Did you know that Hurgan Stoneblade, the dwarf who asks you to retrieve his grandfather's dagger from Durlag's Tower, is an old friend of Nalia's father, Lord De'Arnise?
Because I only noticed today that he shows up at Nalia's father's funeral...
How come we haven't seen it before? Nalia is such a popular character...
Did you know that Hurgan Stoneblade, the dwarf who asks you to retrieve his grandfather's dagger from Durlag's Tower, is an old friend of Nalia's father, Lord De'Arnise?
Because I only noticed today that he shows up at Nalia's father's funeral...
How come we haven't seen it before? Nalia is such a popular character...
Did you know that Hurgan Stoneblade, the dwarf who asks you to retrieve his grandfather's dagger from Durlag's Tower, is an old friend of Nalia's father, Lord De'Arnise?
Because I only noticed today that he shows up at Nalia's father's funeral...
If you cast a spell at someone who activates the Priest spell 'Sanctuary', your character can still hit the enemy provided they began casting, or were just about to begin, up to the moment before Sanctuary went up. The spell will continue casting and hit the sanctuaried enemy (and possibly kill them) instead of being cancelled.
Only just happened to me, so not sure if there is a specific timing involved. I just murderized a priest who I thought had escaped my clutches with sanctuary, only to be fireballed by Dynaheir with an order I gave her while sanctuary was just going up.
Did you know that Hurgan Stoneblade, the dwarf who asks you to retrieve his grandfather's dagger from Durlag's Tower, is an old friend of Nalia's father, Lord De'Arnise?
Because I only noticed today that he shows up at Nalia's father's funeral...
How come we haven't seen it before? Nalia is such a popular character...
Wait, is she not?
I actually like her very much, but I get the feeling that she's underestimated by most players.
Did you know that Hurgan Stoneblade, the dwarf who asks you to retrieve his grandfather's dagger from Durlag's Tower, is an old friend of Nalia's father, Lord De'Arnise?
Because I only noticed today that he shows up at Nalia's father's funeral...
How come we haven't seen it before? Nalia is such a popular character...
Wait, is she not?
I actually like her very much, but I get the feeling that she's underestimated by most players.
I don't have anything against her, I would take her more often if she had one more thief level and a bit better distribution of points.
Excerpts from the 2nd and 3.5 Forgotten Realms campaign books regarding Boareskyr Bridge (spoilers for Siege of Dragonspear): [spoiler]
The previous bridge was gray stone and was destroyed during the Time of Troubles in a battle between Cyric and Bhaal, a conflict which poisoned the Winding Water (see the Winding Water section). A new bridge has been erected here in black stone, with statues of Bhaal (northern end) and Cyric (southern end) guarding the way.
Thanks to the battle between Cyric and Bhaal that ended in Bhaal's death, the water downstream of the bridge is black, foulsmelling and unlucky to drink. "Go drink from the west side of the bridge!" is a common curse in these parts.
There is no mention or sign of poisoned or blackened water or that the bridge has been rebuild.[/spoiler]
Did you know, that despite common misconception and use, "lycanthrope" doesn't mean someone that changes into any beast.
Lycanthrope comes from the greek "lykanthropos" (leek-AN-thropos) from Greek "lykos" (wolf) and "anthropos" (human).
In short, lycanthrope, literally means wolf-human or just wolfman in Greek.
Precisely lycanthropes were actual humans suffering from a mental disease that turned them to believe to be wolves. Nobody in ancient Greece ever believed to the contemporary myth of the werewolf. During roman times neither, the closest thing was the "lupus hominarius", but it was a very large antropofagist wolf, not a werewolf. The werewolves were a slavic myth and its hysteria started in late middle ages/early Renaissance, when the slavic pagan superstitions merged with german folklore about wolf-morphing warriors. People slain by brigands or wild animals were thought to be killed by werewolves. Many innocent people were killed because of fear and suspects, the luckiest ones had their skin brushed away in order to see if they had fur under that, even psychiatric lycanthropes were targets (well, if you believe that there is a beastly werewolf that killed old Von Donald in the woods, and a crazy guy in the nearby villages barks, walks on 4 legs and says to be a wolf, it's easy that ignorant people took torches and hunted that poor guy).
One funny thing is that many of the characteristics that werewolf have, like shapeshifting during full Moon nights or being vulnerable to silver weapons, are post-1800 inventions of western literature. Nobody ever believed these things in the centuries before. Actually, in slavic folklore werewolves are more similar to vampires (also, vampires never had many characteristics that were later introduced by Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu or XX century novels, they were more similar to walking deads like John Romero's zombies or D&D ghouls).
I never said that that lykanthropos means werewolf. Though it does mean that in modern times. I said what the etymology of the word is. Which is literally "wolfman" (not werewolf).
I actually like her very much, but I get the feeling that she's underestimated by most players.
Nalia isn't popular because she is basically a copy of Imoen. Both are Neutral Good Human Thief/Mage Dual-classes with similar hair even.
The problem is that Nalia is basically a useless Thief, while Imoen is enough for the whole saga (tried it myself) with items and potions.
Imoen wasn't supposed to be alive after you lose her, so Nalia was created. Though that was changed in the last moment and she was kept alive, just with less dialogue.
Now, if Nalia was a Bard or a Sorceress she would actually stand out and be far more interesting, instead of being an imitation of your sister.
And character-wise, people were annoyed with her constant "we need to help the poor" attitude. Imoen on the other hand is cooler and more mischievous and thievish.
@Archaos , I agree that Nalia's character sheet is indeed a copy of Imoen's.Also, nothing in the game explains how she got to level 9 as a mage (you had to save the Baldur's Gate and the sword coast from war to get that much experience). However, her storyline is quite distinct.
She's a good aligned mage with two side quests , lots of banters and a powerful magic item (a ring of protection +2 and 50% fire protection). I believe that as an interactive npc she's quite alive and true to her character.
Nalia's thief skills are absolutely fine. 2 x Mind Focusing means she can detect any trap, pick any lock, scout quite successfully and memorise any scroll with 100% success. Given they last for 12 hours, that's a great deal for c1.5k gold.
Powerwise, Nalia is more powerful than Imoen...you have her for much longer, her spellbook is inevitably better and she has a very nice ring. The minimal difference in thieving skills is utterly irrelevant.
The current legends about vampires and werewolves are obviously part of a misinformation campaign by these creatures so that hunters go after them expecting weaknesses they don't actually have. Vampires do not have a circulatory system why should a stake through the heart even bother them?
Regarding Nalia I have to agree with @Jaheiras_Witness. By the time I get to Imoen, Nalia's spell book is already full of useful spells. I think the only time I even bothered to get Imoen back was the first time I completed the game a long time ago. I also have a tendency to have as many spellcasters as I can so Jan covers all my thieving needs.
I never use Nalia as a thief. When I use her (which admittedly is not often), it is as my primary mage who happens to be able to use a short bow and a small sword. Once I get Imoen back, they form a strong double-mage team at the back. Two mages = Double the firepower!
@Montresor_SP The first time I played I did exactly that. I made a team with Nalia and Imoen as pure firepower. But now by the time I get to Imoen Jan also has many useful spells in his book, so I just let him stay
Nalia is great. That ring gives her an edge over Imoen. Imoen, however, has an extra backstab multiplier, making her much tougher in TOB thanks to Mislead backstabs and Time Stop.
I always found that Imoens thieving skills tilted the battle in her favor. Nalia is just too reliant on potions for my personal taste (That, and I like Imi better on a personality level). That said, I have a few things to share as well (They piled up due to limited internet access), so I'll try to structure it a little:
Did you know, Ninja-edition (Some of these might not be new to expert Thief players, to me they were; a Shadowdancer LoB run is to blame): Shadows on outdoor-Maps matter; When you'd otherwise get the hiding in daylight penalty that halves your skill, your okay to go in these patches, which actually - in turn - enhances the usefulness of infravision: While it is sometimes hard to tell wether or not your character is standing in the shade (and not beside it), him lighting up red makes you guaranteed to be successful on a 100 HiS/MS thief. While switching weapons normally makes you leave the shadows, if you go to the inventory screen instead of using quick-slots you can do so freely without the negative effect. There is a "hidden" (there's no mentions of it in game as far as I know) THAC0 and damage bonus (+4, I think) for all stealthed characters that engage in melee combat (not for ranged attacks). Not just for thieves.
Did you know, Familiar-edition (Beastmaster->Cleric in LoB is to blame): Familiars are AWESOME in Legacy of Bhaal! Not only does a Fairy Dragon (or whatever you get) have 44 HP (due to the bonus HP being given to all summons as well as the enemies), but your characters bonus HP scale accordingly to that, which means 22 bonus HP possibly as soon as level 1. The little critter is also quite survivable and quick, which allows for some glorious kiteing and tanking on lesser foes, making for an almost easy start into the LoB experience. Also, like all the other summons, the familiar takes only normal, not double the damage (as would be expected in LoB). All of this might be unintentional, however, and thus changed soon, so bask in the glory of killer-familiars RIGHT NOW!!
Did you know, Exploit-edition (My cheapness on high difficulties is to blame): There's delicious cheese in Durlags Tower; If you manage to get one character to 100 or more Fire-Resistance (I used two rings and Icingdeath), you can cheese the Love, Pride etc. encounter: In the room with the smithy there is a fireball-trap that triggers indefinitely unless you disarm it. Lure the four of them into the room and go in invisible by either using Hide in Plain Sight, a potion or a spell. Then, keep walking over the trap and profit. On the next level there is a similar opportunity in form of a room full of Aganazzar's Scorcher traps and a room with automatic fireballs on the level below that. Neither runs out. Fire Resistance really gets you far in this dungeon.
As always, YOUR comments have been a great read upon my return, so thanks for that!
There is a "hidden" (there's no mentions of it in game as far as I know) THAC0 and damage bonus (+4, I think) for all stealthed characters that engage in melee combat (not for ranged attacks)
Quite sure it's just a thac0 bonus, no damage added.
The Xzar's quote "I am become death, destroyer of worlds!" was, indeed, said by Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist in the Manhattan Project, when he did the first succeful test for the atomic bomb. The sentence, in turn, is a line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita.
There is a "hidden" (there's no mentions of it in game as far as I know) THAC0 and damage bonus (+4, I think) for all stealthed characters that engage in melee combat (not for ranged attacks)
Quite sure it's just a thac0 bonus, no damage added.
Are you certain? I remember quite a few Backstabs that more than twice/thrice the damage they should have if I rolled my maximum dice... Don't know what would cause it, then.
The Xzar's quote "I am become death, destroyer of worlds!" was, indeed, said by Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist in the Manhattan Project, when he did the first succeful test for the atomic bomb. The sentence, in turn, is a line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita.
Did you know as well the real quote is supposed to be something like I am become Time, Destroyer of worlds? Also that "I am become death" IS proper grammar. . . though a bit archaic.
Did you know there is a "Vorpal Squirrel" in BG2? Unfortunately it's not present in the game, but you can summon it via console: C:CreateCreature("vorsquir"). Take care though, this creature is deadly (but not invulnerable).
There is a "hidden" (there's no mentions of it in game as far as I know) THAC0 and damage bonus (+4, I think) for all stealthed characters that engage in melee combat (not for ranged attacks)
Quite sure it's just a thac0 bonus, no damage added.
Are you certain? I remember quite a few Backstabs that more than twice/thrice the damage they should have if I rolled my maximum dice... Don't know what would cause it, then.
Just tested and confirmed there is no damage bonus to attacking from stealth.
50 iterations of ranger attacking from stealth with dagger: 1-4 damage every time
50 iterations of thief backstabbing from stealth with dagger: 2-8 damage every time (always even numbers too)
There is a "hidden" (there's no mentions of it in game as far as I know) THAC0 and damage bonus (+4, I think) for all stealthed characters that engage in melee combat (not for ranged attacks)
Quite sure it's just a thac0 bonus, no damage added.
Are you certain? I remember quite a few Backstabs that more than twice/thrice the damage they should have if I rolled my maximum dice... Don't know what would cause it, then.
Just tested and confirmed there is no damage bonus to attacking from stealth.
50 iterations of ranger attacking from stealth with dagger: 1-4 damage every time
50 iterations of thief backstabbing from stealth with dagger: 2-8 damage every time (always even numbers too)
Poor Phlydia was the pincushion.
I suddenly got a flash of the shower scene in High Anxiety "Here's your book! (stab) Here's your book! (stab) Happy now?"
There is a cheesy use for all the relatively useless gold you end up collecting in bg2 with nothing to spend it on Buy up all the spell scrolls you can from every single vendor in the game, especially the high level ones. Many have 2 to 5 to10 copies of the same spell. You can use the fact that you can unlearn mage spells, to unlearn and relearn the spells from scrolls, over and over, for a huge xp boost. It works even better for solo characters
Comments
Only just happened to me, so not sure if there is a specific timing involved. I just murderized a priest who I thought had escaped my clutches with sanctuary, only to be fireballed by Dynaheir with an order I gave her while sanctuary was just going up.
[spoiler] There is no mention or sign of poisoned or blackened water or that the bridge has been rebuild.[/spoiler]
however, killing him then killing ruffie gets you a chunk of coin and additional 175 xp (from ruffie).
During roman times neither, the closest thing was the "lupus hominarius", but it was a very large antropofagist wolf, not a werewolf.
The werewolves were a slavic myth and its hysteria started in late middle ages/early Renaissance, when the slavic pagan superstitions merged with german folklore about wolf-morphing warriors.
People slain by brigands or wild animals were thought to be killed by werewolves. Many innocent people were killed because of fear and suspects, the luckiest ones had their skin brushed away in order to see if they had fur under that, even psychiatric lycanthropes were targets (well, if you believe that there is a beastly werewolf that killed old Von Donald in the woods, and a crazy guy in the nearby villages barks, walks on 4 legs and says to be a wolf, it's easy that ignorant people took torches and hunted that poor guy).
One funny thing is that many of the characteristics that werewolf have, like shapeshifting during full Moon nights or being vulnerable to silver weapons, are post-1800 inventions of western literature. Nobody ever believed these things in the centuries before. Actually, in slavic folklore werewolves are more similar to vampires (also, vampires never had many characteristics that were later introduced by Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu or XX century novels, they were more similar to walking deads like John Romero's zombies or D&D ghouls).
I never said that that lykanthropos means werewolf. Though it does mean that in modern times.
I said what the etymology of the word is. Which is literally "wolfman" (not werewolf). Nalia isn't popular because she is basically a copy of Imoen.
Both are Neutral Good Human Thief/Mage Dual-classes with similar hair even.
The problem is that Nalia is basically a useless Thief, while Imoen is enough for the whole saga (tried it myself) with items and potions.
Imoen wasn't supposed to be alive after you lose her, so Nalia was created.
Though that was changed in the last moment and she was kept alive, just with less dialogue.
Now, if Nalia was a Bard or a Sorceress she would actually stand out and be far more interesting, instead of being an imitation of your sister.
And character-wise, people were annoyed with her constant "we need to help the poor" attitude.
Imoen on the other hand is cooler and more mischievous and thievish.
She's a good aligned mage with two side quests , lots of banters and a powerful magic item (a ring of protection +2 and 50% fire protection). I believe that as an interactive npc she's quite alive and true to her character.
In fact, you started with "despite common misconception and use", and that was the link.
Powerwise, Nalia is more powerful than Imoen...you have her for much longer, her spellbook is inevitably better and she has a very nice ring. The minimal difference in thieving skills is utterly irrelevant.
Regarding Nalia I have to agree with @Jaheiras_Witness. By the time I get to Imoen, Nalia's spell book is already full of useful spells. I think the only time I even bothered to get Imoen back was the first time I completed the game a long time ago. I also have a tendency to have as many spellcasters as I can so Jan covers all my thieving needs.
(Or I get Jan Jansen and ditch Imoen!
Did you know, Ninja-edition (Some of these might not be new to expert Thief players, to me they were; a Shadowdancer LoB run is to blame):
Shadows on outdoor-Maps matter; When you'd otherwise get the hiding in daylight penalty that halves your skill, your okay to go in these patches, which actually - in turn - enhances the usefulness of infravision: While it is sometimes hard to tell wether or not your character is standing in the shade (and not beside it), him lighting up red makes you guaranteed to be successful on a 100 HiS/MS thief.
While switching weapons normally makes you leave the shadows, if you go to the inventory screen instead of using quick-slots you can do so freely without the negative effect.
There is a "hidden" (there's no mentions of it in game as far as I know) THAC0 and damage bonus (+4, I think) for all stealthed characters that engage in melee combat (not for ranged attacks). Not just for thieves.
Did you know, Familiar-edition (Beastmaster->Cleric in LoB is to blame):
Familiars are AWESOME in Legacy of Bhaal! Not only does a Fairy Dragon (or whatever you get) have 44 HP (due to the bonus HP being given to all summons as well as the enemies), but your characters bonus HP scale accordingly to that, which means 22 bonus HP possibly as soon as level 1. The little critter is also quite survivable and quick, which allows for some glorious kiteing and tanking on lesser foes, making for an almost easy start into the LoB experience. Also, like all the other summons, the familiar takes only normal, not double the damage (as would be expected in LoB). All of this might be unintentional, however, and thus changed soon, so bask in the glory of killer-familiars RIGHT NOW!!
Did you know, Exploit-edition (My cheapness on high difficulties is to blame):
There's delicious cheese in Durlags Tower; If you manage to get one character to 100 or more Fire-Resistance (I used two rings and Icingdeath), you can cheese the Love, Pride etc. encounter: In the room with the smithy there is a fireball-trap that triggers indefinitely unless you disarm it. Lure the four of them into the room and go in invisible by either using Hide in Plain Sight, a potion or a spell. Then, keep walking over the trap and profit.
As always, YOUR comments have been a great read upon my return, so thanks for that!
The sentence, in turn, is a line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Present_perfect
50 iterations of ranger attacking from stealth with dagger: 1-4 damage every time
50 iterations of thief backstabbing from stealth with dagger: 2-8 damage every time (always even numbers too)
Poor Phlydia was the pincushion.
"Here's your book! (stab)
Here's your book! (stab)
Happy now?"
Buy up all the spell scrolls you can from every single vendor in the game, especially the high level ones. Many have 2 to 5 to10 copies of the same spell.
You can use the fact that you can unlearn mage spells, to unlearn and relearn the spells from scrolls, over and over, for a huge xp boost. It works even better for solo characters