Welcome to Part IX of my Icewind Dale walkthrough; this part covering the subtowers of the Severed Hand, and Larrel.
Severed Hand Subtowers
Having thoroughly explored the main tower or palm of the Hand, we must now explore its four extant subtowers or fingers.
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| (cf. IWD2 version) |
This can be done in any order; thus, exploration is non-linear as per levels 1-4 of the palm.
While not the most efficient mode of progression through the tower, finding Larrel is certainly the most logical and pressing. At this point in the proceedings we don't know anything about the piece of broken machinery. And, above all, we need Larrel to scry with the Heartstone.
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| Labelas first level, torn asunder (cf. IWD2 version). |
Lethias mentioned that Larrel dwells in the Labelas tower. But there is a problem: ascension through that tower has been made impossible by Larrel's willful destruction of its first level. Now, all that remains are huge chunks of rubble suspended in mid-air. A short cutscene showing his Sending makes it clear that Larrel destroyed the level in order to prevent the horde's assault on the subtower as he prepared to cast the mythal.
Sheverash Tower
This tower is named after the demipower of Arborea and Limbo, Shevarash the Black Archer (cf. Lehland). It consists of four combat zones the third of which grants access to a bridge leading to the second level of Labelas tower.
Kaylessa
Warming herself by flickering flames on the first level is the non-hostile spirit of the elven warrior and weapon master, Kaylessa.
We inquire into Larrel's whereabouts, learn of his Astrolabe, and find out that Kaylessa has one of the machine's missing parts in her possession...
... but she won't give it to us until we have granted her warriors eternal rest.
Thus, it is a matter of storming the second and third levels of Shevarash tower in order to vanquish 25 shadowed elven forces of swordsman and archer kind. This is pretty straightforward though barricades and tanks are employed to make it more difficult to get at the crack-shot snipers.
Having granted her warriors eternal rest we return to Kaylessa for 52,500 XP. She requests one final thing of us...
... and we oblige. We now have a second piece of broken machinery in our possession.
Labelas Tower
As mentioned before, there is an exit on the third level which grants us access to a bridge leading to the second level of Labelas tower. In attempting to cross we are assailed by shadowed swordsmen and archers along with one cleric and one web-casting wizard.
Housing living quarters, library and astrolabe, this tower is named after the intermediate power of Arborea, Labelas Enoreth (cf. Lehland). It's cool how we can catch a glimpse of the destroyed first level from a hole in the floor on the second.
The living quarters of the second level are guarded by three wizards, one cleric and two swordsmen. This combat encounter can be brutal especially for those who failed to scout the place out beforehand. The enemy spellcasters are "suicidal" in that they drop immobilization and direct damage AoEs on themselves such as Web, Stinking Cloud and Ice Storm.
Diary of Evayne
The diary of Larrel's daughter, Evayne, is found in her bedroom along with a random item and arcane scrolls Greater Malison and Improved Invisibility.
A library is located on the third level the caretaker for which, Custhantos, is oblivious to being dead. Much research on elven lore can be conducted through the many tomes on offer. These are added to our inventory as items and may be perused at leisure.
Mythal Theory
Of particular note is the book on Mythal Theory.
This can be delivered to Orrick who requested it when we first met him (in Part III).
The reward is 24,000 XP and one of these items. Nice. Mithran's Cloak is clearly the most useful of that pool.
However, it's about one dozen area transitions from here to Orrick so it's better to wait until Larrel can teleport us out of the Hand.
Custhantos
According to Custhantos, Maiden Ilmadia - who it turns out is one of Brother Poquelin's lieutenants - came to the Hand and took two of the tomes: Ecology of the Unicorn and Elameth's Compendium. He notes that she was loud and rude and did not bear the emblem of the Hand. We won't come across the elven maiden or find out why she wanted those books until we reach Lower Dorn's Deep in Part XII.
Larrel: Astrolabe
We now finally catch up with Larrel in his Astrolabe. As his Sending has suggested to us twice already, Larrel is addled in the head. He doesn't even acknowledge our presence. However, he does hint at what needs to be done:
Translation: "Grant the spirits of the elves eternal rest (and in so doing find the missing parts to the Astrolabe, that it may be repaired). Then, I will awaken and talk to you."
Gelarith
Flanking Larrel is the spirit of the engineer who designed and built the Astrolabe, Gelarith. This grump makes it clear that more parts need to be found.
So now it's time to pull our finger out and acquire the other two parts. Where are they, though? Well, they must be in the two other subtowers: Solonor and Corellon.
Solonor Tower
This tower is named after the intermediate power of Arborea, Solonor Thelandira (cf. Lehland).
Denaini
Standing in the cold windy shrine of the first level is the non-hostile spirit of the elven priestess, Denaini.
Denaini is the most informative of elven spirits. She gives information about the Hand, Larrel and the Mythal.
We won't get better exposition than that until we awaken Larrel (and, by then, we're done with the Hand).
As with Kaylessa, she requests that we grant her underlings eternal rest...
... But she also hints that holy water could be used to purify the shrine-pools.
Thus, it is a matter of storming the second, third and fourth levels of Solonor in order to vanquish 30 or so elven clergy spirits consisting of acolytes, clerics and one tougher priest.
The undead clergy can be troublesome due to their repertoire of buffs, debuffs and immobilizers such as Strength of One, Recitation, Entangle, Silence, Miscast Magic, Mental Domination and Cloak of Fear. The pulpits and pews (highlighted in the above and below screencaps) serve as physical barriers to mobbing the clerics. There are also two instances of clerics spawning on the perimeter as a result of invisible proximity triggers. These I have annotated as "surprise spawns."
Along with a random pool that potentially yields a sexy set of elven chainmail, a cylindrical piece of broken machinery is found in a chest on the priest's pulpit of the third level. In the priest's quarters on the fourth and highest level, holy water is found.
The reward from Denaini for delivering the holy water and vanquishing the undead clergy is 52,500 and 24,000 XP respectively. The material rewards are static and not notable in comparison to what we already have.
Ok, moving on to the final tower:
Corellon Tower
This tower is named after the intermediate power of Arborea, Corellon Larethian (cf. Lehland).
Unlike Shevarash and Solinor, there is no dialogue to kick us off in Corellon. We must simply fight through 30-odd shadowed forces of wizard, cleric, swordsmen and archer kind headed up by several tougher officers. The first and second levels have invisible triggers on the floor which, when crossed, spawn flankers and aggro on both sides. These battles are pretty easy, however.
Valestis
Standing forlornly in the arboretum of the fourth and highest level of Corellon is Valestis.
Valestis tells us some history and offers a quest similar to Denaini:
Restoring the Arboretum
The items needed for restoration of the arboretum include seeds, a cage of exotic birds, a cage of squirrels and a barrel of pure water. These items do not exist in the Hand: perhaps ironically, they are found in the subterranean Upper & Lower Dorn's Deep --
-- Which we are going to be en route to now because we have the four missing parts. We now return to the Astrolabe in Labelas for one of the best chapter transitions in cRPG history...
Larrel IWD
Larrel Dialogue
Now the Astrolabe is functioning and so are Larrel's mental faculties.
At our request, the polite and clear-voiced Baelnorn Archmage tells us of the time of Prosperity...
... of the time of Betrayal...
... and of the time of Darkness:
This is really good stuff. The character of Larrel is well-written.
In regard to the Betrayal, cf. Evayne's Journal and Norlinor (Chapter Four). We won't learn who was responsible for arming the dark-horde orcs until we reach Lower Dorn's Deep in Chapter Six (cf. Nym).
The Heartstone Gem is now handed to Larrel...
... and awesome narration by David Ogden Stiers - the best ever - ensues:
Larrel: Scrying of the Heartstone
Freed from the shackles of his tormented mind, the cursed elven lord was at last able to assist the heroes in their quest. Handing over the Heartstone Gem, the party stood back and watched Larrel begin his divination.
With the artifact raised before him, clutched tightly in his skeletal hands, the undead sorcerer peered intently into the gem as he whispered a series of strange chants and incantations.
A spark of light briefly flashed within the gem as if a ray of sunlight had caught upon its surface - and suddenly, reflected in the mirrored facets of the stone, there appeared an image of a statue. The statue was clearly a monument of sorts, depicting an elf and a dwarf, sitting side by side on a dual-throne.
Thus, the evil plaguing Kuldahar has its source in Dorn's Deep. Finally! We slew 1000 monsters in no fewer than 30 dungeons in order to get this information.
At this point we can hand over Evayne's diary to her father, Larrel.
However, inquiring into her fate only brings him pain. We will need to show Larrel her journal, which we won't find until we reach the Hall of Heroes in Upper Dorn's Deep. Perhaps then, Labelas will allow him to leave this world for Arvandor...
And this concludes the wonderful Severed Hand portion of the campaign. And, what may be surprising, is that the campaign actually manages to get better than this (though the character of Larrel may highlight the best of IWD's writing).
Larrel can now teleport us to Kuldahar or directly to Upper Dorn's Deep. Recommended progression is:
• Travel to UDD first in order to trigger Chapter Four
• Immediately return to Kuldahar to purchase Orrick's updated vendor inventory [search for string "demi" in this post]
• Return to UDD
Experience points: 148,550 kXP + 271,000 qXP = 419,550 total XP (1,323,395)
Killcount: 112 (1140)
The following arcane spell scrolls were found in the subtowers of the Hand: Beltyn's Burning Blood, Greater Malison, Improved Invisibility, Protection from Normal Missiles, Remove Curse, Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Cloudkill, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Stoneskin and a second instance of Icelance.
Of those, Improved Invisibility is most useful in that it effectively grants us -4 AC along with a four-point bonus to saves. Stoneskin is most useful to arcane spellcasters in that it basically makes us immune to raw damage for 1-4 attacks + 1 attack per two levels of the caster. It does not protect us from on-hit elemental or on-hit magical effects. Mirror Image protects against the former but not the latter.
Otiluke's Resilient Sphere is a cheesy spell in most D&D-based games in that it makes the recipient completely impervious to damage. The downside of the recipient being unable to move is barely an issue when one considers the tanking power afoot coupled with extra-dumb AI. I never use this spell.
Lastly, MGoI is underrated. Immunity to spell circles 1-3 is no joke.
In regard to items in general there is not much to write home about. Not compared to what we already have, anyway. Though Elven Chainmail of the Hand +3 is nice for its decent AC and facilitation of arcane spellcasting. Kaylessa's random drops are mostly nice, too. She also potentially drops elven chain but hers grants Dex +1 in addition. Her bow is solid (Dex +1, THAC0 +3, dmg +3), her ring is useless and her gloves are the pick of the pool (Dex +1, AC +1).
She also statically drops the Boots of Speed: one of the most coveted items on the Infinity Engine.
The party is currently 8th level. Breakdown of current AC sources for supertanker:
- Base AC: 10 (AC 10)
- 18 Dex: +4 (AC 6)
- Plate Mail: +8 (AC -1)
- Red Knight's Shield: +4 (AC -5)
- Helm of the Trusted Defender: +3 (AC -8)
- Mithran's Cloak: +3 (AC -11)
- Black Wolf Talisman: +1 (AC -12)
- Girdle of Beatification: +1 (AC -13)
- Kaylessa's Gloves: +1 (AC -14)
- Battleaxe +2: Defender: +2 (AC -16) (AC -19 vs. slashing)
- Prayer + Recitation: +3 (AC -19)
- Defensive Harmony: +4 (AC -23)
- Improved Invisbility: +4 (AC -27)
cf. pre-Hand AC.
Of course, once we reach supertanker AC it is possible to sub out a few items in order to make the combat unit slightly more efficient in offense or more resistant to the elements (and still maintain crit hit-only defense). It is also more sensible to share the AC around a bit. Well, if we have a few physical-based damage dealers in the party, that is. No point leaving our other two guys at AC -3 when we can get them both to -7 and still have our supertanker embarrassing enemy THAC0.
Next up: CHAPTER 4 ICEWIND DALE.
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