This is It
Glidderdust
Member Posts: 70
Confession time: I've never beaten ToB. I bought the SoA + ToB pack the summer before I started grad school over a decade ago (!) but real life happened after the summer and I essentially didn't play that game for three years.
I used to play SoA constantly and have beaten it countless times. Since buying BG2EE I've beaten SoA several times.
But my restartitis combined with being married and having a real job doesn't make it conducive to sit around for hours or even days at a time and play through chunks of the game. I takes weeks and sometimes months of determined playing to work my way through chapter 2 with my limited time.
So last week when I opened the game and saw a female Inquisitor with the canon party in Firkraag's dungeon I thought, "why did I choose this party, what quests have I done, and what is the story behind the character?" I had no connection the character or the party. So of course I deleted the game and re-rolled a new character.
My Oath: I will beat SoA + ToB with this character without restarting or I will delete BG2EE from my laptop and not play the game or read through this forum for the rest of the year.
I got extremely lucky with my third roll and got these stats:
18/93
18
18
12
18
3
He's a human Berserker who will dual to cleric at level 9. His name is Ralf.
Reasoning: Dual classing doesn't make too much sense RP wise for me with the exception of a few cases and this combination is one of them. He started as a fighter. As he gains experience and understanding of his own power he can use the power within him to cast divine spells. Hence the berserker/cleric.
He's chaotic neutral. Chaos usually follows him so don't be surprised if several party members end up dead. I plan on using Korgan, Jan, and Edwin for the backbone of my party. Finally, it will be a minimum reload challenge. I don't plan on restarting if Ralf gets got.
The only mod I'm using is Dungeon be Gone. I did the circus quest, recruited Korgan, and just started the free the slaves quest.
So here I go. Wish me luck. Feel free to make your own proclamations of fighting restartitis and the real world to beat this game in one run through in this thread if you want.
Hopefully I'll keep up my end of the bargain.
I used to play SoA constantly and have beaten it countless times. Since buying BG2EE I've beaten SoA several times.
But my restartitis combined with being married and having a real job doesn't make it conducive to sit around for hours or even days at a time and play through chunks of the game. I takes weeks and sometimes months of determined playing to work my way through chapter 2 with my limited time.
So last week when I opened the game and saw a female Inquisitor with the canon party in Firkraag's dungeon I thought, "why did I choose this party, what quests have I done, and what is the story behind the character?" I had no connection the character or the party. So of course I deleted the game and re-rolled a new character.
My Oath: I will beat SoA + ToB with this character without restarting or I will delete BG2EE from my laptop and not play the game or read through this forum for the rest of the year.
I got extremely lucky with my third roll and got these stats:
18/93
18
18
12
18
3
He's a human Berserker who will dual to cleric at level 9. His name is Ralf.
Reasoning: Dual classing doesn't make too much sense RP wise for me with the exception of a few cases and this combination is one of them. He started as a fighter. As he gains experience and understanding of his own power he can use the power within him to cast divine spells. Hence the berserker/cleric.
He's chaotic neutral. Chaos usually follows him so don't be surprised if several party members end up dead. I plan on using Korgan, Jan, and Edwin for the backbone of my party. Finally, it will be a minimum reload challenge. I don't plan on restarting if Ralf gets got.
The only mod I'm using is Dungeon be Gone. I did the circus quest, recruited Korgan, and just started the free the slaves quest.
So here I go. Wish me luck. Feel free to make your own proclamations of fighting restartitis and the real world to beat this game in one run through in this thread if you want.
Hopefully I'll keep up my end of the bargain.
20
Comments
It sounds like you are on the right path. The party you propose has a very strong core.
Good luck! I promise you will feel satisfied after completing it. I had much the same experience and never played ToB until the EEs came out. I had low expectations after reading about so many people's lackluster experiences regarding ToB. That served me well I think, because I found I really enjoyed it. Hopefully your experience is similar.
Godspeed!
I Wish you tons of luck......
And keep record on some piece of paper of the relevant things as playing through chunks of the game in your scarce spare time is easy to forget something important.
Use the in-game journal and record your story, progress etc (this way you will not loose those papers you plan to write on). I used to record things in the journal to serve as a reminder or reference.
Yesterday I was able to free the slaves, complete Korgan's quest, and survived Suna Seni's ambush.
Korgan and Minsc were nearly killed by the Crypt King in a tricky fight. I don't remember that guy's AC being so low in he original game.
Minsc then was all the way down to 6 hp due to getting bit by a spider but Ralf slowed the poison and Minsc retreated to the back of the line.
The leader of the slaves traders nearly killed Jaheira despite her iron skins.
Tough going yesterday but progressing nicely.
Trust me, the toughness you face is the most enjoyable part.
Once you became seasoned like many of us here, such fights are no longer fun x_x
My biggest problem in BG2EE is I always wanna do all the quests even though I don't need to.
That bad habit of mine is killing my immersion ...
Personally, I always kick Jaheira off if I have no interest of doing her quest (i really can't stand her, not my mother, try to act like my mother yet wanna romance my male character X_X). Sometimes I play female character JUST to keep her hands off me O_O
If you wanna get rid of her permanently, petrify her, maybe 1 corner of Coppercoronet ^^ and you will always smile when you enter CC and see her statue ^^
A worthy memorial ^^
Jan confused Galvary, which made him run away. The party focused on each enemy in the Harper hold and defeated them one by one. However, Jaheira chased after Galvary and was unable to hurt him. After his confusion wore off, he proceeded to kill her without issue before the party could rescue her. They decided not to resurrect her and simply took her more valuable possessions and went on to recruit Edwin and complete the Shadow Thieves quest.
@Bubbles I consider myself pretty seasoned all things considered. I'm just really reckless at the beginning since I've played the first few quests so many times due to restarting. I used to immediately kick Jaheira out but I've been keeping her around so I can fight the Harpers and get the Ring of Wizardry for Edwin.
On my way to clear out the De'Arnise hold. Ahead of schedule so far.
I am pretty reckless just as you are for a VERY long time too.
Now, I "try" to role-play a bit so I will be less reckless ^^.
If Jaheira died in Harpers' Hold, well I will give her a nice funeral if I could ^^ and wishes her happy reunion with Khalid (and not trying to boss and dominate my male charname, I am not a fan of femdom ^^).
At times I chose female charname JUST to avoid her romance X_X but end up Rasaad comes after me even more persistently than any NPC ever did X_X.
Did you use too many mods? I don't remember in non-EE that I have to do the necklace thing.
I think I need to install my non-EE again and check out the necklace thingy.. hmmm....
I remember my first playthrough was with an Undead Hunter and didn't recall she ever asked me for a necklace .... (I hate level drain ^^ because the restoration causes FATigue .. unless G3 tweaked)
The harper's plot is always there and always go to the point where you are accused by them and Jaheira side on your part, and you lot that ring. But if you don't have triggered the romance at that point the plot ends.
She never asks for the necklace, is the shopkeeper that does it, the one near Valigar's home in the docks, AFAIK only after a certain point of the harper's plot. When you buy it, if you chose to do so, she is even reluctant, she is the first to see it as it would be inappropriate, at least in my not english language game, but that trigger the romance, where she don't rush into your huggin' harms but slowly accept the romance as times go by. The rest of the harper's plot, until the last spawn of Terminsel, happens only if the romance is on, if you don't buy the necklace never happens and you never romance her. You, because you do the first step.
In EE I don't know, maybe the necklace is removed and the romance begin just having her in the party, and I don't see it as enhancing, the fact that you begin the romance give a different perspective to the widow, age, Gorion thing, as at the beginning she is reluctant, but in the end she falls in love and accepts the romance.
The romance basically starts with the first lovetalk after you finish the series of dialogues with Gaelan and Brus.
My opinion was based on my first runs of BG2, many years ago, the romance for me did trigger only in runs where I bought it, and I had many other ones without romance and without buying it. In almost all the runs of my early BG2 years I had her in the party. Is possible that in the many runs without romance I had screwed the romance in other ways and I didn't buy the item. At that time I was using the only SoA game, don't know if it matters.
Now is ages that if I have her in the party I romance her, the reasons to have her are the 3 rings and the amulet, the reason to the romance are the 2 ones I can steal and the final item reward. I am not much interested in RP the romances, I did try them all but the Anomen's one, but I could live without them without even noticing their lack. I am interested in other RP issues (player's personal taste....). And in those more recent runs I always bought the necklace because I was convinced that it was the trigger.
So my opinion was based on some very old memories, but I am quite sure that in those old times I never had a romance without necklace and that I had many runs without romance.
Vicky seemed to be more interesting as a target for romance ^^.
By the way, just for those who are curious about EE romance, Dorn is not the most aggressive fellow, Rasaad is the one ( and mind you he is very sensitive and may leave the party if you reject him with the wrong reply). Rasaad is so persistent in his romance it drive my female charname nuts and really feel like putting putting his statue in the middle of the heretics temple as a monument (hehe I guess gorgonzola knows what I mean xD).
but if someone doesn't like Jaheira's romance and like her as character or have other reasons to have her in the party there are ways to screw the romance and don't have her leaving the party. Also if the necklace is not the trigger I believed was there are banter options to quit the romance.
It is very hard to ditch Jaheira (in terms of romance) without killing that part of her quest to get the Reading Ring (wizardry). My fastest work around is always to play female charname but the rest of the "males" will start to approach me X_X unless I choose the OP males of which most of them don't have romances with charbane (but OP is loosing fun).
This is before you have the chance to fight for that ring and I am not sure if only her romance is screwed this way or also all the harper's plot. I learned this in the little resarch I did before, in game I have always chosen to have charname damaged.
Do it in Trademeet next to your statuary, along with all the other lackeys who failed you, much better feng shui.
EDIT: I accidently quoted wrong thing, hehe. Was supposed to qoute the "Funny, I do the same thing to Khalid in the Friendly Arm Inn." Oh well. o.o
I'd rather go for some cozy corner in the sewers, she'll like it there a lot as a druid. Also you could even add a nice Keldorn companion statue, while you're at it.
As a general remark towards Jaheira and all her realted subquests: They are all independent from her romance. Harpers, Ployer, Ertof Dand, these will(can) all happen and commence without any cut content, whether you are romancing her or not.
Firkraag's dungeon, Umar Hills/Temple Ruins, the mercenary group in the guarded compound, the mind flayer lair in the sewers, and then finally take out Kangaxx.
Ralf was actually killed twice. Once by the mage Edwin has you assassinate. I was lazy and didn't prebuff with death ward. After the reload I did all the pre buffing but it didn't matter as the group cut the mage down before he could cast that spell again. The second time was a failed save when I forgot to disarm a trap.
Hopefully I'll be in chapter three by the beginning of March.
so who have you collected in your party? ^^
@Pantalion
Placing Jaheira in CC is good 风水 (fengshui) ^^. It serve to remind patrons to keep their big mouth shut and mind their own business if they wanna hang around in CC (and the naughty Harpers, muahahaha)
Good, 4-men party don't get jammed by the path-finder. Anything more tend to have problems when you select party to move around. Too bad they don't have a pretty portrait for Edwina ^^.
Edwina is supposed to be very busty and shapely xD.
I was laughing my head off when all the party members commented on it.