Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: 1 ... 329 330 [331] 332

Author Topic: Extinction  (Read 284207 times)

King Zultan

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4950 on: January 10, 2025, 02:56:54 am »

If no one else likes the idea of going after additional dragon stuff I'll change my vote to heading to The Pit.
Logged
The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?

NJW2000

  • Bay Watcher
  • You know me. What do I know?
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4951 on: January 10, 2025, 09:59:42 am »

I don't want to start the attack on the Isle Perilous right now, because we have painfully low defences and no solid plan for dealing with the Swords.

It would be nice to get another dragon form, though it's not necessary for the final confrontation as we have endgame combos already (blade + water + ice, large + water +ice, etc). Given the clue for fire is a bit nonspecific, it might be sensible to try for wind or head straight for an advanced form. Wind allows us extremely heavy damage when combined with ice and water. Another special form gives us unknown but possibly strong options, though they might not combo with anything.

The only two things that are necessary are money and a plan. It's likely that we can earn some money wherever we go, and the plan for attacking the Isle Perilous is something to work on on the way - it would be worth picking Alice's brains about that.

I'm fine with Borlia if there's a chance we could make a lot of money, because that's worthwhile on its own. Apart from mana, we're a smart and flexible team, so well suited to scavenging the pits. If we just find something awkward and mysterious like the Bane Metal though, it's a lot of risk for low reward.




Two things to check:

Does the Imperial form combine with any of the elemental forms meaningfully - i.e. breath combos?

How reliable is the Borlia drop for making money? i.e. do the Borlia stalkers (droppers? pitters?) that come out alive consistently have lots of readily saleable loot?
Logged
One wheel short of a wagon

Devastator

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4952 on: January 10, 2025, 04:33:24 pm »

1.  Imperial form stacks with just about everything beneficially.  Imperial + Element upgrades the elemental attacks, roughly equivalent to another +, including the breath weapons.
Imperial + Blade has strong attacks that are upgraded further with the blade form.  Imperial + Large has compatible bonus HP on top of the bigness, and seems to gain another point on the scales protection.

Also, that's a REALLY big dragon.

Imperial + Flight doesn't seem to stack specially.  The flight multi attack does merge with the Frenzy attack, making it strike five times.  Other than that there's the usual Wing Flap hit-three multiattack and the Bomb skill, whereupon he picks someone up and drops them.

Thinking about it, that might combo with Chomp.  Hmm.

Any particular form combos you want the move list for?  (I'll probably do it at one/update if you want a bunch.)

As for Borlia, the threat to Borlia is the extreme randomness and the general excess of fights, particularly because it's often confusing leaving.  So the further in you go, the more stuff you run into on the way out.

As for loot, it's also pretty variable, but you will find very nice stuff if you go far enough in.  It's just not reliable.  If you go in, it might take a bit before you end up in untouched areas with new loot.  Some of the loot is also strange, which makes it less than completely reliable.. you could find stuff that's rare, just bad or cursed.

But there's also extremely valuable stuff there, both in terms of raw materials and finished products.  And the 'dungeon' aspect of it can generate straight-up money.  You will come out rich, if you go deep, and if you come out.

You should have enough magical juice to use the elevator if you want, but bringing some potions will be for the best, particularly since you get excellent efficiency with the skill to multiply potion effects.  Maybe you could leech off another group?
Logged

NJW2000

  • Bay Watcher
  • You know me. What do I know?
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4953 on: January 10, 2025, 04:46:11 pm »

Well, we're dangerously irresponsible, so we'll definitely end up deep in the pits.

The dragon forms are very cool, but knowing that Imp form has synergies with every other breath makes fire/wind less of a priority. Interesting as exploring places the fire + water form would be needed to reach could be. It does make me more excited about the Breath and Fruit types... but perhaps that's a story for another time.

Being stuck in another underground dangerous place with another bizarre area effect making nothing work the way it should? Sounds like both the dangers we just escaped, rolled up into a bigger danger covered in strange tentacle statues!

Pits of Borlia.

On the way there, ask Alice about the layout of the Isle Perilous. Time to work out how we're going to sack it.
Logged
One wheel short of a wagon

King Zultan

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4954 on: January 11, 2025, 02:24:32 am »

Pits of Borlia.

On the way there, ask Alice about the layout of the Isle Perilous. Time to work out how we're going to sack it.

+1
Logged
The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?

Devastator

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4955 on: January 14, 2025, 06:15:04 am »

Are you going to buy anything else before going to the pits?  They're a long way away, so it's possible you can go shopping somewhat closer.

Spoiler: inventory (click to show/hide)

Indeed, you've donated your mana potions to the Hat Magician.

There are also two upgrades worth of cash, and you are perhaps underarmed.  Trence and Alice have +4 weapons, and Willis is still using his +3 silverwood bow from long ago.  This is the equipment capital of the world, after all.

Lastly, there's the choice of route.  The Pits of Borlia are on the mountain spur southeast of Great Tamwile.  It's commonly approached from Dontos, the town north of Temoris, but there's probably a route from the east as well, the highway.

So you could take a ship, go all the way to Temoris, and then head north from there, or you could go by land a bit to the southeast, and take a boat down the eastern side of the continent, around Point Buckwheat.  You could then sail down to Temoris, or stop at one of the small ports along the way.

Or you could make it a all or mostly-land journey, should you so choose.
Logged

King Zultan

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4956 on: January 15, 2025, 04:04:52 am »

Sounds like we should get some mana potions before we head out.

As for the path we take to the pit I say we sail to Temoris.
Logged
The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?

NJW2000

  • Bay Watcher
  • You know me. What do I know?
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4957 on: January 15, 2025, 08:12:42 am »

Sounds like we should get some mana potions before we head out.

As for the path we take to the pit I say we sail to Temoris.
+1

If we have the cash for both mana potions and an upgrade, get Trence to +1. Otherwise just the potions.


The others have a lot of actions where they don't use their weapons every fight. And it's possible we'll find something Trence can use in the pits.
Logged
One wheel short of a wagon

Devastator

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4958 on: January 15, 2025, 08:50:12 am »

Yes, two upgrades can stretch to one upgrade and three mana potions.  I'll give you the options once you're en-route, it'll be more than one update to reach the Pits of Borlia.
Logged

Devastator

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4959 on: January 17, 2025, 10:50:14 am »

Back on the boats you get.  You don't have to pay, as you're high-level adventurers and can cover your bills by offering protection, and Temoris is a big enough destination to have general traffic.

Also, you're a full party of level 12 adventurers.  It's unlikely for any random escorts to be as good as you four.  Indeed, if you had your own boat, you could probably make a ton of money selling it as a high-value high-security transport..  for those rare occasions when you aren't going to random Dragon Vaults or somesuch.

Amusingly, given their rarity in Valterre, you pick up a new weapon for Trence from a dwarven smith.  A Thrice-forged Hellsteel Spear of Oblivion.

Or, in other terms, just a plain [+5] spear.  No extras, no chasers, just a simple fine weapon with a dark steel head.  Mostly because a dwarf appreciates your plain-looking trade-in more than some other smiths.

The owners certainly got their money's worth out of you.  There is no sign of the Concordat Navy, but there are plenty of sea monsters.  First encounter is a school of Pulse Fish, water explosive attackers who swarm their targets and rip them apart from within.  It's nothing to you, and simply a warmup for the following day, when you cut through what they were fighting, a pod of Darkling Whales.  These would have beat the hull up badly, but one water dragon, one blaster mage, one ranged assassin, and one Hat Paladin manage to cut through, blow up, and cripple the enemy.  Alice ends up surprisingly battered, managing to tank blows in place of the ship, keeping the damage down and limiting the need for further repairs.

As you travel, though, Alice lets you know a bit more about the layout of the Island and the setup therein.

The island itself is thin dirt on black stone, mostly around two great hills.  On these hills are the central structures of the realms.  The Western hill is the domain of the Isle Perilous, the temporal government of the island, surrounding the central palace/fortress.  There are the crystal spires and the fountain of delights, a central garden in the middle of all things.  It's surrounded by the manor houses and the great marketplaces of the mercantile elite of the Island, as well as the barracks and apartments.  Below it is the outer city, although there is the Western Harbour, where the shipyards exist for the fleet of the island.

The Eastern hill is the center for the Church of the Concordat.  The inner complex has four great buildings in it, the Dome of the Shadowed Skies, under which are the living quarters for the Lords of the Concordat.  Here is where they will be.  She hasn't been inside, but the dome is spellshielded and likely very tough.  From what she knows, there is an annex and an antechamber before the audience chamber under the dome.  The living quarters are supposed to be somewhere underground.  It is always guarded by paladins.

The other three structures up there are the High Court of Justice, a fairly imposing structure where they hold certain important cases, the Great Shrine, which is the central temple, albeit one that's a shrine, not a temple/palace complex, and the Hall of Dedications, which exists for larger public ceremonies, as the Dome is off-limits.  The Lords are capable of projecting their images into the other three buildings, but they live in the Dome.

... to be continued in the next update.
Logged

Devastator

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4960 on: February 04, 2025, 08:25:43 pm »

The rest of the journey is somewhat more exciting than you had planned.  Mostly because on the eastern plains, you come across a small town being outright attacked by sea monsters.  There's a big pile of sea goblins with their giant crustacean mounts, and a number of seaweed-covered Sea Knights, clad in pointy armour and with the inexplicable ability to fire spines as high velocity ranged weapons.  This is somewhat inexplicable, because as Sessha points out, it probably shouldn't work underwater.  Nevertheless, the timely arrival of the party saves the town's hunters and a good chunk of the population, although dragons and blaster mages do mean a certain amount of property damage.

And a reward.  You gotta mount an assault on a major fortress, and you're almost out of money.  Between loot for Temoris and a certain amount of cash money, you go from almost broke to Two upgrades worth of valuables.

Now, the Temoris River is very fast-flowing, coming down from the mountains and glaciers as it does, so it's not really navigable.  This means you have to land at the docktown and proceed upriver via road, eventually reprising your route from earlier this year.  But for now, you go past the sturdy stone houses and ancient docks, and head inland towards Temoris, the Free City.  So called because it has a government of many factions, burghers, guilds, merchants, workers, warriors, etcetera, instead of one or two powerful groups.

As you go, Alice finishes her information on the Isle Perilous.

Basically, from the outside there is a seawall protecting most of the south side of the island, with the docks for the Perilous Navy on the west, and the docks for the Concordat ships on the east, with the public docks and private marinas in the middle.  Neither of the two great hills goes down to the docks, so around and between them is the Lower City.  Nevertheless, the western hill is a bit larger, and has a bigger area encompassed in its two walls, an outer one, and an inner one around the Viceregal's Palace and a good chunk of the Perilous elite.  The Concordat elite are inside their three-walled region.  Nevertheless, despite the seeming opposition position between the Viceregal's Palace and the Dome of the Shadowed Skies, she iterates that while proud of their separation, they are almost always cooperative, so don't expect it to be easy to use that division.  Still, the existence of two parallel bureaucracies has some potential.

The north side of the island is still settled, but less so.  These are heavily farmed, with areas carefully put aside for raising of horses for their cavalry.  There are a few wild parks around, but the whole island is settled to the point where there are no monsters, or very few monsters.  There is no seawall in the north, and the volcanic beaches are flat, but the port is to the south due to the steeper drop offshore allowing for big ships to get much closer.

There is indeed an adventurer's guild, despite the lack of monsters.  Many people travel through the island, and some live there while spending almost all their time fighting on the Continents.

Any more specific questions for Alice?  And will you do anything in Temoris before heading up to the Pits of Borlia?
Logged

toastercultist

  • Bay Watcher
  • hello
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4961 on: February 05, 2025, 01:25:52 am »

Join the adventurer's guild!
Logged
Humanity will save us from AI by destroying itself long before AI becomes a serious threat

King Zultan

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4962 on: February 07, 2025, 04:06:59 am »

Are there any interesting shops in town, if there are we should visit them, but if there aren't any I say we move on.

Join the adventurer's guild!
I don't think that's something we want to do given that the one mentioned is on an island controlled by the enemy.
Logged
The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?

NJW2000

  • Bay Watcher
  • You know me. What do I know?
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4963 on: February 08, 2025, 08:45:53 am »

Are there any interesting shops in town, if there are we should visit them, but if there aren't any I say we move on
+1

If resources will be cheaper here than the last stop before the pits, buy four smoke bombs and some mana potions.
« Last Edit: February 08, 2025, 09:01:47 am by NJW2000 »
Logged
One wheel short of a wagon

Devastator

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Extinction
« Reply #4964 on: February 10, 2025, 03:11:58 pm »

Join the adventurer's guild!

You are already members!  The adventurers guild is a mostly global organization that serves to pay you for crushing random encounters around the world.  It also taxes settlers and larger organizations.

..although there is the possibility of doing jobs for them, it is something none of you have done before.  Sessha, being an internationally famous assassin, much to her dismay, has never really went that way.
 Alice spent her career working for the Concordat as a paladin.  The kids are young and have been running for too long to have done these kinds of stationary jobs.

You could though.  Internationally famous assassin, ex-paladin, blaster-mage and the world's one dragon is absolutely enough muscle to cover just about any job.  Although it's drastic overkill, so you probably wouldn't get paid enough.  There aren't that many situations where someone really needs four level 12 adventurers.

Quote
If resources will be cheaper here than the last stop before the pits, buy four smoke bombs and some mana potions.

Temoris is a major city.  Prices here should be stable, compared to what they'll be at the jumping off point.  Two mana potions and four smoke bombs is just fine.  One Upgrade in cash remains.

Spoiler: Inventory (click to show/hide)

Quote
Are there any interesting shops in town, if there are we should visit them, but if there aren't any I say we move on.

Temoris is a major city, although it's not known for piracy like Port Silver, or equipment like Valterre.  Losoa has the old imperial remnants, as well as a well-dedicated group of machinists and such, people who have achieved more in some ways than the robots have.

Mosral City on the west coast is the largest city, and Tulia is the safest, with Nikonto being a resource town, having the best access to the dwarven mines of the Western Continent, as well as the great expanse of northern forest.

Temoris, on the other hand, has experts.  The lack of a dominant force in the city, combined with its cleanliness, safety, and excellent climate, makes it a very proud city.  Many of the world's best scientists and researchers come from here, and the streets are full of retired badasses, people who have come for the calm life.
 
Indeed, as you pass upwards from the coast, along the paved great road, the stench from the mudflats and breeze from the muck at the seacoast abruptly gives way to the clean winds from the distant mountains.  The city itself is fairly ordinary, with two or three story buildings, rooftop gardens, restaurants, and seemingly endless taverns, all on a lovely looking lake full of sailing barges and pleasure boats.  Sessha mentions this to you, cautioning that you need to be polite here, as an old man enjoying the sun could be an excellent warrior and the pageboy running errands could be a prodigy working a side job.

It's slightly unnecessary, given the whole 'dragon' thing, but this speech feels automatic.  That said..

Do you take a stop to see Willis's father?  He lives in the city at this time.
Logged
Pages: 1 ... 329 330 [331] 332