Masquerade's Guide to the Rune Crypts
You have heard rumors floating around the Towne of Rune that the hallowed crypts below the great Temple of Rune are both filled with treasure - and wrought with danger. Many an adventurer has sought fortune there, only to have his or her hopes (and life) dashed to pieces by a malevolent spirit, or a clever brigand, waiting to take advantage of a hapless adventurer. Considering yourself a superior adventurer, you decide to take your chances. After greasing the palm of a minor priest at the temple, you learn that Murmur, the temple wizard, has tried to dissuade adventurers such as yourself from entering the crypts, since demonic activity below has increased tenfold in the recent weeks. As such, he has both hidden the entrance, and locked the way to this entrance, in hopes that none shall ever pass into the darkness. You thank the priest and begin your search.
You find the temple to be an open, and friendly place, but besides the door to the priests personal offices, there is only one other locked door....Taking a peek around to make sure noone is looking, you quickly produce a nightshade mushroom from your backpack. You practically swallow it whole to get the desired affect. Your body fades into a strange translucence, and you use this altered state to pass through the locked door. Inside, you find a cramped storage area, filled with various cleaning solutions and implements... it is tidy, except for a pile of dirty rags sitting off to the side of the room.
Suspicious enough to elicit a look, you sift through the pile to find it is covering a trap door. Swiftly, you pass through this door as well, and enter a narrow stairway, covered in dust and cobwebs...down, down you travel, until at last the stairway ends before a enormous marble archway...its face is covered with various runes and glyphs of protection. Inside you can see hundreds of tiny lights, candles left by loved ones long ago for the residents here. You draw your weapon, and slowly pass through the arch...
These are the sights and sounds of the Rune Crypts....a place of dead things and...not quite so dead things. The entire complex is a Neutral Player killing Zone, and every room is fraught with aggressive monsters. Definately not a place for the faint of heart. But, if you can keep your head, and watch your back, there are quite a few treasures to be hauled away here. Now, the first mob you will meet in the area (or not, as he isn't always there) is the guardian of the Crypts, the statue of Vandyne. He loads randomly with the highly sought after white marble gear, and as such, I have decided to give him his own section, located at the end of the guide.
Let's start with a quick overview of the creatures you'll meet.
Frightening spectres - Low overall hp, but they bite...and while their bites don't seem to poison or para, they still lag, and that's almost as bad.
Juju statues - These will be the bane of your Crypt existence. They have all the voodoo prowess of Jambalaya Jake ,but there's about 50 of them...they will use that voodoo to curse, weaken, slow, and even silence you, and to make it even WORSE (yes, it gets worse) they can do this to you whenever they feel...even if you are in combat with another mob.
Gremlins - Much more of an annoyance than a real threat, they have Detect Invisibility, so they'll form against you, and have many immunities (necro, lightning, frost, energy). They have no good loot, so it's best just to flee from them before a juju statue comes in and silences you.
Groaning female spirits - These would not be too hard if they did not paralyze. But they do. And they will do so frequently. So, be very careful in your dealings with them.
Granite Gargoyles - Hardly worth mention. They are the only non-aggro mob here, and even if they were aggro, they would not pose any threat.
Dark elf lords - Aggro, occasionally invis, they form and are adept spell casters. Be wary of spell affects they may land on you, even if you are just fleeing from them.
Pit fiends - These are really annoying. Their attacks are a bit stronger than the rest of the mobs in the area, plus they breathe fire, which also stings. They form, making them troublesome to dispatch, as well.
Also of particular interest down in the Crypts is talk of a strange old hermit who offers passage to a place where one can gain fabulous wealth. He speaks of his need of a multi-faceted decanter, perhaps you should pack one with you so you could barter for information, or more....
A pair of admantite boots
These boots are not a bad choice, even though most people will opt for the focault boots at this level. However, if you have strength and vitality maxed, and either don't want or need levitation, these would be a most excellent choice of footwear.
A copper belt
Having invisibility on call is always handy. A lot of first class (and even above) aggros can't see invis, allowing those with this spell to slip by unmolested. While this item is almost identical to the Belt of Shadows, It pops more often, and is thereby easier to get for the higher levels
A ring of wizardry
Quite possibly one of the best rings in Alyria. Great SP boost in the 65-75 range, 1-2 points of Agility, and 1-3 points of Knowledge. Saving versus rod can also be quite handy for lower level PK ,and you can get 6-9 points of it from one ring. And to think ,you can double these stats by wearing two! Nice eq for all levels. Note that while the ring comes with 7 taints, it VERY rarely comes with all stats, and as such, has to be forged for full affect.
An iron club
Probably the best mace choice for third class....no bonus or spells, but respectable damage and ease of procuring make it a good weapon for practicing with. (I.E. working on betters)
An obsidian pitchfork
Considering the lack of variety in the pike profession, any pike could Probably considered a good thing. That aside, the strength bonus on this particular pike is just peachy....perhaps a perfect pick for any proficient pike practitioner.
A wand of frost
This is a weapon of choice for first class duelists, and you can probably see why. A decent spell cast at a decent level. And easy enough for a third or fourth classer to get in quantity. Of course, it has plenty of non-PK applications, just be warned that frost is one of the stronger fragging forces in MM.
A feathered Juju Staff
Definately a handy piece of eq in second class, if you aren't a combo of classes with dispel magic.Notice, though, that it has the no remove flag, which means you'll need a remove curse spell or two to avoid it troubling you later.
A wand of withering
Energy drain is a very interesting spell. It damages hp/sp/st all at once...with a little multiply magic, this could be a powerful item indeed.
A circlet of dulled gold
There seems to be a trend among players to take their priest class later in their path. This item makes these peoples live a little bit easier. Especially in Verity/PG, where a poison trap can really ruin your day, this orb will take the place of 10 antidote potions.
A shimmering sapphire scroll
Getting anything worth nearly 10,00 gold for free is nice...but for lower levels, it's a whole heck of a lot easier just to buy it in New Rigel
A strange dark crystal
The damage on these aren't wonderful, but hey, anything that blows up is a good thing, right?.
A pair of ioun stones
This is the most potent explosive you can get in first class...while not obtainable by a first classer, perhaps one could get a nice hero friend to grab a few for you. Oh, and one warning...they frag rather easily, so do be careful with them.
A small crystal vial
A lightweight, and rather stylish drink container for my fellow vampires out there.
A bloody chicken carcass
Ok, let's face it....poisoned food is an unequaled party favor.
It seems appropriate to set this part aside from the rest, as it deserves special attention. One mob popping with a dozen different items, most of which are in high demand. We'll take a closer look
The statue of Vandyne is placed in the opening room of the crypts. He is there to warn adventurers of the dangers ahead, and dissuading them to enter. To help him defend against evil, mighty Vandyne gave him many items of power...a greedy adventurer may be able to pry an item or two away, if he were wily enough...
Please note that all White Marble gear shares one trait: it tends to frag easily. Now, this does not make it bad eq, but you'd better make extra-double-mega-sure that you keep it away from fire, ice, lightning or acid at all costs! Protect your investment!
An orb of white marble
War banners are much better lights, and a fragment of meteorite gives much better stats. It does, however complete the WM set.
A mitre made of white marble
Decent AR, and the bless spell, which will provide you with a few svs, not a bad choice at all.
A beautiful amulet made of white marble
Probably the most sought after piece of WM eq, as I suppose you can see why. Great HP boost, plus an extra ar all the way around. It's very tempting to make this a permanent piece of eq, but they frag faster than any other piece of eq here, except maybe rings, so take caution.
A white marble breastplate
I found this to be a nice piece of leveling eq in second class, as you can get it forged up to 2 Vitality, plus the nice little hp and sp bonuses.
A belt made of white marble
This is actually one of the better pieces of WM gear, in my opinion, since I've seen them go up to 4 Vitality before. Absolutely great for leveling, or even everyday use to get that HP regeneration up. (Again, beware fragging)
A bracer made of white marble
This is a great piece of first class eq. The strength bonus can go as high as 3, and until level 60, there's nothing better. And really, even at 60, you just get something as good, not better. It's interesting to note I have actually never seen one of these frag, although I'm sure they can.
A bracelet made of white marble
This is perfect gear for Barbarians, the only fighter class without the riding skill to boost their accuracy. Though, any class can benefit from increased accuracy, of course.
A pair of white marble gauntlets
While saving petri has its uses, most of these occasions will be in later levels where you will want to use your hands armor slot for something else. The AR is good for first class, however, so they are not completely useless.
A beautiful white marble ring
This is a great piece of WM eq. Any first classer without shield will get good use from the extra 3 AR. Although there is the 'ring of shielding' this gives a small ST boost, plus is not made of iron, making it useable among Alyria's Faerie population. Also of note, it's one of the few first class items that give a Knowledge boost, which will be well appreciated by any Mage or Cleric.
A shield made of white marble
Another nice piece of WM gear. No stat increases, but vitals do, plus extra AR for the whole body. Fragile, yes, but good for leveling.
A pair of white marble leg plates
Another nice piece of accuracy eq, good if you don't need any extra stats that you could get from leg wear of a comparable level. (daemonskin leggings, golden leg plates).
A sword made of white marble
I guess this might be useful after multiclassing... but I would personally opt for something with stat boosts, since the leveling is fast and furious so early after multi.
An enchanted emerald scroll
Awaken. Nice spell. But cheap to buy elsewhere.
A shimmering white cloak
While this isn't exactly white marble eq, it does go nicely with the set. It is unequaled for shoulder protection in first class, with only the wizard cloak being better overall. But for PK, I would go with a shimmering white cloak every time.
After disregarding the warning of Vandyne, and fighting your way through the monsters of the crypts, you come upon an old man who can only be the hermit of rumor. After a brief introduction, he launches into tales of fame and fortune, and a place where these are readily available to a hard-working adventurer. He explains a magical rite that could transport you there, but it all goes way over your head...you catch the end of his speech, and learn he can preform the rite with a multi-faceted decanter. You nod to the man and promise to return with the item, in hopes of exploring the wondrous place he described to you. As you make your way back to the entrance of the crypts, a dark wave of energy flows throw the room...you turn back to see many eyes, glowing red in the darkness staring back at you.
You begin your sprint, back to the hallowed central chamber, the only area the power of goodness could penetrate. As you pass into this magical room, you slam the crypt doors behind you, hoping to stave off the invading force. The cries of the evil hoarde come clearly through the door, and you know that dallying here would be unwise. You turn towards the exit of the crypts, only to see the light at the end of the tunnel eclipsed by a dark shadow. You hear a thud as something unseen hits the floor, and the echoing of an object sliding slowly down the hallway - moving towards you - then out of the darkness, the head of Vandyne's guardian rolls, coming to a halt at your feet, with its mouth gaping open in terror. You look back into the hallway, only in time to see the lurking shadow consume your vision as your senses leave your body...
