[LP] DestinyQuest 2: The Heart of Fire

[SGamerz]

Is there an Appendix in the book that lists all the possible bonus effects?

Yes. I can't speak for book 2, but in book 1 that appendix was the only place the effects were listed. The plain text only ever gave you the name, and the parentheticals in the LP were my own device.

That's great. Since these playthroughs take so long it's kind of tedious to have to constantly flip back to earlier pages to refer to what items do.

Of course. I realize Darth already has to invest a lot of time handtyping up the gigantic chunks of texts for this playthrough, so I do hesitate on asking him to provide the whole Appendix list if he's not able to scan those pages. I still wish that's a viable option. If not just remind me the effects of crawler.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I can't remember what crawler does. Can you recap that?

It's a Speed ability: 1/combat lower opponent's speed by 1 for 2 rounds.

Is there an Appendix in the book that lists all the possible bonus effects?

Yes. I can't speak for book 2, but in book 1 that appendix was the only place the effects were listed. The plain text only ever gave you the name, and the parentheticals in the LP were my own device.

Book 2 has the same, and I've been following your example as best as I can with it.

edit:

Of course. I realize Darth already has to invest a lot of time handtyping up the gigantic chunks of texts for this playthrough, so I do hesitate on asking him to provide the whole Appendix list if he's not able to scan those pages. I still wish that's a viable option. If not just remind me the effects of crawler.

I looked it up, and it turns out that there's a PDF of it on DestinyQuest's website here. I should probably edit that into the first post of this topic so it doesn't get lost here in the middle of the LP.

[SGamerz]

I do like the trickster ability personally, but it's not clearly superior to our existing glove enough to warrant t change.

I say keep the gloves and follow the tunnel.

[maglag]

Keep the gloves and keep penetrating tunnel.

[Darth Rabbitt]

The tunnel rises steeply, its rough-hewn walls crusted with mold. Eventually, after nearly an hour of following the twisting path, you see a band of light ahead. Quickening your step you hurry out of the tunnel, to find yourself at the edge of a rocky bluff. In the distance, protruding above the jungle canopy, are the crumbling ziggurats of a Lamuri city—and beyond that an immense black volcano, its dark form brooding and ominous against the white haze. It reminds you of the black peak from your vision at Durnhollow—the mountain that rained fire.
Congratulations, you have successfully navigated the dark interior. (Mr. Patio has the word explorer on his hero sheet.)

You scramble back up the rocks, to take in the view of the canyon below. While the mist obscures much of the landscape, you can still make out the course of the rivers and deltas cutting through the forest. You carefully add these details to the scholar's map. Make a note of the word south view on your hero sheet. You may now return to the quest map to continue your adventure.

Where to now?

As an aside, since this book has so many keywords, would you like me to delete ones that don't serve a purpose anymore, point out when a keyword we've gotten is one there's been a reference to in the past (and where), both, or neither?

Name: Mr. Patio
Path: Rogue
Career: Pilgrim
Speed: +9, Brawn: +8, Magic: +3, Armor: +3
Health: 35

Slot	Item	Speed	Brawn	Magic	Armor	Ability
Head	Garland of Sacrifice	+1	+2			Atonement
Necklace	Providence		+1	+1		Faith
Cloak	Hair of the Wolf	+1	+1			Cunning
Main Hand	Glaive of Souls	+2	+2	+2		Vampirism
Left Hand	Falk's Firestarter	+1	+1			Headshot
Gloves	Fingerless Gloves	+1	+1			Crawlers
Chest	Gator Aid	+1			+2	Second Skin
Feet	Sailor's Sandals	+1				Surefooted
Talisman	Maker's Button	+1
Ring 1	Pins 'N' Needles					Thorns
Ring 2	Grieving Soul				+1	Fire Aura

Backpack	Item
1	Golden Mirror
2	Elixir of Invisibility
3	Fungal Fingers (2 uses)
4	Saint's Blessing
5	Rubrica's Cube

Locker	Item
1	Green Blaze
2	Blood Iron Knot
3	Holy Water (2 uses)
4	Bramble Blade

Prophecy
bones
sure blade
calling
prevail
mixer
gatherer
meadowsweet, lemongrass, and white willow
raven
duty
Map of Carvel
Handy Herbalist's Spotter's Guide
can of oil
parchment
extra-sticky glue
blood debt
tower
household spirit
explorer
earth fist
wind guardian
infected wound
hexed
restless
south view
Book quest (reward at 471 when we have all 3 books)
Money Pouch: 611 Crowns

[Omegonthesane]

I honestly haven't kept track of key words so if you're happy just doing that no problems here. Reminding us where a keyword appeared when it arises might add to the quality but don't strain yourself.

How much do we lose if we die in combat? This will influence my vote; if the answer is "basically nothing" then I say we start legendary hunting, starting with 408.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I honestly haven't kept track of key words so if you're happy just doing that no problems here. Reminding us where a keyword appeared when it arises might add to the quality but don't strain yourself.

I wouldn't have offered if I didn't recall what they did.

How much do we lose if we die in combat? This will influence my vote; if the answer is "basically nothing" then I say we start legendary hunting, starting with 408.

It's still nothing. I have no intentions of running it, but the third book actually adds penalties for dying in fights.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Fight legends. 408 is as good as any.

[Darth Rabbitt]

One of the shops in town checks for the restless keyword, if you're interested in checking there out after fighting the legendary. As you'll see below, a lot of keywords are Act 1 only.

Legendary monster: The fisher king

The high walls of the gorge amplify the roar of the nearby waterfall, plunging down from out of the mist to crash amongst the boulders and churning, white-frothed water. After hours of trekking in the wretched jungle heat, you are grateful to have found this oasis of life. You throw aside your pack and drop to your knees, cupping your hands in the chill waters and gulping it down as if each swallow could be your last.
After taking your fill, you find yourself studying your reflection. The face staring back is as thin and haggard as when you first fled Durnhollow. You lean closer, pulling away your collar to view the dark patch of blue-black scales. Every day, every hour, there seems to be more of them—spreading over your body like a disease.
You quickly sink your hands into the water, scattering the reflection as you draw more water to your lips.
It's then that you hear the sound...
Since trekking through the jungle, you have become accustomed to the noise—the croaking frogs, the hoarse, jabbering shrieks of the monkeys, the incessant buzz of the midges and flies. But occasionally a sound will stand out from the rest, competing for attention.
This is one of them. A breathy, rasping noise that suddenly rises in pitch, becoming a series of clacking, rattling wails. You look back up the river, to where it widens into a pool. There, squatting on one of the rocky islands, is a frog-like humanoid. The sunlight catches on its glistening, rainbow-oiled skin and the rusted prongs of the trident clutched in its spindly hands. The creature looks agitated, its throat bulging as it continues to emit a chorus of guttural caws.
You edge away from the water, slowly lifting your pack onto your shoulder. Your plan is turn and make a run for it, back into the jungle. But you hesitate—your gift of prophecy flashing through the images of your death like pictures in a flipbook.
Suddenly the creature gives a single, gargling cry, then launches forward on its bowed legs. You drop your pack and fumble for your weapons as the frog descends on you with a startling speed. One of its legs catches you in the chest, sending you tumbling backwards. You fall into a roll, dodging the trident as it slams down with force, striking sparks from the stone. Then you are back on your feet, trying to gain distance.
The frog leaps again, a spear of red shooting out from its mouth. Before you can register what is happening you are being dragged across the rocks, your body entangled in a long, sticky tongue. You try and sever it, but a sudden jerk throws you forward, your feet flailing out from under you. In desperation, you swipe at the creature's legs, bright blood fountaining from a wound. The frog hops away, tongue snapping back into its mouth.
Seizing your chance, you rush forward to press your attack—but the frog somersaults over your hasty swing, hopping to a nearby boulder then back to its island. With another gargling screech it spins to face you, beckoning you to follow. It is time to fight:

	Speed	Brawn	Armor	Health
Fisher king	8	6	5	80

Special Abilities
Jump around!: There are three islands in the pool—one to the north, one in the center and one to the south. At the start of each combat round, decide which island you are going to jump to. Then roll a die to decide where the fisher king has jumped to—1 or 2 the north island, 3 or 4 the center island and 5 or 6 the south island. If you end up on the same island, then you can continue combat as normal, rolling for attack speed etc. If you are on different islands, then you cannot attack—and the fisher king immediately uses his 'tongue lashing' ability.
Tongue lashing: Take a speed challenge. If you get 13 or less, then your hero is hit by the frog's sticky tongue, pulling you over onto its trident for 6 damage, ignoring armor. If you get 14 or more, then you have avoided his tongue attack. Once the speed challenge is complete (and any damage applied), the combat round automatically moves to the passive phase.

So this guy isn't actually too strong...except for what's essentially a 2/3 chance for him to be immune to attacks for the round, but he only has a small chance (we need to roll a 4 or lower on 2 dice to fail the challenge) to do 6 damage, and our DoTs still apply. Still, that's a lot of waiting, and we might have to use the healing potion. Do we want to break our hex when we do? For abilities I'm picking the same as last time (but swapping out crawlers for cunning, since damage boosts are really nice for fighting this guy), and for islands I'm just going to go center, bottom, top, center, bottom, top, etc.
Round 1: (picking center) die roll: 1, frog takes top island. Speed test: 8+9=17, successful, no damage. *DoTs* Frog is at 78.
Round 2: (picking bottom) die roll: 5, frog takes bottom island. Patio 6+9, Frog 3+8. Damage 1+8-5=4, Frog is at 74. *DoTs* He's at 72.
Round 3: (picking top) die roll: 4, frog takes center island. Speed test: 5+9=14, successful, no damage. *DoTs* Frog is at 70.
Round 4: (picking center) die roll: 5, frog takes bottom island. Speed test: 8+9=17, no damage. *DoTs* Frog is at 68.
Round 5: (picking bottom) die roll: 2, frog takes top island. Speed test: 4+9=13, failure! Patio is at 29. *DoTs* Frog is at 66.
Round 6: (picking top) die roll: 2, frog takes top island. Patio 10+9 (faith'd, Patio is at 31), Frog 9+8. Damage 5+8-5=8 (vampirism'd, Patio is back at full), Frog is at 58. *DoTs* He's at 56.
Round 7: (picking center) die roll: 2, frog takes top island. Speed test: 7+9=16, success! No damage. *DoTs* Frog is at 54.
Round 8: (picking bottom) die roll: 2, frog takes top island. Speed test: 3+9, failure. Patio is at 29. *DoTs* Frog is at 52.
Round 9: (picking top) die roll: 4, frog takes center island. Speed test: 12+9=21, success! no damage. *DoTs* Frog is at 50.
Round 10: (picking center) die roll: 2, frog takes top island. Speed test: 10+9=19, success. no damage. *DoTS* Frog is at 48.
Round 11: (picking bottom) die roll: 6, frog takes bottom island. Patio 7+9, Frog 10+8. (Prophecy'd, no damage.) *DoTs* Frog is at 46.
Round 12: (picking top) die roll: 4, frog takes center island. Speed test: 9+9=18, no damage. *DoTS* Frog is at 44.
Round 13: (picking center) die roll: 5, frog takes bottom island. Speed test: 7+9=16, no damage. *dots* frog is at 42.
Round 14: (picking bottom) die roll: 2, frog takes top island. Speed test: 7+9=16, no damage. *dots* frog is at 40.
Round 15: (picking top) die roll: 5, frog takes bottom island. Speed test: 4+9=13, failure. Patio is at 23. *Dots* Frog is at 38.
Round 16: (picking center) die roll: 1, frog takes top island. Speed test: 5+9=14, success. *Dots* Frog is at 36.
Round 17: (picking bottom) die roll: 6, frog takes bottom island. Patio 8+9, Frog 4+8. Damage 2+8+3 (cunning'd)-5=8, Frog is at 28. *DoTs* he's at 26.
Round 18: (picking top) die roll: 3, frog takes center island. Speed test: 7+9=16, no damage. *dots* frog is at 24.
Round 19: (picking center) die roll: 4, frog takes center island. Patio 8+9, Frog 6+8. Damage 6+8-5=9, Frog is at 15. *DoTs* He's at 13.
Round 20: (picking bottom) die roll: 1, frog takes top island. Speed test: 8+9=17, success. *DoTs* frog is at 11.
Round 21: (picking top) die roll: 2, frog takes top island. Patio 7+9 (surefooted'd, 4+9, faith'd, Patio is at 25) Frog 11+8. Damage 5+6-3=8, Patio is at 17. *DoTs* Frog is at 9.
Round 22: (picking center) die roll: 3, frog takes center island. Patio 6+9, Frog 4+8. Damage 3+8-5=6, frog is at 3. *Headshot* Frog is dead!

Well, that fight took forever, but we didn't actually end up needing any healing items.

The frog proves a frustrating opponent, effortlessly avoiding the majority of your attacks. But each lucky wound you manage to inflict saps away at its agility, weakening your opponent and slowing it down. Finally the frog starts to back away, limping towards the waterfall. Weakened by loss of blood, the frog misses its footing and slips—giving you the opening you need to step in and deliver the final blow shoot it in the head.
Searching the creature's remains, you find one of the following items:

Sea spray garland (necklace) +1 speed +1 magic ability: wave (requirement: mage)
Hunting fork (main hand: spear) +1 speed +3 brawn ability: skewer (requirement: warrior)
Fisher's friend (ring) +1 brawn ability: hooked (requirement: rogue)

Hooked (mo): Use this ability to save one die result from your attack speed roll to use in the next combat round. You cannot change or re-roll the saved die. Hooked can only be used once per combat.

Stepping past the body, you clamber up the slippery rocks and pass underneath the waterfall. As you suspected, there is a cave here—a treasure trove of objects, all tangled up in nets of vine. There are also a number of skeletons caught up in the netting, both animal and human, and a golden crown sparkling on one of the rocks.
You may now take one of the following as an additional reward:

King of the pond (head) +1 speed +2 magic ability: overload (requirement: mage)
Kiss of a princess (ring) +1 brawn +2 health ability: charm
Enchanted boots (feet) +1 speed +1 armor ability: heal

Searching the remains of the other unfortunate adventurers, you find 50 gold crowns and a crumpled map. It looks to have been torn in two, the half you are holding showing a secret trail through the jungle. A name has been scrawled at the bottom, followed by a date: Frobisher. 4.11.1362. Without the other half, it makes little sense to you. (you make take Frobisher's map if you wish—simply make a note of it on your hero sheet. Mr. Patio does not also have Coronado's map.)
Finding little else of interest in the cave, you leave and continue your journey. Return to the quest map.

I assume we take the map. Do we want any of the loots? And where do we want to go next? The town to check the Restless keyword? More legendaries? One of the other quests?

Name: Mr. Patio
Path: Rogue
Career: Pilgrim
Speed: +9, Brawn: +8, Magic: +3, Armor: +3
Health: 35

Slot	Item	Speed	Brawn	Magic	Armor	Ability
Head	Garland of Sacrifice	+1	+2			Atonement
Necklace	Providence		+1	+1		Faith
Cloak	Hair of the Wolf	+1	+1			Cunning
Main Hand	Glaive of Souls	+2	+2	+2		Vampirism
Left Hand	Falk's Firestarter	+1	+1			Headshot
Gloves	Fingerless Gloves	+1	+1			Crawlers
Chest	Gator Aid	+1			+2	Second Skin
Feet	Sailor's Sandals	+1				Surefooted
Talisman	Maker's Button	+1
Ring 1	Pins 'N' Needles					Thorns
Ring 2	Grieving Soul				+1	Fire Aura

Backpack	Item
1	Golden Mirror
2	Elixir of Invisibility
3	Fungal Fingers (2 uses)
4	Saint's Blessing
5	Rubrica's Cube

Locker	Item
1	Green Blaze
2	Blood Iron Knot
3	Holy Water (2 uses)
4	Bramble Blade

Prophecy
prevail
blood debt
tower
explorer
hexed
restless
south view
Frobisher's map
Book quest (reward at 471 when we have all 3 books)
Monkey temple at 596
Money Pouch: 661 Crowns

[Omegonthesane]

Half a vote to trade pins & needles for fisher's hook actually, but only half because I don't think we've decided firmly we want to win fights quickly instead of dragging them out to let DoTs do their thing. Especially after that grindfest to get the hook in the first place.

Go check restless.

[SGamerz]

I vote no to loots and check restless.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Restless is checked in some dialogue at the trading post, so we head over there:

You hand over the pendant that you found in the wood cabin. Yootha glares it over in shock, then carefully takes it into her shaking hands. 'My...my Stan,' she gasps, stroking the silver boot. 'Where...where did you...find it?'
You hesitate, stumbling over the words to convey what happened. It seems Yootha can sense your discomfort, reading her husband's fate in your eyes. She raises a hand to stop you. 'It is all right. i do not need to know.' She places the pendant in the pocket of her dress, then gestures to the cluttered shelves. 'Please, choose something from my shop—anything you like. You deserve it for bringing him home.' She pats her pocket tenderly, giving a tearful sigh.
You may now choose one of the following:

Shrunken hand (left hand: fist weapon) +2 speed +1 brawn ability: sideswipe (co: When your opponent’s damage score causes health damage, you can immediately retaliate by inflicting 1 damage dice back to them, ignoring armor. You can only use sideswipe once per combat.)
Monkey brain (head) +1 speed +2 magic ability: disrupt (co: If your damage score causes health damage to your opponent, you can also cast disrupt. This lowers your opponent’s magic by 3 for the remainder of the combat.)
Conch shoulders (cloak) +1 speed +1 armor ability: time shift (sp: You may raise your speed to match your opponent’s for three combat rounds. You cannot play another speed ability until time shift has faded. This ability can only be used once per combat.)

If you don't wish to take any of the items, then Yootha offers you 40 gold crowns instead.

Pick a loot (or the 40 gold) and a new destination to proceed.

[SGamerz]

Half a vote for the cloak.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Where to next? We can basically go anywhere on the map now. Which gives us:

Blue (hard) quest (some sort of camp?)
Red (hardest) quest (pyramids)
Monkey temple challenge, which I apparently forgot to note on our hero sheet (596)
Legendary monster (mushroomy forest)
Legendary monster (crystal cave)
Legendary monster (spider webs)
Team battle (volcano, another Trellis cameo)
Boss monster (volcano top)

Also, anyone else want to weigh in on loot options?

[Omegonthesane]

Take the cloak.

Then mushroomy forest.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Kind of surprised you didn't go for the shrunken hand and its relative Speed increase.

Legendary monster: Ghiera

Branches whip and crack as you hurtle through the jungle, the giant panther snapping at your heels. You know you have little chance of outrunning this fearsome predator, but since taking flight into the undergrowth you realize that you have no choice—to stop now will spell certain death.
A lapse of concentration and your foot clips a log, tipping you forwards. The beast barrels into you, its hot spittle splashing against your neck.
You hear something ripping.
The panther's claws have found purchase, its weight on your shoulders forcing you to stagger. Then your pack comes loose. The buckles snap open—and suddenly the weight is gone as the panther and your backpack go tumbling away. You crash onwards through the trees, not wishing to slow, your arms batting desperately at the clinging branches and leaves. Suddenly the ground dips, throwing you out onto a steep slope. Before you can change course you find yourself skidding and bouncing towards the edge of a ravine. You try and slow your momentum, grappling blindly to a root or a vine—but the earth quickly gives way to a frightening nothingness.
You kick and flail, falling through the mist.
Then you hit something. Soft and buoyant, pitching you back into the air. The world spins over, rolling in a blur. You bounce again, tumbling head-over-heels, to finally land with a painful thump in a dark pool of mud. Above you, the white cap of a giant mushroom sways back and forth. There are more behind it, growing out of the side of the canyon. The nearest one shudders again as an object hits it with force, then your half mangled pack splashes down a few feet away.
You start to rise, but catch yourself.
The low rumbling snarl is your first and last warning that you are not alone. Spinning around, you catch a glimpse of round, yellow eyes and sharp, dagger-like canines, bright against a vastness of midnight black. Then the giant panther pounces! It is time to fight:

	Speed	Brawn	Armor	Health
Ghiera	9	7	6	75

Special Abilities
Bleed: Once you have taken health damage from Ghiera, you must lose an additional point of health at the end of each combat round.
Blood thirst: At the start of each round that you are inflicted with bleed, Ghiera increases its brawn by 1, up to a maximum of 12. If bleed is removed from your hero, Ghiera reverts back to his starting brawn of 7.

So it looks like we've come across a rival DoT build so we really want to avoid getting hit for as long as possible. Our abilities for this fight are thorns, fire aura, headshot, vampirism, prophecy, crawlers, surefooted, and faith. We're probably going to have to be very lucky or use a lot of items, or both.
Round 1: Patio 8+9, Ghiera 8+9-1 (crawlers'd). Damage 3+7-6=4, Ghiera is at 71. *DoTs* Ghiera is at 69.
Round 2: Patio 9+9, Ghiera 5+9-1. Damage 6+7-6=7, Ghiera is at 62. *DoTs* Ghiera is at 60.
Round 3: Patio 9+9, Ghiera 6+9. Damage 3+7-6=4, Ghiera is at 56. *DoTs* He's at 54.
Round 4: Patio 4+9 (surefooted'd, 6+9), Ghiera 6+9. Tie. *DoTs* Ghiera is at 52.
Round 5: Patio 2+9, Ghiera 9+9. (Prophecy'd, no damage). *DoTs* Ghiera is at 50.
Round 6: Patio 11+9, Ghiera 5+9. Damage 5+7-6=6, Ghiera is at 44. *DoTs* He's at 42.
(popping Fungal Fingers for +2 speed)
Round 7: Patio 3+9+2, Ghiera 4+9. Damage 6+7-6=7, Ghiera is at 35. *DoTs* He's at 33.
Round 8: Patio 3+9, Ghiera 8+9. Damage 5+7-4=8, Patio is at 27. *DoTs* Patio is at 26, Ghiera is at 31.
(Damn. Playing it safe and using our second fungal fingers here.)
Round 9: *Blood thirst* Ghiera's brawn is at 8. Patio 7+9+2, Ghiera 8+9. Damage 2+7-6=3, Ghiera is at 28. *DoTs* Ghiera is at 26, Patio is at 25.
Round 10: *Blood thirst* Ghiera's brawn is at 9. Patio 2+9 (faith'd, Patio is at 27) Ghiera 10+9. Damage 6+9-4=13, Patio is at 14. *DoTs* Ghiera is at 24, Patio is at 13.
Round 11: *Blood thirst* Ghiera's brawn is at 10. Patio 6+9, Ghiera 5+9. Damage 2+7-6=3, Ghiera is at 21. *DoTs* Ghiera is at 19, Patio is at 12.
Round 12: *Blood thirst* Ghiera's brawn is at 11. Patio 10+9, Ghiera 7+9. Damage 6+7-6=7, Ghiera is at 10. (Vamprism'd, Patio is at 16.) *DoTs* Ghiera is at 10, Patio is at 15.
Round 13: *Blood thirst* Ghiera's brawn is at 12. Patio 10+9, Ghiera 7+9. Damage 3+7-6=4, Ghiera is at 6. *DoTs* Ghiera is at 4, Patio is at 14. *Headshot* Ghiera is dead!

A combination of good die rolls, and going full Mario and popping shrooms at the right time gave Mr. Patio the win. Another lost round and I'd have had to use the elixir of invisibility or the Saint's Blessing, or possibly both.

Survival is a powerful motivator, driving you to feats of strength and savagery that you didn't know you were capable of. Your weapons are soon forgotten as you roll through the mud, ripping and biting at the panther, caught up in your own dark rage. Finally, with arms snapped tight around the panther's neck, you squeeze and twist, listening to the bones crack—and the creature give [sic] its last, gargling gasp.
You slide out from underneath the panther's body. Only then do you notice your hands, glistening with blue-black scales—each finger ending in a sharp yellow talon. You stare at them in horrified amazement, realizing that the demon curse—the transformation—is happening far quicker than you could ever have imagined. You have now gained the following special ability:

Demon claws (pa): For every double that you roll for attack speed (before or after a re-roll), your hero automatically inflicts 4 damage to their opponent. This ability ignores armor.

After retrieving your weapons, you turn back to the body, which is already crawling with bugs. It is only fitting that you take some token of this momentous victory before the forest reclaims this infamous predator. (Mr. Patio is a warrior or rogue.)

With the mighty black panther defeated, you may now help yourself to one of the following rewards:

Untamed will (main hand: dagger) +2 speed +2 brawn ability: piercing (co: Use piercing to ignore your opponent’s armour and apply your full damage score to their health. This ability can only be used once per combat.) (requirement: rogue)
Back to the wild (cloak) +1 speed +2 brawn ability: fearless (sp: Use this ability to raise your speed by 2 for one combat round. This ability can only be used once per combat.)
Hunter's heart (necklace) +1 speed ability: savagery (requirement: warrior)

You also take Ghiera's paw, as proof of your victory (make a note of this on your hero sheet, it does not take up backpack space.) (Mr. Patio has the glaive of souls equipped.)

The accursed spear quivers and shakes, its runes suddenly emitting a blood-red glow. From the corpse a spectral light rises up into the air, forming the ghostly shape of a panther. Then it sweeps towards the spear, spiraling around blade and shaft. The runes flash and spark as the spear continues to tremble—then, with a distant, echoing howl, the spirit-light is gone, absorbed into the weapon's dark runes.
Congratulations, you have gained the spirit of the panther. (Make a note of this on your hero sheet.) You may now return to the quest map to continue your adventure.

(So apparently this cursed spear has another side affect. No clue what the panther spirit does for us though. We do have a new ability that we know exactly what it does, and it's pretty awesome; Demon Claws will probably end up being part of our hexed quota. Ironically it goes together really well with faith.)

Pick a loot and a destination to proceed.

Name: Mr. Patio
Path: Rogue
Career: Pilgrim
Speed: +9, Brawn: +7, Magic: +3, Armor: +4
Health: 35

Slot	Item	Speed	Brawn	Magic	Armor	Ability
Head	Garland of Sacrifice	+1	+2			Atonement
Necklace	Providence		+1	+1		Faith
Cloak	Conch Shoulders	+1			+1	Time Shift
Main Hand	Glaive of Souls	+2	+2	+2		Vampirism
Left Hand	Falk's Firestarter	+1	+1			Headshot
Gloves	Fingerless Gloves	+1	+1			Crawlers
Chest	Gator Aid	+1			+2	Second Skin
Feet	Sailor's Sandals	+1				Surefooted
Talisman	Maker's Button	+1
Ring 1	Pins 'N' Needles					Thorns
Ring 2	Grieving Soul				+1	Fire Aura

Backpack	Item
1	Golden Mirror
2	Elixir of Invisibility
3
4	Saint's Blessing
5	Rubrica's Cube

Locker	Item
1	Green Blaze
2	Hair of the Wolf
3	Holy Water (2 uses)
4	Bramble Blade

Prophecy
Demon claws
prevail
blood debt
tower
explorer
hexed
restless
south view
Frobisher's map
Ghiera's paw
spirit of the panther
Book quest (reward at 471 when we have all 3 books)
Monkey temple at 596
Money Pouch: 661 Crowns

[Omegonthesane]

Wish I had the text of the book so I could ctrl+F to find whenever the long black rod would have this kind of effect again.

Full vote to take untamed will, although discovering that the glaive of souls has other effects makes me hope we can stick untamed will straight into the locker and continue using the glaive of souls.

IF we're allowed to do the locker shuffle to end up still wielding glaive of souls while keeping untamed will in the locker to replace bramble blade, then save the saint's blessing for later, otherwise use it now.

Then restock on Yootha's traveler's tonic.

Then crystal cave legendary.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Wish I had the text of the book so I could ctrl+F to find whenever the long black rod would have this kind of effect again.

I'm more than willing to go through and say where it does, if everyone else is cool with it.

IF we're allowed to do the locker shuffle to end up still wielding glaive of souls while keeping untamed will in the locker to replace bramble blade, then save the saint's blessing for later, otherwise use it now.

We can. The glaive of souls breaks if we cure our hex but otherwise it works like any other weapon.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Legendary monster: Kaala

Night-time is never a pleasant experience in the jungle. Even with a makeshift shelter to escape the worst of the rain, there are still the bugs to contend with. Every inch of your body feels like it is under assault—driving you to the edge of insanity with the constant scratching, itching, chewing...
And so, after a hard day's travel, when the last thing you want to do is spend another night in this rain-sodden, bug-infested place, a bright welcoming light is hard to ignore. You approach warily, having learnt that most things in the Terral Jungle are designed to lure and then eat you, but when you finally break from the trees, angrily brushing away yet another bug intent on chewing your neck, you see that the glow is coming from a set of crystal pillars, lining the walls of a narrow gully. Passing between them, you are led to the opening of a cave where more crystals grow out of the grey rock, bathing it in the same phosphorescent glow.
Shelter and light. It is almost too good to be true.
The cave turns out to be a tunnel, descending further into the rock. Following it, you are brought to the banks of an underground pool, its perfectly-still surface mirroring the hundreds of crystals protruding from the ceiling and the cavern walls. Removing your pack, you prepare to strip off and take a dip in the inviting waters—eager to wash away the stink of the jungle.
As you unbutton your shirt, your hands brush against the demon scars, and the scales now growing around them. In the crystal light they appear like gemstones, coating your skin in the same blue glow as the rest of the cave. It is almost mesmerizing, as you stroke the hard ridges, wondering how long it will be before your entire body is covered in this strange demonic armor.
A splash in the pool drags you from your reverie. You step closer to its edge, peering out across the sparkling water. Something is moving beneath the surface, its own body glittering like a trail of diamonds. At first, you are not sure if it is a trick of the light; this whole cave seems to have a hypnotic quality to it, the blue crystals bouncing light off hundreds of surfaces. But no, you are sure this is no trick—there is something down there in the pool, winding through its turquoise depths. You blink in an attempt to refocus it. When you look again, it is gone.
You rub your eyes, wondering if tiredness is to blame.
Then the waters of the pool explode outward, drenching you from head to foot. You slip on the wet stones, crashing down onto your back as a set of fangs snap closed inches from your face. Shaking with shock, you scramble across the ground, eyes locked on the serpentine head rocking back and forth. The creature is huge—you can dimly see the coils of its enormous body winding in and out of the water, the white scales spotted with glowing sigils of magic.
The serpent gives a rattling hiss, its head continuing to rock from side to side. You find yourself gazing into bright white eyes that seem to grow larger and more intense, capturing the reflection of the blue crystals and dazzling you with your brilliance. It takes a supreme effort to break that entrancing gaze, as you reach for your weapons and prepare to take on:

	Speed	Brawn	Armor	Health
Kaala	10	7	6	100

Special Abilities
Look into my eyes: Make note of each time your hero rolls a [1] in this combat. Once you have rolled eight [1] results, Kaala has hypnotized you—and you automatically lose the combat. Abilities that let you re-roll dice can be used to change any [1] results. If you have the golden mirror, then you regain control of this ability instead, automatically winning once Kaala has gained 8 [1] results.
Deadly venom: Once you have taken health damage from Kaala, you must lose a further 6 health at the end of each combat round from the serpent's deadly poison.

If you don't have the mirror this is probably the scariest of the legendary monsters here, and I doubt we'd have much of a chance until we got more Speed boosters. As is we're trying to avoid getting hit and hopefully buy enough time for the snake to hypnotize itself to death. Our abilities for this fight are thorns, fire aura, demon claws, time shift, prophecy, crawlers, surefooted, and headshot.
Round 1: Patio 8+10 (time shift'd,) Kaala 5+10. Hypnosis count: 1. Damage 4+7-6=5, Kaala is at 95. *DoTs* It's at 93.
Round 2: Patio 7+10, Kaala 9+10. (Prophecy'd, no damage.) *DoTs* Kaala is at 91.
Round 3: Patio 7+10, Kaala 5+10. Hypnosis count: 2. Damage 1+7-6=2, Kaala is at 89. *DoTs* It's at 87.
Round 4: Patio 8+9, Kaala 7+9 (crawlers'd). Hypnosis count: 3. Damage 2+7-6=3, Kaala is at 84. *DoTs* It's at 82.
Round 5: Patio 7+9, Kaala 7+9. Hypnosis count: 4. Tie. *DoTs* Kaala is at 82.
Round 6: Patio 10+9 (demon claws, Kaala is at 78), Kaala 9+10. Tie. *DoTs* Kaala is at 76.
Round 7: Patio 10+9 (demon claws, Kaala is at 72), Kaala 6+10. Hypnosis count: 5. Damage 6+7-6=7, Kaala is at 65. *DoTs* It's at 63.
Round 8: Patio 9+9, Kaala 10+10. Damage 1+7-4=4, Patio is at 31. *DoTs* Kaals is at 61, Patio is at 25.
Round 9: Patio 7+9, Kaala 4+10. Hypnosis count: 6. Damage 3+7-6=4, Kaala is at 57. *DoTs* It's at 55, Patio is at 19.
Round 10: Patio 4+9 (demon claws, Kaala is at 51, surefooted'd, 9+9), Kaala 8+10. Tie. *DoTs* Kaala is at 49, Patio is at 13.
Round 11: Using Traveler's Tonic, Patio is at 19. Patio 10+9, Kaala 5+10. Hypnosis count: 7, Damage 1+7-6=2, Kaala is at 47. *DoTs* Kaala is at 45, Patio is at 13.
Round 12: Patio 8+9, Kaala 4+10. Hypnosis count: 8, Kaala is defeated!

I gambled by not using the elixir of invisibility, and it paid off. Throwing the match and swapping the traveler's tonic for a snakebite shake would have made sense but I wanted to see if we could win with what we had, and we did. Anyways, on to the spoils:

You avert your eyes from the serpent's hypnotic gaze, concentrating your attacks on its white-scaled body. After a tiring fight the snake finally gives a hissing gasp, then slumps back into the crystal waters, its crimson blood slowly spreading out across the glittering pool. (Mr. Patio is a rogue.)

With the venomous Kaala defeated, you may now help yourself to one of the following rewards:

Eyes of the serpent (head) +1 speed +2 armor ability: hypnotize (mo: All of your opponent’s [6] results for their damage score can be rerolled. You must accept the result of the rerolled dice.)
Snake-skin coat (chest) +2 speed +2 brawn ability: deceive (mo: You may swap one of your opponent’s speed die for your own. You can only use deceive once per combat.)
Slither steps (feet) +1 speed +2 brawn ability: charm (mo: You may re-roll one of your hero’s dice any time during a combat. You must accept the result of the second roll. If you have multiple items with the charm ability, each one gives you a re-roll. Each charm can only be used once per combat.)

As a rogue you may also take one of Kaala's enchanted scales. This unique item will reward you with the venommancer career:

Kaala's scale
(talisman)
+1 speed
ability: venommancer career (see below)

You must have Kaala's scale equipped if you wish to learn the venommancer career. As soon as this item is unequipped or you learn a new career, you lose the abilities associated with this item/career.
The venommancer has the following abilities:

Snake strike (pa): (requires a snake in the left hand) Before the first combat round begins you may automatically inflict 2 damage dice to a single opponent, ignoring armor. This will also inflict any harmful passive abilities you have, such as bleed and venom.
Toxicology (pa): You are immune to all delirium, disease and venom effects.

Do we want to become a venommancer? We don't lose anything other than our career (since our current talisman has the exact same stat boosts) and we'd have a new area opened to us in town (the exotic pet seller).

Prying open the serpent's mouth, you tug one of its enormous fangs loose. You decide to take this as a trophy. (Make a note of Kaala's fang on your hero sheet, it does not take up backpack space.) (Mr. Patio has the glaive of souls equipped.)

The accursed spear quivers and shakes, its runes suddenly emitting a blood-red glow. From the corpse a spectral light rises up into the air, forming the ghostly shape of a serpent. Then it sweeps towards the spear, spiraling around the blade and shaft. The runes flash and spark as the spear continues to tremble—then, with a rattling hiss, the spirit light is gone, absorbed into the weapon's dark runes.
Congratulations, you have gained the spirit of the serpent. (Make a note of this on your hero sheet.) You may now return to the quest map to continue your adventure.

Pick a loot to proceed, and whether or not we want to become a venommancer (if we do, I imagine that we check out the pet store next). If not, pick a destination, too.

Name: Mr. Patio
Path: Rogue
Career: Pilgrim
Speed: +9, Brawn: +7, Magic: +3, Armor: +4
Health: 35

Slot	Item	Speed	Brawn	Magic	Armor	Ability
Head	Garland of Sacrifice	+1	+2			Atonement
Necklace	Providence		+1	+1		Faith
Cloak	Conch Shoulders	+1			+1	Time Shift
Main Hand	Glaive of Souls	+2	+2	+2		Vampirism
Left Hand	Falk's Firestarter	+1	+1			Headshot
Gloves	Fingerless Gloves	+1	+1			Crawlers
Chest	Gator Aid	+1			+2	Second Skin
Feet	Sailor's Sandals	+1				Surefooted
Talisman	Maker's Button	+1
Ring 1	Pins 'N' Needles					Thorns
Ring 2	Grieving Soul				+1	Fire Aura

Backpack	Item
1	Golden Mirror
2	Elixir of Invisibility
3
4	Saint's Blessing
5	Rubrica's Cube

Locker	Item
1	Green Blaze
2	Hair of the Wolf
3	Holy Water (2 uses)
4	Untamed Will

Prophecy
Demon claws
prevail
blood debt
tower
explorer
hexed
restless
south view
Frobisher's map
Ghiera's paw
Kaala's fang
spirit of the panther
spirit of the serpent
Book quest (reward at 471 when we have all 3 books)
Monkey temple at 596
Money Pouch: 636 Crowns

[Whiysper]

If you're open to new players chiming in, I'd go venomancer and buy a snek.

If not, I'd suggest you do that, 'cos it sounds awesome .

Not sure on loot.

[Omegonthesane]

Do we *keep* the Spirit keywords when not if the glaive explodes? 'cause I'm spotting a pattern here.

Become a venomancer. And take snakeskin coat. And go pet shopping.

[Darth Rabbitt]

If you're open to new players chiming in, I'd go venomancer and buy a snek.

New players are always welcome!

Do we *keep* the Spirit keywords when not if the glaive explodes? 'cause I'm spotting a pattern here.

The book isn't clear, but since you need the glaive to get the spirits them I assume that they go if the glaive does.

The pet store:

The girl opens three baskets, lifting each of the snakes out in turn. The first is a medium sized snake, with jagged bands of black and silver dancing along its body. 'Meet the fer-de-lance,' says the girl proudly. 'One of my younger snakes, a little churlish at times, but his brashness has its uses—this one won't shirk away from a thing. You'd make a great team.'
The girl offers out the next snake, which is smaller, its dark green skin flecked with yellow. Behind its eyes is a raised crown of bone. 'The monarch viper is all about finesse—don't judge on size, her poison cocktail can take down a troll...or bigger. Quick, clean and efficient.'
'And that one?' you ask, peering into the last basket.
The girl hesitates, her lips pursed. 'Hmm, this one might be a challenge. Zusha is a bushmaster, one of the deadliest killers in the Terral Jungle.' She carefully lifts out the snake, its thick grey body instantly coiling around her waist. 'Zusha likes to hug—and squeeze the life out of her victims. And you too, if you don't show her the right respect. Isn't that right, Zushi-wushi?' She tickles the snake under the chin, eliciting a long rattling hiss as the pale forked tongue flickers back and forth. 'So, do you fancy working your charm on any of these?'
The fer-de-lance is available for 150 gold, the monarch viper is 300 gold and the lesser bushmaster is 500 gold.

Fer-de-lance (left hand: snake) +1 speed +2 brawn ability: venom (requirement: venommancer)
Monarch viper (left hand: snake) +2 speed +2 brawn ability: venom (requirement: venommancer)
Lesser bushmaster (left hand: snake) +2 speed +3 brawn ability: constrictor (requirement: venommancer)

Venom (pa): If your damage dice/damage score causes health damage to your opponent, they lose a further 2 health at the end of every combat round for the remainder of the combat. This ability ignores armor.

Constrictor (sp): This ability reduces the number of dice your opponent can roll for attack speed by 1, for one combat round only. You can only use this ability once per combat.

You thank the girl for showing her exotic collection of snakes.

Do we want to buy any sneks? We can afford any of them. Also pick a destination afterwards.

Name: Mr. Patio
Path: Rogue
Career: Venommancer
Speed: +10, Brawn: +9, Magic: +3, Armor: +2
Health: 35

Slot	Item	Speed	Brawn	Magic	Armor	Ability
Head	Garland of Sacrifice	+1	+2			Atonement
Necklace	Providence		+1	+1		Faith
Cloak	Conch Shoulders	+1			+1	Time Shift
Main Hand	Glaive of Souls	+2	+2	+2		Vampirism
Left Hand	Falk's Firestarter	+1	+1			Headshot
Gloves	Fingerless Gloves	+1	+1			Crawlers
Chest	Snake-Skin Coat	+2	+2			Deceive
Feet	Sailor's Sandals	+1				Surefooted
Talisman	Kaala's Scale	+1				Venommancer
Ring 1	Pins 'N' Needles					Thorns
Ring 2	Grieving Soul				+1	Fire Aura

Backpack	Item
1	Golden Mirror
2	Elixir of Invisibility
3
4	Saint's Blessing
5	Rubrica's Cube

Locker	Item
1	Gator Aid
2	Hair of the Wolf
3	Holy Water (2 uses)
4	Untamed Will

Prophecy
Demon claws
prevail
blood debt
tower
explorer
hexed
restless
south view
Frobisher's map
Ghiera's paw
Kaala's fang
spirit of the panther
spirit of the serpent
Book quest (reward at 471 when we have all 3 books)
Monkey temple at 596
Money Pouch: 636 Crowns

[Omegonthesane]

Was going to leave a Marie Kondo meme about thanking the firestarter but then remembered I haven't actually watched her show and don't care enough about a throwaway joke to research it properly.

Buy the monarch viper, since as I recall we're still vaguely a DoTs build if we're deliberately keeping around thorns and fire aura.

Then get a healing potion in the backpack and then legendary monster of the spider webs.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Any speed upgrade is worth it, and DoTs are great. Monarch it up.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Monarch viper bought!

Legendary monster: Anansi

Sometimes you just can't stop yourself. Curiosity is a dangerous thing and it seems weren't the first to venture into this earthy burrow, looking for treasure. As you brush aside the cobwebs you see the bones and skulls of other wayward travelers glinting back at you from the dark. You know you should turn back—that would be the sensible option—but your stubborn streak once again rises to the fore, taking you ever deeper into the warren.
Your enchanted weapons illuminate the ridged walls, which curve around in a tight spiral, echoing all around the cave. Suddenly hairy black legs thrust out from the hole, thick as tree trunks. They scrabble across the rocky ground, dragging a huge black body into view. It is led by a pair of glittering fangs and a gruesome crescent of red glowing eyes.
You are frozen in horror as the immense spider pushes itself out of the hole, then rears up on its back legs, displaying a crimson underbelly. As you prepare to take on this fearsome enemy, you can't help but wonder if you will become the next skeletal statue to adorn this spider queen's lair. It is time to fight:

	Speed	Brawn	Armor	Health
Anansi	11	7	5	80

Special Abilities
Leaping attack: At the end of every combat round, Anansi will use her leaping attack. This attack does 15 damage, less the value of your hero's speed. (If your hero has a speed of 8, they would take 7 damage. This ability ignores armor.
Necrotic venom: Once you lose health from Anansi's damage score (i.e. her ordinary attacks), she automatically inflicts you with necrotic venom. This venom does 2 damage at the end of each round and also lowers your brawn and magic by 1 each round. Affected attributes cannot be restored until the end of the combat, even if the venom is removed.

We're immune to her venom thanks to our shiny new career. So her only ability is doing 4 damage to us at the end of each round. We actually do the exact same amount to her each round, and have the exact same speed. So if we roll well and use our abilities right, we should be good.
For abilities we take Snake Strike, Toxicology, Venom, Deceive, Prophecy, Surefooted, Thorns, and Fire Aura.
*Snake strike* Anansi takes 9 damage and is afflicted with venom. She's at 71.
Round 1: Patio 6+11, Anansi 5+11. Damage 3+10-5=8, Anansi is at 63. *DoTs* She's at 59, Patio is at 31.
Round 2: Patio 4+11 (surefooted'd, Patio 10+11), Anansi 8+11. Damage 5+10-5=10, Anansi is at 49. *DoTs* She's at 45, Patio is at 27.
Round 3: Patio 4+11, Anansi 7+11. (Prophecy'd, no damage.) *DoTs* Patio is at 23, Anansi is at 41.
Popping the Traveler's tonic, Patio is at 29. Round 4: Patio 6+11, Anansi 12+11 (Deceive'd, Patio 11+11, Anansi 7+11). Damage 3+10-5=8, Anansi is at 33. *DoTs* She's at 29, Patio is at 25.
Round 5: Patio 8+11, Anansi 10+11. Damage 6+7-2=11, Patio is at 14. *DoTs* He's at 10, Anansi's at 25.
Round 6: Patio 8+11, Anansi 6+11. Damage 6+10-5=11, Anansi is at 14. *DoTs* She's at 10, Patio is at 6.
Round 7: Patio 10+11, Anansi 8+11. Damage 6+10-5=11, Anansi's dead!

That was a lot closer than I expected.

With the spider queen defeated, you are free to search her lair. Amongst the webbed skeletons you find a pouch of gold (you have gained 100 gold crowns) and a book of strange runes, bound in leopard skin. You may now take the following item:

Book of Omega
(backpack)
An ancient Lamuri spell book

(Since we have the space, I assume we take it. We can trash or store it later if we want. Mr. Patio is a rogue or warrior)

Searching the cave, you also discover one of the following treasures:
Widow's needle (left hand: sword) +2 speed +3 brawn ability: piercing (co: Use piercing to ignore your opponent’s armor and apply your full damage score to their health. This ability can only be used once per combat) (requirement: rogue)
Carapace crest (left hand: shield) +2 speed +2 armor ability: webbed (requirement: warrior)
Spider grips (gloves) +1 speed +2 brawn ability: sure grip (mo: All [1] results can be changed to a [6] result when rolling for your attack speed.)

Before you leave you help yourself to a trophy, to celebrate your victory over the spider. (Make a note of Anansi's eye on your hero sheet, it does not take up backpack space.) (Mr. Patio has the glaive of souls equipped.)

The accursed spear quivers and shakes, its runes suddenly emitting a blood-red glow. From the corpse a spectral light rises up into the air, forming the ghostly shape of a spider. Then it sweeps towards the spear, spiraling around the blade and shaft. The runes flash and spark as the spear continues to tremble—then, with a screeching cry, the spirit light is gone, absorbed into the weapon's dark runes.
Congratulations, you have gained the spirit of the spider. (Make a note of this on your hero sheet.) You may now return to the quest map to continue your adventure.

So the the payoff to this glaive of souls thing is missable (and yes, with all the legendaries killed, we've fed Mortzilla's big black spear everything it can eat). Do you want me to do The Seven Serpents thing and offer the occasional nudge towards it?

Either way, pick a destination. With the legendaries gone, we've got:

Blue (hard) quest (some sort of camp?)
Red (hardest) quest (pyramids)
Monkey temple challenge (596)
Team battle (volcano, another Trellis cameo)
Boss monster (volcano top)

Name: Mr. Patio
Path: Rogue
Career: Venommancer
Speed: +11, Brawn: +10, Magic: +3, Armor: +2
Health: 35

Slot	Item	Speed	Brawn	Magic	Armor	Ability
Head	Garland of Sacrifice	+1	+2			Atonement
Necklace	Providence		+1	+1		Faith
Cloak	Conch Shoulders	+1			+1	Time Shift
Main Hand	Glaive of Souls	+2	+2	+2		Vampirism
Left Hand	Monarch Viper	+2	+2			Venom
Gloves	Fingerless Gloves	+1	+1			Crawlers
Chest	Snake-Skin Coat	+2	+2			Deceive
Feet	Sailor's Sandals	+1				Surefooted
Talisman	Kaala's Scale	+1				Venommancer
Ring 1	Pins 'N' Needles					Thorns
Ring 2	Grieving Soul				+1	Fire Aura

Backpack	Item
1	Golden Mirror
2	Elixir of Invisibility
3	Book of Omega
4	Saint's Blessing
5	Rubrica's Cube

Locker	Item
1	Gator Aid
2	Hair of the Wolf
3	Holy Water (2 uses)
4	Untamed Will

Prophecy
Demon claws
prevail
blood debt
tower
explorer
hexed
restless
south view
Frobisher's map
Ghiera's paw
Kaala's fang
Anansi's eye
spirit of the panther
spirit of the serpent
spirit of the spider
Book quest (reward at 471 when we have all 3 books)
Monkey temple at 596
Money Pouch: 411 Crowns