Experience, of course (I need it for the party of six)
. And loot for sell (no major one but +2/+3 are plenty there and I need money to be spent in Arcana Archives). I always clean both the prison and the sewers (I'm a completionist, remember?
).
I meant what type of enemies. Not undead, I assume.
Kobolds? Beholders? Green Slimes? Carrion Crawlers? Ogre Mages?
Best,
A.
I meant what type of enemies. Not undead, I assume.
Kobolds? Beholders? Green Slimes? Carrion Crawlers? Ogre Mages?
Duergar Sappers (War Hammer +2/ Heavy Crossbow +3), Umber Hulks, Orc Archers (Studded Leather Armor +2/Composite Longbow +1), Elite Orogs (Battle Axe +2), Wraiths, Shadow Fiends, Devil Shades, Shadows, two Yaga-Shura Mages, (Mutated) Gibberlings. Something like that.
Duergar Sappers (War Hammer +2/ Heavy Crossbow +3), Umber Hulks, Orc Archers (Studded Leather Armor +2/Composite Longbow +1), Elite Orogs (Battle Axe +2), Wraiths, Shadow Fiends, Devil Shades, Shadows, two Yaga-Shura Mages, (Mutated) Gibberlings. Something like that.
Random.
What are the yaga shura mages doing down there? Is there any dialogue related to them? Are they sneaking into the castle or something?
Best,
A.
Random.
What are the yaga shura mages doing down there? Is there any dialogue related to them? Are they sneaking into the castle or something?
No, not random. Duergar Sappers are digging underground tunnel to the castle. They are guarded by Orogs:
Elite Orog- Hurry, you fools. The shades will return soon!
Duergar Sapper- 'Tis dangerous work, orc. If we dig too fast, the roof will collapse.
Elite Orog- Yaga-Shura isn't interested in your excuses and I'm not interested in getting ripped apart by shadows.
Duergar Sapper- Burn in he-- What? Saradush soldiers have found us! Attack!
Immediately after this dialog a horde of Shadows etc. are spawn in and Orcs fought them:
Yaga-Shura mages don't have any related dialogues, seems they are there for the guard as well.
Makes sense.
Thanks Serg!
Best,
A.
That's not necessarily wasted. Even if an opponent can see through invisible it's still possible for invisible characters to get backstab bonuses when attacking from the rear. Some enemies, like dragons, will also be immune to backstabs - but even they may use summons ...
I'm not talking about that - they use it completely indiscriminatory.
Aphril, Elven Sorcerer: Abazigal's Lair
Aphril and Co. have reached Abazigal's inner sanctum. Once again, I find myself wishing I had installed the Improved Sendai and Abazigal Enclaves, although in Abazigal's case it matters less: Ascension Abbie should at least give us a good fight, even if his minions were underwhelming.
The Tank of Doom handled the bulk of the work in the lair- mostly in the interest of spell economy. Aerie can get a lot of death out of a handful of spell slots using her clerical buffs and defensive spells.
The Greater Werewyvern fell quickly before Avariel might.
Spoiler
As did the Bone Fiends.
Spoiler
Since I hate Kuo-Toans oh-so-much, they got the full Tank of Doom treatment.
Good luck with that, you slimy freaks!
Spoiler
Aerie took down the elementals, too- including Olhydra who I usually don't bother with.
Spoiler
SI:C+SI:E+The Reflex let Aerie charge through the Eyeball Clan.
Spoiler
Adara freshened up the spellbooks before we faced Lycanth.
Thanks, ToD! I'll take it from here.
Spoiler
Abazigal is next.
Best,
A.
Aerie the Avariel Tank of Doom, L20/17 C/M: Kills- 613; XP Value- 34%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Ogremoch; Favorite Spell- Holy Smite; Favorite Weapon- Flail of Ages; Revivals: 0
Imoen the Quick, L7/22 T->M: Kills- 117; XP Value- 11%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Draconis; Favorite Spell- Stoneskins; Favorite Weapon- Melf's Minute Meteors; Revivals: 0
Adara the Bold, L24 Sorcerer: Kills- 458; XP Value- 25%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Bodhi; Favorite Spell- Invisibility; Favorite Weapon- Melf's Minute Meteors; Revivals: 1
Aphril the Almost Famous, L24 Sorcerer: Kills- 524; XP Value- 29%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Firkraag; Favorite Spell- Invisibility; Favorite Weapon- Melf's Minute Meteors
@Jabberwock. This is the first lead I've found on an occurrence that sounds vaguely similar to yours. This was from a Black Pits No Reload attempt by one of our forumites, Potty1. The report appeared on the Beamdog forums.
I rolled a group comprising a barbarian, zerker, and dragon disciple, and twice the barbie spontaneously died from near full health, without any damage showing in the message window, and the body also disappeared
I trust that Potty1's understanding of game mechanics is sound enough that we can rule out obvious explanations. Perhaps Potty1 can fill us in on the details.
Best,
A.
This was on BG:EE 1 black pits, and a while ago, so I can't remember much. That said, the death didn't stop the game, which gives me an edge. From what I remember, normally if you die in black pits, your body is on the floor, and can be looted. After killing the last enemy, your entire group teleports back to the merchants, ressurrected and refreshed. In these two cases however, the barbarian was suddenly dead, and the body was nowhere to be found. After killing the enemies, he returned as good as new. I'll try to recreate it later today, with screenshots.
Noted.
That's different. I'm still curious.
Thanks for replying, Potty1!
Best,
A.
Quick Note on Aphril's Game
One step closer.
I'll post on the fight soon.
Best,
A.
One step closer.
Assuming you are not going to fight Balthazar there aren't much left to do for your Crew (I can't even imagine they could have any kind of troubles vs Ravager). So - all the best of whatever they need at the Throne!
I fired up black pits, and found the very save that this happened on. I played around, and thought I had the answer, and I'm sure you suspected the answer, the key word being 'Barbarian'. Turns out EE barbarians also lose 15 hit points when their rages expire, not just berzerkers.
Enraged:
Enchilling out:
This is the shot:
Thon has 1/61 HP, but is nevertheless dead due to rage expiring. Grog is next to her, glued to the floor with 5 STR, and Icy d'Eath is running away in the bottom right corner. Pretty sure Thon had 14/61 HP before rage expired, so this should really say -1/46.
Anyway, I thought it was all sorted out, Barbies have a minor bug, which doesn't apply to to the bug you're looking at. I was uploading screenshots to wrap this up, when I noticed this shot:
Icy d'Eath is clearly dead, but has a similar blue circle to Thon's above. Thon is dead, but nowhere to be seen. I think I need to roll a new crew and do this particular fight again.
Re: Alesia, concerning your man-handling of Draconis - I wonder if we should be feeling sorry for him? Naahhhh...
Grond0, you have some really high-res screenshots - you playing on a 25" monitor or something?
It's 23". I'm starting to get used to it, but I'm not sure yet whether I'll like it. The extra area shown isn't that helpful and the greater distance to move the mouse is a bit of a pain - though I'm countering that by using shortcut keys a lot in this monk run.
Re: Alesia, concerning your man-handling of Draconis - I wonder if we should be feeling sorry for him? Naahhhh...
If you want to feel sorry for someone, Corey, feel sorry for the drakes in Abazigal's inner sanctum, who caught double Wilting Chains, an Aphril PI Vecna Improved Alacrity and Wish-Buffed Mindflaying Tank of Doom.
Best,
A.
It's 23". I'm starting to get used to it, but I'm not sure yet whether I'll like it. The extra area shown isn't that helpful and the greater distance to move the mouse is a bit of a pain...
Same here. That's why I prefer to play 1024*768 Windowed mode on my 21" monitor.
Safe travels for your Saint Crew, Grond0!
Norgath, Dwarven Bounty Hunter, 1st BG2 report
RL makes it difficult to play and write detailed updates, so the following report will be relatively concise. This is Norgath's character record at the beginning of the game.
Last night I actually dreamed of Norgath. It wasn’t pretty: he had died. Thankfully Norgath is alive and well (even if he started off weaker and more vulnerable than he had ever felt since leaving Candlekeep). Hopefully the dream wasn’t prophetic.
Imprisoned and tortured by the evil wizard Irenicus in an eerie dungeon, and released from his cell by his old Candlekeep neighbor Imoen, Norgath’s arrival in what he'd discover to be Athkatla had a surreal feel to it. Norgath thanked Imoen for helping him out of his cell. He told her to follow him in search of a way out. There were two more prisoners, Minsc and Jaheira. Norgath helped them escape their cells but he had no interest in having the blundering half-wit or the belligerent dominatrix by his side. Instead, he snuck alone past Duergar guards to secure a key a Golem would use to open a number of doors that led to a room with an Otyugh. Norgath took the monster down with backstabs,
Norgath’s special item, as in my previous run with him, is his Cloak of Non-Detection as enhanced by Thalantyr. It gives two daily Invisibilities and +1 to AC and Saves. Norgath ‘found’ the item at the end of Irenicus’ Dungeon.
Imoen didn’t accompany Norgath for long. She was taken in by Cowled Wizards for casting a Magic Missile. Irenicus too was arrested, for killing some of the cowled ones as well as several rogues, with a lot of different spells that Norgath didn’t care to know. (The Dwarf had a bit of an aversion against magic, though he acknowledged its uses.)
Norgath lamented Imoen’s arrest, but found himself in no hurry to go looking for her. Irenicus was Norgath’s main concern, but the wizard had looked powerful. The Dwarf needed preparation, coin, his old gear that had been stolen. He befriended Gaelan Bayle, a rogue in the Slums of Athkatla, who offered him an opportunity of employment with the Shadow Thieves, and a way to get to Imoen and Irenicus. The latter would be costly though: 40k GP.
In the nearby Copper Coronet inn, the rogue rescued a number of slaves and installed one of them, Hendak, as the new innkeeper. It earned the Dwarf a fair amount of gold and a discount with Bernard, a vendor.
Another ambush followed not much later. Three men that had poisoned another man, Renfeld, who begged Norgath to take him to a friend in the Docks District. The Dwarf was going there anyway, so anticipating some easy money, he agreed to help (retreating from the bandits). In the Docks District Norgath witnessed a Vampire kill three rogues, and threaten him as well. The Dwarf was not impressed and the Vampire suddenly admitted she knew he wouldn’t fall as easily as her previous victims. Norgath was more upset by invisible ruffians attacking him, and even expended an oil of speed to outrun them.
I see Norgath as both a future crime lord – thanks to his LE alignment and the SoA Thief Stronghold – and as a lone wolf, the archetypical bounty hunter. In the end I think Norgath is too much of a loner to be a crime lord. (Had he been a master Assassin and operated with a party, i.e. his henchmen, things might have been different.) I like to imagine lone Norgath roam forsaken lands in search of his prey. Therefore I find fitting Ennio Morricone’s compositions that accompany Sergio Leone’ Dollars Trilogy, the films For a Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad & the Ugly. Two examples:
Before getting his work for the Shadow Thieves underway, Norgath did some thieving in Athkatla (mainly potions, also gear he sold to buy armor and weaponry: Night's Gift, Sound Defense and Black Cat's Claw), and traveled to the Umar Hills [note: to get Bone Golems rather than Liches to deal with in the Temple Ruins]. He accepted a commission from the Mayor of Imnesvale to investigate mysterious killings and disappearances in the area. His research led the Dwarf to the Temple Ruins, which were plagued by Shadows, Wraiths, and Shadow Wolves. Norgath had three scrolls of PfUndead. He used on of those inside the Ruins. It lasted long enough for Norgath to slay a Shadow Jailor, release a Halfling lass who rewarded him with an anti-stun sword, and slay a group of ‘guards’ consisting of two Skeleton Warriors, a Greater Mummy whose presence forced the Dwarf to quaff a clarity potion, and (with sneak attacks) a Bone Golem. [Note: like the Lich in my previous run with Dagny, the first Bone Golem, who in my experience is supposed to be in the room north of the fire pool, knew of Norgath’s presence and came looking for him.]
Back in Athkatla, Norgath had violent dealings with two old acquaintances, Slythe & Krystin in the Water Gardens, a posh part of town where the nobility relaxed and gossiped. The assassins forced the Dwarf to use up most of his healing potions before they fell.
RL makes it difficult to play and write detailed updates, so the following report will be relatively concise.
Relative to what ?
Relative to what
Relative to my usual wordy stuff... 
(At least that was my intention.)
An excellent start, Blackraven!
Good hunting!
Best,
A.
Aphril, Elven Sorcerer: Abazigal (or M.I.A)
In a recent post I shared theme songs for Aerie, Imoen, Aphril, and Adara. They were all dance tunes, more-or-less. But if I were to share a theme song for the team's recent ToB adventures, I'd have to go with a little post-punk. I'd have to go with "Disappointed" by Public Image Limited.
In Sendai's Lair, I was disappointed to find Vanilla Sendai rather than Improved Enclave Sendai. In Abazigal's Lair, I was disappointed by the absence of Tamah, attributable to a SCS v30 bug.
Missing out on Tamah was a particularly tough blow to take. Abazigal is not Abazigal without Tamah- not to me anyways. Tamah is what makes that fight interesting. Tamah is what makes Abazigal worth the price of admission. It was a shame to see Tamah M.I.A. Big Blue fought as well as he could, but without Tamah he was more-or-less helpless. Bummer.
Anyhoo: To the action.
First off, I should congratulate Abazigal on the defensive move of the run: exploiting deficiencies in the Wine environment kept him alive longer than any other foe. We had to do this twice.
I'll post on the completed battle only, since that's the version of record. Fortunately, there were few differences between the two fights. Abazigal was defeated without the party sustaining any injuries in both cases.
The buffs for this fight were the party's standards with modest adjustment. Note that we packed 2 LR x 3 Triggers and 2 Wilting x 3 Chains. Aerie and Imoen had their standard melee oriented Triggers. Aerie read a Shapechange scroll.
Here we are buffed up and ready for action. Someone's about to take a beating, huh?
Guess what happened next? Someone took a beating. In particular, the drakes guarding Abazigal's door.
Double Wilting Chains from Imoen and Adara, a full Vecna Improved Alacrity assault from Aphril, and Mindflaying Tank of Doom. This is what a beating looks like.
I guess I went a little over-board. But those drakes are my ToB nemeses. I hate them as much as I hate Kuo-Toans in SoA. I don't care to explain. Fight them and you'll understand. It always feels good to see them die horrible deaths- even if it means wishing up a fresh spell book afterwards.
With the drakes down, Aerie was tasked with wiping out the random joker Frost Salamanders. Note that Aerie is picking up Wish buffs from Aphril and Adara as she makes her way around the cavern.
You don't ever want to fight the Tank of Doom. But you especially don't want to fight the Tank of Doom while Aphril and Adara are wishing up new spell books because you can end up fighting something like this: Totally-Invulnerable 25-Stat Mind-Flaying Tank of Doom- the worst Tank of Doom of all.
Spoiler
This is totally unreasonable, which is why I don't intentionally let Aerie fight like this. The Frost Salamanders were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'd love to see SCS or the Fixpack prevent the Wish Hardinesses from stacking. That would be great
Anyhoo. Once the books were reloaded, the party refreshed its buffs and fired up a Telefield. Human Abbie caught a PI assault from Aphril and was quickly flipped.
Facing a full buffed party with fully loaded books in a full on Teleport Field, Abazigal was overmatched. It didn't take him long to figure that out. Spread your wings and fly away, because death is all that awaits you here.
Since Aphril's opening PI had spent much of its book on human Abbie, it made only modest progress before the handoff to Imoen. Imoen's Black Blade brought Abbie down to Injured, however (no screenshot of the Time Stop).
Time for the finish Aphril's new PI fires up IA while the Tensored Improved Hasted ProMW BBoD-Kundane Infiltrator and the ToD go to work. The ToD has just pulled her ProMW/Righteous Magic/Improved Haste Trigger here.
Adara adds a little extra punishment.
And there's more where that came from. Do you want another IA, Abbie? Or would you rather take that Implosion from Aerie?
Abazigal's answer? None of the above. Death seemed the better choice. I think he got that one right.
As Serg noted, there isn't much required content left before the Throne: just the Pocket Plane Challenges and our sit-down with Balthy.
There is, however, Watcher's Keep. I'm tempted. We'll see.
Best,
A.
Aerie the Avariel Tank of Doom, L20/17 C/M: Kills- 613; XP Value- 34%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Ogremoch; Favorite Spell- Holy Smite; Favorite Weapon- Flail of Ages; Revivals: 0
Imoen the Quick, L7/22 T->M: Kills- 117; XP Value- 11%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Draconis; Favorite Spell- Stoneskins; Favorite Weapon- Melf's Minute Meteors; Revivals: 0
Adara the Bold, L24 Sorcerer: Kills- 459; XP Value- 24%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Bodhi; Favorite Spell- Invisibility; Favorite Weapon- Melf's Minute Meteors; Revivals: 1
Aphril the Almost Famous, L24 Sorcerer: Kills- 524; XP Value- 29%; Most Powerful Vanquished- Firkraag; Favorite Spell- Invisibility; Favorite Weapon- Melf's Minute Meteors
Chapter XP Value: Aerie- 46%; Imoen- 14%; Adara- 11%; Aphril- 27%
Damn girl, you own this game! 
Now onward to give Mel what she's got coming, no?
Edit: aah Watcher's Keep, that would be interesting! (Haven't completed that in ages myself.)
Damn girl, you own this game!
That's kind of you to say.
This party is pretty powerful. We have Aerie. 
Now onward to give Mel what she's got coming, no?
That's going to take some planning.
To begin with, I'm worried about the opening fight. I expect Imoen to turn hostile and transform into the Slayer. I'm not sure what will happen to her buffs when that occurs. Will she lose her resistances, like shapshifted characters often do? And if so, how do we AoE insta-kill the Fallen Solars with Imoen in the way? Wilting and Dragon's Breaths are terribly slow. I kind of wish I had brought a Protection from Magic scroll for Slayer Immy.
How do we keep Balthazar from killing Slayer Imoen?
And then there's the final fight with Mel and the 5. How do we manage Imoen, Adara, and Aerie's buffs over an extended fight? That worries me. I wouldn't want to lose one of them.
Edit: aah Watcher's Keep, that would be interesting! (Haven't completed that in ages myself.)
Yeah. I haven't done it in the Challenge. My beast master, Ashanti, no reloaded WK, but that was after she had been knocked out of the challenge by the Rift Device insta-kill. That's the last time I've done it.
It could be fun. I wouldn't mind the extra XP.
Best,
A.
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