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Charis (Charisycho, Warrior) and KingOfPain (KoPsycho) became Ironman Champions in a non-tournament two player game. It was a very long and tough game, with only moderate drops that favored the warrior. The mage sheltered him and helped out the team a lot until his final demise on 13 to a Guardian pack. The team credits patience and caution, heavy conservation, some very appropriate unique items, a blood fountain, and some great monster mixes for the victory. (Oh, and experience)

Key features:
- Blood Fountain on 1, highly used.
- Game time: 40 hours. Potions left at end: 68
- Three res found. Three deaths (one by Warrior, two mage)
- Final clvl: 24 for Warr, 16 for Sorc
- Schaeffer's Hammer, Constricting Ring, Wiz Wrap, Fleshstinger
- very late in game: Tiger Tower Shield and Awesome Gothic Plate
- Bittersweet: Gold/Radiance Amu (30/40), Chainmail of Radiance (Leo)
- Death blow to Diablo was with a plain old Bastard Sword
- Third party/Referee (Cyrene) was present for final session on dlvl 16
- See disclaimer at the end for rules used and game anomalies

Thanks to all who have gone before, who have shared their enthusiasm and tips for ironman, one of the greatest Diablo variations around!! The other post and web pages devoted to this adventure are meant to increase interest, and to give details to provide new ideas for IM fans.

Obligatory Disclaimer:
The game was not a 'tournament' game, but we tried to make it as much like a single game as we could (with no clock freeze).
- Standard IM rules, no use of townfolk once dungeon was entered, totally living off the land, one game straight from church to Diablo. No restart in town, just use of res scrolls found by players.
- Blood Fountain, found on dlvl 1 next to entrance, was 'recreated' most often as free use of Pepin via a fixed portal one off the action level.
- Potions were counted and left behind, and re-purchased the next game, likewise town portal and other common scrolls.
- Mules were used for excess items, 'just in case', since they would all be available under tourney conditions. In practice, I don't think any/many items were ever used or ID'd.
- One major anomaly. When we recreated game in caves on dlvl 10, about 1/3 into the level a friend who knew the name and password joined in. This lagged out the warrior. He rejoined, had to try to fill in his map, and one place ran into a single blood claw, which was taken on at a choke point. For some reason, the friend came down the portal, unannounced/uninvited, and as he was getting chided by the typing warrior, claws respawned around him on the 'safe' side of the choke, and killed him before he could quit typing and react. KoP and I ruled this a 'free res' for two good reasons:
I) I'm 100% sure I was in no danger, the Warrior was having a cakewalk on this level.
ii) Under tourney (or even normal!) conditions, that respawn and death would have never occurred. Even those who consider 'respawn' as something you have to live with, and you deserve to die if you're in a bad spot when a partner comes down, should realize a random third party's unannounced entrance to the level is not part of the ironman adventure.

"The Story" as a Narrative by Charis

IronMan story of Two Psychotics (picking up as they finish dlvl 11...)

This would be the loneliest level poor Charisychotic had ever faced, for his companion KoPsychotic, lay face down on dlvl 11. He had to go it alone with naught but his wit, a large supply of potions, and a blood fountain, conveniently found on entry on dlvl 1. He carefully, carefully went down the stairs to see what he would find.

Lava Maws. Ouch! Well, thankfully they are animals, and hit hard by the sword. Slayers. Ouch! Life drain. Ok, NO question but to ID Schaeffer's Hammer... +50 life, +75% res L, +30% to hit, -100% dmg, 1-50 Lning damage, +10% lr. Schaefer's Hammer and Gold/Radiance made him a beacon, but with tremendous to hit and that 1-50 dmg, he popped Slayers in 2-3 swings. Much did this Sycho pause to ponder such issues and strategies, for one mistake would be fatal. Once, luring he saw two dogs coming at him, and he ducked around the corner to position himself and wait. One dog, two dogs. OK. Three dogs, uh oh. Four! Gasp!! FIVE DOGS!! Sycho's heart just leapt up to his throat, as the dogs attacked furiously. One was beaten down, between blocks, but already two potions hastily quaffed. Thank goodness he had come back to a corner! Two hits and a spit tore his life down to a sliver, and he barely avoided fumbling over his potions. The belt was half gone, and two remained. Those were beaten off, with his life ebbing low once again. He took a long slow walk to the Blood Fountain to clear his mind. That was more potions than he could remember using, and yet, for his friends' sake, he chose to live. About twelve pots sucked down, mostly in two battles: 3 dogs, and 5 dogs. On twelve he found a plain great sword, just able to wield, and Books of Stone Curse and Guardian, if the mage should ever awake. Also an Amulet from a Slayer, a SBB, a nice Large Shield, and... A Scroll of Resurrect.

Glory be! KoPsycho... we're going to hell!!

Slowly and alone did the warrior inspect the new and dark level. He was not surprised, and not frightened, to find Guardians. Their younger brothers had died to the Hammer of Schaefer, and no doubt so would they! With them were succubus. Compared to the Knights of Blood he had feared, these were simple (well, not without caution). The constricting ring was very helpful, especially with the stairs and fountain nearby, and a mage as well. Charisycho knew he must try to keep KoPsycho active and not rusty, so one opportunity when a half dozen rogs were awoke, they thought it good to weaken them with charged bolts. Two problems, actually three: they were too close to the portal, there was no escape path, and worse, the mage had no mana shield. He looked fine briefly, but when an erratic rog step cut left him surrounded, it was seconds before death ensued. Both Charis and KoP were kicking themselves, fighting to take the blame. If nothing else they would learn several lessons from this, but at what price?! With the bonus hp from the Hammer and resistance from the Constricting Ring, the remainder of the level was straightforward (albeit tedious). When it was clear, with no res in sight, a dejected a lonely Charisycho descended yet another set of stairs...

As he did, he pondered these thoughts. To ID, or not to ID? Four scrolls were present, with some good AC scale mail and Large shield being strong candidates. Yet... he did plan solemnly to visit the chamber of Lazarus, and wanted two left for there. And one ring from a succubus sitting unid'd. On the other hand... he needed to survive TO Laz. He was on the very edge of whether he stunned or not. A +str or +all would be super, he didn't need much. A minor fear was that later +stats would be less common than +hp (i.e. no more Moon, no more stats on shield, etc.) Besides, he'll surely find some plate worth ID’ing in hopes of AC. Well, let's see what we find on 14, he concluded...

After 13 was Clear, Charisychotic missed his friend, and was sad, but knew he had to press on, slay Diablo and find a way to revive his comrade. Down to 14 nervously and slowly did he proceed, his palms moist on his hilt. First foe spotted was a Drake of Crimson Fire. The powerful Hammer of Schaefer did smite him most readily. This was good. The second foe was a... Vortex Lord! Glory be - more fodder for the golden Hammer!! His heart sang, and to make matters more palatable, a body on the ground he stopped to pray over was found to have Full Plate Mail! After scummy mail and two breast plates giving false hope, this AC 68 set was well received - now 105 AC (less than 40 short of optimal). A book of Firebolt was soon found as well. One cauldron was found, and strength was bolstered by heavenly faith.

This was the point he knew victory was possible!!
Rogs and drakes barely touching him, donning full plate mail, and touched by the heavens themselves. This was it. "Clear the mechanism!!" =)

Gasp! Onward to 15, the Abode of the traitorous Lazarus! He was a solid 23rd lvl of ability, as far as he could tell (doing 31-40 with bast sword). Yet, Sycho's palms against became sweaty as he descended. Stairs were next to pentagram, and the first foe, a Hell Spawn, was very carefully lured and slain. The walk down to 15 was getting long, and there was no second chance, so caution reigned. Soon, telltale charged bolts approaches, which spoke of Magistrates. More important, this signaled there would NOT be Azures or Soulies. In fact, another two monster level, outstanding! While the Hammer would protect nicely against the Magistrates, its damage on them was not much, and the CRing still to be donned often to face the Spawn of Hell. This level his trusty LBB would be close at hand.

First potion of hell was quaffed here. Not far from Laz a Magistrate and three spawn launched salvos, before the CRing could be found. The quick hand of Sycho had grabbed the potion before the mind could debate it. The pressure for a pot-free clear was gone.

With nothing to surround him, max resists (with ring, for witches) and Blood Fountain, it was a matter of patience to clear Laz and company, then the rest of 15. Black Jade was the first to fall, with a fragile looking Tower Shield. Red Vex was next lured, via bow, and she coughed up a hammer. The other spawn were luring with bow as well, then a little happy dance (with ring on) enticed a few advocates to the room edge where they too could be picked off (with bow). Finally... it was Sycho vs Lazarus, and the traitor met his doom. He dropped a much sturdier shield, which was identified as a Tiger of great health. Bloodlust was not cooperative, dropping a skull cap. An armor rack raised his spirits, dropping magical Gothic Plate. Two hell spawn on the level chimed in with two amulets. Alas, in the end, no Res was found, and one ID found to replace the one just used. Remaining: still four ID, and still one dead mage, plus one the one just used. Remaining: still four ID, and still one dead mage, plus one level to go. In the last room, Sychotic felt his ability raise another level (24).

Again Sycho was to descend, but this time down the fearsome pentagram. Once more did he stop to do some math (for you see, Sycho was a crazed mathematician). It would be really close whether he would make clvl 25 or not. If so, there would be 3 more pts dmg, for full stun and allowing the use of his Gold Amulet of Radiance for a huge boost. If not, he would be forced to keep the Stars to stun. So he faced a tough decision, what if anything, to ID. Worn Gear: Schaefer's Hammer, Crown AC 12, FPM AC 68, Tiger Tower 17.50, Amu Stars +9, Ring Skill+8, and open ring slot for Constricting Ring. Choices possible for ID: one ring from 13, large shield, scale mail, and Gothic Plate. The latter was tempting, but he decided to hold off and see if he was in trouble or not. (That's the problem with mathematicians sometimes, they put too much weight to their theories This is what he would NEED: A combo of: about 10-15 more str, around 35 more dex, and 25-55 more %ToHit, and 30 more AC.

On landing on the final level, he saw a long, long corridor, which gave super running room and a lot of cover... excellent. He VERY slowly began, with single steps. The first foe seen was a Blood Knight. He had dreamed of this moment for years... when that BK exploded, with Sycho unscathed, he finally moment for years... when that BK exploded, with Sycho unscathed, he finally allowed a large smile to cross his face. Yet caution was increased all the more. His plan, which worked well, was to lure with +hp gear and Constricting ring, and lure away Blood Knights. Down the long corridor and they would give up chase, only to be reactivated one at a time! Then, switching to bow and ring, the lawyers would be hunted down and slain. When even close to hurt, the blood fountain was visited (49 times that level, although MANY visits were pure over-caution). If mid combat he was hurt, he finally allowed himself the luxury of drinking freely. Seventeen potions, in fact, were consumed that level, more than the dozen found.

Each quadrant was painstakingly cleared, until Diablo's lair alone remained. The Knights were 'extracted' after a pair of loops around. On the third pass, he got too close and awoke the Lord of Terror! Brimstone flashed from his nostrils and he sent a blast of raw energy to sweep over the Sychotic body. Fear gripped him, but for just a moment. His mind had already gone over EXACTLY what he would do. Run for the maze, luring 'D', drinking to stay very healthy, and escape via a portal to town. Then a long, brisk walk down the stairs. The lair was carefully cleared, and alas, he found himself just a tad short of another new ability level. At last, only Diablo remained.

Wistfully, he carried the limp body of KoPsycho down to 16, hoping the escape of life from Diablo's body would raise his comrade. He also thought over his options for the four ID's. He held KoP's hand, and tried to think what his friend would recommend. First, with the constricting ring no longer needed and nothing to fill its slot, the ring was ID'd, and it was of the Tiger. Helpful, but not the strength or to hit he wanted. Next, a suit of Gothic armor, but which. Charisychotic was mildly superstitious, and had not benefited much from armor racks. With two other gothic plates dropped on 16, he chose the higher AC, and identified it.... The plate was literally Awesome. It was the highest quality, made purely for AC, not for any other magical bonus. This was good news, but he still would like to see either ToHit or +str. The falchion and one amu were selected as best chances, and BOTH turned out to be precision. Alas, if used, his damage would very seldom stun Diablo. Wanting to stay on the offensive, the stuck with his plain and trusty bastard sword, and the Amulet of Stars.

With one last trip to town, to pick up a few items and to fill up with a large cache of potions, he descended the stairs one FINAL time... Back toward the maze, with purpose and pride, he strode. In the corner, just as he spotted Diablo, he laid down a wall of fire from a scroll, and dared Diablo to face him. Scorning this mocking gesture, Diablo rushed him and hurled apocalyptic blasts. The fire was a warm breeze to him, and with a wave of his arms it was extinguished. And yet, he did not realize this was a mere distraction. The smoke hid the body of his friend, leaving it free just as he spotted Diablo, he laid down a wall of fire from a scroll, and dared Diablo to face him. Scorning this mocking gesture, Diablo rushed him and hurled apocalyptic blasts. The fire was a warm breeze to him, and with a wave of his arms it was extinguished. And yet, he did not realize this was a mere distraction. The smoke hid the body of his friend, leaving it free of further desecration, and while Diablo blew away the flames, Sycho launched into him with his sword and the fury of an enraged killer, and he stabbed Diablo. And stabbed him again, and again, and again.... If you've ever heard of the term Sycho'Killer, this is where it came from. On occasion he would miss, and Diablo landed a blow. Five potions were quaffed, and he started to consider reaching for his backpack for more... would he ever go down? or would ALL this effort be for naught...

BBBBRRRRRRaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! The sound emitted by the horrible beast drowned the night, and yet the victory yell of Sycho was no less daunting. He toppled Diablo, and let the life force flow out of his body, and onto that of KoPsycho, his brother. One life was exchanged for another, and the two that very evening emerged...

... IronMan Champions!!

An Interview with a Pyscho - by Charis
A Pseudo interview of the players by Cy, their missing partner:

Cy: So, how does it feel to be an Ironman Champion?!

Charis: zzzzzz. Huh?! Oh sorry, it's 3am, the game took 40hrs and I'm exhausted. But... it feels REALLY REALLY great

Cy: 40 hours??

Charis: 4 for church (1 hr per lvl), 8 for cats, 12 for caves, and 16 for hell (5.5 hrs for 16 alone)

Cy: I'm surprised you didn't play a variant or something, hehe.

Charis: I did.

Cy: You're joking!?

Charis: No. You can tell by the character name i was doing something a bit odd. Sycho is a 'RAGE' (a KoP variant) that does NOT distribute points to its main stat, and for a warrior does not use +dmg wpns of any form.

Cy: You could never beat Diablo like that, and it sounds like you would be hosing your partner!

Charis: You're right. RAGE variants start like as IM, don't expect to do well, and after the game CAN add to their main stat the clvl they were when they died. Typically they play that IM game with another RAGE. Now, since KoP was not RAGE, the rule is that you do not distribute to strength as long as you can avoid harming party. But you must make at least clvl 10, and can then add that many to STR. At the end of CATS, I had original 30 Strength, max dex, was clvl 13, and had 20 points NOT distributed.

Cy: <blank stare> An IM game, and you have 20 pts to lvl-up starting the caves??

Charis: KoP is the only one who lets me get away with that. That 20 was surely earmarked for STR. I had a Bastard found, but Chain was the heaviest armor, and a Falc my best weapon, both 30 str required. So no loss not to be 30 str, except a +2 dmg difference. Because of the easy monster mix we got, this didn't matter, as I was stunning them and living comfortably. If we didn't have the blood fountain, or if we had run into Fire Clan or Night Clan, i would have distributed.

Cy: How did you possibly end the game with 68 potions?

Charis: I've never been past dlvl 10 stairs in IM. I figured that in a two person IM game, we would need all the resources we could muster in hell, especially if one of us died, so we had a conservation attitude from the start. That's a trademark of the Charis-Cy-Kop team (along with four hour church clears!) Now, the main reason for those pots left was the Blood Fountain, found right near the entrance on dlvl 1. And liberal use of it was made. Early on, a few trips per level. Alone on 12, probably 20 trips. With CR use on 15, likely a few dozen trips. And on 16, when i just plain refused to die and didn't care how long it took, 49 trips.

Cy: So without that Blood Fountain abuse you would never have won?

Charis: Bzzzt! Not true. We used that because we're heavy conservers. In all the death situations, having 100 more pots would have made no difference. 40 of those potions were yellows, due to an Eldritch. With KoP alive, and casting six heal others per blue pot, we would have used about 8-12 thru dlvl 11. With no blood fountain, KoP would have known his mana was for healing only, and would never have died. I had a heal spell too, castable with Wiz Wrap, so those yellows would net me an extra non-combat heal. Also, i used about three dozen unnecessary blood fountain trips on 15 and 16 just to (cough) speed things up! I had other tricks up my sleeve that would have saved me dozens more, but I save those secrets for another day! In my mind, the BF helped us play the slow cautious game we like, and gave me time to think on those long walks back down, but without it we would have done just as well, likely with the mage surviving

Cy: Well then you were lucky dogs for finding Schaefer's Hammer and the Constricting Ring, don't you think? Wizard's Wrap and Fleshstinger too!

Charis: Bah!! In a full dungeon clear you DO expect to see some good drops, and the unique items are known right away. My final weapon was a PLAIN bastard sword found around clvl 6, around the same time the Ring of Skill found. No hat, just an AC 12 crown, and almost not a second ring. What was nice about Schaefer's was that I saw rogs out the wazoo, fire drakes and magistrates. If we saw BK's on 13 it was game over. The CR was nice because of all the magic attacks - a lot of spit, infernos, blood stars, and fireballs. With a rogue, or a living mage with real spells, it wouldn't have been so useful. Yes, the +50 hp was nice, but i lived in fear i would take it off with 49 hp left. And with the CR i was constantly changing gear.

In a full game clear, I've seen four-five uniques as very typical. We got one wpn, one bow, one armor, one ring. For rings, CR was better than ROE, but we had to live to 12 before CR was useful. Bow? Fleshstinger is good, but low min dmg, and lack of rogue hurt. It's average, Windy or Eagle far better. Armor? Wiz Wrap useful, but average, Naj and DSC better. None of the great hats were dropped. Wpn? CC, Shadowhawk, DF, Doomy, GF better, while Gnarled Root, Bonesaw, Exec Blade, Talon as good, and several others useful depending on the monster mix.

As far as non-unique drops? We were **way** below average - mage was out of the game with lame books and staffs. No +to hit or +dmg weapons beyond 'fine', no magic hats, only magic armor worth iding until 15 and 16 (even then no suffix), and the only ID'd shield was plain tiger. The Gold/Rad amu was good on some levels, but for fear of being a lighthouse, its use was limited. I'm dying to know what else we found but didn't ID, but am waiting for the rules on the NM continuation before I break out the mules and ID them.

Cy: Tell me about the deaths.

Charis: I feel bad about all of them. Goldblight was trapped, dying was pitiful... (and we forgot the SC spell available). As for the mage, I don't blame him, we together made two mistakes:
1) a character in general, a mage, and in particular a mage with no MS, must have an escape route to avoid real danger. In both cases, we did not.
2) play the role you get dealt, consistent with your skills, not the one that is 'typical'. With the utterly useless spells, and lack of staffs, the mage was totally underpowered. We adjusted some, but not enough.

We recognized that our hopes lie in the Warrior unless some extremely lucky book finds later. We half played this way, but still tried to level him up for the sake of leveling him up. This was not right. If he did find the right spells, he would be able to catch up in a heartbeat, no matter how far behind. And if he did not, there was no point in gaining exp (in the end his exp gained on 11 and 13 cost warr one level) With Heal Other and Stone Curse as his only spells, and with a Town portal staff, his role should have been to move the escape portal, stone curse the bosses, and on PURE melee lvls, with enough running space, stand behind and Heal other if warr got swarmed. In practice, this would have led to death by boredom, and I could not 'impose' this strategy on a partner.

On the first death, a Nova trap woke up a few and scurried us into unexplored area - not much mind you, but enough. I had a Death Wing at a lava choke point, with three stuck behind him, and two flayed ones coming in from my left, mage on my right. He yelled "Run!" and i likely should have. But I knew i was fine and could clear that group with at most one pot, and i didn't want to let the DW sneak in a hit on him. He ran right, but it was not a way back, rather a group of one DW and two Flayed ones. He came back to me, JUST as the two flayed ones cut off the escape to the left. So he was stuck next to me with 2 monsters on him, CB'ing for his life, but it was to no avail. I was then trapped, but not hopeless. It took about 4 potions to clear that mess. (was wielding Schaeffer's swapped in Gold/Rad quickly)

On the second mage death, I had woke up a good seven Guardians, and ran to escape portal. I suggested it a good chance for him to tag with charged bolt. Alas, if he tagged and we both bolted, the 'tag' would be lost (or so we thought), which kept him down longer than safe. He retreated to a wall, but some funky steps by the Guardians soon penned him him. They literally pounded dmg faster than he could drink, and he died, for the last time.

Cy: Any near-death experiences that would have lost the game?

Charis: Sure, several. Once on 12 I missed the Slayer too often, and he swung a few times instead of breath. After the inferno cleared and he lay dead, I saw I had two hp. (eep!)

Dlvl 14 was so toast i couldn't believe it. dlvl 15 at the start was tricky, with magistrates firing and no running room. After Laz died, i finally allowed myself the luxury of drinking freely, so no real near death then. On 16 likewise I was (for me) utterly careful, although advo's stung pretty bad, even with max resists.

Cy: How did you handle the tougher creatures?

Charis: There were many. The Hammer and Constricting Ring were key.
- Butcher was of course stair trapped. Took a while, but safe.
- Mage took out Leo with Holy Bolt, one red for me, two blue.
- Maws on 12? Very slowly! Sword doing 50% dmg meant stunlock, and the Hammer, with lightning dmg and +50hp for me, was good too.
- Death Wings on 11? Gold Amu to hit was nice, might leather to stun.
- Hell Spawn? Put on Constricting ring, corner them, kill 'em.
- Magistrates? If mixed foes, same as spawn, other wise wield Schaefer for max Res L, and their few hp meant death soon.
- Laz and company? Lured all witches individually with bow, luring back far away to killing zone, swap in CRing, corner, kill. For others, put on CR (res F) and Hammer (for hp), then did a very quick and very erratic run in to make an advo show himself. The switch to bow and pop him individually. Finally with Laz left, cornered with Hammer and CR.
- Blood Knights? Chose gear to stun and block, even though i didn't hit all the time. Used 'trees' in hell to limit exposure to two BK's, and found them one on one most of the time. Key was NOT fighting a BK in front of an advocate, I ALWAYS lured them away.
- Advocates? Get resist as high as I could, lure away BK's first, then return when only Advos in the area. Do a happy dance, avoiding hits, until ONE is isolated. Then get into position, switch to bow, and kill. Heal if below 1/3 hp, rinse, repeat.
- Diablo? You either AC around 140, Dex around 110, or dmg 33+ After that, good tohit and enhanced hit points are excellent. Once belt got close to empty, went open inventory to be able to drink.

Cy: How could you have four ID left before the battle with Diablo??

Charis: The way I use ID's is pretty strictly on a as-needed-cuz-we're-hurting basis. I won't say this is optimal, or good for anyone, but it works for me. But specifically, the math showed I would be borderline clvl 24 or 25 for that final battle. At 25, I do 33+ dmg withOUT the Stars amu, and can use the Gold +30, for an assured victory. At 24, I need a plus str item, OR lots of AC, OR lots of dex to win. So SINCE i was really in no danger on clvl 13, 14, or 15 (sounds odd, but true) I chose to save the ID's. An ID earlier could likely have saved me HOURS, but that wasn't my goal. And I DID id the shield from laz right away, with it's good AC 17 base and lacking any current pluses on shield. Tiger+50. Actually, I was hoping too for a glimmering cauldron and save ID's for 16. Odd point- cauldron on end of 15 was 'reveal map'. Here were the ID choices at the end:
- Three sets of magic Gothic Plate (one 15 rack, two BKs)
- one ring from Succubus on 13
- two amu from Spawn on 15
- one tower shield from RV
- hammer from BJ
- club from Gorash
- Falchion and Blade from BK's on 16

What was ruled out? Club and Blade would have needed to be BOTH +to hit and +dmg to be useful vs Diablo. Shield of base ac 12 would have to be better than tiger 50. With a ring slot open for Diablo, the ring, not the highest ilvl item available, was now a no brainer. Tiger +48. Three left. One of the Plate for sure. Superstition- i get junk from Armor racks, so i chose the higher AC plate (55) from BK's. A decent choice, Awesome Gothic Plate (AC 135), total AC now 179 up from 112. I was actually hoping for Giants armor, but this was good too. Two left. Well, hoping for a better plate was not a good bet. Falchion and Amu was the suggestion made by KoP, and that sounded fine to me. Falchion of Precision +19, and an Amu of Precision +19. Wow, great blocking! But dmg was 28-33. I chose to stun and damage, not play defense. In retrospect, seeing just how much Diablo hit me, I think I would go with Falc19+Prec19(or Gold30) instead of Bast+Stars9. If the Leather of Might was not in the dead mage's inventory, I would have worn it (instead of Awesome Plate!!) for the extra +3 dmg, and swapped in the Gold/Rad. He would not be pounding on me because he would be in virtual stunlock.

Cy: In playing with you I've noticed your warrior does best, your mage not bad, and rogue needs work. Why do you like the Warr?

Charis: (cough) Thanks. I actually like all three, but like Charles Warren really like melee best. My best rogues are S/S Amazons, and my top two mages are Muscle Mage and Agile Mage. So my IM Mages are super in church, and use no blues. Likewise, if my IM rogue is asked to shield, she's happy. But i do NOT (yet) have the bow and magic experience for the critical times when all-hell-breaks-loose. On the other hand, after dozens of IM games where we die in Cats, I've had the thought that if you get me a strong warrior to hell, we're going to win. I hope that doesn't sound cocky, but... a limited-resource-warrior-in-hell? Welcome to my world My BAR has done quests to slay all witches in hell naked, with fists, to defeat D solo with no return to town, and finally, a grueling full dungeon clear with no town. Sparta`BAR has also gotten a solo 3@30 using nothing but a minimal strange blade (+102%) (with town... in fact, lots and lots of town). Also, i'm quite used to low AC warrior tactics. Besides, I figure if anyone is going to ready IM Warrior Guide, i should get one past cats?!

Cy: How does playing with consistent partners help?

Charis: You really do get to anticipate well what they're going to do, and you end up with folks compatible with your style. KoP in particular, and Cy on a good day, are very patient and have a similar slow, strategic emphasis. I think play with 'main' classes on a regular team is best way to win, but a great way to improve is to play with other good players with different styles to learn from them. In that regard, much thanks to Gumby, Kshira and Friar, for their tips and encouragement.

Cy: What next for you, for IronMan and Diablo?

Charis: First, a few days break, I'm exhausted. Before too long the NM IM continuation game should be fun. I also have 28 golden characters and hope to finish my 30@3@30 done by the new year. For IM, I would love to see a team of four win, with two Warr, and most of all, I want to see C-C-K trio get a victory. I predict that Cy the rogue saves our butts multiple times, and/but ends up getting carried to 16 on a stretcher

Cy: Woo!!!

The Sycho NM-IM adventure comes to an end...

Alternate title for this post was "Don't you hate it when you die in Ironman with a lvl 27 character, with 161 potions and a Purifying Spring to boot?"

ChariSycho (Warrior lvl 27) and KoPsycho (Mage lvl 24) ended their quest last evening in their NIGHTMARE Ironman game, the continuation after their earlier IM victory. They reached dlvl NM/11 before dying.

This was one of very few IM deaths were i just plain felt overpowered, and wasn't kicking myself for a dumb move or being stingy. Situation: Warrior scouts dlvl 11 and finds flayed ones, pit beasts and alas, Storm Lords. The first two are not tough, although it takes a while to beat the fire immune flayed one to death. Storm Lords are just plain vicious. I managed to handle a three on one ok with Storms, and a five on one Flayed+Pits. (I worked up to this after a crawling start, to test the waters). Things are looking good, and the mage is called down for firewall and heal other support (no lightning spell, and no mana shield, can you believe it?!).

Warr goes to lure, and one step wakes up two flays and one storm in the distance. There are NO choke points found yet, so I set at a nice spot in the open, and Mage lays down a firewall in front of me. They arrive almost together, I take a hit or two and get healed. But then before the Storm dies in the fire he manages to but me in block recovery and i get a dreaded double hit from the flayed ones, followed by the storm's quick second attack. I tried to drink, but it just didn't register in time, and I went down in less than a second. (Gear was maxing dex and getting some tohit, vs hp) The slight lag/sync when my items sprayed over the ground gave the storm time to walk (phase ;) about four steps to the mage and locked him up tigher than a drum. In less than two more seconds, the game was over. Just plain overpowered.

Worn gear at time of death:
Warrior 108/60/20/28 base, mana ~50, hp ~130
Awesome Gothic Plate (nice, from BK on 16 in game one)
Azure Full Helm
Diamond Tower Shield of Tiger (from RV in game one)
Shadowhawk (found around dlvl 6 this game from boss)
Lapis Amulet of Stars +33/+11
Ring of Accuracy+12
Ring of Skill +9 (sheesh)

Mage 45/123/15/20 base, mana ~370, hp 216 :P
Chain Mail of Lion+53 (no MS)
Cap of Deflection
Schaeffer's Hammer
Jade Large Shield of Power
Amulet of Heavens+12
Ring of Brilliance+12
Ring of Tiger+48

Extra items: Mace of Vampires, Amulet of Precision, Gold Amulet of Radiance, Gold Short Sword of Radiance, a few unexciting staffs, Crimson Mail of Accuracy, Constricting Ring, Leather of Aut (not ID'd yet), Wizard Wrap, Tower Shield of Tiger, and lots more junk.

Gear seem odd? Warr needed sword for dogs, not hammer, and mage wore for max lning resist and +50 hp. With no MS and very few scrolls, and a purify spring, the mage had to go for a hp setup. Warr went for blocking - to hit and dmg were rather weak.

Rules for NM-IM continuation:
- All characters free res if needed at end of normal game
- Any character under lvl 20 must lvlup in normal game in a section(s) of his choice, and survive. He may use THERE any found pots or scrolls, and burn any staffs that are NOT being carried over into NM game, but NO resources may be gained whether books, gear, pots, scroll, stats. Just exp.
- All items free ID
- Each character can wear/carry as much as he can into next game
- Could buy one res and two pots per person, plus you get as many potions as you had leftover in game one.
- Get to visit Gris/Adria/Wirt ONCE and buy whatever gear is available, except pots and res. Gold comes over on a mule (was 68K) Repairs are also an option. Similar to normal ironman, you basically get free use of town until you first enter dungeon. (The potion limit was to avoid abusive pot buying, but lack of pots are not likely to be the cause of death in NM IM)

We ended up buying Amber Helm, Book of Guardian, Absorption shield, Staff of Lning and a Claymore of Power. I don't think any of these saw any use in game...

Highlights:
- dlvls 1-4 saw major league shielding of the mage, letting him get some exp (clvls were 24 and 20 at game start), while my AC lasted.
- dlvl 5 saw Horror Archers. Nasty! Even with AC i was taking a pounding, with some goats providing backup. A few near deaths.
- dlvl 9- Illusion Weavers (remember, MS-free mage), Night Clan Archers, and Toad Demons (tough in melee). When we both survived this left with no deaths, i felt pretty proud :)
- dlvl 10- Storm Riders and Obsidian Lords, including two bosses. Key was finding a great doorway choke point early. Then I swapped to Hammer and Tiger shield and defended as many firewalls laid down. At end I was hoping we would not see more Lightning Demons. Those charges from obs lords really put a hurtin' on ya too.
- dlvl 12 - we peeked after death. I've **NEVER** seen a nastier entrance!! DUAL corrals full of lava maws, surrounded by Vortex Lords. The corrals were in sight of stairs, so spitting started as you arrived on level. Had we survived 11 and continued here, it would have been UTTERLY hopeless. (CB was only lning spell for mage)

- Potions remaining: 161. And Eldritch and Purifying Spring. (PS found on dlvl 7, we were making about 8 trips per level to use the pool after that, and finding more potions than we used)
- Deaths: besides the two fatalities at the end, the only other death was when mage thought he had heal other ready and cooked a gravely injured warrior in a firew wall :) 3 res leftover.
- Gold found in NM game: about 85K gold through dlvl 10
- Funniest sight: At door in cats vs a Fire Clan Goat, when the 'tank' mage with over 200 hp dropped a goat all by himself :) (well, he had no AC at all, but i was shielding)
- Take home tip: In NM-IM, you're potentially 3 seconds from party death at any time. Try try try to limit encounters to one-on-one.

In some ways I'm very disappointed with the end of this game. But I'm also proud of KoP and ChariSycho for the deepest Ironman plunge on record (normal diff. victory followed by NM/11 death).

Click Here to go to the original post for more details. Posted on Dec 28 1999 , 01:20 PM

Nightmare Continuation was posted Jan 27, 2000 (more discussion, details can be found on the forum)

 

Ironman rules

Ironman Strategy Guide

Victory Reports
Meet a Demigod Friar.Fuk, Gumby, and Ksira's winning tournament game
Charisycho and KoPsycho Warriror and Mage victory and Nightmare continuation
Roede and Taoni Warrior and Rogue victory
The Continuing Saga of Roede and Taoni Another victory for Taoni and Roede- this time all the way into Hell Difficulty
KoPhanTom A Warrior reaches Hell Difficulty
Cy_2K Solo rogue victory
The IM Game at the End of the Universe Solo rogue victory with game seed info and screenshots
The Tale of Iron_Tao Single Player Rogue victory
Attica(SNOB) Victory of a Snob Ironman warrior
Roede and Taoni Ironman Triple Crown!
Plague, Hariel and Shade Lock In Ironman Triple Crown!

 

 

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