What can change the nature of a man? Let's Play Planescape: Torment!

Blasted wererats! They kidnapped (skullnapped?) Morte while I was distracted! Why would someone be so interested in THAT creature of all things?

I decide to ask a well-dressed man nearby if he has any answers.





A dilapidated house here huh? That narrows it down significantly. The Lower Ward may not be where the rich and famous gather, but it's certainly better maintained that the Hive.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Welcome to the good part of Sigil! Well, the "less bad" part at least. There's a lot of stuff here that we won't be doing yet until we fill out our team. Once we get Morte back, we're going to grab Grace. Getting Grace requires a lot of talking.

After about an hour of searching, we find a building that matches the description. The door is unlocked, which in this town usually means the owner is either an idiot, or unimaginably powerful.


CHAPTER 5: SITES TO A MAZE, PART 1

In which we commit skullduggery, tempt a succubus, and think of the children

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Inside is something... something quite wonderful. A stained glass window projects a beautiful array of colours that spiral down a staircase inside. Perhaps beautiful is the incorrect word; the light strikes a deep contrast to the shambled walls, and the stairs are roughly carved from stone. Perhaps the best word to describe the scene is... unsettling. A ladder rests at the end.



And of course it would get worse. The relatively unfurnished room we enter has every inch of wall covered in skulls! Human skulls, demon skulls, alien skulls, broken skulls, ornate skulls... perhaps it explains why Morte was taken. Perhaps the owner did not possess one with such a foul mouth. While none of them move, it feels like each of them is staring at me (in their own fashion). One of the skulls whispers to me as I glance around: it's Morte.

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Originally Posted by The Editor A few words about this! Morte is indeed right: Lothar has been given straight 18s for stats, a THAC0 of 1, a -10 AC, and 32K HP. Oh, and he's also a level 25 Mage and 100% resistant to basically everything. He will utterly *destroy* you should you try and fight him. Lothar will accept several different "named" skulls. As you've likely explored the Dead Nations before getting here, you should have Soego's skull on hand, which Lothar will accept. If you've instead been a naughty Nameless One in the Dead Nations, you can give Lothar either Hamgrimm's, Stale Mary's, Acaste's (the ghoul who wanted to eat everyone), or the Silent King's skull. Failing have any of those, there is a ladder that leads deeper below Sigil, to a bunch of Wererats (they are connected to the Wererats you can find off the "Weeping Stone" area, lead by Many-As-One). Their leader, the wererat Mantuok, can be killed for his skull. As an alternative to simply butching the wererat (although that is not a difficult feat), you can purchase poisoned cheese from a vendor in the Lower Ward, and feed it to Mantuok to instantly kill him. You can't do this if you've given Lothar any other skull beforehand, but in any case, killing Mantuok with poisoned cheese is worth a bit of experience (5000), and you can get the Grimoire of Pestilential Thought. This Grimoire is an extremely evil item, that will teach the Nameless One some spells. These spells aren't worth what it costs to get them however, which include selling one of your party members into slavery, and killing one of them. Needless to say, these acts are evil with a capital "e".

I figure Soego's skull will make for a decent trade. A Dustman who killed his own friend, and found himself trapped between the dead he seeks to convert, and the cranium rats who would use him. It's an interesting tale... and one with a lot less swearing in it than any Morte would tell I'm sure.





Finally, a lead! So this night hag, Ravel, is the source of my torment? I must find out more about her. The people in this ward seem rather connected, so hopefully answers will not be too difficult to come by.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor As an aside, if you ask Lothar too many questions, he'll simply teleport you outside. Classy guy.

I find Morte outside as Soego promised. He wears a look of relief on his face.

"Thanks chief, I didn't want to go through that *again*."

"*Again?*" I ask.

"Err, bar that chief, it's not important."

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Originally Posted by The Editor That little sidequest plus the giant chunk of experience we gained for helping the city give birth last update gave most of our characters a level. Morte unfortunately misses out on the big chunk we just gained, but these experience rewards - despite being larger than anything we've seen yet - are still drops in the bucket for this game. Morte does get one thing for his temporary captivity: a new ability called "Skull Mob", which summons a horde of skulls to bite an enemy a few times a couple of times per day. It's not a bad ability, but I always forget I have it. Becoming a level 9 Mage gives us another point in Con, and access to level 5 spells! We don't have any yet, but we'll try and rectify that soon. There won't be a lot of combat for a little while anyway. Well, not much at least. Dak'kon gets another level of Mage, which is relatively unexciting. Annah meanwhile gets both a level of Fighter *and* Thief. Even multi-classed, Annah will gain Thief levels quickly. For now this just means a few more hit points, although she'll get a little better once we can get her better armour (which will happen... maybe next update?).

We find that devil that the mage who helped us earlier mentioned. I suppose killing this one will help balance my karma after that slaying that demon in the Smoldering Corpse several days ago...

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Originally Posted by The Editor Remember kids! Devils = lawful evil, demons = chaotic evil!

My comrades find hitting this monster cleanly difficult, so I decide to try out the new spell I found in my tomb, Ax of Torment. It is underwhelming.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Fiends such as this one cannot be harmed with less than +2 weapons, which means that only Annah actually has the proper weapon to harm this creature, but as long as the fiend is distracted by Morte you should be able to take him out without too much difficulty.

Annah finally get a clean hit from behind, sticking her punch blades into its spine. It shudders in place for a moment, before falling. Annah clips his throat to make sure the deed is truly done.

We return to the mage, successful.

I do not notice any difference, but Annah cries out in a mocking tone

"My, yeh almost now looks all respectable... yeh'l make a handsome corpse!" she cackles.

I hear Morte click. "Never looked better chief. Honest. You only look like you've risen from the grave four or five times now. Six times at most!"

I glare at them both.

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Originally Posted by The Editor The reward for this quest is a +2 bonus to charisma, which is nice but not actually that useful. A low Charisma hasn't really been an issue for a long time, although it might save us casting one or two Friend's spells.

Lothar told us that all the movers and shakers were in the Clerk's Ward, so off we go.

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Originally Posted by The Editor As yet another aside, we can now quick travel between (mots) areas. Thanks to this - the game considers most travel to take a few hours - you'll begin to hear your comrades complaining about resting, much like they do in Baldur's Gate. Unlike that other elfgame simulator however, your character will not actually become fatigued (and this acquire penalties). So mercilessly whip them on if you desire.

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Originally Posted by The Editor This is another area jam-packed with stuff that we won't be fully exploring for several updates. As a note, sometimes this area is referred to as the "Upper Ward", for poor editing reasons.

Like the Lower Ward before it, this area of the city continues to look better than the last. Individuals walk around in proper clothes... even the prostitutes. An impressive building loams near the entrance. I see a steady stream of patrons stream inside and out of it. Perhaps the people here will know more of Ravel the Night Hag?

Morte: "It couldn't hurt you to say a few words to me, tiefling."

Annah: "Aye, it could... hurt yeh, that is."

Inside is a relaxing and welcoming foyer, decorated in warm colours and comfortable seating. We find one of the patrons we followed in stammering in front of an incredibly beautiful woman. It takes me a moment to even see that she is not wearing an elegant cape, but a pair of leathery wings. I find it hard to not engage her in conversation, and do so as soon as the patron with her wanders off, his face flushed red.

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Originally Posted by The Editor As per the vote, we'll be taking Grace along and not taking Ignus. But we'll get to the pyromaniac later. Wall of text incoming. But an amusing wall of text.

Compared to some of my recent tasks, talking to ten pretty ladies sounds like the easiest quest I've been given yet.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Okay, real talk for a second. The Brothel of Slaking Intellectual Lusts was one of my favorite places in the original game, but now that I'm older and a bit wiser, I'm not sure I'm entirely okay with it. Torment's insistence on having all their female models spill out of their clothing aside, the women here may not be selling their mind rather than their bodies, but they're still sexual objects first and foremost. If the purpose of this brothel is merely to engage in conversation, why must it be populated by sexy ladies? Why not sexy men? Or relatively unattractive (but brilliant) women and men? I think the game is more interesting because of its inclusion than without, but what do you think? Post what you think after this update!

The first student we find just north of Grace, being observed by a group of mechanical looking beings. Morte tells me they're Modrons, and they're the lawfulest bunch of lawful you'll ever meet. The woman they're staring at is certainly pretty, but... how to describe it... she feels... cold? Stiff?

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Originally Posted by The Editor While not necessary, you can get a bit more experience in this upcoming conversation with an 18 or better Intelligence. I use a Cranium Rat charm and a +1 Int tattoo to do so.

I watch as she finishes debating with a stammering man over the finer points of what sounds like Baatorian politics.







It sounds like I will be visiting the Civic Festhall anyway, so visiting this Merriman person shouldn't be much trouble.

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There is no specific order that you need to visit the students here, but I like doing so in clockwise order. Most of the ladies will start out in their room, but I warn you now that they LOVE to wander.

Knocking before I enter this room, I swear I hear a voice inside, but it's empty.



The next room has a dark-skinned beauty inside. She appears forlorn.




Another student with a problem? I wonder if Fall-From-Grace is testing me? That name, Scofflaw Penn... it sounds familiar. Where have I seen it before?

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Originally Posted by The Editor Do you remember? It came up some time ago...

The next room is lit up by an extremely cheery young lady.





Cute, but perhaps a little naive.



I find the next student quietly sitting in her room. I almost miss seeing her in fact, on account of how quiet she is.



I unfortunately get nothing out of her. Perhaps some of the other students here can tell me more about her?

I catch the next one in the hallway outside.





So much for the rest of the students being problem-free. Still, if this lady smells *this* good, I can't imagine what she must normally smell like...



I find the next student hiding in her room, with most the lights off. A sound of what sounds like snakes hissing seems to echo through the room.





Another student who has lost something! How many does that make now? A key, a voice, a smell, a veil, and excitement in one's love life?



The next student - a tiefling I believe - I find verbally abusing another man as Morte looks on.

Oh this should be good.






I suppose this brothel has a lady for everyone's, er, taste.

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Originally Posted by The Editor While this doesn't have any mechanical effect, Morte has access to a larger library of insults when using his "Taunt" special ability.

If my count is correct, I find the 8th student near the entrance. Her skin is a dull blue colour, and I think I see fangs! But her smile appears to be as friendly as Nelly's.





Nice, but this student doesn't appear to know much. At least she doesn't appear to need help. I get the feeling she knows more about Ravel than she is willing to admit however.

The last room I check has the ninth student I've found. Did Fall-From-Grace not say there was ten students? Did I miss someone?

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Originally Posted by The Editor Note, there are quite a few tales you can learn here. You can tell Yves about the following events to get told a short story: - Waking up in the Mortuary - about the Alley of Lingering Sighs dividing - Reekwind's Curse - About the creation of the Alley of Dangerous Angles - The story of Pharod - The story of Ingus Many of these are of course from Reekwind himself. You can also get your party members to each tell a story, which Yves will respond to with her own. In any case, every new story that Yves tells you is worth a small amount of experience - 500xp - so there's no harm in listening to them all. Rather than subjecting you to even more text, I will transcribe all the stories in a post that follows this one.

After swapping stories for over an hour, I decide to switch back to my task at hand:



Yves is pretty insistent that I speak to Nenny. I find her outside talking to a patron:






What a peculiar woman. I should have figured Marissa and Kimasxi were probably involved somehow. I decide to see Marissa first... she might have a look that can kill, but I think I prefer that to Kimasxi's tongue.

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Originally Posted by The Editor As an aside, Nenny asking about "the kids" always cracks me up.

Not helpful unfortunately. I grit my teeth and visit Kimasxi again.




Apparently there's been more than smells and veils missing. I search around again for Nenny; perhaps she might have another lead I can follow.



A man? Well, it's true there are no shortage of them here...

... but while these thefts are interesting, where is the tenth student? I've searched this brothel twice over by this point.



Speaking of searching, Annah whispers to me that she's going to do some snooping of her own.



In Yves' drawer, she finds a love letter that I might be able to use to help Juliette convince Montague of her, ah, infidelity.

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Originally Posted by The Editor She also pockets quite a bit of treasure: 1 Copper Earring 1 Silver Ring 1 Silver Earring 1 Silver Bracelet 3 Gold Earrings 1 Gold Ring 562 Copper Commons A nice haul. Most of the containers these are found in are locked, but that shouldn't be a problem for Annah. One notable change from Baldur's Gate is that no one cares if you steal stuff! Break into places and take their stuff all you want, no one will ever try and stop you, and there are no alignment consequences so go nuts.

In the last room, Annah finds an interesting book that she pockets:



A linguist huh? I ask her to pocket it for later.



Annah struggles with great difficulty against the last closet in the whole place. She ends up calling me over to give her a hand.

"This Carceri-damned thing is stuck!" she pouts. "Give me yer back for a second."

Together we try opening it, but to no avail. I'm about to enchant myself with a Strength spell, when the Armoire speaks!





Not a pretty resolution, but I believe this is the scent and veil that went missing... as well as the so-called "tenth student".

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Originally Posted by The Editor As an alternative to begging and whining, a decent strength or dexterity score will let you grab the cloth. There's no real benefit however, save for not humiliating yourself in front of a piece of bedroom furniture.

I ask Fall-from-Grace if part of the reason she wanted me to talk to her students was that she wished us to help solve their problems. She laughs at the idea, but doesn't deny it.

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Originally Posted by The Editor And we get our fifth party member! As an aside, if you don't find Luis, there are other options you can choose to get Grace to join. With a high enough Int or Wis, you can suggest that you are the tenth student. There's also a hidden passageway that leads to a statue of a busty lady with her spine broken. Down here, you can read some stones of the above ladies, and then suggest that Grace herself is the tenth student. Either way. As mentioned before, Grace is fairly unique in Torment, as she is the *only* priest you can get in the game. That doesn't necessarily make her a great character; while 2nd Edition priests are pretty strong, Grace has a neutered spell list and cannot wear heavy armour or use weapons that traditional clerics can. Her biggest advantage is that she has the ability to spend renewable resources to heal your team. From this point on, many common monsters are going to hit *very* hard, so in that sense having Grace around is helpful. However, her offensive capabilities are basically nil (save for a few spells), which means that having her around means that you're replacing her with a spot that could be used to kill enemies more quickly (in effect, reducing incoming damage). *ADD* However, that Grace is *by far* the most interesting character you can recruit from this point forward, save perhaps for Nordom, and the game isn't so difficult that her presences/absence will change much. You can listen to some of her lines here to a get a sense of what she sounds like: calm, collected, and while not monotone, she doesn't (usually) have emotional extremes. Kind of like Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. I will explore her spells next update. For now, Grace being a member of the Society of Sensation brings up the fact that we might want to consider joining a faction! A faction that is, of course, not the Dustmen. Here are the three options you can choose from: 1. The Believers of the Source: The "Godsmen" believe that there is literally a path that a cutter can take to become a power... a god. Thus, most devote themselves to bettering themselves, with the belief that with hard work they will be rewarded by being moved higher up in the planar food-chain (More Lawful*) 2. The Society of Sensations: A group that dedicates itself to seeking out new experiences. To a "Sensate", the journey is as important than the destination, particularly if the journey lets one experience facets of the multiverse they might otherwise never 'taste' (Neutral) 3. The Revolutionary League: It's like this berk: "society" and the laws crafted to govern it are holding people back. See, "Anarchists" believe that people should be free to do what they want. So this faction seeks to tear down the rules. And who sets the rules? The other factions, that's who! (More Chaotic) 4. No faction: Joining a faction is for fools. Why align yourself to one? (Neutral) *Yes, for those familiar with the source material, the Godsmen are *not* a lawful faction, but of the three presented here, they have the most lawful tendencies, especially given how this game portrays them. We've got a lot of stuff to still do, but once we finish this up *hopefully* we can go to slightly smaller/less wordy updates. Maybe. Who knows with this game is what I'm saying! Here's a "to do" list, stolen unapologetically from Yimothy's terrific Zelda: Link's Awakening LP! To do: - Give Vivian back her scent - Give Marissa back her veil - Find Merriman at the Civic Festhall, and figure out what hold he has over Dolora - Trick Juliette's love, Montague (ha!), into believing she's having an affair - Figure out a way to restore Echo's voice - Try and find the command word for our Decanter of Endless Water - Find where Pharod keeps his treasure - track down the portal and key to Ravel's maze Next time: we upgrade the team!

YVES TALES AND OTHER STRANGE STORIES

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The following are all the stories you can hear/tell to Yves. Some of them are
short, a few of them are somewhat lengthy, but they're mostly all interesting.

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Originally Posted by DUSTMEN - 'CHAPTERS OF DUST' There are chapters in the Dead Book, the massive tome which the Dustmen keep that records the passing of all that lives into the Eternal Boundary. In this Book, there are chapters that are naught but dust, and it is believed that the names therein are lost souls who cannot die, but must suffer life eternally until history itself dies and grants them release.

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Originally Posted by THE CLOCK AND THE QUADRONE Once upon a time, there existed a modron. It was newly-created, its logic fresh and untested, and it had come to Sigil, following the commands of its modron superiors. It knew of nothing but commands and dictates, of obedience and passing along the orders of its superiors. For you see, modrons are only aware of the commands of their immediate superiors - they have no grasp of a higher authority. Until this one. One day it came upon a small shop, within which there was a small clock that could no longer tell time. It was cracked along the edges, the wheels of its hands broken. The modron immediately set itself to work at getting the parts to fix the broken clock. It made a new wooden housing for the clock's parts, replaced the bent springs, carefully filed and oiled the clockwork machinery, and carved new hands from the sparse metal available to it. The newly-repaired clock's precise timing reminded it of the great gears of Mechanus, and it comforted it as much as any thing may comfort a modron. And what the modron never came to understand was that it truly *loved* this clock it had worked on, and for reasons it could not explain, elected to remain in Sigil and be with the clock for the rest of its years.

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Originally Posted by THE GUILDED TALE Upon the Plane of Ysgard is the Gilded Hall, where those Sensates that seek the pleasure of gullet and loin can be found. They indulge these passions in earnest, never realizing that the doors of the hall never open and that there is no clear path back to the Civic Festhall. They are the unwanted Sensates, the ones that do not truly believe in the faction, but instead seek only pleasure for pleasure's sake. Are prisoners who do not realize they are such truly prisoners?

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Originally Posted by THE LADY'S SUITOR The tale concerns a suitor of the Lady of Pain, one of many over the years. He was a young man who was obsessed with the Mistress of Sigil. He saw her everywhere, in every corner of the city. He would hear the rustling of her robes, the scrape of her blades, and grew infatuated beyond all reason. He hoped that if he worshiped her, that he would at last be able to see here... and so worship her he did. He was found dead on the blood-soaked steps of his own home, grievous stab wounds covering the whole of his body... but his eyes were wide open, and upon his lips was a triumphant smile.

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Originally Posted by THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING Once came a man who had experienced the most beautiful thing in the multiverse. It was his intention to place the experience within one of the Civic Festhall's sensory stones - magical devices which held feeling and memories for an eternity, leaving them for others to partake of. But he thought about it: wouldn't its being shared dilute the experience? So he held it to himself, precious thing that it was, and aged with the memory. But as he aged, the memory became tarnished and beaten, and he could no longer recall the glory of the experience.

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Originally Posted by THE EXECUTION Once, a murderer roamed Sigil's streets, a black-hearted man by the name of Kossacs. He had been blessed by his Abyssal mother so that no one could strike him with an intent to harm or they themselves would die. He reveled in his blessing, using it to start fights and murder anyone who crossed his path. During one of his murderous rages, he was captured by the Harmonium with nets and brought before the Guvners. The trial was short, final, yet Kossacs laughed at the proceedings, knowing that no one among them could harm him without dying horribly. At the final day of his trial, he was proclaimed guilty and sentenced to death. Kossacs' sentence proclaimed by the Guvners was this: 'Confinement for thrice-thirty days, during which time you shall give up your life, be declared dead, and your body removed when all signs of life cease.' Kossacs laughed and dared any of them to try and harm him, yet the court was silent. The Mercykillers led Kossacs to their prison and locked him in a dark, empty cell. There was no cot, no lights, and hte only door was a steel grate in the ceiling. As they lowered him into the cell, the Mercykiller told him, 'In the corner of your cell will you find a chalice. It holds poison. Your death will be swift.' 'Aren't you going to execute me?' Kossacs snarled at the guard. 'No one in Sigil shall lay a hand on you with intent to harm,' came the Mercykiller's reply. 'Then I spit on your cowardice!' Kossacs laughed, feeling for the chalice in the darkness, then hurling it at the wall and shattering it. Its poison dripped from the walls and dried, until it was no more. 'Come then, you will have to try and kill me now.' But there was no response from the grate in the ceiling. It was then that Kossacs noticed the cell had no cot. No lights. And no food and water. All that remained was the shattered chalice, the poison gone. And for the first time, Kossacs knew the icy touch of death's approach. In twice-thirty days, the grate opened, and Kossacs' body, no cold, was taken from the cell. It had given up its life, and the execution had been carried out.

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Originally Posted by MORTE'S STORY An elderly man was sitting along on a dark path, right? He wasn't certain of which direction to go, and he'd forgotten both where he was traveling to, and who he was. He'd say down for a moment to rest his weary legs, and suddenly looked up to see an elderly woman before him. She grinned toothlessly and with a cackle, spoke: 'Now your *third* wish. What will it be?' 'Third wish?' The man was baffled. 'How can it be a third wish if I hadn't had a first and second wish?' 'You've had two wishes already,' the hag said, 'but your second wish was for me to return everything to the way it was before you had made your first wish. That's why you remember nothing; because everything is the way it was before you made any wishes.' She cackled at the poor berk. 'So it is that you have one wish left.' 'All right,' said the man, 'I don't believe this, but there's no harm in wishing. I wish to know who I am.' 'Funny,' said the old woman as granted his wish and disappeared forever. 'That was your first wish.'

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Originally Posted by THE FIEND'S GAME A fiend sometimes wandered the wilderness of a certain Prime world in the guise of a friendly old man. One day, he came upon some hunters in the wood. 'What are you doing?' The fiend asked. The hunters told him, and the fiend nodded. 'I have never been on a hunt before.' The hunters invited the old man to come along, and the group eventually came upon a glade where several deer were grazing. The hunters carried crossbows, but did not fire, and the fiend asked them why. 'They are unarmed,' the hunters chuckled, patting their crossbows. 'We hunt nothing that does not have the ability to defend itself. After all, where is the sport in that?' The fiend nodded at this, and promptly gated in three of his fellows. The hunters led them on a merry chase, but eventually they were caught and eaten.

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Originally Posted by ANNAH'S STORY This berk's walkin' home real late, near anti-peak, an' passes an old toothless crone in a dark an' otherwise empty street. 'Where yeh goin'?' she asks him. 'Home, to me wife an' kip,' he says. 'Near the slags?' she asks him. 'Sure enough,' he says. So she asked him a favor... ta take a box she's got ta Deader's Pit an' give it ta the woman there. Now this berk's a real sap, too nice ta say no despite the fact he's sure somethin's not quite *right* about this old crone, and agrees. 'But what's teh woman's name?' he asks. 'Where does she live? Where should I look fer her if she's not by Deader's Pit?' The woman hands him the box - a wooden thing, wrapped in colored cloth - an' tells him ta just go, an' she'll be there. Finally, she warns him: 'An' whatever yeh does, do *NOT* open the box!' So he takes it home with him an' hides it in the rafters, thinkin' he'll bring it by Deader's Pit when it's light out. His wife, though, seein' him hidin' the box, gets right jealous thinkin' it's a gift fer a lover or somethin', an' opens it up as soon as he's not lookin'. Well, turns out the box was full o' gouged-out eyes an' severed male members with the hair still on 'em. Her scream brought the berk running'... he remembered what the crone said, got right scared and wrapped the box back up. 'He went out straight away ta Deader's Pit, an' sure enough there was another old hag waitin' there for him. He hands her the box, an' she says ta him: 'This box has been opened and looked into.' The poor berk tries to deny it, but she gets this dreadful look on her face. 'Ye've done somethin' horrible!' she tells him, then disappears. That done, he hurries back ta his kip. 'He's feelin' ill when he gets back, an' takes ta bed. His wife bitterly regretted openin' the box an' all, but it was too late... the next day he died of a rottin' disease, an' the first things ta go was his eyes an' stem.

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Originally Posted by THE PARCHED LAND Once, a large village was struck by a terrible drought. A farmer journeyed to the Worshiping Stone, and again implored it as to the cause of the drought. He asked the Stone why it did nothing when the fields were parched and dying, why the animals and the other people suffered while the Stone did not a thing. 'Have we not given enough offerings?' the farmer asked, begging almost upon his hands and knees. But the Stone did not respond; it merely say, and cast its shadow.

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Originally Posted by DAK'KON'S STORY: ACH'ALI'S DROWNING Dak'kon tells the story of Ach'ali, a foolish githzerai of myth who had become lost in the chaos of limbo. Normally, a single githzerai may use their focus and mental discipline to form the chaos around them into a small, habitable environment. Ach'ali, however, asked so many useless and unfocused questions in her quest to return home that her isle of matter dissolved around her, and she drowned.

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Originally Posted by YVES VERSION OF ACH'ALI'S DROWNING Yves goes on to tell a different version of Dak'kon's tale, in which ACh'ali was driven from the githzerai city of Shra'kt'lor for her constant, useless prattling... One day, she encountered a slaadi on his way to the spawning stone. She hastily erected a wall of chaos matter, which even the ravenous sladdi found difficult to break down. Hungerly, it waited, and spole to her through the wall. She asked it questions, and as she became more absorbed in her pointless queries and the slaadi's answers, her own wall decayed and collapsed upon her... and thus she drowned in the matter of Limbo.

Alright, that was a bit of a hiatus wasn't it? But I've got an update *almost* finished (just need to format it for TT), that I should be able to post tomorrow, post-New Years Eve hangover be damned.

For those catching up (or those who don't remember what the heck has been going on), here's the brief recap of the game up to this point:



The Nameless One - our main character - is an amnesiac, and (for most intensive purposes) completely immortal. He woke up on a slab in the Mortuary (not an mortuary, THE Mortuary) in the City of Sigil. He's trying to piece together both who he is, and how he can regain his identity. As far as we can tell, he periodically finds himself losing his memory after being killed, at which point he wakes up as a new person. Some of his incarnations have probably been good people! Most of the remnants of our past lives, we've so far found, have not been very nice people.

The Nameless One in this game is a mage, although he can instead be a fighter or mage if we wish (switching is as easy as talking to particular individuals who are trained as one of the other classes).




Morte is a floating skull - a floating encyclopedia called a mimir, if he is to be believed - has been our companion since the beginning. During our travels, we found some writing from one of our incarnations that told us not to trust him. Morte is a fighter (or at least, of sorts), and attacks with his chompers.




Dak'kon is a githzerai, a race from the ever shifting plane of Limbo, who commands a sword made out of pure chaos, that he shapes into a sharp blade with his mind. Dak'kon, as we've found recently, has been conflicted thanks to the teachings he's been following seemingly causing a large contradiction that he's having trouble sorting out. Dak'kon is a fighter/mage.




Annah is a tiefling, a product of a human and a being from one of the lower planes (usually a demon or devil), and thus has a tail and an faux-Irish accent. Annah is fiercely independent, but was asked by her foster-father - a man who was used by one of the Nameless One's past incarnations - to accompany him. Annah is a fighter/rogue, and wields punch-daggers.




Fall-from-Grace is our newest recruit, a succubus priest who runs a brothel dedicated not to sex, but to stimulating conversation. Grace is very polite and straight-forward, which is very unusual for her race. Annah intensely dislikes her, and she won't be the only one we meet; some people just really dislike Demons (like Grace is). She does not use a weapon, but her touch can harm people it touches, and her kiss is lethal.

* * *

After waking up in the Mortuary and meeting Morte and Dak'kon, The Nameless One searched out a man named Pharod whom a tattoo on the Nameless One's back said could help him. After finding him, Phaord asked the Nameless One to retrieve a small sphere for him, which he did, and told him that while he didn't know much, his foster-daughter, Annah, knew where he had last been killed before his most recently loss of memory. A lead is a lead...

The Nameless One finds out from his investigation that he's being chased by shadows, that seek to kill him. He finds out that there was an individual of great power who gave the Nameless One his immortality at the cost of his memory: a night hag named Ravel Puzzlewell. The problem in finding her however, is that the silent ruler of Sigil, the Lady of Pain, stuck Ravel into an inter-dimensional pocket known as a Maze, and Ravel hasn't been heard from since. Sigil, the City of Doors, has portals to nearly everywhere in the planes, if - and only if - you can both find where the portal is, and the portal 'key' to get through it.

The Nameless One has neither.


In this upcoming update, we'll also meet:

Ignus. Ignus is a psychotic fire mage whom was responsible for burning an entire neighbourhood in Sigil to the ground. Some other mages attempted to kill him, and they ended up trapping him in a weird state that caused his entire body to be completely engulfed in flames, given Ignus' strange connection to the Elemental Plane of Fire. He currently sits motionless, and mostly immobile, in a bar called the Smoldering Corpse. We've been told by his would-be girlfriend that a Flask of Endless Water could perhaps cool him down enough such that he could move, and while we have one of those, we don't know the keyword to make it go at the intensity needed to fix him (yet).

Caught up? Okay.

When we left off, we were in a brothel...


... update tomorrow, to properly ring in the New Year!

One thing I remember to do before leaving the brothel is return Vivian's scent to her. Her magic, or art, or whatever it is she did, is pretty amazing. I didn't even realize how awful I smelled. I assume Morte doesn't have much of a sense of smell, Dak'kon doesn't care as long as he doesn't need to *know* it or whatever, Grace is simply too polite, and that Annah can't smell it over the scent of brimstone she emits.

Perhaps I should take some time to learn a bit more about my allies.

CHAPTER 5: SITES TO A MAZE, PART 2

In which we meet a lady who narrates our lives, douse a burning man, and learn all about traveling encyclopedias

************************************************** **************************************************

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Originally Posted by The Editor A few housekeeping things before we continue. Helping Vivian grants us an additional +1 Charisma, for all the good it really will do for us at this point. Charisma's value really drops off by the point in the game I find. Incidentally, we can also return the veil itself (now stripped of its scent) to it owner, the gorgon prostitute Marissa. You get some experience (25,000) and a minor trinket (a gold bracelet) that you can sell for a bit of copper. This whole adventure with the ladies in order to get Fall-from-Grace to join our party has pushed Annah into Fighter level 6, so that's something. For reference today, here's a quick map of the Clerk's Ward from the last update. Today we're going to be visiting two outdoor bars, one to the west of the Advocate's Home, and one to the east, the Tailor, and the Curiosity Shoppe.

We head outside the brothel, and see if we can find the woman that the Stone wall underneath Sigil told us should be around here. Nemelle I think it said her name was? With her help, we can hopefully get the command word to this decanter of endless water...





That was utterly surreal, like understanding the words to a book you've never read. How could I not do her a small favour?

Annah pipes up loudly so all can here as we continue on.

Annah: "Why do we need that succubus? She'll turn on us she will!"

I'm sensing she's not very happy with our new party member.

On a search of the Clerk's Ward, I'm stopped by an aggressive noble of some kind.




I couldn't give a copper common's worth of attention to this idiot, but I am interested in seeing what this man may have for sale. My current wardrobe leaves little to the imagination.



Inside it some very expensive looking clothing. Far too pricey for someone of my looks, but Annah seems interested in some of the clothes, and... well Morte seems interested that Annah seems interested. Best to get this over with.

I first attempt to wave to get the tailor's attention, then cough loudly, and then resort to standing behind the counter next to him. He seems absorbed in the clothing he's stitching together.

I call out for his attention twice to no avail. Perhaps the man is hard of hearing?



Not hard of hearing it seems.

We're on the way out when I notice Annah walk briskly by me.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Gonclave's Tailory is the first store really worth stealing from. It's got new armour (well, skin-tight leather clothing, which counts as armour in Dungeons and Dragons) for both Annah and Grace. It's also one of the first stores you'll come across whose prices will vastly outstrip your finances. Using the Pick Pocket's skill - yours, or Annahs - therefore can get you a good "deal" on these pieces. Stealing is pretty simple in this game; You take the character's Pick Pocket's skill, subtract the store's hidden "security" value, and then roll a random number between 1 and 100 to see if the steal was successful. If so, you get the item in question. If not, you turn everything in the store hostile. Unfortunately, video game logic means that killing a shopkeeper in this game magically makes all their wares enter a sealed inter-dimensional portal (you can't take their wares off their corpse). We want some of Gonclaves stuff here, as in his list are two of the best items in the game for Annah and Grace. So prudence suggest that you buff your Pick Pockets skill, with an item such as a Rat Tail Charm or ten.

I notice that Annah is whistling, as Morte... Morte has his mouth shut. When we get outside, Morte literally coughs up a pile of garmets.

"I guess y'er good for more than insultin' skull," Annah cheerfully pipes.

Morte clicks. "Happy to help tiefling. I'll sleep very happily tonight knowing that my mouth has been all over the garmet you'll be wearing."

"I, er, you don't s'ppose ol' Gonclave there has a proper return polacy do ye?"

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Originally Posted by The Editor "This piece of light leather armor was clearly fashioned for a woman. Even at a glance one can tell it is of the highest quality; every part of it, from its supple leather banding to its quadruple--stitched seams and padded silk lining, speaks of impeccable craftsmanship. Goncalves wove a number of enchantments into the lining of the jerkin so that its wearer is more prone to blend into surrounding shadows, making them difficult to spot and often allowing them to pass by others entirely unnoticed." For obvious reasons, this is the first piece you should steal. If it wasn't obvious, it's because this piece gives a nice bonus to Pick Pocket attempts. It's not worth wearing normally unless you REALLY like the Stealth skill (I don't), but good to keep handy when you need to swipe something. "This piece of sturdy leather armor was clearly fashioned for a woman. It is a piece of remarkably skillful craftsmanship; small metal plates and bands are carefully concealed here and there over the jerkin's surface, providing a great deal of protection without hampering mobility. The armor seems best suited for a 'flashy' fighter who would make the full use of the free movement it would afford them. The enchantments woven into it by Gonclaves not only serve to protect such a combatant, but aid them in their balance and the striking of their foes, as well." This is your go-to otherwise, as the bonus to Armor Class and Thac0 is just too good not to use. Unless you need a pocket picked, this is the armour you want Annah wearing for the rest of the game. This piece of armour for Grace is not necessary. It's theoretically good for resting purposes (wearing this during a rest will restore Grace to full hit points), but the other piece of armour for grace is much better because it offers... ... bonus spells. You see, bonus spells are lost when you unequip an item such as this one, and you only regain spells on a rest, so this piece and the one above it don't work together except in strange circumstances where the additional five spells (that's five healing spells!) aren't worth hanging onto, at least not temporarily. Well, five healing spells are likely to bring Grace to full hit points (her hp is pretty low), and can be used on anyone. So use this one. It's her best armour in the game. (For those curious, these pieces of "armour" each make a fairly sensual noise when they're picked up/dropped. It's hard to describe, but I know I feel a bit dirty fiddling with them in the menu.)

As I turn from the party's ill-gotten gains, I remember about this idiot.



I always get my... cut.

I wonder how fleeting some people's belief must be if they are willing to temporarily don a symbol for... entertainment? If it's true that belief can move the planes, then I don't think the planes have any hope of budging.




I think this task has been... sewn up nicely.



We make one last stop in the ward before we go deal with the burning man. A sign outside reads "Vrischika's Curiosity Shoppe", and as I see my purse remains full despite a trip to the tailor - nothing in my size I'm afraid - I figure I might as well see if there's anything here that catches my fancy.

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Originally Posted by The Editor I put the Jerkin of the Flitting Shadow on Annah, bringing her pick pocket skill up to 127%. I also save my game. I'll need it.

Fall-from-Grace: "So what are you, Morte? You never said."

Morte: "Me? I'm the head of Vecna."

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Originally Posted by The Editor My favorite joke in the entire game.

Inside is a neat, but crammed store filled with many exotic trinkets and items. A beefy store hand is moving around ensuring everything is faced neatly, while a blue-skinned humanoid watches over regally.






I browse the Alu-fiend's wares, and come away with several odd trinkets. So does Annah, who appears to be using Vrischika's hatred of Grace as a smokescreen to grab a few items free of charge.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Okay, Vrischika has a *ton* of stuff that any party will want. Some of it is sold on a traditional store menu, the rest via a series of conversation choices. Stealing from Vrischika is VERY difficult. Under her watchful eye, and item in the traditional store takes a -95% penalty to the pick pocket check, which basically means that you're going to fail to steal a lot if you try (which inevitably means reloading your game). We found one of these in the Tomb of the Nameless One earlier. +1 Con, but only for lawful good characters. Bar that! I'm cheating the bonus in. This is an excellent item for Dak'kon, or the Nameless One if you've made him a fighter. The +1 to strength is awesome, the immunity to panic is a nice bonus for how little it will come up. A spell for my spellbook! Quote: Originally Posted by CLOUDKILL (Level 5) Range: 100 feet Duration: Instant Speed: 5 Area of Effect: 50 x 50 ft. cloud Saving Throw: None Clouds of death stream forth from the caster and send those not strong enough on a free journey to their deserved plane of rest. A billowing cloud of toxic vapors are created that is so deadly that it will slay any creature with fewer than 4+1 HD, cause creatures with 4+1 to 5+1 HD to roll saving throws vs. poison at -4 penalties or be slain, and creatures up to 6 HD to roll unmodified saving throws vs. poison or be slain! Those above 6 HD suffer 1-10 pts. "Remember Cloudkill in Baldur's Gate II, and how you'd use it to help kill dragons and demon princes? Well, not so much in this game. This version is a one-shot effect that pauses time. Either they save and take some damage, or die. I'm not a big fan of this spell, but then again there are no dragons to kill in this game (no comment on demon princes). The bigger problem is that this spell has such a large area-of-effect that it's really difficult to use it in towns without killing someone we don't mean to, and outside of that this spell probably won't work." - The Editor Another great item, although for Thieves only. Annah is perfect for this item, as her punch daggers put her in harm's way, enough so that some resistance to normal attacks and extra hit points are great, and - as she is not the main character - the penalty to intelligence and wisdom doesn't matter a lick. The store you access via conversation holds a bunch of effectively "unidentified" items. You can't steal them, and in fact you can't even look at them aside from their name before deciding whether to buy them or not. Most of them are useful, although a few are a waste of money. Fortunately, most are cheap. You'll want to pick up the following: This is used to help one of the prostitutes, Ecco. It's 66 copper. We'll need this to help Ecco too, although we technically don't *know* that yet. But by buying it now, we save some money; Vrischika will gouge you by raising the price from 100 coppers to 999 if she finds out you really do need it. This "Metallic Cube Figurine" is pretty expensive (1500 copper), but it has a couple of important uses, the least of which being necessary to find one of the game's few recruitable characters, and you can trade it for some powerful items (or information) later if you're evil. This weird (disgusting, really) item seems to be one of those useless items, but we'll find someone who wants one. It costs 199 copper. Another weird item (most of them here are), but we'll find someone who has, er, split personalities. These aren't the only "useful" items, but the rest only lead to minor rewards (or get the Lady of Pain to toss us into a Maze) so I'm skipping them.

I get this monster to teach me some of what I taught him; the price is painful, but compared to the disasters Ignus has wrought, it is a lopsided bargain in my favour. The fiend claims a finger, a hand, and one of my eyes, but they quickly begin to grow back. His power is no joke; I can feel the raw power of his art. Disturbingly - although this should not surprise me so - is how familiar the power is. He is not teaching me, he is simply regurgitating what I had previously taught him.

I tell Ignus to stay here and await for further orders. He appears to comply with my instructions without a hint of complaint. I shall seek a way to seal his magical power; failing that, perhaps one of the fiends in this tavern - one of the ones immune to fire - shall kill him for me in my absence.



I feel the need to focus my mind after being in the chaotic presence of Ignus, so I turn to Dak'kon's Unbroken Circle for comfort and wisdom. I had found a hidden circle before, perhaps another remains? Perhaps it will also cheer Dak'kon up, who has been troubled as late due to the circle's contradictions.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Finding the eighth circle requires an Intelligence of 18, and explaining what it means to Dak'kon requires a Wisdom of 19. The Wisdom shouldn't be a problem, but the Intelligence might; use cranium rats + tattoos to meet it if you need to, this upgrade is worth it.

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Originally Posted by THE EIGHTH UNBROKEN CIRCLE OF ZERTHIMON "*Know* that if you *know* a course of action to be true in your heart, do not betray it because the path leads to hardship. *Know* that without suffering, the Rising would have never been, and the People would never have come to *know* themselves. "*Know* that there is nothing in all the Worlds that can stand against unity. When all *know* a single purpose, when all hands are guided by one will, and all act with the same intent, the Planes themselves may be moved. "A divided mind is one that does not *know* itself. When it is divided, it cleaves the body in two. When one had a single purpose, the body is strengthened. In *knowing* the self, grow strong."

I breath deeply at this circle's message. I'm certain it will speak to Dak'kon, but I feel it speaks to me as well. I am a man whose life has been divided into a bundle of contradictions. I may have created Ignus, but I should not let his existence act as a barrier to finding out the truth about myself.




As I unlock the circle for Dak'kon, I find it curious. I found these hidden circles, it is true, but a part of me felt that I *knew* of their existence. Why does that surprise me, but does not surprise Dak'kon?

Regardless, I feel a new kinship with Dak'kon.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Unlocking the final circle gives us a new spell for both the Nameless One and Dak'kon: Quote: Originally Posted by ZERTHIMON'S FOCUS (Level 3) Range: 50 feet Duration: 5 seconds per level Speed: 3 Area of Effect: 1 creature Saving Throw: None This enchantment helps the target remember Zerthimon's teachings on the ways to channel one's mental and physical focus during battle. When cast, the recipient's chances for a Critical Attack are raised for 5 seconds per level of the caster. "This is pretty useless for the Nameless One; as a mage, your melee strikes are pathetic enough that extra critical hits won't help. But this spell can be pretty useful for Dak'kon, giving that his weapon is pretty bad-ass." - The Editor Unlocking the last circle also beefs Dak'kon up: +1 Strength, +2 Constitution, and +2 Dexterity makes his already excellent stats even better. His base Strength becomes an 18 (+1 to hit and +2 to damage), and with a Dread Bond (which we, ah, "purchased" earlier this update) it rises to 19 (+3 to hit and +7 to damage). With tattoos we can push that even further, but that's for a bit later. The +2 Dexterity is worth an additional point of Armor Class, and the +2 Constitution brings his score up to 18. With a +2 Constitution Tattoo (purchased earlier), we can boost that to 20, which gives Dak'kon passive regeneration! Nice! Oh, and he also gained a level of Fighter, which is important too! Level 7 upgrades Dak'kon's sword again. Morale in this game is kind of borked, but one of the patches fixes it. In the original game, morale resets every 8 hours, which means you don't get Dak'kon's fancy-pants blade here. Normally, the type of blade you get depends if Dak'kon's morale is low (Kinstealer), average (Chained Blade), or high (Steaming Blade). And really? You want it to be average in the base game anyway; the "ok" morale sword, the Chained Blade, offers higher AC, a fine trade-off for the loss of some level 1 spells. Unmodded, the Streaming Blade will give +2 AC and double all 1st level spells at 7th level, while the Chained Blade offers +4 AC and two extra 1st level spells. Modded, the game keeps the bonus spells, but gives the Streaming Blade the Chained Blade's AC boost.

Now feeling better about myself, I decide to speak with Annah. Perhaps I can get her to cool her tiefling heels a little on all that bile she's tossing at Grace.



Okay, Grace is not going to be a subject to broach just yet. I divert the conversation to her skills, to really get her talking about herself. I figure at the very least this could be educational.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Annah: the original tsundere. Again, I'm not going to get into the entire text of swapping thief notes, but needless to say they involve heavy innuendo and Annah's cleavage (there are parts about this game that are written well, this part I am leaving out, is not). Annah can teach the Nameless One in each of the four thieving skills - Pick Pockets, Open Locks, Detect Traps, and Stealth - giving the Nameless One a +3 bonus to each (and 4000 experience). Then, if the Nameless One's skill is above 50 in any of the categories, you can teach Annah a trick or two yourself, giving her a +3 bonus to her own appropriate skill (and a 1000 experience for each). For your own skill, what's important is just the modified total, not the base. Thus, you can use magical items to "boost" the skill high enough so that it's over 50 - even if only temporarily - then teach Annah for the small bonus. This isn't of course, a major upgrade for either, and the experience gained is almost certainly going to be wasted on the Nameless One as it will apply to his Thief class.

With Annah not being much help, I decide to talk with Grace. I want to make sure she's not totally put off by Annah's behavior.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Before we continue on, a bit about being a priest. Priests in D&D 2e function nearly identically to mages, except that their spell lists are different. Unlike mages, priests don't have to "learn" spells; their god or goddess basically allows them to choose whatever they wish. They still have spell slots like mages, but in 2e, priests get bonus spells for a high wisdom (mages do not get bonus spells for a high intelligence in 2e). If you're used to the ridiculous spell list from the Baldur's Gate games, well then you're going to be incredibly disappointed! Fall-from-Grace's spell list is quite small! Priest spells only go to level 6 in this game, and there is a total of four spells that Grace can use between spell levels 4 and 6. The ones below are what she can choose to start out with, popspoilered for space: Click to reveal Quote: Originally Posted by BLESSING (Level 1) Range: 180 feet Duration: 30 seconds Speed: 1 Area of Effect: 50 foot cube (sic) Saving Throw: None A boon to one's companions, granting them strength when they are in need. Bless grants +1 to hit and +1 to saves to all friendly creatures that are in a 50 feet radius from the casting point. "Bless is a great level 1 spell, but we're not level 1 any more. This would be useful if you could cast it right before a fight, but its duration is too short to get much use out of it. I think at the party level that you get Grace at, that you're better off memorizing other spells. I don't know why this spells lists the radius as a 'cube'; perhaps the person writing the game's spell list was thinking ahead to 4th Edition?" - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by CURE LIGHT WOUNDS (Level 1) Range: 0 Duration: Permanent / Instant Speed: 1 Area of Effect: Creature touched Saving Throw: None This spell seals minor wounds on a target. The caster can cast the spell on anyone within touch range, in a 30 ft. area. Cure Light Wounds heals a target for 8 hit points of damage. The creature's restored hit points cannot exceed its maximium hit points. "Given Fall-From-Grace's limited spell list, cure spells (like this one) are generally her go-to for spell slots. Despite the limited amount of healing this does, this spell is no different. As a note, in generally you want to save your healing spells for characters who are not the Nameless One or post-upgrade Dakkon, as they'll naturally regenerate after a rest." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by CURSE (Level 1) Range: 180 feet Duration: 30 seconds Speed: 1 Area of Effect: 50 feet radius Saving Throw: None A bane to one's enemies, weakening them. The opposite of Bless, Curse grants all enemy targets in a 50-ft. radius, -1 to attacks and -1 to their saving throws for 30 seconds. "Bless is better, and I don't recommend it, so I can't recommend this one either." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by DETECT EVIL (Level 1) Range: 0 Duration: 50 seconds + 25 seconds / level (maximium of 5 minutes) Speed: 1 Area of Effect: Caster Saving Throw: None This spell detects evil intent, revealing the inner nature of the target. When cast, this spell detects any evil emanations from creatures within range for 50 seconds + 25 seconds / level of the caster. "The world of Planescape is more often focused on the conflicts between law and chaos than good and evil, so this spell is basically pointless. You generally already *know* who the "evil" characters are anyway, and even if you didn't, it's not like knowing their evil really changes anything. All that really matters in this game (and in Planescape, in general) is what they can do for *you*." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by HALO OF LESSER REVELATION (Level 1) Range: 240 feet Duration: 20 seconds per level Speed: 1 Area of Effect: 10 sq. feet per level within a 40 ft. radius Saving Throw: None Lines a priest's enemies with a halo of light, making them easier to see and be hit. When cast, the player characters selects any target point within range to center the spell on. From there, a glowing, vibrant green glow emits from the center and grows out to a 40 foot radius. All hostile creatures will be surrounded by a glow for the duration of the spell, which bestows a +2 penalty to Armor Class to all affected creature(s). There is no Saving Throw for this spell. This spell can also cause a glow around invisible creatures. "This is actually a half-decent spell, given that it basically makes your front-line fighters (and there is no shortage of front-line fighters) better at what they're trying to do. The secondary effect - detecting invisible enemies - is completely worthless as there are basically no enemies in the game who use invisibility. Regardless, this is a good spell to fire off at the beginning of a big fight." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by PROTECTION FROM EVIL (Level 1) Range: 0 Duration: 10 seconds per level Speed: 1 Area of Effect: 1 creature Saving Throw: None This spell surrounds the caster with a circle of protection that helps protect against attacks by those with evil intent. This spell bestows protection from evil creatures through a magical barrier that surrounds the recipient of the spell. It gives a -2 penalty to attack rolls by evil creatures and bestows a +2 bonus to all saving throws that are caused by such evil attacks for a duration of 10 seconds / level of the caster. "Like Detect Evil, this spell has limited uses. There are a few areas of the game where it's good, but it's not really worth dedicating a spell slot for this spell, given that the duration is nothing special. And the toughest non-boss enemies tend to lean more neutral than evil, so this spell doesn't even do anything against them." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by AID (Level 2) Range: 0 Duration: 10 seconds + 10 seconds per level Speed: 1 Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: None Bolster an allies' courage, giving him added skill and the ability to withstand more damage. Aid Grants +1 to hit and +1 to saves to the target creature, provided that being is not already engaged in combat. The spell also provides 1-8 more hit points for the target creature for the duration of the spell; this spell allows the creature to have more than its ordinary total hit points. These hit points are only temporary, and disappear when the spell ends - however, if the creature loses those hit points to damage, it does not lose additional points when the spell ends. "Aid is an okay spell, but the 1-8 extra hit points is not going to amount to much. I'd rather use Cure Moderate Wounds." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by CURE MODERATE WOUNDS (Level 2) Range: 0 Duration: Permanent / Instant Speed: 2 Area of Effect: Creature touched Saving throw: None This spell seals moderate wounds on a target. When cast, a targeting cursor appears, and the player can cast the spell on anyone within touch range. Cure Moderate Wounds heals a target for 11 hit points of damage. The creature's restored hit points cannot exceed its maximum hit points. "Actually a kind of poor spell, but there are slim pickings at level 2. And curing is always kind of useful." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by SPIRITUAL HAMMER (Level 2) Range: 30 feet per level Duration: Variable (see below) Speed: 1 Area of Effect: 1 Target Saving Throw: 1/2 This spell summons a hammer of spiritual energy to smite your foes. When cast, the caster chooses a target within range. The hammer causes 4-10 points of bludgeoning damage, for every three levels that the caster has, acting as a +1 weapon (+1 to hit and +1 damage), gaining an additional +1 for every six levels of the caster, to a maximum of +3. "This spell sounds useful, but your spell slots are pretty limited, and this spell is not going to win any awards for damage output. Hilariously, the spell description says "see below" for the duration, then doesn't explain it. Editing! The real scoop on this spell is that - unlike its Baldur's Gate counterpart - the weapon only attacks *once.* 4-10 damage that may not even hit for full damage basically means this is a terrible spell." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by CALL LIGHTNING (Level 3) Range: 180 feet Duration: Instant Speed: 3 Area of Effect: 10 feet radius Saving Throw: 1/2 This spell summons nature's fury to strike your foes. The caster can call one bolt of electricity, hurling it down upon her enemies for 2-16 points of electrical damage, plus an additional 1-8 points for every level of the caster. This damage affects every creature within a 10 foot radius of where the bolt crashes down. Area of Effect is 10 feet Radius. A Save vs. Spells results in half-damage. This spell can only be used outdoors. "Now *THIS* is a fine spell. Call Lightning deals mighty damage in a small area-of-effect. The spell can easily do 50+ damage at higher levels. It's biggest problem is aiming it; the spell takes some time to start-up, in which time the enemy can move (and if enemies can see you, they'll certainly make a beeline towards you). Casting it on stationary enemies means they're probably engaged in melee with your friends, and this is not party friendly. With some practice however, you can cast it where the enemies are *going* to be as they rush at you, which is the trick to getting the most out of this spell." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by FLAME WALK (Level 3) Range: 0 Duration: 10 seconds + 10 seconds per level Speed: 3 Area of Effect: Creature(s) touched Saving Throw: None This spell protects the recipient from the effects of flames... for a time. This spell gives a single target +2 on their saving throws against any fire-based attack, and gives all fire-based attacks a multiplier of x.5 for any damage that does succeed in reaching the targets of this spell. "Not a very useful spell. There aren't that many creatures that use fire attacks on you, and in the one instance in this game where this spell would be very helpful, you won't have Grace on hand. Skip it." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by PRAYER (Level 3) Range: 0 (centered on caster) Duration: 5 seconds per level Speed: 1 Area of Effect: 60 feet radius Saving Throw: None This spell aids allies and harms your foes. This spell grants a bonus of +1 to attack, damage, and saving throws to all who are "Friendly" to the priest. Those who are "Hostile" to the caster suffer -1 to attack, damage, and saving throws. It lasts 5 seconds / level in a 60 foot radius. "An okay spell, but it's not going to swing any battle. Go with Call Lightning instead." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by REMOVE CURSE (Level 3) Range: 0 Duration: Instant Speed: 4 Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: None Cursed items shall no longer afflict you when this spell is cast. When cast, this spell removes a curse upon the person targeted. It does not remove the curse from the actual item itself, but it allows the person to successfully unequip and rid themselves of the cursed item. "Situationally useful, but there are so few cursed items in this game. Identical to the Mage version of this spell." - The Editor Quote: Originally Posted by SPEAK WITH DEAD (Level 3) Range: 50 feet Duration: Special Speed: 1 Area of Effect: 1 creature (undead) Saving Throw: None To commune with spirits passed away. This spell allows the Nameless One to initiate a dialogue with a dead body within speaking range. "This is basically a replacement for the Stories-Bones-Tell ability. If you managed to get it, this spell is useless. If you didn't get it, this spell opens up a few minor quests. Not really worth using, especially since getting the Stories-Bones-Tell ability is easy with enough Cranium Rat Charms." - The Editor

Well, good to know that Annah's insults are running off Grace like water. I suppose someone in her situation sees a lot of verbal abuse... and perhaps if the Alu-fiend from earlier is telling the truth, perhaps quite a bit of physical abuse too. The devils don't trust her because she's a demon. The demons don't trust her because she's lived for so long with the devils.

But what of Morte? I suppose I shall have to speak with him too.

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Originally Posted by The Editor As an aside, if you were wondering, you can *kind of* romance either Annah or Grace in this game, although the choice is even less superficial than it is in the Baldur's Gate series. I'll put up a poll at the end, but don't expect fireworks. Getting a girlfriend is not really a focus of this game. The following is one of my favorite conversations in the game:

Grace had asked me not to, but I'm back to feeling pretty good again. I may have create the monster Ignus, but perhaps Morte may be able to be something I truly seem to lack in all of these years.

A friend.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Morte gets a much-needed upgrade: +4 Strength, +2 Dexterity, and +2 Constitution. That's nothing to sneeze at! Okay, a quick vote today; next time we'll be tackling an optional dungeon in order to recruit the sixth member of our party: the Modron named Nordom! I, the Nameless One, find... ... Annah more attractive, due to her fiery temperament and independence (more chaotic) ... Fall-from-Grace, due to her poise and analytical ability to dissect problems (more lawful) ... neither attractive! I ain't got time for a girlfriend! (neutral) See you next update! (hopefully with a smaller gap than between this and the last one).