BaK - Chapter One: Two Warriors and a Useless Idiot

[lamaros]

One of the classic computer role playing games, from 1993, and one of my favourite games ever.

Available now at Gog.com for only $6.





Check the body Owyn.

Unh?

Owyn looks across the fire at Locklear with a pained expression.

Check the corpse of the dead Moredhel to see if he had anything on him.

I uhh... ok.

I can't find where his dagger went...

What?

I can't find where his dagger is, it's not on his corpse!

(Exasperated, pointing) The dagger is just there Owyn, near your foot. I do not need the dagger, I have a sword and I have a spare sword. I wish know what is on the body of the elf, not the ground I can already see. Check his pockets.

I ah... oh. Yes. (Looking) Just some food and what look to be... picklocks. (Glancing awkwardly at the chains on Gorath's wrists). What should I do with it?

Hmm...  well you never know if we might need it. Hang on to it all for the moment.

(Making a face at the food) Uhhh... yeah I've got enough food for the moment, enough to get me home. I'll put it in your pack for you.

What? No. I thought it was obvious, but I am afraid you're not going to be able to go home just yet Owyn. This Moredhel assassin has changed things. Things have become a bit complicated. He saw you. Others might have also seen you as they have obviously been tracking us. For your protection, and ours, we cannot leave you out here alone. You shall come south with us. As for the food, well, you are not a swordsman. I am going to have enough trouble keeping you and Gorath alive as it is, I can't really be carrying everything. Especially with this injury. You will have to hang on to it.

Uh. Oh. Sure. An adventure. Cool!

Stupid boy. (To Locklear). It is time for my chains to come off. You fight well, but you are injured. And you must rest eventually. You will die before we make it to your Prince unless I am free to assist you.

True. (Thoughtful) Owyn, see if you can get his chains off with those picklocks you found.

But he's a Moredhel... and he's your prisoner...

Yes, and yes and no. It is complicated. Just do as I ask, he won't harm you.

I will if he takes much longer...

Owyn hastily tries to pick Gorath's manacles.

(Failing) Sorry, I can't quite get it. Sorry Gorath.

(Glares) Locklear.

Ah, yes. Here Owyn, try using the key.

Wait. You have the key? (Unlocking the chains) Why did you ask me to use the picklocks?

I wished to see what you could do. It is going to be a long journey, we will need you to help out. Somehow.

Oh. Well, I'm not so good with picklocks... but I know a bit of magic!

I am sure you do. Oh well, you are civilized, at least. Well then. If we are doing this we had best get started. Let us take a look at the map...



Well. We are here, just south west of Yabon. Normally this would be a straight trip down the King's road, but now we have these assassins chasing us and I am quite sure that they will have eyes all over it. We will have to take ourselves off the path. (Thinks) I think we should double back and follow the road past Loriel instead. We can come in to Krondor from the north, passing Tanneurs. It will take longer, but not getting killed has to be a greater priority than speed at this point.

Go back? No. Some may be ahead, but more are behind. We have to keep going.

I... ah... I don't think my opinion counts, does it?

(Ignoring Owyn) I am not sure about pushing on southwards. We have faced three assassins so far, they are obviously moving very fast to stay with us. Tracking backwards might be our best chance to lose them.

Moredhel are from the north. If we turn northwards there will be more Moredhel. We will have to lose the trackers and fight.

I do not think that many Moredhel came through the pass after you, the men at Tyr-Sog are experienced and will have closed it very quickly. Those tracking us must have come through when you did, and are already close by. (Thinking) But perhaps you are right... we are in the Kingdom now, we might stand a better chance of losing them once we get further from the border. Yes, it is probably worth trying this first. We will go south.

Then let us move.

Is everything in order? Gorath, take my spare sword. Owyn, stay quiet unless spoken to. Ready? Excellent. We shall begin at once.

[rk47]

My childhood flashes before my eyes. This is a classic. Narrative questing with free-form exploration and plenty of side-quests along the way.
And how Oblivion levelling shd've been.

I replayed it thrice before giving up on the ugly first person graphics in the mid 2007. Really good old game.
A 2015 remake would probably end up turning Owyn into a fireball chucking mage while Gorath wields two hander and Locky being a standard paladin in Action RPG classic tradition. *sadface*

[lamaros]

Graphics aren't annoying me so far. Hope it continues!

I am going to have to find a way to include a bit of the exploration and side questing without making Locklear and Gorath go "Fucking hell Owyn, we are going to have to kill you here, we are not going to go to Darkmoor." Actually, I should probably go to LaMut and Zun before turning around, might have to change some of Locklear's comments...

[rk47]

No reason to miss out. There's plenty of opportunity to profit and gain some much needed practice.
And Owyn's not close to dead weight in early game, if you use his Blinding spell, he pretty much shuts down one enemy per round. Pretty amazing. The side effect of course, he might just drop unconscious when he gets hit after casting one too many times.

IMO skill focus distribution is critical to setup before combat. It might be meta-gaming, but there's absolutely no reason to focus on lockpicking when you know you're heading into a combat situation. And always repair your gear after combat including loot to sell at better prices.. with focused Armcrafting, of course. *Grins.*

[lamaros]

No reason to miss out. There's plenty of opportunity to profit and gain some much needed practice.
And Owyn's not close to dead weight in early game, if you use his Blinding spell, he pretty much shuts down one enemy per round. Pretty amazing. The side effect of course, he might just drop unconscious when he gets hit after casting one too many times.

IMO skill focus distribution is critical to setup before combat. It might be meta-gaming, but there's absolutely no reason to focus on lockpicking when you know you're heading into a combat situation. And always repair your gear after combat including loot to sell at better prices.. with focused Armcrafting, of course. *Grins.*

I'm not sure how I feel about the skill focusing tricks, I want to try and make this playthrough 'reasonable', within the realms of fun. I've played through doing absolutely everything before, so I don't mind being sub optimum.

Of course Owyn is not entirely useless, but he is near to! Such a funny little guy to have as the mainish character.

[Strazos]

What game is this?

[lamaros]

Betrayal at Krondor, 1993. Available on Gog.com for $6. Will upate the op with info and links.

I am loving this playthrough. In my view this is the best cRPG ever, at least for the first three chapters.

[lamaros]

There's another chest over there in the grass.

Another one? Let us take a look. We could use some more supplies.

And... I have no idea what this says. Gorath?

It is a Moredhel lock. The words are in my language. I will translate.



It's a riddle!

Yes it is, and not an especially cheery one. Put the answer in Gorath, I am interested to see what is inside.

There is some armor and a sword. I will use the armor.

(Thoughtful) How is this chest here?

Huh?

How did this chest come to be here and why is it here? I know very well that people sometimes hide their belongings in the strangest of places, but this chest is barely off the side of the road not even half a days walk from LaMut. It cannot have been here that long, otherwise it would have been discovered before now. And it is a Moredhel chest. In the Kingdom. With weapons and armor in it. Do you know anything about this Gorath?

No.

The people hunting you cannot have brought it with them, this chest has been here for at least a couple of days. Which means there must be some that came through before you did...

It is troubling.

Yes, it is troubling. There is nothing to be done about it now, but we might get some answers in LaMut. Make sure you stay alert, and let us push on.

The party has barely started to walk again before a voice hails them from down the road.

Hello there! Owyn!

Phillip! What are you doing out here on the road still? You left the Duchess's party so quickly I thought you must have been in a mad rush to get to LaMut.

I was, I am. I'm just... trying to find something first.

Oh? Did you lose some prized possession on your way? I did think you were still a bit too drunk to be heading out on the road again!

Ah, fairly said... but no. I'm actually looking for a chest I spotted on my way up to the party. I was in a rush then and didn't have time to stop and pick the lock properly, but I thought I would get it on my way back. The problem is I just can't find it...

We've found a few chests so far, maybe we got to it first! Did your chest have a Mored...

(Loudly) Squire Phillip, so NICE to meet you. I am afraid my nephew Owyn gets a bit excited at times and forgets his manners. My name is Locklear. Our other companion is an elven friend of mine, Thorgath.

A pleasure to make your acquaintance Locklear. And you Thorgath.

Yes.

I am afraid we must be rude and beg our leave of you friend Phillip. Thorgath and I have pressing business in Hawk's Hollow that my nephew has been so kind to come assist us with and we really must push on down the road. I wish you luck in your search. Farewell.

I completely understand, don't let me hold you a minute more. Farewell Owyn, I am sure we shall meet again.

Farewell!

The party continues down the road, leaving Phillip quickly behind them.

Do not do that again.

I'm sorry Locklear, I just forgot in all the excitement. I'm sure it wouldn't have hurt though, Phillip is a good fellow and a friend.

A good fellow does not skulk around in bushes on the pretence of treasure hunting. Especially not in the area of Moredhel chests filled with arms.

But...

You may have had too much to drink and had some fun with together with some of the Duchess's more generous daughters, but that does not make him your friend. You will be more careful with what you say from now on, whether you think it reasonable or otherwise. That is the final word on this topic. Now, let's push on.

The party continues down the road without any events of note, until they reach the short road leading in to the town of LaMut.

I do not wish to go in to town as we might be seen and recognised, but this time I think we must. We need to restock our supplies, and I need to see what information I can get from the local garrison. More seems to be going on that we are currently aware of, and it is best to be prepared.

You are right. But let us be careful.

[Strazos]

So how does this game work? My first big cRPG was Baldur's Gate or Fallout, and I could never get into the old "Gold Box" first-person ones, unfortunately.

[lamaros]

So how does this game work? My first big cRPG was Baldur's Gate or Fallout, and I could never get into the old "Gold Box" first-person ones, unfortunately.

I will try to give a general outline as I play through. In general it is this. The world is large and 3d. You travel through it in the first person and engage with buildings and chests and the like by clicking on them. When you enter combat you move to a predefined battlefield and fight it out turn-based style. Some cities are not individual buildings in the 3d world but are actually point and click interactive images like the LaMut one posted above.

There is a main quest and a bunch of side quests (for the first half of the game anyhow). The game is divided up in to chapters where you control a pre-defined party of characters with their own abilities and backstories. Some are in more chapters than others. You get equipment and learn spells through scrolls, you increase your skills through lessons and through using those abilities. I have examples of a fair bit of stuff coming up pretty quickly and I will hopefully show them well enough to understand. I'm probably about another 10 writeups behind where I am in the game at the moment, though I have hardly done anything at all.

[rk47]

To keep it simple, think Realms of Arkania with tighter narration and well-written characters from a popular series.
I didn't know anything about the series when I got it but I still enjoyed it immensely.

It's nothing like modern game where you simply travel between hotspots in the world, Krondor actually forced the players to plot and plan their trips...and actually walk the journey, keeping in mind of ambushes and food supplies along the way. 3D would be pushing it.

I also like the scarcity of magical items, the players had to rely on oils, whetstones and hammers to keep their gears in good shape.

[lamaros]

I think it would be best if we split up now that we are in the city. It will save us some time, and we will be less conspicuous. Owyn, go see if you can get some some supplies in the shops. I think it would be safest if Gorath stays out of sight as much as possible so I will go get a room at an inn with him, then I shall see what information I can get from the garrison. We shall meet back at the inn afterwards.

What inn?

The 'Blue Wheel'. And Owyn...

Yes?

Be smart. Sell what you can and get some food, nothing else.

A few hours later.



...and sho thas why Imm hesre hav'n drink! Nashtie.. shtone! Maybee youll vishit?

Maybe Dubal, though I'm not sure if we shall have time.

(Pointing) Owyn returns.

At last... please excuse me Dubal, I have to talk to my companion who has just come in. It was good to see you again.

Hello Owyn. I have a question for you.

Yes... ?

It took us 30 minutes to find the inn and get a room. It then took me 40 minutes to visit the garrison and get what information I could. I am wondering why it took you another hour on top of that to find supplies? I hope you have some good stuff for us...

I ah... I actually haven't bought anything...

...

...

I ah... I got distracted. You see, one of the shops I went in to had a genuine copy of 'Eyes of Ishap', which is this amazing spell I have always wanted to learn, and I was just taking a quick look to see if I could learn anything, because I couldn't buy it of course - because it was so expensive you see... and then they had this book on archery that I thought you might like... but it was also expensive, as were these amazing elven shoes they had... and... I guess I got a bit distracted and lost track of time.

Sorry.

Owyn...

I did sell the shell though! That shell I found in one of the chests, I got over three gold for that from one of the shopkeepers.

That is... that is great Owyn. Well done. Perhaps you can take that money and visit the barmaid over there and buy us some supplies? You know supplies, right? The thing I asked you to purchase three hours ago?

Of course. Her? Yes, sure thing. I... I'll make it up to you Locklear. I'll make sure I get a good deal, I'm pretty good at haggling!

Ok Owyn. (Owyn goes) Sigh... anyway, where was I. Ah, yes. I could not come straight out and ask of course, but the garrison has had no reports of Moredhel in the area. They were preoccupied with this Tsurani problem instead. Apparently some outcast warriors managed to slip through the riftgate between their world and ours and are now hiding out in the countryside. Word was that they had stolen a valuable ruby from one of the Tsurani magicians before they fled through the gate, so there are number of important people pushing heavily to find them. The garrison seemed to be devoting nearly all their efforts to that problem, so they might not have noticed a few Moredhel in the area if they are being especially careful.

Owyn returns as Locklear is finishing his story.

Are you talking about the Great One's stolen ruby? The barmaid told me there is a hefty reward going for it. If only we had time to go look!

Hunting renegades is a good way to end up dead Owyn, not rich.

(To Locklear) But perhaps it is better to be stupid and dead, and not just stupid?

Hey that's... ahh forget it. Here's the food you wanted - which I got cheap, I might add. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting a drink. (Leaves)

It might be best to leave him here.

I cannot do that. Once he joined us it became my duty to protect him just as much as I need to safeguard you. I would not forgive myself if your people killed him because I left him alone. For better or worse...

For worse.

... he is with us to Krondor. It will be better once we get out of the city and back on the road. Speaking of the road; I need to speak with the bartender and make some final preparations, then we had best get to sleep.

The Tsurani man over there?

Yes, he is the owner.

I will come with you, he looks to be a strong warrior.

They walk over to the bar.

Be welcome to the Blue Wheel Inn. May you ask Sumani if there is anything you need.

Honours to your house Sumani. I was wondering if you knew of anywhere in town where I might repair my armor? I asked at the garrison but they were too busy to help.

There is not elsewhere in LaMut apart from the garrison. (Thinking) Dwarves to the south, in Mac Mordain Cadal, might assist however.

I was afraid that might be the case. Perhaps we will pay the dwarves a visit on our way past. Thank you Sumani. We should say good...

Are you a warrior?

I was soldier of House Shinzawai before, yes.

I would be interested in learning your fighting techniques. Would you care to train together?

I would require gold to cover armor repair. Tsurani armor is rare in Kingdom and expensive.

Hmm... I would also be interested in practising with you Sumani. How much gold would your repairs cost?



I am afraid we cannot afford that expensive at this time. It is a shame. Next time we pass through we will be sure to drop in. For now we must sleep. Thank you for your services Sumani, you have a wonderful establishment. Goodnight.

Your patronage honours us.

Locklear resces the rest of the inn from Owyn's miserable attempts at playing the lute and the party heads to their room to sleep.

[lamaros]

3D is pushing it. But it's not a isometric game either. I dunno what a better way to put it would be.

[lamaros]

The group leaves town early the next morning and gets off the road quickly, figuring it safer to rough it for a while. They are passing through the graveyard on the edge of the town when Gorath surprises everyone by talking of his own volition.

In the north some agents have been using graves as secret caches and drop points for information. If there are moredhel spies operating in this area perhaps we might learn some information about what is going on.

Are you suggesting we dig up the dead?

They are dead. They would not notice.

Digging them up is just the kind of thing to wake them! I don't want anything haunting me!

I thought you were a magician?

I am a magician...

Are you? Only peasants fear ghosts.

I...

We are not digging up the graves. And it is not because I am a peasant, though I do find the idea unsettling. We do not have a shovel, and we do not have all day. We are having a hard enough time finding a place to repair our equipment as it is, without ruining our swords in the dirt.

Lock...

That is the end of the matter Gorath.

However...

(Curt) Yes?

(Pointing) There is a moredhel hiding ahead.

Oh... Let us attack quickly, before he see.. too late! Prepare yourselves!



Stand clear!



Curses Owyn, what are you doing!?

A little spell I know.



Success! He's blind! Get him quickly.

You do not need to tell me twice.





He was easier than the others.

You have me now, and I'm a magician!

(Silent)

No time for any of that, we need to move in case there was anyone else nearby who heard the fight. Mac Mordain Cadal is not too far south from here if I remember correctly, if we move quickly and we should be able to make it by nightfall.

The party walks for most of the day.



Gods it is getting dark. But... yes, I think I see the entrance ahead, just over there! Let us hurry.



Gods, it is even darker in here!

No problem. Magician here, magical powers and the like. Or would you prefer I didn't make a light... Gorath?

Just do it already.





(Looking around) This is a dwarven place. I do not know if I will be welcome here.

Well, we are about to find that out; someone is coming.

[lamaros]

Who the fuck are ya and what the fuck are ya doing barging on in here in the middle of the night, lighting the whole fucking world up with yer poncy magic?

Ah. Err... My name is Seigneur Locklear and my companions are Gorath of the Ardanien, a moredhel...

I know it's a fucking moredhel you stupid toddler, I'm not blind. I've been killing those evil creatures since your great great grandfather first discovered how good it felt to put his hands down his pants. What I want to know is what the fuck is it doing in here?

I am on an important mission for the Prince, escorting Gorath to Krondor, and after running in to Dubal in LaMut it was suggested that we stop by on our way through. We had hoped to spend the night here, and perhaps receive some assistance in repairing our equipment?

Dubal sent ya did he? Did he happen to mention that there's a reason he's off getting pissed at the tavern and not down here working at the moment? That we not only have a tunnel collapse to deal with but also a Brak Nurr loose in the fucking halls?

He did happen to mention something of the sort...

Oh he did, did he? Then what kind of stupid bastard are ya to think I'm going to take time off working at that to help you fix your fucking armor? For fuck's sake...

I must offer you our most sincere apologies, we had not realised that the circumstances here were so dire. If Dubal had made it clearer we never would have come in and bothered you.

Oh that's big of ya. Super fucking considerate. Fuck Dubal, and fuck you. Yer here now and there's no havin' otherwise, so how about ya hop down the tunnel with your magic boy and serial killer sidekick and fix my fucking problem? Hell, ya can have the gold we're offering as a reward as well...

Perhaps it is best if we just leave...

Get down the tunnel and kill the damn beastie or I'll lock the door behind ya and ya won't ever get out, y' fucking hear?

This is outrageou...

The only reason the noise coming out of yer mouth isn't a soft gurgle of blood is because ya with these humans. Best keep quiet...

Perhaps we would be better off just killing this beast?

Fuck me, seems the bath-boy is the smart one of you lot!?

Very well. We shall take a look down the tunnel and see what we can do. I make no promises though, I will not jeopardise my mission over this beast.

Blah blah... get on already. Oh... and mind you don't get yerself killed by the other bounty hunters about the place.

Other bounty hunters?

We had a bunch of humans come by to try claim the reward... last I heard they were all sitting in the corner pissing themselves, attacking anything that came by...

Having finished speaking Naddur Ban Dok moves quickly down the corridor and out of sight, leaving the party on their own again.

Ishap have mercy, that was one angry dwarf...

Let us get this over with, I wish to rest and leave these halls.

[Morat20]

God that game was good. :) "Despair thy Eyes" was pretty much the starter move for a mage all the way through the end. Gorath, on the other hand -- give that man the right sword, and by the end of the game it was pretty much pick a target and shout "Gorath! KILL!".

Return to Krondor was not so great, although it would have been acceptable had there not been massively persistent camera glitches. And by "glitches" I mean "I can't leave the motherfucking room because I can't click on the motherfucking door because the motherfucking camera won't motherfucking show it NO MATTER WHAT I DO."

[lamaros]

RtK wasn't a great game, but I did enjoy it. I like me some turn based combat, and it had (IIRC) some very good voice acting. If it had been a bigger game, with more of a 'world' and a better camera system it would have been perfect. Still fun though. Especially some of the voice acting... For some reason there were a couple of lines that really stuck in my head; I still hear them today.

Doing this radicalthon is hard. I keep forgetting I'm doing it and stop taking notes and screenshots, so I have to go back and redo stuff!

[lamaros]

[I should make it clear that killing the Brak Nurr is in no way compulsory and Naddur is actually quite friendly in the game. But it is fun killing the Brak Nurr, and hard to justify story-wise, so.]

The party is exploring the halls of the Mac Mordain Cadal and comes across a locked chest.

This one does not look too hard... ah, easy! All this practice is paying off, I seem to be getting better at opening them. (Looks inside) What a waste of time, there is nothing decent in he...



Be quiet. There is something... humans. Over there.

I see them. Let us be quick this time, before they notice us.

Those guys? Over there?

...



Quietly now.



Ok, attack!





Woah, that was frantic!

Yes. (Looking at corpse) I think this one was a magician.

Really?!

How can you tell Gorath?

(Seriously) See these pants? (Points) Only magicians would wear gold pants.

Hey... !

He must have died in the first rush and been unable to cast a spell. Good thing we got him early, that could have been very difficult.

But it was not. Magicians die easily when you put a sword through them. Do you see, Owyn?

Oh, you're being super subtle Gorath, I'm not sure my simple magician brain can understand.

Will I have to listen to this rubbish all the way to Korondor? Be quiet you two. Let us find this beast, kill it and get out of here.

Exploring eventually leads the party to their prey.



Blinded by Owyn's magic, the beast falls without any of the party taking even a scratch.



Our gold?

Aye, here ya go. Ya know...

Yes?

I may 'ave been too hard on you before.

May have?

I've lost thirty good dwarves in the damn collapses so I've a right to be pissed! And I never did lock the door on ya... whatever. I can't be repairing yer armor, but let me show ya a thing or two about lookin' after yer weapons? Here, won't take half a sec...

The party learns a few pointers about weaponcraft from Naddur. As soon as they realise the lesson is done he has already disappeared back in to the tunnels.

Let us get out of here.

A few more hopeless bounty hunter bands fall to the party as they stumble around looking for the exit. There are a few close calls, but the group survives.





Eventually...

Praise to Ishap!



...they leave Mac Mordain Cadal and return to the road.

[rk47]

It's like one of those PnP Nights.

"Ben, use that spell again!"

"AGAIN?"

[lamaros]

The party continues south. They have only walked a short way before Gorath stops them all with a sign.







Fearing more ambushes the group leaves the road. As they are passing Zun it begins to get dark, so they look for a place to camp for the night. They find a chest hidden behind some small hills. Owyn becomes very excited when they open it.



A spell!!!



Owyn studies the spell.



Ah, umm... Ok, I think I have it!



Who wants to see me burn that tree over there?

No one?

...fine then.



Soon the group comes to a branch in the road: to the east is Hawk's Hollow, to the south the road leads to Krondor via Questor's View and Sarth. The party continues south. However, soon after they have passed the intersection...



















This must be the explanation for what is happening. (Thinking) We are not safe pushing blindly south like this, it is obvious that we cannot outrun them. There will be more assassins and more traps. Our only hope is to lose our trackers and go via a different route. (Thinking) We shall turn around and return south via Loriel. As I originally planned.

[lamaros]

Annndddd... I kinda outdistanced this writeup too much.

I know this game too well. I'm halfway through chapter 2 and James has 100% def, lockpicking, Owyn and Gorath 90+ def. Owyn has 90+ spellcasting, etc etc.

Everyone has good armor, swords of kinnur, I have 9000+ gold...

I have screenshots and the like, so I might finish the writeup over time, to give others an idea of the game, but I think I am done playing it. I thought I could sustain the enjoyment, but having played it through so so so many times in the past it just doesn't have any novelty left. :( :(

[rk47]

.......i didn't even manage to do it. Hahah. too powergamey perhaps.

[lamaros]

.......i didn't even manage to do it. Hahah. too powergamey perhaps.

Unfortunately. I tried to stop myself doing that and forbid myself from going north, or spending money in shops - otherwise I would have had greatswords for everyone/sword of limm-kragma (sp), dragon plate, etc... but I couldn't stop myself getting the gear that was in reasonable areas, after all that is half the fun of this wonderful game!

But it still wasn't enough. Sadly the game has aged just a little too much otherwise. I know the story and it doesn't change, so there's not much to look forward to there. The combat is easy (RtK has much more fun combat, here it is a bit too simplistic, especially spellcasting).

The write up was probably more fun than playing... so I will try and keep doing it. Maybe the desire to play will also return.