16394 replies to this topic

[Serg BlackStrider]

Alesia_BH wrote...

Stinking Cloud causes Sleep (39) with a Save v. Death to avoid.

Potions of Magic Shielding let you make all saves "automatically"  thus protecting you from the Sleep effect.
... 

Now that's explains everything! I had to read the description more thoroughly... thanks again for the enlightenment  
A precious potion indeed!

BTW, great progress in you current run 

Edited by Serg BlackStrider, 09 July 2012 - 07:27 PM.

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Aliana's Game:

Spiders and Druids everywhere: Rejoice!


I'll post on Aliana's endgame battles soon. Now it's time for sleep.

Best,

A.


Edit. I might as well quickly cover the Sarevok fight before going to bed. 

Aliana v. Sarevok

This was pretty ugly. Since I'm leaning towards retiring Aliana and felt like finishing quick before bed, I rushed her into the fight without a plan or proper supplies. The biggest issue was the lack of healing intersected with some sloppy play. Fortunately, Aliana found some clever ways around my oversights.

Took standard Sarevok buffs then took down Semaj first with the Neclace of Missles. Stayed in Salamander form here for the speed boost.



Even with her speed factor advantage, enemy Haste effects were a problem. Aliana went invisible, faded, and then Dispelled.


Took down Angelo next with the Wand of Heavens and Aule's. Healing started becoming a problem here. She was out at this point.


Sort of out that is: she had 40 Wand of Heavens charges and 127% Fire Resistance. That's 120HP worth of Healing.

Saw a chance to get more healing off of Diarmid. Doom->Dart of Stunning->Melee scored her a Potion of Extra Healing. 




Yummy.


Against the Skeleton Warriors, Aliana engaged and re-engaged to dupe them into using their bows in melee range.


Just Aliana and Sarevok now.


Took Sarevok down the same way as Diarmid: Doom->Dart of Stunning->Melee. The only difference being that she went with Spider->Potion of Stength->DUHM for some extra pop.




Fin!


I haven't finalized my decision yet, but I think I'm going to retire Aliana here. We'll see though.

Edited by Alesia_BH, 10 July 2012 - 04:51 AM.

[ArchDragonDranovis]

Okay that's amazing. I beat Sarevok recently in a normal game so I could get Bg1 memorized and he was the toughest thin I've faced in video games (no joke). And here I am seeing people solo this guy like he was a warm up for the real fight, even if you do use all your spells to win.
I have a vanilla BG Tutu with the BG2 patch and whatnot.
I am going to enter in an elven fighter/thief named Farana. Here are her stats;
18/84 str
EDIT: doing this from my phone doesn't seem as smart anymore.
19 dex
17 con
11 int
8 wis
11 cha

Edited by ArchDragonDranovis, 09 July 2012 - 09:17 PM.

[Shadow_Leech07]

Congrats Alesia_BH!

[Alesia_BH]

Serg BlackStrider wrote...
Now that's explains everything! I had to read the description more thoroughly...

And that is the lesson to learn here: read the descriptions. Life gets a lot easier when you know what everything does.  

thanks again for the enlightenment  

A precious potion indeed!

Happy to help. And yes: Potions of Magic Shielding are among the most valuable.

BTW, great progress in you current run 

Thanks! 

ArchDragonDranovis wrote...

Okay that's amazing. I beat Sarevok recently in a normal game so I could get Bg1 memorized and he was the toughest thin I've faced in video games (no joke). And here I am seeing people solo this guy like he was a warm up for the real fight

Understood.

I think all of us who solo Sarevok regularly remember a time when he was murderously difficult. Like many things in life, it's a matter of study, understanding, and practice. Once you understand the fight, know how to build a comparative advantage, and have practice with your plan, it becomes matter of course.

If you want to get there, I'm sure you will. 

Shadow_Leech07 wrote...

Congrats Alesia_BH!

Thanks. Aliana's run was an enjoyable way to get reacquanted with the game and -importantly- test out BG on my new computer. I'm semi-tempted to export her, but I'm leaning towards starting a M/T.
Best,

A. 

Edited by Alesia_BH, 10 July 2012 - 04:23 AM.

[Alesia_BH]

Aliana and The Dukes

For my characters, the climax occurs in the undercellars and the Duchal Palace rather than Sarevok's temple so I should really cover those fights.

Slythe and Krystin 

This fight did not go according to plan and was more dangerous than it should have been. The plan was to send some summons up ahead to run distraction, use the time to get off an Insect Plague, and then dispatch either Krystin or Slythe while Krytin was disabled. Unfortunately Krystin faded and was out of reach and Slythe was just too hard to kill in the window due to his Magic Resistance and Potions of Extra Healing. Aliana was ultimately forced to take on both together.

Opening looked good.




Aliana couldn't get the kill though. She ended up boxed in and forced to fight her way out. Buffed the Salamander.


The scetchy thing about fighting Slythe and Kyrstin at the same time is that they can deal out a lot of damage quick: uninjured to this in a split second.


A Potion of Invisibility->Heal->Buff session won the day.




The Duchal Palace

The plan here was pretty straightforward: buff the Spider, pulse the Wand of Fear, let Nymphs aid with disablers.


Aliana was in control throughout. Still: this fight is always slightly nerve wracking if you aren't using the seperate rooms method.




Still not sure if I'm going to export Aliana...

Edited by Alesia_BH, 10 July 2012 - 05:15 AM.

[Grond0]

Nice job Alesia - as usual!

Just in terms of the palace fight I see that you were using summons.  How did you prevent the dopplegangers from targetting them - I used to find problems with standard melee summons getting dominated or confused and attacking the guards?

Edited by Grond0, 10 July 2012 - 05:58 AM.

[Grond0]

Banzai the kensai final update

Banzai was last seen at the palace entrance and duly got admittance.

Alesia_BH wrote...
Aliana was in control throughout. Still: this fight is always slightly nerve wracking if you aren't using the seperate rooms method.

That's very true.  In this instance Banzai did use that method, but it was still at least a bit nerve wracking.  I tend to go upstairs if I'm using this method (which pauses the action in the original room while you are away), but in this instance all 6 of the dopplegangers headed for the dukes rather than attacking me at the start of the fight and in just a couple of seconds blood spots were flying out of the dukes' bodies.  As a result I went for the downstairs location as that was closer.

The only slight disadvantage to this is the need to avoid being attacked by guards down here (or dragging them with you when you go back upstairs) while killing the dopplegangers, but it's easy enough with the boots of speed.  After finishing them off Banzai returned to talk with Belt.  Even though the action upstairs had taken less than 10 seconds in total (admittedly with game speed at 60), Liia was already dead, which just shows how nasty the dopplegangers can be.

In the maze Banzai initially killed various monsters and rested to heal damage.  Then he used a scroll of magic protection to set off the traps against the skeleton warriors leaving just a blow or two to finish them off.  Using a potion of regeneration to heal he went on to the UnderCity and took the long way round to avoid the party there.

He buffed up for an initial assault to try and kill Angelo, but had to run with him at near death due to being attacked by Tazok and Sarevok (his buffs were also dispelled there).  Taking a potion of speed to maintain his speed advantage he waited for Angelo to be separated from Sarevok a touch and gave him the killing blow.  Similar tactics with Tazok and Semaj left Sarevok all alone. 

In this situation, if you're careful, Sarevok is pretty helpless.  I typically use missile weapons on him, but Banzai didn't have any of those at this point, so just relied on melee.  His superior speed and weapon speed meant he could attack Sarevok and retreat before Sarevok could respond.  I didn't take huge care and was hit twice in return while wearing Sarevok down, but the job was done with large amounts of resources still available (for instance 5 potions of regeneration and 5 of invisibility were unused).

Here is Banzai's final character record.

Edited by Grond0, 10 July 2012 - 06:04 AM.

[Alesia_BH]

The summons were all kept in the side rooms. That pesky pooch in screenshot 1 was out of place: he was herded back before the fight began.

The idea was that the Nymphs would toss disablers from outside of conflict range whereas the others would attract the attention of Dopes that wandered into the side areas.

I'm not convinced this was worth the spell slots of risk- especially since the Nymphs can be very hard to control.

Edited by Alesia_BH, 10 July 2012 - 09:17 AM.

[Alesia_BH]

Nice work with Banzai Grond0!

Best of luck in Amn!

[Serg BlackStrider]

Well done both of you, Alesia & Grond0!

[Shadow_Leech07]

Good job Grond0! Always nice to see a kensai.

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note:

Aliana, Avenger Druid, is now officially retired. I've started an M/T Alyssa who is about to face off with Slythe and Krystin.

I'll post on Alyssa when I get the chance.

Best,

A.

[Alesia_BH]

 Alyssa Mage/Thief

Ok everyone. Here is my new character: a Mage/Thief named Alyssa.


Proficiencies: Dart, Quarterstaff

Mods: NPC Banter, Tutu, SCS-Full, 

Character Notes: It may come as a surprise to some, but I've actually never played a Mage/Thief before. Mages: Yes. Thieves: Sure. Mage/Thieves: No. I'm sure it will be fun to learn a new class.

Admittedly, Alyssa isn't an especially well formed character at this point. I don't have a sense of her personality or tactical style- she doesn't even have a personal item yet. Hopefully these things will come with time. I tend to abandon characters I don't become attached to.

Abandonment risk is doubly serious in this case because I'm leaving for Borneo soon and I don't expect to play BG there.

Anyhoo. Wish her luck!

Edited by Alesia_BH, 11 July 2012 - 06:58 AM.

[Serg BlackStrider]

Nice to meet you, Alyssa :happy: Safe and pleasant journeys for you! And Alesia, I hope you'll like her and even if there will be no chance to complete a full run at the moment I vote for suspend not abandonment (I don't like the word...).

Edited by Serg BlackStrider, 11 July 2012 - 06:02 AM.

[Alesia_BH]

Serg BlackStrider wrote...

Nice to meet you, Alyssa :happy: Safe and pleasant journeys for you!

Alyssa thanks you. 

And Alesia, I hope you'll like her and even if there will be no chance to complete a full run at the moment I vote for suspend not abandonment (I don't like the word...).

Understood: suspend it is then.

Best,

A.

Edited by Alesia_BH, 11 July 2012 - 07:01 AM.

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Alyssa's Game:

Sadly, Alyssa's run ended at the Duchal Palace due to an oversight. The oversight was failing to acknowledge the distinction between Remove Magic cast from scroll and Remove Magic cast from book.

The plan was to buff and then go Remove Magic->Greater Malison->Dart of Stunning-> Wand of Fear.
I've used this approach before and it has worked swimmingly. Unfortunately, Alyssa had put Remove Magic in her book rather than casting from a scroll as prior characters have. This caused her to cast at Level 5 rather than Level 10. She got the Remove off but, predictably, it only took down the Dopes Mirror Images leaving the all important Haste and Blur effects in place. The Dopes then slaughtered The Dukes in record time. Neglecting to buff Alyssa's THACO did not help matters.

Lesson here? Just because something is easy when you do it right, doesn't mean it will be easy when you do it wrong.

I'm leaning towards restarting Alyssa from Candlekeep: she's a potentially interesting character.

Best,

A.

[Grond0]

I hope you enjoy your introduction to mage / thiefdom Alesia. {Edit: even more second time around}

I thought I would copy Gate70 and try a stalker out on a no-magic run.  So far so good as he has just arrived in Baldur's Gate.  This one is totally no-magic (so no tomes, although I did follow a reflex and find myself in the pirate cave at one point, before turning round and sneaking out again)!

Dangerous enemies have been handled using stealth shots.  These are either from distance or using a handy area transition.  Those without distance attacks are normlly tackled using run & shoot.  The only enemy I can recall where Norm has resorted to his mace was when Raemon followed him out of the bandit tent unexpectedly and I didn't want to give him the chance to use his bow.

The only nasty moment so far was the lightning trap in the bandit tent.  Norm's HP rolls have been pathetic so far (die rolls of 1, 1, 1, 3, 1) so he was vulnerable to a single bolt of lightning if he failed his save, never mind a bounce.  Fortunately he made his first save and then dodged one way, then back again to avoid the need for a second.


Here's his current character record.

Edited by Grond0, 11 July 2012 - 09:40 AM.

[ussnorway]

Ud4, chapter 5:
@Grond0, Are fire arrows and such allowed? - go team Ranger!

   

   

I gained 3 ability points from reading books, acquired good gear, survived a nasty poisoning & finally had it out with my Irone throne nemesis... bright lights big city, is fine and all but I’m going home to Caddlekeep for a nice rest now.

[Grond0]

ussnorway wrote...
@Grond0, Are fire arrows and such allowed? - go team Ranger!

Afraid not, but I don't think they would have have helped him in any of his encounters anyway (though darts of stunning might have if allowed).

Norm came unstuck against Slythe.  The initial intention was to try to stealth-shoot from range, but Slythe reacts so quickly and moves so fast that's not really realistic.  The fall-back option was to run backwards and forwards through the area transition to renew stealth before he follows and shoot him up from the exit point.  A big problem with this was that using the pause button during the area transition works coming into the Undercellar, but not going out.  With only a fraction of a second before Slythe follows that means no chance to hide going that way, while Slythe may get an attack in.  After trying this tactic about 6 or 7 times (resting when Norm was damaged) I concluded it had little chance of killing Slythe as multiple arrows were needed, while he only had to hit Norm 2 or 3 times.

I thought I would try taking him upstairs in the inn instead.  However, not only did Norm's stealth fail here, but Slythe actually appeared closer to the stairs than Norm!  That left Norm with the challenge of trying to do a circuit round the tables to get back to the stairs before Slythe cut his back to ribbons - he failed.

I think probably the safest alternative would be to get an elven stalker up to 8th level before going to Slythe - to give them just over 100% stealth.  Then shoot Slythe using the corridor leading to the center of the Undercellar, always from a doorway so that it would be possible to get out of sight (and hide again) before he could speed up to you.

Edited by Grond0, 11 July 2012 - 10:44 AM.

[Alesia_BH]

Sorry to hear about Norm Grond0. 

If BH traps aren't "magical" by your definition, then you may want to consider a BH. Alesia was able to instal-kill Slythe by tossing Special Snares at him from out of his sight range and then Backstabbing. The traps triggered when the Backstabb landed and finished him.

Grond0 wrote...
I hope you enjoy your introduction to mage / thiefdom Alesia. {Edit: even more second time around}

 Alyssa's fall wasn't at all surprising on my end. It had been a corner-cutting, loose run and the Duchal Palace fight was bound to claim a character at some point.

I'm starting to get a feel for Alyssa now. She has a personal item and a teensy bit of back story at this point- enough to make me be more careful with her.
 
Best,

A.

[Shadow_Leech07]

Sorry for your losses Alesia, and Grond0. Good luck with Alyssa's reincarnation...

I haven't been playing my thief because I was practicing with Imoen. I'm still not sure if I can do this but I will give it a try.

[corey_russell]

ussnorway wrote...

Ud4, chapter 5:
@Grond0, Are fire arrows and such allowed? - go team Ranger!

   

   

I gained 3 ability points from reading books, acquired good gear, survived a nasty poisoning & finally had it out with my Irone throne nemesis... bright lights big city, is fine and all but I’m going home to Caddlekeep for a nice rest now.

Hmmm, I see you took some casualties, but thanks for taking down those baddies, USSNorway! Now Coresorc can rest in peace...it's a bit frustrating that I can never get a pure mage type (of any class/kit) though BG 1 no-reload. They always die...if I do a combo, like mage/thief, fighter/mage or cleric/mage then those usually get through...

[Gate70]

Slythe is tough for a stalker in a no magic run, even from doorways it was challenging to move as there are flowerpots or benches (or something) in front of them). I thought about it after my failure and a standard ranger with decent rolls, full plate, sword and shield could probably outfight him - risky though. The lack of backstabs may not be much of an issue elsewhere.

[Grond0]

I don't think I would fancy the chances of a ranger against Slythe myself. The other big advantage of the stalker is the bonus to stealth to give the opportunity for over 100% before taking on the end game