Has anyone ever skipped Sahuagin City?

Nonnahswriter

So here's the thing. My Evil!Charname just destroyed Irenicus (or he was GOING TO before the slimy mage ran away), and he needs to find a way outta Spellhold when low and behold, good ol' Saemon Havarian shows up. He offers the party a ride on his boat, and explains that there's also a portal somewhere that likely leads to the Underdark which I could take as well.

Now I already know that Saemon Havarian is a treacherous b-word who's about to set me up big-time if I take a go with him on the ship. And although my Evil!Charname doesn't have the meta-game knowledge that I do, he's already been crossed by Saemon once, and he's not stupid enough to throw his life and his party's lives in with a proven traitor. So my Evil!Charname kindly gives Saemon the finger and decides to take the portal to the Underdark. (After throwing some spells at him before he teleports away. Darn it!)

Mind you, the power-gamer in me always goes with Saemon anyway because that leads into Sahuagin City and an awesome storyline and a nice chunk of experience, buuuuut... This time I just couldn't justify it. And since I almost always go with Saemon anyway, I had no idea that by refusing his offer, I have entirely skipped all of Sahuagin City and delved straight into the Underdark quests. Oops.

Too late now! I've already overwritten my save file. (I should really learn to back up these things. ) But it got me thinking, has anyone else made this decision before? With or without knowing what would happen?

Nimran

Well, let me think...
...
...
...!
I did once, and I didn't know that it would skip a whole section of the game. I remember torturing myself over it, too. Since then, though, I've always taken the boat ride, even when it didn't make much sense, because goodies.

dockaboomski

I played through my first time ignorant of the choice. I regret it.

Ravenslight

I have skipped it for role-play reasons. But it bugs me so much to do so, I usually find a reason to trust the scum. I love that place, and especially the Beholder.

CrevsDaak

I did it in my first run because I didn't trust in Saemon after all. If he's a traitor once he's a traitor forever.

Kamigoroshi

Fish, fish(wo)men and fish & chips... what's not to like there?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tTHn2tHhcI
Never once did I dare to skip Baldur's Gate's very own Innsmouth chapter!

Silverstar

Eh? Can't you still go there anyway? Or is it a different fishman city you can go to via the Underdark story line? When you need to get the fancypants blood for the ritual thing in Drowington DC, one of the types you can get is from fishman city iirc.

dunbar

You only get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go to the Sahuagin City and I missed it this time around unintentionally - because I was roleplaying. My party was, for various complicated reasons, in a real rush to get to Irenicus and had no time to mess around fixing problems for everyone and their dog and so didn't talk to Whatsherface who wants to get off the Island (she was nowhere near the direct route to Irenicus anyway). Long story short, after Spellhold and talking to Simeon he disappears never to be seen again, no boat trip off the island so back to Spellhold and straight to the Underdark.
As a result the storyline seemed to flow better without the bad acid trip feeling of the seriously weird undersea city.
OK so I missed some XP but I certainly don't feel like I've missed an immersive, intriguing or essential chapter of a good book.
In the long run I don't think my characters will be significantly weaker come the endgame so I'll probably give it a miss in future games as well - especially as I find it very hard from a roleplaying perspective to waste time on irrelevant side quests when hot on the heels of Irenicus.

SionIV

I skipped it once, but i never skipped it again. To me it's a rather big part of the game and I'm just one of those players that have to do everything in a game.

Nonnahswriter

Silverstar said:

Eh? Can't you still go there anyway? Or is it a different fishman city you can go to via the Underdark story line? When you need to get the fancypants blood for the ritual thing in Drowington DC, one of the types you can get is from fishman city iirc.

Sadly not. I checked. It would be kinda cool if the portal to the Underdark had a glitch in it and it ricocheted you into Sahuagin City by mistake (Saemon does hint that he says it's supposed to go to the Underdark, but who knows where you'd actually end up). That way you don't miss any of the game's content just because you weren't foolish enough to trust a traitor a second time.

Lord_Tansheron

Same as so many others, I skipped it once during my BG2 infancy. Next playthrough I went with the other choice and once I realized that, I never once skipped it.

Ravenslight

Thinking about it now, I’m kind of surprised that no one has made a mod that would allow a second chance at ending up there.

Jarrakul

I skipped it my first couple times through the game, because I friend recommended that I take the portal. I was none too happy when I found out what I'd missed.

jscohen

It happened that I accepted Saemon's offer the first time I played the game, and I liked the Sahuagin City so much that I've never even thought of skipping it on subsequent playthroughs. It's seriously one of my favorite areas in the whole game.

SionIV

jscohen said:

It happened that I accepted Saemon's offer the first time I played the game, and I liked the Sahuagin City so much that I've never even thought of skipping it on subsequent playthroughs. It's seriously one of my favorite areas in the whole game.

Yes compared to the rest of the game it's very much different, the water and the environment is unique and so are the enemies you face. The riddle is also quite fun and you do get some neat gear. Last but not least it's one of the few places where you can chose side, one of two evil sides depending on how you look at it.

kcwise

I skipped it once years ago. In fact, I think the very first time I played I took the portal because I didn't trust the jerk. At the time I had no idea I was missing out on anything.

I know some people are against using console commands, but if you can come up with an RP reason why your character might have trusted Saemon then I think it would be fair to just hop your characters directly to the city since you no longer have an older save to work with. That way you won't miss out on the XP and loot. Then again, it might worth it to lose the XP for a chance to tell that lying weasel where to go.

drawnacrol

"There is a Sahuagin City!!!!!!??!?!!!!!!"

I only found out looking at a map years after I played BG2. Its very easy to miss if you aren't paying attention. I thought I would end up skipping the Underdark.

JuliusBorisov

I simply can't skip it.

Two words.

Sahuagin City Mirroring Cloak

By the way, I've been thinking on this particular question just recently - while doing my totemic druid's run. I so much want to complete it as fast as possible. But still I couldn't skip going to Sahuagin City. Entirely because of the Cloak of Mirroring.

mumumomo

I never skip it (the cloak of mirroring is the best cloak in the game and i cannot live without using skull trap at point blank).
While I like it, i don't think it goes well in the flow of the game: you should be in an urgency to find Irenicus. Going to a boat trip rather than the dangerous direct route seems a very weird choice.

dunbar

It's that old pre-knowledge problem again isn't it?
Lets be honest, first time through you don't even know about the Sahuagin City, let alone that you can get there or that going there is an option, and if you are roleplaying (and this is marketed as an RPG don't forget) there is absolutely no reason on God's green Earth for not following Irenicus down the rabbit hole (there are no quests in Brynnlaw that require you to go to Spellhold and then come back, Saemon has proven to be untrustworthy and Irenicus has just run off your soul). So basically the City is a gratuitous add-on that provides some entertainment, experience and items as a bonus for using pre-knowledge, but contributes nothing to the development of either the plot or the NPCs.

Jarrakul

Actually, I should point out to Saemon claims that he knows where Irenicus is going and you can cut him off if you go on the ship. He even offers you a magic item as a show of good faith. Now, obviously he's untrustworthy on several levels, so the wisdom of actually believing him is questionable, but if he *is* telling the truth, it comes across as pretty clearly the best option, rp-wise. So I don't think the "reasonable" choice is quite as clear-cut as some folks make it out to be.

AHF

Jarrakul said:

Actually, I should point out to Saemon claims that he knows where Irenicus is going and you can cut him off if you go on the ship. He even offers you a magic item as a show of good faith. Now, obviously he's untrustworthy on several levels, so the wisdom of actually believing him is questionable, but if he *is* telling the truth, it comes across as pretty clearly the best option, rp-wise. So I don't think the "reasonable" choice is quite as clear-cut as some folks make it out to be.

Agreed. The first time I played many moons ago I went with Saemon without any meta knowledge. Eventually I did a run where I went through the portal and then found myself directly in the Underdark. I reloaded, beat off Irenicus and his goons again, and followed Saemon once more vowing not to make that mistake again.

Musigny

Rationale behind that option:
-Story (slightly delirious, Walking sushis, Chat with the Beholder, Kill a so-called god, Chapter 5/6 Githyanki encounters)
-XP (I don't know how much)
-Weapons (wave blade if you're mad about halberds, silver sword, gauntlets of crushing for monks (is this still availaible ?)
-and if you want to be a god before your time : the shameful cloak of ultra cheese.

AHF

SionIV said:

jscohen said:

It happened that I accepted Saemon's offer the first time I played the game, and I liked the Sahuagin City so much that I've never even thought of skipping it on subsequent playthroughs. It's seriously one of my favorite areas in the whole game.

Yes compared to the rest of the game it's very much different, the water and the environment is unique and so are the enemies you face. The riddle is also quite fun and you do get some neat gear. Last but not least it's one of the few places where you can chose side, one of two evil sides depending on how you look at it.

It is also one of the few places that you can choose door 3 and just destroy everyone in the entire area without ruining your reputation and rid the world of both evils in the process!

SapphireIce101

I've skipped the Sahuagin City a couple of times. Now, have I ever regretted skipping it? Nope. Not really.

Lord_Tansheron

AHF said:

It is also one of the few places that you can choose door 3 and just destroy everyone in the entire area without ruining your reputation and rid the world of both evils in the process!

This is an excellent point. Who doesn't like going around slaughtering EVERYTHING? Those who're with you, those who're against you, and heck, those who're just watching, too! Lovely.

AHF

Lord_Tansheron said:

AHF said:

It is also one of the few places that you can choose door 3 and just destroy everyone in the entire area without ruining your reputation and rid the world of both evils in the process!

This is an excellent point. Who doesn't like going around slaughtering EVERYTHING? Those who're with you, those who're against you, and heck, those who're just watching, too! Lovely.

It makes picking between the lesser of evils that much simpler. Hmmm....everyone is evil. Should I pick A - the insane King who is bringing ruin to his city or B - the arrogant Prince who will turn things around and end up leading raiding parties on innocents as he rebuilds real power in the city? Option C: leave nothing but the salted earth behind.

I can't be the only one who plays characters who enter a killing field in this stage of the game:

* All the sahuagin in the city? Gone.
* All the mindflayers, beholders and saguarin in the underdark? Gone.
* All the drow in the city? Gone.

Seems appropriate for the spawn of the God of Murder. Usually, you have innocents around you and have to hold off to avoid collateral damage. Now you use a Detect Evil spell and the room lights up like a Christmas tree. It is kind of like Superman when he can finally let his reserve go and let loose in a fight.

Missing anything? The gnomes can stay and now they can finally flourish!

Reticent

Ending up in Sahuagin City is like being rewarded for terrible decision making. Your life literally depends on catching up with Irenicus, and you have every reason in the world not to believe a word Saemon says. There are numerous other places in the series where making a poor choice kills you outright- often with less information to base your decision on than you are given here.

When you do somewhat implausibly decide to go with Saemon anyway it turns out he was just setting you up to die in his place at the hands of the Gith. Then, after you survive THAT, by any reasonable expectation you really ought to drown at sea when the ship is destroyed out from under you.

For some reason, instead such a bad call leading to your ultimate demise, you're dropped into a relatively easy area with some of the best loot in the game. An area that also just coincidentally happens to have an exit that leads to the exact place Jon's portal would have dropped you off at. Hmmm.

I'm not really complaining; more game is a good thing. On the whole though it is kind of one of the weaker moments in the writing of the game for sure. Maybe it would feel a bit better to me if you really were on a timer where you had to get your soul back before X amount of time passes or game-over or something. Some sort of at least token penalty for making what should be an awful choice but really, really isn't.

the_sextein

I used to follow Saemon because I wanted do everything in the game but now I do it so I not only feel justified but laugh hysterically while writing his name in the black book during Dorn's TOB quest.

Andraste

Like many people, I missed it on my very first run back in the day because I didn't realise it was there and my PC didn't trust Saemon.

Since then, I've had several characters who should be smart enough not to go with him or angry and desperate enough to charge straight after Irenicus ... but I love the Cloak Of Cheese so much! Besides, the Spectator Beholder may be my favourite NPC in the whole trilogy.

Vallmyr

Wait what?
This is a place?
I didn't even know it existed.
/blinks