Music - Earth Tongue, kinda like Castle Rat

 Wonder who was first. Oh wow, I see stuff from 2018, 2019, they must be the first… but these older ones don’t seem very DnD inspired so maybe not… they must be switchimg their focus for uoutube. ? 

Check out Earth Tongue’s videos-

• Nightmare
• Dungeon Vision

Castle Rat has more consistently good music I think, love all their stuff. But Earth Tongue has some interesting stuff, especially the videos.  

G3 D&D Results So Far 11-17-2025

Over the weekend we finally got to play a little again. 

https://www.tenkarstavern.com/2017/04/pre-order-against-giants-walkthrough_11.html

He had finished 75% of the first level. Had the northern middle area still to go, rooms like 19-21 or something. 

Hellhounds did a ton of dmg with their fire breath... had 6 low HP and I think 4 medium to high HP Hellhounds. The hellhound keeper and wife got stuck with the restraining energy bow and taken out. But by the end, I think the Warlock had like less than 10 HP, the Barbarian was down to 1/3 (?), the druid down to 1/4(?), and the fighter might have been 1/2 down. I'm definitely guessing/estimating.

**LOOT: He found a cool cloak of "turn into a Hellhound". Is it slightly cursed? I'm going by the 1e rules mostly for it. And there was a sword... 5e calls it a cursed Sword of Vengeance which means it forces you to keep attacking whoever just did dmg to you and worse:

•  +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls 
• Curse. This sword is cursed and possessed by a vengeful spirit. As long as you remain cursed, you are unwilling to part with the sword, keeping it on your person at all times. While attuned to this weapon, you have disadvantage on attack rolls made with weapons other than this one.
• In addition, while the sword is on your person, you must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw whenever you take damage in combat. On a failed save, you must attack the creature that damaged you until you drop to 0 hit points or it does, or until you can't reach the creature to make a melee attack against it.
• You can break the curse in the usual ways. Alternatively, casting Banishment on the sword forces the vengeful spirit to leave it. The sword then becomes a +1 weapon with no other properties.

Oh, and I threw in 3 fire spouts [holes/vents in stone with fire coming out randomly] where he was fighting so he had to stand away from them... only got hit once for very little, but made it interesting. 

The kid locked up in the room for a short rest, meanwhile he put an alarm on the other door and the bat was watching. When a giantess peaked out and got a guard from another room, the kid quietly [we joked about how quiet a dinosaur could be] turned into a stegosaurus and leaned on the door so it couldn't easily be opened. The two giants were like, hey, what is going on... then left him alone for a bit (he finished the short rest, i thought the dino idea was great). 

So then the fight happens, I made it something like 1 male firegiant, and the 5 others had hill giant stats. He kept them at bay and did pretty well. At the very end, 1 more male fire and 2 with hill stats came from behind and hit the druid, knocking him out of concentration for CALL Lightning (which he had planned to use if enemies stuck in). Druid turned into an earth elemental, went through the stone wall, and attacked the last giant in that left room. Somehow the giants were all pretty quickly nuked, and the good guys came out fine. 

All in all, they lost a ton of HP. Giants just hit hard, and have waaay too many HP in 5e. I say that, they are basically balanced well against the resilient 5e characters, but I still don't like it that the giants are so scary compared to monsters the way things are playing out. It wasn't horrible though. 

Next time, the next level down. I have no idea what's gonna happen, need to read up again!

AD&D Cube of Force, Vale of the Mage

 Reading up on that 1989 AD&D 2e module for Greyhawk.  I like the set up.  

The art on the front is weird, I kind of like it though. 1989. The drow lady is ... kind of witch-like with the frizzy hair and that expression, not very friendly looking. I'm used to seeing the drow being made overly-model like, I think, so this one kind of threw me off. And you have to remember, they are super evil of course. Greyhawk, that old original world... I don't know a ton about it per se, but it is interesting. 

Main BBEG -

• The Exalted One, Jason Krimeah, The Black One
• 19th lvl human mage
• Potions longevity, rly 80, looks 40. 
• More neutral than evil now apparently, he has mellowed, but still can turn truly evil when "needed". The people of the vale see him as not evil I guess. 
• Secretly wants to turn into a Shade before death
• Rt hand person is a drow chick, see below
• Weirdly the elves, gnomes, humans in Vale like him.  He protects them. 

Other Badguys -

• The First Protector, Tysilin San the Drow lady (front cover art). 
• I read more on her... she's a strangely sentimental sort of drow is what I gather. Her family was killed (probably) and she was taken in by a mage (fell in love with him I think), who eventually died. She then more recently fell in love with the Dark One and is his right hand person. She sort of "likes" the other races in the vale or something, and they accept her despite her race. Not at all like Salvatore's super mega evil Drow. I wonder if this was TSR trying to buy into the Drizzt craze (wait was it a thing in 1989?) and this lady could have more accuratgely been a regular elf that happened to be evil or something. Updated 11-18-2025.
• Necromancers x 3 (but 6 friends total, … 3 are non necros, but ppl dont know that). They are against The Exalted One. Something like, they are super greedy for power... and Jason K. is just good with staying in the Vale forever. The story around this seems to makes sense, too, I like the write up. 

Magic Items - Made by the Black One

• Potion of Intensity - max casting for 3 rounds, then can't cast for 3 rounds. Like max dice roll on heals. Max dice roll on fireballs, etc. 
• Gem of Musing - get back a single level 4 and lower spell, can use 3 x per day. Takes one hour to get back a spell.

Magic Items, not made by him, wow, they (it) exist in 5e too: 

• Cube of Force - wow. Look up the 2e version, incredible. 
• https://adnd2e.fandom.com/wiki/Cube_of_Force_(Magic_Cube)
• 
  
  

• Cool image is a die (dice) on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/listing/1875762828/cube-of-force-rotating-dice-unique-dnd, by these guys https://www.etsy.com/shop/DDdices

Magic Spells (New, by The Back One, The Exalted One) - 

• Unmask - 3rd level - reveals true, through polymorph, etc. 
• Reflection - 5th lvl - reflects harmful spells from level 1 - level 3 back (in 5e terms, I'd say cantrips too). Also reflects magic and non-magic missiles. 
• The Exalted Eye - 7th lvl - like a super Wizard Eye. For spying mostly. 

Absolum - Arcanas & Throwables - ranked for casual to advanced

 Absolum Arcanas & Throwable items, ranked for casual to advanced. 

Realized some are easy to use, some are better for boss fights, some are more advanced. Let's start putting this together... might take a few revisions to get right. 

Can use these videos for reference on all arcanas:

• All, including in the air: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9ecJahiq7s
• Brome Only: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPbenew4Sz4

Notes, random:

• When I say things can launch them into the air, I'm pretty sure this only works on normal-sized monsters, not giant bosses. 

Draconic Ascent. Liking this one more and more. Look, it's a dragonhead top right. 

Arcanas - Effectiveness from Casual to Advanced (A work in progress)

• Casual Friendly (doesn't mean bad at advanced stages though- just simpler, easier, or more user-friendly in a tight spot)
• Arcanas that push the enemy back are easier to use b/c they are good for emergencies. Let me list some I think do that and some that definitely do. 
• ? Brome's Wrath Beam, maybe, probably pushes them away. ?
• Galandra's Necrotic Wave - the big projectile thing can be done from a safe distance and I'm pretty sure it can be done at the last second (well most can be done at the last second for a clash, but this is just a lot safer since it is from a distance). Pushes them away. 
• Galandra's ... spear looking thing where she rushes fwd and lances them. 
• Karl's Javelin bullet.
• Karl's Rifle Bullet (does good pushback) and Dragonbreath flame (caveat: both are much more safe if you have the heat seeking shells, they'll hit monsters sneaking up behind you frequently, which is nice b/c the dragon flame won't let you turn around)
• Karl's Dragonbreath, note that in Co-op it is incredible, locking random monsters in a stunned state, your ally can go wail on them or attack monsters that are sneaking up on you. 
• Ones that are just easy to hit with, but may not protect you
• Brome's Rage Barrage.  Simple, hits stuff automatically. But doesn't exactly protect you. 
• 
  
• Galandra's Reaper Cyclone, easy to hit with... might leave you in a bad spot though. Can be hit out of. 
• Karl's Grenade (depends on spacing)
• 
  
• 
  
• Medium difficulty to use
• Ones that keep them at bay. Like create a barrier or similar in a larger area. 
• Brome's Wall of Contempt... to a degree, to separate half the battle field or block ranged attacks. But not as easy for emergencies. 
• Karl's Grenade, pushes 'em back if positioning is fine/correct/convenient at that moment.
• Karl's Blast bullet... it hits a big fat area in front of you like a shotgun, and pushes them back pretty well, launching them into the air. 
• 
  
• Also ones that can be safe, but your character might end up landing in a dangerous spot. 
• Brome's Spiteful Tempest... the twisters. Can be kind easy, but then you might end up surrounded if you aren't careful. Also does pretty low damage it seems like. 
• Update: But good against giant bosses, especially if you get Arcana Mastery. 
• Galandra's Dark Helix, the spinning arc through the air one (looks like the upgraded skill air spin). 
• Ranged but not super safe b/c no real pushback
• Karl's Firestorm, rain fire from the sky thing. I avoid it, seems like monsters just walk through it, huh? 

• Higher difficulty to use
• Fancy and hard
• Brome's Doom Orb, the ball that juggles. Kinda bad in a tight situation, it might never really push them back by itself, you gotta get the enemy in the air first. Looks fancy cool if you know juggle combos. 
• Update: It technically will launch them and push them away, I guess my problem is it is a narrow thing that will allow other monsters to swarm you. Or maybe whatever I used it against somehow got out of it ... needs more study. See here. 
• Update 11-20-2025 - Issues
• Noticed that red armored guys just walk through it. I think even the big OwlBear looking monsters that pound the ground will just walk through it (won't they? maybe not if they are low on HP or something... need to experiment more). 
• Vs. undead king, it sucks... you would need to predict when he's going to stay put. Maybe somebody else can do that, not me. 
• I basically got my butt handed to me using this on a run where they spawned a lot of red glowing armored enemies. Way not good enough for that at my skill level (somewhere above casual but below serious). 
• Update 11-20-2025 - One good thing
• It's good against the HeadCrab type monsters from the undead Yeldrim area, especially when they are bunched up from spawning from a Big brawny Lizardman. 
• Brome's Sigil of Hate. I almost never hit with it... somebody out there is an expert with it I bet. 
•  Update 11-20-2025 - as often is the case, once you get the Arcana Mastery and it becomes kinda huge, it's much easier to use against certain monsters or groups of monsters. 
• Like for instance, the runaway and shoot you types like the Caterpillars and little wraith ghosts. They bunch up far away, just nuke em with this. 
• Tricky for emergencies, but boss killers
• Brome's Wall of Contempt with Arcana Master (3 walls) and with an Ultimate (you get 3 Bromes... duplicates, so is that 9 walls?) is crazy broken good against the final final end boss. 
• Sidenote: for that super rare trinket item that says use an Ultimate to kill 5 mobs at once, you get a star back... how's that work for Brome since his duplicates lasts for like 15 seconds? I tried it once and it didn't work. 
• Galandra's Dragonic Ascent (SF Dragonpunch, lol). It is useful in combos... not super hard, but you need to be aware of how it functions. Then again, the combos are so easy to make on the fly... it's not that hard, which makes this game fun. BUT, I think it is hard to use against mobs of monsters (I had a note that it's fairly safe in practice... time will tell), it's more a boss or mini boss or big monster killer. Combo combo, do the Draconic Ascent, then combo (probably with Skill in the air) on the way down. Moving this to the boss killer section. 

Arcanas - Fun Factor; why not discuss this?

• Brome - most are fun. Let's use a 5 point rating. 
• 4/5 Barrage is just super convenient, and so it is fun. Sidenote, I think it's stationary orb will hit big bosses that are up high, need to check more on that. 4 outta 5. 
• 3/5 Tempest is easy and twisters look cool. Doesn't damage much tho. 3 outta 5. 
• Update: it's very good against giant bosses, like the final final end end boss. Especially if you get the Arcana Mastery upgrade. 
• 4/5 Wall. Nuking the boss put it over the top for me. But it is kinda lackluster in some mass monster situations. And not flashy enough sometimes... getting the enemy to bounce on it once is kinda boring. Seeing them get stuck above it for 5+ bounces is hilarious though.
• 3/5 Beam. Easy, hits a lot of baddies, looks great, but I dunno, it just doesn't seem as fun so far. 
• 1/5 Sigil of Hate. The big AoE on the ground. Maybe I need to give it a chance, but since I miss with it 90% of the time, I am downvoting this puppy. 
• 2/5 Doom Orb. I usually suck with it, but I think I have once or twice gotten some fun juggle combos. I know it has potential, so if I got better at it I'd give it a higher rating. Personal opinion, 2/5. 
• Galandra - quite possibly all of hers are fun. Let's see if I forgot something.
• 4/5 Dark Helix. Spinny into the air, yeah, fun against bosses for sure, and I enjoy it vs. masses of monsters. 
• 5/5 Draconic Ascent. At first I doubted, but once I got into comboing with it, I just love it. 
• 3/5 Necrotic Wave. It was the first one I was drawn to, but I haven't found a way to combo well with it, so it's kinda just fine. 
• 4/5 Phantom Impale. When I'm in a mood for skewering, and if I have some options that make arcana activations safer (big waves, skellies)... seems fine to me. The fact that it could leave you surrounded somehow adds to the danger/skill of it, so that brings it up a notch. 
• 4/5 Reaper Cyclone is pretty fine and definitely great fun when going CoOp and you are in a mix of a million monsters. 
• 2/5 Revenge Claw. I dunno, I've just never been a sucker for these counterhit things. It's fine if you like that obviously. 
• Karl - all are pretty fun, but if you are relying on Reload for mana and playing ranged keepaway it can get a little too slow paced. 
• 4/5 Blast. I think it's probably a combo machine, need to rewatch that semi-speedrunner fellow. 
• 5/5 Dragonbreath. I'm biased b/c of CoOp, but it is darn fun there when the kidd is using it.
• 4/5 Grenade. It's always fun blowing stuff up. I really got a kick out of the upgraded Arcana Mastery version of it. 
• 3/5 Rifle. Fine, but not special.
• 2/5 Firestorm. Might be biased, but seemed too niche. 
• 4/5 Javelin. Just too important when you are in the mood for slow paced necromancer style play, where you sit back, reload, send out swarms of skellies, and just feel like playing keepaway. Then again like I said, it can be a little too slow paced sometimes. 
• Cider - Going to have lower ratings. I haven't been playing her enough, but hers are obviously weird as heck. I'll give it a shot for now. 
• 1/5 Marionette. Can be useful  sometimes but not exactly fun. 
• Probably fun if you get Arcana Mastery b/c it auto-Clashes 
• 4/5 Spidermine. It's more like a 3.5 out of 5 for me, but it's probably the most fun for me. Blowing stuff up, you know. I use it at the end of combos. 
• 3/5 Flying Shredder spinning blade thing. Juggle combos look interesting, but it is lackluster often. If you get infinite mana somehow (mana bounce plus the option to give you mana back when her arcanas fall apart, you can get a million of these flying around and then I might give it a 4.5/5). 
• 1/5 Rising Drill. An homage to Cammy in SF I'm sure, but like, it feels like it never hits b/c you have to be right on them. Bad vs. masses of monsters, right? 
• 2/5 Tinker Blade. The throwing knves that bsically has no pushback. Well, I should give it a chance.. maybe. Seems like it's just a combo ender is all. 
• 3/5 Kinetic Gear. I kinda like this one for some reason... it auto-aims, right? 3.5/5 maybe for me. 

Throwables

• Simple to use
• axes
• rocks
• Big AoE hitting breakable magic things... like 
• Water (giant tidal waves), the pushback matters
• Urns of spectral hands from the ground (no pushback tho, eh?)
• Rotten spoiled Meat. These are like the BEST dang things, but you never get very many. They stunlock enemies and give you tons of time to reposition or do more damage. 
• Medium
• knives... passes through, no pushback really. 
• auto pilot magic things that break on the ground... like
• skeletons
• brambles that attack
• rose turrets that attack (wait, are there breakables that do rose turrets?)
• Harder
• the pink eyeball thingies you get in Yeldrim. Best to aim carefully, then unload several all at once. 
• Some of the magic things that land and break. Some are hard to aim. 
• lightning
• wind
• fire

Absolum, arcanas and antiboss

Arcanas

 Brome’s Wall of Contempt plus Arcana Matery plus triple via Ultimate is a final final boss destroyer.  It his a big area and can nuke. 

Galandra’s first Arcana, the dragon uppercut thing, is great against bosses.  Combo up then on way down hit a Skill.  So safe and hits a big area, bigger than you’d expect. BTW, can be used in the air, hits down. I smell long combos. 

Karl’s rifle Bullet with arcana mastery and heat seeking shells is incredible. 

Rituals

-Galandra dive kick is awesome against the undead elf queen boss. Keeps you above the melee, and knocks her back (if she is outta spectral armor at least). 

Absolum - Speedrunner info (continually updated)

Aipsh, one of the first guys I found: 

• Absolum Speedrun 31.30 IGT (obsolete) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szxi9Byym8Y

Bragdras, one of First guys I found (looking up Jaroba stuff):  

• Absolum Galandra Full Run Jaroba Route  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MQP4wSOAoE&list=LL&index=59&t=804s&pp=gAQBiAQB
• Galandra Yeldrim route:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPOzdph24EE&t=3s

Mikwuyma, seems very technically capable, hates thorn daggers (OP),  but doesn't take it toooo seriously during these runs, which makes it better for learning how the game works. Also he states a lot of tidbits during play:  

• Things I learned from our friend here
• Timing on Clash is wildly different between the 4 heroes. I mean I kinda already knew, but he pointed it out during his runs... such that the final final boss Absolum the monster has weird clash things to worry about like
• when falling from sky, BROME has it easier b/c his Skill hits up high
• Noticed he did vs falling from sky using Karl yesterday so can be done… harder eh?
• when the final final boss charges you with water waves you have to time it sort of precisely, not really, but when switching between heroes it'll mess you up
• the waves on that class will count as many clashes
• You can Clash the annoying fire from the undead giant dwarf king, underKing. It will do gobs of damage to him if you do it right.
• He did it while jumping fairly closely in front of the boss, with Galandra. I've done it a couple of times, but when you miss, it SUCKS. I think doing it earlier does more dmg to him. 
• Cant OTG (off the ground) skeletons… at least vs galandra they don’t bouce up enough for the usual combo. 
• Spectral dragon fight seems to be one of hardest. Then again north all the way Grandery can be hardest w the super chicks, especially if red versions (armor version s). 
• The giant green goblin miniboss at the end of Grandery is easier to beat then his brother/son the giant red goblin miniboss. 
• I think The other route Grandery endboss, the goofy guy with the shield... is super rarely (maybe once only) sometimes replaced with either a giant undead guy or a creepy Lovecraft tentacle guy. But is that right or was that somewhere/something else? 
• Galandra, fresh file https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4iYd1m45fs&pp=0gcJCQMKAYcqIYzv
• Karl fresh file generic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSdMKwHmlAU&list=LL&index=12  
• Cider. His 200/50 handicap low dmg given hi-dmg-taken run with Cider. 
• Brome, same 200/50 handicap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKs-Ievb8gM&list=LL&index=11
• BTW, he did Streets of Rage 4, which is considered the precursor to Absolum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNsCSzrRTM0

Ben Auton - World record for the moment apparently guy: 

• Brome world record https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StYKsPqHiU8
• Brief comments as I scan through it... need to watch for real tho. 
• 4 twister super arcana, OK nice, i suspected it was important/good. 
• Oh, very important for the north shield guy miniboss. With ULTRA triple Brome. 
• he's doing a lot of dash/run combos early on... i suspected that was also important for Brome. Let's see if it stays that way. 
• 
  

Absolum - Combos (attack strings, think SF4+ style)

General

Combo damage guide, how it works, etc.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac06QlbcAyM&pp=ygUXYWJzb2x1bSBnYWxhbmRyYSBjb21ib3M%3D

What I noticed:

Seems like you don't want to do the "ender" on your typical hit hit hit hit combos. Instead, hit 1 to 3 times then switch to another type of hit, maybe a Skill hit, or a vertical dash away/dash back to them, or an air attack, or a dash/run into Tiger Knee (in the case of Galandra). 

Speaking of her dash(?)run into tiger knee, or Brome's run -> into combos... I often find myself constantly double tapping towards and getting a couple of hits in, then getting halfway through the combo, then continuing a run into new combo with them. With Brome, he scoops them up off the ground well doesn't he, when he run attacks? Gets them in the air, slows down when his tongue comes out... but seems like you can repeat pretty easily then get an OTG (off the ground) or off the wall bounce with at Skill Mana(?) Burst move (his big green energy bubble with Skill button). 

In general, the attack string combos are super forgiving and infinitely creative. You can almost do anything. The trick is how to accomplish certain things, you have choices to make if you think about it:

• Looking for damage output?
• Looking for safety, so you don't get hit from behind? Timing and positioning awareness needed. 
• Staying in the air for safety? Sometimes this is the best route. 
• Want a longer combo so 
• you get more mana back or  
• higher chance of crit/chain lightning/whatever
• Get that wind gale applied so they are up in the air longer (forever?). Seems like when they have the yellow spinnies around them from wind powers, you are much more open for longer combos AND safety. Don't underestimate those wind powers against hard monsters/bosses. 

 

Character attack combos

Galandra:

Start area https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mulyHC4K0Pk

Practical vs. regular enemies (speedrunner guys does a lot of these, like dash/run tiger knee into Skill): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIJfnYVqHbU&pp=ygUXYWJzb2x1bSBnYWxhbmRyYSBjb21ib3M%3D

Brome:

Note how his beginning Orb super is great for bouncing them up for longer combos, a la  Ed's slow ball super/ultra in SF5/6: https://youtu.be/QCTf9bV-QOE?t=63

Of course Brom also has Urien's mirror in SF3+ for those juggle bounce combos. 

Others to come:

 

Absolum - Ken’s 3rd kick sf3, speedrunner???

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHEs3uyuzdw&t=147s

Around time 2:00 he mentions Galandra has a move from Street fighter 3 third arrike.  The 3rd kick of Ken? Not sure which one he means, but I need to find out and add this to my big list. 

Wait i think i kind of see it.  Her regular standing hit hit hit… she does a roundhouse type kick with back turned to camera.  Looks a lot like Ken's HK (standing Roundhouse) in SF3... or maybe his standing far MK (medium kick) in SSF2T or SF3. 

So looking closer, it's probably more of a standard karate or Muy Thai type kick. Look at Ken's fingers splayed and arm fully extended. I don't think her arm ever fully extends. 

Conclusion: Close but no cigar. I definitely can see many influences from various versions of Street Fighter, but maybe this particular one is just coincidence and not quite and homage. 

See her move here at time 2:52 - https://youtu.be/CYXl1TKQTN8?t=232

See Ken's SF3 version of MK here: https://www.justnopoint.com/zweifuss/ken/ken.htm