Help out an RPing completionist
Taylan
Member Posts: 76
I like to play the game kind of realistically/RPish. For instance, given that my character is good aligned and very fond of her childhood friend Imoen, she would naturally run to Gaelan as soon as she has 20k coins. And it seems this won't take very long; I just cleared out the Copper Coronet and busted the slaver compound and am at 16k already. My next natural destination would be the de'Arnise Keep, through which I should easily hit 20k.
Problem is, if I run through the Athkatla part of the game too quickly, I won't be able to have much fun with all the side-quests. I don't remember right now what else the Shadow Thieves expect of me after I pay Gaelan the money, but it probably won't keep me in Athkatla for that long.
From what I read, one returns to Athkatla after saving Imoen? Are there *any* quests I can only do before leaving Athkatla for the first time? Also, apart from quests, are there any other things I would be missing, like for instance independent merchants here and there? (One with incredible items lurks around in the Copper Coronet right now.)
Problem is, if I run through the Athkatla part of the game too quickly, I won't be able to have much fun with all the side-quests. I don't remember right now what else the Shadow Thieves expect of me after I pay Gaelan the money, but it probably won't keep me in Athkatla for that long.
From what I read, one returns to Athkatla after saving Imoen? Are there *any* quests I can only do before leaving Athkatla for the first time? Also, apart from quests, are there any other things I would be missing, like for instance independent merchants here and there? (One with incredible items lurks around in the Copper Coronet right now.)
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Quests that AFAIK cannot be completed after you have started chapter 4:
Korgans Book quest
Edwins Nether Scroll
Hexxat's initial quest, i have not tested if you can do the quests after you have freed the vamp, you *probably* can as long as she is in the group.
Also worth noting that you do not need 20k, once you reach 15k or more both Bodhi and Gaelens minions appear to tempt you with a reduced rate of 15k.
1- I think it's the tweaks mod which makes gaelan ask for a higher amount, such as 40k or 60k gold. That would indeed make you take longer to rescue her, unintentionally (or so it seems)
2- If you are an experienced player and knows the best items to be bought and the right tactics to defeat your enemies you could actually do lots of city quests in a couple of days. For instance, the thief, bard and cleric stronghold quests don't require traveling hours and could really be solved in a couple of days , maybe less. That way you w0n't feel like you spent countless weeks before paying gaelan. Outdoor quests could be solved in a week or so (travelling hours+rest) .
3- Once I read from a forum member that you can headcannon link between quests, as if ypu really had to do all of them to make yourself worthy of powerful groups' attention. I think it's a cool idea.
4- A lawful character might show some resistance helping the thieves (or vampires) , and might try other sources, such as the order of radiant heart, the cowled wizards, the church... only after realising that they can't help you you would finally seek the shadowmaster.
Hope it helps
She was captured together with a mage you witnessed being rather absurdly powerful. The ones who captured her are an elite cadre of magical enforcers with direct governmental authority. The place they put her is a fortress of a magical prison, staffed by those very same elite mages and housing some of the most dangerous magical deviants.
Anyone who when faced with such a prospect fresh out of their torture ordeal in Chateau Irenicus thinks there is no need to plan carefully is stark raving mad. Armies hesitate to assault Spellhold. Someone who just got kidnapped, stripped of all their possessions, and tortured for who knows how long would not simply go knocking at the door, hoping for the best. That's lunacy.
The cut scene with Irenicus coming to Imoen's cell makes RPing not going to SH straight away once you have the money more difficult.
It's easy to get attached to Imoen, and she's well designed enough that even a new BG2 player can become attached to her/realize that she and the PC are close and have been through a lot, but it just made no sense to go after her unprepared.
The quest log is a bit messed up, but I think we got out of Irenicus' dungeon on pretty much day 1 hour 1. (It shows that timestamp on the very first "woke up in a mage's dungeon" entry instead of the "got out of the dungeon and Imoen was captured" entry, but that ought to be a mistake because all the quests within Irenicus' dungeon have a day 0, hour X stamp.)
I'm on day 4 hour 3 now, so in a mere 3 days I cleared up a cursed circus tent, freed the slaves in the Copper Coronet as well as the slaver HQ in the slums, dealt with some murderous kidnappers who bury people alive, investigated gruesome murders and made the perpetrators flee away, finished some dirty business of the Harpers, and dealt with some treacherous Harpers. Even put a murdered child's spirit to rest when I had the time. That's some massive performance for a hero! But I gotta say the enemies were quite challenging at every turn and not only does it make the party and main character worry about facing Irenicus, it also makes ME worry.
I guess it's time to travel to de'Arnise Keep then. Can't keep Nalia waiting much longer anyway. Besides, I was meaning to find the Dryads to give them the acorns; I'll do that too while I'm traveling.
But the plot gave me a sense of urgency regarding the loss of our souls and events in Suldanesselar that just made it all seem wrong to go around doing random adventures such as the sewers, checking out Firkraag's domain, going to Trademeet, etc.
I wound up getting a bad taste in my mouth and abandoning the run.
EDIT: I just had a thought - Since BG2 was initially designed for Imoen to die at the beginning, I wonder if it might have been better to leave it that way. Much as I love her, the last minute decision to cave to fan pressure and rewrite the whole main story to include her kind of ruins the game for players who want to role play their characters and have a good story driving all the action.
BG did the same in a way, once you hit BG city you can't help but feel the game is into the end sequence. So going off for miles into the country to clear some ruins felt a bit wrong. But that at least did trust the player to take the decision for themselves.
Imoen dying would have given ample RP reason to eventually want to seek revenge from Irenicus. Also allow you to take the sensible decision to get a lot stronger and richer to buy equipment before you confronted him. Also as you are the hero, people asking for help and you providing it, isn't an outrageous anti RP path to take.
Even Imoen not dying, all of you escaping the dungeon, doesn't leave the player not wanting the same, revenge for the imprisonment/torture.
I think it's the feeling that the developers didn't trust the player to want to complete the game that got in the way more than anything.
That reminds me of the question: are there any quests you can do in chapter 2 but not 3? Assuming you go with the thieves, that is. (If you side with the vamps, I suppose you won't be able to do the quests for Renal Bloodscalp that you can otherwise start in chapter 2.)
I already started chapter 3 long ago so won't be going back; hope I didn't miss anything of importance.
What happens in CK breaks that urgency as what can you do?
So I do the same as you.
Perhaps by aiding him with his Firkraag problem, Garren will put in a good word with his contacts at the Radiant Heart for you. Perhaps if you raise some more money, the Shadow Thieves will help you out; we know they always have a price even when something is in their best interest. Perhaps by helping out Tolgerias and the Cowled Wizards they'll be inclined to lend some aid against the menace within their borders.
Perhaps while traveling the countryside in Umar Hills you might run across another adventuring party willing to lend their aid, (provided you didn't kill their dark-skinned friend already), and even if not from all those journal entries that Mazzy Fentan lass sounds capable, and the townspeople speak very highly of Merella. At the very least, those with loved ones in trouble will be interested in visiting the ruined temple.
All of this seems pretty consistent from a RP perspective. Sure, there's a time crunch, but the game also explicitly tells you that you need allies for the coming fight, and then immediately reinforces that allies might be found anywhere.
And besides, prior to getting the Magic MacGuffin of Plot Progression, it's not like the elves are very forthcoming about what is going on. You know something pretty bad is probably happening somewhere, though according to them they don't know what, or where, or why, or by whom. You obviously want your soul back, but if you're not showing any immediate ill effects, I could see someone being more inclined to continue building up power for the coming confrontation than to rush headlong into a new situation with absolutely nothing to go on.
Having no soul isn't a big deal. I know this, I worked as a government contractor.
That's an assumption of course, (that because there are no physical effects manifested in the character screen I'm not feeling any serious physical effects in-character), but no more of one than the assumption that I'm at risk of dropping dead at any moment and therefore I must race forward at as breakneck of a speed as I possibly can.
Jahiera and the Baron Ployer subplot is a great place to take your cues. The game is perfectly capable of simulating "wasting away" and creating a sense of urgency that results. I read the fact that the game is failing to do so here as physical evidence that the timescale involved for me is much longer, perhaps even months. (Even though yes, I realize there's also a game design reason not to use the same wasting mechanic on charname, who is literally irreplaceable, as it could be too punishing otherwise.)
Game design considerations aside, Imoen had her soul removed long before I did, (days, weeks, perhaps even months depending on how Chapter 2 and 3 played out for you), she's explicitly said to be weaker and therefore more susceptible to the loss, she's not indispensable like Charname, and she's also not showing the faintest signs of wasting, lending credence to the longer timeline interpretation.
Like all roleplaying decisions, it falls on the player to justify it, (or not justify it), for themselves. But personally, I've never had any trouble reconciling the desire to putter around in Chapter 6 with my ultimate goals in games where I've rushed Spellhold.
If you want a rp reason to hang on a bit in ch. 6, you may decide to skip Umar Hills in ch. 2/3, and make sure you get into a romance. Then you will get a compelling reason to visit Umar Hills in ch. 6.
You can also pretend that the liches in Atkathla are somehow related to Bodhi, and have a reason for defeating them before ch. 4.
Can imagine a golem stand off going on, "my golem's better than yours".
Just as an aside, is there anyway to save the wizard there?
Everytime he gets killed.