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by Charis and KingofPain IronMan story of Two Psychotics (picking up as they finish dlvl 11...) This would be the loneliest level poor Charisychotic had ever faced, for his companion KoPsychotic, lay face down on dlvl 11. He had to go it alone with naught but his wit, a large supply of potions, and a blood fountain, conveniently found on entry on dlvl 1. He carefully, carefully went down the stairs to see what he would find. Lava Maws. Ouch! Well, thankfully they are animals, and hit hard by the sword. Slayers. Ouch! Life drain. Ok, NO question but to ID Schaeffer's Hammer .... +50 life, +75% res L, +30% to hit, -100% dmg, 1-50 Lning damage, +10% lr Schaefer's Hammer and Gold/Radiance made him a beacon, but with tremendous to hit and that 1-50 dmg, he popped Slayers in 2-3 swings. Much did this Sycho pause to ponder such issues and strategies, for one mistake would be fatal. Once, luring he saw two dogs coming at him, and he ducked around the corner to position himself and wait. One dog, two dogs. OK. Three dogs, uh oh. Four! Gasp!! FIVE DOGS!! Sycho's heart just lept up to his throat, as the dogs attacked furiously. One was beaten down, between blocks, but already two potions hastily quaffed. Thank goodness he had come back to a corner! Two hits and a spit tore his life down to a sliver, and he barely avoided fumbling over his potions. The belt was half gone, and two remained. Those were beaten off, with his life ebbing low once again. He took a long slow walk to the Blood Fountain to clear his mind. That was more potions than he could remember using, and yet, for his friends' sake, he chose to live. About twelve pots sucked down, mostly in two battles: 3 dogs, and 5 dogs. On twelve he found a plain great sword, just able to wield, and Books of Stone Curse and Guardian, if the mage should ever awake. Also an Amulet from a Slayer, a SBB, a nice Large Shield, and... A Scroll of Resurrect. Glory be! KoPsycho... we're going to hell!! Slowly and alone did the warrior inspect the new and dark level. He was not surprised, and not frightened, to find Guardians. Their younger brothers had died to the Hammer of Schaefer, and no doubt so would they! With them were succubus. Compared to the Knights of Blood he had feared, these were simple (well, not without caution). The constricting ring was very helpful, especially with the stairs and fountain nearby, and a mage as well. Charisycho knew he must try to keep KoPsycho active and not rusty, so one opportunity when a half dozen rogs were awoke, they thought it good to weaken them with charged bolts. Two problems, actually three: they were too close to the portal, there was no escape path, and worse, the mage had no mana shield. He looked fine briefly, but when an erratic rog step cut left him surrounded, it was seconds before death ensued. Both Charis and KoP were kicking themselves, fighting to take the blame. If nothing else they would learn several lessons from this, but at what price?! With the bonus hp from the Hammer and resistance from the Constricting Ring, the remainder of the level was straightforward (albeit tedious). When it was clear, with no res in sight, a dejected an lonely Charisycho descended yet another set of stairs... As he did, he pondered these thoughts. To ID, or not to ID? Four scrolls were present, with some good AC scale mail and Large shield being strong candidates. Yet... he did plan solemnly to visit the chamber of Lazarus, and wanted two left for there. And one ring from a succubus sitting unid'd. On the other hand... he needed to survive TO Laz. He was on the very edge of whether he stunned or not. A +str or +all would be super, he didn't need much. A minor fear was that later +stats would be less common than +hp (ie no more Moon, no more stats on shield, etc.) Besides, he'll surely find some plate worth id'ing in hopes of AC. Well, let's see what we find on 14, he concluded... After 13 was Clear, Charisychotic missed his friend, and was sad, but knew he had to press on, slay Diablo and find a way to revive his comrade. Down to 14 nervously and slowly did he proceed, his palms moist on his hilt. First foe spotted was a Drake of Crimon Fire. The powerful Hammer of Schaefer did smite him most readily. This was good. The second foe was a... Vortex Lord! Glory be - more fodder for the golden Hammer!! His heart sang, and to make matters more palatable, a body on the ground he stopped to pray over was found to have Full Plate Mail! After scummy mail and two breast plates giving false hope, this AC 68 set was well received - now 105 AC (less than 40 short of optimal). A book of firebolt was soon found as well. One cauldron was found, and strength was bolstered by heavenly faith :-) This was the point he knew victory was possible!! Rogs and drakes barely touching him, donning full plate mail, and touched by the heavens themselves. This was it. "Clear the mechanism!!" =) Gasp! Onward to 15, the Abode of the traitorous Lazarus! He was a solid 23rd lvl of ability, as far as he could tell (doing 31-40 with bast sw). Yet, Sycho's palms againt became sweaty as he descended. Stairs were next to pentagram, and the first foe, a Hell Spawn, was very carefully lured and slain. The walk down to 15 was getting long, and there was no second chance, so caution reigned. Soon, telltale charged bolts approaches, which spoke of Magistrates. More important, this signaled there would NOT be Azures or Soulies. In fact, another two monster level, outstanding! While the Hammer would protect nicely against the Magistrates, its damage on them was not much, and the CRing still to be donned often to face the Spawn of Hell. This level his trusty LBB would be close at hand. First potion of hell was quaffed here. Not far from Laz a Magsitrate and three spawn launched salvos, before the CRing could be found. The quick hand of Sycho had grabbed the potion before the mind could debate it. The pressure for a pot-free clear was gone :-) With nothing to surround him, max resists (with ring, for witches) and Blood Fountain, it was a matter of patience to clear Laz and company, then the rest of 15. Black Jade was the first to fall, with a fragile looking Tower Shield. Red Vex was next lured, via bow, and she coughed up a hammer. The other spawn were luring with bow as well, then a little happy dance (with ring on) enticed a few advocates to the room edge where they too could be picked off (with bow). Finally... it was Sycho vs Lazarus, and the traitor met his doom. He dropped a much sturdier shield, which was identified as a Tiger of great health. Bloodlust was not cooperative, dropping a skull cap. An armor rack raised his spirits, dropping magical Gothic Plate. Two hell spawn on the level chimed in with two amulets. Alas, in the end, no res was found, and one ID found to replace the one just used. Remaining: still four ID, and still one dead mage, plus one the one just used. Remaining: still four ID, and still one dead mage, plus one level to go. In the last room, Sychotic felt his ability raise another level (24). Again Sycho was to descend, but this time down the fearsome pentagram. Once more did he stop to do some math (for you see, Sycho was a crazed mathematician). It would be really close whether he would make clvl 25 or not. If so, there would be 3 more pts dmg, for full stun and allowing the use of his Gold Amulet of Radiance for a huge boost. If not, he would be forced to keep the Stars to stun. So he faced a tough decision, what if anything, to ID. Worn Gear: Schaefer's Hammer, Crown AC 12, FPM AC 68, Tiger Tower 17.50, Amu Stars +9, Ring Skill+8, and open ring slot for Constricting Ring. Choices possible for ID: one ring from 13, large shield, scale mail, and Gothic Plate. The latter was tempting, but he decided to hold off and see if he was in trouble or not. (That's the problem with mathematicians sometimes, they put too much weight to their theories This is what he would NEED: A combo of: about 10-15 more str, around 35 more dex, and 25-55 more %tohit, and 30 more AC. On landing on the final level, he saw a long, long corridor, which gave super running room and a lot of cover... excellent. He VERY slowly began, with single steps. The first foe seen was a Blood Knight. He had dreamed of this moment for years... when that BK exploded, with Sycho unscathed, he finally moment for years... when that BK exploded, with Sycho unscathed, he finally allowed a large smile to cross his face. Yet caution was increased all the more. His plan, which worked well, was to lure with +hp gear and Constricting ring, and lure away Blood Knights. Down the long corridor and they would give up chase, only to be reactivated one at a time! Then, switching to bow and ring, the lawyers would be hunted down and slain. When even close to hurt, the blood fountain was visited (49 times that level, although MANY visits were pure overcaution). If mid combat he was hurt, he finally allowed himself the luxury of drinking freely. Seventeen potions, in fact, were consumed that level, more than the dozen found. Each quadrant was painstakingly cleared, until Diablo's lair alone remained. The Knights were 'extracted' after a pair of loops around. On the third pass, he got too close and awoke the Lord of Terror! Brimstone flashed from his nostrils and he sent a blast of raw energy to sweep over the Sychotic body. Fear gripped him, but for just a moment. His mind had already gone over EXACTLY what he would do. Run for the maze, luring 'D', drinking to stay very healthy, and escape via a portal to town. Then a long, brisk walk down the stairs. The lair was carefully cleared, and alas, he found himself just a tad short of another new ability level. At last, only Diablo remained. Wistfully, he carried the limp body of KoPsycho down to 16, hoping the escape of life from Diablo's body would raise his comrade. He also thought over his options for the four ID's. He held KoP's hand, and tried to think what his friend would recommend. First, with the constricting ring no longer needed and nothing to fill its slot, the ring was ID'd, and it was of the Tiger. Helpful, but not the strength or to hit he wanted. Next, a suit of Gothic armor, but which. Charisychotic was mildly superstitious, and had not benefitted much from armor racks. With two other gothic plates dropped on 16, he chose the higher AC, and identified it.... The plate was literally Awesome. It was the highest quality, made purely for AC, not for any other magical bonus. This was good news, but he still would like to see either tohit or +str. The falchion and one amu were selected as best chances, and BOTH turned out to be precision. Alas, if used, his damage would very seldom stun Diablo. Wanting to stay on the offensive, the stuck with his plain and trusty bastard sword, and the Amulet of Stars. With one last trip to town, to pick up a few items and to fill up with a large cache of potions, he descended the stairs one FINAL time... Back toward the maze, with purpose and pride, he strode. In the corner, just as he spotted Diablo, he laid down a wall of fire from a scroll, and dared Diablo to face him. Scorning this mocking gesture, Diablo rushed him and hurled apocalyptic blasts. The fire was a a warm breeze to him, and with a wave of his arms it was extinguished. And yet, he did not realize this was a mere distraction. The smoke hid the body of his friend, leaving it free just as he spotted Diablo, he laid down a wall of fire from a scroll, and dared Diablo to face him. Scorning this mocking gesture, Diablo rushed him and hurled apocalyptic blasts. The fire was a a warm breeze to him, and with a wave of his arms it was extinguished. And yet, he did not realize this was a mere distraction. The smoke hid the body of his friend, leaving it free of further desecration, and while Diablo blew away the flames, Sycho lauched into him with his sword and the fury of an enraged killer, and he stabbed Diablo. And stabbed him again, and again, and again.... If you've ever heard of the term Sycho'Killer, this is where it came from. On occasion he would miss, and Diablo landed a blow. Five potions were quaffed, and he started to consider reaching for his backpack for more... would he ever go down? or would ALL this effort be for naught... BBBBRRRRRRaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! The sound emitted by the horrible beast drowned the night, and yet the victory yell of Sycho was no less daunting. He toppled Diablo, and let the life force flow out of his body, and onto that of KoPsycho, his brother. One life was exchanged for another, and the two that very evening emerged... ... IronMan Champions!! (My thanks to KingOfPain, and to you the reader, for hearing this tale:) 
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