Best 'Realms of Arkania'?

Found a page which contains various descriptions concerning the system and rules:
http://www.chromatrix.com/html/tde-mobile.html

Everything is explained with much detail, much better than I could ! ;)

I think it is focused on the 4th edition, I think, although some points can be applied to any edition.
 
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Oh my, nostalgia galore! Be sure to lit a candle and drink some wine while playing to set the mood for some atmospheric adventure sessions.

I'd probably find it rather hard to get into RoA, since they are a) pretty old and b) the first part has a couple of interface annoyances compared to the other parts (can only shoot arrows in a straight line etc.). But importing your characters and experiencing the technological progress from one part to the other is very rewarding.

Shameless self-promotion:
For Blade of Destiny I recommend my Traveller's Guide. It's a list of things you can find and some maps, including one which shows the locations of dungeons, which you can use while playing. It's not a complete walkthrough, so there are only minor spoilers.

Ah, and my favorite part of the trilogy was Shadows over Riva, because it simply had the best athmosphere! At the cost of freedom, but still...

edit:
*sighs* I'm currently listening to the midis of RoA 1 and 2. Ah, the memories...
 
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The games are currently sold - I mean the German ones - quite often right now on ebay Germany, I've seen. Someone even sells a T-Shirt there !
 
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I've only played Blade of Destiny and Star Trail to completion, and of the two I much prefer Blade of Destiny. Star Trail's micromanagement bugs me more as it's so much further to walk to a destination where you can have your weapons repaired (and they will break). Walking across half the map to repair your weapons in one of the few cities was just no fun. And there are more locations to visit in BoD, though they are more fleshed out in Star Trail. I dont like the two instances in ST where you can lose almost all your gear either:p

Over all both are cool games once one learns the interface tho. The UI isnt as bad as it seems first, with the exception of some minor annoyances like not seeing what items are magical even after identifying them (not that you really need most magical items, but some are unbreakable which is a nice bonus). The tone of the games is a bit different, with BoD being much lighter. I think the only thing I like better in Star trail is that you can fire arrows diagonally in the tactical combat, making your archers easier to use.

Btw, I got my party's faces switched to annoying "babyfaces" when importing my party into Star Trail, and the supposed fix for that bug wouldnt install/run (dont remember the exact problem as it was years ago) on my PC, so I had to start a new party in Star Trail.
 
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You can keep the weapons in shape (meaning less requirement to repair) by using the ... how is it called ? A stone to sharpen weapons.
The only drawback is that the use of this stone isn't automated, like hunting and herb-collecting.
 
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I know, I used that stone after every battle and also kept one spare melee weapon for every character, but given that some dungeons are both far away (the orc one in the SE mountains stand out) and large that often didnt suffice for one dungeon run. I got rather fed up with the overland travel to the few locations where you could repair:)
 
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You can also spend some coin in Ingerimm's temple and hope for a miracle that restores your broken weapon. The gods Ingerimm and Rondra can both make your weapons magical, too. Only works for the first character in your party, but it's easy to switch them around.

Some enemies can only be killed by magic or magical weapons, so they are useful to have around, especially considering that magical equipment is rare in these games.

And you can find a couple weapons in part 1 that are unbreakable (Short Sword, Ork Hook and a Twohander).
 
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Hmm, what enemies are that? I only recall some annoying ghost type monsters that I let my wizard take out.

The temples are at least as far away as the weaponsmiths in Star Trail:p And unfortunately I didnt have my magical equipment from Blade of Destiny since I started a new party (the babyface bug was unbearable). And I think I missed quite a few of the magical weapons due to the rather awkward identification scheme (simply didnt find the cost-benefit ratio of trying to identify magic stuffs worth it).
 
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I bought the arkania trilogy (english cdrom version) from ebay. It was only 30€ and still *factory sealed* brand new! Judging from the weight it clearly has a (heavy?) printed manual inside. Feels almost a crime to open it.

Thers atleast one more of these left in ebay incase anyone is interested to buy.
 
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You buy it and then sell it to me.
Seriously. I want it.

You'll make some profit too.
 
Out of the three, Blade of Destiny was my favourite.
Shadows Over Riva had quite a different feel and it wasn't that much about "realms" (meaning free-roaming vast distances).
Star Trail's map wasn't that diverse as Blade of Destiny's and whole game went a bit overkill with micromanagement demands, at least for my tastes.
In this game, my party had much more problems with flu and diarrhea than with up-to-teeth armed orc hordes:).
Nevertheless, all three are very good games. Engaging combat system, very detailed character development and all those every-day life routines (need for warm clothes, looking for water, hunting etc) made all three very immersive and entertaining.

And btw, I've played the first part on Amiga500+!!
 
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In this game, my party had much more problems with flu and diarrhea than with up-to-teeth armed orc hordes:).

Not when the party was outfitted right !

Of course in winter nights you need warm clothes ! Without them, a cold is *very* likely !

To me, after I found this out, is was very logical to me.

Plus you could fight/prevent illnesses with the Belmart herb !
 
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I bought shadows over riva last summer in a loose jewel-case
for 2 euros. I'd really like to have the rest of the series and it would be nice too
to own a complete pak like that, and one that is still factory sealed would be fantastic.
 
Try ebay or flea markets / second hand shops. And have patience.

Ebay and similar online shops might result in faster success, I guess (have seen the games every now and then on ebay Germany - in German language, of course).

Also, you could try abandonware sites, but the real music is to be found only on the CDs.
 
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I bought shadows over riva last summer in a loose jewel-case
for 2 euros. I'd really like to have the rest of the series and it would be nice too
to own a complete pak like that, and one that is still factory sealed would be fantastic.

I bought mine from this buddy40:
http://global.ebay.com/gbh/viItem?ItemId=230225687773

Contents:"Brand NEW Factory Sealed Game CD's in Original Case, Full MANUALS & Reference Cards (for all Games) & Color Map of Realms of Arkania" I really wanted the manuals because they are a must read atleast for me. The game - especially character creation - really needs a manual.

Total cost was US $44.99 + US $17.80 for delivery which is like 40 euros or somthing. In amazon they ask 80$ - 180$ for this so its kind of cheap. But there is only one left.

You do have a credit card right? Or know somone who does? Its pretty easy and cheap to get one in Finland nowadays. Even uni students can get it if they have managed to finish half of their studies.

And there are other ways than cc to pay through paypal (thats what you use with ebay). So you dont necesserily need cc even.
 
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Nice set.

I have seen the English version long ago only once for a price that seemed too high for me, that's why I never bought it, and never thereafter.
 
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