Wednesday 7 July 2004

This wasn't in the brochure

I made a little time to play Knights of the Old Republic last night and I've just encountered a giant rancor beast that far outclasses my entire party of adventurers. It struck me (an idea, not the rancor) just then that I'm two or three steps removed from my primary goal on this mission. In short, I am trying to sneak past a rancor to get into a gang hideout to steal back an already-stolen swoop bike so I can enter a race in the hope of winning as a prize the person for whom I am searching. There could be an easier way in real life.

As for the rancor, it seems only one character I control has the skills to successfully sneak past the beast, at which point I am again outclassed by two shielded gang members in a confined space. The rancor is still behind me, a guarded door in front of me, and I have to stay invisible to stay alive. I'll figure it out eventually, of course. It's just that it always seems confusing and frustrating until I do.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Until real life gets more exciting, this is probably the kind of post you can expect.
PPS - Except for The Sunday Mok, of course.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah -- I remember my first Rancor in KOTOR. What an amazing game...

Jess

Pstonie said...

Never played KOTOR (I don't like RPGs) but if it was in Jedi Knight, I'd try to take out the gang members from a distance before I sneak past the Ranchor. You might get a fast member of your group to lure the Ranchor away and then return, with it still chasing you, which should give you enough time to take care of the gang members while it's catching up.

Note that I have no idea how long it takes for a KOTOR Ranchor to catch up. :)

John said...

You are in a large cavern in the upper sewers. You see a pile of corpses in the corner. There is a giant Rancor standing at the exit to the West.

> look exit

The exit leads to the Black Vulkar gang base. It is guarded by two gang members.

> distract guards

The guards are not distracted by your taunting and dancing.
The Rancor has seen you!

> s

The Rancor is too fast to outrun!

> kill rancor

You lob grenades and fire your blaster wildly, often striking the enormous beast, but with no apparent effect.
The Rancor has hit you!
You are dead.

Would you like to play again (Y/N)?

Anonymous said...

Still at the Rancor? Think "adventure game" and use some of that inventory, man!

John said...

I was only stuck at the rancor for about fifteen minutes of gaming time, which got spread out over three or four actual days. In the end, it was pretty easy, though I did need to go hunting for more items.