Update 2, in which most of level 2 is explored
Heading down the stairs I notice BROBERT is feelign quite peckish, so I top everyones food-o-meter up with delicious snail meat.
Slithering sounds alert is to a nearby cell with snails. Our torch slowly burns out as we fight them.
But both BROBERT and Roxorowskij gain a level from the fightan!
Here are the full skill trees available to fighters. BROBERT will focus on getting his armor stat up so we can equip things that'll make him tankier. Meanwhile, Roxorowskij levels his athletics for the vitality bonus. Hit points are not gained retroactively when it goes up, so it's worth investing in this early (I think).
We find our first hat. As always BROBERT gets the cool stuff first.
Shortly after, more snails see Spekkmeister and Crooked Bee join the glorious heights of level 2. As a rogue, Spekkmeister will focus on missile weapons. Even though we have yet to find any.
Meanwhile, Bee gets access to several schools of magic. I notice rank 5 spellcraft will make 2 additional spells available to her(!). So she grabs that immediately.
Only a short distance into level 2 and we're already level 2.
Further exploration ensues.
We meet a new enemy. These tiny buggers are a real pain in the ass. They fling acid projectiles that are best avoided through standing at a corner, then immediately sidestepping out of the way when it attacks and back again before it can move forward.
I mistimed it a few times. The projectiles hit all party members for quite a lot of damage.
Past the fungi forces we find a key and a compass. The compass is actually pretty neat, as the icon in your inventory changes as you change facing. If you're playing on old school mode (we aren't) this should help your maps sort-of correspond to what's actually in the game. Hands up everyone who suspects Bee is getting slightly moist at the thought of having to draw her own maps again.
We also find a truly codexian weapon, elevating ourselves to a machete raep gang
Since it's possible to close the door from within, this seems like a safe place to rest and we're low on hitpoints. Zzzzz...
...Huh?
The plot thickens! I also realized I could place notes on the map. I'll try to remember ot do so to make this LP easier to follow.
We find another scribble on the wall. Shelter sounds good.
Immediately left of the scribble there's an empty torch sconce. Putting a torch in it makes a secret door slide open.
A pretty sweet helmet. But -10 evasion if you don't have heavy armor ptoficiency is pretty harsh. We'll hang onto this until BROBERT does.
Headed into the cells we find snails which are quickly dispatched.
There is also a cell which contains stuffies.
Light armor (BROBERT will be able to equip this next level at no penalty) and a key underneath. We can't quite reach the arrows. I couldn't find any obvious buttons or levers to open the bars.
A bit further down the corridor we find a room with a door and two touchpålates. Flapping sounds are heard from behind.
Hmmm. There's a side corridor extending to immediately behind the LEWT cell. I wonder...
Yep!
Poison arrows for Spekkmeister. Now all we gotta do is find you a bow
Placing rocks on the two pressure plates opens the foor. the flapping sounds turned out to be this ugly bird-thingie. It moves one square forward wheneve rit attacks, so you can't avoid it by stepping backwards. Maneuvering into a 2x2 (or bigger) room and sidestepping works fine however.
A bit further down the corridor is another save point.
The scribble here says no weapons allowed inside. I tried screenshottign the translation a few times, but Fraps wouldn't cooperate.
Placing a spare weapon in the alcove next to the scribble opens the gate. Dont' place a weapon you're actually using here, since there are snails immediately inside.
A little loot in here and a switch
That opens a secret door and gives us Pointy shoes! Those should probably go to the rogue.
Exploring on we find a strange glow.
And this 3x3 room with a touchplate.
Scribbles say "Enter thy grave!" Obvious trap is obvious.
Stepping a few squares back and tossing a rock into the room makes a switch visible and the gate slam shut.
Secret doors open inside the room and more skeletons step out. Had we walked in there they would probably have made short work of us. Fortunately, we can now face them in a long, narrow corridor with Bees ice shards spell.
Pushing the button next to the bars opens them and waltz-time ensues.
Most interesting loot we find in the room is a magic scroll that explins how bees spell works if we hadn't figured it out by ourselves already.
Progress so far.
Stepping into the glowy area teleports us someplace else.
A short corridor with cells on either side. One of them contains a monster.
Another a bag -- more interesting.
There's also a switch here. Pressing it fills all of the cells with a teleportation glow.
Accidentally released the skeleton while messing wit the button. It doesn't follow you through teleporters, so you can cheese the fight by backing up to the entrance teleporter and jumping back and forth.
A few more button presses shunts the bag we found in the cells out to us.
It contains another key as well as some food and a helmet.
With 2 keys found we cna now open the gates to the save gem.
Another 2 keyholes in the wall behind the gem and a door on either side. We pick one at random which leads us into a largeish empty room.
At the back of the room we find a switch-brick which causes--
Holy fuck! Well, you can't really see this in a screensht, but my entire screen was shaking as if the dungeon was hit by an earthquake before I pressed the stone. I nearly jumped out of my chair.
Anyway, pressing the switch makes a secret door slide open. the alcove contains another switch.
Which makes another secret door slide open. There's a monster behind this one.
Kiling it reveals another switch... Which makes a final door slide open, behind which is a key.
It fits the lock near the save gem.
Headed down th eother side corridor we reach a teleport glow.
Stepping into it just shunts us back to the cell wecame from however. Clearly another approach is needed.
Turning around to leave, I spot a hidden switch. It turns off the teleport glow, but only for a few seconds. You have to press it then immediately run backwards, as taking time to rotate means you won't step past the glow befor eit reappears.
A trapdoor with a trigger plate on the other side. We toss a rock over.
More monsters on the other side results in everyone but bee levelling up. WE also find a pretty spiffy hand axe for BROBERT, which'll allow him to attack faster than with the spear he looted off a skeleton. We also find a key.
BROBERT levels his armor skill enough to equip leather armor without penalty. The remaining point is put into axes.
Meanwhile, Roxorowskij spreads his points between Athletics, Armors and
swords Machete.
The Spekkmeister continues pumping his missile weapons. Hopefully I'll find a bow for him soon.
Returning to Comrade Save Stone we slot the second key and pass within to a teleport glow.
We find another magic scroll. Bee has nowhere near enough Earth majicks to cast this however.
Progress update. Looks like the level may be pretty much done.
We find another hidden switch for a secret door.
Mushroom men within.
Which prompts a level up. Bee grabs another 4 ranks in ice magic for spell access.
Exploration continues.
We run into even more mushroom men. Dispatching them we find a leverl.
which releases acid-spitting mushrooms!
Sadly, I back into a corner and get trapped while they melt our faces. RIP Codexian party
And thus we reach our first TPK. More updates later.
