Vale of Shadows IWD
Welcome to Part IV of my Icewind Dale walkthrough; this part, covering the cRPG dungeons in the Vale of Shadows.
Having milked the Prologue, Kuldahar Pass and Kuldahar itself for experience points, the party has reached second level. Most notably, two of our tanks sport Free Action status, and our Mage has Web scribed to her spellbook. The benefits of this combo have been explained in Part III, and also in Best Spells.
Also notable, is that our gnome tank sports lordly Armor Class IWD of -4. What does that mean, though? It means that most monsters in the Vale of Shadows need to roll natural 20s in order to hit him (a 5% chance of scoring a critical hit).
Moreover, once we can afford to purchase it from Conlan (usually around the midway point of the Vale of Shadows), the Helm of the Trusted Defender results in - what is at that point (relative to enemy THAC0 IWD) - a fourth level supertanker (AC -7).
The Vale of Shadows is a snowy, yeti-infested canyon consisting of a series of centuries-old crypts infested with spectral, skeletal and cadaverous undead.
We are exploring the Vale of Shadows on behalf of archdruid Arundel, who has requested that we seek out the evil plaguing Kuldahar.
Yeti Pelts
En route to the crypts, the only enemies encountered are yetis and lesser shadows. Yeti pelts may be sold to Conlan in Kuldahar for 50 GP each. Bearing in mind that, after the first transaction, Conlan will only pay 20 GP each, it is best to fill our inventory slots with 16 pelts and flog them to him all at once (800 GP). It is possible to return to the Vale and farm pelts by provoking on-rest spawns, but it's just not worth it. Rapid accumulation of wealth comes from raiding the dungeons, anyway.
In the center of the map, slay the Yeti Chieftain, loot Mirek's Family Heirloom from its corpse and return it to Mirek in Kuldahar (2,400 XP).
Raid the Vale Crypts for Keys & Holy Artifacts
The crypts are raided as the heroes search for keys which in turn grant them access to a dungeon guarded by legions of undead commanded by the spirit of the Barbarian King, Kresselack the Black Wolf.
The Vale hosts three small crypts...
... and one larger, more difficult crypt...
... followed by a three-zone dungeon crawl that isn't going to be a cake-walk for new players.
Vale of Shadows Key Locations
- The Gate Key is found on an altar in Crypt AR3101. It opens the gate to Kresselack's dungeon. The item code for the Gate Key is KEYGATE.
- The Sanctum Key is found in a coffin in Crypt AR3301. It opens a door in Kresselack's dungeon Level 1. The item code for the Sanctum Key is KEYSANC.
- The Priest's Key is found in a sarcophagus in Kresselack's Dungeon Level 1 AR3501. It opens a door in Level 1. The item code for the Priest's Key is KEYPRST.
- Mausoleum Key is found in a sarcophagus in Kresselack's Dungeon Level 1 AR3501. It opens the door to Kresslack's Dungeon Level 2. The item code for the Mausoleum Key is KEYMAUS.
- The Holy Symbol of Myrkul is found in a sarcophagus in Kresselack's Dungeon Level 1 AR3501. It opens the door to Mytos. The item code for the Holy Symbol of Myrkul is HOLYSYM.
- The Plain Key is found on a table in Kresselack's Dungeon Level 2 AR3502. It opens the door to Kresselack's Dungeon Level 3. The item code for the Plain Key is KEYNRM.
- The Black Wolf Talisman is found on a corpse in Kresselack's Dungeon Level 2 AR3502. The Black Wolf Talisman activates a Switch on an upright, banner-draped structural pillar in AR3502 at exact location (x=930, y=890), which opens the door to Kresselack himself.
In five of those seven areas, mobs of undead swarm us upon entry. Some come in from the sides, too. So? Well, it means we can't just have our tank draw all the aggro. We need to adjust our party formation and do our best to keep squishy party members out of harm's way.
Obvious threat posed by the swarming undead aside (no fewer than 250, all told), it is hold and disease negative status effects that are deadliest. At this level, an immobilized or diseased character is a dead character. Which is why one doesn't simply enter IWD dungeons without Free Action status and Mummy's Tea.
Also deadly is a fireball trap that can turn fledgling parties into cinders, along with the stinking cloud unleashed by skeletal mages, and the magic missile spam unleashed by imbued wights. Nasty, nasty stuff.
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| Did I mention there were undead in the Vale? |
While several spell scrolls are found in the tombs, Haste is the most notable acquisition in that it doubles ApR for the entire party. The easily-missable Blindness comes in second. Also, magical weapons are vital because mid-tier undead such as wights and mummies are immune to non-magical ones. Luckily, these are readily itemized in the crypts.
Constituting 50% of all Vale enemies, skeletal undead also sport 50% piercing and slashing resistance, so crushing aka bludgeoning weapons are advisable wields.
Being primarily a series of combat zones populated by undead, there are logically not many dialogue opportunities in the Vale. However, similar to Black Isle's own Planescape: Torment, not all of the undead are mindless. In fact, some are not only capable of stringing words together but can also hold down a conversation.
Therik: Armored Skeleton
Armored skeleton Therik is the first crypt denizen that can be questioned:
Mmm... that didn't go down too well.
Mmm... that didn't go down too well.
Bone Dancer Mytos of Myrkul
Now in Kresselack's dungeon, let's see what we can get out of Bone Dancer Mytos, a servant of Myrkul:
This undead Myrkulite priest sounds a little more educated. We push a bit:
We are awarded 3,225 XP for trying to reason with Mytos. Of interest is that Paladins, Clerics and Druids can enter into a flavor convo about the Dark Art of Necromancy, which results in another 3,225 XP...
... But there is no way to bypass hostilities. It is now a matter of ploughing through scores and scores of undead, en route to Kresselack's tomb.
This undead Myrkulite priest sounds a little more educated. We push a bit:
We are awarded 3,225 XP for trying to reason with Mytos. Of interest is that Paladins, Clerics and Druids can enter into a flavor convo about the Dark Art of Necromancy, which results in another 3,225 XP...
... But there is no way to bypass hostilities. It is now a matter of ploughing through scores and scores of undead, en route to Kresselack's tomb.
Kresselack Icewind Dale
Upon arrival in the bowels of the dungeon, the spirit of the Barbarian King is confronted:
Where and who, though?
Well, there is only one icy cave in the canyon. A yeti-infested one. And it is there that we find Lysan.
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| Kresselack is a demon knight sprite, made transparent. |
Where and who, though?
Well, there is only one icy cave in the canyon. A yeti-infested one. And it is there that we find Lysan.
Lysan, Priestess of Auril
We ask about the tenets of Lysan's faith...
... only to learn that she's a fundie who won't be content until Kuldahar is destroyed.
Lysan is pretty weak, and so are the yetis by this point.
Pre-Vale, Lysan can be spoken to as a barmaid in the tavern of Kuldahar. Paladins who cast Detect Evil will know her alignment but no option is given to investigate her motives. If we meet her pre-Vale then we can expose her in the icy cave immediately. At any rate, upon her death we can inform barkeep Whitcomb of her antics and receive her belongings which include a few scrolls and the Mantle of the Coming Storm (AC +1, Fire/Cold resistance +30%).
Lastly, it turns out that Lysan became the inspiration for three Auril Priestesses in Icewind Dale II.
***
... but he did tell us his story when we asked...
... and it was a pretty good one.
Plus, he allowed us to loot his sarcophagus:
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| Giant Two Handed Sword (random), Black Helm, Black Plate and Kresselack's Sword. |
Bad ass.
We report back to Arundel to inform him that the evil plaguing Kuldahar does not have its source in the Vale. The archdruid of Silvanus gives us our next lead, though: The Temple of the Forgotten God.
- Experience points: 68,365 kXP + 28,975 qXP = 97,340 total XP (110,560)
- Killcount: 299 (408)
Party of heroes climbs to fifth level. Supertanker sports AC -9. Along with Web and Free Action, this is key when facing off against hard-hitting giantkin.
Next up: Temple of the Forgotten God Icewind Dale.
Vale of Shadows Itemization
Itemization is well-tempered. None of the static or random loot screams "over-powered". The Black Wolf Talisman is the most coveted static item for its AC +1/HPs +10 whereas the four random pools can most notably yield the Reinforced Large Shield +1 (AC +2, AC +1 vs. missile, 10% slashing resistance). This shield is actually the best on the Infinity Engine if we go by my armorset criteria. RLS+1 will remain useful throughout the campaign.
There are a couple of interesting random weapons, too, namely, Dazer +1 (5% on-hit 3-round Stun) and Diseased Halberd +1 (10% on-hit disease). On-hit Stun is no-save and MR/immunity-bypassing whereas the on-hit disease is deadly because it stacks, disrupts spellcasting, and does not stop eating away at the victim's HP pool. Remember, enemies do not have priests to cure them or Mummy's Tea to quaff. Thus, they are dead meat once infected. Of course, the halberd is not so useful in the undead-infested Vale but it can be useful in subsequent combat zones.
Most of the random items are useful and I like how some weapons have drawbacks. Take for example the Giant Halberd. It inflicts 2d8 raw piercing but penalizes THAC0 by one point, AC by two points, and requires 18 Strength to wield. Reckless, but damaging. And above all, cool.
There are a couple of interesting random weapons, too, namely, Dazer +1 (5% on-hit 3-round Stun) and Diseased Halberd +1 (10% on-hit disease). On-hit Stun is no-save and MR/immunity-bypassing whereas the on-hit disease is deadly because it stacks, disrupts spellcasting, and does not stop eating away at the victim's HP pool. Remember, enemies do not have priests to cure them or Mummy's Tea to quaff. Thus, they are dead meat once infected. Of course, the halberd is not so useful in the undead-infested Vale but it can be useful in subsequent combat zones.
Most of the random items are useful and I like how some weapons have drawbacks. Take for example the Giant Halberd. It inflicts 2d8 raw piercing but penalizes THAC0 by one point, AC by two points, and requires 18 Strength to wield. Reckless, but damaging. And above all, cool.
I also like the randomness of IWD loot. Our lucky finds can change our warrior's proficiency allocations and even the way we play the game. Also, it facilitates replays.
Consumables (scrolls, potions and wands) are not thrown about like confetti though what is itemized keeps our party on their feet and fighting for longer periods, without the need to rest in order to heal up or refresh arcane and divine spell slots. Afterall, resting provokes respawns with a high percentage chance. If we use consumables in the zones in which they are found (instead of hoarding them to the point of clogging up our inventory because who knows, we might need them for end-game), the combat encounter design becomes somewhat easier. Which is the whole point.
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