Yoshimo:A bounty-hunter has arrived from Kara-Tur and awaits at the nearby inn.
OOC: I've got a feeling Yoshimo could be joining the party very soon. The fight against the rats feels like it is shaping up to be a bloodbath and we haven't even started rolling the dice yet.
Alora, on the other hand, is convinced that when she gets there she will be able to save the day. (Mind you Alora at this point has no idea what enemy she will be facing and can just hear screaming coming from upstairs)
OOC: you mean a bloodbath for the rats? I cast sleep on them and Jaheira cast Entagle. No way any of them will move for the next rounds. I got 17 DEX and a crossbow with some bolts. My prediction: at least two of the rats are doomed before any of them will start moving at all. For the rest of them: we have Minsc, Anomen and Arkanis here. All atacking from different directions, not a good position for the rats to be in.
OOC: My defeatism probably comes from my own experiences playing Baldur's Gate. I'm hopeless with area effect spells and every time I cast them I seem to incapacitate my own party rather than the enemy.
Hopefully Jan and Jaheira have better aim than I do!
OOC: I came to love area of effect spells. You just have to keep your party together and cast the spells way out there. Imagine: Web, Greater Malison, followed up by Cloudkill, and maybe a Slow. Then proceed to unload your fireballs at everyone. For this tactic to work best, it is helpfull to have two mages in the party. So you can throw Web and Greater Malison at the same time, then Cloudkill and Slow, then the fireballs/skull traps/all the damaging spells you want.
@bengoshi I am unfamiliar with PnP, only ever played BG and IWD series. So I never encountered these rats before... 90% resistance to physical damage is quite a problem...
OOC: Unfortunately in this encounter, the party are scattered and will all be running into the fray from different directions. I can see LadyRhian steepling her fingers right now as she ponders how many of us are going to get caught in the crossfire.
OOC: so our enemies have 90% resistance to physical damage, may infect their victim with a disease and there are ten of them. I thought this was supposed to be a funny, lighthearted campaign? I begin to fear for Jans life here...
OOC: My favourite voice set in the BG series is one of the female ones from IWD. When you select her she says: "I'm ready. I hope . . ." I can hear her voice in my head as we go into this battle.
OOC: Area of effect spells became my friends in my current play. I'm a monk in BG1 and, for the longest time, was very squishy. I learned, first hand, the value of Sleep - turns packs of hobgoblins, xvarts and many others into one or two awake ones and a lot of dead meat.
The character will get super strong in BG2, I know, but it's been a harder climb than usual. Normally, CHARNAME is a killing machine, taking out everything. Not so in this play through. It's making me learn and use spells better (2 mages: Neera and Weetch aka Dynaheir); I'm also using wands (abusing wands) a lot more often - totally different flavor of game for me, to be sure!
OOC: Sleep is THE spell for low level mages. Turns almost everything into sitting (well, laying down) ducks, that are easily hit. It is also very safe, since it doesn't affect anyone in your party. Imho, Sleep is the best lvl1 spell until the magic missle kicks in with 3 missiles at a time.
Arkanis, Anomen and Minsc run towards the rats, and are in the target area when the Sleep and Entangle spells go off. First, they are gripped by the tendrils of the Entangle spell, and then Jan's sleep makes them topple (all three failed *both* saves.... Arrgh!) However, the rats are entangled and six of them fall asleep in the bargain.
@LadyRhian - Original post had 10 rats. I understand that the status is:
[E] [E] [E] [ES] [ES] [ES] [ES] [ES] [ES] [ES]
Where E is Entangled and ES is Entangled and Asleep and none are free to roam? If so, rather than club/shield, Jaheira will use long reach of staff to pummel, as this might allow her to remain unentangled and, even if she does get planted in place, she'd be out of reach of the vermin
If my understanding is wrong, she'll go shield/club on her way to the scene (not racing in to give advantage to rats) and focus on any free rats first
As for Khalid, I'm hoping @scriver remembers us soon. Jaheira's got urges to get natural
OOC: Sleep is THE spell for low level mages. Turns almost everything into sitting (well, laying down) ducks, that are easily hit. It is also very safe, since it doesn't affect anyone in your party. Imho, Sleep is the best lvl1 spell until the magic missle kicks in with 3 missiles at a time.
OOC: I think it depends what level of difficulty you are playing on. The default setting on the original Baldur's Gate was Core D&D rules and in those sleep can affect your own party. I think BG:EE has changed the default setting to make it a bit easier (you get full hit points when you level up and you don't have to worry so much about friendly fire).
OOC: Sleep is THE spell for low level mages. Turns almost everything into sitting (well, laying down) ducks, that are easily hit. It is also very safe, since it doesn't affect anyone in your party. Imho, Sleep is the best lvl1 spell until the magic missle kicks in with 3 missiles at a time.
OOC: I think it depends what level of difficulty you are playing on. The default setting on the original Baldur's Gate was Core D&D rules and in those sleep can affect your own party. I think BG:EE has changed the default setting to make it a bit easier (you get full hit points when you level up and you don't have to worry so much about friendly fire).
OOC: I actually remember it the other way around: in vanilla BG, sleep does not affect the party. I'll have to test it.
All the rats are entangled, none of them are free. Six of them are also sleeping, @Reedmilfam, you have seven as being asleep in your diagram.
@Cyberhawk, the bazaar owner looks towards the rats with disinterest, now that he sees they are being taken care of. All the rats lose their turn due to the Entangle.
OOC: I actually remember it the other way around: in vanilla BG, sleep does not affect the party. I'll have to test it.
OOC: I could have got it wrong. It has been a while since I started a new game and I'm fairly hopeless at playing a mage so they tend to get ignored in my parties. It's why I always struggle in BG2. When the high level spells start flying around I don't have a clue what is going on.
Alora keeps running up the stairs! As soon as she can join the combat she will target the rats that are entangled but not asleep. If any of them get free and try to attack the comatose party members she will go for those ones.
Once Aerie was outside, she saw the writhing vines and Jan's hands dance on the opposite side. "Minsc wait!" she cried, but she was too late--Minsc charged in with his sword held high, and...promptly fell asleep in the slithering tendrils.
She feared for Minsc's life. Would the vines choke out his life if he didn't fight back? But Minsc was a powerful ranger and her guardian, and she had to believe that it would take more than a magic trick to defeat him. She hoped.
Too afraid to step into the swarm, for fear that she could be entangled too, Aerie pulled out her sling, and tried her very darndest to hit the rats and not her incapacitated companions.
OOC: Roll to see if she hits? Or misses terribly? XD
Edit: Fixed some tense problems in my writing. >.>;;
OOC: @LadyRhian is correct. Jaheira can't count too well, either! But she can race forward with her quarterstaff (but I think no attack until Round 2)
In Character:
With a cry of, "For the Fallen," Jaheira raced past her stupefied husband to pounce on any rats that looked like they could fight back. Since nature's grasp was holding all of them fast, she saw no reason to use club and shield, thereby subjecting herself to their foul bites. The longer weapon would prevail in this case.
As for said husband, he was going to find her colder than the airs outside, and for some time to come, as well. They were Junior Harpers, to be sure, but Harpers, nonetheless. This meant that they had to act in defense of those who could not do so for themselves. He knew this to be true, and, yet, was so slow to act that he might as well be entangled with the other rats.
OOC: I enjoy the RP aspect of this more than any other. Can you imagine a pissed-off Jaheira as spouse? She has him by the short curlies (sometimes literally). And she can whomp him. Or entangle, and then whomp him. Poor guy...
My one and only BG2 playthrough CHARNAME sighed up for that voluntarily. I still pity him
Comments
Jan retreats towards the building he just came out from - the Bazaar, or gift shop, as Alora put it.
Alora, on the other hand, is convinced that when she gets there she will be able to save the day. (Mind you Alora at this point has no idea what enemy she will be facing and can just hear screaming coming from upstairs)
Hopefully Jan and Jaheira have better aim than I do!
@bengoshi I am unfamiliar with PnP, only ever played BG and IWD series. So I never encountered these rats before... 90% resistance to physical damage is quite a problem...
OOC: My favourite voice set in the BG series is one of the female ones from IWD. When you select her she says: "I'm ready. I hope . . ." I can hear her voice in my head as we go into this battle.
The character will get super strong in BG2, I know, but it's been a harder climb than usual. Normally, CHARNAME is a killing machine, taking out everything. Not so in this play through. It's making me learn and use spells better (2 mages: Neera and Weetch aka Dynaheir); I'm also using wands (abusing wands) a lot more often - totally different flavor of game for me, to be sure!
Khalid gets to do something, if he wants...
[E] [E] [E] [ES] [ES] [ES]
[ES] [ES] [ES] [ES]
Where E is Entangled and ES is Entangled and Asleep and none are free to roam? If so, rather than club/shield, Jaheira will use long reach of staff to pummel, as this might allow her to remain unentangled and, even if she does get planted in place, she'd be out of reach of the vermin
If my understanding is wrong, she'll go shield/club on her way to the scene (not racing in to give advantage to rats) and focus on any free rats first
As for Khalid, I'm hoping @scriver remembers us soon. Jaheira's got urges to get natural
Umm... I mean...
@Cyberhawk, the bazaar owner looks towards the rats with disinterest, now that he sees they are being taken care of. All the rats lose their turn due to the Entangle.
Khalid can still act, @scriver.
And yes, Jan can fire at the rats... next round. You already shot a spell this round.
She feared for Minsc's life. Would the vines choke out his life if he didn't fight back? But Minsc was a powerful ranger and her guardian, and she had to believe that it would take more than a magic trick to defeat him. She hoped.
Too afraid to step into the swarm, for fear that she could be entangled too, Aerie pulled out her sling, and tried her very darndest to hit the rats and not her incapacitated companions.
OOC: Roll to see if she hits? Or misses terribly? XD
Edit: Fixed some tense problems in my writing. >.>;;
In Character:
With a cry of, "For the Fallen," Jaheira raced past her stupefied husband to pounce on any rats that looked like they could fight back. Since nature's grasp was holding all of them fast, she saw no reason to use club and shield, thereby subjecting herself to their foul bites. The longer weapon would prevail in this case.
As for said husband, he was going to find her colder than the airs outside, and for some time to come, as well. They were Junior Harpers, to be sure, but Harpers, nonetheless. This meant that they had to act in defense of those who could not do so for themselves. He knew this to be true, and, yet, was so slow to act that he might as well be entangled with the other rats.
In short, Jaheira was fuming.
My one and only BG2 playthrough CHARNAME sighed up for that voluntarily. I still pity him
"Just you wait, I will turn you rats into hedgehogs, with all those bolts sticking out of you!"