This is a great thread - Thanks Pollie for keeping us all entertained. It's inspired me to start a new game. One thought - how do you keep the bodies from rotting? Must be a perfect climate for preservation at the gravesite. Or maybe it is the lingering influence of Gorian's magic?
I think the local gibberlings come down and lick the bodies at night. It's well known their saliva contains powerful preservatives.
Hope it's not Pet Sematary. If anyone is alive when you return one day, do *not* trust them!
Just for fun, I think at the end of this play through I'll console in the live versions of everyone to have a nice curtain call pic...
I've said it before, but this has been the most fun playing this game (aside from the first time playing it). Between the added minimal reload challenge and using NPC's I've never used before, it's really renewed my love of the game. And I've learned that Coran is an absolute beast with the bow. Half the time he single-handedly cuts down whole groups of enemies before anyone else even lands a blow! He may be my new favorite character.
The party has finally arrived in the fabulous port of Baldur's Gate. After a good night's rest at the Elfsong, the party decides to do a little shopping at Sorcerous Sundries. There, they get into a disagreement about stores with some wizards hanging out on the top floor. The argument was decided in Pollie's favor.... Poking around the area, they happened into the house of Arkion, who asked them to bring some bodies to him for some nefarious purpose, no doubt. Eh, what could be the harm in that? Down into the sewers, another battle with an ogre mage, and some bodies were located. They looked so sad hanging up on the wall there. Pollie took pity on them and decided to give them a proper burial (well, a proper dropping on the ground anyway). I took several days to drag them one by one, but the five unknown citizens are now resting peacefully.
The scattered bodies is pretty representative of this play through. A real mess! I'm pretty sure I've killed off all the fighter NPC's at this point. I'm going to be real screwed if I loose Viconia. Right now she is my front line. I've got her AC pretty low (I think it's at -6 right now) and she just got the gauntlets of 18/00 strength, plus her MR she's pretty bad ass.
Not much to share at this point. The party is mostly just taking in the sights of Baldur's Gate and running errands for seemingly everyone in the city. There's been little so far to get anyone killed. One thing I discovered that I did not know before...Yeslick was hanging out in a tavern down by the docks. He left the Cloakwood mines without saying where he'd be and I always assumed he was gone for good. I swapped out Quayle for him, so now we have a little extra muscle again. Poor Yeslick doesn't yet know the curse of the tank spot in this party... For once in this play through I have a little bit of a bullpen building up. I've got Quayle, Eldoth, and Skie tucked away over at the Elfsong just in case I need them.
One thing I discovered that I did not know before...Yeslick was hanging out in a tavern down by the docks. He left the Cloakwood mines without saying where he'd be and I always assumed he was gone for good.
That's an interesting piece of information. I always assumed he would just be gone.
In my own playthrough I came across an interesting line that's put there by the NPC1Project:
If you kick him out of the party and say to him 'let's set up a meeting place somewhere along the Swordcoast', he'll answer:
'Then I'll wait for you at the Friendly Arm Inn. My nephew used to work for the Mirrorshades. They're decent folk'.
Fear not, dear readers. The adventures of Pollie have not been forgotten, just no new deaths to report. She and her companions have been lolly gagging about Baldur's Gate a bit, helping out various individuals with their problems big and small. They were somehow poisoned which sent them on a scavenger hunt that ended in Lothander (or was it Marek) being splattered across the common room of the Blushing Mermaid. Looks like she's blushing on the inside too, now. Other highlights include joining up with the local thieves' guild for some after hours mischief, finding a cure for the poor diseased Ghorak, killing a basilisk in a warehouse, and finding out Coran has a child! They also added another new recruit to the ranks. Baeloth was needing a break, so Tiax has stepped in to fill his shoes...for now. (Judging by Tiax's stats, he may not last too long). Well, Pollie has finally gotten around to investigating the situation over at the Seven Suns for Scar. An easy rescue of the owner from the doppelgängers there netted the party some extra cash. It also boosted their reputation up high enough for Viconia to start griping. I guess those couple of beggars that were murdered to appease her wont be missed too much. The Duke has asked the party to head back into the city to drum up some more dirt on the Iron Throne, and that is where we'll leave off for today.
And another comment, Viconia has turned out to be a powerhouse with the right equipment. Between the gauntlets of 18/00 strength and the Stupefier, plus her -7 AC, she's bashing in skulls left and right. And she also is able to now enslave undead to do her bidding!
I forget exactly where the Stupefier is found. I believe it's in Beregost in a chest in one of the inns. I know you can get it really early in the game. One of my favorite weapons...it has a pretty good chance to stun the opponent.
Pretty sure you can EE keeper Boo into your quick slot and leave him there. Waste of a quick slot though.
WASTE?!
Yes waste. Instead of having a wand or potion or scroll you have a critter that doesnt even show up in the task bar, only inventory screen.
Haven't tried it, but see if you can put him in your helmet slot. He will then be riding on your head and protecting you from critical hits like a good familiar should.
Boo is safe and sound up on Pollie's shoulder. Some might say it's foolish to waste a quick item slot on a rodent, but he was too young to be an orphan!
After steamrolling through the sewers, clearing out carrion crawler and obliterating other assorted nasties, Pollie and Co are feeling pretty confident in their combat skills. Time to infiltrate the Iron Throne HQ. Apparently Pollie is not very gifted at subterfuge. Pretty much every guard saw through her lies and attacked. None proved any difficulty. "This will be a breeze," she thought.
On the top floor, they were met with three total party wipes. The fourth attempt was better, only resulting in Imoen's death. Several fireballs lobbed across the room while everyone huddled by the stairs did the trick. It wasn't a very elegant strategy, but it got the job done. Coran got hit with a confusion spell and continued to fire arrows at the rest of the team after their foes had been defeated. He nearly took out Pollie before the spell wore off.
Pollie has decided it's time to get the team a little R&R. They've been traveling for a solid seven months since leaving Candlekeep already. She's heard about a quaint little fishing village up north that would be an ideal place to take a week off. Maybe see if they have a little bed and breakfast sort of place, sip some Berduskan Red out by the lake and watch the boats, or even do a little shopping....
On the way out of town, the party found themselves outside a very inviting looking manor up in the NW section of the city. Stepping inside, they were immediately set upon by a couple of Doomguards, Invisible Stalkers, and Battle Horrors. Wow, they made it out of this one just by the skin of their teeth. Yeslick and Viconia kept the Doomguards occupied while the others fought off the other critters. It was tight quarters so fireballs and skull traps were off limits. Quite a large number of magic arrows and magic missiles were launched. Every single character had their health down to next to nothing at one point or another in the fight. But amazingly, not one of them died. The wizard hanging out in the back room wasn't so lucky. Pollie didn't even give him a chance to talk, she was so pissed about what his pets had put them through. A quick backstab took him down pretty quickly. (This was one of the more satisfying fights in the whole game for me. I was pretty sure I was going to lose at least one or two characters here, but I managed to get them out of it. It was a pretty tough battle, though.)
Ah, Ulgoth's Beard. A bustling sea side community. Just what the party needed to get away for a bit. And what considerate citizens. A fine young man has given Pollie and her companions a great deal on a guided tour of the fabled tower of Durlag. They will be sure to take him up on his offer sometime soon. After speaking with him, an obviously powerful wizard name Shandalar stroked the egos of the party saying they seemed just the sorts who could perform a very important task for him. Naturally they agreed. But what madness is this? They find themselves mystically transported to an island in the middle of an ocean of ice. Without even time to grab their jackets, no less! Well, there was nothing to do but investigate the area. Heading inside, they were immediately set upon by winter wolves. Their pelts came in handy to stave off the frigid air. Something sinister was happening here. Various magic users assaulted the group at every turn. Pollie's trap detecting skills were pushed to the limit. Imoen very nearly died once again while under the influence of a confusion spell, as she wandered off and set off one of the traps. In the end, the party bested all the foes that came at them and were transported back to Ulgoth's Beard, Shandalar's cloak in hand. He barely even thanked them, then was off through his magical portal thingie. What an ingrate. Maybe this town isn't as great as it first appeared. Perhaps other citizens can redeem the town's reputation.
The town has hired a team of unscrupulous publicity men, who have been touting it as a peaceful resort in order to encourage the tourist trade. As is the case with most PR men, they lie through their teeth!
If you want to know what the townsfolk REALLY think of you, there's an obnoxious little brat in the center of the village you should talk to ... talk to him several times, actually. If you have developed an overly inflated ego, this will take it down a peg
Durlag's Tower is another place that has a high reputation as a tourist attraction. In fact, many of those who go to take in the sights apparently decide to settle down there as permanent residents. Well, they never return, at any rate.
If you have been through BG1 before, you know Durlag's Tower is a death trap. My first attempt at doing this scenario, I couldn't even get past the watchers. Second try was more successful; everyone was at least 6th level and I had bumped Imoen up to 100% on traps.
One of the three hardest fights in the game is in Ulgoth's Beard, but not till after you get back from the Tower. Mind you, it's only hard if you go straight at it. There's a small glitch in the program you can exploit that makes this fairly easy, once you know it.
I've been through Durlag's Tower a couple of times before. I'm really dreading it because I know it's not going to end well. But I feel it's my duty at this point!;)
I must say that I have not seen such skill in landscape design for a very long time. It reminds me that I once employed Jan Jansen's uncle to restore the Severed Hand's arboretum. Even though griffons had left the Hand, the total usage of squirrels exceeded that of the griffon famine in ’22; rodents were literally strewn all over the place! And that reminds me of a Bhaalspawn who was also a squirrel and... Damn, I digress. What I wanted to say is that you should definitely visit Mutamin sometime. You two have a lot to talk about; he's one jolly good gardener, too.
I've been through Durlag's Tower a couple of times before. I'm really dreading it because I know it's not going to end well. But I feel it's my duty at this point!;)
But there's no real rush. You can defer that quest until your crew is about as strong as they can get. Bring a ton of potions and scrolls, and you might get away with it. Don't fight anything you don't have to, like that room full of doomguards. Ick! Oh, and avoid the greater basilisks on the roof also.
Oh, those Doomguards are horrible! I've been saving my cloudkill scroll for the chessboard fight... I think my plan of attack at this point (I'm at the tail end of Chapter 5) is to trigger the werewolf island quest, since I'll have to run back to Baldur's Gate for the sea charts. While I'm there I'll finish up the various quests around town, then talk to Duke Eltan to send me to Candlekeep. On the way back I'll hit Durlags Tower, then (if anyone in the party is still alive) back to Ulgoth's Beard, get spanked by aec'ltec or whatever it's name is then Werewolf Island, then go after Sarevok. Pollie has not been let in on the plan....
I'm pretty sure there's more than 1 cloudkill scroll floating around. Also there's a number of (relatively) safe places to rest; recuperate after every fight.
The Ta'na'ri will kick your behind if you come at it head on, but it has a weakness. I won't detail it here; I suspect it's a programming glitch, actually.
Aec'Letec has a weakness: Potions of Mirrored Eyes. They protect against his death gaze so you don't have to worry about that. Keep the demon distracted by one of your party members long enough for you to kill the other cultists so Aec'Letec won't get the chance to reboot in a new body. From there just keep hitting him till he falls.
the glitch I am thinking of lets you kill everyone but the head cultist totally risk free, without the demon being summoned at all. After that, you can mob her so that she goes down in 1 combat round. She will still summon her demon before she dies, but this leaves Aec'Letec to face your fully buffed and totally uninjured party all alone.
If you really want to rub it in, I guess you could have everybody drink potions of mirrored eyes the round that the demon finally does show up.
Our heroes have talked to a man with a strange accent in Ulgoths Beard. He has asked them to find a sea chart for him, which will show the location of the final resting place of the ship of Balduran himself. Of course they're going to go get that for him! Back in Baldur's Gate at the Merchants League Counting House, Pollie's skills of subterfuge once again turned all the guards hostile. The guards were a little out of their League (see what I did there? ) Upstairs, they were handed the charts after having to run out for some hooch for the crusty sea cap'n. Pollie could have called it a day there, but something inside of her snapped. She struck the drunkard, and proceeded to kill the rest of the sailors. Viconia looked on with approval. While in town, the party decided to return to Duke Elton to tell him what they had learned of the Iron Throne. He sent them off to Candlekeep. Pollie and Imoen were glad for the chance to visit their home, but something was not right. Something had changed, but they couldn't put their finger on what. After investigating the library, they were accosted by the gate warden and jailed for the murder of the Iron Throne leaders. Fortunately Tethoril helped them escape and teleported the to the catacombs beneath the library. Familiar faces met them there, but turned out to be doppelgängers. Said doppelgängers were put out of their misery with no trouble. They came upon the room in the picture here...this is probably more realistically what their graveyard out in the woods would look like at this point. Some of those bodies have been sitting out there for six or seven months by now....
Having made their way free from Candlekeep, Pollie decides to make it over to Durlag's Tower. The upper levels pose no problems, so down into the lower levels they go. Trap upon trap is disarmed. Puzzles are solved, doppelgangers are done away with. Then came the warders. The party got past them by the skin of their teeth...all except Yeslick. Poor Yeslick was left to block a doorway the others huddled into launching every spell, arrow and bullet they could scrape together. Yeslick basically stood there chugging healing potions, taking a beating. Finally it was too much for him. The others did scrape together a win, but it wasn't pretty. They opted to put the rest of Durlag's diabolical dungeon on hiatus and head back to the Friendly Arm for a few pints before dropping Yeslick at his final resting place.
Comments
I've said it before, but this has been the most fun playing this game (aside from the first time playing it). Between the added minimal reload challenge and using NPC's I've never used before, it's really renewed my love of the game. And I've learned that Coran is an absolute beast with the bow. Half the time he single-handedly cuts down whole groups of enemies before anyone else even lands a blow! He may be my new favorite character.
Poking around the area, they happened into the house of Arkion, who asked them to bring some bodies to him for some nefarious purpose, no doubt. Eh, what could be the harm in that? Down into the sewers, another battle with an ogre mage, and some bodies were located. They looked so sad hanging up on the wall there. Pollie took pity on them and decided to give them a proper burial (well, a proper dropping on the ground anyway). I took several days to drag them one by one, but the five unknown citizens are now resting peacefully.
Maybe check playithardcore to see which NPCs are still available to recruit if you've lost your warrior?
I'm pretty sure I've killed off all the fighter NPC's at this point. I'm going to be real screwed if I loose Viconia. Right now she is my front line. I've got her AC pretty low (I think it's at -6 right now) and she just got the gauntlets of 18/00 strength, plus her MR she's pretty bad ass.
One thing I discovered that I did not know before...Yeslick was hanging out in a tavern down by the docks. He left the Cloakwood mines without saying where he'd be and I always assumed he was gone for good. I swapped out Quayle for him, so now we have a little extra muscle again. Poor Yeslick doesn't yet know the curse of the tank spot in this party...
For once in this play through I have a little bit of a bullpen building up. I've got Quayle, Eldoth, and Skie tucked away over at the Elfsong just in case I need them.
In my own playthrough I came across an interesting line that's put there by the NPC1Project:
If you kick him out of the party and say to him 'let's set up a meeting place somewhere along the Swordcoast', he'll answer:
'Then I'll wait for you at the Friendly Arm Inn. My nephew used to work for the Mirrorshades. They're decent folk'.
Other highlights include joining up with the local thieves' guild for some after hours mischief, finding a cure for the poor diseased Ghorak, killing a basilisk in a warehouse, and finding out Coran has a child!
They also added another new recruit to the ranks. Baeloth was needing a break, so Tiax has stepped in to fill his shoes...for now. (Judging by Tiax's stats, he may not last too long).
Well, Pollie has finally gotten around to investigating the situation over at the Seven Suns for Scar. An easy rescue of the owner from the doppelgängers there netted the party some extra cash. It also boosted their reputation up high enough for Viconia to start griping. I guess those couple of beggars that were murdered to appease her wont be missed too much.
The Duke has asked the party to head back into the city to drum up some more dirt on the Iron Throne, and that is where we'll leave off for today.
Also, I was going to help out the Thieves myself, but got annoyed with them and just killed them all
On the top floor, they were met with three total party wipes. The fourth attempt was better, only resulting in Imoen's death. Several fireballs lobbed across the room while everyone huddled by the stairs did the trick. It wasn't a very elegant strategy, but it got the job done. Coran got hit with a confusion spell and continued to fire arrows at the rest of the team after their foes had been defeated. He nearly took out Pollie before the spell wore off.
Pollie has decided it's time to get the team a little R&R. They've been traveling for a solid seven months since leaving Candlekeep already. She's heard about a quaint little fishing village up north that would be an ideal place to take a week off. Maybe see if they have a little bed and breakfast sort of place, sip some Berduskan Red out by the lake and watch the boats, or even do a little shopping....
(This was one of the more satisfying fights in the whole game for me. I was pretty sure I was going to lose at least one or two characters here, but I managed to get them out of it. It was a pretty tough battle, though.)
And what considerate citizens. A fine young man has given Pollie and her companions a great deal on a guided tour of the fabled tower of Durlag. They will be sure to take him up on his offer sometime soon. After speaking with him, an obviously powerful wizard name Shandalar stroked the egos of the party saying they seemed just the sorts who could perform a very important task for him. Naturally they
agreed. But what madness is this? They find themselves mystically transported to an island in the middle of an ocean of ice. Without even time to grab their jackets, no less!
Well, there was nothing to do but investigate the area. Heading inside, they were immediately set upon by winter wolves. Their pelts came in handy to stave off the frigid air. Something sinister was happening here. Various magic users assaulted the group at every turn. Pollie's trap detecting skills were pushed to the limit. Imoen very nearly died once again while under the influence of a confusion spell, as she wandered off and set off one of the traps.
In the end, the party bested all the foes that came at them and were transported back to Ulgoth's Beard, Shandalar's cloak in hand. He barely even thanked them, then was off through his magical portal thingie. What an ingrate. Maybe this town isn't as great as it first appeared. Perhaps other citizens can redeem the town's reputation.
If you want to know what the townsfolk REALLY think of you, there's an obnoxious little brat in the center of the village you should talk to ... talk to him several times, actually. If you have developed an overly inflated ego, this will take it down a peg
Durlag's Tower is another place that has a high reputation as a tourist attraction. In fact, many of those who go to take in the sights apparently decide to settle down there as permanent residents. Well, they never return, at any rate.
One of the three hardest fights in the game is in Ulgoth's Beard, but not till after you get back from the Tower. Mind you, it's only hard if you go straight at it. There's a small glitch in the program you can exploit that makes this fairly easy, once you know it.
Damn, I digress.
What I wanted to say is that you should definitely visit Mutamin sometime. You two have a lot to talk about; he's one jolly good gardener, too.
But there's no real rush. You can defer that quest until your crew is about as strong as they can get. Bring a ton of potions and scrolls, and you might get away with it. Don't fight anything you don't have to, like that room full of doomguards. Ick! Oh, and avoid the greater basilisks on the roof also.
I think my plan of attack at this point (I'm at the tail end of Chapter 5) is to trigger the werewolf island quest, since I'll have to run back to Baldur's Gate for the sea charts. While I'm there I'll finish up the various quests around town, then talk to Duke Eltan to send me to Candlekeep. On the way back I'll hit Durlags Tower, then (if anyone in the party is still alive) back to Ulgoth's Beard, get spanked by aec'ltec or whatever it's name is then Werewolf Island, then go after Sarevok.
Pollie has not been let in on the plan....
The Ta'na'ri will kick your behind if you come at it head on, but it has a weakness. I won't detail it here; I suspect it's a programming glitch, actually.
If you really want to rub it in, I guess you could have everybody drink potions of mirrored eyes the round that the demon finally does show up.
While in town, the party decided to return to Duke Elton to tell him what they had learned of the Iron Throne. He sent them off to Candlekeep. Pollie and Imoen were glad for the chance to visit their home, but something was not right. Something had changed, but they couldn't put their finger on what. After investigating the library, they were accosted by the gate warden and jailed for the murder of the Iron Throne leaders. Fortunately Tethoril helped them escape and teleported the to the catacombs beneath the library.
Familiar faces met them there, but turned out to be doppelgängers. Said doppelgängers were put out of their misery with no trouble.
They came upon the room in the picture here...this is probably more realistically what their graveyard out in the woods would look like at this point. Some of those bodies have been sitting out there for six or seven months by now....
They opted to put the rest of Durlag's diabolical dungeon on hiatus and head back to the Friendly Arm for a few pints before dropping Yeslick at his final resting place.