Help! - I'm addicted to skalds!
SharGuidesMyHand
Member Posts: 2,580
After having twice played the game with a skald in my party, it's become very hard for me to imagine playing without one. The difference between when the party is and isn't under the protection of the skald song is clearly noticeable. I want to try a new playthrough with a different character in place of a skald (maybe a blade, or an assassin dual'd to mage?), but I cringe at the thought of just how much more vulnerable my party members are going to be, even with an extra pair of hands free to wield weapons. I suppose that part of the problem is that I don't simply min/max the most crucial stats of my party members - I try to balance out their stats in the manner of the BG1 NPCs.
Is anyone else here having a similar experience?
4
Comments
The Dwarven Defender is also another option.
I am sure they can do something for you and make you better accept a few things in life.
Playing a bard, drinking old wine, watching the sunrise/sunset may be addictive but certainly not pathological or neurotic.
DD: 20% PR normal
Dfensive Stance: 50%
Bone Marrow Belt: 50% slashing, -15% crushing
Sundered Shield: 10% PR
Ring of Greater Resistanxe: 25% crushing
Ring of missile reflection: 10% missile
And if you are lucky enough: warhammer of resistance: 15%
Normal movement: 45% piercing, 55% missile and crushing, 95% slashing!
Defensive stance: 100% all physical attacks except piercing (only 95%...)
Got a massive golem coming down at you? An angry dragon? A pissed off demon lord? Park a kitted out dwarven defender in front of him and watch every single attack bounce off.
If you find the right loot, the dwarven defender more than makes up for his low movement (which only happens when he is tanking anyways)
Might as well face it, you're addicted to skalds.
Might as well face it, you're addicted to skalds.
Might as well face it, you're addicted to skalds.
(I'm not sorry.)
Here I am with axe on my side
Here I am with the will to slay
But make no mistake, for Skald I be
Here I am marching, sweating
Here I am with war in mind
Here I am praying to Óðinn
But make no mistake, for Skald I be
Skald I be, telling you of this war
Skald I be, wishing it had not happened
Skald I be, more at ease with word than sword
More at ease with peace than war
Now let this Skald start his tale
Let him take you into his memory
Great things happenned on the mountainside
Sad things, red things
Things which yearn for pride
Things which yearn for vengeance
Things which yearn
For a telling
- - -
Once it was that we lived in peace
Harvesting crops and praying to the Gods
Once it was that we lived in peace
Raising our sons to be proud like us
Calm days smelling of mountains
Calm nights smelling of sea
Dusks red like the blood of our kin
Dawns sweet like the mead we drink
But one day we heard a rumor
A rumbling echo of the far north
And a hint of a stench, coming about by night
We knew what we were facing then
Trolls had come to the mountains in the north
Beasts more foul than all of Lóki's tricks
Trolls had come to the mountains
And would keep heading south
A counsel was called, many men were there
So many men, from all villages
One might have thought, looking at the crowd
That half of Miðgarðr was standing right there
Then it was said, near the altar to Óðinn
That all men able to bear arms
All those proud enough to act in this time
Were to march like one against the trolls of the north
The war party was to depart in nine days
Early in the evening, in the time of long shadows
Many sacrifices were made to the Gods
Many tears were wept by the women
The nine days passed on slowly
Like Óðinn had decided to give us more time
More preparation for what was to come
To realise that we may fight to win
And be back to our village
Or die in battle
And see Valhöll
- - -
I am now marching to the Trolls
To great battles in the north
Ten thousands marching through winter
Marching to defend our home
My breath through my beard freezes
My eyes in the cold air stare
My feet through the white snow take me
Like my ten thousand brothers at my sides
To the great Mountain we walk
A frozen peak rising in the sky
So high we might reach out and touch Ásgarðr
The hordes of trolls await us there
A deep forest stands in our way
A reminder of where we are, Yggdrasil
A hint of what we may have been
Without Óðinn to watch over us
My axe at my side feels cold
My helmet on my head feels heavy
The very air I breathe feels wrong
But I keep marching, pride in heart
A river we cross now, frozen in places
Many are those who fall to the water
Many are those who stop and drink
A cold gift, blessing of Freyja
Our leaders around on horses
Horns sounding through the icy air
A message is being conveyed
The Mountain is now in sight
Steep slopes we have to climb
Like a challenge set by Þór
Or maybe a trick put by Lóki
In any way, it shall test our might
High we are now, on the Mountain
The air feels rarer, colder, like vapor
It flees before our mouth and nose
Like a will tells it not to be breathed
We reach now the eternal cloud cover
Where the trolls are said to be hiding
Far from daylight at all time
Ready to strike at us, we must watch
With my ten thousand brothers marching
Metallic clamor along the mountainside
Roar of bestial wrath and vigor
A message comes, a troll was seen
We can feel a taste of blood rising
Waking up our minds, sharpening our senses
We are now ready to fight the beasts
Let them come, some are saying
Let us show them the Gods are with us
Waiting for many hours, in silence
Expecting nothing and everything at once
Wishing for all and none to come
And then a smell of troll arrives
The beasts drop on us from all sides
Reaping off limbs and lives
Many trolls are quickly taken down
But great is the cost, we can clearly see
My brothers are screaming to Óðinn
To Þór, Freyjr, and even Lóki
A helping hand will be needed
Or we might not last long here
As I watch the battle raging around me
As I swing my axe hard and steady
Trolls are evading my every blow
Óðinn may you help guide my blade
Fighting hard and swinging fast
The cold wind breathing in my ears
Loosing track of where and when
Around me now more trolls then men
A great big one now comes towards me
And I can feel emptiness surround me
And then up in the sky, I see them
A frightening sight, a soothening sight
Valkyrjur, they come to take me
- - -
A great river of red flows down the mountainside
The Gods have yet to answer
Óðinn, forsake us not
We swore by your name to defend our lands
A great river of red flows down the mountainside
Our weapons have yet to be smeared
With the blood of all those trolls
By Óðinn we must take them down
A great river of red flows down the mountainside
The clouds have yet to depart
So would the Sun turn the beasts to stone
By Óðinn let it happen this time
A great river of blood runs down to our village
The women have yet to see it
Maybe the Gods have not been on our side
By Óðinn, are the men really gone for good?
A great river of blood now runs in our village
The women have yet to stop crying
Maybe they will forgive the Gods for this
By Óðinn, why did they forsake us
A great flow of sorrow runs in our village now
The women have yet to survive
For we can not let this slay our kin
By Óðinn, we must survive this
A great flow of sorrow runs in our village now
The children have yet to grow up
Take up sword and shield in our name
Learn the ways of the Gods
Learn the world sits on Yggdrasil
Learn the giants are to be feared
Learn the dwarfs are to be watched
And those dead in battle to be honored
Thus do we speak now from our seats in Valhöll
By Óðinn our children must survive
- - -
These last line I now wish with all my heart
Sitting at the table in Valhöll
Skald I be, dead in battle
Lifting my cup of mead
Óðinn gazing at me
Asking for yet another tale
Ohh, sorry, it turns out this song hasn't helped at all;)
Nevermind, enjoy your skalds!
P.S. The lyrics is by http://frostblast.deviantart.com/