Darkest Dungeon

[Firuthi Dragovic]

So with the forum having to rebuild from the ashes, I don't know if this better belongs in General or Shenanigans (wherever we're putting "games and media" stuff), so...

What was going on was that I was finally getting around to playing through the game to its conclusion - and documenting it in story format here.

The difficulty curve of this game is unforgiving and I don't exactly have good luck with a lights-out treasure run, so for me it's reliance on Antiquarians if I want to make any sort of income.

I still have my notes, so I can recreate the story so far at least...

I'll do that shortly.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS REPORT: DAYS 1-7
Weeks 1-35

Blast! Some thief made off with my original notes! Good thing I have a decent memory, so I can reconstruct what's happened so far.

So... I've been able to make quite a bit of progress rebuilding this hamlet. Hero Barracks is at its best thanks to several rounds of free labor, and everything else has at least a little enhancement to it. I'm mainly looking for cost reduction so that I may outfit more heroes with what we need.

Speaking of which, let me fill you in on the hero team captains:

• Team 1 is run by Reynauld and Dismas, the Crusader and Highwayman who helped me get here. They are paired with Dr. Valorgas and Mother Craon (Plague Doctor and Vestal respectively), and the general rule is they are my elite generalist team. Also probably the only team where everyone is clearly identified until I have teams coming back from the Darkest Dungeon.
• Team 2 is run by a Leper named Fairfax. I picked him to captain a team after his first two stress moments in a row resulted in Virtue. He has a Houndmaster and a Musketeer under his command... he had an Abomination, but that guy met his end in the Courtyard. Replacements are being sought.
• Team 3 is run by a Hellion named Vernon. She was the sole sane survivor of an early encounter with the Thing from the Stars and that's how she earned her place as a captain. She's got a Grave Robber and a Jester under her command - she lost an Occultist recently in the Courtyard.
• Team 4 is run by an Antiquarian named Fonnereau. I'm embarrassed to admit she basically bought her commission by funding Team 1's equipment bill by herself. I'm even more surprised that she's actually kind of legit as a leader. She's managing a Flagellant, Grave Robber, and Houndmaster at present... and I should send her on jobs more often as she's kind of annoying around the hamlet.

You may notice I mention the Courtyard twice. I'm being stonewalled by another of those Crocodilians. I will not go back to that place until I can recruit a Bounty Hunter or Shieldbreaker and train them high enough. This means most of my town might have issues with the Crimson Curse soon, as all of Team 2 has it.

Have I had any boss luck so far? Yes, actually. The first boss of each of the four main zones was brought down. Team 1 vs the Necromancer Apprentice and the Swine Prince, Team 3 vs the Siren, and Team 4 vs the Wizened Hag.

Had I been doing this on Stygian or Bloodmoon, I'd have passed the hero death thresholds by now for sure. These dungeons like churning heroes.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 8
Weeks 36-40

With my money supply at rock bottom, it was time to abandon all progress and just send the Antiquarians out to fetch valuables. Three of the five missions I had today were about making money.

None of them involving Fonnereau, just her understudies. She just wanted to get wasted at the bar.

Either way, I can safely say I've got cash now. Especially because one team found this secret room with a few weird trapezohedrons.

That's not to say the Antiquarians are only good for bringing in money. One of the teams ran into someone called the Collector. Summoned some weird floating heads to fight with. That battle... because I wasn't expecting this guy at all, the vast majority of the damage was done by an Antiquarian and the vapors from their incense burners.

Loaded with money and confident from getting a massive haul, I sent Fairfax's team to deal with the cannon I'd heard about in the Weald. For all of the bloodrage-induced shenanigans from him and his Musketeer, it was the Jester I'd assigned to his team that dealt the final blow. Never mock those guys.

After which... Reynauld and Dismas showed me the blueprint I'd gotten many weeks ago and had an idea. A Puppet Theater. It'd help the town de-stress without using up precious coin. Naturally, I sprung for the idea immediately. Should I have gotten something else? Maybe. But stress is a major money sink right now.

There was one more errand I went on. After one caravan came packed with twice as many heroes - including a Bounty Hunter and a Shieldbreaker - I sent the two of them on an errand to retrieve more of that blood-wine that Fairfax was ranting about. I have got to do something about that Bounty Hunter's case of Impostor Syndrome - I can't have him running into performance anxiety.

I have the coin to treat him now anyways. It's time to raise a team to deal with that Crocodilian.

And shuffle the teams a bit, because the staggering means some won't go to easy places while others will. I still have three more low-tier threats to deal with in these dungeons.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 9
Weeks 41-45

More and more of my heroes are coming down with the Crimson Curse. Including Dismas and that bounty hunter I've been training. I can't risk staying out of the Courtyard too much longer.

Truth be told, I probably won't need to stay out much longer. Three of the five missions involved that Bounty Hunter, and his training has been going very well... for two out of three. See, the Shieldbreaker's nightmares can apparently manifest real serpents, and that pretty much doomed the first expedition the Bounty Hunter was on during this phase.

Fonnereau's team found another secret room with those trapezohedron thingies. And apparently someone's severed head. Yeah, typical Fonnereau, bringing back a severed head instead of thousands of gold. She brought back over 50 heirlooms and still managed to haul 17k in gold back, so I guess I can't fault her too much - with the amount she funds these expeditions I have to give her considerable leeway.

Anyways, back to the Bounty Hunter. His two successful training missions included bosses. Some prophet in the Ruins and this weird mass of flesh in the Warrens. Second time was the charm on the first Shieldbreaker nightmare... though she'll certainly have more of them. For the Prophet, let's just say the Shieldbreaker's immunity tricks - plus some scales that were found on the ground after the nightmare - gave the team enough time to not only slay the Prophet, but smash every single one of the pews blocking him and salvage a bunch of the pieces. When I showed the fragments of pews to Fonnereau, she said they were made of ziricote. That's, like, one of the rarest types of lumber there is! Just how rich is this place?

The mass of flesh was an interesting case. Shifting form rapidly, four different sections even though they're technically all one creature... most of the work of taking it down was by a Jester. Not with buffing, but with a sickle trick that hits two and causes bleeding. Damage over time was of great use against the flesh.

I think the Bounty Hunter will need just one more mission to be ready for the Crocodilian. Maybe the rumors of ghosts in the Cove would do?

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 10
Weeks 46-50

First, the good news.

The Bounty Hunter and his team took down the ghosts in the Cove. He even stood his ground while anchored - quite impressive! Also, the Crocodilian is no longer blocking me from the Courtyard - though I dare say bleed and blight are way more important than movement manipulation with how tough that Crocodilian was.

But there was a price to pay this time.

I sent both Vernon and Fonnereau on a relic-hunting mission because I was literally too poor to afford treatment for anyone. Fonnereau reported that they ran into the Thing from the Stars again, and won. Unfortunately... she then reported that Vernon got killed by a Gatekeeper. The Jester that was with them has developed a drinking problem as a result of Vernon's demise. And in Fonnereau's haste to fund the Hamlet, she convinced me to send her and Fairfax on another money run... neglecting to tell me that Fairfax was about to waste away from the Crimson Curse. I had to retreat from that run because I could not find Blood in time. I'm not losing two leaders at once.

So with Vernon's funeral over, now I have a difficult decision to make. Who will captain Team 3 now? I'm torn between the Jester Bourneville and the Flagellant Parthenai. Parthenai was on Fonnereau's team, and Bourneville got a perk from the Thing from the Stars. Who to take as a strong leader?

Either way, I'm going to have to start churning heroes again until I get good replacements. I've got a Man-at-Arms who can step up for sure...

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 11
Intermission

So, it's good news that I'm able to get up and running. There was a bit of an incident updating the books... I thought I'd lost rosters and all.

Turns out someone else has been backing them up for me. Who knew?

Anyways... today's going to be a bit of an intermission while I get some stuff sorted out. I want to re-evaluate who I've got that can do the Veteran tier.

So now you're going to learn the names and professions of my core team members:

• Reynauld, Crusader
• Dismas, Highwayman
• Valorges, Plague Doctor
• Craon, Vestal
• Fairfax, Leper
• Port, Grave Robber
• Dive Beugelin, Jester
• Howard, Musketeer
• Murdac, Grave Robber
• Bourneville, Jester
• Parthenai, Flagellant
• Talvace, Grave Robber
• Moyaux, Houndmaster
• Fonnereau, Antiquarian
• Hendry, Man-at-Arms
• Malleville, Bounty Hunter
• Guyot, Vestal

Team 1 is already solidly Reynauld, Dismas, Valorges, and Craon.

Team 2 is led by Fairfax, and Howard is the only other surviving team founder.

Team 4 is led by Fonnereau. Parthenai, Talvace, and Moyaux were part of the initial team formation.

Team 3 does not have a leader at present, but Bourneville and Port were founding members.

Murdac, Guyot, and Bourneville are actually one or two missions short of Resolve level 3 for Veteran status, but they're close enough otherwise.


The rest of the roster is for churning and an occasional source of replacement Veterans.


Assessing the above information, Team 1 is already set.

Team 2? Fairfax is a bit shaken, but unstirred. He remains team captain. With a sturdy wall like that, I'm actually going to assign this as a specialized mark team. Malleville, Moyaux, and Howard will fill out the ranks of Team 2. It's a tossup whether to set speed trinkets on Moyaux or Malleville - both of them are fast enough to set the first mark.

Team 4? Fonnereau stays, she's too valuable to leave out. I'm assigning fellow drunkard Bourneville to her team as well. The issue is who the other two members should be... and I'm going to go with Murdac and Hendry. I need a good strong tank on the team and I really don't want to pair off too many Grave Robbers together.

Which leads me to Team 3. I've decided Parthenai's going to be the new team captain. Dive Beugelin and Guyot are going with him, as is Port. Not exactly a bad team setup - healing, stress heals, and two good bleed dealers as well as a blight dealer. Plus, decent rank coverage.

That leaves Talvace as my reserve, in case someone bites it. I just happened to have too many Grave Robbers for this to play out any other way.

.....I really need to train another Plague Doctor or Abomination or something.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 12
Weeks 51-55

Slowly but surely, I inch forward.

I am probably about halfway through the Baron's residence at this point.... unfortunately, my trips are plagued by bad luck and bad planning.

Bad luck, because on one of my runs I encountered the Collector again - and had to abandon the run then and there. And Murdac bit the dust at the end of another expedition, so Talvace has stepped in on Fonnereau's team.

Bad planning, because I keep forgetting how much the Crimson Curse progresses. I had to abandon a run early because I forgot to bring blood for Guyot, who had been cursed only four weeks prior.

News inside the Hamlet is better. The Guild is ready to train Veterans proper and I've been able to implement more cost-cutting measures as time goes on. And frankly, even my bad runs are still bringing in boatloads of heirlooms, so things are not looking too bad at all.

Soon, the Stagecoach will be bringing in even more prepared heroes. At this point, any resolve 0 scrubs get sent home without a tryout unless I desperately need to fill a specific role. I have no time anymore to train complete newbies.

Also, money might still be an issue but it's not going to be as big of one with multiple Antiquarians around - and the fact that even the early-abandoned run I mentioned earlier still brought back 7k in gold and 30 total heirlooms.

With all my core teams fully stocked on level 4 gear... I'm at a phase where I can just start building money.

I really need to focus most of my efforts on that Courtyard though. There's only so much Blood to go around.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 12.5
A Brief Diversion

So today, allow me to recall a vision of the future.

There I sit in a ruined study or office of some kind. A written letter on the table, books, a wilted plant...

Then someone busts through the door, warning me what apocalypse has come. He's an academic and I somehow recognize him. He handed me something and ushered me to a stagecoach outside.

At a crossroads, I meet four individuals.

• One looks an awful lot like Dr. Valorges, but refers to herself as Paracelsus.
• A second bears some resemblance to Talvace or Port, but calls herself Audrey.
• A third kinda looks like Hendry, but calls himself Barristan.
• The fourth? I had never seen the like of her before. An estoc or rapier or epee of some kind in hand, cloak over her shoulder... she calls herself Sahar, and apparently she is some kind of 'duelist'.
• I thought I glimpsed Dismas somewhere in the distance, but he didn't acknowledge me.

The four of them wanted me to take them to an inn up the road. I knew the road was a bit treacherous, so I took them up. Barristan up front with me, Sahar right behind, and Audrey and Paracelsus riding in the back.

Sure enough, there was a roadblock constructed by a couple of emaciated people. I asked my new companions what to do, and Barristan simply hefted his morningstar and called the team out to break the roadblock - it turns out the emaciated people were hostile. A fairly easy conflict later and we were back on the road.

I got a chance to see how Sahar fights. Hers is a stance-dancing kind of combat. Aggressive or defensive, she moves constantly. Hard to get used to directing her.

Sahar and Audrey wanted me to pull over for a group of survivors. I had Sahar lead the negotiations and she was able to get us a few salves and some laudanum.

There was another roadblock further up. This one had another scrawny guy, but also a big woodcutter and a lady who kept saying she was ugly. Wouldn't stop trashing Sahar... and after one word too many, Sahar simply cut her down in the middle of her talking. The woodcutter? Most of that was up to Audrey and Paracelsus, and their poisonous weapons.

We made it to the inn. The four of them told me to take a load off....

.....that is where the vision ends. What am I in for?

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE
The Story Returns

....I'm reconstructing my notes in yet another notebook.

I've resolved some of the issues that left me too drained to explore the estate any further. Funny thing... three months have passed outside the estate, but not a day has passed within its boundaries.

Trying to establish where I need to go next, the understanding I'm getting is that I really need to spend a few weeks getting gold, heirlooms... and The Blood. Seriously, most of my high-skill teams have the Crimson Curse right now and I'll need to do something about it, but for now I need to make sure everyone's supplied. And I could use a few backup Veterans in case I lose one or two.

Also... I've got some more solid intel, like maps of the Courtyard and a dossier on each of the monsters. That is why I'm rewriting my notes again - I can put it in one book instead of two, and just note my progress in a handy chart I made in the back.

Plus this fresh notebook has many more pages than the last couple I've gotten. I might be able to track both my adventures in the estate... as well as whatever's likely to happen on the open road like in my vision. I can log anywhere from two to four weeks of action on a single page, front and back, depending on how things go.

Where am I getting these notebooks? There's this delivery service located in a distant jungle that ships all around the world, even across time and space if you tell them the right information. Don't question it.

Expect me to make more progress soon, finally, after all this time.

 

[Bunny Lvr]

I am not a gamer, but this was so interesting to read!

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 13
Weeks 56-60

Well, we're back in business finally. And as usual, there's some growing pains with this one.

Namely, THAT LITTLE @$^@ CALLED THE SHRIEKER! Stole some trinkets, including an expensive bottle of wine that I could use to slow down someone's Curse!

I sent Fairfax's team to retrieve them.... not realizing I was sending them into a Champion-tier assignment! I wound up losing Howard and Malleville at the end, so that's not going to be a mark team for a while.... as the only substitutes I have are another Vestal and a Shieldbreaker.

Speaking of Shieldbreaker, she had another nightmare recently. We were able to deal with it, of course... that's two so far. I think after #3 I'll need to push her to harder missions to coax the bad memories out of her.

I took two trips to attempt to get some more Blood from the Courtyard. Fonnereau says her Grave Robber wound up bleeding out in there, and she made the decision to pull the team back immediately. A second team I sent fared much better.

However, more and more of my roster is having issues with the Crimson Curse. I need to fund another expedition in there, to get rid of the Baron so I can get some relief.

I've put the stagecoaches on notice to bring me more and better troops. They've told me if I want Veterans off the bat, I need to improve the Guild and Blacksmith even further. Perhaps at this point I should ease up a bit and consider opening up stress relief options, instead of pushing the stagecoaches too much more.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 14
Weeks 61-65

In some fashion or another, everything turned up aces for these five weeks.

First, I found another secret room in week 61's Warrens expedition and got more of those trapezohedrons. An overall 23k haul and 40 heirlooms. Plus dealing with the third Shieldbreaker nightmare.

The next week was the Town Fair, meaning I could finally afford treatments for a good portion of the roster. I used the opportunity to bargain with the Guild... but they've told me they refuse to cheapen their training costs any further after this point. No matter. They've driven them down far enough. It's up to me to bring in the goods.

I used the next couple weeks to finally do some renovations on the Tavern and Abbey. Now it shouldn't cost them nearly as much to treat people. And we're reaching the point where treating people is generally going to be better now, so I need to focus there.

Even the final week's expedition, where I sent Parthenai's team into the Cove, was something of a win. Now, you may ask... how could it be a win, when they fled the place without even using any of the firewood we provided?

Easy. It's because of why they fled. Of all the things to ruin an adventuring party's day... few are worse than the Shambler.

......except Parthenai's team happened to be one of the best possible configurations for taking them on. Two people who can inflict hefty amounts of bleed, and two people that can debuff bleed resistance. The sheer level of protection they've got means little when we don't even need to inflict deep wounds to bleed them out.

So instead of the worth of a long expedition, the team came back with this ancient candle they found when the Shambler fled. I'm not going to bother giving Parthenai any grief over this one.

We're about due for more fights with major enemies soon. I think I'm going to focus all efforts on the Courtyard until we can get the Baron out.

I'd like to introduce our new Veterans:

• Clinchamps, Jester
• Marci, Shieldbreaker
• Lanquetot, Vestal
• Grouchet, Abomination

Who to assign to which team.....?

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 15
Weeks 66-70

Aaaaand here comes the backlash from the last five weeks.

Only one excursion really succeeded here, and it was the one in week 66. I sent some rookies on a mission for more money and Blood, and it went decently.

The next week, things were going swimmingly.... until I ran into the Fanatic. Who proceeded to pronounce sentence on a Man-at-Arms, Bounty Hunter, Plague Doctor, and Occultist... who were all rank 2 I believe. And one was just shy of rank 3!

Because of the untimely loss of an entire party, I had to do the next week's Weald trip with no bought supplies whatsoever. I actually came in with 3 level 2 heroes fresh off the wagon - two Highwaymen and a Houndmaster. And the double Point Blank Shot strategy was.... cathartic, to say the least.

With that bit of recovery, I sent Teams 3 and 1 back-to-back to get through the Courtyard. All of Parthenai's team has the Curse now, but they got through a huge chunk of the place and brought back a whopping 90 heirlooms! With that, I went to the Stagecoach Network and proceeded to convince one more caravan to make regular trips - I have 7 potential heroes coming in each week, which means a lot of chances at good level 2 recruits. I also... had a long week chatting with the merchant network. When I get a lot more funds, I will be checking in with them to see if they have some good trinkets for sale.

Reynauld's team was a bit less successful in bringing back loot, but they were able to get to the Baron's doorstep. Sadly, Dismas alone isn't going to cut it for dealing with him - I need at least 2-3 heroes capable of hitting all ranks, and a lot more bleed. Maybe Parthenai's team can do it.

Several more weeks of training and fundraising missions and I will certainly try to have Parthenai seal the deal... perhaps I will give him a team customized for this battle.

I have one new veteran this time:

• Groulart, Crusader

After dealing with the Baron, it will be time for team re-evaluation.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 16
Weeks 71-75

Well... I've just learned that Fonnereau tendered her resignation.

The only problem is, she did it mid-expedition and took the whole team with her. Hendry, Groulart, and Grouchet also went missing. The team I sent after them found a letter claiming that Fonnereau sacrificed the three of them to the Fanatic to bargain for her own escape... asshole.

She did pay her way into this, after all. I should have expected her to backstab me and take out several of my veteran troops.

The Antiquarian I sent on the second expedition, Dreux, might be a candidate for a substitute team leader. She's a whole lot nicer and more courteous than Fonnereau was, and bailed me out of being cashless. Bit of a sickly one, though.

Because I was still a bit frustrated about Fonnereau's betrayal, I sent Parthenai's team to investigate rumors of Wilbur surviving his first encounter. Sure enough, he found a bigger Swine Prince (a Swine King, if you will)... and seemed to have a vendetta against Guyot. Her presence must have reminded him of the thrashing he got at the hands of Reynauld and Dismas' team. Nearly killed Guyot. But the fight was otherwise a textbook example of the strength of Parthenai's team against big threats. And as a bonus, he brought back another set of blueprints!

The other two weeks were spent raiding the Warrens and Weald to train up a possible replacement team. In addition to some extra coin, I was able to do renovations on the Tavern and Abbey so that two people could participate in each activity. Goodness knows I need the extra stress relief.

Anyways, we've got a whopping six new Veterans this time:

• Dreux, Antiquarian
• Raoulin, Houndmaster
• Loucelles, Hellion
• Sollers, Leper
• Vesci, Bounty Hunter
• Mandeville, Highwayman

Next time, I will take on the Baron for sure, and then it's time for team evaluations.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 16.5
Weeks 76-80

Yep. Two sessions in the same day. I really wanted that Baron dead.

I sent Parthenai, Fairfax, Bourneville, and Guyot to do the deed. There were a lot of close calls. But I accomplished it, and everyone in the Hamlet is free of the Crimson Curse for a time. And I secured another set of blueprints too.

Which is good, because the Viscount turns out to be a Champion-level quest and I have no one ready for that.

I spent the rest of the five weeks training some of my lower-ranked heroes to Veteran status. After losing another Occultist to the Collector, I have decided not to let anyone less than resolve level 2 in my roster.

I did get one new Veteran to the roster:

• Mussegros, Man-at-Arms

And I was also able to scrape together enough busts to build the Granary. Been a while since I built any of the Districts.

So now, it's team evaluation time. Here's who I have available for teams:

• Reynauld, Crusader
• Dismas, Highwayman
• Valorges, Plague Doctor
• Craon, Vestal
• Fairfax, Leper
• Marci, Shieldbreaker
• Moyaux, Houndmaster
• Lanquetot, Vestal
• Parthenai, Flagellant
• Port, Grave Robber
• Dive Beugelin, Jester
• Guyot, Vestal
• Bourneville, Jester
• Clinchamps, Jester
• Raoulin, Houndmaster
• Dreux, Antiquarian
• Mandeville, Highwayman
• Sollers, Leper
• Vesci, Bounty Hunter
• Loucelles, Hellion
• Mussegros, Man-at-Arms

That's 21 in the roster (the rest are level 2s), and all I know of that for certain at the moment is that Reynauld and Dismas must deploy in the same team. I'm not separating these two.

Any suggestions? Four teams is the goal, leaving 5 backups in the roster. I'll ruminate over this for a time, so there's plenty of opportunity to enlighten me.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 17
Intermission


Well, I've given the matter some thought.

Given the above roster, here are the teams I'm putting together

Team 1:

• Reynauld, Crusader
• Dismas, Highwayman
• Valorges, Plague Doctor
• Craon, Vestal

There's no way I'm separating the original team unless I have to. This has a decent balance already.

Team 2:

• Fairfax, Leper
• Vesci, Bounty Hunter
• Bourneville, Jester
• Lanquetot, Vestal

This team is the most subject to change. It doesn't have a really strong focus in any one area.

Team 3:

• Parthenai, Flagellant
• Raoulin, Houndmaster
• Dive Beugelin, Jester
• Guyot, Vestal

An entire team based around bleeds.

Team 4:

• Loucelles, Hellion
• Marci, Shieldbreaker
• Port, Grave Robber
• Dreux, Antiquarian

This isn't just a "girl power" team. This is a team focused around Blight. The Grave Robber does better dagger damage if a target is Blighted, and the Shieldbreaker and Antiquarian can set that up. Fact of the matter is, if she's not setting up dodge buffs then setting up the Blight is the best thing the Antiquarian can do much of the time.

That leaves me the following reserve Veterans:

• Moyaux, Houndmaster
• Clinchamps, Jester
• Mandeville, Highwayman
• Sollers, Leper
• Mussegros, Man-at-Arms

With so much of my roster revealed, and no one being lower than resolve level 2, I might as well tell who is in training:

• Vesli, Antiquarian
• Rennes, Bounty Hunter
• Grai, Houndmaster
• Harcourt, Highwayman
• Faceby, Abomination
• Poer, Hellion
• Mowbray, Occultist
• Croc, Abomination

And from here on out, my rule is that there is to be no more than 3 of the same class in my roster. I actually dismissed a Vestal over this rule recently.

So, what is my next goal, knowing all this?

Well, my next goal is the following package of heirlooms:

• 33 Portraits
• 88 Deeds
• 482 (!) Crests

Why this many heirlooms, you may ask? It's to max out Weaponsmith, Armorsmith, and Instructor. Between the Baron battle and a Plague Doctor event, several of my heroes are actually at Resolve level 4. When I hit 5 with a whole team, I'm told something nasty's going to happen that will require me to send out a team immediately. I need them in top form.

I also have one extra blueprint, and plan to build another of the Districts. I'm looking at either the Outsider's Bonfire or the Cartographer's Camp. Either one requires a whopping 300 Crests, forming the bulk of my requirement.

My other option for a District is the Bank, and that's 50 Portraits. Either way, this is going to take a while.

Going to resume this a day or two from now. Still need some time to address other things.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 18
Dreaming of Things to Come

I had that future vision again.

A broken-down stagecoach. Searching it only yielded... candles?

Candles that I proceeded to light at an altar I saw by the side of the road. I got some kind of almanac, some whiskey, and a couple other strange odds and ends.

I found myself passing by that house, again. Won't have time to fix the door. I pick up the letter inside, and... confessions? I signed the first one, 'Denial'. The academic who had broken my door spoke of the university where I'd apparently met him. We had... shared passions, for things like the occult? It's hard to remember.

At the crossroads, I met the five again. This time, I left Sahar behind. Barristan, Dismas, Audrey, and Paracelsus.

I went through the Valley again, saw that woodsman another time. Barristan... did not handle it well for some reason. He wanted whiskey, which he shared with Paracelsus when we reached the inn.

This time, things did not stop at the inn. I was given a chance to make some purchases of supplies for the road, and to train. Everyone got a little bit of skill training, but Paracelsus got extra. The real issue at the inn was this helmet I was given. Dismas recognized it immediately as belonging to his good buddy Reynauld, and insisted I put the helm on the stagecoach in his honor.

After giving everyone a plate full of some kind of mold, we stayed the night and set out. Two locations opened up to us. The Sprawl did not seem very inviting.

So we instead tried traversing the Tangle. We ran into some kind of shrine early on. I asked Paracelsus about it, and she said it reminded her of her senior year at university. She was not liked at the university. Everyone was jealous of her, and... it seemed to drive her further into her studies. She had some special project she was working on... at which point she seemed to realize something and mixed up what looked like smelling salts. One whiff seemed to put Audrey and Dismas into some sort of focused trance.

At our first actual barricade, we ran into some very troublesome soldiers. They did a number on Barristan's psyche, and while we were cleaning up we found... some kind of battle standard. I had Paracelsus hold on to it.

We encountered a big building and I told the team to investigate. It... went very poorly. The first wave was simple enough, a few soldiers and someone with a crossbow. The second is where it all went wrong. One of our opposition was a preacher and... they seemed to recognize the standard Paracelsus was holding. They fought with way more fervor than I expected, and the preacher even resurrected the drummer at least once. Barristan and Dismas didn't make it. Audrey and Paracelsus did not dare to go further in, but on the way out they picked up some sort of reliquary. It was locked, and Audrey couldn't do anything to open it.

Knowing they'd have no chance, they ordered me to run with it back to the Valley while they held off another preacher and soldier further up the road.

All I remember of that running is finding myself back at the busted stagecoach, pulling candles out... and still holding the reliquary. And... I saw all four of them in the distance again, as if they'd never died. Along with Sahar and some other shadowy figures....

The vision ends there. Whatever trip is in store, it's going to be a painful road.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 19
Weeks 81-85

The first part of this time frame was spent training some more of the recruits to get them up to Veteran tier. I will need as many replacements as I can when clearing out these dungeons.

Especially due to my ill-fated decision to take on the Shrieker not once, but twice. But more on that in a second.

Vesli, Rennes, Harcourt, Faceby, and Poer all hit Veteran tier by Week 82. What's more, the latter four took on the Thing from the Stars and won. Again. Rennes even got a special perk from the monster. I'm having a lot easier of a time dealing with that guy.

Not so much with the Shrieker. The first time, I went because there was some kind of special prize in store - one of his tailfeathers. But that wasn't the only thing I did. I took Parthenai, Port, Moyaux, and Mandeville and told them they needed to destroy the nest. Parthenai was in there as a frontliner and healer, but the rest were a dedicated mark team whose sole focus was that nest. The good news? They broke the nest, and got 4 more of those trapezohedrons. The bad news?

......the beast took Parthenai's life in exchange. That's another team leader down. I guess that serves me right for not being able to send a single Champion to this mission. I've promoted Mussegros to take his place.

The second time with the Shrieker, I sent Fairfax's team to get back some of the trinkets I'd lost. And while everyone but Fairfax suffered a meltdown from the Shrieker's cawing, there were no casualties that time.

After finally getting to recruit another Musketeer on Week 85, I sent a team to take on another Necromancer that showed up. Mussegros, Moyaux, Marci, and Dreux this time. While searching for the Necromancer I found a room with even MORE of those trapezohedrons. And when I'd located the Necromancer, I ordered the team to make camp...

.....forgetting that Marci was a Shieldbreaker, and that another nightmare was in store. This time, four stealthed snakes! We pulled through, Moyaux's team-bleeding attack being put to great use, and got more treasures. Too many, in fact, for me to risk taking on the Necromancer with all the antiques I was collecting.

I chose to take the 20k haul and 27 heirlooms and bail. The Necromancer can wait.

With all that combined, I was barely able to scrape enough together to upgrade the Blacksmith's weapon-making tools one last time. More deeds and more portraits will be necessary, but I'm closing in on being able to finish the core upgrades....

 

[Bunny Lvr]

You've got this, you're making great progress!!!!!

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

STATUS UPDATE: DAY 20
Weeks 86-90

I made a tremendous amount of progress this time, at cost of course.

First off, finishing what I started with the Necromancer. I sent Reynauld and Dismas this time, and aside from an instance where apparently one of the books had syphilis on it... the whole trip was textbook. More blueprints for me.

I actually changed things up on the following week. Sent Loucelles, Vesci, Clinchamps, and Lanquetot to investigate the Farmstead. Reports of the Miller being in the area. It's... actually an interesting place to go, especially now that I've set it up so that I can do the endless runs. But I'll need to wait on those until I get a team fit for the Darkest Dungeon. Don't want to cheap out on this one, or have to rely on the Shard mercenaries...

The rest of the time was spent fighting bosses. Another report of the Siren showing up again in the Cove prompted another trip. Mussegros is coming into his own as a team leader... although Dreux is mad at me since she found out that I only sent her with the Siren team as a decoy for her songs. She did tell me there's some sightings of vials of The Blood, so I have to be ready for that to come up again.

There was also another report of a Hag being in the area. My first team came back wounded and Raoulin had multiple diseases, so I sent Mussegros with a team to deal with her. I unfortunately lost Dive Beugelin and Mowbray to the stewpot, and almost lost Mandeville. On the bright side, the Collector showed up again and the team sent him packing.

So I have a bit of a confession. I've been trying to avoid letting anyone get to Champion status until I can be fully assured of training them, because I have heard rumors that some bandits are gearing up to attack the Hamlet. I need ready teams to deal with that and I'm hoping it doesn't have to be Reynauld and Dismas. I'm saving them as much as I can for when I finally get to the heart of this insanity.

However, I do need to ease up on how many potential Champions I have, because I'm getting to the point where I'll have no Veteran recruits for clearing bosses.

All that's left on that training regimen is instructions for the Guild, at least. At which point I need to start building some Districts with these blueprints.