The Story of Harkunn (Challenge)

[coro1017]

The story of Harkunn

Preface: I wanted to share this journey with everyone on the server just in case anyone enjoys these types of personal challenges as much as I do. There are people who run all types of Iron Man Challenges to add a little bit of spice to the game. This is my own personal Challenge mode with a twist of story telling. I toyed around with it for a while and found it to be really enjoyable so now I wanted to share the experience in the form of a Character Journal to entertain (help myself with my writing practice).

It is going to be hard to share ever setting I picked for this play through but allow me to give a basic overview:

- Target Vitals hidden, I can not see how much health my target has or what level they are (I also turned off NPC names and increased tooltip delay to max so that I could not see the color of their name). I did this to give mystery to every encounter. Every fight is a mystery and I have to approach new enemies with full force until I know for sure that I can handle them. I also have to allow the visuals of the game to guide me. If I see all of the Spiders in a cave look one way but there is this large spider with special colors about its body then I know that I need to be a bit more mindful of it. In order to find out an NPC's name I have to interact with them by listening to them talk or by giving them a good old fashioned "/look". It adds a realism to the game I must say. This also works my brain cells by forcing me to remember more, or take notes!
- I walk when I am not in danger. Now, you need to be in run mode for battle or else you are a sitting duck, but in general I move through the world at a walking pace. I have discovered while this does take more time, it feels more real and it also allows me to take in the views and the details of the world.
- I look through my eyes more. I use 1st person view when indoors and not fighting. You need to be in 3rd person for fights but when I am walking through a home it feels great to look through 1st person and take in all of the details.
- No Quest help. I have a journal and clues and that's all. I have all map, radar and quest helper functions off. I have to read the clues and bumble around. It took quite a while to find all three bodies in Archet because one was well hidden in some tall grass. But it was allot of fun. Every word of a Quest description becomes gold. No longer do I just click and run to where ever the arrow of the gods points me. Now I am playing the game instead of the computer.
- Chat is almost off, I have the basics one like Say, Shout and standard forms of communication. I do not have any form of world chat channels on. I have to really work at it to talk to people.
- Removing the Numbers, I took out combat txt and anything else which made the game feel numerical. I do have my vitals up but have them show just percentage. I can see and read when I am 50% of my Morale and that is when I need to BUILD IT UP!
- Deadly mode on, I wanted to push myself and the title is the reward I seek.

In general this method of play is about taking in the game and its content. Allowing the world to be what it is and enjoying all of the work that allot of people put into it over the last 14 years. I am loving it personally and I hope that this first Entry into my Adventure Journal allows you to see my joy in writing.

Day 1:

We were raised to know the world but preferred to stay to our own. The world came to us today though. For years the Orcs would never dare enter our Vale but today the Goblins were the first of their kind to test us and so we can no longer sit by. With these events and under the advice of the Brown Wizard I am tasked with bring word to Aragorn.

With no delay I arrive in the Town of Archet. I find the town recovering from an attack of which I personally know little details of. I assist where I can by showing compassion and helping to bury the dead.

The Brown wizard was not the only great power to come out of the Mirkwood Swamps. I find that Spiders, the brood of Lornaith took to Archet in search of Atli-Spider Bane. He came to Artchet to help and what followed him here has brought terror with him.

Instead of focusing on the past day's battle I invest my time in Archet fixing the mistakes of a Dwarf and destroying this dark power which took the innocent lives of the Farm workers.

By the end of my time in Archet I was able to slay Lornaith as well as so many of her brood that the people of Archet now me know as Harkunn Spider-Foe!

The townspeople appreciated my efforts and sent me on the Rangers Trail. Tomorrow I go down the road to Combe and to my next adventure.

Gameplay Notes: This first day was allot of fun and a challenge in some interesting ways. When I first started I was level 4 which in the past lasted all of 2 seconds. But under these self imposed rules I never knew if a diseased bore was level 4, 5, 6, or even 7 until I hit it with my first strike and witnessed my attacks continue with no end in sight as I struggled. With no numbers to look at I just had to keep swinging until the big piggy was dead. Its hard enough to fight at the Deadly setting with a stronger foe, but then they put a 2min long disease on you which takes your damage down by 20%! It was extremely noticeable. Now I am paying attention more then ever at every ability my foes have the smallest fight has become more interesting.

I took notes of the poisons from the spiders, the wounds from the wolves and the armor debuff from the Bears.

And when I took that leap of faith in my final boss fight with Lornaith herself, I was worried. I did not want to die, I want to achieve all of the fun titles. But, the fact was, I had no idea what I was in store for. I did not know her health, how hard she hit, what debuffs she would put on me or if I had the damage and morale to win this fight. I cleared the smaller spiders and then I went for her with everything I had. I just watched my Moral getting lower and lower, not knowing how long she would fight me. It was when I went below 50% that I got really nervous. I was at 50% but what was she at? Would the poisons take me down before I could take her out? And if I did survive would the poisons still kill me anyways?????

Ultimately I did win the fight, I did save the town and I did earn my title that day as a player of a wonderful game. I got my trophy and when I have my own Cabin I am going to hang it up and remember my first boss fight on this challenge.

[coro1017]

Preface

This has been as fun as I was wanting it to be. Todays adventure takes place in the city of Combe and my character arrives all of level 6, ready with my skills to take on the challenge and boy what a challenge it was. The first fight I had just south along the road to the Lumber Camp was with a Brown Bear. With this style of playing the game it quickly became a nerve check moment. I attacked my first Brown Bear whom immediately took me down to 50% of my total morale. I was swinging away and using my Encouraging Roar to keep my Morale up and that's when this stun came. I was already at 50%, stunned and dropping quick. At 17% Morale I finally came too my senses and Roared my Morale back up! With no idea how much fight this Brown Bear had left in him (because remember, I can not see their Morale at all). I just kept thrashing until that darn Bear dropped.

I took a mental note of the fact that visually the Brown Bear was about 25% larger then the smaller Adolescent Brown Bear, which does not stun me. There is also a Rabid Brown Bear which has a frontal cone shout that drops my fate, but which I can avoid my circling around it.

This style of play, with no name plates, no enemy vitals present requires me to pay more attention to these small details so that I know what to expect from a fight. At level 6 I knew I could take 1 Brown Bear but not 2, not yet at least.


Day2:

I look back at the town of Archet, having helped rid it of Spiders (I do wonder why they followed Atli over the Misty Mountains? Will I find out why?), it was time to focus on finding the Ranger Admir and that lead me to the Comb and Huddle Inn. There I meet with a Ranger by the name of Toradan who clues me in on the situation. The town struggles with internal strife. There are Brigands, constables fighting them and spies in the town. No one knows which citizens are helping the Brigands and why.

My time this day is spent talking with the townsfolk, getting to know their names and working to get the local Constables on my side so that they will help me find Admir who himself will lead me to my true goal of reaching Strider with this important message from the Vale.

Gameplay Notes: I have chosen to go with Scholar which will allow me to create salves and scrolls to help me. It will also allow me to grow food but I will need to invest time to reaching out to cooks. I do not know the best way to do that yet. But I think that will be a task for another day.

I am still taking in the sites by walking unless I am in fights. This is still making the game enjoyable at a slow and consumable pace.

The combat is great and a challenge.

I look forward to sharing my Lumber Camp Adventure with the forum tomorrow!

[coro1017]

Preface:

Today I am heading to the Lumber Camp along the road heading east from Combe. I am quickly taking note of direction in the world and which roads lead where. As I read quests notes these clues stand out too me more and more. I have also become aware of the built in camouflage the game gives the enemy. Without all of the highlights and visuals clues turned on to assist me it becomes easier for the animals and evil of the world to hide in the tall grass. I step forward with more caution now.

Day 3:

The people of the camp catch me on my way to Chetwood forest. While I am heading out to expose more information about the Blackwolds I am also being tasked with clearing wolves, finding handkerchiefs and the chains of one man's favorite pig. Why with all the evil in the world do people still care about prized pigs?

Among the Brigands I find hand written notes which connect villagers, hounds, worgs and evil. Someone or many someons in this town are playing both sides. This investigation will start with a woman named Ellie Cutleaf.

Gameplay Notes: The brigand camps had the chance to be tough with triple pulls but a little patience allowed some to path away making the fights easier. Some animals work together, but if you study them then you can negate this. For example, the Monstrous Dusk-wolf will always have a Feral Dusk-wolf within range and when you fight it down it will call on the Feral to join it. If you locate the Feral first and take it out then it can no longer join the fight with the Monstrous. I hope there are more experiences like this to take note of in the future as it makes the game interesting.