Fan Mission: Chronicles of Skulduggery 3: Sacricide (2020/07/18)

[Bienie]

Story:

Quote

Things certainly took a turn for the interesting after my little escapades at the Watch station. As I was going to drop off Miles' cache and blackmail I was ambushed by the Raven. It turns out that the note in Rawlyn's place was dead serious.

The note mentioned that the Raven is blood bound to some bishop in the town of Santa Letta. Eliminating him would be safer than trying to duel this Raven fellow, and besides it's likely someone else would just take his place. Since Miles owes me a big favor I had him arrange safe travels there for me.

Two days and many miles traveled in a small box later, I've arrived. Next to my box was a letter from a local fence, one of Miles' contacts. Apparently he can set me up with a new life here, if I steal something from the local bank for him. Bridgeport can eat my breeches for all I care, so I'm inclined to take the bait.

I can't forget why I came here though. I will have to break in to the "Bishop's Palace", locate him and quietly take him out. Easier said than done no doubt, especially since I had to pack lightly.

 

 

Thanks:
 

Thanks to peter_spy for creating the wonderful Builder Complex module set used in this mission.

Thanks to my beta testers: Cambridge Spy, Mezla, kingsal, Amadeus, manzanita-crow, Kerry000, Shadow and Suave Steve.

 

Downloads:

Quote

Available in the in-game downloader, or at the below locations.

Dropbox

taaaki.za.net

fidcal.com

southquarter.com

 

Gallery:

Quote

 

 

Thank you for playing! What did you think of the mission? I look forward to your honest feedback!

Hints, Tips, Walkthroughs, Spoilers(!):

- This mission will greatly reward those taffers who like to explore a mission thoroughly. It is possible to go directly for your objectives, but you will be missing a lot of content.
- Many windows are openable, leading to new areas or private residences.
- If an area seems hard to navigate due to patrols, chances are you can circumvent it.
- Those who like a challenge and some extra replay value owe it to themselves to visit the cultist's apartment on Vicolo Torcere.

 

Main Objectives:

 

I'm having trouble navigating the mission without a map!
Gentle hint:

 

The letter you start with from Niccolo suggest that you visit a thief named Guido. He has made a map of the town you can... appropriate.

Just tell me!:

 

From the start head straight through the two tunnels and hang a left, then follow Vicolo Diacono down past the guard tower, up ahead is a stairway leading down to an open window into a basement. On the desk is Guido's journal, and also a rolled up scroll, which is the map of Santa Letta!

I can't find the Bishop, he's not in his quarters!

Gentle hint:

 

The Bishop's journal in his quarters outlines some hints for you to pursue.

Just tell me!:

 

The Bishop is hiding in a small secret office in the library. You need to flip the switch on his toilet to open the bookshelf to access him in there.

I can't find the Calchano Bros. financial records!

Gentle hint:

 

The note on Giovanni's desk mentions the records being "safe in our archives", referring to the room south of his office.

Just tell me!:

 

When you enter the archives (top floor of the bank, south east corner), turn left to see a ladder, walk up this ladder and look along the bookshelf for a rolled up scroll that lights up.

I'm not sure where I need to go to end the mission...

Gentle hint:

 

The objective mentions the north west of the sewer system, look for manholes in the streets!

Just tell me!:

 

The area you need to find is close to the starting area, from the crate go to the little nook to the north and head down the manhole. You have to go through the gate on the right, however it is locked. Going left and through the metal door on the left in the T-crossing and to the sleeping guard you can get the key for the gate on the table.

I'm having trouble finding enough loot! Help!

Gentle hint:

 

The majority of the loot in this mission is concentrated in the major institutions in the town. There is also quite a hoard underground.

Just tell me!:

 

The two biggest areas of concentrated wealth in the mission are in the Secure Deposits room in the bank, and in the burial chamber of Santa Letta. Between the two of these there should be enough to fulfill the requirement combined with regular looting.
The Secure deposits room requires you to find the keys to the three lootable safes in there. One is owned by Commander Cavalcanti, whose key is in his safe behind a painting in his office (3rd floor of mercenary building), another by the Bishop whose key is in a desk in his bedroom, the last one is owned by Mayor Foscari who has hidden his key in a fake book on a bookshelf next to the window.
Santa Letta's burial horde is accessible through the small mausoleum building in the graveyard behind the Bishop's Palace. Twist the torch to reveal a secret stairway that leads into the catacombs. Bring the slow match on the shelf opposite the torch. Once in the catacombs you need to pull the levers above the tombs of Marcus Torquatus and Marcellus Messor (lean in and look up, or mantle the tomb and turn around) to open the porculli into the chamber of Santa Letta.

Secrets:

 

I'm having trouble finding all the secrets!

Gentle hints:

 

1. There is a purse someone dropped, just out of reach of the Deacon's favorite eating spot.
2. A forgotten bottle of fine wine awaits a new owner in the Mercenary's kitchen.
3. The stablemaster seems to have hidden away some of his pay.
4. It seems there is a ring that has slid of the Bishops finger at some point during his daily duties.
5. The maid must have accidentally knocked over a statuette when she was cleaning the Bishop's library.
6. Father Benedetti has hidden a ruby in a sneaky spot inside the church.
7. It seems the good father has also left a gold wine glass in a precarious position.
8. The bank archives seems to be a good vantage point for some stargazing, or maybe less innocent spying...
9. Apparently the engineer in charge of the clocktower doesn't want his employer finding out he drinks on the job.
10. Did someone taunt the city councilmen by leaving their taxes just out of reach?
11. Another ring must have slipped off a wet finger in the City Council.
12. A famous plumber must have missed jumping onto a coin during his romp through the sewers...
13. It seems the rats are up to some kind of mischief in Tessa's basement.

Just tell me!:

 

1. Above the Deacon's garden on the exterior of the second floor of the stone house in a window recess is a purse. (climb the taller of the two trees to get up).
2. In the kitchen of the Mercenary House, head into the storeroom. On top of the left shelf is an open wooden box. In here is a gold bottle.
3. In the Mercenary stables, mantle onto the divider and look along the planks along the roof beam, up there is a purse you can grab.
4. In the Chapter House in the Bishop's Palace there is a fine leather chair at the head of the table, under this is a ring.
5. In the Bishop's Palace library (first door on the second floor), there is a gold statuette partially hidden behind the bookshelf closest to the sofa.
6. In the church, make your way to Father Benedetti's chambers on the second floor. Jump onto his desk and look in the little recess above the door where there is a stained glass window. In front of it is a well hidden ruby.
7. On the exterior of the church is a wine glass on the ledge of the stained glass window overlooking the prayer garden. To grab it mantle onto the hedges and then onto the gargoyle.
8. In the bank archives, along the wall of bookshelves, when standing on the top of the ladder furthest from the door you should see a gold spyglass on top of the bookshelf.
9. At the top of the clocktower, where the clock mechanism is you can hop onto the machine with levers and see a gold bottle where the roof meets the wall. The clocktower is accessed through the second floor bathroom in the bank.
10. On the exterior of the City Council, climb up on the wooden awning over the main entrance. Then mantle the leaky pipe and look on top of one of the closest wooden pillar on the council building. There is a stack of coins.
11. In the City Council kitchen, look in the bucket beneath the sink, there is a ring towards the back of it.
12. CAUTION: This one can only be picked up before all main objectives are completed. In the sewer corridor where you are supposed to go to finish the mission, keep walking down around the corner to a Super Mario easter egg. High up on the right is a floating, spinning coin.
13. In Tessa's basement, straight ahead from the starting spot, there is a gold wine glass hidden behind a large flat package along the wall.

Discoverable Objectives:

 

I'm trying to find all the objectives, but I don't know how to discover them!

Gentle hint:

 

The secrets objective won't show up in your objectives until you've found them all. See the secrets section for more information.
There are four missions that are in plain sight, and four that may be trickier to find.
Additionally there are four people around the town that could use your help. Two are trying to help those in need and two are civilians.

Just tell me!:

 

The secrets objective won't show up in your objectives until you've found them all. See the secrets section for more information.
There are four paid missions you can complete, two each found on the notice boards. The first notice board is by the sewer hatch in the starting area, and the second one in the alley behind the mercenary house stables.
You can also read Deacon Boccaccio's journal on his desk, Father Benedetti's journal in the church quarters (not in the palace), Clara's journal in the apartment above the short tunnel at the starting area (climb onto the jutting-out bay window and enter the window above it, journal is on the desk). Finally you can read Cosimo's journal in the apartment directly behind you where you start, climb the big box or the brass lamp outside the bank and jump on the t-brace supports to reach the window, journal is on the desk.

Specific missions:

 

I found an objective to help Clara get the bank off her back, how do I do that?

Gentle hint:

 

The journal mentions a certain employee at the bank who she's upset with. His office would be a good place to look.

Just tell me!:

 

Enter the office of Matteo Vitelli, straight ahead as you get to the second floor of the bank. On his desk in front of a gold hammer is a rolled up scroll. Take it and return to Clara's apartment, dropping it on her desk.

I'm supposed to help the deacon find loaves of bread and put them in his kitchen, where are they?

Gentle hint:

 

There are only three loaves of bread in the mission, and they are all in the possession of people you wouldn't feel too bad stealing from.

Just tell me!:

 

The first loaf is in the watch tower directly across from the deacon's place. Climb up the ladder and on top of the desk is the loaf.
The second loaf is in the Mercenary House. In the kitchen on the shelving that is right next to the door to the storeroom.
The third loaf is in the prayer garden. There is a little awning with a wooden table under it. On this table is the loaf.

Father Benedetti wants to have the reliquary of Santa Letta. How can I get it for him?

Gentle hint:

 

His journal gives some information about the catacombs, but the careful thief will want as much information as possible. The Bishop seems to be interested in the treasure Santa Letta was buried with and found a book with more information.

Just tell me!:

 

Go to the graveyard behind the Bishop's palace and enter the mausoleum (little house in the corner). In here twist the torch on the left hand side to open the way into the catacombs. Don't miss the slow match on the shelf on your right as you will need it. Go down to the bottom floor and frob the levers above the tombs of Marcus Torquatus and Marcellus Messor to enter the crypt of Santa Letta. This will spawn a couple of revenants patrolling the hallways. In the crypt use the slow match (by taking it out of inventory as if to drop it, and aim the glowing end at what you want to light!) to light the two braziers on either side, and stand back! The gargoyles will shoot flames for a few seconds as you do it. The gold statue of Santa Letta will move back, revealing the reliquary. Pick it up and place it on Father Benedetti's desk to complete the objective!

This fellow Cosimo has a fun little plan, how do I help him see it through?

Gentle hint:

 

The letter in question is next to his journal, and the destination is in the belly of the (mercenary) beast.

Just tell me!:

 

Pick up the letter next to Cosimo's journal and make your way to the Mercenary House. On the third floor is Commander Cavalcanti's office, first door on the left at the top of the stairs. Put the letter on his desk to complete the objective!

The mechanic in charge of the clocktower wants to exact some revenge, how do I make it happen?

Gentle hint:

 

You will need to find the top of the tower from inside the bank, and look around closely.

Just tell me!:

 

Go to the second floor of the bank. Keep to the right as your going down the corridor and on your right will be a bathroom. There is a ladder here you can climb up to get into the tower. At the very top is the clock mechanism, and on the wall is an openable fusebox. Here you will find a rolled up scroll that you need to drop by the notice board behind the stables. The payment is on the stall that is closest to the main entrance of the Mercenary House (opposite side of the notice board).

Ol' Adolpho seems to have his heart set on a particular book. I would like to give it to him, where can I find it?

Gentle hint:

 

The note gives the clue that the Bishop might be in possession of a copy. Look where most of the books are kept.

Just tell me!:

 

Go to the second floor of the Bishop's Palace. The first door on the left from the first floor stairs is the library, go in here and directly on your left is a table with a book on it. Bring this book to the balcony next to the tunnel to Vicolo Torcere. It's a gray stone house with a terracotta roof. Mantle the doorframe to get up. The payment is on the big brown crate that is to the right of the back door entrance of the bank, right next to where you start the mission.

Seems Carlo is very attached to a statue, how can I reunite him with it?

Gentle hint:

 

You'll have to hit the City Council in the south west end of the map. It's locked up tight and only the Mayor knows how to get in there.

Just tell me!:

 

Break into the City Council, which is located in the south west corner of the map, across from the prayer garden. You have to find the code to the storage door in Mayor Foscari's office in the south east corner on the second floor. Then go downstairs and enter the code on the lock by the metal door. On a shelf in here is a statue you can pick up, bring this back to the notice board to complete the mission. The payment is by the long tunnel east of the board, in the corner in a broken box.

Ms. Ziani seems to have a real infestation on her hands! How can I help her clean it up?

Gentle hint:

 

You're going to have to spear a few rats in her nearby basement, get that bow ready! She keeps a tidy house, so make sure to clean up after.

Just tell me!:

 

Go to the back entrance of the bank, directly across from where you start the mission. There is a hole in the ground here leading down to a window. Grab the extra arrows in the quiver and kill all five rats in this room. Put the corpses of the rats in the bin that says Dead Rat Storage to complete the mission! When you climb back up to the surface, directly ahead of you on the doorstep is the payment.

Challenges:

 

The Ghost Challenge failed as soon as I took it!

 

Sorry, you will have to restart the mission and make sure you do not alert anyone before reading the scroll, after this you will notice the objective fail only if you alert somebody, allowing you to reload.

I'm having trouble finding all the loot for the Greed Challenge, is there a loot list I can use to check what I am missing?

 

Certainly, you will find it on the Dark Mod wiki page for this mission.

I'm having trouble finishing the Completionist Challenge. What am I missing?

 

Look through the Discoverable Objectives section and you should be able to tell what you have not done yet.
It requires you to:
Help Clara, the Deacon, Father Benedetti, and Cosimo as well as do all four paid missions on the notice boards and find all secrets.

Apparently I have to pick up horse turds across the town... great. Where do I find these?

Gentle hint:

 

Think of where horses would move / live throughout the town, and where horse manure might come in handy...

Just tell me!:

 

The first turd is under the apple tree in the Deacon's garden, next to the low brick wall.
The second turd is in the stables of the Mercenary House. In the left stall.
The third turd is by the main gate in the starting area. It's under a bunch of leaning planks left of the gate.
The fourth turd is along the cobblestone road on the piazza, by the northeast corner of the bank building.
The fifth turd is to the left of the city gate on the south end of town close to the wall of the prayer garden.

Disclaimers, Player Information.

 

This mission is free of spiders. Those who don't want to face the undead should stay out of the mausoleum in the graveyard.

Several readables mention prostitution in mostly coded language, a large portion of the town populace is oppressed in this mission, including some race based oppression.

There is mild alcohol use in the mission.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Bienie
adding links

[chakkman]

That loading screen looks mighty nice. 

Grats to the release. 

[Amadeus]

Congrats Bienie! Players are gonna love this!

[nbohr1more]

Congrats!

The mission is available in the in-game downloader.

I will update the mission page with more screens tonight.

Edit:

Mission screens added.

[joebarnin]

Congrats! Looking forward to this one.

[JackFarmer]

...the mapping machine did it again!

Congratulations on the release! 

I will have a look asap!

Jack

[Jedi_Wannabe]

Congrats on the release! What a fine summer for FMs, so many coming out .

[joebarnin]

An excellent mission! Nice layout and architecture - exploring is rewarded. Wonderful set of interlocking stories, full of politics/factions/intrigue/corruption. Lots of opportunities for thieving (of course) and for doing good. 

Spoiler

Played on medium difficulty. 3:45 to complete main objectives, 6075 loot, plus six of the optional objectives (Clara, Reliquary, Cosimo's letter, Adolfo, Carlo's statue, rats). Only got 2 of the secrets (because I suck at secrets). Later I'll go back and look for additional objectives and secrets. I did not do the 'challenge' objectives, and I likely wont, because I'm not good enough 

No real problems running it. Only noticed one layout glitch - right across from the starting point there are 3 package cubes, and they are floating above the ground a bit. That was the only thing I did a screen grab of.

Thank you, Bienie!

[Bienie]

1 hour ago, joebarnin said:

An excellent mission! Nice layout and architecture - exploring is rewarded. Wonderful set of interlocking stories, full of politics/factions/intrigue/corruption. Lots of opportunities for thieving (of course) and for doing good. 

  Hide contents

Played on medium difficulty. 3:45 to complete main objectives, 6075 loot, plus six of the optional objectives (Clara, Reliquary, Cosimo's letter, Adolfo, Carlo's statue, rats). Only got 2 of the secrets (because I suck at secrets). Later I'll go back and look for additional objectives and secrets. I did not do the 'challenge' objectives, and I likely wont, because I'm not good enough 

No real problems running it. Only noticed one layout glitch - right across from the starting point there are 3 package cubes, and they are floating above the ground a bit. That was the only thing I did a screen grab of.

Thank you, Bienie!

Glad you enjoyed the mission! One of my main goals was to make a convincing web of intrigues and stories that kind of resemble the politics of today, so I'm happy that you found it compelling!

Sounds like you have enough content left to warrant a second playthrough. A couple of the challenges are not skill dependent so I would definitely recommend you give that a go. Most likely you will find things you missed the first time when replaying as well! As for the secrets, the FAQ section can help you out with hints, which should make it a bit more enjoyable to actively hunt for them.

[Jehauri]

I decided to replay the first two before starting this one, to refresh my memory, only to find that the first one no longer works. Partway through loading I get this error message:

Any idea what's causing this? Chapter 2 loads just fine.

[nbohr1more]

27 minutes ago, Jehauri said:

I decided to replay the first two before starting this one, to refresh my memory, only to find that the first one no longer works. Partway through loading I get this error message:

Any idea what's causing this? Chapter 2 loads just fine.

There is a new version of this mission in the mission database. Delete this one and delete the latest one in the in-game downloader.

[Jehauri]

I assumed that since I'd been downloading all the updates from the in-game downloader it would fix these issues, but sure enough, once I deleted the folder manually and re-downloaded it, it works fine. Thank you!

[kingsal]

Congrats on the release Bienie! This is a wonderful mission with some great exploration, stealth, and fun world building. Everyone should check this one out!

[Bienie]

6 hours ago, Jehauri said:

I assumed that since I'd been downloading all the updates from the in-game downloader it would fix these issues, but sure enough, once I deleted the folder manually and re-downloaded it, it works fine. Thank you!

Enjoy your Chronicles of Skulduggery marathon!

 

6 hours ago, kingsal said:

Congrats on the release Bienie! This is a wonderful mission with some great exploration, stealth, and fun world building. Everyone should check this one out!

That's an endorsement worthy of the front of the box! Thanks.

[Lzocast]

Just finished first playthrough on 21/07/2020 Master Difficulty; 8678 loot found, all in game sidequests completed, hidden objective part done and challenge modes found but not yet attempted.

So, before I start cataloguing the usual odds and ends lets actually talk about the experience overall. It was pretty damn fun. No ambiguity the bad guys were almost cartoon level evil which is refreshing once in a while though had to laugh at the number of times...

Spoiler

...the bishop writes about his SECRET ROOM IN THE LIBRARY. It was such a good idea you know, and so very secret xD

I was also not prepared for meme-ing Builders either so well played mate.

Good use of keys, very few instances of them being the only way to open something but rather a risk/reward grab from a guard to make moving through a floor quicker.

Spoiler

Deposit Keys also all opening the door to the room the boxes were in stumped me for a while, ended up combing the Bank thinking I must have missed a key till I key spammed the door just to try it. Not sure the point of the Archive Key and Upper Floor Bank Key both opening the Archives door when both keys are within spitting distance of each other practically.

Little less taken with the number of electric lights especially the frequency of them being over the top of doorways. Often led to situations where the notion of opening a door to cast shadow to observe a new room/corridor from was not possible. Lots of picking locks then crouch dashing into rooms towards the nearest patch of shadow and praying.

Not usually a fan of lethal only missions but I think this worked for the reasons listed above and the bit of Indiana Jones-ing in the graveyard was fun. Thumbs up.

Side Missions (Some started from notice boards in starting area North West near sewer entrance and North East near thief's hideout/back of Mercenaries Stables respectively, and others from reading unique journal entries in hidden houses etc. Even if you have the final item the objective must have been triggered by reading the appropriate note/book to complete)

N/B: Since I'm a Brit I will list all floors in the British fashion first then American after ie: Ground Floor/1st (these are the same thing)

Spoiler

Clara's House (Is A Very Fine House) [Locate Clara's Bank Deed from Bank Offices and return it to her desk. You can access her house from the starting area in upper north west; with the large double gates to your left look forward for an awning you can mantle on to in front of the house to the right of the sewer entrance. From here you can reach a 1st/2nd floor window]

Feeding of the Five [Get three loaves of bread for the Deacon of the Poor House on Vicola Diacono (labelled Chapel on Map). One is in the guard tower nearby, one is in the kitchen of the Mercenaries and the last is in the Church. Drop all three one at a time on to the kitchen table in the basement of the Poor House]

Indiana Jones & The Lady's Urn [In the graveyard crypt, turn the wall sconce on your left as you enter to access a hidden area. Find two hidden leavers in the sarcophagus nooks that have gears as their symbol (stand on coffin and look back into the hall and up). Beware you're in for a scare, hope you went Holy Water hunting in the Church first. Now use the slow match you found in the crypt entrance to light the two torches either side of the Lady's statue (Highlight Slow Match, press R and manipulate it so glowing end touches inside of unlit torch) and be ready to get out of range quickly. The statue will have moved and now there is a recess in the floor with your prize. Take it to Father Benedetti's room in the little area above the public prayer/worship area with all the benches and drop it on his bed]

Mob Life [From were you start look at the building to the west and up to the 1st/2nd floor. There is a large window you can open. Inside you will find a letter from a gent who wants to frame the Bishop and turn the mercenaries on him. Deliver the letter to Commander Cavalcanti's Desk on the 2nd/3rd floor of the Mercenaries House]

Trade Secrets [From the bathroom on the 1st/2nd floor of the Bank climb the ladder into the clock tower and locate the power breaker hatch to get a tech spec scroll. Drop this off at the job board around the corner from the Poor House (Chapel) near the thief's hideout]

History Buff [Steal a book on the Puglian Wars from the Library of the Church and drop it off on Adolfo's Balcony. His is the one with planter boxes with mushrooms and other things growing out of it on the first balcony to your left as you come through the tunnel from the starting area]

Art Thief [Grab the bust of the builder from inside the Council Safe Room (code and key found in the mayor's office and key for his office in the secretary's bathroom) and take it to the job board in the North West near sewer entrance in starting area. Your reward appears tucked in a box in the corner to your left immediately as you enter the tunnel to the next area]

Rat Catcher [In the area you start in look for a drop down to a basement window. Inside will be a bunch of arrows and a bucket labelled "Dead Rat Disposal". Kill all the rats in this room and drop their lil corpses into the bucket. If you've read Tessa Zani's note on the North West job board asking you to do this there is now a reward waiting by the steps directly in front of you as you exit the basement area]

Secret Loot 7/13 (This will be updated as more are found. Message me if you think you have something not on this list)

Spoiler

1. Bank Archives on 1st/2nd Floor, climb the book stairs far left side of the room for a secret in the shelves

2. Mercenary House Pantry at back of kitchen. Climb the shelves for a rare vintage in a shallow wooden crate

3. In Tessa Zani's basement (Rat Catcher) look behind the mattress on the left wall as you enter for a chalice

4. In the Poor House vegetable garden with the door in front of you look up and right to the ledge and the recessed window. There is a broadhead arrow up there and a 25 gold pouch.

5. Father Benedetti's Room above the Public Prayer/Worship Area in the church. Enter his room, turn to face the door and close it. Now look up at the tiny stained glass window above his door. Jump and spam right-click to grab the gem hidden up there.

6. Exit the public prayer/worship area (door immediately behind the lectern) into the hedge maze. Look right and climb on to the canvas covering then look back at the door to see a set of gargoyles. Mantle on to the gargoyles to reach a chalice hidden on the stain-glass window sill above the door.

7. Mercenaries Stables in the small courtyard at the back of Mercenary House. Look up into the rafters above the stalls for a coin pouch.

Challenge Mode

Spoiler

When exiting the tunnel from the starting area on to Vicolo Torcere look right and up for a large openable window. Inside is a bookshelf with a key and warning note about Challenge Mode and a locked chest of draws. SAVE BEFORE OPENING THE CHEST OF DRAWS. Reading the notes inside will trigger optional challenge objectives ie: Ghost, Collect all Loot, Complete all 8 normal sidequests plus main quest, locate hidden item (not loot) around map etc.

Phew and that does that for now I think. Loving the content, keep it up

[Bienie]

7 hours ago, Lzocast said:

Just finished first playthrough on 21/07/2020 Master Difficulty; 8678 loot found, all in game sidequests completed, hidden objective part done and challenge modes found but not yet attempted.

So, before I start cataloguing the usual odds and ends lets actually talk about the experience overall. It was pretty damn fun. No ambiguity the bad guys were almost cartoon level evil which is refreshing once in a while though had to laugh at the number of times...

  Reveal hidden contents

...the bishop writes about his SECRET ROOM IN THE LIBRARY. It was such a good idea you know, and so very secret xD

I was also not prepared for meme-ing Builders either so well played mate.

Good use of keys, very few instances of them being the only way to open something but rather a risk/reward grab from a guard to make moving through a floor quicker.

  Hide contents

Deposit Keys also all opening the door to the room the boxes were in stumped me for a while, ended up combing the Bank thinking I must have missed a key till I key spammed the door just to try it. Not sure the point of the Archive Key and Upper Floor Bank Key both opening the Archives door when both keys are within spitting distance of each other practically.

Little less taken with the number of electric lights especially the frequency of them being over the top of doorways. Often led to situations where the notion of opening a door to cast shadow to observe a new room/corridor from was not possible. Lots of picking locks then crouch dashing into rooms towards the nearest patch of shadow and praying.

Not usually a fan of lethal only missions but I think this worked for the reasons listed above and the bit of Indiana Jones-ing in the graveyard was fun. Thumbs up.

Side Missions (Some started from notice boards in starting area North West near sewer entrance and North East near thief's hideout/back of Mercenaries Stables respectively, and others from reading unique journal entries in hidden houses etc. Even if you have the final item the objective must have been triggered by reading the appropriate note/book to complete)

N/B: Since I'm a Brit I will list all floors in the British fashion first then American after ie: Ground Floor/1st (these are the same thing)

  Reveal hidden contents

Clara's House (Is A Very Fine House) [Locate Clara's Bank Deed from Bank Offices and return it to her desk. You can access her house from the starting area in upper north west; with the large double gates to your left look forward for an awning you can mantle on to in front of the house to the right of the sewer entrance. From here you can reach a 1st/2nd floor window]

Feeding of the Five [Get three loaves of bread for the Deacon of the Poor House on Vicola Diacono (labelled Chapel on Map). One is in the guard tower nearby, one is in the kitchen of the Mercenaries and the last is in the Church. Drop all three one at a time on to the kitchen table in the basement of the Poor House]

Indiana Jones & The Lady's Urn [In the graveyard crypt, turn the wall sconce on your left as you enter to access a hidden area. Find two hidden leavers in the sarcophagus nooks that have gears as their symbol (stand on coffin and look back into the hall and up). Beware you're in for a scare, hope you went Holy Water hunting in the Church first. Now use the slow match you found in the crypt entrance to light the two torches either side of the Lady's statue (Highlight Slow Match, press R and manipulate it so glowing end touches inside of unlit torch) and be ready to get out of range quickly. The statue will have moved and now there is a recess in the floor with your prize. Take it to Father Benedetti's room in the little area above the public prayer/worship area with all the benches and drop it on his bed]

Mob Life [From were you start look at the building to the west and up to the 1st/2nd floor. There is a large window you can open. Inside you will find a letter from a gent who wants to frame the Bishop and turn the mercenaries on him. Deliver the letter to Commander Cavalcanti's Desk on the 2nd/3rd floor of the Mercenaries House]

Trade Secrets [From the bathroom on the 1st/2nd floor of the Bank climb the ladder into the clock tower and locate the power breaker hatch to get a tech spec scroll. Drop this off at the job board around the corner from the Poor House (Chapel) near the thief's hideout]

History Buff [Steal a book on the Puglian Wars from the Library of the Church and drop it off on Adolfo's Balcony. His is the one with planter boxes with mushrooms and other things growing out of it on the first balcony to your left as you come through the tunnel from the starting area]

Art Thief [Grab the bust of the builder from inside the Council Safe Room (code and key found in the mayor's office and key for his office in the secretary's bathroom) and take it to the job board in the North West near sewer entrance in starting area. Your reward appears tucked in a box in the corner to your left immediately as you enter the tunnel to the next area]

Rat Catcher [In the area you start in look for a drop down to a basement window. Inside will be a bunch of arrows and a bucket labelled "Dead Rat Disposal". Kill all the rats in this room and drop their lil corpses into the bucket. If you've read Tessa Zani's note on the North West job board asking you to do this there is now a reward waiting by the steps directly in front of you as you exit the basement area]

Secret Loot 7/13 (This will be updated as more are found. Message me if you think you have something not on this list)

  Reveal hidden contents

1. Bank Archives on 1st/2nd Floor, climb the book stairs far left side of the room for a secret in the shelves

2. Mercenary House Pantry at back of kitchen. Climb the shelves for a rare vintage in a shallow wooden crate

3. In Tessa Zani's basement (Rat Catcher) look behind the mattress on the left wall as you enter for a chalice

4. In the Poor House vegetable garden with the door in front of you look up and right to the ledge and the recessed window. There is a broadhead arrow up there and a 25 gold pouch.

5. Father Benedetti's Room above the Public Prayer/Worship Area in the church. Enter his room, turn to face the door and close it. Now look up at the tiny stained glass window above his door. Jump and spam right-click to grab the gem hidden up there.

6. Exit the public prayer/worship area (door immediately behind the lectern) into the hedge maze. Look right and climb on to the canvas covering then look back at the door to see a set of gargoyles. Mantle on to the gargoyles to reach a chalice hidden on the stain-glass window sill above the door.

7. Mercenaries Stables in the small courtyard at the back of Mercenary House. Look up into the rafters above the stalls for a coin pouch.

Challenge Mode

  Reveal hidden contents

When exiting the tunnel from the starting area on to Vicolo Torcere look right and up for a large openable window. Inside is a bookshelf with a key and warning note about Challenge Mode and a locked chest of draws. SAVE BEFORE OPENING THE CHEST OF DRAWS. Reading the notes inside will trigger optional challenge objectives ie: Ghost, Collect all Loot, Complete all 8 normal sidequests plus main quest, locate hidden item (not loot) around map etc.

Phew and that does that for now I think. Loving the content, keep it up

Thank you for the detailed feedback! I guess I can see how the villains are cartoonish, but the funny (or sad) thing is that it's really not that far from reality today either.

It seems I forgot to delete the Archives key. I initially had several more keys in the bank for individual doors, but my beta team wisely advised me to simplify the setup. I should have probably also mentioned in the ledger in the foyer that only the deposit box keys can open the door to that room, I can see how that could be confusing.

Surprised that you felt the electric lights were too hard, I toned down the difficulty a bit even on Master before release, and the lighting is far more forgiving on lower difficulties. Most doors have keys, or can be circumvented, which is something I kind of expect of the player on Master difficulty. Granted, there are very few light switches available on Master difficulty, which can make some interiors harder.

You seem to have found a lot of the content littered across the map! I see you are summarizing some of your findings. I feel like I should point out though, that there is an FAQ section at the bottom of the OP that covers most of this. Though putting in other words is never a bad idea. It might be useful to you should you replay it to find what you missed and get all the secrets!

I'm thinking though that maybe I should add a section to the FAQ pointing out all the easter eggs in the mission, since there are quite a few.

[Lzocast]

36 minutes ago, Bienie said:

Thank you for the detailed feedback! I guess I can see how the villains are cartoonish, but the funny (or sad) thing is that it's really not that far from reality today either.

It seems I forgot to delete the Archives key. I initially had several more keys in the bank for individual doors, but my beta team wisely advised me to simplify the setup. I should have probably also mentioned in the ledger in the foyer that only the deposit box keys can open the door to that room, I can see how that could be confusing.

Surprised that you felt the electric lights were too hard, I toned down the difficulty a bit even on Master before release, and the lighting is far more forgiving on lower difficulties. Most doors have keys, or can be circumvented, which is something I kind of expect of the player on Master difficulty. Granted, there are very few light switches available on Master difficulty, which can make some interiors harder.

You seem to have found a lot of the content littered across the map! I see you are summarizing some of your findings. I feel like I should point out though, that there is an FAQ section at the bottom of the OP that covers most of this. Though putting in other words is never a bad idea. It might be useful to you should you replay it to find what you missed and get all the secrets!

I'm thinking though that maybe I should add a section to the FAQ pointing out all the easter eggs in the mission, since there are quite a few.

Like I say mate, not a criticism, it was a nice change of pace to have adversaries who weren't trying to justify their darker desirers or cover for a tragic past and so on. The counterweight to that is that they come off a bit moustache twirly.

Honestly the existence of the Archive Key in and of itself wasn't a bad one, its noted several times as a very important room and makes sense it would be locked with a unique key. 
A little notice at the Front Desk reminding patrons not to loose their deposit box key as it also lets them into the room, throw in a bit of flavour text about how bank staff having no access or some such so folks don't go key hunting like I did and that'd work just fine yeah.
Speaking of keys, would Dark Mod support a set up where guards you have stolen keys from could no longer open locked doors? Thinking back to T2 where I'd pickpocket all the guards keys then enter a locked room, re-lock it behind me with the key I'd just stolen then turn the place. Was a small immersive touch when Ghosting a level to re-lock all the doors behind me.

Hard isn't the word I'd use, just wasn't a fan of the randomised nature of getting caught some placements added to room entry. Just to be clear building entry wasn't an issue, the less conspicuous routes into all the major locales avoiding direct line of sight with patrols and their illuminated main entrances worked just fine. It was some of the interiors. You can still get around it as a player by disabling the option to auto open a door after picking a lock and keeping an ear out for movement ahead though I suppose so only a minor grumble.

I'm so used to there not being guides for these missions and needing to make my own I didn't even look xD Though I'll see if I can find everything myself for a while longer first.
An Easter Egg list would be a great addition.

[Bluehawk]

Spoiler

Does Carlo's heirloom dagger serve any purpose? The optional side-mission asks to retrieve his grandfather's bust from the strongroom in the bank, but alongside it tucked away in a corner is his dagger as well and dropping it under the bulletin board like the bust doesn't seem to do anything. It doesn't count as loot either, as far as I can tell.

 

[wesp5]

I just finished this mission and I must say I love the way you add sidequests and although the city itself is simpler than those convuluted constructs of missions like "The Painter's Wife", I found it much more realistic and easier to navigate! I had two issues though:

- The number code didn't work. I used the default code from the letter and I hear something being switched but the grate does not open. Do I miss something here?

- I really disliked that two sidequests were hidden behind windows that look like all the other hundred non-openable window textures around the map. I thought there was a kind of code to make openable windows transparent or something to give a hint. Like it's common to add handles to doors that can be openend. I don't have the time and nerve to climb around a map checking all window textures ;)!

Edited July 22, 2020 by wesp5

[Bienie]

2 hours ago, Bluehawk said:

  Hide contents

Does Carlo's heirloom dagger serve any purpose? The optional side-mission asks to retrieve his grandfather's bust from the strongroom in the bank, but alongside it tucked away in a corner is his dagger as well and dropping it under the bulletin board like the bust doesn't seem to do anything. It doesn't count as loot either, as far as I can tell.

 

Oh my, that dagger was the original item I was going to use for the side mission, but I couldn't get a good looking inventory icon so I chose to use a statue instead. Seems that I forgot to delete the dagger after. Thanks for letting me know.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Bienie
spoiler tags are B-R-O-K-E-N!

[Bienie]

1 hour ago, wesp5 said:

I just finished this mission and I must say I love the way you add sidequests and although the city itself is simpler than those convuluted constructs of missions like "The Painter's Wife", I found it much more realistic and easier to navigate! I had two issues though:

- The number code didn't work. I used the default code from the letter and I hear something being switched but the grate does not open. Do I miss something here?

- I really disliked that two sidequests were hidden behind windows that look like all the other hundred non-openable window textures around the map. I thought there was a kind of code to make openable windows transparent or something to give a hint. Like it's common to add handles to doors that can be openend. I don't have the time and nerve to climb around a map checking all window textures ;)!

 

I'm glad you found the mission enjoyable and that Santa Letta didn't pale in comparison to Mirkway Quarter, I was a bit afraid it would seeing as that mission has been worked on by multiple people over several years.

The number code didn't work? That's strange. I assume you opened the door first? Did the lights turn on in the room when you entered the code, but the grate didn't open? Maybe try flipping on and off between the right and wrong code and hope it fixes itself, otherwise you may have to reload to a save before you tried it. Sometimes those things are a bit frail but I feel like I tried to mess it up and couldn't.

You're quite right about the windows... I already had to add knobs to the windows in CoS 2 to signify that they are openable. That was silly of me to forget. I'll put that on the list.

[wesp5]

2 hours ago, Bienie said:

The number code didn't work? That's strange. I assume you opened the door first? Did the lights turn on in the room when you entered the code, but the grate didn't open? Maybe try flipping on and off between the right and wrong code and hope it fixes itself, otherwise you may have to reload to a save before you tried it.

I already tried wrong codes and it was like you guessed, I opened the door first. In the end I used noclip to get inside I only wanted to know if I missed something and to give you a bug report. As for "The Painter's Wife", in my opinion they overdid it. You spend little time on the ground at all! I love TDM for sneaking, not platforming ;).

[chakkman]

8 hours ago, wesp5 said:

I just finished this mission and I must say I love the way you add sidequests and although the city itself is simpler than those convuluted constructs of missions like "The Painter's Wife", I found it much more realistic and easier to navigate!

TBH, I've pretty much given up on TPW, simply because it is too massive for me. It would have fit better in 3 single missions than in one big one. At some point, without a "city hub" feel, which is well thought out (just like in Goldwell's Shadow of Northdale Act 1), it gets too chaotic, especially as you can't anticipate where the player is going first as a mission designer. I love the work of the people involved, but, with this one, it was simply too over ambitious.

Looking forward to try this mission, as I already enjoyed the former parts.

Edited July 22, 2020 by chakkman

[roygato]

Quite enjoyed this one. I tend to be a fan of the really large and sprawling city missions (haven't played Painter's Wife yet, excited), but at least with a smaller one like this, you don't get that overwhelming feeling of being a rat in a maze. Especially when the layout is as well designed as this one; not a whole lot of long-distance running required, to get from place to place.

My only real gripe is the arbitrary knockout limit on the highest difficulty; I really don't like these in general, because there is typically very little sense for them to exist, as far as the narrative goes. Take the city watch mission from Thief 2 as a comparison; you were prohibited from knocking out anybody at all, but at least that was well reasoned in the context of the story. In TDM, like this mission, it's more or less the opposite. "Don't cause too much ruckus" is hardly a compelling argument, when I can book it through town with 15 guards running after me. Considering that we're presumably stuck with three difficulty settings, I would either have the mission designed completely for ghosting (story and all), or leave the "X number of knockouts" as an optional objective. Or I suppose if it's a 10-minute speed-build mission, like Springheel's "A Matter of Hours", then by all means.

I suppose the fair question to ask is, why not just pick a lower difficulty? Which I almost did, but I like to try and finish all of these on the highest one, regardless of the limitations imposed. But after having spent my allotted 4 knockouts and having quite a lot to do still, I lost all patience and resorted to the age-old strategy:

Spoiler

I love that you can make the AI beat each other up. I rarely use it, but it's just so amusing. Not pictured are the four guards who were too injured to do anything but run around scared.

Also, related to that, I think I found a bug. I actually killed three or four builders myself, but doing so didn't trigger the mission-fail condition. Killing any other human did.

Other than that, enjoyed having the side-missions return, although I had to read this topic to find two of them.

Spoiler

The environments are too convincing, can't tell which windows are accessible and which pure scenery, lol. Not to mention they were not that obvious as far as placement goes, so well done(?) on that front. Actually come to think of it, even the window that's in one of the offices in the merc house (which you can access atop the stables), I discovered to be operable waaaay after the fact, while running around doing whatever.

I did find the challenge room (I guess the only window I did figure out, since it was slightly open, lol), and I activated all of them just for fun, but didn't really bother going for any, other than the secret objectives, which didn't actually complete for whatever reason.

Oh yeah, also what was up with the Deposit Box 2 key opening the door to the deposit room? I thankfully didn't spend a whole lot of time trying to find a key for that door, it was only after most everyone was dead that I decided to just try every damn key I had. Doesn't usually work, so I was very surprised that it did this time.

I think my final results were about 8300 loot and either 5 or 7 secrets, don't remember. I'm usually not too keen on hunting these, so just found whatever I stumbled upon.

Finally, special mention to the new textures and whatnot in the palace, really great looking stuff.

All in all, well done job again Bienie.

Edited July 22, 2020 by roygato

[joebarnin]

10 hours ago, Bienie said:

I already had to add knobs to the windows in CoS 2 to signify that they are openable. That was silly of me to forget. I'll put that on the list.

Another option is to leave the window slightly ajar. This shows, from a distance, that it is openable. Use the "open" spawnarg (set to '1'), along with 'start_rotate' or 'start_position' (depending on whether the window is a mover_door or mover_door_sliding). Give you total control over how open the window is.