The Let's Play Archive

Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga

by Stabbey_the_Clown

Part 40: Candidates, Part I




Chapter 28 – Candidates, Part I




Sorry, but this update has over 50 minutes of video. I did what I could. I didn’t want to spread the decision-making over two updates, especially given how the candidates are scattered around.

And worst of all, almost no one is even going to watch the damn things.

An End to Sibling Rivalry (10:13)
Wesson, Igor and Jonelath (11:58)
Allan and Catherine Gremory (13:24)
Hermosa, Radcliff, and Barbatos, and the Shipwreck (15:52)
Kenneth (2:58)


Yara’s Current Auras



Black Garden





(Yara) Obvious indeed! I am the strongest force here and I shall show you both.
(Mahalath) You are a fool to challenge us! Come, my sister, let us watch as our puppets tear the flesh off this intruder.




Sibling Rivalry
You could choose to aid one sister over another, and either succeed in sabotaging one, or blow it and end up pissing them both off. Or you could go for the direct and practical approach to dealing with two long-lived psychopaths building an army for a bigger psychopath and kill them both now and save yourself potential trouble later.




I played ahead earlier to make sure I could beat these two at the start of the island, I remember having trouble with them with some characters. Mahalala is level 16, Adah is level 20. They have Fireball, Magic Missile, Curse, Fear,




Good. That’s one less thing Laiken won’t be able to surprise me with on my way up the tower.

Completing either of the sisters quests properly gives you 1800 XP, plus the option of 800 more (2600 XP). Killing Adah alone, even at my level 17, gives you 2741 XP, plus 1239 XP for Mahalath, plus 1200 for solving the quest this way, with the option of another 600. PLUS all of their other minions in the caves turn hostile so you can kill them for XP too (about a dozen or more at 515 XP each)! It dwarfs either of the other ways to complete this quest.



These earrings of +2 Mindread that Adah dropped will come in handy this very update. A bit odd how common +Mindread stuff is, given how few people can use it.




I actually passed up the bonus 600 XP in exchange for 5 Farghanite for Strength potions. I am about 55% of the way to level 18, and this cave alone will give me the other 45%. About this time quest rewards start including other worthwhile things like a pile of plants, gems or ore. I usually still go for XP, though.




These caves have Venom Stone, Fossil Ore, Fanny Blossom and Farghanite growing in them.






Life Tap

Increased to Rank 2.
Mana per HP: 2 -> 2.5


Thousand Strikes

Increased to Rank 2.
Damage Multiplier (per strike): 1x -> 1.1x
Mana Cost: 118->136
Knockdown Chance: 10->15%

That extra 0.1 damage multiplier will add up fast with 6 strikes to work with.


Music: The Island (Unused Track)


Music: Sentinel Island







What the hell is that?




Is this one of the ‘totems’ the island told me about?

This is the Necromancer Totem. We talk to it when we have made our choice. If you’ve decided who you’re picking before you arrive, you can use the totem before ever talking to the candidates.


Video: Wesson, Jonelath, and Igor




(Wesson) A moment of your time please, strange. Might you be the Dragon Knight we were told about?
I suppose I am.
(Ginny) Oh, please, have mercy on us, knight! Wesson is a great enchanter! Pick him, please!
All right, Ginny, all right! I’m sure this knight will give my candidacy the proper consideration. Let me assure you my wife is quite right: I am an enchanter of no small renown with a shop in Aleroth that is popular even among Champions.
Oh yes, ever so popular! General Agustus is a client of ours and Deodatus himself walked in once! My husband’s the best, kind master, the very best!
(-700 XP) I hope my shop is all right. My armours are of unrivalled quality and thieves must have noticed our absence.

Mind-reading the Candidates tells you what they’re good at.

What does an enchanter do exactly?
An enchanter uses crystals, ores, and written enchantments to augment the strength, the abilities of weapons, armours, jewellery and so on. Needless to say the right type of enchantment can aid adventurers tremendously in combat, especially if they are adapted to have specific uses in specific circumstances. Some creatures have a natural weakness for certain types of poison, for instance, which makes a poison enchantment all the more powerful. That means it’s a good idea to have a varied arsenal of weapons and armour on you, but you can also disenchant a favourite piece of equipment and add a new quality to it.

I don’t think resistances or weaknesses are implemented in this game. There certainly isn’t an easy way to find out, that’s for sure.

How did you become an enchanter?
It started with my fascination for precious gems. Soon I learned about their magical potential. That’s when I started to spend time experimenting in my uncle’s smithy.
And soon he became the greatest enchanter in Rivellon! A king among men!
Ginny, please!
Who is this Augustus you mentioned?
General Augustus is the most senior Champion there is. He’s not a young man anymore, but he’s so highly respected he’s almost idolised.
That’s because he fought in the Great War against Damian and his Demon army.
Who is Deodatus?
Deodatus is the chief healer of the town, a very famous man in Aleroth and its surroundings.
Not to mention a known eccentric! But I must admit: his healing skills are legendary.
Do you know a Champion named Richard by any chance?
Yes, we do! He and his daughter live in Aleroth.
He has a DAUGHTER? And he KNOWS ABOUT HER?
Odious man! Once, when Wesson wasn’t looking, he grabbed my… Well, I won’t tell you what, but it was very inappropriate!
Must be off. I bid you both good day!
Good or bad is entirely up to you, merciful Knight!




Another totem. But what’s in that cave behind it?

The Alchemist totem. As for what’s in the cave. Well, earlier in the thread someone mentioned that Naberius was one of about two necromancers in the game who weren’t batshit insane? Bad news… both choices for our tower Necromancer fall into the “batshit” category. Oh, and to make it better, they’re both members of the Black Ring.






(Jonelath) The Dragon Knight approaches, and even the Black Ring’s necromancers must serve!
So you’re Black Ring, then?
Hehe! Yes, Damian is loyal! I slay those who oppose us, so I can turn them into undead warriors who will slay more! BLOODSHED! Hehehe! Flow, flow, flow… But it seems you must form an exception.
Serve you may, or die you must if I find you unsuitable.
To die, to sleep, perchance to wake! I’ll be undead, yes! To die! To kill! Either way is good! But you’ll choose me for I am the master and Igor but a thrall. I shall have to live a little longer!
What does a necromancer do?
The necromancer serves life after death, the recreation of the forbidden, the uniting or that which is unnatural. Their greatest art is the… creature: dead pieces become one, hideous life. Harvest them, pluck their limbs and I shall make them animate again, more powerful than they were before.
Where were you when you were transported here?
The Flying Fortress of our Demon master Ba’al, ruler of the night. His onslaught shall soon see mankind gone. He will conquer for the Black Ring!
What would you say if I told you it is my goal to destroy Damian?
You? Kil Damian? Hahaha! You desire pain? Death? Because I can give you both here and now! No need for the Damned One!
(-700 XP) My experiments are nearly finished! Soon my creatures will no longer be harmed by blade or axe!
I’m going to find something to kill, if that’s fine with you!
Yes, yes! Delicious carnage! Hmmm…

Diary of Jonelath, aged eight





(Igor) Igor is ready to die. Dragon Knight. Die and be turned undead so Master Jonelath can serve.
You’ll die so Jonelath can serve, you said. But are you sure that will be to my benefit?
You must have a necromancer, no?
But will Jonelath serve me better than you?
I see. I serve well, a true servant. But he’s the master. He won’t serve well, no. To have him serve you would make me a bad servant. Yes, I see that now. But I’m a good servant, yes. I’ll serve him poison, yes. And once served, I’ll be the one to serve you: you, my master.
(-700 XP) Master Jonelath always talks of weapon resistance, but what of magical resistance? It will be my speciality.
Don’t poison him as yet, Igor. I’ll err… I’ll pick you when the time comes.
Yes master, very good! Your humble servant awaits.
How did you become an apprentice necromancer?
It was my calling! My calling to serve the Black Ring and the necromantic arts. A life in service of death and mutilation!
Why are you so skilled with poison?
It is my favourite modus operandi! Quick, painless, slow, writhing in agony: there is so much variety in the dance of poison! I practiced on the people of the village I grew up in. It is a lonely place now.
I intend to kill Damian. Any problems with that?
He is our messiah, master! But I am only a servant and shall not stand in the way when greater forces decide this world’s fate.
Goodbye, Igor.
Goodbye, master.


Video: Allan and Catherine Gremory


After talking with those two, I feel like standing in that scalding geyser until it boils away all the unclean I feel.
Don’t get cold feet, Dragon Knight. The Island chose them for a reason.
Maybe it’ll help if I think of it as taking two Necromancers away from the Black Ring. One will die, one will work for me. The island wouldn’t have picked them if they would try and kill me, would she?
I can’t believe that the Dragon Knight is considering working with the Black Ring – her enemy! Were I in the Dragon Knight’s place, I would slay both of them and demand the Island find a more acceptable one.




A teleport shrine and a strange door. What’s inside, I wonder?
As you approach the door, the skull asks for Laiken’s motto.
Another password. Great.






(Allan) It… it’s you, isn’t it? May the Divine have mercy on my soul!
Tell me, my good man, what is your profession?
Well, er, I was an alchemist in Rivertown. A famous one at that! Oh yes! From all the corners of all the lands they come to buy my Allan Brew, a potion that no one else can make. It makes you strong as a demon, agile as a fox, quick as an eagle! Oh, please, in the name of the Divine, pick me!
You do make a strong case. That potion sounds interesting.
Yes! Yes it is! Pick me, you won’t regret it!
What does an alchemist do?
An alchemist distils the pure potency from plants and herbs to create and abundance of potions that may aid the drinker in an endless variety of ways. Recipes from obscure books are also a valuable commodity to any alchemist worth his, or her, salt. So should you find these during your journeys, I would advise you to bring these to the tower.
So tell me a bit more about this brew of yours.
Ah, yes! Er… It’s an enhancement of a recipe made by my former mentor. I studied under the tutelage of none other than Walker, the famous Rivertown alchemist! His Walker Brew was quite potent, but soon the pupil outshone the master!
(-700 XP) I am such a terrible liar! Divine grant the Dragon Knight doesn’t notice!
What do you know about the island?
She seemed nice enough until she told me why I was brought here! But about the history of the place, I know little. It’s not really my field, you see.
Goodbye for now, Allan.
May the Divine bless you, Dragon Knight!

Allan’s Research



In Divine Divinity there was indeed an Alchemist called Walker in Rivertown. He didn’t sell “Walker Brew” or anything special. It is surprising that he’d still be known in this time. Walker was around seventy years ago, so he’d be in his ninetys or even older.






(???) Hello, dear! Come to study these whale skeletons too? Fascinating, aren’t they?
They are that! Fearsome creatures they must have been!
(Catherine Gremory) Oh indeed! This particular type of whale was quite the hunter. But where are my manners? Catherine’s the name, Catherine Gremory. I’m a palaeontologist.
You said your name was Gremory? You wouldn’t happen to have a brother named George, would you?
I do! You met him then? How is old Georgie? Still the diligent archaeologist risking life and limb to reach some ancient statuette?
Quite literally, yes.
Oh, he’s such a good sort. I should make it a point to visit him as soon as we get off this island.
(-2100 XP) It is good to know the Gremory family jewels are well protected. And with a dignified password too: duchess.


This is the second of the Gremory mind-reads. Be sure to get hers and George before entering the Battle Tower.


Why are you studying this particular skeleton?
Quite simply because it’s the biggest specimen I have ever seen! I should very much like to know more about this whale. Alas, information is ever so scarce!
Could I be of help?
I don’t see how, but you’re such a dear to offer! If you find out more about this whale, I’d be ever so grateful!
I met a fisherman who hunts a certain whale of this particular variety.
Haha! The poor man! Doesn’t he know these animals have been extinct for centuries? Who is this fisherman?
I only know he is named Jonah.
Jonah? Well that’s an odd coincidence, isn’t it? I found an amulet right here, in this rib cage, that says: From Lizzie to Jonah. Here – you can have it if you want.



How did you end up stranded on this island?
The ship I was on was in some kind of frightful magical incident! You can find the rest of the survivors a bit further down the beach.
Do the words ‘candidate’, ‘totem’, or ‘prophecy’ mean anything to you?
Oh, yes – some of the crewmembers have been going on and on about that! Frankly I don’t believe a word of it. But then again, it’s not my shapely behind that’s on the line! Hahaha!
You don’t mind leisurely strolling about with that tower looming over you?
Not much point in hiding, is there? Mind you, it does look ominous enough. But as far as I can tell, it might as well stand empty. No, I don’t think much trouble will come from there, unless one seeks it out. And we wouldn’t want that, now – would we, dear?
Bye, Catherine!
Bye, darling!

“The Writing on the Whale”
Groaaaannn… such a bad pun. Anyway, she wants information on these whales. I think the way to get it should be pretty clear. I like Catherine.








Another totem, a teleporter shrine, and a barrier in front of a path which looks like it goes to the tower. Hmmm… I have a suspicion that might be the only way in.

The Barrier teleporter shrine, and the Enchanter Totem.