Let's Talk About Hickory Branch

How can one access the original Hickory branch is Co8 5.0.5? I've heard you talk to mona when you have a high dip score, but I don't seem to be getting the option even when using a very high dip score... :-(

For what it matters, I vote option one: Why destroy all the effort that went into one mod when they can simply co exist?

 

1. To get to HB you should help Mona with getting back her crystal ball
and ask her for a challenging adventure (or something like that) unless
it was already changed in 5.0.5. Anyway, she should give you a map
which should tell you where to go.

2.Well, it was a good fight but a pointless one. You just went there
and fought a ton of foes. No explanation where you were or why
they were there. Besides it used graphics from Diablo2, which is
a reason enough to change it. We don't want Blizzard's ass on
us.

 

I vote option 2.

Hmmm, The Delko Mire sounds slightly more menacing than bog without giving any plot clues.

Cuchulainn.

 

Curses! Foiled by the by the calm voice of reason again!

How about:

Welkwood Bog
Welkwood Wallow
Marsh Mathal
Swamp of the Living Dead
Ghoul Acres
Giant Frog Farms
Timmy was Here Just a Minute Ago
Happy Valley
or my favorite:
Camp Rudder

 

After verifying that the map at Hommlet should be the second full hex from the right on the top row matches my 1983 Greyhawk map, the Overland map in the DnD 3.5 module Return to the Temple of the Elemental Evil positions Hommlet due east of the Kron Hills and North East of Enstad. Smack in the Welkwood, west of the Jewel. This was the basis for my earlier post.

I don't mind dropping any Lovecraftian references -- while I think we should freely discuss our influences, I agree that mixing them in any obvious way (such as names) clearly changes the "look and feel" of ToEE just as much as using Diablo maps.

I prefer "Welkwood Mire" to "Welkwood Bog", but bog or any other synonym for mire works for me. Some may argue that the Gnarley Forest is closer, but "Gnarley" anything is going to sound tacky at best.

--theariocj

 

This is a topic I've been meaning to mention in one of the other forums, but I may aswell discuss it hear while it's relevant...

I came across ToEE from a strategy gamer point of view. i have always played ToEE as a strategy game, and Co8 is no different.... How many times in ToEE do you REALLY feel outnumbered and outgunned, forced to survive by hacking and slashing a path back to the exit. How many times have you fought a group more than triple the size of your 8 man party? In fact, have you EVER Lost a battle past level 6 against anything other than a node boss or the final boss?

Lets list the major battles in ToEE, and the ones I have encountered thus far in Co8

1) Moathouse courtyard ambush- Not a HUGE battle, but a simple challenge for a level 1/2 party.
2) Bug bear battle (If you fight the first group and then the immediately after second)... simple enough for a level 3 party if proper tactics are used.
3) Gnoll battle, as above
4)Lareth's posse- They are all only humans with crossbows, spears, and with a couple of officers.... no mages or anything to cause any real trouble
5) The moathouse exit ambush- Not always triggered, but this is never too much trouble for a smart party (One who heals and dumps gear BEFORE leaving the moathouse)

The order of these following battles varies, but I'll list them in the order I normally fight them
6) The broken tower ambush. Probably one of the hardest fights in the game, if you enter using a just-cleared-Moathouse level party (4/5/6)... But again they are only human
7) The goblin/ogre battle in what I call the earth temple kitchens.... a nice big battle, but its against goblins.... easy...my level 4 party slaughtered them last night
8) The other assorted battles around the earth temple consisting of humans, bug bears, and a few bigguns.... A challenge for a sub level 6 party, but a cake walk when AoE spells are unlocked... especially seeing as they can always be bypassed.

I'm struggling to think of any more big battles now.... Most of the time you fight equal numbers, and easily over power your opponents. Theres a big battle in Temple level 4 with lots of Ogres, but at this point its a cakewalk.

My main point is to say: ToEE eventually gets very boring for Acton gamers like me.... Fed Ex and conversion quests are dull, and get repetitive after a while.... I have NEVER lost a fight in ToEE following the Tower ambush..... I've lost party members, but never the entire party.... what does that say about the difficulty of the game?

Large scale battles are what fantasy worlds are made of..... Think of the Balin's tomb battle in lord of the rings, where the 9-man fellowship fights off a horde of Goblins and a troll.... Do you ever get that sense of excitement in ToEE? Where are the overwhelming odds? Look at the opening cinematic, why can't large scale battles be integrated into the mod? The role playing element is simple, add a 'Town Crier' NPC to Hommlet, recruiting volunteers to defend an outlying bastion against a horde of evil.... The NPC transports you to a guard tower location (Think the tower in the KotB demo as a starting point), where you speak to a group of human warriors assembled, and can recruit some tough allies (Standard guardsmen types) for the battle ahead if nessesary.... then, upon talking to Captain Wasshisface, you get transported to a rip of emridy Meadows, where a horde of Orcs, bugbears, undead et al await for you to slaughter... or be slaughtered by.... After cutting your way through this horde, you reach a cave which takes you into a Small underground base (Moathouse dungeons mixed with another location?) to hunt down the leader in charge of the assault, at which point you enter his throne room and are confronted by his personal bodyguards (Big demon ish things... restated balors??) upon which their defeat opens a secret door leading to a final room, in which the true leader of this evil alliance waits.... A Sauron-esque figure with the ability to fend off even the mightiest of heroes....

I have been contemplatuing making this mod myself, seeing as it doesn't require TOO much scripting from the looks of it... I break up from school tomorrow and that gives me about a month to play around with the world builder..... But my main point of this thread is this: Theres nothing wrong with a huge battle campaign, and TBH Co8 really does need to integrate more combat into the mod

What do people think?

In fact, seeing as this has come a little off topic I'll create it's own thread

 

I'd prefer an evocative mood/theme inspired name, something along the lines of:
Bitterwood Glade
The Howl
Sullenwood
The Resting Place
The Rot
etc.

 

1) Just 'cause krunch said Gnarley Forest doesn't make him right. I think the link I provided earlier clearly shows the eastern forest to be the Welkwood.

2) Assuming we want the as-of-yet-unnamed mod to be for low level characters, I'd say make it closer to Hommlet than the Moathouse, possibly even to the west. Unless the woodsman mentions it, I wouldn't put it in between Hommlet and the Deklo Grove.

3) I think the ruins should be about 20 years old -- before the ToEE backstory, but while the Renton's and Jaroo were alive and present -- Terjon came after, and then Rufus and Burne. I'd make it a sister-town to Hommlet maybe -- the Mazaars were the elders, Mathel did his deeds, and Hommlet did the Atticus Finch on Mathel. Maybe even call the town Mazaar. Let the party overhear the Rentons, and maybe some hints from Jaroo, but otherwise, it was a minor incident that the town has kept secret from the new Lords.

--thearioch