Song & Battle, the Tale of Ocker Trueforge (an SCS No-Reload adventure)
Blackraven
Member Posts: 3,486
Dear fellow-forumites, let me introduce my latest charname: Ocker Trueforge, dwarven Skald. I created Ocker about a month ago. Rolled a ridiculous 98, my highest roll ever (together with one on a Cleric/Ranger years ago). It made me consider actually lowering his stats, but in the end I decided not to. No-Reload has proven to be hard enough for me as it is. 
The 19 CON (20 with tome) is very copious I know. Regeneration is nice when resting/travelling, but not fantastic. However I might for the first time equip the Claw of Kazgaroth. At a -2 CON penalty he’d still have full HP and full shorty save bonuses. The Claw combined with the shorty saves would give +1 vs. Death and +8 vs. Wands, Polymorph, Breath, and Spells. Antidotes should cover most failed saves vs death (spiders’ poisons, arrow vs biting).The Claw further grants a +4 bonus AC modifier against BG1’s ubiquitous missile attacks.
Ocker is a Mountain Dwarf (also referred to as Shield Dwarf) whose forebears according to Gorion hail from the great dwarven stronghold of Mithral Hall in the Frost Hills in the Spine of the World. Ocker would love to visit Mithral Hall someday, in order to learn more about his roots, his ancestors, and “his” culture. At the same time, thanks to having grown up in Candlekeep, surrounded by Humans and other humanoids as well as Dwarves, Ocker is comfortable and non-judgmental in his dealings with people regardless of their race or vocation, and quite curious about different cultures and lore in general. The Dwarf has studied many a tome on the history of the Realms, on the different regions, kingdoms, peoples, faiths and, with particular interest, the great battles. In Winthrop’s Inn people often have Ocker recount the stories and accounts he’s read about or heard from visiting scholars. He has even put a number of tales to song and performed them at the inn. The reading, writing, storytelling and singing have Ocker eager to set out and live his own tale although he’d sorely miss the wealth of knowledge the library provides. Ocker is remarkably sociable for a Dwarf, always curious to know new people and their backstories. As an NG Skald, Ocker considers himself an honorable warrior-poet, and is most likely to team up with warrior types of noble heart, although he’ll also want to continue his arcane studies, so the company of at least one Mage would be very welcome. In spite of his alignment his aforementioned curiosity and his non-judgmental nature make him likely to work and travel with companions of all alignments, including evil, as long as they don’t relapse in committing evil actions. He believes in second chances, atonement and redemption rather than punishment.
Ocker hasn’t only studied history and literature at the Candlekeep Library; recently he’s taken an interest in interpreting magic scrolls. He had always understood that Dwarves have no affinity with the arcane arts, until fellow Shield Dwarf Behring of Daggerford, mage and loremaster, visited the Keep a short while ago. Behring’s arcane prowess surprised Ocker as much as Candelkeep’s wizards Gorion, Osprey, Mordaine, Tethoril and Ulraunt. Too little time has passed for Ocker to actually train in the art of spell scribing, but he has already learnt to successfully utter a number of incantations from scrolls. He would have dedicated more time at the library to increase his affinity with arcane magic, if it weren’t for Gorion’s message this morning that Ocker was to leave Candlekeep with him.
I’m playing with the rogue Rebalancing mod, which slightly alters the Skald kit. Description:
Skalds now have a +1 penalty to the casting speed of all spells as an additional disadvantage. Their battlesong has been slightly revised as well. The updated kit description reads as follows:
SKALD: This Nordic bard is also a warrior of great strength, skill and virtue. His songs are inspiring sagas of battle and valor, and the Skald devotes his life to those pursuits. Skalds are honored and respected as great warrior-poets who memorize the feats of each raid and battle, setting them down in the form of poetry. Spells are nearly unknown in the Skald's society and they are viewed with suspicion in any event. Using magic is slightly more difficult for a Skald and requires additional time and effort.
Advantages:
- Gains Skald's Song at first level. This ability further improves at 9th and 18th level
- Gains a +1 bonus to hit and damage with all weapons at first level
Disadvantages:
- Pick pockets ability one-quarter normal
- Suffers a 1 point penalty to spellcasting speed
Skald's Song:
By chanting a war song, a Skald can inspire allies as they go forward into combat. Chanting can elevate spirits, remove concerns about danger, keep men's minds focused on combat and fill friendly forces with a sense of being larger than life. The effects of the song further improve as the Skald gains more levels:
1st: gives allies +2 to hit, +2 to damage, -2 to AC and immunity to Fear
9th: gives allies +3 to hit, +3 to damage, -3 to AC, immunity to Fear and Confusion
18th: gives allies +4 to hit, +4 to damage, -4 to AC, immunity to Fear, Stun and Confusion.
***
Current progress:
Ocker did all chores in Candlekeep except Reevor’s rats and killed both Shank and Carbos while under the effect of Haste (thanks to Deder’s oil of speed). He set out with Gorion, but the latter fell at the hands of a group of bandits led by an imposing warrior that had seemed to know Ocker. He had Imoen join him, and travelled back to Candlekeep with her where he arranged for Gorion’s burial and left Imoen at the gate. The harsh world he had seen himself end up in was no place for innocent little girls such as Imoen. She gave him a Wand of Magic Missiles she had no doubt stolen from someone in Candlekeep.
On Gorion’s body he had found a letter by someone named “E.” advising Gorion to go to the Friendly Arm Inn. Ocker decided to do the opposite, fearful that he hadn’t been the only one to have read that letter. He travelled immediately south, toward the High Hedge hoping he could trade the Wand of Magic Missiles for something he’d find more useful. To get there he had to kill two skeletons whose throwing daggers hurt him more than a bit. He had to quaff two healing potions before he could take care of them. A good helmet would be worthy investment, he inferred. The mage at the High Hedge, Thalantyr, had a dim blue ioun stone for sale, ‘The Fragment of Enlightenment’, that protects against critical hits and gives a +20 lore bonus. Unfortunately it was slightly more expensive than he could afford. Thalantyr asked Ocker if he had seen his apprentice somewhere. According to the sage the young mage, Melicamp, had left a few days ago, to the south, and never returned. Ocker decided to go look for him, hoping that would give him a discount on the Fragment of Enlightenment. He first made a stop in Beregost though, where he calmed Marl, got Firebead a book he was after, retrieved a letter from two Ogrillons for Mirianne and killed four huge spiders that had occupied one of the town’s homes. After that he travelled south and did indeed find Melicamp, transformed into a chicken! Ocker returned with Melicamp to Thalantyr, got the latter a skull he needed, and saw how Thalantyr restored Melicamp to his human form. [Ocker reached level 4 thanks to these exploits.] He sold almost all of his possessions to buy the ioun stone he had so eagerly desired.
Ocker was eager to find some worthy companions, but hadn’t ran into any in Beregost. Therefore he decided to travel further south, hoping he’d have better luck in the next town, Nashkel. His decision proved to be a good one when on the road to Nashkel he met a Barbarian warrioress of great strength who challenged him to a duel. Before she could touch him, he knocked her back with a good hit of his throwing axe. The woman, a bit of a misandrist, was actually impressed and agreed to join Ocker. Not much later, at the northen outskirts of Nashkel, he received a ring that further increased his charisma from a kindly nobleman. In Nashkel they met yet another imposing warrior, a Rashemaan Ranger by the name of Minsc who was on a quest to save his ‘witch’ from a group of gnolls to the west. Ocker agreed to help the Ranger, but told him they first needed to rest. So the three went to the Nashkel Inn where they were attacked by Neira. The bounty hunting priestess managed to hold first Minsc and later Ocker, but not the enraged Shar-Teel who kept the Cleric more than busy until Minsc regained control over his body and dealt the killing blow.
After they rested the party visited the Nashkel Carnival hoping for cheap potions for their trip westward. They met a dwarven crook who wanted to sell them an overly expensive scroll of Stone to Flesh with which they would be able to restore a petrified warrioress to her fleshly form. Rather than buying the scroll from the Dwarf, Ocker decided to sell a Helmet of Infravision they had found on the bounty huntress’s body at the Nashkell Inn and buy a cheaper Stone to Flesh scroll at the Temple of Helm. The woman was depetrified and presented herself as Branwen, a Nordic Warrior Priestess of Tempus. In her thankfulness she offered to join the party, to which the others agreed.
They bought her a suit of chain mail, a war hammer and a helmet and then travelled west, to look for Minsc’s witch. On their way they had to kill a Cave Bear. At one point they reached a lake and met a fisherman whom they shared a meal with. The area also housed a number of skeletons.
After their meals the party further explored the area until they were accosted by three bandits: a female Mage, a Fighter, and a hobgoblin archer. What followed was a battle that could have gone either way. In the end Ocker and Shar-Teel were they only ones standing.
Branwen silenced the Priest and the hobgoblin, but not the Mage she had hoped to silence. The latter managed to sleep both Minsc and Ocker, at different times, and to charm both Shar-Teel and Branwen. The Fighter and the archer who seemed to have an unlimited supply of poisoned arrows tried to take down Minsc and Shar-Teel, while the mage proceeded to attack Ocker with her staff. Minsc was the first to fall, but then the charms on both Shar-Teel and Branwen wore off. Shar-Teel went straight after the mage, slaying her before she could take kill Ocker. Branwen, at near death status, and with no healing potions, saw the hobgoblin archer aim his bow at her. She rushed toward him to prevent him from shooting, but came too late. She fell as well. Then Shar-Teel bested the Fighter in melee combat, so that only the hobgoblin, Shar-Teel and Ocker (sound asleep) remained. When Ocker awoke he saw the hobgoblin hit Shar-Teel more than once, bringing her health to dangerously low levels. He started to sing his battlesong to instill hope and more courage into his companion. She cried a battlecry and slew the hobgoblin with a fierce blow of her greatsword.
After the battle, the two decided to rest and then to return to Nashkel to get their fallen comrades raised at the Temple of Helm. When he laid himself down Shar-Teel approached him and suggested they spend the night together. Both were bruised and battered from their battle against the bandits, but his admiration and thankfulness for the strong woman with her wide feminine hips and massive thighs, combined with the adrenaline that both still felt rushing through their bodies were too much for Ocker to even contemplate declining her proposal. He felt a bit awkward as he had never done this before but the absence of both Minsc’s and Branwen’s prying eyes and ears made him feel comfortable enough to give himself over to the moment and forget his worries for a while.
The next day, without discussing the events of the night before, the two travelled further westward until they ran into an enraged Amnish guard captain who had apparently just slain an innocent family. There was clearly something off about this man, as if he was possessed. Ocker managed to prevent a fight, calming the man and taking him to Nalin at the Nashkel Temple of Helm, where it turned out that the cause of the Captain’s behavior had been a cursed greatsword. At the Temple of Helm they got Branwen and Minsc raised, after which the party set out on their second attempt to find Minsc’s witch.
The 19 CON (20 with tome) is very copious I know. Regeneration is nice when resting/travelling, but not fantastic. However I might for the first time equip the Claw of Kazgaroth. At a -2 CON penalty he’d still have full HP and full shorty save bonuses. The Claw combined with the shorty saves would give +1 vs. Death and +8 vs. Wands, Polymorph, Breath, and Spells. Antidotes should cover most failed saves vs death (spiders’ poisons, arrow vs biting).The Claw further grants a +4 bonus AC modifier against BG1’s ubiquitous missile attacks.
Ocker is a Mountain Dwarf (also referred to as Shield Dwarf) whose forebears according to Gorion hail from the great dwarven stronghold of Mithral Hall in the Frost Hills in the Spine of the World. Ocker would love to visit Mithral Hall someday, in order to learn more about his roots, his ancestors, and “his” culture. At the same time, thanks to having grown up in Candlekeep, surrounded by Humans and other humanoids as well as Dwarves, Ocker is comfortable and non-judgmental in his dealings with people regardless of their race or vocation, and quite curious about different cultures and lore in general. The Dwarf has studied many a tome on the history of the Realms, on the different regions, kingdoms, peoples, faiths and, with particular interest, the great battles. In Winthrop’s Inn people often have Ocker recount the stories and accounts he’s read about or heard from visiting scholars. He has even put a number of tales to song and performed them at the inn. The reading, writing, storytelling and singing have Ocker eager to set out and live his own tale although he’d sorely miss the wealth of knowledge the library provides. Ocker is remarkably sociable for a Dwarf, always curious to know new people and their backstories. As an NG Skald, Ocker considers himself an honorable warrior-poet, and is most likely to team up with warrior types of noble heart, although he’ll also want to continue his arcane studies, so the company of at least one Mage would be very welcome. In spite of his alignment his aforementioned curiosity and his non-judgmental nature make him likely to work and travel with companions of all alignments, including evil, as long as they don’t relapse in committing evil actions. He believes in second chances, atonement and redemption rather than punishment.
Ocker hasn’t only studied history and literature at the Candlekeep Library; recently he’s taken an interest in interpreting magic scrolls. He had always understood that Dwarves have no affinity with the arcane arts, until fellow Shield Dwarf Behring of Daggerford, mage and loremaster, visited the Keep a short while ago. Behring’s arcane prowess surprised Ocker as much as Candelkeep’s wizards Gorion, Osprey, Mordaine, Tethoril and Ulraunt. Too little time has passed for Ocker to actually train in the art of spell scribing, but he has already learnt to successfully utter a number of incantations from scrolls. He would have dedicated more time at the library to increase his affinity with arcane magic, if it weren’t for Gorion’s message this morning that Ocker was to leave Candlekeep with him.
I’m playing with the rogue Rebalancing mod, which slightly alters the Skald kit. Description:
Skalds now have a +1 penalty to the casting speed of all spells as an additional disadvantage. Their battlesong has been slightly revised as well. The updated kit description reads as follows:
SKALD: This Nordic bard is also a warrior of great strength, skill and virtue. His songs are inspiring sagas of battle and valor, and the Skald devotes his life to those pursuits. Skalds are honored and respected as great warrior-poets who memorize the feats of each raid and battle, setting them down in the form of poetry. Spells are nearly unknown in the Skald's society and they are viewed with suspicion in any event. Using magic is slightly more difficult for a Skald and requires additional time and effort.
Advantages:
- Gains Skald's Song at first level. This ability further improves at 9th and 18th level
- Gains a +1 bonus to hit and damage with all weapons at first level
Disadvantages:
- Pick pockets ability one-quarter normal
- Suffers a 1 point penalty to spellcasting speed
Skald's Song:
By chanting a war song, a Skald can inspire allies as they go forward into combat. Chanting can elevate spirits, remove concerns about danger, keep men's minds focused on combat and fill friendly forces with a sense of being larger than life. The effects of the song further improve as the Skald gains more levels:
1st: gives allies +2 to hit, +2 to damage, -2 to AC and immunity to Fear
9th: gives allies +3 to hit, +3 to damage, -3 to AC, immunity to Fear and Confusion
18th: gives allies +4 to hit, +4 to damage, -4 to AC, immunity to Fear, Stun and Confusion.
***
Current progress:
Ocker did all chores in Candlekeep except Reevor’s rats and killed both Shank and Carbos while under the effect of Haste (thanks to Deder’s oil of speed). He set out with Gorion, but the latter fell at the hands of a group of bandits led by an imposing warrior that had seemed to know Ocker. He had Imoen join him, and travelled back to Candlekeep with her where he arranged for Gorion’s burial and left Imoen at the gate. The harsh world he had seen himself end up in was no place for innocent little girls such as Imoen. She gave him a Wand of Magic Missiles she had no doubt stolen from someone in Candlekeep.
On Gorion’s body he had found a letter by someone named “E.” advising Gorion to go to the Friendly Arm Inn. Ocker decided to do the opposite, fearful that he hadn’t been the only one to have read that letter. He travelled immediately south, toward the High Hedge hoping he could trade the Wand of Magic Missiles for something he’d find more useful. To get there he had to kill two skeletons whose throwing daggers hurt him more than a bit. He had to quaff two healing potions before he could take care of them. A good helmet would be worthy investment, he inferred. The mage at the High Hedge, Thalantyr, had a dim blue ioun stone for sale, ‘The Fragment of Enlightenment’, that protects against critical hits and gives a +20 lore bonus. Unfortunately it was slightly more expensive than he could afford. Thalantyr asked Ocker if he had seen his apprentice somewhere. According to the sage the young mage, Melicamp, had left a few days ago, to the south, and never returned. Ocker decided to go look for him, hoping that would give him a discount on the Fragment of Enlightenment. He first made a stop in Beregost though, where he calmed Marl, got Firebead a book he was after, retrieved a letter from two Ogrillons for Mirianne and killed four huge spiders that had occupied one of the town’s homes. After that he travelled south and did indeed find Melicamp, transformed into a chicken! Ocker returned with Melicamp to Thalantyr, got the latter a skull he needed, and saw how Thalantyr restored Melicamp to his human form. [Ocker reached level 4 thanks to these exploits.] He sold almost all of his possessions to buy the ioun stone he had so eagerly desired.
Ocker was eager to find some worthy companions, but hadn’t ran into any in Beregost. Therefore he decided to travel further south, hoping he’d have better luck in the next town, Nashkel. His decision proved to be a good one when on the road to Nashkel he met a Barbarian warrioress of great strength who challenged him to a duel. Before she could touch him, he knocked her back with a good hit of his throwing axe. The woman, a bit of a misandrist, was actually impressed and agreed to join Ocker. Not much later, at the northen outskirts of Nashkel, he received a ring that further increased his charisma from a kindly nobleman. In Nashkel they met yet another imposing warrior, a Rashemaan Ranger by the name of Minsc who was on a quest to save his ‘witch’ from a group of gnolls to the west. Ocker agreed to help the Ranger, but told him they first needed to rest. So the three went to the Nashkel Inn where they were attacked by Neira. The bounty hunting priestess managed to hold first Minsc and later Ocker, but not the enraged Shar-Teel who kept the Cleric more than busy until Minsc regained control over his body and dealt the killing blow.
After they rested the party visited the Nashkel Carnival hoping for cheap potions for their trip westward. They met a dwarven crook who wanted to sell them an overly expensive scroll of Stone to Flesh with which they would be able to restore a petrified warrioress to her fleshly form. Rather than buying the scroll from the Dwarf, Ocker decided to sell a Helmet of Infravision they had found on the bounty huntress’s body at the Nashkell Inn and buy a cheaper Stone to Flesh scroll at the Temple of Helm. The woman was depetrified and presented herself as Branwen, a Nordic Warrior Priestess of Tempus. In her thankfulness she offered to join the party, to which the others agreed.
They bought her a suit of chain mail, a war hammer and a helmet and then travelled west, to look for Minsc’s witch. On their way they had to kill a Cave Bear. At one point they reached a lake and met a fisherman whom they shared a meal with. The area also housed a number of skeletons.
After their meals the party further explored the area until they were accosted by three bandits: a female Mage, a Fighter, and a hobgoblin archer. What followed was a battle that could have gone either way. In the end Ocker and Shar-Teel were they only ones standing.
Branwen silenced the Priest and the hobgoblin, but not the Mage she had hoped to silence. The latter managed to sleep both Minsc and Ocker, at different times, and to charm both Shar-Teel and Branwen. The Fighter and the archer who seemed to have an unlimited supply of poisoned arrows tried to take down Minsc and Shar-Teel, while the mage proceeded to attack Ocker with her staff. Minsc was the first to fall, but then the charms on both Shar-Teel and Branwen wore off. Shar-Teel went straight after the mage, slaying her before she could take kill Ocker. Branwen, at near death status, and with no healing potions, saw the hobgoblin archer aim his bow at her. She rushed toward him to prevent him from shooting, but came too late. She fell as well. Then Shar-Teel bested the Fighter in melee combat, so that only the hobgoblin, Shar-Teel and Ocker (sound asleep) remained. When Ocker awoke he saw the hobgoblin hit Shar-Teel more than once, bringing her health to dangerously low levels. He started to sing his battlesong to instill hope and more courage into his companion. She cried a battlecry and slew the hobgoblin with a fierce blow of her greatsword.
After the battle, the two decided to rest and then to return to Nashkel to get their fallen comrades raised at the Temple of Helm. When he laid himself down Shar-Teel approached him and suggested they spend the night together. Both were bruised and battered from their battle against the bandits, but his admiration and thankfulness for the strong woman with her wide feminine hips and massive thighs, combined with the adrenaline that both still felt rushing through their bodies were too much for Ocker to even contemplate declining her proposal. He felt a bit awkward as he had never done this before but the absence of both Minsc’s and Branwen’s prying eyes and ears made him feel comfortable enough to give himself over to the moment and forget his worries for a while.
The next day, without discussing the events of the night before, the two travelled further westward until they ran into an enraged Amnish guard captain who had apparently just slain an innocent family. There was clearly something off about this man, as if he was possessed. Ocker managed to prevent a fight, calming the man and taking him to Nalin at the Nashkel Temple of Helm, where it turned out that the cause of the Captain’s behavior had been a cursed greatsword. At the Temple of Helm they got Branwen and Minsc raised, after which the party set out on their second attempt to find Minsc’s witch.
Post edited by Blackraven on
15
Comments
Is there a particular reason for which you like Ocker as a character?
To me, gameplay-wise Ocker's good fun (thanks to the song, reasonable fighting skills and later magic), probably more fun than Lenno, but the latter seems to me more entertaining as a character: imperfect, not too serious, impressionable by others, and constantly getting himself into trouble. I feel I still want to find a way to make Ocker more interesting, less decent and maybe less predictable? Characters generally need flaws to be interesting. (I also noticed that I got a lot more likes for Lenno btw).
Either way, thanks for always taking your time to read my posts, and comment on them, I really appreciate that.
We traveled south to an area referred to on the map I brought from Candlekeep as "Ogres' Reach", and we soon learnt why. We found ourselves east of a river, and when we wanted to cross the first bridge we encountered, our party was attacked by Ogres. We decided to run, so we followed a southern direction along the river, hoping to find a second bridge. We did, but a nobleman warned us that there was a massive mountain bear on the other side of it. I asked the others what they considered to be the greater challenge: a huge mountain bear or a number of Ogres. “A mountain bear is no challenge, a mountain bear is a good friend”, Minsc replied. Before I had any chance to ask my exotic Ranger companion what he was trying to say, Minsc crossed the bridge and returned together with the enormous animal.
With our ursine friend by our side we felt confident enough to return to the northern bridge and make the Sword Coast slightly safer by ridding it of the Ogres. First we had to deal with a bandit and his Hobgoblin minions though. I tried to negotiate safe passage with him, but there was no negotiating with that one. Our party, aided by our new animal companion, made short work of the vermin.
We also had little difficulty with the Ogres, although the monsters were helped by Hobgoblin Elite that fired poison-tipped arrows at Branwen, so I had to hand her one of my antidotes. On the other side of the bridge we met a Paladin called Laurel who asked us to help her extinguish a bunch of Gibberlings. We agreed, taking out a couple of Gibberlings would be no big deal we reckoned. Laurel should have been a bit more specific in her description of the numbers we would be fighting though. We got surrounded by a horde. Such were their numbers that I had to defend myself, and couldn’t even sing my battle song and inspire my comrades. Not that I really minded. Swinging my axe once in a while will keep me from getting fat and slow. What saddened my comrades and me the most was Vilson’s demise. Branwen had started calling our mountain bear Vilson, so I told my companions that next time Minsc befriends any other animals besides Boo, no one is to name them. The animals deserve our respect but we shouldn’t attach ourselves too much.
The good thing was that the nobleman by the southern bridge rewarded us with a pair of Boots of the North, for having saved him from Vilson. Anyway, we continued our journey to the southwest until we reached the Gnoll Stronghold. It was only accessible via a narrow bridge that was guarded by two Half-Ogres had to slay. One of them dropped a pair of Bracers of Defense AC8 I decided to wear. It offers me some minor protection in case I am without armor and want to try and cast one of the few spells I think I understand. The Gnoll Fortress was relatively scarcely inhabited, so we hadn’t much difficulty to wipe the place clean and rescue Minsc’s witch, a Half-Elven Sorceress named Dynaheir. [I kitted her as a Sorceress because I’ve little experience with them, and I made her a Half-Elf because I don’t like Ocker to be surrounded by humans only.]
We traveled back to Nashkel where we spoke with the town’s mayor, Berrun Ghastkill. He asked us to investigate the Nashkel Mines for him, since apparently many of the miners have gone missing. We agreed to the task. Near the entrance to the Mines we were warned by one the superintendents, a man named Emerson, that there were treacherous traps on the lower levels. This was something no one in our party would be able to deal with. So we returned to Nashkel to speak with Ghastkill and ask for assistance. On our way we ran into Prism, a sculptor who had stolen two emeralds. He didn’t seem to care much about his liberty or even his life; all he wanted to do is finish his work. We let him, but then a relentless Bounty Hunter came for Prism. Shar-Teel knew the man. Apparently he had hurt or killed her former mentor.
Battle ensued. Dynaheir tried in vain to Spook our foe, but Branwen was more successful with a Hold Person. He soon fell to our party’s physical onslaught. Prism fell as well, probably due to overexcitement (heart failure?), but at least he had completed his magnum opus.
In Nashkel Berrun Ghastkill couldn’t help us with a competent Thief, so we agreed with the mayor that we would make it our priority to find one, after which we are to return to the Nashkel Mines.
Shar-Teel appears to be increasingly critical of the course our party is taking. Even after we vanquished her old foe Greywolf and avenged her former mentor, she was complaining about my leadership. We haven’t mated since that night after we lost Minsc and Branwen in battle. I wonder why she’s so irritable.
We entered one of the tents to buy some gear for Quayle to equip himself with, particularly a shield and a helmet. What we encountered was a highly aggressive Wizard who killed a girl, supposedly an evil witch, right in front of us and he also made no secret of his intentions with us. He proceeded to Sleep my entire party except me. This was quite a predicament. The Sleep effect seemed to last for ages while I was entering and leaving the tent all the time to escape the effects of the spells the Wizard cast at me. At one point he appeared to have run out of spells, so I took it upon me to defend my party in melee combat. The Wizard had some kind of magical armor because I only (critically) hit him once, for good damage by the way, whereas he hit me various times. It wasn’t until my comrades woke, that we slew our foe in a joint effort. I shall keep an eye out for a Sleep scroll, very powerful magic.
On the Wizard we found a Knave’s Robe that went to Dynaheir, and from the girl’s corpse I took a Mage Robe of Fire Resistance I gave to Quayle. After some time to confer, we agreed to head to Gullykin, a Halfling village north/northeast of Nashkel according to my map. Halflings are known to have a knack for thievery. It was a rough journey. The Firewine Plains were a dangerous place with many Ogres and Ogre Berserkers. Dynaheir would cast them in her Webs and Shar-Teel (bow), Quayle (sling) and I (throwing axes) would take them on from a distance. One time, though, Dynaheir got caught in one of her own Webs, as did I. I saw Quayle Blind one of the Ogres just in time before it could make short work of Dynaheir.
In the end it was worth it though: we met a cheerful halfling lass in Gullykin, Alora. She was more than happy to join us. Her desire was to explore the Firewine Ruins but I told her the party had other priorities. She made no objections, a welcome difference with Shar-Teel. Alora is a Fighter/Burglar who’s well-versed in the use of the Sling and she’s also quite adept at picking locks, disarming traps and hiding in shadows. We traveled to Beregost where we parted with Branwen. She would wait for us at the Jovial Juggler. At the Temple of the Lathander we spoke with Dawnbringer Keldath Ormlyr who requested our assistance in two urgent matters: first there was a gnomish Wizard who had somehow gained control over a number of Basilisks and used them to petrify people and animals, and second Bassilus, an evil Cleric who had killed many people and animated their corpses. We bought a green Scroll of Protection from Petrification at the Nashkel Carnival and traveled to the area that Keldath had mentioned to us. Shar-Teel, our best all-round warrior, cast the scroll on herself while Quayle used his innate ability to make himself invisible once a day so that he could scout the area and guide her. After a long wait our party got nervous, fearful that something had gone terribly wrong. I begged Alora to go and look for our companions, hidden in shadows. Not much later Alora returned with Shar-Teel, but there was no sign of Quayle. Shar-Teel told us that she hadn’t had any difficulties with the Basilisks, they were all slain
However, one the beasts had petrified Quayle, whose invisibility had apparently worn off at some point. Shar-Teel herself, enraged, had been blinded by Mutamin before she managed to slay him, which is why she had decided to wait for the party rather than search for us herself. We traveled to the Temple of Lathander where we bought a Scroll of Stone to Flesh, and returned to the Basilisk area to depetrify poor old Quayle. I gave him Mutamin’s Adventurer’s Robe; Minsc is now clad in Full Plate, another drop from Mutamin.
We traveled all the way to the Red Canyons, west of Beregost where Bassilus had last been active according to Keldath’s sources. We spoke with a little girl that confirmed Bassilus’ presence. When I encountered the priest, surrounded by skeletons and zombies, I tried to convince him to come with us peacefully, back to Beregost, but he would have nothing of it, and his undead family turned hostile. Two well-placed Webs by Dynaheir held all our foes in their places, while those of us with ranged weapons attacked from a safe distance, first Bassilus, later his minions. We did well here, it was a clean operation.
Keldath awarded us with 5000 GP, which we used to have Thalantyr remove the curse of the Cursed Berserking sword and enchant it. It cost us two scrolls of Remove Curse, two scrolls of Horror, and 3000 GP.
The time has come to investigate the Nashkel Mines, so that's where we're headed.
I wish Ocker and his party luck, many challenges still await.
Near the level exit we had to face more Kobolds, among them a Shaman and their Chieftain who attacked with poison-tipped arrows. All of us suffered minor to moderate injuries, with Minsc taking the bulk of the damage, before we managed to slay all of them. Healing potions and Quayle’s curative magic helped us restore our health before we descended to the fourth level. There we ran into more Kobold resistance, archers most of them. They strategically positioned themselves opposite a bridge and opened fire as soon as they saw us. Dynaheir responded by trying to Web them, so that we could take them down with our ranged weapons without having to fear their attacks. As such a good plan I thought, but the distance to our foes was quite large and many of us, including myself, moved too close to Dynaheir’s Web and got stuck in it as well, allowing some of the Kobolds to hurt us. Quayle and Alora were the ones who didn’t get stuck. With their slings they helped the party through this encounter.
We then explored our surroundings and found a path sloping upwards toward the surface. We cleared it of two oozes and rested near the exit, so that we could always flee to the surface if the circumstances would force us to. Well-rested we entered a cave-like structure where we were immediately greeted by the leader of the operation, the priest Mulahey. He must have overheard us. We didn’t even have the time to buff in any way; he immediately called a number Kobolds and Skeletons to his aid. Quayle silenced him, after which Shar-Teel battled him in melee. The others would occasionally attack from a distance, but they mainly occupied themselves in melee with Mulahey’s minions. It was the first time for me to work the Ashideena, a war hammer I’d found on Bassilus. Mulahey fell and so did his minions soon after.
On his body and in his chest we found his Holy Symbol, two enchanted short swords, the legendary Boots of Speed and Elves’ Bane as prizes.
We left the Mines unaware that we would see more battle on the surface. We dispatched a group of Flinds with Dynaheir’s proven Web tactic, had to face an Ankheg that nearly killed Alora with his spit and was subsequently blinded by Quayle and slain by us in a joint effort. And then we ran into Narcillicus, a jelly and slime controlling wizard. Minsc was dealing one of the Jellies some good damage, but got held by the wizard and subsequently slain. Quayle (invisible) and I (boots of speed) picked up his gear, most of which was quite heavy and went directly into my Bag of Holding, and we ran off. We might return to make the wicked man pay for his crimes.
We arrived at the Naskel Carnival, quite exhausted so we set up camp there. The day after, we spoke with Berrun Ghastkill and got a handsome reward from him. We also bought two scrolls of Raise Dead, one of which was immediately used to raise Minsc. Quayle healed him and so did I. For some reason I’ve earned the attention and goodwill of a Deity unbeknownst to me. Twice have I been granted a Lay on Hands ability not unlike those of Paladins. Might it be that Marthammor Duin has something to do with this? Anyway, we continued our way to the store to sell some loot, when an assassin attempted to kill us. If it weren’t for the Amnish soldiers who clearly sided with us, I would have thought my party was outlawed what with all the bounty hunters and assassins chasing us. The soldiers helped pierce our foe’s magical protections, after which Minsc dealt the killing blow.
I got myself a pair of Boots of Avoidance from the Assassin and found a Find Familiar scroll. I successfully cast it and now have Pseudo-Dragon in my pack. Ah well, it’s a kindly enough little creature.
We decided to further explore the coast. Personally, I find the sea quite appealing, it makes me think of Candlekeep, and we’ve already lived a number of memorable adventures on the coast: Dynaheir at the Gnoll Stronghold, Commander Brage, Charleston Nib and his excavation… We traveled through the Cloudpeaks, where we dealt with Gnolls, Xvarts, bandits and other vermin. On one the bandits I found a pair of Talos’ Gift boots that Alora is now wearing.
The Sword of Rage’s 10% chance of causing the target to panic upon hit materialized against both Zal and Vax.
Further west we were waylaid and attacked by a group of four bounty hunters, two warriors, a priest and fighter/mage. Completely taken by surprise, we had to improvise. I inspired my comrades first by shouting instructions and later with a dwarven battle song. Soon after, the roles on the battlefield became clear. Minsc charmed the animals in our vicinity as distractions and engaged the leader of our foes, a human warrior who had introduced himself as Molkar, Shar-Teel took on a dwarven warrior, Dynaheir webbed their priest and would fry him with Magic Missiles and Melf’s Acid Arrows, and Quayle and Alora were supposed to take on the gnomish Battlemage.
The Gnome was difficult to deal with though. He had a number of spell protections that made it difficult for my companions to hit him either with physical attacks or debilitating magic, whereas he did injure both Dynaheir and Quayle, blind Alora, and charm Minsc. That’s where I decided to come to my comrades’ aid, enabling Dynaheir and Quayle to attack with spells and their ranged weapons, while I engaged the Gnome in melee combat. I took a few hits but also delivered some, and backed by Dynaheir and Quayle I had little to fear from my foe. Together we slew him as did Minsc and Shar-Teel with their respective foes, so that the six of us had no difficulty with the priest, especially after Quayle had blinded him.
The course of the battle had me thinking about my role on the battle field. I know that Shar-Teel, in spite of her resentment over my leadership, sees me as her peer, a warrior bold and true. And I’m sure the same goes for Minsc (although his pervasive yell “Swords! Not words!” would have had me doubt his stance if he’d been sharper of wit). I also know that my song noticeably boosts my companions’ morale and their performance on the battlefield. Yet at the same time I find myself itching for my hammer or my throwing axes when I see Minsc and Shar-Teel doing most of the work or Dynaheir and Quayle casting spells that turn the tide in battle. I shall have to find a balance between inspiring my comrades with my song and leading them with my hammer and axes.
Our stay on the coast was a short one. North of where we had met Brage, Alora scouted many Sirines and Nereids by the shoreline. We took on three of them, but it was no easy battle. They charmed Alora, poisoned Shar-Teel, and they created green mists that blinded anyone caught in them. After they had spent their poisonous arrows and their charms on my enraged comrades Minsc and Shar-Teel, the Sirines shapeshifted into jellies that seemed impervious to normal weapons. Fortunately, Minsc’s Sword of Rage and my trusty Ashideena worked well against them.
Warned by this encounter, I asked Alora to scout the area. She counted three more Sirines, two Nereids, a few Carrion Crawlers and many Hobgoblin archers. She also mentioned a cave she wanted to explore. She put on the Boots of Speed so that she could flee if she had to, and I gave her a Bag of Holding should she find anything of interest. She returned with a smile. She’d had to disarm a couple of traps and to outrun two golems, but it had been worth the risk. She presented us some valuable treasure including a Manual of Bodily Health I read with great interest, a Cloak of the Wolf, and a Wand of the Heavens for Quayle.
We’re in Beregost at the moment. Wel’ll probably see Thalantyr to barter with him for some spells or other goods, but were not sure yet where to go after that.
But you can! I'm jealous.
It was very easy, but funny since you couldn't take potions during a battle so it wasn't completely easy-cake.
They rested, but the next day they were immediately attacked by Dread Wolves. Quayle (sling in hand and thus extra vulnerable) could not be saved. On the same map Ogres and Sirines were no match for the party.
The party traveled to the Lighthouse Area and arrived at a very incovenient spot: in the middle of a group of Dread Wolves and Hobgoblin Elite. Dynaheir amost fell to the wolves and a poisoned arrow. The others finished off their foes, after which they rested. When they woke, it turned out that two Nereids, backed by summoned Water Weirds and many Hobgoblin Elite, had tracked the party to their camp, far from the shore where the Nereids were normally found. Minsc was immediately charmed before he could enrage. Dynaheir caught most of the foes in two Webs, except one of the Water Weirds (highly annoying creatures that only take one damage per hit). It kept going for Dynaheir, so I was constantly busy trying to keep her out of harm's way, and could hardly focus on anything else. Minsc fell to a kiss of death of one of the Nereids. I tried with the surviving party members (Alora, Ocker, Shar-Teel and Dynaheir) to flee westward, away from the Nereids with their charms and deadly kisses, but I was too late. One the Nereids charmed Ocker and went toward him to kiss him to death. I tried to slay the Nereids with Shar-Teel so they wouldn't kiss Ocker, but I failed.
It was quite a fun run, even if short-lived. I find it difficult to manage a party of six and wonder whether I would have had an easier time with a party of 3-4. I can see myself try again later with Ocker. As with most of the characters I create I like Ocker well enough for a retry.
By the way, were those nereids and their watery pets SCS content or the fruits of some other mod? I have never played the original game with SCS so I wouldn't know.
Rejoice, for it was a good death!
Agreed. Death by Snu-Snu!
Re: the Nereids, it's as @Crevsdaak says: the ATweaks mod (a very nice mod that mainly aims to bring the game closer to pnp) adds/alters the game's Nereids. They're quite hard to for a bigger party of low/mid levels. I just read what the modder, aVenger, gives some general tips about them:
First, a Nereid can't charm/kiss female characters, so sending Imoen/Jaheira/Dynaheir/Branwen... etc. after her [Shoal] will make the battle a lot easier. Likewise, sending some conjured/charmed animals to fight her (or basically anything with GENERAL != HUMANOID && GENDER != MALE) will have the same effect. Secondly, the Beguiling Aura can't affect Blinded characters so, in a pinch, you can blind your best male fighter and send him right in. Sure, he will have a huge THAC0 penalty, but at least he won't get charmed/kissed anytime soon. Lastly, if you can afford them, Potions of Clarity will keep your male characters completely safe.
This is very curious because I remember clearly that in a run with mages who could only cast from their school, my female gnomish Transmuter did get kissed and insta-killed by Shoal, ending a no-reload run.
Also sending a Cavalier should work