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Mowrghek Ien
*Evil* Maneha's Past Memory
The evil party stops off at Gref's Rest for a rest. I speak with Maneha, whereupon she explains in detail the memory that has been troubling her. She apparently committed a horrific military atrocity in a past life going back centuries ago.
Captain Ogne and Assassin
At #13 on the map of Stalwart Village will be Captain Ogne and a recently slain Assassin. Alliria uses her Watcher powers to read the memories of the Assassin, and thereby learns of the location of a bog with an enemy waiting for her. This event triggers The Phylactery's Promise quest.
*Evil* Bog Lurker and Bog Bats
I show the next few parts from the perspective of the evil party. I start off by collecting several plants in the northeast corner.
I edge westward and easily kill off a lone Wraith. I next have Durance unequip his shield. The point is to make Critical Hits more likely while he wields only his Steadfast sword.
At #9 will be a Bog Lurker and several Bog Bats. The Bog Bats rely on acid spit attacks that individually aren't dangerous but can add up over the long haul. They are close to the Giant Dank Spore at #9. I therefore have Eder and Maneha go forward and lead them back to the party and away from the Giant Dank Spore.
I treat this battle as an opportunity to work towards one of the upgrades for Durance's Steadfast sword. I therefore have him quaff a Potion of Bulwark against the Elements, and then cast Dire Blessing on himself, Eder and Maneha. In the case of the latter, it makes it easier for them to take out the Bog Lurker.
After that, Durance plants a Symbol of Magran over the Bog Bats, with the point of whittling them down. He then goes about killing them off himself. He will cast Dire Blessing on himself again if he needs to, in order to improve his ability to land critical hits. I am nearing the requirement for the first upgrade of Steadfast, killing 5 enemies with the Sword on Critical Hits. Durance got 4 out of 5 during this battle.
*Evil* Giant Dank Spore
Now it's time to take care of the Giant Dank Spore. I have the whole party gang up on it until it is brought to near death. That's when the party retreats.
Durance now uses a sequence of Minor Avatar (for combat boosts), Dire Blessing (to increase his chances of Critical Hits) and Prayer Against Treachery (to immunize himself against the Spore's Charm and Domination powers). He then charges in by himself to attack the Spore.
He manages to finish it off with a Critical Hit, and thereby obtains the first upgrade for his Steadfast sword, which provides immunity to the Frightened condition.
Although I got it on my first try, I would have been willing to reload till I got the upgrade I wanted.
*Evil* Hunter's Mail
The next upgrade for the Steadfast sword is for Durance to either kill 20 enemies with it while his Endurance is below 40%, or to kill 100 enemies with it at any Endurance level. I conduct the next battle with that in mind.
At #13 will be a large assortment of monsters, including Bog Lurkers, Bog Bats and Peatsucker Oozes, led by a Bog Guardian. I start off letting the Lurkers, Peatsucker Oozes and the Bog Guardian come forward so that my warriors can cut them down. Aloth hits all of the enemies with a Wilting Wind spell to soften them up. Once the Guardian, Oozes and one of the Lurkers goes down, I retreat the party and let Durance go at it alone.
Sometimes he bolsters himself with spells like Minor Avatar or Dire Blessing, or will ingest a Potion of Minor Endurance when his Endurance is getting too low. He manages to kill the remaining Lurker and three Bog Bats while his Endurance was below 40%, and thus make progress towards the next upgrade.
A crate at #12 will have a Bog Bat pet, but I'm not interested and prefer Concelhaut's Skull.
The Hunter's Mail is on a dead corpse at #14. I have no use for it so I'll just sell it.
*Evil* Peatsucker Oozes
Just a little south will be a Bog Lurker, a Moon Spider, and a couple of Lesser Peatsucker Oozes. I send Durance ahead to kill off the Moon Spider and Peatsucker Oozes. He now has 6 kills with Steadfast while his Endurance is below 40%, by way of progress towards the next upgrade. The rest of the part gangs up on the Lurker and hangs back once that's done.
Across the bridge and at #15 will be two Greater Peatsucker Oozes and a few Lesser Peatsucker Oozers. I send Durance on by himself to the bridge, have him cast Prayer Against Imprisonment on himself, and he lets the Lesser Oozes come to him. Aloth softens them up with a Wilting Wind spell and then a Fireball spell. Durance kills off one or two of the Lesser Oozes, although others were taken out by the crossfire from the projectile attacks of the Greater Oozes.
Once the Lesser Oozes are gone, he guzzles a Potion of Minor Regeneration and renews his Prayer Against Imprisonment and begins to go to work on the Greater Oozes. He begins that endeavour by casting a Symbol of Magran over them in order to inflict continuous Burning Damage on them.
Even so, he's taking a beating, so he retreats from the bridge and casts Withdrawal on himself. The rest of the party gangs up on one of the Greater Oozes just to be safe.
Durance comes out of his Withdrawal just as the party retreated westwards and the Greater Oozes was about to go back east over the bridge. Durance leads the Greater Ooze back over the bridge. Now I have the rest of the party gang up on it until it's near death. After that, I retreat the party and let Durance finish it off.
He now has 9 of the 20 kills that he needs. He's also getting beat
*Evil* Will-O-Wisp
There will be a few plants and a Will-O-Wisp around the pool at #16. The Will-O-Wisp is not hostile to begin with, but I have Durance force-attack and kill it anyway.
*Evil* Herla
At #17 will be Herla, who gives me the Bogged Down task. I also buy some potions and a set of Camping Supplies from her.
*Evil* Bog Bats
There will be five Bog Bats at #18. I leave most of the party well away to the east. Eder goes on ahead and absorbs their initial onslaught. Aloth comes up and hits them with a couple of Wilting Wind spells, and a few Fireball spells, in order to soften them up.
Once they're softened up, I have Durance bring himself close to the Bats and have Eder retreat out of their sight. Durance's survival is not a given, so I take no chances. I have him use Consecrated Ground on himself, and repeatedly when he has to. He'll also use potions to recover Endurance when he has to. He needs to walk that fine line between keeping his Endurance below 40% and not getting overwhelmed by the Bats' spit attacks.
Aloth will now cast Call to Slumber over as many Bats as he can. And in fact does so numerous times in succession to keep the Bats rendered Prone and thereby minimize the dangers for Durance. Durance starts to kill them off one by one.
Once I can get Bats reduced to pairs, Aloth uses the Gaze of the Adragan spell on them insted. That spell has the additional benefit of allowing Durance to inflict double damage on the Bats. He eventually manages to kill them all.
He now has 15 of the 20 kills that he needs for the next upgrade.
*Evil* Second Steadfast Upgrade
There will be Bog Cultists around spots numbered #21. I send Eder a little west and get the attention of a lone Cult Assassin. He lures her eastwards, and then whittles her Health down by himself. Durance approaches. Once Eder has her 'near death' he retreats and lets Durance take over. Durance buffs himself with Consecrated Ground and takes her out. I repeat the process with another lone Cult Assassin a little more west.
There will be a Bog Druid and a Bog Apprentice near the Blood Moss at #20. My approach here is a little different. I have the party gang up on one of them until he's near death, and then gang up on the other until he's near death as well. Durance meanwhile is preparing himself with Consecrated Ground and Minor Avatar. Once both Cultists are near death, most of the party retreats and Durgan swoops in to finish them both off. He is one kill away from the second upgrade.
He is pretty beaten up now, so his Endurance will automatically be below 40% at the start of the next fight. There is another Will-O-Wisp north of Herla. Durance makes this a last easy kill that he needs to obtain the second upgrade for his Steadfast. The blade, in the hands of a Priest, now has a 15% chance of inflicting Sun Lance on its target upon a Hit or Critical Hit.
*Evil* Third Steadfast Upgrade
There is one last upgrade for Durance's Steadfast sword. He must at any point in time reach a Might score of 28. It is quite easy for a Priest to reach though.
He has a base Might of 13. He gets a +1 from his Human heritage. He has another +3 from his Girdle of Maegfolc Might. That puts him at 17 so far.
I return to Caed Nua, and choose the Training Grounds resting option to add another +3 to his Might, for a total of 20.
I come back to Mowrghek Ien, travel to the southern edge, and loot the crate at #26.
Just a little west will be a couple more Bog Cultists. The party kills them off easily. The real event is when during the battle Durance casts the Minor Avatar spell on himself, which effectively raises his Might to +3. The third upgrade is obtained once the battle ends.
Bog Cultists
I start to kill off the Bog Cultists along the south edge. If it's the odd spellcaster or two, it's usually best to just rush them and take them out quickly before they can do much.
I fight a large group at #27. Alliria uses Reinforcing Exhortation on Kana and Devil of Caroc, but this time rushes forward. The point is that she becomes the focal point of an Amplified Wave from Grieving Mother. Grieving Mother then follows up with an Ectoplasmic Echo also focused on Alliria and runs it over the numerous enemies to inflict a lot of damage. Hiravias of course starts with Moonwell and Returning Storm, while Sagani and Ituumak work together against enemy spellcasters.
An Angry Letter
I kill off the odd Bog Cultist Assassin as I start to make my way up the causeways in the southwest corner. There will be a group of Bog Cultists at #31, some of which are Moon Godlikes which can make the battle tougher than usual. Nonetheless, I manage to outlast them without much damage once Hiravias gets off Moonwell and Relentless Storm, and Grieving Mother gets off an Amplified Wave off of Ituumak.
A crate at #32 has an An Angry Letter, which provides a clue for the Bogged Down task.
*Evil* Badrwn's Notes
Now I switch back to the perspective of the evil party. The narrow walkways around the southwest corner afford the party wonderful opportunities to exercise crowd control. But I also have to be careful and use Scouting Mode to sniff out traps at spots marked 't'. At one point, Aloth has to switch to his Gloves of Mechanics to be able to disarm one of the trap.
Arcanist Badrwn and the rest of his Cultists will be at #33. Aloth disarms the trap east of him first, and then plants a Hail of Darts trap of his own. Zakara heads out to get the Cultists' attention, and then lure them back to the rest of the party.
Durance does his usual buffs. Aloth begins with Eldritch Aim and Chill Fog in front of the warriors, and continues to assault the enemies with offensive spells. But I still need to be careful. The Cultist Barbarians can get behind my shield wall of tanks with their Dragon Leap power. Zahua attacks them whenever they try it and at the same time protects the spellcasters.
Soon only Arcanist Badrwn is left, and I gang up on him easily enough.
A chest at #34 has Badrwn's Notes, which are relevant for the Bogged Down task.
The Phylactery's Promise
First, Alliria puts on her Ring of Changing Heart and then eats some Dragon Meat to raise her Resolve to 17. There's a specific reason why.
I next click on the vine door at #35, and encounter the reincarnated Wizard known as Llengrath, along with her two pet Bog Dragons, Turisulfus and Gafonercos. I could pick a fight with them, which would then also include another Wizard and a LOT of Xaurips.
However, since Alliria has Concelhaut's Skull in her possession, it opens up the possibility of reaching an agreement with Llengrath. First, I offer the Skull, but Llengrath is initially hesitant. The follow ups are the Diplomatic dialogue option, the Intellect check of 16, and then the Resolve check of 17 to agree to an exchange of knowledge.
That allows me to conclude The Phylactery's Promise quest without a fight. That means that I'll only get two Bog Dragon Scales instead of four had I gone through with the fight and won. But it also means that Alliria gets the Mental Prowess talent, which gives her +1 to each of Intellect, Perception and Resolve.
I leave back out the vine at #35. Now I use one of the Bog Dragon Scales to maximize the Deflection bonus of Devil of Caroc's Sura's Supper Plate. I save the other scale for later, once I find a better shield for Kana.
*Evil* The Phylactery's Promise
Zakara prefers to keep Concelhaut as a pet, so while I'm willing to explore the conversation in its entirety, I inevitably pick a fight with Llengrath and her minions.
The party starts well back and to the south, so I have a little time to get set up. Zakara and Zahura each ingest a Potion of Iron Skin and then a Potion of Power. Eder uses a Potion of Iron Skin, while Maneha uses a Potion of Power.
Durance starts with a Prayer Against Imprisonment to protect against paralyzing spells, then Devotions for the Faithful, and then Consecrated Ground. This can be a very long battle, so it doesn't follow the typical pattern of Durance peeling off several buffs at the start. He needs to conserve his resources and use them when they truly matter at various points in the battle.
Aloth initiates a sequence of Eldritch Aim, a Pull of Eora in front of the party, and then a Malignant Cloud at the same spot. The hope is to minimize enemy spellcasting, especially from Llengrath, and inflict damage on them over time, even kill them outright.
A fortunate development occurs in that the Pull of Eora pulls Llengrath closer to the party and to its left. Aloth jumps at the opportunity to incapacitate her with Concelhaut's Crushing Doom. I send Zahua straight after her, and he soon takes her out. *Note* Llengrath can be really dangerous if she's able to use her spells on the party from a distance with the dragons attacking you. In particular, her Dread Haze spell can be deadly since you won't have any sense of how close you are to dying, and with the powerful attacks of the Dragons being fully capable of obliterating the party in moments. If the opportunity to take her out quickly presents itself, by all means seize it.
At about the same time, I sent Eder well ahead to try and hold and distract Turisulfus, who's the harder of the two Dragons to kill. He ultimately gets mowed down, but the delay was a valuable one.
Aloth meanwhile peels out a Wilting Wind spell, while Durance whips out a Storm of Holy Fire, with the intention of thinning out the crowd of Xaurips. It is about that point that Llengrath falls, and frees up Zahua.
My next target is Gafonercos. I have all three of Zakara, Maneha and Zahua attack him. Turisulfus is immune to petrification, whereas Gafonercos is not. I therefore have Aloth use Gaze of the Adragan spells on him repeatedly in order to both immobilize him and expose him to double-damage attacks.
Durance meanwhile casts another Consecrated Ground, as well as a Symbol of Magran with the hope of Blinding nearby enemies. It is at about this point that Eder falls.
About partway through the battle, Zakara decides to summon Concelhaut's Shade. I have it use its Concelhaut's Crushing Doom spell on Gafonercos in order to help immobilize it and keep it down and vulnerable.
I next have the Shade activate its Concelhaut's Parasitic Staff. Durance casts another Devotions for the Faithful. Gafonercos soon falls.
Now I turn my efforts to Turisulfus. Zakara begins by using Sworn Enemy on him. The reason that I chose Turisulfus for Sworn Enemy instead of Gafonercos is that the former does not have resistance to Slashing Damage, whereas the latter the does.
Aloth guzzles a Potion of Eldritch Aim, and then uses Concelhaut's Crushing Doom on the remaining dragon. As soon as it runs out, he uses another and another in order to keep it down and minimize its danger. He's also willing to throw in a Malignant Cloud or two in between to chip it down with Raw Damage over time.
Now all of Zakara, Maneha, Zahua and the Shade of Concelhaut go all out for Turisulfus. Zakara uses both of her Flames of Devotion on it. Durance meanwhile uses another Consecrated Ground spell. The Dragon eventually succumbs to the concerted effort.
Unfortunately, Zahua falls soon afterwards. But by then, only a Bog Lurker, a Xaurip Beastmaster and a Xaurip Archer are left, so I'm pretty much at the finish line anyway. The battle is effectively over.
The item of interest left behind by Llengrath herself is her Grimoire. Aloth uses it to inscribe Llengrath's Superior Elemental Bulwark into his own grimoire. The spell provides 100 points of Damage Reduction against elemental attacks and lasts for 30 seconds. Can really come in handy in battles against other dragons and enemy spellcasters. Aloth has now rounded out his 8th level spell selection.
The two dragons between them leave behind four Bog Dragon Scales. I will soon use them to upgrade armors and shields for the party.
The evil party now gains +15 to Stronghold Prestige, for a total of 76. That is important, since it now gives me a 1 in 2 chances on an adventure roll of getting a Legendary Adventure, which I'll need to obtain the Glittering Gauntlets for Maneha.
The video concludes with the evil party returning to Caed Nua.
*Evil* Bog Dragon Scales
The evil party now has four Bog Dragon Scales to make use of.
The Legendary Quality enchantment for shields means a +16 bonus to Deflection. I add the enchantment to Eder's Redshield. It is perfectly sensible, as he is my main tank.
The Legendary Quality enchantment means a +8 Damage Reduction bonus for body armors. I therefore also add it to Eder's He Carries Many Scars armor. And again, it's sensible for the main tank.
I also add the Legendary Quality enchantment to Aloth's Leather Armor, largely because it is the only other body armor that will have enough enchantment slots to fit the enchantment into.
I also add the enchantment to Durance's Little Savior shield. It is sensible to do so even for an off-tank.
While I'm at it, I also add the Burn-Proofed enchantment to his Vengiatta Rugia armor. The reasons being that Burning Damage Reduction is one of the weak points for Padded Armor, and it also fits thematically for a Priest of Magran.
Acuan Giamas
I make my way to #23, where I find a vine-covered wall, from which it is possible to descend into the sunken ruin below through a scripted interaction. Your choices are:
Benno
I find Benno entrapped by magical sigils at #19. Freeing him is the focus of the Bogged Down task. If you're a Wizard, a dialogue option becomes available that provides insight on the magical forces trapping him.
The solution to Benno's imprisonment is provided by Badrwn's Notes, from the crate at #34. I speak to him again and examine the sigils. Several Tethered Spirits will now appear and speak to me. A Diplomatic reply is possible early in the conversation. They express their wish to reform Benno's soul so that his personality becomes more benevolent.
Alliria refuses the request and destroys the sigils that are holding him in place. Doing so causes the Spirits to attack, all of whom cast Wizard spells. I win the fight easily, and Benno returns to Herla.
*Evil* Benno
The other option is to accede to their request and let them go to work. Neither option has long term in-game consequences, and is purely a roleplaying choice. Zakara exercises a Cruel option to let them shape Benno as they wish.
Bogged Down
I return to Herla, who is now rejoined by Benno. I get 2,000cp as a reward.
Now I make my way to Gref's Rest in Stalwart Village. Once there, I sell off my excess loot and rest up. The next destination for the good party is the Abbey of the Fallen Moon.
*Evil* Bogged Down
The evil party rests up with the Accuracy vs. Wilders bonus in anticipation of battling Skuldraks pretty soon.
Zakara collects her reward from Herla. Benno is noticeably nicer as well.
The video ends with the evil party making its way to the West Tower.
