The Draining - Readme |
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Hints
(POTENTIAL SPOILERS!)
Scenario
walkthrough
(SPOILER!)
Email: cpelling@hotmail.com
Website: www.geocities.com/flamefiend4
Thanks to all the people who beta tested this scenario: Leoj, Kattana, Terrors Martyr, Blueflame, and others.
Note: You may use custom graphics by me or edited by me freely. Credit would be appreciated but is not neccessary. All other custom graphics listed here can be used freely (as far as I know).
Another Note: If you know who created any of the below graphics marked `Anonymous` below, please email me at the address above.
White pillar, roof, wooden wall set, black basalt wall set (except sign on black basalt -- see below), dead tree, dice; by Luz Piazuelo
Sign on black basalt wall; edited by me from the black basalt wall; like the standard basalt wall sign, but on Luz's black basalt.
Catapult; by Tim Farland
Rock in lava; Anonymous; obtained from Phæacia (a BoE website)
Gremlin Mage; Drakefyre
Cultist, Arch Warlock; Anonymous (from All Humans Pack at Terrors Martyr University - the Arch Warlock was edited slightly by me)
Goblin Shaman; Anonymous, edited by me.
All other custom graphics; originals or edits of standard BoE graphics by Yours Truly.
Thanks to all the people at the Lyceum's Blades of Exile message board who helped me with a few minor last minute details (like a name for the scenario...!).
Installation is the same as for any other Blades of Exile scenario; copy all the files in the compressed file you downloaded to the Blades of Exile Scenario Folder (BLADSCEN on Windows machines). Use Winzip, Stuffit Expander, or any other compression program to unzip\decompress\whatever the compressed file. On Macintosh computers, you must convert the included draining.gif file to .meg format; instructions can be found on Spiderweb Software's website: www.spiderwebsoftware.com
Welcome to my second scenario, The Draining. In this scenario, the normally fertile Mossy Vale (where the scenario takes place) is experiencing a famine. On top of that, mages and priests are losing their powers, and hordes of "little people" (goblins, gremlins and pixies) are running around stealing what little food there is. You start with a set amount of food, and can't buy any more. Your spell points also get depleted over time; and if you spend too long solving the problems, you start to get dumbfounded. And then your mage and priest spell statistics start to go down (shock horror!). Although you should be able to complete the scenario before that starts happening. And of course you can use the Character Editor to restore your statistics.
Speed is imperative in this scenario, as you rush to discover what, or who, is causing these problems, and solve them before you either starve to death or lose your magic (or both!)
You will notice, shortly after starting to play this scenario, that of the three wall sets in BoE, two have been replaced with custom ones; Basalt wall with Black Basalt, and Adobe wall with Wooden wall. This was done because some towns require black or wooden walls. And also to make the scenario look better... :)
In many places in the scenario where you are given an item (a normal one, not a special item), you are not given it directly but instead it is placed on the ground, on a counter, or somewhere else nearby that you can pick it up from. You are notified of this in these cases. This was done so that people with full inventories would not miss out on getting the item, as with most of these items you only have one chance to get them.
Note: There is an easy way to discover if a door is extremely well locked (i.e. you cannot open it with the Unlock spell, or by bashing it or picking the lock no matter how hard you try). Just look at it! The unlockable door terrains are all named `Sealed Door` rather than `Locked Door`, so you don't waste hours casting Unlock spells on the stubborn thing...
A non-magic using party can beat this scenario very easily, but magic users (especially low level parties) will find it a bit harder. In particular, this is not a good scenario to use to train beginning one-PC parties, as these guys are heavily dependant on fireballs and resting to regain spell points.
If you have a problem, chances are this section will help you. If not, try the walkthrough. Hints are organised with the question in large type, and the answer in small type.
Q: My spell points are decreasing and I'm not casting any spells!
A: You are experiencing the Draining. Your magic is slowly being Drained away from you.
Q: I'm getting dumbfounded for no reason.
A: See the answer to `My spell points are going down`.
Q: My mage and priest spell statistics are going down! Why?
A: See the answer to `My spell points are going down`. NB: You can put them back up again with the Character Editor when you finish the scenario (which you should be very close to doing if this is happening to you).
Q: I found a gargoyle in a goblin outpost. How do I kill it?
A: With great skill
and accuracy. In other words, cast Ritual of Sanctification on
the evil altar. (remember you can't cast Ritual in combat mode).
Be aware that the goblins may not like you doing this. To put it
mildly.
Or better yet, avoid the altar room altogether. (You did have a
recent backup save file, did you not?)
Q: There's this invulnerable monster on the second level of a tower with black basalt walls. It does massive damage and has death touch! How do I get past and survive?
A: The pillar north of the monster can be walked through, so you can avoid it completely. The sign on the door does say `let's see how resourceful you are`, after all. [evil grin]
Q: Someone told me to go and kill the leader of a cult called the Esurients. Where is the cult?
A: Underneath Pabulum, the sneaky people! Go up to the northeast of Pabulum while remaining inside the city walls. Search around for secret passages. When you find one, there should be a guard blocking the way. Find a sneaky way to get past him. (See the next hint if you're really stuck.)
Q: I've found the Esurient cult, but I can't get past the guard!
A: Try talking to him. One of the words he says when you ask him about his name (it starts with J) will make him go away.
Q: I'm starving to death! Where can I get food?
A: Some of the monsters around the place leave food when you kill them. The spells Minor Manna and Manna would be quite useful, too.
Q: How do I get across the river running along the centre of the Vale?
A: There are two bridges; one at the north and one at the south. The south bridge has been destroyed, and the north bridge is guarded by a large group of pixies. The pixies will let you through if you pay a toll (or you can attack them). In Port Maren (on the east side of the river), you can take the ferry across at the docks, or buy a boat. Buying the boat is a good idea if you have the cash. Just make sure you don't take it down any waterfalls, or you won't be able to get it back up. (You could also fly over, but you'd have to stop over on an island in the middle of the river so you wouldn't fall in the water and drown).
Q: How do I exit the scenario?
A: What?! Was my scenario that bad? Did you know the hardest thing to do in this scenario is bring yourself to say Yes to the exit dialog box?
If you've eliminated the cause of the problems, go to the Border Outpost where you started the scenario and the guards will let you back out. If you haven't, you can bribe the Empire Dervish again so he'll let you past. There is also another, secret way, only available to those with vessels of a nautical persuasion and who don't have a fear of heights. Someone in Port Maren can tell you about this.
Q: Alright. So what is the secret way to exit the scenario?
A: Buy the boat in Port Maren (say `boat` to the River Captain, near the docks). Sail it south, down several waterfalls, until rocks block your way and you cannot go on. Land on the north\west bank and follow the `passage` between the mountains. Step on the white dot.
Q: Help! I keep getting massacred in the final battle!
A: Think different. (As Apple reminds us :-) ) The best way to fight this battle is not as a hack-and-slash, go-and-get-'em sort of way, but a sneaky how-do-I-exploit-the-enemy's-weaknesses sort of way. See the next hint if you're still stuck.
Q: I give up. What's the best way to fight the final battle?
A: The first thing you should do is trap the gargoyle with force barriers (fire barriers might not work, because it's immune to fire - I haven't tried it though). The pillars should help. If you could move fast enough, you could trap it with one barrier; however, you will probably need more than that. The best thing to do to deal with the guy on the throne (I'm not mentioning his name in order to prevent revealing secret plot details) is to just cast antimagic cloud on him! (Remember to cast it again when it fades away). This won't stop him from casting some (read "special") spells, though. Also, summon a few fire-immune creatures on the pillars to attack him with (Demons work really well for this!). Then just cast some protection, bless, and haste spells on your best fighter, and put him or her next to the throne. Don't cast spells at the guy on the throne; he'll just get stronger (and if you've cast Antimagic Cloud on him like you should, you can't anyway). Cast Envenom on that fighter too; the guy on the throne isn't immune to poison. Be aware that the poison will wear off the fighter's weapon, so cast it several times. This battle is easier with a full party, so you have several characters healing, envenoming (is that a word?!) and protecting the fighter constantly. Keep in mind that missile weapons often don't work, as he has too much armour. Oh, and try and kill him within 20 turns of the battle starting. Trust me on this one. You don't want him to survive for that long.
This walkthrough is organized into sections according to your objective in each section. This is the most direct and quick way to complete the scenario; however, you will miss a lot if you do it exactly as the walkthrough says. Try going and visiting a few dungeons and out-of-the-way towns and things along the way.
| Part I - Esurient Madness |
Say `bribe` to the Empire Dervish in the Border Fort to get into the Vale proper. Walk through both sets of gates, and walk east. Walk along the road, fight the pixies, continue along the road and keep going until you see a large town (Pabulum). Enter it. Find Will, in the Wonderous Wizardry shop (it's the one with several different types of wall on it). Say `help` to him. Read his response. Go to the northeast of Pabulum, and enter the secret passage. Say `join` to the guard near the end of the passage. Go down the stairs. Refuse to join the cult, and start fighting! Go to the southwest of town and enter the Esurient leader's bedroom. A secret passage in the southwest of the room leads to a room full of bookcases. One of the southeastern bookcases can be walked through, and leads to a throne room. Kill everyone there, and go through a secret passage in the northeast corner. Search the chest. Exit the dungeon. Say `help` to Will again.
| Part II - Whodunnit? |
Go to Port Maren (you may need to consult `How do I cross the river?` in the hints section) and say `Will` to Hagar, in his shop next to the barracks. Go to his shop, west of the south gate. Cast Unlock Door on the door, and search all the bookcases. Exit the town, and go to the far northeast to a forest (not the one just east of Port Maren, nor the one with a logging town in the centre). Via a complex maze of secret passages in trees and mountains, you will eventually find the town entrance for a secret glade. Enter the glade. You can only avoid the first trap if you have Woodsman skill; you can avoid the second trap by finding a secret passage in the west `wall` just after the first trap. If you fall into either trap, you will be transported to large underground cave full of lava (ouch); you can return to the glade by stepping into the portal to the north. The answer to the first riddle is `mark`; the second is `tree`. Say `tell` to the Tree Spirit, then step on the white dot next to it. Press 2, then 2 again to ask who caused the problems. Go back and tell Will. He'll give you something useful.
| Part III - Endgame |
Find a secret passage somewhere in the eastern mountain range. Beyond is the Black Tower. Enter it. Go into the southeast section, climb the stairs hidden behind a bookcase, go north, set off the alarm, go north some more. When you see a really powerful monster that is rooted to the spot, avoid it by walking through a pillar. Go past the annoying fire breathing monsters (you can't hurt them) and walk along the secret passage next to the edge of the water. Don't enter the portal; there's a secret passage somewhere in that room that is slightly less lethal. Fight a group of assorted enemies and go through a secret passage in the southwest of the room that they're in. Go up the stairs. Go through the porticullis to be confronted by the cause of the problems. You have a choice here; ally with dark forces, or destroy them. Allying with them wins the scenario (sort of), but is not the best way to do so. Refusing results in a tough battle, but a more satisfying outcome. Once you win, exit the black tower and enter Pabulum to get half of your reward. After you've been to Pabulum (not before), when you enter Port Maren, you will get the other half of your reward. Then proceed to the border fort (west of Pabulum), where you started the scenario. The guards will let you past the blockade and out of the scenario. Checkmate!