'Avadon has a great combat system, excellent balancing, great characters, and so in spite of those minor complaints this is my favorite Spiderweb game.' - Gear Diary 'In the end, Avadon: The Black Fortress has everything a good RPG needs. Strong story and characters, great combat, excellent quests, addictive loot and leveling and high.

I have arrived at castle Vebeaux and spoke to the duke immediately. It seems that the peace negotiations are close to completion. Several envoys will soon arrive from Holklanda and Monitor Shigaz has asked for me specifically to help secure the castle and stop any potential assassins. There’s some work being done under the castle. Some new halls are being dug and Shigaz feels that this would be the most likely direction an attack could come from.

I went down there immediately, and promptly got attacked by cultist assassins. I disposed of them and found Shigaz in the next room. He was mortally wounded and, in his delirium, thought I was working with the assassins. He attacked me, so I was forced to defend. I incapacitated him quickly and tried to heal him from his previous wounds, but it was too late. Before he died, he said the duke sent him down here. There’s something suspicious going on. I went through the passages and soon emerged outside the castle, in the woods. The duke’s men were already after me.

I fled through the forest and soon encountered a helping Holklandan who directed me to an escape route. After some fighting, and some dodging, the route led me to a brigand encampment. However, they were not hostile. In fact, they seemed to expect me. Their leader, Minaka, said the rogue Hand, Gavin, told them to expect me. He is here, in the camp, and he want’s to talk to me. I obliged.

I hate getting myself surrounded, but sometimes it’s unavoidable.

Gavin told me he was betrayed by the duke, just as I was. Publicly, the duke works on forging a peace agreement with Holklanda. Privately, however, he is working for the Tavon empire. Gavin uncovered this and was framed because of it. Avadon has failed to prove his innocence or to even show concern for him, so he became a brigand. As for me, I need to somehow get to the pylon and return. He has an idea how, but first I need to help him. I need to kill a hunter that’s become a threat for them. He is to the south.

I went there and realized the hunter is a she. Tender Melisande, to be precise. The same animal tender who gave me several tasks at the castle. I told her the truth about the duke, but she didn’t care. By her own words, Avadon’s time is past. It has become weak and corrupt and the duke has a better path. I said I agree with the statement about Avadon, and she was surprised, but also told me her orders are clear. I guess there was no way out of that battle. She and her beasts were tough, but they posed no threat.

I reported this to Gavin and he decided to help me. I need to clear the way to the east, off the main road, and look for a hidden passage. He will wait for me there. I went as he instructed and soon met the Wayfarer again. No job this time, only questions he needs answers for. He asked me where my loyalties lie, how I feel about Avadon and if I would be willing to have Redbeard “replaced”. I would prefer to just leave, but the mark that makes me a Hand cannot be removed and it also means I cannot run away. The only option is to overthrow Redbeard. Before he left, he gave me advice. I should spare the duke. It will mean a lot in the future. With that, he was gone and I continued. After some fighting, I met up with Gavin, and soon we were at the castle.

Sadly, Gavin soon fell to a trap, so I was forced to continue alone. I fought for a long time, moving back and forth between possible routes of escape, defeating the duke’s lackeys, until I finally reached his inner chambers. He pleaded for his life, explaining his motivations, appealing to reason, and he finally succeeded. I let him go. In the end, he was just trying to protect his people. It’s Redbeard that needs to go down. The duke fled, the way to the pylon was open. Time to kill Redbeard.

Related Posts:

Avadon: The Black Fortress is a single-player role-playing video game developed by Spiderweb Software. It is the first game in the Avadon trilogy. The game was released for Mac OS X in February 2011,^[1] and for Microsoft Windows in May 2011.^[2] Version for the iPad has been released on June 18, 2011.^[3][4] It was later also released for Android and Linux in order to be included in the Humble Bundle for Android 2.

Setting[edit]

The Avadon series is set on the fictional continent of Lynaeus, which is divided between two warring factions. There is the Pact, an alliance of five nations, and the Farlands, a loose-knit group of faded empires and barbarian territories. The Pact has banded together for safety and to fend off invasion from the other lands of Lynaeus.^[5]

The fortress of Avadon is a force within the Pact, a small army of warriors, spies, and assassins tasked to protect the Pact and eliminate any threats to its safety before they have the chance to grow. The servants of Avadon have great power and are not bound by the laws of the Pact, though this can lead to corruption and abuse.

Avadon is led by Redbeard, a powerful and mysterious figure. Ultimate cat simulator download. The player controls a group of Hands of Avadon, warriors under Redbeard's command who seek out and fight a conspiracy against the Pact.

Gameplay[edit]

Avadon: The Black Fortress is a single-player role-playing video game. The player assumes the role of a Blademaster, a Shadowwalker, a Shaman, or a Sorceress and after that can recruit up to two other characters (from the same set of four classes) for missions assigned by the leaders of Avadon.^[6]

Each character class in Avadon has its own set of several dozen abilities. These can be spells to inflict damage or summon aid, blessings and curses, and rituals that heal wounded party members. Avadon features elaborate scripted encounters that are intended to encourage a variety of tactics.^[7][8]

Reception[edit]

Avadon: The Black Fortress has generally received favorable reviews from gaming critics, scoring 77% at Metacritic from seven reviews and 77% from GameRankings from nine reviews.^[11][12] The game has been met with praise for its depth of storytelling and gameplay,^[14][15] while simultaneously receiving criticism for the use of crude graphics and lack of better sound effects.^[16][17]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun gave Avadon a positive review, claiming that, 'As simple as it looks, it’s one of those games that’s very easy to fire up for a few minutes, only to be magically transported without supper to 5AM the next day.'^[17] GameSpot awarded the game 7/10, claiming that, 'Just like the developer's earlier efforts in the Avernum and Geneforge franchises, the game compensates for its archaic visuals and sound with an engaging focus on storytelling and turn-based party combat that recalls the glory days of the Gold Box games from the late '80s and early '90s.'^[13]

References[edit]

1. ^Avadon Support Page
2. ^[1]
3. ^Avadon Main Page
4. ^Inside Mac Games Holiday Q&A 1
5. ^Inside Mac Games Avadon Preview
6. ^Subgamers Interview With Jeff Vogel
7. ^RPG Codex Interview With Jeff Vogel
8. ^Gear Diary Review of Avadon
9. ^'Avadon - MAC Review - allgame'. Allgame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
10. ^'Avadon - PC Review - allgame'. Allgame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
11. ^ ^abc'Avadon: The Black Fortress for PC - GameRankings'. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
12. ^ ^ab'Avadon: The Black Fortress for PC Reviews - Metacritic'. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
13. ^ ^abGameSpot ReviewArchived January 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
14. ^Inside Mac Games Review
15. ^GameBanshee ReviewArchived January 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
16. ^'Digital Entertainment News Review'. Archived from the original on 2011-12-24. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
17. ^ ^abRock, Paper, Shotgun Review

External links[edit]