Let's Play Betrayal At Krondor (COMPLETED)

[Nex]

Before I upload the next set of images, I need your help.

Does Photobucket have a feature for increasing image size?

All I see is a feature for reducing it. Supposedly, you can specify a maximum size, and the image will only be reduced if it is larger than it.

But if most of you are okay with 320 * 200, I can upload and post the next update straight away.

The 320 by 200 size is fine.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Okay, so without wanting to alienate either sides, I'll ensure to give a precise gist of every important conversation, with all the exact specific details.

PNG format images would be heavy at larger resolutions, and there are no PowerToys for format conversion, and that in itself would be quite some work.

Just to hope everyone will be okay with this.

On entering the mine Mac Mordain Cadal, we are greeted by a dwarf called Naddur Ban Dok. He tells us that a massive cave-in has happened within the mines, which has awakened a stone creature called a Brakk Nurr. The reason for this cave-in is that kobolds have started to burrow the mines in their quest to find a dragon that lived in there. They worship the dragon, and insist that it still lies there, although the dwarf alleges that the dragon has long moved out of the mines at some point of time.

These are massive mines, and that refers only to the currently explorable part of it. The dwarfs have blocked certain passages, and it is very much likely there is much more to it much deeper. We might consider coming back here later.

While exploring it, we came across a journal that we put aside in our inventory. It mentions someone called Rhuargh who lived in the lower chambers of the mines, which we can not explore right now.

We take the matter up with Ban Dok himself. He tells us that Rhuargh is that very dragon that the kobolds worship. Rhuargh seems to have had affinity with not just the kobolds, but with the elves as well. Apparently, the elven consort Tomas (the personal male concubine of the elven Queen herself, so to speak) personally witnessed the passing of this dragon, and that there are several chests locked in the elvish language in his lair itself. Ban Dok doesn't really believe Rhuargh passed away.

Hence, this dragon is very much still alive and somewhere else. And possibly a part of enigmatic elven schemes.

Finishing our exploration of Mac Mordain Cadal, we start heading eastward, on the very very long road to Krondor. On the way we stop by the road leading to the mountain passes to the north.

A commander guarding the passes stops us and tells us that the way to the Northlands is blocked by a deep mounds of snow blocking the entire path. It is the result of a snowstorm from several weeks ago.

If the passes to the Northlands have been blocked by deep snow for a fairly long period of time and that nobody is able to cross to or from it, how on earth did so many moredhel manage to set themselves miles away right onto the trails of Locklear and Gorath? This is again further indication that the moredhel have used teleportation to get there, and that the Tsurani are clearly involved in assisting them.

We decide to head further eastward and end up on the road through Eldpoint and Highcastle.

The trip through it is actually quite uneventful. Save for one thing - trolls. Quite alot of them. One wonders why there are so many of them, but either way, we don't have to fight them. Trolls don't like high-pitched sounds and are driven by the sound of tuning forks that the locals happen to keep. We move on, with the twangs of tuning forks driving away masses of trolls as we move along.

We eventually reach the crossroads to Highcastle.

We meet the baron of this keep, who tells us that goblins have been attacking all manner of people who cross the roads north of the keep, ever since a certain bridge that connected them to their home collapsed. The baron asks if we can bring some proof that they were around.

A short walk north of the keep does end up leading to hostile goblins, who die in a skirmish with us.

Apparently, they have a note on them, sent by the moredhel chieftain Delekhan himself. It hints that the goblins are assisting the moredhel. It seems that they are blocking off the routes to Highcastle, just to ensure that the flow of supplies and pay doesn't reach them, so that they can make the troops restless and demoralized. The troll presence is also linked to their activities.

This note seems important, and we take it to the baron. He laughs at it, and says that it is a blatant plant, just for the sake of trying to draw out the troops out of the garrison to engage their forces.

There are only two frontier keeps at the Northlands, Highcastle and Northwarden. Seeing this attempt at distracting the Kingdom's attention to Highcastle, we can now be absolutely certain that the moredhel intend to attack Northwarden, if they ever do.

With this little information ascertained, we move on eastwards, where Locklear says with confidence that the moredhel have been thrown off their trail. They now try to anticipate Delekhan's plans. Because the moredhel know that they are going to Krondor, they are going to keep their one big trap right at their destination. Of course, the moredhel can't be right INSIDE Krondor itself, considering it is the Kingdom's capital. Hence, they would have to hide right outside it, in some household to the northwestern direction.

This is a hint of a possible trap that we would have faced if we managed to survive all the moredhel on the road to Krondor. Perhaps we can either avoid it, or we can draw out their big major ambush and catch them with their pants down anyway. But that will be there for much later.

However, instead of continuing to go eastward, I considered a brief and quick foray into the Dimwood forest, just to explore the area and find some big fat loot. On my way there, I faced two big hostile moredhel parties on the way south.

And there seem to be more moredhel down south, all the way to just outside Sethanon. This really perturbs Owyn and Gorath, and they know that there is a specific purpose behind these warriors. One wonders why they are stationed near the old battlefield of Sethanon where many moredhel were once killed. What do they expect to find in a dead city?

It's time we went back to the eastern road. On our way, we come across an abandoned farmhouse. The barn animals are all slaughtered and the residents nowhere to be found. Trolls are responsible, and it hints towards certain enemy activities near Northwarden.

Indeed, talking to some of the residents near Northwarden, the men of the area are away fighting enemies further up north of Northwarden. Enemy skirmishes are getting frequent there.

We check up on Northwarden, but currently the garrisons are all away fighting. Even the baron is nowhere to be found, and the Great Halls of the place are quite empty.

It is at this point that we decide to start moving down south, having reached the absolute eastern territory. We find ourselves near the pleasant town of Kenting Rush. Pleasant, save for the rather grim temple to Kahooli, the god of revenge, in the vicinity of this town.

In this very town, there is a strange well here. It contains a cache locked by a virtue key that is used to unlock the chastity belts of young women. Since the local keymasters sell all sorts of keys, we buy one of these generic virtue keys, and unlock it. Strangely enough, it contains a knight's piece from a chessboard.

How queer. We move further south, to reach a place called Cavall Keep.

The first person we decide to meet is Count Corvalis, who happens to be the uncle of Owyn himself. He hates his teenage nephew, who'd rather live as a conjuring sorcerer than a noble aristocrat. We find out that he is staying here, because his manor burnt down completely. He ordered the stones of the foundations to be left as they are, and the tunnel to its underground basement to be sealed by those stones.

Just walking across the street, we decide to go into the bar, and talk to the bartender about Count Corvalis. Apparently he is a secretive chap who keeps to himself.

Well, that's that for Cavall Keep. We leave the place. However, we make sure to do one thing first. There is a spell in this game called Eyes of Ishap, which tells you the location of objects within the large vicinity of the characters. And we end up finding a little chest hidden behind a hill.

It contains a note regarding Count Corvalis' petition to have a fellow by the name of Navon Du Sandou to be driven mad. It is petitioned to the priests of Kahooli, god of revenge, and apparently this Corvalis resents this Du Sandou fellow.

Well, why don't we take this up with the Count himself? Apparently, this Du Sandou fellow is a suitor for his daughter, but keeps pestering them with incessant questions about the tunnels underneath the manor and all the family tales about their old place. It makes the Count very hurtful and sensitive to hear of these things.

The Count is lying. This idea that he wants a man driven mad with age simply because he hurts his feelings is so ridiculous, you know something is up. He does not like the fact that he is asking about the tunnels underneath his house, tunnels which he especially made sure to seal with stones and block away. There is something at those tunnels which are of great importance and they must be investigated right away.

NO ONE IS TO BE TRUSTED IN THIS GAME.

First off, we visit the place of the old manor. It's all rocks, and there is no hint of any entrance to it at all.

Well, we move on for now. It is at this point, we notice something further south.

And lo, we discover a huge waterfall. Apparently, there is some sort of entrance right behind the waterfall. The door is locked, but next to it, there is a niche, with a chessboard on it. It seems to be a mechanism for opening the place, which can be done with...

THE KNIGHT'S PIECE!

And by gods, we end up in a massive dungeon. It is huge, even moreso than the upper level of Mac Mordain Cadal.

And we come across another journal in our exploration of this place. It is written by an Abbot who was exploring Elvandar with an elven friend to find the sword called the Guarda Revanche. The sword is cursed, and it was broken into a hilt called the Gaeda which was sealed in an elven chest called GLAMREDHEL. Someone in these tunnels was hiding this journal that hints towards a powerful ancient sword.

Moving further into this place, we find a dead-end. it seems to be a stairway leading outside, and we intended to walk out of it.

But it seems to be...

SEALED BY ROCKS?

By gods, this is the tunnels of Cavall Keep itself. And it is hiding an old journal on an ancient sword.

To be continued...


WHAT WE HAVE GATHERED SO FAR -
- An ancient dragon Rhuargh is possibly at large through the lands, and only a high elven warlord knows something of it.
- The passes to the Northlands are blocked and yet the moredhel managed to cross beyond it in a short period of time, confirming the possibility of them being teleported across the Kingdom with Tsurani assistance.
- Moredhel are nibbling at both Highcastle and Northwarden, but through their mindgames, Northwarden definitely seems to be their long-term priority for a major siege.
- Moredhel also have a major presence in southern Dimwood, close to Sethanon, hinting at their interest in finding, or protecting something there.
- Count Corvalis has a feud with a Navon Du Sandou fellow, and has a giant run of tunnels underneath his burnt manor, that extend all the way through a waterfall.
- There is ancient sword called the Guarda Revanche which is of interest to certain parties.

 

[Major_Boobage]

Nice Wyrmie.

could you make it a bit bigger though, because i can hardly read it on my 24inch tft.

 

[Stereotypical Villain]

I concur with Tool, and then some.

 

[Annie Mitsoda]

Amazing playthrough. MAN I miss this game... my cousins owned it, not me (my PC couldn't run it, back in the day), and in the time I stayed with them one summer we played that bitch just about NONSTOP. Definitely a quality title.

And actually, the town layout (pretty picture that you click on to travel to different areas) was something we were hoping to do for SoZ, but didn't have the time or resources for. (I also suggested a Fallout-style map, but that worked ONLY up until Neverwinter, which doesn't allow maps of the city to be drawn. D'oh!)

Keep it up! :D

 

[Wyrmlord]

You guys had some amazing ideas for SoZ, didn't you?

Man, if you were given the chance to make it with a fresh engine and more resources, I wonder what would have come out of it.

 

[Helton]

Annie I'm pretty sure BaK is freeware and if its not...

 

[Rohit_N]

Yes, the game is freeware.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Yes, Sierra made it freeware, because they wanted to promote Betrayal At Antara.

 

[Annie Mitsoda]

Awesome. I'm going to beat Phantasie, then get this. And the great saga of me beating the games that I didn't in my childhood will CONTINUE! Gleeee!

...In the meantime, though, I'm going to enjoy the hell out of this LP.

And yeah, SoZ had so much we wanted to do with it - myself in particular. But again, eventual mod. I promise.

 

[garren]

I've played through this game twice and you know how I always beat the first chapter? That's right, I went straight through the bloody south road from the beginning to krondor. No wonder I was having a hard time with some of those numerous fights that occurred. /facepalm

But at least the game doesn't force you to take a specific path, so if you wish, you can take the wise and longer path or the short and dangerous path

 

[Wyrmlord]

Eh, most of us would have taken the south road to Krondor on the first playthrough, including me, but I should tell you that the longer road means fewer fights that are albeit much harder than those on the south road.

All the same, the longer road allows you to explore more, level skills more, and get better equipment. When I went into the runs under Cavall Keep, I had Locklear incessantly start picking a really hard lock, and soon, he had 87 % Lockpick skill. I love use-based systems.

However, whether you take the long road or the short road, one should never be in the rush to finish the first chapter, and must always explore around the world fully. Especially since later chapters will have funnel points that prevent exploration. It would be missing out alot in terms of both equipment and character building as well entire plotlines in the game. I am amazed by how superficial my first playthrough was, compared to later ones.

 

[Hory]

Lulz, does this game have more text than Torment?

 

[Wyrmlord]

Lulz, does this game have more text than Torment?

Yes.

It's crazy to think it would even have been possible.

Ironically, it's makes Torment likeable for having more visuals. Torment was atleast as much as visual game as it was a textual game.

Betrayal At Krondor is so minimalist that text descriptions are a subsitute for entire places, people, and situations in the game. Full page writings are there for even generic characters like a simple elementary school teacher teaching small children at her house. Cool things happen in this game, but they are all limited to words and paragraphs. Sometimes, you want more.

If only the game showed you how Nago confronts Gorath at the barn, how Delekhan tears Narab's face with his spiked gauntlets, and how otherworldly the Bishop at Sarth looks with his dark skin and flowing white beard and white robes.

All the same, what does impress me is that even as a book-game hybrid, especially with the emphasis on 'book', Betrayal At Krondor is made as a freeroaming open world game rather than a simple linear narrative. To think that Raymond Feist understood games so well, that he knew of open world games and their potential for narrative. Rare that an established author is an avid gamer.

 

[flushfire]

but does it have more text than lionheart?

man this brings back memories. it made me dig up the cd. in the north the moredhel are vicious to a man... best game music ever.

 

[Wyrmlord]

but does it have more text than lionheart?

man this brings back memories. it made me dig up the cd. in the north the moredhel are vicious to a man... best game music ever.

Does the CD also have the song that Owyn sings at taverns?

 

[flushfire]

but does it have more text than lionheart?

man this brings back memories. it made me dig up the cd. in the north the moredhel are vicious to a man... best game music ever.

Does the CD also have the song that Owyn sings at taverns?

if i remember the song correctly yes. the CD version had redbook audio so everytime something plays it read from the CD. the 'broken' version of the song is also there, the one that is played if you dont have a lot of skill.

 

[Suchy]

Awesome. I'm going to beat Phantasie, then get this. And the great saga of me beating the games that I didn't in my childhood will CONTINUE! Gleeee!

...In the meantime, though, I'm going to enjoy the hell out of this LP.

And yeah, SoZ had so much we wanted to do with it - myself in particular. But again, eventual mod. I promise.

Afterwards give a try to Return to Krondor. Also very good game.

 

[Andhaira]

Yeah definately try return to krondor. Also play betrayal at antara, also a good game (though a bitch to run on modern machines)

 

[RK47]

The amount of side content that most players without any sense of adventure and willingness to go out of their way would miss puts most modern RPGs to shame. And the word lock riddles was witty.

Excellent playthrough. I wish there's a modern remake in this vein of gameplay.

 

[Wyrmlord]

The amount of side content that most players without any sense of adventure and willingness to go out of their way would miss puts most modern RPGs to shame. And the word lock riddles was witty.

Excellent playthrough. I wish there's a modern remake in this vein of gameplay.

Yeah, much of the real story only seems to be buried under all this side content. And much of what happens is hinted early on as well.

By the way guys, a new batch of JPG images 640 * 400 in size are on their way, and they all look exactly as they do inside the DOSBox window on the computer.

It is a big update of nearly 300 screenshots, and is 13 MB in total. May take a while for all of it to get uploaded (perhaps 20 minutes) and to do the write up and update for it usually takes me an hour to write on shorter updates, so it will be a bit of work, but I am excited enough to show what happens right now.

 

[Major_Boobage]

By the way guys, a new batch of JPG images 640 * 400 in size are on their way, and

 

[garren]

Can't wait

 

[ghostdog]

What's the deal with the CD version of BAK? the image is ~650 MB and if you open it , it's about 80 MB and half of it is Feist's interview. Does the CD version have any speech , or it just offers better quality music?

 

[Wyrmlord]

What's the deal with the CD version of BAK? the image is ~650 MB and if you open it , it's about 80 MB and half of it is Feist's interview. Does the CD version have any speech , or it just offers better quality music?

BaK was a 5MB zip for me, man.