Minor question about Fable on the Xbox

[smiling bandit]

Never got to playing Fable (can't afford an Xbox). Got a question:

I know you gain more experience through doing things, and that it gets into (I think) two piles: general and specific. I also know that the more you spend, the older you look. Can you just not spend the part that's discretionary and not age, or only age partially?

[smiling bandit]

*bumping*

[Captain Amazing]

In Fable, there are three different sets of skills you can level up: Strength (physical toughness), Skill (agility), and Will (magic). Each of these skill sets has its own experience pool...you gain experience in strength through using your sword, in skill through using your bow, and in will, through using magic. In addition to this, there's also a general experience pool. You get general experience from killing bad guys and picking up the green orbs they drop.

You can increase any of your skills, by "buying" them, with experience. For example, one of your strength skills is "physique" The higher your physique, the more damage you inflict when you hit an enemy. If you have a high physique, you can also use heavier weapons. To increase a level of physique might cost 500 xp, let's say. Lets further say that you've collected 400 strength xp, as well as 400 general xp, and you want to increase your physique. You spend your 400 strength xp, then the extra hundred xp you need comes from your general pool. That's the purpose of general experience. It can be used as a substitute for any kind of specialized experience.

All experience spending is discretionary. You could, in theory, not spend it at all and therefore not look any older. But if you did, the game would be pretty difficult, because you wouldn't have any advanced skills.

[smiling bandit]

Just checking. How fast do you age in the game? Is it likely that the average character will have a Wizened Wizard or be playing Geriatric the Barbarian come the final boss?

[FilmGeek]

You never get older than say, 50.

The game goes pretty fast, and is pretty fun, but you never get "old" per se.

[xash]

Moved to CS.

-xash
General Questions Moderator

[nameless]

If memory serves, using magic actually ages you faster than anything. I remember finding this very stupid.

[smiling bandit]

Thank you.

In other news...

I tough that since it was a simple factual quesiton, it goes in GQ rather than Cafe?

[Max the Immortal]

I never noticed any drawback to aging in this game. I focused on physique when I played (and then rounded out the other categories when I capped that), and I just kept getting tougher and stronger. I did find it silly that the game tracks the passing of days separately from the hero's aging; I think I aged about a decade a week.

It's a fun weekend rental, but bear in mind that the Physical Shield spell makes the game ridiculously easy.

[nameless]

Originally Posted by Max the Immortal

It's a fun weekend rental, but bear in mind that the Physical Shield spell makes the game ridiculously easy.

Almost any spell/combat combo makes the game easy. Slow Time, Enflame, etc. The game as a whole would have benefited from a lot more hardness.

[smiling bandit]

Ah, I may still pick up Lost Chapters when it comes out on PC. Fun to play around with, anyway. From what I understand, you could get yourself one of the game's top weapons in about 30 minutes, if you sped past the intro.