A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Aya, Avenger Druid of Candlekeep
Blackraven
Member Posts: 3,486
New start, new character 
Please meet Aya Quyllur Warma.
These screenshots were taken just yet. When I started playing her yesterday, I didn't think of taking any level 1 screenshots. Didn't even know whether I would enjoy her enough to continue to play her
Aya is the daughter of a half-elven shamanic priestess from Maztica, who had come across the Trackless Sea to Faerun after her community was foretold of the Time of Troubles in a collective vision. As a healer/protector Aya's mother had been gifted by Mother Nature, and she considered it her responsibility to lend her hand to those who needed it the most. She met with Gorion (and other harpers) on the Sword Coast, and when it turned out their interests in doing good were mutual, they became friends. Unfortunately, Aya learned from Gorion, Aya's mother wouldn't live to see the Time of Troubles through, as she died while giving birth to Aya. Gorion has never told Aya much of her mother other than that she was a good woman and that Aya's surname Quyllur Warma means child of the stars, as she was born during a starry night in the High Forest, while she and Gorion were on their way to Silverymoon to visit some of Gorion's elven Harper friends. Aya wonders whether Gorion has told her everything he knows. (Actually Quyllur and Warma are the Quechuan words for 'stars' and 'child'. Quechua is a language spoken by indigenous peoples in the Andes.)
In Candlekeep Aya never received any type of education to become a druid, and she never even aspired to be a druid, but growing up, she discovered a strong, innate affinity with nature. She has a telepathic understanding with plants and trees which at first frightened and embarrassed her, but over the course of time she's learned to embrace this quality. Also, at a young age she discovered her ability to heal other people and animals. All it takes is to lay her hands upon a wounded creature. She spent most of her time with the Oghman priest in the infirmary, and exchanging stories with Imoen, her best friend.
Aya is of Neutral Good alignment. She's kind but somewhat aloof. On the one hand, she's good-looking, attractive in an exotic way, and pleasant with other people, causing them to enjoy her company. But on the other hand she's not the most sociable person, as she'd often prefer silence and meditation where others in her situation would share an ale or a tale with a friend or a stranger. Either way anyone in need of her help can count on her, even if she'd rather be doing something else.
Game rules:
- No-reload
- SCS/Ascension
- Core difficulty, with max hitpoints for all creatures in the game
- Not sure yet whether this is going to (remain to) be a solo venture. I might want to try out the Xan romance, and Kivan, Coran and possible Faldorn would also be interesting companions.
I patiently re-rolled to get some great stats to boost her survivability. I would have liked her to have slightly higher INT, but that's her only dump stat really (next to STR, which I maxed mainly for weight allowance issues since I can't see Aya meelee'ing much).
***
This journal isn't going to be as extended as other journals I've written on here, though truly interesting battles and roleplay aspects will still get detailed attention.
In Candlekeep Aya did all the possible chores except killing the rats in the storehouse for Reevor, whom she didn't speak with. She even killed two bounty hunters who had wanted her dead, in melee combat. She took two hits but she was more damaging with her staff. A 12 damage critical was sufficient to kill Carbos in one hit.
The day after Gorion's decease, she was joined by Imoen and later Xzar and Monty. They picked up any loot to be found near Gorion's remains and returned to Candlekeep to arrange for Gorion's burial. There she parted with Imoen, insisting she wouldn't have her involved in the mess she was in. She also said goodbye to Xzar and Montaron, who unlike Aya, were in a hurry to get to Nashkel.
She travelled south to the High Hedge Area to take a shortcut to Beregost. In the HH area she encountered many foes, of which the skeletons with their throwing daggers were the most dangerous. Aya had decided to wear no armor, as the only armor she was allowed to use as an Avenger was leather armor which is counterproductive in protecting the wearer against missile attacks. One skeleton had her quaff two healing potions before it went down. She fled from the other undead, southward, until she faced a zombie and a wolf (thankfully not simultaneously). In killing the wolf she turned out to have saved Melicamp the chickenated apprentice from certain death. Aya travelled with Melicamp back to the HH area, to Thalantyr who restored Melicamp to his human form, helping Aya to level 2. She then travelled to Beregost where various peacefully resolved quests (Marl, Dudley family, Firebead) and the killing of four huge spiders rose Aya to level 3. From that moment the Web spell became available to her, making her much more dangerous in battle than she'd been before, and much more confident travelling to ther places. Web helped her kill two Ogrillons south of Beregost for example, Neira in Nashkel, a rogue Ogre who had stolen Unshey's belt, and Tarnesh at the Friendly Arm Inn. Aya would cast web and slay her foes with Chromatic Orbs and missile attacks (darts).
She had more difficulty with Karlat, who quaffed an oil of speed before he attacked her. She had to flee, and when the potion's effect had worn off she fought him with darts and Chromatic Orbs since casting Web inside the Red Sheaf would be very dangerous for her so long as she didn't enjoy Free Action. One of the Orbs blinded Karlat which made it significantly easier for Aya to finish him off with her darts.
Another dangerous foe was Zordral, at the Nashkel Carnival. He had a number of Charms she could only protect herself against by fleeing inside one of the tents. He also hurt her with Magic Missiles and successfully cast Blindness on her. It was only after he'd ran out of all his spells, that a still blinded Aya managed to finish him off in melee combat, with a critical hit.
Aya is now a level 5 Avenger. She's still without armour (apparently in my setup Avengers can't use Ankheg Plate Mail) and she uses mundane weapons for lack of anything better. She does own a Helmet of Charm protection, a purchase she did after haveing dealt with Zordral the Enchanter, a Ring of Protection +1 she received from Mirianne, and the Stylish boots of the Cheetah.
Her next plans are killing the evil cleric Bassilus and Mutamin and his basilisks, for Keldath Ormlyr in Beregost.
Please meet Aya Quyllur Warma.
These screenshots were taken just yet. When I started playing her yesterday, I didn't think of taking any level 1 screenshots. Didn't even know whether I would enjoy her enough to continue to play her
Aya is the daughter of a half-elven shamanic priestess from Maztica, who had come across the Trackless Sea to Faerun after her community was foretold of the Time of Troubles in a collective vision. As a healer/protector Aya's mother had been gifted by Mother Nature, and she considered it her responsibility to lend her hand to those who needed it the most. She met with Gorion (and other harpers) on the Sword Coast, and when it turned out their interests in doing good were mutual, they became friends. Unfortunately, Aya learned from Gorion, Aya's mother wouldn't live to see the Time of Troubles through, as she died while giving birth to Aya. Gorion has never told Aya much of her mother other than that she was a good woman and that Aya's surname Quyllur Warma means child of the stars, as she was born during a starry night in the High Forest, while she and Gorion were on their way to Silverymoon to visit some of Gorion's elven Harper friends. Aya wonders whether Gorion has told her everything he knows. (Actually Quyllur and Warma are the Quechuan words for 'stars' and 'child'. Quechua is a language spoken by indigenous peoples in the Andes.)
In Candlekeep Aya never received any type of education to become a druid, and she never even aspired to be a druid, but growing up, she discovered a strong, innate affinity with nature. She has a telepathic understanding with plants and trees which at first frightened and embarrassed her, but over the course of time she's learned to embrace this quality. Also, at a young age she discovered her ability to heal other people and animals. All it takes is to lay her hands upon a wounded creature. She spent most of her time with the Oghman priest in the infirmary, and exchanging stories with Imoen, her best friend.
Aya is of Neutral Good alignment. She's kind but somewhat aloof. On the one hand, she's good-looking, attractive in an exotic way, and pleasant with other people, causing them to enjoy her company. But on the other hand she's not the most sociable person, as she'd often prefer silence and meditation where others in her situation would share an ale or a tale with a friend or a stranger. Either way anyone in need of her help can count on her, even if she'd rather be doing something else.
Game rules:
- No-reload
- SCS/Ascension
- Core difficulty, with max hitpoints for all creatures in the game
- Not sure yet whether this is going to (remain to) be a solo venture. I might want to try out the Xan romance, and Kivan, Coran and possible Faldorn would also be interesting companions.
I patiently re-rolled to get some great stats to boost her survivability. I would have liked her to have slightly higher INT, but that's her only dump stat really (next to STR, which I maxed mainly for weight allowance issues since I can't see Aya meelee'ing much).
***
This journal isn't going to be as extended as other journals I've written on here, though truly interesting battles and roleplay aspects will still get detailed attention.
In Candlekeep Aya did all the possible chores except killing the rats in the storehouse for Reevor, whom she didn't speak with. She even killed two bounty hunters who had wanted her dead, in melee combat. She took two hits but she was more damaging with her staff. A 12 damage critical was sufficient to kill Carbos in one hit.
The day after Gorion's decease, she was joined by Imoen and later Xzar and Monty. They picked up any loot to be found near Gorion's remains and returned to Candlekeep to arrange for Gorion's burial. There she parted with Imoen, insisting she wouldn't have her involved in the mess she was in. She also said goodbye to Xzar and Montaron, who unlike Aya, were in a hurry to get to Nashkel.
She travelled south to the High Hedge Area to take a shortcut to Beregost. In the HH area she encountered many foes, of which the skeletons with their throwing daggers were the most dangerous. Aya had decided to wear no armor, as the only armor she was allowed to use as an Avenger was leather armor which is counterproductive in protecting the wearer against missile attacks. One skeleton had her quaff two healing potions before it went down. She fled from the other undead, southward, until she faced a zombie and a wolf (thankfully not simultaneously). In killing the wolf she turned out to have saved Melicamp the chickenated apprentice from certain death. Aya travelled with Melicamp back to the HH area, to Thalantyr who restored Melicamp to his human form, helping Aya to level 2. She then travelled to Beregost where various peacefully resolved quests (Marl, Dudley family, Firebead) and the killing of four huge spiders rose Aya to level 3. From that moment the Web spell became available to her, making her much more dangerous in battle than she'd been before, and much more confident travelling to ther places. Web helped her kill two Ogrillons south of Beregost for example, Neira in Nashkel, a rogue Ogre who had stolen Unshey's belt, and Tarnesh at the Friendly Arm Inn. Aya would cast web and slay her foes with Chromatic Orbs and missile attacks (darts).
She had more difficulty with Karlat, who quaffed an oil of speed before he attacked her. She had to flee, and when the potion's effect had worn off she fought him with darts and Chromatic Orbs since casting Web inside the Red Sheaf would be very dangerous for her so long as she didn't enjoy Free Action. One of the Orbs blinded Karlat which made it significantly easier for Aya to finish him off with her darts.
Another dangerous foe was Zordral, at the Nashkel Carnival. He had a number of Charms she could only protect herself against by fleeing inside one of the tents. He also hurt her with Magic Missiles and successfully cast Blindness on her. It was only after he'd ran out of all his spells, that a still blinded Aya managed to finish him off in melee combat, with a critical hit.
Aya is now a level 5 Avenger. She's still without armour (apparently in my setup Avengers can't use Ankheg Plate Mail) and she uses mundane weapons for lack of anything better. She does own a Helmet of Charm protection, a purchase she did after haveing dealt with Zordral the Enchanter, a Ring of Protection +1 she received from Mirianne, and the Stylish boots of the Cheetah.
Her next plans are killing the evil cleric Bassilus and Mutamin and his basilisks, for Keldath Ormlyr in Beregost.
Post edited by Blackraven on
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Comments
Good luck with the run :-) what is the XP cap for a druid?
They can get to level 10 at 125k XP
She then travelled further westward, to the High Hedge area and south of it. Aya remembered having seen many undead in those areas, which according to her could have been an indication of Bassilus' presence. She was not mistaken. She found Bassilus surrounded by zombies and skeletons all under his control. Before speaking to him, Aya cast Barkskin on herself (her only protection for lack of any physical armor). When she spoke to the priest, he refused to return willingly to Beregost with Aya. Careful not to underestimate her foe, she cast Improved Invisibility on herself which prevented Bassilus from casting any (non-AoE) spells on her. He stood there quite helpless until Aya cast Summon Insects on him. This prompted him to move toward her and try to take her on in melee combat. However one of two Chromatic Orbs she cast, stunned the cleric. His excellent health made him outlast through Aya's insects, but before the stun effect would wear off, she slew the cleric with a Lightning Bolt. The bolt reflected back to her but a deft reflex prevented Aya from suffering any damage.
Having dealt with Bassilus and his undead, Aya explored the area a bit further until she was greeted by three hobgoblin bandits who demanded her money or her life. She opted for an alternative to those two options: three casts of Web, at different moments in the battle, allowed her to slay the three bandits as well as a human bandit and a ghoul that had come to the hobgoblins' aid.
She returned to Keldath for the bounty and to sell most of the spoils of her victories. At Thalantyr's she discovered that this still wasn't enough to buy her the Ring of Free Action, so she decided to travel further westward, to the coast. Under the cover of Improved Invisibility she explored an area characterized by a Lighthouse and by the presence of many sirines. At one point she distinguished a cave in which she found all kind of magical items, including (as she would find out later): a Manual of Bodily Health, a Cloak of the Wolf, some potions and a few Bard-only items. She cast a second Improved Invisibility in order to sfaely leave the cave and the area, and travelled south. There she ran into Commander Brage, whom she escorted safely to Nalin in Nashkel.
She didn't linger in Nashkel but travelled to Thalantyr to get her 'treasures' identified. Reading the Manual of Bodily Health gave her health a significant boost. The cloak of the wolf she donned for lack of any better items. She overheard Thalantyr speaking, in his customary despective tone, of a cleric or mage called Haeball selling magical items in a tower in the Larswood. Aya decided to travel there but she was a bit disappointed by what Haeball had to offer: good darts (it must be admitted), arcane scrolls, potions and wands, all of it pretty overpriced. She bought a few invisibility potions though. Outside, she had a far from friendly encounter with two fellow druids. The first one, Osmadi, mistook her for a bandit and attacked her. She killed him with the help of the second one, named Corsone. But when she pressed him for an explanation of what had happened, Corsone admitted to having poisoned Osmadi and attacked her as well. Summon Insects and two devastating Lightning Bolts did him in. The gear she found on the druids' bodies made her trip to the Cloakwood worthwhile after all. Most importantly she found a suit of enchanted Leather Armor on Corsone which, although not great (due to the +2 penalty to missile and slashing damage), offers reasonable protection due to a +3 enchantment.
(Some of the loot is too overpowered IMO: Bracers that set AC to 2 and give an extra APR, a 'Spear of Fire +2' that gives 1d6 fire damage on top of its normal damage, and the 'Branch of Many Thorns' a club that can be used in melee as well as ranged and that does 2 poison damage/round, up to a total of 30. I won't use any of these items.)
Aya will probably do a few minor quests (Greywolf, perhaps Cloudpeaks, and Shoal) before investigating the Nashkel Mines.
Before trying a totemic druid run an Avenger kit was my favourite druid kit, he is fun to play.
There're really good tips about how to survive a solo run with an Avenger, I find them useful:
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/13399/avenger-solo-no-reload-guide-video-walkthrough
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/5035/druid-avenger-solo-playthrough
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/19380/druid-strategies-walkthroughs
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/19087/the-avenger-druid
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/dl.php?s=BG2&f=BG2/Guide_to_Druids.rar
In order to survive, I try to know as much as I can and I got some help from those links.
ASSEMBLE!
Awesome character to solo with. I'm interested in seeing the results.
I'd actually like to see an all-elf run! Recruit Kivan, Xan, Coran and Viconia!
@booinyoureeys, I'm a bit torn between sticking to a solo challenge and picking up Xan, Coran (both are romance options), Kivan and perhaps Vicky...
[Most people who kit Kivan make him an Archer, but I think I like him as a Stalker. He's using longbows and a 2h sword with which he can backstab thanks to one of my mods. I see backstabas as sneak attacks and therefore don't agree with the game's weapon restrictions for backstabbing. Besides why would a 'backstab' be possible for a stalker with a club and not a mace for example?]
Their first feats were taking on 'Mommy' the halfling priestess and 'Daddy' the Ogre in Beregost, which yielded the Gauntlets of Ogre Giant STR and the Serpent Shaft staff. The party then ran into Garrick. Heproposed them to aid his mistress Silke who was in peril of being attacked by mercenaries. Without hesitation Kivan and Aya agreed to Garrick's pretty proposal. It turned out that Silke was the real threat and the supposed mercenaries she wanted Aya and Kivan to kill were innocent men. When Aya and Kivan refused to aid Silke, they had to fight her instead. Kivan attacked with his greatsword and Aya cast Summon Insects, and later a Chromatic Orb that stunned Silke. She fell in no time.
The party then travelled south to Nashkel to investigate the disappearances and the problems with the iron ore in the mines. [Having recruited Kivan I think I need to somewhat hurry toward the bandit camp lest I lose Kivan.]
Near the mines they protected Prism from Greywolf. Isra who was there to protect Greywolf as well, Kivan and Aya might not have survived that encounter if it weren't for Aya's Web. Both Kivan (boots found on Corsone that increase stealth and give free action) and Aya (expensive ring of free action bought from Thalantyr) were unsusceptible to the spell's effect and finished Greywolf off with little difficulty.
In the mines the companions had a bit of a hard time on the bridge in the third level. Kivan was stealthed and Aya had used a potion of invisibility so that they could pass by the horde of kobolds without being noticed. Nevertheless Kivan got surrounded by what seemed to be an ever growing horde of kobolds (30+) whose archers were quite dangerous to both Aya and Kivan. Neither of the two had a good enough AC to shrug off most of the missile attacks. Aya wouldn't leave her companion to his fate though. She cast a Web, and the both of them started killing as many of the critters as fast as possible. They weren't fast enough to take down all of them, so a second Web was needed.
The entrance to the fourth (and final) level was guarded by a kobold shaman, a kobold chieftain and four or five kobold minions. The minions weren't much of a threat, but the kobold chieftain especially was a dangerous foe. At a decent rate he fired poisoned arrows that did 12 HP damage over six seconds. Quaffing an antidote wasn't a great solution because sooner rather than later another poisoned arrow would hit. As said before, neither Kivan nor Aya was outfitted to simply shrug off missile attacks. Aya tried to cast Summon Insects on the shaman, fearing his magic, but she got interrupted by an arrow while casting. The companions then tried to close in on the chieftain, but he retreated toward the gate to the next level. Aya, seeing Kivan suffer cumulative poison damage, told him to run back whence they'd come. He in turn warned her not to follow the chieftain, as he might well be luring her into a trap. So Aya followed Kivan, who at very low health and in relative safety from the chieftain's attacks drank an antidote. The chieftain and the shaman followed Aya, and this time it was she who suffered from the chieftain's poisoned arrows. Kivan and Aya suddenly turned around and ran toward the chieftain to close the gap between them. Now the odds were in their favour. Aya drank an antidote, and the both of them took the chieftain down in melee combat. Oddly the shaman didn't do much except slowing Kivan at one point, before the companions slew him.
They healed themselves with potions, tripped a trap on their way to the next level (Kivan had been right about that), and healed a bit more to the point that they were completely out of healing potions. They killed off a few more kobolds and then entered Mulahey's lair.
[For roleplaying purposes I wouldn't allow the companions to rest (for spell memorization) or to return to Nashkel to buy healing potions.]
In Mulahey's lair they met resistance not only from the Orcish priest himself but also from about ten kobolds of different ranks and a number of skeletons summoned by the priest. A well placed Web (the last Aya had available) made the battle very easy, especially compared to what the companions had been through on the previous level.
Amongst the spoils they found a magical tome, a pair of enchanted gloves, an enchanted belt that Aya thinks to recognize as a Destroyer of the Hills girdle, and a mace that given its runic engravings also seems to be enchanted. The companions freed Xan, a Fighter/Enchanter who had been Mulahey's captive.
***
So far I'm having a great time with Aya. She's neither overpowered nor very weak, and there's a lot of variety in the way I'm playing her: crowd controlling with Webs, dealing damage to stunned or webbed foes with her staff, disrupting casters with Summon Insects, nuking opponents with Chromatic Orbs, healing herself and Kivan with her spells. And I haven't even used her Shapeshift ability yet. Nor have I used any summons, but I'll probably do so later on. Very versatile and therefore very enjoyable to play.
At this point I'm wondering whether I should add Xan and maybe also Viconia and Coran to my party. On the one hand I always wanted to do an half-elves/elves' run through the entire trilogy with Xan, Coran, Vicky and Kivan (plus Deheriana) all returning in SoA/Tob (with mods). On the other hand I expect that in a large party gameplay might become more generic with divine magic, arcane magic, fighting and thieving all covered. Leaving less room for creativity with Aya. Ayone willing to give an opinion or recommendation on this aspect is more than welcome to do so.
I didn't really like the background, hair or clothing, but I did like the face a lot, thanks to the expression. Therefore I cut the image to have the face occupy almost the entire portrait.
(Don't remember where I found charname's portrait btw.)
Soon you should try to get some potions of absorption or Talos´s boots and Gift of Peace so you can do nice AOE in dungeons with lightning bolts bouncing off walls and through crowds. My other advice is not to neglect Call Woodland Being. Don´t do anything without the help of a nymph. The nymph is a very powerful crowd control caster with confusion (you don´t even need chaos, since the nymph has confusion), hold monster (very powerful spell), mental domination, 2 hold persons, a call lightning, a miscast magic, a group heal spell and a barkskin (you don´t need barkskin memorized unless you want to barkskin the nymph).
Best of luck... hope to hear more soon. Here is a screenshot of one of Jaheira´s nymphs showing you the wide range of options these nymphs add... the duration of the nymph is 3 turns... so she stays around for a while
The Web + Spider Form combo is really awesome both from a power-gaming point of view and from a role-playing point of view I think.
In a burial mound they ran into a Revenant who demanded them to return to him a dagger they didn't have. A difficult battle ensued. It almost killed Xan. The companions took turns in tanking the undead creature, because none of them would be able to stand long enough against it. Xan had no useful magic against the Revenant, but Kivan and Aya had arrows and Chromatic Orbs they could launch at their foe when they weren't tanking it.
Their violent return to the surface had them rest a second time in only a couple of hours. But with almost no healing potions the party didn't see any other option. Well-rested they made their way back to Nashkel, which took a full 24 hours, making them deel like resting again when they arrived. Especially Xan seemed to be suffering from fatigue. They spoke briefly with Berrun Ghastkill, the town's mayor, about what had transpired in the mines. He was very thankful and rewarded the party with 900 gold. However, when they wanted to enter the Nashkel Inn they were held up and attacked by an assassin named Nimbul, albeit not for long. Webbed by Aya, he became as harmless as a baby. Aya felt a pang of guilt about taking his life, even though she knew that it would probably be a fatal mistake sparing the life of an assassin who had tracked her to Nashkel and whose explicit task it was to kill her, as a letter she found on his corpse would reveal to her. She had wanted to confer with her companions about sparing Nimbul, but Kivan, much less scrupulous when it comes to dealing with bandits and other punks as he would call them, didn't hesitate to deal the killing blow.
After Nimbul was slain, Aya saw a squirrel trapped in her web. She released it and with her innate animal empathy acually managed to communicate with the little animal. It gave her a 'lucky' ring. Even Kivan well-attuned to nature as he may be, was quite impressed.
The party finally took some time to rest. The next morning they spoke with Nalin and asked him to look at the items they had found in the mines and on the foes they had bested after having left the mines. Most notable amongst the spoils were a pair of gloves that increase a Cleric's fighting prowess, a Knave's robe from Narcillicus went to Xan, a belt that wold protect the wearer against crushing attacks, a composite long bow +2 from one of the bounty hunters for Kivan, an enchanted mace +1, Boots of Avoidance for Xan, and a suit of Shadow Armor they held on to in case a rogue would join their party. (They weren't short on gold, with about 10 thousand gold in cash at hand.)
[No boots of grounding due to item randomization, which makes playing with Lightning Bolts in closed areas a tricky game for now.]
They still had a tome the nature of which Nalin couldn't identify, as well as suit of seemingly enchanted studded leather armor. The party decided to pay Thalantyr a visit, to see if he could identiy these items, and maybe barter for some of his magical items. On their way north three Flaming Fist mercenaries accused the party of banditry. They even attacked when Aya, still in high spirits about the party's recent good deeds, answered their spokesman laughingly that their warm smile and honest demeanor should leave no doubt as to the party's good intentions. The companions defended themselves with little trouble after Xan had cast Haste on the party. A few moments later they had to deal with yet another Flaming Fist who was about to kill a rogue priestess, apparently for being drow. The party saw no choice but to defend the woman (and themselves). After the officer was slain, the elf presented herself as Viconia, and Aya didn't hesitate to take her in.
The area housed many ghouls and a couple of hobgoblins, but these didn't pose a threat to the party. On one of the hobgoblins the party found a pair of very soft and supple boots. Thalantyr might have to take a look at those as well.
They made a stop at Feldepost's in Beregost, because according to the letter they had found on Nimbul, a contact of Nimbul and his principal, called Tranzig, could be found at the inn. This Tranzig managed to slow and hold Xan, a feat that impressed the other party members, but when Aya sent some summoned insects his way, his resistance broke and he fell before he could beg for mercy.
When the companions left the inn to travel to Thalantyr, they were met by more bounty hunters, this time a party of four amazons: two clerics and two thieves. Aya neutralized the priestesses with a Web. Unfortunately Xan positioned on the fringe of the spell's AoE got held as well, and Viconia, still without a weapon (the party was going to buy a club for her), got seriously injured by a vicious backstab of one the thieves. Soon after both Vicky and the thief got entangled in Aya's Web. Kivan slew one of the priestesses and got stabbed in the back by th second thief. So he turned around and occupied himself with her, while Aya tried to finish of the cleric she'd been attacking. Viconia got free and was told by Aya to run for cover as she was injured and vulnerable without a weapon and without spells. [I had neglected to memorize spells for her...] Kivan slew his second foe, the thief that had stabbed him, while Aya was still struggling to take down the cleric. Kivan came to her help, but then the remaining thief who had backstabbed Viconia, freed herself and started to attack Xan. A quick Chromatic Orb failed to stun the thief, so Kivan went after her, leaving Aya with the near dead and still held cleric. Aya soon managed to kill the cleric, Xan got free, and the last remaining foe, the second thief was held and subsequently killed (by Xan), so in the end they companions all survived the surprise encounter although some resting and healing was in order.
Aya went and spoke with Taerom the blacksmith, who identified a number of items for the party: the Boots of Stealth (for Viconia), a pair magical Bracers AC6 (for Xan) and some unusable items she sold directly after having them identified. For Viconia she bought the Weary Cudgel, an expensive club that seriously drained the party's resources. The companions then visitied Thalantyr, and learned from him that the magical tome was one of Leadership and Influence (Aya read it to increase her CHA to 18), and the studded leather armor was a piece of Armor of Deep Night. It went to Kivan. They also bought a scroll case for Xan and a potion bag.
The party then returned to Beregost to have a relaxed night at Feldepost's before they would set out to the Wood of Sharp Teeth, because that's where according to Tranzig Tazok and his bandit minions are operating.
I still hope you can be persuaded to start posting your accounts!
Also haven't used the Nymph yet, but from other playthroughs I know they're very useful.
Whence the aversion?? I like Aya. For example, she's not overzealous at all (my main issue with both Druids and Paladins generally). She was simply born with an affinity, an almost telepathic understanding toward plants and animals, and decided to cultivate those innate talents. She's quite relaxed and way too modest to be self-righteous. And: markedly good-aligned. She uses and develops her talents, that happen to be founded in a strong connection with nature, to do good to others.
I'm not saying you should like druids, let alone play them. I'm just trying to show that she's become a druid by chance, or destiny if you will, not by conviction, which sets her apart I think from most druids. I also think her nature-based powers go well with her Maztican origins.
.... since I don't plan on playing with druids myself.
Druids are great fun. They come in all shapes and sizes: they can be zealous preservers of nature, like gamewardens, the type Blackraven doesn´t like; they can be cowled figures with swords moving quietly and mysteriously along the fringes of civilization; or they can be friendly people with an affinity and joy for nature and splendors of the wild places like Aya.
Speaking of which, has the shapeshifter class seen any modifications in BG:EE or especially BGII:EE? I wouldn´t mind running another druid, and shapeshifter is the only class that I have never tried, owing to the many problems with the kit in the original BG.
Of course I respect your preferences, and you're right that you have other ways to get access to druid spells.
That said, I do love bards. I've always envisioned myself as one if I were to be in a RPG setting. I sing and play multiple instruments, I love to be liked by others, and I think being a jack of all trades is wonderful. But I consider most in battle spells a waste of time. Pre-buffs and blades are my tools of battle. I feel Minsc would approve.
I apologize, I always seem to find a way to derail your threads. =p
I think I'd also be bard but more because it's the least improbable class: I think I've fairly high lore (I like reading, have travelled quite a lot, speak various languages), am friendly, I've done number of decent drawings and verbally I consider myself pretty strong (done lawschool, worked a few years as a lawyer). No instrument though
Anyway am going to play for a while now hehe. Restartitis has me roll a Swashmage. Unlike the Avenger playthrough (which is becoming more and more a slow, roleplay-based playthrough).
I'd be taking the Swashmage through BG1 asap, because I want to refresh my memory of BG2. And try to keep the two simultaneous runs going, as you do with Roisin and Theodoric.
Hahaha Nice! Yeah, I've had the desire to play a lot tonight. Two and a half chapters of Theodoric in one night! Woot! (And possibly more, depending on how I feel when I finish this one I'm working on now.)