Part 14: Some business, and then a tower.

Chapter 11: Some business, and then a tower.

(Kidd) Well, let's see what we can do with this ship, shall we?

(Kidd) Small Medal 15 - in a pot inside of a secret basement noticed on the way out of Portoga.
There was once a brave soldier and a beautiful woman who loved each other. The two had always looked out at the sea and dreamed of peace... Baramos placed a curse on the two young lovers, to stop them. They ended up... well to keep it short, it's a tragic story.
(Kidd) Let's head west for a bit and see what there is to see to the west, shall we?

(Kidd) Around here there's a mysterious clearing. We decided to check it out.

A town with a little something for everyone. But first I'll need some...
(Bella) DIBS!
(Kidd) What?
(Bella) I'm calling dibs on this entire town.
(Sophia) You can do that?
(Bella) Who's going to tell me I can't?
(JOKEBOT) ANALYZING SITUATION - LET DEALER STAY.
(Kidd) Well, okay.
Really? Bella will give up on their journey and spend her remaining days here. Is that really what you want?
(Kidd) Well, it's what she wants.
Woohoo, I owe you one! From here on it's you and me, Bella... Let's hop to it and build this town together!
(Bella) Well, I'm staying here. Have fun!
(Kidd) Well, let's swing by Ruida's, shall we?

(Ruida) Oh, it's you again. Valtiel had something to talk to you about.
(Kidd) Send him out, then.
(Valtiel) I have discovered treasure beyond your wildest imagination!
(Kidd) Valtiel, you can calm down - Bella's not in the party anymore. You don't have to lie to us to get us interested in adventure.
(Valtiel) Really? Aww. I liked her. But I was telling the truth - untold wealth lies at our disposal! We just have to go and take it!
(Kidd) Really? Where?
(Valtiel) North of Dharma Temple. In Garuna Tower!
(Kidd) Then let's go to Garuna Tower!

(Sophia) Rammore are odd... there aren't any normal rams, so what do they ram more than? Metallys on the other hand are important! They're worth more XP than any monster we're likely to ever find. While not terribly dangerous, they're quite difficult to kill -- their speed is insane, as is their defense. They're also immune to virtually anything. But kill them swiftly, before they can run away, and you will be rewarded.

(Kidd) And here lies Garuna Tower! Onward to treasure and adventure!

(Kidd) This tower has an interesting layout. To reach the top, you need to leave it.

(Kidd) See this? You need to go up *those* stairs.

(Kidd) In here, we go down the path to the right, then go south a bit, and follow the path to another rope bridge on a highter level.

(Sophia) The Garuda is a legendary bird around these parts, and the tower probably derives it's name from them. The Stingwing, on the other hand, is another obnoxius bug enemy that inflicts status effects.

(Kidd) Now here's the trick (though really, the entire tower is about tricks like this). You need to fall off the rope bridge around the middle.

(Kidd) Then fall in that hole, and go downstairs from there.

(Kidd) Okay... we've found some random gold and the occasional herb and now one of those 'personality changing' books. Where's this treasure untold you told me about?
(Valtiel) It's this book! It's not about personality altering! It's about COSMIC KNOWLEDGE.
(Kidd) Cosmic knowledge?
(Valtiel) Let's talk about this on our way over to Dharma Temple. This isn't an actual book, as true zen cannot be contained as such. The trick is to realize that there is no book, and that knowledge lies in all things. In knowing this, I have realized that the world is defined by how we perceive it. And now I can perceive the knowledge in a new way. And now that we have arrived at the Temple of Dharma, I have become the first...
(JOKEBOT) BEEP BEEP BLIP BEEP. LIFE EXPERIENCE ACHEIVED. FUCK THIS 'JESTER' NOISE. ACTIVATING "SAGE" ALTERNATE PROGRAM.

Very well... JOKEBOT has become a Sage! I optimized JOKEBOT'S equipment as well. Would you like to change anyone else's class?
(Valtiel) *sighs* Yeah. I wanna be a Sage too.
Oh! It's a nice idea for somebody Smart like Valtiel to choose this class. Are you okay with starting all the way from Level 1 again?
(Valtiel) Well, yeah.
Oh, God! Valtiel is starting anew! Very well... Valtiel has become a Sage as well!
(Kidd) We'll let that sink in a bit before we continue adventuring.

Okay, so class changes have been unlocked. After reaching level 20, any character other than the hero can change their class to anything but Sage. To be a Sage, you need to be either a level 20 Jester or read the Zen Book. Both of these have been done, obviously. When you change your class, you keep half of all of your stats across the board, but switch over to the new classes stat progression. You keep any spells and spell like abilities you have, so while Valtiel can't randomly steal from enemies, he can still use ThiefNose to detect how much treasure remains. Warriors and Fighters don't get any MP progression, so they aren't able to cast much if you switch a Priest or Wizard over to such a class, and they'll never improve as casters, but can still be useful with spells like Heal and beat the crap out of monsters like they never could have before.

The Sage class has some of the slowest xp growth in the game, other than the Hero, coming out at twice that of the Dealer (who has the quickest XP growth). On the other hand, they learn all of the spells that a Wizard and Priest learn, though sometimes a bit more slowly than the original classes.

Next time, on Let's Play Dragon Quest 3: More Seagoing!

# of In-Game Days: 73
# of Small Medals: 15