The Vampire Quest

Name: The Church and the Cult

Rating: 9

Starts at NPC: Inquisitor Lightbringer

Starts in Zone: House Phiarlan

Level: 9

Quest Length: Long

Solo? No

Raid Quest? No

Patron Favor The Silver Flame

Location: Temple Of Vol

Related mob(s): Fire Mephit

Greater Fire Mephit

Ice Mephit

Base XP: 1679

Objectives: Defeat The Temple Guardian

Examine The Book On The Pedestal

Find And Consecrate The Altar Of Fernia

Find And Consecrate The Altar Of Risia

Defeat Adran Ir'Karsmore

Not Repeatable? No

Description: This quest is often referred to as The Vampire Quest in-game, because it was the first quest with a Vampire Boss, and was introduced with The Vault Of Night episode. It is given out by Inquisitor Lightbringer in House Phiarlan, and takes place in The Temple Of Vol.

There is a Lever in the first room that opens up the passage to the East. Inside is the Temple Guardian, who must be killed.

There Are Spike Traps In The Hallway To The East Of Here. Through That Hallway If You Head South, Past Another Trap, There Is A Rest Shrine Through A Hidden Door On The East. The Eastern Passageway From The Main Room North Of The Rest Shrine Is Also Heavily Trapped.

You Must Hit Levers Down The Ends Of The Various Branches To Unlock The Vampire.

The final Fight Is Very Challenging. Adran is a Vampire. The Vampire. And, as such, Will Cast A Number Of Spells Including Flamestrike, Blindness, and Domination. Due To The Flamestrike, You Should Keep From Being Bunched Up Too Closely. He Can Also Change Into Bat Or Wolf Form. While In Bat Form You Can Not Damage Him At All. Spell Damage Is The Key To Victory Here. When He Becomes Damagable You Must Nuke Like Mad. Wands Are Important Because It Can Be A Very Long Fight, He Will Regenerate While In Bat Form, Which Makes Him Very Hard To Kill.

Still, Should You Prove Victorious, His Chests Contain Some Unique Loot Which Is Worth The Ordeal.

The Bard: Dwarven Warchanter

So much for the squishy Bard! There are many ways to spec out a Bard in DDO; so many choices, in fact, that it is very easy to make a mistake and really gimp yourself later in game, especially with a Bard who gets very few Feats to begin with. Bearing that in mind, we've done the hard work for you. We present the Warchanter, a Melee Bard that will level easily, and keep you from looking like a total noob while grouping.

The Warchanter

Bard Hybrid

Role

Party buffs, personal DPS, decent defense

Weakness

Few spell points, enough to buff, but not able to sling spells

Description

So, you want to kick ass as a Bard, do you? Do you like the idea of making your entire team perform better, while dishing out damage? Does standing back with the casters hoping not to get hit seem boring to you? Want to get up close and personal with your enemy while hearing the squishy sounds of your blade sinking deep into flesh and feeling their warm blood splatter across your face? Then the Warchanter is the class for you!

As a Warchanter you will be one of the best at amplifying your party's melee damage output. You will be a fairly capable fighter in your own right, and will also be self-sufficient.

This Warchanter is a Bard/ Fighter/ Rogue build. I know, I know... another multi-class... but this makes the Bard an in-your-face battler. You will focus on improving your fighting capabilities, as well as that of your party, but will also be able to mesmerize your enemies and use almost every item in the game like other Bards. It is designed to get you very high DPS, and near max songs.

Race

Dwarf (mainly for save bonuses)

Alignment

True Neutral (avoids all alignment damage), Chaotic Good (if you want Chaos weapons), Lawful Good (for Law weapons)

Starting Abilities

28 Point Build

STR	16
DEX	16
CON	12
CHA	12
INT	8
WIS	8

Advancement by Level

LEVEL	CLASS	FEAT
1	ROGUE	TOUGHNESS
2	FIGHTER	TWO WEAPON FIGHTING
3	BARD	FOCUS: SLASHING
4	BARD
5	BARD
6	BARD	OVERSIZED TWO WEAPON FIGHTING
7	ROGUE
8	FIGHTER	IMPROVED TWO WEAPON FIGHTING
9	BARD	POWER ATTACK
10	BARD
11	BARD
12	BARD	IMPROVED CRIT: SLASHING
13	BARD
14	BARD
15	BARD	GREATER TWO WEAPON FIGHTING
16	BARD
17	BARD
18	BARD	EXTEND SPELL
19	BARD
20	ROGUE

At level 20 this will give you a final build of Bard 15/Fighter 2/Rogue 3. Always take Rogue at first level if you are going to take any Rogue levels at all. It gives you a lot more skill points to spend than if you take it later on.

Spells (in order taken by spell level)

Level 1: Cure Light Wounds, Expeditious Retreat, Focusing Chant, Remove Fear, Detect Secret Doors

Level 2: Cure Moderate Wounds, Rage, Blur, Heroism

Level 3: Haste, Displacement, Cure Serious Wounds, Remove Curse

Level 4: Freedom of Movement, Dimensional Door, Cure Critical Wounds, Break Enchantment

Level 5: Greater Heroism, Mass Cure Light, Greater Dispel, Shadow Walk

Skills

Perform: Keep maxed out (for Bard songs)

Use Magic Device: Keep maxed out (for wand and scroll use, and ignoring requirements on gear)

Open Locks: Keep at half ranks, and you can catch up on rogue levels (at half can still open most locks)

Balance: Put a few left over points here (helps you get up faster once knocked down)

Jump: Put a few left over points here

Enhancements

Take them when you can, at level 20 you should end up with the following.

Bard Warchanter I (availabe at level 10)

Dwarven Toughness III

Fighter STR I

Rogue DEX I

Dwarf CON I

Bard CHA II

Dwarven Axe Damage II

Dwarven Armor Mastery II

Dwarven spell Resist III

Dwarven Axe Attack II

Bard Lingering Song II

Bard Song Magic II

Bard Inspired Damage III

Bard Energy of Music II

Bard Wand and Scroll Mastery I

Bard Inspired Attack III

Bard Inspired Bravery II

Rogue Sneak Attack Training I

Fighter Haste Boost I

Fighter Toughness I

Summary

This build captures the spirit of the Warchanter. You are a kick ass Bard that can solo very well, but you're also wanted by groups for all the benefits you bring. In many groups you can be near the top of the kill list, and your songs are something that every party member will love.

Sneaking Up On Level 12

Congratulations to everyone on getting the Family avatars ["Famatars?"] up to Level 6! Now, we just have to figure out how to be online at the same time...

The Guild is about to reach Level 12, and with it comes another level of treats: discounted hirelings. I'm not sure if the Guild Hirelings are any smarter than the Normal Hirelings, but here's to hoping!

Anyone find anything cool with the Tiny Guild Gems? The Power Gem gives you +20 spell points, or +40 if you're a scorcerer [heh, heh]. And the elemental gems like spark and corrosion give an additional point of elemental damage, for that extra umph. So far, I've only been able to add the gems at the Machine in Marketplace. They last for six hours of gameplay and you can't change it out until the previous one's time is up--so get used to the one you install 'cause you're going to be seeing it for a while.

Here's to the Quest for Level 20!