FTK: For The King

[haphazard1]

A question: I have twice run into an event at sea, a 'message in a bottle.' I was successful on the roll, but nothing seemed to happen. Anyone have any idea about what this is? All the dialog box says is "Is this really a good way to send a message?" so there is no indication of what result it might produce.

Also, I just watched the stream of Sullla, DaveV, and Eauxps playing Into the Deep mode on co-op. That boomer in the water temple.... It appeared to be using a very big gun (a cannon, really), but it never had to reload like the other firearms. Nasty.

[Eauxps I. Fourgott]

A question: I have twice run into an event at sea, a 'message in a bottle.' I was successful on the roll, but nothing seemed to happen. Anyone have any idea about what this is? All the dialog box says is "Is this really a good way to send a message?" so there is no indication of what result it might produce.

I think that should just give you an item; I know I've gotten Hildebrant's Reserve from it in the past, but it might yield something else as well.

[haphazard1]

I think that should just give you an item; I know I've gotten Hildebrant's Reserve from it in the past, but it might yield something else as well.

Hmmm. There was a graphical effect as if something had happened (like when the herbalist finds an herb), but no text indicating anything. Maybe something was put in my inventory and I did not notice? (There is a lot of junk in my party's inventories. ) Usually it tells you when you get an item, though.

[Sullla]

Glad you're enjoying this game haphazard. It's a good deal of fun and very worth the minimal asking price for anyone who likes the rogue style gameplay. To answer your earlier question, the items for sale in town reset twice during the main game mode: first after clearing out the first major dungeon (the Glittering Mines, I think?) and then a second time after doing the three part quest that makes up the midgame section of the gameplay. Certain items are associated with each of these three tiers and will only show up during item group 1, 2, or 3. Prices for Godsbeards and the other herbs are based on party level and are unaffected by these three tiers, aside from being herb availability being reset after reaching the next one. Aside from those basic rules, what happens to be for sale seems to be random as best I can tell.

What difficulty level are you playing on? The gameplay definitely gets tougher as you go up the ladder.

[haphazard1]

Thanks for the info, Sullla. That explains several things I had been wondering about.

I am currently playing on Journeyman difficulty. It is certainly harder than Apprentice, especially with getting your party started. You start with less gold and items, and it seems like there are fewer level zero monsters scattered around to fight for the initial level up than there are on Apprentice. A single level 1 monster is not too nasty with a level 0 party, but if they appear close together where they would get pulled into one fight it can be too much to deal with early.

[haphazard1]

I am continuing to enjoy this game. For some variety I am trying the Hildebrant's Cellar game mode, which is a perpetual dungeon. This mode is simpler in a lot of ways, since there is no world map and no separate movement for your three characters. You advance as a party and always have all three characters available -- assuming you can keep them alive, of course!.

Fighting battle after battle does mean that eventually your trio will be overwhelmed; as far as I know there is no ending to the dungeon. It does seem to have areas or sections (the initial cellar, the deep caves, etc.) and the 'flavor' of monsters changes with the current section. Goblin merchants pop up with some frequency so you do have a chance to spend the gold you loot from defeated enemies, but without towns there are very limited opportunities for healing and restoration of focus. A scholar with refocus ability is obviously a big help, and any item which gives the refocus ability would be incredibly valuable. Items with health regeneration also seem a lot more valuable than in the more typical game modes.

This mode also has a lot of things appearing in the dungeon that do not normally show up there, or at least that I have never seen in a dungeon in other game modes. Stone statues and sanctums have appeared, for example, and maybe other typical encounters can also show up.

So far it has been fun. My scholar, woodcutter, and minstrel are up to level 3 and are slowly accumulating equipment. Lots of slots still empty, though. I suspect that the average cellar game is a lot shorter than the other game modes, so it is a nice mode for a quick game with plenty of battle action and less exploration. It is a nice change of pace from the more typical quest style modes.

One does have to wonder just why Hildebrant has such a vast underground complex full of dangerous monsters in his cellar. Perhaps Hildebrant is the next big threat to Fahrul?

[DaveV]

Most of my gaming time has been in the cellar, due to various frustrations with the above-ground mode. I ended up adding a trapper to the party (trapper, hunter, scholar) because of running into so many traps. I've spent a lot of time playing nethack, and the cellar mode is pretty close to that.

[haphazard1]

A trapper would be good for a cellar run. Most of the time their abilities are just not useful enough for me to choose them over a hunter and the higher speed, but this mode has lots of opportunities for their skills.

I wanted a strength based class for the inevitable door bashing opportunities, and for the general toughness. So far that has worked out pretty well. I think I prefer the blacksmith to the woodcutter, but I had not tried the woodcutter before so this was a good opportunity to see how they work.

I am still trying to unlock the classes after the initial three and their alternates. The monk is in Frost Adventure mode, I think. I am not sure if I need to do anything special to get the hobo, or just keep playing until I run into that encounter. I have no idea what is needed for the treasure hunter or whatever it is is called.

[Eauxps I. Fourgott]

The Hobo you just need to run into on the map (it would be an unknown encounter, and I think he only appears in For the King and Dungeon Crawl modes). The Treasure Hunter is found in a special dungeon in the Into the Deep adventure.

I think the Minstrel is a very good choice to have in Hildebrant's Cellar. The way that mode is designed, you're always behind the experience curve, and the random extra XP from Inspire can help with that issue significantly.

[haphazard1]

Thanks for the info, Eauxps. Hopefully I will run across the hobo at some point. I have not tried Into the Deep mode yet -- I watched the stream you, Sullla, and DaveV did of that and it looked pretty difficult. Right now I am running a party through Frost Adventure, so maybe I will find the monk.

I like the minstrel class in general; encourage is a very handy ability. The Cellar mode does make their inpire ability a lot more useful, since the group is always together so there is much greater chance of it actually helping.

Finding better weapons for your trio is a big issue in the Cellar. If you fall behind the power curve it becomes very tough to defeat enemies, and unlike the other modes you can not avoid tougher encounters until you can upgrade your offense.