[Custom dungeon] The Trail [RTC] [Saumun]

[Saumun]

To be fair, there are textual hints at what to do at each step, and that corner is the only place you can hide (which you are told to do) without being spotted, surrounded, and killed.
It’s just that when you add it all together, it seems like overkill.
I think the problem may be that if you’ve moved the barrel out of sight beforehand, then it’s also out of mind.

[DM_Player]

Yes, there is text hint saying you should hide,

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but since the guards didn't attack on their way to the mess hall it didn't seem critical, but it was. Saumun says they will attack you on the way to Mess Hall, but that didn't happen with me. It seems they're on a path of monster attactors and as long as the player isn't on that path, then they ignore him. I guess the point is that as long as the guards can see you, even though they don't attack you, then they just stay in the hallway instead of going into the mess hall. I'm not sure you have to hide behind the barrel, you might just be able to go into the food room and they wouldn't be able to see you then either?

The rest of it seemed fairly straight forward.

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With Saumun's hint about the middle guards, I went ahead and blocked them in before I locked the first guards in the mess hall. If I hadn't had the hint then I probably would have died a couple of times before figuring out I needed to block them first, but that's something I think a player would figure out after a couple of trys.

[DM_Player]

So, I think you have to

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put 3 items on 3 pressure pads for this puzzle to drop the ladder. I did the one to the E that opens the door and the one to the N behind the opening/closing pits, but don't see how to get to the 3rd one. With the magic map, I can see a pad to the S in the room with the monsters, but a pit blocks access to that room.

[Saumun]

Correct.

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The pads drop the ladder and also open the door to the small room in the centre.

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There is another pad in the area with the monsters, just out of sight. Try using an object. Something aerodynamic.

[DM_Player]

I've tried throwing

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both a dagger and a shuriken across the pit but nothing happens. There are quite a few monsters in that area, so I've tried throwing the items when it looks like none are in the way, but maybe they still are? I'm assuming the path has to be entirely clear. Maybe it just takes many tries?

[Saumun]

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Something like a dagger will make it, no problem. There might be more monsters lurking near the pad. I usually just fire des ven over the pit until they’re cleared out.

[DM_Player]

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I usually just fire des ven over the pit until they’re cleared out.

Is not something I usually use, but it eventually worked. I probably had to sleep 5 or 6 times until I had

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killed enough monsters to get a clear path for the dagger.

If you update PII, you might consider reworking this part. Unless the player has

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purchased the used spell book so they can cast des ven, I don't see a way to clear out the monsters to allow something to be thrown onto the pad

[Saumun]

True. I did consider it, but there is the option of...

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going back to buy the spellbook and then returning.

Also...

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the prison guards not attacking after you have sounded the gong must be a mistake I have missed. They are supposed to.

This is something I must fix in a future update. Thanks for pointing it out.

[DM_Player]

After you get the

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Ir rune, is there a way to turn off the fireballs?

Are the guards invincible? The 3 in the

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sandstone castle seem fixed in place and un-killable and you can't open the doors they're guarding?

[Saumun]

Not while you’re in the area.

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The fireballs turn off when you go back up the ladder.

The Ettin Guards...

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are indeed invincible... at the moment. Have you been to the guy surrounded by worms? He has eight clues that he says at random. One of them mentions a secret entrance to one of the houses in the row of four. When you speak to Elija, he will explain what needs to be done.

[DM_Player]

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When you speak to Elija, he will explain what needs to be done.

Yes, I've done this, but I don't recall him saying anything about those guards. He doesn't repeat that initial dialog, at this point all he will say is that he won't consider joining the party unless I've already recruited a 2nd party member.

At this point, I'm currently stuck in the Port Tower in the room

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with the green and yellow hazes. Haven't yet figured out the sequence that enables something to be thrown through the door to drop the ladder to that room.

Does the sun ever shine at midnight?

[Saumun]

Aha, yes...

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Elija will only join if you have Meseu in your party, but in the conversation he mentions that Lady Mirlana controls the power crystal, and that the crystal keeps Mirlana and the Ettin Guards invincible.

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Meseu is still in prison. You’ll need to complete the tower to get to him.

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In the part of the tower you’re in, stepping on a square keeps it in that state (unless you use the reset lever to start again). Yellow hazes turn things left, green right, and stepping on a square with no haze leaves it empty.

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When you’ve made the path, the turn and throw after opening the door needs to be quick... and use something that will travel a good distance, like a dagger or shuriken.

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I guess you found how to reach the Sunblade. You won’t be able to get it until later. You’ll find pieces of something as you go to deeper levels that help the clue make sense.

[DM_Player]

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When you’ve made the path, the turn and throw after opening the door needs to be quick... and use something that will travel a good distance, like a dagger or shuriken.

Yes, I figured out the hazes, pretty much immediately after I said I hadn't (had to look at the map to see what was going on) and have thrown both a dagger and a shuriken through the door but the ladder doesn't drop?

DIsregard. I did it all again and the ladder dropped.

[Saumun]

Nice one! Sometimes the object clips the door as it’s starting to close, and drops on the other side.

[DM_Player]

Yes, when it worked the 2nd time around, I found the shuriken just inside the door and the dagger on the pressure pad.

Is there only 1 coin key for each area? I got one in this room, but not in first room, but the coin key works in both rooms.

BTW

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it looks like you're teleporting the party to different areas from the up stairs from these two rooms. Mapping indicates you go to the same place at the top of the stairs, but the chambers you enter are different depending upon which room you ascended from. I've also seen this done with movable walls and making things visible or not, but teleportation seems like the easier way and requires fewer mechanics.

[DM_Player]

Ok, so it looks like

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you get another coin key when you go up from the room where you get the first coin key. In this chamber there's a room with 4 pads and there are 2 barrels. I thought you needed to put the barrels on the correct pads to open the door and get the other coin key, but I tried all 6 ways of barrels on pads and the door didn't open?

[Saumun]

There are no teleports on those floors. It’s just that the northwest and southeast rooms are laid out the same.

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I’m not sure which coin you have. One is in an alcove after you press a small button, but it closes quickly. You have to be fast (southwest room).
The other is in an alcove that closes if the floor pad has pressure on it, so you need to remove the object you threw (northwest room).

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You need both coins because you need to approach the floor above from both ways, to unlock both north and south areas. You need to get four barrels on the pads.

[DM_Player]

Guess I need to check my maps if there's no teleportation going on.

I have the coin from the northwest room. Yes I found and pressed the button in the southwest room earlier. It gave a big crashing sound, but I didn't see an alcove open and close. I'll have to go back and try it again.

[Saumun]

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The sound you heard was the wall activating in the next room. If you don’t push the button, the object you throw through the door will fly over the pad, and miss.
It also briefly opens a nearby alcove, but as I said... it closes quickly.

One other point... small buttons show up with ros on the map tablet.

[DM_Player]

One other point... small buttons show up with ros on the map tablet.

Yes, I had noticed this, as do other things as well.

I don't think I would have ever noticed the appearing and disappearing alcove. There really isn't a need to turn quickly to the right to get a chance to see it, but unless you do then I don't think you'd ever get this coin.

If you update PII, I'd suggest putting the alcove on the wall to the east that a player can partially see when they push the button. This would make it more likely to be noticed and give the player a better chance of getting the coin.

[Saumun]

I think that’s a fair point. Noted for future update.

[DM_Player]

Ok so I must be doing something wrong on the

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water elemental level. The final water mnnster takes hundreds of hit points without dying.
Also, I've no clue what to put into the alcoves or how to open either door.

The one scroll didn't seem to provide any clue how to proceed, so I need a hint for this level.

[Saumun]

The elemental near the stairs...

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can only be killed with the Oh Key (which is the objective for this level).

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The door in the centre north can be opened with a winged key. Look for something hidden in fake walls to reveal it.

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The northeast door requires a flask of Oh Water in each alcove, so make sure you have at least two flasks.

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The water flowing into the two fountains is poisonous. These fountains need to be emptied. First you need to stop the flow, then empty the basins. Then you must fill the basins with Oh Water to fill your flasks.

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The elementals come through several small holes in the wall. If you haven’t already done so, they can be prevented from respawning by blocking the holes. There are some objects that will do this, in a place you’ve already been

[DM_Player]

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Look for something hidden in fake walls to reveal it.

Yes, I used the map to look around and spotted this just after I said I was stuck. I don't carry two flasks with me, so I'll have to go and buy one first.

[DM_Player]

Well I got the

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can only be killed with the Oh Key (which is the objective for this level).

but the water elemental still seems invincible.
Also, this key doesn't fit the lock at the 4 key blue haze tile, so there must be another?.

I've tried everything I picked up along the way to

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If you haven’t already done so, they can be prevented from respawning by blocking the holes.

but none of it seems to work. Maybe I haven't yet been to the right place?

[Saumun]

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Put the Oh Key in your action hand. You’ll see how to use it. It won’t go in the lock until you’ve killed the elemental near the stairs.

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Block the holes with the same material as the walls. Check in the prison.

[DM_Player]

Oh, I had forgotten about those. I had tried them on the pads that are barrel activated before moving the barrel around. Holes are now plugged.

Not sure I would have ever tried a key as a weapon. A hint might be useful for that.

[DM_Player]

Completed the level after the water elementals. It'd be a tough one for anyone who doesn't map the dungeon.

To advance any further it looks like I need a key. I've only had two keys up to now,

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the one purchased from the NPC for a blue gem (which to this point hasn't worked on any other doors except for the tower door) and the one you get after trapping the guards (which isn't released after it's used)

.

Must have missed something somewhere, but for now it doesn't look like I can go any further.

[DM_Player]

Found the key, it just wasn't showing up on the map so I had to search for it the old fashioned way.

[DM_Player]

Don't really have any idea what to do on the level following the orienteering level.

Killed the wraiths, closed the voids, looked for fake walls and buttons but found none.

The one clue scroll on the pressure pad has me concerned if it means to put the spell keys on/over the pad, as I've already used 3 of the keys in their respective locks and they don't appear to release?

Anyhow, hints needed and appreciated for this level.