Reload or raise dead or move on as is...
Wanderon
Member Posts: 1,418
I have a dilemma - playing a game I have committed to playing minimal reload but it is currently still at no reload status.
Its a "Witchhunter" party with 5 PCs (Inquisitor, Barbarian, Beastmaster 3>cleric, Gnome Cleric/thief, Archer) and Rasaad (no mages allowed)
In Cloakwood mines second level - mage got a lightning bolt off that chunked Rasaad and took out my cleric/thief and Barby.
Party already returned to FAI twice since entering Cloakwood for raise dead - once after wyvern cave - once after courtyard battle -
With no thief to remove traps at lowest level probably won't make it past Daevorn with a party of 3 making going forward sort of like a sucide reload option which is not exactly kosher for my minimal reload "roolz" (reload only on PC death - with no ease of use suicide to force a reload)
With no reloads currently I also hesitate to make this the first reload when I have another option available.
However all these trips back to FAI are starting to feel a bit cheesy altho ambushes are common and sometimes difficult and thus it's not without some challenge to do so.
So there it is - should I:
1) Reload the auto-save and re-do the level
2)Gather the gear - go back to FAI and raise my team - and come back (with or without a replacement for Rasaad)
3) Move on with the 3 survivors and see if we can finish the mines with no thief.
Bonus question where do I find the option to make a poll?
Its a "Witchhunter" party with 5 PCs (Inquisitor, Barbarian, Beastmaster 3>cleric, Gnome Cleric/thief, Archer) and Rasaad (no mages allowed)
In Cloakwood mines second level - mage got a lightning bolt off that chunked Rasaad and took out my cleric/thief and Barby.
Party already returned to FAI twice since entering Cloakwood for raise dead - once after wyvern cave - once after courtyard battle -
With no thief to remove traps at lowest level probably won't make it past Daevorn with a party of 3 making going forward sort of like a sucide reload option which is not exactly kosher for my minimal reload "roolz" (reload only on PC death - with no ease of use suicide to force a reload)
With no reloads currently I also hesitate to make this the first reload when I have another option available.
However all these trips back to FAI are starting to feel a bit cheesy altho ambushes are common and sometimes difficult and thus it's not without some challenge to do so.
So there it is - should I:
1) Reload the auto-save and re-do the level
2)Gather the gear - go back to FAI and raise my team - and come back (with or without a replacement for Rasaad)
3) Move on with the 3 survivors and see if we can finish the mines with no thief.
Bonus question where do I find the option to make a poll?
0
Comments
Thanks - really just wanted to know for the next time I wanted to start a poll!
2) Maybe if you think your guys can't make it.
3) I think the only traps are the ones before you get to mr D which can be easily triggered by summons.
That and the fact that I would really like to finish the mines without a reload which is much more likely with a party of 5 or 6 than a party of 3 - which would give me TWO parties in Chap 5 currently without a reload yet.
I can totally understand if you'd rather regroup first, though.
I am definately leaning towards a trip to FAI - maybe I will fill Rasaads now empty spot with Ajantis - a much better RP fit than Dorn who is waiting impatiently at FAI after we refused to have him join earlier.
It just seems a little cheesy to me from an RP basis - it's a couple days hike each way and we have already done it 3 times since entering the wood - once after an Ettercap ambush between map 1 & 2 - once after the wyvern map - and once after the courtyard fight -
So now my fearless paladin must stop and tell the slave waiting at the plug that we have to take a walk out to the temple and raise a couple buds but don't worry we'll be back to rescue you in four or five days depending on traffic....LOL
Oh well can't be helped - besides if we are carrying all our dead guys gear we won't be able to grab any phat lewt before we pull the plug...
Still no reloads as we enter BG City... ;-)
Anyway, it's the best I can come up with as an RP for reloading!
How is THAT for an RP reason for reloading?
I personally have no problem with retreating to X to lick wounds, heal, regroup, and then attack anew. What would be nice is if the area in question would "respawn" accordingly. That would be very, very cool!
The scene changes to a shot of the party entering the battlefield as the enemy archers let fly their arrows of doom...
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When I first started playing RPGs I didn't have too much trouble with the reload concept but as time went on the idea of redoing a battle or puzzle or pickpocketing Algernons cloak until I got it right began to feel like cheating at solitaire - especially if the reload wasn't actually necessary to carry on the game and just meant that I had to deal with some adversity over it.
No reload campaigns obviously take this concept to the extreme altho they do provide for a much more intense immersion in each dangerous area which increases almost exponentially the farther you go as you have more and more time and effort invested in keeping the game going - sort of like a pot that keeps growing in a poker game.
Today I like to attempt the no reload concept for almost all games from the start but if I have a group that I'm having a really good time with I will continue after the first forced reload with my own "minimal reload" campaign roolz - which is essentially no reloads except on PC death - any other adversity that strikes the party must be dealt with. This is still fun and challenging to me but not as exciting as the no reload - game over if you die version - and often I abandon them soon after the first couple of reloads.
Sometimes I add some further opportunities for the game to thwart me by not allowing myself to raise any dead companions - this has a twofold effect :
First it makes life more precious and makes it less likely that I sacrifice a character (sending Khalid in to meet the ogre head on) and this in turn forces me to find tactics that take out my enemy without decimating my team.
The second effect occurs when my best efforts fail and I have to replace characters that I have perhaps planned my team around - forcing me to change horses mid-stream - which may change the nature of how the party works and provide me with interesting new possibilities I might never have looked at had I not been painted into a corner by my roolz.
In the end however I suspect there is a more sinister underlying reason I cherish these sorts of masochistic playstyles - the truth is I enjoy creating and planning new characters and teams as much if not more than actually playing them out completely -
For me whether the game ends up over with a wolf outside candlekeep or when I lose the final battle in BG1 after reaching it with no reloads in only 35 gamedays with no exploits (a shining moment in my no reload scrapbook) - it's always about the journey - never the destination. So whenever the end appears a new voyage begins and life is good...