GasBandit
Staff member
I just dumped a screenshot in paint
Darkest Dungeon - The Crimson Court - Halforums Edition
- Thread starter GasBandit
- Start date
Those poor pixels. They probably didn’t even have time to feel afraid.I just dumped a screenshot in paint
—Patrick
GasBandit
Staff member
@ThatNickGuy, @Sara_2814, and @Bones join the roster!
Celt Z gets a tapeworm. That's not a good diet plan, Keltsy. She is sent to the doctors and is out of commission while it is... dealt with.
Charon is nearly killed, being boiled alive in the pot of a hag. Fortunately, he is rescued just in time. The Hag is dispatched.
The Crimson Courtiers are ubiquitous now. Terrik is infected with the Crimson Curse from a sycophant bloodsucker.
The Charon takes Celt Z's place in the A-list lineup while she's out recovering, and the heroes return to the Crimson Courtyard to, once again, attempt to staunch the ever-increasing swarms.
In a blood frenzy, Terrik attacks GasBandit, wounding and stunning him. #GodDammitTerrik
The Party finally reaches the Baron, after an excruciatingly long search.
The fight is long and hellish, and it claims the life of Dei (at about 5:10 in the above video if you don't want to watch the whole thing). In fact, the entire party comes close to perishing... but the day is won. The Crimson Baron falls, and the bloodsuckers retreat from the environs back to their nests in the Courtyard... for now. A silver lining to Dei's sacrifice - everyone who had been afflicted with the Crimson Curse is cured!
Eriol, Snuffles, HCGLNS and Wasabi defeat the Sonorous Prophet, but the men all come down with various diseases. Capital is expended to enlarge the hospital facilities to treat everyone.
With the loss of Dei, the roster needs a new Vestal. Fortunately, @Dirona arrives on the coach.
Emrys takes Ravenpoe, Eriol, and Sixpackshaker on a 3-day scouting mission into the warrens that ends up being extremely profitable. But they end up having to make extensive use of the medical facilities when they return - conditions in the swine-infested warrens are not exactly... hygienic.
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FTFYTry this secret weightloss trick you don't want to know!
Seriously guys?! Take some vitamin C or something.
GasBandit
Staff member
Shego, SpecialKO, Snuffles and Dirona kill the horrid Swine Prince, but once again the warrens spread various forms of creeping ick among the heroes.
The town is attacked by a gang of brigands, led by a huge man named Vvulf. Terrik, Gas, and Celt Z step up to defend, and Kags has to take the vacancy left by Dei's death, even though she is a tad underleveled. The party makes its way through burning streets and dastardly cutthroats, and confronts the villainous Vvulf himself. The bandit lord lobbed powerful explosive bombs at the party, and Terrik was blown to smithereens. We'll have to bury what's left of him in a coffee can... but ultimately, the robbers are defeated and the town is saved. Kags gains a massive amount of experience in the ordeal, and can no longer be called a liability by any definition.
@fade arrives on the stagecoach. He leads a Nick, Sara_2814, and Dirona on a 2-day expedition through the cove that goes pretty well.
It clears the way for Zero, Nick, Bones and Emrys to come through next, and attack the ghostly Sodden Crew. Bones' occult skills at dealing with eldritch abominations comes in particularly handy against the fish-men of the cove. They make short work of the piratical apparitions. But Bones can't resist rooting around in the guts of a giant dead fish, and contracts the red plague.
Shego, Dave, Snuffles and Wasabi purge the world of the nightmare of anatomy that is the Inchoate Flesh.
The Gibbous moon sends Bubble and RavenPoe howling into the hills at night, and when they return they have both gained a level, with no explanation...
Charon, Dave, Kags and Amy go to destroy the Brigand 12-pounder cannon, confident in their victory. But it all goes terribly wrong... they are defeated soundly, sent fleeing home... and Kags doesn't make it at all. We seem to be having a really hard time keeping our Vestals alive >_<
Vvulf must have picked up a Gernayde Lawncher.
GasBandit
Staff member
@Frank arrives on the coach.
The first few hints of bloodsuckers are starting to be seen outside the courtyard again... soon I fear we will have another pestilential swarm on our hands.
With Dei and Kags gone (and the loss of all the +healing gear along with Kags), Dirona is put on the fast track to the top. We need solid healing. She, BErt, Snuffles and Frank explore deeper into the Ruins. There is noticeably more difficulty on these forays into the dark. While they were seuccessful, Frank, Snuffles and BErt are going to need doctoring and a lot of booze before they're ready for action again. I hope this doesn't signal a turning point in the fight... against us.
BErt had such a good time in the Brothel, he's now got himself a love interest - and he refuses to partake in any other form of stress reduction. Snuffles, on the other hand, got so sick on rotgut and engine degreaser that he has sworn off alcohol entirely.
It's now been an entire year since our battle against the unseen and unspeakable began.
@SeraRelm joins the roster.
Fade falls afoul of the Crimson Curse.
@DarkAudit comes on board.
Dirona rises quickly in the ranks, and her achievement of level 5 is reached by going along with the 3 biggest dogs on the block to kill a fiendish necromancer. Irony and Karma team up to slippityslap GasBandit, in full view of Celt Z.
PatrThom contracts the Crimson Curse. The infestation is getting out of hand. Another trip to the Courtyard is evidently urgently required.
Charon, Gas, Dirona and Celt Z take the Viscount up on his invitation, and head into the Crimson Courtyard. Things start to go awry when Charon is afflicted with the Crimson Curse. The slog through the maze-like hedges is grueling, and the bloodsuckers seem even stronger than before. The incredible duress put upon the party causes a vastly increased appetite, and they are forced to turn back when the rations are exhausted.
I'll be your next healer that comes along! Put me in, coach!
GasBandit
Staff member
Heh, Mindy Tective the Vestal? You were a plague doctor last time, which can heal a little, granted, but is really more a damage-over-time class...
Well, anyway, if a Vestal comes on the coach, I'll remember
Come to think of it, you might also make a decent Occulist, which a lot of people think is the primary healing class of the game.
See, a Vestal's best healing, Divine Grace, (before boosts from gear) does about 9 hp.
The Occultist's heal, Wyrd Reconstruction, will heal a random number between 0 and 20 hp, but will also attempt to apply a bleed effect for 3 turns (which can be resisted, but still)...
Thing is we already got two occultists, Grue and Bones.
GasBandit
Staff member
The big boys party restocks and returns to the Crimson Courtyard, intent on finding the Viscount and ending him. It doesn't take long for both Gas and Celt Z to contract the Crimson Curse.
The party finds a captive Level 5 Bounty Hunter in a hidden room. Upon being rescued, he joins the roster! His name is @General Specific.
As Dirona begins to feel the thirst, it is apparent that now all four party members suffer the Crimson Curse. The Party finally must fall back to town due to stress and injury, but I think a huge amount of progress has been made.
A puppet theater is built in the town, which will aid in the stress relief of idle heroes. On his first foray on the team, GeneralSpecific contracts both Spotted Fever and the Ague. Charon, during a drinking binge, blows 500 gold buying a round for the entire house.
A bank is constructed, so that we may gain interest on gold we do not spend. This little hamlet is really starting to come back from the ramshackle hovels it was a year ago.
After some B-listers run a couple other quests, the big 4 tackle the courtyard again. They finally track down the viscount, and defeat him, though Celt Z does not survive the encounter... All are cured of the Crimson Curse, the swarms of insects retreat, and Dirona advances to level 6, finally.
@Squidleybits joins the fight. GenSpec, Dave, Bones, and Snuffles defeat the Alluring Siren. Meanwhile, the Horrid Shrieker steals 8 trinkets from us!
Gas, Charon, Dirona and Snuffles go to get them back. They destroy the flying monstrosity, and return with all that was stolen, plus a little extra...
Shego, Dave, Sara_2815 and Wasabi have a much easier time dealing with the Brigand 12-pounder. Kags is avenged. Dave makes level 6. Eriol, SpecialKO, BErt, and Wasabi make short work of the Swine King.
@MindDetective joins on!
Shego, Frank, ThatNickguy and Sara_2814 perform surprisingly well together, and defeat the Fulminating Prophet without a dedicated healer in the group!
The Sunken Crew is put to sea by Frank, ThatNickGuy, Bones, and Null.
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GasBandit
Staff member
Pretty much. It gives you an achievement, though.
Huh... I DO tend to get overly-generous when I'm drinking... or overly-sharey. Depending on what's being drunk.
Hurray! I got another mention!
GasBandit
Staff member
It's difficult to manage the Abominations. Religious classes refuse to group with them, and I don't have a lot of stress mitigation - and you guys cause a LOT of stress when you get riled up.[DOUBLEPOST=1511648747,1511648186][/DOUBLEPOST]Hurray! I got another mention!
Fade, SpecialKO, HCGLNS, and Wasabi sally forth to destroy the Unstable Flesh. It's a close call for Wasabi, who is brought to death's door, but everyone lives and the beastly mistake is put to an end. The experience takes Wasabi to level 6. Fade comes down with the Fits, the Runs, AND a Spasm of the Entrails. WHAT DID HE EAT??
Fortunately, the doctors are SUPER EFFECTIVE at curing Fade, and... uh... Wasabi? What did... you know what, I don't want to know. Unfortunately this puts Wasabi in an odd predicament - her Love Interest quirk makes her refuse to engage in any stress relief activity other than the brothel, but now thanks to her Deviant Tastes, she's banned from the brothel. Looks like I need to send her to the sanitarium for some... remedial intervention.
The respite from the bloodsuckers was brief. When they return, Eriol is the first to be infected. Serarelm is only moments behind him, however. On another mission, HCGLNS does the same. It's building again...
@AshburnerX joins the roster. About time, we needed another Man at Arms.
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Mmmm. Morning wood.
GasBandit
Staff member
Ambushed at night during a patrol through the Ruins, Bubble181 contracts the crimson curse.
Gasbandit, Charon, Sara and Dirona return to the ruins afterwards defeat the third and final necromancer. Perhaps now the wandering dead will begin to dwindle. Sara_2814 is now level 6.
Null and PatrThom are put to work when the plague comes to town. The experience boosts them from level 4 to 5.
On the way to kill the most dastardly Hag Witch, Dirona and Sara are infected again with the Crimson Curse. In the fight itself, SpecialKO was nearly boiled to death in the Hag's bubbling cauldron! It all worked out in the end, though, I suppose. Enduring the searing pain pushed SpecialKO (and Shego) to level 6.
A granary is constructed. Another sign of Civilization returning to the hamlet. But the swarms are back at full force, and Charon, Gas, Dirona and Sara have to return...
...to the Crimson Courtyard.
I suppose it was only to be expected that another of the untainted members of the party would contract the curse, and that they would not find the Crimson Countess on their first try. They made good progress, until the stress became too much for Dirona, and the cracking sound of her psyche collapsing prompted the party to fall back to town.
Yikes!
GasBandit
Staff member
Genspec, SpecialKO, BErt and Wasabi go after the Swine God. BErt finds a barrel of moonshine spirits and aquires a taste for it... a little too enthusiastically. He also is infected by the Crimson Curse.
SpecialKO clings to the precipice at Death's Door FOUR TIMES, but he manages to cling to life and the party is victorious! The sight instantly cures BErt of his newfound alcoholism, but gives him Zoophobia. Which isn't very good for a Houndmaster to have. Straight to the sanitarium for him.
Charon, Gas, Dirona and Sara take another crack at the Crimson Courtyard. They find an imprisoned Jester, @Tinwhistler. Being released, he joins the crusade.
Surprisingly, the Countess is found! Her appearance is deceptive, and her disguise doesn't last long. The battle is horrific in more ways than one!
She implants a broodling into Dirona, that kills her when it bursts out of her body!
Gas Bandit is slain by her probing ovipositor.
And Charon follows quickly thereafter, run through by the Countess's piercing proboscis.
Sara has no choice but a frantic retreat to town. This is a monstrous setback.
Losing Charon, GB and Dirona is a terrible blow, but at least a wave of new recruits arrive... in the form of @mikerc, @Denbrought, @Grytpipe-Thynne, and @Hylian.
The Crimson Curse is still spreading, so GeneralSpecific, SpecialKO, BErt and Wasabi step up to try to succeed where the others failed.
Madness claims the party, one by one.
The stress is too much,and BErt dies of a heart attack. Morale utterly crushed, the 3 survivors flee for town.
@Gryfter and @Reverent-one arrive on the Coach. GeneralSpecific crawled into a bottle to forget what he saw in the Courtyard, and it seems he might never come back out again.
On Denbrought's first outing, the terrifying ghouls he meets drives his mind over the edge. However, Grytpipe, Mikerc, and Grifter manage to carry him onward, and their mission to gather relics in the ruins is successful despite this.
And now we have a clue about what got Wasabi thrown out of the brothel.
Fucking brutal! Almost the entire A-list slaughtered... what a way to go. At least I wasn't implanted with some sort of body-horror... only skewered by a schnoz.
GasBandit
Staff member
She shouldn't be taking ANY damage! Spam that "defend me!" move!
GasBandit
Staff member
Technically you only have to use it every OTHER turn to keep the guard effect up, but whoever she uses it on gets a big buff to Prot and Dodge, and it stacks with itself.
GasBandit
Staff member
You're still trucking right along, makin' money, gainin' levels. The Antiquarians don't get a lot of mentions because I keep you as safe and well guarded as possible, because you're my main source of income. And you've made me quite wealthy indeed... I've got over 200k in the bank. I think the most I ever had at one time on the previous playthrough was 45k.
So you're saying that I'm your sugarmama?
GasBandit
Staff member
Indeed.
Though, I've been formulating a plan to kill the Countess that might involve you or Amy, whichever is higher level, better equipped, and lower stress at the time of implementation.
See, the only reason Sara escaped when Dirona, Charon, and GasBandit died was because she had massive dodge buffs.
So I need a team of people who can
Now, Antiquarians aren't good at dodging, but what they can do is command another party member to guard them, and doing so buffs the dodge (and prot) stat of the person doing the guarding. And they're the only class that can do that that has a heal (albeit a very paltry heal).
So, I need a party with high dodge/prot that can deal damage, and I'll still need a healer in case anybody gets to Death's Door (0 hp).
I'm thinking two Men-At-Arms (Snuffles and AshburnerX most likely), a Grave Robber (Sara_2914), and an Antiquarian (You or Amy). Snuffles and Ash will start spamming their group dodge/speed buffs, Emrys/Amy will spam "guard me!" on Sara, and Sara will be the primary damage (and boy oh boy does the graverobber do damage). Hopefully all the dodge boosting will negate damage, so we'll be able to whittle the Countess down over time, and if somebody gets into trouble, Emrys/Amy's minor healing can at least get them off Death's Door (a character has to already be at 0 hp to be killed by further damage, abarring things like heart attacks).
The big concern in this fight will be the implanted broodlings. The Countess will start trying to oviposit those nasty little suckers right away in the first round, and the dodge buffs might not be stacked enough yet at that point to avoid it. The broodlings cause damage every turn while they grow, then cause massive damage when they burst out, plus bleeding. If the bursting takes somebody to zero, the subsequent bleeding makes for an uncomfortably large chance for a deathblow. But that's a risk I'm willing for you all to take.
I'll probably give that a try this weekend.
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