Quintessence

A Blades of Exile scenario by Brett Bixler.

The Plot

Ever wonder what happens to a creature when the "Capture Soul" Mage spell is used upon it? This scenario explores that question by casting you in the role of Jonah, a young apprentice mage that ends up on the wrong side of the spell.

The Adventure

Follow Jonah as he traverses the both the inner world of the "Gem" and the outer "reality" in an attempt to win free of bondage, and to answer the quintessential question - "Do I have a soul?" Visit the native "Shards" of the Gem, as well as Beholders, Eye Beasts, Beneathers, and other strange creatures. Assist a Lich! Bring peace to warring Stomper tribes. Track down the one being who may be able to help you.

This adventure has three possible endings. Two allow you to "finish" the scenario; one allows you to "win." Can you be one of the first five players to finish (or win!) and claim immortality in the scenario's Hall of Fame?

Gameplay

This is a single character adventure. You play the scenario as Jonah, a young apprentice mage. My apologies for not allowing you to pick the sex of your character. Simply put - this would be too difficult to me to program. Others could, possibly, but not me. Also, as the plot progresses, you'll understand why I chose a male character.

Please use the quint.sav starting file if playing on a PC; the quint.mac starting file if playing on a Macintosh. Just in case the start file is not working properly, here is all the information you need to build Jonah from scratch:

Character Name: Jonah
Character Icon - The brown-robed man with the upright staff.
HP - 22, S - 8, Dex - 8, Int - 8
Experience - 0
All weapons - 4
Defense - 0
Spell Points - 35
Level 3 Mage & Priest Spells
Assassination - 4
All else - 0
Traits - Magically Apt, Recooperation
Supplies - Shirt, pants, and an iron knife
Gold - 800

This scenario is rated R due to adult content.

Installation

1. Place the quint.exs file in the Blades of Exile Scenarios folder on the Mac, or the Bladscen folder on the PC.
2. Place the quint.meg graphics file in the Blades of Exile Scenarios folder on the Mac, or the quint.bmp file in the Bladscen folder on the PC.
3. Place the quint.mac (for the Mac) or quint.save (for the PC) starting file wherever you normally store your save files.

Thanks to:

Tim Farland, for maintaining an excellent set of graphics for the BoE community. Several of them were used in this scenario. Also a special thanks to Luz, whose facial graphics are second to none. Others who contributed graphics:

• Blue Castle - Eldin Windleaf
• Ash Slime (Glitch) - Abbot Henderson
• Beholder - Dragon777
• DoomLord (Crystal Knight) - Relhan
• Unicorn - HYZ
• Eyebeast - Spiderweb
• Ground Beast (Beneather) - Relhan
• Monster Eye (Lesser Beholder) - Dragon777

My thanks also to my poor beta testers: Terror's Martyr, Chris "Drizzt" Risberg, Andrew Barton, and Jayne. Without you, this scenario would be nothing.

Finally, I'd like to thank the Alan Parson's Project, Billy Joel, Puddle of Mud, and Vanessa Carleton for their lyrics; Clifford D. Simak for inspiring the Hoot character, and Monty Python for various silly inspirations included in this scenario.

Please Consider...

If you like this game, please consider making a small donation to your local literacy council. Even five dollars goes a long way with these organizations. They are underfunded, rely on volunteers, and fulfill an important need in our society.

Questions? Contact Brett Bixler.