Skip to content

No Reloads, No Mercy!

hendosnaphendosnap Member Posts: 8
Having sunk many hours into this game both before and after the release of BG:EE, one thing that I haven't actually tried yet, and I'm surprised that I haven't done this before, is a no-reload challenge. My aim is to complete the trilogy with no CHARNAME deaths; should I die, I may turn this into a minimal reload challenge, or I may just start again, time will tell.

Rules:

- Reloads only permitted if a crash/gamebreaking glitch occurs.
- Core rules, I will temporarily lower difficulty to obtain max HP rolls on level up though.
- No cheesing.

I know this challenge isn't as hardcore as some others that I've seen posted here, but we all have to start somewhere :P Wish me luck!


photo 2014-06-08_00001_zps0f6b5534.jpg
Post edited by hendosnap on
SionIVMetallomanRavenslightBlackravenJuliusBorisovlolien

Comments

  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    Good luck! A warning though, once you start playing No-Reload it's hard to go back.
    JuliusBorisov
  • MetallomanMetalloman Member, Moderator, Translator (NDA) Posts: 3,975
    Rule #3 seems to conflict with #2 but in the end I completely agree wih you: good luck! ;D
    FinneousPJJuliusBorisovlolienhendosnap
  • meaglothmeagloth Member Posts: 3,806
    What's your "cheese"?
    MetallomanJuliusBorisovlolienhendosnap
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Good luck, have fun, and keep us posted!
    I agree with @SionIV, No-Reload is addictive, so I hope you know what you're doing ;)
    SionIVJuliusBorisovlolienhendosnap
  • hendosnaphendosnap Member Posts: 8
    edited June 2014
    Thanks for the words of encouragement guys, I'm looking forward to this!

    Rule #3 seems to conflict with #2 but in the end I completely agree wih you: good luck! ;D

    I get what you're saying and I actually kinda agree with you, but when playing a no-reload run it's pretty tough even just using average rolls, especially if you're not playing a d10 class, if I level capped in BG1 using average rolls I'd have (if I've worked this out right) 54 out of a possible 74 HP, which is a pretty huge difference going into BG2 :( And it'd get even worse if I got screwed over by bad rolls. It's a compromise that I feel bad making, but if I didn't and ending up going into BG2 with 41 HP then I'd feel annoyed with myself :P

    Maybe if I'm successful in this challenge, I might suck it up and let the dice decide my fate next time ;) But for now I'm afraid I'm going to have to wuss out!
    meagloth said:

    What's your "cheese"?

    Anything that would generally be deemed as an exploit:

    - Force-talking in order to make initiating a fight easier/avoiding a shopkeeper turning hostile upon a failed thieving attempt.

    - Killing non-hostile NPCs that clearly aren't intended to be killed, where the rewards (xp or items) greatly outweigh the consequences i.e. Eleminster, Drizzt.

    - Repeatedly stealing from Thieves' Guild fences with maxed pickpocketing and then selling the items back to them for effectively infinite gold.

    Those kinds of things :)
    MetallomanJuliusBorisovlolien
  • hendosnaphendosnap Member Posts: 8
    edited June 2014
    Drama already! After leaving Candlekeep, I picked up Montaron and Xzar into my party, I'm not too keen on them as there are better NPCs out there (although they are absolutely hilarious), but I figured I'd go to the Friendly Arm, pick up Jaheira and Khalid for a full complement, then dump X+M to make room for Minsc/Edwin/Dynaheir/Dorn a little later on (I haven't actually decided on my party yet :P). That was the plan, until literally two minutes after K+J joined my party.

    Apparently those couple of minutes were enough for grievances between the two couples to form, and then boil over, and they proceeded to fight to the death in one of the inn's bedrooms, as someone slept a few feet away no less. Amusingly, they fought one-on-one; Jaheira vs Xzar, Khalid vs Montaron, and after Xzar was literally one-shot, Jaheira proceeded to just stand there doing nothing as her husband duked it out, although he was ultimately victorious.


    photo 2014-06-08_00002_zpsd248761f.jpg


    So yeah, that was strangely fun. Next stop, Beregost!
    Post edited by hendosnap on
    JuliusBorisovlolienBlackravenMivsan
  • MetallomanMetalloman Member, Moderator, Translator (NDA) Posts: 3,975
    YAY! Khalid is definitively better than many thought! I always support him and in my runs is always a steamroller! ;D

    BTW: Is almost a day that I wanted to ask you, @hendosnap‌: Will Goroan dance on the head of a pin as well?
    JuliusBorisovlolienBlackravenhendosnap
  • hendosnaphendosnap Member Posts: 8
    edited June 2014
    A random encounter with a wild polar bear? No problem for Neera and her wild surges!


    photo 2014-06-13_00001_zps0a012bc5.jpg


    (Yes, she's a wolf :P)
    Post edited by hendosnap on
    LemernisBlackravenlolienJuliusBorisov
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Entertaining stuff there @hendosnap. Always nice to see things going in ways they're not supposed to. I'm rooting for Goroan. Keep it up!
    lolienhendosnapJuliusBorisov
  • MetallomanMetalloman Member, Moderator, Translator (NDA) Posts: 3,975
    Eheheh, this time Khalid is the one who was steamrolled! XD
    By the way: do you think you'll avoid party npcs resurrections in your run, @hendosnap?
    lolienBlackravenhendosnapJuliusBorisov
  • hendosnaphendosnap Member Posts: 8
    edited June 2014
    Thanks! I admittedly took a big risk using Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, but at such a low level that bear would have torn my party to shreds. Luckily it worked well for me this time!

    @Metalloman as fun as it'd be to up the difficulty, I'm going to allowing NPC resurrections, I actually already rezzed Minsc after he died in that fight so it's a little late for me to change things around now XD Definitely an idea I'd entertain in a future run if this one goes well though :)
    Post edited by hendosnap on
    lolienBlackravenJuliusBorisov
  • hendosnaphendosnap Member Posts: 8
    edited June 2014
    The party is now complete, and we've also reached Chapter Three! :D


    photo 2014-06-13_00005_zpsa315cee9.jpg


    Edwin died in the mines, which was a pain, but we're out now and I'm going to go and rez him asap. I've been pretty fortunate so far in that my PC hasn't really been in that much danger, most of the damage is being soaked up by the other party members :P Long may that continue! Planning on returning to Nashkel to continue the story, then, since my party is all together now, I'll probably do some side quests/exploration for some decent items and XP.

    EDIT: I've also thought of an idea for my next challenge, which hasn't been done before as far as I can see. Should be hilarious and I'm really looking forward to doing it :P
    Post edited by hendosnap on
    BlackravenJuliusBorisovlolien
  • hendosnaphendosnap Member Posts: 8
    edited June 2014
    I said I'm looking forward to my next challenge... be careful what you wish for!


    photo 2014-06-13_00006_zps6f4c96ef.jpg


    Here I am, after accidentally running into the group of assassins just north of the mine's exit, having not realised how close they were. Imoen and I are both sitting pretty on 2 HP each, and this shows the party fleeing to try to get out of the zone. Fortunately we managed to get away... only for this to happen:


    photo 2014-06-13_00007_zps758818bf.jpg


    Yeah, naturally they'd put Goroan at the very front of the party, right next to those two wolves D: Fortunately he managed to retreat out of harm's way while Minsc and Dorn went to town on them. So much for 'not being in much danger', no sooner do I say that then I have two close calls within as many minutes! With the wolves dispatched, we set off to Nashkel to turn in our quests, and went to rest at the inn... only for me to have completely forgotten what would be waiting for me there...


    photo 2014-06-13_00008_zpsc89e17b5.jpg


    After running headlong into another assassination attempt, my only option was to immediately take cover in the nearby shop, which the mage naturally followed us into, and then proceeded to fire off a horror spell and empty the clip on Minsc. Somehow, we made it, but barely. Here we can see the aftermath of the battle: half my party running around like headless chickens, Imoen and myself still on 2 HP each, with Minsc and the recently-resurrected Edwin becoming honorary members of the 1 HP Club. It's difficult to overstate how easily this could have been my last battle!

    Since our near-death experiences however, things have been relatively smooth sailing, I've completed several side quests and obtained decent loot from areas I hadn't cleared out earlier, and I'm now sitting in the Bandit Camp as I seek to advance the story. I hadn't tried 'joining' the bandits before, in the past I've always hacked and slashed my way in. I'm starting to think I had the wrong idea all this time ;)


    photo 2014-06-16_00001_zps6b551641.jpg


    Next stop, Chapter Four!
    BlackravenJuliusBorisovlolien
Sign In or Register to comment.