At long last the party suffered their first casualty: Xan. He actually died three times. As some of you readers know I'm not fond of the concept of Raise Dead / Resurrection. The enemy doesn't do it (except with Tazok), and it kind of takes away the meaning of death for me in the game. Xan's first death was in the Bear River area, where he ignored Euphonia's instruction to run from three attacking Ogres instead of lunging at them with his dagger (AI was active). The party raised him at Beregost's Temple of Lathander, but he didn't last long. During an encounter with four Red Wizards of Thay he tried to help his comrades with a Skull Trap, and indeed inflicted some nice damage, but the Red Wizards immediately directed their attention toward the Elf. He got Slowed and before he could get away, Melf's Minute Meteors did him in.
The others didn't falter though. Repeated dispelling (Kivan's arrows, Branwen's magic) allowed them to finish off the vulnerable wizards even though the latter managed to scare Imoen and blind some of the others.
Back in the city the companions got Xan raised again, at the Helm Temple, and Laola Axehand summoned the party to the Flaming Fist HQ for an audience with Duke Eltan. He commissioned them to investigate the Iron Throne.
On the top floor they ran into six Iron Throne elite killers. The companions ran downstairs but five of their enemies followed them: Alai, Diyab, Zhalimar, Aasim and Naaman. A Dispel Magic by Branwen removed what protections those five had, and Xan used a charge of his wand of fire to disrupt one of the casters who had been outside the range of the Dispel Magic. Xan's action killed the bartender and merchant (lowering the party's rep from 20 to 10, which greatly upset Ajantis).
The party slew Zhalimar and then returned upstairs to see an Unholy Blight severely injure Kivan and Imoen.
They quaffed potions of extra healing and thus found their aura clouded when a Emotion: Hopelessness came their way. Imoen and Xan saved, but Kivan fell down on the ground. Ajantis, Branwen and Euphonia timely quaffed potions of magic blocking so they were unaffected by the spell.
Xan had difficulty getting away past Kivan and two enemies surrounding him: a Doppelganger and Gardush. He was slain by the latter; Euphonia retalliated by felling Naaman.
A collective assault made Euphonia, Imoen, Branwen and Ajantis prevail over the Doppelganger and Gardush.
Imoen then scouted two more of their foes downstairs, the casters Alai and Aasim
The companions healed and buffed (Mirror Image, PfEvil, Rages by Kivan and Branwen), and then finished off their last two opponents with Branwen getting the killing blow on both occasions.
The companions discovered that any evidence against the Iron Throne would be found at Candlekeep. They reported this to Duke Eltan, who gave them a book with which they could enter Candlekeep to continue their investigations. First however they buried Xan and held a plain ceremony in his memory in the woods outside Baldur's Gate.
At the Temple of Helm they donated most of their gold to atone for the killing of the bartender and the merchant in the Iron Throne building. (In my setup it costs about 12,000 GP to raise rep from 10 to 17.) They also did a number of good deeds for the smallfolk of Badur's Gate (Ghorak, Nadine, Nester's dagger) which saw their heroic reputation fully restored.
Upon their arrival at the gates of Candlekeep the companions were attacked by Ogre Mages. Kivan expended various of his arrows of dispelling, allowing the party to make short work of their enemies.
Inside the library the party did not attack Iron Throne leader Rieltar and his associates, but were framed for killing them anyway. Euphonia also discovered that her biological father was the dead God of Murder Bhaal, something that caused tensions in her relationship with Ajantis.
With the help of Tethtoril the band escaped their death sentence via catacombs below Candlekeep. They contained miscellaneous loot, most importantly a Cloak of Protection +2, and tomes of insight and manual exercise for Euphonia. There were also plenty of Doppelgangers, but aided by Deder, the party had no difficulty dealing with them.
Deder scouted a band of menacing-looking Iron Throne mercenaries in the catacombs,
reason for the companions to buff themselves thoroughly. They didn't want to see another member taken from their midst. Ajantis used a green scroll of PfMagic on himself after protecting his comrades from evil. Kivan quaffed a potion of magic protection, and Euphonia cast Minor Spell Deflection on herself. Branwen summoned a Woodland Being that would entangle some of their foes, but they were nevertheless hard to deal with due to a Teleport Field.
Note in the above screenshot that Prat didn't like Euphonia's MSD, and Sakul was equally annoyed with Ajantis.
Kivan succesfully dispelled Prat's protections with an arrow, leaving him vulnerable to Tam, who had been charmed by the Nymph, and Branwen.
Sakul, who had dimension doored to Imoen, underwent a Remove Magic from Euphonia.
Kivan slew Bor with ranged attacks,
and Sakul as well, after the others had weakened him with a Flamestrike (Branwen's wand) among other things.
Euphonia dispatched Prat with a nice critical,
and Tam was thanked for his services to the party with a full-on collective charge.
Protected from Petrification, Kivan then slew two Grater Basilisks, paving the way for his companions toward freedom. They were well-aware that they were wanted by the Baldur's Gate authorities, so they decided to postpone their return to that city.
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,
C'mon now, B_R. As an amateur scholar of The Knights Templar, the Crusades & Knighthood, I have to call you out. I always consider Paladin's either Templar, Hospitaller or Teutonic Knights.
Read from the rules of the Templar established for the 'Knights of the Temple by the Council of Troyes, 1129.'
Sister's
70. The company of women is a dangerous thing, for by it the old devil has led many from the straight path to Paradise. Henceforth, let not ladies be admitted as sisters into the house of the Temple; that is why, very dear brothers, henceforth it is not fitting to follow this custom, that the flower of chastity is always maintained among you.
Let Them Not Have Familiarity with Women
71. We believe it to be a dangerous thing for any religious to look too much upon the face of woman. For this reason none of you may presume to kiss a woman, be it widow, young girl, mother, sister, aunt or any other; and henceforth the Knighthood of Jesus Christ should avoid at all costs the embraces of women, by which men have perished many times, so that they may remain eternally before the face of God with a pure conscience and sure life.
Since Ajantis is a member of the Order of the Radiant Heart, I'd say he was pretty close to a Templar...
...but then again, Keldorn's married isn't he? Oh well. Forget everything I just said.
@CharlestonianTemplar, very interesting... Thanks for sharing. I didn't know about the principle of chastity for Templars, though it doesn't surprise me. The organization in Orders (Templars, Teutonics, and others) is similar to the Paladin Orders as we know them in D&D, so I can definitely see the link you make. I think chivalric romance (Arthurian legend etc) has been a source of inspiration for the D&D Paladin as well though, and those knights almost always had a love interest.
Either way as you say, Keldorn has a wife, and he was Ajantis' mentor, so I suppose we know who's to blame for Ajantis' advances to Lady Euphonia (as he tends to address her).
@CharlestonianTemplar, very interesting... Thanks for sharing. I didn't know about the principle of chastity for Templars, though it doesn't surprise me. The organization in Orders (Templars, Teutonics, and others) is similar to the Paladin Orders as we know them in D&D, so I can definitely see the link you make. I think chivalric romance (Arthurian legend etc) has been a source of inspiration for the D&D Paladin as well though, and those knights almost always had a love interest.
Good point. In P&P AD&D, King Arthur, Lancelot & Galahad are all Paladins.
I like to think of Cavaliers as Templars, Undead Hunters as Teutonic Knights & Inquisitors as Hospitaller's. Paladin's (w/o kits) & Saurial Paladin's (if you have that kit) can fill in any of the orders.
Oh well, gotta go soldiering early in the AM. Oh btw, I dropped the Rogue Rebalancing Mod into my BGII game setup for Sir Gawain. Thanks for the tip.
@CharlestonianTemplar, Saurial Paladins? That's new to me... Nice to see you work with Rogue Rebalancing, I'm sure you'll like it.
After their escape from Candlekeep, the party were hesitant to return to Baldur's Gate where they were knew they would have the Fist after them. They came up with the regrettable idea of visiting Durlag's haunted Tower, to retieve an enchanted dagger for the Dwarf Hurgan Stoneblade. Kirinhale the Succubus gave the band a first warning. She caused a lot of confusion by (repeatedly) charming the three ladies, but eventually Ajantis and Kivan, who were immune to charms, slew the demoness.
Downstairs, dirty tactics helped the crew past Dwarven guardians (they were surrounded with invisibile party members), and Greater Wyverns (lured toward a repeating fire trap for frying purposes).
The last two pictures show that Garrick had joined the club, and that Ajantis with the Dex Gauntlets still needed criticals to hit the Greater Wyverns with his returning Throwing Axe +2. With invisible Euphonia's and Garrick's Bard songs, he fared a bit better.
A new warning followed in Durlag's topiary garden, in the form of two traps that Imoen hadn't disarmed (I discovered when I continued play after a break). A fire trap killed Imoen, and a missile trap nearly felled Euphonia.
The companions got Imoen raised at the Nashkel Temple and, seemingly unmoved by Durlag's warnings, returned to the Tower to finish the job they had started. The chess game. Although the party metagamed by quaffing potions of absorption, they weren't prepared to deal with the chess pieces. Garrick and Euphonia were invisible, playing their songs, and Imoen was invisible as well, detecting illusions (because the King would use invisibility-type spells). Two simultaneous Flamestrikes scorched Branwen.
Kivan the dispeller got surrounded and killed not much later, but Ajantis escaped death with a timely swig of an invisibility potion.
He was still in the process of healing himself when a Bishop started casting True Seeing (even though they don't have that spell or any similar divination spell according to Shadowkeeper). At this point Euphonia stepped in and dropped a Fireball (from wand) on the Bishop, hoping to prevent the dispelling of her companions' invisibility. She suffered a few hits for her insolence, but managed to go invisible again to avoid further damage.
She did not, however, escape the AoE of a Confusion cast in her general direction. The Skald failed her save vs spell and began attacking one of her enemies, ending her own invisibility. Garrick's Dispel Magic came too late.
I considered using Garrick for the Fireball trick, but reckoned that his chances of survival were less than Euphonia's as she was the more robust and higher level character of the two, and I can't enjoy the game if I use NPCs as 'tools' to keep charname alive. It's been a fun ride, and I'm eager to do another playthrough with party. Hadn't done that in a long while.
@Blackraven, tell Baldur's Gate to stop killing your Charnames.
Hehe, it's not BG it's me... Maybe I'll never manage a no-reload trilogy success, at least not SCS/Ascension, but as long as I'm having fun (and a couple of readers too), I'll play this game. I can see myself retiring at some point and coming back later, but the party experience was surprisingly enjoyable, so I'm definitely rolling a new Charname for a new party.
P.S. It speaks volumes that a run with a party ended in BG1 rather than BG2. I'm happy you don't give up! It was an entertaining party playthrough, so your reader is already waiting for the next one!
@bengoshi As you saw, @Blackraven is not the only still focused on BG despite PoE release.
@Blackraven good effort getting as far as you did, but out of curiosity, why did you not Web+Fireball/Skulltrap/Cloudkill the chess game? Does SCS make that strategy ineffective? Or is it a personal roleplay restriction?
@bengoshi, I think my focus on BG is a good thing. I wouldn't want to become addicted to more games, where would my life go?
@Heindrich, you make a good point. In hindsight I should have opened with Fireball / Skull Trap by Garrick and Euphonia. Cloudkill seemed less reliable because SCS treats the pieces as constructs. They're also quite high level: the pawns are lvl 6 fighters, the Rooks lvl 13(!) fighters, Bishops lvl 10 Clerics, the King is a 9/7 Fighter/Conjurer, and Queen a lvl 10 wizard. So saves were relatively likely to be made; this also goes for Webs. However, the main reason I did what I did was that I'd had success before (long ago though) with simply charging the King, and getting a quick kill.
Ah I see, I guess SCS does make that encounter quite a bit harder. Assuming that Greater Mallison still works as usual in SCS, then it would help a great deal if you can cast GM+Web before bombarding the other side of the board with AoE damage. I still use that combo in BG2 so it should work even against higher level enemies. Of course as enemies' saves improves, it becomes less reliable, but when you have a big blog of enemies like that, even a semi-effective Web can disrupt the enemy approach so that they attack piecemeal rather than all at once, spells are delayed allowing you to disrupt casters, and you can move in with warriors with Spider Bane or Free Movement potions/spells.
@Heindrich, you're right. I intend to try Durlag's again in my upcoming party run, and I'll definitely try to throw in some Crowd Control at the beginning of the battle. Will have to start buffing (absorption free action etc) in the last elemental fight before getting teleported to the chessboard, because there won't be time for that on the chessboard itself...
@CharlestonianTemplar, Saurial Paladins? That's new to me... Nice to see you work with Rogue Rebalancing, I'm sure you'll like it.
...Downstairs, dirty tactics helped the crew past Dwarven guardians (they were surrounded with invisibile party members), and Greater Wyverns (lured toward a repeating fire trap for frying purposes)...
...considered using Garrick for the Fireball trick, but reckoned that his chances of survival were less than Euphonia's as she was the more robust and higher level character of the two, and I can't enjoy the game if I use NPCs as 'tools' to keep charname alive. It's been a fun ride, and I'm eager to do another playthrough with party. Hadn't done that in a long while...
Hey B_R, the Saurial Paladin is in that Megamods kit that I've been using. It has about 20, 25 kits. That's where I got the Priest of Sylvanus Kit (I used for Jaheira since Sylvanus is her deity); Battle Priestess of Tempus for Branwen, the Charming Rogue for Imoen & there's a Ninja Kit which I'm going to use for Yoshi). Here's the link.
Battle Priest of Tempus (from TDD), Cleric kit. Charming Rogue (from NEJ), Thief kit. Cleric of Tempus (from NEJ), Cleric kit. Firewalker(from NEJ), Fighter kit. Moon Knight(from NEJ), Paladin kit. Pit Fighter(from TDD), Fighter kit. Priest of Sylvanus(from NEJ), Druid kit. Bladesinger(from TDD), Fighter kit. Delver(from TDD), Thief kit. Vagrant... Ranger kit. Anti-Paladin(from TDD), Paladin kit. Dark Paladin(from RoT), Paladin kit. Cleric of Ilmater(from NEJ), Cleric kit. Amazon(from TDD), Fighter Kit. Dark Knight(from TDD), Fighter Kit. Saurial(from TDD), Paladin Kit. Vampire Hunter(from TDD). Blademaster(from TDD), Fighter Kit. Mage Hunter(from TDD), Fighter Kit. Ravager(from TDD), exclusively Gnome Fighter Kit. Rhythm Warrior(from TDD), Fighter Kit. Tactician(from TDD), Fighter Kit. Sellsword(from TDD), Fighter Kit. Apprentice(from an old non-WeiDU kit mod), Human and Half Elf Fighter Kit. Dragonclaw... Human and Half Elf Fighter Kit. A requested kit from the G3 forum. Drow Ranger(closely matching the TDD kit), Elf Ranger Kit. Ninja(from TDD), Thief Kit. Samurai(from TDD), Human Ranger Kit. Divine Wizard kit, Human Cleric Kit. I conjured up this kit myself. Dragon Dancer kit(from an old non-WeiDU kit mod), Elf Fighter Kit.
Sorry to hear of Euphonia's fall but I appreciate your playing realistically. By the way, cool trick drawing the Wyvern's into the Fireball Chamber. I know they can get into the hallway...can you actually draw them into the room of FBs???
Oh, and what's the FB trick you were talking about w/Garrick?
Thanks for the info @CharlestonianTemplar. Some of those kits look really interesting such as Divine Wizard, Ravager, Sellsword, and the kits you used for Imoen and Jaheira. There are no kit descprtions though? I can see myself include the mod in a future install, if only to read more about what all the kits do.
Yes I tried to play somewhat realistically. It's a bit crazy imo that you basically have to buff your party for the chessboard encounter, during the fight preceding that encounter. The Wyverns can't be drawn into the Fireball chamber. They won't get beyond the door post, but that's enough to fry them (no XP though for those kills).
The FB 'trick' I decided to pull with Euphonia rather than Garrick was hardly a trick really. I only dropped the Fireball in the hopes of interrupting the Bishop that had started casting True Seeing (or a similar divination spell).
@ B_R: Sorry for the slow response. I provided the descriptions of the kits you mention above, plus a few I'm using that I think are better suited for certain NPCs than those they have in vanilla.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////Charming Rogue Kit ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// available for all Thieves~ Imoens' Thief kit.
This thief kit was especially created for Imoen to reflect her unique personality.
Advantages: - +1 bonus to AC for every 5 levels of experience - +1 to hit, and +1 to damage with any missile weapon for every 5 levels - +1 to movement rate for every 7 levels - Can specialize in any ranged weapon that a thief can use - Can cast a limited number of enchanting spells, which become available from her innate slots as she advances levels - Immune to Charm spell - Can create illusions
Disadvantages: - None~
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////Pit Fighter Kit ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// available for all Fighters~
These hardened gladiators have honed their combat skills and endurance in the vicious fighting pits found in the seedier parts of Faerun. Years of brutal fighting and rigorous training have improved their stamina, giving them a considerable boost to their constitution. Exposure to such constant violence has hardened the bodies of these embittered warriors to the point where they are able to recover from wounds at a rate far beyond that of a normal human being. The gladiatorial arenas have taught the Pit Fighters not only the need for strength and endurance, but also the importance of speed and agility. As a result, Pit Fighters can move and strike faster than an ordinary adventurer. Only the very best fighters survive past their first few brutal fights. These extraordinary men eventually gain the ability to Cause Serious Wounds on their opponents through sheer force of will. All racs have the physical potential to become Pit Fighters, who are chosen among those with outstanding strength, stamina and agility. Whilst Pit Fighters are brutal warriors, they are rarely given the opportunity to hone their skill with any one weapon, being forced to train and fight with whatever instrument is nearby. As a result, Pit Fighters may only become proficient in Two Weapon Style and Sword and Shield Style. Similarly, due to their lack of familiarity with ranged weapons in the arena, Pit Fighters are unable to use them in combat. Because agility is a fundamental attribute of Pit Fighters, they are unable to wear full plate armour which is far too restrictive to their fighting style.
ADVANTAGES: - Regenerates slowly - Has a naturally high movement rate - Gains Cure Serious Wounds at levels 1 and 12
DISADVANTAGES: - Requires 16 Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution - Can only be proficient with Sword and Shield Style or Two Weapon Style - Wears no armour heavier than Splint Mail - Does not use ranged weapons with any skill - Can only place up to 3 proficiency points in a single weapon proficiency - Cannot be of Lawful Good alignment~
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////Priest of Sylvanus Kit ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// available for all Druids~
Advantages: - May gain the grand mastery in slings and darts. - Gains +1 to hit, and +1 to damage with the sling for every six levels of experience, upto the 30th level with +5. - Has access to three innate abilities, which become available from their innate slots as they advance levels: 1. Sylvanus Mental Agility. This spell creates the energetic channel between the casters and her god that quickens the thought processes allowing them to cast spells more quickly than normally. This spell is gainded at levels:
* Level 1, +1 to casting speed factor for 2 rounds * Level 6, +2 to casting speed factor for 7 rounds * Level 12, +3 to casting speed factor for 9 rounds * Level 18, +4 to casting speed factor for 12 rounds. 2. Sylvanus Physical Agility. This spell quickens the casters reflexes, enabling faster and more effective combat. This spell is gained at levels: * Level 3, +1 to attack speed factor and dexterity for 2 rounds * Level 9, +2 to attack speed factor and +1 to dexterity for 7 rounds * Level 15, +3 to attack speed factor and +1 to dexterity for 9 rounds * Level 21, +4 to attack speed factor and +2 to dexterity for 11 rounds. 3. Sylvanus Shape Change. You gain this spell at levels 12th, 24th and 36th. With this spell, she is able to assume the form of a powerful creature (mind flayer, iron golem, greater wolfwere, earth elemental, fire elemental, or giant troll), and becomes the creature they wish, gaining almost all of its abilities. Thus, they can change into a mind flayer to stun her opponents and then become an earth elemental to crush her foes. These creatures have whatever hit points the original caster had at the time of the shape change. Each alteration in form requires only a second, and no system shock is incurred. Note that the although the assumed form has the combat characteristics of the real creature, it may not have all of its immunities.
Disadvantages: - No regular shapeshifting abilities.~
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////Amazon Kit ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// available for Half-Elf Fighters~
Amazons are female warriors in a male-dominated world. Their civilization may have been created by a deity who likes women, they might have been women who rebelled against male domination and decided to rule themselves, or they might simply have been matriarchal societies from long before recorded history. Whatever their origin, they now live in civilizations or communities where women occupy the positions and roles traditionally held by men, especially the role of warriors and adventurers. An Amazon culture may be small (a single town or island) or large (an entire country or continent), very advanced or very primitive. Some Amazon cultures keep men as servants and slaves, a stern reversal of the former status; others have no men in their communities, and take long holidays in order to visit friendly neighbouring tribes of men; others perpetuate their kind by being very hospitable to adventurers passing through their territory. Amazons are generally respected as highly proficient warriors, their weapons of choice being spears and bows. They also have a knowledge of poisons, and a mild affinity with the natural world. Due to their female status, Amazons are often greatly underestimated, and they are quick to use this, along with any other, advantage in battle.
ADVANTAGES: - Can poison weapons such as spears at level 10 - Can charm animals once every 4 levels - Can use their female status to an advantage by using First Strike at levels 1, 10 and 14 (This grants them +3 damage and a superb bonus to their THAC0 for the first or second hit) - Gain 1D10+1 hit points as opposed to 1D10
DISADVANTAGES: - Cannot be of Lawful alignment - Can only use spears, swords, axes, clubs and bows with any skill - Can obtain Grand Mastery only with spears and the longbow - Wears no armour greater than splint mail - Must be a Half-Elf
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////Saurial ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// available for Human Paladins~
The Saurial Paladin is the weapons expert of the holy order. Such warriors are often found forming the brunt of the fighting force of a holy army. He has forgone any mental training, preferring instead to use weapons in combat; due to this, he lacks the Lay on Hands ability and has no Protection From Evil. To compensate for this, the Saurial Paladin is unrivalled in his expertise in dual-wielding 1-handed weapons. He is always of a Lawful Good alignment and serves the order to the end.
Advantages: - Can have 3 slots devoted to any one-handed weapons - Can have 3 slots devoted to dual-wielding
Disadvantages: - Has no Lay on Hands ability - Has no Protection From Evil - Can devote only 1 slot to all ranged weapons~
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////Ravager Kit ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// available for Gnome Fighters~
The aptly named Ravagers are the hunters and defenders of Gnomish villages. These unusually (for Gnomes, at least) vicious fighters are raised from birth to defend the homes and lives of their fellow Gnomes. The constant training and difficult conditions bestow upon them extraordinary endurance alien to the gnomish race. Many an unwary traveller has been surprised by a band of roving gnomish Ravagers who display fighting skills far beyond those of the average Gnome. The most proficient ravagers gain an innate berserk ability which allows them to withstand great hardships and inflict tremendous amounts of damage on those who are foolish enough to stand in their way. The Ravagers, however, incur a penalty to their Intelligence as a result of forgoing their studies in favour of physical training. They invariably prefer to use blunt weapons, gaining high levels of specialization with the flail, mace, and similar crushing implements. The training of ravagers concentrates exclusively on melee combat and prevents them from being able to use ranged weapons with any sort of success.
ADVANTAGES: - Receives +1 to maximum Constitution - Gains Barbarian Rage at levels 1, 12, and 15 - Has a +1 damage and THAC0 bonus
DISADVANTAGES: - Must be a Gnome - Receives -1 to maximum Intelligence - Is only skilled with blunt weapons - Cannot use ranged weapons~
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////Sellsword Kit ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// available for Human and Half-Orc Fighter~
The Sellsword is a mercenary who hires out his services to the highest bidder. Inevitably, this sort of lifestyle involves a great deal of violence and physical exertion. Superhuman strength and stamina are vital characteristics for the Sellsword. As a result, his frame dwarfs that of the average human. His enormous strength is evocative of the might of the Cloud Giants, and allows him to perform extraordinary feats of valour in combat. Unfortunately, due to his enormous size, the Sellsword's manoeuvrability suffers, and his agility and dexterity are penalized. Due to his outstanding physical prowess, the Sellsword concentrates exclusively on the use of 2-handed weapons. His tremendous size grants the Sellsword a natural armour class bonus, which increases as he gains more experience. Furthermore, this allows him to withstand damage from crushing and slashing weapons to some degree. Only humans and half-orcs possess the necessary strength and constitution to become Sellswords.
ADVANTAGES: - Gains +1 to AC at levels 13 and 16 - Gains +1 to THAC0 at levels 1, 13, and 16 - Receives 25% resistance to Slashing and Crushing damage - Receives +1 to maximum Strength
DISADVANTAGES: - Can only gain proficiency slots in 2-Handed Weapon style - Receives -3 to maximum Dexterity - Must be a Human or Half-Orc~
Apprentice are Swordsmen and women that travel the known world and study under various masters to perfect their swordsmanship. They follow a unique code of honor, somewhat like that of a knight or samurai and utilize their speed, power, and unique sword techniques to stun and decimate their foes.
Advantages: - Bonus -2 to AC - An Apprentice starts off moving at +2 move and recieves another +2 move at level 12 - Bonus -1 to speed factor for every 4 levels - Bonus +1 to hit and +1 to damage for every 6 levels - May use 'Bust' ability once per day per 6 levels - Bust: lasts 24 seconds, granting the Apprentice +5 to hit and +5 to damage. As well, all of his attacks do maximum damage for the duration. All attacks force the victim to save or be stunned. - Gains 'Sword Heaven' abilty at level 14 and the Apprentice may use it once per day - Sword Heaven: lasts 24 seconds, granting the Apprentice +5 to hit and +5 to damage. As well, the Apprentices' attacks per round are doubled and all of his attacks do maximum damage for the duration.
Disadvantages: - May not wear armor greater than studded leather - Cannot become proficient in weapons other than swords - May not become proficient in the 'Sword and Shield' style - May not dual or multi-class - Can only be of a Good or Neutral alignment - Only Humans and Half-Elves may become Apprentices~
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////Ninja ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// BEGIN ~Ninja Kit, available for Thieves of all races~
The Ninja is a curious hybrid of the thief and the fighter. Many creatures, however, never live long enough to learn much more of these stealthy fighters. The Ninja is highly agile, gaining a significant bonus to his dexterity as well as his speed. He is highly skilled in evading all kinds of harm. Many a time a Ninja has walked out only slightly singed from a powerful explosion that would have killed creatures many times his strength. His ability of Harm Evasion is one of his best-kept secrets. Moreover, the Ninja can specialize to the level of Grand Mastery with a blade of his choice, though his preferred weapon is the rare and deadly katana which is especially prized for its use as a backstabbing weapon; a skill in which the Ninja also receives a significant bonus. At the peak of his experience, however, the Ninja is much weaker in strength and constitution than most thieves and fighters, for his speciality is in lurking in the shadows, dealing out a silent death to all who cross him. Other thief skills a part from the backstab ability also suffer as a result of less training during his youth in the "traditional" thieving skills. Additionally, the only ranged weapon that the Ninja may use is the dart, though he can reach a level of Mastery with this weapon to compensate for this.
ADVANTAGES: - Receives +2 to maximum Dexterity - Able to reach Grand Mastery with a blade-type weapon category of choice - Gains Harm Evasion at levels 1, 10, and 14 - Gains Mirror Image at levels 12 and 18 - Gains +1 AC bonus at levels 1, 16 and 32 - THAC0 improves at a rate inbetween a Thief and a Fighter
DISADVANTAGES: - Gains only 15 thieving skill points per level - Cannot be of Good alignment - Receives -2 to maximum Strength - Receives -1 to maximum Constitution - Cannot use ranged weapons except the dart with any skill - Cannot set snares~
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////Samurai ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// BEGIN ~Samurai Kit, available for Human Rangers~
An ideal Samurai is a stoic warrior who follows an unwritten code of conduct known as the Bushido which holds bravery, honour and personal loyalty above life itself. A true Samurai is a grand master of the katana and wakizashi. His mastery of these blades is unparalleled, and the deadly precision with which he wields them strikes fear in the heart of even the most determined foe. The samurai invariably bears both his blades in combat and the amount of strict training and meditation needed to achieve this sort of skill grants him exceptional bonuses to his dexterity. His total dedication to the katana and wakizashi means that the samurai is unable to wield ranged weapons. However, his lightning-fast reflexes and super-human agility have granted him the ability to deflect missiles. The Samurai's total commitment to his chosen weaponry prevents him from specializing in any other weapons than the katana and wakizashi. His Wisdom and constitution are penalized due to the restrictive training dictated by the Bushido. The Samurai does not wear any armour greater than studded leather as it impedes his agility and hence his ability to fight with both blades. Ultimately, only the most agile and dexterous of humans possess the necessary physical attributes to become a true Samurai.
ADVANTAGES: - Have a +4 AC vs. missiles - Can use the Kuatoray Technique at levels 8, 12, and 15 for 6 rounds (This technique allows them to wield their weapon with an extremely light-handed grip. When they swing their weapon, the grip is so loose that the blade will practically fly out of their hands at the opponent. This technique increases the number of attacks per round to the maximum due to the slinging style. There is a +2 bonus to accuracy, but 4 less damage is done with every hit since the samurai does not hit with full force) - Can have 5 proficiency slots devoted to katanas and scimitars - Receives +2 to maximum Dexterity
DISADVANTAGES: - Has weapon skills only with katanas and scimitars - Receives -1 to maximum Wisdom and Constitution - Wears no armour greater than studded leather - Uses no ranged weapon with any skill - Casts no druidic spells, does not charm animals - Requires 17 Dexterity - Must be a Human of Lawful alignment~
////////////////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////// Divine Wizard //////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// BEGIN ~Divine Wizard kit, Human Cleric Kit~/Imp created kit, for clerics that actually want to be wizards.
/////////////////////Divine Wizard KIT 1
Arcane Priests are apprentice Divine Wizards that have not fully yet fully taken their role in the world...
Advantages: - Learn spells like a cleric - Divine spells in arcane spellbook - Immunity to Mind Flayer intellegence drain
Small errors: - Hit points totally messed before level up - Your proficiency points are a total waste - Once you have leveled up, you need to wait a few seconds so your actual class get's activated, and then you can level up again
Disadvantages: - Cannot Dualclass - Cannot learn any additional spells from scrolls - Intellegence set to 8~
////////////////Divine Wizard KIT 2
Advantages: - Learn spells like a cleric - Your Divine spells are spreaded around in arcane spellbook - Immunity to Mind Flayer intellegence drain
Disadvantages: - Cannot Dualclass - Cannot learn any additional spells from scrolls - Intellegence set to 8~
@CharlestonianTemplar: Some of these kits look very interesting to me (Charming Rogue, Priest of Sylvanus, Ravager, Sellsword and Apprentice to be specific). Might dig up that mod for future playthroughs. Thanks for sharing this.
@Zalson: I'm not sure... Come to think of it, I don't really know what the definition of a necro is. How long should it be before bringing back a thread becomes necromancy instead of regeneration?
Like you I post also on the Bioware forums, but unlike you I don't have a character currently in BG2 (after Scintilla died to the Black Dragon and its plant growth). My Gnome Cleric/Thief Gerry hopes to sneak his way into Amn though.
Comments
At long last the party suffered their first casualty: Xan. He actually died three times. As some of you readers know I'm not fond of the concept of Raise Dead / Resurrection. The enemy doesn't do it (except with Tazok), and it kind of takes away the meaning of death for me in the game.
Xan's first death was in the Bear River area, where he ignored Euphonia's instruction to run from three attacking Ogres instead of lunging at them with his dagger (AI was active). The party raised him at Beregost's Temple of Lathander, but he didn't last long. During an encounter with four Red Wizards of Thay he tried to help his comrades with a Skull Trap, and indeed inflicted some nice damage, but the Red Wizards immediately directed their attention toward the Elf. He got Slowed and before he could get away, Melf's Minute Meteors did him in.
On the top floor they ran into six Iron Throne elite killers. The companions ran downstairs but five of their enemies followed them: Alai, Diyab, Zhalimar, Aasim and Naaman. A Dispel Magic by Branwen removed what protections those five had, and Xan used a charge of his wand of fire to disrupt one of the casters who had been outside the range of the Dispel Magic. Xan's action killed the bartender and merchant (lowering the party's rep from 20 to 10, which greatly upset Ajantis).
First however they buried Xan and held a plain ceremony in his memory in the woods outside Baldur's Gate.
Upon their arrival at the gates of Candlekeep the companions were attacked by Ogre Mages. Kivan expended various of his arrows of dispelling, allowing the party to make short work of their enemies.
With the help of Tethtoril the band escaped their death sentence via catacombs below Candlekeep. They contained miscellaneous loot, most importantly a Cloak of Protection +2, and tomes of insight and manual exercise for Euphonia. There were also plenty of Doppelgangers, but aided by Deder, the party had no difficulty dealing with them.
Branwen summoned a Woodland Being that would entangle some of their foes, but they were nevertheless hard to deal with due to a Teleport Field.
Read from the rules of the Templar established for the 'Knights of the Temple by the Council of Troyes, 1129.'
Sister's
70. The company of women is a dangerous thing, for by it the old devil has led many from the straight path to Paradise. Henceforth, let not ladies be admitted as sisters into the house of the Temple; that is why, very dear brothers, henceforth it is not fitting to follow this custom, that the flower of chastity is always maintained among you.
Let Them Not Have Familiarity with Women
71. We believe it to be a dangerous thing for any religious to look too much upon the face of woman. For this reason none of you may presume to kiss a woman, be it widow, young girl, mother, sister, aunt or any other; and henceforth the Knighthood of Jesus Christ should avoid at all costs the embraces of women, by which men have perished many times, so that they may remain eternally before the face of God with a pure conscience and sure life.
Since Ajantis is a member of the Order of the Radiant Heart, I'd say he was pretty close to a Templar...
...but then again, Keldorn's married isn't he? Oh well. Forget everything I just said.
I didn't know about the principle of chastity for Templars, though it doesn't surprise me. The organization in Orders (Templars, Teutonics, and others) is similar to the Paladin Orders as we know them in D&D, so I can definitely see the link you make. I think chivalric romance (Arthurian legend etc) has been a source of inspiration for the D&D Paladin as well though, and those knights almost always had a love interest.
Either way as you say, Keldorn has a wife, and he was Ajantis' mentor, so I suppose we know who's to blame for Ajantis' advances to Lady Euphonia (as he tends to address her).
I like to think of Cavaliers as Templars, Undead Hunters as Teutonic Knights & Inquisitors as Hospitaller's. Paladin's (w/o kits) & Saurial Paladin's (if you have that kit) can fill in any of the orders.
Oh well, gotta go soldiering early in the AM. Oh btw, I dropped the Rogue Rebalancing Mod into my BGII game setup for Sir Gawain. Thanks for the tip.
CT
Nice to see you work with Rogue Rebalancing, I'm sure you'll like it.
After their escape from Candlekeep, the party were hesitant to return to Baldur's Gate where they were knew they would have the Fist after them. They came up with the regrettable idea of visiting Durlag's haunted Tower, to retieve an enchanted dagger for the Dwarf Hurgan Stoneblade.
Kirinhale the Succubus gave the band a first warning. She caused a lot of confusion by (repeatedly) charming the three ladies, but eventually Ajantis and Kivan, who were immune to charms, slew the demoness.
The chess game. Although the party metagamed by quaffing potions of absorption, they weren't prepared to deal with the chess pieces. Garrick and Euphonia were invisible, playing their songs, and Imoen was invisible as well, detecting illusions (because the King would use invisibility-type spells). Two simultaneous Flamestrikes scorched Branwen.
@Blackraven, tell Baldur's Gate to stop killing your Charnames.
P.S. It speaks volumes that a run with a party ended in BG1 rather than BG2. I'm happy you don't give up! It was an entertaining party playthrough, so your reader is already waiting for the next one!
@Blackraven good effort getting as far as you did, but out of curiosity, why did you not Web+Fireball/Skulltrap/Cloudkill the chess game? Does SCS make that strategy ineffective? Or is it a personal roleplay restriction?
@bengoshi, I think my focus on BG is a good thing. I wouldn't want to become addicted to more games, where would my life go?
@Heindrich, you make a good point. In hindsight I should have opened with Fireball / Skull Trap by Garrick and Euphonia. Cloudkill seemed less reliable because SCS treats the pieces as constructs. They're also quite high level: the pawns are lvl 6 fighters, the Rooks lvl 13(!) fighters, Bishops lvl 10 Clerics, the King is a 9/7 Fighter/Conjurer, and Queen a lvl 10 wizard. So saves were relatively likely to be made; this also goes for Webs.
However, the main reason I did what I did was that I'd had success before (long ago though) with simply charging the King, and getting a quick kill.
http://www.shsforums.net/topic/45223-megamodkits-mod/
Here's the list of available kits w/the mod.
Battle Priest of Tempus (from TDD), Cleric kit.
Charming Rogue (from NEJ), Thief kit.
Cleric of Tempus (from NEJ), Cleric kit.
Firewalker(from NEJ), Fighter kit.
Moon Knight(from NEJ), Paladin kit.
Pit Fighter(from TDD), Fighter kit.
Priest of Sylvanus(from NEJ), Druid kit.
Bladesinger(from TDD), Fighter kit.
Delver(from TDD), Thief kit.
Vagrant... Ranger kit.
Anti-Paladin(from TDD), Paladin kit.
Dark Paladin(from RoT), Paladin kit.
Cleric of Ilmater(from NEJ), Cleric kit.
Amazon(from TDD), Fighter Kit.
Dark Knight(from TDD), Fighter Kit.
Saurial(from TDD), Paladin Kit.
Vampire Hunter(from TDD).
Blademaster(from TDD), Fighter Kit.
Mage Hunter(from TDD), Fighter Kit.
Ravager(from TDD), exclusively Gnome Fighter Kit.
Rhythm Warrior(from TDD), Fighter Kit.
Tactician(from TDD), Fighter Kit.
Sellsword(from TDD), Fighter Kit.
Apprentice(from an old non-WeiDU kit mod), Human and Half Elf Fighter Kit.
Dragonclaw... Human and Half Elf Fighter Kit. A requested kit from the G3 forum.
Drow Ranger(closely matching the TDD kit), Elf Ranger Kit.
Ninja(from TDD), Thief Kit.
Samurai(from TDD), Human Ranger Kit.
Divine Wizard kit, Human Cleric Kit. I conjured up this kit myself.
Dragon Dancer kit(from an old non-WeiDU kit mod), Elf Fighter Kit.
Sorry to hear of Euphonia's fall but I appreciate your playing realistically. By the way, cool trick drawing the Wyvern's into the Fireball Chamber. I know they can get into the hallway...can you actually draw them into the room of FBs???
Oh, and what's the FB trick you were talking about w/Garrick?
CT
Yes I tried to play somewhat realistically. It's a bit crazy imo that you basically have to buff your party for the chessboard encounter, during the fight preceding that encounter.
The Wyverns can't be drawn into the Fireball chamber. They won't get beyond the door post, but that's enough to fry them (no XP though for those kills).
The FB 'trick' I decided to pull with Euphonia rather than Garrick was hardly a trick really. I only dropped the Fireball in the hopes of interrupting the Bishop that had started casting True Seeing (or a similar divination spell).
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////Charming Rogue Kit
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
available for all Thieves~ Imoens' Thief kit.
COPY ~MegaModKits/CharmingRogue/spells~ ~override~
APPEND ~SPELL.IDS~
~3161 IMMY_MAGIC_MISSILES
3162 IMMY_FRIENDS
3263 IMMY_LUCK
3264 IMMY_GLITTERDUST
3164 IMMY_REFLECTED_IMAGE
3365 IMMY_INVISIBILITY_RADIUS
3366 IMMY_DIRE_CHARM
3467 IMMY_CONFUSION
3468 IMMY_EMOTION
3469 IMMY_GTREATER_MALISON
3512 IMMY_DOMINATION
3513 IMMY_HOLD_MONSTER
3514 IMMY_CHAOS
3620 IMMY_MISLEAD
3515 IMMY_SPHERE_OF_CHAOS
3516 IMMY_MASS_INVISIBILITY
3444 IMMY_IMPROVED_INVISIBILITY
3506 IMMY_MASS_CHARM~
SAY NAME1 ~Mass Charm~
This thief kit was especially created for Imoen to reflect her unique personality.
Advantages:
- +1 bonus to AC for every 5 levels of experience
- +1 to hit, and +1 to damage with any missile weapon for every 5 levels
- +1 to movement rate for every 7 levels
- Can specialize in any ranged weapon that a thief can use
- Can cast a limited number of enchanting spells, which become available from her innate slots as she advances levels
- Immune to Charm spell
- Can create illusions
Disadvantages:
- None~
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////Pit Fighter Kit
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
available for all Fighters~
These hardened gladiators have honed their combat skills and endurance in the vicious fighting pits found in the seedier parts of Faerun. Years of brutal fighting and rigorous training have improved their stamina, giving them a considerable boost to their constitution. Exposure to such constant violence has hardened the bodies of these embittered warriors to the point where they are able to recover from wounds at a rate far beyond that of a normal human being. The gladiatorial arenas have taught the Pit Fighters not only the need for strength and endurance, but also the importance of speed and agility. As a result, Pit Fighters can move and strike faster than an ordinary adventurer. Only the very best fighters survive past their first few brutal fights. These extraordinary men eventually gain the ability to Cause Serious Wounds on their opponents through sheer force of will.
All racs have the physical potential to become Pit Fighters, who are chosen among those with outstanding strength, stamina and agility. Whilst Pit Fighters are brutal warriors, they are rarely given the opportunity to hone their skill with any one weapon, being forced to train and fight with whatever instrument is nearby. As a result, Pit Fighters may only become proficient in Two Weapon Style and Sword and Shield Style. Similarly, due to their lack of familiarity with ranged weapons in the arena, Pit Fighters are unable to use them in combat. Because agility is a fundamental attribute of Pit Fighters, they are unable to wear full plate armour which is far too restrictive to their fighting style.
ADVANTAGES:
- Regenerates slowly
- Has a naturally high movement rate
- Gains Cure Serious Wounds at levels 1 and 12
DISADVANTAGES:
- Requires 16 Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution
- Can only be proficient with Sword and Shield Style or Two Weapon Style
- Wears no armour heavier than Splint Mail
- Does not use ranged weapons with any skill
- Can only place up to 3 proficiency points in a single weapon proficiency
- Cannot be of Lawful Good alignment~
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////Priest of Sylvanus Kit
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
available for all Druids~
Advantages:
- May gain the grand mastery in slings and darts.
- Gains +1 to hit, and +1 to damage with the sling for every six levels of experience, upto the 30th level with +5.
- Has access to three innate abilities, which become available from their innate slots as they advance levels:
1. Sylvanus Mental Agility. This spell creates the energetic channel between the casters and her god that quickens the thought processes allowing them to cast spells more quickly than normally. This spell is gainded at levels:
* Level 1, +1 to casting speed factor for 2 rounds
* Level 6, +2 to casting speed factor for 7 rounds
* Level 12, +3 to casting speed factor for 9 rounds
* Level 18, +4 to casting speed factor for 12 rounds.
2. Sylvanus Physical Agility. This spell quickens the casters reflexes, enabling faster and more effective combat. This spell is gained at levels:
* Level 3, +1 to attack speed factor and dexterity for 2 rounds
* Level 9, +2 to attack speed factor and +1 to dexterity for 7 rounds
* Level 15, +3 to attack speed factor and +1 to dexterity for 9 rounds
* Level 21, +4 to attack speed factor and +2 to dexterity for 11 rounds.
3. Sylvanus Shape Change. You gain this spell at levels 12th, 24th and 36th. With this spell, she is able to assume the form of a powerful creature (mind flayer, iron golem, greater wolfwere, earth elemental, fire elemental, or giant troll), and becomes the creature they wish, gaining almost all of its abilities. Thus, they can change into a mind flayer to stun her opponents and then become an earth elemental to crush her foes. These creatures have whatever hit points the original caster had at the time of the shape change. Each alteration in form requires only a second, and no system shock is incurred. Note that the although the assumed form has the combat characteristics of the real creature, it may not have all of its immunities.
Disadvantages:
- No regular shapeshifting abilities.~
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////Amazon Kit
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
available for Half-Elf Fighters~
Amazons are female warriors in a male-dominated world. Their civilization may have been created by a deity who likes women, they might have been women who rebelled against male domination and decided to rule themselves, or they might simply have been matriarchal societies from long before recorded history.
Whatever their origin, they now live in civilizations or communities where women occupy the positions and roles traditionally held by men, especially the role of warriors and adventurers.
An Amazon culture may be small (a single town or island) or large (an entire country or continent), very advanced or very primitive. Some Amazon cultures keep men as servants and slaves, a stern reversal of the former status; others have no men in their communities, and take long holidays in order to visit friendly neighbouring tribes of men; others perpetuate their kind by being very hospitable to adventurers passing through their territory.
Amazons are generally respected as highly proficient warriors, their weapons of choice being spears and bows. They also have a knowledge of poisons, and a mild affinity with the natural world. Due to their female status, Amazons are often greatly underestimated, and they are quick to use this, along with any other, advantage in battle.
ADVANTAGES:
- Can poison weapons such as spears at level 10
- Can charm animals once every 4 levels
- Can use their female status to an advantage by using First Strike at levels 1, 10 and 14 (This grants them +3 damage and a superb bonus to their THAC0 for the first or second hit)
- Gain 1D10+1 hit points as opposed to 1D10
DISADVANTAGES:
- Cannot be of Lawful alignment
- Can only use spears, swords, axes, clubs and bows with any skill
- Can obtain Grand Mastery only with spears and the longbow
- Wears no armour greater than splint mail
- Must be a Half-Elf
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////Saurial
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
available for Human Paladins~
The Saurial Paladin is the weapons expert of the holy order. Such warriors are often found forming the brunt of the fighting force of a holy army. He has forgone any mental training, preferring instead to use weapons in combat; due to this, he lacks the Lay on Hands ability and has no Protection From Evil. To compensate for this, the Saurial Paladin is unrivalled in his expertise in dual-wielding 1-handed weapons. He is always of a Lawful Good alignment and serves the order to the end.
Advantages:
- Can have 3 slots devoted to any one-handed weapons
- Can have 3 slots devoted to dual-wielding
Disadvantages:
- Has no Lay on Hands ability
- Has no Protection From Evil
- Can devote only 1 slot to all ranged weapons~
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////Ravager Kit
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
available for Gnome Fighters~
The aptly named Ravagers are the hunters and defenders of Gnomish villages. These unusually (for Gnomes, at least) vicious fighters are raised from birth to defend the homes and lives of their fellow Gnomes. The constant training and difficult conditions bestow upon them extraordinary endurance alien to the gnomish race. Many an unwary traveller has been surprised by a band of roving gnomish Ravagers who display fighting skills far beyond those of the average Gnome. The most proficient ravagers gain an innate berserk ability which allows them to withstand great hardships and inflict tremendous amounts of damage on those who are foolish enough to stand in their way.
The Ravagers, however, incur a penalty to their Intelligence as a result of forgoing their studies in favour of physical training. They invariably prefer to use blunt weapons, gaining high levels of specialization with the flail, mace, and similar crushing implements. The training of ravagers concentrates exclusively on melee combat and prevents them from being able to use ranged weapons with any sort of success.
ADVANTAGES:
- Receives +1 to maximum Constitution
- Gains Barbarian Rage at levels 1, 12, and 15
- Has a +1 damage and THAC0 bonus
DISADVANTAGES:
- Must be a Gnome
- Receives -1 to maximum Intelligence
- Is only skilled with blunt weapons
- Cannot use ranged weapons~
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////Sellsword Kit
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
available for Human and Half-Orc Fighter~
The Sellsword is a mercenary who hires out his services to the highest bidder. Inevitably, this sort of lifestyle involves a great deal of violence and physical exertion. Superhuman strength and stamina are vital characteristics for the Sellsword. As a result, his frame dwarfs that of the average human. His enormous strength is evocative of the might of the Cloud Giants, and allows him to perform extraordinary feats of valour in combat. Unfortunately, due to his enormous size, the Sellsword's manoeuvrability suffers, and his agility and dexterity are penalized. Due to his outstanding physical prowess, the Sellsword concentrates exclusively on the use of 2-handed weapons. His tremendous size grants the Sellsword a natural armour class bonus, which increases as he gains more experience. Furthermore, this allows him to withstand damage from crushing and slashing weapons to some degree. Only humans and half-orcs possess the necessary strength and constitution to become Sellswords.
ADVANTAGES:
- Gains +1 to AC at levels 13 and 16
- Gains +1 to THAC0 at levels 1, 13, and 16
- Receives 25% resistance to Slashing and Crushing damage
- Receives +1 to maximum Strength
DISADVANTAGES:
- Can only gain proficiency slots in 2-Handed Weapon style
- Receives -3 to maximum Dexterity
- Must be a Human or Half-Orc~
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////Apprentice Kit
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Apprentice are Swordsmen and women that travel the known world and study under various masters to perfect their swordsmanship. They follow a unique code of honor, somewhat like that of a knight or samurai and utilize their speed, power, and unique sword techniques to stun and decimate their foes.
Advantages:
- Bonus -2 to AC
- An Apprentice starts off moving at +2 move and recieves another +2 move at level 12
- Bonus -1 to speed factor for every 4 levels
- Bonus +1 to hit and +1 to damage for every 6 levels
- May use 'Bust' ability once per day per 6 levels
- Bust: lasts 24 seconds, granting the Apprentice +5 to hit and +5 to damage. As well, all of his attacks do maximum damage for the duration. All attacks force the victim to save or be stunned.
- Gains 'Sword Heaven' abilty at level 14 and the Apprentice may use it once per day
- Sword Heaven: lasts 24 seconds, granting the Apprentice +5 to hit and +5 to damage. As well, the Apprentices' attacks per round are doubled and all of his attacks do maximum damage for the duration.
Disadvantages:
- May not wear armor greater than studded leather
- Cannot become proficient in weapons other than swords
- May not become proficient in the 'Sword and Shield' style
- May not dual or multi-class
- Can only be of a Good or Neutral alignment
- Only Humans and Half-Elves may become Apprentices~
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////Ninja
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
BEGIN ~Ninja Kit, available for Thieves of all races~
The Ninja is a curious hybrid of the thief and the fighter. Many creatures, however, never live long enough to learn much more of these stealthy fighters. The Ninja is highly agile, gaining a significant bonus to his dexterity as well as his speed. He is highly skilled in evading all kinds of harm. Many a time a Ninja has walked out only slightly singed from a powerful explosion that would have killed creatures many times his strength. His ability of Harm Evasion is one of his best-kept secrets. Moreover, the Ninja can specialize to the level of Grand Mastery with a blade of his choice, though his preferred weapon is the rare and deadly katana which is especially prized for its use as a backstabbing weapon; a skill in which the Ninja also receives a significant bonus. At the peak of his experience, however, the Ninja is much weaker in strength and constitution than most thieves and fighters, for his speciality is in lurking in the shadows, dealing out a silent death to all who cross him. Other thief skills a part from the backstab ability also suffer as a result of less training during his youth in the "traditional" thieving skills. Additionally, the only ranged weapon that the Ninja may use is the dart, though he can reach a level of Mastery with this weapon to compensate for this.
ADVANTAGES:
- Receives +2 to maximum Dexterity
- Able to reach Grand Mastery with a blade-type weapon category of choice
- Gains Harm Evasion at levels 1, 10, and 14
- Gains Mirror Image at levels 12 and 18
- Gains +1 AC bonus at levels 1, 16 and 32
- THAC0 improves at a rate inbetween a Thief and a Fighter
DISADVANTAGES:
- Gains only 15 thieving skill points per level
- Cannot be of Good alignment
- Receives -2 to maximum Strength
- Receives -1 to maximum Constitution
- Cannot use ranged weapons except the dart with any skill
- Cannot set snares~
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////Samurai
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
BEGIN ~Samurai Kit, available for Human Rangers~
An ideal Samurai is a stoic warrior who follows an unwritten code of conduct known as the Bushido which holds bravery, honour and personal loyalty above life itself. A true Samurai is a grand master of the katana and wakizashi. His mastery of these blades is unparalleled, and the deadly precision with which he wields them strikes fear in the heart of even the most determined foe. The samurai invariably bears both his blades in combat and the amount of strict training and meditation needed to achieve this sort of skill grants him exceptional bonuses to his dexterity. His total dedication to the katana and wakizashi means that the samurai is unable to wield ranged weapons. However, his lightning-fast reflexes and super-human agility have granted him the ability to deflect missiles.
The Samurai's total commitment to his chosen weaponry prevents him from specializing in any other weapons than the katana and wakizashi. His Wisdom and constitution are penalized due to the restrictive training dictated by the Bushido. The Samurai does not wear any armour greater than studded leather as it impedes his agility and hence his ability to fight with both blades. Ultimately, only the most agile and dexterous of humans possess the necessary physical attributes to become a true Samurai.
ADVANTAGES:
- Have a +4 AC vs. missiles
- Can use the Kuatoray Technique at levels 8, 12, and 15 for 6 rounds (This technique allows them to wield their weapon with an extremely light-handed grip. When they swing their weapon, the grip is so loose that the blade will practically fly out of their hands at the opponent. This technique increases the number of attacks per round to the maximum due to the slinging style. There is a +2 bonus to accuracy, but 4 less damage is done with every hit since the samurai does not hit with full force)
- Can have 5 proficiency slots devoted to katanas and scimitars
- Receives +2 to maximum Dexterity
DISADVANTAGES:
- Has weapon skills only with katanas and scimitars
- Receives -1 to maximum Wisdom and Constitution
- Wears no armour greater than studded leather
- Uses no ranged weapon with any skill
- Casts no druidic spells, does not charm animals
- Requires 17 Dexterity
- Must be a Human of Lawful alignment~
//////////////////////////////////////////////
//////////////////////// Divine Wizard ////////////////////////////////
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
BEGIN ~Divine Wizard kit, Human Cleric Kit~/Imp created kit, for clerics that actually want to be wizards.
/////////////////////Divine Wizard KIT 1
Arcane Priests are apprentice Divine Wizards that have not fully yet fully taken their role in the world...
Advantages:
- Learn spells like a cleric
- Divine spells in arcane spellbook
- Immunity to Mind Flayer intellegence drain
Small errors:
- Hit points totally messed before level up
- Your proficiency points are a total waste
- Once you have leveled up, you need to wait a few seconds so your actual class get's activated, and then you can level up again
Disadvantages:
- Cannot Dualclass
- Cannot learn any additional spells from scrolls
- Intellegence set to 8~
////////////////Divine Wizard KIT 2
Advantages:
- Learn spells like a cleric
- Your Divine spells are spreaded around in arcane spellbook
- Immunity to Mind Flayer intellegence drain
Disadvantages:
- Cannot Dualclass
- Cannot learn any additional spells from scrolls
- Intellegence set to 8~
Also, probably better to send a PM rather than necro a thread.
*edit to correct grammatical error. At least I think so. Really I should have said:
Is it a necro if the last post is not yet 10 days old?
Like you I post also on the Bioware forums, but unlike you I don't have a character currently in BG2 (after Scintilla died to the Black Dragon and its plant growth). My Gnome Cleric/Thief Gerry hopes to sneak his way into Amn though.