Avernum: Escape From the Pit is a remake of Spiderweb Software’s fantasy role-playing game Avernum (which, in turn, is a remake of an even earlier game, Exile: Escape from the Pit). Avernum: Escape From the Pit is in many aspects similar to Spiderweb’s previous game, Avadon: The Black Fortress, and uses some of its art, animations and sound effects.
The plot and setting remains the same as in the original Avernum and Exile. The player controls a party of outcasts who have been banished by the tyrannical Empire into Avernum, a system of vast underground caverns from which there is no escape. All those who do not fit in the Empire are exiled into Avernum through a one-way magic portal, with no hope of returning to the surface. To survive in this harsh world, the Avernites have built a society using whatever resources they had at their disposal, with towns, villages and forts. This human kingdom is constantly threatened by hostile sentient races that populate the caverns, as well as other, unknown dangers. The player is given freedom to explore the world of Avernum and follow the main and side quest storylines in any desired order. While Avernum: Escape From the Pit stays true to the original Avernum/Exile, the game world has been also expanded with additional quests, characters, dungeons and other locations.
The game mechanics, on the other hand, are more similar to the recent games by Spiderweb, specifically Avernum 6 and Avadon. There are character types (classes) to choose from, with the option to create a custom character type. The party does not need to regularly consume food (which now functions as a healing item), and encumbrance only takes those items into account that are worn by a character, allowing to carry around more items in the backpack. Distributing experience points after a character has levelled up can be done at any time, without the need for paid services of a trainer. Some of the low-level items (weapons, armour etc.) now have a value of zero coins and thus cannot be sold at stores. Because of these changes, certain NPCs in the game have changed their function. For example, trainers now offer additional skill increases in exchange for a fee.
Avernum: Escape From the Pit offers several difficulty levels, and has an achievement system (in the form of medals), similar to Avadon.
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