FAQ – Divine Divinity

The following FAQ section could originally be found on Larian Studios’ official Divine Divinity website.

FAQ

What is Divine Divinity?

Divine Divinity is a PC computer role-playing game. In it, you take control over either a male of female character whom you guide through a highly interactive fantasy world. Your goal is to develop your character by making him/her better in a variety of skills, discover mysteries, combat enemies and save the day.

How many CD-ROMs does Divine Divinity occupy?

The game takes three CD-ROMS. Divine Divinity comes with the option to do a full install, and in that case you will not have to switch CD’s while playing.

What resolutions are available in Divine Divinity?

Divine Divinity supports resolutions from 640×480 up to 1024×768.

What graphic drivers does Divine Divinity support?

Divine Divinity supports Direct3D, DirectDraw, Glide and Software rendering.

In what languages am I able to play Divine Divinity?

Divine Divinity is released in English, German, French and Traditional Chinese.

Can I save at all times when playing Divine Divinity?

Yes. Furthermore, you have a quick-save and quick-load key for rapid saving/loading.

Is Divine Divinity based on an existing universe?

No. Divine Divinity introduces a brand new fantasy universe.

Is there any relation between Divine Divinity and LMK?

Except for the fact that it is the same team developing it, and the graphical perspective is the same, no. There have been rumours published in the press that Divine Divinity is in reality LMK or that it is LMK 2, but these rumours are false. There are currently no plans for reviving the game. We apologize to all the fans who wanted to see LMK come out.

How large is the world?

The world is over 20000 screens large.

How long are the load times for traversing between levels?

There are no real levels in Divine Divinity, and there are no real load times except at a few key points, but even those are very short. It’s one big world which connects seamlessly.

How many monsters are there?

Loads of them. There are over 100 different monster types, but expect to meet thousands instances of them.

Do monsters have their own behaviors?

Yes – the intelligence level of the monster determines how they act and fight. Some monsters or enemies are intelligent enough to attack you as a group.

Is the only way of defeating monsters killing them?

No, though it is usually quite an effective way. Depending on the skills you choose to acquire, there are many ways of dealing with your enemies.

What about non player characters, are there a lot of them?

Yes – there are over 150 characters with whom you can talk and communicate. In addition, there are a lot of extra non player characters who are just living their life in the world of Divinity.

Do the non player characters react to the actions of the player?

Yes, most of them do. Of course, if one of them is hanging with his hands and feets chained, you can’t expect him to do a lot, can you?

They definitely don’t just stand there around staring at the wall.

Are there scripted scenes using the game engine?

Yes. A lot of the plot movements get shown this way.

How about animals?

Rats, birds, butterflies, cows, rabbits, cats etc- they’re all there.

I’ve seen reflections in the screenshots. Are they for real?

Yes, they are. If you are using the direct3d driver, you will also see that the reflection moves (for instance ripples in the water).

What about environmental effects?

Fog, rain, day/night changes, thunderstorms, they’re all catered for. You’ll know when the sun is rising.

How does the sound engine work?

There’s a lot of sound in Divine Divinity. Basically everything which you expect to make sound, makes sound. 3d positional audio and real time reverb are also supported.

What about music?

The soundtrack of Divine Divinity is very extensive. Furthermore, it adapts to in-game circumstances, giving it a movie like quality.

Can I shapeshift?

Yes you can. You can even necroshift, which means taking over the body of a dead character or monster, and walk around in it.

Can I necroshift into a dragon?

No 🙂 Your level in the necroshifting skill determines how powerful the creatures are in which you can necroshift, and dragons are way too powerful.

But there are dragons in Divine Divinity?

Yes.

Do I need to identify objects?

Yes, some objects need to be identified. However, if your identify skill level is high enough, they get automatically identified for you. The same goes for monsters. The better your monster identification skill, the more you learn about their attributes.

Can I enchant weapons and armour?

Yes, you can charm items with a variety of charms. Some items can contain more than one charm, making them rather powerful.

Can I summon creatures?

There’s an entire skill path in the way of the wizard which is devoted to summoning creatures who aide you in combat.

How do I heal the player character?

There are many ways of healing the player character. There are healing spells, healing potions, herbs with which you can create healing potions, healers who can heal you, and there’s also a skill called survival, which automatically regenerates the player character’s health.

Can I steal objects?

There’s a path of the thief in the way of the survivor which is dedicated to the art of stealing, and causing other forms of mischief, including setting up traps.

Can I recruit other people to aid me?

Yes, there’s a skill in the way of the survivor called Leadership which allows you to recruit non-player characters.

Can I make my own potions?

Yes, if you have the alchemy skill, you can make a wide variety of potions, each having their own effects.

Can I pause the game and give commands?

Yes – there are a variety of options available to you when the game is paused.

How many characters do you control in Divine Divinity?

In general you control one main character, though at times you do have other characters who join you to aid you in your quest.

What types of player characters are available?

There are three major ways in which the player can develop his character. These are: the way of the survivor, the way of the warrior and the way of the wizard. When starting the game the player needs to select the initial way in which he wants to specialize, as well as the gender of the character he’ll be playing with. These options decide what the in-game representation of the player will look like. There are six different representations for the player character, three male and three females. The appearance and the animations of the player character change depending on what he or she is wearing. Additionally, depending on the initial way the player selected, he gains an extra special move which he can also develop. On a sidenote, there are almost one million frames which have been rendered for the player characters alone. (the actual number is 6 times 165000)

How does the skill system work?

The player is capable of developing his character by researching a number of skills. There are 96 skills available to the player. These are divided in three groups of 32 skills which correspond with the three ways. Each way is then subdivided in 4 paths. Paths group skills which are closely related to each other. To learn a skill, the player must research it. Each skill has a cost associated with it expressed in experience points. Some skills also have a number of prerequisites which are required if the player wants to research the skill. To research a skill the player must first select the skill, and then earn a number of experience points which equals the cost of the skill. If required, the player must also satisfy the prerequisites of the skill. The available skills are balanced in such a way that there are different ways of playing the game, going from pure hack and slash to the more traditional approach of pen & paper rpgs.

How does the player develop his character?

The player can develop his character throughout the game by means of boosting his primary stats and researching skills. The primary stats consist of strength, intelligence, stamina and dexterity. In order to increase one of these stats, the player needs to upgrade his level. To do this, he needs to acquire experience points. In addition to the primary stats, there are several secondary stats which are either derived from the primary stats, or influenced by other aspects of the game (like the items he is wearing). The secondary stats include various resistances as well as offense/defense modifiers and hitpoints/mana levels.

How does conversation with other characters work?

Whenever another character says something, the player can select from a list of answers. While talking to a character, the player can at all times interrupt the conversation or enter trade mode with that character. Additionally, he can at all times review past conversations while talking to a character. A lot of conversations are also worked out in speech, but not all.

Why don’t all the characters have speech?

The surprisingly simple answer is that there’s too much that they can say. The dialogs are very dynamic, and adapt to the circumstances. It would be impossible to fit all the variations on a few CD-ROMS.

How does trade mode work?

Trade is more a question of bartering. Basically both characters who are doing the trading show the wares they are willing to trade. The player then selects what he wants, and shows what he is willing to offer in return. Characters will accept or reject a deal depending on a number of factors such as the player’s actions in the past, their relation with the player, current inflation etc…

Are there special items the player can use to boost his character?

Yes, plenty of them. There are eleven slots in which the player can put items he wishes to wear. All items that fit in those slots can boost the stats and skills of the player. There are a lot of items which have been predefined, but the game engine also generates special and rare items so in theory the amount of special items the player can find is unlimited.

How does the player find special items?

That depends. A lot of items can be found by searching the bodies of slain enemies (or allies !), by stealing it from someone’s house, or just by exploring. Additionally, the really special items can be found by performing quests.

What’s this about a special move?

Depending on the initial way the player selects, he gains access to a special move which fits to the way. For instance, the warrior’s special move is extending his weapon and rapidly rotating his body, doing significant damage to the enemies around him.

How smooth are the animations of the player characters?

Very smooth. Each player character has for every action at least 24 frames of animation per direction, and there are 20 directions per action.

What magic spells are available?

The magic spells fall under the skill system. The way of the wizard contains 32 spells, split up in powers over matter, elemental powers, body/spiritual powers and powers of summoning.

In addition to what the player character can wear, does he have a backpack, and if so, is it divided in slots?

Yes to the backpack, no to the slots. There’s no artificial limit to what the player can carry with him, the only restraint is his strength which decides on how much he can carry.

Can the player character run?

Yes, he can.

How do you control the player character?

You either left click on a location or hold down your left mouse button to move the player character. If you hold down your left mouse button the player character will walk in the direction you are pointing, and automatically negotiate obstacles. Depending on how far the mouse cursor is from the player character, the player character will either run or walk.

How do you attack?

You left click on the enemy once. There’s btw no need to keep on clicking like a madman once you clicked on your enemy, just once is enough.

Is there a combat mode and a non-combat mode?

Yes. And it’s relatively important too. If you talk to someone holding your sword in front of his nose, that might cause a different reaction than when you keep your sword hidden.

Are there hotkeys and can I assign them myself?

Yes. You can easily assign different keys to different actions.

How do I use a skill?

You select your active skill from your skill menu, and then right click to use it.

Can I move objects?

Yes you can. By holding your left mouse button over them and dragging them, you can move objects which lie in the world.

Can I move everything?

If it doesn’t weigh too much, or if it’s not stuck to something, yes.

Can I use objects?

Yes, you just left click on them. Depending on what the object is, something will happen. You can for instance extinguish torches, or open cupboards.

Can I combine two objects together?

Yes, you can. You just drag one object over another object, and if there’s an object combination possible, the two objects will combine to form a new one.

Can I break objects?

While we do not promote vandalism, it’s possible, yes.

Is there an automap?

Two actually. One in-game minimap for a quick overview of your current whereabouts, and one big fullscreen automap for planning your journeys on.

Are there teleporters for quick travelling?

Yes – they exist in many forms.

Is there a quest log?

Yes – it is located in your diary, a book which contains all kinds of information and which is automatically updated as you progress through the story.