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Hello everyone and welcome back. Today's update is basically a playable cutscene. On lower difficulties, like we're playing on, I don't think it's actually possible to lose three of the four fights we get into. We start off in some random basement, so let's waltz up and see if we can figure out where we are exactly.

The muffled sounds of battle are much clearer. In fact if we walk to the archway...

Ah, yep. There's fighting going on.

Divine Weapon Bond posted:
Upon reaching 5th level, a paladin forms a divine bond with her god. This bond can take one of two forms. Once the form is chosen, it cannot be changed.

The first type of bond allows a paladin to form a divine bond with her weapon. As a standard action, she can call upon the aid of a celestial spirit for 1 minute per paladin level.

At 5th level, this spirit grants the weapon a +1 enhancement bonus. For every three levels beyond 5th, the weapon gains another +1 enhancement bonus, to a maximum of +6 at 20th level. These bonuses can be added to the weapon, stacking with existing weapon bonuses to a maximum of +5.

Alternatively, they can be used to add any of the following weapon properties: axiomatic, brilliant energy, disruption, flaming, flaming burst, holy, keen, and speed. Adding these properties consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property's cost. These bonuses are added to any properties the weapon already has, but duplicate abilities do not stack. paladin can use this ability once per day at 5th level, and one additional time per day for every four levels beyond 5th, to a total of four times per day at 17th level.

The second type of bond allows a paladin to gain the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve her in her crusade against evil. This mount is a heavy horse (for a Medium paladin) or a pony (for a Small paladin). This mount functions as a druid's animal companion, using the paladin's level as her effective druid level.

At 11th level, the mount gains the celestial creature simple template.

At 15th level, a paladin's mount gains spell resistance equal to the paladin's level + 11.

So the woman in the middle there is a Paladin of at least 5th level. Given that a horse didn't appear, her bond is apparently the type to give her bonuses.

Then we watch these guys flail at each other for a good 15-20 seconds. It's just long enough to be irritating. Eventually the fight ends and our motley crew saunters in.

This is why Seelah has that ball of light over her head. That's the Light cantrip. It illuminates the area around her, making screenshots infinitely easier to get because you can see what's going on.

This is a problem with other "realistic" RPGs I've tried to LP in the past. (See: FFXIV, Dragon's Dogma)

Anevia and the half-orc share a tender hug.

"By the goddess... Nevi, I... I'd almost lost all hope..."

"Everything's fine, Beth. I'm here. I'm here." Anevia strokes Irabeth's head and whispers something in her ear, then stands back and points at you. "This here's Lisbeth. She rounded up those of us who survived the fall and led us up to the surface. Without her, we'd never have made it out."

She turns to you. "Lisbeth, let me introduce to you my wife, Irabeth Tirabade — head of the Eagle Watch."

Irabeth is good people. She's in charge of the biggest organized group of survivors. And like Anevia, she's gonna be a major non-companion NPC going forward.

"Where are we?"

"The Gray Garrison. Until recently it served as barracks for the crusaders, but it's now been taken over by cultists."

"We met some mongrels who live beneath Kenabres. This is Wenduag."

Surprise steals across Irabeth's face, but it quickly gives way to respect. "Most people in Kenabres think that the children of the first crusaders are simply a legend. Other people say that the day you emerge on the surface heralds the start of the end of the world. I'm not superstitious, but the situation is apocalyptic all right. Having a living legend on our side can't hurt."

"I see you are in serious need of help. You're in luck. If my mistress is with you, then I am with you also."

"I have important information about the location of a cultist den!"

"Very good. Report to me in full when we get back to the Defender's Heart — it's our temporary headquarters. Right now, the most dangerous cultists are here, the ones occupying the Gray Garrison."

Getting the less serious responses out of the way first.

Then we can move to the more important questions.

"What is the target of this battle?"

"When the demons attacked the city, their main target was the. I trust I don't have to explain to you what the Wardstone is and how important it is to the crusaders. We must retake it at any cost — or the fall of Kenabres will be the beginning of the end of the crusades, and with them the rest of the world."

"I see that you had a difficult journey to the surface. You need to rest. But there's a lot riding on this battle. I have no right to command you, but I'm asking you to help us."

After this we could ask her about the wardstones, but it feels kinda stupid to be asking for a history lesson when we're gonna be seeing it shortly. Short version: Wardstones protect the city against demonic incursion. It was supposed to prevent Deskari from even entering the city, but something went wrong. Also it shouldn't even be in the Gray Garrison, so that's curious as well.

"What's the situation in the city?"

Irabeth slowly drags her hand over her face. "The city's gone. Most of the defenders, including the dragon Terendelev, fell in the first few hours. The civilians either fled or died in the chaos. The place is overrun with cultists and demons."

"Don't talk like that. Kenabres hasn't fallen, not while it still has defenders like you and me."

"Sweet words don't change the grim truth."

"No, she's right. Thank you, knight. Until we no longer have the strength to hold a weapon, until Iomedae abandons us, we will fight for Kenabres."

Irabeth is kind of a defeatist. This is something to keep in mind as the LP goes forward.

"How did the Wardstone end up in the Gray Garrison?"

"The demons have long laid siege to Kenabres, but this time their lord Deskari appeared in the flesh. He ripped the Wardstone from the ground and hurled it halfway across the city, to here. I thought the stone was destroyed, but it seems all is not lost... yet. Deskari has gone, but the Wardstone is surrounded by a horde of those creatures. What are they going to do to it? Nothing good, that's for certain!"

"But... How did he do that? He's a demon, the Wardstone should have burned his filthy hide!"

""It should have. But what happened, happened. We don't know why."

Like I said, we could ask about the history of the Wardstone, but Lisbeth generally understands the importance place and time. With the stakes suitably explained, she's ready to lead the charge herself.

"Let's not waste any time. To battle!"

"That's the spirit!" Irabeth turns to one of her fighters. "You — take Anevia to the rear. The rest of you — with me!"

You hear labored breathing interspersed with disgruntled muttering. Horgus is holding his rapier hilt in a white-knuckled grip. A bead of sweat trickles down from his temple.

"Lord Horgus Gwerm, forgive me, I did not realize we had civilians among us. My people will escort you somewhere safe — to the extent that anywhere in Kenabres can be said to be safe right now."

Fun fact, the audio that plays when Horgus speaks up has him actually muttering under his breath. But none of it is intelligible.

Horgus, Anevia, and some random dude run out of the room. We'll see the two important characters later. I assume random nameless soldier will also survive.

Each major act vaguely has its own heading. Trapped in the Darkness was the prologue. So we can collapse the header now because no more quests from that will pop up.

I hope you've been reading the text on these quest updates. Some of it is quite snarky and funny.

For the most part, Wrath of the Righteous is not a game burdened by timers. There are only a couple of major exceptions. This quest is connected to one of those exceptions, and it's something we're gonna be doing our best to disarm as soon as we get to the world map. Anevia and Irabeth will explain more the next time we meet them.

You can't enter the door now, and I wasn't able to get in the last time I played the Return to the Gray Garrison. And once you leave act 1, you can't come back as far as I can tell. Is it even possible to get in here at any point?

There's a bunch of cultists here. They can be dangerous, but Irabeth alone is level 7, and Staunton Vhane (not pictured, but with her nonetheless) is like level 12. These mooks are level 1-2.

That's a lot of bodies to loot. Also worth noting if you're a scythe user, this is very likely your first opportunity to find one.

The NPCs rush upstairs, but let's take a minute to look at this door first.

Neither Camellia nor Lisbeth can make much headway with the lock. But if we use one of the disposable lockpicks we've found as loot...

Much better.

The loot isn't even worth writing home about. The potion is a potion of Inflict Light Wounds.

Upstairs a cutscene takes over.

Enemies on both sides... pretty sizable groups no less.

Crusader: "I... Uh... I can't."
Cultist: "Come on, leave these losers! The crusades are over, soon the demons will rule the whole world."

The Crusader looks around...

And now we face both groups at once while down a man. Grrreat.

Irabeth's squad handles the quisling's side. Our group handles the rest.

Some unlucky rolls means Lisbeth gets a bit low. I probably should have put it on turn-based and used acceleration of form or mirror image. But it's not too long before Irabeth comes sprinting over to render aid with the remaining foes.

Wrath of the Righteous is not a grimdark game about struggling against the odds and eking out a slim victory. It's a power fantasy. At level 2 our group of four took on more than 7 Baphomet Cultists at once and held the line long enough for the pair of powerful NPCs to come help. Not to save the day, but with mopping up.

It took 3 potions of cure light wounds to get Lisbeth back to 100%. The enemies dropped more than that.

There's a bunch of doors along the outside wall, and they're all locked. When we come back here for the Act 1 Finale, we'll be able to go through them.

We head upstairs...

Welp. Ain't no gettin' back down that way.

Another group waits up top.

Minagho here is voiced by a woman named Lindsay Sheppard. But she is doing her absolute level best to channel Laura Bailey's performance as Lust.

The demon's mouth drops open in surprise, and she brings her manicured hand up to cover it. "What an unexpected surprise! Staunton, my little sweetheart, long time no see. I've missed you so much... Have you missed me? Admit it — you missed me terribly!"

The aged dwarf from Irabeth's troop, silent up to now, spits on the floor. His hardened, craggy face, like storm-weathered stone, twists as if in pain. "Minagho. You again, you wench."

Minagho? The one who..." The half-orc is too well-bred to spit on the floor, but the name sounds like a slur on her tongue. "Be careful, she's one of the deadliest creatures in the whole demon horde. She was once responsible for a massacre in Kenabres... She must be back to finish what she started!"

Minagho is gonna be an antagonist for most of the game. So let's get off on the right foot.

(Chaotic) "Hey, demon woman! What's wrong with your face?"

"Hmph, how rude! You're one to talk, mortal, with a face that even a mother would loathe! Staunton, sweetie, you're not going to let your friends speak to me like that, are you?"

"That wench..." The dwarf's voice rasps like rusted metal. "She's the one who led me astray. She's the reason my life has gone to the Abyss. She's the reason... why Drezen fell."

"Oh my, like butter wouldn't melt!" Minagho threatens Staunton with a dainty clawed finger. "What I remember is how eagerly you would run to our trysts. How you begged to see me again. How you promised you'd do anything I asked — by your own free will you said this! And now you claim that Drezen fell because of me? No, no, my dear, that was entirely your own doing!"

"I'll beat your lying lips into your filthy throat!"

"Now, Staunton, don't say things like that! Not about these lips, the ones you kissed so sweetly...? Staunton, dearest, don't you love me anymore? Remember how good we were together. I was so hoping that we could patch things up..."

"I'll kill you!!!"

Minagho flees away and leaves us to fight her entourage.

Anyway.

The mobility check will ferry us to the end of this section.

If I were a betting woman, I'd say that's the much-touted wardstone.

And those dorks are doing stuff to it while Minagho observes.

As soon as you step into the chamber, your vision seems to darken and your knees buckle — you struggle to keep your balance. The air in here is laden with the power coming from the stone. Suddenly, your head is filled with voices — screaming, whispering, cackling, threatening, voices pleading for help, shrieking curses and taunts... You blink, and the illusion passes.

A demon with a mocking smile stands beside the Wardstone. "Congratulations. You made it all the way here. This is it, your precious Wardstone. But what are you planning to do now, hm? I could kill you where you stand... But wouldn't it be nice if you could die in battle, like heroes? No. I want you to die in despair, scrabbling around like rats in the blighted ruins of your city — blind and broken, your flesh scabbed and seeping, and every moment knowing precisely what was done to you!"

"There isn't a soul that can resist the temptations of the Abyss. Even a stone can be turned. I'm not joking — your precious Wardstone, weakened from the injury inflicted by Deskari, has almost succumbed to my charms. Soon the whole barrier around the Worldwound, the gift of your useless goddess, will be a weapon of the Abyss. Just a little more, and... boom!" Minagho's laugh rings through the chamber. "Every city with one of these eyesores stuck in the middle of it, from Kenabres to Nerosyan, will turn into smoking craters, and all the mortals into red sludge beneath our hooves!"

Talking to Minagho unlocks options for how to deal with her. There is never a situation in this game where you don't want to exhaust dialogue before moving on. In fact, doing so often changes your available options. There's one situation coming up soon-ish where talking to someone changes the "YOU DIE NOW" option from Evil to non-aligned.

"Who are you?"

"You've already forgotten me? You mortals have awfully short memories, even shorter than your little lives... Staunton, sweetums, don't you want to introduce me to your friends properly? No? Well, I'd better do it myself. I am Minagho, lilitu and faithful servant of Baphomet, and leader of his armies. This city is mine now. I'm just starting to settle in, get things just how I like them... But once I'm finished, I promise you the results will be simply to die for."

"And it was such a charming little place until you sullied it with your presence. It had such lovely boulevards, quiet and shaded... You took those away from me, and I shan't forgive you for that."

"They have done much worse things than spoil the promenades. All the people they've killed..."

"Yes, yes, of course. You're right. I grieve for the common folk as well."

You feel righteous fury swell within you. How dare this demon besmirch the ground of this beautiful world with her hooves, a world created by the gods and cultivated by mortals? And these cultists — how dare they betray all that is sacred in this world and join the forces of the foulest evil? Can they repent and redeem themselves, or have they followed the path of evil past the point of no return? The Wardstone seems to sense your thoughts: the chamber grows slightly brighter.

"What are you doing to the stone?"

"Well quite, what am I doing to it?" The demon brings her clawed finger coquettishly to her lips. "Probably the same thing I did to many of your comrades — sweetly and tenderly persuading it to abandon the mortals and join our side!"

You feel a sudden rush of wild rage, and with it comes a feeling of monstrous, unbridled destructive power. It is like the power you felt in the Shield Maze, when you were confronting Savamelekh, but now it feels more fully fledged, more conscious.

(Good) [Requires Angel Mythic Path] [Reveal the Light of Heaven] "Your victory celebrations are a little premature, demon."

Echoing the holy flame erupting from your hand, the light also gets brighter and brighter until it floods the chamber. You hear the voices again — stronger now, they repeat your words like a choir of angels.
Baphomet Cultist: The demon giggles, but you hear a note of astonishment in her laughter. A man standing among the cultists turns to her: "Hey, no-eyes, didn't you tell us that Heaven had turned its back on us, and no one would come to our aid?"

"Don't listen to her, the fiend wants us to lose all hope. She won't succeed."
Baphomet Cultist: The cultists glance at each other, hesitating. At last, the man who was first to speak up against Minagho rips Baphomet's unholy symbol from his chest and casts it to the floor. "I'm done with this shit! I only followed this hoofed menace because I thought the crusaders had had it, and there was no other way to protect my family. But now I see that there is hope. I won't bow before these heinous idols ever again! If they kill me — at least I'll die a decent death."

"Yes! Return to our side, friends! Have courage! We will welcome you back. And Heaven never abandoned you, no matter what this deceiver told you."
Deskari Cultist: A tattoo-covered cultist reaches for his weapon. "Turncoat! I'll cut out your heart!"
Neophyte Cleric: "We'll see how tough you really are!" An elf with a face deformed by acid burns throws her unholy symbol at him. "We let you frighten us once, but it won't happen again!"

So we can't win this fight. If I activate Examine mode...

Yeah, Minagho is level 28. On a system that goes to 20 normally.

She throws out super high level magic constantly until everyone goes down. Once Lisbeth's HP is depeleted...

The demoness whispers a spell and a wave of darkness sweeps through the chamber. Your companions wince in pain, but it is nothing compared to what you feel: thousands of voices once again burst into your mind, drowning you in their moans, screams, and sobs. Pain rocks through your skull.

(Good) "Your evil spells won't stop a righteous army!"

"Iomedae is with us!"

"Yes, yes, keep telling yourself that."

The roar of voices blends into an unbearable wall of screaming. Your vision goes dark.

Encyclopedia Golarionnica

Anevia Tirabade
Mendevian Crusades
Horgus Gwerm
Minagho
Baphomet
Lilitu
Savamelekh