Gunter, the Barbarian Mage

[MongoJerry]

GUNTER: ACT V BLOODY FOOTHILLS

Gunter arrived in Harrogoth to find his homeland under siege by Baal's army. Outside Harrogoth's walls, demons swarmed the once fair farmlands and grazing lands of his people and catapults rained death upon the city. The proud barbarian inhabitants of Harrogoth continued to fight, but a palpable sense of despair wafted through the air. While the center of the city seemed largely untouched by Baal's forces, it was clear that the barbarians were fighting a losing battle outside the city walls for the stream of stretchers carrying the wounded and dead back into the city seemed endless.

The inhabitants of Harrogoth were shocked to see Gunter appear so suddenly in their town square. They gathered around him and demanded an explanation. Some wondered openly if he might be a spy or minion of Baal for Gunter's face and bearing had changed so much in the time he was away that the crowd did not recognize him. When Gunter identified himself and asked about his father, suspicion turned to anger.

"At last the prodigal son returns!" said one mockingly. "Your father is dead along with all of the other council elders, save for our 'esteemed' leader Nihlathak. They sacrificed themselves to place a ward on the city to protect it from the ravages of Baal's army, but it is clear that Harrogoth will not be safe forever. Your father cursed you before he died for he was ashamed that his son would abandon his homeland in its greatest hour of need to go off on some fool's errand. Now you return when there is no longer any hope. No doubt that when Harrogoth falls, you will run with the women and children while true warriors stand their ground to fight, and then you'll claim deeds of valor when in truth you are nothing but a coward."

Murmurs of agreement rose from the crowd. Gunter tried to explain himself. He yelled that he had defeated Mephisto and had killed Diablo in the very heart of hell itself, but the crowd just laughed. "No doubt you can tell a great tale," said the first speaker. "But Harrogoth needs mighty warriors -- not able bards and storytellers. Leave! We have no need for cowards here."

Stunned, Gunter made his way through the murmuring crowd and out of the town square. He intended to find whoever was the military leader of the city and offer his services in whatever capacity he would be allowed. But when he found Qual-Kehk, the senior Man-at-Arms, he got a cold reception.

"My men told me that you had returned," said Qual-Kehk. "As I recall, before you left us you were unskilled in the use of any weapons. In fact, you refused to cooperate with your weapons masters. Tell me, have you learned to fight with a sword, a mace, a spear, or even a bow in your long travels away from home?"

When Gunter replied that he hadn't, Qual-Kehk said, "I will not assign a useless man to a unit. Not only will you get yourself killed but you'll probably cost the other men their lives as well. Begone!"

Gunter stormed away from Qual-Kehk without knowing where to go next. He passed by the smithy owned by Larzuk, an old friend of Gunter's family. He hoped that Larzuk would listen to him and perhaps persuade Qual-Kehk to change his mind. When Gunter walked inside the shop, Larzuk and his workers were busy forging and repairing weapons. Larzuk greeted Gunter with cold politeness and as Gunter told the tale of his adventures, Larzuk continued his work in silence. Finally, as Gunter related the climatic battle against Diablo, a fiery catapult shot exploded nearby, sending everyone in the smithy running for cover.

"Enough!" Larzuk shouted. "I have listened to your ravings for an hour out of courtesy for the memory of your father, but I can't hear anymore. If you want others to believe even half of what you've said you've done, then prove it! Go out and end the siege of Harrogoth. Kill Shenk the Overseer who leads the siege and destroy those infernal catapults. Then you can return here and we'll see about getting people to listen to your wild stories."

Gunter realized Larzuk was right. If he wanted people to listen to him, he had to prove himself in battle. He didn't need to be placed in a unit. Had he not taken on the vast hordes of hell with his trusted mercenary Mizan as his only companion? He would end the siege or die trying.

He came upon the city gates and in a booming War Cry ordered the city gates to be opened. The guards scrambled to open the gates for they had never heard such a commanding cry. Gunter and Mizan walked out and joined the pitched battle being waged on the Bloody Foothills. Could they alone turn the tide of battle and end the siege of Harrogoth?


When I walked out onto the Bloody Foothills, I wanted something good for Gunter to fight to prove himself. I didn't want flying crows or lashers. I wanted a real challenge.



So I was pleased to find the Bloody Foothills swarming with Burning Dead Archers and Slingers. I'm sure you're expecting me to wax melodiously about how wonderful Taunt was here and for they most part you're right. Mostly, I walked forward slowly, taunted groups of skeletons and slingers to me, stunned them with War Cry and killed them. Rinse and repeat. However, like in the River of Flame, one has to be aware of one's terrain in the Bloody Foothills, because there are a lot of pits and crevices that can prevent a Taunted monster from closing to melee range.



For example, Taunting the burning dead archer in the above screenshot was clearly a mistake. The archer came forward a step, couldn't find its way to me, and immediately resumed shooting at us. A Taunted monster can't be Taunted again, so the only thing one can do is run/leap attack over there and kill the Taunted archer where it is (and probably wake up other archers and slingers in the process) rather than draw it to you. Before Taunting a monster, make sure to position yourself in a location where you're confident that the monster can easily find its way to you.



Here's another interesting problem. Take a look at the archer in the upper left corner of the screenshot above. It's been Taunted and it looks like he has an easy straight path down the stairs to get to us, so why is he shooting arrows at us rather than walking calmly down the stairs?

It turns out that the other archers in the picture were in a tight group up where that skeleton is. While spamming Taunt, I mistakenly Taunted the archer in back of the group first before the archers in front. The archer in back couldn't find a way to us, because he ran into his buddies who hadn't been Taunted yet. He stopped and returned to his normal AI -- shooting at us -- even though his buddies were Taunted and started moving a moment later. A monster who has already been Taunted can't be Taunted again, so the archer got to keep shooting at us the whole time while we were stunning and killing his buddies.

Incidentally, the Slinger in the upper right corner of the screenshot is in a position to be Taunted. Slingers are fast and fast monsters seem to have less difficulty running around small corners than slow ones like archers.



Other than those type of small problems, the Bloody Foothills was a methodical cakewalk. I had to revive my mercenary only once -- when I raced forward to try to get a good action screenshot with lots of skeletons and slingers in it (see the first picture). Otherwise, using Taunt to draw monsters to me, I was able to take on most monsters in small groups at a time. I drew off and slew Shenk's minions and Shenk himself fell without any trouble.


Gunter returned triumphantly to Harrogoth. Barbarian warriors who had fought in the battle spread news of Gunter's courage and prowess throughout the city. The inhabitants spoke in awe of Gunter's booming War Cry and how he was able to make fire spring forth from the very ground. For the first time in a long time, the people had a reason to celebrate.

Gunter returned to Larzuk who said, "Your 'wild tales' don't do you justice for they tell of only half your bravery. I will personally craft sockets into an item of your choosing that will allow you to place a magical jewel, rune, or gem into it and make you even more powerful. Come, let us go talk to Qual-Kehk. I'm sure that he'll find a mission to assign to you now."