I dislike that the underdark where you pop out of the mirror has no second mirror. The one in the opening dungeon has several and you can go back and forward.
Never skip it. Cloak of Protection+2 alone is almost always worth it. (EDIT: The main temptation to skip has been the incredible bugginess of the on-the-seas encounter. I've experienced three-in-a-row bugged encounters. It's frustrating, especially if you're playing no-reload with a character who might conceivably not survive -- ideally you'll have all the potions, etc. to be able to survive, but you might 'whiff' chugging the right potion at the exact right moment, etc. etc.)
(FTR, I'm playing with a nerfed Cloak of Mirroring -- I think beholders and such would just steal it off me if I even tried to wear it. Anyway, it's an absurdly overpowered item available for almost no cost and so I'd refuse to use it, even if I could... not like the Robe of Vecna, nosir... why, that's almost 13K gold! Not a ridiculous power/cost ratio at all, nosir!)
I never skip the city but I do wish the whole episode was incorporated into the overall game in a better way.
Perhaps the attack by the Sauhaugin coming on the way to Spellhold? It would give credence as to why you can't charter another ship by yourself in the first place rather than having to spend all that money on the shadow thieves. Without cowled wizard protection, ships come under attack? Only a desperate/greedy smuggler would attempt the trip? Saemon giving you the silver sword piece to escape the gith himself doesn't need to have the extra business of "in good faith/to apologise".
It would also remove some of the time wasted while you are souless, which is a big deal we are told, but the game runs as if it doesn't matter a damn.
Comments
(FTR, I'm playing with a nerfed Cloak of Mirroring -- I think beholders and such would just steal it off me if I even tried to wear it. Anyway, it's an absurdly overpowered item available for almost no cost and so I'd refuse to use it, even if I could... not like the Robe of Vecna, nosir... why, that's almost 13K gold! Not a ridiculous power/cost ratio at all, nosir!)
Perhaps the attack by the Sauhaugin coming on the way to Spellhold?
It would give credence as to why you can't charter another ship by yourself in the first place rather than having to spend all that money on the shadow thieves.
Without cowled wizard protection, ships come under attack?
Only a desperate/greedy smuggler would attempt the trip?
Saemon giving you the silver sword piece to escape the gith himself doesn't need to have the extra business of "in good faith/to apologise".
It would also remove some of the time wasted while you are souless, which is a big deal we are told, but the game runs as if it doesn't matter a damn.