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Demetrios1453 Plays the Gold Box Games
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<blockquote data-quote="Demetrios1453" data-source="post: 9317541" data-attributes="member: 6801060"><p><strong><em>Pool of Radiance </em>(Part 42): The Buccaneers' Base (Part 1)</strong></p><p></p><p>All rested up, we head back to the boat dock.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358105[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>This time, we're headed west.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358106[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]358107[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Luckily, the base isn't too far down the shore. We reach it without any issues.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358108[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]358109[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Sounds like this is going to be a pleasant location.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358110[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>At least they seem friendly. I assume it's all the pointy weapons and armor keeping them cordial. We head in.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358111[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]358112[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>I assume their idea is that we'll stay put here. We'll be disabusing them of that notion. Let's take a look around. That big cage we passed on the way in is our first stop.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358113[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>I'm assuming asking them politely to let their prisoners leave isn't going to work, nor sneaking by them or attacking, at least not without putting those locked inside in danger. We'll look around for a safer way to free the unfortunates here. We peer inside to see if the heir is among them.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358114[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>I very much approve how the word "sleazy" gets bandied about here quite a bit in the text, both now and in the future. They don't sugarcoat the horrific future in store for the captives, nor shy away how disgusting their captors are.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358115[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]358116[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Gross and disgusting. At least we've confirmed the heir is here. Now we have to figure out how to get him out. As for the merchant...</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358117[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>We gladly take that first choice.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358118[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Heh, I got the screenshot just as it was moving from mid-range to closeup.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, Mr Sleazy Merchant quite obviously didn't like a fist to the face, and now we have a fight on our hands.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358119[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Luckily, it's just six opponents with four hit points each. Looks like Mr Sleazy cheaps out on his guards.</p><p></p><p>It goes about as fast as you would think. We didn't even get to a second round.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358120[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]358121[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Our little scrum has, not surprisingly, drawn some attention.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358122[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Yeah, if we're going to get the captives out safely, we'll have to not let our emotions get the best of us. We'll need to scout around a bit and come up with a plan.</p><p></p><p>We now turn to the merchant...</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358123[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Bye, Mr Sleazy. I hope you die slowly in a fire somewhere.</p><p></p><p>Excitement over, we explore around the base a bit to see if we can find some way of easing any escape attempt for the captives.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358124[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>That's interesting. Let's move around it a bit.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358125[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Now that's something useful we can try. A bunch of stampeding livestock would make quite the distraction indeed. However, we'll look around a bit more before we attempt this.</p><p></p><p>We move towards the southwestern area of the base.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358126[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>I guess he's a half-orc like Norris the Gray, because he certainly looks like him. It's still a ridiculous face even if it's supposed to be for half-orcs.</p><p></p><p>But in any case, sure, we'll buy the pass. Meeting with the captain could be very useful indeed, for various reasons.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358127[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>"Hey, wait! Weren't you supposed to, like, actually take some money for this? OK, I guess not. Thanks!"</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358128[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Let's go to the captain's quarters and see if this pass is legitimate or not. We head a bit east.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358129[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>That helmet is going to do you a lot of good without any other armor, buddy.</p><p></p><p>In any case, we show him the pass.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358130[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Somewhat surprisingly, the pass is actually not fake. We head into the building.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358131[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p> Are all the guards shirtless and one-eyed here?</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358132[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>The captain of the Buccaneers. He <em>does</em> actually look a bit like Baker Mayfield (let's see how many get that reference).</p><p></p><p>Let's talk about the heir.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358133[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>He'll actually sell you the child for a hefty price. But that would be perpetuating and rewarding an utterly evil system. Time to attack and shut this place down, and then burn it to the ground once the captives are rescued.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358134[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358135[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Yikes, 110 HP and an AC -6. He's going to be a tough fight.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358136[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>We'll narrow the odds a bit by having Brother Baltor cast <em>hold person </em>on some of his guards. And on the captain too - it can't hurt to try.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358137[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Well, well, well. Success for all three targets, including the captain! This went from something that might have been a bit tough to easy street in a single moment.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358138[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p><em>That's</em> for all the captives you've sold into a life of misery.</p><p></p><p>Soon all the incapacitated enemies are gone...</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358139[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>And then they're all gone.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358140[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]358141[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Oooh, nice XP. That, as well as the captain's AC, makes it seem likely we've got some nice loot here! We pop a <em>detect</em> <em>magic</em>.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358142[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Jackpot, baby! Magical plate! And a lot of other magical items as well. Let's see what all we have exactly.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358143[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Not just magical plate, but <em>plate mail +3</em>! And a <em>longsword +4</em>! He definitely had invested his ill-gotten gains.</p><p></p><p>While this is patently ridiculous for level 5 - 6 characters, we aren't complaining. We'll let Baroness Bella equip them.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358144[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]358147[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Looking very nice, Baroness!</p><p></p><p>We'll trade her current <em>longsword +2</em> to Bant.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358146[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>(By the way, would anyone object to me changing the magical longswords Bant uses to battleaxes via the editor? It's more thematic for a dwarf fighter, and actually is a bit of a nerf due to battleaxe damage being less than longsword damage against larger creatures).</p><p></p><p>Let's check out the rest of the loot.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358145[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Nothing that we don't already have, but they'll fetch a pretty platinum at the store when we get back to Phlan</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358148[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Thanks for telling us. We failed to notice that somehow.</p><p></p><p>I'm sure the commotion has drawn the attention of the guards, so we're going to have to be careful from here onward...</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358149[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Uh... yes we do, but we just walked out of there.</p><p></p><p>I can only assume they are so unobservant that not only did they fail to notice we're walking back<em> out </em>of the captain's building, they also failed to hear the yells, screams, the clash of metal on metal, and so on that undoubtedly emanated through the presumably thin walls and door. We'll leave them to their obliviousness.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]358150[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Well, we seem to have decapitated (quite literally) the leadership here, and no one is the wiser. Let's create our diversion and then attempt to rescue the child and the other captives. But we'll pick up there in the next post.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Demetrios1453, post: 9317541, member: 6801060"] [B][I]Pool of Radiance [/I](Part 42): The Buccaneers' Base (Part 1)[/B] All rested up, we head back to the boat dock. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 225800.png"]358105[/ATTACH] This time, we're headed west. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 225815.png"]358106[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 225835.png"]358107[/ATTACH] Luckily, the base isn't too far down the shore. We reach it without any issues. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 225906.png"]358108[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 225922.png"]358109[/ATTACH] Sounds like this is going to be a pleasant location. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 225938.png"]358110[/ATTACH] At least they seem friendly. I assume it's all the pointy weapons and armor keeping them cordial. We head in. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 225954.png"]358111[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230001.png"]358112[/ATTACH] I assume their idea is that we'll stay put here. We'll be disabusing them of that notion. Let's take a look around. That big cage we passed on the way in is our first stop. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230031.png"]358113[/ATTACH] I'm assuming asking them politely to let their prisoners leave isn't going to work, nor sneaking by them or attacking, at least not without putting those locked inside in danger. We'll look around for a safer way to free the unfortunates here. We peer inside to see if the heir is among them. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230218.png"]358114[/ATTACH] I very much approve how the word "sleazy" gets bandied about here quite a bit in the text, both now and in the future. They don't sugarcoat the horrific future in store for the captives, nor shy away how disgusting their captors are. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230228.png"]358115[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230240.png"]358116[/ATTACH] Gross and disgusting. At least we've confirmed the heir is here. Now we have to figure out how to get him out. As for the merchant... [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230254.png"]358117[/ATTACH] We gladly take that first choice. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230305.png"]358118[/ATTACH] Heh, I got the screenshot just as it was moving from mid-range to closeup. Anyway, Mr Sleazy Merchant quite obviously didn't like a fist to the face, and now we have a fight on our hands. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230321.png"]358119[/ATTACH] Luckily, it's just six opponents with four hit points each. Looks like Mr Sleazy cheaps out on his guards. It goes about as fast as you would think. We didn't even get to a second round. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230358.png"]358120[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230412.png"]358121[/ATTACH] Our little scrum has, not surprisingly, drawn some attention. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230432.png"]358122[/ATTACH] Yeah, if we're going to get the captives out safely, we'll have to not let our emotions get the best of us. We'll need to scout around a bit and come up with a plan. We now turn to the merchant... [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230445.png"]358123[/ATTACH] Bye, Mr Sleazy. I hope you die slowly in a fire somewhere. Excitement over, we explore around the base a bit to see if we can find some way of easing any escape attempt for the captives. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230616.png"]358124[/ATTACH] That's interesting. Let's move around it a bit. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230721.png"]358125[/ATTACH] Now that's something useful we can try. A bunch of stampeding livestock would make quite the distraction indeed. However, we'll look around a bit more before we attempt this. We move towards the southwestern area of the base. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 230956.png"]358126[/ATTACH] I guess he's a half-orc like Norris the Gray, because he certainly looks like him. It's still a ridiculous face even if it's supposed to be for half-orcs. But in any case, sure, we'll buy the pass. Meeting with the captain could be very useful indeed, for various reasons. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231117.png"]358127[/ATTACH] "Hey, wait! Weren't you supposed to, like, actually take some money for this? OK, I guess not. Thanks!" [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231127.png"]358128[/ATTACH] Let's go to the captain's quarters and see if this pass is legitimate or not. We head a bit east. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231339.png"]358129[/ATTACH] That helmet is going to do you a lot of good without any other armor, buddy. In any case, we show him the pass. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231349.png"]358130[/ATTACH] Somewhat surprisingly, the pass is actually not fake. We head into the building. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231412.png"]358131[/ATTACH] Are all the guards shirtless and one-eyed here? [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231424.png"]358132[/ATTACH] The captain of the Buccaneers. He [I]does[/I] actually look a bit like Baker Mayfield (let's see how many get that reference). Let's talk about the heir. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231445.png"]358133[/ATTACH] He'll actually sell you the child for a hefty price. But that would be perpetuating and rewarding an utterly evil system. Time to attack and shut this place down, and then burn it to the ground once the captives are rescued. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231500.png"]358134[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231525.png"]358135[/ATTACH] Yikes, 110 HP and an AC -6. He's going to be a tough fight. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231614.png"]358136[/ATTACH] We'll narrow the odds a bit by having Brother Baltor cast [I]hold person [/I]on some of his guards. And on the captain too - it can't hurt to try. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231653.png"]358137[/ATTACH] Well, well, well. Success for all three targets, including the captain! This went from something that might have been a bit tough to easy street in a single moment. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231708.png"]358138[/ATTACH] [I]That's[/I] for all the captives you've sold into a life of misery. Soon all the incapacitated enemies are gone... [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231737.png"]358139[/ATTACH] And then they're all gone. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231812.png"]358140[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231833.png"]358141[/ATTACH] Oooh, nice XP. That, as well as the captain's AC, makes it seem likely we've got some nice loot here! We pop a [I]detect[/I] [I]magic[/I]. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231905.png"]358142[/ATTACH] Jackpot, baby! Magical plate! And a lot of other magical items as well. Let's see what all we have exactly. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231920.png"]358143[/ATTACH] Not just magical plate, but [I]plate mail +3[/I]! And a [I]longsword +4[/I]! He definitely had invested his ill-gotten gains. While this is patently ridiculous for level 5 - 6 characters, we aren't complaining. We'll let Baroness Bella equip them. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 231955.png"]358144[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 232231.png"]358147[/ATTACH] Looking very nice, Baroness! We'll trade her current [I]longsword +2[/I] to Bant. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 232111.png"]358146[/ATTACH] (By the way, would anyone object to me changing the magical longswords Bant uses to battleaxes via the editor? It's more thematic for a dwarf fighter, and actually is a bit of a nerf due to battleaxe damage being less than longsword damage against larger creatures). Let's check out the rest of the loot. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 232205.png"]358145[/ATTACH] Nothing that we don't already have, but they'll fetch a pretty platinum at the store when we get back to Phlan [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-13 232426.png"]358148[/ATTACH] Thanks for telling us. We failed to notice that somehow. I'm sure the commotion has drawn the attention of the guards, so we're going to have to be careful from here onward... [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-14 163805.png"]358149[/ATTACH] Uh... yes we do, but we just walked out of there. I can only assume they are so unobservant that not only did they fail to notice we're walking back[I] out [/I]of the captain's building, they also failed to hear the yells, screams, the clash of metal on metal, and so on that undoubtedly emanated through the presumably thin walls and door. We'll leave them to their obliviousness. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screenshot 2024-04-14 163814.png"]358150[/ATTACH] Well, we seem to have decapitated (quite literally) the leadership here, and no one is the wiser. Let's create our diversion and then attempt to rescue the child and the other captives. But we'll pick up there in the next post. [/QUOTE]
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