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GREY CRYPT
Aram's Knife
First, I enter Garth's Shop in Ephesus, which is straight south from the city gate. I purchase a Lamp. The reason why will become apparent soon enough.
Now I enter the Grey Crypt, which is a little north and east of Tangramayne on the Wilderness map. A Golem asks me to name the crypt before I can truly enter it. The answer is "grey".
My intention is to do some grinding and at the same time milk the place for several items that I want. The crypt in its entirety, every last square, is anti-magic. That includes light spells. That is the reason why I brought along a Lamp. It isn't magic, and lasts for 360 minutes. It also frees Ariel to keep her Traveller's Tune in place, so that the party members will enjoy immunity to the physical attacks from the quite powerful monsters to be found in the Crypt.
Now I have a grind cycle based on the set fights against random monsters at 2N 1E, 2N 2E, 1N 2E, 1N 4E, 3N 6E, 3N 8E and 3N 10E. Melee suffices to win the fights even against these tough monsters, helped along by a Seeker's Ballad and Falkentyne's Fury from Ariel during the first two rounds.
I manage to find Aram's Knife during my first grind. It can be thrown for 128 to 512 damage at the maximum range of 90' feet. It can only be used a limited number of times, so I don't equip it on an ongoing basis. But I will sell it with the possibility of buying it back for use in certain key fights, the last one in particular.
66th Level
Everyone except my spellcasters has enough experience to advance another level, so I return to Tangramayne.
The Review Board in Tangramayne is at 4N 11E. Lord Stygar, Zarathos, Gallard, Ariel and Cassandra each advance to their 66th level of experience. In each instance, I insist on plenty of Hit Points and a +1 to Constitution. I thereafter return to the Crypt.
Huntsman's Gloves
The next grind cycle yields a pair of Huntsman's Gloves, which provides both a 1 point improvement to AC and a +4 bonus To Hit. Gallard equips them for the rest of the trilogy after I have them identified at Garth's Shop.
1st Level Archmages
I do another grind, but just until I get enough xp to advance Talia and Mordred another level. I return to the Review Board in Tangramayne and advance them to their 64th levels as Wizards. I insist on plenty of Hit Points, Spell Points, and a +1 to either Constitution or Intelligence. I now have both of them undergo a Class Change to become Archmages.
There are three new spells that come with the change. One is Melee Men. If your saving throw overcomes that of the target monster group, the monster group will get pulled into melee range of the front-line characters.
Another is Rimefang, which inflicts 200 to 400 points freezing damage on all enemies within 40'.
Another is Oscon's Haltfoe, which will stun every monster group within 20'. Potentially useful, but I still prefer to save my Spell Points for offensive spells. Besides, there will be an item in the third game that allows me to spam it without limit. That's when I'll use it with regularity.
*Note* As an aside, the reason I wanted to advance Talia and Mordred another Wizard level before the class change is that I did not want their 'half way to the next level' experience points to go to waste.
2nd Level Archmages
I complete another cycle. I don't get any items I want, but I gain enough xp to advance Talia and Mordred another level. And again, I insist on plenty of Hit Points and Spell Points, as well as +1 to either Constitution or Intelligence.
3rd Level Archmages
Another grind and I advance Talia and Mordred to their third levels. And again, plenty of Hit Points and Spell Points, as well as +1 to either Constitution or Intelligence.
The key new spell is Batchspell, which will cast all at once Ybarra's Mystical Coat of Armor, Major Levitation, Greater Revelation, Sorcerous Sight and Kiel's Magic Compass.
1st Breathring
I complete another cycle, and this time get a Breathring. It provides a +1 boost To Hit and immunity to breath weapon attacks for the character wearing it. It will ultimately go to Gallard, but I have Ariel wear it for now since she could use a boost to her To Hit.
4th Level Archmages
I also now have enough xp to advance everyone another level. Lord Stygar, Zarathos, Gallard, Ariel and Cassandra advance to their 67th levels. I insist on plenty of Hit Points, and raising their Constitution scores to 20.
Talia and Mordred advance to their fourth levels. I likewise insist on plenty of Hit Points and Spell Points, as well as their last +1 to Intelligence.
2nd Breathring
I complete another cycle, and partway through get another Breathring. I will have Talia equip it, to immunize her against one of the few types of attacks that can harm her at the back ranks.
Nospen Ring
I do another cycle. The very last battle during the cycle yields a Nospen Ring. If any character in the party equips it, it renders the party immune to any spinner that they may encounter in the dungeon. Cassandra equips it, since she doesn't need AC to make herself immune to physical harm.
5th Level Archmages
I return to the Review Board in Tangramayne and advance Talia and Mordred to their 5th levels as Archmages.
They also pay the gold for the third-tier Archmage spell level. The only spell in it is Camaraderie, which has a 1 in 2 chance of calming down any summoned monster that has gone hostile.
3rd Breathring
I complete another cycle and get a third Breathring. Mordred equips it.
6th Level Archmages
Talia and Mordred advance to their 6th levels as Archmages.
1st Wizhelm
I do another grind cycle, and get a Wizhelm during one of the battles. I have Talia equip it. It provides 1 point better AC than the Lorehelm, and also has a limited number of charges of the Wacum's Wizard spell.
I also decide to head back to Tangramayne and do a bit of a transition. The trekking through the Grey Crypt makes it apparent that some monsters have so many Hit Points that weapons based purely on damage isn't cutting it anymore. I have Lord Stygar equip a Stoneblade, which is the only instant-death weapon a Paladin can use. I have Zarathos equip a Death Dagger, which also has a +3 bonus To Hit.
*NOTE* It is during this game that golems and statues and other monsters made from stone become immune to the Stoneblade. If I am faced with a group of Golem-like enemies, and a group or two of living-flesh monsters, Lord Stygar will always target the non-stone monsters. At the same time, I have Zarathos and Ariel and Cassandra focus their attacks on the monsters that are made of stone to take them out quickly and prevent the immunity to Stoneblade from becoming a factor.
Deadlyrang
I complete another grind cycle. I get a Deadlyrang after the last fight. It is at this point that I can now transition Gallard into a long-range sniper. I shuffle the order so that Ariel takes 3rd spot, Cassandra takes 4th spot, and Gallard takes 5th spot. He can now use the Deadlyrang to perform Critical Hits on enemies up to a distance of 70'. He does, however, have to equip it as an off-hand item and that means he'll have to sell his Luckshield for the time being.
7th Level Archmages
Talia and Mordred advance to their 7th levels as Archmages. They both learn the 4th level spell called Fanskar's Night Lance, which can inflict 100 to 400 points freezing damage on a single group of monsters within 60'.
Lord Stygar, Zarathos, Ariel, Cassandra and Gallard advance to their 68th levels. In the case of Lord Stygar, Zarathos and Ariel I insist on lots of Hit Points and +1 Dexterity to improve their AC.
Ring of Accuracy
I complete another grind cycle and get a Ring of Accuracy after one of the fights. It adds +3 To Hit. *NOTE* dmc equips his Bard with it now in order to maximize her ability to land blows with the Spectre Snare. I myself see potential value in it, but didn't feel a need for it in this game so I sold it to Garth. Ariel wore a Breathring instead during the second game, which still provides a To Hit bonus, just not as much as the Ring of Accuracy.
8th Level Archmages
I grind some more, and Talia and Mordred reach their 8th levels as Archmages.
69th Level
More grinding leads to Lord Stygar, Zarathos, Ariel, Cassandra and Gallard getting their 69th levels of experience. For Lord Stygar, Zarathos and Ariel, I insist on lots of Hit Points and raising their Dexterity to a perfect 20.
4th Breathring
I complete another cycle and get a fourth Breathring. Gallard equips it, both for the +1 bonus To Hit and because immunity to breath weapons certainly helps now that he's become a back rank sniper.
9th Level Archmages
I grind some more, and Talia and Mordred reach their 9th levels as Archmages. They learn the Heal All spell. It works the same as Restoration, with the difference that it will resurrect to full Hit Points any dead characters in the party as well.
10th Level Archmages
More grinding leads to and Talia and Mordred reaching their 10th levels as Archmages. Lord Stygar, Zarathos, Ariel, Cassandra and Gallard advance to their 70th levels.
2nd Wizhelm
Another grind cycle leads to another Wizhelm, which I have Mordred equip. Now I have most of the items I want. There's a few others to get, and the Maze of Dread is a good place to get them.
