The Tale of Euphonia the Half-Elven Skald and her search for the Holy SCS No-Reload Grail

Blackraven

Although I had decided a few weeks back that I'd take a break after Glorydd, I found myself remarkably eager to roll a new character to wash away the foul taste in my mouth left by the Dwarf's death.

This character became Euphonia, Half-Elf Skald. Conceptually it's one of my favorite classes, but my performances with Skalds have been less than stellar. Euphonia's my fourth. Ocker the Dwarf fell to Shoal's (ranged!) kiss of death, Nereniel the solo Skald died against Drasus & co, and an undocumented, non-optimized Skald was drowned by a Water Weird. So I'd say expect little, and who knows she might surprise you all

As you can see I got a very nice roll and went with optimized stats, because I think I may need every benefit I can get. Euphonia will journey with (like-minded) companions; besides her kit a second aspect of this playthrough that doesn't bode well for Euphonia hehe.

As always, I play with Rogue Rebalancing, the implications of which can be learnt here: http://readme.spellholdstudios.net/rr_core.html#Bard_kit_revisions.

Euphonia started her adventure with a Wolfskin Bag to store items in, and with a Pseudo-Dragon Familiar, Fluister. Fluister, encouraged by Euphonia's song and Swashbuckler Imoen's arrows was instrumental in the girls' first careful steps toward Sword Coast heroism. In the Red Canyons for example, it knocked a Wolf unconscious (allowing the girls to save Melicamp and seeing him restored by Thalantyr), and it even slew a Dread Wolf.

In Nashkel the familiar tanked a Baby Wyvern and killed an assassin who was after Euphonia.

At the Friendly Arm Inn Fluister made Tarnesh pay for injuring Euphonia and Imoen, with his life.

And near the High Hedge it knocked out various Gnolls for the girls.

This is not to say that the girls didn't do any hard work themselves. They slew a rogue Ogre, four Huge Spiders, and two Ogrillons themselves.

At the Nashkel Carnival, Euph and Imo pawned an enchanted Ring they'd found at the FAI. This transaction, artifiaclly high Charisma, and a heroic reputation allowed the girls to purchase the Fragment of Enlightenment Ioun Stone (+20 Lore) for the Bard and a suit of Caster's Chain (AC 5, allows spell casting), and the Deep Red Ioun Stone (+1 Dex) for the Thief. Both Short Sword wielding rogues are now level 4, and discussing Keldath's request to clear Mutamin's garden, before any other NPCs are to be recruited.

semiticgoddess

Long live Euphonia!

CharlestonianTemplar

Blackraven said:

As always, I play with Rogue Rebalancing, the implications of which can be learnt here: http://readme.spellholdstudios.net/rr_core.html#Bard_kit_revisions.

Darn it B_R. I've never used Rogue Rebalancing but I will for BGII...if I get there. Great mod as you know I like anything that makes BG more like AD&D.

By the way, Euphonia's a hottie & Branwen's cut Sir Gawain off. CT

Blackraven

@semticgod, thank you! It's what I hope too... Euphoria for Euphonia

@CharlestonianTemplar
Thanks! RR is a really good mod imo, especially for Bards. I'm less convinced by the Thief kit revisions and HLAs; the Bounty Hunter gets seriously nerfed for example. Another mod you might want to look into, is aTweaks, which is called 'Your pnp Tweak Pack' for good reason. Personally that mod has become a staple for me in my installs.

As to your last comment, few maidens would say no to the legendary Knight that is Sir Gawain, and I doubt Euphonia is one of those few. Word has reached her of a young Paladin traveling north of the FAI and looking for traveling companions, but who knows what happens if Sir Gawains and her paths cross.
Btw do you know whether his romance with Branwen was 'completed', or did you choose a wrong dialog option?

CharlestonianTemplar

Blackraven said:

@semticgod, thank you! It's what I hope too... Euphoria for Euphonia

@CharlestonianTemplar :
Btw do you know whether his romance with Branwen was 'completed', or did you choose a wrong dialog option?

I think it ran it's course. In the end, she just kinda said she cared too much for my PC &, as such, was losing focus on her her fidelity to Tempus. Plus, she said she was always worrying about Gawain in battle & losing her focus or some such. It was fun while it lasted. Check out the image I'm using for her - got it from Lagertha on the Viking series. Perfect!


LAGERTHA AS BRANWEN! (@ level 9 w/AC -6 & an enchanted Warhammer & a Staff Mace, she's a beast )

Blackraven

Hey @CharlestonianTemplar! Awesome, and guess what? I also downloaded a Lagertha pic (digital artwork). You'll see it soon enough

Blackraven

Up north the girls helped farmer Wenric reclaim his land from Zombies, which made Euph obtain level 4 and gain her first level 2 spell. She successfully copied Invisibility into her spellbook, and used that spell for a heist together with Imo. In the Lighthouse Area, Euphonia cast Invisibility on Imoen, after which the two girls rested. The next day, Euphonia cast invisibility on herself, and with her best friend (who was still invisible herself) she snuck past groups of Sirines and entered Black Alaric's cave. There, Imoen disarmed four traps, and blocked a narrow path so that Euphonia could take down hostile Golems with her returning Frost Dart +1.

Euph then took the Pirate Lord's treasue and rested behind Imoen on the narrow path. Several Golems interrupted the Bard before she managed to rememorize Invisibility, but the creatures couldn't touch her. They all fell to her darts (providing the girls with some nice extra XP).

The rogues then traveled eastward toward Mutamin's garden, with a scroll of PfPetrification they had bought at the Nashkel Carnival. Euphonia told Imoen to stay back, protected herself with the scroll, and with Fluister she went Basilisk hunting. Fluister's immunity to petrification was reeally helpful in keeping the Basilisks busy, so that Euph didn't have to run around all the time to create space for ranged attacks. Thus the real threat weren't the Basilisks but Mutamin. Euphonia decided to test the Wand of Paralyzation on the Gnome; it worked like a charm. With some moving around she managed to slay Mutamin with her dart, and after that, her last two Basilisks.

The girls reached level 6 in Mutamin's garden, which was convenient in that any recruits would join the party at their highest possible levels.

The girls welcomed two new members into their ranks: Ajantis, a Cavalier squire, joined north of the FAI, and at the Nashkel Carnival Branwen, a Battleguard of Tempus, was depetrified and recruited. Ajantis received a Helm of Infravision (Neira) and a Cloak of Protection +1 (stolen by Imoen from Wenric's home). Branwen was given a Helm of Charm Protection (bought at Feldepost's) and a suit of Ankheg armor the girls had found in Nashkel. The party of four's first feat was to dispatch Bassilus. Branwen immediately proved her worth in that encounter, by Silencing the priest, allowing an easy kill.

In the same area, Zargal & co were slain. All in all the party's exploration of the Red Canyons turned out to be a profitable undertaking. Bassilus' Ashideena became Branwen's weapon of choice, and Zargal's Whistling Sword went to Imoen.

The party's next adventures took place in the Cloudpeaks, where Sendai, Alexander and Delgod made the mistake of attacking the party,

just like Vax and Zal.

(The Bracers of Archery went to Imoen.) Albert and Rufie were reunited, a Dryad of the Cloudpeaks convinced the party to protect her tree, Euphonia defeated Ludrug in single combat, Drienne found her dead cat thanks to the adventurers, and no orders were taken from Ingot, the lowly Gnoll.

Further west the party dealt with Half-Ogres, Gnolls and Xvarts, resulting in the acquisition of Gauntlets of Dexterity (for Ajantis) and a Charisma tome. The adventurers cleared a Gnoll Stronghold to rescue a female wizard named Dynaheir.

The lady was safely brought to Nashkel where she reunited with her lost friend Minsc, after she had helped the party defeat a bounty hunter near the Nashkel Mines.

The bounty hunter's blade, Varscona, became Ajantis' weapon of choice. The the party sold much of their loot to purchase a suit of full plate mail for Ajantis, the Greenstone Amulet for Euphonia, and a Cloak of Displacement which would end up on the back of a new companion: Kivan (unkitted Ranger). The latter also received a suit of Studded Leather +2 (Sendai) and the Sword of Rage (two-handed sword +3 with 1/day rage ability, as enchanted by Thalantyr per the Thalantyr Item Upgrade mod).

During his first adventure with the party, on the northern Sword Coast, Kivan was interrupted by Jozzi Seasnake, just when the quintet was busy killing Droth the Ogre Mage (after an effective Stinking Cloud cast by Euphonia).

They were spirited away to a shipwreck, where they faced three Sahuagin and two Carrion Crawlers. This was not an easily manageable battle, as Ajantis and Kivan's paralyzation by the Crawlers demonstrated. Euphonia expended a charge of the Wand of Paralyzation on one of the Crawlers.

With her comrades she then slew the other Carrion Crawler, and after that, the parayzed one.

When all three Sahuagin were slain, the party was rewarded with a really nice weapon, a returning Throwing Dagger +2. It can even be argued that the weapon, added by the BG1 NPC Project mod, is overpowered if you look at the damage it does:

Inspired by Euph's battlesong, Branwen and Ajantis did a fairly good job at meleeing a band of Ogres that roamed the north coast

before the party ran into Droth again. Euphonia's LMDs frustrated the creature's casting, and and arrow from Kivan's bow killed it.

Droth's Helmet of Defense went to Kivan.

In the Wilderness Lake area the party slew four Half-Ogres (which would yield Branwen a Medium Shield +1 from Bjornin),

and they had a dust with Teyngan & co.

Teyngan was brought down with overwhelming physical force, while Jemby the Mage spent a Sleep spell on a pack of Wild Dogs that Kivan had charmed.

The party followed up with an assault on Jemby, limiting her role to blinding Ajantis before she fell.

They helped Drizzt against a pack of Gnolls, and then traveled north to the farmland south of Wyrm's Crossing where they helped a Ranger contain an Ankheg plague,

and reunited a farmer with his (unfortunately dead) son. (I forgot to complete Tenya's quest, so she'll have to wait for her bowl.)

Next on the menu were the Nashkel Mines. The opposition on the third level was overwhelming, especially on the bridge,

but thanks in part to Euphonia's song the party never lost their esprit de corps. There was one straitened moment, near the exit the final level. Branwen got slowed by a Kobold Shaman, and then repeatedly poisoned by the Kobold Chieftain's arrows. She was at 3 or 4 HPs with a turbid aura, and only survived thanks to Ajantis' Lay on Hands ability and to a Save vs Death.

Thankfully Kivan finished the creature off before it could do any more harm.

At the fourth and final level, things went a lot smoother. The party retreated from the den of Mulahey when the latter summoned Skeletons and Kobolds to his side. The only one to follow them outside was Mulahey himself. He didn't survive the onslaught that awaited him there.

Back inside Branwen turned undead, while the others dealt with the Kobolds.

When all opposition was dispatched, the party looted Mulahey's treasure chest and released Xan, a Fighter/Enchanter that had been Mulahey's prisoner for some time. The party accepted Xan's proposal to join them and outfitted him with Mutamin's Adventurer's Robe, Bracers of AC8, a wand or two, the returning Throwing Dagger +2, and his own Moonblade.

Back on the surface, in the Valley of the Tombs, the party antagonized Narcillicus, summoner of slimes and jellies. He charmed Imoen before Branwen dispelled his buffs (but not the Charm effect on Imoen).

The companions then slew the wizard and (in melee combat) his slimes.

They also had unfriendly dealings with undead creatures that inhabited the area. Skeletons, Ghasts (one of which managed to hold Kivan), and a Revenant all suffered the party's righteous fury.

In Nashkel Branwen's silence facilitated the killing of Zordral at the Carnival, and Euph's Wand of Paralyzation made dealing with Nimbul a formality.

In Beregost, Branwen had her revenge on Tranzig.

When they left the Thunderhammer Smithy, the companions were accosted by Lamalha and her friends. The bounty hunting amazons seemed particularly unfond of Imoen. An Unholy Blight followed by a vicious backstab would have surely killed her if she hadn't healed herself with a potion before receiving the backstab.

She fled inside hoping that her companions would be able to handle their foes. Ajantis, Branwen and Kivan, and Euphonia occupied themselves with the priestesses to keep them from casting more spells; Xan had to cast a Mirror Image when he saw one of the backstabbers approach him.

More alarmingly the other backstabber entered the smithy. It prompted the entire party to get back inside as well. The other amazons followed. With an LMD Euphonia averted another Unholy Blight,

but she could not prevent the priestesses from Holding both Xan and Ajantis. Kivan tried to activate his sword's Rage ability, but that took too long; fortunately he saved vs spell.

Branwen slew Lamalha right after that, but the other priestess, Zeela, somehow managed to Hold Imoen, and forced Euphonia and Kivan into saving vs spell, before Euphonia paralyzed her with her wand. (This was unexpected. I had thought the wand would be faster.)

Zeela, and the rogues Maneira and Telka, were then slain by Branwen, Kivan, and Euphonia, with Kivan getting the kill on each of them.

kcwise

A new adventure dawns!

Musigny

Hooray!
What a dice roll ! And I love the portrait.
Best of luck with this new team.

I am still sad about your fighter/thief tragic death.
When I get more free time, I will give the F/T a try in a solo no-reload game.

BelgarathMTH

I just wanted to say, "Euphonia" is a perfect name for a female bard. "Euphonius" would be good for a male bard. Excellent name construction from classical greco-roman roots, there.

Ygramul

It's interesting to see how we seem to be running different Mod builds:
in my installation of SCS, the amazons ambush you on their separate map encounter.

Also, I've been meaning to say: great portrait set! Is it part of one of the mods? (Could you post what mods you're currently running.)


I feel a bit clumsy & reluctant with nonstandard mods (especially also because I run EE on a Mac) so been reluctant to use various 'Revisions' mods on my no-reload runs. Perhaps, I should consider running EE in Parallels (essentially a Windows setup then).

Blackraven

Thanks @kcwise for your enthusiasm
@Musigny, thank you as well. I also found Glorydd's death a sad thing. It's a pity that things didn't feel the same again for me after reloading. (I did actually defeat the Irencius in Spellhold after a reload.) I hope you'll have some more free time soon. Would be awesome to see you take a no-reload Fighter/Thief through the game. It's an amazing class with lots of options.
@BelgarathMTH, I'm glad you like Euphonia's name and I think it's cool you're aware of its eymology
@Ygramul, the amazon ambush in SCS v28 and later always takes place on a separate map; my install has SCS v21 in which that encounter and the Molkar encounter can take place anywhere (even the Bandit Camp...). My mods are:

- Ascension v1.41
- BG2 Fixpack
- Baldur's Gate Trilogy
- BG1 Unfinished Business
- BG2Unfinished Business
- BG1 NPC Project
- Mini-Quests and Encounters Mod
- The Lure of the Sirine's Call
- Thalantyr - Item Upgrade
- D0 Questpack
- The Tortured Soul Quest
- Expanded Thief Stronghold
- Assassinations
- Back to Brynnlaw mod
- Sellswords
- Item Upgrade
- Oversight
- Song & Silence
- Divine Remix
- SCS I v21
- SCS II v21
- Wheels of Prophecy
- Rogue Rebalancing
- Level 1 NPCs
- BGT Tweaks
- BG2 Tweaks
- aTweaks
- BGT Worldmap
- 1PP
- BGT Music
- Widescreen mod
- Generalized Biffing

After a good night's rest at Feldepost's the party traveled to the Nashkel Carnival to purchase a protective amulet for Xan, and then set out to look for the Bandit Camp. They decided to go east in the general direction of the Firewine Ruins, and to travel north to the Wood of Sharp Teeth from there.
On the Firewine Plains the party ran into small groups of human and demihuman bandits, but they didn't seem to be part of the larger bandit organization that had been terrorizing the Sword Coast. Even after Xan had charmed one of them,

the party learnt nothing of that organization. The adventurers ended up killing the bandits anyway.

Near the Firewine Ruins they met a priest of Ilmater who was so kind to allow Euphonia to release him of a green scroll of PfMagic. The adventurers also cleared the area of Kobolds, critters that caused abhorrence in all of them, after the happenings at the Nashkel Mines. Branwen accepted a challenge by a man called Meilum, after he had provoked her with improper comments.

He dropped a pair of Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise when he fell; Branwen took them for herself.
More Kobolds met their deaths at the hands of the companions inside the Firewine Ruins, a fate that also awaited a wizard called Lendarn and an Orge Mage, thanks to the Wand of Paralyzation.

The Ruins were supposed to contain treasure, but the only loot the adventurers found, was from the enemies they had slain there.
An exit led the companions into a hobbit home. Its owner, Jenkal had apparently been working with Lendarn and the Ogre Mage on a plan to raid the Halfling village of Gullykin. Jenkal unwisely decided to fight the companions, a decision that cost him his life.

The village elder, Gandolar Luckyfoot thanked the party with 250 GP, but somehow didn't find it necessary to reward them with his Lucky Ring (+1 Luck, which had been Blackraven's main motivation to have the party do the Firewine Ruins).

Further north the party reached the dry lands where Euphonia had slain Mutamin and his Basilisks. The area seemed safe and quiet, until the companions ran into Kirian and friends, a group of adventurers not unlike Euphonia's gang, but more aggressive. Kivan had tamed a number of wild Bears and Euph used the Wand of Paralyzation on Kirian. These two factors decided the battle in favor of Euphonia and company.

Bandits became much more prevalent as soon as the party reached Larswood. It told them they were on the right track. An attempt by Euphonia to infiltrate the organization was thwarted by Kivan, who simply lost his temper in front of the people that had tortured him and killed his wife. The party slew the bandits

as well as two hostile Druids in the same area.

Kivan's animal empathy came in handy again, not just against the Druids but also in a confrontation with Blacktalon Elite archers.

In the Peldvale woods the party ran into another bandit patrol. This time Kivan played along when Euphonia convinced them that her party wanted to join the bandits. With their new 'colleagues' the party traveled to the Bandit Camp.

On the way, whispered conversations with Kivan made it clear to Euphonia that he wouldn't be able to keep up the act once he faced his nemesis Tazok. The party then came up with a stratagem. Together, they had some nice gear that made each of them more resilient and more effective in combat, but at the same time their encounters with the Black Talons had taught them that they were far from untouchable. The combined gear however, could turn one person into a juggernaut. Therefore it was decided that each of the companions would lend some of their best items to Kivan, the party's chosen champion. In return, the others received a potion of invisibility from Euphonia to keep them safe. (The party had no less than seven invisbility potions, thanks most of all to Nimbul and Jenkal.)
At the camp the band met Tazok, and went invisible shortly after that,

except for Kivan. Wearing Ajantis' full plate, boots of avoidance, a girdle of piercing, the cloak of displacement and a ring of protection +1, the Elf applied an oil of speed and turned into a killing machine. He wreaked havoc with a set of no less than 100 arrows of biting (bought at the Thunderhammer Smithy). Kivan's first victim was, predictably, Tazok.

Euphonia (invisible as well, albeit a spell she had cast rather than the intake of a potion) had initially sung her song to fill the Elf with hardihood, but soon found herself surrounded by bandits, leaving her no place to go. When Kivan returned to Euphonia, he tried take down a bandit Mage, but he failed and got blinded by his opponent. Thankfully he could wait out the Blindness in relatively quiet corner where he only had to deal with one or two bandits.

When the Blindness had worn off, Kivan ran into Taugosz Khosann, Black Talon leader. He would become the Elf's second victim.

Kivan rubuffed (speed, heroism, power, and his Sword's rage ability) and then returned to the point where his companions had gone invisible. A Glitterdust cast at him by the Mage unfortunately revealed the presence of Imoen and Ajantis.

They fled with Xan, leaving just Kivan and still invisible Euphonia, because Branwen was positioned further to the north. The Ranger slew the wizard and a number of other bandits before his oil of speed wore off. Branwen came to the Elf's aid and the two, inspired by ever-singing Euphonia, then dealt with the last foes.

The party got together again, and found lots of valuable loot on the fallen, including a suit of full plate mail. It meant that now all three warriors (Ajantis, Kivan and Branwen) had top quality armor. In a part of the camp they hadn't yet explored, an unwelcome surprise awaited the party: a large group of bandits.

Euphonia especially had to fear for her life, for somehow the bandits had picked her as their main target. Xan's wand of fire and Imoen's necklace of Missiles helped the band prevail.

With the entire camp eradicated, the party took what loot they could find, learned from a prisoner they released that they'd have to travel to the Cloakwood to find the master minds behind the bandits and the iron crisis, and returned to the FAI to relax for a bit and to trade with Bentley Mirrorshade.

CharlestonianTemplar

Blackraven said:

Hey @CharlestonianTemplar! Awesome, and guess what? I also downloaded a Lagertha pic (digital artwork). You'll see it soon enough

Lagertha is such great. I was ticked last week when Ragnar didn't help her take back her Earldom.

I liked Siggy too...even though she wasn't a warrior. She was one of my favorites & I hated to see her die.

Blackraven

CharlestonianTemplar said:

Lagertha is such great. I was ticked last week when Ragnar didn't help her take back her Earldom.

Haven't seen that I'll see if I can find it on the internet...


In Cloakwood the party protected a nobleman from Baldur's Gate against three aggressive Druids, killed a pack of Tasloi that had stolen a Cloak of Non-Detection (which went to Imoen) from Gurke the Dwarf, and slew plenty of Ettercaps and Spiders. The bulk of the work against the Spiders was done by Ajantis and Kivan (both protected against poison and hold), with Euphonia singing invisibly in the background.

Branwen's Silence worked wonders against groups of hostile Shadow Druids, including their leader, Archdruid Amarande (who onle nets 120 XP!).

Kivan used his animal empathy against a Hamadryad and against a family of Wyverns.

Four Iron Throne henchmen guarded the entrance to the Cloakwood Mine. The party's battle against them started off well, with Euphonia paralyzing the wizard Kysus, and her companions killing him. However around the same time Rezdan did something that caught the Skald off guard. His Chaos affected both Imoen and Xan while she was singing her battlesong.

I don't like this. I want the Skald song to protect against the Confusion effect, not just the spell. Does anyone know how to change that in NearInfinity?
Anyway, the game was gentle with Euphonia after that moment, because she saved vs Rezdan's Emotion: Hopelessness when her aura was still muddy after a failed attempt at casting invsibility on Imoen. (None of the NPCs had died up till then and Euphonia really wanted to keep things that way. She refuses to use her companions as 'cannon fodder' because she cares for them, especially Imoen. Besides, a series of NPC deaths often make Blackraven consider his party runs as failures, causing him to lose interest.)
Things got a lot easier when Euphonia lured the enemy's hasted leader Drasus away from his associates, and went invisible.

Genthore fled inside a building, leaving only Rezdan for Euphonia and companions to take care of. He tried to hide with invisibility, but Imoen (100 Detect Illusions) didn't let him.

Drasus fell to a collective assault,

and so did Genthore after him.

Inside the mines, the party had little difficulty dealing with groups of guards. The only (potential) dangers were three spellcasters on the second and third levels. First there was Hareishan. Imoen dispelled her invisibility and Euphonia paralyzed her with her wand, making that encounter a relatively easy one.

Natasha didn't succumb as readily. She knocked the entire party save Branwen and Kivan out with a Stinking Cloud, and injured the companions with lightning and fire before Euphonia's Wand of Paralyzation made the difference once more.

The third caster guard, an Ogre Mage, underwent the same tratement before it could do much harm.

On the fourth level the companions found the lair of Davaeorn, the Iron Throne executive and yet another spellcaster. Euphonia cast Invisibility on her comrades (which required a rest, because she only had three level 2 spells), and PfMagic from a green scroll on herself. She also buffed with an oil of speed and a potion of defense, and borrowed some some gear from her companions (Golden Girdle, Bracers of Archery, Boots of Speed). Thus prepared, she attacked Davaeorn. The Mage knew however that Euphonia wasn't alone. He approached her invisible friends, and got surrounded by them. Euphonia tried to take on two Battle Horrors while her companions kept Davaeorn in place.

But this was a slow process; her returning Frost Dart did little against the Battle Horrors. At one point Davaeorn dispelled the invisibility of those surrounding him, but that was his death sentence. The wizard had no answer to the party's overwhelming physical force.

The Battle Horrors disintegrated (so no XP from them). The companions looted Daveorn's corpse and his lair, rescued the miners that had been working there as slaves, and flooded the mine. They then traveled to the High Hedge where Thalantyr created the Mage Robe of Practical Protection for Xan.

From Beregost the party traveled to Baldur's Gate where Kivan had to deal with another old foe of his, Imanel Silversword,

before they could actually enter the city.

Ygramul

Aha! Now we are almost on the same spot in our two runs (though you seem to be breezing through your run faster).

Well done on Daveorn. I am now this very minute about to descend the same staircase down to his chamber.

See you in the city of Baldur's Gate - with any luck for both of us...

Ygramul

... and, I wanted to post in simultaneous solidarity, Daveorn just fell [picture].

This fight had killed me so many times. This time charname gulped a magic damage reduction potion (+50% damage reduction + automatic rolls), which Daveorn dispelled! Then I immediately gulped a potion of Magic Immunity (only lasts 5 rounds) while keeping the flunkies busy with Wands of Fear. Daveorn finally fell to a Wand of Fire, with only Safana dead.

Good luck to both of us in the next chapter.

Blackraven

Awesome @Ygramul! Congrats on your progress and yes, best of luck to both Khael and Euphonia

JuliusBorisov

Eudaimonia to Euphonia!

Glad that you keep trying, Blackraven. I believe one day you will do it.

Wowo

CharlestonianTemplar said:

Blackraven said:

Hey @CharlestonianTemplar! Awesome, and guess what? I also downloaded a Lagertha pic (digital artwork). You'll see it soon enough

Lagertha is such great. I was ticked last week when Ragnar didn't help her take back her Earldom.

I liked Siggy too...even though she wasn't a warrior. She was one of my favorites & I hated to see her die.

Please don't put such spoilers without spoiler tags, I haven't started that season yet!

CharlestonianTemplar

Oops. My bad. I'll be more careful. I thought about that afterward. Sorry.

Blackraven

Blackraven said:

However around the same time Rezdan did something that caught the Skald off guard. His Chaos affected both Imoen and Xan while she was singing her battlesong.

I don't like this. I want the Skald song to protect against the Confusion effect, not just the spell. Does anyone know how to change that in NearInfinity?

It's become clear to me that I made a big mistake here. Euphonia had just reached level 8 (not 9) and therefore, her Skald song didn't protect against Confusion effects yet. I've been very lucky with her there.

Grum

Man, those mods make BG1 so much more interesting. A great read, especially as you have a party this time around. GL!

Blackraven

Thanks @bengoshi, for your eloquent reaction and @Grum thanks to you as well. You make a very pertinent observation. I'm playing with a party and with a variety of mods that make this a very entertaining playthrough - if I allow it to be so. Yesterday I did the Cloakwood Mines while I was getting sleepy and with a certain rush and recklessness (for example with Natasha, and what to think of my miscalculation as to the Skald song's progress; it's not like I'd never read the kit description). I think my behavior was caused by my desire to go to sleep, and also by the idea that the 'real' challenge for me lies in BG2. However this is not the way for me to have fun, so I've decided to not play when I'm tired and to stop rushing and enjoy the fact that I'm playing not solo but with a full party with great NPCs and lots of amazing banter, some nice extra gear, extra encounters, etc.
Ajantis deserves special mentioning. He has become a very influential member of the party and has changed Euphonia's ways somewhat. To give an example: in the Elfsong she refused to steal the telescope from the Hall of Wonders for Brevlik, something that she would have probably tried with Imoen before they met Ajantis. His romance is extremely well-written in my opinion. He's such an gentlemanly, honorable, affable and disarmingly goofy character that Euphonia had no choice but to fall in love with him. (She didn't show him this though, forcing him to take the initiative, something that wasn't easy for him). Xan, who had also been courting her, never stood a chance. I don't have much experience with the BG romances, except for Coran treating my Beast Master like garbage, so this is a very welcome change. There are still quite a couple of love talks, which is another reason not to rush this run.

There was much for the party to do in the big city. The companions were invited into a Thieves Guild but although they bartered with Black Lily (Manual of Quickness of Action, Safeguard buckler for Euphonia), they decided not to work for this criminal organization. They released a captive Nymph, slew an evil Mage by the name of Ramazith, and an Ogre bounty hunter named Larze. Two Iron Throne employees had poisoned the sextet, but with with the aid of one of the two (a victim of a geas) the companions found the antidotes on the other Iron Throne lackey after killing him.

(I was surprised to see Marek use darts of stunning rather than his short bow. After Marek stunned Kivan, Euphonia stunned Marek with her wand. The Eagle bow went to Imoen.) The latter quest also enabled the party to reunite Tremain Belde'ar with his son, earning them an enchanted Large Shield for Ajantis. At Ordulinian's suggestion Imoen pickpocketed a ring and a necklace from Nemphre and Arkion to put an end to their quarrel, and she also turned up with what Euphonia indentified as the Cloak of Balduran (Imoen was very vague in her descriptions of where she had found it). In the Docks District Euphonia protected Ajantis from Petrifcation, allowing him to slay a loose Basilisk in a warehouse,

and in the Low Lantern Inn they slew two evil female entropists

as well as the mage Yago for his book of curses for a woman named Brielbara whose child had been cursed by that wizard.

With Larze's Gauntlets of Weapon Skill (Xan) and Vay-Ya's Gauntlets of Ogre Power (Branwen), the Bracers of Archery (Imoen), Gauntlets of Dexterity (Ajantis) and two sets of Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise (Kivan and Euphonia), the party is well-equipped in the gauntlets/bracers department.

One night, when the party were relaxing at the sumptuous Helm & Cloak Inn, Ajantis proposed to Euphonia. It took the Bard by surprise, because the two had only met a few months earlier and they had only gradually grown closer together. Nevertheless, she accepted Ajantis' proposal because she did feel she knew him (after spending day after day by his side) and that she loved him. Ajantis was honest, virtuous, compassionate and fun.

The Cavalier gave her a non-enchanted engagement ring which he placed on his fiancee's ring finger that had held Lord Foreshadow's Ring of Human Influence. The next day Imoen showed the party the Helm of Balduran. She said that someone must have inadvertently left it in her room. They inquired with the inkeep but he had no idea whose helmet it could have been. The companions agreed with him that if no one came for it in a tenday, they could keep it.

In South-West Baldur's Gate the party dealt with Doppelgangers in their friend Aldeth Sashenstar's Merchants League (earning them the enchanted blade Kondar), and also in the Seven Suns, another company.

The latter operation was carried out on the behest of the Flaming Fist; apparently they had been aware of strange goings-on. Another job the band did for the Fist was to investigate the sewers for missing people. They entered in the most inconvenient place, right in the middle of the culprit, an Ogre Mage, and its Carrion Crawler pets.

The party quickly returned to the surface, and entered the sewers at another point. Kivan with Spiders' Bane, Xan and Imoen with ranged attacks, and Euphonia with her song then dispatched most if not all of the Carrion Crawlers, approaching from different corridors.

The Ogre Mage had no answer to Branwen's Dispel Magic followed by the party's onslaught.

Ajantis gave Euphonia an enchanted necklace (cast PfEvil 1/day) with a flower-shaped pendant. It wasn't the most romantic of settings for him to give her the necklace, Euphonia reckoned, but she accepted the gift with gratitude anyway.

The party offered their services in some of the residences in uptown Baldur's Gate, but they weren't always equally well-received. A wizard called Sunin for example, summoned two warriors out of thin air, and attacked. Euphonia, in a reflex, summoned a pack of Gnolls using her Wand of Monster Summoning. Kivan dispelled Sunin's protections with an arrow of dispelling. One of the Gnolls slew a guard, but Sunin Malisoned the companions. However, stripped of his protections, he had no time to cast another spell before the party struck him down. Xan took an enchanted ring from Sunin that doubles the wearer's number of 1st level spells.

Another violent encounter was with Drelik (spell-casting butler) and a warrior named Jardak.

(Note in the second screenshot how Euphonia killed Jardak with her dart while the Skald song was still in effect. I often don't bother because it's not necessary, but 'song twisting' as it's called, i.e. attacking with the Bard and resuming the song without ever breaking the effect of the song, does seem to be doable, especially with low speed factor weapons I reckon.)

Jardak dropped the Helm of Glory, which reminded Euphonia of Thalantyr. She proposed to her companions to leave the city for a while for a trip into the wilds. The proposal was hailed by Kivan and Branwen (two no-so-urban types) as a welcome change, and Xan suggested they visit the Ulcaster School hoping for arcane knowledge to be found there.
At the High Hedge Thalantyr magically fused the Helm of Defense and the Helm of Glory, with the Magnificent Helm as a result (+1 CHA, +1 AC, +1 Saves, +20% Fire/Cold/Electricity resistance). Euphonia gave it to Ajantis as a gift. The Paladin received the both practical and visually splendid helm with gratefulness.

At the Ulcaster School the helmet came in very handy when an undead creature called Icharyd called lightning to come down upon Ajantis. The Cavalier got struck various times, causing him to quaff a potion of absorption, but that proved unnecessary because once he had downed the potion, the party's incessant attacks overwhelmed Icharyd preventing it from calling more lighting strikes.

Ghasts and Kobolds hung around the entrance to the Ulcaster School ruins, until Xan's Wand of Fire and Kivan's Spiders' Bane intervened.

Inside the school the company dealt with other threats: Jellies and Dread Wolves.

And then there was the Wolf of Ulcaster whose Howl of Terror failed to scare the companions thanks to Euphonia's song (and to a Remove Fear 'metagamily' cast by Branwen, just in case Euphonia's song would be discontinued at some point).

More threatening were the Ghouls the Wolf somehow summoned, because Kivan with Spiders' Bane was the only party member that was immune to their paralyzing attacks.

Thankfully, all the company had good AC, in the range of -4 (Imoen) to -10 (Ajantis). None of them got paralyzed, and they slew the different undead creatures without even incurring any noteworthy injuries. Imoen scouted the premises further (I expected her to run into a Skeletal Mage but no). She found four more Dread Wolves, and she disarmed a trapped 'treasure hoard' (containing little loot of worth, and only one book, which they delivered to a spectre of Ulcaster.

I wonder what I'll do with Imo if I make it to SoA with this party. I like her as a Swashbuckler, and I think BGT imports her into Amn the way she was in BG1 if you keep her in the party till the end. Maybe I'll give her an innate Magic Missile as a Bhaalpower, and then keep her as a Swashy, only to find her in Spellhold dualed (as of lvl 15) into Mage.

Ygramul

re: Branwen & the Ogre Mage.
Q.: Does Dispel Magic work reliably against other casters?
(I thought SCS nerfed it.)
Pondering if all my casters should memorize one, or only the single class casters (for the level dependence).

Bonus question: do you know how Yeslick's special Dispel works? Is that just locked on his level or is it maybe like the Inquisitor ability? (I don't dare just put it to test in my no-reload run.)

Blackraven

@Ygramul
A: it works reliably against casters that aren't much higher level. Branwen is a lvl 7 single class Cleric in the current stage of my game, so she stands a good chance of dispelling an Ogre Mage's protections but isn't as likely to be successful against someone like Ragefast, Rieltar, or Semaj.
It's a nice spell to memorize, especially on the single class casters, but in your case it doesn't seem necessary, because according to @Hurricane, Yeslick's Dispel Magic works always in BGEE (as it apparently does in the orginal game), regardless of the enemy's level. This alone makes him a powerful NPC even at lower levels (and with the right gear, he becomes one of the strongest characters in the game.)

Grum

Does the Anantis infraction continue into Bg2?

Blackraven

@Grum: infraction?

Hurricane

Blackraven said:

Yeslick's Dispel Magic works always in BGEE (as it apparently does in the orginal game), regardless of the enemy's level.

Yup, original BG1 didn't have level-dependent dispelling. It was a dispel-all effect, no questions asked. This evolved of course in BG2 and the EEs, but they forgot to change Yeslick's innate ability. So yeah, Yeslick's Dispel Magic gives every Inquisitor a run for his money. That is, until they pick up my bug report and fix it.

Grum

Blackraven said:

@Grum: infraction?

Interaction. Typing on an iphone can be a pain.

Blackraven

@Grum:
Ah ok... I'm afraid not...
I'd love to (same with Kivan), and I understand there's even an Ajantis for BG2 mod out there, by the same author that did the BG1 NPC Project content (someone named Jastey). There are two drawbacks though: (1) so far the BG2 mod only offers SoA content, meaning I'd have a mute Ajantis in ToB, and (2) adding mods at this point might cause bugs in my install. I've had that happen plenty of times.

Scourge

@blackraven not true. Ajantis with ToB content has been out for a really really long while.