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Do your parties get maximum benefits from POMT after Chateau Irenicus or observe "rational" limits??

Eadwyn_G8keeperEadwyn_G8keeper Member Posts: 541
in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
I usually have a Master Plan of action for maximum returns after chugging several Potions of Master Thievery ~ but aim to avoid triggering a visit from Valen/Brus ~ including targets in Waukeens Promenade, Slums District and Mae'vars Guildhall.

This means I do not start off with enough cash to buy premium items from Dierdre/Joluv until somewhat later. So I guess I do set myself some limits but I am interested in cutting back to a more restrained Crime Spree.

The easy availability of multiple, stackable POMT in early game really seems to steer game-play balance in favor of an early Crime Wave but I do try to limit theft [w/Good parties] from Gaelan Boyle's house somewhat [mostly the recharged wands!]

Comments

  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    I play good charnames, so crime sprees are out of the question.
  • karnor00karnor00 Member Posts: 680
    I generally avoid stealing from shops because it makes earning money meaningless - and I quite like having to earn my money.

    The only stuff I steal is the pickpocketable stuff - so Ribald’s ring of regeneration is a premium target!
  • BorekBorek Member Posts: 513
    I tend to vary with alignment, but most of the time i'll steal stuff, with SCS it's challenging enough even with unlimited gold.
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    For me it's one of those self-imposed limits. I clean out Mae'var (because after all you're being employed by a thief to find 'dirt' on another thief) and I make a beeline for the ring of regeneration (why else did they give you a pomt in Irenicus' dungeon?). Apart from that I just use them as needed for lock-picking and trap disarming.
  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 5,975
    when it comes to stealing from stores this is what i steal:

    gem begs ( lol, ain't going to buy those )

    spell scrolls ( the 2 best scroll carriers in the game are 100% stealable - and also the women you sells the limit wish spell in the adventurers mark-, so yoink a doink ima gonna get me some spells )

    +3/+4 ammunition from holmes in the "north forest?" area outside of saradush, sorry buds, already ripping you off hard by making you buy EVERY single item i sell in ToB, might as well steal that ammo which i sell back to you first so you have more stacks? nice

    roger the fence and his potions, thanks for telling me where the gong is, but now its time for some potion pickin for freez ( if i take potions from him and if not....)

    the drow merchants in ust'natha like hell im going to give gold to merchants that i will literally have 0% chance of buying/selling from again after the matron hits the dust, so gimme sentinel, firetooth, amulet of 10% MR and all them sexy potions for free good chums

    oh, and also when you first enter the underdark and there are those 3 dwarf dudes that want to sell you some goodies, i always steal the freedom scroll(s) from him, because sorry chap, not going to spend money to start the vithal quest
  • Eadwyn_G8keeperEadwyn_G8keeper Member Posts: 541
    ThacoBell said:

    I play good charnames, so crime sprees are out of the question.

    Maybe that is why I generally dial up True Neutral for my Charnames. Plus I never use familiars as they do not seem to add enough to the game to make them worth the trouble.

    And besides ~ I know that in just a few day's time I could easily be Godlike-wealthy [if I survive] when I will pay them double value. Basically, because, what else can you spend all your gold on anyhow!!
  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 5,975
    if you have the ability to use a familiar you should always wait until ToB when they get summoned they come with 48 HP which gives your charname a bonus 24 HP, great for thief type classes that have UAI
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    edited September 2018
    usually i give myself 2 rules
    1-i don't stack tieving potions of the same type, but i can stack 1 of each of the 2 types, so if i want to steal my thief have to spend some points in pick pocketing.
    2-i don't sell and steal the same item to the same fence more than 1 time, but i can do it 1 time for each fence.

    so for me no infinite money selling and stealing multiple times a valuable item to roger, but to buy the rov or other expensive items, sell it to a merchant, let's say myra, steal it from her, then do the same with the promenade fence, then with the other 3 ones for me is fine. in the end i have the robe and more gold than at the beginning.

    if i have a proper thief or bard in the party this is my way to rp him, being him joshi, jan or charname, if i use nalia or imoen to deal with traps and locks i avoid pickpocketing as they are not skilled in it or hire a proper thief only for the purpose.
    if i have a pally charname or a lg charname of other class i don't steal as i avoid acts that collide against his alignment. so i also don't kill the imprisoned mage in the underdark to get his loot, as being him evil is not a good enough reason to break the deal i have with him and so on.

    edit: in real life i sometimes sell and steal more than 1 time from the same fence, but only cause my gaming time is limited and after many many runs i don't want to waste it in something that is boring, so i sell and steal 4 times from the same fence to save time and rp that i did it only once for each fence, the result is the same but i can spend my time in a more creative way than running from fence to fence with an hasted party before the potions effect expires.
  • Eadwyn_G8keeperEadwyn_G8keeper Member Posts: 541
    @gorgonzola makes sense. I am also usually "re-imagining" the game somewhat so that there actually is a satisfying payoff for resolving the Hendak quest at Copper Coronet.
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