Gems, geodes, crystals, oh my!

So I have accumulated quite a collection of these treasures, thinking I would keep them in case I needed them later.... but now I want to save up 50,000 and buy myself a ship in Blackroot.

Are any gems useful besides for offerings? I know I need a ruby for Torg, and a geode for someone else I found, but which ones can I sell? Can I sell all my kathorn crystals after I already have the spectacles?

And one final question: Is buying the ship really worth it? Does it let you move over water on the world map, or is it just free transportation between cities?

 

Only free transportation between coastal cities, and passage to Thanatos.

Also, I should say, do the Stringy Pete's quests for the ship. Much better, and if you're evil non-tech melee'er, you get the best weapon you can get.

 

So before I waste my money, who and where is Stringy Pete?

 

:checks link: So... pretty... =3
Akhem. I'm a bit of a magpie so I often accumulated those gems just for cheering my eyes, but when it comes to practicality, all you'll need in a vanilla game is 1 cathorn crystal (or none if you menage to get the cathorn glasses from Thorvald, by any means), 1 ruby of any kind, 1 geode, 1 black diamond (blessings) and 3 heartstones (2 for blessings, one for a quest).

Buying - no. There are three ways to get a ship and bying one is the least rewarding option, the best being the one Mesteut mentioned. Plus that one is the most climatic one, which only adds to the roleplaying joy of having your very own vessel.

Talk with Edward Teach and that drunken sea dog (who's name I'm not even close to remembering). At this point of the game they are both at the seaside inn in Blackroot and they'll tell you everything you need to know.

 

Thank you!

I guess I will still sell most of the gems though, I just wasn't sure if you needed them a recipe or something. (besides the iron key and wheel clan specs)

 

How do you keep the sword while getting the ship at the same time? I killed the family I was supposed to give the treasure to, and took the sword for myself, but I cannot say anything to Stringy Pete other than "I'm working on it". Can I trade the treasure chest for anything, or give it to the gambler in the bar in exchange for his ship?

I tried killing Stringy Pete but his crew just swarms me and they have like 100x the health of a normal enemy.

 

Keeping the Bangellian Scourge equals not doing the quest for Stringy Pete. Well, killing that family too so there's no turning back. If you want to acquire Pete's ship after such a turn of events, the only way is over the double-dead bodies of Stringy and his crew. One hell of a fight, but it's possible, especially if you have any means to stun or at least disarm them. If the fight is too much for you, there always the possibility of winning Edward Teach's boat back or - if you're not good at gambling - buying one in Blackroot. I can't guarantee it, but it's possible that after buying the ship, the money you paid will be in the inventory of the guy you bought it from. Or in other words, on his dead body.
I believe the chest can be sold like nearly everything to any junk dealer, but I don't recall it being worth too much.

 

I have stun grenades. I have killed Stringy Pete before since stun never seems to fade from him, but then his crew swarmed me. I suppose I could stun them as well but it would probably take forever to kill them, haha.

 

The best way to kill Stringy Pete and his crew is to stun them (with either the spell or grenades) and then backstab them. They don't really have a lot of health, just extremely high resistances, and since backstab ignores resistances they will die very quickly.

Backstab adds 100 damage to your attack at full skill when attacking an unaware creature (such as a stunned one). Stringy Pete has 300 hit points, so he can be killed in 3 hits this way.

 

Can I backstab with zero backstab skill, or do I need to level up and train it first?

 

No, you can't backstab with zero backstab skill.

The damage you deal when backstabbing is based on the skill level (keep in mind that each skill goes from 0 to 20 and each CP gives you 4 ranks in a skill). This way, if you put 2 CPs into Backstab, you'll be dealing 8 extra points of damage when backstabbing. The damage is, however, multiplied by 5 if the target is unaware (stunned, knocked out, can't see you prowling, etc). Apprentice training is needed to bypass resistances.