15228 replies to this topic

[Serg BlackStrider]

Update of Impish Face & Co (or a bit of Wild Hunt).

 

We returned to the Underdark Exit area and gave Elhan the Lanthorn he need to re-enter the city of Suldanessellar. The exp reward he gave was enough to level up some of teammates and we took the lift to the Forest of Tethir where the entrance to aforementioned city could be revealed. We have some unfinished business yet though so first some wild hunt while we are in the forest:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

The trophies are the Mana Bow +4 and Bracers of Binding. Not much but at least we saved Coran from his overexcited lovers.

 

Now back to the USSR Underdark to deal with Beholders' and Mind Flayers' settlements there. First were the Big Eyes and those were painful... Planetar helped us to deal with the Drow and a pair of Beholders at the entrance but he quite easily get paralyzes with their rays so overall I'm not that impressed with him.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Greater Elementals fared better (and longer) but they didn't guarantee a 100% success either so we were ought to deal with Hive Mother ourselves.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

As is turned out my usual Mustard Jelly approach is no longer effective with Elder Orbs due to their high MR. We tried to equip Mazzy with all gear granted saving throws bonuses and Cloak of Mirroring but she was Greater Malison-ed and Death Ray-ed... We threw the Cloak back to Jaheira and she slew the vile beast. My girl!

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

You might be curious what for is all this pain in the a** while we don't need neither Eyestalk of an Elder Orb nor Elder Brain Blood? Well... no pain - no gain. Just look what the Chief Elder Orb dropped:

 

Spoiler

 

 

Yeah, that's Robe of Vecna at long last!

 

We cleared the rest of the City with the aid of Skelly Warrior (seems I understand how they behave now - so long they see enemy or PC they are loyal. Once they out of sight - went hostile) and Mazzy took her revenge on some more Elder Orbs. Now only sparse gusts of wind are lonely cry in the dark, desolate tunnels...

 

Spoiler

 

Another trophies were Greenstone Amulet, Heartseeker +3, Kundane +2, Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise.

 

Mind Flayers' City was a lot (and I mean a lot!) easier. Polytweak-ed Mind Flayers are deadly but once you get used/familiar with their abilities they are manageable. Insane Dwarf Warrior dropped the Dragon Helm, Elder Brain got some hot shower from Planetar while its *body*guards DD-ed right to their doom. Got Defender of Easthaven +3, Fire Tooth +3 out of there alone with much desirable reputation point (up to 20) as we want max discount at the stores for valuable items/scrolls.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onto the Lich Hunt!

 

to be continued...

[Alesia_BH]

Looking good, Serg! And special congrats to Golden for taking down Sendai and Demogorgon!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Golden28]

I'm writing my second to FINAL episode now..

 

Cheers!

[Golden28]

Eren, Last Child, Episode 10 TOB

 

We left of after defeating Demogorgon and then Sendai.

 

I decided to farm so more XP for mazzy and Neera killing the 10 leftover drow and hivemother in Sendai's forest. Yeah, I was overconfident and didnt protect Neera with any stoneskin or mirror image, causing her to be chunked by a drow assassin backstab..

I just cannot afford any mistakes!

 

Taking Nalia, one of 4 npc's left, I'm hoping to level her up a bit for the planetar. She has changed a lot in demeanor, to my liking. 

 

Drahahahahahaha conis... (fell in 4 seconds).

 

The Kuo Toan dares backstab Nalia for tripple damage

 

One down, one to go.

 

Zirimanatr'yl was slain by Eren himself.

 

Ehh.. and then two more.. A true Dragon's graveyard.... RIP.

But really dispel + focussed attacks from legendary weapons is just too much for any of them. I hope Abazigal is as easy to take down..

 

We wait out the Olhydra and greater water elementals, slowly poisoning them.

 

Magic Golem Beholders... huge damage resistance to everything.. damn what a pain in the as*..

 

 

We buff up fully, knowing well the dangers that lie ahead. We take out the drakes and Tamah first, while distracting Abazigal. The fool is just running after Nalia trying to hit her mirror images while we slay his dragon. 

 

We focus big blue down, as all his kin before him.

 

 

It wasnt easy though! Mazzy got imprisonned and Eren and Valygar were taken to -25% health at some point by some kind of breath attack! Thank the gods for the kill. 

 

I want nothing more than to have the mighty Balthazar by my side for a change (I looked up the dialogue order on the web, Weimer wrote one )

 

I recruit Viconia and Haer Dalis just to be sure, equipping them as best as I can. They are decent fighters/spellcasters now, and Haer Dalis can use wands and scrolls!

 

We buff up fully, do the final shopping, equip ALL the good items, and save.

 

Next is the final battle GUYS :DDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!

 

CHEERS! 

[Blackraven]

Amazing work with Golden! Congratulations on having taken Eren all the way to the Throne. I wish I were as successful as you (I feel it may easily take me another year or so), and I wish you the very best for the final showdown... Very exciting! 

[Gate70]

Yes, good hunting.

 

Blaggerd made a bit of progress a few days back but I forgot to make any notes or screenshots. From looking at the save, party and equipment I believe the order of events went something like this;

- Recruit Yoshimo.

- Make good his escape from the chateau.

- Dump Yoshimo.

- Poison Suna Seni and her slavers.

- Run into Dorn. Butcher the wedding party. Reputation 5. (I'm fairly sure an earlier Blaggerd reached 1 in SoA before I either abandoned or he died).

- Kill Surly and recruit Korgan.

- Head to the Graveyard District before turning back and picking up Jan.

 

Once the book of Kaza is obtained, Korgan is in little danger of wandering off. Blaggerd asks Jan if everything is OK at home and the gnome says he has no family issues yet...

[Golden28]

Eren, Last Child, Episode 11. FINAL EPISODE.

 

So... what happened?.. Did Eren prevail, or..? Read on.

 

We came in, prepared for a fight. All hyped up, I was abhorred when the game crashed the first try. Found out it is Bodhis bat form, my install simply cant handle that. 

 

So I decided to focus the vampire down immidiately. This worked, she fell after 2 seconds due to 'undead destroyed' by the mighty runehammer.

 

Things turn ugly really fast. I have no idea where those clouds are coming from.

 

Then a disgusting vorpal hit on Viconia. Come ooooonnn game, gimme a break! .

 

Eventually we are able to focus them all down. The fallen deva's and Mariliths were the most annoying, and they required liberal use of my 4 wands of spellstriking and potions. 

 

The three minor battles were made much easier by Erens spike traps. Enemies are all badly injured before the battle even started. 

Balthazar SQUASHES a demon. He's a beast. (also kept at good health by healing wand!).

 

Then Melissan summons the Five: Gromnir, Illisara, Yaga Shura, Sendai and Abazigal. Here we go!

 

Traps do decent damage. Gromnir falls first while Yaga Shura summons a firestorm.

 

The giant is smashing fire elementals why we focus our attention on HUMAN FORM (thank god) Abazigal. I was dreading the dragon form so much..

 

Then Mellisan decides to show up while 3 of the 5 are still alive..

 

The schockwave (from Yaga Shura dying or from the Bhaals essence?) blasts us all down, including Mellissan (haha!)

 

Spellstriking wand soooo good.. UAI is a godsend. 

 

Here we draw first blood on Mellissan. Everything seems to be going well.

Brave Balthazar crits for 56 with his fists of iron but only gets 14 through.

 

Then disaster. Mellissan timestops and starts beating up Eren. She even holds him with her attacks. Im freaking out (so much I forgot to take a screenshot). She even whirlwinds and starts hitting even harder. I'm praying for the timestop to end and Eren's HP to hold. Luckely, he has an amazing 259 hp (remembering I could cast a familiar scroll (UAI) just before the final battle helped..).

 

That ferret familiar turns out to make the difference, as Eren survives with a mere 15 hp left.. thats the fracking second time that happened in this run..

 

Mellissans hits KNOCK HIM BACK when time starts running, which actually SAVES Eren because he's out of her reach now so Mellissan isnt able to finish the job even with Eren being held. A heal from Nalia's planetar takes away my big worries.. That was close as hell.

 

Then suddenly Illisara shows up, shooting and killing our planetar. Melissan kills Haer Dalis. We focus on Illisandra.

 

After Viconias chunk, we lose another member permanently: Nalia gets destroyed by some kind of special spell from Melissan, creating a blade barrier that targets enemies and sticks on them. Eren sees the lass dissapear screaming in a whirlwind of knives and blood....

 

Then another friend falls.. I resurrect Haer Dalis at the wrong time. SCS rules: wand only resurrects, not heals as well. SCS AI Mellissan grabs this opportunity to chunk the poor bard, just as he opens his eyes.... two deaths happening very quickly..

 

We take down Illisara, the last of the five. More face to face with Melissan. We WILL TAKE YOU DOWN WITCH!

 

..

..

..

 

..

..

..

 

Then, finally, it is over indeed.....

 

Balthazar releases his essence, and Eren decides to stay human. This god business is not for me/him. All the gods we've met were petty fools and Eren cant wait to travel the lands again, as a mere (albeit very powerful) mortal..

 

This is how I imagine the last remaining heroes Eren, Valygar and Mazzy, having packed all their stuff and ready to continue on or return home..:

 

Valygar, lvl 29. 

Strongest vanquished: the red dragon Saladrex. 

Token weapons: Celestial fury, Flail of ages+5, The answerer, Hindo's Doom+4.

 

Mazzy, lvl 22.

Strongest vanquished: the black dragon Carnifex.

Token weapons: Ravager+6.

 

Eren, Last Child, lvl 39. (Eren almost reached the XP cap for TOB).

Strongest vanquished: Firkraag, but I'm gonna say Melissan.

Token weapons: Carsomyr the Holy Avenger +6 (My God what a weapon, definitely the most powerful blade in the game..), Klogarath.

 

----------------------------

 

So.. This run has been amazing. BG has always been my favorite game(s) of all times, and my dream was to one day finish a no reload challenge. Although I consider myself expert at the game itself, SCS Ascension was completely fresh, and some moments were hairraising, like a timestop-attack from Irenicus and Mellissan, or the time confused Eren just kept going and slew a wall of about 12 elementals and demons in Watchers keep.

 

Eventually though, Eren, truly the last child at the end, made it through with the help of legendary companions like good old Keldorn, powerful Edwin, and my dear Jaheira, who got splintered to little pieces by Adalon's breath dealing 176 damage.

 

I think Eren being a thief helped a lot. Roleplaying a shadowy pc always makes me play more carefully, and I always put him third in line so he was shielded by two companions. Carsomyrs magic resistance and high hp also helped a lot (!). 

And as you could see ALL of the npc's paid for that strategy and died permanently, except for Aerie, Jan, Valygar and Mazzy (and Balthazar). Eren will remember the fallen for as long as he lives. 

 

Finally I'd like to say: Thanks for all your support. I couldnt have done it without you guys! 

 

And good luck! I'll stay around supporting and reading your episodes doing this amazing challenge! If you guys ever need advice or anything just ask. 

 

Cheers!

 

Golden28 (Alexander from Holland)

[Blackraven]

Dude... beating SCS Ascension on your first try should be illegal. Don't you agree?   
I'm not going to assume you cheated because I'm not like that. However I confess that the thought did come to me for a brief moment, simply because SCS Ascension is just so hard and different from the original game and because you lost so many NPCs, forcing you to use underleveled alternatives. You know, in a way the fact that I had that thought is a big compliment. It shows how grand your achievement really is. You have my deepest respect. Congratulations from a compatriot.   
 
It's a pity that Eren's story has ended, and that you're not interested in doing other playthroughs. I really liked your posts; they were always full of drama and excitement.

[corey_russell]

Golden28 - I am having difficulty finding your beginning posts, partly because you had so many characters named Eren...can you or some one else get me those links for the Hall of Heroes? Thanks.

[Serg BlackStrider]

Dude... beating SCS Ascension on your first try should be illegal. Don't you agree?   

 

Well, BlackStrider The Blade also beat SCS Ascension on the first try ever back then. It took a lot of preparations though (watching a ton of youtube videos, inspecting many posts here - Alesia's in particular) so I was somewhat aware of what to expect there and how I should perform. All I want to say - it's possible even if incredibly hard   And congratulations, Golden! Great run!

[Blackraven]

Well, BlackStrider The Blade also beat SCS Ascension on the first try ever back then. It took a lot of preparations though (watching a ton of youtube videos, inspecting many posts here - Alesia's in particular) so I was somewhat aware of what to expect there and how I should perform. All I want to say - it's possible even if incredibly hard   And congratulations, Golden! Great run!

Wow, didn't know that Serg. It makes your achievement just like Golden's all the more impressive to me.

Personally I'm more of an intuitive player, not very methodological. So it's not likely going to happen for me the way Golden, Alesia (repeatedly), and you have pulled it off.

[Serg BlackStrider]

Personally I'm more of an intuitive player, not very methodological. So it's not likely going to happen for me the way Golden, Alesia (repeatedly), and you have pulled it off.

Yes, as a man of technical mindset I prefer a clearly calculated approach and I do not rush headlong into the fray. Knowing your enemy (its strengths and weaknesses) doesn't hurt either. But when you'll beat Mel *blindfolded* (and I'm sure this will happen pretty soon), relying only on your intuition, I'll be applauding you standing up as this will be a far greater achievement. Looking forward for that eagerly 

[Golden28]

@Blackraven: Thanks for your words. I am also sad his adventure ended but now I can play other games haha. And yes I love the drama . This was also a kind of personal, emotional struggle, like I needed to finish this awesome game at least 1 time on no reload.. There is just so much nostalgia and respect for the makers of this game..

 

About me beating Ascension on the first try: it wasnt really blind because I read about (most of) the improved foes in advance, like there being a Tamah, and Melissan summoning the five. Other than that, blame years of (non scs but still) experience, powerful npc's (like Keldorn) and weapons (like Carsomyr and FOA). Also believe it or not, I didnt think Ascension was THAT hard..: Once you hit epic levels and find clear strategies like tactical trap use, hardiness usage and wand of spellstriking spams you are able to cut through all resistance, if you prepare adequately and have a strong team (I need at least 4) that is. Even if some npc's die, Eren remained a level 39 thief with UAI (Carsomyr, Belt of inertial barrier, amulet of power, White dragon armor, etc.) and 259 hp . Although the biggest rush comes from 'intuitive' play, as Serge Blackstrider said.

 

Also, Blackraven, dont underestimate yourself. There were a few instances where I was sure you'd make it. An example is one of your multiclasses, I believe it was a thief/mage or thief/cleric dwarf, dying against the black dragon in Suldanesselar. I was very surprised by that, knowing you to be a quality and careful player normally. I am still waiting for you to make it as well, Im a big fan of your runs. You just gotto make it the run of all runs.. 

 

@Serge Blackstrider. Thanks for the congratulations.

 

@Corey, thanks for asking. The first (and last:P) BG1 post I made, here:

http://forum.bioware...8#entry19114876

Note: this is the original Eren, Last Child game but I added the 'last child' in BG2 and changed his picture 2 times. 

 

The first BG2 post: http://forum.bioware...8#entry19125318

 

The end post: http://forum.bioware...6#entry19259093

 

Extra: Eren, Last Child was a human Kensai9/Thief39, lawful neutral in the end. Mods: (Enhanced Edition) SCS, Ascension, Rogue Rebalancing, Tweaks. Difficulty: Core. Player: Golden28 (Alex from Holland). 

Thanks .

 

Cheers!

[Blackraven]

Yes, as a man of technical mindset I prefer a clearly calculated approach and I do not rush headlong into the fray. Knowing your enemy (its strengths and weaknesses) doesn't hurt either. But when you'll beat Mel *blindfolded* (and I'm sure this will happen pretty soon), relying only on your intuition, I'll be applauding you standing up as this will be a far greater achievement. Looking forward for that eagerly 

Haha, you're very kind Serg, and more optimistic than I am. 
I don't think *blindfolded* is a suitable metaphor, because I do use metagame knowledge. I also think that with less time on my hands and thus fewer opportunities to make it into ToB, I'll be willing to compromise a bit, and actually 'prepare' for the ToB stuff instead of relying on my improvisational skills hehe.

 

@Blackraven: Thanks for your words. I am also sad his adventure ended but now I can play other games haha. And yes I love the drama . This was also a kind of personal, emotional struggle, like I needed to finish this awesome game at least 1 time on no reload.. There is just so much nostalgia and respect for the makers of this game..

 

About me beating Ascension on the first try: it wasnt really blind because I read about (most of) the improved foes in advance, like there being a Tamah, and Melissan summoning the five. Other than that, blame years of (non scs but still) experience, powerful npc's (like Keldorn) and weapons (like Carsomyr and FOA). Also believe it or not, I didnt think Ascension was THAT hard..: Once you hit epic levels and find clear strategies like tactical trap use, hardiness usage and wand of spellstriking spams you are able to cut through all resistance, if you prepare adequately and have a strong team (I need at least 4) that is. Even if some npc's die, Eren remained a level 39 thief with UAI (Carsomyr, Belt of inertial barrier, amulet of power, White dragon armor, etc.) and 259 hp . Although the biggest rush comes from 'intuitive' play, as Serge Blackstrider said.

 

Also, Blackraven, dont underestimate yourself. There were a few instances where I was sure you'd make it. An example is one of your multiclasses, I believe it was a thief/mage or thief/cleric dwarf, dying against the black dragon in Suldanesselar. I was very surprised by that, knowing you to be a quality and careful player normally. I am still waiting for you to make it as well, Im a big fan of your runs. You just gotto make it the run of all runs.

 

Thanks Alex/Golden for the words of encouragement and for your tips. Like you I also want to finish my favorite game at least once in no-reload mode.
The character you mentioned was Scintilla, Gnome Cleric/Illusionist, who looked very good indeed for most of the game. I'll just keep trying.

Anyway hope you keep dropping by every once in while. Tot ziens

[corey_russell]

Congratulations, Golden28! Eren, the Last Child has been entered into the Hall of Heroes.

[Golden28]

Thanks Corey!

 

@Blackraven. Right, Scintilla. She was powerful enough to make it.  And I also remember Norgath doing improved Irenicus BY HIMSELF.. So keep trying. 

 

En tot ziens

 

Cheers!

[Serg BlackStrider]

Update of Impish Face & Co (Lich Hunt, or what could possibly go wrong?)

 

With Elemental Lich already defeated only the Shade one remains before we could start tackling with Kangaxx. Once his pre-buffs fired we observed them - Spell Trap, Spell Shield, SI:Abj... Easy going: double RRR followed with Khelben's, right? Wrong! Both Nalia and Imoen simultaneously cast RRR (which should have shut  Spell Shield and Spell Trap) followed with Khelben's and Pierce Magic (just in case I've missed some Spell Deflection/Turning). This should have made him naked vs Breach but he ate three of those unharmed. My guess was that the fact both RRR hit at once means that due to some kind of engine quirks only Spell Shield was shut and Spell Trap ate all those followed spells. This prolonged the fight quite noticeably. And even though we prevailed in the end that meant that we were forced just to wait out his buffs to expire - not that pleasant outcome, if you ask me...

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

  

 

 

Out of curiosity I re-made the fight later just to check my thoughts. This time first only Nalia fired RRR - Spell Shield is down. Imoen added her - no more Spell Trap. Nalia hit with Khelben's - SI:Abj shut. Impish Face fired Breach - soon dead Lich. Now that's how all this should work:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway Shade Lich is destroyed and we can took an audience with Kangaxx. I tried to make this encounter as clean as possible, honestly, but it turned out as a complete mess... To spare our spells for his Demi Moore Lich form we opened with double Death Fog only to witness a Pro vs Acid in his pre-buff list... He had Spell Shield there as well and added another one via Spell Trigger so we need to remove them both (cheater!). Meanwhile he removed our buffs via Wish spell and hit with Sphere of Chaos, thank you very much!. We will come back later, if you do not mind... 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few hours later we came back rebuffed only to be stripped of them all immediately again with his un-limited Wish. "How true it is, Viccy, how true..."

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Once he flipped we tried a clean approach at first but after Jaheira being level drained to F3/D2 (four levels per hit of Trap the Soul), wasted several Pro Undead scrolls (he completely ignored them - scrolls, not chars), Spell Immunity scrolls (after the memorized ones were shut down) and some valuable potions (like Potions of Invulnerability) we ended (after he used both his Spellstrikes) with Mazzy applied the Pro Magic scroll and bashed him into submission with Mace of Disruption. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Even less pleasant outcome and we yet to develop a solid, clean and satisfying approach in the future but at least we survived and have a pretty nice ring.

 

One last shopping in Athkatla and onto the Suldanessellar!

 

to be continued...

[Blackraven]

Good stuff Serg! Your definition of 'mess' is a stricter one than mine. Yes you spent a few green scrolls, but no damage taken, and three Liches down
Good luck in Suldanessalar and (presumably) Hell!

[Grond0]

I see it's all been happening while I've been busy - congratulations Golden on defeating Mel's latest attempt to become an evil god .

 

And I'm looking forward to seeing Impish Face join the list of successes in due course.

[Grond0]

Gate70/Grond0 multiplayer attempt 80 - (update 4)

Evan, halfling shadowdancer (Grond0) & Porril, human ranger (Gate70)

 

A session yesterday saw this pairing tick off a few more encounters.

 

The Troll Mound in the Druid Grove saw the trolls pulled away in ones and twos and killed pretty easily.  There was a nasty moment though against the druids.  There's a bit of an oddity there that the druids are counted as hostile even while still blue-circled and, as a result, Porril was affected by a horror cast at the trolls attacking.  He ran round for a bit before running across Kyland Lind and more druids.  

Spoiler

Fortunately he ran away again quite quickly and Evan managed to leave the berserk warrior behind to prevent the druids following - though both characters were hit by call lightning strikes before returning to get revenge.

Spoiler

The myconids also had a decent go at a confused Porril 

Spoiler

before Cernd got the opportunity for a healthy snack.

Spoiler

 

Back in Trademeet the duo did Tiris a favour and cleansed the local tomb before setting off for Windspear Hills.  There were some golem problems there with Porril nearly dying when he tried to use the efreeti as a distraction and was hit both by golems and a fireball from his new 'friend' - Evan had already been poisoned there, but decided no potion was necessary with as many as 5 HPs still left.  

Spoiler

Porril's ability to cast clerical spells allowed him to protect against the genies' fire, but the spell doesn't last long so he needed to rest a couple of times to finish them off.  Summons then helped out against Samia and provided a fairly comfortable victory.

Spoiler

 

More golems provided another nasty moment when two hit at once when Evan tried sneaking in and running after his attack.  

Spoiler

Porril eventually cleaned them up, though they were still hitting him quite easily despite wearing a defensive girdle.  Tazok and his cronies proved no obstacle and the final activity of the session saw Conster discovering Kitthix waiting for him when he teleported upstairs and he couldn't cope with the distraction.

Spoiler

 

There's still a bit of work left in the dungeon, though Firkraag won't be tackled for a while longer - the Shadowdancer class doesn't have traps so the easy way to kill him with a thief isn't available.

 

Stats:

Evan, shadowdancer 16, 72 HPs (incl. 6 from ioun stone), 171 kills

Porril, ranger 12, 119 HPs (incl. 5 from Helm), 347 kills, 0 deaths (1 in BG1)

[Hansefar]

Huge congrats Golden28! It has been very fun to follow Eren, Last Child.

 

I admit I've always found UAI overpowered, and this didn't change my POW. I must say I feel encouraged to try a thief due to Eren - just to feel the sweet victory when beating SCS Ascension, which I have never succeded with.

[Golden28]

@Grond0. Thanks! You especially must know the feeling of beating a NRC. It feels good . 

 

@Hansefar. Thanks! UAI is very good, I agree, but overpowered?.. Rogue Rebalancing didnt change it while they did change time traps. Wearing heavy armor makes you unable to use thief abilities and there are already very good thief only items. The only amazing item is obviously Carsomyr, which I must admit is kinda weird in the hands of a thief . As to using scrolls and wands, in my opinion thieves should already be able to use some wands and scrolls. Lastly, thieves never gets beyond -5 THACO so a paladin wielding Carsomyr with wirlwind attacks and a summoned deva by his side might actually be a lot more powerful. Kensai/thief Eren was very powerful though, and the added bonus of traps and rediculous backstabs is great! And as I said before, I might have only finished this run because I played a thief because I automatically played a lot more cautious (as a thief should). 

 

Please try one and see how you like him and post your adventures here! I'd love to read them.

 

Cheers!

[Gate70]

Well done Golden28. I'd have thought human form Abazigal in the final battle was not easy either.

 

Blaggerd is getting into the habit of making undocumented progress, hence not everything he does will be remembered. After spending too long waiting for Korgan to recuperate at a tavern he recruits Viconia, reputation plummeting further to 3. Reluctantly brought back up to 5 (freeing the slaves).

 

The money made from abolishing slavery is enough to draw the attention of Valen and Brus. Blaggerd remains neutral for the time being. Jan picks the pocket of Mistress Ada after stealing her necklace while Mae'Var risks life and limb "Was I speaking kobold? Don't bother me until you've got the STATUETTE from the LATHANDERIAN TEMPLE!"

 

Yip, we got it now.

 

Dorn and Korgan could both do with some better armour, and Captain Dennis rapidly obliges.

 

Mencar Pebblecrusher trades his last insult with Korgan. n.b. Dennis and Mencar look like a spot-the difference competition

 

Korgan soaks up spells from Gaius until his protection expires, at which point his resistance to poison is put to the test.

(could have tried poisoned fists against him to reduce the risk to Korgan)

 

Blaggerd. Blackguard 10. 175 kills. Lilacor.

Dorn. Blackguard 10. 60 kills. Rancor.

Korgan. Berserker 10. 44 kills. Hangard's Axe +2 in melee mode.

Jan. Illusionist 9 / Thief 10. 9 kills. Flasher launcher, bolts switched to flashers as required.

Viconia. Cleric 10. Sling of Seeking +1.

[Gate70]

Haer'Dalis has been rescued and wants to join the party. Blaggerd agrees, only to see the Tiefling blade arrested. An open portal is the only invite Korgan, Dorn and Blaggerd need to see what swag lies beyond.

 

The Master of Thralls summons two huge elementals for protection but Blaggerd has already squeezed in between them (scrollback)

Spoiler

 

After inspecting each cell and looting them clean, it is time for Blaggerd and Dorn to set about the Warden. More scrollback shows his contingencies are wasted.

Spoiler

 

Haer'Dalis briefly rejoins (taking the Melodic Chain armour), and is then left at the inn.

[Gate70]

With Haer'Dalis gone there is a spare party slot, nabbed by Edwin. Renal Bloodscalp hands over a sword to go with the leather armour and boots taken from Mae'Var and Blaggerd considers his options. Jan departs, with Hexxat recruited for some tomb-walking.

 

Sansuki is rescued from vampires, with a subsequent trip to the Graveyard District. Edwin immediately mentions the Nether Scroll while Bodhi is lurking nearby, so Hexxat has to wait until Edwin has dealt with Neveziah the Lich. Dracomir seems to know Hexxat, but does not recognise her. Blaggerd works out why this is shortly afterwards.

 

Siding with Bodhi seals the fate of Mook, although Arkanis Gath temporarily kills Hexxat before Blaggerd, Dorn and Korgan finish him off. A cloak and dagger are planted in a fountain before the final task for Bodhi is revealed. Blaggerd is to enter the Shadow Thieves HQ and eliminate Aran Linvail.

 

Dedral and his training ground buddies kill Dorn as Hexxat is mazed and almost kill Blaggerd, forcing Korgan to intervene while the Blackguard casts Draw Upon Holy Might. Viconia puts a raise dead spell in her book and uses Wondrous Recall to get Dorn up again without having to rest. Suffice to say the next fight against Haz and his guards is a little ragged, with Hexxat stunned and the two Blackguards struggling to keep anyone from attacking her.

 

Finally, to Aran Linvail, without rest or full heal. Hexxat pulls her weight though.

Spoiler

 

There is almost time to take a deep breath before Blaggerd hears Aran Linvail casting another spell. Hexxat must have pinned a simulacrum. With no real way to spot where Aran is, an effort is made to clear the other enemies and try to detect his illusion. It doesn't work, but Aran has hidden for long enough for only one other thief to remain so he is heavily outnumbered when he does break cover.

Spoiler

 

There is a pile of loot that Edwin can't identify so it looks like a store visit is required.