Gate70/Grond0 multiplayer attempt 184 (1st and final update) Aria (male half-elf bard, Grond0); Demue (male human monk, Gate70)
The random generation provided another pairing with melee and arcane abilities, but one that would be rather more vulnerable early on. An initial visit to Shoal helped beef them up a bit, but Aria decided not to take the easy XP on offer at the basilisk area. Instead, a trip through the Cloud Peaks saw plenty of running around, with the odd bit of melee. Demue's first attempt at using a stunning blow didn't occur until taking on Zal - but proved a success.
Aria picked up grease from one of the encounters and decided to make that his go to spell for a change. Grease is actually a pretty vicious spell, though generally not rated highly by players. The reason for that is that it's generally less useful than sleep and web in BG1. However, grease does have advantages compared to both of the others:
- unlike sleep it can affect higher level enemies and fewer creatures are immune to it.
- unlike web it doesn't allow a saving throw to remove the effect once it is present and continues to affect enemies even after they have moved out of the area of effect.
A number of encounters saw successful use - such as against the belt ogre.
Grease slows enemies down so much, it's fairly easy to run round the area of effect to get them to change direction and ensure they never escape during what is quite a long duration.
One problem with the spell though is that there is no text indication saying that enemies (or even non-hostiles) have been affected. If the spell has been cast from out of sight you can get an indication of whether it has taken effect by whether or not a saving throw is shown for an enemy. Unfortunately the game does not always display successful saves and, against Meilum, that led to moving into his sight only to find he was still mobile. Reluctant to give up on the idea of using the grease tactic, Aria and Demue tried to run round the edges of the grease to persuade Meilum to take a short-cut straight through it. He did so several times, but saved on each occasion (the spell has a +2 modifier so tougher enemies are not that easy to affect) - and eventually Aria cut things a bit too fine and found himself slipping and sliding at the edge of the grease field. Demue was unable to distract Meilum away and a couple of swings of his sword later Aria's head was getting a close encounter of its own with the grease ...
Clearly that is a battle that should never have been fought. The benefits of winning are far outweighed by the disadvantages caused by losing. If he had been in a party, another party member could have cast web or similar to stop him attacking an innocent. Still, she has survived which is something to be pleased about, and she is not fallen.
Journal of Faith the Fair
I donated enough gold to bring my reputation up to 14 and then rescued Aaron from the gnolls bringing my reputation up to 15.
I then returned to his fiancee before saving Drienne's cat to bring my reputation up to 16.
The change in my reputation made it possible to recharge the necklace of missiles which only had one charge left.
I then headed to the temple area to the east of beregost which I cleared of wolves of various kinds before healing someone who had been petrified. As a reward she gave me a potion of protection of mirrored eyes.
I then headed further east where with the aid of the necklace of missiles and my trusty bow, I wiped out a party of adventurers who were decidedly hostile.
I then used a scroll to protect me from the basilisks and medusae and went hunting them until there were none left.
Apparently Mutamin had been using them for his own purposes and I was forced to kill him too.
By releasing someone else from petrification my reputation went up again and I am a hero once more.
By then I had levelled up once more. I thern returned to Beregost for what I thought was very well earned rest and recuperation.
@Wise_Grimwald: Ah, the medusas... I haven't seen those in a while. It's good to see a broader variety of mods being used in the challenge.
I tried and failed to get a Cleric of Lathander(3)->Mage working in a solo LoB "speedrun," but found it too hard on my fingers to keep everything moving at maximum speed. My fingers are imprecise during fast movements, and forcing them to work at top speed makes them hurt. I have a bad habit of refusing to quit when I'm presented with a challenge, but the reality is, a solo LoB run at 60 FPS is just too hard on my hands to be worth it, and I managed to let it go despite my desire to press on.
Instead, I started up a solo Shapeshifter run with SCS v32, and I'm currently at Brynnlaw since I've had a lot of time lately (I haven't been able to get any work done at home due to unrelated technical issues). SCS v32 introduces Icewind Dale spells to BG, and there are three major game-changers for a druid:
Giant Insect: This summons 2-3 beetles, which can be either Boring Beetles or Bombardier Beetles. Boring Beetles are mostly useless, but Bombardier Beetles use a short-range area-effect acid attack that deals 3d4 nonmagical, level 0 acid damage that ignores Mirror Image and has a 20% chance of deafening the target for 7 rounds and a 20% chance of stunning the target for 5 rounds, both with no saving throw. It's still dicey, but if you get multiple Bombardier Beetles crowding around the same target, there's a decent chance that you'll get 5 rounds of free stun on the target, and nothing but immunity to stun will block it. It's great at screwing around with enemy mages, though the beetles are pretty fragile on their own.
Entropy Shield: This works just like the Icewind Dale version, and it also acts as SI: Abjuration for priests, as it grants immunity to Breach and Remove Magic (but not Dispel Magic!) on top of its numerous other bonuses. Druids are no longer helpless to SCS mages with Remove Magic spells; they can maintain their buffs safely. Plus, Entropy Shield grants immunity to the flaming arrow projectile as well as other missile weapon projectiles, which should allow druids to block Fallen Solar and Illasera arrows, finally giving them a chance to survive Ascension Melissan as a solo character in a no-reload without modding the Shield of Reflection to be usable by druids or removing the level cap. It also blocks Imprisonment and Trap the Soul.
Impervious Sanctity of Mind: This spell lasts 8 hours and grants immunity to fear (nice for druids), intoxication (nice for cleric/mages who want to land Wish intoxication), berserk (nice for War Hulks dual-classed to priest, I guess), and, most importantly, it grants the user a Spell Shield effect that will prevent enemy mages from taking down Entropy Shield and the Shield of the Archons with a couple spells.
Not everything in the run has been easy. We almost died to a bug at the Coalition Camp where a troll inexplicably ran straight towards the barrels and triggered the next three enemy waves one after another. However, the shapeshifting component from SCS keeps the Shapeshifter pretty sturdy, and the new v32 spells are going to make ToB far more viable than it otherwise would be.
I don't know when I'll get around to posting on this run, since there are other runs I need to properly document, but it's going to be with screenshots; not recordings. I did record the solo LoB Archer run to get video documentation, but I don't plan on switching from screenshots to videos for my runs.
@semiticgod I have masses of them installed. Some make it easier, some harder, but as it is a challenge for me, I am happy with the set-up as it is.
I have even made my own changes to Candlekeep to make that part a challenge.
Doing the Drizzt Saga certainly makes failure more of a possibility.
I wish that I could have the Secret of Bonehill and DSoSC as well, but they will have to wait until the problems are sorted out.
Journal of Faith the Fair
Upon meeting Xzar and Montaron, who asked me to accompany them to Nashkel, we set off in that direction. I soon realised that they were evil especially when Montaron turned up with a cloak that he had stolen. However, I had given my word to them so we continued onwards.
We were attacked by three members of the Flaming Fist who died as a result of their stupidity.
We were then attacked by Tristan and Isolde who, though they were after my blood, concentrated their attack on Montaron who almost died.
However, upon reaching Nashkel we parted company as it was clear that we would never get on with each other.
Upon returning to Beregost I joined up with two other adventurers who are the type of people that I can get along with. One was Drake, like me a follower of Tyr, but he is a cleric. The other was a gnome artificer. She is a thief, but surprise, surprise, she is lawful Good in alignment. Now that is the kind of thief that I can get along with!
They are both at level 6, so have considerably less experience than I have. I have roughly four times their experience, so I will cleaarly have to help them as we travel.
On the way northward we called in at the ankheg nest. This improved our experience but also proved to be dangerous.
Further North Tenya has also joined at Level 7.
EDIT
We then headed for the Nashkel Mines which did not turn out to be as difficult as expected. The Duerger were badly hurt with Holy Smite and Wand of Missiles after which they were easy prey.
When we tried to sleep we were inundated with kobolds.
The kobolds even when backed up by shamans were similarly dealt with andfinally Mulahey was silenced which made him very vulnerable even before he was held.
The Amazons outside were also badly hurt and just about wiped out using Holy Smite.
We had picked up Xan in the mines. He was at that point a generalist mage due to a mod, but a kit tome changed him to being an Enchanter.
After buying him a few scrolls our wealth amounted to 26 gold pieces. We need to find remuneration quickly!!
Our next random rolls saw a couple of thieves marked out, and as is often the case we elected for shorty saving throws. Holly decided to max her lockpicking to start while Umbra became one with the shadows.
After the usual trip to release Shoal the nereid from the tedium of life we played with gnolls until our hearts were content and the gnolls were no more.
After that we tried backstabbing a pair of ogrillions before resorting to kiting them around a while.
Unshey's ogre wished it had a girdle of poison resistance.
Tarnesh was in good form, although ultimately two against one sealed his demise.
Melicamp was helped.
Other than that we sorted out Albert and his dog, Drienne's cat, the dryad of the Cloud Peaks, Jared and the Bear, Joia's Flamedance ring, Mirianne's husband, Perdue's short sword, Prism's sculpture and Greywolf, Samuel and Lena, Captain Brage, Zhurlong's boots, an unidentified tome of leadership, Zal+Vax and some winter wolf pelts.
We've got a scroll ready for basilisks but anything could be next as we'll likely not remember any wise plans. Currently level 5 so backstabs might become more significant - we've been experimenting with Umbra making attacks, Holly collecting up the enemies and using her hide in plain sight so a freshly-hidden Umbra can come in for another unopposed backstab.
Has anyone done a no-reload run where you play yourself through the series? Estimate what your stats would be, then see what classes you would qualify for, and only then choose a race and class.
You would have to estimate your stats, though some would be easier than others. I think there are a couple of ways of going about it, though. You could simply guesstimate, and choose numbers that feel right to you, though this would be the least accurate. The second way would be to map the 3d6 roll percentile onto your own statistic relative to the population. So an 18 would be less than .5% chance on the roll, so if you're in the .5 percentile of a stat, you could give yourself an 18. A 10.5 would be average, so if you're completely average at something, you would have a 10 or 11.
The final result of your stats would likely be a mix of the two approaches, unless you can come up with a way of quantifying wisdom or charisma.
Using myself as an example, my strength would probably be around average, I'm tall but skinny and I don't work out or anything. Over the whole population, male and female, I'm going to guess and say 12.
Dexterity is a tough one, I am very fast and good at catching things that fall, and I have quick reflexes, but my vision isn't perfect for aiming and such. So I'm going to say above average but nothing amazing, maybe a 14.
Would anyone be interested in this run if I were to continue? Or would anyone else like to do one as well?
It is amazing how quickly your fortunes can change here on the Sword Coast. A few days ago I only had 26 gold pieces, but now over 7,500. I received a welcome reward in Nashkel and then killed Nimbul.
North of Beregost I killed the assassins led by Malious.
In Beregost itself I was given a decent shield by Bjornin and my reputation was raised to 19. I sold some ankheg shells and then some bandit scalps. Elmister then gave me some hints concerning the bandits.
Suddenly all seems right with the world, however, I am well aware how quickly things can turn pear shaped. Who can avoid knowing that with somebody like Xan in the party?
Upon reaching the bandit camp we were attacked by Tazok whom we surrounded and were beating into pulp. he wanted out of the fight and said as much, but having him surrounded, we determined to kill him. Then he suddenly disappeared. No experience for killing him.
Just out of Chateau, we've taken a good two days of rest at the Seven Dales Inn and pickpocketed all the valuables to be found in the Promenade. This includes two level eight spells (Prot. from something and Symbol of Weakness), courtesy of the Amnish guard inside the Adventurer's Mart and Lady Ophal. We also got some lower-level spells but I forgot which ones.
Here's our record screen; the -1 to DEX and -2 to CON are from the Mail of the Dead and the Claw. Currently stationed right outside of the Circus Tent, ready to get in and recruit Aerie, the first permanent member that'll join our party (I've already decided on which companions I'll be taking, and planned how I should play things out till I've gotten the strong party I want).
@DregothofTyr I once tried a no reload run where I played a character with accurate stats to my own (17 Int and midrange other stats), with roleplaying restrictions like a distaste for looting bodies and a ban on pre-buffing if I didn't scout out an enemy first.
Also, I've gotten bored of my Shapeshifter run and tried my hand at another solo unkitted fighter run, but died several times because I wasn't willing to use Algernon's Cloak and Dushai's ring to safely collect some early game resources I needed to handle SCS critters like Mutamin, who can easily stomp all over Korax in v32. I switched to a Chaotic Neutral character so I wouldn't feel bad about killing Algernon and Dushai. Since I still wasn't willing to use the cloak quite as aggressively as I would in LoB mode, it took some work to develop a safe route that wouldn't get me wasted by an ogre mage ambush or another wild card. So far I've only used charm abuse to kill Silke and Denak without burning anti-mage resources I wanted to save for later; I didn't want to rely on the cloak to win every fight.
With a few levels for a higher HP pool, scrolls of Protection from Fire and Electricity and Undead, Potions of Fire Resistance and Insulation, an Oil of Speed, a Potion of Clarity, the Ring of Free Action, and a fully charged Ring of Energy, you can safely get Kiel's Helmet and Durlag's Goblet just by tanking traps and zapping Love and the doppelgangers with Ring of Energy charges. It's expensive and can get dangerous if you don't stay out of Pride's melee range, but it's a reliable way of getting Durlag's Goblet early in the game, which makes melee combat far more viable for solo characters.
Other findings: two Arrows of Detonation and two Necklace of Missiles charges are enough to cripple the Iron Throne party, which is otherwise horribly dangerous for a solo character. I charmed Halbazzer Drin for a free Invisibility spell to sneak past Zhalimar Cloudewulfe, which gave me some extra time by striking from the southern room instead of the stairway.
If you use a Protection from Magic scroll before a Ring of Invisibility charge, you can sneak down to Davaeorn and zap him in seconds with the Ring of Energy right through his buffs, and you'll still have enough time to head back up to the surface and zap Kysus and Rezdan, allowing you to tackle the Drasus party with worrying about those awful Remove Magic and disabling spells getting past the easily dispellable Greenstone Amulet. It's actually safer to kill Davaeorn before Drasus if you don't plan on using the charmed guard trick on Davy.
After some unpleasant false starts, I'm enjoying the new run and learning some new things. Single-classed warriors are lousy solo characters, but we're going to be okay now that we have Durlag's Goblet and some other high-impact goodies.
Aerie was recruited, and our reward for the trouble was the cursed leather armour of Missile Attraction, thanks item randomiser, I don't mean it this time. We did cash it in for 750gp tho. We also pickpocketed the Legionary that came to wake us up for a potion of Magic Resistance among others. I'm not gonna exploit this purposefully, because it'd make potions rain on us, but if I happen to need to sleep and are on the surface in Athkatla I don't see why not at least once or twice. We recruited Anomen and cleared the Copper Coronet (and its people of their belongings).
We then travel to the Govt. District, pick up Jan and dismiss Yoshimo, pickpocket everyone, and then head off to the Docks district, pickpocket all the Thieves I run into (I ended up with 25 Invisibility Potions on Jan, 4 on Yvralline) and start the Mae'Var quest-line. We also have about 10 Oils of Speed and a silly amount of Extra-Healing potions. We got ambushed by Suna-Seni and her group of Slavers on our way to the Temple District, but we all went invisible (potion count down to 23), moved out of the enemy's sight, buffed a bit and entered the fray. Took me a while to get the Mage down because the only spell we have to remove protections is Spell Thrust, which is *great*, don't get me wrong, but we had to chew through two whole Stoneskins which took a while because our warriors were focused on the other enemies.
Other than Jan falling down to 2 HP because I didn't know the enemy Mage would cast Cone of Cold, and the fact that she got it off right before she was hit by a barrage of direct damage spells also caught me off-guard. Luckily all was good, and since Jan looted a short sword +2 from one room at Mae'Var's, I think I'll leave the Hold immunity sword on Yvralline as a precaution. I've had not a single issue so far, and I don't want that to change. We also picked up one potion of Invisibility which put us at 24.
I had planned out to pick up Jan first, and do the Copper Coronet quests with him so that he would get the experience, since he joins with very little experience compared to other characters (Aerie had about four times the XP when she joined, even more than Yvralline), but I forgot and waited till after doing these quests. Anyway, there's enough XP in the game for him, it's just that was risk free XP, which doesn't come around so often. Next on our pickup list is Cernd, but it'll be a while before our party formation changes in any way. I think.
Has anyone done a no-reload run where you play yourself through the series? Estimate what your stats would be, then see what classes you would qualify for, and only then choose a race and class.
I think there was an attempt on old Bioware forums. I never considered it, I guess I'd be something like this:
STR 12 (athletic build, but not too much)
DEX 13 (bit clumsy, but relatively agile)
CON 12 (176 cm, 74 kg)
INT 14 (good at math, suck at chemistry)
WIS 11 (I'm 36, so haven't yet aquired mind-blowing wisdom about life. And I'm rather superficial.)
CHA 15 (good looking, but people don't usually like me too much since I tend to behave like an idiot, would be 11 but I'm married which makes people think better of me for some reason (+2). Having a kid is another +1. And I'm shaving my head to look totally badass coupled with a 3-day beard so that's yet another +1)
Benedict, Human Conjurer, BG2EE SoA Update 11
BG1EE updates: 1, 2
SoD updates: 1, 2, 3, 4
BG2EE SoA updates: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
First BG2EE ToB update found here
Alright. We'll only make a slight detour; I want the Quiver of Plenty and above all the Ammunition case (we should've picked it up long ago).
The party departs for Watcher's Keep, and clears the first floor. There's a slight complication when I without thinking swipe the ritual items off the table (this activates several statues) while being more or less unbuffed. Fortunately, it's just a couple of Fighters and Clerics, so we pull through just fine. The rest of the first floor is thoroughly looted, and we depart.
Vampire time. Should be fine, especially given how much help we've recruited. Of course, Jaheira is swiped from us the instant we enter the Graveyard... but, much as I like Jaheira, she's not exactly the lynchpin of our party. We battle our way through the initial vampire spawns using IMoD and Azuredge, and descend into the depths.
I didn't keep an exact count, but I honestly believe there were some 30 vampires down here of varying strength (lots of Elders and Ancients). Still, they've no real defense against IMoD/Azuredge, so even though they get off a few good Con drains, we push through. I thought the Guard was a little cute with his Melf's Acid Arrow... he's probably not very high level.
Top level cleared, we descend further. Standard buffs are applied: CC, NPP via Limited Wish, IH, and we charge in. The enemies are considerate enough to bunch together, making for optimal targets of ADHW.
Even Improved Bodhi can't stand against our quite over-leveled party for long, although that damnable Drizzt steals the killing blow.
And just like that, Imoen is restored. We gather up Jaheira's body and revive her at Amaunator's temple, then head back to the Graveyard to clear it (since we never got around to it before Spellhold).
And that's about it. All that remains is to let Jaheira's romance finish (which it duly does after we rest at Watcher's Keep), culminating in a Harper Pin for her. Good stuff!
We return to Athkatla and buy everything and anything we might possibly make use of at some point.
Even so, we are left with some 90k gold, but it's good to be properly equipped. The Rhynn Lanthorn lights the way, and we enter Suldanessellar.
There is a slight scare as the Improved calls for help leads to us fighting 2x Adamantite Golems, 1x Iron Golem and 4x Stone Golems almost immediately upon entering, but we cut through them like so much wheat.
Rakshasa, regardless of how high up the food chain, disagree strongly with ADHW, allowing us to clear the outside of the temple with ease. Raamilat is simply Breached after having his spell protections stripped; he responds with PfMW, sealing his fate as Mazzy delivers a steady stream of Masterwork Arrows.
Nizidramanii'yt is easier than the other dragons so far: He/she/it is very much melee oriented, and though a fair few Skeleton Warriors succumb (and Minsc, naturally, takes a hefty beating), there's little the dragon can do with its defenses stripped.
Rounding off the city, we engage Suneer. You can just put the items in the altar and let Rillifane handle him, but eh. Mazzy again proves quite lethal (2x Time Stop worth of debuffs left Suneer with virtually no defenses).
We go after Irenicus. We buff profusely, but it was a little overkill: Irenicus does get a Time Stop off, but spends it on a Remove Magic (only catching Anomen), a RRoR (blocked by Imoen's Spell Shield) and something entirely inconsequential I can't even remember. He does get a Wish -> Breach on all enemies off as well, but by then his own defenses are failing.
We awake in Hell. Wraith Sarevok gets to feel the full force of Smite delivered via Shortbow (he does not relish the experience), although we of course did not give in to the rage. Blackrazor +3 is handed over to the Djinni, Benedict takes a Dexterity/HP/Experience hit to save Jaheira, and we blow the bejeezus out of the Beholders during the Fear trial (though the Elder Orb survives and has to be ground down via Skeleton Warriors), naturally also refusing the despicable cloak offered. Finally we spare the dragon during the Pride trial.
OK, final battle. Just this once, I'll break my typical restriction and allow for double SI, going with Abjuration and Divination. Imoen and Benedict will also have Spell Turning/Spell Deflection, Spell Shield, the entire party will be immune to every type of elemental/magical damage, have Death Ward/CC/PfE10' etc. Takes a few spell slots, but worth it (at least Benedict and Imoen are now virtually unkillable).
We pop the Eyes, and the game is afoot.
The Planetar and our regular host of Skeleton Warriors are keeping Irenicus and two of the demons busy.
A concentrated barrage spells the end of one of the Balors, even as Benedict and Imoen are winding up their first Time Stops.
Both Time Stops are dedicated to terminating Irenicus' defenses: Spell protections are stripped with RRoR, and his spell resistance is dropped to zero via Lower Resistance. Meanwhile, even though Minsc has taken a beating (when does he ever not?), the last of the demons have been removed from the board.
We're running out of Skeleton Warriors distracting Irenicus, but they've done their job.
A second round of Time Stop sees Irenicus Breached and stripped of his very last defenses. Now all we need do is get through his regeneration. And we do! Irenicus loses his Slayer form, and is bereft of all protection.
Moments later, Benedict rips his soul out of Irenicus, leaving the former to breathe his last on the surprisingly warm stone floor of Hell. Victory!
We are lauded as heroes in Suldanessellar, and receive the Amulet of the Seldarine for our efforts.
Once the festivities die down, our stalwart party can be found in their rooms in the palace, contemplating the future. Though bereft of Divination, Benedict often conjures and subsequently converses with minor entities of the hellish as well as the angelical planes, in an effort to predict what is to come (such creatures surprisingly often catch wind of relevant rumors in carrying out their duties). Now, however, these minor entities no longer wish to speak to our benevolent Conjurer, a behaviour previously unheard of. They are frightened.
A cloud hangs over the party as they retire for the night. Something is coming; a storm will soon break. And this storm may even shatter the arcane bastion that is Benedict.
Benedict finishes Shadows of Amn as a L20 Human Conjurer, and will return in Throne of Bhaal to claim his birthright... or perish in the attempt.
Just beat SoD with a Fighter/Mage multiclass kitted as an Arcane Archer from AionZ's Artisan's Kitpack. I've never played a ranged-based Fighter/Mage before, but it's still a Fighter/Mage and still quite flexible. Will post progress in a while.
Basilisks - the ones that live underground. No, these be anghegs.
With the ankheg nest cleared we can safely move on to the basilisks for real.
After that, we have a bit of time to kill
(Mutamin)
From there Kirian and her gang are separated out and treated to backstabs galore.
Meilum survives a few backstabs so we use missiles to finish him off.
At this point we try to reach Durlag's Tower and are quickly reminded that it's a bit too much for us by a battle horror. We could try harder but instead we clear out Nashkel Mine and run into Lamahla shortly after eliminating her three traveling companions. By run into perhaps we mean run through or run right over.
Nimbul doesn't get to try to mirror his images, falling to a backstab as Holli finds Umbra using his staff speed to strike before she can leave the shadows.
Neira sounds a bit like Neera. Same result.
Tranzig gets to feel a couple of backstabs.
We wrap up the session by picking on Sirines, Sil and flesh golems before taking a rest.
Journal of Faith the Fair (I have added screenshots to my two previous posts above)
We were attacked by Brotus Bloodthirsty and his allies. We prevailed however.
Moving through the camp we killed all the bandits who were not cowering inside their tents.
We then headed southwards killing Teven and his cohorts before moving on to Beregost where we also disposed of Tranzig.
We then returned to the bandit camp where we killed all of Tazoks Cohortys who were hiding in his tent. Web proved to be useful in disabling even the more powerful enemies.
Upon leaving the area we were seriously hurt when attacked by two wyvern and when we stopped to rest, even our rest was interrupted by three ankheg.
Eventually we were able to rest when we reached the Friendly Arms Inn, but even there we were attacked by Najara who thought himself a hero.
After resting we took on Vallius too.
Remembering that we still had to pick up our reward from the Mayor of Nashkel, we headed south, picked up our reward and killed Nimbul.
Heading northwards again we encouraged some lady ogres to change their diet and hence rescued David Jansen.
This resulting in me reaching a reputation of 20 once more so we went shopping at High Hedge.
South of there I charmed Bassilus who, with a little help from us killed Zargal and his archer cohorts.
Sadly [ ] he was then held by some ghasts whereupon we killed him and the ghasts. He was hoist by his own petard.
We then headed east to where the sirine live.
The battle there was quite interesting. Xan cast his two web spells to try and disable them, then Tenya and Drake cast Holy Smite repeatedly whilst Xan cast Fireballs. Eventually one of the Sirine cast Charm on Tenya.
I used Algernon's Cloak after which we were able to retreat in safety.
We slept and returned and this time we prevailed.
However, we managed to find a peaceful solution when it came to Sil.
We then cleared the cave with no problems.
We didn't return to the boy's mother for a reward in case we need a reputation boost in the future. Similarly we didn't speak to Charleston Nib after killing the Doomsayer.
We also avoided Brage. All of those might be needed if we ever kill an inocent by accident.
We took the idol to Sir Walorin and Lord Kevian Chandler. They rewarded me with a Tome that turns a Cleric into a Cleric of Helm. I am wondering if it could be used to turn Tenya away from Umberlee.
We took the idol to Sir Walorin and Lord Kevian Chandler. They rewarded me with a Tome that turns a Cleric into a Cleric of Helm. I am wondering if it could be used to turn Tenya away from Umberlee.
Probably work. But looks like being a Waveservant is a big deal for the character, so probably some dialogues will start to make no sense.
I hope I dont get bored this time. I'm running an Arcane Archer from AionZ's Artisan's Kitpack, whose abilities can be found here. Arcane Archer is a Fighter kit or a kit for a multiclassed Fighter/Mage. I wish I could've made it as a Fighter/Thief like my build from my latest NWN no-reload run, or Fighter/Mage/Thief even. I will have to make do with it being a Fighter/Mage instead, even though this is already a powerful combination.
Here he is. Starting spells: Sleep, Blindness.
That was a killer total roll of 102 but with lousy EX Strength, though he won't be relying on it much - it's mainly just for extra carry weight. Candlekeep is done and I pick up the Ring of Wizardry, then challenge the belt ogre by blinding it. I discovered on my last run with the Two Sorcerers just how utterly broken blindness is.
Algernon is killed for his cloak and Silke is charmed with it to kill Landrin's spiders. I planned on killing Silke myself while she was poisoned so that, even if I missed, she would still not retaliate, but I did miss after all.
I buy a Composite Shortbow +1 from Taerom and lure out Thalantyr's flesh golems from his abode for the first Arcane Archer level. The nearby giant spider provides the first Mage level.
Kelddath's sirenes give another Fighter and Mage level.
The wolf pack in the Temple provide more levels after I put the small fries to sleep so I could kite the vampiric wolves.
Melicamp survives Anti-Chickenation, which is usually a good omen for a playthrough.
I buy some buffing scrolls from Thalantyr and scribe them to take on Tarnesh: Shield, Protection from Petrification, and Resist Fear. With those in hand, the only thing he can do to me is a Melf's Acid Arrow, which I now have the HP to tank. Tarnesh tries Magic Missiles to no avail and gets shot down.
Armed with Protection from Petrification, it's time for Basilisk Country. I have Korax scout ahead and paralyze basilisks first before engaging them, even though I have 5 PfP spells memorized. The first lesser basilisk gives AA level 5. The basilisks to the south give Mage level 5. Korax paralyzes Mutamin, which makes him and his pets easy prey.
With the baslisks cleared out, I just have to beat Kirian's party. I rearrange my spellbook with lots of Blindness spells, Stinking Cloud, and Mirror Image. I rest and kill Korax then launch a Stinking Cloud into Kirian's party. Lindin is the first one I see and he failed his save, making him easy pickings. The cleric follows, and then so does Kirian.
Baerin makes it out of the cloud, so I have to track him down. He's the archer of the group, but I counter with Entropic Shield and Blindness, which takes, and nets another easy kill.
I hit up Thalantyr again now that I can cast 3rd level spells and grab Protection from Fire and Minor Spell Deflection. Off to Gullykin I go and enter Firewine through Jenkal's house. I buff with Shield, Resist Fear, Protection from Fire, and Minor Spell Deflection. This should fend off most things. I lure three Ogrillions and the ogre mage into the house after taking potshots at them. The Ogre Mage can't really do anything, so it falls.
I rest and reapply my buffs to tackle Lendarn. He prebuffs with Stoneskin and Ghost Armor so I spend a round pelting him with the extra magic damage on my arrows. The next round he tries Slow, which I thought my Minor Spell Deflection would block, but I apparently make the save against it regardless. I try Blindness against him to disable him, but he counters with Minor Globe the next round. Then he tries Lightning Bolt, which I flee from using the stairs. Soon he falls.
After this, my HP leaves me a little sore, so I go to Nashkel to get Healing Touch. Returning Mr. Colquetle's amulet gives me AA level 6.
Just doing more wilderness quests now. The doomsayer is actually killed by Brage! I had blinded it, causing it to stumble around aimlessly, but it happened to get into Brage's sight range, so he went berserk and killed it for me. Good thing too, because I could only do 2 points of magic damage per hit, though I would've liked that 5000 XP.
It's about time to do the Nashkel Mines. Greywolf is killed for mage level 6. I had to try Blindness a few times for it to work and got hit in the process.
I go up to Ulgoth's Beard and kill Dushai for the Ring of Free Action and buy a Composite Shortbow +2 while I'm there. I forfeit both of my rings of protection to buy the Robe of the Neutral Archmagi from Thalantyr. Back into the Nashkel Mines, I get through it without issue. I try an opener of Blindness against Mulahey, but he saves. Protected by Minor Spell Turning, his Mental Domination is blocked and expends the spell protection. Mulahey's minions begin to gather around, so I use a potion of invisibility and evaluate my plan. The best thing to do is use a scorcher charge from my Wand of Fire, which ends up toasting all of his mooks and heavily damages the priest himself. He is finished off with a point-blank arrow.
Upon returning to Nashkel, Nimbul is dealt with by blinding him. From his corpse, I use the scroll of Find Familiar. I haven't used this component of More Style For Mages even though I've had it for years because I don't think an inventory slot is worth +6 max HP, but I want a familiar that can at least disarm traps for me. I am pleasantly surprised to discover that not only does the familiar's max HP upgrade (which means yours will too), but that your familiar can specialize as a mage or thief, so I choose thief. The familiar apparently upgrades at 81k XP, so I choose to give it a boost to Open Locks and Disarm Traps. Welcome to the party, Magnus!
Heading up to Beregost, we are accosted by the amazon bounty hunters. Even after I suffer a backstab, they are all killed by kiting them.
I haven't dealt with Shoal yet, so I sacrifice Eldoth to her. I get her down to critical health when I remember that she only gives up if hit by melee attacks. Whoops. Thanks for the mage level, though. The sirene group in the south give the next AA level, putting me evenly at 7/7.
Off to the Seawatcher area. Sirenes are easily killed with the help of Shield+Minor Spell Deflection. They won't try charming me and my AC vs. missiles is rock bottom thanks to the Girdle of Piercing and the Boots of Avoidance.
Onto the bandit camp. We get recruited by Raiken and buff before entering the tent. My first move is to cast Web to paralyze everyone. I take out Venkt first and kill the rest just by shooting them. Nice and clean.
I rest inside the tent and free Ender Sai with Magnus disarming the chest. Upon leaving, I decide I want to kill Taurgosz since he's mostly by himself. I manage to do so within about 3 rounds and the entire camp is now shooting arrows at me.
I retreat north, ready to escape via world transition, but decide to stay and fight for bandit scalps and magical arrows. I release a Web and trap most of the bandits in it. When the next round begins, I use a fireball to soften them up and cull anyone at low health. I do this a few more times and the bandit camp is history. That was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
8th level mage is gained from a sword spider in the Cloakwood. Arrows of Biting are very effective against them.
Traveling to Cloakwood 3 gets me Morvin's ambush. They get very lucky against my Web, saving against it about half the time, but they're still killed.
Drasus and co. are the next major battle. I inch forward until I see him, then cast Web at his location. When he gets tangled in it, I start shooting. Arrows of Biting help deplete his HP and I finish him off. The Boots of Exceptional Kiting are now mine!
Genthore poses absolutely no threat and gets killed by my normal attacks. Rezdan and Kysus put up a good fight. I have 2x Minor Spell Deflection memorized and they tear through both of them. Soon one of them enfeebles me, so I drink a potion of Hill Giant strength to counter it. I back off a bit and heal because they score some lucky MMM hits. Kysus goes down first with the help of Arrows of Biting.
I couldn't tell that Rezdan had PfNM up because his Minor Globe was hiding it, so when it went down I switched to Arrows of Fire +2. I use the single Potion of Clarity I've been saving since Candlekeep to counter his enchantment spells and soon he falls as well.
I waltz through the mines with invisibility. I'm not sure how I'm going to tackle Davaeorn because he's basically under Free Action, so I can't use the Wand of Paralysis, Web, or Stinking Cloud. I use 20 charges worth of Wands of Fear from out of his sight range, but it never works even after turning him hostile. Eventually I just decide to go ham on him, buffing with Potions of Speed and Heroism. I kite his Battle Horrors into the south room where the jelly hangs out and he teleports over there. I double back and pelt his Battle Horrors with charges from the Wand of Frost for major damage.
Dave's reinforcements are now coming, so I shoot them down as they file in, but I have to back off every now and then to heal. When I do, I notice they're all going into the southern room. I haven't seen Dave teleport again, so I'm assuming they're grouping up on him like I noticed last run. The mustard jelly follows me, but I kill it by shooting it from out of its own range.
Dave's buddies have stopped spawning. I wonder how many of them are down there.
It's been long enough that Dave's short-term protections have worn off, so all he has up is Stoneskin. With elemental damage, I peel away his stoneskins and use scorcher charges against him as well. A Wand of Frost would've worked better, but I didn't want to freeze his corpse.
With Dave disposed of, Baldur's Gate is open. I visit the Friendly Arm and cause Kryn Darkflame to spawn in. I had been avoiding his quest on purpose because I didn't want to spawn his strong apprentices yet. Armed with some Arrows of Biting, I start hunting them all down, casting Web on them first before letting the arrows fly.
While I'm in the Ulcaster Ruins, I take on the Wolf of Ulcaster. I know its howls will only work if you're within a certain range of it, so I just kite it and finish it off with an Oil of Burning.
The mustard jelly there is also shot from out of its own attack range, granting AA level 8.
Turning in 3 apprentice staves to Darkflame means 3000 XP, which grants mage level 9.
I run to Baldur's Gate, killing the 4th apprentice on Wyrm's Crossing, and run for the Helm of Balduran, buy the Sparkburst composite shortbow from Black Lily, and consume the DEX tome. After buying some Arrows +2, I set out to kill Drizzt. I bait his Dispel Magic with a Potion of Heroism, but it somehow doesn't get dispelled. I drink an Oil of Speed and then a Potion of Power while he's busy slicing up gnolls, then cast Emotion: Hope. Now my THAC0 is -7 and I can hit Drizzt pretty reliably. It doesn't take long for him to fall.
Baldur's Gate's sidequest hell is completed rather easily. Lothander succumbs to a Wand of Paralysis while Magnus blocks his path.
After all those sidequests, I head to Ulgoth's Beard and go the Ice Island, skipping most of it by using invisibility. I just wanted Dezkiel's Stoneskin scroll. Then it's onto the Iron Throne. Using an invisibility potion, I sneak into the back room of the top floor and buff up and summon a skeleton with Animate Dead. The two Shennara thief twins come out to play. The girlie goes first. The guy has several invis potions, but he falls to a wand of fire since quickslot items can target invisible creatures.
These two thieves are apparently hostile when everyone else starts neutral. I rest and rebuff. I send my skelly forth and cast Web and Grease into the main party, waiting for Naaman to get snagged by the web. Once he does, I start firing with acid arrows and he goes down from heavy elemental damage.
Diyab is next as he flounders against my skelton. Then goes Alai who and also takes high elemental damage thanks to acid arrows, Arcane Archer magic damage, and the Sparkburst bow. Zhalimar Cloudwulfe, Gardush, and Aasim go down too. Man, web is just fantastic.
Reporting back to Duke Eltan means its time to return to Candlekeep. The ogre magi ambush is skipped with a quick potion of invisibility. The catacombs go smoothly and I am able to recover both stat tomes. The last shadow weave apprentice is killed by holding him with Web. Prat's group provides the last push to Arcane Archer 9 and Mage 10 simultaneously.
We finally made it to the Temple District. Oh, the variety of potions that were pickpocketed here. One just cannot even begin to describe such a thing. Except I can, and in between all we got here and what we pickpocketed earlier, the party's supplies of potions (at the end of today's session) are as follows:
69 Potions of Extra-Healing
3 Potions of Magic Resistance
5 Potions of Magic Shielding
23 Potions of Invisibility
1 Potion of Insulation
7 Potions of Freedom
3 Potions of Master Thievery
1 Potion of Perception
1 Potion of Memory
2 Potions of Heroism
6 Potions of Hill Giant Strength
2 Potions of Frost Giant Strength
2 Potions of Fire Giant Strength
3 Potions of Stone Giant Strength
15 Potions of Speed
44 Potions of Healing
5 Potions of Superior Healing
7 Potions of Invulnerability
2 Potions of Toughness
1 Potion of Power
1 Potion of Firebreath
4 Elixirs of Health
And yes, that's all. Some potions had their names slightly changed or their behaviour is altogether different thanks to IR.
This is all because I accidentally selected that 1/3 of potions enemies have break on drop, instead of the more appropriate and balanced 2/3. I've just realised this and I think I'll try to cut down on the pickpocketing since it kind of breaks the game.
Anomen got instantly blasted away from this world by the Beholder and the Gauths in the Sewers. I kind of forgot about them, so I triggered them by accident and he got wiped. Minsc also died to them but the Sea Troll helped to his death. We killed them without much trouble by throwing direct damage spells at them. Dumb big-eyed floating creatures. I had Yvralline pickpocket the adventurer group at the northern part of the map, and besides a bunch of level 7 and 6 summoning spells Jan and Aerie failed to learn, we got a bunch more potions and the throwing axe among more scrolls Yvralline did learn except for Mantle which she failed to. So much for 20 INT.
Then we got the amulet off the Temple of Talos, talked to the Unseeying Eye priest so that the quest would trigger and went back to report to Mae'Var. Jan and Aerie got a level each off this. We reported to Edwin and got off to kill Rayic. Then this happens:
I played this very encounter with another Charname this morning and did NOT run into this bug, which I failed to reproduce afterwards no matter what I did to imitate the conditions under which we entered that room. I was set on not reloading, but this would also happen to Minsc after I sent him to pick up the fallen's belongings.
So I just got the auto-save from the Temple district and talked to Mae'Var again, went to Edwin again and finally dealt with the Mephits, without anyone dying to bugs this time.
I remember saying that I wasn't going to reload if I encountered any bugs given I've not done any bugfixing in this install, but I can't find what's wrong with this nor I was able to replicate it which lead me to finally accept reloading as an option, since it doesn't look like something I'm capable of fixing, if such thing can actually be fixed in the first place.
After all that mambo we got Rayic simply because he decided to waste rounds casting Shadow Door and Banishment on our summons from the Wand of Summoning, which we stole off the Temple of Lathander earlier. Thanks Dawnmaster Kreel for leaving your stuff unatended. We also got a Statuette of Lathander but fuck me if I know what that's for.
All we did was drop Spell Thrust and wait out his PfMW. His aura was clouded and he got sacked by a hasted party after his next spell (presumably Dispel Magic) got interrupted by Minsc with the Sword of Chaos' magic damage. A job well done and well rewarded since he had a high-level scroll on him but I already forgot what it was.
The Stone Golems were safely handled with Free Action. To my surprise, Anomen with a +1 mace couldn't hit them, I thought you just needed magical weapons for them, not +2. Updated my (metagaming) journal, I guess.
We did the Embarl quest, without killing him, got proof of Mae'Var's treachery and got sent by Renal to eliminate him. The party's rested and we're ready to take on him, but first is a break.
Time for Durlag's Tower. Despite the boost I gave to Magnus's Find Traps skill, he almost gets fried by a fireball trap in the short hallway filled with traps and dead bodies. I decide to just handle the traps through damage resistance and drink potions to resist fire and electric damage. The 1st level is otherwise perfect. A summon a skeleton to distract the warders, intent on killing Avarice first, but he runs away invisibly. I try a scroll of Detect Invisibility, but it doesn't reveal him, which means he's out in one of the hallways. I decide to just kill Fear instead.
Pride is next. With double-strength Haste, he is easy to kite and is felled easily. Love is slashed to death with Varscona +2 since he has Physical Mirror up. Because of Minor Spell Deflection, he does not attempt to cast anything and flails helplessly in melee. Avarice is a bit more tricky since I have to sacrifice health to target him. A couple of scorcher charges and some arrows put him to rest.
On level 2, I lose Magnus to a scripted Cloudkill trap that occurs when you step near this statue. RIP 1 CON and 15 max HP total. I'm not going to try calling him up again for the rest of BG1 or SoD. I will manage on my own.
The Demon Knight is less scary than I thought he would be. He doesn't seem to want to cast against me until my Minor Globe is brought down by his Remove Magic. I kite the Remove Magic projectile for about 20 seconds, then he casts another, so I kite that one too. After about a minute of kiting, they finally catch up to me and dispel my buffs. The demon winds up with an abjuration spell, but I shut him down before it completes. This earns mage level 11.
At the coronation, I charm Ithtyl and lead her inside. I summon two skeletons and use 3 Wand of Monster Summoning charges. I buff everyone with Emotion: Hope and Ithtyl casts Haste. This should be easy. I start the fight with a scroll of Greater Malison while Ithtyl casts Chaos, confusing all the doppelgangers except the mage.
On the next round, Ithtyl casts invisibility on Liia and I hunt down the mage, piercing through his stoneskins with elemental damage. We put Sarevok on the run.
I learned a couple of strategies from @semiticgod's recent solo archer run. I charm the Undercity party except Rahvin with Algernon's Cloak over several rest periods and lead them into the temple using the Nymph Cloak once they've all been gathered. Wudei summons a pair of skeletons and I use a scroll of PfM on myself. Shaldrissa buffs with Stoneskin and Mirror Image, saving further buffs for the actual fight. I use a scroll of Haste on everyone and a few other assorted scrolls, then lead them to the southwest side. I approach Sarevok and bait him into following me, then use a potion of invisibility. Now we can deal with his toadies.
Diarmid goes first, getting overwhelmed by Gorf and Haseo the kensai. Thanks for the acid arrows, nerd. Angelo is next but Wudei's charm effect is broken somehow. She's just a cleric, so we beat her after Angelo dies. Haseo's charm is also broken and we kill him too after I fail to re-charm him. Best that we did, because he activated Kai and wanted to tear us up.
I'm wondering where Tazok and especially Semaj are. I use a wand of fire near Sarevok and discover they're grouped up on him and invisible. They finally come out to play and we start beating up Tazok because Semaj is improved invisible. Semaj's Remove Magic removes the charm effect on Carston and Gorf. Gorf is still attacking Sarevok even while neutral. Tazok is finished off by a Magic Missile from Shaldrissa.
I manage to re-charm Carston since he's just standing around. Semaj's improved invis wears off, so we all target him next. Shaldrissa Breaches him immediately after he throws up a stoneskin, but he goes invisible using a sequencer and teleports somewhere else. I thought he used Shadow Door so I try flushing him out with a wand of fire at his last known location, but he's not there. He reappears to the north and we shoot him down.
I re-charm Gorf so he can kill the skeletons with crushing damage. Shaldrissa tanks Sarevok with Stoneskin and 2x Mirror Image. When her skins run out, I have her cast PfMW. Sarevok is none the wiser and continues to attack her. Semaj and Tazok's skeletons are disposed of and Sarevok himself is an easy kill as a result.
I wish that I could have the Secret of Bonehill and DSoSC as well, but they will have to wait until the problems are sorted out.
@Wise_Grimwald: I'm running Secrets of Bonehill in Enhanced Edition Trilogy. I'm halfway through the first part of the mod and so far i haven't encountered any problens. What problems are you referring to?
I wish that I could have the Secret of Bonehill and DSoSC as well, but they will have to wait until the problems are sorted out.
@Wise_Grimwald: I'm running Secrets of Bonehill in Enhanced Edition Trilogy. I'm halfway through the first part of the mod and so far i haven't encountered any problens. What problems are you referring to?
@Flamedance
Is used to be super buggy in vanilla. I have played it 6-7 times in a a bws or just a bgt install. I have yet to finish the first part because of bugs, and had to clua console my way back to the main campaign.
I am an a iOS platform now and cant access the clua console. therefore abstain from using it. Sadly because I really love it.
I wish that I could have the Secret of Bonehill and DSoSC as well, but they will have to wait until the problems are sorted out.
@Wise_Grimwald: I'm running Secrets of Bonehill in Enhanced Edition Trilogy. I'm halfway through the first part of the mod and so far i haven't encountered any problens. What problems are you referring to?
I am referring to those which I have mentioned in the thread referenced above.
Journal of Faith the Fair
As requested by Tenya I went insearch of someone who could teach her how to use her bowl. That person was Lethe who attacked us. However by so doing she inadvertently showed Tenya what she needed to know and Lethe died shortly afterwards. Since we were there we investigated the area and I ended up fighting Meilum followed by the Mighty Khark. My Inquisitor abilities made the battle with Khark much easier than usual.
I then went to Durlags Tower and completed everything up until the pressing of the wine other than fighting the ghost which isn't worth the effort.
I am now about to return to the Section HQ in Beregost.
I wish that I could have the Secret of Bonehill and DSoSC as well, but they will have to wait until the problems are sorted out.
@Wise_Grimwald: I'm running Secrets of Bonehill in Enhanced Edition Trilogy. I'm halfway through the first part of the mod and so far i haven't encountered any problens. What problems are you referring to?
@Flamedance
Is used to be super buggy in vanilla. I have played it 6-7 times in a a bws or just a bgt install. I have yet to finish the first part because of bugs, and had to clua console my way back to the main campaign.
I am an a iOS platform now and cant access the clua console. therefore abstain from using it. Sadly because I really love it.
What can be more fun that a night of backstabs at the bandit camp?
How about a night of backstabs at Cloakwood Mine, with a bit of added frisson when Holli steals the mustard jelly kill following Umbra's hard work at wearing it down.
We break into Baldur's Gate a fine city to loot, pillage and generally ransack. This looks like a suitable venue to cause trouble at.
Very good, thinks Degrodel. You've killed almost all of my guardians and only my helmed horror is left. It's quite good at critical strikes in retaliation though.
Bah thought Holli as she collapsed to the ground, mortally wounded from 26 damage she didn't see coming (but Umbra witnessed). Live fast, die young.
I intimidate Porios and use a scroll of PfU to bypass the undead in the next level of SoD's intro dungeon. I open the double doors to Korlasz under an invisibility potion, then use an arrow of dispelling against her, plus an arrow of detonation. She surrenders and everything in the dungeon gives their XP to me.
On the Coast Way, I level up from mutated crawlers in the Coldhearth dungeon, making this AA level 10. This time, I'll be handing over the amulets to Coldhearth, but I still want the Secret Revealed, so I use a scroll of PfU to get to Coldhearth, return to Deepvein and get it, then feed him to a group of undead. The lich gets his amulets and I get his skeleton forces.
The rest of the undead in the crypt are killed with 2 more PfU scrolls. I won't say no to a free XP meal. At the bridge fight, I manage to kill Seed and Elwood Dowser before Caelar interrupts. I get to Boreskyr Bridge and use a pair of Dimension Door spells to get into and out of the fort, which means I'm skipping the Neothelid part of the expansion. The spellstone is dealt with and gets turned into Void Arrows. I have the Flaming Fist attack Bridgefort because I want an easier time at Dragonspear.
I buff up and summon a pair of skeletons, then haste as many fists as I can and get to work. I use a few arrows of dispelling to take out the mages and follow up with acid arrows. The number of Fists keeps going down, so I break out the Arrows of Detonation and make sure I'm very careful about their AoE.
At the bridge, I use another arrow of dispelling on the mage and pick her off with more acid arrows. The other crusaders are taken out with a careful scorcher charge and more arrows.
Halfway through SoD now. I'm skipping more sidequests just because I really don't need the XP. I just want to finish off Belhifet already.
Kaladan Za'al's shadow chimera is put down so he offers his help in the form of a Wand of Shadow Binding (As Hold Monster, but bypasses MR; save vs. spell at -4 or be held for 1 turn).
Kherriun is blasted by a fireball, followed by a couple of arrows of detonation. Freeing Halatathlaer gives a level for both classes, making this Arcane Archer 11/Mage 12.
Zhadroth is rekt with the Secret Revealed. The Robe of Arcane Aptitude is seriously useful.
Time for the crusaders to attack our camp. Trolls are halted by a sequencer of Web+Grease+Greater Malison and arrows of detonation. It is such a good sequencer combo. Mages and paladins are roasted with more detonation arrows and so are the named goons.
Now for the main crusade on Dragonspear. I buff with Emotion: Hope, Stoneskin, and Minor Globe just to start with. I find groups of crusaders clustered together and launch more fireball arrows at them, being careful not to hit allies. I use acid arrows against crusaders that are too close to allies. Ashatiel is killed easily with firebreath potions.
Down to hell. With my equipment, my saves are now very safe into the negatives, around -8 or -9 with Emotion: Hope and a Potion of Invuln. active. I use an oil of speed and pick off the devils. The hellcats have to be dealt with in melee, usually. On the elevator, I start using my longer-term buffs in preparation for the fight and then using the shorter-term buffs after the last wave of devils is dead. After the final save that occurs, I cast SI: Abjuration to counter Belhifet's opening Remove Magic. At the very start of the fight, I use the Wand of Shadow Binding. Miraculously, it takes on the very first try, even before Belhifet's Remove Magic! Belhifet is utterly toast. Mirror Image also seems to have absorbed the 1d10 magical feedback damage as well.
Caelar hacks away at the devils while I pelt Belhifet with Void Arrows. I try another charge of the Shadow Binding wand centered on Caelar, but it actually holds her instead of the devils... Aw jeez. I thought it would work like Hold Monster. Welp, RIP Caelar.
Okay, so I just have to kill Belhifet before Shadow Binding wears off. I keep hitting him while dodging devils and occasionally thinning their numbers. He dies unceremoniously and thoroughly humiliated.
Comments
Aria (male half-elf bard, Grond0); Demue (male human monk, Gate70)
The random generation provided another pairing with melee and arcane abilities, but one that would be rather more vulnerable early on. An initial visit to Shoal helped beef them up a bit, but Aria decided not to take the easy XP on offer at the basilisk area. Instead, a trip through the Cloud Peaks saw plenty of running around, with the odd bit of melee. Demue's first attempt at using a stunning blow didn't occur until taking on Zal - but proved a success.
Aria picked up grease from one of the encounters and decided to make that his go to spell for a change. Grease is actually a pretty vicious spell, though generally not rated highly by players. The reason for that is that it's generally less useful than sleep and web in BG1. However, grease does have advantages compared to both of the others:
- unlike sleep it can affect higher level enemies and fewer creatures are immune to it.
- unlike web it doesn't allow a saving throw to remove the effect once it is present and continues to affect enemies even after they have moved out of the area of effect.
A number of encounters saw successful use - such as against the belt ogre.
One problem with the spell though is that there is no text indication saying that enemies (or even non-hostiles) have been affected. If the spell has been cast from out of sight you can get an indication of whether it has taken effect by whether or not a saving throw is shown for an enemy. Unfortunately the game does not always display successful saves and, against Meilum, that led to moving into his sight only to find he was still mobile. Reluctant to give up on the idea of using the grease tactic, Aria and Demue tried to run round the edges of the grease to persuade Meilum to take a short-cut straight through it. He did so several times, but saved on each occasion (the spell has a +2 modifier so tougher enemies are not that easy to affect) - and eventually Aria cut things a bit too fine and found himself slipping and sliding at the edge of the grease field. Demue was unable to distract Meilum away and a couple of swings of his sword later Aria's head was getting a close encounter of its own with the grease ...
Journal of Faith the Fair
Clearly that is a battle that should never have been fought. The benefits of winning are far outweighed by the disadvantages caused by losing. If he had been in a party, another party member could have cast web or similar to stop him attacking an innocent. Still, she has survived which is something to be pleased about, and she is not fallen.
Journal of Faith the Fair
I donated enough gold to bring my reputation up to 14 and then rescued Aaron from the gnolls bringing my reputation up to 15.
I then returned to his fiancee before saving Drienne's cat to bring my reputation up to 16.
The change in my reputation made it possible to recharge the necklace of missiles which only had one charge left.
I then headed to the temple area to the east of beregost which I cleared of wolves of various kinds before healing someone who had been petrified. As a reward she gave me a potion of protection of mirrored eyes.
I then headed further east where with the aid of the necklace of missiles and my trusty bow, I wiped out a party of adventurers who were decidedly hostile.
I then used a scroll to protect me from the basilisks and medusae and went hunting them until there were none left.
Apparently Mutamin had been using them for his own purposes and I was forced to kill him too.
By releasing someone else from petrification my reputation went up again and I am a hero once more.
By then I had levelled up once more. I thern returned to Beregost for what I thought was very well earned rest and recuperation.
I tried and failed to get a Cleric of Lathander(3)->Mage working in a solo LoB "speedrun," but found it too hard on my fingers to keep everything moving at maximum speed. My fingers are imprecise during fast movements, and forcing them to work at top speed makes them hurt. I have a bad habit of refusing to quit when I'm presented with a challenge, but the reality is, a solo LoB run at 60 FPS is just too hard on my hands to be worth it, and I managed to let it go despite my desire to press on.
Instead, I started up a solo Shapeshifter run with SCS v32, and I'm currently at Brynnlaw since I've had a lot of time lately (I haven't been able to get any work done at home due to unrelated technical issues). SCS v32 introduces Icewind Dale spells to BG, and there are three major game-changers for a druid:
Giant Insect: This summons 2-3 beetles, which can be either Boring Beetles or Bombardier Beetles. Boring Beetles are mostly useless, but Bombardier Beetles use a short-range area-effect acid attack that deals 3d4 nonmagical, level 0 acid damage that ignores Mirror Image and has a 20% chance of deafening the target for 7 rounds and a 20% chance of stunning the target for 5 rounds, both with no saving throw. It's still dicey, but if you get multiple Bombardier Beetles crowding around the same target, there's a decent chance that you'll get 5 rounds of free stun on the target, and nothing but immunity to stun will block it. It's great at screwing around with enemy mages, though the beetles are pretty fragile on their own.
Entropy Shield: This works just like the Icewind Dale version, and it also acts as SI: Abjuration for priests, as it grants immunity to Breach and Remove Magic (but not Dispel Magic!) on top of its numerous other bonuses. Druids are no longer helpless to SCS mages with Remove Magic spells; they can maintain their buffs safely. Plus, Entropy Shield grants immunity to the flaming arrow projectile as well as other missile weapon projectiles, which should allow druids to block Fallen Solar and Illasera arrows, finally giving them a chance to survive Ascension Melissan as a solo character in a no-reload without modding the Shield of Reflection to be usable by druids or removing the level cap. It also blocks Imprisonment and Trap the Soul.
Impervious Sanctity of Mind: This spell lasts 8 hours and grants immunity to fear (nice for druids), intoxication (nice for cleric/mages who want to land Wish intoxication), berserk (nice for War Hulks dual-classed to priest, I guess), and, most importantly, it grants the user a Spell Shield effect that will prevent enemy mages from taking down Entropy Shield and the Shield of the Archons with a couple spells.
Not everything in the run has been easy. We almost died to a bug at the Coalition Camp where a troll inexplicably ran straight towards the barrels and triggered the next three enemy waves one after another. However, the shapeshifting component from SCS keeps the Shapeshifter pretty sturdy, and the new v32 spells are going to make ToB far more viable than it otherwise would be.
I don't know when I'll get around to posting on this run, since there are other runs I need to properly document, but it's going to be with screenshots; not recordings. I did record the solo LoB Archer run to get video documentation, but I don't plan on switching from screenshots to videos for my runs.
I have even made my own changes to Candlekeep to make that part a challenge.
Doing the Drizzt Saga certainly makes failure more of a possibility.
I wish that I could have the Secret of Bonehill and DSoSC as well, but they will have to wait until the problems are sorted out.
Journal of Faith the Fair
Upon meeting Xzar and Montaron, who asked me to accompany them to Nashkel, we set off in that direction. I soon realised that they were evil especially when Montaron turned up with a cloak that he had stolen. However, I had given my word to them so we continued onwards.
We were attacked by three members of the Flaming Fist who died as a result of their stupidity.
We were then attacked by Tristan and Isolde who, though they were after my blood, concentrated their attack on Montaron who almost died.
However, upon reaching Nashkel we parted company as it was clear that we would never get on with each other.
Upon returning to Beregost I joined up with two other adventurers who are the type of people that I can get along with. One was Drake, like me a follower of Tyr, but he is a cleric. The other was a gnome artificer. She is a thief, but surprise, surprise, she is lawful Good in alignment. Now that is the kind of thief that I can get along with!
They are both at level 6, so have considerably less experience than I have. I have roughly four times their experience, so I will cleaarly have to help them as we travel.
On the way northward we called in at the ankheg nest. This improved our experience but also proved to be dangerous.
Further North Tenya has also joined at Level 7.
EDIT
We then headed for the Nashkel Mines which did not turn out to be as difficult as expected. The Duerger were badly hurt with Holy Smite and Wand of Missiles after which they were easy prey.
When we tried to sleep we were inundated with kobolds.
The kobolds even when backed up by shamans were similarly dealt with andfinally Mulahey was silenced which made him very vulnerable even before he was held.
The Amazons outside were also badly hurt and just about wiped out using Holy Smite.
We had picked up Xan in the mines. He was at that point a generalist mage due to a mod, but a kit tome changed him to being an Enchanter.
After buying him a few scrolls our wealth amounted to 26 gold pieces. We need to find remuneration quickly!!
Holly (female halfling shadowdancer, Gate70); Umbra (male dwarf assassin, Grond0)
Our next random rolls saw a couple of thieves marked out, and as is often the case we elected for shorty saving throws. Holly decided to max her lockpicking to start while Umbra became one with the shadows.
After the usual trip to release Shoal the nereid from the tedium of life we played with gnolls until our hearts were content and the gnolls were no more.
After that we tried backstabbing a pair of ogrillions before resorting to kiting them around a while.
Unshey's ogre wished it had a girdle of poison resistance.
Tarnesh was in good form, although ultimately two against one sealed his demise.
Melicamp was helped.
Other than that we sorted out Albert and his dog, Drienne's cat, the dryad of the Cloud Peaks, Jared and the Bear, Joia's Flamedance ring, Mirianne's husband, Perdue's short sword, Prism's sculpture and Greywolf, Samuel and Lena, Captain Brage, Zhurlong's boots, an unidentified tome of leadership, Zal+Vax and some winter wolf pelts.
We've got a scroll ready for basilisks but anything could be next as we'll likely not remember any wise plans. Currently level 5 so backstabs might become more significant - we've been experimenting with Umbra making attacks, Holly collecting up the enemies and using her hide in plain sight so a freshly-hidden Umbra can come in for another unopposed backstab.
You would have to estimate your stats, though some would be easier than others. I think there are a couple of ways of going about it, though. You could simply guesstimate, and choose numbers that feel right to you, though this would be the least accurate. The second way would be to map the 3d6 roll percentile onto your own statistic relative to the population. So an 18 would be less than .5% chance on the roll, so if you're in the .5 percentile of a stat, you could give yourself an 18. A 10.5 would be average, so if you're completely average at something, you would have a 10 or 11.
The final result of your stats would likely be a mix of the two approaches, unless you can come up with a way of quantifying wisdom or charisma.
Using myself as an example, my strength would probably be around average, I'm tall but skinny and I don't work out or anything. Over the whole population, male and female, I'm going to guess and say 12.
Dexterity is a tough one, I am very fast and good at catching things that fall, and I have quick reflexes, but my vision isn't perfect for aiming and such. So I'm going to say above average but nothing amazing, maybe a 14.
Would anyone be interested in this run if I were to continue? Or would anyone else like to do one as well?
It is amazing how quickly your fortunes can change here on the Sword Coast. A few days ago I only had 26 gold pieces, but now over 7,500. I received a welcome reward in Nashkel and then killed Nimbul.
North of Beregost I killed the assassins led by Malious.
In Beregost itself I was given a decent shield by Bjornin and my reputation was raised to 19. I sold some ankheg shells and then some bandit scalps. Elmister then gave me some hints concerning the bandits.
Suddenly all seems right with the world, however, I am well aware how quickly things can turn pear shaped. Who can avoid knowing that with somebody like Xan in the party?
Upon reaching the bandit camp we were attacked by Tazok whom we surrounded and were beating into pulp. he wanted out of the fight and said as much, but having him surrounded, we determined to kill him. Then he suddenly disappeared.
We therefore rested before taking on the camp.
SCS Lavok obliterated me with Dragon's Breath.
With a few levels for a higher HP pool, scrolls of Protection from Fire and Electricity and Undead, Potions of Fire Resistance and Insulation, an Oil of Speed, a Potion of Clarity, the Ring of Free Action, and a fully charged Ring of Energy, you can safely get Kiel's Helmet and Durlag's Goblet just by tanking traps and zapping Love and the doppelgangers with Ring of Energy charges. It's expensive and can get dangerous if you don't stay out of Pride's melee range, but it's a reliable way of getting Durlag's Goblet early in the game, which makes melee combat far more viable for solo characters.
Other findings: two Arrows of Detonation and two Necklace of Missiles charges are enough to cripple the Iron Throne party, which is otherwise horribly dangerous for a solo character. I charmed Halbazzer Drin for a free Invisibility spell to sneak past Zhalimar Cloudewulfe, which gave me some extra time by striking from the southern room instead of the stairway.
If you use a Protection from Magic scroll before a Ring of Invisibility charge, you can sneak down to Davaeorn and zap him in seconds with the Ring of Energy right through his buffs, and you'll still have enough time to head back up to the surface and zap Kysus and Rezdan, allowing you to tackle the Drasus party with worrying about those awful Remove Magic and disabling spells getting past the easily dispellable Greenstone Amulet. It's actually safer to kill Davaeorn before Drasus if you don't plan on using the charmed guard trick on Davy.
After some unpleasant false starts, I'm enjoying the new run and learning some new things. Single-classed warriors are lousy solo characters, but we're going to be okay now that we have Durlag's Goblet and some other high-impact goodies.
We then travel to the Govt. District, pick up Jan and dismiss Yoshimo, pickpocket everyone, and then head off to the Docks district, pickpocket all the Thieves I run into (I ended up with 25 Invisibility Potions on Jan, 4 on Yvralline) and start the Mae'Var quest-line. We also have about 10 Oils of Speed and a silly amount of Extra-Healing potions. We got ambushed by Suna-Seni and her group of Slavers on our way to the Temple District, but we all went invisible (potion count down to 23), moved out of the enemy's sight, buffed a bit and entered the fray. Took me a while to get the Mage down because the only spell we have to remove protections is Spell Thrust, which is *great*, don't get me wrong, but we had to chew through two whole Stoneskins which took a while because our warriors were focused on the other enemies.
Other than Jan falling down to 2 HP because I didn't know the enemy Mage would cast Cone of Cold, and the fact that she got it off right before she was hit by a barrage of direct damage spells also caught me off-guard. Luckily all was good, and since Jan looted a short sword +2 from one room at Mae'Var's, I think I'll leave the Hold immunity sword on Yvralline as a precaution. I've had not a single issue so far, and I don't want that to change. We also picked up one potion of Invisibility which put us at 24.
I had planned out to pick up Jan first, and do the Copper Coronet quests with him so that he would get the experience, since he joins with very little experience compared to other characters (Aerie had about four times the XP when she joined, even more than Yvralline), but I forgot and waited till after doing these quests. Anyway, there's enough XP in the game for him, it's just that was risk free XP, which doesn't come around so often. Next on our pickup list is Cernd, but it'll be a while before our party formation changes in any way. I think.
I think there was an attempt on old Bioware forums. I never considered it, I guess I'd be something like this:
STR 12 (athletic build, but not too much)
DEX 13 (bit clumsy, but relatively agile)
CON 12 (176 cm, 74 kg)
INT 14 (good at math, suck at chemistry)
WIS 11 (I'm 36, so haven't yet aquired mind-blowing wisdom about life. And I'm rather superficial.)
CHA 15 (good looking, but people don't usually like me too much since I tend to behave like an idiot, would be 11 but I'm married which makes people think better of me for some reason (+2). Having a kid is another +1. And I'm shaving my head to look totally badass coupled with a 3-day beard so that's yet another +1)
BG1EE updates: 1, 2
SoD updates: 1, 2, 3, 4
BG2EE SoA updates: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
First BG2EE ToB update found here
The party departs for Watcher's Keep, and clears the first floor. There's a slight complication when I without thinking swipe the ritual items off the table (this activates several statues) while being more or less unbuffed. Fortunately, it's just a couple of Fighters and Clerics, so we pull through just fine. The rest of the first floor is thoroughly looted, and we depart.
Vampire time. Should be fine, especially given how much help we've recruited. Of course, Jaheira is swiped from us the instant we enter the Graveyard... but, much as I like Jaheira, she's not exactly the lynchpin of our party. We battle our way through the initial vampire spawns using IMoD and Azuredge, and descend into the depths.
I didn't keep an exact count, but I honestly believe there were some 30 vampires down here of varying strength (lots of Elders and Ancients). Still, they've no real defense against IMoD/Azuredge, so even though they get off a few good Con drains, we push through. I thought the Guard was a little cute with his Melf's Acid Arrow... he's probably not very high level.
Top level cleared, we descend further. Standard buffs are applied: CC, NPP via Limited Wish, IH, and we charge in. The enemies are considerate enough to bunch together, making for optimal targets of ADHW.
Even Improved Bodhi can't stand against our quite over-leveled party for long, although that damnable Drizzt steals the killing blow.
And just like that, Imoen is restored. We gather up Jaheira's body and revive her at Amaunator's temple, then head back to the Graveyard to clear it (since we never got around to it before Spellhold).
And that's about it. All that remains is to let Jaheira's romance finish (which it duly does after we rest at Watcher's Keep), culminating in a Harper Pin for her. Good stuff!
We return to Athkatla and buy everything and anything we might possibly make use of at some point.
Even so, we are left with some 90k gold, but it's good to be properly equipped. The Rhynn Lanthorn lights the way, and we enter Suldanessellar.
There is a slight scare as the Improved calls for help leads to us fighting 2x Adamantite Golems, 1x Iron Golem and 4x Stone Golems almost immediately upon entering, but we cut through them like so much wheat.
Rakshasa, regardless of how high up the food chain, disagree strongly with ADHW, allowing us to clear the outside of the temple with ease. Raamilat is simply Breached after having his spell protections stripped; he responds with PfMW, sealing his fate as Mazzy delivers a steady stream of Masterwork Arrows.
Nizidramanii'yt is easier than the other dragons so far: He/she/it is very much melee oriented, and though a fair few Skeleton Warriors succumb (and Minsc, naturally, takes a hefty beating), there's little the dragon can do with its defenses stripped.
Rounding off the city, we engage Suneer. You can just put the items in the altar and let Rillifane handle him, but eh. Mazzy again proves quite lethal (2x Time Stop worth of debuffs left Suneer with virtually no defenses).
We go after Irenicus. We buff profusely, but it was a little overkill: Irenicus does get a Time Stop off, but spends it on a Remove Magic (only catching Anomen), a RRoR (blocked by Imoen's Spell Shield) and something entirely inconsequential I can't even remember. He does get a Wish -> Breach on all enemies off as well, but by then his own defenses are failing.
We awake in Hell. Wraith Sarevok gets to feel the full force of Smite delivered via Shortbow (he does not relish the experience), although we of course did not give in to the rage. Blackrazor +3 is handed over to the Djinni, Benedict takes a Dexterity/HP/Experience hit to save Jaheira, and we blow the bejeezus out of the Beholders during the Fear trial (though the Elder Orb survives and has to be ground down via Skeleton Warriors), naturally also refusing the despicable cloak offered. Finally we spare the dragon during the Pride trial.
OK, final battle. Just this once, I'll break my typical restriction and allow for double SI, going with Abjuration and Divination. Imoen and Benedict will also have Spell Turning/Spell Deflection, Spell Shield, the entire party will be immune to every type of elemental/magical damage, have Death Ward/CC/PfE10' etc. Takes a few spell slots, but worth it (at least Benedict and Imoen are now virtually unkillable).
We pop the Eyes, and the game is afoot.
The Planetar and our regular host of Skeleton Warriors are keeping Irenicus and two of the demons busy.
A concentrated barrage spells the end of one of the Balors, even as Benedict and Imoen are winding up their first Time Stops.
Both Time Stops are dedicated to terminating Irenicus' defenses: Spell protections are stripped with RRoR, and his spell resistance is dropped to zero via Lower Resistance. Meanwhile, even though Minsc has taken a beating (when does he ever not?), the last of the demons have been removed from the board.
We're running out of Skeleton Warriors distracting Irenicus, but they've done their job.
A second round of Time Stop sees Irenicus Breached and stripped of his very last defenses. Now all we need do is get through his regeneration. And we do! Irenicus loses his Slayer form, and is bereft of all protection.
Moments later, Benedict rips his soul out of Irenicus, leaving the former to breathe his last on the surprisingly warm stone floor of Hell. Victory!
We are lauded as heroes in Suldanessellar, and receive the Amulet of the Seldarine for our efforts.
Once the festivities die down, our stalwart party can be found in their rooms in the palace, contemplating the future. Though bereft of Divination, Benedict often conjures and subsequently converses with minor entities of the hellish as well as the angelical planes, in an effort to predict what is to come (such creatures surprisingly often catch wind of relevant rumors in carrying out their duties). Now, however, these minor entities no longer wish to speak to our benevolent Conjurer, a behaviour previously unheard of. They are frightened.
A cloud hangs over the party as they retire for the night. Something is coming; a storm will soon break. And this storm may even shatter the arcane bastion that is Benedict.
Benedict finishes Shadows of Amn as a L20 Human Conjurer, and will return in Throne of Bhaal to claim his birthright... or perish in the attempt.
Holli (female halfling shadowdancer, Gate70); Umbra (male dwarf assassin, Grond0)
Basilisks - the ones that live underground. No, these be anghegs.
(Mutamin)
We were attacked by Brotus Bloodthirsty and his allies. We prevailed however.
Moving through the camp we killed all the bandits who were not cowering inside their tents.
We then headed southwards killing Teven and his cohorts before moving on to Beregost where we also disposed of Tranzig.
Upon leaving the area we were seriously hurt when attacked by two wyvern and when we stopped to rest, even our rest was interrupted by three ankheg.
Eventually we were able to rest when we reached the Friendly Arms Inn, but even there we were attacked by Najara who thought himself a hero.
After resting we took on Vallius too.
Remembering that we still had to pick up our reward from the Mayor of Nashkel, we headed south, picked up our reward and killed Nimbul.
Heading northwards again we encouraged some lady ogres to change their diet and hence rescued David Jansen.
This resulting in me reaching a reputation of 20 once more so we went shopping at High Hedge.
South of there I charmed Bassilus who, with a little help from us killed Zargal and his archer cohorts.
Sadly [
We then headed east to where the sirine live.
The battle there was quite interesting. Xan cast his two web spells to try and disable them, then Tenya and Drake cast Holy Smite repeatedly whilst Xan cast Fireballs. Eventually one of the Sirine cast Charm on Tenya.
I used Algernon's Cloak after which we were able to retreat in safety.
We slept and returned and this time we prevailed.
However, we managed to find a peaceful solution when it came to Sil.
We then cleared the cave with no problems.
We didn't return to the boy's mother for a reward in case we need a reputation boost in the future. Similarly we didn't speak to Charleston Nib after killing the Doomsayer.
We also avoided Brage. All of those might be needed if we ever kill an inocent by accident.
We took the idol to Sir Walorin and Lord Kevian Chandler. They rewarded me with a Tome that turns a Cleric into a Cleric of Helm. I am wondering if it could be used to turn Tenya away from Umberlee.
Probably work. But looks like being a Waveservant is a big deal for the character, so probably some dialogues will start to make no sense.
I hope I dont get bored this time. I'm running an Arcane Archer from AionZ's Artisan's Kitpack, whose abilities can be found here. Arcane Archer is a Fighter kit or a kit for a multiclassed Fighter/Mage. I wish I could've made it as a Fighter/Thief like my build from my latest NWN no-reload run, or Fighter/Mage/Thief even. I will have to make do with it being a Fighter/Mage instead, even though this is already a powerful combination.
Here he is. Starting spells: Sleep, Blindness.
That was a killer total roll of 102 but with lousy EX Strength, though he won't be relying on it much - it's mainly just for extra carry weight. Candlekeep is done and I pick up the Ring of Wizardry, then challenge the belt ogre by blinding it. I discovered on my last run with the Two Sorcerers just how utterly broken blindness is.
Armed with Protection from Petrification, it's time for Basilisk Country. I have Korax scout ahead and paralyze basilisks first before engaging them, even though I have 5 PfP spells memorized. The first lesser basilisk gives AA level 5. The basilisks to the south give Mage level 5. Korax paralyzes Mutamin, which makes him and his pets easy prey.
I hit up Thalantyr again now that I can cast 3rd level spells and grab Protection from Fire and Minor Spell Deflection. Off to Gullykin I go and enter Firewine through Jenkal's house. I buff with Shield, Resist Fear, Protection from Fire, and Minor Spell Deflection. This should fend off most things. I lure three Ogrillions and the ogre mage into the house after taking potshots at them. The Ogre Mage can't really do anything, so it falls.
After this, my HP leaves me a little sore, so I go to Nashkel to get Healing Touch. Returning Mr. Colquetle's amulet gives me AA level 6.
I go up to Ulgoth's Beard and kill Dushai for the Ring of Free Action and buy a Composite Shortbow +2 while I'm there. I forfeit both of my rings of protection to buy the Robe of the Neutral Archmagi from Thalantyr. Back into the Nashkel Mines, I get through it without issue. I try an opener of Blindness against Mulahey, but he saves. Protected by Minor Spell Turning, his Mental Domination is blocked and expends the spell protection. Mulahey's minions begin to gather around, so I use a potion of invisibility and evaluate my plan. The best thing to do is use a scorcher charge from my Wand of Fire, which ends up toasting all of his mooks and heavily damages the priest himself. He is finished off with a point-blank arrow.
Upon returning to Nashkel, Nimbul is dealt with by blinding him. From his corpse, I use the scroll of Find Familiar. I haven't used this component of More Style For Mages even though I've had it for years because I don't think an inventory slot is worth +6 max HP, but I want a familiar that can at least disarm traps for me. I am pleasantly surprised to discover that not only does the familiar's max HP upgrade (which means yours will too), but that your familiar can specialize as a mage or thief, so I choose thief. The familiar apparently upgrades at 81k XP, so I choose to give it a boost to Open Locks and Disarm Traps. Welcome to the party, Magnus!
Heading up to Beregost, we are accosted by the amazon bounty hunters. Even after I suffer a backstab, they are all killed by kiting them.
Arrow Slinger - Arcane Archer 7/Mage 7
Off to the Seawatcher area. Sirenes are easily killed with the help of Shield+Minor Spell Deflection. They won't try charming me and my AC vs. missiles is rock bottom thanks to the Girdle of Piercing and the Boots of Avoidance.
Onto the bandit camp. We get recruited by Raiken and buff before entering the tent. My first move is to cast Web to paralyze everyone. I take out Venkt first and kill the rest just by shooting them. Nice and clean.
8th level mage is gained from a sword spider in the Cloakwood. Arrows of Biting are very effective against them.
Drasus and co. are the next major battle. I inch forward until I see him, then cast Web at his location. When he gets tangled in it, I start shooting. Arrows of Biting help deplete his HP and I finish him off. The Boots of Exceptional Kiting are now mine!
I waltz through the mines with invisibility. I'm not sure how I'm going to tackle Davaeorn because he's basically under Free Action, so I can't use the Wand of Paralysis, Web, or Stinking Cloud. I use 20 charges worth of Wands of Fear from out of his sight range, but it never works even after turning him hostile. Eventually I just decide to go ham on him, buffing with Potions of Speed and Heroism. I kite his Battle Horrors into the south room where the jelly hangs out and he teleports over there. I double back and pelt his Battle Horrors with charges from the Wand of Frost for major damage.
With Dave disposed of, Baldur's Gate is open. I visit the Friendly Arm and cause Kryn Darkflame to spawn in. I had been avoiding his quest on purpose because I didn't want to spawn his strong apprentices yet. Armed with some Arrows of Biting, I start hunting them all down, casting Web on them first before letting the arrows fly.
I run to Baldur's Gate, killing the 4th apprentice on Wyrm's Crossing, and run for the Helm of Balduran, buy the Sparkburst composite shortbow from Black Lily, and consume the DEX tome. After buying some Arrows +2, I set out to kill Drizzt. I bait his Dispel Magic with a Potion of Heroism, but it somehow doesn't get dispelled. I drink an Oil of Speed and then a Potion of Power while he's busy slicing up gnolls, then cast Emotion: Hope. Now my THAC0 is -7 and I can hit Drizzt pretty reliably. It doesn't take long for him to fall.
Baldur's Gate's sidequest hell is completed rather easily. Lothander succumbs to a Wand of Paralysis while Magnus blocks his path.
After all those sidequests, I head to Ulgoth's Beard and go the Ice Island, skipping most of it by using invisibility. I just wanted Dezkiel's Stoneskin scroll. Then it's onto the Iron Throne. Using an invisibility potion, I sneak into the back room of the top floor and buff up and summon a skeleton with Animate Dead. The two Shennara thief twins come out to play. The girlie goes first. The guy has several invis potions, but he falls to a wand of fire since quickslot items can target invisible creatures.
Reporting back to Duke Eltan means its time to return to Candlekeep. The ogre magi ambush is skipped with a quick potion of invisibility. The catacombs go smoothly and I am able to recover both stat tomes. The last shadow weave apprentice is killed by holding him with Web. Prat's group provides the last push to Arcane Archer 9 and Mage 10 simultaneously.
Arrow Slinger - Arcane Archer 9/Mage 10
- 69 Potions of Extra-Healing
- 3 Potions of Magic Resistance
- 5 Potions of Magic Shielding
- 23 Potions of Invisibility
- 1 Potion of Insulation
- 7 Potions of Freedom
- 3 Potions of Master Thievery
- 1 Potion of Perception
- 1 Potion of Memory
- 2 Potions of Heroism
- 6 Potions of Hill Giant Strength
- 2 Potions of Frost Giant Strength
- 2 Potions of Fire Giant Strength
- 3 Potions of Stone Giant Strength
- 15 Potions of Speed
- 44 Potions of Healing
- 5 Potions of Superior Healing
- 7 Potions of Invulnerability
- 2 Potions of Toughness
- 1 Potion of Power
- 1 Potion of Firebreath
- 4 Elixirs of Health
And yes, that's all. Some potions had their names slightly changed or their behaviour is altogether different thanks to IR.Anomen got instantly blasted away from this world by the Beholder and the Gauths in the Sewers. I kind of forgot about them, so I triggered them by accident and he got wiped. Minsc also died to them but the Sea Troll helped to his death. We killed them without much trouble by throwing direct damage spells at them. Dumb big-eyed floating creatures. I had Yvralline pickpocket the adventurer group at the northern part of the map, and besides a bunch of level 7 and 6 summoning spells Jan and Aerie failed to learn, we got a bunch more potions and the throwing axe among more scrolls Yvralline did learn except for Mantle which she failed to. So much for 20 INT.
Then we got the amulet off the Temple of Talos, talked to the Unseeying Eye priest so that the quest would trigger and went back to report to Mae'Var. Jan and Aerie got a level each off this. We reported to Edwin and got off to kill Rayic. Then this happens:
So I just got the auto-save from the Temple district and talked to Mae'Var again, went to Edwin again and finally dealt with the Mephits, without anyone dying to bugs this time.
I remember saying that I wasn't going to reload if I encountered any bugs given I've not done any bugfixing in this install, but I can't find what's wrong with this nor I was able to replicate it which lead me to finally accept reloading as an option, since it doesn't look like something I'm capable of fixing, if such thing can actually be fixed in the first place.
After all that mambo we got Rayic simply because he decided to waste rounds casting Shadow Door and Banishment on our summons from the Wand of Summoning, which we stole off the Temple of Lathander earlier. Thanks Dawnmaster Kreel for leaving your stuff unatended. We also got a Statuette of Lathander but fuck me if I know what that's for.
All we did was drop Spell Thrust and wait out his PfMW. His aura was clouded and he got sacked by a hasted party after his next spell (presumably Dispel Magic) got interrupted by Minsc with the Sword of Chaos' magic damage. A job well done and well rewarded since he had a high-level scroll on him but I already forgot what it was.
The Stone Golems were safely handled with Free Action. To my surprise, Anomen with a +1 mace couldn't hit them, I thought you just needed magical weapons for them, not +2. Updated my (metagaming) journal, I guess.
We did the Embarl quest, without killing him, got proof of Mae'Var's treachery and got sent by Renal to eliminate him. The party's rested and we're ready to take on him, but first is a break.
Time for Durlag's Tower. Despite the boost I gave to Magnus's Find Traps skill, he almost gets fried by a fireball trap in the short hallway filled with traps and dead bodies. I decide to just handle the traps through damage resistance and drink potions to resist fire and electric damage. The 1st level is otherwise perfect. A summon a skeleton to distract the warders, intent on killing Avarice first, but he runs away invisibly. I try a scroll of Detect Invisibility, but it doesn't reveal him, which means he's out in one of the hallways. I decide to just kill Fear instead.
On level 2, I lose Magnus to a scripted Cloudkill trap that occurs when you step near this statue. RIP 1 CON and 15 max HP total. I'm not going to try calling him up again for the rest of BG1 or SoD. I will manage on my own.
The Demon Knight is less scary than I thought he would be. He doesn't seem to want to cast against me until my Minor Globe is brought down by his Remove Magic. I kite the Remove Magic projectile for about 20 seconds, then he casts another, so I kite that one too. After about a minute of kiting, they finally catch up to me and dispel my buffs. The demon winds up with an abjuration spell, but I shut him down before it completes. This earns mage level 11.
At the coronation, I charm Ithtyl and lead her inside. I summon two skeletons and use 3 Wand of Monster Summoning charges. I buff everyone with Emotion: Hope and Ithtyl casts Haste. This should be easy. I start the fight with a scroll of Greater Malison while Ithtyl casts Chaos, confusing all the doppelgangers except the mage.
I learned a couple of strategies from @semiticgod's recent solo archer run. I charm the Undercity party except Rahvin with Algernon's Cloak over several rest periods and lead them into the temple using the Nymph Cloak once they've all been gathered. Wudei summons a pair of skeletons and I use a scroll of PfM on myself. Shaldrissa buffs with Stoneskin and Mirror Image, saving further buffs for the actual fight. I use a scroll of Haste on everyone and a few other assorted scrolls, then lead them to the southwest side. I approach Sarevok and bait him into following me, then use a potion of invisibility. Now we can deal with his toadies.
BG1 complete!
Arrow Slinger - Arcane Archer 9/Mage 11
@Wise_Grimwald: I'm running Secrets of Bonehill in Enhanced Edition Trilogy. I'm halfway through the first part of the mod and so far i haven't encountered any problens. What problems are you referring to?
@Flamedance
Is used to be super buggy in vanilla. I have played it 6-7 times in a a bws or just a bgt install. I have yet to finish the first part because of bugs, and had to clua console my way back to the main campaign.
I am an a iOS platform now and cant access the clua console. therefore abstain from using it. Sadly because I really love it.
If they ever made a ee compliant and bug free version of it, I will be sure to use it - so please give us a hint in this thread:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/71666/secret-of-bonehill-help
I am referring to those which I have mentioned in the thread referenced above.
Journal of Faith the Fair
As requested by Tenya I went insearch of someone who could teach her how to use her bowl. That person was Lethe who attacked us. However by so doing she inadvertently showed Tenya what she needed to know and Lethe died shortly afterwards. Since we were there we investigated the area and I ended up fighting Meilum followed by the Mighty Khark. My Inquisitor abilities made the battle with Khark much easier than usual.
I then went to Durlags Tower and completed everything up until the pressing of the wine other than fighting the ghost which isn't worth the effort.
I am now about to return to the Section HQ in Beregost.
Yes, it's super buggy, especially the second part. If you think the first part is buggy, trust me: you ain't seen nothing yet.
I've given a few hints in the thread mentioned above. I may write a walkthrough, if people are interested.
Holli (female halfling shadowdancer, Gate70); Umbra (male dwarf assassin, Grond0)
What can be more fun that a night of backstabs at the bandit camp?
Bah thought Holli as she collapsed to the ground, mortally wounded from 26 damage she didn't see coming (but Umbra witnessed). Live fast, die young.
Well, sort of
Previous updates:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1071330#Comment_1071330
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1071334#Comment_1071334
I intimidate Porios and use a scroll of PfU to bypass the undead in the next level of SoD's intro dungeon. I open the double doors to Korlasz under an invisibility potion, then use an arrow of dispelling against her, plus an arrow of detonation. She surrenders and everything in the dungeon gives their XP to me.
On the Coast Way, I level up from mutated crawlers in the Coldhearth dungeon, making this AA level 10. This time, I'll be handing over the amulets to Coldhearth, but I still want the Secret Revealed, so I use a scroll of PfU to get to Coldhearth, return to Deepvein and get it, then feed him to a group of undead. The lich gets his amulets and I get his skeleton forces.
The rest of the undead in the crypt are killed with 2 more PfU scrolls. I won't say no to a free XP meal. At the bridge fight, I manage to kill Seed and Elwood Dowser before Caelar interrupts. I get to Boreskyr Bridge and use a pair of Dimension Door spells to get into and out of the fort, which means I'm skipping the Neothelid part of the expansion. The spellstone is dealt with and gets turned into Void Arrows. I have the Flaming Fist attack Bridgefort because I want an easier time at Dragonspear.
I buff up and summon a pair of skeletons, then haste as many fists as I can and get to work. I use a few arrows of dispelling to take out the mages and follow up with acid arrows. The number of Fists keeps going down, so I break out the Arrows of Detonation and make sure I'm very careful about their AoE.
Halfway through SoD now. I'm skipping more sidequests just because I really don't need the XP. I just want to finish off Belhifet already.
Time for the crusaders to attack our camp. Trolls are halted by a sequencer of Web+Grease+Greater Malison and arrows of detonation. It is such a good sequencer combo. Mages and paladins are roasted with more detonation arrows and so are the named goons.
Now for the main crusade on Dragonspear. I buff with Emotion: Hope, Stoneskin, and Minor Globe just to start with. I find groups of crusaders clustered together and launch more fireball arrows at them, being careful not to hit allies. I use acid arrows against crusaders that are too close to allies. Ashatiel is killed easily with firebreath potions.
Down to hell. With my equipment, my saves are now very safe into the negatives, around -8 or -9 with Emotion: Hope and a Potion of Invuln. active. I use an oil of speed and pick off the devils. The hellcats have to be dealt with in melee, usually. On the elevator, I start using my longer-term buffs in preparation for the fight and then using the shorter-term buffs after the last wave of devils is dead. After the final save that occurs, I cast SI: Abjuration to counter Belhifet's opening Remove Magic. At the very start of the fight, I use the Wand of Shadow Binding. Miraculously, it takes on the very first try, even before Belhifet's Remove Magic! Belhifet is utterly toast. Mirror Image also seems to have absorbed the 1d10 magical feedback damage as well.
Okay, so I just have to kill Belhifet before Shadow Binding wears off. I keep hitting him while dodging devils and occasionally thinning their numbers. He dies unceremoniously and thoroughly humiliated.
Arrow Slinger - Arcane Archer 11/Mage 12
Caelar - Fighter 15 (RIP)