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The Heavenly Arrow's Flight:Roisin's Journey (Solo Archer Playthrough w/RolePlay Style Storytelling)

ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
Here I am again, writing yet another question thread for yet another different character... (I swear I'm not ignoring my previous playthroughs. I'm just playing them at the same time as this one...)

Anyway, this time around, I'm playing through as a solo archer. She's been the most fun solo class I've tried so far, and I've been making decent progress with her. I mainly started this thread so if anyone's interested they can get updates on how the playthrough is going, but I also started it in case I had questions I needed to ask. But I'll get to that later. First off, my character:


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Backstory



Roisin (pronounced Ro-sheen. It's Irish) is true to her name. A little rose. But every rose has thorns, and that's evident in her personality. She's curt, snippy, and sometimes plain rude. (As intentionally evidenced in her abilities) This is part of why she desires no assistance from others. Fortunately, to make up for this, she's also talented. Growing up, she studied well and was diligent, albeit a bit aggravated by all the books. She longed to travel the world, see the great forests, and commune with nature. She took basic training from the local guards, at the rather strange suggestion of Gorion. He had never before seemed interested in martial prowess, but Roisin merely assumed he wanted her to be well rounded. Roisin proved excellent with all manner of ranged weaponry, though she found shortbows to be her favorite tool, as their smaller size was easier for her to handle. That is not to say, however, that she was weak. Nay, despite her size, she was a mighty force to be reckoned with, and on numerous occasions bowled her sparring partners over. But she never truly excelled in melee combat. There was just something in their style that she could not quite grasp. One day, while picking a blade out the equipment chest before training, she found an old rusted katana. Even decayed and damaged as it was, it called out to her, and she plucked it from the chest and continued to use it from then on in training. At least, that is, till it inevitably shattered. She was discouraged, but the guards, feeling pity for her, purchased the closest thing they could find. (and reasonably afford) A ninja-to. It wasn't quite the same, but Roisin still enjoyed the sleek and slender design of the blade. Over time, she trained with all manner of foreign weapons, finding them more suited to her, but she still longed for another katana. As for her relations with those in town, she was quietly fond of them all, save one... Winthrop's foster child, Imoen, drove Roisin insane, and she often avoided Imoen whenever possible. It was unfortunate, as Winthrop himself was a pleasant enough chap who got along well with Roisin. But the person Roisin was most fond of was her dear foster father, Gorion. Although she hated his rules and restrictions, she truly loved him like a father.



Now then, that's about enough backstory. I'll list my progress and current questions in a comment a little later. (when I have more time) That's all for now folks!

Edit: For those of you who are just finding this thread, be forewarned that the quality improves after the first few installments. (or degrades, depending on what you're looking for.) The first few I tried doing a very "just the facts" style with some roleplaying thrown in, but I experimented with my writing a bit over the course of it, and it became much more of a roleplay\story than a challenge run-through. That said, I still hope you'll read it, and I hope you enjoy!
Post edited by Elrandir on
WanderonJuliusBorisovCrevsDaaklolienrufus_hobart
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Comments

  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    edited February 2014
    Actually, I do have one immediate question. How does one use spoilers? I'm sure not everyone wants to read the wall of text, and it'd lighten my post up quite a bit.

    Edit: [spoiler] I figured it out.
    Post edited by Elrandir on
  • TyranusTyranus Member Posts: 268
    I wonder how many traps your Shield amulet will eat over the course of this playthrough. Keep a tally! I'd be interested in the most creative ways you find to get around the traps.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    edited February 2014
    Now that I have a bit more time, I'll begin recounting her travels.

    After Roisin was told by Gorion to pack up and leave, she did simply that. She didn't like to be constrained, but Gorion seemed worried, so Roisin did as he asked, bought supplies, and set out. On their journey, they were ambushed. In the morning Imoen came to bother Roisin, so she told Imoen to bugger off. (after pilfering a few choice goods from her) After that, Roisin proceeded to obtain what was left from the carnage, and, with no better place to go, went to Beregost. On the way she found a magical ring and a diamond. Once in Beregost, she explored the town a bit, and got involved with some daft mage named Neera. Thrown into a battle she didn't want any part of, she assisted Neera (who Roisin would admit was in the right) and then told Neera to leave. AFTER, of course, helping herself to Neera's gem bag. ("No payment my ass...") Wounded, she went to the closest inn and found some Dwarven mercenary after her head. She narrowly dealt with him, and then went to sleep. After checking out the town some more, she helped out Firebead Elvenhair, due to knowing him decently. She also dealt with some fool in the inn who had something against adventurers. (Though she did so peacefully) She then traveled south, dealt with some Ogrillons, and took the note back to Mirianne. Continuing to travel south, she was found and accused of banditry by some Flaming Fist mercenaries. They met an ill end... Eventually she found her way in Nashkel, and there was attacked yet again in the inn. This time by a much more dangerous cleric. After spending the night in the inn, she took a morning stroll through the fields and found a very nice suit of armor. She then traveled back to Beregost and did some trading there, after returning a necklace from a dead noble to his father. She obtained a superior bow, and sold some other loot. Then, hearing a rumor of a mage to the west, she traveled to High Hedge. There she found the wizard and traded some, mainly obtaining a handy potions case. After that she traveled to the Friendly Arm Inn, and accepted\completed a few things there. Mainly dealing with some woman and a lost ring. Then she decided to take a trip to the Nashkel mines, but on the way she was ambushed by some bandits. Fortunately, a very evil looking half-orc assisted her, claiming something about revenge. He offered his services to her and she turned him down, having no interest in any companions, let alone some merciless half-orc. She did however, obtain an enchanted wakizashi, which she quickly snatched up. A little worn from the fight, she returned to Nashkel, and that's where I am currently.


    Sorry for the wall of text. I didn't originally plan to make a thread about this, so I had some catching up to do.

    I have one question. How to deal with Basilisks? I know about the potions of mirrored eyes, but I hear they're pretty shoddy. I know I can get some... assistance, with the main area they're in, but what about later in the game?
    JuliusBorisovCrevsDaaklolien
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    @Tyranus‌ Thanks for the idea! I'd totally forgotten about that amulet. XD I'll keep a tally, though I hope to be able to carefully skirt around a fair number of them. If only there were potions of levitation!
  • TyranusTyranus Member Posts: 268
    @Elrandir The Shield Amulet is one of the best items in the first game for an Archer (aside from Acid/Detonation Arrows). Most of the traps you come across up until Cloakwood are Magic Missiles, Arrows, or Lightning Bolts. The Boots of Grounding are picked up super early, as well.

    Potions of Mirrored Eyes are fine for dealing with the Basilisks later in the game. They're really easy to hit and you'll be doing a ton of damage once you get Grand Mastery, Called Shots, and Acid Arrows. They're also scripted to keep trying to petrify things at range, so you can get away with Arrows of Detonation to clear them out in groups.

    If I was you, I'd pick up the Constitution Tome as soon as possible. Those extra few HP are most important early in the game, and you want to cancel out your Elf racial disability right away.
    ElrandirJuliusBorisovlolien
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    @Tyranus‌ Who will identify tomes? I haven't found anyone who will. (though I usually have a mage or bard so it's not been a concern) And thanks for the tips!
  • JLeeJLee Member Posts: 650
    @Elrandir Thalantyr in High Hedge will identify them for you
    ElrandirCrevsDaakBlackraven
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    @JLee‌ Ah! Thanks a ton! I had a feeling the crotchety old wizard might be the one.
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    Temples will ID tomes as well.
    Elrandir
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    edited March 2014
    Question time! What would you guys say is a better choice of belt for an archer in BG1? Golden Girdle of Urnst, Elve's Bane, or Destroyer of the Hills? If there's another option, let me know. I'm thinking of the three easily obtainable ones, since I've already got two out of the three and am trying to decide, since I have little space.

    Edit: I'm thinking GGoU, in consideration of the final battle, but if you have a compelling argument otherwise, please say it!
    Post edited by Elrandir on
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Impossible to give a general statement, but I'd say the contest is between GGoU and EB. Destroyer of the Hills is almost never useful because few physically strong enemies fight with blunt weapons.

    As an archer I suppose you avoid melee situations, so the only threats are ranged attacks (aparte from magic of course). EB will protect you fromt hose ranged attacks.
    In the final battle you'll still try to use your bow I suppose - along with boots AND potions of speed to keep your enemies at a distance, and using stealth and invis potions to recover and for surprise attacks. If you're really good at avoiding (melee) hits by the big boss you could also wear EB in the final battle, so as to prevent one of his sidekicks from doing too much harm with ranged attacks. If you can't avoid melee at all times, use GGoU, because the high chief hits hard...
    ElrandirJuliusBorisovCrevsDaaklolien
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    I might consider taking both. Overall, I'll have plenty of space. Even though I won't have a bag of holding, I also won't have as many nice weapons to lug around. Even carrying lots of magical arrows, I still should have enough room to bring a different belt. And I won't be using any variety in armor or even cloak, for that matter. Helmet will be fairly simple, and gloves will probably be the Legacy of the Master.
    Blackraven
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Just a short update right now, I only did a short session last night before bed, but I'll play some more later today. Didn't even take any screenshots. Although it's still a fair amount to read, due to my verbosity...


    After selling all the items from the adventurers, Roisin inquired as to Landrin's house, having accepted her quest when last at the Friendly Arm Inn. Traveling there, she found and dealt with the spiders. Despite standing there, allowing them to swing at her as she fired at them, they failed to touch her. Gathering the things Landrin mentioned, Roisin traveled to the FAI and returned them to Landrin. Upon giving her the last item, Roisin hit level six! This is the final big level for her in BG1, as she gains her final proficiency point (which allowed for high mastery of shortbows) and more accuracy\damage with missile weapons. She'll gain another small bonus at level 8, but this is the last big bonus to her skills.

    After dealing with Landrin's task, she decided to explore north of the FAI, and found a small farm. Having never seen a full farm before, and loving animals, Roisin went and found the owner, hoping for a tour. To her surprise, the old man begged for assistance, saying his son had gone missing. He mentioned something to the west, so Roisin explored. Finding a large pit in the earth, Roisin (somewhat unwillingly) traveled inside. Immediately she was attacked by a large insect that she had only ever read about in books on nature's dangerous creatures. An ankheg! Despite the purported threat, the beast fell quickly. Wearing a suit of ankheg armor herself, Roisin knew the value. Even more so, considering the smith of Beregost had commented on her armor when she was last there. Heavy as it was, she stored the shell away and carefully traveled around the cave, sticking to the walls whenever possible. Fortunately, she found the son after only two more encounters with ankhegs. Unfortunately, the son was quite dead. But at least Roisin had managed to deal with the bugs without taking a hit! Despite moving quite slowly, she dragged the corpse along with two shells back to the surface and returned to the farmer. He said he was too old to farm himself, and too poor to hire anyone, so he lost his son, and his farm. In a somewhat uncommon show of compassion, Roisin gave the man 100 gold, and gave him her condolences. Afterwards she traveled back to Beregost. However she arrived at night, and so stayed at the inn closest to the smithy, the Jovial Juggler. Inside she heard about a cloak and some half-ogres, two unrelated things. In the morning, she went to the smithy and sold her shells and other various assorted loot, and in the end, left the smithy with nearly 20000 gold total. And that's where my last session ended.


    Next time I think I'll be tackling the gnoll stronghold, but I have a question, can I go there if I haven't accepted Minsc's quest? I can't see Roisin being willing to help if it means he'll join her, but there'll be (more) continuity errors if I refuse him, since he'll attack me.
    CrevsDaakJuliusBorisovlolien
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    You can do the gnoll fort without speaking to Minsc first then after saving Dyna just travel directly back to Nashkel with her and let them get together then dismiss them
    Elrandir
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    @Wanderon‌ Thanks! I've never actually tried it before, but I was hoping that was the case.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    The next (relatively short) step of our journey. I'm trying to cut down on unnecessary info, but bear with me. I'm not new to role-playing, but I am new to keeping my word count down.

    Roisin traveled to Nashkel next, intending once again to go to the mines, however, as she has proven, she is easily distracted, especially when she does not overly care about her task. Hearing talk of a man wishing to go the Gnoll Stronghold, she travels there herself, to see what all the fuss is about. Her journey was uneventful, with nothing but a polar bear and a handful of gnolls to bother her. Once at the area surrounding the stronghold, she began traveling across a bridge only to find two half-ogres(?) demanding a toll. They were dealt with swiftly, and Roisin found a pair of magical gloves on one, which she stored away. Before tackling the stronghold itself, Roisin explored the area surrounding it. She found three small caves, mostly uninteresting, with some bothersome xvarts to fill with arrows. But in one of the caves, she found a small stash of potions, scrolls, and a magical book, which she kept to be identified. After finishing with the area to the south, she wandered up the twisting pathways to the stronghold itself, occasionally dealing with a gnoll or two. once at the top of the stronghold, she found herself with a great deal of the monsters in her way, but with caution and range, she brought down the group with little effort. The gnolls seemed to be guarding something, and Roisin looked into the pits in the ground. In one, she found a mage, who called herself Dynaheir. She said she had been captured and her companion and protector, a man named Minsc, was likely searching for her. She asked to travel with Roisin, till they found him. Assuming he was the man in Nashkel, Roisin accepted. The mage was injured and penniless, with nothing but the robe on her back, and Roisin thought she would perish were she to travel there alone. They traveled back to Nashkel safely, though Roisin did deal with a winter wolf. Remembering the Nashkel merchant wanting a pelt, she skinned it and took it's hide with her. Once in Nashkel, they found the man, who was indeed Minsc, and the Roisin parted ways with the two. After selling some items to the merchant, she traveled to High Hedge, and had Thalantyr identify the book. To Roisin's delight, it was a magically fortified book of knowledge, and thanks to it, Roisin's personality become a little more, well, personable. She was still herself, but between the magic and the writing within, Roisin realized she was a little rude, and would endeavor to be less so in future. Afterwards, she returned to Beregost, quite tired from the long journey, and she went to an inn and slept. In the morning, it was day 20, hour 0, so Roisin had a full day ahead of her to plan her next actions.

    image

    It wasn't hard to deal with the brute, merely running away and then filling him full of arrows was all I needed to do.

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    This one wasn't even threatening, but hey! Gloves! (Which equate to money...)

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    My first tome! Hoorah!

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    Just a little update for those of you who're interested to see the growth of the character. Hey! 10 CHA!
    CrevsDaakJuliusBorisovlolienrufus_hobart
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Enjoyable read! :)
    I could relate to the "she is easily distracted, especially when she does not overly care about her task" bit... happens a lot with many charnames i think
    Keep up the good work!
    lolien
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Thank you very much! It's nice to know the work is appreciated! =)
    Blackravenlolien
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Thanks for the tips and compliments! I think I already sold Gorion's belt, but I don't remember cold damage being very troublesome to begin with, so I don't think I'll worry too much about trying to find it again. I took a day off yesterday (partly to plan Roisin's next course of action) but I'll be playing a (hopefully) long session tonight, so expect a new post this evening\morning!
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited March 2014
    All right! Looking forward to it. @Tyranus is right: your characterizations, anecdotes etc. add depth to your journal. I wish you safe travels!

    PS Don't worry about Gorion's belt. It's not all that.
    Elrandir
  • TyranusTyranus Member Posts: 268
    @Blackraven Yeah, it's actually much less important than I made it sound. Don't worry about buying it back. The damage from traps will be negligible and Black Talon Elites shouldn't be hitting you in the first place if you have Elves Bane equiped, and they are the only strong opponents in the first game who use cold damage.
    BlackravenCrevsDaak
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    edited March 2014
    I'm back! This is just the first half of this session, I'll be playing more and (hopefully) posting it tonight as well. I just didn't want to make a mile long post.

    Setting out before the sun rose, Roisin decided to check out the actual Sword COAST. She headed west, through high hedge and into a new area. As she explored the coast she met a mad gnome. Since he said nothing of note, and seemed to be unable to form coherent sentences, Roisin ignored him and continued on down to the beach. There she found a shipwreck. After searching for a short while she found a magical ring. The dark aura emanating from the ring seemed to signal a cursed item, and Roisin walked back past the gnome, examining it. To her surprise, the gnome jumped up excitedly and snatched the ring from her. After spouting some more inane garble, he handed her a potion which Roisin recognized as an oil of fiery burning. Shrugging, Roisin decided the potion was probably worth more than what seemed to be a cursed ring, and continued on her way. Traveling south some, she found a group of ogres and ogre-kin, which she dealt with quite handily, keeping her distance and challenging only a couple at a time. Traveling a little further south from there, she met a man who called himself the surgeon. He offered to tend to Roisin's wounds, but she had none, so she merely inquired as to him. He told her he cured others as a form of repentance for sparing an evil brother named Davaeorn. The name stuck with Roisin, though she didn't know why. After all, it was unlikely she'd ever meet him. He did however give her a valuable potion before bidding her farewell. She continued south, but was unable to move much further due to water, so she headed back to High Hedge and continued south from there.

    She found herself in a very rocky landscape, which she felt would prove interesting. True to her thoughts, she soon found a wolf attacking a chicken. While Roisin felt no real need to protect an animal from another, the wolf attacked her upon sight, so she dealt with it. To her surprise, the chicken came up and thanked her! It said it was a mage who had been transformed. It said it's master had been Thalantyr and it requested assistance. Seeing no harm in help a poor chicke- er… mage, Roisin put the animal in her pack and traveled back to High hedge. There, it turned out Melicamp was not quite so innocent, and had become a chicken by the magic of some ancient bracers he had stolen from Thalantyr when he left his old master. To fix this, Thalantyr needed a skull. Fortunately, Roisin had seen some skeletons near Thalantyr’s abode, which she quickly found again. After obtaining a skull, Roisin returned. After one failed attempt, (in which Melicamp may or may not have exploded…) Thalantyr successfully cured Melicamp, and Melicamp stayed with Thalantyr to truly learn the art of magic. Roisin was given no tangible rewards, but considered the event to have ended satisfactorily.

    Returning to the south of high hedge, Roisin encountered some hobgoblin bandits. After dispatching them quickly, though not entirely without injury, she returned once again to high hedge. She needed to sell the items she had found, as her inventory was quite full. When Thalantyr identified the magical short sword one hobgoblin had dropped, Roisin cursed that she had never spent more time training with short swords, as the blade was artfully crafted. Sighing, she returned to the area at which her hobgoblin “friend” Zargal had attacked.

    By this point, night had fallen, and she noticed disturbing lights coming from a cluster of trees nearby. Coming closer she saw an undead throng surrounding one man. At first she was going to unleash her arrows to defend the man, but then she realized he was controlling them. The things he said proved him to be insane, so she nocked an arrow and prepared, ready to fight, but before she could loose one at his head he noticed her. He began threatening her, saying if she hurt his “family” he’d kill her. That is, he threatened her before he mistook Roisin for his own mother! Sensing she might take advantage of the mistake, she played along, trying to draw more information from him, till he realized she was not, in fact, his mother. Fortunately, a few well placed words caused him to fly into a rage, which caused him to seemingly lose control of the undead and they crumbled to the ground. After that, it was a matter of five arrows and one damage-induced spell failure and Bassilus lay dead on the ground. Twas not Roisin's hardest fight, it was sure. After such a generally hair raising incident, however, Roisin decided to travel back to Beregost, taking with her Bassilus’ holy symbol, as she had heard of a bounty for his head, though she'd not paid enough attention to know the details. She had to deal with some skeletons on the way, however, and arrived at Beregost early in the morning.

    After a few hours rest she made a stop at the smithy, where this time she cursed her lack of training in warhammers, due to Bassilus’ hammer being exquisite. Fortunately though, the value of the hammer offset the wasted money of identifying Bassilus’ gloves, which were cursed. (I don't know why I bothered to identify them *shakes head*) Afterwards she traveled to the temple to redeem the bounty for Bassilus’ head. To her surprise, the reward for Bassilus’ death was a whopping 5000 gold, which Roisin happily pocketed. Afterwards, she headed out to the red canyons again, set on discovering the secrets of the sword coast. But that will have to wait. (For an hour or two, at least. ;p)


    Picture time!

    One heck of a lotta dead ogre-kin.
    image

    Sounds tasty.
    image

    Master and student reunited.
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    Success!
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    Bassilus' Death. Guess he can join his family now.
    image
    CrevsDaakJuliusBorisov
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    5 arrow and Bassilus is down... Well done my friend. I had a hard time against him, and was basically very lucky to save twice against his hold person spells!
    Elrandir
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    edited March 2014
    @Blackraven‌ I am playing on a much easier setting, with no SCS to make things tricky, but I also thought with Roisin's wisdom and intelligence it'd be easy to role-play a "successful" conversation against him. Then it's just a matter of continuously hitting him. And with a THAC0 of 5 and 5/2 attacks per round, that's not much of a challenge.
    Post edited by Elrandir on
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    The next leg of the journey.

    Roisin traveled from the red canyons westward, finding her way to a lightly wooded and very grassy coast land. Over the tops of the trees she could just make out a tall building in the southwest, which she decided she would travel to first. After resting till daylight, she started her way over to the building. Along the way she met a woman who seemed friendly. Roisin spoke to her, and learned that the woman was named Arkushule, a palm reader and diviner by trade, who offered to read Roisin’s palm. Roisin saw no harm in it, and had always been amused by fortune telling and the like, so she accepted. After a few simple, but accurate, readings, Arkushule seemed to see something that frightened her. She seemed to want to get away, but Roisin, understandably disturbed by the sudden fear, tried to persuade the woman to explain. Arkushule would have none of it, however, and even though Roisin’s prodding was gentle, Arkushule suddenly attacked, telling Roisin to stay away from her! Roisin would have happily gone away, had she known this would result in a fight, but as it was she had no choice but to defend herself. The diviner was no match for a well trained archer, and two arrows put her down. Roisin felt a little sick, knowing she had killed an innocent woman, but what disturbed her as much, if not more, was the fear of what was in her past that had caused such terror in the woman.

    Continuing on, disturbed and confused, Roisin traveled down a little dirt path, thinking it might lead her to the tower. Near the end of the path, what appeared to be a peasant woman approached, asking for help. She said her child was playing in the abandoned lighthouse when a pack of worgs surrounded it. Roisin knew she needed to get over her feelings of guilt from a few minutes before and hurry to save the child. Rushing to the enclosed area. which housed a couple of buildings besides the lighthouse, all ruined, Roisin saw the worgs and laid into them, putting them down quickly and easily. The boy seemed to be hiding, but the threat was gone, so Roisin came back to the mother. The mother was understandably pleased, and gave Roisin what little gold she had. Roisin wanted to refuse it, seeing as the mother appeared to be poor, but the woman insisted, so Roisin walked away, feeling a bit better about the events today had held for her.

    Traveling northward, following the path, she saw a small beach and a path leading from it. She also saw a woman wearing leather armor. Hesitantly, Roisin came up to the woman, fearing she might be another assassin, though the likelihood of one being out in the wilderness did not seem high. When Roisin spoke to the woman, she seemed utterly uninterested, saying if Roisin found any fighting ready men on her travels, to send them Safana’s way. She mentioned a treasure hunt, but gave no hints as to the meaning. This sparked Roisin’s interest, and she began to look more carefully around the area, thinking there might be a great source of treasure.

    Approaching the small beach front, Roisin encountered two sirines. These creatures were dangerous for many reasons, not the least of which being their powerful charm ability. Roisin was thrice hit by this power, but miraculously (I have no idea how) resisted the spell each time. Continuing up the beach front, she found another one and dealt with it similarly, once again resisting the charm. On the corpses of the three she found a pearl each, and several magical arrows, which she greedily pocketed.

    Continuing up the small path, she wove her way around the edge of the small cliff and saw another sirine. Though Roisin did not want to kill a non-hostile, the other sirines had proven themselves to be violent, so Roisin took the first shot. Another sirine, standing behind the first cast two dire charms at Roisin, but the trees were in the way, and the spell did not connect. (I’m serious. No save vs. spell made, yet no charm effect. *shrugs*) It seemed that striking first was the right choice, because another sirine called Sil said she would punish Roisin for trespassing on her land. Retreating back behind the trees that had protected her from the other’s spells, Roisin quickly shot Sil down and advanced cautiously. It seemed that was the last of them, and Roisin quickly took their items, but not before noticing the gaping maw of a cave’s entrance. Thoughts of the treasure Safana had mentioned popped into Roisin’s head, and she cautiously entered.

    When she entered, she found that the cave was inhabited by dangerous flesh golems, creatures which would not be harmed by Roisin’s normal arrows. Quickly pulling her quiver of enchanted arrows from her pack she assailed the beast, who had begun lumbering towards her. luring him outside, where she had more room to maneuver, Roisin dealt with the brute, and then returned to the cave, even more cautiously than before. Not cautiously enough, however, for Roisin triggered a holding trap as she traveled in. Fortunately there were no creatures around, though as she stood frozen, she was terrified one of the brutes might find her. She had already taken a painful blow from just one when she was able to move to decrease the effect it's blow had had, and she shuddered to think what one could do with a still target. Being unable to avoid traps, Roisin had no choice but to boldly continue onwards. Fortunately, the next trap she triggered had no effect on her, but she was still terrified it would be the death of her. Moving forward, she met another flesh golem. This one, however, had no chance of reaching her before her arrows brought it down. Upon killing it, she reached level 7, and though there were no huge bonuses, the small ones were handy. +1 to all saves, a THAC0 of 4, and some more hit points and stealth abilities.

    Near the corpse of the golem was a small island, surrounded by a pool of water. On this little bit of land lay a pile of fine treasure, not the least of which was a tome which Roisin spied, buried under a glittering fur cloak. After grabbing all the items, she began to explore the rest of the cave, wary of traps or golems which might be desiring of a nice elf for dinner. Not wary enough, however, to avoid a magic missile trap which singed her slightly. Roisin was hearty enough now, however, for the missiles to do little to her, but she was still not fond of a few magical burns. She was, thankfully, wary enough to get the jump on a golem, which she put down without any trouble. After that, rather than risk tripping yet another trap, she returned the way she’d come, despite the extra time spent doing so.

    image

    Although she was still ready for travel and still had bagspace, Roisin was far too excited over the tome of magic to continue exploring. She traveled back to High Hedge, practically bouncing with excitement. Though Roisin was not overfond of book learning, she loved magical trinkets, and her limited experience with magical tomes from her years in Candlekeep had made her all the more excited about the two she had found outside of it’s walls. No one knows for sure, but some of the monks in Candlekeep believe that Roisin found a magical tome of strength within it’s libraries that she used to give herself such incredible strength. It would certainly explain how such a thin young elf could be such a bruiser as well as an acrobat.

    Once she reached Thalantyr, she had him identify all the baubles and treasures she had found. To her joy, the tome was that of constitution. In the book, it lay out a wealth of information regarding preventative medicine, basic first aid, and proper muscle toning. Unfortunately, even with such steps, there are limits to what an elf’s body can become. Fortunately, as with all such tomes, it was enchanted to provide a magical increase to one’s constitution, thereby allowing Roisin to go beyond the abilities of a normal elf. As she used the tome, she felt her body gaining in power rapidly, and she felt noticeably hardier than she did before. Also among the loot was a magical fur cloak, which would allow Roisin to transform into the form of a wolf. Roisin did not know when such an ability would come in handy, but she kept it, as it was, at worst, a warm cloak that would help keep her toasty on cold nights. She also restocked on enchanted arrows, having expended a few in her fight against the flesh golems. Deciding that it had been a couple of days since she last felt the comfort of a bed, and feeling that she deserved a good nights rest after such an adventure, Roisin traveled back to Beregost for a nice long nap.


    Here's an update on Roisin's character page, complete with a very nice 18 CON. I decided to put the (only) other picture from this session in with the main entry. I've seen others doing the same thing, and wondered if it might flow better. Let me know if you like it this way, or how I've been doing it. It doesn't matter to me, and if it's pleasing to you guys, then great. This one, however, had no real connection to the log, so I thought I'd put it in it's own section.

    image
    CrevsDaakJuliusBorisov
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited March 2014
    Hey @Elrandir, good storytelling!
    a few comments:
    - maybe you resisted the sirines' charm attacks because you're an elf? (elves are lucky enough to have a 90% resistance to charm spells) But even then I would have expected a 'save vs spell' message...
    - have you tried out your charm animal ability? it's not like you'll be needing it very often, but I can imagine it being useful at times plus it can be cool from a roleplaying perspective........ ouch, I just checked, arechers can't charm animals
    - I saw you rested till daylight broke, you do not use stealth a lot?
    - the cloak of the wolf (in absence of any more useful cloak) can be useful in a pinch because once transformed into a wolf your movement rate is higher
    - as to your previous comment, while it's true that playing on SCS is more difficult, I can still see the archer shine in situations in an SCS setup where my cleric/thief simply flees. The horde of ogres and half-ogres in the North Sword Coast you dispatched is one example. It would have been very tedious (and possible dangerous) for me to take those on during the day (at night with backstabs it would be different)

    Post edited by Blackraven on
    Elrandir
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Thanks, @Blackraven‌!

    The elf resistance would make sense, but I remember reading somewhere that it wasn't actually implemented, though that may have been only in vanilla.

    I don't generally stealth much, due to it not being especially high right now, and I have to remove my armor every time. (ankheg plate) I know BG1 pretty well, so between that and Dudleyville's maps, I generally have no need for stealth. But it can occasionally be exceptionally handy. (For instance, back when I scouted out the basilisk area, mentally marking where they all were so I wouldn't waste my time with Korax.) Once I'm in BG2 I'll probably be using it more. There's better leather in BG2, and I won't know the areas since I haven't actually played more than five minutes of it as a test. I probably will have some experience with it before I get to it with Roisin though, since I have my "canon" party that I'm playing on the side, and they're almost done with BG1.

    Thanks for the tip! That is handy info, and in a pinch I'll be sure to use that. I can already think of a couple places where it'll be very useful, if I still have it with me by then.

    Yes, being able to kite enemies around is very handy indeed, but I fear for when I have to deal with enemies in much smaller spaces. Fortunately enemies will follow you out of areas in the enhanced edition, so I can pull people out into much more open spaces.
    BlackravenJuliusBorisov
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited March 2014
    You're welcome, and btw I thought that the elves' charm resistance did get implemented, but now I'm not sure anymore...
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