Adamant, Half-Elf Fighter/Mage, BG1EE Update 7 Previous update found here Next update found here
A very short update, but we've cleared one of the few remaining major hurdles.
First, the party proceeded to clear out what was left in Baldur's Gate. Not much to report.
Afterwards, I went against my intended order of things and cleared the Lighthouse area. +1 CON for Adamant may (probably not, but still) be the difference between life and death, after all. Lots of Web and Ajantis with Spider's Bane meant no sirine could do much.
After the Lighthouse, we return to Baldur's Gate. The party prepared carefully before assaulting the Iron Throne Tower. Adamant spent his precious few slots on defenses (Shield/PfE/Mirror Image/Minor Spell Deflection/Protection from Fire), and our other casters went with mostly buffs and summons (Haste for Imoen being a key pick).
Of course, carving our way to the top floor took all of five minutes. Before ascending the final flight of stairs, however, we turned the entire party invisible (apart from Branwen: As we only have 6 2nd level Mage slots in total, and one was occupied by Mirror Image for Adamant, Branwen Sanctuaried herself). The entire party then snuck past Sarevok's acolytes and took up position in the room at the bottom of the map.
I had intended to do the usual send-summons-at-them-til-they're-down-to-L1-spells schtick. But, given that we actually have two very strong party members (Adamant and Khalid... Ajantis, bless him, is just not that dangerous to anyone) I opted instead to send only a single wave of summons at the enemy to absorb their most potent initial spells, and then simply do a buffed, all-out charge. We send out a poor Ogrillion and equally poor Worg to bear the initial brunt of horrible spells. We then rather sheepishly wait for the enemy buffs to expire, and more importantly, for them to re-arrange themselves. Once that is done with, Adamant and Ajantis quaff a number of potions (nothing spectacular: Hill Giant Strength, Heroism, Magic Protection), we apply Chant/Remove Fear/Bless/Haste, and it's fightin' time!
This is what makes this fight rather difficult: LoS issues. If you go straight up the stairs, you have the pillars blocking LoS. If you sneak to the bottom room and attack from there, you have enemies ducking in and out of the side rooms. It's difficult to fight optimally. Despite this, Adamant goes on an absolute rampage. One of the two clerics (can't recall which one), the Doppleganger and one of the Shennara's soon falls to his hasted Longsword attacks. Meanwhile, Khalid does a good job interrupting the enemy Mages with his Acid Arrows. Zhalimar and Gardush are kept occupied by Ajantis. Branwen, Imoen and Jaheira don't really contribute much other than occasionally dropping a Summoning spell/Wand charge. Eventually, Zhalimar and Gardush are too much damage for Ajantis to contain. Ajantis pops off into a side room to heal up. By then, however, Adamant has finished off another caster (Alai and Namaan remain). Zhalimar and Gardush are still in decent health, but they're easily kept at bay by a wall of summons from the Wand of Monster Summoning (though Branwen has to quaff an Invisibility Potion, as she was in danger of falling to an arrow from Zhalimar). Khalid also eventually brings Alai down with his very nasty arrows.
As you can see, Namaan managed to charm Ajantis. It matters little; soon after, Zhalimar breathes his last at the hands of Khalid, and Naaman likewise is summarily dispatched.
The party merrily gathers up the loot (none of which really matters much anymore, though Minor Sequencer will be a nice addition once Adamant can cast L4 spells), and departs.
No more levels this time around, but at least there's precious few potentially dangerous fights left (Prat if he decides to go Lightning Bolt-crazy, Ice Island (I'll probably blow a Scroll of PfM here and just have Adamant handle everything after invisible Imoen detraps the place) the Palace fight, and of course Sarevok). We should be able to pull this off, unless something totally unexpected occurs.
Tristan and Isolde tried to kill me, but I returned the compliment and succeeded where they failed.
Necardian did the same with the same result.
Upon facing his cohorts, I must admit that I panicked, fortunately late in the battle.
As a result of my panic, it was not just Phallen Nightsbane that was out to kill me. Wolves were too! However the spell ran its course and I at last prevailed.
In Cloakwood I killed some hostile druids who were taking their job too seriously.
A bit further on, other druids wanted me to kill a dragon which I did.
I also killed Centeol and his accomplices. Miranda the witch then attacked me along with her pet bears. All died as did her druid allies.
In transit, I killed some wyvern as well as some in a cave.
Finally I reached the Cloakwood mines and took on some powerful enemies. I prevailed.
As I penetraded the mine, I killed Hareishan and those guarding her.
Natasha met the same fate.
Later, I killed an ogre/mage despite being confused.
Further down, I got into conflict with Dark Silvia and Morgan, both of whom ended up dead.
Eventually I managed to kill Davaeorn.
Others were also killed without much difficulty. On the way out of the mines Wendall also attacked and I was forced to kill him too.
On the way back to the temple to claim my reward for killing the wyverns, I called in at the Friendly Arms Inn to rest. There I was accosted by Najara and her friends who attacked me. I was aware that they were misguided rather than evil. It therefore grieved me greatly to kill them.
Upon trying to enter Baldur's Gate, more assassins tried to kill me.
Even when I had entered I was not safe, for larze tried and failed to end my life.
In another building Joular and Maka tried to kill me. They also failed. I am slowly but surely beginning to feel confident in facing enemies. I just hope that I will never meet too many at the same time.
In another building Drellik and Jardak attempted and failed to kill me. I felt a little guilty about that, but they wouldn't listen to my side of the story.
In another building, I was forced to kill Ragefast.
Whilst killing Marek who had poisoned me, he cast a spell which caused me to kill many innocents to the extent that my reputation fell to 2. One cannot fall much more than that! I then spent a lot of time an gold getting back my reputation with men. Sadly that was not enough to appease the gods, so I am still fallen. North of Nashkel I rescued a gnome from some lady Ogres; I rescued Samuel from the Flaming Fist; I rescued a cow from xvarts; gave a lot of gold to temples and suchlike. I discovered that the Iron Throne leaders were at Candlekeep, and so I went there.
I went to Candlekeep and ended up in a secret area where I killed Pratt and co., some medusae, and Diarmid before I escaped.
I returned to the Iron Throne but ended up getting confused. Despite that I was still able to kill Ughh. I then waited for the spell to wear off before killing Cythandra.
I then went in search of Slythe and Krystin and was successful.
At the Ducal palace, I healed Belt to ensure that he survived. Shortly afterwards Sarevok fled.
South of the FAI, I met Davenport who I killed.
I then had to kill his allies.
I then raided the Section HQ in Beregost.
I then went after Sarevok:
Getting through to the Ducal palace again was then not too difficult. Now in Dragonspear. As you can see, I have picked up some friends. I still need a cleric though.
@Wise_Grimwald Yes, a cleric would be good. Everything is better with more cleric. A cleric/thief, even better. I'm sure you'll find someone to fill that slot.
Lately I've been trying many no-reloads, to no avail. I've been holding off on reporting them, in part due to the immense volume of posts here (no sense me adding to the crowd with my inane adventures if they don't go nowhere), but mostly because the runs weren't very good.
By this point I no longer even think of posting anything until I defeat Davaeorn and reach baldur's gate. Though I still dutifully take scrnshots and think up stories because it makes the game more fun, even if such things never get shared.
Very recently, I managed to take a Monk to the battle with Sarevok at the ducal palace, only to be cut down by the big man himself. I had almost believed I was going to win, when in the home stretch complacency set in, attention waned, I failed to keep my eye on the most important person of all, the one who could never die. Ouch.
After that I tried a few more times with fighters, druids and the like, but more often than not ended up dying early in the game. The Sluckers Charname graveyard is full indeed, I'm sad to say. Many have come and gone. The most recent attempt with a totemic druid was an extremely frustrating defeat, since I was taken out by Neera while trying to save... Neera.
I hate that woman. I really do.
So I went looking for a more specialized and--many would say--more durable character. I decided to go back to playing a cleric thief. One of the best classes, I think, second only to a dart throwing unkitted fighter. Definitely better than a sissy mage (that I suck at playing them doesn't help any...).
The Adventures of Able Fox
Our diminutive heroine begins the game like all others. Alone, hunted and down in the dumps. Luckily Imoen arrives to cheer her up. Able sends her away. Thanks for the potions, Immy!
She also decides not to follow Gorion's advice. We get as far as the front gate, only to decide that, no, let's not go to the friendly arm inn. 'Tis a silly place.
Plus, if the assassins knew where to ambush her with Gorion, they most certainly know where his friends are and would try to intercept.
Able takes a chance and vanishes into the wilderness. I like to think that she follows Tymora, that luck is on her side and 'fortune favours the bold' and all that jazz. I want her to live as much as she does. Tymora's not a gnomish god, but then Able didn't grow up around gnomes, so it's okay. I was never keen on lore rules.
Early in her travels, Able teaches Thalantyr a lesson in customer service, showing him that retirees make better greeters than flesh golems, then rescues his apprentice, bringing her three levels to both her thief and cleric halves.
Because she felt Gorion's original plan to travel north had been compromised, Able deliberately moved south, hoping it might help throw off the scent. Through her travels she gathered a team of like minded individuals, useful tools and trusted allies: A drow cleric also facing the grim spectre of death, a stalwart cleric of Tempus who had been trapped in stone, and a gnome cleric/illusionist found wandering the Nashkel carnival grounds who just 'happened' to be traveling in the same direction.
Along the way, Able clears the badlands of bassilisks, alerted to the area after taking an interest in an abandoned house south of Beregost and inquiring in-town. Finding the young woman who'd gone missing was almost cathartic. If someone can be lost in stone in the middle of a desert surrounded by terryfing lizards, then maybe there was hope for her as well. Rescuing others serves to boost her own hopes as much as it is about simply doing good and not being a douche. The world has to many jerks, no sense joining them.
Alas, Able enounters more assassins further south. She was certainly between a rock and a hard place, and the rock was telling her 'no hiding place'.
Fair enough then. Luck be on her side. No problem ever got solved by doing nothing, so after speaking with the mayor of Nashkel the team ventured into the Nashkel mines. If there was to be no safety in hiding, Able and friends were going to carve a slice of peace and quiet out of the Sword Coast for themselves. This called for some detective work.
Mostly this involved lots of fighting, rolling the dice and hoping for the best.
After learning the location of the bandit camp from Tranzig, Able and Co. take a break. As her old Kook Sul Won dojo-master used to tell her 'We need more practice'. The team explores the wilderness to the east and west of Nashkel, then travel up the coast, fighting many monsters, saving dryads and damsels in distress, saving a kid in the lighthouse, returning Brage so that he could seek atonement. We do all the usuals and check all the boxes. Able even kills a fearsome undead revenent with repeated clubstabs from the shadows (something to tell the kids). By the end of it the party reaches a solid mid-level strength, and Able reads a Tome of Constitution just before reaching levels 6/6.
A most welcome boost to her survivability; it better be. The darn tome took enough just to get. All of the party's magical sling ammo was expended in retrieving it. Several charges of monster summoning were used to form a screen and keep the Sirines in melee, while Able and Co. pelted them with rocks. Though the tough fight was not without a lucky side-benefit. Though the Sirine's invisibility stymied Quayle's attempts to target them with his spells, the Wand of Missiles has no problem with it. Very useful for disrupting charm spells.
Not that being charmed by a sirine would be a bad thing, probably, maybe...
Things are looking up.
Next, on a very special episode of 'Able Fox and Friends': The Bandit Camp, Cloakwood Forest, Faldorn and Davaeorn. And BEARS. So many bears...
After some team building and tactics training, Able and. Co. are ready for an attack on the bandit camp. Able sneaks around in the shadows and backstabs a few bandits while probing the perimeter. Eventually the bandits get wise and raise the alarm. Before long the entire bandit army is chasing her down, but Able is ready and retreats to the safety of her team, who unleash a combination of web (to collect the bandits into a bunch) and holy smite (carpet bombing cleric-style).
When most of the bandits are slain and the survivors dispersed, our party of divine warriors hunt them down. Quayle, Viconia and Branwen attract enemies with sling and mace, while Able flanks under the cover of shadows for a killing blow clubstab.
From Ender Sai Able gets her next clue, linking the iron/bandit crisis to the Iron Throne, while the trickle of captured correspondence looted from the bandit leaders and their tents again provide hints as to the source of the assassination attempts. Things get personal.
Their next trip takes them to Ulgoth's Beard to purchase a wand of the Heavens and some other magical items to make the team more survival, then it's off to the dreaded cloakwood, but the sticky situation so often encountered in Cloakwood 2 is deftly overcome by the unique talents of a cleric/thief.
Able and Co. survive two ambushes from mercenary parties sent in retaliation for the party's incursion at Nashkel. Command, Hold Person and a centrally located cleric casting Chant to buff/debuff are key. Both attacked are stopped through co-ordinated spell and wand power.
The party is joined by Faldorn while traversing the cloakwood. She's a bit crazy, but who isn't? Her unique druid spells are a major boost to the party's power, and her ability to use darts fills a weapon-type and APR gap that an all cleric party suffers from. Her call lightning ability and summon dreadwolf powers also bolster the party's skeleton ranks and add a needed 'oomph' for tackling hard targets, which give our high-thaco party trouble.
At the mine, Able cloaks herself and moves ahead to scout, finding only two guards at the gate who are easily dispatched. Her reconnaissance, however, reveals that a powerful mage/fighter team is awaiting them. Their spells and heavy armour pose a serious challenge. Thankfully, Quayle is carrying a scroll of stinking cloud in his scroll case, and stands ready with blindness spells to help our enemies become more 'hittable'.
Otherwise, Able and Co. continue to use Command and Hold Person to powerful effect, and it works here.
Able whimsically thinks herself the 'Dreaded Diminutive Death Dealer' of the cloakwood mines. A real terror. It feels good to pay her would-be killers back in kind, to make them feel the same fear to which she has been subjected. She skulks about under the cover of shadows, allowing the party to remain one step ahead of each bandit group lying in wait along their path of entry.
On the first level down, Viconia and Branwen raise a skeleton army while Able and Quayle soften the enemy with holy smite and wand-fire. Once the tight grouping was throughly horrified, the skeletons charged in, followed by the party. Hareishan was spell struck, then paralysed. A valuable scroll of Haste was found on her person.
The whole party then went invisible, using some of the many potions of invisibility found from previously encountered fallen enemies. They spend some time resting in a less-travelled corner of the mine, then make their way down to the bottom unseen and unopposed, arriving on Davaeorn's doorstep fresh and ready to fight.
The narrow hallways of the mine proved a challenge the whole way down, reducing Able's ability to maneuver. At the same time, a dungeon is a clubstabbing thief's dream. When Able finds a narrow hall leading directly to Davaeorn she recognizes it as a deadly checkpoint. To avoid getting jammed, she plans to get out of that line as fast as possible, yet also use the corners to her advantage.
Scouting ahead into Davaeorn's chamber, she comes up with a plan. Branwen and Viconia raise skeletons to block the exit through which the party had entered. Able decides to lead the squishier partymates out the northwest branch of the hall and into the room beyond, where they can sneak around into the back of Davaeorn's chamber; Yeslick and Branwen, our beefier fighters, will charge in through the front. The idea is to catch the evil wizard in a vice and hopefully blind him or afflict him with an insect swarm before he can get away.
Hasted, the party successfully evades a clever web/stinking cloud trigger from the evil wizard, breaking into two groups to cover both halls, but Davaeorn is nothing if not wily. Branwen gets temporarily held by the web, just as she was on the edge, but Yeslick plows through, attracting the attention of Davaeorn and both battle horrors. He easily tanks against his enemies while Able flanks from behind and unleashes her spells. Unfortunately, Davaeorn manages to get away and save against the party's disablers. This leaves Able and Co. to deal with a pair of battle horrors, but the fearsome opponents are not invincible. With davaeorn temporarily away, Able is free to focus her full arsenal against them, and they are taken down.
Able's seemingly charmed run continues. Out of sheer luck Davaeorn chooses to teleport near to the original entrance, only to find himself blocked by a fearsome dread wolf and 3 skeleton warriors. Perhaps he was surprised, though the laughter in the message bar suggests he's just manically evil and uncaring towards his own goons, or maybe lady Tymora really is smiling upon Able, because in fighting the skeletons he manages to spend most of his powerful spells... and kill every single one of the men sent down to reinforce his position. How's that for gratitude. It must really suck to be a henchman.
Neither I or Able could hold back a slight giggle at this fortunate twist.
When the web/stinking cloud finally cleared, the party attacked Northeast to meet Davaeorn in combat. He was alone and undefended, and as one the entire party brought every spell to bear on him. Having foolishly killed all of his redshirts, Davaeorn was unable to defend himself against the withering assault.
Yes, that is correct. Mustard Jellies do in fact have a 'backside'. Bit of an issue to find since they look the same from all angles, but not impossible. Able easily hit-and-runs the mustard jelly to death, saving our low-APR party from having to face it in close combat, where it's slow and poison can be deadly.
Yeslick is welcomed as a permanent member of the party, and together they avenge his clan by flooding the mine. Able takes another step closer on the path to uncovering the mystery of Gorion's murder and the following attempts on her life. She leaves the cloakwood far better than she found it.
And at last, she crosses the re-opened Wyrm's Crossing bridge, and enters Baldur's Gate.
Ah, Baldur's Gate. City of splendor... and bar fights. Is there a more fantastic locale? There are more drunken brawls in Baldur's Gate's thumb than in all of Athkatla. It is and always will be my favourite setting in the whole saga. Able meets many new and interesting people. Some, like Gorpel Hind, become friends. She finds allies and a place to call her own within the Baldur's Gate thieving guild. Able even finds a Husbando in Narlen Darkwalker and a waifu in Silence. But other people are dangerous and cunning foes, always lurking behind darkened corners, and as always there are so many of them... and so few of us. Yet she pulls through, overcoming all challenges, continuing her luck-charmed existence to the wry enjoyment of Tymora.
Though she almost didn't. We came very close to death at one point. VERY CLOSE.
One of the first places she visited within the city was Sorcerous Sundries. There, on the top floor, she encountered a group of Zhentarim mages. After attempting to explain to them the concept of public space, they turned on her.
In the resulting battle that lasted little over one round, Able nearly died, reduced to 3HP. That was it. 3HP and a Chant spell was all that stood in the way of utter and painful defeat.
I don't know how it happened. I didn't actually see it, only heard Able cry out in pain: "I... I am wounded!"
I was focused on other things at the time, directing other partymates, and watching the Zhentish mages melt amid columns of fire from the 5 new wands of Heaven we had just bought.
What the hell just happened?
I was quick on the pause button, tapping it reflexively as soon as I heard the warning. When I panned back up to bring the party's formation into full view, there was Capable Able in the back row, safely (I had assumed) blocked from combat by Branwen and Yeslick. The last pixelated vestiges of a fireball animation glowed among our troops.
No fireball spell, no thrown potion, no indication whatsoever of the damage source was in the combat log. But the game was telling me the damage came from Neiman, the lead mage. I had been watching the guy the whole time, too, and I never noticed him shoot anything off. One moment he was there, and the next he was melting. Then suddenly, BOOM, and Able was near death.
I thought I had taken a screenshot, after all it was a pretty shocking event, but apparently I had been too concerned with damage control to think of it. I have never completed a no-reload of ANYTHING before, and personally I'm beginning to think that if I don't win one soon I'm going to give up altogether. I've tossed away too many likeable characters in the pursuit of this goal, only to have the game give me the proverbial middle finger each time. #!&% you, Neera.
What really got to me was the amount of damage Able suffered. Most of the other party mates were fine, none losing more than a quarter or third of their hitpoints, yet Able's portrait almost entirely red. 33 of 36HP gone in an instant. Why? Not the fireball (not exactly), that's for sure. It rarely causes such catastrophic damage. Nope, it was my own mistake.
I had mistakenly forgotten to unequip the belt of Antipode, a girdle I normally use only in the Forest of Sharp Teeth and the Cloakwood mine to help handle the Blacktalon Elite. Outside of those two zones, using it feels like paying with matches. However this time I had forgotten to take it off, meaning that Able still had a 30% vulnerability to Fire even after Resist Fire/Cold and Batalista's Passport.
Ended up selling that cursed, thrice blasted belt.
So Able got lucky. I got lucky. And I guess all of you folks, too, got lucky because now you get to suffer more of my ramblings and inane gameplay. It's not over yet, suckahs!
So enjoy more Able Adventures!
Anyhow, after arriving in Baldur's Gate Able quickly makes a name for herself and the team, completing the major Scar quests, joining the thieve's guild, working some magic both thief-wise and cleric-wise, sucking the monkey a keg a piece tavern-wise, and all around enjoying things as the party hits its stride. That close encounter with Neiman's fireball makes her nothing if not wiser, and by the end of the forthcoming events she is rocking 20 wisdom and a nice assortment of bonus spells.
Things are looking up. Able and I are so close now, we can taste it. We're salivating. Soon it will be over, one way or another. All we need is optimism.
Within a few days Able and Co. gain a great amount of XP and solidify their fighting tactics to great effect. I feel that the following collection of screenshots adequately illustrates the course of events and how the use of each party member has developed.
Branwen and Viconia make great skeletons and are the major offensive spellcasters. Quayle does the magery and wand tricks. Faldorn is our anti-spell caster, using darts and insects both. Yeslick and Able are dynamite together, able to take most foes. Able makes as effective a fighter as Yeslick, sometimes, doing oodles and oodles of damage with her clubstabs once the enemy's back is turned.
I really really like the cleric/thief. Versatile, situationally powerful (and therefore meaningfully powerful) and almost no 'Meh...' factor to speak of. This is one of the most enjoyable runs I've had in a while.
And it gets better.
Of course, once our Lucky Thief has plundered most of the XP riches of the city, and completed the Scar sidequests, only one thing remains before moving forward. The battle to end all battles. One of my favourite encounters in the whole series.
The set up to this battle can be difficult, as neither set of stairs provides an advantageous entry. This time I decide to change that. Able enters under cover of Sanctuary and Hide in Shadows, then unleashes a walloping clubstab on one of Sarevok's pansy mages. A brief conversation ensues, taunts are traded, then Able vanishes once more into the darkness. Sarevok's acolytes cluster together near the western staircase, bracing for another attack. This allows the party unimpeded entry up the eastern stairs, and a good set up for unleashing some good old clerical carpet bombing. We start off with silence to try an mitigate some of the considerable spell power arrayed against us. Then take advantage of the enemy's tight formation before it dissipates into the chaos of battle. Suddenly, a wild Girl-Shennara appears! Quayle gets backstabbed and one shotted (view partially obscured by one of the columns). It's always a bit hairy without mirror image, and this battle (along with the Amazon ambush) is a really important time to use it, but I was trying to keep the flame lit under the acolyte's asses, pouring as many offensive spells onto the fire as possible. It ends up costing us. Oh dear! Then Faldorn wanders into melee with Gardush after running out of darts. A lapse on my part, another one that costs us. We lose our access to poison-disruption. Many of the spellcasters had been hampered by this point and I was trying my hand at stunning Gardush in an effort to reduce some of the brutal damage Sarevok's melee fighters can dish out. An ambarrassing mistake. #!%& you, Neera. The a wild Male-Shennara appears, one-shotting Viconia. It was a really nasty surprise. I was not happy. I was actually kind of pissed off by this point. Thieves can be really hard to deal with in BG1 with only 'Detect Invis.' at your disposal, since it only goes off once and a thief can easily hide and repeat-backstab you in the time it takes to cast the darn spell.
As you can see, Branwen was using her low AC to keep Cloudewolfe or what's-his-name's arrows out of Abel's softly armoured body, but had to pull back momentarily after suffering the first hit that more than halves her HPs. Thinking on the fly, I decide that a hasted, fire-breathing Branwen may provide a solution to a difficult-to-find backstabbing thieve with what seems like 37 invisibility potions in his inventory. By this point, I'm pretty sure I was screaming 'I tired of these mother#!$%ing thieves in this mother!#$%ing tower!' at the screen. Turns out shouting at computers does produce results. Irritation and malice gave me just enough focus to quickly swing Branwen around and end that pissy thief's life. Take that, you %$!#. Oh ya, and %$@& you, Neera. Yeslick and Able, the dynamic duo for taking out hard targets. Once Branwen's Holy Might wears off, Yeslick and Able are really the only ones with the thaco (or HiS bonuses) capable of hitting full plated opponents. Yowsers!!! The man has some fight left in him, yet! Namaan tries impotently to disable Ms. Fox, not realizing that she had been to Ulgoth's Beard and purchased the greenstone amulet. She had seen a billboard in the bassilisk area a while back on which a Totemic Druid named Yahiko was personally recommending it as 'Yahiko's Choice!!'. ( this has literally become what the greenstone amulet is to me, since @JuliusBorisov 's 'Tale of the Totemic Druid' is from where I discovered that this item even existed. I also have trouble using Melf's Acid Arrow without silently adding '...and Drain Declogger' in my head. I know, weird). Nice try, Namaan. And @#%& you, Neera. Able tells Namaan that the tower is a no-spell zone. Welcome to Athkatla! Rock beats mage.
With Namaan defeated, it is Yeslick and Able, ironically, who are the ones 'standing tall' in victory on the battle field. What an eventful battle.
After looting the tower for evidence, Duke Eltan sends Able and Co. to Candlekeep, where she is faced with the sobering truth that her chldhood home is no longer the haven it once was. Many are not what they seem, and Sarevok's assassins continue to follow in her tracks. After being framed for the murder of the Iron Throne leaders, Able fights her way out of the catacombs and back into the sunlight.
With it's haunting chant-filled score, the return to Candlekeep is a dramatic change of pace in the BG plotline, especially as it comes so soon after the height of the tower battle. It is a potent nadir under the spectre of the gathering darkness, an example of shattered hopes for safety, a lost childhood, betrayal and hard labour which our gnomish heroine must simply endure. The world she knew is gone. Only Tymora be with her now. Luck and optimism are all she has left, with eyes lifted ever to the horizon, straining to see a promised-for dawn perpetually out of reach. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming... we can do this. Able Fox will survive, darnit!
This could be my first no-reload. See my hands flattened together in prayer? Come on, Baldur's Gate... you owe me after some of the crap you've pulled in the past.
Able turns inland, intending to find her way back to Baldur's Gate without taking the main road. In order to get there she passes by Durlag's tower, backstabs some battle horrors for XP and retrieves the last wisdom tome. After that the team stops in Ulgoth's Beard before the final push for Baldur's Gate... and get sidelined.
A short session still saw decent progress and the dwarven duo have now done all they intend in and around Athkatla for the time being.
The first item on the agenda was to finish off their travels in the Planar Sphere. They were left last time about to grab a demon heart and that took only a few seconds.
Tolgerias survived an invisible attack and managed to catch Juto with a PW:stun, but Calis had too many HPs when he tried that again and soon took revenge.
There were then no further problems guiding the Sphere back to Athkatla.
In the mood for more planar travelling the next stop was the Planar Prison. Entering that invisibly allowed the Bounty Hunter mage to be cut down before he could buff. A few yuan-ti mages were shot down with ice arrows on the way round to the Master of Thralls - who would have needed far more HPs to survive a Gaxx-hasted assault from Calis. The Warden did little better - failing to complete his buffs when attacked.
Deciding it was about time to turn on their own kind, Mencar's group was killed to get another invisibility ring. Tarnor's party did no better - once more an invisible assault on a mage resulting in a stoneskin appearing on a dead body, leaving the rest pretty helpless.
The nearby illithid were generally pretty easy - pulling them out to be hacked down one or two at a time. However, Juto stayed too close to 2 of them at one point and when both hit at once he was only able to go 'uuuugh' as his intelligence disappeared.
The major challenge of the session was the Unseeing Eye quest. On the way Juto pulled back some undead and then the lich - that died quicker than expected, I think from Azuredge (though there was no 'destroy undead' note on the text).
The large group of beholders in the hive was a concern though as they could quite quickly kill Calis by magic draining, despite the partial protection from his belt. After umming and aahing for a while about whether to retreat in search of the Shield of Balduran the duo did manage to kill a few of them by sniping around the edges before a melee assault to finish things off.
The Unseeing Eye itself was then soon closed.
Now on the verge of acquiring HLAs the duo will be off to Spellhold next.
Calis, fighter 19, 143 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 582 kills (+177 in BG1) Juto, barbarian 19, 161 HPs, 443 kills (+196 in BG1), 7 deaths
Just a brief update, as Christmas and board games have made me busy Whitworth has completed various minor quests, the Temple Ruins, and has paid the Shadow Thieves. Currently he's level 12. One or two deaths have occured due to hold effects in mobs but in general there have been no more close calls. We will probably head to Trademeet next, and then I shall have to consider whether to take on Windspear Hills (when I have an anti-vampire plan) or possibly some easier mod content such as Trollford from The Darkest Day.
The Trio made progress this session and without a party death - we know how Grond0 is disappointed about that.
One of the first things we did was get Officer Dirth's full plate. Gremlin's traps made sure he wouldn't last long.
Then we went to Watcher's Keep to trigger the Suna Sune ambush. A Gremlin thrown trap once again made short work of the enemies. Corsen used the Arbane so he'd have a magical weapon that he is proficient with.
The Trio thought Watcher's Keep should be straightfoward. It was - almost. The party had cleared everything but the statues, but all Corsen needed was 4000 experience to unlock his fighter abilities. We laid lots of traps around the two statues closest to the entrance to the next level and triggered only them by removing the book.
Turned out we had the fight of our lives. Vorgan was insufficient as a tank and was gulping just massive heal potions. Corsen had to use an invis potion to save himself as well. Eventually though, Corsen used a haste potion and was able to backstab the sword and shield guy dead. Vorgan wasn't making much progress on the halberd statue, so instead Vorgan stayed out of the way while the thieves backstabbed the halberd statue into oblivion.
Watcher's Keep used a ton of time. We had time to get the horn of Valhallla and solve the skinner murders We also took out Mencar's gang for his full plate. Traps and lots of backstabs made sure they weren't winning. With full plate now we can face the Rune Assassins guarding Reijek's escape. True Seeing by Vorgan also made the assassins easier. Corsen had used his enrage to be immune to the ghasts' hold.
We had just enough time to take on Dracandros gang. The mage didn't last long, in part to a thrown trap as well firebreath potion used on him and a simple melee hit by Corsen. Vorgan's true seeing hurt the mage too with no mirrors to help him. The party was hurt but victorious.
Out of time so rested and saved here. Oh we did get into a vampire ambush very early, and hardly anyone had any weapons to hurt it, but Gremlin ran around A LOT and eventually Vorgan's Lilacor got the job done.
This is the end. Well, it WAS the end of this run. I haven't played since the 23rd so hopefully I've remembered all the details correctly.
So where were we...
After losing most of her old friends in Candlekeep and being framed with Rieltar's murder, Able flees a wanted gnome. In trying to take the back route to Baldur's Gate she and the team, as you know, get sidelined.
Able and Co. find themselves lost in a polar pole-of-isolation with a bunch of insane mages. It's not nearly as fun as it sounds. By this point in the game whenever a mage begins to chant an invocation spell, you can pretty much be certain what it is. Sunfire. It's always sunfire. Sunfire hurts us. We hateses it.
And all you can do, most of the time, is frown and watch one or more of your team get smoked by it. Because there's not enough room to get away, or they're not fast enough to run, or because there's a trap this way or that and you can't go there. Or maybe your aura is clouded and you can't chug that potion of fire resistance in time.
Death stalks us all. Quayle cries out, reflecting on the cruelty of life and man's machinations. What is it all for, he wonders? Does death have no meaning, or is it just senseless pain?
Don't worry. We'll just fix it when we next visit a doctor. Few things can make someone feel more disposable than the knowledge that resurrection costs a pittance at temple. The cruel overseer with their baffling mouse magic can do whatever they want to you without consequence, right? Oh.... what a cruel world.
Luckily I had prepared Able to absorb whatever I thought the mages and traps would be dishing out.
And of course Shandalar is all very blaise about the whole thing. #$%&ing mages...
Anyway, Able manages to backstab through the final few mages and get her ass back to Baldur's Gate. We hit up the shop of silence, buy some more stunning darts and meet up with what contacts remain to us... which isn't much. Sarevok has been busy during Able's absence by slaughtering just about everyone who matters. She arrives just in time to save Duke Eltan, her last ally.
The rest of the plot progresses quickly. After the return to Candlekeep there are few encounters left. Able tracks down Cythandria and Sarevok's goons in the undercellar, following the breadcrumbs all the way to his coronation in a last ditch effort to stop him.
It's rather interesting that none of the dopplegangers show up as evil. Our weapons of choice in this battle are chant, haste, chaos and scrolls of greater malison. Also lots of Heaven Wand charges. A doppleganger assassin gives us some trouble, but Able returns the favour in kind and takes care of him. Sarevok is a spiteful bastard. As soon as he goes hostile he walks three steps and chunks Liia Janneth. Able gives him a good spanking but he quickly flees to the undercity.
The undercity is no challenge at all for 5 level 7-8 clerics. All you have to do is strut your stuff and all the ghouls and skeletons go to pieces all on their own. We sneak through the alleys, Able never realizing that there was also an Iron Throne merc party lying in wait. Our party never encountered them.
We then talk our way past Tamoko.
The battle with Sarevok is rather straightforward. Though I do appreciate the SCS improvements and the logic behind it, SCS Sarevok has definitely 'lost' something in comparison to his vanilla counterpart. The final battle is overshadowed, in my opinion, by other enounters in BG1 like the Tower Battle or the brawl with Gorpel Hind and the Maulers of the Undermountain.
Able raises herself an army and the party flat out charges into the fray. Quayle confuses Semaj and Angelo, Tazok is torched to death by Heaven Wands, and Diarmid is backstabbed. Semaj had wandered off while invisible, and Angelo was somewhere. We couldn't figure out where, but there were signs that he was still around. We eventually found Semaj and Angelo in the far North-Eastern corner fighting each other. Our party heckles them before smiting them both. Go for the eyes, Angelo, go for the eyes!!! Ya, Sarevok, YOU STAY IN YOUR CORNER.
Able and Yeslick had been fighting Sarevok, but went invisible and retreated because he hits like a mack truck. This left him in the dark. I'm not proud of that little maneuver, and it wasn't intentional, but I was taking whatever the game provided at this point. I used a teleport field scroll to keep Sarevok out of melee while we pelted him with rocks. I began to grow impatient, however. Victory was so close I could taste it. So I moved south to lure him into close combat. It was a faster way of taking him down, but involved more risk. Risk is bad in a no-reload. I should have listened to the nagging voice in my brain telling me not to do this, to just take the safe route.
Impatience is not a good quality to indulge in a no re-load. Able went in for a backstab... the problem was, with his haste Sarevok was able to turn and smack her for more than half her HP even when she ran away immediately after landing a hit.
After everything that she survived up to now, Able suffered the final insult only moments away from total victory.
Just kidding. Able batted him out of the park. HOME RUN!!
Congratulations @sluckers with your first no-reload success. Able Fox is a cool character, and able, and foxy too (judging by the portrait) Best of luck with her in her future endeavours.
Just quickly... Completed thief and druid quests, though we were lucky that no party members were petrified by the genies. Doing minor quests and poking at mod content for now, may decide to take on the Shadow Dragon to get some anti-vampire armour (in item revisions). After some thought Anomen took the LG path, I suspect that Whitworth thinks of himself as a hero even as he's summarily executing people Vhailor-style...
We took advantage of the holiday today to finish off SoA and move on into the big league
The session started with a 2 minute dash through Brynnlaw to get to Spellhold. There was smooth progress through there with no close calls. Both Jon and his murderers failed to inflict a single point of damage on either dwarf.
After taking ship to Fish City the duo caused a shortage of royalty by killing the king and the prince before moving on to the Underdark.
In the Western Tunnels Calis carelessly used all his speed bonuses prior to encountering the kuo-toa prince - but Juto still had a bit left in stock and made a mockery of the prince's regeneration.
Calis was careless again against the demon knights and managed to get himself level drained - meaning his saves were considerably less foolproof against status effects.
With no scroll of restoration and no clerics available we decided to cut adventures in the Underdark short and, after buying a few things from the drow, went to attack Adalon. In the initial attack Calis stood back and used his bow, but even with THAC0 of -5 he was rarely hitting and Juto was soon forced to retreat. After regenerating to reasonable HPs the duo tried again - this time in a melee assault. That was almost the end of the run though when Adalon reacted strangely. Her icon was close up to the back wall of her cave and that seemed to throw her script into continual wing buffets (several times a round). With lag effects it was hard to move at all, but Calis did manage to retreat just in time to save himself - Juto was not so fortunate.
After using the Rod of Resurrection the duo tried once more - this time pulling Adalon back into more open space before committing to the attack. Calis took heavy damage, but with no cold protection retreating would have invited a deadly breath and he decided to stay close and slug it out - just winning the race to the bottom of the HP pile.
After sneaking out of the Underdark invisibly the duo returned to Athkatla and did a bit of shopping and item creation. Before going to find Bodhi the dwarves returned to Watcher's Keep to look for a couple of items. The statues that looked so intimidating at level 10 or so were no match for a couple of fighters at level 22 or so
and on the next level down a few enemies failed to protect the poison head for the FoA well enough.
Moving on to the Graveyard, Juto led the way with the iMod and that proved so deadly to the attacking vampires that nearly all died before a thrown Azuredge could arrive from the rear.
Suldanesselar was pretty straightforward with most of the golems going down to insta-kills from Crom Fayr as new levels came thick and fast. Unlike Adalon Nizi had no nasty surprises and died very quickly.
On the Tree of Life Jon wasted all his best spells on killing Kitthix several times over and was shot down after failing to maze an enraged Juto.
After doing the Hell Trials the duo shot the balors to avoid the risk of being decapitated. Left on his own the Slayer was soon taken to near death, but as often happens stubbornly refused to die from repeated attacks. However, after trying a couple of times to take the pressure off Jon finally got his dying speech off, opening the way to ToB.
As usual there was a gentle introduction to the new game from Illasera.
The first Pocket Plane Challenge also proved pretty easy - after smacking down the earlier waves a single GWW from Juto killed both Ellisime and Aran Linvail, while Calis was chopping Duke Eltan down to size with the Soul Reaver (now usable after an alignment change in hell).
Calis, fighter 26, 177 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 763 kills (+177 in BG1) Juto, barbarian 26, 182 HPs, 674 kills (+196 in BG1), 8 deaths
I decided to call it a day with this run due to the fact that upon arriving in Dragonspear, Æthelberht had 1,000,000 experience which I thought way too overpowered. I have therefore reinstalled the Drizzt Saga leaving in the level cap and have started another run this time a Cavalier. I expect that experience will now freeze upon reaching 161,000. I came across a Crusader Image which at first I thought generic, but upon studying the shield realised that it had the "De Montfort" crest and so assume that it was meant to depict Simon De Montfort, though there are a number of De Montforts that it could represent. A number of them were Crusaders, though not all went East. Simon for example fought in France against the Cathars before returning to England where he ruled for a year. I decided therefore to give my character the name, "Simon de Montfort". He is a Cavalier.
Journal of Simon De Montfort, Cavalier.
After being badly hurt by Mendas,
Simon fled to the other side of the room, healed himself, and ran around the chests, returning to the corner of the room where he was surrounded by rats. Mendas was unable to wound him due to his sword not being long enough. Simon was however due to his different weaponry able to hurt Mendas and slowly but surely killed him. This tactic worked so well that other incarnations of Mendas might be met with the same tactic, only as a deliberate plan. I will however ring the changes to prevent boredom.
I decided to get more XP, and my best idea was cleaning the outside of the Nashkel Mines, which included killing Greywolf. He had an Oli of Speed, so I walked to the border while he stuttered trying to attack me, and I travelled back and forth to the Cloudpeaks, so that the Oil of Speed would wear off. I killed him with almost purely arrows, but I also set a Thief trap when I lost sight of him. The kobolds around the area proved to be nothing but free XP and arrows.
Back in Nashkel, I relised I hadn't used all of my Mage spellslots, so I memorized Blindness, and used it over Neira. I had to bait her out of her Sanctuary by getting very close to her and then leaving when she started casting spells.
I robbed the Mansion in Nashkel as well, only found a couple of scrolls (had to sell two of them, learnt the other one), a Potion of Invisibility and some gold, besides, I got caught and had to pay (I didn't remember you could lmfao).
I cleared all of the Western Cloudpeaks, got the Demon-kid his dog and killed a bunch of Wolves as well. Later I went to Beregost, and accidentally lowered my Rep by killing Zhurlong... I was sure he didn't lower your Rep, maybe it is only if you kill him before finishing the Quest? Doesn't matter, I donated 950 gold and I was already back at 10 Rep (I had 11 previously but as far as it is over ten, I don't care much...).
I sold some stuff at High Hedge, couldn't sell some stuff (namely around 5 potions I can't even use) but well, I bought Fear, Mirror Image, PW:Sleep and I think a level 3 scroll as well, forgot which one but it was probably Hold Person or Skull Trap. I tried to sleep to end the session, but got awakened by a Skeleton. Doesn't matter, I picked up his skull and went for Melicamp.
On my journey for the almighty talking chicken of Doom, I got ambushed by Mr. Lesser Basilisk and his Worgang, but our glorious retreat was victorious and no harm was done to us! Yay!
MELICAMP LIVES ! I wasn't expecting this, but hell yeah, 2k XP and +1 Rep? I love this quest sometimes (only when Melicamp lives).
I'm looking forward to getting level 4 as a Mage and a better weapon before I do anything else. I'm aiming towards doing all the quests in the Sword Coast before getting into Dungeons, so I am putting my thieving skills on Stealth and Set Traps instead of Find Traps (I already maxed Open Locks). Also, I'm going for the 5 pips in Long Bow. In BG2 I'm going to use the Mana Bow +4 because of the Magic Damage resistance it gives (if I get going so far...).
Later I went to Beregost, and accidentally lowered my Rep by killing Zhurlong... I was sure he didn't lower your Rep, maybe it is only if you kill him before finishing the Quest?
I've certainly killed him after completing the quest without it affecting reputation, although mods might affect that as well.
Later I went to Beregost, and accidentally lowered my Rep by killing Zhurlong... I was sure he didn't lower your Rep, maybe it is only if you kill him before finishing the Quest?
I've certainly killed him after completing the quest without it affecting reputation, although mods might affect that as well.
In vanilla his death provides no reputation hit. Probably an ee thing.
I'm playing in a giant BGT install, and the last time I played anything vanilla was about 2 years ago, and the last times I played with this install I didn't kill Zhurlong.
Ah I see. There are mods that change npcs from whatever they are in vanilla to innocent, after which a death is a reputation hit. Could be you are facing that.
@CrevsDaak If you don't like the reputation hit, then the magic of Shadowkeeper might be required. Make him evil or whatever. He clearly is not good or innocent considering his actions.
@CrevsDaak If you don't like the reputation hit, then the magic of Shadowkeeper might be required. Make him evil or whatever. He clearly is not good or innocent considering his actions.
I'm not too worried about reputation—well, at least not when I'm playing a Wizard Slayer. I'm going to change it as well, anyway.
Comments
Journal of Æthelberht, Inquisitor.
Oublek helped me kill a baby wyvern, but sadly died in the process.Previous update found here
Next update found here
A very short update, but we've cleared one of the few remaining major hurdles.
First, the party proceeded to clear out what was left in Baldur's Gate. Not much to report.
Afterwards, I went against my intended order of things and cleared the Lighthouse area. +1 CON for Adamant may (probably not, but still) be the difference between life and death, after all.
Lots of Web and Ajantis with Spider's Bane meant no sirine could do much.
After the Lighthouse, we return to Baldur's Gate.
The party prepared carefully before assaulting the Iron Throne Tower. Adamant spent his precious few slots on defenses (Shield/PfE/Mirror Image/Minor Spell Deflection/Protection from Fire), and our other casters went with mostly buffs and summons (Haste for Imoen being a key pick).
Of course, carving our way to the top floor took all of five minutes. Before ascending the final flight of stairs, however, we turned the entire party invisible (apart from Branwen: As we only have 6 2nd level Mage slots in total, and one was occupied by Mirror Image for Adamant, Branwen Sanctuaried herself).
The entire party then snuck past Sarevok's acolytes and took up position in the room at the bottom of the map.
I had intended to do the usual send-summons-at-them-til-they're-down-to-L1-spells schtick.
But, given that we actually have two very strong party members (Adamant and Khalid... Ajantis, bless him, is just not that dangerous to anyone) I opted instead to send only a single wave of summons at the enemy to absorb their most potent initial spells, and then simply do a buffed, all-out charge. We send out a poor Ogrillion and equally poor Worg to bear the initial brunt of horrible spells. We then rather sheepishly wait for the enemy buffs to expire, and more importantly, for them to re-arrange themselves.
Once that is done with, Adamant and Ajantis quaff a number of potions (nothing spectacular: Hill Giant Strength, Heroism, Magic Protection), we apply Chant/Remove Fear/Bless/Haste, and it's fightin' time!
This is what makes this fight rather difficult: LoS issues. If you go straight up the stairs, you have the pillars blocking LoS. If you sneak to the bottom room and attack from there, you have enemies ducking in and out of the side rooms. It's difficult to fight optimally.
Despite this, Adamant goes on an absolute rampage. One of the two clerics (can't recall which one), the Doppleganger and one of the Shennara's soon falls to his hasted Longsword attacks. Meanwhile, Khalid does a good job interrupting the enemy Mages with his Acid Arrows. Zhalimar and Gardush are kept occupied by Ajantis. Branwen, Imoen and Jaheira don't really contribute much other than occasionally dropping a Summoning spell/Wand charge.
Eventually, Zhalimar and Gardush are too much damage for Ajantis to contain. Ajantis pops off into a side room to heal up. By then, however, Adamant has finished off another caster (Alai and Namaan remain). Zhalimar and Gardush are still in decent health, but they're easily kept at bay by a wall of summons from the Wand of Monster Summoning (though Branwen has to quaff an Invisibility Potion, as she was in danger of falling to an arrow from Zhalimar). Khalid also eventually brings Alai down with his very nasty arrows.
As you can see, Namaan managed to charm Ajantis. It matters little; soon after, Zhalimar breathes his last at the hands of Khalid, and Naaman likewise is summarily dispatched.
The party merrily gathers up the loot (none of which really matters much anymore, though Minor Sequencer will be a nice addition once Adamant can cast L4 spells), and departs.
No more levels this time around, but at least there's precious few potentially dangerous fights left (Prat if he decides to go Lightning Bolt-crazy, Ice Island (I'll probably blow a Scroll of PfM here and just have Adamant handle everything after invisible Imoen detraps the place) the Palace fight, and of course Sarevok). We should be able to pull this off, unless something totally unexpected occurs.
Journal of Æthelberht, Inquisitor.
Tristan and Isolde tried to kill me, but I returned the compliment and succeeded where they failed.Journal of Æthelberht, Inquisitor.
On the way back to the temple to claim my reward for killing the wyverns, I called in at the Friendly Arms Inn to rest. There I was accosted by Najara and her friends who attacked me. I was aware that they were misguided rather than evil. It therefore grieved me greatly to kill them.Journal of Æthelberht, Inquisitor.
I went to Candlekeep and ended up in a secret area where I killed Pratt and co., some medusae, and Diarmid before I escaped.I then went after Sarevok:
Getting through to the Ducal palace again was then not too difficult. Now in Dragonspear. As you can see, I have picked up some friends. I still need a cleric though.
Lately I've been trying many no-reloads, to no avail. I've been holding off on reporting them, in part due to the immense volume of posts here (no sense me adding to the crowd with my inane adventures if they don't go nowhere), but mostly because the runs weren't very good.
By this point I no longer even think of posting anything until I defeat Davaeorn and reach baldur's gate. Though I still dutifully take scrnshots and think up stories because it makes the game more fun, even if such things never get shared.
Very recently, I managed to take a Monk to the battle with Sarevok at the ducal palace, only to be cut down by the big man himself. I had almost believed I was going to win, when in the home stretch complacency set in, attention waned, I failed to keep my eye on the most important person of all, the one who could never die. Ouch.
After that I tried a few more times with fighters, druids and the like, but more often than not ended up dying early in the game. The Sluckers Charname graveyard is full indeed, I'm sad to say. Many have come and gone. The most recent attempt with a totemic druid was an extremely frustrating defeat, since I was taken out by Neera while trying to save... Neera.
I hate that woman. I really do.
So I went looking for a more specialized and--many would say--more durable character. I decided to go back to playing a cleric thief. One of the best classes, I think, second only to a dart throwing unkitted fighter. Definitely better than a sissy mage (that I suck at playing them doesn't help any...).
The Adventures of Able Fox
Our diminutive heroine begins the game like all others. Alone, hunted and down in the dumps. Luckily Imoen arrives to cheer her up. Able sends her away. Thanks for the potions, Immy!She also decides not to follow Gorion's advice. We get as far as the front gate, only to decide that, no, let's not go to the friendly arm inn. 'Tis a silly place.
Plus, if the assassins knew where to ambush her with Gorion, they most certainly know where his friends are and would try to intercept.
Able takes a chance and vanishes into the wilderness. I like to think that she follows Tymora, that luck is on her side and 'fortune favours the bold' and all that jazz. I want her to live as much as she does. Tymora's not a gnomish god, but then Able didn't grow up around gnomes, so it's okay. I was never keen on lore rules.
Early in her travels, Able teaches Thalantyr a lesson in customer service, showing him that retirees make better greeters than flesh golems, then rescues his apprentice, bringing her three levels to both her thief and cleric halves.
Because she felt Gorion's original plan to travel north had been compromised, Able deliberately moved south, hoping it might help throw off the scent. Through her travels she gathered a team of like minded individuals, useful tools and trusted allies: A drow cleric also facing the grim spectre of death, a stalwart cleric of Tempus who had been trapped in stone, and a gnome cleric/illusionist found wandering the Nashkel carnival grounds who just 'happened' to be traveling in the same direction.
Along the way, Able clears the badlands of bassilisks, alerted to the area after taking an interest in an abandoned house south of Beregost and inquiring in-town. Finding the young woman who'd gone missing was almost cathartic. If someone can be lost in stone in the middle of a desert surrounded by terryfing lizards, then maybe there was hope for her as well. Rescuing others serves to boost her own hopes as much as it is about simply doing good and not being a douche. The world has to many jerks, no sense joining them.
Alas, Able enounters more assassins further south. She was certainly between a rock and a hard place, and the rock was telling her 'no hiding place'.
Fair enough then. Luck be on her side. No problem ever got solved by doing nothing, so after speaking with the mayor of Nashkel the team ventured into the Nashkel mines. If there was to be no safety in hiding, Able and friends were going to carve a slice of peace and quiet out of the Sword Coast for themselves. This called for some detective work.
Mostly this involved lots of fighting, rolling the dice and hoping for the best.
After learning the location of the bandit camp from Tranzig, Able and Co. take a break. As her old Kook Sul Won dojo-master used to tell her 'We need more practice'. The team explores the wilderness to the east and west of Nashkel, then travel up the coast, fighting many monsters, saving dryads and damsels in distress, saving a kid in the lighthouse, returning Brage so that he could seek atonement. We do all the usuals and check all the boxes. Able even kills a fearsome undead revenent with repeated clubstabs from the shadows (something to tell the kids). By the end of it the party reaches a solid mid-level strength, and Able reads a Tome of Constitution just before reaching levels 6/6.
A most welcome boost to her survivability; it better be. The darn tome took enough just to get. All of the party's magical sling ammo was expended in retrieving it. Several charges of monster summoning were used to form a screen and keep the Sirines in melee, while Able and Co. pelted them with rocks. Though the tough fight was not without a lucky side-benefit. Though the Sirine's invisibility stymied Quayle's attempts to target them with his spells, the Wand of Missiles has no problem with it. Very useful for disrupting charm spells.
Not that being charmed by a sirine would be a bad thing, probably, maybe...
Things are looking up.
Next, on a very special episode of 'Able Fox and Friends': The Bandit Camp, Cloakwood Forest, Faldorn and Davaeorn. And BEARS. So many bears...
Able Fox and Friends
Part 2After some team building and tactics training, Able and. Co. are ready for an attack on the bandit camp. Able sneaks around in the shadows and backstabs a few bandits while probing the perimeter. Eventually the bandits get wise and raise the alarm. Before long the entire bandit army is chasing her down, but Able is ready and retreats to the safety of her team, who unleash a combination of web (to collect the bandits into a bunch) and holy smite (carpet bombing cleric-style).
When most of the bandits are slain and the survivors dispersed, our party of divine warriors hunt them down. Quayle, Viconia and Branwen attract enemies with sling and mace, while Able flanks under the cover of shadows for a killing blow clubstab.
From Ender Sai Able gets her next clue, linking the iron/bandit crisis to the Iron Throne, while the trickle of captured correspondence looted from the bandit leaders and their tents again provide hints as to the source of the assassination attempts. Things get personal.
Their next trip takes them to Ulgoth's Beard to purchase a wand of the Heavens and some other magical items to make the team more survival, then it's off to the dreaded cloakwood, but the sticky situation so often encountered in Cloakwood 2 is deftly overcome by the unique talents of a cleric/thief.
Able and Co. survive two ambushes from mercenary parties sent in retaliation for the party's incursion at Nashkel. Command, Hold Person and a centrally located cleric casting Chant to buff/debuff are key. Both attacked are stopped through co-ordinated spell and wand power.
The party is joined by Faldorn while traversing the cloakwood. She's a bit crazy, but who isn't? Her unique druid spells are a major boost to the party's power, and her ability to use darts fills a weapon-type and APR gap that an all cleric party suffers from. Her call lightning ability and summon dreadwolf powers also bolster the party's skeleton ranks and add a needed 'oomph' for tackling hard targets, which give our high-thaco party trouble.
At the mine, Able cloaks herself and moves ahead to scout, finding only two guards at the gate who are easily dispatched. Her reconnaissance, however, reveals that a powerful mage/fighter team is awaiting them. Their spells and heavy armour pose a serious challenge. Thankfully, Quayle is carrying a scroll of stinking cloud in his scroll case, and stands ready with blindness spells to help our enemies become more 'hittable'.
Otherwise, Able and Co. continue to use Command and Hold Person to powerful effect, and it works here.
Able whimsically thinks herself the 'Dreaded Diminutive Death Dealer' of the cloakwood mines. A real terror. It feels good to pay her would-be killers back in kind, to make them feel the same fear to which she has been subjected. She skulks about under the cover of shadows, allowing the party to remain one step ahead of each bandit group lying in wait along their path of entry.
On the first level down, Viconia and Branwen raise a skeleton army while Able and Quayle soften the enemy with holy smite and wand-fire. Once the tight grouping was throughly horrified, the skeletons charged in, followed by the party. Hareishan was spell struck, then paralysed. A valuable scroll of Haste was found on her person.
The whole party then went invisible, using some of the many potions of invisibility found from previously encountered fallen enemies. They spend some time resting in a less-travelled corner of the mine, then make their way down to the bottom unseen and unopposed, arriving on Davaeorn's doorstep fresh and ready to fight.
The narrow hallways of the mine proved a challenge the whole way down, reducing Able's ability to maneuver. At the same time, a dungeon is a clubstabbing thief's dream. When Able finds a narrow hall leading directly to Davaeorn she recognizes it as a deadly checkpoint. To avoid getting jammed, she plans to get out of that line as fast as possible, yet also use the corners to her advantage.
Scouting ahead into Davaeorn's chamber, she comes up with a plan. Branwen and Viconia raise skeletons to block the exit through which the party had entered. Able decides to lead the squishier partymates out the northwest branch of the hall and into the room beyond, where they can sneak around into the back of Davaeorn's chamber; Yeslick and Branwen, our beefier fighters, will charge in through the front. The idea is to catch the evil wizard in a vice and hopefully blind him or afflict him with an insect swarm before he can get away.
Hasted, the party successfully evades a clever web/stinking cloud trigger from the evil wizard, breaking into two groups to cover both halls, but Davaeorn is nothing if not wily. Branwen gets temporarily held by the web, just as she was on the edge, but Yeslick plows through, attracting the attention of Davaeorn and both battle horrors. He easily tanks against his enemies while Able flanks from behind and unleashes her spells. Unfortunately, Davaeorn manages to get away and save against the party's disablers. This leaves Able and Co. to deal with a pair of battle horrors, but the fearsome opponents are not invincible. With davaeorn temporarily away, Able is free to focus her full arsenal against them, and they are taken down.
Able's seemingly charmed run continues. Out of sheer luck Davaeorn chooses to teleport near to the original entrance, only to find himself blocked by a fearsome dread wolf and 3 skeleton warriors. Perhaps he was surprised, though the laughter in the message bar suggests he's just manically evil and uncaring towards his own goons, or maybe lady Tymora really is smiling upon Able, because in fighting the skeletons he manages to spend most of his powerful spells... and kill every single one of the men sent down to reinforce his position. How's that for gratitude. It must really suck to be a henchman.
Neither I or Able could hold back a slight giggle at this fortunate twist.
When the web/stinking cloud finally cleared, the party attacked Northeast to meet Davaeorn in combat. He was alone and undefended, and as one the entire party brought every spell to bear on him. Having foolishly killed all of his redshirts, Davaeorn was unable to defend himself against the withering assault.
Yes, that is correct. Mustard Jellies do in fact have a 'backside'. Bit of an issue to find since they look the same from all angles, but not impossible. Able easily hit-and-runs the mustard jelly to death, saving our low-APR party from having to face it in close combat, where it's slow and poison can be deadly.
Yeslick is welcomed as a permanent member of the party, and together they avenge his clan by flooding the mine. Able takes another step closer on the path to uncovering the mystery of Gorion's murder and the following attempts on her life. She leaves the cloakwood far better than she found it.
And at last, she crosses the re-opened Wyrm's Crossing bridge, and enters Baldur's Gate.
Hurray!!
The Adventures of Able Fox
Part 3Ah, Baldur's Gate. City of splendor... and bar fights. Is there a more fantastic locale? There are more drunken brawls in Baldur's Gate's thumb than in all of Athkatla. It is and always will be my favourite setting in the whole saga. Able meets many new and interesting people. Some, like Gorpel Hind, become friends. She finds allies and a place to call her own within the Baldur's Gate thieving guild. Able even finds a Husbando in Narlen Darkwalker and a waifu in Silence. But other people are dangerous and cunning foes, always lurking behind darkened corners, and as always there are so many of them... and so few of us. Yet she pulls through, overcoming all challenges, continuing her luck-charmed existence to the wry enjoyment of Tymora.
Though she almost didn't. We came very close to death at one point. VERY CLOSE.
One of the first places she visited within the city was Sorcerous Sundries. There, on the top floor, she encountered a group of Zhentarim mages. After attempting to explain to them the concept of public space, they turned on her.
In the resulting battle that lasted little over one round, Able nearly died, reduced to 3HP. That was it. 3HP and a Chant spell was all that stood in the way of utter and painful defeat.
I don't know how it happened. I didn't actually see it, only heard Able cry out in pain: "I... I am wounded!"
I was focused on other things at the time, directing other partymates, and watching the Zhentish mages melt amid columns of fire from the 5 new wands of Heaven we had just bought.
What the hell just happened?
I was quick on the pause button, tapping it reflexively as soon as I heard the warning. When I panned back up to bring the party's formation into full view, there was Capable Able in the back row, safely (I had assumed) blocked from combat by Branwen and Yeslick. The last pixelated vestiges of a fireball animation glowed among our troops.
No fireball spell, no thrown potion, no indication whatsoever of the damage source was in the combat log. But the game was telling me the damage came from Neiman, the lead mage. I had been watching the guy the whole time, too, and I never noticed him shoot anything off. One moment he was there, and the next he was melting. Then suddenly, BOOM, and Able was near death.
I thought I had taken a screenshot, after all it was a pretty shocking event, but apparently I had been too concerned with damage control to think of it. I have never completed a no-reload of ANYTHING before, and personally I'm beginning to think that if I don't win one soon I'm going to give up altogether. I've tossed away too many likeable characters in the pursuit of this goal, only to have the game give me the proverbial middle finger each time. #!&% you, Neera.
What really got to me was the amount of damage Able suffered. Most of the other party mates were fine, none losing more than a quarter or third of their hitpoints, yet Able's portrait almost entirely red. 33 of 36HP gone in an instant. Why? Not the fireball (not exactly), that's for sure. It rarely causes such catastrophic damage. Nope, it was my own mistake.
I had mistakenly forgotten to unequip the belt of Antipode, a girdle I normally use only in the Forest of Sharp Teeth and the Cloakwood mine to help handle the Blacktalon Elite. Outside of those two zones, using it feels like paying with matches. However this time I had forgotten to take it off, meaning that Able still had a 30% vulnerability to Fire even after Resist Fire/Cold and Batalista's Passport.
Ended up selling that cursed, thrice blasted belt.
So Able got lucky. I got lucky. And I guess all of you folks, too, got lucky because now you get to suffer more of my ramblings and inane gameplay. It's not over yet, suckahs!
So enjoy more Able Adventures!
Anyhow, after arriving in Baldur's Gate Able quickly makes a name for herself and the team, completing the major Scar quests, joining the thieve's guild, working some magic both thief-wise and cleric-wise, sucking the monkey a keg a piece tavern-wise, and all around enjoying things as the party hits its stride. That close encounter with Neiman's fireball makes her nothing if not wiser, and by the end of the forthcoming events she is rocking 20 wisdom and a nice assortment of bonus spells.
Things are looking up. Able and I are so close now, we can taste it. We're salivating. Soon it will be over, one way or another. All we need is optimism.
Within a few days Able and Co. gain a great amount of XP and solidify their fighting tactics to great effect. I feel that the following collection of screenshots adequately illustrates the course of events and how the use of each party member has developed.
Branwen and Viconia make great skeletons and are the major offensive spellcasters. Quayle does the magery and wand tricks. Faldorn is our anti-spell caster, using darts and insects both. Yeslick and Able are dynamite together, able to take most foes. Able makes as effective a fighter as Yeslick, sometimes, doing oodles and oodles of damage with her clubstabs once the enemy's back is turned.
I really really like the cleric/thief. Versatile, situationally powerful (and therefore meaningfully powerful) and almost no 'Meh...' factor to speak of. This is one of the most enjoyable runs I've had in a while.
And it gets better.
Of course, once our Lucky Thief has plundered most of the XP riches of the city, and completed the Scar sidequests, only one thing remains before moving forward. The battle to end all battles. One of my favourite encounters in the whole series.
The set up to this battle can be difficult, as neither set of stairs provides an advantageous entry. This time I decide to change that. Able enters under cover of Sanctuary and Hide in Shadows, then unleashes a walloping clubstab on one of Sarevok's pansy mages. A brief conversation ensues, taunts are traded, then Able vanishes once more into the darkness. Sarevok's acolytes cluster together near the western staircase, bracing for another attack. This allows the party unimpeded entry up the eastern stairs, and a good set up for unleashing some good old clerical carpet bombing.
We start off with silence to try an mitigate some of the considerable spell power arrayed against us.
Then take advantage of the enemy's tight formation before it dissipates into the chaos of battle.
Suddenly, a wild Girl-Shennara appears! Quayle gets backstabbed and one shotted (view partially obscured by one of the columns). It's always a bit hairy without mirror image, and this battle (along with the Amazon ambush) is a really important time to use it, but I was trying to keep the flame lit under the acolyte's asses, pouring as many offensive spells onto the fire as possible. It ends up costing us. Oh dear!
Then Faldorn wanders into melee with Gardush after running out of darts. A lapse on my part, another one that costs us. We lose our access to poison-disruption. Many of the spellcasters had been hampered by this point and I was trying my hand at stunning Gardush in an effort to reduce some of the brutal damage Sarevok's melee fighters can dish out. An ambarrassing mistake. #!%& you, Neera.
The a wild Male-Shennara appears, one-shotting Viconia. It was a really nasty surprise. I was not happy. I was actually kind of pissed off by this point. Thieves can be really hard to deal with in BG1 with only 'Detect Invis.' at your disposal, since it only goes off once and a thief can easily hide and repeat-backstab you in the time it takes to cast the darn spell.
As you can see, Branwen was using her low AC to keep Cloudewolfe or what's-his-name's arrows out of Abel's softly armoured body, but had to pull back momentarily after suffering the first hit that more than halves her HPs. Thinking on the fly, I decide that a hasted, fire-breathing Branwen may provide a solution to a difficult-to-find backstabbing thieve with what seems like 37 invisibility potions in his inventory.
By this point, I'm pretty sure I was screaming 'I tired of these mother#!$%ing thieves in this mother!#$%ing tower!' at the screen. Turns out shouting at computers does produce results. Irritation and malice gave me just enough focus to quickly swing Branwen around and end that pissy thief's life. Take that, you %$!#. Oh ya, and %$@& you, Neera.
Yeslick and Able, the dynamic duo for taking out hard targets. Once Branwen's Holy Might wears off, Yeslick and Able are really the only ones with the thaco (or HiS bonuses) capable of hitting full plated opponents.
Yowsers!!! The man has some fight left in him, yet!
Namaan tries impotently to disable Ms. Fox, not realizing that she had been to Ulgoth's Beard and purchased the greenstone amulet. She had seen a billboard in the bassilisk area a while back on which a Totemic Druid named Yahiko was personally recommending it as 'Yahiko's Choice!!'. ( this has literally become what the greenstone amulet is to me, since @JuliusBorisov 's 'Tale of the Totemic Druid' is from where I discovered that this item even existed. I also have trouble using Melf's Acid Arrow without silently adding '...and Drain Declogger' in my head. I know, weird). Nice try, Namaan. And @#%& you, Neera.
Able tells Namaan that the tower is a no-spell zone. Welcome to Athkatla!
Rock beats mage.
With Namaan defeated, it is Yeslick and Able, ironically, who are the ones 'standing tall' in victory on the battle field. What an eventful battle.
After looting the tower for evidence, Duke Eltan sends Able and Co. to Candlekeep, where she is faced with the sobering truth that her chldhood home is no longer the haven it once was. Many are not what they seem, and Sarevok's assassins continue to follow in her tracks. After being framed for the murder of the Iron Throne leaders, Able fights her way out of the catacombs and back into the sunlight.
With it's haunting chant-filled score, the return to Candlekeep is a dramatic change of pace in the BG plotline, especially as it comes so soon after the height of the tower battle. It is a potent nadir under the spectre of the gathering darkness, an example of shattered hopes for safety, a lost childhood, betrayal and hard labour which our gnomish heroine must simply endure. The world she knew is gone. Only Tymora be with her now. Luck and optimism are all she has left, with eyes lifted ever to the horizon, straining to see a promised-for dawn perpetually out of reach. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming... we can do this. Able Fox will survive, darnit!
This could be my first no-reload. See my hands flattened together in prayer? Come on, Baldur's Gate... you owe me after some of the crap you've pulled in the past.
Able turns inland, intending to find her way back to Baldur's Gate without taking the main road. In order to get there she passes by Durlag's tower, backstabs some battle horrors for XP and retrieves the last wisdom tome. After that the team stops in Ulgoth's Beard before the final push for Baldur's Gate... and get sidelined.
I've got a bad feeling about this...
Stay tuned, folks!
Calis, dwarf fighter (Grond0) & Juto, dwarf barbarian (Gate70)
Previous updates at:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/832940/#Comment_832940
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/833419/#Comment_833419
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/834754/#Comment_834754
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/835452/#Comment_835452
A short session still saw decent progress and the dwarven duo have now done all they intend in and around Athkatla for the time being.
The first item on the agenda was to finish off their travels in the Planar Sphere. They were left last time about to grab a demon heart and that took only a few seconds.
In the mood for more planar travelling the next stop was the Planar Prison. Entering that invisibly allowed the Bounty Hunter mage to be cut down before he could buff. A few yuan-ti mages were shot down with ice arrows on the way round to the Master of Thralls - who would have needed far more HPs to survive a Gaxx-hasted assault from Calis. The Warden did little better - failing to complete his buffs when attacked.
Deciding it was about time to turn on their own kind, Mencar's group was killed to get another invisibility ring. Tarnor's party did no better - once more an invisible assault on a mage resulting in a stoneskin appearing on a dead body, leaving the rest pretty helpless.
The nearby illithid were generally pretty easy - pulling them out to be hacked down one or two at a time. However, Juto stayed too close to 2 of them at one point and when both hit at once he was only able to go 'uuuugh' as his intelligence disappeared.
The major challenge of the session was the Unseeing Eye quest. On the way Juto pulled back some undead and then the lich - that died quicker than expected, I think from Azuredge (though there was no 'destroy undead' note on the text).
Now on the verge of acquiring HLAs the duo will be off to Spellhold next.
Calis, fighter 19, 143 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 582 kills (+177 in BG1)
Juto, barbarian 19, 161 HPs, 443 kills (+196 in BG1), 7 deaths
Season's greetings
Limited Wishes to everyone for the Holidays.
Happy Wildsurges and Prismatic Rays and a Chromatic New Year.
Last Update
The Trio made progress this session and without a party death - we know how Grond0 is disappointed about that.
One of the first things we did was get Officer Dirth's full plate. Gremlin's traps made sure he wouldn't last long.
Then we went to Watcher's Keep to trigger the Suna Sune ambush. A Gremlin thrown trap once again made short work of the enemies. Corsen used the Arbane so he'd have a magical weapon that he is proficient with.
The Trio thought Watcher's Keep should be straightfoward. It was - almost. The party had cleared everything but the statues, but all Corsen needed was 4000 experience to unlock his fighter abilities. We laid lots of traps around the two statues closest to the entrance to the next level and triggered only them by removing the book.
Turned out we had the fight of our lives. Vorgan was insufficient as a tank and was gulping just massive heal potions. Corsen had to use an invis potion to save himself as well. Eventually though, Corsen used a haste potion and was able to backstab the sword and shield guy dead. Vorgan wasn't making much progress on the halberd statue, so instead Vorgan stayed out of the way while the thieves backstabbed the halberd statue into oblivion.
Watcher's Keep used a ton of time. We had time to get the horn of Valhallla and solve the skinner murders We also took out Mencar's gang for his full plate. Traps and lots of backstabs made sure they weren't winning. With full plate now we can face the Rune Assassins guarding Reijek's escape. True Seeing by Vorgan also made the assassins easier. Corsen had used his enrage to be immune to the ghasts' hold.
We had just enough time to take on Dracandros gang. The mage didn't last long, in part to a thrown trap as well firebreath potion used on him and a simple melee hit by Corsen. Vorgan's true seeing hurt the mage too with no mirrors to help him. The party was hurt but victorious.
Out of time so rested and saved here. Oh we did get into a vampire ambush very early, and hardly anyone had any weapons to hurt it, but Gremlin ran around A LOT and eventually Vorgan's Lilacor got the job done.
Party Status:
Corsen (protagonist, controlled by Corey_Russell), level 10 thief/level 9 berserker, 96 HP, 224 kills, Statue
Gremlin (controlled by Grond0), level 12 bounty hunter, 63 HP, 178 kills, Guardian Golem
Vorgan (controlled by Gate70), level 9 inquisitor, 104 HP, 268 kills, Statue
The Adventures of Able Fox (Final)
This is the end. Well, it WAS the end of this run. I haven't played since the 23rd so hopefully I've remembered all the details correctly.So where were we...
After losing most of her old friends in Candlekeep and being framed with Rieltar's murder, Able flees a wanted gnome. In trying to take the back route to Baldur's Gate she and the team, as you know, get sidelined.
Able and Co. find themselves lost in a polar pole-of-isolation with a bunch of insane mages. It's not nearly as fun as it sounds. By this point in the game whenever a mage begins to chant an invocation spell, you can pretty much be certain what it is. Sunfire. It's always sunfire. Sunfire hurts us. We hateses it.
And all you can do, most of the time, is frown and watch one or more of your team get smoked by it. Because there's not enough room to get away, or they're not fast enough to run, or because there's a trap this way or that and you can't go there. Or maybe your aura is clouded and you can't chug that potion of fire resistance in time.
Don't worry. We'll just fix it when we next visit a doctor. Few things can make someone feel more disposable than the knowledge that resurrection costs a pittance at temple. The cruel overseer with their baffling mouse magic can do whatever they want to you without consequence, right? Oh.... what a cruel world.
Luckily I had prepared Able to absorb whatever I thought the mages and traps would be dishing out.
And of course Shandalar is all very blaise about the whole thing. #$%&ing mages...
Anyway, Able manages to backstab through the final few mages and get her ass back to Baldur's Gate. We hit up the shop of silence, buy some more stunning darts and meet up with what contacts remain to us... which isn't much. Sarevok has been busy during Able's absence by slaughtering just about everyone who matters. She arrives just in time to save Duke Eltan, her last ally.
The rest of the plot progresses quickly. After the return to Candlekeep there are few encounters left. Able tracks down Cythandria and Sarevok's goons in the undercellar, following the breadcrumbs all the way to his coronation in a last ditch effort to stop him.
It's rather interesting that none of the dopplegangers show up as evil.
Our weapons of choice in this battle are chant, haste, chaos and scrolls of greater malison. Also lots of Heaven Wand charges. A doppleganger assassin gives us some trouble, but Able returns the favour in kind and takes care of him.
Sarevok is a spiteful bastard. As soon as he goes hostile he walks three steps and chunks Liia Janneth. Able gives him a good spanking but he quickly flees to the undercity.
The undercity is no challenge at all for 5 level 7-8 clerics. All you have to do is strut your stuff and all the ghouls and skeletons go to pieces all on their own. We sneak through the alleys, Able never realizing that there was also an Iron Throne merc party lying in wait. Our party never encountered them.
We then talk our way past Tamoko.
The battle with Sarevok is rather straightforward. Though I do appreciate the SCS improvements and the logic behind it, SCS Sarevok has definitely 'lost' something in comparison to his vanilla counterpart. The final battle is overshadowed, in my opinion, by other enounters in BG1 like the Tower Battle or the brawl with Gorpel Hind and the Maulers of the Undermountain.
Able raises herself an army and the party flat out charges into the fray. Quayle confuses Semaj and Angelo, Tazok is torched to death by Heaven Wands, and Diarmid is backstabbed.
Semaj had wandered off while invisible, and Angelo was somewhere. We couldn't figure out where, but there were signs that he was still around.
We eventually found Semaj and Angelo in the far North-Eastern corner fighting each other. Our party heckles them before smiting them both. Go for the eyes, Angelo, go for the eyes!!!
Ya, Sarevok, YOU STAY IN YOUR CORNER.
Able and Yeslick had been fighting Sarevok, but went invisible and retreated because he hits like a mack truck. This left him in the dark. I'm not proud of that little maneuver, and it wasn't intentional, but I was taking whatever the game provided at this point.
I used a teleport field scroll to keep Sarevok out of melee while we pelted him with rocks. I began to grow impatient, however. Victory was so close I could taste it. So I moved south to lure him into close combat. It was a faster way of taking him down, but involved more risk. Risk is bad in a no-reload. I should have listened to the nagging voice in my brain telling me not to do this, to just take the safe route.
Impatience is not a good quality to indulge in a no re-load. Able went in for a backstab... the problem was, with his haste Sarevok was able to turn and smack her for more than half her HP even when she ran away immediately after landing a hit.
After everything that she survived up to now, Able suffered the final insult only moments away from total victory.
Just kidding. Able batted him out of the park. HOME RUN!!
First no-reload complete! Huzzah!
Merry Xmas, all!
Congrats Able. Hope to see you in Amn soon!
Calis, dwarf fighter (Grond0) & Juto, dwarf barbarian (Gate70)
Previous updates at:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/832940/#Comment_832940
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/833419/#Comment_833419
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/834754/#Comment_834754
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/835452/#Comment_835452
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/836762/#Comment_836762
We took advantage of the holiday today to finish off SoA and move on into the big league
The session started with a 2 minute dash through Brynnlaw to get to Spellhold. There was smooth progress through there with no close calls. Both Jon and his murderers failed to inflict a single point of damage on either dwarf.
After taking ship to Fish City the duo caused a shortage of royalty by killing the king and the prince before moving on to the Underdark.
In the Western Tunnels Calis carelessly used all his speed bonuses prior to encountering the kuo-toa prince - but Juto still had a bit left in stock and made a mockery of the prince's regeneration.
With no scroll of restoration and no clerics available we decided to cut adventures in the Underdark short and, after buying a few things from the drow, went to attack Adalon. In the initial attack Calis stood back and used his bow, but even with THAC0 of -5 he was rarely hitting and Juto was soon forced to retreat. After regenerating to reasonable HPs the duo tried again - this time in a melee assault. That was almost the end of the run though when Adalon reacted strangely. Her icon was close up to the back wall of her cave and that seemed to throw her script into continual wing buffets (several times a round).
With lag effects it was hard to move at all, but Calis did manage to retreat just in time to save himself - Juto was not so fortunate.
After using the Rod of Resurrection the duo tried once more - this time pulling Adalon back into more open space before committing to the attack. Calis took heavy damage, but with no cold protection retreating would have invited a deadly breath and he decided to stay close and slug it out - just winning the race to the bottom of the HP pile.
After sneaking out of the Underdark invisibly the duo returned to Athkatla and did a bit of shopping and item creation. Before going to find Bodhi the dwarves returned to Watcher's Keep to look for a couple of items. The statues that looked so intimidating at level 10 or so were no match for a couple of fighters at level 22 or so
Moving on to the Graveyard, Juto led the way with the iMod and that proved so deadly to the attacking vampires that nearly all died before a thrown Azuredge could arrive from the rear.
Suldanesselar was pretty straightforward with most of the golems going down to insta-kills from Crom Fayr as new levels came thick and fast. Unlike Adalon Nizi had no nasty surprises and died very quickly.
After doing the Hell Trials the duo shot the balors to avoid the risk of being decapitated. Left on his own the Slayer was soon taken to near death, but as often happens stubbornly refused to die from repeated attacks. However, after trying a couple of times to take the pressure off Jon finally got his dying speech off, opening the way to ToB.
As usual there was a gentle introduction to the new game from Illasera.
Calis, fighter 26, 177 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 763 kills (+177 in BG1)
Juto, barbarian 26, 182 HPs, 674 kills (+196 in BG1), 8 deaths
Journal of Æthelberht, Inquisitor.
I decided to call it a day with this run due to the fact that upon arriving in Dragonspear, Æthelberht had 1,000,000 experience which I thought way too overpowered. I have therefore reinstalled the Drizzt Saga leaving in the level cap and have started another run this time a Cavalier. I expect that experience will now freeze upon reaching 161,000. I came across a Crusader Image which at first I thought generic, but upon studying the shield realised that it had the "De Montfort" crest and so assume that it was meant to depict Simon De Montfort, though there are a number of De Montforts that it could represent. A number of them were Crusaders, though not all went East. Simon for example fought in France against the Cathars before returning to England where he ruled for a year.I decided therefore to give my character the name, "Simon de Montfort". He is a Cavalier.
Journal of Simon De Montfort, Cavalier.
After being badly hurt by Mendas,prev: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/833461/#Comment_833461
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I decided to get more XP, and my best idea was cleaning the outside of the Nashkel Mines, which included killing Greywolf. He had an Oli of Speed, so I walked to the border while he stuttered trying to attack me, and I travelled back and forth to the Cloudpeaks, so that the Oil of Speed would wear off. I killed him with almost purely arrows, but I also set a Thief trap when I lost sight of him. The kobolds around the area proved to be nothing but free XP and arrows.
I wasn't expecting this, but hell yeah, 2k XP and +1 Rep? I love this quest sometimes (only when Melicamp lives).
http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/Zhurlong
There are mods that change npcs from whatever they are in vanilla to innocent, after which a death is a reputation hit. Could be you are facing that.