I bought the (Heavy) Shadow Armor

I started out at the Old Camp when I loaded up Gothic today, so I decided to just go ahead and give 1200 ore to Diego for an armor upgrade. Thus, the Shadow Armor replaced my Shadow Dress and further increased my protection. For some reason, the game calls it “Heavy Shadow Armor” in the dialog menu, but not in the inventory. I was also sitting on ten unspent skill points, but I decided to save those for the next level and then spend 20 skill points for the second level sword fighting skill.

I Tried Out My New Gear

My primary mission was to go to the Sect Camp and figure out what they’re up to, but before I did that, I decided to try my luck and test my new equipment on some stronger monsters. As it turns out, this was well worth it.

I can now kill wolves and lizards with ease and in two hits. Blood flies and anything below that falls in a single hit. I also tried killing a lurker and I can quite easily do it, though there might be some danger if I tackle more than one at a time. The strategy here is similar to the one I had with the lizards before I got the armor upgrade. I need to hit the lurker once, then block one of his attacks and immediately hit it again.

I tried snappers to, but they still do quite a bit of damage. Even though I knew better, I also saved my game and tried attacking a shadow beast. As expected, I still can’t even scratch it. Its health bar literally does not move when I hit it.

I Did Some Questing in the New Camp

I decided to go to the New Camp and take care of that lurker that’s been doing damage to the dam. It turns out that one was slightly stronger than the regular lurkers, but since it was alone, I had no trouble killing it. On the way there, I also tried my luck with a gang of black goblins. I can kill them quickly, but their AI causes them to surround me, so it’s tough fighting them in big packs.

While I was at the new camp, I took care of a guy I was told took a hut for himself without asking anyone. The mercenaries didn’t like that so the reward for taking care of him was that I was allowed to use the shack for myself. I also cleared that drug den below the camp, but I didn’t find anything worthwhile in there.

I Got Killed by the Undead

On the way back, I took a turn into an area I didn’t explore yet. The first thing I saw there was a monster that looked like a chained snapper, called a biter. I killed it and got 120 XP for it, but I can’t help thinking it was part of some quest. It definitely looked unique.

A short distance to the biter, there was also a shrine with a crypt below it. I charged into it and about ten seconds later, I was reloading my game. The crypt had several skeletons and a zombie in it, so I was taken care of like a newbie.

Doing all of that got me an extra level so, with twenty skill points, I went back to the Old Camp to learn the second level one handed weapon skill. I can now swing my sword even faster and can even do a circular attack, though I didn’t quite figure out how to do it yet.

I Spoke to Y’Berion

I made my way to the Brotherhood, killing monsters I missed during my previous visits. Once there, I was told by Lester that Y’Berion wants to see me, which meant I was finally allowed into the temple.  I immediately went to him and got next mission. I also got to Chapter 2! Yup, I was thinking I’m getting close to the end and it turns out I’ve only completed the first chapter of the game. I guess Gothic is longer than I thought, which makes sense, considering there’s plenty of enemies I have no chance against yet.

My mission was to acquire one of the five focus stones. The focus stones are artifacts used to create the barrier and Y’Berion knows where one of them is. He sent a novice to get it, but the novice didn’t report back yet, so now he’s sending me. By the way, Y’Berion’s accent is not what I expected.

I Went and Got the First Focus

In any case, he gave me a map that I needed to follow to get to the focus stone, so that’s exactly what I did, killing more monsters along the way, mostly wolves, scavengers and blood flies. The missing novice was right where the focus was supposed to be. It turns out, the novice went a bit cuckoo, claiming the Sleeper spoke to him and told him to keep the focus to himself. He attacked me, so I defended myself and took him down. I looted him and took the focus, but I didn’t kill him, so he was able to run away.

Side Note: Fighting NPCs in Gothic

The above might need some explanation. You see, when you fight NPCs in Gothic, defeating them only knocks them unconscious. You then get a short chance to loot their body and take their weapons, but after that, they get back up. That is, they get back up, unless you decide to attack one more time while they’re down. In that case, you actually do a killing blow and that’s it for the NPC.

I took the focus and brought it back to Y’Berion, which got my more experience and another level. I also got an Amulet of Fire Protection as a reward and was told to take the focus to Cor Kalom, the alchemist. That’s what I’ll be doing next time.

I Discovered New Things

One more thing, though. I encountered three new monsters for the first time. There was some sort of beast at the mountains close to the Brotherhood camp I can’t remember the name off. It’s killable, but it does a lot of damage, so I didn’t bother. There’s also a pack of orc hounds in the woods between the Sect Camp and the location of the first focus. Those are probably easier to kill, but since it’s a pack, they aren’t worth the trouble for now.

There’s also a beach close to the focus, with a shipwreck and some fire lizards. They do far too much damage to be worth the trouble right now, and I’m not even sure how to block them. Maybe my new Amulet of Fire Protection will help, but I didn’t get a chance to try it yet.

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