Dariuss
11-03-2006, 04:37 PM
I love group play. i have a main character (a sorc) that will soon be capped again I am sure.
But for a change of pace i thought i'd make a solo character.
My goal is to go through all the content in the game, solo. And I thought I'd share the adventure with you all.
Here are the rules I've set up:
At each level he must:
Complete all quests of his current level on Normal
Complete all quests at one level below on Hard
Complete all quests of two levels below on Elite.
He cannot repeat a quest, after finishing it on Elite (so no loot runs) - Added Nov. 5, 2006
He cannot level up until he has completed those missions, even if he has enough XP.
He can use only what he finds in the game (including AH), no 'twinking'.
He is going ot be a cleric/paladin with 1 level of Rogue. His Skill Points will go into DD and Open Locks (he'll need items to help with this at higher levels).
No UMD, so no wands (no ARCANE wands I should say). Only his weapons, innate skills, cunning, and Divine magicks.
November 1, 2006 - The Adventure Begins!
My trusty dorf disembarked the boat in Stormreach and helped a local tavernkeep with some issues in his basement. Then he was off to seek his fortune.
The Goodblade quests on Normal were a breeze so i did those on Hard as well (hey, no rule against jumping ahead). Died once in the Daggers quest on Hard, but made it back in time to finish off the captain and complete the quest with only a -20% XP hit.
Low road was a breeze, so did that on Hard as well.
Went through the Solo Only quests in Aspirant's corner and had enough XP to level, but wasn't done the Level 1 quests.
Did Sewer Rescue on Normal, then again on Hard. Died once on Hard (again made it back in time to finish the quest off).
The only challenge on Normal out of the Level 1 quests was the "Protect the Crate" quest. Failed that one twice!
Finished Level 1 satisfied, but knowing the biggest challenges lie in wait.
Stay tuned for level 2... coming soon!
November 2, 2006 - Harbor Domination Pt. 1
Freebeard (can't beleive I forgot to put my trusty dorf's name in the first post) began his day by advancing to level 2, as a rogue.
Finding traps and secret doors will be an important part of his quest, so he took the Dwarven Search enhancement, and pumped all of his points into Open Locks, and Disable Device.
Then it was off to cleanse the harbor of what appears to be an infestation by the kobold tribes of Zen'drik.
After investigating a strange drunk's secret he embarked on the mysterious Butcher's Path. This was one of only a few challenges he faced, and unfortunately he died just out of reach of a shrine. But he re-entered and was able to complete the quest.
Helping Baudry went as smoothly as one could wish, and he raided a gambling den for the Church (and then again on Hard, just for fun).
Stealthy Repossession was a pain, but he managed to get through it on the first try.
Without leaving the harbor, or entering the WaterWorks, he had enough XP to level, but had to hold off until his level 2 quests were done.
WW part 1 was a breeze, but part 2 was a tougher and trusty Freebeard died twice. Once fighting Bloodletter (and his shaman and firethrowing buddies), and once in the main prison area. But he completed the quest (at a substancial xp loss) and was granted access to the marketplace.
Challenges so far:
My Search skill can find doors, but hasn't found a single trap yet. Not good.
Taking the level of Rogue didn't make things much easier in terms of fighting or healing myself, but I beleive it will be necessary to acheive my goals.
On the other hand, loot has been good, with Freebeard wearing and weilding all +1 items.
Tomorrow Freebeard will enter the Marketplace and tackle the Catacombs (the start of them anyway).
Stay tuned....
Cleansing the Marketplace, Level 2 pt.2 - November 5, 2006
Freebeard passes hiw writ of commendation to the gate guards, and is granted access to the Stormreach Marketplace. What new dangers await? What foes will he conquer?
Well, the first foes he must conquer are familiar ones - kobolds, slimes, zombies, and trogs.
Two lovely young ladies need help with 'sewer issues', one had a missing party of adventurers, and one had a kobold's new ringleader that needed finding.
Freebeards tracked down the ringleader with ease, and was delighted to find that his new Goggles of +3 Search helped him find several traps. Perhaps his rogues training was paying off?
Finding the lost party presented some problems, due to Freebeard's overconfidence.
He was required to enter the sewers, clear a hallway of mobs, and flip a switch near a rest shrine, which caused an ambush. Then he had to do the same with a second hallway, and then fight the big bad boss guy.
He cleared the first half easily, and did not use the shrine. He cleared the second hallway easily, and decided to fight off the ambush before using the shrine. Not a good plan.
Freebeard was forced to run, needed a few seconds to cas ta healing spell o nhimself, and was kileld by a trap. He ran back to the shrine, and just barely made it, using the shrine just as his body was pulled back. He re-materialized in the trap, and died.
A quick trip to the tavern, and finishing the quest was not a challenge.
Then it was off to visit a poor friar, whose neice was missing.
Two missions into the catacombs went well ,although having a more potent Turn Undead ability would have helped. But, one cannot have everything, and this particular dorf was not a charismatic fellow.
He reuturned to the Harbo to wrap up a couple of 1st level quests on Hard, and is now ready to level.
Observations at this point:
I have enough xp to level and have 2 Action Points right away. XP is certainly not an issue at this point.
Money is becoming a bit of an issue, with Freebeard carrying about 100 plat at this point, and needs repairs. Perhaps this will remedy itself when the higher-end items start dropping.
As mentioned, his Search skill is getting better, but he was only able to disable 50% of the traps he found. He'll need some gear to be able to handle his rogue-ly problems.
When he levels it will be as a Pali, so that shoudl help with Fear (fear is a killer on a solo player) and weapon choices.
Stay tuned....
Disappointment! - November 6, 2006
Full of XP and with high hopes, Freebeard makes his way to the Paladin trainer, ready to learn the ways of ... well.. Paladin-ing.
"Level me up!" he says, a broad grin showing through from beneath his bushy, black, and of course, free, beard.
"Well, Mr. Dorf" says the trainer, "you just aren't lawful enough or good enough to join the ranks of the Paladins."
"What!" Shock and awe struck our trusty hero. "I can change.. really I can! I don't need ot be so True, or Neutral anymore!"
"Sorry" said the trainer, "No Paladin-ing for you!"
Freebeard truns and walks to the Rogue trainer, muttering something about "...of Stability.." and ".. that 2AC better be worth it!"
As you can tell, someone forgot that to multi-class as a Pali, he needed to make his solo character Lawful good. Many curses abounded this morning.
New plan, 10 cleric/2 rogue. That Evasion feat should be cool and helpful.
I posted his build below.
Stay tuned for the Further Adventures of Freebeard in the Marketplace, coming soon!
Silly Venn, hanging out in a kobold prison - November 7, 2006
Ok, I lied. No Marketplace adventure today.
Freebeard choose to first return to the WaterWorks, and track down the second missing brother. He expected quite a tough fight in there.
He was wrong.
WW part 3 was one of, if not the, easiest quests he's done so far. Seriously, i remember this as being difficult. Freebeard expected to recall out between parts 3 and 4, but actually finished part 3 being only down 10 SP, so he forged on.
Part 4 went fairly well, except for that room with the big swinging blade trap (thanks Dwarven Spot). He did find a ring of +3 spot, which was great because he just blew half his plat on some goggles that do the same thing </sarcasm>.
He was offered a veritable cornucopia of goodies from the guard though, eventually settling on a +2 Heavy Mithril Shield.
Then it was back to the harbor to wrap up some quests on Hard and Elite.
Tonight, he will chase down rumors of a giant spider named Redfang.
Observations so far:
Still way ahead on XP, and haven't done the first two parts of WW on hard yet.
Still way down on plat, although the WW runs have helped. Perhaps it's just because I am not used to getting masterwork items though, that it SEEMS I am broke.
Slimes suck. In the absence of a Muckbane (of which Freebeard has only heard rumor), he has taken to pummeling them with his fists. It's working quite well, and Dwarven hands can take alot of punishment (hard as stone they are, yar).
So far, and i know it's early, being solo hasn't presented much of a challenge, A few deaths here and there, but no more than a decent group would have, and far less than a bad group. Granted, I have played through all this content before, however my build is not perfect, and by no means am i a L33T player (good, just not uber).
AH - seems pretty cool. I bought the aforementioned goggles there, but don't have the money for much else at this point. I really wish more people would use the buyout option though, as I don't want to wait three days to get my item. In my opinion, the only posting fee should be based off the selling price.
Anyways, enough rambling, stay tuned for the (eventual) Marketplace adventures....
Arg! Redfang, ye vile beast! - November 10, 2006
Freebeard hasn't done much to rid Stormreach of it's infestations over the last few days. He wants to do more, if only he can find some way to rid himself of his pesky day job.
A visit to the Big Tent Brokers yeilded a few more valued peices of equipment for Freebeard, some +1 STR bracers, and a +1 Will save cloak. Then he was off to adventure.
Redfang's lair went fairly well for him. His Spot ability still sucks, not detecting a single trap before he blundered into them. Although once he started Searching, he was able to find and disable them.
Freebeard verily breezed through this quest though, and was able to defeat it with minimal difficulty.
The point he wanted to make was the loot he found. Just selling it off ot the General Vendor he made almost 50 plats. Nothing usable, but still it's nice to have some money in the bank.
Favor: He talked to a representative of the Coin Lords, and was granted some item or other that gave gim extra space in his backpack. He actually had enough favor with these Lords to do this before he left the harbor. Total Favor, ebing only parteway thorugh Level 3 quests and still needed to wrap up some Level 2's on Hard: Just under 150. Its certainly not hard to make a name for oneself in this city!
He also tried to recover a swiped Signet, but that didn't go so well so he's going to attempt it again tonight.
A quick look at the experiment so far:
Favor: Lots, and more coming. Won't be hard to hit 400 in the next couple levels.
Gear: +1 FP, +1 Heavy Mace, +2 Heavy Mithril Shield, +3 DD gloves, +3 Search goggles, Cloak of Will Save +1, Amulet of Natural Armor and Helm of Lesser False Life (starter stuff still). Not bad for being lvl 3, IMHO.
Plat: Not much of this. Less than 100 PP at this point. Everything is repaired though.
Quests: Some thoughies for sure. Others that are very easy. Nothing -so far- that hasn't been do-able, but quests like A Matter of Protection (protect the crate form all the theives) are definatley a challenge. Same with Baudry's "smash all the crates" mission. I would skip these, if it wasn't in my rules haha.
XP: Lots. Has had 2 Action Points sitting there every time he's levelled, and I expect that to hold true when he goes to level 4.
Overall: This is fun for me, hopefully it's fun and possibly enlightening for you.
I guess there's a couple questions this is meant to answer:
Can this game be played solo? Is there enough solo content? -So far the answer is yes, but we shall see.
Is it possible to get good gear without twinking? Does good loot drop? - Again, so far the answer is yes, and again, we shall see how that holds up.
Is there enough content to keep leveling up? - Seems like it so far.
Do i have to do loot runs or grind away on quests? - So far, no.
Does a lack of "LFMs" mean I can't play? - Well, if I can solo it, you can solo it, or duo it, or three-man it, or whatever. And a 'gimped' party (without a caster, or without a healer, or without a tank, or whatever) will always be betteer than one guy. So yes, so far, no need to wait for a perfect group, or a full group.
More to come...
November 21, 2006 - Kobold Assault and the Beginning of the end for Splinterskull!
Firstly, my apologies for the long delay in updating. I just don't get enough play time as I'd like, and Kobold Assault has kept me occupied for a long, loooooong time ;)
Ok, so about this quest. it's the first really solo-unfriendly one so far, and the first of only a handful that I think could be classified that way. But it's a doozy.
Freebeard accepted the quest confident in his abilities, and with a desire to help the poor, downtrodden citizens of his adopted home (nope, treasure and fame had nothing to do with it, nope, no way, no sir).
And the first attempt went well, he decimted about 100 enemies before being forced to retreat.
Attempts 2 - 6-ish didn't go so well. But Freebeard would no be deterred! He took all of his hard earned plats and bought potions of Bull's strength and Mage Armor and went back into the fray.
He vanquished about 150 enemies before being forced to shuffle away, broke and dis-heartened.
Needing a change of scenery he headed to a rather direputable tavern in the marketplace and proceeded to indulge in many a fine ale. Stumbling forth he was accosted by a Wayfinder, who needed his help in tracking down the Seal of Shan-to-Kor. Freebeard found he simply could not refuse this pretty young wayfinder, and ventured deep into the Steam Tunnels.
Part 1 of the STK series went fairly well, although he did have to recall out once. Running this quest solo was great, as I really got a sense of what a great dungeon it is. I had alot of fun with this one.
Note: Shaag's Helm IS a lvl 3 quest, but since I have to do a lvl 4 quest to get to it I decided to hold off, and just do it as i move through the series.
Then it was time to head back to the harbor and move the WaterWorks again, as the normal kobolds seemed to have returned as slightly harder kobolds.
Hearing rumors of a mysterious gorge called "Tangleroot" Freebeard made his way into the first of the Great houses, and arranged passage to the One-Eared Bugbear tavern. He undertook the perilous trek through the gorge, and entered into an agreement with an Ogre Chieftain.
He forayed into the Fortress of Splinterskull twice, on two successful missions for his new 'partner', then returned to Stormreach.
And he knew, it was time to return to his mission, and destroy the kobold assault.
Time after time he undertook the feat of killing 200 of the evil beasts, and time after time he was turned back. But Freebeard would not be defeated!
He persevered. He swore. He drank ale. And finally he succeeded!
Let me tell you, it was a tough go. it finally took a bit of luck, some good saving throws, some good attack rolls, timely heals, and of course a little known feat called Dwarven Stubbornness ;)
Upon completing the third level of his mission to cleanse Stormreach, he visited a Cleric trainer and was granted level 4.
Note: At this point, the only quest that shouldn't be solo-d is the aforementioned Kobold assault. Everything else isn't bad, and should be completable either solo, or with a gimped or incomplete party. But seriously, Kobold Assault sucks. I really don't want to go back there (but I guess i will).
Stay tuned... more STK and Splinterskull coming soon.
November 23, 2006 - His luck takes a turn... for the better!
Freebeard hasn't tackled any of the lvl 4 stuff yet, but he wanted to share his find:
A Star of Irian! ON A VENDOR!!!
This is an awesome weapon for a cleric. It's +2 Heavy Mace of Righteousness. It's Minimum level (2) and Base Value (8k IIRC) are ridiculously low, especially considering it drops from TS.
I had one of these on my main, and it definately would have been passed to Freebeard if my rules allowed it. So maybe this was karma? I dunno, but it's good luck for Freebeard however it happened.
So thank you to whoever sold their's to the vendor!
More adventures soon....
November 28, 2006 - Level 4 pt. 1 - The Death of Dryden, and the Destruction of Whiperdoom's Spawn
Freebeard, the trusty loner, continues his quest. It was he who would chance the perilous journey through blistering cold and scorching desert, traveling for many days and nights, risking life and limb to reach the dragon's keep, for he was the bravest, and most handsome in all the land, and it was destiny that his kiss would break the dreaded curse. He alone would climb to the highest room of the tallest tower to enter the princess's chambers, cross the room to her sleeping silhouette, pull back the gossamer curtains to find her- oh wait, there’s no Princess Fiona here, just more kobold’s and hobgoblins.
He’s definitely having fun though.
First thing was to finish the Endgame: Dryden to complete the Catacombs quests. That was a toughy. Freebeard died in there twice, fighting the skele’s and the wraith. Then he realized why: no ghost touch weapon. So he picked up a little ghost touch dagger from the AH and made short work of that wraith.
Then he caught a caravan (uneventfully) back to Tangleroot Gorge, and faced the dreaded and dire Whisperdoom. Well, perhaps “Faced” is too strong a word. He ran around killing her babies will trying to avoid getting hit, then booked it out of there and hid in a shrine.
STK part 2 went fairly well, as did the Shaagh’s Helm sub-quest.
Freebeard is asking around the taverns for strategies to defeat the fabled Guardian of Shan-to-Kor he has heard he must face soon.
He also headed back to the harbor to wrap up all the lower level stuff on elite, and he's got some level 3 stuff to run through on hard. He’s not quite done with the harbor yet, but soon he will be.
Tonight he plans to head into the Depths of House Deneith.
He does have some good news though, on his last run through Durk’s (the elite run) he met up with Muck, and got a Muckbane. The loot gods are smiling.
I also met up with a named rust monster that I’ve never seen before in the Sunken sewer. No chest though! What a rip-off! ;)
Speaking of loot, I’m noticing that when I do a level 2 quest on Elite, I get worse loot than when I did it on normal. Which is odd to me. But I’ve been seeing A LOT of masterwork items while cleaning up the last of the level 2 stuff. Maybe the loot gods are just smirking.
Thoughts at this point:
Level 4 quests are going smoothly enough. So far 3 was the hardest, and I think that’s because I was 66% Rogue at the time, and rogue is probably the hardest class to solo (maybe a caster would be harder… doesn’t matter). Now that he’s 50/50 Cleric/Rogue things are going a bit better. And next level brings more spells (buffs!!!).
The main problem I am finding with solo-ing, isn’t the amount of times I die (probably not that much more often than if I was grouping) but HOW I die. I often have most of my SP, it’s just that I got held at a bad time, or got critted, or got into a tough fight unexpectedly. I also find that there have been several times I’ve died just out of reach of a shrine. But that’s really the only ‘handicap’ from solo’ing so far.
Stay tuned....
A brief update, and thoughts on the game - December 7, 2006
Freebeard, the trusty dorf, continues his assault on the evil forces that threaten his beloved adoptive home, Stormreach.
He moves hither and yon, following his instincts as to where best to strike.
From helping a fellow named Cartamon in the harbor, to find a guard's Signet in the Marketplace, to facing the depths of House Deneith's sewers.
He's yet to face the greatest challenges perhaps, but is making progress.
Freebeard wants to talk about two things today:
First, WaterWorks. Freebeard recently completed his task of freeing Arlos on Elite. One might think that this would be boring by now, as it's his thrid time through. But that one would be mistaken.
In part 1, Freebeard encountered a dreaded spider named Spite. Very early on in the quest actually. And Spite sent him running. She could bite for half of his HPs, and his attempts to strike her were for naught, except on a 20 (Freebeard has this odd habit of rolling a 20-sided dice before every swing of his sword).
So Freebeard ran, climbed some ladders, jumped from rafter to rafter and landed on the other side of the room to elude her. He ran into a different part of the dungeon and continued his quest. Until, lo and behold!, she found him!
This dire beast prowled the whole dungeon, never returning to her home. Around any corner she could be poised to spring out and attack.
Let me tell you truthfully, it was one of the most exhilerating experiences in the game so far. Freebeard, alone in the dungeon, fighting his way through hordes of kobold warriors and shamans, all the while eluding this beast that was beyond his ability to kill.
It was awesome. I would love to see another quest like that.. with a foe that is simply beyond you, stalking you, hunting you, while you fight through the quest.
Note: Of course a group could have taken Spite out, but i'd really like to see a quest made up so others can have this type of experience.
Secondly, i'd like to talk about the overall story in the game. Or lack of one.
Now, i understand that in this type of game it's hard to have the same type of detailed story that you would get in a single player game like say BG or KotOR.
And i DO think steps are being taken in this direction by revisiting Whisperdoom and Haywire and the Litany of the Dead and such.
But otherwise, there is no overriding story, no background, nothing. I mean, has the city always been infested with villainy? If so, why isn't everyone dead?
What I'd like to see is something like a multi-quest story arc that explains the roots of the problems in Stormreach.
Perhaps you go off on a quest somewhere, and at the end you hear rumors of a Great Evil. Then the next release has you chasing down a rumor about the location of that Great Evil. And the next expansion you learn that there is a Evil Wizard sending the kobolds into Stormreach to awaken some long-dead terror. Then in the next expansion you confront him and learn of his plans. Then you realize it's too late, and the evil has awoken. Then in the next expansion you venture into the forgotten caverns beneath Stormreach and face off against a Balor or something, that is using the terror caused by the kobolds and undead and slimes and stuff attacking to be released onto the Prime Material Plane.
Of course killing him doesn't get rid of all the badness and the kobolds and hobbie's and stuff have to be dealt with and nothing really changes.
Now i just wrote that on the fly, but you get the idea. That would eb a 6 motnh quest. With an awesome 'end game' (proabbaly raid) quest.
Something that draws everything together. Gives a goal. Immerses you in the gameplay, and the world it takes place in.
/end rant :)
So Freebeard continues onward. He's nearly done his level 4 tasks, and will update soon.
Stay tuned.....
Rest for the Restless - December 8, 2006
I don't think I've ever done this quest before.
Which is kinda sad as it's fun. A nice dungeon to explore, some traps, some puzzles, some surprises (ambushes and such).
The 'locked in a cage' part kind of sucks though. I don't think there should be any quest that ISN'T solo-able without recalling. I know the game is group focussed (and I 100% agree that it should stay that way), but there should always be a way to do it without having a group, if one is so inclined.
But yes, a good fun quest, very level appropriate too, there's nothing here that is out of a lvl 4's league.
Went back last night and did the first two 'Depths' quests on Hard, just for fun. 99% of my loot was worse on Hard than it was on Normal, which is odd. The one and only '+' item I got was a +2 Dwarven Axe which is pretty nice for a lvl 4.
Oh, also I noticed this thread just passed the "1750 views" mark. That means Freebeard gets a +2 Tome right? ;)
Freshen the Air & The Caves Run Red - December 9, 2006
Quickie update:
Freebeard boarded a transport to Three Barrel Cove, and had himself a grand time.
Running through the pirate's stronghold, defeating hoodlums and generally causing a ruckus. Priceless.
But he had some business to attend to: The Fire Caves.
I ran this quest once before, and didn't complete it. With a PUG I think, and playing my main.
So I wasn't looking forward to it too much.
But it's a darn fun little quest.
Granted, the 'Super Mario' jumping over the lava parts are a little frustrating sometimes (hey, we dorfs have tiny legs okay? Wanna fight about it?).
Freebeard had fun though, and think there should be more to do around Three Barrel Cove. In fact, he thinks Three Barrel Cove, Threnal, the Desert, Tangleroot, and some of the other areas should be the focus of future expansions. No need to crowd new quests into the Marketplace when you have these great areas that are mostly overlooked (and not visited much, I would suspect).
Speaking of the Marketplace, Freebeard's second task of the evening was to 'freshen' some Coin Lord's basement.
Freebeard did die fairly early on in this quest, but was able to get back in no problem.
And from there, smooth sailing.
15 minutes, all optionals, 2 chests.... and the quest was done.
Why do people hate this one again? Freebeard does not know, because Freebeard liked it.
Well, just need to head over to Irestone inlet, and clean up a few more quests from earlier levels, and it's on to level 5 stuff. Which I do beleive includes the Necropolis (never been there on ANY character, so should be fun!).
Stay tuned....
Irestone - December 12, 2006
Well Irestone Inlet kicked my toned-and-taut tushie all over the place.
I had thought it would be an easy one, because the bad guys are all in small groups, but some of those groups are pretty tough!
I got through it with a few recalls though. Still came out with an XP debt :(
Then it was off to the Cleric trainer for lvl 5!
All in all things are going pretty darn good!
Stay tuned....
Facing the Guardian of the Seal, and hitting a road-block in the Necropolis - December 20, 2006
Full of divine grace, our newly minted Level 5 hero was ready to head back into the hobgoblin city hidden deep within the SteamWorks of the Marketplace.
He now knew the mysterious Seal of Shan-to-Kor was protected by a fearsome guardian, and according to the local tavern-wenches he had <ahem> 'interviewed', the guardian was only vulnerable to Admantine weapons.
So Freebeard went to the Auction House. Repeatedly. Trying to buy an Adamantine weapon.
Finally success! An Adamantine Rapier!
Unfortunately it seems Freebeard had been into the ale that day, and was not powerful enough to use this particular weapon, only a level 6 warrior could wield it's awesome force.
So it back to Auction, and even though it took every last copper, he was able to get a +2 Adamantine Short Sword.
And he was off to face the Guardian.
Making his way through Fire and Minotaur without breaking a sweat, he was ready to detroy the guardian.
The first blows were struck, the guardian was hurt, and Freebeard was dead.
Take 2.
On the second attempt Freebeard switched tactics, raining a barrage of Nimubs's of Light at him. This worked very well. Until the Guardian foot-stomped and Freebeard was knocked down, only to be pummeled by a fearsome earth elemental.
Take 3.
A combination of Light and Adamantine, and the Guardian fell before me. The Seal was mine!
Then it was off to the fabled Necropolis. A deserted graveyard where the dead roam free.
Meetign with the representatives of Silver Flame, Freebeard learned of four crypts needing to be cleansed.
Fearlessly Freebeard took up the challenge.
He entered the Tomb of the Sanguine Heart (no Tomb of the rotting flesh in sight, nope, they all have to have these cheesy poetic names) and battled through the host to reach a mummy.
The two traded powerful blows, and powerfuller magicks, but in the end only Freebeard stood.
Then it was off to the Tomb of the Burning Heart. And the first quest that Freebeard cannot complete.
Four runes, near two gates, must be activated in order to enter the tomb and destroy it's evil forces.
Now Freebeard did a great job of activating two runes (he pointed his hand at the ceiling and summoned a dog. It landed on the second rune and activated it). But apparently, all 4 runes must be activated.
This is disapointing.
Freebeard's quest to rid Stormreach of all evils has failed.
So I have two choices here.
Not do this quest, and just do all the other quests.
OR
Do this quest in a group in order to complete it.
I'm going ot leave it until the last of level 5 quests. Any thoughts on how I should handle it would be appreciated.
stay tuned for more.....
The Necropolis - December 22, 2006
Just a quick update.
Freebeard cleansed two more of the tombs in the Necropolis last night, bringing his total to three (out of four).
Each of them was fairly easy, although the mummy bosses are tough.
Each of the mummies has some cannon-fodder mobs nearby, so taking them out makes it alot easier. And having Remove Fear on at all times was a MUST in these tombs, as the Barrow Wights love to fear you.
Not that an undead monster could ever strike fear into the heart of valiant Freebeard!
The Necropolis was fun though, especially since i'd never been there before. I liked the gravestone with floaty-names telling who they were for.
Hopefully the Silver Flame / Emeral Claw storyline can be built up in future modules. i really think the addition of some overall stories would add another element of immersion to the game. It's not something that's missed, per se, but i think once it's there it would be a noticable improvement.
So, with the undead situation dealt with (for now), Freebeard at last heads to the House of the Dorfs, Kundarak. He's set to help them clean out some monster infestations in their real estate.
Stay tuned...
Update - December 29, 2006
Just a quick update, not much progress to report.
Freebeard is really taking a pounding in House K. He's tried both of the quests (the level 5 ones) several times, and hasn't come close to completing them.
I'm starting a 'gear-handicap' on these quests. Freebeard doesn't have an elemental bane weapon, or a fire, frost, etc weapon yet, and facing down all those elementals is tough. And fighting the wraiths in the Chamber of Insanity is very tough with just a ghost touch dagger. He's watching the AH though, so hopefully he can get something to help.
Anyways, Freebeard had to spend most of Festivus with his family, so he didn't get much adventuring time. But he's back, and ready to rock and roll in the New Year.
Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and stay tuned....
But for a change of pace i thought i'd make a solo character.
My goal is to go through all the content in the game, solo. And I thought I'd share the adventure with you all.
Here are the rules I've set up:
At each level he must:
Complete all quests of his current level on Normal
Complete all quests at one level below on Hard
Complete all quests of two levels below on Elite.
He cannot repeat a quest, after finishing it on Elite (so no loot runs) - Added Nov. 5, 2006
He cannot level up until he has completed those missions, even if he has enough XP.
He can use only what he finds in the game (including AH), no 'twinking'.
He is going ot be a cleric/paladin with 1 level of Rogue. His Skill Points will go into DD and Open Locks (he'll need items to help with this at higher levels).
No UMD, so no wands (no ARCANE wands I should say). Only his weapons, innate skills, cunning, and Divine magicks.
November 1, 2006 - The Adventure Begins!
My trusty dorf disembarked the boat in Stormreach and helped a local tavernkeep with some issues in his basement. Then he was off to seek his fortune.
The Goodblade quests on Normal were a breeze so i did those on Hard as well (hey, no rule against jumping ahead). Died once in the Daggers quest on Hard, but made it back in time to finish off the captain and complete the quest with only a -20% XP hit.
Low road was a breeze, so did that on Hard as well.
Went through the Solo Only quests in Aspirant's corner and had enough XP to level, but wasn't done the Level 1 quests.
Did Sewer Rescue on Normal, then again on Hard. Died once on Hard (again made it back in time to finish the quest off).
The only challenge on Normal out of the Level 1 quests was the "Protect the Crate" quest. Failed that one twice!
Finished Level 1 satisfied, but knowing the biggest challenges lie in wait.
Stay tuned for level 2... coming soon!
November 2, 2006 - Harbor Domination Pt. 1
Freebeard (can't beleive I forgot to put my trusty dorf's name in the first post) began his day by advancing to level 2, as a rogue.
Finding traps and secret doors will be an important part of his quest, so he took the Dwarven Search enhancement, and pumped all of his points into Open Locks, and Disable Device.
Then it was off to cleanse the harbor of what appears to be an infestation by the kobold tribes of Zen'drik.
After investigating a strange drunk's secret he embarked on the mysterious Butcher's Path. This was one of only a few challenges he faced, and unfortunately he died just out of reach of a shrine. But he re-entered and was able to complete the quest.
Helping Baudry went as smoothly as one could wish, and he raided a gambling den for the Church (and then again on Hard, just for fun).
Stealthy Repossession was a pain, but he managed to get through it on the first try.
Without leaving the harbor, or entering the WaterWorks, he had enough XP to level, but had to hold off until his level 2 quests were done.
WW part 1 was a breeze, but part 2 was a tougher and trusty Freebeard died twice. Once fighting Bloodletter (and his shaman and firethrowing buddies), and once in the main prison area. But he completed the quest (at a substancial xp loss) and was granted access to the marketplace.
Challenges so far:
My Search skill can find doors, but hasn't found a single trap yet. Not good.
Taking the level of Rogue didn't make things much easier in terms of fighting or healing myself, but I beleive it will be necessary to acheive my goals.
On the other hand, loot has been good, with Freebeard wearing and weilding all +1 items.
Tomorrow Freebeard will enter the Marketplace and tackle the Catacombs (the start of them anyway).
Stay tuned....
Cleansing the Marketplace, Level 2 pt.2 - November 5, 2006
Freebeard passes hiw writ of commendation to the gate guards, and is granted access to the Stormreach Marketplace. What new dangers await? What foes will he conquer?
Well, the first foes he must conquer are familiar ones - kobolds, slimes, zombies, and trogs.
Two lovely young ladies need help with 'sewer issues', one had a missing party of adventurers, and one had a kobold's new ringleader that needed finding.
Freebeards tracked down the ringleader with ease, and was delighted to find that his new Goggles of +3 Search helped him find several traps. Perhaps his rogues training was paying off?
Finding the lost party presented some problems, due to Freebeard's overconfidence.
He was required to enter the sewers, clear a hallway of mobs, and flip a switch near a rest shrine, which caused an ambush. Then he had to do the same with a second hallway, and then fight the big bad boss guy.
He cleared the first half easily, and did not use the shrine. He cleared the second hallway easily, and decided to fight off the ambush before using the shrine. Not a good plan.
Freebeard was forced to run, needed a few seconds to cas ta healing spell o nhimself, and was kileld by a trap. He ran back to the shrine, and just barely made it, using the shrine just as his body was pulled back. He re-materialized in the trap, and died.
A quick trip to the tavern, and finishing the quest was not a challenge.
Then it was off to visit a poor friar, whose neice was missing.
Two missions into the catacombs went well ,although having a more potent Turn Undead ability would have helped. But, one cannot have everything, and this particular dorf was not a charismatic fellow.
He reuturned to the Harbo to wrap up a couple of 1st level quests on Hard, and is now ready to level.
Observations at this point:
I have enough xp to level and have 2 Action Points right away. XP is certainly not an issue at this point.
Money is becoming a bit of an issue, with Freebeard carrying about 100 plat at this point, and needs repairs. Perhaps this will remedy itself when the higher-end items start dropping.
As mentioned, his Search skill is getting better, but he was only able to disable 50% of the traps he found. He'll need some gear to be able to handle his rogue-ly problems.
When he levels it will be as a Pali, so that shoudl help with Fear (fear is a killer on a solo player) and weapon choices.
Stay tuned....
Disappointment! - November 6, 2006
Full of XP and with high hopes, Freebeard makes his way to the Paladin trainer, ready to learn the ways of ... well.. Paladin-ing.
"Level me up!" he says, a broad grin showing through from beneath his bushy, black, and of course, free, beard.
"Well, Mr. Dorf" says the trainer, "you just aren't lawful enough or good enough to join the ranks of the Paladins."
"What!" Shock and awe struck our trusty hero. "I can change.. really I can! I don't need ot be so True, or Neutral anymore!"
"Sorry" said the trainer, "No Paladin-ing for you!"
Freebeard truns and walks to the Rogue trainer, muttering something about "...of Stability.." and ".. that 2AC better be worth it!"
As you can tell, someone forgot that to multi-class as a Pali, he needed to make his solo character Lawful good. Many curses abounded this morning.
New plan, 10 cleric/2 rogue. That Evasion feat should be cool and helpful.
I posted his build below.
Stay tuned for the Further Adventures of Freebeard in the Marketplace, coming soon!
Silly Venn, hanging out in a kobold prison - November 7, 2006
Ok, I lied. No Marketplace adventure today.
Freebeard choose to first return to the WaterWorks, and track down the second missing brother. He expected quite a tough fight in there.
He was wrong.
WW part 3 was one of, if not the, easiest quests he's done so far. Seriously, i remember this as being difficult. Freebeard expected to recall out between parts 3 and 4, but actually finished part 3 being only down 10 SP, so he forged on.
Part 4 went fairly well, except for that room with the big swinging blade trap (thanks Dwarven Spot). He did find a ring of +3 spot, which was great because he just blew half his plat on some goggles that do the same thing </sarcasm>.
He was offered a veritable cornucopia of goodies from the guard though, eventually settling on a +2 Heavy Mithril Shield.
Then it was back to the harbor to wrap up some quests on Hard and Elite.
Tonight, he will chase down rumors of a giant spider named Redfang.
Observations so far:
Still way ahead on XP, and haven't done the first two parts of WW on hard yet.
Still way down on plat, although the WW runs have helped. Perhaps it's just because I am not used to getting masterwork items though, that it SEEMS I am broke.
Slimes suck. In the absence of a Muckbane (of which Freebeard has only heard rumor), he has taken to pummeling them with his fists. It's working quite well, and Dwarven hands can take alot of punishment (hard as stone they are, yar).
So far, and i know it's early, being solo hasn't presented much of a challenge, A few deaths here and there, but no more than a decent group would have, and far less than a bad group. Granted, I have played through all this content before, however my build is not perfect, and by no means am i a L33T player (good, just not uber).
AH - seems pretty cool. I bought the aforementioned goggles there, but don't have the money for much else at this point. I really wish more people would use the buyout option though, as I don't want to wait three days to get my item. In my opinion, the only posting fee should be based off the selling price.
Anyways, enough rambling, stay tuned for the (eventual) Marketplace adventures....
Arg! Redfang, ye vile beast! - November 10, 2006
Freebeard hasn't done much to rid Stormreach of it's infestations over the last few days. He wants to do more, if only he can find some way to rid himself of his pesky day job.
A visit to the Big Tent Brokers yeilded a few more valued peices of equipment for Freebeard, some +1 STR bracers, and a +1 Will save cloak. Then he was off to adventure.
Redfang's lair went fairly well for him. His Spot ability still sucks, not detecting a single trap before he blundered into them. Although once he started Searching, he was able to find and disable them.
Freebeard verily breezed through this quest though, and was able to defeat it with minimal difficulty.
The point he wanted to make was the loot he found. Just selling it off ot the General Vendor he made almost 50 plats. Nothing usable, but still it's nice to have some money in the bank.
Favor: He talked to a representative of the Coin Lords, and was granted some item or other that gave gim extra space in his backpack. He actually had enough favor with these Lords to do this before he left the harbor. Total Favor, ebing only parteway thorugh Level 3 quests and still needed to wrap up some Level 2's on Hard: Just under 150. Its certainly not hard to make a name for oneself in this city!
He also tried to recover a swiped Signet, but that didn't go so well so he's going to attempt it again tonight.
A quick look at the experiment so far:
Favor: Lots, and more coming. Won't be hard to hit 400 in the next couple levels.
Gear: +1 FP, +1 Heavy Mace, +2 Heavy Mithril Shield, +3 DD gloves, +3 Search goggles, Cloak of Will Save +1, Amulet of Natural Armor and Helm of Lesser False Life (starter stuff still). Not bad for being lvl 3, IMHO.
Plat: Not much of this. Less than 100 PP at this point. Everything is repaired though.
Quests: Some thoughies for sure. Others that are very easy. Nothing -so far- that hasn't been do-able, but quests like A Matter of Protection (protect the crate form all the theives) are definatley a challenge. Same with Baudry's "smash all the crates" mission. I would skip these, if it wasn't in my rules haha.
XP: Lots. Has had 2 Action Points sitting there every time he's levelled, and I expect that to hold true when he goes to level 4.
Overall: This is fun for me, hopefully it's fun and possibly enlightening for you.
I guess there's a couple questions this is meant to answer:
Can this game be played solo? Is there enough solo content? -So far the answer is yes, but we shall see.
Is it possible to get good gear without twinking? Does good loot drop? - Again, so far the answer is yes, and again, we shall see how that holds up.
Is there enough content to keep leveling up? - Seems like it so far.
Do i have to do loot runs or grind away on quests? - So far, no.
Does a lack of "LFMs" mean I can't play? - Well, if I can solo it, you can solo it, or duo it, or three-man it, or whatever. And a 'gimped' party (without a caster, or without a healer, or without a tank, or whatever) will always be betteer than one guy. So yes, so far, no need to wait for a perfect group, or a full group.
More to come...
November 21, 2006 - Kobold Assault and the Beginning of the end for Splinterskull!
Firstly, my apologies for the long delay in updating. I just don't get enough play time as I'd like, and Kobold Assault has kept me occupied for a long, loooooong time ;)
Ok, so about this quest. it's the first really solo-unfriendly one so far, and the first of only a handful that I think could be classified that way. But it's a doozy.
Freebeard accepted the quest confident in his abilities, and with a desire to help the poor, downtrodden citizens of his adopted home (nope, treasure and fame had nothing to do with it, nope, no way, no sir).
And the first attempt went well, he decimted about 100 enemies before being forced to retreat.
Attempts 2 - 6-ish didn't go so well. But Freebeard would no be deterred! He took all of his hard earned plats and bought potions of Bull's strength and Mage Armor and went back into the fray.
He vanquished about 150 enemies before being forced to shuffle away, broke and dis-heartened.
Needing a change of scenery he headed to a rather direputable tavern in the marketplace and proceeded to indulge in many a fine ale. Stumbling forth he was accosted by a Wayfinder, who needed his help in tracking down the Seal of Shan-to-Kor. Freebeard found he simply could not refuse this pretty young wayfinder, and ventured deep into the Steam Tunnels.
Part 1 of the STK series went fairly well, although he did have to recall out once. Running this quest solo was great, as I really got a sense of what a great dungeon it is. I had alot of fun with this one.
Note: Shaag's Helm IS a lvl 3 quest, but since I have to do a lvl 4 quest to get to it I decided to hold off, and just do it as i move through the series.
Then it was time to head back to the harbor and move the WaterWorks again, as the normal kobolds seemed to have returned as slightly harder kobolds.
Hearing rumors of a mysterious gorge called "Tangleroot" Freebeard made his way into the first of the Great houses, and arranged passage to the One-Eared Bugbear tavern. He undertook the perilous trek through the gorge, and entered into an agreement with an Ogre Chieftain.
He forayed into the Fortress of Splinterskull twice, on two successful missions for his new 'partner', then returned to Stormreach.
And he knew, it was time to return to his mission, and destroy the kobold assault.
Time after time he undertook the feat of killing 200 of the evil beasts, and time after time he was turned back. But Freebeard would not be defeated!
He persevered. He swore. He drank ale. And finally he succeeded!
Let me tell you, it was a tough go. it finally took a bit of luck, some good saving throws, some good attack rolls, timely heals, and of course a little known feat called Dwarven Stubbornness ;)
Upon completing the third level of his mission to cleanse Stormreach, he visited a Cleric trainer and was granted level 4.
Note: At this point, the only quest that shouldn't be solo-d is the aforementioned Kobold assault. Everything else isn't bad, and should be completable either solo, or with a gimped or incomplete party. But seriously, Kobold Assault sucks. I really don't want to go back there (but I guess i will).
Stay tuned... more STK and Splinterskull coming soon.
November 23, 2006 - His luck takes a turn... for the better!
Freebeard hasn't tackled any of the lvl 4 stuff yet, but he wanted to share his find:
A Star of Irian! ON A VENDOR!!!
This is an awesome weapon for a cleric. It's +2 Heavy Mace of Righteousness. It's Minimum level (2) and Base Value (8k IIRC) are ridiculously low, especially considering it drops from TS.
I had one of these on my main, and it definately would have been passed to Freebeard if my rules allowed it. So maybe this was karma? I dunno, but it's good luck for Freebeard however it happened.
So thank you to whoever sold their's to the vendor!
More adventures soon....
November 28, 2006 - Level 4 pt. 1 - The Death of Dryden, and the Destruction of Whiperdoom's Spawn
Freebeard, the trusty loner, continues his quest. It was he who would chance the perilous journey through blistering cold and scorching desert, traveling for many days and nights, risking life and limb to reach the dragon's keep, for he was the bravest, and most handsome in all the land, and it was destiny that his kiss would break the dreaded curse. He alone would climb to the highest room of the tallest tower to enter the princess's chambers, cross the room to her sleeping silhouette, pull back the gossamer curtains to find her- oh wait, there’s no Princess Fiona here, just more kobold’s and hobgoblins.
He’s definitely having fun though.
First thing was to finish the Endgame: Dryden to complete the Catacombs quests. That was a toughy. Freebeard died in there twice, fighting the skele’s and the wraith. Then he realized why: no ghost touch weapon. So he picked up a little ghost touch dagger from the AH and made short work of that wraith.
Then he caught a caravan (uneventfully) back to Tangleroot Gorge, and faced the dreaded and dire Whisperdoom. Well, perhaps “Faced” is too strong a word. He ran around killing her babies will trying to avoid getting hit, then booked it out of there and hid in a shrine.
STK part 2 went fairly well, as did the Shaagh’s Helm sub-quest.
Freebeard is asking around the taverns for strategies to defeat the fabled Guardian of Shan-to-Kor he has heard he must face soon.
He also headed back to the harbor to wrap up all the lower level stuff on elite, and he's got some level 3 stuff to run through on hard. He’s not quite done with the harbor yet, but soon he will be.
Tonight he plans to head into the Depths of House Deneith.
He does have some good news though, on his last run through Durk’s (the elite run) he met up with Muck, and got a Muckbane. The loot gods are smiling.
I also met up with a named rust monster that I’ve never seen before in the Sunken sewer. No chest though! What a rip-off! ;)
Speaking of loot, I’m noticing that when I do a level 2 quest on Elite, I get worse loot than when I did it on normal. Which is odd to me. But I’ve been seeing A LOT of masterwork items while cleaning up the last of the level 2 stuff. Maybe the loot gods are just smirking.
Thoughts at this point:
Level 4 quests are going smoothly enough. So far 3 was the hardest, and I think that’s because I was 66% Rogue at the time, and rogue is probably the hardest class to solo (maybe a caster would be harder… doesn’t matter). Now that he’s 50/50 Cleric/Rogue things are going a bit better. And next level brings more spells (buffs!!!).
The main problem I am finding with solo-ing, isn’t the amount of times I die (probably not that much more often than if I was grouping) but HOW I die. I often have most of my SP, it’s just that I got held at a bad time, or got critted, or got into a tough fight unexpectedly. I also find that there have been several times I’ve died just out of reach of a shrine. But that’s really the only ‘handicap’ from solo’ing so far.
Stay tuned....
A brief update, and thoughts on the game - December 7, 2006
Freebeard, the trusty dorf, continues his assault on the evil forces that threaten his beloved adoptive home, Stormreach.
He moves hither and yon, following his instincts as to where best to strike.
From helping a fellow named Cartamon in the harbor, to find a guard's Signet in the Marketplace, to facing the depths of House Deneith's sewers.
He's yet to face the greatest challenges perhaps, but is making progress.
Freebeard wants to talk about two things today:
First, WaterWorks. Freebeard recently completed his task of freeing Arlos on Elite. One might think that this would be boring by now, as it's his thrid time through. But that one would be mistaken.
In part 1, Freebeard encountered a dreaded spider named Spite. Very early on in the quest actually. And Spite sent him running. She could bite for half of his HPs, and his attempts to strike her were for naught, except on a 20 (Freebeard has this odd habit of rolling a 20-sided dice before every swing of his sword).
So Freebeard ran, climbed some ladders, jumped from rafter to rafter and landed on the other side of the room to elude her. He ran into a different part of the dungeon and continued his quest. Until, lo and behold!, she found him!
This dire beast prowled the whole dungeon, never returning to her home. Around any corner she could be poised to spring out and attack.
Let me tell you truthfully, it was one of the most exhilerating experiences in the game so far. Freebeard, alone in the dungeon, fighting his way through hordes of kobold warriors and shamans, all the while eluding this beast that was beyond his ability to kill.
It was awesome. I would love to see another quest like that.. with a foe that is simply beyond you, stalking you, hunting you, while you fight through the quest.
Note: Of course a group could have taken Spite out, but i'd really like to see a quest made up so others can have this type of experience.
Secondly, i'd like to talk about the overall story in the game. Or lack of one.
Now, i understand that in this type of game it's hard to have the same type of detailed story that you would get in a single player game like say BG or KotOR.
And i DO think steps are being taken in this direction by revisiting Whisperdoom and Haywire and the Litany of the Dead and such.
But otherwise, there is no overriding story, no background, nothing. I mean, has the city always been infested with villainy? If so, why isn't everyone dead?
What I'd like to see is something like a multi-quest story arc that explains the roots of the problems in Stormreach.
Perhaps you go off on a quest somewhere, and at the end you hear rumors of a Great Evil. Then the next release has you chasing down a rumor about the location of that Great Evil. And the next expansion you learn that there is a Evil Wizard sending the kobolds into Stormreach to awaken some long-dead terror. Then in the next expansion you confront him and learn of his plans. Then you realize it's too late, and the evil has awoken. Then in the next expansion you venture into the forgotten caverns beneath Stormreach and face off against a Balor or something, that is using the terror caused by the kobolds and undead and slimes and stuff attacking to be released onto the Prime Material Plane.
Of course killing him doesn't get rid of all the badness and the kobolds and hobbie's and stuff have to be dealt with and nothing really changes.
Now i just wrote that on the fly, but you get the idea. That would eb a 6 motnh quest. With an awesome 'end game' (proabbaly raid) quest.
Something that draws everything together. Gives a goal. Immerses you in the gameplay, and the world it takes place in.
/end rant :)
So Freebeard continues onward. He's nearly done his level 4 tasks, and will update soon.
Stay tuned.....
Rest for the Restless - December 8, 2006
I don't think I've ever done this quest before.
Which is kinda sad as it's fun. A nice dungeon to explore, some traps, some puzzles, some surprises (ambushes and such).
The 'locked in a cage' part kind of sucks though. I don't think there should be any quest that ISN'T solo-able without recalling. I know the game is group focussed (and I 100% agree that it should stay that way), but there should always be a way to do it without having a group, if one is so inclined.
But yes, a good fun quest, very level appropriate too, there's nothing here that is out of a lvl 4's league.
Went back last night and did the first two 'Depths' quests on Hard, just for fun. 99% of my loot was worse on Hard than it was on Normal, which is odd. The one and only '+' item I got was a +2 Dwarven Axe which is pretty nice for a lvl 4.
Oh, also I noticed this thread just passed the "1750 views" mark. That means Freebeard gets a +2 Tome right? ;)
Freshen the Air & The Caves Run Red - December 9, 2006
Quickie update:
Freebeard boarded a transport to Three Barrel Cove, and had himself a grand time.
Running through the pirate's stronghold, defeating hoodlums and generally causing a ruckus. Priceless.
But he had some business to attend to: The Fire Caves.
I ran this quest once before, and didn't complete it. With a PUG I think, and playing my main.
So I wasn't looking forward to it too much.
But it's a darn fun little quest.
Granted, the 'Super Mario' jumping over the lava parts are a little frustrating sometimes (hey, we dorfs have tiny legs okay? Wanna fight about it?).
Freebeard had fun though, and think there should be more to do around Three Barrel Cove. In fact, he thinks Three Barrel Cove, Threnal, the Desert, Tangleroot, and some of the other areas should be the focus of future expansions. No need to crowd new quests into the Marketplace when you have these great areas that are mostly overlooked (and not visited much, I would suspect).
Speaking of the Marketplace, Freebeard's second task of the evening was to 'freshen' some Coin Lord's basement.
Freebeard did die fairly early on in this quest, but was able to get back in no problem.
And from there, smooth sailing.
15 minutes, all optionals, 2 chests.... and the quest was done.
Why do people hate this one again? Freebeard does not know, because Freebeard liked it.
Well, just need to head over to Irestone inlet, and clean up a few more quests from earlier levels, and it's on to level 5 stuff. Which I do beleive includes the Necropolis (never been there on ANY character, so should be fun!).
Stay tuned....
Irestone - December 12, 2006
Well Irestone Inlet kicked my toned-and-taut tushie all over the place.
I had thought it would be an easy one, because the bad guys are all in small groups, but some of those groups are pretty tough!
I got through it with a few recalls though. Still came out with an XP debt :(
Then it was off to the Cleric trainer for lvl 5!
All in all things are going pretty darn good!
Stay tuned....
Facing the Guardian of the Seal, and hitting a road-block in the Necropolis - December 20, 2006
Full of divine grace, our newly minted Level 5 hero was ready to head back into the hobgoblin city hidden deep within the SteamWorks of the Marketplace.
He now knew the mysterious Seal of Shan-to-Kor was protected by a fearsome guardian, and according to the local tavern-wenches he had <ahem> 'interviewed', the guardian was only vulnerable to Admantine weapons.
So Freebeard went to the Auction House. Repeatedly. Trying to buy an Adamantine weapon.
Finally success! An Adamantine Rapier!
Unfortunately it seems Freebeard had been into the ale that day, and was not powerful enough to use this particular weapon, only a level 6 warrior could wield it's awesome force.
So it back to Auction, and even though it took every last copper, he was able to get a +2 Adamantine Short Sword.
And he was off to face the Guardian.
Making his way through Fire and Minotaur without breaking a sweat, he was ready to detroy the guardian.
The first blows were struck, the guardian was hurt, and Freebeard was dead.
Take 2.
On the second attempt Freebeard switched tactics, raining a barrage of Nimubs's of Light at him. This worked very well. Until the Guardian foot-stomped and Freebeard was knocked down, only to be pummeled by a fearsome earth elemental.
Take 3.
A combination of Light and Adamantine, and the Guardian fell before me. The Seal was mine!
Then it was off to the fabled Necropolis. A deserted graveyard where the dead roam free.
Meetign with the representatives of Silver Flame, Freebeard learned of four crypts needing to be cleansed.
Fearlessly Freebeard took up the challenge.
He entered the Tomb of the Sanguine Heart (no Tomb of the rotting flesh in sight, nope, they all have to have these cheesy poetic names) and battled through the host to reach a mummy.
The two traded powerful blows, and powerfuller magicks, but in the end only Freebeard stood.
Then it was off to the Tomb of the Burning Heart. And the first quest that Freebeard cannot complete.
Four runes, near two gates, must be activated in order to enter the tomb and destroy it's evil forces.
Now Freebeard did a great job of activating two runes (he pointed his hand at the ceiling and summoned a dog. It landed on the second rune and activated it). But apparently, all 4 runes must be activated.
This is disapointing.
Freebeard's quest to rid Stormreach of all evils has failed.
So I have two choices here.
Not do this quest, and just do all the other quests.
OR
Do this quest in a group in order to complete it.
I'm going ot leave it until the last of level 5 quests. Any thoughts on how I should handle it would be appreciated.
stay tuned for more.....
The Necropolis - December 22, 2006
Just a quick update.
Freebeard cleansed two more of the tombs in the Necropolis last night, bringing his total to three (out of four).
Each of them was fairly easy, although the mummy bosses are tough.
Each of the mummies has some cannon-fodder mobs nearby, so taking them out makes it alot easier. And having Remove Fear on at all times was a MUST in these tombs, as the Barrow Wights love to fear you.
Not that an undead monster could ever strike fear into the heart of valiant Freebeard!
The Necropolis was fun though, especially since i'd never been there before. I liked the gravestone with floaty-names telling who they were for.
Hopefully the Silver Flame / Emeral Claw storyline can be built up in future modules. i really think the addition of some overall stories would add another element of immersion to the game. It's not something that's missed, per se, but i think once it's there it would be a noticable improvement.
So, with the undead situation dealt with (for now), Freebeard at last heads to the House of the Dorfs, Kundarak. He's set to help them clean out some monster infestations in their real estate.
Stay tuned...
Update - December 29, 2006
Just a quick update, not much progress to report.
Freebeard is really taking a pounding in House K. He's tried both of the quests (the level 5 ones) several times, and hasn't come close to completing them.
I'm starting a 'gear-handicap' on these quests. Freebeard doesn't have an elemental bane weapon, or a fire, frost, etc weapon yet, and facing down all those elementals is tough. And fighting the wraiths in the Chamber of Insanity is very tough with just a ghost touch dagger. He's watching the AH though, so hopefully he can get something to help.
Anyways, Freebeard had to spend most of Festivus with his family, so he didn't get much adventuring time. But he's back, and ready to rock and roll in the New Year.
Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and stay tuned....