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Thief 2 - BAD DEBTS I played this mission for
the first time back in early 2008. Little did I know then what an important
author Melan would prove to be for the community.
With later creations of epic proportions such as Disorientation and Rose
Garden, Bad Debts takes you back to the beginning, when even Melan was just a
rookie. However, this is a stellar city mission with vertical exploration
galore. The story is a bit cryptic, but very comprehensive once you take the
time to read some of the lengthy diaries. I had been hired by Timms to obtain his letter of debt from a wealthy usurer
called Markus. I simply had to find a way into his place and steal the
letter. I also needed to grab 2,400 worth of loot before leaving Downlock. That was all. Calm Wanderings The streets were filled
with guards, but only a fraction of them reacted to my presence at this
point. Only breaking into private property or visibly using weapons would
cause any alerts. There would be a crucial point later in the mission that
would change all that, even adding new enemies around town. It was thus my
goal to do as much as possible before the objectives changed. Prior to that,
ghosting was quite straightforward. First challenge was in the
guards’ quarters at
As mentioned in previous
reports of this mission, the ring in the tower west of the Coronet had to be
skipped. A haunt appeared and it could not be evaded. I could take the ring
without getting seen (right image above), but I couldn’t leave undetected,
not even by regular Ghost rules. It can be killed by preventatively drenching
the skeleton with holy water, but that is considered a kill even though it
doesn’t show up in the stats. Getting the purse from the
nobleman at the Coronet could be done by rushing in behind him and waiting.
Although he was neutral, he still had alert levels in case he detected me doing something inappropriate. If fast,
about one minute of waiting was enough. I don’t regard waking Scarmengades a Ghost bust. It could be done from darkness
and without him ever entering hunt mode. He gave a growl as he appeared, but
that was not from seeing me. It could be from hearing the water arrow, as he
gave a settling remark a few minutes later. Using a gas arrow spawned the
same reactions. It could also be from a script triggered upon awakening and
would also then be called a first alert, albeit debatably, so I skipped the
whole scenario for Supreme. That felt the safest. Getting the loot and the
thieves’ key from their hideout was a little tricky, but nothing more than
standard ghosting. The thief didn’t seem to be able to give first alerts, but
I don’t think I would’ve triggered any regardless. His key was needed in
order to safely end the mission later, but it also had to be returned for
Supreme. During my initial ghost run back in 2008, I didn’t find any way to
return it without alerting the thief. However, I recently found you can drop
it onto the northern part of the book on the table (left image below). The
southern half drops the key straight through and it makes a loud wooden
sound, but the other half is silent, almost carpet-like. Dropping it anywhere
on the table would be considered close enough for Supreme, so this was a
happy discovery. Entered Tomlinson’s
through the upper grate. Dropped to the banner and further onto the counter
to avoid health loss. Nobody inside was awake, so as long as I snuck
carefully on the tiles, I was good. Left through the side door and replaced
the armourer’s key on the table.
Sudden Changes After the double-cross, I
was forced to leave through the power tunnels. The entrance there had to be
relocked with the power works key from Moriarty’s place, but the key I
realized had to be returned before
triggering the kill event inside the usurer’s manor. If not, the outside
guards heard the key dropping onto the windowsill. So I had to reload to a
previous save and lockblock the power station door
before finishing at the usurer’s. A bit tedious to have to
redo all that, but oh well. From the power tunnels I
could visit Keywell and find the hidden loot stash
there. In order to return, I had to pass three armed mines in a storage room.
The most Supreme-like way to get past was to hop onto a preplaced rope above
the mines, but that was difficult to do (right image above). The easier
option is to disarm the mines with the lockpicks
and replace them afterwards from above. Nothing in the rules forbids
disarming mines or traps. Emerged at Timms’ and
cleaned his place next. Used the dark back room to time the
trips inside. He kept quiet through it all. I couldn’t close the
secret entrance to the walkway above Timms’ place
from the outside, so I had to go back through that way later in order to
reset it for Supreme. Over by the Coronet the
landlord was the only one alerting, except for the 3 patrollers outside, but
they all had fairly long routes. The landlord generally stopped at three
fixed spots. When he was at the spot nearest the stairs I got ready (left
image below). As he turned and headed back I rushed in and stole his key. His
place was no problem to Ghost. Dropped his key back in the
same manner.
I had to approach the
hammer seminary coming from the south, meaning I was forced to pass the wary
archer at Almsgate. In my original 2008 run, he was
always stationed just west of the gate itself (right image above). I was then
barely able to steal his purse unseen, but could never sneak through the
alley northeast undetected. This time, however, he was patrolling east-west
outside Tomlinson’s (left image below). Checking with other forum members, Fortuni confirmed the archer is indeed supposed to patrol
both in versions 1.0 and 1.1, while marbleman
reported him stationed in the same spot as in the image above. Well, with the
archer patrolling, I can happily report it is no longer an issue passing
towards the seminary without first alerts. The priest by the seminary
doors was no problem. Crouching against the north side of the door kept me
hidden, and with a few steps out I could grab the hammer. The guard by the
lower door seemed drugged and hardly reacted to anything, so I could exit
peacefully. I had previously locked the thieves’ door in an open state, so I
didn’t need any key at this point.
Statistics: Time: 2:27:18 Loot: 3582 out of 3682 (Supreme: 3507) Pickpockets: 11 out of 12 Locks Picked: 4 Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0 Consumables: 1 Water Arrow (to wake Scarmengades) Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: Failed! Supreme Thief: Success! Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed! Notes: -
Skipped the ring worth 100 in the tower west of the
Coronet for all modes. The haunt that appeared could not be evaded. -
Scarmengades gave a growl when awoken, so I skipped his hammer
worth 75 for Supreme. |
