Morbid Curiosity

 

LOOT LIST

VIDEO REPORT (Narrated Run)

VIDEO REPORT (Segmented Run)

 

 

Reading the comments in the ‘Best Fan Mission of 2016’ thread over at TTLG opened my eyes to this masterpiece. Several players claimed this to be their favorite mission of the year. After my first playthrough, I can’t say I disagree. It was even good enough to interrupt my long awaited NewDark Supreme Ghost run of Thief Gold three missions in. More impressive still, this is Pukey Brunster’s first release! Although it clearly wasn’t made for ghosters, I was looking forward to the challenge. Supreme was guaranteed to be unsuccessful, but I was gonna go down guns blazing.

 

 

My initial tasks were simple. Get to the Swinging Taffer Inn, read my fence Peyton’s letter, and grab some gear. We were also instructed not to steal from anyone visiting the inn. More duties were to follow later.

 

Swinging Taffer Inn…and Out

I started by the shore of the canal in the far south, directly underneath the guardhouse. Hit a snag right off the bat. The swordsman patrolling the opposite side alerted when opening the large entry door (left image below). He never settled and probably maintained a constant first alert state due to using that door on a regular basis. This left me hesitant to using that route to enter the guardhouse. I knew there was another safe way in from the street level anyway, so I left that guard be for now. There were two other ways up to the streets. One was through the offices of Vance Shipping, but that required unlocking the entrance door using the key from one of the desks there. I wanted to avoid picking up keys unnecessarily, especially since this mission employs the keychain, where keys can’t be returned for Supreme. Returning keys isn’t enforced if they stick to your inventory, but rule #13 still prohibits picking up items you don’t need. I instead cleaned the offices for loot, including the hard-to-find spice bag in the reception (right image below), only to descend back down to the canal through the crate chute.

 

 

 

I could grab the guard chest key through the grated window from atop a big crate east of the canal. That avoided having to utilize the aforementioned big door with the patrolling guard. Also found some tiny coins on the metal beam above and through the manhole leading to the locked off section of the street (left image below). From the same beam I could access a second manhole further north. This was the third and last way to access the streets. Two swordsmen had slightly different patrols through this fountain plaza, and they both could alert to the manhole opening, so I listened for footsteps before emerging.

 

 

 

The intended route past the locked gate in the southwest involved dodging a spider in the underground sewers. It could easily be done without alerts, but I couldn’t reset the vermin gate controls until later. There was nothing else of interest down there, so I skipped that whole section. I instead mantled the wall by the gate using the sewer manhole cover and a nearby lamp (right image above). The two street guards plus two more guards on a balcony to the south could see me make the leap, so I had to properly time the patrols to make it work.

 

The inn was devoid of enemies, so I got my gear and objectives without interruptions. My main task was getting the Builder’s Rattle from the hammer abbey in the north. In addition, I had to get a sword and some rope arrow, steal 4,000 in loot, visit the pawnshop, and figure out why Brockwyn was tailing Peyton. A busy night indeed. Taking any of the gold in the guest rooms failed the mission. They didn’t count as loot anyway, so no value missed there. I loved the warm and welcoming feeling exuded by the inn. The kitchen scene was my favorite, with the cook’s grin absolutely perfect (left image below). To get rope arrows, I had to visit the Jacksberry Garden Shoppe via the basement sewers. Along the way I stumbled upon two more spiders. They were guarding a box with a spice bag (right image below). Coming from the vent, it was tough enough just passing the generator without alerts. I suspect the spider was able to see through it. The box had to be picked open, spawning a first alert from the patroller. There was a small part of his route, at the western end, where he didn’t alert for about a second. But there was no way for me to get out of the way quick enough afterwards not to get caught. If there had been, I could’ve picked the lock in one-second increments and avoided the Supreme skip. Alas, it had to be passed up for that mode. I predicted it would be the first of many.

 

 

 

My prediction got verified already at the garden shop. The only pieces of loot there, two spice bags in the laboratory safe, also had to be skipped for Supreme. Picking the safe lock alerted one of the nearby frogs. Neither of them alerted to anything else though, which was strange. They didn’t see me standing in the light or hear me jumping about. For some reason though, those lockpicks triggered them every single time. Oh well, such is life. The rest of the building was easy. I left the entry door key be and returned through the sewers to the inn. It saved me another unnecessary pickup. It was difficult to dodge the sewer spider passing back through the generator room. I had to time it from the southwest corner to leave successfully.

 

Guards and Such

With ropes and lockpicks, I was fairly free to roam wherever. I decided to try to avoid picking any of the four town gates though. It would add a nice challenge, plus I generally try to avoid picking locks for Supreme. Brought the only piece of loot left in the southwest part of town. A spice bag on a rafter outside the Rattoner (left image below). With that I roped back across the western gate and got ready to tackle the guard house.

 

I entered through the upper balcony door. Used the wooden planter boxes to ascend and hid around the corner to the west (right image below). Two archers patrolled the balcony on occasion, but I could slip in behind them quite easily. You could get upstairs from the first floor too, but not without picking locks. The floor above (the top floor) held the captain of the guard in a sparring room. He was in a constant third level alert state due to the practice dummy. All I needed was his key, which was easy enough to steal. A hidden vent from the rafters led me near a crawlspace bedroom with some loot. The other end of the shafts took me to the guards’ barracks downstairs. I could now pick up the captain’s sword from his office; another objective checked.

 

 

 

Reentered the guard house through the street access a bit east of the balcony. A lone swordsman patrolled this floor, between the downstairs hallway and the prison office. The loot past the prison had to be skipped for Supreme, another 100 loot missed for that mode. Although the jailbirds never went to hunt or alarm mode, they all first alerted like normal, so I took that as Supreme busts. There was no way of passing the hall by the cell without such alerts. It was either that or dousing the torch, which the inmates also complained on and which is a bust to Supreme regardless, so no dice. I guess you could come back here later and see if the prisoners have moved. I did this once, and the woman that always alerts was tucked in the nearest corner, out of sight. The guy doing the squats was still facing the bars. I imagine one might encounter a situation where you can pass this hallway unseen, although I wasn’t interested in experimenting any further. It borderlined engine exploitation, so I rather took the skip. They also alerted to me opening the northern door to this hallway, although this could be circumvented by waiting in the shadows outside for the guard to come by. As he opened the door, I simply blocked it shut; then when leaving, I frobbed it so the guard blocked it (left image below), then he would close it himself on the way out. A nice trick to avoid alerts from doors utilized by enemies.

 

I couldn’t pass the gate northeast of the south plaza without picking the lock. The archer on the lookout had too tight of a patrol. It was a nice challenge getting his arrows though, and to get out of there dodging the swordsman below. Instead I headed east, past The Ornery Boar. A few more pieces of loot in this area, including some well-hidden coins on a windowsill just east of The Blue Knight Inn (right image below). Had to skip Benny’s lunchbox for Supreme. He gave a comment when opening his cellar hideout. This would mean another 100 loot gone for that mode down the road.

 

 

 

Far East

Mantled the next gate without issues. Headed north from here and cleaned the weaponsmith’s effortlessly. Found some more loot behind a hidden wall-panel here. The swordsman in this area could spot me through the store window. Entered the daily news past the next plaza. The front door was locked and unpickable, but I found an open window and an unlocked back door on the north side. An attic space with some loot and a pipe to the roof across the street. I love it when missions freely let you explore vertically. I was rewarded with a single gas arrow.

 

One of my favorite places in the mission was the smuggler’s warehouses to the east (left image below). Its tight corridors offered a nice changeup from the open streets plazas. I barely fit behind the first thief by the hidden entrance without nudging. Lucky, as you’re not allowed to push enemies for Supreme Ghost (only a last resort for plain Ghost, but at least it’s allowed for that mode). If not I would’ve had to go in through the gate by the homeless people, but I wanted to avoid picking that lock if at all possible. Both the thief on the second floor and the female arbalist in the streets could hear me picking the lock on the footlocker with the valuable dice. I needed three patrol cycles to go by before getting enough time to finish the pick. It wasn’t a difficult lock, but there was only a few seconds to spare.

 

 

 

No further problems until I got close to Brockwyn’s main office. One of my objectives was in there, so no skipping this place. A thief patrolled from a receiving bay, through a few hallways and into a meeting room of sorts. He circled the table in this room and headed back through the hallways. The hallway closest to the meeting room had another stationary thief, facing away. He commented on either door leading to this hallway opening or closing, plus he heard me picking the lock on the door to the inner office, if the meeting room door was open. I could easily follow the patroller and block the hallway doors open. There was a dark spot in the first hallway where I could hide and wait for the thief to pass going west. The trouble was shutting the meeting room door in order to reach the office safely. I found I had to wait behind the open door and close it right as the thief came in (right image above). With a bit of luck (and good timing), he would open it just before it shut to make noise, then he would close it himself before starting his dance around the table. I had to stay right on his heels until he left the room, as there was no shade anywhere.

  Cleaned the office next. On my way back I had to use a similar tactic. I stopped the door as he left the meeting room. Luckily, the other thief didn’t alert to me closing the office door. I guess lockpick sounds travel farther than door closing sounds. When the patroller came back going west to east, I planned to close the meeting room door and have him block it like before. I had to follow him from behind to do this and it was difficult to hide without getting a first alert when he passed. The lights in the west hallway flickered somewhat, and standing in exactly the same spot sometimes yielded a comment and other times not (left image below). Also, thieves patrol rather fast and keeping up without him hearing me was tough, especially on wood floors. I could lean forward and reach the meeting room door without fully entering the second hallway. I had to do this whole setup a second time to close the last door I had left open also. Overall, this was the toughest area in the mission so far, but with Supreme still intact.

 

 

 

I got the psychic’s key from the homeless girls for regular Ghost. As mentioned earlier though, I did not pick the lock on the gate to the underground tunnels. I planned on getting to Madame Rowena’s via another route. Looted the blacksmith’s first. Couldn’t get the nugget in the basement footlocker for Supreme. The smithy heard the door open (right image above). I tried for the life of me to pull the gate control lever from the outside, but the frob distance was too low. Normally you can lean through gates and portcullises, but that didn’t work here. Another piece of loot skipped for Supreme then, a total of 370 so far, including the ring at Cartwright’s coming up.

 

Headed back to the second floor of the thieves’ warehouses. Was planning on reaching the underground tunnels (and the psychic’s for regular Ghost) via the wells, but realized that the patroller heard me enter the water even with the door closed. I even timed it so that he was the farthest away from the well, and he still alerted to hunt mode. A rope arrow from the ceiling silenced the drop, but then he first alerted when entering the room. There was no way to reach the rope from the water either. I bit the sour apple (as we say in Norway) and revisited the gate by the homeless people. This was the only remaining safe way to the tunnels. The only item of interest for Supreme was a purse on another roaming thief. For Ghost I got the aspirin pill from Rowena’s safe also. Didn’t take her key though, as I could retrace my steps all the way to outside the daily news. Made sure to reset the elevator and close all the panels along the way.

 

Postage and Other Tidbits

Visited Perciville Cartwright’s for regular Ghost. I guess he was one of the town doctors, though his methods were highly questionable. Skipped the entire establishment for Supreme. Putting the aspirin in his coffee upstairs opened his downstairs “clinic”. There was a ring in there, but staying in the room too long damaged me from the toxic ether. Managed to get it without injuries though (left image below). This area also counted as a secret.

 

 

 

Got a new objective at the pawnshop. I was to deliver six parcels to different establishments around town. Seemed like a decent thing to do I guess. Took care of the news editor first. I actually ended up delivering it through the gate from the inside. Passing through the lit plaza was too risky with that wary archer on the gate to the southwest. Skipped the butcher’s for now. I wasn’t sure on how to tackle the burricks in the basement just yet. Perhaps I could come in from below. Found two masks in an attic just northwest of here (right image above). Had to rope arrow to a nearby ledge to get in. Cleaned the dressmaker in this area also. Dropped to the streets after this and worked my way east.

 

The swordsman at the market plaza was very difficult to deal with. He patrolled faster than the other guards, almost like a thief. In fact, I suspect it being a thief in a guard’s (or wolf in a sheep’s?) clothing, as he seemed to alert much easier than anyone else in the area. Picking the door to the dairy store was tough without him noticing. He even alerted to picking the box of loot inside the store! Managed to time his route well enough to avoid busts, but it was a pickle. Found some hidden coins at the market close by (left image below). There were more coins in the alley by the spell shop too. When visiting the fishmonger, one of the guards had gotten stuck in the northeast fountain and heard me opening the entry grate. I had to replay about 20 minutes to free him up. Annoying, but I guess it could’ve been worse. Pillaged the bakery and produce store, no issues. Delivered my final package at the potter’s and checked off that objective.

 

 

 

Moved west along the northern part of town. Found another spice bag in a hidden attic space southwest of the abbey. The metal rafters crossing the street gave it away. Dropped into the canal just north of the bridge (right image above). Three swordsmen patrolled the streets here, but nobody heard me get wet. The gallery couldn’t be entered via this route. Instead I swam south and cleaned out the three remaining areas from below. The first was a basement service station of some sort. One piece of loot, a silver vambrace, and a patrolling ghost (left image below). He was tough to spot, but the swarming bugs helped. Killing him would spawn one of the four fountain keys. However, this is strictly against all ghost rules and had to be skipped. The 500 loot resulting from the secret of the keys could therefore not be obtained. Perfect Thief just left the building, sad but true. The bookseller’s was devoid of individuals and I robbed his safe in peace.

 

 

 

Further east I bumped into a couple of housebreakers. One was doing a lookout patrol while the other attempted to open a nearby door. I anticipated this to be a tricky situation, as the guy by the door had loot on his belt. All I had to do though was follow the patroller and slip by him on the right (right image above). This area also had a locked door leading to the butcher’s burrick stables. It was pickable and could be opened without the patrolling thief noticing. It had to be done in increments though, and always alerted the burricks inside. I found it more discreet to skip it and attempt to get in from the streets. I backtracked to the abbey and circled the streets to the butcher’s main entrance. I could get to the basement without alerts, but opening the door to the stables again spawned a first alert. By rushing in behind the critters, I could take the coins in the corner without further alerts. Regrettably, this was another piece of loot needed to be skipped for Supreme.

 

Hammerite’s Abbey & Crypt

The abbey presented a nice change of pace. I liked the ambient music and relaxing atmosphere. Three patrollers and two stationary staff members, but there was enough room to move around quite straightforwardly. Managed to read the bell-ringer’s journal without alerts (left image below). I’ve started to enjoy the challenge of reading as many texts as possible for Supreme. Ultimately, wherever I can add extra tasks that harmonizes with the Supreme rule set, I’ll take it. To a thief, information can be as valuable as gold. Upstairs, the kitchen servant was actually the most difficult one to pass. I had to creep-crouch through the southern doorway to avoid a comment. In the guards’ bedroom, the northeast bunk bed was the only place to hide from the patroller (right image below). I could take the rings through the banner in the opposite corner. This is not considered an engine exploit towards Supreme. Slashing the banner isn’t allowed when ghosting, although that was the only way to get the secret count.

 

 

 

The rest of this building didn’t pose any problems. Both the library key and Saint Merek’s hammer disappeared upon use, so no need to return anything for Supreme. Using the holy water arrow to enter the crypt is allowed for all modes, since I could use the font and not a holy water vial to bless my arrow. The use of potions is not allowed for the Supreme Ghost mode. Getting Frick and Xander’s hammers wasn’t that tough. There was a dark spot right outside each doorway where I could observe them both (left image below). It was tense, but just standard sneaking. Made sure to get the loot from the caskets before opening their tombs.

 

Swimming through the flooded mausoleum took a bit of practice. I couldn’t get the gold nuggets on my way past without losing health. Using a breath potion is against Supreme rules, and I didn’t want to take a bust (at least not yet). Instead, I swam all the way through and emerged in the north gatehouse. Then I caught my breath and went back down to get the loot from this end. The distance must’ve been less, as I could get both nuggets and return with oxygen to spare. Dodged the fire shadow at the north gatehouse quite easily. Found a nicely hidden purse on a ledge by one of the torches there (right image below). Had to take the north gatehouse key upstairs to proceed; a necessary pickup. Arrived at the gallery by the boarded up canal delivery entrance.

 

 

 

Gallery Di Grimaldi

I had tried squeezing past the boards in my initial blackjack run, but felt like I never really gave it a proper shot. That was not going to happen this time. If it was possible, I was going to do it, come what may. After all, property damage violates both Supreme and regular Ghost. No crates or other movable objects around, so I was limited to weapons and inventory items. I could get on top of the upper board using a stack of items or a rope arrow. Since Supreme frowns upon item pickups, the rope was my best bet. Climbing up, I could swing around about 90 degrees, retrieve the rope and land on the edge of the board, still on the outside. I could even crouch and lean from up there. Leaning through on the west side usually got me stuck just inside the doorframe. Jumping from this position either did nothing or pushed me back to the north side. A few times though, wiggling my mouse while leaning, I fell down on the inside. My point of view was clearly inside both boards, but I was still unable to go anywhere. I tried shooting more rope arrows straight up, trying to use their attraction to propel me free from the boards. Regardless, it didn’t matter what I tried in this position, it got me nowhere. At this point I was about ready to give up. Then I got the idea of trying to place a rope hanging down right into the top board. My thought was perhaps I could manage to grab it as I leaned through the hole the way I had done earlier. If Garrett is partly stuck somewhere, but able to grab a rope, the magnetic effect of the rope can sometimes exert a force great enough to fling you in the direction of least resistance. I figured if I was pushed through far enough on the south side, I might be hurled into the hallway. That is exactly what happened! It was a shock when I suddenly landed a good 6-8 feet away from the door (left image below). A big sigh of relief came as I realized I had avoided the bust. I have repeated this maneuver multiple times, proving it was not a fluke encounter. I don’t even consider this an engine exploit, which would’ve been a bust to Supreme. In my opinion, a thief fitting through the top corner is plausible enough.

 

 

 

Turned off the fog inside the gallery. It was more unrealistic than immersive there anyway. Got my first undeniable Supreme bust entering the curator’s secret chamber. A book in the main office opened a hidden doorway leading to said chamber. Inside was what I assume to be the curator himself, zombified. Opening the door triggered a growl constituting a first alert (right image above). Absolutely no way around that one. To be honest, I was surprised that mode had stayed intact this long. Last time I played I encountered him facing the door though. I remember I had to douse the hallway candle to avoid a second level alert. I’m not sure what determines his angle, but this was definitely preferred.

 

Dewdrop disappeared and left behind the front entrance control key. I didn’t pick it up for now, though I was quite sure I’d end up needing it. Had to skip the ‘Strange Creatures’ exhibit for Supreme. All five creatures in there saw me go for the loot. For regular ghost I had to douse two lamps, the one outside the entry and the one in the corner by the loot. There was also a second lamp in there that lit me rounding the corner. Occasionally the stationary green sprite saw me and started searching, but I eventually got in and out without a bust (left image below).

 

 

 

Upstairs I got spawned into the closed-off gift shop. It seemed like Dewdrop was behind the shenanigans. Had to hide in the corner of the shop not to get caught by the spawning zombie (right image above). It only took a few seconds before it appeared, but that was more than enough time. It disappeared after not too long. Got the gallery tour token and left the gift shop doors open. Looted the pavilion without issues. Heading for the gallery tour, the Unrequited Hand entity was loose, patrolling (or floating) around the upper floor walkway. It was totally deaf, but could see me like a normal enemy. I just followed it clockwise around the room to avoid it.

 

The Gallery Tour

I could raise the token statue, so I did that for Supreme. I could not, however, close the entry door. The second door closed on its own and the elevator could be raised back up once in the underworld section. The purse in the zombie pit was not a problem, but it was difficult to differentiate alerts from the scripted groans. I think the patrolling zombie upstairs also alerted to the noises below. More difficult still were the skeletons in the upcoming exhibits. I could choose which way to go to pass this area. My best bet would be towards the right. There was only one skeleton here, and it circled a zombie corpse rather angrily. Occasionally, it would have its back turned enough for me to make a dash for it. Dousing a few torches would’ve made it heaps easier, but I wanted to avoid that at all costs. It didn’t take too long before I rushed past it unseen. It didn’t give any verbal cues, so as long as it didn’t come charging, I was fine. Found a hidden control room just past this area (left image below). A switch turned off all the protective seals for the valuables and removed the barriers between the different tour sections. This was another bust to Supreme, as disabling security systems is not allowed following rule #8. The lever wasn’t frobbable afterwards, so there was no way to reset the system.

 

[UPDATE 5/28/2020: Recently discussed in the ghosting discussion thread on the forum was the definition of “security systems” in rule #8. We came to a semi-conclusion that it only involved systems that are meant to catch an intruder and alert to his presence, as in watchers or alarm systems. It does not include measures meant to hurt the player, like protective seals or traps. Those are still allowed to disable for Supreme. Thus, flipping the lever described above is no longer considered a bust for that mode.]

 

 

 

The tormentor was intimidating enough, but no problem to sneak past. The other phantoms here didn’t alert at all. Reached my loot goal for regular Ghost when grabbing the treasures. Got my first statuette also, before leaving the underworld. Nothing to report from the Lost City.

 

The mummy in the Keepers section was tough mostly due to tiled floors and few shadows. Rope arrowed up in the dining hall to get the loot there and wait for him to pass (right image above). More loot in the storage closet up ahead. Nothing else to report from this section, although I have to say the librarian’s dungeon was one of the creepiest places I’ve ever visited.

 

The Old Quarter wasn’t that difficult, as haunts are easy to hear alerts from and quite predictable in nature. The most challenging place was getting the rattle. Picking the lengthy lock required two trips. Both haunts had this room as part of their route, and there were no shadows in there at all. I had to hide up the stairs close to the exit for the one haunt to head back. The archer haunt only went to the chapel and back. For some reason, the other haunt alerted to something in the chapel long before I got there, and this put him in a constant first alert mode. I could tell as he was laughing relentlessly. It wasn’t a big deal, it just meant I had to rely on hardcover to evade his looks. I also saw the archer haunt take damage at one point, right as he was entering the chapel. I only saw it once, but that could’ve been what the other haunt alerted to.

 

The big problem came in the pagan forest. In order to bless the rattle, I had to use one of each elemental arrow on four flower pots surrounding the blessing pool. The southernmost pot required the use of a fire arrow, and therein lay the conundrum. No less than five enemies heard the shot, going straight to hunt mode; three ape beasts up above and the two haunts in the old quarter. If I was to get rid of this bust, I had to think of something utterly ingenious. The main problem was nothing can deaden the noise of fire arrows. Not the surface you’re hitting, not the drawstring pullback, not the angle of impact, nothing. The only variables were the positions of the enemies. Also, when the blessing pool activated, it made a noise almost like broken glass. I’m not sure if this alerted the enemies further, but it made doing the fire shot last highly desirable. Luckily, two of the patrollers had such long routes that they didn’t hear the shot if they were at the farthest end of their path. The patrolling swordsman haunt had part of his patrol behind the doors at the beginning of the old quarter section. One of the apes likewise patrolled well into the maw of chaos section by the tree beast. The latter normally didn’t come back from his patrol once he left the pagan forest, which indicated he was so far away the engine no longer prioritized it. That left three enemies. One of them was a stationary ape on a bridge directly above the pool. The only way to manipulate his position would be to nudge him. I imagined up the ramp and through the portal would be possible. However, I quickly realized the only place he ended up was through the vined railing to his front and into the water below. This caused him to drown, which is in violation of Ghost rule #5: “Garrett must not cause suicides of AI”. Yet, his body was already somewhat through the railing when I started the nudging, which made me think perhaps he moved on his own. Watching him for a few minutes made it apparent that he did, and markedly so. After about 10 minutes, his entire body was outside the railing (left image below). A few minutes later, he dropped to where the top of the railing was at his armpits. At this point he didn’t move forward any longer, but instead started to slide left. When I by accident saved and reloaded, he fell to his death instantly (right image below). This is not in breach of rule #5, as Garrett wasn’t the cause of the suicide. Instead, it is probably an engine exploit and hence a (small) bust to Supreme rule #11. For regular Ghost, such exploits are allowed as a last resort.

 

 

 

Three down, two to go. First I found I could activate the pool by shooting the fire arrow into the ground a foot or so on the south side of the pot. Every inch helped. Next I timed the final ape beast and the archer haunt so they would be farthest away. The ape walked through a dark, empty exhibit somewhat north of the pool, while the haunt patrolled all the way past the double-doors by the Scripture of the Master Builder. I had to wait quite a few cycles before their routes were synchronized. I also had to make sure the other patrollers were away. Finally, after a lot of prepping, the moment of truth had arrived. I shot the arrow, activated the pool and ran up to check. The ape beast was in a definite second level alert mode. In the old quarter, the archer haunt was also roaming around looking for me, alerting the other haunt in the process, who now had reappeared and was on his way towards the chapel. I replayed the scenario half a dozen times, with exactly the same results. In the end, it was an easy bust to accept. After all, I had tried everything under the sun. Unless I am missing something very obvious, I don’t see this situation ever to be ghostable. Please chime in if you have any suggestions. I am open to all ideas.

 

It was very difficult to get the gas arrows above the bridge in the maw section without any first alerts. But doable it was, and a nice challenge at that. Took both patience and a bit of luck to get past both the ape and the tree beast in order to finally leave the gallery tour.

 

Wrap-Up

In order to leave the gallery, I had to use the front entrance key. There was no way to get back through the boarded delivery entrance door. Since the boards are on the outside, there’s no way to get on top of them and thus no way to lean through. I tried a bit with some ropes, but didn’t even get close. This also meant I had to leave the front door open, as I couldn’t reach the lever from the outside. I almost accepted the additional Supreme bust, when I rather dumbfounded thought of the obvious solution of blocking the door. After a bit of testing, I realized any potion or vial would do. Looking through my equipment list, the closest and easiest to return was the holy water vial from the basement in the north gatehouse. There was one by the corpse close to the patrolling fire shadow. Sure enough, it did the trick (left image below).

 

 

 

Since I couldn’t get the mission’s last piece of loot without slaying the beast by the canal, I skipped getting any of the fountain keys for Supreme. Besides, that mode doesn’t like cluttering up the inventory. If you value maximum loot over the extra bust, go right ahead. With this difficult of a mission, I can totally see that decision justified. The stats will then display 1 back stab, 30 damage dealt and 1 others killed. Once getting all four keys, an extra objective spawns to discover their use. At that point, it is a mandatory task for Supreme, despite saying ‘optional’. After killing the beast though, you don’t have to take any further Supreme busts to get the key to the city (right image above). The stats below are from my regular Ghost run. What an incredible mission!

 

 

Statistics:

 

Time: 5:11:57

Loot: 5487 out of 5987 (Supreme: 4797)

Pickpockets: 15 out of 16

Secrets: 5 out of 6

Locks Picked: 38

Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0

Consumables: 4 water arrows (only 2 for Supreme), 1 moss arrow, 1 gas arrow and 1 fire arrow.

Ghost: Failed!

Perfect Thief: Failed!

Supreme Thief: Failed!

Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed!

 

Notes:

-          Skipped a spice bag (40) in toolbox in the sewers for Supreme. The nearby patrolling spider alerted to the lockpicks.

-          Skipped two more spice bags (80) in safe at the Garden Shoppe. Again the lockpicks caused an alert, this time from one of the laboratory frogs.

-          Also skipped a spice bag (40) and a coin pair (60) in the storage closet in the prison office at the Guard House for Supreme. The prisoners alerted when passing the hallway leading to the office. The prisoners shifted position quite a bit during the mission and you might be lucky and find them facing away or tucked away in a corner at some point, enough for you to pass the hallway unseen. I did not encounter such a scenario, and I wasn’t interested in experimenting, as engine exploits aren’t allowed for that mode anyway.

-          Skipped a silver nugget worth 50 at the blacksmith’s for Supreme. He alerted to the basement door opening.

-          Skipped the ring (100) in the secret lab at Cartwright’s for Supreme. Taking Benny’s lunchbox, which is needed to reach the psychic’s and get Cartwright’s pill, can’t be taken without spawning his comment.

-          A pair of coins (20) in the butcher’s burrick stables had to be skipped for Supreme. The burricks heard the door to the gate control room open.

-          Couldn’t get the key to the city worth 500 gold. Killing the ghost in the canal power room busts all ghost modes and is necessary to get one of the fountain keys.

-          Busted Supreme when opening the door to the gallery curator’s secret office chamber. He gave a first alert when opening the door.

-          Skipped the loot (300) in the ‘strange creatures’ exhibit at the gallery for Supreme. No way to get in there without alerts. Used two water arrows for regular Ghost.

-          Waited for the stationary ape above the blessing pool to fidget into the water and drown. I counted this as an engine exploit, which is not allowed for Supreme.

-          Busted Ghost when activating the blessing pool in the pagan forest. The patrolling ape beast above and the archer haunt nearby went to second level alert mode. The other patrolling haunt in the old quarter also alerted to the first haunt already searching.