Walkthrough
This walkthrough will take you through the entirety of the game and will show you how to get every item as well as every secret. If you are curious about a specific quest or side quest, you can use the navigation bar on the left to go to the relevant section!
Starting a New Game
1. The Overture
The first scene in the game takes place in the Mindscape map called The Overture where we are introduced to our main character, Ardus Sheridan.
New Main Character!
Ardus Sheridan
Class:
Job:
Hobby:
Starting Skills:
Starting Equipment:
Creator Commentary:
Orator
Powell-Mercer Negotiator
Writing
Pathos Argument
Ethos Argument
Logos Argument
Refocus
Filibuster
John Marrow Lesson
Gold Band Fedora
Seafoam Suit
Ardus’ Manuscript
Ardus Sheridan’s last name comes from Thomas Sheridan, an 18th century Irish actor known for his writings on elocution.
Ardus can use Argument skills by default when in rhetorical battles. His oration skills give him the ability to make clear ethos, pathos or logos arguments for free at any time:
Ardus also starts the game with a few skills he is learning from John Marrow. We haven’t met John yet, but here is what he is teaching Ardus initially:
Although you can walk around (and run with the X button!), there’s nothing to do here yet, so talk to the Composer to get some cryptic backstory.
Easter Egg: Not really an easter egg per se, but if you don’t move for 5 seconds after starting a new game, a helpful dialog box will pop up telling you the basics of movement. This is for new players who are not used to playing RPGs with a controller or keyboard.
New Character!
The Composer
Relationship:
Job:
Hobby:
Creator Commentary:
Advisor
Unknown
Giving cryptic warnings
The Composer’s outfit is intentionally anachronistic and made from styles popular in different centuries to imply both a timeless quality for the character and (either) a disinterest or incompetence regarding fashion.
The Composer introduces the concept of the Abyssal Fragment which will come up much later. Generally speaking, the Composer is there to offer a hint at the overarching story of the game.
Creator Commentary: When writing Ardus’ dialog, I was thinking about how I hate it in movies when a character could solve a problem by asking a simple question. The Composer’s effect on memory is the in-universe solution for this particular trope. This way, I can have Ardus be analytical and competent but still not get the information he wants.
The Composer’s line about “trusting the words on the page” has a few different meanings, but this too won’t come up again until a much later puzzle. I’ll be sure to reference it at the appropriate time!
2. Ordolessian Peninsula Crossroad
Exiting through the open doorway leads to a cut scene just east of the town of Ordolus where we are introduced to our second main character, John Marrow. He is Ardus’ apprentice and will be our audience surrogate, introducing us to the world of the Logomancer.
There are three exits from the Ordolessian Peninsula Crossroad map, but we don’t have full control of our characters yet, so we will automatically be using exit 1 at the end of the scene.
New Main Character!
John Marrow
Class:
Job:
Hobby:
Starting Skills:
Starting Equipment:
Creator Commentary:
New Hire
Negotiator-in-training
Sarcastic quips
Equivocate
Morality Play
Syllogism
Ardus Sheridan Lesson
Verdant Vest
Ordolus Dossier
John was originally meant to only be around for the tutorial section of the game, but I liked him so he stuck around.
Ardus mentions the Ordolus Dossier he wanted John to read. We’ll be able to look at that later (it’s actually part of John’s starting equipment). For now, a disgruntled man named Ludro shows up. This leads to the first rhetorical battle (and boss fight) of the game!
New Boss!
Ludro
Willpower (WP):
Persuasion:
Elocution:
Experience:
AP:
1500
100
100
0
5
Erudition (EP):
Confidence:
Resistance:
Gold:
Level:
50
1
1
100
1
Drop Rates:
AI Behaviors:
Creator Commentary:
Energy Drink x1 (100%)
Memory Root x1 (100%)
Smelling Salt x1 (100%)
Ludro does basic damage until he’s less than 90% WP when he gets a 50% chance to heal with the Second Wind ability.
Ludro is meant to trick the player into thinking this is a game with life-or-death combat. Ideally, the player is initially as confused as John about Ludro’s seemingly violent actions towards Ardus.
Simply use Morality Play over and over with John; this is Ludro’s weakness. If Ludro decides to heal frequently, you will run out of EP. Don’t fret, this is normal! John’s Equivocate skill will restore enough EP to use Morality Play again.
Creator Commentary: If the player loses this battle, an extra scene will play where John admits the pressure of the moment is getting to him. The battle then starts again.
Since we are now in control of John during a rhetorical battle, let’s take a more in-depth look at the abilities he starts with:
Winning the battle awards the party with their first consumable items: an Energy drink, a Memory Root and some Smelling Salts. Don’t worry about using your items, they don’t cost anything! Sindarin’s Shop in Ordolus will sell you a certain number each time you visit.
In a shocking twist, Ludro (real name: Glenton Dahl) and Ardus were just pretending to attack each other as a practical joke on John. Glenton is actually who Ardus and John are in town to meet. The trio heads west into the town of Ordolus.
Creator Commentary: Ardus’ line, “I’ve heard of twice, but three times?” is a quote from the tragically short-lived (only one season) Comedy Central show Stella.
New Character!
Glenton Dahl
Relationship:
Job:
Hobby:
Creator Commentary:
Old Friend
Logomancer
Practical Jokes
Glenton Dahl’s name comes from Glendaal, the hero of the SNES game Equinox. The Forgotten Plantation is, in fact, inspired by that game’s Quagmire dungeon.
Now that the duo of Ardus and John are in the town of Ordolus proper, the order of events for the rest of the game is largely left up to the player. Numerous quests and characters can be interacted with at this point. The rest of the walkthrough will follow one quest line at a time, but most quests can be completed in any order and have a few minor changes depending on what is done first.
It is highly recommended to follow the Forgotten Plantation quest first since the final of the three main characters is introduced very early on. Having her along will greatly increase the party’s odds at surviving the rhetorical battles of the other quests.
Before moving on, let’s take a look at the equipment that Ardus and John start with beginning with Ardus:
And now John’s starting equipment:
Each quest has a recommended level to be at before starting, so we will follow that as a general guideline.
The next part of the walkthrough is Quest 1 - The Forgotten Plantation