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

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  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,857
    edited July 2023
    I am sorry to say that thee story of Stormbringer ends here. He is still alive, but I am not enjoying it any more. Better to have a character that I identify with.

    I have therefore decided on this Cavalier who has ** in Katanas and ** in two weapons style. She has a katana and a wakishashi plus splint mail and a helmet upoon leaving Candlekeep. Now very poor, but there will be no need to buy weapons for a while. Another katana needed, but none currently ffor sale anywhere.

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    Not my best ever roll for a Cavalier but not bad at all. :)

    I was pleased to be able to help Melicamp, Marl and Firebead.
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    Heading north after determining that Sonner was evil I killed him and his party.
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    This pleased Tenya.
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    Nearby I killed an ankheg.
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    I returned Joia's ring before killling Tarnesh.
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    I then headed south to Nashkel killing ogrillon, hobgoblins and kobolds on the way.

    At Nashkel I found some excellent armour.

    Upon trying to help Bemtha, I got ever so slightly injured!!

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    However I did prevail.
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    Heading south I killed Greywolf with a little help from my friends the guards.
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    Prism died and I took the emeralds to Oublek.

    I then headed west helping Albert find Rufie and killing Vax and Zal on the way.
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    Further weat I killed Caldo and Krumm.
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    I returned 'Drienne's cat and killed Ingot.
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    At the gnoll stronghold I killed Gnarr and Hairtooth and raided a cave before heading north.

    There I was well rewarded for killing a polar bear.
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    To the north I helped Charleston Nib and took Brage to the temple of my God.
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    At Beregost I returned the Colquetle Amulet at which I reached a reputation of 20. :)

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    I then killed quite a few basilisks and Mutamin who was controlling them.

    I left Jaheira and Khalid at Nashkel and at Ulgoth's with Xzar and Montaron. Montaron collected a few itemsafter which I left him there.

    With Xzar I headed south where I joined up with Dorn to take on Kryll. Afterwards I bade him farewell after which Xzar left of his own volition.

    I was pleased about that as I wasn't comfortable with their presence.


    I joined up with Branwen and Dynaheir so all I needed was a thief. Due to no mods I couldn't join up with Alora or Coran so I went to see Safana. She wouldn't join because of the lack of male company. :(

    I didn't want the party to be any bigger than four so I started thinking.
    Eureka! I have a belt. Let's see if Branwen is averse to wearing it. Time for trial and error!
    My intention was to join up with Yeslick later on, so this could work. Experimentation time!

    It worked!

    Safana joined and disarmed the traps in the cave which we plundered.

    We then headed north where we killed Shoal and then Droth.

    Branwen was asleep so we had no access to her/his spells.

    Dynaheir therefore stunned Droth who had already cast an invisibility spell.

    We couldn't use true sight so we awaited the awakening of Branwen who used her Holy Smite spell to hurt Droth while the rest of us killed Shoal. We moved away in order to rest and when we returned Droth was no match for us.

    I am currently level 7.
    Branwen is level 6.
    Safana is level 7 and
    Dynaheir is Level 6.

    We headed for Durlag's Tower next.

    The battle horrors were too powerful for us. One of them was near death so we didn't flee when we should have done. As a result Branwen was killed. It cost nearly all our gold to raise him/her. Branwen dropped her belt upon death. That doesn't seem to have affected Safana. :)

    I now have two non-magical katanas as well as Varscona. I have two pips in katanas but none in long swords. Which is the better sword to use?
    Post edited by Wise_Grimwald on
  • lego_piratelego_pirate Member Posts: 2
    Hey all,

    I just got to Saradush on a No Reload run, and I used the fear spell on Viekang from the Eyes of the Beholder helmet.

    It turned him hostile, and within about 2 seconds my party had auto-killed a ton of civilians. My party then left and my run has basically ended :neutral:

    I did some digging and old forum posts suggested that even the Spook spell used to sometimes do this, but it was eventually corrected.

    Is this a bug? Can I justifiably reload to an earlier save? Or is this intended behaviour? It was such a fun run and I was enjoying it so much, so I’m kinda bummed

    (I made an account just to ask this lol)
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,321
    The seven suckerssamurai (7th and final update)
    Previous updates After the long delay in SoA, I pushed on quickly in ToB and was rewarded when the remaining 5 characters all proved successful. I was a bit lucky in a few places, but the change from character to character did I think help me maintain concentration / take fewer risks than is typical for me. I don't think I'm likely to repeat the experiment with that many characters at once, as that felt a bit daunting earlier on - but I might play with smaller multiples at some point.


    Successful
    Fighter
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    I played through ToB with this one first as I thought it might need a bit of nursing and wanted to be fresh for it. In fact though it seemed pretty easy, even without the Ring of Gaxx.

    Fighter/mage/cleric
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    I didn't find the triple class particularly strong - the extra clerical abilities didn't seem to compensate for lower levels, poorer saving throws and lack of mage HLAs. However, I was being pretty careful and didn't have any real problems.

    Berserker dualled to cleric
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    Although fighting abilities were good for most of the game, the lack of APR made things a bit more difficult later on. He was briefly held by one of Balthazar's Bigby spells during an extended fight with the monk, but managed to survive and eventually triumph.

    Enchanter
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    Progress with this one proved more difficult than any of the others. The lack of sequencers and most damage spells meant achieving quick kills was more difficult and meant I did more micromanagement of spell casting than I normally tolerate. I had intended to use wish rests in the combats with Melissan, but forgot to purchase any potions to boost wisdom. Instead I used spell trap to recover spells between combats, though I was scratching around for scrolls to do that with and the process was pretty time-consuming.

    Fighter/thief
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    This was the final character played in ToB on the grounds I expected it to be easy. However, my play with this one was pretty slapdash and I also struggled as a result of not collecting all the resources I should have done. I was particularly fortunate to survive when I pushed my luck attacking the Ravager in melee without being protected against hold. It required a critical to hit, but one of those duly held me and I got taken down to about 30 HPs before being able to move again. I did though have the luxury of being able to use traps to shorten the fights with Mel, which is a nice bonus of the class.


    Unsuccessful
    Fighter/druid dominated by a nymph at level 11/13 while attacking Kyland Lind and his druids in the Grove.

    Wizard slayer died at level 9 to hobgoblin command approaching the old temple in the Forest of Wyrms.
  • Alesia_BHAlesia_BH Member Posts: 759
    edited June 2023
    Is this a bug? Can I justifiably reload to an earlier save? Or is this intended behaviour? It was such a fun run and I was enjoying it so much, so I’m kinda bummed

    Congrats on making it to Saradush, lego_pirate. I'm sorry to hear of the difficulties you've encountered.

    Viekang's response to fear was scripted using an enumerated list of spells. See below.

    hcvnhlwxhl16.jpg

    The intent, it seems, was to make the list comprehensive. But when the Eye of the Beholder was added to the game no one bothered to patch Viekang's script, leading to your current predicament.

    By tradition we allow reloads if an anomaly constitutes a game breaking bug that unequivocally subverts developer intent. Developer intent seems clear to me in this case. The list was supposed to be comprehensive, and the absence of the Eye of the Beholder is an understandable oversight. The effect of the anomaly, in this case, was to break your game.

    Different players have different standards. But, applying the traditional rule, with my judgement, I think a reload is warranted. Of course, my opinion is just my opinion. You are the final authority here. Best wishes for arriving at a choice that suits you and, if you choose to continue, as I think you should, good hunting in the days ahead. The Throne awaits. Get there.

    Cheers,

    A.


    Post edited by Alesia_BH on
  • Alesia_BHAlesia_BH Member Posts: 759
    @Grond0 Congrats on the completion of your Seven Samurai adventure! An impressive display!
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,830
    It's an easy fix, too; since the helm uses "cast spell" abilities, we just need to add OHREYEB3 to the list of spells.

    It's not perfect, though; there's at least one item-based fear ability (the Helm of the Rock) that also isn't on the list and can't be added that way since it doesn't use a spell. Fortunately, that one definitely won't cause him to go hostile; it'll either work or be entirely resisted, and hostility only counts if some opcode actually takes effect. Plus the ability isn't even flagged as hostile.

    Submitted to the EE fixpack project.
  • Alesia_BHAlesia_BH Member Posts: 759
    Thanks, @jmerry !
  • Corey_RussellCorey_Russell Member Posts: 998
    @Grond0 very impressive runs and grats!
    @lego_pirate I agree with Alesia_BH that the fear effect should take hold and shouldn't be counted as a bug. A reload seems reasonable in your situation.
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,830
    Incidentally, if Viekang had failed his save, it would have worked - that script checks for a panic state as well as the spellcasting. It's only a very specific quirk of implementation that allows the ability to turn him hostile on a successful save.

    The proposed edit to the script here - adding the helm's fear spell to the list - would allow Viekang to be affected even if he makes the save or resists, as is already the case for other fear spells. He has a spell save of 10 and 50% magic resistance, so that's pretty likely in general.
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,321
    edited July 2023
    Trio 52 - update 3
    Stellar - half-elf druid (Grond0)
    Corethief XXXVI - human berserker due to dual to thief in BG2EE (Corey_Russell)
    Betsdown - human dark moon monk (Gate70)

    Previous updates A quick check on the map at the start of the session showed we had not yet been to Durlag's Tower, so that was the first destination. A battle horror on the walls proved very stubborn, lasting a long time at near death and Stellar resorted to use of his wand of magic missiles to finish that one off.
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    Stellar had forgotten to acquire anything to resist basilisk gaze, but Corethief had picked up a single potion of mirror eyes somewhere. With only 10 rounds available to kill 4 basilisks, we used some other potions to boost strength and speed and whipped through them with plenty of time - not even needing to rely on Betsdown successfully blinding the final basilisk just before it was finished off.
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    Next, we went to find Tranzig to open up the Bandit Camp. We also introduced him to a charmed Algernon in order to boost Stellar's charisma without losing reputation.
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    At the Bandit Camp, Betsdown suffered a number of missile hits following stealthy attacks on bandit archers. He limped away with a small handful of HPs remaining as Taurgosz joined the fray. Rather than give him a chance to show his melee progress, Stellar called down some friendly lightning to quickly end the fight.
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    Corethief made short work of the enemies in Tazok's tent, with his rage proving not really needed when Venkt was burnt up by his fiery breath.
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    The trip through the Cloakwood saw Betsdown attempting to perfect his technique of triggering web traps while in the shadows then nipping back out of sight before being held. Stellar commented that he did pretty well at that, but forgot to pay attention to his own actions as a result and managed to turn Laskal hostile. He recognized the signs of a druid calling to the skies and quickly ran away - his HPs proving just enough to survive the lightning strike.
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    At the mine, Genthore was charmed and pulled away for easy disposal. The mages resisted a couple of charms and did well to survive lightning strikes from Stellar and a couple of nymphs. However, Drasus was held by the nymphs, while Betsdown finished off the mages before they could try anything too nasty.
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    We avoided any hard combats on the trip to the bottom of the mine. Davaeorn's battle horrors kept us at bay for a bit, but went down rather more easily than the one at Durlag's Tower. Corethief then used a potion of magic blocking to trip the traps and hunt down Davaeorn.
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    It's become a bit of a tradition in our runs to give a robust greeting to Quayle on the way into Baldur's Gate. Normally he dies too quickly to respond, but he did at least have the satisfaction this time of landing a magic missile on Corethief.
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    Inside the City we did various encounters without trouble, picking up items including the Helm & Cloak of Balduran, the Helm of Glory and Ramazith's +2 ring in the process. The poison quest saw some nymphs successfully perform a blocking role on Lothander to get some boots of speed for Stellar.
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    Betsdown couldn't resist trying to get up close and personal with Marek and was duly confused, but his flailing fists made little impact on Corethief as he stood stoically under the barrage to protect the wandering innocents.
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    The only slight glitch in the work done so far was that the statue of Vail successfully evaded our attempts to break it - Corethief finding his critical hit impacting only on thin air as Vail disappeared.
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    Druid 9, 76 HPs, 60 kills
    Berserker 7, 91 HPs, 206 kills, 0 deaths
    Dark moon monk 7, 59 HPs, 157 kills, 2 deaths
  • lego_piratelego_pirate Member Posts: 2
    Alesia_BH wrote: »
    Is this a bug? Can I justifiably reload to an earlier save? Or is this intended behaviour? It was such a fun run and I was enjoying it so much, so I’m kinda bummed

    Congrats on making it to Saradush, lego_pirate. I'm sorry to hear of the difficulties you've encountered.

    Viekang's response to fear was scripted using an enumerated list of spells. See below.

    hcvnhlwxhl16.jpg

    The intent, it seems, was to make the list comprehensive. But when the Eye of the Beholder was added to the game no one bothered to patch Viekang's script, leading to your current predicament.

    By tradition we allow reloads if an anomaly constitutes a game breaking bug that unequivocally subverts developer intent. Developer intent seems clear to me in this case. The list was supposed to be comprehensive, and the absence of the Eye of the Beholder is an understandable oversight. The effect of the anomaly, in this case, was to break your game.

    Different players have different standards. But, applying the traditional rule, with my judgement, I think a reload is warranted. Of course, my opinion is just my opinion. You are the final authority here. Best wishes for arriving at a choice that suits you and, if you choose to continue, as I think you should, good hunting in the days ahead. The Throne awaits. Get there.

    Cheers,

    A.


    Thank you! That makes a lot of sense. I'm going to continue my run

    And thank you @Corey_Russell and @Jmerry for your input, too!

    Cheers
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,857
    @Grond0 Instead of fighting the battle horrors have you thought of charming Davaeorn and letting them knock chunks off each other?

    You can deliver the final blows yourself for the exp.

    I find that tactic extremely satisfying. :)
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,830
    Dave saves vs. spell on a 5. While that tactic might be very satisfying if it works, it has a high failure rate.

    Now, for that battle horror on the Durlag's Tower battlements that caused so much trouble ... my preferred tactic is repeated sneak attacks. Hide in the shadows, go up, get in a single swing, go back down where it can't follow, repeat. That party didn't have anyone with a backstab multiplier, but it did have a monk; stealth punches are certainly capable of doing the job.
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,321
    I wouldn't expect to try and charm Davaeorn as the likely result is for him to turn hostile with someone in view and with a clouded aura. I do sometimes in SP though charm the guard at the entrance to that level, so that he can soak up damage from the battle horrors (or even attack Davaeorn himself).
  • Corey_RussellCorey_Russell Member Posts: 998
    Corethief XXXV the human berserker (dualing to thief in BG 2)
    Traveling with: Ajantis, Branwen, Imoen, Khalid (used as an archer), Xan

    In order to get to the final fight, it was by the numbers as usual. Xan died a ton of times. Though we already knew this, Xan discovered the hard way that being a level 8 enchanter with only 17 HP doesn't help his survival, so perhaps his pessisim for himself was justified....

    I decided since it appears to be impossible to not get debuffed (I think Semaj uses a sequencer) I didn't buff though I did have 3 skeletons as distractions and the whole party was invisible. Corethief used our only protection from magic. Imoen had a heck of a time trying to dispel Sarevok's buffs. However, Semaj does die quite fast with our attacks from invisibiilty. Unfortunately Imoen had to try pull Sarevok again and this brought Angelo. While we did kill Angelo quickly, not before he badly damaged most of the party and poor Khalid, the greater archer this game was chunked!

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    Corethief uses an invis potion and tries to heal. His party tries to hurt Sarevok, but the party could only get him to barely injured before the party is dead and Corethief is buffing with potions best he can.

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    Surprisingly, Corethief is able to tank for a good while despite dual-wielding. And he doesn't do that much damage despite his 25 STR. However, when Corethief does hit they are big hits. A few heal potions were needed, and then...success!

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    While originally deciding to maybe be solo in BG 2, decided I will use a party as I have yet to have a party success in EE. Also as a human I can do all 3 romances for a while anyways. Maybe add Mazzy and Keldorn. On to Amn!
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,857
    edited July 2023
    jmerry wrote: »
    Dave saves vs. spell on a 5. While that tactic might be very satisfying if it works, it has a high failure rate.

    Now, for that battle horror on the Durlag's Tower battlements that caused so much trouble ... my preferred tactic is repeated sneak attacks. Hide in the shadows, go up, get in a single swing, go back down where it can't follow, repeat. That party didn't have anyone with a backstab multiplier, but it did have a monk; stealth punches are certainly capable of doing the job.

    Is that true if you use Algernon's Cloak too? It used to be foolproof, but I think that EE may have nerfed the cloak. I don't tend to use the Cloak for charming as I found it over-powered. Nowadays I just use it to get Algernon to attack Nimbul. >:)

    I did however use it in the days of Tutu for a pacific run in which I didn't kill anyone in BG1. That was fun.

    @Corey_Russell Congrats against Sarevok.

    You may find this a bit too cheesy, but to kill Semaj I sometimes place a cluster of traps (skull traps and/or Glyph of Warding) where he lands and have a web active there as well. Highly effective. To kill Savarok with a thief I think that back-stab is the way to go. However, you succeeded doing it your way and if that's the way you like to play it, fine.

    Journal of Stormbringer

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    To get the extra potion of healing in Candlekeep, I broke open the chest and when spotted cast sanctuary.
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    After the death of Gorion I killed the hobgoblins at the FAI and when Sonner boasted about his weapon, I decided to kill him to get it. >:)
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    This pleased Tenya no end.
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    Using Command I was able to kill the nearby ankheg easily due to that one not being particularly tough.
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    I then returned Joia's Ring and killed Tarnesh.
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    I did a slight detour to help Melicamp and afterwards calmed Marl before taking a tome to Firebead.
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    After finding a letter on an ogrillon corpse, I delivered it to Mirianne.

    A hobgoblin followed me into a cave and 'twas there that he met his doom.
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    At the mines the guards helped me weaken Greywolf, bbut I landed the final blow after using Command.
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    I took the emeralds to Oublek and then went searching for a ring of Fire Protection. Hafiz then gave me a scroll.
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    Lena asked me to deliver Samuel to the FAI which I did.
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    Whilst there I bumped into Dorn.

    In Beregost I delivered the Colquetle Amulet.

    Afterwards I took Khalid and Jaheira to Nashkel where I left them.

    Further south I got into conflict with some assassins.
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    Dorn, who only just survived the conflict, joined me.

    We went in search of Kryll and killed her.
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    Together we then were able to kill an ankheg, but Dorn got killed. Raising him cost us most of my gold. :(
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    Deciding that was too dangerous we instead went after Bassilus and were victorious. We were well rewarded.
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    We returned to the ankhegs and killed quite a few after which I bade Dorn farewell.
    Post edited by Wise_Grimwald on
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,830
    In the current EE, both Algernon's Cloak and the Nymph's Cloak are saves vs breath at -1. Which, in the case of Davaeorn ... it's his worst save. 7 base, and the Traveler's Cloak he's wearing is a +1 bonus. He'll save 70% of the time.
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,857
    edited July 2023
    jmerry wrote: »
    In the current EE, both Algernon's Cloak and the Nymph's Cloak are saves vs breath at -1. Which, in the case of Davaeorn ... it's his worst save. 7 base, and the Traveler's Cloak he's wearing is a +1 bonus. He'll save 70% of the time.

    Very different compared to Tutu!! I'm glad that I did the no killing run while I could. :)


    I'm just beginning to appreciate the Cleric of Talos, and other clerics too, probably because I haven't tended to play them solo before.

    Journal of Stormbringer

    In the lighthouse area I animated undead and buffed them with barkskin and chant to take on the sirines. Highly effective!

    While attacking Sil, I was unexpectedly attacked by a carrion crawler. (It wasn't there when I looked earlier). This meant that I had to leave the skeletons to deal with the sirine whilst I dealt with the crawler. My the time it had died, so had the sirines. :)

    After resting I used the same tactic against the flesh golems. I stayed well clear, not wanting to activate the traps until the golem was dealt with.

    The skeletons died when attacking the third of them. So after resting I sent some more who triumphed once more.

    With Xzar, Montaron, and Safana in the party Montaron collected numerous items in Ulgoth's and Algernon's Cloak at Beregost.

    We talked with Shoal who killed Montaron. She then agreed to raise him again and promptly died. :(

    That was NOT planned as we wanted to kill Droth as well!

    We removed Montaron from the party and cleared the area of everything hostile.

    We went to Nashkel and cleared the mines easily, picked up Xan and left him and Xzar at Nashkel Town after first killing Nimbul with the aid of Oublek who died.

    Safana and I then picked up Baeloth before bidding him farewell soon afterwards, We took his robe however and gave it to Xzar when he rejoined the party. We have been allowed entry to the bandit camp.

    We then killed Tranzig and several bandits on the way. We bought some scrolls for Xzar before returning to the camp which we trashed. Now in Cloakwood where we killed some druids and spiders and fled from wyverns.

    When we arrived at Centeol's lair, we summoned and buffed some skeletons outside before luring the spiders out a few at a time. Divide and conquer works. Outside the wyvern nest we decided to use the same tactics which worked equally well.

    In transit we decided to take on two wyvern. We ALMOST succeeded, but almost isn't good enough. :( RIP

    i'll be returning to my modded set-up next I think. I like having the romances etc. Both are I think equally tough, just different.
    Post edited by Wise_Grimwald on
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,857
    edited July 2023
    The portrait virtually begged me to create a dwarven cleric with proficiency in staves. The kit causes a minimum of 12 in Charisma. I have reverted to my modded set-up for a while.

    Journal of Truestaff.

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    I was able to help Melicamp, Marl and Firebead. :)
    Post edited by Wise_Grimwald on
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,321
    edited July 2023
    Trio 52 - update 4
    Stellar - half-elf druid (Grond0)
    Corethief XXXVI - human berserker dualled to thief in BG2EE (Corey_Russell)
    Betsdown - human dark moon monk (Gate70)

    Previous updates We'd already done most of the work in the City, but there were still a few encounters to be tackled at the start of the session. The first of those saw some ogre gauntlets acquired thanks to a stunned Desreta.
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    Soon though we were off to tackle the Iron Throne. Corethief used a scroll of PfM there to melee the opposition, with the idea that would allow him to soak up any spells cast. Betsdown knew that Stellar was still liable to get too close to area effects like confusion - particularly due to his use of darts, with their relatively short range. However, Stellar now had his own ability to shut down enemy casters and that helped provide a comfortable victory.
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    Back in Candlekeep things didn't go quite as smoothly as we hoped. Betsdown was spotted by a phase spider just as he triggered a web trap and he was held and soon poisoned. Stellar was willing to put herself in jeopardy to try and save him with a slow poison, but got stuck in the web herself and watched impotently as Betsdown expired.
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    That meant we avoided a lot of the fighting we normally do there, so we could hurry through to get to a temple.

    Back in Baldur's Gate, Slythe fell in melee and we moved on to the Palace.
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    Nymphs helped confuse several of the dopplegangers at the start of that fight and the dukes were never in trouble.
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    We avoided the potential distraction from the Undercity party on the way to the old temple. Corethief successfully dispelled Sarevok before retreating. Semaj teleported out, but was immediately attacked as well as subjected to insects and he soon fell.
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    Sarevok hadn't followed at that stage, so Corethief went to encourage him to venture out without his other companions. As he did so, the stinking cloud and web traps triggered and almost immediately Sarevok was held. Under a combined assault he didn't last long and failed to escape the web before dying.
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    We still had some time left in the session, so moved on to Amn and set about escaping Jon's dungeon. Corethief had originally intended to dual to a thief at berserker level 9, but decided to do that earlier in order to take advantage of his thief skills. With XP from those adding to enemy and quest XP, he levelled rapidly and had soon perfected his skills in finding traps and opening locks. The loss of the berserker for now greatly handicapped our fighting abilities and that resulted in the only disappointment in the dungeon when Ulvaryl managed to kill her opponents and disappear before we could do much damage to her.
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    Druid 10, 83 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 14 kills (+67 in BGEE)
    Thief 7 (Berserker 8), 101 HPs, 10 kills (+241 in BGEE), 0 deaths
    Dark moon monk 8, 68 HPs, 66 kills (+173 in BGEE), 3 deaths
    Betsdown took advantage of Corethief dualling to take an early lead in the BG2EE kills race and will probably be hard to catch.
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,857
    edited July 2023
    @Grond0 Yes, killing Ulvaryl without tanks is definitely tricky. Well done on reaching Amn.
  • Corey_RussellCorey_Russell Member Posts: 998
    @Grond0 @Wise_Grimwald well part of it was Betson moved ahead of the party while under stealth. This caused the vamp to attack but Corethief and Stellar couldn't yet engage. If we had all moved up together we might have got the vamp. Betson didn't realize the vamp and thieves would start fighting even though they couldn't see Betson.
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,857
    edited July 2023
    @Grond0 @Wise_Grimwald well part of it was Betson moved ahead of the party while under stealth. This caused the vamp to attack but Corethief and Stellar couldn't yet engage. If we had all moved up together we might have got the vamp. Betson didn't realize the vamp and thieves would start fighting even though they couldn't see Betson.

    Understandable. I've made that mistake myself. Similar things happen a lot. They Shouldn't but do. :(

    Journal of Truestaff.

    I was able to help Melicamp, Marl Firebead and Mirianne.
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    After that I cleared the road to Nashkel where I found some good armour and turned down a reward from Oublek.
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    To the south I killed Zargos and Greywolf.
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    I took on Zordral and fled due to my wounds. However, it was I who was victorious.
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    Upon returning to Beregost Mr. Colquetle was delighted when I returned an amulet.
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    Nearby I killed Karlat before heading North.

    There, a halfling messanger gave me some jobs to do.
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    To the North I killed some hobgoblins before reaching Sonner. Upon discovering his allegience I killed him.
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    I returned Joia's ring and was disappointed that a guard killed Tarnesh.
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    I headed south whereupon I met Dorn for the 2nd time.
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    Nearby we killed Kryll.
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    After bidding Dorn farewell, I went in search of Bassilus.
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    In transit I killed some bandits, 10 in all.
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    Now hunting ankheg.
    Post edited by Wise_Grimwald on
  • KloroxKlorox Member Posts: 894
    I’ve had a few die, and a few more I’ve gotten sick of and abandoned.

    I am going on vacation and clearing my head. I have already decided what I’m gonna try next though.

    I’m going with a dwarf fighter/cleric. I figure I will have amazing saves the whole game and a ton of HP. On top of that, I’ll eventually be aiming for a whole lot of physical resistances with Armor of Faith, the Helm of Dumathion, Defender of Easthaven, and Hardiness (88% if I’ve done my math right). I’d like to try being a good aligned character, even though I might still take Edwin in BG2 (he’s just so good).

    I don’t need a whole lot of backup in BG1 to beat the game. I’ve done it so many times over and archers backing me up make it so easy (hello Kivan and Coran!).

    SoD is my least favorite part, but the helm makes me want to play it, which will lead to a more fun and fulfilling overarching story.

    I’ll have to figure out my BG2 party, but some recent experimentation with Keldorn and Cernd makes me think they might be the most powerful NPCs in this game. Keldorn’s dispel and true sight are clutch and Cernd’s bugs trivialize any mage fight. Jan is almost always with me (trying Nalia as my only thief wasn’t fun). I’ll need a mage, which will probably be Edwin but Nalia has an outside shot, which would leave one slot if I don’t want a rotating 6th hole (which is fun but might not be optimal). What do you guys think?
  • BorcoBorco Member Posts: 325
    edited July 2023
    Sorsha, human bard: Part 12

    Previous posts - BG1: Introduction, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
    Previous posts - SoA: 11

    With Imoen gone, Sorsha was once again on her own. For the record, here's the snapshot of our inventory after selling the excess loot from the Chateau.

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    Note: Don't mind the flind form here - I was just testing the applicability of the two-handed weapon style bonus for the halberd (confirmed).

    Once rested, we decided to proceed to the circus tent. Below is the extract of our spells memorized for the day.
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    Note: I had never really used Reflected Image before, however with Sorsha's luck bonus (via her personal custom item) it may eventually see some play, as it at least guarantees avoiding a single hit.

    For the orcs in the lobby, we buffed with Shield, Strength and DuHM and then kited them with our fast melee weapon and bow.
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    With Aerie back to her more appealing form, Sorsha applied her remaining buffs, including Polymorph: Self, ProCold (Ice Storm counter), MSD, ProEvil, Haste and DuHM and rushed into Kalah's dome in the flind form.
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    In addition to MIs and MGoI, Kalah's pre-buffs included Fireshield: Red, forcing us to abandon our melee approach.
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    Sensing a window of opportunity, he opened with a successful Slow, effectively negating Sorsha's Haste.
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    His subsequent Lightning Bolt got absorbed by our MSD.
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    With the shadows gone, Sorsha quickly morphed into the jelly form - just in time to counter Kalah's incoming Fireball.
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    As soon as he got under pressure from our range attacks, Kalah fired off his Invisibility + MIs sequencer.
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    In order to draw him out, Sorsha morphed back into her human form, ready to follow with Detect Invisibility. That was not necessary, as Kalah broke his invisibility with Ice Storm.
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    That was his fatal mistake - safe under her ProCold, Sorsha had enough time to morph into the jelly form once again (to counter any remaining low level spells with MR) and enjoy the circus show's finale.
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    We talked to Giran's mother, reported the events to the guard and took a well deserved rest at the Den until nightfall. Sorsha then witnessed the first showdown between the guilds, collected the loot and procured RoAC as well as some useful potions (1x PoI, 1x Freedom, 1x Genius and 2x Firebreath) and spell scrolls (Enchanted Weapon and Remove Magic, both of which were then added into her book together with Stoneskin).
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    Off we go to the Slums.

    Regards,

    B.
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,857
    Journal of Truestaff.

    I did some minor quests in the south, picked up Neera and did her quest after which I bade her farewell. I have now replaced her with Tenya. This run is now on hold for a while.
  • BorcoBorco Member Posts: 325
    Sorsha, human bard: Part 13

    Previous posts - BG1: Introduction, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
    Previous posts - SoA: 11, 12

    Even though the Copper Coronet would not make it into Athkatla's Michelin guide, I'd still vote it the most atmospheric pub in the known game universe. It's difficult to describe how many memories are brought back every time I enter that place with a new character for the first time.

    For Sorsha, it was mostly about business. Or, more precisely, about putting certain people out of business. Starting with Amalas, Sorsha tests Ghoul Touch + Polymorph combo, which might see some further use down the road (although this may be somewhat limited by the fact that Ghoul Touch saves vs. spell, which generally makes it ill-suited against casters, whereas the fighter types on the other hand will have their AC to avoid being hit).
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    I'm also curious to see whether we'll be able to leverage certain touch based spells by squeezing them into sequencers and thus making them accessible while polymorphed.

    For the gladiator cells, Sorsa prepared with Stoneskin and Armor (casting both before resting to conserve as much spell slots as possible), Shield, Strength, Pro Normal Missiles, MSD and MIs. She took care of the first group with her staff in melee, using one of her two DuHMs to speed up the process.
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    The winter wolf went down under Ghoul Touch.
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    Before approaching the beastmaster, Sorsha refreshed her MIs and readied her Polymorph: Self.
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    When the beasts attacked, she retreated into the narrow corridor, morphed into the flind form and applied the second DuHM.
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    If these cells are not one of the best places to use lightning then I don't know what is. Sorsha thought the same and fired her single Wand of Lightning charge. The results were more than satisfying.
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    With the last grizzly bear down, we morph into the jelly form and shoot down the beastmaster at range.
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    Well, well - the Tuigan was ours, Hendak got freed and Lehtinan went out of business for real.
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    We've also reached level 12, earning a proficiency pip in scimitars and our second L4 spell slot among others. At merely 440,000 XP, Sorsha's Chromatic Orbs have now become the poor man's Finger of Death and her MAA's last for 4 rounds.

    From Bernard, we purchase a stack of 40 acid arrows and Azuredge and are already looking forward to try it out at the Graveyard District. Speaking about Graveyard District and about putting people out of business - no, we didn't forget about Llynis.
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    Time to return Mr Littleman to where he belongs.

    Regards,

    B.
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,857
    edited July 2023
    Just had a quick run with a dwarven berserker. Was doing well but in Adoy's cave I was so busy keeping Neera alive. (I'd cast invisibility on her and the stupid girl cast a magic missile destroying her invisibility) that I didn't notice that Charname's health was dangerously low. :(

    That's the way it goes. I could of course have switched off AI but that spoils some of the fun.

    That was bad enough but then Mendas killed an Inquisitor with split mail and a helmet with one blow!

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    Now that is not on!

    Revenge is sweet! Started again with the same character. Mendas is dead.

    EDIT

    Discovered that a shield is better than a second sword.
    Post edited by Wise_Grimwald on
  • Alesia_BHAlesia_BH Member Posts: 759
    Glad to see you back in action, Borco!
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,321
    Trio 52 - update 5
    Stellar - half-elf druid (Grond0)
    Corethief XXXVI - human berserker dualled to thief in BG2EE (Corey_Russell)
    Betsdown - human dark moon monk (Gate70)

    Previous updates Today's session saw us emerging into Athkatla and commencing our adventures with a trip to the circus. Moving on to the Slums, we had a chat with Gaelan Bayle before heading to the Copper Coronet to oversee a transfer of ownership there.
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    Some useful bonus XP for dealing with locks and traps had helped Corethief recover his berserking abilities by then. That meant he was keen to get some better armor and a nymph's wiles persuaded Officer Dirth to hand over his suit of plate almost undamaged.
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    At the Graveyard, Corethief was able to rage to deal with shadow fiends. His rage also fended off a horror from the Crypt King - though he did utter a long-suffering sigh there when Stellar failed to wait the necessary few seconds before following and spent a while running round the tomb.
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    The one bit of unsuccessful work in that area was Stellar confirming Uncle Lester's immunity to lightning as he made his escape.
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    Underground, we risked taking on a nest of spiders in order to get some headgear for Betsdown. None of us had good saving throws and Betsdown got poisoned early on. Fortunately, by that time an insect plague was spreading through the spiders and Stellar's aura cleared in time to use slow poison on Betsdown.
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    There were several more instances of poison before we emerged into the daylight again, with Betsdown going down to 4 HPs on one occasion and having to make good use of his monk speed to prevent a sword spider from finishing him off.
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    Travelling away from the Graveyard we knew the Suna Seni ambush would trigger. The mage was the only potential danger there and insects snuffed that out quickly.
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    After picking up quite a bit more XP from Corethief using his skills on a couple of thief guilds, we took a quick side-trip to Watcher's Keep to buy the potion case. We didn't have any good anti-undead weaponry, so didn't want to risk leaving Corethief to attack vampiric wraiths while Stellar cowered behind a door.

    A bit more action in Athkatla saw us deal with some kidnappers. It looked for a moment like Camitis might get away there when his icon overlapped Reti's and made him difficult to attack. However, some lightning fell from the sky just before he could complete his escape.
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    We also solved the skinner quest there - Corethief and Betsdown smacking down the Rune Assassins, who were hampered by true seeing running.
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    We coughed up 15k to Gaelan Bayle to get the AoP before returning to Watcher's Keep. On entering that, Corethief started looting some containers but Betsdown didn't want to wait for him to attack the nearby stone golem on his own. That proved a fatal mistake when the golem stood on top of him, leaving him unable to run or even attack back. Before his companions could save him the golem found a vicious critical to knock Betsdown's block off - fortunately a repair shop was available just outside the keep :D.
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    In the event there were only mephits guarding the main room anyway, which posed no problem. There was a potential problem though in the last of the rooms on the top floor we investigated when poison once more affected Corethief - this time from a green slime.
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    Stellar used slow poison to deal with that, but wasn't sure whether that would be sufficient to prevent Corethief from exploding. However, he survived a night's rest before the session ended, so everything seemed to be all right.

    Druid 12, 87 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 42 kills (+67 in BGEE)
    Thief 11 / Berserker 8, 112 HPs, 44 kills (+241 in BGEE), 0 deaths
    Dark moon monk 10, 80 HPs, 119 kills (+173 in BGEE), 4 deaths
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