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Not a bug... But it bugged me... Gnoll Fortress full of Xvarts.

AnduinAnduin Member Posts: 5,745
in Archive (General Discussion)
After some funny business with my familiar causing chaos by becoming ghostlike and flying through the forts walls... I appeared to find the Gnolls fortress empty of Gnolls. Instead it was full of Xvarts...

Now, I'm like the next Bhaalspawn, I like to kill the little blue critters all day long... But what I expect to kill, especially in a fort named after Gnolls, is GNOLLS!

Anyone else had this problem?

...

Comments

  • IkMarcIkMarc Member Posts: 552
    What are you talking about?
  • BlueSorceressBlueSorceress Member Posts: 84
    Anduin said:

    After some funny business with my familiar causing chaos by becoming ghostlike and flying through the forts walls... I appeared to find the Gnolls fortress empty of Gnolls. Instead it was full of Xvarts...

    Now, I'm like the next Bhaalspawn, I like to kill the little blue critters all day long... But what I expect to kill, especially in a fort named after Gnolls, is GNOLLS!

    Anyone else had this problem?

    ...

    I think that area spawns both gnolls and xvarts more or less equally. I get gnolls more often in the fortress areas, and xvarts more often in the areas around the cave entrances, but have gotten both creature types in both parts of that map fairly regularly.

    I guess that's part of what makes it a random encounter :)

    -Blue
  • LoremasterLoremaster Member Posts: 212
    I believe some encounters are scaled according to party level. If you are of low level you get easier monsters. Don't know for sure though.
  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,329
    Loremaster said:

    I believe some encounters are scaled according to party level. If you are of low level you get easier monsters. Don't know for sure though.

    I've always suspected the same. Does anyone here know if encounters are scaled?
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    Encounters are scaled based on party level AND number of party members. You get more (and in some cases, tougher) monster spawns if you are high level and/or you have six party members.

    Note that there are fixed monsters in some maps. They are there no matter what level you are. Example:Vampiric Wolf pack in Temple Area. If you go there as a level 1 character solo, you'll be dog-meat, literally.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,675
    edited February 2013
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
    Post edited by [Deleted User] on
  • DarkcloudDarkcloud Member Posts: 302
    atcDave said:

    Loremaster said:

    I believe some encounters are scaled according to party level. If you are of low level you get easier monsters. Don't know for sure though.

    I've always suspected the same. Does anyone here know if encounters are scaled?
    Baldurs Gate 2 does have different groups spawn depending on your level. I'm not sure about BG 1.
  • AnduinAnduin Member Posts: 5,745
    This play through is VERY random. Vampiric wolves north of Nashkel using me as a dog chew, finding lots of new NPCs, Monty randomly leaving when I went for a chat...

    ALL EQUALS FUN!

    However I would still have liked to have found Gnolls in the fortress named after them...

    ...

    I also take it badly... The malicious statements suggesting my troop of adventurers are low... The main character is a triple class is all *sniff*
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    Monster spawns were tweaked for BGEE and bugged early on (fixed by recent patches) but even fixed the spawns at lower levels particularly in Gnoll fort area still seem considerably lower than in vanilla game. I recently visited the fort with a party around level 4 and this produced relatively large numbers of gnolls but still not to the level of the vanilla game as I recall it (altho my memory is about as reliable as Nashkel iron ore).

    In the vanilla game it seemed I always met 4-6 gnolls right at the gate and another 4-6 halfway up the stairs and I have yet to see this in BGEE - I don't think I ever met any at the gate and the spawn point halfway up the stairs either doesn't spawn or only spawns 1 or 2.

    Perhaps they will continue to work on the whole monster spawn system as time goes on.
  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,329
    Wanderon said:

    Monster spawns were tweaked for BGEE and bugged early on (fixed by recent patches) but even fixed the spawns at lower levels particularly in Gnoll fort area still seem considerably lower than in vanilla game. I recently visited the fort with a party around level 4 and this produced relatively large numbers of gnolls but still not to the level of the vanilla game as I recall it (altho my memory is about as reliable as Nashkel iron ore).

    In the vanilla game it seemed I always met 4-6 gnolls right at the gate and another 4-6 halfway up the stairs and I have yet to see this in BGEE - I don't think I ever met any at the gate and the spawn point halfway up the stairs either doesn't spawn or only spawns 1 or 2.

    Perhaps they will continue to work on the whole monster spawn system as time goes on.

    I have encountered both groups of Gnolls, but never both on the same play through. My impression is still that spawns are a little less numerous than in vanilla, but not by as much as in the initial release. Although I must admit, having played tutu for several years, my perception may be skewed. Tutu absolutely over-spawned. It made for more killer tough random encounters, and much faster experience gains (if your level two party can actually defeat those two Vampiric Wolves it sure is a lot of experience...)
  • AnduinAnduin Member Posts: 5,745
    edited February 2013
    @wanderon My memory of vanilla flavoured BG was that the Gnolls fortress was PACKED with Gnolls. It made saving Dynhier extremely difficult. I actually had to use Khalid and Minsc to block a path around one of the death pits so that my group would not get surrounded and decimated by the numbers of Gnolls spawned... Them were the days... Now, the five that spawned got stupefied and removed by a Minsc wielding two maces, helped by Imoen with a bow, Branwen with a sling. Neera went off and killed the Xvarts with her staff, casting sleep here and there while I ran around trying to wake them up again with Drizzts scimitars... In all, due to the small numbers, I think Neera could have been left to deal with them with just her staff.

    @atcDave Whilst I agree I played BGT for maximum spawns... There are not as many spawn points in BG:EE. I wonder why?

    EDIT: Sorry, put this point in before, but it was specifically pointed at @atcDave . On a completely different issue, does the atc on your name stand for Air Training Corp?
    Post edited by Anduin on
  • bigdogchrisbigdogchris Member Posts: 1,336
    The xvart village is right next door, so I would expect to see them in the area. Maybe they work with the gnolls?
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    Anduin said:

    @wanderon My memory of vanilla flavoured BG was that the Gnolls fortress was PACKED with Gnolls. It made saving Dynhier extremely difficult. I actually had to use Khalid and Minsc to block a path around one of the death pits so that my group would not get surrounded and decimated by the numbers of Gnolls spawned... Them were the days... Now, the five that spawned got stupefied and removed by a Minsc wielding two maces, helped by Imoen with a bow, Branwen with a sling. Neera went off and killed the Xvarts with her staff, casting sleep here and there while I ran around trying to wake them up again with Drizzts scimitars... In all, due to the small numbers, I think Neera could have been left to deal with them with just her staff.

    Whilst I agree I played BGT for maximum spawns... There are not as many spawn points in BG:EE. I wonder why?

    Yes this is essentially what I recall as well 8-12 gnolls between the gate and entry stairway - a couple batches of xvarts around the lower pit - another 6-8 gnolls at the top of the narrow stair to the upper pits - 12- 20 more between the first pit and the pit Dyna is in. More xvarts or gnolls on the very highest level also.

    If you didn't use the choke point between the first upper pit and the wall you were going to be over run - use the chokepoint and some AOE spells and life got easier.
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    bigdogchris said:

    The xvart village is right next door, so I would expect to see them in the area. Maybe they work with the gnolls?

    The xvarts are actually the brains of the operation - they started breeding gnoll thralls a century ago and command them with the aid of mind control drugs and bacon.

  • AnduinAnduin Member Posts: 5,745
    @Wanderon and @Bigdogchris Without bacon, essentially, the Xvarts would be eaten. Little known fact, Xvarts taste like Pedigree Chum chicken and liver...

    Do you think a feature request asking to be able to burn the Xvart village would be accepted?
  • bigdogchrisbigdogchris Member Posts: 1,336
    You can already do a mass slaughter, that's not enough destruction for you :p
  • AnduinAnduin Member Posts: 5,745
    @bigdogchris I think a ritual burning always adds a bit of class to a mass slaughter, don't you agree?
  • SplodSplod Member Posts: 114
    I just went through the Gnoll fortress last night with 3 lvl1 characters, CHARNAME, Imoen and Minsc. I encountered less Gnolls than I remember, maybe a total of 10 Gnoll Warriors, 2 Gnoll Slashers and a Gnoll Chieftain? But no Xvarts to be seen within the fortress itself?
    Also, how cool would it be if you could actually enter the gnoll fortress? Another dungeon crawl would be great.
  • scriverscriver Member Posts: 2,072
    @Splod -
    The awesomness of an expanded Gnoll Keep has been brought up before and it has in fact been stated by the devs to be one of the biggest possibilities for more expanded content.

    Also, fun info tidbit: on the Gnoll Keep concept art for the old game it was labeled "Gnoll Keep exterior" which probably means they originally planned an interior for it as well, but it got cut somewhere down the development line.
  • DrHappyAngryDrHappyAngry Member Posts: 1,577
    Anduin said:

    @bigdogchris I think a ritual burning always adds a bit of class to a mass slaughter, don't you agree?

    They could also add bags of salt as items, so you could salt the earth, since you really don't want them coming back. Maybe add some spikes so you can leave their bodies impaled to scare off anybody that wants to return ;)

  • SCARY_WIZARDSCARY_WIZARD Member Posts: 1,438
    edited February 2013
    DrHappyAngry said:

    Anduin said:

    @bigdogchris I think a ritual burning always adds a bit of class to a mass slaughter, don't you agree?

    They could also add bags of salt as items, so you could salt the earth, since you really don't want them coming back. Maybe add some spikes so you can leave their bodies impaled to scare off anybody that wants to return ;)

    Your avatar - and the content of the post - are the reason I liked your post. :'D
    Wanderon said:

    In the vanilla game it seemed I always met 4-6 gnolls right at the gate and another 4-6 halfway up the stairs and I have yet to see this in BGEE - I don't think I ever met any at the gate and the spawn point halfway up the stairs either doesn't spawn or only spawns 1 or 2.

    Yeah, when I did the Gnoll Fortress part on my first (successful -- TotSC, Tweak Pack installed, maaaybe one or two others...) playthrough, I was attacked by OBSCENE amounts of gnolls. Like...there were gnolls all around the pits, and everything. Gnolls respawning, gnolls respawning on top of the characters...it was awesome. Then, on my next playthrough (Tutu) it was like, "Rarr, I'm a gnoll! This is my fort, not your fo...rtyegodsthatsworddidaciddamagegoodbyecruelworld."; BG: EE, I, uhh...just remember ventilating gnolls, and then Neera making gnolls explode. Still a very small quantity.

    So.
    First Run: Epic rescue mission. Starred Zyira of Candlekeep, Imoen Winthrop, Minsc of Rashemen, Branwen, and Shar-Teel Dosan, with "Macho Man" Randy Savage as Boo the Hamster.
    Second Run: Running through an abandoned fort.
    Third Run: "Whoa, dude, we were REVIEWING APPLICATIONS. Put the weapons down! Hey, Dorn, wanna join us?".
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