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The Monster Den can be reached from the Troll Clearing by following these directions:

• West
• Southwest (path bends west)
• North

You’ll arrive along the southern end of the area, from which just follow a trail north to reach a broken wagon. Loot two crates if you want to grab some grub, then head northeast to find a Token of the Dryad lying in a pile of rocks. Finish looting, then continue north to find the reason why a wagon might end up abandoned along the side of the road - an Ancient Wyvern.

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(1 of 3) Spell buffs like Haste may prove essential to defeating the Ancient Wyvern.

This reptilian foe provides another fine demonstration of the power of third level spells, as the Haste/Slow combo will probably be the difference between a party wipe and an easy victory. The Ancient Wyvern attacks fast and often, using all of its limbs to pick apart its prey. While its damage isn’t stupendous, when it’s landing several hits per turn (easily achievable thanks to its high Attack bonus) and dealing around 10-20 damage per hit, it can quickly whittle down any warrior. On top of that, you also have to worry about its venom (Fortitude DC 23) which inflicts Constitution damage.

Buff with spells like Mirror Image, Blur, Bless, Haste and Shield of Faith, send your tank forward to draw the beast’s attention, then hit it with Slow and Prayer. Barring any epic abandonment of luck, this should be sufficient to easily dispatch the Ancient Wyvern, and if the Slow spell works, it may just turn into a flawless rout.

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(1 of 2) Loot a corpse to find the Lucky Longbow,

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Loot a corpse to find the Lucky Longbow, (left), while a pile of rocks hides a Token of the Dryad. (right)

Grab some juicy Wyvern Meat off the wyvern, then loot two nearby corpses of less successful hunters. The eastern one will yield a Lucky Longbow, a suit of Scalemail +1, and 427 GP while the one to the west has two Potions of Cure Light Wounds, a Scroll of Scorching Ray, a Scroll of Acid Arrow and 195 GP. The Lucky Longbow is a +1 Composite Longbow that has a Critical Multiplier of x4 instead of the traditional x3.

Finally, make your way west to find another area transition, south of which you can find some Sweet Syrup lying on the ground. Treat yourself, you deserve it, then leave the area.