C5 Properly Paranoid - Mar 2004

Oneiroscope on 14/3/2004 at 19:00

Dafydd: I'm afraid I don't remember exactly where all the charges were, but as far as some of the other puzzles here are some spoilers.

The Conductive Plates:[SPOILER]You find the plates in the room the Mechanist is guarding after the room with the paintings. If you want to loot the paintings room, you pretty much have to take out that guard. Anyway, when you take the paintings, the golden heads activate and start spitting arrows at you. However, if you replace the paintings with the plates as you go, the heads never activate.[/SPOILER]

The 'Zapping' Urns: [SPOILER]The room on the right after the Death Ward room. There are two pedestal-type dealies with four circles. Look behind them.[/SPOILER]

EDIT: didn't see that Nightwalker had already addressed the Death Ward one.

Dafydd on 14/3/2004 at 20:11

[Nightwalker]

Thanks, I got the charge from the chest in the armory. But... invisibility potion? I certainly haven't encountered that!

I have a feeling I'm not going to be able to ghost this. For one thing, I cannot pick the lock on the room the patrolling combot guards in the tiny bit of time he's away from there... and that room is too brightly lit to hide from him in there anyway; I might, conceivably, be able to pick the lock, open the door, and stand in the shadow of the doorway as he passes, but I'm pretty dubious. I think I'm going to have to take out the combot.

And if I do that, I may as well gas the guard. Besides, if I'm to loot the paintings in there, even with the conductive plates, I obviously can't do it with the guard watching me. Oh, this is maddening!

I've only been able to ghost one C5 mission so far (frozen mines) and nearly ghosted a second (Maelstrom -- couldn't get down into the flooded hold without being briefly spotted by ghosts). Here's another I can't seem to ghost.

Hm... if I could pick the lock and hide in the shadow of the doorway, then use the invisibility potion to get behind the guard (closing the door behind me), then nudge him all the way forward, I might still be able to ghost this. I haven't given up yet!

Where can I find that miraculous invisibility potion?

Edit: News flash for Nightwalker -- you can sneak past that guard without any chemical aid! I got the door open -- did it in two stages (I'll explain in the ghost report, if I ever finish this thing) -- and stood in the doorway; Mr. Combat-bot didn't see me. Then, while he was fooling around at one of the other doors, I dashed out, got the poker, and dashed back to my shadow. Next time he left, I mossed the doorway, then moved into the room towards the guard but along the wall (moving at normal crouch speed). He grumbled -- "come into the light, that I might see thee better!" -- but didn't alert. I closed the door and crept along the right-hand wall... and he never said anything else until I passed him, whereupon he unalerted ("t'was just the moss in mine ears," or somesuch).

Anyway, I nudged him a bit -- not enough yet, but he does seem to be nudgeable -- and now I'm in the workshop with the light out, having fun.

Thanks,

Dafydd

nil8hate on 14/3/2004 at 20:22

NW...i had already [SPOILER]lit those torches quite awhile ago....but don't see any changes anywhere?[/SPOILER]

Nightwalker on 14/3/2004 at 21:03

nil8hate - [SPOILER] After I lit all 4 torches, the explosive device appeared on the "altar" type thingy at the back of the room. [/SPOILER]

bassmanret - [SPOILER] There's no secret down in the basement area. The loot is all on the main floors. Did you find the torc and blue gem that appear on the wall in the Torch room after you've lit all the torches? There's also a little gold hammer on the altar in that room that's easy to overlook. [/SPOILER] If you're still short on loot, let me know and I'll make up a loot list for you.

Dafydd - Good for you! :thumb: I should have known you'd find a way to do it if anyone could. You, Old Man and Peter never give up on these situations. I'm afraid I don't have the patience to make a really good ghoster. :)

Dafydd on 14/3/2004 at 21:44

[Nightwalker, et al]

All right, I set all the explosive charges in their places. I looted two of the paintings, and a funny thing happened: the light went out! Alas, I discovered that if I looted the third painting, the light goes back on again. Oh well :weird: .

I got the zapping urns, but I haven't yet found the deathward. It's upstairs, you say? Didn't run across it. Any clues?

I noticed that the watcher upstairs is attached to a lock... is there a key to this lock? I can imagine unlocking it (to turn off the watcher, perhaps?) with a key, but I don't think I could pick it before the face turned back and spotted me. I haven't tried it, though, so I don't know for sure.

I need the loot in the mummy room, so I need the you-know-what.

And has nobody figured out how to beat the arrow-trapped chest? I can't get close enough to pick the lock without being peppered with arrows and kilt daid. Can it be turned off somehow?

Thanks,

Dafydd

nil8hate on 14/3/2004 at 22:47

Hey NW...did you light them with the flares or with the arrows? i used flares and nothing happened...went back....and doused them after getting your answer and tried the fire arrows...still, no luck

Nightwalker on 14/3/2004 at 22:52

I used the flares. I tried it again from a save and it worked again. Sorry but I have no idea what can be causing your problem.

bassmanret on 14/3/2004 at 22:55

Thanks a ton, Nightwalker!! :) :)

The torc on the wall in the torch room is what I was missing, and gave me all the loot. Don't know how I missed that before.

Fun mission, although I had a hard time with the safe/harp room. I used the correct sequence at least a dozen times before the safe finally opened. Don't know why...

Very clever, but not too complex puzzles. I like that! :)

daffydd:
In regards to the chest in the arrow room (with the numbers on the floor), see the earlier post by RavelPuzzlewell in this thread. That should get you going.

nil8hate on 14/3/2004 at 23:49

Thanks NW....luckily, i had a save game right before that...so i tried again, and this time it worked...hmmm, and i got some LOOT:D

Dafydd on 15/3/2004 at 01:19

[Nightwalker]

And so close to Perfect Thief, too... solid ghost with just 20 gp short on Perfect.

Any loot that's easily missed? Among the loot I got -- the serpent torc and jewel in the four-torch room, the mummy loot, the zapping urns loot....

Oh, wait a minute! "Three coins in the foun-tain..."

Hah, Perfect Thief! And 4/4 secrets, 1/1 picks, and two extra objectives that appeared when I turned off the arrow trap and when I got all the loot!

Thanks for the hints, everyone here.

Ghost report:

(http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=354046#post354046)

Dafydd