Category:House Of Beasts

Long ago, when the kingdom of Midgaard was young, humans pushed eastward into the great forest, Wildwood. For the most part, the farmers who first started making the woods their humble home met with little trouble, perhaps the occasional wolf or bear, but nothing unusual. Then came Thane Alonso LeMans, head of House LeMans, viniculturists who learned the secrets of wine-making from the High Elves in the Ancient Days. LeMans began construction of a mammoth estate in Wildwood, to the east of the early farms. He hired scores of workers, even resorting to hiring Orcs, and began tearing down vast tracts of forest to make room for his vineyards. But the Guardians of the Forest were displeased with LeMans' arrogance, and the day his mansion was completed, all those inside, including all the workers and the guests, were transformed into hideous, unnatural beasts, resembling animals of the forest gone horribly wrong. It was this tragedy that led to the construction of the Great Wall a few years later. LeMans' mansion lies outside the Wall. What became of the inhabitants is largely unknown. None who have sought the House of Beasts have returned alive...

Level Range: 45-50

Builder: Dev

Directions

Walking route from Aelmon: 16e, [e], 2e, n, 2e, 3s, 3e, 3n, 2w, 3n, w, 2n.

Portaling point(s) suggested: guardian treant (note: there are a few and they wander).

Connections

The House is reached via the western edge of the Wildwood.

Navigation

Approaching from the Wildwood, you will encounter a narrow north-south path along a Natural Wall. An unlocked door in the the wall will lead you west into an Overgrown Garden which comprises of a collection of linked loops. The easternmost is the smallest and is closest to the door leading back towards the Wildwood, while the northern and southern ones lead nowhere but back to the central set. To the west a couple of entrances into the house proper can be found, both of which lead into a Dilapidated Dining Hall.

From here, a hall leads north and south and provides access to those sections of the House, while a larger hall leads west directly into the Grand Hall, which pretty much comprises the western wing. The southern wing is composed of a conservatory and a library, which links the small north-south hall with another very similar one which connects the south wing to the north via the westerly Grand Hall. The north wing is a mirror in physical layer out of the south, but is made up of a kitchen area and a small dining room. Various doors are shut between the rooms and prevent the mobs here from wandering overly, if at all.

From the Grand Hall, the second floor can be reached and the six room Audience Chamber. To the north of here, beyond a door lies some ruined guest suit, while to the south and also behind a door, is a Private Anteroom. To the east beyond here is LeMan's Private Chamber.

Adventuring

A popular place to visit to level solo or in groups for those on the last run up to Hero, House of Beasts can take a character all the way up Hero if needed, or at least level 50 and readiness for a DC quest. Some players prefer to abandon the area by around level 47 for easier Hero level areas though, to continue to make high xp kills. This is particularly true for high tnl races.

The Treants allong the wall are generally to be avoided as they have a tendency to use lightning breath, which not only hurts but also can damage your equipment.

The mobs in the garden are the easiest, with a couple of exceptions. Panthermen will be aggie (and indeed any mob in the area with the name man or human will be aggie), the mongrelman is somewhat harder than any other mob in the garden and may catch an unwary player off guard, and the scarab is poisonous.

There are a number of other poisonous mobs in the area, and generally they are to be avoided. The poisons here are probably stronger than anything you will have encountered so far at Lowmort and can quite easily kill an unwary player before they can get assistance. Poisonous mobs will have names which include some kind of poisonous animal - like a hawkcobra.

Inside the House itself, there are a lot more aggie mobs. Scanning frequently and leaving doors closed will usually mean that you can navigate around them, or ambush them instead of them you. The mobs on the first floor are generally weaker than those on the second floor, which are not only at the tougher end, but also more numerous, so as you gain levels you are more likely to get assists jumping into the fights.

Invis and move hidden both work well in this area and making use of them will ensure that you can pick and choose your targets in the House itself a lot more effectively, and also that in the event of your death you can CR yourself without any problem.

None of the mobs wear any gear (apart from Lemans at the end, and he not on the list of usual mobs for lowmorts to kill), and all except for the treants respond to they keyword 'monster', which makes fast stacked commands and fast slaying easy.