Shoal the Nereid when soloing (SPOILERS)
Permidion_Stark
Member Posts: 4,861
I know the last patch changed what happens with Shoal the Nereid so that now if you are soloing you get a save v Death at -2 and if you fail you are reduced to one hit point and are unconscious. However, I was wondering what then happens? Does Droth just show up and kill you before you can recover or is there some opportunity to heal before the ogre mage appears?
I'm asking because I am currently doing a solo, no-reload run and my save v death is currently 9, so taking into account the -2 modifier I've got less than a 50/50 chance of making it. Generally, when I am soloing I allow myself to cheat and take Rasaad along to get snogged by Shoal but this time I would like to do it by the book so I am trying to decide whether it would be best to skip the encounter entirely.
I'm asking because I am currently doing a solo, no-reload run and my save v death is currently 9, so taking into account the -2 modifier I've got less than a 50/50 chance of making it. Generally, when I am soloing I allow myself to cheat and take Rasaad along to get snogged by Shoal but this time I would like to do it by the book so I am trying to decide whether it would be best to skip the encounter entirely.
Post edited by Permidion_Stark on
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In my experience, Shoal will only stand next to you, but she won't attack while you're down. Only after you get up and start bashing, but second dialogue should follow after a hit.
Sounds like I should give it a go. Do you know whether it is possible to run away and heal completely before attacking her? I would like to get myself back into shape before Droth shows up.
Edit: I found a save from an old run and tested it out a couple of times. My guy was reduced to one hit point each time. Shoal remains hostile but you have a chance to run away before she attacks so I was able to travel to another map and take a rest before returning to tackle her.
The fight then proved to be quite comical. Droth showed up and made himself invisible so I thought I would attack Shoal to see what happened. She turned hostile but Droth then cast a sleep spell, knocking me out again, which stopped Shoal's attacks - presumably because she's coded not to attack unconscious victims. Droth then fired a lightning bolt at me and I assumed it was going to be game over. However, the lightning bolt seemed to go straight over me. It did no damage and I didn't appear to have to make a save so it seems that lightning bolts can't hit you if you are lying down. Who knew?
However, Droth did eventually manage to kill me by casting Dire Charm, which is game over when you are soloing.
Incidentally, she has two versions of the spell. One kills, the other sets HP to 1. It's always the nonlethal version if she targets the Bhaalspawn, and 50/50 if she targets someone else.
If you want to survive as a solo character without reloading ... potion of magic shielding for guaranteed saves. Sadly, you can't buy any of those potions until BG city opens up in chapter 5.
Also, your Drogo can't wear the helm of defense anyway. Clearly, his roleplaying rules say he should accept the kiss rather than just murdering Shoal for the 5000 XP, but he doesn't have much of an incentive to do this early. Come back later when you have the right tools.
Actually, a paladin could reach a safe breath save with pre-city resources. Level 7 (base save 10), ring/amulet of protection (9), cloak of displacement (7), Claw of Kazgaroth (4), potion of invulnerability (-1). A rogue ... well, that's a base save of 15 and no invulnerability potion. You're at 9 with the rest of the gear, and there's no reasonable way to make up the difference.
Good advice.
When Drogo meets Shoal he will of course accept the kiss - in fact he would initiate it if only she would give him the chance. I'm doing a 'no potions' run so he couldn't use Magic Shielding even if it were available, but does possess two scrolls of Protection from Magic (one given to him by some geezer gnome and one filched from an incredibly boring follower of Ilmater). However, it would be a metagame too far for him to read one of them before meeting her. I'm going to put off the encounter until Drogo can afford to buy himself the Sandthief's Ring, that way if he fails his save and is knocked down to one hit point, he can turn himself invisible and escape to get back to health.