Our current mission is to find a caravan, last seen on the road to the east. We need to do this because we're railroaded into joining the local warlord's expedition to Kuldahar, and due to magical plot logistics, the expedition will never leave until you find the caravan.
We also just got animate dead, the earliest summoning spell we can get. Summons are an amazing weapon in Heart of Fury, because the HoF megabuffs affect them, too. They don't get the double damage effects that enemy creatures get at max difficulty, but other than that, they're just as ridiculous as everyone else. Animate Dead lets us summon skeletons and zombies, i.e. the weakest undead there are. They don't do a ton of damage--right now, all six of them wailing on a single target will do only slightly more than the fully buffed Sufferer will--but they can tank a LOT better than he can. Plus, we don't care if they die.
This is a massive power jump for us; we're now able to handle some entire encounters without resting. Off we go!
We immediately run into three wolves! Shit! I consider running, but instead decide to try out the gifts of the Lord Ilmater. COME TO YOUR MASTER, LEGIONS OF THE UNDERWORLD.
The undead make short work of foes that terrified us yesterday. They tank, the Sufferer spanks; it's not strategically exciting, but it gets the job done.
With this natural antechamber cleared, we rest, buff, and commence our assault on the cave when we wake. Orcs greet us when we enter. I summon some undead and manage to clear the entryway.
WAAAAAAGH!
There are two large groups of boyz in this cave. We've run into the first.
Our righteous servants are being cut down by the orc. The battle is turning against us. We'd like to withdraw before we get stuck in.
We're doing a lot of retreating in this LP, so it's worth articulating IWD's kinda weird AI mechanics for this:
1) Enemies can be aggroed by either coming within sight of them or by hearing another aggroed enemy "shout." (Notifies all enemies within a certain group to become active.)
2) Once aggroed, enemies become relentless bloodhounds. You can try to run, but they will pursue you until you leave the area. If they are near an area exit when you leave, they can sometimes follow you, depending on the area. Key point: if you ever reenter an area where you have left aggroed enemies, they will still be aggroed. If it's been long enough (24 hours, I think?) they will reset to their original position on the map, but they will know when you reenter and will immediately start moving toward you.
3) The player can't rest if he is either targeted by an enemy, or if an enemy is in his sight. (His sight, not the enemy's sight, I believe. If you're blinded, the radius is much smaller. This is definitely the case for thieves and rangers' stealth abilities.)
Anyway, I fall back. The enemy continues fighting the last remnant of my soldiers. I rest outside, rebuff, and enter. The enemy immediately starts charging toward my position, but I raise new servitors before they can arrive:
And so they attack them rather than me. As you can see, I got lucky here and raised 6 undead with a single cast; this allows me to purge the remnants of the orcish horde.
I move into the cave, loot a protection from petrification scroll from the chest, and immediately copy it. Oddly enough, this is an essential step for my cunning plan.
I mop all remaining orcs in the cave prior to the second major group. With the undead to tank for me, it's very straightforward. I manage to pick up a meh-tier crappy ring here. (It gives -2 to spell saves; failing a save will usually mean death in this playthrough, so anything that helps is welcome, but there was a chance for a ring of protection to spawn here. Oh well!)
Pictured here is me fucking up and almost dying! I accidentally made myself a target, and the undead behind me kept me from retreating. I did manage to escape, but, two valuable lessons here: first, even when applying a relatively brain dead strat against brain dead opponents, the tankiness of your opponents is so high, and the margin for error is so small, that it's still easy to fuck up. Second, and more specifically, IWD generally believes that open spaces are for jerks, and some parts of the map that look like they should be passable aren't. It is EXTREMELY possible to be swarmed and surrounded if you aren't careful, as would have happened to me here if there had been more orcs. This is usually Bad News; at higher levels and better armor classes, it's possible to survive, but it's usually better to avoid that situation. (Or, if impossible, have a Dimension Door spell prepared so that you can blink out.
Anyway, I rest and prepare for the mighty battle to come. Then I send a lone skeleton forward to aggro the remaining orcs in the cave.
This is the last battlegroup. There are around ten orcs and four ogres. The ogres are the biggest problem; these guys hit HARD. They can take off about 30 HP with one swing. They're also pretty accurate versus our -1 AC. What this means is that if the Sufferer gets hit once, he should probably consider the battle lost, which in turn means that I should probably not try to fight if the ogre attacks me at all.
Anyway, I focus on the orcs first, since the ogres are tankier; this was probably not a smart move, since the ogres can mow through my undead legion pretty quickly!
The first skirmish is lost, so I fall back, leaving a few brave soldiers to sacrifice themselves for my retreat. They will forever be remembered as the Sufferer's fines--wait, no, this is a guy who forgets spells literally seconds after casting them. They'll be remembered for about two minutes.
I rest and re-raise my army.
The second skirmish isn't going well here. I was thinking that having my minions fight at a choke point was a good idea, but unlucky rolls meant that we didn't make much headway before two of their ogres found their way around. I'll need to fall back again soon or risk getting surrounded. I try to down one of the ogres before his bros move in from the north, but it's no use.
I retreat to the mouth of the cave and try again. This time, an ogre wanders in alone to fight me. It's easy to focus him down before the rest of the boyz show up.
Unfortunately, an ogre decides to run past my minions and attack me, showing more intelligence than I'd counted on. I'm in the danger zone and need to GTFO. Farewell, my loyal servants. You've had some practice: die well.
I rest, rebuff, reraise, and return. This time I manage to get a few pick-offs, and the battle is mine. The cave is clear; one of the ogres had a contract on a body, so we can bring the bad news to his friend back in Easthaven for some XP. Turns out that this guy is the father of the communist kid on the bridge, so the Sufferer lectures him on the importance of leashing one's children while he's there.
We then go to tell local warlord Hrothgar that the caravan has been found. While we're in his house, politely cleaning his belongings (specifically, cleaning them of the wretched taint of his ownership), we notice this:
Turns out this guy hates fun. The Sufferer sees him in a new light, not just as a xenophobic dick, but as a kindred spirit. He looks forward to the strong friendship that they will undoubtedly develop together while collaborating over the next few months!
Anyway, Hrothgar is the gatekeeper for the main plot. He asks us to find the caravan; we tell him already did; he responds by telling us we can now leave on his expedition--you know, the one we never agreed to join. But, railroading. Anyway, we deliver a final note to Pomab the shopkeeper, which provides further supporting evidence to the notion that both he and Hrothgar are kind of assholes; we rest (this is important!), and then we're off.
Pictured: the end of the expedition. I couldn't screenshot it, but there was a cutscene explaining that giants rolled down boulders and caused an avalanche while we were going through the mountain pass to Kuldahar. Everyone but the Sufferer died horribly. The Sufferer is understandably very upset about the deaths of his two best friends, Hrothgar the Sassy Note-Leaver and Hildreth the Dwarf He Insulted That One Time. He demands of Ilmater how he could allow this cruelty to come to pass, which, let's face it, is a pretty dumb question to ask of a God of Suffering. Wisdom 14 leaves a lot to be desired, I guess. Wwhile we are weeping and declaring the death of god, a hermit comes out to exposit at us:
The Sufferer's such a fucking pessimist. I've always been more of a "half the damn mountain DIDN't just fall on top of our expedition" kind of guy, myself.
Anyway, take a close look at this screen. Before I started this LP, I was thinking of just DOING an ironman run; this is what convinced me I needed the pressure of failing before an audience to actually make it through. This is where the Sufferer's predecessor met his end. See, the moment you spawn here, you hear the characteristic goblin battlecry. There are 7-8 of them immediately to the east of your current position. There's an avalanche to your west, the bridge is a narrow choke point, and the west side of the bridge is less passable than it looks. Remember how I said that getting swarmed was both very possible and bad news? Getting swarmed was bad news. I had foolishly assumed that my original PC would have slept at some point during his long journey to Kuldahar and rememorized spells, but apparently not.
The Sufferer's going to be more cautious.
When he crosses the bridge, he does so with an army. It takes most of their strength to beat the goblins.
So, interesting mechanic in IWD EE that I don't think was in IWD: there's a level 1 Priest spell called Sanctuary, which is intended to make it impossible for all but the most powerful enemies to attack you. IWD had a weird bug whereby enemies could not attack a sanctuaried PC, but could follow him around. (So that he'd be surrounded when the spell ran out.) Also, the scripts of spellcasters or enemies with special abilities did not respect sanctuary, so they could cast those anyway.
It looks like IWD EE actually fixed this. I'm cautious of relying on this when the Sufferer starts to run into spellcasters, but this is encouraging news. Anyway, this means I make it to Kuldahar without incident.
Kuldahar's going to be our base for the rest of the game, barring HoW content. It's big and annoying. The entire town is built around an impossibly huge tree, which is a nice idea, but it makes getting around overly tedious. I'm not going to show everything I did here. The first thing I do is head to Orrick the Grey, the local magic shopkeeper. He's a horrible dick who would literally rather hang out in his tower (of indeterminate ivoriness) while the world around him burns, but he does have some cool items. I was going to buy a bag of holding from him, but he wants 12K for it, and that seems steep.
The Sufferer discovers that there's a guy named Arundel here who walks around in brown robe, lives in a weird treelike building, at the foot of an enormous tree that is clearly tended to by some sort of magical guardian, who the townspeople have seen talking to birds. They think that's not a druid, though, they think that's just some guy.
Wipe this wretched earth clean of these idiots. The Sufferer blinks. Where did that thought come from?
The Sufferer does manage to find the time to discuss how Ilmater, much like ironman LPers, is a willing sufferer. His faith is shaken, but hey, that's no reason not to resell it to idiots.
Anyway, he goes off to talk to the druid, who explains there are a lot of disturbances in Kulhadar, and that the Vale of Shadows is a good place to start looking for them. "But isn't the evidence for that as the root of our problem rather specious?" the Sufferer asks. "Aren't you just sending me off to a grindy and treasureless hellhole with very little information that indicates this is a good idea?"
"Not sure what you're getting at," comments Arundel.
"Isn't this a series of annoying filler dungeons, designed to pad out the main quest? Which will probably ensure that I'm something like a level 15 mage before I ever encounter an actual third level mage spell scroll?"
"You seem upset," the Archdruid says. "Perhaps you should pray to Ilmater for guidance."
"I hope you get eviscerated by a shapeshifting demon," the Sufferer says.
"That's weirdly specific!" the Archdruid replies cheerfully.
The Sufferer leaves. Later, we run across two yetis chasing some guy into town. Yetis are pretty tough and strong, but I had the foresight to be walking around with five of my Deathless Guards, so it's no problem.
Immediately after the battle, the Sufferer turns to the man the yetis had been chasing. He is concerned, for he realizes that he has helped a man without demanding compensation, and this is detrimental to society. He quickly rights this wrong!
Also in Kuldahar, he runs into this weird barbarian named Hjollder, talking about how the chieftain of his tribe has risen from his tomb and now leads the barbarians to attack the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale. Supposedly, he is possessed by the spirit of Jerrod, the guy who Everard dissed for sacrificing himself and stopping the forces of Hell from overrunning Icewind Dale. Brollder tells us he's had visions indicating that something's wrong, and someone should try to stop the war. The Sufferer listens to his story and tells him he really hopes some heroes show up to do that, then checks out to go get drunk in the local tavern.
He starts to hit on this barmaid who's totally into him and has this totally innocuous conversation. Immediately afterward, he stands up, stretches, says "Too bad there's nothing weird about what you just said!" and jaunts out of the tavern.
Later on he blackmails an inkeeper into letting him stay at his hotel for free:
It is a success of the free market that we are able to so freely exchange information security for lodging, without the oversight of any oppressive entities who might impose a mutually unfavorable tax on this transaction, the Sufferer muses. (Also, he convinces the guy to confess that he's squatting in exchange for XP.)
While resting at the inn, the Sufferer hears the whisper in his head again, grown to a steady voice:
You were left alone. You were left in a frozen wilderness, your friends struck down hours from their goal. Left alone against armies of unassuming beasts given hideous strength. You were given to carve a path through endless hordes of terrible foes at the behest of tiresome men, hoping to slowly grind out an advantage over them, despite your pathetic tools and meager magicks. You were given to hope that this would teach you, give you some insight to slowly gain an advantage over them. If this is your god's will, he is no god at all.
There is another way, a better way. Go to a black place, a dead place. I will show you the one. Welcome the darkness there into your soul and you will be able to carry it out with you. Light will fade from your footsteps, leaving only a golden path that will lead you to a place higher than your weakling god can reach.
"Who are you?" The Sufferer asks.
I am you. I am a you that never was and now never will be, forsaken by a craven god. I was sold on suffering's promise, and paid its price, and reapt its reward, and found it empty. I would be avenged. More, I would be redeemed.
The next day, the Sufferer wakes. He feels a strange pull from the center of his forehead, pointing east, and whenever he closes his eyes, the blackness inside his eyelids is haunted by the sight of a strange tomb. Restless, he determines that one way or another, he needs to visit the Vale of Shadows. He sets forth to seek his destiny:
And immediately gets owned by a Yeti. Whoops. This is the last time I try to solo one of those bad boys until I'm much stronger. The Sufferer runs back to Kuldahar, rests, returns, and summons his Deathless Guards. With them at his side, he is as unstoppable as ever, carving a path south and east, until at last he stands before the tomb that haunts his mind.
He enters. A talking Skeleton is there, warning him that this place belongs to Myrkul, Lord of the Dead. "Then his reign is as impotent as Ilmater's," the Sufferer says, surprised at the words as they leave his lips, then raising his arm to revoke Myrkul's claim to this place.
There are a shitload of undead in here. Most of them are skeletons; note that enemy skeletons are strictly better than my skeletons, since the former do twice as much damage. I've got to work quickly to make up the difference. Also, there are a few ghouls and ghasts in here, which are scary enemies for a solo because they paralyze on failed saves. When you're paralyzed, enemy attacks autohit, which means if the effect lasts for any length of time (it usually does), getting paralyzed means you're dead.
Anyway, the Sufferer is priest level 7 right now, so I actually can cast free action to give myself immunity to paralysis. I do, but I also am wary of it running out at critical times, so I still mostly rely on letting my Deathless Guards tank for me. It's a little slower, but a little surer.
In time, the tomb is silent again. The Sufferer picks up a strange key, wondering why the pull in his forehead is even more insistent, not less, for it. He is about to leave when he notices a shelf on the north wall. His hands feel drawn into the darkness, and he pulls out a scroll of invisibility.
He is certain this is what he has been seeking, but not why. Puzzled, he commits it to memory and returns to Kuldahar.
Well-done, says the voice from earlier.
Now the gods will know fear.
* * *
So at this point, I'm barely done with the prologue, and I imagine that the bros who said that HoF solo ironman was unfeasible are still skeptical. The next update may change a few minds!