I get questions about walkthrough's quite a lot. I'll not focus on the main story (since that largely runs on the calender), but I should probably help people struggling with some of the side-quests.
Also; remember that the Debug Menu can be activated by using Ctrl + J, if you want to give yourself a cash / stat boost.
First sidequest: Katie's Strip MMA.
Katie originally floats the idea of a strip MMA battle at the matriculation ceremony; the first game actually had a check there, so strip MMA was disabled unless you answered correctly. As the game found it's voice, I decided to be more permissive, so you can do strip MMA even if you talked about playing for a good bottle of booze.
Katie's a seasoned fighter, and while not as strong as the player she's fast, learns and adapts quickly, and extremely brutal.
There are 3 'strategies' that you can use (brute force, countering, feinting); the trick to defeating her is that your stats need to be high enough. Brute force requires a STR of 10, Countering requires an INT of 10, and feinting requires a CHR of 10. In case you were tempted to just get one stat high enough, trying to reuse a technique will not work (she'll counter your counter), so make sure you don't reuse the same move.
After you defeat her, she'll offer to continue the fight on the ground; you've got the option to say no (I'm adding that for all optional events), or get into a ground-and-pound match with her.
If you lose the fight, head back to Chloe at the Crowley, and purchase a bottle of whisky for Katie to get a rematch; there's a CHR check that allows you to get a staff discount.
Katie's Perfect Gem
After the Library opens up on University (day 12, at the Evoker lecture), you'll find the Quartermaster there. He's able to sell you gems, but if you say that you need a special Fire Gem for a special girl, he'll offer to sell you a Fire9 (A True Flawless gem, so the highest grade) after day 20. You can't use it yourself, but you can give it to Katie at the Gym. The gem will cost you 500 pounds, though.
Olivia's Ceremonial Magic Lesson.
There's a private library above the main library; once you purchase something from the Quartermaster (and it's at least day 14) he'll tell you about the room, and the girl that's staying there. She's got a couple of discussions about magic, and how she's being stopped from finding the truth. The final conversation is about her discovery of a book on Ceremonial Magic.
Next day when you go to the University, Katie will find you and mention that she helped someone get into the Ceremonial Magic chamber. To the rescue!
I don't remember seeing this in the public build. Is it in there yet or like Black Rose III still not? I think I could be done with v 4.11b then except for building up stats, money and the scene with Emily on day 75 or so.
Edit: Went back to day 17 I think and bought my first gem from quartermaster. Went o library and talked to Olivia. The next day when I went to Uni I didn't see Katie but but got a message that something was going on in DGN1 so I went in and rescued Molly from the Tentaku so even though Katie didn't tell me about getting someone into DGN1 I think I completed this event.
The Perfect Black Rose, part I
This is the most complex of the optional side-quests, requiring a number of actions.
First, get the erotic book from the Bookseller. You need to pass a CHR test before you're willing to purchase it. Bring it to the Coffeeshop and read it twice; this will perk up the Barrista's attention, and after a bit of prodding she'll mention how she's dreaming of someone that looks like the player (except richer and stronger, of course... she really wanted Christian Grey, but he wasn't available). She mentions that she knows it's him, because when he leaves commands he leaves behind a perfect black rose.
To open up Elsewhere, go to Katie, talk about gems, then go to Chloe to find out about the portal in the basement. Next morning, go to the University, recruit Dylan and Katie, and head into Elsewhere to explore. From the next morning onwards, Elsewhere is now open each morning you're not otherwise occupied; you can go in there to have random fights, unlock story sections, and get ingredients to sell. Once you have access to the Random Paths of Elsewhere, look for the card labelled Treasure; when you open one there is a random chance of getting a Perfect Black rose. I wonder what we could do with that?
Head back to the cafe, and read the book again to start getting ideas. You need some pen and paper, which you get from the bookstore (at an outrageous price). Head back to your bedroom, and open your PC. There's a new Browser Icon (the Demonfox browser). Use QuackQuackGo to search for sex toys, and order a vibrator. It'll be delivered to the Crowley the next day, so pick it up from Chloe. Now head back to the Starcucks, and order a coffee. While drinking, you can now set in motion your plan. Come back next day and order a coffee to make sure she's following instructions. Enjoy.
This is related to Black Rose 1. Playing v 4.11b and have done Black Rose 1 & 2 but can't seem to trigger Black Rose 3. I have the rose sitting on my desk in my room and can highlight it but only get the message "I wonder what I can do with it". If it's like 1 & 2 it should be used on Jenny in the coffee shop. I have started to use cntrl J to play from Day 60 to Day 73 and keep getting other events as I go for the 50 ingredients for the diamond gem.
Meeting Bella.
She's simple to access, but because she shows up in an under-utilized part of the world, can be easily ignored. To start Bella's Questline, meet Katie at the Grassmarket any night after day 20 (the game will nudge you if you haven't done it). That'll give you a quick introduction to Bella, and her Pack. They'll become increasingly important as the game progresses.
You can then find Bella at the Grassmarket any evening after Day 23. Apart from agreeing to join you in Elsewhere (she's available as a Companion from then on), she also invites you to a night of drinking and strip-poker at the Gym. Wait until that night (it's a one time offer, so don't sleep until you've done it), and you'll get a fun night with Katie and Bella.
Making Gold.
Money makes the world go around, and Edinburgh is no different. You start with £100 (£90, once Chloe deducts £10 for the beer). You can later gain another £100 from the conversation.
Initially the easiest way to make money is working in the bar at the Crowley every evening. It pays out £25-£100 (depending on which random action it triggers, and if the stat-check goes your way).
Once Elsewhere opens up, you can go on random excursions there to level up, fight monsters and discover treasures. There's two ways to get cash and ingredients here; you can find it directly as treasure, or you can fight monsters, which have a random probability of dropping gold dust and ingredients.
Finding gems
There's four ways to get gems in the game.
There are a number of unique gems, the True Flawless gems. So far there's only two in the game (and you only get to play with one). As the game expands there'll be more; each will represent a specific event or culmination of a branch of the game. The only True Flawless gem you can equip at the moment is the True Flawless Diamond, which you trade from Chloe in return for a bundle of 50 ingredients
Gaining stats.
The game tries to not be grindy, but there's an RPG element. It's important to note that the 'central' story-line will not ever block you by a stat-check. Side quests may temporarily refuse you if your stats are too low, but the core story should be playable by anyone, regardless of what grinding choices they've made.
The three stats are
STR (Strength, representing physical and magical strength). Strength gives you a HP bonus when fighting in Elsewhere by 10HP per point of strength. STR also gives you a damage bonus of 1% per point of Strength (so 10 STR would do additional 10% damage)
INT (Intelligence, representing knowledge, intuition and wits). In combat, INT will increase the amount of XP you gain by 1% per point of INT. So if you had an INT of 10, and defeated a monster worth 1000xp, you would receive 1100xp.
CHR (Charisma, representing charm, guile and the bonds that bind you to your Companions). In combat CHR boosts ally recovery time by 1% per point of CHR. So with CHR or 10, your allies recover 10% faster
Stats will go up just from playing the various story events; going to lectures, having dates or meeting up with friends will occasionally bump your stats. In addition you can:
