Let's Sperg Darkest Dungeon Let's Sperg: Part 2 - A Quest of Autism and Lovecraftian Horror

[Jaimas]

A bit of sperging about Dankmeme Dungeon before work.

The biggest issue in the game is the RNG. The RNG is such a major component of almost every aspect of gameplay that it's pretty much almost unavoidable. You can do every single thing right, get fucking amazing characters with the perfect quirks, the game giving you exactly what you need when you need it, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, throw an encounter with a team of normal enemies who just suddenly gets critical after critical after critical and succeeds at every single dodge. You will almost be led to believe the game is picking on you, and really, it's just the RNG being a prick. "Gambler's Fallacy" is a common term thrown around in this circumstance.

But Gambler's Fallacy does not account for a dickish AI. Enemies are specifically programmed to prioritize based on current situation. You will see enemies target a vulnerable character with stress attacks constantly, actively pick on a characters who are at Death's Door, and so on.

If the RNG cooperates, the game isn't even that hard. Strategy and taking absolutely zero unnecessary risks are key. If you're a newblet, I highly recommend the Lighter Dungeon mod; it increases cash storage by 500 and slightly reduces the odds of negative quirks, as well as lowering Sanitarium and Activity costs slightly, but it does nothing else, so it doesn't ruin the experience.

 

[Jaimas]

Also, I don't think I've actually covered how many missions I've had to abort because if shit went any further south we'd hit Lovecraft Mexico. One mission in the weald I went on had an encounter with 3 rabid gnashers and a cultitst witch resulting in every single member of the team afflicted and/or at death's door. That shit happens. There's times you should pull the plug and discretion is the better part of valor.

 

[Jaimas]

Shrieks from the warrens emit, louder than ever before. Greta has returned with eyes on The Kiwi Farms. There is no time to lose.

The veteran team of Greta engagement - @Varg Did Nothing Wrong, @Randall Fragg, @alex_theman, and @Techpriest organize up. There is only one chance at this; Greta has become more powerful than anything we have ever faced before.

The great thing I had managed to bring through was brutish and stupid. Moreover, it required prodigious amounts of meat to sustain itself. But this was only a trifling concern. Afterall, I had a village full of it.

This thing has design on devouring the Farms' occupants. This can not stand.

The team immediately deploys, and like all Warrens boss fights, all seems relatively straightforward at first. The boss is easy to get to, but hard to battle. But none were ready for what was involved here.

At first, fights went well, with the team easily ripping through their opposition.

Battle after battle quickly took their toll. Techpriest kept the team up but Stress damage kept spiking, and we quickly wound up over our heads. Things were starting to look rough, as both Alex and Techpriest both became Afflicted and Fearful - right when we were about to cross the threshold into Greta's realm. Stress pushed Varg over the edge next, but the old veteran refused to break, becoming Courageous.

This boss was a nightmare, and ADF was no longer some little shit you could ignore. The tactics that served us so well proved useless against this pair; ADF easily outran even Randall's terrifying speed and even with various gear to keep her buffed, Alex couldn't keep the little shit stunned. The battle fell to Randall, who, unable to transform due to high stress, began to vomit caustic bile all over Greta as Varg acted as the front line.

It was a ghastly battle, Greta ripping apart our heroes in a grotesque spray of violence, only for them to crawl back to their feet, take a sip of Alex's medicines or be exposed to Techpriest's magic, and rush right back into the fight. It was war at its most brutal, where the advance of the entire cause depends on grinding through no matter the costs. Death's door triggered, over and over, for everyone, during this battle. Randall was quickly brought over the edge, and became Vigorous.

Two afflicted. Two virtuous. The team pushed forwards, Greta gradually succumbing to Randall's venemous saliva and Varg's smashes to the face. Greta proved impervious to Techpriest's debuffs, forcing the wily occultist to go full-on healing.

Again and again, the team gets knocked down, only to get back up. Over and over, the team is brought to the brink, only to survive. When a teammate is marked and Greta bears down, Varg jumps in her way to tank the blow, only for Alex to hurl a flask of healing jelly and kick Varg back into the battle.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" The beast bellows at the top of her lungs.

"Fuck you, that's why." Randall spits.

The team refuses to yield, and soon, time and vitriol takes its toll. Greta weakens from Randall's corrosive attacks, before a lucky strike by Varg smashes apart her ribcage. The alleged god of the Swine lies dead, killed by a bearded man with a heavy mace and his companions.

But the battle is only half-won, because ADF is still here and arguably the bigger threat. With an insanely high dodge rate and a surprisingly high level of toughness, this little bastard is actually the hardest part of this fight.

The group was already battered getting here, and ADF spares no effort in using his weak but stunning attacks to hammer the party like crazy. Entire parties have been lost to this little shit, but not this time - not today. Even when he has multiple party members at the precipice of oblivion, they refuse his attempts to send them over.

Finally, with one hard whip-crack of his heavy chains, Randall snaps ADF's neck and the little piggie dies. Our team is beaten but alive, and has taken out the second of the Champion difficulty bosses.

The team gets the second trophy item, the little flag ADF was packing. Against all odds, the team did it, with no casualties, though they'll be in the Sanitarium and/or stress relief activities for the next month or so. The situation darkens, however, when returning to the Hamlet.

The day I have been dreading has arrived.

 

[Jaimas]

Week 66. Doom has come to the Hamlet.

The bandits, fed up with our constant depredations, have decided to retaliate. They are led by a man one of our team knows well, and they have brought the biggest, strongest, and nastiest forces they can muster. We are given an optional mission - a Darkest difficulty mission.

Darkest Difficulty is the hardest one in the game - above even Champion. If you retreat from a battle, a hero will die. If you abort mission, a hero also will die. It will have the hardest opposition, the toughest enemies, the most brutal attacks you've ever seen. If we do not fight the bandit leader, he will burn down two of our build upgrades, crippling our ability to push foward at this critical juncture in the game.

This battle is to the death.

A team that has been prepared for months is loaded for one grim purpose: @c-no, @Cosmos, and @Solzhenitsyn are sent into battle, led by the irrepressible @BOLDYSPICY!, who harbors a dark secret in this battle.

Unlike most dungeons, every species of Brigand shows up during this map, including the the Brigands, Outlaws, Infamous variants, and the new, most terrifying one of the bunch: the Raiders, who are the elite of their breed. The Apprentice/Veteran Brigands are there mostly as cannon fodder; a few solid hits from any of this power team can obliterate them outright.

It's the Raiders you need to watch for. Or would, if Cosmos hadn't immediately executed this one the second the fight started.

The raiders are tough. Not only do they have actual armor, are stronger than all other Brigands, and have unique abilities, they do serious damage and all of their attacks have secondary effects. But did you notice something unusual about the Raiders' attire? Something about those fur collars and leather armor...

Opposition mounts and the team faces more tough foes. This second Raider gunner dies the same way as the first, as Cosmos respects no authority and gives zero fucks. Solz quickly darts in, smashing the Raider with his club, as Boldy slices their attack dog in half with her Glaive.

These guys stand in our way. They die in a single round as Solz' dog eats the Cutthroat, Boldy hacks the gunner to pieces, and Cosmos and C-No cut the Bloodletter down.

The town has some serious damage in spots, so bring extra shovels. You'll be glad you did.

One last minor fight stands in our path.

The old trio of idiots is back. This time, they're loaded for bear. This will be their final meeting with the group; They will either cut us down or die in obscurity. Cosmos immediately leads off with a hat-trick, and suddenly the latter seems infinitely more likely. C-No makes it official soonafter.

Ahead lies the boss.

Brigand Vvulf is the bandit leader - and, it is implied, Boldy's father, before she broke off from his forces to strike out on her own. Armed with a profusion of explosives and endless reinforcements, the team squares off against one of the game's toughest bosses. Indeed, many walkthroughs list this bastard as the hardest fight in the game.

Vvulf will lead off by hurling a bomb to a player's position. If not removed (by destroying his bomb barrel), it will go off in a turn, dealing critical damage to the target. Unlike most things, however, the bomb barrel has both relatively high PROT and a Riposte status; if you fail to destroy the bomb barrel in one hit, it will do retaliatory damage.

Hell hath no fury like a pissed off drunken barbarian wielding a glaive.

The team fights on, breaking the barrel to save the their teammates before focusing harcore on the Brigand Leader himself. Again and again, Boldy hammers away with her Glaive, before a brutal strike by Cosmos leaves even Boldy respectful.

His explosives succeed against C-No, but the Wily Occultist tells him to fuck off with that weak mess, and he quickly patches himself back up, albeit slowly at first.

Finally, a shot by Cosmos strikes home, causing Boldy to accuse her of being, and I quote, a "Kill Stealing Dickbutt."

Solz wraps up this bout soonafter.

Though we can leave right now if we wish, and Vvulf's death means he will never trouble us again, there is a reaosn to stick around in this map - if you're willing to endure the risks.

Hidden in three spots in this map (it always has the same layout but encounters differ) are a series of satchels; each one has either a Very Rare-rarity Trinket or an Ancestral Trinket you haven't unlocked yet. We raid 'em for some goodies before we return to base, with a solid haul. Solz gets an excellent new perk, and the team has succeeded in vanquishing the Brigands' leader once and for all.

Back in town, good news abounds as it's the Town Fair - for this week, and only this week, everything except the Blacksmith, Guildhall, and Ranger's is free: The Sanitarium, Church, and Bar are all 100% Free. Team members flock to these places, occupying almost every slot, even if they don't need to, just to purge stress in a risk-free environment. Others go in for expensive quirk therapies, disease treatments, or getting drunk and playing ping-pong.

All three buildings are now entirely occupied, leaving us with a Skeleton crew. This is gonna be an interesting week.

 

[c-no]

Week 66. Doom has come to the Hamlet.

The bandits, fed up with our constant depredations, have decided to retaliate. They are led by a man one of our team knows well, and they have brought the biggest, strongest, and nastiest forces they can muster. We are given an optional mission - a Darkest difficulty mission.

Darkest Difficulty is the hardest one in the game - above even Champion. If you retreat from a battle, a hero will die. If you abort mission, a hero also will die. It will have the hardest opposition, the toughest enemies, the most brutal attacks you've ever seen. If we do not fight the bandit leader, he will burn down two of our build upgrades, crippling our ability to push foward at this critical juncture in the game.

This battle is to the death.

A team that has been prepared for months is loaded for one grim purpose: @c-no, @Cosmos, and @Solzhenitsyn are sent into battle, led by the irrepressible @BOLDYSPICY!, who harbors a dark secret in this battle.

Unlike most dungeons, every species of Brigand shows up during this map, including the the Brigands, Outlaws, Infamous variants, and the new, most terrifying one of the bunch: the Raiders, who are the elite of their breed. The Apprentice/Veteran Brigands are there mostly as cannon fodder; a few solid hits from any of this power team can obliterate them outright.

It's the Raiders you need to watch for. Or would, if Cosmos hadn't immediately executed this one the second the fight started.

The raiders are tough. Not only do they have actual armor, are stronger than all other Brigands, and have unique abilities, they do serious damage and all of their attacks have secondary effects. But did you notice something unusual about the Raiders' attire? Something about those fur collars and leather armor...

Opposition mounts and the team faces more tough foes. This second Raider gunner dies the same way as the first, as Cosmos respects no authority and gives zero fucks. Solz quickly darts in, smashing the Raider with his club, as Boldy slices their attack dog in half with her Glaive.

These guys stand in our way. They die in a single round as Solz' dog eats the Cutthroat, Boldy hacks the gunner to pieces, and Cosmos and C-No cut the Bloodletter down.

The town has some serious damage in spots, so bring extra shovels. You'll be glad you did.

One last minor fight stands in our path.

The old trio of idiots is back. This time, they're loaded for bear. This will be their final meeting with the group; They will either cut us down or die in obscurity. Cosmos immediately leads off with a hat-trick, and suddenly the latter seems infinitely more likely. C-No makes it official soonafter.

Ahead lies the boss.

Brigand Vvulf is the bandit leader - and, it is implied, Boldy's father, before she broke off from his forces to strike out on her own. Armed with a profusion of explosives and endless reinforcements, the team squares off against one of the game's toughest bosses. Indeed, many walkthroughs list this bastard as the hardest fight in the game.

Vvulf will lead off by hurling a bomb to a player's position. If not removed (by destroying his bomb barrel), it will go off in a turn, dealing critical damage to the target. Unlike most things, however, the bomb barrel has both relatively high PROT and a Riposte status; if you fail to destroy the bomb barrel in one hit, it will do retaliatory damage.

Hell hath no fury like a pissed off drunken barbarian wielding a glaive.

The team fights on, breaking the barrel to save the their teammates before focusing harcore on the Brigand Leader himself. Again and again, Boldy hammers away with her Glaive, before a brutal strike by Cosmos leaves even Boldy respectful.

His explosives succeed against C-No, but the Wily Occultist tells him to fuck off with that weak mess, and he quickly patches himself back up, albeit slowly at first.

Finally, a shot by Cosmos strikes home, causing Boldy to accuse her of being, and I quote, a "Kill Stealing Dickbutt."

Solz wraps up this bout soonafter.

Though we can leave right now if we wish, and Vvulf's death means he will never trouble us again, there is a reaosn to stick around in this map - if you're willing to endure the risks.

Hidden in three spots in this map (it always has the same layout but encounters differ) are a series of satchels; each one has either a Very Rare-rarity Trinket or an Ancestral Trinket you haven't unlocked yet. We raid 'em for some goodies before we return to base, with a solid haul. Solz gets an excellent new perk, and the team has succeeded in vanquishing the Brigands' leader once and for all.

Back in town, good news abounds as it's the Town Fair - for this week, and only this week, everything except the Blacksmith, Guildhall, and Ranger's is free: The Sanitarium, Church, and Bar are all 100% Free. Team members flock to these places, occupying almost every slot, even if they don't need to, just to purge stress in a risk-free environment. Others go in for expensive quirk therapies, disease treatments, or getting drunk and playing ping-pong.

All three buildings are now entirely occupied, leaving us with a Skeleton crew. This is gonna be an interesting week.

I guess the only thing appropriate to say is this: @Cosmos is an arbalest you don't fuck with. That said, perhaps the team won't lose a man until it actually has to happen.

 

[Wallace]

A bit of sperging about Dankmeme Dungeon before work.

The biggest issue in the game is the RNG. The RNG is such a major component of almost every aspect of gameplay that it's pretty much almost unavoidable. You can do every single thing right, get fucking amazing characters with the perfect quirks, the game giving you exactly what you need when you need it, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, throw an encounter with a team of normal enemies who just suddenly gets critical after critical after critical and succeeds at every single dodge. You will almost be led to believe the game is picking on you, and really, it's just the RNG being a prick. "Gambler's Fallacy" is a common term thrown around in this circumstance.

But Gambler's Fallacy does not account for a dickish AI. Enemies are specifically programmed to prioritize based on current situation. You will see enemies target a vulnerable character with stress attacks constantly, actively pick on a characters who are at Death's Door, and so on.

If the RNG cooperates, the game isn't even that hard. Strategy and taking absolutely zero unnecessary risks are key. If you're a newblet, I highly recommend the Lighter Dungeon mod; it increases cash storage by 500 and slightly reduces the odds of negative quirks, as well as lowering Sanitarium and Activity costs slightly, but it does nothing else, so it doesn't ruin the experience.

True that. I've lost more than one level 6 hero that I had invested a ton of money and time into grooming into finely tuned killing machines, only to have them die to back to back critical hits, with nothing I could do about it. RNG giveth, RNG taketh away.

 

[RJ MacReady]

I guess the only thing appropriate to say is this: @Cosmos is an arbalest you don't fuck with. That said, perhaps the team won't lose a man until it actually has to happen.

At this point I'm convinced that crossbow is just a cleverly disguised rocket launcher.

Great moves, team. Keep it up. Proud of you.

 

[Burned Man]

Who needs musketeers when we have an arbalest like this.

 

[Jaimas]

Presented without further comment:

Yeah, that looks about right.

 

[AnOminous]

These people are apparently based on actual irl Kiwis.

 

[Wallace]

Kiwi-ville is quite the party town.

 

[Techpriest]

I hope I didn't roll a natural 1 while gambling.

 

[Jaimas]

I hope I didn't roll a natural 1 while gambling.

We won't know till next in-game week.

 

[Solzhenitsyn]

>tfw your character is a more successful gambler than you

 

[Jaimas]

These four events are connected, I just know it.

 

[Ol' Slag]

Is Ol' Slag still around? Haven't seen him get into any action lately?

 

[Jaimas]

Is Ol' Slag still around? Haven't seen him get into any action lately?

Fuck yeah he is. He just hasn't been used that often outside of cashgrinds. Pretty much everyone is seeing some use.

Here's some updates on characters that haven't much been seen in the boss rushes lately, but which are critical nonetheless:

Spoiler: Various Characters

@CasualSeppuku is pretty standard, but useful as heck. Part of @KidKitty's team.

@Ol'_Slag is usually sent off with Jaimas' team, or backing up @Ravelord, hence his not being seen recently. With basically every speed-related perk, he's quick as hell and tough as balls to boot due to his high evade rate.

@Cynical is a supporter and part of Jaimas' team, hence not being seen super often. No really blatantly useful perks yet, but she doesn't really need any beyond her skills.

@Burned Man got another great perk. Fear it.

Lastly we have @Ambivalenz. Take note, this is how you maximize a Vestal without issues.

 

[Burned Man]

I like to think my accuracy increases are just the blacksmith expanding my mask's eye holes. I'm also assuming I'm a ruins phobe because all the skeletons hit too close to home.

 

[Jaimas]

With two of the Champion bosses dead (three if we count Vvulf), we're closing in on the final stretch of the game. But there's still more to kill and even more dire challenges ahead.

A team has been dispatched to the Ruins; if successful, this will mean the end of the horrors from that fell place.

Finally, resigned to his uncommon corporeal resilience I lured him to the dig. There, I showed him the... THING, and detailed the full extent of my plans. Triumphantly I watched as he tore his eyes from their sockets and ran shrieking into the shadows, wailing maniacally that the end was upon us all.

This old fart tried to warn people and was rewarded with madness. Now, we go to end his suffering.

We now return to @BOLDYSPICY!, @Solzhenitsyn, @Ambivalenz, and @Cosmos, already in pursuit.

This team has proven to be one of my strongest, and Ambi technically fits the role better than @c-no, who has been moved to Jaimas' team. Key to this is the team's uncanny resilience: Solz and Boldy are staggeringly hard to catch and their ability to deal good damage at the same time is second to none.

Boldy has the Ancestor's Candle (+15% attack, accuracy buff, critical buff but only when light is high), and Wilbur's Flag (+10 Dodge, +35% Stun resist). She's almost impossible to stagger and has a base dodge rate of 50. She tends to avoid attacks fucking often.

Solz has the Vicious Collar, which boosts bleed chance by 33% and gives +15% to damage, but also cuts healing recieved by 33%. He also has the Healing Charm equipped which boosts heals by 40%, giving him essentially no downsides and +7% healing recieved.

Ambivalenz has a Sacred Scroll +33% Heal, -10% Stress damage taken, -3 Speed, -10% stun chance) and a Berserk Charm (+3 Speed, +15% damage, -5 ACC, +15% Stress, -10% Virtue Chance). The result is +33% stronger heals, more damage done, +5% stress damage, -10% Virtue Chance, and -10% Virtue Chance. Overall it makes her a mighty healer and actually good at damage though not as much as @Ruin.

Cosmos has a Sun Ring and Healing Greaves. The Sun Ring gives +10% Stress damage, but also boosts damage by 15% and ACC by 10 so long as the light is high. The Greaves boost heals by 33%. Cosmos is a rock-solid damage dealer that can help heal in a pinch, though it's not her primary aim.

Suffice to say this team of trained Brigand-killers do the job just fine against the local wildlife.

Though Tyce is long dead, his minions live on. Thankfully our heroes hold fast and are quick to dispatch his elites; these undead fiends are no longer quite the equal of our elites, though the bulky General can pose a serious threat to our team if he hits.

Hitting the front lines is something of a "good fucking luck" affair with this party, however.

Ambivalenz, meanwhile, keeps everyone alive. Her potent healing magic makes actually able to keep pace with C-No, though not quite Techpriest and his "Hey guys do you want to fully heal now?" routine. Unlike the occultists though, Ambivalenz can heal everyone, and often quite strongly, as you soon will see.

The usual suspects show up and get the drop on the team.

Ambivalenz laughs and patches everyone up.

It goes no better for the enemy, who finds Boldy's inebriated swaying difficult to hit.

That night, the group sets camp, patches up the wounded and makes battle plans. Unlike previous cases where I smashed through the Prophet's barricades for cash, there's too much risk involved for that this time. We're going to bring him down fast and hard. Our team readies their weapons, their wits, their dog. It's going to be a hard rush for the last few rooms.

Since Tyce got.... Well.... , the enemy population has mostly been animals, gargoyles, and ghouls rather than Skellies. I'm cool with this change of pace, since it means less to get in our way.

Finally, after a curiously quiet walk through strangely empty rooms, our team comes face-to-face with this old fuck. Stronger and tougher than ever, he is now too strong to bring down effectively using the old tactics, and we are forced to, as we did with Greta and ADF earlier, engage in a brutal, meat-fisted damage trade.

....But you know how those go when Cosmos is on the prowl.

The fight is far from over. The old coot uses his illuminopoly mind bullet powers to freak Cosmos the fuck out and she loses a turn.

The structural assaults from the broken roofing seriously hurt, and not even Boldy can evade these goddamned things too well. Ambivalenz, more frail than most, is quickly brought to death's door, but survives.

Fed up with the shit, Solz feeds his dog a biscuit and sends him at the Marked prophet, dealing fantastic damage and ripping wounds in his defenses and flesh.

Boldy is not to be outdone and her glaive tears more out of the old fuck.

But the Prophet is bad news. He spits venom - literally - at the group, burning several of them and infecting them with Blight.

More crushed earth and stone lands, brutally abusing Cosmos and Solz.

The old man keeps the pressure on, intent on crushing the would-be heroes standing before him.

But the team isn't to be denied, and Solz continues his relentless assault, tearing chunks out of this guy and making his bleeds worse.

Boldy continues the assault, only for the old fuck to nail Cosmos with his eyes again and stun her again. Somehow, despite being stunned and marked, the resulting collapse misses both Boldy and Cosmos through what I can only describe as dumb luck, but Ambi is both blighted and at Death's Door. We have to kill him now, or risk losing her.

Solzhenitsyn sends his doggo forth once last time, dealing another 30-damage strike, and finishing the bastard off.

Cosmos gets a new quirk that's actually useful for a change, and Boldy gets a subsidiary perk that she can't lock in because she's already locked in three.

Five bosses remain.

 

[c-no]

With two of the Champion bosses dead (three if we count Vvulf), we're closing in on the final stretch of the game. But there's still more to kill and even more dire challenges ahead.

A team has been dispatched to the Ruins; if successful, this will mean the end of the horrors from that fell place.

Finally, resigned to his uncommon corporeal resilience I lured him to the dig. There, I showed him the... THING, and detailed the full extent of my plans. Triumphantly I watched as he tore his eyes from their sockets and ran shrieking into the shadows, wailing maniacally that the end was upon us all.

This old fart tried to warn people and was rewarded with madness. Now, we go to end his suffering.

We now return to @BOLDYSPICY!, @Solzhenitsyn, @Ambivalenz, and @Cosmos, already in pursuit.

This team has proven to be one of my strongest, and Ambi technically fits the role better than @c-no, who has been moved to Jaimas' team. Key to this is the team's uncanny resilience: Solz and Boldy are staggeringly hard to catch and their ability to deal good damage at the same time is second to none.

Boldy has the Ancestor's Candle (+15% attack, accuracy buff, critical buff but only when light is high), and Wilbur's Flag (+10 Dodge, +35% Stun resist). She's almost impossible to stagger and has a base dodge rate of 50. She tends to avoid attacks fucking often.

Solz has the Vicious Collar, which boosts bleed chance by 33% and gives +15% to damage, but also cuts healing recieved by 33%. He also has the Healing Charm equipped which boosts heals by 40%, giving him essentially no downsides and +7% healing recieved.

Ambivalenz has a Sacred Scroll +33% Heal, -10% Stress damage taken, -3 Speed, -10% stun chance) and a Berserk Charm (+3 Speed, +15% damage, -5 ACC, +15% Stress, -10% Virtue Chance). The result is +33% stronger heals, more damage done, +5% stress damage, -10% Virtue Chance, and -10% Virtue Chance. Overall it makes her a mighty healer and actually good at damage though not as much as @Ruin.

Cosmos has a Sun Ring and Healing Greaves. The Sun Ring gives +10% Stress damage, but also boosts damage by 15% and ACC by 10 so long as the light is high. The Greaves boost heals by 33%. Cosmos is a rock-solid damage dealer that can help heal in a pinch, though it's not her primary aim.

Suffice to say this team of trained Brigand-killers do the job just fine against the local wildlife.

Though Tyce is long dead, his minions live on. Thankfully our heroes hold fast and are quick to dispatch his elites; these undead fiends are no longer quite the equal of our elites, though the bulky General can pose a serious threat to our team if he hits.

Hitting the front lines is something of a "good fucking luck" affair with this party, however.

Ambivalenz, meanwhile, keeps everyone alive. Her potent healing magic makes actually able to keep pace with C-No, though not quite Techpriest and his "Hey guys do you want to fully heal now?" routine. Unlike the occultists though, Ambivalenz can heal everyone, and often quite strongly, as you soon will see.

The usual suspects show up and get the drop on the team.

Ambivalenz laughs and patches everyone up.

It goes no better for the enemy, who finds Boldy's inebriated swaying difficult to hit.

That night, the group sets camp, patches up the wounded and makes battle plans. Unlike previous cases where I smashed through the Prophet's barricades for cash, there's too much risk involved for that this time. We're going to bring him down fast and hard. Our team readies their weapons, their wits, their dog. It's going to be a hard rush for the last few rooms.

Since Tyce got.... Well.... , the enemy population has mostly been animals, gargoyles, and ghouls rather than Skellies. I'm cool with this change of pace, since it means less to get in our way.

Finally, after a curiously quiet walk through strangely empty rooms, our team comes face-to-face with this old fuck. Stronger and tougher than ever, he is now too strong to bring down effectively using the old tactics, and we are forced to, as we did with Greta and ADF earlier, engage in a brutal, meat-fisted damage trade.

....But you know how those go when Cosmos is on the prowl.

The fight is far from over. The old coot uses his illuminopoly mind bullet powers to freak Cosmos the fuck out and she loses a turn.

The structural assaults from the broken roofing seriously hurt, and not even Boldy can evade these goddamned things too well. Ambivalenz, more frail than most, is quickly brought to death's door, but survives.

Fed up with the shit, Solz feeds his dog a biscuit and sends him at the Marked prophet, dealing fantastic damage and ripping wounds in his defenses and flesh.

Boldy is not to be outdone and her glaive tears more out of the old fuck.

But the Prophet is bad news. He spits venom - literally - at the group, burning several of them and infecting them with Blight.

More crushed earth and stone lands, brutally abusing Cosmos and Solz.

The old man keeps the pressure on, intent on crushing the would-be heroes standing before him.

But the team isn't to be denied, and Solz continues his relentless assault, tearing chunks out of this guy and making his bleeds worse.

Boldy continues the assault, only for the old fuck to nail Cosmos with his eyes again and stun her again. Somehow, despite being stunned and marked, the resulting collapse misses both Boldy and Cosmos through what I can only describe as dumb luck, but Ambi is both blighted and at Death's Door. We have to kill him now, or risk losing her.

Solzhenitsyn sends his doggo forth once last time, dealing another 30-damage strike, and finishing the bastard off.

Cosmos gets a new quirk that's actually useful for a change, and Boldy gets a subsidiary perk that she can't lock in because she's already locked in three.

Five bosses remain.

Five more bosses, well lets hope the teams can last longer still. That said the damage from fighting the most current boss is something that makes one feel this team of Kiwi's could have perished. Still, they manage to persevere.