Fan Mission: Iris by WellingtonCrab [TDM 2.10 Required] (2022/02/13)

[Dead Rat]

Thank you Wellingtoncrab - a very absorbing mission this one, there's just so much to explore and all beautifully presented. I'll be taking my time with this outing. 

[Wellingtoncrab]

@evildieselglad to hear you enjoyed it through to the end! Those two thing you mentioned are pretty common pain paints in the mission that should probably get smoothed over with a patch at some point.

Thanks for playing!

 

 

[LuxQSD]

Absolutely loved the mission. Took me over 6 hours to beat, which I think is a record in terms of length. Got a bit over 14k loot before I resorted to using cheats to find the rest. There's some stuff I went out of my way to scope out.

Spoiler

Some issues I noticed: The guard carrying a purse in Bottombridge was walking into a wall next to the stairs leading to the Heretic Lair. His pathfinding seems to have reset after I picked his pocket, but it was hard with the female thug having clear view of me from above.

There is a large hole in the ceiling with a view into the void on the top floor of the Burgage House. I'm surprised no one noticed it yet. It's right above the unfrobbable door.

There is another smaller hole with a view into the void on the rooftop of the house that contains the wine memento in the plague ward. It's on the slopped part of the rooftop going towards Grimkirk.

The bracelet hung from an arrow stuck in a wall on one of the white triangle secrets is a bit buggy. If I take the arrow first the bracelet disappears for me. I had to reload a save and take the bracelet first before taking the arrow.

I collected all the loot, but I was somehow missing 5g in the end. Some sleuthing around and it seems that one of the arrows in the shop still costs money after the shopkeeper has been knocked out.

That's for the bugs I encountered, now for some personal notes:

Am I the only one who connected the Hunter's Lodgings and the dead hunter in the mansion nearby? Am I to assume they owned the room? I saw a note in the lodging about the bounty for the Blackfriar Beast (with a dagger stuck into it, implying they were hunting for it) and assumed that the thing in the derelict mansion is the monster in question. I have attempted (in vain) to somehow cut off the beast's head for the bounty, but that didn't seem to be an option. What a pity. An idea to add this as a special loot item if you decide to update the mission maybe, unless I'm completely off track here.

I loved all the minor changes you made when you put on the glasses. Aside from showing you secret passages and loot stashes, you can see glowing symbols near useful objects such as keys, mementos and equipment. I've tried to look around with the glasses as much as possible and noticed these changes:

Painting in the Alienist's Office changes completely to another one.

Painting in The Ratman's mansion lobby shows him with a rat head.

Painting in Ursine manor shows her with a demon? head.

Most corpses in the Plague Ward have clothes on with the glasses equipped.

Enemies in the Plague Ward have better versions of their clothes equipped.

The statue in front of the protag's house has it's head back on.

Am I to presume that the glasses (in addition to weird void areas) are meant to show you how things are 'actually' meant to look like? Or maybe show you the 'truth', so to speak. Wonder if there's a deeper meaning to it aside from them being just a helpful tool. Just pointing all this stuff out because I love the attention to detail you did with them. Please do share if I missed any more major changes that the glasses show.

As for the story, I mostly agree with the other theories that the protagonist is dreaming everything that's happened in the mission. I do believe that either his daughter or (more likely) wife, died during the plague outbreak. As he got older, he might have succumbed to alzheimers or some form of dementia, possibly making him forget what his loved one even looked like. Due to his age, I severely doubt he's in the condition to jump around and do parkour. Therefore, he managed to get a dose of mandrasola (There is a vial of it right under his bed at the start of the mission) in hopes of recounting the face of his loved one through a dream. Noticed that the protagonist is pretty much confirmed to be a retired thief. He has stashed all his old equipment up in the attic at his house and left it there even after he left the plague ward. The no kill objective also mentions that he has trouble recounting his time as a thief, but he can at least try by doing the mission without killing anyone.

As for the alternate ending, my interpretation is that by collecting all the mementos, the protag has spent too much time dreaming and remembering unimportant details that he eventually dies from either an overdose of mandrasola or another symptom related to it back in the real world. Unless there's a deeper meaning to all the mementos and they relate to something bad he did in the past that he might regret and tempt him to commit suicide, I don't see another reason why you're not allowed to finish the mission normally by going back to bed during the alternate ending. I am to assume that during the normal ending, the protagonist wakes up normally and recalls what his loved one's face looked like, his objective complete as he lives the remainder of his days at least semi-content. Not a happy story no matter which way you slice it.

So that's my take on it. Tell me what you guys think. I might just be completely off in my theories, after all. Either way, this mission was top quality and I honestly can't wait to see what the author does next. Happy holidays!

 

[Wellingtoncrab]

@LuxQSD

Thanks for playing and the very useful bug reports! You're making some interesting connections I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere in the thread, so you seem like a very thoughtful player and I am glad in the end you enjoyed the mission.

Thanks again for playing!

[tib]

Iris is really an unbelieveble mission, but it need to be confirmed by some continued obstacles.

[Wellingtoncrab]

2 minutes ago, tib said:

Iris is really an unbelieveble mission, but it need to be confirmed by some continued obstacles.

Need some help or hints? Can try and nudge you in the right direction.

[The Elusive One]

Enjoying the mission, getting lost a lot though.

But I am stumped by the code for the Three Monuments Hall, probably something obvious that I'm missing.

So could I get some help please?

[Wellingtoncrab]

Certainly @The Elusive One!

 

Spoiler

Perhaps the name “Three Monuments” is in reference to something nearby.

Need more:

Spoiler

There are three monuments in hollowbrook (and one repeat in red rook) - perhaps they have a clue

Need more:

Spoiler

The plaques on the monuments reference a number and a position

 

 

Let me know if you need any more assistance.

[The Elusive One]

@Wellingtoncrab Thank you, got inside now and grabbed all that fat loot.

From what I can gather, I'm missing two mementos:

Spoiler

Widower's bottle and Mandrasola Root

Any chance you could tell me where to find those?

BTW, don't know if it's just me or or if it's a known problem. Footman Domingo is carrying a coin purse, that I can't frob in any way I've tried.

[Wellingtoncrab]

@The Elusive Onesure might be a little trickier to subtly hint but let’s try:

Spoiler

Bottle: look above south slough gate

Root: look below the stacks

I had not heard that bug before that I can recall and will take a look. Thanks for reporting it. 

[The Elusive One]

@Wellingtoncrab Thanks again, managed to find them to get the alternate ending.

[kovda]

I found a place that could be part of the "mysteries of the void".

Spoiler

At the top of Bridgebottom, there is a balcony that leads to the Quarantine Checkpoint. There is a lamp above the door from where you can climb up to the void.

Another comment...

Spoiler

I have no idea how to get one of the "mysteries of the void" without cheating. The scroll at the top of The Stacks. I had been jumping from the edge of the nearest roof for about an hour to reach the beam but I couldn't catch it. I even tried some crazy ideas like to walk up on arrows that I had shot on the side of the roof to form a staircase.

 

[Wellingtoncrab]

@kovdaOh yeah that’s a good one!

 

Spoiler

Regarding the one in the stacks it is really possible but rather boggling (all of these locations with one obvious exception are provided by players playing the map and discovering these areas). If you watch Klatremus’s play through on YouTube he has it on video if it is helpful.