Esoteric Ebb Walkthrough – Day 1

Esoteric Ebb is an isometric, Disco-like, TTRPG-turned-CRPG set in a bizarre post-Arcanepunk fantasy setting. You are The Cleric, an expert in esoteric events, and a glorified government goon. Inspired by classic CRPG games, Esoteric Ebb features deep and branching dialogs with a staggering amount of choices. In this part of the walkthrough, we meet all the major players like Darrow, Visken, The Duck, The Goblin matriarch and we solve a few disputes between the political factions and get a little bit closer to finding who blew up the teashop.

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This walkthrough is based on my first playthrough of the game. The game supports multiple builds which will affect gameplay. You can randomize your build or use the pre-built options in the game. You can obviously tinker and tweak to your heart’s content. This walkthrough only covers my specific build and my experience. It is more in service to help you find all the quests in the game, rather than how to achieve the solution.

Build

As for the build, I went for one of the pre-built archetypes – Scholar Cleric.

Meeting with Jor

The game starts with the message that the election is in 5 days and that something blew up in the middle of the city. After the short intro cutscene, you will be talking to Jor. He will ask you your name. This will be the first time you will meet the Chimes. Your stats, who chime in to every conversation. You will learn that your name is Ragn Hemlin.

The next question will be about your occupation. You can look around, ask a question or stay silent.

I asked what “occupation” means in this context. At this point, you should fail the Dexterity check, but Constitution will succeed. Answer however you see fit, but remember, if you answer anything or any question the same way twice, it becomes part of your character. I asked what class I am supposed be. Intelligence stoked my ego, wisdom tempered it. Constitution made me question myself.

So, you can pick any option from the next tree. I chose to go with Wisdom’s response; I was just a cleric. Jor then asks what your current goal is. Wisdom informs you that you are here to discover who blew up the tea shop. Intelligence will once again appeal to your ego, but constitution will say something about the Golbin Chieftain. I wanted to stay on track but the Goblin Chieftain thing sounded too interesting to let it pass.

Sadly, no reply regarding this from Jor. Instead, he asked me for my politicial affiliation. I decided to be apolitical. Wisdom wants you to vote for the Azgalists. Intelligence basically wants you to become god wizard. Dexterity pushes for the Revolutionary Freestriders.

Strength says you are a Nationalist. I chose to be apolitical as I said. Charisma was actually quite chuffed with that choice.

Jor’s final question will be How did you die? The options are kind of muddy here. There is an option I am NOT DEAD, that is shaking for some reason and so I picked that.

Day 1

Waking up in the Lichhouse

After the intro credits, you will wake in a Lichhouse for both corpses and apples. You will notice in the dialogue tree there is an option with “Move on”. Time will only move when you “move on”. Remember that.

You can get lore on Tolstad, Waterlane, Norvik, Askan, the Coast and The Infinite Wastes now. You will also learn that Esoteric in the context of the game is the magic of Jor – which is both the name of the realm and the wizard who create it. Click on the move on option if you don’t want to get a lore dump. Next set of options will again have the option to move on.

The other options will give you XP. “Just a job” will get you 5 XP. Same with “A quest?” Asking how much time you have doesn’t get you XP. Move on. My choices led me to a Constitution check, where I lost 4 HP. Guessing from a panic attack as I had chosen – “No way back?” and “That’s very ominous”.

Finally, go through the options and pick “Get Going”. If you check the body under the sheet on the left you can get quite a bit of information.

But you need to do an Intelligence Check to get more information, which should be easy in this build as INT is very high.

Further investigation will reveal you can revive this corpse.

Next up you can wonder if you should resurrect the guy (which will cost 300 crowns), Wisdom will want you to but Intelligence wont. You can ponder about looting him too. All the Chimes are in agreement that is quite fine. If you do trifle with the corpse you will find 6 Crowns and an Apple. I took the crowns.

Next check the Tattered Cloak placed on the slab you were just on.

This cloak will give you +1 Dexterity and -1 Charisma. Your choice. I took it but didn’t equip it. You then find out, it is indeed yours and you can wring out the water and wear it. It is salt water and coupled with the intro cutscene, I believe we died by drowning in the sea. In the next bit of dialogue, selecting “I really love my Pouch of Holding” grants you 5 XP.

Leave. Pick up the apple and consume it. Check the altar behind you. You can engage with it and eventually clean the apples of it. You can choose who to pray to here as well. Stregnth will tell you to pray to Urth, Wisdom will tell you there are many gods and Intelligence will you to not bother, gods aren’t real. If you kneel, you learn that to cast spells, you must prepare them at Shrines. You can choose to remove the apples and ask various other questions. You can always attempt a Prayer of Healing.

If you ask about the other Gods you can gain 5 XP asking and 5 for each god on the list for a total of 20 XP. If you want to prepare spells, you can pick that option. You can see all your available spells on the right. To use a spell, you need to prepare it at a shrine (they’re found around the city). Just place the spell into an empty slot. You can only prepare a spell if you have a slot of the right level.

At the bottom left, you’ll see your spell slots. Each circle is one slot you can use to cast a spell. Spells can only be used when they’re needed. If a spell can be used in a dialogue, its button will light up. Once you’ve prepared your spells, you’ll find their buttons next to your spell slots. For now select Cure Wounds and Finish.

Also if you remove the apples you can attempt a Prayer of Healing. If you pray, you will find guidance abou the tea shop, the election and your class. Pick up the Shield of Faith spell from the apple pile on the right. You can set it up in your spellbook at the Shrine.

You can pick up the Voting Card off the slab on the right here as well. But this will give you -1 Intelligence.

You can talk to the Zombie but there is a high chance he will bite you if you poke him. But speaking to him did allow me to become Apolitical and gain 10 XP in the process.

You can check your quest tree to see that you have 2 points in Apolitical. Before leaving, check the pot near the shrine for some incense.

Side Note: I was going to leave but I decided to attack the Zombie.

I engaged in battle with the Zombie. Using Charisma, I made him knock himself out.

This got me +15 XP.  Looting him gave me a Wisdom Tooth that granted +1 Wisdom. I then took an apple from the basket of apples. I checked the barrels and found they were imported goods for someone called “HBWT”. I then checked the box for a Kardemom Treat and 25 Crowns. I then picked up the Broken Sword from atop the barrel. This would give me +Strength and -1 Wisdom if equipped.

I equipped the sword as I had decent Wisdom. I then checked the crate of sand above the stairs leading down.

This sand was also for “HBWT”. Touching the sand gave me a risky choice.

This got me sucked in and lost 3 HP. At one point the choice was to leave the helmet behind or get sucked in. I pulled myself out with the helmet intact by passing a strength test. I then placed a lid on the crate. There is a door down south of here but the door is barred. You can however take the stairs to the City Below.

Note: You can ignore this section if you want to. The City Below is a dungeon that is level 3 and above. I included it to give you a full account of my playthrough.

The City Below The City

You can pick up Svamp Extract, glowing mushrooms from the stairs here. As I headed down, I stepped into a trap. Passing a Dexterity check, I managed to escape.

If you keep heading down you will find the Pillar of Jor.

You find out through the Chimes that 8 of these Pillars exist. Or four. It’s unclear at the moment. You can touch the pillar, but that will trigger a Strength Check, which I failed and was locked out. There is a one-way door around the corner here. Checking it will get you 5 XP.

There is a white rat here that you can pick up. It will give you -1 Charisma if you equip it. Pretty soon after I died to an acidic gelatinous cube, the game told me that is more of a Level 3 area. I reloaded the game and this time headed back up the stairs. Back in the Lichhouse, I took the stairs leading up and out.

Visken’s Lair

After entering Visken’s Lair, pick up the mushrooms from the pot ahead of you.

You can check the markings on the floor. You can loot the corpse at the bottom for crowns and incense.

You can pick up the Ruined Prayer Book from the desk ahead of you.

You can check the old tome next to it and engage with it.

To translate this old book you can buy a spell scroll that allows you to Comprehend Languages. Finally you can pick up more incense from the dish behind you. Check the book son the shelves and go through all of them for 30 XP.

Finally speak to Visken, the local mortician. You can also pick up a Pocketwatch here that gives you +1 Intelligence.

You can pickpocket a Charm Person scroll from him without a Dex check but The Mind Expansion has a Dex check built in. If you can get it, it will grant you +1 Intelligence for a week.

Talking to him thoroughly will get you +30 experience and will add “River Take Ye” to your Quest tree. I made him confess about illegally using the zombie downstairs for profit and he bribed me with “A bunch of Crowns”. 25 to be exact. During your conversation with Visken you will learn a few things about Dice Checks. Some are locked when you fail and can be tried again later, some can be unlocked by a long or short rest, or by spending shards of Jor. But particularly high DC should be lowered before attempting again. You can double down on the fact that you are an Cleric and clear up what kind of cleric you are. I chose Arcane Cleric. He will also tell you the locations of all the Shrines in the area.

There is one in the Temple of Urth and one on Waterlane View. Finally he will tell you that Lady Miska Sageleaf is waiting for you down at the Goblin Garden. This will add “Dragon of Tolstad” to your Quest Tree. Once you are done pick up the 2 Shards of Jor from the chest next to Ost the goblin. Shards of Jor allows you to retry dice checks.

Check your questing tree to see how everything is connected at the moment. Pickpocket the crossbow off Ost will require a Dex check of 15. I passed and stole it off him. Your results may vary.

Speak to the kobold now. Speaking to him will add “Milkurious” to your Quest tree which is in relation to his location during the explosion at the Tea Shop. Ost says he was delivering milk as a side gig when the explosion occurred. You need to check his alibi later. Also, you can get +5 XP if you enter a starting competition with him. Head up the stairs and out to Tolstad.

Note you can set up the spell Charm Person by going to the Shrine downstairs before heading out to Tolstad.

Tolstad

Once you are in the amphitheater, you can pick up incense from the vase near the circle. You can pick up 5 Crowns from the ale barrel as well.

Quest : Circle Square Conflict

Next, speak to the Simii and Alfoz. Simii has nothing worth stealing and Alfoz has PPG Documents which gives you -1 Int and -1 Wis. So again, not worth stealing. The dwarves are of the Azgalist Movement and are doing something “illegal”. Speaking to Alfoz will get update the quest tree with “Circle Square Conflict”. The issue is they want to hold a rally and they have papers but the city’s agent wont allow them to hold the rally. You can try to take a look at the papers but it has a dice check related to it – which I failed.

Now go south and speak to the orc Agent Viira sitting on the wall near the stairs. If you want to check her pockets she has 50 Crowns that require a Dex check of +15. If you flirt with her you get the update “Philogynistic Agenda” added to the Quest Tree. Also during my conversation with her, I tripled down on being a cleric and apolitical. Further investigation into the dwarves reveal that they need a Permission of Public Gathering to hold the rally and they don’t have it. The Permission they have has expired. The basic idea to solve it to get the Dwarves’ PPG for Agent Viira. You will be picking a side in the Freestrider-Azgalist conflict if you decide to solve this one way or the other.

Try finding out what she is hiding. This has a Wisdom check, which I failed. So I went to talk to Alfoz again. I had decided to help Viira. So I did the dice check to explain to the dwarves why they should leave and succeeded.

And then the dwarves were gone. I had resolved the situation kindly and talking to VIira now, showed that she saw it too. This will complete the quest and if you check your Quest Tree now you can see the option to “Take Root”.

The Chimes will argue against and for the Dwarves once you click Take Root but eventually you will get to choose your feat, which is basically a passive skill. The options I got were “Money Talks” which gives 50% more Crowns on pickup and “Azgalian Spirit & Speech” which restores 1 hit point for every hour that passes. I picked Money Talks because I felt like in a town like this money is going to be a big help. I also gained 100 XP and the feat. I also levelled up to Level 2. This is what my stats looked like.

I decided to pump the 1 point into Constitution.

Tolstad South

Go down the stairs from where Viira was sitting. At the north side, you will find a tree. If you can pass the Dex check needed to climb it, you can find a Ring of Protection, Crowns and Shards of Jor (which lets you replay dice checks. Have I said that before?).

Further south you will find a Devil, Braxo sitting on a stone wall. He is ofcourse, a lawyer by trade. During your conversation, you can ask him who is voting for. He will also give you advice about investments and stocks. You can also talk to him about resurrections, revivify and all that the law entails regarding bringing back people to life. He also tells you that in order to get a PPG you need to talk to Darrow – the chosen magistrate of Tolstad. Eventually when you ask him about the tea shop, the quest “Ruffled Feathers” will be added to your quest tree.

Note: I hadn’t figured out the Behold mechanic yet. If you press Behold on any character and pass their relevant Skill Check you can get information on them. For Braxo for example, its a strength check.

Further south you can find a Garden Monument, that you need Comprehend Languages to understand. If you punch it you can get a Shard of Jor from it but it will cost you HP.

Just above the monument, up the stairs you will find a barrel with 8 Crowns. There is another barrel with 8 Crowns to the left. There is a shrine here as well if you want to set up spells or heal or contemplate the various things you know. Contemplating women is particularly insightful. South of the shrine, you will find a half buried pot with 8 crowns and incense. To its right is a Shard of Jor (did i tell you what these do?) embedded in the ground.

Near the stairs leading southwards you will find Snell.

You can pickpocket Snell’s notepad off him that gives you +1 Dex and + 1 Char but -2 Str. Pretty low Dex check of 7 if you want it. After a quick chat with him, he will run off, and you need to follow him to visit the Goblin Matriarch.

Goblin Garden 

Once you are inside, go up the stairs and speak to Nes’Wikkalla (Nessan from now).

She has an interesting spell scroll on her person that you can try to pickpocket – Talk to Animals. Just know that failure results in death most of the time.

Nessan is an Elf druid who makes potions.

Quest: Primal Kin

Going through all her options will add “Primal Kin” to your quest tree. There is a Wisdom check to Show your primal attunement to her which I failed. But I used a shard of Jor to try again. This led to me unlocking Druidcraft. This will also complete “Primal Kin” and update “Class Conflict”.

Nessan will also teach you about Druidcraft now. She will tell you of the Goodapple spell scroll, that creates 5 apples. You can get that off Moongore. Barkskin is in the Roots, below the garden in a cache underneath a tree. Once you are done speaking to her get to the center of the garden where you can find Lady Sageleaf.

You can pickpocket Sage for three items. Pixie Dust Slush, Garden Apple and Ring of Regeneration (+1 Constitution and regenerates HP over time) with dex checks of 14, 11 and 22 respectively. Frankly the dex checks are too high but you can save scum till you succeed.

Quest: Dragon of Tolstad

While speaking to her you might get scared, since this is a low Constitution build. This will cause you to hide in a barrel and waste an hour. Select “My masters are idiots. But I’m here now don’t worry” to appease her right off the bat. Discussing the explosion will update the quest “The Star Witness”. The only survivor from the blast was a man in yellow clothes, a Frank, son of Frank. He could either be in the City Below or in Waterland, at this point. Snell will join you in the quest and this will complete “Dragon of Tolstad”.

Pillar Crossing

If you take the stairs on the left leading down you can reach the City below the city and Snell’s pad. You can steal Illymian Ointment, Crowns and Kardemum Treat from the chest on the table upstairs.

There is also a chest here that you can’t reach. Near the tunnel leading to Waterlane, the docks you can meet Freydis.

Freydis is a noblewoman who seems out of place here. I didn’t get anything meaningful out of her. If you interact with the Pillar of Jor here and succeed on the DC Charm check you will get an update on the “Esoteric Ebb” quest. Anyway head back to the garden and take the path on the far left to the lower lair.

This will unlock the path back to the morgue.

Tolstad East

Go back up to Tolstad and head north. You will find the Drunk Sphinx which is locked till 6 pm or 18:00. Make your way to the pillar Kiosk on the east side.

You will meet Arn, the kiosk kid here. You can pickpocket a variety of magazines off him. Speaking to him will update the quest “Ruffled Feathers” which will update you on the location of Mr. Drummer, the owner of the teashop. If you bribe him with a crown you can do a very low charisma check to find out more about Frank, the suspect. Frank had a big yellow backpack and purchased a Freestrider magazine. Finally he will ask you to see that nothing goes wrong in Waterlane tonight which will add the quest “Young and Dumb”.

The Teashop

If you head south from the Kiosk, you will find the teashop in Tolstad West.

If you check the barred door, the quest “Coinlord’s Meet” will be updated. Checking the seal on the door will update the quest “The Tea Shop that Blew up”. You need to pass a Strength check of 22 to break it down even with the hammer you picked up earlier. The only way in is to talk to Darrow. Let’s leave for now. Check Jor’s Pillar again – you will have to investigate it on every level.

Tolstad West

If you go south from the teashop you can find your bike.

This is also where you died and this will update the quest “River Take ye”. Next to the bike stand you will meet Xerba.

She has lost her friend, with the glasses. You can try and look for her. Go up the stairs on the left of the Kiost to get to Tolstad North.

Tolstad North

Past the magical street sign you can meet Lady Chamar.

But you will not get a lot out of her. Further up you can meet Youth Azgal Modissa.

You can pickpocket the Azgal Chant off her person. You can try to help her stuff the newspaper in the mail slit, but it’s a high strength check, and you will lose HP if you fail. Engaging with her will update the quest “Young and Dumb” though. She is an Azgal supporter. You will see the stairs leading north to Darrow Manor, but if you take the path to the right you can meet Pinja’Athena, another elf.

You can pick pocket a Shard of Jor from her. If you push to help her out with her troubles you will need to pass a strength check. If you succeed the check she will tell you about the Paladin Lord Gorm of Norvik. This will eventually lead to getting the quest “A Missing Paladin”. Head round the corner to Darrow House

Darrow House

Once you are in the yard, check the door on the left. Its locked, pick up the apples on the ground to the north. Climb the tree, even if you fail the strength check you will make it to the roof albeit with less hp. You can find 3 Shards of Jor here along with Apples.

Inspect the branch again to get down. Remember to top up your HP if you need to. You can find a Shard of Jor on the snail statue as well. You can’t enter the old guard tower at the back without a key. Finally check on the floating person in the middle of the yard. You cannot behold her. Her name is Ettir.

You can try to flirt with her but it requires a charm check. It will also update the quest “Philogynistic Agenda”. Otherwise she will inform you that you can only meet Darrow after midnight. For me the time was now 18:12 and the angel asks you to go find the owner.

Temple of Urth

Go back down the hill and enter the Temple of Urth. It’s the door between the two engravings on the wall. Inside go up and check the plants for a Shard of Jor.

You will find The Duck sitting on the steps.

He has 3 items on his person. An axe called Caretaker that has +1 STR, +1 CONS, +1 WIS and +1 CHAR with a Dex check of 22. A scroll called Inflict Wounds that has a Dex check of 10 and Crypt Key with +1 Constitution and -1 Wisdom with a Dex check of 15. This key might also open the gates on the left corner. Somehow I rolled a Natural 20 and pickpocketed the Key and then rolled an 18 to memorize the Inflict Wounds spell. After speaking to him you can find out he serves Visken though this needs a strength check of 11 to pass. This will update the quest “Lichhouse Blues”. He will also update the quest “The Star Witness” by telling you someone who shouldn’t be in the City Below is there, in the Southern Caverns.

Urth’s First Crypt

If you venture down below the door on the side you will be in Urth’s First Crypt. You will have to fight a skeleton here. I somehow managed to defeat it and level up at the same time. Also you can pick up the helm Aventail here.

In the tomb on the right you can find 25 Crowns. You can also pick up the Mace of Terror from the other crypt but beware it’s haunted. There is nothing else here except the path up north but it just became dusk so I wanted to go find the owner of the Teashop. So head up the path and turn left. You will be at the Pillar of Jor. If you can pass the strength check you will advance the quest “Esoteric Ebb” a little more.

Take the path south to get to the Roots.

The Roots

Here by the pool you will find Moongore.

You will find out about “Frank” from her, who cast a spell on her and headed to the South Caves. Check the tree on the northern corner and you will find Nessan’s cache. Barkskin spell, Crowns and food.

Next, take the Petrified Longbow from the statue at the bottom. We need to find out where the Owner of the teashop is. So I went to visit Visken to see if he knew more.

Lichhouse

At the lichhouse between a bunch of random questions I found out Visken is a Lich by passing the major dice check in his dialogue tree.

I cant do anything with this information currently so I headed to the Drunk Sphinx north of the map.

The Drunk Sphinx

4 people of interest to talk to here. I started with Miss Nearly on the top left corner of the room.

But you will not get much out of her. Next speak to Viira at the bar. She will leave but you can talk to Rixbiter now.

You will find out there is sexual tension between her and Snell. You will also find out that Drummer, the owner of the tea shop is probably at the Waterlane. Next talk to Olzis the Vault Guardian.

If you solve her first riddle she will give you a second one which is a quest “An Easy Riddle”. This can only be solved in the morning before the tavern opens and solo.

I now left the tavern and wanted to get to Waterlane. But I found a rod stuck in the windmill in Tolstad North.

You will get a Movable Rod, which gives you +1 Dexterity. Of course you have to pass the Dex check to get the rod. I then made my through the Goblin Garden and the Pillar Crossing to get Waterlane View.

Waterlane View

Quest: Young and Dumb

Right upon entering you will meet Rollo Malach.

There is a dispute going on about a book burning. Asking Modissa to explain the situation will get you the quest “Copper Press Fever”.  I found a middle ground between the two parties. This will complete the quest “Young and Dumb.” You can now take root for this feat. I could choose between a skill that let me have extra proficiency with women in terms of rolls or men. I went with women. I also completed “Democratization” and so had to take Root in that one too, which got the skill “Democratic Herald.”

Go up the stairs and to the right and into Snurre’s office.

Snurre’s Office

He is a psychiatrist and doesn’t have much for you at the moment. Its midnight so I headed to Darrow’s place. To do that I headed south and took the path past the crab (who can pinch your finger off and you can talk to using the spell Speak with Animals) and into the roller mill. While climbing the ladder in the roller mill you will discover an esoteric event.

Darrow’s Nest

Go to Darrow’s House and enter the door on the left. You can take the helmet “Frog Mouth” from the desk. Head up the stairs and speak to Darrow.

Quest: Coinlord’s Meet

You can pickpocket the Tower key from him which he would hand over to you anyway. He wants you to essentially bury the findings of the case if it is harmful for him. You can choose to stand up to him. I didn’t have the dexterity needed to defy him so I decided to swear allegiance. I will figure out what is what when I discover what happened at the tea shop exactly. This will complete the quest “Coinlord’s Meet”. Head out to the tower building and end the night or rather take a long rest for 8 hours. Someone (God?) will recap your day for you.        

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This completes Part 1 of the walkthrough for Esoteric Ebb.