@CrevsDaak Note that even Imoen with her default pick pocket can get Dushai's ring. In my install, I can't stack buffing potions, so I use a potion of perception, genius, and thieving to increase her skill up to 100 before making an attempt. But if you can stack thieving potions in your install then easy-peasy. A free action ring is worth the cost of potions I think, as it's the best defense to web (and fighter types with poor saves vs death love it against the many undead types that hold (ghasts, ghouls, vampiric wolves, etc.), and you don't get another (far as I know) until you beat the 5th floor of the Iron Throne baddies.
@CrevsDaak I see why you're doing that to Montaron then. One option instead is a bard though (who gives you great IDing ability as well as some spells, but also wands and can use scrolls), let them deal with that job, and the thieves can hide, snares, traps, locks, etc., but do as you will.
@Neverused I presume one of the following is true. 1) You will be reworking your proficiencies in BG2 2) A BG2 mod allows clerics to use (Compound) Short Bows 3) You will be abandoning shortbows once you reach Cleric dual
Decided to sign in to Beamdog forums so that I may try to participate in this. Recently was preparing a character for a future multiplayer game with friends, and actually rolled something that would be wasted in a multiplayer. I love challenges, ran the BG1 dozen of times to the end, and found it somewhat easy after I learned the game principles. I have even got to the finish on solo insane-diff games with minimum reloads (never actually finished without the reload, best one was dying in the Sarevok end fight). Everytime, though, it was a melee or ranged character. This time, for the multiplaer, decided to roll with an arcane caster, and was pregenerating several different casers, which is how I ended up with the dragon disciple.
Gave it a short thought and decided to go with the character for a insane-diff, solo no reload attempt. Multiplayer will have to use some other toon.
So, my challenge rules (if that is allowed here, to be defined by a player participating): 1) No reloads. Ever. Obviously. 2) No mods. I play BG1:EE vanilla, on an Android tablet. 3) Insane difficulty setting. However, as much as I like the challenge, I also like strong characters, so I am going with maximum HP die rolls (moving slider only for level-up) 4) Solo only. Grabbing another character into party is allowed, but such character must not be used to interact with anything and must be get rid off at nearest opportunity. Admitting people into group is just for RP reasons (would not leave Dynaheir in gnoll fortress, nor Xan at Mullaheys, or...). 5) No cheese. No selling and rebuying of wands to recharge. No fast levelling on basilisk area. No... you get the idea. Running screaming from the mobs is allowed, though (while throwing knives behind me). 6) RP as much as possible. I admit that the challenge is what I am looking for, and as I know the game, in some cases I will inevitably react to things I know will happen before they happen. I prefer getting as far as possible given the above rules, to sticking to full RP and running spell-less into boss fight where appropriate. However, I try to minimize such situations as much as possible. 7) No ShadowKeeper. I don't even know whether one is available for Android, but even it is, I will not use it.
Now, I have never played a pure caster, so this will be quite a challenge. Never ran the game through without trapper either. In solo challenge games I could always stealth. Looking forward to new experience. What I have rolled is male elven Dragon Disciple, with a total score of 97 (seen two 90's prior to that, then 97, which is why I reconsidered the purpose of the toon).
Will start the story background in next post later tonight! See you all!
Good luck with your run @Dodoroq - you say you will RP much as possible, however, being solo with no trap skill you can't succeed, e.g., to be successful you have to metagame some traps if no trap detector/de-trapper. Let me know, and I'll give you a run down on the few traps you must deal with to beat the game. There might be more traps in EE, my list would be vanilla/BGT/EasyTutu BG 1 only.
Thanks, @Corey_Russell, I believe I have quite good image of where traps are in BG1, unless new ones appeared in EE I am not aware of. Those mandatory I remember are mines, camp chest, cloakwood webs, Devaeron, Candlekeep basement and Undercity, plus many more on various chests and sidequests. I am anxious to see how far I can get (both in story and in levels) prior to getting killed - there are few critical milestones for a solo caster - basically anything up to lvl 4 can lucky-crit me, after 4 the biggest killer is carelessness IIRC and then my enemy are failed saves and different holds, panics, horrors and similar.
Another short update on Shyffunee. Khark was killed, although it took me, like, 2 hours? He's too goddamn powerful, but I made him waste all of his spells, got confused twice but off-screen and he didn't do much then, and when he was out of spells, I kited him for more than an hour and finally got him.
Now, onto the Bandit Camp. I assassinated the Mage after drawing everyone outside, then Taughoz, and I would have continued that much safer and calculated approach but I made a very stupid mistake, which was going in between two trees when several Bandits were following me without noticing there were a couple of them on the other side as well. I got stuck and wasted all of my Extra healing and normal healing potions to survive, but, well, I did it.
I bought some a lot healing potions, killed Aldeth in the Cloakwood, and saved the game.
@Dodoroq yep think you got it - so you are going to metagame those. Even though you are RPing, doesn't mean you can't use common sense. E.g., for example you see Tarnesh (who clearly looks like a mage type) walking towards you - there's no reason not to put up resist fear in case he turns hostile for example. Same thing with Cloakwood Mines and Drassus - you know this is hostile territory, makes full sense to have long lasting buffs up in case of trouble. I did a RP run where I meta-gamed nothing but traps - that is, I went to NO area unless the game told me to go there. E.g., main quest unless side quest/area info was obtained. I was missing a massive amount of equipment at the end vs. Sarevok, and low level but somehow my character beat BG 1.
@Pokota It's Item Revisions: it allows for multi (and presumably dual classed) clerics and druids to use the other halves' weapon allowances, but at half specialization. I dunno how this interacts with something already in grandmastery, though I'm going to find out as soon as I hit Cleric 10. What I am going to do with EEKeeper, though, is keep Imoen as a pure thief and give Neera her extra INT point back: I spent a tome on it, after all.
@Dodoroq There's also the random Charm trap in the Flesh golem cave that's literally game-ending, so be careful of that if you go in there!
@Dodoroq There's also the random Charm trap in the Flesh golem cave that's literally game-ending, so be careful of that if you go in there!
I agree that's one to watch for. Nearly all the traps in EE are as in vanilla, but there are 4 traps in the golem cave that are not in vanilla (I think they were supposed to be, but were not implemented properly).
In Candlekeep the boys shot down the Iron Throne leaders before surrendering to the guards. In the catacombs they killed all the enemies and robbed the tombs using a potion of fire giant strength topped up by DUHM. Prat's party was subjected to another round of exploding arrows - he was the only survivor and not for long.
Before going back to the City they sold and bought back various charged items (though those had all been virtually unused so far) before showing themselves to Shandalar. He transported them for a run round Ice Island - but stealth and a couple of dispelling arrows made that a simple excursion.
I was tempted to have a go at Shandalar himself, but discretion prevailed for once there .
Back in Baldur's Gate the boys rescued Duke Eltan before going to find Cythandria. I'm used to the golems with her being a potential threat to solo characters and they were split up using the stairs - but were shot down in seconds anyway - before Cythandria's plea for mercy was dismissed.
Moving on to the Undercellar Slythe was shot down immediately before the boys spread out to wait for Krystin to appear and be greeted by a dispelling arrow.
At the palace everyone used a stone giant potion and an oil of speed. David set himself up as a target among the dopplegangers, while the others readied shots from around the edge - starting off with an arrow of dispelling for each target. The dopplegangers never got a chance to react and failed to even scratch either any of the boys or the dukes.
In the maze a potion of insulation helped reduce trap damage. They also sought out a couple of extra skeleton warriors in order that the last of them would get their final BG1 level.
Just to illustrate my recent response to @Neverused about EE HPs: all of the boys have constitutions of 18, but if they had 19 then 3 of the 6 would have had over 100 HPs at 8th level.
In the Undercity they let loose their third volley of exploding arrows - this time there were no survivors.
They also beat up all the undead down there, but before going to tackle Sarevok they've still got an outstanding appointment with Balduran's Isle.
@Dodoroq In EE there is an extra trap in Candlekeep, so ensure that you have full health before you go opening chests. That advice of course applies everywhere.
OK, something about Arwin first, in terms of game information, and also a background. As I was pre-generating a toon for multiplayer game and haven't thought about solo attempt, some of the selections may not be the strongest options, but in fact nothing could be done with them at the moment I got the nice dice roll and reconsidered. Race was selected as elf (I love elves, but probably would drop it in favor of half-elf for solo attempt because of the early possibility for the regeneration; with an elf, starting 17 Con and the Con sources the regeneration would not kick in earlier than lvl15 (which is really deep in BG2) and also a point where I will not need it anymore most probably). The alignment is Chaotic Good - again a choice for RP more than anything, LG would provide boost to starting Reputation (not needed that much though, usually cap reputation after Nashkel anyway) and some other alignments provide more solo-usable familiars. Again, the alignement was already set when the good roll appeared, so can't do anything about it. Statwise, I have decided to max Strength, Dexterity and Charisma, set Int to 10 (with +1 from tome, it is to absorb 2 hits from Illithid if necessary). I considered 15 Wis minimum for possible Wish spell later on (if I ever get that far), and set Constitution to 16 to be able to wear Claw of Kazargoth without HP loss in BG1. That all left me with 1 more point to distribute, which ended in wisdom, for this result:
As for spells, this will be funny. I went conservative for lvl1 picks to start with - Shield is absolute necessity, MM is very useful for removing Mirror Image. I know lots of people advocate different spells as the most optimal, but those have to wait for later. Weapon-proficiency wise, I have opted for dagger. I don't plan to melee if I can help it, which ruled out Quarterstaffs, and from the ranged options the throwing dagger seemes wisest choice to start with because of range (better than darts) and rate of fire (better than sling), and as I have just 1 proficiency, it covers also the desperate melee option. Now, for the story start:
Arwin's diary, page 1
Gorion insisted I have a spellbook... pfff, I prefer casting the spells to having to learn them. He even gave me this book, which I will used for a journal instead. A message got to me he wants me to travel with him tonight - I will rather say farewell to others and ask them if they want something brought back from the voyage. Someone attacked me in the bunkhouse! Why? I must tell someone! I told Karan, but he advised me to go telling Gorion. Will do, in due time. Important things first - the farewells. Said bye to everyone, and stocked up on throwing knives. Got few goodies from different people to take with me - healing potions (I stole one too in hospital), an ornate dagger from Fuller, some scrolls I found in the Inn. Ready to roll, today starts my adventure!
After picking up the sea charts the boys bought a bit more magic ammunition (to make absolutely sure they wouldn't run short on that) before taking ship for Balduran's Isle. They soon cleared the second island before working their way up the ship - resting in Dradeel's house to cure the odd bit of damage taken. They already had Kondar, which could hit Karoug and after adding the silver dagger and the gold bastard sword they finished off the pack leader easily enough.
After being infected resting is not a good idea, so the boys tried to avoid taking damage while working through the hordes of lycanthropes on the way out. I did consider attacking Dradeel, but doing that in the past has proved ... problematic, so he was allowed to go on his way. I was thinking that there was a limit (albeit a high one) on the werewolves that chased you to the ship, but they kept on coming in droves. Eventually I gave David a potion of invisibility and let him hold them off to check if they were actually infinite - and there were no signs of them ending (killing any of those in the screenshot resulted in more piling in from out of sight).
The others killed Kaishas, though they were a bit slow in doing it and all 3 took potions of speed during the fight to help out.
Robin received most of the damage in that encounter, but with DUHM active that regenerated on the way back to the mainland.
A bit of jumping in and out of the house left Mendas outside for a while and allowed the boys to concentrate on killing his companion. Just before they managed that though Mendas came back in and charmed Cupid with a minor sequencer.
However, with acid arrows being pumped into him his human form didn't last much longer and he changed to another Loup Garou. Without any room to manoeuvre, this time I decided to allow David (who had all the best defensive equipment) to take a potion of defense and he provided a target while the others finished the job.
I did consider going to do Durlag's Tower as well to complete a clean sweep of the Sword Coast, but the traps in there are a bit of a pain for a party. Also, the original idea of the run was to look at higher level archers and I decided to crack on to BG2 (not going to SoD). With that objective in mind I didn't take any chances with Sarevok: - he was dumped in a corner with Semaj, Tazok and Diarmid. - once Angelo appeared he was hit with dispelling arrows and finished off in moments. - the other acolytes died in fireballs from out of sight. - leaving Sarevok all alone and helpless.
That was terrible night! Someone ambushed us and killed Gorion, and I managed to run off just barely. I must have watched Gorion being outmatched and could do nothing about it. I was hiding up the tree till the morning, and once I went down, I have almost suffered a heart stroke - I believed the attackers found me and will finish me, but it was only Imoen who was sneaking on us. With her, I have decided to return back to Candlekeep and hide there. Imoen objected (she always does), but I have ignored her cries and returned. They refused to let us in, us who has been living there for our whole lives. I started to argue about Imoen at least, but she fled from both the guards and me. Hopefully she will find a way back in, she was always the one who could find secret ways in and out of places. Not sure what I will do, though. Decided to carefully explore the place of the ambush - maybe I will find some clue there. In the remains I have found a letter signed "E", which advised Gorion to travel to Friendly Arms Inn and meet someone named Khalid and Jaheira. Gorion mentioned those names, so I will try my luck. I have never been much into traveling the wilderness, so need to proceed with great care.
page 3
Alone again. Yesterday afternoon I met a man who said there are two people bit further north. I rejoiced as I thought this may be the Khalid guy coming to meet us mid way, but obviously it wasn't. I was looking for any help, so I agreed to join the two people, man named Xzar and his halfling companion, Montaron. They offered to help me and mentioned some problems down south on Amnish borders they want to investigate, and I thought it may actually be nice traveling with someone else, so I accepted, but at that moment they started to talk more and more freely and I was disgusted by the evil things they considered normal! It took me some effort to get rid of them - I don't wish them anything wrong, but I am definitely better on my own then in their company. Later today I met another strange traveler, who pointed me in the direction of Friendly Arms Inn. The name means promising. Soon after I found a gibberling carrying a shiny ring, who attacked me, and I had to kill it. Poor creature. Further away I ran into an ogre who started to yell something about Gorions belt and chased me, and again, forced me to kill it (him? her? not sure). There were two more sashes in the Ogre's possessions, and I really liked the thin one, so I took it. It must be magical as it fits mee too. Am I cursed or what? I have entered the Friendly Arms Inn fort, started for the door, and a man stepped close, said few words and tried to kill me! He was a mage, and seemed to be surprised I can cast too. Good thing was the guards around stepped in and helped me to protect myself, but why are people doing this to me? On his body, I have found a bounty notice, so it seems that someone wants me dead. But why? WHY? I have spent evening in the common room, watching the pair who should I meet. I even wanted to meet them, but found myself ascending the staircase the moment I decided to say hello to them, rather than walking to them. I guess I don't trust anybody now. I will have a night's sleep and decide tomorrow.
page 4
In the morning there was no sight of them in the main room, so I decided to give a shot to some local exploration. A woman has asked me to get her a ring from hobgoblins, which I was able to do. I have also found a ring of my own while sitting for a short rest, thinking. I looked back into the common room, but still no sign of the pair. I was anyway decided to give Beregost a try on my own. Got nice invitation in Beregost, and decided to do a bit of spending the money I have. Entered the best inn here, only to be insulted by a drunk local guy. In the end we came to a calm solution, but I have rather left for another place not to reopen his soul wounds. I have caught a glimpse of Firebead Elvenhair, and did an errand for him, prior to falling in to a pub on the main square. It's still good light, and I was just asked by a halfling thief Zhurlong to get him a pair of boots he was robbed off by hobgoblins south of the city. I should be back soon. It took me longer then expected, south of Beregost starts to be a real wilderness. Ghouls and even a ghast roaming the land, several hobgoblins and even a pair of ogrillons. I got the boots Zhurlong mentioned, discovered a secret cave with a stash of healing potions and obtained a letter from the ogrillons which should be delivered to Mirianne in Beregost. However, I am running off throwing daggers and the Thunderhammer Smithy is closed for night, will need to wait till the morning.
important items gained: Ring of Wizardry, Ring of the Princes, Girdle of Piercing (with Shield spell, my AC is -5 against missiles/piercing weapons, which is enough to be only hit on critical. Still, I do not feel comfortable without headgear).
Starting a new Battleguard of Tempus run using a character that I rolled some time ago. She has returned to the Gate of Candlekeep after being ambushed by assassins. Gorion was killed. No problems so far since she used her Battleguard abilities wisely. Weidu log shown below. The divine remix is still rather iffy and in my current set-up, I have to use EE Keeper to make corrections.
Strategist of the Red Knight won't use some weapons that are perfectly legal. Some innate spells have to be added manually. @subtledoctor has made some hotfixes that correct lack of innate spells for some types of cleric, but some of them are still faulty. Let's hope that there will be a bug-free version out soon.
// 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] ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Slime Quest: v14 ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #1 // Beregost Family Quest: v14 ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #2 // Installing the Babysitting Quest, including the Carnival Encounter...: v14 ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #3 // Nashkel Monster Quest: v14 ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #4 // Fallen Paladin Quest: v14 ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #5 // Undying Love Quest: v14 ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #6 // Orcish Lover Encounter: v14 ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #7 // Unexpected Help Quest: v14 ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #8 // "Many Little Paws": v14 ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #9 // Drunk near Beregost Temple: v14 ~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #10 // A Warm Place for Noober: v14 ~DRIZZTSAGA/DRIZZTSAGA.TP2~ #0 #0 // The Drizzt Saga for BGEE/Tutu/BGT -> Default version: areas connected by travel triggers: v3.00 ~DRIZZTSAGA/DRIZZTSAGA.TP2~ #0 #2 // Raise the XP cap: v3.00 ~DRIZZTSAGA/DRIZZTSAGA.TP2~ #0 #3 // Delayed start: Drizzt joins after Durlag's Tower: v3.00 ~RECOLOREDBUTTONS/SETUP-RECOLOREDBUTTONS.TP2~ #0 #1 // Recolored character's toolbar buttons (BG:EE) -> Golden color scheme: v4.1 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #0 // Ice Island Level Two Restoration: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #1 // The Mysterious Vial: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #4 // Finishable Kagain Caravan Quest: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #6 // Kivan and Tazok: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #7 // Branwen and Tranzig: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #10 // Place Entar Silvershield in His Home: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #11 // Scar and the Sashenstar's Daughter: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #12 // Quoningar, the Cleric: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #13 // Shilo Chen and the Ogre-Magi: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #14 // Edie, the Merchant League Applicant: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #16 // Creature Corrections: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #17 // Creature Restorations: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #18 // Creature Name Restorations: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #19 // Minor Dialogue Restorations: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #21 // Store, Tavern and Inn Fixes and Restorations: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #22 // Item Corrections and Restorations: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #28 // Prism and the Emeralds Tweak: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #29 // Duke Eltan in the Harbor Master's Building: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #30 // Nim Furlwing Encounter: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #32 // Svlast, the Fallen Paladin Encounter: v14.0 ~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #33 // Mal-Kalen, the Ulcaster Ghost: v14.0 ~BYMULTIPORT/BYMULTIPORT.TP2~ #0 #0 // Multi-Portrait Mod: 1.5 ~SETUP-DARKHORIZONSBGEE.TP2~ #0 #0 // "Dark Horizons" Mod for Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition: BG:EE v213 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #40 // Change Viconia's Skin Color to Dark Blue: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #50 // Avatar Morphing Script: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #60 // Weapon Animation Tweaks: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #110 // Icon Improvements: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #130 // Force All Dialogue to Pause Game: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #140 // Fix Boo's Squeak: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1036 // Make Cloakwood Areas Available Before Completing the Bandit Camp -> All of Cloakwood Except the Mines: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1080 // Add Bags of Holding: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1090 // Exotic Item Pack: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1100 // Reveal City Maps When Entering Area: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1120 // Stores Sell Higher Stacks of Items: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2040 // Universal Clubs: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2060 // Weapon Styles for All: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2151 // Wear Multiple Protection Items -> No Restrictions: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2200 // Multi-Class Grandmastery (Weimer): Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2210 // Change Grandmastery Bonuses -> True Grandmastery (Baldurdash): Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2352 // Alter Multiclass Restrictions -> Install both of the above options: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2360 // Remove Racial Restrictions for Single Classes: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2371 // Alter Dual-class Restrictions -> Allow non-humans to dual-class: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2380 // Remove Racial Restrictions for Kits: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2420 // Loosen Equipment Restrictions for Cleric Multi-Classes: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2440 // Everyone Gets Bonus APR from Specialization: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2999 // Max HP at Level One: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3000 // Higher HP on Level Up -> Maximum: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3010 // Maximum HP for NPCs (the bigg) -> For All Creatures in Game: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3031 // Easy Spell Learning -> 100% Learn Spells and No Maximum Cap: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3040 // Make Bags of Holding Bottomless: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3050 // Remove fatigue from restoration spells: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3083 // Increase Ammo Stack Size -> Stacks of 120: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3093 // Increase Gem and Jewelry Stacking -> Stacks of 120: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3103 // Increase Potion Stacking -> Stacks of 120: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3113 // Increase Scroll Stacking -> Stacks of 120: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3121 // Happy Patch (Party NPCs do not complain about reputation) -> NPCs Can Be Angry About Reputation but Never Leave (Salk): Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3125 // Neutral Characters Make Happy Comments at Mid-Range Reputation: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3190 // Rest Anywhere (Japheth): Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3220 // Sensible Entrance Points: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3230 // Taerom Makes Additional Ankheg Armor (Icendoan/grogerson): Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4031 // Consistent Stats: Edwin -> Use BG2 Values: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4041 // Consistent Stats: Jaheira -> Use BG2 Values: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4061 // Consistent Stats: Minsc -> Use BG2 Values: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4071 // Consistent Stats: Viconia -> Use BG2 Values: Beta 5 ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4090 // Make Montaron an Assassin (Andyr): Beta 5 ~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #5 // Bjornin's Desire, by jastey (adult content): v11 ~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #13 // A Lonely Dryad, by Kulyok (adult content): v11 ~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #14 // Edwin's Softer Side, by Kulyok: v11 ~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #24 // A Night with Lais in Imnesvale, by Kulyok: v11 ~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #30 // Rebecca the Gypsy, by Kulyok: v11 ~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #41 // Isabelle's Fears, by gertjanvh (adult content): v11 ~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #45 // Rehearsal with Chandra, by Western Paladin: v11 ~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #52 // Minsc. Takes. A Bath, by Thimblerig: v11 ~CORANBGFRIEND/CORANBGFRIEND.TP2~ #0 #0 // Coran's Extended BG Friendship Talks: v4 ~XANBG1FRIEND/SETUP-XANBG1FRIEND.TP2~ #0 #0 // Xan's friendship path for BG1: v9bgee ~SETUP-WMART.TP2~ #0 #0 // Deidre and Joluv in BG:EE ~S3DISCLUBS/S3DISCLUBS.TP2~ #0 #0 // Distinguisable Clubs: V1.1 ~NPCKIT/NPCKIT.TP2~ #0 #30 // Improved Specialist Mage Descriptions: v4 ~NPCKIT/NPCKIT.TP2~ #0 #31 // Replace Berserker Kit with Battlerager for Dwarves: v4 ~NPCKIT/NPCKIT.TP2~ #0 #900 // Add Red Wizard to Edwin's Kit Description: v4 ~NPCKIT/NPCKIT.TP2~ #0 #1400 // Give Imoen Adventurer Kit: v4 ~NPCKIT/NPCKIT.TP2~ #0 #2300 // Change Minsc's Title to Rashemaar Ranger: v4 ~SETUP-BGEEAR.TP2~ #0 #0 // TeamBG's Armors for BG:EE, BGT and TuTu Version 1.05 ~SETUP-BG2EEW.TP2~ #0 #0 // TeamBG's Weapons Pack for BG2:EE Version 1.01 ~WANDCASE/WANDCASE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Wand Case: v1.3 ~SETUP-VYND.TP2~ #0 #0 // Vynd for BGTutu, BGT and BG:EE ~GARRICK_FLIRT/SETUP-GARRICK_FLIRT.TP2~ #0 #0 // Garrick's Infatuation: b20140925 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #102 // Choose a class for Imoen -> Make Imoen a multiclass mage/thief: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #121 // Choose a class for Jaheira -> Make Jaheira a druid: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #141 // Choose a class for Khalid -> Make Khalid a ranger/cleric: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #161 // Choose a class for Minsc -> Make Minsc a fighter: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #181 // Choose a class for Dynaheir -> Make Dynaheir a sorcerer: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #221 // Choose a class for Coran -> Make Coran a thief: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #242 // Choose a class for Branwen -> Make Branwen a multiclass fighter/cleric: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #302 // Choose a class for Xzar -> Make Xzar a necromancer/cleric: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #321 // Choose a class for Montaron -> Make Montaron a thief: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #464 // Choose a class for Alora -> Make Alora a cleric/thief: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #483 // Choose a class for Xan -> Make Xan a fighter/mage: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #583 // Choose a class for Viconia -> Make Viconia a cleric/thief: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #621 // Choose a class for Neera -> Make Neera a sorcerer: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #2000 // NPC kit choices: v2.6.6 ~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #3000 // multiclass kit choice: v2.6.6 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #11 // Install new spells -> Only add spells if not present from other mods: v8 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #100 // Cleric Remix: v8 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #103 // Install Silverstar of Selune Cleric Kit: v8 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #107 // Install Holy Strategist of the Red Knight Cleric Kit: v8 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #109 // Install Battleguard of Tempus Cleric Kit: v8 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #115 // Install Firewalker of Kossuth Cleric Kit: v8 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #118 // Install Authlim of Iyachtu Xvim Cleric Kit: v8 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #124 // Install Heartwarder of Sune Cleric Kit: v8 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #127 // Install Feywarden of Corellon Cleric Kit: v8 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #130 // Install Strifeleader of Cyric Cleric Kit: v8 // Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #600 // Install Battleguard of Tempus Kit for Branwen: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #11 // Install new spells -> Only add spells if not present from other mods: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #100 // Cleric Remix: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #103 // Install Silverstar of Selune Cleric Kit: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #106 // Install Nightcloak of Shar Cleric Kit: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #107 // Install Holy Strategist of the Red Knight Cleric Kit: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #109 // Install Battleguard of Tempus Cleric Kit: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #115 // Install Firewalker of Kossuth Cleric Kit: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #118 // Install Authlim of Iyachtu Xvim Cleric Kit: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #124 // Install Heartwarder of Sune Cleric Kit: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #127 // Install Feywarden of Corellon Cleric Kit: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #130 // Install Strifeleader of Cyric Cleric Kit: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #600 // Install Battleguard of Tempus Kit for Branwen: v8 ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #610 // Install Nightcloak of Shar Kit for Viconia: v8 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Amount of -ahem- details and BG-style vs. description text!: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #1 // Bardolan's Briefing, by berelinde: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #2 // Scar's Spare Time, by jastey: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #3 // Kim's Preoccupation, by jastey (WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #4 // Extension of Bjornin Encounter (Personal Wound Treatment), by jastey: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #5 // No Starch in the Maypole: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #6 // Duke Eltan's Spare Minute, by jastey: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #7 // Husam's Personal Preparation, by jastey: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #8 // Laurel's Post-Hunting, by jastey: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #9 // Bartus' Seduction, by jastey: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #10 // Lina's Massage, by jastey: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #11 // First Night with Quentin, by Kulyok: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #12 // Chatting Niklos Up, by Kulyok (mature content. WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #13 // Slythe and Krystin, by Kulyok (mature content. WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #14 // No Regrets: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #15 // Purchased Love, by Thimblerig: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #16 // Hull: Heavy Duty, by Lava: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #17 // Late Night with Jaheira, by Kulyok: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #18 // Sil's Blessing, by Lava: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #19 // Melicamp: The Poultry Boy, by Lava: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #20 // Reading with Rinnie, by Western Paladin: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #21 // Molly the Husband-Grabber, by Kulyok: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #22 // The Mourning of Centeol, the Spider Lady, by Lava: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #23 // The Essential End, by Lava: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #24 // The Harvestmen Lair, by Lava (mature content): v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #25 // The Great Zudini, by Kulyok (mature content): v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #26 // The Messenger, by Thimblerig: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #27 // Ender Sai, the Hero's Reward, by Thimblerig (WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #28 // The Novelists, by Thimblerig: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #29 // The Honest Lies of Two Riversides, By Lava: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #30 // Necromancer's Trouble, by jastey (WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #31 // Dinner with Thalantyr, by jastey: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #32 // Girdle of Gender Reactions, by Thimblerig, Kulyok, Domi, Lava, Lastknightleft, Twani, Jastey, Daisy Ninja Girl: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #33 // The Surgeon's Dream, by Kulyok: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #34 // All That Left Was, by Lava and Thimblerig: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #35 // A Childhood Friend, by Kulyok: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #36 // Arlene the Working Girl, by Kulyok: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #37 // Della May from Thay, by Kulyok: v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #38 // A Dirty Guard in Candlekeep, by Kulyok (mature content. WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #39 // Phoenix Flame, by Kulyok (mature content): v1.6 ~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #40 // Mikala the Monk, by Twani: v1.6 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #0 // The BG1 NPC Project: Required Modifications: v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #1 // The BG1 NPC Project: Banters, Quests, and Interjections: v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #9 // The BG1 NPC Project: Ajantis Romance Core (teen content): v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #10 // The BG1 NPC Project: Branwen's Romance Core (teen content): v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #11 // The BG1 NPC Project: Coran's Romance Core (adult content): v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #12 // The BG1 NPC Project: Dynaheir's Romance Core (teen content): v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #13 // The BG1 NPC Project: Shar-Teel Relationship Core (adult content): v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #14 // The BG1 NPC Project: Xan's Romance Core (teen content): v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #15 // The BG1 NPC Project: Female Romance Challenges, Ajantis vs Xan vs Coran: v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #18 // The BG1 NPC Project: Alora's Starting Location -> Alora Starts in Gullykin: v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #20 // The BG1 NPC Project: Eldoth's Starting Location -> Eldoth Starts on the Coast Way: v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #22 // The BG1 NPC Project: Quayle's Starting Location -> Quayle Starts at the Nashkel Carnival: v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #24 // The BG1 NPC Project: Tiax's Starting Location -> Tiax Starts in Beregost: v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #30 // The BG1 NPC Project: Cloakwood areas availability in Chapter One -> Open four Cloakwood areas (everything but the Mines): v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #32 // The BG1 NPC Project: Sarevok's Diary Adjustments -> Sarevok's Diary Date Changes only: v22.8 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #200 // The BG1 NPC Project: Player-Initiated Dialogues: v22.8 ~DELAINY/SETUP-DELAINY.TP2~ #0 #1 // Delainy/Durlyle Same-Sex Romance Options -> Always spawn Durlyle.: v0.91 ~DELAINY/SETUP-DELAINY.TP2~ #0 #3 // Dialogue Fixes: v0.91 ~K9SHARTEELNPC/SETUP-K9SHARTEELNPC.TP2~ #0 #0 // Install Shar-Teel NPC Mod: v1.2 ~NORACERESTRICTIONS/SETUP-NORACERESTRICTIONS.TP2~ #0 #0 // BCaesar's No Race Restrictions Mod: Version1.01 ~SIRENE/SETUP-SIRENE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Sirene NPC for Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition ~SIRENE/SETUP-SIRENE.TP2~ #0 #1 // Sirene NPC for Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear ~SOA/SETUP-SOA.TP2~ #0 #0 // The Stone of Askavar for TotSC/Tutu/BGT/BGEE -> Default version: areas connected by travel triggers: 2.0
Okay. Shyffunee cleared the mines. I'll detail the noteworthy battles, which are the welcoming committee on the Mines, and Davaeron.
The Spider area was tackled with one single spell: Invisibility. I picked up Spider's Bane and used it to kill everything in the area without having to fear dying because of a Web trap.
The next two areas were easy since I avoided fighting the Druids, and the Wyverns are a joke. Here I got level 8 as a Wizard Slayer.
The welcoming committee was taken care by piling up a couple of Skull Traps (although there was a funny incident that had me redo my job, pic related) to make the fighters burn their potions, and stabbing one of the mages with the recently acquired Dagger of Venom, although it didn't too much since he instantly chugged a Potion of Extra Healing.
I ran away, changed areas to have them stop following me, which separated the Fighters from the Mages. Blindness and Hold Person were enough to kill both warriors, and a nice stack of Skull Traps dealt with the mages.
Here the deal's to stack two of 'em, and throw a third directly at 'em, so that they start walking to you and fucking die get killed by a blast of magical energy.
The rest was uneventful. I killed all of Hareshain's guards while her protections were wearing off. This meant a good load of Healing potions was wasted here, but oh well. Natasha was also dealt with, after sleeping outside of the Mines.
For Dave, I had originally planned to use Invisibility and a Scroll of PfM, but I found I could do without it by casting Skull Traps off-screen (how original...) after sneaking around. I didn't think the Battle Horrors would die, but it was nice anyway.
If you're wondering what's up with the Battle Horrors, I paused before they had a chance to die.
I somewhere got my 9th level as a Mage, I think it was at the start of the Mines but I'm not sure since I didn't have level 5 spells so I didn't care about it. Notable loot: Stoneskin, Domination, another level 4 scroll that I failed to learn and forgot what it was, an unidentified Ioun Stone, Slow, Robe of the Neutral Archmage, Fireshield (Red) from the welcoming committee and I guess at least something else but I honestly don't remember.
Currently resting in Baldur's Gate, didn't identify anything yet. It'll be fun, since I'm carrying so much stuff I had to pickpocket half of it with my Familiar to loot everything (yes I know that's an exploit and no I don't feel bad about it).
Tiax's Ghast is a superb anti-Ankheg tool. Its hold effect is fatal when it works and it can absorb two hits that would otherwise instantly kill anyone in the party.
Of course, when I underestimate the threat and keep fighting without the Ghast, things get ugly.
Notice Frisk using Hypnosis to feeblemind the extra Ankheg. It only lasts 6 seconds, but since it works against all targets--unlike Charm, which is extremely unlikely to affect non-humanoids until late into BG2--it gives us a fast but unreliable means of reducing enemy pressure.
Anyway, when things go to hell, Tiax uses Command so Chara can safely lob a grenade at the Ankheg. It fails its save vs. breath!
Gerde, a nearby fighter, helps us out with her spear, but Tiax's AC does not hold, and though we manage to slay one Ankheg, the other is much more dangerous without our front line to handle them.
Imoen and Chara, our only surviving characters, use Smoke Bombs to escape. Imoen tries to finish off the Ankheg with a backstab, but gets killed just as Gerde steals the XP.
Chara resurrects everyone but Imoen, who has not been pulling her weight against the Ankhegs. Tiax tries out the level 1 Aid spell that Divine Remix (or whatever mod; I don't know) gave to him, but apparently it's rigged so it only ever targets the caster.
I could easily correct the bug, but it's my longstanding policy to only correct bugs when they're game-breaking.
We keep hunting Ankhegs. It's risky, but with all sources of XP reduced to a fraction of their normal values, we desperately need to gather all the XP we can. These Ankhegs only give 30% of their normal reward. We keep using Tiax's Ghast as a tank while striking from afar with Bottles of Sludge and disabling the Ankhegs with Command and Hypnosis.
Chara will need lots of gold to fuel their potionmaking, so when we get a massive windfall from the Ankheg lair, we decide to spend only a fraction of it on Farmer Brun.
All the Ankhegs are gone, but we're still at level 1.
Since Chara's Sweet Elixir can cure poison and only costs 11 gold, I figure we can handle the Beregost spiders. Frisk holds down some of them with Hypnosis while we rely on our old staple, Command and Bottles of Sludge, for the rest.
Landrin gives us 6 Antidotes when we get back. Potions and gems are especially useful with an Alchemist in the party, as Chara can get a lot more gold out of them than we could by selling them to a normal store.
Ajantis has a family shield that is identical to a nonmagical medium shield in Item Revisions. I resist the urge to sell it, but it really would have helped us out. It's just worth so much.
My mods introduce a lot of new items, and, of course, many of them are wildly overpowered. If we had over 15,000 gold to spare, Chara could get a very special robe that would dramatically improve their defenses. Too bad the robe has such a dumb name.
That said, it wouldn't be the only item with a redundant name. There is such a thing in D&D as a Sword of Sharpness, after all.
Instead, we invest our gold in the local temple. I've heard of people donating money early in the game to bump up their reputation, but I've never tried it myself. I don't know how much to donate at each stage, so I just bump it up a little whenever it's not enough.
I ditch Imoen so we don't waste any XP on a character we don't entirely need. Despite all of our efforts, even Frisk, our fastest-leveling character, has yet to gain a single level.
I'm not a fan of Ajantis (I don't like his voice), so I grab Khalid and Jaheira. I give Khalid the Forest Runner kit (or whatever it's called; it lets him summon a Spirit Wolf) and give Jaheira the Shapeshifter kit, which lets her reach -3 AC in werewolf form. But it will be a long time before she gets more than 12 HP, making her a very unreliable tank.
In Beregost, we run into a mod-introduced character--a bard named Morwen who totally outclasses everyone else in the party. She has high stats, lots of powerful equipment, and is already at level 5.
Yes, that is in fact a Greenstone Amulet. And those 5 emeralds net us 6,750 gold when Chara recycles them. I don't find Morwen particularly interesting, but a level 5 character is a godsend. We really, really need that extra power if we're going to survive.
With the Ankhegs already exhausted, I have no idea how we're going to get to level 2 without putting our party in danger, so I just wander south to Nashkel. On the way, we run into a girl who lost her rabbit. An ogre named Ugh stole it, but the sweet old guy is nice enough to give it back.
Tristan and Isolde, however, are not so nice. They attack us at the south end of the map.
Khalid summons his Spirit Wolf and Tiax brings out his Ghast. We try to disable Tristan and Isolde with Hypnosis, but both of them make their saves. Khalid falls shortly thereafter.
It's not good to be at such low levels. The enemy makes more saving throws and Tiax goes down as well.
But with Morwen, Tiax's Ghast, and Jaheira in werewolf form all attacking Tristan at once, we manage to bring him down. The last of Jaheira's summoned bats deals the final blow.
We try to take down Isolde with the same tactics, but it proves costly. Isolde slays Jaheira in two hits (a Rainwater Brew is not enough to save her) before Morwen and Frisk finish off the enemy with missile weapons.
We get a ludicrously overpowered weapon, but no one in the party has any proficiency with katanas or wakizashis (which one of my mods merges into one proficiency).
When I pass around the sword, I deem the THAC0 penalties not worth it, but I do notice that it gives the user 3 attacks per round, making it one of the best items in the entire saga.
And though I didn't notice it until far later in the run, the sword can also paralyze on hit.
Later in Nashkel, I realize that the throwing dagger we got from Isolde also gives extra attacks per round. It sets Chara's APR to 5.
If I should die, I think I will make sure somebody in the party has pips in katanas and daggers, because it would be a big help if we could use these two weapons effectively.
We nab 16 XP apiece from Noober and poke around Nashkel for side quests. The Romantic Encounters mod strikes again as we give a weary soldier a massage with a happy ending.
This run so far has been nothing but incessant dying and rampant promiscuity... Like a NSFW version of Undertale. It fills us with determination.
I realised when starting the game that when I created SCS modded versions of BGEE and SoD I hadn't done one for BG2EE. A bit of time and one abortive effort later I had a functioning installation and the boys started in Jon's dungeon. They failed to kill the ogre mage before the genie called a halt to proceedings (having no missile weapons at that stage), but otherwise took down everything - a potion of firebreath finishing off Ulvaryl after the battle mage had badly hurt her.
On emerging, the Circus normally offers a simple solution. However, I made the mistake this time of stopping to kill the shadows on the first floor and getting hit hard by the 'illusionary' werewolves - particularly after failing to get up the stairs initially due to pathfinding problems. Ultimately the boys were just happy to get out with everyone alive.
The Copper Coronet offered no similar problems and stealth made easier a trip through the sewers to take out the slavers - a rare use of horror helping out against the wizards.
Moving on to the Graveyard they again relied largely on stealth while clearing the tombs - getting up to level 9 in the process. Downstairs, Pai'Na handed over their first summoning option.
I didn't bother with the Southern Tombs though - the SCS vampyre there would be a formidable challenge at this stage.
I knew the Suna Seni ambush would trigger when the boys left the Graveyard, so they were all in stealth to be able to prepare for the combat. That allowed them a pretty comfortable victory.
They did a bit more travelling around, but didn't come across Renfeld. Instead they went to the Bridge District and overpowered the Rune Assassins.
The reputation gain from that was more than cancelled out by sorting out the kidnappers and picking up their ransom. Deciding to go to Trademeet to boost it again they finally came across Renfeld and quickly saved him after interrupting the mage's opening spell.
Prebek and Sanasha were given no chance to talk
and the harpers were looted before the boys tried again to travel to Trademeet. This time some orogs interrupted them, but the mage was once more too slow in buffing and the boys were then able to run the orogs round easily enough.
Robin (longbow) - L9, 105 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 67 kills (+617 in BG1) William (crossbow) - L9, 102 HPs, 41 kills (+376 in BG1), 0 deaths Artemis (shortbow) - L9, 115 HPs (incl. 10 from ioun stone), 79 kills (+409 in BG1), 0 deaths Cupid (shortbow) - L9, 101 HPs, 44 kills (+383 in BG1), 0 deaths Legolas (longbow) - L9, 108 HPs, 39 kills (+449 in BG1), 0 deaths David (sling) - L9, 104 HPs, 34 kills (+275 in BG1), 0 deaths
·Neera was happy to join... after I got a word in.
Fights: I defeated a Dragon with attacks as she slept, found her brother and called him chicken then lured a mind sucker into an ambush because the door blocked his mates from helping him.
Another update on Shyffunee (now sitting inside the Candlekeep Library).
Almost all the big quests in Baldur's Gate were solved, except for the one for the Helm & Cloak (which were both picked off anyway, since it's the only cloak Wizard Slayers can use) and some fights like the Basilisk, Sunin or the inn band. The Iron Throne's top level was taken care of with a Potion of 50% MR, which, combined with our natural MR of 26% and the Cloak of Balduran's 25%, gives us 101% (yay!). The fight isn't very straightforward, and I have to flee after killing three spellcasters because of the heavy melee damage, but I just come back all buffed and slaughter everyone. The Ogre Mages at the entrance of Candlekeep were frozen to death after a couple of charges from the Wand of Ice.
Notable loot: two tomes of Understanding (+2 WIS, total 5), tome of STR (total 19), tome of INT (total 19), Bala's Axe, Wands we can actually use: Paralysation, Lightning and Ice, the Paws of the Cheetah, a lot of Wizard Spells, Balduran's Helm and Cloak, Large shield +1, +4 vs. Missiles, another Scroll of Protection from Magic (courtesy of Ramazith) and I think that's it. Edit: forgot about the tome of Charisma (total 12 right now). After Candlekeep I might go for the TotSC content, but I am not entirely sure, since to be honest I am not so fond of it as with the rest of the game (except for Durlag's, but that's another issue by itself), and I don't want to loose when the game's like, already won (except for the Palace Fight and Sarevok himself) I think.
What I really want to get is a Magical Long Sword. I've been like 99% of the game with the same Excellent Long Sword, and every time I face an enemy that requires magical weapons to hit (read: the three times I faces Mustard Jellies) I have to use Kondar
We run into a Baby Wyvern chasing a small child around Nashkel. It drops a Wyvern Head--a precious find--but what we really need is XP, and the reward is paltry.
Aerie makes a cameo at the carnival and implores us not to threaten Zordral. Unfortunately, I never learned how to get out of that encounter without a fight.
Zordral makes both of his saves vs. Command--this is going to be difficult.
He summons a handful of Green Slimes and follows up with a deadly Sleep spell. I can't guarantee Chara will stay awake, so I have them drink our only Potion of Invisibility. Sure enough, they fail their save, and end up unconscious but nevertheless safe.
We finally land a successful Command spell and cut through his Mirror Images while he's down. He still manages to Slow the party, but we've already broken through his defenses.
We buy a bunny rabbit from one of the nearby carnies so Ugh will not be alone in his cave.
Speaking of ogres, Jaheira tanks Oopah using werewolf form. However, Item Revisions removes the critical hit aversion from helmets, which means only Jaheira's level 1 HP keeps her from getting chunked.
We end up kiting Oopah instead. It just works better.
Jaheira does save us a lot of gold in a dialogue shortly afterwards.
We're not ready for the Nashkel Mines quite yet. Not at level 1, especially since IR fire arrows offer no saving throw, which makes Kobold Commandos' critical hits nearly always fatal. We head north instead, escaping some bandits using Chara's Smoke Bombs and taking down another bounty hunter with Command.
Jaheira's Shapeshifter kit would be great if she wasn't so far away from level 2, and Khalid doesn't have much going for him. I boot them from the party and bring in Finch, a very charming gnomish cleric and one of my favorite mod-introduced NPCs. She's a librarian!
Most of the party is still very weak and inexperienced, but I decide to take down Silke. How? By using Frisk's Charm power. They can cast Charm at will, and though it offers a +5 save bonus (which decreases with level, albeit rather slowly), it doesn't leave anyone hostile if it fails.
After a few failed attempts, Frisk charms Silke and makes her waste her best spells.
When we finally begin combat, Silke still gets her pre-buffs, but she doesn't have the spell power to one-shot any party members.
Or so I thought. We knock her out with Command, but we just don't have the APR to get through all of her Mirror Images and Stoneskins. She survives the first attack and slays Tiax with a Minor Sequencer.
She downs a Potion of Invisibility to recover, and when she re-enters combat, she kills Frisk in a single round as well.
But we finally get lucky. Tiax's Ghast paralyzes her--she is doomed.
Now that we have a healthy supply of gold, I decide to check out High Hedge to see if they have anything worth buying. On the way, I run into a mod-introduced quest: a woman needs Thalantyr's help to cure her husbands werewolfism. But apparently this quest, like Melicamp's, ultimately depends on chance. And we are not lucky.
Worse yet, it seems that killing the werewolf--which the dialogue options suggested would be a valid way to finish the quest--does not resolve the problem.
Still at level 1 and still having a bad time.
I heard Shoal the Nereid is a good source of XP and she's worth plenty even if you kill her rather than fight the Ogre Mage, so I head west. The last time I tried this quest, the Ogre Mage trounced me and some ogres flanked us from the south, so I decide to clear out the other ogres on the map before I confront Shoal.
Mostly it involves kiting and Hypnosis. Morwen, with her amazing stats, high level, and powerful equipment, does most of the heavy lifting.
Tiax's Ghast ends the fight with Shoal before it begins. But Shoal only gives us a quarter of her normal XP.
Frisk has gained a level, but Chara is still far from level 2.
We keep heading west in search of Sirenes. Frisk is immune to charm and Chara can provide Sweet Elixirs to cure poison, so I figure we have a decent chance against the Sirenes. Tiax gets charmed, but our real damage dealer is Morwen. With a charge from Imoen's Wand of Missiles, Frisk and Morwen bring down the Sirenes without anyone dying, just barely bumping Finch up to the next level.
But another Sirene joins the fray, and Tiax nearly kills Frisk.
Frisk resists the Sirene's charm spell and Morwen makes her save, so the party makes it out alive. Had I remembered that Frisk can dispel charm effects at will, however, this would have been much easier.
A Seducer's Dispel Charm would be awfully powerful in BG1, since it would let almost any party tackle the Sirenes in relative safety, but that's not why I gave the Seducer that power. I created that spell because using the Seducer's normal Charm spell to retake control of a charmed party member permanently made them unselectable--ultimately, no different from chunking or Imprisonment.
Dispel Charm does require a saving throw at +5 to take effect, however, so it's not a guaranteed fix. It has about a 50% chance of working on a normal level 1 character.
Chara has finally hit level 2 and can therefore cast level 1 spells. They couldn't do it before, as Alchemist can memorize one fewer spell per spell level and therefore can't cast any spells until level 2. Chara summons a ferret familiar and their HP jumps all the way to 28.
It's a pretty decent buffer, but Spell Revisions give Chara very poor AC: Shield is now an abjuration spell, and since Alchemists have the same restrictions as Transmuters, Chara can only use Mage Armor to improve their AC.
They have 2 AC when fully buffed. Chara can still die in a single round if I don't keep them out of harm's way.
Our next target for Chara is level 4. They get a lot of cool new potions at level 4 and 7, and we absolutely need to be level 4 before we take on the bandit camp--there's just no other way around it, since our XP growth is crippled and the Item Randomizer will hide wands from us.
Thalantyr once again fails to save a person's life. I don't remember the last time I saw him succeed, to be honest.
Other sources of XP are sparse. With no Ankhegs to farm and few Sirenes left, we're running out of big targets.
I grievously underestimate some Hobgoblin Elites at a bridge. Finch gets poisoned after already drinking a potion (clouding her aura), putting her in severe danger. Frisk jumps in to save the party with Hypnosis, hoping to hold off the enemies for a few seconds, but Seducers are just too fragile to survive long in these situations.
With only 1d4 HP per level, no ability to wear armor, and penalties to AC and movement speed whenever using their psionics, Seducers are even more fragile than mages.
Morwen and Tiax use Magic Missile and Command to slow down the attackers while we retreat from the bridge. It buys us just enough time for Morwen to clear the field with her overpowered +2 longbow--which, unlike normal longbows in IR, gives a full extra attack per round, instead of a half attack per round.
Is it me, or do my characters die a lot more than other people's?
Chara blows up some gibberlings with their grenades, but the XP tax is omnipresent.
The average quest in my install gives the same rewards as the average Candlekeep fetch quests in the original game.
We trek all the way out to the Gnoll stronghold in search of the Gauntlets of Dexterity and weak enemies. Item Randomizer takes away the gauntlets, and the moment we cross the bridge, we find that the locals are far, far stronger than I expected.
Diverse humanoid enemy parties are the most interesting fights, but they're also the most dangerous when we're at such a low level.
I have one decent option to use here. Bonemeal Eyedrops, the only buffing potion Chara can make at this stage, grants bonuses to THAC0, missile weapon THAC0 and damage, saving throws vs. illusion spells, a thief's Detect Illusion spell... and most importantly for this fight, the ability to dispel illusionary protections on enemies who fail their saves.
Allister fails two saving throws, losing his Mirror Images, Improved Invisibility, and consciousness. But his Protection from Missiles spell will prevent Morwen from killing him while he's down.
There are two enemy backstabbers to worry about, plus a dwarven fighter. And when Chara tries to stun Allister with a grenade, I see a disturbing message.
An invisible thief is trying to backstab Chara. That could easily be fatal; I don't know how high-level this thief is. Chara uses a Smoke Bomb to escape, costing us our chance to land a hit with a grenade.
Tiax's Ghast is now dead, and Finch must serve as our tank. Frisk (our Seducer, not to be confused with Finch the cleric) uses Hypnosis and feebleminds half the enemy party, but both Finch and Frisk are under heavy pressure.
Chara lobs a grenade and retreats, but Allister makes his save vs. breath, allowing him to cast Mirror Image without fear of disruption.
Still, we're making progress. Morwen shoots down the dwarf and the Bonemeal Eyedrops take away Allister's new Mirror Image spell. Morwen slays one of the thieves soon after.
The dwarf was using a wildly overpowered axe. Too bad nobody in the party can use it.
Allister goes invisible once more and shows that he too can backstab. A crossbow bolt from the other thief finishes off Frisk.
Allister is a level 9 mage/thief. He has more level than our entire party combined. In fact, he'd have more than 10 times as much XP as our entire party combined.
Morwen kills the other thief, but Allister escapes with a Potion of Invisibility and sinks a blade into Tiax's back.
Finch knocks out Allister, allowing Chara to rush ahead and lob a grenade, which unfortunately fails to stun or deafen the enemy.
Allister users another Potion of Invisibility to backstab Morwen, but Morwen's Mirror Image keeps her safe.
When Allister begins casting an enchantment spell, I have everyone use a Smoke Bomb. Allister's spell fails entirely. It's a good thing the entire party's aura was clear. But it only takes Allister one round to take away our best escape option.
And unlike Bonemeal Eyedrops, we don't get to make a saving throw against Allister's divination spell.
Allister's Protection from Missiles finally wears off, but he survives a while longer thanks to a Potion of Extra Healing. But now that Morwen can attack him directly, we can apply lots of pressure on him very fast.
He targets Chara, forcing them to retreat all the way across the bridge. But before he reaches them, Morwen kills him with a critical hit.
We get a lot of excellent loot, but between that axe, some powerful bullets, and a really nice ring...
...we can't use most of it. It all goes in the Turqoise Bag of Holding we got from Thalantyr and will stay there until we can figure out a use for it.
An army of 7-foot gnolls awaits us in a massive fortress rising from the earth. We are filled with determination.
Yeesh, that's one intense mod setup you have there. If you're dying more than other people... It's probably because you have SCS with prebuffs and IR and only a 1/4 experience of what you're supposed to have. I'm not even using prebuffs and I'm still struggling against mages...
Barl in BG2: Irenicus' dungeon under IR without a real tank actually sucks. A lot. Especially since I've elected to keep Imoen as a pure Thief and not a mage which is probably going to give me composition issues down the road but too late now! Much of it was done by abusing Barl's Hide in Shadows and taking potshots and running: the Otyugh, notably, didn't hurt anyone for the first time in forever using stealth spear attacks.
In a moment of extreme hubris, I dump Minsc, thinking I wouldn't need his damage presence. Yoshimo, Barl, and Jaheira continue to clear the circus.
I'm trying to get Barl something like 150k experience for level 9 Archer, at which point we'll dual. So still as a 3-man unit, we clear the Copper Coronet, and the plan's to go to to Imnesvale for the fairly easy experience. We run into the Suna Seni ambush on the way out, and are forced to flee: there was no way to survive the Horror that was coming our way. So no Arbane's for me this game.
In Imnesvale, a Nymph courtesy of Jaheira charms the Mimic, and I have the Mimi acidify himself before it kills the Nymph. Killing a Stone Golem and negotiating a trade deal were enough to get Barl to 9, and then down to Cleric 1. Finding Merella's journal is enough to pop him back up to Cleric 5.
Next, to preserve continuity and because I'm just a little bit crazy, Neera's the next person I attempt to recruit. And the Wild Forest is super duper unfriendly when you have 3 people that really, REALLY want to cast to do anything, and no straight-up warrior types. A fight with a Greater Wyvern here took like, 20 minutes of me taking potshots at the silly thing. And even Hobgoblins hurt in that place. I quickly revoke my previous decision and go rerecruit Minsc.
Back in Athkatla, still without a Magic License, it's tricky finding quests we can do safely. Cowled Wizards don't detect in the sewers or in the Slaver Boat, so those are the two we do first. Pixie Dust from Jaheira gets us into the boat safely, and between Holy Smite, Chaos, and a Nymph, the first area is cleared fairly safely. The Mages in the second area are hit by Silences and Hold Persons, and the rest of the boat's cleared soon after.
Next is the Docks district. An ambush sees Renfield returned, and then into Prebek's and Sanastha's house we go. Yoshimo is the first casualty in the game again, getting held by a Ghast as the other 4 look at each other and collectively run. Got him Raised at the Temple of Oghma, and the second fight was much more successful.
Since we're at the Docks, we start Maevar's guild quests, all while trying to activate Minsc's missing Boo for a free magic license and 19 strength. The worst part was honestly the Mephits, sadly enough, as Rayic himself was distracted by a Fire Elemental and the others crowded and crushed him. Three True Seeing's are enough to put an end to Maevar's guild.
Jaheira is cursed, cured, and then summoned to the Harper Hold right when there's a vampire ambush. I'm nowhere near ready to face them, it seems, as Minsc was in danger of dying to level drain, and the other 3 weren't faring too well either. Minsc had Boo stolen somewhere around here as well, so magic license + 19 strength on Minsc helps, but even so... I had to flee the named vampire into an inn and rest twice for the Restorations to kick in the next day. After this, the Harper Hold itself wasn't a major problem, as Chaos helps negate a couple of their spellcasters and a Fire elemental is used to soak up damage.
Fallen Paladins are painfully cleaned up as none of them seemed to be failing their saves, and the Tanner quest is finally done. I sent Jaheira down invisibly with Ironskins and Mirror Image and True Seeing to rid the Rune Assassins of their invisibility potions, and the ghasts fall to a double Holy Smite from Barl. The Bone Golem's a huge pain, but eventually dies.
Back to the Wild Forest. The repeating Fireball trap claims both Neera and Minsc's lives, which a quick visit and rest at Watcher's Keep soon remedied. Cats are painfully herded, a second emerald was repurchased for the talisman... And I used the console to get a Silver Necklace for the last component for the talisman, after I raided all the tombs in the Graveyard district in search of one without luck. The last quest is to go to Trademeet for the flask of ale, so I figured we might as well do the Genies, with castings of Pro. Petrification on Jaheira, Minsc, and Yoshimo. Still don't have the saving throws for Barl to guarantee a Petrification wild surge from Neera. Took a good number of potions, but got them in the end along with the Shield of Harmony.
Enclave battle! Even without prebuffs, this number of mages is absolutely terrifying. The battle for entry goes without any deaths, but Minsc is slowed and killed in the second fight with the mercenaries. After raising him, we err on the side of caution and allow the freed slaves their attempt at the Red Wizards, and to their credit get them to waste the vast majority of their spells. A Chaos affecting everyone besides a lone unnamed Red Mage in the last room seals the deal.
Barl is very nearly at level 10 and thus his beloved bow: I think his THAC0's going to drop by 10 points or something silly from this level, with the shortbow at least.
Or so I thought. We knock her out with Command, but we just don't have the APR to get through all of her Mirror Images and Stoneskins. She survives the first attack and slays Tiax with a Minor Sequencer.
It always seems a bit unfair when enemies do that to me - is there any logic in allowing a charmed creature to cast spells, but not use special abilities?
In Trademeet the boys left the berserk warrior and Kitthix in the genies tent to act as a distraction after they completed their killing work outside. Moving on to the Grove they didn't find things that easy against the stronger monster groups introduced by SCS. Of course the small amount of magical ammunition they had and their lack of a melee weapon that could kill trolls were self-inflicted handicaps . However, they did make progress without any near deaths - with the efreeti providing the opportunity to finish trolls off after the last of the fire arrows taken from the slavers were used. They left the rakshasa for now, but finished everything else off up to Faldorn - at which point I remembered that sending Cernd in to kill her on his own seems to result in an automatic defeat with SCS installed. However, I don't normally allow recruiting NPCs so sent Cernd in to get beaten up anyway.
With the remaining Trademeet quests inaccessible the boys returned to Athkatla still in search of reputation. They'd invested in temple donations immediately after emerging from Jon's dungeon, so were already at 18. The Sir Sarles quest allowed them to take Neb's head to get 1 point, before the Fallen Paladins were comprehensively whipped to hit the magic 20 mark.
A spending spree followed with Robin initially picking up the Blade of Roses. That's a reasonable weapon in its own right as well as a source of charisma to push prices to rock bottom. Once broke again the boys looked for a good place to loot and decided that the de'Arnise Hold fitted the bill. There were some big groups of trolls in there and the boys took plenty of damage, but without anyone ever being particularly threatened by the standard trolls. A lot of the time, in order to conserve ammunition, the only ones that fought were David (using the Shield of Harmony and Defender of Easthaven to tank) and Cupid (mowing down opposition with Tansheron's Bow).
There was though a problem after they successfully lured TorGal away from his supporters using stealth. With no protection against fear TorGal was very dangerous even on his own and William got stuck by a door after being scared (possibly as a result of strength drain) and was clawed to death.
The troll had a range of special abilities, e.g. slowing opponents, strength drain and rage as well as high damage resistance and fast movement. As a result the others only just managed to finish him off before further tragedy struck.
They got to a temple without incident to raise William and set off back to the de'Arnise Hold - my 'no party deaths allowed' rule was specific to BG1, so didn't immediately end the run. On the way they ran into an orc ambush and I wondered early on if that was going to be trouble - an orc priest had physical mirror up, while an orc mage was protected against magical weapons and all the other orcs were enraged. However, with their best ammunition equipped the boys quickly ran through the other orcs, while the orc mage appeared to have forgotten to include PfNM in his buffs.
They were greeted with yet another bunch of trolls back at de'Arnise, but eventually they'd worked through those, rested up and were ready to proceed. I got into trouble once more against Tor'Gal's support crew though. I misjudged how many of those there were (a number were invisible initially) and was probably also not fully concentrating following the earlier death. As a result, though the first wave of trolls and umber hulks were dispatched, the boys had got too close together while doing that and several were caught by chaos spells. A second wave of trolls arrived and looked to take advantage of that vulnerability and, in attempting to protect those already incapacitated everyone else was affected by one spell or another and couldn't defend themselves ...
Condolences, @Grond0. I remember taking a party of Archers through BG2 and my greatest fear was disablers.
Six Archers can launch a spectacular blitzkrieg attack and wipe out just about anything in a few rounds, but with no clerics to cast Remove Fear or Chaotic Commands, with no bards or Inquisitors to cast Dispel Magic, and with no option of choosing a halfling, dwarven, or gnomish Archer for shorty save bonuses, a team of Archers can die to a single Chaos or Emotion or Horror spell. An Arrow of Dispelling can solve certain problems, but not all disablers are dispellable--to name just a few, Demon Fear, Dragon Fear, Death Gaze, and Psionic Blast all bypass magic resistance and cannot be dispelled.
SCS Liches with PFMW are also a nightmare for Archers, as are Spell Revisions mages with Protection from Missiles (which blocks ALL missiles instead of just nonmagical ones). In both cases, they simply don't have the means of taking down the enemy before getting hit with a lot of nasty spells. Archers suffer from a crippling inability to handle enemy pressure. If they can't kite the enemy, or have to wait a few rounds for it to become vulnerable, their sky-high APR and damage output just won't have the opportunity to come into play.
Archers are like an obsidian scalpel. Obsidian holds a sharper edge than almost any other material and is commonly used in surgical blades, but it's easy to chip an obsidian blade and ruin that edge. Archers cut fast and hard, but if they get chipped first, they lose their edge.
@semiticgod You cannot avoid the fight, but you can avoid the other mage being killed. If you avoid that, you can even charm her and use her as part of your party. She has good spells which help defeat Zordral.
Alternatively you can just attack Zordral and she will give you a rewards for rescuing her. (The reward is not as big as it is if she gets killed!)
Your choice. Are you good or not so good?
You wrote: Now that we have a healthy supply of gold, I decide to check out High Hedge to see if they have anything worth buying. On the way, I run into a mod-introduced quest: a woman needs Thalantyr's help to cure her husbands werewolfism. But apparently this quest, like Melicamp's, ultimately depends on chance. And we are not lucky.
Which mod is this?
Journal of Terror of Tempus
After the ambush where Gorion was killed, there was another ambush from which I likewise fled.
At the Beregost Temple I joned up with an inquisitor who worships Ilmater. She proved to be invaluable when we were ambushed by Tarnesh.
She urged me to side with Tenya against some fishermen.
As a result, I had no compuction against killing Sonner and his cohorts. A big plus was that I gained a +1 flail. After returning to Tenya, we killed an ankheg.
South of Beregost, we killed some ogrillon and then three flaming fist mercenaries who were exceedingly officious and attacked us for no good reason. Whilst they hurt us badly, we did gain three suits of plate armour.
Near High Hedge we killed three gnolls without difficulty.
We then killed a wolf and thus rescued a frightened chicken who turned out to be an apprentice mage.
We then took on Bassilus. Once more I was encouraged by Sirene.
By this time we were both at level 4 and heroes to boot. Afterwards we rescued Rufie and killed a winter wolf in transit. Forgot to mention that Zodral also got killed. Sadly Bentha did too.
Comments
1) You will be reworking your proficiencies in BG2
2) A BG2 mod allows clerics to use (Compound) Short Bows
3) You will be abandoning shortbows once you reach Cleric dual
Gave it a short thought and decided to go with the character for a insane-diff, solo no reload attempt. Multiplayer will have to use some other toon.
So, my challenge rules (if that is allowed here, to be defined by a player participating):
1) No reloads. Ever. Obviously.
2) No mods. I play BG1:EE vanilla, on an Android tablet.
3) Insane difficulty setting. However, as much as I like the challenge, I also like strong characters, so I am going with maximum HP die rolls (moving slider only for level-up)
4) Solo only. Grabbing another character into party is allowed, but such character must not be used to interact with anything and must be get rid off at nearest opportunity. Admitting people into group is just for RP reasons (would not leave Dynaheir in gnoll fortress, nor Xan at Mullaheys, or...).
5) No cheese. No selling and rebuying of wands to recharge. No fast levelling on basilisk area. No... you get the idea. Running screaming from the mobs is allowed, though (while throwing knives behind me).
6) RP as much as possible. I admit that the challenge is what I am looking for, and as I know the game, in some cases I will inevitably react to things I know will happen before they happen. I prefer getting as far as possible given the above rules, to sticking to full RP and running spell-less into boss fight where appropriate. However, I try to minimize such situations as much as possible.
7) No ShadowKeeper. I don't even know whether one is available for Android, but even it is, I will not use it.
Now, I have never played a pure caster, so this will be quite a challenge. Never ran the game through without trapper either. In solo challenge games I could always stealth. Looking forward to new experience. What I have rolled is male elven Dragon Disciple, with a total score of 97 (seen two 90's prior to that, then 97, which is why I reconsidered the purpose of the toon).
Will start the story background in next post later tonight! See you all!
Now, onto the Bandit Camp. I assassinated the Mage after drawing everyone outside, then Taughoz, and I would have continued that much safer and calculated approach but I made a very stupid mistake, which was going in between two trees when several Bandits were following me without noticing there were a couple of them on the other side as well. I got stuck and wasted all of my Extra healing and normal healing potions to survive, but, well, I did it.
I bought some a lot healing potions, killed Aldeth in the Cloakwood, and saved the game.
@Dodoroq There's also the random Charm trap in the Flesh golem cave that's literally game-ending, so be careful of that if you go in there!
Will be eager to read your future adventures.
Previous updates:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860005/#Comment_860005
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860233/#Comment_860233
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860461/#Comment_860461
In Candlekeep the boys shot down the Iron Throne leaders before surrendering to the guards. In the catacombs they killed all the enemies and robbed the tombs using a potion of fire giant strength topped up by DUHM. Prat's party was subjected to another round of exploding arrows - he was the only survivor and not for long.
Before going back to the City they sold and bought back various charged items (though those had all been virtually unused so far) before showing themselves to Shandalar. He transported them for a run round Ice Island - but stealth and a couple of dispelling arrows made that a simple excursion.
Back in Baldur's Gate the boys rescued Duke Eltan before going to find Cythandria. I'm used to the golems with her being a potential threat to solo characters and they were split up using the stairs - but were shot down in seconds anyway - before Cythandria's plea for mercy was dismissed.
At the palace everyone used a stone giant potion and an oil of speed. David set himself up as a target among the dopplegangers, while the others readied shots from around the edge - starting off with an arrow of dispelling for each target. The dopplegangers never got a chance to react and failed to even scratch either any of the boys or the dukes.
In the Undercity they let loose their third volley of exploding arrows - this time there were no survivors.
Robin (longbow) - L8, 94 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 552 kills
William (crossbow) - L8, 88 HPs, 336 kills, 0 deaths
Artemis (shortbow) - L8, 95 HPs, 364 kills, 0 deaths
Cupid (shortbow) - L8, 87 HPs, 345 kills, 0 deaths
Legolas (longbow) - L8, 94 HPs, 403 kills, 0 deaths
David (sling) - L8, 93 HPs, 249 kills, 0 deaths
Arwin Hawksong diary, Prelude
OK, something about Arwin first, in terms of game information, and also a background.As I was pre-generating a toon for multiplayer game and haven't thought about solo attempt, some of the selections may not be the strongest options, but in fact nothing could be done with them at the moment I got the nice dice roll and reconsidered. Race was selected as elf (I love elves, but probably would drop it in favor of half-elf for solo attempt because of the early possibility for the regeneration; with an elf, starting 17 Con and the Con sources the regeneration would not kick in earlier than lvl15 (which is really deep in BG2) and also a point where I will not need it anymore most probably). The alignment is Chaotic Good - again a choice for RP more than anything, LG would provide boost to starting Reputation (not needed that much though, usually cap reputation after Nashkel anyway) and some other alignments provide more solo-usable familiars. Again, the alignement was already set when the good roll appeared, so can't do anything about it.
Statwise, I have decided to max Strength, Dexterity and Charisma, set Int to 10 (with +1 from tome, it is to absorb 2 hits from Illithid if necessary). I considered 15 Wis minimum for possible Wish spell later on (if I ever get that far), and set Constitution to 16 to be able to wear Claw of Kazargoth without HP loss in BG1. That all left me with 1 more point to distribute, which ended in wisdom, for this result:
As for spells, this will be funny. I went conservative for lvl1 picks to start with - Shield is absolute necessity, MM is very useful for removing Mirror Image. I know lots of people advocate different spells as the most optimal, but those have to wait for later.
Weapon-proficiency wise, I have opted for dagger. I don't plan to melee if I can help it, which ruled out Quarterstaffs, and from the ranged options the throwing dagger seemes wisest choice to start with because of range (better than darts) and rate of fire (better than sling), and as I have just 1 proficiency, it covers also the desperate melee option.
Now, for the story start:
Arwin's diary, page 1
Gorion insisted I have a spellbook... pfff, I prefer casting the spells to having to learn them. He even gave me this book, which I will used for a journal instead. A message got to me he wants me to travel with him tonight - I will rather say farewell to others and ask them if they want something brought back from the voyage.Someone attacked me in the bunkhouse! Why? I must tell someone!
I told Karan, but he advised me to go telling Gorion. Will do, in due time. Important things first - the farewells.
Said bye to everyone, and stocked up on throwing knives. Got few goodies from different people to take with me - healing potions (I stole one too in hospital), an ornate dagger from Fuller, some scrolls I found in the Inn. Ready to roll, today starts my adventure!
Previous updates:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860005/#Comment_860005
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860233/#Comment_860233
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860461/#Comment_860461
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860730/#Comment_860730
After picking up the sea charts the boys bought a bit more magic ammunition (to make absolutely sure they wouldn't run short on that) before taking ship for Balduran's Isle. They soon cleared the second island before working their way up the ship - resting in Dradeel's house to cure the odd bit of damage taken. They already had Kondar, which could hit Karoug and after adding the silver dagger and the gold bastard sword they finished off the pack leader easily enough.
After being infected resting is not a good idea, so the boys tried to avoid taking damage while working through the hordes of lycanthropes on the way out. I did consider attacking Dradeel, but doing that in the past has proved ... problematic, so he was allowed to go on his way. I was thinking that there was a limit (albeit a high one) on the werewolves that chased you to the ship, but they kept on coming in droves. Eventually I gave David a potion of invisibility and let him hold them off to check if they were actually infinite - and there were no signs of them ending (killing any of those in the screenshot resulted in more piling in from out of sight).
A bit of jumping in and out of the house left Mendas outside for a while and allowed the boys to concentrate on killing his companion. Just before they managed that though Mendas came back in and charmed Cupid with a minor sequencer.
I did consider going to do Durlag's Tower as well to complete a clean sweep of the Sword Coast, but the traps in there are a bit of a pain for a party. Also, the original idea of the run was to look at higher level archers and I decided to crack on to BG2 (not going to SoD). With that objective in mind I didn't take any chances with Sarevok:
- he was dumped in a corner with Semaj, Tazok and Diarmid.
- once Angelo appeared he was hit with dispelling arrows and finished off in moments.
- the other acolytes died in fireballs from out of sight.
- leaving Sarevok all alone and helpless.
Robin (longbow) - L8, 94 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 617 kills
William (crossbow) - L8, 88 HPs, 376 kills, 0 deaths
Artemis (shortbow) - L8, 95 HPs, 409 kills, 0 deaths
Cupid (shortbow) - L8, 87 HPs, 383 kills, 0 deaths
Legolas (longbow) - L8, 94 HPs, 449 kills, 0 deaths
David (sling) - L8, 93 HPs, 275 kills, 0 deaths
Arwin's diary, page 2
That was terrible night! Someone ambushed us and killed Gorion, and I managed to run off just barely. I must have watched Gorion being outmatched and could do nothing about it. I was hiding up the tree till the morning, and once I went down, I have almost suffered a heart stroke - I believed the attackers found me and will finish me, but it was only Imoen who was sneaking on us. With her, I have decided to return back to Candlekeep and hide there. Imoen objected (she always does), but I have ignored her cries and returned. They refused to let us in, us who has been living there for our whole lives. I started to argue about Imoen at least, but she fled from both the guards and me. Hopefully she will find a way back in, she was always the one who could find secret ways in and out of places. Not sure what I will do, though.Decided to carefully explore the place of the ambush - maybe I will find some clue there.
In the remains I have found a letter signed "E", which advised Gorion to travel to Friendly Arms Inn and meet someone named Khalid and Jaheira. Gorion mentioned those names, so I will try my luck. I have never been much into traveling the wilderness, so need to proceed with great care.
page 3
Alone again. Yesterday afternoon I met a man who said there are two people bit further north. I rejoiced as I thought this may be the Khalid guy coming to meet us mid way, but obviously it wasn't. I was looking for any help, so I agreed to join the two people, man named Xzar and his halfling companion, Montaron. They offered to help me and mentioned some problems down south on Amnish borders they want to investigate, and I thought it may actually be nice traveling with someone else, so I accepted, but at that moment they started to talk more and more freely and I was disgusted by the evil things they considered normal! It took me some effort to get rid of them - I don't wish them anything wrong, but I am definitely better on my own then in their company.Later today I met another strange traveler, who pointed me in the direction of Friendly Arms Inn. The name means promising. Soon after I found a gibberling carrying a shiny ring, who attacked me, and I had to kill it. Poor creature. Further away I ran into an ogre who started to yell something about Gorions belt and chased me, and again, forced me to kill it (him? her? not sure). There were two more sashes in the Ogre's possessions, and I really liked the thin one, so I took it. It must be magical as it fits mee too.
Am I cursed or what? I have entered the Friendly Arms Inn fort, started for the door, and a man stepped close, said few words and tried to kill me! He was a mage, and seemed to be surprised I can cast too. Good thing was the guards around stepped in and helped me to protect myself, but why are people doing this to me? On his body, I have found a bounty notice, so it seems that someone wants me dead. But why? WHY?
I have spent evening in the common room, watching the pair who should I meet. I even wanted to meet them, but found myself ascending the staircase the moment I decided to say hello to them, rather than walking to them. I guess I don't trust anybody now. I will have a night's sleep and decide tomorrow.
page 4
In the morning there was no sight of them in the main room, so I decided to give a shot to some local exploration. A woman has asked me to get her a ring from hobgoblins, which I was able to do. I have also found a ring of my own while sitting for a short rest, thinking. I looked back into the common room, but still no sign of the pair. I was anyway decided to give Beregost a try on my own.Got nice invitation in Beregost, and decided to do a bit of spending the money I have. Entered the best inn here, only to be insulted by a drunk local guy. In the end we came to a calm solution, but I have rather left for another place not to reopen his soul wounds. I have caught a glimpse of Firebead Elvenhair, and did an errand for him, prior to falling in to a pub on the main square.
It's still good light, and I was just asked by a halfling thief Zhurlong to get him a pair of boots he was robbed off by hobgoblins south of the city. I should be back soon.
It took me longer then expected, south of Beregost starts to be a real wilderness. Ghouls and even a ghast roaming the land, several hobgoblins and even a pair of ogrillons. I got the boots Zhurlong mentioned, discovered a secret cave with a stash of healing potions and obtained a letter from the ogrillons which should be delivered to Mirianne in Beregost. However, I am running off throwing daggers and the Thunderhammer Smithy is closed for night, will need to wait till the morning.
Metagame:
Arwin Hawksong, lvl2; 16 hp; Reputation 13.
important items gained: Ring of Wizardry, Ring of the Princes, Girdle of Piercing (with Shield spell, my AC is -5 against missiles/piercing weapons, which is enough to be only hit on critical. Still, I do not feel comfortable without headgear).
She has returned to the Gate of Candlekeep after being ambushed by assassins. Gorion was killed. No problems so far since she used her Battleguard abilities wisely. Weidu log shown below. The divine remix is still rather iffy and in my current set-up, I have to use EE Keeper to make corrections.
Strategist of the Red Knight won't use some weapons that are perfectly legal. Some innate spells have to be added manually. @subtledoctor has made some hotfixes that correct lack of innate spells for some types of cleric, but some of them are still faulty.
// 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]
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Slime Quest: v14
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #1 // Beregost Family Quest: v14
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #2 // Installing the Babysitting Quest, including the Carnival Encounter...: v14
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #3 // Nashkel Monster Quest: v14
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #4 // Fallen Paladin Quest: v14
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #5 // Undying Love Quest: v14
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #6 // Orcish Lover Encounter: v14
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #7 // Unexpected Help Quest: v14
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #8 // "Many Little Paws": v14
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #9 // Drunk near Beregost Temple: v14
~BGQE/SETUP-BGQE.TP2~ #0 #10 // A Warm Place for Noober: v14
~DRIZZTSAGA/DRIZZTSAGA.TP2~ #0 #0 // The Drizzt Saga for BGEE/Tutu/BGT -> Default version: areas connected by travel triggers: v3.00
~DRIZZTSAGA/DRIZZTSAGA.TP2~ #0 #2 // Raise the XP cap: v3.00
~DRIZZTSAGA/DRIZZTSAGA.TP2~ #0 #3 // Delayed start: Drizzt joins after Durlag's Tower: v3.00
~RECOLOREDBUTTONS/SETUP-RECOLOREDBUTTONS.TP2~ #0 #1 // Recolored character's toolbar buttons (BG:EE) -> Golden color scheme: v4.1
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #0 // Ice Island Level Two Restoration: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #1 // The Mysterious Vial: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #4 // Finishable Kagain Caravan Quest: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #6 // Kivan and Tazok: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #7 // Branwen and Tranzig: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #10 // Place Entar Silvershield in His Home: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #11 // Scar and the Sashenstar's Daughter: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #12 // Quoningar, the Cleric: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #13 // Shilo Chen and the Ogre-Magi: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #14 // Edie, the Merchant League Applicant: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #16 // Creature Corrections: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #17 // Creature Restorations: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #18 // Creature Name Restorations: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #19 // Minor Dialogue Restorations: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #21 // Store, Tavern and Inn Fixes and Restorations: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #22 // Item Corrections and Restorations: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #28 // Prism and the Emeralds Tweak: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #29 // Duke Eltan in the Harbor Master's Building: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #30 // Nim Furlwing Encounter: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #32 // Svlast, the Fallen Paladin Encounter: v14.0
~BG1UB/SETUP-BG1UB.TP2~ #0 #33 // Mal-Kalen, the Ulcaster Ghost: v14.0
~BYMULTIPORT/BYMULTIPORT.TP2~ #0 #0 // Multi-Portrait Mod: 1.5
~SETUP-DARKHORIZONSBGEE.TP2~ #0 #0 // "Dark Horizons" Mod for Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition: BG:EE v213
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #40 // Change Viconia's Skin Color to Dark Blue: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #50 // Avatar Morphing Script: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #60 // Weapon Animation Tweaks: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #110 // Icon Improvements: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #130 // Force All Dialogue to Pause Game: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #140 // Fix Boo's Squeak: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1036 // Make Cloakwood Areas Available Before Completing the Bandit Camp -> All of Cloakwood Except the Mines: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1080 // Add Bags of Holding: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1090 // Exotic Item Pack: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1100 // Reveal City Maps When Entering Area: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1120 // Stores Sell Higher Stacks of Items: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2040 // Universal Clubs: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2060 // Weapon Styles for All: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2151 // Wear Multiple Protection Items -> No Restrictions: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2200 // Multi-Class Grandmastery (Weimer): Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2210 // Change Grandmastery Bonuses -> True Grandmastery (Baldurdash): Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2352 // Alter Multiclass Restrictions -> Install both of the above options: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2360 // Remove Racial Restrictions for Single Classes: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2371 // Alter Dual-class Restrictions -> Allow non-humans to dual-class: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2380 // Remove Racial Restrictions for Kits: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2420 // Loosen Equipment Restrictions for Cleric Multi-Classes: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2440 // Everyone Gets Bonus APR from Specialization: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2999 // Max HP at Level One: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3000 // Higher HP on Level Up -> Maximum: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3010 // Maximum HP for NPCs (the bigg) -> For All Creatures in Game: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3031 // Easy Spell Learning -> 100% Learn Spells and No Maximum Cap: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3040 // Make Bags of Holding Bottomless: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3050 // Remove fatigue from restoration spells: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3083 // Increase Ammo Stack Size -> Stacks of 120: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3093 // Increase Gem and Jewelry Stacking -> Stacks of 120: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3103 // Increase Potion Stacking -> Stacks of 120: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3113 // Increase Scroll Stacking -> Stacks of 120: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3121 // Happy Patch (Party NPCs do not complain about reputation) -> NPCs Can Be Angry About Reputation but Never Leave (Salk): Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3125 // Neutral Characters Make Happy Comments at Mid-Range Reputation: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3190 // Rest Anywhere (Japheth): Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3220 // Sensible Entrance Points: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3230 // Taerom Makes Additional Ankheg Armor (Icendoan/grogerson): Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4031 // Consistent Stats: Edwin -> Use BG2 Values: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4041 // Consistent Stats: Jaheira -> Use BG2 Values: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4061 // Consistent Stats: Minsc -> Use BG2 Values: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4071 // Consistent Stats: Viconia -> Use BG2 Values: Beta 5
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4090 // Make Montaron an Assassin (Andyr): Beta 5
~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #5 // Bjornin's Desire, by jastey (adult content): v11
~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #13 // A Lonely Dryad, by Kulyok (adult content): v11
~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #14 // Edwin's Softer Side, by Kulyok: v11
~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #24 // A Night with Lais in Imnesvale, by Kulyok: v11
~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #30 // Rebecca the Gypsy, by Kulyok: v11
~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #41 // Isabelle's Fears, by gertjanvh (adult content): v11
~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #45 // Rehearsal with Chandra, by Western Paladin: v11
~RE/SETUP-RE.TP2~ #0 #52 // Minsc. Takes. A Bath, by Thimblerig: v11
~CORANBGFRIEND/CORANBGFRIEND.TP2~ #0 #0 // Coran's Extended BG Friendship Talks: v4
~XANBG1FRIEND/SETUP-XANBG1FRIEND.TP2~ #0 #0 // Xan's friendship path for BG1: v9bgee
~SETUP-WMART.TP2~ #0 #0 // Deidre and Joluv in BG:EE
~S3DISCLUBS/S3DISCLUBS.TP2~ #0 #0 // Distinguisable Clubs: V1.1
~NPCKIT/NPCKIT.TP2~ #0 #30 // Improved Specialist Mage Descriptions: v4
~NPCKIT/NPCKIT.TP2~ #0 #31 // Replace Berserker Kit with Battlerager for Dwarves: v4
~NPCKIT/NPCKIT.TP2~ #0 #900 // Add Red Wizard to Edwin's Kit Description: v4
~NPCKIT/NPCKIT.TP2~ #0 #1400 // Give Imoen Adventurer Kit: v4
~NPCKIT/NPCKIT.TP2~ #0 #2300 // Change Minsc's Title to Rashemaar Ranger: v4
~SETUP-BGEEAR.TP2~ #0 #0 // TeamBG's Armors for BG:EE, BGT and TuTu Version 1.05
~SETUP-BG2EEW.TP2~ #0 #0 // TeamBG's Weapons Pack for BG2:EE Version 1.01
~WANDCASE/WANDCASE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Wand Case: v1.3
~SETUP-VYND.TP2~ #0 #0 // Vynd for BGTutu, BGT and BG:EE
~GARRICK_FLIRT/SETUP-GARRICK_FLIRT.TP2~ #0 #0 // Garrick's Infatuation: b20140925
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #102 // Choose a class for Imoen -> Make Imoen a multiclass mage/thief: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #121 // Choose a class for Jaheira -> Make Jaheira a druid: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #141 // Choose a class for Khalid -> Make Khalid a ranger/cleric: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #161 // Choose a class for Minsc -> Make Minsc a fighter: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #181 // Choose a class for Dynaheir -> Make Dynaheir a sorcerer: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #221 // Choose a class for Coran -> Make Coran a thief: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #242 // Choose a class for Branwen -> Make Branwen a multiclass fighter/cleric: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #302 // Choose a class for Xzar -> Make Xzar a necromancer/cleric: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #321 // Choose a class for Montaron -> Make Montaron a thief: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #464 // Choose a class for Alora -> Make Alora a cleric/thief: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #483 // Choose a class for Xan -> Make Xan a fighter/mage: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #583 // Choose a class for Viconia -> Make Viconia a cleric/thief: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #621 // Choose a class for Neera -> Make Neera a sorcerer: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #2000 // NPC kit choices: v2.6.6
~NPC_EE/NPC_EE.TP2~ #0 #3000 // multiclass kit choice: v2.6.6
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #11 // Install new spells -> Only add spells if not present from other mods: v8
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #100 // Cleric Remix: v8
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #103 // Install Silverstar of Selune Cleric Kit: v8
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #107 // Install Holy Strategist of the Red Knight Cleric Kit: v8
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #109 // Install Battleguard of Tempus Cleric Kit: v8
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #115 // Install Firewalker of Kossuth Cleric Kit: v8
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #118 // Install Authlim of Iyachtu Xvim Cleric Kit: v8
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #124 // Install Heartwarder of Sune Cleric Kit: v8
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #127 // Install Feywarden of Corellon Cleric Kit: v8
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #130 // Install Strifeleader of Cyric Cleric Kit: v8
// Recently Uninstalled: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #600 // Install Battleguard of Tempus Kit for Branwen: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #11 // Install new spells -> Only add spells if not present from other mods: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #100 // Cleric Remix: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #103 // Install Silverstar of Selune Cleric Kit: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #106 // Install Nightcloak of Shar Cleric Kit: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #107 // Install Holy Strategist of the Red Knight Cleric Kit: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #109 // Install Battleguard of Tempus Cleric Kit: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #115 // Install Firewalker of Kossuth Cleric Kit: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #118 // Install Authlim of Iyachtu Xvim Cleric Kit: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #124 // Install Heartwarder of Sune Cleric Kit: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #127 // Install Feywarden of Corellon Cleric Kit: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #130 // Install Strifeleader of Cyric Cleric Kit: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #600 // Install Battleguard of Tempus Kit for Branwen: v8
~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ #0 #610 // Install Nightcloak of Shar Kit for Viconia: v8
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Amount of -ahem- details and BG-style vs. description text!: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #1 // Bardolan's Briefing, by berelinde: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #2 // Scar's Spare Time, by jastey: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #3 // Kim's Preoccupation, by jastey (WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #4 // Extension of Bjornin Encounter (Personal Wound Treatment), by jastey: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #5 // No Starch in the Maypole: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #6 // Duke Eltan's Spare Minute, by jastey: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #7 // Husam's Personal Preparation, by jastey: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #8 // Laurel's Post-Hunting, by jastey: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #9 // Bartus' Seduction, by jastey: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #10 // Lina's Massage, by jastey: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #11 // First Night with Quentin, by Kulyok: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #12 // Chatting Niklos Up, by Kulyok (mature content. WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #13 // Slythe and Krystin, by Kulyok (mature content. WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #14 // No Regrets: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #15 // Purchased Love, by Thimblerig: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #16 // Hull: Heavy Duty, by Lava: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #17 // Late Night with Jaheira, by Kulyok: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #18 // Sil's Blessing, by Lava: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #19 // Melicamp: The Poultry Boy, by Lava: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #20 // Reading with Rinnie, by Western Paladin: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #21 // Molly the Husband-Grabber, by Kulyok: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #22 // The Mourning of Centeol, the Spider Lady, by Lava: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #23 // The Essential End, by Lava: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #24 // The Harvestmen Lair, by Lava (mature content): v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #25 // The Great Zudini, by Kulyok (mature content): v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #26 // The Messenger, by Thimblerig: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #27 // Ender Sai, the Hero's Reward, by Thimblerig (WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #28 // The Novelists, by Thimblerig: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #29 // The Honest Lies of Two Riversides, By Lava: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #30 // Necromancer's Trouble, by jastey (WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #31 // Dinner with Thalantyr, by jastey: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #32 // Girdle of Gender Reactions, by Thimblerig, Kulyok, Domi, Lava, Lastknightleft, Twani, Jastey, Daisy Ninja Girl: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #33 // The Surgeon's Dream, by Kulyok: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #34 // All That Left Was, by Lava and Thimblerig: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #35 // A Childhood Friend, by Kulyok: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #36 // Arlene the Working Girl, by Kulyok: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #37 // Della May from Thay, by Kulyok: v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #38 // A Dirty Guard in Candlekeep, by Kulyok (mature content. WARNING - refer to the readme!): v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #39 // Phoenix Flame, by Kulyok (mature content): v1.6
~BG1RE/SETUP-BG1RE.TP2~ #0 #40 // Mikala the Monk, by Twani: v1.6
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #0 // The BG1 NPC Project: Required Modifications: v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #1 // The BG1 NPC Project: Banters, Quests, and Interjections: v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #9 // The BG1 NPC Project: Ajantis Romance Core (teen content): v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #10 // The BG1 NPC Project: Branwen's Romance Core (teen content): v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #11 // The BG1 NPC Project: Coran's Romance Core (adult content): v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #12 // The BG1 NPC Project: Dynaheir's Romance Core (teen content): v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #13 // The BG1 NPC Project: Shar-Teel Relationship Core (adult content): v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #14 // The BG1 NPC Project: Xan's Romance Core (teen content): v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #15 // The BG1 NPC Project: Female Romance Challenges, Ajantis vs Xan vs Coran: v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #18 // The BG1 NPC Project: Alora's Starting Location -> Alora Starts in Gullykin: v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #20 // The BG1 NPC Project: Eldoth's Starting Location -> Eldoth Starts on the Coast Way: v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #22 // The BG1 NPC Project: Quayle's Starting Location -> Quayle Starts at the Nashkel Carnival: v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #24 // The BG1 NPC Project: Tiax's Starting Location -> Tiax Starts in Beregost: v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #30 // The BG1 NPC Project: Cloakwood areas availability in Chapter One -> Open four Cloakwood areas (everything but the Mines): v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #32 // The BG1 NPC Project: Sarevok's Diary Adjustments -> Sarevok's Diary Date Changes only: v22.8
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #200 // The BG1 NPC Project: Player-Initiated Dialogues: v22.8
~DELAINY/SETUP-DELAINY.TP2~ #0 #1 // Delainy/Durlyle Same-Sex Romance Options -> Always spawn Durlyle.: v0.91
~DELAINY/SETUP-DELAINY.TP2~ #0 #3 // Dialogue Fixes: v0.91
~K9SHARTEELNPC/SETUP-K9SHARTEELNPC.TP2~ #0 #0 // Install Shar-Teel NPC Mod: v1.2
~NORACERESTRICTIONS/SETUP-NORACERESTRICTIONS.TP2~ #0 #0 // BCaesar's No Race Restrictions Mod: Version1.01
~SIRENE/SETUP-SIRENE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Sirene NPC for Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
~SIRENE/SETUP-SIRENE.TP2~ #0 #1 // Sirene NPC for Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear
~SOA/SETUP-SOA.TP2~ #0 #0 // The Stone of Askavar for TotSC/Tutu/BGT/BGEE -> Default version: areas connected by travel triggers: 2.0
The Spider area was tackled with one single spell: Invisibility. I picked up Spider's Bane and used it to kill everything in the area without having to fear dying because of a Web trap.
The next two areas were easy since I avoided fighting the Druids, and the Wyverns are a joke. Here I got level 8 as a Wizard Slayer.
The welcoming committee was taken care by piling up a couple of Skull Traps (although there was a funny incident that had me redo my job, pic related) to make the fighters burn their potions, and stabbing one of the mages with the recently acquired Dagger of Venom, although it didn't too much since he instantly chugged a Potion of Extra Healing.
The rest was uneventful. I killed all of Hareshain's guards while her protections were wearing off. This meant a good load of Healing potions was wasted here, but oh well. Natasha was also dealt with, after sleeping outside of the Mines.
For Dave, I had originally planned to use Invisibility and a Scroll of PfM, but I found I could do without it by casting Skull Traps off-screen (how original...) after sneaking around. I didn't think the Battle Horrors would die, but it was nice anyway.
I somewhere got my 9th level as a Mage, I think it was at the start of the Mines but I'm not sure since I didn't have level 5 spells so I didn't care about it. Notable loot: Stoneskin, Domination, another level 4 scroll that I failed to learn and forgot what it was, an unidentified Ioun Stone, Slow, Robe of the Neutral Archmage, Fireshield (Red) from the welcoming committee and I guess at least something else but I honestly don't remember.
Currently resting in Baldur's Gate, didn't identify anything yet. It'll be fun, since I'm carrying so much stuff I had to pickpocket half of it with my Familiar to loot everything (yes I know that's an exploit and no I don't feel bad about it).
Undergate: Chara and Frisk in Baldur's Gate
Part 3
Previous posts here:https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860188/#Comment_860188
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860578/#Comment_860578
Tiax's Ghast is a superb anti-Ankheg tool. Its hold effect is fatal when it works and it can absorb two hits that would otherwise instantly kill anyone in the party.
Of course, when I underestimate the threat and keep fighting without the Ghast, things get ugly.
Notice Frisk using Hypnosis to feeblemind the extra Ankheg. It only lasts 6 seconds, but since it works against all targets--unlike Charm, which is extremely unlikely to affect non-humanoids until late into BG2--it gives us a fast but unreliable means of reducing enemy pressure.
Anyway, when things go to hell, Tiax uses Command so Chara can safely lob a grenade at the Ankheg. It fails its save vs. breath!
Gerde, a nearby fighter, helps us out with her spear, but Tiax's AC does not hold, and though we manage to slay one Ankheg, the other is much more dangerous without our front line to handle them.
Imoen and Chara, our only surviving characters, use Smoke Bombs to escape. Imoen tries to finish off the Ankheg with a backstab, but gets killed just as Gerde steals the XP.
Chara resurrects everyone but Imoen, who has not been pulling her weight against the Ankhegs. Tiax tries out the level 1 Aid spell that Divine Remix (or whatever mod; I don't know) gave to him, but apparently it's rigged so it only ever targets the caster.
I could easily correct the bug, but it's my longstanding policy to only correct bugs when they're game-breaking.
We keep hunting Ankhegs. It's risky, but with all sources of XP reduced to a fraction of their normal values, we desperately need to gather all the XP we can. These Ankhegs only give 30% of their normal reward. We keep using Tiax's Ghast as a tank while striking from afar with Bottles of Sludge and disabling the Ankhegs with Command and Hypnosis.
Chara will need lots of gold to fuel their potionmaking, so when we get a massive windfall from the Ankheg lair, we decide to spend only a fraction of it on Farmer Brun.
All the Ankhegs are gone, but we're still at level 1.
Since Chara's Sweet Elixir can cure poison and only costs 11 gold, I figure we can handle the Beregost spiders. Frisk holds down some of them with Hypnosis while we rely on our old staple, Command and Bottles of Sludge, for the rest.
Landrin gives us 6 Antidotes when we get back. Potions and gems are especially useful with an Alchemist in the party, as Chara can get a lot more gold out of them than we could by selling them to a normal store.
Ajantis has a family shield that is identical to a nonmagical medium shield in Item Revisions. I resist the urge to sell it, but it really would have helped us out. It's just worth so much.
My mods introduce a lot of new items, and, of course, many of them are wildly overpowered. If we had over 15,000 gold to spare, Chara could get a very special robe that would dramatically improve their defenses. Too bad the robe has such a dumb name.
That said, it wouldn't be the only item with a redundant name. There is such a thing in D&D as a Sword of Sharpness, after all.
Instead, we invest our gold in the local temple. I've heard of people donating money early in the game to bump up their reputation, but I've never tried it myself. I don't know how much to donate at each stage, so I just bump it up a little whenever it's not enough.
I ditch Imoen so we don't waste any XP on a character we don't entirely need. Despite all of our efforts, even Frisk, our fastest-leveling character, has yet to gain a single level.
I'm not a fan of Ajantis (I don't like his voice), so I grab Khalid and Jaheira. I give Khalid the Forest Runner kit (or whatever it's called; it lets him summon a Spirit Wolf) and give Jaheira the Shapeshifter kit, which lets her reach -3 AC in werewolf form. But it will be a long time before she gets more than 12 HP, making her a very unreliable tank.
In Beregost, we run into a mod-introduced character--a bard named Morwen who totally outclasses everyone else in the party. She has high stats, lots of powerful equipment, and is already at level 5.
Yes, that is in fact a Greenstone Amulet. And those 5 emeralds net us 6,750 gold when Chara recycles them. I don't find Morwen particularly interesting, but a level 5 character is a godsend. We really, really need that extra power if we're going to survive.
With the Ankhegs already exhausted, I have no idea how we're going to get to level 2 without putting our party in danger, so I just wander south to Nashkel. On the way, we run into a girl who lost her rabbit. An ogre named Ugh stole it, but the sweet old guy is nice enough to give it back.
Tristan and Isolde, however, are not so nice. They attack us at the south end of the map.
Khalid summons his Spirit Wolf and Tiax brings out his Ghast. We try to disable Tristan and Isolde with Hypnosis, but both of them make their saves. Khalid falls shortly thereafter.
It's not good to be at such low levels. The enemy makes more saving throws and Tiax goes down as well.
But with Morwen, Tiax's Ghast, and Jaheira in werewolf form all attacking Tristan at once, we manage to bring him down. The last of Jaheira's summoned bats deals the final blow.
We try to take down Isolde with the same tactics, but it proves costly. Isolde slays Jaheira in two hits (a Rainwater Brew is not enough to save her) before Morwen and Frisk finish off the enemy with missile weapons.
We get a ludicrously overpowered weapon, but no one in the party has any proficiency with katanas or wakizashis (which one of my mods merges into one proficiency).
When I pass around the sword, I deem the THAC0 penalties not worth it, but I do notice that it gives the user 3 attacks per round, making it one of the best items in the entire saga.
And though I didn't notice it until far later in the run, the sword can also paralyze on hit.
Later in Nashkel, I realize that the throwing dagger we got from Isolde also gives extra attacks per round. It sets Chara's APR to 5.
If I should die, I think I will make sure somebody in the party has pips in katanas and daggers, because it would be a big help if we could use these two weapons effectively.
We nab 16 XP apiece from Noober and poke around Nashkel for side quests. The Romantic Encounters mod strikes again as we give a weary soldier a massage with a happy ending.
This run so far has been nothing but incessant dying and rampant promiscuity... Like a NSFW version of Undertale. It fills us with determination.
Previous updates:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860005/#Comment_860005
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860233/#Comment_860233
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860461/#Comment_860461
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860730/#Comment_860730
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860767/#Comment_860767
I realised when starting the game that when I created SCS modded versions of BGEE and SoD I hadn't done one for BG2EE. A bit of time and one abortive effort later I had a functioning installation and the boys started in Jon's dungeon. They failed to kill the ogre mage before the genie called a halt to proceedings (having no missile weapons at that stage), but otherwise took down everything - a potion of firebreath finishing off Ulvaryl after the battle mage had badly hurt her.
On emerging, the Circus normally offers a simple solution. However, I made the mistake this time of stopping to kill the shadows on the first floor and getting hit hard by the 'illusionary' werewolves - particularly after failing to get up the stairs initially due to pathfinding problems. Ultimately the boys were just happy to get out with everyone alive.
The Copper Coronet offered no similar problems and stealth made easier a trip through the sewers to take out the slavers - a rare use of horror helping out against the wizards.
Moving on to the Graveyard they again relied largely on stealth while clearing the tombs - getting up to level 9 in the process. Downstairs, Pai'Na handed over their first summoning option.
I knew the Suna Seni ambush would trigger when the boys left the Graveyard, so they were all in stealth to be able to prepare for the combat. That allowed them a pretty comfortable victory.
Prebek and Sanasha were given no chance to talk
Robin (longbow) - L9, 105 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 67 kills (+617 in BG1)
William (crossbow) - L9, 102 HPs, 41 kills (+376 in BG1), 0 deaths
Artemis (shortbow) - L9, 115 HPs (incl. 10 from ioun stone), 79 kills (+409 in BG1), 0 deaths
Cupid (shortbow) - L9, 101 HPs, 44 kills (+383 in BG1), 0 deaths
Legolas (longbow) - L9, 108 HPs, 39 kills (+449 in BG1), 0 deaths
David (sling) - L9, 104 HPs, 34 kills (+275 in BG1), 0 deaths
ABT-7,
there-Be-Dragons,·Neera was happy to join... after I got a word in.
Fights: I defeated a Dragon with attacks as she slept, found her brother and called him chicken then lured a mind sucker into an ambush because the door blocked his mates from helping him.
Almost all the big quests in Baldur's Gate were solved, except for the one for the Helm & Cloak (which were both picked off anyway, since it's the only cloak Wizard Slayers can use) and some fights like the Basilisk, Sunin or the inn band. The Iron Throne's top level was taken care of with a Potion of 50% MR, which, combined with our natural MR of 26% and the Cloak of Balduran's 25%, gives us 101% (yay!). The fight isn't very straightforward, and I have to flee after killing three spellcasters because of the heavy melee damage, but I just come back all buffed and slaughter everyone. The Ogre Mages at the entrance of Candlekeep were frozen to death after a couple of charges from the Wand of Ice.
Notable loot: two tomes of Understanding (+2 WIS, total 5), tome of STR (total 19), tome of INT (total 19), Bala's Axe, Wands we can actually use: Paralysation, Lightning and Ice, the Paws of the Cheetah, a lot of Wizard Spells, Balduran's Helm and Cloak, Large shield +1, +4 vs. Missiles, another Scroll of Protection from Magic (courtesy of Ramazith) and I think that's it. Edit: forgot about the tome of Charisma (total 12 right now). After Candlekeep I might go for the TotSC content, but I am not entirely sure, since to be honest I am not so fond of it as with the rest of the game (except for Durlag's, but that's another issue by itself), and I don't want to loose when the game's like, already won (except for the Palace Fight and Sarevok himself) I think.
What I really want to get is a Magical Long Sword. I've been like 99% of the game with the same Excellent Long Sword, and every time I face an enemy that requires magical weapons to hit (read: the three times I faces Mustard Jellies) I have to use Kondar
Undergate: Chara and Frisk in Baldur's Gate
Part 4
Previous posts here:https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860188/#Comment_860188
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860578/#Comment_860578
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/861123/#Comment_861123
We run into a Baby Wyvern chasing a small child around Nashkel. It drops a Wyvern Head--a precious find--but what we really need is XP, and the reward is paltry.
Aerie makes a cameo at the carnival and implores us not to threaten Zordral. Unfortunately, I never learned how to get out of that encounter without a fight.
Zordral makes both of his saves vs. Command--this is going to be difficult.
He summons a handful of Green Slimes and follows up with a deadly Sleep spell. I can't guarantee Chara will stay awake, so I have them drink our only Potion of Invisibility. Sure enough, they fail their save, and end up unconscious but nevertheless safe.
We finally land a successful Command spell and cut through his Mirror Images while he's down. He still manages to Slow the party, but we've already broken through his defenses.
We buy a bunny rabbit from one of the nearby carnies so Ugh will not be alone in his cave.
Speaking of ogres, Jaheira tanks Oopah using werewolf form. However, Item Revisions removes the critical hit aversion from helmets, which means only Jaheira's level 1 HP keeps her from getting chunked.
We end up kiting Oopah instead. It just works better.
Jaheira does save us a lot of gold in a dialogue shortly afterwards.
We're not ready for the Nashkel Mines quite yet. Not at level 1, especially since IR fire arrows offer no saving throw, which makes Kobold Commandos' critical hits nearly always fatal. We head north instead, escaping some bandits using Chara's Smoke Bombs and taking down another bounty hunter with Command.
Jaheira's Shapeshifter kit would be great if she wasn't so far away from level 2, and Khalid doesn't have much going for him. I boot them from the party and bring in Finch, a very charming gnomish cleric and one of my favorite mod-introduced NPCs. She's a librarian!
Most of the party is still very weak and inexperienced, but I decide to take down Silke. How? By using Frisk's Charm power. They can cast Charm at will, and though it offers a +5 save bonus (which decreases with level, albeit rather slowly), it doesn't leave anyone hostile if it fails.
After a few failed attempts, Frisk charms Silke and makes her waste her best spells.
When we finally begin combat, Silke still gets her pre-buffs, but she doesn't have the spell power to one-shot any party members.
Or so I thought. We knock her out with Command, but we just don't have the APR to get through all of her Mirror Images and Stoneskins. She survives the first attack and slays Tiax with a Minor Sequencer.
She downs a Potion of Invisibility to recover, and when she re-enters combat, she kills Frisk in a single round as well.
But we finally get lucky. Tiax's Ghast paralyzes her--she is doomed.
Now that we have a healthy supply of gold, I decide to check out High Hedge to see if they have anything worth buying. On the way, I run into a mod-introduced quest: a woman needs Thalantyr's help to cure her husbands werewolfism. But apparently this quest, like Melicamp's, ultimately depends on chance. And we are not lucky.
Worse yet, it seems that killing the werewolf--which the dialogue options suggested would be a valid way to finish the quest--does not resolve the problem.
Still at level 1 and still having a bad time.
I heard Shoal the Nereid is a good source of XP and she's worth plenty even if you kill her rather than fight the Ogre Mage, so I head west. The last time I tried this quest, the Ogre Mage trounced me and some ogres flanked us from the south, so I decide to clear out the other ogres on the map before I confront Shoal.
Mostly it involves kiting and Hypnosis. Morwen, with her amazing stats, high level, and powerful equipment, does most of the heavy lifting.
Tiax's Ghast ends the fight with Shoal before it begins. But Shoal only gives us a quarter of her normal XP.
Frisk has gained a level, but Chara is still far from level 2.
We keep heading west in search of Sirenes. Frisk is immune to charm and Chara can provide Sweet Elixirs to cure poison, so I figure we have a decent chance against the Sirenes. Tiax gets charmed, but our real damage dealer is Morwen. With a charge from Imoen's Wand of Missiles, Frisk and Morwen bring down the Sirenes without anyone dying, just barely bumping Finch up to the next level.
But another Sirene joins the fray, and Tiax nearly kills Frisk.
Frisk resists the Sirene's charm spell and Morwen makes her save, so the party makes it out alive. Had I remembered that Frisk can dispel charm effects at will, however, this would have been much easier.
A Seducer's Dispel Charm would be awfully powerful in BG1, since it would let almost any party tackle the Sirenes in relative safety, but that's not why I gave the Seducer that power. I created that spell because using the Seducer's normal Charm spell to retake control of a charmed party member permanently made them unselectable--ultimately, no different from chunking or Imprisonment.
Dispel Charm does require a saving throw at +5 to take effect, however, so it's not a guaranteed fix. It has about a 50% chance of working on a normal level 1 character.
Chara has finally hit level 2 and can therefore cast level 1 spells. They couldn't do it before, as Alchemist can memorize one fewer spell per spell level and therefore can't cast any spells until level 2. Chara summons a ferret familiar and their HP jumps all the way to 28.
It's a pretty decent buffer, but Spell Revisions give Chara very poor AC: Shield is now an abjuration spell, and since Alchemists have the same restrictions as Transmuters, Chara can only use Mage Armor to improve their AC.
They have 2 AC when fully buffed. Chara can still die in a single round if I don't keep them out of harm's way.
Our next target for Chara is level 4. They get a lot of cool new potions at level 4 and 7, and we absolutely need to be level 4 before we take on the bandit camp--there's just no other way around it, since our XP growth is crippled and the Item Randomizer will hide wands from us.
Thalantyr once again fails to save a person's life. I don't remember the last time I saw him succeed, to be honest.
Other sources of XP are sparse. With no Ankhegs to farm and few Sirenes left, we're running out of big targets.
I grievously underestimate some Hobgoblin Elites at a bridge. Finch gets poisoned after already drinking a potion (clouding her aura), putting her in severe danger. Frisk jumps in to save the party with Hypnosis, hoping to hold off the enemies for a few seconds, but Seducers are just too fragile to survive long in these situations.
With only 1d4 HP per level, no ability to wear armor, and penalties to AC and movement speed whenever using their psionics, Seducers are even more fragile than mages.
Morwen and Tiax use Magic Missile and Command to slow down the attackers while we retreat from the bridge. It buys us just enough time for Morwen to clear the field with her overpowered +2 longbow--which, unlike normal longbows in IR, gives a full extra attack per round, instead of a half attack per round.
Is it me, or do my characters die a lot more than other people's?
Chara blows up some gibberlings with their grenades, but the XP tax is omnipresent.
The average quest in my install gives the same rewards as the average Candlekeep fetch quests in the original game.
We trek all the way out to the Gnoll stronghold in search of the Gauntlets of Dexterity and weak enemies. Item Randomizer takes away the gauntlets, and the moment we cross the bridge, we find that the locals are far, far stronger than I expected.
Diverse humanoid enemy parties are the most interesting fights, but they're also the most dangerous when we're at such a low level.
I have one decent option to use here. Bonemeal Eyedrops, the only buffing potion Chara can make at this stage, grants bonuses to THAC0, missile weapon THAC0 and damage, saving throws vs. illusion spells, a thief's Detect Illusion spell... and most importantly for this fight, the ability to dispel illusionary protections on enemies who fail their saves.
Allister fails two saving throws, losing his Mirror Images, Improved Invisibility, and consciousness. But his Protection from Missiles spell will prevent Morwen from killing him while he's down.
There are two enemy backstabbers to worry about, plus a dwarven fighter. And when Chara tries to stun Allister with a grenade, I see a disturbing message.
An invisible thief is trying to backstab Chara. That could easily be fatal; I don't know how high-level this thief is. Chara uses a Smoke Bomb to escape, costing us our chance to land a hit with a grenade.
Tiax's Ghast is now dead, and Finch must serve as our tank. Frisk (our Seducer, not to be confused with Finch the cleric) uses Hypnosis and feebleminds half the enemy party, but both Finch and Frisk are under heavy pressure.
Chara lobs a grenade and retreats, but Allister makes his save vs. breath, allowing him to cast Mirror Image without fear of disruption.
Still, we're making progress. Morwen shoots down the dwarf and the Bonemeal Eyedrops take away Allister's new Mirror Image spell. Morwen slays one of the thieves soon after.
The dwarf was using a wildly overpowered axe. Too bad nobody in the party can use it.
Allister goes invisible once more and shows that he too can backstab. A crossbow bolt from the other thief finishes off Frisk.
Allister is a level 9 mage/thief. He has more level than our entire party combined. In fact, he'd have more than 10 times as much XP as our entire party combined.
Morwen kills the other thief, but Allister escapes with a Potion of Invisibility and sinks a blade into Tiax's back.
Finch knocks out Allister, allowing Chara to rush ahead and lob a grenade, which unfortunately fails to stun or deafen the enemy.
Allister users another Potion of Invisibility to backstab Morwen, but Morwen's Mirror Image keeps her safe.
When Allister begins casting an enchantment spell, I have everyone use a Smoke Bomb. Allister's spell fails entirely. It's a good thing the entire party's aura was clear. But it only takes Allister one round to take away our best escape option.
And unlike Bonemeal Eyedrops, we don't get to make a saving throw against Allister's divination spell.
Allister's Protection from Missiles finally wears off, but he survives a while longer thanks to a Potion of Extra Healing. But now that Morwen can attack him directly, we can apply lots of pressure on him very fast.
He targets Chara, forcing them to retreat all the way across the bridge. But before he reaches them, Morwen kills him with a critical hit.
We get a lot of excellent loot, but between that axe, some powerful bullets, and a really nice ring...
...we can't use most of it. It all goes in the Turqoise Bag of Holding we got from Thalantyr and will stay there until we can figure out a use for it.
An army of 7-foot gnolls awaits us in a massive fortress rising from the earth. We are filled with determination.
Barl in BG2: Irenicus' dungeon under IR without a real tank actually sucks. A lot. Especially since I've elected to keep Imoen as a pure Thief and not a mage which is probably going to give me composition issues down the road but too late now! Much of it was done by abusing Barl's Hide in Shadows and taking potshots and running: the Otyugh, notably, didn't hurt anyone for the first time in forever using stealth spear attacks.
In a moment of extreme hubris, I dump Minsc, thinking I wouldn't need his damage presence. Yoshimo, Barl, and Jaheira continue to clear the circus.
I'm trying to get Barl something like 150k experience for level 9 Archer, at which point we'll dual. So still as a 3-man unit, we clear the Copper Coronet, and the plan's to go to to Imnesvale for the fairly easy experience. We run into the Suna Seni ambush on the way out, and are forced to flee: there was no way to survive the Horror that was coming our way. So no Arbane's for me this game.
In Imnesvale, a Nymph courtesy of Jaheira charms the Mimic, and I have the Mimi acidify himself before it kills the Nymph. Killing a Stone Golem and negotiating a trade deal were enough to get Barl to 9, and then down to Cleric 1. Finding Merella's journal is enough to pop him back up to Cleric 5.
Next, to preserve continuity and because I'm just a little bit crazy, Neera's the next person I attempt to recruit. And the Wild Forest is super duper unfriendly when you have 3 people that really, REALLY want to cast to do anything, and no straight-up warrior types. A fight with a Greater Wyvern here took like, 20 minutes of me taking potshots at the silly thing. And even Hobgoblins hurt in that place. I quickly revoke my previous decision and go rerecruit Minsc.
Back in Athkatla, still without a Magic License, it's tricky finding quests we can do safely. Cowled Wizards don't detect in the sewers or in the Slaver Boat, so those are the two we do first. Pixie Dust from Jaheira gets us into the boat safely, and between Holy Smite, Chaos, and a Nymph, the first area is cleared fairly safely. The Mages in the second area are hit by Silences and Hold Persons, and the rest of the boat's cleared soon after.
Next is the Docks district. An ambush sees Renfield returned, and then into Prebek's and Sanastha's house we go. Yoshimo is the first casualty in the game again, getting held by a Ghast as the other 4 look at each other and collectively run. Got him Raised at the Temple of Oghma, and the second fight was much more successful.
Since we're at the Docks, we start Maevar's guild quests, all while trying to activate Minsc's missing Boo for a free magic license and 19 strength. The worst part was honestly the Mephits, sadly enough, as Rayic himself was distracted by a Fire Elemental and the others crowded and crushed him. Three True Seeing's are enough to put an end to Maevar's guild.
Jaheira is cursed, cured, and then summoned to the Harper Hold right when there's a vampire ambush. I'm nowhere near ready to face them, it seems, as Minsc was in danger of dying to level drain, and the other 3 weren't faring too well either. Minsc had Boo stolen somewhere around here as well, so magic license + 19 strength on Minsc helps, but even so... I had to flee the named vampire into an inn and rest twice for the Restorations to kick in the next day. After this, the Harper Hold itself wasn't a major problem, as Chaos helps negate a couple of their spellcasters and a Fire elemental is used to soak up damage.
Fallen Paladins are painfully cleaned up as none of them seemed to be failing their saves, and the Tanner quest is finally done. I sent Jaheira down invisibly with Ironskins and Mirror Image and True Seeing to rid the Rune Assassins of their invisibility potions, and the ghasts fall to a double Holy Smite from Barl. The Bone Golem's a huge pain, but eventually dies.
Back to the Wild Forest. The repeating Fireball trap claims both Neera and Minsc's lives, which a quick visit and rest at Watcher's Keep soon remedied. Cats are painfully herded, a second emerald was repurchased for the talisman... And I used the console to get a Silver Necklace for the last component for the talisman, after I raided all the tombs in the Graveyard district in search of one without luck. The last quest is to go to Trademeet for the flask of ale, so I figured we might as well do the Genies, with castings of Pro. Petrification on Jaheira, Minsc, and Yoshimo. Still don't have the saving throws for Barl to guarantee a Petrification wild surge from Neera. Took a good number of potions, but got them in the end along with the Shield of Harmony.
Enclave battle! Even without prebuffs, this number of mages is absolutely terrifying. The battle for entry goes without any deaths, but Minsc is slowed and killed in the second fight with the mercenaries. After raising him, we err on the side of caution and allow the freed slaves their attempt at the Red Wizards, and to their credit get them to waste the vast majority of their spells. A Chaos affecting everyone besides a lone unnamed Red Mage in the last room seals the deal.
Barl is very nearly at level 10 and thus his beloved bow: I think his THAC0's going to drop by 10 points or something silly from this level, with the shortbow at least.
Previous updates:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860005/#Comment_860005
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860233/#Comment_860233
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860461/#Comment_860461
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860730/#Comment_860730
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/860767/#Comment_860767
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/861164/#Comment_861164
In Trademeet the boys left the berserk warrior and Kitthix in the genies tent to act as a distraction after they completed their killing work outside. Moving on to the Grove they didn't find things that easy against the stronger monster groups introduced by SCS. Of course the small amount of magical ammunition they had and their lack of a melee weapon that could kill trolls were self-inflicted handicaps
With the remaining Trademeet quests inaccessible the boys returned to Athkatla still in search of reputation. They'd invested in temple donations immediately after emerging from Jon's dungeon, so were already at 18. The Sir Sarles quest allowed them to take Neb's head to get 1 point, before the Fallen Paladins were comprehensively whipped to hit the magic 20 mark.
A spending spree followed with Robin initially picking up the Blade of Roses. That's a reasonable weapon in its own right as well as a source of charisma to push prices to rock bottom. Once broke again the boys looked for a good place to loot and decided that the de'Arnise Hold fitted the bill. There were some big groups of trolls in there and the boys took plenty of damage, but without anyone ever being particularly threatened by the standard trolls. A lot of the time, in order to conserve ammunition, the only ones that fought were David (using the Shield of Harmony and Defender of Easthaven to tank) and Cupid (mowing down opposition with Tansheron's Bow).
There was though a problem after they successfully lured TorGal away from his supporters using stealth. With no protection against fear TorGal was very dangerous even on his own and William got stuck by a door after being scared (possibly as a result of strength drain) and was clawed to death.
They got to a temple without incident to raise William and set off back to the de'Arnise Hold - my 'no party deaths allowed' rule was specific to BG1, so didn't immediately end the run. On the way they ran into an orc ambush and I wondered early on if that was going to be trouble - an orc priest had physical mirror up, while an orc mage was protected against magical weapons and all the other orcs were enraged. However, with their best ammunition equipped the boys quickly ran through the other orcs, while the orc mage appeared to have forgotten to include PfNM in his buffs.
They were greeted with yet another bunch of trolls back at de'Arnise, but eventually they'd worked through those, rested up and were ready to proceed. I got into trouble once more against Tor'Gal's support crew though. I misjudged how many of those there were (a number were invisible initially) and was probably also not fully concentrating following the earlier death. As a result, though the first wave of trolls and umber hulks were dispatched, the boys had got too close together while doing that and several were caught by chaos spells. A second wave of trolls arrived and looked to take advantage of that vulnerability and, in attempting to protect those already incapacitated everyone else was affected by one spell or another and couldn't defend themselves ...
Six Archers can launch a spectacular blitzkrieg attack and wipe out just about anything in a few rounds, but with no clerics to cast Remove Fear or Chaotic Commands, with no bards or Inquisitors to cast Dispel Magic, and with no option of choosing a halfling, dwarven, or gnomish Archer for shorty save bonuses, a team of Archers can die to a single Chaos or Emotion or Horror spell. An Arrow of Dispelling can solve certain problems, but not all disablers are dispellable--to name just a few, Demon Fear, Dragon Fear, Death Gaze, and Psionic Blast all bypass magic resistance and cannot be dispelled.
SCS Liches with PFMW are also a nightmare for Archers, as are Spell Revisions mages with Protection from Missiles (which blocks ALL missiles instead of just nonmagical ones). In both cases, they simply don't have the means of taking down the enemy before getting hit with a lot of nasty spells. Archers suffer from a crippling inability to handle enemy pressure. If they can't kite the enemy, or have to wait a few rounds for it to become vulnerable, their sky-high APR and damage output just won't have the opportunity to come into play.
Archers are like an obsidian scalpel. Obsidian holds a sharper edge than almost any other material and is commonly used in surgical blades, but it's easy to chip an obsidian blade and ruin that edge. Archers cut fast and hard, but if they get chipped first, they lose their edge.
Alternatively you can just attack Zordral and she will give you a rewards for rescuing her. (The reward is not as big as it is if she gets killed!)
Your choice. Are you good or not so good?
You wrote:
Now that we have a healthy supply of gold, I decide to check out High Hedge to see if they have anything worth buying. On the way, I run into a mod-introduced quest: a woman needs Thalantyr's help to cure her husbands werewolfism. But apparently this quest, like Melicamp's, ultimately depends on chance. And we are not lucky.
Which mod is this?
Journal of Terror of Tempus
After the ambush where Gorion was killed, there was another ambush from which I likewise fled.South of Beregost, we killed some ogrillon and then three flaming fist mercenaries who were exceedingly officious and attacked us for no good reason. Whilst they hurt us badly, we did gain three suits of plate armour.