I will add the following caveats: - vanilla game core rules (must be the only one) - I actually got killed in the circus bug at the beggining of SoA from what I read
'Long-life challenge' - sun soul monk {10} (update 1)
I've finally managed to get a success in this challenge (on my 99th attempt!). That's taken over 7 months and with 73 character classes still to go that rate of progress would probably see me buried before I had time to complete the lot (and almost certainly see me senile and incapable before then anyway ). However, having tasted success once perhaps that could put me on a roll to make some quick inroads ...
I've decided for the next attempt to go back to the first class I rolled for this challenge - the sun soul monk - and document this run. I think I probably did document an early run with this class on the Bioware Forums, but if I can't remember that then I doubt if anyone else will be able to ...
My standard restrictions are in place (no use of healing items, no antidotes, no recruiting NPCs) and the latter of those was bad news for Imoen, Xzar and Montaron (Neera is the other NPC whose items I'm normally willing to kill for). The next death though was much more important - Shoal providing 2 levels and 16 HPs.
On the way to Beregost the gnolls with Perdue's sword have too slow a weapon speed to have any chance of hitting me in melee (most enemies in the early stages are dealt with at the end of a sling). In Beregost, calming Marl down got me to level 4 (5 HPs) before Karlat became the first to have his soul ripped from his body.
Some more tasks around Beregost were done, including picking up some stealthy boots from a hobgoblin (and remembering not to hand those in as they are very handy for a monk).
Going down to Nashkel I bought the shield amulet, necklace of missiles and PfP scroll at the Carnival before resting to get CLW. There's nothing else I'm planning on buying for a while, but I will want the next 3 Bhaal powers to be evil so Algernon was struck down (his cloak will also ensure shop prices will be as good as possible once I'm eventually in the market again). I then completed my collection of bags by helping out Firebead before heading for the basilisk area.
Unarmed melee attacks have a longer range than the basilisks, so it's easy enough to hit them without being exposed to retaliation when they switch to melee. I was soon up to level 5 (9 HPs) and then level 6 (7 HPs). The last of the basilisks (the greater one next to Mutamin) was shot down while it was neutral before Korax was recruited to sort out the mage.
The ghoul didn't last long against Kirian's party, but stealth shots killed Peter
and then Kirian
without either of them managing to react at all. Baerin did eventually wonder what was hitting him and chased after me - picking up a sun soul ray for his trouble.
Lindin could then be safely dealt with using standard stealth attacks (quicker than run and shoot given the availability of rocks to hide behind).
I realised while I was doing that I hadn't gone to get Meilum's bracers yet, so went to remedy that. A sneak attack with flaming fists and a couple of sun soul rays meant only a few sling shots were needed in between.
Greywolf died in similar fashion before I went to the FAI to give Landrin his things. Tarnesh survived a sneak attack - but not the follow-up ray.
That's a very solid start and I've not taken any damage to date. That will change shortly though as I'm off to the Nashkel Mine next and can't avoid the traps there.
Did I miss the post about your victory? Or is that in another thread?
There's a separate thread on the challenge. There's not much detail on each run there, though some of them have been recorded in no-reload threads. The post recording the first victory is here.
Without any new exploits to explore, I have resorted to bringing Frisk, Chara, and Asriel into BG2.
The idea behind this run is bringing IWD2 spells and classes into BG2. This required three days of hard modding, and many tweaks along the way, but I managed to get all three characters working the way I liked.
Look at how adorable Frisk is!
All characters start with a 76 stat total like in IWD2, and they have 18 in their casting stat, even though it grants us no bonuses. Notice that Frisk has 2 attacks per round. That's because all characters in IWD2 get extra attacks per round based on their attack bonus.
And look at how adorable Chara is!
Chara is a druid with the same abilities as my modded IWD2 install. This means they get some extra spell picks and much cooler shapeshifts. Unfortunately, BG2 appears not to have the sprites for any of the shapeshifts, so we don't get to see any sexy greatsword-wielding dragon ladies in bikinis when Chara hits higher levels.
And look at Asriel! He's so adorable!
He's a Cleric of Ilmater with one paladin level (and therefore gets proficiencies with all weapons except bastard swords and katanas). He is an elf now instead of an aasimar, because an aasimar would warrant a 35% XP penalty based on some unused .2da files from IWD2.
IWD2 is a vastly different game, and using only IWD2-style stuff will make gameplay radically different. It's impossible to list all the ways that this changes the game. Here are a few examples: 1. We get powerful buffing spells that boost our damage, saves, THAC0, stats, and magic resistance. We also get powerful offensive spells, some of which bypass magic resistance. 2. We don't get Breach, Teleport Field, Polymorph Self, spell protections like Spell Immunity, or any of the other kooky spells that make BG2 the unique game that it is. We have awesome buffs, but no way to prevent them from being dispelled. We're basically Transmuters. 3. All three characters are coded as mages so I can give them level 8 and level 9 druid and cleric spells. 4. Our APR and spell slots work like in IWD2, and we use IWD2-style feats instead of proficiency points. 5. Free Action and Chaotic Commands don't block stun. Our only anti-stun options are our saving throws, Blood Rage, and Iron Body, and those last two come with huge drawbacks. 6. We get save penalties to our spells from Spell Focus feats, but not from the spell's level or our ability scores. This means our save penalties are -4 at most, rather than -20. Nor do we get extra spell slots based on our Wisdom or Charisma. 7. We're not allowed to use items, scrolls, or classes with effects that are not in IWD2. We can't cast Breach even from a scroll or with an NPC's help. I make an exception for Freedom scrolls because there's no other way to reverse Imprisonment.
In the Nashkel mine I stealthed through most of the way to Mulahey. After showing myself to him I used a sun soul ray to ensure there was an escape route to the exit, but didn't need to use that as Mulahey didn't chase me immediately.
After killing his troops a few stealth shots set him up for the finish.
Outside the mine none of the Amazons were quick enough to react to stealth shots, but I finished off the last of them with a ray anyway for extra style points.
I went for the quick kill on Nimbul with a sneak attack, followed up by a sun soulray - this time managing to capture the animation perfectly in the screenshot in the fleeting moment where the soul is shattered and departs the body. After reporting in to Officer Vai (if you don't do that prior to going to the Bandit Camp she disappears) I tackled Tranzig. A critical stealth shot there meant he was spared a soulray!
At the Camp the sling initially proved mightier than the bow (at least while wearing Nimbul's boots). When Taurgosz appeared he was worn down with some magic attacks before being finished off with a stealth attack.
A few more bandits got me up to level 7 (8 HPs) before I rested to heal a bit of damage. Inside the tent Venkt was hit with several stealth shots before Raemon and Britik noticed and chased me outside (to their cost). I was then out of soulrays, but stealth shots were enough for Venkt before Hakt became a first victim to die to Flaming Fists.
Mulahey's boots then allowed the trapped chest to be opened in reasonable safety.
I stealthed through the Cloakwood, not bothering with Spider's Bane (which is not usable by monks). At the mine I used the Necklace of Missiles for the first time to kill the mages with fireballs from the shadows. A couple of stealth shots and a vicious Flaming Fist finished off Genthore before more stealth shots were too much for Drasus.
After stealthing down to Davaeorn stealth attacks killed his original guard before more stealth attacks around the partition and a few wand magic missiles dealt with the battle horrors.
Rather than rest I just used a potion of magic blocking to survive his initial spells before running away from a final hold person and then winning a melee contest.
After resting about 8 or 9 times (while stealthed) in order to get a second Bhaal horror I flooded the mine and left.
I'll be doing the rounds to push reputation up before moving on to the City.
Gorth - The Half-orc Evil Cleric/Fighter. Part 3, Death
We freed Shoal from her capture and killed the Ogre mage with help from Tiax's Ghast. Which really killed everything for us. Kind of cheesy tactics but once again, I need this. We met up with Dorn, right before entering the mine where we killed Mulahey, with a close death call for Edwin.
The amazons weren't there to kill us, I don't know where they ran off to. We traveled back to Nashkel to collect our reward, and (I totally forgot about Nimbul.) the party ran into another bounty hunter, Nimbul. He was untouchable with means of magic protection and he wiped the floor with the party. Gorth stod up to him until he finally failed his save against a hold person spell, where as he was chopped to death by Nimbuls axe. What a cheater.
I really got to stop forgetting about certain encounters, this is what got me killed both of my runs thus far.
@RelSundan You see, playing no-reload cures your restartitis... only making you start again because of charname getting killed
Watching your video, I think you (with your future party) need a thief - a scout - always in front of the group to detect any danger ahead. This way you would have seen Nimbul.
Personally, with group runs, I can't imagine not using a scout, even after all these years.
@RelSundan You see, playing no-reload cures your restartitis... only making you start again because of charname getting killed
Watching your video, I think you (with your future party) need a thief - a scout - always in front of the group to detect any danger ahead. This way you would have seen Nimbul.
Personally, with group runs, I can't imagine not using a scout, even after all these years.
It worked for me! Hope it works for more people.
I was planing on giving Imoen that role, but she died. In My next run I'm going to take Viconia for the mission I believe, depends on My class. She can afford a sanction for invisibility. Thanks for the advice! @JuliusBorisov
This early on, a spell like Horror can end you. Pro Fear + spreading out your party (it wasn't Hold that did you, it was Sleep which disabled nearly everyone) are essential in early game. Better luck next time, in any case.
This early on, a spell like Horror can end you. Pro Fear + spreading out your party (it wasn't Hold that did you, it was Sleep which disabled nearly everyone) are essential in early game. Better luck next time, in any case.
Hm, we can argue all day about what killed me. The party was taken out by sleep effect yes, but Nimbul only targeted me. He was on his last spells IIRC and if I would have saved that hold and just survived a bit longer on my own my party would be back up and at it again, but yeah, I was unprepared and he was fast. Thanks for the advice about spreading out, I'm going to keep that in mind next time I deal with a threat like this b-tard.
Just a quick note about Wren the dwarven fighter/cleric and his group-mates (Jaheira, Imoen). They have made it out of the Irenicus' dungeon. Imoen got captured once again. So the party will be Jaheira and Wren, until they get Imoen, then will be a trio. The dungeon was mostly unremarkable, no mishaps, though I think the vampire got away. Jaheira and Wren also solved the circus problem. They didn't have any magical weapons to deal with the shadows, so summoned flame blades to deal with those minions. Kalah went down, though was scary as his morale broke and he was running everywhere...
Our first major purchase was Ring of Air Control (RoAC from here on in) to help with Wren's defense.
We'll talk to Galen next session. We'd like to do D'Arnise Keep soon to get the Flail of Ages (Glaicas full plate would also be helpful), but we need to improve our AC first, so we aren't gulping so many potions. Thus getting Shield of Harmony, Shield of the Lost, and relieving Officer Dirth of his full plate will be our priorities next session.
Will keep at it.
RE: Hall of Honors idea
I like this idea. Maybe do it similar to how BioWare did it? Because there just a huge number of BG 1 only and BG 2/ToB ony successes, to make it more manage-able, we only recorded TRILOGY success (same character no-reloading BG 1, BG 2 and ToB).
Take a look at the 1st post here if you want to see how we did it.
There were no problems doing various reputation quests. I'll end up with far more XP than I need anyway, but I couldn't resist killing the odd old enemy on the way - stealth making things like the Doomsayer helpless.
With reputation at 20 I raided the ankheg nest - just killing those guarding the treasure - before going on to Ulgoth's Beard for a bit of shopping. I had plenty of funds left over to get the Claw of Kazgaroth, which is particularly useful for a monk (in BG2 as well as BG1). I also picked up the various tomes. I didn't bother with killing anything at Durlag's, but couldn't resist showing the sirines the power of the Greenstone Amulet (getting my final BG1 level there with another 8 HPs).
Inside the City the tomes were quickly collected. The only potential danger there really is Marek: typically I run away from his opening spell, but this time I indulged myself by using the Greenstone Amulet (though in any case his cast was interrupted and he didn't get the chance for another).
This was also the first time I'd used the sun soul monks fireshield type ability - though again that didn't actually do anything in that fight.
I bought some potions at Sorcerous Sundries before sneaking into the Iron Throne to talk to Thaldorn and get access to Candlekeep. There was no more fighting there, but I did use a potion of cloud giant strength (topped up by DUHM) to loot the tombs before sneaking out.
Back in Baldur's Gate, for a bit of fun I used darts of stunning for the first time on Slythe - the fourth of those stopping him in his tracks.
Then it was time for the moment of truth at the palace. The sun soul monk is a decent solo character there, but still stands no chance if all the dopplegangers attack the dukes and ignore horror. In this case I took some potions and added in DUHM and the defensive harmony scroll from Ulgoth's Beard to make almost sure the dopplegangers wouldn't trouble me. The conflict didn't start well when all the dopplegangers resisted an opening horror and Liia was dead before I could cast a second one - fortunately this was much more successful and 3 of the dopplegangers started running. Belt could still have been in trouble if the others had got lucky with criticals, but they didn't! The scared dopplegangers were finished off before they could recover and I led Belt to safety in the back room before talking to him.
I had got up to the level cap in that fight and just stealthed through the maze to get to the temple. Sarevok was activated with a stealth shot and Semaj was stunned soon after he came out to play.
I then potioned up, including taking several potions of perception in order to be able to stealth more or less at will. That enabled Sarevok to quickly be smacked down - he did twice try to disappear inside the pillars, but fireballs dragged him out again. The final blow was made with Flaming Fists to complete an extremely smooth run through BG1.
Here's a screenshot of the character record on arrival in Athkatla.
Icewind Gate 2: Frisk, Asriel, and Chara in BG2 (first post here)
I bring along Minsc, Jaheira, and Imoen, even though they're not IWD2-style characters, to make the first dungeon simpler. Chara has poor HP and THAC0, but their verbeeg shapeshift has high damage resistance and crazy damage output, with 19 STR (20 in IWD2) and 3 attacks per round.
The IWD2 Verbeeg form has 7- physical damage resistance, which I converted to 35% for BG2, since high-level Barbarians get 4- and 20% damage resistance in the two games, and I judged 1- DR in IWD2 to be about 5% in the other games. Chara doesn't have the verbeeg sprite because none of the IWD2 sprites seem to work in BG2:EE, even though that are present in IWD:EE. You can select the animation using custom effects with Near Infinity, but the sprites won't show up.
Asriel, our cleric, also suffers from poor HP, and though he has high DEX and can wear armor without losing his spellcasting ability (there are almost no class-based item restrictions in IWD2), he doesn't share Chara's resistances.
It wasn't until much, MUCH later in the game that I realized Asriel and Charname were using the standard d4 HP for mages instead of d8 for clerics and druids. My tanks were fighting at about half their normal HP for a very long time.
At level 6, modded IWD2 druids can shapeshift into Will o' Wisps, which are fantastic anti-mage weapons. Their electrical damage bypasses magic resistance and spell protections.
It also strikes as a nonmagical weapon and can therefore bypass Protection from Magical Weapons, though Mirror Image will still block it.
The Will o' Wisp form has 100% resistance to magic, acid, cold, fire, and electricity in IWD2. Normally I count 1- DR as 5%, and 1 spell resistance as 2% magic resistance (since SR is capped at 50 and MR at 100), but in this case I felt 100 across the board was more reasonable than 200 MR and 500% resistance to other stuff. The Will o' Wisp also has 25 DEX (30-something in IWD2) and a natural +10 to AC. It might not have any physical damage resistances, but it's ridiculously hard to hit. We don't have any normal anti-mage options since so many abjuration spells are unavailable, so this will be our most important weapon against mages.
IWD2-style buffs are really quite impressive. Barkskin adds a flat +3 to +5 bonus to AC rather than setting base AC, and both Barkskin and Stoneskin can be cast on other party members.
Stoneskin doesn't work the same way in IWD2, but it's impossible to implement the change, so I stick with the normal stoneskin opcode. The only difference is that it can be cast on others and it doesn't last 12 hours anymore.
Strong offensive options get us through Chateau Irenicus. As always, I avoid the nasty Mephits in the Air Elemental Plane and don't bother messing with Hareishan (the mage in that fight can cast Cone of Cold!).
On to the circus! Like Barkskin, Ghost Armor also can be cast on others, and grants a flat +5 bonus to AC. The party can have some really crazy AC values early on in the game.
IWD2 in general is a game of numbers, and 3E numbers get awfully big. Frisk has IWD2-style Chromatic Orbs, which can paralyze targets for 13 rounds on a failed save vs. spell, with no save penalty. Plus, their two Spell Focus: Evocation feats grant a -4 save penalty, which makes Chromatic Orb our best disabler by far.
I'm also looking forward to Static Charge, a level 5 spell which deals huge electrical damage and bypasses magical resistance. Plus, since it strikes randomly, it will bypass Spell Turning and invisibility, if not Mirror Image. On top of that, Chara's two Spell Focus: Transmutation feats impose a -4 save penalty, and once we get to level 9, Chara gets the Scion of Storms feat and will do 20% more damage with electrical attacks.
But the spell doesn't work quite like I expected.
I have to make a copy of the spell's projectile from IWD:EE, re-name it AXEEX.pro, and move it to my BG2 directory so the spell will work properly, and strike enemies instead of Chara. I don't know how to add in new projectiles, so I just copy over unused ones.
If you know some Weidu basics adding new .pro files is rather a simple feat -
ADD_PROJECTILE ~your projectile's location goes here (c:myprojectile.pro or whatever)~ COPY ~name of the spell you want to have different projectile (spwi305.spl)~ ~override~ WRITE_SHORT 0x98 myprojectilename
Anyhow, GL with your run.
Btw, I had (still have) a nice run in progress but I've managed to hit the wall it seems. In my old BGT setup I can kick custom PCs out of the party and tell them to "wait here" - this comes very handy with Hell Trials. I've installed Tweaks option that allows that dialogue option on purpose - but on EET it doesn't seem to work properly. I've kicked half of my party out and they left forever. I have a quicksave just before that - but I'm very reluctant to load over this. Example: EET install
@Aasim - vanilla behavior is for custom NPCs (player characters really) to leave if kicked out of the party after they talk to you to confirm. Note that you can leave them somewhere with area transition before they talk to you, then they can stay out until you talk to them at some undetermined date and join you then.
The dungeon was no problem. An early critical from the ogre mage reminded me to keep HPs up at safe levels all the time,
but that was duly done. Successfully piercing the Cambion's magic resistance
helped get me up to level 9 quite quickly and the 9 extra HPs (giving 72 in total) were enough to feel safe against traps even without using LMD. The radiant mephit in the portal room did manage to disable me, but with the other portals already destroyed it wouldn't have been able to kill me even if its own portal had not just been kicked to pieces!
Flaming Fists ensured Ulvaryl didn't escape
while the battlemage lost her soul when getting upset by that.
In the circus a werewolf was annoyed by the Greater Sun fireshield and did quite a bit of damage to me, but a use of lay on hands kept me out of the real danger zone while finishing off Kalah.
Before going to the Slums to report to Gaelan Bayle I invested in some extra reputation at the Temple before buying the Ring of Air Control. That's not really necessary for this character due to the availability of stealth, but the saving throw bonus could come in handy in future against some traps.
At the Copper Coronet there was a bit of an error against Amalas. I had been getting ready to kill him with a Soulray, but he'd died from fists first. I then tried to talk to his ruffian mates, but the cursor was still primed with the Soulray and the ruffians got annoyed with me for some reason! I stepped quickly outside and hid, but will have to try and remember they're around in future.
In the Coronet the Beastmaster opened the doors to let a horde of animals out - only to find they'd all been killed already by stealth attacks (level 10).
I went straight down into the sewers and sorted out the slavers as well - most of them being pulled back to die and rot in the sewers. The priest got a particularly nice one-shot critical
before the mages were taken down with Soulrays. After looting I came out the front door - quickly finding a shadow to hide in and rest to cure the continuing poison damage from the trap inside.
Deciding I needed a bit more inventory management help the next port of call was Watcher's Keep. While still in the city though Suna Seni tried an ambush - never a good idea against a stealthy target!
Arriving at the Keep some stealthy attacks cleared the way to the Crimson Dart (using a potion of frost giant strength topped up by DUHM), but a pair of vampiric wraiths chased me away from further potential gains.
Back in Athkatla a pirate mage felt the weight of my fists
before I started Mae'Var's tasks. As normal, Renfeld was rescued while getting the necklace (taking me to level 11) and his return led to Prebek & Sanasha's demise. One of the great things about the sun soul monk is that the Soulray casts extremely quickly and has either an incredibly quick or instant projectile - meaning enemies normally have no chance to beat me to the cast. Against Prebek I actually followed up a stealth shot too quickly with the Soulray - meaning Prebek was injured by the latter before the shot arrived (allowing his stoneskin script to fire to keep him alive).
As his first spell was interrupted though he had no defence against a follow-up Soulray. Rayic Gethras also suffered from Rays - 3 of those meaning there was no need to resort to lots of stealth shots to get through his stoneskins.
I quickly completed Mae'Var's remaining tasks and reported in to Bloodscalp (level 12). I decided to leave invading the Guildhouse for now though, just in case of critical hit backstabs.
I was definitely feeling the temptation to take increasing risks in that session (possibly as a result of now being back at work ). However, although I generally go along with Oscar Wilde that "I can resist anything but temptation", I did my best to restrain myself (tempting myself instead with the carrot of a possible second success in a row ...)
Sun soul monk L12, 63 HPs, 219 kills (+189 in BG1)
Icewind Gate 2: Frisk, Asriel, and Chara in BG2 (first post here)
We're not doing much roleplaying or pacifism in this run. Mostly I just wanted to try out IWD2 stuff in BG2. So, when Amalas jabbers at us, Frisk challenges him to a fight. Amalas eventually fails a save against Chromatic Orb and Frisk puts their weapon in the off hand to maximize damage.
In IWD2, clerics as well as druids can cast Insect Plague. Although SCS mages can block it outright with Fire Shield, it's a good option against lower-level mages.
That massive damage on the Hobgobber Shaman is from Static Charge. Now that we're all level 9, we get new feats: Dodge for Asriel for +1 AC, Armored Arcana for Frisk to minimize the spell failure from Blink, and Scion of Storms to boost Chara's electrical damage by 20%.
Blink imposes 20% spell failure, but Armored Arcana can (I think erroneously) take down to 5% with three feats. It won't be safe to use even at higher levels due to that spell failure, but without Protection from Magical Weapons, Frisk has no other defense against a Fallen Planetar's vorpal strike besides their AC and Blink.
Elsewhere in the sewers, I get a reminder that very few of Chara's shapeshifting weapons strike as magical weapons. They have to switch to Fomorian Giant form to hit anything immune to normal weapons.
The inability to use the Fomorian Giant sprite isn't just an aesthetic difference. It means that Chara can fit into smaller spaces and getting around other characters, which makes them much stronger offensively. But it also means they can't use wide-circled shapeshifting to form a wall against enemies, which makes them much weaker as a tank.
We add Yoshimo to the party to disarm some traps, even though Chara can trigger basically any trap in Will o' Wisp form due to its 100% MR and elemental resistances. Chara tanks the slaver mages, but their subzero AC is still quite beatable. Enemies will land critical hits sooner or later.
Chara whittles down the enemy's Mirror Images, and a Static Charge strike finishes them off.
Free Action in IWD2 lasts 10 rounds per level instead of 10 rounds +1 round per level, so I feel more comfortable using it as a pre-buff, opening the way for spamming Web spells. Both Chara and Frisk can cast Web, though our Web spells are weaker than normal: they don't have a save penalty, and they're Conjuration spells, which means Frisk's Spell Focus: Evocation feats don't affect them.
We finish the slaver quest and go purchase a magic license from Corny at the Council of Six Building.
Frisk, Asriel, and Chara are all coded as mages, which means the magic ban applies to all of us. This is the simplest way of getting around that problem.
Our limited interest in roleplaying for this run means we're not squeamish about violence, but there's still a place for diplomacy in this run.
Icewind Gate 2: Frisk, Asriel, and Chara in BG2 (first post here)
Frisk hits level 10 and chooses Ball Lightning as their first level 5 spell pick. This creates a handful of Fire Seed/Minute Meteor hybrid weapons that deal area-effect nonmagical electrical damage and set the user's APR to 5. And since they strike as +5 weapons, they can go right through SCS Improved Mantle.
But I regret the decision right after making it, because Ball Lightning has no THAC0 bonus and are therefore not reliable.
Frisk tries out their new Ray of Enfeeblement spells on the local Shadows. It's an instant death attack--and in IWD2, it's a level 1 spell instead of level 2. Frisk has a lot of these things.
Ray of Enfeeblement in IWD2 lowers your STR by 15 for 1 minute/level. It's not fatal in IWD2 because the engine doesn't have stat drain kills. But in BG2, an IWD2-style Ray of Enfeeblement will instantly kill anything with STR below 16.
Unfortunately, very few important critters have such low STR, and low-STR mages who would easily fail its save vs. death have spell protections to block it. And per the terms of the run, we can't combine it with a regular Ray of Enfeeblement for a guaranteed kill. It's only useful for weakening enemy fighters.
We use the standard setup for the Shade Lord fight. Enter invisible, snipe the Shadow Altar with a single Sun Bullet, and approach the Shade Lord and Shadow Patrick from the south.
We have more latitude in this fight, because IWD2's Negative Plane Protection lasts 3 rounds per level instead of just 5. But due to a shortage of spell slots, I try to avoid using all of our NPP spells at once, and Chara gets drained as a result.
Emotion: Hope and a longer-lasting Aid spell from IWD2 make our saving throws very strong, but the Shade Lord's Chromatic Orbs are still dangerous, because I neglected to give Chara and Asriel their proper 1d8 HP per level.
Despite longer-lasting NPP spells, we still can't get close to the Shade Lord, lest he obliterate us with his Black Blade of Disaster. We have to resort to missile weapons, as usual. He has no missile attacks of his own, but he does like to blind you to compensate for that weakness.
Frisk hurls some Ball Lightning attacks at the Shade Lord, only for them to bounce right back.
This was before I changed the projectile to the Fire Seed projectile, so it's still single-target and can be reflected with the Shade Lord's Spell Turning pre-buff. We could burn through the Shade Lord's Spell Turning spell, but I deem it too dangerous, as Frisk has no defense against electrical damage.
We trade barbs with the Shade Lord...
...but we make little impact, and the Shade Lord can restore his buffs every few rounds.
We try something new: Chara switches to Will o' Wisp form and Frisk bombards them with Fireballs, hoping to get past the Shade Lord's high MR. But Mirror Image blocks the damage even when his MR does not.
We go back to using missile weapons, running perilously low on magic arrows. We get past his defenses!
Chara's Entangle spell has a -4 save penalty thanks to their Spell Focus: Transmutation feats, but that's a mixed blessing when we didn't have the spell slots to pre-buff with Free Action. The Shade Lord gets entangled sometimes, but so do we, holding us in range of the Shade Lord's level draining aura.
I thought losing that Black Blade of Disaster could let us use our stronger melee weapons instead of weak arrows, but the Shade Lord just brings it right back.
We have to get through its Mirror Images once again. We have just barely enough magical ammunition to finish him off.
@Grond0 nice work with the Sun Soul Monk! I thought the general consensus is that the Dark Moon Monk is the better of the two, but you seem to be rocking it.
Thanks @Pteran. I've had very little experience with the Dark Moon Monk, so wouldn't like to say what's stronger. I agree that (at least for my playstyle) the Sun Soul Monk is very strong. The availability of stealth to any solo character is a huge benefit and the speed advantage of the monk makes that slightly easier to utilise properly. The extremely quick magic damage available means most casters never get a chance to do anything, while in the EE the addition of strength damage to slings allows for significantly quicker progress than in vanilla. From previous experience the decent AC, high MR and powerful offense make everything up to the Throne not too much of a challenge. However, like with all characters you do need to use their strengths and mask their weaknesses. Especially early in BG1, but right through the game as well, just attacking with a monk in melee (without keeping a close eye on HPs and being ready to retreat) will quickly get you killed ...
@semiticgod I just love your unique and deliciously crazy mod ideas! I love customising my own game with my own custom spells/kits/items and tweaks, but you surpass my meager skills by a large margin. And then it takes me too long to mod, and there are always new stuff to improve, I can hardly play! Kudos!
Did you also block bg2 enemy mages to use bg2 spesific stuff? If so how?
I will tackle spell revisions mod, I think, and item revisions, these mods try to bring the most spell/item rules closer to 3,5 e rules and iwd2. I would not allow ray of enfeeblement to kill some creatures instantly, though. Especially not a shadow who should not have a tangible strength score anyway. But it was hillariously appropriate as they drain str too!
An early morning session saw a further deterioration in concentration and I was several times in danger of death - but for the moment the fight goes on!
Moving on to the Graveyard I cleared the upper tombs before descending. Pai'Na failed to deal with my improvement to 3 APR with fist attacks, while her spiders were no threat now that I'm immune to poison.
Continuing to edge towards more risky behaviour I ran a horde of undead around in narrow confines in the Southern Dungeons and got attacked once by a ghast there when unprotected against hold - it missed, but there was the potential there for a game ender.
At the Bridge District I solved the Skinner murders, but didn't dare take on the Rune Assassins yet. After sorting out the kidnappers (level 13) I collected the pantaloons and saw my reputation fall back. To deal with that I decided to go to Trademeet, where the first target was the genies. Rather than pay for a green scroll I used the RoAC for the first time to ensure an automatic save against petrification. Inside the tent I also used Sun Soulbeam for the first time - that successfully blinded both genies (for 2 hours!), making them easy to finish off.
At the Grove I had no weapon to finish trolls off, but with 3 Soulrays, Flaming Fists and a Soulbeam (plus the efreeti's spells) that wasn't a real restriction and I made quick progress past the Troll Mound.
The efreeti and Kitthix were both used to set Kyland Lind and his druids up for the kill.
The Spore Colonies were scared to see me (in BGT I used to love those waddling around on their roots in terror, but they don't seem to move at all in EE).
After clearing the remaining druids Cernd was offered a hearty meal by Faldorn.
Back in Trademeet Jenia came begging me to help Tiris (you only need to solve the Skinner murders to activate this, not kill the Rune Assassins) and that was soon done (firmly telling Rasaad on the way that there was room for only one Sun Soul Monk in this party). Flaming Fists then made short work of clearing the tomb - pushing my reputation up to 19. To maximise that I decided that with the efreeti available I was now safe enough taking on the Rune Assassins and the second of those was duly blinded by a Soulbeam.
The ghasts and bone golem were then enough to get me to level 14 (acquiring some magic resistance for the first time).
With 94k gold in the bank I finally released my mercenary instincts and splurged out on equipment upgrades - I didn't buy any more potions yet, but picked up everything else I want at this stage.
With the Belt of Inertial Barrier equipped I thought I would see whether the vampiric wraiths at Watcher's Keep could be tackled. Entering the Keep I managed to blind one of them with my Soulbeam.
I hoped that the other could be persuaded to transfer its attentions to Ras, but it refused to be distracted and I had to run outside again to get missing levels restored by Sister Garlena. I tried that three more times (the second time nearly being killed before getting outside again) before successfully using the efreeti to block a doorway against a chasing vampiric wraith,
leaving the other one (already blinded) apparently helpless. However, its ability to go invisible at will prevented an easy kill by missiles and it could drain life to restore its HPs faster than I could take it. I thought when Kitthix managed to web it that would finish it,
but it seemed to release quite quickly and drained her to death before finally staying visible for a bit too long while it sucked on her juices.
The other vampiric wraith had been shut in a room, so I had time to bring out summons prior to activating it. I thought that if it only saw Ras it would attack it, but no such luck - it went straight after me again without needing to see me. Kitthix once more webbed it at the second attempt, which should have been the end of it (I equipped the Scarlet ninja-to to get the APR improvement from that while a hit was automatic, so was doing damage very quickly). This time though it was clear the wraith had gone invisible while still webbed (which seems slightly cheesy) and once more I had to make a run for it. There was another failed attempt before I successfully blinded it again. Ras was then used to tempt it out of invisibility and I speeded up missile damage to kill it by using the Victor ring (despite the scorcher animation that does magic damage not fire damage - the wraiths are immune to the latter, which is why they were so hard to kill).
I could easily have been killed attacking the wraiths like that, but after that adrenalin fix I played safe while clearing the remainder of the Keep's top floor. I got up to level 15 attacking the statues - the archer one was taken to near death after being webbed by Kitthix before being finished off by stealth shots.
The rest then lasted barely a minute against stealth attacks (with fists now at +3 no other weapons were needed).
With DUHM now able to take strength up to 24 I decided it was time to go lich hunting. On the way to opening up the one in the sewers Flaming Fists made short work of a rakshasa
and while in the vicinity I also broke open a chest in the Temple of Talos to get a Wand of the Heavens (though that's of limited benefit to the Sun Soul monk who has so much fire damage available anyway). My mind wandered though while pre-preparing access to the lich tombs and I opened the door in the Bridge District without using the RoAC - meaning I had about a 5% chance of petrification there. There was no problem though in killing the liches themselves. Even at the 1 APR monks had in vanilla Daystar's bonus damage will make short work of Kangaxx and in the EE monks get the same additional APR at levels 7 and 13 as fighters, to make things even easier (level 16).
Sun soul monk L16, 99 HPs (incl. 8 from ioun stone), 459 kills (+189 in BG1)
I decided for this game to revert to an un-modded EE game on core. I have been playing with mods for so long that I might find it difficult without them. I hope that I don’t find it boring after playing with mods, so many of which add great interest. Spugnor: Gnomish fighter Illusionist; Str 18/92, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 10, Cha 8. Long Sword ** Sling **.
Spells: Blindness, Shield, Sleep. The portrait of this character started with the image below. This was edited with Photoshop and given a background from a photo of the lower slopes of Machchapuchare (Fishtail). http://www.slideshare.net/Ecomuseum/session-no-1-2011-the-balearic-slingers-by-christer-samuelsen I was taught about the Balearic slingers whilst on honeymoon on Majorca. However, I didn't realise just how powerful they were until I read up about them recently. I could hardly believe that they could break the armour of the day.
Journal of Spugnor
I was born with few weaknesses, but I did wish that I had better Wisdom and Charisma, but sadly we cannot always have what we want in life. At least with a wisdom of 10 and a charisma of 8, I cannot complain too much. I was named Spugnor and earned the name Slingshot because of my proficiency with that weapon. I am equally proficient with the long sword, but because of the number of guards with that proficiency at Candlekeep, it was not noteworthy. In Candlekeep I had 100gp, not enough for mail, never mind splint. After breaking open a chest in the inn, I had sufficient gold to buy both splint mail and a shield. I was caught after opening another chest and lost all my gold as a result. However I was still able to buy a bow, a helmet and some missiles. After the ambush I made my way to the Friendly Arms Inn where I found a useful ring for myself as well as another one for Joia. Heading Northward, I helped Tenya against the evil fishermen before heading for Beregost. There I calmed down Marl, took a tome to Firebead and bought a +1 sling before heading south where a combination of “sleep” and sling defeated both the ogrillon there and three flaming fist mercenaries.
This resulted in me getting some plate armour some of which I stashed whilst I wore one suit. Heading south I killed some hobgoblins and found an amulet on the body of someone belonging to a family in Beregost. I gladly returned it and as a result was rewarded handsomely. After resting, I headed west where I killed a number of gnoll before reaching High Hedge, the home of a mage who sold me a couple of scrolls, “friends” and “charm”. That was unfortunately all that I could afford. I headed south and helped Mellicamp.
Heading south to Nashkel, I found some ankheg armour and gained the ability to heal myself. Upon returning to Beregost I was able to kill Karlat and thus return Perdue’s sword to him.
EDIT
After being mistaken for Greywolf, I ended up fighting him. Twice he saved against my spells with the result that I was reduced to 5 HP. I therefore had to consume two healing potions in order to ensure survival. I then made sure that he wasn't able to get within striking distance whilst I slowly but steadily brought his health to zero with my sling. I then gained the reward for the emeralds and since I was a level three illusionist by that time, I spent a lot of gold in filling my spellbook with useful spells: Identify; Invisibility; Luck; Mirrored Image; Protection from Petrification.
I am rediscovering the unmodded game. Like someone else, I have realised that the mod that gave me a ring to improve charisma to 18, caused me to use charisma as a dump stat. I have now realised that 2 or more extra charisma points would have been very handy in this game.
I have also been reminded of the value of the bags of holding. In vanilla, you can carry so little.
I am also missing the opportunities to raise reputation that there were in my modded game. This means that I have to be very wary of dropping reputation by committing evil acts. (Killing to get a needed item for instance)
I am also missing the encounters which made the modded game more interesting. They didn't give much in the way of experience or equipment, but they added to the role playing experience.
Question
I am wondering if halflings in EE are the better slingers that they are supposed to be. Does anyone know?
A new character and a new beginning, this time with the Half-orc Berserker, a total beast when it comes down to hand-to-hand combat. Wielding a war hammer to crush his foes.
Same restriction goes, no bringing the dead back to this joy full planet.
WeiDU Log
// Log of Currently Installed WeiDU Mods // The top of the file is the 'oldest' mod // ~TP2_File~ #language_number #component_number // [Subcomponent Name -> ] Component Name [ : Version] ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #1000 // Initialise mod (all other components require this): v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4000 // Faster Bears: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4010 // Grant large, flying, non-solid or similar creatures protection from Web and Entangle: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4020 // More realistic wolves and wild dogs: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4030 // Improved shapeshifting: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4040 // Make party members less likely to die irreversibly: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4110 // Allow NPC pairs to separate: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4120 // NPCs go to inns: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4130 // Move NPCs to more convenient locations: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5900 // Initialise AI components (required for all tactical and AI components): v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6000 // Smarter general AI: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6010 // Better calls for help: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6030 // Smarter Mages -> Mages cast some short-duration spells instantly at start of combat, to simulate pre-battle casting: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6040 // Smarter Priests -> Priests cast some short-duration spells instantly at start of combat, to simulate pre-battle casting: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6100 // Potions for NPCs -> All of the potions dropped by slain enemies are recoverable: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6200 // Improved Spiders: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6300 // Smarter sirines and dryads: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6310 // Slightly harder carrion crawlers: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6320 // Smarter basilisks: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7000 // Improved doppelgangers: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7010 // Tougher Black Talons and Iron Throne guards: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7020 // Improved deployment for parties of assassins: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7030 // Dark Side-based kobold upgrade: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7040 // Relocated bounty hunters: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7050 // Improved Ulcaster: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7060 // Improved Balduran's Isle: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7070 // Improved Durlag's Tower: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7090 // Improved Cloakwood Druids: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7100 // Improved Bassilus: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7110 // Improved Drasus party: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7130 // Improved Red Wizards: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7140 // Improved Undercity party: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7200 // Tougher chapter-two end battle: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7210 // Tougher chapter-three end battle: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7220 // Tougher chapter-four end battle: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7230 // Tougher chapter-five end battle: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7250 // Improved final battle: v30 BWP Fix ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7900 // Improved minor encounters: v30 BWP Fix
We purchase some armor and two war hammers, then set of with Gorion who quickly falls by the mysterious armored man. We flee as Gorion asks us, and meet up with Imoen come next morning.
We travel to Beregost where we (as always) pick up our little friend Tiax. With him, we travel south where we run into Viconia, and rescues her. We decide to go and kill Bassiluss, and Viconia tags along.
Killing him easily with the help of Tiax's ghast and Viconia's spells, Rel grabs his golden hammer and they leave the area. They turn in the bounty and recieves 5000 gold, for which they purchased anti-dotes and healing potions.
We traveled back to FAI and killed a bounty hunter, we later runed into a stubborn vile beast, named Dorn. We quickly got to each others' throats, but we left before anyone started killing the other.
We traveled to Nashkel, were we picked up some more armor from a couple of Flaming fist dudes on they way, sweet. We also found a hidden Ankheg Plate.
I can't recall everything I did, I forgot to document it and I'm in a bit of a hurry, watch the video.
Comments
I will add the following caveats:
- vanilla game core rules (must be the only one)
- I actually got killed in the circus bug at the beggining of SoA from what I read
I've finally managed to get a success in this challenge (on my 99th attempt!). That's taken over 7 months and with 73 character classes still to go that rate of progress would probably see me buried before I had time to complete the lot (and almost certainly see me senile and incapable before then anyway
I've decided for the next attempt to go back to the first class I rolled for this challenge - the sun soul monk - and document this run. I think I probably did document an early run with this class on the Bioware Forums, but if I can't remember that then I doubt if anyone else will be able to ...
My standard restrictions are in place (no use of healing items, no antidotes, no recruiting NPCs) and the latter of those was bad news for Imoen, Xzar and Montaron (Neera is the other NPC whose items I'm normally willing to kill for). The next death though was much more important - Shoal providing 2 levels and 16 HPs.
Some more tasks around Beregost were done, including picking up some stealthy boots from a hobgoblin (and remembering not to hand those in as they are very handy for a monk).
Going down to Nashkel I bought the shield amulet, necklace of missiles and PfP scroll at the Carnival before resting to get CLW. There's nothing else I'm planning on buying for a while, but I will want the next 3 Bhaal powers to be evil so Algernon was struck down (his cloak will also ensure shop prices will be as good as possible once I'm eventually in the market again). I then completed my collection of bags by helping out Firebead before heading for the basilisk area.
Unarmed melee attacks have a longer range than the basilisks, so it's easy enough to hit them without being exposed to retaliation when they switch to melee. I was soon up to level 5 (9 HPs) and then level 6 (7 HPs). The last of the basilisks (the greater one next to Mutamin) was shot down while it was neutral before Korax was recruited to sort out the mage.
I realised while I was doing that I hadn't gone to get Meilum's bracers yet, so went to remedy that. A sneak attack with flaming fists and a couple of sun soul rays meant only a few sling shots were needed in between.
That's a very solid start and I've not taken any damage to date. That will change shortly though as I'm off to the Nashkel Mine next and can't avoid the traps there.
Sun soul monk L6, 47 HPs, 51 kills
One down, 73 to go! Good luck with your Sun Soul Monk, @Grond0!
The idea behind this run is bringing IWD2 spells and classes into BG2. This required three days of hard modding, and many tweaks along the way, but I managed to get all three characters working the way I liked.
Look at how adorable Frisk is!
All characters start with a 76 stat total like in IWD2, and they have 18 in their casting stat, even though it grants us no bonuses. Notice that Frisk has 2 attacks per round. That's because all characters in IWD2 get extra attacks per round based on their attack bonus.
And look at how adorable Chara is!
Chara is a druid with the same abilities as my modded IWD2 install. This means they get some extra spell picks and much cooler shapeshifts. Unfortunately, BG2 appears not to have the sprites for any of the shapeshifts, so we don't get to see any sexy greatsword-wielding dragon ladies in bikinis when Chara hits higher levels.
And look at Asriel! He's so adorable!
He's a Cleric of Ilmater with one paladin level (and therefore gets proficiencies with all weapons except bastard swords and katanas). He is an elf now instead of an aasimar, because an aasimar would warrant a 35% XP penalty based on some unused .2da files from IWD2.
IWD2 is a vastly different game, and using only IWD2-style stuff will make gameplay radically different. It's impossible to list all the ways that this changes the game. Here are a few examples:
1. We get powerful buffing spells that boost our damage, saves, THAC0, stats, and magic resistance. We also get powerful offensive spells, some of which bypass magic resistance.
2. We don't get Breach, Teleport Field, Polymorph Self, spell protections like Spell Immunity, or any of the other kooky spells that make BG2 the unique game that it is. We have awesome buffs, but no way to prevent them from being dispelled. We're basically Transmuters.
3. All three characters are coded as mages so I can give them level 8 and level 9 druid and cleric spells.
4. Our APR and spell slots work like in IWD2, and we use IWD2-style feats instead of proficiency points.
5. Free Action and Chaotic Commands don't block stun. Our only anti-stun options are our saving throws, Blood Rage, and Iron Body, and those last two come with huge drawbacks.
6. We get save penalties to our spells from Spell Focus feats, but not from the spell's level or our ability scores. This means our save penalties are -4 at most, rather than -20. Nor do we get extra spell slots based on our Wisdom or Charisma.
7. We're not allowed to use items, scrolls, or classes with effects that are not in IWD2. We can't cast Breach even from a scroll or with an NPC's help. I make an exception for Freedom scrolls because there's no other way to reverse Imprisonment.
Previous updates at:
In the Nashkel mine I stealthed through most of the way to Mulahey. After showing myself to him I used a sun soul ray to ensure there was an escape route to the exit, but didn't need to use that as Mulahey didn't chase me immediately.
Outside the mine none of the Amazons were quick enough to react to stealth shots, but I finished off the last of them with a ray anyway for extra style points.
I went for the quick kill on Nimbul with a sneak attack, followed up by a sun soulray - this time managing to capture the animation perfectly in the screenshot in the fleeting moment where the soul is shattered and departs the body.
After reporting in to Officer Vai (if you don't do that prior to going to the Bandit Camp she disappears) I tackled Tranzig. A critical stealth shot there meant he was spared a soulray!
At the Camp the sling initially proved mightier than the bow (at least while wearing Nimbul's boots). When Taurgosz appeared he was worn down with some magic attacks before being finished off with a stealth attack.
I stealthed through the Cloakwood, not bothering with Spider's Bane (which is not usable by monks). At the mine I used the Necklace of Missiles for the first time to kill the mages with fireballs from the shadows. A couple of stealth shots and a vicious Flaming Fist finished off Genthore before more stealth shots were too much for Drasus.
After stealthing down to Davaeorn stealth attacks killed his original guard before more stealth attacks around the partition and a few wand magic missiles dealt with the battle horrors.
I'll be doing the rounds to push reputation up before moving on to the City.
Sun soul monk L7, 55 HPs, 129 kills
Gorth - The Half-orc Evil Cleric/Fighter. Part 3, Death
We freed Shoal from her capture and killed the Ogre mage with help from Tiax's Ghast. Which really killed everything for us. Kind of cheesy tactics but once again, I need this. We met up with Dorn, right before entering the mine where we killed Mulahey, with a close death call for Edwin.The amazons weren't there to kill us, I don't know where they ran off to. We traveled back to Nashkel to collect our reward, and (I totally forgot about Nimbul.) the party ran into another bounty hunter, Nimbul. He was untouchable with means of magic protection and he wiped the floor with the party. Gorth stod up to him until he finally failed his save against a hold person spell, where as he was chopped to death by Nimbuls axe. What a cheater.
I really got to stop forgetting about certain encounters, this is what got me killed both of my runs thus far.
End of the update, end of the run.
VideoWatching your video, I think you (with your future party) need a thief - a scout - always in front of the group to detect any danger ahead. This way you would have seen Nimbul.
Personally, with group runs, I can't imagine not using a scout, even after all these years.
I was planing on giving Imoen that role, but she died. In My next run I'm going to take Viconia for the mission I believe, depends on My class. She can afford a sanction for invisibility. Thanks for the advice! @JuliusBorisov
This early on, a spell like Horror can end you. Pro Fear + spreading out your party (it wasn't Hold that did you, it was Sleep which disabled nearly everyone) are essential in early game. Better luck next time, in any case.
@Aasim
Our first major purchase was Ring of Air Control (RoAC from here on in) to help with Wren's defense.
We'll talk to Galen next session. We'd like to do D'Arnise Keep soon to get the Flail of Ages (Glaicas full plate would also be helpful), but we need to improve our AC first, so we aren't gulping so many potions. Thus getting Shield of Harmony, Shield of the Lost, and relieving Officer Dirth of his full plate will be our priorities next session.
Will keep at it.
RE: Hall of Honors idea
I like this idea. Maybe do it similar to how BioWare did it? Because there just a huge number of BG 1 only and BG 2/ToB ony successes, to make it more manage-able, we only recorded TRILOGY success (same character no-reloading BG 1, BG 2 and ToB).
Take a look at the 1st post here if you want to see how we did it.
Previous updates at:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/823161/#Comment_823161
There were no problems doing various reputation quests. I'll end up with far more XP than I need anyway, but I couldn't resist killing the odd old enemy on the way - stealth making things like the Doomsayer helpless.
With reputation at 20 I raided the ankheg nest - just killing those guarding the treasure - before going on to Ulgoth's Beard for a bit of shopping. I had plenty of funds left over to get the Claw of Kazgaroth, which is particularly useful for a monk (in BG2 as well as BG1). I also picked up the various tomes. I didn't bother with killing anything at Durlag's, but couldn't resist showing the sirines the power of the Greenstone Amulet (getting my final BG1 level there with another 8 HPs).
Inside the City the tomes were quickly collected. The only potential danger there really is Marek: typically I run away from his opening spell, but this time I indulged myself by using the Greenstone Amulet (though in any case his cast was interrupted and he didn't get the chance for another).
I bought some potions at Sorcerous Sundries before sneaking into the Iron Throne to talk to Thaldorn and get access to Candlekeep. There was no more fighting there, but I did use a potion of cloud giant strength (topped up by DUHM) to loot the tombs before sneaking out.
Back in Baldur's Gate, for a bit of fun I used darts of stunning for the first time on Slythe - the fourth of those stopping him in his tracks.
I had got up to the level cap in that fight and just stealthed through the maze to get to the temple. Sarevok was activated with a stealth shot and Semaj was stunned soon after he came out to play.
Here's a screenshot of the character record on arrival in Athkatla.
Sun soul monk L8, 63 HPs, 189 kills
(first post here)
I bring along Minsc, Jaheira, and Imoen, even though they're not IWD2-style characters, to make the first dungeon simpler. Chara has poor HP and THAC0, but their verbeeg shapeshift has high damage resistance and crazy damage output, with 19 STR (20 in IWD2) and 3 attacks per round.
The IWD2 Verbeeg form has 7- physical damage resistance, which I converted to 35% for BG2, since high-level Barbarians get 4- and 20% damage resistance in the two games, and I judged 1- DR in IWD2 to be about 5% in the other games. Chara doesn't have the verbeeg sprite because none of the IWD2 sprites seem to work in BG2:EE, even though that are present in IWD:EE. You can select the animation using custom effects with Near Infinity, but the sprites won't show up.
Asriel, our cleric, also suffers from poor HP, and though he has high DEX and can wear armor without losing his spellcasting ability (there are almost no class-based item restrictions in IWD2), he doesn't share Chara's resistances.
It wasn't until much, MUCH later in the game that I realized Asriel and Charname were using the standard d4 HP for mages instead of d8 for clerics and druids. My tanks were fighting at about half their normal HP for a very long time.
At level 6, modded IWD2 druids can shapeshift into Will o' Wisps, which are fantastic anti-mage weapons. Their electrical damage bypasses magic resistance and spell protections.
It also strikes as a nonmagical weapon and can therefore bypass Protection from Magical Weapons, though Mirror Image will still block it.
The Will o' Wisp form has 100% resistance to magic, acid, cold, fire, and electricity in IWD2. Normally I count 1- DR as 5%, and 1 spell resistance as 2% magic resistance (since SR is capped at 50 and MR at 100), but in this case I felt 100 across the board was more reasonable than 200 MR and 500% resistance to other stuff. The Will o' Wisp also has 25 DEX (30-something in IWD2) and a natural +10 to AC. It might not have any physical damage resistances, but it's ridiculously hard to hit. We don't have any normal anti-mage options since so many abjuration spells are unavailable, so this will be our most important weapon against mages.
IWD2-style buffs are really quite impressive. Barkskin adds a flat +3 to +5 bonus to AC rather than setting base AC, and both Barkskin and Stoneskin can be cast on other party members.
Stoneskin doesn't work the same way in IWD2, but it's impossible to implement the change, so I stick with the normal stoneskin opcode. The only difference is that it can be cast on others and it doesn't last 12 hours anymore.
Strong offensive options get us through Chateau Irenicus. As always, I avoid the nasty Mephits in the Air Elemental Plane and don't bother messing with Hareishan (the mage in that fight can cast Cone of Cold!).
On to the circus! Like Barkskin, Ghost Armor also can be cast on others, and grants a flat +5 bonus to AC. The party can have some really crazy AC values early on in the game.
IWD2 in general is a game of numbers, and 3E numbers get awfully big. Frisk has IWD2-style Chromatic Orbs, which can paralyze targets for 13 rounds on a failed save vs. spell, with no save penalty. Plus, their two Spell Focus: Evocation feats grant a -4 save penalty, which makes Chromatic Orb our best disabler by far.
I'm also looking forward to Static Charge, a level 5 spell which deals huge electrical damage and bypasses magical resistance. Plus, since it strikes randomly, it will bypass Spell Turning and invisibility, if not Mirror Image. On top of that, Chara's two Spell Focus: Transmutation feats impose a -4 save penalty, and once we get to level 9, Chara gets the Scion of Storms feat and will do 20% more damage with electrical attacks.
But the spell doesn't work quite like I expected.
I have to make a copy of the spell's projectile from IWD:EE, re-name it AXEEX.pro, and move it to my BG2 directory so the spell will work properly, and strike enemies instead of Chara. I don't know how to add in new projectiles, so I just copy over unused ones.
If you know some Weidu basics adding new .pro files is rather a simple feat -
ADD_PROJECTILE ~your projectile's location goes here (c:myprojectile.pro or whatever)~
COPY ~name of the spell you want to have different projectile (spwi305.spl)~ ~override~
WRITE_SHORT 0x98 myprojectilename
Anyhow, GL with your run.
Btw, I had (still have) a nice run in progress but I've managed to hit the wall it seems. In my old BGT setup I can kick custom PCs out of the party and tell them to "wait here" - this comes very handy with Hell Trials. I've installed Tweaks option that allows that dialogue option on purpose - but on EET it doesn't seem to work properly. I've kicked half of my party out and they left forever. I have a quicksave just before that - but I'm very reluctant to load over this.
Example: EET install
Old BGT:
This BGT screenie shows how it should work.
I know. I install a tweak to change that (I only need it for Hell Trials to avoid scripted chunking death), but it doesn't work like it should.
Previous updates at:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/823161/#Comment_823161
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/823258/#Comment_823258
The dungeon was no problem. An early critical from the ogre mage reminded me to keep HPs up at safe levels all the time,
In the circus a werewolf was annoyed by the Greater Sun fireshield and did quite a bit of damage to me, but a use of lay on hands kept me out of the real danger zone while finishing off Kalah.
Before going to the Slums to report to Gaelan Bayle I invested in some extra reputation at the Temple before buying the Ring of Air Control. That's not really necessary for this character due to the availability of stealth, but the saving throw bonus could come in handy in future against some traps.
At the Copper Coronet there was a bit of an error against Amalas. I had been getting ready to kill him with a Soulray, but he'd died from fists first. I then tried to talk to his ruffian mates, but the cursor was still primed with the Soulray and the ruffians got annoyed with me for some reason! I stepped quickly outside and hid, but will have to try and remember they're around in future.
Deciding I needed a bit more inventory management help the next port of call was Watcher's Keep. While still in the city though Suna Seni tried an ambush - never a good idea against a stealthy target!
Back in Athkatla a pirate mage felt the weight of my fists
I was definitely feeling the temptation to take increasing risks in that session (possibly as a result of now being back at work
Sun soul monk L12, 63 HPs, 219 kills (+189 in BG1)
(first post here)
We're not doing much roleplaying or pacifism in this run. Mostly I just wanted to try out IWD2 stuff in BG2. So, when Amalas jabbers at us, Frisk challenges him to a fight. Amalas eventually fails a save against Chromatic Orb and Frisk puts their weapon in the off hand to maximize damage.
In IWD2, clerics as well as druids can cast Insect Plague. Although SCS mages can block it outright with Fire Shield, it's a good option against lower-level mages.
That massive damage on the Hobgobber Shaman is from Static Charge. Now that we're all level 9, we get new feats: Dodge for Asriel for +1 AC, Armored Arcana for Frisk to minimize the spell failure from Blink, and Scion of Storms to boost Chara's electrical damage by 20%.
Blink imposes 20% spell failure, but Armored Arcana can (I think erroneously) take down to 5% with three feats. It won't be safe to use even at higher levels due to that spell failure, but without Protection from Magical Weapons, Frisk has no other defense against a Fallen Planetar's vorpal strike besides their AC and Blink.
Elsewhere in the sewers, I get a reminder that very few of Chara's shapeshifting weapons strike as magical weapons. They have to switch to Fomorian Giant form to hit anything immune to normal weapons.
The inability to use the Fomorian Giant sprite isn't just an aesthetic difference. It means that Chara can fit into smaller spaces and getting around other characters, which makes them much stronger offensively. But it also means they can't use wide-circled shapeshifting to form a wall against enemies, which makes them much weaker as a tank.
We add Yoshimo to the party to disarm some traps, even though Chara can trigger basically any trap in Will o' Wisp form due to its 100% MR and elemental resistances. Chara tanks the slaver mages, but their subzero AC is still quite beatable. Enemies will land critical hits sooner or later.
Chara whittles down the enemy's Mirror Images, and a Static Charge strike finishes them off.
Free Action in IWD2 lasts 10 rounds per level instead of 10 rounds +1 round per level, so I feel more comfortable using it as a pre-buff, opening the way for spamming Web spells. Both Chara and Frisk can cast Web, though our Web spells are weaker than normal: they don't have a save penalty, and they're Conjuration spells, which means Frisk's Spell Focus: Evocation feats don't affect them.
We finish the slaver quest and go purchase a magic license from Corny at the Council of Six Building.
Frisk, Asriel, and Chara are all coded as mages, which means the magic ban applies to all of us. This is the simplest way of getting around that problem.
Our limited interest in roleplaying for this run means we're not squeamish about violence, but there's still a place for diplomacy in this run.
Powergaming is not synonymous with killing stuff.
On to the Temple Ruins!
(first post here)
Frisk hits level 10 and chooses Ball Lightning as their first level 5 spell pick. This creates a handful of Fire Seed/Minute Meteor hybrid weapons that deal area-effect nonmagical electrical damage and set the user's APR to 5. And since they strike as +5 weapons, they can go right through SCS Improved Mantle.
But I regret the decision right after making it, because Ball Lightning has no THAC0 bonus and are therefore not reliable.
Frisk tries out their new Ray of Enfeeblement spells on the local Shadows. It's an instant death attack--and in IWD2, it's a level 1 spell instead of level 2. Frisk has a lot of these things.
Ray of Enfeeblement in IWD2 lowers your STR by 15 for 1 minute/level. It's not fatal in IWD2 because the engine doesn't have stat drain kills. But in BG2, an IWD2-style Ray of Enfeeblement will instantly kill anything with STR below 16.
Unfortunately, very few important critters have such low STR, and low-STR mages who would easily fail its save vs. death have spell protections to block it. And per the terms of the run, we can't combine it with a regular Ray of Enfeeblement for a guaranteed kill. It's only useful for weakening enemy fighters.
We use the standard setup for the Shade Lord fight. Enter invisible, snipe the Shadow Altar with a single Sun Bullet, and approach the Shade Lord and Shadow Patrick from the south.
We have more latitude in this fight, because IWD2's Negative Plane Protection lasts 3 rounds per level instead of just 5. But due to a shortage of spell slots, I try to avoid using all of our NPP spells at once, and Chara gets drained as a result.
Emotion: Hope and a longer-lasting Aid spell from IWD2 make our saving throws very strong, but the Shade Lord's Chromatic Orbs are still dangerous, because I neglected to give Chara and Asriel their proper 1d8 HP per level.
Despite longer-lasting NPP spells, we still can't get close to the Shade Lord, lest he obliterate us with his Black Blade of Disaster. We have to resort to missile weapons, as usual. He has no missile attacks of his own, but he does like to blind you to compensate for that weakness.
Frisk hurls some Ball Lightning attacks at the Shade Lord, only for them to bounce right back.
This was before I changed the projectile to the Fire Seed projectile, so it's still single-target and can be reflected with the Shade Lord's Spell Turning pre-buff. We could burn through the Shade Lord's Spell Turning spell, but I deem it too dangerous, as Frisk has no defense against electrical damage.
We trade barbs with the Shade Lord...
...but we make little impact, and the Shade Lord can restore his buffs every few rounds.
We try something new: Chara switches to Will o' Wisp form and Frisk bombards them with Fireballs, hoping to get past the Shade Lord's high MR. But Mirror Image blocks the damage even when his MR does not.
We go back to using missile weapons, running perilously low on magic arrows. We get past his defenses!
Chara's Entangle spell has a -4 save penalty thanks to their Spell Focus: Transmutation feats, but that's a mixed blessing when we didn't have the spell slots to pre-buff with Free Action. The Shade Lord gets entangled sometimes, but so do we, holding us in range of the Shade Lord's level draining aura.
I thought losing that Black Blade of Disaster could let us use our stronger melee weapons instead of weak arrows, but the Shade Lord just brings it right back.
We have to get through its Mirror Images once again. We have just barely enough magical ammunition to finish him off.
Trademeet is next.
Did you also block bg2 enemy mages to use bg2 spesific stuff? If so how?
I will tackle spell revisions mod, I think, and item revisions, these mods try to bring the most spell/item rules closer to 3,5 e rules and iwd2.
I would not allow ray of enfeeblement to kill some creatures instantly, though. Especially not a shadow who should not have a tangible strength score anyway. But it was hillariously appropriate as they drain str too!
Previous updates at:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/823161/#Comment_823161
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/823258/#Comment_823258
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/823312/#Comment_823312
An early morning session saw a further deterioration in concentration and I was several times in danger of death - but for the moment the fight goes on!
Moving on to the Graveyard I cleared the upper tombs before descending. Pai'Na failed to deal with my improvement to 3 APR with fist attacks, while her spiders were no threat now that I'm immune to poison.
At the Bridge District I solved the Skinner murders, but didn't dare take on the Rune Assassins yet. After sorting out the kidnappers (level 13) I collected the pantaloons and saw my reputation fall back. To deal with that I decided to go to Trademeet, where the first target was the genies. Rather than pay for a green scroll I used the RoAC for the first time to ensure an automatic save against petrification. Inside the tent I also used Sun Soulbeam for the first time - that successfully blinded both genies (for 2 hours!), making them easy to finish off.
At the Grove I had no weapon to finish trolls off, but with 3 Soulrays, Flaming Fists and a Soulbeam (plus the efreeti's spells) that wasn't a real restriction and I made quick progress past the Troll Mound.
Back in Trademeet Jenia came begging me to help Tiris (you only need to solve the Skinner murders to activate this, not kill the Rune Assassins) and that was soon done (firmly telling Rasaad on the way that there was room for only one Sun Soul Monk in this party). Flaming Fists then made short work of clearing the tomb - pushing my reputation up to 19. To maximise that I decided that with the efreeti available I was now safe enough taking on the Rune Assassins and the second of those was duly blinded by a Soulbeam.
With 94k gold in the bank I finally released my mercenary instincts and splurged out on equipment upgrades - I didn't buy any more potions yet, but picked up everything else I want at this stage.
With the Belt of Inertial Barrier equipped I thought I would see whether the vampiric wraiths at Watcher's Keep could be tackled. Entering the Keep I managed to blind one of them with my Soulbeam.
I could easily have been killed attacking the wraiths like that, but after that adrenalin fix I played safe while clearing the remainder of the Keep's top floor. I got up to level 15 attacking the statues - the archer one was taken to near death after being webbed by Kitthix before being finished off by stealth shots.
With DUHM now able to take strength up to 24 I decided it was time to go lich hunting. On the way to opening up the one in the sewers Flaming Fists made short work of a rakshasa
Sun soul monk L16, 99 HPs (incl. 8 from ioun stone), 459 kills (+189 in BG1)
Spugnor: Gnomish fighter Illusionist; Str 18/92, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 10, Cha 8. Long Sword ** Sling **.
Spells: Blindness, Shield, Sleep.
The portrait of this character started with the image below. This was edited with Photoshop and given a background from a photo of the lower slopes of Machchapuchare (Fishtail).
http://www.slideshare.net/Ecomuseum/session-no-1-2011-the-balearic-slingers-by-christer-samuelsen
I was taught about the Balearic slingers whilst on honeymoon on Majorca. However, I didn't realise just how powerful they were until I read up about them recently. I could hardly believe that they could break the armour of the day.
Journal of Spugnor
I was born with few weaknesses, but I did wish that I had better Wisdom and Charisma, but sadly we cannot always have what we want in life. At least with a wisdom of 10 and a charisma of 8, I cannot complain too much. I was named Spugnor and earned the name Slingshot because of my proficiency with that weapon. I am equally proficient with the long sword, but because of the number of guards with that proficiency at Candlekeep, it was not noteworthy.In Candlekeep I had 100gp, not enough for mail, never mind splint. After breaking open a chest in the inn, I had sufficient gold to buy both splint mail and a shield. I was caught after opening another chest and lost all my gold as a result. However I was still able to buy a bow, a helmet and some missiles.
After the ambush I made my way to the Friendly Arms Inn where I found a useful ring for myself as well as another one for Joia. Heading Northward, I helped Tenya against the evil fishermen before heading for Beregost.
There I calmed down Marl, took a tome to Firebead and bought a +1 sling before heading south where a combination of “sleep” and sling defeated both the ogrillon there and three flaming fist mercenaries.
This resulted in me getting some plate armour some of which I stashed whilst I wore one suit.
Heading south I killed some hobgoblins and found an amulet on the body of someone belonging to a family in Beregost. I gladly returned it and as a result was rewarded handsomely.
After resting, I headed west where I killed a number of gnoll before reaching High Hedge, the home of a mage who sold me a couple of scrolls, “friends” and “charm”. That was unfortunately all that I could afford.
I headed south and helped Mellicamp.
Heading south to Nashkel, I found some ankheg armour and gained the ability to heal myself. Upon returning to Beregost I was able to kill Karlat and thus return Perdue’s sword to him.
EDIT
After being mistaken for Greywolf, I ended up fighting him. Twice he saved against my spells with the result that I was reduced to 5 HP. I therefore had to consume two healing potions in order to ensure survival. I then made sure that he wasn't able to get within striking distance whilst I slowly but steadily brought his health to zero with my sling. I then gained the reward for the emeralds and since I was a level three illusionist by that time, I spent a lot of gold in filling my spellbook with useful spells: Identify; Invisibility; Luck; Mirrored Image; Protection from Petrification.I am rediscovering the unmodded game. Like someone else, I have realised that the mod that gave me a ring to improve charisma to 18, caused me to use charisma as a dump stat. I have now realised that 2 or more extra charisma points would have been very handy in this game.
I have also been reminded of the value of the bags of holding. In vanilla, you can carry so little.
I am also missing the opportunities to raise reputation that there were in my modded game. This means that I have to be very wary of dropping reputation by committing evil acts. (Killing to get a needed item for instance)
I am also missing the encounters which made the modded game more interesting. They didn't give much in the way of experience or equipment, but they added to the role playing experience.
Question
I am wondering if halflings in EE are the better slingers that they are supposed to be. Does anyone know?Rel Sundan, the berserker!
A new character and a new beginning, this time with the Half-orc Berserker, a total beast when it comes down to hand-to-hand combat. Wielding a war hammer to crush his foes.Same restriction goes, no bringing the dead back to this joy full planet.
WeiDU Log
// Log of Currently Installed WeiDU Mods
// The top of the file is the 'oldest' mod
// ~TP2_File~ #language_number #component_number // [Subcomponent Name -> ] Component Name [ : Version]
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #1000 // Initialise mod (all other components require this): v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4000 // Faster Bears: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4010 // Grant large, flying, non-solid or similar creatures protection from Web and Entangle: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4020 // More realistic wolves and wild dogs: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4030 // Improved shapeshifting: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4040 // Make party members less likely to die irreversibly: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4110 // Allow NPC pairs to separate: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4120 // NPCs go to inns: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4130 // Move NPCs to more convenient locations: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5900 // Initialise AI components (required for all tactical and AI components): v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6000 // Smarter general AI: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6010 // Better calls for help: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6030 // Smarter Mages -> Mages cast some short-duration spells instantly at start of combat, to simulate pre-battle casting: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6040 // Smarter Priests -> Priests cast some short-duration spells instantly at start of combat, to simulate pre-battle casting: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6100 // Potions for NPCs -> All of the potions dropped by slain enemies are recoverable: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6200 // Improved Spiders: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6300 // Smarter sirines and dryads: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6310 // Slightly harder carrion crawlers: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6320 // Smarter basilisks: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7000 // Improved doppelgangers: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7010 // Tougher Black Talons and Iron Throne guards: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7020 // Improved deployment for parties of assassins: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7030 // Dark Side-based kobold upgrade: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7040 // Relocated bounty hunters: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7050 // Improved Ulcaster: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7060 // Improved Balduran's Isle: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7070 // Improved Durlag's Tower: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7090 // Improved Cloakwood Druids: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7100 // Improved Bassilus: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7110 // Improved Drasus party: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7130 // Improved Red Wizards: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7140 // Improved Undercity party: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7200 // Tougher chapter-two end battle: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7210 // Tougher chapter-three end battle: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7220 // Tougher chapter-four end battle: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7230 // Tougher chapter-five end battle: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7250 // Improved final battle: v30 BWP Fix
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7900 // Improved minor encounters: v30 BWP Fix
We purchase some armor and two war hammers, then set of with Gorion who quickly falls by the mysterious armored man. We flee as Gorion asks us, and meet up with Imoen come next morning.
We travel to Beregost where we (as always) pick up our little friend Tiax. With him, we travel south where we run into Viconia, and rescues her. We decide to go and kill Bassiluss, and Viconia tags along.
Killing him easily with the help of Tiax's ghast and Viconia's spells, Rel grabs his golden hammer and they leave the area. They turn in the bounty and recieves 5000 gold, for which they purchased anti-dotes and healing potions.
We traveled back to FAI and killed a bounty hunter, we later runed into a stubborn vile beast, named Dorn. We quickly got to each others' throats, but we left before anyone started killing the other.
We traveled to Nashkel, were we picked up some more armor from a couple of Flaming fist dudes on they way, sweet. We also found a hidden Ankheg Plate.
End of update 1
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