[Spoiler] *That* was the thief stronghold quest(s)?

raelcari

In my aforementioned multiplayer game, I took the thief stronghold with my F/T protagonist. Please tell me I've misunderstood something and that it doesn't all boil down to one fight in which you score a mace +1.

ThacoBell

There are 2 I think? But yeah, the thief stronghold is easily the weakest.

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Gallenger

The fun of the thief's guild is managing your theives and assassins + bailing them out of jail. Plus you get your own personal shop in-house which is pretty handy.

Tresset

Yeah, pretty much just one fight and one minor problem to solve solely with dialog... Really a bland stronghold and I usually try to avoid it.

ThacoBell

You also lose it if you are away for too long as well.

Nerval

The biggest problem with the thief stronghold is that you have to get back every week or so to tend to it.

There should be a mod to be able to set it on "auto", just keep the same settings, pay any bail necessary and keep the thing running; If it is losing money, then send someone to fetch you.

But beside that, yeah, it's a very weak stronghold, quest-wise.

That would be awesome if some people coded some mod for it and other strongholds.

xzar_monty

The only time I took the thief stronghold, I also lost it after I went to rescue Imoen. I have to say that that felt pretty stupid: it wasn't like I had much choice in the matter. If you don't go to rescue Imoen, nothing happens.

Nightingale

Yeah, while the Thief Stronghold quest is apparently one of the best in terms of making coin, it's definitely one of the weaker ones story wise. It's also hard to justify completing it as a good character if you're into RP (cold-blooded murder is one of those things that's hard to justify).

On a side note, if you're looking for a more story and RP focused stronghold, I'd recommend playing a Bard in a future playthrough. Yes, I know. I'm one of the few people who doesn't vomit at the thought of playing a Bard, but their stronghold quest is by far the most interesting one, with numerous decisions to be made throughout. Some of them even reward you for having high Charisma and Intelligence, which is one of the few cases of that in the game.

Tresset

xzar_monty said:

The only time I took the thief stronghold, I also lost it after I went to rescue Imoen. I have to say that that felt pretty stupid: it wasn't like I had much choice in the matter. If you don't go to rescue Imoen, nothing happens.

Just so you are all aware, the devs did fix the issue of losing your thief stronghold when you set out on the great journey for Imoen. I am not sure how they did it exactly other than that all strongholds appear to be put on pause until you are able to return to Athkatla.

xzar_monty

@Tressed: Very good to know that! My experience was from the original BG2.

sparrow13x

The Thief stronghold is phenomenal for making easy money but it's easily the most boring one. And having to go back once every 5-10 days makes it difficult to head off and do other quests in places like Windspear Hills if you plan on resting there at all.

Also, somewhat ironically, you don't receive the Short Sword of Backstabbing +3 from Renal if you're a thief, you just get the stronghold. It totally ruined an Assassin playthrough when I was on my iPad but now that I'm able to play on my computer I just console command it in.

dunbar

I think I pickpocketed it from him in my assassin run.

Montresor_SP

Ironically, the Thief stronghold is the one that, to me, seems most like having a steady job.

Aerakar

There is an old expanded thief stronghold mod discussed on this link.

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/61506/expanded-thief-stronghold#latest

It has not been updated for EE content though and apparently is a bit buggy for some as a result. I have not personally tried it out with EE, but back in the day before EE I enjoyed it.

For a neutral/evil protagonist, there is also the mod Assassinations. This is not a thief stronghold per se, but it is for a thiefly character and I think a good compliment to the vanilla stronghold as well as having RP options.

ineth

Nightingale said:

On a side note, if you're looking for a more story and RP focused stronghold, I'd recommend playing a Bard in a future playthrough.
[...] is by far the most interesting one

I'd say the Paladin stronghold is the most fleshed-out and worthwhile one, story/RP wise.

Not to mention it actually found a use for the "Know Alignment/Detect Evil" ability...

Francois

Nightingale said:

...It's also hard to justify completing it as a good character if you're into RP (cold-blooded murder is one of those things that's hard to justify).

You can sneak in and kill only Mae Var, leaving the others alive. He's really evil in addition to being a traitor so he can be an acceptable target for a good character to kill.

I'm not that crazy about any of the strongholds. When I have a choice I usually end up doing Nalia's Keep.

ThacoBell

The Ranger stronghold is a personal favorite of mine.

Quickblade

ThacoBell said:

The Ranger stronghold is a personal favorite of mine.

Mine too, even though it's pretty skimpy as well.

raelcari

xzar_monty said:

The only time I took the thief stronghold, I also lost it after I went to rescue Imoen. I have to say that that felt pretty stupid: it wasn't like I had much choice in the matter. If you don't go to rescue Imoen, nothing happens.

Now, I'd like to know for sure if this is fixed... Can I safely store important items in the stronghold, or do they disappear upon losing it?

sparrow13x said:

Also, somewhat ironically, you don't receive the Short Sword of Backstabbing +3 from Renal if you're a thief, you just get the stronghold. It totally ruined an Assassin playthrough when I was on my iPad but now that I'm able to play on my computer I just console command it in.

Yes, that's pretty dumb; you'd think he'd hand it over along with the stronghold. You can still buy the short sword of the mask, though, but it's expensive.

dunbar said:

I think I pickpocketed it from him in my assassin run.

This can't be done, unfortunately. At least not in the current patch. And let's be honest, his boots would be an ever better haul...!

Gallowglass

Yes, but ... after you've rescued Imoen, you don't actually need the Shadow Thieves any more. If you really want Renal's loot, then in Chapter 6 (unlike earlier!) you can just kill him without penalty. Of course the rest of the Shadow Thieves then turn hostile, but you can just kill them all (including Aran Linvail) without penalty.

raelcari

Gallowglass said:

Yes, but ... after you've rescued Imoen, you don't actually need the Shadow Thieves any more. If you really want Renal's loot, then in Chapter 6 (unlike earlier!) you can just kill him without penalty. Of course the rest of the Shadow Thieves then turn hostile, but you can just kill them all (including Aran Linvail) without penalty.

Doesn't the assassin show up anymore? And what about the loot stored in containers in the guildhall, does that go away when it the guild changes hands?

Gallowglass

raelcari said:

Doesn't the assassin show up anymore?

No, he doesn't appear if you've reached Chapter 6.

raelcari said:

And what about the loot stored in containers in the guildhall, does that go away when it the guild changes hands?

I've never tried that, since I generally leave spare equipment in the Copper Coronet regardless of whatever stronghold I may have. However, I don't think losing the stronghold causes the area map to be replaced, and therefore it shouldn't affect stuff stored in containers.