Andvari
Hero
I took a similar approach. I also added stuff where I found content lacking and remodeled areas, like reworking the incredibly mazy pyramid on Sorcerer's Isle, and abstracted navigating the hedge maze.
D&D General Demetrios1453 Plays the Gold Box Games
John R Davis
Hero
Trying to think what the Sokal Keep battle is?
I remember the first time a spectre hits you there are tears on your keyboard
I remember the first time a spectre hits you there are tears on your keyboard
TheHand
Adventurer
The most recent time I ran it, I did it as a mega campaign leading directly into Azure Bonds, so I sprinkled some Azure Bonds foreshadowing throughout Pool, and tied certain NPCs from the first module into the second so that the Curse and tattoos felt much more personal by the time my PCs got there. It was a ton of fun!
Thomas Shey
Legend
Old school life drain undead were some serious ******. Even moreso once it was clear there was no save.
Demetrios1453
Hero
You can avoid conflict with the spectre (as will be seen in my post later tonight). The big battle there is something else (also to be seen in that post).
The most memorable battle IMO is
the ambush as you first enter the main keep. You're possibly wounded and the sheer numbers are surprising.
If you are running straight 18s it's not too bad, but a regular atttribute party can be borked.
If you are running straight 18s it's not too bad, but a regular atttribute party can be borked.
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Demetrios1453
Hero
Pool of Radiance (Part 12): Sokal Keep (Part 2)
Off to SoCal Keep, where the surf's always up, the stars hang out, and the weather's great when there's not an atmospheric river...
Oh, Sokal Keep. Well, that's going to be a bit different...
We head back to the docks area, since the Keep is on an island in the bay:
We head to the end of the pier...
And off for a pleasant boat ride to a haunted keep! The boat drops us off:
Nice. Echoing footsteps in a haunted keep are never a good sign.
Hmm, odd that that mound of reeds is mentioned. Let's go check them out.
How do we know it's an elf skeleton? Do they have pointy ear bones?
Those are Espruar runes, and using the code-wheel, they spell out "LUX", "SHESTNI", and "SAMOSUD". Obviously code words of some sort.
With nothing further to find here, we head into the Keep. Shortly after we pass beyod the main doors:
Sokal Keep has a set number of random encounters like the Slums, but it's a far more manageable 4 (all groups of skeletons and zombies). But, unlike the Slums, if you clear them out, they stay cleared only while you remain on the map; if you leave and return, you'll get 4 more. So we'll do our best to clear them, and then do everything here in one visit.
We do have a couple of options here with these undead patrols. If you choose "Parlay" here, and then speak the code word from the elf's belongings "SHESTNI", they will leave peacefully. Beyond that, Brother Baltor will have the option to turn undead in these encounters. But because he's low level still, he can't destroy them yet, and because in this game turned undead just run across the map so then you have to chase them down, it all becomes very tedious (later games will just have undead simply disappear off the map when turned, which makes things much simpler). Since these are relatively harmless skeletons and zombies, we'll just defeat the four patrols through combat (we'll gladly turn more dangerous undead later, and take them out from a distance).
We do have to fight a good number of skeletons
and zombies:
...in these patrols. Skeletons only take full damage from blunt weapons, but for our frontliners, even our sword wielders have enough Strength to still do enough damage to take them down, as they only have 5 HP. Our ranged characters will concentrate on taking down the zombies that will still take full damage from their bows (and which go very slowly, as they have negatives to initiative)
They go down fairly quickly, but Bragir takes some damage from some flanking undead.
Patched up to a reasonable amount of health, we continue our exploration. We take a few steps more:
This time, our backliners prudently move a bit further back from combat. Notice that Brother Baltor has the option to "Turn" on the menu.
And we take minimal damage during that fight.
Through another couple doors, and something quite different appears!
We need to be very careful here. Poison in 1e doesn't give you some sort of damage over time effect if you fail your save like in more recent editions - it straight drops you dead, until you can get to a temple to have neutralize poison cast on the victim (in later games, we'll be high enough level to cast it ourselves, but that's not possible in this game, and the substitute slow poison only keeps you up for a short time before you drop dead again). Luckily there are only two scorpions, so we should be able to take them out quickly.
We take down one, but Baroness Bella gets hit twice by the second one - but somehow manages to make her saves (I was sweating bullets as the hits occurred!). After that, the second one drops quickly.
Let's head back to the other side - there's not much of interest on the west side of the keep.
Oh, these guys again.
Bottled in by terrain where they can't reach my back line, they go down quickly, although Bant takes a bit of damage. And a few steps further:
The back line again moves back to where it's harder for them to be reached,
and we're quickly victorious again, although we've taken a bit more damage (Buffy moved back up because the wall was blocking her aim on the remaining undead towards the end).
And that's it for the skeleton/zombie patrols. No more will spawn unless leave the zone and come back. Now we can explore properly without them interrupting (which is a good reason just to take them out instead of using the code word and let endless patrols spawn and pass).
We continue east, then north, and then east again
Croaking frogs, eh?
Again, with poison, we need to be careful and... wait, the party has four sleep spells memorized. Why endanger ourselves unnecessarily?
And that is that (also, technically, they should be venomous frogs, unless we have frog legs for dinner).
Since the text earlier said there were remains of a blacksmith's shop, we turn on Search, and...
Why is "No" even an option on these questions? We're adventurers!
Bleh. Hammers in 1e are very weak compared to their later edition counterparts, only doing a pitiful 1d4+1 damage. So no one is going to equip that, even with it being magical.
We go through the door to the north.
Well that sucks. We move around a bit more.
Um... That's a blank wall, but the map shows a door. Let's move forward.
Oooh, a glow!
Oooh, special stands!
A shield +1, longsword +1, chainmail +1, and a mace +2! All upgrades except the chainmail, which is equivalent AC to our banded, but it will allow for increased movement. A fine haul indeed!
Baroness Bella gets the sword (replacing her slightly inferior broadsword +1) and shield, Brother Baltor gets the mace, and Bant gets the chainmail, which at least will give him a better movement rate. Bant also gets Brother Baltor's old flail +1, so everyone in the front also has a blunt magical weapon to be used against creatures that are better hit by them.
This is as safe a spot as any, so we rest here to regain hit points and spells (and we're going to need them soon enough).
We head back out of the northeastern section of the keep, and head towards the central section. Right before we enter, Brother Baltor receives another premonition of danger, and casts his bless spell.
We enter the door and...
Nothing like 50 (yes, I counted) foes bearing down on you. But it's only 8 - 1 odds! And since I don't want to run out of available file uploads halfway through this fight, I'll leave this battle and what happens afterwards for the next post!
Off to SoCal Keep, where the surf's always up, the stars hang out, and the weather's great when there's not an atmospheric river...
Oh, Sokal Keep. Well, that's going to be a bit different...
We head back to the docks area, since the Keep is on an island in the bay:
We head to the end of the pier...
And off for a pleasant boat ride to a haunted keep! The boat drops us off:
Nice. Echoing footsteps in a haunted keep are never a good sign.
Hmm, odd that that mound of reeds is mentioned. Let's go check them out.
How do we know it's an elf skeleton? Do they have pointy ear bones?
Those are Espruar runes, and using the code-wheel, they spell out "LUX", "SHESTNI", and "SAMOSUD". Obviously code words of some sort.
With nothing further to find here, we head into the Keep. Shortly after we pass beyod the main doors:
Sokal Keep has a set number of random encounters like the Slums, but it's a far more manageable 4 (all groups of skeletons and zombies). But, unlike the Slums, if you clear them out, they stay cleared only while you remain on the map; if you leave and return, you'll get 4 more. So we'll do our best to clear them, and then do everything here in one visit.
We do have a couple of options here with these undead patrols. If you choose "Parlay" here, and then speak the code word from the elf's belongings "SHESTNI", they will leave peacefully. Beyond that, Brother Baltor will have the option to turn undead in these encounters. But because he's low level still, he can't destroy them yet, and because in this game turned undead just run across the map so then you have to chase them down, it all becomes very tedious (later games will just have undead simply disappear off the map when turned, which makes things much simpler). Since these are relatively harmless skeletons and zombies, we'll just defeat the four patrols through combat (we'll gladly turn more dangerous undead later, and take them out from a distance).
We do have to fight a good number of skeletons
and zombies:
...in these patrols. Skeletons only take full damage from blunt weapons, but for our frontliners, even our sword wielders have enough Strength to still do enough damage to take them down, as they only have 5 HP. Our ranged characters will concentrate on taking down the zombies that will still take full damage from their bows (and which go very slowly, as they have negatives to initiative)
They go down fairly quickly, but Bragir takes some damage from some flanking undead.
Patched up to a reasonable amount of health, we continue our exploration. We take a few steps more:
This time, our backliners prudently move a bit further back from combat. Notice that Brother Baltor has the option to "Turn" on the menu.
And we take minimal damage during that fight.
Through another couple doors, and something quite different appears!
We need to be very careful here. Poison in 1e doesn't give you some sort of damage over time effect if you fail your save like in more recent editions - it straight drops you dead, until you can get to a temple to have neutralize poison cast on the victim (in later games, we'll be high enough level to cast it ourselves, but that's not possible in this game, and the substitute slow poison only keeps you up for a short time before you drop dead again). Luckily there are only two scorpions, so we should be able to take them out quickly.
We take down one, but Baroness Bella gets hit twice by the second one - but somehow manages to make her saves (I was sweating bullets as the hits occurred!). After that, the second one drops quickly.
Let's head back to the other side - there's not much of interest on the west side of the keep.
Oh, these guys again.
Bottled in by terrain where they can't reach my back line, they go down quickly, although Bant takes a bit of damage. And a few steps further:
The back line again moves back to where it's harder for them to be reached,
and we're quickly victorious again, although we've taken a bit more damage (Buffy moved back up because the wall was blocking her aim on the remaining undead towards the end).
And that's it for the skeleton/zombie patrols. No more will spawn unless leave the zone and come back. Now we can explore properly without them interrupting (which is a good reason just to take them out instead of using the code word and let endless patrols spawn and pass).
We continue east, then north, and then east again
Croaking frogs, eh?
Again, with poison, we need to be careful and... wait, the party has four sleep spells memorized. Why endanger ourselves unnecessarily?
And that is that (also, technically, they should be venomous frogs, unless we have frog legs for dinner).
Since the text earlier said there were remains of a blacksmith's shop, we turn on Search, and...
Why is "No" even an option on these questions? We're adventurers!
Bleh. Hammers in 1e are very weak compared to their later edition counterparts, only doing a pitiful 1d4+1 damage. So no one is going to equip that, even with it being magical.
We go through the door to the north.
Well that sucks. We move around a bit more.
Um... That's a blank wall, but the map shows a door. Let's move forward.
Oooh, a glow!
Oooh, special stands!
A shield +1, longsword +1, chainmail +1, and a mace +2! All upgrades except the chainmail, which is equivalent AC to our banded, but it will allow for increased movement. A fine haul indeed!
Baroness Bella gets the sword (replacing her slightly inferior broadsword +1) and shield, Brother Baltor gets the mace, and Bant gets the chainmail, which at least will give him a better movement rate. Bant also gets Brother Baltor's old flail +1, so everyone in the front also has a blunt magical weapon to be used against creatures that are better hit by them.
This is as safe a spot as any, so we rest here to regain hit points and spells (and we're going to need them soon enough).
We head back out of the northeastern section of the keep, and head towards the central section. Right before we enter, Brother Baltor receives another premonition of danger, and casts his bless spell.
We enter the door and...
Nothing like 50 (yes, I counted) foes bearing down on you. But it's only 8 - 1 odds! And since I don't want to run out of available file uploads halfway through this fight, I'll leave this battle and what happens afterwards for the next post!
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Demetrios1453
Hero
Pool of Radiance (Part 13): Sokal Keep (Part 3)
So, as can be seen at the end of the last post, we've got quite the army to take down in this battle. They're a bit away across the room, so the first impulse might be to run over there and battle them there, but this is a very bad idea. This will allow them to surround isolated characters, which will only result in a lot of hits, lots of damage, and likely character deaths. We'll take a more conservative approach to this battle, and let them come to us.
We've got some nice walls on either side of us (having just come through a door - if you haven't noticed, the battlefield maps are faithful to the actual maps). Bant actually gets to go first, so I retreat him back one space, even with Baroness Bella so as to guard both their flanks, and set him to "Guard" so that the first foe that gets within melee range is automatically attacked.
Brother Baltor goes next, so I move him down two spaces to guard the opening to the south. While this leaves spaces open to the right of him, and below Baroness Bella, foes won't go charging through those slots as doing so will result in opportunity attacks (although they weren't called that at the time) as they move from space to space. Instead of choosing "Guard" however, there are some foes in spell casting range down there, so...
Spell casting isn't instantaneous in 1e though (other than some 1st level spells like magic missile and sleep), so we have a bit of time before he'll complete casting. In the meantime, Brin's turn comes up. You'd think that this is the perfect time to cast sleep, but no, most of them are too far away, and we have another target for my ranged - the orc leaders with bows. We'll concentrate on taking them out (there are five of them) before they can do too much damage.
Brother Baltor has completed casting his hold person spell, and it now goes off. This is something VERY important from here on out, since if a spell is interrupted by taking damage during casting, it fizzles and is lost. So it's important to both make sure you can get your own spells off, as well as interrupting enemy spell casters. Even more importantly, beyond this is that any spellcaster who is damaged in a round can't cast a spell afterwards in that round as well. So hitting enemy spellcasters early each round is your #1 priority in any battle. Granted, PoR takes its time before you have to fight any spellcasters, so it's not important quite yet (other than to make sure my spellcasters are safe), but after we start seeing them, it's going to be quite important from then on out. (PoR is much nicer than the first Dragonlance game, Champions of Krynn, where like the third battle is with a spellcaster, and doesn't let up afterwards at all).
In any case, hold person has been successfully cast. It can affect up to three targets (chosen at the time of casting), although if you only choose one or two targets, they will have tougher saving throws as a result. Brother Baltor chose three southernmost orcs in the room below where he is guarding:
Two are affected, but this one made its saving throw and is unaffected.
Meanwhile, thee are so many orcs and hobgoblins in the main room that some are just unable to move at all.
It takes forever for all of them to go through their actions, so it's just a matter of waiting until my six characters get their turns. Some of the ones in the front are beginning to trickle over.
(You can see the two held orcs with the "X" over them). With enough moved forward, it's finally a good time to cast sleep to catch a bunch together right in front of the party.
We continue to concentrate on the leaders further back.
And they go down, one by one:
We cast sleep again to catch a bunch together right in front of the party.
This will help funnel them into a smaller killing zone.
We've cleared out a number of them, including all the orc leaders, and now quite a few are helpless:
This time, we're judiciously killing helpless foes instead of just letting them hang out there for a few rounds, just to clear the field. After a bit of that, it's time for another sleep spell...
And Brother Baltor gets back on the action to neutralize the ones near him:
Got all three this time! Shortly afterwards, their morale begins to break and they begin to surrender
Until the only ones left are helpless
And the battle is over
And with a surprisingly small amount of damage, mainly from the orc leaders before they were taken out.
Sadly, not much of interest in the loot. Lots of low value currency and typical non-magical gear.
But...
This is the first time we've encountered the journal entry mechanism in this game (but far from the last!). Basically, they didn't want to take up the limited space to put a bunch of text in game, so it was in printed in the manual that came with the game (in mixed-up order, and with some fake entries to throw off anyone reading through ahead of time). Journal Entry 57 reads as follows:
Hmmm.... Who is this "Boss"?
But that's something to ponder at a later time. We cross the room to one of the doors directly across:
We move a couple of spaces over...
This is ominous...
Uh-oh
We choose one of the code words found on the dead elf's body.
(also, notice that the spectre appears and disappears in the picture window. Most creatures have this sort of minimal animation, with two frames back and forth, usually waving a weapon around. It's not something that's easily shown in still screenshots).
After going so long before we had our first journal entry, our second appears almost immediately afterwards. Journal Entry 3 reads as follows:
Also, treasure!
It's just coins and gems, but still a nice haul!
We head back out to the room where we fought the big battle, and investigate the room to the south
Let's take a look at the altar there:
Another spectre, apparently. We try "Parlay" here, and type in "Lux" again.
Telling the truth seems to be the smart thing to do here...
Well, that's certainly interesting, likely important, information!
Hmmm... weren't we tasked to find books, maps, and the like?
Thankfully he faded away before I had to tell him that his "guards" (the undead patrols) are now just broken bones and scattered rotten flesh.
I think we've explored everything of interest here:
And Bant is ready to level up (and has been since we got the coins and gems in the previous room, I just didn't get around to doing it)
Let's head back out
You mean the piles of dead orc and hobgoblin bodies all over the place?
And back to Phlan we go. And, having reached the maximum number of attachment uploads, we'll get our rewards in the next post....
So, as can be seen at the end of the last post, we've got quite the army to take down in this battle. They're a bit away across the room, so the first impulse might be to run over there and battle them there, but this is a very bad idea. This will allow them to surround isolated characters, which will only result in a lot of hits, lots of damage, and likely character deaths. We'll take a more conservative approach to this battle, and let them come to us.
We've got some nice walls on either side of us (having just come through a door - if you haven't noticed, the battlefield maps are faithful to the actual maps). Bant actually gets to go first, so I retreat him back one space, even with Baroness Bella so as to guard both their flanks, and set him to "Guard" so that the first foe that gets within melee range is automatically attacked.
Brother Baltor goes next, so I move him down two spaces to guard the opening to the south. While this leaves spaces open to the right of him, and below Baroness Bella, foes won't go charging through those slots as doing so will result in opportunity attacks (although they weren't called that at the time) as they move from space to space. Instead of choosing "Guard" however, there are some foes in spell casting range down there, so...
Spell casting isn't instantaneous in 1e though (other than some 1st level spells like magic missile and sleep), so we have a bit of time before he'll complete casting. In the meantime, Brin's turn comes up. You'd think that this is the perfect time to cast sleep, but no, most of them are too far away, and we have another target for my ranged - the orc leaders with bows. We'll concentrate on taking them out (there are five of them) before they can do too much damage.
Brother Baltor has completed casting his hold person spell, and it now goes off. This is something VERY important from here on out, since if a spell is interrupted by taking damage during casting, it fizzles and is lost. So it's important to both make sure you can get your own spells off, as well as interrupting enemy spell casters. Even more importantly, beyond this is that any spellcaster who is damaged in a round can't cast a spell afterwards in that round as well. So hitting enemy spellcasters early each round is your #1 priority in any battle. Granted, PoR takes its time before you have to fight any spellcasters, so it's not important quite yet (other than to make sure my spellcasters are safe), but after we start seeing them, it's going to be quite important from then on out. (PoR is much nicer than the first Dragonlance game, Champions of Krynn, where like the third battle is with a spellcaster, and doesn't let up afterwards at all).
In any case, hold person has been successfully cast. It can affect up to three targets (chosen at the time of casting), although if you only choose one or two targets, they will have tougher saving throws as a result. Brother Baltor chose three southernmost orcs in the room below where he is guarding:
Two are affected, but this one made its saving throw and is unaffected.
Meanwhile, thee are so many orcs and hobgoblins in the main room that some are just unable to move at all.
It takes forever for all of them to go through their actions, so it's just a matter of waiting until my six characters get their turns. Some of the ones in the front are beginning to trickle over.
(You can see the two held orcs with the "X" over them). With enough moved forward, it's finally a good time to cast sleep to catch a bunch together right in front of the party.
We continue to concentrate on the leaders further back.
And they go down, one by one:
We cast sleep again to catch a bunch together right in front of the party.
This will help funnel them into a smaller killing zone.
We've cleared out a number of them, including all the orc leaders, and now quite a few are helpless:
This time, we're judiciously killing helpless foes instead of just letting them hang out there for a few rounds, just to clear the field. After a bit of that, it's time for another sleep spell...
And Brother Baltor gets back on the action to neutralize the ones near him:
Got all three this time! Shortly afterwards, their morale begins to break and they begin to surrender
Until the only ones left are helpless
And the battle is over
And with a surprisingly small amount of damage, mainly from the orc leaders before they were taken out.
Sadly, not much of interest in the loot. Lots of low value currency and typical non-magical gear.
But...
This is the first time we've encountered the journal entry mechanism in this game (but far from the last!). Basically, they didn't want to take up the limited space to put a bunch of text in game, so it was in printed in the manual that came with the game (in mixed-up order, and with some fake entries to throw off anyone reading through ahead of time). Journal Entry 57 reads as follows:
Hmmm.... Who is this "Boss"?
But that's something to ponder at a later time. We cross the room to one of the doors directly across:
We move a couple of spaces over...
This is ominous...
Uh-oh
We choose one of the code words found on the dead elf's body.
(also, notice that the spectre appears and disappears in the picture window. Most creatures have this sort of minimal animation, with two frames back and forth, usually waving a weapon around. It's not something that's easily shown in still screenshots).
After going so long before we had our first journal entry, our second appears almost immediately afterwards. Journal Entry 3 reads as follows:
Also, treasure!
It's just coins and gems, but still a nice haul!
We head back out to the room where we fought the big battle, and investigate the room to the south
Let's take a look at the altar there:
Another spectre, apparently. We try "Parlay" here, and type in "Lux" again.
Telling the truth seems to be the smart thing to do here...
Well, that's certainly interesting, likely important, information!
Hmmm... weren't we tasked to find books, maps, and the like?
Thankfully he faded away before I had to tell him that his "guards" (the undead patrols) are now just broken bones and scattered rotten flesh.
I think we've explored everything of interest here:
And Bant is ready to level up (and has been since we got the coins and gems in the previous room, I just didn't get around to doing it)
Let's head back out
You mean the piles of dead orc and hobgoblin bodies all over the place?
And back to Phlan we go. And, having reached the maximum number of attachment uploads, we'll get our rewards in the next post....
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Demetrios1453
Hero
Pool of Radiance (Part 14): Sokal Keep (Part 4) - Sokal Keep cleared!
Back in Phlan, at the end of the pier.
It's night time, so all we can do is head back to the inn to rest and memorize spells
That's not enough time to get us to 00:00, so we'll add some extra rest time.
And in the morning:
I was thinking of selling the hammer, but it's nice as a backup against creatures susceptible to blunt damage, so we'll just keep it.
Current funds after leaving the store. Off to the City Clerk!
Not bad at all!
This commission is now at the top of the list, since we've now completed the first two missions. Again.... the spectre in Sokal Keep mentioned a library where this sort of information was being gathered...
She repeats the commission concerning the powerful item being auctioned off in Podol Plaza, and then this new one appears:
We go through the east door:
Well, since it's south of Podol Plaza, we'll try this one after we dealt with the auction mission.
With that, we leave the City Hall.
The reward from the City Clerk gave us enough XP for several characters to level up:
All ready to go for our next mission!
Next time, we go look for this library, and have some interesting encounters in Kuto's Well.
(Map of Sokol Keep from the clue book now that we've finished with it)
Back in Phlan, at the end of the pier.
It's night time, so all we can do is head back to the inn to rest and memorize spells
That's not enough time to get us to 00:00, so we'll add some extra rest time.
And in the morning:
I was thinking of selling the hammer, but it's nice as a backup against creatures susceptible to blunt damage, so we'll just keep it.
Current funds after leaving the store. Off to the City Clerk!
Not bad at all!
This commission is now at the top of the list, since we've now completed the first two missions. Again.... the spectre in Sokal Keep mentioned a library where this sort of information was being gathered...
She repeats the commission concerning the powerful item being auctioned off in Podol Plaza, and then this new one appears:
We go through the east door:
Well, since it's south of Podol Plaza, we'll try this one after we dealt with the auction mission.
With that, we leave the City Hall.
The reward from the City Clerk gave us enough XP for several characters to level up:
All ready to go for our next mission!
Next time, we go look for this library, and have some interesting encounters in Kuto's Well.
(Map of Sokol Keep from the clue book now that we've finished with it)
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Demetrios1453
Hero
Pool of Radiance (Part 15): Kuto's Well (Part 1)
We head out through the Slums, and, finally, the alarm is no longer sounding. I guess killing all those monsters means there's no one to sound it any more.
We walk through the Slums, having to follow a circuitous route since the area isn't set up well. This becomes very tedious for all the times you have to go through it. Finally, we reach the west side of the Slums and enter the next block over: Kuto's Well.
And here is the eponymous well in the center of the district, although we're not going to investigate it quite yet.
Kuto's Well doesn't have a commission given out by the City Clerk (in a way, as we shall see), although it does have a set number of random encounters (10) and a boss to deal with. We won't go to the Well quite yet, and instead explore the southern areas of the block. Within a few steps though:
They are fairly easy to take out (with just 10 HP each), but already it's obvious that encounters here are a step up from what we've fought before:
We go through the doors straight ahead and:
Lizardmen (back before lizardfolk had females and reproduced by fission apparently) are definitely among the tougher foes we've encountered. Although they don't have a huge amount of hit points, they do have a fairly low AC, and have multiple attacks. Their giant lizard pets aren't too bad (although they have more hit points), but can be rough in packs.
Thankfully, this is a small group and are taken care of quickly, with little fuss.
I wonder what's behind that door they were guarding?
Well, that was weird and cryptic. At least her information is more useful than the fortune teller back in the Slums. Also, if she can just disappear at will (unless "the woman is gone" just means "she steps out the door"), why did she stay in here, and why did whoever nailed the doors shut (probably the foe we're going to meet soon who basically rules this block) do so?
We search the room, and...
Ooh, very nice.
All quite useful. Bant will get the magical banded mail, since he's been getting the short end of the stick with magic items so far. Buffy will get the bracers, as the ones she has now are AC 6, and I'll give the staff to Brin, just because her icon is carrying one.
The party's ACs are looking better now:
And Brother Baltor has gained enough XP from all this treasure to gain a level:
Let's head back towards the Well. As we near the well, we get swarmed by some kobolds:
But, being kobolds, they are rapidly taken care of. We now reach the Well, and...
Another kobold attack (this time as a set encounter), with so few kobolds it's over very quickly.
Not quite done yet, a similar group of kobolds climbs out of the Well, which is taken care of as quickly as the first:
The kobolds climbed out of the Well, so let's take a look inside.
Intrigued, so yes, we do climb down.
Not so secret if it's left ajar, is it?
Ouch! That's not nice. At least only one character received any damage. They run off before we can catch them.
We move around a bit in this dungeon, and soon:
So infamous that we have never heard of him up to this point. And, geesh, what is going on with his eyes and teeth? (We later find that he's a half-orc, the only one in the game, and that's the best they could do to indicate that in his portrait).
Surrendering will strip you of most of your items and then thrown out of the Well. So fight it is!
Norris the Gray uses a hobgoblin icon for some reason, but he does have a good amount of hit points and low AC. Also, we probably want to remove those kobold leaders in the back quickly, since they have ranged attacks. My melee will concentrate on Norris first and then the lizardmen, while my ranged take out the kobolds. A sleep spell will take out a good number of the leaders at once, and Brin obliges:
With my melee concentrating on him, Norris goes down quickly:
And soon it's just mopping up the remaining helpless foes:
They mainly have your basic items, but Norris did have something good:
Regular chainmail and shield, but a magical sword! That will go to Bant, who's been stuck with a magical broadsword for a bit. He'd still like an axe, but a sword will do.
While we were looting:
Norris and this Boss apparently didn't get along too well. And beyond that:
Hmm.... Maybe there's a reward or something?
Meh, a dripping labyrinth under a well. Not exactly ideal. I mean, I'll rest here if necessary when passing through, but it's definitely not going to be our new home.
We go further back into Norris' lair (the red/black walls have an unfortunate tendency to blend together and make finding doorways difficult), and reach a room in the back, where we search:
Is there any question here?
Even though it's all coin and gems, it's a nice haul. And it gave us enough XP for some leveling up:
The magic-users have gained access to 2nd-level spells now, and both choose stinking cloud, which can be situationally useful, as I'll demonstrate shortly in my next post. It's certainly the best choice for them at this point. With that, the party decides to rest to regain health and memorize spells.
And since we've hit the maximum limit for uploads, we'll continue with Kuto's Well in the next post.
We head out through the Slums, and, finally, the alarm is no longer sounding. I guess killing all those monsters means there's no one to sound it any more.
We walk through the Slums, having to follow a circuitous route since the area isn't set up well. This becomes very tedious for all the times you have to go through it. Finally, we reach the west side of the Slums and enter the next block over: Kuto's Well.
And here is the eponymous well in the center of the district, although we're not going to investigate it quite yet.
Kuto's Well doesn't have a commission given out by the City Clerk (in a way, as we shall see), although it does have a set number of random encounters (10) and a boss to deal with. We won't go to the Well quite yet, and instead explore the southern areas of the block. Within a few steps though:
They are fairly easy to take out (with just 10 HP each), but already it's obvious that encounters here are a step up from what we've fought before:
We go through the doors straight ahead and:
Lizardmen (back before lizardfolk had females and reproduced by fission apparently) are definitely among the tougher foes we've encountered. Although they don't have a huge amount of hit points, they do have a fairly low AC, and have multiple attacks. Their giant lizard pets aren't too bad (although they have more hit points), but can be rough in packs.
Thankfully, this is a small group and are taken care of quickly, with little fuss.
I wonder what's behind that door they were guarding?
Well, that was weird and cryptic. At least her information is more useful than the fortune teller back in the Slums. Also, if she can just disappear at will (unless "the woman is gone" just means "she steps out the door"), why did she stay in here, and why did whoever nailed the doors shut (probably the foe we're going to meet soon who basically rules this block) do so?
We search the room, and...
Ooh, very nice.
All quite useful. Bant will get the magical banded mail, since he's been getting the short end of the stick with magic items so far. Buffy will get the bracers, as the ones she has now are AC 6, and I'll give the staff to Brin, just because her icon is carrying one.
The party's ACs are looking better now:
And Brother Baltor has gained enough XP from all this treasure to gain a level:
Let's head back towards the Well. As we near the well, we get swarmed by some kobolds:
But, being kobolds, they are rapidly taken care of. We now reach the Well, and...
Another kobold attack (this time as a set encounter), with so few kobolds it's over very quickly.
Not quite done yet, a similar group of kobolds climbs out of the Well, which is taken care of as quickly as the first:
The kobolds climbed out of the Well, so let's take a look inside.
Intrigued, so yes, we do climb down.
Not so secret if it's left ajar, is it?
Ouch! That's not nice. At least only one character received any damage. They run off before we can catch them.
We move around a bit in this dungeon, and soon:
So infamous that we have never heard of him up to this point. And, geesh, what is going on with his eyes and teeth? (We later find that he's a half-orc, the only one in the game, and that's the best they could do to indicate that in his portrait).
Surrendering will strip you of most of your items and then thrown out of the Well. So fight it is!
Norris the Gray uses a hobgoblin icon for some reason, but he does have a good amount of hit points and low AC. Also, we probably want to remove those kobold leaders in the back quickly, since they have ranged attacks. My melee will concentrate on Norris first and then the lizardmen, while my ranged take out the kobolds. A sleep spell will take out a good number of the leaders at once, and Brin obliges:
With my melee concentrating on him, Norris goes down quickly:
And soon it's just mopping up the remaining helpless foes:
They mainly have your basic items, but Norris did have something good:
Regular chainmail and shield, but a magical sword! That will go to Bant, who's been stuck with a magical broadsword for a bit. He'd still like an axe, but a sword will do.
While we were looting:
Norris and this Boss apparently didn't get along too well. And beyond that:
Hmm.... Maybe there's a reward or something?
Meh, a dripping labyrinth under a well. Not exactly ideal. I mean, I'll rest here if necessary when passing through, but it's definitely not going to be our new home.
We go further back into Norris' lair (the red/black walls have an unfortunate tendency to blend together and make finding doorways difficult), and reach a room in the back, where we search:
Is there any question here?
Even though it's all coin and gems, it's a nice haul. And it gave us enough XP for some leveling up:
The magic-users have gained access to 2nd-level spells now, and both choose stinking cloud, which can be situationally useful, as I'll demonstrate shortly in my next post. It's certainly the best choice for them at this point. With that, the party decides to rest to regain health and memorize spells.
And since we've hit the maximum limit for uploads, we'll continue with Kuto's Well in the next post.
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