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Woodend Plains
While this page of the guide is entitled Woodend Plains, I actually visit two other map locations in order to pick up companions and do a little shopping. Because my visits are limited, I do not give them separate pages here.
Sagani Joins
I start off at #1 on the map of the Woodend Plains. The first thing I do is enter the Stronghold Menu, and have the Main Hall rebuilt so that events like Visitors and Companion Adventures can begin to happen.
I journey south along the road until I encounter Sagani at #16, who explains her search for her former Elder named Persoq. She now joins me and replaces Aloth in the good party.
She already has a Fine Hide Armor. I equip her with a Fine Hunting Bow, as well as the Stalker's Torc and Ring of Searing Flames that I had found earlier.
I also begin to level her up. I give her the Resilient Companion talent on her second level up. It provides her pet Arctic Fox, Ituulmak, with a bonus to Damage Reduction that scales with her level-ups.
I give her the Predator's Sense ability on her 3rd level-up, which allows Ituulmak to inflict extra damage on targets that are suffering from damage over time effects. This ability syncs perfectly with abilities used by other party members, such as Kana's The Dragon Thrashed, The Dragon Wailed (later on) or the Devil of Caroc's Deep Wounds ability or Sagani's own Wounding Shot.
I select the Marksman talent on her 4th level up. This is a no-brainer, as firing arrows is her bread and butter.
I take the Stalker's Link ability on her 5th level up. It gives her a +10 Accuracy bonus when she's firing her arrows at the same target that is being attacked by Ituulmak. The Stalker's Torc adds +20% damage to boot when using this ability.
Her joining the party also triggers her personal quest, The Long Hunt.
*Evil* Zakara also has no problem letting Sagani join for a little while, and in fact I had left a slot empty in the evil party for this purpose. The ultimate intention, however, is to sacrifice her to the blood pool in the Dyrford Ruins. And in fact, I go with a five man party during the next few levels of Endless Paths.
Sagani on Persoq
Here is where Alliria and Sagani speak at length about various matters, particularly the latter's hunt for Persoq.
Forest Lurkers
Now I go about killing the odd Forest Lurker on the east side. I only fight each one at a time, so Alliria goes all out with Sworn Enemy followed by using both Flames of Devotion. Sagani likewise tags each one with a Wounding Shot before sending Ituumak in for the kill. I loot the corpse at #4 for random items.
The video concludes with me touching the World Map Exit at #23 in order to open up access to the Stormwall Gorge.
Pwgras and Trolls
I go a little west and west and kill off another Forest Lurker and a lone Pwgra.
There will be a couple of Pwgras and several Trolls at #7. This fight can be tough for a lower-level party. A real danger is that the Pwgras will cast Insect Swarms on the party, while the Trolls are hacking away. The damage to party members can add up in a hurry.
Note that there's a dilapidated wall along the road southeast of #7. I use the wall to my advantage, as the Pwgras have to get around the wall to be able to target me with Druid spells. I take position by the wall. Eder goes forward to get the monsters' attention. The Trolls stop following me after a while. I would have accepted being able to reduce the number of Trolls with this approach. But things turn out even better in that the Pwgras follow me without any of the Trolls to help them. That means I can cut them down very quickly and before they get off many spells.
Now I can proceed to #7 and kill off the Trolls in a straight up fight to conclude the video.
*Evil* Trials of Durance
Zakara heads over to the west edge near the road. She speaks at length to Durance about his purposes in travelling with her. He'll answer the questions for a time, but won't field anymore until when next the party rests.
I rest, and have Eder and Sagani take resting bonuses that provide Accuracy bonuses against Beasts, in anticipation of the next battle.
*Evil* Durance on Magran
Zakara speaks at length again with Durance, with the subject being his patron goddess, Magran. He answers the questions until he gets tired of it again, and won't entertain anymore until the party has rested yet again.
Hearth Harvest
I climb up the hill in the northwest corner. At #10 will be a pack of Lions led by an Elder Lion. I take position on the wall east of #10, with my more vulnerable characters behind the others and to the north. Eder gets their attention and leads them back to the rest of the party.
The Ring of Searing Flames only allows Sagani to use Combusting Wounds 3 times per Rest, so I save it for fights that really matter before resting. This is one of them, so she uses it on as many Lions as she can catch with it. Note how she always targets the same enemy as is being attacked by Ituumak, so as to maximize her own damage. She in turn makes a point of planting a Wounding Shot on Ituumak's target, in order to maximize her pet's damage.
Durance of course uses Blessing, Consecrated Ground and Interdiction for this battle. I otherwise manage to win the battle with familiar tactics.
A corpse at #10 has a Hatchet called Hearth Harvest. I add the Fine Quality enchantment to it, and have Kana wield it until he finds something better much later in the game.
*Evil* Hearth Harvest
I conduct the battle a little differently for the evil party. I stop short at the end of the trail and the top of the hill. Durance plants a Seal of Warding to the left of the trail's end, while Aloth plants a Fireball trap. Eder leads them back to the rest of the party.
Zakara tags the Elder Lion with Sworn Enemy. Eder and Kana hold front line positions.
Durance begins his sequence of Blessing, Consecrated Ground and Interdiction. Aloth begins his sequence of Eldritch Aim, Chill Fog in front of the party, Merciless Gaze, and lastly Kalakoth's Minor Blights. The battle soon runs its course.
I hold onto Hearth Harvest for Maneha when she joins.
Hiravias Joins
I start off at #1 on the map of Stormwall Gorge. I travel east and then south along the road until I run into Hiravias, who replaces Eder in the good party. *Evil* The evil party also accepts him, but they're content to send him off to Caed Nua then and there.
I give equip him with a Fine Hatchet, Fine Mail, as well as a Ring of Minor Deflection and a Ring of Overseeing that I had both found earlier.
Now I level him up. I take the Gallant Focus talent on his second level up. The idea here is that I enjoy two Paladin-esque auras at once, Damage Reduction from Alliria's Zealous Endurance and an Accuracy bonus from this talent.
I take the Weapon and Shield talent on his 4th level up. It is imperative if I want him to perform in a secondary tank role.
True to Form
Alliria speaks at length with Hiravias, exploring every dialogue tree.
At one point, while discussing his training with him, three possible attribute checks become possible. One requires a Perception of 12, another a Might of 14, and the other an Intellect of 14. I chose the Perception one, whereupon he explains his shame at developing a Spiritshift form that is stigmatized by his tribe, leading to him becoming cast out. This revelation triggers his own personal quest, True to Form.
The video concludes with the good party reaching the World Map Exit and the east side, and then travelling to Dyrwood Village.
*Evil* Second Leaden Key Attack
The evil party around this point has another pending attack by Agents of the Leaden Key, so now I return to the courtyard again. The battle pretty much follows the same course, with Aloth bombarding the distant Leaden Key Wizards with Fireballs, and then all of the Leaden Key Agents, Wizards included, with Ghost Blades spells.
Winfrith's Arms and Armory
I start off at #1 on the map of Dyrford Village. I head straight for Winfrith's Arms and Armory at #14. There are two items that I purchase from the shop.
On is the Boots of Zealous Command for Alliria. It is the obvious choice of boots for a Paladin, as it will expand the range of the Paladin's Zealous aura.
The other is the Pike called Tall Grass, which I purchase for Sagani. Mostly I prefer that she fire her arrows on distant targets. Sometimes, however, numerous enemies are up close and thick around the party. This weapon will give her the option of attacking from behind her comrades, and with the option of knocking her targets Prone. And if she sets up her Attack for extra damage by the party Rogue, so much the better.
*Evil* Winfrith's Arms and Armory
There are two items I purchase from Winfrith. One of course is the Boots of Zealous Command for Zakara, and for the same reasons as with Alliria.
The other is the Padded Armor called Angio's Gambeson for Durance. Lighter armor is always good for spellcasting characters, and this is a good one during the interim as it provides the option to activate Deleterious Alacrity of Motion so as to increase his Attack Speed.
Grieving Mother Joins
I go to #15, where I speak to Grieving Mother and recruit her into the good party. Simply getting her into the party triggers her personal quest, Dream and Memory.
I begin the process of levelling her up. I get her the Draining Whip talent on her 2nd level up. It increases the amount of focus she will gain when she lands melee or ranged attacks.
I also get her the Eyestrike power on her 2nd level. It can blind enemies within a small radius, which can certainly be useful when party members and enemies are fighting each other in tight clusters. It can also be used to prime up its targets for sneak attacks or even Death Blows by the Devil or Caroc.
One of the powers I get her on her 3rd level up is Phantom Foes. This is one of the reasons why a Cipher and a Rogue make an awesome tag team together. I lead off almost every fight with this, with the result that the Devil or Caroc is ready to start landing sneak attacks immediately. Find another condition to afflict the monsters with, and let the Death Blows begin. One that note ...
The other 2nd-level power I get for her is Mental Binding. It can Paralyze the initial target, and leave nearby targets Stuck. An enemy suffering from either condition is vulnerable to Sneak Attacks. It can make a good follow up to Phantom Foes for obvious reasons.
I get her the Biting Whip power on her 4th level up. It increases the amount of damage she inflicts with either melee or ranged attacks. Biting Whip and Draining Whip together are essential for any Cipher.
I also get her the Mind Blades power on her 4th level up, which provides the option of inflicting damage on multiple foes at range.
Ectoplasmic Echo is one of the powers I get her on her 5th level up. If there's a line of foes between the Cipher and an ally, this power will cause multiple hits of damage on that line of enemies for that duration. It can really add up. It becomes even more deadly if those same enemies are suffering from Combusting Wounds on account of Sagani's Ring of Searing Flames.
Puppet Master is the other power I get her on her 5th level up. One of the best ways to win particularly intense fights is to sow dissension in their ranks. Using this on a target in their midst not only has that target attack its former comrades for you, but will also convince your other enemies to devote their attention to attacking it instead of you.
I equip her with Justice, as well as a Fine Arbalest and a Plate Armor that I had been saving up for her.
*Evil* The evil party also recruits her, but sends her back to Caed Nua for now. She'll replace Sagani fairly soon. However, she ultimately will not be a core member of the evil party, and at some point will get replaced by Zahua.
Speaking with Grieving Mother
Now I remember to equip Grieving Mother with the Ring of Overseeing that I had been saving up for her.
I have her and Alliria speak at length with each other. I explore every possible dialogue option with her. Making progress with her personal quest, Dream and Memory, requires entering, well, her dreams and memories a second time.
In particular, it is important to pay attention to particular details of her memories of delivering a child as a midwife. At some point, Grieving Mother will want you to recall particular details of the memory. The correct answers are:
