Wildermyth
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- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
Thusette's a good egg deep down.
So where were we? Oh yes, murdering some deer.
Meanwhile everyone else is going to town on the big Bogmoor. These things, like other large Gorgon units, spew corruption in adjacent tiles when they die, so it's best to land the killing blow from range or use a weapon with reach like a spear. Yovia's totally unhurt, though, and can handle a little splash. She'll be fine.
The fight ends with Audiana bonking the last deer from behind with her stick, just because I thought it'd be funny to end it that way. No matter how much magic you know, you should never consider yourself too good for a bonk.
Afterwards, Gurieta gets even more phenomenally skilled with her bow ...
... while Yovia becomes even more of a terror in melee.
And Suthille gets a strap. But the chance to burn things is all the reward she really needed.
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Re: Wildermyth
Afterwards, the team checks out their situation. 135 days to find the Seaspear, and only two tiles left to clear. It's not part of the chapter goal, but there's enough time to drive the Deepists out of Doublepoplars Forest.
What new dangers and adventures await?
- Mechanical Ape
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- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
Yovia respects legends.
- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
This fight is our first proper introduction to the Deepist faction. So just who are these guys?
Deepists are human, but they're a creepy cult who lives underground and worships minotaurs, which accounts for their horntastic fashion sense. Down in their warrens they've found uses for rock and mushrooms we can't even conceive of.
The deepest (ha!) mysteries of the Deepists remain unknown to us, since no one who completes the initiation ever returns to the daylight world. They prey on the fears and anxieties of the common folk to ensnare converts, and they're not above stoking those fears in a more direct way by raiding and ravaging. When you find them above ground, it's always bad news.
But as we'll see, they die as easily as anyone else.
- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
Deepists display a mix of abilities. Even the rank and file Woken can summon another of their kind unless you distract them with, for example, a sledgehammer. They also come in Slinger varieties who pelt you from a distance.
Father Fungus are older, crankier cultists who can heal allies and hurl magic. They'll try to keep in the back ranks; but ignore them at your peril, or at least annoyance.
We met a Mushrox on Yovia and Gurieta's sidequest. Mushroxes (mushroxen?) are built like trucks and charge into your ranks like one, but they're pretty vulnerable to flanking afterwards. They take an awful lot of hits to go down, though.
Having someone who can summon fire helps a lot!
Did someone order sautéed mushrooms?
- Mechanical Ape
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- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
And that's how Yovia Janrot met Avenger the power bunny.
- Mechanical Ape
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- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
Right so the Swans of the Wildermyth, now five strong (six if you count Avenger the bunny), are in a race against the Gorgons to find the Seaspear, an artifact which it's believed Ulstryx, the Gorgon leader, could use to rally his people. Since his people are slimy abominations who want to pollute and petrify the world of humans, this wouldn't be good.
Luckily the rest of the map has been cleared and there's 75 days to go.
That's enough time to scrub up after our win against the Deepists, and to find Audiana a nice cloak. Potency affects the strength of magic attacks so this'll compensate for her inexperience. And it looks really nice! You know, half of being a wizard is looking the part.
The Swans will never be more prepared for what awaits them. (Plus there's literally nothing left to do.)
Last edited by Mechanical Ape on Wed Nov 24, 2021 9:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Mechanical Ape
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- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
Gurieta was born on a ship, Suthille, she knows what the ocean smells like. Come on.
- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
What do you suppose we'll find past these doors? There's probably some kind of ancient stone guardian. Mythical weapon resting places always have those.
You can see the Seaspear standing up in the back of the room; of course we'll have to defeat this thing to claim it. Ain't it always the way?
Now this Calabyne thing is tough and of course fearsome, but it's only one foe against a team of seasoned adventurers. We've got Yovia and Thusette smashing it up in front, and plenty of lit braziers for our mystics to draw fire from.
Gurieta is here also.
So the guardian goes down in a turn or two, without so much as a single stony claw laid on our heroes.
- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
We've got what we came for. Now we just need to get out alive.
No one is better suited to wield the Seaspear than Thusette the strong, Thusette the crow-blessed, Thusette the star-guarded. At least, that's how the legends will tell it.
- Mechanical Ape
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- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
Gorgons will arrive every turn! We can't waste time fighting them or we'll be overwhelmed.
To escape we need to reach the exit waaaaaaaay over here, several screens to the left.
Yovia's the most heavily armored and the slowest; we need to advance at her pace. Alone, even our best tank can't last against a horde. Stay together, everyone! Friendship is magic!
Because Thusette's got the Seaspear the important thing is that she reaches the exit, I guess; but obviously we're not planning to leave anyone behind.
The Swans push forward, past clumps of toxic goo that used to be the Gorgon vanguard.
You can bet Gurieta's not leaving without Yovia. She's fine covering the rear, because she can slip into stealth and escape anytime she needs to.
But now the heavy hitters are starting to arrive.
Here's an unwelcome arrival: a Bartoth, the final mutation of a Rager. Barely resembling the original boar, the Bartoth is possibly-intelligent and has grown arms in which it carries a magic staff. It can use its magic to turn an ordinary Gorgon ally into a walking bomb.
Suthille and Gurieta, trying to slow the enemy advance, are falling behind. Even Suthille can't burn them fast enough!
- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
Very much in character, Gurieta slips off and abandons Suthille to the exploding boar. BOOM!
Could be worse -- Suthille may be a squishy mystic but she has OK protection from fire. She's down to about half health, but still on her feet. And that's the last of the Gorgons coming from that way.
At the halfway mark, the team desperately holds off a flood of horrors so the fighters can keep moving. Oh god just look at them.
Audiana interfuses with a boulder to give +damage to adjacent allies.
This is the last hallway the Gorgons are boiling from. If the team can get past this intersection, it's a clear sprint to the exit -- provided no one gets snagged by a Bogmoor's sticky tongue.
Just more and more every turn.
Fly, you fools!
There's the exit! Don't look back! Just run!
GURIETA! We are LEAVING!
- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
A watchful peace, but a peace nonetheless.
Ulstryx sought the Spear to raise an army. The Swans denied him this. He can't be happy about that, but until the Gorgons make their next move we've all earned time for a normal life.
Or at least what passes for normal in the Yonderings.
The cats know not to mess with Avenger the bunny.
Gurieta gets a new haircut (I was inspired by Future Rainbow Dash) and has another option to progress her gem transformation. This would turn her left arm into a shield, not useful for her line of work, so it doesn't happen.
- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
Also, Yovia and Gurieta had a kid! I suppose this would have happened between Chapters 1 and 2 -- perhaps some unlucky orphan from the Ash Arches disaster. Who knows? But now young Willock Dogwood is grown and is a member of the company.
Willock seems to have taken after Gurieta. Not only did he take her surname and follow her profession, he shares the same deep fascination with the occult. I'm sure we'll learn more about this young man on the road.
As for his other mom, Yovia and her son have a rivalry, if you can believe that. I guess when your parents are famous heroes you develop strange family dynamics. Willock feels constant pressure to prove himself, and Yovia may be into teaching through tough love. Don't get her wrong, it's a dangerous world and she wants her son to be the best he can be. But there might be some friction there.
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Re: Wildermyth
Water, water everywhere. A soggy end to ten years of tranquility.
Hey, do you remember the fortune that enigmatic crow-witch told to Thusette? What was it she said again?
- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
Deepists? What are Deepists doing here?
Years earlier:
- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
So, one last time destiny calls. This is Chapter 3 of 3 and after this the story of the Swans of the Wildermyth will end. Some campaigns last 5 chapters, which is long enough for the original heroes to retire and be replaced by their children or grandchildren. None of the Swans will be retiring this game, though some are getting old and moving slower and taking longer to heal.
The whole map is open now. In the east we can see our objective, the location of the Deepist warren where -- supposedly -- Arnon's wife has answers about this Gorgon business. Can we trust our enemies? I suppose they have as much to lose as we do. The flooding of the land affects them too, after all.
Speaking of flooding ...
As time passes, more tiles will become flooded. This slows movement and also prevents them from generating resources we'll use at chapter end to improve our gear. Our home village of Rockyfend is already submerged!
Our overall strategy is, as always, to improve our heroes as much as possible before the final battle without wasting too much time doing it. To that end we'll try adventuring in two teams of three, each with one of each class. If that proves dangerous we can always recruit a hero in Graveroan (which has been namedropped in earlier dialogue and which finally makes its appearance on the world map). There's no limit to how many heroes you can have, but only five can be assigned to any particular job. Not everyone will be able to attend the final battle.
Let's get started!
The whole map is open now. In the east we can see our objective, the location of the Deepist warren where -- supposedly -- Arnon's wife has answers about this Gorgon business. Can we trust our enemies? I suppose they have as much to lose as we do. The flooding of the land affects them too, after all.
Speaking of flooding ...
As time passes, more tiles will become flooded. This slows movement and also prevents them from generating resources we'll use at chapter end to improve our gear. Our home village of Rockyfend is already submerged!
Our overall strategy is, as always, to improve our heroes as much as possible before the final battle without wasting too much time doing it. To that end we'll try adventuring in two teams of three, each with one of each class. If that proves dangerous we can always recruit a hero in Graveroan (which has been namedropped in earlier dialogue and which finally makes its appearance on the world map). There's no limit to how many heroes you can have, but only five can be assigned to any particular job. Not everyone will be able to attend the final battle.
Let's get started!
- Mechanical Ape
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Re: Wildermyth
Our parties are on the move. But almost immediately, a wild Sidequest appears!
Gurieta has the "Destiny" personality hook. All her life, she's felt that she's been preserved by fate for some important task (above and beyond the world-saving that has become her day job). Here in Rockyfend, she believes the day has finally come.
- Mechanical Ape
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