Just realized improved Bodhi will probably kill me. I've used PfMW when fighting her Before. I quickly found out that AC and other defensive spells just doesn't cut it. Also only +3 weapons can hit her so ranged is a tad limited. Any advice on how to manage her? She seems to go through summons at an alarming rate and regens kind of fast.
@Otherguy Last time I fight Bodhi, I already had HLAs since the Underdark portion of the game.
Improved Bodhi can, as far as I know, see through invisibility. Hexxat entered the place stealthed, Bodhi saw her, she retreated to my party with the vampire following her. Korgan, Dorn and my Blackguard activated GWW and she died in 3 seconds.
During that time Edwin was distracting everyone else in the room with a Project Image casting only defensive spells.
Don't forget to use Protection from Negative Plan to protect from Level Drain!
Sorry for the slightly OT questions. But the chapter 3 Bodhi is for me the troublesome one, before HLAs and huge damage output. I've used PfMW on my tank since I tend to play F/M variants or FM, my other tanks even wielding improved mace of disruption and rocking an AC at -12 (16 with impr invis) with mirror image just gets shredded due to con drain. Getting her to leave due to loss of health is my goal. Who should be my tank? Jan and Nalia with PfMW?
I went through the Black Pits 1 and 2 in a vanilla game, on Core Rules without reloading.
My party:
-F/M/T, the only Thief of the group. He focused on Detect Illusion and Open Locks early in BP1. Later in BP2 he had enough skill points to achieve 100 in Detect Illusion, Open Locks, Find Traps, Set Traps and 200 in Pickpockets. In BP1 I played him as a Mage casting Sleep and Web spells, using throwing daggers at the same time, in BP2 his role evolved to a tactical assassin, he won several fights alone with a combination of Time Trap + Mislead/Assassination allowing him to remove a few enemies instantly before the fight truely began.
-F/M/C, my only Cleric. In BP1 he played similarly to the F/M/T, staying at long range casting Sleep and Web spells and using his sling when his aura wasn't clear. In BP2 he didn't get the opportunity to shine as you start the differents fights without any prebuffs which hurts this character more than other, plus the fights were kinda shorts. Instead he was mainly summoning Skeletons.
-Skald, another arcane caster. I was surprised at how short the range of the song actually is, you nearly need to stay in melee for it to work. Apart from that he played similarly to the tripleclasses, casting Sleep+Web early on. In BP2 I nearly used him exclusively for singing, the Epic Bard Song has a HUGE range increase compared to the regular Skald song which makes it amazing.
-Archer, the weak link of the party. The Archer was both amazing and horrible at the same time, he had an excellent damage output thanks to his amazingly low THAC0 and his high damage while staying far away but he didn't bring any special utility to the table. Simply put, the Archer was speeding up the process but he never won a fight by himself.
-Sorcerer, the true powerhouse. This guy annihilated the Black Pits alone and naked, in BP1 he got access to Web, Skull Trap, Greater Malison and Chaos very early while he got Project Image, Dragon's Breath, Time Stop, Chain Contingency, etc, in BP2. 4 times out of 5, I only played this character while the other were watching him solo the fight.
-Blackguard, the main damage dealer/tank. This kit is always a safe pick in any party, it doesn't need a lot of equipment if you play it as an archer but it can turn into a godlike melee powerhouse if you give him a lot of stuff. In BP1 I played him as an improved Archer with Poison Weapon outdamaging the Archer and bypassing Stoneskin/Mirror Image. In BP2 I gave him the Flail of Ages +4 and the Defender of Easthaven +3. At this point, with DoE + Hardiness + Armor of Faith he soloed The Ravager, The Winged, and so forth.
My strategy:
-BP1 was very straightforward, basically my 4 arcane casters learned Web and they casted Web 4 times per round while the Blackguard and the Archer were killing enemies trapped in the area of effect, simple yet powerful. Throw a Greater Malison + Chaos into the mix when the Sorcerer was high level enough and that's it.
-BP2 was all about the Sorcerer. As soon as he hit level 9 spells, every fights turned into Project Image => Time Stop => Dragon's Breath x3 => Everyone is dead => ??? => Profit. When I got enough money and items to properly equip my Blackguard, I sent him as an invincible meatshield while my Sorcerer was destroying everything. For some foes, including the yellow Dragon or the final battle, I also used Shapeshift + Time Stop to eat their brains.
The times I actually kept the Vampire's CON drain from SCS, I think you don't actually need to deal damage to her in chapter 3... I remember barely injuring her, and then just running for ever and ever (not easy with her hasted speed...) If you're looking for damage, Tansheron's bow from Trademeet can fire infinite +3 arrows, so put it in someone proficient's hands and run around. Her MR is also overcomable, from what I remember, so any magic attacks should have a decent chance of doing damage. The trick to her, like most creatures that don't have ranged damage, is stay the heck away and shoot them to death.
Question of my own: I technically did a reload when I realized I hadn't updated my mod setup, and found Improved Shapeshifters with its impossibly ridiculous Greater Werebears summon. Seeing as I had intended to remove that part, I reloaded a save from before that. No resources or deaths were consumed in the first accidental fight, and I had recovered to a decent spot despite the Werebears via Invisibility spells. What say you all: should this disqualify Benoni from the challenge?
Haha, well it doesn't seem to matter in any case; the run ended almost one half-day later due to an SCS Genie's instantaneous Flesh to Stone. My only protection I was running was Spell Turning, and the second that ran out...
I think I've had it with the "smarter X" components of SCS for anything story based ; while others can apparently handle stuff like that, and I know theoretically the counters (I reloaded and easily won after resting and meta-gaming in a set of Pro. from Petrification,) I can't seem to keep both immersion and difficulty. Back to BG1, it seems, and I think I'll roll up another custom party with another pacifist Skald.
@Gotural I am interested in bp2 no reload myself, I think it is very feasible, once you know the ins and outs of the fights. The final fight was very difficult, or so I thought once, but doing some subquests like poisoning Joker, or saving Najiim really makes the battle a lot easier. Kinda like the Ascension battle where you can enlist the help of Rasaad or Bodhi if you do things in a certain manner.
Which fights are the trickier? I remember having trouble with the drow battle, they caught me off guard once and forced a reload. Vampire lord battle is also very dangerous if you are not prepared well and have good weapons. And fallen devas battle was tricky, too, once they teleport to the back of the party. Some fights are very straightforward, felt like fodder like the Umberhulks, Gith, etc. Mindflayer and demi lich battles were surprisingly easy too. Clay golems can give trouble if you don't bring crushing weapons for fighters.
And I agree a sorc is essential for bp2, all high lvl scrolls cost a fortune. I try to circumvent this by exporting my wild mage char from bg2, who has played up to 500 k xp or a bit more in the game, and thus has some high lvl spells written in his book. Not having to pay for every essential scroll help greatly.
I would greatly enjoy a more detailed walkthrough of bp2 no reload. BP1 is simple enough with little tricks. BP2 is awesome and so much more complex than its prodecessor. Just like bg2 feels to when compared to bg1.
The MP no-reload report, the Monty Python crew experiences the change of one member.
After the party returned from the Werewolves adventure, our FMT asked for a vacation. It looked like several old friends of his had a big event coming (possibly involving a feast of sorts), so we had to let him go. We couldn't block it, really: the FMT helped a lot during the adventure, and his contribution to the overall progress was unquestionable.
We didn't have a chance to bewail the lose of our FMT, because as soon as we entered the Ulgoth's beard tavern a charming halfling lass approached us. She heard we were the famous heroes who reached the Balduran island and now were going to try some luck in the Durlag's Tower, and became very enthusiastic about joining our party. The lady turned out to be a chaotic good barbarian, proficient in scimitars and axes. As she didn't ask anything in return, only a chance to participate in the Durlag's Tower adventure, we welcomed her to the crew. In her rage, she had nearly three times as much HPs as our previous party member, so could become a tank letting our Bhaalspawn some freedom.
Before going straight to the Durlag's Tower, we had to clear several wilderness areas, still unexplored till that time.
This time the battle against the four dwarven wardens in the Durlag's Tower went much better. The only downside was that Love reflected all the traps from our Captain, thus killing him:
But even with that, the dwarven wardens couldn't actually hit our group, which actually was of a high level and with lots of buffs from potions:
Comparing this experience with the very first one, when Pride annihilated all our party except for the main character, I have to admit that in BG2 we should never force hard encounters before we get enough levels. We should patiently level up, choosing quests and completing the difficult ones later rather than earlier, just like we did in BG1.
Friendly Random Drops, option 3 - Exchange with Merchants - This component will have the normal random drops when you travel through the world, but adds a merchant in Kuldahar and one in Lonelywood (if HoW is installed). These merchants will allow you to exchange your items for another item in the table--for a commission, of course.
Game ends when the main character dies - By default, in IWD-in-BG2 - as with the original IWD - the game ends only when the whole party is killed. If you install this component, the game instead behaves like Baldur's Gate: if your main character dies, it's game over.
Also: IWD-style proficiencies (yay, @CamDawg !) as a part of Alter Weapon Proficiency System: Bastard swords and two-handed swords are combined into the Great Sword proficiency. Long swords, katanas, scimitars, wakizashis, and ninja-tos are combined into the Large Sword proficiency. The Flail/Morningstar proficiency is renamed Flail proficiency and morningstars are moved into the Mace proficiency. Darts, and slings are combined in the Missile Weapon proficiency. Long and short bows are combined in the the Bow proficiency.
The IWD-style proficiencies 'yay' should really be directed at @DavidW, since he did the lion's share of the work to get it into IWD-in-BG2. From there it was a much easier path to generalize it to other games.
So, I've installed the new tweaks, and changed the proficiencies for my characters.
[spoiler=WeiDU list] ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #110 // Icon Improvements: v1 (alpha) ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #120 // Change Avatar When Wearing Robes or Armor (Galactygon): v1 (alpha) ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #170 // Unique Icons: v1 (alpha) ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1280 // Game ends when the main character dies: v1 (alpha) ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2164 // Alter Weapon Proficiency System -> IWD-Style Proficiencies without Weapon Styles: v1 (alpha) ~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3242 // Friendly Random Drops -> Exchange With Merchants: v1 (alpha) [/spoiler]
Now if the bard, Hypnos, is dead, it's a game-over (I tried to protect him anyway due to a habit from BG, but now it's in the game). There're merchants in the game who can exchange random loot. And the most important change - now my NPCs have vanilla IWD proficiencies, which further brings it to what Josh Sawyer has told about.
Hypnos - * in Halberds, * in Great Swords (includes bastard swords and two-handed swords), * in Crossbows Amaterasu - * in Daggers, * in Missile Weapons (includes darts, and slings), * in Spears Hades - * in Bows (includes long and short bows), ** in Large Swords (includes long swords, katanas, scimitars, wakizashis, and ninja-tos) and ** in Short Swords Styx - * in Missile Weapons Raijin - ** in Flails, ** in Maces/Morningstars, * in Missile Weapons Uzumi - * in Missile Weapons, * in Quarterstaff, * in War Hammer
Rock gets to sleep for the first time, just played for a few minutes here and there and figured I could check how far he could go without rest. He escaped Irenicus, did the circus, solved the bridge district murders but escaped from the bone golem and assassins, killed suna seni, saved renfeld and completed the harper quest, Jan died to a horror cast by xzars apprentice but was not gibbed. When jaheira left I figured I should take my first nap.
Note to self, it's pretty stupid to do much more than Irenicus and the circus without resting, at least if you plan to fight mages..
Instead to the Skald, which focuses on pretty much just killing enemies via APR and damage, I thought that I should attempt a mostly-spellcaster run, if only to force myself to use spells to win fights rather than slugfests. I have every spell list represented, including one Druid and one Cleric. I'm not as brave as @semiticgod though in his Spiders run though, and I'm allowing myself the use of one warrior-type for fights where spells may not be applicable.
[spoiler=Weidu List]// Log of Currently Installed WeiDU Mods // The top of the file is the 'oldest' mod // ~TP2_File~ #language_number #component_number // [Subcomponent Name -> ] Component Name [ : Version] ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #50 // Avatar Morphing Script: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #60 // Weapon Animation Tweaks: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #110 // Icon Improvements: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #120 // Change Avatar When Wearing Robes or Armor (Galactygon): v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #130 // Force All Dialogue to Pause Game: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #140 // Fix Boo's Squeak: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1010 // More Interjections: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1070 // Improved Multi-Player Kick-out Dialogues: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1080 // Add Bags of Holding: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1090 // Exotic Item Pack: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1100 // Reveal City Maps When Entering Area: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1120 // Stores Sell Higher Stacks of Items: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1150 // Shapeshifter Rebalancing: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2020 // Two-Handed Bastard Swords: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2030 // Two-Handed Katanas: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2035 // Two-Handed Axes: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2040 // Universal Clubs: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2060 // Weapon Styles for All: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2140 // Expanded Dual-Class Options: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2170 // Cast Spells from Scrolls (and Other Items) at Character Level: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2191 // Limit Ability of Storekeepers to Identify Items -> Identification Ability is Based on Storekeeper's Lore: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2210 // True Grandmastery (Baldurdash): v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2220 // Change Magically Created Weapons to Zero Weight: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2320 // Trap Cap Removal (Ardanis/GeN1e): v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2330 // Remove Delay for Magical Traps (Ardanis/GeN1e): v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2339 // Remove Summoning Cap for Regular Summons: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2352 // Alter Multiclass Restrictions -> Install both of the above options: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2360 // Remove Racial Restrictions for Single Classes: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2371 // Alter Dual-class Restrictions -> Allow non-humans to dual-class: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2380 // Remove Racial Restrictions for Kits: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3040 // Make Bags of Holding Bottomless: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3050 // Remove fatigue from restoration spells: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3060 // Remove "You Must Gather Your Party..." Sound (Weimer): v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3080 // Unlimited Ammo Stacking: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3090 // Unlimited Gem and Jewelry Stacking: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3100 // Unlimited Potion Stacking: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3110 // Unlimited Scroll Stacking: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3125 // Neutral Characters Make Happy Comments at Mid-Range Reputation: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3150 // Turn Off The Hideous Cloak-of-Mirroring, Spell-Trap, and Physical Mirror Animations: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3200 // Sellable Items (Icelus): v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3220 // Sensible Entrance Points: v16 ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4020 // ToB-Style NPCs: v16 ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #0 // Proper dual-wielding implementation for Thieves and Bards: v4.80b3 ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #1 // Thief kit revisions: v4.80b3 ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #3 // Proper racial adjustments for thieving skills: v4.80b3 ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #4 // Bard kit revisions: v4.80b3 ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #6 // Proper spell progression for Bards: v4.80b3 ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #7 // Additional equipment for Thieves and Bards: v4.80b3 ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #9 // Revised Thievery -> Use PnP thievery potions and prevent their effects from stacking: v4.80b3 ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #999 // BG2-style icons for RR content: v4.80b3 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #0 // The BG1 NPC Project: Required Modifications: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #1 // The BG1 NPC Project: Banters, Quests, and Interjections: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #2 // The BG1 NPC Project: Give Edwin his BG2 portrait: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #3 // The BG1 NPC Project: Give Imoen her BG2 portrait: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #4 // The BG1 NPC Project: Give Jaheira her BG2 portrait: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #5 // The BG1 NPC Project: Give Minsc his BG2 portrait: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #6 // The BG1 NPC Project: Give Viconia her BG2 portrait: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #7 // The BG1 NPC Project: Kivan's "Kivan and Deheriana Companions" portrait: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #8 // The BG1 NPC Project: Add Non-Joinable NPC portraits to quests and dialogues: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #16 // The BG1 NPC Project: NPCs can be sent to wait in an inn: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #18 // The BG1 NPC Project: Alora's Starting Location -> Alora Starts in Gullykin: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #20 // The BG1 NPC Project: Eldoth's Starting Location -> Eldoth Starts on the Coast Way: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #22 // The BG1 NPC Project: Quayle's Starting Location -> Quayle Starts at the Nashkel Carnival: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #24 // The BG1 NPC Project: Tiax's Starting Location -> Tiax Starts in Beregost: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #28 // The BG1 NPC Project: Bardic Reputation Adjustment: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #31 // The BG1 NPC Project: Sarevok's Diary Adjustments -> SixofSpades Extended Sarevok's Diary: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #200 // The BG1 NPC Project: Player-Initiated Dialogues: v21_20150210 ~BG1NPCMUSIC/SETUP-BG1NPCMUSIC.TP2~ #0 #0 // The BG1 NPC Project Music Pack -> Install All Audio: v6 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #1000 // Initialise mod (all other components require this): v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #1910 // Protection from Normal Missiles also blocks Arrows of Fire/Cold/Acid and similar projectiles without pluses: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2010 // More consistent Breach spell (always affects liches and rakshasas; doesn't penetrate Spell Turning): v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2020 // Antimagic attacks penetrate improved invisibility: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2030 // Iron Skins behaves like Stoneskin (can be brought down by Breach): v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2110 // Reduce the power of Inquisitors' Dispel Magic -> Inquisitors dispel at 1.5 x their level (not twice their level): v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2120 // Slightly weaken insect plague spells, and let fire shields block them: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2150 // Make spell sequencers, spell triggers, and contingencies learnable by all mages: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #3030 // Re-introduce potions of extra-healing: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #3041 // Reduce the number of Arrows of Dispelling in stores -> Stores sell a maximum of 5 Arrows of Dispelling: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4000 // Faster Bears: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4010 // Grant large, flying, non-solid or similar creatures protection from Web and Entangle: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4020 // More realistic wolves and wild dogs: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4030 // Improved shapeshifting: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4040 // Make party members less likely to die irreversibly: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4110 // Allow NPC pairs to separate: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4140 // Allow Yeslick to use axes: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4145 // Skip the Candlekeep tutorial sections -> Remove the tutorial NPCs from Candlekeep: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5000 // Ease-of-use party AI: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5010 // Move Boo into Minsc's pack: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5020 // Remove the blur graphic effect from the Cloak of Displacement: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5050 // Stackable ankheg shells, winterwolf pelts and wyvern heads: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5060 // Ensure Shar-Teel doesn't die in the original challenge: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5900 // Initialise AI components (required for all tactical and AI components): v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6000 // Smarter general AI: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6101 // Potions for NPCs -> One third of the potions dropped by slain enemies break and are lost: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6300 // Smarter sirines and dryads: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6310 // Slightly harder carrion crawlers: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6320 // Smarter basilisks: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6010 // Better calls for help: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6031 // Smarter Mages -> Mages only cast short-duration spells instantly at start of combat if they are created in sight of the PC: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6041 // Smarter Priests -> Priests only cast short-duration spells instantly at start of combat if they are created in sight of the PC: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7000 // Improved doppelgangers: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7010 // Tougher Black Talons and Iron Throne guards: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7020 // Improved deployment for parties of assassins: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7030 // Dark Side-based kobold upgrade: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7040 // Relocated bounty hunters: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7050 // Improved Ulcaster: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7060 // Improved Balduran's Isle: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7070 // Improved Durlag's Tower: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7080 // Improved Demon Cultists: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7090 // Improved Cloakwood Druids: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7100 // Improved Bassilus: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7110 // Improved Drasus party: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7130 // Improved Red Wizards: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7140 // Improved Undercity party: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7200 // Tougher chapter-two end battle: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7210 // Tougher chapter-three end battle: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7220 // Tougher chapter-four end battle: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7230 // Tougher chapter-five end battle: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7250 // Improved final battle: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7900 // Improved minor encounters: v30 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #100 // FThief1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #110 // FThief2: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #120 // F_Barb: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #130 // F_Bard: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #140 // F_Drow: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #150 // F_Fgt01: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #160 // F_Fgt02: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #170 // F_Fgt03: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #180 // F_Fgt04: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #190 // F_Fgt05: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #200 // F_HOrc1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #210 // F_HoW1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #220 // F_HoW2: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #230 // F_HoW3: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #240 // F_Mage1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #250 // F_Mage2: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #260 // F_Mage3: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #270 // F_Mage4: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #280 // F_Mage5: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #290 // F_Monk1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #300 // F_Sorc1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #310 // MThief1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #320 // MThief2: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #330 // M_Barb: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #340 // M_Bard: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #350 // M_Drow: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #360 // M_Fgt01: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #370 // M_Fgt02: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #380 // M_Fgt03: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #390 // M_Fgt04: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #400 // M_Fgt05: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #410 // M_HOrc1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #420 // M_HoW1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #430 // M_HoW2: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #440 // M_HoW3: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #450 // M_Mage1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #460 // M_Mage2: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #470 // M_Mage3: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #480 // M_Mage4: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #490 // M_Mage5: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #500 // M_Monk1: 1.01 ~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #510 // M_Sorc1: 1.01 [/spoiler] Full SCS outside short-duration prebuffs, with RR and BGTweaks added beforehand.
Dekros, Halfling Cleric of Helm and the Bhaalspawn: [spoiler=Dekros][/spoiler] Lyssinia, Elven Enchantress: [spoiler=Lyssinia][/spoiler] Aduroc, Human Totemic Druid: [spoiler=Aduroc][/spoiler] Plisina, Half-elven Mage/thief: [spoiler=Plisina][/spoiler] Gavin, Human Cavalier: [spoiler=Gavin][/spoiler]
After the good nights sleep Jaheira rejoins Rocks group. Kind of annoying that she didnt deem it wise to memorize some spells so she came back with exactly 0 spells. Well Rock and Jan were ok so they figured they should rid the town of the slavers. Went smoothly enough with no real hiccups, web, holy smite and chaos made short work of the fight with the two mages, the boss fight is easy enough and only took a melfs for the cleric. Kind of annoying how many enemies actually manages to land hits in the early game though, almost no fight is a breeze and things can quickly take a turn for the worse if not you're not careful.
After the slavers (and one or two other errands) we went on a shopping spree buying str belt for jaheira, reflection shield for Jaheira (I usually don't use it, but after a few failed no-reloads I figured why not) and fortress shield for Rock.
Second night at an inn actually gives Jaheira a full spell book for the first time. Figured now is a good time to get a full plate so went upstairs to pick a fight with a really arrogant dwarf and his crew, the thief seemed like a nice enough bloke but he proved loyal to the dirtbag so had to go down. Funny thing happened. Web hit EVERYONE, hold person from dryad hit everyone in range, I guess my luck with rolls is used up now. Never happened to me before. Meant the fight went down without a scratch.
Up next the harper hold. Rock has -8 AC with -8 missile, -3 and 4 the others, with PoE should prove enough for most random encounters.
I tried to start a new run but found goblins in Chateau Irenicus where there should have been SCS Duergar. Very frustrating.
@Demivrgvs: I have a problem installing IR. I encountered a problem earlier in which all of SCS' tactical components got spontaneously uninstalled, and WeiDu got stuck in a 2-hour loop when I tried to re- or uninstall it, so I uninstalled the game and all my mods to start over completely.
When I started adding in the mods again, SR installed fine, but IR got stuck at Store Revisions. Attached is the debug file. What went wrong?
@semiticgod it installed fine the previous time right? It seems to fail because of ar0702.are (Ribald's Store), did you installed something which may have altered that file? Please PM me your weidu.log or install order and I'll try to track down the issue. Very strange though because hundreds of beta testers never run into something like this...
// Log of Currently Installed WeiDU Mods // The top of the file is the 'oldest' mod // ~TP2_File~ #language_number #component_number // [Subcomponent Name -> ] Component Name [ : Version] ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2041 // Modify the Harm spell so it does damage rather than reducing target to 1 hp -> Enemy and player Harm spells both do 150 hp of damage: v30 ~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6024 // Add high-level abilities (HLAs) to spellcasters -> All eligible spellcasters in Throne of Bhaal and Shadows of Amn get HLAs (very challenging and not really recommended!): v30 ~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #0 // Spell Revisions: v4 Beta 11 ~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #20 // Mirror Image Fix: v4 Beta 11 ~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #30 // Dispel Magic Fix: v4 Beta 11 ~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #50 // Remove Disabled Spells from Spell Selection Screens: v4 Beta 11 ~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #60 // Spell Deflection blocks AoE spells: v4 Beta 11 ~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #70 // Update Spellbooks of Joinable NPCs: v4 Beta 11 ~ITEM_REV/ITEM_REV.TP2~ #0 #0 // Item Revisions by Demivrgvs: V4 Beta 8
For some reason, the only thing that I could not uninstall when making my (hopefully but somehow apparently not) clean install, was those two components from Strategems.
Before I continued playing, I also installed the Maximum HPs for All Creatures component from the Tweaks. Now all enemies would get maximum HPs.
Anyway, on the second level of the Dragon's Eye I again used the same tactics - an invisible character stands in the most narrow place not to let enemies go through it, while others shoot them down with missile weapons.
The druid in the party became an anti-beetles specialist.
A single first level Colour Spray is so powerful in IWDEE, the main thing is that sleeping (from this spell) creatures don't wake up when they're hit, thus blocking the way for other creatures. It's funny that my Conjurer majorly uses Alteration spells: Colour Spray, Cat's Grace, Strength, Haste.
For the final group at this dungeon level Uzumi, now a 5th level cleric, summoned undead troops, while all others attacked from behind, buffed with everything the party had. The trolls weren't a problem, with fire arrows finishing them.
After the party saved and freed Mother Eugenia and Sheemish, a son of the Kuldahar's blacksmith, a lot of XP was given as a reward, so now the Conjurer got an access to the 4th level of spells, while Uzumi (with buffs) got 100 in Open Locks, Find Traps and Set Traps. The party's tank, the FMC, now had 49 HP.
The party had to return to Kuldahar for the scribing session.
Hypnos, a bard, 8 lvl, 32 HPs Raijin, a FMC, 5/5/5 lvl, 49 HPs - 2 deaths Hades, a FMT, 5/5/5 lvl, 21 HPs - 2 deaths Amaterasu, a druid, 8 lvl, 61 HPs - 1 death Styx, a conjurer, 7 lvl, 24 HPs - 1 death Uzumi, a cleric/thief, 5/6 lvl, 31 HPs
Hachiman, a cleric/thief, 4/5 lvl, 29 HPs - chunked for good
Well, this ended earlier than I thought. Right the very start of the third level of the Dragon's Eye was full of so many hard-hitting Cold Wights that the party was simply overwhelmed by them. After both fighters were killed and four survivors tried to retreat to the previous level, Hypnos, the leader of the group was killed. At least, the new mod works ....
I have to admit, IWD is a very different game if compared to BG, and things that work wonderfully in BG, work a lot worse in IWD.
In my party, a mage part of a FMT wasn't used at all due to the lack of scrolls and the number of enemies coming in huge groups with no ways to retreat (and thus to hide).
A mage part of a FMC offered Mirror Image and Blur, but the number of incoming enemies meant these buffs usually wore off earlier than the fight ended, and thus the better HPs and more levels would be better.
Although a bard is much more interesting in IWD (a vanilla bard, not a skald, because I chose to use only vanilla classes), he usually was busy with singing, and to me, if it were an another fighter, it would be much better, as in that case he would contribute to killing and tanking. But still, bard-specific dialogues and the fact there're bard-specific items in the game still make me think a bard should be in the party.
I liked how the druid and the specialist mage - the conjurer contributed to the party. Basically, I didn't need evocation spells at all, with the druid offering a lot of damaging spells, while it were actually non-evocation spells that helped.
The game without kits and the BG proficiency system indeed feels more authentic and suitable for IWD.
Although I failed at my attempt, I liked the experience. I have to rethink the party members.
You have many partial mages in that group. It would have been a lot of planning with the low amount of scrolls you will find. I take 2 mages at most, preferably 1 mage plus bard (because bards are great). I suggest taking no more than one triple class if at all. And druids are nearly mandatory, it is so much fun to use their spells.
I hope Chaen by @Otherguy , Xyrwenys by @GemHound , Bardin by @Blackraven (in ToB!), Jurs by @Musigny , Valos by @semiticgod , Scarlett by @Pteran , Yami by @Gotural (a nightmare mode + Tactics!) and of course The Merrie Men of Easthaven by @BillyYank are still somewhere there, fighting the bad guys and helping the good ones!
Jurs and Imoen will come back. I wanted to work on the Tactics mod a little bit and I ended up working a lot on it until mid February. For every hour of code you spend at least 5 hours on testing and it kills your pleasure to play (reason why I play BGEE instead of BG2EE even if I used to prefer BG2). I still have a lot of things to do. After this BG overdose (actually without playing), I had a short pause. I am currently playing PoE, I have done act I, act II, white march I and most of act III. I am about to play the white march II part. Off-topic but I have been pleased with all the new stronghold enhancements even if there are a few new bugs. (The battle of Yenwood was cool perhaps it can inspire Beamdog...)
But what really prevented me from continuing was when my F/M/T got imprisonned by the Lich in the Docks despite being under the effect of Enrage (my character is kitted Berserker). This really killed my desire to play, even if it was a bug or a scripted spell and I should probably reload.
In Tactics for EE and the original mod, the way the spell is cast cannot lead to the situation you described (the spell is cast as interruptible and even if it was forced, this would not bypass your protection). Moreover the script casts the spell only if the target is detected as non protected by a berserk state. I may check whether the debuff spell removes such a protection but what's for sure is that when the spell was cast on you, you were non longer protected.
@semiticgod I'm surprised at the behavior of your PC, to say the least. The only guess I have is to check whether you are really installing the mods into the folder of your game you're telling about - because there's a chance you can have several folders of the game, and just keep installing the mods to the wrong folder. The Steam version can mess with folders a bit.
I've decided to roll a new group for IWDEE, with the focus on those who can fight and tank. To me, that was the main problem with the failed attempt. Only a druid and a specialist mage are here again, this time an Enchanter. 4 others are fighters of some sort.
Also, although it was a hard decision, I went with a Paladin instead of a Bard.
The mod setup is the same.
I took the rolls as they came, without any adjusting.
[spoiler=Freyja]
[/spoiler]
18/57 STR and 18 CON, a Paladin is the main character, a good thing that IWD gives a lot of abilities to a pally. The only weak point is DEX, but spells will cover it.
[spoiler=Loki]
[/spoiler]
18 DEX, 18 CON and 17 INT for the main tank is an excellent roll, low STR can be compensated with spells. This time, a tank is not a triple class, so I hope he'll be quite reliable.
[spoiler=Tyr]
[/spoiler]
19 CON, 17 DEX and 16 WIS for another tank - a fighter/cleric. But of course, this character will need STR boosting too. Both tanks are shorties.
[spoiler=Ullr]
[/spoiler]
No triple classes here, an elven fighter/thief with 19 DEX and 17 STR should cover the archer/backstabber role, the only role I can't drop in any of my parties. He'll also cover other thieving abilities.
[spoiler=Sygun]
[/spoiler]
A druid has 18 WIS and maximum CON. Although 2 points of CON are not needed, but I took the roll because of WIS.
[spoiler=Nott]
[/spoiler]
An enchanter in IWDEE, just like a conjurer, has Invocation as an opposed school, and the fighter/illusionist will cover it. I hope -2 penalty to saving throws against all enchantment/charm spells will be of a great use.
So, only 1,5 arcane casters now, with 4 (instead of 2) characters able to fight in melee and hold the line. Good CON scores on almost everyone. Good morning, Easthaven, here we go!
I just started an iwd game too. Bard, berzerker (to be dualed to druid at level 4-5ish), dragon disciple, assassin, barbarian, cleric of tempus (roleplayish). So 2-3 tankish characters, a singer, a backstabber and a melee sorceress (with her pseudo dragon pet who will get into the fray).
Will update soon. Easthaven city is just not exciting. The first exciting but is the orcs, which I am standing in front of.
@semiticgod , That problem sounds to me like either a Windows Update problem, or a security system problem, where your computer security has gotten an update without your knowledge that is stopping SCS from altering a file. Are you sure that changes haven't been made to your computer recently that are affecting permissions?
@bengoshi , Kudos to you for "picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and trying, trying again." If you eventually succeed at an IWD insane difficulty run with Tweaks "main character death ends the run" installed, I do believe you will win the distinction of being the first person ever to succeed at doing that.
Maybe you will start a new challenge trend, for all the veteran Infinity Engine players out there who are jaded and/or bored, and need a new frontier to conquer.
Just thought I'd add a random update. I was playing on another character, a Berserker turned Druid (the primal theme makes sense). Been fiddling around with characters since installing SCS, but I've had little play time. I think I'm gonna take this one all the way though.
Bit of an awkward moment though when myself, Yoshi, and Nalia were on our way to her Keep and got jumped by bandits. Two slavers (one a wizard) and a bunch of hulking Orogs (like 8-10 of them). Nalia didn't last long, even with her Stoneskin. Yoshi was holding his own, having run off for the cover of the trees to snipe from safety. My PC was taking a beating, her Armor of Faith only providing a 15% reduction (level 11 Druid).
Yoshimo killed off the warrior Slaver and the mage turned his attention on him. The wizard got lucky with a Chromatic Orb and petrified him =/ So now it's just me against the mage and a bunch of Berserked Orogs...I chugged an Oil of Speed and bolted for the farthest corner I could find. Cast an Iron Skins (god why does it have such a long cast time??), activated my own Berserk, piled on a Righteous Magic, and then slaughtered them all. Orogs were exploding left and right! The mage kept blasting me with Magic Missile, but that just made me angrier. Brought down her Stoneskin and then impaled her on the tip of my Spear +2.
Being that I don't have a Cleric (yet), I cheated and Ctrl+R'd Nalia back to life. I had picked up a Stone to Flesh scroll somewhere along the way (killing slavers I think), so I gave it to her to unpetrify Yoshi. Unfortunately for me, he was untargetable. So for the time being Nalia has been upgraded to longer term member of the party, and I'm heading back to the Bridge District to go pick up Neera. I might grab another melee character to help me clear out the De'Arnise Keep, because something tells me SCS makes it a whole lot harder than my last run.
Rock has done enough to get a good nights sleep again imho. This time killing the evil harpers, doing last part of the thief quest (invisible thieves everywhere...), radiant heart quest, hexxat starter quest for the bag of holding. Figured I had a few spells with Jan left and went on to kill the sewers group.
Potion of freedom > light buffs > web + holy smite + lvl 5 insects > chaos > slow = easy enough. Funny thing was a summoned dryad managed to hold the dwarf, guy must have had a terrible roll. Aside from that the mage failed his save vs chaos, yay me! Went on to kill the Rakshasa for his cloak, made me remember I really don't like Rakshasas, no breach equals no fun, he went down eventually though.
Was running a bit light on spells so finished of the buried alive quest and killed the evil gnome for his illithium, also the ghost casts lesser restoration on you which makes you fatigued. Even though I am a F/C I will NOT give lathander the pure illithium, I really want my improved Mace of Disruption.
Cleric buffs are really quite fantastic. Holy smite is also simply wonderful.
Up next, random wild forest quests to open up wand of spell striking and a +2 necklace, then Trademeet for +3 club (kind of a big step up from my normal club), Rasaads quest is next if I can stomach it, then final part of Neeras quest and after that finally De'Arnise stocked up on scrolls to give to Nalia.
After all those EE quests Rock might just pick a fight with something big in a desperate effort to get himself killed though.
Comments
Improved Bodhi can, as far as I know, see through invisibility. Hexxat entered the place stealthed, Bodhi saw her, she retreated to my party with the vampire following her. Korgan, Dorn and my Blackguard activated GWW and she died in 3 seconds.
During that time Edwin was distracting everyone else in the room with a Project Image casting only defensive spells.
Don't forget to use Protection from Negative Plan to protect from Level Drain!
My party:
-F/M/T, the only Thief of the group. He focused on Detect Illusion and Open Locks early in BP1. Later in BP2 he had enough skill points to achieve 100 in Detect Illusion, Open Locks, Find Traps, Set Traps and 200 in Pickpockets. In BP1 I played him as a Mage casting Sleep and Web spells, using throwing daggers at the same time, in BP2 his role evolved to a tactical assassin, he won several fights alone with a combination of Time Trap + Mislead/Assassination allowing him to remove a few enemies instantly before the fight truely began.
-F/M/C, my only Cleric. In BP1 he played similarly to the F/M/T, staying at long range casting Sleep and Web spells and using his sling when his aura wasn't clear. In BP2 he didn't get the opportunity to shine as you start the differents fights without any prebuffs which hurts this character more than other, plus the fights were kinda shorts. Instead he was mainly summoning Skeletons.
-Skald, another arcane caster. I was surprised at how short the range of the song actually is, you nearly need to stay in melee for it to work. Apart from that he played similarly to the tripleclasses, casting Sleep+Web early on. In BP2 I nearly used him exclusively for singing, the Epic Bard Song has a HUGE range increase compared to the regular Skald song which makes it amazing.
-Archer, the weak link of the party. The Archer was both amazing and horrible at the same time, he had an excellent damage output thanks to his amazingly low THAC0 and his high damage while staying far away but he didn't bring any special utility to the table. Simply put, the Archer was speeding up the process but he never won a fight by himself.
-Sorcerer, the true powerhouse. This guy annihilated the Black Pits alone and naked, in BP1 he got access to Web, Skull Trap, Greater Malison and Chaos very early while he got Project Image, Dragon's Breath, Time Stop, Chain Contingency, etc, in BP2. 4 times out of 5, I only played this character while the other were watching him solo the fight.
-Blackguard, the main damage dealer/tank. This kit is always a safe pick in any party, it doesn't need a lot of equipment if you play it as an archer but it can turn into a godlike melee powerhouse if you give him a lot of stuff. In BP1 I played him as an improved Archer with Poison Weapon outdamaging the Archer and bypassing Stoneskin/Mirror Image. In BP2 I gave him the Flail of Ages +4 and the Defender of Easthaven +3. At this point, with DoE + Hardiness + Armor of Faith he soloed The Ravager, The Winged, and so forth.
My strategy:
-BP1 was very straightforward, basically my 4 arcane casters learned Web and they casted Web 4 times per round while the Blackguard and the Archer were killing enemies trapped in the area of effect, simple yet powerful. Throw a Greater Malison + Chaos into the mix when the Sorcerer was high level enough and that's it.
-BP2 was all about the Sorcerer. As soon as he hit level 9 spells, every fights turned into Project Image => Time Stop => Dragon's Breath x3 => Everyone is dead => ??? => Profit. When I got enough money and items to properly equip my Blackguard, I sent him as an invincible meatshield while my Sorcerer was destroying everything. For some foes, including the yellow Dragon or the final battle, I also used Shapeshift + Time Stop to eat their brains.
Question of my own: I technically did a reload when I realized I hadn't updated my mod setup, and found Improved Shapeshifters with its impossibly ridiculous Greater Werebears summon. Seeing as I had intended to remove that part, I reloaded a save from before that. No resources or deaths were consumed in the first accidental fight, and I had recovered to a decent spot despite the Werebears via Invisibility spells. What say you all: should this disqualify Benoni from the challenge?
I think I've had it with the "smarter X" components of SCS for anything story based ; while others can apparently handle stuff like that, and I know theoretically the counters (I reloaded and easily won after resting and meta-gaming in a set of Pro. from Petrification,) I can't seem to keep both immersion and difficulty. Back to BG1, it seems, and I think I'll roll up another custom party with another pacifist Skald.
@Gotural I am interested in bp2 no reload myself, I think it is very feasible, once you know the ins and outs of the fights. The final fight was very difficult, or so I thought once, but doing some subquests like poisoning Joker, or saving Najiim really makes the battle a lot easier. Kinda like the Ascension battle where you can enlist the help of Rasaad or Bodhi if you do things in a certain manner.
Which fights are the trickier? I remember having trouble with the drow battle, they caught me off guard once and forced a reload. Vampire lord battle is also very dangerous if you are not prepared well and have good weapons. And fallen devas battle was tricky, too, once they teleport to the back of the party. Some fights are very straightforward, felt like fodder like the Umberhulks, Gith, etc. Mindflayer and demi lich battles were surprisingly easy too. Clay golems can give trouble if you don't bring crushing weapons for fighters.
And I agree a sorc is essential for bp2, all high lvl scrolls cost a fortune. I try to circumvent this by exporting my wild mage char from bg2, who has played up to 500 k xp or a bit more in the game, and thus has some high lvl spells written in his book. Not having to pay for every essential scroll help greatly.
I would greatly enjoy a more detailed walkthrough of bp2 no reload. BP1 is simple enough with little tricks. BP2 is awesome and so much more complex than its prodecessor. Just like bg2 feels to when compared to bg1.
After the party returned from the Werewolves adventure, our FMT asked for a vacation. It looked like several old friends of his had a big event coming (possibly involving a feast of sorts), so we had to let him go. We couldn't block it, really: the FMT helped a lot during the adventure, and his contribution to the overall progress was unquestionable.
We didn't have a chance to bewail the lose of our FMT, because as soon as we entered the Ulgoth's beard tavern a charming halfling lass approached us. She heard we were the famous heroes who reached the Balduran island and now were going to try some luck in the Durlag's Tower, and became very enthusiastic about joining our party. The lady turned out to be a chaotic good barbarian, proficient in scimitars and axes. As she didn't ask anything in return, only a chance to participate in the Durlag's Tower adventure, we welcomed her to the crew. In her rage, she had nearly three times as much HPs as our previous party member, so could become a tank letting our Bhaalspawn some freedom.
Before going straight to the Durlag's Tower, we had to clear several wilderness areas, still unexplored till that time.
This time the battle against the four dwarven wardens in the Durlag's Tower went much better. The only downside was that Love reflected all the traps from our Captain, thus killing him:
But even with that, the dwarven wardens couldn't actually hit our group, which actually was of a high level and with lots of buffs from potions:
Comparing this experience with the very first one, when Pride annihilated all our party except for the main character, I have to admit that in BG2 we should never force hard encounters before we get enough levels. We should patiently level up, choosing quests and completing the difficult ones later rather than earlier, just like we did in BG1.
Friendly Random Drops, option 3 - Exchange with Merchants - This component will have the normal random drops when you travel through the world, but adds a merchant in Kuldahar and one in Lonelywood (if HoW is installed). These merchants will allow you to exchange your items for another item in the table--for a commission, of course.
Game ends when the main character dies - By default, in IWD-in-BG2 - as with the original IWD - the game ends only when the whole party is killed. If you install this component, the game instead behaves like Baldur's Gate: if your main character dies, it's game over.
Also: IWD-style proficiencies (yay, @CamDawg !) as a part of Alter Weapon Proficiency System:
Bastard swords and two-handed swords are combined into the Great Sword proficiency.
Long swords, katanas, scimitars, wakizashis, and ninja-tos are combined into the Large Sword proficiency.
The Flail/Morningstar proficiency is renamed Flail proficiency and morningstars are moved into the Mace proficiency.
Darts, and slings are combined in the Missile Weapon proficiency.
Long and short bows are combined in the the Bow proficiency.
http://camagna.net/g3mirror/readme-cdtweaks.html
[spoiler=WeiDU list]
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #110 // Icon Improvements: v1 (alpha)
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #120 // Change Avatar When Wearing Robes or Armor (Galactygon): v1 (alpha)
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #170 // Unique Icons: v1 (alpha)
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1280 // Game ends when the main character dies: v1 (alpha)
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2164 // Alter Weapon Proficiency System -> IWD-Style Proficiencies without Weapon Styles: v1 (alpha)
~CDTWEAKS/SETUP-CDTWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3242 // Friendly Random Drops -> Exchange With Merchants: v1 (alpha)
[/spoiler]
Now if the bard, Hypnos, is dead, it's a game-over (I tried to protect him anyway due to a habit from BG, but now it's in the game). There're merchants in the game who can exchange random loot. And the most important change - now my NPCs have vanilla IWD proficiencies, which further brings it to what Josh Sawyer has told about.
Hypnos - * in Halberds, * in Great Swords (includes bastard swords and two-handed swords), * in Crossbows
Amaterasu - * in Daggers, * in Missile Weapons (includes darts, and slings), * in Spears
Hades - * in Bows (includes long and short bows), ** in Large Swords (includes long swords, katanas, scimitars, wakizashis, and ninja-tos) and ** in Short Swords
Styx - * in Missile Weapons
Raijin - ** in Flails, ** in Maces/Morningstars, * in Missile Weapons
Uzumi - * in Missile Weapons, * in Quarterstaff, * in War Hammer
Note to self, it's pretty stupid to do much more than Irenicus and the circus without resting, at least if you plan to fight mages..
[spoiler=Weidu List]// Log of Currently Installed WeiDU Mods
// The top of the file is the 'oldest' mod
// ~TP2_File~ #language_number #component_number // [Subcomponent Name -> ] Component Name [ : Version]
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #50 // Avatar Morphing Script: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #60 // Weapon Animation Tweaks: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #110 // Icon Improvements: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #120 // Change Avatar When Wearing Robes or Armor (Galactygon): v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #130 // Force All Dialogue to Pause Game: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #140 // Fix Boo's Squeak: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1010 // More Interjections: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1070 // Improved Multi-Player Kick-out Dialogues: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1080 // Add Bags of Holding: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1090 // Exotic Item Pack: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1100 // Reveal City Maps When Entering Area: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1120 // Stores Sell Higher Stacks of Items: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1150 // Shapeshifter Rebalancing: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2020 // Two-Handed Bastard Swords: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2030 // Two-Handed Katanas: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2035 // Two-Handed Axes: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2040 // Universal Clubs: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2060 // Weapon Styles for All: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2140 // Expanded Dual-Class Options: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2170 // Cast Spells from Scrolls (and Other Items) at Character Level: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2191 // Limit Ability of Storekeepers to Identify Items -> Identification Ability is Based on Storekeeper's Lore: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2210 // True Grandmastery (Baldurdash): v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2220 // Change Magically Created Weapons to Zero Weight: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2320 // Trap Cap Removal (Ardanis/GeN1e): v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2330 // Remove Delay for Magical Traps (Ardanis/GeN1e): v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2339 // Remove Summoning Cap for Regular Summons: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2352 // Alter Multiclass Restrictions -> Install both of the above options: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2360 // Remove Racial Restrictions for Single Classes: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2371 // Alter Dual-class Restrictions -> Allow non-humans to dual-class: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2380 // Remove Racial Restrictions for Kits: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3040 // Make Bags of Holding Bottomless: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3050 // Remove fatigue from restoration spells: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3060 // Remove "You Must Gather Your Party..." Sound (Weimer): v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3080 // Unlimited Ammo Stacking: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3090 // Unlimited Gem and Jewelry Stacking: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3100 // Unlimited Potion Stacking: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3110 // Unlimited Scroll Stacking: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3125 // Neutral Characters Make Happy Comments at Mid-Range Reputation: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3150 // Turn Off The Hideous Cloak-of-Mirroring, Spell-Trap, and Physical Mirror Animations: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3200 // Sellable Items (Icelus): v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3220 // Sensible Entrance Points: v16
~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4020 // ToB-Style NPCs: v16
~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #0 // Proper dual-wielding implementation for Thieves and Bards: v4.80b3
~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #1 // Thief kit revisions: v4.80b3
~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #3 // Proper racial adjustments for thieving skills: v4.80b3
~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #4 // Bard kit revisions: v4.80b3
~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #6 // Proper spell progression for Bards: v4.80b3
~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #7 // Additional equipment for Thieves and Bards: v4.80b3
~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #9 // Revised Thievery -> Use PnP thievery potions and prevent their effects from stacking: v4.80b3
~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #999 // BG2-style icons for RR content: v4.80b3
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #0 // The BG1 NPC Project: Required Modifications: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #1 // The BG1 NPC Project: Banters, Quests, and Interjections: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #2 // The BG1 NPC Project: Give Edwin his BG2 portrait: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #3 // The BG1 NPC Project: Give Imoen her BG2 portrait: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #4 // The BG1 NPC Project: Give Jaheira her BG2 portrait: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #5 // The BG1 NPC Project: Give Minsc his BG2 portrait: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #6 // The BG1 NPC Project: Give Viconia her BG2 portrait: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #7 // The BG1 NPC Project: Kivan's "Kivan and Deheriana Companions" portrait: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #8 // The BG1 NPC Project: Add Non-Joinable NPC portraits to quests and dialogues: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #16 // The BG1 NPC Project: NPCs can be sent to wait in an inn: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #18 // The BG1 NPC Project: Alora's Starting Location -> Alora Starts in Gullykin: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #20 // The BG1 NPC Project: Eldoth's Starting Location -> Eldoth Starts on the Coast Way: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #22 // The BG1 NPC Project: Quayle's Starting Location -> Quayle Starts at the Nashkel Carnival: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #24 // The BG1 NPC Project: Tiax's Starting Location -> Tiax Starts in Beregost: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #28 // The BG1 NPC Project: Bardic Reputation Adjustment: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #31 // The BG1 NPC Project: Sarevok's Diary Adjustments -> SixofSpades Extended Sarevok's Diary: v21_20150210
~BG1NPC/BG1NPC.TP2~ #0 #200 // The BG1 NPC Project: Player-Initiated Dialogues: v21_20150210
~BG1NPCMUSIC/SETUP-BG1NPCMUSIC.TP2~ #0 #0 // The BG1 NPC Project Music Pack -> Install All Audio: v6
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #1000 // Initialise mod (all other components require this): v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #1910 // Protection from Normal Missiles also blocks Arrows of Fire/Cold/Acid and similar projectiles without pluses: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2010 // More consistent Breach spell (always affects liches and rakshasas; doesn't penetrate Spell Turning): v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2020 // Antimagic attacks penetrate improved invisibility: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2030 // Iron Skins behaves like Stoneskin (can be brought down by Breach): v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2110 // Reduce the power of Inquisitors' Dispel Magic -> Inquisitors dispel at 1.5 x their level (not twice their level): v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2120 // Slightly weaken insect plague spells, and let fire shields block them: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2150 // Make spell sequencers, spell triggers, and contingencies learnable by all mages: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #3030 // Re-introduce potions of extra-healing: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #3041 // Reduce the number of Arrows of Dispelling in stores -> Stores sell a maximum of 5 Arrows of Dispelling: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4000 // Faster Bears: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4010 // Grant large, flying, non-solid or similar creatures protection from Web and Entangle: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4020 // More realistic wolves and wild dogs: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4030 // Improved shapeshifting: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4040 // Make party members less likely to die irreversibly: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4110 // Allow NPC pairs to separate: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4140 // Allow Yeslick to use axes: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4145 // Skip the Candlekeep tutorial sections -> Remove the tutorial NPCs from Candlekeep: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5000 // Ease-of-use party AI: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5010 // Move Boo into Minsc's pack: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5020 // Remove the blur graphic effect from the Cloak of Displacement: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5050 // Stackable ankheg shells, winterwolf pelts and wyvern heads: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5060 // Ensure Shar-Teel doesn't die in the original challenge: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5900 // Initialise AI components (required for all tactical and AI components): v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6000 // Smarter general AI: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6101 // Potions for NPCs -> One third of the potions dropped by slain enemies break and are lost: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6300 // Smarter sirines and dryads: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6310 // Slightly harder carrion crawlers: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6320 // Smarter basilisks: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6010 // Better calls for help: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6031 // Smarter Mages -> Mages only cast short-duration spells instantly at start of combat if they are created in sight of the PC: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6041 // Smarter Priests -> Priests only cast short-duration spells instantly at start of combat if they are created in sight of the PC: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7000 // Improved doppelgangers: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7010 // Tougher Black Talons and Iron Throne guards: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7020 // Improved deployment for parties of assassins: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7030 // Dark Side-based kobold upgrade: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7040 // Relocated bounty hunters: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7050 // Improved Ulcaster: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7060 // Improved Balduran's Isle: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7070 // Improved Durlag's Tower: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7080 // Improved Demon Cultists: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7090 // Improved Cloakwood Druids: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7100 // Improved Bassilus: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7110 // Improved Drasus party: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7130 // Improved Red Wizards: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7140 // Improved Undercity party: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7200 // Tougher chapter-two end battle: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7210 // Tougher chapter-three end battle: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7220 // Tougher chapter-four end battle: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7230 // Tougher chapter-five end battle: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7250 // Improved final battle: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7900 // Improved minor encounters: v30
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #100 // FThief1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #110 // FThief2: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #120 // F_Barb: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #130 // F_Bard: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #140 // F_Drow: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #150 // F_Fgt01: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #160 // F_Fgt02: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #170 // F_Fgt03: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #180 // F_Fgt04: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #190 // F_Fgt05: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #200 // F_HOrc1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #210 // F_HoW1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #220 // F_HoW2: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #230 // F_HoW3: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #240 // F_Mage1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #250 // F_Mage2: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #260 // F_Mage3: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #270 // F_Mage4: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #280 // F_Mage5: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #290 // F_Monk1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #300 // F_Sorc1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #310 // MThief1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #320 // MThief2: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #330 // M_Barb: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #340 // M_Bard: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #350 // M_Drow: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #360 // M_Fgt01: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #370 // M_Fgt02: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #380 // M_Fgt03: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #390 // M_Fgt04: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #400 // M_Fgt05: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #410 // M_HOrc1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #420 // M_HoW1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #430 // M_HoW2: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #440 // M_HoW3: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #450 // M_Mage1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #460 // M_Mage2: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #470 // M_Mage3: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #480 // M_Mage4: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #490 // M_Mage5: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #500 // M_Monk1: 1.01
~S9SOUNDSETSVOL2/SETUP-S9SOUNDSETSVOL2.TP2~ #0 #510 // M_Sorc1: 1.01
[/spoiler]
Full SCS outside short-duration prebuffs, with RR and BGTweaks added beforehand.
Dekros, Halfling Cleric of Helm and the Bhaalspawn:
[spoiler=Dekros]
Lyssinia, Elven Enchantress:
[spoiler=Lyssinia]
Aduroc, Human Totemic Druid:
[spoiler=Aduroc]
Plisina, Half-elven Mage/thief:
[spoiler=Plisina]
Gavin, Human Cavalier:
[spoiler=Gavin]
After the slavers (and one or two other errands) we went on a shopping spree buying str belt for jaheira, reflection shield for Jaheira (I usually don't use it, but after a few failed no-reloads I figured why not) and fortress shield for Rock.
Second night at an inn actually gives Jaheira a full spell book for the first time. Figured now is a good time to get a full plate so went upstairs to pick a fight with a really arrogant dwarf and his crew, the thief seemed like a nice enough bloke but he proved loyal to the dirtbag so had to go down. Funny thing happened. Web hit EVERYONE, hold person from dryad hit everyone in range, I guess my luck with rolls is used up now. Never happened to me before. Meant the fight went down without a scratch.
Up next the harper hold. Rock has -8 AC with -8 missile, -3 and 4 the others, with PoE should prove enough for most random encounters.
@Demivrgvs: I have a problem installing IR. I encountered a problem earlier in which all of SCS' tactical components got spontaneously uninstalled, and WeiDu got stuck in a 2-hour loop when I tried to re- or uninstall it, so I uninstalled the game and all my mods to start over completely.
When I started adding in the mods again, SR installed fine, but IR got stuck at Store Revisions. Attached is the debug file. What went wrong?
// Log of Currently Installed WeiDU Mods
// The top of the file is the 'oldest' mod
// ~TP2_File~ #language_number #component_number // [Subcomponent Name -> ] Component Name [ : Version]
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2041 // Modify the Harm spell so it does damage rather than reducing target to 1 hp -> Enemy and player Harm spells both do 150 hp of damage: v30
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6024 // Add high-level abilities (HLAs) to spellcasters -> All eligible spellcasters in Throne of Bhaal and Shadows of Amn get HLAs (very challenging and not really recommended!): v30
~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #0 // Spell Revisions: v4 Beta 11
~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #20 // Mirror Image Fix: v4 Beta 11
~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #30 // Dispel Magic Fix: v4 Beta 11
~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #50 // Remove Disabled Spells from Spell Selection Screens: v4 Beta 11
~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #60 // Spell Deflection blocks AoE spells: v4 Beta 11
~SPELL_REV/SETUP-SPELL_REV.TP2~ #0 #70 // Update Spellbooks of Joinable NPCs: v4 Beta 11
~ITEM_REV/ITEM_REV.TP2~ #0 #0 // Item Revisions by Demivrgvs: V4 Beta 8
For some reason, the only thing that I could not uninstall when making my (hopefully but somehow apparently not) clean install, was those two components from Strategems.
Could I just delete AR0702 and try again?
Before I continued playing, I also installed the Maximum HPs for All Creatures component from the Tweaks. Now all enemies would get maximum HPs.
Anyway, on the second level of the Dragon's Eye I again used the same tactics - an invisible character stands in the most narrow place not to let enemies go through it, while others shoot them down with missile weapons.
The druid in the party became an anti-beetles specialist.
A single first level Colour Spray is so powerful in IWDEE, the main thing is that sleeping (from this spell) creatures don't wake up when they're hit, thus blocking the way for other creatures. It's funny that my Conjurer majorly uses Alteration spells: Colour Spray, Cat's Grace, Strength, Haste.
For the final group at this dungeon level Uzumi, now a 5th level cleric, summoned undead troops, while all others attacked from behind, buffed with everything the party had. The trolls weren't a problem, with fire arrows finishing them.
After the party saved and freed Mother Eugenia and Sheemish, a son of the Kuldahar's blacksmith, a lot of XP was given as a reward, so now the Conjurer got an access to the 4th level of spells, while Uzumi (with buffs) got 100 in Open Locks, Find Traps and Set Traps. The party's tank, the FMC, now had 49 HP.
The party had to return to Kuldahar for the scribing session.
Hypnos, a bard, 8 lvl, 32 HPs
Raijin, a FMC, 5/5/5 lvl, 49 HPs - 2 deaths
Hades, a FMT, 5/5/5 lvl, 21 HPs - 2 deaths
Amaterasu, a druid, 8 lvl, 61 HPs - 1 death
Styx, a conjurer, 7 lvl, 24 HPs - 1 death
Uzumi, a cleric/thief, 5/6 lvl, 31 HPs
Hachiman, a cleric/thief, 4/5 lvl, 29 HPs - chunked for good
I have to admit, IWD is a very different game if compared to BG, and things that work wonderfully in BG, work a lot worse in IWD.
In my party, a mage part of a FMT wasn't used at all due to the lack of scrolls and the number of enemies coming in huge groups with no ways to retreat (and thus to hide).
A mage part of a FMC offered Mirror Image and Blur, but the number of incoming enemies meant these buffs usually wore off earlier than the fight ended, and thus the better HPs and more levels would be better.
Although a bard is much more interesting in IWD (a vanilla bard, not a skald, because I chose to use only vanilla classes), he usually was busy with singing, and to me, if it were an another fighter, it would be much better, as in that case he would contribute to killing and tanking. But still, bard-specific dialogues and the fact there're bard-specific items in the game still make me think a bard should be in the party.
I liked how the druid and the specialist mage - the conjurer contributed to the party. Basically, I didn't need evocation spells at all, with the druid offering a lot of damaging spells, while it were actually non-evocation spells that helped.
The game without kits and the BG proficiency system indeed feels more authentic and suitable for IWD.
Although I failed at my attempt, I liked the experience. I have to rethink the party members.
Will you start a new iwd game?
I wanted to work on the Tactics mod a little bit and I ended up working a lot on it until mid February. For every hour of code you spend at least 5 hours on testing and it kills your pleasure to play (reason why I play BGEE instead of BG2EE even if I used to prefer BG2). I still have a lot of things to do.
After this BG overdose (actually without playing), I had a short pause. I am currently playing PoE, I have done act I, act II, white march I and most of act III. I am about to play the white march II part. Off-topic but I have been pleased with all the new stronghold enhancements even if there are a few new bugs. (The battle of Yenwood was cool perhaps it can inspire Beamdog...)
I may check whether the debuff spell removes such a protection but what's for sure is that when the spell was cast on you, you were non longer protected.
I've decided to roll a new group for IWDEE, with the focus on those who can fight and tank. To me, that was the main problem with the failed attempt. Only a druid and a specialist mage are here again, this time an Enchanter. 4 others are fighters of some sort.
Also, although it was a hard decision, I went with a Paladin instead of a Bard.
The mod setup is the same.
I took the rolls as they came, without any adjusting.
[spoiler=Freyja]
[/spoiler]
18/57 STR and 18 CON, a Paladin is the main character, a good thing that IWD gives a lot of abilities to a pally. The only weak point is DEX, but spells will cover it.
[spoiler=Loki]
[/spoiler]
18 DEX, 18 CON and 17 INT for the main tank is an excellent roll, low STR can be compensated with spells. This time, a tank is not a triple class, so I hope he'll be quite reliable.
[spoiler=Tyr]
[/spoiler]
19 CON, 17 DEX and 16 WIS for another tank - a fighter/cleric. But of course, this character will need STR boosting too. Both tanks are shorties.
[spoiler=Ullr]
[/spoiler]
No triple classes here, an elven fighter/thief with 19 DEX and 17 STR should cover the archer/backstabber role, the only role I can't drop in any of my parties. He'll also cover other thieving abilities.
[spoiler=Sygun]
[/spoiler]
A druid has 18 WIS and maximum CON. Although 2 points of CON are not needed, but I took the roll because of WIS.
[spoiler=Nott]
[/spoiler]
An enchanter in IWDEE, just like a conjurer, has Invocation as an opposed school, and the fighter/illusionist will cover it. I hope -2 penalty to saving throws against all enchantment/charm spells will be of a great use.
So, only 1,5 arcane casters now, with 4 (instead of 2) characters able to fight in melee and hold the line. Good CON scores on almost everyone. Good morning, Easthaven, here we go!
Bard, berzerker (to be dualed to druid at level 4-5ish), dragon disciple, assassin, barbarian, cleric of tempus (roleplayish).
So 2-3 tankish characters, a singer, a backstabber and a melee sorceress (with her pseudo dragon pet who will get into the fray).
Will update soon. Easthaven city is just not exciting. The first exciting but is the orcs, which I am standing in front of.
@bengoshi , Kudos to you for "picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and trying, trying again." If you eventually succeed at an IWD insane difficulty run with Tweaks "main character death ends the run" installed, I do believe you will win the distinction of being the first person ever to succeed at doing that.
Maybe you will start a new challenge trend, for all the veteran Infinity Engine players out there who are jaded and/or bored, and need a new frontier to conquer.
Bit of an awkward moment though when myself, Yoshi, and Nalia were on our way to her Keep and got jumped by bandits. Two slavers (one a wizard) and a bunch of hulking Orogs (like 8-10 of them). Nalia didn't last long, even with her Stoneskin. Yoshi was holding his own, having run off for the cover of the trees to snipe from safety. My PC was taking a beating, her Armor of Faith only providing a 15% reduction (level 11 Druid).
Yoshimo killed off the warrior Slaver and the mage turned his attention on him. The wizard got lucky with a Chromatic Orb and petrified him =/ So now it's just me against the mage and a bunch of Berserked Orogs...I chugged an Oil of Speed and bolted for the farthest corner I could find. Cast an Iron Skins (god why does it have such a long cast time??), activated my own Berserk, piled on a Righteous Magic, and then slaughtered them all. Orogs were exploding left and right! The mage kept blasting me with Magic Missile, but that just made me angrier. Brought down her Stoneskin and then impaled her on the tip of my Spear +2.
Being that I don't have a Cleric (yet), I cheated and Ctrl+R'd Nalia back to life. I had picked up a Stone to Flesh scroll somewhere along the way (killing slavers I think), so I gave it to her to unpetrify Yoshi. Unfortunately for me, he was untargetable. So for the time being Nalia has been upgraded to longer term member of the party, and I'm heading back to the Bridge District to go pick up Neera. I might grab another melee character to help me clear out the De'Arnise Keep, because something tells me SCS makes it a whole lot harder than my last run.
Potion of freedom > light buffs > web + holy smite + lvl 5 insects > chaos > slow = easy enough. Funny thing was a summoned dryad managed to hold the dwarf, guy must have had a terrible roll. Aside from that the mage failed his save vs chaos, yay me! Went on to kill the Rakshasa for his cloak, made me remember I really don't like Rakshasas, no breach equals no fun, he went down eventually though.
Was running a bit light on spells so finished of the buried alive quest and killed the evil gnome for his illithium, also the ghost casts lesser restoration on you which makes you fatigued. Even though I am a F/C I will NOT give lathander the pure illithium, I really want my improved Mace of Disruption.
Cleric buffs are really quite fantastic. Holy smite is also simply wonderful.
Up next, random wild forest quests to open up wand of spell striking and a +2 necklace, then Trademeet for +3 club (kind of a big step up from my normal club), Rasaads quest is next if I can stomach it, then final part of Neeras quest and after that finally De'Arnise stocked up on scrolls to give to Nalia.
After all those EE quests Rock might just pick a fight with something big in a desperate effort to get himself killed though.