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Alpha3KV
Mar 30, 2011

Quex Chest
AOMD 3: Out on the Town



Myth Drannor is divided into sections called "quarters" though there are only two in this game. The trail leads into the Guildhall Quarter. I move ahead until I hit a wall then go straight south.



That leads us to this building. The top portions of enemies can be seen behind doors like this. In this case, there is a friend instead.



I choose the second response, since the polite dialogue can still be seen on the next choice.



If you refuse him, he just says "Farewell, then." Rex is not the first saurial companion in a D&D computer game. Curse of the Azure Bonds has the paladin named Dragonbait, though his race is listed as "Monster" on the status screen. He can join you for a short dungeon in Yulash, another ruined city north of here. The purpose of this quest is to stop a cult from reviving the aforementioned Moander. As a Gold Box NPC, he's always AI controlled, but no spells and a ranged weapon prevent him from doing anything too stupid. Coincidentally, CAB also ends in Myth Drannor.



Rex is one of two companions in this game with a race the player can't select. Both of them are single-class characters unbound by racial level limits. Rex starts with a mace and Bracers of Protection, both +2, as well as a holy symbol. Just outside of the building he was in we encounter a chimera, with another one behind it. Their dragon heads can breathe fireballs, which Protection from Fire can negate. They don't do exceptionally high damage otherwise and die to a single all-attack.



Heading straight east, only going around a single tree, leads to the connection between the city's two quarters. The transition is pretty seamless. Having reached level 12 cleric, Tanglor's spiritual hammers are now +3. Only clerics can use them, but they are not exclusive to the caster. Therefor Rex is using his stronger ones while he's still in the party. I keep going straight ahead up to the corner of a building, then go north.



Another recruitable character, in front of a door rather than behind it this time. He has a more complex dialogue tree than Rex.



You can be very rude to him, but of course I'm taking him in.



He wasn't kidding about the wyverns, one of them snuck up behind us during that conversation. As seen here, they are capable of poisoning. They can also do damage up to the 20s, but can't survive an all-attack. Father Jon starts with the same items as Rex, though his bracers are only +1. In addition, he starts with a Ring of Protection +3, a spellbook, and a Wand of Acid Storm. That's Cone of Cold with a different element. Speaking of which, it still goes through walls in this game, as does Acid Storm.



After killing the wyvern, we go inside. The casters give some parting buffs. Tanglor had only seven 2nd level spells, but the final Aid after healing Delmair to full was covered by a scroll I kept from the first game. This door is unlocked by a key from the other side of the city. The sign across from the lock says "Ice Chambers". There are shelves on the east and west sides, each with a +3 dagger and three cleric scrolls. One shelf is all Heal scrolls, and the other has Cause Serious Wounds, Neutralize Poison, and Sol's Searing Orb. That requires a free hand to cast, and creates a gem in it that can do fire damage to a single enemy. Underwhelming for a 6th level spell.



Speaking of scrolls, the method of scribing them has changed from the first two games. My last rest was just before entering town, but I'm not wasting the +3 spiritual hammers. I head back to the Guildhall Quarter to do a proper sweep of it.



Shortly after returning, we are confronted by hags. They look like normal human women before attacking, as shown by the one in back. I think they are the only enemies in this game Hold Person might work against, though they have 35% magic resistance. They are able to survive an all-attack, due mainly to their numbers dividing the hits.



In a nearby building we find a pile of items which includes a shield +3 and normal splint mail. This hammer is +3 and automatically returns. It's not class exclusive like spiritual hammers are.



This holy symbol from the bottom of that pile gives one extra spell per level when held in a cleric's hand. The scrolls on this shelf are Cure Light Wounds, 2x Cure Serious Wounds, Hold Monster, Hold Undead, and Flesh to Stone.



More scrolls in another building at the western edge of town. These ones are all for mages: Remove Curse, Improved Invisibility, Slow, Invisibility 10' Radius, and Water Breathing.



This ring is dropped by a chimera in a northeastern building.



That building has another item pile: Two maces (+2 and -3), two suits of plate mail (+3 and -2), a normal shield, and a Helm of Underwater Breathing. That and the scroll from earlier are clearly hinting at something.



West of that building, we find a chimera statue in the middle of four trees. Clicking on any of the trees will drop apples, which restore a small amount of a character's hunger meter. However, that also undoes the chimera's petrification. It can be shattered before that. Doing so brings Isharn to thief level 10, his last hit die.



Further west is a building with more chimeras. After clearing it out I rest again, memorizing Dispel Magic as one of my spells. The barrier over this shelf will damage the whole party if clicked on, until dispelled. The contents are a Ring of Fire Resistance, the crystal key needed on the other side of town, and some mage scrolls: 2x Hold Person, Hold Undead, and Protection from Paralysis. Note that True Seeing is not active in this screenshot, the sword in front of the shelf just normally looks like that. It is identified as "Frostbite" +3.



This is a building right at the entrance to the Temple Quarter, which starts with several wyverns inside. It looks like Insal was actually an incarnation of the Realms' sun god? Anyway, this shelf has a diamond under yet more scrolls. Cleric scrolls of Create Food & Water, Slow Poison, Prayer, Neutralize Poison, and Aid. Mage scrolls of True Seeing plus all four 7th level spells: Acid Storm, Finger of Death, Power Word: Stun, and Mordenkainen's Sword. That makes a "melee" weapon usable from any row, which would be useful for a mage who did a lot of grinding. We, however, won't reach a high enough level to use spells above 5th level in either category.



Trolls inhabit the northern half of the Temple quarter, only rarely mingling with wyverns from the south. They seem to take a maximum of 6 damage from weapons, even from Isharn who is wearing the strength gauntlets. They are weak to fire and acid, so I decide to use Sol's Searing Orb. I reloaded an older save to get a better screenshot.



This building is in the middle of the northernmost part of the Temple Quarter. These items are a +3 halberd called "Zymoks" and a Wand of Fear. The latter is something useful, but not for the spell it casts. I forgot to take a screenshot when I got them, so I used ASE3 to warp here after loading an older save.



I unlock the door in the central building and proceed into the Ice Chambers. There is a shelf next to this sign. Put the diamond into it to warp to an isolated room in the northwest.



That room has a similar setup. In this case, the Wand of Fear is what's needed.



That brings you to another isolated room. It has three shelves with items in them: Bracers of Protection +2, two Necklaces of Fireballs, and three Wands of Cone of Cold. Taking items from one shelf puts magic barriers over the other two, which can be dispelled. That allows all three shelves to be looted, so no need to choose. These teleporters go back to the Ice Chambers.



The entrances to this game's two required dungeons are at the northeast corners of their respective city quarters. However, the way into the temple is walled off, and won't be opened until this is completed first.

Alpha3KV fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Mar 26, 2022