16394 replies to this topic

[Alesia_BH]

To be fair to us I think the game mechanics in the situation at the palace are a bit unfair.  

 

I'm just joking. I'm kind of curious about your interpersonal dynamic, I guess. 

 

When someone goofs, how do you handle it. Good natured teasing? Solemn reflection? Wailing fury?

 

As for the Grease move, it wasn't a bad idea. It just didn't work. Some ideas are like that. You'll get 'em next time.

 

I think Grease does have un-leveraged potential. I think I underuse it. I haven't experimented with it enough. 

 

During my Transmuter, Alastria's, Ascension solo, I had to do some crazy stuff to get around the lack of Abjuration spells, especially ProMW. At the Throne she used a Teleport Field Greased up and loaded with Limited Wish bunny rabbits. The idea had been to use Grease to slow bunny dispersal, insuring that demons in the Teleport Field would find a bunny and hence be less likely to attack Alastria. That worked.

 

She used the same approach against Mel and the 5 during one phase of the battle. That worked for awhile. It was fun to watch Abazigal chase greasy bunny-wunnies around. But then Yaga-Shura Lava Bombed the whole setup, and there was an epic fury grease fire. I felt bad for the bunnies. I haven't used Grease since then.

 

Good luck with your next attempt!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Gate70]

When someone goofs, how do you handle it. Good natured teasing? Solemn reflection? Wailing fury?

The first few runs were a little uncomfortable, we often spent 15-20 minutes with the 'guilty party' feeling they had let the other down during the post-mortem which tended to be a solemn reflection. With the number of runs we've now had, failure is regarded as an "oh well" event (at least on my part) and it doesn't matter to me whether it was a silly error, something unexpected, a failed tactic or what Grond0 has mentioned as game quirks. I don't recall much teasing, if any.

 

I think that reflects in the quad sessions, after a ToB defeat against the final Fallen Solar I thought it was a great run to get that far on the first attempt and we immediately re-rolled with an unplanned party - whereas Corey and DogDancing may have been, a little, gutted. 

[Gate70]

Blaggerd has been reading a story of Yeenter and some similarities are striking. For example, Blaggerd had diverged from his usual encounters and two of them last night showed an alternate solution to the same enemy.
 
Kahrk, for one. He got a double dose of poison instead of a summon circle. Same end result though.

Spoiler

Molkar was the second. Again, poison featured prominently but Viconia destroyed their defences with Commands and a Hold Person.

Spoiler

There had been a tactical error earlier, though. Against Simmeon it is important not to have Dorn silenced (merely so his dialogue concludes, there is no additional xp or long-term game implications), so Viconia gets a black-mark for Silencing all three frontliners.

Spoiler

 Dorn and Blaggerd know the importance of lording it over a fallen counterpart so one scared Thrall of Azothet is left alive and man-marked by the speed-boots of Blaggerd until the silence wears off. Then it is quickly culled, and Dorn says... nothing.

(Cue a quick check and a reset of a variable so he makes his speech. Looks like a scared Thrall wasn't regarded as hostile!)

[Grond0]

With the number of runs we've now had, failure is regarded as an "oh well" event (at least on my part) and it doesn't matter to me whether it was a silly error, something unexpected, a failed tactic or what Grond0 has mentioned as game quirks. I don't recall much teasing, if any.

Indeed.  I think we're a long way towards fulfilling Kipling's ambition :

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two impostors just the same ...

 

As I've reflected before one side-effect of that is that triumph becomes less likely, but having fun in a long-term harmonious relationship is more important .  That's helped a lot by having very similar outlooks on the game - we both tend to play by deliberately avoiding minimising risk to zero, which does mean we sometimes come unstuck.  I think a partnership in which one party believed in attempting to take zero risk where-ever possible, while the other enjoyed taking chances would quickly come to blows ...

[Grond0]

Wrecking Crew {13} - dwarf fighters (update 8)

 

At Durlag's Tower Carlo used a scroll of PfM yesterday to clear as many traps as possible in the first underground level before leading chasing enemies back to the rest of the gang.  After a while the scroll ran out and he switched to 100%+ fire and lightning protection.  The gang had just finished preparation for the first underground level (completing everything except the warders) when the game crashed.

 

After sighing and cursing a bit I redid the level this morning and rested to cure damage ready for the warders.  Fear died very quickly, while Avarice managed only a couple of low value backstabs before following him.  

Spoiler

Love's physical mirror let him survive a bit longer, but he was still the 3rd to go.  

Spoiler

Up to that point Pride had been out of sight and had not participated in the battle.  He's quite strong, but was suckered into chasing Mad Dog while the others poured shots into him.

Spoiler

 

After resting 13 times to heal up (surprisingly with no interruptions - it looks like perhaps the chance for a random ambush disappears once the warders are dead) the gang moved down to the second level.  My memory was a bit hazy about how everything worked there, but good enough to avoid being caught in a cloudkill trap.

Spoiler

However, it wasn't up to recalling some sort of repeating spike trap and Carlo died there for the first time.

Spoiler

 

The gang had to dump a fair amount of their less valuable magic ammunition before taking a trip back to the temple.  They've just returned to where they were and are contemplating a long slog through all the repeating traps beloved by Durlag ...

 

Al - L8, 94 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 591 kills, ***** longbow / * long sword

Carlo - L8, 95 HPs, 554 kills, 1 death, **** flail / ** sling

Baby Face - L8, 65 HPs (-14 from Claw), 575 kills, 0 deaths, **** 2-handed sword / ** crossbow

Bugsy - L8, 88 HPs, 310 kills, 2 deaths, **** katana / ** dart

Vito - L8, 84 HPs, 496 kills, 1 death, **** halberd / ** shortbow

Mad Dog - L8, 79 HPs, 392 kills, 1 death, ***** axe / * 2-weapon

[Gate70]

Blaggerd hasn't had a great morning. Nothing serious but his plans went awry. Having carefully journalled progress he loses that page.
(I write as I go, but either a click or a key hit the browser back function and lost the update)
 
So, brief summary. Gained a mage. Lost a thief though.

Spoiler

 

Blaggerd sent Viconia into the Silvershield estate in search of Skie. He had contemplated whether Eldoth needed to be present and decided to try without. Mistake. Skie calls the guards and runs, leaving Viconia stuck and Sanctuaried. Blaggerd diverts the guards and the party retreat. Blaggerd looks suspiciously at Eldoth - he's going to clear off, surely. So, grab his gear for a while.
 
Back into the estate to make sure Skie isn't tucked away. No sign of her so Blaggerd, Dorn and Kagain stop punching the guards and leave.
 
Blaggerd needs a plan b for a thief. Coran and Alora are too nice while Montaron has some crazy baggage. That leaves Tiax but instead Blaggerd opts for Shar-Teel who dual-classes at level six. As predicted, Eldoth has departed on the way, Beregost being too rural for his liking.

Spoiler

This party could work, but Tiax is playing on Blaggerd's mind. Him, or Kagain? Decisions, decisions.

(Oh, and poisoned before leaving the city. Quick journal check and that was almost five days ago).

[Blackraven]

Grond/Gate70, sorry about your misfortune at the Ducal Palace. I think the last sentence in your post makes a lot of sense: simply cast Invisibility on Liia. Unlike Belt, she doesn't attack, so she shouldn't reveal herself.
It's been a while since I last used Grease. In my install back then it made neutral people go hostile, which was I stopped using it (except very occasionally at low levels in the wilds).

Your warriors Grond0 are looking very good. Nevertheless good luck if you're really going to do Durlag's Tower!

Corey, Bassilus pales in comparison to your animators of the dead. Keep up the good work.

[Gate70]

There's a price to pay for poisoning Blaggerd, whether coerced or not.

Spoiler

Marek falls unconscious and fails to get up. As Blaggerd said, there's a price to pay.

Spoiler

Safana and Shar-Teel need experience, so Blaggerd tracks down a warehouse basilisk, returns a pair of lost bracers to Noralee and then allows Shar-Teel to entrophy a backstab.

Spoiler

Shar-Teel retreats, but this allows a confusion to target Safana and Viconia as well. Viconia is affected but has no portrait icon! Kagain keeps tabs on them while Dorn and Blaggerd loot the corpses of Vay-ya and Desreta.
 
Shar-Teel picks a fight with Dorn next, admitting defeat soon after. Blaggerd had assumed it would be to the death and is relieved when the argument stops. With order restored, or a wary truce, Blaggerd presses on through the Seven Suns, the Merchants League and the ogre mage in the sewers.
 
Dorn puts up a for-sale sign on the way out of Degrodel's house, doing the same at Jarak's house. Safana is busy selling Sunin's Ring of Wizardry after discovering she can only wear one at a time, meanwhile Dorn is putting up another sign on his door. Kagain obtains the Battle Axe of Mauetar, shaking his head when Dorn tries to sell the tavern - the barman is still running around inside.

[Blackraven]

Nice work Gate, and nice writing. Stay focused and enjoy the final parts of BG1

[Gate70]

I'll try, Blaggerd has a lot to do. Shar-Teel has 85 locks and 80 traps, not quite enough for Durlags so may pop over to the isle of dogs for a bit.

[Gate70]

Blaggerd decides to main-quest rather than explore the Sword Coast. Well, almost. There is some red-robed posturing to be stopped first.

Spoiler

The Iron Throne HQ is hard work, enemy Flame Strikes burning Blaggerd somewhat. Dorn and Kagain also got confused but Dorn wasn't targeted much and Gardush didn't injure Kagain too much.

Spoiler

 

 

Shar-Teel loots Candlekeep library from bottom to top, backstabs Rieltar fatally and Tuth less so. Then she returns to the Gatewarden and hands the party in.

Spoiler

Tethtoril duly turns up and helps the party escape into the Candlekeep tomb.

[Alesia_BH]

Indeed.  I think we're a long way towards fulfilling Kipling's ambition :

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two impostors just the same ...

 

As I've reflected before one side-effect of that is that triumph becomes less likely, but having fun in a long-term harmonious relationship is more important .  

 

Sounds perfect! Thanks for sharing!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Gate70]

Blaggerd, final stand (and run)
 
Tip. Send the castee in, not the caster.
For a moment I thought it was game over.
A sign of doing too much in a day so a bit more care taken from this point.

Spoiler

 
Fortunately, Shar-Teel had all the spare scrolls of flesh to stone that Degrodel hands over, and the basilisks failed to chunk Safana.

Slythe got a backstab > dispel combo and caved in moments later.

Spoiler

The Coronation seemed to have a good start but then went on, and on, and on.

Spoiler

 

 

Sarevok got a backstab before leaving, but forced Blaggerd out of range too.

Spoiler

 

Rahvin and his gang did their usual demolition job on a lowish level protagonist, forcing Blaggerd west. Dorn cut down Shaldrissa in her own Cloudkill as Kagain, Safana, Viconia and Shar-Teel dealt with those who moved east.
(I've cropped two screens together for a semi-panoramic view as combat drew to a close. Haseo and one bowman are a bit further east)

Spoiler

After a rest, the party enter the Temple of Bhaal and Viconia applies a few buffs, no potions used. Semaj teleports in to help Sarevok and is hit by Arrows of Dispelling then poisoned Acid Arrows and some Arrows of Ice. Dead mage, and Shar-Teel levels to regain her fighter skills. Safana is nowhere near regaining her primary class.

Spoiler

On to Sarevok, who has has an Arrow of Dispelling, followed by Doom. Blaggerd moves in once but is beaten away, then gulps a single healing potion and returns to the fray with hit points that should, probably, survive another strike. 

Spoiler

 

I suspect it will be quite some time before he heads into Amn due to other commitments (hence wimping out of TotSC to get completed today).

Blaggerd, Blackguard 7. 242 kills, Greater Basilisk.
Dorn. Blackguard 7. 196 kills, Davaeorn.
Kagain, fighter 7. 60 kills, Greater Doppelganger.
Safana, Thief 7 > Mage 5 with XP to reach Mage 6 now. 30 kills, Sword Spider.
Viconia, Cleric 8. 39 kills, Naaman.
Shar-Teel, Fighter 6 > Thief 7. 10 kills, Jardak.

[Alesia_BH]

Congrats to Blaggerd! I look forward to seeing him in Amn!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Grimwald the Wise]

Congrats Gate. RL does sometimes get in the way doesn't it? But then RL is usually the most fulfilling.

 

As someone once said: "It's only a game."

 

The Bill Shankleys of this world haven't got the balance right.

[Grond0]

Gate70/Grond0 multiplayer attempt 83 - (update 2)

Pasha, half-elf druid (Grond0) & Rholfre, half-elf dragon disciple (Gate70)

 

I slowed Blaggerd's progress down a bit earlier today by persuading Gate70 to do a bit of MP.  That wasn't an easy session, but both characters survived.

 

Things started with a trip down to Nashkel, although there was a nervous moment when some hobgoblin archers were shooting at 2 low HP characters in an ambush.  Rholfre asked to travel on to the Valley of the Tombs to pick up a free +2 dagger.  Then, on the way to Firewine, the duo decided to help Sarhedra with an ogre problem.  That was indeed a problem - although the ogres all went meekly to sleep the elite hobgoblins did not, resulting in both characters being poisoned.  Rholfre stayed alive by taking a couple of potions, while Pasha fortunately picked the right time to cast a couple of CLWs without being interrupted by poison to keep his HPs positive.  Finally the remainder of the ogre clan was subdued and Sarhedra gave the pair a grand total of 300 XP to share between them.  Fortunately saving Arabelle was much easier, with all the xvarts lying down on the job immediately.

 

At Firewine Meilum was blinded by Rholfre's first spell.  A few magic missiles then added to missile damage to finish him off pretty quickly.  Up to this point in the session Pasha had tried charming numerous things, without a single success, but she eventually came good against Greywolf - the fighter was already doomed and blinded, but being charmed allowed him to be dumped into an entangle and he failed to make his way out again.

Spoiler

 

Demonstrating their confidence in each other Pasha left it to Rholfre to pick up the scroll of PfP - while Rholfre left it to uhm Pasha.  After a bit of searching each other's pockets on arrival at the basilisk area they headed back to the Carnival before returning properly equipped.  With Pasha's HPs so low she didn't melee the basilisks, but just occupied their attention while throwing missiles.  With all but Mutamin's pets dead the duo rested before recruiting Korax.  He paralysed the mage and dealt with the remaining basilisks before heading down to Kirian.  

Spoiler

Her group were all blinded, either by the spell or glitterdust, and offered little resistance as Korax froze them in place.

Spoiler

 

Stats:

Pasha, druid 6, 28 HPs, 38 kills

Rholfre, dragon disciple 5, 26 HPs, 31 kills, 0 deaths

This pairing are severely lacking in fortitude.  Rholfre is 4 below average, but still looking good in comparison with Pasha - her d8 rolls so far have been 1, 2, 2, 1 and 2 leaving her 14.5 below average.

[Aasim]

Gratz Gate. Kind of low kill count (at least when compared to Grond0's usual number of BG1 scalps..  )

[Blackraven]

Congrats Gate!

[corey_russell]

Just a brief note on Yeenter and gang - we have cleared all areas in Chapter 3 except the TotSC areas and the bandit camp (and the Thayvian Wizards area). Party is currently working their way, clearing Pelvale of hostiles. The black talon elite archers are very dangerous with their magical arrows, so we travel with 18 skeleton escort, hoping the Black Talons target them instead of our mages - so far this is working. Most of the party is level 6. No new deaths - both mages have mirror image memorized, and this has saved them numerous times in ambushes. Will keep it up. With any luck, Sarevok will be dead by the end of the week.

[Grond0]

Wrecking Crew {13} - dwarf fighters (update 9)

 

Carlo went to explore the 2nd underground level at Durlag's Tower on his own - using the blood-filled goblet (and Kiel's Helm) to top-up HPs from trap damage.  I would normally not allow that as going against my prohibition on item-based healing.  However, given both that it's a cursed item and the ridiculous number of traps facing the party I decided to stretch a point this time.  A potion of freedom allowed him to ignore any potential criticals from ghasts.  

Spoiler

The others tried to come to join him, but a combination of Islanne and traps meant they were too damaged to move 

Spoiler

and Carlo came back to them to rest up.

 

Some time later they were back up to full HPs and had another go at moving.  Baby Face was badly damaged by a trap, but the others were relatively unharmed.  For one repeating fireball trap they shared round a couple of rings of fire resistance and the Helm of Defence in order to pass through unscathed (although I later realised it was possible to skirt round that trap).  Baby Face was wearing the Claw, so used a potion of fire resistance to top-up and get some free healing.

Spoiler

 

Prior to attacking the dwarven warders Carlo took some potions.  While reviewing the effects of those I noted that no-one had the Cloak of Balduran, which is a bit of an omission.  The Warders were almost dead when I accidentally stepped on the trap on the fake exit there and summoned some skeleton warriors and a stinking cloud.  

Spoiler

Everyone quickly got out of the room except Baby Face, but Vito managed to use a dispelling arrow on him

Spoiler

to allow him to escape as well and ensure everyone survived.

Spoiler

After another series of rests Al used a potion + DUHM to get strength up to 25 as I had a vague memory that the warders were guarding something worthwhile.  However, their chest couldn't be broken open.

 

More dwarven dopplegangers were cut down near some bridges

Spoiler

and Carlo used his 100% fire resistance to edge through lots of scorcher traps in the room over the bridge in order to look at the corridor beyond.  I think there's a killing trap there, so he didn't go through, but looking allowed me to show the entire level as explored and fulfil my criteria for the run.  

After further resting the party has just gone downstairs to the 3rd level where they will be faced with running another fiery gauntlet.  

Spoiler

However, that will have to be done in another house, on another computer - always supposing my save game doesn't get lost in the ether on the way .

 

Al - L8, 89 HPs, 603 kills, ***** longbow / * long sword

Carlo - L8, 100 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 584 kills, 1 death, **** flail / ** sling

Baby Face - L8, 65 HPs (-14 from Claw), 588 kills, 0 deaths, **** 2-handed sword / ** crossbow

Bugsy - L8, 88 HPs, 315 kills, 2 deaths, **** katana / ** dart

Vito - L8, 84 HPs, 509 kills, 1 death, **** halberd / ** shortbow

Mad Dog - L8, 79 HPs, 397 kills, 1 death, ***** axe / * 2-weapon

[Grimwald the Wise]

Enter Blackstar the fiery.

 

I think that my nickname comes more from my fiery temper rather than from my locks.

 

And that could well be influential concerning my charisma. Not much that I can do about that. On the plus side, even my trainers have told me what a good fighter I am.

 

Upon the death of Gorion, I went in exactly the opposite direction to the one he suggested as it was quite clear that his plans were known by the enemy.

 

I ended up in Nashkel where I was given a ring that somewhat compensated for my low charisma.

[Alesia_BH]

Yay, Blackstar the Fiery!

 

Good hunting, Wise!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Grimwald the Wise]

Yay, Blackstar the Fiery!

 

Good hunting, Wise!

 

Best,

 

A.

 

I don't think that your good wishes were very effective.

 

Almost immediately, a party of bandits wiped her out. Not even level1

 

Only two good things about her were the great roll and the portrait which is one of the first that I made at the photoshop class.

 

You'll be seeing a few of those in the near future, but this is the last one this term and I cannot afford to buy the software.

[Alesia_BH]

Well the portrait is great, Wise. Congrats on that.

 

Let's hope for success in BG now!

 

Best,

 

A.

[ussnorway]

Sorry Wise, but I see her problem... we Dwarfs have an issue with running away from bad guys.