The (SCS no-reload) Tale of Serene Winterbloom, Beast Mistress of Candlekeep
Blackraven
Member Posts: 3,486
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Serene Winterbloom, CG half-elven Beast Master:
The idea of this playthrough, when I started it a few days ago, was to see for myself how good or bad the Beast Master is as a kit. At this stage I can’t answer that question yet because Serene has shunned civilization and the many dangers that come with it, preferring instead to explore the wilderness areas of the Sword Coast and to befriend the many animals inhabiting the wilderness.
As to Serene’s personality, to be honest I haven’t given it as much thought as I’ve done with a number of other characters, but here’s a brief idea. She obviously adores animals and they adore her. Animals attack and kill for survival, and because they’re conditioned to do so, but at least they’re honest and reliable. On the other hand, (demi)humans, males apparently more so than females, hurt and kill for much darker purposes (profit, power, rancor, or sometimes even for fun). For that reason Serene’s very wary of (demi)humans, and shuns pretty much all contact with them, though she’ll always help someone in need. Due to her reticence she’s a bit insecure and shy when having to deal with people. She’s Chaotic in that she doesn’t generally stick to a fixed plan or abide by a personal code of conduct other than to be good to nature and its inhabitants, and kind to anyone that crosses her path. She worships Selûne the Moonmaiden, Goddess of many a female wanderer such as herself.
There’s one thing about this playthrough that I would like to draw your attention to. I’m playing with a component of the aTweaks mod that replaces Rangers’ rather weak Charm Animal ability with an ability called Animal Empathy. Every time the Ranger uses this ability, all animals on the map are either charmed for 5 rounds (after which they turn hostile), or become permanent friends of the Ranger. I think this ability is perfect for a Beast Master, and when I started this game I decided to use it as often as possible. The readme describes the component as follows:
"This component renames the Ranger's Charm Animal ability into Animal Empathy and adjusts it to more closely match its PnP counterpart. An animal attempting to resist this ability must now roll a saving throw vs. wands (with a −1 penalty) in order to avoid becoming charmed. The Ranger imposes an additional saving throw penalty for every three experience levels he has earned (i.e. −2 at 4th level, −3 at 7th level... etc.) up to a maximum of −6 at 16th level. Furthermore, if the animal fails its saving throw, it now becomes charmed for 5 rounds per level of the Ranger. Finally, being non-magical in nature, this ability now ignores any magic resistance of the target animal and can no longer be removed by Dispel Magic."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. All Alone in the Wide Open World
In Candlekeep I picked up my quarterstaff, bought a suit of studded leather armor, a helmet, and a composite longbow and quiver, and did a few chores before I set out with Gorion. His death at the hands of a mysterious warrior devastated me. Gorion had been one of very few people I knew were trustworthy, though even he had been less transparent than I would have liked about matters such as my background. My friend Imoen found me on the Candlekeep Coast Way. I traveled back to Candlekeep with her, arranged for Gorion’s burial in Candlekeep, said goodbye to Imoen, and left the citadel for the wilderness. I knew I could go to the Friendly Arm Inn where friends of Gorion were supposed to reside, or to Beregost, a nearby town, but I preferred to explore the wilderness beyond the close surroundings of Candlekeep that I had already been allowed to reconnoiter time and again when I still lived with Gorion.
I summoned Silver, my Faerie Dragon familiar, and had her cast Invisibility 15’ Radius on the both of us. Protected by invisibility we traveled south until we reached the High Hedge area. It was replete with Undead and Gnolls. We slipped by unnoticed and headed further south. It was interesting to see the landscape gradually transform from very plain, green and rich in vegetation into the sandier, rolling Red Canyons. It was there that I spotted a rabid she-wolf. It pained me to kill her but she would have infected others of her kind with her taint. In slaying her, I rescued a hen from certain death. Amazingly, the bird spoke to me in the human tongue. “He”, Melicamp was his name, told me that he’d been turned into a chicken as a result of some magical experiment. He begged me to bring him to his master Thalantyr at the High Hedge. I might have refused if I hadn’t heard positive stories by Gorion of Thalantyr. The wizard didn’t disappoint. How he did it is completely beyond me, but he restored Melicamp to his human form. I was glad to have been of help and asked for no reward when I left them. Outside, a pack of wild dogs I befriended helped me slay a few of the area’s many Gnolls.
I would have wanted to rest there and then, but even with my canine companions by my side I considered the area too dangerous, so I reluctantly traveled to Beregost. There I was invited into his home by Firebead Elvenhair, an old friend of Gorion and Tethoril. He asked me to acquire a book for him that he was after at Feldepost’s Inn, but before I could speak to the innkeeper I had to calm down an angry patron who seemed to hate adventurers ever since his son had died as a young adventurer. Fortunately the argument was settled with a round of ale even though I really don’t care for ale. As a thank you for my service Firebead gave me a book with a rather dark tale, The History of the Dead Three, and he offered me to rest at his place. I said my prayers to Selune and slept like a baby. The following morning I left the village, but not for long. On the southern outskirts I ran into two Ogrillons that attacked me. I had to run around a lot to keep my foes at a good distance for me to attack them with my bow. On one of the two monsters I found a letter for a woman named Mirianne. I returned to Firebead and asked him if he knew her. He directed me to her place. Mirianne was thankful and gave me an enchanted ring that should protect me against both physical and magical attacks.
I traveled south again, and made the mistake of sticking to the road for a while. Three Flaming Fist Officers accused me of banditry for some reason. I denied the accusation and told them to take me in so I could defend myself before a court of law. They would have nothing of it and attacked me! As with the Ogrillons, I had to run around a lot to keep them at bay so I could hit them with the occasional arrow. This strategy was tiresome but I dared not engage them in melee, clad as they were in their suits of plate mail. Our running around drew the attention of a number of Hobgoblins of the Marrow Sucker tribe. They were less resilient than the humans, so I downed them faster than the Flaming Fist Mercenaries. When battle was done I owned three suits of plate mail armor and a pair of enchanted boots that Taerom Fuiruim identified for me as Silent Whispers, very useful for sneaking.
I visited the Temple of Lathander on the eastern edge of town to find out what services the temple provided. The high priest Keldath Ormlyr told me of an evil Cleric somewhere to the west or south-west of Beregost who had been killing many people and animating their corpses, and of an equally malicious Wizard east of Beregost that had managed to dominate a group of Basilisks and used them to petrify people and animals. I shall keep an eye out for both wicked males.
My third attempt to get away from Beregost was more successful in that I got much further south. I traveled mostly hidden in shadows till I met a nobleman north of Nashkel. I thought he was lost and tentatively approached to help him, but he seemed to know his way better than I expected. He thanked me and gave me ring that would increase my presence and comeliness. Sigh, he must have noticed my timidity. I put on the ring. Hopefully it does what it says. In Nashkel I spoke with an Amnish soldier who told me about a missing guard captain and about troubles in the Nashkel Mines region. Berrun Ghastkill, the local mayor, confirmed the soldier’s words about the Mines, and asked me to investigate. When I entered the local inn I ran into trouble again. A Priestess attacked me, hoping to claim an apparent bounty on my head. This must have been an obvious misunderstanding, but there was no reasoning with the woman. I had to play hide and seek with her, running inside and outside the inn and the local store, to exhaust her spell repertoire. Meanwhile I attacked her with my bow. At one point she commanded me to lay down, but the brief duration of her Command wasn’t enough to hurt me. In the end a well-placed arrow felled her.
At the inn I rested but had a very vivid dream about overcoming Gorion’s loss. I also perceived an unknown and not necessarily pleasant masculine presence. In the morning I woke up with the ability to heal myself and my animal friends. Perhaps the Moonmaiden has had a hand in this, even though I never sensed Her presence. I decided to travel to the nearby Mines to investigate, as Ghastkill had requested me to. In an empty storehouse I encountered three beautiful, healthy war dogs that accompanied me while exploring the area.
They even defended me bravely when a bounty hunter spotted me near a sculptor who was working on an impressive rock carving. This time the bounty hunter wasn’t after me but after the sculptor, who was accused of having stolen a number of gems. I find bickering over such material things a complete waste of time, but apparently it was a very serious matter, at least to the bounty hunter. He suspected me of wanting to claim “his” bounty, and proceeded to attack. My hounds fought bravely while I kept pelting him with arrows. I felt a pang of remorse when all three war dogs fell to the bounty hunter’s mighty halberd. His death, shortly after that, didn’t do anything to console me. I could have at least tried to heal one of my companions. In the future I shall be more careful. My animal friends are just that: friends, not cannon fodder. The emerald thief died as well by the way, even though nothing had hit him as far as I know.
I traveled back to Nashkel so I could report the unfortunate event that had played itself out. I first arrived at the Nashkel Carnival where I perused some of the merchants’ wares in the hopes of finding any useful items. I bought an oil of speed, a potion of invisibility and a scroll of protection from petrification with which I would be able to take on the Basilisks that Keldath Ormlyr had told me about. In Nashkel I couldn’t find Berrun Ghastkill to tell him about the emerald thief, so I left him a message at the local Temple of Helm and traveled in a northeasterly direction, to the area where according to Ormlyr the Basilisks were to be found.
I scouted the area hidden in shadows and found a great number of Basilisks indeed. After I cast the scroll of protection from petrification they were defenseless against my arrows. Even though my animal affinity is mostly with mammals and birds rather than reptiles, and with Silver of course, I would have never attacked the giant lizards if they hadn’t been completely corrupted by the evil wizard. The area was replete with petrified people and animals. A Ghoul offered me to help and serve me. I would not normally ally myself with undead, but I accepted its offer. Silver cast Invisibility 15’ Radius on the three of us, and so we approached the wizard, a Gnome, and his last two remaining Basilisk pets undetected. I asked my ghoulish companion to try and hold the wizard, while I would be pelting the Basilisks with my arrows. This plan completely failed. The Ghoul never managed to even touch the Gnome and was annihilated soon after by the Wizard. The latter, alarmed by what had just transpired, went looking for other threats to rout. This left me the opportunity to appear from stealth and take down the Gnome’s last two Basilisks. When I was done, I hid in shadows again and soon tracked my foe a small distance to the south. A brown bear sensed my good intentions, and helped me take on the Gnome. The bear's vicious attacks hurt our foe more than once before I slew the evil Wizard with an arrow in the chest. The Mage managed to blind me before he fell, but with my brown bear by my side I had little reason to panic. The Gnome dropped a pair of Gauntlets of Ogre Power that I’m wearing at the moment. They increase my strength, if only slightly.
I traveled further to the north until I reached the Larswood. Unwillingly I got involved in a dispute between two Druids. They attacked me, one after the other. Both summoned dogs and bears to aid them, but the animals’ loyalty was with me, not with the Druids.
My next stop was the Friendly Arm Inn, where I was awaited and attacked by a Wizard who, like the Priestess in Nashkel hoped to claim the price on my head. This can’t be a coincidence. It has me worrying. Anyway, I frustrated most of his spell casting with my arrows, even though at one point he did hit me with a Magic Missile, and slew him.
At the Inn I finally met Gorion’s friends, Khalid and Jaheira. The former seemed affable enough. I could even imagine him as a traveling companion. His wife however was bossy and impatient. It was due to Jaheira’s personality that I declined their proposal of traveling to Nashkel together. Instead I spoke with a few of the guests, including a gnomish scholar I made happy by handing her a belt I had found on the corpse of a hostile Ogre that had crossed my path some time before, and also a gnomish Cleric I humored by clearing her Beregost home of a number of huge spiders for her.
West of the Friendly Arm Inn I ventured briefly into the Cloakwood. Besides natural creatures, the area housed many Tasloi and also huge spiders. Together with a Worg I bonded with I slew the many Tasloi and was rewarded with what Taerom Fuiruim would identify as a Cloak of Non-Detection.
Back in Nashkel, Berrun Ghastkill seemed to have little interest in the death of the emerald thief and the bounty hunter. His only concern was the situation in the Mines. I’m really reluctant to go in there though. I don’t even understand why he asks me. I’m one of the forest, at home under the open sky, with animals by my side. Perhaps in the future I could become the Ranger Protector of some place. I’m not accustomed to crawling through dark stuffy mines, and probably never will be. At any rate I decided to first explore the wilderness areas west of Nashkel. There I had various interesting encounters. First there was a hunting party whose leader tried to provoke me into a fight. I’m no friend of pleasure hunters, but I decided not to take the bait, and they wandered off. Not much later, two bandits wouldn’t part with me on such peaceful terms. I had to fight the both of them, one in melee because he was suspiciously eager to run from me in order to attack me with his darts. After he fell I discovered why: he had wanted to paralyze me with Darts of Stunning. The other bandit fell to my arrows. I also helped a little boy get his dog back. But what he had called his dog seemed more like a Dread Wolf to me, which was curious to say the least. I had no means of empathetic communication with the beast although it did follow me back to the child, possibly thanks to the scent of a chewed bone the boy had given me. When I wanted to ask the boy about his curious companion, he turned into a fiend and teleported away with his wolf before I could do anything. Further west I found a dead cat for a sobbing little girl. This time no fiendish shapeshifting or teleporting. The girl was genuinely thankful and told me her father would raise the cat. I told her to be very careful of her feline companion. They aren’t supposed to die all the time. I also protected a Dryad against two oafs that wanted to cut down her lifegiving tree for supposed treasure. In the end the oafs were the ones that got cut down. A mighty Dire Wolf helped me against the two louts .
Accompanied by the Dire Wolf I further explored the area until I ran into a Gnoll that spoke to me about a woman being captured in its former stronghold. The monster had been expelled from the stronghold for its desire to eat the woman.
I had to act swiftly. A woman’s life was at stake here. I traveled west following the Gnoll’s directions. It was a long trek until I spotted the Stronghold. A bridge leading to it was guarded by two Half-Ogres I had to dispatch. I scouted the area for different entrance routes and for animal companions but found only one entrance and no animals to bond with. Two or three of my arrows would normally suffice to slay one Gnoll. I didn’t have too much difficulty felling pretty much all Gnolls in the area. Their Chieftain, who looked sturdier than the others, I stunned with one of my Darts of Stunning before pelting it to death with my bow and arrows.
The captured woman was Dynaheir, a Sorceress from Rashemen. She wanted me to look with her for her protector Minsc, but she had no idea where. I guided her back to Beregost where I had some business with Taerom Fuiruim. The trip to Beregost wasn’t without dangers. Dynaheir nearly died in an ambush, but survived thanks to a healing potion I gave her.
We're currently in Beregost where I just picked up a suit of Ankheg armor that Faerom Tuiruim has made for me from an Ankheg shell I had left with him a tenday ago. The armor is much too restrictive to my taste though, and I notice myself struggling to hide in shadows when I wear it, so I just keep it in my Bag of Holding.
Dynaheir is polite, respectful, and of unquestionable moral integrity. Nevertheless I’m inclined to leave her. I wouldn’t want to expose her to the dangers of my adventuring life. Perhaps I’ll look for this Minsc and leave her with him, once we find him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YOUR VIEWS PLEASE:
I'm unsure how to proceed. Serene (currently level 6) is very much a loner, and at this point it would feel a bit out of character to me if I had her form a party of six. Another disadvantage of traveling with a (big) party would be that it would take away much of the incentive to be creative and optimally utilize Serene's skills, abilities and items, relying instead on the other NPCs' input (spells, arrows etc). Anyhow, the only NPCs I can imagine her with are:
- Kivan: a CG Ranger just like Serene, stealthy, sensitive, aloof, similar outlook on life,
- Khalid: very kind, humble and timid, much like Serene,
- Faldorn: more aggressive than Serene, but with an amazing connection to nature (more so than Jaheira in my imagination), something that Serene will surely appreciate,
- Coran: my first candidate. Coran could be the ideal partner both for the purpose of survival (Fighter/Thief, traps/locks, stealth, deadly with his bow, and the already found Gauntlets of Ogre Power would allow him to be a good melee fighter), and also in terms of role-play (they're both comfortable in the wilderness, which makes Coran easier for Serene to relate with, there's a romance opion, and his sparkling personality could really help Serene grow as a character and become a bit more open and sociable herself).
- Dynaheir: kind, responsible in exercising her profession, self-confident but not arrogant.
What do you think? Should Serene continue to travel just by herself (and with Silver and her animal companions of course)? Would traveling with the above party of six make any sense to you RP-wise? (In terms of survivability I think it would be a great party of six.) Would other NPCs than the ones I mentioned make more sense? Would it be more fitting for Serene to just take one or maybe two companions with her? If yes, which NPCs would you consider most fitting?
The idea of this playthrough, when I started it a few days ago, was to see for myself how good or bad the Beast Master is as a kit. At this stage I can’t answer that question yet because Serene has shunned civilization and the many dangers that come with it, preferring instead to explore the wilderness areas of the Sword Coast and to befriend the many animals inhabiting the wilderness.
As to Serene’s personality, to be honest I haven’t given it as much thought as I’ve done with a number of other characters, but here’s a brief idea. She obviously adores animals and they adore her. Animals attack and kill for survival, and because they’re conditioned to do so, but at least they’re honest and reliable. On the other hand, (demi)humans, males apparently more so than females, hurt and kill for much darker purposes (profit, power, rancor, or sometimes even for fun). For that reason Serene’s very wary of (demi)humans, and shuns pretty much all contact with them, though she’ll always help someone in need. Due to her reticence she’s a bit insecure and shy when having to deal with people. She’s Chaotic in that she doesn’t generally stick to a fixed plan or abide by a personal code of conduct other than to be good to nature and its inhabitants, and kind to anyone that crosses her path. She worships Selûne the Moonmaiden, Goddess of many a female wanderer such as herself.
There’s one thing about this playthrough that I would like to draw your attention to. I’m playing with a component of the aTweaks mod that replaces Rangers’ rather weak Charm Animal ability with an ability called Animal Empathy. Every time the Ranger uses this ability, all animals on the map are either charmed for 5 rounds (after which they turn hostile), or become permanent friends of the Ranger. I think this ability is perfect for a Beast Master, and when I started this game I decided to use it as often as possible. The readme describes the component as follows:
"This component renames the Ranger's Charm Animal ability into Animal Empathy and adjusts it to more closely match its PnP counterpart. An animal attempting to resist this ability must now roll a saving throw vs. wands (with a −1 penalty) in order to avoid becoming charmed. The Ranger imposes an additional saving throw penalty for every three experience levels he has earned (i.e. −2 at 4th level, −3 at 7th level... etc.) up to a maximum of −6 at 16th level. Furthermore, if the animal fails its saving throw, it now becomes charmed for 5 rounds per level of the Ranger. Finally, being non-magical in nature, this ability now ignores any magic resistance of the target animal and can no longer be removed by Dispel Magic."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. All Alone in the Wide Open World
In Candlekeep I picked up my quarterstaff, bought a suit of studded leather armor, a helmet, and a composite longbow and quiver, and did a few chores before I set out with Gorion. His death at the hands of a mysterious warrior devastated me. Gorion had been one of very few people I knew were trustworthy, though even he had been less transparent than I would have liked about matters such as my background. My friend Imoen found me on the Candlekeep Coast Way. I traveled back to Candlekeep with her, arranged for Gorion’s burial in Candlekeep, said goodbye to Imoen, and left the citadel for the wilderness. I knew I could go to the Friendly Arm Inn where friends of Gorion were supposed to reside, or to Beregost, a nearby town, but I preferred to explore the wilderness beyond the close surroundings of Candlekeep that I had already been allowed to reconnoiter time and again when I still lived with Gorion.
I summoned Silver, my Faerie Dragon familiar, and had her cast Invisibility 15’ Radius on the both of us. Protected by invisibility we traveled south until we reached the High Hedge area. It was replete with Undead and Gnolls. We slipped by unnoticed and headed further south. It was interesting to see the landscape gradually transform from very plain, green and rich in vegetation into the sandier, rolling Red Canyons. It was there that I spotted a rabid she-wolf. It pained me to kill her but she would have infected others of her kind with her taint. In slaying her, I rescued a hen from certain death. Amazingly, the bird spoke to me in the human tongue. “He”, Melicamp was his name, told me that he’d been turned into a chicken as a result of some magical experiment. He begged me to bring him to his master Thalantyr at the High Hedge. I might have refused if I hadn’t heard positive stories by Gorion of Thalantyr. The wizard didn’t disappoint. How he did it is completely beyond me, but he restored Melicamp to his human form. I was glad to have been of help and asked for no reward when I left them. Outside, a pack of wild dogs I befriended helped me slay a few of the area’s many Gnolls.
I would have wanted to rest there and then, but even with my canine companions by my side I considered the area too dangerous, so I reluctantly traveled to Beregost. There I was invited into his home by Firebead Elvenhair, an old friend of Gorion and Tethoril. He asked me to acquire a book for him that he was after at Feldepost’s Inn, but before I could speak to the innkeeper I had to calm down an angry patron who seemed to hate adventurers ever since his son had died as a young adventurer. Fortunately the argument was settled with a round of ale even though I really don’t care for ale. As a thank you for my service Firebead gave me a book with a rather dark tale, The History of the Dead Three, and he offered me to rest at his place. I said my prayers to Selune and slept like a baby. The following morning I left the village, but not for long. On the southern outskirts I ran into two Ogrillons that attacked me. I had to run around a lot to keep my foes at a good distance for me to attack them with my bow. On one of the two monsters I found a letter for a woman named Mirianne. I returned to Firebead and asked him if he knew her. He directed me to her place. Mirianne was thankful and gave me an enchanted ring that should protect me against both physical and magical attacks.
I traveled south again, and made the mistake of sticking to the road for a while. Three Flaming Fist Officers accused me of banditry for some reason. I denied the accusation and told them to take me in so I could defend myself before a court of law. They would have nothing of it and attacked me! As with the Ogrillons, I had to run around a lot to keep them at bay so I could hit them with the occasional arrow. This strategy was tiresome but I dared not engage them in melee, clad as they were in their suits of plate mail. Our running around drew the attention of a number of Hobgoblins of the Marrow Sucker tribe. They were less resilient than the humans, so I downed them faster than the Flaming Fist Mercenaries. When battle was done I owned three suits of plate mail armor and a pair of enchanted boots that Taerom Fuiruim identified for me as Silent Whispers, very useful for sneaking.
I visited the Temple of Lathander on the eastern edge of town to find out what services the temple provided. The high priest Keldath Ormlyr told me of an evil Cleric somewhere to the west or south-west of Beregost who had been killing many people and animating their corpses, and of an equally malicious Wizard east of Beregost that had managed to dominate a group of Basilisks and used them to petrify people and animals. I shall keep an eye out for both wicked males.
My third attempt to get away from Beregost was more successful in that I got much further south. I traveled mostly hidden in shadows till I met a nobleman north of Nashkel. I thought he was lost and tentatively approached to help him, but he seemed to know his way better than I expected. He thanked me and gave me ring that would increase my presence and comeliness. Sigh, he must have noticed my timidity. I put on the ring. Hopefully it does what it says. In Nashkel I spoke with an Amnish soldier who told me about a missing guard captain and about troubles in the Nashkel Mines region. Berrun Ghastkill, the local mayor, confirmed the soldier’s words about the Mines, and asked me to investigate. When I entered the local inn I ran into trouble again. A Priestess attacked me, hoping to claim an apparent bounty on my head. This must have been an obvious misunderstanding, but there was no reasoning with the woman. I had to play hide and seek with her, running inside and outside the inn and the local store, to exhaust her spell repertoire. Meanwhile I attacked her with my bow. At one point she commanded me to lay down, but the brief duration of her Command wasn’t enough to hurt me. In the end a well-placed arrow felled her.
At the inn I rested but had a very vivid dream about overcoming Gorion’s loss. I also perceived an unknown and not necessarily pleasant masculine presence. In the morning I woke up with the ability to heal myself and my animal friends. Perhaps the Moonmaiden has had a hand in this, even though I never sensed Her presence. I decided to travel to the nearby Mines to investigate, as Ghastkill had requested me to. In an empty storehouse I encountered three beautiful, healthy war dogs that accompanied me while exploring the area.
They even defended me bravely when a bounty hunter spotted me near a sculptor who was working on an impressive rock carving. This time the bounty hunter wasn’t after me but after the sculptor, who was accused of having stolen a number of gems. I find bickering over such material things a complete waste of time, but apparently it was a very serious matter, at least to the bounty hunter. He suspected me of wanting to claim “his” bounty, and proceeded to attack. My hounds fought bravely while I kept pelting him with arrows. I felt a pang of remorse when all three war dogs fell to the bounty hunter’s mighty halberd. His death, shortly after that, didn’t do anything to console me. I could have at least tried to heal one of my companions. In the future I shall be more careful. My animal friends are just that: friends, not cannon fodder. The emerald thief died as well by the way, even though nothing had hit him as far as I know.
I traveled back to Nashkel so I could report the unfortunate event that had played itself out. I first arrived at the Nashkel Carnival where I perused some of the merchants’ wares in the hopes of finding any useful items. I bought an oil of speed, a potion of invisibility and a scroll of protection from petrification with which I would be able to take on the Basilisks that Keldath Ormlyr had told me about. In Nashkel I couldn’t find Berrun Ghastkill to tell him about the emerald thief, so I left him a message at the local Temple of Helm and traveled in a northeasterly direction, to the area where according to Ormlyr the Basilisks were to be found.
I scouted the area hidden in shadows and found a great number of Basilisks indeed. After I cast the scroll of protection from petrification they were defenseless against my arrows. Even though my animal affinity is mostly with mammals and birds rather than reptiles, and with Silver of course, I would have never attacked the giant lizards if they hadn’t been completely corrupted by the evil wizard. The area was replete with petrified people and animals. A Ghoul offered me to help and serve me. I would not normally ally myself with undead, but I accepted its offer. Silver cast Invisibility 15’ Radius on the three of us, and so we approached the wizard, a Gnome, and his last two remaining Basilisk pets undetected. I asked my ghoulish companion to try and hold the wizard, while I would be pelting the Basilisks with my arrows. This plan completely failed. The Ghoul never managed to even touch the Gnome and was annihilated soon after by the Wizard. The latter, alarmed by what had just transpired, went looking for other threats to rout. This left me the opportunity to appear from stealth and take down the Gnome’s last two Basilisks. When I was done, I hid in shadows again and soon tracked my foe a small distance to the south. A brown bear sensed my good intentions, and helped me take on the Gnome. The bear's vicious attacks hurt our foe more than once before I slew the evil Wizard with an arrow in the chest. The Mage managed to blind me before he fell, but with my brown bear by my side I had little reason to panic. The Gnome dropped a pair of Gauntlets of Ogre Power that I’m wearing at the moment. They increase my strength, if only slightly.
I traveled further to the north until I reached the Larswood. Unwillingly I got involved in a dispute between two Druids. They attacked me, one after the other. Both summoned dogs and bears to aid them, but the animals’ loyalty was with me, not with the Druids.
My next stop was the Friendly Arm Inn, where I was awaited and attacked by a Wizard who, like the Priestess in Nashkel hoped to claim the price on my head. This can’t be a coincidence. It has me worrying. Anyway, I frustrated most of his spell casting with my arrows, even though at one point he did hit me with a Magic Missile, and slew him.
At the Inn I finally met Gorion’s friends, Khalid and Jaheira. The former seemed affable enough. I could even imagine him as a traveling companion. His wife however was bossy and impatient. It was due to Jaheira’s personality that I declined their proposal of traveling to Nashkel together. Instead I spoke with a few of the guests, including a gnomish scholar I made happy by handing her a belt I had found on the corpse of a hostile Ogre that had crossed my path some time before, and also a gnomish Cleric I humored by clearing her Beregost home of a number of huge spiders for her.
West of the Friendly Arm Inn I ventured briefly into the Cloakwood. Besides natural creatures, the area housed many Tasloi and also huge spiders. Together with a Worg I bonded with I slew the many Tasloi and was rewarded with what Taerom Fuiruim would identify as a Cloak of Non-Detection.
Back in Nashkel, Berrun Ghastkill seemed to have little interest in the death of the emerald thief and the bounty hunter. His only concern was the situation in the Mines. I’m really reluctant to go in there though. I don’t even understand why he asks me. I’m one of the forest, at home under the open sky, with animals by my side. Perhaps in the future I could become the Ranger Protector of some place. I’m not accustomed to crawling through dark stuffy mines, and probably never will be. At any rate I decided to first explore the wilderness areas west of Nashkel. There I had various interesting encounters. First there was a hunting party whose leader tried to provoke me into a fight. I’m no friend of pleasure hunters, but I decided not to take the bait, and they wandered off. Not much later, two bandits wouldn’t part with me on such peaceful terms. I had to fight the both of them, one in melee because he was suspiciously eager to run from me in order to attack me with his darts. After he fell I discovered why: he had wanted to paralyze me with Darts of Stunning. The other bandit fell to my arrows. I also helped a little boy get his dog back. But what he had called his dog seemed more like a Dread Wolf to me, which was curious to say the least. I had no means of empathetic communication with the beast although it did follow me back to the child, possibly thanks to the scent of a chewed bone the boy had given me. When I wanted to ask the boy about his curious companion, he turned into a fiend and teleported away with his wolf before I could do anything. Further west I found a dead cat for a sobbing little girl. This time no fiendish shapeshifting or teleporting. The girl was genuinely thankful and told me her father would raise the cat. I told her to be very careful of her feline companion. They aren’t supposed to die all the time. I also protected a Dryad against two oafs that wanted to cut down her lifegiving tree for supposed treasure. In the end the oafs were the ones that got cut down. A mighty Dire Wolf helped me against the two louts .
Accompanied by the Dire Wolf I further explored the area until I ran into a Gnoll that spoke to me about a woman being captured in its former stronghold. The monster had been expelled from the stronghold for its desire to eat the woman.
I had to act swiftly. A woman’s life was at stake here. I traveled west following the Gnoll’s directions. It was a long trek until I spotted the Stronghold. A bridge leading to it was guarded by two Half-Ogres I had to dispatch. I scouted the area for different entrance routes and for animal companions but found only one entrance and no animals to bond with. Two or three of my arrows would normally suffice to slay one Gnoll. I didn’t have too much difficulty felling pretty much all Gnolls in the area. Their Chieftain, who looked sturdier than the others, I stunned with one of my Darts of Stunning before pelting it to death with my bow and arrows.
The captured woman was Dynaheir, a Sorceress from Rashemen. She wanted me to look with her for her protector Minsc, but she had no idea where. I guided her back to Beregost where I had some business with Taerom Fuiruim. The trip to Beregost wasn’t without dangers. Dynaheir nearly died in an ambush, but survived thanks to a healing potion I gave her.
We're currently in Beregost where I just picked up a suit of Ankheg armor that Faerom Tuiruim has made for me from an Ankheg shell I had left with him a tenday ago. The armor is much too restrictive to my taste though, and I notice myself struggling to hide in shadows when I wear it, so I just keep it in my Bag of Holding.
Dynaheir is polite, respectful, and of unquestionable moral integrity. Nevertheless I’m inclined to leave her. I wouldn’t want to expose her to the dangers of my adventuring life. Perhaps I’ll look for this Minsc and leave her with him, once we find him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YOUR VIEWS PLEASE:
I'm unsure how to proceed. Serene (currently level 6) is very much a loner, and at this point it would feel a bit out of character to me if I had her form a party of six. Another disadvantage of traveling with a (big) party would be that it would take away much of the incentive to be creative and optimally utilize Serene's skills, abilities and items, relying instead on the other NPCs' input (spells, arrows etc). Anyhow, the only NPCs I can imagine her with are:
- Kivan: a CG Ranger just like Serene, stealthy, sensitive, aloof, similar outlook on life,
- Khalid: very kind, humble and timid, much like Serene,
- Faldorn: more aggressive than Serene, but with an amazing connection to nature (more so than Jaheira in my imagination), something that Serene will surely appreciate,
- Coran: my first candidate. Coran could be the ideal partner both for the purpose of survival (Fighter/Thief, traps/locks, stealth, deadly with his bow, and the already found Gauntlets of Ogre Power would allow him to be a good melee fighter), and also in terms of role-play (they're both comfortable in the wilderness, which makes Coran easier for Serene to relate with, there's a romance opion, and his sparkling personality could really help Serene grow as a character and become a bit more open and sociable herself).
- Dynaheir: kind, responsible in exercising her profession, self-confident but not arrogant.
What do you think? Should Serene continue to travel just by herself (and with Silver and her animal companions of course)? Would traveling with the above party of six make any sense to you RP-wise? (In terms of survivability I think it would be a great party of six.) Would other NPCs than the ones I mentioned make more sense? Would it be more fitting for Serene to just take one or maybe two companions with her? If yes, which NPCs would you consider most fitting?
Post edited by Blackraven on
15
Comments
On the other hand Khalid's Harper connections have great RP potential for helping Serene grasp what the whole Iron Throne thing could possibly be about. Khalid's attempts to help her to understand why so many humans live in Urban settings with all their tangled politics [including his own family history] would be an interesting background to the adventure.
A party of five without either Minsc or Khalid might also work. Or Garrick as 6th member primarily for Wands and music.
What tactics helped you to survive that ambush??
Faldorn
Dynaheir
Serene
Would be a very interesting party. Both from a RP perspective and gameplay.
Thief/Fighter
Druid
Mage
Ranger
Either way a party of four (at least to begin with), as the both of you propose would be a nice compromise. Thanks once more.
I've thought a bit more about it and I think that Coran could be Serene's first companion. Depending on her experience with him as her companion she might open up to other people, allowing for the joining of other NPCs, or she might get very disappointed and even more reticent. (As I understand it the romance path with Coran, which I've never tried before, can result in a broken heart for the female charname.)
But even if you don't make that choice, you can still end up with a broken heart.
Coran is one of the most fascinating romances in the amount of twists and turns it can take, and I definitely recommend trying it *without* reading the romance guide on it. I'll give you one hint, though: wait for the moon.
But, um, there's one problem. Coran only goes for the girls with the most conviction, and sadly, Serene is lacking in that. He has a charisma requirement of 13. However, in the BG1NPC project, there's a certain object that can help with that, if you're willing to sacrifice one of your ring slots for the game.
Besides, she already has the ring you were referring to, so she should be set for the romance.
Or rp the trio as characters from Bridget Jones:Kivan is the serious, dour but kind and dependable Colin Firth, while Coran is the flamboyant, fun, but rather shallow Hugh Grant. And Serene is the socially awkward but well meaning beautiful blonde main char. ^^
But do note that IIRC Xan's full romance requires a full elven pc, a half-elf pc can only go in the romance half-way.
I'm just speechless. I like the concept - you've managed to RP the Beast Master in the best way possible.
@lunar, yes I still need to do the Xan romance, but as you you say it'll have to be with an Elf... So I'm not sure if he's going to be in the party.
Atm I'm wondering what to do with Minsc. I've considered doing a ctrl-y on him, making this Saga one in which Minsc simply doesn't exist. Dynaheir will never know what happened to him. And also no Minscin Irenicus' Dungeon. Other options would be to dismiss him after one of his crazy berserks (send him someplace where he'll have to train his mind), or to accept him in the party, though tbh I was most enthusiastic about @SionIV's suggestion of ending up with Dynaheir, Coran and Faldorn.
It would make an awesome party with Dynaheir, Coran and Faldorn. It would also open up your options in BG2 because you don't have anyone in your party that you 'have' to take along in BG2.
Dynaheir would die when you get captured.
You would meet Faldorn in the druid grove making it very interesting RP wise.
You'll also meet Coran in the forest with Safana.
So they fit very well in with the entire story RP wise, and you get to 'finish' their story in BG2. You just need to figure out how you want to get rid of Minsc.
As to the topic continuity in BG2, Faldorn and Dynaheir' futures are indeed very interesting storywise, just like you said. But I've I'm playing with the Coran mod for BG2, so he's likely to play a part in Amn as well. I also have the Kivan and Deheriana mod for BG2 (which according to the description allows for Deheriana's resurrection in Suldanessalar, and for a Kivan romance), so that could offer some interesting material as well. It's a reason for me to have Kivan at least for a short while (for example to take vengeance on Tazok in the Bandit Camp).
LOL, I'm supposedly not metagaming but I notice that I'm very much 'metagaming' the story aspects.
Dynaheir surprised me in a most agreeable way today. We were approached by Garrick, a Bard who asked us to help him protect his mistress Silke against a group of thugs. We readily agreed but found out that the “thugs” were unarmed, innocent men. When we refused to attack, Silke attacked us. Dynaheir’s help surely made things easier. The first thing she did was to cast Spook on Silke so as to give us an edge in battle. The spell had Silke cower in fear. Unfortunately, while still panicked, she ran just in time from Dynaheir’s second spell: a Web. She regained her composure, instantly put up a couple of spell protections (Stoneskin, Mirror Image) and started slinging vicious Magic Missiles in both Dynaheir’s and my way. A second Web by Dynaheir did keep Silke in check. After that, my arrows and Dynaheir’s Magic Missiles were too much to handle for Silke. By her corpse I found an enchanted Staff (+1) that I’m now using. Garrick approached us and apologized for the disturbance . He will be in Beregost for a while, and is willing to travel with us should we be interested.
I’m having mixed feelings about Dynaheir. She’s a great ally against individual foes, especially powerful magic users, but at the same time she’s very vulnerable against mobs of ruffians, as her near-death experience at the bandit ambush as well as her abduction by the Gnolls illustrated. For her safety I asked her to wait for me inside the Jovial Juggler Inn while I would travel to the Friendly Arm Inn, a place where many travelers stop by, hoping I would meet Minsc there, or at least someone who has seen what Dynaheir described as a bald, tattooed, bulky Rashemaan Ranger with a hamster. (Minsc must be a sight to behold.) However when no one at the Inn was able to tell me anything useful. Maybe Dynaheir’s protector had died?
As I left the Inn I decided to make slight detour through the nearby Cloakwood before heading back to Beregost. I needed some time to meditate, and wanted to pray to Selûne in an unspoilt environment. Perhaps surrounded by the beauty and the perfection of the majestic forest I would find some answers regarding Dynaheir and regarding myself: What happens if we don’t find Minsc? Should I consider it my duty to protect Dynaheir, the powerful but frail Sorceress? Would I like it to have her around? What if she doesn’t want me to? Have I been a good person so far? Is it too easy to distance oneself from civilization and live as a recluse, as I’ve done so far, keeping no company but Silver and my animal friends?
Answers or at least the suggestion of answers to some of these questions came in the forest itself. On a bridge I met an Elven woodsman who introduced himself as Coran. He asked me to aid him in slaying a Wyvern that had killed a number of people and their cattle. A 2000 GP reward would await us at the Temple of the Morninglord in Beregost. Initially unsure as to the Elf’s intentions and the morality of slaying a Wyvern, I decided to join with him so that I could see for myself. I knew that Wyverns are mostly evil lizard-like creatures, distant relatives of dragons, that often kill and attack without need. I was quite eager to find the Wyvern’s lair and study the creatures. In the meantime I would have the opportunity to find out how it is to travel accompanied, and to get to know Coran a bit better. I feared he might be in it mostly for the gold, but he didn’t disappoint when he, like me, showed no interest in defending a nobleman named Aldeth Sashenstar, a pleasure hunter from the city of Baldur’s Gate, against a Druid who told us that this Aldeth had slain another Druid. Aldeth’s labeling of the Druids, whose lifestyle isn’t very different from Coran’s and mine, as “slavering wild men” and "uncultured barbarians" was as disrespectful as it was stupid. Aldeth attacked us but fell to our arrows.
In search of the Wyverns we ventured deeper into the Cloakwood. Coran caught me off guard when he started singing a song to me about a noble adventuring lady, and he made no effort to hide the suggestion that he was alluding to me. He seems to take pleasure in making me blush. I’ve got no idea why, and I also don’t know how to respond to his games. Sometimes friends tease each other as a way of showing affection. Imoen used to do that with me. The only thing is, Coran and I have only barely met. Still I’m enjoying his presence more than I had thought.
At one point we were attacked by a Phase Spider, a nasty creature that somehow had sensed our presence and appeared out of nowhere. We slew it, after which I asked Silver to cast Invisibility 15’ Radius on the three of us. We would continue to travel that way until we found the Wyvern lair. It meant traveling for about fifteen hours, resting eight hours while still invisible and having Silver cast Invisibility 15´Radius again. It helped us survive web traps, an ambush by Giant Spiders (that surely would have tried to hold us with their web attacks), and Selûne knows what other perils.
There were very few people in the woods. We observed a community of Druids from afar but we decided not to reveal ourselves to them, as we had no business with them. We also saw a few guards or soldiers but didn’t find any base or camp in the vicinity. What we did find, at long last, was the Wyvern’s lair. I was the only one to enter it: a cave all bloody inside and out, with two fully grown Wyverns, three of their young, and various bodies the Wyverns must have brought there. I attacked one with my bow, fled outside and saw the Wyverns following me. Coran and Silver, both still invisible, were waiting for me on a narrow bridge. I ran past them, but the Wyverns couldn’t because my invisible companions blocked the way. It allowed me to slay the Wyverns plus a group of Tasloi that had followed me, without ever having to fear for my safety.
Note: I’m not very proud of this tactic: think it’s a rather cheesy, since PnP Wyverns can fly, and would have easily reached Serene, who would in turn have quaffed a potion of invisibility and fled. However in order to keep Coran in the party, at least one Wyvern had to be slain I think.]
I’m afraid I offended Coran shortly after slaying the last of the monsters when I asked how he knew one of the Wyvern skulls had belonged to a female Wyvern. I was actually impressed with his knowledge, and noticed myself making an awkward attempt to salvage the moment. It surprises me that I actually seem to care about what Coran thinks of me. I shan’t show him this though, at least not too clearly.
Coran, Silver and I made our way back to Beregost where we brought Keldath Ormlyr a Wyvern’s head and received 2000 GP from him, and where I introduced Coran to Dynaheir and told her the news that we hadn’t obtained any information about Minsc. I offered her to trek back to the coast with Coran, to look for Minsc. Dynaheir insisted on coming with us. I reminded her once again of the Gnolls and the bandit ambush and explained to her that I wouldn’t forgive myself if something terrible was to happen to her. I even told her in general terms about Gorion. She was sympathetic, but she countered that with Coran we were now two warriors to keep an eye on her, and that she wasn’t a defenseless little girl. That much was irrefutable of course, and since I actually felt honored by her desire to come with me, I conceded. Could it be that the ring that Lord Foreshadow gave me really increases my appeal? Do people like me better now? Or would they have always accepted my shy, introverted, awkward little self even before I started using the ring, if only I had only opened up a bit more? I shall have an expert study the ring, Thalantyr maybe.
The three of us trekked to the North Coast (at least that’s how the area is referred to on my map). I scouted the area, befriended a few wolves and spotted a group of Ogres (including berserkers), Half-Ogres and Ogrillons. Dynaheir remained invisible while Coran and I were fighting the monsters. Our opponents were many and they were strong, but they were also slow and clumsy, easy prey for Coran’s arrows and mine. My biggest foe during the entire battle was the weather:
After battle was done, Coran kissed me on the cheek, supposedly complimenting me for my prowess as an archer, even though he’s the deadlier of the two of us. He had me blushing once more…
With Dynaheir we approached a solitary Gnome to find out if he had seen Minsc but other than his ramblings about a ring we brought him at his behest, he had little to say. A priest that was kind enough to heal me, told me he hadn’t seen anyone like Minsc either. He did warn us of his brother, an evil Wizard by the name of Davaeorn. We placed our hopes on a Nereid, though I was wary of her beguiling aura. I urged Coran – probably the easiest victim for a Nereid to walk the Sword Coast – to stay back, and as it happened even I wasn’t safe from the Sea Nymph. She wanted to kiss me, and when I refused, she turned hostile. Coran and I pelted her with arrows until she begged for mercy. She alleged that she had been enslaved and controlled by an Ogre Mage named Droth. This Droth appeared through some kind of Dimension Door to finish the job that the Nereid had failed at: slaying us. He was buffed with Shield, Stoneskin, Haste and Mirror Image, and therefore difficult for Coran and me to hurt. Dynaheir tried to Web him, but that spell didn’t affect the Ogre. It only caused him to pursue Dynaheir. I saw her run right into two hostile Dire Wolves but I appeased the animals, after which Dynaheir blinded Droth. This pretty much ended the fight. Coran and I could fire arrow after arrow until our foe fell.
After Droth fell, the Nereid walked off saying that the “game” she had been playing was no longer “fun”, suggesting she wasn’t as innocent as she had claimed before. We took an enchanted helmet from Droth, and made our way along the shore to the south.
We then met three Sirines. These creatures appear to be extremely territorial. They forced us into a very difficult fight in which I got charmed at one point and went after Coran, and both Coran and I got blinded and poisoned by the Sirine’s arrows. We suffered serious injuries before we could finally slay the creatures. It wasn’t something I had wanted to do, but it was either us or them.
We spotted many more Sirines and a few Nereids, but we made sure to remain unseen, traveling mostly under the effect of Invisibility. It was thus that we reached a cave in which Coran triggered one trap (that thankfully didn’t hit him) and disarmed a second one. There were three Flesh Golems apparently guarding some treasure. Coran slew two of them with magical arrows we had found on the three Sirines before, and I killed the third one with my staff.
The treasure consisted in a Manual of Bodily Health I read to increase my constitution, a Cloak of the Wolf that we agreed would serve Dynaheir best, as it allows her to flee when necessary. We also found a suit of Full Plate Mail +1. Coran said he could use it but he said he would feel uncomfortable in it. We might sell it somewhere and buy him a piece of Shadow Armor I saw for sale at Feldepost’s Inn.
Near a Lighthouse I bonded with three Worgs and guided them away from the shoreline to keep them safe from the dangerous Sirines. Besides Sirines and Nereids the area housed a large group of Hobgoblin Elite we would have fought if it weren’t for the treacherous sea and water creatures that would probably notice us if we did, and put up a fight. Of Minsc we found no trace, so we pushed on, further southward until we were warned by a Priestess not to come any closer. Brage, the frenzied Amnish guard captain we were told about in Nashkel, was there. Before we could decide what to do, he approached us in a menacing way, but when he stood before us he begged us for help. He seemed to be possessed by an evil spirit that had sent him on a killing spree. We traveled to Nashkel with him, to the Temple of Helm, where Nalin the priest found that the cause of Brage’s state lay in a cursed sword. Nalin gave me the sword and urged me to keep it somewhere safe. It's in my bag of holding (I wonder whether that's a safer place than the Temple of Helm).
When we left the Temple a huge warrior approached and told us in an aggressive way to hold still, so that his hamster might have a better look us. The warrior had no idea who we were, but we knew who he was: Minsc! When he saw Dynaheir his stance changed. He was relieved and thankful to see his ‘witch’ again. He joined the party, mainly because of Dynaheir. I’m less enthusiastic. Minsc’s intentions are good, and he’s no doubt an imposing warrior, but he’s also loud, unsubtle, and rash. I’m becoming more and more attached to Dynaheir though. We have interesting conversations about Rashemi culture and the differences with the Sword Coast. She’s a competent caster, and someone I feel I can trust. I really wouldn’t want to lose her. And I think that she cares for me as well. After Coran had me speechless once more with a flower bouquet he gave me, I think I overheard Dynaheir warning him not to use me to sate any desires of the flesh.
@SionIV: yes, Serene may not believe it, but love is in the air
(Anyway, I don't think she'll have to kill Coran, he's pretty good at doing that himself. Which has me wonder if I'm should attach consequences to NPC deaths.)
Our party of four traveled to Beregost, where we hoped to get some loot identified by Taerom and/or Thalantyr, and to see if we could afford the Shadow Armor for Coran. On our way we rescued a Drow priestess from a Flaming Fist mercenary, although an enraged Minsc almost killed her when the fight was already over. This is disturbing: if Minsc isn’t able to keep control of himself, he’ll end up hurting innocents.
(I kitted Minsc as a Berserker, but gave him his unique, unpredictable rages rather than the standard Berserker rages.)
In Beregost we got a pair of Bracers AC6 identified for Dynaheir as well as the ring that Lord Foreshadow gave me: it does raise the wearer’s charisma, which makes me wonder where I’d be now without the ring. However, I’m hesitant to take it off. Much as I hate to admit it, I would be hurt if Coran didn’t find me attractive anymore. We also checked for the Shadow Armor, but we couldn’t afford it.
We decided to explore the Ulcaster Ruins to see if we’d return with enough treasure to afford the Shadow Armor. It was a decision I now regret. We clearly bit off more than we could chew. First we ran into a horde of Hobgoblins, many of them Elite archers with poisoned arrows. Coran suffered a number of hits and was seriously affected by the poison.
I’m not sure what brought it on, maybe his near-death experience, but when the Hobgoblins were slain Coran declared that he loved me. I’m still a bit skeptical, not sure if the charmer really has such deep feelings for me, or simply sees me as another girl to add to his seemingly impressive list.
Inside the Ulcaster Ruins things went terribly wrong when Coran, just as the rest of us under the effect of Invisibility 15’ Radius and besides equipped with the Cloak of Non-Detection, got detected by a Greater Skeleton Mage that seemed to be in charge of the place.
I knew that the Cloak only protects stealthed and not magically invisible characters. Not using the Stealth button was simply an oversight on my part.
There was no way for Coran to escape, as the (vampiric) Wolf of Ulcaster terrified my dear friend (or should I say boyfriend?). He found himself immediately surrounded by Dread Wolves, Ghouls and the Wolf of Ulcaster. Dynaheir tried to Web them all, so that they wouldn’t reach Coran but to no avail.
We had little time to sympathize with Coran’s plight, as three Ghouls appeared in front of us, animated I think by the Undead Mage. I timely hid in shadows, and Dynaheir cast Invisibility on herself, causing the Ghouls plus a number of Dread Wolves to go after Coran who at that point was on the verge of death (and would fall soon after). Minsc and Dynaheir formed an invisible wall blocking the path, but leaving an opening between them through which I could attack the Dread Wolves and Undead with my bow.
I slew all of them except the Wolf of Ulcaster and the Undead Mage. With my staff I had to fight a number of Dread Wolves that attacked from behind, but more kept coming. I called six Dire Wolves I had spotted near the dungeon entrance, and asked them to hold back the ceaseless stream of Dread Wolves. Minsc begged me to give him the Cursed Berserking Sword. As a Berserker, he would be able to wield it, he held. (I had my doubts, but at the same time I imagined him slaying the Wolf of Ulcaster and the Skeleton Mage.) He waded in, joined by a few of my Dire Wolves, and he slew the Wolf indeed! Unfortunately his luck ran out when in his blind fury he kept on hitting the by then Fireshielded Skeleton Mage, injuring himself more and more. Besides, two more Vampiric Wolves had joined the undead wizard. The resistance proved too much, and much to our dismay Minsc fell as well.
I told Dynaheir we had two options left: leave Minsc and Coran and their equipment or try to fight our remaining foes. Dynaheir pleaded caution, but I decided to approach, hidden in shadows, and try to take the Mage down, as I had seen that his spell protections had worn off. This worked: the undead abomination fell, I triggered a trap behind its corpse and got injured, but I managed to pick up our fallen companions’ equipment as well as some loot (including a Wand of Monster Summoning with one charge), and we retreated, fleeing from the Vampiric Wolves that were still out for blood.
At the Temple of Lathander Dynaheir and I got our fallen comrades raised. I must say I was glad to see Minsc, who had fought bravely at the ruins, and overjoyed at the sight of Coran’s smirk and his smiling eyes. We rested for about five days in Beregost to fully recover from our injuries. (This party could really use a healer!) Since we had returned from Ulcaster with little in terms of treasure, Keldath Ormlyr was the one who benefited most from our misadventure. We decided to travel to the west, following the directions as to Bassilus’ whereabouts that Keldath had given us before. We tracked the evil priest down within a day’s time, and confronted him. At one point I had to hide behind a pillar when the he cast a Hold Person spell in my direction, and the weather was terrible; Minsc even got struck by lightning, but other than that the battle went smoothly. A well-timed Magic Missile by Dynaheir, enraged Minsc’s attacks with his two-handed sword, a pack of Wolves I had bonded with and Coran’s arrows and mine finished him off. His undead minions fell soon after that.
Nearby we slew three Hobgoblin bandits and then returned to Keldath for our reward. With it, and with the sale of some of treasure, we were able to buy Coran the Shadow Armor, and to have Thalantyr make the Cursed Berserking Sword better wieldable and more powerful.
Thus prepared, we decided to go and investigate the Nashkel Mines for Berrun Ghastkill. On the road Coran kept trying to get close to me. I’ve been playing along but keeping him at arm’s length. Testing his patience is the only way for me to find out his true intentions. But I must say it’s becoming increasingly difficult. It’s a wonderful experience to feel myself cared about, admired and desired and, who knows, loved.
In the Nashkel Mines we had to fight large groups of Kobolds but with Dynaheir hasting the party, and with Minsc on the frontline, and Coran and I as snipers, we had no real difficulty with the vermin. Their leader, Mulahey, was more problematic. In spite of the party focusing their efforts on the Half-Orc, he managed to command Minsc to lie down and, more upsetting, to hold me. Fortunately Dynaheir had the presence of mind to cast Invisibility on me, so that Mulahey’s many Kobolds and Skeletons wouldn’t attack me. Coran more than stood his ground, slaying Mulahey in close combat and clearing the place of many of Mulahey’s minions together with Minsc. I helped them as soon as I regained control over my body.
There was only one (very) interesting piece of loot: a pair of Boots of Speed. We released an Elven prisoner that Mulahey had kept, and escaped together to the surface where we parted ways. Coran told me he wanted to stay by my side regardless of all the dangers that I'm exposed to. I gave him a kiss, but retreated when I saw Dynaheir looking at me.
The area surrounding the mine exit was full of dangers. First we had to defend ourselves against a Wizard and two Mustard Jellies he summoned after we had shown an interest in a spell he had developed for the conjuring of such slimes. Minsc’s fighting prowess is impressive. He decimated the Mage in a way that almost made me feel sorry for the man. Meanwhile I fought the Mustard Jellies whose slowing and poisonous spits gave me a hard time. Fortunately Minsc helped me out with the mighty Sword of Rage as enchanted by Thalantyr. Dynaheir and Coran were of less consequence in this battle with their spells and mundane arrows respectively.
We also battled many undead and put them to their final rest, much to my Lady Selûne’s satisfaction I’m sure. The strongest of the Undead was a Revenant, but enraged Minsc, this time using the Rage ability of the Sword of Rage rather than his own innate rage, was even stronger:
We made our way back to Nashkel where we were thanked and rewarded by Berrun Ghastkill. When we wanted to rest at the inn, we were attacked by an Assassin called Nimbul, a formidable foe that caused our party some serious trouble. Minsc raged and charged in, but to my shock his target wasn’t the Assassin but an innocent Amnish soldier who didn’t even have the time to defend himself before Minsc cut him down.
The party’s carefully built up reputation fell from 19 to 9. I’m playing with a mod component that makes it more difficult to get reputation increases both from either quests (less quests give rep increases), or Temples (much more expensive).
Meanwhile Nimbul cast a Confusion toward Dynaheir, Coran and me. We tried to enter the Nashkel store to avoid the spell’s nasty effects but were too late. Right at the door, Coran and I got affected by the spell and together we slew Dynaheir who had no place to run. (Images of her pained and frightened expression, that didn’t mean anything to me at the time I was confused, still haunt me.) Minsc then proceeded to direct his rage at the right person and didn’t take long to slay our foe, though he wasn’t fast enough to prevent the Assassin from hurting him and killing three more Amnish guards with a Skull Trap.
We had Dynaheir raised by Nalin at the Temple of Helm, and rested at the Nashkel Inn. When we left we were greeted by four bounty huntresses, two priests and two assassins: Lamalha, Zeela, Telka, and Maneira. We rushed back inside, but were followed by all four of them. Apparently these amazons had no qualms about causing a fuss in a public place. Their opening move was devastating. A backstab and an Unholy Blight outright killed Coran, and the latter spell also nearly slaughtered Dynaheir. I quaffed a Potion of Magic Blocking to protect myself against our opponents’ powerful magics, Minsc got commanded, and Dynaheir got fatally backstabbed while she was in the process of casting Horror. In a trancelike state, I wouldn’t call it a rage, I was just acting intuitively without having to consider my moves, I slew all four of our foes in close combat and, together with Minsc, their summoned Skeletons.
At the Temple of Helm I bought two scrolls of Raise Dead and spent them on both Dynaheir and Coran. After that we rested and had a very serious conversation. The whole thing of leading a group of adventurers is very novel to me. So I told Coran and Dynaheir that they were under no obligation to accompany me. I'm very, very fond of the both of them, but they ought to know that they're free to live the lives they want live, be it by my side at the moment, or elsewhere. Coran asked me if I remembered the words he'd spoken at me by the Nashkel Mine exit. It made me blush. Dynaheir too, was willing to stick by my side, though she urged me to be more generous in my consumption of anti-magic potions and items. The memory of Coran and me attacking her, was a painful one. However I didn't count with Dynaheir yet, because I still had to to tell Minsc what I should have told him right after Nimbul: that I can't condone his attacking and even slaying of innocents. It's one thing to lose control due to external magic (as had happened to Brage with the cursed sword, and to Coran and me when Nimbul magically confused us), but we have the responsibility to control our own, internally driven actions.
I didn't call Minsc evil, I believe his intentions are good, but I told him I saw no other way than for us to go different paths. I knew Coran would stick with me, but I was more concerned that it would also mean the end of my partnership with Dynaheir. I was more than surprised when she proposed Minsc to come with us to Nalin, and to find a manner to redeem himself. She had been impressed by the way in which Nalin had dealt with Brage. Minsc was very sad, I could hardly keep myself from crying at the sight of the broken giant, but he agreed to Dynaheir's proposal. Nalin said that Minsc could work for him or even serve the Nashkel military to atone for his actions. The soldier he had slain had been a new face, so the other soldiers were unlikely to be vengeful, though they would be suspicious of him. Either way, Nalin was an authoritative and well-liked figure in Nashkel. He would speak in Minsc's favor. Besides, the military could use a strong warrior, what with their four recent casualties (Minsc's victim plus the thee soldiers that had fallen to Nimbul's Skull Trap).
Without Minsc our party has no true frontliner, though Coran told me he was prepared to take up that role with the Ankheg armor and the Sword of Rage. I doubt he would be as good at it as Minsc, but it's something to consider. If Selûne wants me to have another fighter by my side, she'll send me one. I also think we would be helped with a healer in our party, but that too, is something for Selûne to decide. Meanwhile I'll travel with Coran and Dynaheir to Beregost, because according to a letter I found o Nimbul's corpse, there's contact of his waiting for him at Feldepost's Inn. I think this is something we ought to investigate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Selfies:
Coran as Fighter/Sharpshooter means that he can't backstab but he's allowed to poison his missiles.
Reloads: 0
Deaths:
Dynaheir 2: Coran/Serene, Telka
Coran 2: Wolf of Ulcaster, Lamalha
Minsc (no longer in party) 1: Greater Skeleton Mage
The Dynaheir suggestion was something I made up myself. I wanted a satisfactory solution to the Minsc problem. I think his slaying an innocent official was a good reason for Serene to end their working relationship, but at the same time she didn't want to lose Dynaheir.
***************************************************************************
Lust or Love, and a Plot behind the Iron Crisis
Before we traveled to Beregost, we visited the Nashkel Carnival again to buy some healing potions. In one of the tents we met an angry wizard who first killed a seemingly innocent Sorceress for being a "witch", much to Dynaheir's dismay, and after that he attacked us. Coran activated the Sword of Rage’s rage ability and remained unaffected by the Wizard’s attempts at charming him. The Wizard did hurt Dynaheir with a Melf’s Acid Arrow, which prompted the three of us to step outside the tent. I had more room to manoeuver there, and took our foe down with my bow and arrows. A nice and relatively easy victory against a potentially dangerous foe.
We then traveled to an area northwest of Nashkel where a Paladin named Bjornin had told us we could find a number of Half-Ogres he would like us to slay for him. I thought this a good idea what with our reputation in the region no doubt affected by Minsc’s frenzy in Nashkel. The slow Half-Ogres were no match for Coran’s and my firepower, nor were three bandits after Dynaheir had successfully webbed them.
In the same area, we helped the famed Drizzt Do’Urden extinguish a band of Gnolls. Dynaheir webbed them and Coran and I slew a few of the monsters. Afterward Drizzt criticized us for not helping! All three of us found this most ungrateful and pedantic of the Drow Ranger, but I guess even a hero such as he must have his faults. On our way to Beregost we were careless, traveling without Invisibility 15’ Radius. It nearly cost Dynaheir her life.
In Beregost Bjornin rewarded us with a Medium Shield +1 [but the party got no rep. increase]. At Feldpost’s we had a shockingly difficult fight with Tranzig after he refused to tell us what he had to do with Nimbul and with the Nashkel crisis. He horrored both Dynaheir (who had tried in vain to do the same with him) and Coran, and hurt the two of them with magical and physical attacks. Tranzig’s Horror didn’t affect me as I had kept a distance with the idea of pelting the Mage and interrupting his spellcasting. That plan didn’t really change; there was little else for me to do. Fortunately, once I got rid of his Mirror Images, he was easy pickings.
On Tranzig’s body I found the Bracers of Archery which I had most use for, now that Coran was the party’s new meleer. There was also a letter indicating the location of a Bandit Camp from where various raids had been organized. I didn’t see the relation with Nashkel nor with myself, but I suppose that’s only more reason to go and investigate.
First we rested though, and paid for that dearly. Another group of hired killers had tracked us down. They awaited us outside Feldepost’s. Dynaheir cast a Web, just too close to Coran and me, catching the both of us in it as well as our foes. I dare say that if the latter had somehow been resistant to Dynaheir’s web, they might have well slain us there and then. In the meantime Dynaheir cast Horror twice in our foes’ direction, causing their dwarven warrior to flee in terror. We wouldn’t see him again. Around the same time their priest freed himself from the web and cast an Unholy Blight upon the party, killing Dynaheir and severely injuring Coran causing him to lose morale and run away in fear. He would fall soon after, though I didn’t see who dealt the killing blow. When I finally got free I drank a Potion of Magic Blocking and fled into Firebead’s home, but my old “friend” disappointed me by refusing to help me in any way when my enemies (minus the Dwarf) entered. I cast a Flamestrike on the enemy priest, which killed him. Then I poisoned another, a gnomish Fighter/Illusionist, with Darts of Wounding (in the use of which I’m not even proficient). It prevented him from casting any more spells. He would fall in melee combat soon after. This left their leader, Molkar. I stunned him with a Dart of Stunning and pounded him with my staff until he fell.
I went to see Keldath at the Temple of Lathander to get my comrades raised for the third time in a week or two. Again I asked if they still wanted to be with me, and again they assented. I wanted to know how they had experienced death, but both companions remained pretty much silent. I wonder if it’s something beautiful, the soul moving on to new horizons. But I suppose my friends’ souls must have wandered around me all the time, because how else could they have found their way to their revived bodies?
The three of us traveled to the Larswood in the hopes of finding the Bandit Camp. When we arrived, our first run-in with the Black Talon Elite ended in a bloodbath on both sides.
I don’t understand how these fighters with their mundane weapons and armor (except for their Ice Arrows) can be so deadly and so difficult to kill. Part of it must have to do with the fact that they seem to operate in troups of five, but even individually I found them hard to deal with.
Coran’s fourth death had me decide to go and visit Khalid and Jaheira at the Friendly Arm Inn. I had been reluctant to deal with Jaheira. Surely she would criticize my judgment and tell me I should have never traveled without Khalid and her, but I had to swallow my pride and let her have her say. On the flipside Khalid had struck me as a nice fellow to have around, even in my earliest days as a shy and lonesome adventurer. I had Coran raised by Gellana Mirrorshade, and I told him I didn’t like the constant dance with death that both he and Dynaheir had unwillingly got caught up in. My companions had nothing against having reinforcements, and Khalid and Jaheira were more than willing to join, so our party grew to five members. Both Khalid and Jaheira are good fighters. I gave Khalid the Sword of Rage, Full Plate +1, the Helmet of Defense and the Gauntlets of Ogre Power. Jaheira got the Ankheg Plate Mail, a mundane helmet, Bjornin’s Medium Shield +1, a Scimitar +1, and a pair of Boots of Avoidance I had found on Nimbul, and I had Thalantyr make her a Returning Throwing Dagger +1. Thus we steamrolled over the bandits in both Larswood and Peldvale. The quintets of Black Talons were webbed by Dynaheir and pelted by Coran (who had reassumed his archer role), Jaheira and me. Any foes that would come close had to face Khalid. The forest housed many wild animals I befriended. They helped us overcome the bandits.
When we rested, Coran wanted to sleep with me. Not knowing how to behave, I turned away from him. The thought of him being an excellent lover and me all clumsy and awkward in my lack of experience is very unsettling to me. Sooner or later I shall overcome my shyness though. Maybe Coran is destined to be the one for me. I mean he has stuck with me for months, he has died more than once defending me, he’s always trying to please me and he hasn’t gone after anyone else.
The next day I infiltrated the Bandit Camp through a group of bandits we had met in Peldvale. None of the bandits would meet my companions until much later, as they were under the effect of Invisibility 15’ Radius. The Half-Ogre bandit leader, Tazok, came to me asking me what I wanted. When I told him he needed all the support he could get after the Nashkel Mines fiasco, he attacked me. I ran out of sight of the other bandits, and Tazok followed me. With the Boots of Speed on I was always faster than him, even after he had quaffed an Oil of Speed. Many arrows later the giant fell and I obtained a pair of Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise from him.
The next one to make himself known to the camp was Coran. He kissed me on the lips and told me with a wink that he was going to go and make some friends. He returned with about one thousand GP, some useful potions, gems, spell scrolls, and a big smile on his face. That’s for all those resurrections you’ve had to pay for, he told me. At that moment it was me who kissed him instead of the other way around, for coming back unscathed, for his sense of humor, and for being so nice with me at all times.
Coran led us to Tazok’s tent, and told us that that was where the leaders of the camp united. We entered, ready for a fight: Jaheira had buffed us with a Chant, and Dynaheir had hasted us and cast Invisibility 15’ Radius. We positioned ourselves in the back. Coran and I would aim our bows toward their Mage, with Coran poisoning his arrows for extr impact. Khalid would take the frontline with Jaheira, and Dynaheir would cast disabling spells from the back, to start with Horror. The plan worked pretty well, in spite of a number of setbacks. Dynaheir’s Horror affected only one foe, a Goll warrior (Britik), the Mage managed to hold Khalid who was a split second too late in activating his sword’s rage ability, and the enemy archers seemed to have but one target: poor Dynaheir. It was a good thing that she managed to web many of our foes, so that Coran, Jaheira and I could finish them off with our ranged weapons. This time there were no casualties on our side.
I found a very nice reward in the form of a weapon that seemed to have been made for me: the Longbow of Marksmanship. We released a prisoner who told us that the organization behind the Iron Crisis and the banditry was the mercantile consortium known as the Iron Throne. They’re supposed to have a base in the Cloakwood, so I guess that’s where we’ll be going. First however we went invisible again, before leaving the tent. We felled Taugosz Khosann, the leader of the Black Talons I’ve come to despise (they’re much too intelligent and disciplined and dangerous to my taste), looted his suit of full plate mail, and left the camp.
After a brief stop at the Friendly Arm Inn to rest and to barter with Bentley Mirrorshade we made our way to the Cloakwood. We were immediately reminded of having trespassed on spider-territory when we were attacked by suddenly appearing Phase Spiders, exactly like the first time Coran and I had ventured there. After we slew them, we spoke with a boy named Chelak who had lost his brother somewhere in the area. We feared the worst but promised the boy to go and look for the brother. We traveled protected by Invisibility, so that triggering any web traps wouldn’t have deadly consequences.
The area was eerily quiet. I found no natural animals except perhaps for small animals such as squirrels. They must have abandonded the area due to the ubiquitous spiders. Even if there were wolves or bears here, I probably wouldn't have called them so as not to expose them to the spiders' webs and poisons. Relying on stealth, my Boots of Speed and my Longbow of Marksmanship, I was the only one of our group to become visible at moments. With hit and fade tactics I removed a number spiders, my racial enemy, until I reached a den. In it I met Centeol, a cursed being, that set her spiders on me. I fled outside and made use of the open space to hit and fade. I cost me one Potion of Invisibility when a Giant Spider spat a web trap my way, but otherwise I had little difficulty with the monsters.
Back inside I slew Centeol and I found a Wand of Frost, Chelak’s brother’s corpse, and Spiders’ Bane, a mighty blade. I returned the body to Chelak.
-----------------------
QUESTION:
With the Wand of Frost I just found, and the Wands of Lightning and of Magic Missiles I had kept in my Bag of Holding, Thalantyr can enchant the Longbow of Marksmanship and turn it into the following weapon:
Do you folks consider this to be a an overpowered weapon? I think the enchantment / Thac0 bonus isn’t necessarily OP, but the extra elemental damage might be a bit too much no? Not sure if it would break the game, but I think the Longbow of Marksmanship is already quite a beautiful weapon in itself. Any opinions are most welcome.
I don't think that the Bow of the Snow Storm is OP for a run with so many difficulty enhancing mods. Yes, it goes through the Stoneskins but there're many things that do as well, starting with the Poison Weapon. Yes, it has a solid damage and THACO but bows are already powerful in BG1, there's nothing wrong with having an additional plus. In the end, this bow doesn't drastically change the course of the game, the ways of dealing with tough enemies. It's a good item that, like many others, makes this particular run different.
And, Blackraven, I cannot post here without telling you how pleasant it is to read your story.
- I love the game and so everything related with it
- I have very limited time to play, and reading a playthrouh it's like i'm playing too
- When the playthrough is roleplayed, the story can be even more intresting
- I can't be tired of the many explanations of the NPC-s and Gorion's Ward, it's always intresting how other players see them, and interpret them
- I can still learn new tactics, new chalenging play styles, find new contents and ideas of the game
- I can possibly gather knowlede from various mod's contents (this can spoil the fun maybe, but by the time i can try the mod i hardly remember the proper content, just that it was good)
- I like to read good written stories
On this forum i find many workpieces, that fulfills the above stated reasons, and i count Serene Winterbloom's tale as one.