16394 replies to this topic

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Arkona's Game:

 

Arkona has defeated Sarevok and has moved on to Amn. She's still a test subject rather than a challenger, but I thought I should let everyone know.

 

 

The purpose of this run had been to test and compare two setups that I'm considering for future runs: TUTU SCS v16 (pre-ToBex) and EE SCS v30. I'm not prepared to discuss my findings in details but here are a few observations.

• In terms of difficulty, for a soloist, in the storyline, there isn't much difference between them. I'm inclined to give a slight nod to v16, due to the more aggressive Potions for NPCs component and creature improvements. I can't comment on ToSC content.


• The mage script in v30 is clearly more sophisticated 


• The Davaeorn fight is substantially better in v30


• Despite the improved v30 mage script, party fights tend to be more difficult in v16 due to extra potion quaffs


• Slythe seems more dangerous in v16, although I haven't systemized my observations here. Krystin is much harder to kill in v30, due to use of ProMW + Stoneskins


• The doppelgänger phase of the Duchal Palace fight is riskier in v16, but in v16 one needn't protect the Dukes from Sarevok after the dopes have fallen. I can't decide which fight I prefer. I enjoy the spammy, innate insta-cast madness of the v16 doppelgängers, but I also appreciate the subtlety of the v30 fight, as well as the more plausible behavior from Sarevok at the end. They're both good fights: suitably dangerous, and yet eminently winnable


• The Sarevok fights are comparable in the two installs. I have no preference here


• Going forward, I'll probably exhibit a preference for my Classic install, although I can see myself using the EE v30 install from time to time, particularly in party play. The v16 spiders and dopes are tough on parties and not in a good way.


• Early results in BG2 have been similar: subtler mage script in v30, much beefier NPC potion stacks in v15. For Arkona, a solo Barbarian, early BG2 is substantially more difficult in v15.

Anyhoo. Sometime in the not too distant future, I may provide as overview of Arkona's BG1 run, just for the record. Until then, have fun on the Sword Coast everyone!

 

Best,

 

A. 

[Alesia_BH]

Bartholomew 'Dandy' Birnbaum, Gnome Cleric/Thief

 

Best of luck to Batholomew!

 

I love the character idea. And I really like what you did with Imoen- at least for this run. 

 

As for your party in BG2, I vote for Jan, Imoen, Quayle and Aerie.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Blackraven]

Best of luck to Batholomew!

 

I love the character idea. And I really like what you did with Imoen- at least for this run. 

 

As for your party in BG2, I vote for Jan, Imoen, Quayle and Aerie.

 

Best,

 

A.

Thank you Alesia! Yesterday there was an accident with Imoen at the excavation site. She wanted to cast Sleep at the rabid diggers. I clicked a few times - the cursor icon was golden - but nothing happened (very weird for an AoE spell). At the same time I received a drink (in RL). Long story short: the diggers killed her.

 

This event doesn't fit the narrative at all, so I'll probably start over later this week, when I hope to have a bit more time on my hands. If not, Glorydd will get another chance.

Nice work with your Barbarian. I hope your testing results in a workable setup.

[Grond0]

Phantasmic 6 {5} - monks party (3rd and final update)

 

In the Cloakwood spider area Chimera used the invisibility ring for the first time to clear away all the web traps.  After finishing off all the spiders the party briefly showed themselves in Centeol's lair and threw a couple of softening up fireballs before finishing the main group of following spiders off outside.  That should have made the rest easy, but I relaxed a bit too soon and didn't look after Phantom when the remaining spiders came out.

 

After returning from the temple the party moved deeper into the Cloakwood where they attacked the druids.  All went well until they took on the Archdruid.  In tight confines he's a dangerous opponent, but he was nearly killed twice (saved by extra-healing potions) before he managed to retain his concentration through being hit several times and produce a chaos - only Chimera saved against that.  He managed to finish Amarande off with his sling and for a while I thought casualties might be avoided, but Phantom finally died shortly before everyone recovered.

 

The game crashed as they were emerging from the building, which meant I needed to do the area again .  That's always dangerous as I will tend to be even less careful than usual when redoing something and once more Amarande was to prove a problem.  This time she managed to confuse 4 of the characters with an initial chaos before adding Chimera as well with a second.  The one active character was trapped in place by the others and quickly died.  

Spoiler

However, Chimera had taken a potion of invulnerability and just managed to survive some animal attacks until the others had recovered and could come to his aid.

Spoiler

Regrettably though, Spook was trapped and unable to move away from attacks by Amarande and damage from a chromatic orb both killed him and petrified him in a single action - effectively chunking him.  

Spoiler

 

The others finished Amarande off to provide an element of revenge, but will end the run there.

[Alesia_BH]

Condolences, Grond0.

 

I know how you feel about replaying content after crashes. I hate that, too. 

 

When I experience a crash, I usually take a break. That way, the content feels semi-fresh upon replay. It helps, at least.

 

Monks? Archers? Barbarians? What's next?

 

Best,

 

A. 

[Alesia_BH]

At the same time I received a drink (in RL). Long story short: the diggers killed her.

 

 

A drink, singular? What was it a quaalude spritzer?

 

Don't operate Imoen while intoxicated. 

 

 

This event doesn't fit the narrative at all

 

I hear that. As you may recall, something similar happened in Aphril's first play through. Davaeorn insta-killed Imoen with a insanely heinous fireball. I decided to retire rather than play on. 

 

It's just weird to watch Imoen explode and then later see her blithely waltz over to your cell in the Chateau.

 

 

Nice work with your Barbarian. I hope your testing results in a workable setup.

 

 

Thanks.

 

It's really all upside at this point. I'm more content with my old instal now that I've experienced v30. I stuck with v15 for as long as I did because I could never get ToBEX based version of SCS to work in my preferred Cider port setups. I always enjoyed v15, but I feared I was missing out on new content. Having tried v30, I understand that the new edition isn't necessarily better it's just different: they're different flavors. I like chocolate. And I like strawberry. I like v15. And I like v30. I could be content with either.

 

All I'm really deciding at this point is whether v30 has enough merits to justify either going EE or installing Windows. I'm not certain, although my suspicion is that I will end up maintaining both a v15 and a v30 install, even though the later will take some effort.

 

I'm also trying ATweaks for the first time. I like it so far. I may use it in the future.

 

As for Arkona, she's doing well for herself. She's alive and well. She has completed most of the Chapter 2/3 quests, and is on the verge of getting her first HLA.

 

The install seems stable enough to justify posting on her. I'll probably do some catch up coverage soon. I like Arkona. I should take her seriously. She's a contender.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Grimwald the Wise]

Back from our holiday and so will continue with Jardik the Axe, a dwarven berserker.

He has cleared the route from Baldur's Gate to Nashkel and in the process got a belt from the ogre, some decent equipment from Tristan and Isolde (That was a rough battle but because of freedom of action potion, he survived) Upon reaching Nashkel went south-east. Though some battles were rough he survived without too much difficulty, but was running out of axes as they kept breaking. Then after defeating Gnarl and cohort, he defeated a party of assassins using far more blasts of the necklace of missiles than usual, but that was enough. Got a decent axe as a result, so don't need to worry about breakages any more.

 

Went down the mines until the duerger ambush. Defeated them and returned to the carnival for a rest plus shopping spree.

 

Upon his return to the mines, Mulahey did not turn out to be a problem. Neither did any of the enemies he met outside including the Revenant and Narcillicus.

 

He called in on the mayor of Nashkell for his reward, killed another assassin and again cleared the road to Beregost.

 

Currently level 7.

[Borco]

On Knock: Everyone thinks they'll miss Knock if they skip it, but no one who skips it ever actually misses it. I've always found bashing and Knock scrolls sufficient to cover my needs.

 

Definitely a valid point to keep in mind for future plays. However, for the sake of convenience and flavor (besides manipulating space-time and summoning demons, a magic user should know a few cantrips), I'll stick to Knock in the current playthrough.

 

On Blindness/Glitterdust: Unless you have a mod which fixes the OPCode, the Blindness effect doesn't actually impose a save penalty. It lowers THAC0 by 10, and reduces line of sight. Blindness is a great effect, since Immunity is rare, but Glitterdust has some limitations: most notably, the duration is only 4 rounds. I'm fond of Glitterdust, from a style standpoint, but I freely acknowledge that Web is a more powerful tactical tool.

 

I wasn't aware of this and will definitely adjust my choices accordingly (I don’t have the abovementioned mod installed).

 

Have you considered Invisibility?

 

I did and I concluded that I should be able to hoard enough invisibility potions to cover my needs (i.e. to avoid random encounters or targeted spells and generally to escape hairy situations). I have to admit that as the game progresses, I tend to find myself in situations in which invisibility could render a major tactical advantage, but I'am still unsure whether it would be worth the slot. Then again, the duration of the spell is nice indeed, but there seems to be too much interaction with the world for me to be able to put it to a good use (except safe travelling), especially with Narva being a chatty type.

 

Many thanks for your valuable input, it's highly appreciated.

 

In the meantime, Narva has made a good progress - hope to report on that soon. 

[Alesia_BH]

Definitely a valid point to keep in mind for future plays. However, for the sake of convenience and flavor (besides manipulating space-time and summoning demons, a magic user should know a few cantrips), I'll stick to Knock in the current playthrough.

 

 

Understood. I respect that.

 

 

I did and I concluded that I should be able to hoard enough invisibility potions to cover my needs (i.e. to avoid random encounters or targeted spells and generally to escape hairy situations). I have to admit that as the game progresses, I tend to find myself in situations in which invisibility could render a major tactical advantage, but I still unsure whether it would be worth the slot. Then again, the duration of the spell is nice indeed, but there seems to be too much interaction with the world for me to be able to put it to a good use (except safe travelling), especially with Narva being a chatty type.

 

 

Understood. The first time I built a sorcerer I skipped Invisibility, reasoning that the PoI and II would cover my needs. That made sense to me.

 

Since taking Invisibility, I have never looked back. Invisibility is always my first L2 now. Invisibility is immensely helpful both in and out of combat. It's good to have a renewable source. 

 

You can get by without it though. And diversity is good. Go with what makes sense to you.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Grond0]

Condolences, Grond0.

 

I know how you feel about replaying content after crashes. I hate that, too. 

 

When I experience a crash, I usually take a break. That way, the content feels semi-fresh upon replay. It helps, at least.

 

Monks? Archers? Barbarians? What's next?

Having persuaded Gate70 into investing time in creating a custom script for the monks I think I need to give them the opportunity to make proper use of it .  This run though I will try and give myself permission to use potions to keep everyone alive ...

[Alesia_BH]

Yes! Let those monks drink! 

 

Good luck!

 

Best,

 

A.

[ussnorway]

Bg-scs30 update 1.5,

 

Wallowing in the muck;

 

Hear text as mp3,

 

Our party stocks restored, we trekked into the dark woods… did a spot of rake-neg stomping for a new wand, nice sword and some experience {ambush} … not that much of a stress really.

Spoiler

 

The new v30 battle held some nice surprises and I found myself separated from the group by his defence strategy of fake battle horrors and peon reinforcements… Minsc went berserk to counter whatever 'charm-spells' incoming, Viconia popped two skellies for the peons to play with then hit him with 'Doom' but Xan tagged the kill with two shots of his "wand of frost"… as it turns out these Battle horrors don't like fire and Davaeorn was about to let rip with something I'm sure was not healthy for us so the loss of loot is something we'll just have to live with.

Spoiler

Interestingly his key survived getting shattered so we still flooded the mines after freeing the slaves and giving them the funds to survive their journey… no doubt spreading the news about what a good sort I am and how that mis-understanding in Beregost should be by-gones.

[Grimwald the Wise]

After his return to Beregost, Jardik the Axe decided it was time to cull the ankhegs and after that joined up with Gavin to do his quests. They dealt with Bassilus, Gavin using Holy Smite whilst Jardik enraged to melee with Bassilus.

 

A comprehensive rout.

 

Similar tactics were used with "The strongest one there is" and were equally successful.

[Grond0]

Phantasmic 6 {6} - monks party (update 1)

 

The monks are underway again - the sixth run for the party of six (and make up your own jokes for another reference to 6).

 

So far I've been trying to play them pretty safely, with Shoal, Beregost tasks, bits and pieces in Nashkel and Greywolf all done without taking any damage.  They were hurt for the first time when I was trying to whittle away at some kobolds in Firewine Bridge and it appeared that kobold calls for help had persuaded some undead to investigate .

Spoiler

 

They then progressed through the Cloud Peaks easily enough to get to the Gnoll Stronghold.  There they hit the first disaster of the run.  That was partly a result of the poor HPs so far at level 3 - everyone is below average and Spectre (who is my lead character) has rolled two 1s.  On their way out of the Stronghold they bypassed one empty encounter spot before finding some gnolls in the final one.  Pulling those back it was no great surprise to find the encounter spot empty a few seconds ago now filled, but the monks had no problem continuing to run past it and shooting up all the following gnolls.  Going back up it was annoying to find that a single gnoll had recolonised the top encounter spot.  Tired of retreating, the monks stood their ground momentarily - the result was a critical for 16 HPs that could have been handled by anyone else, but was just too much for Spectre.

Spoiler

 

Possibly as a result of being annoyed by that death I mis-clicked when trying to travel back to Nashkel temple safely and found the monks in an ogre mage ambush.  Its opening sleep meant it was not possible to run away,

Spoiler

but they managed to kill it while avoiding annoying the mountain bear (which fortunately never wandered too close to the sleeping Spook).  

Spoiler

Phantom did actually take a healing potion during the fight to allow him to survive some magic missiles .

 

Chimera - L3, 21 HPs, 11 kills

Spectre - L3, 16 HPs, 13 kills, 1 death

Phantom - L3, 22 HPs, 12 kills, 0 deaths

Wraith - L3, 22 HPs, 13 kills, 0 deaths

Spook - L3, 20 HPs, 18 kills, 0 deaths

Spirit - L3, 21 HPs, 14 kills, 0 deaths

[Alesia_BH]

 

Phantom did actually take a healing potion during the fight to allow him to survive some magic missiles .

 

 

 

 

Best,

 

A.

[Grond0]

Phantasmic 6 {6} - monks party (update 2)

 

The monks finished off clearing the Cloud Peaks, getting to level 4 in the process.  There was another pathetic set of rolls there, though the saving grace was the one roll above average was Spectre - bringing him more or less in line with the rest of a poor party. 

 

Borda was stunned before he could cast anything at the xvart village.

Spoiler

 

A few more encounters were ticked off the list before I made my first mistake in dialogue - oh well, Melicamp would probably have died anyway.

Spoiler

 

At the basilisk area Spectre handled the basilisks.  A mouse failure to respond led to Mutamin getting close enough to talk, but he withdrew to buff - allowing the others to subsequently use stealth to sneak up on him.  

Spoiler

The last of the basilisks got everyone to level 5 and an excellent set of HP rolls undid a bit of the previous damage.  Sneaking up on Kirian's party resulted in both her and Peter being stunned, which heralded a comfortable victory.

Spoiler

 

A trip north saw reputation up to 20 by offering a consolation prize to Farmer Brun.  After helping another farmer fertilise his land with zombies the monks went on to Ulgoth's Beard to buy everything they wanted before smacking down Dushai.

 

At Durlag's Tower the new Wand of the Heavens dealt with the battle horrors and potions of mirroring the basilisks on the roof.  However, I decided to be cautious and leave Kirinhale and the ghost alone this time.

 

The party used melee weapons (as opposed to fists) for the first time to kill the revenant.

Spoiler

In the same area a ghast was only distracted just in time to save Phantom,

Spoiler

while Narcillicus was stunned by a surprise attack.

 

More incautious travelling led to another ogre mage ambush.  This time he was supported by a winter wolf, but that was spotted in time to back away and the ogre mage didn't use sleep - soon paying the price for that omission.

Spoiler

 

Bassilus was another unsuspecting stun victim, but the monks still wanted a bit more XP to get to level 6, so cleared the temple area - using magic ammunition on the vampiric wolves.

Spoiler

 

With attacks now up to 2 per round and doing more damage as well, I decided it would be safe enough to take on the sirines.  However, none of the first group were stunned and, though they died reasonably quickly, 2 monks were confused and 2 charmed.  

Spoiler

The in-fighting that resulted from that was dangerous, but everyone just survived.  

Spoiler

The second lot of sirines were not so fortunate, with all 3 being stunned and finished off before they could recover.  

Spoiler

The golems were then just shot up.

 

They then cleared the ogre clan from the coastal area to the north before a crash required them to do it again - this time I managed that safely .  The sirines were also killed, though the single monk charmed hit Spook with a critical to take him down to 3 HPs.

 

The party have cleared a few more areas - I'm intending to get them up to the standard TotSC level cap, so need to do quite a bit of work - but will be moving on to the Nashkel Mine next time.

 

Chimera - L6, 37 HPs, 100 kills

Spectre - L6, 37 HPs, 106 kills, 1 death

Phantom - L6, 41 HPs, 72 kills, 0 deaths

Wraith - L6, 43 HPs, 77 kills, 0 deaths

Spook - L6, 39 HPs, 94 kills, 0 deaths

Spirit - L6, 40 HPs, 80 kills, 0 deaths

[Grond0]

Phantasmic 6 {6} - monks party (update 3)

 

In the Nashkel mine Spectre was scared by the kobold shaman.  Fortunately he hadn't taken any damage up to then and survived his exploration of the nearby traps.

Spoiler

Mulahey survived just long enough to call for reinforcements,

Spoiler

but only a single blow was needed for Nimbul and not much more for Tranzig.

 

At Larswood some nearby Black Talons turned Teven's bandits hostile, but the man himself was still willing to transport them to the Bandit Camp.  This time the cage closed in on Tazok first time and he exploded shortly afterwards.  

Spoiler

Getting Tazok's bracers reminded me that I'd never gone back to Firewine to obtain Meilum's, so did that before I forgot again.

 

Back at the Camp Molkar put in an appearance, but for the second time in a row his companions didn't appear - leaving him helpless.  Their routine at the Camp is now pretty practised and they were able to defeat the enemies without much use of resources.  

Spoiler

After resting to heal up they triggered the chapter change and rested to get slow poison.  Bentan was then killed and a house in Beregost burgled to reduce reputation to 9.

 

In the Cloakwood Seniyad got an insect plague away before being stunned, but everyone survived.  

Spoiler

Spook was poisoned twice by an ettercap ambush while travelling to the next area and took an antidote to survive.  Invisibility was used to trip the traps in the spider area before they worked their way through there.  Entering Centeol's lair under stealth allowed the enemies there to be chewed up in little pieces without problems.

 

In the druid area the scattered groups were killed without trouble.  Amarande was pulled downstairs without his companions, which should have been bad news for him.  Unfortunately though, I didn't notice until too late that a chaos he started to cast inside the house was being continued outside - and 4 of the party were confused.  

Spoiler

They did well to survive with only a couple of casualties before Amarande was led away by Phantom, who then disappeared using a potion of invisibility.

Spoiler

I expected that to give the others plenty of time to heal and prepare, but Amarande immediately script cast a stoneskin and then headed straight for them - following them back into the house despite never being in sight of anyone.  As that behaviour wasn't a total surprise though, the others were coming back out as he entered and he didn't follow again.

 

The others picked up equipment and headed for the temple.  Coming back again they had one lot of stealth attacks on Amarande before dodging a spell by going outside.  Entering and attacking again did enough damage to send him berserk and a few missiles finished him.

Spoiler

 

In the fourth area the hamadryad was stunned.  The monks all retreated to the stairway on entering the wyvern cave to restrict the number of attackers and won there comfortably.

Spoiler

 

At the Cloakwood Mine using stun on the mages is a risky strategy, but the initial attacks were sufficient to kill Kysus and then Rezdan was stunned as he tried to withdraw.

Spoiler

That was so far, so good, but Genthore then proved to be a right pain.  He was easily outfighting 5 attacking monks while Spook ran Drasus round and, despite resorting to a couple of wand blasts on him, a critical killed Spirit.  

Spoiler

After his death the others ran Drasus round while shooting without further problems before picking up equipment for another temple run.

Spoiler

 

Chimera - L6, 37 HPs, 166 kills

Spectre - L6, 37 HPs, 179 kills, 2 deaths

Phantom - L6, 41 HPs, 145 kills, 0 deaths

Wraith - L6, 43 HPs, 160 kills, 0 deaths

Spook - L6, 39 HPs, 159 kills, 0 deaths

Spirit - L6, 40 HPs, 146 kills, 2 deaths

[Borco]

Narva, human sorceress, 2nd update:

Red Canyon:
After earning substantial amounts of experience in the basilisks' area, Narva travelled to Red Canyon to confront Bassilus and the local Hobgoblin gang. Putting her Skull Trap to a good use, both fights went nice and clean. She even managed to save Melicamp to earn that evasive extra reputation point.

Spoiler

Temple / Beregost:
Narva collected the generous reward from Lathander's temple, levelled up and had a stopover in Beregost to conclude some unfinished business with Karlat and Silke.

Nashkel:
Nothing of much interest happened before reaching Naskhel. Once there, Narva used the opportunity to sell some loot and also had a great conversation with a guy named Noober. We'd expect to get confused with Greywolf but apparently Oublek was smart enough to see through the gender differences. Hooray to the carnival.

Nashkel Carnival:
So much fun! Exploding ogres, dandy nobles, walking treasure houses (Vitiare) or mages asking for a lesson on how to treat their female colleagues? We've had it all, although we did avoid extensive shopping at the local vendors before Narva could improve her reputation even more.

Spoiler

Fire Leaf Forest:
Skull Trap and Blindness secured our victory in all the encounters in this fun area (Sendai, Zal, some random winter wolves). Anyway, above average hit point rolls on lvl ups together with defensive buffs (Shield, Pro from Evil, Mirror Image) mean that I am getting more confident to leave Narva exposed in combat, instead of just constant hit and run as during the early levels.

Spoiler

Dryad Falls/Gnoll Stronghold:
Narva earned +2 reputation points for helping the dryad and "saving" a dead kitty. Further east, she explored the area around the Gnoll Fortress to get the DEX gloves and CHA book.

Lighthouse:
Another reputation point earned for clearing the lighthouse of wolves have brought us to number 17. With Remove Magic already in Narva's book to counter their Improved Invisibility I was tempted to try the sirines. The first pair at the mouth of the bay got separated and both creatures fell to Skull Trap and Magic Missiles quickly. We proceeded to the cave and blasted a group of Carrion Crawlers on the way. Narva then lured Sil away from her group to even the numbers. Although alone and vulnerable, Sil managed to hit the Pseudo Dragon (without its Blur) with a poisoned arrow, forcing Narva to retreat and apply CLW ability in hopes of keeping her familiar alive. Once back in action, I was forced to use a PoI to avoid being targeted with Sil's Dire Charm before I could successfully finish her off.

At this point it is to be noted that I was too time-greedy and wanted to finish the two remaining sirines in front of the cave before going to sleep. I got careless and stated the combat with a bad timing of spells right after finishing the buffs, failing to disrupt the opening II spell. After that I needed to retreat to be able to lay some traps, but Narva got caught within the spell range and did not manage to gulp a PoI in time. Dire Charm worked...

Spoiler

I was convinced to re-try Narva again, but unfortunately I did not export her initial file. As all the other options felt like resurrecting the dead, I decided to roll her an elven counterpart/avenger. Damn, I really hope to make it at least to BG this time .

Narva's spellbook:
L1 - Shield, Blindness, Magic Missile, Protection from Evil, Chromatic Orb
L2 - Mirror Image, Resist Fear, Knock
L3 - Skull Trap, Remove Magic
 
B.

[Alesia_BH]

Condolences, Borco. 

 

Get'em next time!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Grond0]

At this point it is to be noted that I was too time-greedy and wanted to finish the two remaining sirines in front of the cave before going to sleep.

Happens to us all (well, to me anyway ).  Best of luck with the replacement.

[Blackraven]

Happens to us all (well, to me anyway ).  Best of luck with the replacement.

To me as well... (Recently had a Feralan Ranger go Basilisk hunting. Had the green PfPetrification scroll from the Carnival, forgot to cast it though )
Sorry Borco, I hope your Elf will fare better!

Bartholomew 'Dandy' Birnbaum, Gnome Cleric/Thief, 1st BG1 update

Bartholomew hasn't had much time yet to make a name for himself on the Sword Coast, but he's lived enough to warrant a first (brief) update. As I reported before, Imoen died at the excavation site. Apparent misclicking on my part prevented her from casting Sleep on the diggers, while my receiving a drink in RL ensured that the diggers could kill Imoen. She didn't get chunked, but I was so unhappy about this situation that I decided to restart anyway. Unfortunately that didn't mean that Imoen would fare much better. The good thing though is that she never got chunked, and that I could live with the ways in which she died.

This run is a roleplayed one, and includes suboptimal decisions like this one:

Spoiler

but my reporting will be rather succinct, in order to keep the play-write ratio a balanced one for me.

Dandy and his best friend and fellow Gnome Imoen ignored Gorion's advice to seek out friends of his at the FAI. Instead they traveled to Beregost where they ran the errands we all know. They then headed further south, to Nashkel, obtaining a CHA-enhancing ring from Lord Foreshadow on the way there. The mayor begged the Gnomes to investigate the disappearances of people and the contamination of iron ore in the Nashkel Mines, but as the Iron Crisis had no bearing whatsoever on their existence, the duo decided to pursue other, more rewarding and more pleasant activities. The two really enjoyed traveling, so that in itself kept them roaming the Sword Coast. They were also very interested in being seen favorably, but at the same time they were aware that a heroic status generally required heroic deeds. Dandy and Imoen decided to try and become 'heroes' making a minimal effort, and taking minimal risk. This meant mostly being nice to commoners and fellow adventurers such as Oublek, Joia, Mrs. Blackwood, Bjornin, Charleston Nib, Captain Brage, and Farmer Brun.

Despite their resolution to be cautious and to avoid risk, peril presented itself on several occasions. At the FAI, a bounty hunting wizard tried to kill them.

Spoiler

(Tarnesh had to be talked to, since this is a RPed run.) Dandy Commanded him to sleep and Imoen followed with an arcane Sleep, allowing the duo to prevail.

Spoiler

Tenya the child priestess Held Imoen before Bartholomew's sling bullet convinced the girl to accept the Gnomes' help against three fishermen.

Spoiler

(The fishermen were spared after they went hostile, again for RPing purposes, even though their +1 Flail might suit future companions like Finch or Quayle.)

 

The lands north of Beregost up to Baldur's Gate were very dangerous. The friends got ambushed more than once during their travels there. One such ambush was particularly painful:

Spoiler

(We had Jaheira's invisibility potion, but Imoen went with a healing potion and trusted she would outrun the Skeletons. The Skeletons clearly decided otherwise. Shield might have been an option, taking into account the relatively low speed of the throwing daggers.)

At Feldepost's Inn Bart nicked Algernon's Cloak in two instances. This turned out to be not good enough. Like Algernon, the dude - forgot his name - in the room adjacent to Algernon's went hostile, and he went downstairs. Bartholomew barely managed to buy a Helm of Charm Protection from the innkeeper before the crowd, including the innkeeper, went hostile as well.

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(I allowed pickpcoketing of the cloak because I like the store discount too much for party playthroughs.)

After this misadventure, the rogues decided to head for the country for a while. They had a brief stop in Nashkel, where they faced another bounty hunter, a priestess this time. Dandy Held her before she could do any harm.

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On the coast Bartholomew nearly got himself killed in Black Alaric's Cave (in a somewhat desperate effort on my part to boost the duo's XP and wealth).

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He survived (and destroyed) the Flesh Golems though. Amongst the duo's somewhat meager possessions was Aule's Staff. Bartholomew used it because he thought it made him look distinguished and sagely, but thanks to its Thac0 bonus and long reach, it was also a good weapon for sneak attacks.

 

The duo's biggest test of their prowess thus far awaited them in the Red Canyons area: Bassilus, surrounded by Skeletons and Zombies. Somewhat surprisingly, given their interest in gossip, the Gnomes hadn't heard of the priest before (except for nearby Footy's cryptic remark). Roleplaying therefore compelled Bartholomew to approach and salute the priest. Dandy had no objections per se against Animating Dead, he wished he could cast that spell, but he was unsure of the cleric's intentions. Therefore he decided he would quaff a potion of invisibility if necessary. Bassilus made it perfectly clear he didn't appreciate the Gnomes' presence. Imoen tried twice to stun the angry priest with a wand her friend had found in Black Alaric's cave, but to no avail. Bassilus in turn, cast two Unholy Blights at Imoen. She barely survived the first one (down to 1 HP),

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tried to run away and then heard the incantation of the second one. At that point going invisible doesn't stop the Unholy Blight I think, so Imoen merely healed 9 HPs with a healing potion. The second Holy Blight then killed her. I feared a chunking, and thus the end of this playthrough, but Immy suffered 'only' 15 HPs of damage.

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Bartholomew then dealt with Bassilus on his own, and quite competently so, I may add: the Gnome scouted his foe's whereabouts, Silenced him from a safe distance,

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Held him,

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hit him 9 times with his Staff, tried a second Hold Person right before the first would expire but saw Bassilus save, retreated, avoided a Hold Person by hiding in shadows, disrupted a casting of Sanctuary with his sling,

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and finally finished him off with a backstab.

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At the Temple of Lathander in Beregost, Bartholomew was pleased not only to see his dear friend brought back to life, but also to receive 5k GP for Bassilus' Holy Symbol.

 

The companions have circa 15k XP each, which makes Bartholomew a lvl 4/4 Cleric/Thief and Imoen a lvl 3/4 Illusionist/Thief. They have a bit more than 5k GP plus a few items they've held on to (for future companions): the Ashideena, a +1 Medium Shield, some Darts of Stunning/Wounding and a suit of Ankheg Armor. They're going to buy some Illusion spell scrolls for Imoen (which she should be able to scribe without risk of failure thanks to Illusion/Phantasm being her school).
Both still feel quite weak, and underequipped, so I'm inclined have them farm some XP (Basilisks probably) before they welcome any other NPCs into the party. I'd still like Quayle and Alora to join though, and maybe Finch and Yeslick too.

[Alesia_BH]

Arkona, Halfling Barbarian: Never Mind the Bollocks

 

Ok. So, I'm sitting here, drinking a green smoothie, and installing SCS. I'm watch lines go by. I'm bored as frack. Why not do something else? Why not document Arkona's run?

 

It's not like I haven't enjoyed her. And it's not like the world isn't dying to hear about a halfling Barbarian. So why not?

 

Seriously: Why not? 

 

I'm doing it.  Enter Arkona, Halfling Barbarian

 

 

Proficiencies: Darts, Short Bows, Axes x2

 

Mods: TUTU, TUTUFixpack, NPC Banter, SCS v16 (full pre-buffs, all tactical components, all creature improvements) 

 

Gaming Notes: First, I should address the obvious question: Why a halfling barbarian?  A fair question. I don't have an answer...Actually I do. It's a multiparter. Part 1: Coolness. That's hard to contest. Look at Arkona's portrait: She rocks. She's a punk lolita, CBGB era, holes in her stockings kind of warrior. As a halfling, she rocks even more. Ok, Part 2: Practicality. Pop quiz: What's the least important stat for a warrior? Strength, of course. And what's the best weapon in ToB? The Sling of Seeking, of course. I'm kidding, but I'm kind of not.

 

​Strength barely matters because it matters so much. Suppose Arkona were a half-orc with a strength of 19. Would that be good enough? Would I be satisfied with a strength of 19? While fighting gibberlings, sure. But in any meaningful fight I'd want to buff that. As a barbarian, blessed with Rage, it's 25 or go home. Buffs, including potions, will get me there. Innate strength will not. Innate strength is nice, but in the end it's a convenience for lesser fights. When the going gets tough, the tough get buffed. Innate strength isn't enough. And while evil is different, Arkona isn't evil. Her strength doesn't matter. Am I overstating the case here? Yeah: You've got me on that. But, in the end, the difference between starting strengths of 17,18, and 19 aren't that significant. You can go with what feels right. Halfing feels right. 

 

As for the Sling of Seeking: I was really serious about that one. It's fast; it stacks strength damage; it has a moonshot range; it hits at +4 in ToB; and it can be wielded with the Reflection Shield in the offhand. Jacking stuff from the other side of the abyss while immune to range weapon fire is a tactical win. And who better to execute that strategy than a halfling barbarian? A movement rate advantage is hugely beneficial in ranged combat. If you're fast; if you keep moving; if you're immune to range fire; if you have basement saves; if you have awesome resistances; and you have a huge hitpoint total: who's going to stop you? Not a melee fighter: they can't catch you. Not a ranged fighter: the can't hit you. A mage? A mage who can't disable you, given your shorty saves? I'll take my chances with that. Arkona will be dangerous. She'll be a threat to the Throne. 

 

As regulars here no, I don't play warriors often. I do it from time to time, but my warrior runs tend to have a jokey I-can-play-that-game-but-I-don't-really-want-to feel. The exceptions have been few: my Undead Hunter, Alessandra, and my Stalker, Ashoka. Arkona will not be an exception: Arkona will be part of the new rule. I intend to take warriors seriously form now on. There's an art to warrior play. It's a subtle art that gets overlooked. I'd like to explore it. Arkona will be my guide. 

 

​In the next hour of so I intend to cover Arkona's BG1 run. I'm going to do this quickly. Arkona has not only graduated to Amn: She's on her way to Tethyr. We have a lot of catching up to do. A lot.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Blackraven]

Hey Alesia! 

 

Arkona has not only graduated to Amn: She's on her way to Tethyr. We have a lot of catching up to do. A lot.

 

Belated safe travels - or safe remaining travels - for Arkona!  or rather:   (horns).

I'm pleasantly surprised. I thought you had been testing her in two different setups - original game vs EE - and were therefore not going to have her enter the challenge. Are your upcoming BG2 reports based on the SCS30/BP-Ascension EE run? I'd be interested in that. A few months ago I failed to install that setup correctly.

 

​Strength barely matters because it matters so much. Suppose Arkona were a half-orc with a strength of 19. Would that be good enough? Would I be satisfied with a strength of 19? While fighting gibberlings, sure. But in any meaningful fight I'd want to buff that. 

This is an interesting comment. As someone whose characters as a rule do not make it into ToB, I can't tell for sure but do warrior Thac0 progression and +5 weapons really necessitate STR buffing in what you call meaningful fights? I guess I've never taken STR or STR items that seriously for warriors, and even for my rogues I normally don't buff STR much even though they do tend to get 18 STR at character creation.

I'm suffering from severe restartitis thanks to having found a number of nice portraits. My next character might be a Halfling Swashbuckler. I shall pay attention to the low STR factor.

[corey_russell]

@Blackraven: I've used Storm giant potions against Melissan and Ravager, and they made a huge difference. I also use them against Sarevok and pals, to good effect. I almost always use a powerful strength potion vs. the Sarevok acolytes on the 5th floor, and so on.

[Blackraven]

@Corey, nice. I always hoard them but hardly use them (unlike defensive potions: Invulnerability, Defense, Magic Shielding etc).