@Grond0, its good to see Nippy making solid progress... how will Beholders be handled/ skipped?
I'm intending to handle them at some point. In fact after seeing your post I just went to the Temple sewers to check out the one there. Nippy very nearly died as a result, but finally triumphed. It still felt like hard work though, so the large groups of beholders may be left until after Spellhold ...
@realmuzzy: Sorry to hear about Bruin 
Dyara, elven Fighter/Mage/Thief (BG2, update 10)
The party's first job in the drow city was the rescue of matron mother Ardulace's daughter Phaere. On the way the party became attacked by another adventurer group...
Name Level HP Game Kills XP Game Kills Strongest Kill Deaths Dyara Fighter(12)/Mage(13)/Thief(15) 130 HP (+5) 1,985,061 (+185,665) 510 (+31) Firkraag - Korgan Berserker(21) 151 HP 1,579,425 (+161,778) 447 (+22) Chromatic Demon - Anomen Fighter(7)->Cleric(23) 124 HP 577,531 (+ 39,345) 216 (+ 9) Lich - Xan Fighter(15)/Mage(14) 79 HP (115 HP) 912,697 (+145,880) 234 (+27) Glabrezu 2x Valygar Stalker(17) 114 HP (+11) 736,727 (+122,910) 198 (+31) Demon Wraith 3x Mazzy Fighter(19) 120 HP 1,056,079 (+247,415) 253 (+36) Shade Lord 2x
To be continued...
After escaping from the Twisted Rune, Kaxir headed off to Brynnlaw. Perth the Adept relinquished a wardstone and a magical book which can summon a wyvern once a day. A Bag of Holding makes inventory management much easier, and it's not long before Irenicus is evicted from another home. The City of Caverns is briefly visited and Kaxir is staring down into the Underdark.
He purchased the Firetooth Dagger, a Staff of Earth and some potions (23/24 strength, absorbtion, fire resistance, magic protection & blocking). He also purchased four restoration scrolls after a Demon Knight drained him back to level 16 (one of the first two, so he retreated as saving throw vs spell was only 2). After a rest the remaining Demon Knights were finished off. The Kuo-Toa Prince was meleed as was an Elder Orb (1 Improved Haste > 1 GWW) and the Elder Brain. Then into Ust Natha, killing N'ashtar and co after rescuing Phaere. Neither Simyaz or N'ashtar had chance to cast Maze 
With the dragon eggs returned to Adalon he is stood at the exit to the Underdark, having obtained proficiencies in halberd, two handed sword and quarterstaff.
Weißkopf Æthelthryth and Jaheira rescued all the slaves under the Copper Coronet and got Lilacor. They picked up Nalia and they went to her castle.
After opening the drawbridge they returned to Amn to get equipment, Whilst there they attempted to wipe out the slavers. Some lizard-like mages were a REAL pain. Chaos affected the ENTIRE party. Fortunately only two of them were near each other.
Nalia was one of them and due o being held, was the one that met her demise. Jaheira was her assailant who had also been charmed. Fortunately she was out of sight of everyone else and just stood there until the spells wore off.
Despite chaos, Weißkopf and Æthelthryth killed their real enemies and the spell wore off before there was any chance of them attacking each other.
Nalia was raised and we paid the debt of a widow. We also set free a girl who had been kidnapped.
Bl-scs30 Update 2.10,
Down there?;
We decided to celebrate getting my sister back with a nice sail around the islands, however the fun turned chaotic and Imoen died… fortuitously her gear survived and we raised her without too much stress.
The natives had plots with in plots but we didn't listen past "go there and kill that" for some broken magic item and a rope that allows us to climb down deeper into the abyss.
@USS Norway. Looking good.
Thanks for the help sorting out AC in my game.
Fortunately Weisskopf didn't get killed whilst it was buggy.
EDIT
Unfortunately he did not long afterwards when the party were attacked by some very powerful vampires.
Why I don't know.
The party hadn't done anything to annoy them. (Yet)
It was the level drain which got them as they hadn't got any counter spells memorised.
Fortunately Weisskopf didn't get killed whilst it was buggy.
EDIT
Unfortunately he did not long afterwards when the party were attacked by some very powerful vampires.
You really shouldn't tempt fate that way 
.
I was still rather ambivalent about continuing him after using the antidote at Watcher's Keep, which may have been partly to blame for not using an invisibility potion as soon as the dispel came in. However, the initial trouble was down to the secret word. That's supposed to be an abjuration spell, so I presume there's some change associated with SCS 30 that lets that get rid of SI: abjuration.
I thought it was always the case with SCS that SI:Abjuration only protects against abjuration spells that are not anti-magic (which includes dispel and remove, but not for example spell thrust, secret word, pierce magic and so on)
Edit: Also sorry about Nippy It's impressive how far you can take a character with such high ideals 
Also I think Alesia uses Improved Invisibility, MSD, Spell Shield and the like to protect her SI buffs.
Condolences, Grond0.
I thought it was always the case with SCS that SI:Abjuration only protects against abjuration spells that are not anti-magic (which includes dispel and remove, but not for example spell thrust, secret word, pierce magic and so on)
Yes. SI:A doesn't stop single target spell protection removers. SI:A just foils Remove, Dispel, and in some installs Breach. Improved Anvil changes SI:A such that it does stop single target spell protection removers.
In SCSv30/Fixpack v10 installs, I protect my spell immunities from single target spell protection removers using Spell Shield, GoI, and the 6+ method. In Fixpack v10 setups, GoI will stop Spell Thrust and Secret Word. With the new Spell Shield, a concurrent Spell Shield will remain in place, allowing it to intercept the first higher level spell protection remover, Pierce Magic, Ruby Ray, Khelben's, Pierce Shield or Spellstrike, even after multiple Spell Thrusts and or Secret Words. When higher level spell protection removers are used, the Spell Shield will come down, leaving you potentially vulnerable to subsequent attacks on spell immunities and or the GoI. Recasting Spell Shield is typically the right move in this situation, but being Tenser locked prevents you from doing so. Using the 6+ approach to provide additional protection is especially important when running Tenser's. Level 6 or higher spell protections, including Spell Deflection and Spell Turning, will provide an additional layer of protection for your GoI and Spell Immunities, since single target spell protections will, roughly, work their way down. Note that in recent versions of SCS -in which Spellstrike will target through Improved Invisibility- Tenser's is far riskier than it was in earlier versions of SCS where Secret Word and Ruby Ray were the only spell protection removers that targeted through II. In earlier versions of SCS, it was possible to maintain an acceptably high magic number even against high level casters by using II + SI:D to stop all but Secret Word and Ruby Ray. GoI could then handle the Secret Words and Spell Shield and the 6+ method could protect your spell immunities from up to 5 Ruby Rays, even without recasts. No one stocks 5 Ruby Rays. With the new mechanic, Tenser locked PCs don't have a defense against the fairly common Ruby Ray->Spellstrike->Remove/Breach sequence. That's why I haven't run a melee sorcerer in V30. If there is a version of SCS that uses the new Spell Shield (which can be protected from Secret Word and Spell Thrust by GoI in v10) and also allows Secret Word and Ruby Ray alone to target through II, that, when combined with the Fixpack v10, would provide the most favorable game mechanic environment for melee sorcerers.
Anyhoo. Nice work, Grond0! Will you be giving Nippy another go?
Best,
A.
In Fixpack v10 setups, GoI will stop Spell Thrust and Secret Word. With the new Spell Shield, a concurrent Spell Shield will remain in place, allowing it to intercept the first higher level spell protection remover, Pierce Magic,
It's worth noting that if you install the beta fixes component of the Fixpack, Secret Word is bumped up to power level 5 which allows it to take down a Globe of Invulnerability. I disagree that this is a fix, but that's probably a topic better saved for the lounge.
It's worth noting that if you install the beta fixes component of the Fixpack, Secret Word is bumped up to power level 5 which allows it to take down a Globe of Invulnerability. I disagree that this is a fix, but that's probably a topic better saved for the lounge.
Yes: Beta fixes nudges Secret Word upto L5, allowing it to take down GoI.
I don't use the beta fixes component, however, I sympathize with the adjustment to Secret Word. It's not a fix, to my mind, but it is a desirable tweak. At present, the low/mid level spell mechanic is pretty broken. Since Pierce Magic rightfully gets crowded out of enemy spell books, it effectively takes at least a Ruby Ray to remove a GoI. Further, given the behavior of the new Spell Shield, Spell Shield + GoI can (again, effectively) only be taken down with, at least, two Ruby Rays (or a Khleben's), making Spell Shield + GoI + SIs + Specific Protections an overly robust regiment against low/mid level casters.
Ideally, in my opinion, the new Spell Shield would sit on top of spell protections, like the old Spell Shield did, and Secret Word would take down GoI. That would permit Spell Thrust and Secret Word to take down Spell Shield, irrespective of GoI, while granting low/mid level casters a means of taking down GoI, and thus getting at SIs/specific protections with subsequent L3-L5s.
Of course, if I were trying to stack the deck in favor of a melee sorcerer, I would not like this mechanic: I'd prefer to see GoI stop Secret Word and I'd also prefer the new Spell Shield/GoI interaction.
Anyhoo. It's good to hear from you, GrimJim! We can continue over in the lounge, if you like.
Best,
A.
Yes. SI:A doesn't stop single target spell protection removers. SI:A just foils Remove, Dispel, and in some installs Breach. Improved Anvil changes SI:A such that it does stop single target spell protection removers.
In SCSv30/Fixpack v10 installs, I protect my spell immunities from single target spell protection removers using Spell Shield, GoI, and the 6+ method. In Fixpack v10 setups, GoI will stop Spell Thrust and Secret Word. With the new Spell Shield, a concurrent Spell Shield will remain in place, allowing it to intercept the first higher level spell protection remover, Pierce Magic, Ruby Ray, Khelben's, Pierce Shield or Spellstrike, even after multiple Spell Thrusts and or Secret Words. When higher level spell protection removers are used, the Spell Shield will come down, leaving you potentially vulnerable to subsequent attacks on spell immunities and or the GoI. Recasting Spell Shield is typically the right move in this situation, but being Tenser locked prevents you from doing so. Using the 6+ approach to provide additional protection is especially important when running Tenser's. Level 6 or higher spell protections, including Spell Deflection and Spell Turning, will provide an additional layer of protection for your GoI and Spell Immunities, since single target spell protections will, roughly, work their way down. Note that in recent versions of SCS -in which Spellstrike will target through Improved Invisibility- Tenser's is far riskier than it was in earlier versions of SCS where Secret Word and Ruby Ray were the only spell protection removers that targeted through II. In earlier versions of SCS, it was possible to maintain an acceptably high magic number even against high level casters by using II + SI:D to stop all but Secret Word and Ruby Ray. GoI could then handle the Secret Words and Spell Shield and the 6+ method could protect your spell immunities from up to 5 Ruby Rays, even without recasts. No one stocks 5 Ruby Rays. With the new mechanic, Tenser locked PCs don't have a defense against the fairly common Ruby Ray->Spellstrike->Remove/Breach sequence. That's why I haven't run a melee sorcerer in V30. If there is a version of SCS that uses the new Spell Shield (which can be protected from Secret Word and Spell Thrust by GoI in v10) and also allows Secret Word and Ruby Ray alone to target through II, that, when combined with the Fixpack v10, would provide the most favorable game mechanic environment for melee sorcerers.
Anyhoo. Nice work, Grond0! Will you be giving Nippy another go?
Thanks for the information Alesia. The fact that I hadn't noticed that previously shows something about the run I suppose - combination of a typical lack of buffing and using disablers on arcane enemies ...
I probably will have another go. I'm not hopeful about my ability to take the time and trouble to buff to the extent you indicate, but continuing to avoid dangerous enemies until the PC has got access to top level spells should be possible to some extent. I hadn't actually used Tensers much in that run and maybe I should think about dropping that and relying on BBoD to improve THAC0 later on ...
I probably will have another go.
Glad to hear it.
combination of a typical lack of buffing and using disablers on arcane enemies ...
Yes. I noticed that. I was glad to see you taking that approach, since I like diversity and was curious to see how it would work, but I have to admit that I'm not sold on it. It was hard for me to imagine Nippy's book working in the endgame.
I probably will have another go. I'm not hopeful about my ability to take the time and trouble to buff to the extent you indicate, but continuing to avoid dangerous enemies until the PC has got access to top level spells should be possible to some extent. I hadn't actually used Tensers much in that run and maybe I should think about dropping that and relying on BBoD to improve THAC0 later on ...
I can appreciate your desire to avoid over-buffing. Once you get IA, however, you'll be able to over-buff quickly. You may want to consider loading up on Abjuration school stuff just so that you'll have it later on. It is possible to evade high level casters until you get IA.
I wouldn't skip Tenser's personally but I would be cautious with it. My inclination would be to use it when my magic number exceeds the debuff capacity of enemies and refrain from using it otherwise.
May I ask why you didn't choose Polymorph Self?
Best,
A.
Yes. I noticed that. I was glad to see you taking that approach, since I like diversity and was curious to see how it would work, but I have to admit that I'm not sold on it. It was hard for me to imagine Nippy's book working in the endgame.
Me to - but then since I've never even started Ascension, let alone finished it I was never expecting the run to end well anyway 
.
May I ask why you didn't choose Polymorph Self?
Interesting you should ask that since I've just been rolling a character who is intended to get that capability - though not until BG2. I did consider it with Nippy, but I wanted to experiment with dual-wielding as a means of increasing APR - which actually worked pretty well. That also meant missing out on the jelly shape, but as my approach to casters had mainly been to disable them I doubt if that would have been used in Nippy's run anyway.
Impressive stuff Gate70. Good to see a kensai finally claim his rightful place on the Throne .
Congrats, Gate! Glad to see Kaxir in the hall!
Best,
A.
Wow Gate, you did it with a solo Kensai!! Congratulations on an excellent job!
@Gate: congratulations
@Grond: sorry to hear about Nippy's fate
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