Availability: ~30 minute standard zone repop, 2 repops for Ravella and Damryn, then they enter a 4-hour hibernation period before next pair of repops.
Assaulting Ravella's decrepit stronghold will be a long and arduous task. Explore the island searching for survivors first. Then one must acquire three magical seashells and dispel the protective seal blocking off the top of the tower. Once the witch has been bested, the rescue effort may begin. While this run may be soloed with some difficulty, it is recommended that you take at least two. Take three or more to enjoy a reasonable degree of safety.
Preparation
Make sure you are set on reagents and have a fair stock of smoke bombs, calm and fatigue herbs. About three to eight smokes or calms will do. Take two to four fatigues if you can, but they aren't a must have. If you opt for smokes, make sure someone can dispel area too. A timepiece or dispelling arrows are not required, but it will make the battles against the Guardian and Damryn much easier.
Playing Chessmaster
From recall, go 2N, W, 4N, pick north (or find a key in one of the NPK rooms to the east), 2N, pick or magic unlock west, W, disarm west, W. Search here for 'corroded iron key'.
With the key, go 2E, S, 2E, Nw, D, 2S, 2E, dig, 3D, all E, all N, all E, SE, 3S to a statue. The statue will blast every formation member with fire for 250 damage.
Exit south to the chessboard. Here, you'll need to slay two chesspieces to proceed.
You will need to kill the white king first. He's relatively simple. He just has a lot of HP and hits somewhat hard, though if he loads 'a white marble slug thrower', he'll deal significantly less damage. Just grit it out against him. Loot 'a rusty iron key' when he dies.
The black queen, on the other hand, can prove a lot more troublesome. She casts all 3 archon attack spells, enervation and can debuff with curse, poison, plague, silence and dispel. She tends to dispel herself a lot more often, which can work to your advantage. Just remember to keep her debuffed once she removes her beneficial spells.
The black queen will also firebolt, icebolt and annihilate. The principal strings to look out for are:
The black queen begins muttering an incantation...
AND
The black queen begins glowing with a brilliant light!
The black queen begins casting a spell...
Which will show when she attempts to bolt and annihilate respectively. Do not cast the second round when she bolts to block. Take special care not to cast when she casts annihilation. You will have 5 seconds to flee and move one additional room away from her. Annihilation will kill every player in her room and every one room adjacent. You may save against it but why take that risk?
Once the black queen gets low on health (agony or lower), she will start healing and may attempt to momentary darknen. Again, these two spells share the same string as bolt so take care. If she darkens, try to dispel area or illuminate if you have Vandyne followers. If not, just try and finish her in the darkness. Be sure you can tank her blows and outheal. If your tank is silenced and webbed, it's a good idea to have someone else take over. Loot 'a rusty iron key' when she dies.
The Ethereal Terror
Now with both keys, go to the centerish easternmost part of the chessboard. Search and once you uncover a grate, unlock it and the one inside with the king and queen's keys. The passage is no-mount, private CPK with a regular no-magic CPK at the end. There, the guardian lurks.
If you're facing down an imminent CPK threat, station two people at the first CPK to block. Send in anyone with high AR, a timepiece and smoke bombs. A ranger makes for the ideal candidate since he can use herbs and also dispelling arrows along with the rest. The key is to dispel the guardian fast and send in the rest of your team to lay down heavy damage. Once he's dispelled, have your formation spam bash/kick/throw high explosive/cause light. If you must escape, eat a calm mix or smoke. Killing the guardian yields 'a blue spiral seashell', one of three to access Ravella. Pick it up and remove curse from the seashell as it will be used later.
Ascending the Tower
Easy. Blink.
But if you still wish to do it the traditional way, here's how. Wander the forest killing spectres of former sailors until one drops 'a rusting iron coin'. Spectres form with others of their kind, have relatively high HP and a paralytic bite. Be careful not to get swarmed and dodge the bites. Make good use of lingering anti-paralysis when you survive a paralyzing encounter. When one drops, hide that coin somewhere safe as it's vanish-death.
Go into the greenhouse 2N, W, 2N, all E, N, E. You should find man-eating plants around here. Kill one for 'some pollen from a maneating plant'. They shouldn't prove too difficult as they only have relatively high HP, a poisonous bite and a weakness to fire.
From recall, go N, 2E, magic unlock east, E and give the coin and pollen to Professor Varda. He'll hand over 'the ward of Andama' and teleport away, leaving you clear to invade Ravella's tower. Be careful not to die with this as the ward is vanish-death.
Recipe
Before you can even encounter Ravella, you need to complete a recipe miniquest that will create the key to her door. This step can be skipped if a divination tray is being used instead. Essentially, you need to gather a few ingredients, put it in a cauldron and the key will pop in it. The recipe is located 1N, 2E from the tower entrance and its long description is hidden. Simply look at it to see what ingredients you need to collect. The cauldron to put the ingredients is located at 1N, 1W, all south from recall. You may see some of the following items in the recipe (including thumbs which are always there): Note that these ingredients can be obtained and placed in the cauldron in any order except for thumbs which must be added in last.
If you are not willing to get the brains or any other ingredient, PUSH the cauldron to reset the recipe.
Once the ingredients from outside the tower have been placed in the cauldron, it's time to go up the tower and get the thumbs (or a golden chimera egg too). Have a non-faerie wear the ward of Andama (casts creeping poison) and go up the tower. This will ward off Utshambala and let you proceed. Once above Utshambala, go east into the non-PK. Pull the lever into the OPEN position. You may summon your formation from here or make a nexus to a member on the docks in the vmap. While the group is at the tower, head west of the storage room where the group reassembled, and all south. There should be an irritated baby chimera or two, with an adult "irritated chimera" in the room. Kill a baby with a silver pick. If none of the babies around have a pick, pick up a golden chimera egg. If this egg is a required ingredient, you might need two - one to hatch more baby chimeras and another for the recipe. Once a pick is obtained from a baby chimera, go all north and keep going up until the third floor. 2S, 1E into the music room, there should be an enchanted antique cello. Give it the silver pick and a green spiral seashell will appear on the ground. Pick it up and remove curse from it. Go 2W, 1S into the portrait gallery with an enchanted mirror. It will ask you riddles and the answers are in the following order: E, Shoe, R, Shadow. Once you have answered all four questions, a red spiral seashell will appear on the ground. Pick it up and remove curse from it as well.
Go back north towards the stairs, and from the dusty bronze statue in the room, go 1W, disarm the door west and go west. Put the green seashell in the bowl in this room. Go all east and repeat the same process for the blue bowl. From the statue, go all south and do the same for the red seashell. Once all seashells have been placed in their respective bowls Ystrade will let you pass. Continue going up along the stairs and kill the two hands to get two thumbs. Designate one team member to take the remaining ingredients and put them in the cauldron. Remember to put the thumbs in last. After a few emotes the key will appear in the cauldron, grab it and go back to Ravella's tower.
Ravella, the sea hag encounter
Upon entering the room, Ravella will speak and start to cast annihilation. She does this periodically, but initially this timer must be started to continue killing her. Have one person trigger her annihilation while rest of the form stays back at least two rooms away from her door. After triggering her, move away quickly to your form. Spell up and go up to her room. If it's possible, dispel her haste and poison her. She casts witch spells like energy orb and extension. Just like the white king, if she is wielding a seashell wand or doing energy damage, she deals significantly less damage. Her corpse explodes but the equipment she carries (see below) is mostly archon level enforced, so all archons should turn Autoloot ON and just loot fast if there is a lower level player in the formation. She will drop 'an ornate bronze key' which unlocks Damryn's door. Head back to the fourth floor (south of Ystrade) and rest while the earthquake is in process.
Ravella, the sea hag carries:
Item 'a polished seashell garter' is type armor, alignment 0, made of organic, has keywords 'seashell garter', equipped on the legs. This item weighs 0 stones and 22 pebbles, and is valued at 55,600 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified enforce-level insulated wont-fuse unbreakable magic-resistant A polished seashell garter is in excellent condition. Armor resistance is 53 pierce, 50 bash, 52 slash, and 51 exotic. Alters knowledge of 'charm' by 20%. Provides resistance from steal-based attacks. Affects agility by 4. Casts the level 117 spell, 'change sex'. *This item may be repaired 4 times. This is part of the 'Seashell Vestments' set. You are currently wearing 1 of 8 items from the set. Requires a minimum level of 241 to activate. - Item 'a seashell bracelet' - Item 'a seashell-covered shield' - Item 'a seashell breastplate' - Item 'a seashell-covered helm' - Item 'a polished seashell garter' - Item 'a seashell belt' - Item 'a seashell wand' - Item 'a seashell conductor's baton' Affects stamina-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects hp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects sp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects accuracy by 6 (Requires 7 items). This seashell garter is crafted of dried seaweed, braided together around a dozen small, colorful seashells that have been highly polished. It's got a bit of stretchiness to the touch. Item 'a crumpled parchment' is type parchment, alignment 0, made of paper, has keywords 'crumpled parchment sheet'. This item weighs 0 stones and 3 pebbles, and is valued at 28,300 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified no-rent A crumpled parchment is in excellent condition. O Lady Of The Crashing Shoreline & Black Forest-- The disfigured awfulnesses have communicated that Her Eminence wished to be informed when that girl the intruder Varda was expecting had arrived. She came, and we have her. If you wish to interrogate her, the multilock system on cell #11 is in place and the awfulnesses have the keys. We can torture her if that is your will, or feed her. The squall that wrecked Varda's ship upon our shores calmed, no doubt your doing, and more surfacedwellers may come looking for her, or him. Were I to encourage haste I'd hope to not be out of line, my Sea Hag. Please respond letting us know how we'll proceed. - Guardian #13 Item 'a spellbook decorated with seashells' is type spellbook, alignment -500, made of leather, has keywords 'spellbook seashell black book spells'. This item weighs 0 stones and 73 pebbles, and is valued at 53,800 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified no-sac insulated wont-fuse unbreakable nodecay will-float A spellbook decorated with seashells is in excellent condition. Contains the spells: flame wind, farsight, fireball, frost, fireshield A total of 5/31 spells and 262/600 complexity points. Alters knowledge of 'reflective fireball' by 20%. Provides resistance from summon-based attacks. *Your level must be greater than or equal to 241 to use this item. *This item may be repaired 9 times. This is a special book with paper designed to hold magical spells. Ordinary paper will not work due to the probability of magical leakage - in some cases, the spells have been known to blend together when copied to inexpensive paper, and take on a life of their own. This usually has disastrous consequences for anyone who happens to be nearby when it happens, of course. Item 'a black bookmark' is type artifact, alignment -1000, made of paper, has keywords 'black bookmark mark'. This item weighs 0 stones and 3 pebbles, and is valued at 8,250 gp. This level 10 item has the attributes: identified A black bookmark is in excellent condition. This black bookmark is a simple slip of rigid, glossy paper, shaped like one of the many obelisks scattered about Alyria. A tassle of the same color is looped through the top, providing a convenient reminder of the bookmark's existence. Although quite nice, its accompanying book is nowhere to be found. Quite odd. Item 'an ornate bronze key' is type key, alignment 0, made of bronze, has keywords 'ornate bronze key'. This item weighs 0 stones and 10 pebbles, and is valued at 48,800 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified nomail insulated unbreakable nodecay no-save An ornate bronze key is in excellent condition. This key may be used 5 more times. *This item may be repaired 5 times. This key is crafted of fine bronze and looks to be hundreds of years old. The top of the key is decorated with about twenty small, translucent seashells in the shape of a heart. Item 'a seashell wand' is type weapon, alignment -250, made of reinforced-wood, has keywords 'seashell wand wooden stick', equipped wielded as a weapon. This item weighs 0 stones and 84 pebbles, and is valued at 56,300 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified insulated wont-fuse magic-resistant A seashell wand is in excellent condition. Weapon type is magical-wand, does 198 points of energy damage for 1 stamina, accuracy 15. With your knowledge of 'magical wand', this weapon can cause 273 damage against 0 ar. Special weapon attributes: shocking Provides resistance from paralysis-based attacks. Alters knowledge of 'magical wand' by 15%. *Your sanity must be greater than or equal to 21 to use this item. *Your knowledge must be greater than or equal to 23 to use this item. *Your race must be something other than sidhe to use this item. *Your race must be something other than fey to use this item. *This item may be repaired 5 times. This is part of the 'Seashell Vestments' set. You are currently wearing 1 of 8 items from the set. Requires a minimum level of 241 to activate. - Item 'a seashell bracelet' - Item 'a seashell-covered shield' - Item 'a seashell breastplate' - Item 'a seashell-covered helm' - Item 'a polished seashell garter' - Item 'a seashell belt' - Item 'a seashell wand' - Item 'a seashell conductor's baton' Affects stamina-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects hp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects sp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects accuracy by 6 (Requires 7 items). This wand is crafted with a core of rowan wood, well known for protection, and is decorated by no less than thirty small, colorful seashells that have been attached in some unknown way to the wood. The entire wand hums with power as you swish it through the air. Item 'a battered scroll case' is type container, alignment -200, made of reinforced-wood, has keywords 'battered scroll case'. This item weighs 0 stones and 40 pebbles, and is valued at 30,500 gp. This level 120 item has the attributes: identified insulated A battered scroll case is in excellent condition. Capacity: 35 items. Maximum weight: 2 st, 0 pb. Flags: closeable When you look inside, you see: Nothing. This case is crafted of fine oak - or once fine oak - as the case is now battered and damaged. Streaks of soot along one side of the case indicate it's seen battle recently. While you are holding it, the wood seems to grow warm in your hand, as if it were absorbing the heat from your skin.
Once the earthquake subsides, respell up and magic unlock the south door on the west side. Tormus should be at south. Walking to his room will make him form with you. Spell him up with necessary beneficials like sanctuary, +AR spells, and haste. Once the formation is ready, go to the east side and unlock the south door. Disarm it too if you want.
Damryn encounter
Damryn's room is nomagic. You can kill him by either alternating tanks with two strongest form members or by having Tormus tank. To make Tormus tank, have someone walk to Damryn's room, the form leader can then take Tormus in but make sure Tormus joins melee last. Once Tormus is fighting, have the initial tank flee and join back when Tormus is tanking. Rest of the formation can then join as well. To make the fight easier for Tormus, you can use timepieces to dispel the beneficials off Damryn and rangers may want to use dispelling and poisoning arrows. If Tormus needs to be healed, do it in the south room as repop can close the door north of Damryn and lock you out. Once Damryn is dead, an earthquake follows. At this point, can wait for it to be over and kill Ravella and Damryn once more before they're on a four hour hibernation. If you wish to leave, enter the portal south of Damryn and you'll be in Sea Hag's recall room.
Note: Obtaining the final hit on Damryn awards the Mark of Perseverance.
Damryn carries:
Item 'a seashell bracelet' is type jewelry, alignment -250, made of silver, has keywords 'seashell bracelet', equipped on the wrist. This item weighs 0 stones and 64 pebbles, and is valued at 49,800 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified insulated A seashell bracelet is in excellent condition. Increases vulnerability from water-based attacks. Provides resistance from paralysis-based attacks. Affects accuracy by 3. Affects strength by -2. *Your level must be greater than or equal to 241 to use this item. *Your race must be something other than fey to use this item. *Your race must be something other than sidhe to use this item. *This item may be repaired 2 time. This is part of the 'Seashell Vestments' set. You are currently wearing 1 of 8 items from the set. Requires a minimum level of 241 to activate. - Item 'a seashell bracelet' - Item 'a seashell-covered shield' - Item 'a seashell breastplate' - Item 'a seashell-covered helm' - Item 'a polished seashell garter' - Item 'a seashell belt' - Item 'a seashell wand' - Item 'a seashell conductor's baton' Affects stamina-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects hp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects sp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects accuracy by 6 (Requires 7 items). The bracelet consists of twenty seven small, colorful seashells strung on a narrow silver chain. It makes a pleasing, tinkling sound as you move the shells around. While seemingly fragile, you sense that the bracelet has been imbued with some kind of magical energy - you aren't sure exactly what. Item 'a seashell belt' is type clothing, alignment 500, made of leather, has keywords 'seashell belt leather', equipped around the waist. This item weighs 0 stones and 81 pebbles, and is valued at 54,310 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified insulated A seashell belt is in excellent condition. This item has a special enchantment. *Your personality must be greater than or equal to 16 to use this item. *This item may be repaired 3 times. This is part of the 'Seashell Vestments' set. You are currently wearing 1 of 8 items from the set. Requires a minimum level of 241 to activate. - Item 'a seashell bracelet' - Item 'a seashell-covered shield' - Item 'a seashell breastplate' - Item 'a seashell-covered helm' - Item 'a polished seashell garter' - Item 'a seashell belt' - Item 'a seashell wand' - Item 'a seashell conductor's baton' Affects stamina-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects hp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects sp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects accuracy by 6 (Requires 7 items). This belt is crafted of fine leather, woven together around several colorful seashells. It is quite sturdy and strong, and fastens with a brass clasp. Item 'a seashell-covered shield' is type armor, alignment -200, made of unknown-alloy, has keywords 'seashell shield', equipped as a shield. This item weighs 1 stones and 69 pebbles, and is valued at 56,600 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified insulated unbreakable vampire-bane will-float A seashell-covered shield is in excellent condition. Armor resistance is 6 pierce, 5 bash, 6 slash, and 5 exotic. Affects stamina by -75. Affects agility by -2. Affects vitality by 1. Provides resistance from disease-based attacks. Affects saving-breath by 7. Casts the level 119 spell, 'pass door'. *Your strength must be greater than or equal to 22 to use this item. *This item may be repaired 5 times. This is part of the 'Seashell Vestments' set. You are currently wearing 1 of 8 items from the set. Requires a minimum level of 241 to activate. - Item 'a seashell bracelet' - Item 'a seashell-covered shield' - Item 'a seashell breastplate' - Item 'a seashell-covered helm' - Item 'a polished seashell garter' - Item 'a seashell belt' - Item 'a seashell wand' - Item 'a seashell conductor's baton' Affects stamina-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects hp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects sp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects accuracy by 6 (Requires 7 items). This is a large, gothic shield crafted of an unusually-colored, shimmery metal. It has been decorated with over a hundred different, small seashells, which seem to add some kind of magical strength to the shield. The seashells are arranged like a mosaic, with an equal-armed cross formed out of mother-of-pearl seashells decorating the center of the shield. Item 'a seashell-covered helm' is type armor, alignment 500, made of admantite, has keywords 'seashell helm', equipped over the head. This item weighs 0 stones and 71 pebbles, and is valued at 55,100 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified blessed insulated unbreakable A seashell-covered helm is slightly worn. Armor resistance is 68 pierce, 65 bash, 67 slash, and 66 exotic. Affects spell-points by 75. Affects knowledge by -1. Affects sanity by 3. Provides resistance from poison-based attacks. *This item may be repaired 5 times. This is part of the 'Seashell Vestments' set. You are currently wearing 1 of 8 items from the set. Requires a minimum level of 241 to activate. - Item 'a seashell bracelet' - Item 'a seashell-covered shield' - Item 'a seashell breastplate' - Item 'a seashell-covered helm' - Item 'a polished seashell garter' - Item 'a seashell belt' - Item 'a seashell wand' - Item 'a seashell conductor's baton' Affects stamina-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects hp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects sp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects accuracy by 6 (Requires 7 items). This helm appears to be made of one of the strongest metals known on Alyria, admantite. A few dozen seashells, set in a colorful hex pattern, have been secured to the outside of the helm. Item 'a thumb ring of clarity and power' is type jewelry, alignment 0, made of steel, has keywords 'stainless steel thumb ring clarity power', equipped on the finger. This item weighs 0 stones and 8 pebbles, and is valued at 50,800 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified insulated unbreakable unique no-tweak always-equipment-index A thumb ring of clarity and power is in excellent condition. This item has a default lifespan of 120 days and will expire on Sun Sep 26 20:07:43 2010. Affects cold-prcnt by 5. Affects ar by 3. *You must not be wearing 'a ring of spell turning' to use this item. (Enforced) *Your archon-level must be greater than or equal to 77 to use this item. *Your alignment must be greater than or equal to 500 to use this item. *This item may be repaired 4 times and renewed 4 times. *This item has a limit of [1] per character. Cut from a length of the steel pipe used to fashion the spears belonging to the New Kolvir Guards of Honor, this thumb ring is a rare breed indeed. Powerful and awe-inspiring, it looks like the sort of thing that is both highly sought after and controversial when found. Item 'a seashell breastplate' is type armor, alignment 0, made of palladium, has keywords 'seashell breastplate', equipped on the body. This item weighs 0 stones and 80 pebbles, and is valued at 65,100 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified no-container insulated unbreakable A seashell breastplate is in excellent condition. Armor resistance is 32 pierce, 31 bash, 32 slash, and 31 exotic. Affects saving-paralysis by 9. Casts the level 120 spell, 'sanctuary'. *Your vitality must be greater than or equal to 21 to use this item. *Your strength must be greater than or equal to 21 to use this item. *This item may be repaired 2 times. This is part of the 'Seashell Vestments' set. You are currently wearing 1 of 8 items from the set. Requires a minimum level of 241 to activate. - Item 'a seashell bracelet' - Item 'a seashell-covered shield' - Item 'a seashell breastplate' - Item 'a seashell-covered helm' - Item 'a polished seashell garter' - Item 'a seashell belt' - Item 'a seashell wand' - Item 'a seashell conductor's baton' Affects stamina-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects hp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects sp-regen-prcnt by 2 (Requires 5 items). Affects accuracy by 6 (Requires 7 items). This breastplate is crafted of fine palladium, which means it should be very heavy, but for some reason (you suspect an enchantment), is not. Beautiful, colorful seashells have been attached to the breastplate on both sides, adding a sense of fragility, yet apparently magically strengthening, the breastplate. Item 'a seashell-plated silver sphere' is type orb, alignment -250, made of silver, has keywords 'seashells shells layer silver orb sphere'. This item weighs 0 stones and 66 pebbles, and is valued at 49,550 gp. This level 241 item has the attributes: identified noremove insulated nouncurse magic-resistant bind-on-take always-equipment-index A seashell-plated silver sphere is in excellent condition. This item has a default lifespan of 90 days and will expire on Sun Aug 29 10:01:58 2010. Affects ar-arms by 3. Affects wisdom by 1. *Your archon-level must be greater than or equal to 105 to use this item. *This item may be repaired 2 times and renewed 4 times. Although one of the few noted, informed archaeologists in Alyria might identify this sphere as a repurposed, poorly-disguised orb pilfered from the Absurdichron Sceptre, none of those archaeologists are here. And it's a good thing that they're not, or they might want to take it for a museum, or their own collections. This sphere levitates slightly, but not as much as it did in its original form- the poor polymorphic and faux-artificing job performed on it has taken its toll, and rather than producing infinite power, its usage seems very limited now. +++ a seashell-plated silver sphere will, when used, prime itself for its bearer to cast 'induce aggression'; the next time that its bearer successfully casts 'induce aggression' on a target, that target will draw the aggression of the most powerful everything that they meet for the duration that 'induce aggression' remains on them- charges remain.