Greedfall, the latest RPG from The Technomancer developer Spiders, is out now - and it's a sprawling game with a lot of choice in how you complete quests. One of the early missions is the Greedfall The Charlatan quest, where you have to deal with a suspicious alchemist - and choose what happens to him.
There are multiple paths to take, and we'll guide you down them, from quietening the mob to sneaking the man out. Most importantly, we'll show you especially down the path that involves only the barest minimum of sickening violence. Two or three deaths, tops...
How to complete Greedfall The Charlatan quest, without killing anyone (almost)
You get The Charlatan quest from Ambassador Sahin as part of the main The Great Departure quest, so you have to complete it to proceed - how you complete it is the important part, however. Sahin accuses a local stall owner of being a fraud, and you have to go and investigate. The stall is just around the corner from the embassy, across the river and just next to the Merchant. You'll get a cutscene as you approach.
Confront the Alchemist, but he won't admit anything. You then have to get to the back of his cart - go around the wall to the right and there's a gate next to the river, leading to an area behind his cart. Here's where the small amount of sickening violence comes in, as you'll have to kill the Alchemist's cronies to proceed. Raid the area and you'll find several letters and a vial of antidote, which you'll need to take. Head back and confront the Alchemist with this new evidence, and he'll flee.
If you were paying attention to the letters you picked up, you'll remember one mentions he's staying in a room at the tavern. Head there now, then through the back door and up the stairs - first room at the top. Confront the Alchemist and you'll have two choices: help him escape, or arrest him. If you arrest him you'll complete the quest.
If you want to help the Alchemist escape you'll get a further two choices: calm down the mob, or sneak out the back somehow. If you go talk to the mob, you'll either need Charisma or Intuition to talk them down, or 6 health potions to buy them off - or you'll get into a big fight. Avoid that, and this is the non-violent approach.
Alternatively, if you want to sneak out the back, you'll need the key. The other upstairs room contains the kitchen storeroom key - go and open that, and inside will be the main tavern key. Open the back door next to the storeroom, return and tell the Alchemist, and he'll follow you. The other door here is blocked - you have to approach a boarded part of the fence and leap over (see picture for where).
However, unless you're literally crouching, you'll alert some of the Alchemist's angry customers. You may have to fight a few to escape. If you can make it to the area behind his cart where you found the letters and antidote, he'll escape. Return to the Bridge Alliance embassy and tell Sahin that the charlatan escaped - best not to confront him on the lie, as you may need Sahin's help on another quest.
You've now completed The Charlatan quest! Did it go the way you hoped?
