Part 3: She Wouldn’t have Lived Long Enough to Spend it Anyway
Chapter 3: She Wouldn’t have Lived Long Enough to Spend it Anyway
Well, I’ve talked to everyone in town who can talk during the daytime, so while we’re waiting for nightfall, let me explain a few game mechanics.
This is the overhead menu for this game, a common sight in Sierra’s VGA era. The first four icons let you interact with the world; from left to right, we have walk, look, use, and speak. The weird carpet-thing brings up the second menu which we’ll look at later. The grayed-out pentagram brings up the magic menu; since we’re in town, Erana’s spell won’t let us use it. The pack brings up the inventory, and the space to its left is where the currently selected item would go. The lever is the options menu, and the question mark tells you everything I just did.
This is the second overhead menu. The three dudes on the left change your movement style between walking, running (faster, but uses stamina), and sneaking. The button about to be clicked is the rest options, while the portrait brings up the character’s stats. The hourglass checks the time of day, and the checkmark takes you out of the menu.
Resting improves your health and stamina by a small amount and passes the time. Sleeping can only be done after nightfall, and is instantly fatal except in a couple safe locations.
The first two games have their times divided by the sun’s general location: day is dawning, mid morning, midday, mid afternoon, the sun is setting, the night is young, middle of the night, and the sun is about to rise. Staying up after midnight causes you to be tired, and you have to go to bed on time for the next two days or so or risk being exhausted, which slowly drains your stamina until you can get back to bed. Similarly, you have to eat every day or face the same penalty, although the game is nice enough to automatically go through rations without your interference.
But enough of that. The sun is finally going down, so let’s see what thievery we can get up to.
QfG1 Manual posted:
How do I become a Thief?
Agility is an important thing to develop if you intend to pursue the
honorable profession of purloining. Most of the skills a thief uses are
based on his (or her) grace and dexterity. There are many schools of thought
that teach the skills necessary:
Using Stealth is following the Way of the Rat; a slow, cautious scuttle with
all senses alert. Climbing is following the Way of the Three-Toed Sloth,
which ascends above those who seek it and goes where they cannot. Running
is the Way of the Cockroach, which pauses first to assess the danger, then
runs like mad. Lock Picking is the Way of the Aardvark, which delicately
inserts its tongue into the termite's nest to get out the luscious treasure
within. Throwing is the Way of the Dive Bomber Beetle, which launches itself
into the air and plots a course straight and true until it hits something
and bounces off. All of these disciplines must be mastered before you will
know the One True Way of the Thief.
Man, she packs up in a hurry. Guess they don’t want anyone making off with their roots.
Hey, what’s that flashing in the alleyway there? Could there be some evil muggers accosting someone in need of rescue, finally?
Now what the heck is that?
*Thwip* *THUNK*
That “Coin Light” spell gets them every time. See that dagger? The next one is centered on your back. Now just politely hand over your money, and nobody needs to die horribly. Oh, sweet, thieves! Hey guys, I’m a thief too! Oh wait, there’s a sign, isn’t there? How did that go again?QfG1 Manual posted:
To identify yourself as a Thief, you must make the proper 'Thief Sign'. This
consists of placing your thumb upon your nose with the hand held
perpendicular to the face and the fingers outspread. You then wiggle your
fingers while focusing your eyes on your thumb and patting your belly with
the other hand.
Interestingly, this is the only game in the series where you have to use the hand to perform the thief sign. Previous games had command inputs where you could just type “give sign” or the like, and later games give you a talk menu where the option is available.
You mean that the first victim we’ve had in months is a thief? Here I thought we were finally going to make some money. Well, tell Crusher that the password is “schwertfisch.” He’s in the tavern.Schwertfisch is German for swordfish, the password famously used by the Marx brothers in Horse Feathers, and which then recurred in several other films and books since then.
Sweet, thanks guys! I’ll see you in the secret guild headquarters later! Just get out of here before I change my mind. And don’t come back unless you’re licensed!
If you were wondering, no, the right answer does not appear unless you talk with Slink first. Also, Crusher gives you three chances to mess up before he decides to get up off his stool and smash your face in.
The Thief Guild. This also plays when you are robbing houses.
Sweet digs, man. So this is what one of those “thief guilds” I’ve heard about looks like?
Oh god damn it, he’s a newbie.
I swear, where do they get off sending me these inexperienced assholes? It’s not enough that I have to deal with a bunch of unlicensed brigands scaring away business, but all I’ve got under me are a bunch of fucking greenhorns!
What the hell did I do to deserve this? Why did they assign a man of my talent and experience to this podunk hole-in-the-wall ass-end-of-nowhere town? And why did I get stuck with the asshole who passed out and got robbed after only three god damned ales? Guild license is twenty five silver. If you ain’t got the cash, go steal some. Until then, I’ve got no time for an unlicensed scab.
Hey Mr. master thief, I know you said you don’t have any time for me, but what is this nifty board you’ve got set up here?
*Hurk!*
As long as you are in the guild, the chief thief will toss daggers at the daggerboard. Although he’s kind enough to not throw them while you’re standing in front of the board, it is possible to “intercept” a dagger, which is instantly fatal. Also, as you can guess from the text of the death, trying anything funny is generally a bad idea down here.
Hm, maybe standing in front of the chief’s daggers is a bad idea. But I know what’s a good idea:
Finding a nice old lady and taking her for all she’s worth!
That’s right, I should probably start sneaking now.
It may cause lasting back troubles, but now no one will be able to see me! Now, what’s in granny’s purse?
*Searching the couch, you find 3 silvers that have gotten caught in the cracks. Checking the bag, you see a string of pearls that seems to have fallen into the bag among the knitting. You take the pearls, of course (the knitting you can do without).*
*Searching the desk drawers, you find a single silver. There is nothing else of any value to you. The chest is filled with old quilts, doilies, and sweaters five sizes too large for anyone to wear. You really don’t want any of them, so you close the chest again.*
Man, aside from the pearls there really isn’t that much here. Wait a second, what’s she hiding under that purple quilt there?
Kitty, are you bothering Birdie again? Leave the poor thing alone! That was too close. You know, I bet that old bat’s got her real jewels locked up in a case by her bed.
You get three squeaky warnings. After that, the old lady wakes up, calling for the sheriff, Otto, and kitty. Wait, kitty?
I think I’ve gotten enough from this house. I wonder if I’ve got enough for a license yet?
Sadly, I’m still one silver short. However, although the Chief won’t talk to an unlicensed scab, he’s perfectly willing to play a game of throwing daggers (called Dag-Nab-It) with you—for money, of course.
The way the game works is that your hand begins in a random location, and you have to adjust force (up/down) and angle (left/right) in order to hit the center.
Understandably, I’ve gotten pretty good at this game, and I easily gained the 1 silver I needed to join the guild. This game is also a great way to practice throwing; these are the gains I made with just one round:
but make sure you keep your stamina up, because any effort made with an empty stamina bar drains health instead.
Boris here also fences your stolen goods and sells the thief’s tool kit, which gives you a bonus to using Pick Locks.
So, Boris, what have you got for me?
Let’s see now…two silver candlesticks and a pearl necklace…deducting the Guild cut, and allowing for resale markup, that comes to…600 silvers. Here you are.
Woohoo! Stealing from old ladies is fun and profitable!