Road map to party development
This is the original text "the seer" has posted in Redneck’s Tavern . Have fun with it!
After playing through the game twice and now through the initial stages of
my third game, I have a clearer picture as to the path a party should follow
to optimize its power relative to its characters' level. Although I am convinced
that a Dark Party is considerably more powerful at the end of the game than
a Light Party, I also believe that a Light Party will have an
easier time throughout the game, due to a lack of need to concentrate on
Dark Magic.
The development strategy I follow for the Light Path is to gear the initial stages of the game toward an Ultra-Powerful Light-Magic-Using Cleric at the end stages of the game, while all along carefully balancing the functions of each character in the group.
This road map is intended for the player who is not trying to finish in the shortest possible time, but rather to optimize the overall capability of the party throughout the game. it is also intended for those who do not like to rely on certain aspects of the game such as the Eolfol well, which can easily blow all aspects of the game out of proportion.
The initial party composition is as follows:
Dwarf Cleric
max Endurance
Mind Magic
Shield
Goblin Monk
max Might, Speed
Armsmaster
Spear
Elf Archer
max Accuracy
Fire Magic
Spear
Elf Druid
max Intellect
Spirit Magic
Water Magic
The initial goal of the Cleric is to act as the major healer of the party.
He does so efficiently by using the Regeneration spell.
Heal is good, but should only be used in critical situations or when fast
healing is needed. The Cleric should defer to the Druid when it comes to
Spirit Magic, since the spells in both schools require a lot of spell points
to cast. Furthermore, in the end he will be using Light Magic, which duplicates
many functions of Spirit Magic, so there is no need for the cleric
to learn Spirit Magic.
The Druid, in addition to being the Spirit Magic caster of the group, is
in charge of learning Air, Fire, and Water magic. In the beginning stages,
Fire Magic is the most important since it allows the Druid to cast Fire Aura
on the party's weapons. This allows the party to get past oozes, which are
immune to physical damage, and also enhances their overall combat ability.
The Monk and Archer act as the fighters of the party throughout the game,
though their emphasis changes dramatically as the game progresses. They both
have the option of learning Spear, and should both take this option because
of the
high damage done by Spear at the beginning. However, Spear is not the optimal
weapon choice later during the game, when the weapon damage becomes less
of a factor and speed becomes more of a factor. Eventually, the Monk will
be using No Weapon and the Archer will be using 2 Daggers.
The Monk's role in the beginning of the game is primarily as fighter and
a life preserver. Since he has very high hit points, (this is augmented by
the early 1st promotion of the Monk and Bodybuilding), the party is less
likely to die while he is around. He should bring his Disarm Traps skill
to 4 very early, and learn Expert as well. The max Might and Speed stats
for being a Goblin make him a powerhouse with the Spear in the early stages
of the game.
The Archer is the classic fighter-magicuser type. He can also use the spear,
and has magic capability as well. Although he can only learn Basic magic
skills before 1st promotion, Earth Magic is the perfect candidate skill for
the Archer to learn, as the Slow spell is very effective even at Basic level.
Both the Monk and Archer should refrain from spending skill points on Spear,
since they have better weapon choices later during the game(Fists for the
Monk and 2 Daggers for the Archer).
The Druid, in addition to casting spells, makes potions for the party, which can be useful at critical stages of the game. the Cleric needs to concentrate his early efforts on the Body Magic skill, as he will be casting the spells constantly. He also has Mind Magic as an offensive measure.
The party should traverse the map in this manner:
Emerald Isle, advance to 4th level
Harmondale, advance to 6th level
Barrow Downs/Stone City
Bracada Desert
Barrow Downs/Stone City
Harmondale
At this point, the party has restored the Castle and is ready to do larger
scale adventuring. Furthermore, the Monk has already attained his 1st promotion
and is ready to cast spells.
The party should now focus on gaining levels and winning Knight-level arena
battles for the Champion promotion.
The only crucial battle the party has faced prior to this point is the Undead
in Barrow Downs. Since the Revenants can
paralyze, they are a thing to watch out for. In these critical moments, it
is important for the following spells to be active:
Regeneration
Bless
Heroism
Fire Aura
Having 2 spear-users at the beginning is a big asset, as they will both deal
good damage. The party should be ready before proceeding to the next barrow,
as quick death can easily follow.
In Harmondale, the party will manage to win 2 Knight-level Arena battles and advance to 13th level. at this point, they already have a very strong balance of skills.
| Char | Archer | Druid | Cleric | Monk (Initiate) |
Skills |
Bow Expert 4 Dagger Expert 4 Spear Basic 1 Fire Basic 1 Water Basic 1 Air Basic 1 Earth Basic 4 Chain Basic 4 (will be Expert) Armsmaster Basic 4 (will be Expert) Body Building Basic 4 (will be Expert) Repair Item Expert 4 Learning Basic 1 Merchant Basic 1 Perception Basic 1 total: 63 skill points
|
Bow Basic 1 Dagger Basic 4 (will be Expert) Air Magic Basic 4 (will be Expert) Fire Magic Basic 4 (will be Expert) Water Magic Basic 4 (will be Expert) Earth Magic Basic 1 Body Magic Basic 1 Mind Magic Basic 1 Spirit Magic Expert 4 Leather Expert 4 Shield Basic 1 Armsmaster Basic 1 Alchemy Expert 4 Learning Basic 1 Merchant Basic 1 Identify Item Basic 1 total skill points: 63 |
Mace Expert 4 Bow Basic 1 Body Magic Expert 7 Mind Magic Basic 4 (will be Expert) Spirit Magic Basic 1 Leather Expert 4 Shield Basic 4 (will be Expert) Learning Basic 1 Perception Basic 1 Merchant Basic 1 total: 63 skill points |
Bow Basic 1 Spear Basic 1 Unarmed Expert 7 Spirit Basic 1 Body Magic Basic 1 Mind Magic Basic 1 Dodging Expert 4 Armsmaster Basic 4 (will be Expert) Bodybuilding Basic 4 (will be Expert) Disarm Traps Basic 4 (will be Expert) Learning Basic 1 Perception Basic 1 total skill points: 63 |
ADark Party will go through a similar route in the beginning, but the party
composition should be adjusted to accommodate the endgame. Since Dark Magic
is enjoyed only during a small window of time relative to the entire course
of the game, it does not profit much to abuse the privilege of being a GM
in Dark Magic. A Dark party, however, should not use a Druid
since their hit points are comparable to Clerics/Sorcerors, but do not gain
the benefit of being Dark Magic GM. This is a sharp contrast from Light Magic
GM, as most of the power in Light Magic GM is contained within the first
caster.
By not using a Druid a Dark Party sacrifices some versatility in the beginning in exchange for ultimate power in the end.
The Cleric will have the added responsibility of casting Spirit Magic as
well as Body Magic, putting a greater strain on his Spell Points than the
Sorceror. The Sorceror will therefore have a surplus of spell points which
will reduce the demand
for a 2nd Elemental Caster. This demand is great enough to make the Paladin
a more favorable choice than the Archer.
The party is 13th level now. They are ready to explore the entire continent of Erathia. From Harmondale, they enter Erathia to find the Rogue quest and to raise the Cleric's Mind Magic to Expert. The Monk now has expert Disarm as well. The Cleric can expert in Mace and Shield as well as Mind Magic.
The Rogue quest takes the party to Tatalia, where the Archer and Monk can expert in Armsmaster. The Archer also gets Chain expert, and the Druid gets both expert Air Magic and expert Fire Magic.
There are many things to do in Tatalia. Number one, the Rogue quest. Our
Cleric's Mind Magic is useful there to either cast Berserk to make the Masters
of the Sword fight each other, or cast Charm to prevent them from attacking
us.
Our Druid will cast Preservation to ensure that the Masters do not kill us,
and the Archer will cast Slow to ensure that we kill them before they kill
us. As usual, our Druid will also be casting Fire Aura, Bless, Heroism, and
now Haste because of our newly acquired expert Fire Magic. Our Cleric also
casts Regeneration, as always. Fighting these Masters takes patience, and
it often pays to go back to the temple even after one of them is killed.
If they are killed one by one, they are manageable. If they come in groups,
just hope that Berserk does its job.
After dispatching the Masters of the Sword and looting their headquarters,
we are now ready to take on Wromthrax.
The thing about Wromthrax is that with our level of 13, he can easily kill
our characters in one shot. But no need to fear, our Druid has Preservation
to ensure that doesn't happen. Wromthrax can be handled by luring him into
the entrance, and when he gets into the entrance, move out toward the center
and shoot him from behind the corner that is near the entrance.
With Fire Aura and Bless, this can be done easily without taking damage.
The locals tell us that there is a place called Tidewater Caverns somewhere
off the coast. Taking a good look, we realize they are right and decide to
swim there. From the docks, it appears that the distance is too far for us
to make it. But we can somehow inch our way along the coast to make our swim
a bit more feasible.
After the exhausting swim across, we allow Regeneration to take its course
in restoring our party. Reluctantly, we enter the cavern and find a pleasant
surprise. Treasures untold await us there, and we find a map to some lost
island called Evenmorn. Swimming back to the coast with our loot from the
Caverns, we head back to Erathia to complete the Rogue promotion.
We still have only one promoted character, but at least in Tatalia we proved
our worth.
From Erathia, we head to Deyja, where we very conveniently find a Priest
who is looking for the map that we found. As a result, our Cleric is promoted.
We quickly become bored of the place and head north toward Tularean Forest.
There we give expert Water to our Druid, as well as expert Alchemy. We can
also get Expert Dagger for our Archer and Druid, if we haven't done so already,
as well as expert Bow for our Archer.
We are led to a place north called Avlee. There, we find the Faerie King
and also receive the Archer promotion quest.
We also find an Altar that Anthony Green told us about, but on the way there
we are faced by numerous winged beasts. They are not very bright, as when
our Cleric casts Berserk on them, they suddenly bunch together for a major
brawl, while we are busy shooting them at a distance with our Fire Aura bows.
We report to Anthony, who only replies with "Circles three, then come to
me".
While back in Tularean Forest, we become Honorary Hunters. We also manage
to rescue Loren Steel from prison, and now have the goods to satisfy both
the Human and Elven rulers.
Finally, we make it back home to Harmondale and go south again to Barrow
Downs, where we clear out the mansion for the Cavalier quest. We are well
on our way to our final destination, Bracada Desert.
There we find the caves again and carefully fight the creatures there one
by one. They have a fearsome petrifying and paralyzing attack, so we make
every effort to avoid their shots and kill them as quickly as possible using
our Hasted combat ability. Luckily, we find potions that restore our
incapacitated characters. The fire from our bows does not seem to hurt them
at all. We sabotage the mine, and now go for our last promotion quest, the
Druid's.
Heading back to Erathia, we present the rescued prisoner to the Queen.
We take a long training period after our travels around the continent, advancing
to level 25.(the exact level can be different
depending on the boat schedule, as we can save a few levels for later).
| Char | Archer (1st promotion) | Druid (2nd promotion) | Cleric (1st promotion) | Monk (2nd promotion) |
Skills |
bow master 10 dagger expert 4 spear basic 1 fire magic basic 1 air magic basic 1 water magic basic 1 earth magic expert 7 chain master 7 armsmaster expert 4 b.building expert 4 learning basic 1 meditation expert 4 merchant basic 1 perception basic 1 repair expert 4 |
bow basic 1 dagger expert 4 Fire magic master 7 air magic expert 7 water magic master 7 earth magic basic 1 spirit magic master 7 mind magic expert 4 body magic basic 1 leather expert 4 shield basic 1 alchemy expert 4 armsmaster basic 1 id item basic 1 learning basic 1 meditation expert 4 merchant basic 1 perception basic 1 |
Bow basic 1 Mace expert 4 Spirit Magic basic 1 Mind Magic expert 4 Body Magic master 10 Leather expert 4 Shield expert 4 b.building basic 1 learning basic 1 meditation expert 4 merchant basic 1 perception basic 1 |
Bow basic 1 Spear basic 1 Unarmed master 10 Spirit magic basic 1 Mind Magic basic 1 Body Magic basic 1 Dodging master 7 Armsmaster master 7 B.building expert 7 Id monster basic 1 learning basic 1 Disarm expert 4 perception expert 4 |
Stats |
HP 262 (expert BB) SP 133 (expert Meditation) AC 98 Attack +71 Damage 56-60 Shoot +66 Damage 13-18 (only Master skill at this point) |
HP 220 SP 370 (expert Meditation) AC 78 Attack +59 Damage 55-61 Shoot +49 Damage 11-16 |
HP 241 SP 305 (expert Meditation) AC 96 attack +57 damage 59-65 shoot +50 damage 11-15 |
HP 595 (only with Expert BB, will
Master and GM later only because of location of Master teacher) SP 61 AC 88 (without leather, but will now use it) Attack +88 Damage 76-78 Shoot +52 Damage 13-18 |
At level 25, we proceed to Tatalia to complete the Greater Druid quest. Our
Cleric learns Master Body Magic, and after a few skirmishes with the Trolls,
we reach the 2nd Altar.
While still in Tatalia, we storm the Mercenary Guild to find a strange gem,
for which we have not found the purpose to this day.
We also discover an abandoned Wine Cellar, in which we find all manner of
strange beasts and heathen practitioners of the Dark Arts. A few of them
have a magical attack which fires shards of metal at us. We confront them
with resolve, striking quickly in close combat. Our Druid and Cleric are
casting Preservation and Heal to keep us alive, and we have Haste
to facilitate the summary destruction of these vermin.
Our boat finally arrives in the harbor to take us to Evenmorn Island.
On the way there, our Monk is practicing his improved skill with Unarmed
and Dodging, as he has waited all this time to train with the Masters.
We are met at the island with a host of "old folks", who greet us with their generosity. We take a drink at the Inn, and roam the area in search for our objectives. Despite the eagerness of our hosts to entertain us, we are very much single-minded in our search of the islands. Within hours we find the Masters of Unarmed and Dodging. Across a narrow bridge we also find the last Altar for the Greater Druid quest.
We decided to enter 2 strange temples which we did not know of before.
The priests in one temple wore robes of yellow and orange, and the priests
in the other temple wore robes of green and blue. The priests in both temples
each gave us a souvenir robe of the respective colors as a momento for our
journies.
We headed back to Avlee refreshed, eagerly awaiting the promotions for Archer
and Druid.
After another long journey, we are finally awarded the Archer promotion.
In our brief stay in Avlee, we discover a secluded temple encased in vines.
We investigate the temple to find yet a different species of Priests, which
have the symbol of a sheep. They pick a fight with us, and pay the price
with a very handsome robe of golden wool, along with their lives.
Our Archer, jubilant in his advancement, also decides to learn Master Chain.
Heading south to Pierpoint city, our Druid is finally awarded Greater Druid
status. He buys many spellbooks in the local guild in anticipation of Mastery
in all of his magical arts.
We make the final journey back to Harmondale, and are greeted with unpleasant
news that the Judge has died. We decide to seek the new Judge from Bracada
Desert, and thus plan our journey to Erathia and then Bracada.
Meanwhile, our Archer learns expert Earth Magic and our Druid learns Master
Fire Magic.
In Erathia, our Druid learns Master Spirit Magic and Expert Mind Magic.
Without further ado, we head to Bracada Desert in search for the Judge. We
find him easily, and we head toward
Barrow Downs and Stone City, where we embark on a journey through Nighon
Tunnels.
In the winding passageways we manage to find a skull the shape of a Dwarf's
head. By the looks of the remains, the head appears to be that of a king.
Our characters encounter strange beasts which look like floating eyes.
By their gaze, our characters become insane.
Our journey finally takes us to Mount Nighon, where we do battle with many warlocks. At Nighon our Druid learns Master Water Magic and all our spellcasters learn expert Meditation. He learns his Town Portal spell, and immediately we teleport back to Harmondale to install the new Judge.
In Harmondale, we visit the Master again,who asks us to rid the earth of the of the Temple in Avlee. We explain to him that we have already done so, and thus our Monk receives the Master promotion.
We teleport again to Pierpoint city in search of Anthony Green. He tells
us to put the skull in the tomb, which we do so by
teleporting back to Mount Nighon and tracing our steps back to the Barrow
Downs. We then seek the Archer promotion in Harmondale, where we are asked
to journey to Avlee again.
At level 37, our characters now have the following skills:
| Char | Warrior Mage | Arch Druid | Priest of Light | Master |
Skills |
Bow 15 Master (will GM soon) Dagger 4 expert spear 1 basic fire magic 1 basic air magic 1 basic water magic 1 basic earth magic 7 expert (will master soon) chain 10 Master (will GM soon) armsmaster 4(10) expert bbuilding 4 expert learning 1 basic meditation 4 expert merchant, perception 1 basic repair 4 expert
|
bow 1 basic Dagger 4 expert Fire Magic 9(13) Master Air Magic 7(10) Expert (will master soon) Water Magic 7 Master Earth Magic, Body Magic 1 basic Spirit Magic 7(10) Master Mind Magic 7 expert (will master soon) leather 4 expert shield 1 basic Alchemy 10(14) Master (will GM soon) armsmaster, learning, perception, merchant 1 basic Id item 4 basic(will expert soon, +6 bonus) Meditation 4 expert |
Bow 1 basic Mace 4 expert Spirit magic 1 basic Mind magic 4 expert Body magic 10 master (will gm soon) Light magic 16(24) grandmaster Leather 4 expert Shield 4 expert bbuilding 1 basic learning 1 basic meditation 4 expert merchant 1 basic perception 1 basic |
bow 1 basic spear 1 basic Unarmed 12(16) Master (will GM now) Spirit magic 1 basic Mind magic 4 expert body magic 1 basic Dodging 10(14) Master (will GM now) Armsmaster 7(13) Master B.building 10 expert (will GM later) Id monster 1(9) basic learning 1 basic disarm 4 expert (+8 bonus) perception 4 expert |
Note: BB and Meditation are 2 completely different skills. While I believe
BB GM is essential for Knight/Monk, because it
directly affects combat ability, I do not believe meditation is nearly as
useful. Therefore, I have only Expert for my
characters.
We left off at level 37. At this point we have begun to move all over the
continent with Town Portal, mopping up
the remaining quests, especially the promotion quests--Master Archer, Archmage,
Hero, Spy, and Champion.
Three of those were located in the Deyja province. After clearing the Titan's
Stronghold for the Master Archer promotion, the Archer finds not only the
Perfect Bow but a Longbow of Carnage, a weapon much more suited to her tastes.
We make our first visit in to the Pit to find creatures very much like those
in the Wine Cellar in Tatalia. Nearly everything in sight drops like flies
to the wrath of the Archer's newfound toy. The Queen of the Dead still needed
to be handled with care, with her Pain Reflection spell. Our Cleric very
wisely cast Dispel Magic to eliminate the counterthreat. In minutes the
main hall was empty, and we proceeded to clean out every corner of the complex.
We also did the Temple and Castle quests there.
In the Breeding Zone we are met with Behemoths, and I have witnessed few marvels greater than the sight of a 10-ton beast falling instantly after a few weapon strokes, or more likely, a few shots with a Bow of Carnage. As they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
I take a moment to complete the Arcomage quest and add the last piece of equipment to my Archer's arsenal--Elven Chain. After acquiring this armor, the Archer's attacks are now like a machine gun, if there is such a thing. All but the most hardy and fire-resistant creatures would now drop nearly instantly because of the ultra-fast and ultra-damaging capability of a Master Archer armed with a Bow of Carnage and wearing Elven Chain.
The Hero quest was a complete joke, as every "Master" inside the keep died
to a few weapon strokes by our characters, guided by the power of level 25
Light Magic.
The Spy quest was another wonderful testament to the virtues of the Archer's long-range potential. After these quests were finished we cleared out Clanker's Lab and spent a few moments to develop some powerful White Potions in case of emergency. We looked inside every chest across the continent which we used for storing valuable reagents--now was the time to use them.
We spent the strongest Catalysts to enhance the Divine Cure potions, so that each potion would restore 500 Hit points. After a timely Shared Life spell cast by the Arch Druid, this means he party could completely be cured by casting Shared Life and giving one Divine Cure potion to the Monk. Moderate Catalysts were spent in boosting the Divine Power potions for spell point boosts.
We spent a few days to clear Thunderfist Mountain and the outer territory of Nighon. Finding the last Statuette along with Haldar's remains inside the Maze, we added these 2 quests to our accomplishments.
Finally, we spent a few weeks to earn the remaining 3 Knight Arena victories.
The Arena was quite a surprise at this level.
The Archmages casting Dispel Magic and Summon Elemental removed our sense
of invicibility by stripping our characters of their most powerful spells.
The obvious solution was of course to eliminate the Archmages as soon as
possible so that they would not be a further nuisance. At various stages
in the battles, my Monk's hit points became very useful, as many times the
other characters fell unconscious and the Monk's "staying power" either allowed
me to wait a few moments for Regeneration to heal my characters, or to use
the Monk and Archer to fight without the others.
I intentionally did not cast GM Protection from Magic before attacking Tolberti.
My tactics were rush up to Tolberti, then
use weapons continuously until he dies. Even without GM Prot. from Magic,
half the time I destroyed Tolberti without taking any damage or losing
any characters. The other half of the time, one character was Eradicated,
but the other 3
were fine.
I also experimented with long-range attacking, but this was not as effective even with my Archer's Carnage Bow, as the healing spells cast by Tolberti greatly reduced the inflicted damage.
In the final run, however, I did cast GM Protection from Magic, because the previous runs were only for testing.
After training to level 61(twice the amount as in the previous training
sessions), we received the Devil quest and prepared for our entry into the
Land of the Giants.
We stormed through Eolfol tunnels, nearly without pause, constantly shooting
at Behemoths in their agony, or using weapons to defeat Medusas like a butcher
defeats cattle.
We finally reached the land of the Giants. Here was my great opportunity
to enjoy the Magic capabilities of every character in the group. My cleric
casting Berserk and Paralyze, my Monk casting Berserk and Charm, my Archer
casting Paralyze and Slow, and my Druid casting Berserk and Meteor Shower,
every character in the group was well-versed in some form of powerful magic.
Even the Monk successfully Charmed a Red Dragon who was eavesdropping on
us while visiting the Contest Pedestal.
Our tactics vs. the Titans involved a combination of the Archer's Carnage
bow and the Druid's Meteor Shower. I do not remember a time fighting close
with these metal Giants. It was all long range combat, and it was very
quick.
The dragons were the prime target for Berserk, cast by 3 of my characters.
I still took every opportunity to blast them with Bows, and the Red Dragons
were handled with melee combat. The cleric also casted Paralyze on a Green
dragon in midair, causing him to come crashing down, only to do a tricky
balancing act with his tail.
At the top of the mountain, Dragons were breathing on us from every direction.
It made no difference to us. We were nearly impervious to their attacks,
thanks to the Cleric's Day of Protection spell. There was an occasional item
to be repaired, but was more of a nuisance than a harm.
Current Skills at level 61
Char |
Master Archer |
Arch Druid |
Priest of Light |
Master |
Skills |
Bow 26 Grandmaster |
Bow, Blaster 1 Basic |
Bow 1 Basic |
Bow 1 Basic |
Waffen |
Longbow of Carnage |
Griffin Bow |
Griffin Bow of Thunderbolts |
Griffin Bow of Ice |
Stats |
Hit Points 592 |
Hit Points 374 |
Hit Points 379 |
Hit Points 1595 |
(Here's a gap in the seer's story. But we can imagine how the story continues
in the Lincoln, yonder)
Final stats from Level 76:
Char |
Master Archer |
Arch Druid |
Priest of Light |
Master |
Skills |
Bow 33 Grandmaster |
Bow 1 Basic |
Bow 1 Basic |
Bow 1 Basic |
Stats |
HP 698 |
HP 426 |
HP 443 |
HP 1915 |
Most of the Primary Stats range either in upper 200's or mid 300's. Resistances
are in mid 200's after Light Magic spells are cast.
Skill points were earned from horseshoes, pedastals, exactly once with no
repeats, and no visits to the Eolfol Well
The story still lives on in the Arena...6 Lord Victories and counting.
Thank you for following my adventure. Until next time, farewell, and happy
gaming!
Meet "the seer" at Redneck's Tavern. All rights belong to him.