I tried the following strategy upon the return visit:
Shank first lured the ghasts down toward the entrance. Then Parda drank down a potion of fire resistance (plus he has a ring of fire resistance). He drank a potion of freedom. Then he cast invisibility on himself and entered the tomb. He went all the way to the end and summoned his fairy dragon; then sent it to to the front of the tomb to try to tie up the ghasts. He then cast Web from a scroll. The plan was to then hurl three potions of explosion at them to kill them. But the Web spell didn't work for some reason. So he got killed too.
I confirmed that Web hadn't work by having Fuller step inside and fire his crossbow at one the ghasts, who were by then down at the back end by the crypts. There was no Web. So that spell failure from a scroll was a glitch that entitled me to a do-over, I felt.
On the do-over everything went as planned. Except only the gem bag was there in the tomb. None of Shank's other gear was there. So I'm going to EE Keeper those items back. We're talking: Boots of Stealth, Buckley's Buckler, the Wand of Monster Summoning that he grabbed just before getting paralyzed, Heart of the Golem (dagger +2), Bracers of Archery, Elves' Bane belt (+3 vs, missiles). That suff shouldn't decay, should it? Maybe these items not persisting in the area has something to do with it being a MP game?
Oh, those gears was yours? Sorry i found them, and thought that the ghasts won't need them. I give back your gears of course... For a proper finder fee @Lemernis
@lolien They're all ghast-y now. You can have 'em. ;-P
This game is actually moving along not too badly. Two fights that normally make me a little nervous in a no-reload run went down pretty easily. Zordral: Parda's Bard Song was actually about all that's needed, though (it's tougher with SCS I know). And Bassilus: Fuller 'roided up on a potion of Storm Giant Strength critted him on the first hit, plus Shank's backstab, combined, left him hanging by a thread; then Phlydia Blinded him and that was all she wrote.
So with the reward money plus selling off Ashideena and the short sword +2, I was able to purchase the dagger of venom for Shank and the light crossbow of speed for Fuller.
Next it's on to the upper floors of Durlag's to get the Wisdom tome, and the staff-spear +2 for Fuller. It's too bad he doesn't get more than one APR for using a spear, though (at least at normal rate of speed). If I Haste him with the Army of Scythe he'll have 3 APR.
Is there actually a penalty in BG for using a ranged weapon too close to a target?
Ugh, that's a pretty strong deterrent then. I guess in some cases he could run around Hasted, kiting with the crossbow. But most of the time I need him as a meleer.
I've got his AC down to -4. It'll be -5 with the RoP +2. I guess he'll use potions of defense, heroism, or invulnerability for the tougher fights. I just hope that I can get Parda or Phlydia to the point that they can cast summons (other than Parda's fearless little fairy dragon).
In hindsight I now wish I had purchased the Shadow Armor for Shank instead of the Army of Scythe for Fuller. Fuller doesn't really use the crossbow that much. Oh well.
If I can raise 5,600 GP I'll be able to buy the Shadow Armor as well. I'd like to do that before heading into Cloakwood. Hopefully I can raise that much gold from the bandit camp and the more lucrative side quests I haven't done yet.* One good thing about a party like this is I can sell off most of the loot.
* Amazon assassins * Sirenes * Four Red Wizards * rival adventuring party on the basilisk map * bounty hunter/assassin party just south of Gullykin * Ulcaster ruins * Firewine ruins * Ice Island * upper levels of Durlag's
Question(s) to those who like the idea of this collection:
Would you like to see such a mod include kits for
- Priest of Oghma (Karan) - Priest of Chauntea (Dreppin) - Priest of Denier (Shistal)?
If so, what do you think the kit should consist of? I.e., what special abilities or tweaks to standard cleric abilities can you envision for those priestly specializations?
Ah well, my game has come to an end. I was daring to hope that I might actually make it chapter 5 with this bunch, but it was not to be. On the third floor of Durlag's Tower Daital the ghost Dire Charmed the entire party except for Shank. And Fuller, thus charmed, skewered Lemernis with his spear. Lemernis had just gotten his priest spells back. (The party paid a visit the basilisk map prior to trying the upper floors of Durlag's Tower.) I had really wanted to get Kirinhale's staff-spear +2 for Fuller.
Well, anyway it was enjoyable. Definitely not easy using these characters. But I had a good time figuring out how to get the most out of them.
I'm going to have one more go at this. Next time I think I'll the "random party" method to determine CHARNAME's gender, race, and class. I'll try randomly generating a party from the 18 Candlekeep characters. If I like what I get, Ill run with it. Otherwise I'll just pick the characters.
I took the first row: Theodon (Jester), Jondalar (Stalker), Shistal (Cleric of Denier), Karan (Cleric of Oghma) , Imoen. I will roleplay Shistal and Karan to fill at least half their spell slots with spells that in some way reflect their religious ethos.
and I upon character creation I got 80. The re-roll was 76. So I took the 80. Which I distributed as follows :
And I gave her profs in scimitar + and sword and shield style + (she can only use a buckler, though).
Here they are before departing Candlekeep:
So this is actually not bad at all, really. Duli is extremely strong, so I'll have her meleeing for sure. Jondalar is one of the few warrior class serious meleers available. Karan and Shistal can actually help out on the front line as well; although they might be better off using their slings. I'll need Imoen as a Thief, so I won't be dualing her to Mage. But at least I have Theodon for at least a bit of arcane spellcasting and wands.
Now to see how far I can get!
* You can use random.org's number sequencer to generate three rows of 5 numbers from 1-18 like so:
The sequencer generates three rows of five numbers between 1 and 18. (It also adds three more numbers below them, which perhaps are bonus numbers intended for a lottery drawing? Anyway, disregard them.)
I had used up most of the party's spells in the two previous maps by the time I got to FAI, but I still thought I would be able to take Tarnesh pretty easy. Theodon confused him early on. But somehow the bastard hung on despite the onslaught (plus with a FAI guard helping out, no less) on and he eventually shook off the Jester Bard Song. And then he managed to cast Horror, to which Imoen and Jondalar succumbed. That left Duli meleeing with him. And she took a Magic Missile from him. Game over.
... that when you'd crushed all opposition in BG1 and BG2:SoA, you'd be able to hire Neera temporarily in BG2:ToB and do her quest, so as to get yourself the Buckler +3, which does wonders for a Druid's AC.
Oh well, that comment isn't going to be relevant any more!
* Can only take one version of Jessup, so I set the number generator for 1-18 and re-rolled a 1.
From the 8 rolls the highest was an 85 (nice!). So I give you Argell, Priestess of Lathander. Here are her abilities:
She has profs in Mace + and Sword and Shield Style +.
Not sure yet which party I'll go with. The first row lacks a Thief. The second row lacks a Mage. The third row doesn't have a true warrior although Argell, Karan, and perhaps Bendalis can probably handle the front line moderately well.
... that when you'd crushed all opposition in BG1 and BG2:SoA, you'd be able to hire Neera temporarily in BG2:ToB and do her quest, so as to get yourself the Buckler +3, which does wonders for a Druid's AC.
Oh well, that comment isn't going to be relevant any more!
Lol, to the best of my recollection I don't think I've ever even gotten past chapter 4 of BG1 in a no-reload game. It would be amazing indeed to make it as far as ToB in a no-reload game (especially with a party from a game like this)!
I decided to go with the third row. So the party is:
Argell, CG Priestess of Lathander (Mace + Sword and Shield Style +) Imoen Karan (Priest of Oghma) NE Jessup (Diviner) Bendalis (Skald) Parda (Bard)
So, really it should not be too bad with Argell suited up in ankheg armor and wearing the bracers of dexterity plus a ring, amulet, or cloak of protection. Then her AC will be down to -5 or -6. So she is going to be the principle meleer.
Karan can also wear ankheg and a RoP and his AC will then be 0. But his melee weapon is a quarterstaff to start. So not until he reaches level 4 (a mere 6000 XP) will I be able to give him a prof in a one-handed weapon (probably hammer) so that he can reduce AC by another point by equipping a shield. In the meantime I might actually try having him use Shillelagh, Spiritual Hammer, and Flame Blade. Then again, if I get the Aule's Staff + 3 for him that give him the lowest thac0 that he can get.
But the real challenge will be how to use Bendalis. I really don't want him just hanging back and singing. I'd like to get him swinging a two-handed sword with proper buffs. I don't know, though, it's just really difficult to use a Bard (other than a Blade, obviously) for melee. Their AC and thac0 suck. They can't cast spells in armor. I might just have to have him go back and forth between singing and using wands plus all those spare loot drop spell scrolls (after he's cast his own spells).
Maybe, though, with Bendalis singing and the two priests regularly using buffs like Bless, Chant, Strength of One, and eventually Defensive Harmony, then Parda can use most of the spell scrolls and wands.
Could you edit the first post with the all the things needed to begin? It's a pain trying to scroll through the thread trying to find the files and your procedures.
@FinneousPJ You're right, sorry! Tomorrow I hope to have it downloadable as mini-mod. Once I have that I'll revise the topic starter post to consolidate everything. Thanks for the interest in the challenge. It's pretty fun and I think people that try it should be fairly pleased.
I'm working on adding some special abilities for the specialization priests plus a few tweaks. It'll sort of be like having them kitted. Nothing major but just a little something to add a bit of flavor.
Okay, I finally have everything in order. :-) The Candlekeep Collection is available via a mini-mod available for download in the topic starter post for this thread. There shouldn't be compatibility issues of any kind with any other mod, as it is very simple. The mod simply copies the 18 Candlekeep characters to your characters and portraits folders. So all you have to do is start a new MP game and fill up the slots with whichever of the characters you like. Other than that, the mod installs a custom script and spell in order for Parda to be able to use his special ability of "Summon Fairy Dragon." Just assign it to Parda in-game from Parda's character record sheet > customize > scripts > PARDAFAM.
The randomization method (detailed in the topic starter) for determining the PC and party members really is a lot of fun, I recommend it.
I improved the ability scores slightly for Jondalar and Bendalis. In Reevor's bio it says that Reevor and Jondalar have a bit of a rivarly, so Jondalar's stats should reflect that. If they squared off Reevor would probably take him because he can wear heavier armor. But at least their abilities are more evenly matched now.
I also increased Bendalis' Strength from 16 to 17 just to tempt players more to have him use his starting prof in two-handed sword.
Over the coming week I want to tweak a few of the characters to give them special abilities here and there. That might include giving Bendalis the Berserk or Barbarian Rage ability just to make things interesting. He's a Skald originally from the Norland Isles, and can wield a two-handed sword. His 17 Strength and the Rage ability might make him almost viable as a meleer...
I think I'll also make some adjustments to the three clerics: Dreppin, Karan, and Shistal. I'll probably give them one special ability each that reflects their faith: Chauntea (Dreppin), Oghma (Karan), and Denier (Shistal). And for Karan and Shistal I think I will boost the number of lore points they gain with each level to put them on par with a Bard.
This current game seems to be swimming along. A couple deaths here and there, but the fallen were resurrectable. The hairiest moment so far was an area transition ambush by an ogre mage in which Karan and Imoen died from Magic Missiles and Lightning after being overcome by Stinking Cloud. Argell quaffed the oil of speed and managed to stun the ogre mage with the Stupifer, thank goodness.
I dualed Argell to Fighter at Priestess of Lathander 3. She's now dual-wielding Stupifier and a Mace + 1. In ankheg armor and the bracers of dexterity her AC is at -4. I'll get Karan in anheg plate soon as well, which will get his AC to 0; and that is good enough to keep him from getting killed during melee in most fights.
I'm about to hit the basilisk map to get the party some levels--Argell in particular. I'm sure I'll have her cleric skills back before taking on the Nashkel mines.
Darn, things were rolling along fine in the basilisk map and I decided to try taking on the rival adventurers there. I was using Stinking Cloud and Grease from loot drop scrolls. But one the spellcasters cast Lightning on Argell (who was just shy of getting her cleric class skills back). And she died.
Actually, this raises an interesting issue for me about no reload games that I'll raise in a separate thread.
I think I'll have one or two more gos at one of these Candlekeep Collection no-reload runs for now, again using the randomization method for PC and party. But I'm also eager to get back to my "Fates" game soon and try to finish it up.
Again using the randomization method, now running Blaine, CN female elven Berserker Scimitar/Ninjato/Wazikashi ++ Two-weapon Style ++ The best of three re-rolls for Blaine was 80.
with companions Hull (Fighter), Carbos (Bounty Hunter), Erik (Archer), NE Jessup (Diviner), and Piato (Monk). That's a reasonably strong lineup for this collection, so hopefully I can at least make it to the Bandit Camp for once! ;-P
The party lacks a healer, but they'll just have to use lots of potions and get healed at temples. Although Jessup with a Wis tome can be dualed to cleric. But I think in the balance it's probably preferable to have his arcane casting at full capacity.
For this collection of characters, and using randomization for the PC and party, that's actually not too bad...
On the deficit side you're lacking a thief. But the priests and PC will eventually be able to detect traps, and you have Reevor to take the trap damage. Jessup will eventually be able to cast Knock.
On the plus side, provided that you can keep CHARNAME alive long enough to dual and get original class skills back, you have a great adventuring class for the PC. And you have the collection's one true tank.
You also have a lot of spellcasting power with a Diviner and two clerics. So plenty of healing. And Command (in stereo) which, like Sleep, is so potent early on. Jessup is actually quite an asset, I find. With Evermemory he's got four level 1 slots right out of the gate.
Karan can at least suit up and fight alongside (and maybe a little behind) Reevor with a quarterstaff. Shistal can armor himself too, but until he gets another prof he's limited to a sling and shield. (Hey, they're monastic scribes who live at a library, doing the best they can!).
Bendalis I find is hard to use for much more than his Bard Song... I'm still struggling with various editors to get the Berserk innate special ability added to him. (Can't seem to get it to work with either EE Keeper or DLTCEP--very frustrating!) If you're able to add either Berserk or Barbarian Rage to Bendalis via EE Keeper feel free!
Anyway, thanks for taking a shot at it, and good luck!
Blaine, CN female elven Berserker Hull (Fighter) Carbos (Bounty Hunter) Erik (Archer) NE Jessup (Diviner) Piato (Monk).
it's the first time in a long while that I've used a Bounty Hunter, here with Carbos. And the wrinkle that increases difficulty for this challenge is that his prof is in Katana. As we know, in BGEE Katanas are rare and expensive. I didn't have enough cash to buy a katana at Candlekeep (although even if I had had just barely enough, it would have been at the expense of the rest of the party; not sure if I would have done that). Unfortunately I won't come across a katana until I defeat Davaeorn. So it's cheesy as hell, but I admit to having Carbos set traps during battle! I suppose I'll now equip him with darts and accept the penalty for him having no proficiency with the weapon. Darts are 3 APR so he should still be able to get some licks in.
The special snare for a Bounty Hunter I've recently just begun experiencing a bug with, actually. It was working okay initially, but it's now creating an Otiluke's Resilient Sphere around the target which is not supposed to happen until the Bounty Hunter reaches level 16 per the manual. For BGEE (levels 1-10) it's supposed to Slow the target. Anyone have ideas about how to correct this? E.g., perhaps with a line of code via CLUA console or EE Keeper?
As to the progression of the game, using Carbos and Piato have posed the main tactical challenge for sure. When equipping the party at Candlekeep I ran out of gold with which to buy Piato a Scimitar/Ninjato/Wakizashi. Acceptable, I figured, because he can still stun with his fists and feet (and his kicks and punches use 1d10). But he has a prof in Single Weapon Style; so the long term plan is to get Rashaad's Talon +2 for him. Anyway, the weak links right now are definitely Carbos and Piato. Piato has already died once to an arrow by a kobold bandit.
It was different to defeat Tarnesh with Carbos' traps. The trap came just shy of killing him, and it also Slowed him. Jessup then got the kill with the Wand of Magic Missiles. That's a pretty offbeat way to take him out.
Otherwise Karlat and Silke have gone down with no trouble. On my way to Nashkel now.
Question: Did EE remove the second pair of boots of stealth that in the original game were on a hobgoblin in the Ulcaster Ruins map?
Good grief, I suck at no-reload, tactically. I just went to do the Graywolf fight, and I figured I would place my hardiest character at the spot that Graywolf typically strikes out at. So I put Blaine there, what with her being a Berserker at -4 AC in ankheg armor. Before the fight I had Carbos set both of his snares. So the special Bounty Hunter snare Slowed Graywolf. Partly because of MP mode's need for repeated taps of the space bar to pause the game, I wasn't able to get Blaine out of the way of an instant killing blow from Graywolf. Not that I necessarily would have, but given that is a no-reload game I may have tried to. (It wasn't really an option: as I tapped away at the space bar he killed her.) I figured she could survive the first hit!
In hindsight, that first hit from Graywolf always seems to kill whoever it hits...
Ah well. I won't take a mulligan on it even though I did experience the technical problem of not being able to instantly pause. (I prefer not to use the auto-pause setting. It feels cheaty to me. But on the other hand, since the game usually won't let me pause with one tap of the space bar maybe I'll have to for these no-reload games played in MP mode.)
I'll give this one more try, I think. I know I keep saying this is the last one... :-) (I'm enjoying this a lot, but I'm also eager to resume my "Fates" game.)
11 18 9 3 4 Karan (Priest of Oghma), Theodon (Jester), NE Jessup (Diviner), Dreppin (Priest of Chauntea), Erik (Archer)
And I think I'll go with the first row since that's similar to what I just ran, and I was enjoying it before Graywolf so brutally ended my fun. I'll dual Imoen to Mage once I have her Open Locks and Detect Traps at decent level. Then Carbos' points can go directly into stealth and set snare.
You can move the game to single player by moving the save from one folder to another and then reloading it in single player mode. I recommend doing so.
I'm trying Bendalis with a change in profs. I think he might be more interesting with
Axe + Sword and Shield Style +
He's strong enough to be able to carry around a decent supply of throwing axes, actually. Since he can't wear armor and cast, a one-handed weapon plus S&S style seems a better choice than two-handed sword because it allows him to use a buckler; that, in turn, with S&S style will give him -3 versus arrows. Buckley's Buckler will also give him a slight benefit of +1 HP on level-ups (1d6 + 2 HP on level-ups).
Comments
Shank first lured the ghasts down toward the entrance. Then Parda drank down a potion of fire resistance (plus he has a ring of fire resistance). He drank a potion of freedom. Then he cast invisibility on himself and entered the tomb. He went all the way to the end and summoned his fairy dragon; then sent it to to the front of the tomb to try to tie up the ghasts. He then cast Web from a scroll. The plan was to then hurl three potions of explosion at them to kill them. But the Web spell didn't work for some reason. So he got killed too.
I confirmed that Web hadn't work by having Fuller step inside and fire his crossbow at one the ghasts, who were by then down at the back end by the crypts. There was no Web. So that spell failure from a scroll was a glitch that entitled me to a do-over, I felt.
On the do-over everything went as planned. Except only the gem bag was there in the tomb. None of Shank's other gear was there. So I'm going to EE Keeper those items back. We're talking: Boots of Stealth, Buckley's Buckler, the Wand of Monster Summoning that he grabbed just before getting paralyzed, Heart of the Golem (dagger +2), Bracers of Archery, Elves' Bane belt (+3 vs, missiles). That suff shouldn't decay, should it? Maybe these items not persisting in the area has something to do with it being a MP game?
This game is actually moving along not too badly. Two fights that normally make me a little nervous in a no-reload run went down pretty easily. Zordral: Parda's Bard Song was actually about all that's needed, though (it's tougher with SCS I know). And Bassilus: Fuller 'roided up on a potion of Storm Giant Strength critted him on the first hit, plus Shank's backstab, combined, left him hanging by a thread; then Phlydia Blinded him and that was all she wrote.
So with the reward money plus selling off Ashideena and the short sword +2, I was able to purchase the dagger of venom for Shank and the light crossbow of speed for Fuller.
Next it's on to the upper floors of Durlag's to get the Wisdom tome, and the staff-spear +2 for Fuller. It's too bad he doesn't get more than one APR for using a spear, though (at least at normal rate of speed). If I Haste him with the Army of Scythe he'll have 3 APR.
Is there actually a penalty in BG for using a ranged weapon too close to a target?
I've got his AC down to -4. It'll be -5 with the RoP +2. I guess he'll use potions of defense, heroism, or invulnerability for the tougher fights. I just hope that I can get Parda or Phlydia to the point that they can cast summons (other than Parda's fearless little fairy dragon).
If I can raise 5,600 GP I'll be able to buy the Shadow Armor as well. I'd like to do that before heading into Cloakwood. Hopefully I can raise that much gold from the bandit camp and the more lucrative side quests I haven't done yet.* One good thing about a party like this is I can sell off most of the loot.
* Amazon assassins
* Sirenes
* Four Red Wizards
* rival adventuring party on the basilisk map
* bounty hunter/assassin party just south of Gullykin
* Ulcaster ruins
* Firewine ruins
* Ice Island
* upper levels of Durlag's
Would you like to see such a mod include kits for
- Priest of Oghma (Karan)
- Priest of Chauntea (Dreppin)
- Priest of Denier (Shistal)?
If so, what do you think the kit should consist of? I.e., what special abilities or tweaks to standard cleric abilities can you envision for those priestly specializations?
Well, anyway it was enjoyable. Definitely not easy using these characters. But I had a good time figuring out how to get the most out of them.
I'm going to have one more go at this. Next time I think I'll the "random party" method to determine CHARNAME's gender, race, and class. I'll try randomly generating a party from the 18 Candlekeep characters. If I like what I get, Ill run with it. Otherwise I'll just pick the characters.
PC
5 - female
0 - pick - rerolled 6 = gnome; love it! will EE Keeper that
5 - druid
4 - totemic
4 - LN; but druid must be TN
1 - only 1 reroll, yikes
6 - voice - female 3; it's optional--I chose female 6 instead
Party*
18 10 17 11 7 - Theodon, Jondalar, Shistal, Karan, Imoen
8 13 2 1 4 - Jessup 1 (CG), Phlydia, Carbos, Benadlis, Erik
9 16 3 5 14 - Jessup 2 (NE), Shank, Dreppin, Fuller, Piato
I took the first row: Theodon (Jester), Jondalar (Stalker), Shistal (Cleric of Denier), Karan (Cleric of Oghma) , Imoen. I will roleplay Shistal and Karan to fill at least half their spell slots with spells that in some way reflect their religious ethos.
and I upon character creation I got 80. The re-roll was 76. So I took the 80. Which I distributed as follows :
And I gave her profs in scimitar + and sword and shield style + (she can only use a buckler, though).
Here they are before departing Candlekeep:
So this is actually not bad at all, really. Duli is extremely strong, so I'll have her meleeing for sure. Jondalar is one of the few warrior class serious meleers available. Karan and Shistal can actually help out on the front line as well; although they might be better off using their slings. I'll need Imoen as a Thief, so I won't be dualing her to Mage. But at least I have Theodon for at least a bit of arcane spellcasting and wands.
Now to see how far I can get!
* You can use random.org's number sequencer to generate three rows of 5 numbers from 1-18 like so:
The sequencer generates three rows of five numbers between 1 and 18. (It also adds three more numbers below them, which perhaps are bonus numbers intended for a lottery drawing? Anyway, disregard them.)
I had used up most of the party's spells in the two previous maps by the time I got to FAI, but I still thought I would be able to take Tarnesh pretty easy. Theodon confused him early on. But somehow the bastard hung on despite the onslaught (plus with a FAI guard helping out, no less) on and he eventually shook off the Jester Bard Song. And then he managed to cast Horror, to which Imoen and Jondalar succumbed. That left Duli meleeing with him. And she took a Magic Missile from him. Game over.
And I'd been just about to point out: ... that when you'd crushed all opposition in BG1 and BG2:SoA, you'd be able to hire Neera temporarily in BG2:ToB and do her quest, so as to get yourself the Buckler +3, which does wonders for a Druid's AC.
Oh well, that comment isn't going to be relevant any more!
PC
8 - female
1 - human
4 - cleric
9 - Priest of Lathander
9 - CE; but must be Good aligned, so CG
8 - 8 re-rolls allowed (sweet!)
2 - default or female 1
Party
4 17 6 18 3 - Erik (Archer), Shistal (Priest of Denier), Hull (Fighter), Thedon (Jester), Dreppin (Priest of Chauntea)
2 5 14 15 16 - Carbos (Bounty Hunter), Fuller (Fighter), Piato (Monk), Reevor (Dwarven Defender), Shank (Assassin)
7 11 9 8 * 1 12 - Imoen, Karan (Priest of Oghma), Jessup 2 (NE Diviner), Bendalis (Skald), Parda (Bard)
1 - Bendalis
2 - Carbos
3 - Dreppin
4 - Erik
5 - Fuller
6 - Hull
7 - Imoen
8 - Jessup 1
9 - Jessup 2
10 - Jondalar
11 - Karan
12 - Parda
13 - Phlydia
14 - Piato
15 - Reevor
16 - Shank
17 - Shistal
18 - Theodon
* Can only take one version of Jessup, so I set the number generator for 1-18 and re-rolled a 1.
From the 8 rolls the highest was an 85 (nice!). So I give you Argell, Priestess of Lathander. Here are her abilities:
She has profs in Mace + and Sword and Shield Style +.
Not sure yet which party I'll go with. The first row lacks a Thief. The second row lacks a Mage. The third row doesn't have a true warrior although Argell, Karan, and perhaps Bendalis can probably handle the front line moderately well.
I guess I'll sleep on it. :-)
Argell, CG Priestess of Lathander (Mace + Sword and Shield Style +)
Imoen
Karan (Priest of Oghma)
NE Jessup (Diviner)
Bendalis (Skald)
Parda (Bard)
So, really it should not be too bad with Argell suited up in ankheg armor and wearing the bracers of dexterity plus a ring, amulet, or cloak of protection. Then her AC will be down to -5 or -6. So she is going to be the principle meleer.
Karan can also wear ankheg and a RoP and his AC will then be 0. But his melee weapon is a quarterstaff to start. So not until he reaches level 4 (a mere 6000 XP) will I be able to give him a prof in a one-handed weapon (probably hammer) so that he can reduce AC by another point by equipping a shield. In the meantime I might actually try having him use Shillelagh, Spiritual Hammer, and Flame Blade. Then again, if I get the Aule's Staff + 3 for him that give him the lowest thac0 that he can get.
But the real challenge will be how to use Bendalis. I really don't want him just hanging back and singing. I'd like to get him swinging a two-handed sword with proper buffs. I don't know, though, it's just really difficult to use a Bard (other than a Blade, obviously) for melee. Their AC and thac0 suck. They can't cast spells in armor. I might just have to have him go back and forth between singing and using wands plus all those spare loot drop spell scrolls (after he's cast his own spells).
Maybe, though, with Bendalis singing and the two priests regularly using buffs like Bless, Chant, Strength of One, and eventually Defensive Harmony, then Parda can use most of the spell scrolls and wands.
Anyway, time will tell.
I'm working on adding some special abilities for the specialization priests plus a few tweaks. It'll sort of be like having them kitted. Nothing major but just a little something to add a bit of flavor.
The randomization method (detailed in the topic starter) for determining the PC and party members really is a lot of fun, I recommend it.
I improved the ability scores slightly for Jondalar and Bendalis. In Reevor's bio it says that Reevor and Jondalar have a bit of a rivarly, so Jondalar's stats should reflect that. If they squared off Reevor would probably take him because he can wear heavier armor. But at least their abilities are more evenly matched now.
I also increased Bendalis' Strength from 16 to 17 just to tempt players more to have him use his starting prof in two-handed sword.
Over the coming week I want to tweak a few of the characters to give them special abilities here and there. That might include giving Bendalis the Berserk or Barbarian Rage ability just to make things interesting. He's a Skald originally from the Norland Isles, and can wield a two-handed sword. His 17 Strength and the Rage ability might make him almost viable as a meleer...
I think I'll also make some adjustments to the three clerics: Dreppin, Karan, and Shistal. I'll probably give them one special ability each that reflects their faith: Chauntea (Dreppin), Oghma (Karan), and Denier (Shistal). And for Karan and Shistal I think I will boost the number of lore points they gain with each level to put them on par with a Bard.
I dualed Argell to Fighter at Priestess of Lathander 3. She's now dual-wielding Stupifier and a Mace + 1. In ankheg armor and the bracers of dexterity her AC is at -4. I'll get Karan in anheg plate soon as well, which will get his AC to 0; and that is good enough to keep him from getting killed during melee in most fights.
I'm about to hit the basilisk map to get the party some levels--Argell in particular. I'm sure I'll have her cleric skills back before taking on the Nashkel mines.
Actually, this raises an interesting issue for me about no reload games that I'll raise in a separate thread.
I think I'll have one or two more gos at one of these Candlekeep Collection no-reload runs for now, again using the randomization method for PC and party. But I'm also eager to get back to my "Fates" game soon and try to finish it up.
Scimitar/Ninjato/Wazikashi ++
Two-weapon Style ++
The best of three re-rolls for Blaine was 80.
with companions Hull (Fighter), Carbos (Bounty Hunter), Erik (Archer), NE Jessup (Diviner), and Piato (Monk).
That's a reasonably strong lineup for this collection, so hopefully I can at least make it to the Bandit Camp for once! ;-P
The party lacks a healer, but they'll just have to use lots of potions and get healed at temples. Although Jessup with a Wis tome can be dualed to cleric. But I think in the balance it's probably preferable to have his arcane casting at full capacity.
9 Pick
1 Human
0 Multi
8 Cleric/Ranger
4 LN
0 0 rerolls
6 Voiceset 3
15 Reevor - DD
1 Bendalis - Skald
8 Jessup 1 - Diviner
17 Shistal - Cleric
11 Karan - Cleric
I'm going to interpret that as dual-class Cleric/Ranger. Party's a bit squishy, but let's see how it goes.
On the deficit side you're lacking a thief. But the priests and PC will eventually be able to detect traps, and you have Reevor to take the trap damage. Jessup will eventually be able to cast Knock.
On the plus side, provided that you can keep CHARNAME alive long enough to dual and get original class skills back, you have a great adventuring class for the PC. And you have the collection's one true tank.
You also have a lot of spellcasting power with a Diviner and two clerics. So plenty of healing. And Command (in stereo) which, like Sleep, is so potent early on. Jessup is actually quite an asset, I find. With Evermemory he's got four level 1 slots right out of the gate.
Karan can at least suit up and fight alongside (and maybe a little behind) Reevor with a quarterstaff. Shistal can armor himself too, but until he gets another prof he's limited to a sling and shield. (Hey, they're monastic scribes who live at a library, doing the best they can!).
Bendalis I find is hard to use for much more than his Bard Song... I'm still struggling with various editors to get the Berserk innate special ability added to him. (Can't seem to get it to work with either EE Keeper or DLTCEP--very frustrating!) If you're able to add either Berserk or Barbarian Rage to Bendalis via EE Keeper feel free!
Anyway, thanks for taking a shot at it, and good luck!
Blaine, CN female elven Berserker
Hull (Fighter)
Carbos (Bounty Hunter)
Erik (Archer)
NE Jessup (Diviner)
Piato (Monk).
it's the first time in a long while that I've used a Bounty Hunter, here with Carbos. And the wrinkle that increases difficulty for this challenge is that his prof is in Katana. As we know, in BGEE Katanas are rare and expensive. I didn't have enough cash to buy a katana at Candlekeep (although even if I had had just barely enough, it would have been at the expense of the rest of the party; not sure if I would have done that). Unfortunately I won't come across a katana until I defeat Davaeorn. So it's cheesy as hell, but I admit to having Carbos set traps during battle! I suppose I'll now equip him with darts and accept the penalty for him having no proficiency with the weapon. Darts are 3 APR so he should still be able to get some licks in.
The special snare for a Bounty Hunter I've recently just begun experiencing a bug with, actually. It was working okay initially, but it's now creating an Otiluke's Resilient Sphere around the target which is not supposed to happen until the Bounty Hunter reaches level 16 per the manual. For BGEE (levels 1-10) it's supposed to Slow the target. Anyone have ideas about how to correct this? E.g., perhaps with a line of code via CLUA console or EE Keeper?
As to the progression of the game, using Carbos and Piato have posed the main tactical challenge for sure. When equipping the party at Candlekeep I ran out of gold with which to buy Piato a Scimitar/Ninjato/Wakizashi. Acceptable, I figured, because he can still stun with his fists and feet (and his kicks and punches use 1d10). But he has a prof in Single Weapon Style; so the long term plan is to get Rashaad's Talon +2 for him. Anyway, the weak links right now are definitely Carbos and Piato. Piato has already died once to an arrow by a kobold bandit.
It was different to defeat Tarnesh with Carbos' traps. The trap came just shy of killing him, and it also Slowed him. Jessup then got the kill with the Wand of Magic Missiles. That's a pretty offbeat way to take him out.
Otherwise Karlat and Silke have gone down with no trouble. On my way to Nashkel now.
Question: Did EE remove the second pair of boots of stealth that in the original game were on a hobgoblin in the Ulcaster Ruins map?
In hindsight, that first hit from Graywolf always seems to kill whoever it hits...
Ah well. I won't take a mulligan on it even though I did experience the technical problem of not being able to instantly pause. (I prefer not to use the auto-pause setting. It feels cheaty to me. But on the other hand, since the game usually won't let me pause with one tap of the space bar maybe I'll have to for these no-reload games played in MP mode.)
I'll give this one more try, I think. I know I keep saying this is the last one... :-) (I'm enjoying this a lot, but I'm also eager to resume my "Fates" game.)
PC
8 - female
8 - Dwarf (will EE Keeper a human Inquisitor to dwarf)
3 - Paladin
5 - Inquisitor
and
3 - CG LG (Paladin can't be CG; so LG)
7 - 7 re-rolls
5 - Female3
Party
1 7 6 14 2
Bendalis (Skald), Imoen, Hull (Fighter), Piato (Monk), Carbos (Bounty Hunter)
12 10 8 5 16
Parda (Bard), Jondalar (Stalker), CG Jessup (Diviner), Fuller (Fighter), Shank (Assassin)
11 18 9 3 4
Karan (Priest of Oghma), Theodon (Jester), NE Jessup (Diviner), Dreppin (Priest of Chauntea), Erik (Archer)
And I think I'll go with the first row since that's similar to what I just ran, and I was enjoying it before Graywolf so brutally ended my fun. I'll dual Imoen to Mage once I have her Open Locks and Detect Traps at decent level. Then Carbos' points can go directly into stealth and set snare.
You can move the game to single player by moving the save from one folder to another and then reloading it in single player mode. I recommend doing so.
Axe +
Sword and Shield Style +
He's strong enough to be able to carry around a decent supply of throwing axes, actually. Since he can't wear armor and cast, a one-handed weapon plus S&S style seems a better choice than two-handed sword because it allows him to use a buckler; that, in turn, with S&S style will give him -3 versus arrows. Buckley's Buckler will also give him a slight benefit of +1 HP on level-ups (1d6 + 2 HP on level-ups).