New characters in Maj'Eyal start out with the Rod of Asphyxiation, an item made to quickly drown npcs.

Many in Maj'Eyal have heard of "demons", sadistic creatures who appear seemingly from nowhere, leaving a trail of suffering and destruction whereever they go. Their Fearscape floats far above the skies, watching and waiting, but not idly; their agents scout the land, their legions build up their forces, and their scholars develop new spells and strategies. As the barrier between our worlds begins to crack under their scrutiny, helpless Eyalites have begun to disappear, whisked up to serve as their slaves and playthings. They imbue these victims with magical powers to better survive the ensuing stresses - can you use your new-found abilities to escape the legions of Mal'Rok?

Features:

• Start with a new class, the Doombringer! These avatars of demonic destruction charge into battle with massive two-handed weapons, cutting swaths of firey devastation through hordes of opponents. Armed with flame magic and demonic strength, they delight in fighting against overwhelming odds, softening up the crowd with waves of fire, then feeding on the flames and suffering of their surroundings to stay alive while quickly reducing any group to a pile of ash and gore.
• Unlock a new class, the Demonologist, with an all-new item enhancement mechanic! Bearing a shield and the magic of the Spellblaze itself, these melee-fighting casters can grow demonic seeds from their fallen enemies. Imbue these seeds onto your items to gain a wide array of new talents and passive benefits, and summon the demons within them to fight on your side! Ever looked at a gigantic demon-cursed minotaur and wished it was on your side for once? Well, now you CAN summon one to pound your foes into paste while you cast devastating spells from afar, or call forth a squad of Fire Imps to pelt your enemies to death while they exhaust themselves on your impenetrable defenses! Demons have persistent health, making them a little more precious than disposable necromancer skeletons or summoner beasts, but can be revived from death nonetheless.
• Two new zones, with all-new art, foes, and bosses! You've seen the plains of the Fearscape before, now see the lairs and headquarters of the demons themselves!
• Over 10,000 words of written lore to find! The demons were once an enlightened, peaceful race, hailing from a distant planet known as Mal'Rok; learn what drove them to plot Eyal's eternal torture! Discover monuments to each of the demonic species and noteworthy individuals, showing the place of honor each has among them! Get a glimpse into the culture and daily lives of these sadistic invaders and their brainwashed thralls!
• Unlock a new race, Doomelves: Shalore who've taken to the demonic alterations especially well, corrupting their typical abilities into a darker form. Blink away to safety, transform into a shadowy dúathedlen to hide in the shadows or prey on your foes with blasts of darkness, use your new resilience to soak up status effects and critical hits, and assault your enemies' minds to leave them unsteady in combat!
• Between the aforementioned classes and Doomelves, a whopping 75 new talents!
• Unlock two new cosmetic options! You know you've always wanted demon-horns.
• Two new events, appearing anywhere in Eyal!
• 20 new artifacts, with unique and interesting effects. Collect the Obsidian Treasures to amass more and more power! Slip your hands into the Will of Ul'Gruth and watch your sweeping blows smash down walls! Wear a giant hideous hell-mouth as a fashionable belt!
• 7 new achievements! Conquer the worst Urh'Rok's forces can throw at you, and hang their metaphorical skulls from your profile page!

This addon replaces ToME's map display with one that's more in-line with other games. You can drag the mouse to scroll, use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out, and left-click to set the currently viewed area (instead of accidentally traveling there, which can still be done via right-click menu). It also shows the viewport rectangle on the map, and if your computer is powerful enough, you can even show the actual terrain instead of the confusing color blocks, or make the walls red to easily find paths you have yet to explore. The player and zone exits are also displayed as icons on the map. Additionally, if you travel via the map and stop unexpectedly (i.e., you ran into your golem), a friendly dialog will pop up asking if you'd like to continue to your destination.

One year has passed since the one the Orcs call the "Scourge from the West" came and single-handedly crushed the Orc Prides of Grushnak, Vor, Gorbat, and Rak'Shor.  The Allied Kingdoms, now linked by farportal to their distant, long-lost Sunwall allies, have helped them conquer most of Var'Eyal.  The few remnants of the ravaged Prides are caged...  but one Pride remains.  Kruk Pride, isolated on an island, is the last orcish settlement that stands; they, too, face their impending doom.  The Sunwall has blockaded the only exit point from the island, and now, the technologically advanced civilization of Steam Giants have come down from the mountains to take their homeland with machines and weaponry unlike anything else on Eyal.  Kruk Pride has reverse-engineered their technology before; their only hope is to do it again and rise up against the Pride's foes.
 

Features:

• Explore a whole new campaign from level 1 to 50, one year after the events of the original Tales of Maj'Eyal campaign. Liberate the Orcs (or die trying) by rising up against the Sunwall, the Steam Giants of Atmos, and other dangers that may lie in wait...
• Play as one of three new races: the battle-hardened Orcs, the brutal Yetis, and the unstoppable Whitehooves. Discover their stories, their pains, their hopes... and their awesome racial powers!
• Risk your life in over 20 unique zones! Explore the ruins of a lost city, lay siege to the Sunwall forces at the Gates of Morning, and raid the Steam Giants' mining quarry - each has its own unique foes and hazards, leading each to feel and play different from the others.
• Play as one of the four new tinker classes: Gunslingers, Sawbutchers, Psyshots and Annihilators! Plus a class evolution: Technomancers! Crush and rend your foes with heavy metal, electrocute and immolate them with your gadgets, charge across the battlefield or nimbly strafe in style - each plays differently, and none provide any shortage of ways to slay your foes.
• Master steam technology to build powerful tinkers to augment your equipment. Need to close in a bit quicker? Turn your boots into rocket boots! Having a hard time deciding whether to shoot someone or stab them? Build a Hand Cannon into your gloves, or deploy a Weapon Automaton to do the stabbing for you! If you have a problem, steamtech has a solution, usually involving explosions; with over 80 different powerful contraptions to craft, enjoy unparalleled versatility and trying something different with every playthrough.
• Master the tactical uses of over 140 talents! Fire bouncing trick-shots and psychic-infused shots, use your steamsaws as shields or wheels, terrify your foes with long mechanical arms - there are no "boring" talents here, everything has its own special applications and properties!
• Use advanced technology in the world of Eyal! Burrow through sand, plant bombs to destroy tunnels, and discover that you aren't alone in using it...
• Infusions and runes are for puny humans; implant new medical injectors to pump an array of experimental chemicals into your body! Injectors can use any (infinitely reusable) salve in your inventory as long as they're off their cooldown, giving you versatility you've wished you could get with a couple of inscriptions.
• Loot over 70 new and powerful artifacts. Pump lead into foes with big guns, quick guns, and explosive guns! Shred them with saws that maim, saws that thirst for blood, and saws that aren't really saws! Violate common sense by strapping a rocket to your back and calling it a jetpack!
• Enjoy dying in horrible and exotic ways at the hands (or claws, jaws, guns...) of over 140 new creatures! Not mere piles of stats and chain-stuns, these foes will provide unique challenges - suffer the Sunwall's newest cosmic spells, the new breeds of ritches that infest and multiply, the Steam Giants' elaborate defense systems, and find new strategies to adapt to each!
• Earn a trunkload of achievements! Have your accomplishments recognized for liberating the Orcish people, displaying exceptional mercy or cruelty, or showing your prowess with impressive feats! Give a boss a fate worse than death, show Sunwall forces how frustrating it is to fight a Radiant Horror as a paladin, come out on top against impossible odds, display a suicidal lack of situational awareness, and wear a badge of pride or shame for each!
• Read roughly 27,000 words of new lore to immerse yourself in the world! Learn how things have changed since the Scourge's campaign, feel hatred and/or pity for your foes, uncover grand schemes and sinister plots, and notice the elaborate connections between Var'Eyal's numerous factions. Every zone has a story behind it, and every story ties into a bigger picture; enjoy a tale of horror and humor, of intrigue and glory, of despair and hope.
• Earn the right to use the classic (and Ashes of Urh'Rok) classes in Embers of Rage, and the new tinker classes in Maj'Eyal! Play a Brawler in the East to fulfill your life-long dream of suplexing an entire nation of giants, or play a Sawbutcher in Maj'Eyal to shred through Dreadfell in a whirlwind of sawblades and steam!

INFO: This mod is *defunct*. Dead and buried. Been for years now.
Hope you had fun using it while it worked.

To be honest, I've been hoping something similar would make it into the main game but it never did. Which I will forever be miffed by :).

There are alternatives (for both, the alchemist part and the escort part), check the comments, search the addons.

I keep it here for those few who might want to play an older version of the game or for coding reference.

--- Old description:

A few things to make rng less random with regards to character build (because I really, really dislike it when a build is subject to randomness).

This includes and is limited to:
- no alchemist poaching,
- choose your own escort types.

It does make the game easier. Not in a significant way but use at risk to your own pride.

Formerly "known" as Succor and easement.

Allows you to choose which escorts you will encounter at the start of the game.
You may change the future encounters in the game menu (Esc).

There is an option to choose a random escort in case you just wanted to guarantee some unlocks before continuing with the base game's behavior.

Note: You're only supposed to be able to choose the lost tinker once. (Must have the Embers of Rage DLC and unlocked by playing in the Orcs campaign)
Note: Unfortunately the only time that addons can get the possible escort types is after the random escort quest is assigned.
This means escorts added by other addons will not be available for selection, but will still be possible to find using the random selection.

To reach me faster, please leave a message on the Steam Workshop page. I don't get notifications on te4.org so I may take longer to reply.