Chapter 2 need an idea what to do

yorkdave

So I completed the slavers quest (really tough to escape without losing anybody - I have party of 5 + 1 NPC. If I go to another area, I get attacked upon return and can't win against the mob. What would be the best thing to do next for more xp and/or better weapons. I did not know if I should spend to buff up my party or save for Quayle's fee, so I did not buy much. Thanks for the tip

jmerry

Gaelan's fee isn't that much, and the major quests of chapter 2 can be very lucrative. Two of them even come with lump sum rewards of over 10000 gold. So if there's something that will help you now, go ahead and buy it. Bernard has a good selection and offers the best prices anywhere (after the slaver quest is done), so take a look.

But really, if you're having trouble with random waylay groups, we need to look at battle tactics. How are they beating you? What does your party composition look like, and what spells do you have memorized? Learning to fight more effectively will go a long way.

yorkdave

jmerry wrote: »

Gaelan's fee isn't that much, and the major quests of chapter 2 can be very lucrative. Two of them even come with lump sum rewards of over 10000 gold. So if there's something that will help you now, go ahead and buy it. Bernard has a good selection and offers the best prices anywhere (after the slaver quest is done), so take a look.

But really, if you're having trouble with random waylay groups, we need to look at battle tactics. How are they beating you? What does your party composition look like, and what spells do you have memorized? Learning to fight more effectively will go a long way.

I am mostly getting beat by magic. My party may be caster-heavy but I am slow on the draw at casting. I have fighter, fighter/cleric, priest of Lathander(sp?), mage, and thief. Since I am getting killed early , I am using a lot of heal wound spells. I need to improve my casting and use more offensive/defensive spells

jmerry

Some general tips:
- Preventing enemy spellcasters from casting spells (especially mages) helps a lot. Landing damaging hits can disrupt spells, especially non-physical damage. Low-level attack spells are good for this - a mage isn't going to keep their concentration through getting hit by a magic Missile. So are weapons with elemental damage, like fire and acid arrows. Best of all, killing them quickly permanently removes the threat of their spells.
- By the same token, watch for defenses. If that mage put up a Shield spell, your magic missile isn't going to help. If it was a Minor Globe of Invulnerability, none of your low-level spells are getting through. If it was Protection from Normal Missiles, don't waste nonmagical ammunition on them. If it was Mirror Image, single hits aren't going to cut it; they'll probably just take out an image. All of these defenses have ways to counter them. The mage spell Breach takes down lots of defenses. So does Dispel Magic, but you need a level advantage to use it reliably. Spells like Spell Thrust and Secret Word take down spell defenses like Minor Globe of Invulnerability and Spell Turning. Divinations like True Sight and a thief's Detect Illusion skill work against illusionary defenses like invisibility and mirror images.
- For your own spells, wide-area "save or lose" spells are some of the best options. Horror, Slow, Emotion:Hopelessness, Chaos. The four options I named are party-friendly, too - you don't have to worry too much about targeting, because any of your party members in the area of effect won't be affected. Clerics don't have quite as much variety, but they still have options like Hold Person and Silence 15'.
- Casting some longer-duration buffs in advance can help a lot. If your mage is walking around without Stoneskin active, they're a lot more vulnerable to stray attacks than they really should be. Priestly buffs like Remove Fear, Protection from Evil 10', and Chaotic Commands don't last quite as long, but they still last a while and help a lot with your defenses.
- Casting cure spells in combat is rarely a good idea; you risk getting disrupted. If you need healing right now, drink a potion. Cure spells are for after the battle.

dunbar

You say that you have a "party of 5 + 1 npc" which implies that the 5 are characters that you rolled yourself rather than in-game npcs - what level are they compared to npcs?

You also say that you are "slow on the draw" at casting - are you using the 'pause' function to select spells, targets etc. during combat?

lroumen

I recommend that you use pause on enemy sighted. Furthermore I recommend potions of spells of speed and invisibility to manage the disappearance of your most fragile party members.

Also, spread out your party when you get ambushed since that reduces the number of party members caught in area of effect spells.

yorkdave

Thank you, everyone. I'm getting it now thanks to your tips. I see that 'buying time' is important to getting the upper hand

Selerel

It may go without saying, but the POSITIONING of your characters is huge, and sometimes the difference between an easy fight and an impossible fight is how much you're able to position your characters beforehand.

If you pause when seeing an enemy, my go-to is always send the warriors closer to the enemies (separated from each other as best I can manage) and send the spellcasters futher away. There is always some tension as to when I have them cast their first spells vs. how far away they are from the meleeing.

jmerry

Positioning like that is harder when it comes to the waylay encounters; they surprise you, and are in range to act immediately when the encounter starts. That is, unless you see it coming and travel invisibly. The mage spell Invisibility 10' or the druid spell Pixie Dust are best for this, as they allow you to make the whole party invisible for up to 12 hours with a single casting.

For regular encounters, scouting can help in setting up positions. A thief under stealth can spot the enemy, and even set up a first-strike backstab on a vulnerable target. Do watch out - some enemies later on can see through invisibility, and many spellcasters will be aware enough of your scout's presence to use divinations to reveal them. Being able to retreat quickly is very valuable for a scout or backstabber; they're priority users for boots of speed once you get them.