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"Maybe this time" [NO-RELOAD THREAD]: "The Tale of TEN THOUSAND Trials"

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  • Blackraven wrote: »
    @Gate70 best of luck with Wyrme in ToB, bounty hunters are awesome!
    @Corey_Russell, congratulations on yet another success story!

    After many gameless months I've been thoroughly enjoying BG3 Early Access with a Gold Dwarf Priestess of Moradin, which made me feel like returning to that other priest of mine: Eyulf the LE Priest of Helm, who totally believes himself to be a paragon of duty and justice and good, but whose questionable judgment and rigidity make him more of an evil tyrant.

    Good to see you back. My brother got the BG3 Early Access to and has been enjoying it much. I was gonna download it but I'll be stuck in these write-ups from the Lord Angmar saga for a while.

    I hate when I get done because I have to go back and gather my notes, sort my images, etc., to start the write-up phase. :neutral:

    Good Luck in BG3.
    Grond0Blackraven
  • @CharlestonianTemplar As usual a great write-up. :)

    Thank you brother Grimwald!
    Blackraven
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,822
    edited October 2020
    The SCS kobold shaman is a level 6 mage (with more HP than a mage of that level should have). That's a 6d6 bolt, so 20 damage is a normal result with 0 resistance and 40 damage is impossible unless you're playing with double damage on.

    The resistance bonus comes before the cosmetic effects of the potion, so the only other thing I can think of is that maybe the stat changes don't actually apply until the next tick - and the lightning bolt arrived before that.

    (Edited to add qualifiers for more accuracy - I'm speculating here)
    Post edited by jmerry on
    CharlestonianTemplar
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    jmerry wrote: »
    The SCS kobold shaman is a level 6 mage (with more HP than a mage of that level should have). That's a 6d6 bolt, so 20 damage is a normal result with 0 resistance and 40 damage is impossible unless you're playing with double damage on.

    The resistance bonus comes before the cosmetic effects of the potion, so the only thing I can think of is that the stat changes don't actually apply until the next tick - and the lightning bolt arrived before that.

    The game is on insane though, so double damage may well apply. The fact that no additional or reduced damage is shown in the text would be consistent with a potion of insulation having been gulped just in time to counteract the standard double damage.
    Wise_GrimwaldCharlestonianTemplarGate70
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    Gate70 wrote: »
    She ascends the large staircase to the inner part of the temple and is merrily snaring away when she realises Berenn has walked into a maze trap with physical mirror active - the realisation being when a maze animation starts to close in on her.

    Wyrme rapidly considers her options but is unable to prevent the sole death directly caused by her own maze traps.

    Grrr. It is a pain the way thief traps can be reflected back like that. I can't say I ever do it, but using the long term spell trap function from the Staff of the Magi can be useful against this sort of chicanery. That also prevents my typical need for a mad dash to read a scroll of PfM to dispel the maze effect before it sends you into oblivion ...
    BlackravenWise_GrimwaldAerakarAdam_en_tium
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    edited October 2020
    Journal of Brad the Blackguard

    We did indeed kill ankhegs, sirine, Shoal and Droth. We then decided to plumb the depths of Durlag's Tower. I now have the Helm of Opposite Alignment so if I wish I can play SoD as a CHAOTIC gOOD BLACKGUARD... If I get that far. Now that could be interesting.

    All party members haave now reached the level cap.
    No point in wandering away from the script now.
    I have a 50 charge wand of fire and a 100 charge wand of monster summoning.

    Reputation currently 14. I'm happy with that.

    What I was pleased about was that I used a new tactic just before the chessboard that made one of the rooms trivial whereas before it had always been tough.

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    @Jabberwock How were you planning to dual Safana? Increase her intelligence and dual her to a mage?

    A query. What would happen if you end SoD wearing the helm of opposite alignment. You can't take it off, so do you become good? Or does the magic of programming just remove it to make you evil again?

    Another question.
    Is soultaker actually useful as a weapon?
    Post edited by Wise_Grimwald on
    AerakarEnuhalMantis37Blackraven
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,822
    The DestroyAllEquipment() action applied to all characters at the beginning of BG2 removes cursed items along with everyone else. You would import as a character with base evil alignment and the helm, and then the helm would be removed to make you evil again.

    As a weapon, Soultaker is indistinguishable from a "Quality" dagger. No breakage chance, 1d4 damage, speed 2, nonmagical.
    Wise_Grimwald
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Pearl, Ruva, Valos, Rila Lira, Poppy, and Yi Grovana in IWD2:EE
    Part 2

    The orcs at Shaengarne have much better attack bonuses than goblins in IWD2, making it much harder to avoid hits with AC alone, and since orcs in EE are barbarians and EE rage gives several immunities to disablers, we can't just knock them out with a casting of Sleep. We have to use Entangle to hold off enemy orcs, and Rainstorm to help clear the field more quickly. Rainstorm is much stronger in EE, dealing electricity damage 100% of the time instead of 50% and also imposing a -5 weakness to cold and electricity, making the spell pretty dangerous for party members and enemies alike. It doesn't stop the enemy shamans from getting Hold Person spells off the ground, though.
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    Our cleric has a special cloak that grants immunity to Hold Person, so we can quickly cure it with Remove Paralysis.

    After two or three bouts with the local orcs, we finally hit level 4! Ruva takes her 4th rank in Toughness, cranking her HP all the way up to 124. Valos, our deep gnome, relies on AC to avoid attacks, and that just isn't very practical on Insane mode. Ruva is actually much more sturdy despite her far inferior AC.
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    Much of Shaengarne is about carefully managing our limited HP and dispensing lots of healing spells from our cleric. We do get to use some specialized tricks, like busting out Snilloc's Snowball Swarm (another wizard spell that druids can now cast in EE) to take advantage of the elemental damage weaknesses of the cave zombies and slimes.
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    I was considering recruiting Vrek Vileclaw, an intelligent troll that is now a recruitable NPC in EE (!), but unfortunately I didn't speak with Emma and did not get the right dialog option to try to convince him to join us. This being a no-reload run, we have to slay him with Sunscorch spells. Trolls in EE are no longer unkillable without fire or acid, but they do take HUGE damage from fire and acid, with very high regeneration and HP to compensate.

    We hit level 5! Notice that while our spellcasters are all single-classed, giving us access to level 3 cleric and druid spells, our deep gnome and fighter are dipping into multiple classes to snatch up various benefits.
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    There are lots of different character builds in EE, and we'll be dipping into various classes even late into the game.

    We're very close to the Shaengarne Bridge fight, one of the tough bottlenecks of the early game. Even before then, we still have some tough battles: the Malarites in EE are no longer just melee fighters with healing spells; they also summon lots of animal allies as well as throwing out Entangle and Hold Person spells. The final area before the bridge is very dense with enemies. Fortunately, we have some powerful new tools: the ever-deadly Call Lightning spell, Animal Empathy to charm enemy animals, and the Moonblade from Vrek, which we're keeping in lieu of returning it to Emma.
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    The Moonblade is a very solid weapon. Although it has no attack bonus, it does deal hard-to-resist magic damage and imposes 50% spell failure for 1 round with every hit!

    Valos finally hits level 5, taking her first level as an Illusionist and therefore gaining a new feat: Expertise, which lets her use a toggleable ability to get up to +5 AC at the cost of -5 to hit rolls. Better still, we have a special pair of bracers that doubles the bonuses. She can crank her AC past 30, and now that I've learned to buff her with Ilmater's Endurance instead of our cleric, she'll have a comfortable HP buffer for when the enemies do roll high.

    But the Shaengarne Bridge fight is still no cakewalk, and Ilmater's Endurance, our cleric's special ability, also imposes a -3 weakness to physical damage. When our little deep gnome Valos gets hit, she really does suffer for it.
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    We'd need an AC of 37 in order to guarantee that that bugbear couldn't land a hit. That kind of AC just really hard to reach, even for a deep gnome.

    Xuki, the enemy mage, is very scary, packing a Shout spell that can stun for 2 rounds on a failed save. Immunity to stun is very hard to come by. Before EE, only enemies ever got any immunity to stun effects, and even in EE, only Barbarian Rage, the short-lasting Spell Shield spell, and certain shapeshifts (all of the forms after druid level 10) grant immunity to stun, and Seven Eyes only blocks one instance of it.

    But Valos has Weapon Finesse, which means she can apply her crazy DEX bonus (+7 when fully buffed!) when she's fighting with small blades and touch weapons like the Moonblade. Xuki has to cast in spite of spell failure, and she doesn't get lucky.
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    Xuki still manages to her her Shout spell off the ground, but thanks to good positioning, only Valos gets caught by its narrow AoE, and she easily makes her save thanks to the +10 Fortitude bonus she gets from Ilmater's Endurance (and she already has excellent Fortitude saves thanks to her several warrior levels). We manage to break through Xuki's Stoneskin and Mirror Image pre-buffs and take her down.
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    Notice Ruva, flashing in yellow, wrestling with the bugbear to the west. IWD2EE has some really intense melee pressure in it, and being able to counter threats from multiple directions is really key to keeping spellcasters healthy. Mirror Image doesn't last as long in EE, making it much less useful as a pre-buff, and our druid's only shapeshift is wolf form, which is lousy for tanking because it only has a ranged attack (which means Expertise is unusable).

    We've managed to save a lot of our spells for the large horde to the west. We throw out Web, Entangle, and Rainstorm spells to hold off the enemies and thin the herd. With a little early pressure, we can take down the enemy mages' Mirror Images, allowing Rainstorm to strike right at the heart.
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    These mages aren't as high-level as Xuki, but they still throw out Ice Dagger and Aganazzar's Scorcher spells (which are indeed spelled differently in IWD2), and when we fail to bring down the next mage, our druid gets roasted.
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    We have to burn a lot of healing options on her, but we keep her afloat until the mages croak.

    We finally hit level 6! Ruva takes her final rank in Toughness, getting a ludicrous 172 maximum HP (pre-EE, almost no character could break 90 at this point!). Our druid can now take the Natural Spell feat, allowing her to cast spells even while shapeshifted. Our cleric now has the Extended Spell feat, which means her level 1 and 2 spells get double duration, enough to make Ox's Fortitude and its +4 to CON last even after resting. Finally, our sorcerer can cast Lance of Disruption, and thanks to the Safe Spell feat, she now casts party-friendly Web spells.

    EE feats are cool.
    Grond0AerakarWise_GrimwaldGate70
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    Jabberwock wrote: »
    Although just thinking about it now, I wonder whether it is possible to debuff sarevok with GM. I assume he is immune to stun and confuse, but perhaps not blind?

    Sarevok can be malisoned (and doomed) and made vulnerable to a range of spells - like hold for instance. I rather like webs as a tactic against him - even without any outside assistance he has a chance of being held in those thanks to the saving throw penalty, so a character able to run around inside webs can occupy him and then turn on him with deadly effect when he gets stuck ...
    Wise_GrimwaldCorey_Russell
  • JabberwockJabberwock Member Posts: 75
    Very interesting. My party could not cast doom, as we did not ultimately wind up taking tiax. But we could cast malison and web. Next time I will come loaded for bear and see what works..

    In BG2, just running through the early athkatla quests trying to hit 250k before picking up jan and valygar. I wonder if it's ever worth trying to recruit some of the chp 2/3 npcs at even higher xp levels.

    Early BG2 is always fun. Here's me realizing that I can probably cheese lots of early enemies with mustard jelly. Which I did not know, despite 100s of hours in the game.

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    Wise_GrimwaldGrond0Gate70
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    Grond0 wrote: »
    Jabberwock wrote: »
    Although just thinking about it now, I wonder whether it is possible to debuff sarevok with GM. I assume he is immune to stun and confuse, but perhaps not blind?

    Sarevok can be malisoned (and doomed) and made vulnerable to a range of spells - like hold for instance. I rather like webs as a tactic against him - even without any outside assistance he has a chance of being held in those thanks to the saving throw penalty, so a character able to run around inside webs can occupy him and then turn on him with deadly effect when he gets stuck ...

    It was web that enabled me to win in the Blackguard run that I have just finished. (That plus freedom of action spells and items meant that my party members didn't get held.
    Grond0Gate70
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    edited October 2020
    Journal of Wyrmbane

    After killing Tarnesh at the Friendly Arms, we headed north killing hobgoblins and the evil Sonner as we went.

    We returned the bowl to Tenya before taking on a nearby ankheg.
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    Our success against the ankheg encouraged us to take on another one, but the damage thus incurred caused us to doubt the wisdom of investigating the nest further at this time.
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    Since we were unable to enter Baldur's Gate, we headed back south where we were pleased to be able to calm Marl down before heading south once more where we defeated some ogrillon with ease. The same could not be said for a battle with some Flaming Fist who refused to accept that we were not bandits despite our demeanour.

    I was badly hurt but at least we now both had plate armour plus one spare suit. :)
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    We returned to Beregost to deliver a letter and whilst there got into a fight with Silke. Hal's silence spell allowed us to prevail.
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    Upon heading south once more we defeated hobgoblins, picked up an amulet and some ankheg armour and defeated Greywolf after first turning down a substantial reward that was undeserved.
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    We got into conflict with Zordral and it was only my resistance to fear spells that allowed me to prevail, hal being pretty useless.
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    We found a wand and a useful ring before taking Samuel to the Friendly Arms Inn.

    Being a little stronger we deemed ourselves capable of taking on the ankheg nest. We were right.
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    After helping Farmer Brun out with a little gold our reputation is now 19.

    It's amazing how easy it is to become a hero in these parts, a mere eighteen days.

    Upon killing the last of the ankhegs, Hal became a level 5 cleric. We returned to Beregost to sell our ankheg shells and found that I had sufficient gold to buy an unbreakable axe for myself and a large shield +1 for Hal. Breaking weapons have been a problem so it is good to have one that won't break. :) At the temple we were asked to deal with an insane cleric called Bassilus, so we sought him out and killed him. Once again Hal's silence spell was invaluable and we killed him with little trouble apart from the fact that my off hand axe broke whilst in combat.
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    When we returned to Beregost I therefore bought a number of spare axes and paid for a suit of ankheg armour.
    Post edited by Wise_Grimwald on
    BlackravenAerakarMantis37Enuhal
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    edited October 2020
    Journal of Wyrmbane

    After claiming our reward for killing Bassilus we returned to the site of our victory and scoured the area until we came across more bandits led by Zargal.
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    We slew them with no compunction whatsoever after which we went to the lighthouse area where we killed a number of sirine before heading south where we killed Ba'ruk and several kobolds.
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    At the archaeological site we killed Gallor and the diggers that attacked us.
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    We then took Brage to the Temple of Helm after which we rescued Bentha from Zordral.
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    Post edited by Wise_Grimwald on
    AerakarMantis37
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