What's keeping you up...?
Oh. Sorry, honey, I'm... I'm super nervous about exploration tomorrow, for obvious reasons. So you're packing early? It's my way of working through anxiety, I guess. We've all got something. I think you forgot your katana, though. Oh, thank you for reminding me. I'm actually bringing...hup...this! Th-- That? I can't remember where I got this wooden katana... Was it the 2nd Stratum? Thereabouts, I think... Um-- Yeah, and it's still plenty strong, it just got dull real fast 'cause it's wood. So it's just been a wall decoration, but now that we need nonlethal tactics I'm just gonna bring it back. I-I thought you'd just be using the flat of your regular katana... ...Why are you so nervous about it, sweetie? It's just a-- ... Oh no. This carving wasn't here before. "Momoe ❤ Sigrid"... ...This is-- This is your handwriting, babe! I-I-I-I can explain! Bahahahaha, look at you! You're beet red! I didn't think you were ever going to use it again so I carved that where I thought you weren't gonna see it but obviously I messed up and I'm sorry for ruining your nice ka-- chu Uweeeeeh... Little peck, never fails. I'm not mad, sweetie. Y-You're sure...? Of course not. It's adorable! Also fighting with something that professes our love like this sounds really great. Mm... Okay, I feel better... I'm glad. Make some space for me in there, babe. Good ni--
WHAT HUH WHERE ARE WE?! ...Oh, thank the gods, my normal clothes are on...
Um. I take it no-one remembers walking here?
Quixote, I swear, if you're fuckin' pullin' some shitty prank on us--
I had nothing to do with this! I am as mystified and belligerent as the rest of you!
Hi I forgot to record myself mapping out that entire right side of the map. Did you even really want to see that, though?
Welcome to this floor. There's a lot of floor here. It's not very interesting. I hate sand.
UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! ...That's a weird noise for an old man to--
Aw, dammit, you just had to trip into it didn't you? ...Is this thing a forest folk or not? Maybe. It'd have to be one hell of a mutation, though. Well, play it safe, then, everyone; non-lethal only.
Forest Demon
| HP: 5000 | STR: 45 | TEC: 49 | VIT: 36 | AGI: 42 | LUC: 44 |
Damage Vulnerabilities:
 100% |  100% |  100% |
 50% |  50% |  50% |
Disable Vulnerabilities:
 50% |  50% |  50% |  50% |  50% |  50% |  50% |
 10% |  10% |  50% | ||||
 50% |  50% |  50% |
- Volt Shot: Deals very heavy volt damage that pierces party rows. Slow.
- Firestorm: Deals heavy fire damage to all party members. Slow.
- Death Stare: Attempts to instantly kill one party member, with a very high chance. Slightly slow.
- Volt Shot: Deals 130% ranged TEC-based volt damage that pierces party rows. The damage ranges from 176 to 234 on average. Has a 70% speed modifier and a base accuracy of 99%.
- Firestorm: Deals 90% ranged TEC-based fire damage to all party members. The damage ranges from 122 to 162 on average. Has a 70% speed modifier and a base accuracy of 99%.
- Death Stare: Attempts to instantly kill one party member, with a 50% chance. The effective chance ranges from 69% to 89% on average. Has an 80% speed modifier.
- Forest Demons use Death Stare when the current turn is a multiple of 4.
- Forest Demons are more likey to use Firestorm and Volt Shot when their HP is at 50% or lower.
- If the current turn is a multiple of 4, use Death Stare.
- If the Forest Demon's HP is at 50% or lower:
- 39% chance to use Firestorm.
- Else, 40% chance to use Volt Shot.
- Else, Attack.
- If the Forest Demon's HP is at 100% to 51%:
- 29% chance to use Firestorm.
- Else, 30% chance to use Volt Shot.
- Else, Attack.
- Volt Shot: Deals volt damage that pierces enemy rows. Slow.
- Firestorm: Deals fire damage to all enemies. Slow.
- Death Stare: Attempts to instantly kill one enemy. Fast.
- Volt Shot: Deals ranged TEC-based volt damage that pierces enemy rows. Has a 70% speed modifier and a base accuracy of 99% at all levels.
- Firestorm: Deals ranged TEC-based fire damage to all enemies. Has a 70% speed modifier and a base accuracy of 99% at all levels.
- Death Stare: Attempts to instantly kill one enemy. Has a 120% speed modifier.
Drops:
- Normal:
Evil Plume. 100% chance. Sells for 2450 en. 
Lacy Hide (+49 DEF, +1 STR): Made from 1 Evil Plume. Costs 6870 en.- Rare: Evil Leaf. 40% chance. Sells for 3050 en.
Evil Charm (+10% ailment resistance): Made from 1 Evil Leaf. Costs 4700 en.- Conditional:
Dread Crest (Kill while afraid). 90% chance. Sells for 7350 en. 
Speed Boot (+37 DEF, +30 TP, +5 AGI; Survivalist only): Made from 1 Dread Crest. Costs 40000 en.
Forest Demons are pretty simple: heavy fire and volt damage, instant death every four turns. You're best off trying to bind their head.Also, Katya's kind of suboptimal here, for obvious vulnerability-related reasons.
These guys are sort of jerks. Their elemental attacks can hit fairly hard, and their instant death can sometimes cause some nasty scares. Besides that they're not too dangerous. Watch out for the fire.
...Wow. Uh. Good job, babe. I can't believe that worked.
Stupid feathers, grumble grumble...
'Ey, thanks for the massage. The party presently has Austin's effect that restores 75% of their max HP on the first hit. It's a bit underrated, in my opinion. For major encounters I still prefer status negation, but the HP restoration effect can be quite useful for conserving resources during exploration.
Oh my gods did you just make afterimages?! Huh? Oh. Nahhhhh, that's ridiculous.
PTOOIE! Ick, don't spit on it!
Compare to earlier. If you want to save SP that you'd otherwise spend on Frailty Curse, you could do worse than a Grimoire with Corrosive Aura on it. I have used an embarassing amount of defense debuffs from enemy grimoires. I'll admit it.
Hmph! ...So graceful... 'Ey. Snap outta it. We're still fightin' somethin' that's probably sentient.
...Says the woman that goes for the head. Rubber bullets. Are rubber bullets not capable of killing if used improperly, due to extreme, high-velocity blunt force trauma to the head? Last thing I need is a lecture from you. Welp, easy win.
How do these "bind" things work again? 'Cause, uh, Ladette just shot that thing in the head. How's that stopping its eyes? It's best not to ask.
Come on, take a nap, we just want to pass through...
That's a lot of EXP.
Y'know, every story I was told as a kid never mentioned fairies having bat wings.
Pixie
| HP: 359 | STR: 30 | TEC: 35 | VIT: 25 | AGI: 34 | LUC: 35 |
Damage Vulnerabilities:
| 100% | 150% | 100% |
| 0% | 0% | 0% |
Disable Vulnerabilities:
| 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 50% | 100% | 150% |
| 100% | 100% | 100% | ||||
| 100% | 50% | 100% |
- Seal Arms: Attempts to bind the arms of one row of party members, with a high chance. Average speed.
- Hypnosis: Attempts to inflict sleep on one party member, with a an extremely high chance. Fast.
- Seal Arms: Attempts to bind the arms of one row of party members, with a 60% base chance. The effective chance scales from 67% to 86% on average. Has no speed modifier.
- Hypnosis: Attempts to inflict sleep on one party member, with a 70% base chance. The effective chance scales from 79% to 101% on average. Has a 120% speed modifier.
- If a Pixie end up in the front row, they have a high chance to do nothing.
- If a Pixie does nothing, they have a slightly low chance to run away on the next turn.
- If all party members have their arms bound, Pixies will only use Hypnosis.
- Hypnosis will always target party members that are not already asleep.
- If the Pixie did not do anything on the last turn:
- 40% chance to flee the battle.
- Else, Attack.
- If the Pixie is in the front row:
- 69% chance to do nothing.
- Else, Attack.
- If all party members have their heads bound, use Hypnosis, targeting party members that are not asleep.
- 49% chance to use Seal Arms.
- Else, use Hypnosis, targeting party members that are not asleep.
- Seal Arms: Attempts to bind the arms of one row of enemies. Average speed.
- Hypnosis: Attempts to inflict sleep on one enemy. Average speed.
- Seal Arms: Attempts to bind the arms of one row of enemies. Has no speed modifier at all levels.
- Hypnosis: Attempts to inflict sleep on one enemy. Has no speed modifier at all levels.
Drops:
- Normal: Pixie Wings. 40% chance. Sells for 232 en.
Heaven Bow (+96 ATK): Made from 3 Pixie Wings. Costs 10200 en.
Pixie Boot (+18 DEF, +5 AGI): Made from 5 Pixie Wings. Costs 2740 en.
Pixie Hat (+29 DEF, +2 TEC): Made from 1 Pixie Wings (Pixie/Pixie normal) and 4 Sand Cloths (Forest Mystic/Forest Druid normal). Costs 4120 en.- Pixie Bow (+102 ATK, +3 AGI): Made from 2 Pixie Pitches (Pixie rare) and 4 Pixie Wings (Pixie/Pixie normal). Costs 12200 en.
- Rare: Pixie Hair. 15% chance. Sells for 279 en.
Sleep Gas (50% base chance to inflict sleep on all enemies; 80% speed modifier): Made from 1 Pixie Hair. Costs 650 en.- Very Rare: Amber Lump. 5% chance. Sells for 150 en.
Nectar (Revives one dead party member at 20 HP): Made from 1 Amber Lump. Costs 300 en.
Pixies suck. Do you like getting your physical attackers being rendered useless, or someone being put to sleep and being left wide open for other enemies?No? Too bad.
These things and another variant later are colossal pains. They're absolutely everywhere in the back end of the Stratum and are responsible for the majority of my wipes because of enemies we'll see later.
Zzz... Why yes, dear, I'd cuddle with you for ten hours... ...'Least she ain't having nightmares.
Being stepped on...by a bird...isn't the best way to wake up. Sometimes, I really love Bracing Plan.
You fuckin' asshole fae, you're gonna regret that.
YOUR LEGS ARE TOO SMALL FOR YOUR BODY!
I kicked it in the face and it wasn't fazed at all!
Oh, fuck off. Why won't...my arms...move...!
At least the big one's dead.
Once the frontline monsters are dead, Pixies will most likely do nothing.
Faewell. Non-lethally. ... ...What? Was that a pun, or did you just forget the R?
I'm tellin' you guys, those things don't count as forest folk. Better safe than sorry.
Yay!
Uninteresting levels!
shriek This is a pretty bad one! Could be worse, but it still sucks! Having an Alchemist available here is probably the best bet for survival. Physical doesn't get along well with these few floors.
...Got out of that unscathed, somehow.
Panic is the most useful ailment Sigrid has access to, so I have her max out Mirage Bite.
A quick trip back to town later, and I'm ready to deal with the Forest Ogres. These guys are pretty easy to solve: they aggro on you once you're within a couple of tiles near them, and they move every other turn.
Why? Less'a these things awake n' walkin' around, the better. This makes them very easy to get preemptives on.
Forest Ogre
| HP: 5500 | STR: 48 | TEC: 36 | VIT: 37 | AGI: 32 | LUC: 32 |
Damage Vulnerabilities:
| 50% | 50% | 50% |
| 100% | 100% | 100% |
Disable Vulnerabilities:
| 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| 10% | 10% | 50% | ||||
| 50% | 50% | 50% |
- Evil Cry: Increases all enemies' physical attack by 50% for 4 turns. Slightly slow.
- Clash: Deals severe STR-based stab damage that pierces party rows. Average speed.
- Heavy Shoulder: Deals heavy bash damage to one row of party members. Attempts to bind the legs of hit targets, with a high chance. Average speed.
- Evil Cry: Increases all enemies' physical attack by 50% for 4 turns. Has an 80% speed modifier.
- Clash: Deals 135% melee STR-based stab damage that pierces party rows. The damage ranges from 281 to 332 on average. Has no speed modifier and a base accuracy of 99%.
- Heavy Shoulder: Deals 90% melee STR-based bash damage to one row of party members. The damage ranges from 187 to 221 on average. Attempts to bind the legs of hit targets, with a 50% base chance. The effective chance ranges from 54% from 69% on average. Has no speed modifier and a base accuracy of 99%.
- Forest Ogres open with Evil Cry, unless the party gets a preemptive attack on them, in which case they're merely likely to open with it.
- Evil Cry has a cooldown of 3 turns.
- Forest Ogres prioritize Heavy Shoulder over Clash.
- Forest Ogres' chance to use Heavy Shoulder and Clash goes up when their HP is at 50% or lower.
- If this is the first turn, use Evil Cry, and set the Evil Cry flag.
- If the initial Evil Cry flag is not set, 69% chance to use Evil Cry, and set the initial Evil Cry flag.
- If the Evil Cry cooldown is less than or equal to 0, and the Forest Ogre does not have the Evil Cry buff, 69% chance to use Evil Cry, and set the Evil Cry cooldown to 3.
- If the Forest Ogre's HP is at 50% or lower:
- 39% chance to use Heavy Shoulder.
- Else, 35% chance to use Clash.
- Else, Attack.
- If the Forest Ogre's HP is at 100% to 51%:
- 24% chance to use Heavy Shoulder.
- Else, 25% chance to use Clash.
- Else, Attack.
- Evil Cry: Increases all party members' physical attack for 4 turns. Slow.
- Clash: Deals stab damage that pierces enemy rows. Average speed.
- Heavy Shoulder: Deals bash damage to one row of enemies. Attempts to bind the legs of hit targets. Average speed.
- Evil Cry: Increases all party members' physical attack for 4 turns. Has a 70% speed modifier at all levels.
- Clash: Deals melee STR-based stab damage that pierces enemy rows. Has no speed modifier and a base accuracy of 99%.
- Heavy Shoulder: Deals melee STR-based bash damage to one row of enemies. Attempts to bind the legs of hit targets. Has no speed modifier and a base accuracy of 99% at all levels.
Drops:
- Normal: Evil Scale. 100% chance. Sells for 2400 en.
Alla Romana (+61 DEF, +5 TP, +1 TEC): Made from 1 Evil Scale. Costs 11000 en.- Conditional: Ogre Belt (Kill with instant death). 90% chance. Sells for 7200 en.
Brave Gave (+46 DEF, +6 STR; Landsknecht only): Made from 1 Ogre Belt. Costs 50000 en.
Forest Ogres are quite simple: they reduce your party members to smears with physical damage. Sometimes they make the physical damage hurt even more. Also, they only take half damage from physical attacks.Also, uh, this probably goes without saying for all FOEs, but don't let these guys join in on a random encounter. Evil Cry plus other monsters is basically guaranteed to result in a game over.
Also also, holy shit the equipment that conditional drop makes. It's worth using a Formaldehyde for (assuming you're using a Landsknecht).
Maybe because I always fought them late, but these guys never felt like they were super dangerous beyond being extremely durable.glove glove glove glove glove get the glOVE GET IT GET IT GET IT P L U S S I X S T R E N G T H
IT KEEPS HAPPENING. ...What does? You know, I'm not quite sure.
Not impressive, but it's the best Momoe is gonna manage against this thing.
There's something to be said for Action Boosted Snipes.That something is "their total chance to bind is pretty decent."
That's better!
Bleh. That wasn't worth purging the panic for.
Unless I'm the luckiest woman in the world, I guess.
Hm. I'd probably get more mileage out of Muting Word than Suicide Word here.
Wow okay Momoe where did that come from?
Oogh... Remind me to cover my nose and mouth next time I use one of those things...
Take a nap.
Yay, I got the Ogre Belt! GLOVE
Well, that was...uneventful, at least.
Back to town.
They all heard about the discovery of the new Stratum, and many people are making their way to Etria now. It's times like these that remind me just how dependent this town is on the Labyrinth...
Armor's still gigantic pieces'a crap, but the guns still work fine.
On second t'ought, y'don't gotta answer t'at! All I can do is keep makin' m'weapons. Work on y' armor more.
I suppose I'll just have to try whatever I can get my hands on. Don't you fuckin' dare-- Oh, don't worry. I promise not to blow your fancy house up.
She's a very good cook, isn't she? I will have to learn a thing or two from her... Oh god you have no idea what I'd do to have Valerie's cooking here. ...Same.
I think you know him... You know, the one with the glasses. I think it's the first time he's been here as a customer. I guess even guys like him need a drink once in a while! I'unno, he seemed pretty fine last I talked to his stupid face.
Man with twisted lip:
I heard the rumors. The guy's crashing at your place now? He's got a really odd sense of humor. Oh, yeah. When you see him, tell him to come have a drink with me. I love listening to his stories. They're really informative, you know? Leggy dark hunter: Oh... How has the monster fighting been? Are you having fun? No. Indeterminate! ... I'm trying to diet while I aim for rare item drops. So, today, I petrified a Faerie to get a Stone Dress. ...*sigh*... I used to enjoy fighting monsters every day, but now it's just a pain... Well, you're not alone, sis. Mild man: I work for the Hall, but something seems wrong... The top people are all flustered. Even a low-level worker like me can tell that something's gone wonky. An' another thing... *belch* Oh, boy, I've had too much to drink...! Everyone at the Radha seemed peachy last I was there. Scarred protector: "...Exploring the Labyrinth is never easy." My own words are coming back to haunt me. Hi, Tenebris. Have you encountered a Death Mantis yet? No, but now I'm scared of when we do. When it takes a stance, be careful. Everyone in the party is going to get hit with a sharp scythe attack. But the damage isn't the only thing you need to worry about. Those who get hit by that attack have a chance of dying instantly... Let's stop here. I think I'll have another drink. One for my friend...since he can't drink with me any more. Yeah, uh, take... Take a rest, bud.
Huh, just one quest?Medicine woman I:
Decided to take the request, have you? Good, I've been hoping someone would. The young medicine maker needs Bird Tendon to mix a new potion. The limbs of the Huge Moa have been prized for their medicinal properties for ages. Help her develop her new medicine. Good luck!
...Oh, okay.
You did very well. I'm sure she'll make something great using this. It'd be nice if this medicine turned out to be something to help you adventurers... If she succeeds in developing it, that is.
Please do not foist your trash on us, bar woman!
Badly. Still can't get the butterflies out of my stomach...
The Radha's not disclosing any details... Well, you have to decide for yourself what the right thing to do is. Don't blindly follow orders without giving them due consideration. Not that I'm in any position to lecture you...
Fuck you. This time, I'm with her on that.
... That's all for now. Next time: more sand.Previous Update
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