DESCRIPTION

Avernum 3, the final game in the Spiderweb Software role-playing trilogy, continues the story of the Avernites, banished to underground caves and warrens by the criminal element in control of the surface. Now, with the Empire's leader assassinated and the fight for freedom behind them, the Avernites are resurfacing, only to find a land filled with monsters, plagues, and chaos instead of the expected paradise. In a reversal of fortune, the remnants of the Empire seek your help, as an Avernum scout, in discovering the source of the scourge and rectifying the problem.

Open-ended gameplay in the huge world of Avernum 3 allows players to pursue their adventure based on personal preference. Dive headlong into a crusade to eliminate the source of evil destroying the land, or buy a house, set up shop as a merchant, and watch the world crumble, as cities fall and inhabitants scurry for survival. Player actions dictate the course of the story with a multitude of side quests available within more than 150 towns, dungeons, and other locales. The shareware version of the game contains approximately a quarter of the entire adventure.

Players can play as Human (no special abilities or experience penalties), Nephilim (cat-like fierce warriors with strong tribal structures), or Slithzerikai (lizard people and underground dwellers), with ten classes to choose from during character creation. The world features ambient sounds, shopping, houses, dungeons, towns, traps, horses, potions, magical barriers, and hundreds of NPCs. The fully registered version of the game provides a character editor for altering save files, allowing adjustments to health and skills, as well as the ability to increase gold, food, spells and magic items. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide