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RESCUE SHANDRA
Happy Returns
Now I head back to Shandra's Farm. My party configuration is Casavir, Neeshka and Qara. It becomes a series of battles against Githyanki forces, both inside and outside the farm house itself. It's the usual formula of Casavir, Valeria, and Neeshka fighting it out up close while Qara casts damaging spells whenever she can.
Shandra in the Sunken Flagon
Now I speak to Shandra and bring her to the Sunken Flagon, only for her to get kidnapped by the Githyanki.
*Evil* Shandra in the Sunken Flagon
The equivalent video for Zarathos, where he's considerably more hostile and offensive towards Shandra.
Githyanki Surprise
Several hostile Githyanki will now be scattered throughout the Sunken Flagon. Valeria starts off with Greater Magic Weapon, de-activates her Combat Expertise mode, and then follows up with Haste so she can quickly rush ahead and cut the Githyanki down quicker. The Beetle Familiar tosses in the odd Shocking Grasp. It's only a matter of time.
Chasing Shandra
Now Duncan calls in a favor from the Ranger named Bishop, who in turn joins the party and leads them to the village of Ember. The party configuration I now choose is Valeria, Casavir, Bishop and Grobnar. There will be a chance to increase influence with Grobnar in the Githyanki Base.
The video concludes with me setting up Bishop with some of the equipment that I've saved up for him, the Stonefire Axe +1, the Watchman's Helm, the Armor of Loyalty, the Purple Dragon Ring, and the Duskwood Longbow that Khelgar had crafted earlier.
Ambush in Ember
I pre-buff and go ahead a little. I now get ambushed by Githyanki that come in two waves. The patterns are familiar. Casavir and a pre-buffed Valeria go to work. Grobnar uses his Curse Song and his arrows.
Bishop is at his best when he unleashes his arrows at a distance. In particular, he is well suited to taking out Mages from afar. Manyshot can be a handy ability to use in some situations, but especially so against Mages. The reason being that Mages usually don't wear high-grade armor for fear of arcane spell failure. That fact makes the attack bonus penalty associated with Manyshot negligible. And indeed Bishop shows how Manyshot can rip down a Githyanki Mage's Mirror Images in no time at all, and then bring down the Mage himself almost as quickly.
The video concludes with the first of many arguments between Bishop and Casavir, with the hint that Valeria herself will become the prize. Valeria sides with and earns influence with Casavir, and at the same time sides against and loses influence with Bishop whenever possible.
*Evil* Ambush in Ember
The parallel video for Zarathos. One of his priorities is to increase his influence with Bishop, and he makes a start by making a Spot check to notice that both the villagers and livestock are missing upon arrival in Ember. He also gains another +1 influence gain by making a Wisdom check following both battles.
He also sides with Bishop against Casavir by stating that the villagers deserve death during the conversation with Alaine.
Bishop's Knife
I go to the world map transition on the other side of Ember. Once there, a boy named Marcus wants Bishop's knife. Valeria obliges Bishop at the expense of -3 influence with him. This will have significant repercussions later on in the game, as the knife will make the difference between Marcus living or dying.
*Evil* Bishop's Knife
Zarathos, during the evil playthrough, tells Marcus off and condemns him to dying. That means missing out on a quest later on, but I do it anyway for the sake of roleplaying.
Gityhanki Approach
I leave the village, and now end up at #1 on the Githyanki Approach map. It's more of the same. Sometimes I run into an obstacle like a Wall of Fire or a trap, but they'll inflict only minor damage. Note how Bishop can kill Githyanki Mages outright, or very close, with his Manyshot ability even after they've protected themselves with Mirror Image.
I run into Guyven of the Road again at #2, and get 250xp for speaking to him. There will be more Githyanki north of him.
The entrance to the Githyanki Base is at #3.
