Overview
This is a basic guide for new players in the Eschalon series. Includes information on combat mechanics, loot, smashing stuff, and more.
The Basics
Eschalon is an old-school, turn-based RPG. You are a hero who wakes up in a very troubled world, and yet does not even know who he is. But you can choose a different path from a hero’s: Eschalon allows you to not only steal, but kill practically every living thing you see, if you’re powerful enough.
The goal of this guide is to provide some knowledge to the players of this game. I have not beat the game yet, but have enough experience with the game to teach the basics.
Please note: I just found out that there is an official manual for the game that can be located in the game files, a manual that can be accessed from the steam interface, and a wiki. I don’t understand why you’d read this over them, but hopefully you’ll find this at least a little useful.
Creating a Character
Whenever you start up the game, you get to create a character. Creating a character correctly is very important, since there are only 20 level-ups. I recommend you read the tips below:
(Note: Whenever you create a new character, your character gets random base attributes that you then add to. If you feel that the base attributes the game gave you are not suitable, clicking on the dice will re-roll your base attributes.)
All weapon skills can be upgraded to Level 5 later on with money, no armor skills can be trained however.
– If you are trying to create a Melee/Fighter character:
Focus on Strength and Endurance as attributes.
Choose a weapon type you want to use. It is important to put in at least one point into a weapon type you think you’ll use, because if you don’t you’ll get an unskilled weapon penalty using it. Along with this, the higher your skill in a weapon type, the more effective in combat you’ll be.
Don’t put in too many points, though, because you can buy skill points for all weapon skills with gold at trainers. (Excluding Unarmed Combat)
Invest some points into Heavy Armor. This will increase the defensive bonuses you get from Armor.
Put one point into Divination. This skill will help boost your combat abilities whenever the spell that comes along with it (Bless) is cast. But don’t put in more than one point! Just as with weapon skills, you can buy skill points in DIvination.
– If you are trying to create a Ranged character:
Focus on Dexterity and Concentration as attributes.
Don’t invest points into Bows or Thrown Weapons, as you can find a ranged trainer very early into a playthrough.
Hide in Shadows could be useful, since you might be able to get into a good firing position or retreat back a bit to get a safer shot.
If you do choose to invest points into Hide in Shadows, invest points into Light Armor. This will make less noise than Heavy Armor, allowing you to be more ninja-like.
– If you are trying to create a Magic character:
There are two kinds of Magic characters: Magick Users, who start out with a skill and spell to attack, and Healers, who start out with a skill and spell to heal.
If you are trying to be an offensive magic user, put some points into Light Armor. Most offensive spells make noise or significantly light up an area, thus stealth is nearly useless whenever frequently using them.
Meditation might be useful; it will allow you to regenerate mana more quickly.
– If you are trying to create a Rogue:
Your main attributes should be Dexterity and Speed.
Put all the points you can into Hide in Shadows.
Move Silently isn’t as important as Hide in Shadows, but a few points will still help.
Choose a weapon type.
You can choose to wear armor – Heavy Armor is a terrible idea – Light Armor is acceptable, and will come in handy early game when you haven’t developed enough points into stealth skills to truly sneak up on someone, but to get the most out of stealth mechanics, wearing no armor at all is best.
Essentials for all Characters
– ALL characters should have Pick Locks. There are a large amount of locks that need to be picked in the world of Eschalon.
Lore can be used to identify objects, usually important objects. You can identify items for gold, but Lore allows you to do it for free, so you might want a point or two put into it later on.
Survival is a very useful skill because it allows you to resist poison and disease, but it also increases HP regen! However, the HP regen effect combines with Endurance and maxes out at 58. So if you want full HP regen ability, you should put 10 skill points into Survival and 48 into Endurance.
Combat
There are many hostile creatures out there that want to eat you, kill you, mug you, or eat you.
Combat can start whenever you attack something that can fight back, (This includes friendly NPCs) or whenever a hostile creature spots you. (More on being spotted in the stealth section)
If you have ever played an RPG before, you will know what the red and blue bars do. But for the sake of the guide, I will describe them.
– Hit Points: If it reaches 0, you die.
– Mana: Used to cast magic spells. If it goes low enough, you can’t cast spells.
There are three ways to kill things:
– Melee: Swords, axes, maces, etc.
– Ranged: Bows and throwing weapons.
– Magic: You can cast spells. Not all spells do direct damage.
Depending on how you attack an enemy, the battle will play out differently. For example, you can expect different results from a battle where you engage with swords compared to one where you attack with a bow.
Melee combat is riskier than the other two and will require beefy armor, which drastically reduces your chances of successfully sneaking around.
but does not consume arrows (Arrows must be bought or found) or mana.
Ranged combat is much safer
Magic combat does lots of damage, but it takes a while for mana to recharge, and you get a huge penalty whenever trying to cast at point-blank range.
Quests
Quests are given by NPCs and items, such as letters. Here are some notes about quests:
– ALL quest-related NPCs can be killed, so be careful to keep them out of harm’s way and avoid upsetting them (like stealing from them), otherwise, if they die, the quest cannot be completed and will remain in the journal indefinitely.
Along with this, if you fail a quest, the quest will remain in the journal indefinitely.
– Sometimes, quest dialogue is consequential. The world of Eschalon is a harsh place, and it is usually a bad idea to give in to thieves, or just mean people. However, if the NPC is not being rash towards you, or if he/she looks very troubled, you can usually trust him/her.
Once again, be very careful when negotiating with quest-related NPCs. It might be a good idea to save before making a decision if it’s your first time doing a quest.
– Completing a quest will usually reward gold and experience. However, in many scenarios, you have the option of selling, using, or even destroying what you find instead of turning in the item. Obvious enough, all of this will prevent you from finishing the quest.
Loot
Yes, I added a section just about loot, because loot is awesome.
Loot can drop from hostile NPCs, but the much easier way to find stuff is by interacting with objects. This could be a barrel, a chest, or sometimes even a secret stash. (Secret stashes can be found with the Spot Hidden skill.)
Some lootable objects have randomized contents. Others have specific items in them, like a quest item.
Breaking open sealed barrels can be very profitable early-game; I made 100+ gold from a single barrel in the starting village one time. However, your weapons will occasionally break if you try smashing stuff with them, so it is wise to bring along a super-cheap weapon, like a Cudgel. Or, if you want to be super efficient, you could just punch it. Punching a barrel with your fists obviously hurts, and you will lose a very small amount of HP every time you try. However, you will damage it, and this can be very useful if you don’t have a cheap weapon with you.
To start smashing stuff, hold Left Shift and then left-click on an object.
Finally, when smashing stuff, note that quality is a major factor. An old, rotted barrel with break open much easier than a new, well-made one. You can inspect an item by left-clicking on it.
Lore
NOTE: This section contains potential spoilers.
You are on Eschalon, the planet that the game takes place in. More specifically, you are in Thaermore. And Thaermore is in peril. There are lots of goblins, thugs, and bad guys. Your job is to kill them all.
In more detail: The chancellor has sealed off the ways west to safer areas, preventing the commoners from escaping. The chancellor is busy dealing with these underground creatures that are pretty much the evil equivalent of dwarves. There are goblins everywhere attacking the commoners who can’t leave the region, and the chancellor isn’t too concerned about it. You, the hero, wake up in a destroyed village, and must find out who you are, and save everyone at the same time.
Thanks for reading!
Please report any mistakes I made while making this guide. I hope this guide has proven useful to you. If not, post in the comments how you think I can make it more useful.