The exploits of Teyl, the Evil Strifeleader/Thief (no-reload, initially solo) Spoiler alert!
Blackraven
Member Posts: 3,486
Hello everyone, after my halfling bounty huntress's abrupt death in Gullykin at the hands of Jenkal, it is time for Teyl Shimmerdusk to enter the stage. Teyl is another halfing but one much darker of heart than the late Nelsy: a NE (shadowkeepered) Strifeleader of Cyric/Thief.
Teyl, unlike his megalomanic and reckless gnomish counterpart Tiax, is a cunning, conniving and calculating figure. He isn't overtly evil or violent nor does he enjoy cruelty or the suffering of others just for the sake of it. He takes good care of his appearance and image, is generally polite to strangers and even willing to do "good" if he sees personal benefits that make his benevolence worthwhile. He has no reservations about making promises or accepting commitments he won't be likely to live up to, if such behavior serves his interests. In such situations Teyl tends to avoid outright lies though, preferring to rely on ambiguity or omission of information in order to manipulate reality in his favor, without having to fear that any blame is going to be pinned on him. His subtlety and seemingly mild manners may not make him a prototypical Cyricist, but his ways might well be the more effective, or so at least he believes.
The presence of such guiding figures of unquestionable moral calibre as Tethoril, Imoen, the priests of Oghma and above all Gorion have given Teyl a sense of morality he might otherwise not have had, but unlike the people that surround him Teyl believes that everyone ought to look after their own interests. Teyl appreciates nature, female beauty, and art.
Teyl isn't a physically imposing figure, even for a halfling. He makes up for this however with his wit, his knowledge of poisons, an affinity with trap setting, and the powers bestowed upon him by Cyric.
His stats are the result of a legit 93 roll (in a best of 100). After starting the game I reluctantly changed the distribution of his stats in shadowkeeper to fit his character better, i.e. lower STR (the original roll was actually 17), higher INT and CHA. The high CON (also original roll) can be justified in part by his exposure to the poisons he experiments with, which has fortified his health. On the other hand I favored Teyl by maxing out his DEX.
Like Nelsy, Teyl will be partly relying on traps to survive, since I'm (again) playing/experimenting with a mod called 'trap revisions'. This mod, as its name implies, changes the trap setting system. A trap's damage output and other effects depend on the level of the trap (not the player). The level is decided by the number of skill points invested in set traps (so one could go way over 100 skill points, to get stronger traps). Traps are categorized in different tiers: basic, advanced, expert, master, with master being the HLA traps. Setting a single trap costs between 50 and 2500 gold depending on its tier. The mod introduces a number of new traps, some of them class-specific, such as the cleric/thief-only 'divine trap'. The trap revisions mod is the main reason I'm playing BGT (rather than EE, for which the mod isn't available as of yet). The readme can be found here: http://www.shsforums.net/topic/45268-trap-revisions/.
I awarded Teyl with a second set trap skill at level 1, one more than a normal thief and one less than a bounty hunter (who gets other benefits besides 3 traps at level1) in the aforementioned mod. I did this so that it actually makes some sense investing skillpoints in trap setting from the outset. (Being able to set only one trap until I get to level 6 as a thief, is little incentive to develop one's trap-setting skills early on.)
I also gave him a set of Shadow thief apprentice armor, which at AC6 gives a +1 AC advantage over normal studded leather as well as a 5% bonus to HiS. I did this mainly for esthetic reasons, as normal studded leather looked awfully light brown on Teyl, who prefers black, and anthracite.
Both adaptations of the original character are slight cheats I'm aware, but by no means game-breaking.
I'll be playing core rules, with maximum hitpoints for all characters in the game.
Teyl, unlike his megalomanic and reckless gnomish counterpart Tiax, is a cunning, conniving and calculating figure. He isn't overtly evil or violent nor does he enjoy cruelty or the suffering of others just for the sake of it. He takes good care of his appearance and image, is generally polite to strangers and even willing to do "good" if he sees personal benefits that make his benevolence worthwhile. He has no reservations about making promises or accepting commitments he won't be likely to live up to, if such behavior serves his interests. In such situations Teyl tends to avoid outright lies though, preferring to rely on ambiguity or omission of information in order to manipulate reality in his favor, without having to fear that any blame is going to be pinned on him. His subtlety and seemingly mild manners may not make him a prototypical Cyricist, but his ways might well be the more effective, or so at least he believes.
The presence of such guiding figures of unquestionable moral calibre as Tethoril, Imoen, the priests of Oghma and above all Gorion have given Teyl a sense of morality he might otherwise not have had, but unlike the people that surround him Teyl believes that everyone ought to look after their own interests. Teyl appreciates nature, female beauty, and art.
Teyl isn't a physically imposing figure, even for a halfling. He makes up for this however with his wit, his knowledge of poisons, an affinity with trap setting, and the powers bestowed upon him by Cyric.
His stats are the result of a legit 93 roll (in a best of 100). After starting the game I reluctantly changed the distribution of his stats in shadowkeeper to fit his character better, i.e. lower STR (the original roll was actually 17), higher INT and CHA. The high CON (also original roll) can be justified in part by his exposure to the poisons he experiments with, which has fortified his health. On the other hand I favored Teyl by maxing out his DEX.
Like Nelsy, Teyl will be partly relying on traps to survive, since I'm (again) playing/experimenting with a mod called 'trap revisions'. This mod, as its name implies, changes the trap setting system. A trap's damage output and other effects depend on the level of the trap (not the player). The level is decided by the number of skill points invested in set traps (so one could go way over 100 skill points, to get stronger traps). Traps are categorized in different tiers: basic, advanced, expert, master, with master being the HLA traps. Setting a single trap costs between 50 and 2500 gold depending on its tier. The mod introduces a number of new traps, some of them class-specific, such as the cleric/thief-only 'divine trap'. The trap revisions mod is the main reason I'm playing BGT (rather than EE, for which the mod isn't available as of yet). The readme can be found here: http://www.shsforums.net/topic/45268-trap-revisions/.
I awarded Teyl with a second set trap skill at level 1, one more than a normal thief and one less than a bounty hunter (who gets other benefits besides 3 traps at level1) in the aforementioned mod. I did this so that it actually makes some sense investing skillpoints in trap setting from the outset. (Being able to set only one trap until I get to level 6 as a thief, is little incentive to develop one's trap-setting skills early on.)
I also gave him a set of Shadow thief apprentice armor, which at AC6 gives a +1 AC advantage over normal studded leather as well as a 5% bonus to HiS. I did this mainly for esthetic reasons, as normal studded leather looked awfully light brown on Teyl, who prefers black, and anthracite.
Both adaptations of the original character are slight cheats I'm aware, but by no means game-breaking.
I'll be playing core rules, with maximum hitpoints for all characters in the game.
Post edited by Blackraven on
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...
The day's getting ever more special. Phlydia asked me to find a lost book for her, supposedly near the stables. So I went looking in the adjoining priests' quarters, only to be greeted by a stranger who asked me who I was, said something about a price on my head, and then attacked me. I darted and hid behind the hearth, approached the fool from behind and smacked him with my club. He fell at once. [Note: this is the nicest way I've ever taken on Shank.] I don't know what to think of this or who could want me dead. I've been pretty compliant all my life.
When I stepped outside Dreppin suggested I pick up Phlydia's book from the hay behind him so I could return it to her. I wonder how he knows, or rather what he and Phlydia have been up to in the hay last night. Can't blame him, Phlydia's a pretty good-looking woman I must say. I returned to Phlydia with her book, not in the least to see how she responded to my being alive. It was she who had sent me to fetch her book after all. She didn't show any emotion or nerves upon seeing me. So I just returned the book to her and left her to go to the infirmary and see if I could fetch some healing potions for my imminent journey. On my way there, Hull asked me to pick up his longsword from the barracks and an antidote that Dreppin supposedly needs for Nessie the cow. I wouldn't have bothered going there, but I won't say no to a free antidote. I decided to check out the bunkhouse as well for any useful potions or even weaponry, but guess what... Another bloody assassin! This time hiding was no option so I just ran and launched darts at him while I could. Five darts did the job.
I fetched the antidote in the barracks, fruitlessly tried to pickpocket Fuller for a dagger I'd seen him polishing, and ran off to Gorion. And off we go...
Anyway this morning Imoen bumped into me, apparently she'd followd Gorion and me. We talked, arranged for Gorion's burial, and I convinced her to remain at Candlekeep and give me her wand of magic missiles and potions for my trip.
On the Lion's Way I ran into a necromancer and a halfling assassin. They were quite forthcoming, even gave me a potion of healing. They proposed that we travel together to Nashkel, but at this moment I cant be bothered. I'm in no mood for company. Besides why would I want to go to Nashkel. In Candlekeep I heard mention once or twice of a mage that's supposed to reside south from here and sell all kinds of goods. Thalantyr I think his name is. I'm going to take a look. Maybe he'd be willing to barter Imoen's wand for a bag of holding, since my inventory is already completely full.
I left Thalantyrs establishment, the High Hedge, and decided to leave the area southward, in order to steer clear of more monsters, undead and wild beasts.
About a days's travel down south I encountered Melicamp a mageling-turned-chicken who asked me to take him to his master Thalantyr. My first thought was that I really can't be arsed to travel all the way back, running and hiding from gnolls, and spiders and the such, but I nevertheless promised to escort him. Perhaps the chicken is of some worth to the mage. Who knows? He seems like a wealthy guy, he'll probably reward me for my efforts. Meanwhile I proceeded to explore the area, until I met a fellow believer. So I decided to approach and have a word with him. But that wasn't the best idea. This fellow was building a family of undead and didn't approve of my presence when I saluted him, rather he set his undead army upon me. So much for confraternality. I fled the scene, hiding in shadows at the earliest opportunity, and headed back to Thalantyr. Maybe Melicamp's proposal wasn't so bad.
Back at the High Hedge things turned out well for Melicamp, but less so for me. Thalantyr managed to retransform Melicamp, but neither of the two had the courtsey of rewarding me in any way. Well this Thalantyr must be a powerful transmuter and besides he's capable of enchanting items*, so I'll keep in with him, for now... [note: *I'm playing with the Thalantyr item upgrade mod; the experience gained helped Teyl gain level 2 both as a priest and as a thief.]
I visited the town's different inns and taverns to look for adventurers who might tell me about recent events in other parts of the Sword Coast. On of them harbored another assassin, a menacing looking dawrf telling me I was at the end of my rope. Well I replied that I hoped he had the will to back up those words. He took a potion of hill giant strangth and came charging in, but I poisoned my darts and slowed him down a bit. My command spell didn't affect him, but two backstabs and a few more darts sufficed to take him down.
Ah, I also agreed to help a townswoman whose neighbour had turned into a slime. Apparently as a result of drinking a potion sold to him by a vendor of all kinds of potions. I spoke with the vendor and he sold me a cheap antidote that may or may not restore the neighbour and a strength potion that was guaranteed to have the desired effect. I chose to give the neighbour the cheap antidote and keep the strength potion, a potion of cloud giant strength usable by non-warriors, to myself. The antidote didn't have any effect but at least I'd tried to help, in my own way. I had a laugh with the lady, and more importantly, I got to keep the potion (I might even need it more than them, what with all these attempts on my life.)
The woman was most displeased with me though, so that night I decided to leave town for a while so as not to become known as the halfling crook. I headed south, killed a couple of ogrillons and various hobgoblins who stood no chance against me in the dark. I'm now the proud owner of a pair of boots of stealth (found on one of the hobgoblins). I pushed on toward Nashkel. Upon arrival Lord Foreshadow gave me a ring of human influence, very kind of him. In Nashkel in the inn yet another assassin awaited me, this time a human priestess. I get my silence spell off just before she finishes casting her hold spell, so all I do is quickly step outside to neutralize the hold spell and then step back inside. My poisoned darts finished her off.
So far so smooth, but I'm puzzled by the fact that assassins have been looking for me in the south (Beregost, and now Nashkel). Maybe I should lay low for a while, somewhere up north in the countryside or in the bustle of the city of Baldur's Gate...
"Teyla" selfie - pretty credible I would say, maybe it was my voice that gave me away:
After my confrontation with the wizard I returned to Gellana Mirrorshade, a kindly lady to relieve me of my cursed girdle and thus undo my gender change, although she charged me 500 bloody gold for it. I also sold her some loot I'd acquired during my travels. Various pieces of armour, a shiny magical ring I had found in the bushes near the Inn that cashed in at 9000 gold(!), and a flamedance ring a woman named Joia had asked me to retieve for her (I don't see why I should, considering her statement that she wasn't going to pay me anything and besides, as a holy man I take it upon me to show people that it's the spirit that matters, attachment to physical objects only distracts from the sacred spirit; in a way I did Joia a favour).
On the inside the Friendly Arm Inn had a relaxed atmosphere, although I did eye two elves in a corner conspicuously observing my every movement. As they refused to come up and talk to me, I decided to do the same. Upstairs I spoke with Unshey, a goldenhaired dwarven scholar whose day I made handing her a belt that she had lost and I had found. And I met Landrin, an older gnomish lady, who gave me 6 antidotes to help me kill the spiders that had taken up residence in her home. When I told her I had already killed the spiders she didn't believe me. Little did she know that I'd be carrying the biggest of them in my pack (this for the purpose of toxin extraction for my poisons). So she was pleasantly surprised. I also gave her a bottle of wine I'd taken from her home for the road. She expressed her gratefulness in gold and she let me keep the antidotes.
[Note: all this conversation resulted in Teyl reaching level 4 as a thief; level 3 for both classes had been attained before in Beregost, thanks in particular to Marl and to the huge spiders.]
I'm not sure yet what to do or where to go. On the one hand I'm still eager to find a place where I'll be left alone; on the other hand it might be better to confront the problem rather than run away from it. The thing is I've no clue why there is a price on my head, nor where to look for answers...
...
Well the good news is that I did find the cloak on the second tasloi I slew. The bad news is that the Cloakwood isn't as peaceful as I'd hoped. Embarrasingly, I got hit twice in melee by more tasloi, making me quaff two healing potions and flee the scene. I travelled to the north, to Baldur's Gate, but was denied entrance to the city because of supposed bandit activity in the region. I may have encountered a bandit or two, but nothing that justifies locking an entire city... So further north I travelled until I reached a small fishing village called Ulgoth's Beard, where no one seemed to know me, and where I wasn't greeted by an assassin upon entering the local inn for a change.
Ulgoth's Beard is a friendly, quiet little place. I would have stayed longer if I hadn't laid eyes on a returning frost dart behind a display window in the inn.
I was immediately sold. The innkeep must have noticed a twinkle in my eyes, or maybe he's just a ruthless trader, but either way he charged the wicked amount of nearly 15000 gold for it. In order to pay him I even had to sell a couple of items I would have rather kept, such as my ring of protection +1. The transaction has left me dead broke, so I'll be leaving Ulgoth's Beard in search of work. I remember word down south in Nashkell of a bounty on an emerald thief named Prism. I think I will seek that one out. Let's hope that I'm better prepared now with my new dart for the dangers in the south...
In Nashkell no one seemed to know of Prism's whereabouts, so I decided to take a look at the carnival and see if any hints were to be found there.
There's all kinds of fun to be had at the carnival and I also met a few merchants with interesting scrolls, potions and other goods that won't be available to me as long as I remain penniless. In one of the tents I witnessed a human wizard killing an apparently innocent female, an evil witch according to the wizard, right in front of my eyes. He then picked a fight with me but I hit him first with my poisoned new frost dart. The wizard didn't manage to get any spells off except for a 'previously cast mirror image' (which was eaten up quickly by the same dart's poison and cold damage).
As I haven't found any clues on Prism here at the Carnival, I'll head further south, to the mines. Apparently there has been some trouble going on there. Maybe there's a thief base down there, harboring the jewel thief? I'll have to be careful though. I shall explore the area at night time, relying on stealth and my cloak of non-detection, in order to get a better view of the situation without being noticed.
....
Well that didn't turn out as I expected. The area was actually pretty quiet, so I rested undisturbedly till nighttime. At the mine entrance I spoke to overseer Emerson and a few Amnish guards. Apparently some of the miners have gone missing, but no one was able to tell what could be the cause of said disappearances. Before deciding whether or not to enter the mines to take a look, I continued my exploration of the outside area.
That's where I ran into Prism. Sure he had two emeralds, but he was no thief. He was a master artist in the process of finishing a glorious rock carving in the image of his muse. I approached him to compliment him with his talent and the splendid carving he was working on. His reaction betrayed fear however, fear that I might take the bounty on his head before he could finish his work. I reassured him that I had no such desire. [Note: in the first post in which I introduced Teyl I indicated that he's passionate about nature, female beauty and art.] We were overheard by a pretty young lady paladin, who introduced herself as Isra. She asked me to help her defend Prism from any bounty hunters. I honoured this request, though I was puzzled by the fact that it came from a paladin. Wasn't she supposed to take in the thief rather than aid him? I guess I'll never know. I had barely said yes, when an intimidating bounty hunter called Greywolf entered the stage. He wouldn't be persuaded to let Prism finish his work, so battle ensued. Greywolf first quaffed a potion of freedom so that casting Hold Person (something I had considered doing while he would be fighting Isra) wasn't an option. I poisoned my dart and and got in two hits. After that I ran to prevent Greywolf from closing the distance between us. He then turned his attention to Isra, and slaughtered her in two, maybe three hits. Meanwhile I was still launching my dart at him, so that even after using a potion of speed the potion hits kept him from closing the distance between the two of us. He soon fell.
After this I spoke to Prism to see how he was doing. Curiously he fell to the ground and died as well. The last word he mentioned was the name of his muse, Ellesime, which sounds elven to me. With three dead bodies around me I gathered it might be wise not to linger. I picked up Prism's emeralds and left. The question is now how to make the most out of this situation. Ideally I can sell the emeralds at the Carnival AND get the gold in Nashkel from the bounty handler.
Note:
The Greywolf kill prompted Teyl to level up to level 4 as a cleric, receiving a new proficiency point that I invested in single weapon style for better AC and backstabs.
Interestingly the Divine Remix mod (or perhaps another mod?) allows me to become proficient in certain bladed/pointy weapons (dagger, short sword, longsword, scimitar and katana), whereas others are excluded (axe, bastard sword, 2h sword, spear, halberd are exluded, as are bows by the way). I think this is a nice feature as it makes sense for my roguish character to become proficient in the lighter and more slender bladed weapons. Especially if you take into account that my 'spiritual weapon' is a magical longsword.
So far it's been a smooth ride. Teyl's life was never in danger, nor has he depended on saving throws or other more or less lucky circumstances. I haven't used many traps yet. I used two to help me kill the huge spiders in Beregost, but other important fights (Zordral, Greywolf, Tarnesh) didn't really allow for trap setting without that being metagaming.
I'd like to take him to the basilisk area now, to boost XP and unlock level 3 spells (animate dead). Will see if I can invent any plausible reason for him to go there so as not to break the immersion.
Nice tale!
And thanks!
...
East of the Temple I encountered a cave with various monsters: a sword spider, two vampiric wolves, a very nasty astral phase spider, a mountain bear and four zombies. I took them on one by one, luring them outside. I was aided by the dusk that had set in as it allowed me too backstab my way to victory. The last one to fall was the great bear, who only required two succesful backstabs with my spiritual weapon Razor's Edge.
[Killing these monsters made Teyl gain a level first as a thief and later one as a cleric. He's now 5/5 Cleric/Thief, which means Animate Dead...]
In the back of the cave I ran into three spirits, so-called Torquions, who asked me to grant them release, be it through death or by bringing them a vampiric sword (which I don't own). I decided to leave the spirits be for now, but not before taking some treasure from a pit behind them. Most prominntly a wand of chain lightning I can't use, a tome of leadership and influence, and a suit of ankheg armor.
I left the cave and travelled further east where I reached an area of barren wasteland inhabited by [improved] basilisks. An excellent opportunity to find out what the Animate Dead spell, granted to me by Cyric almighty, is capable of. I summoned three skeletons, quaffed a potion of invisibility and followed my skeletal friends as they marched into battle. I was pleasantly surprised.
Three skeletons took on all basilisks in the area (i.e. 10) and survived. When the last of the beasts had fallen, I poisoned my dart and the skeletons and I attacked an aggressive gnomish mage who had apparently managed to control or befriend the basilisks. Two hits by my minions (one of which critical) meant the end of Mutamin the gnome. On his body I found two mage robes (Adventurer's robe + Robe of the archmagi), a pair of cursed gauntlets, bracers of AC8, and some scrolls and healings potions. Not bad!
[Teyl has now reached a very respectable level 6 in both his classes, so I feel more or less ready to confront Silke, improved Bassilus, and Davaeorn. Killing the basilisks has never been so easy for me, because I usually take them on early on, with a scroll of protection form petrification, which I think is only slightly harder.]
A difficult battle followed. (I wonder why a powerful bard such as she doesn't simply dispose of those harmless men herself if they are in her way.) The trap went off and injured Silke. She began casting a dire charm while I poisoned my frost dart and started launching it at her. She had protected herself with a previously cast stoneskin, but the cold damage came through twice while she was casting. Annoyingly this didn't interrupt her casting, but I was (very) lucky to save. A third hit with again only cold damage came through. Subsequently Silke inflicted a moderate amount of damage upon me with a magic missile, but then my poison started to do its (cumulative) damage, preventing Silke from casting any other spells for some time. Meanwhile I just kept launching and launching until the hits and the poison ended her life.
***
Note: I think would have allowed myself a reload if the dire charm had taken effect. I have difficulty accepting a 'game over' due to a charm spell because:
(1) the character doesn't necessarily die, on the contrary; the first and slightest harm caused to the charmed character dispels the charm,
(2) a charm spell wears off at one point,
(3) other spells that temporarily affect the mind, such as confusion or horror do not end the game while a confused or panicked character can be injured multiple times without breaking the spell, which suggests that for the affected character confusion and panic are deadlier than charm spells.
(4) charm doesn't mean game over if the character has companions, even if those companions are nowhere near the charmed character.
***
With Silke out of the way I have now just enough confidence to try and take on [improved] Bassilus, but not so much as to underestimate the man.
I place three traps outside his stone circle. Then I cast animate undead thrice so that I have my own private army of skeletons. The traps disrupt Bassilus's spellcasting and do decent damage [circa 40] which my foe partly mitigates with a healing potion. My skeleton army is less effective as Bassilus turns and sets up three of them against the other two. Nevertheless the skeletons occupy my foe for a while and even provoke him to waste a spell or two on them. We both cast a hold person at pretty much the same moment and we both save against the spell. I still have a hold person spell memorized and two silence spells. I hesitate between resorting to hit and fade tactics and backstabs with my spiritual weapon, or first trying to silence my opponent. The problem is that I have no idea what other tricks Bassilus has up his sleeve. What if he quickly casts a greater command while I'm trying to silence him? I decide to take a potion of speed which, in combination with my stylish boots of the cheetah, will make me extremely fast. Three backstabs later, Bassilus is history.
Before he succumbed to my third backstab, Bassilus cast another hold person. Again the spell had no effect on me. While I did run as far as I could and hid in the shadows, I'm aware that Cyric has been very generous to me, allowing me to save against three potentially lethal spells in a short amount of time. I'm aware that it's time for me to rethink my strategies in my dealings with hostile spellcasters.
My sprinting around caught the attention of a couple of hobgoblins, bandits and undead, but after Bassilus these were a piece of cake.
As you know, I'm currently on a no-reload run as well, so can quote one of the best, in my opinion, advices regarding this mode.
By Brilliant @lunar
"In a no reload, you always have to have a clear plan and path, you should never venture randomly or risk anything. Example:Do not melee ghouls/ghasts if you don't have:-free action spell or item -base save vs death of 1 or lower. Even meleeing them with a character who has -20 ac and save vs death of 3, is SUICIDE. One ghast can score a critical hit, (and they have very good number of attacks, good old claw/claw/bite routine) and you can roll a 1 or 2 on your save and that is game over.
Another example:Do not fight tough spellcasters unless you have skills and/or items to neutralise their powers. Greenstone amulet helps against charm/confusion/held. Shield of Harmony and Reflection Shield are two musts to have to play no-reload, and you should swap the shields accordingly. Even swap to dragon shield for elemental resistances when necesary. (say, you see a fireball coming up your way)
Or if you can rage to make yourself immune to mind affecting stuff and insta-death, go for it. High elemental resistance gear/potions will help against the occasional fireball (or Dragons Breath, if you play ToB with scs) Magic shielding/protection potions and protection from magic scroll are sureways to breeze through a spellcaster. If you don't have an innate immunity or skill to prevent most of the spells, you should get items that grant them as soon as possible, before risking fighting any mage worths his salt. You can have 5 attacks/round with awesome damage, but a mage will lock you out of the combat via Chaos spell and finish you up with a Finger of Death. Never risk it. You can get lucky one time, but in a no reload you can not-should not-put your fate into Lady Luck's hands."
Relying on saving throws is not the way to go. Still it's the reason why I like shorties. I'm not a perfect player by any means, so 1% luck could make the difference between survival and a restart.
@bengoshi, yes I've been follwing your totemic druids exploits with interest and even admiration. You've doing great! @lunar has shown me his understanding of the game before, and your quote is another very pertinent example. In my game set-up, Thalantyr sells a ring of free action, and my cleric/thief has already seen the greenstone necklace in Ulgoth's Beard. After what happened, I'm sure he's realized that he'll have to prioritize those items. Difficult though with high shop prices, playing evil
The ring cost me dearly, 23000 gold, leaving me with a meagre 500 gold in my pocket. A fancy greenstone amulet that potects against mind control, which is sold by the greedy innkeep in Ulgoth's Beard, shall have to wait for now. I really ought to make a lot more gold, so that I can equip myself in the best possible way because the road has treated me harshly so far.
Maybe I can trace that murdering guard captain Brage from Nashkell (supposing he is no caster) and take the bounty on his head.... Having no idea of Brage's whereabouts I toss a coin to decide whether to go east or west from Nashkell in search of the murderous commander. West it is. Cyric guide me.
...
And so his Holiness did. I reached the South Sword Coast and had two interesting encounters there. The first one with a archaeologist named Charleston Nib, the second one with my bounty, Brage.
Nib asked me to protect him from bandits while he was to enter a ruined tomb to look for any remnants of an ancient cult, this in exchange for a small reward. I agreed. A bit later one of Nib's colleagues, Gallop, made me a more lucrative offer: 900 gold if I kill the members of the expedition. I accepted that offer as well, telling him I needed little excuse to partake in bloodshed. What I didn't tell him, was that I considered it more opportune to simply take him out instead of the miners for his 900 gold. Inside the air was thick with the spirit of some ancient force. It had all the diggers go hostile on me, so I had to kill them anyway. Nib was grateful however for my assistance. He gave me a scroll that allows access to a number of hidden rooms in the Firewine bridge, and then he left. I picked up a statutette in the tomb and went outside, where I saw Gallop still waiting for me. I made a lacklustre pickpocket attempt which had Gallop go hostile on me. With my trusty old club I backsmacked him to death, only to find a mere 23 gold coins on his body. That crook deserved death.
More spectacular was my confrontation with a Doomsayer (a manifestation or merely a lackey of the ancient spirit?) that spoke to me in an unintelligible tongue. But the magic missile he cast on me, made suficiently clear what kind of business he meant. I retreated to heal and summon three skeletons that I sent forward to attack the Doomsayer.
I tried to keep a distance myself so that I would be able launch the occasional dart and have a quick start in case things got ugly. Interestingly the Doomsayer's hostility was directed toward me rather than the skeletons that were pounding at him. He kept teleporting toward me, so I had to run and kite a lot, keeping the skeletons between him and me at all times. He cast various magic missiles on me, making me quaff two healing potions and use my innate heal ability to alleviate my injuries. Soon I didn't even see the chance to throw my dart anymore, so insistent was he in his pursuit of me, but finally he fell to a hit by one of my uninjured skeletons.
On his remains I found a Flaming Fist helmet and a crossbow he had also used once or twice..
...
With my skeletal companions I continued my trek through the area. Soon I came upon a spot where a carriage including horses and what seems to be a family of three had been laid to waste. I was wondering whose work this had been, when a priestess begged me to leave. Brage was there and it was as if he was possessed by a foul soul. I told her that if that was true, and he was responsible for the carnage, it'd be better to rid the world of this evil. She disagreed and started csting a Hold Person on me. Little did she know that I had my newly purchased ring of free action on. I poisoned my frost dart and hit and poisoned her various times. Her wounds soon proved to be fatal.
But at that point I had someone else to worry about: a clearly hostile Brage, carrying a huge greatsword, was coming after me. I immediately started throwing my still poisoned dart at him, which slowed him down a bit. I lured him toward my skeletons, but that wasn't necessary. The poison did him in.
[Note: I was surprised that he was hostile. Isn't he normally neutral, until he's talked to you? Maybe this was an unintentionally cheesy kill, as Brage hadn't yet had his dialogue with me. On the other hand, I would have used the same strategy after the dialogue, no doubt with the same outcome.]
Time to head back to Nashkell and receive my bounty...
North of the area I'd visited before, the land was replete with hobgoblins, tasloi, and worgs. Making it difficult to stealth. The most interesting creatures I encountered were the enticing sirines. For some reson they were downright hostile toward me, and displayed a wide arsenal of tricks in their attempt to best me: they had their characteristic dire charm, poisonous arrows, a greenish gas that irritates the eyes and blinds anyone entering, and the ability to shapshift in a slime that emits toxic vapors.
I had three summoned skeletons at my disposal plus a potion of clarity I had acquiered in Candlekeep before I set out with Gorion. The sirines moved a lot, which was both a curse and a blessing. My soldiers had difficulty hitting their moving targets, but with the sirines separated I could take one on myself. She was already badly wounded and three darts of wounding finished her off (the poison worked on the slime form as well). My skeletons took one of the others down, and I bested the third with my poisoned frost dart. I found a pearl on each of them.
Farther down the coastline I spotted three more sirines, but unsure as to how long the potion of clarity would last, I sneaked past them into a cave. The cave was guarded by three flesh golems, whose resilience against my posion I would have gladly tested were it nor fot the fact that I didn't have any poison left after the fight with the sirines. Hidden in the shadows I carefully explored the cave. In a pool I found some treasure: a magical tome, two magical cloaks, and various potions among other things. My snatching the loot betrayed my presence to one of the golems, but I sped past him and hid myself again in order to safely leave the cave, and the area, northward until I reached an area inhabited by ogres and half-ogres. As I don't stand a chance in melee against such creatures (in spite of my Stalwart Defender buckler giving me a +2 AC bonus against giant humanoids), I outran them. I stumbled upon a shipwreck with more loot, amongst which a ring that I returned to its rightful gnomish owner.
At one point I saw a nereid, but I was afraid to approach her, fearful of falling for her charm. I'm heading back to Beregost to see if I can trade some of that loot I've gathered...
Upon identification the magical tome I found in the cave on the coast turned out to be a manual of bodily health. I read it with interest [maximizing Teyl's saving shorty throw bonuses at 18 CON]. Other treasure 2included an insanely powerful longsword (the bards-only Deceiver's blade that grants 1 extra apr, +5 thac0, +1 DEX and +3 AC bonus), a cloak of the wolf and a cloak of protection usable, again, only by bards. I sold all three items plus some minor loot, and am now again in the position to invest in some useful weaponry/equipment, in this case the weary cudgel club +1 (with a 25% chance to fatigue sentient craetures). I've a few thousand left for future purchases such as the greenstone amulet.
My plan is now to go and investigate the Nashkell mines, though I'm pondering over the question whether or not to recruit an extra pair of hands, and eyes. I'll see if any competent can be found.
Things are getting better every day. Cyric, my Lord of Three Crowns is with me. After we left the High Hedge and set up camp, much to my surprise, Shar-Teel laid her self beside me and we had some good fun together. In the morning she feigned indifference, but I'm confident there's more to come.
...
Sad news for a change. We enter the mines and don't see anything out of the ordinary until we venture deeper. This place smells like the stables and is infested with kobolds. Boy do I hate these cowardly buggers. We take on some of them, and find some vials of a mysterious liquid, apparently a poison of some sort. Most of the time Shar-Teel and I agree to proceed under the cover of stealth. At the third level we cross a trapped bridge and although we're hidden, we get surrounded, overwhelmed by the vermin. I'm speaking not five or ten, but rather 30 or 50 or more for all I know. Initially we manage to bring down one after the other without us getting hurt. But their numbers dont seem to decrease. We're stuck in this horde of kobolds, and to make things worse, their archers are beginning to score hits. First me, than Shar-Teel. So I tell Shar-Teel we need to hack and slash one straight way out the horde, and we manage... or at least I do. I run and hide and take two healing potions to recover as my injuries were severe. I see how the kobolds close in on Shar-Teel again. I have three potions of explosions but I can't throw one at the vermin, not with her in their midst. She keeps on slashing, fearlessly, until she frees herself. Observing all this, I cannot but admire my companion. I watch her approach, encourage her to hurry. But the regrouped archers bring her down with a couple of critical hits in a row. [She had no helmet.]
I rush toward her, and pick her up. Apparently I've got to do this by myself, but once this is over, I'm going to try and raise her in a temple. I find a quiet corner, take three more healing potions and notice how my health is now almost fully restored.
...
I continue my way deeper down the mines, hidden in shadows and bypassing many more kobolds, until I encounter what from the outside seems to be the den of some kind of beast. I enter the lair, ever hidden, and find more kobolds but also indications of some humanoid presence: a numbr of boxes, some furniture. This must be the hideout of whoever's behind this kobold infestation. It consists of three "chambers". The first chamber has four kobold commandos with fire arrows. I kill 'm off, all four of them, though not without difficulty. The fire arrows hurt and I use a sanctuary to take anoter healing potion and find a place to hide in shadows so that I can kill one off directly with a backsmash.
When I try to enter the second room, still hidden, in order to kill off the four kobold elite I hear footsteps of someone approaching. I retreat back to the first chamber and cast a sanctuary followed by a DUHM on myself. A half-orc priest (another Cyricist!?), visibly on good terms with the kobold rabble, is my target. I don't care for proper introductions. Instead I poison my weapon and attack the half-orc from behind. A good hit, with my precious poison doing its work.
I distance myself in order to hit the orc with my poisoned frost dart. The orc calls for aid, and out of nowhere he has three kobolds and four skeletons surrounding me. Cursing myself for not having summoned any skeletons myself, I continue to focus on the orc until he falls.
I take an oil of fiery burning which finishes off all the summoned critters except two sturdier kobolds, who fall to my frost dart. When I want to investigate the priest's chamber, hidden, always hidden, I encounter yet another group of seven kobolds blocking my way. I retreat and set one poison darts trap and two missile traps. I manage to lure five kobolds to my traps, three of them fall. Two kobold elite require a pelting with my frost dart before they fall. The final two I finish off in melee combat.
One of the chests contains a number of letters to the orc - who indeed was a fellow Strifeleader, the second one I've slain - by an apparent superior. I shall look into this more closely another, more opportune time.
I leave the place with an elven mage who was captured by the half-orc. When we reach the surface, we get accosted by two female assassins with, as it turns out, very powerful equipment. They almost manage to kill Xan the mage, but together we triumph over the assassins.
All in all, it has been a profitable venture. I now own a piece of shadow armor (a nice upgrade from my apprentice shadow armor) and a helm of glory. Interestingly I have no clue of my whereabouts. I shall scout out the area, and make my way back to Nashkel.
NOTE:
I'm a bit unsure with regard to some of the gear I came across. To be more specific: gauntlets of the faithful warrior (which grant priests a +3 to thac0 and damage) and armor of deep night +4 (which is +1 AC better than shadow armor). Do you guys think this is OP gear for mid-BG1? The gauntlets seem quite powerful...
And I always found it ridiculous how in TOB all merchants sell "mundane" +3 weapons and armor, completely dwarfing the great Taerom...
Thanks for your input!
The area also contained three burial mounds, guarded by relatively harmless undead I easily dispatched. One exception was a revenant with either supernatural resilience or fast regeneration or both. It took multiple backstabs, three of which even critical and hugely damaging, to lay that one down permanently.
When I finally figured out where I was, I travelled back to Nashkell to bring the news of what had transpired in the Nashkell mines. The mayor was thankful and rewarded me with 900 gold. Just in front of the inn (where else?), another assassin made an attempt on my life. This was a very versatile and respectable opponent, talented both in the arcane arts and in the art of assassination, with his backstab ability. He came well equipped with various potions of invisibility. When he started casting, I ran around the corner, hid myself and summoned a skeleton to my cause. I had barely erected my skeletal minion, when the rogue mage came charging in. So again I retreated, leaving him with my skeleton. One of the Amnish soldiers saw my predicament and started shooting arrows at the assassin, who had however protected himself with a mirror image and stoneskin. The soldier then engaged in melee combat with the assassin, without much success.
Since my opponnt was so difficult to hit, I decided to summon another skeleton. When I sent it in, my first skeleton just got annihilated by the assassin. The latter showed some cunning when he took a potion of invisibility, which made the Amnish soldier lose interest and leave. To be sure I summoned a third skeleton and send that one in as well. When the mage's stoneskin was consumed by my skeletons' hits, I hid, positioned myself behind my target, poisoned my cudgel and... missed.
A second attempt failed as well, but as my nemesis had apparently run out of spells, and was surrounded by Amnish soldiers and by my skeletons who unlike me were hitting him, I decided to stay and attack as well. In the end, it was one of my skeletons who finished him off. Embarassingly I didn't even hit him once, neither in melee nor ranged. My ranged problems were explained by a pair of Boots of Avoidance I found on his body.
NOTE: very annoying. If she was perma-dead, why was her portrait still there? Is this a bug that I should be allowed to repair in Shadowkeeper? I'll have to ponder on this.