Ivanfyodorovich

That sounds good to me. I'd love a little leeway with the stats, but I feel there are some good RP reasons for that. It would feel off, though, to have a character who had an 8 dexterity suddenly have 19. I also think there's great RP room for multi-classing, given the years between the games, and being an awakened watcher with access to the past lives of your soul. In BG the essential mechanics didn't change, did they? It was still AD&D 2nd edition in both? From my experience of PoE2 so far, I'd say it's more of a .5 or 1.0 step up in ruleset. If PoE1 is 1.0, then PoE2 is 1.5 or 2.0.

Questions for the group. What are the rules regarding character choice and legacy for PoE2? -Must a Hall of Heroes qualifying NR run in PoE2 use a character that has also completed PoE1? I know you can't import the actual character, but you can create them within PoE2 to continue the run - e.g. If I complete an NR PoE1 run with a dwarf barbarian named Krug, a qualifying PoE2 run must also be made with a dwarf named Krug. -Must a Hall of Heroes qualifying NR run in PoE2 import the save of game choices from PoE1 (or create a similar custom legacy)? -If a successful PoE1 run character is used in an unsuccessful PoE2 run, can that same character be used again in a new PoE2 run? e.g. Krug turns out to be a very poor captain and is killed by pirates in PoE2. Can I try Krug again on a new run, or would I need to complete a new PoE1 run with Krug 2.0 to give him another go in PoE2?

The Man Who Waits, Heritage Hill, and Dyrford all lead up to the Animancy Hearings with the Duc. You can do all of them in any order, and they are all roughly the same difficulty (I'm not recalling specific encounters here, so some versions of them might be more challenging than others). Feel free to tackle these quests in any order. Once you complete all three, you will be asked to find support to attend the hearings. Make sure you wrap up any other quests in the Sanitarium first, before going to the hearings, as it will not be available afterward. You will also lose access to Defiance Bay for a short time afterward. Hope that helps.

The Caed Nua resting bonus for +3 and the level 2 priest spell a Holy Power (+7) will get you there. There’s a crossbow on level 8 of the endless paths called Good Friend that has it as a spellbind, if you are going for the solo achievement.

You need to exit the searing falls on the west side for it to show.

Roger. I’ll save up some stuff to post.

I’m up for that. Where would it be best to share learnings? Here or in the new thread to be opened on the PoE2 boards?

Boeroer - have you put any more thought into adapting your Counselor Ploi build for Deadfire? I just completed a Frozen Crown PoE1 game with my MC as one and enjoyed it, though at a certain point I stopped worrying about any of the mind control stuff (mostly because I was over-leveled and the micro got tiring). I tried to create an Inquisitor (Shieldbearer/Beguiler) on Veteran for my first Deadfire play through and was feeling like I'd picked a trap build (I gave up at the Engwithan Ruins around level 4). I can't shake the RP pull of it, though. Is this just a build best suited for an easier difficulty? Are there any key mechanic interactions that I should be thinking about here? Sounds like FoD to build focus, then spend it on deception powers is the basic flow. In PoE1 my Shieldbearer had high defenses and support skills, with some damage contributed through Scion of Flame + Sacred Immolation. The focus was being a sturdy frontline support character, though, with Outworn and marking weapons. Should a Deadfire Ploi Inquisitor fit a similar niche, or are they going to be more of a backline character? I was initially excited about a Swashbuckler Eder to compliment. Are there other companions or builds that might work well organized around a Ploi Inquisitor?

If you're drawn to a barbarian, I would just play Cauterizer without the WM talents, and then respec when you get them. The build doesn't really work without Blood Thirst, but you can still have fun with a 2H firebrand wielding Barbarian until you get the expansions. If you would rather play a build that doesn't rely at all on WM content, I'd recommend a caster like Priest, Druid, or Wizard. They are strong without relying on WM talents. You can get a feel for what combinations and spells are particularly effective by looking through the builds.

I'm excited to jump on board for PoE2, but I'm feeling pretty hesitant to immediately jump in to a NR run without understanding so much of the game. Is it in bad faith to play through on a regular reload run first?

I think your right about diversity being an issue. We could just remove priest altogether as an option, or limit it to 1 vancian class per group. Even with a priest and wizard locked in, though, I think it would be interesting to see what diversity of strategies there would be in the third member and how that might shape the way the other 2 are played. On another note, I’ve started PoE2 and am trying to read and learn as much as possible. Do y’all have any posts or resources that you’ve found that are helpful in reorienting to the changes? Here’s a short list of key system changes that I’m discovering. -Wizard, Priest, and Druid spells are all per encounter - with a limited number per spell level. -Afflictions are now associated with an ability score and are countered by an Inspiration (buff) to the same score. Inspirations provide immunity to afflictions of that type. -leveling up collapses class ability and talent selection into a single pool, with a restriction on what’s available based on current level. -skills are divided into active and passive and 1 point is available each level to advance a skill in each category (1 point per category). There are several new skills in each category. -party members can assist the watcher in some skill checks, adding a small bonus based on their own skills. -traps are now discovered using the perception ability score, but are still disabled using mechanics. More to come as I think of it.

You How do you change the name? I noticed it already had a name (I have option to pick leveling of charcter after level 1). And then I monkeyed with the chants to put them in order how I want. Now they are chants A and B and they are slightly different but I couldn't see how to name them. Edit: and I will take a picture of what I mean by a reduced duration from base. It's a different statistic than the 'linger' though. That I remember. Edit 2 (avoid double posting); Ok I see how to name them now. So got that figured out. So my concern still is that say for "At the sight of their comrades, their hearts grow bold". That chant has a base duration of 4.0 seconds and a base linger of 2.0 seconds. That's 'base'. But Kana has 3.6 seconds duration (so shorter), and 2.8 linger (so longer). Kana's intelligence right now is 18 so 40% more duration. 2.0 x 40% = 2.8 linger. So it appears intelligence is modifying the linger. Also Kana is level 5. The 'base' is 10% shorter (4.0 x 10% = .4 seconds shorter consistent with 3.6 duration). So doesn't look like intelligence is modifying duration. Might is 16 (18% damage) so doesn't look right. Constitution is 12 and that is 10% but would be odd if that is the culprit.* Brisk Recitation is -10% phrase recitation time. So maybe 'duration' is the same statitic as 'phrase recitation'? *note: I tried eating pearlwood chicken and no effect on chanting 'duration' so constitution isn't affecting that stat. You've got that right. The way chanters work, they build up phrases to cast invocations. You want to be able to build up phrases as quickly as possible (generally speaking) to cast more invocations. That's why lower duration is a good thing, and that's what Brisk Recitation does for you as you level up - all of your phrases will take less time to recite. The linger is pure bonus, with the effect of the chant continuing while you move on to recite a new phrase, and INT increases the length like you're noticing. If you're wanting a phrase effect to stay on, I recommend just chanting one phrase. You can set up a chant to be just one phrase, and your chanter will repeat it over and over. That wastes the linger for most phrases (because you'll be starting the same chant over), but it ensures that you have the effect on all the time. There are some exceptions here, like The Dragon Thrashed, which stacks up the damage each time you chant it, making single phrase the highest damage way to chant it.

Thanks Serg! I’m downloading PoE2 and am hopeful it will run on my MacBook Air. I’ve also been kicking around another PoE run idea. I found the number of really good items and abilities for all of my party overwhelming by the time I was finishing WM1. My party was over leveled even for upscale content. What I missed was the impact of each tactical choice - choosing to use a scroll or change a weapon for a specific fight. In hopes of recapturing that feeling, here’s my idea. Three characters only. Hard difficulty. Vanilla content only (no deadfire pack or WM content). No upscaling, or at least hard level max imposed for each act/quest stage. E.g. Raedric at 5 or less, Thaos at 12? 13? What do y’all think? Also, I’m curious what 3 you’d pick as a hypothetical.

Aures Act III, Chapter 2 & Act IV Table of Contents Part 1: Cayron's Scar We are fully prepared, and ready for the Eyeless. With the hammer and St. Ydwin's Redeemer they are mostly trivial. Maneha suffers one knockout inside the moon fragment while frenzied. Inside the moon fragment, we make our way quickly to the kraken. We ignore the tentacles and pour all of our damage into it. Itumaak and Sagani are carrying the team with their damage. Maneha volunteers to strike the hammer blows, so we give her the diving helmet and wish her well. There's was a few minutes where I planned to have Aures strike the blows, but then what if I messed something up with the helmet and she didn't survive. What a terrible way to end the run. Maneha is a much better option here. In the monastery, we encouraged her not to go into the pool. We trust her choice here. Act IV: Back to the Wheel Part 1: Prepare to Face the End With everything else wrapped up, we head back to Caed Nua to prep for Thaos. We grab all of the supplies we will need from our stash and adjust equipment. We enchant everyone's armor with proofing (burn where it wouldn't be suppressed) and ability scores (whatever was missing). We enchant Shame or Glory for Aures and Godansthunyr for Maneha with Legendary. We enchant Lead Spitter with Superb and Kith Slaying and Forgiveness with Vessel Slaying for Pallegina. We add lashes to any weapons missing them. We stash Abydon's Hammer. Pallegina won't have need of it anymore. We breeze through Sun in Shadow, but enjoy it immensely. I set up the AI on aggressive for bounties right before Cayron's Scar, while I controlled Giuseppina. We do the same thing here, being vastly outleveled and overpowered for these fights. The conversations with Iovara and with the companions and Thaos are all enjoyable for me, having come this far and being this invested in the team. As we wind around the path to confront Thaos, the excitement is building. Part 2: No, those ends don't justify . . . The game plan here is to have Maneha and Kana tank the Judge and Executioner with Aures engaging Thaos. Pallegina and Sagani will kill Thaos quickly (letting Pallegina use her Sworn Enemy on Thaos to try and land Deprive the Unworthy). Then we focus down whichever Statue he is not in. Then the one he's in. Then we kill him in a mad rush of damage. Kana is immune to confuse and dominate thanks to his Cap. I give Aures and Giuseppina Snowcap to eat, since they are able to cleanse any mind control effects. Not having used it before, though, I don't realize it's a food, and we enter combat with it in our quickslots, unable to eat it. (I think someone else made this mistake before in the thread, but I had forgotten it) We are just going to have to rely on prayers and good luck. I'm so intent on the plan that I forget to take pictures at the beginning of the fight. Here's the first picture right after the Executioner is dead. The first deprive the unworthy landed on Thaos and he dropped quickly. Aures had to lay on hands to recover from the first cleansing flame, but otherwise we survive mostly unscathed. Maneha and Kana are happy as clams squaring off against these giant statues. While we whittle down the Judge, Aures positions herself next to Thaos, and Sagni and Pallegina spread out on their own within range of him and the Judge. It's not long before the Judge drops. The first confuse must have only lasted a short time, or Sagani was immune thanks to a prayer (I don't remember having to use Liberating Exhortation on her). We use a scroll of protection and circle of protection in the middle. The second Deprive the Unworthy lands and we are off to the races. I think this dominate must have hit an immune target because I don't remember needing to deal with it. Pallegina lands a nice hit with her Blunderbuss of Thaos Slaying. Itumaak continues to tear into Thaos. And he drops dead. Itumaak has slain him. We return Thaos' soul to the wheel. HIs soul, too, should once again rejoin the great cycle. We do the same for the souls he stole. May they be reborn in new life.

Aures, level 16 party Update This is more or less what the team looked like from the final battles of WM2 through Thaos. We made a few upgrades between here and Thaos that I'll describe in the final update. With Pallegina wielding Abydon's Hammer, we put her in Blaidh Golan just in case she got targeted. Usually she is wearing Angio's Gambeson. Aures Maneha Kana Pallegina Sagani Giuseppina

Aures Act II, Chapter 4 & Act III, Chapter 1: Death comes for us all Table of Contents Part 1: Pour one out for the dead . . . After our success at the Battery, we head to tie up a few loose ends over in Longwatch Falls. We clear a path to a cave that Aures has a bad feeling about, so we turn around. (I'd already decided to deal peacefully with the Alpine Dragon, and I really wanted Ryona's Vambraces for Pallegina, but I kept thinking about something I read in this thread early about being prepared to fight if I miss-clicked. I didn't feel ready for that risk yet.) Feeling good about clearing our way to the cave, though, and our success against the Lagufaeths, even with the 3 Broodmother fight, we decide to press on and find that Thermal Pearl. While fighting the last group, the party is on the right side of the area. Things are going well, so well, that I send Niclesa over to the left to start dealing damage to 3 sidewinders. Suddenly, I realize she is losing endurance quickly, and health. I send heals and try to drink a potion of vital essence, but I'm too slow. She is dead. This being expert mode, she is dead dead. I have no one to blame here but myself. I got lazy and over-confident. At least I survive with the rest of the party. I think about how to fill that slot. It feels weird to just create another Orlan chanter. I decide we will just bring Kana back in to the group. He has been doing most of our detective work, and has slightly more XP than Aures, somehow. We leave the White March and head back to Caed Nua. With Kana in tow, we clear the rest of the Endless Paths in one go, making our way to Od Nua. We deal peacefully with him, hoping he can find some peace now in death. We also agree to help the Adra Dragon. This decision is mostly practical, but Aures wants an end to the threat from below the stronghold, and any aid this being can give we will put to use. We head back to Defiance Bay to complete Act II. The party is level 12 (Kana 13). During the trial we try to introduce some nuance, but agree that Animancy is dangerous. Too many have advocated for what might be discovered, what good might be done, ignoring the very real harms that are being done in the process. We upscale Act 3. Act III, Chapter 1 Part 1: Quickly Now We make haste to Twin Elms, and pick up quests all around. We pray to all the gods and gain their quests. I'm feeling a little bit worn out of quests, but realize there are some here that I do want to complete before we move on. For Against the Tribes we take the leader prisoner and choose the talent. I thought this would result in the Glanfathans giving us a reward, but it's a peaceful solution, all the same. We play soul detective for Hunter, Brother. We find Persoq, but I somehow am not able to avoid violence with the Fangs, and we kill them all. We complete the two quests in Noonfrost without violence, convincing the Pale Elves to leave before rescuing the brother. For Galawain, we fight and kill the bear. Cleverness above brute strength. We find the song birds, but convince him not to eat them. Now we take on the Sky dragon. I was pretty sure level 13 was strong enough, but I went for it without confirmation. Maneha tanks with diving hat while we buff. Paralyze works wonders. We sleep in lair to complete the final upgrade to Stormcaller. I'm curious if we could have done a peaceful resolution here and still camped for the upgrade. The eyes are worth it to me (though having killed Thaos, I don't think they are necessary). We turn in all our quests and commit to Berath. It's been that kind of run. Death comes for us all. We must believe there is something good that can come from death. Part 2: White March Part 2 Getting back to Stalwart, we head to the Iron Flail Camp, inspired by Enuhal's run. We decide to break through the front gate, mostly because I don't feel like fighting a hundred little battles. It's a royally bad idea, except that we are over-leveled, even for upscaled WM2. The result is actually feeling pretty epic and powerful as we plow through with multiple injuries. We are able to find a peaceful resolution with the commander, despite killing so many of his troops to get to him. I'm over prepped for the first fight with the Eyeless. St. Ydwin trivializes this a bit, but even without it, we are too strong for them. Back in Stalwart, we get a few quests around town. We head to Whitestone to get Ryona’s Breastplate. We track down 2 sets of Bleakwalkers, and have a conversation with an Alpine Dragon, feeling a bit more secure. Onward to the Abbey. This part scares me more than anything else I've done so far. I recently completed this at level 15 with another run, and the monks here were crazy challenging. Their defenses are sky high, and they hit very hard. I think this must have been balancing for all the chanters with their fire AoE. The wounds generated on all of them at once is pure insanity. Both out of fear, and a desire to limit bloodshed, we go along with the Tidebringer schtick. We listen to the old abbot in the dungeon, and consider his offer. In trying to sneak through, though, we aggro a room packed with priests and 3 monks. I think this is it. In hindsight, I think it's entirely possible to fight the patrolling solo low tide cultist that wanders the hall here, without anyone from the room to the right coming out. Next time, I will make sure that's what I do. Thankfully we can block them in with one person at the door. The monks stay out of range to teleport back into our backline in 1s and 2s. We focus down one monk at a time, pulling out every buff and debuff, and still whittling them down. This feels like what an AI that uses all of it's tools might be like. When the time comes to decide the fates of the low tide, Maneha urges to drown them and let them pass on. I feel the pull towards the same. What redemption is there in letting them free? Berath’s words weigh on me. Death, too, is a new birth. (It doesn't hurt that the thought of fighting even more of these monks is terrifying to me.) In the final showdown with the Abbot, we convince some of his followers to abandon him. There are 2 monks, plus the abbott to deal with. We focus them down one by one, trying unsuccessfully to charm or dominate them a few times. Summons and the now allied tidalfist cultists are enough to hold them off. We turn off Dragon Thrashed for these fights to prevent the other monks from spamming us with damage. With the abbott down, and most of the party 15, we set off to forge the hammer, get the cannons firing, and level up all of our soulbound items via bounties. The team is now level 16, except for Guisseppia. We prepare for the final face off against the Eyeless. Party Update to follow.

Thanks! I decided to go for it at 13 and was successful - more details to come in next update. Currently in WM2. Should be closing in on Thaos tomorrow.

Can folks advise me on fighting an upscaled Sky Dragon? What level seems "safe"? Thanks!

If you're trying to max out the most gold you can get from the introduction, you can sell everything you find to Heodan. He pays much, much more than any other vendor in the game, leaving you with a sizable windfall to start with.

Killing Kith does not grant XP. The only XP for killing things is for killing "monsters", which is limited to a certain number per type. There are very few ways to "leave combat" once it's started. Sometimes running away far enough will end it, but often you can be stuck until you find the enemy that is still aggressive, even if it's not chasing you down.

Aures Act II, Chapter 3: White March - Continued Part 4: To Light a Forge We follow a similar plan to the one executed by Alesia_BH and Arcadia as well as my other reload party. We start the party in the top corner. Scroll of Defense, Scroll of Protection, Scroll of Valor, Scroll of Moonwell - Beetles and ivory wurm figurines help buy time for buffs and to identify targets. Overwhelming Wave helps to buy time as well. Aures uses Sworn Enemy on Marunn who is closest, and then uses Whisper of Treason. We send Itumaak around the table to focus down the first Fragment with Sagani and Pallegina helping. It drops when Itumaak arrives. Meanwhile, Maneha and Niclesa are wearing down the Guardians by the corner. Pallegina and Itumaak attack the second Fragment, but come under pressure from Forge Guardians. Marunn’s first charm wears off, and Itumaak gets knocked out before Aures can reach him with a Lay on Hands. Aures casts Whisper again. With Marunn charmed again, Aures resurrects Itumaak. Niclesa summons a Drake and we let Marunn’s charm wear off to focus him down, cleaning up the last Forge Guardians. Success. This fight is less difficult than many of the previous getting down to the Forge. The multiple Battery Sirens, the stunning spirits, and the traps. It still feels good to pull out every stop and execute a plan. Onward!

Aures Act II, Chapter 3: White March Table of Contents Part 1: The Grind Before heading to the White March, we take on Cail the Silent. We charm a Young Drake and mop up the Xaurips. Deprive the Unworthy helps to remove those priest buffs they gave Cail. Cail gets confused, giving us time to work on the rest of the group. With everything else dead, we focus him down. Getting to White March, I was not feeling it. I was sick with food poisoning and was playing quite a lot while I lay in bed trying not to get sick. I started out picking up every quest, but started to get worn out by it all and decided to try and make it through the main quest as quickly as possible, skipping things that felt tacked on. We get started in Russetwood to make friends with the Ogres. We sneak through, stopping to pull the silver arrow from the wolf, get a troll heart and River Weed, and running into the Pale Elf slavers by accident, snagging Bittercut. We sneak through the Ogre cave as much as we can, head down the ice chute, and engage our first groups of Lagufaeth. They are challenging for us, with higher defenses and paralysis that we forget to ward against at first. After making a peaceful resolution with the Ogre Matron, We save the druid cursed by Galawain with as few fights as possible. We stop to take care of some slavers. Not in my Dyrwood! We observe the Giftbearer by the hole in the ice, and return to the Temple of Ondra to get the medallion back, letting the thieves go after they pay up. It's hard to see how their practice was much different than actual priests on this. The sweet new armor we get goes to Niclesa. While in town, we check in on Thrysc and his son, and get an antidote for our friend outside the Inn. Onward to Durgan's Battery. We find the adra gems, fighting the Lagufaeth in the cave. We fight Urhal to get the vessel slaying sword. Random violent mobs intent on killing us with high value equipment is beginning to be a theme. Our usual methods work well here. Inside Galvino's lab, we try to get through with as little fighting as possible, but every damn room is packed with hard to kill constructs, deadly traps, and the damned exploding vessels that charge. It's tedious. I took many, many photos as we went, each battle requiring some care. At first we are able to burst down the Unstable Constructs with Sagani and Pallegina and Gregoria. As they start to pile on in subsequent rooms, though, we can't handle them fast enough. With Aloth gone, we don't have a way to slow them down with an AoE, and I'm too tired and bored to try and think about other options like Web scrolls. We live through a few of the explosions, but the battles are taking their toll on our party. Resting is necessary every time we find a new camping supply. For a few fights, we send in Maneha as a sacrifice. She surprisingly survives a few blasts, but they can't make it through her health pool. I notice somewhere in here that St. Ydwen's is not proccing the destroy vessel effect. We head back to Stalwart to awaken someone. I pick the Old Woman, thinking I can push the awakened soul back down. With this group I either don't have high enough stats, or I choose the wrong options. She attacks us, and we kill her. I tell the fisherman about Galvino’s accusation, failing the task. I've never actually done this quest, so I was surprised to read up after this that you're supposed to uncover a plot here. What's done is done, I guess. Back to battery to open those gates! A few more fights with Lagufaeth, then Open Sesame! (Watching the Fellowship of the Ring for the first time in years today was fun, just having done this the day before. Dead dwarves, ancient mines, doors with passwords. What changes stays the same, ehh?) Part 2: Death and Vengeance in the Battery We make our way in cautiously, having slogged our way through Galvino's. One of the first big hallways we carefully disable a trap and engage the fight. Things are working well so far. Then, without thinking, we step on the second trap that is clearly marked by the special tile on the floor. In a flash, our party size shrinks to 5. Gregoria is dead. No maim on expert mode. Aures gains a level. Aures level 11 - Zealous Endurance This is a first for me. I felt a jolt of excitement and energy. They game punched back. I felt like I was in a dying relationship where I was happy to finally be in a fight about something. The game actually cared enough to fight back. I was instantly engaged again. Interesting questions came up immediately. What character to add to the party? Do I make another custom character? What is their story? Should I change my strategy? The group heads back to Caed Nua to regroup. We review equipment. Make a few purchases. Aures sends word to the Broken Shackle that one of our best and oldest has fallen. We ask for support. A priestess of Berath, Giuseppina. More reserved and quiet, though no less effective on the battlefield. Part 3: Vengeance and all that. We fight our way to the forge with lots of resting and care taken with each Battery Siren fight. We use scrolls of protection and defense, prayers against stuck, paralyze, and frighten, most of our figurines, and Overwhelming Wave from the White Crest Armor. We still tend to have 1 or 2 party members knocked out each fight. With a few ways to revive now, I'm not concerned about knock outs. These fights are a slog, but we make it through carefully, feeling some energy again with the challenge and the looming threat of character death. The abductions are the most problematic for us. This fight, Niclesa was abducted across the room, removing our AoE dps from the concentrated spirits and our buffs and heals. She lasts for quite a while, but eventually succumbs. I use almost every trick I have to pull this one out. There are a few other epic fights, but we make it down to the forge intact and confident in our strategies and power. Next up - Battle at the Forge (too many photos for this post)

Aures Act II, Chapter 2: Loose Ends, Then Northward! Part 1: You can read minds? Coming back into Defiance Bay from Caed Nua, we attempt to gather information about The Forgotten and their smuggling operation. When our cover is blown, violence ensues. The plate armor we take from the corpse of one of the dead smugglers doesn't seem to fit anyone in the group. It was sized for an Aumua, apparently. Maybe Kana will want to play dress-up? Having earned a reputation with Defiance Bay, we return to the Archives with Eder as promised. Finding out his brother fought for Readceras is a hard truth, one that demands we look for more answers. We head to Cliaban Rilag to see what we can find. Back in Defiance Bay, we have Kurren examine the relic and find what answers we can for Eder. He decides to return to Caed Nua and process it all, and we continue on to Dyrford Village. As we walk through town we notice a woman we hadn’t met yet. She is interesting, and Aures invites her to come with us. It seems she is a Cipher. Perhaps her skills will be useful to us. We enter the Temple of Skaen from Dyrford Crossing using the key we picked up from the dead cultist in the spider cave. We kill a few cultists, but sneak through to a large room equipped for animancy experiments and procedures. Wymund explains his plot, and we give Grieving Mother the go ahead to wipe Aelys’ mind. Wymund is killed without much effort when he attacks us. Once again we find animancy being used inappropriately for “good” intentions. We send Aelys to the Temple of Berath for help getting out of Dyrford. Back in town, we let Harond go, but take as much from him as we can first. Killing him won’t undo what he’s done, but perhaps his gold can be used for better purposes. The Leaden Key remains to be investigated here, and so we head to Cliaban Rilag to see what we can find. The Leaden Key is using these ancient machines to cause the Legacy. If it’s being done, it should be able to be undone. Why they are doing this remains a mystery. Some kind of misplaced loyalty to Woedica? Why would preventing souls from being born help her? Combat is starting to become very boring to me during this part. Grieving Mother is fun to play around with, trying out her abilities that I have less experience with, but the fights are not very challenging. The spores take a while to kill with all of the domination, and traps are still hard hitting. My team is weighted toward defense, with one of my damage dealers being high burst, low sustain (Pallegina w/ Firearms & Wrath of 5 Suns), so high health enemies take a while to kill. I had intended to start WM1 at level 8, and avoid the option to upscale, but I think I should upscale at this point to increase the challenge and bring some drama back to this run. (I wrote this before heading to Stalwart, and the drama was delivered . . . ) We head back to Caed Nua to regroup. Geyda comes to us asking for help finding subjects to do animancy research. Wow, did she pick the wrong person to ask for help. I send Aloth away with her to destroy the research. There’s enough “research” going on these days without having more well intentioned animancers doing more. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to believe this could help end the Legacy. The kind of information and access to ancient Engwithan machines that would be needed to produce something useful seem to be way beyond the skill and knowledge of anyone currently in the Dyrwood. With the little experience we get for the audience with Geyda, Aures reaches level 9. Aures level 9 - Sworn Enemy We pick up the quest for Stalwart from the Steward and reach a few more level ups. Sagani level 9 - Driving Flight Pallegina level 9 - Deprive the Unworthy Before heading to Stalwart, we go to Pearlwood Bluff to continue Sagani’s quest. On the way, we run into Nedyn from the Sanitarium, who tries to kill me for telling on her to Grimda. Have we just committed ourselves to this path of violence, or has it just infected everyone here? We sneak through Searing falls as much as possible, but face off against drakes. After a few battles, I feel confident fighting them. We could take on Cail, but I want to wait until we recruit Maneha. We skip as many battles as we can in Pearlwood Bluff, and move Sagani’s quest forward. Part 2: New Friend from the North! We arrive in Stalwart to an Ogre Party. Upscaled Ogre Battles take some care that’s been missing. In the opening seconds of the Darzir fight, Niclesa body pulls and gets blasted by cannoneer sneak attacks, almost dropping on the first volley. The accuracy defense gap we’ve been benefitting from the past 3 or 4 levels is gone. We start pulling out all the stops. Charms, Figurines, Gregoria empties her spell book. We prevail. Our custom characters level up. Niclesa level 9 - Dragon Thrashed Gregoria level 9 - Mastery Armor of Faith We pick up quests in Stalwart and meet a new friend. We equip her with that snazzy Sanguine Plate and Shod in Faith, as well as the Belt of the Deadfire Cannoneer and the War Club of the Mataru. We are building her to be sturdy and maximize debuffing enemies via shouts, threatening presence, and carnage weapon procs, while surviving anything thrown at her through high health pool and lots of healing. With Maneha in tow, we go back to Caed Nua to fend off some bandits that were threatening. While we’re there, we pick up some bounties to try for a bigger challenge and see Maneha in action. First up is Warchief Iklak. We charm the drake using sworn enemy first to make sure it lands. We repeat this a second time during the fight to keep things in our favor. The Warchief is casting from the edges, but when he is confused by the Company Captain’s Cap, he runs back and resets by himself. I was careful this battle and we won without much danger, though our tanks took a little damage. Magran’s fork holds two “bounties” with both Sly Cyrdel and a just regular old malcontent Gramfel. Nothing to note in these battles (or screen shots taken). Charm is helpful, as is our normal strategy of bursting down softer targets in the backline with Pallegina and Sagani + Itumaak. With Dragon Thrashed, our defensive team works much better. Survive long enough, and everything just dies. Slightly less painful than the previous. Maneha doesn’t have Heart of Fury yet, but is still fun to send in to the middle of the pack and see her sit there relatively unharmed, while carnage ticks up damage. Next up - back to the frozen, deadly north . . .

Aures - Act II, Party Update - level 8 Aures Niclesa Gregoria Sagani Pallegina I took these images after completing Blood Legacy, which is why you see Grieving Mother in some of the screen shots. I left Aloth out, because I'm going to be recruiting Maneha shortly. Onward!

My OSX install exploded in the middle of Defiance Bay questing, and I lost the photos from the first chunk of quests. That said, I didn’t take many, as the combat has proven easeful overall, with little to showcase. This post will try to keep things moving, in hopes that the content I’m heading for next will be more challenging. I’ll need to decide how much of The White March I’m going to complete with this group outside of the main quests. Table of Contents Aures - Act II, Chapter 1: Defiance Bay Introduction: Is this what we came to do? Part 1: In the city . . . the city of ‘Fiance In the city, we set out to learn as much as we can, gain allies, and look for what small ways we can alleviate the suffering being caused by the Legacy. A young boy trades us the location of a beetle figurine in exchange for a special dagger used by the Crucible Knights. We help a distraught and abused young woman with her relationship with a drug dealing fiancé. The fiancé was being held prisoner and impersonated. We killed the impersonator when he wouldn’t listen to reason. We protect an inept and deceitful Vailian Trading Company merchant. And recruit a strong willed and sharp tongued Vailian paladin. We send Eder back to the keep, promising to call for him when our status in the city is high enough to earn access to the records he desires. We investigate the disappearance of a young boy and track down his murderers. Inexplicably, we let the murderers go free (was not reading dialogue options well at 6:00am). We recover a stolen sea chest from some thieves, killing them when they attack us. We are ambushed by Doemenel Thugs, out for retribution for our defense of Verzano. Nicelsa level 5: Sure-Handed Ila Gregoria level 5: Level 3 spells We peacefully negotiate with the dozens gang harassing brothel customers, and convince them to stand down. We defeat rogue Engwithan Animats, and recover parts of a relic scepter. We sell the parts to an animancer in the Sanitarium, having little use for such a relic. Aures level 6: Weapon & Shield Style Despite Dustan’s misgivings and our own, we help the Crucible Knights with animancy research, hoping that it will prove more helpful if implemented by an organization with a strong code of ethics. We also help a Dozens member recover an heirloom breastplate through careful negotiation, learning that some of the Crucible Knights are bad eggs, showing all the worst aristocratic qualities Aures grew up around in Aedyr. Our status with the Crucible Knights allows us to buy new boots for Niclesa, which pair nicely with her Belt of Bountiful Healing. We attempt to investigate the lighthouse in Ondra’s Gift, but after a challenging battle with the spirits on the first floor, we get scared and do the next part of the animancy research quest for the Crucible Knights in Anslogg’s Compass, buying the Company Captain's Cap for Niclesa. After these purchases, we are running pretty low on gold. Somewhere in here the rest of the group hits level 6. Pallegina level 6: Wrath of Five Suns Aloth level 6: Deleterious Alacrity of Motion, Aspirant’s Mark Sagani level 6: Merciless Companion Niclesa level 6: Ancient Memory Gregoria level 6: Painful Interdiction All of this work to learn more about the city has been fruitful, but Aures reminds the group that we came here to investigate the Leaden Key. After a conversation with a ghost, we head into the catacombs to see what we can learn. We choose to spy, instead of fight, taking advantage of a mask left behind by a dead initiate. After leaving the Temple of Woedica, Aloth shares that he is awakened, too. We all had our suspicions. We agree to take him to the Sanitarium to see if we can find an expert to help. While in the catacombs, we search for Rowyna and find an Orlan in hiding, instead. Of all the factions vying for control of Defiance Bay, the Knights are the most stable, but they are not without flaws. The most just thing here is to help him flee. We also find Helig of Thein in the sewers and agree to help him in exchange for information about Rowyna. We will oppose this perverse and cruel person once we’ve secured what information we can. Before we head to the Sanitarium to investigate leaden key and Aloth, we stop by a house in Copperlane that Aures had a suspicious feeling about. Inside were a gang of well supplied thieves planning their next score. They attacked us and we killed them. Lord Reymont will want to hear about this. In the sanitarium we consult an expert on awakenings with Aloth, convincing him to allow her to publish her research. We also talk with Moedred and are compelled by his motivations for killing Helig. Whatever else we do, we will make sure Moedred’s work is completed. We negotiate with the Head Animancer to get access to patients, learning that Caedmon Adzo has been performing ever more harmful and risky experiments in an attempt to recover status and knowledge following a very public botched experiment. His intentions are pure, but the utter lack of care for the well being of the patients or the ethical concerns with his methodologies leaves Aures and the group feeling even more suspicious of animancy. To find out the Leaden Key has been pulling strings here, too, is not surprising. We fight our way out and tell the Head Animancer what we’ve learned. Even if the Leaden Key had not intervened, though, Adzo’s methods and ambition would have ended up in a similar place. It seems the Leaden Key pushed the cart faster, but it was already set on this track. As we leave the sanitarium, we are intercepted by a courier and meet with Lady Webb. She will prove to be a powerful ally, we think. We also talk with Kurren, who gives us a task to track down some missing people. Back in Ondra’s Gift, we convince a sex worker to give up an Engwithan Medallion (we swap out the Munca Arret for the Pilgrim’s Helm and add the Caed Nua bonus). We also head back to the Tower to complete the banshee quest. One there, I realize that I had already fought all the battles necessary to move the quest forward peacefully. In Brakenbury we turn in the Medallion quest and talk to one of the leads connected with the disappearances. Aures level 7: Reviving Exhortation We talk with Maerwith, and convince her to go meet with the Banshee. Pallegina level 7: Inspiring Triumph Aloth level 7: Confusion, Mara’s Writhing Tentacles Sagani level 7: Takedown Back to Ondra’s Gift, we complete the Banshee quest and talk with a patron at the Salty Mast about one of the disappearances. In Copperlane, we talk with the last of the disappearance lead and track down the source. For Lumdala, we hear out her offer, but can’t let her go free, killing her instead. (instakill opening volley with major damage from Pallegina). We confront the noble funding the murders, refusing to let him go free (resulting in his death by suicide). We let Dunryd Row know about both Lumdala and the noble, but not the minor helper. Part 2: Country Living We head out to Woodend Plains and get the scroll without much trouble. We keep on moving, heading through the gorge to Dyrford. Once there we agree to help find a murderer, though something about that story doesn’t sit right, convince the priest to tell us where the ruins are, talk with Lord Harond, and agree to help a farmer and a merchant. We follow up with the tanner and others in town about the missing woman, Aelys. The tanner says “the ogre did it”, so we go to Dyrford Crossing to find this orgre. Upon entering the cave, we level up. Niclesa level 7- Lo, Their Endless Host Gregoria level 7- Level 4 spells We fight the spiders in cave, and pull multiple groups. This actually felt like a challenge, unlike the previous hours of combat. Being level 5 when you start Defiance Bay means being over-leveled for almost everything. We negotiate with the Ogre and convince him to leave. It’s tempting to recruit him as an ally at the keep, but there are too many downsides with an ally like that in a public facing situation. We clear the cave, killing the Spider Queen. We go to get the dragon egg, and intimidate some of the mercenary gang to leave, killing the rest. Perhaps it would have been better to just pay them to leave and avoid the bloodshed. Exploring more of this countryside, we stumble into a fight with Forest Lurkers and Pŵgra and Mênpŵgra. This was also a challenge, though by that I mean mostly that I pulled out all the stops, including summons and high level spells. Charming one of the caster primordials helps tremendously. We head back to Dyrford and share what we’ve learned and accomplished with the farmer and merchant. Pallegina takes the farmer’s blunderbuss, thinking she could learn to use it to great effect. The signs of a skaen cult are troubling, but we aren’t quite ready to investigate it. We lie to the Domenel gang about Nyfre at Niclesa’s request. If we can foil their schemes peacefully, we will. On our way back to Defiance Bay, we stop at Caed Nua to collect some rewards and talk with a palace messenger Part 3: Back in the Bay When we get back we head for Heritage Hill. The battles here are mostly an auto attack/per encounter fiesta. The challenge is low enough, that I begin trying to get soul bound items upgraded, looking for Niclesa to receive critical hits. I give Niclesa that exceptional Estoc we picked up from one of the groups of adventurers/bandits/thieves and have her charge in first on most fights. Once we see Shod In Faith, I can switch back to the shield (or not, depending on the incoming damage). We are also having Gregoria auto attack as much as possible with Gyrd Háewanes Sténes. We’ve activated the displaced image proc on crit, which is the most valuable for her, though the 3 resolve will also be nice. We work our way through the tower. Darguls have lots of health, but don’t damage our group. We destroy the machine. Aures respects the importance of these Engwithan ruins for the Glanfathan people, but she believes meddling with souls is wrong on the small scale, much less on a grand scale like what the machine is capable of. Each person should have autonomy over their own soul. We return to the Hall of Revealed Mysteries and give Grimda back the scroll. We have enough spooky voices in our heads, without inviting even more of them. (I also forgot that I hadn’t hidden the scroll yet - whoops). We tell on Nadyn who is trying to get dangerous animancy research. The theorems of Pandgram have already borne enough bad fruit. We don’t need more of that kind of research, no matter how well intentioned. Onward to First Fires. We check in with the Valian Embassy, agreeing to try and find out more about illicit dealings in Engwithan artifacts. Upon returning to Crucible Keep, we find a party with forge knights gone wild. Aures level 8 - Bear’s Fortitude Aloth level 8 - Minoletta’s Concussive Missiles, Bear’s Fortitude The forge knights are challenging in the sense that they actually deal damage to the group, and stay alive much longer than most enemies we’ve run into. We advise Clyver to stop the research. This was not a great idea in the first place, and we’ve proven it at significant cost. Pallegina level 8 - Penetrating Shot Sagani level 8 - Weapon Focus (Peasant) We head to the sewers to end the threat of Helig. Of all the crimes committed through animancy, his feels symbolic. The violent imprisonment and control of someone’s soul and the cruel enjoyment all along. We kill him easily and convince Dalton to set Rowyna free. At the Charred Barrel for our meeting, we convince Emery to betray Gathbin. Then we head back to Caed Nua and diffuse the mob with gold. Our supply is much higher now, and the 1,000 we give is quite justified. We grab adventure rewards and head back down into the Endless Paths. Part 4: How low can you go . . . On level 2 we climb down the pit and clear backwards to the stair cases. Having secured the level, we confront the drake and find it cannot be negotiated with. It is powerful enough that we bring out all of our tools. Charmed, Paralyzed, Isolated, Destroyed. We clear level 4. Finding a new bow for Sagani. Niclesa level 8 - Beloved Spirits Gregoria level 8 - Bear’s Fortitude We zone up into slimes in level 3, kill a patrolling ogre, and go back down. We come back to level 3 from above with more camping supplies and a fresh rest. Time for Zolla. We bottleneck them in the doorway and charm & confuse a few to help mitigate the damage. Up Next: Party Update