First Big Game Crash

My second session of Gothic was relatively short and it was made even shorter by a crash. On my first try, I decided to make a full circle around the old camp, killing scavengers along the way. I was hoping this would get me some experience and, more importantly, meat I can cook and sell. This is exactly what I got, but as I got back to the city and started trading with Dexter, the game crashed, so I lost about 20 minutes of my time.

Scavenging Skills and Sword Fighting

On my next try, I started saving often. This time, I checked my inventory and realized I have quite a bit to sell already. I traded everything I could for ore and then went out of the Old Camp’s front gate to pay Drax for some training. I repeated this cycle of hunting, trading and training several times, until I eventually learned all four of the scavenging skills. I can now extract teeth and claws, skin animals and gather other parts I can sell. I figured this would be the best way to spend early money – to make further accumulation of money easier.

I also spent 50 ore to learn the first level of sword fighting. As I said before, the character system of Gothic seems simple, but the way the mechanics work makes it extremely complex and interesting. For instance, learning the first level of sword fighting allows the hero to swing much faster and hold the weapon in one hand. It makes the game easier, but it also creates room for more skillful play. Basically, it synergizes both with the mechanics and the player.

Smithing

I also spent some time trying out smithing. You can buy metal rods from the smith and, through several steps, turn them into crude swords. These can then be sold at a profit of 10 ore per sword, so it’s a valid method of getting money, but overall, I think it’s mostly available in the game for flavor.

To the Sect Camp (The Brotherhood)

Once I did all I could in the Old Camp, at least for the time being, I talked to a Cultist and asked him to take me to his camp in the swamp. This is basically an escort quest, but instead of me trying to keep my escort alive, it’s the other way around. The cultist was much stronger than me, so I basically abused this and used him to kill a bunch of enemies along the way to the Swamp Camp, mostly lizards, but also a wolf and some insects. This, with the added reward of completing the escort, got me close to the next level and placed me in a brand new location I needed to explore.

The Swamp Camp was definitely a religious place, if you consider smoking weed all day a religious thing. The cultist specialize in picking various smoke-able grasses they then sell to the other people at the prison colony, or even export outside. Each cultist also gets their daily dosage, which got me to a quest where one of them asked me for mine.

There are also teachers, called gurus, that I can’t talk to, but have to impress in order to join them. As I said, I don’t intend to join this camp, but there’s no reason not to do the quests for the experience and other rewards.

Back to the Old Camp

Once I explored most of the camp, I decided to go back to the old camp. I had to do this by myself this time, so it was a scary trip, especially because it was night time and there was rain. I took a bunch of wrong turns and nearly got killed by a pack of wolves, but eventually, I saw the outlines  f the Old Camp on the horizon. I got in, found the shack assigned to me and used the bed to rest until morning.

In my next session, I’ll work on getting my strength and dexterity up, so I can tackle stronger enemies. I also intend to buy an armor, or get it some other way. My only protection right now is an amulet I got off a corpse (+5 protection from weapons).

Related Posts:

• Gothic [17] – Uriziel, Ore Armor and a Finished Game
• Gothic [16] – Back Outside
• Gothic [15] – Not Quite There Yet
• Gothic [14] – The Plot Resolves?
• Gothic [13] – The Plot Thickens