@Arvia , regarding the ankheg plate, if you talk to the farmer, he'll say something about breaking his plow on something hard in his field. So you aren't stealing from him, you're helping him clear an obstacle that's affecting his livelihood.
You could also use cheats to help with roleplaying. If you think you should pay the farmer for the armor, just use the console to remove some gold from your party. I can't remember if there's a container in his house, if there is, you can put the pearl in there to represent you giving it to him.
@BillyYank , thank you for the advice. I didn't find any farmer to talk to, and I don't enter locked buildings without very good reason. I've found a solution that I can live with.
What is this cheat console that people keep referring to? Or maybe I don't want to know?
@Arvia , I've never used "the cheat console" much, but I did need to figure it out one time to repair a BG2 game that bugged out. One of the instances of that guy that takes you on the boat from Brynnlaw didn't spawn like it was supposed to, basically ending my game, so I had to find the command to console him in.
It has to be enabled by adding
'Program Options', 'Debug Mode', '1'
to your baldur.ini file, then hit Ctrl+Space in game to bring up the console. You'll have to restart the game after adding the line.
(I have no idea if it can be done on mobile devices.)
I haven't done it in years, and the syntax and punctuation have to be *exactly* correct. Then, there is a very long list of computer code commands you can input into the blank that comes up at the bottom of your game screen when you press Ctrl+Space, and the syntax and punctuation have to be *exactly* correct for all of those.
Hacking and modding give me headaches, so I rarely bother with it. It can be used to repair broken variables and spawns, and people like to use it to instantly teleport across maps or to certain areas, or to perform various cheats.
Thank you both. I don't think I'll even try to use it (looks too complicated to use on the tablet anyway) unless I encounter a serious bug. I had used the Shadowkeeper in the old BG2, because Jaheira was bugged and some mods messed with some items, but this looks much more complicated.
I keep running into "Should I take this loot or leave it?" situations. When I roleplay an excuse to take it, I feel like I'm cheating, but when I don't take it, I know things will be much more difficult and I start to think I'm exaggerating and becoming a fanatic. It's difficult to find a balance that I feel okay with, but that doesn't make the game harder than necessary
Don't worry about making the game harder, because it's impossible to define what "necessary" items are. The game can be beaten by all classes (combinations), by one character, without items, etc. Eventually, you will find alternatives to the items you miss. Stick to RP, as this is more rewarding.
@JuliusBorisov , good point *turns around to put the Potion of Freedom and the Wand of Fear back into the burial mound that she had cleansed from a ghast plague*
Okay, it had to happen sooner or later, here it is: Second reload! And a stupid one, too. But first things first (no campfire stories today, I want to continue playing after this report).
- Arvia and Branwen had a long discussion because of Tranzig and agreed to disagree. Their alignments and gods were too different, and although Arvia understood her desire for revenge, she could not lead a group where individuals didn't follow orders in battle. Discussion was good and important, but during a fight, they had to rely on each other. But they shared similar goals, and Branwen's sense of honor still made her feel indebted to them for saving her life. Arvia respected that and also hoped that maybe traveling a bit more with them might have a good influence on the cleric towards a more lawful path. So they agreed to travel together until the issue around Mulahey, Tranzig and Tazok was resolved or they found another healer, because searching for the bandit camp without a cleric or druid would most likely be suicide.
- we met Officer Vai in the Jovial Juggler in Beregost, who wanted help against the bandits and offered money for their scalps. We will help eradicating the bandit plague, of course, and help to keep the roads safe, but we're doing our duty, we're not mercenaries, and we certainly won't mutilate a corpse, criminal or not. So, no scalping. If that means no reward, so be it.
- before searching for the bandit camp, Arvia wanted to go back to the mines and secure the area further, especially that back entrance they hadn't explored after the fight with Mulahey, where they had left in a hurry because of Imoen and Dynaheir. I was pretty sure that the party expecting us north of that exit would be my second reload, but I seem to have learned at least a little bit more about spells. Dynaheir and Imoen successfully interrupted various spells with their magic missiles, Minsc shot arrows and Branwen cast "Hold" ( I figured that what I hate against my own party might be useful against enemies, too, and it worked), so that the two tanks could tank while the others, after their spells, kept firing from a distance. It was still a close call.
At least three ogrillons in melee don't seem to be trouble any longer.
Then we found three cave entrances guarded by skeletons. Being an undead hunter, I had to check them out of course.
This one was angry about a thief, attacked me, and was easily killed. I was surprised about the 3000XP.
*Then*, outside again, we were approached by a haunted man who asked us to return a dagger and ran away. Why couldn't he turn up *before* I had entered the burial mound?
I put the dagger back into the grave anyway, just in case.
The second grave had only one ghoul, no problem. The third, however, almost killed me.
Immunity to Hold is nice, but useless, if you're surrounded by three ghasts and can't reach the exit. I managed to drink potions quickly enough to survive until I killed one and could get outside. They followed, of course, but out in the open it was easier, with all the others shooting missiles from a distance.
In the graves I had a struggle with my conscience. I didn't want to rob a grave, of course. But I wondered what might have been items collected by the undead, instead, or might be used by others for evil purposes if left there. But to be honest, that Potion of Frost Giant Strength, Potion of Invisibility and Potion of Freedom were just too tempting, along with a Wand of Fear. I didn't take the enchanted armor and jewelry, because they couldn't have been anything else than burial gifts and there was really no excuse to take them.
I left and felt bad, see post above. Then I went and put everything back and felt much better (thank you, @JuliusBorisov ).
We went back to the mines, cleared the area around them, were attacked by several winter wolves. We didn't take the pelts any more (I had taken them twice, once because we were desperate for money to Raise a party member, and the second time when we really needed better armor). I'm okay with self defence, but I won't skin an animal and sell the pelt for profit if I'm not really desperate.
We met Prism and promised to let him finish his work, first.
Greywolf appeared and was no problem, thanks to Branwen.
Right now, I like cleric spells a lot more than mage spells.
Speaking of Branwen, we have reputation 20 now and she's not bothered. I think this was changed in the EE, because Jaheira didn't complain, either, in BG2EE, and I remember her nagging about balance in the old BG2. I think neutral characters don't complain about high reputation any longer.
Now, back to Nashkel. I didn't like Oublev, and the sculpture of Ellesime was well done, but stolen is stolen, so we returned the emeralds.
And then it happened. I thought, interesting, lots of things written on the tombstones! I klicked on one, then this guy appears out of the blue and warns me to stop doing that. I hadn't noticed where he had come from and thought I had missed something on the inscription and klicked again, and then *this* happened.
We were stuck between all those Phoenix Guards, couldn't reach the mage, and he seemed to be immune to everything that we tried to cast on him from a distance. He threw lightning and whatever else, we gulped down potions and fought to the best of our abilities. Dyanheir was dead in seconds, Imoen killed permanently by lightning, and in the end only Arvia and Ajantis remained, then he got permanently killed, too.
And then I got killed, too. I must admit that I was kind of relieved that he got me, too, and I had to reload, but I honestly didn't throw the fight. I would have continued without Imoen and Ajantis (although he had just given a flower to Arvia and she would have been heartbroken). But this was a mean trap, putting all those signs on the tombstones and hiding an impossible battle underneath. On the other hand, if somebody says "Stop doing that" maybe the wise reaction would be to walk away, not do it again to see if that was what he meant. Curiosity killed the cat.
Party level 4 (Imoen level 5, Dynaheir level 3)
Number of reloads: 2 ( the ogre with the belt south of the FAI, Daer'Ragh at the Nashkel graveyard)
Wow, I hadn't triggered that mage encounter since my first time playing BG back in 1999. I had almost forgotten about it after all these years, and I wondered if it was even still in the game. That was definitely a "gotcha" put there by the original developers. Now that you know about it, I doubt it will ever be a problem again.
I wonder if any of the no-reloaders ever trigger that encounter deliberately with some way to win it, to get the xp and whatever treasure might drop?
@BelgarathMTH ,
I guess he's just there to teach a lesson. "If somebody tells you to *not* press the red button, listen to him and stop being curious!"
Tagging @semiticgod for no-reloader wisdom.
Can Daer'Ragh be beaten, or do you just leave him alone? (I'm going to avoid him, but I'm curious)
Tagging @Grond0, who is my typical source for BG1 strategies.
I personally have never encountered Daer'Ragh, and in fact, I had no idea he was even there. I dimly recall hearing about someone using a set of traps to kill Daer'Ragh, but other than that, I'm guessing the best means of killing him would be the same for other BG1 mages: buff with the Greenstone Amulet and elemental resistance potions (or just a Potion of Magic Blocking) and then nail him with Arrows of Dispelling, which can only be bought in Baldur's Gate (there are only 2 to be found as loot, both in Durlag's Tower). The Ring of Energy (from Denak in the Spider Woods) and/or Potions of Firebreath might also help break through his defenses.
As for the Phoenix Guards, they look extremely tough, but they have no missile attacks, so you can run away from them and attack from afar, and they have a vulnerability to cold damage, which would make the Wand of Frost very useful if you got your hands on one. The Ring of Energy should also be perfectly capable of harming them: the ring deals 14 damage on average per charge over 2 rounds, and the Phoenix Guards have only 48 HP apiece. If you dragged the "beam" of the Ring of Energy over the guards, you could damage the whole group at once and clean them up in 4-6 charges.
All of them, including Daer'ragh, appear to be worth only 100 XP, however, and they drop almost no meaningful loot.
@semiticgod , thank you. So it IS just a "gotcha". Thank you. No more touching of those "red buttons" I guess. I wish I could think before I act sometimes:)
It's not an encounter that I've done often - as @semiticgod says there's nothing to be gained by it. If you're expecting them then the Phoenix guards are easy enough to kill using ranged attacks / abilities. I can't remember exactly what spells Daer'ragh has (and they may vary depending on mods), but would suggest you just activate him using a single character. They can then use minimum resources to block magical attacks if necessary before finishing him from range.
This is going to be another "normal" report, no storytelling, because it's late and I'm not in the mood for stories.
After my second reload, we decided to give the graveyard a wide berth and sold our items.
I've changed my rule, now we give our 10% to the temple before we buy anything, because we have the necessary equipment concerning weapons and armor, and everything else, like scrolls and potions and magical items, is optional.
We also give immediately 10 % of large sums we get as a reward, like the 5000 for Bassilius, and sometimes when I think something especially good or bad happened. Otherwise, it's every 10 days. To Helm or Lathander, because there are no temples of Torm or Tyr.
We went to search for Bassilius, but first we found a mad chicken that turned out to be Thalantyr's polymorphed apprentice, and we returned him to his master, who reluctantly agreed to turn him back and keep an eye on him. His wish to us when we left made me wonder if he'd been reading my run reports.
Further south we went, and found Bassilius. That was an "uh-oh" moment. And of course I didn't pretend to be his mom, so we had to face the whole undead horde, too.
His Rigid Thinking hit only Imoen, and Branwen successfully cast "Hold" on Bassilius, so he died quickly. The undead took a little longer to kill, but we survived.
Traveling on, we reached the map where that paladin (Bjornin?) had met some half-ogres. But first we were attacked by more bandits, and they had a mage with them, too, but we remembered to cast "Remove Fear", no harm done.
The half ogres were easily defeated. I'm glad we're not level 1-3 any more, I like being able to tank the big guys. I know it's only a game, but I'm 1.80 in real life (that would be about 5'11 to the non-metric barbarians ?), which is not exactly short for a girl, so I feel like I'm hitting children when I fight xvart or gibberlings. It just feels wrong. Hobgoblins, ogres (ogre berserkers!) and their cousins make me feel much better when I fight them.
The quest about Dynaheir's spellbook got solved, too. Some gnolls had found it (but hadn't kept it) and were turned to the light because it had been blessed by Mystra. I gave them a sermon and sent them off. That was fun.
We met Drizzt, helped him against some gnolls, he found the spellbook (which seems to be pretty useless), and we saved Captain Brage and took him to the temple.
Then we met this cute little boy and helped him find his dog.
I was all "aww look at them!" , and I wish I could have seen my own face when he turned into a demon and took his cute little dog back to the Nine Hells.
I believe this was a joke that I didn't get. Would anyone care to enlighten me, please?
We're pretty well equipped now, here's Arvia with her inventory.
I figured we'd need some crowd control spells before we dared to face the bandits, so we went to High Hedge and got some more scrolls (also the Potions of Mind Focusing from Gellana Mirrorshade, because I had made a mistake before and have only 2 Potions of Genius left). This time I remembered to buy the important spells (web, horror, mirror images etc...) twice, so that Dynaheir could scribe them with the same potion in case of failure. That was fortunate, because she failed to scribe Horror at first.
Then we went to search for the bandit camp. We saved Viconia, although that was probably not the lawful path, and we were attacked by the Flaming Fist officer and had to kill him in self defence, but he had wanted to execute her right there without any proof, and that just didn't seem right.
The bandits in the woods were no problem. I love how Glitterdust can work miracles on a group of archers.
We also had a very bizarre encounter with a drow entertainer. He left me speechless (and that's not easily accomplished).
That was a sad story with the insane, grieving druid, but there was nothing we could have done.
Then we reached the bandit camp and fought everyone there (of course we hadn't pretended to join them before).
The only tough ones were the ones in front of the main tent. By the way, I still use Minsc as an archer only, he gets hit every time in melee.
Entering the tent was a different matter. Forgot to cast "Remove Fear". Stupid, stupid, careless Arvia. That could have been the third reload, but she got lucky with a saving throw and Minsc and Dyanheir had stayed at the tent entrance and were out of reach, so the three of us managed to kill everybody before they could harm our helpless companions. Another close call.
Of course, in case of the bandit camp, I had absolutely no problems taking all the loot (still refuse to take scalps, though), apart from two chests that Imoen couldn't open and Arvia couldn't force even with Strength 18/00.
We went back to Beregost and went through the identify-sell-donate-buy cycle. I believe I have mentioned that we don't sell cursed or evil items, we drop them in the temple.
Then we bought all the potions that seemed useful, and I'm asking myself if we should head straight for the Cloakwood tomorrow, or do the lighthouse map, Firewine Bridge and the basilisk map first (I'm a bit scared of the basilisks, to be honest.And the sirenes along the coast ).
Party level: 5 (Minsc and Dynaheir level 4)
I'm thinking about deactivating "Max HP on level up" in the game settings once they reach level 5, too.
Number of reloads: 2 ( the ogre with the belt south of the FAI, Daer'Ragh at the Nashkel graveyard)
The brothers (Larry, Darryl, and Darryl) are a reference to characters of the same name – the "Do Anything for a Buck" trio – from the 1982 – 1990 sitcom Newhart.
In 1991, the cast reunited in a primetime special. At the end of this special, Dr. Bob Hartley gets on the elevator only to see three familiar workmen doing repairs in the elevator and one of them says to Bob, "Hi. I'm Larry. This is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl."
In the bandit camp you can actually find a potion improving your thieving skills - it can help open those several locked containers.
I'd recommend to do everything else before going to the Cloakwood forest. Don't want to spoil you about basilisks, or sirens. Think about protection from petrification, dire charm and feeblemind.
Dang! I wanted to avoid them. Now I'm tempted. But I'm really afraid of charm and domination spells. And Minsc's berserker rage is not very helpful, because he goes nuts and attacks party members.
@Arvia , There's a Greenstone Amulet for sale in Ulgoth's Beard that can protect one person.
I've had some success using Minsc's berserk before, but it's tricky and dangerous. You have to keep other party members completely away from him until it wears off. I've never had him chase anyone, but he does move in random directions that can make it look like he is if it happens to be in the direction of a party member.
To try it that way, you need to clear the area all around of hobgoblins and wolves, being careful not to let any sirens on the coast spot you. Then Minsc has to solo the sirens by running up to them and going berserk after he's already standing close. It's very dangerous for Minsc as well as your party, because he might get into trouble with his injuries, and you won't be able to go close to him, or to where he falls if he falls.
I've also had some luck before by using stealth or invisibility to find a point just outside their sight and casting Silence spells. Watch carefully to make sure none of them save, but if it lands as hoped, they are very vulnerable to Silence, and all you have to worry about from a Silenced siren is poison arrows. Web spells plus ranged weapons can also be effective, but as soon as one saves against the Web, she'll try to dominate somebody.
The Greenstone Amulet, Potion of Clarity if you can find one, or stealth/Silence are probably the safest.
There's a cave around there. If you go into it, watch out for deadly traps, and there are some very strong physical melee enemies with little or no space to kite. I usually set up ambush points along the way, and send Imoen out ahead to search and disarm the traps. Then, when she gets spotted, she runs back to us, leading the enemies into our ambush.
I've always thought Undead Hunters ought to have immuity to charm, because charm and domination are among the vampires' "most devastating abilities." But alas, the developers didn't see fit to make it so, for some reason.
@BelgarathMTH , I have one single potion of clarity. I hope it lasts long enough. I'm leaving the coast for later. I just did Ulcaster School and Gullykin without major incidents, I'm in Firewine Bridge now, going to the basilisks after that (with trembling knees!), and leave the sirens alone until at least tomorrow.
I'll try to write another story once I'm in the Cloakwood, it doesn't really make sense if nothing interesting is happening.
By the way, Ajantis is nice enough and I went along with his story for the sake of roleplaying, but he hasn't really convinced me. I'm going to keep him safe of course, but I think I'm going to give him back to you once we've killed Big S. ?
(He's not in SoD anyway, is he?)
Edit: I totally agree that undead hunters should be immune to domination and charm, but they would probably be overpowered.
Edit 2: Your advices and explanations are always great. I know I'm repeating myself, but it's true.
Ajantis is not in SoD, no. Well, actually, he can be for the starting dungeon, but he'll be permanently gone after that. There's a mod that can undo his tragic story from BG2, if one cares to rewrite that and have him as a party member there, but the one time I tried that mod, I found it kind of complicated and buggy. Ajantis was never really intended to be a major story character, originally. It's too bad, because I really like him. I don't remember a lot about how he plays in NPC Project. The one time I tried playing a female character there, I kind of got distracted by Coran, and I just couldn't resist the "bad boy" over the "nice guy".
I like Ajantis, too, but his behaviour in NPC Project is... well, I don't know how to explain it. Everything he says sounds rehearsed and he expresses his dedication to vigilance and duty to an extreme.
Helmites *rolls her eyes* ?
I do appreciate him as a team member and fellow paladin.
I just don't like it that all the NPC stories are either romance or no story.
I'm still stuck in the Firewine Bridge map (I think I just met Edgar Allan Poe? ?), too tired yesterday. To be continued tomorrow...
I thought it was going to be here, in the south of the Gullykin map, where we walked into an ambush (just this once, we didn't have Imoen scouting ahead), but we survived that encounter.
No pictures from Ulcaster School, no complications there. Met an old ghost, found and returned a book, made him happy.
Then we went to Firewine Bridge. Dungeons with extremely narrow hallways make me nervous. Sometimes I wish I wouldn't get so immersed. Imoen was scouting ahead with "Find Traps" at 100, Arvia guarding her back. I was so used to Imoen finding every trap and really involved, feeling like I was walking there and not knowing what's expecting us around the corner. I almost had a heart attack when Imoen walked into a trap.
We kept walking ahead, just Imoen and Arvia, and left the others waiting somewhere. When we suddenly spotted a mage and an ogrillon, we decided to run back around a corner when we heard "Incertus..." but the mage only hurt himself while the ogrillon followed us.
We decided to go get the others and went back to fight the mage together. In case of another lightning spell, Arvia went forward and hid the others around the corner. The mage was obviously suicidal, because he made the same mistake again while Arvia jumped back when he started casting, and we remained unharmed.
No XP for us, but it was worth it.
And I had spotted more ogrillons and an ogre mage before running back, so we prepared to face them. We managed to lure the ogrillons to us and killed them, and then I sent Arvia to attack the ogre mage directly, with the spellcasters ready to throw whatever might be necessary at him, and the others hidden in the corners in case of lightning.
Arvia got hit by a Confusion spell again, but this time the others were far away and she still attacked the right guy without harming anybody else.
Then we solved the issue with the evil halfling who had sided with the kobolds (filthy little hobbitses!) and went back to Gullykin.
Afterwards, I felt ready for the basilisks.
I don't know who those arrogant guys were, but I'm dedicated to fighting evil, not stupid. At least not with weapons.
I let Dynaheir cast Protection from Petrification and made Arvia go on her own to clear the area.
Unfortunately, the party wasn't completely out of sight, so Ajantis was turned into a pretty statue.
Arvia had to use the duration of the spell and promised to come back later.
The spell wore off exactly after the last basilisk (I had renewed it once after clearing the lower half of the map) and then we went and saved Ajantis, had to travel back to buy another Stone to Flesh scroll and revived the other statue that we had found in the forest.
Then we discovered another forest map between us and the Larswood, so we went to check it out (procrastination. Still afraid of the sirens).
This time we remembered to let Imoen scout ahead. A very wise decision.
We decided to go back and find a hidden place to rest first (Minsc and Branwen were fatigued already) before we went to see if those wizards were friend or foe.
Definitely the latter. But blinded, and one of them Held, they were no big issue, especially because Arvia, thinking that "Red Wizards of Thay" sounded dangerous, had quickly gulped down a Potion of Magic Blocking before the battle.
I was so proud of my party.
And then we headed north and walked right into a spider web, and the Potion of Freedom was in the potion case in Ajantis' inventory, and he was the first to get caught in the web. We didn't stand a chance. Web and Poison. Good night.
Might as well get used to it before the Cloakwood. I didn't know what to expect in that map and didn't expect traps in the forest, and Hide in Shadows and Detect Traps don't work at the same time. And we were walking too fast.
Party level 5 (turned off "Max HP on level up" after Dynaheir hit level 5 in Firewine Bridge), Branwen level 6
Number of reloads: 3 ( the ogre with the belt south of the FAI, Daer'Ragh at the Nashkel graveyard, a spider web north of the Thay Wizards)
Edit: Branwen wasn't nice to Minsc in Firewine Bridge and made a snide comment about mages as opposed to clercis. I pretended not to hear it, because Arvia and Imoen were in a different part of the dungeon, but I'm thinking again if I should dump her before the Cloakwood. Minsc's answer was hilarious, by the way. He said that without Dynaheir's magic Branwen would still be a "birdbath". Chapeau, Minsc!
Hey, you're doing really great there. It sounds like you're learning the game very quickly. You managed to survive Firewine, which is a good accomplishment. Getting into spider traps, or any traps actually, is a well-known reason for a reload in BG. It will continue to be a problem even in BG2.
Actually, Kirian is evil, not only stupid. I recommend to use "Detect Evil" by your paladin or the same cleric spell. You will see, for example, that Corax is not evil.
@JuliusBorisov , Korax is cute. I didn't harm him, but he's still a ghoul and I'm an Undead Hunter, so I was not allowed to hug him .
I've avoided casting Detect Evil without reason, it leads to bad decisions sometimes. I can't kill everyone who pings red. (Edit: also, my wise paladin teacher @BelgarathMTH had advised against detecting Evil all the time ?)
I'm impressed, @Arvia! You're doing remarkably well so far, particularly since the early game tends to be especially dicey. You're picking things up very quickly.
I think the most dreaded words in all of Faerun, to those with the education to know what they mean, are "Incertus...Pulcher...Imperio!" (Uncertain, beautiful things, I command! Interesting that Mystra apparently considers horrible destructive energy to be a "beautiful thing")
1) Illusion: "Veritas, Credo, Oculos" = "The truth, I believe, with my eyes"
2) Alteration: "Praeses, Alia, Fero" = "Protecting, another, I bring this forth"
3) Necromancy: "Vita, Mortis, Careo" = "Life, and death, I am without"
4) Divination: "Scio, Didici, Pecto" = "I know, for I have studied, with my mind"
5) Abjuration: "Manus, Potentis, Paro" = "A hand, powerful, I prepare"
7) Conjuration: "Facio, Voco, Ferre" = "This I do, I call, to bring you forth"
8) Enchantment: "Cupio, Virtus, Licet" = "I want, excellence, allowed to me"
Those "uncertain, beautiful things" are almost always death by horrible energy plasma explosions or bad, bombing, baffling, bewildering, baneful, bouncing bolts (Baeloth's description of the dreaded Lightning Bolt) of some kind.
The Webs on that map that "got you" are a matter of metaknowledge, unfortunately. That map is about the same level of danger as the Cloakwood spider map where you get Spider's Bane, as far as the Webs, and now you know about the mage quartet that requires you to have Remove Fear, and to possibly use AoE from out of their sight, with spells like Web, Silence, Hold Person, and Fireball.
EDIT: (@JuliusBorisov , never mind. I posted some opinions without censoring myself, and decided that what I had said came across as kind of insulting to friends. So I deleted it. Apologies.)
Comments
You could also use cheats to help with roleplaying. If you think you should pay the farmer for the armor, just use the console to remove some gold from your party. I can't remember if there's a container in his house, if there is, you can put the pearl in there to represent you giving it to him.
What is this cheat console that people keep referring to? Or maybe I don't want to know?
It has to be enabled by adding
'Program Options', 'Debug Mode', '1'
to your baldur.ini file, then hit Ctrl+Space in game to bring up the console. You'll have to restart the game after adding the line.
(I have no idea if it can be done on mobile devices.)
I haven't done it in years, and the syntax and punctuation have to be *exactly* correct. Then, there is a very long list of computer code commands you can input into the blank that comes up at the bottom of your game screen when you press Ctrl+Space, and the syntax and punctuation have to be *exactly* correct for all of those.
Hacking and modding give me headaches, so I rarely bother with it. It can be used to repair broken variables and spawns, and people like to use it to instantly teleport across maps or to certain areas, or to perform various cheats.
Check this thread for more info.
To add the console to the mobile version, check out this mod: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/73108/mod-cluaconsole-cheats-without-keyboard-any-device
Okay, feeling better now. ?
- Arvia and Branwen had a long discussion because of Tranzig and agreed to disagree. Their alignments and gods were too different, and although Arvia understood her desire for revenge, she could not lead a group where individuals didn't follow orders in battle. Discussion was good and important, but during a fight, they had to rely on each other. But they shared similar goals, and Branwen's sense of honor still made her feel indebted to them for saving her life. Arvia respected that and also hoped that maybe traveling a bit more with them might have a good influence on the cleric towards a more lawful path. So they agreed to travel together until the issue around Mulahey, Tranzig and Tazok was resolved or they found another healer, because searching for the bandit camp without a cleric or druid would most likely be suicide.
- we met Officer Vai in the Jovial Juggler in Beregost, who wanted help against the bandits and offered money for their scalps. We will help eradicating the bandit plague, of course, and help to keep the roads safe, but we're doing our duty, we're not mercenaries, and we certainly won't mutilate a corpse, criminal or not. So, no scalping. If that means no reward, so be it.
- before searching for the bandit camp, Arvia wanted to go back to the mines and secure the area further, especially that back entrance they hadn't explored after the fight with Mulahey, where they had left in a hurry because of Imoen and Dynaheir. I was pretty sure that the party expecting us north of that exit would be my second reload, but I seem to have learned at least a little bit more about spells. Dynaheir and Imoen successfully interrupted various spells with their magic missiles, Minsc shot arrows and Branwen cast "Hold" ( I figured that what I hate against my own party might be useful against enemies, too, and it worked), so that the two tanks could tank while the others, after their spells, kept firing from a distance. It was still a close call.
*Then*, outside again, we were approached by a haunted man who asked us to return a dagger and ran away. Why couldn't he turn up *before* I had entered the burial mound?
I put the dagger back into the grave anyway, just in case.
The second grave had only one ghoul, no problem. The third, however, almost killed me.
In the graves I had a struggle with my conscience. I didn't want to rob a grave, of course. But I wondered what might have been items collected by the undead, instead, or might be used by others for evil purposes if left there. But to be honest, that Potion of Frost Giant Strength, Potion of Invisibility and Potion of Freedom were just too tempting, along with a Wand of Fear. I didn't take the enchanted armor and jewelry, because they couldn't have been anything else than burial gifts and there was really no excuse to take them.
I left and felt bad, see post above. Then I went and put everything back and felt much better (thank you, @JuliusBorisov ).
We went back to the mines, cleared the area around them, were attacked by several winter wolves. We didn't take the pelts any more (I had taken them twice, once because we were desperate for money to Raise a party member, and the second time when we really needed better armor). I'm okay with self defence, but I won't skin an animal and sell the pelt for profit if I'm not really desperate.
We met Prism and promised to let him finish his work, first.
Greywolf appeared and was no problem, thanks to Branwen.
Speaking of Branwen, we have reputation 20 now and she's not bothered. I think this was changed in the EE, because Jaheira didn't complain, either, in BG2EE, and I remember her nagging about balance in the old BG2. I think neutral characters don't complain about high reputation any longer.
Now, back to Nashkel. I didn't like Oublev, and the sculpture of Ellesime was well done, but stolen is stolen, so we returned the emeralds.
And then it happened. I thought, interesting, lots of things written on the tombstones! I klicked on one, then this guy appears out of the blue and warns me to stop doing that. I hadn't noticed where he had come from and thought I had missed something on the inscription and klicked again, and then *this* happened.
We were stuck between all those Phoenix Guards, couldn't reach the mage, and he seemed to be immune to everything that we tried to cast on him from a distance. He threw lightning and whatever else, we gulped down potions and fought to the best of our abilities. Dyanheir was dead in seconds, Imoen killed permanently by lightning, and in the end only Arvia and Ajantis remained, then he got permanently killed, too.
Party level 4 (Imoen level 5, Dynaheir level 3)
Number of reloads: 2 ( the ogre with the belt south of the FAI, Daer'Ragh at the Nashkel graveyard)
Wow, I hadn't triggered that mage encounter since my first time playing BG back in 1999. I had almost forgotten about it after all these years, and I wondered if it was even still in the game. That was definitely a "gotcha" put there by the original developers. Now that you know about it, I doubt it will ever be a problem again.
I wonder if any of the no-reloaders ever trigger that encounter deliberately with some way to win it, to get the xp and whatever treasure might drop?
I guess he's just there to teach a lesson. "If somebody tells you to *not* press the red button, listen to him and stop being curious!"
Tagging @semiticgod for no-reloader wisdom.
Can Daer'Ragh be beaten, or do you just leave him alone? (I'm going to avoid him, but I'm curious)
I personally have never encountered Daer'Ragh, and in fact, I had no idea he was even there. I dimly recall hearing about someone using a set of traps to kill Daer'Ragh, but other than that, I'm guessing the best means of killing him would be the same for other BG1 mages: buff with the Greenstone Amulet and elemental resistance potions (or just a Potion of Magic Blocking) and then nail him with Arrows of Dispelling, which can only be bought in Baldur's Gate (there are only 2 to be found as loot, both in Durlag's Tower). The Ring of Energy (from Denak in the Spider Woods) and/or Potions of Firebreath might also help break through his defenses.
As for the Phoenix Guards, they look extremely tough, but they have no missile attacks, so you can run away from them and attack from afar, and they have a vulnerability to cold damage, which would make the Wand of Frost very useful if you got your hands on one. The Ring of Energy should also be perfectly capable of harming them: the ring deals 14 damage on average per charge over 2 rounds, and the Phoenix Guards have only 48 HP apiece. If you dragged the "beam" of the Ring of Energy over the guards, you could damage the whole group at once and clean them up in 4-6 charges.
All of them, including Daer'ragh, appear to be worth only 100 XP, however, and they drop almost no meaningful loot.
After my second reload, we decided to give the graveyard a wide berth and sold our items.
I've changed my rule, now we give our 10% to the temple before we buy anything, because we have the necessary equipment concerning weapons and armor, and everything else, like scrolls and potions and magical items, is optional.
We also give immediately 10 % of large sums we get as a reward, like the 5000 for Bassilius, and sometimes when I think something especially good or bad happened. Otherwise, it's every 10 days. To Helm or Lathander, because there are no temples of Torm or Tyr.
We went to search for Bassilius, but first we found a mad chicken that turned out to be Thalantyr's polymorphed apprentice, and we returned him to his master, who reluctantly agreed to turn him back and keep an eye on him. His wish to us when we left made me wonder if he'd been reading my run reports.
Further south we went, and found Bassilius. That was an "uh-oh" moment. And of course I didn't pretend to be his mom, so we had to face the whole undead horde, too.
The half ogres were easily defeated. I'm glad we're not level 1-3 any more, I like being able to tank the big guys. I know it's only a game, but I'm 1.80 in real life (that would be about 5'11 to the non-metric barbarians ?), which is not exactly short for a girl, so I feel like I'm hitting children when I fight xvart or gibberlings. It just feels wrong. Hobgoblins, ogres (ogre berserkers!) and their cousins make me feel much better when I fight them.
The quest about Dynaheir's spellbook got solved, too. Some gnolls had found it (but hadn't kept it) and were turned to the light because it had been blessed by Mystra. I gave them a sermon and sent them off. That was fun.
We met Drizzt, helped him against some gnolls, he found the spellbook (which seems to be pretty useless), and we saved Captain Brage and took him to the temple.
Then we met this cute little boy and helped him find his dog.
I believe this was a joke that I didn't get. Would anyone care to enlighten me, please?
We're pretty well equipped now, here's Arvia with her inventory.
I figured we'd need some crowd control spells before we dared to face the bandits, so we went to High Hedge and got some more scrolls (also the Potions of Mind Focusing from Gellana Mirrorshade, because I had made a mistake before and have only 2 Potions of Genius left). This time I remembered to buy the important spells (web, horror, mirror images etc...) twice, so that Dynaheir could scribe them with the same potion in case of failure. That was fortunate, because she failed to scribe Horror at first.
Then we went to search for the bandit camp. We saved Viconia, although that was probably not the lawful path, and we were attacked by the Flaming Fist officer and had to kill him in self defence, but he had wanted to execute her right there without any proof, and that just didn't seem right.
The bandits in the woods were no problem. I love how Glitterdust can work miracles on a group of archers.
That was a sad story with the insane, grieving druid, but there was nothing we could have done.
Then we reached the bandit camp and fought everyone there (of course we hadn't pretended to join them before).
The only tough ones were the ones in front of the main tent. By the way, I still use Minsc as an archer only, he gets hit every time in melee.
Of course, in case of the bandit camp, I had absolutely no problems taking all the loot (still refuse to take scalps, though), apart from two chests that Imoen couldn't open and Arvia couldn't force even with Strength 18/00.
We went back to Beregost and went through the identify-sell-donate-buy cycle. I believe I have mentioned that we don't sell cursed or evil items, we drop them in the temple.
Then we bought all the potions that seemed useful, and I'm asking myself if we should head straight for the Cloakwood tomorrow, or do the lighthouse map, Firewine Bridge and the basilisk map first (I'm a bit scared of the basilisks, to be honest.And the sirenes along the coast ).
Party level: 5 (Minsc and Dynaheir level 4)
I'm thinking about deactivating "Max HP on level up" in the game settings once they reach level 5, too.
Number of reloads: 2 ( the ogre with the belt south of the FAI, Daer'Ragh at the Nashkel graveyard)
The brothers (Larry, Darryl, and Darryl) are a reference to characters of the same name – the "Do Anything for a Buck" trio – from the 1982 – 1990 sitcom Newhart.
In 1991, the cast reunited in a primetime special. At the end of this special, Dr. Bob Hartley gets on the elevator only to see three familiar workmen doing repairs in the elevator and one of them says to Bob, "Hi. I'm Larry. This is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl."
In the bandit camp you can actually find a potion improving your thieving skills - it can help open those several locked containers.
I'd recommend to do everything else before going to the Cloakwood forest. Don't want to spoil you about basilisks, or sirens. Think about protection from petrification, dire charm and feeblemind.
I've had some success using Minsc's berserk before, but it's tricky and dangerous. You have to keep other party members completely away from him until it wears off. I've never had him chase anyone, but he does move in random directions that can make it look like he is if it happens to be in the direction of a party member.
To try it that way, you need to clear the area all around of hobgoblins and wolves, being careful not to let any sirens on the coast spot you. Then Minsc has to solo the sirens by running up to them and going berserk after he's already standing close. It's very dangerous for Minsc as well as your party, because he might get into trouble with his injuries, and you won't be able to go close to him, or to where he falls if he falls.
I've also had some luck before by using stealth or invisibility to find a point just outside their sight and casting Silence spells. Watch carefully to make sure none of them save, but if it lands as hoped, they are very vulnerable to Silence, and all you have to worry about from a Silenced siren is poison arrows. Web spells plus ranged weapons can also be effective, but as soon as one saves against the Web, she'll try to dominate somebody.
The Greenstone Amulet, Potion of Clarity if you can find one, or stealth/Silence are probably the safest.
There's a cave around there. If you go into it, watch out for deadly traps, and there are some very strong physical melee enemies with little or no space to kite. I usually set up ambush points along the way, and send Imoen out ahead to search and disarm the traps. Then, when she gets spotted, she runs back to us, leading the enemies into our ambush.
I've always thought Undead Hunters ought to have immuity to charm, because charm and domination are among the vampires' "most devastating abilities." But alas, the developers didn't see fit to make it so, for some reason.
I'll try to write another story once I'm in the Cloakwood, it doesn't really make sense if nothing interesting is happening.
By the way, Ajantis is nice enough and I went along with his story for the sake of roleplaying, but he hasn't really convinced me. I'm going to keep him safe of course, but I think I'm going to give him back to you once we've killed Big S. ?
(He's not in SoD anyway, is he?)
Edit: I totally agree that undead hunters should be immune to domination and charm, but they would probably be overpowered.
Edit 2: Your advices and explanations are always great. I know I'm repeating myself, but it's true.
Helmites *rolls her eyes* ?
I do appreciate him as a team member and fellow paladin.
I just don't like it that all the NPC stories are either romance or no story.
I'm still stuck in the Firewine Bridge map (I think I just met Edgar Allan Poe? ?), too tired yesterday. To be continued tomorrow...
I thought it was going to be here, in the south of the Gullykin map, where we walked into an ambush (just this once, we didn't have Imoen scouting ahead), but we survived that encounter.
No pictures from Ulcaster School, no complications there. Met an old ghost, found and returned a book, made him happy.
Then we went to Firewine Bridge. Dungeons with extremely narrow hallways make me nervous. Sometimes I wish I wouldn't get so immersed. Imoen was scouting ahead with "Find Traps" at 100, Arvia guarding her back. I was so used to Imoen finding every trap and really involved, feeling like I was walking there and not knowing what's expecting us around the corner. I almost had a heart attack when Imoen walked into a trap.
We kept walking ahead, just Imoen and Arvia, and left the others waiting somewhere. When we suddenly spotted a mage and an ogrillon, we decided to run back around a corner when we heard "Incertus..." but the mage only hurt himself while the ogrillon followed us.
We decided to go get the others and went back to fight the mage together. In case of another lightning spell, Arvia went forward and hid the others around the corner. The mage was obviously suicidal, because he made the same mistake again while Arvia jumped back when he started casting, and we remained unharmed.
No XP for us, but it was worth it.
And I had spotted more ogrillons and an ogre mage before running back, so we prepared to face them. We managed to lure the ogrillons to us and killed them, and then I sent Arvia to attack the ogre mage directly, with the spellcasters ready to throw whatever might be necessary at him, and the others hidden in the corners in case of lightning.
Arvia got hit by a Confusion spell again, but this time the others were far away and she still attacked the right guy without harming anybody else.
Afterwards, I felt ready for the basilisks.
I don't know who those arrogant guys were, but I'm dedicated to fighting evil, not stupid. At least not with weapons.
Unfortunately, the party wasn't completely out of sight, so Ajantis was turned into a pretty statue.
Arvia had to use the duration of the spell and promised to come back later.
Then we discovered another forest map between us and the Larswood, so we went to check it out (procrastination. Still afraid of the sirens).
This time we remembered to let Imoen scout ahead. A very wise decision.
We decided to go back and find a hidden place to rest first (Minsc and Branwen were fatigued already) before we went to see if those wizards were friend or foe.
I was so proud of my party.
And then we headed north and walked right into a spider web, and the Potion of Freedom was in the potion case in Ajantis' inventory, and he was the first to get caught in the web. We didn't stand a chance. Web and Poison. Good night.
Party level 5 (turned off "Max HP on level up" after Dynaheir hit level 5 in Firewine Bridge), Branwen level 6
Number of reloads: 3 ( the ogre with the belt south of the FAI, Daer'Ragh at the Nashkel graveyard, a spider web north of the Thay Wizards)
Edit: Branwen wasn't nice to Minsc in Firewine Bridge and made a snide comment about mages as opposed to clercis. I pretended not to hear it, because Arvia and Imoen were in a different part of the dungeon, but I'm thinking again if I should dump her before the Cloakwood. Minsc's answer was hilarious, by the way. He said that without Dynaheir's magic Branwen would still be a "birdbath". Chapeau, Minsc!
Actually, Kirian is evil, not only stupid. I recommend to use "Detect Evil" by your paladin or the same cleric spell. You will see, for example, that Corax is not evil.
I've avoided casting Detect Evil without reason, it leads to bad decisions sometimes. I can't kill everyone who pings red. (Edit: also, my wise paladin teacher @BelgarathMTH had advised against detecting Evil all the time ?)
Thanks for the encouragement!
Good luck, and keep it up!
I think the most dreaded words in all of Faerun, to those with the education to know what they mean, are "Incertus...Pulcher...Imperio!" (Uncertain, beautiful things, I command! Interesting that Mystra apparently considers horrible destructive energy to be a "beautiful thing")
1) Illusion: "Veritas, Credo, Oculos" = "The truth, I believe, with my eyes"
2) Alteration: "Praeses, Alia, Fero" = "Protecting, another, I bring this forth"
3) Necromancy: "Vita, Mortis, Careo" = "Life, and death, I am without"
4) Divination: "Scio, Didici, Pecto" = "I know, for I have studied, with my mind"
5) Abjuration: "Manus, Potentis, Paro" = "A hand, powerful, I prepare"
6) Evocation: "Incertus, Pulcher, Imperio" = "Uncertain, beautiful things, I command"
7) Conjuration: "Facio, Voco, Ferre" = "This I do, I call, to bring you forth"
8) Enchantment: "Cupio, Virtus, Licet" = "I want, excellence, allowed to me"
Those "uncertain, beautiful things" are almost always death by horrible energy plasma explosions or bad, bombing, baffling, bewildering, baneful, bouncing bolts (Baeloth's description of the dreaded Lightning Bolt) of some kind.
The Webs on that map that "got you" are a matter of metaknowledge, unfortunately. That map is about the same level of danger as the Cloakwood spider map where you get Spider's Bane, as far as the Webs, and now you know about the mage quartet that requires you to have Remove Fear, and to possibly use AoE from out of their sight, with spells like Web, Silence, Hold Person, and Fireball.
EDIT: (@JuliusBorisov , never mind. I posted some opinions without censoring myself, and decided that what I had said came across as kind of insulting to friends. So I deleted it. Apologies.)