While I should have been packing for an upcoming move last night I managed to make my way through level two. I realize most who will read this have long since gone through level two for the first time.

It was significantly more difficult than level one (as I am sure it should be). There were a few fights in which I was constantly dying. The first was against the "Alhoon" (sp?), I had my brain sucked out at least a dozen times b/f finally beating them. I would have searched my gear for something to protect against that particular attack, but most of the time by the time I got my inventory up I was respawning. I am still not quite sure how I beat them. LOL

So, I am making my way north at this point and come across some undead folk with a trapped coffin. Next thing I know I am running around in a state of Fear. LOL I must have traveled through much of the NW portion of level two. It was annoying as hell while watching, in retrospect it was quite humorous.

So when I finally get calmed down and back to normal I wander north and come across another group of Drow led by Nessant (again sp?) I tried apologizing and telling her I would leave...but no, she would have none of that. Anyway, I was able to kill her rather quick...but her Drow Guards kicked the crap out of so many times my head was spinning. I could not hit them at all and would die within seconds. I tried running, but they followed. Finally, I lost them and ended up near Loki and friends. As if I wasn't frustrated enough from the last few encounters now I was fighting the Dragon Bone Golem who also kicked my tail several times. Somehow I managed to get him to leave me alone long enough to get the Gem of Warding quest from Loki. I hightailed it out of there and stopped in time to see the Drow Guards waiting. So here I am thinking I have to get back to the area I was desparately trying to leave to get out of this level...what to do, what to do. Then I remembered I had a Ring of Invisibility. I know it is cheesy, but damn I had been playing for hours and needed to finish the level. LOL So, I crept past all of the Drow Guard and the hordes of spiders and made it back to the room. There I actually found two Gem of Wardings for Loki along with two +8 Drow Icy Longswords! My dual weilding fighter was in business now. Of course I still crept back past everyone. LOL So I made my way back to Loki, was able to unlock the door to Skullport and actually took out the Bone Golem fairly quick this time around. I thought about going and looking for the "secret rooms" Loki told me about but decided sleep was more important. LOL

I think next time I need to look for someone to who is in the same area to play with.

All I can say is; LOL...Parts of the level sometimes seem out of balance, but if you're careful about what equipment you buy, a lot of that stuff can be avoided, especially the brain sucking, and the fear. At the very least, I would recommend Potions of Clarity. They protect against mind affecting spells.

If you are struggling against the Dragon Bone Golem just shut him behind the gate, i find he will not open it to chase.

There is an amulet of health that protects against level drain and ability drain. This is very useful and worth buying :D

Also there is a certain ring available in the yawning portal bedrooms (3rd level) that is a must in offering protection against all sort of nasty things that.

sounds like a great adventure :D .

Hey, been through that level many times but that nasty ol' brain sucking critter gets me quite frequently with my lower level characters, so don't feel bad! :D

So glad you're enjoying the Undermountain. :D

Quick question, when logging on do you always start off in the Yawning Portal? When I logged off Monday I was in Skullport and when I got on last night I was in the Yawning Portal again.

Also, did anyone else have trouble scrolling through the weapons Durnan was selling last night? There were like 23 pages and everytime I got to page 7 the game crashed. I was bummed b/c I wanted to see if there were any sweet long swords.

Last night I ended up going back to level 2 for a short time to try and find the hidden doors, but had no luck. When I leveled up I finally took a level of Rogue and put a few points in search (I am now a 13 F and 1 R), I will probably go back at some point. I fully explored Skullport except for the docks which I could noet get into and an area south that was also locked. I then did a portion of level 4 and dealt with what seemed like hunreds of zombies and other undead types. lol I am looking forward to finishing it tonight.

Finally, can anyone give me a clue as to where Moric is on level 2? I would like to add a henchman and he sounds like one that would be useful b/c of lockpicking etc. Thanks!

It depends on if the server has been reset between the time you logged off and the time you log on again.
The server only remembers the location of players as long as there's still other players online, as soon as it's empty, it resets so that all monsters and quests an be killed/done again.

Durnan does indeed have some sort of bug that causes you to crash when you try to go to page 7 of his weapons inventory (Although I recalled it was page 9).

And you will have very hard time finding Moric on level 2, since he's only there if someone dragged him down there from level 1. [img]smile.gif[/img]
If memory serves, he has a small base if you follow the tunnel north out of the Bugbear/Orc camp on level 1.

[ 08-23-2006, 10:50 AM: Message edited by: StigTC ]

LOL, you reminded me just now how I need to lower some of the powers in that area. Yeh, the bone dude is kinda a boss, and is in EFU lore, but I MAY lower his AC a tiny bit so you can hit him a bit better. He has an AC Of like 56. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] crazy for level 2.

Where did you find +8 swords on level 2?!?! whoa.. did some one drop those for you? I know I didn't put +8's on level TWO! :D :D

Anyway, AWESOME recounting of your questing! I love reading those from players! Keep em coming!!! (While I am at it, I will add some weapons of 'vs Undead damage' to level 2. They are needed. [img]smile.gif[/img] And balance some things out.

Hmm...I thought when reading about Henchman (via a search) it said Roddybug was on level 1 (I could not find him last night either. lol I looked where you described Moric should be) and that Moric was on level 2.

I found the +8 swords in the area of the Drow you have to go after to help Loki. I found two identical sets of treasure, each containing a Gen of Warding for Loki. Since finding these sword I often will dual weild one of them and a Mace of Disruption +5 or +6 (can't recall which) when fighting undead. So far it has made pretty quick work of them.

Cool stuff! Both of those Henchmen are on level 1.

I'm redoing the Set Mummy Boss area right now, and fixing some stuff. Added some new items to help against Undead near the Skulks too.

Excellent, I will indeed search for Moric this evening. Quick question, if someone comes through b/f and has him join them will he be there? I guess I am wondering if multiple players can use the henchman.

My experience is that if someone already has him then he will be with them, or wherever they have left him. That's why you've found him on lvl 2 before I guess. The only way for you to use him would be to team up with them, don't know if you would have access to his backpack (etc), suspect not.

Ziroc, the main drow in that room (can't remember his name) with the warding stone is the one carrying the +8 icy burst sword. Definitely is there if you can kill him off.

The reason for two swords is that the drow leader respawns and sometimes his sword is not picked up.

Last night I decided to try and get through level four. As a side note, I think I need to start using more ranged weapons when nearing areas where there are a LOT of enemies...are there exploding bolts?

The level started out easy enough with hordes of undead again. I made short work of them. After heading north and then west I came to the PVP area and then headed south. Again, nothing I could not handle. I don't think I have ever seen so many undead, not only in one place, but in any game entirely. LOL I then came to a bunch of what appeared to be planks near the center of the map. I decided to explore to the west and then north where I could head to the Sea Cave (more on that later). I decided to pass and headed south. I then entered an area which had a door to the catacombs. It is here I had the revelation that range weapons need to be used more. I rushed right in and found myself in one hell of a sticky situation. Driders and undead. I was able to take out a few but the wizards killed me a couple of times and I could not reach them through the loads of enemies. I decided a retreat was in order and tried to fight the battle in a smaller setting meaning fewer of them could attack me at once. This turned out to be a good idea as I was able to defeat everyone and head back to the stairs in short order.

The catacombs were a bit of a pain in that I wanted to be sure to cover everywhere, but was not sure where to start. So, after looking through the first room I head east along the top of the map then heading south. I decided I would try and do the outer hallways and then work my way in. Things were going quite smoothly as I ran into little resistance as I made my way south and then west along the bottom of the map. When I got to the southwest corner of the map things went horribly wrong. I am not sure what type of vampires I was facing, but they proved more difficult than the zombies and other undead I previously faced. However, the worst was Foose the Undead Ettin. WTF!!! I died a LOT. I was finally able to defeat the rest of the vampires in between respawning so that it was just me and Foose or rather Foose and my corpse. LOL Now I am not as familiar with the "hit" system as it relates to NWN rules having played the Baldur's Gate games for the last two years. But it seems the higher the number the better. I was consistently missing with rolls of close to 40. I did exactly ZERO points of damage to this guy. I used my +8 Icy Burst Drow Sword, my +8 Bone Mace and a host of other weapons and NOTHING worked. So, I decided to hightail it out of there and try and regroup. I headed north hoping to shut a door or two along the way. No such luck. When I ran into resistance I would stop and fight and all of a sudden there was Foose. He was a like a summer cold that can't be shaken. I eventually just started ignoring everyone and headed north and then east and out of the catacombs. Gonna have to try that again.

The fun however did not end there. As I am still unfamiliar with the spells and such in NWN I don't use them. LOL After leaving the catacombs I decided to head south and explore the bottom of the map. As I went through a door everything went black. Someone or something had cast darkness. I think I killed everything I could focus on but when the lights came back it was for only a few seconds. Oh, and something kept blasting me with spells. I tried going south but not being able to see put a damper on it. That and there might have been a locked door, I don't recall. So I headed back north.

Thinking I was getting tired, but was not ready to quit I decided to check out the sea cave. I ran into a couple of Umberlee's, who while not overly easy to kill, died soon enough. I made it about halfway down the tunnell when all hell broke loose again. Big flashes and explosions everywhere. LOL Somewhere was a Death Knight or two. I decided enough is enough and got out of there.

At this point I was beaten down and ready for a break. LOL I went back to Skullport and sold some things and bought some more. I will have to give the level another try tonight. I was not able to find Moric or Roddybug again, can someone clue me in to where they should be if no one has taken them? Thanks!

Heh heh!

I'm enjoying these tales from the Undermountain, ever considered playing or being a bard Stonewarrior. Perhaps Z should extract these tales and put them somewhere else on the site, after we've read them and with your permission of course! It's very nice to see the Undermountain through new eyes, I've been around for quite a while [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself Stonewarrior!

[ 08-24-2006, 02:53 PM: Message edited by: roddybug ]

I have only played a Fighter / Rogue mix thus far in NWN. The only other games I have played are the Baldur's Gate games and Bard is probably the only class I have never tried. I am not sure why that is to be honest, I will have to give it a shot one of these days.

Great stuff Stonewarrior! Keep the stories coming! Love em!!!

Yeh, I will check Fooses' AC.. may be a bit high for level 4. a +8 should hit, but your saving throw may be the issue? Dunno.

The Sea Cave goes to a Special Island off of Waterdeep. Be atleast level 25-30 before going there. [img]smile.gif[/img]

On my way to level four last night (I could not find Moric on the 1st level this time...I was bummed) I noticed Roddybug run by with a Water Elemental. Actually, I was hanging out at the entrance to level 4. So I decided to follow a few minutes later and see if I could find him thinking perhaps someone had taken him along and then left him. Well, I seem to have gotten lucky!

Roddybug and I then headed to level four. We again met a good bit of resistance from undead, spiders, driders...ya'll know what I mean. Well, I decided I wanted to finish exploring the catacomgs this time around and with my new companion I wanted another shot at Foose! This time I decided to head to the middle first. After some skirmishes along the way I found a gated center section with some likely treasure inside. Couldn't find a way in though...probably just me. At this point it was time for a reunion of sorts with Foose. So, we headed West and then south. Little did we know that we would both be petrified by the damn bone medusa's! After five minutes of taking minimal damage only regenerate I figured this is going no where so I logged off and back on. Unfortunately for Roddybug the logoff did not help his stoned state so I had to leave him there. I continued south thinking I am stronger and my AC is now at 50 so I think I have a chance. I got down to his area and after a few minutes took out the Vampire Warriors...they kind of blocked Foose's ability to hit me. lol When they were done it was just me and him! I got him to barely injured this time! WHOHOO! That said, we fought for a while, each barely able to do anything to the other and when we did our regenerative powers (not sure if he has them but he healed a few times) would raise the red bar. Well, after 5 minutes of thinking this is pointless I headed back out of the catacombs.

At this point I headed south thinking that is where the door to the 5th level must be. This time I got to the very bottom of the map before someone turned out the damn lights again. Fortunately, I had my bearings this time and was able to head through the next door. Low and behold! More undead. hehe I am getting good at fighting them off, thogh it seemed like 30 of them b/t me and the far west wall. Anyway, I was able to take care of them and then headed north to where I had to "prove myself". Guess I did because I got a key. :~) After going through a portal heading north I had to face off against 2 Frost or Ice Giants, can't recall which. They went down fairly easy, though I must admit it took a while. I ended up with a super sweet looking greatsword and a pair of keys. From here I went through the next portal and then on to level 5!

I started off talking to the merchant here to sell some loot. He doesn't seem to give as much for items as others so I didn't sell everything. I then answered the Wraith's three riddles and from the next area went south. I made my way along the south corridor pretty well until I came across some Zombie's who "scared" me. Yeah, I ran out of potions of clarity. I need to try and find a helm or something that has the same effect! lol Anyway, after collecting my wits I was able to defeat them. From here I kept heading west until I got to a door going under the entrance hall and from there to a corridor just north of the initial hallway. From here I had two optinos...go north to an area looking like it was a firey walkway or go east. I decided east might be more fun for now. I got about a 3rd of the way through, fighting various creatures, when the thunder and lightning outside started to get bad and then our power flickered off and back on. I then lost my connection and though I better shut down.

All in all it was a successful night.

Quick question for Ziroc, do you plan to insert more transporters? I am just wondering as it seems I would have to go all the way through level 4 again to get to lever 5. No biggie, I am just curious.

Yep, many more teleporters are in the works!

Might have been me with Roddybug and his water elemental, I 've had him a few times lately. My char got stuck hovering in the air in one of the corridors and I got him back but lost him in the teleporting on level 7 or coming into level 8, can't remember.. so if anyone was looking for him yesterday, he was down there wandering about. [img]smile.gif[/img]

HEHE.. Z- my char got stuck hovering in mid air in one of the corridors on level 6 yesterday... was wild but I forgot to save the screenshot. Had to log off and back on! LOL I swear my girls like high places! ;) :D

Yes, I ran into the bug in Durnans weapons pages around 9 or 10, got around it by going backwards, though, didn't crash then!

PS: I vote for a teleporter on level 7 or so...it's a LONG run down to 10 and if there aren't any stones there... ugh.. I did get one yesterday. Wellard graciously offered to run through and run point for my weaponmaster.

Same thing happened a couple days ago to T'Lara, sam elevel, I think. She rounded a corner and up she went. Nothing helped, couldn't move, so had to ask whoever else it was on the server to *please* not leave the sever for a couple minutes while I logged back on. After log-on, it was fine, I picked Roddybug back up (he thoughfully waited for me), and off we went.

Cloudy, who's your weaponsmaster? I'm still trying to put (real ppl) names to avatars.....

Yesterday was probably the most fun I have hd yet in Undermountin. Previously, my only experiences in a party where when I was asked to join (but the others were WAY farther than I was). Though I did have some assistance in level one the first time though...sorry, can't recall who it was.

My run started with picking up Moric and making our way to level five. Once there we started down and answered the riddles. While we were finishing with the southern hallway in level four I was asked to join up by "Enter your name here" so I waited at the end of the main hallway. When they arrived we proceeded north and around for a while. We fought some dragons as well as the usually variety of undead. We then headed down to level six. I gotta say, that one is confusing! Round and round we went, I was then told to follow the arrows and there we were at the entrance to level 7. Along the way we fought many Xanther types.

Sadly, I could not continue to level 7 as I had to run an errand I had been putting off. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see I was not only still at the entrance to level 7 when returned, but I was still logged on. :~)

Moric and I then headed to level 7. There was no real reason to take him though as he did not join me after the first area teleporter. lol I traveled along a few areas getting teleporters (or was it different doors) to other areas. At one point I came upon a group of Xanther Guards and a Xanther Wizard. That one was TOUGH. I had to respawn two or three times. That was first time on this level. Anyway, from there I moved on and near the exit came across a room full of Xanther types included THREE wizards. That was NOT a fun experience. I got the crap kicked out of my repeatedly. Come to think of it, I bought some potions of spell protections, maybe I should try using it. lol Anyway, I eventually tried to make my way north and try and find the exit. WHOA!!!! There must have been 25 to 30 skeleton types in there. That too was not fun. lol I tried making my around toward the exit allowing a few at a time to follow. It was easier to taken them out that way.

I was finally to the entrance to level 8 and not surrounded by enemies. It was late, but I went to level 8 anyway. Nothing was immediately going on and Moric was there. So I thought, it is time to put my son to bed. Five minutes later I returned and was dead. lol I respawned and there were to Malalite(sp?) folks there (a pristesss and a warrior). They beat me like I was nothing. I was able to get the warrior to badly injured, but then the pristess healed the warrior. I tried moving deeper into the forest and the same thing happened everywhere I went. I got a beatdown like never before. I am not sure I killed anyone. LOL At this point I figured it was a good time to go to bed. haha

Thanks to all who were on for different advice / suggestions I received yesterday!

Welcome to Level Eight.
Be sure to leave your body parts behind when the Malarites send you to the netherworld. They may need them for cooking fires.

*shrugs and smirks*

Seriously though, Level Eight is the hardest level I have faced (in terms of your regular enemies) inside of the Undermountain. You have nothing to be ashamed of if they carved you up and left you for table scraps. They do that to my fortieth level characters as well as anything lower than that I care to drag down to that area.

Yep, lvl 8 is a bummer, but fun anyway. I only have one character below 40 who can cope with it (Little Bad Ginger) and even she has difficuilty with more than about 4 of them at any one time. But you've got to love that part, brings you back down to earth after coasting lvl 7!

I figure I will spend some time on the levels below 8 building up my character and will eventually try it again. Though it does suck that I need to get through it to move on. Then again, that is the challenge. One thing is certain, I will be giving plenty of thought as to how I can make it through. :~)

Keep the stories coming Stone warrior, its great fun to read. Just remember that a weapon that gives +6 attack bonus is actually more use than something that says it is +8 but after reading the fine print only gives +4 to its attack Bonus. ;)
Untill you sort out tatticts/spells for each monster attack bonus is everything :D

Oh and while we are on the subject of level 2... I like the changes down there Ziroc. Has anybody else noticed the new layout?

Level 8 will be eased a bit in terms of spawns and AC. It must be lowered for game balancing reasons. Because level 14-17 are gonna be harder.. gotta slowly get harder as you go down.

I also will add some new trasures to level 8 to get players to wanna take the trek. ;)

We all had a good time. Unfortuneatly I did not get a good screenshot of both of us in the Deathpit fighting the Ancient Black Dragons in the same shot.

Here is Tulo...


http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ewyk/Tulo3.jpg


and here is Enter...


http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ewyk/Tulo2.jpg


I hope to hear more of your adventures in Undermountain.

Those are sweet pics! Things were moving pretty quick in there and I didn't really get a good look at much.

After reading one of the replies about my misadventures on level 8 and the AB of weapons I started trying to focus on that. In these shots I am dual weilding my Drow Icy Burst +8 longswords which only have an AB of +4 (I was bummed lol) yet I am able to do some hefty damage (62 - 42 physical / 20 cold in the 2nd shot). Conversely, when I use my +8 bone mace the damage I can inflict is a lot less, often in the teens or mid to low 20's. The AB for the bone mace is +7. If I recall properly on my feats, I am only one "feat" ahead with longswords compared to maces. Does the AB only go toward "hitting" the enemy? Or does it also factor in with the damage? I think my AB is +38/+33/+28/+23 (whatever that means lol) when using my Icy Burst longsword and goes up a bit with the Bone Mace.

Either way when I can hit I am successful, when I can't hit things go woefully wrong. For example, last night I tried going through more of Muriel's Gauntlet and was doing quite well until running into the Lich Lord. I basically kept my mouse in the area of the screen where "respawn" shows up. lol I eventually hightailed it out of there and received a bit of help (I forgot to jot down the name, it was Hubert or Herbert - sorry).

Anyway, if things work out time wise tonight I am gonna try and make my way down to level 7 and maybe 8 again tonight.

The 38/33/28/23 is the bonus you have to hit for each attack in a round. Attack bonuses only apply to hit, and enhancement bonus, say it's +7 attack, +8 enhancemnet, apply to both. So in the +7, +8 scenario I gave, the weapon is actually +8 to both. If you factor in a weapon focus, and a superior weapon focus, this could account for the differences in AB with the sword to the mace. Feats like Epic Prowess add to your over all AB, with any weapon you can equip.

I should go to bed, but tonight was an excellent night in Undermountain.

I meandered about for a while before deciding to head back to level five and beyond. It seemed as though a hurricane had blown through as I met very little resistance and the wraiths in the opening hallway were gone. I checked out a few of the teleporters, but could not get the chests open so I decided to ignore the last couple. I then went to the Death Pit and was able to beat all of the dragons.

A quick side note, it appeared that several adventurers had recently visited Durnan when I logged on as I was able to purchase some VERY nice equipment. I am now wearing some sweet dragon armor which is +9 and I was able to purchase two or three very powerful longswords and one powerful mace.

So back to level five...

I made it to the exit and was then joined by Brother Datton IW (who it appears was Robertthebard based on another post). We joined up and raced through level 6. All I can say is DAMN! Monks are fast. My character is hasted and looked slow. lol We met little resistance along the way and what little we met was quickly dispatched. We even let out some nasties locked in cells. They too went quickly. We then headed to level seven.

We again were able to quickly dispatch the Xanther Guards and other enemies. A quick side note, Brother Datton's Monk is a beast in battle! I have never played a monk, and honestly never really considered one, but this guy was one tough character. Close to the end of the level we entered a room with a few wizards along with a host of other enemies. I had to respawn a few times here, but was able to take out one of the wizards and a few others. After gathering some loot we headed to the next room (appropriately refered to as Skeletor's domain by another player...sorry, forgot the name). As had happened through the rest of the journey, battles were much wasier this time around. Once we finished with the dozens of skeletons (I do wonder how many are there Ziroc) Brother Datton leveled up and I thought I would look for treasure. Sadly all I found were bones. Oh well.

We were now ready for level 8. The level which had completely owned me when I tried it by myself the other night. One piece of advise I was given was to move slowly as to not allow the enemies to really gang up on you. It worked. This time instead of constantly dying I was assisting in the killing of many bad guys. I was quite pleased (I know Ziroc toned the level down some...but after the butt whooping I got last time I did not care, I was able to kill them. lol).

We made a quick pit stop at the Inn were I was able to sell some gear. I got much better prices here than when I sold some gear on level 5. WON'T do that again. LOL I also learned that protection from Death Magic would be helpful. So, after selling two belts of Greater Shimmering (I think that is what they were) I got to buy one back. All of a sudden I stopped dying instantly. lol That will be a nice switch.

We continued amking our way toward the entrance to level 9 while encountering resistance, but it was scattered and nothing we could not handle. At this point I needed to put my son to bed but wanted to continue to level 10 to get a key. It was then Brother Datton let me know they had all been taken and that we could reload and along with an Amulet of Clearing could zoom through after the server reset (we were the last two players). As much as I wanted to I knew I needed to stop as my wife was giving me the evil eye. lol

THanks again for running through with me this evening, this game is totally addicting. Especially when playing with others. :~)

One final side note, when I created my character I was unsure of starting stats, skills and feats. Well, I am getting more familiar and am now wishing I had done things differently as I would like to level as a Weapons Master. So, I have been putting points in Intelligence. With my last two level ups I was able get to a 13 Intelligence and select Expertise and Whirlwind attack. I am hopeful to be able to start leveling as a Weapons Master next time. I am currently a 22 Fighter (or is it 21? lol) and 3 Rogue. I am not sure I will be able to continue my adventure tomorrow, but I certainly hope so!

[ 08-30-2006, 02:05 AM: Message edited by: Stonewarrior ]

Yep, it was me. We'd gone about 1/2 way through level 6 when Roddy told me there were no stones to be had after level one. No since in turning back then, and I did want to get you through level 8. The big kicker to the monk build, get your wisdom pretty high. Brother Datton's wisdom is 25 with bonuses, but his dex is 30? I don't remember now. I did go back in, and now have stones for both level 10, and level 12. Yes, I beat up the wizard to get the stone, even though I didn't have to. At that point though, I was too tired to continue, and said goodnight Wellard.

My adventure continued last night almost where it left off. (I went and bought an Amulet of Greater Clearing and raced through levels 4 through 8 - special thanks to Robert the Bard for pointing this out the night before when I was unable to continue). When I got to level 9 it seemed rather deserted and quite confusing with so many different paths to take. I ended up going the wrong direction on a couple of occassions. I eventually came upon a camp. I thought doing my typical rush in and try and beat everyone, but though better of it when I noticed a huge dragon. I thought it would be better to keep going as my goal for the evening was to make it to level 10 of Undermountain. I eventually made my way to the entrance to level 10. Level 9 in a way reminded me of a scaled down version of level 6 but with fewer monsters etc.

Upon entering level 10 I thought it would be prudent to ask if anyone could point me in the right direction for the transporter stone. It was then that I received an offer of help from Harkbristle Durnden (sp?) which I quickly accepted. At the entrance were a few Lizard Warriors and Guards which we quickly defeated. We then headed off toward the Lizard King. Along the way Harkbristle made a side trip to enlist the aid of Teri-Sha who proved to be a great addition. As we made our way toward the Lizard camp we met quite a bit of resistance of all kinds. I am not sure what Harkbristle was shapeshifted into, but they were very powerful. (Of course the first time I noticed I thought they were an enemy - I am glad I did not attack as I would have likely been pounded!).

As we made our way to the Lizard town entrance we were pelted with what appeared to be poisoned arrows. After getting poisoned a few times (and with the helpful hint from Harkbristle that I needed some antidote potions - which I had but not in quick slots) I remembered I had a helm which gave me immunity from poison. After swapping this out things got a lot better. We rushed into the town and were immediately met by Warriors and Archers a little further up. I decided to rush ahead and try and take out the archers as they had caused us so much trouble.

After this we made our way further into the town and then got ready for the King. I ended up in the wrong hut and defeated a Lizard Prince and a couple of warriors. It was then Harkbristle let me know I was in the wrong place. :~) I then made my way to the right hut and "attempted" to help beat the Lizard King. That was one tough oversized Gecko! I am not sure I hit it at all as I kept seeing me "miss". After he had died I was able to collect the stone dagger and some other nice treasures. I was unable to continue our adventures as it was late so I gathered up some random loot and then called it a night.

I wanted to take a moment and thank all of you who have traveled with me or given help along the way in my journey. I have heard horror stories from friends who have played games online about how other players can ruin the experience. Everyone I have come across either while playing or on the board has been absolutely fantastic and has truly helped to make my experiences thus far very enjoyable!!!

My adventures continued last night, thought there were some server interruptions which caused a bit of havoc...

When I logged on I was still on level 10 in the Lizard village and immediately found myself in battle. Feeling quite disoriented I used my Amulet of Greater Clearing so that I could gather myself and figure out what was going on. I decided to poke my head in a few huts and took out 3 or 4 Lizard Warriors in each. Sadly there was little in the way of "loot" but I did find plenty of gold. In the week or so that I have been adventuring I have netted close to 36 million gold pieces. It might be about time to buy myself a nice little place near the Yawning Portal Inn!

Upon entering another hut I suddenly found myself face to face with a very angry Dragon! We battled back and forth for a bit and I was eventually victorious. The dragon had an odd lair as there was a cirle of sorts with huge piles of gold. I of course helped myself seeing as the dragon would no longer have need of it. I made my way south and into the Lizard's Buriel area. I found some nice items in the chests and then decided to head into the portal and see what lie ahead. I met some token resistence once I arrived, a couple of Lizard warriors and more skeletons. After defeating them I moved through a doorway and was transported to another area. Wanting to maintain a level of caution I decided to use Amulet again. I moved forward and came to a very large group of angry looking Lizards, warriors, a cleric, a wizard, a monk and a ranger (if memory serves). I thought to myself "let's skip this party and move forward. Sadly as I turned a corner I came to a locked door. It was fight an hope they had the key or go back. Well, curiosity got the better of me and I charged forward first taking out the wizard. The next thing I know I am respawning. I did this a few times and noticed each time the Lizard Monk was giving me a thorough beating. I was not able to hit him before I was again respawning. It was at this point I figured sometimes it is better to return and fight another day so I left. When I returned to the Lizard burial area I decided to seek of Teri-Sha. She told a story of losing her party members to a great monster and we decided to travel together. As we made our way south we came across the lair of a Vampire group, lots of undead here. A few minutes later we were victorious. It was at this point I decided let's head to the next level.

We were for the most part able to sneak through the Lizard camp and head to the Undergrouind Desert. Sadly upon getting there Teri-Sha was quickly killed and I did not have a chance to resurrect her. Pity, because she was a valueable asset. As I was battling some Desert Warriors I extended an offer of help from an old traveling companion, Enter Your Name Here. I of course accepted. As he was just entering I decided to search around to the East some while waiting for him. I took out a few groupings of Warriors and other assorted enemies. I found some nice loot and a treasure chest which I helped myself to. I then entered a small cave and to my amazement found LOT's of piles of gold just laying around amongst a pasture of cows. I decided to help myself (maybe I can get a two story place). All of a sudden the strangest thing happened. The COWs started to attack me. Now I had thought I had seen it all. Giant Lizard warriors, Giant spiders and scorpions, dragons...nothing had prepared me for Evil Cows! They were everywhere and I am sad to say they forced me to make a quick retreat from the cave.

At this point I made my way slightly north and came across a Gold Dragon by the name of Bumbis (sp?). He had somehow allowed his mate's eggs to be stolen by the Desert Warrior's Leader. I quickly agreed to attempt to recover them for him as he was terrified of what his mate might do to him if she returned and the eggs were gone. I could feel his pain and fear and quickly decided to head to the fortress. About this time I was joined by EYNH. Together we headed north and entered the fortress. Upon approaching the leader he made some boast about us never getting the eggs. A short while later he was in no position to back up his threats. From here quite a battle ensued but we were victorious. We gathered the eggs and some other loot and headed out to go back to Bumbis. At this point we were attacked by hordes of enemies. However, they were no match for us as we soon had defeated them all. We then decided to quickly take the eggs back.

Upon giving up the eggs and getting our reward I realized I had gained quite a bit of experience and it was time to decide on some new skills.

It was while leveling my game crashed. When I was able to log back in I was at the Yawning Portal Inn as if nothing had happened over the previous hour or two that I had been playing. Talk about frustrating as I had gone up two levels. :~( Oh well ,I decided I wanted to go to level 12 and on, maybe find a teleporter stone since the server had reset...

After realizing I was back in the Yawning Portal Inn I decided to go Sanctuaried back to level 11 to try and find the passage to level 12! Being able to use the teleporters made my journey to back to the desert quick and painless! Upon entering the desert I made my way north back toward the fortress and then found an odd small cave that I entered. Everywhere on the floor were small to large pilese of gold. They spelled on "CHOC". It appears this was some sort of tribute to the cat that hangs out in the Yawning Portal Inn. I figured I would pay homage by taking the gold to put in my find a home fund. Surely Choc won't mind. I doubt the cat makes it down here often anyway... :~)

I then made my way to level 12. I there found a man who asked em to help find the Hand of Bane. I agree, though I knew it would be difficult and I was not sure I could complete the quest on my own. I soon found I was right. The Cult members were insanely tough and I quickly found myself using my Amulet, I will never again leave home without it! I traveled around a bit looking for a store as I had heard a rumor there was on on this level. I did not find it, though I could have looked harded I suppose. I decided I would head to level 13 since the entrance was right there. It was late and it seemed a waste not to at least check it out!

I soon found myself in a series of passages which eventually let to a large room with several Lizard Warriors and Cult members. I knew I could handle the Lizard warriors, but knew the Cultists would be a handful. I decided to just pass on through...until I found the exit was locked! Of course, if I were to move on I would have to fight and get the key. I then buffed up a bit with some potions and headed straight for the biggest and ugliest of the Lizards hoping to take him down quickly and put some doubt in the minds of the others. I am not sure if it worked as some HUGE Half Red Dragon came out of nowhere and beat me to a pulp! At first I was unable to hit him at all, instead I kept respawning! Soon however I was able to land usually one hit before respawning and doing between 20 and 40 points of damage. After about five or ten minutes of this the Half Red Dragon lay dead at my feet. I quickly used my amulet again as there were more Cult members around. I found this time around I was able to defeat them a little easier. Not sure why. I took a key and a monstrous Greatsword off the body of the Half Red Dragon and headed to level 13.

My main goal at this point was to sell some loot as I was filled to the brim. However, both merchants I found were not able to speak properly and I had nothing (to my knowledge) which would allow me to communicate with them. Bummer...

I then wandered around a bit before calling it a night.

When you hit level 13 there should be a ring of translation lying on the first ramp down (about 1/3 way down to your left). You need this if you are going to talk to them (or understand Drow, lol). Once you have it just keep it handy, there is at least one mission down there (for a single high lvl character but ideally a group or you will get your ass handed to you big time, VofE)

Excellent! Thanks for the tip on the ring. I did not even think to look for anything there. Of course I have "troubles" when on ramps or other entrance areas. LOL I got stuck or rather was to inept to move my character down the ramp on 11 and near the entrance to 9. I have been using a Torm something or other long sword and would like to find another more powerful one. I had tried boosting my dexterity up to 28, but it has come at the expense of my AC and I think I am gonna have to switch that back. Otherwise, when I cast aside my shield to dual weild I get crushed quickly. LOL