🚀 go-pugleaf

SPOILER ALERT  -- re last moments in QFG4, uncensored spoiler-laden
discussion of how endgame went for me ("thief"); if you've not gotten
this far, proceed at your own risk and don't blame me if you read
something you'd rather not have!!!!
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knj...@worldnet.att.net (Nicholas Jong) wrote:

(my half-baked advice snipped)

>When I picked up Erana's staff, I claimed it as my own (this is
>automatic). That means it doesn't go to my inventory. Instead, it goes
>to wherever that realm is that magic staves go, and I can cast a spell
>to summon it (so I can cast other spells). In short: no, I don't have
>it.

Gosh, Nicholas, this is perplexing -- that you're told you're too busy
now to cast that "summon staff" spell, which it sounds like you would
need to do, that it would be quite "the ticket."  Doesn't that sound
to you like casting spells is now off limits to you, that it's the
game's way of letting you know you  don't *need* to anymore?  But,
then, what to do???  

Now, as a thief, when I was just about to fight Ad Avis there at the
end, I did have the staff in my inventory.  And what happened was that
it transformed itself just then -- when he was laughing I suppose --
(I'd been wondering what on earth I would ever be able to use it on)
into a sharp stake (such as to kill vampires with), and  I had to jump
(I think, it's been a while now, memory's fuzzy) over to where he was
and drive it right through his black heart!  And after I accomplished
that, well, the weapon magically turned itself back into the staff.
And then (after a while of not seeing the only obvious place I might
now do anything at all) I approached those, um, crystals (?), up north
in that screen, in the middle I think, and just touched them w/the
staff, and something lovely happened (I shan't say what though).  (I
wonder if something like this is what happens to the "fighter" too, if
he's got the staff and it turns into a super-duper excalibur type of
sword or something...)   So ... since something's blocking you from
casting a spell to bring forth your staff,  have you tried simply
walking up to the crystals and just touching them?  Maybe in your
capacity as a magic-user you don't need to have the staff in hand as
lesser mortals do, maybe you are, by virtue of having removed AA from
the face of Mordavia (?), imbued somehow with its power now. 

Did you meanwhile check any other sites than where you found that w.t.
to see if there were any by other authors?  Sometimes w.t.'s assume
knowledge.  When I was playing this very same game, for the second
time around, with a buddy, we got stumped on the breath ritual.  I
recalled how difficult it had been for me to crack it the first time
and was so sure I remembered how, but I didn't.  We struggled over it
forever, I mean a long long time -- days in fact, although we'd take
breaks from it.  We put it on our mental backburners but nothing
occurred to either of us.  In desperation, I did go and read one or
more walkthroughs (not feeling guilty as I normally would, since,
after all I'd played it before and somehow figured it out the first
time), and damned if one and all didn't just say something to the
effect of "do what needs to be done and then..."  So I then broke down
and dialed into Sierra's bbs (a very costly and trying sort of
experience if you've never tried it, but if you want to, let me know
and I'll find that telephone number for you) to browse their hints,
and, they, too, didn't detail how to solve the ritual!  At that point,
well, I went out and *bought* the (expensive) strategy manual for the
whole series (although I'd already played all four games!), I mean we
were really DESPERATE.  (I don't know why it never occurred to me then
to write to this group..,)  And IT didn't explain how to solve it
either!!!!!  It must have been around *two months* later that I went
back to the damn puzzle and sat here for several hours brooding before
it when suddenly the light dawned (after I reread the ritual about a
hundred times for lack of anything better to do).  It was all a most
appalling experience, and  I hope something similar isn't your fate!

I'd look up the ending, for the magic-user, in that manual of which I
spoke, but I misplaced it sometime ago and have no idea where it might
be.  But ... maybe someone else has it!!!!  And could look this up in
it for you -- although based on my breath ritual frustrations, who
knows if it would be worth checking it out.  While I didn't read the
whole essay on QFG4, not all of what I did read was what I'd call
enlightening.  E.g., even though we were past all that, we'd had some
problems with the Leshy which i didn't recall having had the first
time around so out of curiosity I read whatever was there about him
and it was woefully vague and unforthcoming on *that* score too. 

SOMEONE out there must have played this game as a magician.  Maybe you
should resubmit your query under a different title, such as "QFG4 --
calling all *MAGIC USERS*, help needed on endgame"?????  

I'm sorry you're in such a limbo state, but I must say you've really
peaked my curiosity, for I think that game got under my skin more than
any other I've ever played.

Let me know, would you, if simply *touching* the crystals, even though
you don't have the staff now, "works."   Wishing you all the best in
this your time of trial,

Trina

Trina Borras * tbo...@mindspring.com

(posted/e-mailed)