Riverside Province (mission)

Objectives
Steal the Scepter of Orr.
 * Avoid detection on your way to the temple.
 * Talk to Dinas to get the scepter.
 * Escape to the bridge to the northeast.
 * BONUS Take out the Watchman at each tower, so Saidra can get the weapons through.

Primary
You can complete this mission and kill almost no White Mantle. Simply keep hugging the left wall. With a compact group and correct timing (waiting where necessary), the White Mantle will not see you. At each tower, hug the left and you should be past (and through the gate where appropriate) before the White Mantle spread out and block the path. Since the White Mantle are in large groups, this can be a much easier way through the mission. The red path shown on the map is the shortest, but there are many others.

After collecting the scepter at point A on the map, pass through the gate and again keep hugging the left wall. Eventually, you get to a pair of towers that is teeming with White Mantle. Look carefully and you will see a boss and a narrow bridge between the towers (B on the map). Pass quickly through the White Mantle, kill the boss, and pass along the bridge to complete the mission.

Tip: If you are rushing between those two towers to the boss, make sure the boss is not blocking the path through to the bridge. If he is, fall back (pulling him from where he is) and rush again.

Bonus
Kill all the Watchtower Guards (9 of them)&mdash;one up in each tower. This involves killing nearly all the White Mantle surrounding them, as well as the White Mantle Seekers standing next to the Guards up in the tower.

Despite the seemingly contradicting goals, this bonus and the first goal in the primary objective are both possible. You can wipe out all the White Mantle on the map and then talk to Dinas, and you will not have violated the avoid detection goal.

In general, each tower has two White Mantle Savants or White Mantle Ritualists on the ground guarding it. However, as you approach each Watchtower, the guard will call all surrounding groups; this will bring in 3-4 groups of 2-3 White Mantle. They will then spread out searching the area. Then, if nothing happens, each group will go away. There are a few ways to deal with these groups:
 * Take them out few-by-few after they scatter.
 * Wait till the guard sounds the all-clear and then hunt each group separately, away from the tower.

At the first watchtower, you'll see some guards having a short conversation (1 on the map). After a while, all of them will spread out in small groups around the tower. Make sure to have decent ranged attacks, as the Watchtower Guards have Troll Unguent. You can receive the bonus objective by talking to Saidra (2 on the map). The gate next to her will open, revealing a tower that is otherwise unreachable. Use the same tactics on this tower and all the rest in the mission (each tower is marked with a 3 on the map).

Tip: Try to pull very carefully&mdash;about 3 at a time&mdash;otherwise you will be overpowered. It may be worth working to the port, and then back to the Scepter, since that way you only need one survivor to complete the mission itself for you, in case of a wipe. Also, if you stand at the right-hand door of a watchtower, you can damage the Watchtower Guards with melee attacks.

Tip: Try to do the bonus first if you plan on doing both bonus and primary mission. The reason is that should disaster fall and you are unable to resurrect some of your party members, you can then go and speak to Dinas. The cutscene will resurrect any fallen members.

Tip: When doing this bonus with an all-hench party you must keep in mind that henchmen have trouble attacking the Watchtower Guards. They are often not smart enough to attack through the front gate, and attacking the guards from the ground with ranged weapons can be difficult. The mage henchman can use Fire Storm, the cultist can use Deathly Swarm and Vampiric Gaze, and the Enchanter can use Empathy. Unfortunately because the guards have Troll Unguent, even if all these skills are utilized simultaneously they will rarely be enough to kill the guards. They use Savage Shot as well, which will probably interrupt the spells. Therefore most of the damage has to come from the player.

Tip: If you find that you can not hit the Watchtower Guards due to an "obstructed view," try running away from the tower and approaching it again after a few seconds.

Tip: The Watchtower Guards cannot flee. Bringing indirect AOE spells like Chaos Storm, Churning Earth or Sandstorm will make very quick work of them.

NPCs

 * Human
 * 20 Dinas
 * 10 Grimnalt
 * 10 Jonas
 * 10 Saidra
 * 20 Evennia (cutscene only)

Monsters

 * Giant
 * 20 Hill Giant
 * Human
 * 18 White Mantle Justiciar
 * 20 White Mantle Zealot
 * 16 White Mantle Seeker
 * 20 Watchtower Guard
 * 18 White Mantle Abbot
 * 20 White Mantle Priest
 * 16 White Mantle Ritualist
 * 16 White Mantle Sycophant
 * 16 White Mantle Savant
 * Nightmare
 * 20 Fog Nightmare
 * Undead
 * 11 Grasping Ghoul
 * 16 Hellhound
 * 18 Executioner
 * 13 Skeleton Ranger
 * 17 Skeleton Bowmaster
 * 18 Bone Dragon
 * 17 Damned Cleric
 * 18 Necrid Horseman
 * 13 Skeleton Mesmer
 * 17 Wraith
 * 17 Smoke Phantom

Bosses (Skill Captures)

 * Undead:
 * Essam Festerskull &rarr; Warrior's Cunning (unavailable before Marhan's Grotto)
 * Ruinwing &rarr; Primal Echoes (unavailable before Copperhammer Mines)
 * Dracul Cadava &rarr; Draw Conditions (unavailable before Copperhammer Mines)
 * Damis the Malignant
 * Animate Bone Fiend (unavailable before The Forgotten Ones at Destiny's Gorge)
 * Barbs (unavailable before Camp Rankor)
 * Desecrate Enchantments (unavailable before Marhan's Grotto)
 * Gaiza Deadeye
 * Mantra of Inscriptions (unavailable before Camp Rankor)
 * Signet of Weariness (unavailable before Camp Rankor)
 * Zeki Lament &rarr; Conjure Lightning (unavailable before Camp Rankor)
 * White Mantle:
 * Cyrus the Unflattering
 * Darwym the Spiteful &rarr; Dryder's Defenses (unavailable before Marhan's Grotto)
 * Corbin the Upright
 * Convert Hexes (unavailable before Camp Rankor)
 * Divine Intervention (unavailable before Copperhammer Mines)
 * Bearn the Implacable
 * Order of Pain (unavailable before Port Sledge)
 * Well of the Profane (unavailable before The Misplaced Sword at Heroes' Audience)
 * Bairn the Sinless &rarr; Guilt (unavailable before The Misplaced Sword at Heroes' Audience)
 * Braima the Callous
 * Glyph of Elemental Power (unavailable before Port Sledge)
 * Searing Heat (unavailable before Copperhammer Mines)

Dialogues
Briefing from Blade Warrior Derikk.

Follow-up

 * Upon completion of the mission players will find themselves in: Sanctum Cay.
 * To continue the storyline players must complete: Sanctum Cay: Mission