Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite: Difference between revisions

The quest is officially started by talking to Blurg, who upon learning about your situation (if the player chooses to share), summons his ally Omeluum to consult. Talking to Omeluum and agreeing to its plan to brew the potion will kick off the quest.     

To complete this quest, the player will have to travel to the [[Arcane Tower]] per Omeluum's instructions to obtain the items they need. However, it is also possible to both acquire {{SmRarityItem|Tongue of Madness}} and {{SmRarityItem|Timmask Spores (Ingredient)|Timmask Spores}} without entering the tower. For Timmask mushrooms, approaching them in turn based mode and picking up the spores before they disappear works. Tongue of Madness can be bought from {{CharLink|Derryth Bonecloak}}.

===Dealing with the defences===

The tower is guarded by automated {{CharLink|Arcane Turret|Arcane Turrets}}. They are automatically hostile and will shoot at your characters whenever they're in sight-line and in range - there is a targeting indicator that will tell you this. Anything that breaks this line of sight indicator - i.e. solid obstacles - will effectively stop the attacks.  

Automated defences do not trigger a turn-based combat encounter - rather, they will shoot and attack in real-time exploration mode as well. It is recommended that you consider turning on turn-based mode to make movement and controlling your party more manageable.   

*'''Brute force''' - the cannons can be directly damaged and rendered inoperable. Take note of its resistances and {{DamageColor|Lightning|Lightning}} vulnerability.

*'''Override''' - the cannons can be shut down once the player gains access to the 1st floor and restores power.

*'''Running by/Stealth''' - this is best done in turn-based mode as it'll allow the player to move cover-to-cover between turns.

Note, cannons that have previously been rendered inoperable (by brute force) but not destroyed can actually be revived by the Anti-Magic aura, by walking into and then out of its range. You'll see the circuitry on the cannon re-ignite when this happens. This is something to take note of and to be careful of if you're combining the brute force approach with the Anti-magic approach afterwards.

=== Navigating the tower ===

* Platforming on the fungus growing on the South side of the tower (can access the 2nd floor, and the exterior of the 1st).

If the player has access to flight (such as the {{SAI|Fly}} spell, or the [[Circle of the Moon|Circle of the Moon Druid's]] [[Wild Shape#Wild Shape: Dire Raven|Dire Raven form]]), they can completely bypass the need to restore the tower's power. However, this means they'll give up on 25 Experience and potentially [[Inspiration|inspiration points]] for the [[Guild Artisan]] background.

 

 

[[File:Hole.jpg|thumb|The hole which serves as an alternative entrance to the first floor. ]]To fully explore the tower, the player's goal would be to enter the locked 1st level of the tower - as the generator used to restore power to the tower is located there. To access this floor, the player must first get to the bottom of the tower.  

 

 

To restore power to the tower - which will activate the elevator and deactivate the automated defences - the player will need to bring Sussur Blooms to the Power Generator. Sussur Blooms can be found at the Garden just outside the door, or from the tree at [[Dread Hollow]].

 

Interact with the Power Generator to bring up the crafting menu and use it to combine the machine with the Bloom. A cutscene should play where the tower comes to life, and you will gain 25 [[Experience]] and an inspiration point for the [[Guild Artisan]] background. With the power restore, you can now navigate up and down the tower via the central elevator.

 

====The first floor (greenhouse) ====

This floor can only be accessed by the restored elevator, by flying, or by platforming on the exterior fungus on the south side of the tower. This is a level that contains all the mushrooms required for the quest. Once the quest items are obtained, all other actions at the tower are strictly optional (see [[Arcane Tower]] for further area information).

 

Optionally, the party can also find more {{SmRarityItem|Tongue of Madness}} and {{SmRarityItem|Timmask Spores (Ingredient)|Timmask Spores}} in the basement. This room can only be accessed by using the restored elevator with the [[Guiding Light]] equipped, or by flying.

 

Obtaining the Guiding Light requires visiting [[Bernard]] on the top floor of the tower. It can be looted from him, or he will place it on a nearby table after the player speaks the following commands to make Bernard passive, then grant the ring:

 

* ''"Or art though friend, a rescue from my lonely wake?"'' - {{SmRarityItem|The Roads to Darkness}}, found on the third floor bedroom.

* ''"How can I trust? How will I ever know? / How can I show myself, my darkest me?"'' - {{SmRarityItem|Threadbare Book}}, found on the first floor greenhouse.

 

When the player approaches the elevator with the ring equipped, an additional "Basement" button will appear at the controls, granting access to this secret room.

Once the player returns to Omeluum, it will brew the potion as promised, and attempts to extract the tadpole from the player.

If the player passes a passive {{Ability check|Insight|10}}, they can learn that Omeluum expects doubt and fear from them. If asked if the experiment is dangerous, it will tell them that it does not know what the potion will make them see or feel, but that they may become a danger to themselves. The illithid will however reassure them that the potion won't kill them.

 

Once Omeluum starts psionically probing, the tadpole will resist, and the character must choose whether to attempt a save, either with a {{Saving Throw|INT|dc=10}} or {{Saving Throw|Wisdom|dc=10}}. If the character fails the saving throw, they gain the {{Cond|Tongue of Madness}} condition for 5 turns, which gives them [[Disadvantage]] on [[Charisma]] checks.

The character must finally attempt a second save, this time with a {{Saving Throw|Wisdom|dc=15}} or {{Saving Throw|Intelligence|dc=15}}. The character is Dazed for 5 turns if they fail this save, which gives them disadvantage on Wisdom and Intelligence checks.{{note|This is {{em|different}} from the {{Cond|Dazed}} condition caused by attacks like the [[Pommel Strike]] weapon action.}}

Regardless of what saves were successful, Omeluum is unable to extract the tadpole. Rather, its intervention has caused the tadpole to become stronger. This results in the character that drank the potion gaining the [[Survival Instinct]] power.{{note|In the Early Access, the character instead gained the [[Repulsor]] [[Tadpole Power]]. At this point, the quest will be marked as complete.}}

 

As it was unable to help, Omeluum will offer the player its {{SmRarityItem|Ring of Mind-Shielding}}, though it would not part with it completely for free.

The player can either buy this ring or convince Omeluum to give it to them in several variants: by {{Ability check|Persuasion|15}} (a githyanki Tav will have an unique dialogue line for this option), {{Ability check|Intimidation|20}}, or proposing to describe the inner structure of a [[Nautiloid]]. The latter demands either an {{Ability check|Intelligence|10}} which has an [[Advantage]] if the player has read a relevant [[Rune Slate]] while being on the ship in the [[Prologue]], or a {{Ability check|Performance|10}}.

During ''Early Access'', the player's options included:

* Intimidate Omeluum - requires succeeding a DC 20 [[Intimidation]] Check. Omeluum will not turn hostile in case of a failure.{{note|If the player has failed their previous saves during the extraction process, they can choose to leave the conversation and allow those effects to pass prior to attempting the skill checks to obtain the Ring of Psionic Protection. In Early Access, it seems that the player is free to try these checks to get the ring for free as many times as they want.}}