Travel: Flintrock Grassland¶

The site of the battlefield for the skirmish between the forces of Brevoy and the barbarian hordes is the Flintrock Grassland, which lies a good distance to the northwest of your barony. To reach there you’ll need to make a long hike through the Narlmarches, across the western bend of the Skunk River, across the East Sellen River and to Glenebon. Directions from your capital are as follows:

• West (along the Skunk River)
• West
• West
• Northwest
• Northwest
• North
• North (across Skunk River)
• East (path veers north along river)
• Northwest
• Northwest
• Northwest (to reach East Sellen River)
• West (across East Sellen River)
• Northwest
• Northwest
• Northwest
• West
• Southeast

Gwart’s Conspiracy¶

When you arrive, venture a short distance to the west to find some barbarians milling about - potentially including some familiar faces should you have not picked a fight with Dugath and his followers. Talk to a barbarian named Gwart and he’ll express the discontent he and his fellow barbarians are feeling and will make an offer for resolving the situation in a manner that benefits everybody.

Armag and his “crazy witches” - presumably the fey Sisters who have already proven to be such nuisances - are showing distinct disrespect for the lives of the tribesmen. Not only does the battle before them seem suicidal, but they can’t even expect any decent plunder from it! Interestingly enough, Gwart is astute enough to recognize that the Surtovas stand to benefit from whatever casualties the barbarians inflict on the Swordlords. If you ask “Why are you unhappy with Armag?” you’ll get a hypothetical question you can answer via a moral choice, but otherwise it’s all plot points.

Rescue Jamandi¶

When you’re ready to move on with the plan, inform Gwart and you’ll find yourself teleported to the southwestern end of the map. Head north to find Jamandi, who is in the company of some less-than-friendly looking barbarian chaps. These opponents are seriously under-powered at this point, so cut them an their little dogs down.

Dispose of the barbarians, then attend to Jamandi Aldori. You don’t really have to ask how the battle went, by her condition alone the state of affairs should be obvious. Seems your tardiness was fatal to the Swordlord’s army, and Jamandi is not pleased… Not that she’s really in any position to chastise you with more than words. Inform her of your meeting with Gwart and she’ll encourage you to continue with the scheme. You can’t save her army, but you can, perhaps, save Restov.

Defeat the Manticore Pack¶

After Jamandi slides away, loot a chest and a sack northeast of where she was for some minor treasures. From here you can make your way west or east, with the former leading - indirectly - to your destination. That’s being the case, let’s head east first.

Venture east until you find a pile of branches [Perception 24] you can loot. From there make your way southeast to reach the southeastern corner of the map, where a pack of manticores dwell.

These aren’t just normal manticores, of course, they include Poisonous Primal Manticores and Venomanticores, and both variants attack quickly and have a high enough Attack Bonus to worry your warriors. Worse yet, they have high Armor Class, a mix of Damage Reduction and Concealment and may attempt to start out the battle sneakily ([Perception 33] can spot them). Spellbuff generously to boost your own combat effectiveness, and consider using Web or similar spells to break up their advance.

Defeat them and you can loot the remains of their victims - mostly barbarians from the look of things. They’re not going to need their loot anymore.

Barbarian Skirmishes¶

Return to where you found Jamandi at the mercy of her barbarian conquerors and from there head west to find a pack of Ferocious Wolves led by a Barbarian. Defeat this trivial opposition, then continue west to find a hidden sack [Perception 27] near some cliffs.

From here turn north to find a Cleric of Gorum and two Barbarian Archers, the former of which decides not to employ any of its magical prowess in favor of wading into combat with a greatsword. Other Clerics of Gorum won’t be as simple-minded.

After defeating this second group, keep heading north to find an active battle between barbarians and Brevoy soldiers. Aid the remnants of Jamandi’s army, then head west to find a small hill upon which you’ll find a stump [Perception 29] which hides some minor treasures.

To the east you’ll find a fourth group of barbarians standing over their victims, and these ones include some barbarians turned into bears. Overall, these enemies (especially the bears) are somewhat stronger than the measly barbarians you’ve slaughtered thus far, so consider spell-buffing to make this fight easier.

These buffs won’t go to waste, as if you head southeast from this encounter you’ll find another, larger encounter against a variety of foes, including more bear-barians. All of these barbarians are of the stronger variety, but they’re busy fighting some Restovic survivors, allowing you to flank them and crush them more easily. Vanquish them, then loot a parcel near a tree to the northwest, in which you’ll find a whopping 2,430 GP and 82 units of Diamond Dust… enough to enable you to cast Restoration as much as you’ll ever need to.

Dallirun Myrnas’ Desecration¶

From this last skirmish head east to find an enclosed clearing occupied by a variety of corpses and a gnome named Dallirun Myrnas. Talk to the gnome and say “What are you doing?” to learn about the uncharacteristic desecration the desperate Cleric is about to perform.

When you get a chance to respond, you can talk them out of their dark task by passing a [Lore (Nature) 33] check (which will be attempted automatically - if you don’t see it, you didn’t pass it) or a [Lawful Good] [Diplomacy 35] check. As thanks, the gnome will give you seven Moonstone gems and eleven Bloodstone gems. If you pass the Diplomacy check you’ll also earn a hefty experience reward. If you pick the [Lawful Neutral] or [Neutral] options, Dallirun will complete the task they set out to complete, after which they’ll lead their new minions to fight the barbarians to the north, and valiantly die in the attempt.

You can also pick the typical [Chaotic Evil] option to pick a fight, or you can pick the [Neutral Evil] option to gloat about your role in the massacre, in which case the Cleric will complete their task and turn the undead against you. If you end up killing Dallirun, loot the Cleric for a few minor magical items.

Fighting to the Barbarian¶

Leave Dallirun’s clearing and make your way to the north, stopping to find [Perception 32] a hidden sack on a hill which contains a Ring of Protection +2 and another load of Diamond Dust - twenty-one units of it, in fact. Continue north to find a nasty new development - Barbarian Hill Giants. Jamandi wasn’t lying about the barbarian’s use of giants. These four giants are by far the strongest foes you’ve faced in this area, being capable of dealing over thirty damage in a strike and having a high Attack Bonus. Not so high that your tanks won’t have a good chance of avoiding hits, but also not too high to regularly rule it out, either.

If you’re not tired of novel things, venture northwest and you’ll find a Barbarian leading a pack of Wolves… and a Smilodon. This Smilodon has, at best, a mediocre Attack Bonus, but a high Armor Class, which gives it a bit of staying power. For their part, the barbarian will turn into a bear and attack. None of these foes should prove much of a threat, but the barbarian will drop a variety of minor magical items when they die.

Return southeast to find a trail running east near the giants you slew earlier and follow the trail east to find another group of barbarians, including a wolf, a bear, and a barbarian that polymorphs into a bear. Another group of barbarians… well, wolves being commanded by a barbarian, really… to the south.

Kill all the barbarians and their pets in the region, then make your way east to find some branches [Perception 25] that hide some treasure. If you continue east you’ll find a group of nonhostile giants led by a hungry brute named Byrk. Not much to do with them right now, so instead follow a trail to the north, then northeast to find a pack of wolves. Behind (northeast of) these wolves you’ll find a sacked wagon which still has plenty of loot including your usual baubles fit only for selling, the odd mundane gear, rations, and a Frost Elven Curved Blade +2.

Loot the Barbarian Camp¶

From this sacked wagon head northwest to find a narrow strip of land between a ravine - the entrance to the barbarian camp. Naturally, it’s guarded by barbarians, including another giant and a cleric who is actually inclined to use their spells. Kill them, then proceed north into the barbarian camp.

Once inside, loot the various crates and sacks you find lying about, then turn east and open a gate. If you’re perception, you may also spot a chest [Perception 26] obscured by a tent. Loot your way west through the camp until the path running through the center of camp starts to bend southwest. At this point, veer south and follow the fence to spot a chest near some wooden racks. In this chest you’ll find the shield Child of the Wind, a Heavy Shield +3 that increases the user’s speed by 10 feet. Perfect for a tank who needs to get to the fight sooner!

Return to the road running through the middle of camp and keep following it southwest. Gwart’s tent can be found in the northwestern corner of the map, but pass by him for now in order to score some more loot. Along the western end of camp you’ll find a wagon, under which is a chest containing Reaper’s Vest, a suit of Studded Leather +3 that grants the wearer a +3 dodge bonus to Armor Class against Shaken (a stage of fear) opponents.

Finally, head over to Gwart’s tent, where you’ll find Gwart waiting for you. Ignore him for a moment and instead loot the various containers around his little enclosure to find a variety of noteworthy gear, including Ancient Hunt, a quiver which provides an endless stream of arrows that count as lawful and cold iron for the purposes of overcoming DR, which grant a +2 attack and damage bonus against fey. Any dedicated archers will find this very useful, indeed. You’ll also find a Ring of Evasion hidden among other, mundane rings, which bestows the effects of the Evasion spell upon the user, allowing them to negate area-of-effect damage if they pass their Reflex Save.

Gwart’s Coup¶

Now that the camp has been thoroughly looted, talk to Gwart to get updated on the developments of their little coup. Success has been mixed thus far, with Armag has abandoning his victorious army in search of his tomb. Gwart is convinced Armag’s distraction will render him odious to the rest of the barbarians, but should he find what he’s searching for he may come back stronger than ever. Worse yet, while the barbarians here may not be too keen on Armag right now, he has many loyalists in Numeria who will join him when he calls another invasion. Seems like a small group of adventurers will need to chase down Armag, find his tomb, and rid the world of him. Unfortunately, you don’t know where the tomb that Armag seeks is, but that detail will have to be attended to later.

When the conversation ends, if you have Amiri with you she’ll send you off ahead while she stays behind and buries the corpse of Nilak - one the dead barbarians here. She’ll stay in your party, but you won’t be able to control her for now.

Make your way back east through the camp to find Jamandi Aldori waiting for you. Oddly enough, Natala Surtova is also there, and depending on which side you’ve favored, their disposition towards you will vary. Either way, one of the two will suggest you elevate your position from baron(ess) to king/queen. The recognition of you as more or less an equal matters more than your response, which includes trying to appease one side or the other, showing contempt to both, or, if your protagonist is [Neutral], announcing your intentions to serve as a check on either side.

With that, the two rivals will leave. Your coronation date is set for whenever you resolve the issues plaguing your land. In other words, after you finish dealing with Armag and the second Bloom. Speaking of which, the quest Hour of Rage is now over, but your entanglement with the barbarians will continue in a new quest The Twice-Born Warlord. The quest Coronation will also begin, but for now it’s mostly just a super-quest contingent upon the the completion of The Twice-Born Warlord.

Either way, it’s time to return to your capital to mull over your next move, and fortunately an area exit can be found a short distance to the east of where Jamandi and Natala stood.

You’ll now need to return to your throne room and begin searching for Armag’s Tomb. When you arrive, Linzi will propose a solution… which isn’t very helpful at all. In the end, you’ll be left with looking for a lead by hunting down some ancient source in the Stolen Lands, blindly adventuring around Glenebon, or by sending scouts to do the footwork for you. Fortunately for you, dear reader, you have this handy-dandy guide, so you need not worry about the details - in the Armag’s Tomb page the location of the tomb will be laid bare.