@Dragonspear : Thanks, then 126 should be max damage you can do with a Staff +3, enough to one-hit Drizzt and almost one-hit Sarevok (he has 150 health)
@kamuizin : Mirror images in BG1 does the trick nicely. For elemental traps, elemental resist scrolls do it very well.
Baldur's Gate 2 is essentially the same trick, just that physical traps get shrugged off by Stoneskin, death traps (charm, petrify, maze, etc) are trickier but respectively you can use Protection from Evil, Protection from Petrification, Chaotic Commands, Spell Immunity : Spell School or Death Ward. You do need to be very well informed on where a trap is at though, which could be tricky. But on the top of my head, seriously deadly traps that cannot be evaded are - Prismatic Spray in Slaver's compound, Finger of Death (I think) North West in the Planar Sphere, Petrify on a door in Bridge District... and certain charm spells here and there on the top of my head. But as long as you use the Staff of the Magi, you have no problem with charm spells. But at any rate, definitely possible to do it without thieves (as for locks - knock is the answer, ALWAYS )
@decado : I feel honored, thank you! PS - XP Cap removal isn't bad. I have it removed too!
Edit : Unavoidable traps in BG1 to complete the game :
2 Arrow traps in Nashkel mines (final three traps are easily avoidable if you slide on eastern wall) 1 Lightning bolt trap in Bandit Camp 3 Web traps in Cloakwood 2 2 Gylph traps and 2 Battle horror traps in Cloakwood mines 2 Fireball traps in Thief's maze, one lightning bolt trap and 2 Magic Missile traps. There could be an easier way out that I am not aware of though.
That should be it as far as I know. Didn't count the final battle traps because those are hardly traps when you got up all the protections in the world
Well it's just an serious amount of XP lost (specially when you start to get 2.750xp per trap). The relief only comes in BG2 + ToB installed where you can forget and rewrite a spell.
@kamuizin : but when you are solo-ing, there's no need for XP from traps. Shadows of Amn alone with Watcher's Keep grants 24 million XP. 3 times more than enough to reach the XP cap
@Cheesebelly. Just laughing as I'm currently Fighter 8 / Mage 9 / Thief 10, still got a good chunk of Baldurs Gate city to go yet and can scrape a -11 AC and an adjusted THAC0 of 2 with a bow in hand as well as a x5 backstab, maxed Open Locks/Find Traps/Hide in Shadows (Move Silently will max next level) AND 5th level mage spells.
@decado : I feel honored, thank you! PS - XP Cap removal isn't bad. I have it removed too!
Remember...no mods! I found out that my XP cap is still gone, but I've used GateKeeper twice now to get rid of any XP over 161K.
---------------------- The Endgame ----------------------
Woo, made it to Chapter 7! No issues yet, though I did have a very near-death exprience: I had forgotten how many traps there were in the Candlekeep catacombs...I damn near got killed trying to crack open one of the tombs - I had like 5 HP left... I guess that's what I get for graverobbing. But aside from that I haven't had any issues. I went back to get some extra swag - the Girdle of Slashing in the basilisk desert, the other Tomes of Wisdom (I had to look up where the last one was, I forgot it was in Durlag's Tower), plus some other nice stuff. I've acquired every tome in the game, now I just need to get the Cloak of Balduran...time to kill Quenash once I finish off those other two annoying enemies in the whorehouse.
My character, despite lacking in some of the best stuff, can still manage a -10 AC with all buffs on (-11 with the Cloak of Balduran. Plus the -3 bonus from my girdle I should be able to avoid most of Sarevok's attacks). It sucks being limited to Level 6 in BG1, but I don't seem to have much of an issue not having access to level 4 and 5 spells. Besides in BG2 that's where the real fun begins. :P
My current gear:
My current stats (notice the XP edited way down):
Remember guys - no cheats. I'm playing with the XP cap on (in principle - it still remained after the uninstall but I am limiting myself to the 161K barrier if I go over it).
But...my parents always told me it was what's inside that counts...
That's just something ugly people say.
It's not true....it's not true!!!
------ Oh yeah, I'm also about to face Sarevok (after having another near-death encounter with that mob outside the temple). I've stocked up on all sorts of potions and scrolls...I've gotta say I'm REALLY nervous at the moment haha. I'm going to try and keep away from the others and only face Sarevok. With all the various buffs and potions I have hopefully I can conclude this fight fairly quickly.
I started by drawing out Semaj...coupled with some extra skeletons to distract him and Magic Missiles to eliminate his mirror images, I managed to kill him easily. Then Sarevok came...I had a full set of images (4 extra copies) up with a Potion of Power in effect, as well as a Potion of Frost Giant Strength plus all my buffs. I swung at him like mad, hitting him a few times while he was switching his focus between me and the skeletons. When he hit all my mirror images, I moved away for a second, cast my second one, and proceeded to swing again. It worked!
It took a few tries to get the routine down, but in the end it all worked - I deftly avoided hitting most traps as well as keeping Angelo and Tazok in the background. But I've done it - I managed to get through that whole damn game without dying! Now to start BG2...finally, no more being stuck at level 6.
EDIT: Looking back, I realized I forgot to re-equip my Robe of the Good Archmagi and my Cloak of Balduran when i took them off to buff without interfering magic resistance...hahahaha. I knew I'd forget to put them back on.
Just rolled up a new mage that's 18/92, 19, 17, 18, 10, 11 with sleep and blind to start out with. I started with Large Swords and Bows. I'll get Quarterstaves as I level up.
Herm I'm starting to think I need to beat the game solo once before I go for a no death solo run. Just killed Silke this time with the above character, but then I died to Karlat, even though he was blinded. No armor buff and blindness at the same time sucks.
@Bynary_Fission : Congrats on the great victory! Well deserved
Also, worry not, I won't level up over 161K XP, so cap or not, I'll play as if I didn't have it
@Candramelekh : If I could, I would live stream through Youtube or Twitch.TV, sadly though, my upload speed sucks pretty damn badly. I do have a BG1 let's play though. 15 hours long I believe?
Interestingly enough the episode with most views is the one named "Chess battle domination" and "Killing the wolvies song" XD (god knows why really O_O )
@Dragonspear : that's unfortunate. But Karlat is one of those super variables that happens in a solo run. He's kinda tough, so you don't want to go against him until you're level 2 at least. A good plan would also be to use bows from a distance if you blind him successfully. For a triple class, you still need 3750 XP to level up the first time as a thief, right? 6000 for Fighter and 7500 for Mage and Thief again. Which is possible if you go for an early Shoal kill and Melicamp rescue
Don't forget to kill the spiders in that house and return the stuff to that gnome (dwarf?) in the Friendly Arm Inn, as well as getting Joia's ring back to her. Coupled with the above you should be able to hit, or very nearly so, level 2 in all of your classes.
You know the area east of Peldvale, the one on the far right of the map that has an icon with a tree and a cabin? You can kill a bunch of Huge Spider and Ettercaps easily there at 2/1/2 (bring some healing potions though). I leveled up a bunch of times that way.
I left off as I killed a bunch of Half-ogres and looted a Two Handed Sword +1 (unmentioned, but oh well)
South of High Hedge : Killed the group of Hobgoblin bandits. Blinded one, sent in a skull trap and a few magic missiles for good measure. They were dead in an instant! Went west...
Captain Brage : helped him from his curse and returned him to the temple in Nashkel. Got my nice reward + Chapter 2. WOOT!
Nashkel : Looted Ankheg plate and killed noisy Cleric at the inn - My Hold Person > Cleric Hold Person. That's something I did not know.
Wilderness around Nashkel : Killed Sendai and her crew with a skull trap and arrows, killed Zal and Vax, looted their super special gloves and found Ruffie, went on to help a Dryad with killing Caldo and Krumm, looted their belt. Helped a girl find her kitty and looted a Halberd +1.
Greywolf : The guy didn't resist a hold person. Whoops, arrowed to death, looted his sword and the Emeralds from Prism (sold them, bounty isn't worth it)
Southwest Coastline : I needed XP to level up to LVL7 as a mage, so there was no better place than killing the sirines. First off, area south of Candlekeep, killed 3 sirines with potion of Clarity from Candlekeep and with magic missiles. Who would have thought - blind blinds Sirines too! Went on to the Lighthouse, where I used arrows of biting to kill off all sirines - Random Variable - during my rest, I was awakened by another Sirine. Disposed of her with a steady blind spell and arrows.
Golem Caves : Arrows of biting are the best friend here. Two kill one golem if both poison, which usually they do, but... - Random Variable - a golem resisted trice in a row. Had some Benny Hill moments, but got out of it unharmed.
High Hedge - Disposed of the golems in here too. Bought a scroll of invisibility and braved the way to Ulgoth's beard, which was successful. On my way, killed Ankheg on BG's Bridge - Who would have thought, blind blinds Ankhegs as well!
Ulgoth's beard - Sweet mother of all shopping lists : Bought Cloak of Displacement (Arrow protection FTW), Improved Invisibility (immunity to enemy spellcasting FTW), Greater Malison (Saving Throws Penalty FTW) and Emotion (just because it was cheap).
Farmfields south of Baldur's Gate - dealt with several Ankhegs - Two rows of magic missiles and a couple of arrows +1 from Sendai's meeting before did it nicely. Recovered Brun's son but most importantly received Ghost Armor spell as well as Level 8!
This is my current Status. Max Level, here I come! Edit : I can't post the screenshot for god knows what reason... here's the link anyway :
@Cheesebelly: nice work so far, it looks like what I do at the start of a new BG1 game. :P You're definitely making speedy process, I mean having only one class to work on definitely helps but dang, level 8 already! See how fast you can zip through to Baldur's Gate - if nothing else get those Boots of Speed at the Cloakwood Mines, they make walking around so much more convenient.
As for me, I'm going to import my character and begin BG2. Time to drudge through Irenicus' dungeon again...oy vey. Expect more screenshots and journal entries soon!
UPDATE: Okay, my character has 118 hit points...how? Not that I'm complaining, but I didn't have anywhere near that when I finished BG1.
I think so, but even with it my health wasn't at 118 - it was somewhere closer to 85. (that includes Aid as well, though I think both buffs may have run out by the time I had killed him)
I noticed your initial post didn't mention whether or not you were allowed to let NPCs join your party long enough for you to relieve them of their belongings before kicking them out or not.
Other than Imoen I haven't been doing so, but I ask because Montaron has a very nice potion of speed, Xzar has some useful spells and Jaheria has the amazingly useful potion of invisibility that I'd like to relieve them of. What are your opinions on these matters?
Also update:
Just started again and rather than going after Melicamp first this time I went after the Ogre with a belt fetish. Actually surprisingly simple since I learned that after I blinded him he just ran to where I was when I cast Blind. As I had already planned on moving and turning him into an Ogre with a Pincushion fetish this worked out perfectly. Never realized this bug with blind before but now I understand how a few of the harder early fights you're literally able to sidestep.
My reason for going this route this time was because I remembered the Ring of Protection +1 also on this map and I wanted to try to get my fingers on the Ring of Wizardry. I think I might try this again but neglect trying to go into the FAI until I'm at least level 2 in all classes. Otherwise the initial mage will kill you with his magic missile spell (I have 9 health).
I noticed your initial post didn't mention whether or not you were allowed to let NPCs join your party long enough for you to relieve them of their belongings before kicking them out or not.
Other than Imoen I haven't been doing so, but I ask because Montaron has a very nice potion of speed, Xzar has some useful spells and Jaheria has the amazingly useful potion of invisibility that I'd like to relieve them of. What are your opinions on these matters?
I personally didn't do it. My idea was not to join NPCs for *any* reason at all (I left Minsc and Jaheira to rot in Irenicus' dungeon), however I suppose relieving them of potions isn't that big of a deal. Just don't do anything beyond that. :P
Also update:
Just started again and rather than going after Melicamp first this time I went after the Ogre with a belt fetish. Actually surprisingly simple since I learned that after I blinded him he just ran to where I was when I cast Blind. As I had already planned on moving and turning him into an Ogre with a Pincushion fetish this worked out perfectly. Never realized this bug with blind before but now I understand how a few of the harder early fights you're literally able to sidestep.
My reason for going this route this time was because I remembered the Ring of Protection +1 also on this map and I wanted to try to get my fingers on the Ring of Wizardry. I think I might try this again but neglect trying to go into the FAI until I'm at least level 2 in all classes. Otherwise the initial mage will kill you with his magic missile spell (I have 9 health).
I would recommend you just get the ring. You don't have to encounter the mage to get it (or to get Joia's ring) so it would be a good bet to do that - the extra spell(s) will be tremendously beneficial in the early part of the game.
That was the plan. Just get the ring and come back at a later date to do the rest of the FAI. I can go ahead and get the items identified in the temple next door since Firebead was so helpful with his extra 300g at the start.
And no I didn't want them beyond that. But 2 extra scrolls (the completionist part of me) and the potions you can get from them are useful.
Anyway current plan: Initial map: Meet Imoen: relieve her of her pots Meet Xzar and Montaron: relieve them of their goodies
Map South of FAI Meet Elminister: Tell him he's not particularly helpful. Get the ring, kill the ogre. Rest
Go to FAI: Get Ring of Wizardry Go to chapel, get all the items identified Go to Joia and get her ring from the Hobgoblins
Go to High Hedge (just making our way through)
Go to Map South of High Hedge: Get Melicamp
Go back to High Hedge, reload till he's human again (extra reputation +1) Pick up Purdue's Short Sword
Go to Beregost Talk down Marl Help Firebeard again (Yes that's his name even though I know its Firebead) Go offer to help Silke, turn on her, pray arrow interrupts her invisibility spell otherwise run Go inside the Inn, Blind Karlat, pelt him with arrows Return Purdue's short sword. Rest, memorize sleep instead of blind Go deal with the spiders
Go back up to FAI Kill Mage Return Belt Return Spiders Achieve Pantaloons part 1
Sounds exactly what I do at the start of the game (hint: use magic missiles to disrupt Silke's spells, and attack her when she's not casting. It almost always works for me). After all that (assuming you are tri-classing) you should be able to level up at least once in each class. Once you do that you can try and kill enemies for XP more safely.
By the way, don't forget to return the letter in Beregost. South of it there are two Ogrillons who kill a halfling with a message. Kill them, get the letter and go to the house on the extreme right-center of the map and give it to the lady. You'll get 300 XP, a Ring of Protection +1 (sell for 1500 since you already have one), and +1 reputation.
Well I'm on attempt #3 for today. Unfortunately attempt #2 came to a close when I was to cheap to use either a blindness spell on the wolf near Melicamp or a potion of speed which allowed him to 1 hit kill my 9 health.
Run #3 has already turned out worrisome. I either forgot to learn the armor spell in Candlekeep or I forgot to get that chest. Either way I have no armor spell. Good news is I still have blind and sleep so all is not lost.
I managed to get a magic missile off to stop her invisibility and then shot 3 arrows into her (one of them while she was casting lightning bolt) the first lightning bolt still went off. Somehow I survived that, shot her again and chugged a potion. Then my character decided to stop attacking her and my arrow that went off for the next lightning bolt missed, the bolt went off and killed me. That said I have determined how to kill the mage outside FAI earlier.
If you pick up and learn the spell shield it makes you immune to magic missiles. Thus if you can get a cast off of shield, chug the potion of clarity from candlekeep (makes you immune to his horror spell) and then pelt him with arrows it SHOULD work. I might try it this time but I have to go to work soon.
Honestly I might end up just looking to beat the regular game solo first before I try this. Everytime I die and go back to Candlekeep I get more frustrated. Especially since some things are out of your hands.
Also Tip:
If you talk down Marl you can still kill him afterwards. The downside to this is that for some reason the Innkeeper ran and I couldn't find him. This presents a problem because he not only sells the History of Fateful Coin for Firebead, he also sells Composite Longbow +1 in the future. Shame too since Marl is worth another 650 xp points if you kill him. Just be prepared for a 'fun' kite around the bottom floors. Also no reputation loss if you kill him afterwards.
I'll make an image shack account later but here are my updates before work (now with good news!):
Left Candlekeep and promptly removed Imoen's 3 potions of healing and her potion of speed as well as her 40 arrows before dumping her and going along my merry way.
I came upon Xzar and Montaron and relieved them of their goodies as well (2 more potions of healing, 1 from talking to them, 1 from Montaron) as well as their scroll of larlocks minor drain and chill touch. I'll likely never use either spell but hey I have them memorized.
Went to the site of the ambush and looted Gorion's body as well as the 2 ogres before making my way East (after unlocking high hedge for future travel).
Upon arriving I spoke with this old sage, strangely wandering around in the forest before exploring the map. I quickly came across my ring of protection +1 (not yet identified) after taking out a diseased gibberling and a wolf. I figured now was probably a good time to rest (my 1 blind spell was used) and 8 hours later I was moving east on the map again.
I encountered another wolf on my way to the ogre and blinded him. Finally after letting out a sigh I rested again and took on the ogre proper. With yet another blind (I've decided this might go down as one of the most underrated and overpowered spells in BG1, but I'll get into that later) I take down my ogre, collect my belts (Oh hey Melf's Acid Arrow lets learn you too). I continue north to the friendly arm inn.
I quickly pick up my ring of double level 1 spell happiness before skirting outside FAI and picking off Hobgoblins 1 by 1. Interesting fact, a composite longbow +1 will 1shot most FAI hobgoblins. I go pick up Joia's ring and then go turn it into her. Afterwards I beeline straight to the chapel to identify my goodies, being careful to avoid the wizard and make my way off the map down to High Hedge.
With my trusty bow, I pick off the gnolls one by one, retrieving this stupid shortsword called "purdue's short sword" making my way farther south. I come across some skeletons, some of which hit me resulting in a couple chugged potions of health. Eventually I say hi to our mage and pick up Magic Missile, Friends and Shield. Also rather conveniently I say hello to Thalantyr before the Flesh Golem's aggro to me.
And that's where I'll leave off before heading to work. Coming up soon in our tale (already completed but left to be told), You Have Been Ambushed! (Part 1), Melicamp the Chicken, Marl and why he looked at me funny, Firebead, Karlat and Silke.
Love the idea and the thread. Consider flipping this to "weeniest stat character than can ironman/solo". Unfortunately, I'm spoiler-averse; Saving myself for my first BG run in many years, so I'm gonna stop reading halfway thru page 1.
The reason I (personally) would choose FMT over FMC is because of the extra Elven thaco for longswords and bows. Furthermore it allows you to load up on potions of invisibility and easily take care of Sarevok since he is backstabable.
I can definitely see how Sanctuary would be a godsend in the early levels though.
Sanctuary is good, but you'd be sacrificing stealth and trap disarm. Sanctuary is usually reactionary, and if not, it can't be sustained without rest, whereas stealth can be used indefinitely and is always proactive by nature (you can't even stealth if you're sighted by an enemy). Further, stealth is not just for backstabbing but also scouting, aka information gathering and waiting for an advantageous moment to strike in one of numerous possible ways [backstab, archery (dispel/detonation/slaying/biting, at fast rate), spellcast, wand of FB/LB/MS/etc., send in the reinforcements (or summons), etc.], in addition to being useful for long treks to a safe place to rest or recover.
FMC just doesn't have the versatility, but there are obvious advantages to being able to heal and cast protections. Fire immunity alone is pretty cool, which means you can use the wand of fireball anywhere. Fun, although rest is needed to sustain it, not to mention money if you're going to use the wand.
FMT wins as the ultimate iconic elven spymaster IMHO. ^^
Hmmm, I would say only opening locks and disarming traps is the major draw of FMT. What you have to bear in mind is that soloing- you don't need to open every chest and get all the loot, only the ones you need so this is somewhat reduced. I think @cheesebelly just listed all the essentials in bg1. Stealth is completely a non issue, and frankly, you would be wasting sp putting stuff into it. Potions will do the job better, and you will want to be carrying invis pots around anyway in Ironman mode.
I'm not arguing purely from the perspective of playing solo, but from the perspective of playing solo using permadeath rules as OP described
Comments
@Cheesebelly - I've looked at some of your lets play for BG2. Good stuff.
@kamuizin : Mirror images in BG1 does the trick nicely. For elemental traps, elemental resist scrolls do it very well.
Baldur's Gate 2 is essentially the same trick, just that physical traps get shrugged off by Stoneskin, death traps (charm, petrify, maze, etc) are trickier but respectively you can use Protection from Evil, Protection from Petrification, Chaotic Commands, Spell Immunity : Spell School or Death Ward. You do need to be very well informed on where a trap is at though, which could be tricky. But on the top of my head, seriously deadly traps that cannot be evaded are - Prismatic Spray in Slaver's compound, Finger of Death (I think) North West in the Planar Sphere, Petrify on a door in Bridge District... and certain charm spells here and there on the top of my head. But as long as you use the Staff of the Magi, you have no problem with charm spells.
But at any rate, definitely possible to do it without thieves (as for locks - knock is the answer, ALWAYS
@decado : I feel honored, thank you!
PS - XP Cap removal isn't bad. I have it removed too!
Edit :
Unavoidable traps in BG1 to complete the game :
2 Arrow traps in Nashkel mines (final three traps are easily avoidable if you slide on eastern wall)
1 Lightning bolt trap in Bandit Camp
3 Web traps in Cloakwood 2
2 Gylph traps and 2 Battle horror traps in Cloakwood mines
2 Fireball traps in Thief's maze, one lightning bolt trap and 2 Magic Missile traps. There could be an easier way out that I am not aware of though.
That should be it as far as I know. Didn't count the final battle traps because those are hardly traps when you got up all the protections in the world
Just laughing as I'm currently Fighter 8 / Mage 9 / Thief 10, still got a good chunk of Baldurs Gate city to go yet and can scrape a -11 AC and an adjusted THAC0 of 2 with a bow in hand as well as a x5 backstab, maxed Open Locks/Find Traps/Hide in Shadows (Move Silently will max next level) AND 5th level mage spells.
Remember...no mods! I found out that my XP cap is still gone, but I've used GateKeeper twice now to get rid of any XP over 161K.
----------------------
The Endgame
----------------------
Woo, made it to Chapter 7! No issues yet, though I did have a very near-death exprience: I had forgotten how many traps there were in the Candlekeep catacombs...I damn near got killed trying to crack open one of the tombs - I had like 5 HP left... I guess that's what I get for graverobbing. But aside from that I haven't had any issues. I went back to get some extra swag - the Girdle of Slashing in the basilisk desert, the other Tomes of Wisdom (I had to look up where the last one was, I forgot it was in Durlag's Tower), plus some other nice stuff. I've acquired every tome in the game, now I just need to get the Cloak of Balduran...time to kill Quenash once I finish off those other two annoying enemies in the whorehouse.
My character, despite lacking in some of the best stuff, can still manage a -10 AC with all buffs on (-11 with the Cloak of Balduran. Plus the -3 bonus from my girdle I should be able to avoid most of Sarevok's attacks). It sucks being limited to Level 6 in BG1, but I don't seem to have much of an issue not having access to level 4 and 5 spells. Besides in BG2 that's where the real fun begins. :P
My current gear:
My current stats (notice the XP edited way down):
Remember guys - no cheats. I'm playing with the XP cap on (in principle - it still remained after the uninstall but I am limiting myself to the 161K barrier if I go over it).
------
Oh yeah, I'm also about to face Sarevok (after having another near-death encounter with that mob outside the temple). I've stocked up on all sorts of potions and scrolls...I've gotta say I'm REALLY nervous at the moment haha. I'm going to try and keep away from the others and only face Sarevok. With all the various buffs and potions I have hopefully I can conclude this fight fairly quickly.
SUCCESS!!!!!
I started by drawing out Semaj...coupled with some extra skeletons to distract him and Magic Missiles to eliminate his mirror images, I managed to kill him easily. Then Sarevok came...I had a full set of images (4 extra copies) up with a Potion of Power in effect, as well as a Potion of Frost Giant Strength plus all my buffs. I swung at him like mad, hitting him a few times while he was switching his focus between me and the skeletons. When he hit all my mirror images, I moved away for a second, cast my second one, and proceeded to swing again. It worked!
It took a few tries to get the routine down, but in the end it all worked - I deftly avoided hitting most traps as well as keeping Angelo and Tazok in the background. But I've done it - I managed to get through that whole damn game without dying! Now to start BG2...finally, no more being stuck at level 6.
EDIT: Looking back, I realized I forgot to re-equip my Robe of the Good Archmagi and my Cloak of Balduran when i took them off to buff without interfering magic resistance...hahahaha. I knew I'd forget to put them back on.
Also, worry not, I won't level up over 161K XP, so cap or not, I'll play as if I didn't have it
@Candramelekh : If I could, I would live stream through Youtube or Twitch.TV, sadly though, my upload speed sucks pretty damn badly. I do have a BG1 let's play though. 15 hours long I believe?
Interestingly enough the episode with most views is the one named "Chess battle domination" and "Killing the wolvies song" XD (god knows why really O_O )
@Dragonspear : that's unfortunate. But Karlat is one of those super variables that happens in a solo run. He's kinda tough, so you don't want to go against him until you're level 2 at least. A good plan would also be to use bows from a distance if you blind him successfully. For a triple class, you still need 3750 XP to level up the first time as a thief, right? 6000 for Fighter and 7500 for Mage and Thief again. Which is possible if you go for an early Shoal kill and Melicamp rescue
I went Melicamp (reload until he gets human for the extra rep bonus) -> Marl -> Silke ->Karlat
I was 1/1/2. I'll still keep trying. I ended up going to sleep after I went up in flames again.
You know the area east of Peldvale, the one on the far right of the map that has an icon with a tree and a cabin? You can kill a bunch of Huge Spider and Ettercaps easily there at 2/1/2 (bring some healing potions though). I leveled up a bunch of times that way.
I left off as I killed a bunch of Half-ogres and looted a Two Handed Sword +1 (unmentioned, but oh well)
South of High Hedge : Killed the group of Hobgoblin bandits. Blinded one, sent in a skull trap and a few magic missiles for good measure. They were dead in an instant! Went west...
Captain Brage : helped him from his curse and returned him to the temple in Nashkel. Got my nice reward + Chapter 2. WOOT!
Nashkel : Looted Ankheg plate and killed noisy Cleric at the inn - My Hold Person > Cleric Hold Person. That's something I did not know.
Wilderness around Nashkel : Killed Sendai and her crew with a skull trap and arrows, killed Zal and Vax, looted their super special gloves and found Ruffie, went on to help a Dryad with killing Caldo and Krumm, looted their belt. Helped a girl find her kitty and looted a Halberd +1.
Greywolf : The guy didn't resist a hold person. Whoops, arrowed to death, looted his sword and the Emeralds from Prism (sold them, bounty isn't worth it)
Southwest Coastline : I needed XP to level up to LVL7 as a mage, so there was no better place than killing the sirines. First off, area south of Candlekeep, killed 3 sirines with potion of Clarity from Candlekeep and with magic missiles. Who would have thought - blind blinds Sirines too!
Went on to the Lighthouse, where I used arrows of biting to kill off all sirines - Random Variable - during my rest, I was awakened by another Sirine. Disposed of her with a steady blind spell and arrows.
Golem Caves : Arrows of biting are the best friend here. Two kill one golem if both poison, which usually they do, but... - Random Variable - a golem resisted trice in a row. Had some Benny Hill moments, but got out of it unharmed.
High Hedge - Disposed of the golems in here too. Bought a scroll of invisibility and braved the way to Ulgoth's beard, which was successful. On my way, killed Ankheg on BG's Bridge - Who would have thought, blind blinds Ankhegs as well!
Ulgoth's beard - Sweet mother of all shopping lists : Bought Cloak of Displacement (Arrow protection FTW), Improved Invisibility (immunity to enemy spellcasting FTW), Greater Malison (Saving Throws Penalty FTW) and Emotion (just because it was cheap).
Farmfields south of Baldur's Gate - dealt with several Ankhegs - Two rows of magic missiles and a couple of arrows +1 from Sendai's meeting before did it nicely. Recovered Brun's son but most importantly received Ghost Armor spell as well as Level 8!
This is my current Status. Max Level, here I come!
Edit : I can't post the screenshot for god knows what reason... here's the link anyway :
http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/8725/44396485.jpg
As for me, I'm going to import my character and begin BG2. Time to drudge through Irenicus' dungeon again...oy vey. Expect more screenshots and journal entries soon!
UPDATE: Okay, my character has 118 hit points...how? Not that I'm complaining, but I didn't have anywhere near that when I finished BG1.
Did you have Draw Upon Holy Might up when you killed Sarevok? That might have done it.
I noticed your initial post didn't mention whether or not you were allowed to let NPCs join your party long enough for you to relieve them of their belongings before kicking them out or not.
Other than Imoen I haven't been doing so, but I ask because Montaron has a very nice potion of speed, Xzar has some useful spells and Jaheria has the amazingly useful potion of invisibility that I'd like to relieve them of. What are your opinions on these matters?
Also update:
Just started again and rather than going after Melicamp first this time I went after the Ogre with a belt fetish. Actually surprisingly simple since I learned that after I blinded him he just ran to where I was when I cast Blind. As I had already planned on moving and turning him into an Ogre with a Pincushion fetish this worked out perfectly. Never realized this bug with blind before but now I understand how a few of the harder early fights you're literally able to sidestep.
My reason for going this route this time was because I remembered the Ring of Protection +1 also on this map and I wanted to try to get my fingers on the Ring of Wizardry. I think I might try this again but neglect trying to go into the FAI until I'm at least level 2 in all classes. Otherwise the initial mage will kill you with his magic missile spell (I have 9 health).
And no I didn't want them beyond that. But 2 extra scrolls (the completionist part of me) and the potions you can get from them are useful.
Anyway current plan:
Initial map:
Meet Imoen: relieve her of her pots
Meet Xzar and Montaron: relieve them of their goodies
Map South of FAI
Meet Elminister: Tell him he's not particularly helpful. Get the ring, kill the ogre. Rest
Go to FAI:
Get Ring of Wizardry
Go to chapel, get all the items identified
Go to Joia and get her ring from the Hobgoblins
Go to High Hedge (just making our way through)
Go to Map South of High Hedge:
Get Melicamp
Go back to High Hedge, reload till he's human again (extra reputation +1)
Pick up Purdue's Short Sword
Go to Beregost
Talk down Marl
Help Firebeard again (Yes that's his name even though I know its Firebead)
Go offer to help Silke, turn on her, pray arrow interrupts her invisibility spell otherwise run
Go inside the Inn, Blind Karlat, pelt him with arrows
Return Purdue's short sword.
Rest, memorize sleep instead of blind
Go deal with the spiders
Go back up to FAI
Kill Mage
Return Belt
Return Spiders
Achieve Pantaloons part 1
That's my goal. We'll see if it works.
By the way, don't forget to return the letter in Beregost. South of it there are two Ogrillons who kill a halfling with a message. Kill them, get the letter and go to the house on the extreme right-center of the map and give it to the lady. You'll get 300 XP, a Ring of Protection +1 (sell for 1500 since you already have one), and +1 reputation.
Run #3 has already turned out worrisome. I either forgot to learn the armor spell in Candlekeep or I forgot to get that chest. Either way I have no armor spell. Good news is I still have blind and sleep so all is not lost.
I managed to get a magic missile off to stop her invisibility and then shot 3 arrows into her (one of them while she was casting lightning bolt) the first lightning bolt still went off. Somehow I survived that, shot her again and chugged a potion. Then my character decided to stop attacking her and my arrow that went off for the next lightning bolt missed, the bolt went off and killed me. That said I have determined how to kill the mage outside FAI earlier.
If you pick up and learn the spell shield it makes you immune to magic missiles. Thus if you can get a cast off of shield, chug the potion of clarity from candlekeep (makes you immune to his horror spell) and then pelt him with arrows it SHOULD work. I might try it this time but I have to go to work soon.
Honestly I might end up just looking to beat the regular game solo first before I try this. Everytime I die and go back to Candlekeep I get more frustrated. Especially since some things are out of your hands.
Also Tip:
If you talk down Marl you can still kill him afterwards. The downside to this is that for some reason the Innkeeper ran and I couldn't find him. This presents a problem because he not only sells the History of Fateful Coin for Firebead, he also sells Composite Longbow +1 in the future. Shame too since Marl is worth another 650 xp points if you kill him. Just be prepared for a 'fun' kite around the bottom floors. Also no reputation loss if you kill him afterwards.
Left Candlekeep and promptly removed Imoen's 3 potions of healing and her potion of speed as well as her 40 arrows before dumping her and going along my merry way.
I came upon Xzar and Montaron and relieved them of their goodies as well (2 more potions of healing, 1 from talking to them, 1 from Montaron) as well as their scroll of larlocks minor drain and chill touch. I'll likely never use either spell but hey I have them memorized.
Went to the site of the ambush and looted Gorion's body as well as the 2 ogres before making my way East (after unlocking high hedge for future travel).
Upon arriving I spoke with this old sage, strangely wandering around in the forest before exploring the map. I quickly came across my ring of protection +1 (not yet identified) after taking out a diseased gibberling and a wolf. I figured now was probably a good time to rest (my 1 blind spell was used) and 8 hours later I was moving east on the map again.
I encountered another wolf on my way to the ogre and blinded him. Finally after letting out a sigh I rested again and took on the ogre proper. With yet another blind (I've decided this might go down as one of the most underrated and overpowered spells in BG1, but I'll get into that later) I take down my ogre, collect my belts (Oh hey Melf's Acid Arrow lets learn you too). I continue north to the friendly arm inn.
I quickly pick up my ring of double level 1 spell happiness before skirting outside FAI and picking off Hobgoblins 1 by 1. Interesting fact, a composite longbow +1 will 1shot most FAI hobgoblins. I go pick up Joia's ring and then go turn it into her. Afterwards I beeline straight to the chapel to identify my goodies, being careful to avoid the wizard and make my way off the map down to High Hedge.
With my trusty bow, I pick off the gnolls one by one, retrieving this stupid shortsword called "purdue's short sword" making my way farther south. I come across some skeletons, some of which hit me resulting in a couple chugged potions of health. Eventually I say hi to our mage and pick up Magic Missile, Friends and Shield. Also rather conveniently I say hello to Thalantyr before the Flesh Golem's aggro to me.
And that's where I'll leave off before heading to work. Coming up soon in our tale (already completed but left to be told), You Have Been Ambushed! (Part 1), Melicamp the Chicken, Marl and why he looked at me funny, Firebead, Karlat and Silke.
Tune in a few hours from now for updates.
Have fun!
FMC just doesn't have the versatility, but there are obvious advantages to being able to heal and cast protections. Fire immunity alone is pretty cool, which means you can use the wand of fireball anywhere. Fun, although rest is needed to sustain it, not to mention money if you're going to use the wand.
FMT wins as the ultimate iconic elven spymaster IMHO. ^^
I think @cheesebelly just listed all the essentials in bg1.
Stealth is completely a non issue, and frankly, you would be wasting sp putting stuff into it. Potions will do the job better, and you will want to be carrying invis pots around anyway in Ironman mode.
I'm not arguing purely from the perspective of playing solo, but from the perspective of playing solo using permadeath rules as OP described