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Turned the clocks back to BG2 (again) and this happened...

WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
So some of you old timers may recall I have done this a few times since the Interplay days and as I turned 71 in Oct I decided I was up for another run after putting it aside for a few years of Pillars - I tossed some ideas around in my head and eventually decided to make it a BG2EE run - I made a start in BGEE first but I wanted to add some mods and discovered I was not much more tech savvy then ever and it seem my current computer and Windows 10 are a bit contrary about mods. I was unable to find an address for my "game files" and finally gave up after making enough errors to warrant a re-install of BG1. :p

Then I thought well hell I'll just play BG2EE without mods but then once I got my first party through Chez Irenicus I wanted to make some changes and I thought well I could just add Dungeon be gone and replay - I mean that one has to work doesn't it? Well short story is NO it doesn't same old nonsense (Failed install - not game files)...

Gave up - I now have the second party in Amn and we are about ready to rock & roll. Which is what I really came to talk about in the first place - don't laugh - you may be this old someday too! B)

So here they are Jedidia and the Old School Gang

Jedidia - Male CN - Half-orc - Fighter/Thief 8/9 - 19-18-19-11-9-10 - Long sword++ Scimitar++ TWF ++

Pauline Bloodletter - Female CN - Dwarf - Barbarian 8 - 18/99-17-19-14-9-6 - Halbred++ Katana++ Mace++

Galuu- Male TN - Half Orc - Shaman 8- 19-18-19-13-14-8 Axe+ Staff+ Short Bow+ Sling+

Elena Gruntbustle - Female CN - Gnome - Cleric/Illusionist 7/7 12-16-16-19-17-8 -Staff+ Sling+

Jaheira is currently with us and we sent Minsc packing from the cellars - I am thinking about keeping Jahs until the Harper quest but not certain about that. Other options I'm considering would be Dorn, Korgan, Edwin, Viccy, and I'm thinking Imoen will jump on our bandwagon when she comes back also.

I'm not very adept at playing evil - definitely not "stupid evil" - we will probably offset dirty deeds with not so dirty and occasional bribes at the temples to keep the wanted posters down. Playing on Core rules shooting for NO RELOADS - let the adventures begin!

Comments and suggestions always appreciated! :)

Comments

  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    Oh I forgot to mention that in the process of getting through Chez Irenicus we picked up 4 copies of Varscona +2 and 2 Helms of Balduran from their usual spots instead of one each- now I wonder how that happened... :o
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    You are 71 and a bg player...wow. Much respect.
    Wanderon wrote: »
    Oh I forgot to mention that in the process of getting through Chez Irenicus we picked up 4 copies of Varscona +2 and 2 Helms of Balduran from their usual spots instead of one each- now I wonder how that happened... :o

    That's definitely a bug. You may just leave the extra items on the ground for game balance. Or just play with it, it is your game.

    As for party, I would advise a full time arcane spell caster, Nalia, Imoen, Edwin or Neera. Neera is cool if you can stand the surges, she definitely has the most colorful and interesting long quests.
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    I've never played Neera for very long for one reason or another perhaps this will be a good chance for her - if nothing else I could use her as a replacement for Imoen until she returns and then we can use the other open slot to do some other characters personal quests to build up experience in Chapt 2 and eventually keep whoever is going to be best for the party.

    Probably going to sell the extra Varsconas but am tempted to keep the extra helm -at least until we find another good one for her. :D

    I am guessing the bug is related to my trying to install Dungeon Be Gone unsuccessfully but I wonder why none of the other stuff got doubled?

  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    i once had problems in installing an old pre weidu mod on my pre EE bg2, it was named difficult brown dragon if i am not wrong, and i had to re install it like 6 times.
    when i went to the point when the dragon was supposed to spawn i had 6 of them at once, a very interesting battle, lot of fun, and by the way lot of loot.
    i suppose that something similar happened to you with the items in the starting dungeon.
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    re:gorgonzola

    This was latest version of both the mod and the EE (I think) - I think the issue is me not being able to track down exactly where the saves get saved to thanks to Windows 10 somewhat proprietary design (and exacerbated by my 71 year old minds somewhat chaotic nature that allows me to vividly recall something I did at age 5 but refuses to compute why I walked into a room.) :p

    In other news it appears we either may have been a bit hasty taking on Nalias keep or my gaming skills have suffered somewhat over the last couple years or both. :o

    Actually the Keep was easy enough we cleared out everything without much effort until we came to the Umber Hulk room where my original stumbling start led to a reload - so we retreated and called in the dogs :D which succeeded where we did not but was followed up by another reload facing Torgal and his two partners - two actually - we seem unable to stay healthy long enough to put any of them away before dying altho this may relate to the fact that I am a fan of keeping the buffing tedium to a minimum (and I really dislike the whole buff/unbuff nature of some of the contests in the games.)

    I was however operating without the Flail of the Ages which I have now constructed and perhaps I will reassess our battle plans before another attempt. :smiley:
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    @Wanderon at least once in the life try the improved tor gal component of the tactics mod, then you will love the fact that you can buff the party :)

    for the vanilla fight against the hulks next time be aware that they can not stand the cloudkill, you should have a wand for it from the starting dungeon, and a wise player always saves the wands to sell them to a fence and steal back them at full charge, they make the first part of the game much easier ;)

    open the door, fire the wand, close the door and the work is done...
    then go to kill the poor dogs, but only for the xp as you get it even if you put the stew in the right place even if the hulks are already dead.

  • ithildurnewithildurnew Member Posts: 277
    edited November 2019
    gorgonzola wrote: »

    open the door, fire the wand, close the door and the work is done...
    then go to kill the poor dogs, but only for the xp as you get it even if you put the stew in the right place even if the hulks are already dead.

    Holy Limburger... even for gongonzola that's some stanky cheese to the max (to do the dog stew after hulks are dead). :D Same results either way, but at least let the poor guy get the xp in a way that he can pretend he's doing what makes sense ingame/storywise... unless the point is to intentionally highlight how silly this game can be at times.

    True definition of CRPG=Computer Reward Pilfering Game :'(
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    @gorgonzola

    LMAO - yes I was aware of the dog cheese (Thanks to Montresor) - what was even funnier is for some reason I thought the U-hulks were only distracted for a period of time and might return to the room if we dawdled there prebuffing too long! :)

    We did in fact save those wands but they were still sitting on a table near the exit spot from Irenicus dungeon where we left them to be used later when we "really needed them" but I almost never used the sell/steal back option unless I had a character that fit that sort of actions and then he/she was required to accept whatever consequences those actions brought about up to an including end of game :lol:

    Re: Tactics and other mods - I have never been too interested in mods (perhaps that explains why I can't even get them installed properly :p ) - I played the original game for the better part of a decade before adding any mods and even when I did it was 90% NPC mods and hardly any mods that changed the game rules or difficulty. If I wanted to add to the difficulty I did so by changing the way I played adding my own restrictions to party, character creation, cheese, etc and my own "house rules" of what could or could not be done within the framework of the original game.

    That said I do understand that BG2EE is the biggest mod ever and I am very thankful it is here allowing me to play my all time favorite again with todays tech. :)
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    (General Spoilers re: some Chapt 2 battles may be found ahead)

    OK so we spanked Torgal after kiting him alone into the U-Hulks room and then we were a bit surprised to find the two giant trolls still hanging out (as the game narrator had kind of told us it was unlikely any remained after Torgals death ) They didn't prove to be much trouble so we agreed to take the keep and headed into the city thinking the Harpers should show up any time now.

    We had a couple battles in town interrupted by the Cowled wizards for using magic and also ran into Del and a couple other vampires who attacked us (since we turned Bhodi down) and while the party traveled to the Temple in the Slums following the Vampire joust - Reviane & Co. showed up but only Reviene was in view of the party (halfway up the stairs to the Temple) the party survived - Reviene died but when we arrived at the temple our Shaman had disappeared as well (apparently chunked in the battle.)

    We healed the rest of the group and then realized our reputation was in the crapper after a couple tourists ended up dead during our Vampire fight - oops :#

    So I eventually found the right list of Temple bribes required to bring us back to the center then we snuck off to the Govt district - bought our spellcasting license and saved Viconia and went back to face the rest of the Harpers. They did not survive the encounter and soon after the party elected to ask Jahs to leave which she did muttering under her breath as she walked off into the sunrise. - I suspect she will not return. ;)

    Onward we went in the CC again and hired Korgan and after some shopping headed into the Graveyard where we have cleared out some spider nests and expect to head back shortly to finish Korgans quest.

    I came close to throwing in the towel after losing our shaman but he was not proving to be all that effective and other than the fact that the Barbarian needs some more protection - the spell slingers are coming along relatively well (considering their classes) - the leader is strong and talented but I am not unaware that using the PC as a scout can be a dangerous game when looking for minimal reloads.

    I will sleep on it tonight and decide in the am if I want to put this game down to practice and refresher course and put a new one together. (I do so like character creation and figuring out interesting teams to play. :)
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    edited November 2019
    @ithildurnew you are right my friend.
    my main purpose was to point out that the battles can be very difficult or quite easy depending on the tactics used against the specific kind of enemies that we are fighting.
    the hulks can be very nasty with their ability that confuses party members and their mlee power for a low level party, but with the right tactics can be very easy. right tactics that can be cheasy like open a door, fire an aoe spell that kill them, as they have a strong weakness to it, and close the door or can be more fair (and fun to play), like having some toon immune, trough the talking sword, a spell or other, that sucks thier confusion ability and a proper fighting tactic.
    the double xp reward, from killing them and from using the stew was a little cherry on top, a completely optional one.

    @Wanderon when i was talking of tactics mod i was somehow joking. there in the dungeon spirit trolls replace the vanilla ones, and tor gal helpers are not only 2 giant trolls, are many more and much more powerful ones. also with that mod once you open a door you can not close it. the boss himself is impressive, as has a very high regeneration rate, in one of my runs my party did not had enough damaging power to overcome it even after killing all the helpers and focusing only at him, and uses a (lootable) weapon that has very nasty effects.
    it was a joke from me, but the sense of the joke is that probably most of the vanilla only players use the 5-15% potential of their parties, and trying it at least once in the life gives you a different perspective on your approach to the game. does not matter if you succeed with it or you give up. because it is possible to beat that mod, even soloing, i have done it as well as many other players. and i try to do it with the less cheating tactics i can find and with my own tactics. playing it force you to use every strength and resource of your particular party.

    now you are thinking to start again with a more powerful and more optimized party. please don't do it. your actual one has plenty of strength and is perfectly capable to beat the game, instead of changing it to something even more powerful focus on learning the game mechanics and becoming a better player.
    you don't need an atomic bomb to kill a lion, you need to know where to shot and how to aim at that point.
    and learning this is what imho makes the game fun to play, if you see it as a challenge and not only appreciate the RP aspect of it. ;)

    keep on playing, keep on reporting your progress in the game!
    i greatly appreciate it.
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    @ gorgonzola
    :D LMAO - I guess maybe you missed the part about my age in the first post - When you reach your 70's and you are playing a game you started playing in the 90's it's a bit past the time you are focused on how to become a better player - you generally focus on things more important than that - like remembering what key highlights containers - or where the hell you can change the AI settings - :D:D:D

    Once upon a time I was indeed all about building a powerful character (my first tune to finish BG & BG2 was a ranger cleric ;) ) but even then I was miles away from the true power gamers - it has ALWAYs been about fun for me - early on I dabbled in some cheese - (every party managed to get the charisma cloak from Beregost) - but as I continued playing I found myself playing parties with gimped stats and "house rules" that eliminated some of the "short cuts". I started a gazillion games and played a half a zillion "No Reload" games (many of which ended before Beregost) -

    In IWD2 I put together a No R&R game (No reload or raise dead) and I took characters from a year or twos gaming and if you lost a character there were a half dozen locations you could go to and randomly choose a replacement that was relatively close to your teams level- (But you could not see what class they were until after you chose 1) which led to some crazy party combinations. Lose a thief - draw a cleric - lose a mage draw a ranger.

    So now I am sort of looking to do what will likely be my last runs at the BG game - I want to do it with either zero or at least minimal reloads (in spite of my dwindling skills) and I am a long time king of the restart so I expect I will be busy at this for a while - and there may be quite a few parties put together before "the ONE" surfaces. (it's currently my winter project. ;) )

    Speaking of which - I did put a couple more crews together - one of which has made it to the CC :)
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    @Wanderon
    hey hey, with all the respect your age deserves i have to tell you that i am younger, but not so much younger, let's say roughly a decade less :)

    and sadly as we are not elves we feel every year we spent in this life, i know it, but i bet that if we put some effort in it we can still kick some younger butts with surprisingly good results...

  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    @gorgonzola

    Not looking for respect (but it's always nice to see or hear) nor competition really I enjoy my games and it's fun to chronicle them to some degree in a forum where someone might even be interested ( not found much today like it was in early days) There is still a place called Wanderons Warrens floating about in the internet ether with some stories I wrote in the old days when these games were new for me - you can visit here:

    https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/wanderonswarrens/


    At the time the game chronicles were as much fun to write as the games were to play - perhaps that's what I need today - a new BG2 adventure accompanied by a full RP chronicle from the perspective of one or more of the party members. I will kick that around today and see if I can't come up with something - Thanks for the input and interest :)
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    it sounds really interesting, i am now looking at Wanderons Warren and i bet that in the future i will pass some hours reading there.
    i wish you all the best in your new adventure with this fantastic game my (new) friend!
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    Here's a little taste of what's to come - I'll be opening it in it's own discussion tomorrow :smiley:

    Chronicles of Ranger/Cleric Silver Eagle of Candlekeep

    Chapter One – Abduction!
    As I recall we were quaffing ale and telling lies at the Friendly Arms Inn that evening after a fine hunt in the afternoon. Adeline my constant companion these days was claiming to be my guardian and the group was in high spirits as Jahiera, Khalid, Minsc and his Lady Dynaheir (and BOO of course), were celebrating Imoens’ success at the roulette wheel while we were out combing the hills for game to fill the larder there.

    Perhaps we should have held our celebration at the bar where we would be seen by a full house of patrons. As it was we were holed up in one of the back barns finishing the dressing of the game we killed and it was Kahlid that turned suddenly and pointed towards the shadows as he drew his sword. Adeline had an axe in hand and another in flight and Dynahier and Imoen were already casting spells as I sent the bless spell from my fingers my hands dropped and gripped the mace at my feet.

    Then the barn began to turn and tilt on its’ axis and bright flashes of light in all the shades of a sunrise exploded around us. Then we fell – it seemed to last for miles and miles and then there was nothing…

    (And so it begins - the narrative will tell the tale of Silver Eagle and Axeline and their adventures in BG2EE as it was told by Silver Eagles Logbook with asides from a narrator when appropriate. For instance a narrator might explain that at this time Silver is a human ranger dualed to cleric but may switch to multi ranger/cleric (half-elf) as the story begins to follow the gameplay.) (Poetic License you know B) )

  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    Well as it often happens things did not go quite as I planned and it appears I may need a little more time to decide on the the roles for a chronicle play through. I have two groups currently - 1 with Dual-classed Ranger/cleric and Kensai/mage (both dualed at 7) they have just entered Waukeen and got their bearings.

    I immediately started wondering if I should have just gone multi so I started again with a half elf Ranger/cleric accompanied by a (female) Gnome Fighter Illusionist and while this group suffered considerably in Chez Irenicus they have managed to take care of several quests in chapter 2 albeit in a different order than I usually play and with several expensive trips to the Temple for healing.

    The plan for either group is the same - either dual class or Multi R/C and F/M Looking to eventually take Jan, Valygar, & Mazzy as regulars and using the final slot for NPCs personal quests prior to Spellhold and then Imoen to continue. I also have talked myself into taking Yoshimo this time around (never took him before) but I am hoping he will not mind bouncing in and out to accommodate other "short timers".

    On the surface either group seems a bit lacking with the multi group having only two part time Mages and one divine caster (who will level quite slowly as a multi ),as well as a part time thief (probably not an issue) - leaving a front line of R/C Val & Mazzy

    The dual class group shows a little better once they have dual classed and have their original skills back (next level up) they should level fairly rapidly but they will miss out on the warrior HLA s.

    I have always played Mazzy as a archer but I plan to try having her do more melee this game based on the recent Valygar posts I think he will work out fine and I have great confidence in Jan for casting and thief work.

    The party is probably going to play out neutral good but I suspect we will take on Korgan long enough for his banter with Mazzy, and work our way through a series of quests before heading to Spellhold - I'm not much of a fan of coming back and doing them after chap 6 anyway and the more the party is equipped and trained together the better. We probably won't pick up Anomen (I dislike listening to him LOL) .

    The group struggled in Chez Irenicus Jahs was taken out early on and we exited with only 3 survivors I think . Then the ranger did not get access to the "back rooms" at CC and we went out and did some different quests instead of the CC line. The party remained somewhat muddled and we lost a couple more before the group began to firm up.

    Before I make my final decision I am going to play the dual class group a ways and see how they feel (never played a Kensai mage before)
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