FMs - Ghost/Perfect Thief Results (Part 9) [SPOILERS]

[klatremus]

Game: Thief 1
FM: Mysteries of Tolham

Ghost - Success
Perfect Thief - Success
Supreme Ghost - Success
Perfect Supreme - Failed
Time - 3:20:58
Loot - 8944/8944 (Supreme: 8639)
Pockets Picked - 6/6
Locks Picked - 6
Backstabs - 0, Knockouts - 0
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0
Consumables - None

See the entire report with screenshots here!
Loot list here.
YouTube let's play here!

Comments:
A magnificent mission by a very talented author. Visit the surreal town of Tolham, where treasures hide around every corner. Narrow passageways and confined plazas soon open up to reveal a massive city, that sometimes seem to go on forever. Beautiful aesthetics and powerful ambience make this an experience beyond a regular Thief mission. Please do not miss this one!

First, I had to obtain three colored gemstones from various locations around town. Second, I needed to steal the curator’s scepter. Then there were two optional objectives to get Zorgan’s Bracelet and the Artefact of Seasons. For Supreme, optional objectives are still required, so I would treat those the same as mandatory ones. Lastly, 4,000 worth of valuables was my loot goal for the night, before finding my way out of town in the southwest.

East
First issue came above the southeast bridge. Two coins on a high windowsill required a rope arrow fastened above. I could reach the rope from atop the lamp, but getting down was worse. I realized that landing on the sloping arches of the bridge never dealt any damage, so that’s what I did (image below). I had to turn around and grab the arrow in the jump, but that actually wasn’t that difficult.



In Salimar’s residence came a similar, yet trickier challenge. After taking the secret dagger in the attic, coming back down without taking damage proved tough. I found a predictable method, however, by using a second rope in the beam directly below (image below). It had to be placed so that I would land onto it when grabbing the first. This took a lot of experimentation, but was quite easy to replicate once I found the solution. There was also a statue in this building I had to skip for Supreme, as it emitted light.



In the northeast plaza, another tricky piece of loot presented itself. A pair of glasses in an open window west of a dividing wall. The easiest way to reach it was doing a running jump and mantle up from the north side. However, there was a guard in a tower to the south who always caught me. He had short patrols and stopped at both ends, during which he didn’t make first alerts. To test whether he actually saw me, I made the jump as he was patrolling. I was never able to avoid an alert coming from that side. Instead, I had to hop from atop a rope arrow in the northeast corner of the plaza on the south side (image below). This was definitely more challenging, as I had to time a patrolling thief below. On top of the wall there was a small area in the middle where I was safe from being spotted. I could also slowly slide down from this spot on the north side without any comments. Had to fetch the rope again afterwards.



The factory in the northeast was the toughest place so far. I could’ve made it easier on myself and not entered by the front doors; there were several other ways in. Both patrollers had annoying lapses in their alertness. The hardest part was getting in and out of a small chute in the ceiling (image below). It involved balancing on some noisy metal beams. Overall, it was more time consuming than difficult to ghost. Emerged in the northern part of town, close to the hammerites. There wasn’t that much loot in this part of town. The waterway was a nice way to move past said hammerites. I used it to reach the mine with the thief haunt, so that I could avoid picking the lock on the red door closer to the factory.



North
The museum wasn’t actually that hard. I thought this would be a near impossible place to Supreme, but there were more shadows than what the lighting gave it justice. The two stationary watch guards in the foyer couldn’t see me many places if I creep-crouched. The only place impossible to go for Supreme was the southern walkway (first image below). It was tiled, well-lit, in view of the two aforementioned stationary guards, and occasionally had two patrollers. This meant the staircase up to the exit was impossible to reach without first alerts. However, there were plenty of chutes and alternate access points in order to get to all of the other areas in the building. I had to get Balkan’s skull first, then open the panel atop the foyer structure, then finally use the azure key to enter Tharmaz’ crypt. I couldn’t take the two blue gems above the gemstone for Supreme as they were light sources (second image below).





Sir Darklon
This place was a lot tougher than the museum. Fewer shadows, tighter patrols, and inconvenient marble. I roped up to the sir’s chambers right away and went for the bracelet. It luckily could be taken without switching off the alarm. The sir had a fairly predictable route, where he stopped to look at the bracelet, then did a small loop in the adjacent room. Occasionally he would stop for a bit there as well. The alarm trigger fortunately wasn’t tied to taking the bracelet, but rather linked to Garrett’s specific location. If I managed to land in the middle of the pedestal with the bracelet, it usually didn’t go off. I used the two pillars to the west to get there (image below). I stood on top of the southwestern one until Darklon started to walk south. Then I quickly dropped onto the pedestal, usually without making noise. If I did, he would hear it and start shooting. The hardest part was taking the bracelet and quickly hopping back and mantle up the pillar again. This had to be angled properly and with enough velocity. It took me 15-20 tries each time I did it. Definitely a repeatable move.



Went down to the lost city area quite quickly. I knew I wasn’t going to leave by this route, so I was planning on returning to Darklon’s by a different route. Atop the central structure in the lava cave I had to skip another piece of loot. It was a nugget in a pickable chest protected by spitfire traps (image below). I wasn’t able to get close enough to pick it without triggering it. Regular ghost was fine, but Supreme couldn’t get there. You have to be quite close to lockpick, much closer than a normal frob, so there was no chance. Went back by climbing a rope up to the attic crawlspaces close to Summerion’s Dagger. I didn’t end up taking the dagger since it was a light source but not a necessary objective. Hidden objectives are not required, and rule #14 points to excusing busts from required objectives only. I could drop to Darklon’s via another rope by landing on the edge of a shelving unit without taking damage. I don’t think there is a way to go the other direction without losing health.



A frobbable mask took me to a concealed tomb with the Artefact of Seasons. From there I could teleport back to a ledge above the museum. This was convenient, as I could return Darklon’s key and be on my merry way.

West & South
Not much to report from the market area. The plateau to the west was tricky to get to without the museum guard commenting. I had to do a running leap from the fallen building to the southwest (image below). Even mantling up I had to be real careful not to get any speed enhancement. I could drop back onto the foot of said fallen building without taking damage.



The southwest around the canal and the mage tower had nothing to report. Some patrollers, but plenty of shadows and hardcover. The attic apartment above Salimar’s with two patrolling haunt thieves was tough, but they weren’t too alert. There was a pickable door there that led to the roof with the monkeyman guard, but I didn’t want to pick it. Neither did I want to pick the astrologer’s front door, so I utilized the slanted roofs in the southwest to get to the balcony with the patrolling skeleton (image below). I could then use the lift to rob the astrologer’s and circumvent both of the aforementioned pickable doors. Lots of coins and hidden loot in the southwest before ending the mission by the gate.



Notes:
- Skipped a statue worth 25 in Salimar’s residence for Supreme. It was a light source.
- Skipped two gemstones worth 15 each in Tharmaz’ crypt for Supreme, for the same reason as above.
- Skipped a silver nugget worth 100 in a pickable chest in the lost city area for Supreme. I couldn’t pick the lock without triggering spitfire traps.
- Skipped Summerion’s Dagger worth 150 for Supreme. It was a light source and not a required objective.

[klatremus]

Game: Thief 2
FM: The Perdurance

Ghost - Success
Perfect Thief - Success
Supreme Ghost - Success
Perfect Supreme - Success
Time - 21:09
Loot - 1600/1600
Pockets Picked - None
Secrets -None
Locks Picked - 2
Backstabs - 0, Knockouts - 0
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0
Consumables - None

Loot list here.
YouTube let's play here!

Comments:

This mission had no challenges in terms of ghosting. Just standard sneaking all the way through. The mummies couldn’t be killed, so they were designed to be snuck around anyway. Only four enemies in total, where one spawned after getting the gear. That one was the trickiest to pass, but its patrol route went far enough away from the door to the priest’s room to avoid hearing the door open and close. A nice mission with excellent atmosphere. I will try out Skejven’s other creations one day.

[ultravioletu]

Game: Thief 2
FM: A Very Thiefy Christmas Special

Ghost - Success
Perfect Thief - Success
Supreme Ghost - initially Failed, but then Success (thanks to snake)
Perfect Supreme - initially Failed, but then Success (thanks to snake)
Time - 1:25:12
Loot - 4257/4257
Pockets Picked - 4/11
Secrets - 4/4
Locks Picked - 10
Backstabs - 0, Knockouts - 0
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0, Healing taken: 1
Consumables - None

Initial 'Supreme' busts:

• Left behind the rope arrow, after attaching the last quest item to the top of the tree. A very exquisite "jump and grab" may be possible (I fluked just one, out of like 100 retries, so it does not count as 'reproducible move' to me) Update 31.12: I used snake's move to depart the beam after recovering the rope. I also thought that it is possible to drop, from the beam, onto the ladder from the N wall of the plazza - yes normally it is, but not after getting the ornament (all ladders disappear)
• Arguable bust, in any case avoidable: I ended up with a 1 hp "healing taken", namely from the White Tree in Ice Garden. Went too near to it, while grabbing one loot item. Update 31.12: Now that the previous bust was invalidated, I had motivation to go back, to avoid this one...

Comments:

This mission too offered little challenge in terms of ghosting. A fairly easy level, but totally enjoyable, with cosy atmosphere, beautiful visuals and nice touches. I played it - and blind ghosted it - together with my (now teenager) son on Boxing Day. Quite special, being the first time in years since we played something together - we'll file this under 'Christmas Spirit". We both enjoyed the 'good deeds' part, it took a while to figure out which is which (and while doing so, we ended up with all food items, expecting them too to play some role in the quest).

I even recorded a video afterwards, but I'm not very happy with the quality of my narration (light-years behind the usual suspects here) ergo little chance of posting it. We'll see

[Snake]

Supreme busts:
[LIST][*]Left behind the rope arrow, after attaching the last quest item to the top of the tree. A very exquisite "jump and grab" may be possible (I fluked just one, out of like 100 retries, so it does not count as 'reproducible move'

I think it’s reasonably manageable to obtain the rope by climbing the wooden beam and then jumping to the roof to the side and sliding off without taking damage. I did this quite a few times. But maybe I was lucky each time!

[Galaer]

[*]Left behind the rope arrow, after attaching the last quest item to the top of the tree. A very exquisite "jump and grab" may be possible (I fluked just one, out of like 100 retries, so it does not count as 'reproducible move' to me)

You can also mantle on beam and from there jump towards SW roof to mantle and then quickly cancel it to safely drop on street.

[ultravioletu]

Thanks guys, I tried both your suggestions, but I could not made them myself (not suprinsingly, I'm generally clumsy).

But I finally realized the obvious solution (d'oh...) - I updated my post above...

[tartley]

"But what is -equier?" - Equire is a real world family name, with a historical meaning in middle english similar to "squire" - originally the shield or armor bearer or apprentice for a knight, but over the ages changing to mean the lord of the manor. I am no expert in etymology, but it seems suspiciously similar to "equine", the family of species that includes horses.

(in response to question about 'Noirequier" in #815, The Black Parade Mission 04 Death's Dominion)

[klatremus]

Game: Thief 2
FM: Rowena's Curse

Ghost - Failed
Perfect Thief - Failed
Supreme Ghost - Failed
Perfect Supreme - Failed
Time - 3:38:31
Loot - 9074 out of 9074 (Supreme: 8159)
Pockets Picked - 10/13
Secrets - 8/8
Locks Picked - 25
Backstabs - 4, Knockouts - 2
Damage dealt - 217, Damage taken - 0, Healing Taken: 0
Innocents Killed: None, and others Killed: 11
Bodies discovered by enemies: 1
Consumables - 2 Water Arrows, 1 Flare & 1 Moss Arrow

See the entire report with screenshots here!
Loot list here.
YouTube let's play here!

Comments:
A classic, high quality, plot driven mission from one of the best authors this community has ever seen. The keyhunt aspect and forced damage might turn some players off, but the story, character development and rock solid design should make this a must play for most. Over 20 years past its original release, Rowena’s Curse has aged better than other missions from this era, though it does suffer from elements of backtracking and frustrating gameplay elements. Yes, it does showcase the typical mansion-with-a-dark-secret-below scenario, but then again, it was one of the first missions to implement it.

I was tasked with investigating the disappearance of Lord Carlysle’s daughter Isabella. I had to find information from Barker, the catetaker, as well as Isabella’s own diary. If she was alive, I had to bring her out through the front gates. I also had to pick up 8,000 in loot, which was over 88% of the total amount. Quite high, even for expert difficulty.

I knew this mission was unghostable from the get-go. But I also knew the busts were tied to required kill objectives, so I was determined to try to eliminate as many other busts as possible. Busts forced by design are a lot easier to accept than those forced by gameplay, as there sometimes are creative ways around them. Therein lies at least half the fun of ghosting.

Entering the Grounds
The crate breaking at the start wasn’t a bust. It was actually just a sound cue of wood breaking. I was met with instant Supreme busts in the basement, however. First I took two comments when picking the lock on the door. If all three guards were within close proximity, they usually triggered off each other and second alerted, so I avoided this. Then I had to nudge the stationary guard a foot or so towards the left in order to pass by (image below). This was allowed as a last resort for regular Ghost. The storage room had a piece of loot that I had to skip for Supreme. I could circle the room clockwise with no alerts, but the closest spider heard the lockpicks on the footlocker.



Impossible to pass through the front yard, so I was forced via the mess hall to get to the mansion. The guard in there heard the doors, so I waited in the corner and used the maid to block open the door (see image). Had to have her close it too on the way out.

Getting the loot in the kitchen for Supreme was the first real challenge. Four pieces of loot, all at the northern end of the room. There were three entrances, but only the southern one was viable for Supreme. The guard in here had two facing angles; north and east. He pivoted quite frequently, but could stay a few cycles in either direction. The maid visited the kitchen along her route, so I could use that to enter the room unheard, though it was more difficult than in the mess hall. In fact, I couldn’t touch the door at all, but had to follow close by the maid and sneak in quickly behind her back. There was also the cook, facing west over by the stove. As the maid left, I needed the guard to face east. He had to stay that direction until I reached the patch of shade at the other end of the table (images below). Easier said than done. My biggest issue was getting between the corner of the table and the nearest chair. There was room, but not without pushing at an angle against it. I could stand up and run to get through faster, but then the cook gave a comment. This was tedious to figure out, but after a lot of reloading, it was done. I could now move a bit further north before hitting the lights, and from here I could grab the loot items in cycles, all while the guard faced east. Getting back across the table took a similar method, albeit with a bit more save scumming.





Had to skip the loot in Lisette’s room for Supreme. I couldn’t get to the opposite corner without turning off the lights. For regular Ghost it was no problem. Took the secret wardrobe exit in the cook’s room to the basement, then used this to get to the inner courtyard for now.

Main Mansion
Lots of patrollers in the main halls, plus glass doors. Carefully looted the sitting room and dining hall. Then went to Wilson’s room to get the white room key. Upstairs was easy to ghost in comparison. Cleaned the white, yellow and blue rooms, before heading to the chapel. Took the red room key and left. Couldn’t get the candlesticks in the chapel yet, but I had an idea for later. Also took the purses from the front foyer guards at this time. Had to skip the purse in the reading nook just east of the front entrance for Supreme. The closest guard commented and there was no other way in there.

I was surprised I could open the red room door without Lucrethia commenting. I could grab everything in there by maneuvering around her pivots. I needed her garden key to proceed, but I couldn’t use the secret chute for Supreme. A stationary guard heard the stone panel slide open (image below). There were two other ways into the north gardens. One was through some pickable grates behind the basement furnace. I don’t like to pick locks unnecessarily, so I instead used the western door in the basement close to the wine cellar.



Garden
The northwest barracks couldn’t be entered for Supreme, so I had to skip the loot in there. That made it 365 so far. The stationary guard heard the door, and quite frankly it would’ve been weird if he hadn’t. To get to the accident location, I had to climb the outer walls of the property. I used the door and the hedge just northeast of the barracks (image below). I doubt that move is possible without NewMantle.



I circumnavigated the ground all the way to east of the chapel. I dropped here to get the three pieces of loot by the pivoting guard outside the chapel doors. He didn’t hear the secret under the staircase open, which surprised me a bit. Climbed the hedge in the same fashion as before to get back onto the walls. Dropped into the accident area from the northern wall next; that way I didn’t have to pick open the door.

All I did underground for now was to get two pieces of loot and head to Rowena’s room. The Holy Sword ordeal would have to wait till later. The falling rocks was not a trap, but merely a cave-in and a script to force me in one direction.

The Well Room
After Rowena’s room I cleaned the library. No issues there. Got the well room key, which required me to find a way to blow open the barricade to that door in the dungeon. The only way I knew to do that was by using the explosive barrel in the armory by the northwest barracks. I fetched it from the basement entrance like the before. The best way I found to get into the dungeon without nudging was via the door in the southeast yard. I found that I could drop from the first floor east balcony without taking damage or getting spotted (see image). I had to inch myself over the edge ever so slowly to avoid a comment from the stationary guard. There were patrollers in this yard also, but their route was across to the south. I had to be very quiet when placing the barrel, and if the guards heard it, they usually second level alerted.

From the inside hallway, I could now get one of the candlesticks from the chapel by leaning from the doorway. I had to block the door as the archer came out of the chapel; frobbing it made noise, just like the kitchen door. Instead of closing it, I left it almost shut, enough for the archer to have to open it and then shut it. Fully closing it would have triggered a comment from the inside sentry.

Down in the dungeon the problems arose. A stationary and a patrolling guard, and three torches. I could get the loot items with no busts easily enough. I could not, however, place the barrel by the bricked door without a second level alert from the patroller. I tried many many times with no success. I was thus forced to use a moss arrow. Additionally, I had to nudge the stationary guard in behind the corner at the bottom of the ramp (image below). Otherwise, the explosion would kill him and that would fail the no-kill objective. In order to do that, I had to douse both torches in this room. If I doused only one, they both first alerted, but the patroller would see it put out and comment again, setting off the stationary guard to hunt mode. If both were out, he couldn’t see the torch doused and didn’t give the latter remark. Silly, but that’s how it works. I used a flare to blow up the barrel, as a fire arrow made even more noise. Both guards naturally second level alerted, which was the first inevitable Ghost bust. Several of the guards in the front yard also heard it and alerted. The barrel had to be pushed far into the alcove, otherwise the fireballs relit the closest torch.



In the sacristy, I couldn’t get the ring from the chest for Supreme. Surprisingly, the stationary guard in the chapel heard it, even with the door closed. Similarly, I couldn’t take the candlestick from this side of the altar for Supreme. Closing the door afterwards yielded another comment. That was 615 skipped so far for that mode. I was well over halfway there. I realized I couldn’t leave the sacristy without getting fully spotted, but the way back was blocked by a gate that closed once inside the well room. I reloaded and blocked the gate with the scroll from the yellow room (image below). This was silent and easy to return. To get back into the mansion, I used the door to the small courtyard west of the chapel. I did take another first alert from the pivoting guard.



Elemental Rooms
I ended up not taking any of the elemental keys. It was unnecessary and would incur more busts for Supreme. The only one that had loot along the way was the water section below the blue room. It had six gems in two different caves. Skipping all six would push me below the loot requirement, so I had to figure out something. A stationary green spider at the southern end of the cave guarded the entrance to the flooded section. I could get quite close with no alerts (image below). However, I did not find a way past without a first alert chirp. It was awkward, as the rock sloped in and down, so although I could lean through without getting spotted, in order to get Garrett’s body through, I had to move too far east. I thus took one alert going in and another one going out.



The other three gems at the northern end of the first cave was a real challenge to get for regular Ghost. I could pass the first two spiders quite easily, as they were facing the wall. However, rounding the second one got me in view of the yellow and green spiders at the far eastern end, where the gems were located. I found a method where I rushed around its back and came to a quick halt in the shade with only first alerts. I still couldn’t reach any of the gems though. Instead I found I could use the scouting orb from the mess hall to nudge the small spider away. It was quite difficult to find the right spot to place it, but one nudge pushed it a few feet up the slope. This was enough for me to reach the first gem. I had to nudge it a second time like this to get the rest. This time it scooted much farther, all the way over to the innermost gem (image below).



Headed all the way back to the tombs via Rowena’s room. I frobbed the skull on the wall and got to the puzzle room. It wasn’t too hard to figure out. Used the rock to keep the pressure plate down. Two levers had to be flipped to enter the Holy Sword cave. I hadn’t taken any of the elemental keys because the sword could quite easily be taken through the gate. I just leaned forward instantly when running into it, then jumped and grabbed it (see image). Used the scroll again to block the sliding boulders in order to close up the passageway when leaving.

Ghost Slaying
In order to proceed, I had to take Rowena’s locker key and read the diary there. This triggered a new objective to kill Cedric’s ghost, but in order for this ghost to spawn, I first had to slay Duncan’s apparition in the cemetery. Since this wasn’t explicitly stated in the objective, it counted as another Ghost bust. In order not to detect him before the kill, I blackjacked him and brought him in behind one of the crypts. Strange that he could be knocked out, but oh well. In order to enter the cemetery, I mantled a torch south of the mess hall and used the walls to get there (image below). I had to go slow to avoid getting spotted by guards.



In order to kill Cedric outside Gate to Hell, I had to use one overheard swing. It was excused as per the objective, but I couldn’t alert him in the process. For Supreme I also had to avoid using a moss arrow or dousing any torches. I positioned myself just behind the corner of the sloping cave (see image). Here I could draw my sword without any comments. I loaded my overhead before he came to the end of his route closest to me. When he turned, I waited a second or so, then ran out and did an angled jump, letting go of the attack button in the air. If timed correctly, the sword would hit him before I hit the ground, thus avoiding the alert. I found a predictable method in the end. This counted as 30 damage dealt and 1 back stab.

Gate to Hell
Got caught by the first demon on the right. He didn’t pivot like all the other stationary ones, and as soon as I rounded the corner, it gave a howl. I was able to descend the other levels without any first alerts, by taking it slow and timing the patrols. One room on the bottom level had the main gates to Rowena’s lair, guarded by two more demons. Couldn’t get in that way without busts. There were also four cages with zombies and loot. I could lean in and get three of them for Supreme, but the southwestern one was different. It wouldn’t highlight unless I opened the cage, which the zombie first alerted to (image below). Had to skip that one for Supreme.



There was a closed chute at the northern end of this room, atop a ladder. Luckily, I could lean through it and reach the lever from the outside. That avoided further busts going through the room below. Dropped onto the torch behind Rowena to approach her unseen. I could kill her in one overhead blow, but this didn’t complete the objective. Instead, additional versions of her appeared fully alert. Some of them acted like apparitions, while others as zombies. All of them had to get killed before the objective checked off. Additionally, when the next to last version got slayed, Isabella woke up and she alerted to hunt mode from the noisy fights. I stayed behind one of the big pillars for the majority of the fights, so she never actually saw me. Regardless, all of this was a massive bust to all Ghost modes. The locked up demons also alerted to this, but they died along with Rowena, as did all the other demons outside. The objective said to take Isabella out of the mansion, which implied knocking her out, so at least that was excused.

There were quite a bit of loot laying around, including in a semi-hidden tomb underground. It required a red key from a strange room with two stationary female zombies guarding a red pool (image below). Unfortunately, this was one of the few keys that could be returned, but that was impossible for Supreme, as the closest zombie then entered hunt mode. Technically I should’ve skipped all this loot, but it was 750 worth of valuables, which pulled me way below the loot requirement. Instead I just hung on to the key, which was another bust.



Bringing Isabella out wasn’t a problem, just tedious. Climbed the torch by the mess hall again in order to get over the wall. Not sure how I would’ve dealt with that in OldDark. It would’ve been another huge bust. This made the front gate key by Lenny’s corpse pointless, so I skipped it entirely.

Notes:
- Got two first alerts when picking the lock on the basement turbine room door. Supreme busts.
- Nudged the guard outside the turbine room out of the way in order to pass. Supreme bust. Allowed for Ghost as a last resort.
- Skipped the purse worth 100 in the basement storage room for Supreme. Couldn’t avoid a first alert from the spider when picking the lock.
- Skipped the nugget worth 50 in Lisette’s room for Supreme. The outside guard saw me unless I turned off the lights.
- Skipped a purse worth 100 in a reading nook east of the front entrance for Supreme. The hallways was too lit and the guard gave a comment.
- Skipped the northwest barracks for Supreme, which included a purse and three coin stacks for a total of 115. The stationary guard heard the door open.
- Got a first alert when closing the gate to the southeast yard when heading to the dungeon. Supreme bust.
- Had to douse two torches and use one moss arrow in the dungeon, which also spawned two first alerts. Supreme busts.
- Nudged the dungeon guard out of the way so that he wouldn’t get killed from the blast. Supreme bust, but allowed for Ghost.
- Alerted both dungeon guards and many front yard guards to hunt mode when blowing up the explosive barrel. Ghost bust.
- Had to skip one of the candlesticks worth 50 in the chapel for Supreme. The stationary guard alerted to the door closing.
- Also had to skip the ring worth 100 in the sacristy for Supreme. The same guard as before heard the lockpicks.
- Took a first alert when returning to the mansion from the dungeon. The stationary guard in the chapel courtyard heard the door close.
- I couldn’t take any of the six gems in the water caves for Supreme. The spiders gave at least a first alert for all of them. I ended up taking the three in the flooded cave, as I wouldn’t have reached the loot goal otherwise. This yielded two first alerts. Supreme busts.
- Had to kill Duncan’s ghost in order to proceed with the story. Not directed in the objectives and thus a Ghost bust. 40 damage dealt and 2 back stabs.
- Got a first alert from the first demon beyond Gate to Hell. Supreme bust.
- Had to skip the golden bone worth 100 in the southwest cage outside Rowena’s ritual chamber for Supreme. I couldn’t reach it from outside and the zombie heard the gate open.
- Alerted all the demons in Rowena’s ritual chamber when fighting her. I was also spotted by all of her versions before winning the fights. Big Ghost busts.
- Isabella heard me killing the final version of Rowena. Ghost bust.
- I couldn’t return the red key to the room below Rowena’s chamber for Supreme. The closest stationary zombie alerted. I had to take this key to reach the loot goal, so I hung onto it. Small bust.
- Of the damage dealt, 40 was for Duncan’s ghost and 30 for Cedric. 1 damage was for knocking out Isabella, and the remainder was for the 7 versions of Rowena. That should be 9 kills in total, so I’m not sure where the 2 extra in the stats are from. The 1 body discovered is probably one of the demons who spotted something.

[klatremus]

Game: Thief 1
FM: Rogues' Lair

Ghost - Success
Perfect Thief - Success
Supreme Ghost - Success
Perfect Supreme - Failed
Time - 1:15:36
Loot - 4000/4000 (Supreme: 3300)
Pockets Picked - 2/2
Locks Picked - 2
Backstabs - 0, Knockouts - 0
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0
Consumables - None

See the entire report with screenshots here!
Loot list here.
YouTube let's play here!

Comments:
A very nice mission by Vegetables. I think this is the first creation I’ve tried of his. An obvious alternate take on Thieves’ Guild, but still very much in the style of The Dark Project. I love the twist of going from a seemingly standard heist to a much deeper (literally) story driven adventure. It even has one of my favorite locations in fan mission history, showcasing the author’s immense talent. Not to be missed, this one.

After realizing Roswell’s vase was not in the nearby gallery, I was tasked to steal it back from the Downwind Thieves’ Guild. I also had to get a bracelet, plus 2,400 worth of other valuables. No issues in terms of ghosting on street level, so I plunged into the rogues’ underground hideout.

Statues!
Nothing to report until I reached the mysterious castle in the mountain towards the northwest. Although I absolutely loved the vibe of this location, I had to skip the entire place for Supreme. Once I passed the room with all the statues standing in a ring, the door behind me locked and it was a one-way trip from here. I tried blocking the door with potions and scrolls first. That didn’t work, but a crate did. However, I couldn’t get past the statue that spawned right in front of the door. I could drop down on either side of it, but there wasn’t enough room to squeeze by. This ended up forcing me through a bedroom later on with two statue heads shooting purple balls at me (image below). They only triggered once I was in the room, so this was a trap. I found this room to be impossible to sneak through or avoid triggering said traps. The rest of the castle could be passed for regular ghost without much issue. Too bad, as this meant 700 in loot had to be skipped already.



There was another area in the same castle where a different statue in a similar way was rigged with a trap. I could evade it by sneaking through the hall with lots of sworded statues without triggering their swinging blades. That way I approached this booby trapped statue from behind (image below). I could get two of the four pieces of loot like this without busting Supreme; a moot point, since the entire castle had to be skipped for that mode. It was fun to figure this out nonetheless.



Pub Crawl
The toughest piece of loot by far came in the pub. First there was a bottle of wine behind the bar counter. It had to be taken dropping from the north side, no big deal. But the gold goblet on the restaurant table was a different story. For regular Ghost I could get it with a first alert easily enough. For Supreme, it required something much more elaborate. The thief guard patrolled between the two floors; he was not the problem. The bartender, however, was. She faced west and south. I couldn’t use any of the conventional entrances, the floor level was simply too lit. The only way to get down without a first alert was by use of rope arrows shot from the northwest second floor window (image below). The one rope had to be placed very precisely in order to pull the next set of moves off. It had to hang down about a tile length out from the middle dividing pillar, about one foot out from the wall. I managed to do this move three times, and the rope was pretty much in the same position each time. The other rope was just used in order to reach the aforementioned one, so its placement was unimportant. When climbing down, I couldn’t drop all the way, as the floor level directly underneath the rope spawned a first alert, regardless of what direction she was facing. Instead, once I got low enough on the rope to be underneath the archway, I faced northwest, then quickly swung around so that I would end up facing southeast. If doing this correctly, and if the rope was placed properly, I would now be positioned in a very small dark spot while still hanging on the rope. Here I could inch myself down and land with no remark.



The next problem was the candle on the table to the northwest (image below). I would hit the light from this before getting blocked by the pillar as hardcover, and I was too far away to get the goblet by leaning. However, I could lean out of view of the woman’s gaze. I then realized something I never knew, even after 20+ years of ghosting. You can actually strafe while leaning!! Was this possible in the old engine, or was it introduced post NewDark?? Anyways, I could lean west and then strafe the same direction. Leaning maintained my dark light gem, but it got my body behind hardcover, so she didn’t see me when the light from the candle hit me. Going back I could do something similar, although now I had to lean west while strafing east.



The toughest part came last though; getting back onto the rope. The problem was I had to get on by jumping, and this I could only do while standing. Also, when fastened onto the rope, I had to still be dark enough not to trigger a first alert. I had almost no space to work with due to the aforementioned candle. When I finally found the correct angle, it usually required several jumps to get fully onto the rope, which of course made noise and alerted the lady. I ended up bringing along the healing potion from behind the counter to cushion my landing first. When I did this, I could do repeated hops without having to reload in between, significantly bettering my success rate. When finally on the rope, I climbed up a bit, and then had to do the same 180˚ pivot to avoid being hit by the candle. At long last I could climb up and grab my ropes as I mantled back into the window. Phew!

Mansions
Donal’s wasn’t a problem to ghost. I didn’t find a way up to the third floor balcony from the outside. This would’ve skipped having to pick the lock on his bedroom door. Perhaps there is a way, but I wasn’t going to spend excessive time on it. Reuben’s mansion was likewise quite easy. Plenty of shadows and predictable patrollers. The outside plaza was dangerous, but there was no need to use it.

The vault couldn’t be locked up, and since the keys disappeared, they naturally couldn’t be returned. Although that made it easier, I kind of wish they could’ve been. It would’ve felt a lot cleaner. Great mission!

Notes:
- Had to skip all the loot in the mysterious castle for Supreme. I couldn’t get through the burning bedroom without setting off spitfire traps, and there was no way back through the room with all the statues in a circle. This was 14 pieces of loot valued at 700 gold.

[klatremus]

Game: Thief 2
FM: Lady Lisa's Harbor

Ghost - Success
Perfect Thief - Success
Supreme Ghost - Failed
Perfect Supreme - Failed
Time - 1:39:06
Loot - 14377/14377 (Supreme: 13940)
Pockets Picked - 9/11
Secrets - None
Locks Picked - 9
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0
Consumables - 1 Water Arrow

See the entire report with screenshots here!
Loot list here.
YouTube let's play here!

Comments:
I played this mission over 10 years ago, but never ghosted it until now. A nice creation from the early era of map making, by a very influential author. An industrial dockside section of the city, a fortified castle, and caves with some critters, all glued together by a cool story and clever layout. Don’t expect spectacular design, but rather a classic Thief romp.

I was tasked by the Merchant Association to turn on the inner harbor lights, as well as the generators for the lighthouse. I also had to grab 10,000 in loot, including Lady Lisa’s statue collection. Lastly, I needed to break into the weaponsmith’s, though I didn’t need to steal anything.

Electrics
The biggest problem early on came in the electric company. I had to turn off the top generators, while turning the bottom ones on. The latter was definitely the hardest. A stationary guard faced north, east and south. I could drop from the top walkway onto the edge of the closest generator quietly, but the guard had to be facing south (image below). In fact, he had to stay that way until I got to the inner half of the generator, beyond the metal beam. In this area, I was dark enough to stay undetected. All 8 generators triggered a flash bomb effect once I had flipped the switch. This spawned a first alert comment from both guards once. This took them a long time to settle down from, so they were in a constant first alert state for a few minutes after this. I couldn’t drop to the floor between the generators, I got spotted immediately. Additionally, the generators blocked my view although the guards could see straight through them. I could mantle the switch mechanisms to stay completely hidden all along the wall, though I suspect this to only be possible in NewDark.



To get back out I had to be a bit lucky. For this the guard had to face north while I had to scoot to the end of the generator and drop quietly (image below). At this point he could turn east, but not south. I flipped the main doors, then flipped it again to rush out, hoping no patrollers were around. I got there in the end.



Water Company
The water company was almost worse, especially for Supreme, as I couldn’t use moss arrows. The biggest problems were the metal walkway and the flickering electric lights. Also, the last two rooms were fully lit on the inside, so even if I could get in there unseen, getting back out was impossible without first alerts from the nearby workers. They were stationary and staring straight at said doors. I managed to get into the first office without Supreme busts by rushing from the doorway around the left corner, but getting back out with that mode intact was not doable. Over 400 in loot thus had to be skipped.



For regular Ghost the toughest spot was entering the final office without a second level alert. I could navigate around the patroller by dropping onto the last pumping machine and furthermore onto the floor (image above). When approaching the door, it really depended on the flickering lamp’s illumination. I found I could rush into the doorway and be hidden from said lamp by the north door jamb (image below). Here I waited out the first alerts, then rushed fully into the room around the door. After a few attempts I got no hunt mode. Same method going out, really. Again, leaving the doorway had to be done quickly, without making stepping noise, and being lucky with the light flickers.



Lady Lisa’s
The estate really wasn’t that difficult to sneak through. The statues in the garden was a bit tricky; I had to enter from the second level balcony. Coming from the kitchen wasn’t possible without at least a first alert from the maid. Taking Lady Lisa’s key was necessary in order to get the lighthouse key, but it was located in a metal-framed rack by the front entrance (first image below). Needless to say it would be impossible to return without alerting several guards, thus another Supreme bust. Outside Lisa’s bedroom was another guard that caused a bust. I had to douse the torch in the corner in order to pass him unnoticed, which spawned a first alert (second image below). I could’ve squeezed by behind him, but not without a slight nudge and that’s only allowed as a last resort. Once hearing the torch go out, he was in a first alert state for a few minutes and didn’t give further alerts until settling down from that.





When entering the bedroom, after not too long a running guard came in. He spawned at the foot of the stairs to the second floor and carried the key for the door there. He wasn’t alerted despite running, but would instead reduce his speed to a walk if first alerting. I could get all the items in the bedroom in three loops of his patrol. Took the loot from his room and dropped the key back. I couldn’t, however, close the door back up to Lisa’s bedroom without waking her up. It was either this or leaving the door both open and unlocked, I chose to lock it back up, taking the alert. I also wouldn’t be able to return the lighthouse key later, as this would trigger another first alert from the outside guard.

Lighthouse Passage
The first issue was getting into the river without alerting the red spider nearby. I could hop across without hearing an alert, but I suspected I was simply too far away to notice it. Instead, I leaned out and shot a rope into the ceiling so the line hung into the water (image below). This way I could lower myself and grab the rope without making a splash.



In the crayman caves came the biggest issue. In order to exit the caves, I needed three keys. One of those was located in a chest guarded by two red spiders in a brightly lit cave (first image below). There was no way to avoid fully alerting them and busting Ghost. In order to circumvent this, a big crate stack had to be made to bypass the gate requiring said keys. This maneuver was developed by Galaer, so all credit goes to him for this move. I needed five crates, which all had to be hauled from the streets. I brought two from behind the barrels close to the dock, and three more from the warehouse. I could transport them into the west tower through the small window next to the door (second image below). This skipped needing to the pick the lock. Back by the river I had to toss them along the left wall to avoid alerting the spider, while still having them land in the pool. To transport them down where the guards fought the blue crayman, I had to fetch two fruits from one of the smaller caves. This way I could grab the other crates from below without having to douse any of the torches in this cave (third image below).







After returning the fruits and getting the two nuggets down here, I started my stack. A patrolling crayman walked through the cave with the bridge above. The only dark spot in that cave close enough to reach the bridge, and where the crayman didn’t walk, was on the south side, just east of the cave with the dead pirate. In order to reach all the crates to build the stack, I had to toss two crates up onto the bridge from below first (first image below). They had to be far out on the edge, almost falling off. I could make a stack of the remaining three crates from below, then from atop it, I could lean and jump to grab the final two. My successful setup is shown in the second screenshot below. I also managed to bring along with me one crate when mantling up. The other four were left behind.





I could now exit the caves in the lighthouse to the south. The frogs in there couldn’t see me, but did alert to sounds. Had to drop the crate under water in order for them not to hear it. Flipped the switch on the roof and dropped in a mantle so that I could retrieve the crate. Using the door alerted the frogs. Got all the loot on the harbor floor and returned the crate before ending the mission.

Notes:
- Got first alerts in the electric company building, from each guard when the first flash bomb effect triggered on each floor. Not exactly sure how many alerts I got, three or four. Supreme busts nonetheless.
- Skipped 437 loot in the water company bedroom and office. Couldn’t enter either room without first alerts.
- Couldn’t return Lady Lisa’s key to the guard room without alerts. Supreme bust.
- Had to douse a torch in the hallway outside Lady Lisa’s bedroom. This also spawned a first alert. Supreme busts.
- Woke up Lady Lisa when locking up the door to her bedroom. It was either this or leaving it open. A Supreme bust either way.
- Left behind 4 crates in the crayman caves when climbing up to the bridge to circumvent the gate. Supreme bust.
- Couldn’t return the lighthouse passage key without further alerts, so I hung on to it. Supreme bust.

[ultravioletu]

Game: Thief Gold
FM: Winds of Misfortune

Ghost - Success
Perfect Thief - Success
Supreme Ghost - Success
Perfect Supreme - Failed (or perhaps not?)
Time - 1:37:10
Loot - 4582/4582 (Supreme: 4562)
Pockets Picked - 2/3
Locks Picked - 3
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0
Consumables - none

Lootlist here.

Nice skacky and Prinxellier mission, submission to 1st Speedmapping Jam, with definite 'With the Snow as Sole Witness' vibes attached to it. Or 'Endless Rain' (but without snow/rain ). Not very difficult (which my playing style appreciates!!), but challenging enough to be enjoyable.





The arguable supreme bust occured while taking a purse located on a ledge, that I could only reach with two crates (stack). The area was patrolled, and I could not replace both crates in one go before the patrolling archer came back. I left one temporarily behind, in his plain sight (he did not comment, though). So the question is whether this sole crate counts as stack and violates rule #7. The formulation is: "You cannot stack boxes to gain access to an area when your stack is on the patrol path of an AI. If it can be done in a shadowed area off a patrol path or even in direct light where no one is patrolling, that is fine".



Not much to say about the playthrough. Ignored the inn (unpickable safe meant I must come back later anyway), then followed the street up to Dame Harcourt's house, went past it (patience required) and took thieves' highway to stumble, on the N side of the neighbourhood, upon a key stolen by a bird. Continued westward until reaching keeper's place, which conventiently had objective located in a room locked with the bird key!

Westside provided two accesses to Wexler's house, but after finishing it I decided to go back to Madame first, which afterwards led me very conveniently to the third entrance to Wex. Jackpot! Inside, lots of tiled floors, but patrol openings were just enough to negotiate all rooms w/o much headache. Happened to go up first into Wexlar's bedroom, finding thus one necessary key before stumbling upon the room that needed it. Basement offered two useful ways out to streets (and back in, to return the keys). Inn and its basement posed no problems. Creepy patroller was ... creepy, but easy to dodge.

Slightly challenging areas: passage to church (aforementiond purse), front of Madame's house (crouch-shift-strafing in front of the stationary guard, which alerted to the littlest speed bump, so a good opening in the other patrollers' routes had to be found), waiting for the right opening to jump unto that damn chimney, closing that secret door after keeper spawned, even Wexler's bedroom (get out to balcony and back in in one 'go'). And generally avoiding being spotted by guards while travelling on roofs (they could very well see me if careless).

Some loot was devilishly placed (my blind run was about 500 gold short of max, and accounting for all took quite a while). Easy to miss: vase behind opened door, statue behind cogwheel, statue in attic, wine on top of shelves, goblet under dumbwaiter, purse in guardhouse, even the supreme-busting purse.

[ultravioletu]

Game: Thief II
FM: At Lapstone House

Ghost - Success
Perfect Thief - Success
Supreme Ghost - Success
Perfect Supreme - Success (initially failed)
Time - 0:48:01
Loot - 2682/2682
Pockets Picked - 4/9 (3/9 without the triggered 'evidence' objective)
Locks Picked - 4
Secrets found - 4/4
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0 etc.
Consumables - 2 fire arrows to lit torches for unlocking a secret, 2 water arrows to douse them (allowed - and required - for Supreme)

Lootlist here.

Excellent mission from Random Taffer! Again, perhaps on the lighter / easier side (which suits me very well - I could blind ghost it w/o headaches), but enjoyable nonetheless. I liked the nod towards Markham's Isle

The (free, thus allowed for Supreme) contract provides optional objectives for loot items which I intend to take anyway. Also, worth mentioning: skipping the 'evidences' objective by not taking the items reduces the amount of necessary pickpockets.

Outside, barracks and warehouse were routine. Warehouse key is useless (wakes up a sleeping guard when used) so I did not bother with the pickpocket and used the vent to reach storage. All four manor keys can be ignored too, since Master Willy's key is better (and must be taken anyway, for relocking three locks that cannot be avoided for maximising loot).

Entered the manor via vents, and headed into Master Bedroom, but not before roping down to Theater and cleaning up the E part of the ground floor:


In the bedroom, two pivoting guard could spot me, if careless. Three, if we count the archer patrolling outside, and four if we count Master Willy, who patrols randomly the complete house.


The main objective can be completed immediately (actually, by not reading the contract and not caring about max loot or secret count, the mission can be finished quite fast - the loot requirement can be met by stealing valuables easily accessible, in plain sight). For the "full experience", I needed to pick up Master Willy's key, and the next stop was the office for a further key. In my blind run, wanting to avoid picking the door lock, I sneaked inside when the bedroom guard faced east - no longer needed with Master Willy's key.

From the games room, I took the western vents for a more convenient access to ground floor rooms, and to the hideout with the old key. I went back outside for the hedge maze area, then roped down into the cave after taking with me two fire arrows (from kitchen and gazebo). Had to skip collecting Captain's Sea Map, since it triggers a trap, but the other bonus objective could be taken w/o problems - the plaque behind captain was crucial in figuring out how to reach the secret area.

I went back in, returned old key and dealt with the second upper floor. Used master key to unlock and relock Miriam's room (...same for Lady's bedroom and dice display on first floor). This inner 'garden' ruined my Perfect Supreme efforts: I could not find an opening to reach the loot hidden well behind plants by the left (W) wall. I tried coming from the right. The guard pivoted too often, and a maid did not stay too long at the ends of her patrol through this room:

[Update]: by patiently waiting a few rounds for the perfect opening, I managed to grab the coins while the archer kept his back turned. Barely...

Finally, I went back to Master Bedroom to use the safe key and return master key. Grabbed the last pieces of loot, including a "contract" objective, went once more to the office to return the safe key, then headed straight back to the starting area. Supreme success!

[ultravioletu]

Well, I felt challenged by own remark:

[...]The main objective can be completed immediately – actually, by not reading the contract and not caring about max loot or secret count, the mission can be finished quite fast[...]

Actually, it did not turned out much faster – to meet the loot goal, almost the complete manor had to be visited, after all. Without master key, there were a few tedious detours (plus: I had to get into and out of the office 'the hard way').

Therefore, for some one-time fun:

FM: At Lapstone House
Whacky Ghost - Success
Time - 0:31:19
Loot - 1560/2682
Pockets Picked - 0/9
Locks Picked - 0
Secrets found - 1/4
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0 etc.
Consumables - none

"Whacky ghost" is a self-invented supreme ghost who (1) plays it safely, by not risking any pick pocket, under no excuse, and (2) takes too literally the rule "do not circumvent security systems" by considering locks as security systems too - so not lockpicks at all, nor stealing and using keys, no excuses here either (so, 'strict' application of rules).

Of course, a lot of loot and some secrets had to be skipped. "Perfect" is when all loot obtainable under these constraits is collected.

Under these rules, I reckon that >90% of the missions cannot be completed... many will even fail after one minute or so. As such, I don't expect whacky ghost to become the next "big thing"!

[klatremus]

Nice work, uv! My video for Winds of Misfortune is right around the corner. I got the purse you mentioned from atop a stack also, but i managed to put the crates in a perfect shadow very close to the patrol routes. I deemed this ok. It was a tough jump, but repeatable. This rule is tough to interpret and leaves it up to player's discretion sometimes.

[klatremus]

Game: Thief 1
FM: Winds of Misfortune

Ghost - Success
Perfect Thief - Success
Supreme Ghost - Success
Perfect Supreme - Success
Time - 1:49:49
Loot - 4582/4582
Pockets Picked - 3/3
Locks Picked - 2
Backstabs - 0, Knockouts - 0
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0
Consumables - None

See the entire report with screenshots here!
Loot list here.
YouTube let's play here!

Comments:
This is a cool, yet differently constructed city mission, made for the Speedmapping Jam from 2024. A spiraling street layout that slowly takes you higher in elevation. Classic Thief 1 style, but with an interesting, semi-linear progression, which I rather enjoyed this time around. Follow the trail of a break-in gone wrong, and reap the benefits of its aftermath. Highly recommended this.

Mainly, I had to find Wexler’s stolen gemstone. To do that, I had to first find the captured thief in Wexler’s manor. I also had to steal 2,500 in loot along the way. Darla’s free contracts added further objects: Harcourt’s vase collection, the Caerulean Dagger, and Kareidas’ invitation, which I had to destroy. Free readables have been deemed acceptable to get from the loadout screen for Supreme, since they are not purchases, per se.

Early Streets
The first challenge came in the street east of the bazaar. A purse lay atop some boxes on a plateau. There was no easy way to get up there that I could find without a crate stack. I was able to mantle the lamp to the south, but I couldn’t jump far enough from there. Conveniently, three crates were located in the plaza to the west. I hauled them over and made a stack in the dark alley close by (image below). Supreme prohibits stacks on patrol routes. My stack was very close, but not on it, plus the crates were all dark. The patrollers didn’t detect me if I stood there, so I figured that was ok. The jump was still tough, but doable. Two patrollers used this alley, as far as I could tell. Tricky challenge early on this.



Another challenge for Supreme came close to Van Luchmann’s shop. Three coin stacks were located inside a window. I couldn’t get into that building, but had to take the items from the outside chimney. Problem was, it was in view of the guards on Wexler’s bridge. Eliminating a first alert here was very tough. I was not able to jump directly from the balcony to the chimney without being seen. Neither could I get on top of the lamp, which would’ve been another place to take the loot. Instead, I had to make a very small hop from the edge of the balcony fence to the tiny ledge directly outside the window (image below). I had to stay a minimal amount of time in the air before mantling, otherwise the closest guard would alert. Once the mantle mechanic kicks in, the game no longer counts it as movement, and thus nobody will alert at that point. Turning back slightly towards the balcony in the jump seemed to trigger the mantle sooner. Now I could inch over so that the chimney pipe served as hardcover, then I hopped over to it. Got the loot from here and slid down onto the red roof below. Then mantled back onto the first balcony and left. Nice move!



Wexler’s
Entered Wexler’s from the southwest, by dropping and mantling one of the trees in the garden. This was a one-way trip. On the third floor was a guard with a purse. Using the door alerted him (or so I assumed), so I had to take it from the stairs. It was tricky to approach him without lighting up, but I found a predictable method. Jumping and mantling the railing directly in front of him could be done without a first alert. Surprising, as I had a yellow light gem through most of the maneuver. I had to end the mantle quite far to the right, so turning right mid-air and mantling close to the turquoise central pillar was key (image below). Inching off the railing, I could stay dark while grabbing his coins. Dropping back down was actually important to do fast, so the light gem didn’t have time to change until I was out of his view. Another nice challenge this.



During my recording for YouTube, I realized this guard doesn’t alert to the door after all, so the entire previous paragraph was nothing but a waste, albeit a nice challenge.

Wexler’s bedroom was also tough. I ascended via the ventilation shaft. Both the northeast and southeast corners were dark, but getting there was tougher. In the end it was mostly a matter of waiting out both the sir and the pup. On top of the dresser was the most convenient spot (image below). Getting the bottle on the balcony was a bit tedious, but again a matter of good timing.



Headed down to the basement and then through the streets to the thieves’ hideout to get the Cursed Gem. No issues there. On my way back I returned the thief’s key and the machine room key. The latter I had to put onto the letter on the desk not to alert the dog to hunt mode. There is a small, silent spot in the center of papers that can be utilized to return keys quietly (image below).



The final challenge was to get the purse in the guard station outside the front doors without having to pick the lock on the doors. The best way to get there was to drop into a mantle onto the fence from the chain off the second floor balcony (image below). I did this after cleaning Harcourt Estate, which didn’t pose any issues. To get back to the streets, I first dropped onto the ledge outside the fence, furthermore onto the armory sign below, then safely to the cobblestone. Lastly, I returned the key found in a bird’s nest and ended the mission.