Part 20

The first thing we need to do is actually put our armor and weapons on, since you show up with all of your equipment (minus anything like the +5 equipment that was stolen away) but with none of it equipped. I didn't realize this the first time I played to test this version, and promptly paid for my mistake. Before we can get out of the room, however...





"This map is… actually really, really good. I think it's the best map we've seen yet."

"Hmm. Maybe we should have gotten a dwarf to make our maps? Was that ever an option?"



"I'm still a little unclear on how we're supposed to identify the bad guys, but I'm pretty sure these guys count."



"Hey, we're not going to stand by and let you prosecute your hate crimes here!"



So, this is our very first battle of the game and you can immediately see the difference in sprites and overall graphics. Our characters have all gotten a bit of a makeover, but in general they still look pretty similar to their sprites from the last game. Drider are a new enemy, being essentially crow-spider hybrids that are considered pretty dangerous. These ones have a nasty habit of casting Fire Shield on themselves, which makes them very annoying to take out. The simplest way to deal with it is to keep doing a bit of damage to them each round so they never get a chance.



Another addition to this game is that occasionally battles will have reinforcements come in for both you and the enemies. In this case a couple of Zhentarim soldiers rushed in, but we luckily had a pair of dwarves allies come in to selflessly act as meat shields until we could deal with it.



Standard Gold Box rules are in effect… now that we've been through a battle the game checked our experience totals and realized we've got about 4 characters who are eligible to gain levels. A quick trip to the local training hall fixes that, as well as revealing one of the neater things they implemented: you can now have one character pay for another's training, meaning I no longer have to go through the trouble of doling out training money. Going back to the story, however...



"I'm actually kind of impressed… they're using ettins as minions, but I haven't seen one of them leaving a mess on the floor."

"You say that, but I still wouldn't wander around here barefoot."

"Are you taking notes for your future plans, Zanros?"



One short fight later, we're ready for another set of levels for our spell casters. They REALLY had a lot of extra experience socked away.




"Okay, issues of property destruction aside who keeps a bunch of caged griffons around a construction site?"

"Would you feel better if they kept them on leashes?"



Griffins have also gotten a bit of a makeover in this one, and we're introduced to a weaker humanoid enemy in the Lordsman. They're mostly the new version of cannon fodder. The griffins have also had their treasure downgraded to gems from jewelry, meaning that they're not worth nearly as much experience as they used to be.



"Hey, I remember this place! Looks like they fixed the sign…"



"I'm pretty sure that there wasn't about to be the world's most one-sided barroom brawl in here the last time we passed by."





"This plan sounds like it'll involve an appropriate amount of mayhem and fireballs. I approve."



"All of a sudden I'm wondering what a griffon would taste like… do you think it'd be like chicken?"

"As a seasoned traveler, I can tell you that with the right spices everything tastes like chicken."



"Even though there are griffins, I think we should pass… they're also kind of like cats, and that's something only poor people eat."



That should have been a force of man and griffons. Bit of a typo there.



"Er… good job, lads! Keep it up!"



"This is going a lot faster than expected… not that I'm complaining."



"Have you forgotten everything that we saw in the last few weeks? It's a bunch of harpies… see?"

"I only see one harpy here."



In fact, there are two. This is their new sprite, which I think is a grand improvement on the previous version. Since we're here, it's a good time to revisit some old haunts...



"Wow, how did they get anybody to stay in here with all the blood and animals bits we left in here last time?"

"In the way of armies since the dawn of time, I'm sure that these are the people they made clean it up."



"Ooh, I remember this place… we should stay here and rest! It should be fine because we don't have an harses!"

After a bit of rest, just next door...



"…there's a drider up there, isn't there? Okay, I've officially had it with this place."




"Fair enough. We'll even return the favor, provided you slink out of town after we've dealt with the rest of your crew."





"Way ahead of you there, buddy. Are you sure we can't kill them for wasting our time with out of date information?"

Poking around nearby reveals a hidden room...



"Oh, you haven't seen defiled yet! And I'm a cleric, so I know exactly what to do to defile a temple!"

"I don't know, man… it's a temple of Bane. I don't think there's very many things that you could do to this place that they haven't already done."



A small and impromptu fight adds Banite clerics, who are liable to drop nasty things like Hold person if they've given half an opportunity. Pity they're so neatly lined up for a lightning bolt. As a note, drider have magic resistance so there's a chance they'll just shrug off any spell you throw at them.



"I don't recall this place having such a spider problem last time we were here… this is why you need to sweep the webs out before they build nests."



"I don't think they could have put a sign up that would make me want to kick this door in more."

"Eh, I'd be more pissed off if they'd written 'no girls allowed' too."



"You should really ask your friends how well that worked out for them… assuming that you all end up in the same Hell."



"I think that's the last of them… so do you think it'll be just two guys left like the last time?"



"I think that concept died with Percy."

"Just from the way they're pausing, it looks like word about us has gotten around."



Our first major battle is actually quite an affair, with about a good dozen or so enemies. They've probably improved the engine to handle this many, and it's definitely a bigger challenge than we're used to dealing with from Gateway to the Savage Frontier. Now, we could go downstairs and chase after Geildarr now, but there's a few rooms that can only be reached from the front door.




"I think I'm in lust again."

"How heartless! What about that C… C woman from up on top of the Star Mounts?"

"More importantly, what about those efreet? They seem a bit disappointed with having her leave so quickly."



We've seen these guys before, but they certainly look a good bit more… demonic… here. Still not much trouble, although they're tougher than a lot of the enemies we've dealt with so far.



"The last time we found a beautiful woman who we'd only seen in an illusion she ended up trying to kill us… so it can't be any worse!"



"Can it, buddy. We can see the light shining through you… not that it does you any favors."



"I think we just fell for the oldest trick in the book… how unfortunate for them."

Character Snapshot




So, a huge round of changes with our first update. The biggest changes are in our spell casters who have each gone up a couple of levels and gained a new tier of spells, but Kedzie has also gone up two levels and maxed out her level as a fighter. From now on she'll only be able to level as a thief, but she'll have to do it on half experience. Since thieves are the fastest leveling class, however, that shouldn't really slow her down much.

Next update: Do you think love can bloom in a dungeon?