@Aristillius If you've never used Garrick why not give him a try? Providing that keep your expectations of him modest.
One thing that I appreciate about having Garrick along is that he'll very soon be able to identify most everything. Which, frankly, is very handy.
I always give him the scroll case, potions case, and gem bag (shouldn't Neera give you something in appreciation for rescuing her?). Seems an appropriate role for a Bard.
I also have him carry and use all the wands collected from loot drops. All those spell scrolls you gather as loot during the course of the game? Have him cast them.
And although I don't get carried away, I have him pickpocket.
@Nifft Protection from evil protects you from *everything*, and is one of those spells that routinely gets underused. The game doesn't check if an enemy is evil when they attack you, so the bonuses apply at all times against all enemies. Protection from evil is useful against Drizzt for ****'s sake.
@Nifft Protection from evil protects you from *everything*, and is one of those spells that routinely gets underused. The game doesn't check if an enemy is evil when they attack you, so the bonuses apply at all times against all enemies. Protection from evil is useful against Drizzt for ****'s sake.
It's impressive that I can still learn something new about this game.
If that's the case then paladins just got a whole lot better
Yeah trust me ... there's a reason why some of us aren't firm believers in the Spanish Inquistion err I mean the Inquisitor class.
Why? Inquisitors get Protection from Evil.
My Inquisitor in the Black Pits has 12 uses of Know Alignment, 9 uses of Protection from Evil, 3 Super Dispel Magics, and 3 True Sights. If he was Charname and had Cure, Slow Poison, and DUHM he would have all the spellcasting I'd want out of him.
I will concede that I think the Inquisitor kit simply should have been the Wizard Slayer, and the Paladins should have gotten a different kit. (*couHOLYLIBERATORgh*)
@emjay, Silke can and occasionally does cast Horror. But her preferred order is Mirror Image, Lightning Bolt, and then Horror, followed by Magic Missiles, so people rarely see the Horror, since they are usually dead by the time she does her Palpatine thing.
Parties of first level can defeat her easily by simply making sure she never gets a chance to cast any spells. Numbers and ranged weapons are your friends here. If you've carried Jaheira, Khalid, and Imoen up 'til this point, you should have no problems. If you picked up Neera and/or Kivan beforehand, you're even better off.
Also, Imoen or your Charname with the Wand of Missiles can own this battle. Just don't command any attack at all from the WoM holder, until Silke begins to incant. Then, immediately use the WoM to interrupt her incantation. This strategy also works beautifully against Neira in the Nashkel inn.
EDIT: Protection from Evil is great for an AC boost and a save bonus. However, it does not provide total immunity from mind-affecting spells from "evil" creatures as it does in NWN. If you want to be impervious to Horror, you need a clerical Remove Fear spell, or bardsong, NOT PfE.
For example.. 8-16 strength on an npc is the same besides carry weight and +1 damage... you dont get thac0 bonuses till 17, the difference between 9con and 16 is 2 measly HP perlevel.
For example.. 8-16 strength on an npc is the same besides carry weight and +1 damage... you dont get thac0 bonuses till 17, the difference between 9con and 16 is 2 measly HP perlevel.
It also determines what armour you can wear and what weapons you can wield. So it really isn't the same.
...I didn't see Garrick as a nice guy. He wasn't an evil guy, but he was true to his alignment of chaotic neutral. You didn't know what he was going to do. Basically you couldn't trust him for anything. Your first encounter with him he brings you to an evil aligned mage/thief to murder some innocent people.
I chalked that up to him being youthful and excited about his first acting gig. But he does have Wisdom 14, which is above average. I suppose he needs a strong Wis score to augment his Bard Lore ability. But it doesn't square up well with Garrick coming off as gullible or naive. Somewhat based on his sounds, I tend to see him as a bit of a daydreamer type, as well.
Chaotic Neutral with high Wisdom seems like a contradiction in terms.
That's why he is gullible. Read his lines after you defeated Silke when you try to recruit him...
Well I have started this play through and I quite like him so far his soundset is great and with a wand of sleep quite useful. I was intending it to be a no reload attempt but unfortunately silke got off her lightning bolt, although I survived it due to potion use. Innocent bystander garrick got fried by the rebound, so there was no chance for resurrection
Does anyone know where Garrick goes if you pass on recruiting him initially? I don't need him right now, but may consider him a tad later, if possible.
I think he just vanishes. Most people do when you turn them down the first time. The onyl way to get them to stick about is to recruit and then drop them.
Darn it. Oh, well. I doubt he'd have been a main-stay, considering Neera is turning out so well written, and Imoen is likely to be dual-classed soon. That's spell casting covered then.
At least I know to either accept and then dismiss, or to avoid initial contact until ready for inclusion, to insure most other NPC's are at my beck and call. Poor Garrick, indeed. Always overlooked!
I've used him for the first time in my current playthrough. I'm going for the Garrick-Skie-Eldoth dialogues and bringing Xan along for additional insults to Eldoth. I pretty much had to run a fighter/cleric as a tank & healer to keep the rest alive. Dorn's helping out as tank no. 2.
I was pleasantly surprised by Garrick. I picked him up early and duoed around the wilderness until CHARNAME was level 5/5. Garrick held his own respectably as a missile backup and added a bit of CC with sleep. He's by no means a powerhouse but is as a bit more useful in combat than a pure thief. He also levels up *really* fast.
I think my current party will struggle later on with the high proportion of very squishy ranged/casters. Resting on the werewolf island might get interesting.
Garrick is usable, but for scroll scribing, if playing on core rules or above you will need to rely on one (or even two) Potions of Genius (before Baldur's Gate becomes available, these and Potions of Insight are Available at the Temple at the FAI) and batch scroll-scribing sessions, unless you want to waste alot of scrolls. I tend to do this anyway for arcance casters with Int of less than 18, so it's not such a big deal.
Garrick's low Con is more of a worry, I prefer Eldoth as an NPC Bard, he has lower Dex, but this can be fixed with the Dex gloves, and he has higher Con, Strength and Charisma and can create poisoned arrows (though only Eldoth can use them). The big downside with Eldoth is that you can't pick him up until much later.
If you do take a Bard, make sure you make the most of him by stealing from stores, pick-pocketing etc., but wait until your score gets reasonable first, as failing has bad consequences.
Also don't forget you can still use wands and casts from scrolls in armour...
Comments
One thing that I appreciate about having Garrick along is that he'll very soon be able to identify most everything. Which, frankly, is very handy.
I always give him the scroll case, potions case, and gem bag (shouldn't Neera give you something in appreciation for rescuing her?). Seems an appropriate role for a Bard.
I also have him carry and use all the wands collected from loot drops. All those spell scrolls you gather as loot during the course of the game? Have him cast them.
And although I don't get carried away, I have him pickpocket.
My Inquisitor in the Black Pits has 12 uses of Know Alignment, 9 uses of Protection from Evil, 3 Super Dispel Magics, and 3 True Sights. If he was Charname and had Cure, Slow Poison, and DUHM he would have all the spellcasting I'd want out of him.
I will concede that I think the Inquisitor kit simply should have been the Wizard Slayer, and the Paladins should have gotten a different kit. (*couHOLYLIBERATORgh*)
Parties of first level can defeat her easily by simply making sure she never gets a chance to cast any spells. Numbers and ranged weapons are your friends here. If you've carried Jaheira, Khalid, and Imoen up 'til this point, you should have no problems. If you picked up Neera and/or Kivan beforehand, you're even better off.
Also, Imoen or your Charname with the Wand of Missiles can own this battle. Just don't command any attack at all from the WoM holder, until Silke begins to incant. Then, immediately use the WoM to interrupt her incantation. This strategy also works beautifully against Neira in the Nashkel inn.
EDIT: Protection from Evil is great for an AC boost and a save bonus. However, it does not provide total immunity from mind-affecting spells from "evil" creatures as it does in NWN. If you want to be impervious to Horror, you need a clerical Remove Fear spell, or bardsong, NOT PfE.
(Disclaimer: if he does have then they're so small as to not be worth mentioning.)
That's why he is gullible.
Read his lines after you defeated Silke when you try to recruit him...
At least I know to either accept and then dismiss, or to avoid initial contact until ready for inclusion, to insure most other NPC's are at my beck and call. Poor Garrick, indeed. Always overlooked!
I was pleasantly surprised by Garrick. I picked him up early and duoed around the wilderness until CHARNAME was level 5/5. Garrick held his own respectably as a missile backup and added a bit of CC with sleep. He's by no means a powerhouse but is as a bit more useful in combat than a pure thief. He also levels up *really* fast.
I think my current party will struggle later on with the high proportion of very squishy ranged/casters. Resting on the werewolf island might get interesting.
Garrick's low Con is more of a worry, I prefer Eldoth as an NPC Bard, he has lower Dex, but this can be fixed with the Dex gloves, and he has higher Con, Strength and Charisma and can create poisoned arrows (though only Eldoth can use them). The big downside with Eldoth is that you can't pick him up until much later.
If you do take a Bard, make sure you make the most of him by stealing from stores, pick-pocketing etc., but wait until your score gets reasonable first, as failing has bad consequences.
Also don't forget you can still use wands and casts from scrolls in armour...