Let's Play Dark Queen of Krynn - The fifth prophecy

[Erebus]

By the way, can you kill the gnome to skip its inane quest??

I would have done it if it were possible, but as far as I can tell, there's no way for the party to destroy the invisible barrier (and the gnome's behind it).

Interesting to note differences in playing style. I never bother with spells against low lives like bats or saughain.

Spells like fireballs make the fight much quicker and, with three mages, I have quite a lot of them. Of course, the more difficult parts of the game require the player to be more careful with how he uses the spells at his disposal.

As far as magic is concerned, I have to say I do miss the use of spells that didn't just inflict damages, such as Stinking Cloud, Hold Person, etc. But the enemies are now fairly high-level and they're much less likely to fail their saving throws than they were in the previous games.

Also I always play with a Kender. Kender Cleric/Thieves are nice since Hoopaks can be used by Clerics and can also be used for backstabbing.

The problem with kenders in this game is that Thief is the only class in which they don't have a maximum level. As clerics, they can't go beyond level 12, which isn't very high in DQK.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Well, the lighthouse does look like an interesting dungeon to explore to me, at least judging by this LP.

And the game sure has some wackiness to it.

Cool.

 

[Erebus]

Well, the lighthouse does look like an interesting dungeon to explore to me, at least judging by this LP.

So far, it isn't too bad (aside from the depressing amount of gray)... but we're not yet halfway through.

Also, there's the fact that I know where I'm going. The first time I played the game, I had to spend much more time exploring each floor and fight plenty of random encounters.

 

[Sceptic]

That FUCKING LIGHTHOUSE

Best worst troll in a game EVAR.

I think this is the reason why I never replay DQ. Even though I now know how to avoid the whole thing, I can't help raging whenever I remember my first playthrough. Fucking "porch"

for doing it all the proper way.

 

[Erebus]

I think this is the reason why I never replay DQ.

I can't blame you. Though I've played the game to its end several times, there have been many more times when I started playing it and then gave up after the undersea part because I couldn't stand entering that lighthouse again.


Let's resume our climbing !


Level 7

We've barely taken a few steps when we're faced with something rather threatening :

Well, since none of us are Thieves, I suppose we have no choice but to go through this thing.

The party moves forward :

But, despite what many movies would have you think, elaborate traps set in long-forgotten places are unlikely to survive decades of neglect. This one is so rusted that it doesn't work anymore.

There's a fight and we're not invited ? Woohoo ! Let's sit down and watch while eating popcorn !

Go red-brown !

Tan beholders for the win !

Why are we never allowed any fun ?

Three beholders is a lot to deal with. I had to reload 3-4 times because one of my PCs would always get killed or turned to stone. In the end, however, I was able to use an effective strategy.

See, while the powers of beholders are lethal, they have a fairly short range. And the beholders are ridiculously slow. So I pulled all of my PCs away from them.

Some of my PCs got slowed. Annoying, but they remain much faster than the beholders.

The mages couldn't do much against the beholders. However, a few fireballs were more than enough to deal with the gorgons and umber hulks.

And once the whole party is far enough from the beholders :

Let the sniping begin !

Wait ! I... I don't have a bow !

For fuck's sake... I know your starting equipment didn't include ranged weapons, but couldn't you have found the time to buy one during the previous two games ?

Melandris, Kundry and Faerlin keep shooting at the beholders, slowly retreating so as to remain out of enemy range :

Silivrin remains closer to the beholders, but out of their line of sight. Once a beholder has been sufficiently wounded, she can close in and finish it :

This strategy requires a lot of time, but we eventually kill the last beholder and resume exploring this level of the lighthouse.

Not again ! I hate monsters that are immune to magic.

Luck isn't on the side of these two beholders, however, and the party slaughters them quickly.

Behind them is a lever and, painted on the wall, the word "teleporter".

For a lever to be in the right position when we find it would completely violate the tradition of computer games. I have no idea what teleporter this is about, but let's switch it off !

(There are, in fact, quite a few teleporters spread throughout the lighthouse. They'll usually try to confuse the player by moving the party to a similar-looking part of the same level. Changing this lever's position deactivates all of them. Most of the teleporters aren't much trouble, even if you don't avoid them, but there's one very annoying exception.)

Shortly after, we reach the next stairs :

Level 8

The fire elementals have surprise on their side, which allows them to close in and inflict some damage on the party.

However, they're not nearly numerous enough to be a real problem.

After the fight, the party uses a few healing spells, then resume its exploration.

I'm not interested in the content of this chest, but these guys happen to also be blocking the way. Let's send them back to their elemental plane.

That's... a lot of elementals. Better start spamming Ice Storms, I guess.

Ice Storms are supposed to inflict 3-30 points of damage, but I don't think any of the 5-6 Ice Storms I used during this fight did more than 15 points of damage.

Elorin cast a Stinking Cloud out of nostalgia, but as it turns out, Fire Elementals don't actually need to breathe.

Fire elementals don't have any special powers, but they're fairly tough and their immunity to fire spells makes it harder to kill them.

Despite their fairly limited efficiency, the Ice Storms have severely wounded many of the elementals. The warriors of the party finish them off, with the help of a few more spells.

The treasure is ours ! As it turns out, it consists of two scrolls for mages, each containing three spells.

Speaking of spells, we don't have many left. Things may get tough if there's a big fight waiting for us at the top of this tower.

The next stairs aren't very far :

Level 9

Yeah, yeah...

Gorgons have a special attack that can turn their targets to stone, but their low HP mean that two normal fireballs are enough to kill almost all of them. The warriors of the team slaughter the few survivors.

The beholder is too far away to use its powers at the beginning of the fight. Using the sniping strategy again, we have no trouble killing him :

A bit later, we find more stairs :

Level 10

As it turns out, the tenth floor is divided into a lot of tiny rooms.

While exploring them, the party is attacked by a few gorgons, but the mages have enough spells left to slaughter them before they have a chance to petrify anybody.

Smells like the last battle of this dungeon !

Or the next to last one, if the wizard we're looking for turns out to be evil and insane.

After climbing all those stairs, having a reason to kill him would almost be worth not getting any useful information out of him. Anyway, let's take care of these tin men.

Iron golems have no special ability, but they're fairly tough. Weapons have to be +3 or better to hurt them ; not a problem for us, but a party not imported from the previous game might not have any weapon powerful enough to do damage except for the dragonlance !

Also, the iron golems are immune to all spells, with two exceptions : fire spells actually heal them...

FFFFFFFF.....

...and lightning spells, while not inflicting any damage, slow them down :

The golems have a single attack per round, but most of them, having been slowed, can no longer attack every round.

Our warriors have good enough AC that the iron golems aren't often able to hit them anyway. Iron golems, on the other hand, are not especially hard to hit :

The golems inflict a lot of damage when they do hit, but it doesn't happen often enough to pose a real threat to the party.

Once the golems have been turned to scrap metal, we go through the door they were guarding and find...

...new stairs.

Level 11

At the top of the stairs, the party finds a locked door :

All right, princess of power, bash it open !

Just one good kick and... ow ! I hurt my foot !

C'mon, opening locked things with your magically-improved strength of 23 is the thing you do best, so get to it. Chop chop.

Well maybe I should combine my strength of 23 with your intelligence of 18 by using your head as a battering ram !

Let's all calm down. Does anyone have a Knock spell ?

Don't look at me, we white mages aren't allowed to use alteration spells.

Maybe there's some sort of secret mechanism somewhere...


The party tries everything in its power, but the door seems absolutely impossible to open.

That's great ! That's just great ! We've gone up eleven fucking floors and fought scores of monsters just to be stopped at the last moment by a locked door ! Why didn't I become a milkmaid like my mother told me to ?!

Let's... Let's just rest for a while. We need to memorize our spells again and it'll give us the time to think about the situation.

Regaining all the spells used by the party since the last time it rested takes almost an entire day. Fortunately, this place seems to be safe from random encounters. Once the party is at full strength again, it's time to find how we can take care of this obstacle.

It's clear that we must have missed something. Perhaps there's a lever somewhere that can open this door. Let's go back to the previous level and explore it more fully.

Back to level 10

As the party explores the many tiny rooms, it discovers something :

Silivrin heaves aside the heavy statue.

Fastillion ? Is that the name of the wizard ? What should we tell him ?

Porch ? What porch ?

Good thing we have four people in the team who're able to use healing spells. Think of all the tragic deaths we would otherwise be unable to prevent !

It's not my fault if the game will let a NPC give us her dying words, but won't let me cast Heal on her !

Anyway, let's take her stuff.

The woman's possessions turn out to be a long sword +4 and bracers granting AC2.

Not bad.

So, what do we do now ? There's nothing else to be found on this floor and I'm pretty sure there's nothing important we've missed on the lower ones.

I think that... we should...



What should our heroic party do ? Have you figured it out ?

 

[Sceptic]

What should our heroic party do ? Have you figured it out ?

Of course we have! As the woman said, we need to look under the porch. Easy as pie

Wait... what porch? WHAT THE FUCK WAS SHE TALKING ABOUT?

And we've gone through ELEVEN FUCKING LEVELS, AND BACK, FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER?


Fuck you, SSI.

(sorry)

 

[Crooked Bee]

Heh, the trolling. Me likes.

But, despite what many movies would have you think, elaborate traps set in long-forgotten places are unlikely to survive decades of neglect. This one is so rusted that it doesn't work anymore.

That's a nice touch.

 

[Erebus]

Look, guys, what if there's no actual way of unlocking that door ? What if its only purpose is to make us waste our time trying to open it ?

You mean that the real way to reach the wizard is somewhere else ? But where ?

There's one thing we've repeatedly avoided since entering this lighthouse...

Are you kidding ? Jumping down that hole is suicide ! The Feather Fall spell doesn't exist in this game !

Come on, when have you ever seen heroes die because of a fall ?

In novels, never, but in computer games, it's pretty damn common ! Still... I don't feel like wandering in this tower forever, so I suppose we can try this crazy idea of yours. If we all die, we can just reload and pretend it never happened.

Okay, one... two... three... GO !

Well, it could have been worse, considering we must have fallen right down to the basement of the tower...

"The foul cavern is littered with mounds of filth, decay and rotting corpses. Some of the corpses are those of enormous spiders and huge bats. Others are of humanoid form. The stench is overwhelming. Torn and rotting flesh is mixed with something even fouler. The only illumination is a pale green light which comes from all around you. By the light of this hideous glow, you suddenly see forms rising from the mounds of filth."

I never cease to be amazed by the charming places our adventures give me the pleasure of discovering.

That's a lot of monsters (some of them aren't even shown in the above screenshots).
The greater otyughs don't have any special powers, though they shouldn't be taken too lightly. The purple worms have a poisonous attack ; fortunately, their large size means they can't reach us easily.

Die, foul vermin !

Taste magical fire, you ugly pests !

Burn ! Burn ! Burn ! Ah ah ah !

Once nothing is left of our assailants but a smell of ashes, it's time for us to explore this floor :

Unsurprisingly, the only thing of any interest to be found here is the way to leave :

By climbing to the top, we manage to reach a hole in the ceiling, which gives us access to a different floor.

We find the ruins of two staircases. They probably linked this floor to the ground floor.

One time was enough, thank you very much.

These hydras must be guarding something interesting...

That's what I thought about the golems, too.

As you could expect, the hydras have many attacks per round, which can make them slightly dangerous. However, in this fight, they start pretty far from the party and are in each others' way. A few fireballs kill most of them and the warriors make short work of the few hydras who manage to reach them.

Stop.

Look at this wall. What do you see ?

If you answer "just another wall", you're horribly, absolutely, tragically wrong. This is the most important wall in the entire tower.

Why, you ask ?

Because you can step through it :

The first time I played DQK, I discovered this well-hidden secret (even the "search" function will not reveal that the wall is an illusion) by complete chance : while I was moving forward, I accidentally clicked my mouse twice instead of just once. It almost certainly saved me from hours of frustration.

Looking at some maps of this floor and the ground floor shows that this illusory wall is right beneath the entrance to the tower. It's probably what the elf woman meant by "under the porch", though she could have made it clearer (admittedly, she was seconds away from dying).

The party goes through the portal and :

Now this looks much more promising. The wizard must be close.

But... But this means that we didn't have to climb up these eleven levels at all !? There was a pit on the ground floor, we could have jumped down it ! We wouldn't have had to explore all those dreary levels, climb all those stupid stairs and fight all those annoying monsters !

In fact, while it is possible to do such a thing, it's also fairly difficult. On the floor with the portal, there are two hard-to-notice teleporters that make it unlikely for the party to reach the illusory wall ; it's possible to bypass them, but it requires paying close attention (especially to your compass).

However, once you've used the lever on level 7 to deactivate the teleporters, the problem no longer exists and you can jump down the nearest pit confidently. Aside from getting the elf woman's equipment, there's no point in climbing the stairs all the way to level 11 (though she's found on level 10, she only appears after you've reached the unopenable door).

The party explores the well-maintained place.

If I manage to find all the porn that I'm sure is hidden in here, I'll burn it with a fireball.

With luck, the next door will lead us to the wine cellar.

Let's see...

What.

The.

Hell ?!

We've gone through thirteen levels - and by the way, I've won the bet and you guys owe me ten gems each - to find this ?!

Err... excuse me... sir ?

HEY, ASSHOLE !!

The party tells Fastillion about their mission.

" 'Hmm, well then, I suppose it's a good thing you came after all. There's evil at work in Thenol to the south, you know. Or I suppose you don't know and that's why you're here, isn't it ? Well, yes, there's evil at work in Thenol and Trandamere's probably behind it. He's sworn to conquer all Taladas, actually. Never was a nice guy, that Trandamere. The draconians are up to no good and Thenol's involved, no doubt about it.' "

Good thing he remembered to mention draconians. I was beginning to wonder what any of this had to do with the plot.

" 'The Hulderfolk might help. Probably would, in fact. You can find them to the east of Trilloman. But the price is high ; the price is always high. And you ought to go find the Oracle of Tengur in the Tombs of Kristophan. You can't beat the Oracle for a good augury. And that's what you need most likely, a good augury. I had the keys to the inner chambers of the Tombs here somewhere.' "

Searching through piles of magical stuff and assorted junks, Fastillion eventually manages to find what he was looking for.

" 'One of those opens the inner chambers of the Tombs. That should help.' He glances down at his model and seems lost in thought. Then he looks up. 'I did notice that you've been fighting beholders. I can see the signs of it on your armor. There weren't supposed to be evil things in my tower. The gorgons are supposed to keep them out. I bet they were working with the beholders, weren't they ? Hmff. I really should get around to training them. Oh well, time flies.' "

Less than an hour ago, we saw an elf woman who wanted to speak to you die because of one of your gorgons. But please, don't let that distract you from the important things you're obviously busy with.

So, what did we get out of meeting this guy, exactly ?

An undetailed suggestion that draconians are allied with the Kingdom of Thenol...

Other than that, he hasn't provided either help or information, but he's told us to visit the Hulderfolk to receive help and the Oracle of Tengur to receive information.

Who are the Hulderfolk, anyway ?

Traditional, old-fashioned elves. You know the kind : tricking mortals, bound by strange laws...

Sounds awfully pre-tolkienesque...

We can discuss all of this later. If we don't get out of this lighthouse soon, I'm going to throw u...

Shit.

There are several false choices throughout the game. In the present case, however, I don't think we're seriously expected to believe that whatever we decide will make any difference. We choose the most monocled option.

Back to the lower basement. We quickly climb up to the floor above it.

Another nondescript wall...

...hiding another portal.

Where are we now ?

If we've been sent back to the tenth floor or something like that, I'm really going to start crying.

Let's look around.

Hey, that guy's still here !

And we're on the ground floor, just a few yards away from the exit !

I don't think evening air has ever felt so refreshing...

So, where do we go now ?

Actually, I need a few days to myself. How about you guys find yourselves a beach and have fun until I'm back ?

I guess we can do that, but what do you need these few days for ?

You see, there's a bait shop owner in Hizden who has an appointment with several large-sized cartilaginous fishes. And I want to make sure he doesn't miss it.



In the next update, we'll visit the Hulderfolks.

 

[Elwro]

Oh! I have an idea! Does it mean you have to go back here:

?

If so, was it possible to find the key when you were there for the first time?

edit: hm, gotta read the last update

edit2: AH. Fun!

Thanks for the very nice updates!

 

[lightbane]

Lol with the tower, that was absolute trolling (hell, you can't even kill the mage responsible for this shit).

 

[Crooked Bee]

Awesome.

 

[Erebus]

...and even though the man was a complete waste of good breathing air, I have to say he really did give a good show. The sharks were also great, of course.

I can't believe you really did that.

Look, I'm a Chaotic Neutral PC who spends almost all of her time adventuring for the cause of good. Once a while, I just need to put something on the other plate of the balance.

Aside from Kristophan (the city closest to the island we started on), the other cities of the Minotaur League cannot be explored and only offer basic services.

It took some time for the forces of evil to figure out how to use the eggs of good dragons to create the army they wanted. Traags are proto-draconians, which their creators deemed a failure and abandoned on Taladas.

Yes, I'd really like to see them !

We buy a bow and some arrows for Silivrin, then leave and go east.

While it's possible to move around quite freely on the map, going to some places too early is largely pointless : we'd be able to explore part of them but essential events wouldn't trigger.

Looking for the Hulderfolk and looking for the Oracle are the two main quests available to us after leaving the lighthouse. Which one we do first isn't really important. I choose the Hulderfolk quest because it's much shorter, happens outdoors and doesn't involve any combat. I really need a rest from dungeons !

Let's investigate...

A strange charm takes control of our heroes, drawing them forward.

There really is no way to pass a saving throw when the plot demands that you don't...

Our heroes vaguely remember hearing quiet voices. More alarming is the fact that their food and water have been taken from them !

Hunger gnawing at them, our heroes start exploring the area.

Eventually, they stumble upon someone :

What the hell ? What are you doing here ?

(Myrtani was the main villain of Champions of Krynn. Tasslehoff briefly joined the party near the end of the game.)

The kender tells us how he came to be here :

" 'After the War of the Lance, I was bored and someone told me about the marak kender, here on Taladas. I was curious and made my way over. There was this ship and such. But have you met the marak ? They - they - they're as uninteresting as life gets. They worry and complain and it's hard to believe we're even related. Then a passing dragon mentioned the old elves here in Tualtin. So I came to visit.' "

(Instead of being kleptomaniac comic reliefs like the normal kenders, marak kenders are kleptomaniac paranoiacs. We fortunately won't meet them in this game.)

Tasslehoff tells us he was talking to the hulderfolk only moments ago, but that they've suddenly disappeared.

If only we had an elven ranger with us ! Surely he could use his superior woodcraft and knowledge of elven things to help us find the Hulderfolk !

How about you use some divination spells to find them, fireball girl ?

I may come to regret it, but all right, you can come with us.

Hunger (or perhaps magic disguised as hunger) starts weakening the party.

Let's make camp here and use our healing spells.

It won't replace food, but I don't have any better idea.

As the party rests, however, Faerlin suddenly hears a faint rustle among the leaves.

Well... okay...

If it gets us some food, I'm willing to learn dwarven.

The voice asks us to repeat several words :

The other words are "Shuwara" and "Bilbara".

Something startles whoever was talking to us and she leaves before explaining what these words mean.

The party resumes its exploration, but hunger keeps gnawing at the PCs :

I suspect whoever was talking to us is our only chance to get out of this situation.

Let's try resting again. Maybe she'll come back.

And indeed she does, though she still doesn't show herself.

She teaches us one more word, "Holbani", then offers to explain what they all mean :

"Limene" : We'll do that instantly
"Bilbara" : We politely but firmly decline
"Shuwara" : We block our ears to language of that sort
"Holbani" : Your humor is your greatest treasure (apparently, it's a word used in answer to a joke, but I've never found a way to properly use it)

Then she goes away again.

Ow !

Go fuck a tree if you love them so much, you cowardly cunt !

Obviously, wandering around will bring us nothing. The only thing to do is to rest and wait.

A bundle wrapped in leaves is thrown at our feet.

Try to keep it for yourself and you'll be eating a Lightning Bolt instead.

A good thing our mysterious stranger didn't decide to talk to you instead, you would have thrown a Delayed Blast Fireball at her already.

As Faerlin is about to bring the food back to the rest of the party, there's a whisper of sound and the elf woman suddenly reveals herself :

Hey there, baby !

Hands off, you poor excuse for a cleric.

The woman quickly disappears. The party wanders around a bit more.

After a while, they suddenly see a deer. They try to catch it, but :

Something tells me we're being harrassed by major assholes...

If this goes on for much longer, I predict that fireballs are going to start raining on these fucking trees and damn the consequences !

The party rests again and Elea comes back to visit us :

The word she teaches us this time is "Gebene". It means "We have peace in our hearts."

Then she leaves again.

We head for the heart of the woods, and :

A shaft of sunlight breaks into the dark forest, illuminating a great feast.

Doesn't take much to change their reaction to foreigners...

It's at times like this that I feel proud about my own elven race forgetting ancient traditions.

You bet ! Thanks to all of you, I could eat a red dragon right now !

It's Elea again. Since she obviously doesn't want the rest of the Hulderfolk to know she's been helping us, we act as if we don't know her.

In the next update, we meet the king and queen of the trolls.

 

[lightbane]

And so, one of the most foul and twisted creatures in existence shows up. Curse the day the gods made a terrible mistake and created that horrible race, the kenders.
Although these fairies sure are trolls too, I bet they regularly kidnap and enslave children for the lulz.

 

[Erebus]

(I've been posting updates a bit too fast, but it's because I'm going to be rather busy during november and probably won't have the time to post more for quite a while.)


As she leads us to the king and queen, Elea quickly reminds us of the words she's taught us. She also warns us that the queen is unlikely to be friendly.

The king expresses his pleasure at hearing someone use the ancient greeting of his people. However, it quickly becomes clear that the queen doesn't like us. Most of the time, she won't use our language even though she's quite capable of doing so ; the king translates what she says.

Choosing the right answers during the audience isn't exactly difficult, as you're about to see.

Once we get back to civilization, we'll be sure to tell them that describing you as anything less than "unfriendly assholes" doesn't do you justice.

Apparently, the Hulderfolk don't like strangers because they always come to cut down trees or steal Hulderfolk children. While there might be some truth in the first accusation, the second one is in fact a masterwork of hypocrisy. But the queen still insists on taking precautions :

Oaths are not to be made to the Hulderfolk lightly, for breaking them can have terrible consequences. But we don't really have a choice.

The royal couple asks us questions about the places we've visited since our arrival on Taladas, but since we haven't been to many interesting places, we aren't able to tell them much. The king mentions that he knows Fastillion. Then the queen, using our language for once, puts an end to the royal audience.

Now you're talking !

Wait, we...

What ? No we don't ! I want to party !

I'm sure you do, but we can't waste a whole month here !

The party explains its mission to the royal couple.

We tell them about the draconians. The queen isn't impressed, but the king is thoughtful. Then, he strides forward and :

The queen looks shocked, then extremely annoyed.

As emissaries, we would be allowed to leave the feast without having to wait for a whole month. However, the king wants us to do something first :

Such a thing is done by counting the leaves of this very ancient tree. Autumn is beginning and thus the task needs to be done now.

Shouldn't be that hard. How many leaves can a tree have ?

Very good question indeed...

After a bit of searching, the party finds the Mother of Trees :

Well... I guess we should get to work.

Unsurprisingly, Tasslehoff is too lazy to help us.

Finally we reach a number :

Are you guys still sure you wouldn't rather have spent a whole month partying and drinking ?

Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder.

We make our way back to the heart of the forest. Answering "Gebene" once more make the Hulderfolk appear again :

Finding the king, we tell him we've completed the task he set us.

My trolldar is tingling...

The queen is, in fact, making an OBJECTION !

Whaaat ?!

We're sent back to the Mother of Trees to count the leaves again.

No way ! Let's burn the fucking thing instead !

Harming the tree is of course a terrible idea and perhaps the only way you can die during this part of the game. Our oath to the Hulderfolk is so powerful that breaking it will kill us.

That... may well be one of the smartest things you've ever said. Let's do it !

That's right : the proper way to deal with this problem is to out-troll the queen !

Not quite as satisfying as using a fireball, but close !

We make our way back to the royal couple, ready to give our final answer :

What do you make of that, smart girl ?

Our answer gets a smile out of the king, but, unsurprisingly, the queen is not amused :

Luckily for us, making autumn come a bit earlier than it should have does not count as harming a tree.

He shows us draconian armors and weapons, as well as the rubble of dead baaz (baaz turn to stone when they're killed ; after a while, the "statue" will break down into tiny pieces.)

Woohoo ! Presents !

The king starts by giving us food and water, then some magical items, which include a long bow and an elfin chain mail.

After that, he gives us two special items :

The Ring of Deception starts glowing whenever we meet somebody whose real appearance has been changed by magic. This will be invaluable, since some draconians have shapechanging powers.

The king tells us to give it to "someone with a neck stiff enough to wear it." (We won't meet that someone until much later in the game.)

The king says to us "wefbene", which apparently means "depart in peace and walk in light". Then, he leaves with his wife.

All right, now let's join the party, even if it's only for a night !

Our heroes eat, drink, tell stories... After a long while, they start feeling tired.

...

...

...

...

What the...?

Our heroes feel very stiff and their minds feel full of cobwebs.

Then we realize the truth : the Hulderfolk have used their magic on us !

But... But... But that means it wouldn't have changed anything if we'd accepted to stay during the whole feast ! And we'd have had fun for a whole month instead of sleeping ! I... I think I'm really going to cry, now...

That fucking king ! What was the point of making us his "emissaries" if it didn't save us any time after all ?!

Maybe the queen did this behind his back ?

Yeah... Or maybe we completely failed to guess who the biggest troll was between the two of them...

There's nothing else to be done but to try and leave this forest as quickly as possible.

Well, actually...

Elea tells us that Hulderfolk are able to make people sleep for very long periods of time.

Uh... Was she pregnant before she started sleeping ?

By Mishakal, I really hope so !

Elea now explains that she meant to ask us to take her with us. But it's no longer possible :

Aren't you old enough to just leave if you want to ?

Maybe you don't realize this, but twenty is way below the age of majority as far as elves are concerned.

Elea really wants to meet her mother, whose name she doesn't even know.

We give her our assurance that we will do so if given the chance.

Elea guides us to the tunnel that will make it possible for us to leave. Once there, it's time to say farewell to the only decent person we've met in these woods.

After a short travel, it's with no little pleasure that we reach civilization again :

 

[Crooked Bee]

Won't the real Draconian please stand up.

Also, the leaf-counting scene is hilarious. Do you collapse dead if you just nuke the tree or something?

Also, god-damned pointy-eared pricks.

Oh, and thanks for the splendid updates!

 

[Erebus]

Do you collapse dead if you just nuke the tree or something?

If we try to cut down the tree, the queen appears before us, yells "Oathbreakers !", and then... I don't remember the details, except that the PCs die rather messily.

 

[octavius]

 

[Crooked Bee]

Yes, more please. This is currently my favourite LP. :D

 

[Erebus]

We go back west to Kristophan, capital of the Minotaur League. It's where we'll be able to find the Oracle of Tengur.

Before entering the city proper, however, the party stops in front of a small house :

Let us boldly enter and solve whatever problem whoever lives in here has.

The owner of the place isn't difficult to find :

Right now, I only feel like reacquainting myself with my breakfast...

The party asks the hag about what happened to her and she tells us what follows :

" 'My name is Eshalla. Not long ago, I was shopping in the Imperial City, just minding my own business. All of a sudden, I looked down and saw this coin purse lying in the street. I innocently picked it up and this brutish minotaur grabbed me by the arm and accused me of stealing his purse ! I broke free and called him an ugly cow-faced spawn of a gnome. It was all I could do ! He took this quite personally and roared in anger. He signaled to a mage who was in his attendance and, before I could run away... poof ! I am as you see me, a withered hag with bad teeth and not a friend in the world.' "

The "lying in the street" bit doesn't sound quite believable, but those minotaurs really overreacted. Let's see what we can do !

I... I... I can no longer hide from the truth : I'm gay !

And I've unfortunately just taken a rigorous vow of absolute abstinence !

Pussies. Fine, I will do it.

But, as it turns out, CRPGs from 1992 didn't allow lesbian romance :

Okay, fine. Melandris, you kiss her !

What ?! Why me ?!

Because I'll do unspeakable things to you with a wand of lightning if you don't !

Melandris kisses the hag...

Eugh...

Yeah, Melandris, that was just a warm-up ! Do it again !

It's getting really hot in here ! Also, I bet twenty gems that her story was complete bullshit and that what we see is her real form.

That would be pretty smart, actually. I'll keep this trick in mind for my old age.

Way too much information.

Yeah, as a mage, I can attest that the third time's a never-fail charm ! And you know I'd never lie to you simply to have fun at your expense, Melandris !

Grrr...

Melandris kisses her for the third time...

What ? No way !

I love my life again.

I can't believe this...

(Eshalla's gift is a Cloak of Displacement, providing -2 to AC.)

Hmmm...

I take it the lesson to be learned from this is "In enduring, grow hard" ?

In the end, after Melandris and Eshalla have promised to see each other again, Eshalla leaves the house. We quickly do the same and head for the city itself :

Kristophan is a fairly large place and you can spend quite some time looking around.

Minotaurs obviously have no respect for humans, but the guards won't harrass or attack us for no reason.

However, things don't go well when we enter "The golden stables", a tavern for minotaurs :

We should let them eat their hay in peace.

There a few other places in the city that only allow minotaurs in. If the party refuses to leave, it will lead to a fight.

We head for the Old City, the seedy part of Kristophan :

As we come out of a store, we meet :

What the hell, woman ? It's been less than an hour since you last saw him !

I'm going to reward you so much !

Man, this is so unfair ! Why wouldn't this game allow me to have a nymphomaniac girlfriend ?

A nymphomaniac thieving girlfriend, considering how quickly she "finds" things.

Yes, let's complain that this game isn't more like Dragon Age 2, that's a sure way to make this Let's Play more popular.

Screw this, the next time I see a couple of minotaurs...

Once rewards have been exchanged, Eshalla leaves. Her new gift to Melandris is a Helm +3, making his AC even better than Silivrin's.

Suck it !

You'll have to ask that from your girlfriend the next time you see her.

As we resume our exploration of the Old City, we find :

Hey, the Oracle of Tengur ! That was easy...

Way too easy, I'm pretty sure.

The party enters a shabby parlor, full of exotic-looking junk. The air is heavy with incense.

Eh, why not ? It's not as if money has been of much use so far.

I'm fine with lovely women, but I don't do dogs. Well, not unless they're demonic hounds or something...

It quickly becomes clear that the "Oracle" is a complete charlatan. However, he has some slightly interesting information about the real Oracle of Tengur :

The Oracle of Tengur was a human advisor to the first minotaur emperor (who had conquered the human kingdom that previously existed in this part of Taladas). For that, he was labelled a traitor by other humans. However, the Oracle actually used his position to make sure that minotaurs wouldn't discriminate against humans too much. When he died, his spirit was hidden somewhere in the city, until it could be put to good use once again.

As we leave the fortune teller, we're faced with a group of thieves :

I'm a bit short on money. How about a fireball instead ?

Time to dance with rogues !

Let's... Let's just kill them, okay ?

The thugs are easily slaughtered. It's interesting to note that the rogues of the Old City are not as blindly aggressive as many petty criminals found in other CRPGs : once you've slaughtered a few groups of them, the rest will wisely choose to flee whenever they catch sight of you.

The party leaves the Old City.

We visit a training hall in order to level up some of the PCs. In order to be allowed in, we need to lie and say we're training for the champions guild.

Then, we go to a very different part of Kristophan, the Imperial City :

This is where you find the palace of the emperor, the senate, the ministries, etc. Not that we can enter them : the countless guards won't let us anywhere near the doors.

We've barely started looking around when :

The minotaur starts mercilessly beating his slave, not realizing that such behavior isn't healthy when PCs are around.

In the name of Mislaxa, taste my mace +4 !

Of course, hitting a minotaur isn't healthy either when there are plenty of them around.

The PCs are beaten and shackled, then dragged unconscious to the prison.

The man tells us that the old minotaurs hired the best champions money could buy and that we have no chance of surviving.

We'll see about that !

Minotaur justice relies mostly on might. Someone who wins a judicial combat in the arena is deemed innocent even if he's obviously guilty and vice-versa.

We're brought to the arena without being given the chance to use healing or buffing spells.

There are six minotaur champions spread around the arena. As you can see, they have very high HP and a good AC.

There are also two minotaur mages. These guys can use the Delayed Blast Fireball.

Killing the mages is the most urgent thing to do. Acting first, Kundry manages to wound one of them.

A DBF kills him and wounds the other one.

Minotaur Mages are far from being as well protected as Dark Wizards, but they still start the fight with Mirror Image, making them a bit tricky to hit with weapons. Both Silivrin and Melandris fail to finish off the surviving mage.

Another DBF does the trick.

All that remains now is to kill the six minotaur champions. Given their HP and AC, you'd expect it to be fairly difficult, but it's not.

The minotaur champions hit most of the time (even against an AC of -10 !) and they inflict decent damage. But what prevents them from being a very serious threat is that they simply refuse to move their lazy asses. Unless a PC gets into contact, the minotaurs will be content with using their slings and inflicting puny damages. That makes dealing with them ridiculously easy.

The warriors focus their attacks on a single minotaur at a time. With the help of a few more DBFs and plenty of Magic Missiles, they kill all of the champions.

We can really thank whoever had the bright idea of giving slings to those idiots...

A riot breaks out among the spectators. As chaos spreads, nobody stops us from leaving the arena.

Yeah, yeah, good luck with that, guys.

(As you could expect, the Minotaur League has seen plenty of riots before and this one isn't going to change anything. Besides, the League really isn't that bad when you compare it to the Kingdom of Thenol, which we'll be visiting at a later point.)


In the next update, we'll start looking for the Oracle of Tengur.

 

[lightbane]

So, no option to kill the whole town? A shame.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Lol with the tower, that was absolute trolling (hell, you can't even kill the mage responsible for this shit).

You get the option to attack him when you try to get his attention for the second time. Does it really let you attack him?

By the way, this is a very fun read. The underwater part sounds pretty vanilla RPG fare when you think about it, but the ambience makes it look neat (the nice graphics help)

I just don't understand how the agonizing elf woman on the 10th floor suddenly realized there was something fishy about the nondescript wall on the ground floor. Another thing - the 9th level summon calls gorgons that don't attack and serve as meat shields, yet the gorgons in the tower had a dangerous attack but low HP. What gives?

And finally, there is something hilarious about the party being constantly accosted by dragons and dispatching them as if they were random thugs. Skyrim ain't got shit on this

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Ah, Dragonlance, I read some of the books, the setting was a bit cliché but great

Until I saw the really horrible, terrible ending they gave to the series, so much derp (the anti-paladins, the Chaos god being even more evil than the goddes of evil herself, several of the main characters from the whole series being killed off-screen...)

What's wrong with it?

 

[Crooked Bee]

Romances!

 

[octavius]

I took a different route last time I played this game. I went to Kristophan before Hulderfolk, and once in the city I never made it to the Arena. I remember being attacked by those pathetic Black Rogues and then Dragons attacked the city and we fled underground. There my quest came to an end when we were unable to defeat a large pack of Vampires.
That should teach me not to be so Politically Correct that I include every race and class in my party...Having low level elves and dwarves really hurt and there is no place for softies in the Dark Queen of Krynn.

 

[Erebus]

You get the option to attack him when you try to get his attention for the second time. Does it really let you attack him?

I don't think I've ever tried. Given that receiving his advice is an essential step, the game probably doesn't let you really attack him.

Another thing - the 9th level summon calls gorgons that don't attack and serve as meat shields, yet the gorgons in the tower had a dangerous attack but low HP. What gives?

The summoned gorgons are the same as the regular ones. They're not very good meat shields, though they can be useful if they get disintegrated or level-drained instead of a PC, for instance. They couldn't hurt the fire elementals because it takes magical weapons to do that ; as for their petrifying breath, they don't use it all the time and some creatures are immune.

All in all, Summon Monsters is a very poor spell, that I would almost never use in a hard fight. But then, aside from Power Word : Kill, 8th- and 9th-level spells are of surprising little use.

I went to Kristophan before Hulderfolk, and once in the city I never made it to the Arena.

Kristophan is much closer to the lighthouse, so it seems more logical to go there first. But visiting the Hulderfolk will get you some XP and equipment that will make it slightly easier to look for the Oracle.

Fighting in the Arena is completely optional and doesn't really have any consequence.

There my quest came to an end when we were unable to defeat a large pack of Vampires.

Level-draining enemies are a real pain in the ass and that fight is indeed quite difficult.