Khalid made his way north from the FAI skirting the Coast Road, securing the way for Dispenser & the rest of them to move through a small fishing & farming community & on to Baldur’s Gate. This was his role and he enjoyed it – he was doing what Rangers do. Often an hour or more in front of the main body, he made mental notes on the locations of threats, buildings, and other items of interest before circling back, reporting what he had found & then leading them back through on whatever course of action Dispenser selected. Sometimes, in areas known to be heavily trapped, Imoen would join him clearing the way lest he, or the others become ensnared or worse. He liked working w/her but when he was alone, he had time to think & he prized the tranquility of the wilderness that allowed him to do so - the wilderness Jaheira loved so dearly. Today he thought of her more than usual. He missed her already & it had only been a couple of hours since he had said goodbye to her at the inn. Dispenser had dismissed Jaheira roughly four months ago &, true to form she relented in deference to duty when he asked that Khalid be allowed to continue w/him. But it had been hard for both of them. They had travelled together every minute since they married & suddenly, this had parted them. She had chosen to stay @ the FAI & that allowed them to see one another when Dispenser’s travels took them there. But now the Cloakwood Mines had been flooded & Dispenser was heading north. Khalid had hoped, believed, the mines might allow him to go back to her for good but now it seemed this could go on indefinitely.
His mind drifted back to the mines themselves. They had proved only a slight challenge for Dispenser. The group he had assembled, by now, worked seamlessly in combat, as the mines’ overlord, Davaeorn found when he fell easily to Isra’s sword. If anything gives Dispenser pause, it is a confident mage but time & again they fall before him. The mines had offered plenty of practice – by the time they left the flooded mine behind, they had killed six powerful mages (& a couple of hearty warrior types as well.
THE MASTER OF THE MINES?
Having completed his reconnaissance, Khalid prepared to rejoin the party. Two Ankheg’s seemed to be the only threat ahead so the road appeared to be a relatively safe path. Khalid refocused his thoughts & gave the short birdlike whistle that alerted his allies that he would be amongst them shortly – a signal they had developed after a couple of close calls. Evidently appearing out of nowhere amongst a group of wizards & warriors can be detrimental to one’s health.
Party info
Order of March: Khalid & Imoen (Recon, Trap Detection), Sirine (shock), Despenser (lead), Valerie (Arcane), Isra (Rear guard)
Potions: Magic Shielding, Magic Protection, Fire Giant Strength (2), Invulnerability (2), Stone Giant Strength, Extra Healing (2), Mirrored Eyes, Elixir of Health
Scrolls: Fire Shield (Red), Haste (2), Web (4), Protection (TBD – 2)
Wands:
Misc & Artifacts: Boots of Speed, Traveler’s Robe, Mage Robe of Cold Resistance,
My character is a male elf Knight of the Red facon called Falchion Rouge. He battled fiercely to get through Candlekeep and though the battles were long and hard, he succeeded where many have fallen. Now at the site of Gorion's Ambush where he returned after nasty battles.
@CharlestonianTemplar With a tag like yours I'm not surprised. The knight himself is from the web at https://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-04/ac-hospitaller-knight.html. The backgrounnd is of Pokhara, Nepal near to where we lived. I spent many hours near to that spot admiring the view and watching and listening to the birds. Sadly access to that area is now restricted. His shadow is the result of photoshop. I hope that my character lives up to their initial vision of helping those in trouble.
After the most upsetting needless death of Gorion I pulled myself together and followed his last instructions to find Khalid and Jaheira at the Friendly Arms Inn. Those who ambushed us must have read his note as there was a mage waiting in ambush for me just outside the entrance door. Fortunately for me the guard were on their toes and slew him, much to my relief. I wish that they had been around earlier, not only during the ambush when they might have saved Gorion's life, but also when I was attacked by hordes of goblins, kobolds and some hobgoblins. It took over a week to recover from those wounds! Fortunately Tarnesh didn't hurt me in the slightest due to the guards' vigilance.
Helping Mellicamp, Marl and Firebead helped me reach level 3 and an extra bit of skill in katanas. What I need now is more skill with the bow. I have become quite popular as a result of my actions. May it long remain so. Upon heading south from Beregost I killed a couple of aggressive ogrillon and some hobgoblins, reunited a girl with her pet rabbit, and killed three overly officious mercenaries, who disbelieved my protestations of innocence concerning banditry. As a result of the latter, I acquired three sets of plate armour.
After killing yet more hobgoblin, I came across the Colquetle amulet and juat outside Nashkel I was given a ring by Lord Foreshadow. The ring overcomes my greatest weakness which is lack of charisma. In Nashkel itself I found some armour which is even better than plate and I immediately donned it. I talked to Noober and Oublek and as a result, I am a fully fledged member of "The Sword Coast Heroes."
This was followed by doing some babysityting in Nashkel and the killing of Zargos Flintblade and Greywolf near the mines. Isra then joined the party and helped me against a mage at Nashkel Carnival. I then asked Isra to leave the party. Since she has a quarter of my experience, she would be a hindrance rather than a help. But upon doing so, the game crashed. Had to replay the last bit .
I returned to beregost to deliver mail, and an amulet. I also killed Silke and Karlat before helping a man who had been turned into slime. Reputation now 20.
I tried to help Aiwell's lover who had been turned into a werewolf. I failed.
When in Candlekeep I bought a Wakizashi since I didn't have enough gold for a Katana. I also bought a buckler, splint mail and a helmet. With this equipment I was able to defeat the well equipped Shank and as a result, now have a katana. That sword then went in my right hand, the wakazashi being relegated to my left. This allowed me to beat another assassin fairly easily.
Yes it did. I should have escaped when I had the chance, but thought that I was going to win. The same occurred in my next run, only it was the Revenant that I should have run from. End of Falchion II.
As can be seen, sheer numbers of goblins almost brought this run to a premature end. However, being a fighter/cleric she was soon fit and healthy again.
Imoen lay awake in the dark. It seemed strange to be back in Candlekeep – even stranger to be sleeping in the Candlekeep Inn. In all the years she had lived here, it occurred to her that never once had she stayed in the inn, despite the countless hours she had worked alongside Puffguts preparing feasts, making up the rooms & looking out for guests.
Now she was ‘home,’ or was she? Many of the faces were the same but Dispenser had avoided communicating with anyone outside the keeper of the portal, the Priest of Oghma (from whom he bought potions & a scroll), & Puffguts. She understood. Candlekeep felt like a different place than the one she remembered - like it had been spoiled somehow. She felt as if she was in a dream - the little girl Imoen looking in on her current self from outside. Suddenly it dawned on her that it had only been a few hours since she was in Baldur’s Gate. Then Duke Eltan, (yes, she knew a Duke!), had teleported all of them here to Candlekeep. It was all truly surreal.
Dispenser had changed right along with her. She had watched him grow into a confident, resolute leader & a pious cleric. The more she saw, the more she realized she was living in his destiny. In the last week alone, he had wiped out Doppelganger infestations @ both the Seven Suns Trading Coster & the Merchants League, destroyed a vile Ogre Mage, & annihilated a temple of Umberlee (including its high priestess), saving the life of a young boy. Two days ago, he had destroyed the Iron Throne’s Leadership in Baldur’s Gate. To be sure, the Battle for the Iron Throne had been extremely challenging (they had had to raise Khalid after), & they had all used every ounce of strength they had to defeat their foes. But Dispenser had been victorious. Despite the powerful evil they faced, she found it hard to believe he could be beaten.
EXTERMINATING DOPPELGANGERS FOR A FRIEND
DEFEATING A HIGH PRIESTESS OF UMBERLEE (BUT DARN THAT UNHOLY BLIGHT HURT!)
BATTLING IN THE IRON THRONE
Tomorrow, Dispenser was intent on confronting Rieltar who is, apparently the top of the chain at the Iron Throne. Then again, every time they have thought they were at the end, they found that there was yet another piece of the puzzle to be solved & another enemy to be defeated. She thought back to Mulahey, Tranzig, Tazok & Davaeorn – all just intermediaries. Whatever was to come tomorrow, she would do her part – of that she was sure. Whether it was firing her short bow, finding & removing a trap or opening a lock, she sincerely believed she was the best. Then she remembered she had a new enchanted Ninja-to! She was suddenly excited & it made her feel good to know she would be helping Dispenser. They had always been close, like best friends . . . but lately she almost felt like he was a big brother.
Finally, her mind quieted down and she drifted off to sleep.
Russell IX the Human Undead Hunter - Update 2
Traveling with:
Khalid - half-elf fighter
Branwen - human cleric
Imoen - human level 5 thief/level 9 mage
Coran - elven fighter/thief
Kivan - elven ranger
The party has breezed through chapter 5. We had a fun fight with the mountain maulers:
We forgot to get a thieving potion, so Russell IX needed to use a storm giant potion to open the crypts in Candlekeep. We did fight the iron throne 5th floor, mostly using fireballs and direct attacks.
Prat was neutral while his co-horts were being slaughtered by minions directed by Branwen hidden by sanctuary. Direct attack then proved decisive. Spiders and basilisks cleared no problem.
After leaving the Crypts, was time to recruit two archers, Coran and Kivan. Just so Coran wouldn't complain we did his quest 1st. Slythe of course fell quickly to 4 archers using acid arrows, and the dopplegangers in Duchal Palace also didn't do well against the archers.
We breezed through the maze, then faced the Undercity party.
Branwen again used sanctuary, and then directed two skeleton warriors to attack Rhavin. This drew out his exploding arrows. Once the enemies were spent, she tried a silence from just out of range and also party used a few fireballs couple of times then attacked - success!
Russell was ALMOST level 8, and rest of the original party were at their level caps. So we sweeped all the undead we could and that was indeed just enough for his level.
Time for the half-brother to meet justice! Party did not do a lot of buffs, protection from magic scrolls (3), rest of party using potions of magic protection, and strength buffs, Imoen did haste and Branwen summoned two skeletons. Coran successfully pulled Sarevok while shooting in stealth and only Sarevok and Semaj came. With concentrated ranged fire, Semaj couldn't do anything before falling. And as for Sarevok, he did last a while, but he only managed to force Branwen to retreat before the 5 archers then forced him to give it up. Success!
This is NOT an MP party, so Russell IX will be recruiting NPCs this run. He's thinking of inviting all the romance NPCs since he is a tank - could be fun!
After returning from Candlekeep a few rests provided Reflex with a 2nd DUHM before heading for Slythe. We didn't bother with any spells there - a dispelling arrow from Reflex left Slythe in a hopeless fight anyway.
At the palace an army of skeletons then ensured the dopplegangers died too quickly to threaten the dukes.
In the maze Grozzul protected himself from lightning and used a PfU scroll to attack the skeleton warriors while Reflex waited to see if the lightning traps would play silly buggers. One of them duly obliged, with a bolt finally coming through the wall to hit him some time later just as the first skeleton warrior died .
The Undercity party saw a skeleton attacking and found their own HPs disappearing from 'friendly' exploding arrows.
In the temple Sarevok was slowed down with a dispelling arrow - prompting Semaj to teleport into a group of skeletons.
Those then moved to tackle the remaining enemies and beat up Angelo before falling to Sarevok.
A bit of missile and movement sorted out Tazok and Sarevok found on his own he was unequal to the task.
Moving straight on to Athkatla the boys have made their way through the dungeon and are ready to emerge next time. Grozzul took plenty of trap damage, but regular rests ensured there was never any danger. The only disappointment was failing to find a killer blow against Ulvaryl.
Reflex, archer 8, 91 HPs, 26 kills (+225 in BG1)
Grozzul, fighter 7 / cleric 8, 88 HPs (incl. 5 from helm), 28 kills (+160 in BG1), 0 deaths
The Trio made some decent progress yesterday, with just the one anxious moment.
The start of the session saw the remainder of the Cloakwood explored and the charisma tome captured for Crest. Successfully restoring Melicamp saw shop prices as low as they were going to get for a while and items purchased included a +1 axe and a shimmering cloak for Crest, stealthy armor a +3 staff and +1 shortbow for Trapper, full plate for Drubb.
Looking for any more quick XP, Crest led the way to Durlag's Tower. The battle horrors were dealt with comfortably enough, but there was a minor concern against the first greater basilisk on the roof - that switched from Crest (protected by potion) to an unprotected Drubb after going into melee mode, but died before it had a chance to return to its gaze attack.
Crest thought about attacking Riggilo, but he had disappeared into the wall on my screen - fortunately Trapper and Drubb had no such handicap .
Next up was the Nashkel mine. Mulahey saved against silence, but his spells could make no headway against berserker rage.
Outside the mine the amazons did suffer in silence. We didn't rest before returning to Nashkel so silence wasn't an option for Nimbul - not that that helped him with a backstabber about.
Tranzig did his normal trick of saying he would not go down without a fight - before doing so.
At the Bandit Camp the bandit archers hit a good streak of attacks against Drubb, pushing him fairly low on HPs on the way to find Taurgosz. Drubb took him for a long walk down the side of the map before command and then hold proved a victorious strategy - though Drubb's claims of a comfortable victory were slightly belied by the state of his HP.
Inside the tent Trapper nipped in and laid 2 special traps before the others entered. Corey_Russell felt we were "not giving them much of a chance" - which was indeed the case .
After a quick trip through the Cloakwood, silence worked its magic once more on Drasus & co.
Inside the mine things looked good initially as the fighters got into position behind a wall, but close enough to the exit to the third level for Trapper to stealth through and trigger the area transition. However, one of the guards got just enough of a look at Trapper as he opened the door to come and investigate - and then Hareishan followed. The mage's mirrors then held up just long enough to complete casting lightning bolt. In such a confined space it would certainly have been possible for the bolt to have wiped everyone out and the first half second of its bouncing looked like bad news as Crest was hit twice.
Fortunately it moved track just enough after that to miss Crest - his gain was at the expense of Trapper though who took several strikes himself and ended up happy to just be killed and not chunked.
After a trip to the temple a supporting skeleton helped chase down Davaeorn.
In the City an ogre mage didn't last long enough to cast anything harmful. The Mountain Maulers took relatively little damage from a series of traps - but that only left an extra-tempting target for Drubb's hold person.
Crest has been poisoned by Marek, but will have to wait a week until he gets the chance to find an antidote ...
Russell IX the human Undead Hunter - Update 3
Traveling with:
Jaheira, Minsc, Viconia, Yoshimo, Aerie
The party is making good progress. Umar Hills done, but still lot of stuff to do. We have done the slums quests early like usual. Was trying to work our way to free H'aer Dalis but first we dealt with Tarnor's gang. This was quite a fight - we used farsight to tell our summons to attack Gaius. This did not kill him, but it did distract the enemies long enough for the clerics to attempt silence x3 as well as insect plague from Jaheira. Then the rest of the party attacked. Problem? I had meant to put death ward on Russell IX before the fight, but forgot! Oops. Sure enough, during the fight Gaius casts FoD - at Russell IX!! His save vs spells was 7 at the time, so could have been bad, but he did have 5% magic resist from the shield of the lost, it's possible that saved him. In any case, the party did prevail, but was badly battered afterwards. A lot of very good armor upgrades for the party, so was worth it all the same.
So then we want to go to somewhere where we can free rest to do some Identifying, so chose Trademeet - ambush! And we are still battered from Tarnor's and have almost zero heal potions! Miraculously no one dies, but most of the party is near death...
Finally we get to Trademeet to rest, heal, ID, sell and then consider our next move. Probably will get the Fortress Shield for Russell IX then heal potions from Watcher's Keep.
Russell IX the human undead hunter - FINAL Update!
The party had battled their way into the planar prison. We did fine, up to the Warden. We were running low on buffs, but I think I had some potions that could have helped but forgot to use. It ended up costing Russell's life - RIP Russell IX (he got disintegrated)
Was thinking about rolling up a MP party of thieves...will get to rolling the characters.
Our latest attempt failed to get too far in BG2 after making smooth progress through BG1. We did the circus, Copper Coronet and slavers without any real concerns and saw off ambushes by Suna Seni and Renfeld's kidnappers in quick succession.
After returning Renfeld and dealing with Prebek and Sanasha, Grozzul looked out of the window and noted there could be vampires roaming in the darkness. Reflex indeed spotted Hareishan snacking on some thieves and Grozzul quickly produced a couple of skeletons to help tank her. Just before the last thief died, Reflex attacked the vampire, but was hampered in that by not having any +2 ammunition. That meant Hareishan was able to kill one of the skeletons and turn on Grozzul while still having half her HPs left. Seeing the cleric was having difficulty staying ahead, Reflex tried to use the potion of firebreath from the dungeon to finish Hareishan off. However, despite apparently being right next to her, the potion failed to fire and Grozzul continued on his way.
Reflex only caught up again halfway round the area, by which time Hareishan had regenerated all her HPs. The potion still took her to near death though and Reflex stayed attacking hoping for a lucky hit. He didn't get one, however, and was hit twice himself and reduced to 34 HPs. Grozzul then came back in as Reflex took an oil of speed and retreated. That appeared to have been successful, but one of the problems of MP is you can't be sure of where you really are - and Hareishan found a way to get one more hit in, doing direct damage of 7 HPs. In theory that should have had very little chance of being fatal (Reflex's constitution of 18 meant he should lose a maximum of 14 per level lost), but Lady Luck was clearly on a tea break at the time.
At the FAI, Jiwand was aided against Tarnesh by the guards who killed him.
At High Hedge Jiwan was able to help Mellicamp and also tried to help Aiwell's husband. Sadly she failed to do so and was forced to kill him using her abundant ammunition spell. Her reward on taking his body to the mage was a +1 sword of flame. It could have been worse.
She had calmed down Marl at the inn and taken a tome to Firebead so she now headed south where she killed a couple of ogrillon. She then found Jumper the rabbit for the girl who had lost it and after that killed three overly officious Flaming Fist.
Heading soth once more she killed more ogrillon, found the Colquetle amulet, killed some kobolds and a bandit and entered Nashkell just after being given a ring by Lord Foreshadow.
In the town she talked to Noober, bringing her fighter level up to three. She headed south once more and used Writhing Fog to good effect against Zargos Flintblade. she then rested before going in search of Prism.
The battles with Greywolf and Zordral were both touch and go. I was the one that survived however.
I am now a level 4 cleric/level 3 fighter.
For a solo cleric, writhing fog is an excellent choice of spells against enemies who have no ranged weapons as it doesn't hurt the caster.
This is my first game using this kit and I have a LOT to learn.
Dreen the gnomish thief and his party of thieves - Update 1
April - dwarven fighter/thief
Sarah - elven bounty hunter
This team has made it to the Cloakwood, so thought I would post them - my party of thieves often die early but these guys are still kicking, though not without disasters. Introducing Dreen:
If interested in his groupmates, click the spoiler
The general process for this group is April handles the "classic" thief duties like locks and traps, Sarah uses traps before/during battle and range attacks, and finally Dreen has high stealth so he scouts and backstabs (if safe), or if not safe (like an enemy party), he will throw fireballs from the shadows with his necklace of missiles - this strategy has worked pretty well so far.
We've done the high experience areas like sirines, ankhegs, and basilisks. For the Ankheg farm, April didn't have huge HP, but she was well protected with full plate, large shield +1, boots of avoidance, girdle of bluntness and and protection from acid - in fact, she didn't get hit once!
Our run nearly came to a horrible end just before we were to start the basilisks. I had paused the session just before taking on the southern group of basilisks, and was away from the keyboard for a while. When I got back, I forgot to take stock of everything, and April moved up, and was duly petrified! And she had the PfP scoll! AND we couldn't de-petrify her!
So Dreen and Sarah retreated to Lauthander temple to get a StF scroll. Then we returned - Dreen scouted April's position. His only chance was to get close, de-petrify April, quickly talk to her to get her to join and immediately have her use her scroll. I didn't know if she could do it before the basilisk hit her with a gaze attack - she did it! She then gulped quite a few blue potions, then the party duly cleared the map. Close one!
Mulahey was dangerous, as Dreen got a critical miss on his backstab. The party rushed to help him. I think Mulahey got a spell off before he died, but think Dreen's shorty saves came through for him, and this part of the main quest was duly cleared - whew! Nimbul of course did not survive Dreen's backstab - there was a bounty hunter trap waiting for him if he survived, so not likely Nimbul would get anywhere. Tranzig died immediately to traps.
We realized we needed absolutely nothing from the bandit camp. So we looted the surface (why not), Dreen used a potion of absorption (his trap scores aren't good, but he has the best stealth why this was his job), and Dreen managed to stealth to the chest in Tazok's tent, loot, then hide all before Raemon was able to talk.
The party was fatigued, so just got the heck out of there. We bought a few supplies from High Hedge, to help us get through the dangerous Cloakwood Area 2, and will continue our quest next session.
. . . was proud. He had just faced down Dispenser & his group of mercenaries & they had turned away w/their tails between their legs. To make it even more satisfying, Brunos, Tuth and Kestor had all been there to see it as were the Knights of the Shield with whom he’d been negotiating. This was big & he was puffed up. If Brunos, Tuth or Kestor had had any ideas about upward mobility @ his expense, they certainly would not now. Yep, he was feeling good.
That’s why he was so irritated when Dispenser’s group appeared again in the archway leading into the room they were meeting at the north end of the 3rd floor of Candlekeep library. He was incredulous . . . but, he was also secretly afraid. His bravado earlier had been to cover up the fact that he didn’t relish a battle with this group knowing what they had already done to the network he’d established from Nashkel all the way to the Cloakwoods and into Baldur’s Gate. He didn’t want to risk his person – he wanted others to do it for him. But what had worked earlier seemed the best course again.
“As I told before, get out and stop bothering us,” he pronounced to the one called Dispenser. But they just kept coming. He suddenly felt threatened. Then a sense of terror filled his heart as the mercenaries suddenly shapeshifted – they were Doppelgangers. His mind raced through his memorized spells & he decided on Horror, but he felt the claw of the nearest monster rake across his face and into his chest. He reached in sheer panic for a Potion of Extra Healing, but another claw dug into his arm & the potion shattered against the floor. He tried to back away but Kestor was behind him as were two more Doppelgangers. He tripped and fell. The last thing he ever saw was the ugly gray-skinned creature descending on him for the kill.
Somewhere, Sarevok smiled.
Dispenser. . .
. . . felt the cool air of on his face as he exited the caves beneath the Candlekeep. He felt disoriented at first, but then realized that it was Elient - & likely just after the Autumn Equinox.
“Where to now?” he thought. He’d already made up his mind that he wasn’t heading straight to Baldur’s Gate. Of course, he knew coming face to face w/Sarevok again was destiny, but he sensed that Sarevok had the upper hand right now. He needed to gather himself, consider his strategy, not act rashly – prepare for the inevitable. He wondered how news of his arrest for Rieltar’s murder would be received – surely his enemies would spread the word. He’d enjoyed a certain popular, even heroic reception in some places recently. He wondered if that was gone already. He also knew the Flaming Fist would be looking for him at least as far south as Beregost and probably a bit south of that but decided their reach faded near Nashkel. He would head there & disappear for a while.
Three days ago, he’d been in Baldur’s Gate & had just taken down the Iron Throne’s operation there. And then, without a chance to reconsider he was in Candlekeep. He’d been sent by Duke Eltan to continue pursuit of Rieltar but it had gone awry – badly. He had found him, and other Iron Throne types in the library but @ Sirine’s wise recommendation, has decided against confrontation there. Instead they’d gone to Gorion’s room at Tethtoril’s suggestion, where he’d learned that his heritage was far darker than he ever could have imagined. Before he could digest the news though, he’d been arrested, all of them, for Rieltar’s murder. They’d been locked in a cell deep beneath Candlekeep, a place he’d not known before. Luckily, Tethotoril had freed him but to escape he had to work his way through a maze of catacombs and caves, filled with crypts & the undead that walk among them. He’d found more evidence of the conspiracy against him - against all of the Sword Coast – on a mage, Prat, that they’d had to contend w/before escaping. He was caught in a web in which Sarevok was the spider. To make things worse, it appeared his enemy would soon be a Grand Duke.
BATTLING PRAT. A TOUGH FOE.
He’d head to Nashkel, adventure in that region for a time, but first he would go to Kelddath – Valerie had been slain - & then to Thalantyr, before going on.
Party info
ORDER OF MARCH: Khalid (Recon) Imoen (Traps), Isra (shock), Despenser (leader), Valerie (Arcane support) Sirine (Rear guard)
When I left Candlekeep with Gorion, as a level one fighter/cleric I felt decidedly nervous, even more so when I witnessed the death of Gorion.
Things are so different now that I am a level 7 fighter and level 7 cleric. Enemies now think twice before taking me on.
To get to this point I have cleared the ankheg nest and surrounding areas of ankhegs. I also cleared Mutamin's stopping ground of basilisks and medusae. I have killed Zargos Flintblade and Greywolf, the areas controlled by sirine and have reached a reputation of 20. If it were possible my reputatioin would have been higher still, but something seems to be stopping it going any higher. I managed to defeat the workers who were helping Charleston Nib, however they were very difficult to beat. They have clearly been upgraded.
It came into my head that a thief might come in handy, but decided that taking on an evil thief would be foolhardy to say the least.
Aura and Vynd are not available due to installation problems. Imoen is only level one. So I went in search of Alora. She has nowhere near the same experience as I, but she appears to be the wisest choice given who is available.
We are currently investigating Durlag's Tower, hoping that it doesn't live up to its reputation. Alora is a level 5 Hoodwinker, Level 5 thief and sadly her thieving skills are somewhat inadequate. She found a trap easilly, but was unable to disable it. Instead, it disabled her! It charmed her, so I left as quickly as possible.
After the spell wore off, we were able to defeat all the above ground enemies.
I'm kind of paranoid that I'll lose my video files, so I went ahead and uploaded the unedited video of Frisky Bits' final battle with Melissan in my solo LoB run. It's only 10 minutes long, anyway.
Dreen the gnomish thief - Update 2
Traveling with:
April - dwarven fighter/thief
Sarah - elven bounty hunter
While my battle is not as epic as @semiticgod 's, I too had a battle with a BG Boss, Mr. Sarevok. It's a short video, less than 4 minutes. Sorry about the fan! Didn't realize my mic would pick it up, even when the mic was not in a ready position. I'll remember that for next time.
I'm kind of paranoid that I'll lose my video files, so I went ahead and uploaded the unedited video of Frisky Bits' final battle with Melissan in my solo LoB run. It's only 10 minutes long, anyway.
That's my que to quit posting in here. I'm not even in the minor leagues where you're concerned @semiticgod.
I'm kind of paranoid that I'll lose my video files, so I went ahead and uploaded the unedited video of Frisky Bits' final battle with Melissan in my solo LoB run. It's only 10 minutes long, anyway.
That's my que to quit posting in here. I'm not even in the minor leagues where you're concerned @semiticgod.
Don't be silly, @CharlestonianTemplar ! Your posts entertain forum readers, and that's reason enough for you to continue posting!
@Corey_Russell: It's interesting to see another person's playstyle. Your style is much cleaner than mine--much less jittery and more focused. Even your inventory is tidier!
I'm kind of paranoid that I'll lose my video files, so I went ahead and uploaded the unedited video of Frisky Bits' final battle with Melissan in my solo LoB run. It's only 10 minutes long, anyway.
That's my que to quit posting in here. I'm not even in the minor leagues where you're concerned @semiticgod.
No! This would be a darker and much less interesting thread without your posts, @CharlestonianTemplar. I was delighted to hear you were joining the challenge, and I would be sad to see you go (I wouldn't be the only one, either). D&D is about roleplaying first and foremost, and that's what you bring to this thread.
Solo runs and LoB runs are worth the occasional laugh due to their sheer idiocy, but I'd hate to see them become some sort of standard for no-reload gameplay. One of the best things about this community is that we've rejected the elitism that plagues so many gaming fora. This thread is not about trying to show off or compete with each other; it's to share our experiences and appreciate the numerous facets of the game. No-reload runs are immensely challenging, but the real goal is to make the game more suspenseful and engaging. Difficulty does not measure the value of a run.
@CharlestonianTemplar Since everyone else has put in their two penn'orth, here's mine. I actually enjoy your posts more than any of the others. So what if you are not the most skilful player. That is not what the game is about. It is first and foremost about having fun and sharing that fun with others.
You make me feel that I am actually there with your protagonist when you write. I wish that I could write half as well as you do.
@Corey_Russell: It's interesting to see another person's playstyle. Your style is much cleaner than mine--much less jittery and more focused. Even your inventory is tidier!
To be fair, it's hard to keep a solo player's inventory tidy. A solo player has far more need for resources to make it alone, far more in fact than can fit in the inventory slots. You were also in ToB, and by then there are a great many resources (clicky items) that you might use - in BG 1, I don't have a lot of resources or click items to use, mostly the occasional potion buffing or green scroll buffing.
To be fair, I'm just as messy in party runs. Maybe even more so, actually. My only form of organization is putting containers in the middle slots so you have to spend less time dragging stuff over to a Bag of Holding or whatever.
Comments
His mind drifted back to the mines themselves. They had proved only a slight challenge for Dispenser. The group he had assembled, by now, worked seamlessly in combat, as the mines’ overlord, Davaeorn found when he fell easily to Isra’s sword. If anything gives Dispenser pause, it is a confident mage but time & again they fall before him. The mines had offered plenty of practice – by the time they left the flooded mine behind, they had killed six powerful mages (& a couple of hearty warrior types as well.
THE MASTER OF THE MINES?
Having completed his reconnaissance, Khalid prepared to rejoin the party. Two Ankheg’s seemed to be the only threat ahead so the road appeared to be a relatively safe path. Khalid refocused his thoughts & gave the short birdlike whistle that alerted his allies that he would be amongst them shortly – a signal they had developed after a couple of close calls. Evidently appearing out of nowhere amongst a group of wizards & warriors can be detrimental to one’s health.
Party info
Order of March: Khalid & Imoen (Recon, Trap Detection), Sirine (shock), Despenser (lead), Valerie (Arcane), Isra (Rear guard)
MONSTERS DEFEATED: Davaeorn Mage (Invoker)/11, Mustard Jelly, Kysus, Mage (Conjurer)/9, Hareishan, Mage (Invoker)/9, Natasha, Mage (Enchanter)/9, Drasus, Fighter/8, Genthore, Fighter/7, Rezdan, Mage (Enchanter)/7, Davaeorn Guard, Ettercaps (5), Ghasts (2), Ogre Berserker, Ogre Mage, Giant Spiders (6), Mine Guards (Splint [incls Lakadaar]- 28), Hobgoblin Elite (6), Mine Guards – Leather (10), Skeletons (6), Hobgoblins (24)
CASUALTIES: Valerie (Krysus & Hareishan), Isra (Hareishan)
LEVEL UP: Valerie, Sorcerer/5, Imoen, Thief (Adventurer)/6
NOTEWORTHY TREASURE GAINED: (Gold = 3491 gp)
Armor & weapons: Fallorain’s Plate Mail +1, Longbow of Marksmanship +3, Studded Leather +1, Bracers of Defense AC6, Plate Mail, Katana +1, Morning Star +1, Sling +1, Spear (TBD), Small Shield +1
Gems/jewelry: Laeral’s Tear Necklace, Amulet/Protection +1, Diamond, Pearl Necklace, Moonbar Gem, Bloodstone Amulet,
Potions: Magic Shielding, Magic Protection, Fire Giant Strength (2), Invulnerability (2), Stone Giant Strength, Extra Healing (2), Mirrored Eyes, Elixir of Health
Scrolls: Fire Shield (Red), Haste (2), Web (4), Protection (TBD – 2)
Wands:
Misc & Artifacts: Boots of Speed, Traveler’s Robe, Mage Robe of Cold Resistance,
Best Kill:
1) Isra, Davaeorn (6000 exp)
2) Khalid, (Seniyad) (4000 exp)
3) Sirene:(Taurgosz Khosann), & Valerie & Dispenser: (Sword Spiders) (2000 exp ea)
4) Imoen: (Osmadi) (1000 exp)
CURRENT DISPOSITION:
NEXT STEPS:
PARTY MAKEUP: (Reputation: 17 - Heroic)
Silas: Cleric (Holy Justice of Tyr)/5 (HP 36) Fallorain’s Plate Mail +1w/ L/Sword +2/+1 Cold, Spells: Animate Dead, Holy Smite, Chant, Draw/Holy Might, Hold Person, Silence 15’, Slow Poison, Bless, Command, Doom, Protection from Evil; Remove Fear, Abilities: Hold person; (None) (1)
Sirine: Paladin of Ilmatar (Martyr of Ilmater)/5 (HP 43) Full Plate & Amulet/Protection +1 w/2H/Sword +1 (Gauntlets of Weapons Expertise), Abilities: Lay on Hands (2), Sacrifice, D/Evil (6); (Advanced AI) (2)
Isra: Paladin (Cavalier of Sune)/5 (HP 46) Full Plate & Cloak +1 w/2H/Sword +2 (Spiders Bane)** & Morning Star +1, (THWS**, Mc/MS*), ), Abilities: Remove Fear (2), Prot/Evil (2), Lay Hands (2), D/Evil (6), Cure Disease; (Advanced AI) (3)
Khalid: Ranger (Archer)/4 (HP 35) St/Leather +2 & Boots of Speed w/Cloak/Non-Detection & Longbow of Marksmanship +3**** (Bracers of Archery) & B/Sword +1* (TWS**) Skills: MS 48, HS 48; (Fighter Ranged) (4)
Imoen: Thief/Adventurer//6 (HP 36) Leather w/Ring/Prot +1, S/bow*, S/Sword* & Master Belt; Skills: OL 80, PP 40, FT 75, MS 55, HS 50, DI 20, ST 25; (Thief Ranged) (5)
Valerie: Sorcerer/5 (HP 15) Traveler’s Robe, Ring/Protection +1, Ring Energy &, WoMMs, Sling +1* & Q/Staff, Spells: Melf’s Acid Arrow, Ray of Enfeeblement (5), Magic Missile (5), Chromatic Orb (#), Spook (5),Sleep (5), (Advanced AI) (6)
MOD USED: BG NPC v23.3, BG NPC Music v6, Plane Touched Races _v0,0, Indira v12, Isra v2.3, Finch v4.0, Gavin v14, Drake, Sirene v2.5, Verr’sza v5.2, BG UB v16, Tweaks Anthology Beta 4, Song & Silence v9, Deities of Faerun, Rogue Rebalancing v491, Level 1 NPCs, SCS v31, aTweaks, Item Randomizer v7
(Current AI) (Chain of Command rank)
Like the Hospitaller PC.
After the most upsetting needless death of Gorion I pulled myself together and followed his last instructions to find Khalid and Jaheira at the Friendly Arms Inn. Those who ambushed us must have read his note as there was a mage waiting in ambush for me just outside the entrance door. Fortunately for me the guard were on their toes and slew him, much to my relief. I wish that they had been around earlier, not only during the ambush when they might have saved Gorion's life, but also when I was attacked by hordes of goblins, kobolds and some hobgoblins. It took over a week to recover from those wounds! Fortunately Tarnesh didn't hurt me in the slightest due to the guards' vigilance.
Helping Mellicamp, Marl and Firebead helped me reach level 3 and an extra bit of skill in katanas. What I need now is more skill with the bow. I have become quite popular as a result of my actions. May it long remain so. Upon heading south from Beregost I killed a couple of aggressive ogrillon and some hobgoblins, reunited a girl with her pet rabbit, and killed three overly officious mercenaries, who disbelieved my protestations of innocence concerning banditry. As a result of the latter, I acquired three sets of plate armour.
After killing yet more hobgoblin, I came across the Colquetle amulet and juat outside Nashkel I was given a ring by Lord Foreshadow. The ring overcomes my greatest weakness which is lack of charisma. In Nashkel itself I found some armour which is even better than plate and I immediately donned it. I talked to Noober and Oublek and as a result, I am a fully fledged member of "The Sword Coast Heroes."
This was followed by doing some babysityting in Nashkel and the killing of Zargos Flintblade and Greywolf near the mines. Isra then joined the party and helped me against a mage at Nashkel Carnival. I then asked Isra to leave the party. Since she has a quarter of my experience, she would be a hindrance rather than a help.
But upon doing so, the game crashed.
I returned to beregost to deliver mail, and an amulet. I also killed Silke and Karlat before helping a man who had been turned into slime. Reputation now 20.
I tried to help Aiwell's lover who had been turned into a werewolf. I failed.
The end of Falchion.
When in Candlekeep I bought a Wakizashi since I didn't have enough gold for a Katana. I also bought a buckler, splint mail and a helmet. With this equipment I was able to defeat the well equipped Shank and as a result, now have a katana. That sword then went in my right hand, the wakazashi being relegated to my left. This allowed me to beat another assassin fairly easily.
Falchion is far too brave for his own good.
As can be seen, sheer numbers of goblins almost brought this run to a premature end. However, being a fighter/cleric she was soon fit and healthy again.
Now she was ‘home,’ or was she? Many of the faces were the same but Dispenser had avoided communicating with anyone outside the keeper of the portal, the Priest of Oghma (from whom he bought potions & a scroll), & Puffguts. She understood. Candlekeep felt like a different place than the one she remembered - like it had been spoiled somehow. She felt as if she was in a dream - the little girl Imoen looking in on her current self from outside. Suddenly it dawned on her that it had only been a few hours since she was in Baldur’s Gate. Then Duke Eltan, (yes, she knew a Duke!), had teleported all of them here to Candlekeep. It was all truly surreal.
Dispenser had changed right along with her. She had watched him grow into a confident, resolute leader & a pious cleric. The more she saw, the more she realized she was living in his destiny. In the last week alone, he had wiped out Doppelganger infestations @ both the Seven Suns Trading Coster & the Merchants League, destroyed a vile Ogre Mage, & annihilated a temple of Umberlee (including its high priestess), saving the life of a young boy. Two days ago, he had destroyed the Iron Throne’s Leadership in Baldur’s Gate. To be sure, the Battle for the Iron Throne had been extremely challenging (they had had to raise Khalid after), & they had all used every ounce of strength they had to defeat their foes. But Dispenser had been victorious. Despite the powerful evil they faced, she found it hard to believe he could be beaten.
EXTERMINATING DOPPELGANGERS FOR A FRIEND
DEFEATING A HIGH PRIESTESS OF UMBERLEE (BUT DARN THAT UNHOLY BLIGHT HURT!)
BATTLING IN THE IRON THRONE
Tomorrow, Dispenser was intent on confronting Rieltar who is, apparently the top of the chain at the Iron Throne. Then again, every time they have thought they were at the end, they found that there was yet another piece of the puzzle to be solved & another enemy to be defeated. She thought back to Mulahey, Tranzig, Tazok & Davaeorn – all just intermediaries. Whatever was to come tomorrow, she would do her part – of that she was sure. Whether it was firing her short bow, finding & removing a trap or opening a lock, she sincerely believed she was the best. Then she remembered she had a new enchanted Ninja-to! She was suddenly excited & it made her feel good to know she would be helping Dispenser. They had always been close, like best friends . . . but lately she almost felt like he was a big brother.
Finally, her mind quieted down and she drifted off to sleep.
Order of March: Sirine & Isra (shock), Khalid (Recon, Despenser (leader), Imoen (Traps), Valerie (Arcane) (Rear guard)
MONSTERS DEFEATED: Jalantha , Cleric (Wave Servant of Umberlee)/9, Zhalimar, Fighter (Berserker)/11, Gardush, Fighter (Berserker)/10, Naaman, Mage (Enchanter)/9, Diyab, Cleric/Thief 9/9, Aasim, Fighter/Cleric 7/7, Alai, Fighter/Mage 7/7, Ankhegs (2 - FV),Phase Spiders (2), Doppelgangers (19), Carrion Crawlers (5), Thayan Wizard (Bg), Iron Throne Guard – Splint (4), Priestess of Umberlee (~4), Iron Throne Guard – Leather (4), Thayan Bodyguards (2 - Bg),
CASUALTIES: Valerie (Ogre Mage), Khalid (Zhalimar Cloudwulfe)
LEVEL UP: Dispenser, Cleric (Holy Justice of Tyr)/6, Sirine, Paladin (Martyr of Ilmater)/6, Isra, Paladin (Cavalier of Sune)/6, Plate Mail
NOTEWORTHY TREASURE GAINED: (Gold = ~12560 gp [incls rewards])
Armor & weapons: Warhammer +2/ (+1), Ninja-to +1, Halberd +2, Warhammer +1, Mace +1
Gems/jewelry: Ruby Ring, Necklace of Missiles, Ring of Free Action, Sphene Gems (2)
Potions: Invulnerability, Oil Fiery Burning
Scrolls: Cloudkill, Minor Sequencer, Dispel Magic, Protection from Normal Missiles, Protection from Undead
Wands: Wand of the Heavens
Misc & Artifacts: Robe of the Good Arch-Magi, Gauntlet’s of Weapon Skill, Bracers of defense AC7
Best Kill:
1) Isra, Davaeorn & Khalid, Jalantha Mislmyr (6000 exp ea)
2) Sirene, Zhalimar Cloudwulfe (3000 exp)
3) Valerie & Dispenser: (Sword Spiders) (2000 exp ea)
4) Imoen, Wyvern (1400 exp)
CURRENT DISPOSITION: Resting, recuperating & resupplying @ Candlekeep
NEXT STEPS: Confront Rieltar @ Candlekeep
PARTY MAKEUP: (Reputation: 18 - Heroic)
Silas: Cleric (Holy Justice of Tyr)/6 (HP 43) Fallorain’s Plate Mail +1, Girdle of Bluntness & Ring of Free Action; L/Sword +2/+1* & Warhammer +2/ (+1)* (SWS*) & Wand of the Heavens; Spells: Animate Dead, Dispel Magic, Holy Smite, Chant, Draw/Holy Might, Hold Person, Silence 15’, Slow Poison, Bless, Command, Doom, Protection from Evil; Remove Fear; Abilities: Cure Affliction (2), Healing Touch (2), Hold person, Strength of One; Divine Might; (None) (1)
Sirine: Paladin of Ilmatar (Martyr of Ilmater)/6 (HP 50) Full Plate & Amulet/Protection +1; 2H/Sword +1** (Flail**, THWS**) & Gauntlets of Weapons Expertise; Abilities: Sacrifice, Martyrdom, Lay on Hands (3), D/Evil (8); (Advanced AI) (2)
Isra: Paladin (Cavalier of Sune)/6 (HP 54) Full Plate & Cloak +1 w/2H/Sword +2 (Spiders Bane)** & Morning Star +1** w/ Gauntlet’s of Weapon Skill, (THWS**, Mc/MS*), ), Abilities: Remove Fear (6), Prot/Evil (6), Lay Hands, D/Evil (9), Cure Disease; (Advanced AI) (3)
Khalid: Ranger (Archer)/4 (HP 35) St/Leather +2 , Boots of Speed & Cloak/Non-Detection; Longbow of Marksmanship +3**** w/Bracers of Archery & B/Sword +1* (TWS**, Axe*); Abilities; Called Shot; Skills: MS 48, HS 48; (Fighter Ranged) (4)
Imoen: Thief/Adventurer//6 (HP 36) Leather w/Ring/Prot +1; S/bow* & Ninja-to +1* (Dagger*); Skills: OL 80, PP 40, FT 75, MS 55, HS 50, DI 20, ST 25, w/Master Belt; (Thief Ranged) (6)
Valerie: Sorcerer/5 (HP 15) Robe of the Good Arch-Magi & Ring/Protection +1; Ring Energy, Necklace of Missiles, Sling +1*; Spells: Melf’s Acid Arrow, Ray of Enfeeblement (5), Magic Missile (5), Chromatic Orb (#), Spook (5),Sleep (5), (Advanced AI) (5)
MOD USED: BG NPC v23.3, BG NPC Music v6, Plane Touched Races _v0,0, Indira v12, Isra v2.3, Finch v4.0, Gavin v14, Drake, Sirene v2.5, Verr’sza v5.2, BG UB v16, Tweaks Anthology Beta 4, Song & Silence v9, Deities of Faerun, Rogue Rebalancing v491, Level 1 NPCs, SCS v31, aTweaks, Item Randomizer v7
(Current AI) (Chain of Command rank)
Traveling with:
Khalid - half-elf fighter
Branwen - human cleric
Imoen - human level 5 thief/level 9 mage
Coran - elven fighter/thief
Kivan - elven ranger
The party has breezed through chapter 5. We had a fun fight with the mountain maulers:
We forgot to get a thieving potion, so Russell IX needed to use a storm giant potion to open the crypts in Candlekeep. We did fight the iron throne 5th floor, mostly using fireballs and direct attacks.
Prat was neutral while his co-horts were being slaughtered by minions directed by Branwen hidden by sanctuary. Direct attack then proved decisive. Spiders and basilisks cleared no problem.
After leaving the Crypts, was time to recruit two archers, Coran and Kivan. Just so Coran wouldn't complain we did his quest 1st. Slythe of course fell quickly to 4 archers using acid arrows, and the dopplegangers in Duchal Palace also didn't do well against the archers.
We breezed through the maze, then faced the Undercity party.
Branwen again used sanctuary, and then directed two skeleton warriors to attack Rhavin. This drew out his exploding arrows. Once the enemies were spent, she tried a silence from just out of range and also party used a few fireballs couple of times then attacked - success!
Russell was ALMOST level 8, and rest of the original party were at their level caps. So we sweeped all the undead we could and that was indeed just enough for his level.
Time for the half-brother to meet justice! Party did not do a lot of buffs, protection from magic scrolls (3), rest of party using potions of magic protection, and strength buffs, Imoen did haste and Branwen summoned two skeletons. Coran successfully pulled Sarevok while shooting in stealth and only Sarevok and Semaj came. With concentrated ranged fire, Semaj couldn't do anything before falling. And as for Sarevok, he did last a while, but he only managed to force Branwen to retreat before the 5 archers then forced him to give it up. Success!
This is NOT an MP party, so Russell IX will be recruiting NPCs this run. He's thinking of inviting all the romance NPCs since he is a tank - could be fun!
Reflex (male half-elf archer, Grond0); Grozzul (male dwarf fighter/cleric, Gate70)
Previous updates
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1080507/#Comment_1080507
After returning from Candlekeep a few rests provided Reflex with a 2nd DUHM before heading for Slythe. We didn't bother with any spells there - a dispelling arrow from Reflex left Slythe in a hopeless fight anyway.
In the maze Grozzul protected himself from lightning and used a PfU scroll to attack the skeleton warriors while Reflex waited to see if the lightning traps would play silly buggers. One of them duly obliged, with a bolt finally coming through the wall to hit him some time later just as the first skeleton warrior died
The Undercity party saw a skeleton attacking and found their own HPs disappearing from 'friendly' exploding arrows.
In the temple Sarevok was slowed down with a dispelling arrow - prompting Semaj to teleport into a group of skeletons.
Moving straight on to Athkatla the boys have made their way through the dungeon and are ready to emerge next time. Grozzul took plenty of trap damage, but regular rests ensured there was never any danger. The only disappointment was failing to find a killer blow against Ulvaryl.
Reflex, archer 8, 91 HPs, 26 kills (+225 in BG1)
Grozzul, fighter 7 / cleric 8, 88 HPs (incl. 5 from helm), 28 kills (+160 in BG1), 0 deaths
Crest - dwarf berserker (Grond0)
Trapper - halfling bounty hunter (Corey_Russell)
Drubb - dwarf fighter/cleric (Gate70)
Previous updates:
The Trio made some decent progress yesterday, with just the one anxious moment.
The start of the session saw the remainder of the Cloakwood explored and the charisma tome captured for Crest. Successfully restoring Melicamp saw shop prices as low as they were going to get for a while and items purchased included a +1 axe and a shimmering cloak for Crest, stealthy armor a +3 staff and +1 shortbow for Trapper, full plate for Drubb.
Looking for any more quick XP, Crest led the way to Durlag's Tower. The battle horrors were dealt with comfortably enough, but there was a minor concern against the first greater basilisk on the roof - that switched from Crest (protected by potion) to an unprotected Drubb after going into melee mode, but died before it had a chance to return to its gaze attack.
Next up was the Nashkel mine. Mulahey saved against silence, but his spells could make no headway against berserker rage.
At the Bandit Camp the bandit archers hit a good streak of attacks against Drubb, pushing him fairly low on HPs on the way to find Taurgosz. Drubb took him for a long walk down the side of the map before command and then hold proved a victorious strategy - though Drubb's claims of a comfortable victory were slightly belied by the state of his HP.
After a quick trip through the Cloakwood, silence worked its magic once more on Drasus & co.
After a trip to the temple a supporting skeleton helped chase down Davaeorn.
In the City an ogre mage didn't last long enough to cast anything harmful. The Mountain Maulers took relatively little damage from a series of traps - but that only left an extra-tempting target for Drubb's hold person.
Berserker - L7, 85 HPs (incl. 5 from helm), 158 kills
Bounty Hunter - L8, 56 HPs, 52 kills, 1 death
Fighter/cleric - L6/6, 69 HPs, 155 kills, 0 deaths
Traveling with:
Jaheira, Minsc, Viconia, Yoshimo, Aerie
The party is making good progress. Umar Hills done, but still lot of stuff to do. We have done the slums quests early like usual. Was trying to work our way to free H'aer Dalis but first we dealt with Tarnor's gang. This was quite a fight - we used farsight to tell our summons to attack Gaius. This did not kill him, but it did distract the enemies long enough for the clerics to attempt silence x3 as well as insect plague from Jaheira. Then the rest of the party attacked. Problem? I had meant to put death ward on Russell IX before the fight, but forgot! Oops. Sure enough, during the fight Gaius casts FoD - at Russell IX!! His save vs spells was 7 at the time, so could have been bad, but he did have 5% magic resist from the shield of the lost, it's possible that saved him. In any case, the party did prevail, but was badly battered afterwards. A lot of very good armor upgrades for the party, so was worth it all the same.
So then we want to go to somewhere where we can free rest to do some Identifying, so chose Trademeet - ambush! And we are still battered from Tarnor's and have almost zero heal potions! Miraculously no one dies, but most of the party is near death...
Finally we get to Trademeet to rest, heal, ID, sell and then consider our next move. Probably will get the Fortress Shield for Russell IX then heal potions from Watcher's Keep.
The party had battled their way into the planar prison. We did fine, up to the Warden. We were running low on buffs, but I think I had some potions that could have helped but forgot to use. It ended up costing Russell's life - RIP Russell IX (he got disintegrated)
Was thinking about rolling up a MP party of thieves...will get to rolling the characters.
Reflex (male half-elf archer, Grond0); Grozzul (male dwarf fighter/cleric, Gate70)
Previous updates
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1080507/#Comment_1080507
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1082015/#Comment_1082015
Our latest attempt failed to get too far in BG2 after making smooth progress through BG1. We did the circus, Copper Coronet and slavers without any real concerns and saw off ambushes by Suna Seni and Renfeld's kidnappers in quick succession.
After returning Renfeld and dealing with Prebek and Sanasha, Grozzul looked out of the window and noted there could be vampires roaming in the darkness. Reflex indeed spotted Hareishan snacking on some thieves and Grozzul quickly produced a couple of skeletons to help tank her. Just before the last thief died, Reflex attacked the vampire, but was hampered in that by not having any +2 ammunition. That meant Hareishan was able to kill one of the skeletons and turn on Grozzul while still having half her HPs left. Seeing the cleric was having difficulty staying ahead, Reflex tried to use the potion of firebreath from the dungeon to finish Hareishan off. However, despite apparently being right next to her, the potion failed to fire and Grozzul continued on his way.
Reflex only caught up again halfway round the area, by which time Hareishan had regenerated all her HPs. The potion still took her to near death though and Reflex stayed attacking hoping for a lucky hit. He didn't get one, however, and was hit twice himself and reduced to 34 HPs. Grozzul then came back in as Reflex took an oil of speed and retreated. That appeared to have been successful, but one of the problems of MP is you can't be sure of where you really are - and Hareishan found a way to get one more hit in, doing direct damage of 7 HPs. In theory that should have had very little chance of being fatal (Reflex's constitution of 18 meant he should lose a maximum of 14 per level lost), but Lady Luck was clearly on a tea break at the time.
Hard luck.
The Journal Of Jiwan
At the FAI, Jiwand was aided against Tarnesh by the guards who killed him.
At High Hedge Jiwan was able to help Mellicamp and also tried to help Aiwell's husband. Sadly she failed to do so and was forced to kill him using her abundant ammunition spell. Her reward on taking his body to the mage was a +1 sword of flame.
She had calmed down Marl at the inn and taken a tome to Firebead so she now headed south where she killed a couple of ogrillon. She then found Jumper the rabbit for the girl who had lost it and after that killed three overly officious Flaming Fist.
Heading soth once more she killed more ogrillon, found the Colquetle amulet, killed some kobolds and a bandit and entered Nashkell just after being given a ring by Lord Foreshadow.
In the town she talked to Noober, bringing her fighter level up to three. She headed south once more and used Writhing Fog to good effect against Zargos Flintblade. she then rested before going in search of Prism.
The battles with Greywolf and Zordral were both touch and go. I was the one that survived however.
I am now a level 4 cleric/level 3 fighter.
For a solo cleric, writhing fog is an excellent choice of spells against enemies who have no ranged weapons as it doesn't hurt the caster.
This is my first game using this kit and I have a LOT to learn.
April - dwarven fighter/thief
Sarah - elven bounty hunter
This team has made it to the Cloakwood, so thought I would post them - my party of thieves often die early but these guys are still kicking, though not without disasters. Introducing Dreen:
If interested in his groupmates, click the spoiler
The general process for this group is April handles the "classic" thief duties like locks and traps, Sarah uses traps before/during battle and range attacks, and finally Dreen has high stealth so he scouts and backstabs (if safe), or if not safe (like an enemy party), he will throw fireballs from the shadows with his necklace of missiles - this strategy has worked pretty well so far.
We've done the high experience areas like sirines, ankhegs, and basilisks. For the Ankheg farm, April didn't have huge HP, but she was well protected with full plate, large shield +1, boots of avoidance, girdle of bluntness and and protection from acid - in fact, she didn't get hit once!
Our run nearly came to a horrible end just before we were to start the basilisks. I had paused the session just before taking on the southern group of basilisks, and was away from the keyboard for a while. When I got back, I forgot to take stock of everything, and April moved up, and was duly petrified! And she had the PfP scoll! AND we couldn't de-petrify her!
So Dreen and Sarah retreated to Lauthander temple to get a StF scroll. Then we returned - Dreen scouted April's position. His only chance was to get close, de-petrify April, quickly talk to her to get her to join and immediately have her use her scroll. I didn't know if she could do it before the basilisk hit her with a gaze attack - she did it! She then gulped quite a few blue potions, then the party duly cleared the map. Close one!
Mulahey was dangerous, as Dreen got a critical miss on his backstab. The party rushed to help him. I think Mulahey got a spell off before he died, but think Dreen's shorty saves came through for him, and this part of the main quest was duly cleared - whew! Nimbul of course did not survive Dreen's backstab - there was a bounty hunter trap waiting for him if he survived, so not likely Nimbul would get anywhere. Tranzig died immediately to traps.
We realized we needed absolutely nothing from the bandit camp. So we looted the surface (why not), Dreen used a potion of absorption (his trap scores aren't good, but he has the best stealth why this was his job), and Dreen managed to stealth to the chest in Tazok's tent, loot, then hide all before Raemon was able to talk.
The party was fatigued, so just got the heck out of there. We bought a few supplies from High Hedge, to help us get through the dangerous Cloakwood Area 2, and will continue our quest next session.
. . . was proud. He had just faced down Dispenser & his group of mercenaries & they had turned away w/their tails between their legs. To make it even more satisfying, Brunos, Tuth and Kestor had all been there to see it as were the Knights of the Shield with whom he’d been negotiating. This was big & he was puffed up. If Brunos, Tuth or Kestor had had any ideas about upward mobility @ his expense, they certainly would not now. Yep, he was feeling good.
That’s why he was so irritated when Dispenser’s group appeared again in the archway leading into the room they were meeting at the north end of the 3rd floor of Candlekeep library. He was incredulous . . . but, he was also secretly afraid. His bravado earlier had been to cover up the fact that he didn’t relish a battle with this group knowing what they had already done to the network he’d established from Nashkel all the way to the Cloakwoods and into Baldur’s Gate. He didn’t want to risk his person – he wanted others to do it for him. But what had worked earlier seemed the best course again.
“As I told before, get out and stop bothering us,” he pronounced to the one called Dispenser. But they just kept coming. He suddenly felt threatened. Then a sense of terror filled his heart as the mercenaries suddenly shapeshifted – they were Doppelgangers. His mind raced through his memorized spells & he decided on Horror, but he felt the claw of the nearest monster rake across his face and into his chest. He reached in sheer panic for a Potion of Extra Healing, but another claw dug into his arm & the potion shattered against the floor. He tried to back away but Kestor was behind him as were two more Doppelgangers. He tripped and fell. The last thing he ever saw was the ugly gray-skinned creature descending on him for the kill.
Somewhere, Sarevok smiled.
. . . felt the cool air of on his face as he exited the caves beneath the Candlekeep. He felt disoriented at first, but then realized that it was Elient - & likely just after the Autumn Equinox.
“Where to now?” he thought. He’d already made up his mind that he wasn’t heading straight to Baldur’s Gate. Of course, he knew coming face to face w/Sarevok again was destiny, but he sensed that Sarevok had the upper hand right now. He needed to gather himself, consider his strategy, not act rashly – prepare for the inevitable. He wondered how news of his arrest for Rieltar’s murder would be received – surely his enemies would spread the word. He’d enjoyed a certain popular, even heroic reception in some places recently. He wondered if that was gone already. He also knew the Flaming Fist would be looking for him at least as far south as Beregost and probably a bit south of that but decided their reach faded near Nashkel. He would head there & disappear for a while.
Three days ago, he’d been in Baldur’s Gate & had just taken down the Iron Throne’s operation there. And then, without a chance to reconsider he was in Candlekeep. He’d been sent by Duke Eltan to continue pursuit of Rieltar but it had gone awry – badly. He had found him, and other Iron Throne types in the library but @ Sirine’s wise recommendation, has decided against confrontation there. Instead they’d gone to Gorion’s room at Tethtoril’s suggestion, where he’d learned that his heritage was far darker than he ever could have imagined. Before he could digest the news though, he’d been arrested, all of them, for Rieltar’s murder. They’d been locked in a cell deep beneath Candlekeep, a place he’d not known before. Luckily, Tethotoril had freed him but to escape he had to work his way through a maze of catacombs and caves, filled with crypts & the undead that walk among them. He’d found more evidence of the conspiracy against him - against all of the Sword Coast – on a mage, Prat, that they’d had to contend w/before escaping. He was caught in a web in which Sarevok was the spider. To make things worse, it appeared his enemy would soon be a Grand Duke.
BATTLING PRAT. A TOUGH FOE.
He’d head to Nashkel, adventure in that region for a time, but first he would go to Kelddath – Valerie had been slain - & then to Thalantyr, before going on.
ORDER OF MARCH: Khalid (Recon) Imoen (Traps), Isra (shock), Despenser (leader), Valerie (Arcane support) Sirine (Rear guard)
MONSTERS DEFEATED: Greater Basilisks (2), Greater Doppelganger, Sword Spider, Prat (Fighter/Mage 8/8), Phase Spiders (8), Wraith Spider, Ghasts (8), Doppelgangers (12), Skeletons (20)
CASUALTIES: Valerie (Prat)
LEVEL UP: Khalid, Ranger (Archer)/6, Imoen, Thief (Adventurer)/7
NOTEWORTHY TREASURE GAINED: (Gold = ~328 gp)
Armor & weapons: Dagger of Venom, Warhammer +1
Gems/jewelry: Rogue Stone, Ruby Ring, Emerald, Pearl Necklace, Bloodstone Amulets (2), Black Opal
Potions: Frost Giant Strength, Invulnerability
Scrolls: Cloudkill, Protection from Magic, Fireball Lightning Bolt, Dispel Magic, Haste, Blur, Mirror Image, Web, Protection from Evil
Wands: Fire
Misc & Artifacts:
Best Kill:
1) Isra, Greater Basilisk (7000 exp)
2) Khalid, Jalantha Mislmyr (6000 exp ea)
3) Sirene, Zhalimar Cloudwulfe (3000 exp)
4) Valerie & Dispenser: (Sword Spiders) (2000 exp ea)
5) Imoen, Wyvern (1400 exp)
CURRENT DISPOSITION: Resting, recuperating & resupplying in Nashkel
NEXT STEPS:
PARTY MAKEUP: (Reputation: 18 - Heroic)
Silas: Cleric (Holy Justice of Tyr)/6 (HP 43) Plate Mail w/Cloak +1, Girdle of Bluntness & Ring of Free Action; L/Sword +2/+1* & Warhammer +2/ (+1)* (SWS*) & Wand of the Heavens; Spells: Animate Dead, Dispel Magic, Holy Smite, Chant, Draw/Holy Might, Hold Person, Silence 15’, Slow Poison, Bless, Command, Doom, Protection from Evil; Remove Fear; Abilities: Cure Affliction (2), Healing Touch (2), Hold person, Strength of One; Divine Might; (None) (1)
Sirine: Paladin of Ilmatar (Martyr of Ilmater)/6 (HP 50) Full Plate & Amulet/Protection +1; 2H/Sword +1** (Flail**, THWS**) & Gauntlets of Weapons Expertise; Abilities: Sacrifice, Martyrdom, Lay on Hands (3), D/Evil (8); (Advanced AI) (2)
Isra: Paladin (Cavalier of Sune)/6 (HP 54) Fallorain’s Plate Mail +1 w/2H/Sword +2 (Spiders Bane)** & Morning Star +1** w/ Gauntlet’s of Weapon Skill, (THWS**, Mc/MS*), ), Abilities: Remove Fear (6), Prot/Evil (6), Lay Hands, D/Evil (9), Cure Disease; (Advanced AI) (3)
Khalid: Ranger (Archer)/6 (HP 55) St/Leather +2 , Boots of Speed & Cloak/Non-Detection; Longbow of Marksmanship +3**** w/Bracers of Archery & B/Sword +1* (TWS**, Axe*); Abilities; Called Shot; Skills: MS 48, HS 62; (Fighter Ranged) (4)
Imoen: Thief/Adventurer//7 (HP 41) Leather w/Ring/Prot +1; S/bow* & Dagger of Venom* (Short Sword/Ninja-to*); Skills: OL 85, PP 40, FT 75, MS 60, HS 55, DI 25, ST 30, w/Master Belt; (Thief Ranged) (6)
Valerie: Sorcerer/5 (HP 15) Robe of the Good Arch-Magi & Ring/Protection +1; Ring Energy, Necklace of Missiles, Sling +1*; Spells: Melf’s Acid Arrow, Ray of Enfeeblement (5), Magic Missile (5), Chromatic Orb (#), Spook (5),Sleep (5), (Advanced AI) (5)
MOD USED: BG NPC v23.3, BG NPC Music v6, Plane Touched Races _v0,0, Indira v12, Isra v2.3, Finch v4.0, Gavin v14, Drake, Sirene v2.5, Verr’sza v5.2, BG UB v16, Tweaks Anthology Beta 4, Song & Silence v9, Deities of Faerun, Rogue Rebalancing v491, Level 1 NPCs, SCS v31, aTweaks, Item Randomizer v7
(Current AI) (Chain of Command rank)
When I left Candlekeep with Gorion, as a level one fighter/cleric I felt decidedly nervous, even more so when I witnessed the death of Gorion.
Things are so different now that I am a level 7 fighter and level 7 cleric. Enemies now think twice before taking me on.
To get to this point I have cleared the ankheg nest and surrounding areas of ankhegs. I also cleared Mutamin's stopping ground of basilisks and medusae. I have killed Zargos Flintblade and Greywolf, the areas controlled by sirine and have reached a reputation of 20. If it were possible my reputatioin would have been higher still, but something seems to be stopping it going any higher.
It came into my head that a thief might come in handy, but decided that taking on an evil thief would be foolhardy to say the least.
Aura and Vynd are not available due to installation problems. Imoen is only level one. So I went in search of Alora. She has nowhere near the same experience as I, but she appears to be the wisest choice given who is available.
We are currently investigating Durlag's Tower, hoping that it doesn't live up to its reputation. Alora is a level 5 Hoodwinker, Level 5 thief and sadly her thieving skills are somewhat inadequate. She found a trap easilly, but was unable to disable it. Instead, it disabled her! It charmed her, so I left as quickly as possible.
After the spell wore off, we were able to defeat all the above ground enemies.
Traveling with:
April - dwarven fighter/thief
Sarah - elven bounty hunter
While my battle is not as epic as @semiticgod 's, I too had a battle with a BG Boss, Mr. Sarevok. It's a short video, less than 4 minutes. Sorry about the fan! Didn't realize my mic would pick it up, even when the mic was not in a ready position. I'll remember that for next time.
Dreen and party's battle with Sarevok (video)
That's my que to quit posting in here. I'm not even in the minor leagues where you're concerned @semiticgod.
Don't be silly, @CharlestonianTemplar ! Your posts entertain forum readers, and that's reason enough for you to continue posting!
Solo runs and LoB runs are worth the occasional laugh due to their sheer idiocy, but I'd hate to see them become some sort of standard for no-reload gameplay. One of the best things about this community is that we've rejected the elitism that plagues so many gaming fora. This thread is not about trying to show off or compete with each other; it's to share our experiences and appreciate the numerous facets of the game. No-reload runs are immensely challenging, but the real goal is to make the game more suspenseful and engaging. Difficulty does not measure the value of a run.
Please stay.
You make me feel that I am actually there with your protagonist when you write. I wish that I could write half as well as you do.
To be fair, it's hard to keep a solo player's inventory tidy. A solo player has far more need for resources to make it alone, far more in fact than can fit in the inventory slots. You were also in ToB, and by then there are a great many resources (clicky items) that you might use - in BG 1, I don't have a lot of resources or click items to use, mostly the occasional potion buffing or green scroll buffing.