Good idea with GDB.
I checked the aTweaks readme once again and seems Deathblow/Greater Deathblow are the must vs aTweaks' Fiends. Only Balor and Pit Fiend are 13HD. All else are 12 and lower. And only Alu-Fiends have PfMW. Might be handy in Demon's Maze of WK.
I checked the aTweaks readme once again and seems Deathblow/Greater Deathblow are the must vs aTweaks' Fiends. Only Balor and Pit Fiend are 13HD. All else are 12 and lower. And only Alu-Fiends have PfMW. Might be handy in Demon's Maze of WK.
And they're vulnerable to insta-kill effects?
Best,
A.
I'd probably just offer a save at -2 or -4 and shorten the duration. It wasn't terrible with the MR check, although it could be with a mage around to take care of the MR.
Yeah, save a la Celestial Fury would be fine, or % - based chance. The problem with this weapon is that at this point in the game, oponnents which we can hit (not under PfMW) usually die so quickly that THAC0 drain is the least of their problems. 
Parthis, 8th BG2 update
Where were we? Ah yes. Planar Sphere. Not much to say. I like Gesen bow a lot.
First major battle - Lavok. Apperantly the only caster thus far to summon Ultroloths. It held my archer with it's gaze, and died.
Satzee did fail a save vs ADHW and died soon after.
Lavok summoned some undead, and that was it from him.
Demon plane - no dangerous gating this time, only Nabassus. At this point, sheer XP harvest.
Archer with WWs craps them in a round. I'm happy.
Tolgerias was a bit harder. We didn't buff extensivly, just waded in. He does his usual Planetar/Alacrity crap.
WW attacks take care of it.
Next he gates in a Pit Fiend. I was expecting the worst (Balor); Pit Fiend is a joke compared to it. Satzee's poor saves allow her to suffer a Stun symbol.
barbarian is chased by a Mordy, and can't do anything but run.
I focus down Pit Fiend first, he wastes his Wish on himself (yup, it's a selfish demon).
Barbarian finds an opening at kills it.
Parthis removes stun from archer, Tolgerias keeps summoning demons & djinni. However, with his PfMw expired, he's prone to spell failure...
He explodes.
We ramp the last demon easilly and return to home plane.
Now, Bodhi. I was expecting difficulties here. Apperantly Parhtis could blow some lesser vamps with Turn Undead. Cool, didn't expect it.
Fighting them in melee is *always* bad...I let Deva do the ugly work. They seemed to run away from it.
There was one bad endeavor - archer charmed.
barbarian dead...time to go invisible (Parthis' CON is at 8 here)
Buff up, kill the mage..
..and whatever is left.
As per Bodhi...sigh. The plan was to use two Pro Undead scrolls - Parthis and archer, so at least other vampires would ignore them. Turns out - Bodhi can't see through it! 
That's pretty dissapointing. 91K XP enemy, thwarted by a scroll available in any temple? Ah well...so be it.
I hide Burth with invis potion.
We slap the vamps hard, safe under Pro Undead scrolls.
She won't die unless she talks to someone, so I get barbarian there.
I finish it with WWs and return the Lanthorn.
Liches are next.
Do I see a Sharman run coming?
p.s. They are still in beta but read about it here.
Not quite at beta stage yet.
Interesting. I'll have to check that out.
Yes, interesting is the word I'd use too, either as a Bhaalspawn or NPC companion - of which more details including a picture at http://www.siegeofdragonspear.com/
There is a short trailer on that page which could be of interest if you haven't seen or heard much about it.
Disclosure: Some time back I was invited to help with BGII:EE. That continued for several months and for the last year I've been working for Beamdog.
The problem with this weapon is that at this point in the game, oponnents which we can hit (not under PfMW) usually die so quickly that THAC0 drain is the least of their problems.
At the stage of the game that you're currently in, meaning SoA with HLAs, most enemies, whether they can hit or not, can be killed with a 2 x 4 or bare fists. That doesn't imply that Soul Reaver is without use. It's the challenging enemies that are of interest.
There are specific enemies later in the adventure that a MR bypassing Soul Reaver could help against. It's not hard to think of them.
The only question is whether the weapon's efficacy in those contexts would detract from or enhance the adventure. That's a question that can only be answered via combat testing. It's also a question that different players will have different answers to, depending on their combat preferences.
I, personally, am undecided, since I haven't tried it yet.
Best,
A.
Disclosure: I've been working for Beamdog.
I figured that out when you weighed in on the potential XP balancing issues in Siege of Dragonspear. 
Anyhoo. I hope that's working out for you. Thanks for letting us know.
Best,
A.
Parthis, 9th BG2 update
As per liches, we fought the Elemental one first. Things go as per usual - barbarian tanks, gets dispelled, Parthis casts Death Ward on him, archer downs Planetar with WW attacks.
He did force a 1st cast of Greater Restoration. Woo-hoo.
He died after his final PfMw expired, in addition, he seemed to be immune to spell failure.
Next, Shade Lich. Same deal, bit more Necromancy. Planetar goes first, as always.
Some demons..
WW with MoD & Crom off-hand with PfMW expired blows him up.
Kangaxx himself was the first enemy to use Wish-Breach. I left this working as it is in SCS, a non-thwartable Breach. We don't care much, in any case..
He did manage to create quite a bit of dismay. Time Stop and then crowded the area with Gelugons and a Planetar. The planetar managed to cast Heal on himself, and demons went after the archer. (She's using Pro Magic scroll).
With her exellent THAC0, she doesn't are about close range THAC0 penalty for ranged weapons - 2x WW downs both the Gelugon and the Planetar.
Upon his transformation, Parthis downs Invulnerability potion. This takes his Death save to -5. Due to the "saving throw bug" Grond0 had bad experience with, it may not be enough - I pull him back.
Unfortunately, Kangaxx seems to be slightly more of joke than his vanilla incarnation. PW:Blind? Trap the soul vs Pro Magic scroll? Yeah, we saw it all.
He dies just as Shade, MoD + Gesen WW.
Currently, we're in Suldanesselar, having just killed Nizi. 3x Pro Acid scroll, Shadow Dragon for archer, AoF for Parthis, a couple of WW attacks and it's done.
At the stage of the game that you're currently in, meaning SoA with HLAs, most enemies, whether they can hit or not, can be killed with a 2 x 4 or bare fists. That doesn't imply that Soul Reaver is without use. It's the challenging enemies that are of interest.
There are specific enemies later in the adventure that a MR bypassing Soul Reaver could help against. It's not hard to think of them.
The only question is whether the weapon's efficacy in those contexts would detract from or enhance the adventure. That's a question that can only be answered via combat testing. It's also a question that different players will have different answers to, depending on their combat preferences.
It's a powerful weapon that has it's uses. Then again, Called Shot does the same, and drains strenght as well. 
Anyhow, speaking of equipment, do you people use Cloak of Mirroring?
Aphril, Elven Sorcerer: Kangaxx (or The One That Got Away: For Now)
Aphril and her team have faced off with Kangaxx. They have emerged unscathed. Kangaxx yet lives, however. The team may revisit him later.
There were two ways that this could go. Either Aphril and Co. would kill Lich and Demi Lich Kangaxx within 14 rounds, or Aerie's SI:A would run out and the team would be forced to flee.
Kangaxx the Lich would not last longer than a few rounds, that was certain. The outcome of the Demi-Lich battle was less obvious. Surely Kangaxx would have enough ProMWs to last 12-13 rounds- assuming he could not be Breached or dispelled. And if he also ran Pro Fire, foiling Adara's Dragon's Breath's, then he would live to fight another day. That's how it played out.
Kangaxx the Lich
Following protocol, Aphril opened with IA. She then scrutinized Kangaxx's buffs and determined that 2 Ruby Rays would suffice. A Breach from Aerie landed immediately after the second Ruby Ray, opening Kangaxx to attack.
Kangaxx lasted slightly longer than his compatriots simply because of his central spawn point, which caused Adara's Wilting Chain to fire before Aerie could land her Breach. The few moves he made before falling were quickly countered. A Spellstrike against Aphril was caught by Spell Shield and countered with a Spell Shield recast. Wish- I wish for my enemies' magical protections to be utterly destroyed was foiled by Spell Shields all around, and those Spell Shields were all replaced before Kangaxx the Demi-Lich could arrive.
Kangaxx the Demi-Lich
No screenshots here. As soon as Kangaxx the Demi Lich arrived, Aphril confirmed that Kangaxx was not running any protections that could foil Breach and then instructed Adara to use a Breach scroll target through Kangaxx's SI:D + II, testing whether it would work. It did not, which was more-or-less expected. Shortly thereafter, Kangaxx the Demi-Lich erected a Spell Turning. The team worked through the Spell Turning, hoping to try Breach one more time. They quickly overwhelmed the absorptive capacity of Kangaxx's Spell Turning, but, once again, their Breach did not work. Aphril then tried Improved Alacrity Remove x 6. As expected, that failed. With the clock ticking on Aerie's Spell Immunity: Abjuration, the team chose to withdraw. There was no reason to risk Aerie on a mission of pride. Playing on insane, any moderately damaging spell could be a mortal threat to her without her specific protections active.
Anti-climactic, but for the best, I would say.
The sorcerers may revisit Kangaxx at a later date, minus Aerie and Imoen. Adara and Aphril can outlast Kangaxx's ProMWs, but they lack the means to kill him at present.
Best,
A.
Anyhow, speaking of equipment, do you people use Cloak of Mirroring?
I don't use it.
Many of us who play with the vanilla item set nerf or self police.
I, for example, use the SCS Staff of the Magi and Carsomyr nerfs. I consistently restrict Protection from Magic scrolls, Rods of Resurrection, and the Cloak of Mirroring. I typically restrict wand/item recharge and the Shield of Balduran with rare exceptions.
Foebane, Easthaven, Vecna, Chaos Blade, Pro Undead scrolls and Dispelling Arrows are among the items that I'm likely to restrict going forward. I'd consider nerfing other items as well, but I simply don't use them anyways so there would hardly be a point.
I also restrict a number of spells, most notably Mislead.
Best,
A.
It's a powerful weapon that has it's uses. Then again, Called Shot does the same, and drains strenght as well.
I'm aware of how Called Shot works. It too is arguably over-powered. The strength drain, THAC0 drain, and save drain are all potentially problematic.
Best,
A.
I'm aware of how Called Shot works. It too is arguably over-powered. The strength drain, THAC0 drain, and save drain are all potentially problematic.
Yeah, that's why I usually use Revisions mods, they remove such OP stuff from items/spells/kits.
One single item I changed in this game (and don't even use in a Revisions game) is Boots of Speed. I made it non-stackable with Haste, since that 4x movement speed is litteraly insane. Being Hasted is one thing, but moving at Warp speed is a gamebreaker for me.
Anyhow, my final post for Parthis will be brief. Suldanesselar & Jon at tree of life posed no threat.
However, the one in Hell did.
We had our summoned army tanking the demons for a while. Kind of worked, we blew (litteraly, they explode!) both Balors quickly.
Lots of demons gated in.
Things were heading nicely 'till we had our summons. With them gone, less so...
I figured Hardiness 40% res would be enough to thwart Slayer's TS/melee whack,
But it wasn't.
That's all folks!
I don't use it. I'm not aware of anyone who does use it.
I normally use it.
That's all folks!
Surely not - I demand a recount! Where's the Defender of Easthaven when you need it?
And they're vulnerable to insta-kill effects?
There are number of Glabrezu CRE in NearInfinity and I don't know which one spawns when (some of them are 17HD). I tried to console ABYDEM01 which is 12HD and one-shot it with GDB though:
Surely not - I demand a recount! Where's the Defender of Easthaven when you need it?
I think I left in in the shop!
That's all folks!
Ouch! This is not what I've expected... 
I normally use it.
I did put it on my barbarian. It's a sweet item, albeit one which is (with SCS) to be used on protagonist - SCS will avoid casting offensive spells at it, so other party members will take the blows .
I did put it on my barbarian. It's a sweet item, albeit one which is (with SCS) to be used on protagonist - SCS will avoid casting offensive spells at it, so other party members will take the blows
In my games Jaheira usually wear it. She is dear to me...
In my games Jaheira usually wear it. She is dear to me...
Yeah, mage-types have little use of it usually, but it allows non-arcane casters to cast in combat effectively.
Otherwise, I really don't like Jaheira. 
That's all folks!
I'm with Serg: Not what I expected.
What's next?
Best,
A.
Yeah, that's why I usually use Revisions mods, they remove such OP stuff from items/spells/kits.
Understood. In the interest of relatability, I prefer to use vanilla and then employ nerfs and restrictions. I understand the appeal of Revisions though.
One single item I changed in this game (and don't even use in a Revisions game) is Boots of Speed. I made it non-stackable with Haste, since that 4x movement speed is literaly insane. Being Hasted is one thing, but moving at Warp speed is a gamebreaker for me.
I respect that choice. The only reason I leave it as is is that it preserves avenues for non-arcane solos. I prefer not to mod the game world in ways that canalize class choice.
Best,
A.
Aphril, Elven Sorcerer: Kangaxx- Part 2 (or The One That Got Almost Away)
I'm semi-pleased to report that Aphril has defeated Kangaxx. After regrouping, the party devised an attack strategy, which entailed drawing out Kangaxx's removes and then potion buffing Imoen. Imoen then killed Kangaxx with Gessen, although she did take some damage from an Ice Storm since we lacked Potions of Cold Resistance.
Very unstylish. And over-all a less than satisfying encounter. Nonetheless, it's a win. The party moves on with Ring in tow.
Best,
A.
Aerie, L15/14 C/M: Kills- 395; XP Value- 29%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Hive Mother; Favorite Spell- Holy Smite; Favorite Weapon- Melf's Minute Meteors; Cumulative Damage Taken- ~50HP
Imoen, L7/16 T->M: Kills- 59; XP Value- 8%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Kangaxx the Demi-Lich; Favorite Spell- Stoneskins; Favorite Weapon- Melf's Minute Meteors; Cumulative Damage Taken- ~15HP
Adara, L18 Sorcerer: Kills- 374; XP Value- 31%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Shade Lich; Favorite Spell- Invisibility; Favorite Weapon- Melf's Minute Meteors; Cumulative Damage Taken- 65HP (one death)
Aphril, L18 Sorcerer: Kills- 375; XP Value- 30%; Most Powerful Vanquished: Unseeing Eye; Favorite Spell- Invisibility; Favorite Weapon- Melf's Minute Meteors; Cumulative Damage Taken- 0HP
What's next?
I dont' know. I'm divided - Revisions setup, or leave setup as it is and create something utterly powerful (berserker/cleric, thief/illusionist, sorcerer) and get back at Irenici. I'll think about it.
Anyways - GL to all further.
I dont' know.
Understood. Good luck deciding!
I'm divided - Revisions setup, or leave setup as it is and create something utterly powerful (berserker/cleric, thief/illusionist, sorcerer) and get back at Irenicus. I'll think about it.
Noted. You could give this crew another chance. They're clearly capable of beating Jonicus, even if the first attempt failed.
Best,
A.
Retour en haut