (right by the city, a few screens to the left) and the woman who is a tree (a few screens to the right) and the beast who is just a screen left and two (I think?) down from the griffin? The desert felt very bland. For example, even in King's Quest 5 there was an encampment out there to be found. Wish they'd done that.

Something - anything! - to show where all these brigands were coming from.

Desert brigands could come from anywhere, but it'd make a lot of sense to have them camped around an oasis. You're in a desert, so stay close to water ... doesn't take a genius.

Maybe the brigands could have their own oasis and their own encampment, which would give you a quest! The brigands are assaulting the dervish's oasis to get his water. Come and save him. Once you do, you find a map leading you to the brigands' oasis. You assault it to find out what they want. The Brigand King(TM) captures you and tells you his master plan: the brigands want control of all the water between Shapeir and Raseir. If they have that, then the brigands could stop all the caravans between the two cities and charge them a toll for the water!

And now that he's told you his Secret Master Plan(TM), he puts you in an Overly-Complicated-Death-Trap-That-You-Can-Escape-From, James Bond Style.

Or it might just be that I'm reading a book about the Bond books and films, and how the science in those films would actually work (or not) in real life.

As for warriors/paladins and the EOF - you don't have to kill the guy if you don't want to. (Not killing him is one of the prerequisites for becoming a paladin. Others are being polite to Aziza, being generous to beggars, freeing Shapeir from the elementals, and helping people who need your help like Julanar the tree-healer and Zayishah the emir's daughter, etc. Basically? Go out of your way to be helpful and generous, don't steal or murder unarmed opponents, and don't be a jerk).

So it was just the "killing the unarmed" guy is what undid me from being awarded Paladin in QFG2?

Pretty much. But I thought you spared him?

If you spare him, you can be a paladin. If you kill him ... sorry, too bad.

[Tawmis]

As for warriors/paladins and the EOF - you don't have to kill the guy if you don't want to. (Not killing him is one of the prerequisites for becoming a paladin. Others are being polite to Aziza, being generous to beggars, freeing Shapeir from the elementals, and helping people who need your help like Julanar the tree-healer and Zayishah the emir's daughter, etc. Basically? Go out of your way to be helpful and generous, don't steal or murder unarmed opponents, and don't be a jerk).

So it was just the "killing the unarmed" guy is what undid me from being awarded Paladin in QFG2?

Pretty much. But I thought you spared him?
If you spare him, you can be a paladin. If you kill him ... sorry, too bad.

You actually never kill him, even if you choose to attack him. You discover you have fake weapons and it's all a test.
But still, pretty sure that's what undid me as a Paladin, since he was technically "defenseless."

[Rath Darkblade]

Oh. Since you wanted to be a Paladin (I think), maybe reload and try again? Or did you manage to become a Paladin in the end?

[Tawmis]

Oh. Since you wanted to be a Paladin (I think), maybe reload and try again? Or did you manage to become a Paladin in the end?

Rakeesh did not speak for me, so no Paladin.
However, when I imported into QFGIII - I had the option to import as a Paladin, which is what I did.
So I will just go from there.