If Brazil is anything like Nepal you'll also meet goats, chickens and corpses. The corpse was actually on the luggage rack, but that was where I had decided to sit, it being far more comfortable than inside. No, it wasn't a zombie.
I suspect this may be widely known already, but you're under no obligation to go on the sidequest to quench Yaga-Shura's heart. The Time Stop-Shapechange combo will kill him easily as soon as you leave Saradush.
Actually the plural of omnibus is NOT omnibi. Omnibus is the dative plural and means "for all."
Origin and Etymology of omnibus
French, from Latin, for all, dative plural of omnis
English is a stupid language. We all know that, but by pinching words from other languages it has become a very expressive one which is one of the reasons why it is used so much.
The French are very purist as far as their language is concerned which is one reason for its decline.
Speaking of the French meddling with the word "omnibus," in the 1820's, the first "bus service" (actually just a carriage company) was established in Nantes, and the vehicles got the name omnibus because they stopped in front of a hatter's shop named Omnes Omnibus. And from omnibus, we eventually got "bus."
The story that I have read in a number of dictionaries is that it originated in Paris from: Fr < (voiture) omnibus, lit., (carriage) for all < L, dat. pl. of omnis, all
To me that seems logical, but then truth is oftimes stranger than fiction.
According to this, the same guy who started the business in Nantes moved it to Paris a few years later, where it became more than just a local phenomenon. That might explain some confusion.
I suspect this may be widely known already, but you're under no obligation to go on the sidequest to quench Yaga-Shura's heart. The Time Stop-Shapechange combo will kill him easily as soon as you leave Saradush.
Yup. In the Ascension mod, Yaga-Shura is immune to Intelligence drain, but Dexterity drain still works fine. Replace mind flayer form with Haer'dalis' Chaos Blade and you can still get an early kill on him with a Time Stop scroll, a Time Trap HLA, or just a high hit rate, which the Answerer can make easier.
Strength drain from an Archer's Called Shot will also work, though it's much harder to kill Yaga-Shura with it due to his high STR. Wisdom drain from Kachiko's Wakizashi is possible, but the save vs. death and the 2-round duration of the drain make it impractical against practically everything except for Firkraag and Saladrex.
There is a string reference in BG2EE for a spell called Spacewarp. Its supposedly SPPR716 but that file doesn't appear. At least not in the enhanced edition. A reference to it however be found in the Spell.IDS file.
Spacewarp (Alteration)
Sphere: Numbers Range: 150 ft. Duration: 1 turn Casting Time: 7 Area of Effect: 25-ft. radius sphere Saving Throw: None
According to one view of the universe, what we perceive as gravity is actually a localized warping of the fabric of space-time. The Spacewarp spell creates a temporary but very intense warping in a limited area.
When the priest casts this spell, selects a specific point to be the center of effect. This point may be anywhere within 150 feet of the caster, including in midair.
When the spell is completed, this center of effect gains a gravity field equal to the force felt at the surface of the earth. In other words, gravity is centered at this point; everything within 50 feet of this center that is not attached to something immovable will fall toward the selected point.
This localized gravity affects only loose objects and creatures capable of movement (i.e., not trees, whose roots are buried in the ground). It does not affect the ground itself—soil, plants, desert sand, lake water, etc. are immune to the effect.
If you write enough on these forums eventually you will find yourself repeating yourself.
I re-found spacewarp and was planning on sharing it. I googled it anyways just to see if it had been brought up here before. Turns out it was...by me...3.5 years ago.
There is a string reference in BG2EE for a spell called Spacewarp. Its supposedly SPPR716 but that file doesn't appear. At least not in the enhanced edition. A reference to it however be found in the Spell.IDS file.
Spacewarp (Alteration)
Sphere: Numbers Range: 150 ft. Duration: 1 turn Casting Time: 7 Area of Effect: 25-ft. radius sphere Saving Throw: None
According to one view of the universe, what we perceive as gravity is actually a localized warping of the fabric of space-time. The Spacewarp spell creates a temporary but very intense warping in a limited area.
When the priest casts this spell, selects a specific point to be the center of effect. This point may be anywhere within 150 feet of the caster, including in midair.
When the spell is completed, this center of effect gains a gravity field equal to the force felt at the surface of the earth. In other words, gravity is centered at this point; everything within 50 feet of this center that is not attached to something immovable will fall toward the selected point.
This localized gravity affects only loose objects and creatures capable of movement (i.e., not trees, whose roots are buried in the ground). It does not affect the ground itself—soil, plants, desert sand, lake water, etc. are immune to the effect.
If you write enough on these forums eventually you will find yourself repeating yourself.
I re-found spacewarp and was planning on sharing it. I googled it anyways just to see if it had been brought up here before. Turns out it was...by me...3.5 years ago.
That sounds like the same effect produced by the device Starlord used in the beginning of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I wonder if that spell was the inspiration?
Strength drain from an Archer's Called Shot will also work, though it's much harder to kill Yaga-Shura with it due to his high STR. Wisdom drain from Kachiko's Wakizashi is possible, but the save vs. death and the 2-round duration of the drain make it impractical against practically everything except for Firkraag and Saladrex.
How long does the Archer's Called Shot debuff last, out of curiosity? Although I'm a big Archer enthusiast, I actually didn't use it much, since DPS alone is usually enough to do in most enemies, and I tended to focus on the save debuff more when I did use it.
@Abi_Dalzim: Called Shot lasts for 12 seconds. That's the time during which the Called Shot effects are applied to your ranged attacks. But the effects applied by those attacks last for different times:
So the STR drain doesn't last a full two rounds; just 1.83 rounds. The amount of STR drain you can get with a single Called Shot is equal to
(attacks per round) * (chance of landing a successful hit) * (number of Archers) * 1.83
For two Called Shots in a row, that 1.83 becomes a 2. So, an Archer with 10 APR from the Tuigan Bow and Improved Haste can land a STR drain kill on a creature with 18 Strength with one Called Shot, or 20 Strength with two of them.
If you use Ray of Enfeeblement, things become much easier, because then you only need to get the failed save and drain 5 STR.
Fafhrd isn't just a random word they came up with for the thieves guild password. Fafhrd is actually the name of a protagonist of a series of short story adventure novels.
Fafhrd isn't just a random word they came up with for the thieves guild password. Fafhrd is actually the name of a protagonist of a series of short story adventure novels.
That's a bit of an understatement. Gary Gygax cited Fritz Leiber as a major influence on early D&D. These stories pretty much provide the archetype for adventurer/thieves living on the loot of their varied exploits.
EDIT: I just remembered something about the stories. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser were always at odds with the thieves guild because they refused to join and would occasionally kill guild thieves and steal their loot. Kinda throws a different light on using it as a guild password.
If you use Ray of Enfeeblement, things become much easier, because then you only need to get the failed save and drain 5 STR.
Perhaps it might be easier still to use Strength? That bypasses MR, saving throws, and immunity to enchantment, all likely assets for any enemy that's so formidable that you'd want to use STR drain to take them down instead of just wasting them with your Archer's DPS alone.
Heh. Leiber's Swords Against ... series were some of the best reading and are one heckuva pair. Im looking at my 1st edtion Deities n Demigods book from 1980 which included Newhon:
They have Fafhrd as a NG 15th lvl ranger/13th lvl thief/5th lvl bard Mouser listed as a TN 11th lvl fighter/3rd lvl MU/ 15th lvl thief
TSR lost the rights (or never had in the first place I guess) to the Cthulhu and Melnibonean mythos and had to remove those for subsequent printings. That's one book I have held onto over the years.
In the Calendar of Harptos (the calendar used across most of Faerun) a "week" is actually 10 days (or a tenday).
Napoleon Bonaparte introduced the ten day week in France thinking that it would boost productivity. It had the opposite effect. That's something that the Jews, Christians and Muslims got right. A company that I worked for used a ten-day fortnight with an eleven hour day. That had the result of permanent tiredness. Not a good idea.
Did you know that all moderator decisions are unanimous? The moderating team only takes action when the moderators have discussed the matter and are in full agreement.
Did you know that the ring of regeneration (BG2) doesn't work while you're resting? Due to an erratic bug with v1.3 (which I'm still using) my dual class charnames don't get innate spells - so in this case, no cure light wounds. I've just rested a badly injured solo assassin>mage, equipped with the ring of regeneration, and got the message "You have rested for 17 days and 8 hours".
Comments
Fr < (voiture) omnibus, lit., (carriage) for all < L, dat. pl. of omnis, all
To me that seems logical, but then truth is oftimes stranger than fiction.
Strength drain from an Archer's Called Shot will also work, though it's much harder to kill Yaga-Shura with it due to his high STR. Wisdom drain from Kachiko's Wakizashi is possible, but the save vs. death and the 2-round duration of the drain make it impractical against practically everything except for Firkraag and Saladrex.
I re-found spacewarp and was planning on sharing it. I googled it anyways just to see if it had been brought up here before. Turns out it was...by me...3.5 years ago.
Level 4 THAC0 penalty: 20 seconds
Level 8 save vs. spell penalty: 15 seconds
Level 12 Strength drain penalty: 10 seconds.
So the STR drain doesn't last a full two rounds; just 1.83 rounds. The amount of STR drain you can get with a single Called Shot is equal to
(attacks per round) * (chance of landing a successful hit) * (number of Archers) * 1.83
For two Called Shots in a row, that 1.83 becomes a 2. So, an Archer with 10 APR from the Tuigan Bow and Improved Haste can land a STR drain kill on a creature with 18 Strength with one Called Shot, or 20 Strength with two of them.
If you use Ray of Enfeeblement, things become much easier, because then you only need to get the failed save and drain 5 STR.
EDIT: I just remembered something about the stories. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser were always at odds with the thieves guild because they refused to join and would occasionally kill guild thieves and steal their loot. Kinda throws a different light on using it as a guild password.
They have Fafhrd as a NG 15th lvl ranger/13th lvl thief/5th lvl bard
Mouser listed as a TN 11th lvl fighter/3rd lvl MU/ 15th lvl thief
TSR lost the rights (or never had in the first place I guess) to the Cthulhu and Melnibonean mythos and had to remove those for subsequent printings. That's one book I have held onto over the years.
A company that I worked for used a ten-day fortnight with an eleven hour day. That had the result of permanent tiredness. Not a good idea.
corruptbefriend one of you...EDIT: But now that I think about it, I could sure go for some
Due to an erratic bug with v1.3 (which I'm still using) my dual class charnames don't get innate spells - so in this case, no cure light wounds.
I've just rested a badly injured solo assassin>mage, equipped with the ring of regeneration, and got the message "You have rested for 17 days and 8 hours".