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 are 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
You can receive the bonus objective by talking to Saidra (2 on the map) after killing the first White Mantle Seeker in a tower (1 on the map). The gate next to her will open, revealing a tower that is otherwise unreachable. Clearing the first tower (1 on the map) before talking to Saidra will not prevent you from getting the bonus.

There are nine watchtowers that each have a Watchtower Guard and a White Mantle Seeker. The Watchtower Guards can be a pain to kill, as they have Troll Unguent, but the White Mantle Seekers cannot heal, and are thus much easier to kill. Killing all nine of the seekers grants you the bonus. The text of the bonus is ambiguous, but killing the Watchtower Guards is unnecessary.

If the two White Mantle up in a tower are above the door, melee characters can attack them by standing at the door and attacking. If they move to other areas up in the tower, they will be out of reach of melee characters.

In addition to the two white mantle up in each Watchtower, each is guarded by two more that stand at its base, and a dozen or so that wander around it in several linked groups. As you approach each Watchtower, the guard will call all surrounding groups, and all the white mantle near there will come rushing to the base of the tower. The mobs up in the tower can be hard to hit, so you generally want to clear the mobs down below first. The fourth tower is also guarded by a boss, and has more mobs than normal in its vicinity.

The white mantle that guard the towers are unwilling to run very far from their spawn point, so if you pull more than you intend to, it generally isn't hard to run away. The downside of this is that if you pull only a few, they'll sometimes run away and back to the tower before you can kill them. Sometimes it is easiest to wait until mobs spread out and grab one group from that. Other times it works well to come within range of several groups and then run away until only a few stay with you.

Minions and pets won't stay where you flag henchmen, so can be overzealous about chasing mobs, and then pull more than you intended. It's easy enough to run away that this isn't a big problem, but they can still be a nuisance.

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.

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

Hard mode
Hard mode in this mission actually plays out very similarly to normal mode. Even running away when you pull too many isn't much of a problem, as in spite of the hard mode speed boost that mobs get, they still won't run very far from their tower.

If you have multiple players, it is important to coordinate running away so that either the whole group runs away or else no one does. If only part of the group runs away, the rest die. It can work to set a standard rule of, if more than four mobs come, everyone runs away.

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.

Inside the mission
Watchtower Guard: ''Alarm! Alarm!''

Watchtower Guard: ''Guards! To the tower!''

Watchtower Guard: We have an intruder!

Watchtower Guard: White Mantle, to the fore!

White Mantle: Did you hear something?

White Mantle: Do you see them?

White Mantle: What's going on?

White Mantle: Who goes there?

Watchtower Guard: Fan out and search for enemies.

Watchtower Guard: ''Find the interlopers. I want their heads.''

Watchtower Guard: If there's someone out there, I want them found.

Watchtower Guard: ''Search the grounds. Leave no stone unturned.''

White Mantle: Maybe it's those rebels.

White Mantle: The Unseen Ones warned us of intruders.

White Mantle: There's something out there.

White Mantle: You know the drill, boys.

Watchtower Guard: Back to your posts.

Watchtower Guard: ''Never mind. It must have been a lynx.''

Watchtower Guard: Stand down, men.

Watchtower Guard: ''You can all relax. It was a false alarm.''

White Mantle: I heard Confessor Dorian himself is coming to inspect the temple.

White Mantle: ''That's just a rumor. Why would Dorian come here?''

White Mantle: ''I don't know. Maybe he wants to see the Scepter of Orr.''

White Mantle: ''You idiot. He's already seen it.''

White Mantle: Do you think these undead are here because of the Scepter?

White Mantle: What else could it be?

White Mantle: ''I don't know. Maybe they're just hungry.''

White Mantle: ''Oh, that's a good one. The hungry undead. What a moron.''

White Mantle: ''Okay, listen up. There is talk of raiders on the prowl near the temple. If you encounter intruders, they are to be terminated on sight.''

White Mantle: The Unseen Ones have been awfully quiet lately.

White Mantle: When have they ever been noisy?

White Mantle: You know what I mean.

White Mantle: ''Yeah, I suppose you're right. I wonder what's going on.''

White Mantle: Last night I saw a bone dragon.

White Mantle: ''Really? A bone dragon? Where?''

White Mantle: ''Down in the swamp. A couple of ghouls were leading it around on a leash.''

White Mantle: Dang.

White Mantle: The prophecies of the Unseen Ones talk about the coming of the undead.

White Mantle: Do yo really believe that stuff?

White Mantle: Yeah man, and so should you!

White Mantle: ''All right. All right. Don't blow your top.''

Bonus objective:

Saidra: ''My friends. It is me, Saidra, in disguise. On the other side of this gate there is a cart of weapons waiting to be smuggled to the Blade. But I can't get them past the watchtowers without being searched. If you take out all the towers between here and the docks, I'll be able to sneak through.''

Jonas: What's all this talk about a scepter?

Grimnalt: I don't know, but it's got the White Mantle all in a huff.

Jonas: You don't think it could be the famed Scepter of Orr, do you?

Grimnalt: ''Bah, don't be silly. That's just a legend, nothing but an old wives' tale.''

Jonas: Well, there was such a place as Orr, I visited there when I was a little boy.

Grimnalt: I wasn't saying there wasn't a place called Orr.

Jonas: Then what were you sayin'?

Grimnalt: I was sayin' their ain't no magical scepter, that's all.

Jonas: And I says there is a magical scepter.

Grimnalt: Well, then you'd be as dumb as an ox then wouldn't ya be?

Jonas: ''Me? Dumb as an ox?''

Grimnalt: That's what I said.

Jonas: Buffoon.

Grimnalt: Idiot.

Intermediate cutscene
Dinas: ''My friends, it is good to see you again. I didn't think when we met off the D'Alessio Seaboard that I would be giving you the Scepter of Orr. Come, you must not linger here. The Zealots will be back soon. I will show you the quickest escape route. To the east is a bridge that will take you over the Ullen River to safety. Stay off the beaten path, and whatever you do, avoid the watchtowers! Many men have died for this. Guard it with your life.''

White Mantle Knight: ''The Scepter of Orr. It's been stolen. The thieves are heading east, toward the Ullen River.''

White Mantle Justiciar: ''They won't get far. There are two watchtowers between here and the river. If they try to go past, they will be caught. If they stop to ponder a way around, we will catch them. No one who steals from the White Mantle lives long enough to enjoy the spoils.''

Ending cutscene
Evennia: ''Ah, the Scepter of Orr. The time for retribution against our oppressors has finally arrived.''

How are we going to use it?''

Evennia: ''We can't, but Vizier Khilbron can. I negotiated a treaty with the former advisor to the King of Orr. In exchange for the Scepter, the good vizier has agreed to aid us in our fight against the Mantle.''

What can one man do for us that we can't do for ourselves?''

Evennia: ''The Vizier is a very powerful mage. He can show us the path that will lead to our victory. Come now. The sun will be rising soon, and we must prepare for our journey to meet the vizier.''

Saidra: What news of Markis?

Why would we have news of him?''

Saidra: He didn't meet you outside the Temple?



Saidra: ''Hmm. Maybe he'll catch up with us at the docks. Let's go. Even the Mantle are smart enough to find their way across that river. We'd best not be here when they do.''

Follow-up

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