Xanthippe (Act I) - Revision history

Onderduiker: Added introductory content from Xanthippe page

2017-02-19T21:58:51Z

Added introductory content from Xanthippe page

Onderduiker: Onderduiker moved page Xanthippe (Chapter 1) to Xanthippe (Act I) without leaving a redirect: Merging all Act I chapter pages

2017-02-12T12:56:36Z

Onderduiker moved page Xanthippe (Chapter 1) to Xanthippe (Act I) without leaving a redirect: Merging all Act I chapter pages

Onderduiker: Added Chapters 2-7 (Act I)

2017-02-12T12:55:51Z

Added Chapters 2-7 (Act I)

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Onderduiker: Created page with "{{Xanthippe nav}} Coming from the west to the Rogue's Pass, the land slopes almost imperceptibly upwards to the base of a range of high mountains. A typical alluvial flood pl..."

2012-09-02T14:19:34Z

Created page with "{{Xanthippe nav}} Coming from the west to the Rogue's Pass, the land slopes almost imperceptibly upwards to the base of a range of high mountains. A typical alluvial flood pl..."

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{{Xanthippe nav}}
Coming from the west to the Rogue's Pass, the land slopes almost imperceptibly upwards to the base of a range of high mountains. A typical alluvial flood plain, most of Khanduras is well-watered and fertile, the breadbasket of the western world, with many small farming towns along the rivers that wash down from the mountains. The people are simple and good, living and working among gentle rolling hills and lightly wooded dales. This is the last place you'd expect a demonic invasion to begin. The Zann Esu oracles had decreed that the Emergence of the Three Prime Evils was at hand. But you didn't need to be psychic to know that the Rogue's Pass was closed, nothing was going up the mountains, and there were wild and frightening rumors of what was coming down, so it was time to act.

Among the Zann Esu, Xanthippe was never the best student. It's hard to be a good student when you're smarter than your teachers, only the little goody-goodies get the praise of the witch mistresses. When the oracles said it was time, she was sent to the Rogue's Pass, probably just to get rid of her. At the entrance to the pass, a rude little fortress had been hastily cadged together from timber and rope; it smelled like cattle and chickens, not blood and guts, so there must be living people there.

The camp was full of Rogues, the women archers who had built a fortified monastery across the pass, and made huge amounts of money charging merchants and travelers for the privilege of going through. You don't need to produce a thing to become rich, all you need is position. A well-heeled gentleman greeted Xanthippe, welcoming her to the camp, and was kind enough to explain his position. Demons had taken over the monastery, and corrupted many of the Rogues. The pass and the monastery were full of monsters, and no one could get through, including this fellow's caravan of merchants.

Heaven forbid that the wheels of commerce might not be allowed to run smoothly. For the sake of rich people everywhere, this evil must be stopped. The poor people were probably all dead, but they never really matter anyway. Before sallying forth, Xanthippe decided to have a look around camp, and see what paragons of humanity she'd be risking her life to save from the perils of an economically disadvantageous position. There was a tall, strapping redhead in scale armor; she looked pretty full of herself. The High Priestess of the Rogues was weeping beside a small tent. The blondest girl she'd ever seen, with bigger arms than any girl should have, was beating out arrowheads on an anvil. And then there was the caravan's other merchant. Xanthippe recognized him, though she was sure he wouldn't know her. Goody, she thought. This might be fun.

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		+	{{Intro}}
		+	''This is the second part of Stony's Grand Tour, written between 16 February 2002 and 26 August 2002, and originally posted in the Diabloii.net [https://www.diabloii.net/forums/forums/single-player-forum.3/ Single Player Forum]. While almost all original posts are long gone, Vesper, one of our Community Members, contacted him and was given the original documents, and permission to reproduce them at the Amazon Basin.''
		+	----
		+	The Sorceress has always struck me as having a bit of an attitude. Maybe its the clipped, hasty way she speaks, or the way she stands with her hip cocked to one side. She seems like someone with something to prove: a chip on her shoulder, a powerful woman in a medieval world that doesn't think women should have power. This site says she is "Solitary and reclusive, she acts based on motives and ethics inscrutable to most, sometimes seeming capricious and even spiteful." Hey, I can do capricious and spiteful.
		+
		+	Now, what sort of sorceress can I play, that I haven't done before? I've done fire sorcs, cold, lightning, tri-elemental and other combinations. Looking over at the strategy guides, I note several subclasses, including some that became viable in the expansion. Never thought to try a Charged Bolt sorceress, or an Inferno sorceress or a... melee sorceress? That's new to me! The build uses Enchant, some cold armor, and recommends Thunderstorm as a back-up damage skill. This sounds interesting, I think I'll try it.
		+	\|}
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		+	Lessee... statwise, she'll need lots of dexterity. Most of my melee characters don't have a lot, their skills give them enough attack rating, but the sorceress doesn't have that option. Besides, she has skills that add to damage and defense, so she won't need the biggest weapons and armor. Second priority is vitality, she'll need all the life she can get. Strength comes in third, and Energy a distant fourth. With all that dex, it would make sense to use a shield, her blocking will be very high. This would compensate for a lot of her weaknesses, and I know the sword/shield combo is a good one. But I've heard sorceresses have nice swing speeds with polearms, and besides, I'm not doing this tour to stick with what I know works. Let's at least try a polearm, when she's strong enough.
		+
		+	Now, what kind of sorceress would not shun melee combat? One who not only defies the traditions of general society, but the traditions of her own magic clan. Capricious, spiteful, defiant, not keeping with any kind of tradition. A personality begins to suggest itself; all I need is a name. There's Morrigan, Celtic goddess of war, but that reminds me too much of the demon chick from Darkstalkers. Bodacia was a Celtic warrior woman who defied the Roman empire. No, let's keep the Celtic names for the Barbarian. To suggest the learning a mage would have, let's go with something Greek: Xanthippe, the name of Socrates' shrewish wife from The Republic. She was the bread-winner of the marriage, and Socrates hated her, which seems a perfect reason for someone to be a spiteful shrew.

	==Chapter 1==		==Chapter 1==

← Older revision	Revision as of 12:56, 12 February 2017
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