Part II-V of Aielund Saga Walkthrough Guide. The Aielund Saga is a NWN Module for BioWare's Neverwinter Nights 1.
Aielund Saga Act 1 Part II: Culdeny Questing, Urak, Luther, Black Pete, Gentleman's Club:
Puffed out from the journey and low on health, the trio pay a visit to the Seaspray Inn.
The Innkeep hands me the key to the master suite for 5 GP, and I assure him we'll do no damage (+1 Lawful, 50 EXP). We head upstairs to rest.
Aielund Saga does not let you rest just anywhere, but the good thing is that resting at inns is pretty much instant - none of this waiting for a progress bar like in the official campaigns.
Feeling refreshed, we head back downstairs into the common room where we meet the Dwarven merchant, Clavis MacTavish, who sells fancy crossbows and axes. He inquires as to why we're in Culdeny, and we tell him we're lending a hand (+1 Good, 50 EXP). The dwarf then asks us to find his brother who was last seen in some abandoned mines. The mines are located in the Calespur ranges, but we have other quests to complete before venturing into the wilds.
We now enter the Culdeny brewery and are given an ale keg by Chelland Walters (weight = 50.5) for delivery to Bracksworth's Inn.
Since we're in possession of both the bandit captain's head and the keg of ale, we decide to head back to Bracksworth to cap off those quests before progressing in Culdeny.
There's a Halfling standing by his ox-drawn wagon who can time-lapse us back to Bracksworth for a 10 GP fee. He is also grateful that we broke the bandit blockade. I tell him he's welcome and we set off (+1 Good, 50 EXP) .
Upon arrival in Bracksworth we deliver the keg of ale to the Innkeep (200 GP, 300 EXP), and present to the mayor the head of the bandit captain (500 GP, 500 EXP). The mayor mentions a barbarian threat to the east, but we're asked to report back later when he's heard more news from Highmarch.
Cashed up and back in Culdeny, we run across a fisherman at the docks, Kipper Bob, who, having been informed of our good intentions (+1 Good, 50 EXP), hands us a key to the home of the missing Dockmaster to investigate the disappearance. The trio enter the Dockmaster's home and notice blood on the floor, under some books. Kipper suspects smugglers are behind the violence and directs us to a Halfling smuggler (Luther) who has currently docked Midnight Runner at the pier, nearby.
No-one here but us honest, hard-working sailors friend. - a "sailor."
You be real nice or else I whomp you. - Luther's maul-wielding Half-orc bodyguard.
The diminutive Luther (also a rogue vendor) isn't forthcoming with info, but by threatening to have the town guards inspect his ship he is persuaded to reveal the name of another smuggler, "Black Pete", who is aboard The Raven, which is also docked at the pier (50, 300 XP).
Level Up to 4!
Lilura: Paladin (1) / Fighter (3), +1 STR Dante: Ranger (1) / Fighter (3), +1 STR
Nellise: Cleric (4), +1 WIS
We enter The Raven and confront Black Pete, a nasty bugger backed up by two bodyguards.
Gorgeous ship interiors.
Annoyed by our questions and refusal to leave until we find out what happened to the Dockmaster, he admits guilt and unsheathes his gleaming scimitar (+1 Lawful, +50 EXP).
The trio defend themselves, then loot Pete's corpse for a Scimitar +1, a warehouse key, and the Sash of Shimmering (SR 12).
Having now completed our investigation, we return to Kipper with the bad news that Black Pete had the Dockmaster killed, telling him we're glad to be of service (+1 Good, 350 EXP).
Bug: I found the Dockmaster's body in a warehouse crate but my journal didn't update and Kipper had no dialogue when I brought him the body. To get around this bug, don't talk to Kipper again until you have the corpse in your possession.
Masterwork Arms & Armor. Time for some retail therapy. We sell off unneeded loot at the Master Chaplain's smithy, dragging ourselves out of abject poverty. With a weighty purse of 5,000 GP I can now finally purchase some gear more befitting of a Paladin. Since the King's army was assigned most of the full plate, the poor smithy only has two sets left to sell, one of which is far beyond my budget. So I just settle for Masterwork Full Plate and also purchase a matching Masterwork Tower Shield, Masterwork Longsword and Masterwork Visored Helm.
That's it lad, put your back into it. You're doing fine. - Blacksmith to apprentice.
Annoyed by our questions and refusal to leave until we find out what happened to the Dockmaster, he admits guilt and unsheathes his gleaming scimitar (+1 Lawful, +50 EXP).
The trio defend themselves, then loot Pete's corpse for a Scimitar +1, a warehouse key, and the Sash of Shimmering (SR 12).
Having now completed our investigation, we return to Kipper with the bad news that Black Pete had the Dockmaster killed, telling him we're glad to be of service (+1 Good, 350 EXP).
Bug: I found the Dockmaster's body in a warehouse crate but my journal didn't update and Kipper had no dialogue when I brought him the body. To get around this bug, don't talk to Kipper again until you have the corpse in your possession.
Masterwork Arms & Armor. Time for some retail therapy. We sell off unneeded loot at the Master Chaplain's smithy, dragging ourselves out of abject poverty. With a weighty purse of 5,000 GP I can now finally purchase some gear more befitting of a Paladin. Since the King's army was assigned most of the full plate, the poor smithy only has two sets left to sell, one of which is far beyond my budget. So I just settle for Masterwork Full Plate and also purchase a matching Masterwork Tower Shield, Masterwork Longsword and Masterwork Visored Helm.
That's it lad, put your back into it. You're doing fine. - Blacksmith to apprentice.
Yes, masterwork. Now that's what I'm talking about. This gives me +3 AC, which is a decent low-level tanking boost.
My Aasimar Henchman, Nellise, earlier expressed desire to visit the Priestess of Culdeny, so the trio stroll over to the church and meet with Priestess Celeste.
My Aasimar Henchman, Nellise, earlier expressed desire to visit the Priestess of Culdeny, so the trio stroll over to the church and meet with Priestess Celeste.
I put in a good word for Nellise and gladly accept from Celeste a quest to investigate "digging sounds" tonight in the nearby crypt (+2 Good, 100 EXP).
The crypt is unremarkable but for a statue upon which an item can be placed, and faint hammering sounds in the distance, below us. At the back of the crypt we spot a secret trap door leading down into goblin-infested tunnels.
Seeing us butcher a few of his wretched sappers, the leader goblin (Urak) screams out for the remainder to cover him as he runs off...
... but Urak is then crushed to paste when his own tunnel exit collapses on him. On his corpse we find a Short Sword +1, a gem-studded necklace and an order signed by one "R.B", revealing a plan to breach the town walls by tunneling under them.
Having placed the gem-studded necklace onto the statue to make it glow once again, we head back out to inform Celeste of our success. Pleased as punch, she then directs us to the garrison commander who can further inspect the goblin order (+300 GP, +650 EXP).
The commander matches the initials R.B with one Ronald Bartlett of the North Shore Trading Company...
... so we head directly there.
We learn from Bartlett's secretary that he's in attendance at the Gentleman's Club upstairs, but that we can't simply enter unless we're a member or are sponsored by one. She also lets it slip that the mayor is a member. We could simply bash down the door here, but that is both Chaotic, and has negative consequences, in that Bartlett is influential in town and can order town merchants to stop trading with us. Not good, since merchants are limited at the moment.
So we skip over the streets to the mayor's office, where we find the mayor engaged in an argument with a ranger.
So we skip over the streets to the mayor's office, where we find the mayor engaged in an argument with a ranger.
Dammit man, you're just not listening to me! - Donan Marshall.
The grumpy mayor refuses to speak with us much, so we placate Donan instead (+1 Lawful, 50 EXP). It turns out Donan and Dante know each other, both being rangers. Donan has traveled from the Calespur wilderness to seek aid from the mayor against brazen game hunters, but the stubborn mayor refuses to send aid.
Bureaucrats. Don't get me started on bureaucrats. - Dante.
The trio offer to lend a hand. Donan thanks us, gives us directions to the The Lodge and the name of Armin Wise, and then slips away. Now alone with the mayor, I persuade him to follow his civic duty and give me the key to the Gentleman's Club.
Back at the Trading Company, we use the key and head upstairs to the Club.
The air in here is thick with cigar and pipe smoke. - DM.
How on earth did you get in here? I'll be having words to Ronald about our entry policy concerning women, don't you doubt! - Nobleman.
Bartlett holds his composure under questioning and refers us to his security advisor, Robert Black (another R.B), who turns pale in the face when presented with the order, awkwardly thanks us for bringing the issue to his attention, and then hurriedly leaves the Club with Bartlett in toe.
Goodness me, that WAS strange! - Bartlett's secretary.
We take this information to the barracks Commander, and she issues a warrant for both their arrests (800 EXP) . The commander has no idea where they could be based but warns us they are perhaps one hundred strong in number. As Paladin, I tell her we'll bring their operation down.
The grumpy mayor refuses to speak with us much, so we placate Donan instead (+1 Lawful, 50 EXP). It turns out Donan and Dante know each other, both being rangers. Donan has traveled from the Calespur wilderness to seek aid from the mayor against brazen game hunters, but the stubborn mayor refuses to send aid.
Bureaucrats. Don't get me started on bureaucrats. - Dante.
The trio offer to lend a hand. Donan thanks us, gives us directions to the The Lodge and the name of Armin Wise, and then slips away. Now alone with the mayor, I persuade him to follow his civic duty and give me the key to the Gentleman's Club.
Back at the Trading Company, we use the key and head upstairs to the Club.
The air in here is thick with cigar and pipe smoke. - DM.
How on earth did you get in here? I'll be having words to Ronald about our entry policy concerning women, don't you doubt! - Nobleman.
Bartlett holds his composure under questioning and refers us to his security advisor, Robert Black (another R.B), who turns pale in the face when presented with the order, awkwardly thanks us for bringing the issue to his attention, and then hurriedly leaves the Club with Bartlett in toe.
Goodness me, that WAS strange! - Bartlett's secretary.
We take this information to the barracks Commander, and she issues a warrant for both their arrests (800 EXP) . The commander has no idea where they could be based but warns us they are perhaps one hundred strong in number. As Paladin, I tell her we'll bring their operation down.
We're done with Culdeny for now, at least as far as I can tell. The plot and quests now seem to lead west of where we broke the bandit blockade, in the Calespur Ranges.
Aielund Saga Act 1 Part III: Calespur Ranges & Calespur Caverns, poachers, ballista vs. wyvern:
Calespur Ranges Aielund Saga
We travel to the Calespur Ranges on a dark and stormy night. Standing before us, silhouetted against the night sky, is The Lodge of which the ranger Donan Marshall spoke, invitingly lit up from inside like a lantern. Rangers stand guard outside, and can be seen patrolling deeper in the woods.
Uh, I ain't real popular round here at the moment. Just thought I'd let you know that chief. - Dante.
Inside the lodge, the staunch ranger captain, Armin Wise, details his issues with notorious poachers who are headed up by a nobleman from Fairloch, Tomar Fairchild, who makes a fortune selling pelts and meat. The trio agree to remove the filthy curs from this pristine location.
Under cover of darkness the Hunters are difficult to spot, but we slice and dice our way through scattered packs of them, on the corpse of one finding a Scarab of Protection +1. An unlikely badger ally helped us at one stage, too. Cute little devil.
To the West there is a ruin guarded by more hunters, and a chest containing three animal pelts.
Bloody poachers! This is the King's game reserve and they're setting up shop right under our noses. Let's teach them a lesson! - Dante.
Poachers in the King's own forest. This is unconscionable! - Nellise.
After taking out two hunters guarding the door to Tomar's cabin, we are surprised to find his door left unlocked. But Tomar Fairchild isn't hostile when we enter, and asks us what it will take to forget we ever saw him. I respond that we require his House Symbol and that he must never show his face here ever again.
Grateful for my mercy, he slinks out with his tail between his legs (250 EXP, +1 Good, 500 GP).
Stashed in his cabin we find 100 GP, two more animal pelts, Fine Composite Longbow (Massive Criticals 3, Mighty +5), Piercing Arrows (99), and a Glittering Necklace.
Glad to be of service to the Crown, we return to Armin Wise and give him the House Symbol (+1 Lawful, 550 EXP, 300 GP). We also hand in a total of five animal pelts (250 EXP).
Calespur Caverns
There is a Quartermaster upstairs, from whom we stock up on medkits before heading to the Northwest of the map, where, at the crack of dawn, we encounter the lone ranger, Mona.
Another ranger in need, she requests that we risk life and limb clearing the Calespur caverns of an unwanted guest that is also preying on the King's game, and for no reward this time. The paladin in me jumps at the chance to perform yet another noble deed, and squeezes past Dante and Nellise to be the first into the eerie cave.
The rocky walls are slick with moisture from weeks of endless rain. - DM
The first level is small and consists of only three worgs.
I must admit, I've never been one to explore caverns and such. Quite a new experience for me. - Nellise.
Descending to level two, we face off against Hook Horrors and an Umber Hulk who yields a tidy 430 EXP. Where's my Cowl of Warding? But none of us failed our save against confusion gaze.
Note that you can rest only once every four hours (10 mins realtime).
Level Up to 5!
Lilura: Paladin (1)/ Fighter (4), Weapon Specialization: Longsword
Dante: Ranger (1) / Fighter (4)
Nellise: Cleric (5)
On a corpse we find a Cloak of Fortification +1, Shortbow +1 and Lightning Arrows (99). Then we are suddenly ambushed by a dozen gargoyles popping out of the ground, who turned out to be fairly easy pickings.
Onward, we are amused to encounter a hostile Wandering Gnome.
About bloody time you showed up. Let's get this over with! - Wandering Gnome.
According to his journal, this tough little bastard was a thief-in-hiding. He was expecting to be tracked down by those whom he had ripped off; hence, his hostility.
From his corpse we loot a Potion of Lesser Restoration, Potion of Antidote, Bracers of Armor +2, Mage's Robe of Battle, and a Journeyman Staff.
The rest of this level is mostly about hacking at spiders of all kinds (sword, phase, giant, wraith). We best a second Umber Hulk at the exit, and then rest before descending to the cavern's third and deepest level.
We travel to the Calespur Ranges on a dark and stormy night. Standing before us, silhouetted against the night sky, is The Lodge of which the ranger Donan Marshall spoke, invitingly lit up from inside like a lantern. Rangers stand guard outside, and can be seen patrolling deeper in the woods.
Uh, I ain't real popular round here at the moment. Just thought I'd let you know that chief. - Dante.
Inside the lodge, the staunch ranger captain, Armin Wise, details his issues with notorious poachers who are headed up by a nobleman from Fairloch, Tomar Fairchild, who makes a fortune selling pelts and meat. The trio agree to remove the filthy curs from this pristine location.
Under cover of darkness the Hunters are difficult to spot, but we slice and dice our way through scattered packs of them, on the corpse of one finding a Scarab of Protection +1. An unlikely badger ally helped us at one stage, too. Cute little devil.
To the West there is a ruin guarded by more hunters, and a chest containing three animal pelts.
Bloody poachers! This is the King's game reserve and they're setting up shop right under our noses. Let's teach them a lesson! - Dante.
Poachers in the King's own forest. This is unconscionable! - Nellise.
After taking out two hunters guarding the door to Tomar's cabin, we are surprised to find his door left unlocked. But Tomar Fairchild isn't hostile when we enter, and asks us what it will take to forget we ever saw him. I respond that we require his House Symbol and that he must never show his face here ever again.
Grateful for my mercy, he slinks out with his tail between his legs (250 EXP, +1 Good, 500 GP).
Stashed in his cabin we find 100 GP, two more animal pelts, Fine Composite Longbow (Massive Criticals 3, Mighty +5), Piercing Arrows (99), and a Glittering Necklace.
Glad to be of service to the Crown, we return to Armin Wise and give him the House Symbol (+1 Lawful, 550 EXP, 300 GP). We also hand in a total of five animal pelts (250 EXP).
Calespur Caverns
There is a Quartermaster upstairs, from whom we stock up on medkits before heading to the Northwest of the map, where, at the crack of dawn, we encounter the lone ranger, Mona.
Another ranger in need, she requests that we risk life and limb clearing the Calespur caverns of an unwanted guest that is also preying on the King's game, and for no reward this time. The paladin in me jumps at the chance to perform yet another noble deed, and squeezes past Dante and Nellise to be the first into the eerie cave.
The rocky walls are slick with moisture from weeks of endless rain. - DM
The first level is small and consists of only three worgs.
I must admit, I've never been one to explore caverns and such. Quite a new experience for me. - Nellise.
Descending to level two, we face off against Hook Horrors and an Umber Hulk who yields a tidy 430 EXP. Where's my Cowl of Warding? But none of us failed our save against confusion gaze.
Note that you can rest only once every four hours (10 mins realtime).
Level Up to 5!
Lilura: Paladin (1)/ Fighter (4), Weapon Specialization: Longsword
Dante: Ranger (1) / Fighter (4)
Nellise: Cleric (5)
On a corpse we find a Cloak of Fortification +1, Shortbow +1 and Lightning Arrows (99). Then we are suddenly ambushed by a dozen gargoyles popping out of the ground, who turned out to be fairly easy pickings.
Onward, we are amused to encounter a hostile Wandering Gnome.
About bloody time you showed up. Let's get this over with! - Wandering Gnome.
According to his journal, this tough little bastard was a thief-in-hiding. He was expecting to be tracked down by those whom he had ripped off; hence, his hostility.
From his corpse we loot a Potion of Lesser Restoration, Potion of Antidote, Bracers of Armor +2, Mage's Robe of Battle, and a Journeyman Staff.
The rest of this level is mostly about hacking at spiders of all kinds (sword, phase, giant, wraith). We best a second Umber Hulk at the exit, and then rest before descending to the cavern's third and deepest level.
Here we are immediately set on by two young wyverns, who we easily mop up. Creeping in further...
Did you hear that? It sounded like something big moving. - Nellise.
And a little further... Dante stops.
Woah. Something smells big... I don't like this at all. - Dante.
There is a full-grown wyvern and two more young'uns down here. The adult wyvern is tough to beat in a normal fight, possessed as it is of high STR, Knockdown and DC-26 Con-draining poison, which you're unlikely to resist at this level. The easiest way to tackle this encounter is to trick the wyvern into giving chase and having it stop in front of a ballista, which is a type of siege engine.
Did you hear that? It sounded like something big moving. - Nellise.
And a little further... Dante stops.
Woah. Something smells big... I don't like this at all. - Dante.
There is a full-grown wyvern and two more young'uns down here. The adult wyvern is tough to beat in a normal fight, possessed as it is of high STR, Knockdown and DC-26 Con-draining poison, which you're unlikely to resist at this level. The easiest way to tackle this encounter is to trick the wyvern into giving chase and having it stop in front of a ballista, which is a type of siege engine.
Here we run screaming our heads off towards the ballista.
The wyvern is lured right in the line of fire, too stupid to circle around.
The ballista is loaded...
BOOM.
It's also possible to cheese the wyvern using ranged weapons from this alcove, similar to how the Bebilith in HotU can be cheesed. This way, you get the juicy kill exp. However, with preparation or fool's luck it can be beaten fair and square with the stand-and-deliver approach.
Either way, the wyvern treasure is significant:
Slicer (Short Sword +1 [+1-4 Slashing]), Large Metal Shield +2, Lesser Ring of Wizardry, Sacred Cloth (Monk only), Cloak of Protection +2, Ring of Resistance +1, assorted spells and scrolls (Dispel Magic, Raise Dead, Slow, Fireball, Negative Energy Burst and Restoration), assorted gems and potions, 456 GP.
Abandoned Mine
The caverns here feature a large lake and show evidence of mining, what with the cart tracks and man-made tunnels. Here we find the corpse of a dead Dwarven warrior, Dorum MacTavish, the brother of Clavis from Culdeny, and loot it for Dwarven Full Plate (Dwarf only), Helm of the Bull (+1 AC), Handaxe +1 and Bolt of Fire (99). From his journal we learn that Dorum entered the caverns in search of the fabled underground water supply discovered by his ancestors. Well, at least he found it. The cause of his death was most likely slain by wyvern.
Exiting this area, we now find ourselves in the lowest part of the abandoned mines, which are infested with zombies. Nelisse Turns Undead, insta-killing three zombies and divine-damaging the zombie lord. Then she lands the killing blow on the Lord to top off her great performance. The dual-wielding zombie lord is looted for Kama +2 and Kama +1.
Heading upstairs to the mine's second level, we're assaulted by yet more spiders.
Ah, the old Dwarven mines. These were abandoned when the clan struck a large water reserve. - Dante.
One of the siderooms has a nasty web-trap and spiders. There are chests holding various scrolls, such as Resurrection, Neutralize Poison (2), Lesser Dispel and Lesser Restoration. We also found +2 Arrows and Bullets, Bolt of Frostbite (99), Archer's Belt (Piercing 5/-), and Leather Armor +2.
Another section contains two zombie warriors, tyrant fog zombies, ghouls and ghasts. Turn Undead, ftw.
Level Up to 6!
Lilura: Paladin (2)/ Fighter (4), Knockdown, Aura of Courage, Smite Evil
Dante: Ranger (1) / Fighter (5), Great Cleave
Nellise: Cleric (6), Cleave
Yep, the trio is beefing up now.
The last section on this level just contains giant spiderlings. We find loot here consisting of a Mercurial Sword (exotic CEP weapon), Light Pick +1, Light Hammer +1 and 100 GP.
Upstairs to the highest level of the mines, and we're up against the bugbears.
Can't believe we've let this scum set up camp in these old mines. I think we should show them the door. By which I mean killing them. - Dante.
The skull-helmed bugbear chieftain is hacked to the ground for a Katana +1. After dusting off the other buggers we ransack their huts for 300 GP and assorted gems.
There's a treasure room here with a sign posted outside, reading "No-one enter. Bad thing inside." We enter and find a rusty statue that comes to life and goes hostile when we attempt to open chests behind it. Vanquished, it leaves behind a set of Rusted Full Plate. The chests are holding Restoration scroll, Defender +2 rapier and 842 GP.
BOOM.
It's also possible to cheese the wyvern using ranged weapons from this alcove, similar to how the Bebilith in HotU can be cheesed. This way, you get the juicy kill exp. However, with preparation or fool's luck it can be beaten fair and square with the stand-and-deliver approach.
Either way, the wyvern treasure is significant:
Slicer (Short Sword +1 [+1-4 Slashing]), Large Metal Shield +2, Lesser Ring of Wizardry, Sacred Cloth (Monk only), Cloak of Protection +2, Ring of Resistance +1, assorted spells and scrolls (Dispel Magic, Raise Dead, Slow, Fireball, Negative Energy Burst and Restoration), assorted gems and potions, 456 GP.
Abandoned Mine
The caverns here feature a large lake and show evidence of mining, what with the cart tracks and man-made tunnels. Here we find the corpse of a dead Dwarven warrior, Dorum MacTavish, the brother of Clavis from Culdeny, and loot it for Dwarven Full Plate (Dwarf only), Helm of the Bull (+1 AC), Handaxe +1 and Bolt of Fire (99). From his journal we learn that Dorum entered the caverns in search of the fabled underground water supply discovered by his ancestors. Well, at least he found it. The cause of his death was most likely slain by wyvern.
Exiting this area, we now find ourselves in the lowest part of the abandoned mines, which are infested with zombies. Nelisse Turns Undead, insta-killing three zombies and divine-damaging the zombie lord. Then she lands the killing blow on the Lord to top off her great performance. The dual-wielding zombie lord is looted for Kama +2 and Kama +1.
Heading upstairs to the mine's second level, we're assaulted by yet more spiders.
Ah, the old Dwarven mines. These were abandoned when the clan struck a large water reserve. - Dante.
One of the siderooms has a nasty web-trap and spiders. There are chests holding various scrolls, such as Resurrection, Neutralize Poison (2), Lesser Dispel and Lesser Restoration. We also found +2 Arrows and Bullets, Bolt of Frostbite (99), Archer's Belt (Piercing 5/-), and Leather Armor +2.
Another section contains two zombie warriors, tyrant fog zombies, ghouls and ghasts. Turn Undead, ftw.
Level Up to 6!
Lilura: Paladin (2)/ Fighter (4), Knockdown, Aura of Courage, Smite Evil
Dante: Ranger (1) / Fighter (5), Great Cleave
Nellise: Cleric (6), Cleave
Yep, the trio is beefing up now.
The last section on this level just contains giant spiderlings. We find loot here consisting of a Mercurial Sword (exotic CEP weapon), Light Pick +1, Light Hammer +1 and 100 GP.
Upstairs to the highest level of the mines, and we're up against the bugbears.
Can't believe we've let this scum set up camp in these old mines. I think we should show them the door. By which I mean killing them. - Dante.
The skull-helmed bugbear chieftain is hacked to the ground for a Katana +1. After dusting off the other buggers we ransack their huts for 300 GP and assorted gems.
There's a treasure room here with a sign posted outside, reading "No-one enter. Bad thing inside." We enter and find a rusty statue that comes to life and goes hostile when we attempt to open chests behind it. Vanquished, it leaves behind a set of Rusted Full Plate. The chests are holding Restoration scroll, Defender +2 rapier and 842 GP.
Dante knocks this bugbear hero flying.
We then topple the bugbear temple, smash their altar to pieces for 350 EXP and +2 Good, crack the skull of the bugbear shaman, and loot its corpse for Dagger +1 and Amulet of Vitality +2 (+2 CON).
The fighting became easier after the wyverns and zombie lord because we're coming back up out of the caverns the way Dorum came in (and the optional way we could have entered, too).
Encumbered and stat-drained, we finally exit the mines into the Calespur mountains, where we take on an ogre berserker. Three other ogres are camped nearby, but they offer little resistance.
This mountain section is quite small and leads back to the Calespur ranges, where Mona doesn't seem all that interested in our success in the Caverns?
Clavis of Culdeny is interested in news of his brother, though. We tell him Dorum was slain by wyverns. The grateful Clavis lets us keep Dorum's gear (300 GP, 500 XP).
We sell off our loot and amass a tidy sum of 24,000 GP; then, we time-lapse back to Bracksworth.
It seems the mayor of Bracksworth has finally received news from Highmarch concerning the barbarian threat to the East. He refers us to Commander Redfurn in the barracks for more info.
Redfurn tells us the barbarians intend to strike soon, and asks us to take out their Half-orc leader, Erag. While raiding his stronghold we're to keep our eyes peeled for a ranger sent by Armin to spy on the barbarians, whom Dante knows as Tommy. We're also advised to wrap ourselves in winter cloaks due to the bitter cold on the High Plains.
I tell her we'll do our best against the barbs, and that she can count on us (+1 Good, 50 EXP).
With permission granted to exit via the East gate, the trio step out of Bracksworth and begin their journey into the Wilds.
We then topple the bugbear temple, smash their altar to pieces for 350 EXP and +2 Good, crack the skull of the bugbear shaman, and loot its corpse for Dagger +1 and Amulet of Vitality +2 (+2 CON).
The fighting became easier after the wyverns and zombie lord because we're coming back up out of the caverns the way Dorum came in (and the optional way we could have entered, too).
Encumbered and stat-drained, we finally exit the mines into the Calespur mountains, where we take on an ogre berserker. Three other ogres are camped nearby, but they offer little resistance.
This mountain section is quite small and leads back to the Calespur ranges, where Mona doesn't seem all that interested in our success in the Caverns?
Clavis of Culdeny is interested in news of his brother, though. We tell him Dorum was slain by wyverns. The grateful Clavis lets us keep Dorum's gear (300 GP, 500 XP).
We sell off our loot and amass a tidy sum of 24,000 GP; then, we time-lapse back to Bracksworth.
It seems the mayor of Bracksworth has finally received news from Highmarch concerning the barbarian threat to the East. He refers us to Commander Redfurn in the barracks for more info.
Redfurn tells us the barbarians intend to strike soon, and asks us to take out their Half-orc leader, Erag. While raiding his stronghold we're to keep our eyes peeled for a ranger sent by Armin to spy on the barbarians, whom Dante knows as Tommy. We're also advised to wrap ourselves in winter cloaks due to the bitter cold on the High Plains.
I tell her we'll do our best against the barbs, and that she can count on us (+1 Good, 50 EXP).
With permission granted to exit via the East gate, the trio step out of Bracksworth and begin their journey into the Wilds.
Aielund Saga Act 1 Part IV: Southern Foothills, High Plains (Erag) & Bracksworth Attacked (Criosa kidnapped):
Southern Foothills
We find ourselves in the Southern Foothills.
Tomb of the Exiled Warrior
Exploring the North first, we come across a graveyard with a prominent tomb as its focal point. This is the Tomb of the Exiled Warrior, which we read about in a tome in Bracksworth at the start of our adventure.
This is Bracksworth cemetery. I heard that someone famous was buried here. - Nellise.
Inside the tomb, we pass by an impenetrable vault. Further down the corridor we meet the spirit of Sir Augustus Charleston. The Spirit gets our attention by indicating he has treasures to pass on to someone worthy, but first the trio must undergo three tests - those of Strength, Valor and Honor.
We find ourselves in the Southern Foothills.
Tomb of the Exiled Warrior
Exploring the North first, we come across a graveyard with a prominent tomb as its focal point. This is the Tomb of the Exiled Warrior, which we read about in a tome in Bracksworth at the start of our adventure.
This is Bracksworth cemetery. I heard that someone famous was buried here. - Nellise.
Inside the tomb, we pass by an impenetrable vault. Further down the corridor we meet the spirit of Sir Augustus Charleston. The Spirit gets our attention by indicating he has treasures to pass on to someone worthy, but first the trio must undergo three tests - those of Strength, Valor and Honor.
The test of strength involves killing three minotaurs and bringing the Spirit back a horn from the berserker minotaur. Sounds easy, and is easy. We also looted a Greataxe +1 from the berserker's corpse.
The test of valor is not as easy. We face off against spectral undead (shadows, shadow fiends). Nelisse's Turn Undead is handy here, as Dante easily succumbs to fear.
This place gives me the creeps. Keep your eyes peeled, something's bound to try and kill us at some point. - Dante.
The Shadow Lord is the toughest spectre, wielding the Shadowblade.
Level Up to 7!
Lilura: Paladin (3)/ Fighter (4) Turn Undead, Remove Disease
Dante: Ranger (1) / Fighter (6)
Nellise: Cleric (7)
At the end of the corridor is a Balor which disappears after being hit. On the floor we find the Heart of Evil, which we return to the Spirit to complete the second test.
The Spirit tells us the test of honor won't involve fighting, to which I respond "that is refreshing" (+1 Good, 50 EXP).
He asks us to retrieve a flower given to him by his lady love, and tells us we cannot leave until we do this. Then we're teleported into another section of the dungeon. Here, we are approached by a Halfling rogue, Bidoc Dabble. Frustrated by the tests, he asks us to join up with him in order to break into the vault and simply steal the treasure. I tell him I can complete the test without resorting to theft, and don't need his help (+1 Lawful, 50 EXP).
Further down the corridor is a Wounded Man from Bracksworth calling out for help. We tell him we won't ignore someone in need (+1 Good, 50 EXP) and escort the poor guy out of the dungeon. This in fact completes the test of honor. There is a chest further down containing the flower, but retrieving it fails the quest.
Kings and rules and laws come and go, but the only thing that matters is life. - Spirit of Sir Augustus Charleston.
I couldn't ignore the Wounded Man, in spite of your explicit orders. - PC (+2 Good, 150 EXP)
The test of valor is not as easy. We face off against spectral undead (shadows, shadow fiends). Nelisse's Turn Undead is handy here, as Dante easily succumbs to fear.
This place gives me the creeps. Keep your eyes peeled, something's bound to try and kill us at some point. - Dante.
The Shadow Lord is the toughest spectre, wielding the Shadowblade.
Level Up to 7!
Lilura: Paladin (3)/ Fighter (4) Turn Undead, Remove Disease
Dante: Ranger (1) / Fighter (6)
Nellise: Cleric (7)
At the end of the corridor is a Balor which disappears after being hit. On the floor we find the Heart of Evil, which we return to the Spirit to complete the second test.
The Spirit tells us the test of honor won't involve fighting, to which I respond "that is refreshing" (+1 Good, 50 EXP).
He asks us to retrieve a flower given to him by his lady love, and tells us we cannot leave until we do this. Then we're teleported into another section of the dungeon. Here, we are approached by a Halfling rogue, Bidoc Dabble. Frustrated by the tests, he asks us to join up with him in order to break into the vault and simply steal the treasure. I tell him I can complete the test without resorting to theft, and don't need his help (+1 Lawful, 50 EXP).
Further down the corridor is a Wounded Man from Bracksworth calling out for help. We tell him we won't ignore someone in need (+1 Good, 50 EXP) and escort the poor guy out of the dungeon. This in fact completes the test of honor. There is a chest further down containing the flower, but retrieving it fails the quest.
Kings and rules and laws come and go, but the only thing that matters is life. - Spirit of Sir Augustus Charleston.
I couldn't ignore the Wounded Man, in spite of your explicit orders. - PC (+2 Good, 150 EXP)
A good lesson for a Paladin. We then receive the Knight's Key that opens the vault (800 EXP).
Contents of the vault: Wand of Ice Storm, Sword of Valour (+1, +1 Bludg, +2 Fear saves), Archaic Full Plate (-80% weight, on-hit Electric Jolt), Gauntlets of Ogre Power (+2 STR), Helm of Presence (+2 CHA), Tower Shield Vs. Missiles.
Barbarians
We now explore the Southern section. Here, we come across our first barbarians, stationed at a lookout. The scariest barbs are the raging berserkers and shamans.
Ok, these barbarians have a reputation for being very good fighters, and extremely vicious too, so don't hold back when things get bloody. - Dante.
These barbarians fight like demons, but we must have faith in our abilities, and our strength, to overcome these enemies of the kingdom. - Nellise.
High Plains
We climb up from the Southern Foothills onto the High Plains...
The freezing wind here cuts through you like a knife. It is difficult to see through the driving snow. - DM
This area is similar to Cania in Hordes of the Underdark in that you take periodic cold damage from the environment. The damage is 1-4 cold, but this is entirely negated by our Winter Cloaks (Resist Cold 5/-).
Barbarian Fort
There is an imposing barbarian fortification here, which we decide not to gate crash. Instead, we hike upward to a ridge and then circle around the fort to flank the barbs.
Atop a ridge, looking down at the barbs from behind them.
This is about the max number of barbs you want to be fighting at any given time. I've drawn half of them up to the ridge by firing arrows down on them. Some archers are firing from below and the others are closing in (out of view), but we had finished these guys off before the second wave caught up, and when they did we were able to take them.
With those guys taken out the lower section is safe and we head down and into the barbarian cave.
There are many different varieties of barb in here: dual-wielders, axe-throwers, shield users, greataxe wielders and archers. Very, very cool. I use Knockdown often. We carve through several barbs and come across Morik Far Eagle, who was the chief of the tribe until he was usurped by Erag Rulash.
This guy looks important. Probably means we shouldn't kill him, dammit. - Dante.
Morik, a Human Chaotic Good Barbarian of tenth level, temporarily joins us to fight the barbs. Since he's built for Greataxe, we give him the Greataxe +1 looted from the minotaur berserker. I also throw him a chain shirt and helm.
More exploring...
Looks like a storage area. These guys are really getting ready for something big. - Dante.
We fight through a slew of raging barbs led by a shaman who attempts to rally the last of his crew against us.
The floor of the next level down is littered with traps which inflict decent fire damage (it's times like these when you wish you had a rogue). The four are set on by another ogre berserker, but it stands no chance against us.
In a sideroom we lay waste to more barbs and loot stashes of gems and Mild Poison Arrows (297).
Disgusted at the sight of two ogres and an ogre mage gloating over the dead body of a ranger, the party charges as one and hacks their tough hides into ribbons of flesh.
Contents of the vault: Wand of Ice Storm, Sword of Valour (+1, +1 Bludg, +2 Fear saves), Archaic Full Plate (-80% weight, on-hit Electric Jolt), Gauntlets of Ogre Power (+2 STR), Helm of Presence (+2 CHA), Tower Shield Vs. Missiles.
Barbarians
We now explore the Southern section. Here, we come across our first barbarians, stationed at a lookout. The scariest barbs are the raging berserkers and shamans.
Ok, these barbarians have a reputation for being very good fighters, and extremely vicious too, so don't hold back when things get bloody. - Dante.
These barbarians fight like demons, but we must have faith in our abilities, and our strength, to overcome these enemies of the kingdom. - Nellise.
High Plains
We climb up from the Southern Foothills onto the High Plains...
The freezing wind here cuts through you like a knife. It is difficult to see through the driving snow. - DM
This area is similar to Cania in Hordes of the Underdark in that you take periodic cold damage from the environment. The damage is 1-4 cold, but this is entirely negated by our Winter Cloaks (Resist Cold 5/-).
Barbarian Fort
There is an imposing barbarian fortification here, which we decide not to gate crash. Instead, we hike upward to a ridge and then circle around the fort to flank the barbs.
Atop a ridge, looking down at the barbs from behind them.
This is about the max number of barbs you want to be fighting at any given time. I've drawn half of them up to the ridge by firing arrows down on them. Some archers are firing from below and the others are closing in (out of view), but we had finished these guys off before the second wave caught up, and when they did we were able to take them.
With those guys taken out the lower section is safe and we head down and into the barbarian cave.
There are many different varieties of barb in here: dual-wielders, axe-throwers, shield users, greataxe wielders and archers. Very, very cool. I use Knockdown often. We carve through several barbs and come across Morik Far Eagle, who was the chief of the tribe until he was usurped by Erag Rulash.
This guy looks important. Probably means we shouldn't kill him, dammit. - Dante.
Morik, a Human Chaotic Good Barbarian of tenth level, temporarily joins us to fight the barbs. Since he's built for Greataxe, we give him the Greataxe +1 looted from the minotaur berserker. I also throw him a chain shirt and helm.
More exploring...
Looks like a storage area. These guys are really getting ready for something big. - Dante.
We fight through a slew of raging barbs led by a shaman who attempts to rally the last of his crew against us.
The floor of the next level down is littered with traps which inflict decent fire damage (it's times like these when you wish you had a rogue). The four are set on by another ogre berserker, but it stands no chance against us.
In a sideroom we lay waste to more barbs and loot stashes of gems and Mild Poison Arrows (297).
Disgusted at the sight of two ogres and an ogre mage gloating over the dead body of a ranger, the party charges as one and hacks their tough hides into ribbons of flesh.
Damn. They got Tommy. He was a good man. That Erag bastard is going to pay. - Dante.
Now only a metal door stands between us and our Half-orc target.
We will show Erag the error of his ways. I'm ready whenever you are. - Nellise.
Erag Rulash
The four bash down the door to Erag's war-room, and are immediately set on by elder shaman Tald Black Tiger - "the defacto ruler and the real power behind Erag" - along with another repulsive ogre and Erag Rulash himself, brandishing a double axe and raging hard. We only had to breathe on Tald and the ogre for them to fall, but Erag lays into us with hard and fast hits.
Now only a metal door stands between us and our Half-orc target.
We will show Erag the error of his ways. I'm ready whenever you are. - Nellise.
Erag Rulash
The four bash down the door to Erag's war-room, and are immediately set on by elder shaman Tald Black Tiger - "the defacto ruler and the real power behind Erag" - along with another repulsive ogre and Erag Rulash himself, brandishing a double axe and raging hard. We only had to breathe on Tald and the ogre for them to fall, but Erag lays into us with hard and fast hits.
Get zu! Get ZALKA! - Erag.
But under a relentless assault from three melee experts, he is unable to hold on for long.
We loot his hulking frame for the Emergency Exit Key, Conquerer's Helm (only useable by Evil), Berserker's Armor (+1 Regen), Double Axe +2 and Amulet of Natural Armor +2. His head will be taken to Redfurn in Bracksworth; proof that the deed is done.
We loot Black Tiger Armor (SR 10) from the bloodied corpse of the squishy druid, and take the Scimitar of Sharpness (+1, Keen) from his cold, dead hand. Dante will be awarded both of these. He'll crit with the scimitar on 15-20.
On a table we find a map with battle plans detailing Erag's intention to take over Bracksworth and Culdeny, but only to occupy, not to destroy. It also details plans of the Steel Tigers merc group to acquire a hostage.
Morik thanks us and leaves the party. We exit the barb cave.
Looks like we've stopped the barbarian invasion in it's tracks. Tommy's been avenged. Farewell mate. - Dante.
We have done a great service to these people today, and to the Kingdom. You should be proud. - Nellise.
Bracksworth Attacked
Back in Bracksworth, we deliver Erag's horrible head to Commander Redfurn (1000 EXP, +1000 GP, +1 Lawful, 50 EXP).
She can fly?
But the high-fives are cut short as Redfurn is assassinated and Bracksworth comes under attack from mercenaries. The blue guys here are the Bracksworth guards.
We loot his hulking frame for the Emergency Exit Key, Conquerer's Helm (only useable by Evil), Berserker's Armor (+1 Regen), Double Axe +2 and Amulet of Natural Armor +2. His head will be taken to Redfurn in Bracksworth; proof that the deed is done.
We loot Black Tiger Armor (SR 10) from the bloodied corpse of the squishy druid, and take the Scimitar of Sharpness (+1, Keen) from his cold, dead hand. Dante will be awarded both of these. He'll crit with the scimitar on 15-20.
On a table we find a map with battle plans detailing Erag's intention to take over Bracksworth and Culdeny, but only to occupy, not to destroy. It also details plans of the Steel Tigers merc group to acquire a hostage.
Morik thanks us and leaves the party. We exit the barb cave.
Looks like we've stopped the barbarian invasion in it's tracks. Tommy's been avenged. Farewell mate. - Dante.
We have done a great service to these people today, and to the Kingdom. You should be proud. - Nellise.
Bracksworth Attacked
Back in Bracksworth, we deliver Erag's horrible head to Commander Redfurn (1000 EXP, +1000 GP, +1 Lawful, 50 EXP).
She can fly?
But the high-fives are cut short as Redfurn is assassinated and Bracksworth comes under attack from mercenaries. The blue guys here are the Bracksworth guards.
Nellise chips in with Hammer of the Gods. Nice divine damage.
The druid, Hasrinaxx, and his leopard, Sebastian, leave their grove and enter the fray as our allies.
Level Up to 8!
Lilura: Champion of Torm (1) / Paladin (3)/ Fighter (4), STR +1
Dante: Ranger (1) / Fighter (7), STR +1
Nellise: Cleric (8), WIS +1
I break into CoT here.
With all the mercs dead and the town defended, we catch up with the mayor in Bracksworth Inn and ask him what the hell the fighting was all about.
Princess Criosa Kidnapped
Apparently, Princess Criosa was staying at the inn and was kidnapped by the mercs (the hostage mentioned in the battle plans). As in Culdeny with the goblins, the same method was used to breach the walls of Bracksworth (tunneling).
The guard captain also informs us that one of his men witnessed the perpetrators leave from the back of the inn, and that a sorcerer was involved. I assure the mayor we'll rescue Criosa and bring her abductors to justice, in the name of the King (+1 Lawful 50 EXP).
Before giving chase, the trio visit the scribe and inform him that we freed the soul of the Exiled Knight (the Spirit of Sir Augustus Charleston, 100 EXP).
Hasrinaxx also agrees to show us some gear he's collected over the years - mostly +2 druid weapons and +3 light armors.
We make our way to the rear of the inn and drop down through the hidden trap door in pursuit of the kidnappers!
There are gouges in the muddy soil that indicate someone was dragged along unwillingly. - Dante.
Told ya they'd chase after her. You owe me 20 gold, Jim! - Mercenary.
Several mercs emerge to cover the two, but don't last long.
A melee blood-bath ensues, and the valiant Dante is struck down dead by our wicked mounted adversary.
Dante is resurrected using one of five Raise Dead scrolls that we had in reserve.
Yeah, way to kick that guy's ass. You've done good kid, real good. - Dante.
Criosa and I now bid farewell to the devastated town of Culdeny and board the longboat to The Redoubtable, bound for Fairloch.
The druid, Hasrinaxx, and his leopard, Sebastian, leave their grove and enter the fray as our allies.
Level Up to 8!
Lilura: Champion of Torm (1) / Paladin (3)/ Fighter (4), STR +1
Dante: Ranger (1) / Fighter (7), STR +1
Nellise: Cleric (8), WIS +1
I break into CoT here.
With all the mercs dead and the town defended, we catch up with the mayor in Bracksworth Inn and ask him what the hell the fighting was all about.
Princess Criosa Kidnapped
Apparently, Princess Criosa was staying at the inn and was kidnapped by the mercs (the hostage mentioned in the battle plans). As in Culdeny with the goblins, the same method was used to breach the walls of Bracksworth (tunneling).
The guard captain also informs us that one of his men witnessed the perpetrators leave from the back of the inn, and that a sorcerer was involved. I assure the mayor we'll rescue Criosa and bring her abductors to justice, in the name of the King (+1 Lawful 50 EXP).
Before giving chase, the trio visit the scribe and inform him that we freed the soul of the Exiled Knight (the Spirit of Sir Augustus Charleston, 100 EXP).
Hasrinaxx also agrees to show us some gear he's collected over the years - mostly +2 druid weapons and +3 light armors.
We make our way to the rear of the inn and drop down through the hidden trap door in pursuit of the kidnappers!
Aielund Saga Act 1 Part V: Steel Tiger Hideout (Ronald Bartlett, Princess Criosa), Siege of Culdeny (Robert Black):
Stormflow River Tunnel
Having dropped down through the trap door and clambered down a ladder, the trio find themselves standing in watery tunnels snaking their way beneath the Stormflow river.
There are gouges in the muddy soil that indicate someone was dragged along unwillingly. - Dante.
Told ya they'd chase after her. You owe me 20 gold, Jim! - Mercenary.
Several mercs and spies attack us at the tunnel's end, but Nellise damages and dazes them with Hammer of the Gods (truly a great spell), turning the tide in our favor. Dante and I then poke at our disabled foes with the pointy ends of our swords, and the encounter is ended.
Central Plains
We clamber up the opposite ladder and come out onto the grassy surface of the Central Plains, as rain in this region continues to fall.
I can make out tracks on the ground here. Someone was being dragged along by two others. The tracks head Northeast. - Dante.
Together we shall show these mercenaries that they are no match for Aielunders! - Nellise.
I ask Nellise to cast all her long term buffing spells on me: Freedom of Movement, Death Ward, Endurance, Bull's Strength, Aid, Protection From Evil and Bless. The trio then sprint East across the grassy plains in search of mercs in need of a killin'.
Here comes the counter-attack, men. Hold this position! - Mercenary Sergeant
Spotting several stationed at a lookout, I charge past the grunts towards the merc spellcaster and make an unsuccessful Knockdown attempt. The wizard then casts Dispel Magic on me while I'm being heavily flanked by the grunts, but only succeeds in removing my Freedom of Movement (see feedback window).
I drop the spellcaster and then attempt to hold my ground against the tower-shielded grunts as Nellise casts Hammer of the Gods, inflicting very decent divine damage and dazing the mercs even as Dante engages with a spy who just melted into action from the shadows.
Ignoring the disabled mercs, I engage the free and dangerous merc sergeant whom I critically hit and then hack to death.
Nellise then casts a precautionary healing spell on me as Dante and I clean up the rest with criticals, cleaves and great cleaves.
I drop the spellcaster and then attempt to hold my ground against the tower-shielded grunts as Nellise casts Hammer of the Gods, inflicting very decent divine damage and dazing the mercs even as Dante engages with a spy who just melted into action from the shadows.
Ignoring the disabled mercs, I engage the free and dangerous merc sergeant whom I critically hit and then hack to death.
Nellise then casts a precautionary healing spell on me as Dante and I clean up the rest with criticals, cleaves and great cleaves.
The battered corpse of the merc sergeant is looted for the Crossbow of Impact (1d10 Massive Criticals), Acid Bolt (98), Bolt of Fire (99), and the merc spellcaster is looted for a Quarterstaff +1 and Ring of Protection +1.
(Note that the mercs are solid foes, it's just that I have very decent AC and can tank them somewhat. I prefer to roll with sword n shield in low level campaigns anyway, because, with low HPs, mitigating damage is more important than inflicting more with two-handed weapons, at least against multiple enemies who are similarly specced. So these battles would be harder without a tank.)
Heading Northward, several more mercs then fail pretty badly in preventing us from reaching this elevated position, pictured below.
The trail leads East, then heads around to the North. There is no sign of anyone being dragged anymore. - Dante.
Just north of this point is the cave entrance to the hideout of the Steel Tigers. Two guards stood guard here alongside a stealthed spy, but they were unable to defend against the buffed trio's righteous attacks. We enter the hideout.
This looks like a natural cave complex. The smell of goblins and death permeates the air. - DM
Make sure you're ready for anything. These guys are well prepared, but at least we have the element of surprise. - Dante.
Steel Tiger Mercenary Hideout
Inside, we are assailed by three more sneak attacking spies whom we promptly put in their place. Rounding a corner, we see our old friend from the Gentlemen's Club, Ronald Bartlett, scurrying away like a rat along with his mercenary captain.
They must not leave here alive! - Bartlett.
We're under attack! Cover our escape! - Mercenary Captain.
Several mercs emerge to cover the two, but don't last long.
We bash down the door to a central room and inside find an unsigned note addressed to Robert Black (Bartlett's "security advisor" from the Gentleman's Club - evidence of his involvement in the kidnapping of Criosa.
There is a trapped chest in here (Rapier +2, Amulet of Will +2).
Onward we wind our way through the narrow caves.
There's a piece of torn cloth here. I think we're on the right track. - Dante.
We walk over another merc sergeant (Heavy Crossbow +1), spellcaster and grunt - after which we gain access to a corridor leading to several rooms.
The three storage rooms are ransacked for two Raise Dead scrolls and scrolls of Web, Mordenkainen's Sword, Slow, Hold Person and Greater Stoneskin. We also loot Acid Arrow (99), Bolt of Fire (99), Ice Bullet (99), and basic potions and knick-knacks.
One of the rooms is used to store the corpses of goblins who once dwelt here.
The stench in here is overwhelming. Apparently, this is where the former inhabitants were dumped. - DM.
Nextdoor to them is the imprisoned Princess Criosa Roebec, her clothing tattered and torn.
There she is. Woah, nice... outfit. - Dante.
Criosa (Human Neutral Good Rogue (6) now joins the party. I have her wield Defender +2 and equip her with whatever else we can spare (she refuses to wear armor). At first it seemed she could only detect traps and not disarm them, but that little glitch seems to have corrected itself somehow.
I sense an ambush ahead. Tread carefully! - Nellise.
We charge towards archers at the end of a corridor who quickly switch to swords when we close in for the kill.
The dual-wielding mercenary captain fights hard, but in vain. Criosa actually manages to land a sneak attack against the spellcaster who cast Darkness.
The merc captain was in possession of decent gear (Bastard Sword +1, Short Sword +1, Helm of Mind Shielding [Bonus Feat: Slippery Mind, Mind Affecting +3], and Amulet of Natural Armor +2.)
We fought well my friend. We just might make it through this in one piece afterall! - Dante.
Steel Tiger Mercenary Hideout Level 2
We descend to level two of the Steel Tiger hideout.
I can see footprints of one man running at full speed here. They lead to the East. - Dante.
Here we encounter and hack down a mighty mountain giant who was standing over Bartlett's flattened corpse (looted for Lord's Attire (+2 CHA) and Gentleman's Rapier). The attire is the fashion of Fairloch and this fact upsets Criosa. A note is found on Bartlett's body addressed to him, signed by "Number One". It indicates that perhaps a lord from Fairloch hired the mercs.
An appropriate ending for a treacherous scoundrel like Bartlett. - Nellise.
Level Up to 9!
Lilura: Champion of Torm (1) / Paladin (4)/ Fighter (4), Divine Might
Dante: Ranger (1) / Fighter (8), Improved Critical: Greatsword
Nellise: Cleric (9), Toughness
(Criosa does not level up...)
There are three beefed up dire spiders in the Northeast here that inflicted debilitating poison on all of us, but we had just enough antidotes and scrolls to restore ourselves.
In the Northeast there is a cool looking creature to fight, called a Bulette. It was disappointingly easy to kill, though.
More bloody dire spiders, these things suck. Miraculously, we made all our Fort saves this time.
Barring the exit to the hideout is a second mountain giant leering over the corpses of four stomped-on victims, whom we loot for a Lesser Restoration scroll and misc. garbage.
Siege of Culdeny
A way out, at last! We've almost made it! - Nellise.
We exit out to the mountain pass...
... and onto the Eastern Highway where we run into friendly guards who heroically join up with us against the Steel Tigers besieging Culdeny.
I have Nellise buff me into a juggernaut as I quaff potions of Speed and Eagle's Splendor. I have Dante quaff potions of Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace and Endurance, then have Nellise do the same.
Dante now returns to wielding the Greatsword +1 because he wisely took Improved Critical at level 9.
Hey, if we don't make it through this, I just wanted you to know, it was an honor to fight alongside you. Now, let's give 'em hell! - Dante.
Though powerful forces stand in our path, we must push onwards and pray that we prevail. Good luck to us all. - Nellise.
To arms! To battle! - PC
Thirsting for merc blood, the thugged out party sprints down the hill towards the siege engine and bridge leading to Culdeny.
We smash through the first wave consisting of two merc elites, an archer, a spy and an engineer operating a trebuchet. (Nellise needs to be carefully micro-managed here otherwise she'll waste Circle of Doom and Flame Strike before the real fight even starts).
Black Cavalier
The cavalier, Robert Black, thunders in on his dark steed as multiple merc elites also converge on the party. A sorcerer stands on the bridge, keeping his distance. Note my positioning at this point, especially Nellise's distance from the enemies - this is key. If she's too close she'll wade into the fray with her mace and heal-spam Dante and I (which isn't enough to keep us alive). But if she's at this distance, she'll unleash AoEs on my command (attack nearest). I had her follow and then stand her ground until the enemy clump together, as this obviously makes her AoEs hit more targets. The stupid guards have already charged, but there's nothing I can do about that.
At this point Dante and I have tanked the grunts and the hard-hitting cavalier, and Nellise has unleashed Circle of Doom and Flame Strike to soften them up.
You've been a real thorn in my side - but your meddling ends here. - Robert Black.
A melee blood-bath ensues, and the valiant Dante is struck down dead by our wicked mounted adversary.
Flank them! Take them down NOW! - Black
The PC avenges the death by sending Black toppling from his horse. He hits the deck hard, laying there lifelessly (+532 EXP).
Criosa and the PC then chase down the sorcerer on the bridge and fill him full of holes, then stab dead the last remaining straggling archer.
Dante is resurrected using one of five Raise Dead scrolls that we had in reserve.
Robert Black's broken body is relieved of the Dark Cloak (Hide +1), Cavalier Helm (+5 Ride) and Full Plate of Fear (Fear, once per day), Tower Shield of Magic Protection, Bastard Sword +2. Note the inventory has two pages.
Yeah, way to kick that guy's ass. You've done good kid, real good. - Dante.
Culdeny
With clear passage now, the heroic four cross the bridge and enter the dragon-ravaged town of Culdeny, still ablaze from the air assault. Upon entry we're welcomed by Commander Ariel Smith who rewards us for defeating Robert Black and returning stability to the region (+1500 GP, +1000 EXP). I also tell Criosa I'm glad to be of service (+2 Good, +150 EXP).
Criosa now wishes to leave for Fairloch upon the naval vessel, The Redoubtable, but first we need to offload piles of loot. The merchants are mostly without stock but are at least cashed up again. It seems they can pay up to 5,000 GP for a single item but can only purchase about 8,000 GP's worth of items before you can't sell to them anymore. Not a big deal, it just means you have to visit them all to find a buyer.
Unfortunately, Dante and Nellise desire to leave the party soon (explanations in pics), but at least they give fair warning (unlike Chapter 2 Hordes). I strip them of their gear and sell off unneeded loot (+30,000 GP). I keep a broad variety of items, as I'm not sure which Henchmen will be available to me next.
Criosa and I now bid farewell to the devastated town of Culdeny and board the longboat to The Redoubtable, bound for Fairloch.
This concludes Act One of the Aielund Saga
| Aielund Saga Act 1: Nature Abhors a Vacuum | Aielund Saga Act 3: Return of the Ironlord |
| Aielund Saga Act 2: Defender of the Crown | Aielund Saga Act 4: The Fall of Aielund |
" (I'm positive at this point that the creator of this module designed at least early Aielund with the expectation that the player is fairly diligent in finding the content and completing it before moving on and getting over their heads.)"
ReplyDeleteMore or less, yes, though there's really only a few big important landmarks at this point.
1. Get to level 2 prior to leaving town.
2. Get to level 3 prior to going after the bandits.
3. Ideally hit level 4 prior to fighting Black Pete (if you choose to do so) since it can definitely be a hard fight otherwise.
"Bug: I found the Dockmaster's body in a warehouse crate but my journal didn't update and Kipper had no dialogue when I brought him the body. This means I'm unable to cap off the quest in the journal, oh well."
Yeah. Sorry : /
Somehow managed to not hit that bug during testing so Savant didn't fix it.
No, probs. I expect bugs. I also welcome the oldskool design of thoroughly scouring areas for quest/loots/etc or you might find yourself in deep water.
DeleteHow about some EASY MONEY? I found you're complaining about shortage of gold in the first Act. It is true, but there is an easy - and seemingly legitimate - way to make easy money early in the game thanks to light gems sold in the shop with exotics in Culdeny.
ReplyDeleteThis way of earning money along with making traps was vital for progression e.g. in "Dance with Rogues" module. Anyway, I believe if Savant put light gems into Aielund Saga, he assumed it is a legitimate action to earn money this way.
Light gems cost ca. 10 gold each and are - more or less - an equivalent of Continual Flame cast by clerics and wizards. All of the light gems add a constant property to an object, thus raising its market value. Pure gain on normal weapon is around 200 gold, and the better the item, the better the added value. Some weapons treated this way can gain even 3000 or more in value (unfortunately most merchants, apart from the druid in the town we start in, have a 5000 item cap attributed to them). Thanks to this trick I boarded a ship away from Culdeny with more than 100 000 gold and I already had in my pocket expensive gimmicks such as unlimited-magic-missile crossbow praised by my Paladin/Sorcerer.
"Anyway, I believe if Savant put light gems into Aielund Saga, he assumed it is a legitimate action to earn money this way."
DeleteYou would be wrong. He put light gems into Aielund Saga so that you could apply a source of light to gear and not be walking in darkness at night or underground if you wished to avoid that circumstance. It was absolutely not intended to be a way to make money -- using it in that method is at legitimate as just giving yourself gold using console commands. Same validity, same end result, and a lot less time needed.
The problem is that avoiding that issue would require doing one of six things (possibly more options that I'm not thinking of off-hand):
1, remove the light gems. This sucks for people who actually do want to use them legitimately and get some light around their characters.
2, make the light gems massively expensive. Again, this sucks for people who actually do want to use them legitimately and get some light around their characters. It doesn't even necessarily fix the problem longer term on even more expensive items (like you noted, items can easily gain over 3000 gold in value).
3, rewrite the item property cost 2da so that light does not add value. That's a considerable amount of effort to try to avoid people cheating in a game where they can already just give themselves gold via console commands.
4, make items that get light added not able to be sold in some fashion (could mark it as plot for 0g, stolen and not have any merchants accept stolen goods, or cursed so the player can't even get rid of it). Again, this sucks for people who actually do want to use them legitimately and get some light around their characters.
5, the same as #4 except create an item that will remove the light property (and the plot/stolen/cursed flag), meaning that the item could be sold at its usual value. Again, this sucks for people who actually do want to use them legitimately and get some light around their characters and again takes more author effort.
6, the same as #4, except making an item that automatically calculates the value of light, gives you the gold value of the item directly without counting the light, and destroys the item. Again, this sucks for people who actually do want to use them legitimately and get some light around their characters and again takes more author effort.
The common theme here is "if people really want to cheat then trying to stop that is more effort than it's worth, particularly in a game with easy access to console commands anyway where you can just flat out give yourself gold."
Interesting remark, but I have not considered myself cheater so far. My line of thought was that removal of light gems would not hurt at all - I mean you could have left players only with torches as a pure, genuine, realistic medieval source of light and they would still manage to complete the game :) Or you could have presented gamers with only a very, very limited set of light gems. This would be quite easy to do when preparing a module. Still I wonder if Stephen L. Nowland would agree with you. Especially that in e.g. "Dance with Rogues" selling items enhanced by light gems as well as capitalizing on making and selling traps was a strongly suggested thing, advised in every walkthrough. It seemingly was supposed to be a part of game experience.
Delete"My line of thought was that removal of light gems would not hurt at all - I mean you could have left players only with torches as a pure, genuine, realistic medieval source of light and they would still manage to complete the game"
Delete- 2H using characters would have to unequip the 2H to pull out the torch and vice versa.
- shield using characters couldn't have the torch active with the shield, which makes them more vulnerable
- dual-wielding characters would need to keep unequipping the torch in their offhand and equipping their actual offhand weapon
- crossbow/bow using characters fall under the category of 2H, see above
- gnome/halfling mages would have to unequip their magic staff to pull out the torch (2H for them)
Yes, that can be set up on the action bar, but that's having to use up two action bar slots and creating an annoyance for the player to have to switch like that.
"Or you could have presented gamers with only a very, very limited set of light gems."
Or he didn't even realize that was possible (and apparently I never noticed the gems on my beta testing)...or knew it was possible but agreed with my logic above about how at a certain point people can cheat if they want and it's not worth the effort to stop them.
"Still I wonder if Stephen L. Nowland would agree with you."
He would. At this point the only person with a better understanding of his intentions with Aielund than myself is...Stephen Nowland himself. Literally played through each module several times (ranging between 3 and 5-6 times per module) with constant (lengthy) feedback/bug reports during and between each playthrough during the beta testing for his 2.0 release. And he would reply back with emails that ranged from mentioning the bug(s) had been squashed to saying something was changed based on feedback to explaining his intentions for something in order to open a dialogue on how best to fix/improve/polish something.
I never mentioned using light gems during all that and he never asked me about them.
Nor does anything of my general understanding of the man suggest he intended that at all.
But, if it would make you feel better, I could bother him with an email so you could be sure you were abusing something he never intended.
"Especially that in e.g. "Dance with Rogues" selling items enhanced by light gems as well as capitalizing on making and selling traps was a strongly suggested thing, advised in every walkthrough."
DeleteI've played/beaten ADWR with no combat difficulties and never did either of those things. It did not seem to me that selling traps (outside of recovering them through disarm trap and then selling them) was an intentional thing.
However, as I have not exchanged hundreds of emails with ADWR's author I'm not going to make any claim about knowing her intentions specifically.
That said, any time you apparently find an "infinite money" or "infinite XP" opportunity in a game that has non-renewable resources...alarm bells should probably start ringing. Why? Because in a game with renewable resources, it's about opportunity cost. If you're making those traps you're not doing a dungeon with the other people online, for example. You are always giving up *something* no matter what you do (in terms of game consequences) because you *could* be using that time for something else.
But stuff like buying infinite vendor mats and making traps and selling the traps in a campaign? The campaign won't progress on its own (usually, some games defy that trope -- see Majora's Mask as a partial example). You're not falling behind on anything. You could sit there for a RL year and make traps and the game's plot will just wait and act like the events of the game took place within a few days or months -- even if you've literally spent more time making traps than that.
Or, in other words, you're literally creating something (gold) from nothing (no actual in-game cost/consequence). Might as well use the console and save yourself some time.
You might have convinced me. TO defend myself I can only say that while playing games I always look for all logical consequences of the system and try to use them to benefit without really cheating (you know it's comparable to a mindset by investment banker: you start from operational analysis of capitalist system's money generating procedures and this logics ultimately leads you to creating an investment software, which generates income with rapid investment decisions almost automatically --- hey, is this cheating? :) )
ReplyDeleteBut if you are so sure this was not intended, I will have guilty conscience (still, if you could obtain answer from Stephen that would be great). Anyway, you know what? I am in act II now and I may just consider finding an empty chest and leaving there next 150 000 gold I find as a form of penance (this is approximate amount of gold I "created")
Also, thanks for the remark about "time factor" and alternative cost. If time passes independently, things really look different. I wonder if NWN engine could be capable of simulating something like this at all (e.g. could there be procedures triggered by in-game dates)
"Hi Bal! Yes, I didn't intend that to be a money maker, it's just a quirk of the system. If you can fix that, do so. Feel free to drop me a line anytime, I'm mostly just writing my novels these days :)"
DeleteThere you go.
"TO defend myself I can only say that while playing games I always look for all logical consequences of the system and try to use them to benefit without really cheating"
Part of the issue in a game like NWN especially is that module authors are often not as familiar with the game and especially with the game's quirks as a professional company can be. And even professional companies wind up not spotting everything -- in WoW, for example, shadow priests developed a new playstyle (that was slightly better than the obvious playstyle) never thought of or intended by Blizzard. It was only like a 2-5% increase in power overall and Blizzard didn't change it, they liked the emergent playstyle...but they never intended it.
It's no more cheating that giving yourself gold with the console is, no. People quibble all the time about whether you can even "cheat" in a single player game in the first place.
DeleteI mean, Lilura, the simplest "solution" here is to just remove the light gems. Sucks for people who would use them legitimately but all other options either hurt legitimate users more than the current (or removed) situation or take way too much time/effort.