Remember that Illasera was supposed to be bait, as Yaga-Shura states in the pocket plane : "We sent illasera after you but we knew she would perish before your might"
Nevertheless, I think she is the best choice for a first member of the five because she actually looks a playable character. Also, her initial dialogue is quite intriguing.
As for her class , the ascension mod made her a ranger, but I remember her line "it was an effort to track you down amidst all these woods" which reveals that she is no tarzan herself. Personally , I like her as fighter 20/mage 1.
Remember that Illasera was supposed to be bait, as Yaga-Shura states in the pocket plane : "We sent illasera after you but we knew she would perish before your might"
Mellissan said that, not Yaga-Shura. Doesn't explain why the others would agree to sacrifice their hunter on a fool's errand when she's no threat to any of them.
I remember reading that Illasera in the glade was supposedly meant to be a fake (simulacrum) before it got cut... that would explain why she was so weak.
Oh, I know a trick to make her more powerful without turning her into a powergaming beast : with near infinity or another editor give her draconis's ai script, that way she'll have more spells and still fight with her (*lol*) dagger +2
I will say that I don't care about Illasera's wimpiness nearly as much as TOB just not having a very good story. I loved that Wheels of Prophecy mod, but I haven't been able to get it to work since SOD and the accompanying patch.
If you haven't installed Ascension then it's your own fault. Try fighting her with Ascension and then you'll be complaining she's too hard, with her THAC0 of like -20 doing 30 damage and dispel magic every hit. If you don't have Reflection Shield or PfMW you won't even last a round against her.
If you haven't installed Ascension then it's your own fault. Try fighting her with Ascension and then you'll be complaining she's too hard, with her THAC0 of like -20 doing 30 damage and dispel magic every hit. If you don't have Reflection Shield or PfMW you won't even last a round against her.
When I have tougher illasera installed I usually change her powerful bow for a weaker type. She'll still be quite the challenge with her damage bonuses and ethereal form but not so exagerated.
better yet fight her with Ascension with a fresh character. then you will see why bioware nerfed her in the first place.
how could bioware possibly predict a community modification...?
I think they mean that having a super tough enemy be the potential first fight for newcomers is a bad idea; not that bioware would predict a mod but that they would predict that a hard fight would turn people away.
(Granted going into ToB as your first entry to the series means you skipped A LOT of what makes the BG series great >_>)
better yet fight her with Ascension with a fresh character. then you will see why bioware nerfed her in the first place.
how could bioware possibly predict a community modification...?
I think they mean that having a super tough enemy be the potential first fight for newcomers is a bad idea; not that bioware would predict a mod but that they would predict that a hard fight would turn people away.
(Granted going into ToB as your first entry to the series means you skipped A LOT of what makes the BG series great >_>)
I must say that in 2002 I actually finished ToB before finishing SoA because my cd2 was broken and I couldn't carry on with the original game...
When I first started playing BG 2, I got it with TOB and I liked the feeling of POWER that TOB offered, so I actually really enjoyed the way I could make whatever party I wanted and then just jump into the game. I always looked at Illasera as a practice dummy to see how my character would do. I might have had a great idea, but it helped me see if my stat allocation was bad or if I picked weak spells for my sorcerer. I never thought she was intended to be a major challenge, more of a "try to see how your character will handle against an opponent who casts summons, basic damage spells, does some melee, and some disabling effects.
Did you know that in the original BG1 there was no Abdel pregenerated character. Instead the pregenerated fighter character was actually a dwarf (though there was a cleric pregen that used Abdel's portrait).
Presumably this is because of the fact that the book came out after the game. He was however later kind of included in Shadows of Amn (Abdel was the suggested name for the fighter pregen there).
Edit: Actually I'm wrong. Apparently Abdel makes an appearance but only as part of the pregenerated group you can take to do the Tales of the Sword Coast missions (though he doesn't have his usual portrait).
The Staff Spear +2 actually does on average the same amount of damage (not considering the Thac0 bonus) that an actual +3 spear would do. This is because it does 1d8+2 damage instead of 1d6+2.
(The Spear+3 is also not available in original BG1 campaign)
Likewise the Albruin +1 bastard sword actually does on average the same amount of damage (not considering the THAC0 difference) that a Bastard Sword +3 would do. This is because it does 2d4+3 damage instead of 2d4+1.
(The Bastard Sword +3 is also not available in BG1, original or EE.)
I brought up the Staff Spear mostly because I find it funny that the best "spear" in the original BG1/BGEE campaign is actually a weapon that uses quarterstaff proficiency
The level 5 Animal Growth druid spell from Spell Revisions works on Wilson. It grants +2 to hit, damage, AC, saving throws, and an extra 50% HP for 30 rounds to any animal, making Wilson much stronger despite his inability to use items.
I brought up the Staff Spear mostly because I find it funny that the best "spear" in the original BG1/BGEE campaign is actually a weapon that uses quarterstaff proficiency
The Staff Spear is also the only weapon with a spear appearance that can backstab.
In Planescape Torment, there is a secret item called the Shriveled Pebble. Here is its description:
SHRIVELED PEBBLE Weight: 0
This tiny pebble looks like it was chipped from a larger piece. The edges of it are jagged, like teeth, and the texture of it makes the small stone seem more like a withered seed than a stone. It has a faint reddish color about it, as if it was once stained with blood.
However, that's not what it really is, because it's an unidentified item. Here's its real description:
EYE OF VECNA (Cursed Artifact) Special: Doubles all 1st Level Mage Spells Doubles all 2nd Level Mage Spells +35% Resistance to Magic +4 Save vs. Death Magic -3 to Wisdom -3 to Intelligence Weight: 0
Many tales are told of the arch-lich Vecna.
It is said that Vecna was one of the Planes' mightiest sorcerers, able to draw life from dust and send it back again, extinguish lives with a glance, and make the earth shudder beneath his touch. He was said to be so powerful that when the end of his life drew near, death refused to take him into its kingdom.
And so Vecna died, yet lived on.
Abandoned by death, Vecna became the master of a vast kingdom on a prime world called Oerth. Neither kind nor just, Lord Vecna's rule was one of great horror and suffering, and it is said his reach was so great that even the Powers of Oerth feared to cross him for fearing of drawing his eye.
Yet, while Vecna's gaze traveled ever outward in search of new conquests, he failed to see his own end when it came for him... in the form of his lieutenant, Kas.
As was fitting for Vecna's left hand servant, the arch-lich had fashioned a terrible weapon for his lieutenant as a symbol of his authority. Vecna made this weapon with such skill it is said that part of the sorcerer entered the blade, and it was this sliver of Vecna that gave the blade its life and its treacherous nature. Where once there was lifeless steel, there became thought, intent, and, perhaps most horrible of all, a voice.
The sword whispered treacheries to the ambitious Kas, night upon night, month upon month, year upon year, until one night, the remains of Kas' discipline was seduced by the rippling edge of the blade. Convinced by his blade that he was Vecna's superior, Kas confronted his dread master upon his Dessicated Throne, and the two of them fought a terrible battle.
During the battle, Kas was killed, but before he fell, his blade had dismembered his former master, scattering his remains so that no one may draw them together again. And so it has come to pass that pieces of Vecna have made their way across the Planes... one of these is the Eye of Vecna. It carries with it a bloody, violent history, so much so that many scholars refuse to speak of its treacheries, for fear the eye will come to them, seeking to add another victim to its bloody chronology.
The Eye of Vecna was instrumental in the extermination of the House of Hyeric, once the ruling dynasty in Nyrond. It is said to have been behind the sundering of the Conclave of Tyssis-on-the-Sea, which led to the three-cycle war that poisoned the seas of Malhatai and left the oceanic world barren of life. On the ashen Plane of Ghalentir, it possessed the gentle father of Sasaran, a babe with the potential to lead his suffering people from their shadowed lands to the Gates of Paradise... had not the eye drove Sasaran's father to murder his son as he lay sleeping in his crib. All these kingdoms, all these futures, the Eye of Vecna laid waste.
The Eye's powers are said to shift with each new owner, but one thing is certain: no good ever comes from whoever has the misfortune to possess it. It is destined to betray its wearer at a critical moment, failing him when he needs its power the most.
In Baldur's Gate 2, the description of the Robe of Vecna says that it's not nearly as powerful as the Hand or the Eye of Vecna. However, although the Eye of Vecna does seem to be really powerful, it's nowhere near as powerful as the robe.
According to the Book of Vile Darkness, the true powers of the Vecna artifacts are only shown when more than one is worn at a time, with their powers increasing with each piece you find.
According to the Book of Vile Darkness, the true powers of the Vecna artifacts are only shown when more than one is worn at a time, with their powers increasing with each piece you find.
I'm sure that a PC accumulating these will achieve ultimate power right after losing control of their character.
One of the many dialogues that remains unused in BG1 is Banmer.dlg.
Its a dialogue that basically involves the player character raiding a merchant caravan in order to prove themselves worthy of joining the bandits. Its unusual in particular because it actually has a strength check for some of its responses (where you are basically trying to strong arm the merchant into giving up their wares).
Its kind of too bad too. Since you miss out on great lines like
MERCHANT: What's the meaning of this? We've got a schedule to keep!
CHARNAME: "Everyone please stop where they are and don't move! Drop your weapons and gold, and this will all be over quick!"
MERCHANT: "Well, which is it? If I drop my weapons like you said, I'm gonna be in motion. Likewise, if'n I stay still I can't rightly disarm. Straighten yerself out and come at that again. This time like ya mean it."
and
CHARNAME: "All right, I've a blade edge for each one o' you that takes another step! You will all place your weapons on the ground, and your gold in our sacks. Remember that songs are only written about heroes AFTER they're dead!"
(if strength is less than 10)
MERCHANT: "I don't think you've got the muscle to back up those threats, so why don't you just git along 'fore we put a hurtin' on you."
is there a mod that restores all such possible content to the game? If not, there needs to be and i'd do it myself.
Comments
"We sent illasera after you but we knew she would perish before your might"
Nevertheless, I think she is the best choice for a first member of the five because she actually looks a playable character. Also, her initial dialogue is quite intriguing.
As for her class , the ascension mod made her a ranger, but I remember her line "it was an effort to track you down amidst all these woods" which reveals that she is no tarzan herself. Personally , I like her as fighter 20/mage 1.
if you're solo she arrives with only her puny self. took me a while to realize she normally has helpers
(Granted going into ToB as your first entry to the series means you skipped A LOT of what makes the BG series great >_>)
Presumably this is because of the fact that the book came out after the game. He was however later kind of included in Shadows of Amn (Abdel was the suggested name for the fighter pregen there).
Edit: Actually I'm wrong. Apparently Abdel makes an appearance but only as part of the pregenerated group you can take to do the Tales of the Sword Coast missions (though he doesn't have his usual portrait).
(The Spear+3 is also not available in original BG1 campaign)
(The Bastard Sword +3 is also not available in BG1, original or EE.)
Original BG1 NPCs (using BG2 stats for those applicable): 80,79
EE NPCs: 86
SoD NPCs (without the companion of the last battle): 87,25
Full BGEE Average: 81,82
BG2 NPCs*: 84,77
Full Trilogy Average: 82,99
The highest stats character is Sarevok with 95
The lowest stats character ir Quayle with 68
* = including Sarevok, Knigh Anomen and CN Anomen, not counting those that appears in BG1. Wilson is not in the average because his STR varies.
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Now we have a base to analyse NPC-mods and builds for Charname