I am going to attempt to beat Standard with some very, very stupid rules.

I awoke today with a throbbing headache and water lapping around my knees. Not what one of the highest of the Templar's order would expect, but then again one of the highest of the Templar's order would not also expect to be convicted of heresy and then sent to a continent of the damned.

Regardless, I found only one other exile from the ship with half of a tree through his gut. I was going to end his misery and send him to the Lord, but a nearby zombie did so before I could. After a short fight, the zombie yielded a Glacial Hammer gem, which I used to purge a few more zombies and some of the surprisingly hostile wildlife, including a rather large zombie who I later discovered was named Hillock.

I found a small settlement along the coast - smaller than even a town, really. The townspeople seem more than willing to dispense resources to anyone able to destroy nearby evils - one man even gave me an Ice Nova gem for removing Hillock, and a Storm Call gem for removing a small thaumaturgical ward near the town. They're also more than willing to trade. A few wisdom scrolls gets me a shield and some boots, and after dispatching a few more roaming cannibals, who seem to be everywhere in almost neverending supply, I find a medicine chest for which I am given a flask and a choice of several inferior gems. I decline, as I would not be surprised if the insane sailor who offered them to me had tampered with the gems.

The townspeople also told me of an old prison from a prior empire full of undead. Well, it used to be full of undead - I have since laid them all to rest, including a large number of necromancers and their horrifying creations. Words cannot fully describe what they had done to what remained of the prison's warden - all I can say is that I am glad his soul is finally at rest. One insolent did manage to escape, however - a woman who called herself Piety of Theopolis, who teleported away after taunting me. I suspect that this is not the last I shall see of her.

It is remarkable how the evil of the land has spread - it has even managed to corrupt some of the weapons and armor used by my foes. I have never seen evil abused to such a disgusting extent, but I shall purge it all from this land in time. For now, however, I shall rest after slaying the abomination that was The Brute.

Current Level: 11

Pretty much just dealing with the first half of act 1 the normal way; had to stop after Brutus to take care of some IRL business. It's surprisingly easy, even without the cheesy gear I normally use to get through it.

I returned to town after slaying the Brute, and was rewarded with a Glacial Cascade gem, and information about the next point in my journey: Siren's Cove, reportedly home to a sailor-murdering siren by the name of Merveil, mother of the squids I had encountered in a cave on my way to the prison. On the way, I stumbled into another cove, and found a young girl - dead, of course, like almost everything on this continent - huddled around a lantern. I later found via conversation with a stranded Captain Fairgraves that this lantern was "his Allflame." He then attempted to kill me over it; I still don't understand why. Regardless, he paid for the attempt with his life. Upon hearing that the esteemed Fairgraves had died, Bestel gave me a book of his scribblings. Quite kind of him, for an insane man.

I progressed toward the Cave, slaying more and more of the Siren's children. I still wonder exactly how the Siren managed to birth this many monsters - they seem to be almost pouring out of the walls. Some of them, larger than the others, would summon others who would explode with no regard for themselves; a destructive strategy, to be sure.

Eventually I made my way to the lair of the Siren, guided by images she seemed to be projecting to me. A shame for her that I am no mere sailor, and that I had no interest in her riches; if I did, I would likely have lost my life while scrambling for all the gold in her lair. Instead, I slayed the Siren, only for her to reveal her actual form and summon a horde of her children. But I am not swayed by hordes, and neither am I swayed by the song of sirens; the monster lies dead in her cove, and a door to a nearby forest has opened.

A change of scenery should be nice.

Current Level: 15

Dealt with the latter half of act 1. It's still pretty easy, although Merveil's first form tanked a surprising number of Storm Calls.

I emerged from the Siren's Cove to find myself set upon by a horde of monkeys, although I doubt that "horde" sufficiently describes the quantity of the little primates that I had to fight off. After killing enough of them to provide myself with some breathing room, I spotted a small bridge which led me to a primitive jungle encampment. The people here are as friendly and in need of assistance as the people from Lioneye's Watch were.

One particularly large, somewhat hostile man with a spear told me that there were Blackguards digging around in a ruin to the east, as well as something about boars - I was too shocked to continue listening. Blackguards, here, in this land of the damned. How strange. He asked that I investigate, and I decided to indulge my curiosity and find out what the Blackguards were up to.

On the way to the ruins, I was set upon by a rogue exile - a young woman who had given in to the taint that pollutes this land, and gone mad as a result. She was quick with her bow, but not quick enough; and upon inspecting her remains, found that she went by the name of Orra Greengate. I would have buried her, but the number of people whom I must kill lest they kill me grows too large to properly bury all the corpses - the number of bandits who attempted to waylay me en route to my destination was particularly large.

It would appear that the ruins were, in fact, the ruins of the "Chamber of Sins"; reportedly the laboratory of a thaumaturgist by the name of Maligaro. So, of course, the ruins were full to the brim with undead and necromancers who moved in after Maligaro vacated the premises. I can only wonder how many necromancers can be on one forsaken continent; regardless, I decimated their undead horde, along with a surprisingly large number of spiders. One would think that large hordes of undead would discourage the pests, but they seem to have instead gorged upon the unwitting, slow-moving zombies, and developed a rather poisonous bite to accompany their increased size.

While clearing the undead on the ground floor, I was once again taunted by Piety from behind an iron wall through which I could not reach or cast. It would seem like she is almost following me. Shortly afterwards, a young Blackguard woman stuck in a tree begged me to kill... something. She later called it Fidelitas, and I am still not quite sure what it was, but I can be sure that it rests in peace now.

I've currently made camp outside the ruins; the woman has gone on ahead to the encampment. Hopefully, this evening will bring me rest.

Current Level: 19

Went through Chamber of Sins. Fidelitas was tanky as fuck and took a bit of kiting to kill, but everything else went pretty smoothly.