Grimswarm
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Grimswarm are a loose culture of organized orcs, trolls, and giants, which can be found in all parts of Elanthia. They are most often encountered by members of the Guardians of Sunfist, an organization committed to striking out against the Grimswarm forces and their allies.
In virtually all cases, Grimswarm are encountered in one of two locations: war parties and warcamps. Warparties are roving bands of Grimswarm found in a specific hunting ground or road, which only appear when a warparty task is assigned to a member of Sunfist. Warcamps are hidden bases which can contain hundreds of individual Grimswarm, and can only be located in various hunting grounds by members of Sunfist.
Description
The guard posesses all the menacing traits of an ordinary member of his kind, but this one is beholden to the Grimswarm. He is a battle-hardened soldier, ready to take and defend his territory with all ferocity.
Composition
The three species of Grimswarm typically do not mix together, and a warparty or warcamp will be comprised of only one of the three. The prevalence of each type varies geographically in the game, with giants favoring colder, mountainous climates, trolls favoring warm, tropical climates, and orcs being found moderately in all areas. It is also worth mentioning that various other species are considered allies to the Grimswarm, including not only other orcs, trolls and giants, but also ogres, Illoke, and a variety of other types of creatures.
The three species each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Most notably, there is a large disparity in health, with giants having the most and Orcs having the least. Also notable is that, like most of their kind, trolls can regenerate their wounds and health. Orcs are the most perceptive when it comes to detecting hiding individuals, and giants can perform the common stomp maneuver that many giant class enemies can perform.
Unit Profession
When encountered in the field, all Grimswarm will be identified by their professional orientation. With a handful of exceptions, these mirror the professions available to players. There are currently no bard or monk Grimswarm. There are also a small number of types which do not seem to fit a specific profession, such as the Archers. There can be some initial confusion upon encountering these Grimswarm, as they have a variety of different professional titles, some of which can be vague. Additionally, some of these Grimswarm variants only seem to appear at certain levels or only very rarely, such as the blackguard, which does not appear at higher levels, or huntmistress, which is appears uncommonly.
- Cleric
Cleric-type Grimswarm use a variety of cleric based spells, including a variety of disablers such as Web (118) and Bind (214). They will also spawn or recast Spirit Slayer (240), so failing to disable or prevent their casting can be disastrous. They will cast open Web if a player retreats from the room while the spell is being prepared.
- Acolyte
- Cleric
- Initiate
- Empath
Empath-type Grimswarm are quite similar to cleric-types, in that they cast a variety of disablers, but also use some particularly dangerous empath spells, such as Bone Shatter (1106) and Sympathy (1120). They may also heal their injured allies in the midst of battle. They will also spawn or recast Spirit Slayer (240), so failing to disable or prevent their casting can be disastrous. They will cast open Web if a player retreats from the room while the spell is being prepared.
- Empath
- Healer
- Scourge
- Paladin
Aside from their spells, Paladins are effectively warrior-type Grimswarm that can be stunned. They possess Warcries and Shield Bash, which can be instantly lethal against pure classes.
- Crusader
- Destroyer
- Paladin
- Zealot
- Wrathbringer
- Ranger
Rangers function similarly to rogue-types in the variety of weapons that they possess. However, they also will occasionally use ranged weaponry. They can use Cheapshots, Feint and Sweep. Most dangerously, they can and will use a variety of ranger spells, including the always dangerous Spike Thorn (616).
- Hunter
- Huntmaster (rare)
- Huntmistress (rare)
- Ranger
- Rogue
Rogue-types are often found using a variety of weapons, ranging from two-handed weapons to brawling. Some of them are noticeably faster than others, which can be dangerous. They possess several maneuvers, including Cheapshots, Feint and Sweep.
- Pillager
- Raider
- Scout
- Skirmisher
- Sorcerer
Sorcerer Grimswarm are particularly notorious for two things: first, they commonly use Implosion (720), which has instantly ended the hunt of many Sunfist members; second, they frequently use the spell Cloak of Shadows (712), which has a retribution effect that can injure or kill any who attack them with physical means.
- Dissembler
- Sorcerer
- Sorceress
- Warlock
- Witch
- Warrior
Warriors are particularly dangerous, most notably in that they are completely immune to being stunned. Their equipment varies, sometimes using two-handed weapons or polearms, at other times using one handed weapons and a shield. They possess a variety of dangerous combat maneuvers, such as Headbutt, Shield Bash, Tackle and Warcries.
- Barbarian
- Blackguard
- Fighter
- Marauder
- Soldier
- Warrior
- Wizard
Wizards can cast a variety of spells, including but hardly limited to Elemental Wave (410) and Major Elemental Wave (435). It is not uncommon for them to Haste (535) themselves while roaming the camp, which allows them to prepare spells, cast them, and break stuns faster. They also may create Ice Patches while roaming the camp.
- Adept
- Archmage (rare)
- Elementalist
- Mage
- Warmage (rare, swings a melee weapon. Unstunnable?)
- Guards
Guards are initially present when entering a warcamp, and can be of any profession. First action will always be to alert the camp, which causes others to spawn periodically. This can be prevented by killing them before they act, or somewhat less effectively, stunning them. Grimswarm can break stuns, and it is possible for them to simultaneously break their stun and alert the camp. Furthermore, warrior-type guards cannot be stunned.
- Chieftain
Only appearing during an assigned task, Chieftains are unstunnable warrior-type Grimswarm. In addition to being significantly stronger than a normal Grimswarm, they regenerate health quickly (absurdly fast if they are Troll based) and know the maneuver Combat Mobility, allowing them to rapidly recover from knockdowns.
- Shaman
Only appearing during an assigned task, Shamans are magic using Grimswarm that cannot be stunned. They are significantly stronger than a normal Grimswarm.
- Grizzled Grimswarm
Very much like the Adventurer's Guild grizzled critters, grizzled Grimswarm of every type will occasionally spawn. In addition to being significantly higher level than normal Grimswarm, they are immune to stuns, and frequently (especially in the case of rogues) will be significantly faster than normal Grimswarm, sometimes with only 3 seconds between swings.
- Other/Currently Unclassified
- Archer/Sniper - Similar to rogue Grimswarm, but they always use ranged attacks
- Champion - Possibly paladin-based, stunnable
- Shaman - Distinct from Shaman Task variant, seen rarely
Treasure
Grimswarm are poor creatures. They most commonly drop silvers and wands, and never drop gems. They will on occasion drop magic items, such as small statues, scrolls, and crystals. They also will drop various random clothing and containers, and rarely, high quality jewelry. If they are found in warcamps, they may on occasion drop a crude bone key, which is used to unlock a chest found in the camp. This chest will have a box for approximately every 20 enemies you have killed in the camp.