THE INEPT SORCERESS

Her name was Fiara. She had innate talent with fire magic, from the earliest age, but not even the best sorceress instructors could make progress with honing that talent. Fiara showed remarkable potential at random moments, drawing on her deep mana reserve one day, and shaping spells that students five years her senior had not even begun to study. The next day she might fail to complete the most basic cantrips or fizzle under pressure when put to the test.

One by one, the sorceress instructors gave up on her.

"She will never amount to a reliable sorceress. She is just too inept!"

"The other students have taken to calling her Fire Error. She is bullied and teased mercilessly."

"She can't even complete a firebolt spell without a tool in her hand to focus the mana. She's hopeless."

One day, Fiara was called into the office of the grand Witch. She knew this spelled the end of her training, that she would be put out of the school. She stood before the old woman's desk and bowed her head.

"Fiara," said the old Witch. "I understand that you've been turned out by all the instructors. You know that without a teacher to help you, you will not be able to complete your work here."

"Yes, my Lady."

"Nevertheless, I still believe in you. I have arranged for a new instructor for you, one more capable of helping you, wiser and more patient than our teachers here."

Fiara looked up. Hope flared in her eyes. "A new instructor?"

"Correct. I have asked this of her as a personal favor. She is a friend from my adventuring days."

Fiara's jaw dropped. "YOU used to adventure??"

The Witch cocked an eyebrow. "That surprises you?"

"Uh... no, my Lady. I just never thought about it. You're... so old. But you were young once, you had to be. ... I think."

The Witch stared at her, and Fiara began to sweat. She'd messed that up, hadn't she? Oh darn it. She should have shut up, yes. Shut up and listened. Too late now. Or was it? "Forgive me, my Lady. I meant no offense."

The Witch smiled. "None taken, my child. Now as for this new instructor, she lives far away. Are you willing to travel across the sea? To leave your comfortable home here and live a harsher life amongst a harsher people? For that is what you must be willing to do, if you are ever going to master your magical talent."

Fiara gulped. "I am willing to try. If... if you say this is best for me."

"I could be wrong, Fiara, but I think not. Our teachers here blame you for your failure, but I blame them instead. They do not understand your talents. They do not know how to shape one such as you. I believe you are a special student, in need of special instruction. What say you now? Do you commit yourself?"

Fiara breathed a deep breath and straightened up. "I do, my Lady. I trust you."

"Very well, then. Pack your things. You leave tomorrow... for the island of the Amazons."

WHAT'S IN A NAME

Fiara disembarked, stepping down onto the rickety dock. The sea was not for her! She had puked and puked until she wanted to die. The night of the storm was the worst. Anything would be better than that ship. She had an urge to kiss the ground, here in this strange land. She might choose to live here forever rather than endure another ship passage. She would shut up about that, though. She wanted to make a good impression.

An old woman, tall, lean and doubtlessly stronger and more agile than young Fiara, stood waiting at the end of the pier, where it met the land. This aging wonder was flanked by an escort of lean, young guards: women, amazons, all deadly seriously looking with mean stares and military posture. Fiara gulped. This was not going to be easy, was it? Oh darn it.

She advanced to meet the old woman. Only the gray of her long ponytail and the wrinkles around her eyes and on her neck revealed her age. Fiara, being petite, had to crane her neck to look up at this veteran. "My Lady Ani? I am Fiara, at your service."

The old amazon looked her up and down while the escort all stared straight, still at attention. "Well met, noble young warrior. I am told you shall be my next student champion."

Fiara giggled, unable to contain herself. "Champion? Me? You're joking, right?"

The amazon cocked a brow, reminding Fiara eerily of the Witch mistress. "Are you calling the grand Witch of the Sorceress Acadamy a liar?"

Fiara's jaw dropped open. Oh darn it. This was not going well. What on earth had the old Witch told these people? "Uh... no, my Lady. I-- do not understand. I have come here because... because I'm such a bad student, only you can help me. I hope."

Lady Ani shook her head slowly. "That is not what I have been told. Come. We will get you situated."

Fiara followed the amazon. The warriors took up positions around the two of them. The contingent marched straight into the jungle, following no apparent path. Fiara tripped and stumbled, got caught by thorns and vines. Bugs seemed drawn to her. The march seemed to drag on for days, but somehow it ended before sunset, mercifully. She knew her fate now lay entirely out of her hands, and she wondered what would become of her if she failed to fit in here.

They entered a compound surrounded by a fence of logs standing upright, with pointed ends. Outside these walls, the jungle was kept at bay -- mostly. Inside seemed almost comfortable, except for the heat of the day. Fiara was sweating and miserable in the humidity, after the long hike.

Lady Ani directed her to a thatched-roof hut in the school courtyard. "Check in with the Keeper of Records. You will be registered here as my student, and your course of studies shall be directed by me personally."

Fiara entered the hut. Inside sat an old man amidst shelves of scrolls, all kept sealed in large bamboo containers. "Ah, come in, come in, child," he said. "I have been expecting you."

Fiara stood before him. "I greet you, sir."

He waved a hand, indicating difficulty hearing. "Nice to meet me, you say? Eh? Well well. Yes yes. Nice to meet you, too, my child." He reached for a scroll tube, popped a rubber lid off the end. "Now then. Yes, yes. What is your name?"

"Fiara."

"Tree Frog?" He frowned. "No no, child. Not your nickname. Your given name. What are you called?"

She spoke more loudly. "My name is Fiara."

"Heinous Cholera? No, no, child. That isn't how it happened at all. I took ill, yes yes, but not with the cholera. I can't hear well at all now, you see." He scratched his head. "All right, I suppose we can use your nickname. What is it again?"

She sighed in exasperation. How can one deal with the deaf? She stamped a foot and yelled at him. "They call me Fire Error! Are you happy now??"

"Ah." He nodded slowly, then smiled. "Fire Arrow. Yes yes, that is a fitting Amazon nickname. I shall record you in the roster."

"WHY can't you hear me! I said Error! Error! I'm a FIRE ERROR with an E!"

He chuckled, then reached up, took her hand and patted it gently. "Spelled with a Y and an E. Very unusual, child, yes yes, very unusual. The children these days." He shook his head. "Always needing to set themselves apart."

On the scroll, at the bottom of a long list of names, he added one more. Fyre Errow. "So it is written, so shall it be. Yes, yes. Welcome, my child. You will make a fine Amazon. I can see it in your temper." He cackled again. "Go now, Fyre Errow. There is much for you to do before your instruction can begin."

THE BROAD SIDE OF A COTTAGE

No one called her Fiara. No one. "Fyre Errow", that was her name now. She was even growing used to it, after a fashion. She studied only an hour a day with the regular students. The rest of her time was spent in private lessons, mostly handled directly by Lady Ani, but some topics were covered by others.

Fiara had to learn how to use the bow, the javelin and the spear from the ground up. She had none of the cultural leanings of these people and did not take to these weapons easily. Even Lady Ani agreed that she would never become master of the javelin."You couldn't hit the broad side of a cottage, but you still must learn the proper techniques, to be well versed in the lore if not the wielding."

Fiara had objected once. "But I'm not an Amazon. I'm a Sorceress! Not even much of one of those."

Lady Ani would not hear of it. "One is not born Amazon. She must grow into it, learn it, earn it. Only the stoutest, bravest, most able warriors are bestowed the honor of being called Amazon."

The other students were much kinder to Fiara than her fellow sorceresses had been, but there was an air of condescension to their tolerance. They viewed Fiara as a privileged girl, not there on merit, rather only due to privilege of social station -- supported by someone in authority. Some treated her like a little sister and tried to help her along. Others shunned her as a peer but were polite. A few made a point of competing with her, always coming out ahead in vital matters like archery practice, wrestling, and certainly anything involving physical balance. Fiara fell on her rear end a lot during balance training.

"You lack for physical dexterity, young Fyre Errow, but your mind is sharp. Push yourself harder. You need not outperform others to succeed, but you must use force of will to overcome your handicaps. There will be time later for innovation and cleverness. Now is the time to train where you are weakest, so that your weakness will not show and you might hide it better behind your deeper strengths."

When the first season's trials came up, Fiara placed dead last in every category. The pity heaped on her by some of her well-intentioned sister students stung more than most of the few taunts she endured. Lady Ani continued to insist that her progress was ahead of schedule, though, so Fiara took heart and continued to give it her best.

The next season included the first fundamental lessons in mana manipulation. Fiara did not participate in these classes, and her sisters universally interpreted this as a sign she was not yet advanced enough. She longed to show them the truth, that she could dance circles around the whole lot of them with elemental skills and knowledge, but Ani exerted a calmness that Fiara had finally begun to absorb. This helped her better ignore the character flaws of her sisters and remain focused on her own study. Ani assured her that acceptance would come in time, but must be earned. Pride and a certain exclusivity were only to be expected from those striving to become elite warriors. Craving their approval was another matter. Ani taught her that the only approval that mattered was that of her teachers, in evaluating her education, her ability and skills.

Fiara managed to survive her first two years of training. By then, she was age fifteen. Once again she placed last in the physical skills competitions. Her archery was outdone by those even four years her junior. She got a failing grade on her spear trial and javelin throw, but she passed the theoretical end. Her dodging and avoiding skills were marginal at best. She had finally made a few friends among the sisters, though -- or at least acquaintances who were content to have her around.

SENIOR

At the end of each season, those among the students who were deemed ready by the elders were elevated to Senior status. Age did not matter, only ability and wisdom. Fiara was chosen to be Senior in her third year of training, which shocked most of her sister students. The instructors universally accepted this decision, though, so the students did as well, even though many did not understand. How could the very worst archer in the entire school be within a year's readiness of being named Amazon? This had to be more of her outlander privilege. She could not possibly have earned this status, could she? Even Fiara wondered about that.

Then Ani began to train her in the use of the bow as a tool of shaping mana. Fiara needed only three lessons to complete a course of study that her sisters would undertake the entire year. Some studied the use of the spear as a focus for magic, others studied the javelin. Fiara was excused from these courses due to her failing grades with those weapons. She would become a bow amazon and would meet the world as an Amazon archer.

Fiara spent the rest of her time training in passive skills. She proved unable to learn more about dodging, but she did pick up the essentials of tapping into the enemy's mana to highlight them even in darkest night, making for easier targets, and also offering her the ability to react more quickly to enemy ranged attacks. She learned the essentials of decoy use and even the most grand skill of all, that of summoning a Valkyrie spirit to fight for her. She would need much practice at that, and would not master the ability until she herself had proven her valor in combat. Valkyries fought only for the most elite Amazons! But Ani seemed to believe that Fyre Errow would be such a warrior... some day.

GRADUATION

As the end of the season drew near, the Seniors were pulled aside and told of their final challenge. Lady Ani addressed the assembled seniors at a private meeting in the jungle.

"There is a special obstacle course set up each year in the jungle for our senior students. You must each run this gauntlet, alone and unaided. The elders will use our magic to conjure decoys that will attack you. You will not be in physical danger, but if you are "killed" by the illusionary attacks, you will fail and must repeat your final year of study. There will also be targets of opportunity for you to engage. Each such target will be worth extra credit, and the more accurate your shots, or the more damaging your thrusts, the more credit earned.

"One among you will score highest. She will become the champion, the leader of this class of warriors, and you will be placed under her command."

The students murmured at this, whispering among themselves, speculating on which of the top archers or javelin throwers would be the most likely champion.

Ani went on, "Those of you who place high in the athletic competition amongst all the students, will earn the right to run the gauntlet first. None who come after you will witness your performance, but you will be allowed to see theirs from our observation posts. The atheletic trial begins in two days. When it is done, we will announce to you, privately, the order of running for the gauntlet and the time of the testing."

Ani looked them over. Twenty-three seniors, girls aged fifteen to nineteen, including Fyre Errow. "One final point. This is a combat trial, not a classroom or theoretical exercise. The enemy will not honor classroom protocols. There will be nothing at all "fair" or "sporting" about this gauntlet. As such, you are not restricted in your resources. You may take what you can carry with you, and you should use all your available wits, experience, and abilities to succeed. Dismissed."

Fiara fretted over her performance. How dangerous would this gauntlet be? Could she finish? Could she pass the test? Would they all laugh at her if she failed? She was sure to be running last, even if her work on her athletic conditioning bore fruit this year by allowing her to place ahead of the youngest students in some areas. She couldn't match any of the other seniors at archery, much less javelin throwing or spear fending or even distance running. They would all get to see her on her attempt, and that only added to the pressure.

The athletic competition went as expected. Fiara placed dead last again in all contests involving anything to do with agility, speed, or accuracy. She proved more adept this year at tests of endurance, though, even placing ahead of four other Seniors in the Distance Run. Her strength had also improved, but her total performance left her last in the running of the final challenge -- just as she knew it would.

The day of testing came, and she fretted with great nervousness, despite her best effort to remain calm. She could hear cheering from time to time, but had no way of knowing what it meant. Her sisters all ran ahead of her, vanishing from the waiting area one by one as they were called to run. Finally, she was the only one left, and the last minutes spent waiting were pure torture.

She went over her gear one more time: her hunter's bow, the only one she was dexterous enough to use; one quiver of arrows, 100 count; her light belt, equipped with five fake minor heals, for use when hit by the decoy attacks, and one true potion in case she hurt herself for real; two minor mana potions she had brought with her from home those years ago; one stamina potion and one antidote in her backpack; and her Snake's ring. She was as ready as she would be.

As the next-to-last Senior finished her Run, her sisters met her at the course's end with a grand cheer. Then they escorted her up into the observation area, where magical silence allowed them to speak amongst themselves without being heard from the outside.

Ani watched as the girl who held the scoring lead (with a respectable 68 out of 100 possible score) was being congratulated as champion by her two closest competitors. The three had been among the first five runners and had waited nervously to see if anyone would overtake them, for each would lose status in the final ordering of ranks if any of the later runners managed a grand performance.

Ani walked over to the trio. "What are you celebrating?"

The second place girl beamed a grin. "Lilla is our champion! She is going to make a fine commander, don't you think?"

Ani cocked a brow at them. "Isn't this premature? There is one runner left."

Lilla laughed. "Who? Fyre Errow? I almost forgot about her. You're right, of course, Lady Ani. We must show respect to our little sister. Come, my sisters, let us go and root for Fyre Errow. If somehow she finishes the course, that will mean a perfect success record for our class. If she can pass, then we'll have one more Amazon in our unit."

The others laughed and followed Lilla to the railing, where they could see out through the window to the course below them in the jungle.

Ani took up a spot near them, then watched as young Fyre Errow began her run. The girl passed the first test when she did not slay the rabbit sent scurrying across her path. Several of the runners had lost points there, either out of nervousness, or mistaking a difficult target for an enemy, confusing practice with the real thing. On the up side of that, they'd all be eating some fine rabbit stew tonight -- more than last year, even, although Ani could not remember the last time the testing-day stew had been vegetarian.

Fyre Errow came to the fork in the path and knelt to study the tracks. She chose the path leading to the Fallen encampment and Lilla gasped in dismay. "No, you foolish sister! You'll spoil our perfect record! Turn back, go the other way."

The second place girl said, "You went to the Fallen Camp. You were the only one. I ran first and I watched you, thinking you would be slain there, but you made it through."

Lilla nodded. "I took a chance, and it put me in the lead. But we're talking about Fyre Errow now. Do you really think she can survive that? With HER aim?"

The second girl sighed. "Well, you have to admit it's gutsy. I was too scared to try it. If you get killed, you fail and there goes a whole year, and you get left behind, becoming part of the next class."

Ani said, "In combat, if you die, you don't come back next year. This is more important than a test. It is a rite of passage, and there are more things being tested than ability to survive."

The girls had no response to that. They all watched in silence as Fyre Errow mowed down the illusionary Fallen Ones in the camp.

"She's using fire arrows for EVERY SHOT!" gasped Lilla.

"Wow," said the third girl. "She didn't miss at all."

The second girl nodded. "Even Lilla let some of them get away."

Lilla shook her head admirably. "That's a bold plan. I didn't think she had that much mana."

"She's got to be out by now, right? Lilla? What is she going to do when--"

"Shh! Just watch."

"Look at that!" cried the second girl. "She found a mana potion on the shaman!"

"Wow, I didn't know that was there."

"Ha! You didn't look."

"You didn't even go that way!" Lilla shot back. "You played it safe."

The second girl hushed up.

Fyre Errow advanced. She shot down the three skeletons with more fire arrows, then hunted down the straggler skeletons and slew them one by one, each with a perfectly placed fire arrow. Her magic was so strong, she seemed incapable of missing.

"No wonder she chose that nickname," said the third girl.

Lilla shook her head. "She didn't. The Keeper of Records chose it for her. That's what I heard."

"Well he must have known more than we did! Look at her go! What a brave sister!"

Fyre Errow survived the jabbing spear Amazon, the corrupted Paladin (although his Thorns were more problematic for spear runners than bow runners), the charged bolt sorceress, and the pair of zombies.

Lilla said, "Now she's coming up on the ambush. She's got to be out of mana by now, even with that potion she found. What's she going to do? Unless she can hit them without her magic fire, I don't see how she can make it through."

Fyre Errow took an arrow in the arm as the ambush was sprung. Five bow Amazons (illusory) targetted her with more arrows as she ducked behind a tree. The watchers saw her drink a healing potion. Lilla nodded, "Good girl, Fyre. You were wise to bring healing."

"Yes, but now what?" asked the third girl. "That cover won't hold for long."

"Why is she drinking another healing potion?" asked the second girl.

Lilla gasped. "That's no healing potion! That's another mana potion!"

"Where did she get that??"

They watched, stunned, as Fyre Errow popped out from cover and ran headlong into the teeth of the ambush. She downed one of the five targets with a fire arrow then ran past the others, into the bushes, before they could target her. She ran and ran, then ducked behind a wide tree and held still. When the chasers ran past her she shot all four of them in the back with fire arrows before they could react.

"By all that is holy," said the third girl in awe, "She's going to finish!"

Lilla said quietly, "Finish? She's going to win."

Three more tests passed, opponents shot down with magical precision, and Fyre Errow came to the last fork in the path. Down one branch, a dozen Night Clan goatmen were dragging a screaming old man into the jungle. Down the other branch, the exit of the course lay in plain sight.

The third girl sighed. "She's made it. She's won."

Lilla said nothing. She watched for a few more moments, then murmured, "Don't do it, Fyre. Get out of there."

The second girl gulped. "Is she really going to try it?"

Fyre Errow ran after the Night Clan. She shot down four of them as they retreated. One required two shots to kill; he was especially tough, apparently. Then two of the goats paused and drew out longbows. They took aim at the young amazon and, shouting gurgling war cries of "Gorestone! Gorestone!" they cut loose with arrow after arrow. Fyre Errow ducked for cover but took a hit in the shoulder. She had to drink another healing potion.

She summoned her mana and cast Slow Missile on them, then emerged and shot them down, deftly avoiding their shots. They were blown off their feet by her fire arrows and died with a loud gurgling crunch.

Fyre Errow darted through the jungle brush in pursuit of the fleeing goatmen. She caught up with them in a small clearing. She shot down one of them but drew up short, unable to fire again.

"Oh no!" said the third girl. "She's run out of mana!"

The goat champion, who had hold of the old man, drew a dagger and put it to his throat. The meaning was clear. Unless Fyre Errow backed off, he would slay the victim. She retreated from the clearing and hid behind a tree. For long, tense moments, nothing changed.

"Please get out of there," Lilla whispered.

Fyre Errow gulped a stamina potion, then another mana potion. She concentrated, then cast a Decoy of herself near the goatmen. The Decoy was poorly formed and lasted only for seconds, but it was long enough to fool the goats, who charged the Decoy to smash it. Even the champion dropped the old man to take a swing at the Decoy.

Lady Ina watched with growing pride as Fyre Errow emerged into the clearing and let fly with a blazing arrow. The shot flew perfectly true, striking the champion in the back and exploding in a huge gout of flame that felled all the remaining Night Clan in one glorious blow. Only the Champion remained standing. Fyre Errow downed him with two Fire arrows to follow up her Exploding arrow, and the battle was over. She slung her bow and carried the old man out of the jungle to safety.

Lilla and the others ran to greet her. Lady Ani followed at a pace more suitable to one of her age.

Fiara set the old man down, then dropped to her knees. She felt stunned when her rescue victim vanished with a poof. She had forgotten that this was only a test, but she remembered now.

She heard a grand cheer and looked up to see her sisters arriving to greet her and to cheer her success. Only then did she realize that she had made it through, that she had passed. She was an Amazon now. What an amazing thing.

Her sisters crowded around her, offering congratulations. Lilla made her way through, then suddenly the others all backed off a little to give them more room. Fiara guessed that Lilla had achieved the best score.

Then Lilla bowed before her. "My Lady Fyre Errow, if you will have me, I will be your first. I will serve at your pleasure until my dying breath." Two others followed suit, offering to be her second and her third.

Fiara stood in shocked silence, at a loss for words.

Lady Ani arrived. "Congratulations, champion. You have recorded the first ever perfect score. Your run was flawless, your aim perfect, your bravery unmatched. So shall it be written."

THE DARK WANDERER

When the Sisters of the Sightless Eye sent word to their Amazon cousins regarding troubles in the west, they asked that a champion be sent to aid them. The Amazons dispatched their cleverest, most daring young warrior, the lady Fyre Errow.

Fiara travelled across the sea (with great reluctance, but orders are orders) to meet with the Rogue sisters in their mountain citadel. She got word in Lut Gholein that the pass had been closed, and was thus forced to continue by sea around the mountains, then trek north to investigate the trouble. She arrived to find a small contingent of rogues holed up in a sad little encampment, most of their sisters already lost, either dead or corrupted by the Wanderer. She met with Akara, who seemed so beaten down that she insisted Fyre Errow prove herself by clearing out a cave full of Fallen on the Bloor Moor? What on earth was going on here? The Rogues reduced not only in numbers, but in dignity and trust as well? As Fiara finished cleaning out that pathetic little den, she murmured to herself, "I hope that the sisters will trust me now."

ACT ONE

Fyre Errow is a sorceress turned Amazon. She is clumsy and accepts it. (Her Dex is capped at 28, and she will not benefit from +Dex items). She relies on Fire Arrow magic to be able to hit anything at all, but this works well for her. With her Fire Arrows, she never scores a bad hit. Targets may dodge her shots, but unless they do, she never misses. She must expend her mana to buy this accuracy, though, and her bow is a sad little socketed hunter's bow. That isn't going to carry her far, not without even greater magic to aid her.

Thus, her specialties are fire magicks: exploding arrow (essentially fireballs cast from her bow) and immolation arrow (firewalls with a short area of effect, cast from her bow). She knows the multishot and magic arrow skills, but only just enough to support her exploding and immolation arrows. However, with these fire magicks, she is unmatched. Her exploding arrows explode for more damage than those of any other amazon, and her immolation arrows burn hotter and longer.

Fyre Errow has a basic understanding of all passive skills, but that's the extent for most of them. She hopes to improve her ability to cause her arrows to Pierce targets, though, and she also hopes to refine her Decoy skill a bit, and someday to summon Valkyrie spirits to her aid.

She is not particularly strong, but she is stronger than she is dexterous, for certain. Without dexterity to wield more damaging bows and also to increase the damage even further with well-aimed shots, Fyre Errow must make do on her wits, her preparation, and her magical talents. However, her mana pool is deeper than other amazons, and her vitality is strong.

...

Fyre Errow made do with a stack of javelins for most of the blood moor. She found a bow and some arrows and cleaned out the Den of Evil, placing skill points in Fire Arrow (naturally, although only one point here: have to keep the mana cost low -- this skill is for accuracy, and as prereq, not for damage). She placed points into Critical Strike and Magic Arrow, Inner Sight, Multishot and Dodge.

I put normal attack on left button, Fire Arrow on the right. Later I will switch both to the left (quick keyed to A and Z for instant skill switching without letting off the run key) and put Exploding and Immolaton on the right. Those will be keyed to F5 and F6, the two easiest F-keys to hit with my MS Natural keyboard, thanks to the split down the middle. Decoy, then Valk, will go on F4.

Blood Raven thought to show off her Fire Arrow skill. Fyre showed her how it's REALLY done.

Gems were found for her bow. First a ruby, then a topaz, then a saphire. Thus, Fyre gets a chilling effect from all her shots, including Fire Arrow, which ADDS its damage to that of the bow, rather than replacing the bow damage. Amazons could use this skill on left mouse and never miss a single shot, but most prefer Ice Arrow for its short freezing duration. Fyre has a problem in that with her very low damage bow, she won't be able to leech back even the low cost of Fire Arrows. So I will constantly have to watch her mana, and I may need to put two rows of mana on her belt, even, since she is more likely to run dry before most mobs can catch her.

Her firing rate will beat that of any sorceress, but she will lack for mana, and there is no warmth to help her. Leech would help, but I've already explained why it can't solve everything.

I used Fyre's fire arrows generously, and also pumped her mana a good bit those early levels. I would often use normal arrows against weak foes like Fallen and crows, though. The first half of Act One, Fyre's 28 dex was plenty. By the time I hit the Tamoe Highland, it was night and day, the misses from normal shots vs the 100% hit rate of fire arrows. I could still get a lot of hits with the normal shots, but that ratio is going to decline rapidly. The first two acts have twenty total monster levels, while the second two have only ten total between them. This fits well with normal but provides a steep curve for the nightmare player, who will ALWAYS fall behind the clvl-mlvl curve in Act One of Nightmare, permanently, unless he goes out of his way to repeat areas over and over and over and over to "level up" before advancing.

The chill from the sapphire helped, too. Fyre could slow her foes, get off more shots. The power of her bow with its three gem chips, combined with never missing from fire arrows, really chewed right through the weak critters of act one, far more quickly than a sorceress could, even though Fyre was almost all magic, and has much less mana. Also, hunter's bow is the fastest base bow type, so the firing rate if I hold down the attack button is quite rapid. There are so many mana potions, mana shrines, and wells, that even using what I would consider wild mana expenditures, fight after fight, the supply never even came close to drying up. I still had plenty of potions go to waste, and Fyre needed so few healing potions that I sold literally dozens of Light Heals, and left the minors littering the ground more often than not.

Exploding arrow does not seem to share the traits of Freezing Arrow, which transfers ALL the bow damage to everything in splash radius. For Fyre, her exploding arrows would only chill the target hit by the arrow, so I am presuming the splash damage is the fireball part only. I could be wrong, but that's how it seems.

That's fine with me, though. I intended all along to play this char as an Amazon Hot Babe, fire skills and passives only, and not much in passives. She will forever use a hunter's bow. I originally considered using Magefist for gloves -- after all, if Fyre won't take advantage of the +Fire Skills and +Fire Damage aspect of the gloves, then what Amazon ever will? But after seeing how badly she hurts for mana, I have changed my mind. I want Frosties. I want their mana bonus, the 1 point of damage bonus, and the cold damage. In the long run, Fyre will be better off that way, particularly if she departs from the sapphire-socketed bow concept.

Exploding arrows work as good as fireballs, and after playing Ember, the idea of rounding up a small mob and killing several at once with one exploding shot, well... that's "Playing with Power" for me. :)

The Smith got a rapid-fire volley of Fire Arrows, and with the chill effect, he offered little threat. That chill effect would have come in handy for Ember, I tell you!

In the jail, I used some normal arrows still, but I definitely noticed more misses. I would stand and shoot at gargoyle traps for a while, just because I missed a good bit. I had a triumphant ring and a 4% bat ring going and still would run dry of mana fairly quickly if I shot nothing but fire arrows. Sometimes I did that and drank mana potions, other times, when less pressed, I conserved more.

Here's a shot of a LEB in the Catacombs, whose troops felt the wrath of exploding arrows.

My Exploding Arrow skill was slvl 4 by the time I got to Andariel. With her (now-fixed) vulnerability to fire, she died remarkably quickly. She never did poison Fiara. Boom boom boom, dead Maiden of Anguish.

Act two has fire-resistant critters, though. We'll see how things go. Stay tuned.

- Sirian

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