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TLOD 10: Dozens of Daemons This is who issued the challenge at the end of the previous update, a greater guardian daemon. From what I know of AD&D cosmology, that "a" makes it something entirely different from a demon. Though I think this was released at a time when TSR had otherwise banned use of the "D-words" in its materials as response to 80's Satanic Panic. Anyway, this guy only has physical attacks with no status inflictions. The damage can go into the 20s, which is hardly trivial but nowhere near as strong as the bulette. To further compare the two, they have similar HP ranges of about 30-52, but he's a little harder to kill due to 25% magic resistance on top of immunity to lightning, cold, and weapons inferior to +2. Slay Living can work, though less reliably than on most enemies.  The Eye of Talon, being worn on the neck, is on the floor at his starting position. North of that is an illusory wall leading to a teleporter. It goes here, where your casting items plus another polished shield are found. Another illusory wall to the west, which was actually solid until now, goes into the north central room with the row of pits.  The Eye goes into this slot past the moving wall puzzle, but the door won't open until you also take it out. That's nice because it's something still needed later on.  This plate closes the door behind you and makes bulettes in each corridor start moving. I use Hold Monster on the first one then Lightning Bolt and Cone of Cold to kill it and the one behind it. I then move into the junction for more mobility and use Slay Living on the last. The way to the Azure Tower's third floor is now open.  In addition to the visible shell lock, there's a crystal lock on the other side of that transparent door. Opening it requires both. It's an elf who makes this comment about stonework rather than a dwarf. This is calling out another illusory wall.  It goes into this room. The pressure plates do nothing. The button in the middle first opens the south door, which has a sign next to it reading "Short Cut..." Behind it is a teleporter leading to a shell key with no obstacles, and another teleporter back here. After going through that, the button opens the north door.  It goes into a four-tile corridor with a moving pit. It always skips the second tile, so it's safe to wait there. This ultimately leads to another teleporter.  That gives us a better look at the guardian daemons, who are the only enemies on this floor. There's no further dialogue if you leave.  At this point doors to the west and east open, releasing another guardian from each room. I pre-empted that by casting Wall of Force in front of them beforehand. I then backed up beside the teleporter to avoid getting flanked. Since they're immune to all the spells that damage multiple tiles, fights with groups of them can be kind of a slog. One of the first two drops a crystal key, which has a corresponding lock to the north. You could use that or even the one from the second floor to unlock the staircase, but there are still things you need there acquired from here. Specifically, the east room has another Medusa Shield in it. There are six in total, and the remaining two are also in this area. The west room has an illusory wall on its north side with three more guardians behind it. They won't cross it, so you can whittle them down with hit-and-run.  This magic mouth past the crystal lock opens a western door to the room those aforementioned three guardians reside. It and the lock can also be bypassed from that illusory wall.  A mage gives a heads-up about this circle on the floor, but there's no way around it.  It damages the entire party with an electric beam every time they step on it and also opens the door next to it. You see a small part of a guardian behind this door, and there's another in the room. Also behind the door is a pressure plate that will close it. When you step off of that, it opens a door to the north with three more guardians behind it. You can rest between the fights.  I'm not sure if these boots actually do anything. At the start, two fireballs revolve around the middle square of this 5x5 room. I got lucky and the guardians ran into them before I arrived. That scroll is Ice Storm. If this plate is no longer weighed down, a pillar will appear at each corner around it and fireball launchers in the middle of each wall will shoot towards it.  This is the last comment to come from a dwarf. Without one of them, a thief will say "There must be a secret out." The bottom brick removes the wall next to it.  That item northwest of the party's position is another Medusa Shield. As you can see, we need to go through a lot of guardians to get it. We have a weapon to help with that:  There is a fireball launcher on the south wall, opposite a door toggled by a button on the east wall.  Every time this pressure plate is stepped on, two fireballs will be launched. The other one at the north end won't do anything but make a sound, letting you know when a guardian is at the junction. You can also see them around the corner if you face north. You can stay in this alcove, and step out onto the plate then immediately back in when they get there. This will really soften them up or even kill them, and ones who survive that will be forced to step on it themselves to engage you in melee. That button toggles the door.  The north wall of the west room has this lever, which does two things: First, it toggles north walls in both rooms. Second, it spawns guardians at each open tile in the 3x3 room to the north. It does those every time it gets switched. Guardians are worth a lot of experience, so this can be a great place to grind. Instead of spending time on that, I increase everybody's XP with ASE and fight one group to level up. From that I find that racial level limits aren't actually implemented in this game. According to the manual the dwarf cleric limit is 10, but Shorn can reach the game max of level 13. However, I did retire him anyway: My final party is the four "loyal" NPC recruits, and you might remember there's a chance Shorn won't join you in the first place.  To get those items, you must break through these walls by attacking them. One of them is a scroll of Stone to Flesh. San-Raal started with that spell, so Amber scribes it. She now knows two 6th level spells, but still none at 5th level.  The other item is this scepter. Insal's letter after his departure mentions it as what he's looking for. Like the Eye of Talon, you must put it into a slot then take it back out to open the door next to it. Unlike the Eye, It actually does something else: It can cast "Mystic Defense" on the entire party. I'm not certain what the exact effects of that are.  The hallway that door leads to has an illusory wall on its west side. Past it you can find this partial map of the next level, oriented with north on right. At the same spot you also find Jhona's Cloak +2 as well as the sixth and final Medusa Shield. That's all you truly need from this level, but you can't backtrack to the start.  This Khelben speech occurs even if you don't have his coin in your inventory. Wait, wasn't our communication severed last time?  An "Amulet of Resurrection" appears on the floor, which has a different graphic from the Amulet of Life we got earlier. I only know Khelben from this game. I've heard he's kind of a dick in otherwise, but I feel confident in saying this advice is out of character for him. If you listen to the first part of that advice and put the amulet in a character's hand, you'll find that it's cursed. Interestingly enough, it can be removed from the neck. When it's identified:  Suffice to say, the whole thing is a fraud. A button on the east wall opens this door. Behind it is a pressure plate that closes it. Another button next to that opens the door to the east room, where three more guardians will spawn. After buffing, San-Raal cast Wall of Force in the north middle tile of the 3x2 room to prevent being surrounded while keeping some space to move. Slay Living and Disintegrate made short work of them.  The guardian that started in the east room, which also has a sling +1 on the floor, will drop a tooth. Put into a "ferocious creature skull" to remove the wall next to it. When you do that, another image of Khelben appears and says, "You fools!" After that:  I don't remember Khelben having fangs like that. Remember who does?  Pretty smug for a guy whose trick just failed. Speaking of which, there is a special message if your party does die in the previous room. "Khelben" appears and calls your party "Such trusting whelps!" You then see the same Dransformation as here and get this spiel:  On to the next room.  That cleric comment actually comes in the middle of an empty hallway and starts scrolling up by the time you get here, so this image is spiced. In addition to these five pressure plates, there are six more on the east and west sides behind transparent walls. There is also a teleporter at either the northeast or southwest corner, behind a pit. The east and west plates will bring the teleporter and pit to the same side. The most recent of the middle three you stepped on will stay down after you're off of it. They determine which corresponding plate behind the wall an item thrown into the teleporter will land on. When all six are weighed down, the north door and the middle panes on each side will open up. This allows you to retrieve the items and also get a Wall of Force scroll. Until now, having San-Raal in the party was the only way to cast it. Amber finally learns a 5th level spell.  A staircase leads to a series of three rooms. All but the first have patterns of moving pits. Falling into one will drop you into the previous room. The Gamebanshee guide shows the easiest paths through them.  This shelf is in a 3x3 room with a teleporter in the middle, so be sure not to just go straight into that. It contains a crystal key and a ring of Feather Fall, which is the fourth one I've collected including three from the first game. Everybody in the party can equip one now.  The teleporter takes us back here. I go back through the north door and intentionally fall through a pit, which lands me in the corridor to the Soul Gem room. From there I go through another pit to the first floor. I go back up and help Alain.  Amber took the experience boost. She had just over 750K before and 938.2K after. That's a little more than half of the 375K required to level up as mage at this point.  We go back up and finally unlock the way to Azure Tower 4. Alpha3KV fucked around with this message at 07:16 on May 21, 2022 |
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Jan 17, 2022 22:59
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'Satanic Panic' sounds like a good band name.
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Jan 18, 2022 00:52
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JustJeff88 posted:'Satanic Panic' sounds like a good band name. Well, heavy metal was one of the major scapegoats in that phenomenon, along with D&D.
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Jan 18, 2022 01:29
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Alpha3KV posted:Well, heavy metal was one of the major scapegoats in that phenomenon, along with D&D. Oh, I'm just old enough to remember that. My family was Jewish and big into D&D, so we just thought that it was funny. I remember my rabbi uncle saying 'Good thing that we don't believe in Satan'
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Jan 18, 2022 02:15
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What used to be was that AD&D had Devils(LE), Daemons(NE) and Demons(CE), but then they got renamed to Baatezu, Yugoloths and Tanar'ri respectively which A) made them easier to copyright, B) dispelled a bit of satanic panic and C) meant that people could actually tell Daemons and Demons apart for once when their GM was talking.
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Jan 18, 2022 04:52
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I always pronounce them Day-mons and Dee-mons personally. Them and Devils are the three major groups of evil extraplanar creatures in D&D. Daemons are the most mercenary of the bunch. The Khelben impersonation trick made Dran quite a memorable villain back when I had this game.
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Jan 18, 2022 05:28
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achtungnight posted:I always pronounce them Day-mons and Dee-mons personally. Them and Devils are the three major groups of evil extraplanar creatures in D&D. Daemons are the most mercenary of the bunch. Played his hand kinda heavy though. Khelben imposter: Yeah Imma gonna need ya to lay down and die in the next room thanks. He might of gotten away with it if he asked them to get captured so they could (somehow) get closer to Dran(Q) (Yes I still think it was intentional that Dran looks like Q)
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Jan 18, 2022 14:36
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lol at TSR copyrighting names in the Ars Goetia, wonder how they pulled that off
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Jan 18, 2022 16:07
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The Dran trick is definitely my most significant memory from this game.
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Jan 18, 2022 18:41
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Ace Transmuter posted:The Dran trick is definitely my most significant memory from this game. Mine is being stuck for ages looking for a certain key, whose location even this LP has not revealed to me. I played this series 3, 1, 2, so my way of looking at it is a bit funny.
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Jan 19, 2022 00:54
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TLOD 11: Mirrors, Mirrors, on the Walls After going up to Azure Tower 4, we're immediately greeted by aerial servants. That first word in their name indicates that they come from the Elemental Plane of Air, and aren't undead despite their ghostly appearance. They only have physical attacks, which can do damage in the 20s with no other effects. No level draining or any other bullshit like that, since again they're not undead.  drat it, what did I just say?  In the room at the end of the previous hallway, we find another bust. I think in the Amiga version it's another magic mouth.  This line seems to come whether or not you have all six polished shields in your inventory. If you say no it will respond, "The Medusa's Labyrinth is not a place for the unsure."  This room and the next one are good places to rest.  There are six of these slots on the walls. This is why it's actually necessary to find all of the Medusa Shields.  Filling all six slots opens a door to the north. You can take them back afterward, but I just leave them here. They improve the wielder's saving throw against petrification, and are not perfect defense against it. I still have all but one of the magic dusts I collected, no need for more inventory clutter. Petrification will never be a threat again after this point anyway.  The first medusa encounter happens when you step into the junction ahead. One spawns at each of the three corridors going into it, including the one behind you. Like basilisks, their petrifying gaze is actually a hit effect. The medusa's seems to succeed more often. They can also poison with their snake hair, though I don't think both can happen at once. Also like basilisks, they have under 30 HP and no special magic resistance, so they die quickly.  The first item to find in the labyrinth is another tooth. I didn't take a shot of it last time, but they look like keys on the floor. They do ultimately have the same function.  These scratch marks can be seen throughout the labyrinth. As a mage points out here, the layout will indeed change as you traverse it.  For example, this door I went through earlier now has a wall behind it. In a hallway on the west side of this floor, there is a rotation tile that doesn't get called out. Behind that is a one-time teleporter that forces you to walk on it again.  There are 11 medusae in the room behind these doors. Cone of Cold can thin the herd preemptively. A button on the south wall opens the door next to it, but stepping on that tile causes six more medusae to spawn in the corridors just behind this.  Stepping through the south door causes the north one to open, which makes it possible for the medusae to surround you. Casting Wall of Force in front of it beforehand can prevent that.  Shortly after exiting that room, we find more loot. Amber learns the spell.  We make our way to the large central room, which has an annoying puzzle.  You have to get a medusa on each of those pressure plates. Leaving items on them won't work. There were several in the room to start, but I killed them all. That actually makes this easier due to fewer obstacles. Medusae spawn in this room two at a time at opposite sides. Lure one to the north plate, use Hold Person/Monster to keep her in place, then close the doors on each side. Repeat this for the east and west plates. Get on the south plate yourself, close its north door, then do this one last time. The door out will now be open.  That goes into a hallway leading here. What looks like a dagger under the bones is actually the Hilt of Talon, which will be needed later.  An elf spots a misplaced brick on the north wall, which may be slightly confusing if you're not facing that direction. South of this you can find a scroll of Flesh to Stone under some more bones. San-Raal scribes it.  Putting the tooth from earlier into this skull opens a door to the south. You can take it back out, but that just closes the door again.  This comment is false on two counts. Assuming it's about aerial servants, the cleric who says this should know better than anyone else that they're not undead: turning doesn't work on them. Moreover, neither they nor any other monster showed up here in the first place. I was able to rest here undisturbed.  The scroll that dropped is Cone of Cold, which Amber scribes.  This pressure plate marks the end of the stage. I'd recommend buffing up before you step on it.  It marks a (temporary) point of no return.  We're not fighting Dran just yet, though this is the last encounter with him before we finally do. However, we will be fighting another tough enemy very soon.  After this, the plate becomes a pit which drops us to the next stage.
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Jan 22, 2022 21:08
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I don't understand why we all think Dran is the villain. That face is surely the most trustworthy and honest face ever made 
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Jan 22, 2022 21:47
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Ever since it was mentioned upthread, I can't help but read it in Q's voice. It just fits too well
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Jan 22, 2022 22:19
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I believe that in all of the pre-2e versions of D&D clerics could turn extraplanar creatures as well, not just undead. Doesn't explain the 'What is an undead'? problem in this update, but it made me think of that.mercenarynuker posted:Ever since it was mentioned upthread, I can't help but read it in Q's voice. It just fits too well The line 'Have you no manners'!? sounds very de Lancie, that's for sure. I was suddenly reminded of that story in the episode where Q is defrocked of his powers and John is supposed to appear naked on camera without actually being so, but they couldn't get it to look right on screen. So, he came out proper starkers. Caused quite a stir; I hope that they shot it and that that's what we saw on television.
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Jan 22, 2022 23:55
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Psion posted:I don't understand why we all think Dran is the villain. Assuming that glass WASN'T breakable, he just saved us by opening that pit. Terribly kind of him.
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Jan 23, 2022 01:26
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DGM_2 posted:Assuming that glass WASN'T breakable, he just saved us by opening that pit. Terribly kind of him. There’s probably some junior priest telling Dran “you had them trapped, you could have just let them suffocate or starve!” And he’s saying “Shh, Scott. You just don’t get it.”
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Jan 23, 2022 01:41
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achtungnight posted:There’s probably some junior priest telling Dran “you had them trapped, you could have just let them suffocate or starve!” And he’s saying “Shh, Scott. You just don’t get it.” The face of vampire Q, the personality of Dr. Evil. Thank you for my new head-cannon.
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Jan 23, 2022 01:51
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TLOD 12: Imprisoned Giants Does this map look familiar? It's nearly, but not exactly, identical to Azure Tower 3. It's actually considered an entirely different level by the game. The temple entrance and priests' quarters have a similar relationship. Things like staircases and teleporters are still present, but mostly nonfunctional if you warp to them with ASE. We've already been to this level, in the side rooms with moving pits. The enemies won't go into the corner next to the starting spot until you do. This allows you to heal and prepare to some extent, though you can't rest there.  Those enemies are frost giants. As you might guess from that name, they're immune to Cone of Cold and Ice Storm. That scroll from the corner is no use here. Insta-kill spells can work on them and are definitely worth trying since they average 100 HP. If they don't work, or you just don't have them, Lightning Bolt is ideal for large monsters in narrow corridors.  In this cramped space, the only weapons they can use are their fists. As you can see, that's still quite effective and it can hit multiple characters. They can punch an entire party of six at once.  They don't seem to have side sprites and turn around instantly. Getting behind one is still a good opportunity for a pre-emptive attack.  Here's the new spell from the previous update. It's essentially a permanent Hold Monster that also makes its victim die to the next hit. This can give you a chance to rest.  Here are the moving pits of this section. Falling into one will drop you to the second floor of this tower. That's not a shortcut since you need an item from the end. You can get back here by breaking one of the glass panes at the end of the labyrinth with a single attack. The pattern of this set forces you to go into the south hallway, where two more giants are waiting. To the west are three doors, each with more giants behind them. Opposite the north door is a wall that's passable from the west but solid from the east, which locks you into going backwards and doing this again. The way to the end is the middle door, which has a pit that opens directly in front of it, so don't stand there too long.  After fighting through some more giants, we finally meet one willing to talk instead.  I think this is supposed to be a hint on how to get into the last tower, or at least the first two lines.  What looks like a staff on the ground is actually the blade he was holding.  Using the stone dagger here takes you back to the priests' quarters. The stone gem goes to the no rest zone in the catacombs, where you can get to the same place by using it again. Without either, you'll have to fall.  This locked door is just around the corner from the portal room.  Behind that is this very unique wall carving.  Putting the three Talon parts into it makes it melt away and creates a longsword with a distinct icon.  There are two entrances to the Crimson Tower, which is the final area of the game. Weighing both of these plates down with items opens up the south entrance. Just in front of the staircase up is a group of four priests who never move from their starting position. That makes it trivial to hit-and-run them to death.  Before we can enter there's one last copy protection check. In this case the word is "button" but once again the GOG version allows anything.  The first thing we get in the Crimson Tower is this. There's a door on the opposite side.  That leads here. That teleporter to the east (left) will disappear after one use, giving access to what's behind it.  It goes to the middle of a similar setup on the other side of this room - they're connected by a single tile on the north side. This paper is a cursed item when put in someone's hand, but it's needed later. From here I go into the teleporter to the west.  That goes to the other tower entrance, in a separate room not connected to the one we came from. There are two invisible teleporters here that go elsewhere in the room, and the layout ensures you'll step into at least one of them near the start. These can be deactivated by levers, which is necessary to get out.  At least one of these mages will be here at the start. If you step into the middle tile of the teleporter room, one of them will spawn on each side of it. They always start with Magic Missile. That can be nullified by the Shield spell, so I put both mages up front. Their second spell is always fireball. The ones in this room drop crimson rings.  The northwest corner of the room has this shelf, which changes any item into a fire sphere. This is also near the place where more mages spawn.  In front of the Crimson Tower's north entrance, there's a pit which opens and closes periodically. Past that corner is a pressure plate that launches a fireball from the west the first time it's stepped on and every second time after that.  The pit drops you onto the tile just north of this, a cross junction that starts with priests on all four sides. Between the tower entrances is a staircase leading to this room, which allows you to fight them more manageably. This is a 6th level spell for mages, as opposed to 5th level for clerics. San-Raal learns it.  Back in the south room, this is behind the former location of the east teleporter. Looks like one of those crimson rings will fit into it.  This is what happens when you do that. Going in is of course the only way to progress. Refusing will just lose you the ring. Another one of those carvings is on the other side, so you can get back if you have another ring.  Speaking of which, there are two more on the floor here. However, they will move away from you if you approach them. If you get near the end of this hallway, they warp back to the start and you find a plaque on the north wall saying, "Ringmaster am I! Watch me fly!" Putting the sticky paper from earlier on the floor will stop the rings from moving. One is needed for another wall like the one that got us in here. San-Raal scribes the last scroll in this game.  First we found a short sword called "Sting" in the catacombs, now we see this.  On the opposite side of the room we find this coin. It's next to a corridor of illusory walls which leads to stairs up.  That corridor has alcoves with these items. The Shall Rejoice is another coin with the same shape as Mapaj.  The next room has walls that constantly change position as you go through it. We do get a straight shot to that green square to the south.  It's a pre-placed Wall of Force, which can only be removed by Disintegrate.  Behind that is a "reunion" with Insal, but notice I had to bring back some old friends to see this with ASE warping. That's because this event only happens if he was never actually in the party, despite what his lines indicate. With crimson rings, you can even go back to his cell in the catacombs and recruit him after this if you never met him in the first place. That means it is possible to finish the game with a party of all six NPC recruits, but I didn't learn about how this event actually works until very recently and I'm not going to redo everything this far into the game.  The coin you get here doesn't have a hole in it like the other two, nor a special name. One of these coins is needed later on, but thankfully there's another place to get one.  We meet another rhyming frost giant in the northeast corner.  After this we go to the northwest corner, which takes a lot of walking around to make the walls cooperate.  I first select talk, which ends this encounter and makes me have to walk back into the tile. Then I pick touch.  This trades Mapaj and Shall Rejoice for a coin like the one Insal would give.  He's very close to the stairs up. This is the shortest of the three towers, and overall the easiest too. Next update will finish this game.
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Jan 30, 2022 09:25
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The giant thing feels very hosed up and creepy, possibly more than it is. Just these giant creatures stuffed into tiny corridors they can't escape from, slowly going insane or suffered from magical curses.
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Jan 30, 2022 09:43
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What did the frost giants ever do to Dran?
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Jan 30, 2022 18:13
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Imprisoning giants in a dungeon is definitely an idea that Dran got while drunk, later on he probably was too proud to admit their usefulness is somewhat limited.
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Jan 30, 2022 18:51
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They would be more useful if he didn't also include a "teleport the dead bodies outside of the temple to keep things clean" spell in the temple, because imagine trying to hack your way through a Frost Giant's corpse every 10 meters
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Jan 30, 2022 18:55
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I guess eventually the janitors united.
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Jan 30, 2022 19:05
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In the grim darkness of the world of Faerun, there is only evil janitor unionisation.
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Jan 30, 2022 19:38
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It's kind of spoilers but Dran being a dick to giants actually makes a ton of sense
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Jan 30, 2022 19:57
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The worst 'small man syndrome' ever is my guess.
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Jan 30, 2022 20:06
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Slaan posted:In the grim darkness of the world of Faerun, there is only evil janitor unionisation. Under a quite common lore, janitorial services in dungeons et similia, are accomplished by gelatinous cubes and slimes...
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Jan 30, 2022 20:55
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Man, how would a Frost Giant even turn around in there?
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Jan 31, 2022 10:12
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Testekill posted:Man, how would a Frost Giant even turn around in there? instantaneously, haven't you been paying attention
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Jan 31, 2022 16:55
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TLOD 13: Fire Breath and Dran's Death After going up the stairs, we get re-introduced to the hell hound. The monsters returning from the first game are mostly the same or sometimes nerfed, but these ones are actually significantly deadlier than before. Rather than just having melee attacks, they can now hit the entire party with a fireball. They have low HP, so it's easy to kill them before that happens. They're immune to fire but weak to cold.  This comment is calling out the wall south of where it's made. There's another one further on without any notice like this, which you must go through to bypass an invisible teleporter.  In addition to the hellhound at the start, these two mages also patrol the hallway. They start at separate locations and sometimes meet near the middle.  Another flight of stairs goes to this room, in the southeast corner of a square floor. There are two doors with these slots next to them, which each take a coin from Insal or Ojel. They both ultimately lead the same place, so only one of them is needed. The north one is a slight shortcut, since the next stairs are on the north side.  The rooms at the other three corners are each occupied by a pair of mages. Unlike the ones whose faces are visible, these ones start with Fireball or Lightning Bolt rather than Magic Missile, though that is still in their arsenal. After clearing these rooms, I rest again and exclude all fire spells from memorization.  The last floor of Crimson Tower 1 starts with three hell hounds patrolling it, hence this name.  It also has three alcoves like this. Once again disintegrate can be used to remove these walls of force, but it's not necessary to do that.  Instead, there are two of these dials in the room on the west side. Getting both of them pointing the same direction will remove the wall of force on the corresponding side of the floor, with north being the top.  After that, you have to place a fire sphere in each one. If you don't have three of them, you can get an unlimited supply from the start of the tower.  Once you've done that...   The way to the top is opened.  Clicking on this handle takes you to Crimson Tower 2, the last stage of this game. This is the only true point of no return, so make sure to have everything you want before going there.  The first room there is "circular" with illusory walls in the middle of each side. Stepping through one will spawn a salamander behind each. They are natives of the Elemental Plane of Fire, and therefore have the same affinities as the hell hounds. They are also immune to normal weapons. They only have physical attacks but are extremely quick, and can do up to 20 damage per hit.  This is the west room. It doesn't look like anything special, but this center tile is best avoided.   Doing so spawns a total of seven mind flayers in the surrounding rooms and opens all those doors, while closing the east one you came in from. Compared to the first game, they have about twice the HP but don't seem to do nearly as much damage. Of course, what's really annoying about them is their paralyzing mind blasts, which they still have.  Especially since this is what happens if everybody gets paralyzed. You can just walk around that middle tile. If you actually want to fight that battle, you should probably cast Wall of Force in front of the doors beforehand and set your party up for maximum physical offense. Front-liners should drink Potions of Giant Strength if you still have them.  This is all there is to find in the westmost room, which is nothing required. After some time, mind flayers start spawning in this area. They can open the doors there, but seemingly not the east one out of there. The west side can and probably should just be left alone. Since we're here, let's contemplate the orb.     Those last two images are rather ominous. There's nothing of interest in the north or south rooms, so we're going to the opposite side.  The east door is between two of these shelves. Casting Dispel Magic on both of them will open the door and make their contents accessible. One of them has another Amulet of Life. The other one has an Amulet of Death, which kills whoever uses it in their hand but isn't cursed.  We meet this guy behind the door.  You can get that stone cross after this, but there is no portal for it on this level. If you cheat to get it earlier, using it on another portal will take you to the south room of this floor. The last stairway is east of this encounter.  That goes to a door that can only be opened from the west. Once you step through it, the door will close behind you. Once again, no turning back from here.  Dran awaits in the north room. This is the last chance to rest and buff up. You should also adjust your party formation and inventory here. This game does make a new save after the last boss is beaten, FINAL.SAV. The third game's import doesn't allow you to choose which party members to take, it just automatically excludes anybody in the bottom row.  A smug bastard to the very end.  Worth noting that "long ago" means centuries in this case.  Right before the final battle, a connection to the first game is made.  After all of his taunts and threats, we finally have the chance to beat him up.  Unlike Xanathar, Dran did not put a death trap in his own quarters that you can push him into. However, he made the equally foolish mistake of choosing to fight the party in a 3x2 room. We can dance Dran Draggore dead. In fact that's pretty much necessary since it would require an all-time run of good luck to win a stand-up fight. He moves and acts very quickly, so a brief slip-up can ruin your day. He usually starts with a fireball, which you can dodge even moving toward him if you're fast enough. If you don't want to risk eating that, there's another open area at the south end of the hallway. He also casts Lightning Bolt and Hold Person, and seems to cycle through those spells in that order.  Here's a closeup of his altar, taken via ASE warping earlier. Dran doesn't actually spawn until you step into the doorway south of this, and going here during the actual fight is a bad idea since it's likely to get you pinned into this tile. Kind of a shame, because I think it looks cool.  After you deplete Dran's 93 hit points, you get this scene. From his first appearance, people were speculating that he was not truly human. And indeed, just like that giant from the previous update said, "Dran is no man." So what is he, actually?  The altar and orb were hints to this. From the start, his name was too. Dran Draggore is an anagram of Red Dragon Rag.   Much like in his human form, he usually starts by launching a fireball. I managed to dodge that even from point-blank range. He still has about the same speed as his human form, plus another 150 hit points.  He's another enemy capable of opening doors, with a rather unique method of doing so.  In addition to fireballs, he also has this as a melee attack. The Starfire's Mystic Defense spell purportedly helps against this, though I'm still not sure of its exact mechanics.   The party also took the extra effort of cutting his goddamn heart out. Nice of him to show up now. Khelben posted:Greetings my victorious friends. You have defeated Dran! I did not know Dran was a dragon. He must have been over 300 years old! His power is gone. But Darkmoon is still a source of great evil. And many of his minions remain. Now we must leave this place. So my forces can destroy it once and for all.  After this, we're finally back outside the temple.   After a little while, they stop with the temple still unscathed. quote:The temple's evil is very strong.  ...Could they have done that the whole time? Khelben reappears.  Khelben posted:Thank you. You have earned my deepest respect. We will remember you always.  Dran's claim of having an undead army ready to strike was never really addressed, huh?  I like the previous game's villain getting a mention in the credits. Xanathanks.  There's a cast list, including the guy we saw for less than half a minute right before the end.  Also including "The Forces of Good"  Links Dran battle undamaged and ending Compilation of tricks, bugs, and other quirks The Cutting Room Floor page (contains suicide image)
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Feb 7, 2022 01:30
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So, going back a bit, we get to exactly what Dran is and why he'd be a dick to a bunch of frost giants. In the lore of Forgotten Realms, Giants and Dragons are ancient enemies. Dran, being a red dragon, would have a particular hatred of frost giants, so capturing a bunch of them and basically torturing them in a dungeon too small for them was entirely in character. As to why he's got multiple beholders and mind flayers answering to him is an entirely different concept.
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Feb 7, 2022 02:32
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What are some of those interesting-looking weapons you have, like the green crystal hammer and the sceptre?
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Feb 7, 2022 03:30
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JustJeff88 posted:What are some of those interesting-looking weapons you have, like the green crystal hammer and the sceptre? They're all items from the towers that were required for progress at some point. The crystal hammer was at the top of the Silver Tower and needed to enter the Azure Tower. The scepter is Starfire, which was in Azure Tower 3 and used to open a door there. The black sword is Talon, whose three pieces were collected throughout the Azure Tower and assembled to enter the Crimson Tower.
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Feb 7, 2022 03:48
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Alpha3KV posted:They're all items from the towers that were required for progress at some point. The crystal hammer was at the top of the Silver Tower and needed to enter the Azure Tower. The scepter is Starfire, which was in Azure Tower 3 and used to open a door there. The black sword is Talon, whose three pieces were collected throughout the Azure Tower and assembled to enter the Crimson Tower. Are there stats anywhere? They must be fairly potent or they would just be plot tokens rather than end-game weapons.
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Feb 7, 2022 04:03
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JustJeff88 posted:Are there stats anywhere? They must be fairly potent or they would just be plot tokens rather than end-game weapons. Talon is a +4 longsword, which means 5-16 damage against large foes. The crystal hammer is +2, which I think means a range of 3-7. Not really spectacular but it's usable in the offhand. I already had superior weapons but wanted to get more hits in. Starfire casts "Mystic Defense" on the entire party. According to the cluebook that gives some protection against Dran's fire attacks, but I don't know its exact effects.
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Feb 7, 2022 04:45
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Congratulations on getting through this game. I have played the third EofB but don’t remember it. Hope to see it soon.
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Feb 7, 2022 05:58
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Yeah, number 3 is the one I'm least familiar with. Very excited to see how it goes
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Feb 7, 2022 07:42
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If EoB 1 had a dungeon, and EoB 2 had a dragon, what will EoB 3 have?
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Feb 7, 2022 08:18
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sb hermit posted:If EoB 1 had a dungeon, and EoB 2 had a dragon, what will EoB 3 have? An ampersand. Also judging by Khelben, my vote on the ending is "left the party to walk home because he's a dickhead."
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Feb 7, 2022 12:27
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A second dragon to make dragon plural
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Feb 7, 2022 13:18
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