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 Introduction Anvil of Dawn is an old school dungeon crawler created back in 1995 by DreamForge Intertainment. It features a dark, twisted world where a Warlord wreaks havoc upon the good folk of Tempest by using an unkown dark power. As one of five heroes we must find a way to stop him and his armies as we cast deadly spells, engage in fierce combat, and of course solve puzzles and find loot! This is a game that I feel has aged fairly well despite being about 20 years old at the time of this posting. The graphics are still nice, it has the all critical automap, and the story / characters are pretty interesting. It's also fully voice acted. If you think you might be interested in the game you can pick it up over at gog.com. About the Playthrough There are five characters to choose from, though as far as I know the choice doesn't make a significant difference since you can set up any character pretty much however you want. That said, I did a little searching and it doesn't seem like there are any LP's of this game that feature one of the two possible female protagonists. Since the game is fully voice acted, I thought it would be cool to do a playthrough as one of them so we'll be going with Nalu (I renamed her to Envy because I felt like being cheesy), who is a strong fighter by default, but poor with spells. I change my starting stats around a little bit to make her a bit more of a jack of all trades so we can try some different combat styles as we make our way through the game and hopefully still be fairly effective. This playthrough will be mostly blind but not totally. What that means is I've seen other LP's of the game so I have some idea of the general story, but I don't recall the details. I'll also be using a guide for two purposes. The first is to make sure I go through the areas in the correct order so we hopefully don't have to do too much back tracking, and the second is if I get really stuck so we can keep the LP moving forward. Update Schedule This LP is complete! Thread Rules I'd prefer to keep any discussion related to the videos / sections of the game that have been listed in the thread so far. I'd like to keep it spoiler free for the plot stuff at least since I don't remember the details of the game, as I mentioned above. Feel free to mention any items or spells you think I should try, though. Vids Series Playlist
It's video games. Every day...ish. rojovision fucked around with this message at 05:57 on Jan 9, 2016 |
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Sep 15, 2015 03:36
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Reserved
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Sep 15, 2015 03:36
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Here are some screens of the game.    
rojovision fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Sep 15, 2015 |
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Sep 15, 2015 03:36
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To kick off the series, I'm starting with 3 episodes so we can get past the initial story stuff and into the main adventure itself. Episode 1 - A Hero is Chosen We choose a hero for our grand quest and learn of what's to come.  Episode 2 - Sleeping In It seems we missed our alarm by a bit. No matter - time to get equipped and find out what our first move is!  Episode 3 - The Quest Begins Now that we know where we're going and we've got some basic equipment, it's time to get this party started and venture behind enemy lines to Lord Gryphon's Keep! rojovision fucked around with this message at 13:54 on Sep 15, 2015 |
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Sep 15, 2015 03:38
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Oh god I think she's choking.
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Sep 15, 2015 14:32
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Golden Goat posted:
Haha yeah she doesn't look so good. Also I bet she smells like Christmas.
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Sep 15, 2015 15:04
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Magic is real strong in this if you have the patience to deal with powering it up. Like there's a couple spells that basically can win any fight without any issues, although resistances will force you to vary them a bit. I remember vampiric mists being particularly crazy strong, and you get it fairly earlyish.
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Sep 15, 2015 16:35
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Sloober posted:Magic is real strong in this if you have the patience to deal with powering it up. The way I distributed my stats I'm a bit more geared toward physical combat, but I have 4 points in Power, so hopefully that'll be enough to make spells somewhat effective along with some levels in magic. I definitely do intend to do some spellcasting, so I'll be sure to give mists a try. I ended up starting with the freeze spell because it seems pretty good early on at least.
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Sep 15, 2015 17:32
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Ah, Dreamforge... I'll forever remember you for games like Veil of Darkness, Sanitarium (Yes, that one) and The Summoning... But I'll also always remember you as the company that made the Ravenloft games and Menzoberranzan... Their engine was pretty good... But the DnD games were not. Never got a chance to play Anvil of Dawn, so I'll look on with interest!
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Sep 15, 2015 21:56
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 Episode 4 - Staying Frosty We move up to the next level of the keep and give our spellslinging arm a workout!
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Sep 16, 2015 02:32
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JamieTheD posted:Ah, Dreamforge... I'll forever remember you for games like Veil of Darkness, Sanitarium (Yes, that one) and The Summoning... But I'll also always remember you as the company that made the Ravenloft games and Menzoberranzan... Their engine was pretty good... But the DnD games were not. Never got a chance to play Anvil of Dawn, so I'll look on with interest! Menzoberranzan was pretty good, especially since you could exploit their exp system to get massive gobs of XP off anything that was vulnerable to hold if you had spiritual hammer or some other returning weapon. I mostly remember the opening for that ran like total poo poo on my PC at the time.
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Sep 16, 2015 13:23
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 Episode 5 - To Scum or Not to Scum We continue exploring Gryphon keep and come across some nice loot! We also come to a decision that we'll stick with for the playthrough.
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Sep 17, 2015 03:08
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Oh poo poo Anvil of Dawn  Great game. I remember the Inventory/UI blowing my mind after being used to just walls of text in the Might and Magic games. This game still holds up fairly well in both design and graphics, but if I remember correctly it's hard as balls and really stingy with healing potions.Definitely going to be following this one.
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Sep 17, 2015 03:24
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One of the great things about this game is the enemies. You don't fight rats or wolves from the start, you're killing soldiers that look like something out of an endgame dungeon, and it only gets crazier the further you get.
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Sep 17, 2015 10:05
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Experience is directly correlated to dealing damage or healing damage, so things that do neither will not get you any exp, like the frost spell won't do anything at all for experience.
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Sep 17, 2015 13:27
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Sloober posted:Experience is directly correlated to dealing damage or healing damage, so things that do neither will not get you any exp, like the frost spell won't do anything at all for experience. Cool, thanks for the heads up. I'll probly still wonder about it for the next episode or two since I usually record in batches. Makes me a little sad I didn't go with the lightning skull spell since I don't need to cast heal super often, but I'm sure we'll get something that does damage soon enough.
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Sep 17, 2015 13:45
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THE BAR posted:One of the great things about this game is the enemies. You don't fight rats or wolves from the start, you're killing soldiers that look like something out of an endgame dungeon, and it only gets crazier the further you get. The overall design of this game is great and still holds up really well and the enemies were/still are badass. Even their old bestiary art in the instruction manual is awesome, and some of the drawings really weirded me out as a kid. The art style is reminiscent of the author that drew that scary stories book that terrified children and for an otherwise fairly standard CRPG, some of the monsters were hosed up. The Arachinfant  (Don't click the link if you don't want monster spoilers) http://mocagh.org/nwc/anvildawn-manual.pdf
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Sep 17, 2015 14:55
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THE BAR posted:One of the great things about this game is the enemies. You don't fight rats or wolves from the start, you're killing soldiers that look like something out of an endgame dungeon, and it only gets crazier the further you get. Cuckoo posted:The overall design of this game is great and still holds up really well and the enemies were/still are badass. Even their old bestiary art in the instruction manual is awesome, and some of the drawings really weirded me out as a kid. The art style is reminiscent of the author that drew that scary stories book that terrified children and for an otherwise fairly standard CRPG, some of the monsters were hosed up. The Arachinfant The enemy design is one of the things that sold me on the game. I mean the first enemy is a sword guy that bursts into unholy flame and crumbles into a pile of bones and ash on death. One could describe that as "pretty loving metal. rojovision fucked around with this message at 15:31 on Sep 17, 2015 |
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Sep 17, 2015 15:27
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 Episode 6 - "Almost Done" I make a bold claim about being almost done with Gryphon Keep and am decidedly humbled. It seems like the areas in this game are fairly large, so that's something to look forward to!
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Sep 18, 2015 02:13
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rojogames posted:I make a bold claim about being almost done with Gryphon Keep and am decidedly humbled. It seems like the areas in this game are fairly large, so that's something to look forward to! That's actually one of the minor nitpicks I have. Since the dungeons are so monstrously huge (think endgame Might and Magic 6 dungeons, but without any reason to leave!), you may start to yearn for a change of scenery. This could be seen as a good thing, as the dungeons are so incredibly diverse in style, that when you finally get one done, you can't wait to see what's next! Another thing I find a bit tedious when you're going through the entire thing, is how the "attack, then move back a space"-style of combat gets a bit tiresome, as that's really the best strategy against almost everything. You -could- just stand your ground and fight normally, but then the game gets brutally hard, to the point where I'm not even sure you can complete it that way! E: It just struck me that your voice and style of commentation reminds me a lot about Matt Barton's. This pleases me greatly. THE BAR fucked around with this message at 12:38 on Sep 18, 2015 |
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Sep 18, 2015 12:35
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THE BAR posted:It just struck me that your voice and style of commentation reminds me a lot about Matt Barton's. This pleases me greatly. No idea who that is, but thanks! I do a bit of EQ, etc on my commentary so I sound a little different in "real life," but hopefully not so much that my LP's are totally dishonest haha. Basically I cut out a lot of the background noise and then give it a little treble / bass boost. I also cut out some of the mid frequencies to kill as much echo as I reasonably can. The result gives me a bit more of a radio voice, I guess you could say, since I'm no Northernlion or Markiplier.
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Sep 18, 2015 13:07
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THE BAR posted:That's actually one of the minor nitpicks I have. Since the dungeons are so monstrously huge (think endgame Might and Magic 6 dungeons, but without any reason to leave!), you may start to yearn for a change of scenery. This could be seen as a good thing, as the dungeons are so incredibly diverse in style, that when you finally get one done, you can't wait to see what's next! What determines how difficult the game is is how much you invest in magic - if you do none you will have a very hard time, and then you will definitely have to square dance. You can make up for poor melee strength by magic, but you can't make up for magic in any way.
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Sep 18, 2015 13:21
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rojogames posted:No idea who that is, but thanks! I do a bit of EQ, etc on my commentary so I sound a little different in "real life," but hopefully not so much that my LP's are totally dishonest haha. Basically I cut out a lot of the background noise and then give it a little treble / bass boost. I also cut out some of the mid frequencies to kill as much echo as I reasonably can. The result gives me a bit more of a radio voice, I guess you could say, since I'm no Northernlion or Markiplier. He's written a couple of books about the development of RPGs on computers, how early video game mechanics can still be found in modern titles and how code can be viewed as pieces of art, essentially. He also runs an account on YouTube where he interviews a ton of heavy hitters from the industry. It's actually to your LP's benefit that you don't know the game in and out, as it feels a bit more in character that things are discovered as we play along. It's really good stuff!
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Sep 18, 2015 14:12
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THE BAR posted:He's written a couple of books about the development of RPGs on computers, how early video game mechanics can still be found in modern titles and how code can be viewed as pieces of art, essentially. He also runs an account on YouTube where he interviews a ton of heavy hitters from the industry. Cool, that actually sounds pretty interesting. I'll look him up when I get a chance. Also, glad you're enjoying the videos so far!
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Sep 18, 2015 14:23
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THE BAR posted:the "attack, then move back a space"-style of combat gets a bit tiresome, as that's really the best strategy against almost everything. You -could- just stand your ground and fight normally, but then the game gets brutally hard, to the point where I'm not even sure you can complete it that way! Sloober posted:What determines how difficult the game is is how much you invest in magic - if you do none you will have a very hard time, and then you will definitely have to square dance. You can make up for poor melee strength by magic, but you can't make up for magic in any way. Well no loving wonder I thought this game was nearly impossible years ago. I would always play as Bryce (badass beard guy), max strength, almost no magic investment, and I wouldn't do the dodge-dance.  The entire game was spent downing healing potions like a druggie looking for a fix and lingering around healing/mana altars. Ugh. With this info I'm tempted to boot this thing up again and go for another replay.Loving the LP, keep it up! It looks like at least a partially blind run I think, but yeah if you use walkthroughs to get past some of the trap-dick puzzles I wouldn't complain.
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Sep 18, 2015 19:27
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Cuckoo posted:Well no loving wonder I thought this game was nearly impossible years ago. I would always play as Bryce (badass beard guy), max strength, almost no magic investment, and I wouldn't do the dodge-dance. The only character more difficult to play through is than Bryce is the other female character who only has good AGI. Snakeman and the character rojo is playing are probably the easiest since you can balance their stats out pretty well. If you take bryce the ice magic is probably best, since it gets you some free hits.
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Sep 18, 2015 20:15
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 Episode 7 - Mystery Hole But what to stick in it? Either way our time in Gryphon Keep is coming to an end! For real this time. Probably.
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Sep 18, 2015 23:41
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 Episode 8 - Follow Your Nose We make our way to the Dark Lantern to see what aid we might find within!
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Sep 22, 2015 03:03
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rojogames posted:
As a tip you can place a rock in the door tile and it'll stop it from closing. Makes it easier to deal with the timed doors like that. Rolling boulders are also a little buggy and you can cause them to change path randomly, i can't quite replicate it so i don't think it's intentional on the game's part. I started playing through again over the weekend.
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Sep 22, 2015 14:41
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Sloober posted:As a tip you can place a rock in the door tile and it'll stop it from closing. Makes it easier to deal with the timed doors like that. Rolling boulders are also a little buggy and you can cause them to change path randomly, i can't quite replicate it so i don't think it's intentional on the game's part. I started playing through again over the weekend. Ah, good to know. Guess I might hang on to a few little rocks next time I record. Who did you end up going with?
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Sep 22, 2015 15:59
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Remember to check your left hand, lest you -want- to do battle with a burlap sack. It really should do damage based on its weight, at least on living foes, like a makeshift blackjack.
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Sep 22, 2015 16:53
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rojogames posted:Ah, good to know. Guess I might hang on to a few little rocks next time I record. Who did you end up going with? I went with the lizard and kept all the stats equal, i usually played him. Make sure to save regularly from here on since the game is very cutthroat about traps and other things really doing a number on you.
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Sep 22, 2015 17:55
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THE BAR posted:Remember to check your left hand, lest you -want- to do battle with a burlap sack. Yeah I forget I still have a bag in hand a lot. Wouldn't complain about using rock bag as a weapon. Sloober posted:...Make sure to save regularly from here on since the game is very cutthroat about traps and other things really doing a number on you. I wouldn't know anything about that. Nope. Definitely not foreshadowing anything here, move along.
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Sep 22, 2015 20:31
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The idea of a weaponized rock bag is an amusing one.
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Sep 22, 2015 20:57
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 Episode 9 - Road Block We discover an interesting road block of sorts in the lower levels of the Dark Lantern!
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Sep 23, 2015 01:15
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That Gargoyle npc's voice is terrifying  This is the part of the game where the trap dickery goes into full swing. In my playthrough ages ago I just said "gently caress it" and ran around encumbered with a bag full of big rocks. Does being encumbered give you a massive penalty in this game?
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Sep 23, 2015 05:15
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Cuckoo posted:In my playthrough ages ago I just said "gently caress it" and ran around encumbered with a bag full of big rocks. Does being encumbered give you a massive penalty in this game? I'm not sure how massive the penalty really is, but according to the manual there's a hidden counter that's measured against your Stamina stat whenever you're engaged in continuous action such as fighting. If the counter gets too high you start losing str / agi temporarily. If you're over your weight limit, moving around counts as continuous action as well, which means you might start losing those stats just from travel, or at the very least you'll start losing them sooner from combat.
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Sep 23, 2015 12:55
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rojogames posted:I'm not sure how massive the penalty really is, but according to the manual there's a hidden counter that's measured against your Stamina stat whenever you're engaged in continuous action such as fighting. If the counter gets too high you start losing str / agi temporarily. If you're over your weight limit, moving around counts as continuous action as well, which means you might start losing those stats just from travel, or at the very least you'll start losing them sooner from combat. You tire more quickly so you get a stacking penalty to your strength and agility, which is actually pretty bad news. How long it takes for it to hit depends on how heavy your weapon is and how much you are swinging it. For example my 5/5/5 str/stam/agi Lizard tires before i hit the halfway point in damage dealt to juggernauts (The fire spitting stone faces), and if i don't take a break it'll hit the 2nd level of exhaustion well before destroying it. The throwable spear you get early on is a good weapon for the low strength classes because it's so lightweight. I don't think walking around will cause the penalty to hit but i am pretty sure it 'negates' your stamina recovery Being a little over isn't that big a thing, but getting way more means you'll stop being able to hit stuff and do way less damage very quickly. Also in general the game will provide you with enough stones or means to weight down plates, so you don't have to carry around too many rocks. I usually just hold onto 2 of the big ones and one of the small ones at most, since 25KG is usually enough to trip most plates. Those stone block items are essentially failsafes in case you find yourself super boned about a pressure plate. I had to use one in the lantern because I messed something up and didn't feel like digging out a bunch of rocks from around the dungeon. Sloober fucked around with this message at 13:52 on Sep 23, 2015 |
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Sep 23, 2015 13:18
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 Episode 10 - Second Look We're given a golden opportunity of sorts that helps us discover one (presumably) very important item! rojovision fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Sep 24, 2015 |
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Sep 24, 2015 02:28
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 Episode 11 - Laught It Up Ahhhhhahahahahaaaaa! Also, more Dark Lantern.
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Sep 24, 2015 23:14
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