-
Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.
"This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.
Completed Let's play Realms of Arkania: Star Trail HD - Part 71: Phex Temple 15 - WTF Ending
- Thread starter Eriador
- Start date
Eriador
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 423
Game Beaten (sans Phex Temple)
Jesus, that was hard.
Temple of the Nameless was full of random encounters featuring evil druids and cultists spamming spells like Mad Dance and Horriphobus, meaning they've turned the cheesy tactics against us :D Apart from cultists and evil druids, there were also skeleton warriors, who had high resistance against axes, swords, spears, arrows... yeah, Boreale and others did pretty negligible damage, so I had to spam Chain and Manacle. Also, every fight had reinforcements...
Also, the dragon was immune to Chain and Manacle and other spells like that, so we couldn't cheese the fight. And nobody except the Warrior could equip that "dragon killing" spear. And the warrior had pretty much 0 skill in spears, unlike Helly and Grimgravy, who were awesome with spears. So I've eventually replaced everyone except Boreale with FULMINICTUS! spamming magician versions of themselves and had Boreale tank. He didn't last very long in that fight before he was knocked out, but hey, he did manage to survive all the way through!
The original versions of Helly, Reinhardt and Grimgravy starved to death while I was trying to recharge Azira's astral energy before I've decided to just go the FULMINICTUS! route, so I'm not sure if I should include them on the list of fallen companions.
The magician version of Helly got the last hit on that dragon.
It might have been because we were underleved and had poor equipment, but I think that even if we were level 9, it would still be really hard. Half of the fights, I had to flee, because the druids incapacitated half of the party with Mad Dance...
If they ever make Shadows over Riva HD, I guess I'll think about LPing that too and import Boreale into that game :D
And maybe the warrior version of Morkar too...
I'm gonna be busy this week, but I should be able to post the updates sometime during the weekend.
Jesus, that was hard.
Temple of the Nameless was full of random encounters featuring evil druids and cultists spamming spells like Mad Dance and Horriphobus, meaning they've turned the cheesy tactics against us :D Apart from cultists and evil druids, there were also skeleton warriors, who had high resistance against axes, swords, spears, arrows... yeah, Boreale and others did pretty negligible damage, so I had to spam Chain and Manacle. Also, every fight had reinforcements...
Also, the dragon was immune to Chain and Manacle and other spells like that, so we couldn't cheese the fight. And nobody except the Warrior could equip that "dragon killing" spear. And the warrior had pretty much 0 skill in spears, unlike Helly and Grimgravy, who were awesome with spears. So I've eventually replaced everyone except Boreale with FULMINICTUS! spamming magician versions of themselves and had Boreale tank. He didn't last very long in that fight before he was knocked out, but hey, he did manage to survive all the way through!
The original versions of Helly, Reinhardt and Grimgravy starved to death while I was trying to recharge Azira's astral energy before I've decided to just go the FULMINICTUS! route, so I'm not sure if I should include them on the list of fallen companions.
The magician version of Helly got the last hit on that dragon.
It might have been because we were underleved and had poor equipment, but I think that even if we were level 9, it would still be really hard. Half of the fights, I had to flee, because the druids incapacitated half of the party with Mad Dance...
If they ever make Shadows over Riva HD, I guess I'll think about LPing that too and import Boreale into that game :D
And maybe the warrior version of Morkar too...
I'm gonna be busy this week, but I should be able to post the updates sometime during the weekend.
Last edited:
The End. 
Eriador
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 423
Part 43: Blood Pinnacle 6 - FINALLY!
Inside the kitchen, we find a woefully inadequate supply of food.
Well, atleast this cauldron of stew fills everyone's hunger meter, but only once.
For some reason, it doesn't also fill their thirst meter.
Here's the well in the kitchen area, which provides an endless supply of water. Would've been nice to have access to this earlier, but well, we've managed. Food, water and sleep are for the weak.
Also, whenever we actually rest, this message pops up, further supporting my theory that Praiodan is an undead monstrosity that feeds on our suffering.
There's a window you can gol through into this hidden area.
It leads to the lowest level.
There's a couple of secret walls that require keys on the lowest level (and also a couple more of those arrow traps), but none of our keys fit.
To leave the area, we can go through the illusory wall that leads to the shaman's room. We can take the cooper disk, but everytime we try to take the hand, we take damage.
Turns out that the exit was here the whole time, behind an illusory wall. In the background, you can see that "somersault" lever.
I've had enough of this place for 2 lifetimes.
Inside the kitchen, we find a woefully inadequate supply of food.
Well, atleast this cauldron of stew fills everyone's hunger meter, but only once.
For some reason, it doesn't also fill their thirst meter.
Here's the well in the kitchen area, which provides an endless supply of water. Would've been nice to have access to this earlier, but well, we've managed. Food, water and sleep are for the weak.
Also, whenever we actually rest, this message pops up, further supporting my theory that Praiodan is an undead monstrosity that feeds on our suffering.
There's a window you can gol through into this hidden area.
It leads to the lowest level.
There's a couple of secret walls that require keys on the lowest level (and also a couple more of those arrow traps), but none of our keys fit.
To leave the area, we can go through the illusory wall that leads to the shaman's room. We can take the cooper disk, but everytime we try to take the hand, we take damage.
Turns out that the exit was here the whole time, behind an illusory wall. In the background, you can see that "somersault" lever.
I've had enough of this place for 2 lifetimes.
Eriador
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 423
Part 44: Tiefhusen Preview
We go north, to Tiefhusen.
But first, we make a brief stop at Sibra to pick up our new companions. This is Azira, who finally resolved her identity crisis and is now fully embracing her identity as a Domination focused mage. Azira is very good at banning people, although still not as good as Grimgravy.
And this is Reinhardt v4.0, the newest in the line of Reinhardt party members.
Also, despite the fact that he is an undead monstrosity that feeds on our suffering, Praiodan can still catch diseases.
This is Tiefhusen. The city has been conquered by the orcs, so there's a lot of them patroling the city.
The citizens here only confirm what we already knew, we must go to Tjolmar to finish the main quest.
Also, this is the traditional Teifhusen dish. Our characters are bigots and don't appreciate the local cuisune.
Their architecture also leaves a lot to be desired.
Asking about Star Trail leads us to Jandor.
Poor kitty
Well, we don't want any problems, even though I'm not sure what this is about?
Hell no! It appears we have no other choice and I sure as hell am not gonna be blackmailed.
...20 guards were hidden behind a nearby building? Oh my :D Well, if Morkar wasn't a warrior, he would totally be unconcious right now, as he only has 5 Life Energy after that beating.
Apparently, he and the town guard run a con together.
Since the newest patch, we can now pickpocket in stores. It's even more profitable then acrobatics, duing one attempt I got 30 silver.
If you fail, you lose some money and can't enter that store again.
Next, we find Jandor.
He keeps rambling about inane stuff all the time and to keep him on track, you have to keep asking him about Star Trail. He has a LOT of dialogue.
Eventually, he tells us that the best place to look for Star Trail would be the Phex temple in town (which is closed) and to get inside, we need to ask this Hensger guy.
Racists! Orcs are people too, let's defend him!
Uh oh...
What, not even a reward? Stupid orcs...
Look, an actual fountain! Man, I thought they were a myth!
There's also this castle, but we can't go inside.
That red-haired guy under the tree in the distance is Henserger, who will get us inside the Phex temple for 20 Ducats. And by "get us inside", I mean "lock us in its cellar". I've tried to go through it and wasn't very successful, so we'll go to Tjolmar and finish the game.
Also, Grimgravy still suffers from Claustophobia even while outdoors. Poor guy never fully recovered from the Blood Pinnacle.
We go north, to Tiefhusen.
But first, we make a brief stop at Sibra to pick up our new companions. This is Azira, who finally resolved her identity crisis and is now fully embracing her identity as a Domination focused mage. Azira is very good at banning people, although still not as good as Grimgravy.
And this is Reinhardt v4.0, the newest in the line of Reinhardt party members.
Also, despite the fact that he is an undead monstrosity that feeds on our suffering, Praiodan can still catch diseases.
This is Tiefhusen. The city has been conquered by the orcs, so there's a lot of them patroling the city.
The citizens here only confirm what we already knew, we must go to Tjolmar to finish the main quest.
Also, this is the traditional Teifhusen dish. Our characters are bigots and don't appreciate the local cuisune.
Their architecture also leaves a lot to be desired.
Asking about Star Trail leads us to Jandor.
Poor kitty
Well, we don't want any problems, even though I'm not sure what this is about?
Hell no! It appears we have no other choice and I sure as hell am not gonna be blackmailed.
...20 guards were hidden behind a nearby building? Oh my :D Well, if Morkar wasn't a warrior, he would totally be unconcious right now, as he only has 5 Life Energy after that beating.
Apparently, he and the town guard run a con together.
Since the newest patch, we can now pickpocket in stores. It's even more profitable then acrobatics, duing one attempt I got 30 silver.
If you fail, you lose some money and can't enter that store again.
Next, we find Jandor.
He keeps rambling about inane stuff all the time and to keep him on track, you have to keep asking him about Star Trail. He has a LOT of dialogue.
Eventually, he tells us that the best place to look for Star Trail would be the Phex temple in town (which is closed) and to get inside, we need to ask this Hensger guy.
Racists! Orcs are people too, let's defend him!
Uh oh...
What, not even a reward? Stupid orcs...
Look, an actual fountain! Man, I thought they were a myth!
There's also this castle, but we can't go inside.
That red-haired guy under the tree in the distance is Henserger, who will get us inside the Phex temple for 20 Ducats. And by "get us inside", I mean "lock us in its cellar". I've tried to go through it and wasn't very successful, so we'll go to Tjolmar and finish the game.
Also, Grimgravy still suffers from Claustophobia even while outdoors. Poor guy never fully recovered from the Blood Pinnacle.
Eriador
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 423
Part 45: Temple of the Nameless 1 - Dankest Cellar
This is Hilvalla. A tiny and unimportant village.
This is Norhus. A slightly larger and more important town.
This is Tjolmar. It's still pretty small, but most of the services are available here.
A visit to the temple of Rahja reveals that we are indeed in the right place.
Since the town is pretty small, it's pretty easy to find Ingramosch's house.
Well, I think it's obvious what we have to do.
The house is guarded by blond rogue triples and dwarven twins.
They are trivial compared to the horrors we encounter below.
Nice place he has here. And it also has a very large cellar, which is inhabited by around 100 cultists and evil druids, hordes of undead and spiders and a freaking DRAGON!
This document we got from the fight tells us which paintings to activate and in which order. There's 5 of them inside, with the one closest to the entrance being number 1.
Here we go!
You can actually return to Tjolmar without any problems, since the wall opens again when you get near it, but with this game loving its death-trap dungeons, I though this was another case where we can't return to town to resupply. I discover my error after I fail to defeat the final boss a dozen times.
Well, so it starts. The beginning of the end.
This is Hilvalla. A tiny and unimportant village.
This is Norhus. A slightly larger and more important town.
This is Tjolmar. It's still pretty small, but most of the services are available here.
A visit to the temple of Rahja reveals that we are indeed in the right place.
Since the town is pretty small, it's pretty easy to find Ingramosch's house.
Well, I think it's obvious what we have to do.
The house is guarded by blond rogue triples and dwarven twins.
They are trivial compared to the horrors we encounter below.
Nice place he has here. And it also has a very large cellar, which is inhabited by around 100 cultists and evil druids, hordes of undead and spiders and a freaking DRAGON!
This document we got from the fight tells us which paintings to activate and in which order. There's 5 of them inside, with the one closest to the entrance being number 1.
Here we go!
You can actually return to Tjolmar without any problems, since the wall opens again when you get near it, but with this game loving its death-trap dungeons, I though this was another case where we can't return to town to resupply. I discover my error after I fail to defeat the final boss a dozen times.
Well, so it starts. The beginning of the end.
Also, is it just me or do characters in this game get parched etc extra fast 
Eriador
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 423
It's because I keep treating their wounds after every battle and meditation, which means that approximately 6 hours pass after every battle. Then again, if I didn't do that, we would have a much harder time and more casualties.
Also, we didn't have waterskins, since those orcs took them, so no way to store water.
Also, we didn't have waterskins, since those orcs took them, so no way to store water.
Last edited:
Eriador
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 423
This game is hardcore compared to Blade of Destiny HD. That one was a cakewalk compared to this and it doesn't help that this game seems to love taking away your stuff and locking you inside the dungeon with no way back. After the third time, it loses its novelty and just becomes annoying.
Not to mention that 50% of the plot is us trying to recover the magical D20 after we lose it for the Nth time.
Not to mention that 50% of the plot is us trying to recover the magical D20 after we lose it for the Nth time.
Yeah I think the only game I really enjoyed with similar playstyle was BaK. Star Trail overland travel was interesting travel but the constant 'jerk DM" attitude pissed me off. Especially without the HD 'Insert new Char at lvl 5' mode.
I thought Blade of Destiny (not HD) really sucked, and so didn't bother with Star Trail. Something tells me it was the correct decision 
Eriador
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 423
I've heard that this one is many people's favorite out of the three and so far, I really don't see why. I guess it had more to do with gameplay improvements over the original Blade of Destiny or something, which is hard to appreciate in a remake. Or maybe they are more hardcore then me and see the constant "Jerk DM" behavior as a challenge.
Tbh, I think I actually prefer the Blade of Destiny main quest. That one was basically "Collect 8 Star Maps", but it was pretty freeform, allowing you to explore as much as you want and there weren't any jerkass LARPers running around, stealing them and your stuff.
I did play Shadows over Riva WAAAAY back (didn't finish it) and I remember really liking that one, but from what I remember, that one didn't have overland travel.
Eriador
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 423
Part 46: TOTN 2 - Troll In The Dungeons!
After a while, we enter this room and a gate closes behind us, blocking the way back.
Not for long though.
Someone has to stick their fingers into those holes and hold them there. It depends on Dexterity, we choose Reinhardt.
While Reinhardt is holding those fingers in those holes, we split the party and Boreale alone goes to lift the gate.
There, now we can go back again!
The only other thing of note here is this tiny christmas tree.
Reinhardt gets poisoned by Paralysis venom.
Helly has the highest Dexterity, so he is a natural choice.
Still need one more of these.
Treat Poison still doesn't seem to work, so Azira has to heal Reinhardt with Clarum Purum.
These are all over the place.
All they do is trigger random encounters, but even without them, you will eventually get sick of cultist fights.
You can choose to leave them alone, but every once in a while, someone with high curiosity decides to be a dick and strike them anyway.
Behind this cloud of black smoke, there's a pathway to the next level, but we can't enter, because if we do, our party gets scattered across the entire first floor.
Also, Reinhardt decides to feed this poor little troll.
OMG GUYZ, THIZ GAEM SUCKZ, COZ NO QUEST COMPASS, LOOT PROGRESSION OR DPS WIZARDS! AND YOU GAIN SHIT XP FROM COMBAT AND HAVE TO CAMP CONSTANTLY WHILE TRAVELLING!
(There's actually a post on reddit that bashes this game for these very things, although he actually does have a couple more reasonable points)
The troll trolls Azira pretty hard, but Grimgravy is on the case and promptly bans him.
Turns out, Praiodan is actually a pretty good healer.
After a while, we enter this room and a gate closes behind us, blocking the way back.
Not for long though.
Someone has to stick their fingers into those holes and hold them there. It depends on Dexterity, we choose Reinhardt.
While Reinhardt is holding those fingers in those holes, we split the party and Boreale alone goes to lift the gate.
There, now we can go back again!
The only other thing of note here is this tiny christmas tree.
Reinhardt gets poisoned by Paralysis venom.
Helly has the highest Dexterity, so he is a natural choice.
Still need one more of these.
Treat Poison still doesn't seem to work, so Azira has to heal Reinhardt with Clarum Purum.
These are all over the place.
All they do is trigger random encounters, but even without them, you will eventually get sick of cultist fights.
You can choose to leave them alone, but every once in a while, someone with high curiosity decides to be a dick and strike them anyway.
Behind this cloud of black smoke, there's a pathway to the next level, but we can't enter, because if we do, our party gets scattered across the entire first floor.
Also, Reinhardt decides to feed this poor little troll.
OMG GUYZ, THIZ GAEM SUCKZ, COZ NO QUEST COMPASS, LOOT PROGRESSION OR DPS WIZARDS! AND YOU GAIN SHIT XP FROM COMBAT AND HAVE TO CAMP CONSTANTLY WHILE TRAVELLING!
(There's actually a post on reddit that bashes this game for these very things, although he actually does have a couple more reasonable points)
The troll trolls Azira pretty hard, but Grimgravy is on the case and promptly bans him.
Turns out, Praiodan is actually a pretty good healer.
dafuk
Eriador
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 423
dafuk
Care to explain what's so exciting about this particular picture? :D
That shit in the background looks completely out of place?
Eriador
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 423
Oh, right. Well, I just spent several hours looking at it, so I'm pretty much used to it by now. Tbh, the whole place is a strange mix of a cave, ancient temple and dungeons with classical cobblestone walls. And there's some horrible view distance, things that are far away are obscured by some strange brown fog.
As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.