Where are some instruments ?

[Loudhy]

Hello,

last weekend I started my non-magic party. There were lots of problems
in the monastery ( main problem : disease from pestilent rats ).
Now I think about a new strategy . I believe, I must play this party different
to my normal gamestyle.

But I can't remember : Where is the Dulcimer of Mending and where is the
Mandolin of the Magus ?

Thanks for your help.

[rbeane1]

One thing That is not right is those damm rats.
if you get diseased your healers are not strong enough
for cure disease and you cant buy it from Burz!!
I had to make a run for Arnika because of disease.

[Scatter]

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There are both in Marten's Bluff and another Mender is also in the house you get to from the Humpawhammer. The Mender in MB is hidden on a tall box at the top of the stairs up from the "Northern Sector" sign; the Magus there is in the room architecturally opposite the room with the Idol

[EEWorzelle]

RBeane, if you have an Alchemist in your party you can easily mix Cure Disease before you see your first Rabid or Pestulent Rat.

I can usually have that by Level 4. I takes a little longer with a Bishop. For a Hybrid with Alchemy, it comes too late to make much diference in this respect. If no such casters are in your party, capable of mixing it, then get ye to Arnika.

If you finish the Monestary efficiently, even if you are thorough, you will probably never see a Pestulent Rat (Rabid Rats, yes, but they will very rarely hit you with Disease). If you are a fairly new player, give yourself a break. The game is a little difficult at first.

It is generally not a good idea in this game to stay in one place and keep leveling up. The enemies will level up as you do, and will be just as tough if you have been to lots of places and are well-equipped or have only been to a few and are poorly equipped.

It's great that this game never gets boring, even after lots of replays, but it can be tough for the newer player.

Neither Instruments nor Gadgets will help you much in the Monestary. These come later and gradually. To get more, faster, move through the game to lots of places.

[ 09-15-2003, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: EEWorzelle ]

there's a fixed encounter when you first enter the upper monastary with 2 rabid rats, and there's another, with 6 gnawer friends, in the anti-magic room. so it's not entirely a matter of level that you'll run into those badboys.

i've only had one party get nipped for a disease tho. not only did we have no alchemist for mixing, but we had noone with healing or identify. they were restarted with a slightly better party chemistry

as a big bard fan, i'd strongly recommend following the *traditional* plot line to get the best instruments in the timeliest fashion. that is:

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monastary (sleep, bless)...
road (shrill sound)...
arnika (charm)...
road (cemetary for insanity)...
trynton (slow)...
swamp (log bridge for haste)...
mine tunnels (silence x 2)...
trang (heal all, magic screen, armormelt)...
teleport to arnika hut (freeze all)

the key is the four items at the trang.

the alternative is to try to get to the trang by way of the umpani, which might get you there earlier. but you have to fight or pickpocket kunar to get there (to use his teleporter). this locks you out of his trading and a quest later. you may get some of those items before you can use them, which makes it seem something of a waste - especially since you miss out on the haste drum and insanity horn.

i should mention that going by way of the umpani gets the freeze flesh and soul sax (if you know how). but this doenst really make it a better choice. the freeze flesh is obsolete once you get freeze all and soul sax isnt really needed until much later in the game.

note, however, that i'm evaluating the plotline choices strictly on the basis of bard instruments. there a lots of reasons to go a different route!

[Loudhy]

Thank you Sultan,

I believe your way is the right one. It's nearly similar to the way I thought
of so I think I'll try it. But there is one another thing I want to know.
I my earlier games I had lots of problems with the Silent Lyre. When I got
the first, my Bard had a music skill of about 75. But I believe that the magic
spell Silence always affects more bad guys than the Lyre.
Do I need a higher music skill to make the "Sound" better or must I train
INT to a higher level ( I usually stop IQ at 65 ).

Greetings

[EEWorzelle]

After Arnika lately, I slip up to UBC, become a recruit, do the first few levels, grab a flag and only then (after a stop in Arnika again) head to Trynton. There are some great Spells at UBC. I generally stop along the way, one way or the other, back at the Monestary briefly.

What matters is your Music level, not your Intelligence. However your Intelligence is the secondary controlling attribute for Music, so makes it rise a little faster. If you don't have high Dexterity or Intelligence, your Music will rise slowly, but your Bard uses Music so much that helps counteract even that. I usually leave Intelligence at the beginning level and put zero points into it at Level-up. Dexterity, however, is something I max in my Bards. There is also an item which increases your Music Skill. Even putting no points into it at Level-up, my Bard's Music Skill gets high very quickly.

The Northern Wilderness, along the way, has at least one instrument, too, and some other cool items, but I don't usually spend too much time there at that point in the game. I have also gone through the game in the order Sultan discusses, too, and usually end up joining the T'Rang instead of Umpani first, in that case.

good point, eew. probably the most significant exception to following the "bard's path" i outlined is when you've got one or more spellcasters that you want to buy up the kunar spells for. in particulre, kunar's spellbooks include a significant number of earth spells, which is the alchemist's best realm imo. so if i have an alchemist, i'd more likely make the side trip to the umpani before heading up to trynton, et al., and little elvis will just have to wait a bit longer for his next toy.

but if i just have a bishop or priest or hybrids, i dote on the wee storyteller.

[Scatter]

i almost always go to Kunar first if i'm picking pockets. Especially if i have a Bard; there's the Fiddle and the Sax there, both of which i consider essential if i have a bard; they and Magus are the primary reasons for my having a bard. Parties of 2 and solos need to combine as many of the really important things as possible, and that almost always means at least 8 levels as either Bard or Bishop.