Corrections and Additions to the SSI, Darksun: Shattered Lands Spoiler- Please note, if you haven't read the original Spoiler yet a lot of the references in this text won't mean much.
1- The Slave Pens
There are several ways to escape the slave pens. Some earn a lot more experience than others. Here are all the ways out I have used, and a general idea of how much experience I had by the time I got out:
A- The Direct Method
This one is REAL simple just knock on the door to get the guards to open it (asuming you are going to fight in the arena, and slaughter everyone in sight. This method is NOT for the weak or the low in level, unless you have it on easy you could take some serious damage in this escape, fortunately merely retreating into the slave pens allows you to use the rest spot in your pen, fight in that room and you'll be nearly invincible...
This method earns moderate experience, by the time I escaped I was level four or five and I was level six or seven by the time I got out of the sewers. Keep in mind, this is with single class characters.
B- The Easy Way Out
The Easy Way Out is basically as listed in the Original Spoiler, it doesn't earn you much experience , especially if you use the secret door in the monster pens to get past the guards, speaking of which, there is a secret door in the north-west monster pen, but to get through it you will have to kill a Mountain Stalker, this shouldn't be a problem though, you fight them all the time in the arena and I've never lost to one, or even four of them. The button that opens the secret door is in the north wall all the way to the left, the passage behind the secret door will take you all the way to the sewer exit, so its pssible to avoid fighting almost all the guards. The downside is you don't get the equipment or experience you would for killing the guards...
This method only got me up to level 4 _after_ I got into the sewers so I dont suggest it...
C- Thieves Game
If you have a thief in your party (and you better have one) there is another way out, get close to the trustee with the thief as the leader of the party, talk to him and you can pick his pocket! if you succeed you'll get the slavepen key which lets you open the door in Dinos' room, once you open the door (and I wouldn't try to pick the lock if I were you, it sets off an alarm) you your almost scott free, first you have to kill one guard (dont worry the fountain will drown his screams), go west, then north to the monster pens, kill the guard at the monster pens (once again no one can hear his screams), and then use the secret door I told you about earlier. As soon as you step through the secret door you'll set off the alarm, but by then your so close to the sewer grate you can make it out without a fight. Please note I do NOT suggest this method you get almost no Experience and you get none of the treasure. (except the key... oh my... the key)
D- Merzol's Gang
Fight in the arena a few times and Merzol will talk with you. He will ask you if you want to escape with him and if you accept will present his plan (which by the way is the Direct Method, slaughter everyone plan) his plan isn't much but at least you get some help, and this plan offers a decent experience reward, slightly higher than the plain Direct Method because you have to fight in the arena a few times.
Overall this is a good plan with moderate rewards, but their are better ways...
E- Scars Gang
If you fight just a few more times then scar will talk to you, and he has a much better plan (and his gang is a lot tougher than Merzol's) He has arranged to fight you in the arena and when you both meetin the arena he plans to rush the west gate (which he knows is not well defended) and make a run for the sewers. His plan works well, is fun to play, and has a good chance of getting you a lot of equipment and experience if you take the time to kill some guards and the templar.
F- Bribes
Don't bother, I bribed the gate guard about 50 times and it doesn't do you any good...
G- Assassination, an addon for the Easy Way Out 😉
If you want to get a good bit of experience and get the templars magic items without setting of the alarms, well, I'm afraid you'll have to be a backstabbing, double dealing, lying SOB 😉 To pull off this very nasty trick is surprisingl easy, do everying the original spoiler tells you to do up to the time it tells you to kill the templar, Don't kill the templar! make a deal and let him start leading you off to his trap, when you get near the fountain... and here is the fun part, slaughter him! the fountain will cover his screams and he'll never see it coming, you should be able to kill him and the gaurd in that area without taking any damage at all!
H- King of The Pens, an addon for the Scars Gang plan
Here's a cool way to get out that earns you a lot of experience, fight until scar will talk with you, turn down his offer to escape, then go fight in the arena, in the next fight they will announce scar, and you'll actually get to fight him! once you kill him you will be crowned king of the pens and Merzon will beg to get you to let him help you! 😉 this one is kind of fun but it kinda bites because of the loss of honor (and no honor is not a hidden stat or any thing like that I mean it literally, as in this way is really dishonorable)
I- The Combined, Spliced, Mixed Way Out-
Fight in the arena until Scar and Merzon will both talk to you, talk to Merzon, agree to his plan (But dont say yes when he asks if you want to do it now), talk to Scar, and agree to his plan, go rest, fight in the arena, go out the west gate with scar, slaughter every guard and templar in the level, slaughter the Mountain Stalkers in the monster pens, kill the templar, use the secret door, look in the haystack (and kill Merzon), get all the bags and chests in the level, get all the armor and weaponry from the guards you can WEAR (note: do not get all the stuff you can carry you'll just have to drop it later), go down into the sewer, admit your a gladiator to Chahl, kill chahl and his warren, kill the cityguards he calls, go back into the pens and kill all the guards they have waiting their and then rest, proceed to the sewers. I almost always use this last one it earns you an unbelievable amount of experience (especially if you fight as long as you can in the arena) and you get EVERYTHING from the level! To give you an idea of the amount of experience you get I had a Druid up to level nine before I got out of the sewers!
2- Upcoming additions...
considering this took me a long time to write out and is getting pretty damn long I'm not going to include all the other corrections and additions I have right now, I'll send em later, but for now heres a list of what I've got so far...
A- How to befriend a tribe of Ssurans, and get a magic ring in the process...
B- Several places you can get magic items the first Spoiler forgot to mention
C- Both solves for the Elven Slavers south of the Caravan and the advantages of both endings...
D- The Correct solve for the Wyrm area, that tells how you can get a psionic bracelet from the shade, keep the leaders of the Magera alive, gain the use of a healing chamber that can even ressurect Dead members of your party, and get a magic dagger that poisons anyone you use it on (kills em if they dont save 😉
E- How to get the most out of your local Caravan Master, A.K.A. Getting Money For Nothing, And Your Chicks For Free (my apologies to anyone who didn't grow up in the eighties but thats a line from a famous? song)
F- How to get all the spiders controlled by the entity to work for you when you fight the Queen...
G- How to find the meteor metal in the lava fields, and what it's used for...
H- How to free (and find he is not even mentioned in the last spoiler) Tynan's Shade, and why you would want to...
G- How to find the Terror Blossom, The Mastryals Stinger, Fire Eel Tongues, Butterfly Wings, and Sand Howler Eyes. Also, why you REALLY want to find them and who you can sell em to.
thanx for your time
cya l8r, Fr13nd$ and n31gHb0r$
-Xenocide
PS- I'll get those others as soon as I can...
Acknowledgement
Annotated by Nathan Lord for the RPG Gamers archive.