Alazor's Play'true' (No-Reload, Reduced Metagaming, Logical Group Behavior) *spoilers*
Charlatan
Member Posts: 25
Greetings,
despite the fact this took a very long time (not due to many restarts
), I unfortunately didn't think of taking pictures. Still, this was one of the oddest journeys I know, and that means something ! From BG1, I am now well into TOB and closing in on the end, and want to share my experiences:
My rules were:
=> No Reloading to achieve a different result in the vicinity of any dungeon, quest, combat or main-quest dialogue.
=> Hard Difficulty (+50% Damage)
=> Minimum possible Metagaming - My group knows what the group knows, not what I know.
For Example: fight your first vampires unprepared unless an experienced cleric is in the group.
=> No Google, no Walkthroughs
Exceptions:
- Reload allowed/enforced when major bugs influence the scene
- Reload allowed for AFK/IRL-caused deaths (crashes, cat walking over keyboard while grabbing drink, etc...)
- Reload allowed, but not repeatedly, when a pickpocket failure turns the whole town psychotic.
Mods:
- None except a miniature addition on my part, adding Baeloth from BG1.
-=- The Character & Team -=-
Alazor - Shadowdancer later Multiclassed to Fighter still using leather.
-BG1-
Alazor - Dorn - Baeloth -Yeslick - Jaheira Khalid
Minsc (Temporary) - Dynaheir (Temporary) - Edwin (Kicked)- Kagain (Died)
-BG2-
Alazor - Minsc - Jaheira - Baeloth - Jan - Viconia
Anomen (Kicked) - Korgan (Kicked & Killed)
-=- The Failures -=-
I like to think 3 in BG1 and 4 in BG2 are quite few.
- In Durlag's Tower, CHARNAME refused to drink a Potion of Insulation for no apparent reason, oneshot by a single Lightning Bolt at full 72/72, by one of the Ghosts in the Torture Room.
- In Cloakwood Mine, a Fireball that shouldn't have been high enough to do so, permakilled Baeloth. Voluntary Restart.
- CHARNAME triggered the 10d6 Fireball trap in Ulcaster.
- The Troll in de'Arnise Hold chunked Minsc in 3 consecutive crits. Voluntary Restart.
- A berserk Minsc ran into the Acid Trap in the Slaver Houseboat and was permakilled, Voluntary Restart.
- In the Planar Sphere, Valygar somehow phased through a closed door to the enemy, was still responding to commands but had no sight range, was petrified and in the last moment shattered by a stray lightning bolt. *Surely Bug, but voluntary Restart*
- Jan permakilled by Gauth in the Beholder Lair, strange since it took 7 moderately low damage hits, but still, Voluntary Restart.
-=- The Experience -=-
I must say this was a refreshing journey - a real Challenge opposed to most other games. When putting your mind in the point-of-view of the group, it saves you a lot of trouble and nerves. If you take your time with traps, use scouts, properly use Divination Spells, use Scrolls, use Potions and don't forget using long-duration protective magic, especially when obvious hints predict the type of damage you can expect... basically act, like this party would, their lives at stake at every step - then you'll save yourself from a lot of trouble and frustration.
Foolishness & Bravery are a careful balance here. Never forget you can almost always RETREAT in some way. It's not the same as cowardice and running away, but pure tactic. If you require it, a hasted party can easily take cover even in certain bossfights, to buy some time. You're almost never locked in with your enemy in BG2. Of course, on the other hand, one should never abuse area transitions like stairs to your advantage - if it wasn't for game mechanics, the enemy would be coming after you!
Eccentric thoughts save the day! One of your adventurers is feared or you can expect a mind control ? Attack your friend with Hold Person, Power Word: Stun, or even Imprisonment. They'll be better off not running feared through twelve traps! Someone is stunned or held in combat ? Remember your mage can always throw invisibility on others in mid-fight. Scouting ahead with intelligent summoned creatures is too much powergaming ? Yes it is, but there's an abundance of mindless animated skeletons to summon and no one will be poorer for their loss.
-=- The Curiosities -=-
This being a no-reload challenge, some very very strange things have happened, simply because there ARE situations where you should reload to prevent endangering the main-quest... but won't.
1) Jaheira was the love interest, but the abduction by Bodhi never happened.
2) A misplaced AOE spell and some traps accidently got both captain Saemon and Sime killed in Brynlaw, and, I'm not sure if this was the cause, but as a result Yoshimo never showed up in Spellhold, and didn't die back in the Copper Coronet either. He was still alive and well before I went to the last fight.
3) I don't know why, but the demon in Resurrection Gorge wasn't hidden or invisible.
4) Abi-Dalsim's Horrid Wilting doesn't seem to cause permanent death at all. In one of my failures, the Radiant Heart party hunting you after the Windspear Incident obliterated all but Charname in a single overpowered cast. Some were taken to roughly -70 but didn't permanently die.
5) In the guarded compound, a trap triggered twice, eventhough it was roughly 3 meters away from my group, everyone was standing still. This was one case of bug-caused reload.
despite the fact this took a very long time (not due to many restarts
), I unfortunately didn't think of taking pictures. Still, this was one of the oddest journeys I know, and that means something ! From BG1, I am now well into TOB and closing in on the end, and want to share my experiences:My rules were:
=> No Reloading to achieve a different result in the vicinity of any dungeon, quest, combat or main-quest dialogue.
=> Hard Difficulty (+50% Damage)
=> Minimum possible Metagaming - My group knows what the group knows, not what I know.
For Example: fight your first vampires unprepared unless an experienced cleric is in the group.
=> No Google, no Walkthroughs
Exceptions:
- Reload allowed/enforced when major bugs influence the scene
- Reload allowed for AFK/IRL-caused deaths (crashes, cat walking over keyboard while grabbing drink, etc...)
- Reload allowed, but not repeatedly, when a pickpocket failure turns the whole town psychotic.
Mods:
- None except a miniature addition on my part, adding Baeloth from BG1.
-=- The Character & Team -=-
Alazor - Shadowdancer later Multiclassed to Fighter still using leather.
-BG1-
Alazor - Dorn - Baeloth -Yeslick - Jaheira Khalid
Minsc (Temporary) - Dynaheir (Temporary) - Edwin (Kicked)- Kagain (Died)
-BG2-
Alazor - Minsc - Jaheira - Baeloth - Jan - Viconia
Anomen (Kicked) - Korgan (Kicked & Killed)
-=- The Failures -=-
I like to think 3 in BG1 and 4 in BG2 are quite few.
- In Durlag's Tower, CHARNAME refused to drink a Potion of Insulation for no apparent reason, oneshot by a single Lightning Bolt at full 72/72, by one of the Ghosts in the Torture Room.
- In Cloakwood Mine, a Fireball that shouldn't have been high enough to do so, permakilled Baeloth. Voluntary Restart.
- CHARNAME triggered the 10d6 Fireball trap in Ulcaster.
- The Troll in de'Arnise Hold chunked Minsc in 3 consecutive crits. Voluntary Restart.
- A berserk Minsc ran into the Acid Trap in the Slaver Houseboat and was permakilled, Voluntary Restart.
- In the Planar Sphere, Valygar somehow phased through a closed door to the enemy, was still responding to commands but had no sight range, was petrified and in the last moment shattered by a stray lightning bolt. *Surely Bug, but voluntary Restart*
- Jan permakilled by Gauth in the Beholder Lair, strange since it took 7 moderately low damage hits, but still, Voluntary Restart.
-=- The Experience -=-
I must say this was a refreshing journey - a real Challenge opposed to most other games. When putting your mind in the point-of-view of the group, it saves you a lot of trouble and nerves. If you take your time with traps, use scouts, properly use Divination Spells, use Scrolls, use Potions and don't forget using long-duration protective magic, especially when obvious hints predict the type of damage you can expect... basically act, like this party would, their lives at stake at every step - then you'll save yourself from a lot of trouble and frustration.
Foolishness & Bravery are a careful balance here. Never forget you can almost always RETREAT in some way. It's not the same as cowardice and running away, but pure tactic. If you require it, a hasted party can easily take cover even in certain bossfights, to buy some time. You're almost never locked in with your enemy in BG2. Of course, on the other hand, one should never abuse area transitions like stairs to your advantage - if it wasn't for game mechanics, the enemy would be coming after you!
Eccentric thoughts save the day! One of your adventurers is feared or you can expect a mind control ? Attack your friend with Hold Person, Power Word: Stun, or even Imprisonment. They'll be better off not running feared through twelve traps! Someone is stunned or held in combat ? Remember your mage can always throw invisibility on others in mid-fight. Scouting ahead with intelligent summoned creatures is too much powergaming ? Yes it is, but there's an abundance of mindless animated skeletons to summon and no one will be poorer for their loss.
-=- The Curiosities -=-
This being a no-reload challenge, some very very strange things have happened, simply because there ARE situations where you should reload to prevent endangering the main-quest... but won't.
1) Jaheira was the love interest, but the abduction by Bodhi never happened.
2) A misplaced AOE spell and some traps accidently got both captain Saemon and Sime killed in Brynlaw, and, I'm not sure if this was the cause, but as a result Yoshimo never showed up in Spellhold, and didn't die back in the Copper Coronet either. He was still alive and well before I went to the last fight.
3) I don't know why, but the demon in Resurrection Gorge wasn't hidden or invisible.
4) Abi-Dalsim's Horrid Wilting doesn't seem to cause permanent death at all. In one of my failures, the Radiant Heart party hunting you after the Windspear Incident obliterated all but Charname in a single overpowered cast. Some were taken to roughly -70 but didn't permanently die.
5) In the guarded compound, a trap triggered twice, eventhough it was roughly 3 meters away from my group, everyone was standing still. This was one case of bug-caused reload.
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