Part 3: Newborn

Chapter 2 – Newborn



01 – Isobel
02 - Farglow Trainers
Unarmed demo
Warrior Demo
Ranger Demo
Mage Demo
Priest Demo – Summon Undead
Priest Demo – Summon Ghost
03 - Departure from Farglow
Title Sequence

Mind-Reading and Merchant Trading
Illusionist
Bonus: Additional Farglow Conversations


Chapter 2 – Newborn


Click for Video: 01 - Isobel


(Morgana) And that’s that. You might experience some dizziness for a while, some disorientation perhaps. The journey starts again, my friend. Your path is an empty page ready to be filled with tales of wonder, of adventure.
(Dragon Slayer Pyrania) _{By the divine, what is THAT?}
But before you trot out of here in search of Dragons and distinction, make sure you meet the veterans here. Alberic, Aravir, and Gawain know more about their trade than anyone you are likely to meet. And don’t forget Isobel! The gift she will share with you, aside from the Dragon memories, is the most prominent one you’ll receive in Farglow!
Goodbye, Morgana.
Divine blessings, Slayer.




The last ingredient needed to achieve the effect of luminosity still eludes me.
(Toral) Maybe we could add some fireflies.
That might solve the brightness issue, but wouldn’t exactly improve the taste.




What’s the matter with you? You look like you’re seen a ghost! Hahaha!
Ah, yes, there’s that famous wit of his! Slayer, meet Toral.
So tell me, Toral, what’s death like?
Not all it’s cracked up to be. I was expecting a good long rest, but no! I’m still doing my old job, only none of my former clientele can see me. Very handy.
How come you still dwell here, while most of the dead don’t?
Most ghosts you’ll meet are there because of unfinished business. The strength of their will not to move on until that business is settled, is what binds them to the material world. In my case, it was my passion for alchemy. I will not find tranquility until I have fathomed all its innermost enigmas. Could take a while still.
Where do the spirits of the departed normally go?
Why, the Hall of Echoes of course! Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of it!
It’s a transitional place between our world and the next. Rumor has it your memories are eaten away so that you can enter the afterlife unburdened by the sorrows of this life.
An unnecessary precaution if you ask me. I have mostly fond memories of my time in Rivellon!
Talk to you later, Toral.
You know where to find me!




How is that medicine coming along?
General Luxurius shall soon feel like he was twenty again.
Yes. Which is not such an appealing image knowing his preferences, but he pays good money.

Once we reach Flames of Vengeance, we’ll find out what she means by that.






(Isobel) I see you have met Morgana. That means we can proceed. Do me a favour and think of something – anything – but don’t speak aloud.

Our options are:
1. Think of what it must be like to face a dragon
2. Think of the delicious pork chops you had for dinner.
3. Think of how cute this girl looks.

I’m hungry. Those pork chops last night were really good. I wonder if I can get the recipe from the cook.
This is one of the most important days of your life and you think of food? I don’t know if that means you are surprisingly mellow – or shallow.
How did you -
Surprised? Surely you have heard of the gift of mind-reading that Dragon Slayers possess. Maybe you have also wondered how they come by such an amazing ability. The answer is easy: I bequeath it to them.
Where did this unique ability come from?
It was a skill given to Dragons only, until a scroll was discovered that bore the spell. A Slayer found it among the ruins of a Dragon Knight’s citadel tower and we have used it ever since.
Will you grant me the power of mind-reading?
Of course, it is one of the reasons you are here. Now stand still, and look into my eyes.






There you go. The secrets of all shall be revealed to you.




This is what the dialogue screens look like without cropping. The circled item in the lower left is the new dialogue option we get in pretty much every single conversation from now on.

Mindread
– “The ability to read the minds of others is given to very few in Rivellon. Powerful though this gift may be, you shouldn’t shy away from developing the skill – because obviously it takes a little more experience to read the thoughts of, say, the Arcane University’s dean than those of Doris, the lavatory lady.”

XP Cost Discount: 0%->100%

Mind-Reading is one of the more unique features in Divinity 2. At the cost of some experience, you can mind-read people to learn their thoughts. You can usually only read a person once.

The farther in the game you are, the more it costs to mind-read someone. Experience debt doesn’t reduce your current amount of experience; instead it adds an amount you need to pay off before you can gain experience again. Enemies don’t respawn in this game, so mind-reading isn’t free.

A lot of the time, the thoughts aren’t useful, but you can usually tell that from the cost alone. Mind-reading a merchant always results in a discount when purchasing (typically 25%). They also can reveal the locations of caches of items, or passwords to magical storage. But even better, some people can grant you extra stat or skill points for mind-reading them.  Mind-reading non-humans is almost always worthwhile. . In Flames of Vengeance, it’s much more useful for solving quests – and it is required to solve some quests, in fact.

Whenever I mind-read someone in the LP, I’ll indicate it with a special icon and mention the experience cost for the mind-read. (I might not get the exact cost as I may be wearing +Mindread items that decrease the mind-read cost)

Mind-Reading is a permanent skill – meaning that if we reallocate our skills with a skill trainer, we will always have one point in that skill. Further points past 1 reduce the XP cost to read minds. At Rank 15, it’s free. It also has no level requirements for putting points into it.

I personally never put points into this skill, but I do collect and keep any jewellery with +Mindread on it, and wear it if I know in advance about an important mind-read.




Be aware, though: strong minds are difficult to read and come at a cost, so you will have to work on your skills if you want to perfect this art.
(-1 XP) _{Hahaha! Nice try, but you can get out of my head now. Not even Morganna can read my mind!}
I must go.
Fare thee well, Slayer.

We’re not done yet, before we leave, we must choose a general career for our first level – either Warrior (see Gawain), Ranger (see Aravir), or Wizard (see Alberic).


VIDEO: The Farglow Trainers




(Aravir) Interested in archery? I’ll tell you all about it, if you like.
And you are?
I am Aravir, a ranger born and bred. Archery is my occupation and my passion, and it could be yours as well.
Why are you convinced archery is the path I should follow?
The way of the ranger is the one of the hunter, the woodsman. Master this art, and the enemy will never even see you coming. You’ll walk the wilds quietly as the deer, but you will strike with the force of wolf-fangs. Just make sure you are always the one doing the hunting, and not the rabbit that stumbles into the snare.
(-1 XP) _{No go, Slayer, I’m a bit too advanced for your level!}
Bye for now.
Have a great initiation, Slayer!

Rangers use a bow. They have a hard time at first, but once they start getting their mid-level skills like Splitting Arrow (effectively a shotgun when used at close range) and Explosive Arrow, they start to get increasingly more powerful. Their primary attribute, Dexterity increases the damage done by Critical Hits, and Critical hits work with skills as well, so Rangers are well-advised to seek out gear which increases the chances of performing a Critical Hit.




The spell Alberic is casting is “Way of the Wise Wizard”, a magic defence buff spell (part of the Priest spells). Time spent in conversation does count against the duration of buffs in this game, so try to avoid casting short-duration buffs before a talkative boss.




(Alberic) What? Oh, the new-born. Er, yes, I’m Alberic the Wizard. So, magic, you know, I recommend it and such.
That was convincing.
I don’t have all day! My experiments – they keep me busy! But fine, go ahead. I’ll indulge you for a bit.
What experiments are you conducting?
Oh, many things. I’m currently trying to make the metaphysical physical, which is turning out to be quite a challenge. Then there’s the perpetum mobile, and the turning of base materials into gold. I think the combination of the two would make for especially interesting results!
Tell me about the practice of magic.
First of all, the Slayer wizards are no fairytale clichés. No toe-tickling beards and silly hats. They are warriors, like all the others in the Order. However, their weapons are the physical expression of the powers of the mind. Those who command these forces can vanquish all foes that they literally put their minds to. Of course, even the strongest intellect may be exhausted if used improperly. So it’s up to the mage to see that this doesn’t happen.
(-1 XP) _{Look: another new-born tries the new gimmick on me. Ha! Ha! Ha! I should place a ‘No Trespassing’ sign on my brain or something.}
Have a nice day, Alberic.
Sure, sure. Now shoo, I’m busy.

Alberic is right. A Dragon Slayer Wizard wears heavy armor and carries a weapon like any other Slayer (typically a one-handed warhammer). There are no robes, daggers, or staffs. The wizard also only has four direct-damage spells.
Fireball – Ranged AoE attack with a (low) chance to set enemies on fire. Powerful, with a large radius, but a long cooldown (15 seconds).
Magic Missile – Ranged attack of one or more missiles which automatically target enemies. Extremely short cooldown – this is the spammable spell, and the wizard’s bread and butter. (1 second cooldown)
Magic Blast – Ranged instant-hit single-target spell which has a chance to knock the enemy back. Long cooldown. (15 seconds)
Firewall – A wall of fire centered on the caster burns all enemies inside. It lasts for five seconds and has a VERY long cooldown. (30 seconds) The damage is good terrible, but it requires you to enter melee range with enemies.

That chest behind Alberic is locked, it requires Lockpick level 1 to open. But we don’t have any skill points. So how can we open it? Hmmm… Even if we could open it, the contents are random - all chests are the same way.






(Gawain) Your eyes shine brighter than they did before you came to Farglow, Slayer!
My eyes are brighter, but my skills have been dulled!
Newborns have it tough, but they’re not as helpless as actual infants. You’ll regain your talents quicker than you may think and I can help you with that. Gawain’s the name. Old Paladin of the Divine Order. My life has always been that of the blade. It is an art I will teach you, should you want me to.
Tell me about the Divine Order.
It is an Order of Paladins, founded by the Divine after his ascension to demigod. We have fought the Black Ring in all its forms ever since – until the Great War and the Divine’s death at the hand of a Dragon Knight. Just thinking about it still makes my blood boil! You Slayers do commendable work. Exterminating the Betrayers is a just cause indeed. Only one more of the beasts to go, I have been given to understand. I hope you will contribute to its demise!
Why should I follow the path of the warrior?
It is the noblest path a Slayer can follow, and the most satisfying one. Each enemy is killed up close and personal. You can feel and taste the blood that comes with each victory. Study the skills that come with the territory, and you and your weapon of choice will become an unstoppable harbinger of death.
(-1 XP) _{Only the Divine could read my thoughts, Slayer. And he didn’t even have the Dragon skill.}
See you later.
May the Divine watch over you.

Melee combat in Divinity 2 is a delight. You have a few different skills to use, including one which lets you close in on targets from far away, and the animations are varied enough to keep it from getting dull. There are five different weapon specializations for additional variety.




(Sonja) Someone has a new shine in the eyes.
(Isobel) And a frown on the face!
Hahaha! With good reason it! It took me years to cast a decent fireball again!
Really? Took me but a few weeks. Then again, I have natural talent galore.
I wonder when the Slayers will catch the last Dragon Knight?
Oh, the Dragon reign is over. It doesn’t really matter anymore.
The Slayers regard it as a question of honour, of course.
I completely understand. The Divine must be revenged!




Look at you. Not a scar on your rosy skin. You’re a newborn if ever I saw one.

Conversation options:
1. New-born and aching to learn.
2. Yeah, I’m really thrilled I’ll have the opportunity to do my training all over again.
3. Hey, I’ve always had the looks and I won’t apologize for them.

Also that line might not make sense because “scarred” is one of the face appearances you can choose.

Hey, I’ve always had the looks and I won’t apologize for them.
Hahaha! Nor should you! But you’ll soon find out they’ll get battle-worn again pretty quickly. The best thing to do is to get back in the saddle as quickly as possible. Just say the word, and I’ll give you something to fight.
Why must I choose one of three disciplines?
It’s a good way to get started, to relearn moves and skills quickly. As you know, some swear by the sword, others by the bow, and still others by magic. But you were versed in all three paths, so once you are out on missions you can combine your skills as much as you like.

That means we can choose any skill we meet the level requirement for – there are no “classes”, prerequisites, or skill trees. This freedom has always been a good thing about the Divinity games.

The most important thing is defeating the enemy. How you do that is entirely up to you.
If I choose a discipline, is that choice final?
No, you can change disciplines as much as you like. Alberic, Aravir and Gawain don’t mind. But you can only have one of the discipline spells on you when you leave the village: warrior, wizard, or ranger. Later on you can train all three paths again, if you like.
I’d like to do some training.
You’ll have to get some gear first. Alberic, Aravir and Gawain will provide you with the necessary equipment.
(-1 XP) _{Hee hee! It always tickles a bit when you newfangled mind readers try that.}

The other trainers don’t mind, but they will make comments if you talk to them while having a different discipline trained. I didn’t even know about that until recording this update.




Once you select a discipline to try out, it completes the first quest of the game, The Farglow Connection.

Quests always give out a fixed amount of gold and experience (in this case, 50 experience and 200 gold) but you also can select from additional rewards, typically additional experience or gold, but they often include equipment, potions, and crafting components. The usual priority is Useful Equipment > Experience > Gold > Crafting Components > Potions > Everything Else.

I selected the 25 bonus experience reward.

You need to have one discipline on you before you leave Farglow.

The warrior discipline grants you Whirlwind and an additional 3 strength.
The ranger discipline grants you Poison Arrow and an additional 3 dexterity.
The wizard discipline grants you Fireball and an additional 3 intelligence.

Even if you aren’t going to use the skill you get, it might be worth choosing a discipline just for a stat boost which is ideal for your character.

I’d like to do some training.
Excellent! Here are some goblins for you to [pierce/carve/blast]!




Sonja dispels the barrier to the training arena. It would really break the flow if I were to post a 15-image digression on the game’s combat, so that’s been moved to another post which I’ll post later.

The Dragon Slayer spent some time in the training area, but eventually decided on the discipline she wanted to pursue.


VIDEO: Departure from Farglow


(Edmund) You look more than ready to head back to the Academy, Slayer! But remember you may only have one of the veterans’ spells on you when you leave, so choose wisely before you depart!

That conversation with Edmund is forced when you try to leave. You do NOT have the option to mind-read Edmund there. You need to talk to him again.

Haha! I like the new sparkle in your eyes!
(-1 XP) _{Hehe, Sonja is curious to see what’s in that chest of mine. Little does she know I hit the key near her little goblin campsite in the arena.}
I bid you a good day!




This causes a key to appear there – it isn’t there unless you mind-read Edmund.






Edmunds’ chest is hidden in the bushes to the left of the house after you cross the bridge in Farglow. It’s got uninteresting low-level stuff, although you might find a formula in there if you’re lucky.




(Marius) I almost can’t believe it’s really about to happen.
(Sepp) It’ll be the greatest victory ever!
(Rhode) It’s not dead yet boys! Don’t celebrate before its blood is corrupting the ground it’s sinking into.
Where is the new-born then? We should be leaving at once.
Give our new slayer a break, eh. Farglow takes some getting used to.
But the Dragon won’t wait and neither will we. Too much is at stake.
What’s going on?




(Rhode) Finally you are here! I apologize, but I’ll have to extend my congratulations later!
(-1 XP) _{We don’t have time for mind games, Slayer!}
Why is that?



Moments ago we received word: a Dragon was spotted in Broken Valley. While this surely is exciting news, the timing is less than perfect. You were supposed to do a ritual that would channel the Dragon memories, which is extremely important for your health and that of your surroundings. If we postpone it for too long you will go Dragon wild, and the ones that survive that terrible affliction spend the rest of their lives in deep dungeons, eating their own tongues and clawing out their eyes.
_{Um, wait, no one told me about that part…}
Horrible though that prospect may be, the Dragon takes precedence. So I hope we’ll be able to improvise along the way.
_{‘Improvise’? ‘You hope’?}
I see you’ve chosen a discipline. You’re sure you want to face our foe like that?
Sure and ready! Let’s hunt some Dragon!
The destiny of the Dragon Slayers shall come to its conclusion at last! Quickly now, all aboard!


VIDEO: Title Movie


















01 – Isobel
02 - Farglow Trainers
Unarmed demo
Warrior Demo
Ranger Demo
Mage Demo
Priest Demo – Summon Undead
Priest Demo – Summon Ghost
03 - Departure from Farglow
Title Sequence

Mind-Reading and Merchant Trading
Illusionist
Bonus: Additional Farglow Conversations




Farglow Battle


A Sense of Menace


Airborne



There is more stuff in Farglow, but it’s not important so I’ll leave it in video form only:


Video: Mind-Reading and Merchant Trading

You can use Mind Reading to get discounts when purchasing items from merchants. It’s typically a 25% Discount. You still get the same price when selling items.



We start the game with this book, which we can do nothing with, and if we Mind-Read Barbara, we discover that she wants to get Gerald a new book. That gives us the conversation option to give Gerald the book. He not only gives us a 25% discount (which stacks with the mind-reading one), but he also pays us 50 gold for the book.

Gerald has little worth buying, but you might want to take advantage of the prices and get some cheap potions, or pick up slight upgrades to your equipment.

Merchants actually do usually have plenty of things worth buying. Enemies tend to be stingy with loot drops. A merchant’s inventory changes each time you level up, so check back often.


Video: Illusionist

Illusionists change your appearance. This is free, but it is cosmetic only. It doesn’t actually prevent people from recognizing you. After you leave Farglow, you won’t find another illusionist until the halfway point of the game, so I hope you like your looks.


Video: Additional Farglow Conversations

There are a lot of little extras and I couldn’t possibly cover everything, but here are a couple more Farglow conversations. One thing I didn’t include was that there’s a guy Tom sitting on a bench who has a different line for when you first arrive, and after you see Morgana, and after you see Isobel. That’s a nice detail.




DKS has internal achievements. Most are just for completing various stages of the main quest. All of them are cosmetic, and they don't do anything.








When there are things substantially different from DKS in the original version, I'll point them out.

- In Ego Draconis, the bonus experience for completing "The Farglow Connection" is 50, not 25.
- The Farglow illusionist has a drab brown robe instead of the purple one.
- It's MUCH harder to dodge projectiles in Ego Draconis, they move too fast.
- Items have attribute requirements in addition to level requirements.


READER PARTICIPATION

This will be a reader participation LP, I’ll let you vote on quest solutions (where applicable)

Characterization Choices (vote on any or all of these, they’re optional):

This game doesn’t have character alignments or karma meters, and the rewards for good and evil behaviour are generally identical. There will be a lot of voting on approaches to quests, but I don’t want to stop the thread for votes on every possible response to an NPC. The winning Alignment choice will automatically grant one or two default votes to the appropriate option when quest voting happens (if applicable).

1. Alignment - In general, is the main character a:
1a. Noble Hero (2 default votes for noble quest options) = 1 Vote
1b. Reluctant Hero (1 default vote for reluctant assistance quest options) = 3 Votes
1c. Slightly Jerkish (1 default vote for jerkish quest options) = 4 Votes
1d. Complete and Utter Bastard (2 default votes for bastard quest options)

2. The main character will generally be snarky because it’s funnier and more interesting than generic hero type responses. For the purposes of this question consider that the target of the snark will be an ally or friendly NPC. Enemies I snark at bosses will get whatever is funniest. But will he or she be
2a. Snarky UNLESS it makes you seem like an asshole. = 4 Votes
2b. Always snarky, and if there are multiple snarky options, choose the one which makes you seem like a bigger asshole.
2c. Always snarky, and if there are multiple snarky options, choose the one which is less nasty than the other. = 3 Votes

3. What is the hero’s opinion on himself/herself?
3a. Egotistical / Narcissistic = 1 Vote
3b. Humble / Modest
3c. Confident, but not a braggart = 5 Votes

4. When you’re about to be rewarded for completing a quest, are you
4a. Greedy = 4 Votes
4b. Gracious = 4 Votes
(This DOES NOT AFFECT the reward quality.)

5. How does the hero feel about dragons?
5a. My blood burns with the desire to slaughter the betrayers!
5b. Their crime of murdering the Divine is unforgivable – slaying them all is just! = 3 Votes
5c. Our duty is regrettable, but it must be carried out for the protection of all! = 2 Votes
5d. No Opinion. = 2 Votes

6. Gender and Appearance

Given that 90% of the time my character's appearance will only be the size of the headshot below, it might not be worthwhile to ask people to choose an appearance.



6a. No Opinion. (I’ll use the same portrait I’m currently using.)

6b. Male
6b1. Face

• 5 O’clock shadow = 1 Vote
  
• Scarred
  
• Beard
  
• Goatee
  
• Mustache

6b2. Hair Colour

• Blonde
  
• Brown

= 1 Vote

6b3. Hairstyle

• Military = 1 Vote
  
• Wild
  
• Loose
  
• Ragged
  
• Long

6c. Female = Pretty much everyone else
6c1. Face

• Natural
  
• Seductress
  
• Sorceress
  
• Slayer Tattoo = 0 or 1 votes
  
• Freckles
  
• Dragon Tattoo
  
• Scarred
  
• Scarred Sorceress = 1 Vote
  
• Scarred Slayer Tattoo = 1 or 2 Votes
  
• Scarred Freckles = 1 Vote

6c2. Hair Colour

• Blonde
  
• Brown
  
• Black
  
• Red

6c3. Hairstyle

• Casual
  
• Citizen
  
• Tailored
  
• Short
  
• Ponytail
  
• Sensual

Character Build

I have a few ideas for characters with a specific direction, but I could also build a custom character (see below).

7. Preset or Custom Character
7a. Preset
7b. Custom

Preset Character Ideas

These characters are gimmicky – not the standard power build I normally use. If you want a more standard build, vote for a custom character. You can suggest names as well, but I will veto ones along the lines of “Dongs” or other stupid shit.

Pyranus/Pyrania – Fire-Specialized Battlemage
A hybrid Mage/Fighter, specializing in Fire. Pyrania dual-wields swords enchanted with Fire Curse, and wears jewelry enchanted with Spontaneous Combustion. She opens fights with a Fireball, and then blasts enemies with a Firewall once they foolishly come too close. Dual-wielding is overpowered, so this character might be played on Nightmare difficulty, it depends on how hard I find that. She may use +Melee Damage and +Magic Damage enchantments, but no others, and no other damaging auras. This is the default choice. If there is no clear consensus, this is the character I’ll use.

Xargen/Xargeena – Dark Wizard = 1 Vote
He/she specializes in some of the darker aspects of magic, summoning undead and demons, cursing his enemies, striking fear into their hearts before turning them into a bug and squashing them. (Summon Undead/Demon, Curse, Fear, Polymorph) (I couldn’t really think of a wizard gimmick.)

Veniror/Venira – Hit-and-Run Ranger
She wears Poisonous Aura enchantments in her Jewelry, Has Poison Damage enchanted into her bows (and possibly uses Poison Arrow liberally). She uses stealth to approach her targets, before hitting them with a Stun Arrow, a Rush Attack, and a point-blank Splitting Arrow. Then she turns invisible and runs away to do it all again. (Ranger Stealth, Hide in Shadows) This build might have too many skills, I might have to leave out Explosive Arrow. Poison Arrow is ineffective against undead, which means I might want to leave it out or reallocate the points later.

Grigori/Anastasia – Priest
He/she seeks to cleanse the world with his trusty mace and priestly spells. (This is a debuff-based class, these spells are usually only used for "support", which translates to "I never use these worthless things." Straight-up blasting enemies seems so much faster and simpler. Also, most debuffs are not going to work on bosses. ) WARNING: I have never tried a character like this; it could be ludicrously hard or boring as fuck. There is a priest preset class for new characters starting the expansion. This character will use mostly Priest skills, with the exceptions of Lockpick, Healing, Mana Efficiency, and Magic Missile. I probably won’t use any summon spells except Ghost, as to not tread on the gimmicky wizard.

Yarun/Yara – Monk = 3 Votes
This man/woman of peace refuses to fight with weapons. Hands, feet, knees, elbows, those are the only weapons a warrior needs. He/she specializes in stacking damaging aura enchantments so that enemies die around him/her with minimal effort. This character will use a mostly standard warrior build, with heavy use of skills like Evade and maybe Fatality later on. WARNING: I have never tried a character like this; it could be boring as fuck.


Custom Character Build:

While you get a lot of skill points, you don’t get enough to try and do everything (until the late game), so I won’t let the thread vote on where I put attribute and skill points. The custom characters will use the most ideal skill set for that class type.

8. General Class

Weapons which have a higher magic damage than normal damage are pretty common. This is why I offer you the choice between normal (strength/dexterity-based) and magic (intelligence-based) weapons. Please specify which attribute will be the primary focus of the character.
8a. Warrior – (Strength-based or Intelligence-based) = 1 Vote
8b. Ranger – (Dexterity-based or Intelligence-based)
8c. Mage – (Melee Spells or Ranged Spells)
8d. Priest (Debuff-based class) – (Strength-based or Intelligence-based)

9. Melee Weapon Skill (if applicable)
9a. Unarmed
9b. Single Weapon
9c. Single Weapon + Shield
9d. Dual-Wielding = 1 Vote
9e. Two-Handed Weapon
(9f. If you voted for a Ranged Mage, you can vote for a bow here.)