I hit the hard part now :D!

At the first crossroads there was a group of Higardi Roustabouts (level 7). I tried attacking them a couple of times but they were way too strong for me. So on the next reload I waited patiently so I could slip past and head south.

I haven't noticed that crevice yet (I'm only just south of the first crossroads), but I will keep an eye out for it. Is it possible to split up groups of enemies so that individual members will follow you? In my (limited) experience the whole group always advances towards me together. I suppose if I managed to Web some of them, and then moved away that might work... or is there a way to do it without magic?

http://www.nibbit.net/assets/arnikard.jpg

yes it is possible to split groups up but only if the other mod units can't detect you.

I recommend running away like a little girl... it works well more offen than you would think because the map boarder only allows you past.

If you're going to use magic to split up an enemy group, fear and blindness effects work rather well. This will allow you to fight only some of the enemies at a time, while the others spend their turns and stamina running away. Once the effect wears off, some of the enemies that resisted should now be dead, so you don't have to deal with as many as once. Plus, some enemies may run out of stamina when they try to fight you (and fall unconscious as a result).

Don't forget that you can use Flash Powder to cast Blinding Flash if you need to. Also, there's an early Gadget (obtained in Arnika) that casts Terror.

Also, note that group targeted spells (like Insanity, Freeze Flesh, and my favorite one, Psionic Blast) can hit far away enemies as long as one (1) of the enemies is in range; the ones out of range will still be affected.

Another strategy is to use status ailment spells. Insanity, Freeze Flesh, and Noxious Fumes are good for limiting the number of enemies that are able to attack you (and Noxious Fumes also does damage at the same time). Later on, Freeze All and Toxic Cloud are also really useful. (Freeze All targets all visible enemies in range, and Toxic Cloud keeps attempting to inflict statuses every round of its duration.) There's also Hypnotic Lure, which is available in gadget form once you reach Trynton.

Thanks again for the tips :)! My Samurai has Terror spell, but it has not been very effective... she's only been casting it at level 1 so far because she's not very good yet. I've mostly been using Web (Bishop) for crowd control, and Sleep to a lesser extent (Ranger).

My party has made it to Arnika now, and I've explored about half of the town. I've been using the Higardi Patrols to help me fight by engaging the enemy near a patrol :).

I've realised one mistake I made: My Gadgeteer was originally going to be female, but I switched to male because I liked the voice better... but now that I've been using the LIghtning Rod I notice how fast it drains stamina! I haven't found any female-only stamina regeneration items yet, but I know I'm going to be feeling the lack eventually on that particular character. Oh well, not worth restarting over that though. I've been selecting STR and VIT for my Gadgeteer to increase Stamina, also I've selected Stamina spell for a couple of my casters.

It is your game mate and more power to you but has to be said ime intel and dex are better investments on a gadgeteer because str comes on items and does nothing for modern weapons skill... the female only item is useful for a little while but soon replaced with better trinkets.

Tip; give the introduction from monastery to the head Priest guy in town... that should move things along

Advice on trinkets keep an eye out for Nebdar in the late game… they are worth the effort.

I've barely touched the omnigun since I got the lightning rod, and his "locks and traps" and "engineering" both seem to be working great so far (rarely ever fizzle/backfire or whatever it's called).

I've now finished up in Arnika, and I'm heading back to the monastery to try out the key I found. Arnika road is still pretty tough the second time, not so much the difficulty of each group but I was hit with wave after wave of enemies, I fought 4 completely different groups without resting before I finally made it to the crevice mentioned above. That's where I am right now.

I have a question about ability-raising magic devices. If your ability is raised to 100 from one of them, do you still get the special power associated with that ability or does it have to be a "natural" 100 ability? Is 100 the cap for each ability score (including magical boosts)?

You do have the gadget that casts Terror, right? Use it when you get overwhelmed by too many enemies.

Also, you do have a way to cure disease, right? If not, you shouldn't go back to the monastery until you do. (Potions are sufficient for this purpose.)

You need to have a natural score of 100 in the ability to get the expert skill.

With magical boosts, it is possible to raise an attribute or skill up to 125.

I do and I have :). Plus my Samurai has Terror too.

I don't have a spell, but I'm pretty sure I've got some potions (I've been collecting all of them, not selling any). I will double check though.

Thanks!

The Omnigun gets really powerful later on in the game.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

I've now collected the stuff from the monastery and am heading south towards Trynton. My characters are level 8.

Sounds good so far! How is your Samurai doing? Met the T'Rang and Umpani by now? Now I don't wish to spoil anything for you so... let me cautiously hint at the existence of three different routes concerning the T'Rang / Umpani quests ;)

I haven't met any T'Rang or Umpani yet. I've just got to Trynton recently, been exploring around the ground level. I also explored the graveyard on my way there, that was tough!! I had to avoid some groups and pick my fights (which I actually enjoyed). My characters are now level 9.

My Samurai is pretty lame at the moment honestly, I've been focusing on Dexterity and Speed for her, and Sword/Crit/Wizardry. She's only done two critical hits so far the whole game. I'm hoping once she gets to a higher level those critical hits will start coming through.

Assuming you have a bishop who is still level 10:

Try to raise one of her magic skills up to 60 before leveling up. This way, you can have her learn the portal spells with one spell pick. Then you can set a portal to return there later. (Alternatively, you could use spellbooks to learn those spells, but remember that having just one of the two portal spells on a character isn't particularly useful.)

Once you reach the T'Rang teleporter in Lower Marten's Bluff (after going through the area called "Mine Tunnels") and have activated it, you can set a portal there. This will drastically reduce the amount of travelling needed.

OK, I told myself I'll just take the next exit I find (which goes against my instincts, I enjoy exploring) and hope the next area is an improvement... but I couldn't make it! I kept on being pestered by random encounters which I couldn't avoid. I even tried Chameleon, but it didn't seem to be very useful and it's duration is rather short as well.

If only there were fewer random encounters, or a spell which would make me invisible to them, or a cap on the number of encounters in an area (such that once I defeated all of them the area would be clear), I think I could deal with it. Alas!