Dungeon Crawler Quest(Original Fantasy)

[Arkeus]

Too bad we didn't get to see our AoE Acid Rain in action, it could have been pretty damn food against those big packs of undead.

EDIT: We should also ask Sera what is her new earth spell.

 

[steamrick]

[X] Anshelm Blacksteel Greatshield, 1 hi potion, 1 panacea
[X] Al- 2 ethers, 1 high potion
[X] Maya - Tainted Longbow, 1 high potion
[X] Shimah- 1 ether, 1 panacea
[X] Sera -1 ether, 1 high potion
[X] Vault- Traitor's Cloak, Highlander Job Crystal, Abyssal Staff
-[X]Think about Rolf for the Highlander Crystal. relationships are important, and we really need to be more connected as well as more powerful by the time the big incident happens. We can't afford anyone to die, and as Branded we all have very high odds of dying if we aren't ready.

[X] Castle of the Ice Queen E rank
-[X] Keep an eye out for any monsters Maya can make into a pet.

 

[tenchi96]

[X] Anshelm Blacksteel Greatshield, 1 hi potion, 1 panacea
[X] Al- 2 ethers, 1 high potion
[X] Maya - Tainted Longbow, 1 high potion
[X] Shimah- 1 ether, 1 panacea
[X] Sera -1 ether, 1 high potion
[X] Vault- Traitor's Cloak, Highlander Job Crystal, Abyssal Staff
Sad to just sell the staff and crystal, and really leery of selling that cloak given the text. We can bring it to the church and ask.
Shame about nothing in the jobs.
[X] Castle of the Ice Queen E rank
-[X] Keep an eye out for any monsters Maya can make into a pet.

 

[GiftofLove]

We should see if Rolf wants to buy Highlander.

 

[mrttao]

Damn, this was the E rank version? we actually got a pet perma killed and lost a summon (good thing those are expendable)
No wonder this dungeon kills so many newbies

ork warcamp is near ogre's den
castle of the ice queen is near drake nest
I think that we should pair them up with the nearby dungeon for the sake of saving walk time.
That is, ogre's den + warcamp one day, castle of the ice queen + drake nest another day.
I would like to get one pair tomorrow and the next pair the next day. Both because I think they are interesting, and for the sake of expanding our guide.
Also, I would really like to get a professional typist in on it. Maybe actually note info requests in it and offer some reward for people for turning in new info (free subscriptions? cash?). It would be nice if we got info about higher level dungeons before we went in there

Sad to just sell the staff and crystal

Click to shrink...

Why? its just loot and there will be more. Also, remember that sold loot doesn't get destroyed, its then resold to other adventurers. Where do you think maya's ninja crystal came from?

 

[mrttao]

[X] Anshelm: Blacksteel Greatshield
[X] Maya: Tainted Longbow
[X] Vault:
- [X] All consumables, party members replenish theirs
[X] Get more info at church: Traitor's Cloak
[X] Sell:
-[X] Highlander Job Crystal (Rolf or Hiro gets first refusal)
-[X] Abyssal Staff (Check with Lydia?)

 

[redaeth]

[X] Anshelm Blacksteel Greatshield, 1 hi potion, 1 panacea
[X] Al- 2 ethers, 1 high potion
[X] Maya - Tainted Longbow, 1 high potion
[X] Shimah- 1 ether, 1 panacea
[X] Sera -1 ether, 1 high potion

[X] Vault- Traitor's Cloak, Highlander Job Crystal, Abyssal Staff
-[X]Think about Rolf for the Highlander Crystal. relationships are important, and we really need to be more connected as well as more powerful by the time the big incident happens. We can't afford anyone to die, and as Branded we all have very high odds of dying if we aren't ready.

[X] Castle of the Ice Queen E rank
-[X] Keep an eye out for any monsters Maya can make into a pet.

I wonder if Ice Queen will drop a race mod for an ice type.

 

[Guile]

Damn, this was the E rank version? we actually got a pet perma killed and lost a summon (good thing those are expendable)
No wonder this dungeon kills so many newbies

Click to shrink...

Desecrated Fort E is only 1 level short of Crystal Lake D, and noted for ally buffs. Doesn't overly surprise me.

Were we going to try another dungeon or mission today?

 

[mrttao]

Desecrated Fort E is only 1 level short of Crystal Lake D, and noted for ally buffs. Doesn't overly surprise me.

Click to shrink...

we fared better on crystal lake D though, and it had a bullshit extra bosss. And it was both 1 level higher and 1 rank higher. And we even switched up our abilities just for this.

 

[Arkeus]

we fared better on crystal lake D though, and it had a bullshit extra bosss. And it was both 1 level higher and 1 rank higher. And we even switched up our abilities just for this.

Click to shrink...

Not all dungeons with same rec/levels are equal- see how Ashen Grotto is usually much harder than Wailing Cavern, for example. It might just be that Fort is on the verge of evolving into a 5-people dungeon, and so on.

Also from the spells we used it seems like Al couldn't do any damage with Ice, and while switching skills is all well and good our fire skill is still rank E, and the boss was immune to fire.

yrsillar were they immune to water too? Why didn't we use Acid Rain? would have thought beautiful Area spell would have worked wonders against big stacks of enemies. Also, can we have the usual character/level/title description at the end of the update?

 

[yrsillar]

Oh, right, forgot to put the party status up. They're largely immune to status effects, and Sera was largely handling AOE duties while Alice was disabling casters, since the fireballs and such did so much more due to weakness.

edit: status is up

 

[tEN]

I feel like, somewhere out there, somebody wanting to focus on melee damage, bemoaning the fact that they just got an amazing magic job crystal they can't use. We should see if we can find this person and trade.

 

[Arkeus]

edit: status is up

Click to shrink...

Fuck, Shimah is Keeping Shaman Job? Mmmh, this probably means we won't get a Aoe Status Cure for a while

I feel like, somewhere out there, somebody wanting to focus on melee damage, bemoaning the fact that they just got an amazing magic job crystal they can't use. We should see if we can find this person and trade.

Click to shrink...

While in theory a good idea, I prefer first trading (with reduced pricing) with people we already have had contact with so they keep coming back to us. This would be first Rolf (as a thanks for that info), and then Hiro (as we know he likes his swords).

 

[tEN]

I can get behind checking with Rolf and Hiro first. I just think that after they say no, we should hunt around/put the word out instead of going to a shop.

 

[Guile]

I can get behind checking with Rolf and Hiro first. I just think that after they say no, we should hunt around/put the word out instead of going to a shop.

Click to shrink...

Is Hiro the jackass guy from our childhood?

 

[Arkeus]

Is Hiro the jackass guy from our childhood?

Click to shrink...

Nah, he is a guy that began after us but quickly overlevelled us. First reference is morning when we took Shimah:

There's a nervous looking level one sword warrior in the back corner too, dark green hair, pretty handsome though, not in the jerky bodice ripper way of the knight from yesterday though. Looks like his name is…Hiro? Who names their kid Hiro?

Click to shrink...

Then on day 4:

"Hey, you're the one who, wrote that guide right?" you jump in your seat when a voice speaks up over your shoulder, nearly spilling your ink. You scowl and turn to look at whoever just surprised you. It's that Hiro guy from the other day, the sword warrior… huh he's level three and D rank now, you guess he's been busy.

"Yeah, I am, did you need something?" you reply irritably, it's kind of your own fault for not paying attention to your surroundings, but eh, might as well blame someone else.
Instead of answering immediately he bows his head slightly, "No, I just wanted to thank you, my partner and I probably would have gotten ourselves killed or at least wasted an escape orb on crystal lake yesterday if I hadn't bought one, so thanks."

Oh, well that's pretty cool. You are pretty amazing, "You're welcome, that's what the guide is for." You say proudly.

"Well I'm glad someone decided to make one, will you be releasing updated copies at some point?" He asks.

"Sure, once I have more info to give." You might have to work to keep ahead though, this guy caught up with you even though you had a days head start, he must be running with a smaller party.

"I'll look forward too it, your guide was pretty helpful." He responds, with a grin. Ah, stupid handsome guys, why do you only have a girl with a crush on you? You spend a moment considering the idea of Seraphine as a guy, you can't picture it. Does that mean you would be the man in your relat... Nope cutting that train off right there.

Click to shrink...

Then on day 8:

Anyway, there's Hiro and Lucia, level six, man they're going fast, they seem to have traded roles, Hiro is a wind elementalist right now, and Lucia is a sword warrior. Looks like Alex has joined up with them too, though he looks kinda uncomfortable, also only level three.

Click to shrink...

Then on day 9:

"Hey guys, wanted to let you know, found a buyer for that sword we got. He said you know him Alice, Hiro or something? Either way, he gave me four hundred for it so I figured it was a good deal." Anshelm says gruffly as he takes his seat, passing a pouch of gilder to each of you already at the table.

Click to shrink...

 

[mrttao]

Is Hiro the jackass guy from our childhood?

Click to shrink...

Hiro is the final fantasy main character caricature.
Spiky blond hair, brooding, giant sword... thanked us very politely for our guide

 

[Grosstoad]

The jerkass from childhood is now party-ed with Hiro and Lucia though... Because his partner died.

 

[Arkeus]

yrsillar you forgot to include Shimah's shiny new race mode in the status line up:
After CL D-rank:

Shimah Lv6
Shaman D
Health 80/96
SP 36/105

Click to shrink...

Right now:

Shimah Lv6
Shaman D
Health 85/96
SP 56/105

Click to shrink...

I was kind of looking forward to see what change it made

 

[theBSDude]

Traitor's spirit... I'm guessing it adds Friendly Fire, likely at a small percentage, or has a chance to steal health from a teammate under specific conditions. If it's health-stealing of some sort, it might actually be useful.

 

[mrttao]

Traitor's spirit... I'm guessing it adds Friendly Fire, likely at a small percentage, or has a chance to steal health from a teammate under specific conditions. If it's health-stealing of some sort, it might actually be useful.

Click to shrink...

that is one guess, it could also inflict random confuse. remember when we got confused and attack our party.

 

[yrsillar]

Fixed the error in Shimah's entry, is what I get for just copying out of the last update.

 

[Grosstoad]

Hmm, Maya is not yet level 7, so no hurry there.

 

[Arkeus]

Hmm, Maya is not yet level 7, so no hurry there.

Click to shrink...

Heh, I prefer to have some margin so that we don't get locked out of dungeons without having to switch party members.

Also, Anyone mind adding a line about asking our party memebers what their new skills/spells are? Anshelm's Bullwark skill (no idea what it's called) should be at D-rank now, same with Shimah's Shaman (I think the totem is a passive skill from the job, not the magic skill?), and we don't know what are Sera's D-rank Lightning and Earth spells. She might not even be far from the lightning C-rank one, but can't recall offhand when she bought it. Likewise, our passive skills got some extra stuff at C-rank, and I wonder what's theirs.
I am too curious.

 

[GiftofLove]

[!] Damned if you won't get any use out of Maya's interest in your love life. Ask Maya if she has any advice to make you a better kisser.

 

[Xicree]

[!] Examined if you won't get any use out of Maya's interest in your love life. Ask Maya if she has any advice to make you a better kisser.

Click to shrink...

The best vote ever.

 

[yrsillar]

Okay looks like we're heading for the castle. Locking up

 

[yrsillar]

"Gimme a couple Ethers and a Hi potion, and I'll be good… I say we stuff the cloak in the vault and get somebody at the church to check it out… not sure if cursed items are a thing…" you say after a moments thought.

"The description does seem rather ominous, even if the effects are nice," Maya adds agreeably.

"Yeah, pretty much, don't really trust anything outright named traitor," Anshelm says, "What about the job crystal though?"

"Eh… we could see if anyone at the Inn, has a green job to swap since none of us can use it." You say, "Worth at least checking.

"Um, that does seem more sensible than just selling it right away, the same for the staff," Sera adds, "Just because we can't use the auction house yet, doesn't mean we can't trade."

"Sensible, I have no objection," Shimah states.

"Sure, honestly gilder is starting to feel kinda useless, I guess that'll change once the auction opens." Anshelm says with a shrug. "So, where too next? We want to hit one of those new places Al got info on?"

"I'd like to do Ice Queen," you admit, "For obvious reasons, plus we are getting close to the level cap, and I don't want to get locked out of a dungeon that probably has good drops for me."

"Seems reasonable to me, I think you said there are a lot of casters, so there should be the possibility of loot for Shimah and Sera as well." Maya says, fiddling with her inventory a bit.

"Sure, sounds good," Anshelm grunts as he equips his new shield… holy crap is it huge. You think the thing must be almost six inches thick, and solid metal at that. It honestly looks rather absurd, towering almost a full foot over Anshelms head when planted on the ground, he looks mildly disgruntled by this.

You bite back a snicker that earned you a sharp look and a scowl, better pass it off, "So what do greatshields do anyway?"

He looks at you suspiciously for a moment, and you can see Maya eyeing you knowingly, "Makes me resist stun slow and paralysis, and there's an ability to stun and knockback an enemy trying to disengage, also puts them back on me."

"Ah, Lightning ranked to C, and Earth hit D for me as well," Sera says as everyone gets to walking again, having stowed their various loot. "Lightning is a 'massive damage' single target that burns and can paralyze, it has a two tick charge time though."

"Sounds pretty nice, how about earth?" you ask curiously.

Sera smiles prettily, "The defense boost upgraded I think, and the Stoneskin spell gives me fifty health now. The new spell is 'Mud Pit'. It creates a zone full of wet mud that slows every enemy inside and does a little bit of damage."

Seems pretty useful, "My curses ranked as well, I do not remember if I mentioned that," Shimah notes, "I can paralyze an additional target per spell, and I have gained a curse that causes enemies to harm themselves when they attack. The accuracy is noted as being low though, so I will likely need to save it for later in battle, when my passive has built up."

Nice stuff all around you suppose. You fall in easily next to Sera, and without a word she slips her hand into yours, not even going much more than light pink as she does so. Progress you suppose? Either way you're off, pausing only to resummons your Guardian.

The trip up toward Drakes Nest is a pretty long one, passing through some fairly unpleasant terrain. You do actually run across an enemy group, but in the end it's an easy fight, just a pair of drake whelps in over their heads. They go down without issue, no item drops off of them and only a piddling bit of XP and such.

20 Exp, 1 Jp, 25 Gilder

Eventually you come to the snowy zone Rolf mentioned and see the two mountains in the distance that the dungeon was said to lie between. Of course, right around then it starts snowing, much to everyone's displeasure.

You really have to stifle a laugh when the snow that hits Sera goes up in steam, but soon everyone besides you and Maya is feeling pretty grumbly. Branded might not get frostbite, but simple discomfort isn't something you get out of.

At least the storm doesn't get worse, and the wind is mostly blocked once you pass into the valley. The dungeon isn't like anything you've seen before, it looks like a castle right out of a storybook, all sweeping fragile spires and a big domed roof in the center. It also looks like its cut entirely from a block of diamond, but you strongly suspect it's just magically enhanced ice.

"Pretty fancy isn't it?" Anshelm says as you trudge up to the glistening gates, where you can faintly make out the shimmer that separates dungeon from reality.

"I wonder if it would crumble when you cleared it, or if whoever managed could move in, I wouldn't mind owning a castle," Maya adds cheerfully, not looking at all bothered despite the fact that she's soaked to the bone. She's pretty good at ignoring discomfort you guess.

"Maybe someday," you muse, you wouldn't mind either, having a super awesome throne of polished diamond and a fancy crown, plus Sera sitting on your lap feeding you grapes.

…Wait, what was that last one? You shake your head, "Well, we might as well do this, shouldn't be too bad. Suggested party is four and it's a level lower than the Fort."

"Yes, let us begin, I do not wish to stand out here any longer than necessary," Shimah says, looking positively miserable.

With that you begin, the first room is the path leading up to the castle gatehouse between fields of flowers formed entirely from ice… it's eerily pretty honestly. The giant furry humanoids lumbering up the path are less so. Yetis huh. You can see about five other enemies flitting about in the air above them, maybe half your height with icy white skin and fluttering wings like a cross between a butterfly and snowflake. Ice fairies. Real low health on those, but pretty decent SP pools. All of them absorb ice and are weak to fire.

"Mm, try to keep a one of the big ones for last," Maya asks, even as she prepares to stealth, "I want to see if it's tameable."

"Gotcha," Anshelm replies, striding forward, hilariously oversized shield raised.

"Looks like it's time to burn some stuff," You say, glancing over to Sera as you release her hand.

Man you like her smile, "Mm, it seems so, I wonder how long they'll last?" she muses.

It turns out not very long. Between you and Sera, the fairies get obliterated. Even if some of the damage seems to tick down onto the Yeti's despite the flames never touching them… some kind of tank ability? The fairies barely get a couple of frost sprays off, and the wild swings of yeti fists barely faze Anshelm with nothing backing them up. Shimah has to heal him, but only once before one drops, and it turns out that, yes Maya can tame Yetis.

Next room is right in front of the gatehouse. Here two more Yeti's stand guard… along with two enemy Frost Guardians. Hrrm. There's another gaggle of eight faeries flitting about as well.

The first interesting thing you note, as you and Sera reduce faeries to steam, is that the enemy Frost Guardians seem to able to cause a nova of frost damage around them… healing the other enemies in melee and damaging Anshelm. You wonder if yours will be able to do that at some point. Either way, Shimah has to do a bit more work, but other than that, nothing too bad. You pop an Amrita, since resummoning your guardian back at the dungeon was a bit draining.

The next room, inside the gatehouse, is a little more daunting, four of each of the melee types, another half dozen faeries, plus a pair of Winter Sorceresses. You can't get much of a good look at them, shrouded in white robes as they are…. Plus you know the pair of them summon a blizzard into the room before anyone can put them down.

It doesn't bother you much mind, but everyone else gets hit with a slow and some ticking ice damage, plus reduced visibility. Sera makes her displeasure known by detonating a fireball that almost kills three faeries outright, and fills the upper section of the room with steam.

That's pretty much your signal, tank squad mark two moves up to occupy the melee, and you and Sera deal with the fliers, even as Maya vanishes into the snow on the hunt for Sorceresses. Shimah manages to nab one with a paralyze when a brief gust from one of Sera's spells clears the air… and well, Maya makes short work of it after that. So damaging, but in the end they drop without really endangering you.

Next room is up… and honestly, you almost don't notice the monsters what with the sheer luxurious grandeur of the entrance hall, this place must be even bigger on the inside, because you're pretty sure the glittering white and blue ice tiles of the floor extend almost out of sight, and the grand stairwell leading to the upper floors is at least two stories high.

Right monsters, scattering gangs of faeries, looks like two dozen or so, each with a Yeti guard, so four of those. Two guardians at the foot of the stairs, and three sorceresses halfway up, along with a… Arctic Knight? Looks like a Frost Guardian, except carved to look like a classical knight with sword and shield.

"I want this place, I think," Maya sighs, "So pretty, I could do without the monsters though."

"Guess we better get started on that then," Anshelm replies.

"You are both mad, this place is still freezing," Shimah grumbles, casting out her healing totem.

You shake your head, you suppose everybody else must be feeling confident too, if they're all joking around. It's hard not too when Sera can flash fry a whole enemy group herself. Ah well, no time like the present to try out your new spell. You concentrate on the stairwell, and with a strange rumble, ugly blue green clouds form over the ceiling and hissing, bubbling rain pours down on the sorceresses and their guards. They really don't like that. Then you all eat another blizzard and the icicle spears start flying, lovely.

Shimah has to work a bit to keep everyone healthy in the blizzard, but as faerie groups fall under yours and Sera's combined fire, the enemy damage drops off pretty fast. By the time you get to the tough enemies, Maya has already backstabbed a Sorceress, and the others are at half health from your rain. Even with the knight tanking hits for them when it can they don't last long.

The next room is, strangely enough a garden full of icy flowers… rosebushes to be exact, filled with nasty thorns. Also way more faeries than you can immediately count, with more spawning from particularly large rosebushes… lovely, a spawner room.

You need an Ether and a Potion by the end, mostly because after you shatter the first rosebush the room fills with biting frost that even damages you, and intensifies with each of the six spawners you destroy, but in the end the room is cleared with minimal trouble, beyond Shimah using up two Ethers just spamming her group heal until the numbers drop to a reasonable amount.

Last up… is another section of garden. This time it's occupied by a gigantic white tiger the size of a wagon train. Its name is Mittens. You fail to see the humor. Plus a three more rosebushes spawning ice fairies, because of course there are.

"That is too much cat," you grumble, "I like cats, and still way too much."

For the first time you have to put some effort into keeping your guardian healed, because 'Mittens' has no trouble tearing into it. Other than simple physical attacks, which are plenty strong. It actually has a lightning aura of all things, plus a frost breath attack. Tank Squad keeps the boss busy while Sera, Maya and you deal with the spawners and giggling faeries blasting you with ice. Shimah mostly sticks to healing with an occasional debuff thrown in. Around half health she manages to get her new curse to land on the boss though, which speeds things up significantly.

In the end Maya almost loses her pet again before the big cat finally falls, with a pitiful yowl.

Congratulations!
72 Experience
8 Job points
90 Gilder

The party has Looted
4 potions
2 Ethers
[Yeti Pelt] Warm and fluffy armor for hunters of the north. High resistance to Ice and a boost to Health. 240 Cannot equip
[Ice Sorceress' Robe] Imbued with winters wrath, boosts Ice resistance and damage, and grants a bonus to SP. Especially low defense. 280
[Frost striders Boots] Thick warm fur boots that boost cold resistance, health and resistance to slow.
[Frigid blade] A sword made of clear ice, high critical rate and bonus frost damage. 180 Cannot Equip
[Artic Fangs] Beaten from the mouth of an adorable kitty. You monster. High chance of critical strike, bonus frost damage and chance of slow on hit. 270. Cannot Equip.

[Ice Elementalist Job Crystal] Low damage, good control. 300

"Not bad overall," Maya says, "I'll take the daggers and the armor if no one minds." You notice that she has leveled up as well.

"I would actually like the boots. Slow is an issue for me, given how much we can be affected by a reduction in my healing rates." Shimah says, arms crossed under her chest as she shivers.

"Meh, nothing for me, but I got a good pick today already," Anshelm says, glancing over the list with disinterest, "S'pose I could take the job crystal if no one more suited wants it. The cold aura could be useful, it'll help keep Al's pet healed."

"The same, I suppose." Sera says with a shrug.

Well, what do you want?

[]Loot
[] Evenin plans

Al Lv6
Ice Elementalist C
Health 60/74
SP 37/96

Maya Lv7
Dual Blade Hunter C
Health 78/90
Sp 15/44

Anshelm Lv6
Spear Warrior C
Health 122/200
SP 3/52

Shimah Lv6
Shaman D
Health 98/116
SP 46/115

Seraphine Lv6
Fire Elementalist C
Health 70/75
Sp 21/87
​

 

[Grosstoad]

Hmm, the Ice Queen won't pop up until higher ranks, I guess.
And we can probably assume the Bonus Boss is in the rosebush area.

Loots are pretty clear, I guess.
As always, don't forget to model.

 

[Arkeus]

[X]Loot
-[X]Al: Ether
-[X]Maya: [Yeti Pelt], [Arctic Fangs]
-[X]Shimah: [Frost striders Boots]
-[X]Sera: Ether
-[Anshelm: [Ice Elementalist Job Crystal]
-[X]Vault: [Ice Sorceress' Robe], 4 potions
-[X]Sell: [Frigid blade]

[X] Evening plans
-[X]Sell for cheap/Trade Highlander Crystal to Rolf (First choice as thanks for info) or Hiro (2nd choice), or anyone else who wants it.
-[X] Check Mission boards and crystal/race mod shops. See if Sera wants anything, or if there is a good green Job Crystal for us.
-[X]Invite everyone over at your house. It's been a while since we saw our mom, and she hasn't met anyone else in our group but Sera.