@CrevsDaak, I agree that taking a warrior through BG1 is relatively easy with a warrior even in SCS, but with a WS I found that I had to plan ahead very carefully, and that even then there was still a luck factor that could simply end the run (e.g. the Ogre Mages that ambush you when you get teleported to Candlekeep by Eltan). As to the lack of protection against Stun (until the Flail of Ages +5 is acquired), it's one of the reasons I'll have the Vhailor's Helm simulacrum cast PfMagic on Kilbin in Mage fights, at least while my Magic Resistance and Saves aren't reliable yet.
@EA1, wow thanks my friend! Lots of good suggestions. To get a pair of Boots of Speed I was actually thinking of having Kilbin try to murder Renal Bloodscalp after completing the Mae'Var quest. He's supposed to wear a pair of the Boots as well. I agree that the Planar Prison quest is very hard. The main problem with the Shade Lord is his level drain. I'm not sure if it's a magical ability that can be warded off with PfMagic. If it isn't then I don't see how Kilbin could make it solo past him. Same for TorGal whose main threat is his ability to make Charname panic. I agree with your other assessments.
You've made me consider picking up an NPC every once in a while for their quests and maybe a a bit longer. Not sure yet at which point though. Like you said, doing the Planar Sphere with Valygar, Unseeing Eye with Keldorn, Temple Ruins with Mazzy etc. Or simply going with a party (the wizard wreckin' crew). It would probably the wisest decision in no-reload terms.
I don't think I'll dual class though. I haven't got much experience with dualclassing, so it could be a dangerous endeavour. The result of course would be a very powerful character...
@EA1, no idea yet how easy or difficult it would be to kill Renal before Arkanis appears. Would be something i'll have to test with another game. Would you consider the Astral Prison a better place to acquire the Boots of Speed? Maybe with PfMagic?
Anyway, here's a new installment:
In the Sea's Bounty, Kilbin picked a fight with Officer Dirth and barely prevailed. The fight cost the Dwarf two precious extra healing potions.
The proceeds of the sale of the officier's full plate mail went to the Help Kilbin buy the Vhailor's Helm Foundation. Still short on gold for said helm, Kilbin traveled to the Umar Hills to do some minor questing there, more specifically the chicken with the Beljuril stone and the Mimic quest. Dealing with the Mimic can be risky due to its ability to hold a foe. However, the creature only uses that ability once, so Kilbin at full hitpoints (141 hp I think) tried his luck. He wasn't held and slew the creature without difficulty.
After it, he finished off Jermien's Stone Golem, and was rewarded with Ilbratha, a nice short sword with a Mirror Image ability.
Back in Athkatla, Kilbin could finally buy Vhailor's Helm, even though it left him penniless (even Dilbert's 100 GP, given to him to buy the boy and his friends a couple of bastard swords, were spent). The Dwarf's success with the Stone Golem gave him an idea: lending his sword to Renal Bloodscalp's cause. It meant having to deal with Rayic Gethras and his minions, i.e. a lot of Mephits and two Stone Golems. The Mephits were lured outside and dealt with one or two at a time.
But the Stone Golems, unlike Jermien's variant, were immune to Kilbin's long sword +1. (I had forgotten that Stone Golems normally require +3 weapons to be hit.) Dead broke, the Dwarf decided to travel to the Arnise Keep, in the hopes of adding the Frostreaver to his weapons collection. On his way he was waylaid by more Slavers. He survived the ambush, including a Chaos spell by saving against it. He had Lilarcor equipped; I think the sword protects against Chaos as well (which is a confusion effect after all).
In the d'Arnise Keep Kilbin made sure to stay away from the large room in the middle, where many Trolls were waiting for victims. He forged the FoA +1, and he only confronted relatively small groups (2-3 Trolls at a time), and prevailed. The rapidly regenerating Spirit Trolls with their invisibility at will and their STR draining attacks were another story. Typically, Kilbin would fight one, use DUHM when his STR would reach 15 (i.e. so low he couldn't even move), and then rest. The courtyard proved a safe place to rest and heal. Upstairs he had his Vhailor simulacrum protect him against Magic, stunned the Kuo-Toa Mage with stun darts (an old trick he had used so often in BG1), and then dispatched it.
He picked up the Frostreaver, the fire head of the FoA, and the Kneecapper in the Golem room. The middle statue guarded by the Iron Golem he left untouched for the time being. His most difficult encounter was against two Spirit Trolls at the same time. Dualwielding would have been preferable here for more/faster damage output. The Long Sword +1 from Irenicus Dungeon with a shield didn't really add up to much. Nevertheless, relying on two DUHMs and ending with 14 STR, Kilbin prevailed. Particularly frustrating was the fact that the Trolls needed multiple hits with fire or acid before they would permanently die.
Kilbin and his simulacrum then took on hasted Glaicus and managed to stun the warrior.
On his corpse they found the last flail head for the FoA. This was a pleasant surprise to me. The Item Randomizer that I'm used to always seems to place one of the heads in TorGal's inventory or in his room. I really expected to be unable to beat TorGal anytime soon, and thus unable to forge the complete FoA. For that reason I had invested a pip in Axes when Kilbin reached level 9. In hindsight, that pip ought to have gone to Flails or to Two Weapon Fighting, so that at level 15 Kilbin would have two pips in Flails and two in TWF. I haven't even used any axes yet... Anyway, with the FoA at hand, a second pip went to Flails (for the extra 1/2 APR) when Kilbin reached level 12. In the basement more Trolls fell, and even the Umber Hulks were engaged. Kilbin and the Simulacrum would lure the Umber Hulks one at a time toward them, and beat them down. The Dwarf made a dangerous mistake when he wrongly believed he had slain the last Umber Hulk. The monster confused him. Kilbin intially attacked it anyway, then took a break (very worrying!), before he started attacking again, eventually slaying the monster.
Kilbin then called it a day, and left the Keep for the moment. He returned to Athkatla, where he finally dispatched Rayic Gethras' Stone Golems using the FoA, and the wizard himself. Kilbin poisoned Gethras with a Dart of Wounding, and finished him off with mundane arrows (because of the wizard's PfMW).
After the fight Kilbin nearly got himself killed due to a trap I had forgotten about. (Would be a very Blackravenesque ending lol).
He completed the remaining tasks for Edwin/Mae'Var, secured the evidence against the latter and presented it to Renal Bloodscalp, who aked him to murder Mae'Var. This is likely to be Kilbin's next mission.
@Blackraven yeah, those Ogres are insane with SCS, and the problem with WS is that it's harder to have a good tactic.
A good trick to kill (mostly Divine) spellcasters in early BG2 is getting Namarra +2 (which has a lovely +4 bonus to damage) and using it's Silence 15' Radius 3/day ability, which if you don't cast spells is even better (and anyway you can easily get the Amulet of Power if you're playing vanilla). Also have Peridian Dragonslayer +2 in mind because of it's fear immunity (you can easily get a Helmet of Charm protection and forget about Adjhatha the Drinker +2) and Detect Invisible ability. Item abilities help a LOT when playing as a WS.
And about the Shade Lord... I think you could use the Improved Mace of Distruption (in the case you choose to upgrade it).
hey @CrevsDaak, thanks for your Namarra tip I had forgotten about that weapon. Since the spellfailure penalty doesn't apply to priests, it's nice to have a weapon against them. Dragonslayer is indeed important as well.
You mentioned a Detect Invisible ability; is there a weapon providing that? Honestly I hate it when wizards go invisible and my WS can't do anything.
I think the Amulet of Power can't be used by non-casters, let alone WS. The only amulet that WS can wear is that of Seldarine I believe.
Edit: ah and the Mage of Disruption is not an option yet: I failed to bash the lock on Neb's door... Guess I'll be siding with the vampires lol
Before taking on Mae'Var, Kilbin traveled to Watcher's Keep to pick up the Ammo Belt. Two Spirit Trolls were slain as well as a slew of level-draining Wraiths (with great difficulty) before Kilbin was able to get what he came for.
The casting of PfMagic by the Vhailor's Helm simulacrum allowed Kilbin to complete a few more quests.
Back in Athkatla, Kilbin cleared Mae'Vars guild with little trouble, even though the backstabbing Thieves had him quaff a number of healing potions. Downstairs he attacked with his simulacrum by his side. Kilbin went after Mae'Var and the simmy after Mae'Var's priest. The priest went down in a few hits, and the rogue himself was surprisingly meek as well. He buffed himself well enough but he didn't do much to give Kilbin a hard time. Mae'Var's spellcasting was frustrated thanks to FoA elemental damage and spellfailure penalty. Overwrote the wrong screenshot(s), so no pics here, except one from the first floor.
Fake Montaron was saved for Xzar and the reward collected from Renal for the elimination of Mae'Var. In the Umar Hills Kilbin investigated the goings on at the Temple Ruins. He saw himself faced with a multitude of Bone Golems, Skeletons Warriors, Greater Mummies and different types of Shadow creatures. He tried to waste as few Healing Potions as possible, and to rest in order to restore HPs.
Most of the monsters would respawn however, so the resting strategy didn't really work here. The good thing was that Kilbin got to accumulate a lot of extra XP. He left the Shadow Dragon alone, but took on the Shade Lord after he pre-cast DUHM and the simmy cast PfMagic on him. The protective sphere kept Kilbin safe from the Shade Lord's level drains. The altar was destroyed first, followed by the many Shadow creatures that been summoned from it, and Shadow Patrick. The Shade Lord was immune to normal weapons, but everyt once in a while his PfMW would expire, allowing Kilbin to get in a number of hits with his Darts +1 until the Shade Lord would cast PfMW again. This repeated itself until the Shade Lord finally fell (thankfully before Kilbin's PfMagic wore off).
The Dwarf collected his rewards in Imnesvale and returned to Athkatla. In the Copper Coronet he finally dealt with the Slaver Guards that were still waiting for him after he had intruded their stronghold. Bernard went hostile again. He has some kind of ranged attack that deals about 13 damage. Kilbin killed him again. He picked up some gear from a chest and took it to his new home (Rayic Gethras' home, where he stores all kind of plot items etc, and where he can rest freely). Kilbin then traveled to Trademeet, where he stunned and killed Lord Khellon Menold in the hopes of finding on his corpse the Shield of Harmony he was promised for poisoning the Druid Grove, but the Halfling didn't have it with him.
In the Druid Grove he was attacked by all kinds of Spiders and Trolls (including the nasty Spirit Trolls). The Dwarf retreated toward the area exit, so that he could leave the area if necessary. The battle was managed to some extent by Horroring many Spiders.
Later Kilbin used a simmy-cast PfMagic to deal with Kylen Lind's gang and with the Spore Colonies. The latter were remarkably susceptible to his Darts of Stunning, which made me realize that Lilarcor (to prevent confusion) plus said darts would probably have made this fight quite manageable even without PfMagic.
The Dwarf then proceeded to solve the Dao problem, or to be more exact: the Trolls that Kilbin had allowed to dispatch the Druid Militia they were fighting, solved said problem. They came after Kilbin, into Adratha's cottage, and programmed as they are to kill people, slew the Rakshasa.
Kilbin returned to Trademeet to collect his rewards and to do some shopping.
I've now applied the PfMagic trick four times: Kuo-Toa Mage at d'Arnise Keep, Rayic Gethras, Shade Lord and Druid Grove. The Kuo-Toa Mage could be fled from and hurt with Darts; Rayic Gethas was actually poisoned with a Dart of Wounding at the beginning of the battle, hampering him significantly; and at the Druid Grove too, Lilarcor and darts and hit and run should have worked. Of the four uses it was only in the Shade Lord battle that PfMagic was "necessary" in order to survive. However I might try to postpone encounters in which PfMagic is necessary until Kilbin can survive those encounters without said protection. If for example he manages to force Neb's door with DUHM and acquire the illithium ore, he might be able to take on creatures like the Shade Lord and the Shadow Dragon using the upgraded Mace of Disruption. I'm not saying i won't be using the PfMagic trick anymore, but I want it to be something exceptional.
@Blackraven yes, only casters can use the Amulet of Power, but I was mentioning how easy you can get it and become protected against Level Drain and get a permenent Vocalize. IIRC, Peridian Dragonslayer+2 (the long sword you get in Firkraag's Dungeon, right after the room with the Guardian) has the ability to cast Detect Invisible once per day besides regenerating 1hp/turn and providing Fear immunity.
I assume you use FoA+3 for Mage fights, because of it's nice damage additions, but actually it's even better because it also slows the enemy, which doubles casting time and gives some chances of running away while the enemy is slowed, besides, slowed enemies are very easy to take in ranged combat (don't waste Darts of Wounding on them since they'll deal the damage much slower). Also, Celestial Fury +3's (I know the fights to get the sword are difficult, but hear) Blindness ability is bugged and blinds ALL (yep, including you) the creatures in the area, besides it's other nice abilities (stunning enemies to run away or to poison them with Darts of Wounding is another good tactic vs fighter & mage fights).
Also, be sure to take the EE NPCs and check their quests' items: the items are crazily OP! And in you next BG:EE run be sure to take the Stupefier+1 (25% chances to Stun, NO SAVE!) from the Burning Wizard (2nd floor) in Beregost. My Priest of Lathander->Mage got through the entire game with that weapon (and the cloak "Relair's Mistake" for it's Wolf-form).
Thanks @CrevsDaak for your insightful info. The problem with acquiring the Dragonslayer sword is getting past the many Vampires in the dungeon, which is only feasible after you get the upgraded Mace of Disruption. It requires 23 STR (i.e. level 15) to bash the lock on Neb's door.
Anyway Kilbin bit the dust in the Planar Sphere.
He did clear the way to Faldorn's den, defeating Dalok and his Druid buddies and summons, and he had shapeshifted Cernd make short work of Faldorn.
He also completed the minor Trademeet quests, and in Athkatla he managed to force the lock on Neb's door, and slay the child killer.
Inside the Planar Sphere, Entu, Kayardi, Mogadish and other Halflings were slain.
But not Necre; he cast what must have been a Finger of Death (checked in EEKeeper), against which Kilbin failed to save...
Oh, I'm so sad for Kilbin ! You got so far in the game with a solo SCS WS, it was absolutely amazing ! What do you plan to run next ? Do you plan to play some no-reload IWDEE aswell ?
Noooo! hahaha... How are you going to defend against that with a WS though... Im surprised you made it this far Blackraven, much respect!..
Ok listen. Your brave walktrough made me itch for one myself. The problem is, I need to make it one try only, I simply dont have the time to try any more than once. So its this onetime thing only.
So, Im sure you are kinda bummed out abt your last try, right? I want to make some sort of a deal with YOU, Blackraven. I want you to pick a char for me. I like you the most of all the No Reload challengers, and have much respect for you. And, if you want, i'd like you to run one with me, with the same character build (stats can differ). Other conditions are:
-I'll stay as realistic as possible. Metagaming only if it fits the story, no other unrealistic things, like the usual: trapping in front of enemies, resting a billion times, preparing fights I would'nt see coming, etc. -I'll start from BG2, I just can't get BG1 to work on my laptop, it has a strangely high requirements. A lot higher than BG2 for some reason.. -I'll do SCS2 max installment + ascension. Tweaks. Normal difficulty. Thats all. -I'll do the 1 npc companion thing, trying solo as much as possible. I will take a (max 3 npc's) party to the underdark though. -I'll play 1 hour a day, max.
I'll also install Rogues R. if you pick a (hybrid) thief character. You can pick. No really, it's a fate-thing . Any char. Except WS... Haha... Multi, dual, single, I don't care.
I'll make my own thread just like you did and I would love for at least one of our chars to make it to Melissan.
I (also) hate those Halflings in the Planar Sphere, they are crazily difficult with SCS (mostly because their casters start doing SOMETHING instead of casting spells at protected PCs, and because they get all together when one is hurt by the PCs).
@Gotural and @CrevsDaak, hahaha thank you for your sympathy! You're right @CrevsDaak in that those Halflings are very nasty! A Finger of Death has a -2 save penalty and my saves vs spell was 1, so I was pretty unlucky. It was a throroughly enjoyable run, though I must say I wasn't really comfortable with using the Simulacrum->PfMagic trick to beat the Shade Lord, because in my opinion the Shade Lord should have annihilated my Wizard Slayer at that stage of the game, a game which up till then may have constituted my most satisfactory playthrough from a strategical point of view. Anyway I've kind of become enamored with the poor Wizard Slayer, the underdog of underdogs, so I want to continue experimenting with them. Ideally I'd find a middle ground between superdifficult/impossible on the one hand and too easy on the other hand. I think I'm going to try my hand at EEKeepered Wizard Slayer multis (Thief, Druid, and Cleric all look interesting to me; Mage a bit less so). Could be refreshing... Will probably start with a /Thief and see if he can HiS right before the Ogre Mages ambush at the gates of Candlekeep triggers. At some point I'd like to do some no-reload Icewind Dale as well Gotural, what about you? Or do you have some no-reload BG in the pipeline?
@EA1, wow thank so much for your appreciation. Personally I don't consider myself a very adept player: too fond of taking risks, and my lack of success has faded my SoA/ToB knowledge a bit. I'm eager to read your playthrough, and honored that you're offering me to pick your Charname. It's very difficult for me to pick though, since I've got no clue what your playstyle and preferences are. Personally I'm not too fond of Mages because they're so powerful (they can do pretty much everything). As I said above, I'd like to experiment a bit more with the Wizard Slayer, so I'm not sure if we could run the same character through the game at more or less the same time. However, there are a number of classes and kits that are either unpopular or unexplored, and that I hope to play in the future. They include unmodded Shapeshifter, Assassin, Shadowdancer and Monk (with or without kit). Generally these classes/kits seem a bit hard to play solo, but that shouldn't put you off since you appear to be a seasoned SCS player Another, slightly less challenging class could be a Human Mage dualled at low level to Fighter. I think such a playthrough allows for a lot of improvisation with scrolls. You'll find plenty of random scrolls that might serve you, and you can't buy enough of the really good scrolls (Stoneskin, PfMW, Spell Immunity etc) to use them in all the encounters you'd like to. A journaled playthrough with such a character would be superinteresting to read. Well, hopefully you can find some inspiration in this. I for one, and with me many other would love to read about your playthrough!
I'm actually playing IWD for the first time thanks to the EE and I'm playing no-reload so far, it's been a blast to play. I'm running a Dwarven Defender ; Archer ; F/M/C ; F/M/T ; Avenger ; Bard party and the game has been pretty easy for the moment (everyone is between level 3 and 5, in the Shadow Valley).
For your next character, I agree a multi could be awesome. If you have the patience to do it, a EEKeepered Wisard Slayer / Assassin could truely become the ultimate mage slayer.
For your next character, I agree a multi could be awesome. If you have the patience to do it, a EEKeepered Wisard Slayer / Assassin could truely become the ultimate mage slayer.
Yeah, that's a pretty good combo. I plan on running a Wizard Slayer/Enchanter/Sharpshooter (thief kit form Song and Silence), or maybe a Wizard Slayer/Illusionist/Sharpshooter… I'm not sure which one fits the most for an Enforcer-like high-trained all-situations-adept (sort of the Batman of the Forgotten Realms, LOL!) reluctant of being a Wild Mage because it's too cheesy (yeah, that's why I don't play Wild Mages nor Sorcerers, unless it's a no reload + no level-up/no items or such a madness like that) and I want to be able to cast Sleep for a new insane tactic for early game BG1 of Sleeping enemies and using HiS (because IIRC, HiS works when enemies are asleep on sight) to backstab them at a flashing speed.
Also I might start playing the EEs since Divine Remix is in beta for the EEs
I'd be curious about an illegal Kensai/Avenger multi, or even just Kensai/Druid multi. Elemental forms would be beastly I reckon. The Avenger has Sword Spider too, which could be entertaining with the synergy.
Hey BR. Your idea of the Mage1/FighterX sounds very interesting. He'd be able to use scrolls and wands and get a familiar! Are you even able to dual from level 1 or do you have to level up to 2 first? (can anyone confirm?).
How about a mage dualled at cleric from level 1? So i'd shadowkeep him a Mage1/ClericX dual. I'd give him 87 points like Imoen (I'd figure he's about as powerful as his little sister, who's also a Bhaal child, but not as OP as Sarevok - 95 points!). Would that be too OP? It would make it more easy, but also a bit more fun. What do you think? Erik
Ok I started up EEKeeper and I have no way to make this char (mage2/cleric7) for BG2EE. I can only change stats from an existing save which levels him up to 7 immidiately. Am I missing something?
Edit: O wait I think I got it. I can make a level 1 or 2 mage and then dual, and then Cluaconsole in experience to a level 7 cleric. That would do it I suppose.
I use the PrtSc button, it generates a screenshot folder, and save the screenshots in it, when you press it in game. After that search for the files, and you can upload them with the attach file option while creating your post, or you can upload somewhere else, and make a link with: <img src='here comes the image link'/>
Edit: I forget to mention: the game generates bmp files, so i use to convert them to jpg (i use IrfanWiew), because forum don't show bmp format pics.
@Gotural, I started a Wizard Slayer/Thief but abandoned the playthrough because it was basically running a Fighter/Thief through BG. For some reason I've become more interested in single class characters (or maybe characters dualclassed at low levels). The lack of versatility requires you to be careful and creative, and to rally try and get the most out of a character. So what I did was to let the Wizard Slayer rest for a while, and roll an Assassin (I did like your suggestion, and I still remember your excellent advice on thieving skills development for Assassins). @EA1, thanks really for liking what I do. It's really nice to know. I like your Mage(2)->Cleric, and I'm looking forward to reading about your Raven Did you add a kit via EEKeeper? @CrevsDaak, like you I'm pleased with the prospect of being able to play Divine Remix in the EEs Have you considered the option of creating a Stormlord of Talos/Mage multi? Imo the ultimate caster: mage + cleric that gets all the best cleric and druid spells = awesomeness. In my BGT playthrough that I'm lazily trying to novelize I'm using a Lorekeeper of Oghma/Mage, pretty nice as well.
@Blackraven yes, I'm a big fan of C/Ms (I played a Priest of Lathander->Mage through BG:EE and it was dead easy) and probably I'll play one next after my F/M/T (which will require a new BGT install because the actual one isn't the best and I want to use the Multikit mod which I am too lazy to update by myself, besides the EEs GUI suck when compared to BG2's).
Everyone is Icewinding and understandably so I, however, caught a severe no-reload BG virus infection again... Here's some progress on an attempt with a solo Elven Assassin, Eydan:
I went for what I think is my favorite archetype, along with the vigilante, i.e. the mercenary. Picked Assassin because I think it's not a very straightforward class to play what with the low skillpoints, and with the allegdly decreasing effectiveness of poison and backstabs later on (late SoA and ToB). I play on core difficulty, but maximize hit points. Installed Rogue Rebalancing (in addition to most of SCS) but not its revised Thief kits component. I did install the proper pnp dualwielding implementation component, which will allow Eydan to place 3 pips in TWF, and additional equipment for Thieves and Bards. Got a good roll for pretty much optimal stats. Since Thac0 was likely to be an issue I went with Elf and spent proficiency pips in long swords and short bows as Elves get a +1 to hit bonus in those two (and in short swords), but not in other blades such as Scimitars in EE. The first 40 skill points went straight to Set Traps, a skill that would be developed a bit more in the course of the game, so that they would become a semi-reliable secret weapon.
Eydan, ever the loner, had no interest in traveling with Imoen or seeking out Khalid and Jaheira. He stubbornly decided to do the exact opposite of what was expected of him: he traveled southwest rather than northeast. He had first hostile encounter alone on the unforgiving Sword Coast when he faced Shoal, a Nereid whom he knew not to trust in the least. Rather than going for the kiss, he went for the kill. It allowed him to reach level 4(!). Skills developed were HiS/MS and Set Traps; a proficiency point was placed in single weapon style. Further south Thalantyr failed to anti-chickenate his former apprentice Melicamp, but other relatively low-risk quests had Eydan grow steadily toward 20k XP and thus level 6. It mainly involved working as a hired hand for people he would meet in the inns and taverns of the Sword Coast smaller urbanizations. Feats included: bringing Mirianne a letter from her husband, fetching a book for his old acquaintance Firebead, pacifying Marl the mourning drunkard, killing Karlat the Bounty Hunter, bringing Perdue his lost Short Sword, and killing Huge Spiders in Beregost; slaying Ghasts and Hobgoblins south of Beregost (with the Boots of Stealth as a nice reward), dispatching Tarnesh the bounty hunting mage, bringing Landrin a number of possessions from her home in Beregost, killing more Hobgoblins to return a ring to Joia at the FAI; providing Charleston Nib protection against bandits and helping frenzied Brage on the South Coast; dispatching Greywolf the Bounty Hunter so that Prism could finish his sculpture of Ellessime, executing Zordral at the Nashkel Carnival for the murdring of an innocent woman; winning a duel against Meilum, bringing Samuel the injured Flaming Fist deserter into Gellana Mirrorshade's care, and surviving two Winter Wolf ambushes. I call all these undertakings low-risk ventures because poison (and to a lesser extent traps) were generally very reliable.
Meilum was the exception: failed poisonous backstab and ranged attempts and the intervention of Kobolds had Eydan leave the area and return to finish the job. Meilum's gauntlets were well-received (anything to improve Thac0...).
With the gold received from Bentley Mirrorshade in exchange for Ankheg Armor, a Ring of Wizardry, two Rings of Protection +1, and other random loot, Eydan purchased the Shadow Armor at the Thunderhammer Smithy and the Red Ioun Stone (+1 DEX) from Thalantyr. At this stage of the game Eydan's reputation was very high thanks to the help he'd given to so many inhabitants of the Sword Coast. Eydan's next victims were Mutamin the murderous Gnome and his Basilisks, a commission for Keldath Ormlyr, of the Lathander Temple in Beregost. Eydan's HiS failed suddenly when he was behind Mutamin, ready to strike. The two had a little chat, and after it Eydan managed to hit the Gnome with his poisoned Varscona. It didn't keep the devious little runt from blinding the Elf, but thankfully that was all Mutamin had to offer before he fell.
I normally have my charnames tackle this area much earlier. Nevertheles clearing it helped Eydan gain another level (7) at roughly 45k XP. Find Traps, Set Traps and the Stealth skills were all reinforced.
Eydan then proceeded to rake together circa 25k more XP in order to reach level 8, before the Nashkel Mines were to be tackled. In the Lighthouse Area (where Sirines never saw Eydan sneak past them), Flesh Golems and the Tome of CON were Eydan's first quarry. He saved against spell to avoid any damage from an apparent Glyph of Warding trap and dismantled all other traps in the cave. The Golems fell to Eydan's non-multiplied backstabs.
Further south, also on the coast he discovered a Gnoll Stronghold. He never received any commission for dealing with the vermin, so he left them to their business. He did pick up a tome that increased his CHA (to a mediocre 10). From there he traveled back toward Nashkel, via the Cloud Peak Mountains, running a number of minor errands for some of the curious inhabitants of that beautiful but generally desolate land. He reunited a dog named Rufie with its owner Albert (a demon), and Pixie the cat with a girl named Drienne. He also protected a Dryad's tree from the harm that two knuckleheads were about to cause it, and he slew some Gnoll named Ingot as well as two bandits, Vax and Zal, which yielded him a pair of Bracers of Archery.
Up north Eydan lent a young girl named Tenya a hand against three thieving fishermen. Alas no reward was received yet. Not sure about her Thac0 and damage scores, but Tenya could have possibly slain the Elf had she followed him inside her 'land home' where her Hold Person took effect. She must have decided against entering the place, expecting Eydan to strike at her from the shadows should she get inside.
Eydan further slew numerous Ankhegs, relying heavily on his poison weapon ability, and brought farmer Brun the heavy corpse of his son who had gone missing.
Further north even, in Ulgoth's Beard, he met a gnomish lady, Dushai, a retired adventurer who showed him her Ring of Free Action. She wouldn't part with it when asked, so Eydan quaffed a single potion of master thievery and tried to pickpocket her for the ring. The plan worked; he acquired the ring, along with a couple of potions. She would become hostile soon after, because Eydan's first pickpocket attempt had failed, but the Assassin simply left the area with the goods.
Then came the Nashkel Mines, an assignment he'd been given by Berrun Ghastkill, the mayor of Nashkel. Eydan discovered that the mines were infested with Kobolds. Having little interest in facing hordes of the critters (who generally haven't anything of worth with them anyway), he used stealth to venture deeper into the mines, undisturbed, until he found the mine operator (contaminator), a Half-Orc Cleric of Cyric. Eydan poisoned his arrows and with them the priest, who would fall soon after. The hardest part came after that: Eydan got surrounded by Mulahey's Skellies and Kobolds, and had to fight his way out. He was more than a little dismayed with his amateuristic work, and relieved to make his way out of the mines.
Assassin is a VERY fun solo in BG1. The Mercykiller in BG2 will be a huge early buff to your skills, and the poison can still work okay. I used it in ToB to good effect vs Fire Giants ages ago. Elf is a pretty good choice I agree. Should be interesting!
Thanks @Dreadkhan, and yes looking forward to getting that ring
Back in Nashkel Eydan was rewarded by Ghastkill and attacked by an assassin not unlike himself. Eydan, an opportunist, called the guards who were evidently on his side after his work for the community in the Nashkel Mines. Eydan kept to the back and saw the guards fight well, but it was he who got the kill.
In Beregost, Tranzig, the Assassin's contact was poisoned with Eydan's venomous arrows, and further north, in Ulgoth's Beard, Eydan had a run-in with Dushai again after he had done some shopping at the local store. He slew the Gnome and noticed a drop in his reputation as people started treating him less kindly than before.
As the number of attempts on his life started to increase for some reason unbeknownst to him - once by an Ogre Mage whose motives he wasn't sure about, and twice by parties that expressly communicated to him they had been sent to dispatch him - Eydan decided to investigate who wanted him dispensed with. The corresponce he had found on the Nashkel assassin's contact led him to the Wood of Sharp Teeth, a vast forest with a remarkably strong bandit presence, the majority hostile. He had a pair of Boots of Avoidance from the Nashkel assassin, a Cloak of Displacement bought in Ulgoth's Bears and a Girlde of Piercing he had pciked up a while back from a rogue Ogre. The items protected Eydan against some of the hostile bandits who tended to rely on archery.
Eydan wasn't aware of having crossed any bandit collective, so when he met a relatively friendly group leader named Raiken, he told him he was willing to join their ranks. He was led to a Bandit camp, where a meeting with their leader, a Half-Ogre by the name of Tazok, didn't bring him any further. Before leaving from the camp he decided to have a peak in the camp's main tent after one of the less enlightened guards told him important documents were inside, stored in lightning-trapped chest. Near the entrance he placed two traps, just in case things would go south. Stealthily he entered and went straight for the chest. The bandits took notice and predictably they didn't appreciate Eydan looting the chest. He quickly quaffed a potion of magic blocking to prevent their mage from hurting him. As he failed to finish off the mirror-imaged wizard, he drank an invisibility potion andgot out as quickly as he could.
The bandits outside apparently hadn't noticed yet what had transpired in the tent, allowing Eydan to escape without worrying much. Back at the FAI he studied the documents from the bandit camp, and conferred with Elminster the famous wizard he kept running into. The Cloakwood was to be his next destination, more specifically an Iron Throne base hidden in it, because the Iron Throne seemed to be the organization that was behind both the iron crisis plaguing the Sword Coast, and the attemps on his life. Getting to this secret base was difficult. At one point he almost gave up his pursuit, as he ran into countless spiders of different varieties and ettercaps. He had to retreat once, and when he came he managed to best his opponents with an ultimate effort, using all he had: his poisons, traps, an oil of fiery burning and a potion of fire breath.
A bit further ahead, lots of running around and reluctant use of invisibility charges from a ring he had bought in Ulgoth's Beard helped him prevail in a similar situation.
The remainder of Eydan's trek through the forest was relatively uneventful, except from a critical backstab killing the vile leader of a group of aggressive druids that had been bothering him: the Shadow Archdruid Amarande (which yielded him the Club +2, at level 8 Eyvan's 4th proficiency pip had gone into Clubs; my Assassins refuse to use staves).
The entrance to the Iron Throne base, a mine, was guarded by four Throne hirelings who had been ordered to kill him. Traps and poisoned acid arrows and backstabs killed two of them, the warriors, one of them dropping a pair of Boots of Speed Eydan picked up. The Assassin then snuck past the other party members, two wizards.
Inside the Mines, Eydan used the same strategy as in the Nashkel Mines. Stealthily he made his way downward till he reached the big boss, who from a distance warned that the Elf's devices were no match for his magic. But Eydan cast Protection from Magic on himself, turning the roles around. He had two watch out for the wizard's Battle Horrors and guards, and heal time and again, until Davaeorn fell, the Battle Horrors disintegrated, and the guards wandered off.
With that piece of business out of the way, Eydan traveled to the city of Baldur's Gate, where's he currently busy trading at the various shops and carrying out a few assignments he had agreed. So far he's acquired the Cloak of Balduran, Tomes of INT, DEX and WIS, a powerful short bow (Sparkburst, a Rogue Rebalancing item) and a lot of ammo and useful potions.
Oh, I was quite swamped at work, so didn't check the new messages on the forums for a long time. I will read this thread and comment on it, if needed, even though IWD:EE surely gets the major part of my attention at the moment
@Blackraven: Going back to the wizard slayer for a minute...
If I recall correctly you play on a non-EE installation. I was thinking that a certain item from BG2EE would be very useful for a WS, and I don't think I've seen anyone mention it yet:
Shield of Fyrus Khal +2 AC +3 Fire Resistance +10% Cold Resistance +10% Acid Resistance +10% Aura of Magical Protection: All allies within 10 ft. receive +5% Magical Resistance Charge Abilities: Spell Turning once per day (reflects 12 levels' worth of spells targeted at the user)
You can get this item almost right out of Irenicus Dungeon, with no fighting. The choice you have to make to get it is also very RP-appropriate for a WS.
@Blackraven: Going back to the wizard slayer for a minute...
If I recall correctly you play on a non-EE installation. I was thinking that a certain item from BG2EE would be very useful for a WS, and I don't think I've seen anyone mention it yet:
Shield of Fyrus Khal +2 AC +3 Fire Resistance +10% Cold Resistance +10% Acid Resistance +10% Aura of Magical Protection: All allies within 10 ft. receive +5% Magical Resistance Charge Abilities: Spell Turning once per day (reflects 12 levels' worth of spells targeted at the user)
You can get this item almost right out of Irenicus Dungeon, with no fighting. The choice you have to make to get it is also very RP-appropriate for a WS.
These new items... Even a year after the BG2EE release I still haven't seen them all, as well as the new content in overall...
Comments
As to the lack of protection against Stun (until the Flail of Ages +5 is acquired), it's one of the reasons I'll have the Vhailor's Helm simulacrum cast PfMagic on Kilbin in Mage fights, at least while my Magic Resistance and Saves aren't reliable yet.
@EA1, wow thanks my friend! Lots of good suggestions. To get a pair of Boots of Speed I was actually thinking of having Kilbin try to murder Renal Bloodscalp after completing the Mae'Var quest. He's supposed to wear a pair of the Boots as well. I agree that the Planar Prison quest is very hard.
The main problem with the Shade Lord is his level drain. I'm not sure if it's a magical ability that can be warded off with PfMagic. If it isn't then I don't see how Kilbin could make it solo past him. Same for TorGal whose main threat is his ability to make Charname panic. I agree with your other assessments.
You've made me consider picking up an NPC every once in a while for their quests and maybe a a bit longer. Not sure yet at which point though. Like you said, doing the Planar Sphere with Valygar, Unseeing Eye with Keldorn, Temple Ruins with Mazzy etc. Or simply going with a party (the wizard wreckin' crew). It would probably the wisest decision in no-reload terms.
I don't think I'll dual class though. I haven't got much experience with dualclassing, so it could be a dangerous endeavour. The result of course would be a very powerful character...
How would you kill Renal?
You think youll post more content soon?
Gr E
Anyway, here's a new installment:
In the Sea's Bounty, Kilbin picked a fight with Officer Dirth and barely prevailed. The fight cost the Dwarf two precious extra healing potions.
The proceeds of the sale of the officier's full plate mail went to the Help Kilbin buy the Vhailor's Helm Foundation. Still short on gold for said helm, Kilbin traveled to the Umar Hills to do some minor questing there, more specifically the chicken with the Beljuril stone and the Mimic quest. Dealing with the Mimic can be risky due to its ability to hold a foe. However, the creature only uses that ability once, so Kilbin at full hitpoints (141 hp I think) tried his luck. He wasn't held and slew the creature without difficulty.
After it, he finished off Jermien's Stone Golem, and was rewarded with Ilbratha, a nice short sword with a Mirror Image ability.
Back in Athkatla, Kilbin could finally buy Vhailor's Helm, even though it left him penniless (even Dilbert's 100 GP, given to him to buy the boy and his friends a couple of bastard swords, were spent). The Dwarf's success with the Stone Golem gave him an idea: lending his sword to Renal Bloodscalp's cause. It meant having to deal with Rayic Gethras and his minions, i.e. a lot of Mephits and two Stone Golems. The Mephits were lured outside and dealt with one or two at a time.
But the Stone Golems, unlike Jermien's variant, were immune to Kilbin's long sword +1. (I had forgotten that Stone Golems normally require +3 weapons to be hit.) Dead broke, the Dwarf decided to travel to the Arnise Keep, in the hopes of adding the Frostreaver to his weapons collection.
On his way he was waylaid by more Slavers. He survived the ambush, including a Chaos spell by saving against it. He had Lilarcor equipped; I think the sword protects against Chaos as well (which is a confusion effect after all).
In the d'Arnise Keep Kilbin made sure to stay away from the large room in the middle, where many Trolls were waiting for victims. He forged the FoA +1, and he only confronted relatively small groups (2-3 Trolls at a time), and prevailed. The rapidly regenerating Spirit Trolls with their invisibility at will and their STR draining attacks were another story. Typically, Kilbin would fight one, use DUHM when his STR would reach 15 (i.e. so low he couldn't even move), and then rest. The courtyard proved a safe place to rest and heal. Upstairs he had his Vhailor simulacrum protect him against Magic, stunned the Kuo-Toa Mage with stun darts (an old trick he had used so often in BG1), and then dispatched it.
He picked up the Frostreaver, the fire head of the FoA, and the Kneecapper in the Golem room. The middle statue guarded by the Iron Golem he left untouched for the time being. His most difficult encounter was against two Spirit Trolls at the same time. Dualwielding would have been preferable here for more/faster damage output. The Long Sword +1 from Irenicus Dungeon with a shield didn't really add up to much. Nevertheless, relying on two DUHMs and ending with 14 STR, Kilbin prevailed. Particularly frustrating was the fact that the Trolls needed multiple hits with fire or acid before they would permanently die.
Kilbin and his simulacrum then took on hasted Glaicus and managed to stun the warrior.
On his corpse they found the last flail head for the FoA. This was a pleasant surprise to me. The Item Randomizer that I'm used to always seems to place one of the heads in TorGal's inventory or in his room. I really expected to be unable to beat TorGal anytime soon, and thus unable to forge the complete FoA. For that reason I had invested a pip in Axes when Kilbin reached level 9. In hindsight, that pip ought to have gone to Flails or to Two Weapon Fighting, so that at level 15 Kilbin would have two pips in Flails and two in TWF. I haven't even used any axes yet...
In the basement more Trolls fell, and even the Umber Hulks were engaged. Kilbin and the Simulacrum would lure the Umber Hulks one at a time toward them, and beat them down. The Dwarf made a dangerous mistake when he wrongly believed he had slain the last Umber Hulk. The monster confused him. Kilbin intially attacked it anyway, then took a break (very worrying!), before he started attacking again, eventually slaying the monster.
Kilbin then called it a day, and left the Keep for the moment. He returned to Athkatla, where he finally dispatched Rayic Gethras' Stone Golems using the FoA, and the wizard himself. Kilbin poisoned Gethras with a Dart of Wounding, and finished him off with mundane arrows (because of the wizard's PfMW).
After the fight Kilbin nearly got himself killed due to a trap I had forgotten about. (Would be a very Blackravenesque ending lol).
He completed the remaining tasks for Edwin/Mae'Var, secured the evidence against the latter and presented it to Renal Bloodscalp, who aked him to murder Mae'Var. This is likely to be Kilbin's next mission.
A good trick to kill (mostly Divine) spellcasters in early BG2 is getting Namarra +2 (which has a lovely +4 bonus to damage) and using it's Silence 15' Radius 3/day ability, which if you don't cast spells is even better (and anyway you can easily get the Amulet of Power if you're playing vanilla). Also have Peridian Dragonslayer +2 in mind because of it's fear immunity (you can easily get a Helmet of Charm protection and forget about Adjhatha the Drinker +2) and Detect Invisible ability. Item abilities help a LOT when playing as a WS.
And about the Shade Lord... I think you could use the Improved Mace of Distruption (in the case you choose to upgrade it).
You mentioned a Detect Invisible ability; is there a weapon providing that? Honestly I hate it when wizards go invisible and my WS can't do anything.
I think the Amulet of Power can't be used by non-casters, let alone WS. The only amulet that WS can wear is that of Seldarine I believe.
Edit: ah and the Mage of Disruption is not an option yet: I failed to bash the lock on Neb's door... Guess I'll be siding with the vampires lol
The casting of PfMagic by the Vhailor's Helm simulacrum allowed Kilbin to complete a few more quests.
Back in Athkatla, Kilbin cleared Mae'Vars guild with little trouble, even though the backstabbing Thieves had him quaff a number of healing potions. Downstairs he attacked with his simulacrum by his side. Kilbin went after Mae'Var and the simmy after Mae'Var's priest. The priest went down in a few hits, and the rogue himself was surprisingly meek as well. He buffed himself well enough but he didn't do much to give Kilbin a hard time. Mae'Var's spellcasting was frustrated thanks to FoA elemental damage and spellfailure penalty. Overwrote the wrong screenshot(s), so no pics here, except one from the first floor.
Fake Montaron was saved for Xzar and the reward collected from Renal for the elimination of Mae'Var. In the Umar Hills Kilbin investigated the goings on at the Temple Ruins. He saw himself faced with a multitude of Bone Golems, Skeletons Warriors, Greater Mummies and different types of Shadow creatures. He tried to waste as few Healing Potions as possible, and to rest in order to restore HPs.
Most of the monsters would respawn however, so the resting strategy didn't really work here. The good thing was that Kilbin got to accumulate a lot of extra XP. He left the Shadow Dragon alone, but took on the Shade Lord after he pre-cast DUHM and the simmy cast PfMagic on him. The protective sphere kept Kilbin safe from the Shade Lord's level drains. The altar was destroyed first, followed by the many Shadow creatures that been summoned from it, and Shadow Patrick. The Shade Lord was immune to normal weapons, but everyt once in a while his PfMW would expire, allowing Kilbin to get in a number of hits with his Darts +1 until the Shade Lord would cast PfMW again. This repeated itself until the Shade Lord finally fell (thankfully before Kilbin's PfMagic wore off).
The Dwarf collected his rewards in Imnesvale and returned to Athkatla. In the Copper Coronet he finally dealt with the Slaver Guards that were still waiting for him after he had intruded their stronghold. Bernard went hostile again. He has some kind of ranged attack that deals about 13 damage. Kilbin killed him again. He picked up some gear from a chest and took it to his new home (Rayic Gethras' home, where he stores all kind of plot items etc, and where he can rest freely).
Kilbin then traveled to Trademeet, where he stunned and killed Lord Khellon Menold in the hopes of finding on his corpse the Shield of Harmony he was promised for poisoning the Druid Grove, but the Halfling didn't have it with him.
In the Druid Grove he was attacked by all kinds of Spiders and Trolls (including the nasty Spirit Trolls). The Dwarf retreated toward the area exit, so that he could leave the area if necessary. The battle was managed to some extent by Horroring many Spiders.
Later Kilbin used a simmy-cast PfMagic to deal with Kylen Lind's gang and with the Spore Colonies. The latter were remarkably susceptible to his Darts of Stunning, which made me realize that Lilarcor (to prevent confusion) plus said darts would probably have made this fight quite manageable even without PfMagic.
The Dwarf then proceeded to solve the Dao problem, or to be more exact: the Trolls that Kilbin had allowed to dispatch the Druid Militia they were fighting, solved said problem. They came after Kilbin, into Adratha's cottage, and programmed as they are to kill people, slew the Rakshasa.
Kilbin returned to Trademeet to collect his rewards and to do some shopping.
I've now applied the PfMagic trick four times: Kuo-Toa Mage at d'Arnise Keep, Rayic Gethras, Shade Lord and Druid Grove. The Kuo-Toa Mage could be fled from and hurt with Darts; Rayic Gethas was actually poisoned with a Dart of Wounding at the beginning of the battle, hampering him significantly; and at the Druid Grove too, Lilarcor and darts and hit and run should have worked.
Of the four uses it was only in the Shade Lord battle that PfMagic was "necessary" in order to survive. However I might try to postpone encounters in which PfMagic is necessary until Kilbin can survive those encounters without said protection. If for example he manages to force Neb's door with DUHM and acquire the illithium ore, he might be able to take on creatures like the Shade Lord and the Shadow Dragon using the upgraded Mace of Disruption. I'm not saying i won't be using the PfMagic trick anymore, but I want it to be something exceptional.
I assume you use FoA+3 for Mage fights, because of it's nice damage additions, but actually it's even better because it also slows the enemy, which doubles casting time and gives some chances of running away while the enemy is slowed, besides, slowed enemies are very easy to take in ranged combat (don't waste Darts of Wounding on them since they'll deal the damage much slower). Also, Celestial Fury +3's (I know the fights to get the sword are difficult, but hear) Blindness ability is bugged and blinds ALL (yep, including you) the creatures in the area, besides it's other nice abilities (stunning enemies to run away or to poison them with Darts of Wounding is another good tactic vs fighter & mage fights).
Also, be sure to take the EE NPCs and check their quests' items: the items are crazily OP!
And in you next BG:EE run be sure to take the Stupefier+1 (25% chances to Stun, NO SAVE!) from the Burning Wizard (2nd floor) in Beregost. My Priest of Lathander->Mage got through the entire game with that weapon (and the cloak "Relair's Mistake" for it's Wolf-form).
Anyway Kilbin bit the dust in the Planar Sphere.
He did clear the way to Faldorn's den, defeating Dalok and his Druid buddies and summons, and he had shapeshifted Cernd make short work of Faldorn.
He also completed the minor Trademeet quests, and in Athkatla he managed to force the lock on Neb's door, and slay the child killer.
Inside the Planar Sphere, Entu, Kayardi, Mogadish and other Halflings were slain.
But not Necre; he cast what must have been a Finger of Death (checked in EEKeeper), against which Kilbin failed to save...
Do you plan to play some no-reload IWDEE aswell ?
Ok listen.
Your brave walktrough made me itch for one myself. The problem is, I need to make it one try only, I simply dont have the time to try any more than once. So its this onetime thing only.
So, Im sure you are kinda bummed out abt your last try, right? I want to make some sort of a deal with YOU, Blackraven. I want you to pick a char for me. I like you the most of all the No Reload challengers, and have much respect for you. And, if you want, i'd like you to run one with me, with the same character build (stats can differ). Other conditions are:
-I'll stay as realistic as possible. Metagaming only if it fits the story, no other unrealistic things, like the usual: trapping in front of enemies, resting a billion times, preparing fights I would'nt see coming, etc.
-I'll start from BG2, I just can't get BG1 to work on my laptop, it has a strangely high requirements. A lot higher than BG2 for some reason..
-I'll do SCS2 max installment + ascension. Tweaks. Normal difficulty. Thats all.
-I'll do the 1 npc companion thing, trying solo as much as possible. I will take a (max 3 npc's) party to the underdark though.
-I'll play 1 hour a day, max.
I'll also install Rogues R. if you pick a (hybrid) thief character. You can pick. No really, it's a fate-thing
I'll make my own thread just like you did and I would love for at least one of our chars to make it to Melissan.
What do you think?
Erik
I (also) hate those Halflings in the Planar Sphere, they are crazily difficult with SCS (mostly because their casters start doing SOMETHING instead of casting spells at protected PCs, and because they get all together when one is hurt by the PCs).
It was a throroughly enjoyable run, though I must say I wasn't really comfortable with using the Simulacrum->PfMagic trick to beat the Shade Lord, because in my opinion the Shade Lord should have annihilated my Wizard Slayer at that stage of the game, a game which up till then may have constituted my most satisfactory playthrough from a strategical point of view.
Anyway I've kind of become enamored with the poor Wizard Slayer, the underdog of underdogs, so I want to continue experimenting with them. Ideally I'd find a middle ground between superdifficult/impossible on the one hand and too easy on the other hand. I think I'm going to try my hand at EEKeepered Wizard Slayer multis (Thief, Druid, and Cleric all look interesting to me; Mage a bit less so). Could be refreshing...
Will probably start with a /Thief and see if he can HiS right before the Ogre Mages ambush at the gates of Candlekeep triggers.
At some point I'd like to do some no-reload Icewind Dale as well Gotural, what about you? Or do you have some no-reload BG in the pipeline?
@EA1, wow thank so much for your appreciation. Personally I don't consider myself a very adept player: too fond of taking risks, and my lack of success has faded my SoA/ToB knowledge a bit.
I'm eager to read your playthrough, and honored that you're offering me to pick your Charname. It's very difficult for me to pick though, since I've got no clue what your playstyle and preferences are. Personally I'm not too fond of Mages because they're so powerful (they can do pretty much everything).
As I said above, I'd like to experiment a bit more with the Wizard Slayer, so I'm not sure if we could run the same character through the game at more or less the same time. However, there are a number of classes and kits that are either unpopular or unexplored, and that I hope to play in the future. They include unmodded Shapeshifter, Assassin, Shadowdancer and Monk (with or without kit). Generally these classes/kits seem a bit hard to play solo, but that shouldn't put you off since you appear to be a seasoned SCS player
Another, slightly less challenging class could be a Human Mage dualled at low level to Fighter. I think such a playthrough allows for a lot of improvisation with scrolls. You'll find plenty of random scrolls that might serve you, and you can't buy enough of the really good scrolls (Stoneskin, PfMW, Spell Immunity etc) to use them in all the encounters you'd like to. A journaled playthrough with such a character would be superinteresting to read.
Well, hopefully you can find some inspiration in this. I for one, and with me many other would love to read about your playthrough!
For your next character, I agree a multi could be awesome. If you have the patience to do it, a EEKeepered Wisard Slayer / Assassin could truely become the ultimate mage slayer.
Also I might start playing the EEs since Divine Remix is in beta for the EEs
How about a mage dualled at cleric from level 1? So i'd shadowkeep him a Mage1/ClericX dual. I'd give him 87 points like Imoen (I'd figure he's about as powerful as his little sister, who's also a Bhaal child, but not as OP as Sarevok - 95 points!).
Would that be too OP? It would make it more easy, but also a bit more fun. What do you think?
Erik
Edit: O wait I think I got it. I can make a level 1 or 2 mage and then dual, and then Cluaconsole in experience to a level 7 cleric. That would do it I suppose.
<img src='here comes the image link'/>Edit: I forget to mention: the game generates bmp files, so i use to convert them to jpg (i use IrfanWiew), because forum don't show bmp format pics.
@EA1, thanks really for liking what I do. It's really nice to know. I like your Mage(2)->Cleric, and I'm looking forward to reading about your Raven
@CrevsDaak, like you I'm pleased with the prospect of being able to play Divine Remix in the EEs
I, however, caught a severe no-reload BG virus infection again... Here's some progress on an attempt with a solo Elven Assassin, Eydan:
I went for what I think is my favorite archetype, along with the vigilante, i.e. the mercenary. Picked Assassin because I think it's not a very straightforward class to play what with the low skillpoints, and with the allegdly decreasing effectiveness of poison and backstabs later on (late SoA and ToB). I play on core difficulty, but maximize hit points. Installed Rogue Rebalancing (in addition to most of SCS) but not its revised Thief kits component. I did install the proper pnp dualwielding implementation component, which will allow Eydan to place 3 pips in TWF, and additional equipment for Thieves and Bards.
Got a good roll for pretty much optimal stats. Since Thac0 was likely to be an issue I went with Elf and spent proficiency pips in long swords and short bows as Elves get a +1 to hit bonus in those two (and in short swords), but not in other blades such as Scimitars in EE. The first 40 skill points went straight to Set Traps, a skill that would be developed a bit more in the course of the game, so that they would become a semi-reliable secret weapon.
Eydan, ever the loner, had no interest in traveling with Imoen or seeking out Khalid and Jaheira. He stubbornly decided to do the exact opposite of what was expected of him: he traveled southwest rather than northeast. He had first hostile encounter alone on the unforgiving Sword Coast when he faced Shoal, a Nereid whom he knew not to trust in the least. Rather than going for the kiss, he went for the kill. It allowed him to reach level 4(!). Skills developed were HiS/MS and Set Traps; a proficiency point was placed in single weapon style.
Further south Thalantyr failed to anti-chickenate his former apprentice Melicamp, but other relatively low-risk quests had Eydan grow steadily toward 20k XP and thus level 6. It mainly involved working as a hired hand for people he would meet in the inns and taverns of the Sword Coast smaller urbanizations. Feats included: bringing Mirianne a letter from her husband, fetching a book for his old acquaintance Firebead, pacifying Marl the mourning drunkard, killing Karlat the Bounty Hunter, bringing Perdue his lost Short Sword, and killing Huge Spiders in Beregost; slaying Ghasts and Hobgoblins south of Beregost (with the Boots of Stealth as a nice reward), dispatching Tarnesh the bounty hunting mage, bringing Landrin a number of possessions from her home in Beregost, killing more Hobgoblins to return a ring to Joia at the FAI; providing Charleston Nib protection against bandits and helping frenzied Brage on the South Coast; dispatching Greywolf the Bounty Hunter so that Prism could finish his sculpture of Ellessime, executing Zordral at the Nashkel Carnival for the murdring of an innocent woman; winning a duel against Meilum, bringing Samuel the injured Flaming Fist deserter into Gellana Mirrorshade's care, and surviving two Winter Wolf ambushes.
I call all these undertakings low-risk ventures because poison (and to a lesser extent traps) were generally very reliable.
Meilum was the exception: failed poisonous backstab and ranged attempts and the intervention of Kobolds had Eydan leave the area and return to finish the job. Meilum's gauntlets were well-received (anything to improve Thac0...).
With the gold received from Bentley Mirrorshade in exchange for Ankheg Armor, a Ring of Wizardry, two Rings of Protection +1, and other random loot, Eydan purchased the Shadow Armor at the Thunderhammer Smithy and the Red Ioun Stone (+1 DEX) from Thalantyr. At this stage of the game Eydan's reputation was very high thanks to the help he'd given to so many inhabitants of the Sword Coast.
Eydan's next victims were Mutamin the murderous Gnome and his Basilisks, a commission for Keldath Ormlyr, of the Lathander Temple in Beregost. Eydan's HiS failed suddenly when he was behind Mutamin, ready to strike. The two had a little chat, and after it Eydan managed to hit the Gnome with his poisoned Varscona. It didn't keep the devious little runt from blinding the Elf, but thankfully that was all Mutamin had to offer before he fell.
I normally have my charnames tackle this area much earlier. Nevertheles clearing it helped Eydan gain another level (7) at roughly 45k XP. Find Traps, Set Traps and the Stealth skills were all reinforced.
Eydan then proceeded to rake together circa 25k more XP in order to reach level 8, before the Nashkel Mines were to be tackled. In the Lighthouse Area (where Sirines never saw Eydan sneak past them), Flesh Golems and the Tome of CON were Eydan's first quarry. He saved against spell to avoid any damage from an apparent Glyph of Warding trap and dismantled all other traps in the cave. The Golems fell to Eydan's non-multiplied backstabs.
Further south, also on the coast he discovered a Gnoll Stronghold. He never received any commission for dealing with the vermin, so he left them to their business. He did pick up a tome that increased his CHA (to a mediocre 10). From there he traveled back toward Nashkel, via the Cloud Peak Mountains, running a number of minor errands for some of the curious inhabitants of that beautiful but generally desolate land. He reunited a dog named Rufie with its owner Albert (a demon), and Pixie the cat with a girl named Drienne. He also protected a Dryad's tree from the harm that two knuckleheads were about to cause it, and he slew some Gnoll named Ingot as well as two bandits, Vax and Zal, which yielded him a pair of Bracers of Archery.
Up north Eydan lent a young girl named Tenya a hand against three thieving fishermen. Alas no reward was received yet. Not sure about her Thac0 and damage scores, but Tenya could have possibly slain the Elf had she followed him inside her 'land home' where her Hold Person took effect. She must have decided against entering the place, expecting Eydan to strike at her from the shadows should she get inside.
Eydan further slew numerous Ankhegs, relying heavily on his poison weapon ability, and brought farmer Brun the heavy corpse of his son who had gone missing.
Further north even, in Ulgoth's Beard, he met a gnomish lady, Dushai, a retired adventurer who showed him her Ring of Free Action. She wouldn't part with it when asked, so Eydan quaffed a single potion of master thievery and tried to pickpocket her for the ring. The plan worked; he acquired the ring, along with a couple of potions. She would become hostile soon after, because Eydan's first pickpocket attempt had failed, but the Assassin simply left the area with the goods.
Then came the Nashkel Mines, an assignment he'd been given by Berrun Ghastkill, the mayor of Nashkel. Eydan discovered that the mines were infested with Kobolds. Having little interest in facing hordes of the critters (who generally haven't anything of worth with them anyway), he used stealth to venture deeper into the mines, undisturbed, until he found the mine operator (contaminator), a Half-Orc Cleric of Cyric. Eydan poisoned his arrows and with them the priest, who would fall soon after. The hardest part came after that: Eydan got surrounded by Mulahey's Skellies and Kobolds, and had to fight his way out. He was more than a little dismayed with his amateuristic work, and relieved to make his way out of the mines.
Back in Nashkel Eydan was rewarded by Ghastkill and attacked by an assassin not unlike himself. Eydan, an opportunist, called the guards who were evidently on his side after his work for the community in the Nashkel Mines. Eydan kept to the back and saw the guards fight well, but it was he who got the kill.
In Beregost, Tranzig, the Assassin's contact was poisoned with Eydan's venomous arrows, and further north, in Ulgoth's Beard, Eydan had a run-in with Dushai again after he had done some shopping at the local store. He slew the Gnome and noticed a drop in his reputation as people started treating him less kindly than before.
As the number of attempts on his life started to increase for some reason unbeknownst to him - once by an Ogre Mage whose motives he wasn't sure about, and twice by parties that expressly communicated to him they had been sent to dispatch him - Eydan decided to investigate who wanted him dispensed with. The corresponce he had found on the Nashkel assassin's contact led him to the Wood of Sharp Teeth, a vast forest with a remarkably strong bandit presence, the majority hostile. He had a pair of Boots of Avoidance from the Nashkel assassin, a Cloak of Displacement bought in Ulgoth's Bears and a Girlde of Piercing he had pciked up a while back from a rogue Ogre. The items protected Eydan against some of the hostile bandits who tended to rely on archery.
Eydan wasn't aware of having crossed any bandit collective, so when he met a relatively friendly group leader named Raiken, he told him he was willing to join their ranks. He was led to a Bandit camp, where a meeting with their leader, a Half-Ogre by the name of Tazok, didn't bring him any further. Before leaving from the camp he decided to have a peak in the camp's main tent after one of the less enlightened guards told him important documents were inside, stored in lightning-trapped chest. Near the entrance he placed two traps, just in case things would go south.
Stealthily he entered and went straight for the chest. The bandits took notice and predictably they didn't appreciate Eydan looting the chest. He quickly quaffed a potion of magic blocking to prevent their mage from hurting him. As he failed to finish off the mirror-imaged wizard, he drank an invisibility potion andgot out as quickly as he could.
The bandits outside apparently hadn't noticed yet what had transpired in the tent, allowing Eydan to escape without worrying much. Back at the FAI he studied the documents from the bandit camp, and conferred with Elminster the famous wizard he kept running into. The Cloakwood was to be his next destination, more specifically an Iron Throne base hidden in it, because the Iron Throne seemed to be the organization that was behind both the iron crisis plaguing the Sword Coast, and the attemps on his life. Getting to this secret base was difficult. At one point he almost gave up his pursuit, as he ran into countless spiders of different varieties and ettercaps. He had to retreat once, and when he came he managed to best his opponents with an ultimate effort, using all he had: his poisons, traps, an oil of fiery burning and a potion of fire breath.
A bit further ahead, lots of running around and reluctant use of invisibility charges from a ring he had bought in Ulgoth's Beard helped him prevail in a similar situation.
The remainder of Eydan's trek through the forest was relatively uneventful, except from a critical backstab killing the vile leader of a group of aggressive druids that had been bothering him: the Shadow Archdruid Amarande (which yielded him the Club +2, at level 8 Eyvan's 4th proficiency pip had gone into Clubs; my Assassins refuse to use staves).
The entrance to the Iron Throne base, a mine, was guarded by four Throne hirelings who had been ordered to kill him. Traps and poisoned acid arrows and backstabs killed two of them, the warriors, one of them dropping a pair of Boots of Speed Eydan picked up. The Assassin then snuck past the other party members, two wizards.
Inside the Mines, Eydan used the same strategy as in the Nashkel Mines. Stealthily he made his way downward till he reached the big boss, who from a distance warned that the Elf's devices were no match for his magic. But Eydan cast Protection from Magic on himself, turning the roles around. He had two watch out for the wizard's Battle Horrors and guards, and heal time and again, until Davaeorn fell, the Battle Horrors disintegrated, and the guards wandered off.
With that piece of business out of the way, Eydan traveled to the city of Baldur's Gate, where's he currently busy trading at the various shops and carrying out a few assignments he had agreed. So far he's acquired the Cloak of Balduran, Tomes of INT, DEX and WIS, a powerful short bow (Sparkburst, a Rogue Rebalancing item) and a lot of ammo and useful potions.
What an unlucky moment with those halflings! I'm so sad Kilbin bit the dust in the Planar Sphere. Maybe you will return to a WS one day? Who knows!
Now all focus is on Eydan the Assassin. This is one of my all-time favourite kits, so this taleis tempting for me.
Indeed everyone seem to be icewinding and to read Eydan's story is quite refreshing! Let's hope this assassin will get Bodhi's heart
If I recall correctly you play on a non-EE installation. I was thinking that a certain item from BG2EE would be very useful for a WS, and I don't think I've seen anyone mention it yet:
Shield of Fyrus Khal +2
AC +3
Fire Resistance +10%
Cold Resistance +10%
Acid Resistance +10%
Aura of Magical Protection: All allies within 10 ft. receive +5% Magical Resistance
Charge Abilities: Spell Turning once per day (reflects 12 levels' worth of spells targeted at the user)
You can get this item almost right out of Irenicus Dungeon, with no fighting. The choice you have to make to get it is also very RP-appropriate for a WS.