Ferryman at Skara Brae Death Scythe

[Pegbyter]

I noticed something interesting... I was going around in pickpocket mode... And I tried to pick the Ferrymans Death Scythe.. However, instead of getting his inventory, all I get is the regular conversation tree as if I didn't have PP enabled...

A bug? I want that Scythe!!!
Anyone else notice this besides me? My apologies if this was covered in another thread; but I havent seen it mentioned anywhere else...

Peg

[Malignant Manor]

He doesn't have a weapon. His shape has it drawn on. He isn't a real actor.

[Dominus]

The ferryman is not a regular NPC afaik. Think of him more as a talking statue

[Dale]

Even though I never figured out how, can't you get the Scythe legitimately in Skara Brae? I'm pretty sure it's in the cheat room... but I've never figured out a legit way to get it.

[Dale]

Apparently there are a few ways to get this...
http://ultima.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Scythe

[Dominus]

Yes, you just can't get exactly this death scythe

[Pegbyter]

Speaking of Skara Brae I also noticed something else unusual... I PP'ed Horances Firedoom staff off of him. Then solved the Well of souls quest. After that, Horrance is supposed to give you his staff as a gift.. Well, even though he doesn't have one on him to give to you I get another one added to my inventory anyway..

A nice way to get a free 2 for 1 deal..

Obviously the original programmers never planned on having the average player pickpocket this guy, so it doesn't check his inventory after the fact and just generates an additional staff for you.

[Korneluk]

Great to get a couple of death Scythes...but one thing that always bugged me about this game was that you reach a point where your party has such powerful weapons and armor that no fight is any sort of challenge...now I know that U7 combat isn't really tactical, everyone just mobs up in a lump and starts swinging, but it would be great if there were monsters that pose a threat...playing around with Exult studio I found you could add immunites to monsters and up their hp etcetera, a mod that overhauled the monsters/combat would really add to the game in my opinion....

of course, since you can get endless gold at Bucs Den, you can get endless supplies of potions and reagents.

These days when I play, I often leave the high powered stuff in the hold of my ship. Serpent Isle seemed to keep a sharper edge...

...and now we return to our regular program.

[Malignant Manor]

You can increase the difficulty setting and monsters will hit more often and do more damage.

[Crowley]

Interestingly, the game files do have the sprites for a fully mobile Ferryman, but it's not used anywhere.

[Dale]

Interesting! Would that be a worthwhile update? I guess it wouldn't serve any real purpose... it's not like you SHOULD be able to get the scythe and stuff from him...

[Pegbyter]

On the contrary, that's exactly what I'm hoping for... Make him a regular NPC complete with stealable scythe... Maybe even killable by the armageddon spell...

[Korneluk]

I don't think you should mess with the ferryman...in fact, doesn't his dialogue change if you cast Armageddon?

Perhaps he could be the gate way to a section of the Underworld....

on another note...his ferry is a tad too cheerful.

[Pegbyter]

I think his dialogue changes once you ask him to sacrifice himself in the well of souls.. That's when he starts telling you "I told you I would be here; for all eternity..".. I think that casting Armageddon has no effect on his dialogue if you do it before you solve the main skara brae quest... afaik he still offers to take you to the island... I'd have to play with it again to be sure though...

That would be cool though, he would be some sort of gateway to a part of the underworld that didn't collapse after U5. Maybe some cavern with some special items there if you get him to open it for you...

[Pegbyter]

Just checked it.. He still offers to take you across after casting Armageddon; (standard conversation threads still work) It's just that when you actually take a seat, nothing happens... He wont sail the ferry to the other side.

[Malignant Manor]

I think the original engine ignores disabled party members for the pathfinding call. Exult doesn't so Armageddon screws it up.

[Pegbyter]

Well, technically he's not a real NPC; so it makes sense that Armageddon wouldn't break him... I would imagine this to be the case either with or without Exult running the helm.