Nymand has been quite busy pursuing all kinds of activities, some of them quite noble and others shadier, but all lucrative. He delivered on his promise to Hendak to dismantle the slaver base in the Slums District. The rogue entered via the sewers, where Hobgoblins, slimes, an Otyugh and Kobolds were dealt with, and where Lilarcor was obtained (to be sold later). Nymand entered the slavers' compund hidden in shadows, and found several warriors/archers and a priest of Cyric. With a single backstab he took out the latter first.
Invisibility items/potions allowed Nymand to finish off a few more of his foes until an area was left where no enemies were in sight. He threw a special trap to the spot where a group of the warriors had gathered. They all got held, which greatly helped the elf finish off his enemies with backstabs (though he wouldn't be fast enough to kill all of them before the Hold effect wore off).
Trolls were done in with backstabs and fire arrows from Tuigan's bow, and then a second squad of enemies was engaged. It included two wizards that would waste most of their spells on Kitthix before Nymand dealt with them using stealth and acid arrows. The other slavers and two Yuan-Ti fell to the Bounty Hunter's backstabs.
Another job he still hadn't finished was to get rid of Mae'Var, so after a good night's rest, that's what Nymand set out to do. Potions of invisibility, defense, speed, and magic protection (2x) enabled him to clear tthe guild house without too much difficulty. His Detect Illusions ability came in very handy here.
Downstairs he chose a Priest of Cyric as his first target.
While HiS he then watched Kitthix web and kill some of the Assassins before he would dispel Mae'Var's buffs with an arrow of dispelling.
After that, Mae'Var's death was but a formality. Nymand reported to Renal Bloodscalp and was rewarded a Short Sword +3 (not the Short Sword of Backstabbing ) as well as the guildhouse. When Nymand returned he set his Thieves to work, and he was informed by a woman named Ama of a meeting with a foreign politician that was to take place at night at Waukeen's Promenade. However, Kamuzu (a longtime prisoner of Mae'Var, released by Nymand) told the new housemaster to be wary of this Ama; he had seen her more than once with Mae'Var and suspected the two had been lovers. He also offered to stay on at the guildhouse as the house alchemist; an offer that Nymand gladly accepted (it's good to have potions of invisibility, speed, etc, even though they cannot be stolen and thus have to be bought).
The meeting with Ama and the 'politician' did indeed prove to be a setup, but a good supply of invisibility potions (plus his 100 Detect Illusions) that allowed for effective backstabbing kept Nymand on the winning side. He didn't get any time to rest because he was immediately approached by a fellow rogue he had met at the Shadow Thief headquarters, Sansuki, urging Nymand to protect him against three vampires that were after him. The same tactics (invisibility and backstabs) made Nymand prevail in this encounter as well.
All this turmoil made him miss the daily opportunity to deal with his first mark for Lynn (Assassinations mod); it was too late. Rather than waiting an entire day or seeking other business opportunities in Athkatla, Nymand decided to travel to Trademeet to investigate the animal troubles a messenger had told him of. Interestingly there was no ambush on the way there, so Nymand arrived safe and sound at the village, though he did indeed have to deal with attacking wild animals. He stole an Efreeti bottle and offered a Dao Djinn to find Ihtafeer's head. He also spoke with Migh Merchant Logan and a Druid named Cernd, who wanted him to investigate the likely source of the animal plague: a nearby Druid Grove. There he ran into numerous Trolls roaming around (including SCS/Tactics-style spellcasting Spirit Trolls - I must have mistakenly installed that spellcasting ability). Nymand experimented with traps and backstabs, but found that those weapons of his were of limited effect, so he quaffed a potion of invisibility and simply left the creatures behind. He did dispatch a bunch of spiders, but left Druids and Spore Colonies alone. He entered a small house that proved to be Ihtafeer's hideout. Ihtafeer and two henchmen gave Nymand a very hard time. A death fog proved highly damaging and thus made it impossible for him to engage in combat. He could nothing but wait.
Kitthix fared a bit better, holding her ground against the henchmen and eventually prevailing thanks to webs. And when the fog had subsided, Kitthix and Nymand finished off the Ihtafeer together.
Outside, Nymand had some stress when a Myconid confused him, but thankfully he was hasted, he ran in a convenient direction, and he was in a fighting mood, that made him successfully defend himself against an attacking Grizzly Bear and against the Myconid itself.
Arrows of dispelling facilitated the slaying of Dalok and a Shadow Druid; other foes were taken down with backstabs, except two Fire Elementals that were dispatched in melee.
Cernd was then recruited to deal with Faldorn and complete the Trademeet quest. His Insect Plague lasted longer than Faldorn's Creeping Doom, which allowed him to summon allies that would finish Faldorn off.
(In my setup I made Cernd a Totemic Druid, using the Level 1 NPCs mod, partly because I wanted to run a Shapeshifter once myself.)Nymand was amply rewarded back in Trademeet (and rewarded himself a bit more with some free shopping), helped Tiris and secured the Cloak in the crypt, and returned to Athkatla. He's currently at his guild house taking care of guild business.
Upon his return to Athkatla, Nymand did some of the smaller quests/encounters there, such as: - battling the Fallen Paladins with Kitthix,
- teaching Mencar Pebblecrusher and his friends a lesson,
- helping the Helm Temple (fake illithium) and the Temple of Lathander (stolen ring), - dispatching a number of marks for Lynne,
- and dealing with Prebek and Sanasha, slaying Spectral Harpists and avenging Xzar.
He then went on a trip to the Umar Hills, where the Imnesvale quests were accomplished before the Temple Ruins were visited. His first visit was a short one because Nyamand had to return to Athkatla on guild business. Besides, he found Gorje Hilldark whose brother Unger would lead Nymand to Neb and 220 lbs of pure illithium (which in my install can be used to upgrade either the Mace of Disruption or Azuredge). Nymand's second, more profound exploration of the Temple Ruins gave him two near death experiences in a row. First, near the 'fire pool' he was made familiar with Greater Mummies' ability to paralyze victims with fear.
(This must have been aTweaks PnP Undead at work. I didn't know about the ability. PnP Undead is not explained in the readme.) Nymand only survived his dreadful state thanks to the fact that Kitthix had been summoned and was targeted first by the Mummy and its cohorts (a Bone Golem and two Skeletal Warriors). It bought the rogue the necessary time for the effect to wear off. A potion of clarity would render the 'paralyze with fear' ability useless in the remainder of the battle. But then it was time for Nymand's second near death experience: misplaced confidence that a Skeleton Warrior could be finished off before other foes would catch up with him, left Nymand with only 2 HP after a Bone Golem hit him twice.
He retreated, healed, and placed four traps to take care of the Bone Golem. However it was an Aerial Servant, summoned by the Greater Mummy, that triggered it (and fell to it).
The remaining enemies were dispatched with backstabs, or pseudo-backstabs in the case of the backstab-immune Bone Golem.
Having learnt from his experiences, Nymand's second encounter with the same type of enemies (one Greater Mummy, a Bone Golem, two Skeleton Warriors) went much smoother. Nymand rested and went on to test himself against Thaxxy. Any hostile action, including the setting of traps, makes Dragons go hostile in my setup, but Nymand nevertheless managed to set all his traps out of the dragon's sight.
They severely injured the dragon, but they didn't kill it. The rogue then used different summons to distract his foe while he would try and hurt it. His most powerful ally, Kitthix, was unfortunately removed with a Death Spell, but the Efreeti and later Ras especially, with some good immunities, allowed Nymand to shoot arrows (those of Dispelling failed to work), deal some decent Ring of the Ram damage, and get in the occasional melee hit.
A Bhaal-DUHM plus a (Rogue Rebalancing) vial of poison to coat his weapon in, enabled Nymand to finish Thaxxy off in melee.
I was surprised that Nymand didn't get level drained, which was my main fear for this fight. Maybe SCS changes this, I can't remember, or could it have to do with the fact that Nymand relied heavily on stealth/invisibiliy (and non-detection)? I noticed that Thaxxy saw through Nymand's invisibility, but perhaps it couldn't cast spells at hidden/invisible Nymand? Either way, Nymand left the Shade Lord for later, because I know that one (in its SCS manifestation) does level drain a lot, and Nymand will have to wait till UAI to properly protect himself against that effect. He stole a dagger with 3 casts/day of Negative Plane Protection, but that spell doesn't last long enough to be of much use I think. Thus he returned to Athkatla, where vampires aren't much of a threat thanks to potions of clarity, invisibility and speed,
and where Cromwell forged the Shadow Dragon Scale armor for Nymand, who's currently level 19 (two level ups removed from Maze Traps).
I’m just catching up, as usual, but I especially loved reading about Nymand’s shopping spree from earlier. It sounded like so much fun and one can never have to many enchanted arrows!
Dear @Ravenslight, thank you so much for taking the time to read and to comment. The shoplifting was very exciting at the time, but I was told yesterday that there's no 'critical failure'-risk as there is with normal pickpocketing, so 240 or 250 in pickpockets meant certain sucess. Didn't know that at the time though... I'm thoroughly enjoying this playthrough. I find once more that to me thieves are my favorite class to play. They look really cool, have no brute force or powerful spells to rely on making them underdogs, and they require a lot of micro-management to work well.
Regarding the enchanted arrows: I've got a very good supply of arrows of dispelling, so I should be good against many wizards.
Dispatching powerful undead such as Greater Mummies, and slaying his first dragon, Nymand got overconfident again. This time, it cost him his life.
Greedy for XP, Maze traps and powerful items, Nymand agreed to work for Aran Linvail, and then he went Lich hunting. Initially this went well. Protection from Undead, potion buffs, strategic positioning and patience allowed him to deal with both the Shade Lich and the Elemental Lich.
Kangaxx the Lich was also dealt with, thanks to spell-absorbing summons and the same strategy (copious amounts of potions + positioning near the exit).
Next was Kangaxx the Demilich. Nymand was buffed with potions of Speed, Clarity and Fire Protection, and managed to dodge most spells. He didn't suffer any real damage until his buffs were removed and a triggered Flame Arrow hit him.
His uninjured foe seemed to have run out of his most dangerous spells, Nymand thought as he shrugged off a Horror thanks to his potion of Clarity, but then Kangaxx started throwing Emotions at him. The first one was saved against; the second however took effect. Kangaxx cast a Cloudkill on Nymand, leaving the rogue to die while the demi-lich went trapping the souls of innocent bystanders.
This was the first time ever that I had a charname take on SCS Kangaxx without PfUndead or PfMagic. I didn't really know what was going to happen. It's a pity I realized too late that Nymand's potion of clarity wouldn't protect him against Emotion: Hopelessness' sleep effect. (I somehow had the mistaken notion in my head that potion of clarity protects against all the BG1 status effects minus Hold/Stun). It's been an enjoyable ride, and I can see myself give Nymand a second chance in the future.
Blackraven I'm always there watching. I'm not leaving my playthroughs unfinished. We just need to wait until things get sorted out (namely SCS, Spell revisions, item revisions)
Awwww… Sigh… I find myself getting attached to your characters, so it always saddens me to see one fall. Ah well, he is not the first to be undone by the evils of Kangaxx. I look forward to seeing your next adventurer avenge him.
@Scourge, good to know you're still around Have you got any idea about time frames for the Revisions mods? I've never played with them but find them interesting. @Ravenslight, ah thank you I don't always attach myself (for example I lacked that attachment with Thani, the Wizard Slayer), but I liked Nymand a lot. I'll let him rest for a while, but I think he'll be back someday. @Tidus, well met! And thanks for your support. I sometimes feel people may get fed up with reading about my doomed charnames' efforts, so it's great to read your post
I must say I've stopped reading these as dutifully, as I've become disillusioned by the never ending deaths. I still skim through each new character's travels, but Thani was the last character I was really invested in, and before that? Um... I don't even remember. That said, it's always well done, and I couldn't begin to even think about giving up on this thread.
The eta is a couple of months for those two. I'm sort of lucky because more time waiting, means bugs squashed for SCS (v29 is getting out), Item revisions (items working better) and spell revisions (cooler spells).
And my exams finished before beginning again.
Edit: btw, do you never visit durlag's tower with a solo character? Have you ever beat aec'letec?
I must say I've stopped reading these as dutifully, as I've become disillusioned by the never ending deaths. I still skim through each new character's travels, but Thani was the last character I was really invested in, and before that? Um... I don't even remember. That said, it's always well done, and I couldn't begin to even think about giving up on this thread.
I understand. You're most interested in characters' stories, less so in game mechanics and tactics I think. And I'm somewhere inbetween I find, because I don't really enjoy purely tactical playthroughs (which is why I didn't enjoy Thani's run that much). I wonder whether I'll ever successfully complete a no-reload run... Thanks anyway for caring
The eta is a couple of months for those two. I'm sort of lucky because more time waiting, means bugs squashed for SCS (v29 is getting out), Item revisions (items working better) and spell revisions (cooler spells).
And my exams finished before beginning again.
Edit: btw, do you never visit durlag's tower with a solo character? Have you ever beat aec'letec?
Thanks for the info. Who knows in a few months I might upgrade SCS and include the Revisions mods. Don't know when you're exams are exactly, but it's a good idea to not play too much in exam time... As to Durlag's, my Mage (3)->Fighter went there with Dorn and Tiax, but died to a trap. Going to Durlag's is really only an option with a Thief (or a party containing one). Usually I'm to eager to go to Amn to risk my neck in the tower. Last time I beat Aec'Letec must have been years ago... Do you intend to take you Barbarian there?
I wish to enter Durlag's tower. I need to reach level 13 in bg1, so I need all the experience possible xD. Maybe even a bit more.
I'm planning two different characters, a dual-class and a multiclass.
A dual class berserker (13) -> mage a multiclass barbarian mage (this one kinda sends shivers down my spine).
I'm in front of the cloakwood mines , but for consistency purposes, I'm avoiding entering before those mods are out (and I will reinstall). After all, it was all practice.
And to be sincere, I couldn't be the scourge I wanted. The prices are too high if you are evil. :P So the mod basing the prices on carisma has to be installed this time
Wow, it's nice to be away for a few days and then find so much interesting activity on the forums. Will have to catch up. I think I'll be a bit busier for the remainder of this month and possibly early Feb due to some unexpected extra work (booh :-1 hehe). In that respect my decision a few days back to enter the no-reload challenge with an old favorite of mine, a Gnome Illusionist/Thief, might be well-timed. It's a potentially powergamey class after all. Here's Elckerlyc:
I'll probably play him as an arcane enhanced Thief for as long as possible. With that I mean that he's likely to rely on stealth/backstabs/ranged attakcs, traps etc, where other players would use magic. The reason for this is simple: I have more affinity and experience with Thieves. Elckerlyc's claim to Sword Coast heroism hasn't been seriously disputed thus far, with only one near death experience, early on: an ambush by bandits whose arrows left him at 2 HP. It made taking Find Familiar as a level 1 spell pick pay off. The Gnome's level 6/7 atm, with over 100k XP; pips in Shortbows, Short Swords and TWF; and skillpoints invested in Find Traps (65), Set Traps (70) and MS (110). Experience, gold and loot were gained through a variety of means: - Blindness,
- Sleep, of which the following screenshot shows Elckerlyc's most satisfactory use so far,
- Backstabs
- the occasional fireworks
- Liberal use of a Wand of Paralyzation,
- And most recently, a charge of the Wand of Monster Summoning.
Here a screenshot of his inventory screen, to give you an impression of what he's currently working with:
As the screenshots show, The Nashkel Mines and Nimbul have been dealt with, so the Bandit camp is the next big step. Burdened with almost 24k GP, Elckerlyc is planning to do some shopping at Thalantyr's (potions, probably a nice recharge of the Wand of Paralyzation), before he 's off to the Wood of Sharp Teeth.
I wish to enter Durlag's tower. I need to reach level 13 in bg1, so I need all the experience possible xD. Maybe even a bit more.
I'm planning two different characters, a dual-class and a multiclass.
A dual class berserker (13) -> mage a multiclass barbarian mage (this one kinda sends shivers down my spine).
I'm in front of the cloakwood mines , but for consistency purposes, I'm avoiding entering before those mods are out (and I will reinstall). After all, it was all practice.
And to be sincere, I couldn't be the scourge I wanted. The prices are too high if you are evil. :P So the mod basing the prices on carisma has to be installed this time
Interesting info. I think there's a mod component (BG2Tweaks) you might be interested in:
Change Effect of Reputation on Store Prices Previously Known As Low Reputation Store Discount (Sabre, Richardson, Weimer) This component has been broadened into a general alteration of how reputation affects store prices. The original variant, Low Reputation Store Discount, is unchanged: reputation values of 8-13 result in no discounts; items are sold at their original prices. Every point lower or higher then 8 or 13, respectively, gives the party a 5% discount. This reaches a maximum of 35% -- meaning that the party will only pay 65% of the item's original price -- at reputation values of 1 and 20.
Of your planned characters I think I feel the Barbarian/Mage multi more, but depending on your storytelling, anything could work.
Elckerlyc's run ended rather unfortunately at the Ducal Palace, where hasted Gnolls and arrows of dispelling on the Greater Doppelgangers failed to keep the shapeshifting creatures from killing the Grand Dukes. That part is always tricky in solo runs. He'll be back though. In order to reduce the likelihood of the Ducal Palace spoiling the fun in my next playthorugh, I rolled up a full custom (evilly oriented) party. I'll try to combine some moderate roleplaying with no-reload powergaming.
The Bhaalspawn is a LE Elven Enchantress named Galatea.
Galatea is a sociable person and people generally respond well to her, especially males. Until recently Galatea was a bright but unambitious student in Candlekeep, making only the smallest efforts required to get by in her studies and to keep people happy. But hours after seeing her foster father get killed by an anonymous warrior, she pledged to become as powerful a mage as she can. Due to her alignment she can only grow in power through lawful means though, meaning she'll have to be very careful in giving her word. She has more than enough intelligence to understand that a fairly good reputation is likely to help her party, and her high charisma gives her the persuasive force to compel her less scrupulous companions to restrain themselves for reputation purposes. Typical for an Elf, she's quite fond and respectful of nature. On the other hand manipulation and exploitation of (demi-)humans, a corrupt bunch unlike honest nature, is fair game for her. The latter view does not apply to her companions, with whom she seeks a good understanding. Galatea is currently exploring the wilds between Candlekeep, the Friendly Arm Inn and Beregost.
Galatea's lieutenant and first confidante is Alippa, a female, LE Dwarven Defender.
Alippa's a few decades older than Galatea (but still young for a Dwarf) and has lived in Candlekeep for as long as Galatea can remember. But where Galatea spent much of her time in the library studying, Alippa was almost always found practising her combat skills with the guards and with her friend and fellow dwarven warrior Arkanis. Her fervent training has certainly paid off for Alippa, because she's turned herself into an exceptionally strong and resilient warrior, even for a Dwarf. Those traits, combined with her fearlessness and her truculency, make her a reliable and an inspiring presence in the vanguard of battle. She speaks little and takes some time with most people before she opens up. When Galatea asked Alippa with Gorion's approval to accompany her on their trip, the Dwarf agreed to join her friend.
Brother Boniface, CE Gnome Priest of Talos, is the party cleric.
It was only a few days before the start of Galatea's adventure, that Brother Boniface had come to Candlekeep in search of useful scrolls and artifacts. He had gained entrance with a false letter stating he was a novice Oghmanyte priest sent from Waterdeep to conduct research, but he was found out when he was asked to lead a collective prayer (and failed miserably). He was expelled from the citadel on the same day they that Galatea set out with Gorion and Alippa. In Candlekeep Boniface and Galatea had only briefly run into each other, but the second time they met, they took the time to introduce themselves and get to know each other a bit better. The Gnome revealed to the Elf his true business in Candlekeep, explaining to her that he's really a Priest of Talos and, much to Galatea's approval, that he revels in the destructive force of nature. He's a merry little Gnome though, always in for a jest, and for a flirt with any female of the short races. He was asked to join the party, and having already checked out Alippa, Brother Boniface didn't hesitate to express his agreement.
The fourth party member is Sholla, a NE Halfling Assassin.
Sholla is Deder's little niece. About a year ago she came to Candlekeep as a fugitive from Selgaunt and was accepted into the citadel and into Deder's care after she had explained to her uncle that she was - allegedly unjustly - accused of the murder of a human noble back home. Both Halflings share the same trade, but Deder soon learnt that his niece does not share his scruples, nor his methods. The number of reports of theft at Winthrop's Inn had never been so high as after Sholla's arrival, and at the infirmary too, various potions and ingredients had started to go missing as of the first weeks after her arrival. Sholla's a subtle, soft-spoken girl, and at the same time a lethal, highly intelligent thief. She's taught herself to concoct deadly poisons, and has recently taken an interest in the mechanics of setting and disarming snares. She's earned Galatea's respect with her intelligence, and in turn admires the Enchantress for her grace and her brightness. She also gets along well with the fifth member of the crew:
Welter, CE Half-Elven Jester.
As a young boy Welter was brought to Candlekeep by Winthrop, together with a young girl of the same age, Imoen. Initially Winthrop had both Welter and Imoen work for him at the inn, but he was conveniently relieved of his duties because of the constant pranks he pulled such as switching the sugar and the salt container's contents, placing cow dung on a chair right before someone would sit on it, or pickpocketing one guest and puting the spoils inside someone else's pockets and then shout 'thief, thief!'. Most of the older people in Candlekeep have had the greatest difficulty communicating with the boy, and his sanity is generally questioned in the citadel, but Galatea knows better: Welter always understands even the most complex spell scrolls she presents and explains to him, and she can see him become a spell caster with her help. When he was sixteen Welter decided to become a 'performer' but his stories and plays at the inn have generally left his crowds confused rather than amused. Feeling misunderstood, he persuaded his friend Sholla to go with him after Galatea when the Elf had left Candlekeep with Gorion, to explore the world.
The latest addition to the party is Renouar, NE Human Avenger.
Renouar is already in his early fifties, and has only very recently taken up the adventuring profession. For most of his life he had been a farmer, but one day when he returned to his home outside Beregost after having traded some of his wares in the town, he found his house burnt down, his wife dead, and his cattle gone. He does not know who the culprits were, and from what Galatea can gather, he doesn't really care: all that cross him can count on his wrath. A few weeks of roaming the wilderness have given him an unsual bond with nature and turned him into a wandering Druid. He was drawn to the place of Gorion's death due to the fire and the lightning that had caught his eye from afar. When he arrived, the battle had already come to an end but the next day he did run into Galatea and her band. Having so recently experienced the loss of a loved one himself, Renouar showed himself very sympathetic to Galatea's situation when he learnt of it, and he offered to help her and her young friends make their way in the unforgiving wilderness, an offer that Galatea gladly accepted.
This is probably going to be a difficult run for me, with only one true warrior, and five characters that especially in the beginning will be rather vulnerable and that throughout the game will require more micro-management. Also, having an Assassin in a full party means limited thieving possibilities. Another issue I might have, depending on my progress and on the amount of roleplaying I will put into this run, is that Galatea would be a good candidate for me to romance CN Anomen (a romance I've never completed). But I'd have to throw someone out for that to happen, probably Boniface, and I might not want to.
It's an EE playthrough with only three mods (SCS, Rogue Rebalancing and Song & Silence).
Some very interesting back stories on your new party! Though I must admit to a grimace or two when viewing their portraits. My interest is definitely piqued. So many interesting possibilities for roleplaying this bunch.
Thanks @Meyahi, @Gotural and @Ravenslight! Now that I've invested some time in the characters' backstories I find myself indeed tending toward a more roleplayed playthrough. This goes for both the journaling and the actual gameplay (the latter is not so difficult because Galatea is a self-serving type: she likes to be popular and use it to her advantage but won't hesitate to take impopular measures if that serves her interests better, after which a couple of hypocrital donations at temples should help restore the party's reputation).
As to the portraits, I'm most pleased to see them provoke your reactions... Personally I love them Finding portraits and inventing stories with them, has kind of become a hobby of mine. In the past I would decide on a class I'd play, and then look for a portrait, but nowadays it's the portraits that come first; they decide race/class/personality for me.
Ah one more thing. Since this a custom party, it means no lucrative NPC sidequests (e.g. Elven Chain in BG1, Drago Khal Shield in BG2), and also no special NPC perks (such as Tiax' ghast or Faldorn's dread wolf in BG1, Edwin's necklace or Jaheira's Harper's Call in BG2). Therefore I'm thinking of adding special abilities or items, no more than one per character, that should be situationally useful without breaking the game, and that are fitting for the character. Galatea may find to her confusion that in Chateau Irenicus an illegal Contingency found its way into her spellbook, Alippa's very brave and will probably get a Resist Fear ability at some point, Welter might get a special once/day song, Renouar might get a myconid-style summon fungus innate ability, etc.
If you need any help with special abilities or item just tell me I'm totally willing to help! (as always, nice new run!)
You're a great friend here, @CrevsDaak. I'll let you know. Ideally some kind of mini-tutorial so as not to need your help and occupy your time in the future. Will write you a message once I've made up my mind about the special items/abilities.
I'll journal the party's progress through entries of the companions' personal diaries. Alippa will kick off.
Day 2, 3 Mirtul 1368: It's good to be out traveling with Galatea! I've already put my axe to work plenty of times; more seems to happen in two days on the road than in two years in Candlekeep. The others seem to be good folk as well, though I haven't spoken much with any of them yet. The Gnome keeps giving me looks, but I've decided to ignore him for now.
We've had unfriendly dealings with all manner of creatures. For example a few hours east of Candlekeep, on the Lion's Way, we were speaking with a lone traveler when all of a sudden a wolf appeared from the bushes and attacked. Galatea's response was keen: with one of her enchantment spells she put the beast to sleep for a while.
I think that Renouar tried to tell us something at that point, but the others killed the animal before Renouar could do or say much and the Druid remained silent after the wolf had died. Maybe I should ask him some day about his affinity with wild animals. There were other creatures in the woods as well: Gibberlings, Xvarts, but those runts formed no real threat to us. More interesting was our encounter with an Ogre. Galatea had no more Sleep spells memorized, so I stepped forward to engage the monster, hoping to keep my friend and the others safe and to allow them to attack from afar. But then the Gnome pulled some Sleep trick out of his little sleeve, very similar to Galatea's magic. Thus we ended up killing the monster in the same way as we had done with the wolf.
Afterwards, the Gnome smiled contentedly at me. He must have thought his spellcasting had made a big impression on me. To be honest it did surprise me that the Ogre lay down so obediently, but as before, I just gave the cleric the cold shoulder and kept to myself.
Our most dangerous encounter wasn't with a wild beast or monster, but with a Human at the Friendly Arm Inn. According to a letter from some mysterious figure named "E", that Sholla had taken from Gorion's corpse, we would find an enchanted ring just outside the Inn's walls if we followed the instructions and looked carefully, and we would also find two friends inside the establishment, Khalid and Jaheira. Sholla found the ring easily enough, but the first person we met was no friend, even though he initially called us that. He was a wizard of some sort and only the Gods know what he would have done with us if it wasn't for the guards who intervened. Galatea took me by surprise when she sent her Imp forward to fight the wizard. I didn't even know she had brought that little bugger along (though I could have guessed), and at that moment I had little hope that the familiar would remain much longer with us. But then it somehow transformed itself into a Jelly, and the wizard could do nothing against it. Nevertheless, when he spotted the rest of us he threw a Horror spell at us that had three of my companions cower in fear (Renouar, Sholla and Welter).
After the Gnome removed the effect from Sholla and Welter with one of his spells, we charged forward to attack. I think I saw the wizard start casting another spell, but he was struck down by one of the guards before he could finish his incantation.
We've just spoken with Gorion's friends inside the Inn. They proposed to join us, but Galatea declined. (She told me later she didn't like the woman, too bossy.) We also spoke with Bentley the Gnomish Innkeeper who told us of troubles in Nashkel, and with Landrin, yet another Gnome. She asked us to clear her spider-infested house in Beregost and bring her some of her belongings for some serious gold. We are to get some rest now and depart tomorrow, south to Beregost, and maybe even further, to Nashkel.
I guess you had too many ideas to go with a single character after Elckerlyc's run had ended so you choose to go with 6 of them.
And this is entertaining. It's something new to a solo run and, no doubt about it, grants all of us several hours of wonderful reading : )
I also like an idea to tell each chapter of the story by personal diaries of party members, different each time. Reminds me of @Nonnahswriter 's IWDEE journal. I like it.
Yes yes yes yes yes. Finally another good story from you to really get me excited! Not to say that your previous work hasn't been good, but they weren't exactly the kind of play-throughs I'm most interested in, as I'm sure you know.
Hey @Elrandir and @bengoshi! Great to see two dear forum friends so enthusiastic! re: the different diary entries, yes I've seen it done a few times. You mentioned @Nonnahswriter and I think @CrevsDaak did it with his party of Clerics as well. It's a nice, 'different' concept I think.
Anyway here's another installment. From Welter's diary:
Day 4, 5 Mirtul 1368
Scene 3:
*Sing:* Sleep, my Spiderlings sleep,
Sleep, Ogrilions please sleep,
Sleep, Flaming Fisters sleep,
Sleep, now everyone sleep, Look yonder go the sheep, The sheep with feet so white, that make their tread so light,
Oh all my sleepers so dear, There is no reason to fear, You 'll feel no bullets, bolts, darts, Pierce your sorry old hearts. Nor will you smell the Dwarf's farts, Did y'all here that? The Dwarf's farts... aahahaha, hahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa,
Here: *Start dancing hysterically*
Hmm, I feel my writing could still be improved. Maybe I should give my work a more serious tone, and include difficult words like effervesce or conundrum. Also, Alippa, she wouldn't appreciate the dwarf reference, and I don't want to be in that one's bad books. Note: Talk to the friendly thespian again in Beregost for tips whenever she has the time to take a look at my work.
Whoops, wrong notebook This is my diary. Am I really going to keep a diary? Oh well, why not! But what is there to say except that we're all having a hell of a time? The realms are one big playground really. We're doing whatever we like, and if someone opposes us my sweet Galatea will simply put them to sleep. What a vamp! We've been to Beregost where Sholla and I insisted on doing some free shopping. "Don't get into trouble," my Galatea had told us, and like good children we didn't. My cute little thieving friend and I returned with a lovely cloak for our mistress that makes her look even more ravishing than before. We also 'found' some sort of wand we'll have to identify, and an enchanted mace for Brother Boniface that brought a smile to the little Gnome's face. Not that that's hard to accomplish, blithe little fellow. I like him. We also met a lovely Half-Elf, a Wild Mage. She could make other people disappear, good fun! We helped her kill some Thayvians.
Afterwards I told her to travel with us. She seemed willing, but Galatea wouldn't have any wild magic in the party, and the others agreed. Galatea then seemingly charmed the Half-Elf and coaxed her into rewarding us with a Traveler's Robe and a gem bag.
We're in Nashkel at the moment, which isn't the most interesting place to stay, except of course for its Carnival. I befriended a buffoon there who mocked me and made me quite jealous of his colorful clothes. I asked Sholla to poison him for me, so that I could take his attire for myself, but he must have overheard me because he went invisible. I haven't seen him again.
Ah I remember something. On the road between Beregost and Nashkel there were many Hobgoblins, and one of them poisoned Galatea with his arrows.
I nearly had to cry when I saw her suffer, but then she swigged an antidote that countered the poison. And Alippa, what a beast, she sure punished that Hobgoblin, almost made me feel sorry for it.
We found some expensive jewelry on some of the Hobgoblins and a pair of boots that make Sholla even stealthier than she already was.
I'm not sure what we're going to do next, or where. The mayor of Nashkel asked us to investigate the Nashkel Mines, but none of us (except maybe Alippa, out of curiosity) were interested in going there. Mines are boring, and dirty I think. They're for people who work, and we don't work, we dance and we play! Even old Renouar told me that in spite of his painful and still fresh memories, he actually prefers adventuring over farming, let alone mining. I'd rather go north to Baldur's Gate or south to Athkatla, but I fear the Jester's opinion will be given little weight, one of the downsides of acting the fool...
Today is my tenth day with Galatea and her companions. Initially I led them to Beregost thinking our paths would diverge from there, but here I am, still around. I think that's good for them because they're wanderers and they have use for my guidance in the wilds. I benefit as well, because they've been most helpful so far in my hunt for defilers to punish. We've dealt with Gnolls, different types of undead and several Hobgoblins west and southwest of Beregost for example.
Some of our battles were not easy to execute efficiently and safely. The Gnolls for example we had to keep at a distance from various members of our party because they seemed capable of slaughter in a single blow with their polearms, and the Skeletons would spread so that they could attack from different sides with their throwing knives. It taught us that for all her strength and bravery, Alippa can't protect the party all by herself, at least not at all times. At one point, during combat with a group of two Flinds and three Gnolls, she called Brother Boniface and instructed him to join her. The Gnome looked none to happy with the prospect of measuring himself against the monsters in melee combat. For a moment I saw him struggle for words, probably for some type of excuse. Would the call have come from another, he might have simply abandoned the party, but I've seen the little trickster eyeing Alippa. I think he likes her. And so he joined our Dwarven companion. Her patting him on the shoulder after battle was done, must have been a promising reward for the Gnome. And the party is surely better off with two meleers.
I do feel some of the companions can be a bit rash in reaching for their weapons. Especially young Sholla has made herself known as an eager and ice-cold killer. It was the Halfling who initiated the party's attack of a second wolf (after the one killed on the Lion's Way a week ago). It pained me to see my companions needlessly slay one of nature's children. But I cannot blame them, for a few months ago I'd have done the same if a wolf would come upon my lands to prey on my cattle. Malar must have read my thoughts though, because I've gained an ability that allows me to charm wild beasts and have them hunt with me and with the party. Anyway, as the wolf lay dead, a rooster approached us and introduced itself in the human tongue as Melicamp. It urged us to bring it to Thalantyr the Conjurer at the High Hedge, not far from my old home. The wizard would restore the rooster to its original, human form. Welter suddenly felt hungry and suggested we roast the animal, but Galatea observed that the rooster formed a convenient pretext for meeting with the famed wizard, who is known to be unwelcoming to visitors. So we traveled to the High Hedge, impressively, the wizard succeeded in retransforming Melicamp. After it, Thalantyr let us peruse his wealth of enchanted items, magical potions and spell scrolls. There was something for most of us, but we didn't have enough gold for even half of it. Debates broke out, with Sholla making a case for an ioun stone that enhances the user's dexterity, Welter insisting on the purchase of an ioun stone that would increase his lore so that we could finally identify some of our loot, and Alippa and Boniface argued over items that would decrease their susceptibility to spells etc. This could have become ugly, but Galatea really stood up at that moment as the party's leader. She told us that together we had the potential to become a true force on the Sword Coast, but in order to fully exploit that potential we had to stay united in spirit and in deed, and yes, we'd have to start making money so that we could afford the best possible gear. So we returned to Beregost to look for jobs, and we got one working as bodyguards for Silke the Bard, to protect her from a couple of thugs that were allegdly after her. Those 'thugs' proved to be innocents when they showed up, but Galatea, a lady of her word, instructed us to see the job through even if she hadn't been amused with Silke's false tales. Welter then asked Silke to have a look at some of his scenes and sketches, but Silke told him off quite rudely. Sholla took that as an invitation to pelt the thespian with her darts to see if that would change her mind, and soon all of us ended up attacking our former employer. Silke Stoneskinned herself and tried to cast a number of spells, but our onslaught was simply too much for her. [Note Blackraven: 12.5 APR, thanks to 3 Dart throwers is no joke against spell casters.]
I took her enchanted staff from her corpse, and we also found a number of potions on Silke and her 'thugs'. We all appreciated Sholla's loyalty with Welter, but her initiative had taken us by surprise. We agreed that next time anyone planning on launching an attack would have to give the others some kind of signal first. In one of the inns we were confronted by a bounty hunter, a Dwarf who was after Galatea's head, but a Command by Boniface and our collective attack ended his life before he could even lay a finger on Galatea.
No one had any idea why there would be a bounty on Galatea head, not even the Elf herself.
Another job we accepted was to hunt down four Half-Ogres for Bjornin, a wounded Paladin residing at the Jovial Juggler Inn. We found them southwest of Beregost. I think we would have never been able to beat those hard hitting monsters, especially when three Gnolls came to their aid, but two carefully cast Sleeps by Galatea (who really risked her neck there for the party), turned that battle into a slaughterfest for us.
Further west, near the coast, we accepted another job: guarding an excavation site from possible bandits for an archaeologist named Charleston Nib. Not much later Nib's associate made us a much more lucrative offer, which involved killing Nib and his diggers. Sholla and I suggested we went for the second option, but Galatea explained that much as she regretted having given her word to Nib, she could not detract from it now. She was backed by Alippa, her trusty lieutenant, who seems to be of the same mind as the Elf most of the time. Boniface and Welter weren't around to give their opinions. The Gnome had already entered the chambers that the diggers had laid bare, and Welter was nowhere to be seen. In the end the four of us settled on helping Nib and killing the associate for his gold after that. As we entered the chambers, the diggers all went berserk for some reason, much to the joy of Brother Boniface, who explained that the place was ancient shrine devoted to his deity, Talos, or Kozah as the Stormlord was known long ago. The Gnome urged us to kill the diggers, as offerings to his deity, and not to touch anything. When we left Nib's associate was nowhere to be seen, so we decided to just go looking for Welter. We found him soon enough, amusedly exchanging riddles with a stranger that had just slain a seemingly innocent family of commoners. The stranger looked like a dangerous fellow, but Welter told us to trust him (not easy for most of us), and travel with the man to Nashkel. We did, always having the stranger closely watched, and were rewarded 1000 GP at the Temple of Helm for bringing him there. Turned out the man was a former guard captain who had killed people with a greatsword that makes the wielder go berserk. At the Nashkel Carnival the reward plus about 2000 more was spent on a suit of Caster's Chain that would allow Welter to cast spells. Galatea had decided that she would help Welter learn to practise the arcane arts, so that our party will consist of two divine and two arcane casters. But Welter wouldn't be casting any spells in his regular chain mail, hence his new armor.
The Jester was as happy as a child, and covered amused Galatea's face with kisses. Hopefully these gestures will keep Welter, one of the more volatile members of our crew, in check. Back in Nashkel we were in for a nasty surprise went we entered the local inn and faced another bounty hunter, a priestess this time. We started off well with Boniface commanding our foe to sleep. But then with a single spell she held Alippa, Boniface and Sholla (who had strangely tried to attack the priestess in melee). With difficulty, Galatea, Welter and I interrupted her further spellcasting, but that didn't keep her from attacking Sholla with her club. I kept our companion alive curing some of her wounds, and when Sholla was again close to dying Galatea too, somehow cured Sholla's wounds. Welter and Galatea took turns launching magic missiles at the priestess using a wand, until our foe fell.
Never in the past tenday had any member of our party come so close to dying as Sholla. We reminded her that she's deadliest launching her darts, especially if she poisons them. The Halfling thanked us for saving her hide, and promised to be more cautious in the future.[Note Blackraven: Sholla attacking Neira with her dagger was an oversight on my part. I noticed too late that she was wielding her dagger rather than her darts.] I asked Galatea afterwards when and where she had learned to cure wounds, and she told me she didn't rightly know. "It just came to me," was all she said. There's something about that Elf. I can't rightly put my finger on it, but she's 'different' somehow and the bounty on her head tells me there are people out there who know it and whose intentions with her aren't any good. She needs the party more than anyone else. Good on her that she's doing a fine job at molding our band in a cohesive unit.
I'm not sure what our next move will be, but I do know that much gold still has to be accumulated for scrolls, potions and equipment for the party.
*** Note Blackraven: This session saw the first level-ups. The companions all have about 3300-3400 XP each, meaning that Galatea, Alippa and Renouar are lvl 2 atm, and Boniface, Sholla and Welter lvl 3.
Day 11, 12 Mirtul 1368 Am a bit bored. We're in the barren lands east of Beregost, sent by that unctuous Lathandrite from the Song of the Morning Temple to stop a Gnome named Mutamin and his Basilisk pets from petrifying people and animals. We had a green scroll of protection from petrification, so I offered to use it and go hunting, the others however voted for Alippa to get the job done. (I wonder whether my companions are fully aware of my abilities, of the fact that with my poison I could kill a Greater Basilisk as easily as I could either one of them.) Already a few hours have passed, and we're just sitting here doing nothing until Alippa returns.... *** Finally some action. Alippa kept us waiting for a long time, which had Galatea worry. So the Elf sent me to search for the Dwarf. I quaffed a potion of invisibility and went on my way. I saw her finish off Mutamin with a Ghoul(!) helping her for some reason.
I would have helped as well, but kept quiet as there were still two Basilisks around that would have surely petrified me. Nice to have seen some of these mythical creatures alive. Alippa had some interesting loot for Galatea from Mutamin and the Basilisks. It included a scroll of Knock, which the Elf successfully scribed into her spellbook. I was pleased with that, because lockpicking isn't my forte, and now I no longer need to feel bad about that and I can focus on my traps and stealth. [Note Blackraven: a nice random drop from one of the lizards.]
Day 12, 13 Mirtul 1368 We rested and found that the next day had some more action for us in store in the same area. Four adventurers picked a fight with old Renouar. Wrong decision it turned out. Malar must have rewarded the oldtimer for the Basilisk hunt (even though he hadn't been actively involved in it), because the Avenger cast a Web on our foes, an ability he didn't previously possess. After it, the adventurers were defenseless against our ranged attacks.
One of them dropped a pair of defensive bracers that protect armorless Galatea a bit better.
Day 15, 16 Mirtul 1368 Keldath rewarded us for our efforts with some gold, and then sent us on an even more lucrative mission (5000 GP!), that of getting rid of Bassilus the mad Cleric of Cyric, southwest of Beregost. We've just accomplished that task. Ever merry Boniface (that one has more of a Hobbit spirit it seems than I do), Silenced the priest before he could hurt us. So all we had to do is pound at the Cyricist and launch our missiles at him. One of my darts finished him off.
The priest dropped a Hammer that Alippa took as her melee weapon. Before we returned to Beregost to claim our reward, we had a pretty much risk-free encounter with three Hobgoblins thanks to one of Renouar's Webs. An enchanted short sword, now wielded by Welter, was the main prize.
Day 20, 21 Mirtul 1368 In Beregost my suggestion to travel to Baldur's Gate, where jobs and coin should abound for us, were heard but my companions wanted to first do some more exploring of the wilds west of the Coast Way. I couldn't really blame them because up till then we'd had some profitable dealings in the wilds. And indeed our subsequent excursions proved worthwhile as well. In the Cloudpeaks we taught bandits and bullies not to mess with us. Among other things it yielded us a pair of Bracers of Archery that I'm now using. We helped a Dryad against two men intent on cutting down her tree. We did so mostly because Galatea, treehugging Elf that she is, and Renouar wanted us to. The others, including myself were indifferent, but at least killing one of the men yielded us an enchanted belt. We also had a run-in with a band of Gnolls (a prelude to what was to follow). Their leader Ludrug challenged our best warrior to a duel, and he picked me. I honestly had to hide my surprise and contentment at this Ludrug's ignoring of Alippa. Anyway I pelted him with my darts, until he acknowledged his defeat. Moments later poor Ludrug fell, because I'd poisoned my darts hehe.
Many more Gnolls awaited us at a Fortress by the coast, west of the Cloudpeaks. Although the odds were overwhelmingly in their favor, we managed to slay each and every one of them without much difficulty. Alippa and Boniface did a fine job in the front, and the others, including myself, contributed with ranged attacks and spells.
A successful expedition but the rewards were scant. We found nothing of value in the area apart from a pair of gauntlets that slightly increase Alippa's agility and a magical tome that seems to have enhanced Galatea's already dazzling comeliness. (I kind of feel sorry for her, having to travel with a sleezy Gnome, a nutcase Jester, and Greybeard who's more than old enough to be her father.) Ah, I almost forgot: we also met a woman dressed in rags. She had been a prisoner at the Gnoll Fortress. She asked to join us, but Welter scared her off when he proposed to marry her and give her 'a nice, long, wet kiss to seal the bargain' (his words).
Day 28, 29 Mirtul 1368 Further exploration of the coast has proven more profitable than our sacking of the Gnoll fortress. I lent Alippa a potion of clarity from my personal collection of potions that I brought from Candlekeep, which she used together with an oil of speed to slay six Sirines that were barring our way to a pirate cave. Inside the cave I disarmed a number of traps and we dispatched three Flesh Golems to find some very nice treasure stashed away in a pool.
It included various enchanted darts that I kept for myself, potions, an enchanted cloak, and an enchanted tome that was read by Galatea. [Note Blackraven: all characters were already strong in the DEX, CON and INT departments, so I decided to give the CON tome to Galatea, who might have use for it in case her familiar, the Imp whose Polymorphs I might use time and again, passes away. I'm still undecided about the other tomes though.] Further north we dealt with all manner of Ogre fighters, and we had an interesting encounter with a Nereid, a creature almost as alluring I'd say as Galatea. Alluring enough it was for Welter to eagerly receive its death kiss, which came as no surprise after his being turned down by the woman at the Gnoll stronghold. (A true fool that Half-Elf, but I wouldn't have him any other way.) We attacked her to avenge Welter's slayer, but she soon yielded and offered ro raise Welter. We accepted and she did raise Welter, but after that we saw her summon an Ogre Mage she was obviously in line with. The Ogre Mage looked dangerous, but Galatea stunned it with a wand of paralyzation, and we ended up killing both the Ogre and the Nereid with ease.
We're currently back in Beregost but we'll soon travel to Baldur's Gate, finally....
After Norgath's tragic death in his own pocketplane, it was time for Blackraven to look for new inspiration. As often he went searching for portraits, until he found an irresistible little Halfling. Thus Finbar was born, a CG nordic Halfling Battleguard of Tempus/Thief.
I rolled him as a Battleguard of Tempus and added the Thief kit in Shadowkeeper. The 95 roll must have been my highest roll on a Cleric ever. I adjusted his stats, applying my method of lowering one stat to a minimum, i.e. his CHA, and raising the rest. And then I somehow failed to lower his INT to 15 and raise his CHA back to 10, before clicking 'Accept'. (The +3 INT doesn't really add anything except a few lore points, while +3 CHA seems to fit the character I have in mind a bit better). Anyway I'll just have to roleplay Finbar as comely and festive, yet utterly unconvincing due to his diminutive Halfling stature, an apparent lack of earnestness, a boyish voice and feminine features (mutton chops notwithstanding), and his bewildering gypsyish attire that causes many a Faerunian to question Tempus' judgement in bestowing divine powers in the little fellow. Thankfully the game offers 2-3 CHA increases, allowing him to at least end up more or less average.
The Battleguard of Tempus is a Divine Remix mod kit, with the following properties:
I don't know which spells he'll get as each new spell level becomes available to him, so I'll be in for a couple of surprises... The Halfling's starting spells were: Armor of Faith, Bless, Command, Cure Light Wounds, Curse, Detect Evil, Detect Good, Faerie Fire, Magical Stone, Protection from Evil, Protection from Good, Sanctuary, Shillelagh, Strength of Stone, and Sunfire. In the earliest encounters, the latter spell was used, along with Staff backstabs (weapon profs are *Staves and *Flails), with reasonable results, as Ogrillons, a rogue Ogre and Tarnesh would discover.
In spite of his non-proficiency in ranged weapons as imposed by the Battleguard of Tempus kit, the Halfling bought a Sling +1 at Taerom's and found that with it, and with his 19 DEX and racial bonus to slings, he successfully coped with the hefty Thac0 penalty that comes with non-proficiency.
Finbar did the usual quests that would raise his reputation to heroic proportions, such as Firebead, Joia, Brun's son (using Sanctuary to ensure safe conduct past the Ankhegs), Charleston Nib, Brage, and some of the Mini Quests & Encounters mod quests. It made Tempus grant his disciple access to level 2 spells: Aid, Chant, Charm Person/Mammal, DUHM, Find Traps, Flame Blade, Know Alignment, Resist Acid/Corrosion, Resist Fire/Cold, Silence 15' Radius, Slow Poison, and Spiritual Hammer. Algernon was relieved of his cloak, after which but useless items were bartered for more practical goods: the +1 DEX Red Ioun Stone, Shadow Armor, Aule's Staff, Cloak of Displacement, Greenstone Amulet, and Necklace of Missiles. The latter item proved instrumental in his victory over Mutamin, after a backstab and a Sunfire failed to dispatch the Gnome, and a save vs spell (Horror) had to be made.
The Halfling had an exciting time in Black Alaric's cave, where he would not prevail over a number of Flesh Golems without getting hit himself.
The treasure and some spare gold he exchanged at Thalantyr's for the Claw of Kazgaroth. He's currently a level 6 Cleric / 6 Thief.
I changed his alignment to CN after a number of heists and morally questionable decisions (such as the decision to backstab Kirian). It meant that next to the Cure Wounds, the Cause Wounds spells would become available to him as well (not that he ever memorizes them). His level 3 spells are: Call Lightning, Cause Medium Wounds, Cure Blindness or Deafness, Cure Disease, Cure Medium Wounds, Dispel Magic, Glyph of Warding, Hold Animal, Holy Smite, Invisibility Purge, Miscast magic, Moonblade, Negative Plane Protection, PfEvil 10' Radius, PfFire, PfGood 10' Radius, Remove Curse, Remove Paralysis, Summon Insects, and Zone of Sweet Air. Thieving skill points have gone to Stealth and (Set/Disarm) Traps.
Comments
Interestingly there was no ambush on the way there, so Nymand arrived safe and sound at the village, though he did indeed have to deal with attacking wild animals. He stole an Efreeti bottle and offered a Dao Djinn to find Ihtafeer's head. He also spoke with Migh Merchant Logan and a Druid named Cernd, who wanted him to investigate the likely source of the animal plague: a nearby Druid Grove. There he ran into numerous Trolls roaming around (including SCS/Tactics-style spellcasting Spirit Trolls - I must have mistakenly installed that spellcasting ability). Nymand experimented with traps and backstabs, but found that those weapons of his were of limited effect, so he quaffed a potion of invisibility and simply left the creatures behind. He did dispatch a bunch of spiders, but left Druids and Spore Colonies alone. He entered a small house that proved to be Ihtafeer's hideout. Ihtafeer and two henchmen gave Nymand a very hard time. A death fog proved highly damaging and thus made it impossible for him to engage in combat. He could nothing but wait.
- battling the Fallen Paladins with Kitthix,
- dispatching a number of marks for Lynne,
He then went on a trip to the Umar Hills, where the Imnesvale quests were accomplished before the Temple Ruins were visited. His first visit was a short one because Nyamand had to return to Athkatla on guild business. Besides, he found Gorje Hilldark whose brother Unger would lead Nymand to Neb and 220 lbs of pure illithium (which in my install can be used to upgrade either the Mace of Disruption or Azuredge). Nymand's second, more profound exploration of the Temple Ruins gave him two near death experiences in a row. First, near the 'fire pool' he was made familiar with Greater Mummies' ability to paralyze victims with fear.
Either way, Nymand left the Shade Lord for later, because I know that one (in its SCS manifestation) does level drain a lot, and Nymand will have to wait till UAI to properly protect himself against that effect. He stole a dagger with 3 casts/day of Negative Plane Protection, but that spell doesn't last long enough to be of much use I think.
Thus he returned to Athkatla, where vampires aren't much of a threat thanks to potions of clarity, invisibility and speed,
Regarding the enchanted arrows: I've got a very good supply of arrows of dispelling, so I should be good against many wizards.
Greedy for XP, Maze traps and powerful items, Nymand agreed to work for Aran Linvail, and then he went Lich hunting. Initially this went well. Protection from Undead, potion buffs, strategic positioning and patience allowed him to deal with both the Shade Lich and the Elemental Lich.
This was the first time ever that I had a charname take on SCS Kangaxx without PfUndead or PfMagic. I didn't really know what was going to happen. It's a pity I realized too late that Nymand's potion of clarity wouldn't protect him against Emotion: Hopelessness' sleep effect. (I somehow had the mistaken notion in my head that potion of clarity protects against all the BG1 status effects minus Hold/Stun). It's been an enjoyable ride, and I can see myself give Nymand a second chance in the future.
@Ravenslight, ah thank you
@Tidus, well met! And thanks for your support. I sometimes feel people may get fed up with reading about my doomed charnames' efforts, so it's great to read your post
And my exams finished before beginning again.
Edit: btw, do you never visit durlag's tower with a solo character? Have you ever beat aec'letec?
Don't know when you're exams are exactly, but it's a good idea to not play too much in exam time...
As to Durlag's, my Mage (3)->Fighter went there with Dorn and Tiax, but died to a trap. Going to Durlag's is really only an option with a Thief (or a party containing one). Usually I'm to eager to go to Amn to risk my neck in the tower. Last time I beat Aec'Letec must have been years ago... Do you intend to take you Barbarian there?
I'm planning two different characters, a dual-class and a multiclass.
A dual class berserker (13) -> mage
a multiclass barbarian mage
I'm in front of the cloakwood mines , but for consistency purposes, I'm avoiding entering before those mods are out (and I will reinstall). After all, it was all practice.
And to be sincere, I couldn't be the scourge I wanted. The prices are too high if you are evil. :P
So the mod basing the prices on carisma has to be installed this time
Elckerlyc's claim to Sword Coast heroism hasn't been seriously disputed thus far, with only one near death experience, early on: an ambush by bandits whose arrows left him at 2 HP. It made taking Find Familiar as a level 1 spell pick pay off.
The Gnome's level 6/7 atm, with over 100k XP; pips in Shortbows, Short Swords and TWF; and skillpoints invested in Find Traps (65), Set Traps (70) and MS (110). Experience, gold and loot were gained through a variety of means:
- Blindness,
EDIT: Interesting info. I think there's a mod component (BG2Tweaks) you might be interested in:
Change Effect of Reputation on Store Prices
Previously Known As Low Reputation Store Discount (Sabre, Richardson, Weimer)
This component has been broadened into a general alteration of how reputation affects store prices. The original variant, Low Reputation Store Discount, is unchanged: reputation values of 8-13 result in no discounts; items are sold at their original prices. Every point lower or higher then 8 or 13, respectively, gives the party a 5% discount. This reaches a maximum of 35% -- meaning that the party will only pay 65% of the item's original price -- at reputation values of 1 and 20.
Of your planned characters I think I feel the Barbarian/Mage multi more, but depending on your storytelling, anything could work.
In order to reduce the likelihood of the Ducal Palace spoiling the fun in my next playthorugh, I rolled up a full custom (evilly oriented) party. I'll try to combine some moderate roleplaying with no-reload powergaming.
The Bhaalspawn is a LE Elven Enchantress named Galatea.
Galatea's lieutenant and first confidante is Alippa, a female, LE Dwarven Defender.
Brother Boniface, CE Gnome Priest of Talos, is the party cleric.
The fourth party member is Sholla, a NE Halfling Assassin.
Welter, CE Half-Elven Jester.
The latest addition to the party is Renouar, NE Human Avenger.
This is probably going to be a difficult run for me, with only one true warrior, and five characters that especially in the beginning will be rather vulnerable and that throughout the game will require more micro-management. Also, having an Assassin in a full party means limited thieving possibilities. Another issue I might have, depending on my progress and on the amount of roleplaying I will put into this run, is that Galatea would be a good candidate for me to romance CN Anomen (a romance I've never completed). But I'd have to throw someone out for that to happen, probably Boniface, and I might not want to.
It's an EE playthrough with only three mods (SCS, Rogue Rebalancing and Song & Silence).
The portraits are fantastic and the background addition is nice.
Now that I've invested some time in the characters' backstories I find myself indeed tending toward a more roleplayed playthrough. This goes for both the journaling and the actual gameplay (the latter is not so difficult because Galatea is a self-serving type: she likes to be popular and use it to her advantage but won't hesitate to take impopular measures if that serves her interests better, after which a couple of hypocrital donations at temples should help restore the party's reputation).
As to the portraits, I'm most pleased to see them provoke your reactions... Personally I love them
Ah one more thing. Since this a custom party, it means no lucrative NPC sidequests (e.g. Elven Chain in BG1, Drago Khal Shield in BG2), and also no special NPC perks (such as Tiax' ghast or Faldorn's dread wolf in BG1, Edwin's necklace or Jaheira's Harper's Call in BG2).
Therefore I'm thinking of adding special abilities or items, no more than one per character, that should be situationally useful without breaking the game, and that are fitting for the character. Galatea may find to her confusion that in Chateau Irenicus an illegal Contingency found its way into her spellbook, Alippa's very brave and will probably get a Resist Fear ability at some point, Welter might get a special once/day song, Renouar might get a myconid-style summon fungus innate ability, etc.
(as always, nice new run!)
Glad you like concept
Day 2, 3 Mirtul 1368:
It's good to be out traveling with Galatea! I've already put my axe to work plenty of times; more seems to happen in two days on the road than in two years in Candlekeep. The others seem to be good folk as well, though I haven't spoken much with any of them yet. The Gnome keeps giving me looks, but I've decided to ignore him for now.
We've had unfriendly dealings with all manner of creatures. For example a few hours east of Candlekeep, on the Lion's Way, we were speaking with a lone traveler when all of a sudden a wolf appeared from the bushes and attacked. Galatea's response was keen: with one of her enchantment spells she put the beast to sleep for a while.
There were other creatures in the woods as well: Gibberlings, Xvarts, but those runts formed no real threat to us. More interesting was our encounter with an Ogre. Galatea had no more Sleep spells memorized, so I stepped forward to engage the monster, hoping to keep my friend and the others safe and to allow them to attack from afar. But then the Gnome pulled some Sleep trick out of his little sleeve, very similar to Galatea's magic. Thus we ended up killing the monster in the same way as we had done with the wolf.
Our most dangerous encounter wasn't with a wild beast or monster, but with a Human at the Friendly Arm Inn. According to a letter from some mysterious figure named "E", that Sholla had taken from Gorion's corpse, we would find an enchanted ring just outside the Inn's walls if we followed the instructions and looked carefully, and we would also find two friends inside the establishment, Khalid and Jaheira. Sholla found the ring easily enough, but the first person we met was no friend, even though he initially called us that. He was a wizard of some sort and only the Gods know what he would have done with us if it wasn't for the guards who intervened.
Galatea took me by surprise when she sent her Imp forward to fight the wizard. I didn't even know she had brought that little bugger along (though I could have guessed), and at that moment I had little hope that the familiar would remain much longer with us. But then it somehow transformed itself into a Jelly, and the wizard could do nothing against it. Nevertheless, when he spotted the rest of us he threw a Horror spell at us that had three of my companions cower in fear (Renouar, Sholla and Welter).
Galatea! Alippa! Boniface! Sholla! Welter! Renouar!
I guess you had too many ideas to go with a single character after Elckerlyc's run had ended so you choose to go with 6 of them.
And this is entertaining. It's something new to a solo run and, no doubt about it, grants all of us several hours of wonderful reading : )
I also like an idea to tell each chapter of the story by personal diaries of party members, different each time. Reminds me of @Nonnahswriter 's IWDEE journal. I like it.
Good luck to your "Desperados"!
re: the different diary entries, yes I've seen it done a few times. You mentioned @Nonnahswriter and I think @CrevsDaak did it with his party of Clerics as well. It's a nice, 'different' concept I think.
Anyway here's another installment. From Welter's diary:
Day 4, 5 Mirtul 1368
Scene 3:
*Sing:*
Sleep, my Spiderlings sleep,
Look yonder go the sheep,
The sheep with feet so white,
that make their tread so light,
Oh all my sleepers so dear,
There is no reason to fear,
You 'll feel no bullets, bolts, darts,
Pierce your sorry old hearts.
Nor will you smell the Dwarf's farts,
Did y'all here that? The Dwarf's farts... aahahaha, hahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa,
Here: *Start dancing hysterically*
Hmm, I feel my writing could still be improved. Maybe I should give my work a more serious tone, and include difficult words like effervesce or conundrum. Also, Alippa, she wouldn't appreciate the dwarf reference, and I don't want to be in that one's bad books.
Note: Talk to the friendly thespian again in Beregost for tips whenever she has the time to take a look at my work.
Whoops, wrong notebook This is my diary. Am I really going to keep a diary? Oh well, why not! But what is there to say except that we're all having a hell of a time? The realms are one big playground really. We're doing whatever we like, and if someone opposes us my sweet Galatea will simply put them to sleep. What a vamp!
We've been to Beregost where Sholla and I insisted on doing some free shopping. "Don't get into trouble," my Galatea had told us, and like good children we didn't. My cute little thieving friend and I returned with a lovely cloak for our mistress that makes her look even more ravishing than before. We also 'found' some sort of wand we'll have to identify, and an enchanted mace for Brother Boniface that brought a smile to the little Gnome's face. Not that that's hard to accomplish, blithe little fellow. I like him.
We also met a lovely Half-Elf, a Wild Mage. She could make other people disappear, good fun! We helped her kill some Thayvians.
We're in Nashkel at the moment, which isn't the most interesting place to stay, except of course for its Carnival. I befriended a buffoon there who mocked me and made me quite jealous of his colorful clothes. I asked Sholla to poison him for me, so that I could take his attire for myself, but he must have overheard me because he went invisible. I haven't seen him again.
Ah I remember something. On the road between Beregost and Nashkel there were many Hobgoblins, and one of them poisoned Galatea with his arrows.
I'm not sure what we're going to do next, or where. The mayor of Nashkel asked us to investigate the Nashkel Mines, but none of us (except maybe Alippa, out of curiosity) were interested in going there. Mines are boring, and dirty I think. They're for people who work, and we don't work, we dance and we play! Even old Renouar told me that in spite of his painful and still fresh memories, he actually prefers adventuring over farming, let alone mining. I'd rather go north to Baldur's Gate or south to Athkatla, but I fear the Jester's opinion will be given little weight, one of the downsides of acting the fool...
From Renouar's diary:
Day 10, 11 Mirtul 1368
Today is my tenth day with Galatea and her companions. Initially I led them to Beregost thinking our paths would diverge from there, but here I am, still around. I think that's good for them because they're wanderers and they have use for my guidance in the wilds. I benefit as well, because they've been most helpful so far in my hunt for defilers to punish. We've dealt with Gnolls, different types of undead and several Hobgoblins west and southwest of Beregost for example.
I do feel some of the companions can be a bit rash in reaching for their weapons. Especially young Sholla has made herself known as an eager and ice-cold killer. It was the Halfling who initiated the party's attack of a second wolf (after the one killed on the Lion's Way a week ago). It pained me to see my companions needlessly slay one of nature's children. But I cannot blame them, for a few months ago I'd have done the same if a wolf would come upon my lands to prey on my cattle. Malar must have read my thoughts though, because I've gained an ability that allows me to charm wild beasts and have them hunt with me and with the party.
Anyway, as the wolf lay dead, a rooster approached us and introduced itself in the human tongue as Melicamp. It urged us to bring it to Thalantyr the Conjurer at the High Hedge, not far from my old home. The wizard would restore the rooster to its original, human form. Welter suddenly felt hungry and suggested we roast the animal, but Galatea observed that the rooster formed a convenient pretext for meeting with the famed wizard, who is known to be unwelcoming to visitors. So we traveled to the High Hedge, impressively, the wizard succeeded in retransforming Melicamp.
After it, Thalantyr let us peruse his wealth of enchanted items, magical potions and spell scrolls. There was something for most of us, but we didn't have enough gold for even half of it. Debates broke out, with Sholla making a case for an ioun stone that enhances the user's dexterity, Welter insisting on the purchase of an ioun stone that would increase his lore so that we could finally identify some of our loot, and Alippa and Boniface argued over items that would decrease their susceptibility to spells etc. This could have become ugly, but Galatea really stood up at that moment as the party's leader. She told us that together we had the potential to become a true force on the Sword Coast, but in order to fully exploit that potential we had to stay united in spirit and in deed, and yes, we'd have to start making money so that we could afford the best possible gear.
So we returned to Beregost to look for jobs, and we got one working as bodyguards for Silke the Bard, to protect her from a couple of thugs that were allegdly after her. Those 'thugs' proved to be innocents when they showed up, but Galatea, a lady of her word, instructed us to see the job through even if she hadn't been amused with Silke's false tales. Welter then asked Silke to have a look at some of his scenes and sketches, but Silke told him off quite rudely. Sholla took that as an invitation to pelt the thespian with her darts to see if that would change her mind, and soon all of us ended up attacking our former employer. Silke Stoneskinned herself and tried to cast a number of spells, but our onslaught was simply too much for her. [Note Blackraven: 12.5 APR, thanks to 3 Dart throwers is no joke against spell casters.]
In one of the inns we were confronted by a bounty hunter, a Dwarf who was after Galatea's head, but a Command by Boniface and our collective attack ended his life before he could even lay a finger on Galatea.
Another job we accepted was to hunt down four Half-Ogres for Bjornin, a wounded Paladin residing at the Jovial Juggler Inn. We found them southwest of Beregost. I think we would have never been able to beat those hard hitting monsters, especially when three Gnolls came to their aid, but two carefully cast Sleeps by Galatea (who really risked her neck there for the party), turned that battle into a slaughterfest for us.
When we left Nib's associate was nowhere to be seen, so we decided to just go looking for Welter. We found him soon enough, amusedly exchanging riddles with a stranger that had just slain a seemingly innocent family of commoners. The stranger looked like a dangerous fellow, but Welter told us to trust him (not easy for most of us), and travel with the man to Nashkel. We did, always having the stranger closely watched, and were rewarded 1000 GP at the Temple of Helm for bringing him there. Turned out the man was a former guard captain who had killed people with a greatsword that makes the wielder go berserk.
At the Nashkel Carnival the reward plus about 2000 more was spent on a suit of Caster's Chain that would allow Welter to cast spells. Galatea had decided that she would help Welter learn to practise the arcane arts, so that our party will consist of two divine and two arcane casters. But Welter wouldn't be casting any spells in his regular chain mail, hence his new armor.
Back in Nashkel we were in for a nasty surprise went we entered the local inn and faced another bounty hunter, a priestess this time. We started off well with Boniface commanding our foe to sleep. But then with a single spell she held Alippa, Boniface and Sholla (who had strangely tried to attack the priestess in melee). With difficulty, Galatea, Welter and I interrupted her further spellcasting, but that didn't keep her from attacking Sholla with her club. I kept our companion alive curing some of her wounds, and when Sholla was again close to dying Galatea too, somehow cured Sholla's wounds. Welter and Galatea took turns launching magic missiles at the priestess using a wand, until our foe fell.
I asked Galatea afterwards when and where she had learned to cure wounds, and she told me she didn't rightly know. "It just came to me," was all she said. There's something about that Elf. I can't rightly put my finger on it, but she's 'different' somehow and the bounty on her head tells me there are people out there who know it and whose intentions with her aren't any good. She needs the party more than anyone else. Good on her that she's doing a fine job at molding our band in a cohesive unit.
I'm not sure what our next move will be, but I do know that much gold still has to be accumulated for scrolls, potions and equipment for the party.
***
Note Blackraven:
This session saw the first level-ups. The companions all have about 3300-3400 XP each, meaning that Galatea, Alippa and Renouar are lvl 2 atm, and Boniface, Sholla and Welter lvl 3.
Day 11, 12 Mirtul 1368
Am a bit bored. We're in the barren lands east of Beregost, sent by that unctuous Lathandrite from the Song of the Morning Temple to stop a Gnome named Mutamin and his Basilisk pets from petrifying people and animals. We had a green scroll of protection from petrification, so I offered to use it and go hunting, the others however voted for Alippa to get the job done. (I wonder whether my companions are fully aware of my abilities, of the fact that with my poison I could kill a Greater Basilisk as easily as I could either one of them.) Already a few hours have passed, and we're just sitting here doing nothing until Alippa returns....
***
Finally some action. Alippa kept us waiting for a long time, which had Galatea worry. So the Elf sent me to search for the Dwarf. I quaffed a potion of invisibility and went on my way. I saw her finish off Mutamin with a Ghoul(!) helping her for some reason.
Alippa had some interesting loot for Galatea from Mutamin and the Basilisks. It included a scroll of Knock, which the Elf successfully scribed into her spellbook. I was pleased with that, because lockpicking isn't my forte, and now I no longer need to feel bad about that and I can focus on my traps and stealth. [Note Blackraven: a nice random drop from one of the lizards.]
Day 12, 13 Mirtul 1368
We rested and found that the next day had some more action for us in store in the same area. Four adventurers picked a fight with old Renouar. Wrong decision it turned out. Malar must have rewarded the oldtimer for the Basilisk hunt (even though he hadn't been actively involved in it), because the Avenger cast a Web on our foes, an ability he didn't previously possess. After it, the adventurers were defenseless against our ranged attacks.
Day 15, 16 Mirtul 1368
Keldath rewarded us for our efforts with some gold, and then sent us on an even more lucrative mission (5000 GP!), that of getting rid of Bassilus the mad Cleric of Cyric, southwest of Beregost. We've just accomplished that task. Ever merry Boniface (that one has more of a Hobbit spirit it seems than I do), Silenced the priest before he could hurt us. So all we had to do is pound at the Cyricist and launch our missiles at him. One of my darts finished him off.
Day 20, 21 Mirtul 1368
In Beregost my suggestion to travel to Baldur's Gate, where jobs and coin should abound for us, were heard but my companions wanted to first do some more exploring of the wilds west of the Coast Way. I couldn't really blame them because up till then we'd had some profitable dealings in the wilds. And indeed our subsequent excursions proved worthwhile as well. In the Cloudpeaks we taught bandits and bullies not to mess with us. Among other things it yielded us a pair of Bracers of Archery that I'm now using. We helped a Dryad against two men intent on cutting down her tree. We did so mostly because Galatea, treehugging Elf that she is, and Renouar wanted us to. The others, including myself were indifferent, but at least killing one of the men yielded us an enchanted belt.
We also had a run-in with a band of Gnolls (a prelude to what was to follow). Their leader Ludrug challenged our best warrior to a duel, and he picked me. I honestly had to hide my surprise and contentment at this Ludrug's ignoring of Alippa. Anyway I pelted him with my darts, until he acknowledged his defeat. Moments later poor Ludrug fell, because I'd poisoned my darts hehe.
Day 28, 29 Mirtul 1368
Further exploration of the coast has proven more profitable than our sacking of the Gnoll fortress. I lent Alippa a potion of clarity from my personal collection of potions that I brought from Candlekeep, which she used together with an oil of speed to slay six Sirines that were barring our way to a pirate cave. Inside the cave I disarmed a number of traps and we dispatched three Flesh Golems to find some very nice treasure stashed away in a pool.
We're currently back in Beregost but we'll soon travel to Baldur's Gate, finally....
The 95 roll must have been my highest roll on a Cleric ever. I adjusted his stats, applying my method of lowering one stat to a minimum, i.e. his CHA, and raising the rest. And then I somehow failed to lower his INT to 15 and raise his CHA back to 10, before clicking 'Accept'. (The +3 INT doesn't really add anything except a few lore points, while +3 CHA seems to fit the character I have in mind a bit better). Anyway I'll just have to roleplay Finbar as comely and festive, yet utterly unconvincing due to his diminutive Halfling stature, an apparent lack of earnestness, a boyish voice and feminine features (mutton chops notwithstanding), and his bewildering gypsyish attire that causes many a Faerunian to question Tempus' judgement in bestowing divine powers in the little fellow. Thankfully the game offers 2-3 CHA increases, allowing him to at least end up more or less average.
The Battleguard of Tempus is a Divine Remix mod kit, with the following properties:
The Halfling's starting spells were: Armor of Faith, Bless, Command, Cure Light Wounds, Curse, Detect Evil, Detect Good, Faerie Fire, Magical Stone, Protection from Evil, Protection from Good, Sanctuary, Shillelagh, Strength of Stone, and Sunfire. In the earliest encounters, the latter spell was used, along with Staff backstabs (weapon profs are *Staves and *Flails), with reasonable results, as Ogrillons, a rogue Ogre and Tarnesh would discover.
Algernon was relieved of his cloak, after which but useless items were bartered for more practical goods: the +1 DEX Red Ioun Stone, Shadow Armor, Aule's Staff, Cloak of Displacement, Greenstone Amulet, and Necklace of Missiles. The latter item proved instrumental in his victory over Mutamin, after a backstab and a Sunfire failed to dispatch the Gnome, and a save vs spell (Horror) had to be made.
It meant that next to the Cure Wounds, the Cause Wounds spells would become available to him as well (not that he ever memorizes them). His level 3 spells are: Call Lightning, Cause Medium Wounds, Cure Blindness or Deafness, Cure Disease, Cure Medium Wounds, Dispel Magic, Glyph of Warding, Hold Animal, Holy Smite, Invisibility Purge, Miscast magic, Moonblade, Negative Plane Protection, PfEvil 10' Radius, PfFire, PfGood 10' Radius, Remove Curse, Remove Paralysis, Summon Insects, and Zone of Sweet Air. Thieving skill points have gone to Stealth and (Set/Disarm) Traps.