Part 35: The Dark Fraud

AOMD 7: The Dark Fraud



This message is displayed on your first entry to the temple's third floor. It's not what's written on the sign:



It's not long until we're approached by the first enemy of this stage, a banshee (called groaning spirit in the manual and cluebook). They're undead who are immune to cold, lightning, and normal weapons. What they are not immune to is Dhauzimmer, the undead-destroying sword we got at the end of the previous floor which makes them a complete non-threat. When it hits an undead monster, it does their exact HP in damage. From that I learned that the range for banshees is in the 40s to low 50s.



This message is on the east and west faces of that pillar at the start. Not far to the west is one of the other monster type on this floor, the spirit naga. They're the last enemies in the trilogy capable of inflicting a status effect, in this case poison. They're not undead, so I'm not sure what their exact HP range is. It's certainly not enough to withstand an all-attack. This junction has a copper key behind an illusory wall.



Another one appears on this shelf after you touch that statue. It also restores some HP to the whole party like others of its kind. That could be helpful since as shown here you can't rest on this floor at the start. There's no special graphic for nightmares like there is for the lowest levels of the Darkmoon catacombs.



The other gimmick of this floor is that any rations you bring will become inedible. There are two stairways to isolated portions of the fourth floor, one of which is close to the statue. The south one is a potential resting spot, since it has nothing except a teleporter to the other section...



Where you can get a preview of fourth floor enemies. These are death knights, undead who can launch fireballs. Protection from Fire on all characters makes that a non-issue. They attack fairly quickly and can cause damage up to the 20s, but no side effects. They have 75% magic resistance but 0% resistance to Dhauzimmer. From that I learned their HP range is high 50s to low 60s. The cluebook says "Death knights are difficult foes to vanquish." Whoever wrote that obviously didn't account for the anti-undead superweapon players are very likely (but not guaranteed) to have at this point. This room has a +4 staff and a scroll of Resurrection, an improved Raise Dead that also works on elves.



The copper keys unlock these rooms. There is one in the middle of each edge of the third floor. They all have these beacons and signs that hit the party with a weak fireball when read. Once again Protection from Fire solves that problem. I can't really do anything with the beacons just yet...



But it was still worthwhile to click on that since it made these cups appear in the central square. Putting them in the niches removes inner walls of the square, making the very middle of this floor accessible. The plaques here also cause fire damage when read.



This event happens every time you step onto the central tile of the third floor. It casts a more powerful version of the spell Heroes' Feast on the party. The normal spell is a combination of Create Food and Bless that also restores some HP to the whole party. It's not a guaranteed full recovery of either health or even the hunger meter. That would obviously be overpowered, even for a 6th level spell. This version of it, however, is a full recovery for both, with infinite casts to boot. This game pretty much gives up having any semblance of difficulty by the end. That red rock is called an Ember of Hope, the item needed for a beacon.



From there I went to the east end. The first beacon is now lit.



A little north of that is a small room with a pressure plate inside. Stepping on it closes the door behind you and spawns two banshees. One of them drops the iron key which unlocks the way out. The end of the room has this halberd +4 and healing potion.



Further north is a junction with false pits on each side. You can walk over them without issue. The west path leads to a room with two more embers. The east path goes to a room with several spirit naga, who guard another copper key.



I use one ember to light the north beacon then head south. This lever opens a door into the southwest quarter. It also launches Ice Storms from the north and south, which can be dodged by backing into this nook.



After lighting the south beacon, I go in there. Under the shield is a flail called "Mourning Star" which is the best blunt weapon in the trilogy, though we're well past that damage type being truly relevant. Both items are +4.



The room at the end of this section is trident-shaped. The middle prong has a censer. The north and south both have plates that launch Ice storms and levers to deactivate them. Those can be flipped without harm by throwing items at them. The north prong has a shelf with the last ember in it. The south shelf has a scroll of Fire Storm, which is Ice Storm with a different element that makes it safer to use due to Protection from Fire.



The western hallway has a room on its south side with three banshees inside, one of which drops a copper key. Lighting all four beacons makes rest possible on the third floor and stops plaques from burning when read. It also creates this key on an altar a little ways northeast of the western beacon.



The end of this stage is in the northwest quarter. This pressure plate will close the door to the south, which opens again when you step off. Throwing an item onto another plate further ahead will keep the door open, allowing you in.



The last puzzle of the third floor. This teleporter just takes you back to the entrance of its room...



Until you throw the Key of Faith into it. Now it leads to the main part of the fourth floor.



You arrive in a room with three doors, which won't open when clicked. There are no buttons or levers, only a plaque with this obtuse hint. Casting Dispel Magic will open all three doors, which also introduces the last regular monsters. Shadow hounds are immune to normal weapons, not undead, and can cause damage in the low teens when they hit, which isn't often. They're not very tough but do tend to appear in rather large packs.



The north door leads to nothing but more enemies, and the south has a couple death knights guarding another prayer fountain. The west hall has two pairs of lightning bolt launchers, activated by stepping in their row. The row between them is safe. That's a crystal key on the floor, which unlocks a pair of doors straight ahead.



Before going in I head south, where more shadow hounds guard a +4 spear and another +3 returning hammer.



The north path has a fork. This shelf in the east room holds another crystal key. The west room is occupied by death knights, and has a scroll of Disintegrate and a coin on its floor.



Putting that coin in the fountain south of the entryway creates a third crystal key in an adjacent shelf.



After fighting through several shadow hounds in the central room, I head straight west. This room had a pair of death knights in it. That face on the wall can be taken down. It's a +3 shield, but needed for another purpose later. I then clear out the north and south corridors, which lead to crystal locks. The north room has death knights inside, as well as a tile that warps you back to its entrance.



To get past that you must click one of these basins in the central room. Taking damage or killing an enemy will dispel its blessing, which is why I cleared the area beforehand. This allows the party to take the Staff of Life.



That's needed in the south room, which had enough shadow hounds to make me use my scrolls of Fire Storm and Meteor Swarm. Clicking this sculpture with the Staff of Life will remove them both. clicking it with anything else causes damage in the 20s to all characters, with no special comments.



Removing the sculpture also removes a wall in the central room, exposing this door. Putting the Sun Mask in the middle of it makes it openable. Behind it is a teleporter to the final boss. It's possible to kill him from here, without even going into his room, by spamming ranged attacks through the teleporter. I'll be showing his last monologue and another humiliating way to defeat him.



After this, those curtains in the corner are pulled away.



He does standard smug villain gloating much like his predecessors.



Admitting you've already underestimated us isn't really a great sign for you.



During a closeup, his face changes to its true appearance.



As shown in this scene, we're up against the only final boss of this trilogy to have minions in his room. Though easily dispatched, they can still be annoying. To deal with that, I break out the spare Time Stop scroll from the Mages Guild. If the Dark God lives up to his name, he should be unaffected, but at least there won't be interference.



Well well, looky here. Check out who's ALSO vulnerable to Time Stop. It suspends projectiles in midair, so only the melee warriors are really contributing damage. He evidently has has extremely good AC, since they frequently miss even when they all have 22 strength (via my last two potions). The cluebook says "The Dark God is very difficult to defeat," to which I can only say , . To be fair, he has a lot of HP and quickly spams lightning bolts when allowed to act. But of course I didn't do that and just dropped a steamroller on this fool.



Lathander shows up once more after the battle.



Even actual deities make spelling errors.



The portal is closed during this line.



We fucked up but immediately corrected that fuck-up, so it's all good.



The party is greeted on their way out of the city.



Remember this guy? We saw him at the very beginning of this game, but not since then. Sure is an honor to join the group that didn't really do anything.



After this, the credits roll.



Isharn and Father Jon both finished at level 11 in both of their classes. Isharn was the sole beneficiary of a small amount of grinding and the level-up book. Rex also finished at level 11, making that half the party. Tabitha was the only one to finish under that, staying at level 10. Bug reached level 12 early into the final floor. Delmair had the highest level at 13.

Video: The "climactic" finale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LnFtGlbKNY