Testing found you can't leave Abazigal's chamber before he's dead. However, the level 7 Teleport spell lets us escape at any time. So, for the first time in the run, we use Teleport to make a fight easier: I kill the drakes (they last less than 10 rounds anyway) and more importantly the erroneous clone of Tamah who appears at the start of battle (I'm reasonably certain only one Tamah is supposed to appear in this fight, and she's supposed to appear after Abazigal transforms). In both cases, I used the Scorcher Ammunition at point blank range. Even aside from its utility with Called Shot, the Scorcher Ammunition deals 310 damage per round on average thanks to our three pips in crossbows, 8 Archer levels, Gauntlets of Specialization, and Firetooth crossbow.
When we return, Frisk summons a few planetars to keep Abazigal busy and then fires from afar using the Pulse Ammunition (since the Scorcher Ammunition would hurt our planetars). When Abazigal transforms, I let the planetars deal with him while Frisk heads west with their clone to kill Tamah together.
For a moment, I mistakenly thought that the clone's Scorcher Ammunition projectiles were crossing over Frisk themself, since the projectiles tend to blend together so well. I panicked when I realized that the clone's Scorcher Ammunition was buffed with Called Shot, which meant I could have taken massive STR damage just by walking through the stream. Fortunately, Frisk had not in fact ever entered the area of effect and suffered no damage. But it was an important reminder that the Scorcher Ammunition was not party-friendly, and I could easily kill myself if I lost control of a Simulacrum clone.
We also had a brief scare when Frisk got hit by Tamah's breath weapon. Tamah's Purple Dragon breath deals crushing damage, which is perfectly safe with Stoneskin active, but it also has a 50% chance of knocking the targets unconscious for 2 rounds without a saving throw. Frisk had the defenses to survive two rounds of attacks by one or both dragons, but Tamah and Abazigal paid them no mind, preferring to fight Frisk's clone and the planetars.
Finally, Tamah went down and we all all crowded around Abazigal, who had failed to kill a single planetar this whole time (those instant-casting Heal spells effectively triple their HP). Frisk and their clone attacked from afar using the Pulse Ammunition, and because our damage output was so incredibly high, we didn't even need to attempt to land a STR drain kill.
We proceeded to Sendai's lair, where we discovered that an Archer with the Scorcher Ammunition can clear entire herds of enemies with just a few rounds of attacking and some precise movement to drag the scorcher projectiles across the enemies. For Odamaron, we buffed with a Protection from Undead scroll and approached under Time Stop, but Odamaron wasn't visible at the time and we had to prompt his buffs with a planetar. We then re-cast Time Stop and attacked Kitty while time was stopped, but apparently the numerous projectiles were unable to shred Odamaron's Stoneskins when time returned to normal.
Instead, we cast Enchanted Weapon and attacked our planetar, moving back and forth to make sure we were catching Odamaron in the stream of fire. The fire itself did no damage, but the missile damage removed all of Odaramon's Stoneskins and soon killed him.
After wiping out a herd of drow and a couple of beholders largely during Time Stop, Frisk hit level 31 and gained an extra spell slot for every spell level, which is when I realized that I could have landed several important STR drain kills if I had just remembered that the level 2 Strength spell could set anyone's STR to 18.
Ogremoch is very bad for any solo character, since he can cast Stoneskin once per round and get 10 skins per casting, equal to the maximum APR any one character can achieve. But the Scorcher Ammunition gets 20 APR, so we were able to slowly grind him down while hiding behind PFMW. As for Diaytha and the Hive Mother and company, we wiped out everyone over the course of three Time Stop spells, though the Hive Mother's Improved Mantle spells earlier on meant that we need a STR drain kill to avoid having to fight the thing without the cover of Time Stop.
Captain Egeissag did not even get a chance to land a single attack roll. The hitstun from the Scorcher Ammunition slowed him down so much that he died before reaching Frisk.
Frisk drank 5 Potions of Genius and cast Time Stop the moment they entered the mind flayer area. Over the course of several Time Stop spells, we killed everything with the Scorcher Ammunition.
I will deal with Sendai tomorrow. I don't really have a specific strategy since there are so many priorities and targets and variables in the fight, but presumably, the Staff of the Magi will let us hide from the enemy indefinitely and attack from safety even if everything goes to hell. The only critters in that fight that could see through invisibility are planetars, and there aren't very many of them.
I just disabled the XP cap, having realized that it was still in place. While I limited Frisk's level progression in BG1 and SoD, I wanted Frisk to be able to exceed level 31 if they got enough XP. It won't really give us anything we don't already have, but I hate the idea of XP being wasted.
Then we'll convince Balthazar to join us, deal with the Ravager, and proceed to the Throne of Bhaal. Jon Irenicus has given me grief in previous runs, but we have enough Protection from Magic scrolls to neutralize him as well as Sendai and Abazigal.
I have yet to devise a round-by-round strategy for Melissan, but I think I'll go to the trouble of bringing several members of the Five to Near Death before summoning her, since I don't want them to get in the way when I'm trying to kill Melissan with STR drain. I'll probably try to land the kill with a Simulacrum clone first, since if I waste the original Frisk's Called Shot spells, I won't be able to get them back without Wish-resting.
Alright I've temporarily ditched the Cleric/Mage concept and am running something different which seems to be off to a good start.
Krogg the Half-Orc Cleric/Thief. This will not be a no-reload game, I know I will die many times
Why a half-orc instead of a gnome? Sure the gnome has the sexy saving throw bonus, but the orc has raw power. And because I have a weak spot for ugly
He is Neutral Evil. Because he's the ugly offspring of an orc and a human and was probably abandoned with Gorion because nobody else would take him when he was born. Growing up amongst humans he was probably bullied, abused, or worse. So he developed a thick skin and only cares about numero uno. Screw humans. Screw the other races. They can all lick my boots when I take over the world.
Evil and thief. There will be no honorable fights. No mercy. He will use whatever means is necessary to accomplish his goals.
Anyways..enough with that, started out just fine in Candlekeep:
Went through the inn and bagged myself that shiny 1000gp gem upstairs (dumped all my starting thief skill points into Pick Locks to get 65 which is what's required to crack that chest). Sold it to the barkeep and grabbed some splint mail and weapons. I decided at the start to make this character a beefy monster of flailing death that is blessed by some dark power rather than be some sneaky wannabe who is afraid to get in the thick of things. Pansies.
So the general strategy is going to be melee focused with heavy armor and cleric spells for buffing/defense. The thieving skills will be used as needed. So kind of street thug with some kind of divine powers. Before leaving the inn I had AC 0 and that was without the shield equipped, a good start.
Started making the rounds through Candlekeep. Never realized how big of a hit point buff bad guys get in this difficulty until now. First time I nailed the assassin with my morning star I did 22 damage with a critical hit and it only take away about 20% of his hp meter:
Even with AC 0 I chose to skip the spiders. I just don't think I have a good way of even attempting them. Did everything else in Candlekeep, sold everything I picked up. By the time I left Candlekeep I had 461 gold, and that's after I spent a bunch on healing potions. I even donated 100gp to the temple and all I got was a lousy "head south to the mines" quest instead of a reputation increase...now that there is some pure discrimination against orcs!
After escaping from the ambush where Gorion is killed I started heading towards the Friendly Arms. Ran into a gibberling and while I did beat him, I had to drink 2 healing potions in the process which surprised me given I had a really good AC.
Did the rest of the journey just fine. Ran into that evil wizard and his buddy on the road and happy acquired their belongings before bidding them adios
Now came the first difficult bit of this journey...that damn wizard assassin waiting in front of the Friendly Arms.
Attempt #1 - Protection from Evil and Bless on myself, tried to Command him on the first round to stop him from mirror imaging himself. He resisted and despite having a few guards attacking him with me, he magic missile'd my green hide and I dropped like a gutted pig.
Attempt #2 - Protection from Evil and Bless on myself, kept CLW as my third spell. I also used an Oil of Speed which while dual wielding gave me a nice attack boost. Immediately started attacking him, ended the same way - I died to magic missile spam after he feared me and I ran around like a confused chicken.
Attempt #3 - Decided to take the evil (ok...cowardly) way out of this. While he was casting mirror image I cast sanctuary on myself
I sat there while 3 town guards pounded on him until his mirror image finally dropped. Then I went charging in hoping to get the killing blow and the xp for the kill.
Was it a dirty way to win? Hell yes. But it worked and that evil wizard dropped very quickly
Before heading to the inn I went into the temple next door and identified the rings and the belt. Then I went to the barkeep and started selling anything I couldn't use...and to my surprise the ring of wizardry got me a whopping 9000gp. I didn't realize it was that valuable in the game, usually I've played wizards and kept the ring. Damn that was nice.
The massive pile of gold I was suddenly sitting on enabled me to do on a bit of a shopping spree with the barkeep, I ended up buying:
Plate Mail Large Shield +1 gem bag
I then went back to the temple and bought as many healing potions as I could and a few elixer of heath's just in case I get poisoned or diseased.
Then I went and talked to Khalid and Jaheria and told them to stick it where the sun don't shine (sometimes being evil has it's perks!).
As of now I'm wearing full plate armor, large shield +1, ring of protection +1, and my dex is quite high so I'm currently sitting with AC -4. BRING IT ON!!!!
Cleric/Thief is one of my favourite combos @canadianchris - best of luck!
With all the knowledge and skill around i started cooperating with a famous Inn to formulate a special challenge that should keep up the heat. Lets hope i can convince them about the rule setting otherwise we are all doomed... More on that later!
P.S. You should be able to edit posts @canadianchris - strange!
P.P.S You can also use Pocket Plane in Abazigals Chamber @semiticgod!
@canadianchris: You should be able to edit posts by clicking on the gear icon at the upper right corner of a post (you may need to hover your mouse over it).
@canadianchris: You should be able to edit posts by clicking on the gear icon at the upper right corner of a post (you may need to hover your mouse over it).
Thanks I just figured it out. I didn't see the gear icon previously, looks like it's hidden until you mouse over it in chrome
I have spent the last day thinking about ways to increase the difficulty but not pushing it out of space. No-Reload seems to be mandatory for any real call out but as @histamiini and @semiticgod (and maybe myself a little bit too) have shown its not "that diffcult" to beat the whole challenge - or get at least very near to it!
The main problems in my eyes are the so called OP items (maybe some skills too) that destroy the game from BG1 up to ToB.
Here would be my personal shortlist: Algernons Cloak & Nymph Cloak Vhailors Helm Shield of Balduran Robe of Vecna Staff of Power Staff of Command Boots of Speed Protection from Undead Big Metal Unit
I am sure that i have forgot somethings thanks to my headache!
As we have seen the pure poverty concept kills nearly all classes while allowing all items leads to a lot of soft exploits and easens the challenge in a way that i dont like. Which items and/or skills would you like to get banished from the realms so we can formulate a new challenge?
@Harpagornis Make the challenge wizard slayer only? :P Joking aside sorry that I haven't participated in a while, I hope to rejoin the challenge at some point, but I feel like before I do another no reload I need to beat SoD at least once which I haven't even gotten close too, never got further than beating the temple of Bhaal, sadly.
Hrhrhr @Victor_Creed_SFV! Even Wizard Slayer dual classed to Druid is still quite powerful. My good old compagnion @Vynn for instance already has played one up to Big B himself and parked him there waiting for me. Maybe he will have to wait too long.
I would like to adopt the Wizard Slayer restrictions to all classes but then Sarevok or at least Big B will prove to be invincible for many classes. But maybe thats the way to go...
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
Despite the description on the Wiki Wizard Slayers can use all kinds of Boots. Funny. Unlike the item description however my Wizard Slayer/Druid cannot use the Wand of Heavens. So Boots in Wands out to kill all Wizards. Thats the name of the game - no?
I have spent the last day thinking about ways to increase the difficulty but not pushing it out of space. No-Reload seems to be mandatory for any real call out but as @histamiini and @semiticgod (and maybe myself a little bit too) have shown its not "that diffcult" to beat the whole challenge - or get at least very near to it!
The main problems in my eyes are the so called OP items (maybe some skills too) that destroy the game from BG1 up to ToB.
Here would be my personal shortlist: Algernons Cloak & Nymph Cloak Vhailors Helm Shield of Balduran Robe of Vecna Staff of Power Staff of Command Boots of Speed Protection from Undead Big Metal Unit
I am sure that i have forgot somethings thanks to my headache!
As we have seen the pure poverty concept kills nearly all classes while allowing all items leads to a lot of soft exploits and easens the challenge in a way that i dont like. Which items and/or skills would you like to get banished from the realms so we can formulate a new challenge?
You're asking for the Revisions mods, man. Lots of overpowering stuff were nerfed :
- Carsomyr and Staff of the Magi Dispel on hit allows a save vs spell - Arrows of dispelling allow a save vs spell too (won't always work on mages) - Staff of the Magi's invisibility at will is removed - Scrolls of Prot from Undead give small bonuses against undeads as well as level drain immunity, but otherwise let undeads target you normally - Improved Haste doesn't double you APR anymore - Vhailor Helm and Robe of Vecna are nerfed and more difficult to find - etc.
I know you said some time ago that you don't like the Revisions mod, which is totally ok, but they do create new challenges and refresh the gameplay. Maybe you should give them a try ?
Seven absolutely destroyed Mae'vars guild hall, with 90 DR they had no chance. Smacked the Crypt King, smacked Pai'Na, PfU then destroyed the whole Bodhi's lair.
Watchers Keep lv1, Mace of Distruption +2 giving protection from level drain and Vampiric Mists, I smacked everything that wasn't bolted to the floor. First four statues, smack smack smack. Next eight statues, prepared to PfM both mages with Sim, but it didn't go as planned. I got the other mage, but the other one escaped and went invisible, so I also backed out. Sim lured the three fighters to the rooms and I smacked them down. Caught two other fighters wandering the floors, and smacked them down. Tried to smack the PfM mage down, but the other mage joined the battle summoning Planetar, so I again backed down and waited it to unsummon. Then I summoned Efreeti to keep company for the mages as I smacked the golem down. Efreeti and I got the other mage lured to one of the rooms and I went invisible. Rested, came back and now with the two mages separated, Sim casting first PfM on me and then on the mage, they had no chance.
Watchers Keep lv2, nothing too hard here, just more smacking. But before releasing Chromatic Demon, I want the Wand of Wonder. So I went to the Firkraag dungeon, smacked Ruhk down, invisbility, got the key, invisibility and smacked Tazok and others down at the end of the level. Got the key to the sewers and a lot of loot. Also Sim PfM'd Conster. Next up the dreaded Mindflayer base in Temple Sewers.
@Harpagornis Sounds interesting, probably have to consider starting Eight as so. But I'm thinking doing C/M and I tested it out, you can't summon a Deva and a Planetar at the same time, not even with Simulacrum or with Projected Image. And this is pretty much the only incentive for me doing that class, is there a mod that would let summon a Deva and a Planetar at the same time with C/M? Just the two, not multiple instances.
Yeah, the revision mod also came to my mind @Arctodus. I know that i have to change rule settings otherwise i will lose interest even though Eklun still has not beaten Amelyssan. That might be the ultimate goal on the one hand but on the other i love to look at the path itself. If its lacking the fun of a real challenge its not worth the time. The Totemic Druid with poverty AND no-reload would be cool but with bad luck Big B alone would force me restart hundreds of times. Not to mention that late ToB would be a neverending nightmare.
I have spent the last day thinking about ways to increase the difficulty but not pushing it out of space. No-Reload seems to be mandatory for any real call out but as @histamiini and @semiticgod (and maybe myself a little bit too) have shown its not "that diffcult" to beat the whole challenge - or get at least very near to it!
The main problems in my eyes are the so called OP items (maybe some skills too) that destroy the game from BG1 up to ToB.
Here would be my personal shortlist: Algernons Cloak & Nymph Cloak Vhailors Helm Shield of Balduran Robe of Vecna Staff of Power Staff of Command Boots of Speed Protection from Undead Big Metal Unit
I am sure that i have forgot somethings thanks to my headache!
As we have seen the pure poverty concept kills nearly all classes while allowing all items leads to a lot of soft exploits and easens the challenge in a way that i dont like. Which items and/or skills would you like to get banished from the realms so we can formulate a new challenge?
You're asking for the Revisions mods, man. Lots of overpowering stuff were nerfed :
- Carsomyr and Staff of the Magi Dispel on hit allows a save vs spell - Arrows of dispelling allow a save vs spell too (won't always work on mages) - Staff of the Magi's invisibility at will is removed - Scrolls of Prot from Undead give small bonuses against undeads as well as level drain immunity, but otherwise let undeads target you normally - Improved Haste doesn't double you APR anymore - Vhailor Helm and Robe of Vecna are nerfed and more difficult to find - etc.
I know you said some time ago that you don't like the Revisions mod, which is totally ok, but they do create new challenges and refresh the gameplay. Maybe you should give them a try ?
I have seen a lot of items and spells actually become op because of revisions so that mod is a two edged sword.
I think with Bane of the Wizard Slayer my Totemic Druid can handle no-reload runs well enough to give it a try except maybe for Big B and Melissan (Abazigal and Sendai will be tricky too). @Vynn told me that he has run into a strange thing when casting Strength of One. Unlike the description it raised his hit chance in a way that he was nearly always landing Harm for unknown reasons. We will have to test this more...
@Victor_Creed_SFV I kinda disagree with your feeling. Some spells are a lot more powerful : the power of Mestil Acid Sheath was demonstrated by Chimaera with his Sorcerer and stuff like Prismatic Mantle and Tenser's Transformation are very, very good spells. However, the enemy also use it, so you have to know how to deal against these.
In terms of items, I would say that they are generally nerfed all around. Nothing stands out as overpowered. Maybe the Greenstone Amulet, because it now gives permanent mind shield protection, but the idea was to prevent passing it around to give your whole team mind shield protection. In group play, the item is actually slightly nerfed.
Also, since Spell Immunity is removed in favor of Dispelling Screen, which absorbs a single dispel before vanishing, you just can't make you immune to dispel outright anymore. When a bunch of Balors are throwing dispels at you, there's a good chance that you'll have to say goodbye to your buffs. (I know, I lost a no-reload run against Irenicus in hell because of that).
All in all, I'd say that the Revisions mod makes you "work" more. They don't make the games perfectly balanced (whatever that may mean), because that's impossible for a d&d in IE game. They do close plenty of huge gaps, though. However, I'm fully confident that if you guys would play with it, you'd find plenty of new gaps that would break the challenge again !
Talking about wizard slayers I've had about half a dozen attempts to get a WS to dual to druid. In every case though the (almost) never-ending kiting required led to little mistakes or risks taken and death at level 5 or 6.
Finally though I've managed to get to level 7.
There were a couple of mistakes this time as well: - not realising quickly enough where an invisible sirine was and having to save against dire charm - a movement error while kiting a vampiric wolf and saving against hold
Of course now Frere is a druid things are not going to get any easier for a little while. He's got slightly worse armor and considerably worse THAC0, though he may be able to leverage some decent benefits from charm person in a couple of levels.
Nice to see you are still trying @Grond0. Personally i never bothered with Sirenes or the wolves but i might agree that farming Ankhegs is not the biggest fun in the long run!
I also never tried to go for level 7 Wizard Slayer as the THAC0 of a level 10 Druid is not "that bad" (indeed the same as a level 7 Fighter). With GM in Scimitars or even shapeshifting into bear you can dish out a lot of damage in between your little Nymphs. However: With your reluctance to drink healing potions the extra HP might come in handy!
Nice to see you are still trying @Grond0. Personally i never bothered with Sirenes or the wolves but i might agree that farming Ankhegs is not the biggest fun in the long run!
I also never tried to go for level 7 Wizard Slayer as the THAC0 of a level 10 Druid is not "that bad" (indeed the same as a level 7 Fighter). With GM in Scimitars or even shapeshifting into bear you can dish out a lot of damage in between your little Nymphs. However: With your reluctance to drink healing potions the extra HP might come in handy!
I don't allow farming of XP - otherwise gaining it wouldn't take long at all thanks to rest ambushes in the Lighthouse area (the problems with sirines occur when you have several invisible ones moving around, but a single one spawning when you rest isn't really a danger).
The advantage of level 7 isn't just the HPs (though you're right that's definitely an issue), but the extra 0.5 APR as well
Sigh - Frere goes down again. He was up to level 6 as a druid - largely courtesy of Korax's help - and starting to do some significant damage with call lightning. When ambushed by a single ogrillon while travelling, he badly wounded it using that and for a change decided to try and finish it off in melee rather than the usual kiting. With the ogrillon on the point of death I didn't retreat when taken down to 42 HPs. I did try and retreat when hit for 20 more, but the ogrillon attacked again with virtually no pause and got a critical hit for exactly the 22 damage he needed ...
Overpowered items like Algernon's Cloak don't exactly make no-reload play easy. Those items are very offensive-oriented, and no-reload play often depends more on the strength of your defenses than your offensive potential. It's still extremely easy to lose a no-reload run even if you're using the best options in the game, because it's often the little things, like forgetting to use the Greenstone Amulet at the right time, or using your aura at a bad time when you need to use it less than 6 seconds later, or failing to react to an unexpected event, that end no-reload runs. ToB has been a lot easier since I got the Scorcher Ammunition, but Frisk's damage output isn't really the critical factor here: it's making sure that Frisk's defenses are solid. That means adjusting their saving throws and keeping Tamah at a safe distance as well as maintaining all of Frisk's typical buffs.
Overwhelming offense is no guarantee of success in a no-reload run. The classic example is the epic-level sorcerer who dies to a hobgoblin's Hold Person spell.
That being said, we've got low-risk, class-independent strategies for almost all of the critical fights until BG2 and ToB, where the player's options are naturally broader due to the higher levels, and while there's nothing wrong with using Algernon's Cloak to beat the game, it's never a bad idea to look for other methods of doing things.
As for SR/IR, the exact changes would be a lot more complex than simply nerfing Protection from Undead scrolls or Arrows of Dispelling. One of the notable changes would Dispelling Screen and the non-dispellable potions, which would doom a mage's defenses when fighting multiple mages (the Yuan-ti in the Planar Prison) or demons (Irenicus in Hell) while preserving a fighter's defenses when fighting mages (a Potion of Magic Shielding means 10 rounds of near-immunity to spells). Plus, the damage resistances added to armor will make fighters and clerics much sturdier, with 20% added to the Orc Leather and all forms of full plate, plus 10% on some rarer, late-game items. But there are other factors that tip the balance in favor of mages: Moment of Prescience is undispellable, and Prismatic Mantle magnifies a mage's damage output against crowds, and Mestil's Acid Sheathe will allow single-classed mages to tackle Belhifet.
Plus, SR gives summoning spells to mages and druids for every spell level, giving them valuable tanks at level 1.
Did Seven finally crack the Mindflayer base in Temple Sewers? Sim PfM, 2x Mind Focusing, 5 Intelligence Potions, 90 DR and Gww massacred everybody in the place, finally a good method of leveling down these places, well almost. Because Alhoon had a cure for my intelligence buffing, and his dispels took that away as soon as I stepped onto the last room. So I quickly grabbed the loot, and ran away like a chicken, again. Someday I'll stomp and burn that place to the ground, you just wait and see.
Chromatic Demon, Sim PfM, Efreeti and released it. With Sim I could spam WoW twice in a round, and after few rounds Chromatic Demon turned into a Stone Demon, permanently.
Lets see what the random function prepared us in the Maze level.
Okey Wand of Wonder just got an upgrade. Thought it had 50/50 chance of petrificating target before agroing it, but because Lightning Bolt has a casting time which you can cancel, you can petrificate every non hostile target who isn't immune to it, without any risk.
Searching for some fresh experience i decided to start with another old love: The Avenger! For this one i will combine Bane of the Wizard Slayer and no-Reload. It will be interesting to see how much the added spells and shapeshifting forms can compensate for the loss of spirit summons. At the moment i am rather conident as playing Druids has become my second nature. However: Without things like the basilisk XP loop Krell will at least have to work a little bit more for his levelups.
P.S. My playstyle seems to be a little different to yours @Grond0 so APR is not a big factor for me as i tend not to rush into the middle of the heat (yeah, i am a chicken!).
P.P.S. I am so lucky that wands are not allowed any longer thanks to the Bane of the Wizard Slayer. I will have to add this one to my OP-item-list @histamiini.
After making some Dragon Statues, Seven stopped by the Planar Prison, Sim PfM, 93 DR, invisibility and juggernaut dwarf landed on the middle of the poor mob. And I smacked everybody that moved down, and they could do nothing, even the Warden and Yuanti mages. Honestly after that I started to feel slightly op, 2 hours of 93 DR, PfM and -7,-7,-3,-8,-6 saves, I mean what can ever kill me?
Took the trip to Brynnlaw and killed Perth the Adept for the Wardstone and Book of Infinite Spells, time to put test on that Farsight trick on the last battle that @Harpagornis spilled the beans.
@histamiini: Do a test run first. I did a test run and found that it turned Irenicus hostile, and while I'm pretty sure that it would trigger his pre-buffs and waste his spells, leaving him weaker when you do enter the fight, I'm not positive it's a good idea. Remember that Irenicus has an instant death dialogue if he spots you without the inmates. I'm concerned that you'll end up accidentally triggering the wrong dialogue and get killed via script.
Comments
Testing found you can't leave Abazigal's chamber before he's dead. However, the level 7 Teleport spell lets us escape at any time. So, for the first time in the run, we use Teleport to make a fight easier: I kill the drakes (they last less than 10 rounds anyway) and more importantly the erroneous clone of Tamah who appears at the start of battle (I'm reasonably certain only one Tamah is supposed to appear in this fight, and she's supposed to appear after Abazigal transforms). In both cases, I used the Scorcher Ammunition at point blank range. Even aside from its utility with Called Shot, the Scorcher Ammunition deals 310 damage per round on average thanks to our three pips in crossbows, 8 Archer levels, Gauntlets of Specialization, and Firetooth crossbow.
When we return, Frisk summons a few planetars to keep Abazigal busy and then fires from afar using the Pulse Ammunition (since the Scorcher Ammunition would hurt our planetars). When Abazigal transforms, I let the planetars deal with him while Frisk heads west with their clone to kill Tamah together.
For a moment, I mistakenly thought that the clone's Scorcher Ammunition projectiles were crossing over Frisk themself, since the projectiles tend to blend together so well. I panicked when I realized that the clone's Scorcher Ammunition was buffed with Called Shot, which meant I could have taken massive STR damage just by walking through the stream. Fortunately, Frisk had not in fact ever entered the area of effect and suffered no damage. But it was an important reminder that the Scorcher Ammunition was not party-friendly, and I could easily kill myself if I lost control of a Simulacrum clone.
We also had a brief scare when Frisk got hit by Tamah's breath weapon. Tamah's Purple Dragon breath deals crushing damage, which is perfectly safe with Stoneskin active, but it also has a 50% chance of knocking the targets unconscious for 2 rounds without a saving throw. Frisk had the defenses to survive two rounds of attacks by one or both dragons, but Tamah and Abazigal paid them no mind, preferring to fight Frisk's clone and the planetars.
Finally, Tamah went down and we all all crowded around Abazigal, who had failed to kill a single planetar this whole time (those instant-casting Heal spells effectively triple their HP). Frisk and their clone attacked from afar using the Pulse Ammunition, and because our damage output was so incredibly high, we didn't even need to attempt to land a STR drain kill.
We proceeded to Sendai's lair, where we discovered that an Archer with the Scorcher Ammunition can clear entire herds of enemies with just a few rounds of attacking and some precise movement to drag the scorcher projectiles across the enemies. For Odamaron, we buffed with a Protection from Undead scroll and approached under Time Stop, but Odamaron wasn't visible at the time and we had to prompt his buffs with a planetar. We then re-cast Time Stop and attacked Kitty while time was stopped, but apparently the numerous projectiles were unable to shred Odamaron's Stoneskins when time returned to normal.
Instead, we cast Enchanted Weapon and attacked our planetar, moving back and forth to make sure we were catching Odamaron in the stream of fire. The fire itself did no damage, but the missile damage removed all of Odaramon's Stoneskins and soon killed him.
After wiping out a herd of drow and a couple of beholders largely during Time Stop, Frisk hit level 31 and gained an extra spell slot for every spell level, which is when I realized that I could have landed several important STR drain kills if I had just remembered that the level 2 Strength spell could set anyone's STR to 18.
Ogremoch is very bad for any solo character, since he can cast Stoneskin once per round and get 10 skins per casting, equal to the maximum APR any one character can achieve. But the Scorcher Ammunition gets 20 APR, so we were able to slowly grind him down while hiding behind PFMW. As for Diaytha and the Hive Mother and company, we wiped out everyone over the course of three Time Stop spells, though the Hive Mother's Improved Mantle spells earlier on meant that we need a STR drain kill to avoid having to fight the thing without the cover of Time Stop.
Captain Egeissag did not even get a chance to land a single attack roll. The hitstun from the Scorcher Ammunition slowed him down so much that he died before reaching Frisk.
Frisk drank 5 Potions of Genius and cast Time Stop the moment they entered the mind flayer area. Over the course of several Time Stop spells, we killed everything with the Scorcher Ammunition.
I will deal with Sendai tomorrow. I don't really have a specific strategy since there are so many priorities and targets and variables in the fight, but presumably, the Staff of the Magi will let us hide from the enemy indefinitely and attack from safety even if everything goes to hell. The only critters in that fight that could see through invisibility are planetars, and there aren't very many of them.
I just disabled the XP cap, having realized that it was still in place. While I limited Frisk's level progression in BG1 and SoD, I wanted Frisk to be able to exceed level 31 if they got enough XP. It won't really give us anything we don't already have, but I hate the idea of XP being wasted.
Then we'll convince Balthazar to join us, deal with the Ravager, and proceed to the Throne of Bhaal. Jon Irenicus has given me grief in previous runs, but we have enough Protection from Magic scrolls to neutralize him as well as Sendai and Abazigal.
I have yet to devise a round-by-round strategy for Melissan, but I think I'll go to the trouble of bringing several members of the Five to Near Death before summoning her, since I don't want them to get in the way when I'm trying to kill Melissan with STR drain. I'll probably try to land the kill with a Simulacrum clone first, since if I waste the original Frisk's Called Shot spells, I won't be able to get them back without Wish-resting.
Krogg the Half-Orc Cleric/Thief. This will not be a no-reload game, I know I will die many times
Why a half-orc instead of a gnome? Sure the gnome has the sexy saving throw bonus, but the orc has raw power. And because I have a weak spot for ugly
He is Neutral Evil. Because he's the ugly offspring of an orc and a human and was probably abandoned with Gorion because nobody else would take him when he was born. Growing up amongst humans he was probably bullied, abused, or worse. So he developed a thick skin and only cares about numero uno. Screw humans. Screw the other races. They can all lick my boots when I take over the world.
Evil and thief. There will be no honorable fights. No mercy. He will use whatever means is necessary to accomplish his goals.
Anyways..enough with that, started out just fine in Candlekeep:
Went through the inn and bagged myself that shiny 1000gp gem upstairs (dumped all my starting thief skill points into Pick Locks to get 65 which is what's required to crack that chest). Sold it to the barkeep and grabbed some splint mail and weapons. I decided at the start to make this character a beefy monster of flailing death that is blessed by some dark power rather than be some sneaky wannabe who is afraid to get in the thick of things. Pansies.
So the general strategy is going to be melee focused with heavy armor and cleric spells for buffing/defense. The thieving skills will be used as needed. So kind of street thug with some kind of divine powers. Before leaving the inn I had AC 0 and that was without the shield equipped, a good start.
Started making the rounds through Candlekeep. Never realized how big of a hit point buff bad guys get in this difficulty until now. First time I nailed the assassin with my morning star I did 22 damage with a critical hit and it only take away about 20% of his hp meter:
Even with AC 0 I chose to skip the spiders. I just don't think I have a good way of even attempting them. Did everything else in Candlekeep, sold everything I picked up. By the time I left Candlekeep I had 461 gold, and that's after I spent a bunch on healing potions. I even donated 100gp to the temple and all I got was a lousy "head south to the mines" quest instead of a reputation increase...now that there is some pure discrimination against orcs!
After escaping from the ambush where Gorion is killed I started heading towards the Friendly Arms. Ran into a gibberling and while I did beat him, I had to drink 2 healing potions in the process which surprised me given I had a really good AC.
Did the rest of the journey just fine. Ran into that evil wizard and his buddy on the road and happy acquired their belongings before bidding them adios
Now came the first difficult bit of this journey...that damn wizard assassin waiting in front of the Friendly Arms.
Attempt #1 - Protection from Evil and Bless on myself, tried to Command him on the first round to stop him from mirror imaging himself. He resisted and despite having a few guards attacking him with me, he magic missile'd my green hide and I dropped like a gutted pig.
Attempt #2 - Protection from Evil and Bless on myself, kept CLW as my third spell. I also used an Oil of Speed which while dual wielding gave me a nice attack boost. Immediately started attacking him, ended the same way - I died to magic missile spam after he feared me and I ran around like a confused chicken.
Attempt #3 - Decided to take the evil (ok...cowardly) way out of this. While he was casting mirror image I cast sanctuary on myself
I sat there while 3 town guards pounded on him until his mirror image finally dropped. Then I went charging in hoping to get the killing blow and the xp for the kill.
Was it a dirty way to win? Hell yes. But it worked and that evil wizard dropped very quickly
Before heading to the inn I went into the temple next door and identified the rings and the belt. Then I went to the barkeep and started selling anything I couldn't use...and to my surprise the ring of wizardry got me a whopping 9000gp. I didn't realize it was that valuable in the game, usually I've played wizards and kept the ring. Damn that was nice.
The massive pile of gold I was suddenly sitting on enabled me to do on a bit of a shopping spree with the barkeep, I ended up buying:
Plate Mail
Large Shield +1
gem bag
I then went back to the temple and bought as many healing potions as I could and a few elixer of heath's just in case I get poisoned or diseased.
Then I went and talked to Khalid and Jaheria and told them to stick it where the sun don't shine (sometimes being evil has it's perks!).
As of now I'm wearing full plate armor, large shield +1, ring of protection +1, and my dex is quite high so I'm currently sitting with AC -4. BRING IT ON!!!!
With all the knowledge and skill around i started cooperating with a famous Inn to formulate a special challenge that should keep up the heat. Lets hope i can convince them about the rule setting otherwise we are all doomed... More on that later!
P.S. You should be able to edit posts @canadianchris - strange!
P.P.S You can also use Pocket Plane in Abazigals Chamber @semiticgod!
The main problems in my eyes are the so called OP items (maybe some skills too) that destroy the game from BG1 up to ToB.
Here would be my personal shortlist:
Algernons Cloak & Nymph Cloak
Vhailors Helm
Shield of Balduran
Robe of Vecna
Staff of Power
Staff of Command
Boots of Speed
Protection from Undead
Big Metal Unit
I am sure that i have forgot somethings thanks to my headache!
As we have seen the pure poverty concept kills nearly all classes while allowing all items leads to a lot of soft exploits and easens the challenge in a way that i dont like. Which items and/or skills would you like to get banished from the realms so we can formulate a new challenge?
Make the challenge wizard slayer only? :P
Joking aside sorry that I haven't participated in a while, I hope to rejoin the challenge at some point, but I feel like before I do another no reload I need to beat SoD at least once which I haven't even gotten close too, never got further than beating the temple of Bhaal, sadly.
I would like to adopt the Wizard Slayer restrictions to all classes but then Sarevok or at least Big B will prove to be invincible for many classes. But maybe thats the way to go...
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
Despite the description on the Wiki Wizard Slayers can use all kinds of Boots. Funny. Unlike the item description however my Wizard Slayer/Druid cannot use the Wand of Heavens. So Boots in Wands out to kill all Wizards. Thats the name of the game - no?
- Carsomyr and Staff of the Magi Dispel on hit allows a save vs spell
- Arrows of dispelling allow a save vs spell too (won't always work on mages)
- Staff of the Magi's invisibility at will is removed
- Scrolls of Prot from Undead give small bonuses against undeads as well as level drain immunity, but otherwise let undeads target you normally
- Improved Haste doesn't double you APR anymore
- Vhailor Helm and Robe of Vecna are nerfed and more difficult to find
- etc.
I know you said some time ago that you don't like the Revisions mod, which is totally ok, but they do create new challenges and refresh the gameplay. Maybe you should give them a try ?
Watchers Keep lv1, Mace of Distruption +2 giving protection from level drain and Vampiric Mists, I smacked everything that wasn't bolted to the floor. First four statues, smack smack smack. Next eight statues, prepared to PfM both mages with Sim, but it didn't go as planned. I got the other mage, but the other one escaped and went invisible, so I also backed out. Sim lured the three fighters to the rooms and I smacked them down. Caught two other fighters wandering the floors, and smacked them down. Tried to smack the PfM mage down, but the other mage joined the battle summoning Planetar, so I again backed down and waited it to unsummon. Then I summoned Efreeti to keep company for the mages as I smacked the golem down. Efreeti and I got the other mage lured to one of the rooms and I went invisible. Rested, came back and now with the two mages separated, Sim casting first PfM on me and then on the mage, they had no chance.
Watchers Keep lv2, nothing too hard here, just more smacking. But before releasing Chromatic Demon, I want the Wand of Wonder. So I went to the Firkraag dungeon, smacked Ruhk down, invisbility, got the key, invisibility and smacked Tazok and others down at the end of the level. Got the key to the sewers and a lot of loot. Also Sim PfM'd Conster. Next up the dreaded Mindflayer base in Temple Sewers.
@Harpagornis Sounds interesting, probably have to consider starting Eight as so. But I'm thinking doing C/M and I tested it out, you can't summon a Deva and a Planetar at the same time, not even with Simulacrum or with Projected Image. And this is pretty much the only incentive for me doing that class, is there a mod that would let summon a Deva and a Planetar at the same time with C/M? Just the two, not multiple instances.
In terms of items, I would say that they are generally nerfed all around. Nothing stands out as overpowered. Maybe the Greenstone Amulet, because it now gives permanent mind shield protection, but the idea was to prevent passing it around to give your whole team mind shield protection. In group play, the item is actually slightly nerfed.
Also, since Spell Immunity is removed in favor of Dispelling Screen, which absorbs a single dispel before vanishing, you just can't make you immune to dispel outright anymore. When a bunch of Balors are throwing dispels at you, there's a good chance that you'll have to say goodbye to your buffs. (I know, I lost a no-reload run against Irenicus in hell because of that).
All in all, I'd say that the Revisions mod makes you "work" more. They don't make the games perfectly balanced (whatever that may mean), because that's impossible for a d&d in IE game. They do close plenty of huge gaps, though. However, I'm fully confident that if you guys would play with it, you'd find plenty of new gaps that would break the challenge again !
Finally though I've managed to get to level 7.
- not realising quickly enough where an invisible sirine was and having to save against dire charm
- a movement error while kiting a vampiric wolf and saving against hold
Of course now Frere is a druid things are not going to get any easier for a little while. He's got slightly worse armor and considerably worse THAC0, though he may be able to leverage some decent benefits from charm person in a couple of levels.
I also never tried to go for level 7 Wizard Slayer as the THAC0 of a level 10 Druid is not "that bad" (indeed the same as a level 7 Fighter). With GM in Scimitars or even shapeshifting into bear you can dish out a lot of damage in between your little Nymphs. However: With your reluctance to drink healing potions the extra HP might come in handy!
The advantage of level 7 isn't just the HPs (though you're right that's definitely an issue), but the extra 0.5 APR as well
Overwhelming offense is no guarantee of success in a no-reload run. The classic example is the epic-level sorcerer who dies to a hobgoblin's Hold Person spell.
That being said, we've got low-risk, class-independent strategies for almost all of the critical fights until BG2 and ToB, where the player's options are naturally broader due to the higher levels, and while there's nothing wrong with using Algernon's Cloak to beat the game, it's never a bad idea to look for other methods of doing things.
As for SR/IR, the exact changes would be a lot more complex than simply nerfing Protection from Undead scrolls or Arrows of Dispelling. One of the notable changes would Dispelling Screen and the non-dispellable potions, which would doom a mage's defenses when fighting multiple mages (the Yuan-ti in the Planar Prison) or demons (Irenicus in Hell) while preserving a fighter's defenses when fighting mages (a Potion of Magic Shielding means 10 rounds of near-immunity to spells). Plus, the damage resistances added to armor will make fighters and clerics much sturdier, with 20% added to the Orc Leather and all forms of full plate, plus 10% on some rarer, late-game items. But there are other factors that tip the balance in favor of mages: Moment of Prescience is undispellable, and Prismatic Mantle magnifies a mage's damage output against crowds, and Mestil's Acid Sheathe will allow single-classed mages to tackle Belhifet.
Plus, SR gives summoning spells to mages and druids for every spell level, giving them valuable tanks at level 1.
Chromatic Demon, Sim PfM, Efreeti and released it. With Sim I could spam WoW twice in a round, and after few rounds Chromatic Demon turned into a Stone Demon, permanently.
Lets see what the random function prepared us in the Maze level.
P.S. My playstyle seems to be a little different to yours @Grond0 so APR is not a big factor for me as i tend not to rush into the middle of the heat (yeah, i am a chicken!).
P.P.S. I am so lucky that wands are not allowed any longer thanks to the Bane of the Wizard Slayer. I will have to add this one to my OP-item-list @histamiini.
Or is just that they wont go hostile? However: Looks a bit cheesy no?
Took the trip to Brynnlaw and killed Perth the Adept for the Wardstone and Book of Infinite Spells, time to put test on that Farsight trick on the last battle that @Harpagornis spilled the beans.