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Anias
Jun 3, 2010

It really is a lovely hat

We'll call the hold person fire breath character Karen, and make it a dating sim

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Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

Anias posted:

We'll call the hold person fire breath character Karen, and make it a dating sim

I-it's not like I want to be in your party!!

Truthkeeper
Nov 29, 2010

Friends don't let friends borrow on credit.
Ooh, I'd actually missed this bit.

Curse of the Azure Bonds posted:

The gaze of a dracolich also paralyzes. The range of this gaze is 4”, and individuals of 6 or more levels or hit dice add +3 to their saving throws. If an individual saves against this paralysis, he is immune to the paralyzing gaze of that particular dracolich from then on.

I have a strong feeling, based on Chokes' complaints and my own recollections, that the bonus to saves for being level 6+ and the immunity after successfully saving probably didn't make it into the game.

Curse of the Azure Bonds posted:

In addition to having the attack abilities of a red dragon, a dracolich can inflicts 2-16 points of additional damage by chilling on any successful hit. Individuals
who are immune to cold are unaffected by this, but all others must make a saving throw versus paralyzation or be paralyzed for 2-12 rounds.

On the other hand, this bullshit also doesn't appear to have made it in, so overall it might be a wash

Amusingly, completely outside of his mechanics, Crimdrac is also a total attention whore who tries to take credit for everything any dragon within a thousand miles has ever done. "The Flight of the Dragons attacking Zhentil Keep? Yeah, that was me. And I totally killed a witch in Shadowdale that one time. And I even killed a god in Westgate, git gud scrubs!"

achtungnight
Oct 5, 2014
I get my fun here. Enjoy!

Truthkeeper posted:

Amusingly, completely outside of his mechanics, Crimdrac is also a total attention whore who tries to take credit for everything any dragon within a thousand miles has ever done. "The Flight of the Dragons attacking Zhentil Keep? Yeah, that was me. And I totally killed a witch in Shadowdale that one time. And I even killed a god in Westgate, git gud scrubs!"

Mention of these events demands a Realms Lore update.

The Flight of the Dragons was a big event in Forgotten Realms history where a large group of dragons ran wild and attacked cities all over the Moonsea region. They did a lot of damage, but apparently not enough to satisfy the developers. It was followed by a rampage of psychotic gods a few years later (the Time of Troubles), and after that by magic itself going wild (the Spellplague). Fortunately for our party, neither of the latter events are addressed in Gold Box Games.

A dragon killing a witch in Shadowdale happened in Azure Bonds' backstory. Alias recalls knowing Sylune, the witch in question, and travels to Shadowdale in part to renew acquaintances. When she arrives, she sadly learns the witch was killed by an attacking dragon a while back. Elminster is on hand to give her some of the answers she needs though.

As for a dragon killing a god in Westgate, that happened also. And it was a red dragon, just like with Sylune. But not Crimdrac- the event in question happened in Azure Bonds and involved a dragon called Misteparadnecles Hai Draco (I may or may not be spelling the first name correctly). And I can't say any more about it right now due to spoilers, so for the present let's leave it at that.

Truthkeeper
Nov 29, 2010

Friends don't let friends borrow on credit.

achtungnight posted:

Mention of these events demands a Realms Lore update.

I had quite frankly forgotten those bits happened in Azure Bonds, which probably indicates that I should reread it at some point.

To expand on the Flight of the Dragons, they actually happen somewhat infrequently, there are a variety of events that can make either every dragon in a region or across the continent just up and go nuts. Another such event, the Dragon Run, was responsible for one of the 50+ times Phlan was destroyed in the Pool of Radiance backstory.

Unsurprisingly, all those world-changing cataclysmic events Achtungnight named were used to explain major changes between editions.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

Truthkeeper posted:

I had quite frankly forgotten those bits happened in Azure Bonds, which probably indicates that I should reread it at some point.

To expand on the Flight of the Dragons, they actually happen somewhat infrequently, there are a variety of events that can make either every dragon in a region or across the continent just up and go nuts. Another such event, the Dragon Run, was responsible for one of the 50+ times Phlan was destroyed in the Pool of Radiance backstory.

Unsurprisingly, all those world-changing cataclysmic events Achtungnight named were used to explain major changes between editions.

I'm pretty sure Dragon Run is the race from Final Fantasy Legend 2 so yeah, that checks out.

Narsham
Jun 5, 2008

achtungnight posted:

Mention of these events demands a Realms Lore update.

The Flight of the Dragons was a big event in Forgotten Realms history where a large group of dragons ran wild and attacked cities all over the Moonsea region. They did a lot of damage, but apparently not enough to satisfy the developers. It was followed by a rampage of psychotic gods a few years later (the Time of Troubles), and after that by magic itself going wild (the Spellplague). Fortunately for our party, neither of the latter events are addressed in Gold Box Games.

A dragon killing a witch in Shadowdale happened in Azure Bonds' backstory. Alias recalls knowing Sylune, the witch in question, and travels to Shadowdale in part to renew acquaintances. When she arrives, she sadly learns the witch was killed by an attacking dragon a while back. Elminster is on hand to give her some of the answers she needs though.

As for a dragon killing a god in Westgate, that happened also. And it was a red dragon, just like with Sylune. But not Crimdrac- the event in question happened in Azure Bonds and involved a dragon called Misteparadnecles Hai Draco (I may or may not be spelling the first name correctly). And I can't say any more about it right now due to spoilers, so for the present let's leave it at that.

Mistinarperadnacles. (I looked it up.)

Hannibal Rex
Feb 13, 2010

Chokes McGee posted:

as long as it's not vomiting hold person and fire breath every loving turn they could call it susan for all I care

Well, there are also Spectral Dragons that drain four levels each time they hit you in Death Knights of Krynn, if that's more to your liking.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

Hannibal Rex posted:

Well, there are also Spectral Dragons that drain four levels each time they hit you in Death Knights of Krynn, if that's more to your liking.

It is not.

Tokyo Sexwale
Jul 30, 2003

Luckily they're not generally easy to run into (off the top of my head I can't remember)

Speaking of obscure encounters, centaurs in Curse! They're in the wilderness between the Standing Stones and Essembra, but I honestly don't recall if you can fight them or not (I want to say yes but I honestly don't remember). I think that's the only place in the game they show up though.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

Jason Sextro posted:

Luckily they're not generally easy to run into (off the top of my head I can't remember)

Speaking of obscure encounters, centaurs in Curse! They're in the wilderness between the Standing Stones and Essembra, but I honestly don't recall if you can fight them or not (I want to say yes but I honestly don't remember). I think that's the only place in the game they show up though.

They actually show up in pools in the northwest. If you parlay they just go "sup" and both parties go on their merry way.

Neophyte
Apr 23, 2006

perennially
Taco Defender
"Sup?"
"Hay."

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

Neophyte posted:

"Sup?"
"Hay."

out

Commander Keene
Dec 21, 2016

Faster than the others



Neigh.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.
close thread it's all downhill from here

Randalor
Sep 4, 2011



Man, I'm just happy I don't have a horse in this pun race... wait, crap, I meant to say I think you're trying to close the barn doors after the horses got ou... no, wait...

FeyerbrandX
Oct 9, 2012

Its getting a bit long in the tooth, but its the gift that keeps on giving. I'm not looking it in the mouth.

DGM_2
Jun 13, 2012
For a moment I was worried we were violating Chokes's moratorium on puns, but then I remembered that only applies to puns about undeath. Thankfully, this is a horse of a different color.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

DGM_2 posted:

For a moment I was worried we were violating Chokes's moratorium on puns, but then I remembered that only applies to puns about undeath. Thankfully, this is a horse of a different color.

I mean it'll eventually be trampled into the ground but I'll let you guys know when we get to that point.

The Flying Twybil
Oct 20, 2019

So what? You can't prove I posted that.

Chokes McGee posted:

close thread it's all downhill from here

For all those not in favor of Chokes closing down the thread vote neigh

cambrian obelus
Sep 14, 2010

I've never seen a French woman before!
Soiled Meat

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

FeyerbrandX
Oct 9, 2012

quote:

any of the last few posts

DGM_2
Jun 13, 2012

Chokes McGee posted:

I mean it'll eventually be trampled into the ground but I'll let you guys know when we get to that point.

We do have a tendency to ride this poo poo into the ground, don't we?

achtungnight
Oct 5, 2014
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
Can't say I ever encountered the centaurs in Curse. But I guess I'm glad they're around. Now let's stop beating the irrelevant dead horse and get back to our current challenge, shall we?

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

It's less a derail than a side-saddle quest.

DGM_2
Jun 13, 2012

achtungnight posted:

Now let's stop beating the irrelevant dead horse and get back to our current challenge, shall we?

I agree; all this horsing around is just a distraction.

fritz
Jul 26, 2003

You can lead a lper to the thread but you can't make them post.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

fritz posted:

You can lead a lper to the thread but you can't make them post.

really all you have to do is wait

Anias
Jun 3, 2010

It really is a lovely hat

fritz posted:

You can lead a lper to the thread but you can't make them post.

Chokes, saddled, wet, blowing hard. Tied to the post outside the saloon. The water is just a step too far, the words won’t soothe.

Meanwhile, from the porch the slow sound of feet and the twang of a guitar riff.

Inside, the party waits to resume their tale. Only one is missing, but they know she’ll be there. A shift in the music, a sigh, and Rezen slaps open the doors, spurs jangling as she spits some sparkly chew into the corner and settles at the bar.


“And now for something completely different”

Narrator. ”It was not that different.”

Outside, chokes slips his bonds and begins to type. The shadow of the horse melting away with the sun.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.
Curse of the Azure Bonds, Chapter 7: Reading the Fine Print







Today on the Gold Box adventure, we're storming a Tower of High Sorcerey. I'm sure nothing can go wrong with this. Yes, seems fine.





Majestic. I'm sure the owner is equally as impressive.







Yeah no.

Totally same.

You idiots misunderstand. I'm not asking.





ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOBONDS.

Never gets old.







Seems fine.

:hmmyes:








As the who told us to what?

Who's Elminster? What's going on?

*click*

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOBONDS. *draws weapons*

:smug:








Urge... to write... overpowering

Wha? Oh, sure, go ham. Where'd you guys find this nerd, anyway?

Well, we—

It was rhetorical. I don't actually care.




Journal Entry 15 posted:

"There, Great Ones, you can see that they are part of Elminster's plot to destroy all dragonkind in retaliation for the Dragonflight. You may have these assassins as a sign of my good faith in warning you. You can see on their arms the sign of Tyranthraxus, the enslaver of dragons. This sign marks them as the servants of the enslaver, as well as pawns of Elminster!"

One dragon, however, says, "You have not convinced me. I see the glowing bonds on these mortals. I have heard that similar bonds were used to control a warrior that attacked Mistinarperadnacles Hai Draco. I think you control these mortals with their glowing bonds. Free them and then we may judge their actions."

Dracandros says, "But if I free them, they will attack you!"

The Dragon says, The few of them...against the many of us! We are not afraid. Or is it you who are afraid of them? You should not be. For if you lie, you should be afraid of me!"




Are you calling me a pussy?

Yes. Yes, that is exactly what I'm doing.

*mumble* *grumble*





WHO WISHES TO DIE FIRST UPON MY BLADE

The dragons.

:black101:

Well, hell. If I knew it was that easy...

*yank*

Ow!





Look, we have zero quarrel with you guys. I'm not even sure why we're here in the first place.

The bonds.

No, I mean before that.

Rezen kidnapped us.

No, after that.

You're going to have to narrow this one down for me.

You six did kill many of our kind on the way here.

They attacked first. It was a good shoot.

Seriously, look at us. How in God's name do you expect us to enact any sort of coherent plot against all of dragonkind?

Hmm. Checks out.

Oh for gently caress's sake.





...

...

Ah. Well. *coughs* You all seem pretty reasonable, I'm sure we can work something—

GET HIM

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA







After being hauled up the Tower by a suspiciously horned Sorcerer, we convince the dragons of our lack of threat via (P)arley (M)eek. You can go in here guns blazing, and doing so will net you a dragon's heart, which is what Silk's looking for. I don't give a poo poo about that and am not fighting a huge fuckoff crowd of black dragons unless I have to. Just tell them you're not with LleDracandros and they'll piss off, leaving the little coward to run as fast as his legs will carry him. That'll eventually happen no matter what, so no need to make life difficult.





The entry level fight actually isn't too bad, especially if you didn't have to wade through an entire flock of dragons first. Do dragons come in flocks? Who knows? I mean someone reading this probably knows. I don't actually care.

That aside, things go about how you'd expect during the fight.







IIiiiii'm just gonna step over here for a sec.





?







lol owned




Even so, we clear them out pretty quick, and we get a free rest stop afterwards. From now on, the top of the tower is declared a Defensible Position™, and we can rest without incident. I'm not sure how that works, to be honest. If all the random mobs charge up here at once, we're not gonna be able to defend poo poo. Let's just assume they're as lazy as their boss.

Okay, we're fueled up and ready. Down the stairs we go!











Well that could've gone better.








That could've gone a lot better








After a restart and multiple, multiple tries, we finally stick a Hold Person and win. There is literally no other way I can think of to beat this guy. His HP and AC are insane, and half the spells you cast at him he'll completely no-sell. Not roll a savings throw against—which is still bad, since he's much higher level than us—but literally shrug it off without caring. Isn't that fun? it isn't





In good news, we get his Shield and Plate Mail afterwards, so Justine and Hanover (in that order) get a huge AC boost. That's not drow gear, either, so we get to keep it when we leave. I dunno what's up with that symbol of pain. It doesn't do anything to us during combat, and the game conveniently forgets about it after you pick up the shield. I guess it's just for flavor.










Looks like your turn, R—

Weird, my name doesn't start with R.

...what?







Neat. How's this thing work?





All you have to do is keep a clear and steady mind, and the sphere will respond. It takes many years of honed practice to achieve such an emptied, enlightened state.

An empty what now?

I'll remind you yet again you can surrender at any time.
















Uh...










oh god oh no oh gently caress





Holy poo poo, Sternn. You just obliterated that guy.

Nice work, newbie! How'd you do it?

Wha? We started already? Sorry. I was checking out all the treasure.








Hmm. Yeah, I could see that.

:doh:




The Trial of the Sphere basically involves batting a Sphere of Annihilation back and forth like a beach ball until someone drops it. I mean not really since touching it obliterates you, but I like my mental image better. As you can imagine, something called a Sphere of Annhiliation isn't anything to gently caress with and losing this trial will most likely result in a Gone character. I assume it's just raw INT versus raw INT, though, and this mage isn't as smart as he thinks he is on so many levels. Sternn clowns all over him. I think the mage gets the sphere to move back maybe twice. Nevertheless, it's a really good idea to save before you send someone in here.

Loot's crap, by the way—just four terrible random magic items and a ton of money we can't carry. We grab the jewelry and move on. As always, the experience points are what we're really here for.













OH NO





OH GOD OH GOD JUST GIVE HIM THE MONEY

COWARDS, TONIGHT I DINE IN SUPER-VALHALLA :black101:





Oh boo.

You're workin' off a different interpretation of "disappointment" than the rest of us, lil' lady.

I'm surprised you didn't rush in there yourself.

I may be strong, but I ain't stupid.




As you can tell, traps are going to be a thing in this level. Might as well hitch up your pants and get ready for them now.
















Ew. These things are total freakazoids.

Yeah, I don't get why you'd combine an owl and a bear. What's next? Mole Giraffes? Bat rhinos?





IMMA HUG YOOOOOUUUUU

AAH





Wow, it's like I never left home!




A new wrinkle in this tower is owlbears, whose gimmick is to owlbearhug a party member and keep them from moving. It's annoying but not really worrisome since you're going to be punching that guy in the face anyway. Once they're gone, you can just move on to the next one's warm, comforting embrace.

Annoyingly, this group is lined up against a wall and not in a position where we can Fireball or even Ice Storm them. We send Shanna around back to keep the cleric busy, then tediously work our way through the owlbears, who don't really have a lot going on beside their gimmick attack. No sweat.










Oho! What's this?

I cannot possibly recommend more against picking that up.

*picks it up* See? Nothing happened!

Horned guy must've dropped it on his way out. I bet it has all his traps listed on it.

No it doesn't! There is no world in which that's the case! Why are you encouraging him?!

Ehn, he's just gonna do it anyway.

Not wrong. Now, I'll just unfold it and—










sternnnnnnn






Picking this paper up and reading it causes 20-25 damage to everyone in the party. Only an idiot would actually do this; thus, we need to run back upstairs and heal up. We don't want random drow mobs catching up with only a handful of HP left.

You gotta hand it to him: LlewyDracandros' sense of humor is pretty good. *presses hand to earpiece* Just in: it turns out that we don't have to "hand it to him."










If there's ever a lootiest time to loot in the history of looting loot, this is it.





Ugh. Lame.

It's not completely empty. I found this note.

OH NO

Relax. I've already read it, and it didn't explode. Here, take a look.

"Enjoy the loot, suckers. Ha ha ha, Llewyn."

No, it clearly says, "NOT Llewyn."

What?

Look. "Not" is scribbled in pencil, right above it.

Oh. Well, this must be from Dracandros then!

:hmmyes:




Looks like hornhead split on us and took all his poo poo with him. Can't blame him. Anything you leave laying around with this group might as well be handed directly to them.

You should be getting the feeling right now, even without my bending of the story, that Dracandros is a humongous incompetent dickhead. Between the half-assed dragon plan, explosive troll note, and packing up his fancy rear end bedroom and getting the gently caress out of dodge, one gets the feeling he's as colossally in over his head as our guys. I'd also like to remind you he was a tutor for a dracolich. I cannot imagine any world where this guy can pass on knowledge to a powerful undead creature—or anyone else, for that matter.










I hate this asshoolllllllllle




Still, at least he's having fun with it.











Hey, speaking of things that are fun, here's some things that aren't!





A lot of them, in fact :stare:

That's about six wyvern we're facing down. We avoided fighting one in Pools due to lost footage, so a quick review: wyverns are dragons' derpier cousins. They aren't nearly as dangerous to the party due to lack of breath weapons, but they're positively lethal in one-on-one combat.








Seen here. Wyvern bites are poisonous, which is just delightful when three of them swarm one person. One point of damage is enough to trigger the Save vs. Poison roll. Isn't that great? Yet another obstacle left by Dracandros Llewyn to gently caress with us.

Fortunately, two fireballs and some elbow grease makes these guys go away, and a Neutralize Poison pops Heather right back up with no issues. We have to rest, fix, and memorize, but we get away with it without running all the way back upstairs. Hey, no arguments here.










Quick! He went thataway!

Oh my God I am going to shove my arm down his throat as far as possible when we catch up to him.

That actually sounds like a pretty good idea.

:same:





crap crap crap crap uh I mean PREPARE TO BE ERADICATED BY MY DARK ARMIES! MINIONS, ATTACK!

Minions, huh? That's what we've been reduced to?





I have a literal contract over your soul. Now get in there and fight!

Fine, fine, whatever.




We've finally caught up to our resident horned jackass, and only because he couldn't leave all his stuff behind. He's accompanied by an entire loving army of efreet and some dark elves on top of that.

This is a boss fight and therefore appreciatably difficult. When you start, Llewyn (because gently caress you this is my LP) will be allllllll the way across the courtyard and surrounded by his dudes. He'll cast Fire Shield Cold as his first action, so Fireballs are out. Not that it matters, because he has Minor Globe of Invulnerability active already! So that's fun!





Priority #1 is to get your guys over here, behind these walls. You absolutely need to get out of L's line of sight, because the one thing he's really good at is shooting dark magic directly into your eyeholes.










*blinks*

Welp. Nothin' new there.

Seriously, that's just a waste of a good spell.

:mad:




Seen here. He's got all kinds of nasty magic available to him, including Feeblemind, which immediately drops the target's intelligence to putrid levels (around 3, IIRC) and suppresses any ability to cast spells. This requires Heal to undo, which is a very high level Cleric spell you'll have to buy from a temple. Furthermore, it leaves lasting damage by costing you a point of INT.

As expected, Llewyn has done the dumbest possible thing and cast it on Heather, the only target within LOS. Fighters don't use INT at all, so not only is it useless, but we also don't care about any permanent stat decreases. Womp womp!


Besides all that, you need a choke point against his armies. Up until this point we've faced off against 1-3 efreets at a time. If it were just them, this might not be too bad, but there's drow coming in right behind. You can Magic Missle individual efreets (or Ice Storm them, though not for much damage), but the dark elves are a pain in the goddamn rear end as always. Plus, if you get surrounded and left dangling out there before you can form a line, Llewyn's going to paste you with Magic Missles. In retrospect, casting Shield or Minor Globe of Invulnerability on our mages probably would've been a good idea. Whoops!





Eventually, we thin the ranks down. For our next trick, we need to get over to Llewyn without getting our faces zapped off.





You can tuck some fighters over behind the walls here to get a head start, and after that...




CHARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGE





That's probably not good.




All you can do is bum rush, keeping spaced out so you don't eat AOE damage down your entire front line, and hope to get there and do damage before he can nuke you. Of course, there's the little issue of Fire Shield, which means your guys are gonna take twice the amount of damage they dish out. Still, there are other options available.







KAZAPPO

...kazappo?








ow

:smug:




Remember, L cast Fire Shield Cold at the start of combat. He's still vulnerable to splash from cold sources. I think Justine has to eat shield damage on the first swing, because of course she does, but after that Sternn and Rezen can hunker down and get to work. Llewyn actually doesn't have a lot of HP here, and he'll be stunlocked if our mages can keep doing damage. If you pour it on fast enough, you can floor him before he has a chance to retaliate.





Loot's appropriately great, too—except for that robe. You're going to immediately jump to the conclusion it's the reason Llewyn couldn't be targetted by spells, but it's actually a Robe of Helplessness, which (IIRC) nukes your DEX and thus your AC, THAC0, and movement rate. I'll say it again: this guy has a mean sense of humor, and it's great.







Radical. One less nerd in the world to worry about.

suckers

What? What was that?

Must be a death rattle.

*leans in* Tell us what's so important that you'd say it with your dying breath!

*whistles*








I said, SUCKERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRS

*bamf*

...

Man I hate that guy.




After beating the boss, your final job is to GET TO THE CHOPPA EXIT. It's over on the edges of the map and not too far away, but it's really easy to get turned around out here. You need to get out of here pronto, because you're likely hurting after that last fight, and you're still in danger of random patrols. Most levels clear out after you beat the big bad, but not these guys. In all honesty, they're probably relieved to be rid of their boss.

How to get through those fights? Mostly, don't bother. Save immediately after beating L and bum rush the exit, here:





If you get caught on the way out, just close the game and reload. Repeat until you finally escape. Yes, it's save scumming, but it's legal. This whole series is ridiculous and is going to get steadily more ridiculous, so we need all the help we can get.





With that, we're safely out of the Wizard's Tower, and another bond is gone! We camp, heal, memorize, save, and level up as necessary, and we're good to continue. We're now two-fifths of the way towards end game. So, tune in next time, where you'll hear a mysterous figure say:




Planter? I hardly know her!




Next Time: OSHA Compliance

Picayune
Feb 26, 2007

cannot be unseen
Taco Defender
Man, that guy was an incompetent dickhead. MORE LIKE THAT PLEASE GOLD BOX

Alpha3KV
Mar 30, 2011

Quex Chest
For the dark elf lord, I managed to slow him with a Fumble spell, and also had a fighter/thief who got off a pretty big backstab that took off over a third of his health. With those, I was able to beat him without a successful Hold Person.

It actually is possible to read that note without it exploding, though it's something I've only been able to do through save scumming. According to the clue book, a mage is more likely to have success. Doing that will get your party past the spike trap safely.

Narsham
Jun 5, 2008
Pretty sure that symbol of pain imposes a to-hit penalty on the party for that fight. I think it’s a -4 to hit. Since the drow has AC -7 already, it’s bad times.

The fight is winnable without landing a Hold Person. You definitely have to prep up after resting: for example, doing Bless and Prayer give you a slightly better chance to hit with weapons. This is also one of the few times Fumble is useful (if you get past the drow’s MR). If memory serves, you can also cast fire shield and the Drow will murder your wizard and himself at the same time.

IIRC the Test of the Sphere is bugged in such a way that it’s easier to win with a lower-level magic user.

Multiple fights in this dungeon reward use of Lightning Bolt, including that Owlbear battle. Having a dedicated archer helps make that final battle a bit easier. But Ice Storm is indeed the correct solution because Nitwit the mage doesn’t have a lot of hp.

It’s also possible to sequence break and deal with this dungeon after you’ve dealt with at least one other bond-holder, which makes several fights easier (including the dragon fight).

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

Narsham posted:

Pretty sure that symbol of pain imposes a to-hit penalty on the party for that fight. I think it’s a -4 to hit. Since the drow has AC -7 already, it’s bad times.

The fight is winnable without landing a Hold Person. You definitely have to prep up after resting: for example, doing Bless and Prayer give you a slightly better chance to hit with weapons. This is also one of the few times Fumble is useful (if you get past the drow’s MR). If memory serves, you can also cast fire shield and the Drow will murder your wizard and himself at the same time.

IIRC the Test of the Sphere is bugged in such a way that it’s easier to win with a lower-level magic user.

Multiple fights in this dungeon reward use of Lightning Bolt, including that Owlbear battle. Having a dedicated archer helps make that final battle a bit easier. But Ice Storm is indeed the correct solution because Nitwit the mage doesn’t have a lot of hp.

It’s also possible to sequence break and deal with this dungeon after you’ve dealt with at least one other bond-holder, which makes several fights easier (including the dragon fight).

Technically speaking it's not sequence breaking! There's there bonds quests that are required and you can do them in any order. In theory.

achtungnight
Oct 5, 2014
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
Ah, an update. Excellent. :)

Towers of High Sorcery are on another D&D game world The closest thing to a Tower of High Sorcery in the Realms is the Hosttower of the Arcane, an enclave of evil wizards in the port city of Luskan far west of the Dalelands. There's another big group of evil mages in a country far to the east called Thay- they're called Red Wizards. Hmm, the resident wizard wears red robes. Is he from Thay? Possibly.

I like this dragon. Dracandros the Wizard does indeed seem a coward. Ha! And that quite conveniently dissolves a Bond when the dragon references events from our inspiration novel and the dragon Alias fights in it. Dang!

We don't have Akabar in this scene because Chokes got rid of him. If we do, some dark elf thugs are with Dracandros and they restrain him while the wizard activates and then dissolves our bonds. Akabar will indeed stay with the party for this entire dungeon if we let him.

You can attack the dragons if you want to when prompted. But this gets you a fight with more Black Dragons than I ever bothered counting, let alone surviving. So it is a VERY BAD IDEA.

The dark elf thugs Dracandros sends at you are an easier challenge than this, needless to say. Even the Lord- drat, I hated that guy every time I fought him. And this is not our last encounter with such a foe. :(

Spheres of Annhilation, Illusions, Traps... more awful features in this place. Ugh.

I've never gotten the reasons behind Owlbears either. Or a few other classic D&D beasts. Rust Monsters I get. Wonder if we'll meet any of those. :)

It's actually Wyvern tail stings that are poisonous, not their bites. Easy mistake, given the animation.

Dracandros is an incompetent foe, but still an annoying boss fight thanks to that shield. I hated fighting him. Worse, you have to fight Crimdrac before exiting the tower if the dracolich is still around. So you better hope you killed that beast!

I usually did the three Bonds release missions in the order the game suggests, though some may be easier done out of that order. I think the roughest one is what comes next, but it also has the most exposition.

Robindaybird
Aug 21, 2007

Neat. Sweet. Petite.

Apparently some of the weird ones came from Gygrax buying dollar-store assortment of dubiously-made toys to act as monsters for his group, and he just 'Okay... it's an owl-bear thingy' when asked what it's supposed to be.

TheGreatEvilKing
Mar 28, 2016





The symbol of pain is sadly just a one-use spell cast on rear end in a top hat Elf's shield. He discharges it on your team, and that's why you can't steal it.

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

I vaguely remember fighting the dragons when I played this when I was a kid. I'm not sure how I survived the experience, but it's definitely evidence that I had a LOT more patience then.

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Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

docbeard posted:

I vaguely remember fighting the dragons when I played this when I was a kid. I'm not sure how I survived the experience, but it's definitely evidence that I had a LOT more patience then.

Theoretically it's possible if you can get both fireballs off before the horde has time to do anything. As long as there's only 4-5 after that and they don't spam breath weapons, a third fireball should clean up the rest.

Like I said, doable, but I'm pretty sure the reward from Silk is bugged anyway so why bother?

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