Let's Play Icewind Dale (with Gontoria Party)

[Daos]

So I decided that I'd start up a new playthrough of Icewind Dale. And since it requires me creating 6 PCs and there are that many in my Gontoria game, I would use them as templates. I had to change a few things--the core 2E rules that IWD runs on are not as permissive as my own house rules. But I did the best I could.

It's probably an odd fit, as Gontoria is a game of diplomacy and intrigue, while Icewind Dale is straight up hack and slash for the most part. I did the same thing once before, with a party I was playing with in The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. It was much more difficult. The party composition was far less optimal (three single-class wizards and the only warrior was a ranger), and everyone in that party had been rolled up using 3d6. But if I could beat the game with that party, I'm sure I can beat it with the Gontoria party.

First, some background information.  Icewind Dale is an old AD&D computer game from the year 2000.  Third Edition had just been released in this year, so while the game is overall 2E at its core, a few 3E elements slipped in, as well (for instance, paladins can smite evil).  It uses the same engine (Infinity) as its more famous cousin, Baldur's Gate.  But Icewind Dale allows you to create the entire party (instead of just one character; there are no recruitable NPCs in IWD) and is a bit tougher with its battles.  It also takes place, as the name suggests, in the frozen wastes of the north, Icewind Dale.

This is the party:

Ladonna Marche, Female Human Enchanter.  Ladonna is exactly the same, mechanically (although her portrait isn't accurate, but that's true of pretty much everyone).  Her spell selection is smaller.  She only knows Armor, Charm Person and Sleep right now.  And since she only has one weapon proficiency--quarterstaff--which is a melee weapon, she basically just stands in the back doing nothing until I need a spell from her.


Ryan McIntyre, Male Half-Elf Mage/Cleric.  Since humans cannot multi-class in core 2E rules (my house rules allow for it), I had to make Ryan a half-elf for this game.  But we can pretend he's human.  His only arcane spells are Color Spray, Identify and Magic Missile.  Like with Ladonna, his only weapon proficiencies (quarterstaff and mace) are melee so he just stands in the back doing nothing until needed for a spell.


Theron Wiggledigit, Male Gnome Illusionist/Thief.  I had to shorten his name, because 'Theronymous P Wiggledigit' was too long to fit.  Now, Theron only has one quick weapon slot, which basically means he can only have one weapon equipped at a time.  To switch, I need to pull up the inventory screen (the game does not pause when doing so) and manually switch them out.  So I gave him a sling and he just pretty much uses that all of the time.  He has a dagger in case he ever runs out of sling stones.  His spells were tricky, because as it turns out, there are no 1st level illusion spells in this game.  So he wound up with Friendship, Identify, and Chromatic Orb.  Yeah, the last one is kind of out of nowhere, but I figured he should have at least one offensive spell.

I can only upload three attachments per post, so stay tuned for next time when we meet the other half of the party.

[GreyWolfVT]

Pretty cool Daos I still have both the Icewind Dale games and both Balder's Gate games. 

[notARobot]

Jan 2, 2018 10:35:53 GMT -8 Daos said:

So he wound up with Friendship, Identify, and Chromatic Orb. Yeah, the last one is kind of out of nowhere, but I figured he should have at least one offensive spell.

IIRC, in first edition Chromatic Orb was an illusion spell, and it only became alterations/evocations (or whatever it is) in 2e.  So it's not that out-of-nowhere

Oh, and when he starts gaining a few levels, you should totally max out his MS/HiS abilities and use him as the party's dedicated sneak-attacker.  Way more fun than slinging stones from the back.

Jan 2, 2018 10:35:53 GMT -8 Daos said:

The party composition was far less optimal

I hadn't thought about it in a while, but our party is pretty well-balanced, isn't it?  I mean, sure, we're a little heavy on casters and a little light on muscle, but in our game the NPCs are balancing that out pretty nicely.  And in a CRPG like BG or IWD, combat with lots of magic flying around is way more tactically interesting than clicking all your dudes and telling them "attack this thing until it dies."

[Daos]

Pretty cool Daos I still have both the Icewind Dale game and both Balder's Gate games.

Yep, same here, although I've yet to get around to playing their sequels yet (BG2 and IWD2).

IIRC, in first edition Chromatic Orb was an illusion spell, and it only became alterations/evocations (or whatever it is) in 2e.

I am pretty sure Chromatic Orb was created for 2E.  It first appeared in the Complete Wizard's Handbook.

Oh, and when he starts gaining a few levels, you should totally max out his MS/HiS abilities and use him as the party's dedicated sneak-attacker. Way more fun than slinging stones from the back.

Yeah, I already let him scout a little now.  Sometimes I have to hit the stealth button 4-5 times before it actually sticks, though.  He keeps failing his rolls.

I hadn't thought about it in a while, but our party is pretty well-balanced, isn't it?

The Saltmarsh party from my last playthrough were way less so.  It was a ranger, a thief, a cleric, and then three single-class wizards (one being an Abjurer).  So the ranger and cleric had to be tanks, and the three mages mostly just stood around when they weren't needed.  At least one had a sling and another had darts, but the third just had a dagger.  And they were all rolled up with 3d6, so their stats were really low.


Picking up where I left off:

Katya, Female Human Paladin.  Her stat block is pretty much spot on, except she can smite evil and there are no javelins in IWD, so I went with spear instead.  I put her up front, as she's the only real tank right now.  She also does most of the negotiating, due to her high CHA.  But when shopping, I have Ladonna use Friendship to get better deals.


Jherek Everfull, Male Half-Elf Fighter/Thief.  I had to make a few changes in Jherek.  For one, there is no Ambidexterity proficiency, Two Weapon Fighting Style proficiency or Punching Specialization proficiency in IWD.  The game does have hand-axes (which can be used in melee or thrown), but no dual-wielding at all.  (Rangers get an extra attack per round if they aren't carrying a shield, but that's it.)  I spent his other points on club, dagger and short swords instead.  So he only fights with one axe, but he does quite a bit of damage nonetheless.  He also dies a lot.  Quite the glass cannon.  Oh, and there are no kits in IWD, so not a Smuggler (I understand they added kits in the Enchanted Edition, but Smuggler was not among them anyway).


Lillian, Female Half-Elf Bard.  I had to switch Lillian from Elf to Half-Elf, because by core rules, Elves cannot be Bards...for some reason.  But like with Ryan, we can just pretend she's a full elf.  There are no rapiers in IWD, so she got a short sword instead.  But otherwise is pretty close to her real character.  As you can see in the pic, she's already hit level 2 (and I'm still in the prologue), but as there are no magic scrolls for sale in the starter town, she still has no magic yet.

And that's the full party.  Without the various NPCs in my game, this party is a bit unbalanced.  Katya is the only one who can wear heavy armor without penalty (with Jherek being the only one who can wear light armor without penalty; the other four party members have no armor at all).  Ladonna and Ryan have no ranged weapons and are too squishy to melee.  The party is, however, quite heavy with magic (Jherek is the only one with no magic at all).  So the early levels will be tough, but the later ones would should be easier.  The trick is surviving that long.  The game can be a bit unforgiving in combat.  I've already had to drag poor Jherek to the temple to be raised a few times now.  And that's just against goblins and orcs so far. 

I think I might wind up giving Jherek heavy armor.  It will kill his thief skills, but Theron's are better anyway, and maybe having higher defense will be more useful for him, since he fights on the front line a lot.

Next time:  The adventure begins!

[Jherek Everfull]

If I remember correctly, Chromatic Orb stays useful throughout most of the game. It levels in damage and status effect, neh?

The old heavy armor on the low Dex Fighter/Theif conundrum. Did you use backstab or Sneak attack rules? Sneak attack rules would mean flanking with Katya for extra damage...backstab means having enemy mages and clerics exploding into giblets at higher levels. Can F/T backstab in heavier armor?

[Daos]

If I remember correctly, Chromatic Orb stays useful throughout most of the game. It levels in damage and status effect, neh?

Yep.  At first level, it deals 1d4 and blinds an opponent.  It grows from there.

Did you use backstab or Sneak attack rules?

Looks like they use backstab rules.

Can F/T backstab in heavier armor?

Technically, yes.  But you have to first pass a stealth roll, then move behind them to do it while stealthed.  And with heavy armor, the odds of success are minimal to nil at lower levels.

[Daos]

We'll start with a pleasant narration by David Ogden Stiers, giving us some background information that will no doubt prove relevant later on.



And then the prologue begins:



Our story begins in the Winter Cradle's Tavern in the town of Easthaven, a small fishing village in the frozen north.  Our group of heroes sit around a table, talking and drinking.  Their reasons for coming so far north are their own, but in general one can assume they seek glory, gold and adventure.



As they are talking, a big, bear of a man in plate mail with a bastard sword slung across his back approaches and speaks.  "What's this? New faces in town, eh? Well met, strangers. The name is Hrothgar, originally of Hillsfar, but now, after years of traveling up, down, and under Faerûn, I am content to call this town my home. Who might you be?"

After the party introduces themselves, he says, "Well then, welcome to Easthaven. Whatever your business in these parts might be, I would offer you this small piece of advice: while you're in my town, you'd do well to be on your best behavior."  Theron and Jherek exchange a look at this.  Hrothgar continues, "These folk are under my protection, and anyone who would seek to do harm to them in any way shall answer to me.  That said, I'll let you get back to your cups. I'm sure you've had a long journey, and you'll find there's no better way to shake off the cold of the road than by downing a few mugs of Grisella's best."  He offers directions to the inn and general store, and then says, "Once you've had a chance to rest up and get your bearings, come by and see me at my house. It's just a couple doors west of here. There's some business I would discuss with you. Farewell."  And then he leaves.

The party discusses this a bit.  Does this Hrothgar fellow have some work for them, perhaps?  Before deciding, Jherek insists they have one more round.  Agreeing, Katya heads up to the bar, but learns from the barkeeper, Grisella, that they are all out.  Well, not quite 'out' exactly.  As it turns out, there is a pest infestation in the cellar below.  Nay, not giant rats, as one might assume.  Giant beetles, instead.  That's completely different and totally original.  Anyway, she offers a reward if the party clears them out for her.  The task is of the greatest of ease.  Nobody is injured, and Katya and Jherek one-shot one beetle each.  In thanks, Grisella hands over 5 whole gold pieces and the party earns 1200 XP.

Finishing up, the party heads out and starts to explore Easthaven.



As they are wandering around, a man named Apsel the Scrimshander asks for their help.  He explains that a wolf has broken into his shop and torn the place up, and he barely escaped with his life.  However, he was in such a hurry to lock the door behind him, the key broke off.  He asks the party to help.  Theron easily picks the lock, and then Jherek one-shots the wolf effortlessly.  In thanks, Aspel hands over his masterwork carving dagger.  Theron eagerly accepts it.



Heading down to the shoreline, they spot a fisherman fiddling around with a net, while muttering to himself out loud.  When Katya speaks to him, he admits he's been having very strange dreams lately that have him worried.  The fisherman, Jhonen, explains he dreams of a beautiful woman walking on the water, singing to him.  The dreams are slowly driving him mad, as they are all he can think about, all of the time.

Moving further south, they do indeed find a green skinned woman.  She speaks in song, so Lillian steps forward and the two sing in unison, communicating with each other.  Lillian learns that this woman, Elisia, fell in love with a human long ago.  That human was Jhonen's ancestor.  This man died fighting the white dragon, Icasaracht.  Before his last breath, he begged Elisia to take the remains of his sword to his family.  Elisia has held on to the blade since, searching for one related to the man.  However, she is unable to communicate with Jhonen directly, and melts into the sea whenever he looks toward her.  So she's been invading his dreams.  Lillian helps Elisia understand that Jhonen cannot join her beneath the waves, and she should move on, but agrees to take the broken sword to him.

Jhonen is surprised to learn all of this family history, having never thought himself anything more than a simple fisherman.  He accepts the broken sword, and is happy the dreams will stop...and yet, admits he will actually miss them in some way.  After returning to Elisia to tell her they had done as asked, the lake spirit hands over a pearl in thanks before vanishing into the water.  (The party earned 1200 XP for singing to Elisia, another 1200 XP for learning her song, and then a third 1200 XP for returning the sword.)

The party also visited the local temple to Tempus, God of War.  The cleric, Everard, tells the tale of Jerrod's Stone (which we've already learned from the first video above).  However, he believes that Jerrod's sacrifice was unnecessary and thus meaningless.  He and Katya get into a theological argument over this for a bit.  This gets me thinking about what deities the party follows in this setting.  Katya might well be a paladin of Tempus, while Ryan is probably a follower of Tyr, maybe?  Or perhaps Helm would fit better.

In any case, they are later stopped by a drunkard named Old Jed.  Jed explains, slurring his words, that he is banned from buying booze from the tavern ever since he fell out of his fishing boat for the fourth time.  He asks the party to go get him a bottle of wine and he'll repay them for it.  Ladonna, with her high intelligence and charisma, convinces Jed to give up his addiction and live a better life.  The party earns 6 GP and 1200 XP.

(By this point, Lillian has reached level 2.  But nobody sells any magical scrolls in this town, so she cannot learn magic yet.)

The party now heads to Hrothgar's place.  It's a spacious home filled with various trophies of defeated enemies, including the head of a mind-flayer, the head of a minotaur, and the head of an invisible stalker(!).


While the party speaks with him, Theron slips away to pick Hrothgar's locks and rummage through his things.  He doesn't find anything of value, though, except a scribbled note that reads, "If you are reading this note, then obviously you are a thief come to rob me of my hard won riches.  Sorry to disappoint you.  Did you really think I would keep my valuables in such an obvious and unguarded place?  Consider this note a warning.  I do not care much for those who would poke their nose where it doesn't belong, and anyone caught practicing thievery in the town of Easthaven shall answer to me.  --Hrothgar."  Ouch.  I wonder if Theron will take that warning to heart?  (Probably not.)

Meanwhile, Hrothgar explains to the others he is putting together an expedition.  It turns out a stranger arrived not too long ago from the northern town of Kuldahar, dying on the doorsteps of the temple.  Before he died, he ranted wildly about strange phenomenon up in Kuldahar.  So Hrothgar wants to check it out.  The party agrees to join up.  Pleased, Hrothgar tells them also of a caravan that is on the way here from Caer-Dinival that should have arrived by now, but hasn't.  The town desperately needs those supplies, so he asks the party to head up to Lac Dinneshere and search for it, then help it get home while he finishes up the necessary work in preparing the expedition.

The party sees no reason to hesitate.  They set out immediately.  On the bridge that leads out of town, though, they hear a young boy crying for help.  His name is Damien, and he explains monsters attacked him and stole the fish he just caught, and he had to run for his life.  The party goes to investigate and finds a band of goblins.  The goblins consist of two archers, three swordsmen, and one leader (fortunately, there are no babies to complicate things).  The battle is actually very difficult.  Jherek falls before the archers can be taken out.  But the party win in the end, retrieve what's left of the boy's fish, and give it back to him for another 1200 XP.  Then they drag Jherek to the temple to be raised.  Fortunately, Tempus is a pretty inexpensive deity, as raising the dead only costs a mere 100 GP.

Next time, in search of the missing caravan!

[GravityEmblem]

Nice! I’m always one to appreciate a Let’s Play format. (Yes, that was expressed poorly)

[Jherek Everfull]

Gonna need to get ol'Jherek a magic buckler!

[Daos]

Nice! I’m always one to appreciate a Let’s Play format.

Me, too.  I've dabbled in the past...there's an old Baldur's Gate run thread somewhere around here.  I started out just describing what happened, but then I started adding dialogue and character development.  Never finished it, though.

Gonna need to get ol'Jherek a magic buckler!

That's actually a good idea.  He can't dual wield, so there's no reason not for him to have a shield.  So I backtracked to the general store and bought Katya some splint mail.  Then gave her old chain mail to Jherek.  And then I bought him a buckler.

Oh, but Theron was busy, too.  He slipped upstairs and rummaged around there, picking up a healing potion, some gems, a masterwork dagger, and two scrolls--Chromatic Orb and Sleep.  He also pickpocketed the cleric of Tempus over at the temple, grabbing two more healing potions.  So I gave one to Katya, one to Jherek, and let Theron keep the last.

So now a question--who should learn Chromatic Orb and Sleep?  Ladonna already knows Sleep and Theron already knows Chromatic Orb.  I certainly should teach at least one to Lillian, but should I do both or give the second spell to someone else?

[notARobot]

Jan 3, 2018 12:59:11 GMT -8 Daos said:

"Whatever your business in these parts might be, I would offer you this small piece of advice: while you're in my town, you'd do well to be on your best behavior."  Theron and Jherek exchange a look at this.

Haha!  Spot on.

Jan 3, 2018 12:59:11 GMT -8 Daos said:

As it turns out, there is a pest infestation in the cellar below.  Nay, not giant rats, as one might assume.  Giant beetles, instead.  That's completely different and totally original.

I guess there's only so much complicatedness they're willing put into initial quest when they're still introducing the basic concepts of the game.  I totally get where you're coming from, but I think we keep winding up with the "Go kill [harmless creatures] in the [nonthreatening environment]" first quests because that's more or less the only way to introduce brand new players to how combat works without overwhelming them.

Jan 3, 2018 12:59:11 GMT -8 Daos said:

However, he was in such a hurry to lock the door behind him, the key broke off.  He asks the party to help.  Theron easily picks the lock, and then Jherek one-shots the wolf effortlessly.

Wow, Dopple-Theron is already ahead of Gontoria-Theron in terms of number of locks picked.  Also, while we're critiquing the game -- that's totally not how locks work.  I'm pretty sure that when you break a key off in the keyhole, you're not opening it with another key or a pick until the lock's been completely disassembled and the debris removed.  That's super-pedantic, I know, but it would have been easy for them to write that part in any of a million different ways that made more sense.

Jan 3, 2018 12:59:11 GMT -8 Daos said:

In any case, they are later stopped by a drunkard named Old Jed.  Jed explains, slurring his words, that he is banned from buying booze from the tavern ever since he fell out of his fishing boat for the fourth time.  He asks the party to go get him a bottle of wine and he'll repay them for it.  Ladonna, with her high intelligence and charisma, convinces Jed to give up his addiction and live a better life.  The party earns 6 GP and 1200 XP.

Kinda cool how that vaguely echoes the way Ladonna and Ryan tried to help Ethen in our game.

Jan 3, 2018 12:59:11 GMT -8 Daos said:

The party now heads to Hrothgar's place.  It's a spacious home filled with various trophies of defeated enemies, including the head of a mind-flayer, the head of a minotaur, and the head of an invisible stalker(!).

Gontoria-Theron has one of those, too.  He carries it around with him all the time /s.

Jan 3, 2018 12:59:11 GMT -8 Daos said:

While the party speaks with him, Theron slips away to pick Hrothgar's locks and rummage through his things.  He doesn't find anything of value, though, except a scribbled note that reads, "If you are reading this note, then obviously you are a thief come to rob me of my hard won riches.  Sorry to disappoint you.  Did you really think I would keep my valuables in such an obvious and unguarded place?  Consider this note a warning.  I do not care much for those who would poke their nose where it doesn't belong, and anyone caught practicing thievery in the town of Easthaven shall answer to me.  --Hrothgar."  Ouch.  I wonder if Theron will take that warning to heart?  (Probably not.)

Hahaha.  Okay, I'll give them a pass on the whole picking-a-lock-with-a-broken-key-stuck-inside oversight.  This bit is cute as hell.

Jan 3, 2018 12:59:11 GMT -8 Daos said:

The party goes to investigate and finds a band of goblins.  The goblins consist of two archers, three swordsmen, and one leader (fortunately, there are no babies to complicate things).

Jan 3, 2018 14:41:58 GMT -8 Daos said:

Oh, but Theron was busy, too.  He slipped upstairs and rummaged around there, picking up a healing potion, some gems, a masterwork dagger, and two scrolls--Chromatic Orb and Sleep.  He also pickpocketed the cleric of Tempus over at the temple, grabbing two more healing potions.  So I gave one to Katya, one to Jherek, and let Theron keep the last.

Jan 3, 2018 14:41:58 GMT -8 Daos said:

So now a question--who should learn Chromatic Orb and Sleep?  Ladonna already knows Sleep and Theron already knows Chromatic Orb.  I certainly should teach at least one to Lillian, but should I do both or give the second spell to someone else?

Hmm...I think I'd give both to Lillian, honestly.  It sounds like Ladonna and Theron both have pretty good utility as casters with the spells they already have; giving Sleep and Chromatic Orb to Lillian would give her a little extra 'oomph' in combat, and give her a bit of flexibility, too.

Jan 2, 2018 17:53:46 GMT -8 Daos said:

I am pretty sure Chromatic Orb was created for 2E.  It first appeared in the Complete Wizard's Handbook.

Yay!  I get to teach Daos some old school D&D lore!

[from Unearthed Arcana, pp. 66-67]

So originally, Chromatic Orb was in the illusionist spell section (back in 1e illusionists had a whole separate list of spells from magic users), but belonged to the alteration and evocation schools.  I looked up its listing in the 2e Wizards Spell Compendium, and that book lists it as alteration and illusion.  Then of course, in your screenshot from IWD (and in BGII, as I recall), they put the spell firmly into the evocation school.  Weird, huh?

Incidentally, Daos...if you find yourself rolling for the contents of a magical scroll or spellbook in our Gontoria game, you should feel free to include Chromatic Orb on the random results table...that spell rocks (and if we go by the WSC listing, it's even eligible for one of Theron's specialty bonus slots...)

[Daos]

I guess there's only so much complicatedness they're willing put into initial quest when they're still introducing the basic concepts of the game. I totally get where you're coming from, but I think we keep winding up with the "Go kill [harmless creatures] in the [nonthreatening environment]" first quests because that's more or less the only way to introduce brand new players to how combat works without overwhelming them

I was referring more to the old trope of the first quest always being 'kill rats in the cellar.'  Baldur's Gate has it, Dragon Age Origins has it (if you play a human noble), The Bard's Tale has it.  Heck, even FF12 has it.  It's a pretty common trope.  I was just amused they went with beetles instead.

Kinda cool how that vaguely echoes the way Ladonna and Ryan tried to help Ethen in our game.

Yep, although it took more than a simple conversation in the real game.

So originally, Chromatic Orb was in the illusionist spell section (back in 1e illusionists had a whole separate list of spells from magic users), but belonged to the alteration and evocation schools.

I'll be.  That means they introduced it in 1E, but then dropped it in 2E, only to bring it back in a supplement.  I'm pretty sure it's a core spell in 3E and 5E.

that spell rocks (and if we go by the WSC listing, it's even eligible for one of Theron's specialty bonus slots...)

Unfortunately, in the Complete Wizard's Handbook (which is a source I have and use), it's listed as Alteration/Evocation.  So neither Ladonna or Theron could learn it.  But I suppose Ryan or Lillian could.

[notARobot]

Jan 3, 2018 19:12:10 GMT -8 Daos said:

Unfortunately, in the Complete Wizard's Handbook (which is a source I have and use), it's listed as Alteration/Evocation.  So neither Ladonna or Theron could learn it.  But I suppose Ryan or Lillian could.

Wait...but shouldn't both Ladonna and Theron be able to learn it, then, since it's an Alteration spell and that school is allowed to them?

I'm not going to try to tell you how to run the game, but going with the ruling "specialist wizards can't cast spells that belong to multiple schools, if one of those schools is barred to them" leads to some wacky conclusions, and almost forces you to embrace some degree of logical inconsistency within the rules.

Dragon #163's "Sage Advice" column talked about this (excerpted from here):

Q. I've noticed that a few spells are parts of two opposing schools of magic. For example, the limited wish spell is both conjuration/summoning and invocation/evocation. Can specialist wizards from either school use such spells? That is, can conjurers or invokers use limited wish? How is it that a spell can be from two opposing schools anyway?

A. A specialist wizard can use any spell that falls within the schools allowed to him, even if the spell in question also falls under an opposing school. Certain effects, such as limited wishes, can be produced in more than one way; in this case, what is wished for can be plucked from some other place and delivered, or it can simply be created to order.

As the quote above points out, if having one of the schools barred prevented the barred specialist from learning that spell, neither invokers nor conjurers would be able to cast Limited Wish! It's also my understanding (though I forget where I read it) that this is the reason why the sixth-level spell Enchant an Item belongs to the Invocations/Evocations school as well as Enchantments; otherwise invokers and necromancers would be unable to create magical items, which is sort of a fundamental class ability for wizard-types.

[Daos]

...almost forces you to embrace some degree of logical inconsistency within the rules.

Logical inconsistency within the rules?!  In 2nd Edition?!  Unthinkable! 

Anyway, I guess so.  It's probably a moot point anyway.  It's such an expensive spell to cast (requires a 50 GP gemstone for each casting), even if the party got a hold of it, they'd probably never use it anyway.

=====================

Last we left off, the party had backtracked to town to upgrade Jherek's gear and Theron did a little five-finger discount shopping.  As the party prepares to leave town again, a random villager approaches Lillian and seems to recognize her as a bard.  She asks for a song, and Lillian provides, so the villager gives up a moonstone in exchange.  Nice!  I go ahead and give her the Chromatic Orb and Sleep spells.  Unfortunately, she only has a 55% chance of successfully learning them, and so only learns Sleep.  Chromatic Orb is lost.

Once outside the village, the party follows the road.  They are soon attacked by three wolves.  Again, they are of little hassle.  Katya tanks while Jherek spanks, and Theron and Lillian pelt them with stones and arrows, respectively.  Once they are down, we come across a cave and there are empty caravan wagons sitting outside of it.


Looks like we'll need to enter the cave to find out what happened to the people and cargo the caravan was carrying.

The cave's interior is partially lit with torches on the walls.  The party doesn't get too far before the culprit becomes obvious.  Orcs.  Only one or two at a time are met at first, but then the party reaches the central chamber and there is a large group of them, including archers and a shaman.  This proves to be the most difficult battle yet.  They consume quite a bit of spells and resources to survive it, but in the end are victorious.  Not far from the battle, they find an open crate with some gemstones and a scroll of Protection from Petrification in it.  Who should get that spell?  It's level 2, so nobody can use it right this second anyway.



Moving on, the party runs into a few more small groups of orcs; no more than 2 or 3 at a time.  They come across another shaman who starts casting.  Lillian nails him with an arrow, but for some reason this doesn't disrupt his concentration and he Curses the party.  They still manage to win, with Jherek taking 1 point of damage.  Jherek manages to get several crits, despite the curse, ending the fights quickly.  The party finds a chest and opening it up, discover some gold, a silver necklace and...a magic dagger!  Unfortunately, nobody's lore score is high enough to identify it, and Theron does not have the spell Identify memorized right now.  So the gnome just pockets it for now, eager to find out more once they get back to town.

They come across another small group of orcs, and Jherek takes a hit, knocking him down to 3 HP.  After the fight, Katya lays hands upon him, restoring him to 5.

As they near the last chamber, Theron scouts ahead.  He finds a large chest guarded by quite a group:  Six orcs (four with axes, two with bows) and an ogre!  This won't be easy.


Theron reports back to the others and they come up with a plan.  First, buffs.  Katya uses Protection from Evil on herself (for some reason, paladins don't have a continuous aura of protection, but rather it's a spell they can use on themselves once a day).  Ryan uses Bless.  I could have Lillian use her bard song, but I feel having her archery skills would be more helpful.  Ladonna uses Armor on herself, although if all goes well she won't take a single hit anyway.

The battle begins in earnest when the party steps into the chamber.  Ladonna uses Sleep on the two archers, taking them out for the rest of the fight.  Katya tanks two of the axemen, while Jherek fights the other two.  Theron and Lillian pelt the orcs with missiles.  The ogre is bombarded with spells--Ryan first uses Magic Missile, dealing 5 damage.  Then Theron hits it with Chromatic Orb, blinding it.  This proves lifesaving, as it causes the ogre to miss his first attack on Katya.

Katya and Jherek each kill one orc, leaving two more and the ogre.  But the ogre smacks Katya hard, nearly killing her.  She quickly downs her potion, and then Ryan uses Command on the ogre to knock it out.  It only lasts a few rounds, but it's long enough to finish off the two remaining orcs.  The ogre awakens and Katya, Jherek, Theron and Lillian all target him.  The ogre hits Katya again, and she is badly injured.  Ryan comes in with a healing spell to save her.  But the ogre hits her a third time, and she is dropped to 1 HP.  No healing left, save the potions being carried by Jherek and Theron, and there's no time to transfer them over to her inventory.  But luck, or perhaps Tempus, is with them.  Katya uses smite evil, and manages to finish the ogre off.  Jherek then goes and kills the sleeping orcs.

Not bad for the first boss fight.  Theron opens the chest and discovers a handful of gold, a winter wolf pelt, and a scroll of Horror.  Neither he or Ladonna can learn that one, as it is Necromantic.  Ryan or Lillian, then.



They also find a parchment on the ogre.  It looks like some kind of caravan contract.



I suppose that settles it.  The caravan is no more.  But the crates are still in the cave, so at least the villagers can reclaim some of the shipment.  There's nothing more here for them to do, so they head back to Easthaven.

The party returns to Hrothgar and hand over the contract.  He finds it peculiar orcs would be so brash to attack a caravan so close to town, and hopes it isn't an omen of worse things to come.  The party earns 2,400 XP and Katya hits level 2.

Hrothgar states he is glad such competent warriors are coming on the expedition.  He asks us to pick up some supplies from the general store, as well as equip ourselves for the coming journey, and report back in the morning.

Now all that remains is for the party to heal up at the inn, decide who gets what new spell, identify that new dagger, and then set off for a new adventure.

[Daos]

The next morning, everyone feels haler and refreshed.  Theron quickly casts Identify on the dagger, and learns it is a Fire Dagger +2.



He decides to hold on to it, and hands over Aspel's dagger to Katya.

The party heads to the general store and picks up the supplies, earning another 1200 XP.  This levels up Jherek (as a thief) and Ladonna.  The party also sells their loot and stocks up on ammo.

Anyway, the party reports back to Hrothgar and everything is ready.  Time to get this expedition started.  I, for one, look forward to it.  It should be interesting to get to know the other people on the expedition, find out their stories and hopes and dreams.  And what of Hrothgar?  I'm sure a seasoned warrior like himself has many stories to share while huddled around campfires.



Oops, never mind!  They're all dead.  Womp, womp.



When the six party members, the only survivors (because they moved forward instead of retreating back during the avalanche), emerge they are greeted by a hermit who witnessed the whole thing.  He's quite rude, and insists that we should be more worried about ourselves than Kuldahar.  Still, after insisting several times, he finally gives us directions.  He also warns us that goblins are all over the pass.

He's not kidding.  The party runs into a handful right away, a couple of archers and warriors with axe and shields.  As soon as they are defeated, Lillian and Theron level up.  Lillian learns a new bard song, one that makes the party immune to fear effects.

They come across an abandoned farm, where some goblins are harassing the chickens.  After taking them out, the party comes to an old mill.



There's a goblin marshal standing guard outside.  He registers as evil to Katya's vision, but he makes no hostile movement.  Instead, he just complains about having been 'called' here by 'buzzing voices' in his head and how hungry he is, and there's nothing good to eat in the whole pass.  As he makes no move to stop them, the party decides to ignore him for now.  Entering, they find a small room packed with four orcs.  Their leader, Uligar, demands tribute.  Jherek tells him what he can do with his tribute, and a battle starts.  The orcs are easily vanquished, and upon searching the bodies, the party finds two things of note--one is a scroll of Blur (which will go to Theron, naturally, once he can cast level 2 spells).



The other is a magical instrument.  Thanks to Lillian's high lore score, she easily identifies it without a spell.  It is The Merry Shorthorn, and can cast Bless on the party once a day.  Nice!  Ryan can already do that, but it never hurts to have it twice.



(In my last playthrough, I didn't have a bard in the party, so any instruments I found were just sold for gold.  It should be interesting to see how useful they are in this run.)

Heading downstairs, the party finds more goblins and slaughters them.  While searching the place afterward, Katya finds a small closet under the stairs, and inside is a little boy.  He says his name is Jermsy and that the goblins killed his father and sister.  Katya does her best to comfort him, telling him that they are in a better place now.  Jermsy decides to make a dash for the temple in Kuldahar now that the goblins are dead, and the party earns 2,400 XP.

Moving on, the party finds an old watch tower.  Inside is an ogre, named Ghereg, who is also complaining of a headache.  He doesn't even attack, but does consider bashing his head against the wall as a cure for his headache.  Katya gently convinces him not to.

Finally, the party finds a cave.  Inside are goblins and giant beetles, fighting and feasting on each other.  After clearing them all out, Lillian finds a bundle of 9 Arrows +1 on one of the half-eaten goblins.  She's able to identify them thanks to her high lore.  She'll save those for a boss fight.  In the aftermath, Ryan levels up as a cleric, too.

Everyone has officially leveled up at least once now.  And that does it for Kuldahar Pass.  Next up, Kuldahar!

Current Party Status:
Ladonna (Enchanter 2)
Ryan (Mage 1/Cleric 2)
Theron (Illusionist 1/Thief 2)
Katya (Paladin 2)
Jherek (Fighter 1/Thief 2)
Lillian (Bard 3)