Part 115: Behind the Scenes

Yeah, I knew that might be the case, but it was either that or leave it the way it was in the game, which was a blank altar and suddenly Baby Out of Nowhere! Baby Out of Nowhere might easily be confused for Lord of Chaos Shaped Like A Baby Out of Nowhere, which is quite different from Lord of Chaos Inside A Human Baby.

The strange field over the Altar giveaway was also a good reason to not drag out the obvious reveal for another chapter by cutting the dungeon in half. If you couldn't figure it out before the start of the update, I consider that a win for me.


Chapter 83 - Behind the Scenes

Yes, that baby on the altar is really from the game.

All this time, I bet a lot of you who hadn't played the game before were thinking that the Jenna story was just an extra side-plot. No.

It was, in fact, the entire point of this LP, the entire reason why this LP even exists. It was the entire point of the main quest of the game. From the very beginning, from the very first update 10 months ago, the Jenna story was always going to be tied in to the main plot, right here.

I included the distortion field to make it clear that the baby was already there. It is not the incarnation of the Lord of Chaos which appeared from thin air. I asked on the Larian forums and the indications I got back were that the baby was a human baby taken from an unknown mother, and who was then infused with the Lord of Chaos's soul. What my added plotline was all about was revealing who that unknown mother was.

The Divine Powers not working?

I can just hear you saying now "Wait... how come the Divine powers Jeremiah has are suddenly blocked? That seems arbitrary and a cheap cop-out. What the hell was the point of the ritual?"

No, you don't understand. The Lord of Chaos is an evil god. He put a piece of his soul into the Sword of Lies. When Janus touched the sword of lies, that piece of that god's soul took him over. The Demon of Lies already is in effect a demigod. Jeremiah got the Divine powers to change from a mortal into a demigod. The ritual wasn't to make it so that Jeremiah could press an instant win button on the Demon of Lies, it was to just make him on even footing with the Demon of Lies.

Granted, that is just me giving an explanation for why the powers you have which should let you teleport or float around the barriers - DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOU HAD TO USE THEM TO GET IN HERE - suddenly aren't any help. You can't turn into a ghost and float too one side.


Gargoyles

New to this dungeon are Gargoyles. They come in several varieties, and that determines their attack and what their weakness is (they have 100 resistance to anything not their weakness):

• Stone - throws fire-based bombs, and is weak to spiritual damage. Use Divine Death
• Crystal - throws a spark (lightning) projectile, I guess, and is weak to lightning damage. Use Lightning, or Lightning Cascade (they fly over Burning Wall)
• Gold - throws fire rarely, but are mostly melee attackers, weak to fire damage. Use Meteorstrike, Seeking Flame (if they're close and holding still), or Scorch (if you have a lot grouped in one spot.
• Minibosses - All types. They still have the weaknesses, but it's better to ignore them and use Curse + Divine Death, it saves mana.

Each of the Black Ring's paths and fortresses generally have you face only one type of enemy in numbers. Josephina has Death Knights (weak to Poison), Moriendor has Crystal Gargoyles (weak to lightning). Iona has Infernal Zombies (weak to fire), Demona has Gold Gargoyles (weak to fire), and Cornelius has Stone Gargoyles (Weak to Divine Death).


The Maps

Overall




Map - Iona




Map - Moriendor




Map - Demona




Map - Cornelius



Map - Josephina





Equipment Roundup 3

Next up is the Final boss, so time for the final Equipment Roundup. This is the same as equipment Roundup 2, except that this time, I've maxed out my Charms (except for the Sword of the Gods).




Each of the +Vitality or +Mana charms gives you 100. Each of the +Attribute Charms gives you 10. Each of the +Resistance charms gives you 40.


Weapon - "Sword of the Gods"


Located: Cupboard in an abandoned house, Orc village, wastelands.
Notes: I left this one mostly empty on purpose, in case I wanted to put Agility or Strength charms in there to fight the final boss, although I had an extra +Mana one and I wasn't going to leave that off.


Ring 1 - "Sapphire Ring"


Located: Verdistis, south of the Watch house. You must have saved Verlat in Aleroth to get this.
Notes: I found a +10 Intelligence charm from a random drop from one of the enemies in Ferol and I put it in. I should have saved it to trade, but oh well. I filled the other slots with +100 magic.


Ring 2 - "Ruby Ring"


Located: Jeremiah's House, secret house. Northwest of the Cursed Abbey.
Notes: I balanced +Vitality and +Magic charms in this ring.


Amulet - "Nobleman's Amulet"


Located: Secret shrine, northeast of the Church. Must have all three Holy Weapons, must NOT have desecrated the tombs there.
Notes: I flat-out filled this one with +Magic.


Legs - "Lich's Plate Leggings of the Assassin" (Plate Leggings)


Located: Treasure Room, Imps Deserted Castle
Notes: I completely filled this one with +Magic.


Boots - "Boots of the Vampire"


Located: In the Dark Cave northeast of Rivertown market, inside the chest in the Vampire's sanctum. The key is in the coffin, but you can probably pick the lock.
Notes: I had a +Constitution Charm drop when exploring Ferol, and I put it in. This was an even bigger waste than the +Intelligence one I found, because I could have gotten +100 Vitality instead of a lousy +40.


Shield - "Shield of the Dragon"


Located: Stormfist Castle, Armory. You need to get an invitation to get in. The armory key is in the library, just north of the armory. It's easiest to get it while you are there, before getting kicked out, although you can use teleporter stones after that.
Notes: I put in the Resistance Charms I needed to max out my Fire and Spiritual Resistance. At +40 each, you'll never need many of the Gold Resistance CHarms


Belt - "Belt of the Dragon"


Located: Chest in the cellar, Northwesternmost house in Verdistis. Key is on a shelf upstairs.
Notes: Nothing notable.


Gloves - "Gloves of the Dragon"


Located: Burial Pyre, Elf Burial Grounds.
Notes: I found another +Intelligence Charm and put it in.


Chest - "Breastplate of the Dragonheart"



Located: Sir Patrick + Imp's Deserted Castle = Grisha.
Notes: I balanced +Vitality and +Magic charms in the armor.


Helmet - "Helmet of the Dragon"


Located: Kelp Dunatril, after you get the Dragonheart Breastplate.
Notes: I completely filled this one with +Magic.


Summary:

Charm Slots: 51/55 filled

Strength: 8 + 4 + 4 = +16
Agility: 8 = +8
Constitution: 14 + 8 + 2 = +24 = +96 Vitality
Intelligence: 8 + 10 + 10 + 6 + 18 + 4 + 4 = +60 = +360 Mana
Vitality: 60 + 60 + 260 + 100 + 80 + 180 + 180 + 160 + 400 + 80 = +1560 + 96 = +1656 Vitality
Mana: 200 + 460 + 360 + 500 + 580 + 460 + 120 + 460 + 380 + 300 + 600 = +4420 + 360 = +4780 Mana

Offense: 10 + 2 + 5 = +17
Defense: 10 + 2 + 5 + 5 + 10 = +32
Sight: 5 + 3 + 4 + 2 = +14
Hearing: 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 = +9

Resistances
Fire: 10 + 40 + 20 + 10 + 20 = +100
Lightning: 5 + 40 + 40 + 15 = +100
Poison: 15 + 40 + 15 + 15 + 10 + 5 + 5 + 15 + 10 = +130
Spiritual: 5 + 85 + 15 = +105

Skills:
Mana Drain (5)
Poison Damage (3)
Aura of Guarding + 1
Freeze + 1
Master Summoner + 1
Hell Spikes + 1
Repair + 1
Wisdom + 1
Alchemy + 1
Skeletal Wall + 1
Curse + 1
Blind + 1
Deadly Gift + 1


What's fake in Chapter 83?

•  I altered Moriendor's headshot to match his new outfit. 
•  I added a distortion field over the altar