Talbot 2: Return to the City (FM)

A fan mission for The Dark Mod.

For the similarly named but unrelated missions, please see Sir Talbot's Collateral and Somewhere Above the City.

Information

• Author: Melan, Bikerdude
• Type: Single Mission
• Releases:
  • 2010-10-01 (1 October 2010) - earliest
  • 2015-01-03 (3 January 2015) - latest (ver. 3.0)
• Version: 4
• Size: 35.9 MB
• EFX Reverb: No

Synopsis

Back among these old walls again, it seems. The alleyways and courts beckon, the smells and flickering lights the same as ever. Have I been away so little that I remember them all? No matter. This time, my objective once more brings me to the Builders: one of their workshops has recently received a shipment of potent explosives... Although inert before it is treated with a volatile compound, there is bound to be a mechanician who will pay a good price for the lot.

Series

The FM is part of Melan's Talbot series.

This is the first mission in the TDM Talbot series, though the second mission in the overall Talbot series by Melan (most of the other FMs in this series are not built in TDM's engine; see Trivia section).

It is followed by the FM Talbot 3: Fiasco at Fauchard Street.

Theme / "Genre" / Setting

Click to reveal spoiler...
City Missions

Threats

Click to reveal spoiler...
Guards

Links

Official Mission List link

You can download the mission directly while in game, by using the built-in TDM fan mission downloader.

Additional DL links:

• http://www.fidcal.com/darkuser/missions/returntothecityv3.pk4
• http://darkmod.taaaki.za.net/fms/returntothecityv3.pk4
• http://www.southquarter.com/tdm/fms/returntothecityv3.pk4

Gallery

Preview trailer (screenshots)

Preview trailer (footage, original release)

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Discussions

• TDM forums thread (original release)
• TDM forums thread (current release)
• TTLG forums thread (original release)
• TTLG forums thread (current release)
• [ Brief review at the TTLG forums] (by The Dark One, 2017)

Beware of potential spoilers !

Lootlists

TBA

Walkthroughs

Spoilers abound !

FenPhoenix

• Video playthrough - Part 1 (original release)
• Video playthrough - Part 2 (original release)
• Video playthrough - Part 3 (original release)
• Video playthrough - Part 4 (original release)
• Video playthrough - Part 5 (original release)
• Video playthrough - Part 6 (original release)
• Video playthrough - Part 7 (original release)

ThreadbareInc

• Video walkthrough - Part 1
• Video walkthrough - Part 2

V339

• Video walkthrough (current release)

ykcaks

• Video walkthrough (original release)

Trivia

Despite the similar name, this FM is not related to the Sir Talbot's Collateral FM.

It is also the only FM for The Dark Mod that is a loose sequel to an FM ("Prowler of the Dark") made for one of the original Thief games. To quote the author, Melan:

All of my missions except Unbidden Guest (TMA) take place in a common setting and involve the same protagonist, although under different aliases - Talbot, Messer Johannes, Philby and others. None of them require previous knowledge of previous FMs, but there are common elements and a degree of continuity. The missions, in current order, are:

• Prowler of the Dark (TDP/Gold) (S): liberate a skull of paganic enchantment from an abandoned church, which is kept sealed and guarded by the Builders.
• Return to the City (The Dark Mod) (M): plunder the other side of the Builder complex to steal a pack of explosives. Patrols have been heightened because of the recent break-in. (This mission connects to the previous along the North/South axis - too bad I didn't have the time to let you revisit some old areas)
• Fiasco at Fauchard Street (FM) (The Dark Mod) (M): steal a collection of opals from the house of a wealthy usurer.
• Bad Debts (TMA) (XL): fallen on hard times, you take a job from a diminutive snitch to steal his letter of debt from Markus, a pawnshop owner/usurer (looks like a common theme). Rooftop extravaganza.
• Disorientation (TMA) (XL): following the events in the previous mission, you attract the unwanted attentions of Lady Azamlarg, district warden and judge, and have to break into her palace to deter her from further assassination attempts. More rooftops and conspiracies. (1)

(...)

I considered the idea of redoing Prowler of the Dark in TDM; it is a relatively simple mission. Never got around to it, though. There might be some performance issues, since it uses a relatively open plan. Bad Debts and Disorientation would be impossible -- too huge, and it really is a different engine. Add to that that I have abandoned this series for the time being, and am focusing on Penny Dreadful. (2)

The Dark Mod team takes no legal or authorial responsibility for FMs created for the original Thief games. If you want to ask for advice about Melan's non-TDM fan missions, please contact the author or the Thief series fan community forums at ThroughTheLookingGlass.com.

External sites and reviews

• Thief Guild.com FM overview and review

See also

• Official FMs list
• Fan Missions for The Dark Mod - Main article on all of the published fan missions to date, in addition to the official list on the website.
• Fan Mission Series - An overview of all currently known series or campaigns of fan missions interconnected by their stories or characters. There are already plenty in TDM, and have been since its early days as an expandable game.
• Upcoming Fan Missions - An overview of Fan Missions in development or tentatively planned. (Do not edit the overview.)
• Mission recommendation discussions - An overview of past discussions on what FMs the community recommends to players looking for various challenges (difficulty, size, theme, setting, objectives, etc.).
• Fan Mission Contests - An overview of past and present contests in Fan Mission creation, by members of the TDM community.