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The Tale of Euphonia the Half-Elven Skald and her search for the Holy SCS No-Reload Grail

BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
Although I had decided a few weeks back that I'd take a break after Glorydd, I found myself remarkably eager to roll a new character to wash away the foul taste in my mouth left by the Dwarf's death.

This character became Euphonia, Half-Elf Skald. Conceptually it's one of my favorite classes, but my performances with Skalds have been less than stellar. Euphonia's my fourth. Ocker the Dwarf fell to Shoal's (ranged!) kiss of death, Nereniel the solo Skald died against Drasus & co, and an undocumented, non-optimized Skald was drowned by a Water Weird. So I'd say expect little, and who knows she might surprise you all ;)
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As you can see I got a very nice roll and went with optimized stats, because I think I may need every benefit I can get. Euphonia will journey with (like-minded) companions; besides her kit a second aspect of this playthrough that doesn't bode well for Euphonia hehe.

As always, I play with Rogue Rebalancing, the implications of which can be learnt here: http://readme.spellholdstudios.net/rr_core.html#Bard_kit_revisions.

Euphonia started her adventure with a Wolfskin Bag to store items in, and with a Pseudo-Dragon Familiar, Fluister. Fluister, encouraged by Euphonia's song and Swashbuckler Imoen's arrows was instrumental in the girls' first careful steps toward Sword Coast heroism. In the Red Canyons for example, it knocked a Wolf unconscious (allowing the girls to save Melicamp and seeing him restored by Thalantyr), and it even slew a Dread Wolf.
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In Nashkel the familiar tanked a Baby Wyvern and killed an assassin who was after Euphonia.
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At the Friendly Arm Inn Fluister made Tarnesh pay for injuring Euphonia and Imoen, with his life.
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And near the High Hedge it knocked out various Gnolls for the girls.
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This is not to say that the girls didn't do any hard work themselves. They slew a rogue Ogre, four Huge Spiders, and two Ogrillons themselves.
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At the Nashkel Carnival, Euph and Imo pawned an enchanted Ring they'd found at the FAI. This transaction, artifiaclly high Charisma, and a heroic reputation allowed the girls to purchase the Fragment of Enlightenment Ioun Stone (+20 Lore) for the Bard and a suit of Caster's Chain (AC 5, allows spell casting), and the Deep Red Ioun Stone (+1 Dex) for the Thief. Both Short Sword wielding rogues are now level 4, and discussing Keldath's request to clear Mutamin's garden, before any other NPCs are to be recruited.
Post edited by Blackraven on
semiticgoddessEnialusMeliamneCharlestonianTemplarGoturalkcwiseMusignyJuliusBorisovHudzylolienScourge
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Comments

  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    @semticgod, thank you! It's what I hope too... Euphoria for Euphonia ;)

    @CharlestonianTemplar :smiley:
    Thanks! RR is a really good mod imo, especially for Bards. I'm less convinced by the Thief kit revisions and HLAs; the Bounty Hunter gets seriously nerfed for example. Another mod you might want to look into, is aTweaks, which is called 'Your pnp Tweak Pack' for good reason. Personally that mod has become a staple for me in my installs.

    As to your last comment, few maidens would say no to the legendary Knight that is Sir Gawain, and I doubt Euphonia is one of those few. Word has reached her of a young Paladin traveling north of the FAI and looking for traveling companions, but who knows what happens if Sir Gawains and her paths cross. ;)
    Btw do you know whether his romance with Branwen was 'completed', or did you choose a wrong dialog option?
    GoturalkcwiseJuliusBorisovlolien
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Hey @CharlestonianTemplar! Awesome, and guess what? I also downloaded a Lagertha pic (digital artwork). You'll see it soon enough ;)
    kcwiseJuliusBorisovlolien
  • kcwisekcwise Member Posts: 2,287
    A new adventure dawns!
    BlackravenJuliusBorisov
  • MusignyMusigny Member Posts: 1,027
    Hooray!
    What a dice roll ! And I love the portrait.
    Best of luck with this new team.

    I am still sad about your fighter/thief tragic death.
    When I get more free time, I will give the F/T a try in a solo no-reload game.
    BlackravenkcwiseJuliusBorisov
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    I just wanted to say, "Euphonia" is a perfect name for a female bard. "Euphonius" would be good for a male bard. Excellent name construction from classical greco-roman roots, there.
    BlackravenkcwiseJuliusBorisov
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    It's interesting to see how we seem to be running different Mod builds:
    in my installation of SCS, the amazons ambush you on their separate map encounter.

    Also, I've been meaning to say: great portrait set! Is it part of one of the mods? (Could you post what mods you're currently running.)


    I feel a bit clumsy & reluctant with nonstandard mods (especially also because I run EE on a Mac) so been reluctant to use various 'Revisions' mods on my no-reload runs. Perhaps, I should consider running EE in Parallels (essentially a Windows setup then).
    BlackravenkcwiseJuliusBorisov
  • CharlestonianTemplarCharlestonianTemplar Member Posts: 855

    Hey @CharlestonianTemplar! Awesome, and guess what? I also downloaded a Lagertha pic (digital artwork). You'll see it soon enough ;)

    Lagertha is such great. I was ticked last week when Ragnar didn't help her take back her Earldom.

    I liked Siggy too...even though she wasn't a warrior. She was one of my favorites & I hated to see her die.
    BlackravenJuliusBorisovkcwise
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited March 2015

    Lagertha is such great. I was ticked last week when Ragnar didn't help her take back her Earldom.

    Haven't seen that :( I'll see if I can find it on the internet...


    In Cloakwood the party protected a nobleman from Baldur's Gate against three aggressive Druids, killed a pack of Tasloi that had stolen a Cloak of Non-Detection (which went to Imoen) from Gurke the Dwarf, and slew plenty of Ettercaps and Spiders. The bulk of the work against the Spiders was done by Ajantis and Kivan (both protected against poison and hold), with Euphonia singing invisibly in the background.
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    Branwen's Silence worked wonders against groups of hostile Shadow Druids, including their leader, Archdruid Amarande (who onle nets 120 XP!).
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    Kivan used his animal empathy against a Hamadryad and against a family of Wyverns.
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    Four Iron Throne henchmen guarded the entrance to the Cloakwood Mine. The party's battle against them started off well, with Euphonia paralyzing the wizard Kysus, and her companions killing him. However around the same time Rezdan did something that caught the Skald off guard. His Chaos affected both Imoen and Xan while she was singing her battlesong.
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    I don't like this. I want the Skald song to protect against the Confusion effect, not just the spell. Does anyone know how to change that in NearInfinity?
    Anyway, the game was gentle with Euphonia after that moment, because she saved vs Rezdan's Emotion: Hopelessness when her aura was still muddy after a failed attempt at casting invsibility on Imoen. (None of the NPCs had died up till then and Euphonia really wanted to keep things that way. She refuses to use her companions as 'cannon fodder' because she cares for them, especially Imoen. Besides, a series of NPC deaths often make Blackraven consider his party runs as failures, causing him to lose interest.)
    Things got a lot easier when Euphonia lured the enemy's hasted leader Drasus away from his associates, and went invisible.
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    Genthore fled inside a building, leaving only Rezdan for Euphonia and companions to take care of. He tried to hide with invisibility, but Imoen (100 Detect Illusions) didn't let him.
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    Drasus fell to a collective assault,
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    and so did Genthore after him.

    Inside the mines, the party had little difficulty dealing with groups of guards. The only (potential) dangers were three spellcasters on the second and third levels. First there was Hareishan. Imoen dispelled her invisibility and Euphonia paralyzed her with her wand, making that encounter a relatively easy one.
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    Natasha didn't succumb as readily. She knocked the entire party save Branwen and Kivan out with a Stinking Cloud, and injured the companions with lightning and fire before Euphonia's Wand of Paralyzation made the difference once more.
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    The third caster guard, an Ogre Mage, underwent the same tratement before it could do much harm.
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    On the fourth level the companions found the lair of Davaeorn, the Iron Throne executive and yet another spellcaster. Euphonia cast Invisibility on her comrades (which required a rest, because she only had three level 2 spells), and PfMagic from a green scroll on herself. She also buffed with an oil of speed and a potion of defense, and borrowed some some gear from her companions (Golden Girdle, Bracers of Archery, Boots of Speed). Thus prepared, she attacked Davaeorn. The Mage knew however that Euphonia wasn't alone. He approached her invisible friends, and got surrounded by them. Euphonia tried to take on two Battle Horrors while her companions kept Davaeorn in place.
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    But this was a slow process; her returning Frost Dart did little against the Battle Horrors. At one point Davaeorn dispelled the invisibility of those surrounding him, but that was his death sentence. The wizard had no answer to the party's overwhelming physical force.
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    The Battle Horrors disintegrated (so no XP from them). The companions looted Daveorn's corpse and his lair, rescued the miners that had been working there as slaves, and flooded the mine. They then traveled to the High Hedge where Thalantyr created the Mage Robe of Practical Protection for Xan.
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    From Beregost the party traveled to Baldur's Gate where Kivan had to deal with another old foe of his, Imanel Silversword,
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    before they could actually enter the city.
    Post edited by Blackraven on
    GoturalJuliusBorisovMusignykcwise
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    Aha! Now we are almost on the same spot in our two runs (though you seem to be breezing through your run faster).

    Well done on Daveorn. I am now this very minute about to descend the same staircase down to his chamber.

    See you in the city of Baldur's Gate - with any luck for both of us...
    BlackravenJuliusBorisovkcwise
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    ... and, I wanted to post in simultaneous solidarity, Daveorn just fell [picture].

    This fight had killed me so many times. This time charname gulped a magic damage reduction potion (+50% damage reduction + automatic rolls), which Daveorn dispelled! Then I immediately gulped a potion of Magic Immunity (only lasts 5 rounds) while keeping the flunkies busy with Wands of Fear. Daveorn finally fell to a Wand of Fire, with only Safana dead.

    Good luck to both of us in the next chapter.

    BlackravenJuliusBorisovMusignykcwise
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Awesome @Ygramul! Congrats on your progress and yes, best of luck to both Khael and Euphonia :)
    YgramulJuliusBorisovkcwise
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    Eudaimonia to Euphonia!

    Glad that you keep trying, Blackraven. I believe one day you will do it.
    kcwiseBlackravenGotural
  • WowoWowo Member Posts: 2,064

    Hey @CharlestonianTemplar! Awesome, and guess what? I also downloaded a Lagertha pic (digital artwork). You'll see it soon enough ;)

    Lagertha is such great. I was ticked last week when Ragnar didn't help her take back her Earldom.

    I liked Siggy too...even though she wasn't a warrior. She was one of my favorites & I hated to see her die.
    Please don't put such spoilers without spoiler tags, I haven't started that season yet!
    Blackravenkcwise
  • CharlestonianTemplarCharlestonianTemplar Member Posts: 855
    Oops. My bad. I'll be more careful. I thought about that afterward. Sorry.
    Blackravenkcwise
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486

    However around the same time Rezdan did something that caught the Skald off guard. His Chaos affected both Imoen and Xan while she was singing her battlesong.

    imageimage
    I don't like this. I want the Skald song to protect against the Confusion effect, not just the spell. Does anyone know how to change that in NearInfinity?
    It's become clear to me that I made a big mistake here. Euphonia had just reached level 8 (not 9) and therefore, her Skald song didn't protect against Confusion effects yet. I've been very lucky with her there.
    JuliusBorisovkcwiseCharlestonianTemplar
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100
    Man, those mods make BG1 so much more interesting. A great read, especially as you have a party this time around. GL!
    BlackravenGoturalkcwiseJuliusBorisov
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited March 2015
    Thanks @bengoshi, for your eloquent reaction :smile: and @Grum thanks to you as well. You make a very pertinent observation. I'm playing with a party and with a variety of mods that make this a very entertaining playthrough - if I allow it to be so. Yesterday I did the Cloakwood Mines while I was getting sleepy and with a certain rush and recklessness (for example with Natasha, and what to think of my miscalculation as to the Skald song's progress; it's not like I'd never read the kit description). I think my behavior was caused by my desire to go to sleep, and also by the idea that the 'real' challenge for me lies in BG2. However this is not the way for me to have fun, so I've decided to not play when I'm tired and to stop rushing and enjoy the fact that I'm playing not solo but with a full party with great NPCs and lots of amazing banter, some nice extra gear, extra encounters, etc.
    Ajantis deserves special mentioning. He has become a very influential member of the party and has changed Euphonia's ways somewhat. To give an example: in the Elfsong she refused to steal the telescope from the Hall of Wonders for Brevlik, something that she would have probably tried with Imoen before they met Ajantis. His romance is extremely well-written in my opinion. He's such an gentlemanly, honorable, affable and disarmingly goofy character that Euphonia had no choice but to fall in love with him. (She didn't show him this though, forcing him to take the initiative, something that wasn't easy for him). Xan, who had also been courting her, never stood a chance. I don't have much experience with the BG romances, except for Coran treating my Beast Master like garbage, so this is a very welcome change. There are still quite a couple of love talks, which is another reason not to rush this run.

    There was much for the party to do in the big city. The companions were invited into a Thieves Guild but although they bartered with Black Lily (Manual of Quickness of Action, Safeguard buckler for Euphonia), they decided not to work for this criminal organization. They released a captive Nymph, slew an evil Mage by the name of Ramazith, and an Ogre bounty hunter named Larze. Two Iron Throne employees had poisoned the sextet, but with with the aid of one of the two (a victim of a geas) the companions found the antidotes on the other Iron Throne lackey after killing him.
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    (I was surprised to see Marek use darts of stunning rather than his short bow. After Marek stunned Kivan, Euphonia stunned Marek with her wand. The Eagle bow went to Imoen.) The latter quest also enabled the party to reunite Tremain Belde'ar with his son, earning them an enchanted Large Shield for Ajantis. At Ordulinian's suggestion Imoen pickpocketed a ring and a necklace from Nemphre and Arkion to put an end to their quarrel, and she also turned up with what Euphonia indentified as the Cloak of Balduran (Imoen was very vague in her descriptions of where she had found it). In the Docks District Euphonia protected Ajantis from Petrifcation, allowing him to slay a loose Basilisk in a warehouse,
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    and in the Low Lantern Inn they slew two evil female entropists
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    as well as the mage Yago for his book of curses for a woman named Brielbara whose child had been cursed by that wizard.
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    With Larze's Gauntlets of Weapon Skill (Xan) and Vay-Ya's Gauntlets of Ogre Power (Branwen), the Bracers of Archery (Imoen), Gauntlets of Dexterity (Ajantis) and two sets of Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise (Kivan and Euphonia), the party is well-equipped in the gauntlets/bracers department.

    One night, when the party were relaxing at the sumptuous Helm & Cloak Inn, Ajantis proposed to Euphonia. It took the Bard by surprise, because the two had only met a few months earlier and they had only gradually grown closer together. Nevertheless, she accepted Ajantis' proposal because she did feel she knew him (after spending day after day by his side) and that she loved him. Ajantis was honest, virtuous, compassionate and fun.
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    The Cavalier gave her a non-enchanted engagement ring which he placed on his fiancee's ring finger that had held Lord Foreshadow's Ring of Human Influence. The next day Imoen showed the party the Helm of Balduran. She said that someone must have inadvertently left it in her room. They inquired with the inkeep but he had no idea whose helmet it could have been. The companions agreed with him that if no one came for it in a tenday, they could keep it.

    In South-West Baldur's Gate the party dealt with Doppelgangers in their friend Aldeth Sashenstar's Merchants League (earning them the enchanted blade Kondar), and also in the Seven Suns, another company.
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    The latter operation was carried out on the behest of the Flaming Fist; apparently they had been aware of strange goings-on. Another job the band did for the Fist was to investigate the sewers for missing people. They entered in the most inconvenient place, right in the middle of the culprit, an Ogre Mage, and its Carrion Crawler pets.
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    The party quickly returned to the surface, and entered the sewers at another point. Kivan with Spiders' Bane, Xan and Imoen with ranged attacks, and Euphonia with her song then dispatched most if not all of the Carrion Crawlers, approaching from different corridors.
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    The Ogre Mage had no answer to Branwen's Dispel Magic followed by the party's onslaught.
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    Ajantis gave Euphonia an enchanted necklace (cast PfEvil 1/day) with a flower-shaped pendant. It wasn't the most romantic of settings for him to give her the necklace, Euphonia reckoned, but she accepted the gift with gratitude anyway.

    The party offered their services in some of the residences in uptown Baldur's Gate, but they weren't always equally well-received. A wizard called Sunin for example, summoned two warriors out of thin air, and attacked. Euphonia, in a reflex, summoned a pack of Gnolls using her Wand of Monster Summoning. Kivan dispelled Sunin's protections with an arrow of dispelling. One of the Gnolls slew a guard, but Sunin Malisoned the companions. However, stripped of his protections, he had no time to cast another spell before the party struck him down. Xan took an enchanted ring from Sunin that doubles the wearer's number of 1st level spells.
    imageimage
    Another violent encounter was with Drelik (spell-casting butler) and a warrior named Jardak.
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    (Note in the second screenshot how Euphonia killed Jardak with her dart while the Skald song was still in effect. I often don't bother because it's not necessary, but 'song twisting' as it's called, i.e. attacking with the Bard and resuming the song without ever breaking the effect of the song, does seem to be doable, especially with low speed factor weapons I reckon.)

    Jardak dropped the Helm of Glory, which reminded Euphonia of Thalantyr. She proposed to her companions to leave the city for a while for a trip into the wilds. The proposal was hailed by Kivan and Branwen (two no-so-urban types) as a welcome change, and Xan suggested they visit the Ulcaster School hoping for arcane knowledge to be found there.
    At the High Hedge Thalantyr magically fused the Helm of Defense and the Helm of Glory, with the Magnificent Helm as a result (+1 CHA, +1 AC, +1 Saves, +20% Fire/Cold/Electricity resistance). Euphonia gave it to Ajantis as a gift. The Paladin received the both practical and visually splendid helm with gratefulness.

    At the Ulcaster School the helmet came in very handy when an undead creature called Icharyd called lightning to come down upon Ajantis. The Cavalier got struck various times, causing him to quaff a potion of absorption, but that proved unnecessary because once he had downed the potion, the party's incessant attacks overwhelmed Icharyd preventing it from calling more lighting strikes.

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    Ghasts and Kobolds hung around the entrance to the Ulcaster School ruins, until Xan's Wand of Fire and Kivan's Spiders' Bane intervened.
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    Inside the school the company dealt with other threats: Jellies and Dread Wolves.
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    And then there was the Wolf of Ulcaster whose Howl of Terror failed to scare the companions thanks to Euphonia's song (and to a Remove Fear 'metagamily' cast by Branwen, just in case Euphonia's song would be discontinued at some point).
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    More threatening were the Ghouls the Wolf somehow summoned, because Kivan with Spiders' Bane was the only party member that was immune to their paralyzing attacks.
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    Thankfully, all the company had good AC, in the range of -4 (Imoen) to -10 (Ajantis). None of them got paralyzed, and they slew the different undead creatures without even incurring any noteworthy injuries. Imoen scouted the premises further (I expected her to run into a Skeletal Mage but no). She found four more Dread Wolves, and she disarmed a trapped 'treasure hoard' (containing little loot of worth, and only one book, which they delivered to a spectre of Ulcaster.
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    I wonder what I'll do with Imo if I make it to SoA with this party. I like her as a Swashbuckler, and I think BGT imports her into Amn the way she was in BG1 if you keep her in the party till the end. Maybe I'll give her an innate Magic Missile as a Bhaalpower, and then keep her as a Swashy, only to find her in Spellhold dualed (as of lvl 15) into Mage.
    Post edited by Blackraven on
    semiticgoddesskcwiseJuliusBorisovCharlestonianTemplar
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    re: Branwen & the Ogre Mage.
    Q.: Does Dispel Magic work reliably against other casters?
    (I thought SCS nerfed it.)
    Pondering if all my casters should memorize one, or only the single class casters (for the level dependence).

    Bonus question: do you know how Yeslick's special Dispel works? Is that just locked on his level or is it maybe like the Inquisitor ability? (I don't dare just put it to test in my no-reload run.)
    kcwise
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited March 2015
    @Ygramul
    A: it works reliably against casters that aren't much higher level. Branwen is a lvl 7 single class Cleric in the current stage of my game, so she stands a good chance of dispelling an Ogre Mage's protections but isn't as likely to be successful against someone like Ragefast, Rieltar, or Semaj.
    It's a nice spell to memorize, especially on the single class casters, but in your case it doesn't seem necessary, because according to @Hurricane, Yeslick's Dispel Magic works always in BGEE (as it apparently does in the orginal game), regardless of the enemy's level. This alone makes him a powerful NPC even at lower levels (and with the right gear, he becomes one of the strongest characters in the game.)
    kcwiseYgramulJuliusBorisov
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100
    Does the Anantis infraction continue into Bg2?
    kcwise
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited March 2015
    @Grum: infraction?
    kcwise
  • HurricaneHurricane Member, Translator (NDA) Posts: 730

    Yeslick's Dispel Magic works always in BGEE (as it apparently does in the orginal game), regardless of the enemy's level.

    Yup, original BG1 didn't have level-dependent dispelling. It was a dispel-all effect, no questions asked. This evolved of course in BG2 and the EEs, but they forgot to change Yeslick's innate ability. So yeah, Yeslick's Dispel Magic gives every Inquisitor a run for his money. That is, until they pick up my bug report and fix it. :smiley:
    BlackravenkcwiseJuliusBorisov
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100

    @Grum: infraction?

    Interaction. Typing on an iphone can be a pain.
    BlackravenJuliusBorisovkcwiseCharlestonianTemplar
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited March 2015
    @Grum:
    Ah ok... I'm afraid not... :(
    I'd love to (same with Kivan), and I understand there's even an Ajantis for BG2 mod out there, by the same author that did the BG1 NPC Project content (someone named Jastey). There are two drawbacks though: (1) so far the BG2 mod only offers SoA content, meaning I'd have a mute Ajantis in ToB, and (2) adding mods at this point might cause bugs in my install. I've had that happen plenty of times.
    JuliusBorisovkcwise
  • ScourgeScourge Member Posts: 97
    edited March 2015
    @blackraven not true. Ajantis with ToB content has been out for a really really long while.
    GoturalBlackravenkcwise
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