GW2 Challenge

Rules:

Challenge

Level a character up to 10 (within the rules listed below) and do their level 10 personal story, then use the twisted watchwork portal to get to a random area (not a starter area) in Tyria.

Rewards are given at milestones

• 3 point requisition order for making it safely back to the character’s racial city and reporting into the person in charge after having used a twisted watchwork portal
• 2 point requisition order at level 20 and every 5 levels thereafter

Characters may save up points they do not need right away, and use them later, but the requisition orders may only be used at your race’s home city.

When players have chosen the rewards they wish, they mail the order to their main character account (or the person designated to send it) and that person will then purchase and mail the items back to the challenge character.  Note that free accounts will have to add the sender as a friend in order to receive the items.  Sending a note of the current requisition order points in the mail would also be useful.

Requisition Order Rewards

Armour & Weapons

• 1 pt : 1 piece of masterwork armour or weapons of level +/- 5 levels from character
• 2 pt : 1 rare armour or weapon of level +/- level from character
• 3 pt: 1 exotic armour or weapon of level +/- level from character

Runes

• 1 pt : 2 armour rune minor
• 1 pt : 1 armour rune major if high enough level to use it
• 2 pt : 1 armour rune superior if high enough level to use it
• 1 pt : 1 weapon sigil minor
• 2 pt : 1 major weapon sigil if high enough level to use it
• 2 pt : 1 superior weapon sigil if high enough level to use it

Miscellaneous

• 1 pt: basic 8 slot bag
• 2pt: basic 12 slot bag
• 3 pt: basic 15 slot bag

Character setup

• Have to have food up at all times
• Can only log off in a safe location like a Homestead, priory camp etc.  Resting takes 3 food.
• If you can buy food from a karma vendor, but it isn’t of the correct level.  You can destroy those and get grumble cake through the mail instead.
• Do not use large events that have a large number of players.  No carrying/leeching.
• No use of waypoints except when dead (see rules on death)
• You can only change your skills after a rest at a safe location, the same would be for using dye on your gear, or if you find a transmogrification potion.

Inventory and Trading

• Players should only use 3 bag slots, the beginners backpack and two extra, since free accounts only have 3.
• Players cannot use the regular bank and they cannot use deposit collections either.  Bag space management is a part of this setup.  No guild bank either, since free accounts cannot use them.
• No gold/karma/items etc except what you earn.
• Trading Post:  If you are at a vendor in a safe area you can sell crafting materials, but not anything else to the trading post.
• Trading Post:  You cannot buy anything except basic (white) crafting materials from the trading post, and only as buy-orders, not instant purchase.

Death and Dying

• If you die, you can waypoint, but you lose all food and gear.  You have to use skills and nearby items (like rocks and sticks) to defeat foes, moving towards where your death happened.  For each mob you kill, you gain one the use of one of your items back.  Mob types that did not kill you gain a non-armour or weapon item (like food), or type of mob that killed you, you regain one piece of armour or weapon at random.  Any food you get back is halved.
• If you can be resurrected by a player, then you regain yourself and all your gear without losing any of it, since you pick yourself up.  However you may not broadcast for aid (the dead cannot speak).  You may thank them out of character if they are resurrecting you, and explain the situation using brackets around the text to show it is such.

 

---

Guild – Big Boners Warband

Darren:  Venris Bonesnapper – ash legion scout

Ines:  Rixton Bonerage – iron legion

Level 6.

The warband has been helping the Ash Legion to the north of the Black Citadel before heading east.  They aided the iron legion by disrupting flame legion in the area, and then aided in training some Blood and Iron legion in a training pit.  Both are now on a personal quest to make some food, but have so far found the drakes in the area to be difficult to carve proper slabs of meat from.

Level 13/14

The pair spent some time making themselves useful around the Plains of Ashford, close to the Black Citadel until word came that Rixton was to come back and report in.  Venris followed along, helping him stop some flame legion and aiding Rixton in building and testing his ghost destroying rifle.  No sooner had they done this, than Venris also got called in to report to his superior at the Ash Legion.  They infiltrated the Flame Legion and uncovered a plot to set the Blood and Iron legions at each other.  Given the choice of which to go help himself, Venris chose the Iron Legion since it seemed like the more difficult task (since Fengar was likely to need the easier option) and the fact that pretty much every dead soldier they have come across so far in the Plains of Ashford has been Iron Legion.  They need the help better, as even Rixton admits.

 

Currently Level 15/17

---

Notes on changes made to the rule setup for the trading post:

So far the main issue has been the inability to trade items between characters.  With bag space being such an issue, sharing crafting to make things (like more bags) really is necessary, but free accounts cannot trade items via mail to friends/guildmates, and they cannot use the guild bank either.  This means that each individual character has to gather their own materials, and gear, no matter who they are doing the challenge with.  It wouldn’t be as big a problem if there was some ability to purchase from the trading post, but the current rules forbid that.

In order to get enough leather to make an 8-slot bag, it took over 2 hours in total of grinding, and increased my level by 2, which is problematic since the levelling will quickly outstrip the ability to craft items by drops.

The other issue is that being able to trade materials we don’t need on the trading post when near a vendor also means that I do have a decent amount of money saved up now.  However, not being able to purchase anything from the trading post also means that there is very little opportunity to actually spend the gold, since most of the vendors that we come across are Karma ones.

Both of these issues would be dealt with amicably well by the ability to purchase base crafting materials from the trading post.  Characters would have to craft their own items still, but the necessity of grinding endlessly would be cut down.   I don’t see this as giving the players too much advantage, merely cutting down grinding.

Result:
It was decided to change the rules to take into account these issues.  Players can now purchase basic crafting materials (not fine, uncommon, rare etc) from the trading post, but only as buy-orders, and only when they are at a vendor.  Players may not purchase basic equipment, bags or food etc.

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Group levels loot and quests

Group information as of 05 Sep 2016

Current player group:

Ulrik: Dwarven shamanic healer with a fetish of Duregar beards
Ayanna: Halfling Assassin with recurring memory loss and multiple personality issues
Dozla: Dwarven fighter who does all the damage
Heskan: Dragonborn ranger whose ritualistic ball taunts are the group staple
Sufjan: Razorclaw Shifter warlock
Orag: Dull-witted but extremely athletic Goliath, disappeared from the group while in the Labyrinth, recently reunited.
Corvar: Kenku Seeker whose pet Dire wolf has got the group out of many a tight spot
Elora: Human Rogue most notable for wielding a broadsword.  You do not want to piss her off.
Zan-kyri: Genasi swordmage of noble descent, with multifaceted teleportation and aegis skills
Dash: Revenant Assassin

Experience and Levels:

Loot changes 01 July 2016

Dozla: Jade amulet that had been used to summon a demon
Dozla: small bronze key
Group loot: Silk gloves (magic)
Group loot: Gold Necklace with diamonds and rubies on it
Group loot: 62gp

Loot changes 10 June 2016

Ulrik: 1gp covered in poo
Heskan: Magical Cloak of resistance +2
Dozla: Book of Demogorgon (cursed)
Group loot: 20gp, 76gp, topaz gem

Loot changes 27 May 2016

All active characters gain 65g each from group loot
Heskan, Elora, Ayanna, Ulric, Corvar and Orag:  +17 residuum each
Corvar and Ayanna take 2 potions each from group loot
Scrolls of Bless weapon from group loot: Ulrik, Heskan, Elora, Corvar (x2)
Corvar: drow house insignia from group loot
Elora: Staff from group loot
Ulrik: Brooch of no reagents from group loot
Heskan: gem of colliquay from group loot

Magical items, quest items and Group Loot:

Corvar:
* Lightning Greatbow +1 (character creation item)
* Super bag of holding with pockets (loot I think)
* Hat of Disguise (bought from Gendar)
* Tamed dire wolf- Brannoch
* Secretly looted paper scraps with dwarven runes on them (betting slips)
* Trader contract from Mages of Saruun  (rp)
* iron ring of the dwarven lords
* Bronze warder command amulet
* Enchanted amulet with an insignia of a Drow House on it (unidentified)

Heskan:
* (starting item?)
* Longbow +1 (enchanted it during a quest)
* Cursed Greatbow of Seduction
* trading box from Gendar (quest item)
* iron ring of the dwarven lords
* Gem of Colloquay (head slot item)
* Magical Cloak of resistance +2

Ulrik:
* (starting item?)
* Valthrun’s throwing Force hammer +2 (loot)
* Magic scroll for poor trail rations (rp loot)
* Belt of Sacrifice (loot)
* Urwol’s (identified) Magic Warhammer
* severed duregar beard x2 (rp loot)
* Cloak of the Shadow Thief (loot)
* iron ring of the dwarven lords
* Brooch of no reagents

Orag:
* (starting item)
* story item: pet training belly band

Ayanna:
* small onyx idol of a demon with ruby eyes (stolen from Macklemore) (rp)
* circular rock with a carved flightless bird on it (stolen from a bugbear) (rp)
* iron ring of the dwarven lords
* Helmet of Dark Vision
* Dagger (+ )
* Leather Armour (+ )
* Cloak blessed by Erathis (rp personal quest item)

Dozla
* (starting item)
* Fleshcarvers’s dwarven book (ASet4-05)
* tames Hyena 10
* iron ring of the dwarven lords
* Book of Demogorgon (cursed)
* Jade amulet that had been used to summon a demon (loot)
* small bronze key for chest, (now useless probably)

Sufjan
* (starting item)
* iron ring of the dwarven lords

Elora
*  (starting weapon)
* mithril pyjamas
* iron ring of the dwarven lords
* Staff of the Temporal Juggler +1

Zan Kyri
* (starting weapon)
* iron ring of the dwarven lords

Dash
* (starting weapon or armour)
* Toxic mushrooms (Gendar 70g, Provisioner can make potions from them for 5g)
* Bronze warder command amulet

Group Loot – (currently carried by Corvar in his multipocketed bag of holding)
* 160g 45s 60c
* 30 foodstuffs
* 8 small diamonds, 4 small emeralds, 3 rubies, 3 purple gems, 1 topaz gem
* Gold Necklace with diamonds and rubies on it
* 1 of 2 keys for the Court of Bones
* 1 Iron Key (chest in Horned Hold)
* 1 Gravespawn potion
* 3 rolls of fine quality cloth
* 1 potion of healing

Armour
* Bloodthread Armour +1
* Delver’s Chainmail +2  (taken by Morrak, but later put back into group loot)
* Silk gloves (magic)
Weapons
* Fancy Dwarven Crossbow – Jammed
* Skullthumper Morningstar
* Lifedrinker Scimitar +1
* Quarterstaff +1 (lightning)
* Devilblind mace
Other (potentially) important items

Current quests:

Group Quests:

• Winterhaven: Go to the Seven-Pillared Hall, and look into and deal with the Bloodreaver threat.  Return to Lord Padraig for reward.
• Seven-PIllared Hall: Contract with Temple of Hidden Light to hunt down spined devils
• Whurdek Kral: Re-sanctify the dwarf town temple for Ulthand
• Whurdek Kral:  find the totems from the temple from Ulthand
• Whurdek Kral: Find flourmatine acid to help remove corruption for Ulthand’s temple.  Can be found on Morden Hydra or from a shop maybe

Defunct quests:

• Titan had quest to slay a dragon for its heart for priest of Kord.  May be some update there for the group?

Heskan Quests:

• Return to the Winterhaven trader with Gendar’s package

Corvar Quests:

• Find the gambling establishment and cash in the gambling slip.
• owes Ayanna 5g
• Gave pet mule to the two slaves, sends them off to Fallcrest.  May be some update there
• Find Valdrog’s daughter, who was left in the care of the Temple of Kord, pass on his last words to her. (the restless dead encounter)

Ayanna Quests:

• Identify the stolen rock
• Get the looted wight arm made into something
• Get brain transmog via Acolytes of Vecna in order not to become a complete vegetable.

Ulrik Quests:

• Look into Gwenn’s potential appearance within the Labyrinth
• owes Corvar 1 reagent, when identified Rundarr’s Hammer

Zan Kyri Quests:

• Restore his blade to its former glory

 

 

Chapter 2 – To the Human Lands

I spent some time in the Grove, hoping perhaps to understand why those of the Pale Tree, despite the teachings, still felt the need to kill and hurt other beings.  Sadly I came to no satisfactory conclusion.  Many were and are moved to follow the path their Dream sets for them, and I know that drive, for I can feel it in myself, and yet I cannot in good conscience follow it.

In order to gain some distance from the mother tree and the source of the Dream, I have undertaken the journey through the Asura gate to Lion’s Arch and then out to Divinity’s Reach, the Human capital.  I hope to find some clarity of thought so far from home, but also perhaps to find out if all the other races are doing the same as my own appear to be: going swiftly to murder rather than defense and diplomacy.

—

Wandering through Divinity’s Reach, I listened to Ministers discussing the Humans’ problems.  I saw beauty, ingenuity and prosperity but also suffering, willful blindness and deprivation.  I was granted the blessing from one of the Human God’s Priestesses and founds my steps quickening in the hope to find the answers I sought, but all I found were more questions.  Above all, I have seen that the humans are struggling, not only with outside influences, but also amongst themselves.  They cannot seem to find a collective impulse with which to go towards, but are constantly struggling not only with themselves, but also to survive.

Humans are also, I have found, not nearly so talkative to strangers as my own people are want to be.  It is better to wander around, lingering at shops and listen while they talk amongst themselves instead of asking directly.  In this way I have learned far more than by asking.

I shall continue my search outside these walls and into the human lands where it is said many of the true struggles happen.  Perhaps with all their varying views and goals the humans will have some who, like me, abhor the idea of violence.

—

The first hope!  I met a Priest of Dwayna in a hospice outside the city gates.  Here are people with healing and medical training that try to help others, especially those that have been in battle.  I was heartened meeting him, but the wider questions still remain.  Are there none that would rather negotiate or defend rather than attack?  Surely there must be a group that feels this way.

—

The most awful thing happened today.  I was in a swamp in the human land Queensdale, a place where the veil between this world and the mists is thin.  There were portals all around spewing forth angry shades and other beasts.  I had picked up a sword from somewhere, intending to salvage it but had not yet done so, and I thought perhaps I could destroy the portal, so that fewer of the creatures could come through and threaten the people in this land.

It went well at first, for although it was fairly strong in its construction, I had been making headway with it.  But then creatures came through it.  The portal was so large and bright, it blocked my view, and I did not notice either the creature, nor the fact that a drake, who had previously left me alone, was now charging at the shade with intent to preserve its territory.  The first time I knew about the change of circumstance was when my sword bit into the drake.

I cannot adequately explain my horror at having accidentally done such a thing.  I wounded an animal, no matter if it was a mistake.  Horrified by my actions, I fled the area to a nearby fortified post to the south.  I write this now knowing there is no one here I could even tell about such a thing, for their armour and weapons told me enough that they would not understand my plight.  The drake is probably dead now, killed by those shades.  No matter if that might have happened anyway, I caused the drake, and perhaps even the shades as well, some harm.  I doubt I shall sleep well for quite some time with the shame and horror my actions have brought me.  I have destroyed the weapon.

—

After my run-in with the drake, I dedicated more time into helping those with injuries, hoping it might allay some of my guilt.  In doing so I am fast coming to the conclusion that humans seem to have little or no sense of self-preservation, and unless highly trained, have little sense of when it might be prudent to retreat.  Even those that are trained seem far more likely to rashly throw their lives away in pursuit of some potential gain for their race, or even no gain that I could see.

It has left me with worrying questions about the rightness of healing those in battle.  That I should be attempting to help and heal people is clear to me, but I have never actively aided with things that might bring harm to others, such as setting up and using turrets.  But is this not what I am doing by healing those that would run straight back into battle?  I spent an age attempting to heal scholars, bodyguards, and even seraph, only to have them run headlong back into battle, even when their wounds were still severe.  No matter that I told them they should retreat, they did not.  They fell, and I healed them, but they just went back to the fight.

I question now whether I should be doing this.  My healing was directly aiding in the harm and even death of others.  This troubles me greatly.  I took refuge in the nearby monastery hoping to clear my thoughts.

—

Traveling deeper into the human lands, through Queensdale and into Kessex Hills, the battle between the humans and centaurs was far more obvious.  In Kessex Hills humans struggle to hold their positions while centaurs gain ground against them.  Their efforts at survival out there, where farming is almost impossible under the circumstances, hampered by a great amount of bandits, most of them human, who have taken to robbing travelers in broad daylight rather than try to work the land for a living since it has become so difficult out here.

The centaur attacks are fast and brutal, and from what I could see the humans and centaurs are fighting over the same regions of land constantly, retaking it from each other and having little time to reinforce.  The centaurs also use horrible tactics against the humans, such as those spike traps I came across in Queensdale, as well as burning down human settlements.  Except for small heavily fortified buildings, the humans have all but been driven from this land.  Even the roads are not passable for the routine ambushes by krait, bandits and centaurs, not to mention the local wildlife, which has grown violent.  I can only presume that the increase in wildlife hostility is due to the constant warfare in the area that has disrupted their natural hunting grounds.

—

I returned to Queensdale, more knowledgeable about the humans’ plight, but no closer to finding a solution that might stop the bloodshed when I came across two men from the Ministry.  Interjecting into their quiet evening contemplations, I asked them about the war with the centaurs, and why humans seemed to throw their lives away so frequently instead of reinforcing what they already had.

They seemed to be of the opinion that the only way of gaining any sort of lasting peace with the centaurs would be to push the attack, establishing forward camps and forcing the centaurs to surrender.  This, they argued, would not happen from a defensive position, especially since centaurs were masters of shock attacks and siege warfare.  No matter how strong the defenses, the centaurs, they believed, would break through given time.

I was dismayed by this, especially when they said that in their opinion the centaurs were not a ‘rational state body’ like the Charr or Sylvari that could be negotiated with.  Their only option, they said, was to press on, no matter the cost, because to do otherwise would see humans enslaved and their settlements burned.

Having seen what I had in Kessex Hills, I could only agree that their worries might be true, but can some negotiation not be opened with the centaurs?  If the humans and charr, once mortal enemies could broker peace, surely the same might be done with the centaurs.  It is something to think on, certainly.

I was about to leave, when a parting comment caused me to pause.  “If a new Ventari led the centaurs down a road of peace, there would be hope.  Otherwise, the war goes on.”

Of course!  Why did I not see it before?  All centaurs are not given to the same creed of bloodshed with others, Ventari alone is evidence of that.  Whether the man had known it or not, he had given me the answers to the human struggle.  If only now I could find a way of instigating it.

—

I traveled back to Divinitys Reach, my thoughts in turmoil over the situation of what I had seen, and what I might do about it.  Even now, with such a momentous task before me, something that might help change the course of the human race away from the bloodshed against the centaurs, I feel the pull of the Dream.  I do not want to fight!  Why does the Dream not understand that?!  It pushes and pushes at my thoughts, eating away at my concentration with its call to battle.  Why are we being pressed to fight and kill when our very teachings say that all life is precious, that all things have a right to grow?

—

I found my way into the Library provided by the Durmund Priory, and in it I found a book called ‘The Centaur War’ by Vonda Lassien.  What was written in there was illuminating in it’s knowledge:

The first documented human-centaur battles occurred in 300 A.E. when human settlements began spreading from the fertile Krytan valley into the Shiverpeaks.  Over time, the human settlements grew and spread.  Simultaneously, centaur tribes began to organize their efforts to hold and retake their lands.  Early in his reign, Krytan King Thorn proposed a treaty to the centauran tribes, but the centaurs rejected its terms as unfavorable.

This excited me for a number of reasons.  Not only was it documented evidence that it is primarily land-use that caused the battles with centaurs, started by humans, but also that centaurs were willing to negotiate at some point in the past, but after the terms were rejected there is no mention of it happening again.  This means that possibly some negotiation, some compromise could be reached in future!  There is hope!

—

While I was in the Priory, I did speak to their recruiter there, an enthusiastic woman named Levanche.  The Priory seems to be a good place to research and find solutions to problems rather than merely running into battle.  They use their knowledge to help people!  Perhaps this is where I should be offering my aid?

Alas, when I asked her about joining, she, in the most diplomatic of terms, said that they wanted their recruits to have a “certain amount of worldly experience” and that she hoped I would return when I had that.  Worldly experience?  I know my appearance is somewhat unorthodox in that I do not carry a weapon, but what sort of worldly experience does she mean?  What experience does the Priory require to do research and investigation?  She would not answer.

I left both buoyed by my find in the book, but also confused at the rejection by the recruiter.

—

A strange philosophy from the monk. I was saddened to learn how necessary it was to have armed monks there at the monastery.

The great fortified centaur camps were both amazing and horrifying

The two men from the Krytan Ministry that discussed why humans were unable to merely defend.

Tried to join the Priory in Divinitys Reach, but they turned me away.

Continue to Chapter 3 – (coming soon)

Chapter 1 – the first steps

The Dream was all I had ever known.  Filled with memories of others, those that had lived before, gave me the knowledge I needed to know the world around me.  And yet this was not the world in which I would come to know, this place called the Dream.  It was the waking world I was destined to live, so different from the Dream, so filled with violence and hatred that the dream had showed little of until the time of my waking.

It started with the nightmares.  Creatures of thorn and vine that was so unlike the rest of those I had seen and watched.  These creatures I could touch, these creatures could touch me in return and hurt.   And they did.  The Dream had shown them to me before, but nothing could prepare me for how terrifying they were after so long insulated in the hazy world of memories.

I found myself following the voice of another, through the Dream and away from the nightmares only to be led, not into safety, but to a clearing filled with them.  I stood shocked as she ran forth, made tangible as I was, closely followed by another I did not know.  They fought the nightmares as they called them, hacking at them with blades and magic in ways I had only seen in hazy flashes before.  Such horror, not only to be attacked as these things were doing, but to use weapons to cut and mutilate and kill.

I tried to aid them with what healing skills I knew, but when a weapon was put in my hand, I could not stand the touch.  They expected me to take up arms against these creatures?  They were living, thinking beings!  How could they conceive to kill them! It was clear they were following orders, following blindly perhaps, but did they really have to die?  I had seen death in the dream.  I had seen the vast swathes of mourning over lost loved ones.  Who was to say what good these creatures might be brought to do, or who might mourn their passing if their lives were cut short.  I could not do it.

Then the true nightmare reared itself up.  A great dragon of earth and vine and tree.  I looked up at it in awe and fear, but there was little I could do against it, even as the other two hacked at its forelegs.  Why did it attack us?  I did not know, but could they not feel how wrong it was to be hurting others?  Was retreat not an option?  The great dragon seemed angry and in pain, and only grew more so as the pair hacked at it as I looked on, unable and unwilling to help them in such an endeavor.

It fell.  Such a creature of glory, no matter its purpose, had been killed. Felled, by those saying they were doing good.  How could death ever be good?

I woke, confused and angry to the words of others who were likewise baffled by the waking world in different ways.  The mentors were all very sure of themselves, but they, like Caithe and the other stranger, seemed determined I should take up the sword or hammer and fight the dragons.  Valiant they called me.  A wild hunt was my destiny, they said.  How could my destiny, the purpose the Dream had been supposedly teaching me about be so at odds with how I feel?  I will venture forth into the world, and see what good I can do without this vile urge to kill that so many of my kind, and other races, seem to feel.

—

It has been several weeks now, and the weight of my duty and that of what the Dream calls on me to do hounds me still.  And yet with each passing day, I am more convinced of my belief that killing and hurting others is wrong, the very thing that the Dream tells me I must learn and excel at!  I cannot do it!

I will not.

I have taken to doing tasks for others that do not grind away at my will and resolve.  I have helped feed moas, build defenses, and encouraged lost hounds to return home.  I have picked mushrooms that were needed, help rid an area of harmful plants and cleared an infested area of webs.  I have even gone in disguise to a Nightmare Court camp to help weaken their defenses, and offer words of support and care to those trapped there.

Many would see my small acts as being fairly useless, but I have seen the difference that they make.  If nothing else, doing these helps ease the burden of the Dream from my thoughts.

—

I nearly died today if not for a brave soul that came to my rescue.  Skritt are, it seems, exceedingly territorial and precious of their various stacked belongings.  I won’t forget that lesson any time soon.  I think it is time to invest some time in crafting some new armour.  Perhaps I could take it up as a profession if I am good enough at it.  What better way to help protect others than by making armour?!

—

Alas, my plans are for naught.  I have found, to my horror, that the better armour is made not only with cloth and metal, but also using parts of dead creatures!  How can others stand to wear such things when it has the blood of living creatures infused into it, or fangs or venom sacs.  I had expected that sort of thing from the Norn race, for they seemed very keen on such disgusting trophies from what I learned in the Dream, but from my own people?!

Never will I wear such things!  Never will I create it or buy it.  I could not conceive of ever feeling right knowing that I had created or sold things that had body parts stuck to it.  Parts of creatures that had once been alive.  I feel somewhat sick just thinking about it.

No, I shall not do that.  Only the simplest of armour will be the ones that I buy, ones made only of metals.

My first steps in Tyria	The quiet beauty of rural human construction	Someone who wants to live by healing others!
A spike trap lain by centaurs	A view of Divinitys Reach	Uncertain what to do, I take a while to contemplate my future.

Continue on to Chapter 2

Guild Wars 2 – Making Gold part 1

When in game, one of the most frequent topics that new or returning players ask me tends to be around getting gold.  It might be to buy something, it might be to be put towards a goal or different ways to get gear they want, or merely because they want to save up a nice hunk of cash for the future.  Whatever the reasons, the topic is fairly extensive, and while there are many videos out there declaring ‘x is the fastest way to get cash’, I am very much of the belief that you will make more money by doing things in ways you enjoy, so having a variety is good, and this is what this guide is about.

The Trading Post

No matter what way you may choose to go about making money, the one thing players should understand from the start is that the Trading Post is the way you are going to be making it.  It doesn’t matter if you choose to do dungeons, chest farms, gathering, world bosses etc, as you will be primarily be trying to sell a lot of loot of whatever kind to other players, and that requires the trading post.  You should take the time to get to know the trading post, and become familiar with it, because not doing so will impact on whatever profit you make.

What will also impact on your profit is what you go about trying to sell, and why.  Understanding the reasons why some items will give you more profit than others will help you to pinpoint what activities you feel best about doing.

Trading Post basics

You might think that using the trading post is a fairly straight-forward activity, but you might be surprised to find that quite a number of players are not quite as certain of it at first, especially if they come from a game such as World of Warcraft.  Why?  Because this isn’t an auction house, it is a trading post, and there is a distinct difference even though the trading post has a ‘place order’ option that players sometimes mistake it for.

Note: Players should always attempt to sell their items on the trading post (other than grey junk items) rather than vendoring them, as you will make significantly more money doing so.

Selling on the Trading Post

When selling an item, you can either right click it in your bags, and select the ‘Sell at the Trading Post’ option which will bring up the Black Lion Trading post UI, or you can open the Black Lion Trading Company from the Menu at the top left of the screen and click on the Trading Post tab there.  The other way is to talk to a Trading Post npc in the game, which mostly are situated in major towns, though sometimes in smaller outposts in the world as well.  You can see their icon on the minimap.

Note: You can buy or sell items from anywhere in the game, which is useful for keeping your bags emptier, however if you need to collect an item you purchased, or gold from selling items, you have to speak to the Trading Post npc.

So you have an item in your bag, and you have the Trading Post open with your item selected.  You now have two options in front of you:  ‘Current Buyers’ and ‘Current Sellers’

Current Buyers is sort of like a player instant-sell vendor, where other players in the game have placed an order for an item in the game and given the Trading Post the money for that item in advance, money that they feel they are willing to part with for it.  This price will be less than ‘Current Sellers’, however if you pick this option, the money will be given to you instantly.  Players will often try to buy using this method because impatient players want instant cash, and are willing to take less money for the item as a result.

Current Sellers is when players put the item up on the Trading post for the amount that they feel the item is worth.  This will always be higher than the Current Buyers option, but if you sell it for this higher amount, you will have to wait for a player to purchase your item at this amount.  This can take time, and you cannot tell how long it will be as the prices fluctuate.  This means that eventually you will get a higher price (assuming it sells) but you will have to wait for the sale.

Once you put an item up on the Trading Post, there is no time limit on that.  It will stay there indefinitely until it sells, or you remove it from the Trading Post.

Practical walkthrough

So lets say you have, through relentless gathering, managed to get 250 iron ore.

If you look on the image to the right, you can see that on the left (that is highlighted), I could sell the 250 ore for 1 silver 33 copper each, making 3 gold 32 silver 50 copper (before listing fees and sale deductions).  I would get this gold instantly at the Trading Post.

However, if I decided that I thought I could get more money for the ore, and was willing to wait a bit for the income, I could put the listing up for a higher price, which would be a listing on the right hand side under ‘current sellers’.  If I did this, and put the ore up on the trading post for 1 silver 63 copper, I would make 4 gold 7 silver 50 copper (before listing fees and sale deduction), if/when the ore sold for that amount.

Trading Post fees

As with any game, the Trading post has fees for putting up items for sale, but it also has fees for when an item is purchased.  This means that the fee is split, so that if the item does not sell, the seller does not have to pay the full fee.

Note: Buying items does not come with a fee

The Listing fee: 5% of the sale price
The Exchange fee: 10% of the sale price

If you sell the item, you will therefore be getting 85% of the sale price, and you should take this into consideration when working out your profits.

More information on the different functions of the Trading Post can be found here:
Guild Wars 2 Wiki – Trading Post

How much should I sell it for?

This is another question that I get asked quite a lot, and the answer tends to be fairly specific on what you are selling.  Some items will sell well and quickly, while others will not have nearly as much demand.

In general, I am not much of a risk-taker.  I like a regular and predictable income.  When selling items, I tend to always sell items within the top six ‘current seller’ prices, because those are the ones that will sell first.  The higher you set your price, the more of that item has to sell before your one gets a chance to, and if the supply of that item is being put up faster than the sales then it may be a very, very long time before you will ever see that money, if ever.  I might put those 250 ore up on the trading post for 500g each, but that ore would never sell, and I would have wasted a lot of money on the listing fee.  It is up to you what you judge the level of risk you want to work with when trading for this reason.

External Websites

If you have a lot of an item, such as crafting materials that you want to put up, there are websites that will help you judge what risk is worth it, as they keep track of the listings over time.  This will show you on graphs whether the price you are currently contemplating is far beyond what is generally normal for the sale, and thus how likely you are to sell it.  If the price has never gone above 1 silver 70 copper in the last month or two, then it is unlikely to do so (except under special circumstances, but more on that later).

The websites are not full-proof, as they are not now maintained, but they are still functional enough to be of use, especially if you plan to do more high-risk selling.
GW2 spidy
Gold Wars 2

While these are useful, if you stick to low-risk strategies like mine, there really is no need to use something like that.

What sells the best?

Ah, the age-old question.  It might surprise you to know that while crafting really doesn’t make you much/any profit, almost all of the most in-demand items or items that are sold the most frequently are in fact crafting items or items related in some way to that.  Why?  Although crafting doesn’t make you money in general, having the best armour and weapons in the game does require you to craft, and those particular items eat resources by the ton.  Ascended crafting is a long-term goal for players and the resources it requires echoes that.  As crafting resources are consumed in the process, the demand remains high, and Ascended crafting requires not only high level crafting materials, but also low level ones as well.

If you are interested in seeing what sort of crafting materials are needed for Ascended Armour and weapons, you can find the information below.  Be sure to scroll down and explore just how many resources each item actually requires.  It might say ‘bold of damask’, but there is a lot to go into making that one bolt of cloth.
Guild Wars 2 Wiki – Ascended Armour
Guild Wars 2 Wiki – Ascended Weapons

Selling vs Salvaging

As the economy currently stands you can be fairly sure that crafting materials will be fairly quick to sell, but also other items, such as armour and weapons in vast quantities.  Why?  People salvage the gear in order to get the crafting resources and luck (increases the magic-find of your account for chances of better loot).  This is especially true of any cloth items that will sell for a great deal more than their leather or metal counterparts.  Cloth is one of the most in-demand items in the game, because it is by far more difficult to get hold of.  In general, I would say you should be salvaging ALL of the cloth armour you pick up (that you do not use yourself) and sell the cloth, rather than the item as you will generally get a better price that way.

Items of a certain level will sell for more than others.  In general, leather items will sell for the least and cloth for the most, with wooden items and metal items falling in between.  Most of this is to do with the type of resource that will be gained from salvaging it, while sometimes, like with low level gear, it can be because of the demand for new gear for new characters.

In the image below, I have listed the type of crafting resource alongside the level of item it can be salvaged from, and whether it is from Armour or Weapons, or both.  More information about crafting materials and how to get them can be found on the Wiki page.

Making the most of the items you have

Another good tip is to make the most of what crafting resources you manage to gather.  If you have levelled up your crafting a little, you should be able to change ore into ingots, and logs into planks.  This will help improve your profit since they will almost always be worth more when done so.  Not by a huge margin, but by enough that if you are doing it regularly then it adds up.  You would have to judge whether the cost of levelling your crafting professions is worth that small increase in profit overall.

Practical walkthrough

If we look back to the earlier example of 250 iron ore, and we assume that they could be sold for between 3g92s50c and 4g07s50c, however if we smelt those into iron or steel ingots:

250 iron ore = 83 iron ingots = between 4g05s04c and 4g09s19c
250 iron ore = 83 steel ingots = between 4g08s43c and 4g12s58c after coal deduction.

As you can see, even though with steel ingots we require a purchased resource, it is still worth more than the iron ore and iron ingots, so it is in our best interests to smelt it before selling.

Trading Post Flipping

Trading post flipping is when players will purchase items from the trading post at a low price, then sell them for a higher price, making profit.  There are some players who spend the majority of their time in-game doing this, but they are in the minority.  However if you want to make money in the game, then you could try it.

As when I was talking about selling resources, if doing trading post flipping in any great amount, you should probably take a look at one of the external websites like spidy or goldwars2 in order to not make poor investments.  In general though, you will want to be buying things on the ‘Current Buyers (place order)’ to get a lower price, then sell it for a higher price on the ‘Current Sellers’.  Remember to take into account the 15% Trading Post fees when working out whether the flipping of an item is worth it.

Note: It is better to purchase during the day when most players are on and the supply is high, and sell at night when late-night players are buying up the items making the price rise.

If you are looking for more information on flipping there are many blogs, guides and videos out there that will likely give far better tips on it than I can, as it isn’t something I do very much at all.

Continue to Part 2 (coming soon)
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4-03. Watchtower Worries

3. Watchtower Worries – 24th July 2015

The night passed without further incident, and having finished packing the previous day with the help of the group, the camp of dwarves were ready to set out.  Despite the fact that the camp was close to the base of the mountains, it took a fairly long trek to get to a site near Whardek Kral, where they could set up camp for the civilians.

It was during this time that Hamlet and the dwarves from around Fallcrest caught up to them and there was much rejoicing at the reunion, especially for Hamlet who was reunited with his wife, Vallin.  Overall, there were around 100 dwarves who would be fighting, and another 150 civilians who would be staying behind until the fighting was over.  There was a great deal of positivity and high moral in the camp, and soon they settled down to plan the assault that would hopefully regain them their town.

It was decided that the forces were going to split into three teams.  All the teams would move to the north-east side of the mountains that surrounded the town, where they would not be spotted (knowing that such a large force not only was very visible, but also rather audible. Team 1, which would have Hamlet, Vallin (who was not going to be separated from her husband again) and Mosco, would travel with Team 2 which was led by Azdeth, Gillond and Hanor.  They were going to try and take out the eastern watchtower together as quickly as possible, with team 1 then moving around to take on the gate and its towers, while team 2 moved past to clear out the enemies in the merchant’s district.

Each colour on the map relates to height. Each colour represents at least 20ft. Blue is water, dark to light green is the main land, and the tan to red are the mountains. The dwarven buildings are set into the mountainside itself, carved from the rock there.

Meanwhile Team 3, led by Ulthand, Torthen, Thurthic and Nurdek, would scale a further part of the mountain, hopefully unspotted, and take out the northern watchtower before trying to clear out the Temple, something that Ulthand was vehemently desperate to do.

Once this was done, hopefully with only minor casualties, Team 2 would continue to hold the center of the town, while Teams 1 and 3 would meet up to clear out the Main Hall. Our group decided to join up with Team 1, both because it was felt that they may need more forces there, but also because Morrak was, much like Ulthand with his temple, driven to clear out the enemy forces from his forge.

The plans laid, their spirits high, they moved the fighting forces into position and scaled the side of the mountain and lay in wait until darkness fell.

to be continued [I have yet to finish writing this.  Check back for updates]

 

4-02. Dwarven Mining Camp

2. Dwarven Mining Camp – 10th July 2015

Fallcrest
The next day dawned, and the dwarves were already up, despite having spent the evening trying to locate their kin in the city; Whurdek Kral.  It seemed like it was going to take them longer to find them than they had anticipated, and urged the group to head on to the mining camp.  Hamlet especially wanted to press on as quickly as possible, for his wife was staying there.  He and the others had moved to the Seven Pillared Hall in order to make more money, but they had felt it too dangerous a place for Vallin, his wife, and so she had stayed with her brother at the mining camp.  He urged Morrak to press on, for he couldn’t leave the group at Fallcrest, and they would meet up with them afterwards, hoping to be reunited with his wife at last.

Such was the urgency felt by the dwarves to retake their home that the group were given no time to properly look around Fallcrest, only getting basic supply rations before they headed out onto the western route towards Winterhaven, bypassing it and on to the base of the Cairngorm Peaks where the dwarven mining camp was located.

Dwarven Mining Camp
It was a long journey from their original starting point of Fallcrest, but after days of trudging through dirt they finally reach the dwarven mining camp.  Sitting at the base of the Cairngorm Peaks, one side of the camp is a steep rock-face while the other is made up of large heaps of rocks that seem partially natural and partially the result of mining in the area with shrubbery and trees on the other side.

The road runs through the middle of the camp, with large tents on either side that house the workers, along with a fire for cooking and what appears to be a rudimentary stable.  There are piles of large logs stacked within the camp, some have been used to reinforced either end of the camp, likely against attackers, while others have been shaped to be used as props in the mine.

The camp has a few dwarves working around the area, all of whom look exhausted and downtrodden, though a couple of them spot you immediately, having been watching the surrounding area while eating.  As soon as they saw the group, a shout went up and more dwarves emerge from tents and the mine itself, and you can see they are both wary and potentially hostile to outsiders.

However as soon as they see some of their own, hostility turns to surprise and joy and they rush forward to greet their kin.  More dwarves soon come from within the mine to join the greeting.

Morrak in particular was relieved to find Vallin in good health, along with her brother Gillond, whose cheerful demeanor was a welcome sight.

News from the camp was not great however, for it seemed that not only were they making a poor income here, but they were also being attacked by the undead each night with increasingly large numbers.  The undead, it was said, seemed to be coming from the south-eastern direction of the Lake Wintermist.  Despite this, they had been determined not to move from the camp, having already been displaced from a home once already.  It was with overall positivity and a new-found optimism that was brought about in the mining camp then when they were told of the plans to retake their home that lay in the mountains to the west.

So it was that the group and the dwarves of the camp chatted, catching up with what had been going on since they had last met.  Elwen took the time to sell one of her many talismans to Torthen, a quiet grey-bearded dwarf who had many tattoos.  He had seemed dubious over it, but for 5 silver he gained a talisman that would help him avoid stubbing his toes, or that was what she claimed it did.

Nearby, Corvar had noticed that one of the dwarves, Thurthic, who had been pointed out to be Morrak’s cousin, was looking pretty angry and frustrated.  His gaze kept returning to one of the female dwarves in the camp, Azdeth, and it was decided that he was sexually frustrated for wont of her.  Whether through a genuine attempt at aiding the dwarf, or merely for some amusement, he offered to lend his hat to him, in order that he might change how he looked to see if that worked to try and get her into his tent.  This could have gone fairly horribly wrong, for in truth it was about as clear as saying the dwarf was ugly, and for one as muscled and angry as this one was, things could have gone pretty badly for the Kenku.
Luck was perhaps on his side though, or his perception of the situation proved impeccable, for instead of taking offence, Thurthic did indeed borrow the hat and head on over to Azdeth.  Sadly for him, his tactics for this attempt were somewhat poor, for he merely went up to her and said  “It’s me, Thurthic, want to have sex?”  and promptly got punched in the face.  Dwarven women, it seemed, were not as mild mannered in public as humans it seems.

Seeing this tactic didn’t work, Corvar was then considering that either Azdeth didn’t actually like Thurthic’s personality, or she was of a different way inclined.  Mentioning this to Thurthic, he immediately changed himself into the visage of Hamlet’s wife Vallin.  Vallin, even covered in mining dust, is beautiful and has a shining full beard, something I am told that is highly prized in dwarven communities. The dwarves of the camp are both confused and amused by the change, while Thurthic seemed to have temporarily forgotten his drive to go try and get Azdeth into his tent, and was instead feeling himself up.

Corvar, visibly amused but perhaps worried that he wouldn’t get his hat returned, gets Ayanna to steal it back from Thurthic, who is left bereft of his recent female additions and is, if anything, even more sexually frustrated than ever.

With the camp having had some light relief, talk then turned to the packing up of the camp.  There was no way that such a substantial camp could be cleared away and have them headed out before dark, and it was said that after dark was when the dead tended to attack.  So it was decided that they would both help pack things, while others of the group would help reinforce the defences for the evening and head off the next day.

So the group helps pack and better the defences, reinforcing barricades and cutting back some undergrowth to give a better line of sight for those who were taking watch.  Sufjan was the only person who wasn’t helping with this, and instead spent the rest of the day boasting of his skills and prowess to the dwarves, who seemed unimpressed by his tales.

By the time night falls, with so many hands helping, all the packing except for the tents is done and safely stored in by the mine for moving the next day.  Exhausted, the group heads to sleep, but they were not long for such rest, for in the middle of the night the undead attacked!

Out of the trees to the south of camp the undead came.  With the undergrowth cut back and the extra barricades, it gave the watch more notice of the arrival, and people were able to rouse themselves from slumber and haul on their armour before the undead were fully upon them.  Unexpectedly, Heskan leaped out of the stable, despite having not been with the group on the journey to the mining camp.  He charged into battle along with them.

The groups split themselves generally between the two sides of the camp where the undead were most likely to get through from, since the high pile of stone and rubble was it’s own defence.

It was a mixture of skeletons and ghouls that attacked the camp, led by a strong skeleton archer who managed to scramble up on top of the rubble pile despite the poor footing the terrain gave.  Heskan and Thurthic both charged on the west alongside Gillond, with Sufjan, Ayanna and Elwen backing them up.  On the east side it was Azdeth, having picked the side of the camp where Thurthic was absent, (and who could really blame her?) alongside Torthen, Morrak and Brannoch.  Corvar, Vallin and Ulrik stayed near the center of camp, focused on the skeletal boss on the rubble and aiding both sides.  Gillond’s attacks were fairly notable due to the fact that he wielded a mace that was shaped like a large solid goblet and often accompanied by cheering when he managed a hit.

The press of the undead was strong, far stronger than the dwarves here had seen before, and it was not immediately clear whether they would make it through the night unscathed.  The east side, even with the aid of Ulrik’s landshark, was being sorely pressed, with the barricade soon becoming partially broken, allowing a ghoul to get through.  The ghouls in particular were vicious, leaving Heskan with an exceedingly nasty wound to his tail,  killing Elwen’s pet toad Thunderburker, and nearly killing Torthen, who suffered a mild stroke and staggered into a nearby tent.  The ghouls also managed to hit Ulrik for damage that was horrific, leaving him with an ailment that seemed to paralyze.

Morrak was also hampered, but not by wounds, but by the slow speed he seemed to have at being woken up without full rest.  This, however, left him well placed when leaving his tent to help Ulrik, along with Vallin’s aid.  He pushed back the ghoul, and and did considerable damage to it along with others until it retreated, disappearing into a tent.  Seeing the dire state that the east side was in, he called to Vallin to get away from the tents, and ran over to help Azdeth who, despite her considerable skill in arms, was greatly outnumbered.

This proved to be a poor decision, or perhaps there would have been no good decision in the circumstance.  Either way, before Vallin was able to retreat to a safer distance, the ghoul, which had seemed heartily damaged and intent on staying there, lept out and pounced upon Vallin, rendering her to the ground and struggling with consciousness.  Morrak, already caught in combat, cried out in anguish, knowing he could not get back over there in time, shouting to all those in earshot to help her.

It was then that Corvar’s skill with disguise and quick-thinking came into good use, for he changed himself to look like the skeleton boss, using his mimicry to even change his voice and tried to get the undead to believe that he was their leader.  Although this was initially of dubious success, he did manage to get the ghouls that were attacking Vallin to go into the tent and dance.  When they were out of sight, Ulrik moved to stabilize Vallin with the help of Corvar while the rest rally and push back the undead, or rather, slaughter them, with Heskan getting the killing blow on the boss skeleton.

Only the ghouls in the tent left, it was soon discovered, much to their chagrin, that they had managed to dig their way out through the back of the tent and through the rubble pile to freedom. Ghouls, it is said, tend to follow after prey that got away, and so they slept lightly, knowing that until they reached the safety of their home, or dealt with the ghouls, they may well end up meeting them again another night.

The group carefully collapsed the makeshift passage and settled in for what little of the night they had after healing the wounded.  Morrak was visibly hovering around Vallin, worry and guilt in his eyes over her near-death experience.  Despite their worries over the ghouls, the rest of the night was swiftly gone without incident.

Continue to Chapter 3

4-01. Caravan Attack

1. Caravan Attack – 26th June 2015

So it was that the group, having successfully escaped the Thunderspire Mountains without further incident, headed towards Fallcrest with their dwarven companions; Ulthand, Hamlet, Mosko and Hanor, hoping to find more of their kin there in order to gather a force large enough to retake their home town from invaders.

It was on this journey that they came across a scene of battle in which a dwarf, an elf and a half-elf were fighting off a hoard of goblins along with a bugbear that appeared to have attacked the merchant caravan they were with.  Two of the three wagons were on fire and there were corpses all around, from both sides, though the dwarf looked the worse for wear, whose group was certainly outnumbered for the merchants that were still alive were certainly no help in this fight.

The dwarf mercenaries seemed to recognize the dwarf, who was even now bleeding visibly and seemed determined to help him, and so they rushed into combat, the rest of the group following.
It seemed that their hasty addition to the battle came none-too soon, for the dwarf, Morrak, although grim and determined, was not in a good way, and had two goblin warriors bearing down on him.  A lucky strike on the already exhausted dwarf seemed to be too much, for he collapsed to the ground, struggling with consciousness even as the battle renewed itself around him.

The goblins, many of whom had been looting the wagon, ran to get to higher ground to gain advantage with their arrows, though one of them is felled by Corvar before they could reach there.  The fight seems to be in their favour, but then Heskan appeared to find one of the goblin warriors especially intimidating and wets himself, perhaps getting flashbacks of the Duregar Keep they had only so recently left.

While the fighting goes on, the half-elf paladin manages to heal the fallen Morrak, who gets up, still bloody, but more than happy to rejoin the fight.  Meanwhile Ayanna manages to catch the bugbear with a noose, hauling the huge creature down off the incline.  It was quite a sight to be seen, for such a small creature as she is to do such a feat.    Likewise the elf of this merchant caravan group turned herself into a tiger and attacks the goblins with such claws of viciousness that it was a surprise that they to did not wet themselves as Heskan had earlier.

The battle continued, with the goblin archers trying to get up onto the higher ground, some of them failing, while the rest were getting picked off one by one by the two groups that were now working together.  The merchants meanwhile were having struggles of their own trying to avoid the fighting.  The old woman runs into the woods around them, getting lost before she fell into a nearby shrubbery, while the old man was desperately trying to save different goods and belongings from the fire-engulfed wagons.

The group still seemed to be plagued with some bad luck though, for not long after the heroic toppling of the bugbear off the incline, Hamlet, who was by all accounts in an excellent position against the bugbear, manages somehow to miss and hits Ayanna instead, making a tooth go flying.  Ayanna was then grabbed by the bugbear strangler.  Not long after that Corvar also lost his bow to a goblin who managed, in the middle of battle, to steal it from him.

Thankfully Corvar managed to regain his bow, though it took bluffing the goblin, after two attempts to steal it back failed.  Ayanna managed to wiggle out of the bugbear’s grip, though it attempted to strangle Hamlet instead, but instead trips and falls before trying to surrender.  It was at this point that Ulthand stepped forth and cast a spell upon the bugbear, revealing the depths of truth about himself.  This seems to hurt the bugbear deeply, and he was heard to cry “I thought I was a more complex character!”

The cry seemed to distract a goblin archer who was trying to climb up the side of the cliff, to join the others on the higher ground, and he falls, and badly, breaking his neck.  Sufjan capitalizes on this soon after by killing a goblin warrior, while Morrak charges as fast as he can after the other goblin archers and with a surety of someone used to dealing with cliff-faces, scrambles up the cliff to them.  Seeing the tide of battle starting to turn against them, and an angry dwarf coming towards them, the goblins archers turn to flee, with one of them breaking their weapon on Morrak’s shin.  It seemed to bother the dwarf not at all.

Ayanna, seeming to have remembered her earlier success in stealing from foes, attempts to rifle through the belongings of the bugbear nearby.  Through the somewhat foul smelling fur, and little clothing, it became clear to her that the bugbear is carrying no weapons, but does pull off some manner of metal bracelet or potentially a metal cockring.  She isn’t exactly too sure where it came from, since the fur is so thick.  She makes a mental note to wash her hands.

Not too long after this, the bugbear seems to notice her again, and grabs her.  Although both Hamlet and Corvar’s pet dire wolf attempt to attack the bugbear to free her, both of them miss.  Poor Ayanna is getting strangled in transit, her gasping breaths heard to those nearby, most of whom try to get to her to help.  Ulthand, the dwarven priest, zaps the bugbear, which seems to do a fair bit of damage to the bugbear, then heals Ayanna as much as he can, although he was not able to free her from its grip.  Even from a distance it was easy to see the priest was distraught by his action of hurting something.

Amazingly, despite her predicament, Ayanna continued to rifle through the fur of the bugbear, hoping perhaps to find some advantage, but she only found a large, circular, immovable object and a few gold.

Across the road, Corvar aimed a shot, and it flew straight and deadly towards the bugbear.  Out of the corner of its eye, the bugbear must have seen it coming, and knowing that perhaps death was imminent, hauled Ayanna around, and used her as a meat shield to block the shot.  Poor Ayanna , half strangled and now pierced by an arrow struggles for survival even as Brannoch leaps upon the bugbear, knocking it down, allowing Ayanna to scramble away.

The bugbear, glancing quickly around the battlefield soon came to realize that the tide of battle had indeed turned against him.  The goblins were being taken care of with relentless inevitability now, with Sufjan killing one while Morrak and Heskan dealt with others.  It attempted to surrender, trying to make them believe it really was all just a misunderstanding, but considering its multiple strangling attempts, it became clear that the group were not falling for that.  Seeing few options, it tried to run.

With the goblins being dealt with, the group focused its attacks on the retreating bugbear, seeming to be unwilling to allow it to escape after it’s multiple attacks on Ayanna.  Sufjan managed to poison it, while L’arachel also managed some ranged support.  Unfortunately Heskan’s bad luck seemed to persist, for he drops his bow, hurting his shin, stumbling.  Mosko helps him up again and they fight on even as Brannoch bounds past them to snap at the bugbear.

The bugbear was not defeated yet however, for it grabbed the half-elf Elwen, who had been in spider form, and takes her with him.  One might call it an adventure for her, but others, certainly, would call it a worrying predicament.

Ulthand, who had been so distraught about his earlier use of magic to harm others, seemed to see that the only way of saving the life of his travelling companion, was indeed to use his skills once more.  A great bolt was cast from his hands to the bugbear before it could do too much damage to her, and it fell to the ground, dead, it’s fur still singed from the blast.

“It is done.”

How many people noticed the weight of his actions upon his soul was debatable.  He had saved the half-elf’s life, but at the cost of killing one of the world’s creatures.  It sat heavily with him, and he seemed almost in poor health because of it.

The rest of the goblins were killed with ease, and Heskan, perhaps overcome with a spate of insanity, or yet another dragonborn ritual that I don’t know about, decided to teabag the corpses.  What a sight to be seen.  Indeed, one might wish that one had not seen it at all as he crouched over them saying “Perceive my victory, slain!”  Those that saw it decided that it was, sadly, only an average teabagging.

The dubious pleasure of watching Heskan aside, the group saw to helping the old woman out of the bush, and attempting to help the old man retrieve what belongings he could from the burning wreckage of the carts.  Their companion, a man of no real visual note, made his reappearance after having disappeared utterly for the entire fight.  I could see the group eyeing him warily, for none of their skills had spotted him once the fight began.  Was this a man of superior cowardice, or a master assassin?  No one could tell.

The group helped heave the only remaining unburned caravan up once more, and thankfully found it relatively undamaged, enough at least that it should survive the trip to Fallcrest.  The old couple were overjoyed to have at least their lives and some of their livelihood intact, and gave the group what little they could manage in repayment in the form of three bolts of fine cloth.

It was while the group were still helping to pack the caravan that the half-elf L’arachel started flirting outrageously with most of the members of the ensemble, though steered clear of Morrak, whose steely gaze did not invite such things, the old couple, or of Corvar and Heskan who it seems were not deemed fit to be the recipient of such things.  Sadly for her, it seemed not to gain any positive results.

So, after they had rested briefly and seen to the most critical wounds, the dwarves, along with Brannoch helped pull the merchant’s wagon to their mutual destination:  Fallcrest.

Fallcrest
Fallcrest was a far larger town than they had been used to seeing.  It is set among the Moon Hills in the center of the Nentir Vale.  It bisects the King’s road about 50 miles from Winterhaven and 60 miles from Harkenwold, and also joins to the dwarven trade road that leads to the Thunderspire mountains 30 miles away.

The city is well fortified, with strong walls on one side and the Nentir river and falls on the other.  To the north there is a heavily fortified keep on a rocky hill, with the rest of the city to the south of that. The city is bisected by an extremely steep cliff that rises around 200 feet from the lower area to the upper.  The city itself caters mostly to travelers and traders, due to its prominent position on the two major roads in the area.  There are farms and small wooded areas out-with the main area of the town.

Successfully making it to the town with no further incident, the group parted ways with the merchants, and headed to the Blue Moon Ale House, for it was owned by dwarves and thus probably the best place to start looking for the people they were seeking.

Ayanna took the time to ask Morrak about crafting something out of the undead arm she had previously stolen and had been carrying around.  Unfortunately he seemed unable, or perhaps unwilling to do anything with it.
“I don’t do random crafting of arms.”

Too late in the evening to start the search, they took rooms in the Inn, recovering from deeper wounds and exhaustion, hoping to start the next day fresh.

Continue to Chapter 2

4-00. Foreword from the Scribe

Foreword from the Scribe

Let me introduce myself.  I am Kenar Hevathar, former apprentice to the great Valthren of Winterhaven.

I first met the group of heroes at the completion of their great adventure to slay the notorious necromancer Kalarel.  I had been drawn from the slumbers of death by residual necromantic magic and decided that now was not my time to rest, and that I would document the travels and adventures of these heroes as they did other great and beneficial acts across the land.

So it was that I traveled, largely unseen, with the group, documenting their exploits.

The group had traveled from Winterhaven to the Thunderspire Mountains to look into the slavery network that had been taking innocent villagers from their homes and families.

Although they were initially fairly successful, in their exploits, it became clear that the it was a far harsher land than they were used to, and the people were on the whole much the same.  The dangers and lifestyle of those that lived in the Labyrinth beneath the Thunderspire Mountains had tempered their opponents into being far better trained at fending off invaders than they were used to dealing with.

Although they had managed to free a few slaves, it was the Duregar in the Horned Hold, a Keep within the Labyrinth that proved their undoing.  Even with the additional help of some dwarf mercenaries, it was too much for them.  Two of their group, along with two of the mercenaries fell in battle, while others were rendered unconscious.  Forced from the offensive into a full retreat, the group made a sharp exit from the Thunderspire Mountains, along with the dwarf mercenaries and their priest and former employer Ulthand.

It was during this time that the mercenaries put forth the idea of teaming up to retake their dwarven town, so they could rebuild their forces and then return eventually to battle the Duregar that had slain their comrades.  Seeing few other appealing options, the group agreed, and so it was they returned to the fresh air of the land above-ground and started making their way to round up more of the scattered inhabitants of the dwarven town so they might have a full fighting force to retake it.

Continue to Chapter 1