I think I was lulled into a false sense of security re: the meat – I eat after my dog all the time, letting him lick my pots and pans after use and reusing them, only washing them when I do the dishes. I figure canine pathogens are usually harmless in humans and the heat from the stove would kill anything remaining, and I just figured that my immune system had been built up by this that I could risk it. I guess a few bacteria from dog saliva will burn off better than bacteria throughout a whole pound of ground beef. Also I’ve worked in the meat department and your meat typically sits out at room temperature (actually slightly below – you constantly have a slight cold from working in 60° temperatures year-round – 47°F is the safe/cooler temperature for fresh meat, 0° for the freezer) for about an hour between the cooler and the shelves – again, false sense of security. Still haven’t got sick once from the dog though.

Ok re: not remembering much about this point in the game. I’m at a point where I have to smash four crystals at stone circles to reveal the golem spire. I’ve done it at the two in the lowlands and then there are two in the mountains, one of which you can get to with the Orb of Thralni and the other of which you need to find a tunnel to. That’s my next session.

One weakness of this game is that the cities are utterly undistinctive – Gale is easy to remember, and Shayder has the sewers. Other than that, too many of the cities are exactly alike, just an inn and a home base for quests that’s forgotten once you’re done. Go in, explore the perimeter, enter the city, scout out the four quadrants, and then forget all about the shops and NPCs you meet there until you realize there’s a spellbook that you didn’t have the Arcane Lore for, say, in the southwest corner of Shayder.

In the classic Ultima games (4-7) there are only eight cities and four castles, all of which are distinctive: either they’re in the woods and wooded, or there are islands and whatnot, or distinctive buildings, fountains and different layouts for the castles (think Tower of Magi). Even in Avernum 1 and 2 the (few) cities are memorable, from anchoring parts of the map if nothing else (and the maps in Avernum 3 are bigger and less distinctive than in either of them). Towns have never been Jeff Vogel’s strong suit and they all run together here.

The first game is still the best, not only because it introduces you to the world, but because nothing seems wasted, there’s no creative bloat. The bloat isn’t a problem in Avernum 3 because it mostly lives up to its ambition and it’s a worthy extension of the Avernum world. The second game is the weak link, imo – in any open world game there comes a point when you get tired of just completing quests, and in Avernum 2 that comes quite a bit before the end of the game (I beat one or two of the endings – I know I liberated the three crystal souls and didn’t kill Garzahd; I don’t remember about the portal). Avernum 3 is better, much better paced. I don’t even know the victory conditions yet: I imagine meeting the empress and securing a parcel of land for the Avernites is one and beating whatever’s causing the plagues is another. I can’t think of what the third would be.