Black bears roamed the area, and Imoen kept us a good distance away from them. Otherwise we encountered no problems in making it to the edge of the great Cloakwood forest.
A dark and forbidding wood the Cloakwood is. Dense as can be and rife with predators of all sort, or so we had always heard at Candlekeep. None of us was terribly pleased to be here.
I was admittedly exhausted by the time we had arrived. We wondered then whether we should rest right then and there, or explore the area just a bit to see if we could find a camp site somewhat safer than just within the trees.
[Search area? Red card = yes.]
Before I was to cast my runes again to determine the next leg of our omen quest, it was clear that we would need to rest. We decided that while I sat for a bit, Imoen would scout ahead and see if she could find us some better shelter.
Neera and I both sat with our backs resting against the same tree and chatted. She related that she uses a staff that when striking enemies in combat could just as easily burn her with a burst of flame as her opponent. I happily informed her that my robe just happened to protect against such damage! Perhaps we could make a trade? Neera was quite eager to take this offer, and we traded cloaks. Hers, it turns out, protects slightly against missile attacks and certain types of spells involving the element of air. So this was every bit the fair trade, and we were both rather pleased.
Soon Neera remarked with a yawn that she herself felt suddenly struck by a wave of fatigue. And indeed even just by closing our eyes momentarily, listening to the birds chirping, we very nearly dozed off. And this would not have been a good thing had we done so.
In fairly short order Imoen returned with news of her scouting expedition. Due west lay a large cabin with some men in front guarding it, equipped with bows. And a bit north of the home was a large and quite swift stream with a stone bridge built across it. The bridge was guarded as well, by an elf with a bow. Imoen noted that there was also an enormous wolf roaming the area. Due to the density of the woods, there was no clear way around the cabin or the stream, even had we wished to avoid both to try to find a safer place to rest.
It would be wise to find companions to journey with us, I reminded them. That imperative of finding new companions was one half of the purpose for this five legged journey. I asked Imoen and Neera if they had a sense as to whether we should approach either the men at the cabin or the the elf at the bridge. Neither was opposed to the thought of either choice. So each agreed it would be best if I cast runes about that question. Then after doing that, I would cast runes again to see what our next destination would be.
In any event, now with two of us feeling exhaustion, we chose to rest before doing anything further.
It was agreed by all that it seemed to make the most sense to simply camp at the best spot we could find in our immediate location. And so we found a suitable stand of trees and attempted to rest.
To our great relief our rest was not disturbed. We were ready to renew our efforts by late evening. We dared rest no long than we needed to in this forbidding wood.
We could approach the men in front of the cabin. Or we might approach the elf at the bridge. I cast the runes to see who best to approach.
[Approach the men in front of the cabin = red card. Approach the elf on the bridge = black card. Result: black card. They will approach Coran.]
The runes directed that we approach the elf. If a fight was to result, I noted, the bridge appeared to be a better location anyway, with but one person to confront. Should the men at the cabin be hostile, then there could be even more of them inside in addition to the two guarding it.
Imoen led us around yet another bear. We managed to make it to the stone bridge without encountering any other predators.
At the bridge we were hailed by an elf by the name of Coran. He said he was a hunter by profession, and a skilled archer. A bit of a smooth talker he was. He proposed a deal to us. Coran informed us that Kelddath Ormlyr had hired him to kill a dragon that was marauding the area. But his research into his quarry had yielded that it had a barbed tail. Coran was therefore positive that the creature was a wyvern, and not a dragon. And while a formidable animal to kill, a wyvern may well yet be within our combined capabilities to vanquish, he said. The purse for delivering its head to Kelddath was a princely sum, he added.
[Note: Here, from a roleplaying vantage, I think Oracos would feel that the party must risk taking on a capable adventurer. So I did not draw a card as to whether he wishes to ask Coran to join. Oracos feels he was also sent to this location by the gods, in the hope of finding traveling companions as much as to seek a powerful omen at the end of the five legged journey. And here is a potentially strong ally. Imoen and Neera I envision as both more than willing to trust Oracos as party leader, i.e., they would defer to his judgment.]
I decided to be truthful with the elf. I responded to Coran that for our part we needed protection from some enemies that were pursuing us. Then I told perhaps a bit of white lie... I said that thus far we had no great difficulty in handling them. However, I continued, we had little to offer other than the danger and excitement of sharing our adventure wherever it may lead.
I told Coran that I was a Diviner, and that our path had led to him by the gods through my divinations. Yet I must follow directions from the gods thrice more before we might be able to help him complete his quest. I shared with Coran also that Imoen had impressive skills as a scout and thief, and that Neera was also a mage, same as me.
[Is Coran willing to join them party? Red card = yes.]
Coran studied us for a moment, and then broke into a robust laugh. “I'm a follower of Tymora!” he said. “There is no more devout believer in following the four winds than I.” He then leaned in toward me and said with a crooked grin, “Okay, I will join you for a time. But you must help me bring a wyvern’s head to the Governor of Beregost."
Coran paused for a slight moment to choose his words before continuing. “And although I trust that you may have some powerful magic at your fingertips… I believe that we shall also need a powerful armored warrior with a sword and shield to help us in my quest.” He watched for a reaction as to whether I was offended. He knew better than I what would be required to slay the beast. But I kept my face impassive and had no reply for him yet.
The elf continued. “I will grant us some time to find such a soul. And perhaps we may even proceed without one and take our chances to kill the wyvern as our party stands now. But should enough time pass and we have yet not brought a wyvern’s head to Kelddath, I will continue my quest without you.”
Imoen, Neera, and I all looked at each other and there seemed to be an air of agreement that this was acceptable. “Agreed,” said I and extended my hand. Kivan responded in kind by grasping my entire forearm in the elven form of handshake, and smiled. “We have a deal then.” he said.
I felt compelled to remind him of what I had just told him. “Remember, we shall follow my runes in three more directions before we may begin your quest! But I would estimate that we at traveling not more than... oh, perhaps a tenday at the most all told.”
“Fair enough,” said the elf. “You should know that I possess some thieving abilities in addition to my skill with the bow. You'd be hard pressed to find a lock that I'm unable to pick. If we can increase our wealth through my use of that skill, will that upset you? ”
“Not really,” I responded. “Unless of course you take unnecessary and foolish risks,” I smiled.
“Oh, I would never do that,” Coran smiled back. “Of that you may rest assured.” He then whistled a few notes of a bird call that sounded musical. “But what is life without some risk, eh?”
“True,” I acknowledged.
Then I asked the group if they were ready for me to cast my runes. It seemed that everyone was.
[Which direction shall the party travel? Roll 1d8 where 1 = N, 2 = NE, 3 = E, 4 = SE, 5 = S, 6 = SW, 7 = W, 8 = NW. Result: 6. The party travels southwest.]
[How far to travel in that direction? Red card = Lion’s Way, black card = Shipwreck’s Coast. Result: black card. The party travels to the Shipwreck’s Coast map.]
The runes told that we must now travel two days to the southwest. I shared the results with the others.
“To the coast we go then,” said Coran. “Please let me lead the way through this wood, if I may.”
I asked Imoen if she minded. She said she didn’t. But she reminded me that we had a bow that Coran could use that she had not the strength to draw back. It was the mighty Deadshot, the powerful bow we had taken from Tazok’s tent. I handed it to Coran.
Coran held the bow up, examining it closely (his keen elven eyes unimpeded by the night), and ran his hands over the length of it. He whistled just barely audibly under his breath.
“This is a very fine bow,” he remarked. “Very fine indeed. I will promise to take good care of it.” Then he winked. “And to use it well.”
With that we embarked on the next leg of our journey.
Having traveled only a short distance Coran signaled for us to halt. He motioned us slowly forward.
Coran had come upon a small band of small bald humaoids with blue skin called Xvarts. He readied his bow. However I quickly motioned to him that I would prefer to cast a spell. I softly incanted a Sleepiness spell. But to my chagrin, not a single one of them was affected by it!
Coran looked at me with a playfully quizzical expression. I gave a wan smile in response. I signaled that I wished to try again.
I cast the same spell again, and this time two of them fell asleep. Coran nodded in approval. But he motioned for me to stop. He then let an arrow fly at the Xvart who was still standing. We were all truly amazed at the sheer force and precision with which the arrow found its mark. Coran then quickly killed the other two just as instantly where they lay. There was no question that this elf was an archer of the highest skill. He commented how pleased he was with the new bow, and thanked us for it again.
On one of the Xvarts was a scroll to Charm. So before long we could have Neera attempt to learn this spell again.
Onward we continued through the corner of Cloakwood with Coran scouting the way ahead, until we came to the dense wood’s edge.
As we made our way through the wilds of the Sword Coast on our journey to the southwest we were ambushed by four dagger-hurling skeletons. This assault made it apparent that we are in need of an armored warrior using sword and shield to charge against such attackers, forcing them to use their swords! Instead, perhaps foolishly, we faced them off in a duel as to whose aim was better. We won, obviously (else I’d not be sharing the tale). But we did so at the cost of using two healing potions and my couple of healing spells—and those are scarce resources in a land crawling with all manner of viscous beast and deadly rogue. We need therefore also a healer amongst our group.
This happened because we let our guard down and traveled for a bit without either Coran or Imoen scouting ahead. To scout is a practice that is a deeply etched habit by now, for the most part. But it is tedious and every so often we weary of it. Or we get lulled into a false sense of security. Or both. And this laxity always seems to come at a cost, sooner or later.
[Note: Traveling to the first map this party (Oracos, Imoen, Neera, and Coran) were waylaid by something on the order of a dozen bandits who encircled them. Oracos died, so that warranted a reload (I’m reloading only if the PC dies).]
After about three days of travel we could hear the faint roar of the ocean and smelled the salt air of the Sea of Swords. The cries of seagulls could also just barely be heard. Having rested the previous day in the afternoon, we had pushed onward into the darkness, traveling at night. It was just before dawn when we could detect that the great ocean was not far off.
Coran scouted ahead. He spotted some wolves, which we avoided.
I felt that we must make our way to the land’s edge and there cast my runes again, for the next leg of out omen quest.
As we cautiously made our way to the sound of breaking waves, Coran steered us around a band of ogres. Thank goodness we still had the cover of the pre-dawn gloam, and Coran’s stealthiness and keen night vision!
[Coran reaches a point where two inlets are equidistant, one to to the north and the other to the south. Which direction to explore? Red card = north, black card = south. Result: black card. Coran explores to the south.]
Coran returned from his scouting to report that he had found a way to the beach. However, nearby was a man who had made camp dangerously close to the band of ogres that Coran had spotted. This lone traveler seemed oblivious to the peril he was in. If we were to approach him, there was a high risk that the ogres would overhear. And by the same token, the man was clearly in danger—assuming of course that he wasn’t in some way allied with them. But Coran advised that it was his impression that this was not the case. So we had a moral decision as to whether to try to get the attention of this traveler and signal him to get out of harm’s way.
I asked the others what their feelings were about this. Imoen said she felt we should try to signal the stranger. I myself wasn’t sure, but here I would follow the consensus of my three companions as my omen. The gods had led us to this spot! I however kept that to myself.
[Imoen has already voted to try to alert the stranger. For Neera and Coran: a red card = help the man, black card = do not help him. Results: Neera: red card, Coran: black card. Two out of the three vote to help the man. Oracos follows that majority. The party will try to help him.]
Coran tried his best to signal to the man, but the fellow made a starled sound as Coran attempted to whisper to him. A half ogre from the band not but 40 yards away came to investigate and Coran and Imoen cut him down their bows as the creature gave chase to Coran. Coran’s masterfully aimed arrow went right into the enemy’s larynx. As this was happening, I cast a Sight-Robbing spell and Neera cast a spell to make him chased by an apparition in his own mind. But the monster fell dead before our spells could affect him. Fortunately, Coran’s first shot prevented the the half-ogre from crying out to his party. Hopefully his fellow ogres were still sleeping. The dawn was starting to break.
The man, having just witnessed our saving his life, quickly joined us hidden behind a stand of trees. Coran kept a lookout.
The traveler was dressed in a black robe. He was late middle-aged with salt and pepper hair. His face was kindly, and he had a look of sophistication about him. He was thankful for our chivalrous act, and offered to heal us. (This made me hopeful that we may have found a healer to join us!)
[The Surgeon’s introduction offers two dialogue options. The first is that the party requires no healing but it has a kind of nasty tone, which isn’t fitting for Oracos. The second response option says they would appreciate some healing, but more-so asks the Surgeon to tell about himself. I went ahead and picked a card for this, because the first response is factually accurate, even if the tone is wrong for my character. The second response actually matches what Oracos would really want to know, given that Oracos believes this man is himself an omen placed on their path by the gods—but they don’t actually need any healing! Red card = response 1, black card = response 2. Result: black card. They ask the Surgeon to share about himself.]
The man identified himself simply as “The Surgeon.” He was clearly a priest of some sort. He related that had become a wanderer who heals any in need as an act of penance. He told that his own brother, a thoroughly evil man named Davaeorn, had killed their father, and many, many others. The fellow was filled with self-recrimination that he had failed to kill his brother when he once had the chance. Had he been strong enough to act then, he remarked with sadness, his own father and others would still be alive today.
The Surgeon stated that his brother had come to the Sword Coast, and that he intended to find and kill him.
The priest then expressed what I took to be a strong omen. He stated that he hoped that we—yes, our very party—would meet his brother, as we appeared to be adventures. He gave us some powerful potions to temporarily protect against ensorclements should this be the case.
Then without a word he vanished. He simply disappeared right before us, giving a smile beforehand. [Taking some artistic license there. ]
I was disappointed that we hadn't the chance to ask him to join us! But nevertheless I felt this meeting was a very powerful omen. I thanked the gods for it.
The name “Davaeorn” echoed a bit in my thoughts. It sounded vaguely familiar to me, from somewhere in our travels… I would have to meditate on this later to see if I could remember it.
But we were in danger of the ogre party discovering their fallen fellow, as the orange and pink hues of dawn began to fade with a rising sun. We hastily moved to the beach under a rock outcropping in order that I may cast the runes for the next leg of our journey.
[Which direction shall the party travel? Roll 1d9 where 1 = N, 2 = NNE, 3 = NE, 4 = ENE, 5 = E, 6 = ESE, 7 = SE, 8 = SSE, 9 = S. Result: 1 = North]
[How far to travel in that direction? Red card = Candlekeep, black card = Cloak wood 3. Result: Black card = Cloakwood 3.]
The runes pointed us back towards Cloakwood, due north at the forest's northeastern corner, by the sea. This made all of us shiver a bit except for Coran, who was quite pleased.
“Ah, but the gods are surely directing you to fulfill my quest!” Coran chuckled, giving a sly wink. “Come on Diviner, you must know this to be true!”
I looked at Imoen, and she at me. She could see, perhaps for the first time, that I was fearful for our safety. But Imoen then put one arm around Neera's waist, and rested the other on Coran’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry Oracos, we got the best traveling companions in the Sword Coast with us! Coran will scout the way. You and Neera’ll blast any enemies that cross our path to smithereens with your magic. Me and Coran’ll have monsters runnin’ with tails between their legs from our arrows. We’ll make it. Yep, we sure will,” she said in her happy-go-luckiest tone.
Coran gave a toothy grin. Neera smiled rather more meekly.
“We shall surely follow the path the gods have laid before us. We must,” I said, and with conviction, in an effort to show more confidence. “And the gods shall protect us. No doubt.”
“We should make haste and leave this place,” said Coran, assuming a bit more serious tone.
“Aye, that we should,” I replied. “The ogres may already have found the one we slew.”
“I shall scout ahead, then,” Coran said. And he then sneaked out of sight.
[Do the ogres discover their fallen comrade? Black card = no]
With that Coran traced our steps back the same route we had reached when we first smelt the sea, in order that we may safely venture north again. And from there we ventured on, in a reluctant return (for most of us) to the dark, fearsome Cloakwood forest.
[Note: Here I could have had them also travel due north along the coast for the remainder of this map. I expect they would probably have avoided the dangers due north in the Shipwreck Coast area with Coran’s scouting. But I’m satisfied that they know their destination, and would travel with safety foremost in Oracos’ mind. So this was a roleplaying decision: They now know how to get to their destination relatively safely, so that’s the way they went.
I am very concerned about the ettercap and wyvern ambushes heading back into Cloakwood with this party! However, while I doubt they would survive the wyvern lair, they might get lucky with a wyvern ambush and manage to kill one, especially if they can blind it. Then Coran can get his wyvern skull.]
By the way, it's been really entertaining to me how the dice and cards are playing out. Kind of fascinating the way it's going from the standpoint of Oracos seeking omens and whatnot.
Yep, and throughout this game not a dice roll or card flip has been fudged either. (The fun of this technique is to go wherever it takes you. The old saw "cheaters only cheat themselves" really does hold true here, I think.)
On the first leg of this five-fold omen quest, Oracos gets a strong hint to rethink his own course of action by meeting up with not one but two individuals who themselves each turn away from courses they were dead-set upon. (Oracos is himself strongly determined to try to hide rather than face down their antagonists.) On the second leg they are sent to Cloakwood, the direction they must follow re: continuation of the plot. On the third leg they are sent right to the Surgeon, who essentially foretells their destiny to encounter Davaeorn. For the fourth leg they are sent back to Cloakwood (where they will encounter a druid who insists that they go to the mines)! So the dice rolls have been kinda freaky good.
I am really concerned, though, that this tank-less party is going to be decimated in Cloakwood. In a no-reload game I was just playing with a random generated party, yesterday I got wiped out by the assassins waiting at the mines camp. (I should have won, though, had I used my resources better.) And the random ambushes in Cloakwood can be brutal. This party has no front-liners! And then too, if the next dice roll for the final leg of the omen quest takes them due east, Coran will want to raid the wyvern den, which the party I think will feel more or less obliged to honor (certainly if it is right on their way). And with this party that will probably result in some deaths. Their reactions to the dangers presented would of course be roleplayed, though.
On the plus side, they are headed now to a map with two NPCs: Eldoth and Faldorn. So the party at least can get filled out. And a badly needed healer is available there. This of course depending on the roleplay for each character (or dice/cards if their vote is in question).
I don't think they're going to have any choice but to take Eldoth. While three of the party are Good aligned, none of them are ethically above taking on his quest (although they would be unable to complete it without removing a party member, assuming it's a party of six by then). I.e., it would not be out of the question, anyway.
Does Faldorn ask you to go to the mines? It's been so long that I had her in a party (more than five years ago) that I can't remember. But that is my vague recollection. [Edit: I opened up another saved game to check, and sure enough she does.]
I'm actually very much enjoying Coran. I hadn't used him in many years till now. Personality-wise he's got the charming rogue thing working for him, which is great for RP. If he remains in the party I'm also looking forward to making the most of his lock picking and backstabbing skills. He's so awesome with the bow, that's the only use I've ever put him to. But in this game I want to try to get more out of him.
Has anyone ever tried making Coran into a front-liner? Here I may have to try that. He is a Fighter, after all. Armored in plate mail with his 20 Dex... especially in ankheg armor, eventually... his AC should be so low that he'd be virtually un-hittable... plus with him rarely getting hit, he can still use his bow, best I can tell... One of my mages can cast Strength on him regularly... And eventually he could get the Strength Gloves.
Edit: Well after opening up a game to test this I see that Coran reaches AC -2 with half plate and RoP +1. With ankheg armor and RoP +2 he reaches -5. I would have expected lower AC than that with 20 Dex!
Still, even with AC -2 it might be workable to have him use his bow on the front line. Especially if he has Boots of Speed, with which he can dart around/kite and fire the bow. If I have Faldorn she can us her special ability to Summon Dread Wolf and eventually Call Woodland Beings to help him on the front line. Oracos and Neera can also summon monsters. This is shaping up to be really interesting, tactically:
Diviner - disabling spells, summon monsters Neera - disabling spells, summon monsters Faldorn - druid spells, summon dread wolf and woodland beings Coran - tanking and kiting/firing Deadshot with Boots of Speed; can also at times backstab Imoen (pure thief) - short bow, backstab Eldoth - poison arrows, spellcast including extra scrolls and wands, maybe try to steal Gregan's Harp
This, assuming that the party accepts both Eldoth and Faldorn.
Note: I risk losing Coran if his quest timer expires before I can get to the wyvern cave, or obtain a wyvern's head via an ambush.
And I don't see the party booting anyone for Skie--which means Eldoth leaves then. Unless they decide they don't like Faldorn and try to find another healer.
Coran isn't a great tank because of low cons and hp. Kivan isn't a great tank for the same reason. Rely on Khalid or kagain, neutral I dunno. Heck, yeslick is decent, ESP with his self buffs. Maybe spell armoured xan? You know, until he gets dispelled. Heh
@Lemernis The 20 dex doesn't help his AC any more than an 18 does (still gets a -4 to AC), but it makes his ranged to hit better. So in Ankheg Plate Mail he'll have a -3 AC without anything else helping him along; however his 14 strength isn't that great, also just as a side note... Faldorn can wear the Ankheg plate as well.
I should say that there's basically two discussions raised about this question of tanking Coran.
One is how tanking Coran works out in general, in any game. Question is basically can Coran be equipped to work out decently in this way, even if there are other NPCs who can do it better. And by tank what I really mean is front-liner that has AC low enough not to get hit much, versus a bruiser with high HP who can take a lot of damage.
And the other discussion is what to do in this game which avoids meta-gaming, is RP-intensive, and uses dice rolls and a deck of playing cards to determine many outcomes. In this game, for the time being I am stuck with Coran as my only viable tank. A lot can change, though.
@Fighting_Ferret Okay, thanks, yeah, I see in the tables that Dex range 18-20 has the same -4 AC adjustment. But Viconia gets comparatively lower AC in ankheg armor than Coran. Is that the result of a racial (Drow) bonus?
Yeah, I could tank Faldorn as well, though as a pure class Druid she won't be as hardy as a Fighter/Thief. As a militant Shadow Druid I wonder how she would feel about going to the ankheg 'farm' and killing one, in order to have Taerom make armor from it. It'll be interesting RP, though! (Also, what will Faldorn think of Coran's quest?)
Because this party doesn't go side-questing for loot, and avoids most encounters to begin with, I'm not sure if they'll ever amass enough gold to pay for Taerom to craft any ankheg armor, lol. Maybe. Perhaps if Coran and Imoen loot the Ducal Palace or something!
But anyway, more than likely Coran would be in half plate plus RoP +1 and using Boots of Speed. So I think at least for this game the question is can I make this work with summons to aid him on the front line, and lots of spell casting.
Evidently the timer for Coran's quest is 16 days. It's going to be tough to complete his quest and do also the omen quest all within that time frame. It'll be a squeaker, if so.
Is there a lone wyvern anywhere in Cloakwood 4 outside of the cave?
If you get both Yeslick and Faldorn you should have healing and summons covered well + Yeslick is a decent enough tank with his self-buffs, heavy armor and large shield, even without the dex gloves. Hope you'll manage to complete Coran's quest in time.
This is a very enjoyable read. I'm tempted to try a playthrough in this style.
I gave it a quick try with my BG 2 char and RP journalling with a Lawful Evil mage is a very interesting way to play. There's nothing quite like getting into the mind of an arrogant and very powerful magic user who sees others as expendable pawns on a chess board.
@demented Thanks for the encouragement! I think I will probably have at least one game in this vein running for a long time to come. I'm amazed at just how interactive this style of playing the game is, and how truly unpredictable it is.
The biggest revelation for me was when I found myself roleplaying all the characters reactions--not just the PC--and seeing how that opened the game up for all sorts of storytelling possibilities.
I hope you continue your RPed playthrough and post it. You'll have at least one guaranteed reader. After this experience I think I will always be fascinated to see how the basic tale comes to life through any given character, in someone's else's imagination.
Are you going to use dice and cards to determine some of the outcomes?
@demented Thanks for the encouragement! I think I will probably have at least one game in this vein running for a long time to come. I'm amazed at just how interactive this style of playing the game is, and how truly unpredictable it is.
The biggest revelation for me was when I found myself roleplaying all the characters reactions--not just the PC--and seeing how that opened the game up for all sorts of storytelling possibilities.
I hope you continue your RPed playthrough and post it. You'll have at least one guaranteed reader. After this experience I think I will always be fascinated to see how the basic tale comes to life through any given character, in someone's else's imagination.
Are you going to use dice and cards to determine some of the outcomes?
Agreed. I found the game much more immersive and enjoyable. It also came in pretty handy at one point. I had just defeated Irenicus at Spellhold and was offered a ride with Saemon. I knew my char would never trust someone so fork tongued but I wanted the loot from Sahuagin City. I put it to a vote and the consensus was to trust Saemon. So I was able to have my cake and eat it too.
I just bought Planescape Torment and am still in the middle of a BG 2 playthrough so it'll be a while before I have a chance. I could do it with my current game but I'd prefer to start from the beginning at Candlekeep.
Once you complete BG1, do you plan on continuing in this style when BG2 EE comes out?
I used the die you linked and flipped a coin for decisions as I couldn't find any cards.
Edit:
You're level two, in cloakwood with a group that's neither powerful nor well equipped. What will you do if you engage in a battle you can't win. Would you reload to an older save or simply accept this as the god's will.
It's interesting as the latter implies there may be more than one ending to your game. Perhaps the son of Bhall will die alone and broken and Saverok will become the new lord of murder.
@demented PST is a really amazing game and if you play it while roleplaying your Nameless One you'll have a hell of a ride. Just bear in mind that alignment is flexible there and every decision you make changes things, for better or worse.
@demented PST is a really amazing game and if you play it while roleplaying your Nameless One you'll have a hell of a ride. Just bear in mind that alignment is flexible there and every decision you make changes things, for better or worse.
I decided to play it as a very long D&D Alignment test. Whatever choices that come up, I try to make a decision through looking at similar experiences I've had and introspection.
It's interesting. I often get lawful evil whenever taking an alignment test so maybe this game will assure me that I'm not evil, or start me down the path to world domination
Once you complete BG1, do you plan on continuing in this style when BG2 EE comes out?...
You're level two, in cloakwood with a group that's neither powerful nor well equipped. What will you do if you engage in a battle you can't win. Would you reload to an older save or simply accept this as the god's will.
It's interesting as the latter implies there may be more than one ending to your game. Perhaps the son of Bhall will die alone and broken and Saverok will become the new lord of murder.
I'm pretty sure I'll want to do this again with BG2:EE, although with a different character.
The answer to the second question is I'm reloading only if the PC dies. And so there's a number of ways that can play out.
I will do everything I can to keep the PC alive in every attempt at a difficult battle. If all looks lost I'll have to gauge at the time whether I think the Oracos would go down fighting, or flee for his life.
If several party members fall, others in the party may be tempted to flee as well.
Beyond Oracos, Imoen, and Neera, there won't be a cohesive bond gluing the rest of the party together. I'm already anticipating that the current party of four will feel no choice but to accept Eldoth and Faldorn. But they'll be new to the party when the poop hits the fan. And Coran is also relatively new (and I'm not even sure I can keep him in the party by completing his quest in time, anyway). So I'm not sure how they will react if things start going badly. If things get hairy I may turn a card as to whether each of them chooses to abandon the fight and run away.
Three main fights worry me immediately: 1) Ambushes by wyverns or ettercaps when traveling between maps. 2) The wyvern cave which Coran will insist in raiding. 3) The assassins outside of the mine complex.
I also roleplay when someone dies that the party would have to carry the bodies of the fallen to a temple. And from deep within Cloakwood that's going to be problematic.
So I think there's a good chance that the party will soon get reformed, honestly.
If the welcoming party at the mine prevails but fails to kill Oracos, then I will roleplay that the enemies there stay on as the mines' highly paid guardians, who were initially hired to kill Gorion's ward. Oracos would then have to return with a new party at some point.
And re: the strategy for winning that battle, I fear that the only real chance this party has is to draw those assassins out one at a time, and defeat them one by one. And for that I will have to rely on a little creative roleplay.
We continued our journey north uneventfully along the coast through the section of Cloakwood where we had first met Coran; but now, on this trip, penetrating ever deeper into the menacing woods.
Coran scouted ahead, naturally. We considered ourselves very fortunate to have him leading the way, since he already has some familiarity with these woods as a hunter.
Before long we came upon a stream that emptied into a waterfall at a tall cliff overlooking the coastline. Just past the rushing stream we discovered a youth who had made camp. Perhaps late in his teen years he was, but he looked no stranger to the woods.
The youngster implored us to search for his brother who had gone missing. In their explorations of the wood this youth and his brother had stumbled upon a sword named “Spider’s Bane,” a weapon they believed to be enchanted to kill giant spiders. Using this mighty sword, the two of them had hoped to rid the wood of a colony of the creatures deeper inside the wood, he said. Sadly, his brother had gone in search of the colony but had not returned in over a week.
We excused ourselves and our group briefly discussed the lad’s plea in private. Coran advised that giant spiders riddled the wood, and that they were incredibly dangerous. The young fellow now missing, apparently having no adventuring experience at all, is almost without a doubt dead, he said. All we would be doing is retrieving his lifeless, blood-drained body—which is likely spun now almost irretrievably into a cocoon, and would be terribly difficult to remove.
Given the imperatives already before us… namely, my omen quest, but also Coran’s desire to obtain a wyvern head for Kelddath as soon as possible, lest someone else beat him to the bounty… and then also the obvious risks we would face with a possible colony of spiders… it was agreed by all that this was not something we felt inclined to take on. We apologized to the young fellow for not being able to help him, and that we must press on about our business.
The young man seemed disappointed, but troubled us no further as we bid him good luck.
[Note: Here I think even Imoen would agree with this decision. I think this is solid RP.]
[Note: Coran is scouting. And there is information now specifically that spiders are likely in the immediate vicinity. So I do not think it a stretch that Coran checks for traps. But Coran’s trap finding ability is not so good. So...]
[Will the party think to have Imoen check for traps as well? Black card = no.]
As Coran moved forward with an eye toward spiders and their web traps, a giant spider came charging towards him. He fired an arrow at it and retreated to ready his sword and assume the proper fighting stance. The rest of us fired our own missiles at it.
As the creature closed in on Coran he thrust his longsword at it. Neera switched to her Fire Staff, which struck the killing blow. We were impressed by her bravery, and commended her as she shuddered at the hideous creature’s twitching mandibles and legs, which continued writhing even in death.
Coran then went on to tell us just how deadly spider traps in these woods are. He then grudgingly admitted that he was not particularly skilled at detecting or removing traps of any kind. So we elected to have Imoen to take a crack at it, she moving carefully and slowly alongside him.
Then in almost the next instant, to our great horror Coran and Imoen both found themselves inadvertently triggering a web trap! For an uncomfortably long period of time they remained stuck within its sticky strands. Slowly but surely they were able to cut themselves free with their swords. Neera and I felt extremely helpless as we watched them hack their way loose, prepared to cast spells if any creatures happened upon them...
Once free, Coran commented that it was clear that we would have to proceed now with extreme caution.
We moved around the web. Coran and Imoen inched forward slowly again, and this time another spider burst from the wood and attacked them. They again fired their bows and retreated, using the same tactic that had just served us well. Except this time Coran received a spider bite filled with venom. I ran to him and used my ability to stop the poison, and then to heal him.
Coran was none the worse for the wear. But this was nevertheless very concerning. We had only two vials of poison antidote with us!
Also, I could not help but observe aloud that Coran didn’t have a shield to use in close combat with his sword. He stated matter-of-factly that his preference was not to use one. Coran added that in order to move about stealthily, he could wear no heavier armor than what he currently had on.
But still, given that Coran was the most capable amongst us to defend with a sword, which at times was necessary, it seemed obvious to the rest of us that he would need better armor of some kind.
In all events, it became apparent to us that we were lacking in some basic supplies. We were not well prepared for the dangers of this wood! (More bluntly put: we were woefully unprepared.)
Imoen scouted ahead a bit futher and it seemed the way was clear. We soon came to a “T” with a worn path that led down to the shoreline to the south, and deeper into the wood to the north. The path to the south seemed to offer a possible view of the the cliffs extending north along the coast, and with any luck perhaps a view onto the forest canopy.
[Go north or south? Red card = north, black card = south. Result: red card. Follow the path north.]
We had a brief discussion about whether to see if we could get a glimpse of what might lay ahead, at least partially. But since there was no guarantee of such a view, and the distance to the cliff wasn’t trivial, the consensus was that this sidetrip likely wasn’t worth the effort.
Imoen and Coran advanced slowly with their eyes peeled for web traps. They soon reported that they spied a hideous purple skinned humanoid potbellied creature with powerful, long, dangling arms and an enormous slobbering mouth, that Coran identified as an “ettercap.” These creatures were highly dangerous, he cautioned us. Their bite is as venomous as a spider’s, he said—and they prepare traps the same as spiders do. However they are not very smart, Coran noted.
Coran and Imoen snuck back the stand of trees where they had spotted the beast. They each let an arrow fly at the creature, wounding it, but nevertheless causing it to charge them. Our two archers retreated and again fired their bows. I hurled darts and Neera threw some daggers, though she has no training with them and did so only with a prayer that she might actually make her throws succeed.
When the ettercap closed in on Coran he switched to his sword. Neera joined in the close combat by taking swings at the thing with her enchanted staff. Coran suffered some wounds that I healed with my last casting of that spell. Fortunately the beast wasn’t able to bite him.
Imoen advanced again carefuly amdist the trees. Almost immediately she came back to to tell us that another ettercap was directly ahead. Coran and Imoen repeated the same maneuver they had just employed. Except this time when the creature came towards us, Imoen tried to distract it by having the creature chase after her. By the time it did finally close on us, Coran again used his sword to kill it. But in so doing he suffered some significant injuries. We were forced to use a precious resource to restore his health: one of our last five healing potions.
Again Imoen proceeded very slowly, staying hidden as she crept forward. And this time she caught sight of the trap set by a small group of the creatures. There were three more of them ahead. (At least we hoped that was the full extent of their number!)
Amazingly, Imoen was able to disarm the trap right under their noses without being seen. Tymora be praised.
Imoen and Coran advanced like shadows amdist the trees to make their assault on the creatures. Their plan was to draw them out one at a time. Coran got off an amazing shot seemed to go right through the closest creature’s chest. Perhaps on instinct alone, the ettercap made a run at them. Once again they dropped back and turned to shoot another round of arrows. And yet again one of Coran’s arrows found its mark, this time to end the horrid creature’s life.
We repeated the procedure twice more. On the first Coran sustained injuries serious enough to require the use of yet another healing potion. (Leaving us with only three!)
For the last ettercap Imoen and Coran were both able to distract the creature and shoot arrows as it chased after them. They did this long enough for me to finally deliver a fatal dart to the beast’s head.
We then discovered that the ettercaps had laid in wait to ambush unwary travelers in a clearing. Upon entering the small glade we saw to our east a trail through a rocky area that belonged to the cliffs. The problem in following the path was that it might make us quite vulnerable to getting trapped, should en enemy sneak us behind the way we went in, and block the end.
We weren’t entirely sure what kind of predators might hide among the rocks. But the feeling was that the deep forest, deadly home to both giant spider and ettercap, was something to avoid whenever we could. Predatory creatures—except for big cats, Coran the hunter noted—probably enjoyed less cover among the rocks to prepare ambushes on unsuspecting prey. That comparative lack of cover to hide within could well be the reason that a trail had been forged there. Therefore we opted to follow it.
Imoen continued to carefully checked for ettercap traps. And sure enough, she found and disarmed one.
Then, moving very cautiously up the trail, Imoen continued slowly checking for more traps. She made it the length of the trail and whistled us forward.
The trail through the rocks opened into another clearing. There I asked the group to stop to discuss whether we should rest in order that I may restore some of my healing power for us. Coran still had some significant injuries that required attention. And we were now down to only three healing potions.
There was of course the risk that we could be attacked while we rested. But by the same token, we had rested safely the previous night. And all of us were still capable of pressing on. At any rate, we had to weigh the risk of getting attacked while resting, versus having only three vials of healing, and an injured swordman (who wears only studded leather armor and carries no shield).
Somewhat to my surpsrise, the group encouraged me to cast my runes. It made me feel good inside that they sought this.
[Rest now? Red card = yes]
I gave my runes a toss, and they directed that indeed we should rest.
We readied our camp there, and suddenly Imoen then slapped her forehead with her palm and placed her other hand on my shoulder.
“I’m such a numbskull!” she exclaimed with a laugh. “I have some things that Coran can use!” She then took off her bracers and ring, and handed them to Coran.
“Here, since you’re doin’ a lot of sword fighting, the ring’ll help protect you. And the bracers’ll make your aim even better,” Imoen smiled. She also slipped her buckler off of her left wrist. “And take this too,” she said. “None of this stuff is to keep! Just to use for now!” she added.
Coran reluctantly accepted the gifts. But I had to admit that we all felt a little better that he would use them for the time being. Imoen had by now proven herself very fast and nimble on her feet. She was used by now to outrunning enemies, pivoting and shooting her bow, and so on, to whittle them down. She did little fighting hand-to-hand. Coran’s need for those items was clearly the greater under our present circumstances.
Before we rested I asked Neera if she would memorize a spell to conjure a magical sphere that may, if she is lucky, blind the target—rather than her special skill with the Weave to ‘shape’ a higher level spell. Neera agreed that made sense, given that the only spell she could shape that was currently beyond her ability to hold in memory was one to sap strength from the opponent. (Perhaps it would be more advantageous if attackers lose their sight, I felt.) For my own part, I followed suit by choosing to not memorize a spell to identify enchanted items, and instead to ready an additional casting of the spell to cause Blindness.
Gods be praised, we rested without being attacked by anything!
As we continued on our journey, at one point during the night we were accosted by two giant spiders that Coran and Imoen failed to spot ahead of us. Fortunately, we were able to flee them by sprinting to a dense line of trees that we were able to squeeze between, yet the spiders couldn’t fit through.
After a day of further travel without incident we came to a large river that cut through the forest. It was too deep and swift to ford. So Imoen scouted ahead along its banks. She stopped short and snuck back to us to advise that an enormous bear lay ahead. And it did not look in any way lazy, docile, or complacent. Rather, it seemed highly agitated. So we attempted to move around it by skirting a stand of trees.
Then we saw the reason for the bear’s agitation. On the other side of the cluster of trees we had just moved around, we came upon a hooded man in leathers who was standing there completely motionless, daring not to move a muscle. About twenty yards away was the bear, growling deeply at him and at times tossing its head side to side! The man seemed to grasp that if were to flee in fear, the bear would only chase him down and maul him to death. So still as a statue he stood.
Nevertheless, he looked happy to see us. He mouthed these words very slowly, with exaggeration, so as to leave no doubt as to the message: “pleease heeelp mee!”
Coran inched close to the man, attempting to keep out of the bear's sight. But once Coran got close enough to speak in whispers to the man, the bear’s nose evidently detected Coran. The bear broke towards Coran.
The enormous creature charged at Coran with dizzying speed. But our elven ally, hunter that he is, had behind him a lifetime of training for the moment. In the blink of an eye Coran unflinchingly notched and loosed an arrow that hurtled with amazing force directly into the roof of the creature’s roaring maw. At the same moment I cast a spell to Blind the giant.
Even so the massive beast did not cease his pursuit! We retreated as fast as our legs could take us. Fortunately, the bear halted. It reared on its hind legs, towering above us all, easily more than twice the height of a man. Confused, and clearly in pain, it bellowed in rage. The great bear snapped the arrow protruding from its mouth as if it were a thin, brittle twig.
The bear stood inches away from the man, who still moved not a muscle. Though I take no pleasure in the misfortunes of others, I have to admit that the look on the man’s face was hilarious to me at that moment. Such a mixture of abject fear and unexpected relief I have never seen. It was priceless.
We all took aim at the bear. Down it collapsed with a dull thud, as another one of Coran’s perfectly placed arrows pierced its heart.
Our attention turned to the hooded man, who still remained motionless, as if unable to unfreeze his muscles. We walked up to him and studied him for a moment. He stared straight ahead, seeming unaware of our presence. We assumed him still to be gripped by terror. But as I leaned in to examine his face, at just the right moment he broke the tension by winking at us. His face relaxed into a smile.
“Gentlemen, gentlewomen, may I introduce myself,” he said with a mellifluous tone. He then gracefully dipped into a low, sweeping bow. “I am Eldoth Kron.”
So no calamities thus far in Cloakwood (knock wood), thank goodness. And now I can at least get a party of six with which to venture forth on the final leg of the omen quest.
Wherever that last leg of the omen quest takes me, I will undoubtedly face ambushes between Cloakwood maps. But at least I'll have a party of six, which makes those much more survivable. And I'll have Faldorn who can cast Slow Poison and heal, along with Oracos.
I may even get lucky and kill a wyvern between maps, thereby acquiring a wyvern head for Coran's quest.
Anyway, depending on where the next destination is, I am going to be cutting it razor thin to get proper gear (a must, I feel, if there is any opportunity to do it), and also complete Coran's quest in time to keep him in the party!
The man continued his introduction by offering us some brandy from Selgaunt, which, I have to say, tasted as sweet and delicious as the very nectar of the gods. The warmth of it in my mouth to soon spread to my entire body. We were off to a good start with this chap.
Eldoth went on to tell us that he had just recently made a rather harrowing escape from no less than a dozen gnolls (which he claims he killed), but was forced to flee when the gnolls’ ogre allies appeared.
He obviously relished telling the story. And he told the tale with great dramatic flare. It was indeed quite entertaining to listen to him tell it. It was apparent that our new friend has bardic skills. So it was to some extent understood by all of us that there would be some… embellishments, shall we say.
Eldoth went on to tell the story of his desire to free his love, a young woman whom he referred to as Skie, from the clutches of her tyrannical father, a ruler in Baldur’s Gate named Duke Entar Silvershield. Skie was a lovely and free spirited lass, he said. She simply wished to live a carefree and thrill-packed life of adventure, surviving with Eldoth strictly by virtue of their own cunning and wits. All Skie wished to do was unfold her wings and soar, seeking her own lot and fortune in life. His beloved simply wished for her life to be truly her own. But, sadly, her father kept her locked away, a virtual slave, Eldoth lamented. Unless someone freed her, Skie was destined to become an old maid living miserably under her father’s thumb.
The bard then made a proposal to us. He offered to join us, under one simple condition that he would state shortly, and thereby lend his adventuring skills to our band, which were considerable. He first listed his talents: Eldoth told us had studied the lore of the Realms. He was versed in a multitude of languages and customs, and knew the histories and ways of many lands and creatures. He could sing and recite poetry to inspire us to bravery. He had the ability to cast magic spells, and to use magic wands. He could, as needed, lift and remove a coin purse and even heavier items without the owner feeling it. He could handle a scimitar quite well—and he was a particularly good shot with the long bow (though he had lost his own bow and quiver while being chased by the ogres). Eldoth even had skill in poisoning arrows. He offered these talents to us for about as long as we needed (within reason of course). In exchange for all this we would eventually help rescue Skie from her father.
Eldoth then made a bold statement that struck me as quite an outrageous gamble with respect to whether he might win us over, or repel us. Eldoth added that he was plotting also a scheme to get some of the Silvershield fortune which Skie felt would have belonged to her eventually one day. Skie simply wanted the equivalent of an inheritance, he said. But in order to get it, they would have to resort to convincing the Duke to pay a ransom. It was of course a deception, he smiled. Skie was herself in on the plan. If they pulled it off no one would get hurt, the Duke would be none the wiser, and Eldoth and Skie would share the ransom with us.
The latter scheme was a risk that we could partake in if we liked, Eldoth added. And our answer as to whether we might help with getting Skie her rightful share of the estate could wait until we had met Skie for ourselves. But at the very least, he would appreciate our aid in freeing Skie.
I informed Eldoth that the city was actually closed to all but the most essential trade and officials due to the bandit raids. But that it would obviously relax its traffic restrictions sooner or later. He looked a bit surprised but nodded.
We informed Eldoth that we must confer amongst ourselves, and bid his indulgence that we leave him for a moment to do so.
“Certainly, enjoy the brandy as you do, eh?” Eldoth said with a broad smile.
Coran chuckled that he liked this young man’s audacity. During the course of our travels Coran had shared that he himself was not above the law. Far from it, in fact. Coran had become somewhat addicted to the thrill of relieving the enormously wealthy of some of the burden of their mounds of gold. He also had a way with the ladies, and had penchant for getting into one trouble after another related to them. So it was no surprise that Coran was in favor of accepting Eldoth’s offer to join us.
Imoen, whose mind is surprisingly keen and heart can always see others quite clearly (even if she often behaves without thinking through consequences), was not as impressed.
“There’s somethin’ about him I don’t trust, Oracos,” she said. “But we do need his help. I think we’re kinda stuck with him.”
Neera said that she liked him, and glanced back towards him almost shyly. I found myself bothered by this, actually. But I reminded myself that my feelings about whether Neera liked him or not were neither here nor there. Anyway, Neera was in favor.
As for myself, this was actually not a difficult decision to make. We need the man’s help. As to whether we would honor our part of the bargain at some point in Baldur’s Gate… we would have to assess that at the time. I had every intention to assist him, if his story holds up. If it seemed possible for us to help this Skie get free of her father, we would. However, if Eldoth’s plan to free Skie seemed horribly ill-advised, and Eldoth refused to adjust it, we would have to renege. Then too, if Eldoth is clearly valuable to us in surviving this wood, and proves a sound ally, that will go a long way in having us take risks that we otherwise might not.
I could also cast runes at the time about whether to keep our word, when we eventually made it to Baldur’s Gate.
I was mainly worried about our survival now, in this wood. We would agree to his terms. Although how it may all play out depends on what we actually encounter. Rather than voicing these thoughts, I kept them to myself however, lest others eventually share them with Eldoth.
The entire party agreed it was best not to tell Eldoth any of our troubles, as he was agreeing to join us blindly to begin with. No sense in having him change his mind about that!
We returned to Eldoth and extended our hands in friendship.
“You have a deal, friend,” I said with a warm smile and handshake. The others too exchanged greetings and handshakes.
“You shant be disappointed with my skills, of that I promise,” said Eldoth, again bowing low.
Before we proceeded Coran gave Eldoth the longbow he was carrying as a spare since we gave him Deadshot. I became a bit alarmed to learn that our three archers were beginning to run a bit low on arrows. The three of them divided the number of arrows that was left to a little less than 60 each.
Eldoth knew a couple spells, but he would have to remove his studded leather armor to cast them. I had a scroll of Charm that he could incant directly, without having to remove his leather. So I gave it to him to use.
We asked Eldoth if he was familiar with this part of the forest.
[Is Eldoth familiar with the map to the north with the stone circle, and the druid enclave? Red card = yes.]
Eldoth responded that, yes, in fact just a short way to the east along the river was a wooden bridge. On the other side of that bridge lay an enclave of druids. Or at least he surmised as such. He hadn’t strayed far from the path. But on the other side of the river he did overhear chanting very close by to the west and recognized the songs as druidic. But that was about all he knew of, he said.
I asked Eldoth if the coast was visible anywhere nearby. He reported that he believed it was but a short distance to the north, as the faint sounds of sea birds and crashing waves could be heard from there. However the wood was too dense to travel through to reach the cliffs there that adjoined the Sea of Swords.
We drained the last of the brandy. And thus it was that we continued on our way, now with a new companion, Eldoth Kron, the Bard.
As we strode along our new friend recited a rousing poem to lift our spirits, with some bawdy bits that made Coran laugh and our lasses blush.
Comments
Black bears roamed the area, and Imoen kept us a good distance away from them. Otherwise we encountered no problems in making it to the edge of the great Cloakwood forest.
A dark and forbidding wood the Cloakwood is. Dense as can be and rife with predators of all sort, or so we had always heard at Candlekeep. None of us was terribly pleased to be here.
I was admittedly exhausted by the time we had arrived. We wondered then whether we should rest right then and there, or explore the area just a bit to see if we could find a camp site somewhat safer than just within the trees.
[Search area? Red card = yes.]
Before I was to cast my runes again to determine the next leg of our omen quest, it was clear that we would need to rest. We decided that while I sat for a bit, Imoen would scout ahead and see if she could find us some better shelter.
Neera and I both sat with our backs resting against the same tree and chatted. She related that she uses a staff that when striking enemies in combat could just as easily burn her with a burst of flame as her opponent. I happily informed her that my robe just happened to protect against such damage! Perhaps we could make a trade? Neera was quite eager to take this offer, and we traded cloaks. Hers, it turns out, protects slightly against missile attacks and certain types of spells involving the element of air. So this was every bit the fair trade, and we were both rather pleased.
Soon Neera remarked with a yawn that she herself felt suddenly struck by a wave of fatigue. And indeed even just by closing our eyes momentarily, listening to the birds chirping, we very nearly dozed off. And this would not have been a good thing had we done so.
In fairly short order Imoen returned with news of her scouting expedition. Due west lay a large cabin with some men in front guarding it, equipped with bows. And a bit north of the home was a large and quite swift stream with a stone bridge built across it. The bridge was guarded as well, by an elf with a bow. Imoen noted that there was also an enormous wolf roaming the area. Due to the density of the woods, there was no clear way around the cabin or the stream, even had we wished to avoid both to try to find a safer place to rest.
It would be wise to find companions to journey with us, I reminded them. That imperative of finding new companions was one half of the purpose for this five legged journey. I asked Imoen and Neera if they had a sense as to whether we should approach either the men at the cabin or the the elf at the bridge. Neither was opposed to the thought of either choice. So each agreed it would be best if I cast runes about that question. Then after doing that, I would cast runes again to see what our next destination would be.
In any event, now with two of us feeling exhaustion, we chose to rest before doing anything further.
It was agreed by all that it seemed to make the most sense to simply camp at the best spot we could find in our immediate location. And so we found a suitable stand of trees and attempted to rest.
To our great relief our rest was not disturbed. We were ready to renew our efforts by late evening. We dared rest no long than we needed to in this forbidding wood.
We could approach the men in front of the cabin. Or we might approach the elf at the bridge. I cast the runes to see who best to approach.
[Approach the men in front of the cabin = red card. Approach the elf on the bridge = black card. Result: black card. They will approach Coran.]
The runes directed that we approach the elf. If a fight was to result, I noted, the bridge appeared to be a better location anyway, with but one person to confront. Should the men at the cabin be hostile, then there could be even more of them inside in addition to the two guarding it.
Imoen led us around yet another bear. We managed to make it to the stone bridge without encountering any other predators.
At the bridge we were hailed by an elf by the name of Coran. He said he was a hunter by profession, and a skilled archer. A bit of a smooth talker he was. He proposed a deal to us. Coran informed us that Kelddath Ormlyr had hired him to kill a dragon that was marauding the area. But his research into his quarry had yielded that it had a barbed tail. Coran was therefore positive that the creature was a wyvern, and not a dragon. And while a formidable animal to kill, a wyvern may well yet be within our combined capabilities to vanquish, he said. The purse for delivering its head to Kelddath was a princely sum, he added.
[Note: Here, from a roleplaying vantage, I think Oracos would feel that the party must risk taking on a capable adventurer. So I did not draw a card as to whether he wishes to ask Coran to join. Oracos feels he was also sent to this location by the gods, in the hope of finding traveling companions as much as to seek a powerful omen at the end of the five legged journey. And here is a potentially strong ally. Imoen and Neera I envision as both more than willing to trust Oracos as party leader, i.e., they would defer to his judgment.]
I decided to be truthful with the elf. I responded to Coran that for our part we needed protection from some enemies that were pursuing us. Then I told perhaps a bit of white lie... I said that thus far we had no great difficulty in handling them. However, I continued, we had little to offer other than the danger and excitement of sharing our adventure wherever it may lead.
I told Coran that I was a Diviner, and that our path had led to him by the gods through my divinations. Yet I must follow directions from the gods thrice more before we might be able to help him complete his quest. I shared with Coran also that Imoen had impressive skills as a scout and thief, and that Neera was also a mage, same as me.
[Is Coran willing to join them party? Red card = yes.]
Coran studied us for a moment, and then broke into a robust laugh. “I'm a follower of Tymora!” he said. “There is no more devout believer in following the four winds than I.” He then leaned in toward me and said with a crooked grin, “Okay, I will join you for a time. But you must help me bring a wyvern’s head to the Governor of Beregost."
Coran paused for a slight moment to choose his words before continuing. “And although I trust that you may have some powerful magic at your fingertips… I believe that we shall also need a powerful armored warrior with a sword and shield to help us in my quest.” He watched for a reaction as to whether I was offended. He knew better than I what would be required to slay the beast. But I kept my face impassive and had no reply for him yet.
The elf continued. “I will grant us some time to find such a soul. And perhaps we may even proceed without one and take our chances to kill the wyvern as our party stands now. But should enough time pass and we have yet not brought a wyvern’s head to Kelddath, I will continue my quest without you.”
Imoen, Neera, and I all looked at each other and there seemed to be an air of agreement that this was acceptable. “Agreed,” said I and extended my hand. Kivan responded in kind by grasping my entire forearm in the elven form of handshake, and smiled. “We have a deal then.” he said.
I felt compelled to remind him of what I had just told him. “Remember, we shall follow my runes in three more directions before we may begin your quest! But I would estimate that we at traveling not more than... oh, perhaps a tenday at the most all told.”
“Fair enough,” said the elf. “You should know that I possess some thieving abilities in addition to my skill with the bow. You'd be hard pressed to find a lock that I'm unable to pick. If we can increase our wealth through my use of that skill, will that upset you? ”
“Not really,” I responded. “Unless of course you take unnecessary and foolish risks,” I smiled.
“Oh, I would never do that,” Coran smiled back. “Of that you may rest assured.” He then whistled a few notes of a bird call that sounded musical. “But what is life without some risk, eh?”
“True,” I acknowledged.
Then I asked the group if they were ready for me to cast my runes. It seemed that everyone was.
[Which direction shall the party travel? Roll 1d8 where 1 = N, 2 = NE, 3 = E, 4 = SE, 5 = S, 6 = SW, 7 = W, 8 = NW. Result: 6. The party travels southwest.]
[How far to travel in that direction? Red card = Lion’s Way, black card = Shipwreck’s Coast. Result: black card. The party travels to the Shipwreck’s Coast map.]
The runes told that we must now travel two days to the southwest. I shared the results with the others.
“To the coast we go then,” said Coran. “Please let me lead the way through this wood, if I may.”
I asked Imoen if she minded. She said she didn’t. But she reminded me that we had a bow that Coran could use that she had not the strength to draw back. It was the mighty Deadshot, the powerful bow we had taken from Tazok’s tent. I handed it to Coran.
Coran held the bow up, examining it closely (his keen elven eyes unimpeded by the night), and ran his hands over the length of it. He whistled just barely audibly under his breath.
“This is a very fine bow,” he remarked. “Very fine indeed. I will promise to take good care of it.” Then he winked. “And to use it well.”
With that we embarked on the next leg of our journey.
Having traveled only a short distance Coran signaled for us to halt. He motioned us slowly forward.
Coran had come upon a small band of small bald humaoids with blue skin called Xvarts. He readied his bow. However I quickly motioned to him that I would prefer to cast a spell. I softly incanted a Sleepiness spell. But to my chagrin, not a single one of them was affected by it!
Coran looked at me with a playfully quizzical expression. I gave a wan smile in response. I signaled that I wished to try again.
I cast the same spell again, and this time two of them fell asleep. Coran nodded in approval. But he motioned for me to stop. He then let an arrow fly at the Xvart who was still standing. We were all truly amazed at the sheer force and precision with which the arrow found its mark. Coran then quickly killed the other two just as instantly where they lay. There was no question that this elf was an archer of the highest skill. He commented how pleased he was with the new bow, and thanked us for it again.
On one of the Xvarts was a scroll to Charm. So before long we could have Neera attempt to learn this spell again.
Onward we continued through the corner of Cloakwood with Coran scouting the way ahead, until we came to the dense wood’s edge.
As we made our way through the wilds of the Sword Coast on our journey to the southwest we were ambushed by four dagger-hurling skeletons. This assault made it apparent that we are in need of an armored warrior using sword and shield to charge against such attackers, forcing them to use their swords! Instead, perhaps foolishly, we faced them off in a duel as to whose aim was better. We won, obviously (else I’d not be sharing the tale). But we did so at the cost of using two healing potions and my couple of healing spells—and those are scarce resources in a land crawling with all manner of viscous beast and deadly rogue. We need therefore also a healer amongst our group.
This happened because we let our guard down and traveled for a bit without either Coran or Imoen scouting ahead. To scout is a practice that is a deeply etched habit by now, for the most part. But it is tedious and every so often we weary of it. Or we get lulled into a false sense of security. Or both. And this laxity always seems to come at a cost, sooner or later.
[Note: Traveling to the first map this party (Oracos, Imoen, Neera, and Coran) were waylaid by something on the order of a dozen bandits who encircled them. Oracos died, so that warranted a reload (I’m reloading only if the PC dies).]
After about three days of travel we could hear the faint roar of the ocean and smelled the salt air of the Sea of Swords. The cries of seagulls could also just barely be heard. Having rested the previous day in the afternoon, we had pushed onward into the darkness, traveling at night. It was just before dawn when we could detect that the great ocean was not far off.
Coran scouted ahead. He spotted some wolves, which we avoided.
I felt that we must make our way to the land’s edge and there cast my runes again, for the next leg of out omen quest.
As we cautiously made our way to the sound of breaking waves, Coran steered us around a band of ogres. Thank goodness we still had the cover of the pre-dawn gloam, and Coran’s stealthiness and keen night vision!
[Coran reaches a point where two inlets are equidistant, one to to the north and the other to the south. Which direction to explore? Red card = north, black card = south. Result: black card. Coran explores to the south.]
Coran returned from his scouting to report that he had found a way to the beach. However, nearby was a man who had made camp dangerously close to the band of ogres that Coran had spotted. This lone traveler seemed oblivious to the peril he was in. If we were to approach him, there was a high risk that the ogres would overhear. And by the same token, the man was clearly in danger—assuming of course that he wasn’t in some way allied with them. But Coran advised that it was his impression that this was not the case. So we had a moral decision as to whether to try to get the attention of this traveler and signal him to get out of harm’s way.
I asked the others what their feelings were about this. Imoen said she felt we should try to signal the stranger. I myself wasn’t sure, but here I would follow the consensus of my three companions as my omen. The gods had led us to this spot! I however kept that to myself.
[Imoen has already voted to try to alert the stranger. For Neera and Coran: a red card = help the man, black card = do not help him. Results: Neera: red card, Coran: black card. Two out of the three vote to help the man. Oracos follows that majority. The party will try to help him.]
Coran tried his best to signal to the man, but the fellow made a starled sound as Coran attempted to whisper to him. A half ogre from the band not but 40 yards away came to investigate and Coran and Imoen cut him down their bows as the creature gave chase to Coran. Coran’s masterfully aimed arrow went right into the enemy’s larynx. As this was happening, I cast a Sight-Robbing spell and Neera cast a spell to make him chased by an apparition in his own mind. But the monster fell dead before our spells could affect him. Fortunately, Coran’s first shot prevented the the half-ogre from crying out to his party. Hopefully his fellow ogres were still sleeping. The dawn was starting to break.
The man, having just witnessed our saving his life, quickly joined us hidden behind a stand of trees. Coran kept a lookout.
The traveler was dressed in a black robe. He was late middle-aged with salt and pepper hair. His face was kindly, and he had a look of sophistication about him. He was thankful for our chivalrous act, and offered to heal us. (This made me hopeful that we may have found a healer to join us!)
[The Surgeon’s introduction offers two dialogue options. The first is that the party requires no healing but it has a kind of nasty tone, which isn’t fitting for Oracos. The second response option says they would appreciate some healing, but more-so asks the Surgeon to tell about himself. I went ahead and picked a card for this, because the first response is factually accurate, even if the tone is wrong for my character. The second response actually matches what Oracos would really want to know, given that Oracos believes this man is himself an omen placed on their path by the gods—but they don’t actually need any healing! Red card = response 1, black card = response 2. Result: black card. They ask the Surgeon to share about himself.]
The man identified himself simply as “The Surgeon.” He was clearly a priest of some sort. He related that had become a wanderer who heals any in need as an act of penance. He told that his own brother, a thoroughly evil man named Davaeorn, had killed their father, and many, many others. The fellow was filled with self-recrimination that he had failed to kill his brother when he once had the chance. Had he been strong enough to act then, he remarked with sadness, his own father and others would still be alive today.
The Surgeon stated that his brother had come to the Sword Coast, and that he intended to find and kill him.
The priest then expressed what I took to be a strong omen. He stated that he hoped that we—yes, our very party—would meet his brother, as we appeared to be adventures. He gave us some powerful potions to temporarily protect against ensorclements should this be the case.
Then without a word he vanished. He simply disappeared right before us, giving a smile beforehand. [Taking some artistic license there.
I was disappointed that we hadn't the chance to ask him to join us! But nevertheless I felt this meeting was a very powerful omen. I thanked the gods for it.
The name “Davaeorn” echoed a bit in my thoughts. It sounded vaguely familiar to me, from somewhere in our travels… I would have to meditate on this later to see if I could remember it.
But we were in danger of the ogre party discovering their fallen fellow, as the orange and pink hues of dawn began to fade with a rising sun. We hastily moved to the beach under a rock outcropping in order that I may cast the runes for the next leg of our journey.
[Which direction shall the party travel? Roll 1d9 where 1 = N, 2 = NNE, 3 = NE, 4 = ENE, 5 = E, 6 = ESE, 7 = SE, 8 = SSE, 9 = S. Result: 1 = North]
[How far to travel in that direction? Red card = Candlekeep, black card = Cloak wood 3. Result: Black card = Cloakwood 3.]
The runes pointed us back towards Cloakwood, due north at the forest's northeastern corner, by the sea. This made all of us shiver a bit except for Coran, who was quite pleased.
“Ah, but the gods are surely directing you to fulfill my quest!” Coran chuckled, giving a sly wink. “Come on Diviner, you must know this to be true!”
I looked at Imoen, and she at me. She could see, perhaps for the first time, that I was fearful for our safety. But Imoen then put one arm around Neera's waist, and rested the other on Coran’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry Oracos, we got the best traveling companions in the Sword Coast with us! Coran will scout the way. You and Neera’ll blast any enemies that cross our path to smithereens with your magic. Me and Coran’ll have monsters runnin’ with tails between their legs from our arrows. We’ll make it. Yep, we sure will,” she said in her happy-go-luckiest tone.
Coran gave a toothy grin. Neera smiled rather more meekly.
“We shall surely follow the path the gods have laid before us. We must,” I said, and with conviction, in an effort to show more confidence. “And the gods shall protect us. No doubt.”
“We should make haste and leave this place,” said Coran, assuming a bit more serious tone.
“Aye, that we should,” I replied. “The ogres may already have found the one we slew.”
“I shall scout ahead, then,” Coran said. And he then sneaked out of sight.
[Do the ogres discover their fallen comrade? Black card = no]
With that Coran traced our steps back the same route we had reached when we first smelt the sea, in order that we may safely venture north again. And from there we ventured on, in a reluctant return (for most of us) to the dark, fearsome Cloakwood forest.
[Note: Here I could have had them also travel due north along the coast for the remainder of this map. I expect they would probably have avoided the dangers due north in the Shipwreck Coast area with Coran’s scouting. But I’m satisfied that they know their destination, and would travel with safety foremost in Oracos’ mind. So this was a roleplaying decision: They now know how to get to their destination relatively safely, so that’s the way they went.
I am very concerned about the ettercap and wyvern ambushes heading back into Cloakwood with this party! However, while I doubt they would survive the wyvern lair, they might get lucky with a wyvern ambush and manage to kill one, especially if they can blind it. Then Coran can get his wyvern skull.]
On the first leg of this five-fold omen quest, Oracos gets a strong hint to rethink his own course of action by meeting up with not one but two individuals who themselves each turn away from courses they were dead-set upon. (Oracos is himself strongly determined to try to hide rather than face down their antagonists.) On the second leg they are sent to Cloakwood, the direction they must follow re: continuation of the plot. On the third leg they are sent right to the Surgeon, who essentially foretells their destiny to encounter Davaeorn. For the fourth leg they are sent back to Cloakwood (where they will encounter a druid who insists that they go to the mines)! So the dice rolls have been kinda freaky good.
I am really concerned, though, that this tank-less party is going to be decimated in Cloakwood. In a no-reload game I was just playing with a random generated party, yesterday I got wiped out by the assassins waiting at the mines camp. (I should have won, though, had I used my resources better.) And the random ambushes in Cloakwood can be brutal. This party has no front-liners! And then too, if the next dice roll for the final leg of the omen quest takes them due east, Coran will want to raid the wyvern den, which the party I think will feel more or less obliged to honor (certainly if it is right on their way). And with this party that will probably result in some deaths. Their reactions to the dangers presented would of course be roleplayed, though.
On the plus side, they are headed now to a map with two NPCs: Eldoth and Faldorn. So the party at least can get filled out. And a badly needed healer is available there. This of course depending on the roleplay for each character (or dice/cards if their vote is in question).
I don't think they're going to have any choice but to take Eldoth. While three of the party are Good aligned, none of them are ethically above taking on his quest (although they would be unable to complete it without removing a party member, assuming it's a party of six by then). I.e., it would not be out of the question, anyway.
Does Faldorn ask you to go to the mines? It's been so long that I had her in a party (more than five years ago) that I can't remember. But that is my vague recollection. [Edit: I opened up another saved game to check, and sure enough she does.]
Has anyone ever tried making Coran into a front-liner? Here I may have to try that. He is a Fighter, after all. Armored in plate mail with his 20 Dex... especially in ankheg armor, eventually... his AC should be so low that he'd be virtually un-hittable... plus with him rarely getting hit, he can still use his bow, best I can tell... One of my mages can cast Strength on him regularly... And eventually he could get the Strength Gloves.
Edit: Well after opening up a game to test this I see that Coran reaches AC -2 with half plate and RoP +1. With ankheg armor and RoP +2 he reaches -5. I would have expected lower AC than that with 20 Dex!
Still, even with AC -2 it might be workable to have him use his bow on the front line. Especially if he has Boots of Speed, with which he can dart around/kite and fire the bow. If I have Faldorn she can us her special ability to Summon Dread Wolf and eventually Call Woodland Beings to help him on the front line. Oracos and Neera can also summon monsters. This is shaping up to be really interesting, tactically:
Diviner - disabling spells, summon monsters
Neera - disabling spells, summon monsters
Faldorn - druid spells, summon dread wolf and woodland beings
Coran - tanking and kiting/firing Deadshot with Boots of Speed; can also at times backstab
Imoen (pure thief) - short bow, backstab
Eldoth - poison arrows, spellcast including extra scrolls and wands, maybe try to steal Gregan's Harp
This, assuming that the party accepts both Eldoth and Faldorn.
Note: I risk losing Coran if his quest timer expires before I can get to the wyvern cave, or obtain a wyvern's head via an ambush.
And I don't see the party booting anyone for Skie--which means Eldoth leaves then. Unless they decide they don't like Faldorn and try to find another healer.
One is how tanking Coran works out in general, in any game. Question is basically can Coran be equipped to work out decently in this way, even if there are other NPCs who can do it better. And by tank what I really mean is front-liner that has AC low enough not to get hit much, versus a bruiser with high HP who can take a lot of damage.
And the other discussion is what to do in this game which avoids meta-gaming, is RP-intensive, and uses dice rolls and a deck of playing cards to determine many outcomes. In this game, for the time being I am stuck with Coran as my only viable tank. A lot can change, though.
Yeah, I could tank Faldorn as well, though as a pure class Druid she won't be as hardy as a Fighter/Thief. As a militant Shadow Druid I wonder how she would feel about going to the ankheg 'farm' and killing one, in order to have Taerom make armor from it. It'll be interesting RP, though! (Also, what will Faldorn think of Coran's quest?)
Because this party doesn't go side-questing for loot, and avoids most encounters to begin with, I'm not sure if they'll ever amass enough gold to pay for Taerom to craft any ankheg armor, lol. Maybe. Perhaps if Coran and Imoen loot the Ducal Palace or something!
But anyway, more than likely Coran would be in half plate plus RoP +1 and using Boots of Speed. So I think at least for this game the question is can I make this work with summons to aid him on the front line, and lots of spell casting.
Is there a lone wyvern anywhere in Cloakwood 4 outside of the cave?
I gave it a quick try with my BG 2 char and RP journalling with a Lawful Evil mage is a very interesting way to play. There's nothing quite like getting into the mind of an arrogant and very powerful magic user who sees others as expendable pawns on a chess board.
The biggest revelation for me was when I found myself roleplaying all the characters reactions--not just the PC--and seeing how that opened the game up for all sorts of storytelling possibilities.
I hope you continue your RPed playthrough and post it. You'll have at least one guaranteed reader.
Are you going to use dice and cards to determine some of the outcomes?
I just bought Planescape Torment and am still in the middle of a BG 2 playthrough so it'll be a while before I have a chance. I could do it with my current game but I'd prefer to start from the beginning at Candlekeep.
Once you complete BG1, do you plan on continuing in this style when BG2 EE comes out?
I used the die you linked and flipped a coin for decisions as I couldn't find any cards.
Edit:
You're level two, in cloakwood with a group that's neither powerful nor well equipped. What will you do if you engage in a battle you can't win. Would you reload to an older save or simply accept this as the god's will.
It's interesting as the latter implies there may be more than one ending to your game. Perhaps the son of Bhall will die alone and broken and Saverok will become the new lord of murder.
It's interesting. I often get lawful evil whenever taking an alignment test so maybe this game will assure me that I'm not evil, or start me down the path to world domination
The answer to the second question is I'm reloading only if the PC dies. And so there's a number of ways that can play out.
I will do everything I can to keep the PC alive in every attempt at a difficult battle. If all looks lost I'll have to gauge at the time whether I think the Oracos would go down fighting, or flee for his life.
If several party members fall, others in the party may be tempted to flee as well.
Beyond Oracos, Imoen, and Neera, there won't be a cohesive bond gluing the rest of the party together. I'm already anticipating that the current party of four will feel no choice but to accept Eldoth and Faldorn. But they'll be new to the party when the poop hits the fan. And Coran is also relatively new (and I'm not even sure I can keep him in the party by completing his quest in time, anyway). So I'm not sure how they will react if things start going badly. If things get hairy I may turn a card as to whether each of them chooses to abandon the fight and run away.
Three main fights worry me immediately: 1) Ambushes by wyverns or ettercaps when traveling between maps. 2) The wyvern cave which Coran will insist in raiding. 3) The assassins outside of the mine complex.
I also roleplay when someone dies that the party would have to carry the bodies of the fallen to a temple. And from deep within Cloakwood that's going to be problematic.
So I think there's a good chance that the party will soon get reformed, honestly.
If the welcoming party at the mine prevails but fails to kill Oracos, then I will roleplay that the enemies there stay on as the mines' highly paid guardians, who were initially hired to kill Gorion's ward. Oracos would then have to return with a new party at some point.
And re: the strategy for winning that battle, I fear that the only real chance this party has is to draw those assassins out one at a time, and defeat them one by one. And for that I will have to rely on a little creative roleplay.
We continued our journey north uneventfully along the coast through the section of Cloakwood where we had first met Coran; but now, on this trip, penetrating ever deeper into the menacing woods.
Coran scouted ahead, naturally. We considered ourselves very fortunate to have him leading the way, since he already has some familiarity with these woods as a hunter.
Before long we came upon a stream that emptied into a waterfall at a tall cliff overlooking the coastline. Just past the rushing stream we discovered a youth who had made camp. Perhaps late in his teen years he was, but he looked no stranger to the woods.
The youngster implored us to search for his brother who had gone missing. In their explorations of the wood this youth and his brother had stumbled upon a sword named “Spider’s Bane,” a weapon they believed to be enchanted to kill giant spiders. Using this mighty sword, the two of them had hoped to rid the wood of a colony of the creatures deeper inside the wood, he said. Sadly, his brother had gone in search of the colony but had not returned in over a week.
We excused ourselves and our group briefly discussed the lad’s plea in private. Coran advised that giant spiders riddled the wood, and that they were incredibly dangerous. The young fellow now missing, apparently having no adventuring experience at all, is almost without a doubt dead, he said. All we would be doing is retrieving his lifeless, blood-drained body—which is likely spun now almost irretrievably into a cocoon, and would be terribly difficult to remove.
Given the imperatives already before us… namely, my omen quest, but also Coran’s desire to obtain a wyvern head for Kelddath as soon as possible, lest someone else beat him to the bounty… and then also the obvious risks we would face with a possible colony of spiders… it was agreed by all that this was not something we felt inclined to take on. We apologized to the young fellow for not being able to help him, and that we must press on about our business.
The young man seemed disappointed, but troubled us no further as we bid him good luck.
[Note: Here I think even Imoen would agree with this decision. I think this is solid RP.]
[Note: Coran is scouting. And there is information now specifically that spiders are likely in the immediate vicinity. So I do not think it a stretch that Coran checks for traps. But Coran’s trap finding ability is not so good. So...]
[Will the party think to have Imoen check for traps as well? Black card = no.]
As Coran moved forward with an eye toward spiders and their web traps, a giant spider came charging towards him. He fired an arrow at it and retreated to ready his sword and assume the proper fighting stance. The rest of us fired our own missiles at it.
As the creature closed in on Coran he thrust his longsword at it. Neera switched to her Fire Staff, which struck the killing blow. We were impressed by her bravery, and commended her as she shuddered at the hideous creature’s twitching mandibles and legs, which continued writhing even in death.
Coran then went on to tell us just how deadly spider traps in these woods are. He then grudgingly admitted that he was not particularly skilled at detecting or removing traps of any kind. So we elected to have Imoen to take a crack at it, she moving carefully and slowly alongside him.
Then in almost the next instant, to our great horror Coran and Imoen both found themselves inadvertently triggering a web trap! For an uncomfortably long period of time they remained stuck within its sticky strands. Slowly but surely they were able to cut themselves free with their swords. Neera and I felt extremely helpless as we watched them hack their way loose, prepared to cast spells if any creatures happened upon them...
Once free, Coran commented that it was clear that we would have to proceed now with extreme caution.
We moved around the web. Coran and Imoen inched forward slowly again, and this time another spider burst from the wood and attacked them. They again fired their bows and retreated, using the same tactic that had just served us well. Except this time Coran received a spider bite filled with venom. I ran to him and used my ability to stop the poison, and then to heal him.
Coran was none the worse for the wear. But this was nevertheless very concerning. We had only two vials of poison antidote with us!
Also, I could not help but observe aloud that Coran didn’t have a shield to use in close combat with his sword. He stated matter-of-factly that his preference was not to use one. Coran added that in order to move about stealthily, he could wear no heavier armor than what he currently had on.
But still, given that Coran was the most capable amongst us to defend with a sword, which at times was necessary, it seemed obvious to the rest of us that he would need better armor of some kind.
In all events, it became apparent to us that we were lacking in some basic supplies. We were not well prepared for the dangers of this wood! (More bluntly put: we were woefully unprepared.)
Imoen scouted ahead a bit futher and it seemed the way was clear. We soon came to a “T” with a worn path that led down to the shoreline to the south, and deeper into the wood to the north. The path to the south seemed to offer a possible view of the the cliffs extending north along the coast, and with any luck perhaps a view onto the forest canopy.
[Go north or south? Red card = north, black card = south. Result: red card. Follow the path north.]
We had a brief discussion about whether to see if we could get a glimpse of what might lay ahead, at least partially. But since there was no guarantee of such a view, and the distance to the cliff wasn’t trivial, the consensus was that this sidetrip likely wasn’t worth the effort.
Imoen and Coran advanced slowly with their eyes peeled for web traps. They soon reported that they spied a hideous purple skinned humanoid potbellied creature with powerful, long, dangling arms and an enormous slobbering mouth, that Coran identified as an “ettercap.” These creatures were highly dangerous, he cautioned us. Their bite is as venomous as a spider’s, he said—and they prepare traps the same as spiders do. However they are not very smart, Coran noted.
Coran and Imoen snuck back the stand of trees where they had spotted the beast. They each let an arrow fly at the creature, wounding it, but nevertheless causing it to charge them. Our two archers retreated and again fired their bows. I hurled darts and Neera threw some daggers, though she has no training with them and did so only with a prayer that she might actually make her throws succeed.
When the ettercap closed in on Coran he switched to his sword. Neera joined in the close combat by taking swings at the thing with her enchanted staff. Coran suffered some wounds that I healed with my last casting of that spell. Fortunately the beast wasn’t able to bite him.
Imoen advanced again carefuly amdist the trees. Almost immediately she came back to to tell us that another ettercap was directly ahead. Coran and Imoen repeated the same maneuver they had just employed. Except this time when the creature came towards us, Imoen tried to distract it by having the creature chase after her. By the time it did finally close on us, Coran again used his sword to kill it. But in so doing he suffered some significant injuries. We were forced to use a precious resource to restore his health: one of our last five healing potions.
Again Imoen proceeded very slowly, staying hidden as she crept forward. And this time she caught sight of the trap set by a small group of the creatures. There were three more of them ahead. (At least we hoped that was the full extent of their number!)
Amazingly, Imoen was able to disarm the trap right under their noses without being seen. Tymora be praised.
Imoen and Coran advanced like shadows amdist the trees to make their assault on the creatures. Their plan was to draw them out one at a time. Coran got off an amazing shot seemed to go right through the closest creature’s chest. Perhaps on instinct alone, the ettercap made a run at them. Once again they dropped back and turned to shoot another round of arrows. And yet again one of Coran’s arrows found its mark, this time to end the horrid creature’s life.
We repeated the procedure twice more. On the first Coran sustained injuries serious enough to require the use of yet another healing potion. (Leaving us with only three!)
For the last ettercap Imoen and Coran were both able to distract the creature and shoot arrows as it chased after them. They did this long enough for me to finally deliver a fatal dart to the beast’s head.
We then discovered that the ettercaps had laid in wait to ambush unwary travelers in a clearing. Upon entering the small glade we saw to our east a trail through a rocky area that belonged to the cliffs. The problem in following the path was that it might make us quite vulnerable to getting trapped, should en enemy sneak us behind the way we went in, and block the end.
We weren’t entirely sure what kind of predators might hide among the rocks. But the feeling was that the deep forest, deadly home to both giant spider and ettercap, was something to avoid whenever we could. Predatory creatures—except for big cats, Coran the hunter noted—probably enjoyed less cover among the rocks to prepare ambushes on unsuspecting prey. That comparative lack of cover to hide within could well be the reason that a trail had been forged there. Therefore we opted to follow it.
Imoen continued to carefully checked for ettercap traps. And sure enough, she found and disarmed one.
Then, moving very cautiously up the trail, Imoen continued slowly checking for more traps. She made it the length of the trail and whistled us forward.
The trail through the rocks opened into another clearing. There I asked the group to stop to discuss whether we should rest in order that I may restore some of my healing power for us. Coran still had some significant injuries that required attention. And we were now down to only three healing potions.
There was of course the risk that we could be attacked while we rested. But by the same token, we had rested safely the previous night. And all of us were still capable of pressing on. At any rate, we had to weigh the risk of getting attacked while resting, versus having only three vials of healing, and an injured swordman (who wears only studded leather armor and carries no shield).
Somewhat to my surpsrise, the group encouraged me to cast my runes. It made me feel good inside that they sought this.
[Rest now? Red card = yes]
I gave my runes a toss, and they directed that indeed we should rest.
We readied our camp there, and suddenly Imoen then slapped her forehead with her palm and placed her other hand on my shoulder.
“I’m such a numbskull!” she exclaimed with a laugh. “I have some things that Coran can use!” She then took off her bracers and ring, and handed them to Coran.
“Here, since you’re doin’ a lot of sword fighting, the ring’ll help protect you. And the bracers’ll make your aim even better,” Imoen smiled. She also slipped her buckler off of her left wrist. “And take this too,” she said. “None of this stuff is to keep! Just to use for now!” she added.
Coran reluctantly accepted the gifts. But I had to admit that we all felt a little better that he would use them for the time being. Imoen had by now proven herself very fast and nimble on her feet. She was used by now to outrunning enemies, pivoting and shooting her bow, and so on, to whittle them down. She did little fighting hand-to-hand. Coran’s need for those items was clearly the greater under our present circumstances.
Before we rested I asked Neera if she would memorize a spell to conjure a magical sphere that may, if she is lucky, blind the target—rather than her special skill with the Weave to ‘shape’ a higher level spell. Neera agreed that made sense, given that the only spell she could shape that was currently beyond her ability to hold in memory was one to sap strength from the opponent. (Perhaps it would be more advantageous if attackers lose their sight, I felt.) For my own part, I followed suit by choosing to not memorize a spell to identify enchanted items, and instead to ready an additional casting of the spell to cause Blindness.
Gods be praised, we rested without being attacked by anything!
As we continued on our journey, at one point during the night we were accosted by two giant spiders that Coran and Imoen failed to spot ahead of us. Fortunately, we were able to flee them by sprinting to a dense line of trees that we were able to squeeze between, yet the spiders couldn’t fit through.
After a day of further travel without incident we came to a large river that cut through the forest. It was too deep and swift to ford. So Imoen scouted ahead along its banks. She stopped short and snuck back to us to advise that an enormous bear lay ahead. And it did not look in any way lazy, docile, or complacent. Rather, it seemed highly agitated. So we attempted to move around it by skirting a stand of trees.
Then we saw the reason for the bear’s agitation. On the other side of the cluster of trees we had just moved around, we came upon a hooded man in leathers who was standing there completely motionless, daring not to move a muscle. About twenty yards away was the bear, growling deeply at him and at times tossing its head side to side! The man seemed to grasp that if were to flee in fear, the bear would only chase him down and maul him to death. So still as a statue he stood.
Nevertheless, he looked happy to see us. He mouthed these words very slowly, with exaggeration, so as to leave no doubt as to the message: “pleease heeelp mee!”
Coran inched close to the man, attempting to keep out of the bear's sight. But once Coran got close enough to speak in whispers to the man, the bear’s nose evidently detected Coran. The bear broke towards Coran.
The enormous creature charged at Coran with dizzying speed. But our elven ally, hunter that he is, had behind him a lifetime of training for the moment. In the blink of an eye Coran unflinchingly notched and loosed an arrow that hurtled with amazing force directly into the roof of the creature’s roaring maw. At the same moment I cast a spell to Blind the giant.
Even so the massive beast did not cease his pursuit! We retreated as fast as our legs could take us. Fortunately, the bear halted. It reared on its hind legs, towering above us all, easily more than twice the height of a man. Confused, and clearly in pain, it bellowed in rage. The great bear snapped the arrow protruding from its mouth as if it were a thin, brittle twig.
The bear stood inches away from the man, who still moved not a muscle. Though I take no pleasure in the misfortunes of others, I have to admit that the look on the man’s face was hilarious to me at that moment. Such a mixture of abject fear and unexpected relief I have never seen. It was priceless.
We all took aim at the bear. Down it collapsed with a dull thud, as another one of Coran’s perfectly placed arrows pierced its heart.
Our attention turned to the hooded man, who still remained motionless, as if unable to unfreeze his muscles. We walked up to him and studied him for a moment. He stared straight ahead, seeming unaware of our presence. We assumed him still to be gripped by terror. But as I leaned in to examine his face, at just the right moment he broke the tension by winking at us. His face relaxed into a smile.
“Gentlemen, gentlewomen, may I introduce myself,” he said with a mellifluous tone. He then gracefully dipped into a low, sweeping bow. “I am Eldoth Kron.”
Wherever that last leg of the omen quest takes me, I will undoubtedly face ambushes between Cloakwood maps. But at least I'll have a party of six, which makes those much more survivable. And I'll have Faldorn who can cast Slow Poison and heal, along with Oracos.
I may even get lucky and kill a wyvern between maps, thereby acquiring a wyvern head for Coran's quest.
Anyway, depending on where the next destination is, I am going to be cutting it razor thin to get proper gear (a must, I feel, if there is any opportunity to do it), and also complete Coran's quest in time to keep him in the party!
The man continued his introduction by offering us some brandy from Selgaunt, which, I have to say, tasted as sweet and delicious as the very nectar of the gods. The warmth of it in my mouth to soon spread to my entire body. We were off to a good start with this chap.
Eldoth went on to tell us that he had just recently made a rather harrowing escape from no less than a dozen gnolls (which he claims he killed), but was forced to flee when the gnolls’ ogre allies appeared.
He obviously relished telling the story. And he told the tale with great dramatic flare. It was indeed quite entertaining to listen to him tell it. It was apparent that our new friend has bardic skills. So it was to some extent understood by all of us that there would be some… embellishments, shall we say.
Eldoth went on to tell the story of his desire to free his love, a young woman whom he referred to as Skie, from the clutches of her tyrannical father, a ruler in Baldur’s Gate named Duke Entar Silvershield. Skie was a lovely and free spirited lass, he said. She simply wished to live a carefree and thrill-packed life of adventure, surviving with Eldoth strictly by virtue of their own cunning and wits. All Skie wished to do was unfold her wings and soar, seeking her own lot and fortune in life. His beloved simply wished for her life to be truly her own. But, sadly, her father kept her locked away, a virtual slave, Eldoth lamented. Unless someone freed her, Skie was destined to become an old maid living miserably under her father’s thumb.
The bard then made a proposal to us. He offered to join us, under one simple condition that he would state shortly, and thereby lend his adventuring skills to our band, which were considerable. He first listed his talents: Eldoth told us had studied the lore of the Realms. He was versed in a multitude of languages and customs, and knew the histories and ways of many lands and creatures. He could sing and recite poetry to inspire us to bravery. He had the ability to cast magic spells, and to use magic wands. He could, as needed, lift and remove a coin purse and even heavier items without the owner feeling it. He could handle a scimitar quite well—and he was a particularly good shot with the long bow (though he had lost his own bow and quiver while being chased by the ogres). Eldoth even had skill in poisoning arrows. He offered these talents to us for about as long as we needed (within reason of course). In exchange for all this we would eventually help rescue Skie from her father.
Eldoth then made a bold statement that struck me as quite an outrageous gamble with respect to whether he might win us over, or repel us. Eldoth added that he was plotting also a scheme to get some of the Silvershield fortune which Skie felt would have belonged to her eventually one day. Skie simply wanted the equivalent of an inheritance, he said. But in order to get it, they would have to resort to convincing the Duke to pay a ransom. It was of course a deception, he smiled. Skie was herself in on the plan. If they pulled it off no one would get hurt, the Duke would be none the wiser, and Eldoth and Skie would share the ransom with us.
The latter scheme was a risk that we could partake in if we liked, Eldoth added. And our answer as to whether we might help with getting Skie her rightful share of the estate could wait until we had met Skie for ourselves. But at the very least, he would appreciate our aid in freeing Skie.
I informed Eldoth that the city was actually closed to all but the most essential trade and officials due to the bandit raids. But that it would obviously relax its traffic restrictions sooner or later. He looked a bit surprised but nodded.
We informed Eldoth that we must confer amongst ourselves, and bid his indulgence that we leave him for a moment to do so.
“Certainly, enjoy the brandy as you do, eh?” Eldoth said with a broad smile.
Coran chuckled that he liked this young man’s audacity. During the course of our travels Coran had shared that he himself was not above the law. Far from it, in fact. Coran had become somewhat addicted to the thrill of relieving the enormously wealthy of some of the burden of their mounds of gold. He also had a way with the ladies, and had penchant for getting into one trouble after another related to them. So it was no surprise that Coran was in favor of accepting Eldoth’s offer to join us.
Imoen, whose mind is surprisingly keen and heart can always see others quite clearly (even if she often behaves without thinking through consequences), was not as impressed.
“There’s somethin’ about him I don’t trust, Oracos,” she said. “But we do need his help. I think we’re kinda stuck with him.”
Neera said that she liked him, and glanced back towards him almost shyly. I found myself bothered by this, actually. But I reminded myself that my feelings about whether Neera liked him or not were neither here nor there. Anyway, Neera was in favor.
As for myself, this was actually not a difficult decision to make. We need the man’s help. As to whether we would honor our part of the bargain at some point in Baldur’s Gate… we would have to assess that at the time. I had every intention to assist him, if his story holds up. If it seemed possible for us to help this Skie get free of her father, we would. However, if Eldoth’s plan to free Skie seemed horribly ill-advised, and Eldoth refused to adjust it, we would have to renege. Then too, if Eldoth is clearly valuable to us in surviving this wood, and proves a sound ally, that will go a long way in having us take risks that we otherwise might not.
I could also cast runes at the time about whether to keep our word, when we eventually made it to Baldur’s Gate.
I was mainly worried about our survival now, in this wood. We would agree to his terms. Although how it may all play out depends on what we actually encounter. Rather than voicing these thoughts, I kept them to myself however, lest others eventually share them with Eldoth.
The entire party agreed it was best not to tell Eldoth any of our troubles, as he was agreeing to join us blindly to begin with. No sense in having him change his mind about that!
We returned to Eldoth and extended our hands in friendship.
“You have a deal, friend,” I said with a warm smile and handshake. The others too exchanged greetings and handshakes.
“You shant be disappointed with my skills, of that I promise,” said Eldoth, again bowing low.
Before we proceeded Coran gave Eldoth the longbow he was carrying as a spare since we gave him Deadshot. I became a bit alarmed to learn that our three archers were beginning to run a bit low on arrows. The three of them divided the number of arrows that was left to a little less than 60 each.
Eldoth knew a couple spells, but he would have to remove his studded leather armor to cast them. I had a scroll of Charm that he could incant directly, without having to remove his leather. So I gave it to him to use.
We asked Eldoth if he was familiar with this part of the forest.
[Is Eldoth familiar with the map to the north with the stone circle, and the druid enclave? Red card = yes.]
Eldoth responded that, yes, in fact just a short way to the east along the river was a wooden bridge. On the other side of that bridge lay an enclave of druids. Or at least he surmised as such. He hadn’t strayed far from the path. But on the other side of the river he did overhear chanting very close by to the west and recognized the songs as druidic. But that was about all he knew of, he said.
I asked Eldoth if the coast was visible anywhere nearby. He reported that he believed it was but a short distance to the north, as the faint sounds of sea birds and crashing waves could be heard from there. However the wood was too dense to travel through to reach the cliffs there that adjoined the Sea of Swords.
We drained the last of the brandy. And thus it was that we continued on our way, now with a new companion, Eldoth Kron, the Bard.
As we strode along our new friend recited a rousing poem to lift our spirits, with some bawdy bits that made Coran laugh and our lasses blush.