15228 replies to this topic

[Grond0]

Well done Golden.  Best of luck to Eren and the other survivors for ToB.

[Hansefar]

Congrats Golden28!

 

Beautiful fight and screenshots just awsome.

 

Cheers

[Serg BlackStrider]

Update of Impish Face & Co (some Liches & Bodhi finale).

 

We tried the newfound stone key on the sarcophagus in nearby crypt and fought the Elemental Lich as a result. Dirty cheater had two Spell Shields active (one from prebuffs, another from Spell Trigger) but with three mages around having RRRs and Khelben's this is not big hurdle. During his first Time Stop he Breached Mazzy (buffing Fighter vs SCS mages is a complete waste as it seems) and fired Comet on Jaheira who, as usual, was pretty unlucky with her saves but potions of healing could handle that. Nalia (*armed* with Spell Trap from SotM) was a prima donna of the encounter and even though the vile necro tried all his best to rip her defenses during second Time Stop he was stripped of spell defenses, breached and Jaheira took her revenge on him (don't mess with women temper, ever!) 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we paid a visit to another Necro's residence in the City Gate area and fought him and his fiendish buddies for nearly useless Warblade +4. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least we got some more useful stuff as well:

Spoiler

 

Don't having a key for another guardian of Kangaxx' body parts and *forseeing* the trip to Temple Ruins in near future anyway we just bought the Spell Trigger scroll for Nalia and went to a Goth party which, as we have heard, passes in the Graveyard Crypts. Security was quite unfriendly though and even kidnapped Jaheira. The wrath of Impish Face was enormous, the blood of the gods boiled in his veins and his strike was merciless and painful!

 

Spoiler

 

 

Further in the Crypts our girls, embarrassed with such cold meeting, stayed by the entrance while Impish Face, calmed already and buffed with potions of frost giant strength, heroism and speed, methodically, meticulously and in cold blood murdered all and every one he had met on his way.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the process he got another fighter's level and picked Deathblow HLA which he put in immediate use vs lesser vampires from Mistress' retinue. She was in a bad mood at the moment, as it seems, so punish her lackeys severely with Touch of Death (or does that was some kind of sado-maso play they used to have there, I wonder...  ). One of her *hands* (right or left I can't recognize) named Manasseh gated Glabrezu while another one (Hazarmaveth) one-shot Eric Vanstraaten with ADHW...

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

We called for Planetar who fired Dispel Magic and occupied them both from now on. I'm not familiar with Improved Bodhi' special abilities but they looks quite dangerous. Her Cloud of Bats tick fast so Impish Face even was forced to retreat at some moment to heal with wand and invincible Arkanis Gath tasted Chill of the Grave...

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

When she fired a Sephulchral Sleep on Viconia the latter sipped the Potion of Invisibility just in case. It suddenly became so dark that no one could see the tip of the nose and only the screams of pain and wheeze of agony rang out in the darkness:

 

Spoiler

 

 

Bodhi is all alone now not but no less dangerous. Viconia found enough time at last to call for her Greater Elementals but they were immediately eliminated by another Touch of Death. That was her last swansong though as pretty soon she was brought to the brink of the true death, healed herself full but shredded into the tiny bloody pieces of flesh nonetheless. In her coffin we found Celestial Fury katana and another stony key.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back we bethought that Impish Face forgot to check the spiked room and went there. The Guard managed to cast a Sphere of Chaos on Viconia and sure enough she immediately failed her saves... Fortunately (!!!), unlike Cassia in the very similar situation, she wasn't chunked! Looks like this spell is quite inconsistent in its behavior... We quickly dispatched the Guard along with some Vampiric Mists and gain Dragon's Breath +4 from the blood pool.

 

Spoiler

 

 

So we have another key to proceed on Kangaxx's quest line but our prime goal for now is to restore our beloved Jaheira and (just along the way) check some Dragons.

 

to be continued...

[Grimwald the Wise]

Tiny Dragonslayer, halfling Champion of Torm

After taking back the D’Arnise Stronghold, we went to deal with Khalabaxin, a dragon which had moved into the Umar Hills. Saerileth was badly hurt when luring it towards us. We then had a prolonged, but successful battle, though I was badly hurt too. (The game crashed and we had to fight this dragon twice. The second time through was a bit easier.)

 

 

 

After killing it, we went to stop the Shade Lord. That was not a real problem, though seeing just how powerful the Shade Dragon was, we decided not to fight it. A dwarven cleric named Krondor has joined us.

 

 

He helped defeat the Shade Lord. We went to the Radiant Heart to inform them that Khalabaxin was dead. Whilst still there, we were told of the funeral of Nalia’s father.

 

To avoid the chance of having to decide on which side to be on, instead of going straight to the funeral, I first did some minor questing such as looking for Montaron. I didn’t find him, just a bird.

 

After going to the funeral I found about people being buried alive. I’ll have to investigate that in the Bridge District. I then heard that there was gold at my keep and went to get it. You never know when you are going to need it. Then Nalia was kidnapped.

 

No sooner had I got her back than Saerileth was kidnapped by a demon. Naturally I went to rescue her.

 

 

In the process of doing so I acquired more boots of speed, some illithium, a decent shield for Krondor as well as a few +4 bullets for his sling. It was obvious that Saerileth wanted to be with her lover so I let her.

 

I then went to solve a problem in the Umar Hills and in the process was joined by Mazzy, another Paladin. She’s a Halfling too.

We solved some of the problems, killing the Shade Lord, Killing the orcs etc. and then went to the Bridge Street where we solved a murder mystery. However we then decided to take on the Shadow Dragon. That was a mistake as Nalia and Mazzy were chunked and Krondor killed. I can still claim the name Dragonslayer, but it seems an empty title somehow when my entire party was wiped out and I was on the edge of extinction myself.

 

[Golden28]

Eren, Last Child, TOB Episode 1:

 

I read Illesara was quite the challenge with Ascension, and man, was she..

 

She turned into this uberarcher who not only hits for big damage (like 30+ at least) but also dispels, makes you miscast magic, AND throws you back like ring of the ram on hit. Thats an archer!

 

Valygar and summons sacrifice themselves so that Eren and Edwin can flee to the rightbottom corner. There Eren starts to spam traps and Edwin summons. 

The first reaver, a mage, falls to cloud + trap.

 

Another falls to a quintuple stab.

 

We lure searching Illesara over, and gang up on her.

 

And even she falls.. But damn were those arrows dangerous..

 

We recruit the mighty deathbringer Sarevok. 

 

Aran Linvail is an assassin? :S (sextuple stab).

 

Vampires got absolutely hosed by the axe of undead doom...

 

In the palace, Sarevok gets symbol: stunned by the first group of defenders. Eren keeps backstabbing and throws a cloud on the mage.

 

I try to make Edwin hit Sarevok to dispel with staff of the magi (without the invisibility power) but he misses time after time XD..

 

Mage stays dangerous.

 

But falls. Next is the Gromnir battle.

 

I havent much on that battle as it was very easy (didn't even rest beforehand). We:

 

-Throw a cloud on 2 mages.

-Use monster summoning wand to summon 4 wolves at once. 

-Pull back, take out archers.

-Stun Gromnir with celestial fury and kill him ( ).

-Hit medusa with poison arrows and throw another cloud on her and minotaur. 

 

We are also able to quickly dispel and kill the last battlemage.

 

Loot is extremely dissapointing, I feel there isnt much after BG2, espcially with Carsomyr already being +5. Maybe I am wrong, I mean I havent even tried Watchers Keep yet ...

 

Next is the dark forest. Master wraith was only a nuisance.

 

But the skeleton mage after him was a BIG BOSS, holy sh*t.. He starts things of with a timestop so powerful my screen starts spacing hehe .

 

A planetar. A dragons breath. A comet...

 

ANOTHER time stop..

 

Finally we dispel and he falls..

 

Right now we are cleaning up giants left and burning man right.

 

The team right now:

 

 

 

 

 

I have to say things are feeling a bit too easy right now, and I think its because of Edwin. And he hasnt even learned time stop yet. If he will, he will be able to cast FOUR, which is totally rediculous. I already finished the whole trilogy with a full party sorcerer once, and I vowed never to take an arcane main PC again. But now I have something better, namely Edwin... 

I feel I should finish the game without an arcane OP boss. you guys think I should finish the game without one? I could ditch him for less powerful, more challenging npc(s). . Lemme know.

 

Cheers!

[Blackraven]

Great work Serg. Your crew looks very solid! I can see the offer of godhood looming in the distance for Impish face...
And a kill for 1000+ damage Lovely stuff.

Grimwald, nice too see Tiny Dragonslayer live up to his name! Bravo!

EDIT:
Golden! Dude, you're going fast. I can hardly keep up with you... a bit like Aasim...
Anyway congrats on surviving Ilaseera without the Reflection Shield, and Gromnir too. Good luck with the Fire Giants!

[corey_russell]

@Golden28: You are discovering why Alesia_BH strongly recommends the Reflection Shield for the Illesara fight in Ascension - that item makes her a ton easier (reflecting her arrows back to herself). Illesara is a such a powerhouse if a character can't use the RS, that Alesia is often hesitant to play a class that can't use that item, as she plays Ascension as well.

[Grimwald the Wise]

 

I feel I should finish the game without an arcane OP boss. you guys think I should finish the game without one? I could ditch him for less powerful, more challenging npc(s). . Lemme know.

 

Cheers!

 

 

It's up to you. I have so much of a problem finishing a no-reloads game (Once) that I am impressed whenever and however people do it.

[Blackraven]

@Golden, I know how you feel. I rarely play arcane casters myself nor do I use them much in my parties. Nevertheless I fully agree with Grimwald. No-reload is hard enough as it is, regardless of one's setup, party composition, etc. I've never succeeded a no-reload (heh only reached ToB twice). To me Edwin's necklace wouldn't detract from the great accomplishment that would be your completing a no-reload trilogy run. 
 

[Golden28]

Thanks for the comments guys.

 

I tested with Rasaad instead of Edwin and got pounded into the ground XD!..

 

First try... nope!

 

Resurrect.

Second try.... nope!

 

Better try something else...

 

Cheers!

[corey_russell]

@Golden28: I agree with the others - a successful trilogy no-reload requires such concentration over a long period, regardless of game setup, that is an accomplishment regardless. Having powerful party members in no way diminishes that accomplishment. Besides, a lot of ToB bosses and even trash mobs have significant magic resistance, so the arcane party member will still need help from the rest of the party to get things done.

[Aasim]

@ Golden

 

Edwin is powerful, ofc. He has but several weakness :

1) other than casting NPP on him (or PFMW/Apsolute Immunity) he cannot be protected from level drain. While this is mostly irrelevant in 99% cases, it can be a real issue in Ascension battle. Level drain is very unfair for casters.

2) he can't cast Wish succefully. I don't know if there are potions which add WIS in vanilla game.

3) Sorcerer is (imo) a simply better caster. While sorcerers can't know as many spells, the sheer convinience of the way they cast them outguns Edwin.

 

I'd keep him, since I like him. As Corey says - the real challenge is keeping up your focus for about 20-30 hours w/o doing something which can get you easilly killed.

 

As for Ascension Illasera, I don't have much experience with her final version, but her ToB-start incarnation is (imo) best fought in a way where you keep one of your melee warriors near her. She'll turn Ethereal quickly and won't be able to attack you for a while. Use that time to kill the lesser troops there. If she re-appears, she always does so at range (about 10' away from nearest viable target). Rush her  immidiately. Rinse&repeat, she dies quickly after 2-3 Etherealness uses.

Soloers might have trouble, but an 18-20 level party shouldn't have problems there.

[Golden28]

Hey guys,

 

I decided to keep Edwin . Thanks.

 

About Illasera, she fell relatively quickly, it was just a surprise she shot us for so much..

 

Cheers!

[Serg BlackStrider]

Mini-update of Impish Face & Co (or one down).

 

We made a trip to the Temple Ruins to restore Jaheira back to life and engaged Thaxll'ssillyia.  The buffs were not as excessive as usual - we only have two items with negative plane protection, Viconia can't use polytweaked Mace of Disruption without endanger herself and sending pure fighter (Mazzy) to melee a Dragon isn't that wise (at least I'm not ready for that) so we mostly buff Impish Face and spread the rest crew members around the walls. Truth be told I think this is first time ever my PC engage the Dragon in close melee... Of course he is not all alone as we had a support of three Greater Elementals and a Planetar (who had to use Heal twice to stay on foot). Impish Face opened with Breach to take down Thaxll'ssillyia's ProMW and rush forward to catch his Remove Magic (SI:A on) away from other crew members:

 

Spoiler

 

While Thaxll'ssillyia's was busy with Impish Face and summons Nalia quietly crept from behind and fired Pierce Magic/Lower Resistance*2 Trigger (that's why we bought that spell scroll for her not so long ago):

 

Spoiler

 

 

In my setup Dragons have Increased Staying Power so Thaxll'ssillyia has 480hp and he hit hard un-stoneskinned/sans ProMW characters (as I said even Planetar was forced to heal himself twice). To speed the things up Viconia cast Harm aaand.....HIT! With THAC0 4 vs -12 effective AC (note for myself - cast Holy Power in advance to have better chances). Thaxll'ssillyia breath her out of 8 levels in return but that was just last breath:

 

Spoiler

 

 

On his remains we found Light Crossbow of Speed, some gems and lovely looking ring. However Glasses of Identification revealed its true nature as a Ring of Clumsiness (disgusting...).

 

Spoiler

 

 

Firkraag is next.

 

to be continued...

[Grimwald the Wise]

Tiny Dragonslayer, Halfling Champion of Torm

 

In the absence of both a mage and a thief, we retraced our steps and asked for Yoshimo and Aerie’s help.

As far as I know there is nothing in his dialogue that says Yoshimo is human, so when using level 1 NPCs, I made him a Halfling Knife Bearer, a kit which so far I have not used at all. It makes the thief more thief-like in my opinion. Great with knives, but not much else. Fine with traps also. (I also gave him a new Halfling portrait. In addition, I would have given him a Halfling Name, but I think that could well have caused bugs.)

I joined up with Keldhorn as well, and upon doing so, discovered that Ajantis was alive, a knight and still in love with me.

We have talked with Gaal, but didn’t immediately go looking for the rift device as other things, such as my responsibilities elsewhere weigh heavily upon my mind. No sooner had we left than Delon told us that Umar had returned to the Hills. The mayor told us that she was in the lair where the Shade Dragon had been. Upon entering we immediately entered and found a host of enemies including Grothgar, another dragon. We were fortunate in being able to flee before their spells had any effect. We decided to go below through the other entrance and there we met Mairyn who pleaded with us to fight the witch.

This looks like one of those situations where you know what you ought to do, but where you would much rather be a coward. I certainly hope that we have divine help for this one.

Dealing with Umar was an easy enough. We had a minor foray against the dragon, enough to know to keep well clear until we are stronger. At least we have some knowledge as to how not to fight it, and nobody has yet asked us to deal with it.

We went to collect our gold from the keep and returned to Amn where we have agreed to help a dwarf called Korgan get a tome from the tombs. He seems very handy with axes and I have been able to equip him well. I had to fork out a lot of gold for boots, otherwise he would always be getting left behind.

[Golden28]

Eren, last child, Episode 2 TOB

 

In front of the fire giant temple. Decided to keep Edwin and thought of a new strategy, can you guys guess?

 

Fire skull enemy hurts like hell.. It has Morts spirte from Planescape, good memories.. . 

 

Unbelievable it gives only 9000 xp.

 

Dominated Sarevok damn near almost vorpals Eren hehehe ..

 

Fire lich is dangerous. Aaand Azuredge does its work again. Its a bit OP .

 

Once Edwin gets his HLA, fallen planetar destroys ALL enemies.. It is so insane, it not only vorpals, chunks with blade barrier, it also resurrects and heals our whole party within seconds. Edwin does fail to scribe ADHW with 22 intelligence ..

 

THAT symbol: stun, though. It got Sarevok again.

 

Eren gets a plan: mordekainens swords against giants!

 

It works, but they last too short a time .

 

We buff and go in there. They summon a fallen angel. We do the same.

 

HA! we chunk THEIR deva! How does it feel?!

 

I get the surprise of my life when I see a huge red dragon. 

 

I didnt remember him, Im guessing its Ascension. 

 

We dispel him, and hack him to death. But only after he kills Edwin.

 

 

After all this killing I get overconfident. Imix, prince of fire makes us feel mortal again when he flamestrikes Sarevok for 80.. Yes that a -50 chunk.. I gotto learn from these deaths.

 

We say a sorry goodbye to Erens brother and recruit Korgan who's a monster with twin axes. 

 

Next is Yaga Shura. 

 

Cheers!

[Golden28]

Eren, Last Child episode 3 TOB.

 

We kill Imix with clouds and return to the dark forest. Eren feels trouble and lays a spike and an acid trap. The traps and some hits kill Nyalee within 2 seconds.

 

We head for the encampment. I didnt know what to expect so was hyped as hell. Things get crowded for a while..

 

But surprisingly we are able to slaughter each and every one of the enemies. Not very hard at all.

 

Yaga Shura shows up, wit freaking NINETY percent damage resistance..

 

It doesnt matter though. We gang up on him, and kill him at our leasure, amidst the biggest pile of corpses Eren ever saw...

 

General Jamis dares attack us without even giving us a chance to speak?

 

The desert town appears to be full of idiots. Some guy summons liches, a girl steals food, monks dare challenge us, but we need the smugglers store. 

Not very smart to challenge a Bhaalspawn.

 

Thats not all, two retard mercenaries die.. I mean c'mon, look at Korgan. Does he look like someone you want to mess with??

 

To top it all of is an old geezer priest who blatantly attacks a monk, sigh.. 

 

We save him though. Chilling in the inn right now.

 

Cheers!

[Gate70]

Clangor, Cleric / Ranger.
 
The "Witch of Umar" quickly acknowledges she is an imposter and dies a few moments later. Clangor returns to Umar so he can conclude his ranger duties and heads back into the city.
 
The Copper Coronet is handed over to Hendak and the remaining slavers are cleared out. Clangor has tired of Nalia being unable to open locks so replaces her with Jan, he in turn fails to learn a gamut of scrolls but does at least loot a few areas with ease.
 
A lich in the Bridge District is treated to a series of skeleton summons.
- I left the third one absorbing a series of spells and effects as the lich didn't explore after killing the first two and I needed to step away from the game for a couple of minutes. On my return the lich was almost at the party and the fourth standby skeleton with them had auto-engaged and been killed. Good job skeleton four had been summoned in preparation otherwise I may have returned to a game over screen.
 
Everybody scatters except Valygar. The lich casts another spell and area damage is taken before everyone has got out of range, and the lich has targeted Jaheira instead of Valygar. She is held, so Valygar tries a few arrows while Mazzy tries the Azuredge axe but it is ineffective. Clangor drops in a dispel magic before helping Anomen with an efreeti which recovered from gas form, and Valygar finds his arrows start to hit but Mazzy gets a undead destroyed result.

[Alesia_BH]

Hey there, hi there everyone!

 

The weather is still awesome here in the Land of Wherever-Alesia-Lives so I haven't been reading or playing of late. But since my bike is out of commission on account of an accident (cars are such a drag- especially when they're hitting you...), I'll be spending more time at home. That means I may get some playing time in. At the very least, I'll be reading.

 

A few comments...

 

@Golden. Awesome work! I hope Eren makes it!

 

Btw. You mentioned that the loot from the Gromnir fight was uninspiring. Take a closer look at the helmet he drops, Roranach's Horn. It provides 50% resistance to crushing damage, which can be extremely helpful. It's especially effective when paired with Hardiness + the Defender (or AoF or Adventurewear). You've already defeated one of the tougher crushers, Yaga-Shura, but you have others up ahead. If you pay a visit to Demogorgon, bring Gromnir's hat. And when you are fighting Tamah in Abazigal's lair remember: her breath weapon does crushing damage. Balthazar is a crusher, too, and you will see Yaga-Shura again.

 

@Serg. I'm glad to see Impish Face cashing wymish checks. Best of luck with Firkraag!

 

@Grimwald Wise. I can't read your updates without hearing Elton John's voice in my head: "Hold me closer Tiny Dragonslayer! Count the corpses on the Lion's Way!"

 

@Gate70. Nice work with your C/R, Clangor. Just be careful with the Staff of Thunder and Lightning...

 

@Corey. You're right: As a soloist, I find the Reflection Shield incredibly helpful in Ascension installs. If I had to choose between the Reflex and, say, the Ring of Gaxx I'd take the Reflex in a heartbeat. Illasera is one reason. The Fallen Solars flanking Jon-Jon at the Throne are another. Arcane characters with ProMW can get by without the Reflex, but sans-ProMW I prefer to have the shimmery shield by my side. Physical Mirror is a poor substitute as are missle weapon AC bonuses.

 

@Everyone else. Sorry if I haven't commented on your runs. I've just read page 492 so I don't know who else is active. I'll catch up soon. Good hunting!

 

Best,

 

A. 

[Gate70]

Aran Linvail has a second task for Clangor, and then a third. Valygar attacks a vampire, while Clangor and Mazzy join in when it calls a golem forth. The vampire responds by dominating Clangor. Valygar had been relatively safe against the enemies but Clangor and his flail are a different matter.

 

Nobody else is protected against level drain, Jan uses his initiative to turn everyone invisible, including the vampire, golem, and Clangor who has been dominated a second time. Sir Anomen is lightly drained by this point.

 

After Clangor recovers, Valygar is raised and plays target to draw the enemies out of their invisibility. Then onto Tanova who stuns and mazes Valygar. Clangor has been in the thick of it all the time and summons Cerebus, but everyone else moves in to help and Mazzy notches another destroy for Azuredge.

 

Valygar takes a beating downstairs, his AC of -3 struggling to defend against the grimwarders. Eventually he runs and hides, returning to backstab one attacker. Everyone else is uninjured, Clangor and Jan both gaining levels.

 

Lassal chases Valygar back to the party and pays the price, while Valygar only just survives combat with Bodhi (potion gulped at 6hp but she gave up at that time).

 

Jan returns home as everyone else reports in to Aran Linvail. The arrival in Brynnlaw sees Del, Valen and Parisa try lots of domination but Valygar is protected by his armour and everyone else has chaotic commands active. Del escapes but Valen is caught with an offhand mace (unimproved - whoops) and destroyed while Parisa has already been caught by Azuredge.

 

Mazzy puts Chremy to the sword but there is no sign of Ginia afterwards so the lesson is to talk before attacking. Perth the Adept is allowed to go hostile before being attacked, Valygar grabbing the book of infinite spells as it reaches the Spell Turning page.

 

Clangor and Sir Anomen check their Turn Undead against shadows while Valygar shreds those which resist. Then into Spellhold where Imoen is rescued and recruited.

[Gate70]

There are a few close calls in Spellhold Maze. Mainly umber hulks against light armour, but also Sir Anomen pathfinding himself into the painting room after Jaheira has safely removed the paintings. With this happening off-screen he takes two sets of damage before he can be retrieved. Clangor tries to help Valygar and skeleton warriors when a gauth is not immediately killed, and is held. The gauth dies moments later and the nearby minotaurs are kept out of range from Clangor.
 
Lonk the Sane speaks before we attack but Valygar has managed to sneak behind him only for the crafty mage to face him and avert a backstab. All six party members hit him once, the final arrow from Imoen killing Lonk before his buffs can activate.

 
Irenicus gets more of the same and the party start to move away after their initial hits. Irenicus is almost dead, and Clangor finds he is stuck so he attacks once more.

 
Valygar stands idle while Clangor continues melee and everybody else uses missiles. Wanev finally gets his timestop cast then Irenicus departs and Jaheira's True Sight from before greeting Lonk reveals a group of murderers turning up for their own funeral.

 

Edit: The wrong conversation option with Saemon sees the exit sealed, forcing the party into the portal instead

[Gate70]

Clangor is lucky to survive being held by kuo-toa in the Underdark, down to 18hp before Jaheira dispelled it. Imoen hands him her ring, Edventar's Gift, which grants free action.

 

Sir Anomen uses the Shield of Balduran while everybody else sneaks past an elder orb and beholder (3 improved invisibility, 2 ranger stealth). Clangor starts to add summons, but Sir Anomen is imprisoned. Imoen uses one of the four freedom scrolls she has purchased and after the summons are victorious Sir Anomen rejoins the party.

 

He calls up two skeleton warriors only to run into drow. The party arrive for support and heal him after the battle. A fire elemental, nymph and Cerebus join him for the next group of beholders, then he is stunned by a psionic blast against the next group of illithid and gauth. Valygar arrives to backstab two of the illithid but is also stunned as he tries the third. A skeleton warrior kills the illithid and guards the stunned characters until they recover. The rest of this area is then free to loot.

 

On to the illithid lair. For once this proved quite easy, although Imoen and Clangor were subjected to a psionic stun, but the lone mind flayer didn't get near to them before dying. Simyaz and his gang were killed, as were the drow priests and after killing two of the three spore colonies the game crashes so Simyaz, drow and colonies had to be done again.

 

Valygar and Clangor were stunned by the balor, Valygar surviving long enough for Sir Anomen to summon a skeleton warrior and switch to the Kneecapper war hammer. Jaheira tried a dispel which failed, so Imoen used one of the five arrows of dispelling on Clangor. He started to attack again as Jaheira added Harper Call to her spellbook and cast Wondrous Recall then raised Valygar mid fight. He gulped a potion and a +3 axe before helping again, finding the balor liked targeting him so he'd move away in order to gulp healing potions without dying. Mazzy was hurling Azuredge (hindsight, she should have tanked with her +2 sword which may help against the stun). Clangor finally flails the balor and uses the stoneshape scroll.

 

(taking a pounding here, such a difference trying to play with minimal armour. The rangers may end up in heavier gear soon.)

[Grimwald the Wise]

Tiny Dragonslayer, Halfling Champion of Torm

 

When fighting the Umar witch we first had undead and demons to deal with.

 

 

After her death we took on Grothar, but only managed to kill some minions.


 

We ended up fleeing and going to Amn where we offered to help Korgan.

We found that the tome in the tomb was no longer there.

 

We did some minor quests such as killing vampires in Amn before returning.

 

Upon leaving the vampire's lair, I thought it best to check out the D’Arnise stronghold and the Umar Hills. We weren’t actually needed at either place, but I felt that it might be a good idea to test our mettle against Grothgar the dragon. Protection from level drain, lowering his MR, and a combination of attacks proved sufficient. Aerie was killed but not chunked so Krondor was able to raise her. I now feel as if I am worthy of the name Dragonslayer.

The rewards were also great. I can afford equipment that enables me to better face powerful enemies. I was glad to have Korgan with us despite his alignment.

 

 

 

After killing Grothgar, killing the Unseeing Eye and Gaal came as a bit of an anticlimax.

[Gate70]

Clangor clears out the Western Tunnels then heads into Ust Natha. He completes a few tasks, tells Phaere that he belongs to another, observes the deaths of the Matron Mother and Phaere, then returns to Adalon with her dragon eggs.
 
After an interrogation by Elhan there is time to stop in at the Bridge District and put a stop to the Skinner murders before taking quite a long time to put a dragon down, having to deal with one PfMW.

 
Cash is running short so the Trademeet Rakshasa get a visit before travelling on to the Druid Grove. Jaheira is able to defeat Faldorn so a decent reward can be obtained. 
 
Alesia: I got a staff of Thunder and Lightning from Spellhold (Jon's room if I recall) and a second one for for helping Trademeet. Nobody uses staves this run though so they are sitting in a bag of holding.
 
Clangor, cleric 12 / ranger 11. 331 kills, Thaxxy. Flail of Ages / Mace of Disruption.
Valygar, stalker 13. 141 kills, Perth the Adept. Corthala / Arbane just replaced with Belm.
Jaheira, fighter 11 / druid 13. 47 kills, Boz. Crimson Dart > Bone Club +2.
Sir Anomen, fighter 7 > cleric 15. 82 kills, Shade Lord. Sling of Seeking +1 > Skullcrusher.
Mazzy, fighter 13. 43 kills, Elemental Lich. Sword of Arvoreen / Shield of the Lost.
Imoen, thief 7 > mage 13. 19 kills, Lonk the Sane. Tuigan Bow > Arbane.

[Grond0]

Looking good Gate70.  Glad to see you managed to escape the illithids unscathed.