The Shrieker

The Shrieker spawns along with its nest, both of which take up two slots. Many of the Shrieker's attacks will move it, causing it to swap positions with the nest.

The Shrieker has extremely high DODGE, and its multiple actions per round enable it to deal a large amount of Stress and damage to the party.

The Shrieker is essentially immune to blight, and fairly resistant to bleed. Its nest is immune to both.

On the Shrieker's last turn during Round 4, it will use Shrieking Flight, dealing 40/45/50 Stress to all heroes before flying away, ending the battle.

A special version of the Shrieker appears in the Endless Harvest. This version has fairly similar stats to the Champion Shrieker, with the main difference being that Shrieking Flight only deals 15 Stress in Endless Mode.

By far the easiest way to deal with the Shrieker is to simply survive for four rounds. Many parties can accomplish this. Perhaps the simplest example is a party consisting of a single Leper, who can survive four rounds by himself by stacking PROT trinkets. DODGE parties are also effective, though Shrieking Flight has very high accuracy and will still likely hit. Guard is great for saving heroes that get hit repeatedly.

It is useful to bring Bandages, Holy Water and Medicinal Herbs (especially so if the Color of MadnessMiasmal Orchard has been built) to counter the Shrieker's bleed/disease-causing attacks and undo his debuffs. Other provisions are not needed.

Optionally, one may kill the Shrieker's Nest in order to earn a good amount of gold. This is not terribly difficult since (aside from its immunity to bleed and blight) the nest has few defences. Note that this must be done while the Shrieker is still present, however, since the nest will automatically de-spawn when the Shrieker flees or dies.

Killing the Shrieker is more difficult and grants no additional rewards aside from negating the high Stress from Shrieking Flight. When attempting to kill it, the party must overcome a few challenges:

• The Shrieker has extremely high DODGE.

• It also has three actions per round, meaning that debuffs must be applied every round to have effect. It is generally easier to buff the party's own accuracy than try to debuff the Shrieker's DODGE.

• The party must also have good reach, as the Shrieker's attacks often move it forwards and backwards.

Because of the Shrieker's party-wide attacks and multiple actions per round, Riposte is very effective against it.

It is possible, though difficult, to kill both the Shrieker and its nest. This requires certain trinket investments and is not generally recommended until the very late game.

• Abomination - High DMG in Beast form and high ACC with Color of MadnessBroken Key. Stress may accumulate quickly, however, causing him to revert to Human form.
• Antiquarian - Stacking DODGE is one of the easier ways to complete the quest.
• Arbalest/Musketeer - Very high base ACC and can do tremendous damage with Mark. Relatively tanky for a back-line hero.
• Highwayman - The Shrieker's many attacks will frequently trigger Riposte.
• Houndmaster - Strong DODGE tank and can Guard his allies. If attempting to kill the Shrieker, also has great Mark synergy, bonus DMG versus Beasts, and Dog Treats to boost his ACC and DMG.
• Hellion - Great reach and damage, and great ACC-boosting trinkets.
• Jester - Can heal Stress and buff the party's ACC. Finale has extremely high ACC and DMG, making it a great finisher on round 4. Somewhat squishy, however, requiring Guard or DODGE to increase his survivability.
• Leper - Extremely tanky. Can solo the battle by stacking PROT trinkets like Heavy Boots or Barristan's Head, then using Withstand and Solemnity.
• Man-At-Arms - Excellent buffs to ACC, DODGE, and Stress reduction. Can Riposte the Shrieker and Guard heroes at low health.
• Occultist - With trinkets to boost his ACC and debuff skill chance, Vulnerability Hex becomes a strong Mark that debuffs the Shrieker's DODGE. However, the Occultist is a bit squishy, so it is advised to bring a hero who can Guard him.

• Bounty Hunter - Great Mark synergy, though his range is limited.
• Grave Robber - High DODGE boosts her survivability.
• Shieldbreaker - Can tank attacks with block tokens. However, her low DMG values makes her less effective at killing the Shrieker.

• Plague Doctor - Both targets are essentially immune to Blight.

Apprentice Level
Skill Name	Range	Rank	Target	Accuracy	Crit Chance	Damage	Effect (Target)	Effect (Self)	Notes
Peck	Melee	1, 2, 3, 4.	1, 2, 3, 4.	87.5%	16%	6-10	100% Bleed 2	Forward 4
Caw	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1, 2, 3, 4.	87.5%	2%	1	Stress +20	No Effect
Call the Murder	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1+2+3+4.	87.5%	2%	1	70% Stress +12	Buff: +6 SPD Back 4
Regurgitate	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1, 2, 3, 4, 25% +1 Target.	87.5%	2%	1	100% Debuff: -15 ACC 15% Disease (any)	No Effect
Shrieking Flight*	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1+2+3+4.	135.5%	2%	1	Stress +40	Escapes from battle

Veteran Level
Skill Name	Range	Rank	Target	Accuracy	Crit Chance	Damage	Effect (Target)	Effect (Self)	Notes
Peck	Melee	1, 2, 3, 4.	1, 2, 3, 4.	93.75%	21%	8-13	120% Bleed 3	Forward 4
Caw	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1, 2, 3, 4.	93.75%	6%	2	Stress +23	No Effect
Call the Murder	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1+2+3+4.	93.75%	6%	2	70% Stress +14	Buff: +7 SPD Back 4
Regurgitate	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1, 2, 3, 4, 33% +1 Target.	93.75%	6%	2	120% Debuff: -15 ACC 15% Disease (any)	No Effect
Shrieking Flight*	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1+2+3+4.	141.75%	6%	2	Stress +45	Escapes from battle

Champion Level
Skill Name	Range	Rank	Target	Accuracy	Crit Chance	Damage	Effect (Target)	Effect (Self)	Notes
Peck	Melee	1, 2, 3, 4.	1, 2, 3, 4.	107.5%	22%	13-19	140% Bleed 4	Forward 4
Caw	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1, 2, 3, 4.	107.5%	7%	2	Stress +25	No Effect
Call the Murder	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1+2+3+4.	107.5%	7%	2	70% Stress +16	Buff: +8 SPD Back 4
Regurgitate	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1, 2, 3, 4, 40% +1 Target.	107.5%	7%	2	140% Debuff: -15 ACC 15% Disease (any)	No Effect
Shrieking Flight*	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1+2+3+4.	155.5%	7%	2	Stress +50	Escapes from battle

* _{Only used as its last action during round 4. Also cannot be riposted, so isn't a last chance to get the kill.}