Talking of poverty I thought it was about time I had another go with Frey the sorcerer in a true poverty run to see how much he can benefit from the easier time for casters in current LoB. My definition of poverty is: 1) You can never buy or sell any items (including any items required for quests). 2) You can never use or equip any items (but can pick things up for quests). 3) You may pay for quests (such as Gaelan Bayle), but not anything else (temples, inns etc).
His opening spells were find familiar & blind and his pseudo-dragon made short work of a blinded Shoal to get him to level 3.
The AC improvements make nibbling basilisks a bit more of a chore for the pseudo-dragon than in v2.3, so it distracted them to allow Frey to nip in behind and blind them (casting just after the basilisk had used its gaze attack for the round) to make them easier targets. That soon got him up to L4, to get the important invisibility, and it wasn't too much longer to get L5. That provided web and Mutamin was duly webbed and blinded, though that took a lot of attempts. The pseudo-dragon then managed the tricky task of drawing out Mutamin's spells while he was blinded, allowing him to eventually be finished off in melee. Lindin was drawn away and blinded, but was still too tough for the pseudo-dragon, but it did just manage to do for Baerin like that. The others were then blinded and fed to Korax.
With not too much more XP needed for L6, Frey did some minor tasks around Beregost. I noticed in the process of doing that I was getting automatic success with chromatic orb stuns against low level creatures like hobgoblins, which I wasn't aware should happen. Handing Landrin back his goods provided the level and Frey took hold person as his first 3rd level spell (I don't ever remembering doing that with a sorcerer before ...).
I tried a bit of cheesy use of hold person - targeting an item on the ground next to Tarnesh in order to hold him from out of sight range. I decided not to do that any more on the basis it could arguably contradict my rules for a poverty run (taking a wide interpretation of the word 'use'), but as I hadn't decided the terms for that previously I didn't consider that the end of the run. Even without that type of use the spell is still very useful though. A single spell does not last long enough to actually kill anything (unless they don't have a melee weapon equipped), but further spells can be added as well.
Frey finished off work in Beregost by webbing, blinding and holding (3 times) Silke, before heading south. For tougher opponents, like Greywolf, it was sometimes necessary to rest in the area before finishing him off (taking advantage of the fact that LoB opponents only gain 100 HP back when doing that). Easily the hardest fight was against Bassilus - he cured himself of blindness three times (heal and two cure diseases) before eventually succumbing. There was then a prolonged period of attacking and dodging spells before closing properly for melee. Bassilus was still only at injured status when blindness wore off, but Frey's last blindness worked as well and Bassilus didn't quite last out that one.
XP gains were not individually that high, but it all mounted up and Frey finally got up to level 7 by handing in Bassilus' symbol after successfully reviving Melicamp. That level was important not just for the extra spells, but so chromatic orb acquires a paralyzation ability - greatly increasing the number of targets that can be held.
Frey also had significantly greater spell damage capability as a result of learning skull trap, magic missile and acid arrow and that made further progress easy enough. The battle horrors at Durlag's Tower were taken down by spell damage with one rest apiece. The pseudo-dragon then dealt with the basilisks on the roof to take Frey up to level 8. The greater malison learned there will make disabling tougher enemies rather easier.
Frey spent a while trying to kill the Revenant, but couldn't find a way to do that without weapons - it's regeneration meaning spreading damage between rests didn't work. He did though have enough ammunition for Narcillicus in that area.
Heading north for the first time, Tenya got her bowl back before Frey tried his hand at ankhegs. He had just enough spell damage to kill one of them without resting, so didn't need to resort to chromatic orb after the ankhegs were webbed and blinded. Thoroughly clearing the area got him close to his last BG1 level and wiping out the ogre clan in Shoal's area provided the few thousand needed - Frey picked up stoneskin there.
Moving on to the Nashkel Mine, Frey passed through invisibly before taking the precaution of clearing out the kobolds around Mulahey's cave. That proved unnecessary though when Mulahey was webbed, blinded and cut down by spells without calling for reinforcements.
I tried to get Amnian Soldiers to wear a blinded Nimbul down before finishing him with a magic missile, but one of them got a big critical to deprive Frey of the XP. He did though manage to finish off a blinded Tranzig with spell damage while the invisible pseudo-dragon locked him in his room.
Belatedly, I realized I hadn't taken any defences to help with the lightning trap in Tazok's tent. To get some minor help with that Frey killed a couple of villagers to get LMD as his second Bhaal power and got that to work on his familiar at the third attempt. He then saved against the lightning damage when the bolt first hit him and dodged the rebound - but regrettably not the second rebound ...
Since Pathfinder Kingmaker will come out later today, I might not play BG for quite a while, so I decided to reload my C/M so I can test the enemies saving throws a little. While I fought Durlag's wardens I found something totally unrelated to saving throws: Did you guys know that Wand of Monster summoning doesn't break Sanctuary? Maybe not the most gamebreaking discovery but still kinda unexpected to me.
Hey guys! Noticed this thread is a little dead atm. Anyway, I recently got back into the game and I'm playing through a lightly modded EET install. I usually start by running off to kite Shaol for an easy couple of levels. Only now she uses displacement and has a beguiling aura, making her nigh unkillable, as well as only being able to hit her on a crit. Beguiling aura = gg. I tried reinstalling and un checking improved dryads and sirenes from SCS, but that didn't change anything. Did 2.5 buff her? Anyone tried killing her since 2.5? I decided to try a monk solo LoB play through.
@billy_pilgrim: I'm not quite sure I understand your process. Did you install via BWS? If so, you can't actually uninstall individual components that were part of a BWS install; it won't work properly. You'd have to start over with a new install to change your BWS install options.
It's definitely not from v2.5. The EE updates never include such dramatic and unusual changes as giving a creature completely new abilities.
@billy_pilgrim that behavior is not from SCS. I seem to remember it's part of atweaks, though I haven't had that installed for a while and might have that wrong.
I've played a bit with a monk in LoB. You can get some easy levels using things like basilisks, but even at higher monk levels in BG1 progress started feeling like very hard work. Maybe you'll do better though .
@billy_pilgrim that behavior is not from SCS. I seem to remember it's part of atweaks, though I haven't had that installed for a while and might have that wrong.
I've played a bit with a monk in LoB. You can get some easy levels using things like basilisks, but even at higher monk levels in BG1 progress started feeling like very hard work. Maybe you'll do better though .
Yea thinking about it, Behlifet will be unhittable with fists (they will only be +1 at end of SoD), and monks can't use oil of speeds. Is there a crossbow of quickness or something in SoD which grants an extra attack? I did manage to kill Behlifet with a shadowdancer on LoB, but could benefit from oils of speed and HiPS aura cleanse trick.
@billy_pilgrim: The Light Crossbow of Speed, or Army Scythe, can be purchased in Beregost before SoD, though I'm not sure if there are +3 bolts in SoD.
I don't remember +3 bolts (and I don't think monks can use a crossbow anyway), but there are 2 +3 shortswords available - the 0 speed attack they give allow you to hit Belhifet without retaliation nearly all the time. The size of his HP pool and regeneration mean it would be a long battle and you would constantly be under pressure from all the teleporting demons, but it would be possible to win like that. There's a lot of work required just in order to get that far though of course ...
Just a quick note: Bolts +3 are definitely available in SoD, both in the Dragonspear Castle basement and in the warrens upstairs. There's also the option to forge 80 extra-powerful +3 bolts via voidstone shards in Bridgefort (you can choose between a war hammer, a long sword, 80 bullets, 80 arrows or 80 bolts, and the ammo is quite useful against big B ).
That being said, monks indeed can not use crossbows.
Yep, I dunno why I thought they could. I'm gonna try a Priest of lathander (15) -> Thief. I remember reading about a run with this class solo through Ascension on the old bioware forums, I think it should be good for LoB+SCS too. Relying on using doom+hold person/undead with skeleton warriors as summons should be pretty good. Later on it should be a power house with cleric buffs and thief HLAs. Because I haven't played in a good while I'm playing with reloads, but will try to keep it to a minimum (no save scumming for better rewards) and if it just doesn't work as a class I'll try something else...
I've been running around mot of the wilderness areas, collecting tomes and picking up useful equipment. The early levels are a little tricky, but I did some fetch and retrieve quests in beregost, to get lvl 2 and grab algernons cloak. I decided not to kill dushai, as a cleric i will get free action as a spell if I need it. I used the cloak to charm a hobgoblin, and feed it to its brothers, as well as a half troll (or w/e those two guys are south of beregost). Then I used sanctuary to walk through the area south of that to nashkel where I picked up ankheg plate and spammed talked to noober.
From there, I travelled to friendly arm inn to feed another hobgoblin to his mates and picked up joia's ring. travelled north tokill sonner and gave his bowl back to tenya, this got me to lvl 4. From there I decided to go and kite shaol, took a bit of time but it went smooth enough. At level 5 you get skeleton summons, these guys are really good. I went through mutamins garden with a charmed basilisk and after killing all the basilisks, used korax to kill mutamin. I then used him to fight the party with peter and he gave me time to summon more skeletons, combined with hold person made it an easy fight.
My tactics are usually hold person, or hold undead => duhm + boon of lathander + dual wield = chews through hp. If I can't use either due to creature types I rely on skeletons plus a sling.
Was watching some Skyrim lets play and it had Baldur's Gate battle music, which strangely made me want to try BG again, and see how tough the 2.5 LoB is. Rolled Trisolde, Half-Elf Cleric-Mage. Used autoroller to get 98, although 96 is the practical max roll for CM. This isn't no-reload because I'm rusty and I want to play through the game and enjoy it more.
War Hammers *
Single Weapon Style *
Did the usual fetching stuff, got Drizzt killed, killed Algernon for his cloak, then charm killed Dushai with it, and bought rep back to 12. Had nice tactic to speed up killing of Shoal. Charmed her with the cloak and made her attack the wolf. The wolf was going to kill her and steal my xp, so when she was at near death I attacked Shoal with a sling and they started chasing me both, ran away and used sanctuary to separate them. Then found Shoal alone and my Fairy-Dragon killed her.
I tried getting Neera killed, but no matter what I tried she escaped the wizards, did 2.5 change that? If so there's no way of getting gem bag if you don't accept her to the party?
I tried getting Neera killed, but no matter what I tried she escaped the wizards, did 2.5 change that? If so there's no way of getting gem bag if you don't accept her to the party?
If you feel you want to do the encounter you need to be quick to kill her when she tries to leave after it's finished. I nearly always kill her with missiles from long range - she won't give her dialogue until you get closer. If for some reason you're restricting the use of ranged weapons you can charm her or go invisible/sanctuary to get close enough to whack her.
I don't get how the whole "blades and stars" rule works. Is it that you can choose a number of free items to get at the start of the game? Or is it a restriction on the number of items you can use?
I don't get how the whole "blades and stars" rule works. Is it that you can choose a number of free items to get at the start of the game? Or is it a restriction on the number of items you can use?
It's restriction what items you can use. First you select the level, or how many stars to use, and then you choose the categories you want to use. Only weapons, protection scrolls and potions are free for all.
If you feel you want to do the encounter you need to be quick to kill her when she tries to leave after it's finished. I nearly always kill her with missiles from long range - she won't give her dialogue until you get closer. If for some reason you're restricting the use of ranged weapons you can charm her or go invisible/sanctuary to get close enough to whack her.
Before 2.5 I always did the encounter, and the wizards/guards killed her without rep loss.
EDIT: Killed her from afar with a sling, apparently that doesn't give negative reputation.
EDIT: Killed her from afar with a sling, apparently that doesn't give negative reputation.
That's a general thing - you never lose reputation for killing joinable NPCs (I do that quite a lot to pinch equipment as I don't allow any recruitment in solo games).
Seems that old tricks work mostly the same. Did the XP-loop with Basilisks and got to the max level of 7/7. Mulahey was done with 3 Skelis as I waited at the door with Sanctuary. Got his ring and 4th Skeli. Nimbul, Neira, Tranzig and Karlat were no match for 4 Skelis, then Charm killed all the named bandits at the Bandit Camp.
Cloakwood passed with Sanctuary and Freeaction Ring, Drasus was Charm killed, as was rest of the party. Hareishan and Natasha Charm killed, got Haste. Charmed the guard, Farsight, and lured one Battle Horror away. Hasted guard and 4 Skelis were just about enough for one Battle Horror, so I speed up the second one with Staff of Heavens. Farsight and the guard smacked Davaeorn, which took a long time when he was hitting only with 20's. Looted the place and escaped.
Getting to Sorcerous Sundries, noticed that Potion of Genius reads that it has max level of 25. Don't remember reading that before 2.5? If that's true, then that spells drouble against Mindflayers. Also noticed that melee seems even weaker than before?
Marek and Larze were done in by 4 hasted Skelis and WoMS. Ragefast, in with Sanctuary and hid behind the rubble which allowed me to cast 4 hasted Skelis and that was enough. Ramazith, Sanctuary and WoMS, level skipped his spells. Noticed that the fight was buffed slightly with presummons, but it was still easy enough.
Iron Throne, Thaldorn was casually WoMS'd as he doesn't agro. Charmed Diyab, who lured the double Shennara's to the back room killing zone of 4 Skelis. Then smacked Diyab out which agroed the rest of the gang. Charm killed one, rested then anther until only Zhalimar was food for Skelis. Ogre Mage waylay skipped with Invisibility potion, and rest of the Iron Throne was then Charm killed. Didn't bother with the cave mob.
Durlag's Tower, got 21 WIS and 5th Skeli. Had more trouble of separating the Warders than before and died many times trying to lure Love out. Gave up and lured Fear instead to the entrance level. Tried killing him but 5 buffed Skelis weren't enough to do anything to him as he healed faster than my Skelis were injuring him. Fear might be unkillable in 2.5 LoB SCS? Anyway then I succeeded luring Love to the basement, and luckily 5 hasted Skelis were enough for him. Got the Goblet.
Slythe and Krystin were straightforward, buffed summons killed Slythe and once Krystin was depleted from spells single Wolf killed her. Quenash Charm killed for the Cloak.
Palace ambush, Charmed the mage and deposited him on the stairs, 5 Skelis, buffed up and activated the battle making Leea invisible and was ready to PfM the Shaman. Not so fast as 2.5 seems to have changed it to caster only which will make things harder. The fight took a long time and had to use WoMS multiple times, only 2 guards survived. Waited the mage transformation, the depleted his spells and started feeding WoMS. Except they couldn't do anything to him, even when they hit with 20's, the mage was staying uninjured. What is going on, I can't kill him? Anyone have any tips, or do I need to start digging with NearInfinity?
After Charming him and spending his spells I again attacked him with WoMS, no damage. But after I hit him with Wand of Fire, he started taking damage from summons, and was quickly killed. Definitely a bug of some sort. Anyway Palace Ambush done, although it seems a lot tougher than before.
@histamiini are you sure you weren't just working through stoneskins?
Hmm possibly, maybe, but I spent his Stone Skins before attacking him so I don't know, because summons started damaging him only after the WoF. The upped AC really makes summons pretty useless against some of the top bosses who have regeneration. I've to say I don't like it.
Undercity, Skelis killed Tamoko, then I Charmed the mob one at a time, Skelis wasting them. Then I Charmed Shaldrissa and made her attack Rahvin who quickly wasted her. You don't want to attack Shaldrissa directly because she has a terrible habbit of disappearing through invisibility. Skelis then wasted Rahvin.
Made a quick cash to jewels, potions and scrolls run, because you never want to have too much cash on you.
End battle. Invisibility, and said hello to Sarevok. Retreat and WoF killed Semaj, Tazok and Diarmid, WoMS handled the Skeleton Warriors. Angelo too was killed with WoF and he never agroed like before 2.5. Hit Sarevok with 50 WoF and attacked with 5 buffed up Skelis, reality check, they did nothing to him as he healed faster than they could damage him. Loaded previous save, and used 100 WoF which made him Near Death and then Skelis kept him company as I attacked him with 10 Wand of Heavens, which was enough.
As said before, I don't like the upped AC that much.
End battle. Invisibility, and said hello to Sarevok. Retreat and WoF killed Semaj, Tazok and Diarmid, WoMS handled the Skeleton Warriors. Angelo too was killed with WoF and he never agroed like before 2.5. Hit Sarevok with 50 WoF and attacked with 5 buffed up Skelis, reality check, they did nothing to him as he healed faster than they could damage him. Loaded previous save, and used 100 WoF which made him Near Death and then Skelis kept him company as I attacked him with 10 Wand of Heavens, which was enough.
Unless you've got additional mods, Sarevok shouldn't be regenerating at the end - SCS only gives him the ability to do that while his acolytes are alive.
End battle. Invisibility, and said hello to Sarevok. Retreat and WoF killed Semaj, Tazok and Diarmid, WoMS handled the Skeleton Warriors. Angelo too was killed with WoF and he never agroed like before 2.5. Hit Sarevok with 50 WoF and attacked with 5 buffed up Skelis, reality check, they did nothing to him as he healed faster than they could damage him. Loaded previous save, and used 100 WoF which made him Near Death and then Skelis kept him company as I attacked him with 10 Wand of Heavens, which was enough.
Unless you've got additional mods, Sarevok shouldn't be regenerating at the end - SCS only gives him the ability to do that while his acolytes are alive.
I always had a feeling in my install, before and after 2.5 that he regenerated. I could swear I saw him going up in his health bar when my summons were smacking him. I think I need to install NearInfinity to see what's going on. Nevertheless, got Potros to surrender, PfU, and got Korlasz to surrender too, although had to reload couple times because I didn't do enough buffing. Hmm, another battle made hard for no-reload because of enemy AC buff. Level up to 8/8. After selling all my valuables, made a cool 160k of Gold which again is a new record.
I just finished a run through Baldur's Gate I and Siege of Dragonspear with an elven sorcerer named Pinhead Larry. My run was solo LOB + SCS (hardest SCS settings) with reloads and all items allowed. I didn't use any experience loops. I had played through BGI several times before, but I went into Siege of Dragonspear completely blind.
During the early levels, Pinhead Larry used blind, web, and kiting to kill monsters and gain experience. With 18 Strength and 19 Dexterity, even a sorcerer with a sling has enough firepower to make killing monsters bearable. Pinhead Larry reached level 9 before entering the Nashkel Mines.
At level 9, Pinhead Larry's favorite strategy was to cast Web 7 times (4 naturally memorized, 2 in a minor sequencer, and 1 memorized with "The Amplifier" amulet), cast Greater Malison, then send in 3 to 5 hasted phase spiders. This strategy made a mockery of some of the hardest fights in the game, because only enemies with both very high magic resistance and very good saves have any chance to escape the webs, and anything caught in a web faces hasted phase spiders that automatically hit and stack poison. In case the enemies managed to kill the phase spiders, Pinhead Larry became invisible, ran away, slept, and returned to try again.
For the final battle of BGI, Pinhead Larry used a Wand of Monster Summoning to distract Sarevok and his acolytes while using a Wand of Paralyzation and the Wand of Polymorphing to disable and kill them.
Like so many other heroes that have taken on this challenge, Pinhead Larry had the toughest time defeating Belhifet. With the Wizard Hat and a scroll of Lower Resistance, there was just enough time to cast Lower Resistance twice on Belhifet between the time Hephernaan cast dispel magic and the time Belhifet became invisible (Improved Invisibility). Once Belhifet becomes invisible, it is very difficult to target him with additional spells, because even if the effect is dispelled, Belhifet recasts it before he can be hit with another spell.
Caelar Argent used Durlag's Goblet to tank while Pinhead Larry cast Greater Malison and multiple Web spells. Once Belhifet was held by a web, Pinhead Larry cast Detect Invisibility to be able to target Belhifet with more spells. Pinhead Larry cast Lower Resistance 3 more times (for a total of 5). With the Cloak of Minor Arcana, each reduced Belhifet's magic resistance by 22%. Then Pinhead Larry used the Wand of Polymorphing to bring Belhifet near to death. Caelar Argent finished Belhifet off with a Shining Bolt.
@Grond0 Checked with NearInfinity and you're correct as Sarevok indeed loses one of his four regen rings when ever his minion dies and should've no regen when all of them are dead.
Chapter 8 for Trisolde, helped the Dwarves with 5 buffed up Skelis, the fight seemed easier than before as there was no second wave, and we didn't suffer any casualities. Went into the crypt and did some xp collecting with 100 Fire Resistance, PfU and Wand of Fire. Then fetched the Secret Revealed and used it onto Coldheart and he was easy pray for me and my minions.
Chapter 9, Ziatar and the mages were burned from distance, Neothelid was a lot tougher because my Skelis weren't landing that many hits, and had to use the Goblet 9 times. Lured Akannas Aerial Servants out and WoMS eventually got her. Surrendered the fort and was in for a surprise when I activated the bridge battle. Casually let the mage do his thing thinking I just lure the Fire Elemental to the camp to be destroyed. Not so fast, because the mage seemed to conjure all hell on the bridge and there was no stopping hordes of fire thingies. Reload and buffed up Skelis were able to hack her down, and then the rest of the party was WoMS'd. Interestingly I tried Farsight so I could sneak up to the mage, but it was somehow disabled there?
@Ongo Whoa, that's the first time I read a Sorcerer beating Bel with LoB and SCS. Interesting tactics really, although it isn't really strict solo as you use Caelar, I may have to try them myself.
@histamiini you're right it isn't strictly solo. I think it might be possible without Caelar by carefully selecting buffs, kiting well, and using a Wand of Monster Summoning judiciously to distract Belhifet and his devils. A charge from a Wand of Lightning or a Skull Trap would probably work instead of Caelar's Shining Bolt.
However, the strategy requires a lot of spells to be cast in quick succession and with precise timing. The initial two castings of Lower Resistance are crucial so that Belhifet does not resist all the webs that come later, and the interval to cast them is tight. Too soon and the first is dispelled by Hephernaan. Too late and Belhifet is already invisible. The webs must be created quickly so that they stack and reliably ensnare Belhifet. The key interval before the webs expire, when Belhifet is held and vulnerable, is short. If too much time is wasted other actions, like kiting or refreshing defensive buffs, the timing may be thrown off.
Maybe I'll try it without Caelar later.
@histamiini I had planned to use hasted skeletons like you, but their weapons broke too quickly. I think they'll be more useful in BGII, since there is no "Iron Crisis".
@Ongo One of the reasons why you're able to use web tactic more effectively is that the 2.5 game version has a saving throws bug, when enemies should receive -5 to their saving throws in LoB mode, they currently get +5, so effectively it's off no less than +10. For example Bel has 7,9,8,7,10 when he should've -3,-1,-2,-3,0. I noticed this too when Charm is working almost all the time. They've already fixed it for the next update. https://support.baldursgate.com/issues/38746
Also does the Wand of Polymorphing do something to Bel because he should be immune to Polymorph effect?
Comments
1) You can never buy or sell any items (including any items required for quests).
2) You can never use or equip any items (but can pick things up for quests).
3) You may pay for quests (such as Gaelan Bayle), but not anything else (temples, inns etc).
His opening spells were find familiar & blind and his pseudo-dragon made short work of a blinded Shoal to get him to level 3.
The AC improvements make nibbling basilisks a bit more of a chore for the pseudo-dragon than in v2.3, so it distracted them to allow Frey to nip in behind and blind them (casting just after the basilisk had used its gaze attack for the round) to make them easier targets. That soon got him up to L4, to get the important invisibility, and it wasn't too much longer to get L5. That provided web and Mutamin was duly webbed and blinded, though that took a lot of attempts. The pseudo-dragon then managed the tricky task of drawing out Mutamin's spells while he was blinded, allowing him to eventually be finished off in melee. Lindin was drawn away and blinded, but was still too tough for the pseudo-dragon, but it did just manage to do for Baerin like that. The others were then blinded and fed to Korax.
With not too much more XP needed for L6, Frey did some minor tasks around Beregost. I noticed in the process of doing that I was getting automatic success with chromatic orb stuns against low level creatures like hobgoblins, which I wasn't aware should happen. Handing Landrin back his goods provided the level and Frey took hold person as his first 3rd level spell (I don't ever remembering doing that with a sorcerer before ...).
Frey finished off work in Beregost by webbing, blinding and holding (3 times) Silke, before heading south. For tougher opponents, like Greywolf, it was sometimes necessary to rest in the area before finishing him off (taking advantage of the fact that LoB opponents only gain 100 HP back when doing that). Easily the hardest fight was against Bassilus - he cured himself of blindness three times (heal and two cure diseases) before eventually succumbing. There was then a prolonged period of attacking and dodging spells before closing properly for melee. Bassilus was still only at injured status when blindness wore off, but Frey's last blindness worked as well and Bassilus didn't quite last out that one.
XP gains were not individually that high, but it all mounted up and Frey finally got up to level 7 by handing in Bassilus' symbol after successfully reviving Melicamp. That level was important not just for the extra spells, but so chromatic orb acquires a paralyzation ability - greatly increasing the number of targets that can be held.
Frey also had significantly greater spell damage capability as a result of learning skull trap, magic missile and acid arrow and that made further progress easy enough. The battle horrors at Durlag's Tower were taken down by spell damage with one rest apiece. The pseudo-dragon then dealt with the basilisks on the roof to take Frey up to level 8. The greater malison learned there will make disabling tougher enemies rather easier.
Heading north for the first time, Tenya got her bowl back before Frey tried his hand at ankhegs. He had just enough spell damage to kill one of them without resting, so didn't need to resort to chromatic orb after the ankhegs were webbed and blinded. Thoroughly clearing the area got him close to his last BG1 level and wiping out the ogre clan in Shoal's area provided the few thousand needed - Frey picked up stoneskin there.
Moving on to the Nashkel Mine, Frey passed through invisibly before taking the precaution of clearing out the kobolds around Mulahey's cave. That proved unnecessary though when Mulahey was webbed, blinded and cut down by spells without calling for reinforcements.
I tried to get Amnian Soldiers to wear a blinded Nimbul down before finishing him with a magic missile, but one of them got a big critical to deprive Frey of the XP. He did though manage to finish off a blinded Tranzig with spell damage while the invisible pseudo-dragon locked him in his room.
Belatedly, I realized I hadn't taken any defences to help with the lightning trap in Tazok's tent. To get some minor help with that Frey killed a couple of villagers to get LMD as his second Bhaal power and got that to work on his familiar at the third attempt. He then saved against the lightning damage when the bolt first hit him and dodged the rebound - but regrettably not the second rebound ...
While I fought Durlag's wardens I found something totally unrelated to saving throws:
Did you guys know that Wand of Monster summoning doesn't break Sanctuary?
Maybe not the most gamebreaking discovery but still kinda unexpected to me.
It's definitely not from v2.5. The EE updates never include such dramatic and unusual changes as giving a creature completely new abilities.
I've played a bit with a monk in LoB. You can get some easy levels using things like basilisks, but even at higher monk levels in BG1 progress started feeling like very hard work. Maybe you'll do better though
That being said, monks indeed can not use crossbows.
From there, I travelled to friendly arm inn to feed another hobgoblin to his mates and picked up joia's ring. travelled north tokill sonner and gave his bowl back to tenya, this got me to lvl 4. From there I decided to go and kite shaol, took a bit of time but it went smooth enough. At level 5 you get skeleton summons, these guys are really good. I went through mutamins garden with a charmed basilisk and after killing all the basilisks, used korax to kill mutamin. I then used him to fight the party with peter and he gave me time to summon more skeletons, combined with hold person made it an easy fight.
My tactics are usually hold person, or hold undead => duhm + boon of lathander + dual wield = chews through hp. If I can't use either due to creature types I rely on skeletons plus a sling.
I tried getting Neera killed, but no matter what I tried she escaped the wizards, did 2.5 change that? If so there's no way of getting gem bag if you don't accept her to the party?
Cloakwood passed with Sanctuary and Freeaction Ring, Drasus was Charm killed, as was rest of the party. Hareishan and Natasha Charm killed, got Haste. Charmed the guard, Farsight, and lured one Battle Horror away. Hasted guard and 4 Skelis were just about enough for one Battle Horror, so I speed up the second one with Staff of Heavens. Farsight and the guard smacked Davaeorn, which took a long time when he was hitting only with 20's. Looted the place and escaped.
Getting to Sorcerous Sundries, noticed that Potion of Genius reads that it has max level of 25. Don't remember reading that before 2.5? If that's true, then that spells drouble against Mindflayers.
Iron Throne, Thaldorn was casually WoMS'd as he doesn't agro. Charmed Diyab, who lured the double Shennara's to the back room killing zone of 4 Skelis. Then smacked Diyab out which agroed the rest of the gang. Charm killed one, rested then anther until only Zhalimar was food for Skelis. Ogre Mage waylay skipped with Invisibility potion, and rest of the Iron Throne was then Charm killed. Didn't bother with the cave mob.
Durlag's Tower, got 21 WIS and 5th Skeli. Had more trouble of separating the Warders than before and died many times trying to lure Love out. Gave up and lured Fear instead to the entrance level. Tried killing him but 5 buffed Skelis weren't enough to do anything to him as he healed faster than my Skelis were injuring him. Fear might be unkillable in 2.5 LoB SCS? Anyway then I succeeded luring Love to the basement, and luckily 5 hasted Skelis were enough for him. Got the Goblet.
Slythe and Krystin were straightforward, buffed summons killed Slythe and once Krystin was depleted from spells single Wolf killed her. Quenash Charm killed for the Cloak.
Palace ambush, Charmed the mage and deposited him on the stairs, 5 Skelis, buffed up and activated the battle making Leea invisible and was ready to PfM the Shaman. Not so fast as 2.5 seems to have changed it to caster only which will make things harder.
Undercity, Skelis killed Tamoko, then I Charmed the mob one at a time, Skelis wasting them. Then I Charmed Shaldrissa and made her attack Rahvin who quickly wasted her. You don't want to attack Shaldrissa directly because she has a terrible habbit of disappearing through invisibility. Skelis then wasted Rahvin.
Made a quick cash to jewels, potions and scrolls run, because you never want to have too much cash on you.
End battle. Invisibility, and said hello to Sarevok. Retreat and WoF killed Semaj, Tazok and Diarmid, WoMS handled the Skeleton Warriors. Angelo too was killed with WoF and he never agroed like before 2.5. Hit Sarevok with 50 WoF and attacked with 5 buffed up Skelis, reality check, they did nothing to him as he healed faster than they could damage him. Loaded previous save, and used 100 WoF which made him Near Death and then Skelis kept him company as I attacked him with 10 Wand of Heavens, which was enough.
As said before, I don't like the upped AC that much.
Unless you've got additional mods, Sarevok shouldn't be regenerating at the end - SCS only gives him the ability to do that while his acolytes are alive.
During the early levels, Pinhead Larry used blind, web, and kiting to kill monsters and gain experience. With 18 Strength and 19 Dexterity, even a sorcerer with a sling has enough firepower to make killing monsters bearable. Pinhead Larry reached level 9 before entering the Nashkel Mines.
At level 9, Pinhead Larry's favorite strategy was to cast Web 7 times (4 naturally memorized, 2 in a minor sequencer, and 1 memorized with "The Amplifier" amulet), cast Greater Malison, then send in 3 to 5 hasted phase spiders. This strategy made a mockery of some of the hardest fights in the game, because only enemies with both very high magic resistance and very good saves have any chance to escape the webs, and anything caught in a web faces hasted phase spiders that automatically hit and stack poison. In case the enemies managed to kill the phase spiders, Pinhead Larry became invisible, ran away, slept, and returned to try again.
For the final battle of BGI, Pinhead Larry used a Wand of Monster Summoning to distract Sarevok and his acolytes while using a Wand of Paralyzation and the Wand of Polymorphing to disable and kill them.
Like so many other heroes that have taken on this challenge, Pinhead Larry had the toughest time defeating Belhifet. With the Wizard Hat and a scroll of Lower Resistance, there was just enough time to cast Lower Resistance twice on Belhifet between the time Hephernaan cast dispel magic and the time Belhifet became invisible (Improved Invisibility). Once Belhifet becomes invisible, it is very difficult to target him with additional spells, because even if the effect is dispelled, Belhifet recasts it before he can be hit with another spell.
Caelar Argent used Durlag's Goblet to tank while Pinhead Larry cast Greater Malison and multiple Web spells. Once Belhifet was held by a web, Pinhead Larry cast Detect Invisibility to be able to target Belhifet with more spells. Pinhead Larry cast Lower Resistance 3 more times (for a total of 5). With the Cloak of Minor Arcana, each reduced Belhifet's magic resistance by 22%. Then Pinhead Larry used the Wand of Polymorphing to bring Belhifet near to death. Caelar Argent finished Belhifet off with a Shining Bolt.
I'm excited to start BGII.
Chapter 8 for Trisolde, helped the Dwarves with 5 buffed up Skelis, the fight seemed easier than before as there was no second wave, and we didn't suffer any casualities. Went into the crypt and did some xp collecting with 100 Fire Resistance, PfU and Wand of Fire. Then fetched the Secret Revealed and used it onto Coldheart and he was easy pray for me and my minions.
Chapter 9, Ziatar and the mages were burned from distance, Neothelid was a lot tougher because my Skelis weren't landing that many hits, and had to use the Goblet 9 times. Lured Akannas Aerial Servants out and WoMS eventually got her. Surrendered the fort and was in for a surprise when I activated the bridge battle. Casually let the mage do his thing thinking I just lure the Fire Elemental to the camp to be destroyed. Not so fast, because the mage seemed to conjure all hell on the bridge and there was no stopping hordes of fire thingies. Reload and buffed up Skelis were able to hack her down, and then the rest of the party was WoMS'd. Interestingly I tried Farsight so I could sneak up to the mage, but it was somehow disabled there?
@Ongo Whoa, that's the first time I read a Sorcerer beating Bel with LoB and SCS. Interesting tactics really, although it isn't really strict solo as you use Caelar, I may have to try them myself.
However, the strategy requires a lot of spells to be cast in quick succession and with precise timing. The initial two castings of Lower Resistance are crucial so that Belhifet does not resist all the webs that come later, and the interval to cast them is tight. Too soon and the first is dispelled by Hephernaan. Too late and Belhifet is already invisible. The webs must be created quickly so that they stack and reliably ensnare Belhifet. The key interval before the webs expire, when Belhifet is held and vulnerable, is short. If too much time is wasted other actions, like kiting or refreshing defensive buffs, the timing may be thrown off.
Maybe I'll try it without Caelar later.
@histamiini I had planned to use hasted skeletons like you, but their weapons broke too quickly. I think they'll be more useful in BGII, since there is no "Iron Crisis".
Also does the Wand of Polymorphing do something to Bel because he should be immune to Polymorph effect?