By pacific, I mean the large pond to my west between the US and Asia Err. I mean that Allegro himself is forbidden to take any kills, else the run is considered a failure. His party members are very much allowed though; the reasoning for this was to test the strengths of the Rogue Rebalancing Skald. I still have to do the math at some point, but I think having a Skald and a party of 5 does slightly more damage and has more utility than adding another Archer or something would.
Blighted by a cold I allowed Whitworth to shake down the Elemental Lich for any randomised items, have a look around level 2 of Watcher's Keep after dealing with the statues, and then cleared Sundalessar. I slightly regret that Edwin is only level 17 but can't justify any more delays with Irenicus pruning the Tree of Life into his personal shrubbery before our eyes... A touching moment along the way as Whitworth convinced Kivan to stand with him one last time... I find it rather difficult not to take Kivan along for all my runs actually as I think his story is very well done in the BG1 NPC project and BG2 mod- and also of course he showed me how damn powerful archers are!
And... I made a mistake at the Bandit camp due to slow animations and frustration. A change to my Baldur.lua apparently fixed Grease but not Cloudkill... Anyways, I allowed Allegro to break invisibility by using a wand of Summon Monster, but this proves fatal as Elites turn him into a pincushion in a stroke of irony.
When I played a pacific fighter/thief through to the final battle, my solo characters didn't kill anyone. However he did kill Sarevok with his fists in one run, and in another Sarevok was killed by his allies. I beat him up with my fists and then let him towards his allies. I'm not sure if it was the lightning trap or the arrows of explosion fired by one his allies that killed him.
They weren't no-reload runs as I hadn't started playing no-reload way back then.
I( used various tricks to avoid killing. The hobgoblins at the FAI were led towards the guards. Greywolf was led to the mines where the guards killed him. I charmed Bassilus and led him towards Zargal. Mulahey was charmed with the result that the kobolds etc. killed him. Davaeorn was charmed and the battle horrors? Doom guards? killed him.
At the ducal palace wand of sleep was key. I beat the doppelgangers up with my fists until they were unconscious and moved on to others leaving the dukes et al to kill them. I think that I healed a duke as well just to be safe.
Obviously pick-pocketting the Cloak of Algernon was the key to a lot of incidents. I had a VERY low level at the end.
I must try that run in EE no-reload. It was fun. I played the above in vanilla no mods a LONG time ago.
I have just realised how much more difficult a pacific run will be with EE. The cloak of Algernon has been well and truly nerfed so that it only has one charge per day. That is fine for an ordinary run as it shouldn't be relied upon in the same way as in a pacific run, otherwise the game would be boring.
I have just realised how much more difficult a pacific run will be with EE. The cloak of Algernon has been well and truly nerfed so that it only has one charge per day. That is fine for an ordinary run as it shouldn't be relied upon in the same way as in a pacific run, otherwise the game would be boring.
Nerfed, yes. Well and truly nerfed may give a misleading impression - it's still a powerful item. Not only can it charm a wide range of creatures, but the charm lasts for more than a day! It's thus possible to have 2 charmed creatures at a time on your side (even without using other spells or items). I haven't tried it, but I suspect that a run using only the cloak is still possible, even if not as easy as in vanilla.
@Grond0: I did successfully use Resilient Sphere (via a scroll, so I wouldn't have to risk scribing it) on Belt and it kept him safe from the doppelgangers at Ducal Palace. It also turned no one hostile. So if you have Spell Revisions installed, Resilient Sphere is more or less guaranteed to keep one of the grand dukes alive.
Legacy of Bhaal Genocide Run: Carl the Llama in BG2 (first post here)
SIEGE OF UST NATHA: PART 8
I use one more Time Stop to give Carl Moment of Prescience (+20 to AC and saving throws for 4 rounds, undispellable but Breachable) and hurl yet more Energy Blades at the Glabrezu. But those Mirror Images and the Glabrezu's electrical resistance keep it very much alive. Carl's other HLAs work on the drow, at least.
Flowey suffers from Flame Arrow until he downs a Potion of Magic Shielding. Combined with the IR Ring of Fire Resistance, Earth Elemental Token, IR Fortress Shield, an IR amulet, and IR drow full plate, Flowey can attain immunity to both types of damage.
Carl gets another Wish-rest and Hardiness, but no Time Stop, which means we can't finish off that Nabassu and Glabrezu. Flowey casts Domination, an unreliable area-effect charm spell courtesy of the Seducer kit, but it will take 2 rounds before it has any effect. In the meantime, the party hurries to bring back the celestials that vanished during Carl's Time Stops.
The enemy continues to Breach Flowey, but their efforts are a complete waste of time.
Unable to hold back the tide, we see drow pouring into our sanctuary room. Stan and Viconia bring out Storm of Vengeance, our standard method for drow crowd control and one of the only ways we have of getting past the drow's sky-high MR.
The damage is pitiful, but it's the best we've got.
Time Stop also wore down our defenses, which means we have to take time to restore them.
All of this takes valuable time away from offensive action, and we really need to make more progress against the enemy if we are to last much longer.
Flowey's Domination takes effect, giving us control over a small portion of the enemy for a lousy 2 rounds
It will turn the drow against each other for just a moment, tacking on tiny pieces of damage. But like with Storm of Vengeance, we need to squeeze every last drop from our limited resources.
Notice the pre-cast Magic Resistance spell on the Matron Mother. In SR, that spells adds to MR instead of setting it, which means the Matron Mother's MR is well above 100, just like Viconia.
Then the game crashes. I have to start over. Again. But I've checked the remainder of my screenshots, and this is the last time I had a crash or a game-breaking bug.
No more fights cut short. No more setbacks, bugs, or distractions. The next 3-6 posts will be my final attempt at the Siege of Ust Natha.
After a couple of weeks break for chess commitments the Trio were back in action today and immediately dived into the Nashkel Mines. Friendly's access to 12 sleep spells a day and Ijut's access to unlimited backstabs made for quick progress down to Mulahey. He was stuck in a trio of webs and poisoned arrows ensured he didn't have to suffer for long - though the web did keep him upright for a while after he was dead.
Outside, the amazons were also webbed - none of them managing to take any action either.
Ijut went for the one-shot backstab on Nimbul, but missed and was sent running in horror as a result - though magic missiles from the other two ensured Nimbul could do no further damage. Ijut made no mistake though with his backstab on Tranzig.
At the Bandit Camp sleep and backstabs again made pretty short work of the bandits - Taugosz as the exception was treated to a wand scorcher by Hannater.
Inside the tent there was a good start when Ijut's poisoned backstab disposed of Venkt.
However, the other 2 hadn't bothered going in invisibly and were vulnerable to Britik and Raemon at close quarters - Friendly was injured and had to retreat and was forced to use an invisibility potion there when Raemon tried switching to his bow to finish him off.
In the Cloakwood an ambush nearly proved fatal when a web trap triggered and Hannater got stuck next to 2 ettercaps. Fortunately though the improved saving throws from his gnomish heritage allowed him to escape at the first opportunity - with a whole 2 HPs remaining.
Arriving at the Cloakwood Mine webs and area damage meant that assassin's arrows were overkill against Drasus.
Inside the mine Friendly used sleep to disable most of Hareishan's guards, but the mage herself came out and started casting a lightning bolt. Hannater bravely tried to save Ijut by passing him an absorption potion - only to be caught out when the mage proved to be targeting him instead!
Before all Hannater's equipment could be transferred to a container the sleeping guards woke up and started causing trouble. That included blocking the corridor, so that stealth and invisibility couldn't finish the job and Ijut had to do a couple of sneak attacks followed by area transitions to break up the log-jam. Finally though the equipment was stashed and the remaining duo got back to the Friendly Arm Inn to restore Hannater.
Back again at the Mine invisibility was used to avoid most further combat on the way down to Davaeorn. Ijut's not too great at traps, but was able to identify and remove the ones activating the battle horrors,
before Friendly threw in a skull trap at Davaeorn from out of sight as an opening gambit. As sometimes happens that proved to have disrupted the mage's script and after a bit of running round he tried to melee Ijut - which was never likely to end well for him ...
Why does every single SCS Mage have Charm? And where the fuck can I get Clarity potions in my install—nobody except the Sorcerous Sundries has any!!11!111!!!!!11one!! Vishnaera just sold all the loot she had, charged the Wand of Fear and the Wand of Sleep at Thalantyr's, and went on with the Mines, but yeah, Hareshian had Charm... She casted Confusion several times but I saved against them... I knew I shouldn't rely on my saves vs. Enchantment spells but doing TotSC stuff to get the Greenstone Amulet was never an option. Oh well. It kinda sucks nobody sells Clarity potions (I did a quick search with NI and literally nobody except the SS does in BG1) tho.
I'm going to play Alia and her gang of Evils goons now, so I won't have to worry much about Charm.
Hard luck @CrevsDaak. There are a number of other options against charm - potions of magic blocking and magic shielding for instance. You also don't need to do any TotSC stuff to get the Greenstone Amulet (unless you don't have it installed at all and thus Ulgoth's Beard is not on the map or it's randomised out of store inventory). I tend to use minor spell deflection to protect against charm, though that means you're still vulnerable to area spells.
Hard luck @CrevsDaak. Grond0 is quite right of course.
Starting a new run with a completely contrasing character, a half-orc fighter/thief called Bratty Bhaalspawn.
She ran into a bit of bother with a guard in Candlekeep and to her delight found that it was not as bad as she feared.
Try the romantic Encounters mod to know what happened. It is a bit raunchy so I have left out the details. Let's just say that 50 shades is tame in comparison.
The standard ways in BG1 that I know of, supposing there's been no randomization or mods: 2nd floor of Winthrop's inn, there's a Potion of Clarity in the second room on the left. Potions of Magic Blocking: High Hedge, Amazon ambush (?), and a couple other random locations. Potions of Magic Shielding: High Hedge, there's another in the Cloakwood Guardhouse in a chest. Scroll of Protection from Magic: High Hedge, generally used by solo no-reloaders for the Cloakwood mines, incidentally. There's also one or two others pre-Baldur's Gate, but I can't remember their locations. Greenstone Amulet: Ulgoth's Beard Potion of Invulnerability: the +5 to saves as well as the shorty bonus is often enough to get to negatives, even this early. Throw the Claw of Kazgorath in or however you spell it to guarantee the save. I... think one can be found on Silke's corpse, generally?
@Neverused The problem with the one at Winthrops is that you need a certain amount of strength to get it. A fighter or thief will usually have no problem, but mages might.
(I could have sworn that there was a Helm of Charm Protection somewhere in BG1; but wiki says it is only in BG2.)
Newb question #47: Does Charm end the game if you solo?
For some reason it never happened to me before. (Or I may have attributed a lost game to something else, if it did.) I rarely solo, but when I do it is either a Cavalier (nonissue) or a Sorcerer (may have had preemptive luck with damaging the threat).
About charm: Inquisitors and raging Berserkers and Barbarians are immune to charm by default. And elves and half-elves have a high chance of ignoring charm spells outright.
About charm: And elves and half-elves have a high chance of ignoring charm spells outright.
Half-Elves have 30%, which is pretty bad to be honest. Elves have 90%, and SCS Mages won't even try casting Charm upon you (which is nice).
@Grond0 I have the Item Randomiser installed, so the Amulet isn't available in Ulgoth's to be purchased since the start of the game (otherwise I would have already picked it up), instead it is somewhere in the TotSC content.
And about the Potions of Magic Blocking/Protection, I only have one of the ones that give MR (or two, I'm not sure, in which case I could have completely prevented this death I reckon), and using the other one would mean either I would loose my own buffs (IIRC I could cast them after taking the potion, but the potion only lasts a few rounds). I think I didn't get any Potions of Magic Shielding so far, and if I had I'd probably save it for Davaeron.
I also thought about getting the Claw, but I didn't since that would leave me with 14 CON, which means way less maximum HP. Maybe I should have got it, IDK.
(I could have sworn that there was a Helm of Charm Protection somewhere in BG1; but wiki says it is only in BG2.)
I've always thought about adding one, because I favour playing solo, but never did. I might add one plus an additional quest to get it so it feels as if you've earned it.
About charm: And elves and half-elves have a high chance of ignoring charm spells outright.
Half-Elves have 30%, which is pretty bad to be honest.
I see your point. But 30% is something - you still get the saving throw after 3/10 of the spells have been negated. In a party with dispel magic at hand I would go with those odds. But in a solo no reload run 100% is better...
Perhaps Thalantyr can upgrade an item into a helmet of charm protection? I like the Thalantyr item upgrade mod, and think it would fit in nicely.
We stormed the Tree of Life... and made a bit of a mess of things for awhile to be honest. Aran got permastunned by a Prismatic Spray and Edwin had to use up our last Freedom scroll to wake him up (even death didn't work....) Finally we resorted to having Edwin throw legions of summons at the Shattered One and Irenicus was buried (much like the endgame movie....) under them before dragging us down.
In hell Whitworth surprised me somewhat by turning Lawful Neutral, taking some neutral and some good options. Then we faced Irenicus and his legions...
Things didn't go perfectly as one or two party members were stunned / weakened, but we (and our legions) soon got the upper hand and cut down Irenicus...
completing my first ever no-reload of Shadows of Amn. Once again thank you to those who have made inspiring runs before.
Kivan and Afaaq then departed (now that Whitworth was LN it seemed churlish to try to cling on to them).... and they wait in the glade...in the rain.
I don't know if I'll take Whitworth on for now... apart from ToB a try at Icewind Dale or a SCS run beckons. And he has earned a break... should exchange those swords for some umbrellas!
(I could have sworn that there was a Helm of Charm Protection somewhere in BG1; but wiki says it is only in BG2.)
I've always thought about adding one, because I favour playing solo, but never did. I might add one plus an additional quest to get it so it feels as if you've earned it.
AFAIK Item Randomiser adds Helmet of Charm Protection on its own but the only pre-Baldur's Gate City areas to find it are Ulcaster ruins, Firewine ruins and Shipwreck Coast (Droth) so the chance is pretty slim.
Okay, I'm too sick to play this weekend. (Besides, my runs end in disaster quickly when I can't concentrate.) But I would love to get some noreload time anyway. Sooo, I was thinking...
*** Are there any Let's Play videos of any of you no-reload experts? Or even just disastrous or humorous deaths? ***
(Wait, I just had an epiphany: how about we gather video segments of no-reload runs of people dying horrible, terrible, no-good, and funny deaths. Then we can combine them together to the soundtrack of the 'Benny Hill Chase Scene'.)
SETUP: Vanilla BG 2 ToB Official patch Core rules at all times
Wild surges this session: * Cloudkill instead of hold monster when Hanna and Forrest are in jeopardy from a troll * stinking cloud surge instead of hold monster sleeps everyone except Corewild when fighting Togal and his two goons
Well the party continues to make progress. But this party is quite vulnerable.
We had successfully cleared most of D'Arnise Keep without much incident. However, near the end we ran into some trouble. We tried to cloudkill Torgal, but he saved vs. death. so the battle commenced with Torgal and his two buddies - problem? A hold monster by Hanna turned into a wild surge and cast stinking cloud instead!!!
Everyone falls unconscious except Corewild. Fortunately, I had his full plate and shield of harmony equipped so he was well prepared to keep these enemies busy until the rest of the party could help. I had him use a fire giant potion so he can kill them faster - luckily no one died.
So I needed to go to the bathroom in real life - so I turned on AI and sent them to the stairs (they were on the 2nd floor) - the game was NOT paused. Was a mistake apparently because the group did NOT travel together! Forrest and Hanna decided to not follow the tanks of the party - fortunately I have auto-pause character injured - so I get back and Hanna is nearly dead.
She retreats, have rest of the party come to help (who aren't close), and Forrest bravely tries to keep the troll busy. He tried an aganazer's scorcher and Hanna tried hold monster. However, Forrest was getting hit hard - I forgot I didn't have stoneskins up because wasn't expecting a fight (the keep was "cleared" after all) His aura wasn't clear - so let him do his scorcher, and then he died. The tanks arrived and took out this troll.
But now we need to go to Athkatla to raise Forrest. We do so and come back to the Keep - well we try to but we get an ambush - the enemy mage was brilliant - in a single shot she killed BOTH Paja and Forrest!!!
Another trip to Athkatla to raise them. Finally we arrive at the Keep an report to Nalia. The experience gets the mages a level - we get another level 4 spell slot. I waste no time and make ALL mages learn spell of minor invulnerability - this way they will cast that first so as not die to a lightning bolt.
Helm of Charm protection is available in BG1 if you install Unfinished Business mod. It's in Beregost; same inn where Marl is, innkeeper sells it. Provided you got Randomizer you won't find it there.
SCS + aTweaks; 3 person run (berserker(9)-cleric, kensai(21)-thief and sorc, 2 sidekicks chunked; protagonist dead 2 seconds after final screen was taken).
I cast a spell and decided that for a fighter/thief the best kit was barbarian. (The mod that gives the choice of kits, only gave the fighter kits as options, not thief kits otherwise the kit chosen would probably have been assassin)
Carbos attacked me and I had to keep my distance to avoid being killed. Eventually I killed Carbos with sling.
After seeking my god, he advised me to backstab potential enemies which I did. I backstabbed Shank and killed him with one blow. Similarly with Mendas and Tarnesh.
I needed to rest and was attacked by an ankheg which I killed.
Bandits ambushed me and badly injured me with the result that I had to flee.
North of Beregost I killed ogre for belt using rage in combination with a sling.
In Beregost I was attacked by Karlat when trying to help Eltoth. Finch killed Karlat. I helped Eltoth and returned Perdue’s lost sword.
I killed some ogrillon and was rewarded with a ring of protection.
I cast a spell and decided that for a fighter/thief the best kit was barbarian. (The mod that gives the choice of kits, only gave the fighter kits as options, not thief kits otherwise the kit chosen would probably have been assassin)
Dear WG Which mod is that? Otherwise. Great stuff. Please keep it coming
Comments
He was well on the way to defeating Kirian and his cohorts until, when on the brink of winning a panic spell overwhelmed him.
End of run.
Blighted by a cold I allowed Whitworth to shake down the Elemental Lich for any randomised items, have a look around level 2 of Watcher's Keep after dealing with the statues, and then cleared Sundalessar. I slightly regret that Edwin is only level 17 but can't justify any more delays with Irenicus pruning the Tree of Life into his personal shrubbery before our eyes... A touching moment along the way as Whitworth convinced Kivan to stand with him one last time... I find it rather difficult not to take Kivan along for all my runs actually as I think his story is very well done in the BG1 NPC project and BG2 mod- and also of course he showed me how damn powerful archers are!
(first post here)
SIEGE OF UST NATHA: PART 8
I use one more Time Stop to give Carl Moment of Prescience (+20 to AC and saving throws for 4 rounds, undispellable but Breachable) and hurl yet more Energy Blades at the Glabrezu. But those Mirror Images and the Glabrezu's electrical resistance keep it very much alive. Carl's other HLAs work on the drow, at least.
Flowey suffers from Flame Arrow until he downs a Potion of Magic Shielding. Combined with the IR Ring of Fire Resistance, Earth Elemental Token, IR Fortress Shield, an IR amulet, and IR drow full plate, Flowey can attain immunity to both types of damage.
Carl gets another Wish-rest and Hardiness, but no Time Stop, which means we can't finish off that Nabassu and Glabrezu. Flowey casts Domination, an unreliable area-effect charm spell courtesy of the Seducer kit, but it will take 2 rounds before it has any effect. In the meantime, the party hurries to bring back the celestials that vanished during Carl's Time Stops.
The enemy continues to Breach Flowey, but their efforts are a complete waste of time.
Unable to hold back the tide, we see drow pouring into our sanctuary room. Stan and Viconia bring out Storm of Vengeance, our standard method for drow crowd control and one of the only ways we have of getting past the drow's sky-high MR.
The damage is pitiful, but it's the best we've got.
Time Stop also wore down our defenses, which means we have to take time to restore them.
All of this takes valuable time away from offensive action, and we really need to make more progress against the enemy if we are to last much longer.
Flowey's Domination takes effect, giving us control over a small portion of the enemy for a lousy 2 rounds
It will turn the drow against each other for just a moment, tacking on tiny pieces of damage. But like with Storm of Vengeance, we need to squeeze every last drop from our limited resources.
Notice the pre-cast Magic Resistance spell on the Matron Mother. In SR, that spells adds to MR instead of setting it, which means the Matron Mother's MR is well above 100, just like Viconia.
Then the game crashes. I have to start over. Again. But I've checked the remainder of my screenshots, and this is the last time I had a crash or a game-breaking bug.
No more fights cut short. No more setbacks, bugs, or distractions. The next 3-6 posts will be my final attempt at the Siege of Ust Natha.
Friendly, elf sorcerer (Grond0); Ijut, halfling assassin (Gate70) & Hannater, gnome illusionist (Corey_Russell)
Previous updates
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/849607/#Comment_849607
After a couple of weeks break for chess commitments the Trio were back in action today and immediately dived into the Nashkel Mines. Friendly's access to 12 sleep spells a day and Ijut's access to unlimited backstabs made for quick progress down to Mulahey. He was stuck in a trio of webs and poisoned arrows ensured he didn't have to suffer for long - though the web did keep him upright for a while after he was dead.
Ijut went for the one-shot backstab on Nimbul, but missed and was sent running in horror as a result - though magic missiles from the other two ensured Nimbul could do no further damage. Ijut made no mistake though with his backstab on Tranzig.
At the Bandit Camp sleep and backstabs again made pretty short work of the bandits - Taugosz as the exception was treated to a wand scorcher by Hannater.
In the Cloakwood an ambush nearly proved fatal when a web trap triggered and Hannater got stuck next to 2 ettercaps. Fortunately though the improved saving throws from his gnomish heritage allowed him to escape at the first opportunity - with a whole 2 HPs remaining.
Arriving at the Cloakwood Mine webs and area damage meant that assassin's arrows were overkill against Drasus.
Before all Hannater's equipment could be transferred to a container the sleeping guards woke up and started causing trouble. That included blocking the corridor, so that stealth and invisibility couldn't finish the job and Ijut had to do a couple of sneak attacks followed by area transitions to break up the log-jam. Finally though the equipment was stashed and the remaining duo got back to the Friendly Arm Inn to restore Hannater.
Back again at the Mine invisibility was used to avoid most further combat on the way down to Davaeorn. Ijut's not too great at traps, but was able to identify and remove the ones activating the battle horrors,
Friendly, sorcerer 6, 25 HPs, 92 kills
Ijut, assassin 7, 46 HPs, 173 kills, 1 death
Hannater, illusionist 6, 28 HPs, 64 kills, 2 deaths
Vishnaera just sold all the loot she had, charged the Wand of Fear and the Wand of Sleep at Thalantyr's, and went on with the Mines, but yeah, Hareshian had Charm... She casted Confusion several times but I saved against them... I knew I shouldn't rely on my saves vs. Enchantment spells but doing TotSC stuff to get the Greenstone Amulet was never an option. Oh well. It kinda sucks nobody sells Clarity potions (I did a quick search with NI and literally nobody except the SS does in BG1) tho.
I'm going to play Alia and her gang of Evils goons now, so I won't have to worry much about Charm.
Starting a new run with a completely contrasing character, a half-orc fighter/thief called Bratty Bhaalspawn.
She ran into a bit of bother with a guard in Candlekeep and to her delight found that it was not as bad as she feared.
Try the romantic Encounters mod to know what happened. It is a bit raunchy so I have left out the details. Let's just say that 50 shades is tame in comparison.
2nd floor of Winthrop's inn, there's a Potion of Clarity in the second room on the left.
Potions of Magic Blocking: High Hedge, Amazon ambush (?), and a couple other random locations.
Potions of Magic Shielding: High Hedge, there's another in the Cloakwood Guardhouse in a chest.
Scroll of Protection from Magic: High Hedge, generally used by solo no-reloaders for the Cloakwood mines, incidentally. There's also one or two others pre-Baldur's Gate, but I can't remember their locations.
Greenstone Amulet: Ulgoth's Beard
Potion of Invulnerability: the +5 to saves as well as the shorty bonus is often enough to get to negatives, even this early. Throw the Claw of Kazgorath in or however you spell it to guarantee the save. I... think one can be found on Silke's corpse, generally?
Newb question #47: Does Charm end the game if you solo?
For some reason it never happened to me before. (Or I may have attributed a lost game to something else, if it did.) I rarely solo, but when I do it is either a Cavalier (nonissue) or a Sorcerer (may have had preemptive luck with damaging the threat).
@Grond0 I have the Item Randomiser installed, so the Amulet isn't available in Ulgoth's to be purchased since the start of the game (otherwise I would have already picked it up), instead it is somewhere in the TotSC content.
And about the Potions of Magic Blocking/Protection, I only have one of the ones that give MR (or two, I'm not sure, in which case I could have completely prevented this death I reckon), and using the other one would mean either I would loose my own buffs (IIRC I could cast them after taking the potion, but the potion only lasts a few rounds). I think I didn't get any Potions of Magic Shielding so far, and if I had I'd probably save it for Davaeron.
I also thought about getting the Claw, but I didn't since that would leave me with 14 CON, which means way less maximum HP. Maybe I should have got it, IDK. Yes. I've always thought about adding one, because I favour playing solo, but never did. I might add one plus an additional quest to get it so it feels as if you've earned it.
Perhaps Thalantyr can upgrade an item into a helmet of charm protection? I like the Thalantyr item upgrade mod, and think it would fit in nicely.
We stormed the Tree of Life... and made a bit of a mess of things for awhile to be honest. Aran got permastunned by a Prismatic Spray and Edwin had to use up our last Freedom scroll to wake him up (even death didn't work....) Finally we resorted to having Edwin throw legions of summons at the Shattered One and Irenicus was buried (much like the endgame movie....) under them before dragging us down.
In hell Whitworth surprised me somewhat by turning Lawful Neutral, taking some neutral and some good options. Then we faced Irenicus and his legions...
Things didn't go perfectly as one or two party members were stunned / weakened, but we (and our legions) soon got the upper hand and cut down Irenicus...
completing my first ever no-reload of Shadows of Amn. Once again thank you to those who have made inspiring runs before.
Kivan and Afaaq then departed (now that Whitworth was LN it seemed churlish to try to cling on to them).... and they wait in the glade...in the rain.
I don't know if I'll take Whitworth on for now... apart from ToB a try at Icewind Dale or a SCS run beckons. And he has earned a break... should exchange those swords for some umbrellas!
*** Are there any Let's Play videos of any of you no-reload experts? Or even just disastrous or humorous deaths? ***
(Wait, I just had an epiphany: how about we gather video segments of no-reload runs of people dying horrible, terrible, no-good, and funny deaths. Then we can combine them together to the soundtrack of the 'Benny Hill Chase Scene'.)
Joshua - level 9 gnomish berserker
Corewild - level 8 fighter/level 10 gnomish thief
Paja, Hanna, Forrest, Misty - level 11 human wild mages
SETUP:
Vanilla BG 2
ToB
Official patch
Core rules at all times
Wild surges this session:
* Cloudkill instead of hold monster when Hanna and Forrest are in jeopardy from a troll
* stinking cloud surge instead of hold monster sleeps everyone except Corewild when fighting Togal and his two goons
Well the party continues to make progress. But this party is quite vulnerable.
We had successfully cleared most of D'Arnise Keep without much incident. However, near the end we ran into some trouble. We tried to cloudkill Torgal, but he saved vs. death. so the battle commenced with Torgal and his two buddies - problem? A hold monster by Hanna turned into a wild surge and cast stinking cloud instead!!!
Everyone falls unconscious except Corewild. Fortunately, I had his full plate and shield of harmony equipped so he was well prepared to keep these enemies busy until the rest of the party could help. I had him use a fire giant potion so he can kill them faster - luckily no one died.
So I needed to go to the bathroom in real life - so I turned on AI and sent them to the stairs (they were on the 2nd floor) - the game was NOT paused. Was a mistake apparently because the group did NOT travel together! Forrest and Hanna decided to not follow the tanks of the party - fortunately I have auto-pause character injured - so I get back and Hanna is nearly dead.
She retreats, have rest of the party come to help (who aren't close), and Forrest bravely tries to keep the troll busy. He tried an aganazer's scorcher and Hanna tried hold monster. However, Forrest was getting hit hard - I forgot I didn't have stoneskins up because wasn't expecting a fight (the keep was "cleared" after all)
His aura wasn't clear - so let him do his scorcher, and then he died. The tanks arrived and took out this troll.
But now we need to go to Athkatla to raise Forrest. We do so and come back to the Keep - well we try to but we get an ambush - the enemy mage was brilliant - in a single shot she killed BOTH Paja and Forrest!!!
Another trip to Athkatla to raise them. Finally we arrive at the Keep an report to Nalia. The experience gets the mages a level - we get another level 4 spell slot. I waste no time and make ALL mages learn spell of minor invulnerability - this way they will cast that first so as not die to a lightning bolt.
Saved my session here.
Re Charm helemt:
Helm of Charm protection is available in BG1 if you install Unfinished Business mod. It's in Beregost; same inn where Marl is, innkeeper sells it. Provided you got Randomizer you won't find it there.
SCS + aTweaks; 3 person run (berserker(9)-cleric, kensai(21)-thief and sorc, 2 sidekicks chunked; protagonist dead 2 seconds after final screen was taken).
Makes me wanna cry....
Bratty’s Journal
I cast a spell and decided that for a fighter/thief the best kit was barbarian. (The mod that gives the choice of kits, only gave the fighter kits as options, not thief kits otherwise the kit chosen would probably have been assassin)Which mod is that?
Otherwise. Great stuff. Please keep it coming