@Draith012, Shar-Teel is handling the thief duties for Todek. I didn't think he needed two, so I'm playing that Imoen insisted on becoming a witch, against his disapproval and expressed wishes that she not. She had been third level, and still a novice at all thief skills. But, she already has the thief levels back, and what's really good about them is that she can use her shortbow and a short sword again, as well as sling spells and use wands.
Update: The Nordic Warriors, 072613
-Branwen and Todek have become mates. He wants her to become his wife and alpha female, but she refuses his proposals for some reason, keeping their relationship somewhere between purely physical and committed. Oh well, Todek is certainly not going to turn down the sex.
While in a moment of afterglow, Branwen expressed that she misses the sea air of her home, and that she would like to visit the beaches of the Sword Coast. Todek being Todek, swore to her that they would set out immediately at first light the very next day.
-(OOC summary) Branwen, in a fit of jealousy, took the Kiss of Death from Shoal for Todek. Now the party has the Helm of Defense, which Todek will wear. Had a scraper with three sirens. Todek raged, both Branwen and Viconia cast Silence. We got through it. We were going to go to the lighthouse area, but it was showing 48 hours away on the map for some reason. And we needed to buy artillery. So we travelled back to Beregost.
-Garrick had been bugging Todek to check out a lead he found in a book that the ghost of the famous bard Mercutio might be haunting the Ulcaster Ruins, so Todek decided to indulge the young skald-in-training. We found the "ghost" all right, outside the ruins - he had actually become a super-zombie, retaining both his intellect and his spells.
Today's photos are of the bardic chain that Garrick got off of Mercutio's undead body, and a picture of the aftermath. Those spell auras you see on three party members are the remnants of a "Song of Death" that had been cast by Mercutio. Branwen and Viconia had both cast Remove Fear the second Mercutio started casting, while Todek immediately went into a rage, so the battle was a glorious victory instead of the disaster it could have been.
Next up: the Ulcaster Ruins, and then back to the Lighthouse on the Sword Coast - Todek wants to give Branwen a proper "honeymoon", even if she won't formalize the mating.
Average party level: 5 Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
Jaheira dragged both me and Imoen out of bed. We weren't too eager to start the day, as late into it as it was. She had already spoken to mayor on our 'behalf'. Apparently, Jaheira took it upon herself to represent us and apply our persons to the task of investigating the mines. So this is what it's like to have a mother. I think I preferred bastardry after all.
Now in the light of day, I could finally see Nashkil for what it was: a shabby little hamlet on the crack of Amn's nether. The guards were none too friendly either. But in light of things, everyone was spooked from the thought of war. Surely, if conflict were to break out over this iron issue and Amn couldn't withhold the first wave, Nashkil would certainly be burned down or forced into bondage; tasked to worked the very mines that caused their hardships. If I heard correctly in Beregost, a contingent was sent down to mind the border, a platoon of Flaming Fist knights no doubt. But I digress.
I didn't even meet with the mayor which was fine, cause I had a particular interesting encounter with the mayor's assistant whom showered me with payment for a complete misunderstanding. Whoever this fool was, he apparently wasn't present when Jaheira met the mayor and for whatever likeness this 'Greywolf' had, he surely believed one of us was he. But no matter how hard I look, Khalid couldn't possible resemble anyone that fancies himself with such a moniker. He would have protested too if Imoen wasn't quick to stealing him away.
Our path to the mines led us through the fair. At least, it was some sort of eventful recreation site, though not many were in attendance. The oddities were an exploding ogre, a wizard trying to kill a witch and a petrified woman.
Imoen: "Poor lass. I wouldn't mind havin' a statue after me but I wouldn't want to actually be it." Malicamp: "Tis a sad cluck fate, indeed." Jaheira: "One could wonder how such a person met such a fate. Nashkil isn't the place to encounter hedge wizards capable of this." Fiona: "She looks like she was trying to fight someone. Or at least how it seems." Imoen: "Oh, I bet she has a good story 'bout it too." Fiona: "Guess we'll never know." Imoen: "What?! We're gonna leave her?" Fiona: "We're in a carnival. This is just a cheap ploy to get our coin." Malicamp: "Even a scroll for this magic isn't, bawk, cheap." Jaheira: "I would agree with the chicken."
Jaheira paused for a moment at the absurdity of her statement, but pressed on nonetheless. Jaheira: "This halfing is going quite far just to make a bit of gold. I can't imagine him turning a profit for the casting and the undoing all for 500 gold."
I huffed out a sigh. These two were no help. Now I can't justify NOT getting the scroll. Fiona: "Well, I'm not handing out 500 gold just to find out we got scammed."
Imoen grinned the way she did back in Candlekeep when we were about to cause mischief in Winthrop's tavern. Imoen: "Gotcha." Khalid: "Oh dear. What is that look."
Strolling off in the halfling's direction, Imoen begins to work her craft. She was no eye sore so we often took turns bewitching men as she would call it; a little joke at my expense. As she started working his ego and mustard all his attention, I slip off into the shadows and around the tents. In his distraction, I liberated the scroll and soon the petrified woman, the latter occurring once we were free of the half man's presence.
The hues of the stone shifted to a lightly tanned flesh and a head full of golden locks. She collapsed onto the floor, weak from her imprisonment. Odd, I have heard of these affects before but I could never fancy the reason. I would assume one would be exactly how one was before their petrification. The alteration from flesh to stone to flesh was a heavy toll on the body. Surprisingly, she began healing herself. Once she felt well enough, she addressed us. Woman: "Oh, the smell of the crisp air again! Thank you kind people for my freedom." Fiona: "Well thank Imoen. It was her doing." Woman: *looks around with a great smile* "Imoen?" Imoen: "Aye aye, that's me!"
The woman rushes up to Imoen and embracesed her like a bear smothering its prey. Woman: "Thank you dear sister! I am ever indebted to you." Imoen: "Ack! By the tits of Puffguts! You're welcome. Just let go!"
The woman released her, placed her back down on the ground. Fiona: "Puffguts?" Imoen: "Yeah, he has 'im. Even if he's a man. Frightful thing too. Never venture too far into the inn at night, let me tell you!" Woman: "Lady Imoen, allow me to pledge my life to your safekeeping."
The woman kneels down towards her. Now, I certainly wasn't expecting this. Imoen: "What's all this about?! You really don't need to." Woman: "It is my honor, as Branwen of Seawolf, to repay you for my life with my life." Jaheira: "That's a noble undertaking. Best you appreciate it Imoen, few are willing to go so far." Khalid: "Such a refreshing breath to our last acquaintances. You're w-welcome to join our band."
I needn't speak of it further. We bantered there for somewhile and the halfling was furious about his scroll, but I definitely didn't have such a thing in my possession at the time to prove anything. I could relate what was said afterwards but it was a whole lot of nothing. But this Branwen is now Imoen's and her trusty 'familiar' side-kick Malicamp's guardian.
Well, she wouldn't be much of a guardian without any armor and a weapon. Luckily, the carnival did sell a variety of such and she was actually skilled in using that warhammer we acquired from Bassilus. She took to the party quite quickly. On another note, she's a war maiden of Templar. A priestess to be precise.
@Draith012, "So this is what it's like to have a mother. I think I preferred bastardry after all." ROFLMAO
Looks like there may come a time when Fiona and Jaheira won't be together. If so, great foreshadowing, and no, don't spoil me, but still, great writing.
2nd ROFLMAO "the tits of Puffguts". I'm ROFLing again just typing it.
@belgarathmth I lol-ed at your sudden transition. Last I read, Todek was interested in Viconia to follow it up with, Branwen is now his mate! Well, I guess I can't fault him. He's just one woman short of having a harem, which is probably historically accurate anyways.
On another note, sounds like you're having an easy go at this. I noticed that the encounters are doubled walking around the map so you level quicker even if it's a tad harder at first. I would like to see you tackle a harder protagonist class. Or try to play a character with unaltered stat rolls (that is, you can roll as much as you like but you just can't manually change the stats). But with my thoughts aside, if you're enjoying your play through, I'd like to see you complete it. Are you going to take this character through BG2?
@Draith012, thank you for your interest; I am quite flattered.
Yes, my intention was to take Todek through the whole Trilogy, and also, to break out of a rut that I had fallen into of always playing myself in games.
I've gotten so into Todek as an alter ego, my mind is racing with all the possibilities for fun playing him with the BGTrilogy, but also Might and Magic VI, Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, Icewind Dale 1 and 2, Sacred 1 and 2, Diablo 2 and 3, Dragon Age:Origins, Titan Quest, and a few others, that I'm already wanting to start a new game of Might and Magic 6 tomorrow with a created party of Todek, Branwen, Garrick, and Shar-Teel.
You see, I have a hopeless case of restartitis with chronic distractibility. My pattern is to start games with toons that really intrigue me, and then to start wanting to start other games with the same toon almost immediately, until I get double distracted by a totally different toon or party combo idea.
So, I rarely finish anything all the way. My intention is still to finish my Trilogy run with Todek. But, tomorrow, I *really* want to start playing Todek/Branwen/Garrick/Shar-Teel in Might and Magic 6.
So, I guess I'm saying, I hope that people enjoy runs and posts that I make, but nobody should ever expect me to finish one before becoming distracted with something else.
EDIT: p.s. - the abrupt transitions in Todek's interests and his story may have to do with the fact that I am only posting very brief scenes at different times in this forum. (And the fact that he is imagined by me as having quite voracious appetites for food, strong drink, and women.)
Mostly, I just summarize stuff. I'm not up to writing a whole novel, as you seem to do. My priority is just to have fun, and to try to share some excerpts from Todek's glorious adventures with friends on the forum. Often, I will tend to inform of a major character change with only one sentence: "Todek has now x."
Okay, I decided to keep playing BG today. We went into the Gullykin dungeon and had our first epic SCS mage fight.
The Loki-spawn had Mirror Image, MGoI, and Stoneskin. Branwen was the first to fall to his multiple Lightning Bolts.
Things are looking bleak. Stinking Cloud renders Todek unconscious, and other party members fall despite trying to stay out of the Cloud. The boundaries of AoE's are very hard to judge in the narrow corridors.
Another Lightning Bolt, and all but Todek are dead! The coward Lokispawn Warlock goes Improved Invisible and runs away, drinking potions of extra healing to restore full health, and casts a second MGoI, then disappears somewhere into the dungeon. Todek takes advantage of his cowardice to wait out the Stinking Cloud, while drinking potions of his own. He drinks Oil of Speed, Stone Giant Strength, Heroism, and Fire Resistance. The Grounding he drank earlier is still active. He also has Boots of Grounding and the Helm of Defense.
The coward witch doctor cannot be found - he is hiding and biding his time, preparing an ambush, no doubt. Todek decides to clear the immediate area of kobolds and ogrillons, and runs into an ogre mage! The creature brags that he is the cause of the attacks on Gullykin before beginning his nefarious spells. How many Lokispawn are in this awful place? Todek fights valiantly and defeats the ogre mage single-handedly, even though the hellish demon tried to run upstairs - seeking aid from a wicked traitor Halfling hiding there. Todek kills both of them.
Back downstairs in the dungeon, Todek finds the first Lokispawn hiding several corridors away. Then begins the long, long process of carrying bodies and equipment to the Halfling temple to be raised. There were very little spoils of value from the battle - just a few magic scrolls for Imoen to study. It was not worth it. Todek resolves anew never to go into underground hellholes unless he absolutely has to. At least the Halfling village is saved, although the mayor only rewards the war party with a lousy 250 gold. Our cost to raise five people in the temple - 2500 gold. I'd say the halflings profited more than we did. Todek leaves with a bad taste in his mouth. He decides to take Branwen back to the coast for another holiday. Hopefully the siren infestation has been cleared by now.
Average party level: 5 Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
I took Branwen to the old Lighthouse area of the Sword Coast, hoping for a vacation/honeymoon. I guess we got it, but in the manner of the barbarians - battle. The sirens were not gone. Here is picture of our war party defeating the first siren coven. I raged, and Branwen cast two Silence. (OOC: there seems to be a mod bug where the party member who kills the last siren gets confused, even when they're all silenced. Shar-Teel got it this time.)
We encountered a weak city woman who tried to seduce me. I told her I already had an alpha female. She let slip that she was looking for someone to help her find a great treasure to the NE. We decided to go after the treasure, and found more sirens blocking the entrance. (OOC: this time Todek took the Confusion from the coup de grace. His barbarian super speed was actually a disadvantage, as he went after Viconia. She still managed to avoid his attacks by triangulating her movement around him.)
We recovered the treasure that Safana had unwittingly clued us about. It turned out to be a magic book and some other items. Garrick identified the book as increasing constitution magically just by opening the cover and looking at a magical incantation. Todek took it and opened it, reading a few words, that looked like nonsense to him. But after only a few lines of reading, the book glowed and disappeared. Todek didn't know what to make of that, but he did feel tougher. (Constitution is now 19. Not sure if that'll do much good.)
The treasure had been guarded by several flesh golems. Even the mighty Todek felt their blows, and was severely injured while defeating them, despite many cure spells from Branwen and Viconia, as well as many potions of healing drank. We made camp outside so that Todek could recover.
(OOC: Branwen gave several romance dialogues during the rest. She is worried that her growing love for Todek is making her too soft, and that she is losing favor with Tempus, foreshadowing a breakup to come. Todek tries to comfort her, and the conversation ends in sex, as usual. During the conversations, a statement came up from Todek that Branwen had never thought twice about "crushing her enemies' ribs and then animating their dead corpses to fight for Tempus."
I had been avoiding the Animate Dead spell, thinking that Branwen wouldn't do that, but, heck, the NPC Project just gave me roleplaying license to imagine that she doesn't. Viconia certainly wouldn't have any problem with it. So, we animated two skellies just to see if we could have one from B. and one from V. on the board at the same time. Yes, we can.
Ha, that makes me want to play Sacred 2 as an Astral Lord shadow warrior, with two skellie guardians to remind him of his past relationships with B. and V. )
Here's a pic of two skellies helping to defeat two carrion crawlers:
Next up: Todek gets around to hunting bandits, and searching for the enemies who tried to have him killed all those fortnights ago when he first (and still shamefully to him) fled from the battle where Gorion died.
Average party level: 6 Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
I am going to try & play this PC one more time. I love the possibilities a complete BGI/BGII play through could yield so I’m gonna give him another crack. The PCs name is Eric the Huntsman, & as before, he is based on the male protagonist in Snow White & the Huntsman. In the movie his wife was slain by the evil sorcerous, Queen Revenna & as a result he is known to drink heavily. I’ll play my PC as if he used to drink heavily as a result of his internal struggle about his true heritage but has decided to give up drink & make the most of every day he is given.
As before, I’ll play Eric as if he was raised in Candlekeep & had indeed served as its Huntsman these last couple of years or so, venturing beyond the walls to do so. In so doing, he’s learned the skills of a Ranger/Tracker & has Specialized w/his axe, is proficient w/a dagger & is a Master of Two-Weapon Style fighting already. After a long day of hunting to bring back game & after completing his day-to-day chores, Eric rests in the bunkhouse by night.
Who knows, I this PC may bite the dust before he leaves Candlekeep, before he reaches the FAO, or certainly when he reaches the FAI as we all know what awaits him there. He’ll start in the NRC again & see how far he can go.
Key Event: Gorion has just sent word that we need to leave Candlekeep as soon as possible. I am to gather what I need for an unplanned & unexpected journey.
Treasure of note: None
Current Disposition: Say my farewells & finishing up a few last errands @ Candlekeep
Next Steps: Meet Gorion @ the library ASAP
Level Up: None
Current Party: (Reputation: 11 - Average) Eric the Huntsman, Ranger (Tracker)/1, 18(96)/13/16/13/14/11; 2HWS***, Axe**, Dgr*
@CharlestonianTemplar, I love your character concept. Nice pic of the actor from the movie, as well. You've inspired me to watch this movie from Netflix, since I've never seen it. I do wish you could redo your small portrait so it wouldn't be squished up like it is currently. I didn't recognize the appearance type until I just saw the unsquished large portrait.
Also, as far as rules, I think we should just be having fun. If your Charname dies once or twice with no one to raise him, my vote is that you should keep playing. The reload counter is our score, and we're seeing who can finish the Trilogy with the lowest score, as in golf. I think the priority is to have fun, and to share battles and stories with each other. How about it, @SapphireIce101, do you want to enforce the letter of the rules of the thread, or can we just have fun sharing?
The Nordic Warriors, 072713, supplemental.
We have defeated the Chill and the Black Talon led by Tazok. They were such weak cowards, it was child's play. I raged, both healer women summoned the spirits of the dead, Garrick played his Harp of Confusion, won from the Lake Poets, and then waved his Wand of Fear, and Imoen waved her Wand of Paralysis at their archer, and this battle was over before it even started. Their warlock cast a Slow, and it was the last spell the coward ever cast.
We returned to the FAI, and then to Thalyntyr's, to buy more potions of various kinds. Now, we have proceeded to the Cloakwood Forest to follow leads on the information obtained from the Chill and the Talons.
Branwen continues to distance herself from me, insisting that her relationship with me is making her weak. I don't understand women. I've offered her the world, and a place at my side. And she says it makes her weak. She claims that she loves me so much that she doesn't want to do anything but lie in bed and stroke the hair on my chest. Pfaah. I love it when she does that, but, she thinks it makes her weak? I'd make her the strongest woman in the world if she would stop this nonsense. I want an alpha female worthy to be at my side. It pains me greatly to think it, but I am beginning to doubt that Branwen is "the one." I am still holding onto hope that she will change.
Average party level: 6 Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
Once everything was settled at the fair, we took off and reached the mines finally. We scouted the immediate area for suspicious activity and came across what seemed to me a madden man, though his sculptorship was impeccable.
He begged to be left to finishing his work and though I told him that, Greywolf or no, that the bounty on those gems he stole was going to be claimed. In the mix of it, the actual Greywolf made his appearance. His attention was at first towards the mad sculptor but he quickly changed his mark.
Greywolf: "You! You're the ones that robbed my of my bounty reward!" Fiona: "Oh bloody hell. What are the chances of this happening? He looks NOTHING like Khalid." Khalid: "N-n-no. I'm m-much more int-ti-timidating" Greywolf: "All of you will die!" Imoen: "Bullocks!"
Branwen was quick to the draw. Branwen: "Then let us test your steel! Not a scratch will mark my charge!"
Things escalated quickly and the bastard chugged down a potion of strength, easily thrashing Branwen. After a single blow, she had to fall back while Khalid took front, shield quivering in his wake. I wasn't about to let some fool with a potion outdo me in the wizardry display so I stole his sight with a single spell. He flailed wildly but ineffectively. The rest of the group started tearing into him while Branwen healed her wounds. When the fool was lying dead on the ground, the mad man was finished with his sculptor. He collapsed from exhaustion.
Jaheira: "The only time I seen a man die from exhaustion was back at a slaver camp. Can only imagine what kind of infatuation would drive a man to such an extent." Imoen: "Mighty sweet of him though." Fiona: "Whatever, lets take the emeralds out."
I will hand it to Graywolf though, despite traveling alone, he did manage to capture bounties successfully. But whatever the prey he had before surely didn't buffered his ego enough to resign himself against the five of us. He might owe it to this amazing sword he left us with. I'm sure he would wanted us to have it in his place. The remains of Greywolf certainly didn't object.
We made our way back to the mine's entrance and met with the dig sight owner and rested there for the night. He had given us 24 hours to finish our work here. Pretty arrogent for someone that needed the help to begin with. Not like he's pulling out any good ore anyways that would 'impede' his work.
I left Candlekeep w/Gorion & we were ambushed in the darkness of Lion’s Way only hours after we left. Gorion was cut down by some dark, armored fiendish figure, 2 Ogre’s & what appeared to be female Cleric type. Gorion ordered me to run & I instinctively obeyed to my dismay. From where I stood, I saw Gorion killed.
I waited till morning & tried to get my bearings when Imoen approached me. She’d followed us @ a distance & joined w/me, despite my reservations. We collected Gorion’s belongings before battling a pack of Gibberling’s which we defeated well together. We passed up a chance to join w/2 adventurers who wanted to go to Nashkel but Imoen was uneasy about having them join us & I deferred to her sixth sense. In hindsight, that may have been a mistake.
Later, in the Coast Way, we met a strange gentleman who appeared to be a Mage but he was friendly enough & directed us to the Friendly Arm Inn (FAI), where Gorion had admonished me to go to meet up w/2 people named Khalid & Jaheira if anything should separate us. We left the elderly gentleman & were once again attacked by a pack of Gibberling’s but, once again, Immy & I did well together. We continued N & finally made it to the FAI.
Key Event:Immy & I couldn’t get past a wizard, Tarnesh, on the steps of the FAI & we both took a beating. He cast a Sleep spell & we were easy pickin’s for his staff & a Magic Missile spell.
We were lucky, b/c Khalid & Jaheira had been waiting for me & when they heard the commotion they took us to Gellana, the Priestess, in the Temple of Wisdom, who raised us for a donation of 500gp. They had to sell Imoen’s Wand of Magic Missiles to pay Gellana’s fee.
Tarnesh tried to act unassuming around the Inn after Khalid & Jaheira had us raised. He wouldn’t come right out & attack again inside but he was restless & we knew he was up to something, he was always watching us. The four of us planned ahead when we were upstairs in the common room, fully expecting Tarnesh to try & attack us again when he deemed his opportunity best. Sure enough, when we emerged from the FAI to head toward Nashkel, he was waiting to strike. I swung my dual-axes while Immy, Khalid & Jaheira attacked w/ranged weapons. Sure enough, Tarnesh cast Sleep again but even as it dropped all 4 of us in our tracks, my axe split Tarnesh’s shoulder through to his chest, killing him instantly.
When we awoke the guards had moved everyone away. It was well known that Tarnesh was the aggressor & Bentley had no ill-will toward us for the event.
Treasure of note: Tarnesh’s Spell Book w/Magic Missile, Web, Chromatic Orb, Sleep & Armor to Immy.
Current Disposition: Buying supplies & resting @ the FAI.
Next Steps: Preparing to head S to Nashkel @ the urging of Khalid & Jaheira – Jaheira mostly!
@CharlestonianTemplar, wow. Tarnesh with Sleep sounds like a terror. There's no defense, other than to keep the caster from doing any casting. He never got to cast much when my barbarian hit him, but I'm not sure if he had Sleep to cast - I only have "smarter mages" installed, and it sounds like that Sleep is part of one of the tactical challenges. Do you know which SCS component made this so hard? It can be very hard to keep roleplaying with a full install of SCS, because the tactical challenges almost demand metagaming.
Update, The Nordic Warriors, 072813
-Todek and his war party have completed and raided the first two maps of the Cloakwood. He sided with the druids in the hunters' conflict, and obtained the bastard sword +3 vs. shapeshifters. On the spiders map, he drank a potion of freedom, and then ran around triggering webs, and leading spiders and ettercaps back to the main party waiting with ranged weapons.
Centeol gave her full dialogues, and the name of her tormentor had been corrected to "Jon Irenicus". Before getting hit and giving up, she had a little surprise for us - she used a wand of frost and almost wiped out all the weaker party members. The photo is actually after a few healing potions and spells.
-Todek and his party of Warriors of Tempus went deep, deep, into the foreboding Cloakwood, and encountered a secret enclave of shadow druids, who were enemies of the Iron Throne. Upon speaking to the archdruid, he finds that he and the shadow druids have goals in common. The archdruid insists that he be escorted by one of their agents, Faldorn, if they are to proceed unmolested to the eastern forest where the conquered dwarven mine is located.
OOC - I am still developing Todek's character and thinking about what he would do. He dreams of founding a proper barbarian war tribe, and looks for people who have a barbarian mindset. He fights for glory and honor, and for Tempus, and for the spoils of battle. He has a streak of kindness, though, due to his orphaned upbringing among the city-dwellers of Candlekeep. He doesn't respect or want to travel with anyone he perceives as weak, or as a "Lokispawn" (tricking, lying, using black magic or subterfuge), but he also hates those who bully, since he himself was bullied by the other kids, and sometimes the adults, of Candlekeep. Not physically, of course, since he could have killed most of them with his bare hands if he flew into a rage, but emotionally. So, he is very uncomfortable being around people who remind him of his stressful and uncomfortable upbringing among the city-dwellers.
So, I think that fighters, clerics of Tempus or another warrior god, rangers, and druids, are going to be those with whom Todek gets along the best. Paladins are iffy. Todek likely sees most of them as bullies, and far too "lawful" for his comfort. ("Lawful", to him, means "bully other people.")
I write all this because I really agonized about replacing Viconia with Faldorn. But, I finally decided that Todek would grow increasingly uncomfortable with Viconia, because she says things like this:
She also makes comments about "let the weakllings die", and "drow families have no loyalty to each other - your siblings are your competition," while Todek values loyalty and honor above all.
Put in terms of Star Trek, Todek gets along with Klingon types, and he sees Viconia as a dishonorable Romulan type, if that makes sense.
Anyway, the game will be more challenging now, because Faldorn is not a very powerful toon in combat. We'll see if her dire wolf companion helps make up for her weaknesses. She seems like she's a good fit for a barbarian raiding party, though. I think I might go back to using Jaheira if it weren't for Khalid, and my party is full, with only one interchangeable slot. Branwen, Shar-Teel, Garrick, and Imoen aren't going anywhere.
Sorry for this wall of text.
Average party level: 5 or 6 Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
@Belgarathmth - If you guys want to compete on who has the lowest reload count, be my guest! I'm not going to make it a requirement for people that want to do this just for the fun of it.
@SapphireIce101, thanks. I didn't actually mean that I wanted to compete, but rather that I just wanted to share runs with friends and read what they have to share. You know, everybody just kind of having fun socializing. The "minimal reload" part comes because we accept the consequences of our mistakes, and never reload unless Charname dies.
I only compete with myself and my own counter. I guess I didn't phrase my original question well.
LOL. Well, I was trying to get back into my game and head deeper into the Cloakwood, when this happened:
Faldorn's call lightning came in handy almost immediately, after all, and her dire wolf did a very good job holding off spiders. Imoen successfully zapped the wyvern on the right with her wand of paralysis. Garrick got a wyvern and a spider confused with his harp of dischord. That was quite the exciting little battle, and I had been dreading it. We may have to do it again a time or two before we get through the Cloakwood portion of the game.
Since we're heading toward the mines, I've started remembering and thinking about Yeslick, and considering that he might be a good fit for a barbarian war party. In fact, it seems like most dwarves are a good fit for Todek. Maybe I should have been using Kagain all this time. Lessee, Todek, Branwen, Shar-Teel, Kagain, Yeslick, Garrick? And in BG2, Todek, Jaheira(?), Anomen(?), Korgan, Valygar, Haer Dalis, maybe Cernd? Maybe even Mazzy, for her valiant spirit? Hmmm. If you can't tell, I'm really enjoying this character.
EDIT: Defeated Drasus and his party outside the mines. The short version is that spells were liberally cast. Todek raged, Branwen cast hold person and silence while her skellie tanked, Faldorn cast call lightning while her dire wolf tanked, Imoen cast web, fireball, and many magic missiles, Garrick cast fireball, web, confusion (harp), horror (wand), and many magic missiles. When the fog of war had cleared, we stood victorious. Yay, Nordic Warriors!
{{invoking John Colicos and the Star Trek character of Kor}} It was a glorious battle!
Damnation, and curses from Valhalla! Just as we were about to go into the Cloakwood mines, Shar-Teel, my best trap disarmament specialist, and my fellow frontline warrior, chose just that moment to challenge Branwen for the alpha female position of my tribe! Damnation! And, she revelaed the truth that she is not an honorable warrior, saying that she believes in everything I hate! I have no choice but to banish her immediately, and if she doesn't accept her banishment and leave, we will have to kill her! I did not expect this kind of betrayal from her! Now, we will have to rely on my sister Imoen's novice trap skill to get us through the mines! Curse it all! Valhalla take you, Shar-Teel! I am now in sore need of a replacement, yet, we will still trek forward into the mines!
Update, The Nordic Warriors, 072713 Back downstairs in the dungeon, Todek finds the first Lokispawn hiding several corridors away. Then begins the long, long process of carrying bodies and equipment to the Halfling temple to be raised.
Wow that SCS mod seems to make life much harder. I found that Firewine dungeon to be tedious in BG 1 Vanilla and BG EE, but never so deadly. It was actually quite nice for picking up lots of fire arrows lol.
Also how can you possibly carry all equipment back? I thought items disappear if you leave an area. It happened to Tord several times in his BG 1 run, where he lost a lot of loot as a result.
Damnation, and curses from Valhalla! Just as we were about to go into the Cloakwood mines, Shar-Teel, my best trap disarmament specialist, and my fellow frontline warrior, chose just that moment to challenge Branwen for the alpha female position of my tribe! Damnation! And, she revelaed the truth that she is not an honorable warrior, saying that she believes in everything I hate! I have no choice but to banish her immediately, and if she doesn't accept her banishment and leave, we will have to kill her! I did not expect this kind of betrayal from her! Now, we will have to rely on my sister Imoen's novice trap skill to get us through the mines! Curse it all! Valhalla take you, Shar-Teel! I am now in sore need of a replacement, yet, we will still trek forward into the mines!
Wow is this roleplaying or does Shar-teel and Branwen have an ingame enmity? Also I'm sure you know this... but the battle vs the flesh golems wudda been much easier with a potion of absorption.
Is this the Baldur's Gate Trilogy?
I have no idea how it works... are u able to go to Athkatla early? Or do you still have to follow the main plot?
Nice setup and nice background. I'll be interested to see how it develops. It seems like you are really aiming for a RP-focused run, and I really like how your Charname genuinely has strengths and weaknesses.
I'm not familiar with the mods you are using. Did you install an Imoen romance mod?
@Heindrich1988, the mod that adds npc interaction is NPC Project. Did you read the dialogue between Branwen and Shar-Teel? Yes, I am roleplaying based off of that conversation.
Yes, it's Baldur's Gate Trilogy, and it allows you to go from the final battle into BG2 while keeping all the stat and skill proficiency decisions that you made while in BG1. It does not allow you to skip straight to Athkatla. You have to beat Sarevok in order to proceed.
The flesh golems weren't enough of a challenge against Todek's massive hit points to make me start thinking about using any special potions. Healing potions and spells were sufficient.
In the battle for Gullykin, I was indeed worried that our items would disappear. Fortunately, they did not, since I neither left the map, nor rested. I even went back through the labyrinth the long way to get to the temple, rather than to risk going outside. It helped a lot that Todek has 18/53 strength. I think that things here would have gone much, much worse if I had been playing a "weak" magic-user.
SCS does indeed make life much harder, and I only have a partial install of the base enhancements of its new AI. A full install of SCS makes the game insanely more difficult.
-Faldorn and Todek are getting along famously. She complimented him on his beastliness, and he likes that.(Todek likes Faldorn so much, I think he is going to have a terrible time deciding what to do about Tradesmeet, in his far future.)
-Todek took Yeslick into the war party. Yeslick seemed born to fight, and Todek expects him to be a valuable new warrior priest, and a good fit for the group.
-The hardest mage we've encountered was Hareishan. She cast a Teleport Field to keep Todek away from her. I've never seen that done before SCS. I didn't realize it was such a good defense, but it is. She also had sequencers with who-knows-what defenses, Stoneskin, and Improved Invisibility. Branwen successfully cast Silence, to no avail, because she also had Vocalize. She tried to kill Imoen with Melf's Minute Meteors, not very effectively. Todek was raged, so I don't know if she might have tried to mind control him. Imoen and Garrick incapacitated her guards with Wand of Fear and Harp of Discord. Since we couldn't target Ms. H. with anything directly, both Imoen and Garrick wounded her with Fireballs. She finally went down.
-The mage on the next level was almost anticlimactic. Faldorn got an Insect Swarm on her, and Garrick took out her hobgoblin ranged bodyguards with his Harp of Discord.
-Davaeorn wound up being a pushover. Faldorn saw all his traps with a Find Traps spell, and Imoen disarmed them. (Her Find Traps is only 50 percent, and very unreliable, but with a supporting divine caster to reveal the traps, any thief can disarm them.) SCS seems to make the boss mages too eager to throw Melf's Minute Meteors, to their own detriment. Davy never even got a chance to activate his defenses, before Todek, wearing Boots of Speed, was in his face, and Faldorn had an Insect Swarm on him. I felt like I had wasted all of our most valuable potions in anticipation of Lightning and Fire and all Valhalla breaking lose, and none of it ever happened. Davy was just a weak old man before the might of the Nordic Warriors.
Average party level: 6 Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
Nice update. I was indeed referring to the screencaps of Branwen vs Sharteel. I never used either of them in my BG 1 playthrough, so the only infighting I experienced was Jaheira vs Xzar, which ended with Montaron and Xzar dead. lol
It seems the mod kinda makes mage battles more variable in terms of difficulty, as any odd mage can be one helluva headache, and apparently the boss not so tricky. Also nice to see you actually making good use of Garrick, another guy I've bared used.
We began our investigation by questioning the guards and miners. But even then, there were too many inconsistencies to make any sense out of it. We found an odd kobold trapped in the tunnels. He didn't seem too eager to head one way or the other, probably fear of being cut down by humans. In the end, I crept up on him and slit his throat. Nothing too serious to worry about.
Venturing further into the mines, a frightened miner came running towards us begging to save his life. It was mere seconds later that he was shot down by arrows. The yipping demons turned out to be a pack of kobolds. Khalid and Brawnen diced them easily enough. Even an arrow can take one down with ease.
My suspicions started to rise and I took off from the party, scouting the tunnels ahead. To my discovery, the mines seemed to be infested with kobolds. It explained the missing and dead miners but in no way could kobolds be tainting the iron. Could they? Jaheira thought the idea impossible.
Melicamp: "Perhaps, cluck, a type of magic is at work here." Fiona: "That implies that kobolds have the skill to wield such magic." Jaheira: "If there's a tribe of these rodents, then there must be a chieftain. We would have to go further to find out more." Khalid: "These tunnels are SO dark." Imoen: "O, don't worry princess. Imoen is here to protect you." Khalid: "Imoen! Don't b-be so..." Imoen: "Ah, I'm just proddin' you."
Branwen stood up after examining some kobold corpses. Branwen: "My, an odd tinted potion this one is."
We gathered around Branwen to have a glimpse of the concoction. Melicamp and I both glared at it suspiciously. Fiona: "That's definitely no potion."
I took the vial in hand and examined it closely. My ability to sense magic allowed me to decipher its purpose. It was a combination both alchemical and arcane. Though I could not fathom the function of it's alchemic reagents, the magics were surely those that dissolve or brittle objects. Malicamp: "Hrmn. That's, cluck, nothing Thalantyr ever used before." Fiona: "We may have found the cause of the problem." Jaheira: "Good, then there's a method to this ore sickness. Better we go deeper before they do more harm." Khalid: "Sh-should we not t-test it before going on?" Fiona: "We can do that later at our leisure." Branwen: "Aye, let us stroll deeper into their den and cleanse it of their foulness." Imoen: "I don't much like this, Fiona. Their packs are getting bigger."
Imoen's concerns proved justified. We began to go even deeper into the mines where only corpses of miners still lurked. Imoen started finding traps about the place. Branwen: "They are bold to set a foothold openly." Jaheira: "Their stink fills these passageways."
Imoen and I set up a system of scouting. Since I specialize in shadow stalking, I had to lead point a few paces at a time as Imoen trailed me with her keen eye and knack for breaking devices, traps in this instant. Not far down the west tunnel, we spied a congregation of kobolds. Their numbers were staggering. Imoen: *whisper* "Lets go around."
Backtracking a bit and turning off another route, we found another cavern not far away with another large gathering. I nodded to Imoen and returned to the group. Branwen: "Well? Where's the enemy?" Fiona: "We found a number of them, broken up into two groups down this way." Khalid: "That shouldn't be t-t-too hard." Fiona: "A total of 49 kobolds." Khalid: "I-I-I think we should ret-t-turn with the guards." Branwen: "And turn tail now? What kind of warriors would that make us? Tempus demand we push forward." Fiona: "I concur. I'm not about to beg for help from some self-important Amnish guards." Imoen: "What?! But that's way~~~ too much!" Jahiera: "Sssh. Keep your voices down. Our words can travel down these walls." Fiona: "We're not just some poultry group of would-be-adventures. We can outwit them plus, we have the advantage of surprise." Branwen: "Aye, and just how shall we proceed forward?"
Jaheira, Imoen and I went down the original path to the first group of kobolds. To the northwest of their chamber resided the other group. Connecting tunnels lead alternative routes between the two chamber and to our tunnel. Khalid and Branwen blocked off a nearby path just before the bend in the passageway. Fiona: *whispers* "This is the spot. Now Jaheira."
Jaheira concentrated and formed her hands in a cupping position and brought them to her mouth where she inhaled as though she was about to shout. As she exhaled, strips of wiry white threads leaped out from her hands continuously till she was void of breath. The panic cries of the kobolds echoed from the chamber as they were entangled by a thick spider web that filled the room.
The three of us stepped forward to the edge of the webbing and prepped our weapons. With so many kobolds entrapped, we made haste to fell them before their cries brought the other group down on us. Arrows and sling stones were pelting helpless kobolds as growls echoed down the other passageway.
Khalid and Branwen stood at a ready for the other group would surely not step into the webbing and thus take the passage towards them. As soon as one popped around the corner, Branwen brained one with the massive warhammer we acquired. They stammered to a halt as Branwen started bellowing out. Branwen: "Have at thee~~~! Raise your blades and battle me!" Khalid: "A-ah, yeah... St-st-stay your pacing, Branwen! W-We must stand shoulder-to-shoulder or else they slip by."
The chamber before us was starting to clear out and Imoen was ready to put down the last kobold. Fiona: "Jaheira, undo it and back-up Khalid and Branwen!"
With a whisper, Jaheira brought the webs to a limp and they dissolved into the cavern. I disappeared into the shadows and Imoen watched for any stray kobolds.
Branwen and Khalid were holding their own, but Branwen was starting to incur injury from their archers. I snuck up through the chamber and behind them, blocking their escape. Drawing my blade, I approached one of the archers and sent him to hell. Imoen turned the corner and started firing upon them as I engaged their archers in melee. In time, the 49 kobolds were all slain. Branwen: "Now THAT was a glorious battle!"
The eastern passages turned out to be similarly infested but with fewer numbers. Though, Jaheira was not able to manage another casting of webbing. We modified our tactics to deal with their large numbers.
Upon its clearing, we discovered an underground gulch bridged by the very tunnel we stood upon. Khalid: "This is t-terribly foreboding." Imoen: "Yeah, Fiona, I don't think we can manage another grouping."
She was right, though we were victorious, our resources were dwindling. Jahiera and Branwen have exhausted their healing magics and my mage armor was fading. We would have to turn back and rest for a time. Preferable in the presence of some Amnish guards.
@Draith012, Jaheira casting Web? What's up with that? Otherwise, great work in the mines.
Update, The Nordic Warriors, 073013
-(shorthand version, OOC) We've done all the work for Scar, including Seven Suns doppelgangers and sewers ogre mage. We got sent to the infamous Iron Throne Gang battle, and promptly got our arses handed to us.
One of the things that makes this one of the most difficult battles in the game is the darned stairs. On our first attempt, we all tried to get posted on the top floor, but we got overwhelmed in the end by Chaos spells, liberally cast healing spells and Potions of Extra Healing being used by the enemy, and some backfires by our own Wands of Fire. Also, Todek's rage, which only lasts five rounds, was woefully inadequate to protect him from the Chaos mind control here. They had several Chaos spells at their disposal, with a lot of other nastiness, and the rage simply couldn't last long enough. The final result was close, but Todek still died thanks to mind control.
On the second attempt, we decided that if they can use the stairs against us, we can use them against them. I sent Imoen and Garrick up alone. They both fired Wand of Fire (Fireballs) for as long as possible before retreating back downstairs. That strategy would have worked even better if Garrick hadn't got caught in a "friendly" Fireball.
We drew the enemy downstairs one by one into the ambush prepared by our melee fighters, and wore them down that way. One of them closed off the right hand stairwell with a Teleport Field. There was no way we were stepping into that!
The end battle was still nail-biting. One of the clerics got three party members under a Hold Person. And Todek was boxed in among the three such that he couldn't move! Faldorn's dire wolf and Insect Swarm wound up being very helpful here, as we still had two casters left to kill.
Whew. SCS has made this one of the most difficult BG battles I've ever faced, apart from the final battles. It was hard before, but SCS makes it crazy! Boy, when SCS says "smarter mages" and "smarter priests", it is not kidding! Especially if you have to fight an entire party of mages and priests!
Here are a couple of photos:
I think we'll return this quest to Scar, and, humbled by our near defeat, will go back out into the rural areas to try to get some more experience and to toughen up before facing the Iron Throne again!
Average party level: 7 Reloads: 2 (random ogre mage, Iron Throne Gang No. 1)
After meeting Khalid & Jaheira & forming a fast bond between the four of us we headed south & made it to Beregost w/little trouble. We were attacked by a Dwarven Assassin but worked well together to eliminate him. Then while, travelling back & forth between the Thunderhammer Smithy & Feldepost’s Inn we kept passing this tall fellow. After a second or third pass we greeted him & he offered us service in support of his mistress, Silke. When it became apparent she wanted us to murder for her we refused & she attacked us. It became evident she was a Mage & we carefully spread out & then used patience & Hide in Shadows/Stealth to wait her out when she cast Invisibility on herself. We knew she was in the area & wouldn’t move far waiting for a chance to strike. We spread out around the outside of the building in pairs approaching cautiously. When she finally appeared she caught Imoen alone & was able to kill her. Upon hearing the ruckus we all converged & she killed Jaheira too. Khalid & I finally got to her & killed her. We collected the belonging on Immy & Jaheira & after speaking w/the young Bard, Garrick & knowing he was not part of her evil schemes we invited him to join us.
Key Event:Here I made 3 fateful choices in gameplay. 1. I elected not to have Garrick provide us ‘foreknowledge’ of the Temple of the Morning just E of Beregost & pretended ignorance requiring us to return to FAI for healing services. 2. I chose not to ‘skip’ Coast Way & go straight to the FAI but to take the roads travelling thru CW w/just Eric, Khalid, & Garrick. At first level, all w/AC7, I knew the Kobolds on the road were likely to give us trouble. They did. To make matters worse, trying to skirt them we stumbled upon four Bandits & everyone was chasing us. Garrick was killed & Khalid & I were wounded w/o any Potions of Healing so we headed W to Lions Way but were afraid to ‘rest’ for fear that Garrick’s equipment would disappear. We tried in vain 3 times to ‘recover’ Garrick’s equipment but were eventually separated and/or killed each time. 3. Finally we were able to recover ‘what we could – it’s all a blur now’ & went roundabout to FAI & got our party healed by Gellana. So, as if stupidity hadn’t had its way w/me enough already I decided to head back through the Coast Way this time headlong into the Bandit Leader & her cronies. I figured if we could get her we’d make some amends for our earlier debacle. Even w/o SCS she’s a handful at 1st level. The 5 of us were no match for her & we paid 3 times, using the same basic strategy, before I finally got us bloodied & to Beregost.
From there we pulled ourselves together but had lost most of our GPs ‘donating’ them to Gellana for services for the six of us. We killed a couple of Ogrillons & some Hobgoblins on the South Beregost Road & North Nashkel Road. I almost bought the farm against some amazon warrior woman that challenged me to a dual, luckily it only cost me 20 GPs. We made it to Nashkel, tired & beaten & were attacked by a female assassin named Neira, a Cleric I think. Garrick cast his first-ever spell in the Nashkel Inn, Color Spray, which did nothing to Neira but got us banished from the Nashkel Inn from now on & then a mistaken arrow killed a patron & our reputation is in ‘chamber pot.’ We dragged the battle w/Naira out into the street & finally, beat her after slipping into the temple of Helm & the Nashkel Store to bolster our chances mid-battle. Luckily, Naira had gone behind the Nashkel Inn so we were able to prepare to meet her again & we enlisted the help of a Barbarian named Minsc who witnessed out battle & offered to help – although he came w/no armor or weapon. We finally found Neira coming back around between the Nashkel Inn & store & killed her. We tried to ask the innkeeper to forgive us but he punched Jaheira & knocked her out cold.
Treasure of note: We gathered an enchanted helmet from Neira, a unidentified Bastard Sword & a potion that looks of value. When we are able, we will identify these.
Current Disposition: We’ve had to make camp outside behind the Nashkel Inn in the woods. (Luckily, I have ‘Rest Anywhere’ as one of my mod adds so the guards don’t bother us – I always thought it was dumb not to be able to rest on the outskirts of town, or in an uninhabited cabin somewhere (like Valygar's) so I always use that mod.)
Next Steps: We’ve outfitted Minsc in Splint Mail & we need to get him a 2HS & a CLBow. Then we need to go see if we can rescue his ‘witch’ he calls Dynahier. I’ve told Garrick he can travel w/us until we get her but then he’ll have to take his share of gold & treasure & find his way from there. He understands & is looking @ it as a chance to work on some new ballads.
Level Up: Garrick joined us @ 2nd level bard; Minsc @ 4th Lvl Barbarian (DARN IT! Just realized that. I purposely skipped making Minsc a Barbarian b/c I know it doesn’t work well w/Lvl 1 NPCs. I didn’t think it was that way w/Berserker. This could screw this game up!!!
Reloads: 9 (Tarnesh x3, Bandits/Kobolds in Coast Way x3, Bandit leader in Coast Way x3)* *They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing, the same way, time & again & expecting a different result. Versus the Bandits/Kobolds & Bandit Leader I just kept the same strategy each time & failed. Stupid, stupid, oh & did anyone say stupid?
@belgarathmth I made Jaheira an Avenger./Fighter, which is a type of druid (unable to even wear studded leather) but in return she gains access to an additional spell in each of her spell levels. Her Level 2 spells allow her to cast Web as a druid.
Anyways, enjoy reading your updates. Sounds like it's going to be a pain just to survive end game battles on no reloads.
I'm starting a BG:EE and BG2, I made the character but didn't started to play anymore than making a character, her stats:
Sorcerer lvl 1 Race Elf Neutral Evil Quarter staff+ Abilities: SRT: I think it was 10 DEX:19 CON: I think (well, maybe) it was 15 INT:18 WIS:12 CHAR:14
Spells: Magic Missile at lvl up Chromatic Orb Sleep and Nahal's Reckless Dweomer as a lvl2 spell (:D)
She killed Firebead Elvenhair in Candlekeep to get his Robe, she's now lvl 2 and get Magic Missile
I'll get the full stats and new part of the gameplay this afternoon
Notes: Core Rules are used and Lesser Basilisk and Worgs are settled as Demon Knights, Lesser Basilisks have Demogorgon's skin and BG2 items (like Ice Dragon Armor, Carsomyr+6, Gridle of Stone Giant Strenght and Aslyferund+5, Armor of the Hart+3, 80 Arrows+2.
Lots of BG2 items are added to the game (NOT via mods, via Override folder), lot more of items are added, but they can't be found in the campaign.
Comments
Update: The Nordic Warriors, 072613
-Branwen and Todek have become mates. He wants her to become his wife and alpha female, but she refuses his proposals for some reason, keeping their relationship somewhere between purely physical and committed. Oh well, Todek is certainly not going to turn down the sex.
While in a moment of afterglow, Branwen expressed that she misses the sea air of her home, and that she would like to visit the beaches of the Sword Coast. Todek being Todek, swore to her that they would set out immediately at first light the very next day.
-(OOC summary) Branwen, in a fit of jealousy, took the Kiss of Death from Shoal for Todek. Now the party has the Helm of Defense, which Todek will wear. Had a scraper with three sirens. Todek raged, both Branwen and Viconia cast Silence. We got through it. We were going to go to the lighthouse area, but it was showing 48 hours away on the map for some reason. And we needed to buy artillery. So we travelled back to Beregost.
-Garrick had been bugging Todek to check out a lead he found in a book that the ghost of the famous bard Mercutio might be haunting the Ulcaster Ruins, so Todek decided to indulge the young skald-in-training. We found the "ghost" all right, outside the ruins - he had actually become a super-zombie, retaining both his intellect and his spells.
Today's photos are of the bardic chain that Garrick got off of Mercutio's undead body, and a picture of the aftermath. Those spell auras you see on three party members are the remnants of a "Song of Death" that had been cast by Mercutio. Branwen and Viconia had both cast Remove Fear the second Mercutio started casting, while Todek immediately went into a rage, so the battle was a glorious victory instead of the disaster it could have been.
Next up: the Ulcaster Ruins, and then back to the Lighthouse on the Sword Coast - Todek wants to give Branwen a proper "honeymoon", even if she won't formalize the mating.
Average party level: 5
Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
Jaheira dragged both me and Imoen out of bed. We weren't too eager to start the day, as late into it as it was. She had already spoken to mayor on our 'behalf'. Apparently, Jaheira took it upon herself to represent us and apply our persons to the task of investigating the mines. So this is what it's like to have a mother. I think I preferred bastardry after all.
Now in the light of day, I could finally see Nashkil for what it was: a shabby little hamlet on the crack of Amn's nether. The guards were none too friendly either. But in light of things, everyone was spooked from the thought of war. Surely, if conflict were to break out over this iron issue and Amn couldn't withhold the first wave, Nashkil would certainly be burned down or forced into bondage; tasked to worked the very mines that caused their hardships. If I heard correctly in Beregost, a contingent was sent down to mind the border, a platoon of Flaming Fist knights no doubt. But I digress.
I didn't even meet with the mayor which was fine, cause I had a particular interesting encounter with the mayor's assistant whom showered me with payment for a complete misunderstanding. Whoever this fool was, he apparently wasn't present when Jaheira met the mayor and for whatever likeness this 'Greywolf' had, he surely believed one of us was he. But no matter how hard I look, Khalid couldn't possible resemble anyone that fancies himself with such a moniker. He would have protested too if Imoen wasn't quick to stealing him away.
Our path to the mines led us through the fair. At least, it was some sort of eventful recreation site, though not many were in attendance. The oddities were an exploding ogre, a wizard trying to kill a witch and a petrified woman.
Imoen: "Poor lass. I wouldn't mind havin' a statue after me but I wouldn't want to actually be it."
Malicamp: "Tis a sad cluck fate, indeed."
Jaheira: "One could wonder how such a person met such a fate. Nashkil isn't the place to encounter hedge wizards capable of this."
Fiona: "She looks like she was trying to fight someone. Or at least how it seems."
Imoen: "Oh, I bet she has a good story 'bout it too."
Fiona: "Guess we'll never know."
Imoen: "What?! We're gonna leave her?"
Fiona: "We're in a carnival. This is just a cheap ploy to get our coin."
Malicamp: "Even a scroll for this magic isn't, bawk, cheap."
Jaheira: "I would agree with the chicken."
Jaheira paused for a moment at the absurdity of her statement, but pressed on nonetheless.
Jaheira: "This halfing is going quite far just to make a bit of gold. I can't imagine him turning a profit for the casting and the undoing all for 500 gold."
I huffed out a sigh. These two were no help. Now I can't justify NOT getting the scroll.
Fiona: "Well, I'm not handing out 500 gold just to find out we got scammed."
Imoen grinned the way she did back in Candlekeep when we were about to cause mischief in Winthrop's tavern.
Imoen: "Gotcha."
Khalid: "Oh dear. What is that look."
Strolling off in the halfling's direction, Imoen begins to work her craft. She was no eye sore so we often took turns bewitching men as she would call it; a little joke at my expense. As she started working his ego and mustard all his attention, I slip off into the shadows and around the tents. In his distraction, I liberated the scroll and soon the petrified woman, the latter occurring once we were free of the half man's presence.
The hues of the stone shifted to a lightly tanned flesh and a head full of golden locks. She collapsed onto the floor, weak from her imprisonment. Odd, I have heard of these affects before but I could never fancy the reason. I would assume one would be exactly how one was before their petrification. The alteration from flesh to stone to flesh was a heavy toll on the body. Surprisingly, she began healing herself. Once she felt well enough, she addressed us.
Woman: "Oh, the smell of the crisp air again! Thank you kind people for my freedom."
Fiona: "Well thank Imoen. It was her doing."
Woman: *looks around with a great smile* "Imoen?"
Imoen: "Aye aye, that's me!"
The woman rushes up to Imoen and embracesed her like a bear smothering its prey.
Woman: "Thank you dear sister! I am ever indebted to you."
Imoen: "Ack! By the tits of Puffguts! You're welcome. Just let go!"
The woman released her, placed her back down on the ground.
Fiona: "Puffguts?"
Imoen: "Yeah, he has 'im. Even if he's a man. Frightful thing too. Never venture too far into the inn at night, let me tell you!"
Woman: "Lady Imoen, allow me to pledge my life to your safekeeping."
The woman kneels down towards her. Now, I certainly wasn't expecting this.
Imoen: "What's all this about?! You really don't need to."
Woman: "It is my honor, as Branwen of Seawolf, to repay you for my life with my life."
Jaheira: "That's a noble undertaking. Best you appreciate it Imoen, few are willing to go so far."
Khalid: "Such a refreshing breath to our last acquaintances. You're w-welcome to join our band."
I needn't speak of it further. We bantered there for somewhile and the halfling was furious about his scroll, but I definitely didn't have such a thing in my possession at the time to prove anything. I could relate what was said afterwards but it was a whole lot of nothing. But this Branwen is now Imoen's and her trusty 'familiar' side-kick Malicamp's guardian.
Well, she wouldn't be much of a guardian without any armor and a weapon. Luckily, the carnival did sell a variety of such and she was actually skilled in using that warhammer we acquired from Bassilus. She took to the party quite quickly. On another note, she's a war maiden of Templar. A priestess to be precise.
Changes:
Reputation: Disliked (8)
Fiona Winters 2/3 Enchantress/Thief
Khalid 3 Fighter
Branwen 2 Cleric
Jaheira 3/3 Avenger/Fighter
Imoen 4 Swashbuckler
Looks like there may come a time when Fiona and Jaheira won't be together. If so, great foreshadowing, and no, don't spoil me, but still, great writing.
2nd ROFLMAO "the tits of Puffguts". I'm ROFLing again just typing it.
Brava!
Last I read, Todek was interested in Viconia to follow it up with, Branwen is now his mate! Well, I guess I can't fault him. He's just one woman short of having a harem, which is probably historically accurate anyways.
On another note, sounds like you're having an easy go at this. I noticed that the encounters are doubled walking around the map so you level quicker even if it's a tad harder at first. I would like to see you tackle a harder protagonist class. Or try to play a character with unaltered stat rolls (that is, you can roll as much as you like but you just can't manually change the stats). But with my thoughts aside, if you're enjoying your play through, I'd like to see you complete it. Are you going to take this character through BG2?
Yes, my intention was to take Todek through the whole Trilogy, and also, to break out of a rut that I had fallen into of always playing myself in games.
I've gotten so into Todek as an alter ego, my mind is racing with all the possibilities for fun playing him with the BGTrilogy, but also Might and Magic VI, Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, Icewind Dale 1 and 2, Sacred 1 and 2, Diablo 2 and 3, Dragon Age:Origins, Titan Quest, and a few others, that I'm already wanting to start a new game of Might and Magic 6 tomorrow with a created party of Todek, Branwen, Garrick, and Shar-Teel.
You see, I have a hopeless case of restartitis with chronic distractibility. My pattern is to start games with toons that really intrigue me, and then to start wanting to start other games with the same toon almost immediately, until I get double distracted by a totally different toon or party combo idea.
So, I rarely finish anything all the way. My intention is still to finish my Trilogy run with Todek. But, tomorrow, I *really* want to start playing Todek/Branwen/Garrick/Shar-Teel in Might and Magic 6.
So, I guess I'm saying, I hope that people enjoy runs and posts that I make, but nobody should ever expect me to finish one before becoming distracted with something else.
EDIT: p.s. - the abrupt transitions in Todek's interests and his story may have to do with the fact that I am only posting very brief scenes at different times in this forum. (And the fact that he is imagined by me as having quite voracious appetites for food, strong drink, and women.)
Mostly, I just summarize stuff. I'm not up to writing a whole novel, as you seem to do. My priority is just to have fun, and to try to share some excerpts from Todek's glorious adventures with friends on the forum. Often, I will tend to inform of a major character change with only one sentence: "Todek has now x."
Okay, I decided to keep playing BG today. We went into the Gullykin dungeon and had our first epic SCS mage fight.
The Loki-spawn had Mirror Image, MGoI, and Stoneskin. Branwen was the first to fall to his multiple Lightning Bolts.
Things are looking bleak. Stinking Cloud renders Todek unconscious, and other party members fall despite trying to stay out of the Cloud. The boundaries of AoE's are very hard to judge in the narrow corridors.
Another Lightning Bolt, and all but Todek are dead! The coward Lokispawn Warlock goes Improved Invisible and runs away, drinking potions of extra healing to restore full health, and casts a second MGoI, then disappears somewhere into the dungeon. Todek takes advantage of his cowardice to wait out the Stinking Cloud, while drinking potions of his own. He drinks Oil of Speed, Stone Giant Strength, Heroism, and Fire Resistance. The Grounding he drank earlier is still active. He also has Boots of Grounding and the Helm of Defense.
The coward witch doctor cannot be found - he is hiding and biding his time, preparing an ambush, no doubt. Todek decides to clear the immediate area of kobolds and ogrillons, and runs into an ogre mage! The creature brags that he is the cause of the attacks on Gullykin before beginning his nefarious spells. How many Lokispawn are in this awful place? Todek fights valiantly and defeats the ogre mage single-handedly, even though the hellish demon tried to run upstairs - seeking aid from a wicked traitor Halfling hiding there. Todek kills both of them.
Back downstairs in the dungeon, Todek finds the first Lokispawn hiding several corridors away. Then begins the long, long process of carrying bodies and equipment to the Halfling temple to be raised. There were very little spoils of value from the battle - just a few magic scrolls for Imoen to study. It was not worth it. Todek resolves anew never to go into underground hellholes unless he absolutely has to. At least the Halfling village is saved, although the mayor only rewards the war party with a lousy 250 gold. Our cost to raise five people in the temple - 2500 gold. I'd say the halflings profited more than we did. Todek leaves with a bad taste in his mouth. He decides to take Branwen back to the coast for another holiday. Hopefully the siren infestation has been cleared by now.
Average party level: 5
Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
I took Branwen to the old Lighthouse area of the Sword Coast, hoping for a vacation/honeymoon. I guess we got it, but in the manner of the barbarians - battle. The sirens were not gone. Here is picture of our war party defeating the first siren coven. I raged, and Branwen cast two Silence. (OOC: there seems to be a mod bug where the party member who kills the last siren gets confused, even when they're all silenced. Shar-Teel got it this time.)
We encountered a weak city woman who tried to seduce me. I told her I already had an alpha female. She let slip that she was looking for someone to help her find a great treasure to the NE. We decided to go after the treasure, and found more sirens blocking the entrance. (OOC: this time Todek took the Confusion from the coup de grace. His barbarian super speed was actually a disadvantage, as he went after Viconia. She still managed to avoid his attacks by triangulating her movement around him.)
We recovered the treasure that Safana had unwittingly clued us about. It turned out to be a magic book and some other items. Garrick identified the book as increasing constitution magically just by opening the cover and looking at a magical incantation. Todek took it and opened it, reading a few words, that looked like nonsense to him. But after only a few lines of reading, the book glowed and disappeared. Todek didn't know what to make of that, but he did feel tougher. (Constitution is now 19. Not sure if that'll do much good.)
The treasure had been guarded by several flesh golems. Even the mighty Todek felt their blows, and was severely injured while defeating them, despite many cure spells from Branwen and Viconia, as well as many potions of healing drank. We made camp outside so that Todek could recover.
(OOC: Branwen gave several romance dialogues during the rest. She is worried that her growing love for Todek is making her too soft, and that she is losing favor with Tempus, foreshadowing a breakup to come. Todek tries to comfort her, and the conversation ends in sex, as usual. During the conversations, a statement came up from Todek that Branwen had never thought twice about "crushing her enemies' ribs and then animating their dead corpses to fight for Tempus."
I had been avoiding the Animate Dead spell, thinking that Branwen wouldn't do that, but, heck, the NPC Project just gave me roleplaying license to imagine that she doesn't. Viconia certainly wouldn't have any problem with it. So, we animated two skellies just to see if we could have one from B. and one from V. on the board at the same time. Yes, we can.
Ha, that makes me want to play Sacred 2 as an Astral Lord shadow warrior, with two skellie guardians to remind him of his past relationships with B. and V. )
Here's a pic of two skellies helping to defeat two carrion crawlers:
Next up: Todek gets around to hunting bandits, and searching for the enemies who tried to have him killed all those fortnights ago when he first (and still shamefully to him) fled from the battle where Gorion died.
Average party level: 6
Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
I am going to try & play this PC one more time. I love the possibilities a complete BGI/BGII play through could yield so I’m gonna give him another crack. The PCs name is Eric the Huntsman, & as before, he is based on the male protagonist in Snow White & the Huntsman. In the movie his wife was slain by the evil sorcerous, Queen Revenna & as a result he is known to drink heavily. I’ll play my PC as if he used to drink heavily as a result of his internal struggle about his true heritage but has decided to give up drink & make the most of every day he is given.
As before, I’ll play Eric as if he was raised in Candlekeep & had indeed served as its Huntsman these last couple of years or so, venturing beyond the walls to do so. In so doing, he’s learned the skills of a Ranger/Tracker & has Specialized w/his axe, is proficient w/a dagger & is a Master of Two-Weapon Style fighting already. After a long day of hunting to bring back game & after completing his day-to-day chores, Eric rests in the bunkhouse by night.
Who knows, I this PC may bite the dust before he leaves Candlekeep, before he reaches the FAO, or certainly when he reaches the FAI as we all know what awaits him there. He’ll start in the NRC again & see how far he can go.
Some rules for my play through this time:
1) I made sure my Ranger has the P&P minimum stats required for a Ranger (Players Handbook ©
1978, page 24
2) The games dialogue, Gorion’s Scroll, Assassin letters etc. will direct play. E.g., I know to head to the FAI b/c Gorion’s Scroll, & later, Elminster guides me there. On the other hand, I don’t know to go tromping off into the Cloakwood to look for Coran.
3) If I don’t know it’s there, I don’t know it’s there, period. E.g., until someone mentions Thalantyr/High Hedge or Kelddath Ormlyr/Temple of the Morning, my PC doesn’t know to run there to p/u supplies etc. but once I come into a town like Beregost or Nashkel I will assume I would easily find the Temple or Store.
4) If I pass someone one or more times & it seems natural we would greet one another, e.g. Montaron & Xzar, Garrick (since I normally stay in the Red Sheaf or Burning Wizard), Kivan etc., then I will initiate conversation. I will not necessarily go up & talk to everyone on the street or @ the pub & will certainly not just walk into people’s homes so I will miss out on some quests, e.g. Purdue’s Sword, Unsley’s Girdle, Joseph’s Greenstone Ring & Mirianne’s Letter (since it’s unlikely I’d pick the lock to someone’s home & go barging in), Joia’s Flamedance Ring while others might seem more plausible, e.g. Landrin’s Spiders, Captain Brage, Samuel & Gellana, Bassilus.
5) Will most likely end up w/the usual suspects again although sometimes Garrick tags along until we save Dy.
6) Immy will be Eric’s ‘Snow White’ so he’ll be a little harsh @ times but softer @ heart.
Key Event: Gorion has just sent word that we need to leave Candlekeep as soon as possible. I am to gather what I need for an unplanned & unexpected journey.
Treasure of note: None
Current Disposition: Say my farewells & finishing up a few last errands @ Candlekeep
Next Steps: Meet Gorion @ the library ASAP
Level Up: None
Current Party: (Reputation: 11 - Average)
Eric the Huntsman, Ranger (Tracker)/1, 18(96)/13/16/13/14/11; 2HWS***, Axe**, Dgr*
Mods Used: HardTimes-v2; BG1UB_v12; bg1npc-v20; level1npcs-v1.7; bg2_tweaks-v11; Randomizer-v68; scs-v21
Also, as far as rules, I think we should just be having fun. If your Charname dies once or twice with no one to raise him, my vote is that you should keep playing. The reload counter is our score, and we're seeing who can finish the Trilogy with the lowest score, as in golf. I think the priority is to have fun, and to share battles and stories with each other. How about it, @SapphireIce101, do you want to enforce the letter of the rules of the thread, or can we just have fun sharing?
The Nordic Warriors, 072713, supplemental.
We have defeated the Chill and the Black Talon led by Tazok. They were such weak cowards, it was child's play. I raged, both healer women summoned the spirits of the dead, Garrick played his Harp of Confusion, won from the Lake Poets, and then waved his Wand of Fear, and Imoen waved her Wand of Paralysis at their archer, and this battle was over before it even started. Their warlock cast a Slow, and it was the last spell the coward ever cast.
We returned to the FAI, and then to Thalyntyr's, to buy more potions of various kinds. Now, we have proceeded to the Cloakwood Forest to follow leads on the information obtained from the Chill and the Talons.
Branwen continues to distance herself from me, insisting that her relationship with me is making her weak. I don't understand women. I've offered her the world, and a place at my side. And she says it makes her weak. She claims that she loves me so much that she doesn't want to do anything but lie in bed and stroke the hair on my chest. Pfaah. I love it when she does that, but, she thinks it makes her weak? I'd make her the strongest woman in the world if she would stop this nonsense. I want an alpha female worthy to be at my side. It pains me greatly to think it, but I am beginning to doubt that Branwen is "the one." I am still holding onto hope that she will change.
Average party level: 6
Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
Think 19 Con gives you +5 HP per level, which is probably unnoticeable for an 18 Con barbarian. You probably have a truck load of hp already.
Would like to see more of the war band's progress.
Once everything was settled at the fair, we took off and reached the mines finally. We scouted the immediate area for suspicious activity and came across what seemed to me a madden man, though his sculptorship was impeccable.
He begged to be left to finishing his work and though I told him that, Greywolf or no, that the bounty on those gems he stole was going to be claimed. In the mix of it, the actual Greywolf made his appearance. His attention was at first towards the mad sculptor but he quickly changed his mark.
Greywolf: "You! You're the ones that robbed my of my bounty reward!"
Fiona: "Oh bloody hell. What are the chances of this happening? He looks NOTHING like Khalid."
Khalid: "N-n-no. I'm m-much more int-ti-timidating"
Greywolf: "All of you will die!"
Imoen: "Bullocks!"
Branwen was quick to the draw.
Branwen: "Then let us test your steel! Not a scratch will mark my charge!"
Things escalated quickly and the bastard chugged down a potion of strength, easily thrashing Branwen. After a single blow, she had to fall back while Khalid took front, shield quivering in his wake. I wasn't about to let some fool with a potion outdo me in the wizardry display so I stole his sight with a single spell. He flailed wildly but ineffectively. The rest of the group started tearing into him while Branwen healed her wounds. When the fool was lying dead on the ground, the mad man was finished with his sculptor. He collapsed from exhaustion.
Jaheira: "The only time I seen a man die from exhaustion was back at a slaver camp. Can only imagine what kind of infatuation would drive a man to such an extent."
Imoen: "Mighty sweet of him though."
Fiona: "Whatever, lets take the emeralds out."
I will hand it to Graywolf though, despite traveling alone, he did manage to capture bounties successfully. But whatever the prey he had before surely didn't buffered his ego enough to resign himself against the five of us. He might owe it to this amazing sword he left us with. I'm sure he would wanted us to have it in his place. The remains of Greywolf certainly didn't object.
We made our way back to the mine's entrance and met with the dig sight owner and rested there for the night. He had given us 24 hours to finish our work here. Pretty arrogent for someone that needed the help to begin with. Not like he's pulling out any good ore anyways that would 'impede' his work.
I waited till morning & tried to get my bearings when Imoen approached me. She’d followed us @ a distance & joined w/me, despite my reservations. We collected Gorion’s belongings before battling a pack of Gibberling’s which we defeated well together. We passed up a chance to join w/2 adventurers who wanted to go to Nashkel but Imoen was uneasy about having them join us & I deferred to her sixth sense. In hindsight, that may have been a mistake.
Later, in the Coast Way, we met a strange gentleman who appeared to be a Mage but he was friendly enough & directed us to the Friendly Arm Inn (FAI), where Gorion had admonished me to go to meet up w/2 people named Khalid & Jaheira if anything should separate us. We left the elderly gentleman & were once again attacked by a pack of Gibberling’s but, once again, Immy & I did well together. We continued N & finally made it to the FAI.
Key Event:Immy & I couldn’t get past a wizard, Tarnesh, on the steps of the FAI & we both took a beating. He cast a Sleep spell & we were easy pickin’s for his staff & a Magic Missile spell.
We were lucky, b/c Khalid & Jaheira had been waiting for me & when they heard the commotion they took us to Gellana, the Priestess, in the Temple of Wisdom, who raised us for a donation of 500gp. They had to sell Imoen’s Wand of Magic Missiles to pay Gellana’s fee.
Tarnesh tried to act unassuming around the Inn after Khalid & Jaheira had us raised. He wouldn’t come right out & attack again inside but he was restless & we knew he was up to something, he was always watching us. The four of us planned ahead when we were upstairs in the common room, fully expecting Tarnesh to try & attack us again when he deemed his opportunity best. Sure enough, when we emerged from the FAI to head toward Nashkel, he was waiting to strike. I swung my dual-axes while Immy, Khalid & Jaheira attacked w/ranged weapons. Sure enough, Tarnesh cast Sleep again but even as it dropped all 4 of us in our tracks, my axe split Tarnesh’s shoulder through to his chest, killing him instantly.
When we awoke the guards had moved everyone away. It was well known that Tarnesh was the aggressor & Bentley had no ill-will toward us for the event.
Treasure of note: Tarnesh’s Spell Book w/Magic Missile, Web, Chromatic Orb, Sleep & Armor to Immy.
Current Disposition: Buying supplies & resting @ the FAI.
Next Steps: Preparing to head S to Nashkel @ the urging of Khalid & Jaheira – Jaheira mostly!
Level Up: None
Current Party: (Reputation: 11 - Average)
Eric the Huntsman, Ranger (Tracker)/1: 18(96)/13/16/13/14/11; 2HWS***, Axe**, Dgr*
Khalid, Ranger (Archer)/1: Stud Lthr, LBow***, B/Sws*, 2HWS**
Jaheira, Druid/1: Stud Lthr, Club*, Slg*
Imoen, Thief (Swashbuckler)/1: Lthr, SBow*, Dgr*
Mods Used: HardTimes-v2; BG1UB_v12; bg1npc-v20; level1npcs-v1.7; bg2_tweaks-v11; Randomizer-v68; scs-v21
Reloads: 3 (Tarnesh)
Update, The Nordic Warriors, 072813
-Todek and his war party have completed and raided the first two maps of the Cloakwood. He sided with the druids in the hunters' conflict, and obtained the bastard sword +3 vs. shapeshifters. On the spiders map, he drank a potion of freedom, and then ran around triggering webs, and leading spiders and ettercaps back to the main party waiting with ranged weapons.
Centeol gave her full dialogues, and the name of her tormentor had been corrected to "Jon Irenicus". Before getting hit and giving up, she had a little surprise for us - she used a wand of frost and almost wiped out all the weaker party members. The photo is actually after a few healing potions and spells.
-Todek and his party of Warriors of Tempus went deep, deep, into the foreboding Cloakwood, and encountered a secret enclave of shadow druids, who were enemies of the Iron Throne. Upon speaking to the archdruid, he finds that he and the shadow druids have goals in common. The archdruid insists that he be escorted by one of their agents, Faldorn, if they are to proceed unmolested to the eastern forest where the conquered dwarven mine is located.
OOC - I am still developing Todek's character and thinking about what he would do. He dreams of founding a proper barbarian war tribe, and looks for people who have a barbarian mindset. He fights for glory and honor, and for Tempus, and for the spoils of battle. He has a streak of kindness, though, due to his orphaned upbringing among the city-dwellers of Candlekeep. He doesn't respect or want to travel with anyone he perceives as weak, or as a "Lokispawn" (tricking, lying, using black magic or subterfuge), but he also hates those who bully, since he himself was bullied by the other kids, and sometimes the adults, of Candlekeep. Not physically, of course, since he could have killed most of them with his bare hands if he flew into a rage, but emotionally. So, he is very uncomfortable being around people who remind him of his stressful and uncomfortable upbringing among the city-dwellers.
So, I think that fighters, clerics of Tempus or another warrior god, rangers, and druids, are going to be those with whom Todek gets along the best. Paladins are iffy. Todek likely sees most of them as bullies, and far too "lawful" for his comfort. ("Lawful", to him, means "bully other people.")
I write all this because I really agonized about replacing Viconia with Faldorn. But, I finally decided that Todek would grow increasingly uncomfortable with Viconia, because she says things like this:
She also makes comments about "let the weakllings die", and "drow families have no loyalty to each other - your siblings are your competition," while Todek values loyalty and honor above all.
Put in terms of Star Trek, Todek gets along with Klingon types, and he sees Viconia as a dishonorable Romulan type, if that makes sense.
Anyway, the game will be more challenging now, because Faldorn is not a very powerful toon in combat. We'll see if her dire wolf companion helps make up for her weaknesses. She seems like she's a good fit for a barbarian raiding party, though. I think I might go back to using Jaheira if it weren't for Khalid, and my party is full, with only one interchangeable slot. Branwen, Shar-Teel, Garrick, and Imoen aren't going anywhere.
Sorry for this wall of text.
Average party level: 5 or 6
Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
I only compete with myself and my own counter. I guess I didn't phrase my original question well.
Faldorn's call lightning came in handy almost immediately, after all, and her dire wolf did a very good job holding off spiders. Imoen successfully zapped the wyvern on the right with her wand of paralysis. Garrick got a wyvern and a spider confused with his harp of dischord. That was quite the exciting little battle, and I had been dreading it. We may have to do it again a time or two before we get through the Cloakwood portion of the game.
Since we're heading toward the mines, I've started remembering and thinking about Yeslick, and considering that he might be a good fit for a barbarian war party. In fact, it seems like most dwarves are a good fit for Todek. Maybe I should have been using Kagain all this time. Lessee, Todek, Branwen, Shar-Teel, Kagain, Yeslick, Garrick? And in BG2, Todek, Jaheira(?), Anomen(?), Korgan, Valygar, Haer Dalis, maybe Cernd? Maybe even Mazzy, for her valiant spirit? Hmmm. If you can't tell, I'm really enjoying this character.
EDIT: Defeated Drasus and his party outside the mines. The short version is that spells were liberally cast. Todek raged, Branwen cast hold person and silence while her skellie tanked, Faldorn cast call lightning while her dire wolf tanked, Imoen cast web, fireball, and many magic missiles, Garrick cast fireball, web, confusion (harp), horror (wand), and many magic missiles. When the fog of war had cleared, we stood victorious. Yay, Nordic Warriors!
{{invoking John Colicos and the Star Trek character of Kor}} It was a glorious battle!
Damnation, and curses from Valhalla! Just as we were about to go into the Cloakwood mines, Shar-Teel, my best trap disarmament specialist, and my fellow frontline warrior, chose just that moment to challenge Branwen for the alpha female position of my tribe! Damnation! And, she revelaed the truth that she is not an honorable warrior, saying that she believes in everything I hate! I have no choice but to banish her immediately, and if she doesn't accept her banishment and leave, we will have to kill her! I did not expect this kind of betrayal from her! Now, we will have to rely on my sister Imoen's novice trap skill to get us through the mines! Curse it all! Valhalla take you, Shar-Teel! I am now in sore need of a replacement, yet, we will still trek forward into the mines!
Also how can you possibly carry all equipment back? I thought items disappear if you leave an area. It happened to Tord several times in his BG 1 run, where he lost a lot of loot as a result.
Is this the Baldur's Gate Trilogy?
I have no idea how it works... are u able to go to Athkatla early? Or do you still have to follow the main plot?
I'm not familiar with the mods you are using. Did you install an Imoen romance mod?
Yes, it's Baldur's Gate Trilogy, and it allows you to go from the final battle into BG2 while keeping all the stat and skill proficiency decisions that you made while in BG1. It does not allow you to skip straight to Athkatla. You have to beat Sarevok in order to proceed.
The flesh golems weren't enough of a challenge against Todek's massive hit points to make me start thinking about using any special potions. Healing potions and spells were sufficient.
In the battle for Gullykin, I was indeed worried that our items would disappear. Fortunately, they did not, since I neither left the map, nor rested. I even went back through the labyrinth the long way to get to the temple, rather than to risk going outside. It helped a lot that Todek has 18/53 strength. I think that things here would have gone much, much worse if I had been playing a "weak" magic-user.
SCS does indeed make life much harder, and I only have a partial install of the base enhancements of its new AI. A full install of SCS makes the game insanely more difficult.
-Faldorn and Todek are getting along famously. She complimented him on his beastliness, and he likes that.(Todek likes Faldorn so much, I think he is going to have a terrible time deciding what to do about Tradesmeet, in his far future.)
-Todek took Yeslick into the war party. Yeslick seemed born to fight, and Todek expects him to be a valuable new warrior priest, and a good fit for the group.
-The hardest mage we've encountered was Hareishan. She cast a Teleport Field to keep Todek away from her. I've never seen that done before SCS. I didn't realize it was such a good defense, but it is. She also had sequencers with who-knows-what defenses, Stoneskin, and Improved Invisibility. Branwen successfully cast Silence, to no avail, because she also had Vocalize. She tried to kill Imoen with Melf's Minute Meteors, not very effectively. Todek was raged, so I don't know if she might have tried to mind control him. Imoen and Garrick incapacitated her guards with Wand of Fear and Harp of Discord. Since we couldn't target Ms. H. with anything directly, both Imoen and Garrick wounded her with Fireballs. She finally went down.
-The mage on the next level was almost anticlimactic. Faldorn got an Insect Swarm on her, and Garrick took out her hobgoblin ranged bodyguards with his Harp of Discord.
-Davaeorn wound up being a pushover. Faldorn saw all his traps with a Find Traps spell, and Imoen disarmed them. (Her Find Traps is only 50 percent, and very unreliable, but with a supporting divine caster to reveal the traps, any thief can disarm them.) SCS seems to make the boss mages too eager to throw Melf's Minute Meteors, to their own detriment. Davy never even got a chance to activate his defenses, before Todek, wearing Boots of Speed, was in his face, and Faldorn had an Insect Swarm on him. I felt like I had wasted all of our most valuable potions in anticipation of Lightning and Fire and all Valhalla breaking lose, and none of it ever happened. Davy was just a weak old man before the might of the Nordic Warriors.
Average party level: 6
Reloads: 1 (random ogre mage)
Nice update. I was indeed referring to the screencaps of Branwen vs Sharteel. I never used either of them in my BG 1 playthrough, so the only infighting I experienced was Jaheira vs Xzar, which ended with Montaron and Xzar dead. lol
It seems the mod kinda makes mage battles more variable in terms of difficulty, as any odd mage can be one helluva headache, and apparently the boss not so tricky. Also nice to see you actually making good use of Garrick, another guy I've bared used.
We began our investigation by questioning the guards and miners. But even then, there were too many inconsistencies to make any sense out of it. We found an odd kobold trapped in the tunnels. He didn't seem too eager to head one way or the other, probably fear of being cut down by humans. In the end, I crept up on him and slit his throat. Nothing too serious to worry about.
Venturing further into the mines, a frightened miner came running towards us begging to save his life. It was mere seconds later that he was shot down by arrows. The yipping demons turned out to be a pack of kobolds. Khalid and Brawnen diced them easily enough. Even an arrow can take one down with ease.
My suspicions started to rise and I took off from the party, scouting the tunnels ahead. To my discovery, the mines seemed to be infested with kobolds. It explained the missing and dead miners but in no way could kobolds be tainting the iron. Could they? Jaheira thought the idea impossible.
Melicamp: "Perhaps, cluck, a type of magic is at work here."
Fiona: "That implies that kobolds have the skill to wield such magic."
Jaheira: "If there's a tribe of these rodents, then there must be a chieftain. We would have to go further to find out more."
Khalid: "These tunnels are SO dark."
Imoen: "O, don't worry princess. Imoen is here to protect you."
Khalid: "Imoen! Don't b-be so..."
Imoen: "Ah, I'm just proddin' you."
Branwen stood up after examining some kobold corpses.
Branwen: "My, an odd tinted potion this one is."
We gathered around Branwen to have a glimpse of the concoction. Melicamp and I both glared at it suspiciously.
Fiona: "That's definitely no potion."
I took the vial in hand and examined it closely. My ability to sense magic allowed me to decipher its purpose. It was a combination both alchemical and arcane. Though I could not fathom the function of it's alchemic reagents, the magics were surely those that dissolve or brittle objects.
Malicamp: "Hrmn. That's, cluck, nothing Thalantyr ever used before."
Fiona: "We may have found the cause of the problem."
Jaheira: "Good, then there's a method to this ore sickness. Better we go deeper before they do more harm."
Khalid: "Sh-should we not t-test it before going on?"
Fiona: "We can do that later at our leisure."
Branwen: "Aye, let us stroll deeper into their den and cleanse it of their foulness."
Imoen: "I don't much like this, Fiona. Their packs are getting bigger."
Imoen's concerns proved justified. We began to go even deeper into the mines where only corpses of miners still lurked. Imoen started finding traps about the place.
Branwen: "They are bold to set a foothold openly."
Jaheira: "Their stink fills these passageways."
Imoen and I set up a system of scouting. Since I specialize in shadow stalking, I had to lead point a few paces at a time as Imoen trailed me with her keen eye and knack for breaking devices, traps in this instant. Not far down the west tunnel, we spied a congregation of kobolds. Their numbers were staggering.
Imoen: *whisper* "Lets go around."
Backtracking a bit and turning off another route, we found another cavern not far away with another large gathering. I nodded to Imoen and returned to the group.
Branwen: "Well? Where's the enemy?"
Fiona: "We found a number of them, broken up into two groups down this way."
Khalid: "That shouldn't be t-t-too hard."
Fiona: "A total of 49 kobolds."
Khalid: "I-I-I think we should ret-t-turn with the guards."
Branwen: "And turn tail now? What kind of warriors would that make us? Tempus demand we push forward."
Fiona: "I concur. I'm not about to beg for help from some self-important Amnish guards."
Imoen: "What?! But that's way~~~ too much!"
Jahiera: "Sssh. Keep your voices down. Our words can travel down these walls."
Fiona: "We're not just some poultry group of would-be-adventures. We can outwit them plus, we have the advantage of surprise."
Branwen: "Aye, and just how shall we proceed forward?"
Jaheira, Imoen and I went down the original path to the first group of kobolds. To the northwest of their chamber resided the other group. Connecting tunnels lead alternative routes between the two chamber and to our tunnel. Khalid and Branwen blocked off a nearby path just before the bend in the passageway.
Fiona: *whispers* "This is the spot. Now Jaheira."
Jaheira concentrated and formed her hands in a cupping position and brought them to her mouth where she inhaled as though she was about to shout. As she exhaled, strips of wiry white threads leaped out from her hands continuously till she was void of breath. The panic cries of the kobolds echoed from the chamber as they were entangled by a thick spider web that filled the room.
The three of us stepped forward to the edge of the webbing and prepped our weapons. With so many kobolds entrapped, we made haste to fell them before their cries brought the other group down on us. Arrows and sling stones were pelting helpless kobolds as growls echoed down the other passageway.
Khalid and Branwen stood at a ready for the other group would surely not step into the webbing and thus take the passage towards them. As soon as one popped around the corner, Branwen brained one with the massive warhammer we acquired. They stammered to a halt as Branwen started bellowing out.
Branwen: "Have at thee~~~! Raise your blades and battle me!"
Khalid: "A-ah, yeah... St-st-stay your pacing, Branwen! W-We must stand shoulder-to-shoulder or else they slip by."
The chamber before us was starting to clear out and Imoen was ready to put down the last kobold.
Fiona: "Jaheira, undo it and back-up Khalid and Branwen!"
With a whisper, Jaheira brought the webs to a limp and they dissolved into the cavern. I disappeared into the shadows and Imoen watched for any stray kobolds.
Branwen and Khalid were holding their own, but Branwen was starting to incur injury from their archers. I snuck up through the chamber and behind them, blocking their escape. Drawing my blade, I approached one of the archers and sent him to hell. Imoen turned the corner and started firing upon them as I engaged their archers in melee. In time, the 49 kobolds were all slain.
Branwen: "Now THAT was a glorious battle!"
The eastern passages turned out to be similarly infested but with fewer numbers. Though, Jaheira was not able to manage another casting of webbing. We modified our tactics to deal with their large numbers.
Upon its clearing, we discovered an underground gulch bridged by the very tunnel we stood upon.
Khalid: "This is t-terribly foreboding."
Imoen: "Yeah, Fiona, I don't think we can manage another grouping."
She was right, though we were victorious, our resources were dwindling. Jahiera and Branwen have exhausted their healing magics and my mage armor was fading. We would have to turn back and rest for a time. Preferable in the presence of some Amnish guards.
Update, The Nordic Warriors, 073013
-(shorthand version, OOC) We've done all the work for Scar, including Seven Suns doppelgangers and sewers ogre mage. We got sent to the infamous Iron Throne Gang battle, and promptly got our arses handed to us.
One of the things that makes this one of the most difficult battles in the game is the darned stairs. On our first attempt, we all tried to get posted on the top floor, but we got overwhelmed in the end by Chaos spells, liberally cast healing spells and Potions of Extra Healing being used by the enemy, and some backfires by our own Wands of Fire. Also, Todek's rage, which only lasts five rounds, was woefully inadequate to protect him from the Chaos mind control here. They had several Chaos spells at their disposal, with a lot of other nastiness, and the rage simply couldn't last long enough. The final result was close, but Todek still died thanks to mind control.
On the second attempt, we decided that if they can use the stairs against us, we can use them against them. I sent Imoen and Garrick up alone. They both fired Wand of Fire (Fireballs) for as long as possible before retreating back downstairs. That strategy would have worked even better if Garrick hadn't got caught in a "friendly" Fireball.
We drew the enemy downstairs one by one into the ambush prepared by our melee fighters, and wore them down that way. One of them closed off the right hand stairwell with a Teleport Field. There was no way we were stepping into that!
The end battle was still nail-biting. One of the clerics got three party members under a Hold Person. And Todek was boxed in among the three such that he couldn't move! Faldorn's dire wolf and Insect Swarm wound up being very helpful here, as we still had two casters left to kill.
Whew. SCS has made this one of the most difficult BG battles I've ever faced, apart from the final battles. It was hard before, but SCS makes it crazy! Boy, when SCS says "smarter mages" and "smarter priests", it is not kidding! Especially if you have to fight an entire party of mages and priests!
Here are a couple of photos:
I think we'll return this quest to Scar, and, humbled by our near defeat, will go back out into the rural areas to try to get some more experience and to toughen up before facing the Iron Throne again!
Average party level: 7
Reloads: 2 (random ogre mage, Iron Throne Gang No. 1)
After meeting Khalid & Jaheira & forming a fast bond between the four of us we headed south & made it to Beregost w/little trouble. We were attacked by a Dwarven Assassin but worked well together to eliminate him. Then while, travelling back & forth between the Thunderhammer Smithy & Feldepost’s Inn we kept passing this tall fellow. After a second or third pass we greeted him & he offered us service in support of his mistress, Silke. When it became apparent she wanted us to murder for her we refused & she attacked us. It became evident she was a Mage & we carefully spread out & then used patience & Hide in Shadows/Stealth to wait her out when she cast Invisibility on herself. We knew she was in the area & wouldn’t move far waiting for a chance to strike. We spread out around the outside of the building in pairs approaching cautiously. When she finally appeared she caught Imoen alone & was able to kill her. Upon hearing the ruckus we all converged & she killed Jaheira too. Khalid & I finally got to her & killed her. We collected the belonging on Immy & Jaheira & after speaking w/the young Bard, Garrick & knowing he was not part of her evil schemes we invited him to join us.
Key Event:Here I made 3 fateful choices in gameplay.
1. I elected not to have Garrick provide us ‘foreknowledge’ of the Temple of the Morning just E of Beregost & pretended ignorance requiring us to return to FAI for healing services.
2. I chose not to ‘skip’ Coast Way & go straight to the FAI but to take the roads travelling thru CW w/just Eric, Khalid, & Garrick. At first level, all w/AC7, I knew the Kobolds on the road were likely to give us trouble. They did. To make matters worse, trying to skirt them we stumbled upon four Bandits & everyone was chasing us. Garrick was killed & Khalid & I were wounded w/o any Potions of Healing so we headed W to Lions Way but were afraid to ‘rest’ for fear that Garrick’s equipment would disappear. We tried in vain 3 times to ‘recover’ Garrick’s equipment but were eventually separated and/or killed each time.
3. Finally we were able to recover ‘what we could – it’s all a blur now’ & went roundabout to FAI & got our party healed by Gellana. So, as if stupidity hadn’t had its way w/me enough already I decided to head back through the Coast Way this time headlong into the Bandit Leader & her cronies. I figured if we could get her we’d make some amends for our earlier debacle. Even w/o SCS she’s a handful at 1st level. The 5 of us were no match for her & we paid 3 times, using the same basic strategy, before I finally got us bloodied & to Beregost.
From there we pulled ourselves together but had lost most of our GPs ‘donating’ them to Gellana for services for the six of us. We killed a couple of Ogrillons & some Hobgoblins on the South Beregost Road & North Nashkel Road. I almost bought the farm against some amazon warrior woman that challenged me to a dual, luckily it only cost me 20 GPs. We made it to Nashkel, tired & beaten & were attacked by a female assassin named Neira, a Cleric I think. Garrick cast his first-ever spell in the Nashkel Inn, Color Spray, which did nothing to Neira but got us banished from the Nashkel Inn from now on & then a mistaken arrow killed a patron & our reputation is in ‘chamber pot.’ We dragged the battle w/Naira out into the street & finally, beat her after slipping into the temple of Helm & the Nashkel Store to bolster our chances mid-battle. Luckily, Naira had gone behind the Nashkel Inn so we were able to prepare to meet her again & we enlisted the help of a Barbarian named Minsc who witnessed out battle & offered to help – although he came w/no armor or weapon. We finally found Neira coming back around between the Nashkel Inn & store & killed her. We tried to ask the innkeeper to forgive us but he punched Jaheira & knocked her out cold.
Treasure of note: We gathered an enchanted helmet from Neira, a unidentified Bastard Sword & a potion that looks of value. When we are able, we will identify these.
Current Disposition: We’ve had to make camp outside behind the Nashkel Inn in the woods. (Luckily, I have ‘Rest Anywhere’ as one of my mod adds so the guards don’t bother us – I always thought it was dumb not to be able to rest on the outskirts of town, or in an uninhabited cabin somewhere (like Valygar's) so I always use that mod.)
Next Steps: We’ve outfitted Minsc in Splint Mail & we need to get him a 2HS & a CLBow. Then we need to go see if we can rescue his ‘witch’ he calls Dynahier. I’ve told Garrick he can travel w/us until we get her but then he’ll have to take his share of gold & treasure & find his way from there. He understands & is looking @ it as a chance to work on some new ballads.
Level Up: Garrick joined us @ 2nd level bard; Minsc @ 4th Lvl Barbarian (DARN IT! Just realized that. I purposely skipped making Minsc a Barbarian b/c I know it doesn’t work well w/Lvl 1 NPCs. I didn’t think it was that way w/Berserker. This could screw this game up!!!
Current Party: (Reputation: 7 - Disliked)
Eric the Huntsman, Ranger (Tracker)/1: 18(96)/13/16/13/14/11; Stud Lthr, B/Axe**, T/Axe**, Dgr*, 2HWS***
Khalid, Ranger (Archer)/1: Stud Lthr, LBow***, B/Sws*, 2HWS**
Garrick, Bard/2: Leather, CBow*, SSwd*
Jaheira, Druid/1: Stud Lthr, Club*, Slg*
Imoen, Thief (Swashbuckler)/1: Lthr, SBow*, Dgr*
Minsc, Berserker/4:SMail,Weapon TBPurchased (2HS***, LBow*, 2HWS*
Mods Used: HardTimes-v2; BG1UB_v12; bg1npc-v20; level1npcs-v1.7; bg2_tweaks-v11; Randomizer-v68; scs-v21
Reloads: 9 (Tarnesh x3, Bandits/Kobolds in Coast Way x3, Bandit leader in Coast Way x3)*
*They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing, the same way, time & again & expecting a different result. Versus the Bandits/Kobolds & Bandit Leader I just kept the same strategy each time & failed. Stupid, stupid, oh & did anyone say stupid?
I made Jaheira an Avenger./Fighter, which is a type of druid (unable to even wear studded leather) but in return she gains access to an additional spell in each of her spell levels. Her Level 2 spells allow her to cast Web as a druid.
Anyways, enjoy reading your updates. Sounds like it's going to be a pain just to survive end game battles on no reloads.
Sorcerer lvl 1
Race Elf
Neutral Evil
Quarter staff+
Abilities:
SRT: I think it was 10
DEX:19
CON: I think (well, maybe) it was 15
INT:18
WIS:12
CHAR:14
Spells:
Magic Missile at lvl up
Chromatic Orb
Sleep
and Nahal's Reckless Dweomer as a lvl2 spell (:D)
She killed Firebead Elvenhair in Candlekeep to get his Robe, she's now lvl 2 and get Magic Missile
I'll get the full stats and new part of the gameplay this afternoon
Notes: Core Rules are used and Lesser Basilisk and Worgs are settled as Demon Knights, Lesser Basilisks have Demogorgon's skin and BG2 items (like Ice Dragon Armor, Carsomyr+6, Gridle of Stone Giant Strenght and Aslyferund+5, Armor of the Hart+3, 80 Arrows+2.
Lots of BG2 items are added to the game (NOT via mods, via Override folder), lot more of items are added, but they can't be found in the campaign.