The Cursed: Firkraag

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The red dragon is a dangerous foe, easily knocking back enemies with ease. The mord-swords and sword spiders still do their work while the mages and Yoshimo pepper it from afar.

Firkraag doesn't like this in the least and squishes the spiders and Yoshimo into paste. He also devours Rasaad and chews him into little gibs before finally being put down by Lu Lingqi. Anomen some how survived by bravely running away, the stench of urine and shit all over him.

It's like Lu Lingqi went super saiyan in this fight!

Fortunately there is some good loot, including a +5 two handed sword... that no one can use. Damn it! The team returns to Trademeet to sell stuff and while there recruit werewolf druid, Cernd, and that halfling they freed from the shade lord, Mazzy Fentan, into the party.

Insight: Firkraag lets you prepare before battle, so do it wisely. Fear protection spells probably would be useful in hindsight!

The Cursed: Windspear Dungeon

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The team returns to the Windspear Dungeon and enters the maze section filled with traps and false doors. While Yoshimo easily clears those, less easy are the wandering beholder and djinn.

A competing adventuring group also gets cloud-mord-sworded before the team runs into a wolfwere pack. Unlike on that island, these ones are much easier to put down.

Beyond them are golems, including a large golem which is only defeated by tanking mord-swords and Lu Linqi's +4 magic halberd. Another is defeated through door way cheese (too big to pass). At the end of that marathon they find the kidnapped boy and release him from bondage.

Good thing those doorways are sturdy!

All that's left is to go downstairs and to face Firkraag himself... in his lair. Turns out Firkraag is a red dragon!

Insight: I think there's a time limit to rescue the kid. If there isn't, Anomen certainly whines enough to hurry you along.

The Cursed: Anomen the Coward

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The "battle ground" turns out to be a dungeon with a massive entrance. While the orcs and hobgoblin defenders are easy enough to beat, the second floor has stone golems and an undead horde including vamps, mummies and wraiths!

This is doubly annoying since Anomen, who is supposed to be front lining, always defaults to using a sling like the coward he is. It's a tough fight and many mord-swords and blade spiders are used but the team prevails, though now severely injured and level drained.

One of the most useless paladins in history.

They have no choice to return to the city where Anomen receives the bad news that his sister was recently murdered and worse, there is no evidence to arrest the prime suspect. Rasaad convinces him to stay true to his path and believe in justice - letting go of vengeance. Yoshimo scoffs at this, saying he'd never let his own kin down so badly. It does sound pretty cowardly.

Insight: This is what the pregenerated NPCs have over your own "silent" party members: banter. And it is terrific.

The Cursed: Trickster in the Hills

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Returning to Athkatla to sell loot from the temple the team find the Planar Sphere under attack by a group of magic hating mercs! Unlucky for them, the friendly guardian golem patrols into them and wipes them out, their employer suffering a similar fate soon after.

Anomen then suggests to investigate an ogre problem at the Windspear Hills, so they go and sure enough encounter the oddly well spoken brutes. Upon slaying them however, it turns out the ogres were paladins - one of whom was ex-ally Ajantis!

Sorry dude, you looked like an ogre.

A passerby offers shelter for the party and warns them that they are being targetted by the local trickster Lord Jierdan Firkraag, the same person who told Anomen about the ogre problem. As if on queue, a bunch of orc mercenaries working for Firkraag then show up and attack. While they are easily beaten, they do manage to abduct the good samaritan's boy in the chaos.

A lone messenger then appears issuing a challenge for the team to rescue the boy at the "battle ground" in the North East. They accept.

Insight: For some reason enemies respawn quickly in this area. Be prepared.

The Cursed: Monkey Business

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Having been abandoned by Jaheira, the team recruits pretty boy paladin Anomen before heading to the evil cult temple in the mountains. Rasaad is immediately concerned, letting slip that he likes Catharina. She assures him the annoying paladin is not a threat.

The planned "infiltration" of the base again doesn't go smoothly as upon walking in Rasaad simply challenges everyone to combat (yay for lawful stupid). Turns out the entire cult was an elaborate ruse simply to weaken the Sun Soul monks by giving them something to defect to and to fight among each other.

Choke points are fun with AoE spells!

The real enemy - the Dark Moon monks, then attack in force and Rasaad and company opt to help the tricked cultists to defend themselves, resulting in an easy victory. The new cult is liquidated, with the members sheepishly returning to their old orders while Rasaad and Catharina have a romantic evening on the roof of the temple.

Insight: Practice at estimating the radius of your AoE spells. This game assumes you can throw fireballs and skull traps far enough back to hurt the charging enemy but not hit your own front line.

The Cursed: Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting

[Part of the Cursed story line]

While in town, Rasaad finds a lead to the cult he was hoping to infiltrate so the team journeys to an abandoned amphitheater for the initiation. Unlike Neera, Rasaad is unable to play it cool which results in a massive battle against the evil monks.

He's much stronger in this game though.

Catharina gets to try out Mordenkainen's Sword (or as I call them Mord-swords) and finds they are fantastic! The floating blade easily cuts down foes while being totally immune to non magic damage itself. Basically doom for the unarmed monks. Especially fighting in cloud kill!

Luckily, a map to the cult base is found on one of the bodies but since the team is quite fatigued after the battle they opt to camp in the woods for the night. In the morning, Jaheira is gone - having left a note that she needs to try clear her name and more importantly, so that the party isn't a target for the Harpers.

She's so unreliable.

Insight: To make Mord-swords even better, cast haste on them. Haste just makes everything better! (Though in RP terms, everything hasted would be aging much quicker)

The Cursed: Rewards of Diplomacy

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Returning after doing some tasks for the sanctuary, they find it destroyed! The lone survivor says they were discovered by Thayans and the others were captured and taken to the Thayan secret base in Athkatla. Humorously, this base is right beside Irenicus' starting dungeon - posing as a shop front.

Neera wants to go all terminator within, but Catharina calms her down enough so that the team can talk their way in, even buying supplies from said Thayans and reaching the back rooms which hold some angry gladiators and underpaid mercs.

With a few underhanded tactics, the mercs are made drunk and the gladiators freed. Having the support of both groups makes the red wizards easy prey, and the surviving wild mages are freed from their cages. For safety purposes they opt to split up again, with Neera remaining in the party.

Mord Swords are fantastic tanks!

Insight: Those Thayans have some really nice spells for sale, Mordenkainen's sword summon being one of them. Be sure to get it!

The Cursed: Trapped in the Woods

[Part of the Cursed story line]

While the forest is home to low level enemies, it is laced with magical traps (thanks Neera) one of which transforms Valygar into a squirrel. Due to the wild magic zone, the casters can't dispel this and so abandon him to his tiny, furry fate.

Valygar isn't happy.

Trying to navigate this place without a rogue (trap detector) is terrible so the team returns first to the city where Jaheira is again approached by Harpers who warn her that her execution has been mandated and that attacks on the party are going to increase soon. 

While she ponders on that Elizabeth is swapped out (and goes deep in her cups) for the Yoshimo, who helped them escape the Irenicus dungeon at the start. With him detecting traps in the party the team easily reaches Neera's wild magic sanctuary and they begin helping out with the numerous fetch quests given by the inhabitants there.

Insight: Definitely bring a thief to the wild forest. Not only do you get XP from disabling traps, you also avoid the adverse effects of said traps! Poor, poor Valygar...

The Cursed: Schools of Magic

[Part of the Cursed story line]

After a quick side trip to return the Knights of Solamnia, Valygar drives the sphere back to the Athkatla slums where it finally runs out of gas. At this point the cowled wizards show up and begrudgingly grant the Planar Sphere to Valygar, on the condition that they can use it as a school for apprentices.

Hmm, should have explored Krynn a bit more.

The team have no problem with that, and Catharina gets the first three students crafting a lowly magic items. From them she learns about a magic refuge in the Southern woods and so the team investigates and finds Neera there!

Her wild magic teleported her out of that bottomless chasm, and now she has created a refuge for other wild mages being hunted by the red wizards of Thay. The only problem is she forgot how to get in. Catharina decides to help her but soon finds this entire area is a wild magic zone, making the most regular spells go awry.

Insight: Bring health pots here. Casting heals will most likely not result in healing.

The Cursed: Fuel my Heart

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The sphere is huge, and using broken golem bits Catharina assembles one of her own which helps in destroying a wandering beholder within. They finally reach the cockpit and find the lich that owns this thing waiting for them.

It is a tough fight but Catharina's pierce magic does the trick in lowering his defenses until his defeat by Valygar's blade. Of course, he had flown the sphere to hell during this time and in his dying breath laughs, saying they need demon hearts to power it up once more.

"Good thing he brought us to hell then," said Lu Lingqi. True enough, disembarking they found a good number of demons just waiting to be slain and have their hearts taken as fuel. Not too hard a task with invis scouting, cloud kill, and summoned sword spiders.

We have ignition!

Insight: While not poisonous, sword spiders are great summons as they attack very quickly. Anything not physical resistant is in big trouble against them, especially if they are hastened as well!

The Cursed: Planar Sphere

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With the Umar Hills safe, the team returns to the city and Jaheira is again accosted by Harpers. While violence is avoided once more, she does take the drastic step of quitting that organization! The group proceed to the Planar Sphere which Valygar does open. Inside they find misplaced Knights of Solamnia (from Dragonlance) who warn that this place (it's a space ship) is very dangerous.

Iron golems are dangerous even without weapons.

This is true, not so much for the cannibal halflings on board but for the numerous golems guarding the place. The large iron ones in particular are very tough as they are both weapon and magic resistant.

Insight: Iron Golems are towering menaces, but that also means they can't fit through man-sized doors. Use that to your advantage!

The Cursed: Shadow Boxing

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The search for the missing folk leads to a dark, forgotten temple full of shadows (the enemy) which somehow Rasaad can still punch and kick to death. He's improved heaps! Inside they find the halfling Mazzy imprisoned and rescue her.

She info dumps that her team came here to be heroes too, but they all got caned by the shadow dragon further in. The dragon's master - a shade lord who was once imprisoned here, was saving her as his next "host".

Mazzy is sent back to her home in Trademeet while the team delves on through undead and traps which are very annoying without a thief! Eventually they reach the shadow dragon and literally kick its butt. The shade lord afterwards is laughable, being weaker than most of his minions.

Yes, Rasaad is kicking the shadow dragon to death!

With his destruction, light returns to this forest. Quest complete!

Insight: There's a wardstone that makes you invisible to the Shadow Dragon until you attack or interact with him, so use the time to prepare buffs, summons and traps!

The Cursed: Got Rep

[Part of the Cursed story line]

After solving a few more minor issues at Trademeet, Korgan has had enough of the goody-two-shoes routine and leaves the party as they head on to the Umar Hills where people have reportedly gone missing.

Unimpressed dwarf is unimpressed.

While searching the woods, a band of Harpers comes for Jaheira but are convinced to stand down and leave. They also come across the criminal wanted by the Cowled Wizards, Valygar Corthala hiding in a remote cabin.

He claims innocence, saying he's only wanted for his blood which can open the mysterious planar sphere in the slums district of Athkatla. Lu Lingqi decides to give him the opportunity to prove it, and lets him join the team.

Insight: Reputation is a two edged sword. The high reputation my party had here caused Korgan to leave but also prevented the fight with the Harper group.

The Cursed: Druid Duel

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The druid grove is home to spiders, trolls, and druids being turned to the extremist shadow druid way by their new leader, Faldorn! It seems she survived that flamestrike after all. Fortunately, the druids chose leaders based on ritual duels so Cernd steps up.

To everyone's surprise, Cernd is actually a greater werewolf and rips Faldorn to pieces and subsequently staying to redirect the druids back to a more peaceful path.

It's like fighting a random tribesman only for him to turn into this.

More problematic is the rogue rakshasa who is found hiding nearby, as the team has no weapons capable of killing it. They retreat and opt for the other solution instead - killing all the djinn in Trademeet instead. This works out better, though it does leave Raven Skinnybastard petrified.

Since he's pretty safe here in that form (even used as decoration in town), the team take Rasaad to fill his spot.

Insight: Cernd's greater werewolf form is awesome, but he can't equip/use/cast anything while in that form.

The Cursed: Trading in Problems

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The next stop from the De'Arnise keep is the city of Trademeet which for some reason is under attack by wild animals. In addition to that, a number of djinn have set up camp outside and have basically stopped all trade to the city (through charm buying everything) until the rakshasa they are hunting is killed.

You have it backwards - the genies make the wishes and you are the slaves!

Because not enough is going on, a recovered Rasaad is spotted here as well - fighting and defeating others of his Sun Soul monk order. When questioned after, he claims that this is a ruse to infiltrate a new monk cult. They leave him to do that and go chat with the mayor who has a druid scapegoat locked up for trial.

This druid, Cernd, claims to also be investigating the animal attacks, and with a little diplomacy the team secure his release and in return he shows the way to the nearby druid grove, the likely source of these problems.

Insight: You won't be able to trade with anyone here other than the Djinn who have terrible prices. Sell your stuff back in the city before coming here!

The Cursed: Dark Magician

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Before going into the tunnels the team returns to pick up Khalid and Jaheira, and to visit Dragonspear castle itself where Skie is busy doing some recon. Apparently the crusaders are dumb enough to let anyone wearing a Caelar necklace in which gives the team a good opportunity to scout around and generally mess with them, like stealing supplies and murdering the entire troll handling team without notice.

They then enter the tunnels where again, the depot guards just let them through. More than that, they actively assist in fighting monsters from a nearby corrupted grove (which Jaheira fixes eventually). In one corner the team discovers ruins guarded by a dragon ghost. The ruin is actually home to a cabal of dark sorcerers who are preparing to raise a massive army once the war outside is complete. They turn out to be a really difficult fight, but thanks to Neera the ghost dragon comes to their aid after her wild magic frees it.

Because there weren't enough types of dragon.

Alas, for her trouble one of the dark mages magic missiles her off into a bottomless chasm. The ghost dragon avenges her, and once the dust settles tells Catharina that Caelar is just being played by her advisor Hephernan - the leader of this cabal. The dragon then vanishes to the after life, and the team heads back to camp to rest up and recruit someone to fill the spot. Baeloth, having forgotten that he previously quit, accepts!

Insight: While you have to attack the cult speaker to free the ghost dragon, you should definitely let the dragon do most of the fighting here. Note, if you don't attack the speaker fast enough the dragon will show up as an enemy.

The Cursed: Might and Magic

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With Dragonspear castle now fully under siege, most of the troops are dedicated to containing the crusaders within. It is up to Catharina's team to keep her troops healthy and find a way to make the crusader troops dead. For this she recruits Rasaad and Dorn who immediately dislike each other. Rasaad's fantastic speed is key when collecting curative herbs from the forest though, herbs that cure a large group of sick soldiers as well as Neera's madness.

The orc is unhappy with the lack of attention going his way the idiot openly attacks Catharina in the middle of her own war camp. Dorn is arrested within seconds and dragged off like the bitch he is while Neera cheerily takes his spot as the team scouts the forests surrounding Dragonspear castle since the crusaders seem to still be managing to get supplies in somehow. The previous scouts undertaking this task, Minsc and Dynaheir, have not returned.

That's a really good drawing of those two.

 
There are lots of terrible things in that area, and a random encounter against a sizable orog war band Rasaad is wounded out of action, and M'khiin is slain. They do locate the well guarded crusader tunnel though, and thanks to Catharina allying with the local druids and ogres, they manage to eliminate the top side defenders with a bit of might and a lot of magic.

Insight: There is an un-killable vampire wolf in that first forest, and it summons more wolves. It's pretty slow though, and Rasaad could run circles around it.

The Cursed: Fresh Lich of Dead Air

[Part of the Cursed story line]

While exploring the woods the team finds a nearby dwarven dig site that seems to keep spewing undead. The remaining dwarves who are barricading the entry admit to digging too deep (a common flaw according to Tolkien) and tunneling into some cursed burial chambers. Naturally, the team investigates and discovers this was intentional by the expedition leader who has transformed himself into a lich!

This fresh lich is bad news as he keeps getting up after being downed, and is only killed when the team destroy his phylactery. The tide of undead is halted, and the remaining dwarves agree to join the army. This delay also lets a few others join as well, namely Edwin the Thayan and Rasaad the monk who wants to redeem himself from his ridiculous defeat to a dart throwing bandit previously.

Catharina then scouts the bridge her force needs to cross in the morning and finds Caelar's troops already there. In the ensuing scuffle the crossing is destroyed, and Catharina and Caelar have a stare off on opposite ends of the broken bridge, both forgetting that in this world of magic a simple gap doesn't really offer much safety. It's now a race to the next crossing, Boareskyr Bridge.

Oh man if only I had some sort of ranged attack...

Insight: This turned out to be a difficult dungeon. Remember to use crushing weapons on skelies, ranged on slow things, and to return to camp to undo level drains.

The Cursed: Jokes on Me

[Part of the Cursed story line]

On the way to the stronghold the party encounters "the fastest dart thrower in the West". This joke brigand manages to hit Rasaad right in an eye, proving how terrible an adventurer he is. The monk is immediately sent back for medical aid.

Other than that, there are no encounters worthy of note. Even the frontal assault on the gnoll stronghold is made easy with Catharina in the lead and waving wands of fireball to incinerate the packs of enemies easily. Dynaheir is found in a pit, having been the gnolls plaything and Catharina opts to rescue her which infuriates Edwin enough into leaving.

The team returns to Nashkel to sell and recover, visiting the nearby fair grounds while they are at it - finding one of the attractions is a "stone warrior maiden". They purchase an expensive stone to flesh scroll from a peddler and release the petrified person who turns out to be the cleric Branwen. In thanks, she decides to join the party.

Glad it wasn't some stone golem instead!

Insight: The stone to flesh scrolls are much cheaper if purchased at a temple. Again, I still didn't know about those at this time and was very tempted to use it to free one of the original Black Pits characters before ultimately opting to free Branwen instead.

The Cursed: Another Detour

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Finally convinced by Jaheira to go to Nashkel as the situation is dire (really? doesn't feel that way), Catharina and company run into more elite hobgoblins who almost kill Neera with poisoned arrows. Fortunately Jaheira can cure it, but in doing so leaves herself open to a hobgoblin backstab which cripples her. Khalid is in tears as his wife is put on a random wagon back to the Friendly Arms Inn for medical attention. As usual, Baeloth makes snide and inappropriate comments.

"At least she wasn't backstabbed with a flaming sword... up the ass!"

This results in the drow sorcerer being voted out of the party at Nashkel proper. The low HP Neera is also side lined to recover from her near death experience after defeating yet another would be assassin at the inn. Replacing them is Rasaad the monk who immediately gets along with Khalid, Minsc (and his miniature giant space hamster Boo) who want to save a woman named Dynaheir from gnolls, and the Thayan Edwin who wants to kill a woman named Dynaheir. Party Girl wonders if it's the same woman. She has low INT.

While almost everyone else is asking that the party investigate the nearby Nashkel mines to solve the iron shortage (because random adventurers are qualified to do that apparently), Catharina wants to avoid having another walk out like Montaron so they delay heading there again and instead head West to the gnoll stronghold to find Dynaheir.

Insight: If left to their own devices, party members will converse with each other. This can also lead to in party fighting if they don't get along - mainly stemming from alignment differences. If you keep everyone busy though, they'll never get a chance to act out.