Dispenser could not believe Iylos had died so soon. Iylos, a monk, joined him in Saradush, and they developed a quick, terse relationship early on. Dispenser realized, and Iylos never tried to hide, that he was an agent of another Bhaalspawn named Balthazar, the Abbot of a monstery in a place called Amkethran. But they built a grudging admiration and respect for one another, ironing out their differences in often sarcastic banter until Iylos apologized and agreed to follow Dispenser if he wanted him. The others saw that both came to a place where they appreciated the other's skill in combat and dedication to lawful order and goodness. And yet, in just a few days, after destroying a vampire infested dungeon, fighting through the dungeons and sewers beneath the palace at Saradush, and finally defeating the mad Bhaalspawn Gronmir and his most potent mage, Karun the Black, Iylos fell victim to a Maze spell from an Il-Khan Battle Mage. Dispenser thought nothing of it at first, killing the Battle Mage and collecting the spoils of battle. He knew Nalia did not have a Freedom spell memorized, but was not overly concerned. It had never seemed a problem before. They would rest, and she would bring his friend back from captivity. It was not to be.
GRONMIR FALLS
KARUN THE BLACK FALLS
IYLOS MAZED
With his soul returned, Dispenser found his destiny once again guarded by a series of trials, this time in the abyssal realm of his father, Bhaal. To escape the abyss, Dispenser agreed to a deal with Sarevok’s ghost (between Sarevok and Irenicus, one wonders if anyone ever really dies), bringing him back to life in exchange for a way out. The first trial pitted him against an unending series of foes, finishing with Irenicus (again)! Dispenser and his entourage were barely scratched facing Drow Warriors and Priestesses, several Ogre Magi, Suhuagin, and lesser monsters. Success here allowed him to pass through the ‘pocket plane’ where he had been to a town called Saradush. Saradush was under siege, and Dispenser quickly found himself in a mad race to destroy the Bhaalspawn Fire Giant Yaga Shura. Yaga Shura commanded the forces attacking Saradush, intent on destroying all other Bhaalspawn but himself. In Saradush, Dispenser met Melissan, also a Bhaalspawn, who had succeeded in getting many Bhaalspawn to Saradush for their protection only to have Yaga Shura’s forces attack the town, leaving them all trapped within. Underneath the streets was a prison, which was now infested with Vampires and Fledgling Vampires, except a few prisoners who were still alive. Dispenser freed them. In the prison was a secret door leading into a dungeon beneath the palace where Gronmir had barricaded himself. In the dungeon were several Il-khan Fighters and Mages, bugbears, Elite Orogs, and Elite Orcs.
To assist him, Dispenser returned to his pocket plane in the abyss, where he has a Fate Spirit. The Fate Spirit offered Dispenser several former colleagues or contacts to assist him in facing his predestination. He tabbed Tyrus Flare, a flame-throwing amazon he met in the Umar Hills, and Neera, his one and only lover in life. Dispenser tried to protect Neera as he had Imoen, sending her away to protect her, but now he felt he needed the additional mage support.
PARTY INFORMATION
ORDER OF MARCH: Yasraena, Isra, Keldorn, Dispenser (leader), Nalia (arcane support & traps), Neera (arcane support)
NEXT STEPS: North Forest, Forest of Mir/Temple, Marching Mountains
PARTY MAKEUP: (Reputation: 18 – Heroic) (+1 5000gp to Temple of Waukeen)
Dispenser: LG Cleric (Holy Justice of Tyr)/26 (HP 94) Large Shield +2, Helm of the Noble +1, Holy Symbol of Tyr, Gauntlets of Dexterity, Cloak of Balduran, Girdle of Frost Giant Strength, Rings of Fire Resistance & Regeneration & Boots of Etherealness w/ Flail of the Ages +3 (Acid, Cold, Fire) & Long Sword +3 (Blade of Roses) (Bastard Sword*, Flail*, Long Sword*, Mace/Morning Star*, Warhammer*, SSS*, SWS*, TWS*); Abilities: Detect Invisibility, Hold person, Holy Word, Strength of One, Slayer Change; High-Level Abilities: Elemental Summoning, Energy Blades, Storm of Vengeance, Summon Deva; Skills: None; Spells: Earthquake, Energy Blades, Finger of Death, Fire Storm, Gate, Aerial Servant, Animal Summoning III, Blade Barrier, Bolt of Glory (2), False Dawn, Harm, Heal, Sol’s Searing Orb, Wondrous Recall, Cause Critical Wounds, Chaotic Commands, Cure Critical Wounds, Flame Strike, Greater Command, Mass Cure, Raise Dead, Righteous Magic, Slay Living, True Seeing, Cause Serious Wounds, Cure Serious Wounds, Death Ward, Defensive Harmony, Farsight, Free Action, Restoration, Negative Plane Protection, Free Action, Neutralize Poison, Poison, Protection from Evil 10’ (2), Animate Dead, Cure Disease, Cure Medium Wounds, Dispel Magic, Holy Smite, Invisibility Purge, Prayer, Remove Curse, Rigid Thinking, Zone of Sweet Air, Aid, Chant (3), Draw on Holy Might (2), Hold Person (2), Resist Fire & Cold, Silence 15’ (2), Slow Poison (2), Armor of Faith (2), Bless (2), Command (2), Cure Light Wounds, Doom, Faerie Fire (2), Protection from Evil, Remove Fear, Sanctuary; (Adv AI) (1)
Isra: LG Paladin (Cavalier of Sune)/21 (HP 125), Red Dragon Scale Plate, Ghadir Family Ring, Painbearer’s Amulet, Pale Green Ioun Stone, Cloak of the Shield, Boots of Hastened Departure w/ Two-Handed Sword +5 (Carsomyr), Mace +3 (Storm Star), Gauntlets of Weapons Expertise, Girdle of Hill Giant Strength, (Axe**, Bastard Sword**, Mace/Morning Star**, Two-Handed Sword**, THWS**); Abilities: Cure Disease, Detect Evil (23), Lay on Hands, Protection from Evil (20), Remove Fear (20); High-Level Abilities: Death Blow, Greater Deathblow, Greater Whirlwind Attack, Whirlwind Attack; Skills: None: Spells: Defensive Harmony, Free Action, Neutralize Poison, Cure Disease, Holy Smite, Zone of Sweet Air, Chant, Draw on Holy Might, Armor of Faith, Bless, Command; (Adv AI) (2)
Yasraena: CG Fighter//23 (HP 147), Full Plate +2 (Pride of the Legion), Wong Fei’s Ioun Stone, Belt of Inertial Barrier, & Boots of Speed w/ Short Sword +5 (Ironkiss), & Short Sword +5 (Fireflower) (Short Sword/Nija-to*****, Two-Weapon Style***, Warhammer**), w/ Gauntlet’s of Extraordinary Specialization, (Sword Sword*****, 2WS***) w/ Rings of Air Control & Anti-venom; Abilities: None; High-Level Abilities: Death Blow, Greater Death Blow, Magic Resistance, Whirlwind Attack, Greater Whirlwind Attack; Skills: None: Spells: None; (Adv AI) (nil)
Keldorn: LG Paladin(Inquisitor)/18 (HP 137), Plate of Balduran, Helm of Charm Protection, Girdle of Stone Giant Strength, Ring of Regeneration, Cloak of the Shield, w/ Blessed Paladin’s Bracers, Horn of Valhalla & Boots of the North w/ Two-handed Sword +5 (Graham the Sword of Grief), Crossbow +5 (Firetooth), Flail +3 (Defender of Easthaven), (Crossbow**, Flail**, Long Sword**, Two-Handed Sword**, THWS**); Abilities:: Detect Evil (21), Protection from Evil (18), Dispel Magic (5), True Sight (5); High-Level Abilities: Whirlwind Attack; Skills: None; Spells: None; (Adv AI) (3)
Nalia: CG Mage/Thief//18/4 (HP 70), Necklace of Protection +1, Robe of the Good Arch-Magi,Dusty Rose Ioun Stone, Improved Cloak of Protection +2, Amulet of the Master Harper w/ Shortbow of Gesen, Staff of the Magi; (Club*, Crossbow*, Dagger*, Dart*, Q/staff*, Short Bow*, Short Sword/Ninja-to* ); Abilities: Set Snare, Scribe Scrolls; Skills: OL 85, PP 40, FT 105, MS 55, HS 70, DI 10, ST 10 w/ Cloak of Elvenkind, Boots of Elvenkind; High Level Abilities: Extra 6th Level Spell, Extra 7th Level Spell; Spells: (w/ Ring of Acuity & Halruuan Component Pouch), Time Stop, Abi-Dalzim’s Horrid Wilting, Simulacrum, Khelban’s Warding Whip, Ruby Ray of Reversal, Spell Sequencer, Invisible Stalker, Chain Lightning, Invisible Stalker, Contingency, Summon Nishru, Animate Dead, Breach, Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Lower Resistance, Monster Summoning III, Fire Shield (Blue), Fire Shield (Red), Greater Malison, Minor Sequencer, Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere, Secret Word, Stoneskin, Dispel Magic, Fireball, Flame Arrow, Haste, Lightning Bolt, Slow, Spell Thrust, Aganazzar’s Scorcher, Invisibility, Knock, Melf’s Acid Arrow, Mirror Image, Ray of Enfeeblement, Stinking Cloud, Web, Blindness, Chromatic Orb, Grease, Identify Magic Missile, Spook; (Adv AI) (nil)
Iylos: LG Monk/21 (HP 114), Monastic Robe, Bracers of the Coiling Serpent, Aegis of the Deserts, Amulet of Tranquility, Belt of Storage, Bots of the Nomad, Cloak of the Deserts, Sandstone Ring w/ Ninja-to +4 (Usumo’s Blade); Abilities: Lay on Hands, Stunning Blow, Quivering Palm; Skills: FT 70, HS 80, MS 80; High-Level Abilities: Death Blow, Whirlwind Attack; Spells: None; (Adv AI) (nil)
I’ve found we have similar play styles (I’m nowhere near your skill level though): love shorties for their saves, really like playing physical characters, but reading your mage story made me want to try a sorcerer.
I would say a fighter multiclass such as: fighter/mage, fighter/cleric, ranger/cleric. It makes you a little less squishy but gives you the opportunity to buff, use wands etc.
Personally I don't really like multiclasses. They are unquestionably powerful at the highest levels, but for the majority of the game their lower levels come with significant disadvantages (such as poorer saving throws) to balance the advantages. If you do want to use wands then a low-level dual is a reasonable alternative in a no-reload context.
As @Klorox said he likes shorties for their saving throws and prefers physical characters, I think it's hard to look past a dwarven berserker as the easiest character. Rage (and a ring of free action) can deal with virtually all threats in BG1 and by the time alternative spell threats come along in BG2, the berserker is getting to the point of having automatic saves against them. As with any character, it's possible to get caught out if you don't know what's coming - but the berserker has pretty good passive defenses, so you will get away more often with lazy or careless play than you would with most characters.
I’m thinking a berserker 9/mage might be a good idea.
Berserker is a great base because they’re immune to basically everything with rage, and 3 of them are enough.
I know I can get through BGI without reloading (as long as I’m smart/careful about it). Mage is great for most of BGII, which will be the majority of my playing time.
I will have to think about what weapon I should max out with my 9 fighter levels.
Journal of Rhiainfelt
Defeated the mines at Cloakwood without TOO much difficulty picked up Jet'Laya at the FAI and went to try to save her sister who used wail of the banshee. My silence spell wasn't quick enough and Rhiainfelt died immediately. End of the Tiefling run.
Journal of Rhiainfelt
Defeated the mines at Cloakwood without TOO much difficulty picked up Jet'Laya at the FAI and went to try to save her sister who used wail of the banshee. My silence spell wasn't quick enough and Rhiainfelt died immediately. End of the Tiefling run.
What do you guys think is the easiest solo class for this run?
I’m having a lot of trouble deciding what to try next.
Dwarf Fighter/Cleric is quite forgiving.
That's what I thought but Grond0 doesn't agree. I suppose that it all depends upon your style of play. I am currently playing a berserker who will be dualled into a cleric of some sort. Not a dwarf and not multiclass either. However, I'm not intending to play solo which changes things.
I like to play human or elf for the romances even though it's harder. I think that for half-elves the cleric/ranger is quite a good option. That is a good option for me since mods have introduced moonblades that are useable by non-evil elves and half-elves.
What do you guys think is the easiest solo class for this run?
I’m having a lot of trouble deciding what to try next.
Dwarf Fighter/Cleric is quite forgiving.
That's what I thought but Grond0 doesn't agree. I suppose that it all depends upon your style of play. I am currently playing a berserker who will be dualled into a cleric of some sort. Not a dwarf and not multiclass either. However, I'm not intending to play solo which changes things.
I agree that a dwarf fighter/cleric is pretty forgiving. It has good armor and saving throws will be only slightly lower than a single class shorty character. It's the mage multi-classes where lack of precision is a lot more likely to prove costly in a solo run.
A few attempts as a semi-solo half-elf bard. My plan was to reach the BGEE level cap solo and do Dorn's quest line for the elven chain mail. Since that would technically end a solo run, I was going to do Neera's and Rasaad's quests as well. Any other party member would be one that didn't show up in SoD so that I could recruit my SoD party at 250,000 experience. Because I was planning to use a party, I avoided Shoal's easy experiency to later get Droth's helmet.
Attempt 1: Died at level 3 to the second flesh golem in High Hedge. It kept breaking vision entering the circular room with Thalantyr, and it managed to one-shot me while attempting to regain vision. While it would be safer to lure it outside, Thalantyr blocks its path which makes it faster and easier to kill once inside the circle.
Attempt 2: Died at level 4 to an ogrillon. I survived a hit by one of the flesh golems at High Hedge, and instead of drinking a potion or paying a healer, I tried to make it down to Nashkel to get CLW. Some sloppy play toggling bard song while wielding a short bow ended the run.
Attempt 3: Charmed by a sirine at level 9. Since I was ultimately planning to assemble a party, I had been avoiding selling loot and spent a lot of the time light on gold. Because of this, I had already cleared most of the map prior to the Nashkel Mines before purchasing the Greenstone Amulet. While clearing the Lighthouse, I got too close to the sirines, and they wandered off in different directions. I was being stingy with amulet charges and clouded my aura from offscreen with a Skull Trap. A sirine entered vision and landed a Dire Charm.
Next attempt will be a Dark Moon Monk. Out of curiosity, what would be the recommended weapon proficiencies for a solo dwarven berserker. Mastery offers the same THAC0 bonus as a second pip in two weapon style, so I would likely go one pip in short bow and two weapon style, everything else in scimitars (Twinkle and Icingdeath) until grand mastery.
I've been too tired from work this week to play much, but thought I'd have a session this morning. I've got an existing shaman run at the start of SoD, but fancied a more straightforward style of play than thinking about spells and summons - so decided to have another go at a wizard slayer.
With the aim of limiting sessions once more to an hour, I've made the following initial progress:
- shot down Shoal (level 3).
- bought the +1 shortbow in Beregost (there's so little to spend money on for a wizard slayer, that VFM is not an issue).
- shot the belt ogre on the way to the FAI. Tarnesh became a first victim of spell failure there before I returned the belt to Unshey (level 4).
Bought Buckley's Buckler there to allow constitution regeneration.
- with proceeds from the Ring of Wizardry bought full plate and +1 large shield, along with some +1 arrows.
- shot High Hedge golems before completing my collection of containers with the potion case.
- with time being limited, I activated all the gnolls near Drizzt, rather than try to kill him myself. It took just over 4 minutes before my goods were ready for collection.
- attacked Bentan, retreating out of sight before he cast hold person. Finishing him off got me a PfM scroll and reduced reputation so I got LMD as a first Bhaal power.
- followed Korax around the basilisk area (level 6).
He successfully paralyzed Peter allowing him to be shot down. Baerin and Lindin were then easy enough (though I took my first damage from Baerin's arrows before striking him down). Kirian then failed to complete a spell.
- there was just time in the session to whoosh through the Nashkel Mine and confront Mulahey. However, with only a minute to go, I was rushing to get him into position to run him round the pond while shooting at him and didn't react fast enough when the game failed to register a movement click. That resulted in him starting dialogue when I was badly out of position and could potentially have found it difficult to get out of the cave or out of his sight before he cast a spell. Fortunately my charisma was good enough to convince Mulahey I was from Tazok. Stretching a point I decided to ignore my time limit and finish the encounter anyway - getting out of sight of Mulahey after an initial shot at him, so that I could kill his summons, before dodging his spells and shooting him down.
I was still rushing a bit though and made one of my habitual mistakes by resting immediately after killing him - getting a second LMD as a result, when I had intended to get a CLW there. That's not a big deal for gameplay though - it makes access to the beholder area in the Unseeing Eye quest unavailable for me, but there are no items of particular interest there anyway.
Before rescuing Imoen, there's 2 more things I'd like to do: maximize reputation because somehow the Drow merchants will also lower prices for the less-reputable Veldrin, and do Rasaad's questline because the Gem of True Seeing is just that good. I also don't like traveling to cities just to pop by, so we get lucky when Mazzy's sister gets poisoned and we have an excuse to visit Trademeet. We kill Barl, and finish the Rejiek Hidesman Skindancer questline to get 18 Rep. Also, while waiting for Pala to recover, we swing by the Druid grove, purchase a few potions, and kill the Rakshasas. Most of them suffered from spell failure fairly early on, if I recall correctly.
Anomen is dropped temporarily for Rasaad, and we begin his quests. A Bounty Hunter is perfectly suited for his quests, by the way: there's so many places where you can stack traps before they go hostile. The Ampitheatre is one such location. Afterwards, the Vagrant Blades donate a pretty good ring: 3x Mirror Image per day is fantastic for a tank like Mazzy.
I decide to have Moira attempt to take on the Gate Lich at this point, just to see how good Wizard Slayers truly are. They're good! However, I'm a moron that forgot to prebuff her with Resist Fear, and even without spellcasting, the Gate Lich has a Wand of Fire with 10 charges. And he comes with two Magical Swords, which I'm pretty sure I don't have the magic damage to kill without risking Jehu to his own Spirit Fire. Uh. We very, very luckily make it out alive after sending in more reinforcements: only Yoshimo and Rasaad die. Recall Spirit is a wonderful drug, though, and I keep using it.
I choose the wrong dialogue options and the Tear of Selune attack us. Oops again. Monks hurt a surprising amount, though without critical hit immunity, they go down equally as fast.
And the Heretic Temple itself is great for thief traps, since they're going to be coming from the bridge. The blindness room is defeated by using a Fire Elemental summon, and I have to drink an invisibility potion when I accidentally walk off the path of light in one of the other rooms and spawn multiple shadows. STR drain is too big a threat for a 1 APR character. Outside, the Gem of True Seeing stymies their thieves, and general disabling spells like Slow and Insect Plague and the mass of monks on our side give us a relatively clean victory.
Back in Athkatla, we're met with a slew of personal quests: Nalia is kidnapped, but while we're dealing with that, Anomen's sister is killed. And apparently, Anomen's sister is also named Moira. That's a little bit awkward.
We convince him to take the Lawful Good path. Now just a few things left after we get Nalia back: Fallen Paladin questline, apparently going on a side mission to take out Tarnor and his gang while waiting for evening, and starting with the Vampires. Tarnor is taken out by large amounts of AoE spells from the shadows: we were never targeted. It's evening, so Mook dies.
I try at first to do the entire vampire hold without resting. We'll see how that goes. Tanova wastes most of her defensive spells on summons, and by the time she locates us, she's vulnerable and Moira shuts down her spellcasting. I believe Azuredge scores the kill. Two more Fire Elementals are duly sacked on the Clay Golem to avoid the healing curse, and I don't recall anything else on the first level that's interesting. Fighting the other vampires, Mazzy's brought to level 6 by level drain, and I relent and take a rest before fighting Bodhi.
Sepulchre Sleep is a real danger here: I planned to keep Jehu far from this fight. Anomen, Moira, and Mazzy stake the last of the vampires, and Bodhi appears surrounded by hasted Fire Elementals. Which are then immediately killed by a Touch of Death AoE that apparently has a Death Spell opcode in it. Problematic, but not impossibly so. There's not enough room to kite in that chamber, so Jehu, Yoshimo, and Nalia evacuate the dining room chamber while the three Fighters drag her over there. Anomen almost dies, and is retreating to heal up a bit, when Bodhi gives up against the Firetooth Crossbow (Mazzy) and Dwarven Thrower. (Moira)
We quickly do the Illithium questline for a better weapon for Mazzy and the last reputation point I'll need, before heading to Spellhold. We also do a bit of shopping from what I remember, though I forgot to get any Arrows of Dispelling. Dunno if that'll come to bite us, but it very well could.
The Vampire ambush is irritating, and forces us to rest as Anomen was drained a few levels. On the island, Perth the Adept is the only real challenge, and I thought a Wizard Slayer + Fireseeds would be enough to completely shut him down. Kitthix was Moira's target, and Perth has 100% spell failure within a few seconds. I send Mazzy in to help take Perth down when she's met by a Spell Trigger or Sequencer with 3 Vitriolic Spheres. Death is immediate.
That's 36d4 acid damage, no save. 90 damage on average. That'd kill Jehu with his 89 hitpoints and I'm suddenly really, really worried about Irenicus if he has a similar spell trigger. We raise Mazzy before the fight is over, and Mazzy gets her revenge.
We also get pretty fantastically lucky with the Book of Infinite Spells, and now we have two item-based ways of getting True Seeing. Jehu might not have to burn a slot on it in the future.
After this, we also invade the brothel. Spell failure for all! The melee guards were the hardest part of this, and we have a ring of regeneration already.
*Whistles innocently* I'm certainly not metagaming or anything, he just wanted to become a level 1 Fighter with no proficiency in Katanas right now...
Spellhold. Jehu loses a spare INT point: it's still over a multiple of 5. Bhaal refuses to follow me inside again, so console is used to spawn him in Imoen's sight, and summons take it down. We solve riddles on riddles, and Mazzy and Moira with Resist Fear and Protection from Fire are enough to take out the first level. Second level, we clear out the book by ourselves until the Beholder, then summon things, go invisible, and watch. Jehu takes the Ring of Free Action.
Third level is fairly trivial: Death Ward for the trapped paintings, Fire Elementals for the Clay Golems, and a headlong rush into Bodhi and her friends for our Slayer transformation. We claim Boots of Cheetah Speed and Boots of the North: the former for quests and kiting as necessary, and the latter for Jehu: my last run, Irenicus has a 3x Freezing Sphere that chunked Jaheira instantly. The test is also flown through, so fast I forgot to take the electric-reflection cloak from the table. Whoops.
Irenicus. We prebuff before Lonk the Sane with Death Wards, Emotion: Hope and Emotion: Courage, Improved Haste to Mazzy and Moira again, Remove Fear, and both Jehu and Anomen have Impervious Sanctity of Mind, and Jehu has Chaotic Commands on top of that. I believe Jehu was given an Improved Invisibility buff so he has time to get out of Irenicus' sight. For Irenicus, Anomen summons Kitthix for Moira to throw Fireseeds at, and Irenicus' initial spells are disrupted. Irenicus counters with a Spell Trigger containing a Sphere of Chaos, a Symbol of Stunning, and I think a Dispel Magic. Anomen is the only one caught in this, and the others back away quickly. Apparently though, without regular spells to cast defensively, one of the inmates does huge damage to Irenicus, and he retreats after only two or three rounds.
Anomen is killed by Mazzy's clone, which is actually good for me: I was worried about a Disintegration effect from the Sphere of Chaos, though I guess he still had a Death Ward symbol on? I'm not sure. Irenicus also apparently made a Mislead clone sometime during that fight, because we're still doing damage to a certain Jon Irenicus after he's left, and the clone's spells aren't doing anything. Jehu's Insect Plague allows us to easily cut through our own clones, and a level 1 Yoshimo and some random backstabbers have no way of threatening an Ironskinned Shaman. We grab his heart and leave.
Jehu is under Improved Sanctity of Mind again for the Sahuagin/Gith ambush, and we take no risks or casualties there. Mazzy does most of the work against the Sahuagin since she has the Reflection Shield and can turn their stunning bolts against them. Jehu takes the Cloak of Mirroring to avoid any potential Sequencer-based bursts, and we... kind of quickly take out the King and his guards? The Impaler hurts, and the King was hitting Mazzy on rolls of 4 and better. No casualties, lots of health potions drank, and Nalia pickpockets a Halberd blade.
In the Underdark, Imoen finally goes on a much needed scroll scribing spree: Jehu levels up from the experience. The reason we do this now is that the Sverneblin merchant sells a scroll of Death Spell, one of the few in the game that I know of. I think someone drops one earlier in the game, but I either failed to scribe it, or Aerie scribed it. The Gate Lich encounter convinced me that I really, really need to be able to kill summons quickly if necessary. We also get useful gems like Mass Invisibility that'll help a lot in future fights.
After a quick sortie against a Drow warparty, we're ready for the Balor. I don't think I've come out of this fight well a single time, so I'm overprepared this time. Jehu summons 5 Fire Elementals, Nalia gives fire resistance to everyone she can, and Anomen covers the remaining 1, we again have the buffs of Emotion: Courage and Emotion: Hope for the damage and THAC0, and Improved Hastes on Mazzy and Moira again. Mazzy has the Firetooth crossbow, Moira has the Dwarven Thrower, and Imoen has Tansheron's bow. The Balor only manages to take out 4 of the summons before dying. The Dispel Magic that I was worried about DOES hit, but only after his death: you can see it midflight.
We finish with the western caves. Skeleton Warriors are enough to handle the Beholders, and Insect Plague and sheer physical violence are enough to handle the Kuo-toan, prince and all. Cloud Kill, Spike Stones and Spike Growth do a decent amount of damage to the Drow, and we kite and kill the Glazebrus and Stone Golems without a problem. We had a moment of worry as a Drow Mage revealed it had Flesh to Stone when it used it vs one of our summons, but Moira and Mazzy finish her off with Jehu's defenses still intact. I need to remember to prebuff with PfP before mage fights before I get targeted by one of those wretched things. Finally, a rest to reset fire resistance spells and two good sources of NPP are enough to finish the Demon Knights with no problem. By the time they'd Dispelled the fire resistance, we'd taken enough down so that Fireball was longer a reasonable threat.
Without resting, we used a Freedom for Vichand and his sidequest, with only the Greater Earth Elemental and his stoneskins and earthquake causing any real difficulties for us, and freed everyone except the lich from the prison. We might deal with him later. Maybe not. We'll see.
Stats: Jehu, Human Shaman 15. 93 HP (5 from helm). 59 kills.
Spell selections:
Level 1: Armor of Faith, Cure Light Wounds, Curse, Doom, Spirit Ward, Sun Scorch.
Level 2: Alicorn Lance, Charm Person or Mammal, Cure Moderate Wounds, Resist Fire and Cold, Slow Poison, Writhing Fog.
Level 3: Call Lightning, Cure Disease, Dispel Magic, Spike Growth, Spiritual Clarity.
Level 4: Call Woodland Beings, Death Ward, Poison, Spirit Fire, Static Charge
Level 5: Chaotic Commands, Insect Plague, Iron Skins, Recall Spirit, Spike Stones
Level 6: Conjure Fire Elemental, Entropy Shield, Fire Seeds, Spiritual Lock
Level 7: Ether Gate, Impervious Sanctity of Mind, Nature's Beauty
Since Jehu is my CHARNAME, he's taken a lot more defensive spells than I would normally.
Mazzy, Halfling Fighter 15. 101 HP. 195 kills. 5* in Maces, 2* in Axes, 2* in Crossbow. 2 deaths?
Moira, Dwarven Wizard Slayer 16. 133 HP. 253 kills. 5* in Longbow, 4* in Warhammer. 1 death?
Anomen, Human Fighter 7 -> Cleric 16. 95 HP. 80 kills. 5* in Sling, 4* in Flails/Morningstars. 1 death?
Imoen, Human Thief 7 -> Mage 14. 66 HP. 11 kills. 0 deaths.
Nalia, Human Thief 4 -> Mage 14. 69 HP. 41 kills. 0 deaths/
The Crew made a bit more progress last weekend in a final burst before I went back to work - but I didn't get around to writing that up. They finished the previous session back at Candlekeep, where they were happy to slaughter the Iron Throne leaders with an unprovoked attack.
They also killed a greater doppleganger before surrendering themselves and being transported to the catacombs. Al used a potion of fire giant strength, topped up by DUHM to open the tombs. Apart from being the PC, Al was the only one not to keep rolling until he got 18(00) strength during character creation - so he's glad to pick up the strength tome. I don't typically bother with the ghasts there, but the Crew are doing everything and cleared them out, along with all the dopplegangers. A frontal assault, including several lots of poisoned missiles, prevented Prat or Sakul from finishing a spell and the spiders there were then simple with the aid of free action.
Al used a PfP scroll to avoid any little disasters against the basilisks.
Before returning to the City, the Crew decided to clear the remaining few wilderness areas not already completed. The final one of those (other than the TotSC areas) was where the Red Wizards of Thay hang out. Rather than bombard them with fireballs I felt it would be safe enough to maneuver the Crew into position to shoot them from dispersed positions - which it was.
Finally back in Baldur's Gate I sold all the loot collected - though immediately lost most of the value gained from that by selling the Helm of Balduran rather than identifying it as intended . The first new bit of work was investigating the Flaming Fist. The mercenaries held a couple of the Crew there, but were unable to take advantage of that.
At the Iron Throne they retreated as soon as they sighted Cythandria, so that they could shoot down the ogres before overwhelming her defences.
Slythe & Krystin put up no real fight, to set up an appointment at the palace.
I decided to try something different there with the Crew using no buffs, but surrounding Liia to try and protect her instead of Belt. That worked reasonably well - one of the dopplegangers still found sufficient space to attack her, but died too quickly to take advantage of that, while Belt also comfortably survived.
The Crew stayed in the back room long enough for Sarevok to kill Liia (so they could loot her equipment).
Checking after the battle I found everyone had just enough XP for their 8th (and final) BG1 level - the additional HPs bringing up the century for 4 of them. They fully explored the maze, resting to heal trap damage, and did the same for the Undercity - including Tamoko and then Rahvin's party (scaring and stunning him to grab his exploding arrows).
There's still quite a bit of work to do before going to face Sarevok, but the loot from that expedition was enough to buy plenty of magical ammunition for everyone.
As a warm up for the TotSC work, the Crew went to Ulgoth's Beard for a chat with Shandalar. He was making some sort of cryptic remarks about missing daughters, but the Crew didn't pay much attention to that in their haste to find some more action. As usual, they didn't use any buffs on Sorceror's Isle, which meant there was always a slight danger of several of them being affected by disablers. The mages themselves didn't cause much trouble, however - but unfortunately the traps did. I had remembered a trap near the polar bear as being a fireball, so walked the best protected character into that while the party were relatively nearby. A lightning bolt, rather than a fireball, appeared and headed straight for the group - doing significant damage before bouncing back where it came from. The party scattered in case it came bouncing back again, which it started to do before disappearing en route with no-one else being hit. I had a frozen moment of time to start breathing a sigh of relief when, with no animation, Vito suddenly got credited with another 49 of damage to add to the 35 he took from the first instalment. That wouldn't have been quite enough to kill him from full HPs, so he must have taken a small amount of damage from the ankhegs after killing Garan just before the encounter with that trap.
There was no trouble with the last couple of encounters.
The remaining Crew were duly teleported back to Ulgoth's Beard before going to the FAI to get Vito raised. They've just collected some sea charts from the Merchants League, ready for a trip to Balduran's Isle to see if they can avoid taking more casualties.
Unnie H - the undead hunter and her lawful good crew
A new undead hunter enters the frail.
I rolled her, sufficing with a 94 roll - min maxed. The game is played on insane (no extra damage and max HP on level up) - no mods at the moment.
I let Unnie pick up lawful good companions - but only those. Ao no stealing and other thieving. No unjustified killing and stealing as well.
Besides that, Unnie will only do melee - no ranged attacking from her hand (but perhaps some kiting..).
Unnie did all the quests in Candlekeep, not picking up the potion of clarity and other loot.
After Gorions death, some quick XP was on the bucket list - and a magical longsword. But having vowed to do melee only Unnie decided she needed a companion as the very first on the list. So she traveled north of the FAI and found a paladin of good repute. A travelling companion and a brother of arms.
The pair traveled south to pick up a monk. Another worthy companion - a bit flirtatious, but still worthy.
From there the trio travelled to the west. A crazy ranger had hinted a mage was held captive, and we rushed to her aid. Some brigands met there demise en route..
The trio was still fragile, but a wand of sleep did wonders on occasion. When we remembered to use it...
The gnoll fortress was cleared, and a tome and a new companion the prizes. The gnolls where caught napping - courtesy of the wand..
North of the fortress a brigand had a magical sword for Unnie. Torm provided the boon.
Meeting the rogue former captain Brage provided a lift to the temple of helm in Nashkel. Dunaheir seemed adamant the we took Minsk the crazy ranger along... But unfortunately he met his demise in the in inn shortly after. Torm giveth and Torm taketh....Minsc was taken to helm, so that he might be ressurected. We shall see
Having picked up the green stone amulet, the coastal areas where next up. The basilisk had to await our final companion.
The golems in the cave where the only real problem - ranges attacking saved the day many a times, but the lack of magical ammunition meant the golems lasted longer and hit more than the aught too.
Reaching level 5 was sufficient for Unnie to take on the main quest. The mine was next.
The kobolds proved no problem, when an armour clad max HP damage sponge soaked up the missile attacks, and the rest pelted the kobolds with their hail of arrows, knives and stones. Mulahey was webbed, fireballed and pelted with missiles to death.
The chapter 3 bandits met their demise in the same manner. The wand of paralysation did wonders and trivialised some hard hitting encounters.
Cloakwood was uneventful. Dynaheir got poisoned by a vywern just before escaping an ambush, and wasn’t kills whilst travelling- fortunately. Drasus was paralysed, and a lucky roll when summoning monster meant that the two mages didn’t stand a chance.
The mine was cleared with wands, and Daveorn himself fell to the party as well. Unnie let the charge, whilst buffed. A bit of collateral damage hit the unbuffed party.. Perhaps she should have soloed the ordeal..
In the city Rasaads quest was triggered. And we cut the visit the city short and headed south. A neat belt, some gear for Rasaad and the the demise of an evil cult was the result.
Unnie cleared the basilisk & ankheg areas, and looted the upper floors of Durlags tower.
She will have to go back to the city and unravel the evil plot the Iron Throne has set in motion - eventually
The Trio got off to a late start, as Corey_Russell got up late this time (for him, the Trio starts at 8:00 am). But off we did. We had a little bit of money, so Corearcher went to Feldeposte's to spend 3000 gold on a magical bow - only for the bow to disappear when trying to equip it!! Easy come, easy go it seems - Corearcher will have to be content with his basic composite bow for now it seems...
So then Corearcher brought the gang to Nashkel Mines (surface) to pay a visit to Greywolf for a small sword upgrade - well defeat Greywolf they did, but not before Greywolf slaughtered Prism - doh!
The Trio then returned a "dog" to a "boy". For the next opponents, we did a tactic that we did quite often this session - Scurvy would cast stinking cloud at the opponents, Menty would throw in a thrown trap, and Corearcher would cut the enemies to pieces with his archery skill - for most encounters, this strategy did work well, though there were a few exceptions, which we will see later. Zax and Val could not survive, and Menty got the bracers, since Corearcher damage is very good without them.
The Trio headed East, taking out Kaldo and Krumm, picking up magical halberd, returning a cat to a little girl and taking her allowance, and easily cutting down some ogres. For this session, Menty was a great groupmate, as he would "tank" or run the enemies around, which in turn allowed Corearcher to cut the enemies down quickly with his bow. Corearcher got the CHA tome, not that it does him much good.
Next target was Bassilus - unsurprisingly, ranged fire prevented him from doing much before being cut down. We decided the Doomsayer needed a lesson. Menty laid two traps, and then expertly ran the Doomsayer around, while Corearcher and Scurvy pumped magic missiles into the Doomsayer (Corearcher using a wand of course). This worked - we hitched a ride back to Nashkel with Brage.
Corearcher said there's a certain person at firewine bridge who needs his bracers relieved - Scurvy mentioned we'll just kill everyone until we find it? But no, that isn't Corearcher's style. Sure enough, Melium was peppered with arrows and magic missiles and was relieved of his bracers.
Since Molkar's group was nearby, we decided to take them on. This was a near disaster, as Menty and Scurvy were spotted before we could do any prep. Scurvy did get a single stinking cloud off and then tried to run, but he was hit with rigid thinking. The enemy melees were chasing Menty, and the gnome lead then up and north (two enemies) - one of the enemies was cut down by Corearcher's bow right about now. Corearcher then pursued the enemies who were after Menty, but right then he got held - he WAS out of sight of the cleric, so the cleric did not attack Corearcher (whew). Eventually, Scurvy's rigid thinking and Corearcher's hold wore off and they made short work of the pesky cleric. They then moved up and assisted Menty who was still leading the enemies around until his party could help. Success! Bit messy though...
With that brilliant play by the team, we then tried the Nashkel Mines. Corearcher's arrows were of course quite deadly for the kobolds, and as for Mulahey, a stinking cloud and thrown traps were just too much for him. The same strategy also worked on the nearby Amazons.
We arrived to Nashkel to sell, and Nimbul was once again treated to a fatal backstab - this seems to be the usual way our Trio deals with him. We also dealt with Neira while we were here. Menty brought her outside so she could receive some magic misssiles and be peppered with arrows.
Corey_Russell asked Grond0 did he have PfP - Grond0 responded in the affirmative, once we rested. So we did and then took out the basilisks. What's funny is Menty and Corearcher did all the work, as they were killed while Scurvy was stunned by a trap...
Last run we ran into trouble with Ankhegs, and this session was no different, though our result wasn't quite as bad as last time, as last run it ended with the Ankhegs, and this time we survived (barely). So our tactics in the Ankheg nest was for Scurvy to lay down sleep, while Menty went for a backstab and meleeed and Corearcher used acid arrows. This worked quite well in the nest. Unfortunately, Scurvy and Menty did not wait for their groupmate, and this led to trouble as Corearcher was alone when he got to the farm, and got spotted by an Ankheg. He tried to get to this groupmates, then got spotted by a second on. So while Corearcher was trying to take down an Ankheg, right about here Scurvy cast stinking cloud - on Corearcher!!!
Was this going to be the end? In his attempt to save Corearcher, Scurvy got herself caught by her own stinking cloud. Menty tried to kill the Ankheg attacking Corearcher. After two acid strikes, Corearcher finally woke up - he gulped a blue potion, and ran south out of the cloud. It's good a thing he potioned, as he took a nasty acid hit while running. Corearcher managed to hide and evade, and Menty also managed to hide and evade, while Scurvy got killed by an ankheg. After healing up, Corearcher and Menty took down the Ankheg near Scurvy's body, and recovered her things and raised her at a helpful Beregost Temple.
The last bit in the session is we returned a bowl to a priestess of Umberlee, and bought a few upgrades at Ulgoth's Beard.
Whew! Hope the next session won't have such a close call as this one...
This pairing continues to tempt fate, but is struggling on and continuing to grow more powerful.
The session started with a desire to get rid of Valygar's decaying body - so we headed for the Planar Sphere. Kayardi is the most likely source of problems from the halflings, but Nearv conducted a pre-emptive strike there without waiting for a skeleton to join the fight.
Taibela ended one of our runs not long ago by targeting the PC despite the presence of summons - hence Tens stayed in the shadows while her spells were used on skeletons and she eventually made the mistake of chasing Nearv into some shadows.
Tens was less cautious when seeking a demon's heart - leading the assault there despite not having bullet-proof saving throws, but they proved good enough.
However, he took a back seat initially against Tolgerias - giving Nearv the chance to backstab him. The assassin duly hit, but the blow wasn't quite mortal and Tolgerias got a few spells away before eventually falling to missile fire.
Probably the worst encounter in the Sphere was during the assault on the fire room. A single skeleton didn't last long there and an unbuffed Tens took severe elemental damage to send him running. He successfully got off a sanctuary though to strand the Noble Efreeti and Fire Elemental following him. Nearv tried to take one of those out with a backstab, but found both retaliated swiftly and hard - and Nearv keeled over.
In the engine room, stone golems tried a pincer movement as 3 of them converged to attack Tens.
However, he had his plate armor and crushing belt on and was able to stand them off comfortably. The adamantite golems could have been easily killed by Nearv's crimson dart, but Tens couldn't resist speeding things up marginally by standing next to one of them using blade barrier in sanctuary, while he assaulted the other with the FoA to slow its attacks down.
Moving onto Windspear, Tens returned the acorns before sneaking inside the dungeon. He successfully commanded DigDag there, but couldn't quite finish him off before he got up - however, Nearv sent in a poisoned killing shot.
After killing some hobgoblins, Tens was busy sorting out inventory when he was rocked by a series of explosions. Turning round he found Nearv had taken the opportunity while his back was turned to assassinate Ruhk and play some fiery games with kamikaze kobolds.
A group of vampires seemed likely to be unimpressed by Tens' turn undead, so the plan was for a skeleton to focus their attention while Nearv blasted them with Daystar. Unfortunately that was a bit slow to act and the vampires had time to not only kill the skeleton, but also Nearv as a sunray provided him with an instant cremation.
Almost immediately after his resurrection, Nearv was in trouble again when Tens decided he was unable to kill any of the 3 greater werewolves attacking him without buffing up and ran for it. Stranded the wrong side of a doorway and already low on HPs, Nearv's chances didn't look good, but he took a healing potion and a bit of nifty footwork got the werewolves to chase him away from the doorway before he nipped through it and slammed the door in the monsters' faces. A few traps were then laid before opening the door again instantly killed 2 of the 3 greater werewolves.
Heading towards Firkraag, Tazok found himself struggling to hit Tens - while being unable to shrug off backstabs on himself.
Conster is a real danger due to his habit of specifically targeting the PC with his finger of death, but Tens was unusually cautious there by making use of death ward for the first time to foil such nefarious plans.
Surprisingly I don't appear to have a screenshot of Firkraag's death - that's possibly because it was over in an instant . Nearv had levelled up during the dungeon and gained access to poisonous traps - he laid a full complement of 7 of those, but 6 would have been sufficient ...
Nearv led the way through the remainder of the dungeon by backstabbing the genie guardians. Most of those survived the initial strike (though not much longer), but Nearv did find one critical to double his new septuple damage backstabs and set a new record hit.
More traps were set for the party at the end, but only Kaol was caught by those. That led to a chase through the twists and turns of the dungeon. That wasn't really Tens' forte, but is suited Nearv down to the ground - and his backstabs took toll of the pursuers until Tens turned at bay to help finish off the last couple of those.
Tens, cleric 13 / ranger 12, 122 HPs (incl. 5 from helm), 410 kills (+195 in BG1)
Nearv, assassin 21, 89 HPs, 289 kills (+158 in BG1), 4 deaths
After Blaggerd descends into ignomy (for a while at least) his place is taken by Michio, a gnomish illusionist. Imoen towers above him as they recruit a cleric called Viconia in the only way they know (from a distance, with missiles).
With Viconia safely on board our next stop is at Beregost to recruit the dwarven hurdle known as Kagain - few will get past him although those that do could struggle to snack on a drow before finding an axe embedded in their skull.
Imoen has a plan, as does Michio. Her plan involves recruitment and sees Shar Teel and Edwin join. Michio is happy with this as the two plans coincide to a point. What Imoen doesn't forsee is that Shar Teel will dual-class and take her place. We run as a party of five briefly before Michio relents and goes back to Beregost for Garrick. One of the four girdles we've obtained proves difficult to identify so Michio hands it to Edwin. Oh look, it's cursed.
Party equipment:
So far the fall of Shoal was an early objective while everybody enjoyed a quick tour of the rock garden even though blinding Baerin saw his companions start combat immediately - Kagain swapped blood with them until everybody was blinded and silenced.
Michio runs down his alphabetic done-list to make it sound like he's been really busy over the last few days. Albert, Arcand, Bassilus, Brage, Dreppin, Drienne, dryad, Dynaheir, Entar, Firebead x2, Fuller, Hull, Jared, Joia, Melicamp, Mirianne, Phylidia, Oublek, Reevor, Samuel, winter wolf pelt.
Emerging from the back door to the mines I came across the amazons. They were shot from extreme range with the aim of taking on one at a time. Their clerical rigid thinking and hold person spells are normally safe to stick around against if there's only the caster visible as you can back out of sight before the spell is cast - if others are visible you should leave yourself the option to run, but in this case there were no problems finishing them off.
I dodged Nimbul's horror, but 4 hits on him then shut down his casting. Unfortunately it was Rasaad that took advantage of that to steal my XP.
Back in Beregost, some spiders were pulled outside into a narrow space where only 1 could attack at once, before Tranzig was cut down.
Landrin got his goods back on the way to the Bandit Camp. The basic bandits were easily shot down there and Taurgosz was not much harder.
I only hit Venkt once on my initial entry and resorted to jumping in and out of the tent several times to dodge his potential spells after that - not waiting to see if those would cast successfully. The others were relatively lucky early on, but I had a clear melee advantage and that eventually told.
The only aim journeying through the Cloakwood was to get Spiders' Bane. That meant just tripping the web traps when nothing was visible. That's a particular problem with the group of 5 ettercaps on the second map (where I got to level 7).
The last of those can't be sighted without moving forward far enough to hit the web trap - but if you're careful there is just room to bypass the trap on the left. I've used ctrl-4 to highlight the web trap trigger on the screenshot here to demonstrate that.
Centeol's guards were then pulled outside one or two at a time before he was finished off.
Arriving at the mine, Genthore was attacked first and immediately pulled back to the edge of the map for disposal. Rezdan had moved forward some way in support, but he was hit 4 times to ensure complete spell disruption before he finished his first offensive spell.
As I killed him though, Kysus moved up in support and used shadow door - prompting me to retreat back to the map edge. After giving that time to expire, I tried a Bhaal horror from out of sight, but he saved. It would have been safer to rest at this point, as Kysus would be immediately attempting an offensive spells next. However, I moved forward anyway and a couple of hits with arrows of biting disrupted his spell and sealed his fate.
The wizard slayer's relatively poor defenses means Drasus has half a chance in a straight up melee contest. Using run and hit tactics can eliminate that almost entirely given his slow weapon speed, but in this case I won the battle pretty easily anyway.
Inside the mine there were no alarms on the way down to the bottom level. I pulled back one of the battle horrors there and did use run and hit tactics on that. They have decent weapon speed, so most of the time that gives me no advantage, but if I get a good initiative roll and they don't I can attack and retreat before they get an attack in - I think those tactics are enough to give me a slight edge in what would otherwise be an even contest and on this occasion I was able to beat it up without getting too low on HPs.
The session was virtually over at that point though and, rather than rush things again and get into trouble like last time, I saved the game there.
We've got a bit of a bad habit of dodgy starts leading to disasters in the first few minutes. Perhaps fortunately, today's mistake only saw Tens sell his plate armor in the mistaken belief that was a spare set. In theory of course almost 200k gold should have been enough to buy it back, but Tens felt he'd make do with studded leather rather than splash out to that extent .
The first action saw a trip to Trademeet, where backstabs and a couple of skeletons saw off the local genies. At the Grove, Tens reduced AC made its effects known. Where he would normally have stood and fought trolls, he was tending to run around a lot more - which meant Nearv also had to do far more running to try and get into stealth for his backstabs. Taking pity on his tired companion, Tens agreed to bring out a full posse of skeletons to clear the Troll Mound itself.
Moving on through the Grove, all but one of a group of druids were silenced - making combat with them nice and easy.
Tens stood among the final group of defenders for a few rounds with blades whirling everywhere - before Nearv lost patience and sped things up with a couple of backstabs.
Cernd was then sub-contracted to deal with Faldorn.
Back in Trademeet, Tens double-checked he already had a lesser restoration memorized before going to do a good deed for Tiris. A bit of sneaking around enabled the news to be shared around without alerting Rasaad to the chance of bothering busy adventurers.
In the tomb, Tens turn undead exploded the lesser skeletons and sent their senior colleagues running, to be dealt with by the iMoD or back-stabs.
The last of the major areas to be tackled was the Planar Prison. Nearv tried to backstab the bounty hunter mage there before he cast true sight, but didn't manage that. Meanwhile, Tens had buffed more heavily than usual and was tearing through the other bounty hunters. Things could have been nasty when the mage sent a Finger of Death after Tens - but he'd included death ward in his buffs.
Tens had recently got access to 7th level spells and a first use of firestorm proved to be too hot for the yuan-ti mages to handle.
The Master of Thralls didn't last long against a melee attack from Tens.
He then summoned a group of skeletons to assault the Warden. Those failed to complete the job though and Tens, now unbuffed, had to withdraw smartly. Nearv was spending his time playing hide and seek with more yuan-ti mages, but did take a moment to just sight the Warden for Tens - allowing him to get a kill with a Holy Smite from out of sight.
Nearv was keen to acquire the Staff of the Magi, in order to be able to disappear immediately after his backstabs. That wouldn't be a problem if we used a foolproof method of dealing with the Twisted Rune. On the other hand it could be a major problem if we didn't . Things immediately went awry when Tens spoke to Shangalar and then tried to retreat out of Vaxall's sight. Despite appearing on my screen to have a clear run, he was unable to get past Shangalar's icon (positioning was much tighter on Gate70s screen) and Vaxall caught a glimpse of him before he could jink sideways and continue on. That resulted in a volley of gaze attacks and Tens was immediately charmed.
Even though Vaxall didn't move forward, without PfU Tens wouldn't last long with Shangalar so close. However, Vaxall's standard repertoire of gazes include an anti-magic effect and letting the game run for another second showed one of those had indeed been launched - which dispelled the charm.
Although the anti-magic meant Tens could not use his own spells, he was still able to make use of green scrolls - and put up PfU before Shangalar targeted him. That meant shooting the lich down became suddenly routine.
Tens brought out 5 skeletons and then launched another of his fire storms. To try and prevent Vaxall from moving forward to attack in reaction to that, the skeletons were sent forward one by one. That did delay Vaxall a bit, but his death gaze was dispatching them rapidly and he moved into sight when at near death.
Tens immediately took an invisibility potion to try and prevent a fatal attack on him, but Nearv had also been busy while Tens was summoning skeletons - and a single one of the traps he'd laid was sufficient to finish Vaxall off.
A few more summons and some missiles later and Layene left his staff on the floor for Nearv to grab.
Before heading for Spellhold, Nearv noted he still had a key in his inventory. The first two rooms of the illithid went reasonably smoothly. There was a bonus in the second room when Tens threw in a fire storm intended to kill the umber hulks - he found though that, while standard mind flayers were immune to fire (as he had expected) the Ulitharids, surprisingly, were not.
The third room was a problem though when Tens moved towards that without appreciating that Nearv had already opened the door - and was immediately charmed.
Alhoon didn't attack his new friend, but having an illithid at your PC's shoulder is not recommended and Nearv tried to persuade him to carry on into the second room - but without success. That resulted in Tens being sucked as soon as he was no longer charmed.
With an intelligence of 12 he could still withstand another of those, but took the opportunity to move away smartly. Once the drain had worn off, he was happy to get into touching range once more - though Nearv pressurized him first to put chaotic commands on to ensure he retained control of his senses this time. A single blow then allowed the iMoD to demonstrate the Alhoon's undead heritage.
The remaining illithid then didn't last long - Nearv showing off his rather better saving throws by completing a programme of backstabs without failing a save once.
After collecting a few items from storage, we reported into Gaelan Bayle to get on a long-delayed ship to Brynnlaw. We didn't do much there though - a backstab ensuring we didn't have to listen to any more mad musings from Perth.
It was night-time, so Tens used turn undead to clear most of the obstacles on the way to Spellhold, which we will enter next time. Tens has already got his first HLA (an unused Deva), but Nearv is still slightly short of being able to wield the Staff of the Magi.
Tens, cleric 14 / ranger 13, 124 HPs (incl. 5 from helm), 515 kills (+195 in BG1)
Nearv, assassin 23, 93 HPs, 325 kills (+158 in BG1), 4 deaths
The first encounter of the day was almost the last - Michio switching from thrown daggers to a melee equivalent and still barely surviving the opportunistic attack from Greywolf - the additional 4 damage from having a ranged weapon equipped would have been fatal.
Greywolf only lasted a few seconds longer.
It was time to stop messing around and sort out Nashkel mine. Michio was careful to keep Kagain at the head of the party so everybody else was protected from kobold arrows. The tactic worked well and we were soon casting Silence at a half-orc cleric called Mulahey. He failed his save and never regained his voice.
Four amazons were waiting for us outside, and as soon as Lamahla failed her saving throw against Silence we attacked. Viconia adds to her combat-winner strategy by holding two of them.
A round of whining alerts Michio to near-heroic reputation so he memorises Friends, and purchase a few items (shadow thief armour for Shar Teel, cloak of displacement for Shar Teel, a quarterstaff +3 wasted on Edwin and a greenstone amulet for Kagain to make occasional use of). Once the items are procured it is time to reset our reputation courtesy of Algernon. Tranzig is nearby and we kill him to learn the location of a hidden bandit camp.
Denak and his three Thayvian mages are a tempting target, and with Edwin(a) in our midst we use Silence on them so they cannot parley a bargain with him.
The cave of Black Alaric is next on our list, but for some reason Michio uses a direct route to save a few moments (my original route rather than the slightly longer one I now use which is also our multiplayer route). Kagain leads at first against hobgoblins but Shar Teel becomes a target at some point and has to step back. With the combat over we move on to the sirines and doubt we have saved much, if any, time. Michio decides to up the ante against the sirines and uses remove magic against one group and detect invisibility against the other. Sil remains under improved invisibility but all five other sirines lose their effect and are quickly eliminated.
The bandit camp sees us cut down a number of defenders until Kagain drags their leader around another bandit and Viconia casts hold person to good effect. This leaves us in control of the camp exterior so we rest.
Inside the largest tent Kagain gains the attention of those within. While we target Venkt and his spells, Shar Teel backstabs Raemon and from there we are in control of the battle.
Letters in a container point us to a hidden mine deep in Cloakwood. On the way we defeat Seniyad and his druids to protect Aldeth Sashenstar and his hunters. Three of us casting Magic Missile tends to shut down opposition quite rapidly.
We also take the opportunity to investigate a wyvern cave - Michio suspecting Kagain is a little too susceptible to their attacks but luck is on our side today. Shar Teel mare a rare ranged use of arrows of fire rather than wander into melee danger.
Drasus has a few friends helping him defend the exterior of Cloakwood mine. They take damage from Edwin's first skulltrap casting (as do Kagain and our skeleton thanks to an area of effect misjudgement). Their mages succumb to the pressure and as we manouvre the fighters together a hold person only works against one of them so we kill off the other one before hacking down the stricken remainer.
Inside the mine we fail to make a clean exit past Hareishan and her guards. With two groups of attackers downstairs with us we cannot position ourselves advantageously, so knuckle down to finish off Hareishan while several of her guards are under the effect of a sleep spell.
Eventually we reach the base of the mine and Viconia strikes it lucky with another successful silence. This leaves us free to attack Davaeorn for control of the mine but he still teleports around several times before we can kill him. With his death we loot the area, grab a key which will release a plug and make sure the mine is flooded.
With the mine out of action we are able to enter the city of Baldur's Gate and undertake a number of tasks within.
Darm, solo human Dark Moon Monk
Difficulty: Core
Mods: None
After a few false starts where I solo, then want to play with companions, then get tired of companions and start over to play solo again.
Character sheet
I do all the quests in Candlekeep, then kill Xzar, Montaron, and Imoen for their starting items.
Shoal is blinded and killed for levels 2 and 3. I retrieve Mad Arcand's ring and kill some nearby ogres for level 4.
Algernon is my first stop after Marl, dropping reputation to 6, but I turn in Firebead's book for the Scroll Case and visit the temple to bring it back up to 9.
I pick up a Sling +1 and some Bullets +1 then head back to High Hedge, where the second flesh golem gets me to level 5. I pick up a Potion Case and a Potion of Mirrored Eyes while there.
Back in Beregost, I blind and kill Karlat. Silke is charmed to kill Neera for her Gem Bag and then assists me with some spiders before being killed herself.
Mutamin's Garden is next, where Korax helps me reach level 6. Korax paralyzes Mutamin but afterword takes some hits by tazlois. Because of this early damage, he falls to the final lesser basilisk, so I drink my PoME and finish it off. I charm Kirian's party one at a time and drag them off to be blinded and killed. Kirian saves against blind twice, so I waste her spells before killing her.
I head north next, blinding Tarnesh and charming Jaheira, who is killed by hobgoblins for her Potion of Invisibility. Dushai is killed for her ring, dropping reputation to 6, then a combination of Joia's ring and temple donations are used to bring reputation back up to 12. I work on clearing the important bits of the map and hit level 7 turning in Bjornin's half-ogres on my progress to 20 reputation.
I pick up the Greenstone Amulet, Wand of the Heavens, Cloak of Displacement, and Sandthief's Ring. The WotH is used on vampiric wolves near Beregost and then the battle horrors and doom guard at Durlag's Tower. The Protection from Petrification scroll from the Carnival is used to clear out the basilisks on the roof, and then a ghast is killed to bump me to the level cap at 8.
I start the critical path, mostly stealthing through the mines, where Mulahey is blinded. He calls for help after being attacked, so I clear his minions and then kill him. Nimbul is charmed and blinded. As is Tranzig. And Taurgosz. Taurgosz is a bit of a misplay, as even killing him at the edge of the map turns the bandits hostile. I use The One Gift Lost to kill groups of minor bandits and charm and blind to clear the tent.
I stealth through most of the Cloakwood, although I do clear the spiders in Cloakwood 2, which brings me to 161k experience. Charm and blind are used to kill Drasus and Genthore, with TOGL use to kill the mages. I stealth through the mines and use TOGL to weaken Davaeorn and his battle horrors. I get to one charge, and instead of consuming the item, use the WotH to kill the remaining battle horror. I use a Sandthief's Ring charge and detect illusion to remove Davaeorn's mirror images and then cut him down.
I do some quests in Baldur's Gate but don't get any screenshots. TOGL charges are used on the upper level of the Iron Throne. TOGL charges are used on the Iron Throne leadership in Candlekeep. I stealth out to identify their items and sell them at to Winthrop before turning myself in. A potion is used in conjunction with DUHM (I received all Good Bhaal powers) to retrieve the final tomes. Prat initiates dialogue after a charm fails, but I manage to get out of sight to rest and eventually charm him. He falls quickly to his party. Sakul and Tam are charmed one by one and fall to Bor. A Greenstone Amulet charge is used to kill Bor.
Back in Baldur's Gate, I kill Tamoko and Cythandria and use Larze and Quenash to assist with Slythe and Kristin. Larze tanks Slythe, and Kristin mostly kills herself with Cloud Kill. I have around 70k gold and recharge all of my consumables and buy plenty of potions and scrolls. The noblemen are charmed and separated at the Ducal Palace, and the fight go smoothly. I stealth through the Thieve's Maze and use TOGL to kill the Undercity party. The lightning trap is used to take care of Sarevok.
Character sheet at the start of SoD. Proficiencies are in Scimitar, Dart, Sling, and Single-Weapon Style.
Comments
Dispenser could not believe Iylos had died so soon. Iylos, a monk, joined him in Saradush, and they developed a quick, terse relationship early on. Dispenser realized, and Iylos never tried to hide, that he was an agent of another Bhaalspawn named Balthazar, the Abbot of a monstery in a place called Amkethran. But they built a grudging admiration and respect for one another, ironing out their differences in often sarcastic banter until Iylos apologized and agreed to follow Dispenser if he wanted him. The others saw that both came to a place where they appreciated the other's skill in combat and dedication to lawful order and goodness. And yet, in just a few days, after destroying a vampire infested dungeon, fighting through the dungeons and sewers beneath the palace at Saradush, and finally defeating the mad Bhaalspawn Gronmir and his most potent mage, Karun the Black, Iylos fell victim to a Maze spell from an Il-Khan Battle Mage. Dispenser thought nothing of it at first, killing the Battle Mage and collecting the spoils of battle. He knew Nalia did not have a Freedom spell memorized, but was not overly concerned. It had never seemed a problem before. They would rest, and she would bring his friend back from captivity. It was not to be.
GRONMIR FALLS
KARUN THE BLACK FALLS
IYLOS MAZED
With his soul returned, Dispenser found his destiny once again guarded by a series of trials, this time in the abyssal realm of his father, Bhaal. To escape the abyss, Dispenser agreed to a deal with Sarevok’s ghost (between Sarevok and Irenicus, one wonders if anyone ever really dies), bringing him back to life in exchange for a way out. The first trial pitted him against an unending series of foes, finishing with Irenicus (again)! Dispenser and his entourage were barely scratched facing Drow Warriors and Priestesses, several Ogre Magi, Suhuagin, and lesser monsters. Success here allowed him to pass through the ‘pocket plane’ where he had been to a town called Saradush. Saradush was under siege, and Dispenser quickly found himself in a mad race to destroy the Bhaalspawn Fire Giant Yaga Shura. Yaga Shura commanded the forces attacking Saradush, intent on destroying all other Bhaalspawn but himself. In Saradush, Dispenser met Melissan, also a Bhaalspawn, who had succeeded in getting many Bhaalspawn to Saradush for their protection only to have Yaga Shura’s forces attack the town, leaving them all trapped within. Underneath the streets was a prison, which was now infested with Vampires and Fledgling Vampires, except a few prisoners who were still alive. Dispenser freed them. In the prison was a secret door leading into a dungeon beneath the palace where Gronmir had barricaded himself. In the dungeon were several Il-khan Fighters and Mages, bugbears, Elite Orogs, and Elite Orcs.
To assist him, Dispenser returned to his pocket plane in the abyss, where he has a Fate Spirit. The Fate Spirit offered Dispenser several former colleagues or contacts to assist him in facing his predestination. He tabbed Tyrus Flare, a flame-throwing amazon he met in the Umar Hills, and Neera, his one and only lover in life. Dispenser tried to protect Neera as he had Imoen, sending her away to protect her, but now he felt he needed the additional mage support.
ORDER OF MARCH: Yasraena, Isra, Keldorn, Dispenser (leader), Nalia (arcane support & traps), Neera (arcane support)
MONSTERS DEFEATED (ordered alphabetically by value): * Ilasera, Fighter/Mage//20/20 (10k @ SD); Il-Khan Battle Mage (21.5k @ Sd); Phlydian, Vampire (19.5k @ Sd); Yaga-Shura Mage (2 @ 14k @ Sd); Berena Elkan, Fighter/Berserker//15 (12.5k @ Sd); Eler Had, Thief/15 (12.5k @ Sd); Il-Khan Soldiers (4 @ 12,5k @ Sd); ); Il-Khan Soldier (2 @ 12.3k @ Sd); Il-Khan Soldiers (5 @ 12k @ Sd); Irenicus (12k @ BT); Fighter (2 @ 10k @ Sd); Mage (10k @ Sd); Thief (2 @ 10k @ Sd); Fighter (4 @ 8k @ Sd); Fledgling Vampire (4 @ 8.5k @ Sd); Vampire (5 @ 8.5k @ Sd); Black Reaver, Mage/20 (8k @ SD); Cold Mistress, Mage/Invoker//14 (8k @ Sd); Duerger Sapper (6 @ 6k @ Sd); Hakeashar (2 @ 6k @ Sd); Orc Archer (5 @ 6k @ Sd); Black Rever, Fighter/16 (5k @ SD); Black Rever, Kensai /6 (5k @ SD); Black Rever, Berserker/16 (5k @ SD); Drow Priestesses (2 @ k4 @ BT); Drow Warriors (5 @ 4k @ BT); Umber Hulk (3 @ 4k @ Sd); Sahuaugin (5 @ 2k @ BT); Wraiths (2 @ 2k @ Sd); Elite Orogs (10 @ 850 @ Sd); Ogre Mages (10 @ 750 @ BT); Elite Orcs (5/8 @ 650 @ Sd/DS); Human Cultist (2 @ 650 @ Sd); Dopplegangers (12 @ 420 @ BT);Shadows (9 @ 420 @ Sd); Gnoll Captains (9 @ 350 @ BT); Kobold Commandos (4 @ 125 @ BT); Gibberlings (2 @ 35 @ Sd); Mutated Gibberlings (4 @ 15 @ Sd)
* Legend: Bhaal Trials = BT; DS = Disturb Sleep, RE = Random Encounter, SD = Suldanessellar, Saradush - Sd
LEVEL UP: Yasraena, Fighter/23; Dispenser, Cleric (Holy Justice of Tyr)/26; Isra, Paladin (Cavalier of Sune)/21
CASUALTIES: Iylos (Il-Khan Battle Mage)
NOTEWORTHY TREASURE: (Gold earned = ~ 361)
Armor & Weapons: Crossbow +5 (Firetooth), Shortbow of Gesen, Club +3 (Club of Detonation), Morning Star +3, Spear +3 (2), Quiver of Plenty
Gems/jewelry: Laeral’s Tear Necklace
Potions: Storm Giant Strength (2), Superior Healing (7), Extra Healing (31), Invulnerability (2)
Scrolls:
Wands: Lightning
Misc & Artifacts:
BEST KILL:
1) Yasraena, Bodhi (91k exp)
2) Nalia, Saladrex (64k exp)
3) Keldorn, Chromatic Demon & Isra, Demilich (55k exp ea)
4) Neera, Yaga-Shura Soldier (650 exp)
CURRENT DISPOSITION: Pocket Plane
NEXT STEPS: North Forest, Forest of Mir/Temple, Marching Mountains
PARTY MAKEUP: (Reputation: 18 – Heroic) (+1 5000gp to Temple of Waukeen)
Dispenser: LG Cleric (Holy Justice of Tyr)/26 (HP 94) Large Shield +2, Helm of the Noble +1, Holy Symbol of Tyr, Gauntlets of Dexterity, Cloak of Balduran, Girdle of Frost Giant Strength, Rings of Fire Resistance & Regeneration & Boots of Etherealness w/ Flail of the Ages +3 (Acid, Cold, Fire) & Long Sword +3 (Blade of Roses) (Bastard Sword*, Flail*, Long Sword*, Mace/Morning Star*, Warhammer*, SSS*, SWS*, TWS*); Abilities: Detect Invisibility, Hold person, Holy Word, Strength of One, Slayer Change; High-Level Abilities: Elemental Summoning, Energy Blades, Storm of Vengeance, Summon Deva; Skills: None; Spells: Earthquake, Energy Blades, Finger of Death, Fire Storm, Gate, Aerial Servant, Animal Summoning III, Blade Barrier, Bolt of Glory (2), False Dawn, Harm, Heal, Sol’s Searing Orb, Wondrous Recall, Cause Critical Wounds, Chaotic Commands, Cure Critical Wounds, Flame Strike, Greater Command, Mass Cure, Raise Dead, Righteous Magic, Slay Living, True Seeing, Cause Serious Wounds, Cure Serious Wounds, Death Ward, Defensive Harmony, Farsight, Free Action, Restoration, Negative Plane Protection, Free Action, Neutralize Poison, Poison, Protection from Evil 10’ (2), Animate Dead, Cure Disease, Cure Medium Wounds, Dispel Magic, Holy Smite, Invisibility Purge, Prayer, Remove Curse, Rigid Thinking, Zone of Sweet Air, Aid, Chant (3), Draw on Holy Might (2), Hold Person (2), Resist Fire & Cold, Silence 15’ (2), Slow Poison (2), Armor of Faith (2), Bless (2), Command (2), Cure Light Wounds, Doom, Faerie Fire (2), Protection from Evil, Remove Fear, Sanctuary; (Adv AI) (1)
Isra: LG Paladin (Cavalier of Sune)/21 (HP 125), Red Dragon Scale Plate, Ghadir Family Ring, Painbearer’s Amulet, Pale Green Ioun Stone, Cloak of the Shield, Boots of Hastened Departure w/ Two-Handed Sword +5 (Carsomyr), Mace +3 (Storm Star), Gauntlets of Weapons Expertise, Girdle of Hill Giant Strength, (Axe**, Bastard Sword**, Mace/Morning Star**, Two-Handed Sword**, THWS**); Abilities: Cure Disease, Detect Evil (23), Lay on Hands, Protection from Evil (20), Remove Fear (20); High-Level Abilities: Death Blow, Greater Deathblow, Greater Whirlwind Attack, Whirlwind Attack; Skills: None: Spells: Defensive Harmony, Free Action, Neutralize Poison, Cure Disease, Holy Smite, Zone of Sweet Air, Chant, Draw on Holy Might, Armor of Faith, Bless, Command; (Adv AI) (2)
Yasraena: CG Fighter//23 (HP 147), Full Plate +2 (Pride of the Legion), Wong Fei’s Ioun Stone, Belt of Inertial Barrier, & Boots of Speed w/ Short Sword +5 (Ironkiss), & Short Sword +5 (Fireflower) (Short Sword/Nija-to*****, Two-Weapon Style***, Warhammer**), w/ Gauntlet’s of Extraordinary Specialization, (Sword Sword*****, 2WS***) w/ Rings of Air Control & Anti-venom; Abilities: None; High-Level Abilities: Death Blow, Greater Death Blow, Magic Resistance, Whirlwind Attack, Greater Whirlwind Attack; Skills: None: Spells: None; (Adv AI) (nil)
Keldorn: LG Paladin(Inquisitor)/18 (HP 137), Plate of Balduran, Helm of Charm Protection, Girdle of Stone Giant Strength, Ring of Regeneration, Cloak of the Shield, w/ Blessed Paladin’s Bracers, Horn of Valhalla & Boots of the North w/ Two-handed Sword +5 (Graham the Sword of Grief), Crossbow +5 (Firetooth), Flail +3 (Defender of Easthaven), (Crossbow**, Flail**, Long Sword**, Two-Handed Sword**, THWS**); Abilities:: Detect Evil (21), Protection from Evil (18), Dispel Magic (5), True Sight (5); High-Level Abilities: Whirlwind Attack; Skills: None; Spells: None; (Adv AI) (3)
Nalia: CG Mage/Thief//18/4 (HP 70), Necklace of Protection +1, Robe of the Good Arch-Magi,Dusty Rose Ioun Stone, Improved Cloak of Protection +2, Amulet of the Master Harper w/ Shortbow of Gesen, Staff of the Magi; (Club*, Crossbow*, Dagger*, Dart*, Q/staff*, Short Bow*, Short Sword/Ninja-to* ); Abilities: Set Snare, Scribe Scrolls; Skills: OL 85, PP 40, FT 105, MS 55, HS 70, DI 10, ST 10 w/ Cloak of Elvenkind, Boots of Elvenkind; High Level Abilities: Extra 6th Level Spell, Extra 7th Level Spell; Spells: (w/ Ring of Acuity & Halruuan Component Pouch), Time Stop, Abi-Dalzim’s Horrid Wilting, Simulacrum, Khelban’s Warding Whip, Ruby Ray of Reversal, Spell Sequencer, Invisible Stalker, Chain Lightning, Invisible Stalker, Contingency, Summon Nishru, Animate Dead, Breach, Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Lower Resistance, Monster Summoning III, Fire Shield (Blue), Fire Shield (Red), Greater Malison, Minor Sequencer, Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere, Secret Word, Stoneskin, Dispel Magic, Fireball, Flame Arrow, Haste, Lightning Bolt, Slow, Spell Thrust, Aganazzar’s Scorcher, Invisibility, Knock, Melf’s Acid Arrow, Mirror Image, Ray of Enfeeblement, Stinking Cloud, Web, Blindness, Chromatic Orb, Grease, Identify Magic Missile, Spook; (Adv AI) (nil)
Iylos: LG Monk/21 (HP 114), Monastic Robe, Bracers of the Coiling Serpent, Aegis of the Deserts, Amulet of Tranquility, Belt of Storage, Bots of the Nomad, Cloak of the Deserts, Sandstone Ring w/ Ninja-to +4 (Usumo’s Blade); Abilities: Lay on Hands, Stunning Blow, Quivering Palm; Skills: FT 70, HS 80, MS 80; High-Level Abilities: Death Blow, Whirlwind Attack; Spells: None; (Adv AI) (nil)
MOD USED: Amber v5, Tyris Flare v8, Foundling v4.2, Pesty v3.1, Asher v1.12, Gavin v23, Sirene for BG2, Isra v3, Paina, Tashia v1.2, Vampire Tales, Ninde, Saerileth, Arath v4, Dace v5, Tsujatha, Kelsey v5, Keto v5, Sarah v5, Nathaniel v4.4, Iylos v2.6, Adrian v4.3, Naphele v2.5, Fade v5.5, Saradas Magic v1.6, de’Arnice Romance v6, Unfinished Business v26, Plane Touched Races, Wheels of Prophecy v8.3, NPC Flirt v1.06, Romantic Encounters v14, Tweaks Anthology, Deities of Faerun, Song & Silence v9, Rogue Rebalancing v4.92, Wizard Slayer Rebalancing v1.14, SCS v32.7, Atweaks v4.53, Item Randomizer
(Current AI) (Chain of Command rank)
I’ve found we have similar play styles (I’m nowhere near your skill level though): love shorties for their saves, really like playing physical characters, but reading your mage story made me want to try a sorcerer.
Sorry you didn’t make it.
I’m having a lot of trouble deciding what to try next.
As @Klorox said he likes shorties for their saving throws and prefers physical characters, I think it's hard to look past a dwarven berserker as the easiest character. Rage (and a ring of free action) can deal with virtually all threats in BG1 and by the time alternative spell threats come along in BG2, the berserker is getting to the point of having automatic saves against them. As with any character, it's possible to get caught out if you don't know what's coming - but the berserker has pretty good passive defenses, so you will get away more often with lazy or careless play than you would with most characters.
Berserker is a great base because they’re immune to basically everything with rage, and 3 of them are enough.
I know I can get through BGI without reloading (as long as I’m smart/careful about it). Mage is great for most of BGII, which will be the majority of my playing time.
I will have to think about what weapon I should max out with my 9 fighter levels.
Defeated the mines at Cloakwood without TOO much difficulty picked up Jet'Laya at the FAI and went to try to save her sister who used wail of the banshee. My silence spell wasn't quick enough and Rhiainfelt died immediately.
Dwarf Fighter/Cleric is quite forgiving.
That's what I thought but Grond0 doesn't agree. I suppose that it all depends upon your style of play. I am currently playing a berserker who will be dualled into a cleric of some sort. Not a dwarf and not multiclass either. However, I'm not intending to play solo which changes things.
I like to play human or elf for the romances even though it's harder. I think that for half-elves the cleric/ranger is quite a good option. That is a good option for me since mods have introduced moonblades that are useable by non-evil elves and half-elves.
I agree that a dwarf fighter/cleric is pretty forgiving. It has good armor and saving throws will be only slightly lower than a single class shorty character. It's the mage multi-classes where lack of precision is a lot more likely to prove costly in a solo run.
Attempt 1: Died at level 3 to the second flesh golem in High Hedge. It kept breaking vision entering the circular room with Thalantyr, and it managed to one-shot me while attempting to regain vision. While it would be safer to lure it outside, Thalantyr blocks its path which makes it faster and easier to kill once inside the circle.
Attempt 2: Died at level 4 to an ogrillon. I survived a hit by one of the flesh golems at High Hedge, and instead of drinking a potion or paying a healer, I tried to make it down to Nashkel to get CLW. Some sloppy play toggling bard song while wielding a short bow ended the run.
Attempt 3: Charmed by a sirine at level 9. Since I was ultimately planning to assemble a party, I had been avoiding selling loot and spent a lot of the time light on gold. Because of this, I had already cleared most of the map prior to the Nashkel Mines before purchasing the Greenstone Amulet. While clearing the Lighthouse, I got too close to the sirines, and they wandered off in different directions. I was being stingy with amulet charges and clouded my aura from offscreen with a Skull Trap. A sirine entered vision and landed a Dire Charm.
Next attempt will be a Dark Moon Monk. Out of curiosity, what would be the recommended weapon proficiencies for a solo dwarven berserker. Mastery offers the same THAC0 bonus as a second pip in two weapon style, so I would likely go one pip in short bow and two weapon style, everything else in scimitars (Twinkle and Icingdeath) until grand mastery.
I've been too tired from work this week to play much, but thought I'd have a session this morning. I've got an existing shaman run at the start of SoD, but fancied a more straightforward style of play than thinking about spells and summons - so decided to have another go at a wizard slayer.
With the aim of limiting sessions once more to an hour, I've made the following initial progress:
- shot down Shoal (level 3).
- bought the +1 shortbow in Beregost (there's so little to spend money on for a wizard slayer, that VFM is not an issue).
- shot the belt ogre on the way to the FAI. Tarnesh became a first victim of spell failure there before I returned the belt to Unshey (level 4).
- with proceeds from the Ring of Wizardry bought full plate and +1 large shield, along with some +1 arrows.
- shot High Hedge golems before completing my collection of containers with the potion case.
- with time being limited, I activated all the gnolls near Drizzt, rather than try to kill him myself. It took just over 4 minutes before my goods were ready for collection.
I was still rushing a bit though and made one of my habitual mistakes by resting immediately after killing him - getting a second LMD as a result, when I had intended to get a CLW there. That's not a big deal for gameplay though - it makes access to the beholder area in the Unseeing Eye quest unavailable for me, but there are no items of particular interest there anyway.
Wizard Slayer L6, 74 HPs, 106 kills
Introduction
Update 1
Update 2
Before rescuing Imoen, there's 2 more things I'd like to do: maximize reputation because somehow the Drow merchants will also lower prices for the less-reputable Veldrin, and do Rasaad's questline because the Gem of True Seeing is just that good. I also don't like traveling to cities just to pop by, so we get lucky when Mazzy's sister gets poisoned and we have an excuse to visit Trademeet. We kill Barl, and finish the Rejiek Hidesman Skindancer questline to get 18 Rep. Also, while waiting for Pala to recover, we swing by the Druid grove, purchase a few potions, and kill the Rakshasas. Most of them suffered from spell failure fairly early on, if I recall correctly.
Anomen is dropped temporarily for Rasaad, and we begin his quests. A Bounty Hunter is perfectly suited for his quests, by the way: there's so many places where you can stack traps before they go hostile. The Ampitheatre is one such location. Afterwards, the Vagrant Blades donate a pretty good ring: 3x Mirror Image per day is fantastic for a tank like Mazzy.
I decide to have Moira attempt to take on the Gate Lich at this point, just to see how good Wizard Slayers truly are. They're good! However, I'm a moron that forgot to prebuff her with Resist Fear, and even without spellcasting, the Gate Lich has a Wand of Fire with 10 charges. And he comes with two Magical Swords, which I'm pretty sure I don't have the magic damage to kill without risking Jehu to his own Spirit Fire. Uh. We very, very luckily make it out alive after sending in more reinforcements: only Yoshimo and Rasaad die. Recall Spirit is a wonderful drug, though, and I keep using it.
I choose the wrong dialogue options and the Tear of Selune attack us. Oops again. Monks hurt a surprising amount, though without critical hit immunity, they go down equally as fast.
And the Heretic Temple itself is great for thief traps, since they're going to be coming from the bridge. The blindness room is defeated by using a Fire Elemental summon, and I have to drink an invisibility potion when I accidentally walk off the path of light in one of the other rooms and spawn multiple shadows. STR drain is too big a threat for a 1 APR character. Outside, the Gem of True Seeing stymies their thieves, and general disabling spells like Slow and Insect Plague and the mass of monks on our side give us a relatively clean victory.
Back in Athkatla, we're met with a slew of personal quests: Nalia is kidnapped, but while we're dealing with that, Anomen's sister is killed. And apparently, Anomen's sister is also named Moira. That's a little bit awkward.
We convince him to take the Lawful Good path. Now just a few things left after we get Nalia back: Fallen Paladin questline, apparently going on a side mission to take out Tarnor and his gang while waiting for evening, and starting with the Vampires. Tarnor is taken out by large amounts of AoE spells from the shadows: we were never targeted. It's evening, so Mook dies.
I try at first to do the entire vampire hold without resting. We'll see how that goes. Tanova wastes most of her defensive spells on summons, and by the time she locates us, she's vulnerable and Moira shuts down her spellcasting. I believe Azuredge scores the kill. Two more Fire Elementals are duly sacked on the Clay Golem to avoid the healing curse, and I don't recall anything else on the first level that's interesting. Fighting the other vampires, Mazzy's brought to level 6 by level drain, and I relent and take a rest before fighting Bodhi.
Sepulchre Sleep is a real danger here: I planned to keep Jehu far from this fight. Anomen, Moira, and Mazzy stake the last of the vampires, and Bodhi appears surrounded by hasted Fire Elementals. Which are then immediately killed by a Touch of Death AoE that apparently has a Death Spell opcode in it. Problematic, but not impossibly so. There's not enough room to kite in that chamber, so Jehu, Yoshimo, and Nalia evacuate the dining room chamber while the three Fighters drag her over there. Anomen almost dies, and is retreating to heal up a bit, when Bodhi gives up against the Firetooth Crossbow (Mazzy) and Dwarven Thrower. (Moira)
We quickly do the Illithium questline for a better weapon for Mazzy and the last reputation point I'll need, before heading to Spellhold. We also do a bit of shopping from what I remember, though I forgot to get any Arrows of Dispelling. Dunno if that'll come to bite us, but it very well could.
The Vampire ambush is irritating, and forces us to rest as Anomen was drained a few levels. On the island, Perth the Adept is the only real challenge, and I thought a Wizard Slayer + Fireseeds would be enough to completely shut him down. Kitthix was Moira's target, and Perth has 100% spell failure within a few seconds. I send Mazzy in to help take Perth down when she's met by a Spell Trigger or Sequencer with 3 Vitriolic Spheres. Death is immediate.
That's 36d4 acid damage, no save. 90 damage on average. That'd kill Jehu with his 89 hitpoints and I'm suddenly really, really worried about Irenicus if he has a similar spell trigger. We raise Mazzy before the fight is over, and Mazzy gets her revenge.
We also get pretty fantastically lucky with the Book of Infinite Spells, and now we have two item-based ways of getting True Seeing. Jehu might not have to burn a slot on it in the future.
After this, we also invade the brothel. Spell failure for all! The melee guards were the hardest part of this, and we have a ring of regeneration already.
*Whistles innocently* I'm certainly not metagaming or anything, he just wanted to become a level 1 Fighter with no proficiency in Katanas right now...
Spellhold. Jehu loses a spare INT point: it's still over a multiple of 5. Bhaal refuses to follow me inside again, so console is used to spawn him in Imoen's sight, and summons take it down. We solve riddles on riddles, and Mazzy and Moira with Resist Fear and Protection from Fire are enough to take out the first level. Second level, we clear out the book by ourselves until the Beholder, then summon things, go invisible, and watch. Jehu takes the Ring of Free Action.
Third level is fairly trivial: Death Ward for the trapped paintings, Fire Elementals for the Clay Golems, and a headlong rush into Bodhi and her friends for our Slayer transformation. We claim Boots of Cheetah Speed and Boots of the North: the former for quests and kiting as necessary, and the latter for Jehu: my last run, Irenicus has a 3x Freezing Sphere that chunked Jaheira instantly. The test is also flown through, so fast I forgot to take the electric-reflection cloak from the table. Whoops.
Irenicus. We prebuff before Lonk the Sane with Death Wards, Emotion: Hope and Emotion: Courage, Improved Haste to Mazzy and Moira again, Remove Fear, and both Jehu and Anomen have Impervious Sanctity of Mind, and Jehu has Chaotic Commands on top of that. I believe Jehu was given an Improved Invisibility buff so he has time to get out of Irenicus' sight. For Irenicus, Anomen summons Kitthix for Moira to throw Fireseeds at, and Irenicus' initial spells are disrupted. Irenicus counters with a Spell Trigger containing a Sphere of Chaos, a Symbol of Stunning, and I think a Dispel Magic. Anomen is the only one caught in this, and the others back away quickly. Apparently though, without regular spells to cast defensively, one of the inmates does huge damage to Irenicus, and he retreats after only two or three rounds.
Anomen is killed by Mazzy's clone, which is actually good for me: I was worried about a Disintegration effect from the Sphere of Chaos, though I guess he still had a Death Ward symbol on? I'm not sure. Irenicus also apparently made a Mislead clone sometime during that fight, because we're still doing damage to a certain Jon Irenicus after he's left, and the clone's spells aren't doing anything. Jehu's Insect Plague allows us to easily cut through our own clones, and a level 1 Yoshimo and some random backstabbers have no way of threatening an Ironskinned Shaman. We grab his heart and leave.
Jehu is under Improved Sanctity of Mind again for the Sahuagin/Gith ambush, and we take no risks or casualties there. Mazzy does most of the work against the Sahuagin since she has the Reflection Shield and can turn their stunning bolts against them. Jehu takes the Cloak of Mirroring to avoid any potential Sequencer-based bursts, and we... kind of quickly take out the King and his guards? The Impaler hurts, and the King was hitting Mazzy on rolls of 4 and better. No casualties, lots of health potions drank, and Nalia pickpockets a Halberd blade.
In the Underdark, Imoen finally goes on a much needed scroll scribing spree: Jehu levels up from the experience. The reason we do this now is that the Sverneblin merchant sells a scroll of Death Spell, one of the few in the game that I know of. I think someone drops one earlier in the game, but I either failed to scribe it, or Aerie scribed it. The Gate Lich encounter convinced me that I really, really need to be able to kill summons quickly if necessary. We also get useful gems like Mass Invisibility that'll help a lot in future fights.
After a quick sortie against a Drow warparty, we're ready for the Balor. I don't think I've come out of this fight well a single time, so I'm overprepared this time. Jehu summons 5 Fire Elementals, Nalia gives fire resistance to everyone she can, and Anomen covers the remaining 1, we again have the buffs of Emotion: Courage and Emotion: Hope for the damage and THAC0, and Improved Hastes on Mazzy and Moira again. Mazzy has the Firetooth crossbow, Moira has the Dwarven Thrower, and Imoen has Tansheron's bow. The Balor only manages to take out 4 of the summons before dying. The Dispel Magic that I was worried about DOES hit, but only after his death: you can see it midflight.
We finish with the western caves. Skeleton Warriors are enough to handle the Beholders, and Insect Plague and sheer physical violence are enough to handle the Kuo-toan, prince and all. Cloud Kill, Spike Stones and Spike Growth do a decent amount of damage to the Drow, and we kite and kill the Glazebrus and Stone Golems without a problem. We had a moment of worry as a Drow Mage revealed it had Flesh to Stone when it used it vs one of our summons, but Moira and Mazzy finish her off with Jehu's defenses still intact. I need to remember to prebuff with PfP before mage fights before I get targeted by one of those wretched things. Finally, a rest to reset fire resistance spells and two good sources of NPP are enough to finish the Demon Knights with no problem. By the time they'd Dispelled the fire resistance, we'd taken enough down so that Fireball was longer a reasonable threat.
Without resting, we used a Freedom for Vichand and his sidequest, with only the Greater Earth Elemental and his stoneskins and earthquake causing any real difficulties for us, and freed everyone except the lich from the prison. We might deal with him later. Maybe not. We'll see.
Stats: Jehu, Human Shaman 15. 93 HP (5 from helm). 59 kills.
Spell selections:
Level 2: Alicorn Lance, Charm Person or Mammal, Cure Moderate Wounds, Resist Fire and Cold, Slow Poison, Writhing Fog.
Level 3: Call Lightning, Cure Disease, Dispel Magic, Spike Growth, Spiritual Clarity.
Level 4: Call Woodland Beings, Death Ward, Poison, Spirit Fire, Static Charge
Level 5: Chaotic Commands, Insect Plague, Iron Skins, Recall Spirit, Spike Stones
Level 6: Conjure Fire Elemental, Entropy Shield, Fire Seeds, Spiritual Lock
Level 7: Ether Gate, Impervious Sanctity of Mind, Nature's Beauty
Since Jehu is my CHARNAME, he's taken a lot more defensive spells than I would normally.
Mazzy, Halfling Fighter 15. 101 HP. 195 kills. 5* in Maces, 2* in Axes, 2* in Crossbow. 2 deaths?
Moira, Dwarven Wizard Slayer 16. 133 HP. 253 kills. 5* in Longbow, 4* in Warhammer. 1 death?
Anomen, Human Fighter 7 -> Cleric 16. 95 HP. 80 kills. 5* in Sling, 4* in Flails/Morningstars. 1 death?
Imoen, Human Thief 7 -> Mage 14. 66 HP. 11 kills. 0 deaths.
Nalia, Human Thief 4 -> Mage 14. 69 HP. 41 kills. 0 deaths/
Permanently lost: Aerie, Jaheira, Yoshimo.
Previous updates:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1112203/#Comment_1112203
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1112333/#Comment_1112333
The Crew made a bit more progress last weekend in a final burst before I went back to work - but I didn't get around to writing that up. They finished the previous session back at Candlekeep, where they were happy to slaughter the Iron Throne leaders with an unprovoked attack.
Before returning to the City, the Crew decided to clear the remaining few wilderness areas not already completed. The final one of those (other than the TotSC areas) was where the Red Wizards of Thay hang out. Rather than bombard them with fireballs I felt it would be safe enough to maneuver the Crew into position to shoot them from dispersed positions - which it was.
Finally back in Baldur's Gate I sold all the loot collected - though immediately lost most of the value gained from that by selling the Helm of Balduran rather than identifying it as intended
Slythe & Krystin put up no real fight, to set up an appointment at the palace.
Checking after the battle I found everyone had just enough XP for their 8th (and final) BG1 level - the additional HPs bringing up the century for 4 of them. They fully explored the maze, resting to heal trap damage, and did the same for the Undercity - including Tamoko and then Rahvin's party (scaring and stunning him to grab his exploding arrows).
As a warm up for the TotSC work, the Crew went to Ulgoth's Beard for a chat with Shandalar. He was making some sort of cryptic remarks about missing daughters, but the Crew didn't pay much attention to that in their haste to find some more action. As usual, they didn't use any buffs on Sorceror's Isle, which meant there was always a slight danger of several of them being affected by disablers. The mages themselves didn't cause much trouble, however - but unfortunately the traps did. I had remembered a trap near the polar bear as being a fireball, so walked the best protected character into that while the party were relatively nearby. A lightning bolt, rather than a fireball, appeared and headed straight for the group - doing significant damage before bouncing back where it came from. The party scattered in case it came bouncing back again, which it started to do before disappearing en route with no-one else being hit. I had a frozen moment of time to start breathing a sigh of relief when, with no animation, Vito suddenly got credited with another 49 of damage to add to the 35 he took from the first instalment. That wouldn't have been quite enough to kill him from full HPs, so he must have taken a small amount of damage from the ankhegs after killing Garan just before the encounter with that trap.
There was no trouble with the last couple of encounters.
Vito - L8, 93 HPs, 398 kills, 1 death, **** scimitar / ** darts
Baby Face - L8, 103 HPs (incl. 5 from helm), 397 kills, 0 deaths, **** long sword / ** crossbow
Mad Dog - L8, 109 HPs, 321 kills, 0 deaths, **** axe / ** dual wielding
Carlo - L8, 87 HPs, 395 kills, 0 deaths, **** flail / ** sling
Bugsy - L8, 108 HPs, 320 kills, 0 deaths, **** hammer / ** shortbow
Al (PC) - L8, 103 HPs, 399 kills, **** 2-handed sword / ** longbow
A new undead hunter enters the frail.
I let Unnie pick up lawful good companions - but only those. Ao no stealing and other thieving. No unjustified killing and stealing as well.
Besides that, Unnie will only do melee - no ranged attacking from her hand (but perhaps some kiting..).
Unnie did all the quests in Candlekeep, not picking up the potion of clarity and other loot.
After Gorions death, some quick XP was on the bucket list - and a magical longsword. But having vowed to do melee only Unnie decided she needed a companion as the very first on the list. So she traveled north of the FAI and found a paladin of good repute. A travelling companion and a brother of arms.
The pair traveled south to pick up a monk. Another worthy companion - a bit flirtatious, but still worthy.
From there the trio travelled to the west. A crazy ranger had hinted a mage was held captive, and we rushed to her aid. Some brigands met there demise en route..
The gnoll fortress was cleared, and a tome and a new companion the prizes. The gnolls where caught napping - courtesy of the wand..
North of the fortress a brigand had a magical sword for Unnie. Torm provided the boon.
Meeting the rogue former captain Brage provided a lift to the temple of helm in Nashkel. Dunaheir seemed adamant the we took Minsk the crazy ranger along... But unfortunately he met his demise in the in inn shortly after. Torm giveth and Torm taketh....Minsc was taken to helm, so that he might be ressurected. We shall see
Having picked up the green stone amulet, the coastal areas where next up. The basilisk had to await our final companion.
The golems in the cave where the only real problem - ranges attacking saved the day many a times, but the lack of magical ammunition meant the golems lasted longer and hit more than the aught too.
Reaching level 5 was sufficient for Unnie to take on the main quest. The mine was next.
The kobolds proved no problem, when an armour clad max HP damage sponge soaked up the missile attacks, and the rest pelted the kobolds with their hail of arrows, knives and stones. Mulahey was webbed, fireballed and pelted with missiles to death.
The chapter 3 bandits met their demise in the same manner. The wand of paralysation did wonders and trivialised some hard hitting encounters.
Cloakwood was uneventful. Dynaheir got poisoned by a vywern just before escaping an ambush, and wasn’t kills whilst travelling- fortunately. Drasus was paralysed, and a lucky roll when summoning monster meant that the two mages didn’t stand a chance.
The mine was cleared with wands, and Daveorn himself fell to the party as well. Unnie let the charge, whilst buffed. A bit of collateral damage hit the unbuffed party.. Perhaps she should have soloed the ordeal..
In the city Rasaads quest was triggered. And we cut the visit the city short and headed south. A neat belt, some gear for Rasaad and the the demise of an evil cult was the result.
Unnie cleared the basilisk & ankheg areas, and looted the upper floors of Durlags tower.
She will have to go back to the city and unravel the evil plot the Iron Throne has set in motion - eventually
Ps. I see Grond0’s pictures fine (on a iPhone)
@Arvia they look OK to me. Sometimes display problems are associated with a particular browser - you could perhaps try using a different one?
Now they're fine. On the same device and browser. Maybe my wifi was weak and didn't load them all. Sorry for the confusion.
Corearcher - elven archer, protagonist (Corey_Russell)
Scurvy - human mage specialist (Grond0)
Menty - gnomish bounty hunter (Gate70)
The Trio got off to a late start, as Corey_Russell got up late this time (for him, the Trio starts at 8:00 am). But off we did. We had a little bit of money, so Corearcher went to Feldeposte's to spend 3000 gold on a magical bow - only for the bow to disappear when trying to equip it!! Easy come, easy go it seems - Corearcher will have to be content with his basic composite bow for now it seems...
So then Corearcher brought the gang to Nashkel Mines (surface) to pay a visit to Greywolf for a small sword upgrade - well defeat Greywolf they did, but not before Greywolf slaughtered Prism - doh!
The Trio then returned a "dog" to a "boy". For the next opponents, we did a tactic that we did quite often this session - Scurvy would cast stinking cloud at the opponents, Menty would throw in a thrown trap, and Corearcher would cut the enemies to pieces with his archery skill - for most encounters, this strategy did work well, though there were a few exceptions, which we will see later. Zax and Val could not survive, and Menty got the bracers, since Corearcher damage is very good without them.
The Trio headed East, taking out Kaldo and Krumm, picking up magical halberd, returning a cat to a little girl and taking her allowance, and easily cutting down some ogres. For this session, Menty was a great groupmate, as he would "tank" or run the enemies around, which in turn allowed Corearcher to cut the enemies down quickly with his bow. Corearcher got the CHA tome, not that it does him much good.
Next target was Bassilus - unsurprisingly, ranged fire prevented him from doing much before being cut down. We decided the Doomsayer needed a lesson. Menty laid two traps, and then expertly ran the Doomsayer around, while Corearcher and Scurvy pumped magic missiles into the Doomsayer (Corearcher using a wand of course). This worked - we hitched a ride back to Nashkel with Brage.
Corearcher said there's a certain person at firewine bridge who needs his bracers relieved - Scurvy mentioned we'll just kill everyone until we find it? But no, that isn't Corearcher's style. Sure enough, Melium was peppered with arrows and magic missiles and was relieved of his bracers.
Since Molkar's group was nearby, we decided to take them on. This was a near disaster, as Menty and Scurvy were spotted before we could do any prep. Scurvy did get a single stinking cloud off and then tried to run, but he was hit with rigid thinking. The enemy melees were chasing Menty, and the gnome lead then up and north (two enemies) - one of the enemies was cut down by Corearcher's bow right about now. Corearcher then pursued the enemies who were after Menty, but right then he got held - he WAS out of sight of the cleric, so the cleric did not attack Corearcher (whew). Eventually, Scurvy's rigid thinking and Corearcher's hold wore off and they made short work of the pesky cleric. They then moved up and assisted Menty who was still leading the enemies around until his party could help. Success! Bit messy though...
With that brilliant play by the team, we then tried the Nashkel Mines. Corearcher's arrows were of course quite deadly for the kobolds, and as for Mulahey, a stinking cloud and thrown traps were just too much for him. The same strategy also worked on the nearby Amazons.
We arrived to Nashkel to sell, and Nimbul was once again treated to a fatal backstab - this seems to be the usual way our Trio deals with him. We also dealt with Neira while we were here. Menty brought her outside so she could receive some magic misssiles and be peppered with arrows.
Corey_Russell asked Grond0 did he have PfP - Grond0 responded in the affirmative, once we rested. So we did and then took out the basilisks. What's funny is Menty and Corearcher did all the work, as they were killed while Scurvy was stunned by a trap...
Last run we ran into trouble with Ankhegs, and this session was no different, though our result wasn't quite as bad as last time, as last run it ended with the Ankhegs, and this time we survived (barely). So our tactics in the Ankheg nest was for Scurvy to lay down sleep, while Menty went for a backstab and meleeed and Corearcher used acid arrows. This worked quite well in the nest. Unfortunately, Scurvy and Menty did not wait for their groupmate, and this led to trouble as Corearcher was alone when he got to the farm, and got spotted by an Ankheg. He tried to get to this groupmates, then got spotted by a second on. So while Corearcher was trying to take down an Ankheg, right about here Scurvy cast stinking cloud - on Corearcher!!!
Was this going to be the end? In his attempt to save Corearcher, Scurvy got herself caught by her own stinking cloud. Menty tried to kill the Ankheg attacking Corearcher. After two acid strikes, Corearcher finally woke up - he gulped a blue potion, and ran south out of the cloud. It's good a thing he potioned, as he took a nasty acid hit while running. Corearcher managed to hide and evade, and Menty also managed to hide and evade, while Scurvy got killed by an ankheg. After healing up, Corearcher and Menty took down the Ankheg near Scurvy's body, and recovered her things and raised her at a helpful Beregost Temple.
The last bit in the session is we returned a bowl to a priestess of Umberlee, and bought a few upgrades at Ulgoth's Beard.
Whew! Hope the next session won't have such a close call as this one...
Tens (male half-elf cleric/ranger, Grond0); Nearv (male dwarf assassin, Gate70)
Previous updates
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1110591/#Comment_1110591
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1110957/#Comment_1110957
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1111665/#Comment_1111665
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1111826/#Comment_1111826
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1112026/#Comment_1112026
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1112129/#Comment_1112129
This pairing continues to tempt fate, but is struggling on and continuing to grow more powerful.
The session started with a desire to get rid of Valygar's decaying body - so we headed for the Planar Sphere. Kayardi is the most likely source of problems from the halflings, but Nearv conducted a pre-emptive strike there without waiting for a skeleton to join the fight.
Probably the worst encounter in the Sphere was during the assault on the fire room. A single skeleton didn't last long there and an unbuffed Tens took severe elemental damage to send him running. He successfully got off a sanctuary though to strand the Noble Efreeti and Fire Elemental following him. Nearv tried to take one of those out with a backstab, but found both retaliated swiftly and hard - and Nearv keeled over.
In the engine room, stone golems tried a pincer movement as 3 of them converged to attack Tens.
Moving onto Windspear, Tens returned the acorns before sneaking inside the dungeon. He successfully commanded DigDag there, but couldn't quite finish him off before he got up - however, Nearv sent in a poisoned killing shot.
A group of vampires seemed likely to be unimpressed by Tens' turn undead, so the plan was for a skeleton to focus their attention while Nearv blasted them with Daystar. Unfortunately that was a bit slow to act and the vampires had time to not only kill the skeleton, but also Nearv as a sunray provided him with an instant cremation.
Heading towards Firkraag, Tazok found himself struggling to hit Tens - while being unable to shrug off backstabs on himself.
Nearv led the way through the remainder of the dungeon by backstabbing the genie guardians. Most of those survived the initial strike (though not much longer), but Nearv did find one critical to double his new septuple damage backstabs and set a new record hit.
Tens, cleric 13 / ranger 12, 122 HPs (incl. 5 from helm), 410 kills (+195 in BG1)
Nearv, assassin 21, 89 HPs, 289 kills (+158 in BG1), 4 deaths
Party equipment:
Michio runs down his alphabetic done-list to make it sound like he's been really busy over the last few days. Albert, Arcand, Bassilus, Brage, Dreppin, Drienne, dryad, Dynaheir, Entar, Firebead x2, Fuller, Hull, Jared, Joia, Melicamp, Mirianne, Phylidia, Oublek, Reevor, Samuel, winter wolf pelt.
Previous updates:
Emerging from the back door to the mines I came across the amazons. They were shot from extreme range with the aim of taking on one at a time. Their clerical rigid thinking and hold person spells are normally safe to stick around against if there's only the caster visible as you can back out of sight before the spell is cast - if others are visible you should leave yourself the option to run, but in this case there were no problems finishing them off.
I dodged Nimbul's horror, but 4 hits on him then shut down his casting. Unfortunately it was Rasaad that took advantage of that to steal my XP.
Back in Beregost, some spiders were pulled outside into a narrow space where only 1 could attack at once, before Tranzig was cut down.
The only aim journeying through the Cloakwood was to get Spiders' Bane. That meant just tripping the web traps when nothing was visible. That's a particular problem with the group of 5 ettercaps on the second map (where I got to level 7).
Arriving at the mine, Genthore was attacked first and immediately pulled back to the edge of the map for disposal. Rezdan had moved forward some way in support, but he was hit 4 times to ensure complete spell disruption before he finished his first offensive spell.
Inside the mine there were no alarms on the way down to the bottom level. I pulled back one of the battle horrors there and did use run and hit tactics on that. They have decent weapon speed, so most of the time that gives me no advantage, but if I get a good initiative roll and they don't I can attack and retreat before they get an attack in - I think those tactics are enough to give me a slight edge in what would otherwise be an even contest and on this occasion I was able to beat it up without getting too low on HPs.
The session was virtually over at that point though and, rather than rush things again and get into trouble like last time, I saved the game there.
Wizard Slayer L7, 83 HPs, 197 kills
Tens (male half-elf cleric/ranger, Grond0); Nearv (male dwarf assassin, Gate70)
Previous updates
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1110591/#Comment_1110591
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1110957/#Comment_1110957
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1111665/#Comment_1111665
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1111826/#Comment_1111826
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1112026/#Comment_1112026
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1112129/#Comment_1112129
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1113016/#Comment_1113016
We've got a bit of a bad habit of dodgy starts leading to disasters in the first few minutes. Perhaps fortunately, today's mistake only saw Tens sell his plate armor in the mistaken belief that was a spare set. In theory of course almost 200k gold should have been enough to buy it back, but Tens felt he'd make do with studded leather rather than splash out to that extent
The first action saw a trip to Trademeet, where backstabs and a couple of skeletons saw off the local genies. At the Grove, Tens reduced AC made its effects known. Where he would normally have stood and fought trolls, he was tending to run around a lot more - which meant Nearv also had to do far more running to try and get into stealth for his backstabs. Taking pity on his tired companion, Tens agreed to bring out a full posse of skeletons to clear the Troll Mound itself.
Moving on through the Grove, all but one of a group of druids were silenced - making combat with them nice and easy.
Back in Trademeet, Tens double-checked he already had a lesser restoration memorized before going to do a good deed for Tiris. A bit of sneaking around enabled the news to be shared around without alerting Rasaad to the chance of bothering busy adventurers.
The last of the major areas to be tackled was the Planar Prison. Nearv tried to backstab the bounty hunter mage there before he cast true sight, but didn't manage that. Meanwhile, Tens had buffed more heavily than usual and was tearing through the other bounty hunters. Things could have been nasty when the mage sent a Finger of Death after Tens - but he'd included death ward in his buffs.
Tens had recently got access to 7th level spells and a first use of firestorm proved to be too hot for the yuan-ti mages to handle.
Nearv was keen to acquire the Staff of the Magi, in order to be able to disappear immediately after his backstabs. That wouldn't be a problem if we used a foolproof method of dealing with the Twisted Rune. On the other hand it could be a major problem if we didn't
Before heading for Spellhold, Nearv noted he still had a key in his inventory. The first two rooms of the illithid went reasonably smoothly. There was a bonus in the second room when Tens threw in a fire storm intended to kill the umber hulks - he found though that, while standard mind flayers were immune to fire (as he had expected) the Ulitharids, surprisingly, were not.
After collecting a few items from storage, we reported into Gaelan Bayle to get on a long-delayed ship to Brynnlaw. We didn't do much there though - a backstab ensuring we didn't have to listen to any more mad musings from Perth.
Tens, cleric 14 / ranger 13, 124 HPs (incl. 5 from helm), 515 kills (+195 in BG1)
Nearv, assassin 23, 93 HPs, 325 kills (+158 in BG1), 4 deaths
The first encounter of the day was almost the last - Michio switching from thrown daggers to a melee equivalent and still barely surviving the opportunistic attack from Greywolf - the additional 4 damage from having a ranged weapon equipped would have been fatal.
It was time to stop messing around and sort out Nashkel mine. Michio was careful to keep Kagain at the head of the party so everybody else was protected from kobold arrows. The tactic worked well and we were soon casting Silence at a half-orc cleric called Mulahey. He failed his save and never regained his voice.
Four amazons were waiting for us outside, and as soon as Lamahla failed her saving throw against Silence we attacked. Viconia adds to her combat-winner strategy by holding two of them.
Chapter 5 journal, and party equipment:
Difficulty: Core
Mods: None
After a few false starts where I solo, then want to play with companions, then get tired of companions and start over to play solo again.
Character sheet
I do all the quests in Candlekeep, then kill Xzar, Montaron, and Imoen for their starting items.
Shoal is blinded and killed for levels 2 and 3. I retrieve Mad Arcand's ring and kill some nearby ogres for level 4.
Algernon is my first stop after Marl, dropping reputation to 6, but I turn in Firebead's book for the Scroll Case and visit the temple to bring it back up to 9.
I pick up a Sling +1 and some Bullets +1 then head back to High Hedge, where the second flesh golem gets me to level 5. I pick up a Potion Case and a Potion of Mirrored Eyes while there.
Back in Beregost, I blind and kill Karlat. Silke is charmed to kill Neera for her Gem Bag and then assists me with some spiders before being killed herself.
Mutamin's Garden is next, where Korax helps me reach level 6. Korax paralyzes Mutamin but afterword takes some hits by tazlois. Because of this early damage, he falls to the final lesser basilisk, so I drink my PoME and finish it off. I charm Kirian's party one at a time and drag them off to be blinded and killed. Kirian saves against blind twice, so I waste her spells before killing her.
I head north next, blinding Tarnesh and charming Jaheira, who is killed by hobgoblins for her Potion of Invisibility. Dushai is killed for her ring, dropping reputation to 6, then a combination of Joia's ring and temple donations are used to bring reputation back up to 12. I work on clearing the important bits of the map and hit level 7 turning in Bjornin's half-ogres on my progress to 20 reputation.
I pick up the Greenstone Amulet, Wand of the Heavens, Cloak of Displacement, and Sandthief's Ring. The WotH is used on vampiric wolves near Beregost and then the battle horrors and doom guard at Durlag's Tower. The Protection from Petrification scroll from the Carnival is used to clear out the basilisks on the roof, and then a ghast is killed to bump me to the level cap at 8.
I start the critical path, mostly stealthing through the mines, where Mulahey is blinded. He calls for help after being attacked, so I clear his minions and then kill him. Nimbul is charmed and blinded. As is Tranzig. And Taurgosz. Taurgosz is a bit of a misplay, as even killing him at the edge of the map turns the bandits hostile. I use The One Gift Lost to kill groups of minor bandits and charm and blind to clear the tent.
I stealth through most of the Cloakwood, although I do clear the spiders in Cloakwood 2, which brings me to 161k experience. Charm and blind are used to kill Drasus and Genthore, with TOGL use to kill the mages. I stealth through the mines and use TOGL to weaken Davaeorn and his battle horrors. I get to one charge, and instead of consuming the item, use the WotH to kill the remaining battle horror. I use a Sandthief's Ring charge and detect illusion to remove Davaeorn's mirror images and then cut him down.
I do some quests in Baldur's Gate but don't get any screenshots. TOGL charges are used on the upper level of the Iron Throne. TOGL charges are used on the Iron Throne leadership in Candlekeep. I stealth out to identify their items and sell them at to Winthrop before turning myself in. A potion is used in conjunction with DUHM (I received all Good Bhaal powers) to retrieve the final tomes. Prat initiates dialogue after a charm fails, but I manage to get out of sight to rest and eventually charm him. He falls quickly to his party. Sakul and Tam are charmed one by one and fall to Bor. A Greenstone Amulet charge is used to kill Bor.
Back in Baldur's Gate, I kill Tamoko and Cythandria and use Larze and Quenash to assist with Slythe and Kristin. Larze tanks Slythe, and Kristin mostly kills herself with Cloud Kill. I have around 70k gold and recharge all of my consumables and buy plenty of potions and scrolls. The noblemen are charmed and separated at the Ducal Palace, and the fight go smoothly. I stealth through the Thieve's Maze and use TOGL to kill the Undercity party. The lightning trap is used to take care of Sarevok.
Character sheet at the start of SoD. Proficiencies are in Scimitar, Dart, Sling, and Single-Weapon Style.