Introduction

GET ME OUT OF HERE! Let's Play Exile: Escape from the Pit



What is Exile: EftP?

Exile 1 was published in 1995 by Spiderweb Software, a company owned by Jeff Vogel, and based in Seattle in the United States. It was heavily inspired by the Ultima series both in terms of game mechanics and in storytelling.

Story?

To avoid spoilers, your characters have been thrown into Exile, a massive system of subterranean caverns for crimes unspecified, and now you want to get out. Please do not spoil things about Exile 2 or 3 - or anything that hasn't been addressed by the LP yet, but once something has been covered in an update, feel free to discuss how they were changed/improved in Avernum 1 and Avernum: Escape from the Pit.

Is this going to be a MegaThread?

By which you mean am I going to do E2 and E3 was well? No. This is my first SSLP, and I don't want to burn myself out committing to a huge effort like that. I will do Exile 2: Crystal Souls and Exile 3: Ruined World in the future, but not right after this LP is done.

So, how is this going to work?

This is an old-school RPG, so it'll be a screenshot RP with narrative. I freely admit that Nakar's Ultima LP's are a source of inspiration, and I intend to honour that great work. I don't have a firm update schedule in mind yet as it's an old game and not compatible with newer systems, so I have to do extra work on my end to make an update.

Not Compatible?

Yes. Exile is 20 years old at this point, and it can't run on any system higher than 32bits. That means pretty much any system past Windows XP can't run it, even in compatibility mode. I'm running the game using an emulated 32bit XP on a Virtual Machine available through Microsoft. Past that, you'll have to get those resources yourself. Hey, at least the Exile Trilogy itself is now free!

Exile is Freeware

Wait. What? Oh yes, while I was doing this LP, it came to my attention that the entire Exile Trilogy has been made freeware by Spiderweb Software. You can download it from here!

Audience Participation

There's going to be a little bit of it. After the first post is done, and I explain the mechanics of the characters and give a little tour of the first town, I'll be asking for submissions for the other members of the party, as well as polling the thread for major decisions like what quests to go after. However, once we reach the end-game sections, there won't be much to vote on.

Table of Contents

Act 1 - Welcome to Exile!

• Update 000 - Welcome to (Fort) Exile
• Update 000 - Character Creation

• Update 001 - Meeting the Party
• Update 002 – Fort Exile and the Road to Silvar
• Update 003 - Silvar
• Update 004 – Fort Duvno
• Update 005 – Bandit Fort
• Update 006 - Nephil Fort
• Update 007 - Loose Ends and Stats (1)

Act 2 - The Great Cities

• Update 008 – Cotra
• Update 009 – Nephar Fort
• Update 010 – Fort Dranlon and Exploration
• Update 011 – To the Mage's Tower
• Update 012 - The Dark Pit and the Ogre Cave
• Update 013 – Formello and the Nephilim Fortress
• Update 014 – The Cave of Motrax and the Ancient Crypt
• Update 015 – Remote Fort and Fort Draco
• Update 016 - Solberg's Tower and Loose Ends
• Update 017 – GIFTS and the Aranea City
• Update 018 – Exploration and the Slith Cave
• Update 019 – The Island Fort and the road back to the Tower
• Update 020 – Almaria and Patrick's Tower
• Update 020a – Stats and Equipment
• Update 021 – Gremlin Gold and Fort Remote
• Update 022 – Fort Saffron and Dharmon
• Update 023 – Exploration, Blosk, Gnass and Fort Emerald
• Update 024 – Fort Emerald and the Castle

Act 3 - The Royal Quest

• Update 025 – The Great Cave and the Honeycomb
• Update 026 – The Death of Sss-Thsss
• Update 027 - Fort Remote and the Pit of the Drake
• Update 028 – Slith Temple and the Dark Cavern
• Update 028a – Stats and Equipment
• Update 029 – Patrick's Tower, Slith Fortification and the Crypt of Drath
• Update 030 – Dragonslayer, the Tower and the Shattered Fort
• Update 031 – The Abyss and Spire
• Update 032 – Skarragath and the Prison of Grath-Hoth
• Update 033 – The Waterfall Warrens and the Stagnant Tunnels
• Update 034 – Erika's Tower and the Ruined Fort
• Update 035 – The Death of Grah-Hoth

Act 4 - The Assassins

• Update 036 – Aranea Lair and the Strange Cave
• Update 037 – Bargha and the Gremlin Cave
• Update 038 – The Statues and the Giant Castle
• Update 039 – Beneath Baghra and the Lair of Pyrog
• Update 040 - The Hidden Tower and the Library of Khoth
• Update 041 – The Two Towers and Castle Hawethorn

Act 5 - The Escape

• Update 042 – The Lairs of Athron and Sulfras
• Update 043 – The Theft and the Final Gauntlet

Other Links
The Encyclopedia Ermariana is a Wiki for Exile and Avernum, and the primary resource I've been using for helping develop the background.