15228 réponses à ce sujet

[Alesia_BH]

Arcadia, Half-Elven Fighter/Mage: The Underdark Part 1

 

My time with Arcadia in the Underdark was defined by a single terrible, terrible mistake. I sent her to speak with Adalon before speaking with Carlig. That may seem innocent enough, but it can have horrible consequences for arcane characters- especially in my install. Arcadia is still furious with me- even if Captain Swarmi masterminded a partial remedy to my blunder.

 

So, why should't you talk to Adalon before Carlig? Because Adalon turns you into a drow, and Carlig hides things from drow. And once he's hidden something from a drow, he never sells it again. What could Carlig have that's so critical? A Spell Shield scroll.

 

Captain Swarmi will make you a deal: he'll trade you a Time Stop scroll for a Spell Shield scroll. Seriously: He will. And he's not just being a crazy kitty. Captain Swarmi understands that you don't need to stop time if you are properly buffed, and with Spell Shield you can be properly buffed. He also understands that Spell Shield can solve problems that Time Stop can't. He'll trade you two Time Stop scrolls for a Spell Shield scroll. Seriously: He's ready to deal.

 

In the Underdark, Captain Swarmi would have traded you ten Time Stop scrolls for a Spell Shield scroll. Because Captain Swarmi -being the clairvoyant that he is- knows that Tamah is waiting for Arcadia in Abazigal's layer, and Tamah can put you to sleep, regardless of your saves. To negotiate Tamah, you need the Greenstone Amulet, but to get the Greenstone Amulet, you have to get past an invisibility detecting Hive Mother. And how is a half-elf F/M with positive un-buffed saves suppose to do that without Spell Shield in an install that lacks the Shield of Balduran (and the Cloak of Mirroring)? Skeleton Warriors? I doubt it. Jelly? I'm not so sure. Captain Swarmi, happily, found an answer. Arcadia is in his debt. I'd be in his debt, too, but I have no credit with either of them right now. They hate me.

 

To the fun stuff: punkin' drow.

 

The drow parties were standard F/M buff n' beat missions. I'm assuming, at this point, that everyone is sick of reading Arcadia's buff lists, so I'll refrain from writing out another one here. If anyone is interested, just ask.

 

The drow took their buffs. As per usual, the divine caster was Arcadia's first target.

 

Ages did most of the work, but Sunfires sped the process along. The Reflex took care of the crossbow bolts.

 

At least one, maybe two, MSD were cast to counter Secret Words.

 

Only the mages left now.

 

Pro Cold foiled their Fireshield:Blues.

 

Next, was the balor. Arcadia opened with a Breach. The balor didn't have anything useful in his offensive tool kit. His Firestorm and Aura of Flaming Death were counter productive, since they activated Arcadia's Fireshield:Blue, despite being foiled by Pro Fire.

 

His weapons struck ProMW, his Symbols were foiled by saves.

 

Drow party two met the same fate as drow party one.

 

Arcadia started with the southern priests.

 

Once again, buffs foiled the mages while the Reflex caught the crossbow bolts. An overbuffed F/M with sunfires and the Reflex is just bad news for drow.

 

No damage in either of these fights.

 

Arcadia actually did take damage against Chandrilla's crew: from her own Magic Missles. I had loaded that Minor Sequencer long ago, and thought it was Web x 2. it wasn't. Thanks for the casting tips, Aphril!

 

Arcadia just mowed them down after that. Chandrilla was first.

 

Predictably, the invisibility potion quaffing thief, Damien, and the abjuration school casting mage, Na'sthar, were the last to go. Arcadia invested an Arrow of Dispelling in the N'asthar kill. Despite my profligacy with Arrows of Dispelling in her first mage fight, against Rayic Gethras, Arcadia is now ahead of budget.

 

The Kuo-Toans have a knack for catching me off guard. I've yet to hear anyone else complain about those stinkers, but I hate 'em. Hate 'em! They give me grief. Does anyone else find them as irritating as I do? Since I had triggered the encounter at the wrong time, the Kuo-Toan mage was able to get Malison off at a time when I didn't have SI:E or GoI at the ready for a counter. That cost Arcadia a Potion of Invulnerability.

 

That's a high price to pay for some fish.

 

I'll post on Captain Swarmi's dastardly Greenstone Amulet heist soon.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Arcadia, Half-Elven Fighter Mage: Mission Impossible (Or Captain Swarmi's Greenstone Amulet Heist)

 

After failing to rescue Phaere, Arcadia became persona non grata in Ust Natha. That was ok, because Ust Natha was non grata to Arcadia and Captain Swarmi: they had no desire to go back.

 

What Captain Swarmi did want, however, was the Greenstone Amulet. Spectacular in BG1, the Greenstone Amulet is only marginally useful in BG2. Unless you are playing with Ascension, that is- and especially with SCS/Ascension. The Greenstone Amulet provides immunity to an array of spell effects. Most of those immunities are readily available via other means, but what about sleep? Saves? Sure- if we're talking about Emotion or Greater Command. But what about Tamah's sleep effects, which don't allow a save? Enter the Greenstone Amulet. For that battle -and that battle alone- it's crucial

 

Captain Swarmi knew he wanted the amulet -he knew he needed it- but how could he get it, given that that peon, Alesia_BH, had been dreaming about dancing in the Acapulco Lounge when she should have been talking to Carlig? He meowed, mournfully, staring at the beholder lair, not wanting to enter but knowing he must. It was go in, or give up.

 

Captain Swarmi gave the signal. Arcadia nodded and cast invisibility. They entered the lair. 

 

Once inside, they spied a pair of beholders, fearsome beasts. With their current spells, Arcadia and Captain Swarmi couldn't hope to defeat them. But as intimidating as they were, the beholders had one weakness: they couldn't see through invisibility. Arcadia and Captain Swarmi walked past, tentatively, and moved deeper into the lair.

 

After navigating a fleshy corridor, they saw yet another beholder. This one was fighting drow. Arcadia stopped in her tracks, but Captain Swarmi was delighted. He had discovered that the beholders had another weakness: they had enemies. Captain Swarmi plotted to use that against them.

 

He instructed Arcadia to activate Ras, knowing that Arcadia could remain invisible while Ras was released. He then used Ras to draw the drows' attention, and lead them to the beholders.

 

The ploy worked. The drow chased Ras. And each step they took led them closer to a swarm of beholders. The drow and beholders were soon locked in combat. The drow prevailed.

 

Captain Swarmi and Arcadia were one step closer to their goal. But it was a small step, and a mountain awaited them: the Hive Mother.

 

She, the Hive Mother, stood between them and their prize. Because she, alone, could see through Arcadia's illusionary deceptions. It was she, alone, who had to die. The others meant nothing.

 

With Ras spent. And with Arcadia fearful of breaking invisibility, Captain Swarmi and Arcadia returned to the deep gnome village to rest, and plan another attempt.

 

They would use the same strategy, but this time, they would be sure to lead the drow directly to the Hive Mother. They wouldn't fall short this time.

 

And so it was. Ras was released, and piloted directly to the Hive Mother. The drow gave chase.

 

But when Ras unsummoned the drow -fearful of the Hive Mother- returned without having unsheathed their blades. They knew better than to attack.

 

What we need, are more enemies, the Captain thought- enemies of the beholders that is. Enemies without fear- enemies that won't back down in the face of impossible odds. But who in the Underdark could bear such passion, such ferver, such strength of will? Why the forces of nature themselves: the elementals.

 

Captain Swarmi unfolded his plan. Arcadia immediately understood. They left the tunnels, and approached the elemental platforms, drawing the attention of an air elemental. 

 

Arcadia, still invisible, lured the perceptive elemental to the beholder lair. It entered. It attacked. The beholders wouldn't attack back. It prevailed. It was led to the drow. It prevailed again.

 

And finally, with the aid of an Efreeti, it was led to the Hive Mother.

 

Would it attack? Or would it back down as the drow had? The suspense was agonizing. But it attacked! It was through the Hive Mother's stoneskins!

 

It prevailed!

 

The Greenstone Amulet, was theirs.

 

I'll cover Arcadia's escape from the Underdark in the next post.

 

Best,

 

A.

 

NW: Some might find that cheesy, but it was oddly satisfying, and it was a solution to a terrible situation. Without the Greenstone Amulet -and without Carlig's Spell Shield scroll- I likely would have chosen to retire Arcadia. Now, at least, she can proceed- even if the next phase of her adventure will be more challenging than anticipated. At this stage of the game, in my install, Spell Shield matters. It's a shame I lost the Carlig scroll, and it's a shame that Arcadia hasn't found one as a random drop. It's also a shame that my install has very few Spell Shield scrolls.

[Blackraven]

That's not cheese imo, that's a brilliant solution Alesia, bravo!  

[corey_russell]

Nice work Alesia - and actually I think my install has very few spell shield scrolls as well. Not even sure I can get one to each of my mages, though will see what I can do when I get there.

[Alesia_BH]

That's not cheese imo, that's a brilliant solution Alesia, bravo!  

 

Thanks. I may be a rusty, buffleheaded fool, but don't underestimate Captain Swarmi. That cat's got plans.

 

I'm worried about the Spell Shield scroll situation though. Spell Shield is my answer to Wish- I wish for my enemies' protections to be utterly destroyed. I expect to see that soon.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Nice work Alesia - and actually I think my install has very few spell shield scrolls as well. Not even sure I can get one to each of my mages, though will see what I can do when I get there.

 

Thanks!

 

They are available as random drops. In some installs, they can purportedly be found in the beholder lair (near the Greestone Amulet, actually), and in an estate in the government district, amongst other places.

 

By this stage, I've usually found more than one. The Carlig one is the only definite in SoA in my install, however.

 

In vanilla, Spell Shield is not really that important. You can use it foil anti-magic ray, but mages do have other options for dealing with beholders, like skeleton warriors. In vanilla, it will also stop Breach, which is nice, but SI:A + SI:D + II will do that too, and you should usually be running that anyways. In your run, you may want to consider giving the Spell Shield scrolls to whoever doesn't get Spell Immunity.

 

You also may want to be sure Ruzzel gets it. Spell Shield has a moderately long duration, 3 rounds per level. It lasts longer than SI and II. So, with Spell Shield running, Ruzzel would still have a Breach stopper in place if and when SI:D + SI:A + II runs out.

 

In my install, I mostly use it to stop anti-magic ray, Wish- I wish for my enemies' protections to be utterly destroyed, Spellstrike, and Khleben's.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Gate70]

The beholders didn't see that coming...

 

Blaggerd, SoA.

Having not bothered to make notes as he went, Blaggerd struggled to remember much of his escape. Minsc, Jaheira, Imoen and Yoshimo were all waived away and Blaggerd emerged wielding the Sword of Chaos. Couple of moments, radiant mephit near the sewer golem had Blaggerd on the ground briefly but no danger, and real life interruption saw the sneak mephit attack near the library almost kill Blaggerd while he had an unpaused long-wait. Should also point out he forgot the golden pantaloons.

 

Chapter 2.

Visit the circus, pick up a scroll case and gem bag. Get a minor graze.

(photobucket seems to be getting slower from advertly bumpf)

 

Head to Watchers Keep to pick up a potion case.

Sell valuables but unable to afford anything more interesting.

Return to town, fail to kill Habib so poison the mad cleric.

Officer Dirth's armour chop err shop.

Obtain the cloak of the sewers.

Sign up with Mae'Var. Struggle not to kill him straight off.

Bashgle (burgle with less finesse) a gaudy necklace.

Rayic Gethras whodunnit. The blackguard in the daisy-pushing room with poisoned fists.

Absorb Hareishan before she can flee from the Sword of Chaos.

Pick up various documents.

Kill off Mae'var and his buddies.

Silence Cohrvale and Bregg.

Pay off Gaelan Bayle.

Renfeld ambush with orog ambush straight after. Not a concern with decent armour and indecent hitting power.

Sneak attack Prebek and Sanasha. Both died before going hostile.

Observe the assassination of Xzar.

Head out to Trademeet. Say the wrong thing to Cernd so he joins the party. Boot him immediately.

Kick the Dao djinn out of town.

Return to the Copper Coronet for a rest.

 

Reputation is mid-table so holding off on a few purchases for the time being. Shaping up nicely;

Blackguard level 11.

112hp + 5 from Helm of Balduran.

179 SoA kills.

Str / Dex / Con / Cha 19. Wis 11. Int 17.

AC -7 unbuffed.

Saving throws 2-5 unbuffed.

3 to hit THAC0, 13-22 damage per hit.

[Gate70]

Blaggerd survived a game-over event captured in the screenshot below, only to be caught out in a more conventional manner.

 

The Copper Coronet is under new ownership so Blaggerd heads into the sewers below it. Lilacor is grabbed but the Sword of Chaos uses against Hendak and his guards to regenerate. It doesn't work well enough though so after killing them Blaggerd switches to troll form and triggers an acid blob trap.

 

A pair of yuan-ti are skewered before Blaggerd rushes the remaining room of enemies. Two guards block his progress to a second mage and he is held. If only he'd summoned the efreeti...

 

Anyway, the slavers have failed to co-ordinate their plans and Blaggerd has the hold dispelled.

 

On to the Bridge district, killing smugglers then muggers before investigating the skinner murders. With the two ghasts and two rune assassins down, Blaggerd turns to the bone golem but it takes him from 35hp to 12hp in one go so he runs around the table to cure light wounds twice then summons the efreeti.

 

He anticipates the fireball so stays out of range then moves in. The efreeti goes invisible briefly so Blaggerd has to move away again. When the golem switches back to the efreeti Blaggerd moves in again, only for the efreeti to go invisible again after a flame arrow. Blaggerd turns to move away but the golem is too quick and the blackguards dying thought is never to rely on the efreeti as a distraction, followed by thinking he should have used the RoAC for this fight.

[Aasim]

Hard luck Gate. I usually get Ilbratha before tackling such oponnents.

[Blackraven]

Sorry Gate 70, Bone Golems hit hard. Both RoAC and Ilbratha would have helped. 

The Efreeti can be used, but it requires a lot of micro-management. Kitthix is also a good easily obtainable decoy.

Best of luck for your your next attempt.

Alesia are there no other protective spells for Arcadia to use? Spell Deflection, Spell Turning come to mind. Or does Spell Shield do something special that I've missed?

[Aasim]

 Or does Spell Shield do something special that I've missed?

It blocks Spellstrike.

[Blackraven]

Hm thanks Aasim. I see now that it's the only protection that does this.
So, let's say Arcadia's protections get removed, what would be the best response? I suppose having some contingency or trigger ready, with Stoneskin, MI II or something. A potion of magic shielding for 50% magic damage resistance (100 with Inertial Barrier) and all saves made automatically would likely be dispelled. 

I'm sure there must be more elaborate ways. Now I'm very tempted to roll a Cleric/Mage just to become a bit more knowledgeable on the arcane and divine spell system.

[Alesia_BH]

Hm thanks Aasim. I see now that it's the only protection that does this.

 

Yes. Spell Shield blocks the next incoming attack on magical defenses, while being consumed itself in the process. It is best used against attacks that strip multiple protections at once, such as Spellstike and Khleben's, but, more importatntly, Wish - I wish for my enemies' magical protections to be utterly destroyed. Spell Strike and Khleben's won't penetrate II in my install. Wish will.

 

Spell Shield will also block anti-magic ray without being consumed. A properly buffed arcane character running Spell Shield can confront beholders face to face without risk.

 

Additionally, Spell Shield can block Adalon's drow transformation spell if you don't fancy drow fashion.

 

So, let's say Arcadia's protections get removed, what would be the best response? I suppose having some contingency or trigger ready, with Stoneskin, MI II or something. A potion of magic shielding for 50% magic damage resistance (100 with Inertial Barrier) and all saves made automatically would likely be dispelled. 

I'm sure there must be more elaborate ways. Now I'm very tempted to roll a Cleric/Mage just to become a bit more knowledgeable on the arcane and divine spell system.

 

It depends on the context and the subsequent threats. There are too many possibilities here for me to address in one post.

 

There's basically a long list of if then statements in my head. I don't have the time to spell it out now, and I'm not entirely certain that it's all declarative knowledge, especially now that I'm rusty. I can execute everything when I need to, but I'm pretty certain I couldn't write it all out without it becoming a semi-major project.

 

There are examples of counters in my prior runs.

 

In general, the best move is the most economical one. Potions of Magic Shielding are a last resort: they're rare and expensive.

 

Playing a C/M would be an excellent way to explore the spell system. I'd also advise reading. Memorizing all the effects, spell levels, save modifiers, durations, casting times, incantations, and spell schools can be helpful.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Bummer, Gate. I was looking forward to posts on Blaggerd.

 

I hope the Thugs are still going strong!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Btw Blackraven. I'm not sure if you read Alicia's run or her insane Ascension solo. You may find it interesting.

 

The insane Ascension solo post can be found here. It includes links to her NR challenge posts.

 

http://forum.bioware...ttle-on-insane/

 

 

EDIT: I just noticed that the links to the NR challenge posts don't work anymore. The link to the insane ascension solo does.

[Grimwald the Wise]

Bad luck Gate.

[Alesia_BH]

Arcadia, Half-Elven Fighter/Mage: The Underdark Part 2- The Escape

 

The Kuo-Toans are not the most powerful enemies in SoA. Nor are they the craftiest. They are, however, the most I hate-iest. If there is an SoA enemy that gives me pause, it's spellcasting Kangaxx. If there is a creature type with fearsome abilities, it's beholders. But if there is a enemy that can make me want to control-Y everything in sight and scream, it's the Kuo-Toans.

 

Why do I hate the Kuo-Toans? That's an interesting question. No one else seems to mind them.

 

As a player, I prefer to be faster than my opponents. I also prefer to use invisibility to manage threats. Range weapons worry me, because you can't out run them, and on hit effect weapons give me the hee-bee-jee-bees, even when I know I'll make the save. And if there are two spells that I hate, they are True Sight and Greater Malison, since they can force me to quaff high value potions. Does everyone get it now? Does everyone see why I hate the Kuo-Toans oh-so-much? They're, like, purpose built to drive Alesia_BH insane. They work.

 

Having failed to rescue Phaere, Arcadia was forced into a mad dash through the Kuo-Toan tunnels. I've done this before -every run in fact- but it never ceases to freak me out. This is always -and I mean always- my least favorite part of the adventure. This time it was even worse than usual.

 

The first crew wasn't so bad, mostly because Arcadia had Sunfires available. But that wizard! Oh, those Kuo-Toan wizards! The way they run around at hyper-speed, evading melee hits. The way they cast invisibility when you are just about to finish them. The way they are not-quite dangerous enough to justify using Darts of Stunning. And all the while, it seems like they're thinking: "Nannie-nannie, you can't catch me, and I'm going to tag you with Malison just so that I can make you drink a Potion of Invulnerability before I die." That's it: that seems to be their goal in life. I hate'em.

 

It feels good to blow them up.

 

Now some of you are probably thinking: "Psst, Alesia: ProNW and the Reflex." Yeah, I get it. But Arcadia doesn't know ProNW anymore. Back when Captain Swarmi was planning his beholder lair raid, he discovered an Animate Dead scroll in Arcadia's Bag of Holding. What he didn't discover, however, was a Potion of Mind Focusing. Running just Potion of Genius, Arcadia was forced to delete some L5s if she were to memorize Animate Dead. ProNW was amongst the spells deleted. And once it and other great spells were deleted, guess what happened.

 

Total bummer.

 

Back to ProNW-less Arcadia and the Kuo-Toans.

 

This part actually made me nervous. Due to better calls for help, Arcadia ended up mobbed by Kuo-Toans: all fast, all capable of seeing through invisibility, and some who were invisible themselves. Movement was difficult. Arcadia blasted her way out...

 

and finished the Prince.

 

Eventually, Arcadia cleared the lair, but not before a Kuo-Toan mage forced a Potion of Invulnerability quaff with Malison->Emotion. 

 

I don't think I've ever used the angry smiley before. That's what Kuo-Toans do to me.

 

Having cleared out the lair, Arcadia returned to the deep gnome village to rest before clearing the last hurdle between her and freedom: the drow party flanked by golems and demons.

 

When she returned to the lair, she was horrified by what she saw.

 

No you didn't! You didn't just respawn!

 

There better just be one crew. If another comes up behind me, I'll scream.

 

Hate'em!

 

I basically lost it. I whipped out the Darts of Stunning, I broke out the Wand of Fire -I even thought about using Potions of Firebreath. I didn't care about economy anymore. I just wanted those things dead. Finally they were. But Arcadia was now short on spells again, and couldn't safely navigate the exit.

 

Captain Swarmi advised resting in the tunnel. He reasoned that drow might find us and ambush us in our sleep, but that was better than leaving, only to return and find the tunnels recolonized by Kuo-Toans. Once again, Captain Swarmi had a point.

 

Four drow later, Arcadia had gotten her much needed sleep. She then buffed, and approached the exit invisible, hoping to draw the demons away, where they could be killed in safety.

 

With the demons gone, Arcadia could now approach invisible without fear of discovery. She surveyed the threats: high level mages, high level priests, Potion of Invisibility chugging thieves, dangerous warriors, and golems- all in tight quarters. Even without the demons, it would be a challenge to confront them all. Captain Swarmi, however, had a plan. Ras was sent ahead. 

 

Ras set off a call to arms. Captain Swarmi listened. And when he heard "praeses" he knew it was time to make a run for it. That "praeses" meant Teleport Field, and that Teleport Field meant a free ride to freedom. Invisible, Arcadia entered the field and let it lift her over her foes to the door.

 

Freedom was hers. Bodhi awaits.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Grond0]

Why do I hate the Kuo-Toans? That's an interesting question. No one else seems to mind them.  As a player, I prefer to be faster than my opponents. I also prefer to use invisibility to manage threats. 

 

 That "praeses" meant Teleport Field, and that Teleport Field meant a free ride to freedom. Invisible, Arcadia entered the field and let it lift her over her foes to the door.

I'm with you about the kuo-toans.  Typically my characters use few or no buffs, but rely on movement to manage damage taken, with invisibility offering a final resort option.  Having what are relatively weak opponents in lots of ways make both those strategies difficult to use is indeed ... annoying.

 

Nice use of the Teleport Field there - did Captain Swarmi do anything he shouldn't have as he sailed over their heads?

[Blackraven]

Thank you Alesia, I bookmarked your thread. 

 

Confession: I don't fancy my chances at a no-reload trilogy sucess with a solo Mage or Cleric/Mage at all at the moment. 

I've never dug into the question of the question which spells protect against which debuffs, and vice versa which debuffs work against which protections. This is because I've always considered the differentiation between the protective spells such as (minor) globe of invulnerability, (minor) spell turning, spell shield, (minor) spell deflection, and spell trap, and that between debuffs such as breach, warding whip, pierce magic, pierce shield, secret word etc a bit too complex, artificial even, for my liking. These buff and debuffs all supposed to do more or less the same thing, but the level system necessitates higher level variants. Like you said I'll probably have to memorize what all these spells do, in order to enjoy working with them. As long as I haven't I'll probably prefer my thieves (and warriors).

[Grond0]

Bummer, Gate. I was looking forward to posts on Blaggerd.

 

I hope the Thugs are still going strong!

So far, so good.

 

Gate70/Grond0 multiplayer attempt 74 - (update 1)

Lug, dwarf kensai (Grond0) & Slug, dwarf kensai (Gate70)

 

The Thug Twins completed their work in BG1 earlier and found a bit of time to make a start in Amn.

 

They had no real problems in the dungeon.  The steam mephit in the elemental plane did manage to stun Lug, but had been pulled away with only one companion and had little chance of inflicting too much damage.  Ulvaryl managed to transform to bat shape and get away though.

 

The circus was restored before the Twins reported to Gaelan Bayle.  Lag effects were making control difficult at this time and I think that was responsible for Lug somehow managing to take a potion of speed as he arrived at the Copper Coronet.  To get some use out of that he quickly arranged a pit-contest before exploring the back rooms to sort the Beastmaster out.  He and Slug were both badly wounded after killing all the animals and rested before releasing Hendak and helping him take control of the pub.

 

The final action of the session was being ambushed by Suna Seni.  Both Twins took a fair amount of damage there, without ever really being in danger.

 

Stats (cont. from BG1):

Lug, kensai 9, 92 HPs (incl. -18 from Claw), 242 kills

Slug, kensai 9, 106 HPs, 286 kills, 2 deaths

[Blackraven]

Arcadia, Half-Elven Fighter/Mage: The Underdark Part 2- The Escape

 

Ras set off a call to arms. Captain Swarmi listened. And when he heard "praeses" he knew it was time to make a run for it. That "praeses" meant Teleport Field, and that Teleport Field meant a free ride to freedom.

 

Rusty? You? Never...

Anyway, fine progress, and I concur on the Ku-Toa: they are annoying. I don't despise them though hehe

[Alesia_BH]

Thank you Alesia, I bookmarked your thread. 

 

Confession: I don't fancy my chances at a no-reload trilogy sucess with a solo Mage or Cleric/Mage at all at the moment. 

 

Like you said I'll probably have to memorize what all these spells do, in order to enjoy working with them. As long as I haven't I'll probably prefer my thieves (and warriors).

 

Understood. There is a learning curve. It can be a fun thing to play around with though. Someday, perhaps.

 

A lot of players prefer warriors and thieves. I respect that. It's no secret that I enjoy thieves. Alanis's run was a blast -and so was Alicia's- but my bounty hunter, Alesia, remains may favorite character. I have more fun with her than anyone else- even if Alanis and Alicia can do things that she can't.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

I'm with you about the kuo-toans.  Typically my characters use few or no buffs, but rely on movement to manage damage taken, with invisibility offering a final resort option.  Having what are relatively weak opponents in lots of ways make both those strategies difficult to use is indeed ... annoying.

 

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. I thought it was just me.

 

And that's it exactly. If you rely on movement and invisibility to manage threats, they're a nightmare. I would never -ever- install a mod that gave them quality magical weapons and a THAC0 boost. That would be awful.

 

Nice use of the Teleport Field there - did Captain Swarmi do anything he shouldn't have as he sailed over their heads?

 

Captain Swarmi has dined with princes. He has voyaged across Faerun. He has wandered the planes. He has seen sights that even Jan Jansen could never dream of. He is better educated than the best of mages, and more cultivated than the most refined of dukes. He would never do anything undignified.

 

(That said, despite his undeniable genius, Captain Swarmi has never understood the difference between a drow and a litter box. Draw what conclusions you will.)

 

Best,

 

A.

[Grimwald the Wise]

Thank you Alesia, I bookmarked your thread. 

 

Confession: I don't fancy my chances at a no-reload trilogy sucess with a solo Mage or Cleric/Mage at all at the moment. 

I've never dug into the question of the question which spells protect against which debuffs, and vice versa which debuffs work against which protections. This is because I've always considered the differentiation between the protective spells such as (minor) globe of invulnerability, (minor) spell turning, spell shield, (minor) spell deflection, and spell trap, and that between debuffs such as breach, warding whip, pierce magic, pierce shield, secret word etc a bit too complex, artificial even, for my liking. These buff and debuffs all supposed to do more or less the same thing, but the level system necessitates higher level variants. Like you said I'll probably have to memorize what all these spells do, in order to enjoy working with them. As long as I haven't I'll probably prefer my thieves (and warriors).

 

I agree with you totally. In Amn however, I do like to play parties. The interaction between characters is intriguing. I particularly like the interaction between Aerie and Korgan. Indeed between any characters that don't get on.

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Arcadia's Game:

 

After spending her meager savings on scrolls, Arcadia is now broke. She is currently in the Bridge District, playing guitar for coppers. Her most popular song is the "I Ain't Got No Spell Shield Blues." It is heartfelt and moving. Captain Swarmi meows sullenly and curls up into a ball every time he hears it.

 

Arcadia's next move is unclear. She and Captain Swarmi still hate me.

 

Best,

 

A.