With the Lich business out of the way Norgath returned to the task he had begun before: to investigate and deal with the cult of the Unseeing Eye, some type of Beholder. From the chamber that had contained the Shade Lich he descended a stairway to a lower tunnel. In it he dispatched Spiders, mutated Gibberlings, Mummies and Ghasts,
until he came upon a broken bridge over a fissure in the ground. He stepped upon the bridge to see if his Dwarven legs could reach the other side, but was warned of danger when he inadvertently triggered a Prismatic Spray trap.
A deep voice suddenly spoke at him, seemingly coming from the bridge itself. Norgath solved a couple of riddles the voice posed him, and saw the bridge magically restored. On the other side of it he scouted three Beholders, and two Gauths.
A maze trap followed by three regular traps sufficed for slaying one Beholder; a second maze trap, two regular traps and an Efreeti Flamestrike finished a Gauth. The remaining eye tyrants were ignored for the time being, with Norgath relying on his outstandng stealth to continue his way. He encountered a number of ancient guardians in front of even older temple. They did nothing to stop the Dwarf from entering. Inside, he Bhaal-healed a spiteful demon and spoke with a ghost-like creature who gave him the part of the rod that Gaal was after. The air was thick and old. It tired the Dwarf, so he rested. He then returned with the rod not to Gaal but to Sassar the former cultist. The remaining eye tyrants by the bridge were bypassed once more. Sassar directed Norgath to a friend of his named Tad, who was still a member of the cult. This Tad then showed the Dwarf a route to the lair of the Unseeing Eye. It was not a pretty trip. First Norgath had to somehow find his way past a community of undead. With a Necklace of Missiles Fireball he antagonized some of the creatures that were bocking his path, and then he went invsible. Entering their den through one door and leaving it through another allowed him to continue his excursion to the lair of the Unseeing Eye. (He didn't bother with slaying the undead or with trying to get hold of their treasure.) The lair seemed to be a living, breathing organ with different narrow corridors in different directions. Norgath entered the lair in a small chamber. Hidden in shadows he walked through a corridor toward the center of the lair but stopped when he encountered a group of six or seven Beholders and Gauths. Not knowing whether one of these creatures was the Unseeing Eye, Norgath decided to continue his search. He followed a corridor away from the center in a southeasterly direction until he saw before him a chamber not unlike the chamber where he had first entered the lair. In it he encountered a single Gauth. The Dwarf fancied his chances in a one on one fight against this representative of the lesser of the eye tyrant types he had so far encountered. He took some damage but prevailed, thanks in part to an oil of speed. In a trove Norgath found the second part of the rod. When he picked it up the two parts melded into one single rift device.
Soon after he heard a voice inside his head, the Unseeing Eye threatening him telepathically. The Dwarf left the chamber through the same corridor, and ran into the Unseeing Eye at the end of it. Unlike others of its ilk, the creature saw through Norgath's invisibility and attacked the Dwarf with all manner of magical energies.
At that moment Norgath considered himself fortunate to be a resilient Dwarf instead of one of the more fragile races. And the vicinity of a hidden exit (useful in case the Unseeing Eye would call its minions for help) instilled further hope in the Dwarf. He shrugged off the Beholder's attacks, outran the creature and placed several Maze traps,
only to find the Unseeing Eye immune to the first maze that hit it. Thankfully Norgath had more success with the rift device; it severely injured and weakened the Beholder, and somehow it was also no longer immune to Maze.
Thus Norgath could place a few of his regular traps at the maze point, and saw them put the Unseeing Eye to death when it returned.
Norgath had done what he had been asked to, and saw no reason to risk his neck against the remaining eye tyrants. He entertained the thought of presenting the rift device to Gaal to see if the blind fool would give him a reward (without knowing that his master had just been slain), but decided to return to the spectre in the ancient temple and leave the device there. Again the air made the Dwarf sleepy, and his little excursion had talen its toll on the Dwarf's energy as well, so he rested before he would return to the surface. On his way he finished off the two Beholders and the Gauth by the restored bridge. At the Temple of Helm he was amply rewarded for his work, and at his guildhouse he ran into his old pal Narlen Darkwalk who told the Dwarf of an Orc ambush that had resulted in the captivity of Black Lily and other thieves that had been on their way to Athkatla. The two rogues set out immediately. They found the bandits' hideout before they could enter it they had to battle Orogs and Orcs, including a Mage and a Priest, and a Wyvern called Old Yeller (which upon closer inspection via NearInfinity turned out to be immune to non-silver weapons - pretty ridiculous imo but I guess there's no accounting for taste). With the help of Kitthix and the Efreeti, and with maze traps followed by a rest, the two thieves managed to overcome the opposition.
They then had to enter a cave where more Orcs and Orogs awaited the two. They were overwhelmed. Norgath tried to get rid of the Orc Mage using arrows of dispelling, but the wizard would rebuff with a contingency or a quickly cast Stoneskin. He heard Narlen cry for help, so Norgath tried to summon Kitthix to help out, but it was too late. The rogue fell. Norgath (and Blackraven) got really pissed off at that moment. (I really didn't want him to die, and I also consider the battle too hard considering you have to protect someone else whom you don't have any control over. It's a bit like the Ducal Palace, although in this battle failure isn't penalized as severely of course.) The other new members of his guild, one of them Black Lily, had apparently found release and they joined the fray. Norgath only wished they would have appeared earlier. Together the rogues dealt with the bandits with relative ease. This was in part due to the fact that the enemy seemed most eager to kill hasted Norgath rather than the other rogues, allowing the Dwarf to kill off the mage and the priest with ranged attacks while evading the Orc and Orog warriors' attacks.
Norgath and his new recruits arrived safely at the guildhouse in Athkatla. But Norgath didn't linger long. He had a few pints at the Sea's Bounty to wash away the bitter taste of Narlen's death, got into a fight with Officer Dirth and ended up killing him.
That did the Dwarf good, so much that he wanted more. He remembered the eye tyrants in the sewers, and decided to seek them out. A Beholder was killed off with traps, and a Gauth fell to the Dwarf's fury in a melee fight.
These killings helped Norgath reach level 24, earning him his first HLA: Use Any Item, a landmark. Norgath's options now seem almost limitless. Vhailor's Helm for more traps (no spells though, in my install Simulacra cannot use expendables), the Amulet of Power for vampire hunting, Scarlet Ninja-To plus Belm for 4 APR, spellcasting from scrolls, Mazzy's (upgraded) sword for free action with haste, lots of good stuff... I can't see my style of play change completely, but the vastly increased flexibility is a real boon.
Is the orog fight from a mod? I've never seen in before. Regardless.", the unseeing eye quest often gave my full party headaches, and you just solo'd it. Well done!
It looks like this dwarf might well have a chance at deification.
Is the orog fight from a mod? I've never seen in before. Regardless.", the unseeing eye quest often gave my full party headaches, and you just solo'd it. Well done!
It looks like this dwarf might well have a chance at deification.
Hey @Grum, thanks for your words. Norgath's outstanding saves pulled him through in the UE's lair. With his saves vs death and spells well in the negatives thanks to racial bonuses and items, he didn't even have to roll to save against the Death Rays and Petrifications etc. that were coming at him. In one of the images above you can see he rolled a 1 (a "critical miss") to save vs the Prismatic Spray Trap, and save he did Should your Dwarven Defender ever visit Amn, then you'll find that his saves will even be better.
I enjoyed Reading about Norgath’s adventures with the Lichs. Few moments can make my heart beat faster than being hit with Time Stop.
Thank you @Ravenslight, I'm glad Norgath's adventures are still entertaining you I was particularly pleased with the Dwarf not having to rely on one of SoA's two PfMagic green scrolls to overcome the Liches.
I didn't catch that. Those are indeed some great saves. Without the fear of death rays or petrification, I can indeed see a dwarven defender just carving them up. Any advice, should I take him to Amn, on what his load out should be? Solo no-reload runs tend to end quickly if you don't know what you are doing.
I would hesitate to do a no reload unless you know where certain traps are... Maze ends solos. Limited reload is a good idea, just reload when the game cheeses you back.
I would hesitate to do a no reload unless you know where certain traps are... Maze ends solos. Limited reload is a good idea, just reload when the game cheeses you back.
Hey @DreadKhan, getting mazed is certainly one the most frustrating ways to see a solo no-reload run end (you don't die after all), followed by charm (one hostile action and the charm is dispelled). But I've grudgingly accepted the Bioware no-reload rules, which know no mercy for Mazed or Charmed charnames. In case of a maze I might fight the no-reload virus and continue Norgath's run anyway, because I'm having a great time with him.
@Blackraven: I didn't catch that. Those are indeed some great saves. Without the fear of death rays or petrification, I can indeed see a dwarven defender just carving them up. Any advice, should I take him to Amn, on what his load out should be? Solo no-reload runs tend to end quickly if you don't know what you are doing.
@Grum: The following is written in a bit of a hurry, and only contains a couple of tips that first came to mind.
For the saves: Norgath has benefited greatly from the Claw of Kazgaroth in both BG1 and BG2. One of my favorite items in the entire trilogy, both lore-wise and for what it does (especially for high CON Dwarves and Halflings). He only took it off recently after the Ring of Gaxx became available to him. I think you're supposed to get it in BG2EE unless another item in your pack at the end of BG1 - Helm of Balduran? another great item btw - is given priority over it. Am not sure about the EE approach to this. (Can you get the Cloak of Balduran?) Initially your saves won't be good enough to never have to worry about failing one. Until that time the Khal Shield (easily acquired EE-only item, via Neera), Arbane's Sword and the Shield of Harmony give nice protections against (disabling) magics.
Physical resistance is one of the DD's trademarks. You could take advantage of that by investing a proficiency point or two in Flails in order to effectively wield the Defender of Easthaven which gives a +20 physical resistance (very good off hand weapon). Good AC shouldn't be difficult for a warrior. It's quite easy to get a suit of full plate soon after you get out of Irenicus' Dungeon, and in general good armor, helms etc abound. Your DD will become hard to hit and when hit shrug off most damage, which is fantastic.
All in all the DD's vulnerable spots could be (1) elemental damage, which isn't supercommon, but when you encounter it can be deadly without proper protections, (2) spells that allow no saves. Quite similar to Norgath's situation actually.
Yeah, my first foray into soloing was a Berserker to Thief at high level. Rage was pretty much my trump card in any mage fight, and there were some Mazes cast iirc. It wasn't no-reload, and was ages ago, but it was some good, silly fun. Charm and especially maze auto-death really makes life harder, Maze is hard to prevent for non-arcane PCs.
Yeah, my first foray into soloing was a Berserker to Thief at high level. Rage was pretty much my trump card in any mage fight, and there were some Mazes cast iirc. It wasn't no-reload, and was ages ago, but it was some good, silly fun. Charm and especially maze auto-death really makes life harder, Maze is hard to prevent for non-arcane PCs.
It's true that a number of mages can and will cast Maze in mid to late SoA. The equally fatal Imprisonments are less common I think.
Having at least one Berserker Rage is indeed fantastic for a solo character. The problem, even with Berserker Rage, is that one pretty much needs to anticipate a casting of Maze (listening to the Conjuration/Summoning incantation: Facio, Voco, Ferre) in order to timely activate a Maze protection. The spell has a casting time of only 3. Once the cage animation appears it's already too late. Fortunately Imprisonment has a casting time of 9.
I think for my Bounty Hunter there are a few options: - Slayer change; - insta-casting SI: Conjuration (SI: Abjuration in case of Imprisonment) from a scroll using Vecna and Amulet of Power; - [Maze only:] Magic Resistance (although in order to rely on that I'll want 100 MR, which I think is impossible unless I use the Cloak of Balduran which in my install does get imported into the game) - [Maze only:] a (Rogue Rebalancing) Wakizashi which gives a once/day Chaotic Commands ability if I buy it and upgrade it with a Brine potion .
Items and scrolls are never sped up by casting time bonuses. I've tested it extensively in my restless run, and nothing can speed up scroll casting. If that wakizashi casts Chaotic Commands normally, it will activate too slowly to counter Maze. But it WILL last long enough to be an excellent pre-buff.
If you can get a hold of either, then the Staff of the Magi or the Book of Infinite Spells on the Spell Turning page will also be good preventive measures against Maze and Imprisonment. But if they get dispelled and you don't notice, then you might not be quick enough to prevent Maze from hitting.
I believe SCS also prevents enemy mages from using Imprisonment, and maybe Maze, on solo characters.
Long story short, I don't think there are any good escape options for Maze unless you are a very attentive Berserker. You'll have to take preventive measures instead.
You can take care of maze and the very few imprisonments you face by using potions, scrolls and summons. They aren't that many enemies who use maze and even fewer that use imprisonment. Maze can get taken care of with high MR which isn't hard to get using potions and some gear pieces, Imprisonment are what... 1 or 2 at the most excluding kangaxx in the original that use?
Kangaxx The mage in the prison in underdark Irenicus?
I can't remember if it gets used that much in ToB.
If you can get a hold of either, then the Staff of the Magi or the Book of Infinite Spells on the Spell Turning page will also be good preventive measures against Maze and Imprisonment. But if they get dispelled and you don't notice, then you might not be quick enough to prevent Maze from hitting.
@semiticgod: Staff of the Magi is not only a good preventive measure but also a reactive one if needed. Its inivisibility effect is immediate (just like Gaxx-invisibility), so it's a really good weapon for canceling out single target spells like Maze and Imprisonment, but superhard to acquire of course... It's also important to remember that both Maze and Imprisonment are touch-spells (except the Lich-variant), so besides (Improved) Invisibility, staying out of melee range is a strategy as well.
Of course none if this means anything if the spell is cast during a Time Stop.
I believe SCS also prevents enemy mages from using Imprisonment, and maybe Maze, on solo characters.
A quick glance in Shadowkeeper taught me that in my setup both Irenicus (in one of his manifestations) and Alchra Diagott, the Lich in the Underdark, have Imprisonments memorized, so I can confirm @SionIV's statement. And one of the Hell-Irenicus forms has two Mazes memorized; one of the Tanova-files has one memorized Maze. What I do not know is whether SCS prevents solo characters from getting Mazed or Imprisoned by having high level enemy casters, such as those mentioned above, not use memorized Mazes/Imprisonments, or by having most high level casters (but not the Irenicus, Diagott) memorize and use different spells, or by using both methods. Azamantes the ToB lich for example, doesn't have Imprisonment memorized whereas in vanilla he does cast it I believe. This could be an SCS change.
Something I'll also have to keep in mind (just writing this down here so I'll have the info at hand), is that the engine apparently treats bounty hunter special snares as arrows, which means that caution is required with Physical Mirror, the Reflection Shield in the event that it's duplicated by Irenicus' Spawn Clones spell, and Nyalee's Mirror of Opposition.
If you can get a hold of either, then the Staff of the Magi or the Book of Infinite Spells on the Spell Turning page will also be good preventive measures against Maze and Imprisonment. But if they get dispelled and you don't notice, then you might not be quick enough to prevent Maze from hitting.
@semiticgod: Staff of the Magi is not only a good preventive measure but also a reactive one if needed. Its inivisibility effect is immediate (just like Gaxx-invisibility), so it's a really good weapon for canceling out single target spells like Maze and Imprisonment, but superhard to acquire of course... It's also important to remember that both Maze and Imprisonment are touch-spells (except the Lich-variant), so besides (Improved) Invisibility, staying out of melee range is a strategy as well.
Of course none if this means anything if the spell is cast during a Time Stop.
I believe SCS also prevents enemy mages from using Imprisonment, and maybe Maze, on solo characters.
A quick glance in Shadowkeeper taught me that in my setup both Irenicus (in one of his manifestations) and Alchra Diagott, the Lich in the Underdark, have Imprisonments memorized, so I can confirm @SionIV's statement. And one of the Hell-Irenicus forms has two Mazes memorized; one of the Tanova-files has one memorized Maze. What I do not know is whether SCS prevents solo characters from getting Mazed or Imprisoned by having high level enemy casters, such as those mentioned above, not use memorized Mazes/Imprisonments, or by having most high level casters (but not the Irenicus, Diagott) memorize and use different spells, or by using both methods. Azamantes the ToB lich for example, doesn't have Imprisonment memorized whereas in vanilla he does cast it I believe. This could be an SCS change.
Something I'll also have to keep in mind (just writing this down here so I'll have the info at hand), is that the engine apparently treats bounty hunter special snares as arrows, which means that caution is required with Physical Mirror, the Reflection Shield in the event that it's duplicated by Irenicus' Spawn Clones spell, and Nyalee's Mirror of Opposition.
I'm curious how SCS would prevent them from using those spells while you're solo, and would summoning creatures make it so that you're 'not' solo anymore then? Would require some testing but i would advice you from doing so in this run and die by mistake
With permanent Negative Plane Protection thanks to the Amulet of Power Norgath felt the time was ripe to settle some unfinished business in the Umar Hills. However as so often, more urgent affairs at home interfered. At the Adventurer Mart wands of Cloudkill and Monster Summoning were purchased, and at the guildhouse Lathan informed the Dwarf of a new Guard Captain who unlike his predecessor wouldn't be swayed by the rattle of coin to look the other way time and again. This Captain had planned a war on Norgath's guildhouse.
He was offered the help of a number of Renal Bloodscalp's Assassins, but preferring to work alone, he declined. Norgath sufficed with slaying Lieutenant Betta and Captain Sterling himself (with Staff of Striking backstabs), trusting that this would convince the lower ranked guards to change their views.
His heroic reputation took a bit of a hit, but theft should cover for any increased shop prices. The main prize for his effort, apart from gold, was the Sword of Olidammara +4 (nice item description).
When Norgath summoned his Familiar, an Imp whose Mustard Jelly form might come in handy time and again, he received no less than 28 HPs. I checked the Imp's stats, and found that it was clearly a SoA variant, with 18 HPs. Afaik a character's HP increase upon casting FF is supposed to be half the Familiar's HP, so I reduced Norgath's HP increase to 9.
Inside the Temple Ruins, Norgath dealt with the undead in the room next to the fire pool. The Lich was the only one to perceive the Dwarf's presence without having actually seen him, and so he also attacked alone. It succumbed to the Bounty Hunter's traps that nicely interrupted some of the creature's insta-casts.
Two Greater Mummies and two Skeleton Warriors complacently allowed Norgath to destroy them after he had protected himself from undead with a green scroll.
That same protection also enabled the Dwarf to deal with the Shade Lord and its undead minions without meeting any resistance.
(I didn't do this before because I wasn't sure whether his level draining aura would be active regardless of the scroll.) The mayor of Imnesvale rewarded Norgath for his heroics and caused the Bounty Hunter to reach level 25 (where Assassination was picked as a second HLA). With a Ranger called Valygar he returned to Athkatla to explore a Planar Sphere that had caused the attention of many a slums dweller. Norgath had previously accepted a job to bring the woodsman before the wizard Tolgerias at the Council of Six Building, but after having heard Valygar he had a rare change of heart. With his alleged arcane blood Valygar was the only living being capable of entering the Planar Sphere, inhabited by a forefather of his, Lavok. The Dwarf negiotiated and the two agreed that any spoils would be free for him to take, and and that the Ranger relinquish his armor to him. Norgath's friend Cromwell merged the Shadow Dragon Scale armor and Valygar's armor into an upgraded Corthala Family Armor. The price was high though: one of his two green scrolls of PfMagic (plus 10k GP).
Maybe I shouldn't have done this, as the green scrolls are powerful, life saving items, whereas the armor is very good but less likely to save Norgath's life (there are many good armors). The protection from magic damage is nice, but with Norgath's saves and the Belt of the Inertial Barrier, magic damage (including ADHW) hadn't been a huge deal so far. The elemental protections are situationally useful; the charm protection not really (Charm has long ceased to be a concern for Norgath). The non-detection I do consider convenient because it makes other cloaks than the Cloak of Non-Detection interesting. In fact, in my install the Cloak of Balduran is imported into SoA (via BGTTweaks). Norgath isn't wearing it but do you guys think that doing so would 'break' my game? I guess it would make a difference because it would help Norgath reach 100 MR (together with Carsomyr, Gaxx, Seldarine, Hell Trial). Without the Cloak 100 innate/equipped MR would not be attainable if I'm not mistaken. EDIT: yes it would: Human Flesh Armor... this makes me think I might use the Cloak of Balduran with the Corthala Armor after all.
Norgath had Valygar open the Sphere for him, felt the Sphere make some violent movement, and told the Ranger to wait at the entrance. He then used an oil of speed to give a party of wild Hallfings a backstabbing masterclass.
Some of the runts however were wizards, a very rare trait amongst Halflings. Unimpressed by the spells they aimed at him, Norgath used his speed weapons and Gaxx-Hastes to slice through the casters' Stoneskins, and of course he used his traps as well.
An experiment with a daily summon Greater Shambler ability that came with a Druid Shield 'The Guardian' he'd bought from Merina at the greater guildhouse taught Norgath not to use that ability again: the summon turned up hostile and wouldn't have fallen easily if it weren't for Kitthix' webbing.
Fire Elementals, Golems and even an Elder Orb did not survive Norgath's intrusion into their domain. (With its killing blow a friendly Golem stole Norgath's XP from the Elder Orb.) More interesting was the Dwarf's encounter with Valygar's ancestor, Lavok. That wizard was something else. First of all he proved immune to Norgath's Maze Traps, probably due to an Improved Mantle (although I think he resisted another Maze trap when his Improved Mantle had expired). The Dwarf's regular traps he shrugged off with the same nonchalance.
And he had no difficulty dispatching the Dwarf's summons - simulacrum, Efreeti - either.
Ras fared a bit better, but it soon had enough of playing with the Necromancer and his three summoned Skeleton Warriors.
Hidden in shadows, Norgath then sought a quiet space where neither Lavok nor the Skellies would see him, and instructed his Imp to come out of his pack and polymorph itself into a Mustard Jelly, to soak up some more spells. Hidden in shadows again, Norgath found that that too, was a plan that Lavok eagerly thwarted. With a well-placed Melf's Minute Meteor the wizard disrupted the Imp's casting of Polymorph Self.
Norgath hastily told his pet to get back in his pack, which caused the Dwarf to become visible to Lavok. The latter took full advantage of that, dropping a devastating Comet on the Bounty Hunter.
Groggy Norgath swigged a potion of extra healing and stumbled back to the door, barely avoiding the (now potentially deadly) swings of the Skeleton Warriors' greatswords.
Near the exit, rather than fleeing or quaffing another potion, he summoned Kitthix to distract the Skeleton Warriors that were on his heels. Kitthix did a good job. She saved against a Finger of Death and took a lot of magic damage, forcing her to kite (and regenerate) rather than fight the wizard and his skellies. This dance allowed Norgath to fully heal and to plan something new, i.e. to launch arrows of dispelling at the Necromancer, so that Kitthix would be able to poison or web it. The arrow didn't prove necessary as Kitthix managed to web her opponent anyway.
Thus the wizard's fate was sealed, and he knew it, for he surrendered and asked the Dwarf to help him see the open sky of the prime material plane before he died. Norgath respected both the wizard (the most powerful foe he had battled thus far), and his last wish. In order to grant Lavok that wish, a demon's heart had to be retrieved and used in a power core to direct the Sphere back to Athkatla (apparently the violent shaking when he had entered the Sphere, had been the Sphere traveling to another plane. Norgath first decided to check out the power core, because he had understood little of the mechanics of what Lavok had told him. All he understood was that he was required to slay a demon. On his way to the power core he scouted Tolgerias of the Cowled Wizards. Norgath overheard the mage, telling another mage, a woman, that he was going to give Norgath a painful death. The Dwarf decided to sneak up on Tolgerias and try and take him out with a single backstab. He hit hard, but not hard enough.
Tolgerias triggered a string of magical protections, making a quick follow-up attack impossible. He also summoned a Mordenkainen's Sword and gated in two Fiends, prompting Norgath to take a break in one of the other rooms.
When he returned, hidden in shadows, Tolgerias seemed to be protected only by Stoneskins. The Dwarf quaffed an oil of speed, drew his short bow, and pelted the wizard with acid arrows, disrupting his foe's attempts at spell casting until the latter lay dead upon the ground.
Tolgerias' assistant received the same treatment,
and creatures of fire and cold were spike-trapped (Noble Efreeti) and meleed/backstabbed, except for Snow Trolls that required acid arrows.
Norgath caught a quick glimpse of the power core, and then strolled back the Sphere's entranc, where he had Valygar watch over him while he rested. He then stepped outside and saw that Lavok had been right: they were on another plane, in what looked to be Hell. Demon hunting meant having to look out for Stuns, so Norgath equipped the Sword of Arvoreen that Mazzy had so generously donated to his cause. With Gaxx-Hastes a Lea'liyl and a Nabassu that had curiously come to her aid (as per SCS Better calls for help?) were slain, as well as their minions.
The wisom to fight with the Sword of Arvoreen showed when a Glabrezu saw a PW:Stun have no effect against a wounded Norgath (below 90 HPs). Norgath continued to strike and slash and bested the third of the three demons.
He reentered the Sphere, deposited one of the demons' hearts in a gaping mouth in the power core, slew three Golems with traps and Gaxx-Hastes (and using two Clubs on a slashing/piercing resistant Clay Golem), and took Lavok outside to see the wizard draw his last breath under the sky of Amn.
@Blackraven: Marvelous work recovering in the fight with Lavok. Good to see Norgath doing well.
As for Maze and Imprisonment in SCS2, I'm not sure what the behavior is. I know Kangaxx doesn't use Imprison on Charname, even when Charname is the only on around and his other tricks aren't working. But I just saw Rovala get Mazed by the Cowled Wizards. Maybe it's because Maze can be blocked with MR, and Imprisonment cannot be.
@Blackraven: Marvelous work recovering in the fight with Lavok. Good to see Norgath doing well.
As for Maze and Imprisonment in SCS2, I'm not sure what the behavior is. I know Kangaxx doesn't use Imprison on Charname, even when Charname is the only on around and his other tricks aren't working. But I just saw Rovala get Mazed by the Cowled Wizards. Maybe it's because Maze can be blocked with MR, and Imprisonment cannot be.
@semiticgod, thank you! I just read about the Cowled ones. Norgath will have to be careful (or pay, which my charnames normally refuse), because he also has had his warning already...
Well, if you're feeling really patient, you could try trapping the bejeesus out of an area before summoning the Wizards... I can't remember how many times it takes before you get the big encounter though, and I certainly don't know how you could beat them if traps fail. Obviously leaving the area might help though. Paying might not be a terrible choice though, if you think you'll be triggering them much.
With the Planar Sphere cleared and looted Norgath still had one mission for Aran Linvail (destroying the rival guild), and two side missions (Windspear Hills, Planar Prison) he wanted to carry out before the hunt after irenicus could begin. The Dwarf decided to go after the vampires first. He had an ale at the Crooked Crane Inn and was told of a Lich in a hidden chamber. A green scroll of PfUndead protected the Bounty Hunter while he entered the room, and set his traps. As soon as he attacked the Lich, the traps triggered and killed the abomination.
He secured the Daystar, a long sword with anti-undead powers. The Dwarf then went to the Graveyard District where he met Haz, a mage who was a member of the greater guild, in one of the tunnels. The wizard had a golem smash a heavy door, but then got killed by Grimwarders. Norgath slew the Grimwarders and ran into a completely impassive Vampire. (This was Lassal.) Due to PfUndead the dialogue didn't trigger. I understand that PfUndead can cause bugs in Bodhi's Lair with required dialogues not triggering. Besides there's not much fun in slaying Vampires with PfUndead... So Norgath slew two unresisting Vampires (Durst and a Fledgling),
and then decided to rest outside their lair, causing his PfUndead to wear off. He was a bit worried about the (SCS) Vampires' special abilities, especially their Giant Rat Swarms that could corner him in one the narrow corridors. The Vampires did use their special powers, i.e. they CON-drained the Dwarf, they would shift into Wolf form and Bat form, and they would go invisible until Norgath's Detect Illusions dispelled their invisibility, but thankfully no Rat Swarms were called. Thus, immune to Charm and Level Drain the Bounty Hunter had relatively little difficulty defeating a number of Fledglings.
(The Mace of Disruption was secured and upgraded by Cromwell, but never used unlike Daystar.) He Maze trapped a spellcasting Vampire, Tanova, and her Fledgling sister. It was unfortunate that the Fledgling was the first to reappear, because she fell to two Spike Traps that Norgath had hoped would hit Tanova.
A Time Trap froze Tanova when she returned from the Maze, and Norgath set some of his regular snares, but she seemed to resist much of their damage (I think due to insta-cast protections). Therefore the Dwarf decided to retreat and rest. The next day, his two daily Spike Traps finished her off.
On a lower level he then dealt with more Vampires (using backstabs, Maze traps and regular traps) and Grimwarders.
And he accpted Lassal's challenge to fight him in a pit of blood and spikes. Lassal tried all manner of tricks (though again no rats, except he did turn into one himself, presumably to reduce the damage that hasted Norgath inflicted with his two speed weapons), but there was no stopping Norgath.
The Dwarf set a Time trap and some of his remaining regular traps in a chamber with three coffins, staked three vampires that were resting in them, and saw the guild mistress, a vampire named Bodhi appear in front of him. She spoke a lot and suggested that she was aligned with Irenicus, which only fed the Dwarf's determination to kill her. When she went hostile, the Time trap and the other traps trigged, injuring the Vampire. And Gaxx-Hastes enabled Norgath to hurt his frozen enemy even more. Shortly after the time stop effect had expired, she gave up the fight and fled.
Norgath will soon have a word with Linvail, because it's about time for the guildmaster to deliver on his promises, but as mentioned above, the Dwarf still has his Windspear Hills business to attend to, as well as a commision for a troupe of Bards in the Bridge District's Five Flagons Inn.
edit Forgot about Nalia's Keep... Not sure whether Norgath wants to go there: annoying Spirit Trolls and gold and XP aren't a real issue. Does anyone know if I'm forgetting a useful item that can be acquired at the Keep?
@Blackraven: I don't believe the de'Arnise Hold has anything a Bounty Hunter would need at this stage in the game. You have better options than FoA or Frostreaver or the Shield Amulet. I wouldn't bother at this point.
Orc Armour? You don't actually need missile resistance though I think, so just fuggetaboudit. Its a crummy dungeon anyways unless you can use the FotA, or need Ol Frosty.
That armor is seriously nice. Getting 100% MR is nothing to sneeze at, and the elemental resistances are nice. That said, I almost thought the run would end at the planar sphere.
@SionIV, @semiticgod, and @DreadKhan, thanks for your input. I'm inclined to go after the FoA after all, for the nice elemental damages. I can see it be of use against Time-trapped wizards, to get rid of their Stoneskins and other protections, and to slow them before they're back in business. I might nevertheless wait with it until Chapter 6.
That armor is seriously nice. Getting 100% MR is nothing to sneeze at, and the elemental resistances are nice. That said, I almost thought the run would end at the planar sphere.
However...poor guard captain. A good man he was!
@Grum, the armor (50) together with the Belt of the Inertial Barrier (50) give 100 resistance against magic damage (e.g. Magic Missile damage etc). True MR will have to come from other items and later on 10 innate MR.
You were not the only one to fear fear for Norgath's life in that encounter with Lavok btw.
As to the guard captain, he may have meant well, but please be reminded that he was just a puppet of the Cowled Wizards who only seek to acquire and maintain a power monopoly in Athkatla (and probably beyond), and would even sideline the Council of Six for that purpose. A very dangerous ambition of that venal coterie. It's a good thing that the likes of Aran Linvail, Renal Bloodscalp, Norgath, Black Lily et al are there as a counterforce to contain the Cowled ones.
@SionIV, @semiticgod, and @DreadKhan, thanks for your input. I'm inclined to go after the FoA after all, for the nice elemental damages. I can see it be of use against Time-trapped wizards, to get rid of their Stoneskins and other protections, and to slow them before they're back in business. I might nevertheless wait with it until Chapter 6.
That armor is seriously nice. Getting 100% MR is nothing to sneeze at, and the elemental resistances are nice. That said, I almost thought the run would end at the planar sphere.
However...poor guard captain. A good man he was!
@Grum, the armor (50) together with the Belt of the Inertial Barrier (50) give 100 resistance against magic damage (e.g. Magic Missile damage etc). True MR will have to come from other items and later on 10 innate MR.
You were not the only one to fear fear for Norgath's life in that encounter with Lavok btw.
As to the guard captain, he may have meant well, but please be reminded that he was just a puppet of the Cowled Wizards who only seek to acquire and maintain a power monopoly in Athkatla (and probably beyond), and would even sideline the Council of Six for that purpose. A very dangerous ambition of that venal coterie. It's a good thing that the likes of Aran Linvail, Renal Bloodscalp, Norgath, Black Lily et al are there as a counterforce to contain the Cowled ones.
Just want to remind you that it can also slow golems and most of the dangerous melee combatants you'll find. I remember removing the haste from dragons with it as well. I love that weapon more than anything else, It's done more for my games than any other item.
Are you sure you'll be able to actually hit anyone with it reliably? Non-proficient is -3 for Rogues, right? And your THAC0 isn't that hot to begin with, unless you used a mod to make it better than base 10. I would expect you'll get far more mileage out of the Scarlet Ninja-to, which you are proficient with at least. It does poison, right? Not always reliable, but should work through Stoneskin I think, and it will help shut down mages too. 3 poison attempts per round will probably give good odds of poisoning, and once poisoned, it can make life difficult. 2 apr with flail and bad THAC0 vs 3 with the Scarlet and much better THAC0 seems a no-brainer, but ymmv.
Comments
It was not a pretty trip. First Norgath had to somehow find his way past a community of undead. With a Necklace of Missiles Fireball he antagonized some of the creatures that were bocking his path, and then he went invsible. Entering their den through one door and leaving it through another allowed him to continue his excursion to the lair of the Unseeing Eye. (He didn't bother with slaying the undead or with trying to get hold of their treasure.) The lair seemed to be a living, breathing organ with different narrow corridors in different directions. Norgath entered the lair in a small chamber. Hidden in shadows he walked through a corridor toward the center of the lair but stopped when he encountered a group of six or seven Beholders and Gauths. Not knowing whether one of these creatures was the Unseeing Eye, Norgath decided to continue his search. He followed a corridor away from the center in a southeasterly direction until he saw before him a chamber not unlike the chamber where he had first entered the lair. In it he encountered a single Gauth. The Dwarf fancied his chances in a one on one fight against this representative of the lesser of the eye tyrant types he had so far encountered. He took some damage but prevailed, thanks in part to an oil of speed.
In a trove Norgath found the second part of the rod. When he picked it up the two parts melded into one single rift device.
On his way he finished off the two Beholders and the Gauth by the restored bridge. At the Temple of Helm he was amply rewarded for his work, and at his guildhouse he ran into his old pal Narlen Darkwalk who told the Dwarf of an Orc ambush that had resulted in the captivity of Black Lily and other thieves that had been on their way to Athkatla.
The two rogues set out immediately. They found the bandits' hideout before they could enter it they had to battle Orogs and Orcs, including a Mage and a Priest, and a Wyvern called Old Yeller (which upon closer inspection via NearInfinity turned out to be immune to non-silver weapons - pretty ridiculous imo but I guess there's no accounting for taste). With the help of Kitthix and the Efreeti, and with maze traps followed by a rest, the two thieves managed to overcome the opposition.
The other new members of his guild, one of them Black Lily, had apparently found release and they joined the fray. Norgath only wished they would have appeared earlier. Together the rogues dealt with the bandits with relative ease. This was in part due to the fact that the enemy seemed most eager to kill hasted Norgath rather than the other rogues, allowing the Dwarf to kill off the mage and the priest with ranged attacks while evading the Orc and Orog warriors' attacks.
It looks like this dwarf might well have a chance at deification.
Norgath's outstanding saves pulled him through in the UE's lair. With his saves vs death and spells well in the negatives thanks to racial bonuses and items, he didn't even have to roll to save against the Death Rays and Petrifications etc. that were coming at him.
In one of the images above you can see he rolled a 1 (a "critical miss") to save vs the Prismatic Spray Trap, and save he did
I was particularly pleased with the Dwarf not having to rely on one of SoA's two PfMagic green scrolls to overcome the Liches.
I didn't catch that. Those are indeed some great saves. Without the fear of death rays or petrification, I can indeed see a dwarven defender just carving them up. Any advice, should I take him to Amn, on what his load out should be? Solo no-reload runs tend to end quickly if you don't know what you are doing.
The following is written in a bit of a hurry, and only contains a couple of tips that first came to mind.
For the saves:
Norgath has benefited greatly from the Claw of Kazgaroth in both BG1 and BG2. One of my favorite items in the entire trilogy, both lore-wise and for what it does (especially for high CON Dwarves and Halflings). He only took it off recently after the Ring of Gaxx became available to him. I think you're supposed to get it in BG2EE unless another item in your pack at the end of BG1 - Helm of Balduran? another great item btw - is given priority over it. Am not sure about the EE approach to this. (Can you get the Cloak of Balduran?)
Initially your saves won't be good enough to never have to worry about failing one. Until that time the Khal Shield (easily acquired EE-only item, via Neera), Arbane's Sword and the Shield of Harmony give nice protections against (disabling) magics.
Physical resistance is one of the DD's trademarks. You could take advantage of that by investing a proficiency point or two in Flails in order to effectively wield the Defender of Easthaven which gives a +20 physical resistance (very good off hand weapon).
Good AC shouldn't be difficult for a warrior. It's quite easy to get a suit of full plate soon after you get out of Irenicus' Dungeon, and in general good armor, helms etc abound. Your DD will become hard to hit and when hit shrug off most damage, which is fantastic.
All in all the DD's vulnerable spots could be (1) elemental damage, which isn't supercommon, but when you encounter it can be deadly without proper protections, (2) spells that allow no saves. Quite similar to Norgath's situation actually.
Having at least one Berserker Rage is indeed fantastic for a solo character.
The problem, even with Berserker Rage, is that one pretty much needs to anticipate a casting of Maze (listening to the Conjuration/Summoning incantation: Facio, Voco, Ferre) in order to timely activate a Maze protection. The spell has a casting time of only 3. Once the cage animation appears it's already too late. Fortunately Imprisonment has a casting time of 9.
I think for my Bounty Hunter there are a few options:
- Slayer change;
- insta-casting SI: Conjuration (SI: Abjuration in case of Imprisonment) from a scroll using Vecna and Amulet of Power;
- [Maze only:] Magic Resistance (although in order to rely on that I'll want 100 MR, which I think is impossible unless I use the Cloak of Balduran which in my install does get imported into the game)
- [Maze only:] a (Rogue Rebalancing) Wakizashi which gives a once/day Chaotic Commands ability if I buy it and upgrade it with a Brine potion .
If you can get a hold of either, then the Staff of the Magi or the Book of Infinite Spells on the Spell Turning page will also be good preventive measures against Maze and Imprisonment. But if they get dispelled and you don't notice, then you might not be quick enough to prevent Maze from hitting.
I believe SCS also prevents enemy mages from using Imprisonment, and maybe Maze, on solo characters.
Long story short, I don't think there are any good escape options for Maze unless you are a very attentive Berserker. You'll have to take preventive measures instead.
Kangaxx
The mage in the prison in underdark
Irenicus?
I can't remember if it gets used that much in ToB.
It confirms http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/366488/#Comment_366488 and http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/232366#Comment_232366
Thanks, Blackraven, not only for this alone but for the tale as a whole. Let it continue!
It's also important to remember that both Maze and Imprisonment are touch-spells (except the Lich-variant), so besides (Improved) Invisibility, staying out of melee range is a strategy as well.
Of course none if this means anything if the spell is cast during a Time Stop. A quick glance in Shadowkeeper taught me that in my setup both Irenicus (in one of his manifestations) and Alchra Diagott, the Lich in the Underdark, have Imprisonments memorized, so I can confirm @SionIV's statement. And one of the Hell-Irenicus forms has two Mazes memorized; one of the Tanova-files has one memorized Maze.
What I do not know is whether SCS prevents solo characters from getting Mazed or Imprisoned by having high level enemy casters, such as those mentioned above, not use memorized Mazes/Imprisonments, or by having most high level casters (but not the Irenicus, Diagott) memorize and use different spells, or by using both methods. Azamantes the ToB lich for example, doesn't have Imprisonment memorized whereas in vanilla he does cast it I believe. This could be an SCS change.
Something I'll also have to keep in mind (just writing this down here so I'll have the info at hand), is that the engine apparently treats bounty hunter special snares as arrows, which means that caution is required with Physical Mirror, the Reflection Shield in the event that it's duplicated by Irenicus' Spawn Clones spell, and Nyalee's Mirror of Opposition.
Inside the Temple Ruins, Norgath dealt with the undead in the room next to the fire pool. The Lich was the only one to perceive the Dwarf's presence without having actually seen him, and so he also attacked alone. It succumbed to the Bounty Hunter's traps that nicely interrupted some of the creature's insta-casts.
The mayor of Imnesvale rewarded Norgath for his heroics and caused the Bounty Hunter to reach level 25 (where Assassination was picked as a second HLA). With a Ranger called Valygar he returned to Athkatla to explore a Planar Sphere that had caused the attention of many a slums dweller. Norgath had previously accepted a job to bring the woodsman before the wizard Tolgerias at the Council of Six Building, but after having heard Valygar he had a rare change of heart. With his alleged arcane blood Valygar was the only living being capable of entering the Planar Sphere, inhabited by a forefather of his, Lavok. The Dwarf negiotiated and the two agreed that any spoils would be free for him to take, and and that the Ranger relinquish his armor to him.
Norgath's friend Cromwell merged the Shadow Dragon Scale armor and Valygar's armor into an upgraded Corthala Family Armor. The price was high though: one of his two green scrolls of PfMagic (plus 10k GP).
Without the Cloak 100 innate/equipped MR would not be attainable if I'm not mistaken. EDIT: yes it would: Human Flesh Armor... this makes me think I might use the Cloak of Balduran with the Corthala Armor after all.
Norgath had Valygar open the Sphere for him, felt the Sphere make some violent movement, and told the Ranger to wait at the entrance. He then used an oil of speed to give a party of wild Hallfings a backstabbing masterclass.
More interesting was the Dwarf's encounter with Valygar's ancestor, Lavok. That wizard was something else. First of all he proved immune to Norgath's Maze Traps, probably due to an Improved Mantle (although I think he resisted another Maze trap when his Improved Mantle had expired). The Dwarf's regular traps he shrugged off with the same nonchalance.
In order to grant Lavok that wish, a demon's heart had to be retrieved and used in a power core to direct the Sphere back to Athkatla (apparently the violent shaking when he had entered the Sphere, had been the Sphere traveling to another plane.
Norgath first decided to check out the power core, because he had understood little of the mechanics of what Lavok had told him. All he understood was that he was required to slay a demon. On his way to the power core he scouted Tolgerias of the Cowled Wizards. Norgath overheard the mage, telling another mage, a woman, that he was going to give Norgath a painful death. The Dwarf decided to sneak up on Tolgerias and try and take him out with a single backstab. He hit hard, but not hard enough.
As for Maze and Imprisonment in SCS2, I'm not sure what the behavior is. I know Kangaxx doesn't use Imprison on Charname, even when Charname is the only on around and his other tricks aren't working. But I just saw Rovala get Mazed by the Cowled Wizards. Maybe it's because Maze can be blocked with MR, and Imprisonment cannot be.
I just read about the Cowled ones. Norgath will have to be careful (or pay, which my charnames normally refuse), because he also has had his warning already...
He had an ale at the Crooked Crane Inn and was told of a Lich in a hidden chamber. A green scroll of PfUndead protected the Bounty Hunter while he entered the room, and set his traps. As soon as he attacked the Lich, the traps triggered and killed the abomination.
The Dwarf then went to the Graveyard District where he met Haz, a mage who was a member of the greater guild, in one of the tunnels. The wizard had a golem smash a heavy door, but then got killed by Grimwarders. Norgath slew the Grimwarders and ran into a completely impassive Vampire. (This was Lassal.) Due to PfUndead the dialogue didn't trigger. I understand that PfUndead can cause bugs in Bodhi's Lair with required dialogues not triggering. Besides there's not much fun in slaying Vampires with PfUndead...
He was a bit worried about the (SCS) Vampires' special abilities, especially their Giant Rat Swarms that could corner him in one the narrow corridors. The Vampires did use their special powers, i.e. they CON-drained the Dwarf, they would shift into Wolf form and Bat form, and they would go invisible until Norgath's Detect Illusions dispelled their invisibility, but thankfully no Rat Swarms were called. Thus, immune to Charm and Level Drain the Bounty Hunter had relatively little difficulty defeating a number of Fledglings.
edit Forgot about Nalia's Keep... Not sure whether Norgath wants to go there: annoying Spirit Trolls and gold and XP aren't a real issue. Does anyone know if I'm forgetting a useful item that can be acquired at the Keep?
However...poor guard captain. A good man he was!
You were not the only one to fear fear for Norgath's life in that encounter with Lavok btw.
As to the guard captain, he may have meant well, but please be reminded that he was just a puppet of the Cowled Wizards who only seek to acquire and maintain a power monopoly in Athkatla (and probably beyond), and would even sideline the Council of Six for that purpose. A very dangerous ambition of that venal coterie. It's a good thing that the likes of Aran Linvail, Renal Bloodscalp, Norgath, Black Lily et al are there as a counterforce to contain the Cowled ones.