Durlag’s Tower “Queening” Causing Characters to Explode

grlndbrggs

When pawns get promoted during the chessboard fight they explode and are replaced by a newly formed queen. When this takes place in the vicinity of certain characters it results in their also being chunked/perma’d without taking any damage.

Not something I’d come across on prior runs, so I’d appreciate someone else’s take on this as well.

Can we assume that this is intended/expected behavior (proximity blasts etc. though in my case seemingly occurring to spellcasters just as they’ve cast)? Or is it some mechanical glitch that can be ignored?

Aerakar

Do all characters get chunked, or only low hit point characters (like spell casters)? Also, how much damage is being done by this blast?

sarevok57

i think i have found the culprit

the "change pawn into queen effect" has a range of 1, which if i'm not mistaken, that pretty much means anyone within a "dagger's attack distance" away from such a pawn will also be chunked, no saving throw, no magic resistance, do not pass go and do not collect 200 dollars

my only assumption is that if the range was changed to 0, that "might" fix the problem, because there is an effect that specifies for it to change self

for anyone curious the "effect" in question is;

SPWI942

Thunderburp

It's caused by the trap AI, which will cast this single-target spell on the creature that LastTrigger-ed the trap. Before doing so, it'll check if the Entered("PAWN") condition is fulfilled.

But that condition stays fulfilled for a short window of time, long enough for a creature other than a pawn to become the one that LastTrigger-ed the trap.

The trap takes the full width of the chessboard so the non-pawn creature can be on the opposite side and still get chunked if it walked on the trap at exactly the wrong time

Maurvir

This sort of thing is why I always hated the chess board battle in Durlag's Tower. Once I realized it wasn't going to be chess at all, I started outfitting my parties with as many Arrows of Detonation as possible, webbing the whole thing, and unleashing fire until it was over.

If the game is going to cheese my party, my party should be able to cheese the game.

jmerry

I usually go for potion and necklace fireballs without the webs, but yes. It's not exactly a well-implemented idea. Incidentally, my refinement in more recent runs is to make the protagonist invisible before entering. That buys you some time to act before the enemies even start moving.

Maurvir

I normally make the whole party invisible, though I will have to try just making the protagonist invisible. That lets them clear a bit of the fog before unleashing holy hell without the opposing team getting uptight.

The real issue is that it felt entirely out of place with the rest of the tower, which was mostly traps, doppelgangers, and other well-fitting enemies. I kind of wish there was a mod that would let you skip past that bit of mess and go straight to the next level down. Not only would it make the tower feel more cohesive, but it would allow you to return to the surface as needed - though I guess trapping the party is part of the challenge there.

In theory, such a mod would simply unlock an unpickable door that would let you walk down to where Islanne is.

DinoDin

Yeah the chessboard doesn't even work within the Durlag story. I also am sick of it in runs and tend to just nuke everything with fireballs and web while keeping the party stationary. Tends to be the best way to safely get past it.