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Post by JLSigman on Mar 7, 2005 20:41:41 GMT
LOVE this! Anyways, I know it's been years since I played the Grey Star books, but man, I don't remembering dying so much. Especially to the thing Mother Magi conjures up after you leave. First you fight it, then you keep losing EP... how the heck did I ever get past it before, other than cheating the combat Random Numbers?
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Post by outspaced on Mar 8, 2005 0:11:58 GMT
The first Grey Star book is very tough. I don't think I ever completed it going strictly by the rules--I kept running out of WILLPOWER! Or ENDURANCE while floundering around Lake Shenwu. And those Cave Mantiz are nasty. If I managed to get that far without being killed by Mother Magri's conjured Kleasa. :-( Fudging the Random Number picks was the only way I could complete the adventure.
The final Grey Star adventure is considered to be much easier--some say too easy. That should be released soon, hopefully.
Welcome to the boards, BTW. Everyone's fairly pleasant around here. :-)
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Post by Relenoir on Mar 8, 2005 21:30:16 GMT
I've made it through legit, but always by the skin of my teeth. I usually use several WP against the Kleasa after using Sorcery, so I can multiply the damage and defeat it in less than the three rounds. Lake Shenwu sucks too! Have about 5 EP by the time the book is over. Maybe that's why you're supposed to (spoiler) evade at the end of the book! Ian Page expected you to be almost dead!
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Post by Sarra on Mar 15, 2005 11:43:50 GMT
The first book is very hard. In fact, I always considered it one of the more difficult books of all the series. As Relenoir said, half of this book is remembering that you can extend further Willpower to inflict extra damage. The trick is knowing where to use it.
Wheneve I completed this book I remember getting past those end creatures with only a few Endurance left. I can't ever remember finishing the book with a decent Endurance pool.
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Post by The Tagazin Poodle on Mar 15, 2005 21:24:17 GMT
What really ticked me off was that final battle.
If you win, you die instantly? What the heck....
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Post by Relenoir on Mar 16, 2005 3:50:37 GMT
What really ticked me off was that final battle. If you win, you die instantly? What the heck....One word describes that encounter: LAME!!!
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Post by ramthelinefeed on Mar 20, 2005 21:58:14 GMT
The thing to do in "Grey Star the Wizard" is make sure you sell your boat, get some nobles, and go to the market in Suhn and buy all the goodies you can get your hands on (and have Alchemy as a magical power so you can get more stuff)
Also be nice to the Shianti priest, and Tanith - you'll get more bonuses that way
And go see Jnana the Wize, he'll give you tons of goodies.
And Madin Rendalim....
*if* you hoard all this stuff, and *if* your Combat Skill is OK-ish, and *if* you cast a shield of Sorcery about yourself when the Kleasaa comes (now possible thanks to Project Aon fixing bugs!) and *if* you are very lucky against the Kleasaa in combat,
then you have a good-ish choice at completing the book (PROVIDED you are wise to the "sudden death" pitfalls of the Azanam.....)
What I do to get past the Kleasaa is WHACK it with about 10WP, to reduce its EPs to zero. You can't "kill" it, but you can at least get out of the combat quicker before you lose ALL your EPs.....
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Post by Relenoir on Mar 21, 2005 1:24:13 GMT
david: Good to see you posting, it's been awhile! My sentiments exactly, except I usually don't use quite that many. . .
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Post by ramthelinefeed on Mar 21, 2005 6:38:01 GMT
Often, even with an Alether potion, you'll be fighting the Kleesa on a combat ration of -8 or something terrifying like that!
For Lone Wolf, this would spell certain death, but don't forget Grey Star is a wizard and can multiply enemy EP loss. What I usually do with the Klesaa is pick a WP number which will reduce the Kleesaa's EPs to zero no matter what random I pick, so I only have to face it for one round before Tanith throws herself on the fire..... ...the only danger is that I'll pick a number which means the Kleesa looses 0EP that round!
You should have enough WP to spare for this if you've used Tamara Seeds to cast all your spells, and given the Shianti Priest some Laumspur.
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Post by Thomas Wolmer on Mar 21, 2005 20:56:41 GMT
I'd say that the key points are: - Save every WP you can early on, and then go visit Jnana, to benefit from the multiplier
- Don't get into unnecessary fights at the bridge
- Use loads of WP against the Kleasa
If you do all this, the book actually isn't that hard any longer, I find. But it may take a few times to learn how to do this, of course...
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Post by Galandris on Mar 28, 2005 12:19:45 GMT
(possible spoiler)
Regarding conservation of WP, have you noticed that if you have not used so much WP before, it's better to fight the Kazim stone without the help of any power? You end up expanding 4 WP and 4 EP anyway, so what's the point of taking the risk to use sorcery to fight back Mother Magri? The only risk is if your CS+WP total is less than 35, an unlikely occurrence if you are stingy with WP.
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Moo
Kai Lord
Mooooooo
Posts: 101
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Post by Moo on Mar 31, 2005 21:34:20 GMT
I've noticed a small detail about the Gray Star series that seems a bit odd, though (aside from how they seem to get progressively easier).
In Book 1, if you get hit by a crossbow bolt while fighting the Shadakine, the text eventually says "The crude battlefield remedy has cost you 1 ENDURANCE point, but the treatment is effective, and the injury heals without complications, although you will have a livid scar on your shoulder for the rest of your life."
Yet at the start of Book 2, it says "The events of the past weeks rush through your mind. With some surprise, you note that your body is unmarked after the horrors of your ordeal. Even the Mantiz bite on your leg has disappeared."
Is it just me, or does "unmarked" suggest that you wake up with no scars, too? If that's the case, how could you have a "livid scar...for the rest of your life?"
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Post by Zipp on Mar 31, 2005 22:35:47 GMT
My guess is that it appeared to Grey Star at the time that he was examining his wound that it would leave a brutal scar that would remain for his whole life.
He wasn't counting on all of his scars being erased at the time, so I would say it's valid.
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Moo
Kai Lord
Mooooooo
Posts: 101
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Post by Moo on Mar 31, 2005 22:56:49 GMT
I dunno. The way it's phrased--"you will have a livid scar for the rest of your life"--seems a bit different from "it looks like the wound will leave a nasty scar that will last the rest of your life."
Plus the narration includes "the injury heals without complications," which would only occur fairly far in the future; kind of narrating what happens a month down the road there, so why would the bit about the scar be much different?
Probably just lack of foresight on Mr. Page's part.
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Post by Peregrine on Apr 1, 2005 9:31:36 GMT
Extreme lack of foresight, if you want to read it as 'Narration from the Future'. After all, in approximately 95% of those futures, the rest of Grey Star's life is, well, brief.
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