Let's Play - Wizard's Crown: Completed!

[DaveO]

I uploaded two new game update videos. I'll probably give the character using the flail weapon a strength boost to 15 to use the +5 Scale armor that our Fighter/Priest with maxed Haggle has. I now have two sets of +2 Plate mail waiting in the Inn for enchantment. I'll also improve the character using the crossbow to 16 strength to use the storm heavy crossbow and to wear the other +2 Plate mail. That will give the whole party body armor that I won't need to worry about. The next update will occur at game day 100.

 

[Elzair]

I just got around to watching your videos, and I have a quick question. You said the final dungeon was a marathon. How long exactly does it take to beat it? I was just wondering because I recently played through the Stygian Abyss, and it took me around three hours.

 

[DaveO]

I'll have to explain what I mean by the last dungeon being a marathon. In my estimate, if you're just running thru the Palace with minimal encounters it could take an hour or two. Time to complete the Palace is based on a few prerequisites.

There are six levels of the Palace where the Crown is at. Level 2 will require tactical combat against Golems which means you must take the Golem Staff with you. Level 3 is an invisible maze, and unless you know where to look to find the scroll that reveals the map your party could spend more than a few minutes. Level 4 has the magic doors and getting them to cooperate will be a tedious chore. You have to send one character thru a corridor that causes morale loss with every step. If you don't, your whole party takes a hit and the only way to eliminate morale loss is at a tavern. Level 6 has Tarmon, and you might be able to win it with quick combat. The better bet is to use tactical combat so that you can switch to sharp/very sharp weapons to attack Tarmon with. Building up a party that can survive all the encounters in the Palace is 99% of the game, and the only way to build up a party is to fight monsters for experience. In my party creation commentary, I said that Dexterity is the most important attribute. Getting all characters to 20 dexterity means there will be few monsters faster than you. Life points are also important, so the more you have before attempting the Palace is better. Life points help to keep your characters going before they become unconscious due to injury.

You'll need the following items to have a good chance to complete the Palace with one run:
1. 150 feet of rope
2. A number of regeneration potions(which can be made with a character with a good Alchemy score)
3. Luck at 200 for all your Priests which helps for them to avoid physical attacks
4. Fully enchanted armor(+5) and at least two other magical protection items enchanted to +5
5. The Emerald Key
6. The Golem Staff
7. Multiple sharp/very sharp weapons for the fight against Tarmon

 

[DaveO]

I won't be uploading new videos to my channel until after the winter Olympics are over. Expect the next update to take a while, but I hope my comments and videos have been informative.

 

[DaveO]

I wanted to let folks following this thread that although I am not planning to post video updates until after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics, it does not mean I'm not still playing and progressing. I'm closing on game day 100, and thanks to the random item generator our party is now fully outfitted with +5 body armor of some type. The party seller has reached 16 dexterity, so after increasing his weapon skill to 200 I'll finally enter and complete the first three dungeons. Morale loss from doing night fights is generally a very manageable 15-20, so that usually means two trips before recovering in the Tavern from morale loss. If the treasure I get is pretty good, I make just one night fight. Our group still has only three poweful weapons, but using some +5 physical magic weapons that I found does make a difference.

 

[DaveO]

Game day 99 marks the current update on my channel today. I've included treks thru the first three dungeons. I'm dedicating the Golem fight to Anthony Davis, and I make the fight LOOK EASY. My next update will be game day 125, and I believe I'll be heading for the final dungeon of the six level palace of Tarmon around game day 150-175.

 

[DaveO]

Our party found a third Wizard's item. From my experience with the random generator and multiple playthrus, this is really good. Two body armor items and the Wizard's Jar as a substitute shield. I'm beginning to run out of items to enchant, but I have decided to start outfitting the front line fighters with another defensive item. That makes six items total for the first character, and I'll likely do the same for the other three characters based on weapon power. Our haggler has ~ 8 more night fight trips before he hits the mark that I plan to stick to before heading for the Palace.

The group is currently on game day 114, so I should have another update sometime soon.

P.S. - The eastern side of the ruined city of Arghan tends to be a good place to bring in a LOT of treasure.

 

[DaveO]

Nine new videos for game day 125 with our party finishing up Gozaroth's Mansion. Since the character using the flail weapon will be waiting a bit on the rest of the party, I used the training grounds to improve three of his skills and the sword skill of the person using the crossbow. Getting skills to 100 at the training ground takes four days for each skill and costs some money. Improving the four skills got us up to day 141, so the next game update will likely be fairly quick. There should be approximately 4-12 more night fights for our group to be completely ready for making its run to Tarmon's Palace.

 

[Luzur]

the end is is sight, i believe, since its the last place to visit.

 

[DaveO]

I'll likely take the safe road and enchant two more defensive items for the characters using the bows. I could enchant a crossbow I found with a weapon bonus of 30, but I probably will make it the last enchantment. The random item generator was very generous and our group has four Wizard's items. I'll probably get Alchemy to the 170s since both items that I have with bonuses should get the skill close to 250. It's taken over six months for me to get the party as far as I have. The biggest hit to time is enchanting low level items. For weapons, this is not a huge deal if it has a good weapon skill bonus. For defensive items, you really should avoid enchanting +1 stuff unless it also has a skill bonus or if you have absolutely nothing else to enchant.

P.S. - I'll approach Tarmon's Palace and attempt to complete it with minimal combat encounters. The enemies you fight in that place are definitely high-end encounters so I'll probably avoid bringing lockpicks.

 

[DaveO]

I reached game day 150 for the party, but I won't have an update on my channel until Friday. The end is definitely in sight since I plan to do two more night fights on the western side of the ruins, and then head for the Palace. I'm expecting around game day 160 for the trek for the Crown. Now since I really want to get to Tarmon on my first run to the Palace, I'll bring along all the important items I already mentioned.

 

[DaveO]

I've made my final night fight and the random generator was nice enough to give me an almost fully enchanted life drain longbow. The party of adventurers is ready for the Palace, so expect to see the finale soon! Thanks so much to those who have stuck with this LP session, and it's great to be so close to the end. :D

 

[Luzur]

did you get that special day thing btw? people have said that on some special day you have the chance of finding something good.

dunno if is just talk or anything, cant remember finding anything special last i played this game (which is some 10 years ago now)

 

[DaveO]

I never heard of a specific day that offers better treasure than a standard day. If you want really good items and treasure, the eastern side of the ruins is the place. I rarely failed to get either items to sell or items worth enchanting. The only things 'special' are the square where you can encounter White Rabbits and the south part below the ruins of Arghan(where there is something spelled out).

 

[DaveO]

Tarmon met his end at the hands of our party. I believe either TheVeryBigSlayer or Azira put in the final blow. For the final fight, two of our party members went down but they were knocked unconscious by damage they sustained. The big keys to winning the final fight are using your Priests to bless the party six times and to avoid bunching your characters together so that you don't get hit with fireball. The only thing remaining is encoding the videos and posting them to my channel.

 

[DaveO]

Today marks a big update to my channel. I have video sessions of the first and second trips to the Palace. The first trip is to get the Crown from Tarmon, and the second trip is to get its treasures. I do plan to post another video session of my party's second fight against Tarmon, so this LP is almost complete. Thanks to everyone watching the videos and commenting to this thread. I really appreciate the patience people had to have for me to make it to the finale.

In case you forgot where my channel is, the link is below. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/user/DaveCaspermeyer

 

[DaveO]

My second trip thru the Palace on the hardest difficulty was completed. I updated my channel with nine videos including a brief explanation of the encounter bug that may be present on all versions of the game. No more challenges await my party, and I'll definitely export the party into Eternal Dagger. I hope everyone who has followed the LP has enjoyed it.

 

[Zeus]

Let me be the first to congratulate you on a LP well done.

 

[Luzur]

Eternal Dagger next then, and from what i remember it is shorter then Wizards Crown, not by much though.

 

[Saxon1974]

Just started playing this/ game. For some reason I never played it much back in the day. I was about 10 when it was released.

Tactical options in combat are awesome. It evens determines the direction your character is facing in whether your shield is effective or not.