Barb, what are your might and protection levels? I've mostly been using the trident because that brings my might level a little higher, but I might do better with the sword. I'll have to try it out. It's nice to know that it can be done without the fireball spell or the vaelin's cube, but I think they will greatly help me get thru. At least I hope they will. I've been using lightning against them but it gets used up pretty quickly and doesn't seem that effective.

Where are you now? I have the whole day free to play in the Lands of Lore. I'm also playing Pandora Directive. I think I took a wrong turn there and have come down off the path for the best ending there. I'm going to start all over again and make sure Tex gets the best ending.

See you in the Lands

I just made it to castle Cimmeria. Here are my stats:

Michael – might 79, protection 96 – he uses the great sword “Trouble”

Baccata – might 88, prot. 42 – he uses a great sword

Paulson – might 44, prot 27 – using halberd “Sever”

I will have better stats later in the game – I lost a lot of armor in the dungeons.

Barb, your stats are much better than mine! I have the sword Trouble but was hesitant to use it. Thought it might be a cursed item. Haven't come across the weapons you mentioned yet. I have the fireball spell and switching to swords rather than tridents is much more effective.

I am still at the White Tower. I have the Vaelin's cube. Those orcs never had a chance when I bombed them with fireballs! Am on Level 2. Killed Jana. Just mapping the area at this point, trying to figure out how to get into some of those rooms.

You play so fast! You'll be done before I know it. Have to take a hunger break See you in the Lands!

Hi Sharon, don't forget I've played the game several times, that's why I'm so fast. The first time I played it, it took me several months!

Use the great sword - you don't have to worry about anything being cursed. Whenever I find a new weapon or armor, I try it on all 3 guys & use it if it improves their stats. Some of the houses in Yvel have some nice items lying around.

The white tower mainly consists of finding all the keys. The most important part is getting into the sub-level.

What character did you choose as your champion? I've played with all 4 guys, this time I'm using Michael,

Playing Conrad:
Might (41) 71
(Jumped to 71 with sword Trouble)
Protection: 107

Bacatta: Might 57
Protection: 62
Longsword Gnarl

Paulson: Might: 27
Protection: 55
Longsword Gnash

I rather like the White Tower. Haven't gotten to the 3rd floor yet. Will play some more today and hopefully finish off the White Tower. And make the recipe. I'll have to check out Yvel's homes.

Tried to play the Cat once, but he was so weak against those thugs in the beginning I gave up on him. Maybe I'll try him again at some point. Can Michael do any magic? I guess I always choose Conrad because he can do both weapons and magic.

See you in the Lands...

All 4 characters can do magic. Ak'Shel is the best, but they all can do some. I like to get one of my characters (usually Baccata) up to level 4 or 5 in magic. Then he can cast Heal at the highest level, which heals the whole party. That comes in handy on the 4th floor. I like Kieran (the cat creature). He can be just as good as the others if he's developed right.

Your stats look good. When you get the best weapons & armor, you shouldn't have any problems winning the game.

Didn't get that far yesterday. I made it to Level 3. There seems an unending supply of ghosts/wraiths. The Vaelin's cube works great against them.

Do you know how to get rid of that worm-like creature that takes a bite out of you before it disappears?

I'm never going to reach your speed in getting thru this game, but I'll get there. I expect to give and get a good whooping often along the way...

I hate that snake! Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to get rid of it. Did you notice that after you use the vaelan's cube it turns white - then it will restore magic on whoever you right-click it on. If you have someone who can cast cast a level 4 Heal, have him heal often & use the cube to restore his magic.

I think between the two of us, those monsters are really getting a good wooping!

Good tip, Barb! Going back into the lands later this afternoon...

Hi Sharon, I'm so glad you started a Lands of Lore thread! I wasn't sure I could really get into it again, but I must say this is such a great game, & I'm having a blast! I wish they still made games like this!

Barb, where are you now? I got diverted by Pandora Directive for a while but going back into the Lands today. Haven't progressed yet, still in White Tower.

PS: I agree with you, I wish they still made games like this. And I'm glad you're enjoying it too!

Hi Sharon, I finished the game. I really enjoyed it. I'm playing Might & Magic 3 that I got from GOG. It's 21 years old but still a good game if you don't mind the graphics. Did you get Pandora Directive from GOG? What kind of game is it? Do you recommend it? I'm always looking for something to play. I play my old games over & over, but sometimes I need something new.

Have fun in the Lands,
Barb

Darn it! I had typed out a nice reply message and something happened to it. It disappeared! I may have forgotten to press submit. Oh well. I'll try again.

Congratulations on your winning LOL! M&M looks like a really good series to play. I still have a lot of games in my stock pile to play and I'm determined to not buy anything else till I've whittled this down. (Casual games are of course exempt from this rule. ). I'm anxious to play Arcanum and finish playing Anachronox. Tracy got me craving to play Morrowind again, but I'm resisting. I feel I'm not giving other games a chance because I'm always going back to the tried and true.

My next game up is Skyrim. Really looking forward to it.

Pandora Directive may be my favorite game. It is an FMV film noir detective story with some humor set in the future. There is a good story with people you care about, lots to do, some well integrated puzzles and some not too difficult action sequences. I just love the atmosphere and it makes me laugh. I highly recommend it.

Good luck in M&M. Do you have Skyrim? Have you played it yet? That looks like a pretty big and complicated/challenging world to delve into. It may take me a year to finish there. And then there is DLC. Hope I'm up to it. I have it on Xbox so I can't mod it, but I do think I'll like playing with a controller better and it won't play on my PC.

I'm talking too much. Need a nap. Back to the lands soon.

**Still not back to the Lands. I've been playing/working with my new (first for me) external hard drive. Trying to sort out the backup process and store all my download games. I've been "working?" at it for hours. So far so good. I'm direct downloading from the website to the EHD. This may take all day. Or longer.

I did the same thing you did this morning, Sharon - I typed a long note, then lost it somehow. I hate it when that happens! It seems like I do it a lot.

I have Skyrim, but I haven't played it yet. The only computer I have that it'll play on is a laptop my husband gave me for Christmas. It has Windows 7 & I hate it! It's a monster computer, butthe keyboard is so big & dark it's hard for me to use it. I can only use one hand, so it's hard to type with one finger!

I got Pandora Directive from GOG. It looks interesting, but it's going to take me a while to figure out the controls. Like you, I love my old games, especially Vampire the Masquerade Redemption, VTM Bloodlines, Lands of Lore, Wizardry 7, M&M3 through 8, and Gothic 1 and 2. What are your favorite games?

How are you doing on Lands of Lore? I'm mostly playing M&M3.

Have fun!
Barb

Barb, have you tried an external keyboard for your laptop? When I had a laptop I used both an external monitor and an external keyboard. Those laptop keyboards are too small for me.

Hi Barb. I'm taking a short break from Lands of Lore to work on sorting out my computer. As I've said before, it's running much better since the reformat. However I'm trying to keep it lean and trim. I'm learning as I go about where XP puts it's saves, etc. The good news is that I found the backups of my books, movies, game inventory files!
What a relief I don't have to go back and add all that in again, one by one.

Anyway, I'm almost finished downloading all my GOG games to my EHD. Next I start on BigFish.

I like all kinds of games for all kinds of reasons. Laura Bow, Dagger of Amon Ra is a favorite of mine. I don't know how many times I've played it. I really liked Lands of Lore 3, though as I've said Morrowind is still my favorite of those I've finished. I played a very little bit of The Witcher and really liked it. I got maybe halfway through Anachronox and really enjoyed that. The Space Quest games were really fun. Leisure Suit Larry 5-7. Started Arcanum and was enjoying that very much. The CaseBook games, Divine Divinity. Made it at least halfway through Divine Divinity. Enjoyed that a lot. Discworld Noir was really funny/entertaining. Post Mortem and Still life were engaging and exciting.

I have Mass Effect, KOTOR, System Shock 2, Planescape Torment, Wizardry & M&M 8, Betrayal/Return to Krondor, 2-Worlds, Arx Fatalis, etc, etc...

This has turned into a long response.
So many games, so little time.

I want to spend more time on getting my computer files in order but will soon go back to playing Pandora Directive & LOL. The games you mentioned sound good. I'd like to try the Vampire games. I just feel sorry/bad for Vampires. They can't enjoy the sunshine or a nice tasty pepperoni pizza . Plus it must be really disconcerting to know you're dead and still wandering around...

Looking forward to getting back to the Lands (and the Directive) and soon sinking my teeth into Skyrim. I'm really happy to have such great games and machines capable of playing them.

Pandora Directive is really easy to control once you get a feel for the movement. Word of warning.. be careful to look into drawers carefully. Sometimes inventory items aren't easy to see if you don't see the whole drawer or whatever. Good Luck!

That's a great idea about the external keyboard, Looney. I'll have to look into it. I'm not sure I have enough room.

I played Laura Bow many years ago, too, Sharon. Those old adventure games were really fun. I loved the Space Quest series, too. I notice GOG has the series, so I'll probably get it. Leisure Suit Larry is so funny! You should try the Vampire games. I absolutely love them. My vampires aren't evil & I feel sorry for them, too. Drinking only blood all the time must get boring!

Congratulations on doing such a great job on your computer! Like I said, all I know how do do is turn it on & play games!

Thanks Barb. I've only had this computer for 8 years. I thought it was time I took charge of it.

My difficulty now is the BigFish Games. I used to just download/install them and leave them on my hard-drive. I didn't pay attention to where the Game Manager was putting them. Now I am paying attention and I'm confused. I've contacted them and hope to have a response soon.

Unfortunately, as a side-effect of fooling around with BigFish, I started playing another game from that website. Plus, on testing a game I found had been restored to my hd, I started that game too. Now I've got 2 Casual games I'm playing along with Lands of Lore and Pandora Directive.

They are really fun, but it's time to get back to my game(s). I'm on the 3rd floor of the White Tower still mapping the area. I want to find all the keys just by searching instead of using the clue book. Only in an emergency. And Tex is doing well. He's on Day 5.

Hope you decide to give Tex a chance. I really like the character and find the puzzles interesting.

How is it going in Might & Magic 3? I've never even installed any of the Might and Magic games, so I don't know what they are like.

Hi--I LOVE lands of lore. I just started playing it again becuase it is available on GOG.com and is Windows XP/Windows 7 compatible. I even have my own fan site: http://www.ethereallore.envy.nu/home.html

So... I got all the way to Yvel... and realized that I do not have my Riddle Scroll in my inventory. I am praying that I am not screwed... but I cann't get the Earth from Sadi without the scroll...

I think I left it outside the Draracles cave since I knew the riddles and didn't need it--I just forgot that the 'characters' need it
If that's the case, I'll never be able to retrieve it.

Anyone have any ideas of how to get around this?

Thanks!
John

John, Hi ya and to Gameboomers

Someone had their scroll disappear from inventory a few pages back on this thread. They were not able to get around it and had to start over.

Mr. Google yielded no suggestions other than starting over. Perhaps another Boomer will have an idea for you.

Hi John, Welcome to Gameboomers. I am the person Looney mentioned who lost the riddle scroll. I don't think there's anything to do but start over or go back to the last place you had it, which is what I did. It would be great if you could go back & find it. If I dropped it somehow, I have no idea where. You're in the same place I was when I realized I didn't have it. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way to get around not having it, since you have to have it to get the earth powder.

Sharon, are you still playing? I haven't been playing anything but M&M3 lately. I'm going to get to Pandora Directive when I finish it.

Hi Barb I'm not aware of anyway to retrieve a lost item than to go back to a previous save when you had it, or go back looking for it in the places you've been.

I've stopped playing this game for the time being. I'm carrying on with Pandora Directive and have played and am playing casual games. I have fallen in love with them.

---- I'm so easily distracted...

I really want to get back to it, but I want to finish Pandora and I'm fighting my HOG/IHOG addiction. Are you aware that BigFish is having a $2.99 Blowout Special this weekend? Are they trying to ruin me?

I'll post when I've made more progress. How's it going in your game?

I made a post in the GOG forums to the effect of my wishing they would get LOL 3. I had tried many times in the past but could not get this game to run on my system.

It played when I got the game, but after numerous Windows & Nvidia Graphics updates it wouldn't work. I was getting messages about a missing LOL.dat file and the game freezing/system crashing on the videos. I tried running it on VPC with Win98 and the mouse was erratic to the point I couldn't play it.

Well, now I found a way to play it on XP!
I installed a glide wrapper following the instructions from this site and it works!

I liked this game a lot. It was one I sucessfully completed numerous times. So yes, I'm really glad I can still play it.

Just wanted to let anyone who has not been able to get it to work there is a solution.

Thanks for sharing SharonB....