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Quest for Glory 3: Wages of War sees the Hero arrive to a country called Fricana, home to Linotaurs which are half-human and half-lion creatures. The Linotaurs are on a brink of war against the Leopardmen, and a demon may also be loosed upon the world. Lots to do, so get to it, Hero!

QuestForGlory3   QuestForGlory3

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With Fighter: 0:26:25 by Paul 'The Reverend' Miller

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Author's comments:

[A NOTE ON DOSBOX SETTINGS]
This run was done on the GOG.com official release (i.e., 10,000 cycles), with two lines changed that do not affect gameplay other than in the positive sense. These were discussed and approved in previous runs already, involving disabling EMS in the DOSBox settings. It QFG1VGA and QFG3 were both have crashing issues that disappear when EMS is disabled.

Also, the video output from "Overlay" to "OpenGL" to allow for FRAPS to make the recording.

---
[CREDITS]
Of course, I want to thank SDA for hosting such a great service. It is always my first place to check for speed runs, and the community is always super friendly and helpful. :)

Thanks to Crow! for passing the idea that Throwing can be trained much, much faster than Weapon Skill, which changed this run and cut nearly a minute off of the time.

Also, as a minister, I have to give credit to God for giving me a little extra leisure time to practice the series of games I enjoy.

---
[KEYBOARD COMMANDS]
Unlike the other games in the series, pressing the TAB key DOES NOT open the inventory. No other keyboard command seems to either. However, I have attempted to optimize the INSERT key function, which switches from whatever icon you are on to the walking icon. Upon pressing INSERT again, you go back to the icon you were previously using. This is demonstrated to its fullest in the marketplace, as I can switch from running to the money bag as necessary to avoid conversation with the merchants.

Also, the arrow keys are used when fastest to move around. This is often a judgement call.

---
[SCENE-BY-SCENE COMMENTARY]

[CHARACTER CREATION AND OPENING REMARKS:]
Everything goes into Weapon Skill. This is a very big change from the first approved run, because the Fighter is required to enter combat and defeat three enemies. Once Weapon Skill is at 200 and above, attacks begin to connect with greater regularity. The fights in my previous approved run were the sore spot, and admittedly painful to watch. Training Throwing from 100 to 150 is the matter of about a minute of gameplay, as throwing rocks in the savannah is very fast. The reason throwing needs to be at 150 is that Uhura only appears at the spear range once you reach 150 points, and the competition with her is the trigger for the Leopard Prisoner to appear.

---
[EVERYTHING TARNA:]
I start with my icon on the door, and begin character movement (start time) as soon as possible, changing my movement type to Run. After this, I adjust the Game Settings sliders so moving to the door is already on auto-pilot. After that, I head down to the marketplace, and to the moneychanger area to watch the Thief. Staying at the left side of the screen will auto-transition back to the screen fastest, and the game thinks you have tried to apprehend the Thief (most points/fastest transition).

In the Rajah's room, right-clicking is the fastest way to make sure you skip all the screens. After that, you can speed up this dialog by not saying anything (just looking at myself over and over). When I exit, I reset my movement to run, head back to the moneychanger. We will not need more cash in this game. Here is our shopping list:

- 2 Waterskins
- 5 Zebra Skins
- 1 Fine Spear
- 1 Fine Robe

Where you click is important in the marketplace, as I am avoiding getting too close to the merchants and initiating dialog. Sometime between now to when I am on my way back to the Simbani Village from getting the Dispel Potions, I need to get a Dinosaur Horn. So if I encounter a T-Rex, I will be fighting it.

As it happens, I encounter a Croc-Fighter and run away. I use this time to quickly train my Throwing to over 150. Picking up to the point where the game informs you that you are carrying too much, and then adding one more, makes 150 Throwing a near certainty. I did not encounter a run where it didn't yet, but I do note at the end of the game it is pretty tight.

---
[GRAPES AND STONE AND WASTING TIME:]
There are two cutscenes here. One is optional, but I find it to be much faster to watch both rather than the alternative, which does not happen until the Lost City at the end of run, and requires precise timing. Even with the second cutscene skippable, I believe this is actually the faster route.

After freeing the Meerbat, I reenter a third time to get the Venom Grapes and the Fire Opal. Venom Grapes are for the Dispel Potion; Fire Opal for the door at the end of the game.

After that, it is a matter of RNG prayer. It is almost night, when it becomes night, you can sleep on the savannah until morning. There are three possibilities that can happen:

1) You have an RNG encounter, and have to run; once you escape you can sleep until the morning.
2) The Earth Pig can appear, which doesn't require running, but you still have to say goodbye to him and then you sleep until morning. That is what happens here.
3) Everything goes fine and you sleep until morning.

I am running back and forth on the savannah to waste time, as I will automatically return to the inn for the next scene at dusk. I get perfect RNG for the rest of the day.

When you are asked to swear an oath when Rakeesh does, you can say "yes" or "no." The only difference, I believe, is points. So you will not see me aim the mouse here because it does not matter. I again use the "eye" click to avoid all of his answers and having to dialog through the menu.

We travel across the savannah to the Simbani Village.

---
[SIMBANI VILLAGE, ERANA'S POOL, GETTING THE FRUIT:]
Attempting to walk away causes the dialog screens to appear faster when you are on the hill, which gets you into the village fastest. Once inside the Laibon's Hut, I use the "eye" clicking skip again to get to the next scene much faster.

In the next scene, you can either click "Say Goodbye" or walk to the door. I find the door faster. After that, you are expected to sleep through the night, which I do. I need to have a spear match with Uhura to trigger the apperance of the prisoner, which only happens in the daytime. I have tried; she will not appear immediately. Resting is the fastest way. Also, when having the competition, you MUST throw all three and she needs to get her turn. If you leave before, the trigger does not occur. After two seconds of fumbling, I realize I need to pick the spears back up and finish the trigger. After that, I go to Erana's Pool.

I am here to fill two waterskins. One is for a Dispel Potion, the other is to give so I can get another ingredient for a Dispel Potions. I am headed, after this, to the Big Tree, where I encounter the T-Rex on my way, which goes quicker than any of my previous attempts. I was thrilled.

When I enter the second screen (the part where I am actually scaling the side of the tree) you will notice I do not move right away. Actually, you will notice NOTHING moves (even the waterfall). I have tried to click lower on the tree and even on the path and the pause still occurs. The more you click, the longer this lag lasts, so I make sure to only click when I see the waterfall move. It happens again once I have the Magic Fruit.

Also, if you just click at the bottom of the screen from the doorway, you run right back inside the top room, which is an obvious problem in a speed run where backtracking matters. Moving slightly down the stairs fixes this routing AI issue. Back to Tarna.

---
[REVISITING TARNA:]
I am here for the Dispel Potion, but there is a proper way to acquire it to maximize time efficiency. You want to enter the city at sunset, so you can talk to the hippy about the Dispel Potion, give him the ingredients, and then sleep and purchase them the next morning. If you arrive too late at night, it counts as the same morning even if you sleep until the next day, requiring a trip out to the savannah to waste time.

That is why I hang outside until sunset. After purchasing TWO Dispel Potions, I head back to the Simbani Village.

---
[COMPETING FOR A BRIDE:]
You can only use the Dispel Potion and open the gate when the unnamed guard is there. If Yesufu or Uhara are there, they will not let you do anything, even if she is your bride.

You MUST do the competition as the Fighter, as the Laibon will not allow you to pay the bride price until you recognized as a full Simbani Warrior. This first screen is quite a bit glitchy, and crashes sometimes and does other weird mouse/sound/graphical things. What you are supposed to do to win this is climb the tree, and retrieve the ring that way. My Fighter has no climbing skill, so there is no sense wasting time.

The second event with the circle and the log is fast, and you'll win everytime as long as you do not click the other spear.

YOU MUST SAVE YESUFU!! IF YOU DO NOT, IT WILL GAMEOVER YOU AT THE END OF THE COMPETITION! The only way you can skip saving Yesufu is if you win the bridge competition, which is NOT going to happen at my skill level and having done no training with Uhura. To be honest, you want to lose that competition, because winning takes so, so much longer. By saving Yesufu, you also do not have to ask the Laibon for the Drum; Yesufu requests it and gives it to you as his victory prize.

I head back into the Laibon's hut, exit again, and re-enter which allows me to make the bridal price by talking with him about marriage. Once my bride is free, we are headed to the jungle.

---
[JUNGLE, NON-PEACE-CONFERENCE, MONKEY VILLAGE:]
Finding your wife in the jungle is the same as an RNG encounter. I tell her about the drum, and skip through every dialog I can. Once there, you watch some magic, and then I get to present the drum and start the peace conference. Once the peace conference fails, you have to run back to the jungle.

RNG encounters here could be better, because the T-Rex obviously wants revenge.

Once you are on the third screen, you automatically enter a dialog with the monkey you freed, which kicks to another automatic travelling scene that ends at the Monkey Village. As the Fighter with no Climbing skill, you have to talk Manu through some dialog trees and then request the "swingladder." I talk to Manu about the Lost City, and then ask him to take me four times. With higher communication skill, you only have to ask him once, but there is no good way to make that happen in this short of a run.

---
[WATERFALL AND LOST CITY:]
I collect two vines, and tell Manu I need him to take the rope across. Once I am back on the map, this last encounter is not RNG, but scripted.

You have to "Say Goodbye" to Manu to reach the next screen. After that, you open the door. There is nothing I can do to avoid this next fight, so I man up and make it happen. The next demon fight does not start with full health (no idea why, but it happens every time), and he goes down fairly quickly thanks to the new Weapon Skill starting strat. This could still be faster, but I have no good way to build further Weapon Skill, so it is a matter of RNG.

Throw the Dispel Potion at the next demon after heading into the prison room.

---
[ENDGAME:]
You cannot win the fight against your doppleganger. Fastest thing you can do is spam the attack key until you are almost out of health, at which point the Thief from the beginning of the game comes and saves you. You do have to be a little careful, because you can die if you are too fast.

The next area is the last. The last fight happens, and this guy goes down quick as well. Throwing the spear kills the bad guy.

Once the shield is clicked on the altar-thing, that is the last official input past dialog skipping.

---
[AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT]

Better RNG during battle, obviously, but this was fantastic compared to my last accepted run. Even so, the savings only amounted to about a minute. Better map RNG would certainly be welcome.

With Wizard: 0:25:43 by Paul 'The Reverend' Miller

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Author's comments:

[A NOTE ON DOSBOX SETTINGS]
TThis run was done on the GOG.com official release (i.e., 10,000 cycles), with two lines changed that do not affect gameplay other than in the positive sense. These were discussed and approved in previous runs already, involving disabling EMS in the DOSBox settings. It QFG1VGA and QFG3 were both have crashing issues that disappear when EMS is disabled. The other major change is the use of Roland MT-32 sound, which is overwhelmingly superior to Soundblaster for these old Sierra games.

Also, the video output from "Overlay" to "OpenGL" to allow for FRAPS to make the recording.

---
[CREDITS]
Of course, I want to thank SDA for hosting such a great service. It is always my first place to check for speed runs, and the community is always super friendly and helpful. :)

This route was developed almost entirely by Puri as watched on his Twitch stream, but has been sped up because of better understand of the game mechanics. The RNG is this is about a close to perfect as I could ever expect to get.

Also, as a minister, I have to give credit to God for giving me a little extra leisure time to practice the series of games I enjoy.

---
[KEYBOARD COMMANDS]
Unlike the other games in the series, pressing the TAB key DOES NOT open the inventory. No other keyboard command seems to either. However, I have attempted to optimize the INSERT key function, which switches from whatever icon you are on to the walking icon. Upon pressing INSERT again, you go back to the icon you were previously using. This is demonstrated to its fullest in the marketplace, as I can switch from running to the money bag as necessary to avoid conversation with the merchants.

Also, the arrow keys are used when fastest to move around. This is often a judgement call.

---
[SCENE-BY-SCENE COMMENTARY]

[CHARACTER CREATION AND OPENING REMARKS:]

The Wizard is the ONLY class in the game that does not require a specific creation-point allocation to finish without training. As such, I throw the points into Luck. I figure it couldn't hurt when hunting the Blue Orchid and praying to miss all those RNG monsters, as well as looking for your wife in the jungle. There is a lot of RNG.

---
[EVERYTHING TARNA:]
I start with my icon on the door, and begin character movement as soon as possible, changing my movement type to Run. After this, I adjust the Game Settings sliders so moving to the door is already on auto-pilot. After that, I head down to the marketplace, and to the moneychanger area to watch the Thief. Staying at the left side of the screen will auto-transition back to the screen fastest, and the game thinks you have tried to apprehend the Thief (most points/fastest transition).

There is a new glitch I have discovered which speeds the Thief up to the character's movement speed when running away, but doing so only seems to work here and causes major encounters on the world map (every couple of steps).

In the Rajah's room, right-clicking is the fastest way to make sure you skip all the screens. After that, you can speed up this dialog by not saying anything (just looking at myself over and over). When I exit, I reset my movement to run, head back to the moneychanger. We will not need more cash in this game. Here is our shopping list:

- 1 Waterskins
- 5 Zebra Skins
- 1 Fine Spear
- 1 Fine Robe

Where you click is important in the marketplace, as I am avoiding getting too close to the merchants and initiating dialog. After this, I am leaving Tarna.

---
[GRAPES AND STONE AND WASTING TIME:]
This is the route which makes skipping the Fire Opal faster, as the Wizard can use the Fetch spell. I Fetch the Grapes, and leave the Meerbats to deal with the plants. I will get another gem at the end of the game.

After an RNG encounter when trying to sleep, I am able to sleep through the night. RNG encounters are a major source of time wasting, so only having one on the next day while trying to waste time was fantastic. I will automatically return to the inn for the next scene at dusk.

When you are asked to swear an oath when Rakeesh does, you can say "yes" or "no." The only difference, I believe, is points. So you will not see me aim the mouse here because it does not matter. Using the "eye" on the character is the fastest way to transition. We travel across the savannah to the Simbani Village.

---
[SIMBANI VILLAGE, BLUE ORCHID:]
Attempting to walk away causes the dialog screens to appear faster when you are on the hill, which gets you into the village fastest. Once inside the Laibon's Hut, I use the "eye" clicking skip again to get to the next scene faster.

In the next scene, you can either click "Say Goodbye" or walk to the door. I find the door faster. I am leaving immediately to save time and begin travelling to start the Blue Orchid search. I also do not have an RNG encounter which is fantastic. You have to talk to the glow orb in the tree to make the Blue Orchid spawn, and you do that by asking about "Wood."

Then, it is a matter of searching and time management, which ends up not being much of an issue. After an RNG encounter, I almost immediately stumble into the Blue Orchid, which is probably one of the top five fastest times I have ever encountered it.

You have to wait until night to dip the Blue Orchid or else it does not change to the glowing Blue Orchids, which involves risking RNG encounters. I dip the Blue Orchids, of course. I am also here to fill two waterskins. One is for a Dispel Potion, the other is to give so I can get another ingredient for a Dispel Potions. I head back to the tree, which goes smoothly as well, and get the Magic Wood and the Magic Fruit.

Moving slightly down the stairs fixes an routing AI issue which puts you back into the garden room. I head back to Tarna, which could have gone better with the day/night cycle management, but had perfect RNG on the second screen! An encounter with the Earth Pig is pretty much expected and is rarely dodged. Then it is waiting.

---
[REVISITING TARNA:]
I am here for the Dispel Potion, but there is a proper way to acquire it to maximize time efficiency. You want to enter the city at sunset (which means RNG risk), so you can talk to the hippy about the Dispel Potion, give him the ingredients, and then sleep and purchase them the next morning. If you arrive too late at night, it counts as the same morning even if you sleep until the next day, requiring a trip out to the savannah to waste time.

I also use this time to get the Wizard's Staff (this resets your movement to walking), and then rest at the Inn.

After purchasing THREE Dispel Potions, I head back to the Simbani Village, which leads to a few more RNG encounters.

---
[BUYING A BRIDE:]
You can only use the Dispel Potion and open the gate when the unnamed guard is there. If Yesufu or Uhura are there, they will not let you do anything, even if she is your bride already.

By going as fast as you can and min/maxing time in other areas, it is inevitable that you are going to run into this short storytime cutscene. It seems as though it is avoidable, but it is not if you are on pace. Again, it takes longer to avoid it than to right-click through it (and there will be less "you're tired" dialogs because you get an extra sleep). The only class that can avoid is pretty consistently is the Fighter.

Entering and exiting the Laibon's Hut once is required, as the option for "Marriage" is necessary to buy your bride and only appears on the second time in the hut. Once the bride is free, we are headed to the jungle.

---
[JUNGLE, NON-PEACE-CONFERENCE, MONKEY VILLAGE:]
The Wizard has to encounter the Leopard Woman three different times, each as an RNG encounter. This was taxing, obviously, but goes amazingly well. You learn the Lightning Ball spell in the second encounter. I position myself next to the Jungle Village to make the trip last about two seconds at the last encounter, and panic for a second because I realize this is probably the best combination RNG game I've had to this point, and almost say goodbye to her accidentally, which leads to a two second hesitation.

You have to tell her about the drum and she will lead you to her village. Once there, you watch some magic, and fight a magic duel. The order is always the same to win:

1. Wizard's Staff
2. Reversal
3. Calm
4. Force Bolt
5. Juggling Lights
6. Lightning Ball
7. Levitate
8. Dispel Potion

After this, you get the Spear, give back the drum, go to the supposed peace conference, and then head back to the Jungle. I have one RNG encounter on the first screen and one more on the second screen, which is pretty damn solid.

Once you are on the third screen, you automatically enter a dialog with the monkey you freed, which kicks to another automatic travelling scene that ends at the Monkey Village. Levitating up is the only option for the Wizard who does not have climbing skill. This is followed by talking to Manu about the Lost City, and then asking him to take you four times. With higher communication skill, I believe you only have to ask him once, but there is no good way to make that happen in this short of a run.

---
[WATERFALL AND LOST CITY:]
The waterfall screen for the Wizard is awkward, but is handled pretty well in this run. You have to get two vines, tell Manu about the rope, then tell him about Cooperation to get across when casting Levitation.

You have to "Say Goodbye" to Manu to reach the next screen at the Lost City. The Fetch spell is by far much faster to get the gem to open the door for the Wizard rather than the Meerbat cutscene. I am inside and in the last areas.

Once inside, cast Calm, then Open, and finally open the door with the hand. Pretty simple.

---
[ENDGAME:]
You cannot win the fight against your doppleganger. Fastest thing you can do is spam the attack key until you are almost out of health, at which point the Thief from the beginning of the game comes and saves you. You do have to be a little careful, because you can die if you are too fast.

The next area is the last. You can stall the game by casting the Wizard's Staff first, so I begin with Reversal, then Calm, and THEN cast the Staff. Once I hit him with a Flame Dart, he Fetches the Staff himself. Casting Trigger detonates it.

The last thing that needs to get done is casting Force Bolt on the altar. Once that is cast, the game is won.

---
[AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT]

The Wizard is the most RNG heavy of all the classes, and this was a very solid RNG run from my experience running this game. Grinding RNG is going to be pretty much the only option to beat this run.

With Thief: 0:22:44 by Paul 'The Reverend' Miller

Get Flash to see this player.

Author's comments:

[A NOTE ON DOSBOX SETTINGS]
This run was done on the GOG.com official release (i.e., 10,000 cycles), with two lines changed that do not affect gameplay other than in the positive sense. As with Quest for Glory I VGA, this game seems to suffer from random crashes. Once changing the "EMS" and "XMS" DOSBox settings to "false," these crashes went away. These settings were discussed during the Quest for Glory I VGA verification thread and were approved; albeit not for this game yet. Both Quest for Glory I VGA and Quest for Glory III run on the SCI1.1 engine, so I imagine this is the reason.

Also, the video output from "Overlay" to "OpenGL" to allow for FRAPS to make the recording.

---
[CREDITS]
Of course, I want to thank SDA for hosting such a great service. It is always my first place to check for speed runs, and the community is always super friendly and helpful. :)

This route was developed almost entirely by Puri as watched on his Twitch stream, however, I found areas MAJOR areas where the game can be sped up significantly. I will discuss specific in the scene-by-scene commentary.

Also, as a minister, I have to give credit to God for giving me a little extra leisure time to practice the series of games I enjoy.

---
[KEYBOARD COMMANDS]
Unlike the other games in the series, pressing the TAB key DOES NOT open the inventory. No other keyboard command seems to either. However, I have attempted to optimize the INSERT key function, which switches from whatever icon you are on to the walking icon. Upon pressing INSERT again, you go back to the icon you were previously using. This is demonstrated to its fullest in the marketplace, as I can switch from running to the money bag as necessary to avoid conversation with the merchants.

Also, the arrow keys are used when fastest to move around. This is often a judgement call.

---
[SCENE-BY-SCENE COMMENTARY]

[CHARACTER CREATION AND OPENING REMARKS:]
Unlike other Quest for Glory games, this one is not magic heavy outside of the Wizard's route. The major thing is to make sure you add 25 to Stealth and 25 to Agility. No training will be necessary with those prerequistes met.

Also, this game's random encounter system can be a bit frustrating. You cannot avoid all enemies. Perhaps in a TAS, but definitely not in a real game. As such, running the direction you choose is important.

---
[EVERYTHING TARNA:]
I start with my icon on the door, and begin character movement as soon as possible, changing my movement type to Run. After this, I adjust the Game Settings sliders so moving to the door is already on auto-pilot. After that, I head down to the marketplace, and to the moneychanger area to watch the Thief. Staying at the left side of the screen will auto-transition back to the screen fastest, and the game thinks you have tried to apprehend the Thief (most points/fastest transition).

In the Rajah's room, right-clicking is the fastest way to make sure you skip all the screens. After that, you can speed up this dialog by not saying anything (just looking at myself over and over). When I exit, I reset my movement to run, head back to the moneychanger. We will not need more cash in this game. Here is our shopping list:

- 2 Waterskins
- 5 Zebra Skins
- 1 Fine Spear
- 1 Oil Bottle
- 1 Rope
- 1 Fine Robe

Where you click is important in the marketplace, as I am avoiding getting too close to the merchants and initiating dialog. After this, I am leaving Tarna, and within seconds, have my first RNG encounter.

Once my second RNG encounter happens, I use the opportunity to grab a handful of rocks which I would have had to do anyway when I reached my destination.

---
[GRAPES AND STONE AND WASTING TIME:]
There are two cutscenes here. One is optional, but I find it to be much faster to watch both rather than the alternative, which does not happen until the Lost City at the end of run, and requires precise timing. Even with the second cutscene skippable, I believe this is actually the faster route.

After freeing the Meerbat, I reenter a third time to get the Venom Grapes and the Fire Opal. Venom Grapes are for the Dispel Potion; Fire Opal for the door at the end of the game.

After that, it is a matter of RNG prayer. It is almost night, when it becomes night, you can sleep on the savannah until morning. There are three possibilities that can happen:

1) You have an RNG encounter, and have to run; once you escape you can sleep until the morning.
2) The Earth Pig can appear, which doesn't require running, but you still have to say goodbye to him and then you sleep until morning.
3) Everything goes fine and you sleep until morning. That is what happens here.

I am running back and forth on the savannah to waste time, as I will automatically return to the inn for the next scene at dusk.

When you are asked to swear an oath when Rakeesh does, you can say "yes" or "no." The only difference, I believe, is points. So you will not see me aim the mouse here because it does not matter. I again use the "eye" click to avoid all of his answers and having to dialog through the menu. There is a misclick here where I right-click which causes a dialog box to pop up. Right clicking through certain dialogs is usually faster. Here, however, it cost me a second or two to realize what had happened.

On a sidenote, this dialog is hysterical if you do not answer the Rajah, and he gets utterly furious with you.

We travel across the savannah to the Simbani Village.

---
[SIMBANI VILLAGE, ERANA'S POOL, GETTING THE FRUIT:]
Attempting to walk away causes the dialog screens to appear faster when you are on the hill, which gets you into the village fastest. Once inside the Laibon's Hut, I use the "eye" clicking skip again to get to the next scene MUCH faster.

In the next scene, you can either click "Say Goodbye" or walk to the door. I find the door faster, and if not faster than fail-safe. After that, you are expected to sleep through the night, but I am not going to do that. I am a Thief, and haven't stolen anything for a few days at least. Walking to the exit gets me to the exact time of day I want (sunset or night, doesn't matter).

I get into the Laibon's Hut and steal the precious Drum of Magic. If you have 120 Stealth, you will die with a spear through the chest. Apparently 125 is necessary. After that, I exit and head to Erana's Pool.

I am here to fill two waterskins. One is for a Dispel Potion, the other is to give so I can get another ingredient for a Dispel Potions. Had a second's worth of difficulty in the inventory screen, but nothing major. I am headed, after this, to the Big Tree, but first I need to see the waterfall portion of the map. This triggers the Leopard Woman prisoner to appear.

The tree itself is interesting on my machine (perhaps the GOG.com package). When I enter the second screen (the part where I am actually scaling the side of the tree) you will notice I do not move right away. Actually, you will notice NOTHING moves (even the waterfall). The more you click, the longer this lag lasts, so I make sure to only click when I see the waterfall move. It happens again once I have the Magic Fruit.

Also, if you just click at the bottom of the screen from the doorway, you run right back inside the top room, which is an obvious problem. Moving slightly down the stairs fixes this routing AI issue. Back to Tarna (after a few more RNG encounters)!

---
[REVISITING TARNA:]
I am here for the Dispel Potion, but there is a proper way to acquire it to maximize time efficiency. You want to enter the city at sunset, so you can talk to the hippy about the Dispel Potion, give him the ingredients, and then sleep and purchase them the next morning. If you arrive too late at night, it counts as the same morning even if you sleep until the next day, requiring a trip out to the savannah to waste time.

That is why I hang outside until sunset. After purchasing TWO Dispel Potions, I head back to the Simbani Village.

---
[BUYING A BRIDE:]
This section is hard to time properly. I have run into problems wherein I approach the Leopard Woman prisoner, and Yesufu begins to talk, and I am soft-locked in that screen and have to restart. I have found by going into the Laibon's Room, this is avoided. Talking may not be necessary, but I was too scared to try otherwise because this attempt was going well.

You can only use the Dispel Potion and open the gate when the unnamed guard is there. If Yesufu or Uhura are there, they will not let you do anything, even if she is your bride.

By going as fast as you can and min/maxing time in other areas, it is inevitable that you are going to run into this short storytime cutscene. It seems as though it is avoidable, but it is not if you are on pace. Again, it takes longer to avoid it than to right-click through it (and there will be less "you're tired" dialogs because you get an extra sleep).

Once the bride is free, we are headed to the jungle.

---
[JUNGLE, NON-PEACE-CONFERENCE, MONKEY VILLAGE:]
Finding your wife in the jungle is the same as an RNG encounter. This one happens fast. If it does not, it is not an immediate deal breaker. You can position yourself next to the Jungle Village to make the trip last about two seconds. This way, however, does avoid the problem of RNG encounters. If I would have had to sleep through the night, that would have been annoying and time-wasting in this automatic travelling scene.

You have to tell her about the drum and she will lead you to her village. Once there, you watch some magic, and have to steal the spear. You have to have higher Agility or you WILL fall off of the rope as you try to walk over it. This obviously results in a gameover. You have to free the monkey (I believe, this may be skippable but would only save a second), then steal the spear and leave. After that, you get to present the drum and start the peace conference. Once the peace conference goes south, you have to run back to the jungle.

Too many bad luck RNG encounters later...

Once you are on the third screen, you automatically enter a dialog with the monkey you freed, which kicks to another automatic travelling scene that ends at the Monkey Village. Climbing the tree is fastest, followed by talking to Manu about the Lost City, and then asking him to take you four times. With higher communication skill, I believe you only have to ask him once, but there is no good way to make that happen in this short of a run.

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[WATERFALL AND LOST CITY:]
The waterfall screen is annoying, and has killed me once for being careless. There are times when walking the tightrope is faster. Walking here, however, gets you killed. You have to use the hand to travel across.

This last encounter is not RNG, but scripted.

You have to "Say Goodbye" to Manu to reach the next screen. After that, you open the door. There is another gem that can open the door in the eye of the statue. You can climb (even without climbing skill) to reach it, but it requires avoiding the Jungle Men and unescapable encounters if you fail to time it right. It also takes about 20 seconds because of it, and I find use the Meerbat area for the gem to be failure-proofed and faster.

Once inside, you have to Stealth across the room, oil the door, and pick the lock or else the Demons attack you. After that, we use the last Dispel Potion. Everyone walks in to their own theme music.

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[ENDGAME:]
You cannot win the fight against your doppleganger. Fastest thing you can do is spam the attack key until you are almost out of health, at which point the Thief from the beginning of the game comes and saves you. You do have to be a little careful, because you can die if you are too fast.

The next area is the last. You have to climb the first pillar (which cannot happen immediately; I was spamming left-click the whole time the hand icon was on it until it worked), walk (or hand) to the next pillar after the grapnel is set, grapnel the next and then WALK (not hand) to the next pillar, then grapnel the boss. The entire time, I am using the INSERT key to switch between the two icons to eliminate needless clicking.

Once the grapnel is clicked on the Demon, that is the last official input past dialog skipping.

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[AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT]

Better RNG in random encounters. I could have guessed which way the enemies would appear to escape slightly faster, but if I failed, it would have resulted in battle/escape which eats a few seconds. Over the course of the run, you may save time doing this. You have a 75% chance of escaping sucessfully. So even if you find yourself in combat once or twice but escape every other time, it may be faster, but I am unsure.

The route itself is solid, and I am unsure if there is much room for improvement.

The Thief is the least RNG heavy out of all the classes, so this time is fastest out of ten serious attempts from start to finish.

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