16394 replies to this topic

[The Fred]

Multiple cave bears with only plain darts, wizard thac0 and only blindness to help? She could also be called "Avatar of Patience".

This is why I have Faster Bears installed. Also Hard Times and Item Randomiser, one of which (I forget) removes those easter egg items.

 

With all the rash of specialist mages, though, I'm tempted to try one myself. Necromancer, Diviner, Enchanter... hmm. What next?

 

In other news, I sort-of fixed Marcus' problem. It seemed that once I had raised the others, we were able to rest without problem. I tried having Faldorn shapeshift into a werewolf, then killed her, as an experiment, but that didn't break the game. It seemed that she turned back, in fact, but I thought she hadn't previously. Could it be something to do with her morale failing first? Doubtful, but who knows?

 

Anyway, Love was killed by Marcus and Branwen in melee. I forgot to take Spell Thrust, which was annoying since I had it last time and didn't use it, so I didn't use any spells. Instead, Marcus opened with fire arrows whilst skeletons kept the warder occupied, but switched to melee so as to save the ammo (nonmagical weapons are ineffective). Once we found Pride, he started chomping through skellies like nobody's business. A Stinking Cloud and Web failed to hinder him, but remarkably he failed a save vs Blindness. Marcus moved into melee, immune to the Web (but not, I realised half-way through, the Stinking Cloud! Oops!). Insect Plague also did slow but effective damage to him. With all those buffs, he outmatches any party member one-on-one, but it didn't take long for us to cut him down.

 

As a result, Faldorn reached L11! This is slightly ridiculous for BG1, but then, SCS makes life a lot harder and adds L6 spells to many enemies (I think?). I'm thinking of reducing back down to a smaller party, too; maybe Marcus, Imoen, and Viconia? (she's slightly better than Branwen, I think)

 

Next stop - probably the next level of the Tower. I'm very cautious of this, having only done it once I think and never in a no-reload. There's also a bug where you can get trapped, I think (the doors reset when you rest, or something). I'm thinking I'll poke around but retreat back upstairs as necessary.

[wing]

Manadh and co. continue on to Nashkel, immediately running afoul of another assassin by the name of Neira. She manages to get out an Entangle and then Holds Ajantis before being caught just shy of melee range with him and being pelted with arrows and darts.

Spoiler

After a cursory exploration of the town of Nashkel Minsc persuades us to go rescue his witch and we start exploring outlying wilderness areas, at one point we are "ambushed" by a polar bear, but he seems perfectly friendly to us. 

Spoiler

We continue on to the Gnoll Stronghold, where an Ogrillion kindly donates his fancy Gauntlets of Dexterity to Ajantis, and have little trouble clearing it out. Dynaheir proves to be more twouble than she is worth though, always trying to run in and punch monsters with her bare hands, so we return her and Minsc to Nashkel and leave them. From there we check out the Carnival, an Exploding Ogre is defeated and another witch is saved, this time from the hands of an evil wizard who gets Ajantis with a Horror and eventually Imoen as well. He is barely defeated with darts and (once she recovers) Imoen's short sword +2 and an Oil of Speed.

Spoiler

 

From there we head to the Nashkel Mines, where Imoen practices her backstab 

Spoiler

The kobold hordes are defeated mostly without incident, though Ajantis does step on several traps before Imoen starts actually looking for them. At some point we acquired the Bracers of Archery and Imoen has been putting them to good use. We work our way all the way down to the bottom, where we kill a couple kobolds and talk to Xan while somehow not seeing Mulahey, so when Imoen comes around the corner to loot his chest we are not at all prepared. He immediately summons his cohorts and at this point I distinctly recall thinking "The run is over." Xan falls almost immediately, and just as all hope seems lost, Manadh manages to charm him. 

Spoiler

With Mulahey now on our side I first exhaust his spell repertoire by starting to cast and then walking away, then tell him to pound his own skeletons into bone dust. Shortly thereafter Mulahey is finished and we exit the Mines.

 

We emerge into the Valley of the Tombs and run into some Amazons, who don't seem to think much of us. The battle gets terrifying quickly when both Ajantis and Imoen are Held, but Manadh manages to send everyone but Lamalha fleeing in Horror. Lamalha, of course, gets charmed. She then drops her Entangle spells, walks into them, and (after killing Zeela) stands in her own vines while Manadh pelts her with darts. 

Spoiler

 

We finally make it back to town only for Nimbul to pick a fight. Unfortunately, he gets cornered on the porch of the Inn and Rasaad runs over to beat the hell out of him. 

Spoiler

 

We head up to Beregost to meet Tranzig, he falls to Imoens arrows and Ajantis' +1 Bastard Sword, then to end the session we head over to High Hedge and buy Manadh the Robe of the Good Archmagi. Here she is trying it on in the shop. 

Spoiler

 

Everyone is now lvl 5 with Imoen almost to 6. 

[Matuse73]

At my snail pace of being able to play, I've completed another BG1 run, and every moment chronicled via Livestream.

 

Here is the end of Chapter 7, from arriving back in Baldur's Gate to dealing with our wayward sibling:

 

For my patented, famous, and infallible method of killing Sarevok, this link will take you right to the correct timestamp: https://www.youtube....zaMhgw#t=82m40s

 

On to Amn!

[wing]

Manadh and co, Update 3

 

The party takes care of some more sidequests, including picking up Mellicamp the chicken and getting him back to his old self, then runs afoul of the mad cleric Bassilus. Though we do get him, he manages to Hold Ajantis and one of his zombies administers a coup-de-grace.

Spoiler

Bassilus gets Horrored while Imoen and Manadh pick off the remaining skeletons and zombies, then is brought down with arrows and darts. (Manadh reaches 5th level here) His loot is collected, as well as Ajantis' possessions. This results in about 3lbs more than Imoen and and Manadh can carry between them, even when we leave Bassilus' plate mail. Thus encumbered, we walk ever so slowly to the edge of the map and then to the FAI. We're forced to sell a couple of pieces of gear to afford the Raise Dead spell since we'd beggared ourselves for the Robe of Good Archmagi, but we get it done and Ajantis is soon back on his feet. We then head up to solve the dispute between the Fishermen and the Priestess, siding with her and bagging ourselves an ankheg shell while we're at it. A short trip to Beregost to stock up on darts and commission Ankheg plate after turning in the bounty for Bassilus and we're ready to head to...

 

The Bandit Camp! Imoen has been sneaking about and initiating fights with backstabs in each tent, Ajantis then tanks while the girls provide ranged support and occasional spellcasting. Nothing is too stressful until we hit Tazok's tent, when things get hectic. Imoen first sneaks in and opens with a piddling backstab on Venkt. Everyone gets angry and chases her out of the tent, where the other two await. Manadh leads with a Blind on Venkt, but he manages to dish out a Horror which catches Imoen. Manadh gets the rest of them with a Horror of her own,

Spoiler

then she and Ajantis hunt down the blinded wizard. Just as Venkt is finished everyone else comes out of their Horror and opens up on Imoen. Britik the Gnoll is succesfully charmed and set against Hakt the Hobgoblin, but Raemon manages to kill Imoen with an Arrow of Ice.

Spoiler

He falls shortly thereafter to Ajantis' blade.

 

With the fearsome four mopped up, we pick up Imoen's gear and head inside to talk to the thief inside (Endar San or something) who urges us to open a chest for some letters... Ooops.

Spoiler

Ajantis falls to the Lightning Bolt trap but by some miracle is not chunked. Manadh cries bitter tears as her paladin is taken from her again, then grabs his stuff and tosses it in the chest, vowing to make it back to the FAI and save both Imoen and Ajantis from the cold clutches of death. She makes it without an ambush, then the trio hike back to pick up their gear and the letters. Manadh vows that if she ever sees that damned thief again he'll be breathing his last. On the way out the party clears up Garclax and his troublemaker gnolls with a Sleep spell or two.

Spoiler

Reequipped and several thousand GP richer, we run back to Beregost to pick up Ajantis' shiny new green armor from the smithy before a quick jaunt to see what's going on in Larswood. Imoen scouts around and finds this curious line of gibberlings,

Spoiler

but decides to leave them alone. We do run afoul of the mad druid Osmadi, but his old friend Corsone thanks us for putting him out of his misery. (looking at the wiki I now see I was foolish to let Corsone go ) Anyway after that we head into the Cloakwood.

 

More soon!

[wing]

Not much more though. Manadh and her merry band explored a little further into the Cloakwood, finding Chelak's body and slaying Centeol to get it

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 (Ajantis swallowing a STR potion to get it back to his brother),

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 defeating several ettercaps and spiders before first Ajantis and then the newly added Coran fall to a Web trap and a Phase Spider.

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Imoen and Manadh gather up their gear and try to head back to town, but are caught in an ettercap ambush and step on another Web trap.

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Immediately, I know it's over. Imoen tries to draw the assailants away from Manadh, but her sacrifice is for naught and Manadh is surrounded. Up goes the hand...

[Grond0]

@Matuse73.  Well done with Sarevok.  Now all you need is a patented, infallible method to kill Melissan ...

[biowherewolf]

Sorry to hear that Wing. Those traps are brutal and easy to forget. 

--BW

[realmuzzy]

Condolences Wing.

[Matuse73]

I need a patented infallible method to REACH Melissan before working on a patented infallible method of killing her. Best I've ever done is the third pocket plane challenge (where I got cornered and backstabbed into oblivion by Cyric minions).

 

But the patented infallible method of killing Sarevok can be done by pretty much any mage, just with a single casting of Minor Globe and Invisibility. If you think PfM scrolls are cheese, it can still be done without them.

[Borco]

... but are caught in an ettercap ambush and step on another Web trap.

Happens to me all the time. Condolences and good luck with your next attempt.

Regards,

B.

[Borco]

Lorn, Undead Hunter, 1st entry:

My schedule has been kind to me lately and that means I had the time to start another run. Concluding that the reason I didn't enjoy my previous Diviner was the urge to play some more warrior types, I decided to give it a go with a paladin. I am being very optimistic of their potential, although I have not given the class much play yet. The Undead Hunter kit felt immediately right and so I am pleased to give you Lorn.



Full sheet: 

Spoiler

She specializes in Bastard Swords and Shortbows and will be aiming for a small party (3-4) of companions to enhance the action.

Regards,

B.

[Borco]

Lorn, Undead Hunter, 2nd entry:

I'd like to give a brief follow-up on Lorn's exploits.

She teamed up with her soul-mate Imoen as well as with ranger Kivan early on. 

Together they made contact with Thalantyr at High Hedge, with whom they traded the diamoned Imoen had found earlier for a Potion Case and an emergency Potion of Freedom (not having enough funds to get a Potion of Mirrored Eyes as well). The combined bow-power of the group allowed them to dispose of few gnolls in the area, with Imoen playing the decoy - this strategy would have successfully been applied in the future as well.

They returned to the crossroads, wherein they picked up a Ring of Protection and killed an ogre for a pair of belts. One, plain looking, went to Lorn, while Kivan got the fancy one. Whops...

Spoiler

Lorn, Imoen and Kivana moved north to FAI, picked up a Ring of Wizardry and have completed a chore for Joia by collecting that nice ring of hers from a band of hobgoblins. Avoiding the inn itself, they traveled to Beregost to get a rest and solve some petty local problems. However Neera, Kagain and Silke had not been confronted at that time.

Nashkel has been finally reached together with Barge, whom has been brought to the local temple to seek a remedy for his sins. The local priest was kind enough to cure Kivan of his transgender condition (for a steep price, of course). Lorn, being skilled in arms and innately immune to hold effects, was able to ward-off a priestly assassin in the local watering hole without much problems. Additionally, her armory has been dramatically improved with the newly found Ankegh armor.

At the carnival grounds, Lorn has procured herself a Shield Amulet and, once de-petrified, Branwen has joined the ranks.

Spoiler

Together, they've accomplished several deeds around the Sword Coast, both big (like saving a wizard from a gnoll fortress) and small (like helping a little girl to find her cat). They sought evil where they went and Lorn's ability to see though one's intentions (as well as her protective magic) has therefore been put to a good use. Kivan got a magical halberd, Braces of Archery (from Zal), but would not take that magical belt found on Caldo's dead body (bugs me why...). By the way, did you know which one of the lumberjack brothers is the evil one? 

Spoiler

After reaching level 4, Imoen has been allowed to embark on a magely career.

One particular quest stands out at this point. Back in Beregost, Lorn had heard that a maddened priest named Bassilius has a habit of surrounding himself with reanimated corpses and is becoming a threat to the town itself. Such foul magic needed to be dealt with Lorn felt more than suited for the task. She's finally been able to find him it the canyons to the south east. The extent of his 'activity' was immense. This was not a cleric, this was a necromancer. And there was only one way out of his misery...



His undead army has immediately befallen on our meager party of adventurers.



Lorn led the attack with her righteous fury but the numbers were too strong and we had to retreat. That soon turned into a chaos...



Imoen got picked up as target for a Hold spell and instead of taking any risks, she decided to quaff a Potion of Invisibility. To our horror, it has been Kivan whom was the real recipient of the spell's projectile. The situation has been looking rather grave then.



More and more undead were joining the fight. Branwen protected Kivan with her own body, trying to turn away the incoming hordes of zombies, while Lorn was cleaving her way through the ranks of skeleton crossbowmen. Imoen, unskilled as she was at the time, was still able to help the cause with a Blind spell that forced to Bassilus to retreat for a while (only to have the blindness immediately cured). That guy had already resisted one Blind, one Silence and two Hold attempts before that - what a foe.




Lorn got enough time to dispose of the remaining monsters, however, with our luck completely gone, she got struck (badly) by a lightning from heavens themselves in the process. I mean, how bad a day is that? Lorn healed herself quickly and moved on to finally engage Bassilus as the only remaining foe. Kivan was alive and back in action, but having ignored his previous experience, got held once again  . Despite the misfortunes, the day is won and we are counting 17 dead undead (what?) and Bassilus among the fallen.



Lorn shall be reporting the victory to the temple of Lathander and, if noting unexpected happens, spending the reward in Ulgoth's Beard.

Regards,

B.

[Golden28]

Wing: Too bad. You gotto learn those (and all other) traps for this challenge. My advice: Go invisible by spell or potion and trigger them all. Then wait till they've stopped. 

 

Borco: Your undead hunter looks strong. I also love parties of 4. They're well-balanced in having a well rounded party and still getting slightly more xp than a 6 man party.

 

Cheers!

[Grimwald the Wise]

Wing, I noticed that the sword that you found was being used by no-one. It would have helped immensely as it gives protection from web,

[biowherewolf]

@Borco: Congrats on the good progress. I think Undead Hunters are a great fit for BG1 and especially BG2. What level was everyone when you attacked Bassillus?

Just curious. I always struggle with the "when should I" questions. 

--BW

[Borco]

@Borco: Congrats on the good progress. I think Undead Hunters are a great fit for BG1 and especially BG2. What level was everyone when you attacked Bassillus?
Just curious. I always struggle with the "when should I" questions. 
--BW

Thanks!

I believe the party was lvl 4 at the time (with Imoen being a lvl 1 mage). Lorn was immune to hold and her HP rolls had been decent so I would feel comforatble going there solo by that time. But more often than not I try to pick my encounters according to the available equipment (and often fail doing that right ). I do, however, generally avoid mages with sleep before hitting level 5.

As for the Undead Hunters, I agree that, apart from just being plain cool, their bonues are greatly appreciated thoughout the entire saga, whereas the downside of not being able to use lay on hands may easily by remedied by everpresent healing potions.

Regards,

B.

[Grimwald the Wise]

New run with a chaotic evil sorceress, Eleanor of Endor.

 

Str 18, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 19, Wis 6 Cha 9

 

Sun Elf

 

I Eleanor am well aware that it is highly beneficial to have a good reputation, and I therefore watch my behaviour when others are watching, however, once I was on my own in the forest, I had no compunction about first blinding and then killing some bears with my sling for no other reason than to get more experience.

 

Having discovered the effectiveness of this ploy, I used it against Tarnish as well.

 

This worked so well that I decided to use it against the hobgoblins.

[wing]

@Wise - thanks, I should have done that but hadn't identified it and didn't know what it did. I've never actually played through BG1 before. Have restarted with a new party, update coming soon.

[wing]

Larudo - Part One

LN Half-Elf F/C

Character Sheet 

Spoiler

 

Larudo does his chores in Candlekeep, although not without a hiccup when I decide to be clever and grab the hammer in the Priest's Quarters instead of buying one. A Command puts Shank on hold, Larudo grabs the hammer, turns, and hits Shank once before the hammer breaks. Darn Iron plague... Other than that the initial play goes smoothly. Imoen, Monty, and Xzar join up with Larudo, they pick through Gorion's remains then head to Beregost. After a brief trek to Mutamin's Garden, where Korax helpfully kills some basilisks for us before a hobgoblin puts him out of his misery, Manty and Xzar are politely invited to leave the party. Mutamin himself seems a bit out of our league at present, so we leave him for now. Decide to try skipping the FAI early on and secure Kivan's services instead. We then run down to Nashkel (a Blessed Larudo scoring a BIG crit with his sling on Zhurlong's tormentors)

Spoiler

for some pretty green armor for Larudo and Edwin cons us into doing his dirty work. 

 

Some of the surrounding wilderness is explored, the party at Fisherman's Lake is a nasty bump in the road when we fail to disrupt the mage's Horror spell and Larudo and Imoen start running all over creation, but Kivan and Edwin do a sterling job of protecting them and utilizing BG:EE's strange "sticky circles" bug to slow them down. 

Spoiler

Later on the party nips over to the Carnival, then to the Lonely Peaks to kill Arghain, then on to Peldvale, where Kivan falls to a the Ice arrows of a Blacktalon Elite. 

Spoiler

 

At this point Edwin threatens to leave the party if his task is not completed so we hurry to the Gnoll Stronghold in the West. I got so worried about him leaving that i refused to rest until we had killed her, so spell usage was minimal and all enemies were slain with a hail of projectiles and a couple of Color Spray scrolls. The Gnoll Chieftan and co were slain, as was Dynaheir, and the Tome of Leadership and Influence obtained. Kivan now wears the Gauntlets of Dexterity, and the party heads back to Nashkel. 

 

We stop off at the Nashkel Mines to chat with Prism, Greywolf manages to slay Kivan with two blows of Varscona but is then Blinded and hunted down with sling and bow. Prism hands off his emeralds and the party returns to the town of Nashkel and Raises Kivan (again). Somewhere in their we ran over and saved Brage as well, but I forgot to get a picture. The party is now on level 3 of the Mines and intends to take care of Mulahey and get some better equipment for Larudo before we hunt down Bassilus and then the bandits. Everyone is level 3 aside from Imoen, who's level 5

 

Spoiler

[Borco]

Lorn, Undead Hunter, 3rd entry: Into the Iron Crisis

The defeat of Bassilus has brought fortune and glory to Lorn and her companions. With maxed reputation and fat purses, the group traveled north to Ulgoth's Beard to procure Greenstone Amulet/Cloak of Displacement/Wand of Heavens and Darts of Stunning at the renown trading post.

Thereafter they battled the ankeghs in the farmlands north of FAI, whilst searching for a lost farmer boy, and even sirenes at the coast which yielded more valuable treasure. Evil ogre mage Droth has been defeated too, surrendering to Lorn the magical helmet of his.



Having collected satisfactory amount of petrification protections, Lorn concluded that the time was ripe for some basilisk hunting. Once at Mutamin's Gardens, Korax the Ghoul has made a fatal mistake of not recognizing Lorn's trade at first sight. Friendly as *it* tried to be, the soulless creature still got 'purified' by her bastard sword on spot. The entire hunt was a success and, as a result of a hostile encounter with Kirian's party, Lorn has been able to complete her collection of magical belts, whereas Imoen regained her thieving abilities after reaching level 5 with the mage class.

The party did some more shopping in High Hedge (Claw of Kazgaroth, protective potions & missing spell scrolls for Imoen) as well as in Beregost (+1 Bastard Sword, +1 Short Bow), where they also managed to sort out the outstanding business with Karlat, Silke and Neera.

Eventually, they proceeded to Nashkel Mines. At first, Lorn has defeated Greywolf in a single combat but after that, the passage through the mines themselves was rather uneventful. Mulahey and his kobold lackies fell quickly to a combination of Hold and Horror spells, while his skeleton summons were no match for Lorn's powers.



More undead awaited us on the other side of the mines...



...as well as madmen.



Note: Narcillicus' jellies were taken out beforehand with the help of a Potion of Freedom.

After reporting to Nashkel's mayor, our party clashes with Nimbul...



...deals with Tarnesh and embarks on a crusade to the Bandit Camp.

Regards,

B.

[Borco]

Lorn, Undead Hunter, 4th entry: The Bandit Camp

Dismissing Kivan's ideas on stealth and subterfuge, Lorn decided that they approach the bandit base in a broad daylight. After all, she wanted to make sure that they knew the face of Justice when their time came.

The initial surprise did not last very long as the enemy was quick to sound the alarm, summoning the whole encampment to repel the intruders. The fight was on.



The bandit ranks were growing exponentially and that required our side to gain some control. Hold spell proved to be the right call.



Lorn then tried to lure the attention on the entire battlefield so as to allow her spellcasting companions to pull more tricks from their sleeves.

Branwen thought to be the first to catch the idea...



...only to see Imoen pull her first Skull Trap in a quick response.



Venkt's successful Slow spell on Lorn has revealed an unpleasant gap in our preparations. Luckily, Branwen was there to prevent any further threat from the mage.



'Fire Walk With Me' to victory.



It is done. 



After learning of the Cloakwood operation, the party has released Ender Sai and collected everything of value. They'll be reporting to Officer Vai before heading west.

Regards,

B.

[wing]

Larudo, F/C - Part 2

 

Continuing down through the mines, the party ambushes Mulahey. I chose to claim Larudo was from Tazok this time, thinking that he sees through it and starts a fight, but Larudo's tough, no-nonsense attitude and 6 CHA cowed him and he stood their while Imoen rummaged through his chest. He did not, however, give Larudo the letters on his person, so the party initiated combat with a staff backstab from Imoen and a command from Larudo. Larudo started to cast Silence, but by the time he finished the spell Mulahey was dead. He didn't actually get to summon his reinforcements, which I rather regretted. 

Spoiler

 

As the party emerges from the mines Kivan reminds Larudo of a promise to go fight Bandits, so Bassilus may have to wait for now. The lack of difficulty in the mines was made up for by the Amazons immediately afterward, as Telka oneshotted Kivan with a Flame Arrow and then Maneira broke Imoen's morale with a Dart of Wounding. 

Spoiler

Larudo and Edwina fall back and Imoen simply falls. The Amazons give chase but Larudo catches Telka with a Command and Edwina gets the rest with a Horror.

Spoiler

 

Telka gets back up but has been preemptively Blinded by Edwina and simply wanders off. Zeela is caught with Hold Person and slain by Edwina's staff

Spoiler

a Blinded Lamalha falls to Larudo's sling

Spoiler

and then Larudo and Edwina go on the hunt. The still-Blind Telka is put to Sleep and then whacked with hammer and staff

Spoiler

then the dangerous duo trek halfway around the map to find Maneira and put her out of her misery.

 

With the dirty work done, the pair pick up everything they can carry and return to Nashkel to raise Imoen and Kivan. Once Raised and rested they run into Nimbul, who gets off a Mirror Image but is then Silenced. Rasaad runs over to help out again, noble fellow that he is. 

Spoiler

 

Onward, to the Bandit Camp!

 

Which is shockingly simple this time around. Larudo and co. ease up from the bottom of the map, killing human and hobgoblin bandits as they approach. Taughoz' allies are Horrored away while he is simply crushed in a 4 on 1 battle. After slaying Ardenor Crush and his friends, the party preps for Tazok's tent with Bless and Chant.

Spoiler

Imoen runs in to backstab Venkt and stays inside just long enough to watch him pop Mirror Image and catch an Arrow of Ice from Raemon, then runs out with all but Hakt the hobgoblin following her. As soon as he steps outside Venkt is Charmed with the Cloak of Algernon.

Spoiler

He procedes to Haste the party while Kivan and Larudo almost instantly slay Brikt the Gnoll and Edwina catches Raemon with a Horror.

Spoiler

They chase down Raemon, and just as he is finished Venkt becomes hostile again.

Spoiler

After a burst of MMs from Edwina and one of Kivan's arrows he too falls. Once inside Hakt hardly has a chance to resist before the party stomps him flat. Imoen manages to disarm the lightning trap this time, and everyone leaves the bandit camp wholly intact. A miracle.

 

From there the group heads over to take care of Bassilus, and this time Larudo guesses what to say to cause Bassilus to un-Animate his pals. One on one and Silenced, Bassilus can't do much.

Spoiler

Larudo and friends run up to ask Zargal to give us his Short Sword +2, but even after they surrender to him he still wants all their cash so they decide to take it by force.

Spoiler

 

Larudo takes care of a few small chores (returning Perdue's sword, Antichickenating Mellicamp [he dies], bringing a spider corpse to Landrin) then heads for the Cloakwood. He sides against the Druids and gets a HUGE Call Lightning for his trouble, but somehow just barely survives. He makes a break for it and chugs potions while Edwina gets to Horrifying and Kivan and Imoen turn the druids into pincushions.

 

On their way to Cloakwood 2, Larudo and his friends are ambushed by Ettercaps. Larudo (whose time in Candlekeep was spent studying the Scrolls of No-Reloaders) screams "No one move!" and the party cuts them down with barely a step. 

Spoiler

 

In Cloakwood 2 the party bravely rushes forward to find Chelak's body, only for Edwina to stomp on a Web trap in front of several spiders. They try to outrun it...

But everyone is caught. [my heart stops for a moment] The spiders hammer on Edwina for a moment, then everyone makes their save!

Except for Larudo, who just sits there. As the spiders near Edwina valiantly stands her ground, daring them to pass her and attack the stuck Larudo. For this bravery, she dies.

The rest of the party lives however. Larudo focuses, trying to remember his studies back in Candlekeep's dusty library, and searches in his pack for a Potion of Invisibility taken long ago from a friendly Fighter/Druid. He hands it to Imoen, telling her to drink it, not to fear, and never, NEVER to attack the creatures of the wood. Swallowing her fear, she hands her sword and bow to him, drinks the potion, and disappears. After a couple of hours of exploring, Larudo senses her nearby again, and she reports on enemy numbers and positions, as well as the location of any more traps. Armed with knowledge, Larudo and Kivan head out to do battle with the spiders of the Cloakwood. Progress is good for a while, but then Kivan falls victim to the poison of a Phase Spider. [I didn't realize, but theirs is MUCH more deadly than regular venom, 5 HP per tick rather than 1] At this point Larudo knows better than to continue on, and with a sigh he gathers up Kivan's gear. When he and Imoen finally reach the FAI he asks Imoen "Why does that bastard ranger have to bring both Studded Leather AND Full Plate on our journeys?!" She has no answer, and they shell out the coin to bring back their companions. Edwin is overjoyed when, upon his revival, he is again a male! He yells in delight then grabs his gear and starts to get dressed, only for *POOF* his physique to change again as he buckles his beautiful belt. He simpers and wonders whether perhaps his vanity is sabotaging his dignity...

[Grimwald the Wise]

Having seen one of the other posts, I decided to try vanilla ToSC again for a change

 

A chaotic evil elven fighter/mage Eliminator who is dedicated to eliminating all opposition. (How is it that a site dedicated to Baldur's Gate thinks that "elven" is a misspelling?

 

Str 18/25 Dex 19, Con 17, Int 16, Wis 3 Cha 8.

 

Large Swords ** Bow **

 

In Candlekeep after completing all the chores, Eliminator killed both Firebead (blindness) and a watcher.

 

Why buy equipment when you can get it for nothing?

 

Helped Joia, killed Tarnesh (blindness) got Perdue's lost sword (bow), tried to help Melicamp but failed , got the book for Firebead and calmed Marl, killed Karlat and then headed for Nashkel.

 

Picked up Ankheg Armour.

 

Gave money to the temple to get average rep.

 

Killed Algernon.

 

Gave money to the temple to get average rep.

 

Why do I lose rep when nobody saw me do it?

 

Killed Firebead.

 

Gave money to the temple to get average rep.

 

Why do I lose rep when nobody saw me do it?

 

Killed Greybeard, helped Tanya, and recovered Nester's dagger.

 

Helped Rufie and then when ambushed in transit, used blindness to kill a mountain bear in safety.

 

Blinded Krumm and Caldo. Their demise is therefore now certain.

 

Did the same with Gnarl and Hairtooth, followed by a cave bear on our way back for more arrows.

 

(Supplies are a constant problem with vanilla due to lack of containers)

 

Bought necklace of missiles. Gold now 53gp.

 

Zargal was by far the hardest enemy and hurt be badly both before he was blinded and afterwards.

 

However, he eventually fell, but his possessions turned out to be of little worth.

 

Thunderhammer exchanged 20 poisoned arrows for the halberd +1 that I had found near Krumm.

[Grimwald the Wise]

After two blasts of the necklace of missiles and one from the wand of frost, Mulahey had panicked and there was only one kobold in sight.

 

Eliminator was at almost full strength, so I thought the battle won.

 

However Mulahey's last spell then arrived. It was hold!

 

That single kobold then single-handedly eliminated Eliminator.

 

What a humiliating defeat - to be defeated by a single kobold!

[Borco]

Lorn, Undead Hunter, 5th entry: Leisure & Duty

After delivering the good news to the authorities in Beregost, our party felt like having a little break before heading into Cloakwood Forest in pursuit of the Iron Throne. And what better holiday destination there is for an undead hunter than Durlag's Tower right?

The prospect of purging the haunted place has filled Lorn with new passion. At the entrance, the party made contact with first guardians.



Once inside, cautiousness commanded that Imoen gets a Perception Potion and clears the traps in the area, while Lorn sniffs out all the roaming ghasts. They looted the upper floors of the tower for valuable potions and darts and collected the Tome of Wisdom from the shrine. We did not visit the rooftop due to lack of anti-petrification protections - better to remind Imoen to memorize the respective spell next time. Kirinhale and the Ghost have been avoided as well.

The dungeon cellar felt rather...untouched. Lorn took no risks. She gulped a Potion of Speed and ran though the trap under the stairway, which Imoen was somewhat unable to remove, hoping to avoid massive damage. The fire resistance from her helmet (20) and ring (50) did its job and this has allowed our party to get inside safely.



After disarming throngs of traps and defeating various enemies, Lorn and her companions were able to to complete the riddles of the dwarven wardens. Not wishing to continue deeper into this mad place, they decided to retreat back to surface without a fight. Maybe some other time...



Still, visiting the tower proved to be a successful venture and yielded vast amounts of useful consumables, with two Arrows of Dispelling being the most priced possession thus acquired.

Duty-bound, Lorn has led their way to Cloakwood. Not long after their arrival, she's been forced to pick sides in a dispute between some hunters from the city's nobility and Seniyad's druidic sect. Convinced that real men only hunt undead, wyrms and dragons, Lorn did perceive Aldeth and his 'hunting' friends as cravens and legal poachers. However, the druids did not come up with a sensible proposal and she was forced to step in to prevent unnecessary violence. It still ended up with a necessary violence. I suppose that her diplomacy and negotiations skills got a bit rusty with all the action during the past couple of days. Then again, how do you negotiate with undead revenants and mustard jellies?



You may see here that Brawnen got struck by Sediyad's Called Lightning, but a timely Potion of Absorption prevented any further damage. However, that by-standing hunter was no so lucky.

Green protection Scroll of Poison Resistance has turned the numerous battles in the spider nest area into rather swift and clean encounters. Lorn's been rewarded for her efforts with a fine sword, which has been recovered together with late Chelak's body. She offered the blade to his surviving brother but has been prompted to keep it. How nice.



We'll be moving deeper into the forest. Lorn is currently lvl 6 with 65 HP and has spent ** on Two-Handed Swords. Full inventory is to be found here:

Spoiler

Regards,

B.