15235 réponses à ce sujet

[Alesia_BH]

One more comment: Amazing content, CKT!  Truly.

 

If Grond0 embodies no-reloadiness, you embody the ideal of RP/Tactical balance.

 

Beautiful stuff!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Charlestonian Knight Templar]

Actually, Grond0 already ran the test for us so we're good.

 

Thanks for the offer though, CKT! Very cool of you!

 

Best,

 

A.

 

Btw. GoI means Globe of Invulnerability. Sorry. I should have spelled it out. I'm lazy sometimes.

Well, as long as we're chatting here, some folks in the Pentagon have a bone to pick w/you Alecia...

 

I sang, "Dream the Impossible Dream" all day to everyone in my office & the hallways.  

[Alesia_BH]

Well, as long as we're chatting here, some folks in the Pentagon have a bone to pick w/you Alecia...

 

I sang, "Dream the Impossible Dream" all day to everyone in my office & the hallways.  

 

 

At least you didn't spend the whole day whinning about Spell Shield wonkiness. That would have been worse: Much worse.

 

Best,

 

A.

[corey_russell]

Post moved to BG 1 where it is supposed to be - Yeenter is not in Amn quite yet...

[Alesia_BH]

Welcome to Amn, Yeenter!

 

Best,

 

A.

[corey_russell]

Doh! Wrong thread...guess I better fix that....

[Serg BlackStrider]

Impish Face is sad to see our ranks in Amn are severely thinned as of late...   He hopes the stars will go right next time for you, friends!

Speaking of himself he still doesn't made a significant progress to warrant a full update (it takes quite a bit of time to make all the reading here and this is great!) but this will come shortly. For now, all the best and safe travels, everyone!

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Aphril's Game: (or Why Aphril is Going Nowhere Fast)

 

Aphril is currently at the Five Flagons, enjoying spiced wine and conversation. She's quite content. She doesn't want to leave. And I don't want her to leave either.

 

Aphril, Adara, and Aerie have done well for themselves. They've championed abolition, brought balance to Trademeet, cleansed the Umar Hills, liberated Nalia's Hold, explored Watcher's Keep, and humbled Bodhi. They've even brought Wellyn his teddy bear. And in all that time, playing on insane, they have taken less that 50HP of damage between them. Aphril and Adara have never been hurt. Aerie has caught a Minute Meteor and a tick of Cloudkill. That's it. They're on a roll.

 

But the rolling has stopped. It has screeched to a halt. The next phase of Aphril's adventure worries be. Additional experience would be most welcome, but high level mages lie in all directions, and Aphril, Aerie, and Adara aren't ready. Minimally, I'd like them each to have GoI and Spell Deflection to complement their SI:A, SI:D, II, Spell Shield defensive core, along with comprehensive specific protections. They'll also need some mid to high level Spell Protection removers, accompanied by Breach. They don't have the slots.

 

But there is an answer: Outsource the job. Athkatla is chock full of mid level abjuration school scrolls. Now, in the mid levels, with high level mages ahead, is the time to use them.

 

And that's why Aphril has taken up residence at the Flagons: She had shopping to do. Today's brief session was a boon to Athkatla's scroll merchant, though a bore to everyone else. Fortunately, Aphril is now stocked and (hopefully) ready. The Planar Sphere awaits. Tomorrow the quest begins.

 

Best,

 

A.

 

Current Inventories and Character Records

 

Aphril

 

Spoiler

 

 

Adara

 

Spoiler

 

 

Aerie

 

Spoiler

 

 

Btw. The new ioun stones are Aphril and Adara's personal items: Child of the Sun and Thunderous Voice.

[Alesia_BH]

Just wanted to do a quick rundown.

 

-Impish Face is on his way to Suldanessellar

 

-Sir Gawain is on Jon-Jon's trail 

 

-Aphril and Adara are prepping for the Planar Sphere

 

-Corey, Gate, Grond0 and Wise, are in BG1

 

-We lost Dyara

 

-We lost Nashlee

 

-We lost Dagny

 

-We lost Alexander

 

-Jabberwock. Are you still active?

 

-USSNorway. Any chance we'll see a run from you?

 

 

Am I missing anyone?

 

Best,

 

A.

[Serg BlackStrider]

Just wanted to do a quick rundown.

 

Am I missing anyone?

Me...? Seems you just buried Impish Face alive... 

And if this is going to be a kind of current rundown, where are Aphril and Adara?

 

BTW, sorry for derailing a topic again but I have a little request (mostly for Aasim and Blackraven as SCS+aTweaks runners). Can you check if you have this issue in your setups? I have it myself and this makes Skelly Warriors nearly useless... Thanks in advance!

[Alesia_BH]

Me...?  

 

Sorry! That's a pretty big oversight. Impish Face was on my mind, if not on my list. 

 

Best,

 

A.

 

Btw. I'm re-reading Impish Face's run now. Nice work with the liches!

[Serg BlackStrider]

Sorry! That's a pretty big oversight. Impish Face was on my mind, if not on my list. 

 

Impish Face is glad to hear that, he is not wailful anymore 

 

 

Btw. I'm re-reading Impish Face's run now. Nice work with the liches!

 

Thanks! I'm trying to make a mages fights as clean as possible (not wait out their pre-buffs). A far more enjoyable this way. 

[Alesia_BH]

Thanks! I'm trying to make a mages fights as clean as possible (not wait out their pre-buffs). A far more enjoyable this way. 

 

Agreed. I respect that. Waiting out buffs breaks immersion. It can feel dirty.

 

It makes sense. And it's effective. And in some situations there are no alternatives. But its better to fight the fight than turtle the turtle.

 

I feel the same way about scaredy-cat ambushes, even though Aphril has been using them.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Grimwald the Wise]

Agreed. I respect that. Waiting out buffs breaks immersion. It can feel dirty.

 

It makes sense. And its effective. And in some situations there are no alternatives. But its better to fight the fight than turtle the turtle.

 

I feel the same way about scaredy-cat ambushes, even though Aphril has been using them.

 

Best,

 

A.

 

I think it depends on what your character is like. An honourable character might despise this tactic, whereas Edwin would applaud it. I tend to get so immersed in the character that I do whatever he/she would do. They sometimes seem to take on a life of their own.

[Blackraven]

I think it depends on what your character is like. An honourable character might despise this tactic, whereas Edwin would applaud it. I tend to get so immersed in the character that I do whatever he/she would do. They sometimes seem to take on a life of their own.

Agreed. With my rogues it feels satisfying to use stealth, non-detection and detect illusions, and then to strike at the right moment

[Alesia_BH]

I think it depends on what your character is like. An honourable character might despise this tactic, whereas Edwin would applaud it.

 

 

Agreed. With my rogues it feels satisfying to use stealth, non-detection and detect illusions, and then to strike at the right moment

 

 

I absolutely agree.

 

In fact, it was an observation like that gave rise to my bounty hunter, Alesia, and my participation in the no reload challenge.

 

I was reading a theory battle discussion on the old forums. The questions was who would win in a fight between a mage and a thief. I was only a lurker on the Bioware forums then. As a fan of spellcasting, I silently sided with the mage backers. But then someone wrote: Well, in reality, what the thief would do is, hide in shadows with the Cloak of Non-Detection, leave, case the mage, follow him to his home, wait 9 hours for Stoneskins to expire, and then back stab him while he's reading the morning paper.

 

I thought, huh? That's kind of true, actually. It might be fun to play a character like that. That's how my bounty hunter, Alesia, was born. And that's when I started participating in the no reload challenge.

 

 

I tend to get so immersed in the character that I do whatever he/she would do. They sometimes seem to take on a life of their own.

 

That, I think, is the ideal. Well said. Very cool.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Aphril's Game:

 

I still can't bring myself to enter the Planar Sphere. And just  so everyone understands my hesitation. On insane, I saw Davaeorn do 86 damage with a single fireball.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Can you imagine what a Lavok Wilting would do to Aerie, sans-Pro Magic Energy? She has 42 hitpoints. A high level Magic Missile can kill her.

 

Eventually, Aphril, Adara, and Aerie will be able to maintain their buffs in the face of assaults from multiple high level mages, but now a single well scripted high level mage is a potential danger. There's no room for error. None.

 

Best,

 

A.

[corey_russell]

@Alesia: Even in Vanilla, Core Rules, I prefer to leave Planar Sphere until Chapter 6. That halfling mage has some really dangerous things in his spellbook and even the demons can be a problem if you can't protect yourself with cleric buffs. Lavok does horrid wiltings, another halfling mage does flesh to stone, and of course Tolgerias and pal. All stuff I would rather deal with when I have better saves/items.

[Serg BlackStrider]

I think it depends on what your character is like. An honourable character might despise this tactic, whereas Edwin would applaud it. I tend to get so immersed in the character that I do whatever he/she would do. They sometimes seem to take on a life of their own.

 

 

Agreed. With my rogues it feels satisfying to use stealth, non-detection and detect illusions, and then to strike at the right moment

 

Well, I can see such approach as acceptable in some situations when running a rogue character but on the other hand I personally just can't justify it vs an initially *blue circled* non-hostile opponent (Gaius, for example) only because the player by some mystic means *know* that this opponent will turn hostile right after a bit of chit-chat with him. Maybe that is the reason I use a rogue chars mostly for traps/locks handling only.

[Alesia_BH]

@Alesia: Even in Vanilla, Core Rules, I prefer to leave Planar Sphere until Chapter 6. That halfling mage has some really dangerous things in his spellbook and even the demons can be a problem if you can't protect yourself with cleric buffs. Lavok does horrid wiltings, another halfling mage does flesh to stone, and of course Tolgerias and pal. All stuff I would rather deal with when I have better saves/items.

 

Yes. I understand the risks. With their buffs active, none of the threats you mentioned are a danger. The problem is that they don't quite have enough spell slots to protect their buffs. They can stop Spell Thrust based assaults on their Spell Immunities. And they can use their Spell Immunities to foil AoE disablers, but they can't stop multiple high level Spell Protection removers from working down through Spell Shield, GoI, and Spell Deflection to the SIs. Aphril can catch a large numer of attacks on magical defenses using pre-buffs and counters, by drawing on L5 and L6, but Aerie and Adara can not. 

 

When thinking about spell defenses, I work with a variable that I call the "magic number." It's the number of uncountered spell equivalent actions that it would take to put a character in jeopardy. Let's simplify and forget about Sequencers, Triggers, Time Stops, and Improved Alacrities. Let's also assume that the hostile mage lacks Khleben's, Spell Strike, and Wish. Facing a mage with a completely unbuffed character, the magic number is zero: the character is already in danger. If a character has comprehensive specific protections and save buffs, but no spell protections or spell immunities, the magic number becomes 1: a Remove would take away the Specific Protections and save buffs, placing the character in jeopardy. If we add SI:A to the comprehensive specific protections, the magic numer becomes 2: Spell Thrust (or any Spell Protection Remover)->Remove  would place the charcater in jeopardy. You get the idea.

 

Note that even with a low magic number, a character can still be safe with comprehensive and inexhaustible available counters and a counter window, assuming they use their aura properly. Note also that a character with a moderatly high magic number may still be placed in jeopardy fairly quickly if they lack suitable counters. 

 

At this stage of the adventure, fully buffed, and without scrolls, under the simplified conditions stated above, Aphril has a magic number of 5. Adara has a magic number of 4. Aerie has a magic number of 3. That's not bad. But due to lack of spells slots, Adara and Aerie have relatively few available counters to attacks on magical defenses. Aphril can maintain a moderately high magic number even in the face of a sustained assault by drawing on L5 and L6 to bring counters into play. Adara does not have that luxury, since she needs to consume L6s to cover the party with Pro Magic Energy pre-battle, leaving her without L6s in combat. Aerie only has one L6.

 

In theory, they should be fine. But it's not hard for me to imagine things going wrong. The insane setting is a big reason why: it has the effect of radically reducing the set of effective counters, since partial resistances conferred by potions are no longer sufficient.

 

Were it not for the fact that the Spellhold Irenicus fight can be non-trivial in SCS, depending on the inmates behavior, I wouldn't consider entering the Planar Sphere. But Aphril, Aerie, and Adara need more experience before they'll be ready for Spellhold. The Planar Sphere is one of the few remaining options.

 

Danger lies in all directions, I fear.

 

Best,

 

A.

 

EDIT: I figured out a way to increase Aphril's magic number, by changing her casting order.

[Alesia_BH]

Well, I can see such approach as acceptable in some situations when running a rogue character but on the other hand I personally just can't justify it vs an initially *blue circled* non-hostile opponent (Gaius, for example) only because the player by some mystic means *know* that this opponent will turn hostile right after a bit of chit-chat with him. Maybe that is the reason I use a rogue chars mostly for traps/locks handling only.

 

Again, it depends on the charcter. To an evil rogue, Gaius and his compatriots might look like good marks. That might be all the justification needed to launch an ambush.

 

I see your point though.

 

Take Aphril's case. She used a True Sight from Gaius and the surly look of Tarnor as justification to launch an ambush. Aphril has a strong protective streak and she will stop at nothing to keep herself and her friends safe, but that was a stretch. Then again, given how dangerous the BG world is, I can imagine a highly protective safety obssesed PC working with very liberal rules of engagement- especially a Chaotic Good one, like Aphril. It makes sense..But...Yeah: I see your point. And I see Aphril's approach to that fight as questionable.

 

I should probably have Aerie memorize Know Alignment.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Blackraven]

Well, I can see such approach as acceptable in some situations when running a rogue character but on the other hand I personally just can't justify it vs an initially *blue circled* non-hostile opponent (Gaius, for example) only because the player by some mystic means *know* that this opponent will turn hostile right after a bit of chit-chat with him. Maybe that is the reason I use a rogue chars mostly for traps/locks handling only.

 

Like Alesia, I'd say it depends. As she said, blue circled NPCs should be fair game to evil characters. For good/neutral this can be a bit more complex. I'd say if you don't know the blue-circled character, taking them down is a bit questionable in a roleplayed run.

But then SCS' insta-buffs aren't very realistic either. Still I play with them even though I'm not a heavy pre-buffer with my casters myself. Scintilla for example, would often cast a Sanctuary at the beginning of battle, and then start buffing. But this is a different matter.

Sometimes Charname can know someone is bad news even if blue-circled: it's not like Charname actually sees the blue circles, only we do. I have no scruples when it comes to planting a blade in Bassilus' back, even (or should I say especially) with good characters. Only LG characters might object, but I almost never play such characters.

In cases like the one you mentioned I like to use traps: 'Hmmm, I don't know these guys but they don't really look like nice folk. Let me set a couple of snares around them, just in case...' And I will move around them, hidden in shadows, and set traps at several points around them. Somewhat nimble fingers allow one to set snares within visual range of blue-circled characters while stealthed and then to re-enter stealth. I do this without reservations.

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

Alesia what other quests remain? Astral Prison? Unseeing Eye? Kangaxx?
 

[Alesia_BH]

 

Alesia what other quests remain? Astral Prison? Unseeing Eye? Kangaxx?

 

Basically, yeah. There are also a few parties, like Samia's crew and the Evil-docksters. Watcher's Keep.

 

I'm considering doing Watcher's Keep, down to the Wand of Spell Striking. Samia's crew and the Evil docksters would be good practice.

 

I'm worried about the new Unseeing Eye, given the new Spell Shield behavior and the lack of Balduran. The Spell Shield changes induced me to leave Balduran in this install, but I'd prefer not to use it. Do beholder's steal the Shield of Balduran in SCS v30? In my earlier install they did.

 

I'm worried about the Warden sans-ProMW. Jabberwock's report heightened that fear. Does the Warden Dimension Door or Teleport without Error to vulnerable characters in V30, especially during Time Stop?

 

The lichee are no-go.

 

There are scrolls for Aerie to memorize, and traps for Nalia to disarm, but that's lame.

 

I've never been an XP monger, even in party play, so I may be neglecting avenues. Suggestions welcome.

 

I wish there were more vampires: False Dawn->Teleport Field x 2 makes them fish in a barrel. They get no saves an no hope.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Blackraven]

I'm worried about the new Unseeing Eye, given the new Spell Shield behavior and the lack of Balduran. The Spell Shield changes induced me to leave Balduran in this install, but I'd prefer not to use it. Do beholder's steal the Shield of Balduran in SCS v30? In my earlier install they did.

From the latest v30 readme:
 

Remove the Shield of Balduran from the game (BG2EE,BG2,BGT)

I looked fairly extensively for ways of scripting beholders to deal with the Shield of Balduran without resorting to cheese, or for ways of toning down its powers while keeping it recognisable, but I had limited success. Ultimately, the character equipped with the Shield of Balduran is nearly invulnerable to beholders, pretty much irrespective of what strategy they use. This component (which, as always, is optional) removes the shield entirely from the game, leaving beholders as a challenge again.

(More recent versions of SCS have given beholders the power (after a few rounds) to steal the shield using their telekinesis power. It's possible that this means this component is not essential any more; I leave it in place anyway, since it's already written.)

A bit of Watcher's Keep sounds like a sensible next step if you want more XP.

Not sure about the Warden. He's always been very unpredictable in my setups (up to SCS versions 21 and 28). 

Why are the Liches a no-go? They deserve to be put to rest, and perhaps they're doable with some of your scrolls to supplement any lack of spell slots? Unless you want to hold on to those scrolls? I assume PfUndead scrolls are not an option for Aphril and you (higher standards than say, Glorydd and I). They work against the Liches, not against Kangaxx the Demi-Lich.

 

[Alesia_BH]

Aphril in the Bridge District (or Sorry, You're Just Practice)

 

What's the worst thing you can possibly hear from your lover, your wife, or your husband? I vote for "Sorry, you're just practice."

 

It's a pretty awful thing to hear from an enemy, too- especially in mortal combat.

 

The Bridge District muggers heard it loud and clear. And yes: I totally over prepared for this fight. It's been a couple days since I've played and I needed -you guessed it- practice.

 

Spoiler

 

Now for the Evil-Docksters. I'm going to cover the prep for this fight in some detail, since it may convey how I think about mage battles, and also since it will serve as a preview of the strategy that will be deployed in the upcoming Planar Sphere quest.

 

I'll begin by noting that these blokes had no chance of doing harm. Here's why. Forget about the warriors: they're irrelevant. Dracandros is a level 12 mage. Here are the team's buffs.

 

Aphril: Stoneskin, Protection from Cold, Protection from Fire, Protection from Lightning, Protection from Magic Energy, Protection from Evil, Chaotic Commands, Resist Fear, Spirit Armor, Spell Shield, Spell Deflection, Blur, Mirror Image, Globe of Invulnerability, Improved Invisibility, Spell Immunity: Abjuration, Spell Immunity: Divination, Spell Immunity: Evocation

 

Adara: Stoneskin, Protection from Cold, Protection from Fire, Protection from Lightning, Protection from Magic Energy, Protection from Evil, Chaotic Commands, Resist Fear, Spirit Armor, Spell Shield, Blur, Mirror Image, Globe of Invulnerability, Improved Invisibility, Spell Immunity: Abjuration, Spell Immunity: Divination, Spell Immunity: Evocation

 

Aerie: Stoneskin, Protection from Cold, Protection from Fire, Protection from Lightning, Protection from Magic Energy, Protection from Evil, Resist Fear, Spirit, Armor, Spell Shield, Minor Spell Deflection, Blur, Mirror Image, Improved Invisibility, Spell Immunity: Abjuration, Spell Immunity: Divination

 

As a L12 mage, Dracandros can only cast spells from L1-L6. Aphril and Adara can not be hurt or disabled by spells from L1-L6: the only damage types they are vulnerable too are acid and poison. Single target spells are out due to II. Cloudkill and Death Fog are the only L1-L6 AoE spells that apply acid or poison, and they are both Evocation spells. Aphril and Adara run SI:Ev. CC, Resist Fear, and negative saves handle the rest, GoI takes care of Malison. He could try to debuff one of them, but he'd have to take down the Spell Shield, then the GoI to get at the Spell Immunities. And due to the behavior of the new Spell Shield, he can not take down the Spell Shield with Spell Thrust or Secret Word in the presence of GoI. Nor, in the case of Aphril, can he remove the Spell Shield with Breach in the presence of Spell Deflection. With GoI and Spell Deflection in place, nothing short of Pierce Magic will take down a Spell Shield. And nothing short of Pierce Magic will take down a GoI. He needs two L6 Pierce Magics. He only has two L6, at least one of which will be ProMW. Aphril is invulnerable.

 

Aerie, who has 4 L5s, and needs to keep a Spell Shield in reserve, has to skip SI:Ev. As a consequence, she is vulnerable to Death Fog and Cloukill. But so is Dracandros. He could hurt, Aerie. But he'd have to hurt himself in the process. He can do it, but he won't. What about avenues for debuffing Aerie? Aerie is far more vulnerable because she lacks GoI. That's why she has the lowest magic number in the group. Her Spell Shield can be taken down by Spell Thrust or Secret Word. A follow up Spell Thrust could then take down her Spell Immunities, leaving her vulnerable to Remove or a Divination. The problem for Dracandros is that Aerie understands this and as a consequence, her battle protocol is to immediately refresh her Spell Shield if she loses it. And if she loses her second Spell Shield, her protocol is invisibility->retire (leave the battle field). The best Dracandros could hope for was to force Aerie to have a drink at the Flagons earlier than she might like. Not a good situation to be in.

 

As expected, Aphril, Adara, and Aerie emerged without injuries. Sunfires and MMMs killed the cleric, followed by the nearby warrior. Spell Thrust->Skull Trap/Holy Smite finished Dracandros. Valeria, panicked, was ended by MMs.

 

Spoiler

 

Samia's crew is next.

 

Best,

 

A.