The LoB + SCS Solo Challenge vs Bhaal´s Cataclysm
Harpagornis
Member Posts: 1,658
Welcome to the LoB +SCS Solo Challenge
This rules of this unique adventure are quite simple:1. Legacy of Bhaal Difficulty (LoB) + Swoard Coast Stratagems (SCS). Mandatory for SCS are the basic improved AI settings, better calls for help, prebuffing, improved creatures & chapter-end-fights - including Ascension for ToB. Everything else is optional even though using the hardest setting is highly preferred!!
3. The Main Character has to play Solo
4. The ideal playthrough should contain Baldurs Gate → Siege of Dragonspear → Baldurs Gate 2 → Throne of Bhaal.
4. All classes are allowed including Dual- or Multiclassing. All races are allowed as well as unlimited rerolls on character creation screen. Reloads are allowed even though playing a no-reload challenge is higly welcome! Players using no-reload will get marked with [nR].
5. A reasonably detailed description of your progress would be great. Screenhosts are nice but no must have.
To spice up things a bit more we have created some more challenges - here you go:
The Cataclysm
Charname is afflicted with Bhaal´s curse, meaning they have to defeat the following enemies. In each part one enemy can be skipped while one more can be skipped freely among the rest.- Kahrk (BGEE)
- Karoug (BGEE)
- Demon Knight (BGEE)
- Aec´Letec (BGEE)
- Coldhearth (SoD)
- Morentherene (SoD)
- Neothelid (SoD)
- Shadow Aspect (SoD)
- Firkraag (SoA)
- Planar Warden (SoA)
- Unseeing Eye (SoA)
- Kangaxx (SoA)
- Layene (SoA)
- Saladrex (ToB)
- Demogorgon (ToB)
In addition Charname is afflicted with 15 divine curses out of the following 16. After each part he or she can change the curse once:
Ao:
1. Charname can only carry as many weapons as fit into quickslots. After reaching 3 million XP´s he gets one additional weapon
2. Arcane multi- and dualclass casters can only have as many arcane spells scribed as a sorcerer of equal level. Numbers of spells they can memorise remain unaffected
3. Divine multi- and dual class casters can only choose from as many divine spells as a shaman of equal level. Numbers of spells they can memorise remain unaffected
Arvoreen:
The inventory may be accessed during combat only to use consumables. Duplicates of any kind cannot use quick slot items
Chauntea:
No XP farming except for charname who dual classes after reaching at least 3 million XP´s
Cyric:
Potion- and spellbuffs with a duration of less than 2 hours may only be applied during combat
Gond: Jegg, Cromwell, and Cespenar can each upgrade just one item
Helm: Defensive items can only be recharged once in shops
Ilmater:
No containers of any kind. Items dropped on the ground are lost
Lolth:
No antidots or elixirs of health
Malar:
Except for Beast Masters only one summon spell can be active in combat
Mystra:
Each creature gains the saving throw fix
Selune:
Resting is only allowed in inns and cleared dungeon floors. In the wilderness it only works near houses
Sune:
Creatures cannot be charmed or dominated with items
Tempus:
Except for Wizard Slayers retreats from ambushes are only possible if
1. At least one enemy takes damage
2. Charname takes damage from a physical attack or gets hit by a spell/gaze
OR
3. Charname has to kill one enemy
Tymora:
Random number of Hit Points on level up and no INT-buffing for scroll scribing
Tyr:
No attacking or killing of innocents unless they have been provoked through dialogue
Waukeen:
Offensive items can only be recharged once in shops
If this is still too easy for you - here comes the Hardcore Version:
Arvoreen: The inventory cannot be accessed during combat
Chauntea: No XP farming
Cyric: No potion- and spellbuffing before combat
Gond: Jegg, Cromwell, and Cespenar cannot upgrade any item
Ilmater: No containers of any kind. Items dropped on the ground are lost
Lolth: No antidots or elixirs of health
Malar: Only one summon spell can be active in combat
Mystra: Each creature gains the saving throw fix
Selune: Resting is only allowed at inns or cleared dungeon floors
Sune: Creatures cannot be charmed or dominated
Tempus: Retreats from combat are only possible if
1. At least one enemy takes damage
2. Charname takes damage from a physical attack or gets hit by a spell/gaze
OR
3. Charname kills one enemy
Tymora: Random number of Hit Points on level up and no INT-buffing for scroll scribing
Tyr: No attacking or killing of innocents
Waukeen: Items cannot be recharged in shops
Leira: Unique magical items cannot be sold
Myrkul: Charname cannot use Protection from Undead Scrolls
Chauntea: No XP farming
Cyric: No potion- and spellbuffing before combat
Gond: Jegg, Cromwell, and Cespenar cannot upgrade any item
Ilmater: No containers of any kind. Items dropped on the ground are lost
Lolth: No antidots or elixirs of health
Malar: Only one summon spell can be active in combat
Mystra: Each creature gains the saving throw fix
Selune: Resting is only allowed at inns or cleared dungeon floors
Sune: Creatures cannot be charmed or dominated
Tempus: Retreats from combat are only possible if
1. At least one enemy takes damage
2. Charname takes damage from a physical attack or gets hit by a spell/gaze
OR
3. Charname kills one enemy
Tymora: Random number of Hit Points on level up and no INT-buffing for scroll scribing
Tyr: No attacking or killing of innocents
Waukeen: Items cannot be recharged in shops
Leira: Unique magical items cannot be sold
Myrkul: Charname cannot use Protection from Undead Scrolls
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Amnesia Challenge
Your character has been afflicted with amnesia, making them forget how to use multiple weapons and spells effectively:Arcane casters can only have as many arcane spells scribed as a sorcerer of equal level (e.g. a level 8 wizard could have 5 level 1 spells, 3 level 2 spells, 2 level 3 spells and 1 level 4 spell scribed). Numbers of spells they can memorise remain unaffected.
Divine casters can only choose from as many divine spells as a shaman of equal level would have access to. (e.g. a level 6 cleric can only choose from 4 level 1 spells, 2 level 2 spells and 1 level 3 spell). Numbers of spells they can memorise (including bonuses from Wisdom) remain unaffected.
Each character can only carry as many weapons as fit into their quickslots. So a paladin could carry 3 different weapons, a fighter could carry 4 and a mage could carry 2. An additional 1-handed weapon can be kept exclusively for off-hand use if desired, and can be interchanged with a shield as necessary.
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Beggars Opera - The Poverty Challenge [Pov]
- The main character has to play solo without any NPC´s.- You are allowed to use gold only to solve specific quests
- You cannot equip or use any items except the ones that are essential to finish quests
- You can use temporary items created by spells like Flame Blade or Spiritual Hammer
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bane of the Wizard Slayer [Bane]
Your character is afflicted with the bane of the Wizard Slayer and therefore unable to use any of the following items:- No Necklaces, Rings, Gloves/Bracers
- No Potions except for Healing
- No Cloaks and Girdles
- No Wands
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Adventurer [Adv]
- The main character has to play solo without any NPC´s.- You are allowed to use gold for quests and temple services but not for buying any items.
- You can equip or use any items you have found during your adventure - good hunting!
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Grondo´s and Harpa´s Aslum of Arcane Madness
This is our personal Sphere of Chaos for all misleaded players out there - do you think you are strong enough?- No antidots
- No-Reload only
- No XP loops or farming
- No maximum Hit Points at levelup
- No healing potions or items except for regeneration
- No Arrows of Detonation/Dispelling buying in BG1
- No Algernons Cloak or Nymph Cloak in BG1/SoD
- No Staff of the Magi in SoA & ToB
- No Speed Weapons in SoA
- No Wish spells for ToB
May fate smile upon you esteemed adventurer!
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The following challenges are running at the moment:
@alice_ashpool: Darkmoon Monk [nR], Fighter/Cleric [CATACLYSM]@AvidGamerFan: Fighter/Mage/Thief
@Blackraven: Cleric/Ranger [nR], Fighter/Thief [nR]
@Grondo: Sorcerer [CATACLYSM], Shadowdancer6/Fighter [CATACLYSM]
@histamiini: Blade [nR], Cavalier [CATACLYSM]
@Harpagornis: Enchanter3/Fighter [CATACYLSM] + Shadowdancer6/Fighter [CATACLYSM]+ Avenger [CATACLYSM + nR + Poverty]
@XDarkStrikerX: Fighter/Illusionist
@Universe: Fighter/Mage/Thief
@Wol1gar: Cleric/Ranger
Hall of Fame:
*****THE NEW LORDS OF MURDER WHO HAVE BEATEN THE WHOLE CHALLENGE*****@Harpagornis: Korgath the Dwarven Bounty Hunter + Su´kka the Half-Orc Barbarian
@Harpagornis + @Vynn: Eklun the Human Totemic Druid18/ Fighter [nR]
@histamiini: Sir Vanderley the Human Cavalier + Seven the Dwarven Defender + Trabb the Half-Elf Cleric/Mage [nR] + Triss the Gnomish Fighter/Illusionist [nR] + Kayla the Human Blade + Serafina the Human Archer21/ Cleric + Prada the Sorcerer [nR] + Nemesis the Fighter/Mage/Cleric [nR] + Jin the Dark Moon Monk + Jezebel the Human Blackguard [nR]
@semiticgod: Frisk the Human Archer8/ Mage [nR + self-made mods] + Frisky Bits the Elven Archer [nR]
@Mr_Salty: Sir Gregor the Human Priest of Lathander
@XDarkStrikerX: Sirus the Gnomish Fighter/Illusionist + Vega the Human Sorcerer
@zaknas: Lady Rose the Half-Elf Cleric/Mage
Post edited by Harpagornis on
15
Comments
I imagine that a Berserker would be the easiest out of the 'warriors' to complete this challenge, simply due to the immunities given by their rage ability and their not-so-huge-disadvantage of being limited to 2*s in ranged weapons (throwing axes/daggers for the win). Barbarians would be in a similar situation, but with slightly restricted armor choices.
Maybe a Swashbuckler as a second place contender? I personally wouldn't consider them a warrior mainly because they're a thief kit but I can definitely see how they end up a bit more warrior-ish. That being said I think a solo Swashbuckler would do exceptionally well. Being able to stealth past big groups of enemies and disarm traps would mitigate a lot of damage plus once they get HLA: UAI they can essentially become fighter/mage/thieves by using scrolls.
Third easiest I'd say would be a Paladin kit, maybe Cavalier for the big bonuses or Inquisitor for fighting mages (leaning more towards Inquisitor).
The hardest run would either be a Kensai because of the all damage you'd end up taking or a Beast Master because of the hard restrictions.
Overall, I'd be very interested to try this run. I just made a monk a few days ago and plan to do a trillogy run with him. Maybe I'll try a solo run with him once I've finished that.. Either way, I'd be keen to see what others think and keep an eye on this post to see how others actually do it.
Good suggestion @Harpagornis
My first choices would Swashbuckler and Monk. The first has great utility and will be a F/M/T light edition while the second has the power of getting nearly unstoppable at higher levels. I like both of them cause thanks to stealth they can chose when to fight - or not.
The Dark Moon Monk and Swashbuckler both worked pretty well for me in Icewind Dale even though it will be much harder to reach the higher levels quickly in Baldurs Gate.
Berserker and Barbarian would be another interesting choice while someone claimed in the Icewind Dale Warrior Challenge that Blackguards are borderline OP thanks to poison.
I think that in the long run utility will be the key - as well as patience. More opinions on that one?
I think I have a high tolerance for kiting things around, but I suspect that using a standard fighter might test that. I could imagine a berserker or dwarven defender might be able to go toe to toe with many enemies, but even they won't be able to stand up against the tougher encounters and winning a single combat with someone like Sarevok would be an exercise in patience. Perhaps I'm being a bit pessimistic though and should give it a go ...
If I'm correct that a plain fighter class would get frustrating then I agree that a character with stealth would offer a potentially better alternative. A monk would be hard in BG1, but if you are aiming to go all the way to ToB then that looks a good choice to me (and the dark moon monk can use blindness).
Oublek and Samuel provided a bit more reputation before the ring of wizardry was traded in for some plate armor and a +1 axe (the normal ones having been breaking very quickly). The ankheg armor then allowed the purchase of the necklace of missiles and PfP scroll. Before going to the basilisks I went to find Bjornin's half-ogres in order to get a magic shield. Nine blasts from the necklace were needed to kill the first of the half-ogres before axe work finished them off (the last of them getting me up to level 3).
In the basilisk area a potion of genius allowed me to use the PfP scroll (and a stone to flesh). I dual-wielded against the lesser basilisks, but threw axes against the greater ones (who attack much quicker if they switch to melee). With the monsters all dead Korax was recruited to paralyse Mutamin. He had a go at Kirian's party as well and managed to paralyse 3 of them, but once he was dead I decided to run. However, Peter chased me on his own and, as he was out of harmful spells, I threw axes at him until he keeled over to get me to level 6. I had badly wounded Baerin while he was paralysed and managed to finish him off with a rage and Lindin then died to run and shoot tactics. I nearly died to Kirian though - forgetting how vicious acid arrows are in LoB (the extra levels make them go on for ever at double damage). I just had time to use another potion of intelligence and then a PfM scroll to dispel the effects though and was then able to shoot down Kirian at my leisure.
I got a bit more oomph by running Meilum round some rocks while throwing axes and an improved weapon for dual-wielding by doing the same to Greywolf. A few more quests in the Cloud Peaks got me to reputation 20 and I headed north to Ulgoth's Beard (picking up the Girdle of Piercing on the way) to do a bit of shopping. The sirines at the lighthouse hit more easily than I expected and I used 2 potions of regeneration there as well as having to top up a potion of clarity with a couple of rages. However, that was probably worth it as the XP got me up to level 7. A potion of absorption and the Girdle of Bluntness then allowed me to tank the golems - though a couple of criticals required the use of my last potion of regeneration.
In the Nashkel Mine rage lasted long enough to chop down Mulahey. I also killed most of his support troops, but with HPs down to 20 decided to run away. To be 'safe' I decided to go back to the top level of the mine to rest, but the magic missile trap triggered and killed me. I didn't think I'd made a movement error, but I'm not used to going back past the traps that way in the EE so am not sure whether that is normally a problem ...
I was playing under my normal no-reload, no healing rules and won't continue that run. However, I did find making progress a bit quicker and easier than I expected and I don't see any reason why a no-reload with a berserker shouldn't work.
In Candlekeep he skipped only the rat quest because it was far too time consuming, bought a sling and lots of bullets and moved out with Gorion. Along the way to the Friendly Arm Inn Rakatta found a Ring of Protection +1 as well as a Ring of Wizardry to boost up his defenses as well as his gold pool. To get Joia´s ring he killed several Hobgoblins using the borderline broken Blind-Spell. After getting the ring back he was just level 2.
The next phase was quite chaotic because I couldn’t remember all the locations (it has been several years since my last BG games). While sneaking through the maps Rakatta avoided most battles to get the Sling +1 in Beregost and the Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise from Meilum in Firewine Bridge. Thanks to the big range of the Monk fists he is able to punch many blinded enemies without any retaliation (didn’t work against specific enemies that have the same range or tend to walk even when blinded). All of this feels a bit lame but before reaching a certain power level nearly any "fair" 1vs1 will lead to death.
The blind-and-kill game also worked perfectly fine against some Ankhegs so Rakatta was just level 3 before he tried to kill his first Basiliks. Even the greater ones (which are really fearsome enemies) regularly failed to make a saving vs blind so the rest was just punching them to death (or using slingshots). After killing a lot of basiliks level 5 was reached.
Time to say “Hello” to the Sirens at the lighthouse i thought. Blind worked but – damn – after getting blinded they tend to walk around the whole map. Bad girls! After killing only two of them (which was very time consuming) Rakatta decided to kill Bassilus instead (which was easy) as well as solving several xp-heavy quests. With level 6 in the pockets it was finally time to get south of Nashkel. Greywolf – the dead one – left over a fine Longsword +2 right before Rakatta went down into the Nashkel Mine. Thanks to stealth he avoided all fighting only to bring down Mulahey. Killing him was much harder than expected thanks to the incoming support troops. The easiest way was: Hit Mulahey out of combat -> immediately restealth and wait for the incoming support -> splittpull and kill all enemies till Mulahey is left -> blind and punch him to death! This was safe but took some time (and resting).
Back in Nashkel he got the fine Boots of Avoidance from Nimbul (poor archers), killed Tranzig (kiting him all the day as blind didn’t work) and finally made his way into the Bandits Camp after some sweattalking. Clearing the main tent was again all about cheese. After solo-pulling them out into the forest the usual blind-and-kill-game followed. Rakatta now got a clue about the hidden complex in the Cloakwood but before heading there he decided to farm a bit more Ankhegs. Thanks to Blind and Frozen Fist stacking they went down pretty quickly. Once he reached level 7 it was time for some resting. New adventures are waiting soon!
Number of reloads so far: Yes, several. Well – many. But luckily this is not a no-reload-challenge. Even at level 7 the Monk still feels quite weak and vulnerable (compared to a Berserker). Hopefully Rakatta will be able to reach higher levels soon – we will see!
I did have another no-reload attempt with the same berserker a few days ago. That one did everything up to the return to Candlekeep without any particular problems, but got careless there. I can't remember exactly what I did at the Cloakwood Mine, but I think Kysus and Rezdan were killed by fireballs - as were Davaeorn's battle horrors. The mage himself was then attacked using a potion of magic blocking followed by rage.
At Candlekeep the first mistake was that I couldn't be bothered kiting the last of the phase spiders around and got poisoned by it. I don't allow the use of antidotes, but had a green scroll available - and even with the fast acting, double-damage poison there should have been time to use that. However, I'd forgotten momentarily that using it would take me not one round, but two (as the character was created with low intelligence and needed to take a potion of genius first) and didn't take the potion immediately after being poisoned. The delay of a few seconds proved costly when the poison just beat the activation of the green scroll ...
I am quite amazed that your Berserker went so smoothly even on LoB. But as you have played BG hundreds (more?) of times your metagame knowledge is just superior. Well - it still doesnt protect from being careless as we have seen. What a pity. Do you think that - without the no-reload-resctriction - your Berserker would be deep within BG 2 now?
The stealthy Monk suits my playstyle much more so i want to give it a try. Still feels so weak...
Yeah, Swashbuckler should be great choice too - abandoned mine for now. Someone wants to try it?
At the moment my Monk is punching down Davaeorn - should be easy now as he has run out of spells.
I've been playing with LoB XP bonus enabled and the XP cap removed. I'm not sure if that's acceptable for the purpose of this challenge. I find it interesting that some of you should mention the Swashbuckler. It was my impression that they would become comparatively weaker. LoB enemies have much better Thac0, so what is true for the vanilla game - physical resistance becoming more useful than AC in ToB - should apply even more (and earlier) in LoB mode no? And there's only a limited number of Stoneskin and PfMW scrolls available.
Anyway my Archer is currently level 8, with **** in crossbows, * in scimitars, and * in maces.
In Candlekeep I skipped the rats but I dealt with Shank and Carbos using Deder's oil of speed. This allowed me to level up once before heading out. In the early game there are quite a few enemies with useful or valuable gear that can be kited with some patience, and I made sure to focus on those. E.g. Hobgoblin with Boots of Stealth, Rogue Ogre, Greywolf, Sendai (but staying out of Delgod and Alexander's sight). With the bonus XP activated even Gibberlings and Xvarts are worth bothering with, so while I didn't actively go looking for them, I always engaged them when running into them. I also waited for Gnolls to kill Drizzt, so I could wield his scimitars in melee. Unfortunately Archers can't use his mithral armor, so I alternate between ankheg armor for fighting and studded leather for scouting.
I have Lord Foreshadow's ring of human influence from the BG1 NPC pack, which sets CHA to 18, and I've sought out the reputation quests (Joia, Firebead, Oublek, Charleston Nib, Brage, Krumm/Caldo and dead cat in the Cloudpeaks) to get my rep to 20 asap. Normally I wait with spending until I actually reach 20 rep, but in this run I started using bolts of biting well before that point. The Thunderhammer Smithy sells lots of them, so I've used them quite liberally. Despite enemies' improved saves, the poison still hits pretty often. The bolts really speed up the killing and the poison ticks that slow down enemies help with the kiting. I bought the Light Crossbow of Speed at 20 rep, which further improved my marksmanship.
Did Meilum and the Basilisks this way without trouble, but Kirian & co, Bassilus, and the Nahskel Mines were different stories. Kirian still managed to cast spells even though I poisoned her. A potion of magic blocking was the price I had to pay for her belt. As a Cleric, Bassilus' saves vs poison are very good. I failed to poison him and I was forced to quaff two more potions of magic blocking to protect myself. In hindsight I shouldn't have attacked him. The 5k GP bounty was too tempting though. I got the Greenstone Amulet from Ulgoth's Beard, but its protection doesn't activate as fast as potion protection.
In the Nashkel Mines I made a mistake in Mulahey's lair. Mulahey himself was not much of a problem, thanks to Greenstone and bolts of biting, but I got cornered by some Skeletons. I had to drink all my healing potions to stay alive and find a way out. Bruised and battered, my Archer is currently recuperating at the Nashkel Carnival.
For this specific challenge things like xp-bonus oder xp-cap removal is not allowed as it makes things too easy in my opinion. SCS is a bonus but not a must have. Anyway: You can play the game like you want - have fun and feel free to update your progress!
Rakatta in the meanwhile is sneak-killing through the city of Baldurs Gate and will soon be on his return trip to Candlekeep.
Rakatta is now heading to Candlekeep. So far this LoB-Challenge has been easier than expected cause my main fear was that without the bonus xp like in Icewind Dale my Monk would suffer too much from his low level underpower status. But as the KI is even more dumb than in Icewind Dale each encounter is easy IF he can splittpull enemy groups and proceed with his blind-killing-game or just normal sling kiting.
Thanks to stealth the Monk so far is able to lure and distract enemies at his will. For instance: Rakatta had a great time luring all those carrion crawlers into the streets of Baldurs Gate (a lot of fresh meat for them!), restealth and sneak back to the Ogre Mage in the underground to face him in an unfair 1vs1.
In Icewind Dale "Blind" worked quite some time before enemies tend to resist it regularly but than he was hitting level 11/13 so Mirror Image and Quivering Palm came in - the last one instakilled even Yxunomei. Hopefully my Monk will be able to get to these power levels before reaching a point of no return. We will see!
At the palace I initially went invisible hoping that Belt and the guards would be able to tackle the dopplegangers individually (with no enemies visible they only retaliate when attacked). In Core rules EE, Belt has a decent chance of killing the lot of them like that. However, although Belt is upgraded by LoB the dopplegangers have been improved more and he lost over half his HPs in killing the first doppleganger. At that point I took a few potions and joined the fight hoping against hope that all the other dopplegangers would attack me - they didn't ...
I did load the autosave once to see what the fight would be like if I participated from the start, but I did no better that time after 5 of the 6 dopplegangers attacked the dukes. I normally find the fight at the palace the chanciest element of a no-reload run, with only the final battles with Melissan approaching the same difficulty, and it looks like LoB makes the chances lower still. The fight will be possible though if a number of dopplegangers attack you rather than the dukes from the start, so I wouldn't expect the palace to be too much of a hurdle to this challenge (reloading when necessary).
Well, well, the cursed palace fight - i hate this one. And it will be tough for sure because unlike your Berserker my Monk is not able to tank. Maybe just running and luring them around the corner? We will see!
How the heck do you fight Slythe? Tank him? Kite him? Two hits - and he nearly always hits my Monk - and i am dead. Blind did not work so i had to heavily abuse the leave area -> stealth cheese. Worked pretty well but it feels so lame. Kiting him with a Sling would have been a nightmare.
I think your best chance at the palace with a monk would be to tank the dopplegangers. If you use potions of mind focusing to put dexterity to 25, invulnerability to set base AC to 0, equip the correct girdle, use your blur innate ability and read the defensive harmony scroll from Ulgoth's Beard I don't think the dopplegangers will hit you easily. With potions of power & storm giant strength + DUHM you will hit them easily (I suspect easily enough it may well be worth you using dual wielding against them), though you will still need plenty of luck to be able to kill them before they finish off the dukes. During the fight you can get some useful additional damage by using potions of firebreath, but probably limit yourself to attacking a single doppleganger with them (as the dukes and Flaming Fist move around quite a lot there's a danger of catching them if you get too greedy).
Well, Slythe was no big deal thanks to the hit-run-stealth game. Just for the fun of it I tested the Palace fight to see whats possible at LoB. Thanks for your advice Grond0 to tank them with the help of potions and scrolls. But – hey – I am a Dark Moon Monk! Rushing my enemies and fight them face to face is not my way. I am a trickster! With other words: I waited in the middle of the dopplegangers to attack me, “guided” them into one of the entry rooms and restealthed. On the very first try my monk was able to park 4 dopplegangers there while the rest got killed in the main room by the guards and a little help from me. Thanks to the following splittpulling Belt got barely hurt and I would have solved this tricky part without any problems. Normally. But – as always – I totally forgot to get the evidence against Sarevok first and got killed by the Flaming Fist. Its always the same…
Nice work with your Monk @Harpargonis. Are you going to reload and continue?
Sure i will continue- its not a no-reload-challenge. At least for me!
How is your Archer going Blackraven?
And why is there still no one rolling a Swashbuckler?
Or a Cavalier? Yes please - we want some fun!
Well done at the Palace. It sounds like you were fortunate there if 4 dopplegangers attacked you - typically only 1 (sometimes 2) does so against me. I hope you get the same result next time when you bring along the evidence!
I've decided to start a new game for the sake of a fairer comparison of what the eligible classes/kits are capable of in this challenge. I'm playing now without any bonus XP and version 2 of the game, without SCS (because my other v1.3 install has Item Randomisation and I can't uninstall that without messing with existing saves).
I actually rolled a new character because I wanted him to pick hammer proficiency (for Ashideena) instead of maces, and to have high Charisma because there's no ring of human influence in this install and I'm going to rely on lots of potions, green scrolls etc. Archers aren't the most defensive characters after all.
Had an amazing stat roll: 18/77-18-18-15-14-16. Otherwise it's the same character: same name i.e. Blackraven, Half-Elf, LG, crossbow master. Racial enemy is Spiders.
Killed Carbos (actually got bonus XP here because I had neglected to quit the game when changing the LUA file to disable LoB XP the first time), and also Shank thanks to Deder's oil of speed, and did the other Candlekeep quests except Reevor's rats. Picked up the Ring of the Princes and killed the rogue ogre for the girdle of piercing. Killed Spiders, stealth boots wearing Hobgoblin, Ogrillons, and did the Marl, Coquetle, and Firebead quests. Stealthed past Tarnesh to trigger Dorn encounter and to give Landrin her belongings. Killed Hobgoblins for Joia.
In Nashkel I discovered something that you all may or may not have known already: Archers can't wear Ankheg plate as of v2. The kit description has been changed as well: "can only wear leather, studded leather or hide" instead of "cannot wear metal armor". This meant that I was going to have to play my character differently, more sneakily, like a Thief. I decided I would get hold of as many AC boosting potions as possible, and to pick up the shield amulet as soon as my rep was up and the CHA tome was read. Meanwhile I picked up Mithral chain and two scimitars from Drizzt's corpse.
Killed the diggers at the excavation site and suffered my first injury there, more than half of my health. The reach of those spears is impressive.
Returned Drienne's cat to the girl, and kited Ingot, Ludrug, and Krumm and Caldo for more XP and 20 rep. Killed two Winter Wolves, secured the CHA tome under stealth, and went shopping: light crossbow of speed, shield amulet, bolts of biting, greenstone amulet, cloak of displacement. Slew Shoal, returned Arcand's ring, and received the Surgeon's potion. Dueled Meilum for his gauntlets. Then went Basilisk killing with green protection scroll. Managed to get rid of all Basilisks within 4 hours. This was easier than in SCS thanks to absence of Better Calls for Help, but harder in that the Basilisks were more inclined to switch to melee. I think they don't switch to melee if you attack them when they're partly covered by the fog of war, but am not sure. Used a first greenstone charge for Mutamin, but that proved unnecessary. He was repeatedly poisoned and fell without casting a spell at Blackraven. With Korax still available I went to see what we could do against Kirian and her friends. Korax immediately held Kirian and kept attacking her because she was our main concern. Blackraven was greenstone protected, absorbing Peter's Hold Persons while attacking Kirian with bolts of biting. When Kirian was slain, Korax was at near death status, but he still managed to hold Peter. I retreated, hid in shadows, and finished Peter (bolts of biting) from out of sight of the others. Also managed to kill Lindin for some useful potions, but left Baerin alone.
At Durlag's Tower I decided to melee a Ghast, quaffing a potion of free action for the occasion, because I was curious to see how Blackraven would perform. Both reached near death status (16 HPs for Blackraven), at which point the Archer retreated and finished the Ghast with his crossbow. Used the greenstone amulet again, for the WIS tome and to pass the stun trap in the hallway to the roof. I had seven potions of mirroring eyes. Used one while killing the Lesser Basilisk, and two while felling the Greater ones with bolts of lightning.
Despite Grond0's near death experience with his Berserker against Kysus, I underestimated the fire ball trap on the stash holding Rashad's Talon:
Picked up the CON tome undet stealth, and used the greenstone amulet once more, to face Bassilus. I shrugged of at least three Hold Persons before the priest fell to my poisoned bolts. Down south I was given a green PfMagic scroll by Hafiz, and I found a ring of fire resistance.
With level 8 nearly 75k XP away, it's now time to see if I can tackle the Nashkel Mines. I'm a bit apprehensive. Last time I barely survived in ankheg plate mail when I got surrounded by Skellies...
BTW, I'm also curious about strategies for the Ducal Palace (not that I'm anywhere close). As a reminder, what do vanilla Greater Doppelgangers exactly? I haven't played in vanilla in several years.
You're right to be cautious about fighting Mulahey's support troops - in both my runs that was one of the hardest battles. I suggest you make sure you've got a means of going invisible to allow you to recover and rebuff if necessary.
But what next? Facing Sarevok? Or starting Tales of the Sword Coast? Or maybe just visitting all the places that i skipped before? But first: Time for some rest!
BtW: Cool to see that you rerolled your Archer Blackraven. The game must be a lot easier without SCS now. Will see you stomping Mulahey in Nashkel Mines soon!
In SCS Silke's most dangerous spells are disablers so I came greenstone-protected. But then her horrible Lightning Bolt, that I had completely forgotten about, killed me. Character was at full health...
It's hard for me to reload and continue but I'm willing in order to learn about LoB. At the same time I think I prefer playing LoB with SCS (at leasts its basic AI components), so I might end up doing a new install and rolling a new character.
Swashuckler would be a bit difficult at start, but easier after lv 5-6 and doable. (Soloed BG1+big part of BG2 on hard difficulty). A Monk would be very, very difficult first 8-9 levels (= whole BG1) and almost impossible to do Durlag's Tower with.
Chateau Irenicus seems frustrating to me with almost any non-stealthy character.
Your are welcome to join us with a Swashbuckler Southpaw. I abanonded mine for no obvious reason.
My Monk so far (he is level 8 now) is far more easier than expected IF you are willing to cheese a bit. But as a Dark Moon Monk playing like a Trickster should be your second nature.
Edit: just killed Greywolf with my 183rd arrow. That's not a problem when playing with a sorcerer who can disable opponents, but kiting around for that long against an opponent that would probably kill you with one blow is a bit of a pain. Time to visit some basilisks and aim to get a couple more levels I think ...
Edit 2: Meilum down - also got to level 5 from him. The extra bonus from Swashbuckler abilities at level 5, added to the gauntlets, will make the basilisks much quicker.
Edit 3: the basilisks were duly taken down - the green scroll lasting long enough to sort them out with a little bit to spare. Korax then quickly dealt with Mutamin, but failed to paralyse any of Kirian's group and I ran away.