15226 réponses à ce sujet

[Aasim]

Rukh can indeed be a pain - I'm actually lucky he didn't have triple Skull Trap sequencer for us. This battle is probably best left for levels 12-13-14, when Remove magic can end him quickly and force him to play defensively. We were like lambs to the slaughter there. But I really want that paldinhood back. 

Speaking of that...

Darthus, 5th BG2 update

 

Killing Samia, we stash the loot in containers, raise the dead in temple, return to Windspear, have Branwen memorize 2x Pro Fire, have her cast Pro Fire on both Darthus and Minsc and kill off the elemental guardians. Darthus finally gets a +3 weapon he has proficienies in (fwiw, it's *** in Bastard, *** Mace, * Long sword.). 

 

It has bonuses of a +1 enchanted sword, but strikes as +3. Not to shabby, but not to grand either. We'll be fixing that soon enough.

 

Anyways, further in dungeon  - no big golems (or Clay) spawns, yey. That saved some healing.

 

The hidden room was explored under invisibility - Darthus isn't yet immune to criticals and golems can potentially kill him very very quickly. Entering the last room before Firkraag, we were greeted by hostile orcs. Nalia and Chaos stand ready, while Minsc does the mop up.

 

Tazok was a different story. Minsc got badly hurt, and swithched to Heartseeker to attack from range, leaving the tanking to Darthus, which worked good enough.

 

Finally, Conster. This was by all means the most interesting battle here. Note that with current Spell Revisions Deflection-type spells protect against AoE spells as well. This naturally affects enemies as well. We had no spell removals on Nalia yet, thus decided to use AoE spells to destroy Conster's  Deflection. (the green globe surrounding him is Mesthil's Acid Sheath).

Round one, Chaos + Holy Smite. Blocked.

 

Round two, Chaos + Silence.  Deflection down.

 

Now we open him up to single-target spells.

 

Trigger, again Deflection. Rinse and repeat.

 

Flame arrow and Slow from Nalia and a Greater Command from Branwen burn through it.

 

Nalia finishes with style, using the Disintegrate scroll found in her keep.

 

Paladinhood - restored! 

[Alesia_BH]

Rukh can indeed be a pain... This battle is probably best left for levels 12-13-14, when Remove magic can end him quickly and force him to play defensively.

 

Makes sense.

 

Arcadia wasn't leveled to Remove either.

 

(As an aside, this discussion is reminding me that it's time for Arcadia to allocate some L3s to Remove. She has reached mage level 14: that's enough for many SoA foes.)

 

 Note that with current Spell Revisions Deflection-type spells protect against AoE spells as well. This naturally affects enemies as well. We had no spell removals on Nalia yet, thus decided to use AoE spells to destroy Conster's  Deflection.

 

Spell Deflection absorbs AoE spells. Interesting. I'm not sure I'd like that.

 

I suppose it would make it easier for enemy mages to debuff well protected player controlled characters. Even with anti-magic attacks penetrate Improved Invisibility installed, enemy mages frequently end up stumped and forced into dumping AoE spells. At least those spells would allow them to make debuffing progress with the SR adjustment. That could be helpful.

 

Do Melf's Minute Meteors eat into spell protections in your install?

 

Anyhoo. Congrats on reclaiming Darthus's paladinhood!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Aasim]

Spell Deflection absorbs AoE spells. Interesting. I'm not sure I'd like that.

I don't think you would, tbh. I like it since imo it  leads to a more immersive gameplay. Example: SCS will never, ever destroy your Spell protections by using spells. The way SCS AI is coded makes the "number of spell levels absorbed" part of Deflections completely irrelevant  - mages must remove your protections via Ruby Ray, Secret Word etc. I don't really like that. It can lead to a point where mages deplete spell removals and simply refuse to burn protections with spells, which is kind of suboptimal with removal of Turning spells - and likely possible, especially if you're soloing.

Hence, I changed it. You can read here the discussion we had about it.

There are pros and cons to this. Nalia can now use Deflection to absorb Chaos, so doesn't need Chaotic Commands. 

Otoh, she probably needs more slots devoted to spell protections, since they get demolished rather quickly.

Enemy mages also can't depend only on Deflections to stay safe, but it makes them harder to kill/disable with AoE.

For a soloer this would be quite a drastic setback, I agree.

 

I don't use "imp.invisibility & spell removals" part of SCS - the way this schebang is handled in SR is that True Seeing no longer dispels imp.invisibility, but it allows whoever casted it to target imp.invis. enemies (like a Lich/Dragon), and "higlights" Mislead images, making them stand out as illusions.

Basically, TS becomes one of the most important spells in the game.

There's a lot of mechanics changed alltogether (no Spell Immunity line of spells - I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like what SI:Divination has become  , Insect-type bypass MR, Haste no longer "hasting" etc.), probably too much to squeeze here. I usually point out the most important changes (example, SI:Abjuration is now Dispelling Screen, offers protection from Breach and dispel effects, which includes arrows of dispel/Carsomyr and similar - but no longer gives any protection from other Abjurations such as Imprisonment), but the overall gameplay is a bit harder to describe.

 

 

Do Melf's Minute Meteors eat into spell protections in your install?

No. They have spell power of 0.

[Alesia_BH]

I don't think you would, tbh. I like it since imo it  leads to a more immersive gameplay. Example: SCS will never, ever destroy your Spell protections by using spells. The way SCS AI is coded makes the "number of spell levels absorbed" part of Deflections completely irrelevant  - mages must remove your protections via Ruby Ray, Secret Word etc. I don't really like that. It can lead to a point where mages deplete spell removals and simply refuse to burn protections with spells, which is kind of suboptimal with removal of Turning spells - and likely possible, especially if you're soloing.

 

That part I would like- that's the pro to my mind. With the SCS mechanic, it's too easy to foil enemy mages: SI:A + SI:D + II + Spell Deflection + Spell Shield is too powerful, even with spell protection removal spells targeting through II. I'd prefer to see enemies have additional avenues for peeling protections.

 

There are pros and cons to this. Nalia can now use Deflection to absorb Chaos, so doesn't need Chaotic Commands.

 

And that's the part I wouldn't like, really: that's the con to my mind. It would potentially reduce the variety of protective spells needed.

 

For players who tend to keep their aura in reserve, and stock additional spell protections in their book for recast, it may not have the desired effect.

 

 

Enemy mages also can't depend only on Deflections to stay safe, but it makes them harder to kill/disable with AoE.

For a soloer this would be quite a drastic setback, I agree.

 

Given my playing style, I'm not convinced of that. I don't rely on AoE disablers much at all in BG2: I find it unwise to consume aura on save or else spells, since an unfavorable role can negate them. I prefer, instead, to use the spell slots that would have been allocated to AoE disablers to overstock protections. In light of that, the spell protection change may just create additional avenues to debuff enemies, while streamlining spell slot allocations on the players side.

 

Of course, the Spell Deflection change can't really be examined in isolation. The changes in SR are extensive enough that one would have to evaluate the system in totality. Doing so properly would require experimentation- something I haven't done.

 

 

No. They have spell power of 0.

 

That's the way it should be, in my opinion.

 

I've always found SR interesting. I've passed on it simply because I post on my games and using the vanilla spell mechanics makes it easier for other players to relate to the action. The majority of readers aren't familiar with SR and consequently wouldn't necessarily understand what was going on in an SR game. Were I not posting on my games, relatability would be less of an issue and I'd be more likely to try SR.

 

So you know, I, personally, am glad that we have an SR player here. I enjoy following your runs.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Blackraven]

Interesting discussion re: Spell Revisions. I've never tried the mod because I generally avoid arcane characters and (as a result) do not consider myself very good with arcane magic; the Vanilla/SCS mechanics are challenging enough for me. But I do appreciate changes that add to immersion and realism, such as wizards resorting to different strategies to remove protections. Should also make mage battles more diverse.  

Congrats on your progress and on restoring Darthus' Paladinhood Aasim!

 

[corey_russell]

Aasim said...

Anyways, further in dungeon  - no big golems (or Clay) spawns, yey. That saved some healing.

 

 

A curious statement. I often take very little damage there. The smaller golems often get stuck behind the Iron/Adamantite golem. So if you use a plus 3 range weapon (Azuredge, Crimson dart, Tasheron's short bow, MMM's, etc.) then you can plink the stone golems, plink the iron/Adamantite golem, and finally use 6 characters blunt weapons to quickly kill the last golem that cannot be killed by range (clay).

 

Congrats on getting your paladinhood back! Try not to lose it again, else you stay fallen. And note being fallen is not the end of the world Russell V, my fallen inquisitor, made it to and defeated Melissan.

[Grimwald the Wise]

A curious statement. I often take very little damage there. The smaller golems often get stuck behind the Iron/Adamantite golem. So if you use a plus 3 range weapon (Azuredge, Crimson dart, Tasheron's short bow, MMM's, etc.) then you can plink the stone golems, plink the iron/Adamantite golem, and finally use 6 characters blunt weapons to quickly kill the last golem that cannot be killed by range (clay).

 

Congrats on getting your paladinhood back! Try not to lose it again, else you stay fallen. And note being fallen is not the end of the world Russell V, my fallen inquisitor, made it to and defeated Melissan.

 

I actually position my characters to avoid having to fight the golems in both the D'Arnise Keep and Firkraag's Lair. Since they are brainless, I do not consider that to be cheating.

 

NOTE THAT THE VOCABULARY USED BY THE GNASTY GNOMES IS THEIRS. I WOULD NOT USE THAT VOCABULARY MYSELF.

 

Diary of the Gnasty Gnomes

 

Whilst in the slums I have received a note to go and help a bit of fluff who had been kidnapped.

I helped her and this raised my reputation somewhat

I also received a note to go and help another bit of skirt in the Bridge District.

 

On the way, I decided to help another the bit of fluff and was it worth it! I rescued a merchant from a villain and his daughter Ilona was VERY grateful for the service I gave her. You can take that any way you want! Let us just say that we both ended up VERY happy.

The bint in the Five Flagons has given me several profitable if morally dubious tasks to do, and now wants me to assassinate two harpers. I am not sure if I am up to that, but we will see.

 

We have been joined by Viconia.

 

[These tasks are from Mod for the Wicked, a mod that I installed due to the fact that I am playing an evil team. I would say that the hardest part is the decision making, deciding what your character would do in such a situation. So far the batttles have not been too hard.]

[Aasim]

Of course, the Spell Deflection change can't really be examined in isolation. The changes in SR are extensive enough that one would have to evaluate the system in totality. Doing so properly would require experimentation- something I haven't done.

This. It's a "system" that's changed, and that's only a part of it. In addition, that's a completely seperate component.

 

 

So you know, I, personally, am glad that we have an SR player here. I enjoy following your runs.

Tnx. Likewise.

 

 

 

 

 

Congrats on your progress and on restoring Darthus' Paladinhood Aasim!

Tnx.

 

 

A curious statement. I often take very little damage there. The smaller golems often get stuck behind the Iron/Adamantite golem. So if you use a plus 3 range weapon (Azuredge, Crimson dart, Tasheron's short bow, MMM's, etc.) then you can plink the stone golems, plink the iron/Adamantite golem, and finally use 6 characters blunt weapons to quickly kill the last golem that cannot be killed by range (clay).

 

Congrats on getting your paladinhood back! Try not to lose it again, else you stay fallen. And note being fallen is not the end of the world Russell V, my fallen inquisitor, made it to and defeated Melissan.

I only had +3 piercing arrows (I think. Or I found them at the werewolves area? Can't remember.). 

Thnx - I really, really didn't like the "fallen" status. I felt like Darthus was "plagued" or similar; I couldn't really "get into him". Am very glad that's done with.

On a same note - I doubt I'd be willing to play through Windspear hills at such low levels again. 

[corey_russell]

Aasim said...

On a same note - I doubt I'd be willing to play through Windspear hills at such low levels again. 

 

Very understandable. Windspear Hills is usually one of the last tasks my characters do before spellhold, sometimes I save it for chapter 6 (experience for Imoen).

[Demivrgvs]

I don't want to derail the topic thus I promise I'll try to be short and not post more than necessary. I just felt the need to reply to a few things.
 

With the SCS mechanic, it's too easy to foil enemy mages: SI:A + SI:D + II + Spell Deflection + Spell Shield is too powerful, even with spell protection removal spells targeting through II. I'd prefer to see enemies have additional avenues for peeling protections.

Vanilla Spell Deflection with SCS doesn't really perform its intended role but rather acts as a "you shall not pass cast spells at me". SCS even had to tweak Breach (which was bypassing SD in vanilla) in order to give you a valid reason to remove it with a spell removal (e.g. Secret Word) rather than bypass it with AoE spells or just ignore it completely, cast Breach and bash the mage to death.
 
The goal of SR's tweak was creating a "system" where you interact with SD instead of avoid/bypass/ignore it. As you say, it also has the benefit of giving multiple options to penetrate spell protections.
 

It would potentially reduce the variety of protective spells needed.

I obviously considered that, but I don't think it does. SD can be teared down in multiple ways, and very quickly if they absorb even a few mid lvl spells. They can save you from any kind of spell yes, but while they offer maximum versatility they are really lacking in terms of "sustainability".
 
That's what other spell protections offer, and the cool thing is that they combine very well now. For example if you have a Globe of Invulnerability on, it takes precedence over SD, which means that any incoming 3rd lvl spell doesn't consume SD. If you have Chaotic Commands or ProEnergy on, you can absorb an infinite amount of mind-affecting or evocation spells while saving SD for something, maybe an unexpected spell, that slips through your other protections.
 
Short story: unless you want to cast SD every 2 rounds, and dedicate tons of spell slots to it, you are still going to rely on the other spell protections imo.
 

Of course, the Spell Deflection change can't really be examined in isolation. The changes in SR are extensive enough that one would have to evaluate the system in totality. Doing so properly would require experimentation- something I haven't done.

You are spot on, and when it comes to "requiring experimentation", that's why I need good players like Kreso.
 
Revisions mods are what they are only thanks to players and their feedback. It's a shame you are not likely going to give it a chance. I'm sure your feedback would be very valuable.

[Aasim]

Demi! Fancy seeing you here

 

Some (very little) progress was done today - Darthus, 6th BG2 update

 

Sorcerous Amon group

We opened up with a swift attack on the mage. Thinking about this, I probably shouldn't be doing this, but what the hell. 

 

Nalia's Chaos was enough to make the opossition softer. The thief didn't escape our wrath either - Greater Command by Branwen nailed him down.

 

Second battle - sewers group. 2x Ice Storm opener followed by Chaos.

 

 

Nobody survived that + Minsc with +3 piercing arrows. Gaius died to Ice Storms.

 

Finally, Rakshasa was killed as well. Minsc gets his cloak (immunity to Disease, +1 AC).

 

Now, some real shopping - Mace of Disruption + Periapt of Life Protection from Lathander temple; the mace is mostly unchanged (+3, slay undead on failed save vs spells), Periapt gives level drain immunity and immunity to death effects - Darthus gets this. I also bought him Boots of Grounding (unsurprisngly, Talos temple sells a pair of those).

[Alesia_BH]

It's good to see you, Demivrgvs!

 

I'll be concise in the interest of getting us back on topic.

 

The goal of SR's tweak was creating a "system" where you interact with SD instead of avoid/bypass/ignore it. As you say, it also has the benefit of giving multiple options to penetrate spell protections.

 

Makes sense.

 

For example if you have a Globe of Invulnerability on, it takes precedence over SD, which means that any incoming 3rd lvl spell doesn't consume SD. If you have Chaotic Commands or ProEnergy on, you can absorb an infinite amount of mind-affecting or evocation spells while saving SD for something, maybe an unexpected spell, that slips through your other protections.

 

Got it. That goes a long way toward resolving the potential issue I raised.

 

 It's a shame you are not likely going to give it a chance. I'm sure your feedback would be very valuable.

 

I may give it a try someday. From what I've gathered, it's a well thought out system, with a community of committed players. Keep up the good work!

 

Cheers,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Arcadia's Game:

 

These pirates need some target practice. That's one of the worst misses I've ever seen.

 

(Although it could have been worse: Arcadia wasn't running Shield or wearing the Gloves of Missile Snaring- nor was she taking adjustments through her armor slot.)

[Aasim]

Darthus, 7th BG2 update

 

Not much, really, but I like to post as soon as I'm finished playing or I get lazy. Did Ilithium, Fallen Paladins and paladin stronghold quests.

The most notable thing about the first one was a high-leveled scroll found.

 

Second is a bit harder due to a high-level mage, but his prebuff only included MGoI as a spell protection. Chaos did it.

(the "White Fireshield" around Darthus is one of KR Cavalier's unique spells - it hurts oponnents which try to hit him in melee with magic damage. Unlike a regular Fireshield, hit doesn't need to be succesfull.)

 

Third one is the hardest to pull off, and some rearangement of memorized spells is neccecary. Most notably, Branwen memorizes True Seeing. The assassin thief there goes straight for stairs, and if he succeeds it's very difficult to keep the brat alive. In this instance, his own mage friend blocked the starway. 

 

Chaos broke them.

 

Nalia died here, 2nd time to Ogre Berserkers. The brat came down after assassins were killed and started to run around amongst ogres. Luckilly, they seemed to ignore her. 

 

Regardless, we killed them, got our reward (Darthus now gets Confusion immunity with Pride of the Order), and should now get to kill some vampires.

[Aasim]

Darthus, 8th BG2 update

 

We killed some vampires.  Before that, we cleared out the spider lair, Branwen's Greater Command managed to go through Pai-na's MR and we chopped her. What was left of spiders Nalia confused.

 

Since I no longer use SCS vampires (too annoying + need to rest after each bunch due to CON drain), this was done rather quickly. Only "improved" enemy (apart aTweaks Ghoul Lords, but that was a mild nuissance in BG1, not anymore) was Tanova. She mazed Darthus, but Nalia was succesfull with Remove magic, shortening the battle a lot.

 

 

It didn't take long for Bodhi to flee from us. Next session (likely tonight) we should be clearing Trademeet and level 1 of WK, since I need a lot of gold before going to SpellHold. We are currently at levels 11-12, Branwen being the closest to 13th.

[Aasim]

Darthus, 9th BG2 update

 

Both level 1 WK (up to the point where the book, the bell and the candle are to be placed on the altar) and Trademeet are done. WK had no nasty surprises (Vampiric Wraith) but I didn't even bother with Farsight - Minsc and Darthus are both powerful enough to deal with those now. The statues gave Minsc a fair beating, but we survived without much harm.

 

Druids were fairly straightforward, the only bump being Rakshasas - Nalia managed to succesfully dispel two of them; which helped immensly.

 

They threw lots of fireballs (they're amongst the very few SCS enemies which use this spell), but it didn't help them any.

 

 

Druid bunch - Chaos + Greater Command.

 

Cernd had to be adopted (and buffed!) to take care of Faldorn (she kills him otherwise very quickly); then we report our double success to genies and major. Bought Cloak of Displacement and Inertial Barrier girdle, both for Darthus. 

Next, we travel to Umar Hills to do the minor quests there, kill the rangers, pick up Valygar, open Planar Sphere door, drop Valygar, and should now return to Trademeet to buy some more stuff - after that we leave for Spellhold. I don't want Imoen to miss up on a lot of XP.

[Blackraven]

Glorydd, Dwarven Fighter/Thief, 4th update

Glorydd had another adventure waiting for her outside Athkatla: helping the troubled people of Trademeet. The village was under attacks from animals, and Dao Djinns had monopolized all trade. An aggressive Druid community in the wilds east of Trademeet were the suspected cause of the animal attacks, Glorydd learnt from High Merchant Logan Coprith and from a friendly Druid named Cernd.

The Dwarf traveled to the community to see if the Druids could be reasoned with. She was respectful of nature and she thanked many of her abilities to having spents months in the wilds. At the same time she considered the animal attacks an extreme measure against whatever wrong the people of Trademeet had committed.

 

In the wilds she encountered and slew different types of monsters: Trolls (including - with Kitthix' help - Spirit Trolls), Spiders and Fungi. But her most challenging encounter was with an (aTweaked) Elder Earth Elemental. It could go invisible at will, cause earthquakes that knocked victims unconscious and it was immune to Glorydd's (+2) weapons. Glorydd set three snares and used Kitthix to lure the creature toward them. (She could not do the luring of the invisible creature herself because earthquake-caused unconsciousness would likely result in death.) The Spider even managed to deal some damage. The traps injured the Elemental; their delayed poison damage didn't. An Efreeti was summoned (from a bottle Glorydd had nicked from a Dao Djinn in Trademeet), but neither the Efreeti nor Kitthix would deal much damage before an earthquake meant the end of both summons. Glorydd survived because she had gone improved invisible with her Ring of Air Control. She healed herself and then saw the Elemental go invisble. A Vhailor's simulacrum, Glorydd's last summon, caused the creature to show itself again, allowing the Dwarf to fry it with three potions of firebreath.

The remainder of her journey to the Druid Grove was less eventful. She bought some potions from an old witch, helped a party of Druids fight a pack of Trolls (but failed to save any of the humans), and she had a violent encounter with another group of Druids, whose Insect Plagues and summons gave Glorydd a hard time, until their leader yielded. Two more Druids, in front of the Grove, opposed Glorydd, but she dealt with them using dispelling and acid arrows. She met Cernd [who was level 14, probably because of the level 1 NPCs mod which makes NPCs have more or less the same amount of XP as Charname when they join the party] and rested with him.

Cernd challenged the (Shadow) Druid leader, a woman named Faldorn, to a duel. She accepted. Faldorn went improved invisible, but Cernd positioned himself next to her and cast Nature's Beauty, which blinded Faldorn. He then summoned Woodland Beings, Fire Elementals and wild animals to provoke Faldorn into attacking and thus making herself visible. Faldorn did indeed attack whatever creatures came up close to her, but the summons counterattacked, and slew Faldorn. Cernd stayed at the Grove to reorganize it and to restore relations with Trademeet.

 

Glorydd returned to Trademeet where, protected by a potion of stone form and buffed with an oil of speed, she slew the Dao Djinn leader after he'd refused to leave the townspeople be. [This was not very well played. For one I should have first traded with him, and secondly his lackeys disappeared when Khan Zahraa fell, so Glorydd obtained less XP than she could have, which fortunately isn't a big deal for a solo character.] The High Merchant and the townspeople were extremely happy with Glorydd. They even raised a statue in her memory. Merchants promised her they'd soon offer her some fine goods at special prices. Glorydd liked that because she had been rewarded a generous amount of gold to spend.

 

First however she had to return to Athkatla on guild business. In the Athkatla Bridge District Glorydd learnt that in spite of her arguably heroic feats, she had no reason to stop being the modest Dwarf she had always tried to be.

She bought an enchanted scimitar from a poor man who needed the gold to save his ill, endangered father. She had little use for the item though, she wasn't even proficient in scimitars, so she sold it. At the southern end of the bridge she then ran into a girl demoness that claimed to be the owner of the blade. Glorydd would have returned the sword had she still possessed it. Now all she could do was defend herself. The demoness hit much harder than Glorydd did, even though the Dwarf landed a few good hits herself. She had to apply an oil of speed and quaff various potions of extra healing to keep going. Some of the Bridge District residents vilified Glorydd for gating in the demoness, unwilling to believe that Glorydd had done no such thing. Eventually, and much to Glorydd's chagrin, the day was saved by the intervention of the contemned Cowled ones. They imprisoned the Demoness. If asked, Glorydd would have probably preferred to die, rather than to rely on the help of that corrupt clique. All in all it was a humbling experience for the Dwarf.

 

Her humor didn't improve in the Docks District, for she got fooled by the Harpers there. A brief talk with a wizard named Xzar, whom she had briefly met before during her travels on the Sword Coast, resulted in her agreement to release his friend Montaron from imprisonment in the Harper compound. It was the same building where she had previously delivered poisoned Renfeld into Rylock's care This time, instead of being allowed entrance, Rylock required her to first perform a task for him - slaying two monster summoning wizards. She did the job, and was allowed to enter the premises. When she had finally managed to bring 'Montaron', who had supposedly been changed into a bird, from his cage to Xzar, the bird promptly transformed into an assassin, not Montaron, and slew Xzar. The assassin escaped Glorydd's clutches, but the Dwarf took revenge on three Spectral Harpists inside the compund and pledged never to do the treacherous Harpers any favors again.

 

She left the city for Trademeet, and on her way enjoyed immersing herself in the revigorating energy of the great outdoors. It raised her spirits considerably. In Trademeet she was well-received. She was given discounts on several goods (but gave herself even better 'discounts' on most, not all, of those goods). Glorydd also followed a lead to Riejek the skinner who had barely escaped from her grasp a good tenday before. She slew both the tanner and an associate, and with that feat saved one of their victims from certain death. Finally she put an old family feud to rest by retrieving the Mantle of Waukeen from a tomb, and bringing it to the High Merchant.

 

Glorydd had little else to do in Trademeet, but was uneager to return to Athkatla. She then remembered her promise to young Nalia d'Arnise and decided to travel to the d'Arnise Hold, midway between Trademeet and Athkatla. The lands surrounding the keep were relatively quiet except for the occasional Troll, and for a Dryad named Phluafae that somehow knew of the acorns that Glorydd had promised Irenicus' slaves to bring to a sister of theirs, in the Windspear Hills. Glorydd didn't trust Phluafae and refused to hand over the acorns, a decision she was told she would regret. When she arrived at the keep, she met Nalia and a d'Arnise guard in a provisory encampment outside. Nalia finally told the Dwarf of her troubles. The keep had been invaded by Trolls.

It was a tiding that worried Glorydd. She had dealt with Trolls in the wilds surrounding Trademeet. The creatures had proved hard to kill, and quite dangerous, especially the Spirit Trolls. Nalia showed Glorydd a secret entrance into the keep and offered to join Glorydd but the Dwarf, unwilling to put the young woman's life at risk, told Nalia to wait for her, and went inside alone. The ground floor was infested with the creatures. She counted about fifteen, but there could have been more, for she knew Spirit Trolls shared her habit of keeping to the shadows. Glorydd only showed herself twice, to stop Trolls from killing d'Arnise household members. Alas, she failed to slay the monsters in time on both occasions. One of the rooms contained a magical forge that allowed her to make an enchanted Flail that dealt cold damage with each hit. Glorydd had found that certain creatures seemed more vulnerable to blunt weapons like flails or staves than to her blades, and for that reason had extensively trained herself in the use of her Defender of Easthaven flail, a defensive weapon she had picked up in Athkatla from a merchant from Icewind Dale. [note Blackraven: Glorydd had become specialized when she reached level 12 as a Fighter.] She kept the Flail in her pack.

 

Upstairs she spotted more Trolls in the corridors, and in the keep library, a Yuan-Ti surrounded by a few Trolls. She had dealt with the fighting snakemen before, in the slaver compound in Athkatla, but this one started an incantation when she snuck past it... a Yuan-Ti Mage. Glorydd realized that her situation called for swift action. Before the creature could finish the incantation, Glorydd positioned herself behind it and severed its head and body with a single strike of her blade. This obviously caught the attention of the Trolls, so she had to fight those as well. She bested the creatures in melee combat and finished them off with acid arrows fired from her trusty Tuigan bow. On one of the shelves Glorydd found the all-important keep key. With it she would be able to open various locked doors.

She climbed a stairway to the roof of the Keep. Walking the battlements she found a lever with which she could lower the drawbridge and allow a host of d'Arnise Guards to enter the courtyard, and the keep, to deal with the Trolls. Glorydd went down again, back to the library. She had leave the library through the same door she had originally opened to enter it, for Trolls had blocked the other doorway. In one of the locked rooms she met the d'Arnise guard captain, a man named Glaicus. Unfortunately he had been charmed by the Trolls or perhaps a Yuan-Ti. He was openly hostile. Glorydd attempted to charm him with her Ring of Human Influence, but failed. Eventually she saw no other option than to slay the dangerous man before he could do any harm to her or others still about. She did this with a (Staff of Striking) backstab and her Defender of Easthaven. From his body she picked up a flail head that was similar in shape as the pale white ice-head on the flail she had forged on the ground floor, but it was different in color, green as grass.

Another, larger room contained a six Golems, standing still but pulsating with an energy that made them look very much alive. Glorydd remembered the difficulties she'd had with two Golems in Irenicus' Dungeon. It made her decide to destroy them, as a preventive measure. Each time she hit one of the creatures, it would fight back. The only Golem to really cause her trouble was a massive Iron Golem. She chose to attack it from the shadows to prevent it from inflicting massive damage until it fell. In the back of the room she found a number of enchanted weapons she took as payment for her hard work, as well as a third, crimson flail-head. She forged the different components into the Flail of Ages, a wonderful weapon.

 

There was only one area of the keep for Glorydd left to investigate, the cellars. In one room she had to fight a pack of Trolls, and in another a pack of Umber Hulks she bottlenecked in a doorway. The latter battle cost her an oil of speed and a potion of clarity. But perhaps it was for the best that she had used those items because she might otherwise have shunned a confrontation with the creatures she encountered in a large room nearby, a burial chamber it seemed. There were two Giant Trolls, an Elder Umber Hulk, two Yuan-Ti Mages, three or four Spirit Trolls, and one enormous Troll, larger even than the Giant Trolls. 

At the entrance Glorydd placed three of her traps, to ensure herself an easy escape should she have to flee. Hidden in shadows she entered the vault a second time. She discerned a corpse in front of one of the tombs, and would have approached if the largest Troll hadn't spoken to her. He had somehow smelled her presence, and when the Dwarf retreated, the Troll - TorGal he had called himself - followed Glorydd, with his minions in his wake. TorGal triggered the traps. The initial physical damage and the delayed poison damage injured the creature, but didn't kill it. Glorydd and TorGal exchanged various blows. When the minions arrived, injured Glorydd chose to go invisible to heal, and think of a plan B to deal with the powerful opposition. Suddenly however TorGal collapsed, overpowered by her traps' poison damage. Glorydd didn't hesitate. She finished the creature with an acid arrow.

With the Troll leader dead Glorydd left the minions for the guards, though she dealt with the particularly powerful Umber Hulk Elder herself. When she reported back to Nalia, the poor girl's emotions were mixed. On the one hand there was relief that the invaders had been slain or banished and that at least some people including an aunt had survived, but on the other hand the corpse in the cellars proved to be Lord Arnise's remains.

 

Nalia later told Glorydd of the Roenall family, who had wanted to marry one of their sons into the Arnise family, through Nalia, in order to get hold of the Arnise keep and lands. Nalia had no interest in marrying any of the Roenalls and invoked an old tradition where a fighting soul could become the Lord of a landed estate. She asked Glorydd to assume title to the keep. Glorydd was surprised by this proposal but accepted to become Lady of the Keep, if only to help Nalia. (She didn't care much about human titles.)

[Note Blackraven: in my setup multiclasses can obtain both - or in the case of triple classes, all three - strongholds that pertain to their classes.]

[Alesia_BH]

Nice work Blackraven!

 

I liked the way you handled the Druid Grove: saving it until you were ready to meet the battles, and adding Cernd to your party. That's definitely better than the approach Arcadia took.

 

(Captain Swarmi insisted on getting the Shield of Harmony as soon as possible.)

 

Best,

 

A.

[Blackraven]

Thanks Alesia! With her easily boosted Dwarven saves and a replenished supply of clarity potions, Glorydd was in no rush to go after the shield. Still Trademeet was one her earliest big quests (preceded only by Thieves Guild and Umar Hills).

 

I can understand Cpt. Swarmi's reasoning for Arcadia as well. The Harmony Shield is a very good item. I wonder what Swarmi's plans are with Arcadia in Spellhold.

[Aasim]

Darthus, 10th BG2 update

 

Darthus and his co sailed to Spellhold, leaving quite a bit of quests to do in chapter 6. Spellhold itself posed no problems (read: no Liches spawned)  - but one battle - vs Irenicus. While I don't install this SCS component, the battle is apsurd, and it can easilly get worse if loonies decided to gate in some demons. Luckily, Irenicus killed most of them with Dragon's Breath - one less issue to worry about.

Irenicus was a real powerhouse here, loaded with an apsurd number of spells. Planetar was summoned, which deafened my spellcasters. Imoen died to PW:Kill during his Alacrity phase.

 

I put the casters far away from him, which lead to both Darhus and Minsc ending up stunned.

 

Next, he starts Mazing people. Darthus, Minsc, and Tiax (the only loonie who survived Dragon's Breath).

 

Nalia ate no less than 3(!) Flesh to Stone spells - remarkably, she saved against them all. People finally started exiting the Maze and we managed to get some hits in.

 

Few rounds later, he gives up. We kill the thieves, raise Imoen (Darthus has Paladin's Bracers which can cast Ressurection 1x/day), and take up on  Saemon's offer.

 

Apperantly, Branwen's family was slain by Sahaugin when she was young. Darthus promised that no Sahaugin would survive this day. We purged them with holy swords.

 

 

 

Now, Underdark. First we did the elemental portals, that's easy XP. Then, the Drow ambush - Nalia's Remove magic was succesfull (she wears Amulet of Power which makes her cast spells as if she's two levels higher - effectively granting her +10% chance for Dispel/Remove to be succesfull) and it made the battle slightly easier.

 

Minsc ate a lot of blows. Here some Flame Arrows.

 

Next he died to Finger of Death.

 

However, with their most powerful spells expended, Drow caused no more trouble. We raise the barbarian, and are now resting in front of the caves leading to some more fish-like creatures.

[Alesia_BH]

Thanks Alesia! With her easily boosted Dwarven saves and a replenished supply of clarity potions, Glorydd was in no rush to go after the shield. Still Trademeet was one her earliest big quests (preceded only by Thieves Guild and Umar Hills).

 

That's it exactly. As a half-elf with poor base saves and a limited number of Potions of Clarity available to her, early access to Harmony was key.

 

I'm also playing on the cautious side this run since I'm so rusty.

 

What are your thoughts on ATweaks? The earth elemental seemed cool.

 

 

I wonder what Swarmi's plans are with Arcadia in Spellhold.

 

Captain Swarmi's plan for Spellhold is to never go back.

 

Currently, the Captain is in cat burglar mode: he has his sights set on the Greenstone Amulet.

 

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Nice work Aasim! If you happen to see a cat and a half-elf in the Underdark, feel free to stop and say hi.

 

(Just don't let Captain Swarmi get too close to Boo.)

 

Best,

 

A.

[Aasim]

If I see a cat and a half-elf in the Underdark, I'll ask for help vs Drow near exit.

[Alesia_BH]

If I see a cat and a half-elf in the Underdark, I'll ask for help vs Drow near exit.

 

That's a deal: we should make out escape together. Arcadia is almost ready to enter the Kuo-Toan tunnels.

[Blackraven]

@Aasim, very nice work man. I'm impressed as always with the conviction and pace with which you breeze to the game. This time is no different. Keep it up!
@Alesia, I like aTweaks a lot. For me it has become a staple in my BGT installs. It brings many monsters, such as various types of undead, demons, and woodland beings closer to pnp and - more importantly, because BG isn't pnp after all - it spices them up quite a bit. This works both ways in some cases though: Druid and Mage summons become more powerful as well.