-2 to all saves is pretty darn nice when you also consider it’s stackable with other saving throw items.
You could roleplay it as Helm’s faithful begrudgingly admitting that the Unseeing Eye is a bigger threat than you are, and hey, if you fail, two birds with one stone anyways!
Off course it’s a good item, but none of its bonus can’t be found in other gear (although it’s a ring of invisibility + ring of protection+2 + periapt of proof against poison + ring of regeneration all in one... plus you get Improved Haste... ok, pretty OP indeed).
But when I start making a rule to myself, I don’t like making exceptions and come up with an excuse to justify it. I’ll keep my current run without using the ring of gaxx, and I’ll just take it as a slight raise in difficulty.
The point is there's no need to go to the temple to get the quest. You can just collect the body parts and then go and see Kangaxx - talking to him initially he will give you the quest and talking again immediately will fulfill the quest and cause his lich form to appear. After opening a couple of doors, all that requires is the investigation of several obviously evil tombs - no RP problem there for your blackguard .
That talking can be done while using a PfU scroll. I suspect that's because you're talking initially to the sarcophagus and that's not coded as undead - if you're particularly concerned about RP you might find that a bit odd of course ...
The point is there's no need to go to the temple to get the quest. You can just collect the body parts
Unless I missed something, to collect the golden arms & legs, you need to get access to the old tunnels (second level of the sewers).
Which you can't unless you have been tasked by High Watcher Oisig to investigate the cult.
Does Gaal not appear anyway - in which case you could pickpocket the key or kill him (though I think the latter might result in an early encounter with the Unseeing Eye)?
There are also potential ways to get past a locked door - like using shapechange from the Cloak of the Sewers, though I don't think I've tried that on that door.
In the end, I've decided to go grab the ring (RP reason for entering Temple of Helm: none....).
At least I've decided not to do the Unseeing Eye's quest, I'll just go grab Kangaxx' remnants (I'll RP it as the DM - me - having memory loss and forget the quest even showed up, the blackguard just explored the tunnels)
Since my blackguard has died (technically, not, he just was mazed), I've rolled a new character, and ended up with Sorcerer.
Now, that class is arguably the easiest (or at least most powerful at 8 mil XP) for solo but I have two problems:
- my recent sorcerers/dragon disciple runs have been very unorthodox and specific, relying on melee/polymorphs or going poverty. It was powerful and allowed me to solo the whole game (although with heavy reloading), but now I don't know how to play a "normal" sorcerer anymore ^^
- no-reload requires a specific gameplay with focus on defenses/immunities, and since there are only very few spellpicks per level, I don't want to forget one and find myself blocked against a specific encounter/enemy type.
Without a need to go into a detailed spellpick, are there some spells I have to particularly chose (apart from Spell Immunity) ?
I must also prepare for Belhifet, I have never beaten him with a solo arcane caster I think.
My thinking for spellpicks before facing Big B was:
BG1:
- lvl1: Sleep (although it will become useless at some point, it makes so many fights a cakewalk in BG1, and the wand doesn't have the save penalty), shield, blindness, magic missile, burning hands (went for spook at first, but i'll need some fire damage sometimes, and I like having several options)
- lvl2: Invisibility, Blur, Web, Resist Fear (I used to take it in my poverty runs, not sure if there is gear that can cover that on a sorcerer?). I hesitate with Knock instead of Resist Fear (most notably to grab the Tomes underneath Candlekeep, I don't remember how many Knock scrolls are available in BG1). Obivously, Mirror Images or Melf's Acid Arrow are also strong contenders.
- lvl3: Slow, Skull Trap, Remove Magic (or Dispel Magic?)
- lvl4: Greater Malison, Spider Spawn (no Stoneskin for now, I don't plan on getting hit anyway)
(Note that there are many scrolls of Polymorph Self, if not, I'd probably have picked it second)
SoD further spells:
- lvl2: depending on what I chose in BG1, probably Mirror Image or MAA. Maybe Glitterdust if I forgo Webs
- lvl3: Flame Arrow, I guess
- lvl4: Stoneskin
- lvl5: I have absolutely no idea... The plan is to beat Belhifet, and I have no clue how to do it (the only way I would be familiar with is polymorph self: Flind form, in which case lvl5 spells won't make a difference).
EDIT: thinking about it, and seeing that I'm so familiar and fond of the Polymorph Self spells, I'll probably go that route and my spellpicks will probably be much different than that. I don't think it is a good idea to mix a bit of both worlds: I think I should either go for the polymorph sorcerer, or forget about it entirely when choosing my spells).
The easiest way to kill Belhifet would be to get Caelar to do the bulk of the damage on him. You could try lowering resistance, malison and something like polymorph other, but that's much higher risk I think and also requires you to do another significant battle under the castle. If you want to rely just on your PC then fire shield blue will help wear him down significantly faster than he regenerates (unlike attacks from the Flind form).
Greenstone amulet, potions of clarity and emotion will all help you resist fear - as will low saving throws.
Ah well, I loved my polymorph sorcerer, and I feel like giving him another go in a no-reload now, so I’ll gor for Flind form against Belhifet anyway (and Fire Shield blue too ^^).
Noted about fear resistance, I’ll probably take the lvl2 spell then I think.
In any rounds where you're not casting other things like mirror images or stoneskins, you can add a bit of damage by trying the Ring of Energy on Belhifet (helps wear down other demons as well). If you're going to use the Flind form, you presumably want to add the violet potion of top of that to boost your strength. I haven't done detailed calculations, but I suspect that may still not be as good as attacking with a +3 staff in your normal shape, due to the limited time polymorph self lasts - however, I appreciate you probably wish to RP the encounter rather than maximise your fighting potential anyway.
You might also want to experiment with Otiluke's in your installation, to see if using that would help (I can't remember what mods you have installed, if any, but behavior of this spell seems to vary quite a bit depending on those).
I don't use any mods, i remember we discussed Otiluke's sphere for my last arcanist run but I forgot : how can it be used ?
About the flind form: I'll probably "cheese" it right before the final fight so that I have infinite access to Flind form (using the bug of shapeshifting at the same time that the spell duration ends).
Afterwards, potions, scrolls, etc. for the final fight. I'll also stock up on Fireshield:Blue scrolls (Belegarm sells 6, more than enough to last the whole battle) to help taking care of Big B.
About the energy ring: can I use it on Belhifet while he's invisible ? IIRC, Belhifet casts Improved Invisilibity at some point randomly in the first few rounds of battle, from then on, I probably won't be able to target him with wands/ring of energy (but it would still help against his goons I guess).
I'm still in the beginning of BG1, but I've farmed Basilisks & Ankhegs to reach lvl cap early. For now, nothing resists a few webs + spider spawns.
About my 3rd lvl4 spell in SoD, i'll probably take Stoneskin even though I plan to rely on polymorphs. There are after all a lot of Polymorph Self scrolls (20 in Sorcerous Sundries, 6 sold by Belegarm, and probably a few others here and there).
One will probably be used in BG1 to get permanent Mustard Jelly form from BG city until end of BG1, another one before Sarevok for Flind Form, which still leaves more than 20 to be used during the SoD campaign, and there are not that many mandatory fights in SoD anyway (I'll probably rely on "regular" spells for the Coalition Camp anyway).
Otiluke's is potentially helpful to ensure you take no damage while enemies damage themselves against a fire shield. However, without mods it's probably not worth it as you wouldn't be able to take any other actions at the same time and you should have adequate protections from other spells.
Ring of energy can't target a totally invisible creature. However, unlike your own spells it can target something that's visible but still under the effects of improved invisibility.
Just small question: is THACO -5 sufficient for Ascension/ToB parts of the game for frontline fighter? Berserker 9/mage x will have this THACO in ToB. Base is 12, -5 is Crom Faeyr, -7 strenght, -3 grandmastery, - 1 Helm of Balduran, - 1 some gauntlet. Of course in can be enhanced by some spell like chant, emotions... but -5 seems to be too high.
With -5 thac0, you will hit anything that has higher than -5 AC 100% of the time (well, 95% because of critical failure).
IIRC, dragons have the lowest AC (their scales are tough) out of all BG enemies, and they generally have -11 or -12 (not sure if it is before or after their respective DEX bonus).
"Normal" enemies rarely have AC below -5, and even then, you will still hit most of the time even if they have -8 to -10 AC.
for example, against a dragon with -12 AC, even without buffs, you'd still hit on a 7 or more roll (70% of the time), which is pretty solid.
Against 90% of the other enemies, you're good to go
EDIT : quick check of the wiki of some late game enemies from ToB (I don't know about Ascension though, but I don't think they change the stats, only the behaviour)
- Demogorgon has -12 AC (again, not sure if it the DEX bonus was taken into account or not)
- Abazigal (both forms) has -12 AC
- Amelyssan has -8 AC
- Devas/Planetars have -7 AC
A 30% miss rate is high enough to be noticeable--every point of THAC0 still counts for everyone except for single-classed fighters. But -5 THAC0 is still very good, and you can always use the Answerer to penalize enemy AC.
So, I'm having a bit of a bug with M'Khiin in SoD... she starts with no known spells other than the Shaman specific ones. It's fine as I can just fix her using EEKeeper, but I can't for the life of me remember which specific spells she's supposed to start with, nor find it online. Anyone that can recall what she has at time of recruitment?
So, I'm having a bit of a bug with M'Khiin in SoD... she starts with no known spells other than the Shaman specific ones. It's fine as I can just fix her using EEKeeper, but I can't for the life of me remember which specific spells she's supposed to start with, nor find it online. Anyone that can recall what she has at time of recruitment?
According to Lilura's walkthrough:
"Choice spells chosen by default (Shaman): Armor of Faith, Bless, Doom, Spirit Ward, Barkskin, Writhing Fog, Call Lightning, Spiritual Clarity, Summon Insects, Spirit Fire."
So, I'm having a bit of a bug with M'Khiin in SoD... she starts with no known spells other than the Shaman specific ones. It's fine as I can just fix her using EEKeeper, but I can't for the life of me remember which specific spells she's supposed to start with, nor find it online. Anyone that can recall what she has at time of recruitment?
According to Lilura's walkthrough:
"Choice spells chosen by default (Shaman): Armor of Faith, Bless, Doom, Spirit Ward, Barkskin, Writhing Fog, Call Lightning, Spiritual Clarity, Summon Insects, Spirit Fire."
There's a few missing though? She starts at 89k experience, so level 7 Shaman, which means 5/3/2 known spells of spell levels 1/2/3 respectively. Eh, I'll just pick something then. Thanks for the list!
@Alesia_BH , It appears from her lip-syncing that the original isn't in English? Do you know what language she was speaking in the live performance? Nice find.
EDIT: The YouTube description is in French, so maybe it was in French?
My character was turned into a squirel. How I turn him back? I have tried temples with Dispel Magic but it doesn´t work.
Do you know how ? I guess you were hit by a Polymorph Other spell, which should be removed by a successful dispel magic (emphasis on "successful").
Try casting a Dispel Magic by your highest level character to improve your chances of dispelling (single-class druids or bards in BG1 have the best dispels).
Or shoot a dispelling arrow at your character. Although, be careful, your HP might have been reduced to 1 by the spell (I've never been subject to this effect but it generally works like that on enemies when I cast it upon them).
Where are you in the game ? If you are in BG2 (or have an Inquisitor in your party anyway), use their innate Dispel Magic ability (the dispel ability is cast at twice the Inquisitor's level). I think Yeslick's innate dispel ability in BG1 also works better than his "normal" dispel from the cleric spellbook, but i'm not sure about that.
In BG2, Carsomyr and the Staff of the Magi have a on-hit high level dispel effect (caster level 30). Same problem about the damage that could kill you though.
Also, I never quite used it, but you can buy a dispel at any temple. Never used it though, so I don't know if it automatically works or if it is random as the spell (in which case, I don't know the caster level used).
Outside of dispeling, I don't know how you could cure it :
- if it was not from the Polymorph Other spell (which is permanent), it might be a temporary effect (although maybe quite long), try resting for 24 hours maybe ?
- maybe try remove curse ?
EDIT: sorry, forgot your post while writing. You already tried the temples. I am surprised it didn't work.
You can try gulping a Potion of Magic Blocking (dispels any lvl5 and lower spell effect), or use a Protection from Magic scroll on your character (dispels everything too, without the "lvl5" limit).
If those don't work, I guess you just have to recruit Minsc and hope he lets you play with Boo. Some rodent romance is what is missing from this game
Comments
You could roleplay it as Helm’s faithful begrudgingly admitting that the Unseeing Eye is a bigger threat than you are, and hey, if you fail, two birds with one stone anyways!
But when I start making a rule to myself, I don’t like making exceptions and come up with an excuse to justify it. I’ll keep my current run without using the ring of gaxx, and I’ll just take it as a slight raise in difficulty.
That talking can be done while using a PfU scroll. I suspect that's because you're talking initially to the sarcophagus and that's not coded as undead - if you're particularly concerned about RP you might find that a bit odd of course ...
Unless I missed something, to collect the golden arms & legs, you need to get access to the old tunnels (second level of the sewers).
Which you can't unless you have been tasked by High Watcher Oisig to investigate the cult.
There are also potential ways to get past a locked door - like using shapechange from the Cloak of the Sewers, though I don't think I've tried that on that door.
At least I've decided not to do the Unseeing Eye's quest, I'll just go grab Kangaxx' remnants (I'll RP it as the DM - me - having memory loss and forget the quest even showed up, the blackguard just explored the tunnels)
Now, that class is arguably the easiest (or at least most powerful at 8 mil XP) for solo but I have two problems:
- my recent sorcerers/dragon disciple runs have been very unorthodox and specific, relying on melee/polymorphs or going poverty. It was powerful and allowed me to solo the whole game (although with heavy reloading), but now I don't know how to play a "normal" sorcerer anymore ^^
- no-reload requires a specific gameplay with focus on defenses/immunities, and since there are only very few spellpicks per level, I don't want to forget one and find myself blocked against a specific encounter/enemy type.
Without a need to go into a detailed spellpick, are there some spells I have to particularly chose (apart from Spell Immunity) ?
I must also prepare for Belhifet, I have never beaten him with a solo arcane caster I think.
My thinking for spellpicks before facing Big B was:
BG1:
- lvl1: Sleep (although it will become useless at some point, it makes so many fights a cakewalk in BG1, and the wand doesn't have the save penalty), shield, blindness, magic missile, burning hands (went for spook at first, but i'll need some fire damage sometimes, and I like having several options)
- lvl2: Invisibility, Blur, Web, Resist Fear (I used to take it in my poverty runs, not sure if there is gear that can cover that on a sorcerer?). I hesitate with Knock instead of Resist Fear (most notably to grab the Tomes underneath Candlekeep, I don't remember how many Knock scrolls are available in BG1). Obivously, Mirror Images or Melf's Acid Arrow are also strong contenders.
- lvl3: Slow, Skull Trap, Remove Magic (or Dispel Magic?)
- lvl4: Greater Malison, Spider Spawn (no Stoneskin for now, I don't plan on getting hit anyway)
(Note that there are many scrolls of Polymorph Self, if not, I'd probably have picked it second)
SoD further spells:
- lvl2: depending on what I chose in BG1, probably Mirror Image or MAA. Maybe Glitterdust if I forgo Webs
- lvl3: Flame Arrow, I guess
- lvl4: Stoneskin
- lvl5: I have absolutely no idea... The plan is to beat Belhifet, and I have no clue how to do it (the only way I would be familiar with is polymorph self: Flind form, in which case lvl5 spells won't make a difference).
EDIT: thinking about it, and seeing that I'm so familiar and fond of the Polymorph Self spells, I'll probably go that route and my spellpicks will probably be much different than that. I don't think it is a good idea to mix a bit of both worlds: I think I should either go for the polymorph sorcerer, or forget about it entirely when choosing my spells).
Greenstone amulet, potions of clarity and emotion will all help you resist fear - as will low saving throws.
Noted about fear resistance, I’ll probably take the lvl2 spell then I think.
You might also want to experiment with Otiluke's in your installation, to see if using that would help (I can't remember what mods you have installed, if any, but behavior of this spell seems to vary quite a bit depending on those).
About the flind form: I'll probably "cheese" it right before the final fight so that I have infinite access to Flind form (using the bug of shapeshifting at the same time that the spell duration ends).
Afterwards, potions, scrolls, etc. for the final fight. I'll also stock up on Fireshield:Blue scrolls (Belegarm sells 6, more than enough to last the whole battle) to help taking care of Big B.
About the energy ring: can I use it on Belhifet while he's invisible ? IIRC, Belhifet casts Improved Invisilibity at some point randomly in the first few rounds of battle, from then on, I probably won't be able to target him with wands/ring of energy (but it would still help against his goons I guess).
I'm still in the beginning of BG1, but I've farmed Basilisks & Ankhegs to reach lvl cap early. For now, nothing resists a few webs + spider spawns.
About my 3rd lvl4 spell in SoD, i'll probably take Stoneskin even though I plan to rely on polymorphs. There are after all a lot of Polymorph Self scrolls (20 in Sorcerous Sundries, 6 sold by Belegarm, and probably a few others here and there).
One will probably be used in BG1 to get permanent Mustard Jelly form from BG city until end of BG1, another one before Sarevok for Flind Form, which still leaves more than 20 to be used during the SoD campaign, and there are not that many mandatory fights in SoD anyway (I'll probably rely on "regular" spells for the Coalition Camp anyway).
Ring of energy can't target a totally invisible creature. However, unlike your own spells it can target something that's visible but still under the effects of improved invisibility.
IIRC, dragons have the lowest AC (their scales are tough) out of all BG enemies, and they generally have -11 or -12 (not sure if it is before or after their respective DEX bonus).
"Normal" enemies rarely have AC below -5, and even then, you will still hit most of the time even if they have -8 to -10 AC.
for example, against a dragon with -12 AC, even without buffs, you'd still hit on a 7 or more roll (70% of the time), which is pretty solid.
Against 90% of the other enemies, you're good to go
EDIT : quick check of the wiki of some late game enemies from ToB (I don't know about Ascension though, but I don't think they change the stats, only the behaviour)
- Demogorgon has -12 AC (again, not sure if it the DEX bonus was taken into account or not)
- Abazigal (both forms) has -12 AC
- Amelyssan has -8 AC
- Devas/Planetars have -7 AC
True indeed, but that only concerns about 10 enemies in the whole game anyway, and as @velehal said, for those fights, you buff anyway.
@velehal : also, luck, bless, chants will help your attack rolls.
According to Lilura's walkthrough:
"Choice spells chosen by default (Shaman): Armor of Faith, Bless, Doom, Spirit Ward, Barkskin, Writhing Fog, Call Lightning, Spiritual Clarity, Summon Insects, Spirit Fire."
There's a few missing though? She starts at 89k experience, so level 7 Shaman, which means 5/3/2 known spells of spell levels 1/2/3 respectively. Eh, I'll just pick something then. Thanks for the list!
EDIT: There are more videos, done in different places and different languages. I'm blown away!
EDIT: The YouTube description is in French, so maybe it was in French?
Do you know how ? I guess you were hit by a Polymorph Other spell, which should be removed by a successful dispel magic (emphasis on "successful").
Try casting a Dispel Magic by your highest level character to improve your chances of dispelling (single-class druids or bards in BG1 have the best dispels).
Or shoot a dispelling arrow at your character. Although, be careful, your HP might have been reduced to 1 by the spell (I've never been subject to this effect but it generally works like that on enemies when I cast it upon them).
Where are you in the game ? If you are in BG2 (or have an Inquisitor in your party anyway), use their innate Dispel Magic ability (the dispel ability is cast at twice the Inquisitor's level). I think Yeslick's innate dispel ability in BG1 also works better than his "normal" dispel from the cleric spellbook, but i'm not sure about that.
In BG2, Carsomyr and the Staff of the Magi have a on-hit high level dispel effect (caster level 30). Same problem about the damage that could kill you though.
Also, I never quite used it, but you can buy a dispel at any temple. Never used it though, so I don't know if it automatically works or if it is random as the spell (in which case, I don't know the caster level used).
Outside of dispeling, I don't know how you could cure it :
- if it was not from the Polymorph Other spell (which is permanent), it might be a temporary effect (although maybe quite long), try resting for 24 hours maybe ?
- maybe try remove curse ?
EDIT: sorry, forgot your post while writing. You already tried the temples. I am surprised it didn't work.
You can try gulping a Potion of Magic Blocking (dispels any lvl5 and lower spell effect), or use a Protection from Magic scroll on your character (dispels everything too, without the "lvl5" limit).
If those don't work, I guess you just have to recruit Minsc and hope he lets you play with Boo. Some rodent romance is what is missing from this game