Random bandit ambush on the way to Friendly Arms Inn

RedWizard

I wonder, anyone ever managed to beat this battle with just a party of level 1 Charname, Imoen, Xzar and Montaron, fresh from Candlekeep? It always seemed like a rather unfair battle at that point even if random, considering you spawn in the middle of 10 bandits that might as well kill any character that's not a fighter in 1-2 rounds. Oh well, that's what Power Word: Reload is for.

ajwz

Its your own fault for getting side tracked

ScytheKnight

@ajwz it's a random battle that occasionally crops up between Crossroads and Friendly Arm Inn.

the_spyder

there are a few random encounters that hardly seem fair. I remember once getting ambushed by a several Wyvern while traveling between maps. In another case i got jumped by a vamp wolf for no apparent reason. In another instance i got attacked by a basilisk, which if you aren't prepared for them can kill you dead....

Although most of these encounters can be tough, they are random encounters. It is quite literally the roll of the dice that kills you, same as getting a bad turn in combat. Sometimes you just have to take it on the chin and reload/reroll.

DJKajuru

It happened to me two days ago - charname (mage) , imoen, xzar and monty against ten bandit archers...
we all died, obviously

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PawnSlayer

the_spyder said:

there are a few random encounters that hardly seem fair. I remember once getting ambushed by a several Wyvern while traveling between maps. In another case i got jumped by a vamp wolf for no apparent reason. In another instance i got attacked by a basilisk, which if you aren't prepared for them can kill you dead....

Although most of these encounters can be tough, they are random encounters. It is quite literally the roll of the dice that kills you, same as getting a bad turn in combat. Sometimes you just have to take it on the chin and reload/reroll.

The Cloakwood Forest is the worst in my experience for this, purely on the basis that you tend to get ambushed returning through most of it. Doing it all in one go can very easily lead to two or three battles - and at lower levels on higher difficulty, those Wyverns HURT.

morehouse

I've got a good strategy for that encounter. I call it the "run and hope the all target Xzar" plan.

Sylph

Yeah, I've had that one
Worst random encounter I've ever had though, was an ogre mage while I was travelling West of Nashkel and my party was still a mix of lvl 1's and 2's

Darrylson

I've had that encounter twice. First time my Berserker managed to kill them all on his own after Imoen, Xzar, and Monty got instagibbed. Same story with my Cleric/Ranger I made last night.

Getting that encounter with any non-fighter CHARNAME would be an entirely different story I guess.

Wowo

I think those are there to run away from. Most characters have some options; shield spell, splint and large shield, offensive spin, invisibility via familiar (cast before transitions), elf bane girdle etc.

KidCarnival

Basilisks are the worst. With wyverns, an NPC may die, but if you get someone petrified... there's no chance of getting them back. It only happened twice in all my playthroughs (in BGEE); one time I reloaded because seriously, level 2 - 3 party vs. 2 Lesser Basilisks? Lost 2 NPCs right away. Second time, the party was level 4 - 5 and still had Protection from Petrification to cast and a quickslotted Glitterdust; vs. 1 lesser basilisk. That was... kinda ok, but for an ambush you can't prepare for, the petrification risk really sucks.

NocturneN

Hehe I beat that fight this time 'round, but not fresh out of Candlekeep. Still, CHARNAME was lvl 2 and Viccy aswell, rest was level 1. Very tough fight that early on, and if I recall both Monty and Xzar hit the dirt (though no real surprise, there). I noticed those bandits are really horrible archers, though, getting a hail of arrows shot against my party I thought "I'm fucked" but often only 1 or 2 of those hit.

Fresh outta Candlekeep with only Imoen/Xzar/Montaron, you'd have to be a Fighter, Cleric OR Sorc to beat it, I think. Careful use of healing pots is key; but naturally you really need the dice on your side.

A fairly unfair battle, but the sword coast IS plagued by bandits, so not really a surprice. Besides, worrying about being ambushed by bandits makes the whole situation so much more immersive and fun, imo.

KidCarnival said:

Basilisks are the worst. With wyverns, an NPC may die, but if you get someone petrified... there's no chance of getting them back. It only happened twice in all my playthroughs (in BGEE); one time I reloaded because seriously, level 2 - 3 party vs. 2 Lesser Basilisks? Lost 2 NPCs right away. Second time, the party was level 4 - 5 and still had Protection from Petrification to cast and a quickslotted Glitterdust; vs. 1 lesser basilisk. That was... kinda ok, but for an ambush you can't prepare for, the petrification risk really sucks.

Stone to Flesh-scrolls are sold in ALL temples, they are also fairly cheap. Apart from that, there is the "Protection of Petrification"-spell, avilable at first level. There really is no excuse for having to reload upon a random basilisk-encounter unless CHARNAME got gibbed, imo.

Kilivitz

NocturneN said:

Stone to Flesh-scrolls are sold in ALL temples, they are also fairly cheap. Apart from that, there is the "Protection of Petrification"-spell, avilable at first level. There really is no excuse for having to reload upon a random basilisk-encounter unless CHARNAME got gibbed, imo.

I think what he means is that if it's a random encounter and you don't already have a scroll to revert the petrification, that NPC is lost forever. Once you leave random encounter areas, there's no way to revisit them.

Gallowglass

Assuming that BGee has kept this the same as original BG1, then there is one (and fortunately only one) transition ambush where you can (occasionally) even run into Greater Basilisks instead of Lesser Basilisks.

That's when you travel south from the map immediately north of the basilisk area (i.e. leaving the place where you meet the Red Wizards and loads of spiders, heading towards the basilisk area).

Meeting Greater Basilisks without a chance to prepare is seriously awkward!

NocturneN

Aye I know that Kili, the thing is you can, and should, buy a couple of those scrolls (5 or so) at your earliest convenience and keep them around. Thus the risk of losing someone to petrification is null.

When I think about it, in the unmodded game, you might need to tangle with Basilisks in order to get to Shar-Teel. Still, just stock up on them scrolls and make sure a Mage can cast PfP before you go! ...or just do as I did and use a mode that moves her. ^^

KidCarnival

What @Kilivitz said. The only reason my party did survive the second travel encounter was the fact that I had forgotten to replace all the Protection from Petrification spells when leaving the area, and still had some to cast. I had 6 memorized, but only used 3 on the melees for the last basilisks.
Having NPCs petrified on a regular map isn't a big deal, you can get them back. But travel encounters don't have that option, and I won't let a stupid basilisk end a NPC quest prematurely. If it was an NPC I would replace at some point, it might not be so bad, but I'd still want the gear back.

NocturneN

My point is that you can and should have bought StF-scrolls before you even run the risk of tangling with Basilisks. If you have the scrolls, you can simply de-petrify your NPCs, re-recruit them, and leave the area without losing anyone. The problem becomes non-existant!

KidCarnival

Except if I used the scroll I had and am on the way to a store to resupply. How many scrolls am I supposed to carry around "just in case", for a situation this rare?

NocturneN

5-10 should be enough? Rare? Really, petrification is among the most feared effects in the BG series; Basilisks in BG1, Beholders in BG2. 'Twas the first thing I learned - the hard way - to ALWAYS have those scrolls in great supply! The mere fact that you know that you might be ambushed by Basilisks occasionally should be all the motivator you need, imo!

If you'd rather run the risk of permanently losing party members, then you don't need to buy that many scrolls, I guess. It is up to you.

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Wowo

KidCarnival said:

Basilisks are the worst. With wyverns, an NPC may die, but if you get someone petrified... there's no chance of getting them back. It only happened twice in all my playthroughs (in BGEE); one time I reloaded because seriously, level 2 - 3 party vs. 2 Lesser Basilisks? Lost 2 NPCs right away. Second time, the party was level 4 - 5 and still had Protection from Petrification to cast and a quickslotted Glitterdust; vs. 1 lesser basilisk. That was... kinda ok, but for an ambush you can't prepare for, the petrification risk really sucks.

It is an ambush you can prepare for.
Stock a few flesh to stone and prot from pet scrolls.
Stock a few of pots of mirrored eyes.
Cast invisibility 10' radius before transitioning areas where basilisks are a random encounter (it's a small area)

I've got that random encounter once and my level 2 charname and fairy dragon familiar killed it as familiar is immune to petrification.

KidCarnival

I'm aware of all that. But in this case, my mage did not have area invisibility at the time and I was on the way to resupply. This included scrolls, since I had used the one I had on the woman statue, after having cleared the area. And frankly, I have better use for my quickuse slots than potions of mirrored eyes for a rare possible travel encounter. In godknowshowmany playthroughs, I've had basilisks between areas *twice*.

NocturneN

No need to quickslot them since you'd typically be using them after the fight anyway. I constantly have tons of pots/scrolls just lying around someone's pack just-in-case. Then again I also use ToBEx which causes petrified NPCs to drop their inventory. :P

Wowo

KidCarnival said:

I'm aware of all that. But in this case, my mage did not have area invisibility at the time and I was on the way to resupply. This included scrolls, since I had used the one I had on the woman statue, after having cleared the area. And frankly, I have better use for my quickuse slots than potions of mirrored eyes for a rare possible travel encounter. In godknowshowmany playthroughs, I've had basilisks between areas *twice*.

Pause on enemy sighted or by hitting the pause button. Inventory screen. Open potion container. Transfer mirrored eyes to back pack. Drink.

If you're worried about a petrified character having the stone to flesh scrolls then drop them on the ground at the beginning of the fight.

It's very easy to just reload when things don't go your way but the game isn't a challenge in such a context. When you decide not to reload the mentality can change to "if I go to that area with this party that I've invested time in then I might get a random encounter with basilisks so lets buy a stack of flesh to stone scrolls and other commodities and if I can't afford that then I should go and make some money elsewhere".

I've seen many observations about how abundant money is in BG but if you actually pay for raises, use potions to avoid deaths and have to rebuy equipment kits occasionally because the only party members to survive a battle couldn't lug all the gear back to the temple before it disappears then maybe won't be so much of an issue ...

NocturneN

A self-imposed rule that I use is to never reload on a failed spell learning-attempt. Thus, I either make sure to buy plenty of Potions of Genius which costs gold, or take the chance and might have to re-buy the scroll. If you play the game like this, in conjunction with what Wowo just mentioned, you'll find gold isn't that plentiful indeed. Being constantly poor and forced to make choices on what to buy brings more challenge and makes the game alot more fun, imo.

KidCarnival

I'm not hardcore enough to NEVER reload. If that's your thing, cool, but I play to relax, not to challenge myself with unneccessary "rules". If a NPC I still want in my party dies, I raise them at a temple. If a basilisk encounter petrifies an NPC I still need (or has gear I still need), I reload. I'm no solo-no-reload-no-resurrection-all-difficulty-enhancing-mods-installed metagamer.

Sidenote: You can't simply rebuy all gear. There are unique items like named weapons.

Aasimar069

the_spyder said:

there are a few random encounters that hardly seem fair. I remember once getting ambushed by a several Wyvern while traveling between maps. In another case i got jumped by a vamp wolf for no apparent reason. In another instance i got attacked by a basilisk, which if you aren't prepared for them can kill you dead....

Although most of these encounters can be tough, they are random encounters. It is quite literally the roll of the dice that kills you, same as getting a bad turn in combat. Sometimes you just have to take it on the chin and reload/reroll.

Life's not fair.

Wander around Gulykin and you might end up in a Basilisk ambushes... If you have no scroll to revive your NPC, you won't be able to return in this embush area to save them.

Scary.

Aasimar069

KidCarnival said:

I'm aware of all that. But in this case, my mage did not have area invisibility at the time and I was on the way to resupply. This included scrolls, since I had used the one I had on the woman statue, after having cleared the area. And frankly, I have better use for my quickuse slots than potions of mirrored eyes for a rare possible travel encounter. In godknowshowmany playthroughs, I've had basilisks between areas *twice*.

Ok you have already met these ^_^

KidCarnival

You also get basilisks when travelling from Gullykin? O.o

Aasimar069

In this region yes, when you go, leave Gulykin, Flamewine Bridge, exit map of the mines, ... When you travel around these areas ambush can occur (in vanilla BG). I don't know how much they have tampered with the vanilla encounters in BGEE.