I'd like to point you in the direction of this post http://www.co8.org/forum/showpost.php?p=38840&postcount=63
Is it just me or does anyone else think that Burne should decide to not sell to the 'friend of Larith' the invisabilty and dispell magic scrolls? Exactly whats needed to break him out and get away with it. Also has anyone else after joining him in the moathouse got taken to the orc cave (Which was allready known about) instead of the tower entrance?
That last is a known bug and will be fixed in the next release. Heh, I remember that. As I say, very weird.
I took him after liberating him. After leaving B&R's place, the dialog comes up and you either go directly to the Temple Tower or part ways. Your scheme would result in the same dialog and I would wager that he appears in an empty Temple Tower. Basically, the liberation route is a no starter. This is 6th level Lareth, iirc. Lareth the merchant is 7th level. The only one that I believe you can party with is Moathouse Lareth who is 5th level.
Basil, I think you are right. I have been running around with level 5 Lareth and it is fun, but there are some problems for long term viability. 1) You can take him to level 2 of the Temple, but there are very limited ways to get out of the Temple. Taking him to level 1 causes him to run away. Teleporting out isn't an option until you level up a lot. Edit: I guess you can take him to level 3 and go out the burnt farmhouse. 2) You cant take him to Verb. You need to get to the first level of the dungeon to meet the chicas to get there, which you cant do with Lareth. And you need to finish the moathouse in order to find a way to Nulb, and then the Temple (I believe). Its a catch 22. In other news, I had Lareth in the party when I sold his boots to the traders, and they said nothing. I also had him in the party when the assassin came after me. Furthermore, I had him in my party in front of Burne and Rufus and they did nothing (which is interesting since they supposedly catch him later). Finally, I love killing the drow leader. He has great gear.
There is no other way to get to Verbonoc without saving the ladies from the Temple's first level correct? I could have swore that someone in Hommlet once gave me directions to it, but I may be wrong.
@Ranth, you may be thinking of Rufus, who says he has to go to Verbo sometime soon if he joins your party. The merchants on Temple level 3 will also give you the Verbo location.
@Gaear, Are you sure about the merchants? I set them free (well the nice one, he left. The depressed one did not want to leave). The nice one mentioned Verb, but he did not give me coordinates. I guess I should try some of the other text options with them. Specifically, the depressed merchant says "I used to live in Verbonoc, not that I am able to return there now" and my only option to reply is "Ok, but I will have to come back for you later. I have other things to take care of first". Also, if you attack Falrinth (the mage with the golden orb) and he teleports out before you kill him, do you ever see him in game again? I always kill him before he can teleport. Also, how do you get Smigel in your party? She just runs away and does not want to join up.
You can actually talk the depressed merchant into leaving depending on how high certain skills are like diplomacy, bluff or intimidation. You can get the corrdinates from one of the merchants. Passage to Verbo will appear in the right hand location menu. Falrinth does not leave the room. He disappears, but if you pass time in the room he will eventually reappear in the exact same spot. Smigmal is not a recruitable NPC. She is the leader of the brigands in the tower and the one who sends the asssassin after you. Her whole guise is a ruse.
Under no circumstances should you allow the depressed loser merchant to join your party. He is bugged bad. If he joins your party, he will become permanently invisible, take his share of loot from you, unable to be targeted by anything in the game, including monsters and party members, attacks and spells and you cannot get rid of him ever, even if you take him to Verbabonc. Basically, he just becomes a leechy type of boat anchor that does nothing except steal experience that he doesn't do anything for, gets a share of loot for doing nothing and cannot be killed by anything or gotten rid of in any manner. I believe the proper term for a person of his caliber is parasite. Area affect spells do not even affect him!
Use the female prisoners to get to Verbobonc. Smigmal can become a recruitable npc. A minor edit of her dlg file is easy. She has great stats and makes a terrific twoweapon fighter. Just come back later and kill Falrinth. He has good loot.
Yet another victim of the recession, eh? Gods, it's even affecting Greyhawk now. Yet another mouth to feed on the welfare wagon. No wonder our taxes are so high!
What happens if Lareth dies in combat? Can you have him ressurected? Could he die a convenient death, you finish the first level, then take him back to town for a rez, then go back and start on level2?