Actually, seeing your and @semiticgod 's recent travails was what made me change to a back-of-the-line caster for my run. I doubt I can win a no-reload through BG2+TOB yet with a frontliner.
As for the reasons, I think the best option would be to recreate the situation. Maybe after several tries you could better see what's happened there. So that you don't fall into this problem again.
@Ygramul, thank you. I agree it was a fine run. Back-of the-line caster makes sense, and so does having a party. @bengoshi, I agree. I already discovered that the Death Tyrants do not ignore invisibility, so that rules out the second possibility I mentioned. And in a few experiments with summons none of the Death Tyrant's rays hit hidden Isa after the summons died. This suggests that immediate visibility after Isa's stealth failed, was the cause of her death. Still hard to imagine, because as I said, in my experience a hidden character with good stealth skills doesn't become visible immediately after HiS fails.
Maybe it's connected to changes Beamdog included regarding a cooldown affect for a hide in shadows ability. We need a programmer here. @Troodon80 , can a hidden thief with good stealth skills become visible immediately after HiS fails?
It's interesting, @Blackraven , that you've killed the Unseeing Eye, so it was completely unneeded for Isa to fight those monsters left...
@bengoshi, Grond0 at the Bioware forums says that in his experience when stealth breaks there is a random component to how long before the character actually becomes visible - and that can be pretty much instant. I've never experienced this myself (I always thought it was related to how much stealth skill one has).
@bengoshi, Grond0 at the Bioware forums says that in his experience when stealth breaks there is a random component to how long before the character actually becomes visible - and that can be pretty much instant. I've never experienced this myself (I always thought it was related to how much stealth skill one has).
This reminds me of an unforgiving aspect of no-reload runs:
If you have 1/1000 chance of failure for a given strategem, after 1000 tries there is a substantial chance you will have experienced failure. If it is a save or die situation, then the odds are not in your favor.
Corollary: Wild Mage must be just about impossible to no-reload with. I wonder if anyone finished a Wild Mage no-reload run. (Of course, in a party, you can use the Wild Mage as a slinger without casting and still win, but that's not what I mean.)
Hi guys. Interesting runs you have been doing. And you get really far while being sort of completionist as well. I am impressed.
I was thinking of picking up no reload again but in the vanilla format (though with role play) before doing an SCS run. Any place for that in this thread? I think I will start some time this week.
@Iroumen: Of course. This thread was originally for trilogy runs, but I've been doing BG2 runs exclusively for quite some time. Going without SCS should also be fine.
@Iroumen: Of course. This thread was originally for trilogy runs, but I've been doing BG2 runs exclusively for quite some time. Going without SCS should also be fine.
Well, I think any combination that people want is encouraged. For example, I spent the past year mostly getting through BG1 intact and hope to play mostly BG2 over the coming months. Though SCS is indispensable for me, I concede that it is a matter of taste. Also, I turn off some of the more controversial options such as insta-buffing mages. Again, a matter of taste.
Basically, it's all fine as long as people declare what they will follow.
Hi guys. Interesting runs you have been doing. And you get really far while being sort of completionist as well. I am impressed.
I was thinking of picking up no reload again but in the vanilla format (though with role play) before doing an SCS run. Any place for that in this thread? I think I will start some time this week.
Actually, I think a role-play heavy run (especially with some narrative) is VERY welcome. My own runs are usually lost to restartitis unless I have a role-play angle on my character. Especially, role-play + imperfect characters make superb stories.
So, whatever settings you prefer (including, yes, vanilla) consider your stories invited here.
Hi everyone, after many attempts with casters and thieves or hybrids of the two, I felt like playing a warrior again. I don't like Paladins much, was tempted by Bioware Forums' Gate70 to try a solo Kensai (his made it well into ToB), and considered a Ranger but found no portrait I liked. In the end I rolled a Wizard Slayer, a kit I was fairly successful with last year. Meet Morhild, Dwarven warrioress:
I like my Dwarves lawful, and Morhild is no exception. I went with evil because in order to be successful as a Wizard Slayer one has to be quite ruthless time and again. My intention was to roll for 18/00 STR as I used to with previous Wizard Slayers, but was too pleased with an early 90 roll and a STR score of 18/93 to continue rolling.
Am using the same mod setup as in my previous run with Isadora: Fixpack (including Free Action protects against Stun), SCS v30 with full prebuffing, aTweaks, Rogue Rebalancing. In the EEs Wizard Slayers' ranged attacks impose spellcasting penalties upon mages just like melee attacks.
I'm a bit hesitant to post on Morhild at this stage, as she still has lots of hurdles to take.
Without Deder's oil of speed, Morhild took no risks in Candlekeep. She witnessed her foster father's feeble attempt at fighting a huge armored guy with a snicker, but felt sorry when the old men fell. She would avenge him, when she was ready for it. She received some potions and a useless wand from her neighbor Imoen, and scrolls and more potions from a thief and a wizard she refused to travel with. In the lands that strectched from the FAI to Beregost Morhild found gems and jewelry that were worth a fortune. She sold the goods, invested in her reputation in Beregost, and bought a suit of full plate mail at the local smithy. She also procured a good mace (Stupefier +1) from a locked chest she opened by force in the Burning Wizard inn. (Her preferred watering hole in Beregost, if only for its name.)
A trip south to Nashkel, saw her defeat three Flaming Fist mercenaries that wrongfully accused her of banditry.
And in Nashkel itself she acquired a suit of Ankheg armor she later sold, and an innate healing power after a dream about Gorion. At the nearby Carnival she decided to spare a wizard who seemed to have made it his business to prosecute evil wizards.
Morhild's subsequent travels resulted in her - rescuing a chickenated boy from a Wolf and having him retransformed by Thalantyr the Conjurer, - protecting Charleston Nib the archaeologist, - bringing lost guard captain Brage back to his hometown Nashkel, - killing Basilisks and - using arrows of biting - their Gnomish master,
- teaching bounty hunters in Beregost and at the FAI not to mess with her, - exterminating Ankhegs, - inadvertently killing a priestess of Umberlee that was reluctant to listen to her,
- purchasing the Claw and later the Horn of Kazgaroth (both items are unusable by Wizard Slayers in the EEs but I chose to use Near Infinity to change that; not only is this in keeping with the orginal game, I also consider the powers of these items as special inherent powers as opposed to the enchantments placed on bracers, rings etc. - slaying small parties of brigands in the Cloudpeaks, - reading a Tome of Leadership and Influence, - beating a warrior in a duel near the Firewine Bridge, - giving a priest of Ilmater the pain he so desired for a scroll of Protection from Magic, - meeting Hafiz the seer, for another PfMagic scroll, - clearing the Kobold-infested Nashkel Mines, and thus alleviating the iron crisis. The leader of the Kobolds was a Half-Orc priest of Cyric who would have gladly Held Morhild, but the Dwarf's arrows of biting struck poisoned her foe more than and kept him from casting any spells. Several Kobolds and Skeletons came to his aid, but the Wizard Slayer did not relent until the priest lay dead at her feet.
Only then did she deal with the minions. She left the Mines with her pack stuffed with loot, which made her decide not to plunder any vaults in the Valley of the Tombs.
In Nashkel the Amnian guard killed an assassin mage for her.
Correspondence on his corpse led her to Beregost, where she felled another wizard for written evidence of the location of a Bandit Camp. She had to look for the camp in the Wood of Sharp Teeth, until a fellow named Raiken 'recruited' her and brought her to the cantonment. In the camp's main tent she had to battle a large group of bandits, including a wizard who became her first target. Morhild's first arrow failed to hit its mark.
It prompted the Dwarf to blow the Horn of Kazgaroth for increased protection against any spells he might cast at her.
Subsequent arrows did strike true, and apart from a Slow she saved against, the wizard wouldn't manage to cast any spells at her before he fell. It was then only a matter of toughening up against the warriors that had been injuring her until she had slain them all.
Secret letters and hint from a prisoner she released told her that the Iron Throne, with a base in Cloakwood, was the driving force behind the bandits and the iron crisis. Apparently they were also the organization that had placed a price on her head.
Outside the tent a Black Talon commander and several lower ranked bandits went after her, but Morhild had no interest in them. She had the information she needed.
I applaud Morhild's quick progress. I know from your text it doesn't look like it was hard but having played as a wizard slayer myself (BTW, he's still somewhere on the way to Sarevok, waiting to hear a word from Yahiko) I feel it wasn't that easy.
Good job!
BTW, in the EE without tweaks a wizard slayer can't use the Horn of Kazgaroth
Hey @bengoshi, thanks for your enthusiasm. I remember your Wizard Slayer. It's good to know he's still around, and it's understandable your focus is now on Yahiko (I wish I could give you some good advice for Yahiko, but I'm sure you know him much better than I do...)
As to the Horn of Kazgaroth, you're right. I tweaked it to be usable by Wizard Slayers (just like in the original game) to reduce the risk of Charm spells ending the run. I prefer success to depend on skill rather than luck.
As to the Horn of Kazgaroth, you're right. I tweaked it to be usable by Wizard Slayers (just like in the original game) to reduce the risk of Charm spells ending the run. I prefer success to depend on skill rather than luck.
Question about the horn: does it stop, e.g., Basilisk gaze and other intrinsic abilities? (In other words, what is the level of such abilities?)
I imagine with a solo Wizard Slayer, you cannot, e.g., tackle Sirines, right?
@Blackraven So happy to see you still working on your runs. I have never played a Wizard Slayer but I intend to change that in the future.
I know this is a "RP" run, so if these questions are inappropriate, you don't have to answer them, or you can tell me in PM if you like.
I noticed that you met the Flaming Fist Mercenaries pretty early. Did you engage them at level 1? If so what tactics did you employ? It has been a while since I actually fought them, but I remember them being fairly tough that early in the game.
This character looks like a lot of fun. Her portrait is beautiful as well. I might have to pick that one up from you one day. She is very attractive while still having enough ruggedness about her to pass for a Dwarf. Keep up the good work.
Question about the horn: does it stop, e.g., Basilisk gaze and other intrinsic abilities? (In other words, what is the level of such abilities?)
I imagine with a solo Wizard Slayer, you cannot, e.g., tackle Sirines, right?
The Horn of Kazgaroth gives:
– Immunity to 1st and 2nd-level spells – +5 to AC vs. missile attacks – +2 bonus to all saves
I believe Basilisk Gaze has spell level 0, meaning the Horn shouldn't protect against it. It's good against Charm Person (lvl 1 spell), but not against - for example - Sirines' Dire Charm. A 20 CON Dwarven Wizard Slayer with the Claw of Kazgaroth and the Helm of Balduran has a save vs spell of 4. Blowing the Horn will lower this to 2, which is not enough to be certain the Wizard Slayer will make their saves. (Dire Charm has no save bonus or penalty). The only way to deal with Sirines is to use a green scroll of Protection from Magic.
@Blackraven So happy to see you still working on your runs. I have never played a Wizard Slayer but I intend to change that in the future.
I know this is a "RP" run, so if these questions are inappropriate, you don't have to answer them, or you can tell me in PM if you like.
I noticed that you met the Flaming Fist Mercenaries pretty early. Did you engage them at level 1? If so what tactics did you employ? It has been a while since I actually fought them, but I remember them being fairly tough that early in the game.
This character looks like a lot of fun. Her portrait is beautiful as well. I might have to pick that one up from you one day. She is very attractive while still having enough ruggedness about her to pass for a Dwarf. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for taking an interest in my run Meanbunny. Btw this isn't a heavily roleplayed run, simply because that's suicide for a low level Wizard Slayer. I like to imagine Morhild as a cautious Wizard Slayer. She has no general aversion against all magic or magic users, and she'll only use her abilities when she has good reason to. In hindsight I might have made her Lawful Neutral.
As to your question on fighting the Flaming Fists, Morhild was already level 2 or maybe even 3 when she battled them, and she had just bought a suit of full plate mail at the Thunderhammer Smithy. She wouldn't have fought them otherwise.
Morhild, Dwarven Wizard Slayer, 2nd & final BG1 report
After some relaxing at the FAI and gaining a Cure Affliction innate ability, Morhild continued her crusade against the organization that had been making life hard for the people of the Sword Coast in general and for herself in particular: the Iron Throne. On her way to Cloakwood she was waylaid by a group of four assassins or bounty hunters (Lamalha & Co.). The Dwarf outran them and would never see them again. In the outer stretches of the forest she helped a band of Druids exact revenge on a murderous hunter from Baldur's Gate and she found a Cloak of Non-Detection. Morhild traveled to Beregost to sell loot, and eschewed a confrontation with another band of assassins (Molkar & Co) on her way back to Cloakwood.
Deeper in the woods, careful maneuvering and stellar Dwarven saves helped her to avoid web traps and tangles, and to kill different types of Spiders. It allowed her to obtain Spiders' Bane with its Free Action from a sickly, obese woman who had been in control of the spiders. (I think more recent versions of SCS Improved Spiders aren't as precise with their web traps as the SCS v21 ones. In the screenshot below you can see a Giant Spider's web in flight; it had missed Morhild.)
When the Dwarf was done with the Spiders, she was fairly close to level 8.
A visit followed to Durlag's Tower, where she slew two Battle Horrors and (using Spiders' Bane) a few Ghasts for her last level-up. She decided to gamble for the WIS tome on the trapped altar. The trap is a Charm trap, but I don't know if it's a Charm Person or a Dire Charm trap. With a Horn of Kazgaroth charge, Morhild's save vs spell was 3. This meant that she was presumably safe from a Charm Person (+3 saves bonus) but not from a Dire Charm. Morhild found that her magic resistance protected her:
Back once more in Cloakwood, the Dwarf did not interfere in the business of Druids and Wyverns, and found her way straight to the Iron Throne base, a mine. She felled two guards and fought a third one, a fellow named Drasus, while protected from magic thanks to having read one of her three green scrolls (the first she used). The reason for this preventive measure was the presence of two wizards. Drasus and Morhild fought long and hard. In the end the Dwarf prevailed.
She stripped the warrior of a pair of Boots of Speed, put those on, and ran past the remaining guards into the mine. The mine seemed overcrowded to Morhild. There were at least five guards for each miner. She was relieved and more than a little surprised that she managed to evade the hordes of guards, although she lamented not having the time to greet a fellow Dwarf.
On the fourth and lowest level Morhild met the master of the mine, the mage Davaeorn. He had two Battle Horrors and a slew of guards by his side. The Dwarf destroyed one Battle Horror, Davaeorn the other (with a Sunfire).
With those two out of the way, Morhild aimed her arrows at Davaeorn, poisoning him and exposing him to acid until he went down.
Davaeorn's fall inspired the guards to retreat. Morhild looted Davaeorn's corpse and coffers, and traveled to Baldur's Gate, the location of the Iron Throne's regional HQ.
The Dwarf's stay in the city was a short one. She acquired some interesting reads for the road: tomes of DEX, WIS, and INT.
And she also found the Helm of Balduran, while enabling a father to resurrect his son saw her rewarded with an enchanted large shield. Her gold she spent on healing potions, a green scroll of PfMagic and enchanted arrows at the Sorcerous Sundries.
She was commissioned by the Flaming Fist to deal with the Iron Throne but first made a trip to the coast where a scroll of PfMagic (no. 2) allowed her to loot Black Alaric's cave and eliminate its guardians.
At the Iron Throne HQ, the Dwarf used a third PfMagic scroll when she saw herself opposed by elite acolytes. Arrows of detonation aimed at a Doppelganger, the creature she was most likely to hit, were quite effective here.
She ended up killing most of the acolytes, but didn't wait for some casters that had gone invisible to reveal themselves again.
She learnt that the Throne leaders were in Candlekeep, and was sent there herself by Duke Eltan of the Flaming Fist.
In front of the gate the Dwarf was ambushed by five Ogre Magi. Her first reaction was to blow the Horn of Kazgaroth, but this took too long. She was fortunate to save against two Charm Persons.
A restless night at Winthrop's inn culminated in Morhild getting up early with the ability to draw upon Divine Might, a power that had come from the dead deity she discovered was her biological father, Bhaal. The ability would come in handy that same day, the day that the killer of her foster father, fellow Bhaalchild Sarevok, had her wrongfully accused and arrested for the murder of the Iron Throne leaders. While on the run and looking for a way out of the catacombs below Candlekeep, her Divine Might helped her bash a lock on a chest that contained another green PfMagic scroll. The catacombs connected to caves. Morhild rushed through those caves, ignoring a hostile war party, and made it to the surface. The Ogre Magi were still waiting for her near the gates of the bastion but the Dwarf timely blew the Horn of Kazgaroth and made it safely past the monsters.
Back in Baldur's Gate she DUHM-bashed a lock on a chest containing a PfMagic scroll in the home Ramazith, and she played hide and seek in the Undercellars with the assassins Slythe and Krystin whom she was to prevent from killing the city's Dukes for Sarevok. She left the Undercellars where they connected to the Blushing Mermaid inn and with the help of a Priest of Ilmater, she re-entered them on the other side. There she did not fell Slythe in a melee dust-up until Krystin, a Mage, arrived.
What worried the Dwarf was that she couldn't find an exit from the Undercellars the way she had come. (I scrolled all over the place, but the 'door' cursor never appeared.) Morhild saw herself forced to deal with Krystin, rather than leave her to her devices. The Dwarf dispelled the woman's protections with an arrow of dispelling and poisoned her with an arrow of biting. In return the Mage Slowed her.
Acid arrows soon had the woman flee in panic, but then a second Krystin appeared:
The Dwarf finished Krystin I, but ran from Krystin II and from a Chain Lightning the latter cast at her.
Carrying Slythe's invitation for Sarevok's coronation as Grand Duke and a letter from Sarevok containing the instruction to assassinate the other Dukes, Morhild hasted to the Ducal Palace. She protected herself from magic using another green scroll (no. 4), drew upon her Divine Might, and did what she could against six Greater Doppelgangers that Sarevok had hired to finish Dukes Belt and Janneth. Arrows of dispelling slowed down most of the creatures, but not a Mage that made short work of Liia Janneth.
Side by side, Belt and Morhild fought relentlessly, but the Dwarf worried as she witnessed the Duke's health deteriorate and Flaming Fist Officers drop like flies. Protected from Magic she could not heal her comrade in arms. Where normally she would have pursued panicking Doppelgangers in order to finish them, she now chose to switch to another target each time an enemy's morale broke. The Doppelganger Mage made these considerations look futile when it nearly killed all remaining combatants with fire except Morhild, Belt and itself.
Morhild dispelled the Mage's buffs. Belt (already at near death status) took another hit from the Mage but retalliated with a deadly swing of his blade.
Morhild then felled one last (panicky) Doppelganger and guided Belt into one of the antechambers where she presented the evidence of Sarevok's evil scheme to the Duke.
Sarevok's plan was foiled, but the warrior escaped justice with the help of a lieutenant mage. Morhild followed them though a maze into the Undercity below Baldur's Gate, where she bypassed a war party but had to battle a throng of Undead (including Skeleton Warriors).
(This fight cost Morhild a lot of healing potions as I had her fight with a Morningstar +1 without her being proficient in Morningstars. Very ineffective. The thing is, I'm so used to playing with a BG2 Tweakpack component that reclassifies a number of weapons - e.g. Morningstars with Maces - that I'd kind of forgotten about their original categories.)
Morhild encountered Sarevok and his four most loyal aides - Angelo, Diarmid, Semaj, and Tazok - in a Bhaal Temple. She used PfMagic scroll no. 5 and spent a long time running around in hopes of dispelling Sarevok's, Diarmid's and Angelo's Hastes, taking a lot of poison and acid damge from Diarmid.
Her collection of extra healing potions rapidly diminished, but the Dwarf's patience paid off. First Sarevok, then Diarmid, and finally Angelo (who seemed perma-hasted) were slowed down with dispelling arrows. (This is noteworthy because Isadora failed to achieve the same with Sarevok.) Moreover Diarmid ran out of arrows soon after. Morhild picked Semaj and Angelo as her first targets, fearing they might otherwise go invisible at some point and wait with revealing themselves until she'd be at her weakest. She wasn't deadly enough and both went invisible indeed. The Dwarf switched to Diarmid and took him down with acid and biting arrows. Then another period of running around followed. Tazok attempted to hit her from the shadows but didn't get close enough to land a hit. The wizards remained invisible. When Morhild's PfMagic wore off, Angelo remained hidden but Semaj showed himself and cast a Flame Arrow at her. It hit her just before she finished reading her last PfMagic scroll (no. 6).
She eliminated the wizard soon after that with acid arrows. While darting around, Morhild bumped into an invisible wall: Tazok. Her sudden halt caused her to get hit by both the Half-Ogre and Sarevok.
Tazok became her next victim. With three Skeleton Warriors following her and with Angelo invisible, the Dwarf decided to tap from her collection of detonation arrows.
She killed all the Skeleton Warriors and then started launching detonation arrows at Sarevok. Several of the arrows would injure not only Sarevok but also still invisible Angelo.
She even ended up killing the last of Sarevok's lackeys this way,
which was quite a relief because she had no idea what spells he would have cast at her had he lived long enough to see her PfMagic expire.
She pelted Sarevok with arrows, and when he was on the verge of dying, she did this:
I.e. she laid her Helm of Balduran on the floor, so that the Claw of Kazgaroth would be imported into SoA instead of the Helm of Balduran Sarevok could have a good look at the Dwarven warrior lady who had come to end his life.
I.e. she laid her Helm of Balduran on the floor, so that the Claw of Kazgaroth would be imported into SoA instead of the Helm of Balduran Sarevok could have a good look at the Dwarven warrior lady who had come to end his life.
Hah!
'Grats @Blackraven , may you have such a succesful run in BG2 too.
That was... fast! What takes several weeks you've managed to complete in 2 days! And Morhild's performance against the Sarevok's band was professional. I can't use another word. It all looks like a pro dealing with what he knows in detail. Amazing skill.
Even a slow playthrough, an hour a day or something (and not everyday) would offer a new experience, I think. It would let at least our characters meet each other, while we can't meet in real life. I remember reading @Blackraven and @Gotural tried to make a playthrough once. Also, on the bioware forum, it was a thing that used to happen, if I remember correctly.
Thanks for everyone's congrats! It was fast indeed, but then I think a high CON Wizard Slayer is very suitable for a fast playthrough: zero buffing (except for late-game DUHMs), very few useful items to pick up, lots of gold, little fatigue. I think my last Wizard Slayers took around 60 in-game days from Candlekeep to defeating Sarevok. But that was about a year ago. I had to accustom again to playing a WS. Morhild did some extra quests and encounters, and eventually took 88 days.
I love the idea of a no-reload multiplayer (SCS) run. Time would probably an issue, but I'd gladly partake
Selyna the Dragon Disciple just cleared Durlag's Tower and the Cult -- and Minsc carried both days.
Demon Knight killed Yeslick and Rasaad, which made it a nightmare to dump most my loot and carry the essentials. Minsc did a mano-a-mano fight while Berserked against the Demon Knight, while my all powerful Selyna got useless "Magic Resistance" tickles against the Demon.
For Aec'Laetec, I forgot that he respawns if there are cultists alive. I had to fight him 4 times before fireballing the rest of the cult to pieces. Minsc and Yeslick with potions of speed cut down the demon as soon as it spawned.
Minsc is right: Sword is better than Magic.
** Follow up question on the no-chunk "Gore" setting that I had switched to recently:
During the Aec'Laetec fight, Imoen got held (probably paralyzing gaze) and was dropped to 1HP and fell "unconcious". Would she have been dead or chunked had I had the Gore setting on?
If so, perhaps I should consider her dead and reconsider my chunk setting?
Comments
This was a very good run.
Actually, seeing your and @semiticgod 's recent travails was what made me change to a back-of-the-line caster for my run. I doubt I can win a no-reload through BG2+TOB yet with a frontliner.
And here we go again... Take my condolences!
As for the reasons, I think the best option would be to recreate the situation. Maybe after several tries you could better see what's happened there. So that you don't fall into this problem again.
@bengoshi, I agree. I already discovered that the Death Tyrants do not ignore invisibility, so that rules out the second possibility I mentioned. And in a few experiments with summons none of the Death Tyrant's rays hit hidden Isa after the summons died. This suggests that immediate visibility after Isa's stealth failed, was the cause of her death. Still hard to imagine, because as I said, in my experience a hidden character with good stealth skills doesn't become visible immediately after HiS fails.
It's interesting, @Blackraven , that you've killed the Unseeing Eye, so it was completely unneeded for Isa to fight those monsters left...
If you have 1/1000 chance of failure for a given strategem, after 1000 tries there is a substantial chance you will have experienced failure. If it is a save or die situation, then the odds are not in your favor.
Corollary: Wild Mage must be just about impossible to no-reload with.
I wonder if anyone finished a Wild Mage no-reload run. (Of course, in a party, you can use the Wild Mage as a slinger without casting and still win, but that's not what I mean.)
I was thinking of picking up no reload again but in the vanilla format (though with role play) before doing an SCS run. Any place for that in this thread? I think I will start some time this week.
Basically, it's all fine as long as people declare what they will follow.
Actually, I think a role-play heavy run (especially with some narrative) is VERY welcome.
My own runs are usually lost to restartitis unless I have a role-play angle on my character. Especially, role-play + imperfect characters make superb stories.
So, whatever settings you prefer (including, yes, vanilla) consider your stories invited here.
Am using the same mod setup as in my previous run with Isadora: Fixpack (including Free Action protects against Stun), SCS v30 with full prebuffing, aTweaks, Rogue Rebalancing. In the EEs Wizard Slayers' ranged attacks impose spellcasting penalties upon mages just like melee attacks.
I'm a bit hesitant to post on Morhild at this stage, as she still has lots of hurdles to take.
Without Deder's oil of speed, Morhild took no risks in Candlekeep. She witnessed her foster father's feeble attempt at fighting a huge armored guy with a snicker, but felt sorry when the old men fell. She would avenge him, when she was ready for it.
She received some potions and a useless wand from her neighbor Imoen, and scrolls and more potions from a thief and a wizard she refused to travel with. In the lands that strectched from the FAI to Beregost Morhild found gems and jewelry that were worth a fortune. She sold the goods, invested in her reputation in Beregost, and bought a suit of full plate mail at the local smithy. She also procured a good mace (Stupefier +1) from a locked chest she opened by force in the Burning Wizard inn. (Her preferred watering hole in Beregost, if only for its name.)
A trip south to Nashkel, saw her defeat three Flaming Fist mercenaries that wrongfully accused her of banditry.
- rescuing a chickenated boy from a Wolf and having him retransformed by Thalantyr the Conjurer,
- protecting Charleston Nib the archaeologist,
- bringing lost guard captain Brage back to his hometown Nashkel,
- killing Basilisks and - using arrows of biting - their Gnomish master,
- exterminating Ankhegs,
- inadvertently killing a priestess of Umberlee that was reluctant to listen to her,
- slaying small parties of brigands in the Cloudpeaks,
- reading a Tome of Leadership and Influence,
- beating a warrior in a duel near the Firewine Bridge,
- giving a priest of Ilmater the pain he so desired for a scroll of Protection from Magic,
- meeting Hafiz the seer, for another PfMagic scroll,
- clearing the Kobold-infested Nashkel Mines, and thus alleviating the iron crisis. The leader of the Kobolds was a Half-Orc priest of Cyric who would have gladly Held Morhild, but the Dwarf's arrows of biting struck poisoned her foe more than and kept him from casting any spells. Several Kobolds and Skeletons came to his aid, but the Wizard Slayer did not relent until the priest lay dead at her feet.
In Nashkel the Amnian guard killed an assassin mage for her.
In the camp's main tent she had to battle a large group of bandits, including a wizard who became her first target. Morhild's first arrow failed to hit its mark.
Outside the tent a Black Talon commander and several lower ranked bandits went after her, but Morhild had no interest in them. She had the information she needed.
I applaud Morhild's quick progress. I know from your text it doesn't look like it was hard but having played as a wizard slayer myself (BTW, he's still somewhere on the way to Sarevok, waiting to hear a word from Yahiko) I feel it wasn't that easy.
Good job!
BTW, in the EE without tweaks a wizard slayer can't use the Horn of Kazgaroth
As to the Horn of Kazgaroth, you're right. I tweaked it to be usable by Wizard Slayers (just like in the original game) to reduce the risk of Charm spells ending the run. I prefer success to depend on skill rather than luck.
I imagine with a solo Wizard Slayer, you cannot, e.g., tackle Sirines, right?
I know this is a "RP" run, so if these questions are inappropriate, you don't have to answer them, or you can tell me in PM if you like.
I noticed that you met the Flaming Fist Mercenaries pretty early. Did you engage them at level 1? If so what tactics did you employ? It has been a while since I actually fought them, but I remember them being fairly tough that early in the game.
This character looks like a lot of fun. Her portrait is beautiful as well. I might have to pick that one up from you one day. She is very attractive while still having enough ruggedness about her to pass for a Dwarf. Keep up the good work.
– Immunity to 1st and 2nd-level spells
– +5 to AC vs. missile attacks
– +2 bonus to all saves
I believe Basilisk Gaze has spell level 0, meaning the Horn shouldn't protect against it. It's good against Charm Person (lvl 1 spell), but not against - for example - Sirines' Dire Charm. A 20 CON Dwarven Wizard Slayer with the Claw of Kazgaroth and the Helm of Balduran has a save vs spell of 4. Blowing the Horn will lower this to 2, which is not enough to be certain the Wizard Slayer will make their saves. (Dire Charm has no save bonus or penalty). The only way to deal with Sirines is to use a green scroll of Protection from Magic. Thank you for taking an interest in my run Meanbunny.
As to your question on fighting the Flaming Fists, Morhild was already level 2 or maybe even 3 when she battled them, and she had just bought a suit of full plate mail at the Thunderhammer Smithy. She wouldn't have fought them otherwise.
Glad you enjoyed the portrait as much as I do. You can find it (and other nice portraits) here: http://dragonreine.deviantart.com/art/Saria-Etsaia-Many-Names-Chronicles-of-Thedas-530029622
After some relaxing at the FAI and gaining a Cure Affliction innate ability, Morhild continued her crusade against the organization that had been making life hard for the people of the Sword Coast in general and for herself in particular: the Iron Throne.
On her way to Cloakwood she was waylaid by a group of four assassins or bounty hunters (Lamalha & Co.). The Dwarf outran them and would never see them again. In the outer stretches of the forest she helped a band of Druids exact revenge on a murderous hunter from Baldur's Gate and she found a Cloak of Non-Detection. Morhild traveled to Beregost to sell loot, and eschewed a confrontation with another band of assassins (Molkar & Co) on her way back to Cloakwood.
Deeper in the woods, careful maneuvering and stellar Dwarven saves helped her to avoid web traps and tangles, and to kill different types of Spiders. It allowed her to obtain Spiders' Bane with its Free Action from a sickly, obese woman who had been in control of the spiders.
(I think more recent versions of SCS Improved Spiders aren't as precise with their web traps as the SCS v21 ones. In the screenshot below you can see a Giant Spider's web in flight; it had missed Morhild.)
A visit followed to Durlag's Tower, where she slew two Battle Horrors and (using Spiders' Bane) a few Ghasts for her last level-up. She decided to gamble for the WIS tome on the trapped altar. The trap is a Charm trap, but I don't know if it's a Charm Person or a Dire Charm trap. With a Horn of Kazgaroth charge, Morhild's save vs spell was 3. This meant that she was presumably safe from a Charm Person (+3 saves bonus) but not from a Dire Charm. Morhild found that her magic resistance protected her:
Back once more in Cloakwood, the Dwarf did not interfere in the business of Druids and Wyverns, and found her way straight to the Iron Throne base, a mine. She felled two guards and fought a third one, a fellow named Drasus, while protected from magic thanks to having read one of her three green scrolls (the first she used). The reason for this preventive measure was the presence of two wizards. Drasus and Morhild fought long and hard. In the end the Dwarf prevailed.
The Dwarf's stay in the city was a short one. She acquired some interesting reads for the road: tomes of DEX, WIS, and INT.
She was commissioned by the Flaming Fist to deal with the Iron Throne but first made a trip to the coast where a scroll of PfMagic (no. 2) allowed her to loot Black Alaric's cave and eliminate its guardians.
At the Iron Throne HQ, the Dwarf used a third PfMagic scroll when she saw herself opposed by elite acolytes. Arrows of detonation aimed at a Doppelganger, the creature she was most likely to hit, were quite effective here.
In front of the gate the Dwarf was ambushed by five Ogre Magi. Her first reaction was to blow the Horn of Kazgaroth, but this took too long. She was fortunate to save against two Charm Persons.
The catacombs connected to caves. Morhild rushed through those caves, ignoring a hostile war party, and made it to the surface. The Ogre Magi were still waiting for her near the gates of the bastion but the Dwarf timely blew the Horn of Kazgaroth and made it safely past the monsters.
Back in Baldur's Gate she DUHM-bashed a lock on a chest containing a PfMagic scroll in the home Ramazith, and she played hide and seek in the Undercellars with the assassins Slythe and Krystin whom she was to prevent from killing the city's Dukes for Sarevok. She left the Undercellars where they connected to the Blushing Mermaid inn and with the help of a Priest of Ilmater, she re-entered them on the other side. There she did not fell Slythe in a melee dust-up until Krystin, a Mage, arrived.
Carrying Slythe's invitation for Sarevok's coronation as Grand Duke and a letter from Sarevok containing the instruction to assassinate the other Dukes, Morhild hasted to the Ducal Palace. She protected herself from magic using another green scroll (no. 4), drew upon her Divine Might, and did what she could against six Greater Doppelgangers that Sarevok had hired to finish Dukes Belt and Janneth. Arrows of dispelling slowed down most of the creatures, but not a Mage that made short work of Liia Janneth.
Sarevok's plan was foiled, but the warrior escaped justice with the help of a lieutenant mage. Morhild followed them though a maze into the Undercity below Baldur's Gate, where she bypassed a war party but had to battle a throng of Undead (including Skeleton Warriors).
Morhild encountered Sarevok and his four most loyal aides - Angelo, Diarmid, Semaj, and Tazok - in a Bhaal Temple. She used PfMagic scroll no. 5 and spent a long time running around in hopes of dispelling Sarevok's, Diarmid's and Angelo's Hastes, taking a lot of poison and acid damge from Diarmid.
Morhild picked Semaj and Angelo as her first targets, fearing they might otherwise go invisible at some point and wait with revealing themselves until she'd be at her weakest. She wasn't deadly enough and both went invisible indeed. The Dwarf switched to Diarmid and took him down with acid and biting arrows.
Then another period of running around followed. Tazok attempted to hit her from the shadows but didn't get close enough to land a hit. The wizards remained invisible. When Morhild's PfMagic wore off, Angelo remained hidden but Semaj showed himself and cast a Flame Arrow at her. It hit her just before she finished reading her last PfMagic scroll (no. 6).
While darting around, Morhild bumped into an invisible wall: Tazok. Her sudden halt caused her to get hit by both the Half-Ogre and Sarevok.
She pelted Sarevok with arrows, and when he was on the verge of dying, she did this:
'Grats @Blackraven , may you have such a succesful run in BG2 too.
I am still trekking along Durlag after several days of gaming, typically getting to Endgame in 300+ days of game time...
Good luck against Irenicus!
We can make a unified install so that everything is compatible.
I love the idea of a no-reload multiplayer (SCS) run. Time would probably an issue, but I'd gladly partake
Selyna the Dragon Disciple just cleared Durlag's Tower and the Cult -- and Minsc carried both days.
Demon Knight killed Yeslick and Rasaad, which made it a nightmare to dump most my loot and carry the essentials. Minsc did a mano-a-mano fight while Berserked against the Demon Knight, while my all powerful Selyna got useless "Magic Resistance" tickles against the Demon.
For Aec'Laetec, I forgot that he respawns if there are cultists alive. I had to fight him 4 times before fireballing the rest of the cult to pieces. Minsc and Yeslick with potions of speed cut down the demon as soon as it spawned.
Minsc is right: Sword is better than Magic.
** Follow up question on the no-chunk "Gore" setting that I had switched to recently:
During the Aec'Laetec fight, Imoen got held (probably paralyzing gaze) and was dropped to 1HP and fell "unconcious". Would she have been dead or chunked had I had the Gore setting on?
If so, perhaps I should consider her dead and reconsider my chunk setting?
Off to Baldur's Gate one last time now.
I hope to continue at Athkatla soon...
*Fireworks* *Glee* *Merrymaking*
Sarevok is dead.
Finally.
Took about 1000 hours (including restartitis) to get a character onto BG2, but Selyna Flamewreath finally defeated Sarevok.
Damn the final fight is harder than I remember. I have no idea how anyone manages to finish it solo. Hats off to those who do.
We lost Jaheira in the final fight.
I kept Selyna out of the fray: she kept summoning distractions and turn invisible via potions and run away.
I ran out of ALL healing potions. I had to scrounge from the fallen followers of Sarevok. My beat up party can be seen in the final screenshot.
Must have used about ~50 (non-healing) potions + scrolls. It took me almost three hours to fell Sarevok with all the pausing and micro.
I'll permit Selyna to feel accomplished over this for a bit...