Dungeon Master Forum

I was just thinking about VI Altars.

Does anyone ever use them?

Whenever one of my party members dies, I just crush the rest of the party and then continue from the last saved position.

Of course, this means that one has to save more often, and it may (or may not) render the game a little less exciting.

I tend to feel bad for not trying to carry on if possible.
This lead to me having the most woosie fighter in Stamm for my current game. Stamm I've lost count of his regens, the rest have 2 - 3...

I think it makes it more fun if you try and keep going no matter what - like no 'oh, i'm ambushed, eh, restart

I nstead it's like 'argh ambush, green box, fire bombs and spells, stamm is down, i repeat stamm is down, heeeelp, run away!'

etc

Yes, I can imagine the...frenzy you're feeling.

If I can complete Doom without saving/loading, I can definitely complete DM without doing so... On the easiest level, of course. The battle against 5 dragons COULD prove fatal for the whole party.

I think (read: I'm certain that) this restarting-thing has lead me not to use boxes and bombs and other panic options and I almost feel sorry for that.

As part of my "-no-training" game I do not reload eather. (Well I turn of the computer for sleep every other day And only use the VI altars. It is not until now I have realised how clever it is to have them so sparse.

Stamm is actually one of my stronger charectors right now. Course I reincarnated him as well... and had many lucky level ups.

It's part of the game characters die. So if one does, I tend to try and find the nearest Altar of VI - I'd feel like cheating if I didn't. Sometimes nasty surprises demand a reload though - if all 4 of the party did not make it...

Amber had some of those in his "Imprisoned again" - like the "Run and run and run" or the old "matrix" in the 1.2 version

Regards, PitD

I played my way through DM and CSB with a party I started afresh and I didnt have to use an alter of VI once. I dunno what it was, just hated going round with one person dead all the time, so I just reloaded and did it again

Well, Fippy won the prize for "Most Deaths" in my party...I did use an Altar a few times in DM, when he died on a lower level and I legged it back up the central stairwell to level 6 and all the way back down again once he'd been rezzed hehe...as for CSB, I only rezzed him if I knew I was anywhere near the Junction of the Ways (or any of the fake junctions which still have an Altar). Otherwise, I just give it the old "Fireball the wall" treatment. Unles they don't have enough mana. Then I have to sleep before I kill them lol.

For me, If one dies, the others will be along in a minute.

Mophus_the_Healer wrote:For me, If one dies, the others will be along in a minute.

Ditto

Depends on where and what the circumstances I'd say. If only playtesting, mybe. In a full game situation I try to avoid it to appreciate a dungeons complexity and setup. It's a nice test to see if altairs are well-placed. Save games still exist to reload later if wanted.

Regards, PitD

I agree wth several of the previous posters. You can always save, and save, and save (though I still use one save slot - old habits die hard), and be secure in the knowledge that you could go back and reload the game if you need to, but that using the altars is preferable and what I lean towards.

Also, I have to agree that the situations that kill one party member invariably are "area effect" attacks (like spells, dragon breath, etc) that damage the whole party. So when one character snuffs it, I often have to reload anyway, because the rest of the party perishes within seconds of the first death.

I haven't died from melee attacks for a long time, or from falling in a pit. But when I do, I head for the altar.

Seeker19

I am not clear from reading the postings. What exactly is the penalty for using the Altar?

I used it quite a lot in RTC (Reactor, I think) before realizing that one of my characters' maximum health was being reduced. It was a vicious circle because he continued to be the first and easiest to die. I had to restart the entire game because I had already over-written the saved game so many times.

Are there other penalties besides max health loss? Does it vary with the game version -- DM-O vs CSB-O vs RTC games?

UM

Woah! Seriously? Using the Altars lowers their max hp? Youch! I'm glad I don't use them often! I didn't know there was any penalty aside from having to run and find said Altar, healing the dead person/people, and then running back to loot their stuff...

Yup, it knocks a small fraction off, to a minimum of 25hp in PC DM, i think this is also true in RTC

Following the post in another thread stating that I am still often surprised to find some new knowledge hidden in here ... there we go. Played it for 11 years and did not know that. Never consciously read it in any thread so far either... Fascinating...

Regards, PitD