Durin and Zankas have asked me to find a magical axe that is in the possession of some sirens. I am wondering if there is a bug as I have been unable to find it. I have killed the 2 sirine parties that I know about in the Lighthouse Area and there is no trace of the axe. I then went to the party in the south-west of the area where Shoal lived. It wasn’t on their bodies either. If anyone can give advice as to where to look, I would be grateful. Information as to which mod this is from would also be helpful as I would then be able to ask the relevant people, perhaps even find the information that I need on that mod’s forum. Googling their names didn't help.
Diary of Ironstar Rockfist
We now have Vynd the drow assassin, Dynaheir the Illusionist, and the two paladins called Isra and Sirene in the party. We have found Dynaheirs missing notebook and are about to investigate the mines, so we will soon know how accurate the accounts about demons being down there is.
We killed Shoal and to our surprise Droth didn't turn up. Therefore no Helm of Defence!!!
@Wise_Grimwald Droth only shows up if you let Shoal kill a party member, hit her once or twice to make her give up, then say you will try to get her shawl from Droth. If you kill her outright, you just get the experience - which is sizable at low levels though, so quite worth it then.
@Corey_Russell She did. She killed Xzar. Normally I wait for her to give up, fight Droth and then kill Shoal. However on this occasion she didn't give up. I suspect that it might have been because the first hits were from some summoned skeletons.
It could of course been because there is a bug in this set-up. It is my first game in this installation using the Big World Set-Up. The other possibility is that she was hit too hard which has happened to me in the past. I don't think that happened this time though. I have learned from bitter experience not to use command or other spells that might make her unconcious at the vital moment.
Diary of Ironstar Rockfist
In the Nashkel Mines, we gained another party member called Margarita. She helped us clear the mines and clear most of the area where we left them thus getting a wand of summoning etc. We also killed the Revenant.
Upon reaching Nashkel we killed two assassins, one inside and one outside the inn. Upon heading north we came across some lady ogres who were intent upon eating Jan Jensen. We stopped them, but sadly didn't gain any reputation.
We took the iron sample to the smithy and the unusual liquid to High hedge.
Upon reaching the bandit camp we killed a bunch of assassins led by Brotus Bloodthirsty, and then took on Tazok. We tried pick-pocketting him, but couldn't catch up with him when he left. Haste is clearly required to do that.
The first battle was started by us attacking Taugosz Khosann. His death was quickly achieved, but then to my horror a small army of bandits including a wizard, Hazt and several Black talon Elite emerged and Vynd was killed. Web enabled us to beat them but only just. We were fortunate to only lose Vynd! We slept as soon as we were abole and then entered the tent. Fortunately we were buffed as we were hard-pressed by bandits inside the tent. After winning we talked to Ender Sai. This led to us discovering that Margarita was a spy for the Iron Throne. We therefore killed her and headed for the Friendly Arms Inn to raise Vynd.
Wise_Grimwald said... @Corey_Russell She did. She killed Xzar. Normally I wait for her to give up, fight Droth and then kill Shoal. However on this occasion she didn't give up. I suspect that it might have been because the first hits were from some summoned skeletons.
I never use summons (against Shoal), and usually only have a single character attack her. Summons get in the way with Shoal, as they aren't as good as party members in backing off a target. Which often means she doesn't get a chance to talk, or she's trying to talk and a late summon hit makes her hostile, losing the opportunity.
I forgot to mention, I also make sure one party member is in melee range, to guarantee that I am also in talking range, that way the moment she is ready to give up I will see the dialog. Before I did this, I killed her as she was approaching to try to talk...
Upon reaching The Friendly Arms Inn we were attacked by a paladin and cleric who had been decieved by our enemies into thinking that we are evil. Sadly we were forced to kill them. We did gain some good equipment as a result, but we would rather that it hadn't happened. We raised Vynd and upgraded some weapons after going to Beregost to sell some ankheg shells. We are again poor! We helped Aldeth when he was threatened by some druids, fortunately without bloodshed. Vynd was again killed when we fought a dragon. That dragon is far too clever when it comes to fighting. It seems to sense who is vulnerable to attack. Jaheira was also very badly injured but survived. We then went to raise Vynd. We then helped Beador and are now heading out to save Maretha if possible.
As usual, another day meant trying to remember what we'd planned. To recap, we were stood in area BD7400. Where's that... ah the Bloodbark Grove. To the north was the underground river entrance so we headed in that direction.
A shadowy figure decided to ambush us on the way but was courteous enough to hang back while we glugged a few potions (heroism for Sapper, oil of speed and defence for Kolla) and equipped arrows of detonation. We start with a wand of fire and a necklace of missile, but miss. So we creep forward hoping to catch them off guard, but Kolla is not careful enough and the enemy are alerted.
Another wand + necklace use is followed by a few steps backward before shooting arrows. The shadowy figure is still active in the shadows so a targeted Kolla switches to melee weapon and runs as Sapper switches to melee and moves to a visible enemy. As he does so, our in-flight arrow that can be seen in the first screenshot hits another mark and the explosion incinerates the shadowy figure so all that is left is a mop-up operation.
After looting their gear we continue to our planned destination.
On arrival we spot some greater wyverns. Kolla checks and Sapper confirms he is ready. Really? Sapper waits for Kolla to start casting replacement MMM's before requesting assistance, mentioning he probably won't survive another round of wyvern poison. Kolla tosses him an elixir of health in the certain knowledge that death will be preferable to using it. So it proves, sort of. Kolla retreats and casts Slow Poison as Sapper moves towards her. Stubborn dwarf...
A dying myconid draws some regal attention, Sapper happily dealing with them but Kolla trying to help at range and just stepping into the cloud and becoming confused.
Next up are the defenders of the entrance to the underground river. Of note here were a couple of defenders insisting on remaining seated to finish their drinks while the arrows and cloudkill were all around them, not even budging when their fate drew near.
Kolla teased Sapper about getting a two handed sword +3, something he'd die for. Oops, unfortunately he did thanks to a lag-jump-attack for 31 damage (first death this run I believe, middle screenshot). After a temple visit he got his wish though, with Righah blinded and his companion trying to fight us while surrounded in cloudkill.
Since the entrance was clear, we headed inside and took a couple of minor cave detours. The first one was buggy and looks as if there is a multiplayer issue so we exited that cave (will investigate further), and the second one saw us both crash when Sapper tried to hand a diary or journal over to Kolla. We called the session to an end at that point.
I thought that the battle against the assassins on the bridge into the Gate was won. Then was attacked by archers with arrows of freezing. The battle was won... By them. Those arrows are lethal!!
Next game will be an all Cleric game using all the good clerical NPCs available. The PC is a Holy Strategist of the Red Knight. All Clerics will be given an appropriate kit.
- do good and lawful things (duh… ), but with a preference on good over law when conflicts emerge
- god : Lathander - spare as much lives as I can - no mercy whatsoever with undeads (must be killed, no matter what)
- 10 magical items max - 4 weapons (including ammos) - 1 armor - 1 shield - 4 misc (include items like potion of Hill Giant strength and green scrolls, but not healing potions and antidotes)
- never lie (oath) - tithe : 10% to the Song of the Morning Temple when I come back from adventuring (and before buying stuff) - no neutral allies, only good ones - no stealing, minimum thieving (traps and locks, mostly) - only use and swap between allies items placed in quickslot
"I'm a hero and I'm a librarian !" -Finch
That quote is just so awesome. Since I myself am a librarian, I started to quote Finch at work. Nobody seems to understand. Don't care, this awesomeness is all mine !!
So, after being done with Nimbul, we decided to go on quests to level up a bit. First, Bassilus was taken out. Since I can't lie, I had to deal with his skeletons, but, because Norgaard is an Undead Hunter who can turn undead like a cleric of the same level, he stayed idle, only turning the skellies away while the others fought Bassilus. The mad cleric managed to blast us with an Unholy Blight, but that's the only damage he did : the second Silence spell Finch threw sticked. He died a moment later.
Having reached level 7 with Imoen, I dualled her into a mage from the Sharpshooter kit from the Song and Silence mod (she'll then be at least ok with a bow that way). I was thinking of letting her go up to level 10 as a thief to get full Detect Illusion, but decided otherwise. Would have been better in BG2, but Chateau Irenicus is a pain without a good thief (Imoen wouldn't have recovered her thief abilities). And being a paladin, I can't use Yoshimo. Mutamin was tackled right after. Not much to say here; Silence shutted him up on the first try. Easy. Then, I abused the overpowered state of Rasaad in Werewolf form : after having bought a scroll of Chaotic Command, he went on a sirine killing spree. He took them all out real fast. Greater Basilisks suffered the same fate, thanks to a Rogue Rebalance hood that prevent any gaze effect on the wearer (which monks can also wear, it seems).
To test myself a bit more, I decided to go for the Wolf of Ulcaster, which can be a nasty little critter. I buffed my whole team and went to town against him. When Rasaad entered his overpowered state, I had an interesting note in the Dialog window :
The werewolf claws strike as non-magical weapon. Nicely played, IR, nicely played. After a bit of testing after the fight, it seems that even if you use magical weapons in both your hands, the claws still strike as non-magical weapons, thus overriding your own weapon. It a nice thing really, because I otherwise was thinking about not using the cloak much : since the werewolf bonuses stack with those of the monk, it can be widely overpowered. It is still very powerful, but against stronger critter, it's going to be near useless. A good reason to keep using it.
So, back to the fight with the Wolf of Ulcaster. Since Rassad couldn't do even a scratch to the dreaded beast, he started to attack the ghouls summoned by the Wolf. One of them stunned Imoen, so it was the first order of business. When dead, Nordgaard casted Remove Paralysis on Imoen so she could rejoin the fight. After, Nordgaard was whacking with a Bastard Sword +1 and my other teammates were flinging spells at the Wolf, except for Sirene, who was manhandling our back against a pack of dread wolves. All in all, we were in complete control of the situation, so we cleared the area. Sirene got the last kill of the day.
Now it was time to get to serious business : we attacked the Bandit Camp head on. Earlier, Finch missed her chance at learning Web, which is usually my go-to spell against the bandits. So, without Web, I was wondering what could I use instead. Then, I found the Grease spell : under SR, it knocks you down on a failed save vs breath +2, but reduce your movement speed without a save. So, I greased up ! It did a marvelous job at crowd control. While enemies were either falling to the ground or slowly moving toward me, Imoen was flinging Sleep from a wand and Valerie hurling fireballs in the lot. My tanks formed a wall preventing anyone to get near my casters. Enemy arrows did bits of damage, but that's all they did : we prevailed without much problems.
Nordgaard and his crew is now relaxing in front of the Lathander's Temple in Beregost, deciding on a strat to use against Davaeorn.
That quote is just so awesome. Since I myself am a librarian, I started to quote Finch at work. Nobody seems to understand. Don't care, this awesomeness is all mine !!
I think I'm going to have to start ignoring Bassilus. This is the third time in as many starts that trying for that quick 5k got me killed. I even brought cannon fodder this time...
As usual, another day meant trying to remember what we'd planned. To recap, we were in a cave in the underground river cavern. Strunk was outside, experimenting with water, so we decided to spoil his fun. & a nearby neried decided Kolla should be spat at too.
Upon reaching the Bwoosh activation point, we realised we had not spoken to De'Lancie or his dwarven collaborator, so knew nothing of such matters. We turned around and trudged back to the camp and picked the barrel up, together with something to poison a waterhole. On our way back we decided to track Skie down, not realising the castle was active on the map (it looked greyed out) so we worked our way around Dead Man's Pass. It started off painfully for Sapper, so Kolla distracted a few enemies with cast and run tactics - but a shambler stretched out and disrupted a MMM casting, entangling Kolla to boot. A couple of hits later Kolla was in serious danger but managed to gulp a potion of invisibility as her aura finally cleared.
Back inside the underground river area Kolla reckoned Sapper could face down Ferrusk and his mutated minions. Sapper once more found it hard going perhaps due to the myconid sack we'd carelessly handed over, and Kolla slightly over-did her compensation by orbing Ferrusk. His petrified remains were immediately chunked.
We thought the poisoned crusaders may be out of luck but somehow we'd found an antidote, maybe it was handed over before Ferrusk went hostile - Kolla should pay more attention to details.
By the time we get back to the Coalition camp it is coming under attack. The first wave was trolls and ogres, Sapper suggesting our archers with their flame arrows were under-prepared so he added a few arrows of detonation while Kolla uses an oil of burning.
The second wave of attackers are mages. Kolla elects to have wizard slayers accompany us, but arrows and an oil see the enemy numbers reduced to two survivors after less than a round. With them both concealed we discuss using glitterdust or an item detect illusion. The detect is used to great effect.
The third wave of attackers are fighters. Kolla uums and aahs before sending in the assassins. No screenshot, but suffice to say some early detonation left many badly wounded fighters easy prey to backstabs. Two clerics survived with sanctuary but each made the mistake of attacking Sapper. Sapper turned to attack but several backstabs beat him to the punch each time.
With the three waves over, we took on the final group. Our supporting mages didn't seem eager to help and we took an early beating, so went to the east flank and started working our way in. Kolla glugged a potion of clarity to avoid a domination attempt, and by the time we got back to the final attackers their leader was already dead.
In our haste to storm Dragonspear Castle we forgot to rest, and Kolla didn't listen to the rules of engagement for one to one combat with Ashatiel. Lack of rest left her low on spells and susceptible to Ashatiel's attacks. She ummed and aahed quite some time before guessing a wand of monsters might be allowable. Ashatiel continued attacking so Kolla used a potion of invisibility, and then an extra potion of healing. As she was about to shoot acid arrows, Ashatiel called foul so we had to fight everyone...
After 3-4 minutes, Sapper complained about an unbeatable foe. Kolla glanced over and realised Sapper was fighting open air. Uh-oh... (sure enough my game crashed moments later. Previous save was the area transition so we reloaded that. I decided to rest this time!)
Second time around, we listened to Ashatiel and heard the rule "no hiding" which seems unfair for e.g. a Shadowdancer! Whatever.
This time Kolla had stoneskin active and added a greenstone amulet charge as before, then mirrored. She was shooting acid arrows in between each cast and Ashatiel was looking a bit green. Then Ashatiel used sanctuary. Is that not hiding?
An oil of fiery burning was used to bypass sanctuary but the damage of 5 looked weak so Kolla fished out three potions of explosions and used two of them. Hide from that...
Last week's Trio session should have continued with this run, but my installation had a problem so we tried out the EE. With things fixed though it was back to BGT today to continue what we were doing. The game loaded in the Graveyard and, after a bit of thought, we decided that we were doing a search for some headgear for Meffal. That didn't take long with Coreranger only picking up a dose of poison from the last few spiders - Babar being free by that time to use his Bhaal ability to cure it.
The tombs in the Graveyard were cleared as an afterthought.
On the way to sell surplus loot Renfeld made an appearance, so the next step was to drop him off and sort out Prebek and Sanasha.
That provided entry in order to remove the valuables from the Harper HQ. With cash zooming well past 15k we paid Gaelan Bayle and gave Coreranger a couple of upgrades - he's the only one able to wear the Amulet of Power and as he tends to be the nominated tank he gets the most benefit from the extra AC of the ring of protection.
Looking to enhance tankiness a bit more the Trio went to Trademeet in search of the Shield of Harmony. One genie was stunned by the unexpectedness of Meffal's attack, while the other two inside the tent were too keen to get a giant spider statue for their collection and had nothing left to use against other attackers.
Moving on to the Druid Grove a series of trolls didn't last long against 3 fighter types all dual-wielding. Kyland Lind talked a good fight, but shut up suddenly when Babar flourished Namarra in front of him.
The remaining encounters were trouble-free and Cernd was given the chance for a good feed on Faldorn. Back in Trademeet the tomb was cleared, but the skinner murders are still unsolved so no-one else was looking for help in the town at the moment.
The final destination for the session was Umar Hills. Meffal concentrated hard watching what Coreranger was doing in the cave, never even blinking until after the mimic was dead - and he learned enough from the experience to get another level.
The rogue golem was then given an overhaul before the Trio moved on to the Temple area.
The relatively low levels of the group meant that only skeleton warriors led the undead groups in the temple and they were not able to put up too much resistance as Babar picked up another level.
Flushed by success, the feisty warriors decided they were more than a match for a dragon. Everything went well in the initial attack - for the first couple of seconds until Meffal ran away screaming (having turned down Coreranger's offer of a potion of clarity just before) . The others found that the THAC0 which was more than adequate for skeleton warriors was somewhat iffy for a dragon and struggled to get through its defences. Thaxy did not have the same problem and hunted Coreranger until he was finally able to cut him down - fortunately not chunking him though.
By that time Meffal had regained his senses and occupied the dragon's attention from under the portico while Babar threw Azuredge at it - before remembering that in this installation Azuredge is bugged against Thaxy and won't hurt him . No problem though - Babar grabbed Coreranger's bow and loosed off a few shots before deciding that maybe there was a tiny problem as he failed to hit with an attack roll of 19. The remaining duo did a quick run round of the dragon to pick up Coreranger's gear and made it back upstairs to the main temple just in time for the end of the session. Will Babar and Meffal take on Thaxy by themselves at the start of the next session - or will sanity prevail? It's a real toss-up folks .
Babar, barbarian L11, 118 HPs, 401 kills Coreranger, ranger L10, 109 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 290 kills, 1 death Meffal, monk L11, 81 HPs, 190 kills, 1 death
As usual, another day meant trying to remember what we'd planned. To recap, we were stood in the grounds of Dragonspear Castle. The way to the castle interior was clear, but Kolla fancied a detour.
Chloe ambushes Sapper with a hefty backstab and adds a second strike before hiding. Sapper is badly wounded and another hit could have him down but Kolla wands up some summons and after another disappearance or two Chloe is peppered with arrows sufficiently for a Magic Missile spell to kill her off.
Our summons don't last long and after heading north to track down more enemies Kolla breaks east as Sapper breaks west. Kolla doubles-back to help Sapper against a skeleton warror but a previously undiscovered trap catches the dwarf out and down he goes.
Kolla hunts around for a healer and after finding several are not offering temple services, finally finds one inside the castle who is willing and able to raise Sapper. Back we go to grab his gear, and a little-known multiplayer quirk regenerates his entire health moments later instead of wandering around with 2hp remaining.
We track back to the remnants of Chloe's group and use arrows of detonation plus MMM's. Sapper is once more bleeding heavily so Kolla decides to use a wand of fire to cauterise the cause rather than the effect.
Matters appear to be under control now, but multiplayer placing leaves Sapper vulnerable to Thasz and down he goes again. Kolla uses MMM's on Thasz, retreating to keep a safe distance from his sword. Unfortunately for Thasz, the chase leads him into the recuperating coalition forces. Tough break.
Another temple service sees Sapper on his feet again, and we also take the opportunity to recharge wands of fire and summoning that are on their last charge. Then we head inside to discover a portal to Avernus has been opened. Time to close our eyes and jump through. The initial area is safely cleared, as is the next area until we encounter Thrix. Kolla and Sapper have discussed tactics and attack without speaking but Thrix insists on talking and gates in some allies.
Sapper races in to melee Thrix, Kolla joining him briefly but retreating after a few moments. Sapper finishes Thrix off but Kolla is Commanded and drops to the ground. Sapper heroically positions himself between his prone companion and the enemies, only to be dominated.
Kolla's stoneskins aren't going to last long, but long enough they last. She races away but has been poisoned by the Eryines and Sapper has landed a hefty blow post-stoneskin. In her left hand she has a potion of invisibility, in her right an elixir of health. Gulp.
Health it is, meaning the enemies are free to chase her. She covers the entire area at speed, passing two summons left from earlier. Potions of invisibility and extra healing are followed by invulnerability, and running from enemies who continue to give chase without being able to see her. The Eryines can see through invisibility though so Kolla gets shot at each time she changes direction.
Kolla considers using a wand to summon more monsters but they won't last long. How about shooting back at the Eryines - might be too dangerous as the other demons will use teleport and spell effects. Best to keep on the move and wait for Sapper to snap out of it.
Eventually he does, and Kolla keeps the enemies distracted long enough for him to glug a couple of potions. Once he's back into action we prioritise the Eryines, then hunt down the others one by one.
Ahead of us is a basalt tower. That's a story for another day.
Most runs seem to fail to restartitis. Looking at the deaths I've had, they don't really seem to have a common cause. It's usually some weird, other factor that I wasn't aware of:
1. An unfamiliar disabler, like Halatathlaer's fear effect in SoD. 2. An unfamiliar trap, which killed a fighter/mage in an "underused spells and items" run. 3. An unfamiliar encounter, like a modded version of the room above Kangaxx, where there was a dwarf with a vorpal sword. 4. Some early fight in BG1 when zero-risk tactics do not actually exist, like Ankhegs or bandits and so forth. 5. Or, in the case of my first Undergate run, the fact that Sarevok can end the game by killing the nearest Grand Duke at the Ducal Palace when the doppelgangers are gone.
As time has gone on, I don't normally lose runs to the enemy anymore. I've developed a habit of using extremely defensive-oriented Charname builds who basically never do anything, waiting in the shadows under invisibility when necessary, keeping their auras clear, and giving them all the best items and save bonuses and potions, including the Bag of Holding where all our situational items are stored.
But I think the primary reason is something else entirely: I structure all major encounters so that I can escape them if necessary.
1. I enter with at least one designated escape route. At least one character is always close to the exit so I can leave as quickly as possible. 2. I prepare rescue options depending on the assumed threats, like distributing Potions of Invisibility or Arrows of Dispelling to give characters breathing room or remove disablers. 3. I periodically assess the situation and gauge how well we're doing. If a fight isn't going as planned--if important enemies aren't going down fast enough, or if we're taking too much damage when the enemy is resisting our pressure, if an important character dies or even just gets disabled or Slowed, or most of my party members have had clouded auras most of the fight, or if an important weapon fails to work on the enemy, then I'll take measures to escape. 4. To escape, I look for a way out. This depends on the positioning of the enemy and the party. Sometimes it requires Oils of Speed and other movement-relating options, sometimes it involves scattering the enemy with Teleport Field to open up paths, and sometimes it just means a lot of micromanaging to get my party members in a better position. But most importantly, I am willing to let characters die if it allows the party to escape. I have probably avoided multiple deaths simply by allowing one party member to die so that the others may escape.
I just did this in my most recent run. Enemies were pouring in, we needed to make our escape, but one character was stuck behind a wall. I gave him an Oil of Speed to help him sneak past, but a crowd of enemies blocked his way. To free him, I gave him a Potion of Invisibility, causing the crowd of enemies to move away from him towards the rest of the party.
Then, one of my characters failed a save against Chaos. I doubted we could survive another 6 rounds of pressure, so I turned the rest of the party invisible using Potions of Invisibility. Although the enemy could probably block our way or reveal us using divination, I knew that if one of us was still visible--the character under the effects of Chaos--then the vast horde of hostile melee grunts would descend upon her.
Sure enough, they killed her within two rounds. I used the quick-loot feature to collect her equipment and left the area in seconds, as I had already positioned the rest of the party in a line leading down to the exit.
This allows me to save up precious resources like potions, arrows, scrolls, and wands for the fights that I can't run away from.
In contrast to semiticgod I don't as a rule take a defensive-oriented approach aimed at eliminating risk - after all when you've died so many hundred times, it's hard to care too much about one more . Instead I will try and avoid major risks. An example of that would be that I typically avoid any chance of bandit encounters while at low levels, but will travel without regard to the risk once HPs and AC are somewhat improved. That does mean that I occasionally die in such ambushes when the dice are sufficiently unfriendly, but that's a price that seems worth paying to retain a sense of excitement in the game play.
As I normally play solo, unknown traps are a huge danger - I've still not completed SoD (at least in single player), and dying on multiple occasions as a result of charm, confusion, hold and maze traps is a significant reason for that.
.... But I think the primary reason is something else entirely: I structure all major encounters so that I can escape them if necessary.
1. I enter with at least one designated escape route. At least one character is always close to the exit so I can leave as quickly as possible. 2. I prepare rescue options depending on the assumed threats, like distributing Potions of Invisibility or Arrows of Dispelling to give characters breathing room or remove disablers. 3. I periodically assess the situation and gauge how well we're doing. If a fight isn't going as planned--if important enemies aren't going down fast enough, or if we're taking too much damage when the enemy is resisting our pressure, if an important character dies or even just gets disabled or Slowed, or most of my party members have had clouded auras most of the fight, or if an important weapon fails to work on the enemy, then I'll take measures to escape. 4. To escape, I look for a way out. This depends on the positioning of the enemy and the party. Sometimes it requires Oils of Speed and other movement-relating options, sometimes it involves scattering the enemy with Teleport Field to open up paths, and sometimes it just means a lot of micromanaging to get my party members in a better position. But most importantly, I am willing to let characters die if it allows the party to escape. I have probably avoided multiple deaths simply by allowing one party member to die so that the others may escape.
*nod*
This reads as very good advice on how to *survive* a noreload run.
Close-call survival and escape stories almost make as memorable moments as success stories.
I once had a red wizard encounter with a low level party where at some point *everyone* was crowd-controlled in some way, scattered across half the map. Half the party has indeed died, but my charname with a dwindling Wand of Summoning's last charges saved the day.
As I normally play solo, unknown traps are a huge danger
I try not to meta-game. That means memorizing (or acting as if memorized) trap locations is not allowed. Combine that with how I never play thieves, solo is basically never allowed to me.
One of these days maybe I'll try a FMT for a change...
"I'll just play a little longer" is what kills me. That and not being methodical enough to put together a counter to all enemy attacks - what they call the ascension kit in some roguelikes.
I find playing in an unheroic style puts me off a little, so if I'm playing super-defensive I go the whole way and RP manipulative evil types.
I collected Neera for magic and Shar-teel for traps so my sister could take her time... I gave her the intel and charisma books and we are banking on her skills to keep the credits coming.
Comments
I have killed the 2 sirine parties that I know about in the Lighthouse Area and there is no trace of the axe. I then went to the party in the south-west of the area where Shoal lived. It wasn’t on their bodies either.
If anyone can give advice as to where to look, I would be grateful.
Information as to which mod this is from would also be helpful as I would then be able to ask the relevant people, perhaps even find the information that I need on that mod’s forum. Googling their names didn't help.
Diary of Ironstar Rockfist
We now have Vynd the drow assassin, Dynaheir the Illusionist, and the two paladins called Isra and Sirene in the party. We have found Dynaheirs missing notebook and are about to investigate the mines, so we will soon know how accurate the accounts about demons being down there is.We killed Shoal and to our surprise Droth didn't turn up.
However on this occasion she didn't give up. I suspect that it might have been because the first hits were from some summoned skeletons.
It could of course been because there is a bug in this set-up. It is my first game in this installation using the Big World Set-Up. The other possibility is that she was hit too hard which has happened to me in the past. I don't think that happened this time though. I have learned from bitter experience not to use command or other spells that might make her unconcious at the vital moment.
Diary of Ironstar Rockfist
In the Nashkel Mines, we gained another party member called Margarita. She helped us clear the mines and clear most of the area where we left them thus getting a wand of summoning etc. We also killed the Revenant.Upon reaching Nashkel we killed two assassins, one inside and one outside the inn. Upon heading north we came across some lady ogres who were intent upon eating Jan Jensen. We stopped them, but sadly didn't gain any reputation.
We took the iron sample to the smithy and the unusual liquid to High hedge.
Upon reaching the bandit camp we killed a bunch of assassins led by Brotus Bloodthirsty, and then took on Tazok. We tried pick-pocketting him, but couldn't catch up with him when he left. Haste is clearly required to do that.
The first battle was started by us attacking Taugosz Khosann. His death was quickly achieved, but then to my horror a small army of bandits including a wizard, Hazt and several Black talon Elite emerged and Vynd was killed. Web enabled us to beat them but only just. We were fortunate to only lose Vynd! We slept as soon as we were abole and then entered the tent. Fortunately we were buffed as we were hard-pressed by bandits inside the tent. After winning we talked to Ender Sai. This led to us discovering that Margarita was a spy for the Iron Throne. We therefore killed her and headed for the Friendly Arms Inn to raise Vynd.
@Corey_Russell She did. She killed Xzar. Normally I wait for her to give up, fight Droth and then kill Shoal.
However on this occasion she didn't give up. I suspect that it might have been because the first hits were from some summoned skeletons.
I never use summons (against Shoal), and usually only have a single character attack her. Summons get in the way with Shoal, as they aren't as good as party members in backing off a target. Which often means she doesn't get a chance to talk, or she's trying to talk and a late summon hit makes her hostile, losing the opportunity.
Diary of Ironstar Rockfist
Upon reaching The Friendly Arms Inn we were attacked by a paladin and cleric who had been decieved by our enemies into thinking that we are evil. Sadly we were forced to kill them. We did gain some good equipment as a result, but we would rather that it hadn't happened.We raised Vynd and upgraded some weapons after going to Beregost to sell some ankheg shells. We are again poor!
We helped Aldeth when he was threatened by some druids, fortunately without bloodshed.
Vynd was again killed when we fought a dragon. That dragon is far too clever when it comes to fighting. It seems to sense who is vulnerable to attack. Jaheira was also very badly injured but survived. We then went to raise Vynd.
We then helped Beador and are now heading out to save Maretha if possible.
Kolla (Female Half-Elf Fighter/Mage), Gate70
Sapper (Male Dwarf Fighter), Grond0
As usual, another day meant trying to remember what we'd planned. To recap, we were stood in area BD7400. Where's that... ah the Bloodbark Grove. To the north was the underground river entrance so we headed in that direction.
A shadowy figure decided to ambush us on the way but was courteous enough to hang back while we glugged a few potions (heroism for Sapper, oil of speed and defence for Kolla) and equipped arrows of detonation. We start with a wand of fire and a necklace of missile, but miss. So we creep forward hoping to catch them off guard, but Kolla is not careful enough and the enemy are alerted.
Another wand + necklace use is followed by a few steps backward before shooting arrows. The shadowy figure is still active in the shadows so a targeted Kolla switches to melee weapon and runs as Sapper switches to melee and moves to a visible enemy. As he does so, our in-flight arrow that can be seen in the first screenshot hits another mark and the explosion incinerates the shadowy figure so all that is left is a mop-up operation.
On arrival we spot some greater wyverns. Kolla checks and Sapper confirms he is ready. Really? Sapper waits for Kolla to start casting replacement MMM's before requesting assistance, mentioning he probably won't survive another round of wyvern poison. Kolla tosses him an elixir of health in the certain knowledge that death will be preferable to using it. So it proves, sort of. Kolla retreats and casts Slow Poison as Sapper moves towards her. Stubborn dwarf...
Sapper looks good.
I thought that the battle against the assassins on the bridge into the Gate was won. Then was attacked by archers with arrows of freezing. The battle was won... By them.
Next game will be an all Cleric game using all the good clerical NPCs available. The PC is a Holy Strategist of the Red Knight. All Clerics will be given an appropriate kit.
Nordgaard of Candlekeep, Undead Hunter
BG1 posts : 1, 2Notable mods :
- IR/SR
- Rogue Reblance
- plenty of NPC mods
- ATweaks
- Tweak Anthology
- Item Randomizer
Paladin's restriction :
- do good and lawful things (duh…
- god : Lathander
- spare as much lives as I can
- no mercy whatsoever with undeads (must be killed, no matter what)
- 10 magical items max
- 4 weapons (including ammos)
- 1 armor
- 1 shield
- 4 misc (include items like potion of Hill Giant strength and green scrolls, but not healing potions and antidotes)
- never lie (oath)
- tithe : 10% to the Song of the Morning Temple when I come back from adventuring (and before buying stuff)
- no neutral allies, only good ones
- no stealing, minimum thieving (traps and locks, mostly)
- only use and swap between allies items placed in quickslot
"I'm a hero and I'm a librarian !" -Finch
That quote is just so awesome. Since I myself am a librarian, I started to quote Finch at work. Nobody seems to understand. Don't care, this awesomeness is all mine !!
So, after being done with Nimbul, we decided to go on quests to level up a bit. First, Bassilus was taken out. Since I can't lie, I had to deal with his skeletons, but, because Norgaard is an Undead Hunter who can turn undead like a cleric of the same level, he stayed idle, only turning the skellies away while the others fought Bassilus. The mad cleric managed to blast us with an Unholy Blight, but that's the only damage he did : the second Silence spell Finch threw sticked. He died a moment later.
Having reached level 7 with Imoen, I dualled her into a mage from the Sharpshooter kit from the Song and Silence mod (she'll then be at least ok with a bow that way). I was thinking of letting her go up to level 10 as a thief to get full Detect Illusion, but decided otherwise. Would have been better in BG2, but Chateau Irenicus is a pain without a good thief (Imoen wouldn't have recovered her thief abilities). And being a paladin, I can't use Yoshimo. Mutamin was tackled right after. Not much to say here; Silence shutted him up on the first try. Easy. Then, I abused the overpowered state of Rasaad in Werewolf form : after having bought a scroll of Chaotic Command, he went on a sirine killing spree. He took them all out real fast. Greater Basilisks suffered the same fate, thanks to a Rogue Rebalance hood that prevent any gaze effect on the wearer (which monks can also wear, it seems).
To test myself a bit more, I decided to go for the Wolf of Ulcaster, which can be a nasty little critter. I buffed my whole team and went to town against him. When Rasaad entered his overpowered state, I had an interesting note in the Dialog window :
The werewolf claws strike as non-magical weapon. Nicely played, IR, nicely played. After a bit of testing after the fight, it seems that even if you use magical weapons in both your hands, the claws still strike as non-magical weapons, thus overriding your own weapon. It a nice thing really, because I otherwise was thinking about not using the cloak much : since the werewolf bonuses stack with those of the monk, it can be widely overpowered. It is still very powerful, but against stronger critter, it's going to be near useless. A good reason to keep using it.
So, back to the fight with the Wolf of Ulcaster. Since Rassad couldn't do even a scratch to the dreaded beast, he started to attack the ghouls summoned by the Wolf. One of them stunned Imoen, so it was the first order of business. When dead, Nordgaard casted Remove Paralysis on Imoen so she could rejoin the fight. After, Nordgaard was whacking with a Bastard Sword +1 and my other teammates were flinging spells at the Wolf, except for Sirene, who was manhandling our back against a pack of dread wolves. All in all, we were in complete control of the situation, so we cleared the area. Sirene got the last kill of the day.
Now it was time to get to serious business : we attacked the Bandit Camp head on. Earlier, Finch missed her chance at learning Web, which is usually my go-to spell against the bandits. So, without Web, I was wondering what could I use instead. Then, I found the Grease spell : under SR, it knocks you down on a failed save vs breath +2, but reduce your movement speed without a save. So, I greased up ! It did a marvelous job at crowd control. While enemies were either falling to the ground or slowly moving toward me, Imoen was flinging Sleep from a wand and Valerie hurling fireballs in the lot. My tanks formed a wall preventing anyone to get near my casters. Enemy arrows did bits of damage, but that's all they did : we prevailed without much problems.
Nordgaard and his crew is now relaxing in front of the Lathander's Temple in Beregost, deciding on a strat to use against Davaeorn.
See ya !
Kolla (Female Half-Elf Fighter/Mage), Gate70
Sapper (Male Dwarf Fighter), Grond0
As usual, another day meant trying to remember what we'd planned. To recap, we were in a cave in the underground river cavern. Strunk was outside, experimenting with water, so we decided to spoil his fun. & a nearby neried decided Kolla should be spat at too.
By the time we get back to the Coalition camp it is coming under attack. The first wave was trolls and ogres, Sapper suggesting our archers with their flame arrows were under-prepared so he added a few arrows of detonation while Kolla uses an oil of burning.
With the three waves over, we took on the final group. Our supporting mages didn't seem eager to help and we took an early beating, so went to the east flank and started working our way in. Kolla glugged a potion of clarity to avoid a domination attempt, and by the time we got back to the final attackers their leader was already dead.
After 3-4 minutes, Sapper complained about an unbeatable foe. Kolla glanced over and realised Sapper was fighting open air. Uh-oh... (sure enough my game crashed moments later. Previous save was the area transition so we reloaded that. I decided to rest this time!)
Second time around, we listened to Ashatiel and heard the rule "no hiding" which seems unfair for e.g. a Shadowdancer! Whatever.
This time Kolla had stoneskin active and added a greenstone amulet charge as before, then mirrored. She was shooting acid arrows in between each cast and Ashatiel was looking a bit green. Then Ashatiel used sanctuary. Is that not hiding?
An oil of fiery burning was used to bypass sanctuary but the damage of 5 looked weak so Kolla fished out three potions of explosions and used two of them. Hide from that...
Previous updates:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/879185/#Comment_879185
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/884558/#Comment_884558
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/885941/#Comment_885941
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/887501/#Comment_887501
Last week's Trio session should have continued with this run, but my installation had a problem so we tried out the EE. With things fixed though it was back to BGT today to continue what we were doing. The game loaded in the Graveyard and, after a bit of thought, we decided that we were doing a search for some headgear for Meffal. That didn't take long with Coreranger only picking up a dose of poison from the last few spiders - Babar being free by that time to use his Bhaal ability to cure it.
On the way to sell surplus loot Renfeld made an appearance, so the next step was to drop him off and sort out Prebek and Sanasha.
Looking to enhance tankiness a bit more the Trio went to Trademeet in search of the Shield of Harmony. One genie was stunned by the unexpectedness of Meffal's attack, while the other two inside the tent were too keen to get a giant spider statue for their collection and had nothing left to use against other attackers.
The final destination for the session was Umar Hills. Meffal concentrated hard watching what Coreranger was doing in the cave, never even blinking until after the mimic was dead - and he learned enough from the experience to get another level.
The relatively low levels of the group meant that only skeleton warriors led the undead groups in the temple and they were not able to put up too much resistance as Babar picked up another level.
Babar, barbarian L11, 118 HPs, 401 kills
Coreranger, ranger L10, 109 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 290 kills, 1 death
Meffal, monk L11, 81 HPs, 190 kills, 1 death
Kolla (Female Half-Elf Fighter/Mage), Gate70
Sapper (Male Dwarf Fighter), Grond0
As usual, another day meant trying to remember what we'd planned. To recap, we were stood in the grounds of Dragonspear Castle. The way to the castle interior was clear, but Kolla fancied a detour.
Chloe ambushes Sapper with a hefty backstab and adds a second strike before hiding. Sapper is badly wounded and another hit could have him down but Kolla wands up some summons and after another disappearance or two Chloe is peppered with arrows sufficiently for a Magic Missile spell to kill her off.
We track back to the remnants of Chloe's group and use arrows of detonation plus MMM's. Sapper is once more bleeding heavily so Kolla decides to use a wand of fire to cauterise the cause rather than the effect.
Sapper races in to melee Thrix, Kolla joining him briefly but retreating after a few moments. Sapper finishes Thrix off but Kolla is Commanded and drops to the ground. Sapper heroically positions himself between his prone companion and the enemies, only to be dominated.
Kolla considers using a wand to summon more monsters but they won't last long. How about shooting back at the Eryines - might be too dangerous as the other demons will use teleport and spell effects. Best to keep on the move and wait for Sapper to snap out of it.
Eventually he does, and Kolla keeps the enemies distracted long enough for him to glug a couple of potions. Once he's back into action we prioritise the Eryines, then hunt down the others one by one.
Ahead of us is a basalt tower. That's a story for another day.
Here are some of my own most common charname killers:
- Stinginess ("Oh, I don't need to waste a potion, I'll just wait till the Cleric gets here.")
- Foolhardiness ("Yeah, maybe I should run with two people down, but look at the loot I would be leaving behind.")
- Restartitis ("This Dragon Disciple is fine and good, but she cannot even lift a shield. What I really should be running is a Dwarwen Defender.")
How do you usually lose *your* charname?
1. An unfamiliar disabler, like Halatathlaer's fear effect in SoD.
2. An unfamiliar trap, which killed a fighter/mage in an "underused spells and items" run.
3. An unfamiliar encounter, like a modded version of the room above Kangaxx, where there was a dwarf with a vorpal sword.
4. Some early fight in BG1 when zero-risk tactics do not actually exist, like Ankhegs or bandits and so forth.
5. Or, in the case of my first Undergate run, the fact that Sarevok can end the game by killing the nearest Grand Duke at the Ducal Palace when the doppelgangers are gone.
As time has gone on, I don't normally lose runs to the enemy anymore. I've developed a habit of using extremely defensive-oriented Charname builds who basically never do anything, waiting in the shadows under invisibility when necessary, keeping their auras clear, and giving them all the best items and save bonuses and potions, including the Bag of Holding where all our situational items are stored.
But I think the primary reason is something else entirely: I structure all major encounters so that I can escape them if necessary.
1. I enter with at least one designated escape route. At least one character is always close to the exit so I can leave as quickly as possible.
2. I prepare rescue options depending on the assumed threats, like distributing Potions of Invisibility or Arrows of Dispelling to give characters breathing room or remove disablers.
3. I periodically assess the situation and gauge how well we're doing. If a fight isn't going as planned--if important enemies aren't going down fast enough, or if we're taking too much damage when the enemy is resisting our pressure, if an important character dies or even just gets disabled or Slowed, or most of my party members have had clouded auras most of the fight, or if an important weapon fails to work on the enemy, then I'll take measures to escape.
4. To escape, I look for a way out. This depends on the positioning of the enemy and the party. Sometimes it requires Oils of Speed and other movement-relating options, sometimes it involves scattering the enemy with Teleport Field to open up paths, and sometimes it just means a lot of micromanaging to get my party members in a better position. But most importantly, I am willing to let characters die if it allows the party to escape. I have probably avoided multiple deaths simply by allowing one party member to die so that the others may escape.
I just did this in my most recent run. Enemies were pouring in, we needed to make our escape, but one character was stuck behind a wall. I gave him an Oil of Speed to help him sneak past, but a crowd of enemies blocked his way. To free him, I gave him a Potion of Invisibility, causing the crowd of enemies to move away from him towards the rest of the party.
Then, one of my characters failed a save against Chaos. I doubted we could survive another 6 rounds of pressure, so I turned the rest of the party invisible using Potions of Invisibility. Although the enemy could probably block our way or reveal us using divination, I knew that if one of us was still visible--the character under the effects of Chaos--then the vast horde of hostile melee grunts would descend upon her.
Sure enough, they killed her within two rounds. I used the quick-loot feature to collect her equipment and left the area in seconds, as I had already positioned the rest of the party in a line leading down to the exit.
This allows me to save up precious resources like potions, arrows, scrolls, and wands for the fights that I can't run away from.
As I normally play solo, unknown traps are a huge danger - I've still not completed SoD (at least in single player), and dying on multiple occasions as a result of charm, confusion, hold and maze traps is a significant reason for that.
This reads as very good advice on how to *survive* a noreload run.
Close-call survival and escape stories almost make as memorable moments as success stories.
I once had a red wizard encounter with a low level party where at some point *everyone* was crowd-controlled in some way, scattered across half the map. Half the party has indeed died, but my charname with a dwindling Wand of Summoning's last charges saved the day.
Such is the satisfaction of a noreload run.
One of these days maybe I'll try a FMT for a change...
I find playing in an unheroic style puts me off a little, so if I'm playing super-defensive I go the whole way and RP manipulative evil types.
After a year's study and YASDs, the farthest I ever got was to *see* the pulsating square.
(Now that I reflect on it, my entire RPG career had been but yearnings.)
Sarevok is dead!
I collected Neera for magic and Shar-teel for traps so my sister could take her time... I gave her the intel and charisma books and we are banking on her skills to keep the credits coming.
size = 6.85mb
... what could go wrong?