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Dragon's Eye - Level 1 | Dragon's Eye - Level 2 | Dragon's Eye - Level 3 | Dragon's Eye - Level 4 | Dragon's Eye - Level 5 |
DRAGON'S EYE – LEVEL 2
Sheemish
Now, while I avoid resting, I consistently make my way south and west, fighting plenty of Lizardmen along the way.
At some point, I find myself in a cave with some children in it. The one I want to speak to is Sheemish, Conlan's son. As long as I've cleared the path to the exit I just came down from, as well as all of the previous level, I can convince Sheemish and the other children that they can leave safely. There will be a reward for this.
More Bombardier Beetles
Now I return to the entrance to Level 2, and then start to head eastwards. There are a couple of Phase Spiders up ahead, so I have the Black Thorn hide and then backstab one of them to get a head start. A few Bombardier Beetles follow after me, so I kill them as well.
There will be a lot of Bombardier Beetles in the tunnel starting from the northeast corner leading southwards. Sometimes, if they're a little spread out, I can kill them by attrition, like how the Black Thorn does with his bow. Other times, there will be quite a few packed more tightly together. This is an opportunity to demonstrate another tactical theme. The Black Thorn will go into hiding, and mark the location of a pack of Beetles. This allows Lanatir to hit them with a well-placed Fireball just outside of the Beetles' own 'fog of war'. At the end of the tunnel is a corpse that has:
Trolls and Wraith Spiders
Now I travel towards the northwest corner of the 2nd level. I now run into a new foe, Trolls. For anyone who happens to be previously unaware of Trolls in the D&D rules systems, getting Trolls down to zero hit points isn't enough to kill them permanently. Once Trolls are reduced to zero hit points, they'll spend a brief period lying the ground regenerating and immune to further damage from weapons. The only way to kill them permanently is to use fire or acid on them. If you don't inflict fire or acid damage during their 'regenerating on the ground' period, they will wake up with some of their hit points recovered.
Also, if you manage to inflict a status-effect on them, like Confused or Stunned, they can then be killed permanently simply by bringing their hit points to zero.
In this instance, the Trolls are often alongside Wraith Spiders. I find it advisable to kill the Wraith spiders first so that I can then finish off the Trolls without distraction. As for what kind of finishing blow is merited, it depends. I find spells more reliable than Acid or Fire Arrows. If you're only fighting a single Troll, a single target spell like the Druid's Sunscorch is ideal. If you're fighting say 2 or 3, try to be economic about it. Try to bring them all down close together, and then you can get them all with one spell. For example, in this video, I would bring down 2 Trolls, and then move everybody away. Derrick then finishes them both off at the same time with a Burning Hands spell.
Priests of Talona and Trolls
Now to the south will be several Priests of Talona and Trolls around a small ziggurat. It is easy to get overwhelmed in this fight, especially if the Priests manage to get in Hold Person spells to render the party helpless before the Trolls. Trying to get the jump on them right away with Fireball won't be helpful, since the Fireball will turn a nearby NPC hostile.
Instead, I have everybody hang back but with a clear view down the passageway. I then have Cassandra, who can run faster with her Boots of the Fox, race ahead in order to get the monsters' attention. She then doubles back to lead the enemy on in pursuit. She then turns around and casts Entangle, and then Spike Growth. Lanatir at the same time casts Web and Stinking Cloud. The Priest and Troll that managed to make it through are cut down by Genevieve, Halagrim, and Cassandra. The Black Thorn and Derrick open fire on the Priests and Trolls. Lanatir chips in with a Fireball. The battle is won.
Mother Egenia
Here I simply get experience points for talking to Mother Egenia. There's not much else you can do with the villagers here.
Conlan's Hammer
The party now speaks to Conlan in his smithy, and then to Sheemish. Sheemish gives me a key that can be used on a nearby chest. The chest itself has Conlan's Hammer (+1 Warhammer, +4 vs. Iron Golems, +4 for purposes of determining what creatures it can hit). This will make for a fine interim weapon for Halagrim.
I have sold enough booty by now that I can also make a stop at Orrick's. The Black Thorn purchases for himself the Rogue's Cowl and the Shimmering Sash. A multi-class Fighter/Thief may be a questionable character choice for participating in melee combat in any sustained way if there was only leather armor to rely on. It is precisely the acquisition of these 2 items, which together provide a 5 point boost to armor class, that makes a good-aligned Fighter/Thief a viable character build in IWD.
Spiders and Trolls
Now I simply fight my way to the exit to the third level, battling Trolls and Sword Spiders along the way. I am still cautious with the Sword Spiders, having Lanatir tag each one with Magic Missiles along the way in order to bring them down as quickly as possible.
Now I go down to the third level.
